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- Actress
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Southern-bred Mary-Louise Parker was born on August 2, 1964 in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, the youngest of four children of Judge John Morgan Parker, and the former Caroline Louise Morell. She is of mostly Swedish, English, and Scottish descent. Her father's occupation took the family both around the country and abroad while growing up.
Parker showed potential in her teens and majored in acting in her college years, graduating from the North Carolina School of the Arts. Beginning her acting career with a part on the daytime soap Ryan's Hope (1975), Mary decided to test the waters in New York, and after work on the off-Broadway stage in the late 1980s, made her Broadway debut with "Prelude to a Kiss" in 1990, where she won the Theatre World Award, the Clarence Derwent Award and a Tony nomination.
Films and TV quickly followed and she quickly gained attention. She provided both poignant and amusing as the token femme friend to a group of gay men in the AIDS drama Longtime Companion (1989), but really caught fire with her feisty, standout performance in Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), holding her own against such female powerhouses as Jessica Tandy, Kathy Bates and Mary Stuart Masterson. Dubbed by some as the "long-suffering girl next door," she played such noble offbeat miserables and cast-asides in Grand Canyon (1991), Naked in New York (1993), Bullets Over Broadway (1994), The Client (1994) Boys on the Side (1995), in which she was the AIDS victim this time, The Portrait of a Lady (1996), The Maker (1997), Let the Devil Wear Black (1999), Red Dragon (2002) and Pipe Dream (2001).
Preferring quality over quantity, she perfected her craft with offbeat roles in independent features and did not abandon her theater roots. She copped a slew of acting prizes for her stage work in "How I Learned to Drive" (1996) and, most notably, "Proof" in 2000, wherein she won nearly every award there is to attain, including the prestigious Tony. Her marquee name still does not command what it should, but a picture or production with Mary-Louise Parker in it usually guarantees a strong critical reception. Unmarried, she did enter into a longtime companionship with actor Billy Crudup after the twosome appeared opposite each other in the 1996 play, "Bus Stop". They went their separate ways in 2003, amid major controversy (she was pregnant at the time).
Mary Louise continues to divide her time equally and skillfully on TV, film and the stage. The powerful TV miniseries adaptation of Tony Kushner heralded award-winning Broadway play Angels in America (2003), directed by Mike Nichols, earned the actress supporting performance Golden Globe and Emmy awards. She also earned a Tony nomination for the Broadway show, "Reckless", a year later but truly turned heads and wowed audiences the year after that in the highly acclaimed 7-season Showtime series Weeds (2005), earning another Golden Globe and several Emmy nominations for her amazing performance as Nancy Botwin, a relatively naïve suburban housewife and mother who courts serious trouble with the law and drug cartels when she turns into a neighborhood drug dealer for sustenance after her husband dies suddenly.
Into the millennium, Mary has continued with compelling work in such films as RED 2 (2013), R.I.P.D. (2013), Jamesy Boy (2014), Behaving Badly (2014), Chronically Metropolitan (2016), Golden Exits (2017) and Red Sparrow (2018). TV roles have included recurring roles on The Blacklist (2013) and the sci-fi thriller Mr. Mercedes (2017).
Her first child is eighteen-year-old William Atticus Parker -- a director, writer and actor. Adopting a second child from Ethiopia, Mary Louise was acknowledged in 2013 for her significant contributions to Hope North, an organization that works in the educating and healing of young victims caught in Uganda's civil war. Her memoir-in-letters, Dear Mr. You, came out in 2015.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Brittney Leigh Lower is an American actress known for her roles as Liz in Man Seeking Woman, Tanya Sitkowsky in Unforgettable and Helly in Severance. Lower was born in Heyworth, Illinois, to Steven Lower and face painting artist Mickey Lower. After graduating from Heyworth High School in 2004, Lower earned a Bachelor of Science in Communication from Northwestern University in 2008.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Wes Craven has become synonymous with genre bending and innovative horror, challenging audiences with his bold vision.
Wesley Earl Craven was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Caroline (Miller) and Paul Eugene Craven. He had a midwestern suburban upbringing. His first feature film was The Last House on the Left (1972), which he wrote, directed, and edited. Craven reinvented the youth horror genre again in 1984 with the classic A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), a film he wrote and directed. And though he did not direct any of its five sequels, he deconstructed the genre a decade later, writing and directing the audacious New Nightmare (1994), which was nominated as Best Feature at the 1995 Independent Spirit Awards, and introduced the concept of self-reflexive genre films to the world.
In 1996 Craven reached a new level of success with the release of Scream (1996). The film, which sparked the phenomenal trilogy, was the winner of MTV's 1996 Best Movie Award and grossed more than $100 million domestically, as did Scream 2 (1997). Between Scream 2 and Scream 3 (2000), Craven, offered the opportunity to direct a non-genre film for Miramax, helmed Music of the Heart (1999), a film that earned Meryl Streep an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. That same year, in the midst of directing, Craven completed his first novel, "The Fountain Society," published by Simon & Shuster. Recent works include the 2005 psychological thriller Red Eye (2005), and a short rom-com segment for the ensemble product, Paris, Je T'aime (2006).
In later years, Craven also produced remakes of two of his earlier films for his genre fans, The Hills Have Eyes (2006) and The Last House on the Left (2009). Craven has always had an eye for discovering fresh talent, something that contributes to the success of his films. While casting A Nightmare on Elm Street, Craven discovered the then unknown Johnny Depp. Craven later cast Sharon Stone in her first starring role for his film Deadly Blessing. He even gave Bruce Willis his first featured role in an episode of TV's mid-80's edition of The Twilight Zone. In My Soul to Take (2010), Craven once again brought together a cast of up-and-coming young teens, including Max Thieriot, in whom he saw the spark of stardom. The film marked Craven's first collaboration with wife and producer Iya Labunka, who also produced with him the highly anticipated production of Scream 4.
