Deaths: December 17
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- Actress
- Director
- Producer
Penny Marshall was born Carole Penny Marshall on October 15, 1943 in Manhattan. The Libra was 5' 6 1/2", with brown hair and green eyes. She was the daughter of Marjorie (Ward), a tap dance teacher, and Anthony "Tony" Marshall, an industrial film director. She was the younger sister of filmmakers Garry Marshall and Ronny Hallin. Her father was of Italian descent, originally surnamed "Masciarelli," and her mother was of German, Scottish, English, and Irish ancestry.
Penny was known in her family as "the bad one"... because not only did she walk on the ledge of her family's apartment building, but she snuck into the movies as a child and even dated a guy named "Lefty." She attended a private girls' high school in New York and then went to the University of New Mexico for two and a half years. There, Penny got pregnant with daughter, Tracy Reiner, and soon after married the father, Michael Henry, in 1961. The couple divorced two years later in 1963. She worked as a secretary for awhile. Her film debut came from her brother Garry Marshall, who put her in the movie How Sweet It Is! (1968) with the talented Debbie Reynolds and James Garner. She also did a dandruff commercial with Farrah Fawcett - the casting people, of course, giving Farrah the part of the "beautiful girl" and Penny the part of the "plain girl." This only added to Penny's insecurity with her looks.
She then married Rob Reiner on April 10, 1971, shortly after getting her big television break as Oscar Madison's secretary, Myrna Turner, on The Odd Couple (1970). She also played Mary Richards' neighbor, Paula Kovacks, on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970) for a couple of episodes. However, her Laverne & Shirley (1976) fame came when her brother needed two women to play "fast girls" who were friends of Arthur Fonzarelli and would date Fonzie and Richie Cunningham on Happy Days (1974). Penny had been working on miscellaneous writing projects ("My Country Tis Of Thee", a bicentennial spoof for Francis Ford Coppola and "Paper Hands" about the Salem Witch Trials) with writing partner Cindy Williams. Cindy happened to be a friend and ex-girlfriend of Henry Winkler's, so Garry asked the two to play the parts of these girls. The audience saw their wonderful chemistry, and loved them so much, a spin-off was created for them.
Penny was well-known as Laverne DeFazio. She and Rob had divorced in 1980. The show ended three years later, half a year after Cindy Williams left the show due to pregnancy (her first baby, Emily, from now ex-husband Bill Hudson)... they wanted Williams to work the week she was supposed to deliver.
Soon after, Penny began directing such films as Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986), Big (1988) and A League of Their Own (1992). Her hobbies included needlepoint, jigsaw puzzles and antique shopping. She was best friends with actress Carrie Fisher and was godmother to Carrie's daughter, Billie.
Penny died at 75 in Los Angeles, California.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Alaina Reed-Hall was born on 10 November 1946 in Springfield, Ohio, USA. She was an actress, known for 227 (1985), Death Becomes Her (1992) and Cruel Intentions (1999). She was married to Tamim Amini, Kevin Peter Hall and Richard Hannum Cook. She died on 17 December 2009 in Santa Monica, California, USA.- Anca Pop was born on 22 October 1984 in Moldova Noua, Romania. She was an actress, known for Ivana the Terrible (2019) and The Match (2016). She died on 17 December 2018 in Svinita, Romania.
