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Imposing, barrel-chested and often silver-haired Brian Dennehy was a prolific US actor, well respected on both screen and stage over many decades. He was born in July 1938 in Bridgeport, CT, and attended Columbia University in New York City on a football scholarship. Brian majored in history, before moving on to Yale to study dramatic arts. He first appeared in minor screen roles in such fare as Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Semi-Tough (1977) and Foul Play (1978) and proved popular with casting directors, leading to regular work. However, he really got himself noticed by movie audiences in the box-office hit First Blood (1982) as the bigoted sheriff determined to run Vietnam veteran "John Rambo" (played by Sylvester Stallone) out of his town. Dennehy quickly escalated to stronger supporting or co-starring roles in films including the Cold War thriller Gorky Park (1983), as a benevolent alien in Cocoon (1985), a corrupt sheriff in the western Silverado (1985), a tough but smart cop in F/X (1986) and a cop-turned-writer alongside hit man James Woods in Best Seller (1987). In 1987, Dennehy turned in one of his finest performances as cancer-ridden architect "Stourley Kracklite" in Peter Greenaway's superb The Belly of an Architect (1987), for which he won the Best Actor Award at the 1987 Chicago Film Festival. More strong performances followed. He reprised prior roles for Cocoon: The Return (1988) and F/X2 (1991), and turned in gripping performances in three made-for-TV films: a sadistic small-town bully who gets his grisly comeuppance in In Broad Daylight (1991), real-life serial killer John Wayne Gacy in the chilling To Catch a Killer (1992) and a corrupt union boss in Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (1992). In 1993, Dennehy appeared in the role of police "Sgt. Jack Reed" in the telemovie Jack Reed: Badge of Honor (1993), and reprised the role in four sequels, which saw him for the first time become involved in co-producing, directing and writing screen productions! Demand for his services showed no signs of abating, and he put in further memorable performances in Romeo + Juliet (1996), as bad-luck-ridden "Willy Loman" in Death of a Salesman (2000) (which earned him a Golden Globe Award), he popped up in the uneven Spike Lee film She Hate Me (2004) and appears in the remake Assault on Precinct 13 (2005). The multi-talented Dennehy also had a rich theatrical career and appeared both in the United States and internationally in dynamic stage productions including "Death of a Salesman" (for which he picked up the 1999 Best Actor Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award), "A Touch of the Poet", "Long Day's Journey into Night" (for which he picked up another Tony Award in 2003) and in Eugene O'Neill's heart-wrenching "The Iceman Cometh."

A natural and lovely talent who was discovered for films by Samuel Goldwyn, the always likable Teresa Wright distinguished herself early on in high-caliber, Oscar-worthy form -- the only performer ever to be nominated for Oscars for her first three films. Always true to herself, she was able to earn Hollywood stardom on her own unglamorized terms.

Born Muriel Teresa Wright in the Harlem district of New York City on October 27, 1918, her parents divorced when she was quite young and she lived with various relatives in New York and New Jersey. An uncle of hers was a stage actor. She attended the exclusive Rosehaven School in Tenafly, New Jersey. The acting bug revealed itself when she saw the legendary Helen Hayes perform in a production of "Victoria Regina." After performing in school plays and graduating from Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey, she made the decision to pursue acting professionally.

Apprenticing at the Wharf Theatre in Provincetown, Massachusetts during the summers of 1937 and 1938 in such plays as "The Vinegar Tree" and "Susan and God", she moved to New York and changed her name to Teresa after she discovered there was already a Muriel Wright in Actors Equity. Her first New York play was Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" wherein she played a small part but also understudied the lead ingénue role of Emily. She eventually replaced Martha Scott in the lead after the actress was escorted to Hollywood to make pictures and recreate the Emily role on film. It was during her year-long run in "Life with Father" that Teresa was seen by Goldwyn talent scouts, was tested, and ultimately won the coveted role of Alexandra in the film The Little Foxes (1941). She also accepted an MGM starlet contract on the condition that she not be forced to endure cheesecake publicity or photos for any type of promotion and could return to the theater at least once a year. Oscar-nominated for her work alongside fellow cast members Bette Davis (as calculating mother Regina) and Patricia Collinge (recreating her scene-stealing Broadway role as the flighty, dipsomaniac Aunt Birdie), Teresa's star rose even higher with her next pictures.

