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1-12 of 12
- Elaine Edwards was born on 4 February 1928 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. She was an actress, known for The Bat (1959), Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1963) and Old Oklahoma Plains (1952). She was married to Ed Kemmer and Wilbur Louis Paul. She died on 26 April 2004.
- American writer. He was born and brought up in New York City, the son of Hubert and Adalin Selby. His father was a merchant seaman and former coal-miner from Kentucky who had settled in the Red Hook district of Brooklyn. Hubert Sr. returned to the merchant marine after the outbreak of World War Two, where in 1944 Hubert Jr. followed him. He had attended various New York state schools, including Peter Stuyvesant High, before dropping out aged 15. In his third year at sea, Selby contracted tuberculosis. Told he had only months to live, he was taken off his ship, docked in Bremen, Germany, and transported back to America. At the Marine Hospital, New York, he was treated with an experimental drug, streptomycin, and underwent surgery, having 10 ribs removed in order for surgeons to operate on his lungs (one of which had collapsed). The streptomycin treatment saved him but left him with acute pulmonary problems which persisted for the rest of his life. When he left hospital after three years he was dependent on morphine; however, the spell in hospital had also given him his first opportunity to read seriously and he had determined to be a writer. He married for the first time in 1949 but with no qualifications, no work experience outside the forces and severe ill-health his job prospects were poor and so he stayed at home to bring up his daughter while his wife worked in a department store. During this period he made the acquaintance of several writers, including Gilbert Sorrentino and Amiri Baraka, who encouraged his literary efforts. During the 1950s he had a succession of jobs - secretary, insurance analyst, freelance copywriter, gas station attendant - whilst working on a collection of short stories called "The Queen in Dead" based on the people he had met in bars near the army base in Brooklyn. Several of these stories appeared in small literary journals, including "Black Mountain Review", "New Directions" and "The Provincetown Review". The decision of the latter in 1961 to print his story "Tralala" (about the gang-rape and murder of a prostitute) involved it in an obscenity trial: the editor was arrested for selling pornographic literature to a minor. The case was later dismissed on appeal. When the collection of loosely linked stories had taken shape as "Last Exit to Brooklyn", Amiri Baraka suggested that Selby contact Sterling Lord, Jack Kerouac's agent. The books was published by Grove Press (who had also published works by William S. Burroughs) in 1964. Although critical opinion was sharply divided, the book drew praise from Allen Ginsberg as a work that would "still be eagerly read in a hundred years". When the rights for the British edition were bought by Marion Boyars and John Calder, the manuscript was submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions. His reply was unhelpful, and the book was published to favourable reviews and sales of nearly 14,000 copies. Then the director of Blackwell's bookshop in Oxford complained and although the DPP still declined to act a private prosecution was initiated in July 1966 by Sir Cyril Black, Conservative MP for Wimbledon, before Marlborough Street Magistrates' Court. After a guilty verdict was returned, the public prosecutor brought an action under Section 2 of the Obscene Publications Act. At the trial, in London's Old Bailey court, witnesses for the prosecution included the publisher Sir Basil Blackwell, and witnesses for the defence the scholars 'Al Alvarez' (II) and Professor Frank Kermode (who compared the book to Dickens). The jury was entirely male, Judge Graham Rigers having directed that women "might be embarrassed at having to read a book which dealt with homosexuality, prostitution, drug-taking and sexual perversion". The trial lasted 9 days and, although a guilty verdict was returned, in August 1968 an appeal led by the lawyer and writer John Mortimer was finally successful, the whole case representing a turning-point in British censorship laws. By this point the book had sold 33,000 hardback copies and 500,000 paperbacks in the US alone. Meanwhile, Selby's struggles with dependency continued, and in 1967 he spent two months in jail for possession of heroin. Shortly after this he managed to beat his addiction by cold turkey. In 1969, his frail health no longer able to withstand the severity of New York winters, he moved south to West Hollywood, where he lived until his death. The subject-matter of his books remained uncompromising: his second novel, "The Room" (1971), dealt with the sadistic sexual fantasies of an unjustly imprisoned man, plotting revenge on the two policemen who arrested him. "The Demon" (1976) was about a man obsessed by brutal, loveless sex, and "Requiem for a Dream" (1978) about drug addiction. The latter was written in 6 weeks after a near-fatal bout of pneumonia. As Selby got older, the pace of his writing slowed: when in 1986 the collection of short stories, "Song of the Silent Snow", was published, some dated back 20 years. He wrote two subsequent novels, "The Willow Tree" (1998) and "The Waiting Period" (2001) as well as collaborating on a screen adaptation of "Requiem for a Dream". At the time of his death he was teaching creative writing part-time at the University of Southern California.