Craven's Scream 4 (2011) reunited the director with Dimension Films and Kevin Williamson, as well as with stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette, to re-boot the beloved franchise. Craven again exhibited his knack for spotting important talent, with a cast of young actors bringing us a totally new breed of Woodsboro high schoolers, including Emma Robert and Hayden Pannetierre.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Edward Walter Furlong was born in Glendale, California. His mother, Eleanor (Tafoya), is from a Mexican family, and worked at a youth center. Furlong had no acting ambitions until he was approached by casting agent Mali Finn, who was looking for a young actor to play the role of John Connor in what turned out to be one of the the biggest box-office hits of the 1990s, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Finn instantly recognized his ability, and suggested him for the part, feeling that he could hold his own playing opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton.
For his career-starting role, Furlong earned an MTV movie award for best breakthrough role, and a Saturn Sci-Fi award for best young actor. From there, he took an unconventional route through Hollywood, which led to his working with some of the top people in the business, in both studio and independent films. His work has included starring opposite Jeff Bridges in American Heart (1992) for which he was nominated for an IFP Spirit award for best supporting actor. He has also starred in A Home of Our Own (1993) with Kathy Bates, Little Odessa (1994) with Tim Roth, The Grass Harp (1995) with Walter Matthau and Barbet Schroeder's Before and After (1996).
He also starred opposite Edward Norton in Tony Kaye's controversial and gripping drama American History X (1998) and in the hit comedy Pecker (1998). More recently, Furlong has been opposite Willem Dafoe in the prison drama Animal Factory (2000), directed by Steve Buscemi. He recently starred in Pupi Avati's 13th-century tale, The Knights of the Quest (2001).- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
The very lovely, vivacious and smart-looking Joanna Cassidy was born in Camden, New Jersey, and raised in nearby Haddonfield, a borough located in Camden County. She grew up in a creative environment as the daughter and granddaughter of artists. At an early age she engaged in painting and sculpture and went on to major in art at Syracuse University in New York. During her time there she married Kennard C. Kobrin in 1964, a doctor in residency, and found work as a fashion model to help work his way to a degree. The couple eventually moved to San Francisco, where her husband set up a psychiatric practice; Joanna continued modeling and gave birth to a son and daughter. Following their divorce ten years later, she decided to move to Los Angeles in a bid for an acting career.
In between modeling chores and occasional commercial gigs, the reddish-haired beauty found minor, decorative work as an actress in such action fare as Steve McQueen's thriller Bullitt (1968), the Jason Robards drama Fools (1970), The Laughing Policeman (1973) starring Walter Matthau and The Outfit (1973) with Robert Duvall. Her first co-starring role came opposite George C. Scott in the offbeat comedy caper The Bank Shot (1974).
Television became an important medium for her in the late 1970s, with guest parts on all the popular shows of the time, both comedic and dramatic, including Dallas (1978). Trapper John, M.D. (1979), Taxi (1978), Starsky and Hutch (1975), Charlie's Angels (1976), Lou Grant (1977) and a recurring role on Falcon Crest (1981). A regular on the sketch/variety show Shields and Yarnell (1977), which showcased the popular mime couple, Joanna languished in three failed series attempts--The Roller Girls (1978), 240-Robert (1979) and The Family Tree (1983)--before hitting the jackpot with the sitcom Buffalo Bill (1983) opposite Dabney Coleman, in which she finally had the opportunity to demonstrate her flair for offbeat comedy. The show became that's season's critical darling, with Coleman playing a vain, sexist, obnoxious talk show host (a variation of his popular 9 to 5 (1980) film character) and Joanna received a Golden Globe for her resourceful portrayal of Jo Jo White, the director of his show and romantic foil for Coleman, who stood toe-to-toe with his antics.
The 1980s also brought about positive, critical reception for Joanna on film as well, especially in a number of showy portrayals, notably her snake-dancing replicant in the futuristic sci-fi thriller Blade Runner (1982), her radio journalist involved with Nick Nolte and Ed Harris in the political drama Under Fire (1983) and her co-starring role in a wacky triangle with Bob Hoskins and a hyperkinetic hare in the highly ambitious part toon/part fantasy film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). Back on the TV front she was seen in recurring roles on L.A. Law (1986), Diagnosis Murder (1993), The District (2000) and Boston Legal (2004).
Since then Joanna has juggled a number of quality film and TV assignments, a definitive highlight being her Emmy-nominated recurring role as a quirky, capricious mother/psychiatrist in the cult cable series Six Feet Under (2001). More recently she has taken part in more controversial film work that contain stronger social themes such as Anthrax (2001), a Canadian political thriller whose storyline feeds on the fear of terrorism; The Virgin of Juarez (2006), which chronicled the murders of hundreds of Mexican women; and the gay-themed pictures Kiss the Bride (2007) and Anderson's Cross (2010).
Off-camera Joanna is devoted to her art (painting, sculpting) and is a dedicated animal activist as well as golfer and antique collector. She presently resides in the Los Angeles area with her dogs.- Jacinda Barrett was born in Australia. Her convincing accent has paved the way for numerous acting roles in the USA. Barrett was first introduced to American audiences via MTV's The Real World (1992), during its fourth season, which was set in London. Jacinda Barrett received her first break on the big screen in The Human Stain (2003), directed by Oscar winner Robert Benton, alongside Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman, for which she received critical praise.
Soon after, she starred in Ladder 49 (2004), a movie that honored her firefighter father, where she worked with Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta. The movie spanned 10 years in the life of a Baltimore firefighting family. Soon after, she was in love with Renée Zellweger's Bridget in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004).
She also starred in the action disaster movie, Poseidon (2006), directed by Wolfgang Petersen, and the comedy, School for Scoundrels (2006), with Billy Bob Thornton. She again received critical praise for her challenging role in The Last Kiss (2006). A.O. Scott said of her performance, "Ms. Barrett is a glowing, lovely presence, giving full voice to the rage, humiliation and hurt". Shauna Lyon in the New Yorker writes, "Jacinda Barrett steals the show as Michael's beautiful, reasonable life partner, offering a volatile, realistic portrayal of a woman scorned".