Playing the good-hearted roles of the granddaughter in the war-era tearjerker Mrs. Miniver (1942) and baseball icon Lou Gehrig's altruistic wife in The Pride of the Yankees (1942) opposite Gary Cooper, the pretty newcomer won both "Best Supporting Actress" and "Best Actress" nods respectively in the same year, ultimately taking home the supporting trophy. Teresa's fourth huge picture in a row was Alfred Hitchcock's psychological thriller Shadow of a Doubt (1943) and she even received top-billing over established star Joseph Cotten who played a murdering uncle to her suspecting niece. Wed to screenwriter Niven Busch in 1942, she had a slip with her fifth picture Casanova Brown (1944) but bounced right back as part of the ensemble cast in the "Best Picture" of the year The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) portraying the assuaging daughter of Fredric March and Myrna Loy who falls in love with damaged soldier-turned-civilian Dana Andrews.

With that film, however, her MGM contract ended. Remarkably, she made only one movie for the studio ("Mrs. Miniver") during all that time. The rest were all loanouts. As a freelancing agent, the quality of her films began to dramatically decline. Pictures such as Enchantment (1948), Something to Live For (1952), California Conquest (1952), Count the Hours! (1953), Track of the Cat (1954) and Escapade in Japan (1957) pretty much came and went. For her screenwriter husband she appeared in the above-average western thriller Pursued (1947) and crime drama The Capture (1950). Her most inspired films of that post-war era were The Men (1950) opposite film newcomer Marlon Brando and the lowbudgeted but intriguing The Search for Bridey Murphy (1956) which chronicled the fascinating story of an American housewife who claimed she lived a previous life.

The "Golden Age" of TV was her salvation during these lean film years in which she appeared in fine form in a number of dramatic showcases. She recreated for TV the perennial holiday classic The Miracle on 34th Street (1955) in which she played the Maureen O'Hara role opposite Macdonald Carey and Thomas Mitchell. Divorced from Busch, the father of her two children, in 1952, Teresa made a concentrated effort to return to the stage and found consistency in such plays as "Salt of the Earth" (1952), "Bell, Book and Candle" (1953), "The Country Girl" (1953), "The Heiress" (1954), "The Rainmaker" (1955) and "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs" (1957) opposite Pat Hingle, in which she made a successful Broadway return. Marrying renowned playwright Robert Anderson in 1959, stage and TV continued to be her primary focuses, notably appearing under the theater lights in her husband's emotive drama "I Never Sang for My Father" in 1968. The couple lived on a farm in upstate New York until their divorce in 1978.

By this time a mature actress now in her 50s, challenging stage work came in the form of "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the Moon Marigolds", "Long Day's Journey Into Night", "Morning's at Seven" and "Ah, Wilderness!" Teresa also graced the stage alongside George C. Scott's Willy Loman (as wife Linda) in an acclaimed presentation of "Death of a Salesman" in 1975, and appeared opposite Scott again in her very last play, "On Borrowed Time" (1991). After almost a decade away from films, she came back to play the touching role of an elderly landlady opposite Matt Damon in her last picture, John Grisham's The Rainmaker (1997). Teresa passed away of a heart attack in 2005.

Brooklyn-native actress Ina Balin (née Rosenberg) was born on November 12, 1937, into a Jewish family of entertainers. Her parents were Betty (nee Friedman) and Sam Rosenberg, who divorced when she was 9 years old. Her father was a dancer/singer/comedian who worked the Borscht Belt. He later quit show business to join his family's furrier business. Her mother was a Hungarian-born professional dancer who escaped a troubled family life by marrying at age 15. Sam was her third husband at age 21. They divorced when Ina and her brother, Richard Balin, were still quite young and the children were placed in boarding schools (she at the Montessori Children's Village in Bucks County, Pennsylvania) until their mother married a fourth time to wealthy shoe magnate Harold Balin, who later adopted Betty's two children, who took his surname.

Ina always wanted to be an actress and her mother encouraged her to take ballet lessons while young. Her first big break occurred in NewvYork at age 15 when she appeared on Perry Como's 1950s TV show. She went on to attend New York University majoring in theater and also studied with Actors Studio exponents Lonny Chapman and Curt Conway while gathering additional experience on the summer stock stage. She made an auspicious Broadway debut in a female lead with "Compulsion" in 1957. Two years later, the dark-haired, olive-skinned beauty won a Theatre World Award for her outstanding performance in the Broadway comedy, "A Majority of One", starring Gertrude Berg. Producer Carlo Ponti saw her Broadway performance in "Compulsion" and requested her for a prime role in his film The Black Orchid (1958).

