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A native of New Jersey and son of a mechanic, African-American John Amos has relied on his imposing build, eruptive nature and strong, forceful looks to obtain acting jobs, and a serious desire for better roles to earn a satisfying place in the annals of film and TV. He has found it a constant uphill battle to further himself in an industry that tends to diminish an actor's talents with severe and/or demeaning stereotypes and easy pigeonholing. A tough, often hot-headed guy with a somewhat tender side, John would succeed far better on stage than on film and TV...with one extremely noteworthy exceptions.

Born on December 27, 1939, John was first employed as an advertising copywriter, a social worker at New York's Vera Institute of Justice, and an American and Canadian semi-professional football player before receiving his calling as an actor. A stand-up comic on the Greenwich Village circuit, the work eventually took him West and, ultimately, led to his hiring as a staff writer on Leslie Uggams' musical variety show in 1969. Making his legit stage debut in a 1971 L.A. production of the comedy "Norman, Is That You?", John went on to earn a Los Angeles Drama Critics nomination for "Best Actor". As such, he formed his own theater company and produced "Norman, Is That You?" on tour.

The following year he returned to New York to take his first Broadway bow in "Tough To Get Help". By this time he had secured secondary work on the classic The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970) as Gordy the weatherman. His character remained on the periphery, however, and he left the show after three discouraging seasons. On the bright side, he won the recurring role of the sporadically-unemployed husband of maid Florida Evans (played by Esther Rolle) on Norman Lear's Maude (1972) starring Bea Arthur. The two characters were spun-off into their own popular series as the parental leads in Good Times (1974).

Good Times (1974), a family sitcom that took place in a Chicago ghetto high-rise, initially prided itself as being the first network series ever to be created by African-Americans. But subsequent episodes were taken over by others and John was increasingly disgruntled by the lack of quality of the scripts and the direction Lear was taking the show. Once focused on the importance of family values, it was shifting more and more toward the silly antics of Jimmie 'JJ' Walker, who was becoming a runaway hit on the show as the aimless, egotistical, jive-talking teenage son JJ. John began frequently clashing with the higher-ups and, by 1976, was released from the series, with his character being killed in an off-camera car accident while finding employment out of state.

Amos rebounded quickly when he won the Emmy-nominated role of the adult Kunte Kinte in the ground-breaking epic mini-series Roots (1977), one of the most powerful and reverential TV features ever to hit television. It was THE TV role of his career, but he found other quality roles for other black actors extremely difficult to come by. He tried his best to avoid the dim-headed lugs and crime-motivated characters that came his way. Along with a few parts (the mini-movie Willa (1979) and the films The Beastmaster (1982) and Coming to America (1988)), he had to endure the mediocre (guest spots on The Love Boat (1977), "The A-Team", "Murder, She Wrote" "One Life to Live"). John also toiled through a number of action-themed films that focused more on grit and testosterone than talent.

He found one answer to this acting dilemma on the proscenium stage. In 1985, the play "Split Second" earned him the NAACP Award as Best Actor. He also received fine reviews in a Berkshire Theater festival production of "The Boys Next Door", a tour of O'Neill's towering play "The Emperor Jones", and in a Detroit production of Athol Fugard's "Master Harold...and The Boys". In addition, John directed two well-received productions, "Miss Reardon Drinks a Little" and "Twelve Angry Men", in the Bahamas. He took on Shakespeare as Sir Toby Belch in "Twelfth Night" at Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare and earned strong notices in the late August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Fences" at the Capital Repertory Company in Albany, New York. Overseas he received plaudits for his appearance in a heralded production of "The Life and Death of a Buffalo Soldier" at the Bristol's Old Vic in England. Capping his theatrical career was the 1990 inaugural of his one-man show "Halley's Comet", an amusing and humanistic American journey into the life of an 87-year-old who recalls, among other things, World War II, the golden age of radio, the early civil rights movement, and the sighting of the Comet when he was 11. He wrote and has frequently directed the show, which continues to play into the 2007-2008 season.