Jacinda was directed by Mira Nair in the adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "The Namesake", and starred alongside her husband, Gabriel Macht, in Middle Men (2009), a tale of the founding of the Internet porn industry.
She has starred in multiple TV series, most recently alongside Anthony Edwards, in Zero Hour (2013), a show that is no longer on the air.
Even though Jacinda grew up in Brisbane, her first Australian role was headlining Matching Jack (2010), as she left home at 17 to work and travel the world. She is married to Gabriel Macht and they have one daughter and one son, together.
In 1997, she was named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. - Actor
- Producer
- Director
Samuel Henry John Worthington was born August 2, 1976 in Surrey, England. His parents, Jeanne (Martyn) and Ronald Worthington, a power plant employee, moved the family to Australia when he was six months old, and raised him and his sister Lucinda in Warnbro, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia.
Worthington graduated from NIDA (Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art) in 1998 at the age of 22. He received critical acclaim for his portrayal of "Arthur Wellesley" in his first professional role in the Belvoir Street Theatre production "Judas Kiss" (directed by Neil Armfield). He then went on to work in Australian television on such shows as Water Rats (1996) and "Backburner" and then on the American TV show JAG (1995)'s 100th episode (Boomerang: Part 1).
Worthington made his film debut in the highly acclaimed Australian movie Bootmen (2000), a film about a troop of "tap dogs". Minor roles proceeded in Hart's War (2002) and A Matter of Life (2001) before he was cast in another hailed Australian drama, Dirty Deeds (2002), co-starring Toni Collette and John Goodman.
The following year, he starred in yet another Aussie film, opposite David Wenham in Gettin' Square (2003). The director of the film, Jonathan Teplitzky, originally tested actors who were up to 8 years older than the then-27-year-old Worthington. Teplitzky wasn't sure Sam "could convincingly play a tough guy and also have elements of the leading man about him", but in the end Teplitzky decided he was "fantastic", and had "David playing the older, slightly more streetwise accomplice" proclaiming "it worked".
But it wasn't until 2004 that Sam got his big break. He was offered the starring role in Cate Shortland's acclaimed Australian drama Somersault (2004), opposite Abbie Cornish. The film made a clean sweep of the Australian Film Institute awards in 2004, winning in 13 film categories - the first time this has ever occurred in the award's history. Worthington also won the AFI award for Best Male Actor.
Worthington's career took off internationally when he was cast as Jake Sully in James Cameron's Avatar (2009) and as Marcus Wright, a cyborg who assists the humans despite their suspicions of him in Terminator Salvation (2009). Worthington soon became a household name, and starring in high profile films Clash of the Titans (2010), The Debt (2010), Texas Killing Fields (2011), Man on a Ledge (2012), and Wrath of the Titans (2012). Worthington also provided the voice for the Call of Duty: Black Ops video games.
In 2010, Worthington started a production company, Full Clip Productions, with two of his close friends John Schwarz and Michael Schwarz. The company teamed with Radical studios to print two graphic novels Damaged and Patriots.- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
Kevin Patrick Smith was born in Red Bank but grew up in Highlands, New Jersey, the son of Grace (Schultz) and Donald E. Smith, a postal worker. He is very proud of his native state; this fact can be seen in all of his movies. Kevin is of mostly German, with some Irish and English, ancestry.
His first movie, Clerks (1994), was filmed in the convenience store in which Smith worked. He was only allowed to shoot at night after the store closed. This movie won the highest award at the Sundance film festival and was brought to theaters by Miramax. The movie went over so well that Smith was able to make another movie, Mallrats (1995). This movie, as Kevin has said, was meant to be a "smart Porkys". Although it didn't do well at all in the box office, it has done more than well on video store shelves and is usually the favorite among many Smith fans.
During filming for the movie, Smith met his new close friends and stars of his next movie, Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, and his new girlfriend, Joey Lauren Adams. Smith has said that his relationship with Adams has been much of an inspiration for his next movie, Chasing Amy (1997), Smith's comedy drama which won two independent Spirit awards: Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Role (for Jason Lee). Around the time that Chasing Amy (1997) was wrapping, Smith broke up with Adams and, then when the Spirit awards were approaching, he met his soon-to-be wife, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith. After Chasing Amy (1997), Smith started on Dogma (1999), a controversial film about Christianity. Around this time, Smith's wife gave birth to their first baby girl, Harley Quinn Smith. Harley Quinn and Jennifer both have roles in Smith's next film,Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001). In this road trip comedy, the cult heroes, Jay and Silent Bob, go on an adventure to stop the production of a movie being made about them, find true love, and save an orangutan.
In 2004, he wrote and directed Jersey Girl (2004), starring Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler. Although there were some disappointing reviews and the movie was a disappointment at the box office, Smith says it did alright going up against the "Bennifer Massacre" known as Gigli (2003).
In 2005, Smith wrote the screenplay for Clerks II (2006), which he planned to start shooting in January of 2005. But then he got a call from Susannah Grant, who wanted Smith to audition for her new film. Smith went into the audition and, five minutes after finishing, he got a call saying he got the part. Filming began in January 2005 so Smith had to delay the filming of Clerks II (2006). After Catch and Release (2006) finished filming, Smith shot "Clerks II" in September 2005. After cutting "Clerks II", they submitted it to the Cannes film festival. It got accepted and, at Cannes, it got an 8 minute standing ovation.
In 2006, Smith also got offered a part in the fourth "Die Hard" film, Live Free or Die Hard (2007). Smith got to film a scene with one of his idols, Bruce Willis, the scene was supposed to take one day of filming, it ended up taking a week. In 2007, Smith was also hired to direct the pilot for the show Reaper (2007), which garnered favorable reviews.
