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- Actor
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Actor and musician Bruce Willis is well known for playing wisecracking or hard-edged characters, often in spectacular action films. Collectively, he has appeared in films that have grossed in excess of $2.5 billion USD.
Walter Bruce Willis was born on March 19, 1955, in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany, to a German mother, Marlene Kassel, and an American father, David Andrew Willis (from Carneys Point, New Jersey), who were then living on a United States military base. His family moved to the U.S. shortly after he was born, and he was raised in Penns Grove, New Jersey, where his mother worked at a bank and his father was a welder and factory worker. Willis picked up an interest for the dramatic arts in high school, and was allegedly "discovered" whilst working in a café in New York City and then appeared in a couple of off-Broadway productions. While bartending one night, he was seen by a casting director who liked his personality and needed a bartender for a small movie role.
After countless auditions, Willis contributed minor film appearances, usually uncredited, before landing the role of private eye "David Addison" alongside sultry Cybill Shepherd in the hit romantic comedy television series Moonlighting (1985). His sarcastic and wisecracking P.I. is seen by some as a dry run for the role of hard-boiled NYC detective "John McClane" in the monster hit Die Hard (1988), in which Willis' character single-handedly battled a gang of ruthless international thieves in a Los Angeles skyscraper. He reprised the role of McClane in the sequel, Die Hard 2 (1990), set at a snowbound Washington's Dulles International Airport as a group of renegade Special Forces soldiers seek to repatriate a corrupt South American general. Excellent box office returns demanded a further sequel Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), this time co-starring Samuel L. Jackson as a cynical Harlem shop owner unwittingly thrust into assisting McClane during a terrorist bombing campaign on a sweltering day in New York.
Willis found time out from all the action mayhem to provide the voice of "Mikey" the baby in the very popular family comedies Look Who's Talking (1989), and its sequel Look Who's Talking Too (1990) also starring John Travolta and Kirstie Alley. Over the next decade, Willis starred in some very successful films, some very offbeat films and some unfortunate box office flops. The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) and Hudson Hawk (1991) were both large scale financial disasters that were savaged by the critics, and both are arguably best left off the CVs of all the actors involved, however Willis was still popular with movie audiences and selling plenty of theatre tickets with the hyper-violent The Last Boy Scout (1991), the darkly humored Death Becomes Her (1992) and the mediocre police thriller Striking Distance (1993).
During the 1990s, Willis also appeared in several independent and low budget productions that won him new fans and praise from the critics for his intriguing performances working with some very diverse film directors. He appeared in the oddly appealing North (1994), as a cagey prizefighter in the Quentin Tarantino directed mega-hit Pulp Fiction (1994), the Terry Gilliam directed apocalyptic thriller 12 Monkeys (1995), the Luc Besson directed sci-fi opus The Fifth Element (1997) and the M. Night Shyamalan directed spine-tingling epic The Sixth Sense (1999).
Willis next starred in the gangster comedy The Whole Nine Yards (2000), worked again with "hot" director M. Night Shyamalan in the less than gripping Unbreakable (2000), and in two military dramas, Hart's War (2002) and Tears of the Sun (2003) that both failed to really fire with movie audiences or critics alike. However, Willis bounced back into the spotlight in the critically applauded Frank Miller graphic novel turned movie Sin City (2005), the voice of "RJ" the scheming raccoon in the animated hit Over the Hedge (2006) and "Die Hard" fans rejoiced to see "John McClane" return to the big screen in the high tech Live Free or Die Hard (2007) aka "Die Hard 4.0".
Willis was married to actress Demi Moore for approximately thirteen years and they share custody to their three daughters.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Ebon Moss-Bachrach is an American actor best known for playing the role of David Lieberman in The Punisher and Desi Harperin in Girls. He was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, and is the son of Renee Moss and Eric Bachrach, who run a music school in Springfield, Massachusetts. He attended high school at Amherst Regional High School in Massachusetts and graduated from Columbia University in 1999.- Aria Mia Loberti makes her acting debut in the leading role of Marie-Laure Leblanc in Netflix's adaptation of All The Light We Cannot See. She landed the part after a global casting search, beating out thousands of submissions to secure the role, despite no acting training. A doctoral student at Penn State, Loberti received her Masters in 2021 from Royal Holloway University of London as a Fulbright Scholar and earned her undergraduate degrees in 2020 from the University of Rhode Island. She is also an advocate for disability equity.
- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Eight time Academy Award-nominated actress Glenn Close was born and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. She is the daughter of Elizabeth Mary H. "Bettine" (Moore) and William Taliaferro Close (William Close), a prominent doctor. Both of her parents were from upper-class families.
Glenn was a noted Broadway performer when she was cast in her award-winning role as Jenny Fields in The World According to Garp (1982) alongside Robin Williams. For this role, a breakthrough in film for Close, she later went on to receive an Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The following year she was cast in the hit comedy The Big Chill (1983) for which she received a second Oscar Nomination, once again for Supporting Actress in the role of Sarah Cooper. In her third film, Close portrayed Iris Gaines a former lover of baseball player Roy Hobbs portrayed by Robert Redford, in one of the greatest sports films of all time, The Natural (1984). For a third time, Close was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Close went on to star in films like The Stone Boy (1984), Maxie (1985) and Jagged Edge (1985). In 1987 Close was cast in the box office hit Fatal Attraction (1987) for which she portrayed deranged stalker Alex Forrest alongside costars Michael Douglas and Anne Archer. For this role she was nominated for the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Actress. The following year Close starred in the Oscar Winning Drama Dangerous Liaisons (1988) for which she portrayed one of the most classic roles of all time as Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil, starring alongside John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer. For this role she was nominated once again for the Academy Award and BAFTA Film Award for Best Actress. Close was favorite to win the coveted statue but lost to Jodie Foster for The Accused (1988). Close had her claim to fame in the 1980s. Close starred on the hit Drama series Damages (2007) for which she has won a Golden Globe Award and two Emmy Awards. In her career Close has been Oscar nominated eight times, won three Tonys, an Obie, three Emmys, two Golden Globes and a Screen Actors Guild Award.- Actress
- Producer
Caylee Cowan (born Catherine Caylee Cowan) is an American film actress born on March 19, 1998 in Los Angeles, California. She began her on screen acting career after starring in the feature film Sunrise in Heaven (2020). She is known for portraying Penelope in Frank and Penelope (2022), acting opposite Nicolas Cage in Willy's Wonderland (2021), and supporting roles in Spinning Gold (2023) and Divinity (2023). She produced a documentary on refugees titled The Peace Between (2019). Before acting in film, Caylee worked on various theatre performances such as; Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, Danny in the Deep Blue Sea by John Patrick Shanley, and Miss Julie by August Strindberg. In June of 2018, Caylee Cowan made her film debut as Jan Hurst in Sunrise in Heaven (2020) which was released to the public on April 9th, 2019 and a year later on Netflix on April 1st, 2020. In October of 2019, she was cast as Holly Martins in Bad Detectives (2021). She played the role of "Becca" in Incision (2020) and "Kathy" in Willy's Wonderland (2021) starring opposite Nicolas Cage. In the summer of 2021, she was cast in Frank and Penelope (2022) directed by Sean Patrick Flanery alongside Johnathon Schaech, Lin Shaye, and Kevin Dillon which premiered in 2022 at the Cannes Film Festival. She played a supporting role as "Felicity" in Divinity (2023) which was in competition at the Sundance Film Festival.- Rachel attended Havergal College, an all girls school in Toronto. After high school she went on to attend Queens university in Kingston, Ontario Canada. To prepare for her role as Cher in the Clueless (1996) TV series, Rachel actually did go to some high schools in L.A. where she was surprised to find out that the scene was somewhat like the movie portrayed. Rachel is an avid hockey fan, and also enjoys rock climbing. She has a brother and a sister.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
The quintessential jet-set Euro starlet, Ursula Andress was born in the Swiss canton of Berne on March 19, 1936, one of six children in a strict German Protestant family. Although often seeming icily aloof, a restless streak early demonstrated itself in her personality, and she had an impetuous desire to explore the world outside Switzerland. (For instance, she was tracked down by Interpol for running away from boarding school at 17 years old.) The stunning young woman found work as an art model in Rome and did walk-on parts in three quickie Italian pictures before coming to Hollywood in 1955 and getting nowhere professionally; a four-month fling with rising star James Dean brought her good publicity but not much else. That same year, still just 19, she met and had an affair with fading matinée idol John Derek, who left his wife Pati Behrs and two kids for Ursula even though she spoke almost no English at the time. In 1957 they eloped to Las Vegas, and the new bride put her acting aspirations on hold for a few years thereafter.