In recent years, John has enjoyed recurring parts on "The West Wing" and "The District", and is more recently appearing in the offbeat series Men in Trees (2006) starring Anne Heche. John Amos has two children by his former wife Noel Amos and two children. Son K.C. Amos director, writer, producer, editor and daughter Shannon Amos a director, writer and producer. Amos has one grand child,a grand-daughter, Quiera Williams.

"If they move", commands stern-eyed William Holden, "kill 'em". So begins The Wild Bunch (1969), Sam Peckinpah's bloody, high-body-count eulogy to the mythologized Old West. "Pouring new wine into the bottle of the Western, Peckinpah explodes the bottle", observed critic Pauline Kael. That exploding bottle also christened the director with the nickname that would forever define his films and reputation: "Bloody Sam".

David Samuel Peckinpah was born and grew up in Fresno, California, when it was still a sleepy town. Young Sam was a loner. The child's greatest influence was grandfather Denver Church, a judge, congressman and one of the best shots in the Sierra Nevadas. Sam served in the US Marine Corps during World War II but - to his disappointment - did not see combat. Upon returning to the US he enrolled in Fresno State College, graduating in 1948 with a B.A. in Drama. He married Marie Selland in Las Vegas in 1947 and they moved to Los Angeles, where he enrolled in the graduate Theater Department of the University of Southern California the next year. He eventually took his Masters in 1952.

After drifting through several jobs -- including a stint as a floor-sweeper on The Liberace Show (1952) -- Sam got a job as Dialogue Director on Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954) for director Don Siegel. He worked for Siegel on several films, including Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), in which Sam played Charlie Buckholtz, the town meter reader. Peckinpah eventually became a scriptwriter for such TV programs as Gunsmoke (1955) and The Rifleman (1958) (which he created as an episode of Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre (1956) titled "The Sharpshooter' in 1958). In 1961, as his marriage to Selland was coming to an end, he directed his first feature film, a western titled The Deadly Companions (1961) starring \Brian Keith and Maureen O'Hara. However, it was with his second feature, Ride the High Country (1962), that Peckinpah really began to establish his reputation. Featuring Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott (in his final screen performance), its story about two aging gunfighters anticipated several of the themes Peckinpah would explore in future films, including the controversial "The Wild Bunch". Following "Ride the High Country" he was hired by producer Jerry Bresler to direct Major Dundee (1965), a cavalry-vs.-Indians western starring Charlton Heston. It turned out to be a film that brought to light Peckinpah's volatile reputation. During hot, on-location work in Mexico, his abrasive manner, exacerbated by booze and marijuana, provoked usually even-keeled Heston to threaten to run him through with a cavalry saber. However, when the studio later considered replacing Peckinpah, it was Heston who came to Sam's defense, going so far as to offer to return his salary to help offset any overages. Ironically, the studio accepted and Heston wound up doing the film for free.

Post-production conflicts led to Sam engaging in a bitter and ultimately losing battle with Bresler and Columbia Pictures over the final cut and, as a result, the disjointed effort fizzled at the box office. It was during this period that Peckinpah met and married his second wife, Mexican actress Begoña Palacios. However, the reputation he earned because of the conflicts on "Major Dundee" contributed to Peckinpah being replaced as director on his next film, the Steve McQueen film The Cincinnati Kid (1965), by Norman Jewison.