In 2007 and 2008, Smith wrote two scripts: a comedy, Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008), and a horror film called Red State (2011). Harvey Weinstein green-lighted "Zack and Miri", based just off the title, although they passed on "Red State", Smith plans to get "Red State" independently funded. Smith filmed "Zack and Miri" with comedy starSeth Rogen. The film did not meet expectations at the box office but got good reviews. It is Smith's highest grossing movie, although he says he was crushed by the disappointing box office of the film.
Smith was offered the chance to direct a film which was written by Robb Cullen and Mark Cullen called Cop Out (2010). Smith accepted, it would be two firsts; the first feature Smith has directed but not written and the first feature of Smith's that Scott Mosier has not produced (Mosier is trying to find a film to direct). Smith hired Bruce Willis for the film.- Actress
- Producer
- Casting Department
Born in Montana, Gladstone was raised on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and later near Seattle, WA. She graduated with high honors from the University of Montana in 2008 with a BFA in Acting/Directing, and a minor in Native American Studies.
Gladstone was introduced to audiences in Alex and Andrew Smith's adaptation of Winter in the Blood, a NYT best seller and seminal novel by Blackfeet/Gros Ventre author James Welch. Her breakout role came in 2016 from Kelly Reichardt's Certain Women, a performance which earned her the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress, Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as nominations for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female and Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor.
In 2017 Gladstone joined the Oregon Shakespeare Festival acting company, and in 2020 she stared in the Yale Repertory Theater production of Mary Kathryn Nagle's Manahatta.
In 2019 Gladstone reunited with Reichardt for First Cow. The film won Best Film at the 2020 New York Film Critics Circle Awards, and was named one of the ten best films of 2020 by the National Board of Review.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
A leading man of prodigious talents, Peter O'Toole was born and raised in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, the son of Constance Jane Eliot (Ferguson), a Scottish nurse, and Patrick Joseph O'Toole, an Irish metal plater, football player and racecourse bookmaker. Upon leaving school, he decided to become a journalist, beginning as a newspaper copy boy. Although he succeeded in becoming a reporter, he discovered the theater and made his stage debut at age 17. He served as a radioman in the Royal Navy for two years, then attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, where his classmates included Albert Finney, Alan Bates and Richard Harris.
O'Toole spent several years on-stage at the Bristol Old Vic, then made an inconspicuous film debut in the Disney classic Kidnapped (1960). In 1962, he was chosen by David Lean to play T.E. Lawrence in Lean's epic drama Lawrence of Arabia (1962). The role made O'Toole an international superstar and received him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role. In 1963, he played Hamlet under Laurence Olivier's direction in the premiere production of the Royal National Theater. He continued successfully in artistically rich films as well as less artistic but commercially rewarding projects. He received Academy Award nominations (but no Oscar) for seven different films.
However, medical problems (originally thought to have been brought on by his drinking but which turned out to be stomach cancer) threatened to destroy his career and life in the 1970s. He survived by giving up alcohol and, after serious medical treatment, returned to films with triumphant performances in The Stunt Man (1980) and My Favorite Year (1982). His youthful beauty lost to time and drink, O'Toole has found meaningful roles increasingly difficult to come by, though he remained one of the greatest actors of his generation. He had two daughters, Pat and Kate O'Toole, from his marriage to actress Siân Phillips. He also had a son, Lorcan O'Toole, by model Karen Brown.
On December 14, 2013, Peter O'Toole died at age 81 in London, England.- Actor
- Producer
- Music Department
In 1960, a young 7-year-old named Patrick Lilley went on an Amos Carr photo shoot with his little sister. She was the subject but it was "Butch's" head shot that would wind up in the Hollywood Blvd. window. Utilizing his nickname and real first name, his agent Mary Grady and his mom Patti created the stage name, Butch Patrick, which he still uses 50 plus years later. Butch started out, quick, with landing his first three auditions. First was a very cool B movie, starring Eddie Albert and Jane Wyatt, called The Two Little Bears (1961). Also starring Soupy Sales and a 15-year-old Brenda Lee A series came next in the form of GH. That's right, General Hospital (1963)'s first year had Butch mixing with John Beradino. To round out the group, a Kellogg's award-winning Corn Flakes commercial. Butch continually worked in the early 60s on the most popular TV programs of the time: Mister Ed (1961), My Favorite Martian (1963), The Untouchables (1959), The Detectives (1959), Ben Casey (1961), Rawhide (1959), Gunsmoke (1955), Bonanza (1959) and many, many more. A second series came his way with the reboot of the classic The Real McCoys (1957). Working with Oscar winner Walter Brennan and Richard Crenna was a huge treat for Butch. All this time, he was working in over 20 commercials and a dozen movies. Starring the likes of Burt Lancaster, Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Jo Van Fleet, Sal Mineo, Don Murray, Edward G. Robinson, to name a few. Now, we enter to 1964. The Beatles are all the rage and Butch gets a call to fly from Illinois and go to CBS Studio Center for a screen test. Very hush hush as they have a part in mind for him. It will become a life-changing day for sure. His screen test is with the famous movie star Yvonne De Carlo and his character is "Edward Wolfgang Munster". From that day on, Butch would always be known, worldwide, as the iconic TV character, "Eddie Munster". The third series for Butch was the charm for sure. The Munsters (1964) are still one of the most popular series in history. Merchandised still and a huge family favorite, 50 years later. His character's hairline is the most recognizable, ever, and the Munster address is the most famous on TV, bar none. "1313 Mockingbird Lane" still is a favorite trivia question for the masses, worldwide. After a two-year stint, Butch set off to Disney for a few "World of Colors". The Young Loner (1968), with Edward Andrews and Kim Hunter, was a gem. Way Down Cellar another two part special was shot the same summer. A few features followed and then he became a semi-regular on My Three Sons (1960), doing 10 episodes. In between, Butch was busy with Adam 12's, the pilot episode of Marcus Welby M.D. Ironside, more westerns and movies too. In the summer of 1969, Butch left the country to film in Brazil for three months. A feature based on an award-winning novel, The Sandpit Generals (1971). Then, in 1971, Sid Krofft took Butch to lunch and convinced him to star in their new show for Sid and Marty's World Lidsville. He worked with Charles Nelson Reilly and Billie Hayes of Puf n Stuff fame. What a trip that summer turned out to be. Afterwards, Metromedia Records signed Butch to a contract and American Bandstand and the Dating Game were the new high-profile shows Butch was seen on. Not to mention the teen heartthrob tears from 1971 to 1973. After Butch turned 19, he decided this career really wasn't he yearned for and left Hollywood to drive fast cars and catch up on his surfing. In 1983, with MTV on the air, Butch formed a band, "Eddie and the Monsters", on Rocshire records and aired a video on the upstart cable powerhouse. They were actually the first unsigned act ever to be seen. This led to the show the basement tapes that led to the discovery of many new unsigned bands with videos. So there you have his older accomplishments. Today, Butch receives scripts and works the indie movie circuit, giving back to the industry that served him well. He's a cancer survivor and works with people with addiction issues, as well. He had his own issues with his life and, after 40 years of alcohol and drug abuse, he's been clean and sober nearly 10 years. He married Leila Murray in 2016.- After becoming immersed in the 60s high life of drugs and sex, Denberg left show business and returned to Austria. News interviews at the time show a depressed Denberg in the company of her mother, at home in Klagenfurt. These news items, repeated in fan periodicals for years, gave the impression Denberg was suicidal or had already died. Actually, she is still alive.