1962 saw the relatively unknown Swiss beauty back on the set, playing opposite Sean Connery in the first movie version of Ian Fleming's fanciful "James Bond" espionage novels, Dr. No (1962). Andress' role as bikini-clad Honey Ryder was somewhat brief, and her Swiss/German accent so thick that her entire performance had to be dubbed by a voiceover artist. Nevertheless, her striking looks and smoldering screen presence made a strong impression on moviegoers, immediately establishing her as one of the most desired women in the world and as an ornament to put alongside some of the most bankable talent of the era, such as Elvis Presley in Fun in Acapulco (1963) and Dean Martin in 4 for Texas (1963). In 1965, she was one of several European starlets to co-star in What's New Pussycat (1965) -- a film that perhaps sums up mid-'60s pop culture better than any other -- written by Woody Allen, starring Allen and Peter Sellers, with music by Burt Bacharach, a title song performed by Tom Jones and much on-screen sexual romping.
Andress appeared in many more racy-for-their time movies in both the United States and Europe, including The 10th Victim (1965), in which she wore a famously ballistic bra, and The Blue Max (1966), where she was aptly cast as the sultry, insatiable wife of an aristocratic World War I German general. She was also featured in Casino Royale (1967), a satirical foray into the world of James Bond, and gave a sparkling performance in the T&A-filled crime caper Perfect Friday (1970). Roles as a prostitute kidnapped by outlaws in Red Sun (1971), a stewardess living on the edge in Loaded Guns (1975), and a bombshell nurse hired to titillate a doddering millionaire to death in The Sensuous Nurse (1975) all provided plenty of excuses to throw her clothes to the wind. In Slave of the Cannibal God (1978), she was notoriously stripped and slathered in orange paint by a pair of nubiles. Then she took on the sophisticated role of Louise de la Valliere, slinky, conspiratorial mistress of King Louis XIV (Beau Bridges) in The Fifth Musketeer (1979).
As for her personal life, Andress separated from Derek in 1964 and got divorced two years later, after falling in love with French superstar Jean-Paul Belmondo on the Malaysian set of Up to His Ears (1965). (Ron Ely, John Richardson and Marcello Mastroianni kept her company during the interim.) The relationship with Belmondo hit a wall in 1972, and she was next attached to her leading man from Stateline Motel (1973), Italian heartthrob Fabio Testi. When that didn't work out, Andress jumped into the dating pool, sporadically involved with a host of Lotharios including (but by no means limited to) Dennis Hopper, Franco Nero, John DeLorean and Ryan O'Neal. In 1979, she began what would be a long-term romance with Harry Hamlin, her handsome young co-star from Clash of the Titans (1981) (in which she was cast, predictably, as "Aphrodite"). While subsequently traveling in India, Andress' belly began to swell out of her clothing, and she felt very nauseous. What at first seemed a severe case of "Delhi Belly" turned out to be pregnancy, her first and only, at age 43. Hamlin encouraged her to have the baby, and on May 19, 1980, the international sex symbol gave birth to a boy named Dimitri Hamlin amid much hoopla.
After the birth of her son, Andress scaled back her career, which now focused on slight European productions, as she was raising Dimitri in Italy. This meant turning down a big-budget Mel Brooks film in lieu of Red Bells (1982) (starring old flame Nero). Occasional television stints on the soap opera Falcon Crest (1981) and critically lauded miniseries Peter the Great (1986) helped maintain her visibility as an actress. Dumped by Hamlin in 1983, she started seeing Fausto Fagone, a Sicilian student three decades her junior, in 1986. In 1991, she met a new man when things dwindled with Fagone -- karate master Jeff Speakman. Since the breakup of that relationship, her love life has gone undocumented. She last worked on a film in 2005. Apparently retired from acting, Ursula makes the rounds of charity events and pops up on foreign talk shows every now and then. She divides her time between family in Switzerland, friends in Virginia and Spain, and her properties in Rome and L.A.- Actor
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Born in America, and raised in Ireland and England, actor Patrick McGoohan rose to become the number-one British TV star in the 1950s to 1960s era. His parents moved to Ireland when he was very young and McGoohan acquired a neutral accent that sounds at home in British or American dialogue. He was an avid stage actor and performed hundreds of times in small and large productions before landing his first TV and film roles. McGoohan is one of few actors who has successfully switched between theater, TV, and films many times during his career. He was often cast in the role of Angry Young Man. In 1959, he was named Best TV Actor of the Year in Britain. Shortly thereafter, he was chosen for the starring role in the Secret Agent (1964) TV series (AKA 'Secret Agent in the US), which proved to be an immense success for three years and allowed the British to break into the burgeoning American TV market for the first time. By the series' 3rd year, McGoohan felt the series had run its course and was beginning to repeat itself. McGoohan and Lew Grade - the president of ITC (the series' production company), had agreed that McGoohan could leave Danger Man to begin work on a new series, and turned in his resignation right after the first episode of the fourth year had been filmed ("Koroshi"). McGoohan set up his own production company and collaborated with noted author and script editor George Markstein to sell a brand new concept to ITC's Lew Grade. McGoohan starred in, directed, produced, and wrote many of the episodes, sometimes taking a pseudonym to reduce the sheer number of credits to his name. Thus, the TV series The Prisoner (1967) came to revolve around the efforts of a secret agent, who resigned early in his career, to clear his name. His aim was to escape from a fancifully beautiful but psychologically brutal prison for people who know too much. The series was as popular as it was surreal and allegorical, and its mysterious final episode caused such an uproar that McGoohan was to desert England for more than 20 years to seek relative anonymity in LA, where celebrities are "a dime a dozen."