- Composer
- Writer
- Director
Don Van Vliet was born on 15 January 1941 in Glendale, California, USA. He was a composer and writer, known for The Big Lebowski (1998), A Civil Action (1998) and A Bigger Splash (2015). He was married to Janet Lorelle Jenkins. He died on 17 December 2010 in Trinidad, California, USA.Captain Beefheart- Actress
- Composer
- Music Department
Cesária Évora was born on 27 August 1941 in Mindelo, São Vicente, Cape Verde, Portugal [now Cape Verde]. She was an actress and composer, known for Great Expectations (1998), Underground (1995) and Sorority Row (2009). She died on 17 December 2011 in Mindelo, São Vicente, Cape Verde.- Chela Ruíz was born in 1921 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was an actress, known for Mamá querida (1988), The Official Story (1985) and Un mundo de veinte asientos (1978). She died on 17 December 1999 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Colin Clark was born on 9 October 1932 in Marylebone, London, England, UK. He was a director and producer, known for My Week with Marilyn (2011), WWE Smackdown! (1999) and Romantic Versus Classical Art (1973). He was married to Helena Kwan, Francis Wright and Violette Verdy. He died on 17 December 2002 in London, England, UK.- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Actor
Dan O'Bannon was inspired at an early age by EC Comics like Tales from the Crypt and old horror films that he saw in St. Louis. He even wrote a few stories for Heavy Metal magazine (which also showed up in the film).
O'Bannon got his start when he and John Carpenter collaborated on the cult sci-fi film Dark Star (1974). After a failed attempt to make "Dune" with bizarre surrealist Alejandro Jodorowsky in Europe, O'Bannon returned to the US and began work on "Star Beast" (later retitled Alien (1979)) with Ronald Shusett (with whom he later worked again on Dead & Buried (1981)). He continued working in the Sci-fi/Horror genre mostly as a script doctor, but his directorial debut, The Return of the Living Dead (1985) is known as one of the best zombie movies ever made (and as of this writing two sequels with another in production). Lately O'Bannon has been appearing in a lot of DVD documentaries discussing his work and his influences. It is also worth noting that all of his films have interesting psychological interpretations. He has a tendency to appear in bow ties.- Actor
- Soundtrack
American leading man of the 1940s and 1950s, Dana Andrews was born Carver Dana Andrews on New Years Day 1909 on a farmstead outside Collins, Covington County, Mississippi. One of thirteen children, including fellow actor Steve Forrest, he was a son of Annis (Speed) and Charles Forrest Andrews, a Baptist minister.
Andrews studied business administration at Sam Houston State Teachers College in Texas, but took a bookkeeping job with Gulf Oil in 1929, aged 20, prior to graduating. In 1931, he hitchhiked to California, hoping to get work as an actor. He drove a school bus, dug ditches, picked oranges, worked as a stock boy, and pumped gas while trying without luck to break into the movies. His employer at a Van Nuys gas station believed in him and agreed to invest in him, asking to be repaid if and when Andrews made it as an actor. Andrews studied opera and also entered the Pasadena Community Playhouse, the famed theatre company and drama school. He appeared in scores of plays there in the 1930s, becoming a favorite of the company. He played opposite future star Robert Preston in a play about composers Gilbert and Sullivan, and soon thereafter was offered a contract by Samuel Goldwyn.
It was two years before Goldwyn and 20th Century-Fox (to whom Goldwyn had sold half of Andrews' contract) put him in a film, but the roles, though secondary, were mostly in top-quality pictures such as The Westerner (1940) and The Ox-Bow Incident (1942). A starring role in the hit Laura (1944), followed by one in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), made him a star, but no later film quite lived up to the quality of these. During his career, he had worked with with such directors as Otto Preminger, Fritz Lang, William Wyler, William A. Wellman, Jean Renoir, and Elia Kazan.
Andrews slipped into a steady stream of unremarkable films in which he gave sturdy performances, until age and other interests resulted in fewer appearances. In addition, his increasing alcoholism caused him to lose the confidence of some producers. Andrews took steps to curb his addiction and in his later years was an outspoken member of the National Council on Alcoholism, who decried public refusal to face the problem. He was probably the first actor to do a public service announcement about alcoholism (in 1972 for the U.S. Department of Transportation), and did public speaking tours. Andrews was one of the first to speak out against the degradation of the acting profession, particularly actresses doing nude scenes just to get a role.