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Victoria was raised in a Bible-believing, piano-playing, gymnastic home with no TV. Her dad was a gym coach so she competed in gymnastics from age 5 to 18. Was a cheerleader and a homecoming queen. Attended Florida Bible College; received a gymnastic scholarship to Furman University, attended Auburn University one year and ended up in Hollywood, California via summer-stock in Birmingham, where she met Johnny Crawford (The Rifleman). Crawford sent her a one-way ticket to the show-biz capital and put her in his night club act. Supporting herself as a cigarette girl and as a typist at the American Cancer Society, and waitress at The Kipling Retirement Hotel, she performed stand-up comedy for two years until Johnny Carson put her act (which consisted of her doing a handstand while reciting poetry) on national TV. Following 7 appearances with Johnny, she starred in many movies and TV shows, most notably, Saturday Night Live (1986-1992).
In 1991, she re-united with her high school sweetheart, married him, and moved to Florida where he was a police helicopter pilot. She raised a family and recorded two children's album, "Ukulele Lady," and "Ukulele Ditties for Itty Bitty Kiddies," by Choo Choo Records, and produced a collection of her original songs, "Use Me," by Birdie Singer Publishing. In 2012, Jackson's husband retired and they followed their grown daughters and grandchildren to Nashville where Jackson continues to perform her songs and stand up onstage. She still does an occasional movie or TV show, most recently she appeared in "Matchbreaker" on Netflix, played the wife of Eric Estrada in the Pureflix sitcom, "Malibu Dan (2018), and played Alma in "Lost Heart" (2020).
Jackson authored "Is My Bow Too Big?" in 2012, about how she got on TV, published by White Hall, and she authored "Lavender Hair," published by Broadstreet, about her breast cancer journey and recovery in 2017. Jackson got her Master's Degree in Film from Lipscomb University in 2021.
She is in pre-production for a reality show about her singing at the Grand Ol' Opry, and is producing a feature film that she wrote, Jane Blond Saves the World (One Mistake at a Time).- Music Artist
- Actress
- Composer
Born in Cambridge as Charlotte Emma Aitchison, Charli XCX is a singer, songwriter, model and actress. Daughter of a Scottish father and Indian mother, she studied at UCL's Slade School of Fine Art in London. Charlotte kept her MSN Messenger alias for her stage name and started writing songs at 14 years old. Her talent was spotted in 2008 after she shared on MySpace songs and demos from her first album that was recorded thanks to the financial help of her parents. She took a break from music in 2010. Aitchison contributed vocals and co-writing for numerous hit singles before debuting her studio album True Romance in 2013. International success followed quickly with a second studio album and several collaboration with other artists such as Iggy Azalea. In 2017, before releasing a new mixtape, she directed the music video of the lead single from her upcoming third studio album.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Alice Jane Evans was born in 1968 to David Evans, a professor of Applied Mathematics at Bristol University and Janet Evans, a teacher of English literature. Alice gained a degree in French and Italian from University College, London, and then moved to Paris where she studied acting at the Cours Florent. She quickly began to work, mainly in French television but also in the very successful Italian miniseries Le ragazze di Piazza di Spagna (1998) as "Nathalie", a French student who is forced to come to grips with the realities of life when she finds out she is pregnant by a man she is not supposed to be with. This was particularly challenging as Alice played the role in Italian, but had to loop the entire film later on because her own accent in Italian sounded too British and not French enough! Her first big break came when her first feature, Monsieur Naphtali (1999) was brought to the attention of Oscar-winning director Claude Lelouch, who invited her to audition for a film he was writing, Une pour toutes (1999) and, after three callbacks, cast her in one of the three lead roles. Alice played "Macha", one of three actresses who, after a failed production of Anton Chekhov's "Three Sisters", invent a scheme to swindle wealthy men out of money and eventually end up making the film of the story of their lives. The film was a critical, if not commercial success. Anne Parillaud and Marianne Denicourt co-starred.