During the 1970s, he appeared in four episodes of the TV detective series "Columbo," for which he won an Emmy Award. His film roles lapsed from prominence until his powerful performance as King Edward I (Longshanks) in Mel Gibson's production of Braveheart (1995). As such, he has solidified his casting in the role of Angry Old Man.- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
Jorma Taccone's theatrical debut took place at Saint Mary's College-High School in Berkeley, California in 1993. He played one of the townspeople in The Visit by Friedrich Durrenmatt. His father, Berkeley Repertory Theatre Artistic Director Tony Taccone, attended his son's performance in spite of a recent surgery that had left him partially immobile with his leg in a cast.- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
Harvey Weinstein was born on March 19, 1952, in Flushing, Queens, New York City, New York, USA, the first of two boys born to Max and Miriam Weinstein. He is a film producer, known for Pulp Fiction (1994), Shakespeare in Love (1998), and Gangs of New York (2002). He has been married and divorced twice; most recently from Georgina Chapman and previously from Eve Chilton.- Actress
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- Producer
Dana was born in Los Angeles, California and raised between New York and Los Angeles. She is an actress and writer most known for her role as a Young Emily Dickinson in Wild Nights with Emily (2018), the Netflix teen series Greenhouse Academy (2017), and the award winning short film Waiting to Die in Bayside, Queens (2017).
Dana began her career at eleven and picked up writing not too long after.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Renée Taylor was born in the Bronx, New York City, New York, USA to Frieda (née Silverstein) and Charles Wexler. She worked as a comedian in the early 1960s at the New York City nightclub Bon Soir. Her opening act was a then unknown Barbra Streisand. She earned notice for her portrayal of Eva Braun in Mel Brooks's The Producers (1967), and continued to act in several film, television, and theater productions. However, despite an impressive, 60-year resume, she is better remembered as Sylvia Fine, the overbearing, classic Jewish mother of Fran Drescher's title character in The Nanny (1993).- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Nick Hendrix was born and raised near Windsor in Berkshire. After studying drama at Exeter University, he spent a further three years at RADA. He has worked extensively in London theatre, including the National Theatre and West End. His work includes Black Mirror, The White Queen, Call the Midwife, Marcella, and Midsomer Murders on TV, and Legend, Suffragette, and Captain America on film.- Actress
- Music Department
- Producer
Virginia Williams gained critical acclaim playing the dual roles of 'Debbie/Dana' in the Netflix original series, "Teenage Bounty Hunters." The comedy marked Jenji Kohan's third Netflix series after "Orange is the New Black" and "GLOW," and received top honors as a top 20 show in 2020 on Forbes, New York Times, and Hollywood Reporter lists. She also shined in season 2 of Marc Cherry's "Why Women Kill" as fan favorite 'Grace.' Virginia played the role of 'Charity' through Season 1 of the CW's "Charmed" reboot and played beloved 'CJ' on Seasons 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the Netflix worldwide breakout hit, "Fuller House." Virginia is also well-known for her starring roles as 'Lauren Reed' on "Fairly Legal" for USA network and the starring role of 'Bianca' on the Lifetime original series "Monarch Cove." Appearing in well over 100 episodes of primetime television, she has held noteworthy recurring roles on hits such as "How I Met Your Mother," "NCIS," "Modern Family," "Drop Dead Diva," "Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce," and the cult-classic "Strangers With Candy," to name a few. Additionally, she's held memorable roles in the films "Woodlawn," "The Culling," "Honeymoon With Mom," "Reading, Writing, & Romance," and the People's Choice award winner "Revenge of the Bridesmaids" as bride "Caitlyn McNabb."
Virginia is also an accomplished vocalist performing lead female vocals on the soundtrack for the independent film, "Choosing Signs." FOUR of Virginia's songs made the 2020 Oscar list of just 75 songs in the running for "Best Original Song," alongside Elton John, Beyoncé, and Taylor Swift.
Williams was the first spokesperson and 'face' of "La Fresh," an eco-friendly beauty line. For this endorsement deal, she was at the forefront of the natural skincare company's national advertising and marketing campaigns.
Virginia earned a B.A. in Theatre Performance from Fordham University at Lincoln Center and studied Shakespeare at Oxford University as well as the British American Drama Academy in London. Hailing from Memphis, TN, she resides in Los Angeles with her husband, talent/literary manager and producer, Bradford Bricken, her 6 and 4 year old sons, and her labradoodle, Elvis.- Actress
Abby Brammell was born on 19 March 1979 in Kentucky, USA. She is an actress, known for Jobs (2013), The Unit (2006) and Fastlane (2002). She has been married to Stefan Bishop since 22 January 2010. They have one child. She was previously married to Jake La Botz.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Garrett Clayton was born on 19 March 1991 in Dearborn, Michigan, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Hairspray Live! (2016), King Cobra (2016) and Teen Beach Movie (2013). He has been married to Blake Knight since 4 September 2021.- Actor
- Producer
Connor Trinneer was born on 19 March 1969 in Walla Walla, Washington, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Star Trek: Enterprise (2001), American Made (2017) and Stargate Origins (2018). He was previously married to Ariana Navarre.- Actress
- Producer
Josie Loren was born on 19 March 1987 in Miami, Florida, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for 17 Again (2009), Make It or Break It (2009) and 21 & Over (2013). She has been married to Matt Leinart since 26 May 2018. They have two children.- Kwak Dong-yeon is a South Korean actor and musician. He made his acting debut in the hit TV series Unexpected You (2012) for which he received Best Young Actor Award at the Korea Drama Awards.
