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1-6 of 6
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Tony Giorgio was born in Herkimer, NY on September 27, 1923. He grew up in Schenectady, NY during The Great Depression and began his career in show business as a professional "amateur", performing magic in talent shows for pay. At the age of twelve, he ran away from home to join a circus and performed magic in the side show. His first appearance in films was as a card dealer in "Big Hand for the Little Lady." He subsequently appeared in over 100 movies and TV shows; won an Emmy for "Ziggy's Gift" and appeared on stage as Big Julie in "Guys and Dolls" starring Milton Berle. His most iconic film appearances were as Bruno Tattaglia in "The Godfather", Frank Palancio in "Magnum Force", and Don Scagnelli in "American Me".- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Rod Blackhurst is best known as the Emmy and Critics Choice nominated director and producer of the Netflix Original Documentary Amanda Knox and the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award Winning Narrative Film Here Alone.
In the fall of 2022 he directed and produced the action thriller Blood For Dust starring Scoot McNairy, Kit Harington, Josh Lucas, Ethan Suplee and Stephen Dorff. Blood For Dust was produced by Witchcraft Motion Picture Company, the film and television studio Blackhurst runs with partner Noah Lang.
In January of 2023 Atomic Monster and Blumhouse announced the feature film adaptation of Blackhurst's 2014 Vimeo Staff Pick Night Swim, with production slated for March 2023. The feature stars Wyatt Russell and 2023 Oscar Nominee Kerry Condon.
As a genre agnostic filmmaker Blackhurst most recently directed and showran the documentary series John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise for Peacock and directed on NatGeo's Welcome To Earth starring Will Smith.
Blackhurst's work as a commercial director for Airbnb, Delta, SeaDoo, Dodge Ram, Tylenol, Uber Freight has been shortlisted for Cannes Lions and won AdWeek Arc and Webby Awards.- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Writer
Born in Herkimer, New York, Chick Vennera's career in entertainment had an early start. Beginning dance lessons at the age of three, piano at seven, clarinet and saxophone shortly thereafter, Chick found his passion at a very young age. He continued his musical education throughout high school, singing and playing in nightclubs as well as school dances.
Upon graduation, he left New York bound for California to study acting at the esteemed Pasadena Playhouse. Two years later, Chick entered the Army where upon completing basic training he was assigned to the signal corps. It was while in the signal corps that Chick won the Third Army Entertainment Contest and was reassigned to Special Services and later the Third Army Soldier Show. He spent the balance of his military commitment singing, dancing and playing music for the troops.
After completing his military commitment Chick returned to the West Coast where he continued to work as a musician playing in various nightclubs in the Los Angeles area. It was during this time that he auditioned for the Academy Award winning choreographer Onna White who was choreographing 'Disney On Parade'. He spent the next two years touring the United States, Canada and Mexico performing as a dancer, acrobat and clown portraying many Disney characters. After the Disney tour, he worked with director/choreographer Joe Layton dancing and working as a back-up performer for Raquel Welch and the Sid and Marty Croft Review, in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe.
During this time Chick went to New York to audition for a new show called 'Grease'. Chick won the role of "Sonny" and performed first in the "Bus and Truck" Tour, and then later in the second National Tour. When 'Grease' broke the record of longest running musical, Chick performed the role of "Sonny" on Broadway. After leaving the tour, Chick again returned to Los Angeles where he began studying at the Beverly Hills Playhouse with acclaimed director and teacher Milton Katselas. For the next two years, Chick acted various roles in film and television until he returned to New York to do the play "Jockeys" directed by Katselas.
Chick was awarded the Theater World Award for his role as "Angel" in 'Jockeys'. Back in L.A., after 'Jockeys', he starred in 'Thank God It's Friday', where, as "Marv the Leather Man", he performed the now famous dance on seven cars in the parking lot of a Hollywood discotheque. Casting director Marion Dougherty, who had seen his performance in 'Jockeys', asked him to audition for the role of "Danny" in the WWII love story film, 'Yanks', directed by John Schlesinger. This began Chick's work as an actor in more than 50 films, including 'The Milagro Beanfield War', directed by Robert Redford.
Chick's voice can be heard portraying characters in many animated television series, including Steven Spielberg's Emmy Award winning 'Animaniacs', in which Chick created the voices for "Pesto" and "The God Pigeon". In addition to acting, music, dance and voice-overs, he wrote and directed for television, stage and film. He worked as a singer and songwriter for radio, television and film.
Chick expanded his resume to include teaching. Under the guidance of acclaimed director and teacher, Milton Katselas, he taught for over a decade at the esteemed Beverly Hills Playhouse before starting the Renegade Theatre Group in June 2009. In addition to the Theater World Award, he won the Golden Eagle Award and was part of the ensemble cast awarded the Daytime Emmy for "Animaniacs". Chick Vennera was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.- Victor Arnold was born on 1 July 1932 in Herkimer, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for And Justice for All (1979), The Seven-Ups (1973) and Trees Lounge (1996). He was married to Jessie L Phillips. He died on 13 April 2012 in Buffalo, New York, USA.
- Hollis Alpert was a major movie critic who rose to prominence in the 1960s, best remembered today for his role in creating the National Society of Film Critics. He was born on September 24, 1916 in Herkimer, New York and served as a combat historian with the U.S. Army during the Second World War. Some of his accounts of warfare were published by magazines, which gave him entrée into New York-based mass media after he was demobilized.
In the period 1950-56, Alpert worked as an editor for the "New York Times" while freelancing as a book and movie reviewer. He was hired as a movie critic by the "Saturday Review", where he rose to prominence. In 1966, Alpert, Pauline Kael and other critics who worked for magazines founded the the National Society of Film Critics because the New York Film Critics Circle was dominated by movie reviewers toiling for the big New York daily newspapers. Alpert, Kael and others found the established critics be stodgy and old-fashioned, so they created their own organization to herald what they considered the new, vital works that were revolutionizing cinema.
After leaving the "Saturday Review" in 1975, Alpert worked for the "American Film Magazine" until 1981. On November 18, 2007, he died in Naples Florida at the age of 91. - Actor
Lou Ambers was born on 8 November 1913 in Herkimer, New York, USA. He was an actor. He died on 24 April 1995 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.