His second marriage now failing, Peckinpah did not get another feature project for two years. However, he did direct a powerful adaptation of Katherine Anne Porter's 'Noon Wine" for Noon Wine (1966)). This, in turn, helped relaunch his feature career. He was hired by Warner Bros. to direct the film for which he is, justifiably, best remembered. The success of "The Wild Bunch" rejuvenated his career and propelled him through highs and lows in the 1970s. Between 1970-1978 he directed The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970), Straw Dogs (1971), Junior Bonner (1972), The Getaway (1972), Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973), Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974), The Killer Elite (1975), Cross of Iron (1977) and Convoy (1978). Throughout this period controversy followed him. He provoked more rancor over his use of violence in "Straw Dogs", introduced Ali MacGraw to Steve McQueen in "The Getaway", fought with MGM's chief James T. Aubrey over his vision for "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid" that included the casting of Bob Dylan in an unscripted role as a character called "Alias." His last solid effort was the WW II anti-war epic "Cross of Iron", about a German unit fighting on the Russian front, with Maximilian Schell and James Coburn, bringing the picture in successfully despite severe financial problems.

Peckinpah lived life to its fullest. He drank hard and abused drugs, producers and collaborators. At the end of his life he was considering a number of projects including the Stephen King-scripted "The Shotgunners". He was returning from Mexico in December 1984 when he died from heart failure in a hospital in Inglewood, California, at age 59. At a standing-room-only gathering that held at the Directors Guild the following month, Coburn remembered the director as a man "who pushed me over the abyss and then jumped in after me. He took me on some great adventures". To which Robert Culp added that what is surprising is not that Sam only made fourteen pictures, but that given the way he went about it, he managed to make any at all.

Oscar-winner Edmond O'Brien was one of the most respected character actors in American cinema, from his heyday of the mid-1940s through the late 1960s. Born on September 10, 1915, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, O'Brien learned the craft of performance as a magician, reportedly tutored by neighbor Harry Houdini. He took part in student theatrics in high school and majored in drama at Fordham University, dropping out after six months. He made his Broadway debut at the age of 21 in 1936 and, later that year, played "The Gravedigger" in the great Shakespearean actor John Gielgud's legendary production of "Hamlet". Four years later, he would play 'Mercutio' to the 'Romeo' of another legendary Shakespearean, Laurence Olivier, in Olivier's 1940 Brodway production of "Romeo & Juliet".

O'Brien worked with another magician, Orson Welles, in the Mercury Theater's production of "Julius Caesar", appearing as 'Mark Antony'. He would later play 'Casca' in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's film of the play, Julius Caesar (1953).

Although it has been stated that he made his debut as an uncredited extra in the 1938 film, Prison Break (1938), the truth is that his stage work impressed RKO boss Pandro S. Berman, who brought him to Hollywood to appear in the plum supporting part of 'Gringoire' in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), which starred Charles Laughton in the title role. After returning from his wartime service with the Army Air Force, O'Brien built up a distinguished career as a supporting actor in A-list films, and as an occasional character lead, such as in D.O.A. (1949).

O'Brien won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Barefoot Contessa (1954) and also received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his role as a drunken senator who ferrets out an attempted coup d'etat in Seven Days in May (1964). He also appeared as crusty old-timer 'Freddy Sykes', who antagonizes Ben Johnson's character 'Tector Gorch' in director Sam Peckinpah's classic Western, The Wild Bunch (1969). Increasingly, O'Brien appeared on television in the 1960s and '70s, but managed a turn in his old boss Welles' unfinished film, The Other Side of the Wind (2018).

He married and divorced actresses Nancy Kelly and Olga San Juan, the latter being the mother of his three children, including actors Maria O'Brien and Brendan O'Brien. He died in May of 1985 in Inglewood, California, of Alzheimer's Disease and was interred in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Stafford Repp was born on 26 April 1918 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Batman: The Movie (1966), Batman (1966) and Playhouse 90 (1956). He was married to Theresa Valenti Moriarty, Sharon Diane Currier and Berta J. Slack. He died on 5 November 1974 in Inglewood, California, USA.

Tara Correa-McMullen was born on 24 May 1989 in Westminster, Vermont, USA. She was an actress, known for Rebound (2005), Judging Amy (1999) and Zoey 101 (2005). She died on 21 October 2005 in Inglewood, California, USA.