He then starred in Adolescence Medley (2013), Modern Farmer (2014) and gained further recognition with historical drama Moonlight Drawn by Clouds (2016). He also well known for his roles in My ID is Gangnam Beauty (2018), My Strange Hero (2018), Never Twice (2019), and Vincenzo (2021). - Actor
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Frederick "Fred" Stoller (born March 19, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, voice artist, and comedian, best known for his frequent guest starring as Gerard on the CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond (1996). He has also made guest appearances on several additional television series, as well as having written two episodes of Seinfeld (1989). Stoller is also known as the voice of Stanley in the Open Season (2006) franchise.- Actress
- Producer
Simmone Mackinnon was born on 19 March 1973 in Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. She is an actress and producer, known for McLeod's Daughters (2001), Attila (2001) and Dark Waters (2003).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Craig Lamar Traylor was born on 19 March 1989 in San Bernardino County, California, USA. He is an actor, known for Malcolm in the Middle (2000), Matilda (1996) and Fred & Vinnie (2011).- Producer
- Actress
During the 1950s and 1960s, she made dozens of guest appearances on such television programs as The Twilight Zone (1959), Dr. Kildare (1961), The Felony Squad (1966), Gunsmoke (1955), Daniel Boone (1964), and Mannix (1967). She had a short role as Doris Schuster on Peyton Place (1964). She also appeared on daytime's Bright Promise (1969) as Ann Boyd Jones (1970-1972). Kobe began to work behind the camera as supervising producer and associate producer on such daytime programs as The Edge of Night (1956) and Return to Peyton Place (1972). In 1982 she became executive producer of Texas (1980) during its final few months. She then became executive producer of Guiding Light (1952) where she stayed from 1982 to 1987.- Actor
- Writer
Theo's podcast, This Past Weekend, is one of the top comedy podcasts, garnering 5m listens a month on audio alone. Theo has a Netflix special titled No Offense from 2015.
Theo has appeared numerous times on Joe Rogan's podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, regularly on Joey Diaz's The Church of What's Happening Now, and was voted guest of the year on The Fighter and The Kid by TFATK listeners in both 2017 and 2018. Previously, Theo was the host of TBS's hidden camera show Deal With It from EP Howie Mandel, which ran for three seasons. He also hosted Yahoo's popular daily recap show Primetime in No Time - one of the most-watched shows on the web with nearly one million views per day. Theo also made appearances on Inside Amy Schumer, Why? with Hannibal Buress, Arsenio, Last Comic Standing, was the winner of Comedy Central's Reality Bites Back, and Live at Gotham.
Theo can be seen in season 4 of Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, episode premiered in March 2018. He also co-hosts The King and the Sting with his friend, comedian Brendan Schaub.
Theo lists his favorite entertainers as Joe Rogan, Tom Segura, Chris D'elia, Bill Burr, Jerry Clower, and Richard Pryor; and his role models as Joe Rogan, Jocko Willink, Maurice Clarett, Dustin Poirier, and his brother Zefferino vonKurnatowski.- Actor
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Matthew Leitch was born on 19 March 1975 in London, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for Band of Brothers (2001), The Dark Knight (2008) and Sabor tropical (2009).- Actor
- Producer
Dermot Crowley was born on 19 March 1947 in Cork, Ireland. He is an actor and producer, known for Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023), The Death of Stalin (2017) and The Foreigner (2017). He has been married to Suzanne Smith since 3 July 1982.- Writer
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- Director
Nicholas Stoller is an English-American screenwriter and director. He is known best for directing the 2008 comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and writing/directing its 2010 spin-off/sequel, Get Him to the Greek. He also wrote The Muppets and directed the Seth Rogen comedy, Neighbors. He is a frequent creative partner of Jason Segel.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Although born in Sunderland, he spent most of his life in Scotland and considers himself a true Scot. As a child he suffered from asthma and considers his recovery from it was due to playing the bugle in the Boys' Brigade. Educated in Glasgow, he toyed with the idea of becoming a teacher but after national service in the Royal Scots Greys Armoured Corps, he was persuaded to follow his father working in flour mills and by the age of 24 had become a sales manager. In his spare time he worked with amateur drama groups which led him to decide to change career direction. After training at Glasgow College of Dramatic Art, he became assistant stage manager at Glasgow's Citizen Theatre and within three months was playing lead roles including Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice and the Gentleman Caller in The Glass Menagerie. After declining an offer to understudy Albert Finney at London's National Theatre, he was cast as Martin in the film The Fighting Prince of Donegal (1966) followed by the television play Cock, Hen and Courting Pit (1966) and the film Ulysses (1967). Returning to the theatre, he played MacDuff in Macbeth at London's Royal Court Theatre and during the run took over the title role from Alec Guinness then starred in the theatre's next production of Soldiers of Fortune. His first wife was Scottish actress Jan Wilson by whom he has a daughter Sarah-Anne.- Nicole Muirbrook was born on 19 March 1983 in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. She is an actress, known for Dark Blue (2009), How I Met Your Mother (2005) and I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell (2009). She has been married to Taylor Sheridan since 18 September 2013. They have one child. She was previously married to Christian Wagner.
- Actress
Vida Guerra was born on 19 March 1974 in Havana, Cuba. She is an actress, known for CHIPS (2017), Mercy for Angels (2015) and Scarface: The World Is Yours (2006).- Ayoola Smart was born on 19 March 1994 in Schull, County Cork, Ireland. She is an actress, known for Juliet, Naked (2018), Cocaine Bear (2023) and Killing Eve (2018).
- Marjorie Monaghan was born on 19 March 1964 in Orange County, California, USA. She is an actress, known for Regarding Henry (1991), Babylon 5 (1993) and Star Trek: Voyager (1995). She has been married to Grant Rosenberg since 2 February 2011.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Veteran character player Roy Roberts proudly claimed over 900 performances in a 40-year career. He might not have been known necessarily by name, but the face was distinct and obviously familiar. The prototype of the steely executive, the no-nonsense mayor, the assured banker, the stentorian leader, Roberts looked out of place without his patented dark suit and power tie. His silvery hair, perfectly trimmed mustache, nonplussed reactions and take-charge demeanor reminded one of the "Mr. Monopoly" character from the classic board game.
Roberts was born Roy Barnes Jones on March 19, 1906, in Tampa, Florida, the youngest of six children. The year 1900 is given as his birth date in several reference books, which seems compatible with his noticeably aged appearance in the last decade or so of his life, but his final resting stone bears the year 1906. His early career was on the Broadway stage, gracing such plays as "Old Man Murphy" (1931), "Twentieth Century" (1932), "The Body Beautiful" (1935) and "My Sister Eileen" (1942). In 1943 he made a successful switch to films, debuting as a Marine officer in Guadalcanal Diary (1943). Usually billed around tenth in the credits, he played a reliable succession of stalwart roles (captains, generals, politicians, sheriffs, judges, et al.). He was also a semi-standard presence in film noir, appearing in such classics as Force of Evil (1948), He Walked by Night (1948) and The Enforcer (1951) as both good cop and occasional heavy.