- Tony Scott was born on 30 March 1922 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Hitter (1978), The Surrogate (1984) and Adventures in Paradise (1959). He died on 26 April 2004 in the UK.
- Larry Silva was an actor, known for Sa kamay ng mga kilabot (1965), Di bale na lang (1987) and The Secret of the Incas' Empire (1987). He died on 26 April 2004.
- Estee Lauder was the daughter of immigrants, and lived above her father's hardware store in working-class Queens. Her family called her 'Esty', and when a public school official spelled it Estee, it stuck. In 1930, she married a garment center businessman named Joseph Lauter (later changed to Lauder), and had a son, Leonard. During the 1930s, she began selling face creams that her uncle, a chemist, mixed in a makeshift laboratory behind the family house. Estee went to beauty salons to give free demonstrations to women under hair dryers.
In 1939, she divorced Joseph and moved to Florida. She and Joseph remarried in 1942, had a second son, Ronald, and went into business together. Her persistence paid off in 1948, when she persuaded a buyer at Saks to place an order. She and her husband filled the order themselves, cooking up the creams in their factory and bottling them in attractive jars. In two days, Saks sold out.
Estee Lauder became a household name in 1953, when she introduced a fragrance, Youth Dew, a bath oil that doubled as a perfume. She gave her friends and acquaintances samples of her products for their handbags; she wanted her brand in the hands of people who were known for having the best. She even courted Princess Grace of Monaco, who became a friend after Lauder persistently sent her beauty products. She enjoyed entertaining in her Upper East Side townhouse, her oceanfront home in Palm Beach, her London flat, and her villa in the south of France. She often invited "beautiful people", the rich and famous, to dine with her.
After being vague about her background for years, Lauder published her autobiography, 'Estee: A Success Story', in 1985. Lauder and her husband were active in philanthropic work, though her public life dwindled after she broke her hip in 1994. In 1995, the company went public. In 1998, Estee was the only woman on Time magazine's listing of the 20 most influential business geniuses of the century.
Estee died in April 2004. She was aged at least 95, though no one could confirm her actual date of birth. Even her family believed that she may have been two years older. At the time of her death, Forbes magazine estimated the net worth of her family at $5.1 billion total, ranked among the top 300 richest people in the world. - Actress
- Soundtrack
La Paquera de Jerez was born on 20 May 1934 in Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz, Andalucía, Spain. She was an actress, known for Vengo (2000), Los duendes de Andalucía (1966) and La copla andaluza (1959). She died on 26 April 2004 in Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz, Andalucía, Spain.- Denis Hills was born on 8 November 1913 in Birmingham, England, UK. He was married to Dunia Lesmianowna and Ingrid Jan. He died on 26 April 2004 in Richmond, England, UK.
- Lia Laats was born on 17 February 1926 in Tallinn, Estonia. She was an actress, known for Elu tsitadellis (1947), Veealused karid (1959) and Siin me oleme! (1979). She was married to Harry Karro and Kalju Vaha. She died on 26 April 2004 in Tallinn, Estonia.
- Director
- Writer
Jirí Nesvadba was born on 15 October 1921 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]. Jirí was a director and writer, known for Vrazda v ulici de Lourcine (1966), Netopýr (1961) and Napravení Jima Valentina (1964). Jirí died on 26 April 2004 in Prague, Czech Republic.- With the filming of The Gentle Old Man (1972), Mark found his calling as the team's most promising actor. He starred as Arthur Grimsdyke named for, inspired by, but otherwise unrelated to the tragic character portrayed by Peter Cushing in Tales from the Crypt (1972). Mark reprised the Grimsdyke role in brother Alan's magnum opus The Gentle Old Madman (1974). Alan's co-scriptor on this venture was Tom Abrams, whose short film Shoeshine (1987) was nominated for an The 59th Annual Academy Awards (1987). Mark did not pursue acting, but made a successful career as a talent agent. A week after complaining of mild chest pains, Mark died suddenly, felled by a heart attack at the age of 47.
- Rangel Gerovski was born on 15 January 1959 in Karlovo, Bulgaria. He was an actor, known for Dan Kolov - tzaryat na kecha (1999), Barcelona 1992: Games of the XXV Olympiad (1992) and Seoul 1988: Games of the XXIV Olympiad (1988). He died on 26 April 2004 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
- Leonid Pleshakov was born on 5 February 1932. He was an actor, known for Siberiade (1979), A Nest of Gentry (1969) and Vassa (1983). He died on 26 April 2004.