Aside from an episode of TV show "Highlander", Alice did not act in her mother tongue, English, until 1999 when Disney cast her as the lead in 102 Dalmatians (2000) alongside Glenn Close, Gérard Depardieu and Ioan Gruffudd. This was a huge break for Alice but it was marred by tragedy. Her beloved mother, Janet, suffered a fatal heart attack whilst out walking her dog, less than 24 hours before Alice's final screen test for the role. The story goes that she never told her mother about the test and was hoping to surprise her if she won the role. Janet was only 59. In a strange twist, the actor she first met only hours after losing her mother was to become her closest friend. Alice became very close to Ioan Gruffudd during the shoot and they became a couple in late 2000. They got engaged in 2005.
In 2000, Alice shot Best of Both Worlds (2001) for the BBC, in which she played "Diane", an air stewardess who is a wife and mother, who begins a relationship with a man in Italy, where she flies three times a week and eventually marries him and embarks on a double life. The series was written by acclaimed writer Paul Abbott and Alice received glowing reviews for her performance. In 2002, she was cast by Mel Smith as the lead in Blackball (2003) alongside James Cromwell and Vince Vaughn. The film was a commercial and critical flop and other commercially unsuccessful British and European films followed. Perhaps because of this, Alice moved to Los Angeles, California in 2003. In the United States, she has worked in both film (Four Corners of Suburbia (2005)) and television (CSI: Miami (2002), The Chris Isaak Show (2001)), although she still continues to work in the United Kingdom, most recently alongside Alistair McGowan in a new series for BBC One and with Billy Boyd and Eva Birthistle in the Independent feature Save Angel Hope (2007).
She lives in West Hollywood with her husband, actor Ioan Gruffudd. She gave birth to their first child, Ella Betsi Janet Gruffudd, on September 6, 2009.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Myrna Williams, later to become Myrna Loy, was born on August 2, 1905 in Helena, Montana. Her father was the youngest person ever elected to the Montana State legislature. Later on her family moved to Radersburg where she spent her youth on a cattle ranch. At the age of 13, Myrna's father died of influenza and the rest of the family moved to Los Angeles. She was educated in L.A. at the Westlake School for Girls where she caught the acting bug. She started at the age of 15 when she appeared in local stage productions in order to help support her family. Some of the stage plays were held in the now famous Grauman's Theater in Hollywood. Mrs. Rudolph Valentino happened to be in the audience one night who managed to pull some strings to get Myrna some parts in the motion picture industry. Her first film was a small part in the production of What Price Beauty? (1925). Later she appeared the same year in Pretty Ladies (1925) along with Joan Crawford. She was one of the few stars that would start in silent movies and make a successful transition into the sound era. In the silent films, Myrna would appear as an exotic femme fatale. Later in the sound era, she would become a refined, wholesome character. Unable to land a contract with MGM, she continued to appear in small, bit roles, nothing that one could really call acting. In 1926, Myrna appeared in the Warner Brothers film called Satan in Sables (1925) which, at long last, landed her a contract. Her first appearance as a contract player was The Caveman (1926) where she played a maid. Although she was typecast over and over again as a vamp, Myrna continued to stay busy with small parts. Finally, in 1927, she received star billing in Bitter Apples (1927). The excitement was short lived as she returned to the usual smaller roles afterward. Myrna would take any role that would give her exposure and showcase the talent she felt was being wasted. It seemed that she would play one vamp after another. She wanted something better. Finally her contract ran out with WB and she signed with MGM where she got two meaty roles. One was in the The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933), and the other as Nora Charles in The Thin Man (1934) with William Powell. Most agreed that the Thin Man series would never have been successful without Myrna. Her witty perception of situations gave her the image that one could not pull a fast one over on the no-nonsense Mrs. Charles. After The Thin Man, Myrna would appear in five more in the series. Myrna was a big box-office draw. She was popular enough that, in 1936, she was named Queen of the Movies and Clark Gable the king in a nationwide poll of movie goers. Her popularity was at its zenith. With the outbreak of World War II, Myrna all but abandoned her acting career to focus on the war effort. After making THE SHADOW OF THE THIN MAN in November of 1941, Myrna more or less stayed away from Hollywood for five years. She broke this hiatus to appear in one Thin Man sequel while devoting most of her time working with the Red Cross. When she did return her star quality had not diminished a bit, as evidenced by her headlining The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). The film did superbly at the box-office, winning the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1947. With her career in high gear again, Myrna played opposite Cary Grant in back-to-back hits The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) and Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948). She continued to make films through the '50s but the roles started getting fewer, her biggest success coming at the start of that decade with Cheaper by the Dozen (1950). By the 1960s the parts had all but dried up as producers and directors looked elsewhere for talent. In 1960 she appeared in Midnight Lace (1960) and was not in another film until 1969 in The April Fools (1969). The 1970s found her mainly in TV movies, not theatrical productions, except for small roles in Airport 1975 (1974) and The End (1978). Her last film was in 1981 called Summer Solstice (1981), and her final acting credit was a guest spot on the sitcom Love, Sidney (1981) in 1982. By the time Myrna passed away, on December 14, 1993, at the age of 88, she had appeared in a phenomenal 129 motion pictures. She was buried in Helena, Montana.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Matthew Del Negro stars opposite Billy Bob Thornton on season 2 of Amazon's Goliath, and will next star opposite Gad Elmaleh in Netflix's comedy series Huge in France, due in early 2019. In 2017, Matt was in theaters in Taylor Sheridan's Wind River, starring Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner, and Jon Bernthal, which won Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival. On the silver screen Del Negro recurred as 'Michael Ambruso' on the ABC series Scandal for three seasons. He portrayed 'Mayor Gavin Newsom' in the ABC miniseries When We Rise, about the gay rights movement in the US, and played 'Detective Hauser' in the Warner Bros. feature Hot Pursuit, starring Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara. The most notable of his many recurring roles include HBO's The Sopranos, NBC's The West Wing, Showtime's United States of Tara and MTV's Teen Wolf. Matthew's film credits include Celeste and Jesse Forever, starring Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg, Alex of Venice, starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Derek Luke, Ira and Abby, Room 314, and Limerence, on which he also served as a Executive Producer.