When Roberts made the move to TV he began to include more work in comedies. The 1950s and 1960s would prove him to be a most capable foil to a number of prime sitcom stars, including Gale Storm and Lucille Ball. His patented gruff and exasperated executives often displayed their prestige by the mere use of initials, such as "W.W." and "E.J." While he never landed the one role on film or TV that could have led to top character stardom, he nevertheless remained a solid and enjoyable presence, a character player who added stature no matter how far down the credits list.
A stocky man for most his life, Roberts gained considerable girth in the late 1960s, which made his characters even more imposing. He died of a heart attack on May 28, 1975, in Los Angeles and was buried in Fort Worth, Texas. He was survived by his wife, actress Lillian Moore.- Philip Bolden was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He is an actor, known for Are We There Yet? (2005), Mystery Men (1999) and Little Nicky (2000).
- Actress
- Producer
- Script and Continuity Department
Yolanthe was born on March 19, 1985 on the Balearic islands of Ibiza. She has a Spanish father and a Dutch mother. She moved to the Netherlands when she was 5 years old and had most of her upbringing there. At the age of 16 Yolanthe started her acting career.
In 2001 She starred in the "School TV" series "Chromosomen" in which she played the young 14 year old Julia. After that she starred in the Dutch series named "Costa". Then Yolanthe went to Austria, where she acted in the movie "Snow Fever". Until October 2008 Yolanthe played the role of Julia Branca on the Dutch series "Onderweg Naar Morgen". In 2006 and 2007 Yolanthe did "URBNN" for BNN, in 2007 "Try before you die", and after that "Crazy 88". At the end of September 2006 the film "Turkish Chick" was released by film director Lodewijk Crijns, a nominee at the Dutch 'Gouden Kalf' Film Festival. In this film Yolanthe played the role of Dilara, who stole the heart of a young skateboarder. At the end of 2008 Yolanthe started to work for the broadcasting association "TROS". On October 24, 2008 she won the first 'Televizier Talent Award'. She starred in several TV shows, among others: "Twinzz", "Buma Gouden Harpen Gala" , "Te leuk om waar te zijn", and "Ei van Columbus". Additionally Yolanthe was one of the permanent jury members for AVRO's live shows of the Junior European Song Festival. Yolanthe played one of the leading roles as 'Kate Witte' in the successful RTL4 series "Voetbalvrouwen" during season 2009-2010. In 2009 Yolanthe played the role of the thoroughly evil 'Miss Volta' in the first ever "Mega Mindy" film for Belgian and Dutch cinemas, followed by "Het Stedenspel". In 2010 she filmed the National Song Festival and "Mijn vader is de beste". She played 'Mila Sol' in the series "Flikken Maastricht". In 2010 Giro d'Italia chose Yolanthe as 'Madrina'. In 2012 Yolanthe was starring in the main role as 'Mariken van Dalen' in one of the episodes of the tv hit series "Van God Los'. In 2013 Yolanthe played the role of 'Nienke Loos' in the movie "Valentino". In that same year she starred in the Hollywood movie "Pain & Gain" as 'Analee Calvera' the love interest of Mark Wahlberg. In 2014 she filmed the Dutch cinema movie: "Stuk", where she played the role of detective 'Saar Beerman'. That same year she played a part in the serie: "Rechercheur Ria". In 2015 she filmed 2 seasons of the tv hit "Bluf" where she had a leading role as sophisticated manager 'Shira Goudsmit'. In 2016 Yolanthe played in a Turkish blockbuster hit "Police Academy Alaturka". She followed up with her role as fierce 'Sacha Sano' in "Popoz". In 2017 / 2018 Yolanthe filmed "Reunited" , "Temptation Island" and "Jongens tegen de meisjes". In 2018 Yolanthe did a sketch in the "TV kantine" as 'Morticia Addams', and in theater she played the role of 'Bobbie' in "The Christmas show, a Christmas Carol". Yolanthe was busy shooting the detective series: "DNA", where she has the leading role of a tough and uncompromising detective 'Lara Noord', this series will be aired January 2019.
In addition to her on screen career, Yolanthe started her own foundation "Free A Girl" in 2008. The main goals of her foundation are to prevent child abuse and to rescue children who are being abused around the world, to help them to deal with those experiences and to offer them a secure future (read more about this at freeagirl).
Readers of the Dutch men's magazine FHM voted Yolanthe being the sexiest Dutch woman 3 years in a row. Yolanthe won BNN's award for best actress.
Yolanthe is the founder of her own clothing and jewelry brand (YC LABEL), she also owns a restaurant and Boutique on Ibiza called XaXa.- De'aundre Bonds was born on 19 March 1976 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Tales from the Hood (1995), Gangster Squad (2013) and Dope (2015).
- Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Dan Levy's mother placed him in a comedy class at the age of nine.
Enrolled at Emerson College in Boston, Dan jump-started his career as a stand-up comedian while maintaining his full-time student status. By the end of his freshman year, Dan performed regularly at The Comedy Connection, Nick's Comedy Stop, and The Comedy Studio. He spent that summer interning for "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and performing at various New York City venues, such as The Comic Strip Live.
His comedy career took off when he was chosen to compete for the title of "Funniest College Comedian in America" at the 2001 Aspen U.S. Comedy Arts Festival. Dan won the title and signed a deal with the All-True Network in New York City, where he wrote and created the comedic reality show "The Dan Levy Show."- A statuesque and striking actress with vaguely reptilian aspects, at once sinister and alluring; a smile never more than a whisker away from a sneer and a commanding, imperious presence suggesting innate superiority. Difficult to cast, Patricia Laffan seemed destined to portray the villainous or the eccentric. The daughter of Irish rubber planter Arthur Charles Laffan (1870-1948) and London-born Elvira Alice née Vitali (1896-1979), Patricia was schooled at the Institut français du Royaume-Uni in London and trained in dramatic arts at the prestigious Douglas-Webber School. She emerged on stage in 1937 and made her screen debut by 1945. In between a cluster of nondescript or uncredited roles, we remember her for two indelible cinematic performances: first, as that sumptuously decadent, scheming, malicious Empress Poppaea in MGM's epic blockbuster Quo Vadis (1951) -- sardonic and disdainful in her delivery, at times running close to overshadowing even the great Peter Ustinov in his most famous role as Nero. One of her lavish outfits included a 14 carat gold dress designed by Herschel McCoy. A contemporary BBC interview with Laffan also recounts an incident during the making of Quo Vadis. In this, the actress, while reclining on a divan next to a couple of cheetahs at the end of a love scene with Robert Taylor, was set upon by one of the not so tame cats but managed to escape with a torn dress (the gold one ?) -- "on the other hand, the lions in the arena scene were so bored that they went to sleep in the shade instead of looking hungrily at the Christians".
