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1-8 of 8
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Lewis Milestone, a clothing manufacturer's son, was born in Bessarabia (now Moldova), raised in Odessa (Ukraine) and educated in Belgium and Berlin (where he studied engineering). He was fluent in both German and Russian and an avid reader. Milestone had an affinity for the theatre from an early age, starting as a prop man and background artist before traveling to the US in 1914 with $6.00 in his pocket. After a succession of odd jobs (including as a dishwasher and a photographer's assistant) he joined the Army Signal Corps in 1917 to make educational short films for U.S. troops. Following World War I, having acquired American citizenship, he went on to Hollywood to meet the director William A. Seiter at Ince Studios. Seiter started him off as an assistant cutter. Milestone quickly worked his way up the ranks to become editor, assistant director and screenwriter on many of Seiter's projects in the early 1920s, experiences that would greatly influence his directing style in years to come.
Milestone directed his first film, Seven Sinners (1925), for Howard Hughes and two years later won his first of two Academy Awards for the comedy Two Arabian Knights (1927). He received his second Oscar for what most regard as his finest achievement, the anti-war movie All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), based on a novel by Erich Maria Remarque. The film, universally praised by reviewers for its eloquence and integrity, also won the Best Picture Academy Award that year. A noted Milestone innovation was the use of cameras mounted on wooden tracks, giving his films a more realistic and fluid, rather than static, look. Other trademarks associated with his pictures were taut editing, snappy dialogue and clever visual touches, good examples being the screwball comedy The Front Page (1931), the melodrama Rain (1932)--based on a play by W. Somerset Maugham--and an adaptation of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men (1939). When asked in 1979 about the secret behind his success, he simply declared "Arrogance, chutzpah--in the old Hollywood at least that's the thing that gave everybody pause" (New York Times, September 27, 1980). Milestone had a history of being "difficult", having clashed with Howard Hughes, Warner Brothers and a host of studio executives over various contractual and artistic issues. Nonetheless, he remained constantly employed and worked for most of the major studios at one time or another, though never on long-term contracts. While he was not required to testify before HUAC, Milestone was blacklisted for a year in 1949 because of left-wing affiliations dating back to the 1930's. His output became less consistent during the 1950s and his career finished on a low with the remake of Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) and its incongruously cast, equally headstrong star Marlon Brando.
Milestone must be credited with a quirky sense of humor: when the producer of "All Quiet on the Western Front", Carl Laemmle Jr., demanded a "happy ending" for the picture, Milestone telephoned, "I've got your happy ending. We'll let the Germans win the war".
Having suffered a stroke, Lewis Milestone spent the last ten years of his life confined to a wheelchair. He died September 25, 1980, at the University of California Medical Center in Los Angeles.- Music Department
- Actor
- Composer
John Bonham is still regularly voted in polls as the greatest and most influential rock drummer of all time, an opinion which has also been expressed by the likes of Roger Taylor of Queen, Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
He started playing drums at the age of five using a makeshift kit and later progressed to real drums. His influences included great American jazz drummers such as Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich. He played in a series of bands and formed an association with Robert Plant through Band of Joy, who combined blues, psychedelics and extended musical workouts. According to Plant: "Bonzo was totally and absolutely devoted to getting it right. Everything that he listened to he could go beyond, not only could he recreate it but he could take it somewhere new. He knew that he was a powerhouse among drummers... we seemed to have a great affinity for each other."
Although Bonham and Plant went their separate ways after Band of Joy, they reunited in The Yardbirds, which already featured Jimmy Page. John Paul Jones joined and this led to the formation of Led Zeppelin, who released their first album in 1969. They went on to become the biggest rock band of the 1970s, achieving extraordinary success in the United States in particular.
Bonham died aged 32 in 1980. He had a reputation as a heavy drinker and had consumed too much vodka in the 24 hours before his death, which caused vomiting and asphyxiation. The coroner returned a verdict of accidental death. Led Zeppelin announced they were finished as a band. According to Page, the band could not have continued without him, he was so integral to their sound. They didn't play again as Led Zeppelin until Live Aid (1985), which included Plant's solo drummer Phil Collins and The Power Station's Tony Thompson replacing him in a performance which has been disowned by the band. Bonham's son, Jason Bonham, has become a successful drummer himself and a member of Led Zeppelin for subsequent reunion performances.- Music Department
- Actor
- Composer
Extrovert saxophonist and bandleader, who started performing in theatre bands from the age of 15. Beginning in 1926, Stabile worked for a decade as a sideman with the orchestras of George Olsen and Ben Bernie, before forming his own dance band in New York, in April 1936. Introduced by his own composition, "Blue Nocturne", Stabile enjoyed a lengthy engagement at the Lincoln Hotel in New York, before going on an extended tour of ballrooms and hotels across the United States. At this time, he featured a predominant reed sextet and several good musicians, including composer/arranger Chauncey Gray, as well as vocalists Paula Kelly and Gracie Barrie. The latter wound up to become Mrs. Stabile and fronted the orchestra, when her husband was called up for military service in the Coast Guard in 1942.
After World War II, Stabile based himself on the West Coast and led his band for eight years at Ciro's Le Disc in West Hollywood. He also worked for nine years as arranger and musical director on The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950), featuring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, occasionally appearing in the duo's films at Paramount. Stabile remained active as a bandleader well into the 1970's, with engagements in Las Vegas, at the Cocoanut Grove and (leading the orchestra-in-residence) at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans. In addition to his theme song, Stabile composed several other popular tunes, such as "Cloudburst", "Raindrops on the River" and "That's How I Need You". During it's heyday, his band had lucrative recording contracts with Decca, Bluebird, Victor and Vocalion. At one time, Dick Stabile was also featured in "Ripley's Believe It or Not" for his ability to blow the highest note possible on the saxophone.- Annette Stone was born on 25 November 1906 in Switzerland. She was an actress, known for White Zombie (1932). She died on 25 September 1980 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Marie Under was born on 27 March 1883 in Reval, Russian Empire [now Tallinn, Estonia]. Marie was a writer, known for Surmamõrsjad (1990). Marie died on 25 September 1980 in Stockholm, Sweden.
- Wayne Dahmer was born on 28 January 1937 in Canada. He was an actor, known for The Fury (1978). He died on 25 September 1980 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- John Crofton was born on 1 May 1907. He was an actor, known for The Killers (1971), Cain's Cutthroats (1970) and Ripper Street (2012). He died on 25 September 1980 in Los Angeles County, California, USA.
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Mirto Picchi was born on 15 March 1915 in Signa, Tuscany, Italy. Mirto is known for Broken Journey (1948) and Days and Clouds (2007). Mirto died on 25 September 1980 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.