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1-21 of 21
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Once an overweight comic from Canada, Rick Ducommun slimmed down in the late 1980s and went on to tackle solid co-starring roles in feature films and TV, as well as headline several HBO and other pay-cable specials.
Ducommun grew up on a farm, the son of an entrepreneur father with whom he did not get along. Running away from home at age 14, he hitchhiked around the northern U.S., often living in communes, until returning to Canada at age 17, this time to Vancouver.
On a dare, Ducommun tried to do stand-up comedy at a Vancouver club. He was not only asked back, but bitten by the show business bug. He began playing clubs in Canada, hosted his own children's show, "ZigZag," and was put on TV by Alan Thicke, who was then hosting a talk show out of Vancouver.
When Thicke made his deal to do Thicke of the Night (1983), a late-night talk show from L.A., he brought Ducommun down to be announcer and a performer. When the show flopped, Ducommun began performing at L.A. clubs and acting in sitcoms. He was one of the zany cops on The Last Precinct (1986) -- a short-lived NBC show, and Mahler on Max Headroom (1987). Ducommun also played small parts in films, beginning with No Small Affair (1984) but found himself limited by a frame carrying 426 lb. He slimmed down more than 200 lb., and won the role of Art Weingartner, the dumb lug nosy neighbor to Tom Hanks in The 'Burbs (1989).
Despite good reaction to his work, the film was not a success, and Ducommun found himself mixing live performances in with his occasional film work, including an appearance in Blank Check (1994).
HBO did a special with Ducommun in 1989 called Rick Ducommun: Piece of Mind (1989), which was well received, as was the follow-up, "Hit and Run" in 1992. Ducommun frequently hosted pay and cable programs featuring stand-up comedy and was an regular performer on the Comedy Channel, later renamed, Comedy Central.- Actress
- Soundtrack
For almost two decades, Monica Lewis was the idealized, wholesomely sexy sound and image of apple-pie America, lending a curvaceous, dimpled smile and melodious voice of hope to thousands of U.S. troops through two of the 20th century's greatest wars. She starred on the very first "Ed Sullivan Show" telecast, had numerous hit records including "Put the Blame on Mame", "A Tree in the Meadow", "A Kiss to Build a Dream On", "Autumn Leaves" and "I Wish You Love", and provided the memorable singing voice for the popular cartoon character, "Miss Chiquita Banana".
Monica's course to classic song-styling was set as a child. She was born May Bloom in Chicago, Illinois, the youngest of three children of musical parents, Jessie H. (Lewis) and Abe Leon Bloom, both of Russian Jewish descent. Her father was a symphonic composer and pianist, and her mother sang with the Chicago Opera Company. After the Great Depression forced the Lewis clan to relocate from Chicago to New York City, there was no shortage of sibling rivalry: Monica's sister, Barbara Lewis, established herself as an accomplished concert pianist, while her brother, Marlo Lewis, co-created Ed Sullivan's landmark television show, The Ed Sullivan Show (1948).
Having studied voice with her mother since a mere toddler, Monica quit junior college at 17 to work as a radio vocalist. In the mid-1940s, she had her own program on WMCA. This and other early airwaves successes led to her debut at Manhattan's legendary Stork Club and subsequent discovery by the "King of Swing", Benny Goodman, who signed her to appear with his popular band. She quickly ascended as a radio vocalist and co-host on programs including "Beat the Band", "The Revere Camera Hour" and "The Chesterfield Show", sharing the microphone with Frank Sinatra. She became one of the country's highest-flying songbirds, working with record labels such as Signature, Decca, Jubilee, Capitol and Verve to create numerous timeless hits and classic albums.
Her TV appearances included Ed Sullivan's very first broadcast in 1948 and every major variety show opposite legends, including Bob Hope, Danny Thomas and the comedy duo of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, with whom she first appeared at New York's Copacabana.
Records and television led to movies and, in 1950, MGM signed Monica to an exclusive multimedia contract. She was groomed in true MGM style - given singing and romantic roles in such films as The Strip (1951) with Mickey Rooney, Inside Straight (1951) with Barry Sullivan and Excuse My Dust (1951) with Red Skelton. She also sang the title song in the Marge Champion and Gower Champion musical, Everything I Have Is Yours (1952), in which she became the only woman other than Marge to ever dance on screen with Gower. Additional appearances followed in Affair with a Stranger (1953), starring Victor Mature and Jean Simmons, and The D.I. (1957) with Jack Webb.
Monica eagerly volunteered her talent for the war effort, becoming the darling of U.S. servicemen worldwide through the war bond drive, military radio broadcasts and a 1951 USO tour of South Korea with celebrated entertainer Danny Kaye. Back at home, she delighted the masses as a chart-topping jukebox chanteuse and Burlington Mills hosiery's "Miss Leg-O-Genic". Piel's Light Beer, Camel Cigarettes, Pepsi-Cola and General Electric were among the many other major companies which sold their products with Monica's visage and, for 14 years, she provided the tuneful voice of the animated "Miss Chiquita Banana" in a series of classic cartoon shorts which were shown in movie theaters.