Matt's Hollywood success has been well earned and slow-burning, as he began his career in small theater productions in New York before landing a pivotal recurring role on Season 4 of HBO's groundbreaking series The Sopranos (1999) opposite James Gandolfini and Edie Falco. Other theater credits include A.C.T.'s sold-out run of David Mamet's "Speed the Plow" in the role of Bobby Gould, directed by Loretta Greco.
Having made his own short film, Christmas Break, in 2007, Matt stepped behind the camera again as creative consultant to help fellow actor Chris Messina with his directorial debut, Alex of Venice (2014). He has had similarly prominent roles in an assortment of festival and independent films such as the gritty The Sublime and Beautiful (2014), Celeste & Jesse Forever (2012) starring Andy Samberg and Rashida Jones, Ira & Abby (2006) for Magnolia Pictures, and the Ethan Hawke directed Chelsea Walls (2001).
In 2017, after describing his career as "being told 'No' for a living" when speaking to near-graduates of MFA Theater Programs in Los Angeles, Matthew created and launched his podcast, 10,000 "No"s, which can be listened to on the Apple Podcasts App, Spotify and at 10000nos.com. On it, Matthew gets up close and personal with top-shelf folks from all walks of life about the 10,000 "No"s they've had to endure and the struggles they've had to overcome on their journey to where they are today. The interviews are inspiring, raw, honest, and funny, with the intention of helping listeners realize that the people they think have "got it made" put their pants on one leg at a time, just like them . Matthew grew up in Westchester County, New York and graduated from Boston College, where he played Division I Lacrosse and consistently made the Dean's List.
He lives with his wife and two children in Los Angeles.- Actress
- Soundtrack
One of TV's finest comedic actresses, Cynthia Stevenson was born in Oakland, California, to Al Stevenson, an upholstery warehouse owner and Gayle Stevenson née Boniface, an editor. She moved north with her mother and brother, Gregory, to Bellevue, Washington and then to Vancouver, British Columbia, where she spent most of her childhood.
Cynthia took her first step toward an acting career in the University of Victoria's Phoenix Theatre Program. Cynthia returned to California to complete her training, attending the renowned American Conservatory Theatre (ACT) in San Francisco, and the Drama Studio London at Berkeley.
After arriving in Los Angeles, Cynthia found roles with an improv group and in two local theatre productions, one of which was a long-running hit, "The Ladies Room," written and directed by Robin Schiff and produced by Heartaches (1915), which brought Cynthia critical acclaim for her comedic skills. Because of this work, she landed an immediate job on a TV sketch comedy, Off the Wall (1986), where she was featured in 26 episodes.
Cynthia quickly built her resume with guest parts on popular sitcoms, including "Max Headroom," "Empty Nest," "The Famous Teddy Z.," "Newhart," Major Dad" and many others. In between came her first starring role as talk show host Jennifer Bass in My Talk Show (1990), an original, offbeat nightly series, described as the "first cult hit" of the 1990s. It proved to be Cynthia's big break, as director Above the Limit (1900) noticed and cast her as Bonnie Sherow opposite star Photographing a Ghost (1898) in the Oscar nominated film The Player (1992).
Legendary TV producers Cheri Steinkellner and Bill Steinkellner chose Cynthia for a recurring guest spot on their iconic hit series Cheers (2011). The producers then tapped her for a co-starring role in their next sitcom Bob (1992) playing the daughter of cartoonist Bob Newhart. That performance, in turn, inspired the same production team to create a new show Hope & Gloria (1995) especially for Cynthia. Co-starring as Hope opposite Jessica Lundy (as Gloria), the talented cast included Tiffani Thiessen and Enrico Colantoni. Whenever talking about her career path, Cynthia has always been quick to point out that it was Cherie and Bill Steinkellner who gave it movement and direction.
With a versatility that has moved easily between TV and film, Cynthia had top roles in several 1990's character-driven ensemble features, such as Watch It (1993), produced by David Brown and written and directed by [link-nm0002368]; Forget Paris (1995), written, produced, directed and starring Billy Crystal; Home for the Holidays (1995) produced and directed by Jodie Foster; Live Nude Girls (1995) written and directed by Julianna Lavin and Happiness (1998), written and directed by Love or Riches (1911). In addition she has been a recurring guest on network and cable shows, including "Ally McBeal," "Monk," "Six Feet Under," "According to Jim" and "The L. Word."
When Lifetime decided to enter into the half hour comedy business, they tapped Cynthia for the lead role in Susan Beavers' Oh Baby (1998), an innovative, first-person take on single motherhood created by Children of Mata Hari (1970). It ran for two years. She then relocated to Vancouver (known as "Hollywood North") where she starred as the troubled Joy Lass in the long-running Showtime favorite Dead Like Me (2003). While working in Vancouver, Cynthia was featured in several family films, including Agent Cody Banks (2003) and Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004), plus her repeating role as Jackie Framm in Air Bud: Golden Receiver (1998) and its five subsequent comedies for Disney, and the TV movie A Little Thing Called Murder (2006) opposite Judy Davis and directed by In Little Italy (1909).
Before leaving Canada and returning to Southern California in 2008, Cynthia had a regular role as a feisty female sheriff on ABC's Men in Trees (2006) and also starred in Lifetime TV's Christmas comedy Will You Merry Me? (2008), as well as the films Neverwas (2005), Case 39 (2009), I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009), Jennifer's Body (2009), and the long-awaited Dead Like Me: Life After Death (2009).
Cynthia's busy roster continues to expand back home with roles in such films as Reunion (2009), Tiger Eyes (2012) and Baja (2018). TV guest appearances have included such popular programs as "Life Unexpected," "Grey's Anatomy," "Off the Map," "Chaos," "Private Practice," "Sleepy Hollow" and "Supergirl," with recurring roles on Your Family or Mine (2015) and How to Get Away with Murder (2014).