Laffan's other fondly remembered showing on screen was in the campy Devil Girl from Mars (1954), a typically low-budget Danziger Brothers attempt at emulating the success of The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Justifiably derided at the time (for such valid reasons as inane writing, lacklustre direction and props acutely reminiscent of kitchen appliances), it has become a surprising cult touchstone for sci-fi aficionados. Why? Certainly because of the picture's sole meritorious component: Patricia Laffan as the Martian invader Nyah, exotically made up, outfitted in PVC jumpsuit, miniskirt, Darth Vader-style cape and skullcap and making the most of her scenes, delivering her lines with practised cold, languid authority.
Sadly underused, there were to be few other roles of note for this commanding actress in the wake of 'Devil Girl', except, perhaps, for an integral bit in the enjoyable psychological thriller 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956). Subsequent TV appearances saw her mostly confined to conventional aristocratic ladies in period or crime dramas. Patricia Laffan retired from the screen in 1965, apparently to a quiet life in Chelsea, London, where she may have pursued her passions for fast cars, story-writing and breeding bull terriers. - Actress
- Writer
- Casting Department
Amanda Kloots was born on 19 March 1982 in Canton, Ohio, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for The Irishman (2019), Fit for Christmas (2022) and Ted 2 (2015). She was previously married to Nick Cordero and David Larsen.- Additional Crew
- Legal
- Producer
A native of Australia, Karen is a self-described "multicultural aficionado" who closely follows the entertainment industry's emerging markets around the globe and the business, financial and technical innovations that are shaping its future. Before embarking on a legal career, she had a brief career as an actress in Australia, including a major role in the Peter Weir cult favorite "Picnic at Hanging Rock." She also worked as a producer and in direct distribution of feature films and documentaries. Karen's insider perspective and entrepreneurial outlook enhance her ability to negotiate cutting-edge joint venture, production and distribution agreements, film financings and acquisitions.
A seasoned professional, Karen has represented domestic and foreign motion picture and television financiers, banks, equity investors, hedge funds, studios, broadcast and cable TV networks, and production and distribution companies for many years. She also advises individual content creators, including writers, directors and producers, particularly women creators. A Savvy Hollywood Dealmaker
Clients rely on Karen to effectively negotiate and close financial arrangements and distribution deals. She helps lenders and producers structure film financings, including senior and mezzanine debt and equity, as well as crowdfunding transactions.
Karen is sought after by well-known film and television production companies, including those involved in visual effects, animation and reality television. She helps them take advantage of audience expansion opportunities in alternative channels, including Internet and digital media platforms. Karen advises on intellectual property transactions, including new ways to optimize and monetize audio-visual content through licensing and merchandising arrangements and collaborations with video game and publishing ventures, especially in the family/children's arena.
Karen also counsels charitable entities on their film and art projects, helps international co-production entities identify and obtain U.S. and international tax incentives, and negotiates studio ancillary deals for startup distributors. Entertainment Companies in Bankruptcy Court
Among other matters, Karen has represented numerous entertainment companies in bankruptcy situations in collaboration with Pryor Cashman's Bankruptcy Group, including several creditors in the Relativity Media bankruptcy, sales of distressed film libraries and Lions Gate Films Inc. in a highly competitive bankruptcy auction of assets related to the "Terminator" series of films and television programs. Education
University of Sydney (LL.B., 1981) University of Sydney (B.A., 1979) First Class Honors Australia
Recognition
Named a leading attorney in Entertainment: Motion Pictures + Television by Best Lawyers in America (2015-22) Named a leading attorney in Entertainment Law by Southern California's Best Lawyers (2022) Named in the Super Lawyers - Southern California list in entertainment and sports law (2013-18) Named among the top 30 media attorneys in the U.S. by Best of the Best USA (2017) Shortlisted in the "Best in Media & Entertainment" category of Euromoney's LMG Americas Women in Business Law Awards (2012)
Admissions
California, 2003 New South Wales, Australia, 1981
Professional Affiliations
Beverly Hills Bar Association
Professional Activities
Australians in Film British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA) Geena Da- Actor
- Soundtrack
He was one of Hollywood's more interesting curiosities. Kent Smith, by most standards, had the makings of a topflight '40s and '50s film star--handsome, virile, personable, highly dedicated, equipped with a rich stage background--and no slouch in the talent department. For some reason all these fine qualities did not add up to stardom, which would remain elusive in a career that nevertheless covered almost five decades. Today, Smith's name and face have been almost completely forgotten. His solid body of work on stage, screen and TV certainly defies such treatment. Perhaps his looks weren't distinctive enough, perhaps he was overshadowed once too often by his more popular female screen stars, perhaps there was a certain lack of charisma or sex appeal for audiences to latch onto, or perhaps a lack of ego or even an interest in being a "name" star. Whatever the reason, this purposeful lead and second lead's resume deserves more than a passing glance.
Christened Frank Kent Smith, he was born in New York City on March 19, 1907, to a hotelier. An early experience in front of a crowd happened during childhood when he performed as an assistant to Blackstone the magician. Kent graduated from boarding school (Philips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire) and attended Harvard University, finding theater work at various facilities during his time off. One such group, the University Players in West Falmouth, Massachusetts, produced such screen icons as James Stewart, Henry Fonda and Margaret Sullavan.
Kent made his theatrical debut in the short-lived play "Blind Window" at the Ford's Theatre in Baltimore in 1929 in a cast that also featured young hopeful Clark Gable. Taking his first Broadway curtain call in "Men Must Fight" in 1932, a steady flow of theater work came his way throughout the rest of the '30s, in which he performed opposite some of the theater's finest grande dames: Lillian Gish, Katharine Cornell, Jane Cowl, Blanche Yurka and Ethel Barrymore. He proved equally adept in both classic ("Caesar and Cleopatra," "Saint Joan," "A Doll's House") and contemporary settings ("Heat Lightning," "The Drums Begin").
Aside from an isolated appearance in The Garden Murder Case (1936), Kent's film output didn't officially begin until 1942. RKO took an interest in the stage-trained actor and offered him a lead role in the low-budget horror classic Cat People (1942) as the husband of menacingly feline Simone Simon. He returned to his protagonist role in the sequel The Curse of the Cat People (1944). After a few more decent films, including Hitler's Children (1943) and This Land Is Mine (1943), Kent joined the U.S. Army Air Force and appeared in several government training films during his service, which ended in 1944.