Theresa Harris appeared with more stars of the Golden Era of Hollywood than anyone else. She sang, she danced, she appeared in movies and TV. She graced the screen with her magnetic presence and most times stole scenes from the top stars of the day every chance she got and made a lot of dull films worthwhile. Although stereotyped by receiving only maid roles, Theresa stepped outside the stereotype any chance she got, to show she was glamorous, classy, beautiful, and a true actress. While she often played maids, she always showed dignity, grace, and demanded respect. Theresa didn't exactly fit the mammy/maid stereotype fore she was a petite beauty, a stark contrast from Louise Beavers and Hattie McDaniel, and Theresa was one of the very few black women to not fit that stereotype on screen.

There were quite a few movies in which Theresa got a chance to let her light shine and make you forget her maid costume and see her as a talented actress. In the pre-Code classic Baby Face (1933), she and Barbara Stanwyck had equal screentime, which was rare between black and white actors at that time. Playing Chico, Stanwyck's friend and co-worker, Harris gave a moving and memorable performance that contributed to the film becoming one of the essentials of the classic genre. Theresa was allowed to be sexy, glamorous, and her own person, not simply a servant who jumped at her employer's every beck and call, a rarity for a black actress in a maid part in the 1930s, and a true friendship was shared between Stanwyck and Harris' characters, another rarity. In Professional Sweetheart (1933), Harris played a spunky, sexy maid who teaches Ginger Rogers a thing or two about being "hot", and ends up replacing Rogers as a singer, singing a hot song on the radio that turns on the white male listeners, another shocker and rarity at the time for a black actress. But pre-Code movies usually pushed the envelope, which shows in both 'Baby Face' and 'Professional Sweetheart'. Though Theresa played maid roles most of her movie career, she had showed moments of excellence in many other films such as Hold Your Man (1933), Black Moon (1934), Gangsters on the Loose (1937), Jezebel (1938), The Toy Wife (1938), Tell No Tales (1939), Buck Benny Rides Again (1940), Love Thy Neighbor (1940), Blossoms in the Dust (1941), Cat People (1942), and I Walked with a Zombie (1943), among others.

Theresa was a versatile talent; besides acting, she could sing beautifully and dance divinely, when she had the chance in such movies as Thunderbolt (1929), 'Baby Face', 'Professional Sweetheart', Banjo on My Knee (1936), 'Buck Benny Rides Again', What's Buzzin', Cousin? (1943), and The French Line (1953). When Theresa got the chance to show her beauty and sex appeal, it was often with her screen boyfriend, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson; they were dynamic on screen together in 'Buck Benny Rides Again' and 'What's Buzzin', Cousin?'. In the former, they sing and dance tap, classical, Spanish, and swing in a musical number, "My, My".

Theresa Harris was perhaps the hardest-working woman in Hollywood, appearing in close to 90 films, working at every major studio with most of the big stars. She was respected by studio executives, producers, directors, and co-workers alike, who sometimes went out of their way to get her more lines and screentime. Harris married a doctor and retired from the movies in the late 1950s, living comfortably after having carefully invested the money she made during her career in the films. She was a patient woman who never gave up hope that there would come a time when she would be able to play more than just maid parts. Nevertheless, in every role, she displayed class, dignity, beauty, and true acting talent, not simply the old stereotypes associated with black actors at that time.

Danny Daniels was born on 1 November 1927 in Georgetown, British Guiana. He was an actor, known for Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994), Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995) and The Saint (1962). He was married to Berenice Grant. He died on 4 December 2010 in Inglewood, California, USA.