Andrews was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild in 1963, serving until 1965. He retired from films in the 1960s and made, he said, more money from real estate than he ever did in movies. Yet he and his second wife, actress Mary Todd, lived quietly in a modest home in Studio City, California. Andrews suffered from Alzheimer's disease in his later years and spent his final days in a nursing facility. He died of congestive heart failure and pneumonia in 1992, aged 83.- Eddie Acuff is one of those wonderful supporting actors who peopled the fascinating world of Hollywood's A, B or Z movies. In a career spanning eighteen years he appeared in an amazing almost 300 movies and one TV episode! His appearances could be invisible (when deleted), hardly visible (he portrayed an endless series of cabbies, reporters, cameramen, cowboys, hamburger vendors, orderlies, ticket agents, militiamen, bus drivers, the lot...), short but recurring (he was the accident-prone mailman in the 'Blondie' series after Irving Bacon gave up the part) or more fleshed out, notably as the sidekick in various serials. Anyway, he nearly always played - in a very talented way - the wise-cracking guy who "knows better". Born on June 3rd 1903, Edward Acuff was drawn to acting under the influence of his maternal uncle, who had been a performer on showboats along the Mississippi. Before going to Hollywood, Eddie Acuff started a theater career, and even played on Broadway (in minor roles of course) in plays such as 'The Dark Hour', 'Heat Lightning' or 'Yellow Jack'. From 1934 to 1951 (five years before his untimely death following a sudden heart attack), Eddie Acuff worked and worked and worked. Only a few of his films are classics (The Petrified Forest (1936), They Drive by Night (1940), High Sierra (1940), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), Johnny Allegro (1949))...So what? Seeing but a glimpse of Acuff is always a dose of pleasure guaranteed. Eddie Acuff is buried at the North Hollywood Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park.
- Eva Ekvall was born on 15 March 1983 in Caracas, Venezuela. She was married to John Fabio Bermúdez. She died on 17 December 2011 in Houston, Texas, USA.
- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Francesco Leonetti was born on 27 January 1924 in Cosenza, Calabria, Italy. He was an actor and writer, known for Oedipus Rex (1967), The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964) and The Year of the Cannibals (1969). He was married to Eleonora Fiorani. He died on 17 December 2017 in Milan, Italy.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Frank Sully was born on 17 June 1908 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for The Grapes of Wrath (1940), Escape to Glory (1940) and Sleepytime Gal (1942). He was married to Mary Kathleen McKee. He died on 17 December 1975 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Galt MacDermot was born on 18 December 1928 in Montréal, Québec, Canada. He was a composer, known for Hair (1979), Zodiac (2007) and Forrest Gump (1994). He was married to Marlene Bruynzeel. He died on 17 December 2018 in Staten Island, New York City, New York, USA.- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Georgi Natanson was born on 23 May 1921 in Kazan, Tatarskaya ASSR, RSFSR. He was a director and writer, known for Ivan's Childhood (1962), Valentin i Valentina (1986) and Oni byli aktyorami (1981). He died on 17 December 2017 in Moscow, Russia.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Gérard Blain was born on 23 October 1930 in Paris, France. He was an actor and writer, known for Hatari! (1962), Les amis (1971) and Un enfant dans la foule (1976). He was married to Marie-Hélène Bauret, Monique Blain, Bernadette Lafont and Estella Blain. He died on 17 December 2000 in Paris, France.- Sound Department
- Additional Crew
- Director
Gordon Hunt was born on 26 April 1929 in Sherman Oaks, California, USA. He was a director, known for Mad About You (1992), Dilbert (1999) and Hawaiian Eye (1959). He was married to B.J. Ward and Jane Elizabeth Novis. He died on 17 December 2016 in Sherman Oaks, California, USA.- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Actor
One of my favorite jazz musicians, Grover Washington Jr. was one of the first to embrace the jazz-funk style. Born in Buffalo, New York, he was given his first saxophone lesson by his father. In the early 1960s he moved to Philadelphia. His most successful album was "Winelight". Released in June 1980, it featured lead vocals by Bill Withers on the hit song "Just the Two of Us". The single reached #2 on the US music charts. Washington's most memorable performances included playing in a jazz and blues jam with President Bill Clinton and such jazz greats as Herbie Hancock and Wynton Marsalis in 1993 and at Clinton's 50th birthday celebration at Radio City Music Hall in 1996. Washington described his music as "short stories without words." On December 17, 1999, Grover Washington Jr. collapsed NYC while taping an episode of CBS' Saturday Early Show (1997), and died a short time later. He was 56 years old.- Hayden Fry was born on 28 February 1929 in Eastland, Texas, USA. He was married to Shirley Griffin and Hueleita. He died on 17 December 2019 in Texas, USA.