When she married colorful and innovative MCA/Universal Studios production executive Jennings Lang in 1956, she not only became his partner but the mother of his young children: Michael Lang, now a jazz pianist, and Robert, an attorney. Monica and Jennings had a third child together, Rocky Lang, now a noted Hollywood writer, director and producer. She was a featured player in several of her husband's blockbuster Universal movies, including Charley Varrick (1973), Rollercoaster (1977), Airport '77 (1977), The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979), and the Top 100 box-office hit, Earthquake (1974). In the 1980s and 1990s, Monica made a few choice cabaret appearances and recorded several new albums, among them "My Favorite Things", "Monica Lewis Swings Jule Styne" and "Why Did I Choose You?", a tribute to her 40-year marriage to Lang. Monica wrote a photo-filled memoir, "Hollywood Through My Eyes", which is available from Cable Publishing.
Monica Lewis died on June 12, 2015, in Woodland Hills, California.- Liliane Sottane was born in 1934. She was an actress, known for The Camp on Blood Island (1958), The Headless Ghost (1959) and Up the Creek (1958). She was married to Jean Geneux. She died on 12 June 2015 in St George, Geneva, Switzerland.
- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Sümer Tilmaç was born on 15 July 1948 in Malatya, Turkey. He was an actor and director, known for Son (2002), Kurtulus (1994) and Japon Isi (1987). He was married to Hatice Melek. He died on 12 June 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey.- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Ernest Tomlinson was born on 19 September 1924 in Rawtenstall, Lancashire, England, UK. He is known for Skin (2018), Driveways (2019) and Behind the Attraction (2021). He was married to Jean Garnett Lancaster. He died on 12 June 2015 in Longridge, Lancashire, England, UK.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Ali Ipar was born in 1921 in Istanbul, Turkey. Ali was a writer and director, known for Istanbul (1952) and Women in the Night (1948). Ali was married to Virginia Bruce. Ali died on 12 June 2015 in Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.- Micol Fontana was born on 8 November 1913 in Traversetolo, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. She died on 12 June 2015 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.
- Actor
- Director
- Executive
Wyatt Neumann was born on 8 October 1972 in California, USA. He was an actor and director, known for American Rural West (1999), American Wake and Flytrap (1996). He was married to Jena Cordova Neumann. He died on 12 June 2015 in Lewes, Delaware, USA.- Stephanie Karen Carol Allouche was born on 17 January 1974 in Paris, France. She died on 12 June 2015 in Oslo, Norway.
- Frank Zachary was born on 13 February 1914 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He was married to Catherine Mehler. He died on 12 June 2015 in East Hampton, Long Island, New York, USA.
- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Paula Delsol was born on 6 October 1923 in Montagnac, Hérault, France. She was a director and writer, known for La dérive (1964), Ben et Bénédict (1977) and L'Hérault, département méconnu (1961). She was married to Claude Nedjar and Jean Malige. She died on 12 June 2015 in Sèvres, Hauts-de-Seine, France.- Aleksandr Mezentsev was born on 28 August 1951 in Pevek, Chaunsky District, Chukotka National Okrug, Khabarovsk Krai, RSFSR, USSR [now Chaunsky District, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia]. He was an actor, known for Esenin (2005), Dubrovskiy (2014) and Isaev (2009). He died on 12 June 2015 in Moscow, Russia.
- Jacques Rosay was born on 28 May 1949 in Valréas, Vaucluse, France. He died on 12 June 2015 in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, France.
- Tuychi Aripov was born in 1924 in Tashkent, USSR. He was an actor, known for The Mischievous Boy (1978), Abdulladzhan, ili posvyashchaetsya Stivenu Spilbergu (1991) and Gorech padeniya (1987). He died on 12 June 2015 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
- Stephanie Foster was an actress, known for A Gentleman After Dark (1942), Waterfront (1954) and The Pod (2006). She died on 12 June 2015.
- Nek Chand was born on 15 December 1924 in Berian Kalan, Tehsil Shakargarh, British India [now Berian Kalan, Punjab, Pakistan]. He was married to Kamla. He died on 12 June 2015 in Chandigarh, India.
- Franz Wilhelm was born on 14 April 1945 in Bílina, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia. He was an actor, known for Coppelia (1968), Die Irrfahrten des Odysseus (1965) and La Gioconda (1986). He was married to Sabine Holubar and ???. He died on 12 June 2015 in Langental, Burgenland, Austria.
- Steve Harris died on 12 June 2015.
- Actor
- Composer
José Messias was born on 7 October 1928 in Bom Jardim, Minas Gerais, Brazil. He was an actor and composer, known for Bom Mesmo é Carnaval (1962), Essa Gatinha é Minha (1966) and Love and Dawn (2020). He was married to Silvia Regina Cunha. He died on 12 June 2015 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.- Antoni Pitxot was born on 5 January 1934 in Figueres, Girona, Catalonia, Spain. He was married to Leo. He died on 12 June 2015 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
- Composer
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Fernando Brant was born on 9 October 1946 in Caldas, Minas Gerais, Brazil. He was a composer and writer, known for Chico Rei (1985), Rio's Love Song (1994) and Her Own Destiny (2004). He was married to Leise. He died on 12 June 2015 in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.