He came back to films without a hitch during the post-war years, posting major credits in The Spiral Staircase (1946), Magic Town (1947) , Nora Prentiss (1947), My Foolish Heart (1949) and The Fountainhead (1949), although he tended to pale next to his illustrious female stars Dorothy McGuire, Jane Wyman, Ann Sheridan, Susan Hayward and Patricia Neal. Normally a third wheel in romantic triangles or good friend/rival-to-the-star roles, he never found the one big film role (or TV show) that could have put a marquee name to the face.
Kent fared better on stage and in the newer medium of TV in the 1950s. Among the highlights: He complemented Helen Hayes both in the video version of her stage triumph "Victoria Regina" and in her Broadway vehicle "The Wisteria Tree", which was based on Chekhov's "'The Cherry Orchard". He was also praised for his strong stage performances in "The Wild Duck" and "The Autumn Garden" and appeared alongside Elaine Stritch in the national touring company of the musical "Call Me Madam". He was everywhere on TV, guesting on such popular shows as "Wagon Train", "Naked City", "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "The Outer Limits" and "Peyton Place". In 1962, he replaced Melvyn Douglas in the national company of Gore Vidal's "The Best Man". Also in the cast was actress Edith Atwater. The couple married that same year. His first marriage to minor actress Betty Gillette had ended earlier in divorce after 17 years and one daughter.
The remainder of Kent's career remained quite steady, if unremarkable, in both films and on TV. He lent able character support as assorted gray-haired authoritarians usually upstanding in reputation but certainly capable of shady dealings if called upon. The actor died at age 78 of heart disease in Woodland Hills, California, just outside of Los Angeles. His widow, Edith, died less than a year later of cancer.
Perhaps with such a common last name as "Smith" it was destined that he would spend a lifetime trying to stand out. Nevertheless, with a career as rich and respectable as his was, and with a wide range of roles that included everything from battling evil cats to spouting Shakespeare at Stratford, true recognition and reconsideration is long overdue.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Acclaimed and highly discussed filmmaker Neil LaBute has made himself a force to be reckoned with and a name to watch. With his true-to-life cynical and self-absorbed characters and all-too-true social themes, he has firmly established himself as an unforgiving judge of the ugliest side of human nature.
LaBute was originally a playwright. He attended Brigham Young University and took theater as his major. Many say that Pulitzer-Prize winner David Mamet was a strong influence on him. He chose to attack subjects that many people don't really want to talk about and showed the way that people really talk among themselves. His first stage piece, an off-off-Broadway play which was entitled "Filthy Talk for Troubled Times", debuted in 1989 and it featured two men just sitting around a bar and making small talk and ridiculing women, minorities, homosexuals and their ways, in a manner not unlike the conversations in his In the Company of Men (1997). The foul-mouthed play was, not unsurprisingly, a hit with the critics.
After LaBute graduated from the University of Kansas and New York University, he got a scholarship to London's Royal Court Theatre in the US in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. Then he got into cinema. He made his films like his plays: showing characters just sitting and talking and revealing how evil, scared, ignorant, arrogant, emotionally wounded, delusional, disillusioned and cynical they are.
LaBute made his first major mark with the low-budget (and frighteningly realistic) cautionary fable In the Company of Men (1997), about two sexist male office co-workers fed up with what they believe is the way women have taken over American society and how it is no longer a man's world. They set out to find a vulnerable woman - one looking for male attention - and wine her, dine her, then cruelly dump her, just to gain some "dignity" for their gender. Shot for $25,000 in less than two weeks, the film won the Sundance Filmmaker's trophy, awards for LaBute's screenplay and the star Aaron Eckhart's performance as a heartless and misogynist creep with ambition and cockiness to spare.
His next movie and sophomore cinema effort, Your Friends and Neighbors (1998), was considerably less well-received (a casualty of what is often referred to as "the sophomore jinx"). The film was about a group of six very different, but misanthropic people (three men and three women) connected by their relationships; when unhappy in them, they begin to shamelessly lie and cheat on one another with their lovers, and even with their friends. The movie got some strong reviews, but other reviewers felt LaBute was pretty much repeating himself. The prevailing attitude seeming to be that this time he had made an entire movie with all of its characters being nothing but villains, so why should anyone care about or want these six unlikable people to ever find happiness?
Nurse Betty (2000) was LaBute's next directorial effort, from a script he didn't write himself. It was was a radical departure from LaBute's other work, about a sweet-natured waitress obsessed with a particular soap opera and especially the show's star, George McCord (Greg Kinnear). The film received the Cannes Film Festival's Best Screenplay trophy for its authors. Renée Zellweger was honored with a Golden Globe Award. LaBute had finally made a good-nature, mainstream film, and a damn good one, but he didn't spend ALL his time basking - he had put out several other things that year, such as a TV movie based on his "Bash" plays and another original work entitled Tumble (2000), none of which got wide recognition.
In 2002 LaBute got himself noticed again with another less-caustic movie - a costume period piece called Possession (2002), based on the best-selling novel, which many believed to be about his love for early English culture. It starred LaBute stalwart Eckhart and Gwyneth Paltrow, who specializes in having the most authentic sounding British accent around. It wasn't a huge box-office success, but it did have many fervent admirers.
In 2003 LaBute brought to the screen another adaptation of his own work, a play he wrote and directed and had performed in England. He brought his original cast (Paul Rudd, Rachel Weisz, Gretchen Mol and Frederick Weller) back to appear in this one. It was entitled The Shape of Things (2003), about how a seductive art student, named Evelyn, takes Paul, a nerdy, insecure, out-of-shape guy, and begins molding him to look more and more desirable, much to the confusion of his friends. He enjoys being desirable, but is unaware of where all this remodeling will lead as Evelyn gets more and more possessive and controlling.
With pieces like "In the Company of Men" and Your Friends and Neighbors (1998), LaBute has proven that he has his hand on the pulse and minds of everyday and ordinary people (not heroes or villains), just average people who sound and behave horribly for no reason, and you cringe all the more because you know and identify with those characters. With "Nurse Betty" and "Possession", however, LaBute has shown that he has more than just one really incredibly note. He's no one-hit wonder. Here is a man whose entire body of work should be watched and studied by all.- Jan Shepard was born on 19 March 1928 in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, USA. She is an actress, known for Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966), Then Came Bronson (1969) and Waterfront (1954). She was previously married to Ray Boyle.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Christmas trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, gained experience in English repertory theatre in 1936, and had a principal role in the London production of Noël Coward's "Bitter Sweet" in the 1930s. During the Second World War, he was a member of Royal Air Force production units and performed in the RAF's Gang Show. After moving to Canada in 1948, he started a long association with television comedians Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster, playing the character Madam Hooperdink. His own show "Christmas is Coming" toured Canada in the 1950s. He was artistic director at the Ottawa Repertory Company in 1954 and ran the Peterborough Summer Theatre that year. He began a long association with Canada's Stratford Festival in 1957, performing in 12 seasons and 21 Shakespearean productions until 1970. It was Christmas and a group of veteran actors like William Hutt, Tony Van Bridge, Jean Gascon, Douglas Rain, Amelia Hall, and Mervyn Blake (among others) who helped define Stratford in its early years. His final appearance at Stratford was 1987, when he played Dogberry in "Much Ado About Nothing." Christmas also had associations over the years with the Canadian Players, San Diego's Globe Theatre, and the drama department at the University of California at San Diego. He and his first wife had two children (Robin and Stephen) two children with his second wife, six grandchildren.- Michael Drayer was born on 19 March 1986 in Staten Island, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for Louie (2010), Mr. Robot (2015) and Sneaky Pete (2015).