- Héctor Malamud was born on 9 August 1943 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was an actor, known for Highlander II: The Quickening (1991), Rebelde Way (2002) and Historias Breves 2 (1997). He died on 17 December 2008 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Henry Heimlich was born on 3 February 1920 in Wilmington, Delaware, USA. He is known for H.E.L.P! - Dr. Henry's Emergency Lessons for People (1979), The John Davidson Show (1980) and The Heimlich Maneuver: How to Save a Choking Victim: 2nd Edition (1983). He was married to Jane Murray. He died on 17 December 2016 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
- Actor
- Stunts
- Producer
Jack Perrin was born in Three Rivers, MI, on July 25, 1896. His father, a real estate investor, had an eye on the burgeoning prospects in Los Angeles and moved his family there when Perrin was about four. Jack literally grew up witnessing the birth of the film industry, which exploded there in 1913, after Universal and Famous Players (later known as Paramount) moved out in an attempt to escape Thomas Edison's patent war. Perrin entered films in 1915, reportedly with Mack Sennett (these details are in dispute), before enlisting in the Navy in World War I. Discharged in 1919, he returned to Hollywood and landed a contract with Universal, which lasted until 1921. He was cut loose from what was then the largest studio in the world and made the rapid descent into the world of low-budget westerns by outfits like Rayart (later to become Monogram), Aywon and Arrow Pictures. During this period he would work for companies at the very bottom of the Hollywood food chain, headed by ultra-low-budget specialists like Harry S. Webb and the legendary cheapskate Robert J. Horner.
By the latter part of the 1920s Perrin's fortunes rose to the point where he returned to Universal for a series of Canadian Mountie adventure pictures (on a personal level, he met and married Universal star Josephine Hill in 1920 and the marriage would last until 1937). Although he seemed to possess all the assets necessary for cowboy stardom, fate would not be particularly kind to Jack Perrin. At the beginning of the "talkie" period he left Universal and went back to working for the likes of Webb and Horner again. Things got so bad that in the mid-'30s he wound up having to sue Horner in order to get paid for appearing in several of Horner's films (he won). The quality of these productions was, to be charitable, dismal and Jack's popularity correspondingly suffered. He bowed out as a leading man under an ostensible partnership with veteran low-budget producer William Berke in 1936.- Pretty, demure-looking Janet Margolin was born in New York City in 1943 and educated at the New York High School of Performing Arts. The long-haired brunette was discovered for films by director Frank Perry as she was making great strides as a teen on Broadway. He saw her in the play "Daughter of Silence," for which she earned a Tony nomination, and took her immediately to Hollywood, casting her as the schizophrenic lass in David and Lisa (1962) opposite Keir Dullea. She bowled over the critics. The movie, which was praised for its handling of delicate, mature subject matter, should have paved the way to stardom for Janet but strangely didn't. She churned out uneventful second leads in such notable fare as Bus Riley's Back in Town (1965), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), and Nevada Smith (1966). Though she had better luck with her ingenue roles in Enter Laughing (1967) and Woody Allen's Take the Money and Run (1969), the offers starting drying up by decade's end and she turned to TV work. Woody used her again, albeit briefly, in Annie Hall (1977). After a brief first marriage, Janet met and married actor Ted Wass of TV's Soap (1977) and Blossom (1990) fame. Janet was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and died at age 50.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
One of the world's most underrated Academy Award-winning actresses, Jennifer Jones was born Phylis Lee Isley on 2 March 1919 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Flora Mae (Suber) and Phillip Ross Isley, who ran a travelling stage show. As a young aspiring actress, she met and fell for young, handsome, aspiring actor Robert Walker. They soon married, and moved to Chicago in order to fulfill their dreams of becoming film stars. Though their plans (initially) fell through, Phyllis began working as a model; sporting mainly hats, gloves and jewelry, and also occasionally found some work on local radio stations, where she provided the voice for various characters in radio programmes, along with her husband.