Cleo Moore was born Cleouna Moore on October 31, 1924 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the daughter of a building contractor. Both her parents were deeply involved in Democratic politics which, in Louisiana, was an all consuming passion with a lot of families in the 1920s. Cleo began her trek to stardom when she participated in school plays in high school. When she was about 20 years old, Cleo wed Palmer Long, son of the late Huey "Kingfish" Long in 1944. Palmer's father had been one of the movers and shakers in Louisiana politics for years, first serving as governor and then the United States Senate. He was assassinated in 1935 in the state capitol building. The marriage was doomed to fail, having lasted a mere six weeks. After Cleo finished high school, she moved with her family to California where her father was anticipating the end of World War II and the building boom that was expected to follow. Once in sunny California, it did not take long to get "discovered".

She was spotted by an RKO talent scout while attending a boxing fight at the Hollywood Legion Stadium and persuaded to take a screen test. She passed. Her first film was Congo Bill (1948). Then she went back to work at her family's building business and did some modeling. Two years later, in 1950, the shapely blonde appeared in a Western, Rio Grande Patrol (1950). She received fifth billing in the movie that went nowhere. That year proved very busy for Cleo as she appeared in five other films. In Bright Leaf (1950), a film about the tobacco industry, was a well-received one even though she had only a small part. Gambling House (1950) was somewhat of a personal breakthrough. Instead of having unknowns as her co-stars, Cleo had Victor Mature and William Bendix. Hard as it was to break into films, that one really grabbed the public's attention; she seemed destined to stay in B films.

She appeared in On Dangerous Ground (1951) with Ida Lupino and Robert Ryan, but had only a minor part. For an actress who had a wonderful talent, she seemed to be picked because of how her physical attributes played on the screen. That seemed secondary to the moguls of the studios. She was very beautiful, but Cleo wanted them to look past that and see the talent she possessed. In 1954 (now under contract to Universal-International), she appeared in two more box-office bombs, The Other Woman (1954) and Bait (1954). The following year, she made two more films, Hold Back Tomorrow (1955) and Women's Prison (1955). Although second class movies, they fared well at the box-office because of the subject matter and Cleo. Other than that, they did not have a lot going for them. In 1957, Cleo starred in her final film, along with her sister, Mara Lea, Hit and Run (1957). She had star billing, but it was another box-office bomb.

Cleo then left the motion picture industry forever. She married a real estate tycoon in 1961 and settled down to domesticity and the life of a Beverly Hills socialite. Her only child, a daughter, Debra, was born in 1963. Less than a week before her 49th birthday (October 25, 1973), Moore died of a heart attack in Inglewood, California. To her legions of fans, she remains their favorite sex symbol of the 1950s, and others languish knowing that her talent could have sent her to loftier heights instead of being wasted in minor roles in substandard B films.

J. Jay Saunders was born on 7 February 1941 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. He was an actor, known for Thief (1981), Salvage 1 (1979) and Beetlejuice (1988). He died on 5 January 2016 in Inglewood, California, USA.

Alvin Childress was born on 10 September 1907 in Meridian, Mississippi, USA. He was an actor, known for Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974), Anna Lucasta (1958) and Darktown Strutters (1975). He was married to Sophronia Elizabeth Graham and Alice Childress. He died on 19 April 1986 in Inglewood, California, USA.

John Michael Condon, known professionally as Jackie Condon, was born in Los Angeles, California. His acting career began in the silent film Jinx (1919) when he was a few months shy of two years old. He is most well-known for being one of the original cast members of the "Our Gang" short film series, as well as being the only member to appear in all sixty-six of the shorts during the Pathé silent era. After his final "Our Gang" appearance in the short Election Day (1929) at the age of eleven, he attempted to make a transition from silent pictures to talkies; however, he was unsuccessful. He continued trying to get back into acting well into his adult years, and in a 1953 interview on the program You Asked for It (1950), he stated that he was studying dramatics under the actress Florence Enright. Still, he never made it back onto the big screen, save for a few "Our Gang" reunions. As an adult he worked as either a file clerk or an accountant at Rockwell International, working alongside former "Our Gang" co-star Joe Cobb. He died of colon cancer on October 13, 1977 in Inglewood, California. He was 59 years old.