Cynthia lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband and son.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Hallie Eisenberg was born August 2, 1992, in East Brunswick, New Jersey, to parents Amy and Barry Eisenberg, who are both professors in the health care field. Beginning her acting career at age 4, Hallie has appeared in many films including The Insider with Al Pacino and Russell Crowe, and Bicentennial Man with Robin Williams, as well as the Broadway production of The Women. She also starred in a series of commercials for Pepsi with guest stars such as Faith Hill, KISS, Aretha Franklin, and Jeff Gordon. Her older brother is Academy Award nominee Jesse Eisenberg.- Shapely, dark haired British actress who appeared in a number of sensual film and TV roles that showcased her beauty. She is probably best recognizable as Miss Caruso, the beautiful young Italian agent sleeping with James Bond in the opening of Live and Let Die (1973) whose blue dress zipper meets its match in Bond's magnetic watch. Prior to this, she had worked with Roger Moore in an early TV appearance and he recommended her for the role.
- Actress
- Additional Crew
Hannah Hoekstra receives her first Golden Calf Best Actress in 2012 for her role in Hemel. For her role in the feature film De Helleveeg, she receives her second Golden Calf Best Actress in 2016. In 2019, she receives the highest female drama award the Theo d'Or for her role in People, Places & Things.
Hannah has become a staple of cinema and television. Among others, she plays in Kleine Ijstijd (2017), in the thriller Magic Mountains (2020), Mijn vader is een vliegtuig (2021) and in Faitthfully Yours in 2022.
On television, we will see Hannah in Volgens RObert (2013), Joardy Season (2018-2021), Edelfigurant (2020-2021), Diepe gronden (2022) and Modern Love (2022), among others, and she is shooting for the series The Ring in 2023.
She also makes occasional trips abroad For example, she is shooting the film The Canal in Ireland in 2013. In 2017, Hannah was selected for the prestigious European Shooting Stars event organized by European Film Promotion (EFP) during the Berlin International Film Festival. In 2018, she starred in a leading role in the German feature film Arthur & Claire and in 2019 in the Belgian film De Patrick. In 2020, she starred in the German TV series Der Amsterdam Krimi and How to sell drugs online (fast).
In 2020, she had a role in the Hollywood blockbuster film Charlie's Angels In 2023, she can be seen in Elizabeth Banks' already promising film Cocaine Bear.
And a fun fact is that Hannah has been lending her likeness to the main character Aloy in the highly successful Sony game Horizon Zero Dawn since 2017.- Actor
- Music Department
- Producer
Carroll was born in Manhattan and raised in Forest Hills, a heavily Jewish community in New York City's borough of Queens. After graduating from high school in 1942, O'Connor joined the Merchant Marines and worked on ships in the Atlantic. In 1946, he enrolled at the University of Montana to study English. While there, he became interested in theater. During one of the amateur productions, he met his future wife, Nancy Fields, whom he married in 1951. He moved to Ireland where he continued his theatrical studies at the National University of Ireland. He was discovered during one of his college productions and was signed to appear at the Dublin Gate Theater. He worked in theater in Europe until 1954 when he returned to New York. His attempts to land on Broadway failed and he taught high school until 1958. Finally in 1958, he landed an Off-Broadway production, "Ulysses in Nighttown". He followed that with a Broadway production that was directed by 'Burgess Meredith', "God and Kate Murphy", in which he was both an understudy and an assistant stage manager. At the same time, he was getting attention on TV. He worked in a great many character roles throughout the 1960s. A pilot for "Those Were The Days" was first shot in 1968 based on the English hit, "Till Death Do Us Part", but was rejected by the networks. In 1971, it was re-shot and re-cast as All in the Family (1971) and the rest is history.- Uli Latukefu was born on 2 August 1983 in Australia. He is an actor, known for Young Rock (2021), Black Adam (2022) and Marco Polo (2014). He has been married to Pamela Savieti since November 2014. They have one child.
- In her long career, Beatrice Straight did quite a bit of work in the movies, despite plying her trade mostly onstage. When she did grace the silver screen, she did it with great skill. Her first love was theater, having debuted on Broadway in the 1935 "Bitter Oleander". Her work garnered her much acclaim, including laurels in her Tony-winning performance for which she won the award for best supporting actress as Elizabeth Proctor in the 1953 production of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible". In addition to theater and movies, she gave us notable work on television. In 1978, she won an Emmy nomination for her part as the matriarch Alice Dain Leggett in the miniseries The Dain Curse (1978). No less stately, she played the part of Lynda Carter's Queen Mother in the 1970s Wonder Woman (1975) series. Her life was touched by that same kind of elegance and stateliness that she often portrayed onstage and on-screen. She was born Beatrice Whitney Straight in Old Westbury on Long Island. Her father, banker and diplomat Willard Dickerman Straight, associated with the likes of J.P. Morgan. Her mother, Dorothy Payne Whitney Straight, was an heiress of the Whitneys, a dynastic (in the sense of TV's own "Dynasty"), moneyed family on the eastern seaboard. Beatrice went to the best schools and caught the acting bug while a student in Devonshire, England, rendering a critically acclaimed performance in a school production of Ibsen's "A Doll's House." Her studies subsequently turned to acting, and she studied under the tutelage of Michael Chekhov, nephew of Russian playwright Anton Chekhov and a member of the Moscow Art Theatre. Their relationship was somewhat symbiotic in that she persuaded him to start an acting school, later teaching there herself. It was through her work in the theater that she met her husband Peter Cookson, appearing opposite him as leading lady in "The Heiress" in 1948. She is perhaps best known for her achievement in the 1976 movie Network (1976); after only three days of work in that movie in just a few scenes that actually made it into the final cut, Beatrice Straight contributed such a stellar performance that she earned the Academy Award for the best performance by a supporting actress.
- Zuleyka Silver was born in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. She is an actress, known for 9-1-1 (2018) and Too Old to Die Young (2019).