In a last-ditch attempt to pursue her dream, Phyllis traveled to Selznick studios for a reading which would ultimately change her life. It was that day where she met David O. Selznick, and after that, her career began to take shape. Initially, Phyllis thought the audition went terribly and stormed out of the studios in tears, only to be chased by Selznick, who assured her she had been fine. Although she didn't get that particular part (which was for the iconic character, Scarlett O'Hara, which would ultimately go to Vivien Leigh, in one of the most famous castings in Hollywood's history), Phyllis was given a contract with Selznick studios. In short order, Phyllis was 'renamed' to the alliterative Jennifer Jones, and was cast over thousands of other hopefuls in the role of Bernadette Soubirous in The Song of Bernadette (1943).
For her moving portrayal of the sickly teenager who sees a vision of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes and devotes her life to her by becoming a nun, Jones won the Academy Award for best actress in a leading role on 2 March 1944 (coincidentally her 25th birthday) beating out stiff competition such as Ingrid Bergman (who later became a close friend of hers), Greer Garson, Joan Fontaine and Jean Arthur.
Now, considered a 'true' star, Jones' career was marked out and moulded for her by Selznick, who would become the love of her life. They began an affair and eventually she left her husband and two sons for the producer, which ultimately led Walker to an untimely death, attributed to alcohol and drug abuse instigated due to their separation. As for her career, Jones took on the supporting role of Jane Hilton, a headstrong teenage girl who grows up fast when her fiance is killed in action during WWII, in Since You Went Away (1944). For her performance Jones received a best supporting actress Oscar nomination, but lost out to Ethel Barrymore for None But the Lonely Heart (1944). Jennifer continued to deliver strong performances, receiving further best actress Oscar nominations for Love Letters (1945) (she lost to Joan Crawford for Mildred Pierce (1945)) and Duel in the Sun (1946), (she lost to Olivia de Havilland for To Each His Own (1946)) which saw her cast against type as the seductive biracial beauty Pearl Chavez.
Jones continued to produce memorable performances throughout the 1940s , including Portrait of Jennie (1948). In the 1950s she received her fifth and final Oscar nomination for Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955), losing out to Anna Magnani for The Rose Tattoo (1955).
Despite her success within the film industry, Jones was a very private person and managed to stay out of the spotlight that dominated so many other performers' lives. But a lack of publicity led to a lack of roles, a trend that amplified when Selznick died in 1965. She appeared in fewer and fewer films, and after a moderately successful supporting performance in The Towering Inferno (1974) Jones decided to make that role her swan song, bowing out of the film industry. She did, however, try to revive her film career in later years by campaigning for the role of Aurora Greenway in Terms of Endearment (1983), but Shirley MacLaine was cast instead and as a result, won the Oscar for best actress.
Jennifer Jones died 17 December, 2009, in Malibu, California. In the 21st century, Jones may not be as well known as other actresses of her time such as Ingrid Bergman, Katharine Hepburn, Greer Garson, Bette Davis etc. But for those who know of her and her extraordinary talent, she is alluring to watch and her acting abilities extended far greater than most of her contemporaries.- Johnny Fox was born on 13 November 1953 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was married to Valeria. He died on 17 December 2017 in Damascus, Maryland, USA.