Lou's narrative would make a fascinating movie but he left us far too soon. He was one talented funny brother from "the hood" by the way, Lou D. despite Hollywood accolades for his comedic roles, oddly enough he loved to sing most and pursued his passion as a lifelong dream, singing before audiences. But fate would take him instead to the big screen where he'd often conjure up laughter as a caricature of a fat man humoring largely black audiences eager for laughs and a black hero vs. a mostly white villain formula as often depicted in Blackploitation films. Character types during the 70's and 80's which black and occasionally white audiences would often laugh or smirk uncomfortably at familiar archetypes, film persona's like the Lou D's, known from within their own neighborhoods. In Hollywood he was known as "Big Man" and Tiny, a caricature , some called him "Fat Man". His friends knew him and loved him as a supremely talented comedian, innovator and singer we knew as simply "Ludie !

Lionel Mark Smith was born on 5 February 1946 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Spartan (2004), Magnolia (1999) and State and Main (2000). He died on 13 February 2008 in Inglewood, California, USA.

Lew Davis was born on 16 July 1884 in Buffalo, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Soul Mates (1916), The Little Red Schoolhouse (1936) and Welcome Stranger (1947). He was married to Kathryn West. He died on 13 January 1948 in Inglewood, California, USA.

Charles H. Radilak was born on 26 January 1909 in Czechoslovakia. He was an actor, known for Mission: Impossible (1966), The Outer Limits (1963) and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964). He died on 19 July 1972 in Inglewood, California, USA.

Ken Strickfaden was born on 23 May 1896 in Anaconda, Montana, USA. He is known for The Lost City (1935), Flash Gordon (1936) and The Shadow (1940). He died on 29 February 1984 in Inglewood, California, USA.

Marjorie Woodworth was a pretty, perky blonde 1940s starlet, of German/Norwegian parentage. She was educated at the University of Southern California, where she was spotted and signed by a talent scout for Hal Roach. Immediately propelled into leading roles, her shortcomings as an actress (in the absence of proper training) were quickly revealed, although she acquitted herself well in the farce Broadway Limited (1941). She remained with Roach until 1943, but strictly in supporting roles. She retired in 1947.

Stanley Taylor was born on 3 March 1900 in Campbell, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for Men of the Hour (1935), The Romantic Age (1927) and The Guilty One (1924). He died on 27 November 1980 in Inglewood, California, USA.

Gorgeous and reserved actress and dancer Mildred Boyd had a three decade movie career, starting in the 1920s in silents to the 1950s she graced the screen with her modest but illuminating, youthful presence whether in bit parts or dancing parts. Mildred Boyd is another unsung black performer and actress who goes uncredited in the history of entertainment and movie history, though she has contributed her talent and beauty to many films, some where she had gone uncredited, her warm presence was always a contribution to any film. Mildred was born in Tennessee and came to Los Angeles, California either during her teens or early 20s where she became a chorus girl at one of the premier black nightclubs on the West Coast, The Sebastian's Cotton Club, where she danced for many years and on the side she did movie work. Like girls of all races, pretty Mildred wanted to be in pictures, with the few roles offered to blacks being that of maids, Mildred played maid roles but played those roles with dignity, offering other admirable characteristics to the roles like her beauty, charm, and refinement, not only did she play maid roles, she contributed her dancing talents to Hollywood films that had black musical numbers and she danced as well in L.A. Black Cinema/Race films that had musical numbers and also doubled as an extra in those films. In some of the race films Mildred got a chance to really act where she proved herself a classy, demure actress without the maid costume. In the mid-1940s, she performed in quite a few soundies, she also starred in a soundie dancing with another female partner titled "Mildred and Bow" where Mildred showed her boogie talent. There were a few Hollywood films, such as "I Love a Bandleader" and film noir classic "Out of the Past" where Mildred got a chance to come out of the maid roles and give impressive performances as a true actress playing someone from all walks of life.