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Woefully misused while in her prime screen years at Paramount during the late '30s and '40s, Patricia Morison, lovely and exotic with Rapunzel-like long, dark hair, nevertheless became a star in her own right -- as a supremely talented diva on the singing stage.
Born on March 19, 1915, in New York City, her father, William Morison, was a playwright and occasional actor who billed himself under the name Norman Rainey. Patricia's mother worked for British Intelligence during WWI. Graduating from Washington Irving High School in New York, Patricia studied at the Art Students League and proceeded to take acting classes at the Neighborhood Playhouse while also studying dance with the renowned Martha Graham. She earned a steady check at the time as a dress shop designer.
At age 19 Patricia made her Broadway debut in the short-lived play "Growing Pains" and proceeded to understudy the legendary Helen Hayes in her classic role of "Victoria Regina". She never went on. In 1938, shortly after opening in the musical "The Two Bouquets" opposite musical star Alfred Drake, Paramount talent scouts, looking for exotic, dark-haired glamour types then to rein in their star commodity, Dorothy Lamour, scoped Patricia out and tested her. The blue-eyed beauty who indeed resembled Lamour was signed and made her film debut the following year, showing bright promise in the "B" film Persons in Hiding (1939).
Patricia's stock did not improve, however, despite such promise, and she was relegated to such second-string westerns as I'm from Missouri (1939), Rangers of Fortune (1940), Romance of the Rio Grande (1940), and The Round Up (1941). When things didn't improve with such stilted fare as Night in New Orleans (1942), Beyond the Blue Horizon (1942), and Are Husbands Necessary? (1942), she left Paramount. She freelanced in 'other woman' roles which included the Tracy/Hepburn vehicle Without Love (1945) and The Fallen Sparrow (1943), and played Empress Eugenie in The Song of Bernadette (1943), but the focus was seldom on her. Overlooked when cast in top leads at 'poverty row' programmers, her best chance at film stardom came as Victor Mature's despairing wife who takes her own life (which was to have been shown on screen) in Kiss of Death (1947), but her juicy role was excised from the film by producers (or, more likely, the Breen Commission) who felt audiences weren't ready for such shocking displays.
During the war years, Patricia had trained her voice and performed in USO tours. Cole Porter heard her sing in Hollywood one evening and decided she had the right tenacity, feistiness and vocal expertise to play the female lead in his new show. In 1948, over the objections of both the producer and director, stardom was clenched in the form of Porter's classic musical-within-a-musical "Kiss Me Kate." As the sweeping, vixenish Lilli Vanessi, a severe-looking stage diva whose own volatile personality coincided with that of her onstage role (Kate from "The Taming of the Shrew"), Patricia found THE role of her career, giving over 1,000 performances in all. Playing again alongside her former Broadway co-star Alfred Drake, Patricia basked in the multitude of glowing reviews, and such songs as "I Hate Men," "Wunderbar" and "So In Love" rightfully became signature songs. Following this triumph, film work never became a top priority again.
Patricia continued on successfully in the London version of "Kate" and went on to conquer other classic leads in the musicals "The King and I," "Kismet," "The Merry Widow," "Song of Norway" and Pal Joey," among others. Her last movie role was a cameo part as writer George Sand in the mildly received biopic Song Without End (1960) starring Dirk Bogarde as composer Franz Liszt.
On TV Patricia recreated her Kate role with Mr. Drake and made a few scattered but lively appearances over the years. One of her later guest shots was on a 1989 episode of "Cheers" and a 1991 episode of "Gabriel's Fire." In later years the never-married actress devoted herself to painting (an early passion) and enjoyed many showings in the Los Angeles area. The lovely lady with the trademark long hair died in L.A. at the age of 103, on May 20, 2018.- Actress
- Director
- Producer
Nancy Malone was born on 19 March 1935 in Queens Village, Long Island, New York, USA. She was an actress and director, known for Naked City (1958), Merlene of the Movies (1981) and The Long, Hot Summer (1965). She died on 8 May 2014 in Duarte, California, USA.- Abby Ross is a Canadian actress from Vancouver. Abby had always knew she wanted to perform, with dreams of becoming a singer before she discovered acting. At the age of 8 she did a theatre camp in Calgary and that's when she decided she wanted to act as a career. It took years of classes, failed commercial auditions and background work before she convinced her parents to get a talent agent. Her first professional role was at 15 was a series regular, playing Anastasia Colborne on Citytv's 'Seed' for two seasons. She then went on to recur as a young Emma Swan in ABC's 'Once Upon a Time' and to make appearances in the likes of 'Supergirl', 'The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina', 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow', and many more. Abby still loves singing.
- Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Nicholas Downs grew up in the small Midwest town of Bondurant, Iowa as the second youngest of ten brothers and sisters. By high school, Nicholas found acting as a way to create a voice of his own. His English teacher, Mrs. Sandoval, helped him by guiding him into the fine arts. With guidance from Director, Arthur Allan Seidelman, who cast him in his first feature film, Nicholas ventured to Los Angeles to start his acting career. He found an agent and a manager and soon started building a foundation of work. After booking several independent films, commercials, and guest spots on television, he soon started landing more prominent roles in major motion pictures, including Pearl Harbor (2001), The Girl Next Door (2004), Constantine (2005), and The Holiday (2006). Nicholas has used the experience he has found as an actor to start producing his own projects. Most recently he has partnered up with Illumination Pictures and has just completed Anderson's Cross (2010), their first joint venture. Nicholas is already at work on Illumination Pictures' next project, Prep School (2011). As with Anderson's Cross (2010), Nicholas will not only produce but will also have a lead acting role.- Actor
- Sound Department
Frank Jasper was born on 19 March 1959 in the USA. Frank is an actor, known for Vision Quest (1985), The Freeway Maniac (1989) and Kurzer Ausflug (2001).