- Actor
- Stunts
Jon Bluming was born on 6 February 1933 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. He was an actor, known for Hollands glorie (1977), Turkish Delight (1973) and Modesty Blaise (1966). He died on 17 December 2018 in De Bilt, Utrecht, Netherlands.- Karin Balzer was born on 5 June 1938 in Magdeburg, Germany. She was married to Karl-Heinz Balzer. She died on 17 December 2019 in Chemnitz, Sachsen, Germany.
- Kevin Mahogany was born on 30 July 1958 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), Kansas City (1996) and Eastwood After Hours: Live at Carnegie Hall (1997). He was married to Allene Matthews Mahogany. He died on 17 December 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
Kim Jong-IL (born Yuri Irsenovich Kim was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim Il-sung, the first Supreme Leader, until his own death in 2011, when he was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-UN.- Writer
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Lawrence J. Cohen was born on 12 October 1935 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Empire (1984), Start the Revolution Without Me (1970) and The Big Bus (1976). He was married to Evelyn. He died on 17 December 2017 in the USA.- Lexie Bigham was born on 4 August 1968 in Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Dave (1993), Se7en (1995) and Drop Zone (1994). He died on 17 December 1995 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Vivacious brunette singer and actress Lina Romay was born in New York in January 1919, the daughter of Mexican L.A. consulate attaché Porfirio A. Romay, of European descent. In her teens, she was adept at swimming and diving. Moreover, she had an excellent voice and could sing equally well in English and in Spanish. Her show business career took off, when she joined the flamboyant bandleader Xavier Cugat as his leading female vocalist in 1940.
Cugat thought so highly of her, that he built a chorus of five men and four women to blend with her singing. He also wrote ballads specifically for her. Lina was featured with the orchestra in the classic musicals You Were Never Lovelier (1942) and Bathing Beauty (1944), respectively for Columbia and MGM. She also danced in the movie Stage Door Canteen (1943). Her most popular numbers included "Alma Llanera", "Babalu" (pre-Desi Arnaz) and "Guadalajara". In 1945, Lina appeared on the cover of "Yank", the weekly army publication. Inevitably, the studio scouts were soon out in force and she was signed as an MGM starlet that same year.
Until the end of her relatively short Hollywood career just eight years later, she was cast as second fiddle to the main female lead in films like Adventure (1945) (opposite Clark Gable and Honeymoon (1947), or -- more typically -- as night club singers (The Big Wheel (1949), The Lady Takes a Sailor (1949)). Embraceable You (1948), at least, gave her a few good wisecracking lines. Lina's voice was also brought to nationwide audiences via USO broadcasts and regularly spotted on the popular radio shows of Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Jack Benny.
She retired from public life in 1953, but resurfaced in the late 1970s to work as Spanish-language radio announcer for Hollywood Park horse races. Her last performance on stage was for a benefit show in Los Angeles in March 1973, under her married name -- Elena Romay Gould.- Marguerite Yourcenar was born on 8 June 1903 in Brussels, Belgium. She was a writer, known for Coup de Grâce (1976), Memoirs of Hadrian and L'oeuvre au noir (1988). She died on 17 December 1987 in Mount Desert Island, Maine, USA.
- María del Río was born on 14 July 1917 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was an actress, known for La mano que aprieta (1953), Vivir un instante (1951) and La comedia inmortal (1951). She died on 17 December 1978 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Make-Up Department
Oribe was born in 1956 in Cuba. In 1976, he moved to New York City where he was hired as an assistant to famed hair stylist, Garren. Shortly after his apprenticeship, Oribe was hired by Vogue, Elle, and Glamour, to produce hairstyles for their editorials.