In the 1950s, Mildred retired from show business and along with it overlooked and forgotten in the field of entertainment, Golden Era Cinema, and black entertainment history.

Hugh Brooke was born on 27 February 1902 in London, England, UK. He was a writer and actor, known for This Is My Love (1954), Over She Goes (1937) and Island of Desire (1952). He died on 25 February 1977 in Inglewood, California, USA.

Puerto Rican valve trombonist, arranger and composer, musically educated by his uncle Manuel. Tizol moved to the U.S. in 1920 and first met Duke Ellington while playing trombone in the pit of the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C.. After spells with Bobby Lee's Cottonpickers and the White Brothers Band, Tizol joined Ellington in 1929 and stayed with him until 1944. Though an excellent ensemble player, Tizol declared himself more comfortable with 'legit' music ("I don't feel the pop tunes, but I feel La Gioconda and La Boheme") and rarely, if ever, improvised. However, he was chiefly responsible for introducing a strong Latin influence to Ellington's band, composing such famous standards as 'Caravan', 'Perdido', 'Bakiff', 'Conga Brava', 'Luna de Cuba' and 'Zanzibar'. From 1944 to 1951, Tizol worked as a trombonist with the Harry James Orchestra, having set up permanent residence on South Hobart Boulevard in Los Angeles. He eventually returned to Ellington for another two years. Until his retirement in 1961 he confined himself to occasional studio recordings, notably with Nelson Riddle and Nat 'King' Cole.

Olga was the exuberant and supremely self-confident daughter of a Los Angeles police officer and a strong mother who had aspired in her youth to be a dancer. Olga had been enrolled in one of Hollywood's top dance schools for six years when Hal Roach director, Robert McGowan, contacted the school looking for a pair of performers for a two-reeler he was preparing to produce. Although his description called for younger performers, the irrepressible Olga (age 11) and her dance partner, Billy Farnum (age 12), lobbied their teacher for the opportunity. The film turned out to be the Little Rascals outing, "Mush and Milk". The dance school organized a trip to see the finished product when it screened the following year in Los Angeles. Many of the teachers and students were surprised and disappointed when Spanky McFarland was depicted holding his nose as a negative commentary on the pair's performance, but Olga was completely unfazed and was said to have thoroughly enjoyed seeing herself and Billy performing their routine. Olga did not share her mother's interest in show business but reportedly maintained a very high-energy social life before eventually marrying and having two children.

Composer, arranger and US military bandmaster who formed the Loyola Band, he was educated at USC. His service band assignments included the Navy Band (1919-1924) and the California National Guard. He directed the USC Trojan Band (1927-1934), and the 1932 Olympic bands. He was the music director and entertainment producer for the Los Angeles Rams and Dodgers teams. He joined ASCAP in 1955, and composed, arranged and conducted film and television music, and also appeared on screen as a musician. During World War II, he was bandmaster for the US Army Air Force, and later the music director for the National Democratic Committee. His compositions include "Rock and Sock", "Big Brass Band Parade", "Roll On, Loyola", "Fight On, Loyola", "Sometime", "Hit that Line", "Rainbow Serenade", "Go, Dallas Cowboys", "Roll, 49ers", "Suzette", "The Football Rock 'n' Roll", "Desert Romance", and "Touchdown Music".

Harry Hollingsworth was born on 3 September 1888 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Tarantula (1916), The Apple-Tree Girl (1917) and Hollingsworth and Crawford in 'Bed Time' (1929). He was married to Nanette Crawford. He died on 4 November 1947 in Inglewood, California, USA.

Herman King was born on 4 July 1916 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a producer and assistant director, known for Gun Crazy (1950), Klondike Fury (1942) and Captain Sindbad (1963). He died on 20 July 1992 in Inglewood, California, USA.