Canales was known as one of the industry's great hairdressers. He worked with celebrities including Jennifer Lopez and models including Naomi Campbell. He was a mainstay at fashion week, where he designed runway-ready locks for big names like Chanel, before going on to launch his product line.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Paul Greco was born on 21 October 1955 in Newark, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor, known for The Warriors (1979), The Cable Guy (1996) and Broadway Danny Rose (1984). He died on 17 December 2008 in Red Hook, New York, USA.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Film theorist and historian, director, and writer. Distinguished Professor of Film and Television, UCLA. Co-author, with Mark Peploe, of The Passenger (1975), directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. Curator of numerous art exhibitions, including Frida Kahlo and Tina Modotti (1982). Author of Signs and Meaning in the Cinema (1969, 1972, 1998), Readings and Writings (1981), and Raiding the Icebox: Reflections on Twentieth Century Culture (1993), and the British Film Institute monograph on Singin' in the Rain (1993).- Raven Wilkinson was born on 2 February 1935 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Live from Lincoln Center (1976), Ballets Russes (2005) and A Ballerina's Tale (2015). She died on 17 December 2018 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.
- Actor
- Music Department
- Writer
Rex Allen started out as a singer in vaudeville, and sang on numerous radio shows before hooking up with a traveling rodeo show. He signed with Republic Pictures and became a popular singing cowboy, and was often paired with sidekick Slim Pickens. He starred in his own western TV series, Frontier Doctor (1956) and in the 1960s was the narrator on many nature documentaries for Walt Disney.- Actor
- Director
- Music Department
Shreeram Lagoo, a luminary in the world of Indian theater and cinema, left an indelible mark through his multifaceted career. Born in Satara, Maharashtra, India, Lagoo's journey was one of artistic exploration, intellectual depth, and unwavering commitment. Shreeram Lagoo's early years were steeped in academic pursuits. He earned his medical degree (MBBS) from the prestigious B. J. Medical College in Pune. His passion for the arts, however, soon led him to the stage, where he would find his true calling. Lagoo's tryst with Marathi theater began in the 1950s. His performances were marked by an intense emotional range, impeccable timing, and a deep understanding of human psychology. Whether portraying iconic characters like Iago in Othello, Sartre in Kamala, or the enigmatic Ghashiram Kotwal, Lagoo's presence on stage was electrifying. His association with the Maharashtra Cultural Center (popularly known as Sahitya Sangh) in Pune further solidified his status as a theater legend. Lagoo's directorial ventures, including plays like Natsamrat, Gidhade, and Ghar Tighancha Hava, resonated with audiences across generations. Lagoo seamlessly transitioned from theater to cinema. His nuanced performances in films like Pinjra, Sinhasan, and Gharonda showcased his versatility. Whether playing a compassionate doctor, a conflicted patriarch, or a revolutionary, Lagoo's authenticity shone through. Beyond the spotlight, Shreeram Lagoo was a man of strong convictions. His Marxist leanings and commitment to social justice were evident in his public life. He fearlessly voiced his opinions on political and social issues, earning both admiration and controversy. Shreeram Lagoo's legacy extends far beyond the footlights. His impact on Indian culture, theater, and cinema remains immeasurable. His passing on December 17, 2019, left a void, but his body of work continues to inspire artists, intellectuals, and dreamers alike. In the annals of creativity, Shreeram Lagoo's name stands tall-a beacon for those who seek truth, beauty, and the transformative power of art .- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Thomas Mitchell was one of the great American character actors, whose credits read like a list of the greatest American films of the 20th century: Lost Horizon (1937); Stagecoach (1939); The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939); Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939); Gone with the Wind (1939); It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and High Noon (1952). His portrayals are so diverse and convincing that most people don't even realize that one actor could have played them all. He won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1940 for his role as the drunken Doc Boone in John Ford's Stagecoach (1939).- Virginia Da Brescia is known for Anna (2015), E se mi comprassi una sedia? (2017) and The Big Score (2016).