Starring Ponti's wife, Sophia Loren, and Anthony Quinn, Ina received impressive notices as Quinn's sensitive, grown daughter. Considered one of 20th Century Fox's most promising new talents, she received a special "International Star of Tomorrow" Golden Globe for this early work. A major career disappointment occurred when the film version of Compulsion (1959) was made and Ina's ethnic role of "Ruth Goldenberg" was transformed into a non-ethnic part (Ruth Evans) that wound up starring Diane Varsi. Ina was given an unbilled part in the movie. The sting of that studio transgression was somewhat softened when she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for "Best Supporting Actress" for her intensive performance in the Paul Newman/Joanne Woodward soaper, From the Terrace (1960), as Newman's love interest. She found herself typecast by the studio and eventually felt compelled to leave.

A soft, slender, but intent-looking actress who could play various types of ethnicities (Jewish, Italian, Mexican, Spanish, Greek, et al.), she had a lovely, quiet glow but could easily display the fiery temperament of an Anna Magnani when called upon. In the 1960s, however, she was overshadowed by a number of her leading men in their respective showcases. She appeared in many Westerns, often as the girlfriend or love interest of the hero. There was little room for any actor to generate interest upon themselves when playing opposite the likes of an Elvis Presley, Jerry Lewis and/or John Wayne. In other situations, her roles were merely decorative, less showy, or proved less integral to the main plot, such as her secondary role as "Martha" in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). While Ina maintained a fine balance of TV roles ranging from the dramatic (Bonanza (1959), Mannix (1967), Quincy, M.E. (1976), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964)) to the humorous (The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961), Get Smart (1965)), the one big acting role which could have set her apart from the others never materialized.

Subsequent pictures such as the cult film The Projectionist (1970) and The Don Is Dead (1973) and her assorted appearances in several TV-movies failed to advance her status in Hollywood. And then her life changed...dramatically. As the first woman to ever participate in a handshake tour of a South Vietnam military hospital in the late 1960s, Ina toured Vietnam with the USO in 1970 and was greatly affected by the entire experience. It also triggered a series of trips back to the war-torn region. As a Board Member of the An Lac orphanage in Saigon, she courageously took part in the full-scale evacuation of nearly 400 orphans in 1975 during the fall of the city to the Communists. She eventually adopted three of the 219 children who managed to be flown out of the country. In 1980, the dramatic rescue was replayed via a TV film in which Balin portrayed herself. The well-received The Children of an Lac (1980) also starred Shirley Jones (as fellow rescuer "Betty Tisdale") and Beulah Quo (as the concerned Vietnamese woman who ran the orphanage).

From this point on, Ina's professional career took a back seat to the raising of her children and her ongoing interest in foreign relief. She appeared throughout the 1980s with a sprinkling of guest shots on TV's Battlestar Galactica (1978), Murder, She Wrote (1984) and As the World Turns (1956), among others. As for film, her last movies (The Comeback Trail (1982), Vasectomy: A Delicate Matter (1986) and That's Adequate (1989)) were unworthy of her talents.

Ina never managed to fulfill her promising, Golden Globe-winning potential for she was diagnosed and eventually succumbed, at the age of 52 from pulmonary hypertension. A single parent, she was survived by her three children.

Elizabeth Wilson was born April 4, 1921, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Marie Ethel and Dunning Wilson. She attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse. Elizabeth's film debut was in Notorious (1946) in an uncredited role. She later appeared in Patterns (1956), and her performance was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Film. With over 70 film and television appearances, we should acknowledge her work in The Graduate (1967), 9 to 5 (1980), The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981), The Addams Family (1991), and Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001).

Born in Norfolk, Virginia to wealthy stockbroker Cornelius Hancock Sullavan and heiress Garland Council Sullavan, Margaret Brooke overcame a muscle weakness in her childhood to go on to become a rebellious teenager at posh private schools. She went on to perform with the University Players at Harvard and made her Broadway debut in Hello, Lola in 1926. Her Christmas Day marriage in 1931 to Henry Fonda lasted only 15 months, and her later marriages to director William Wyler and agent Leland Hayward were also tempestuous. Two of her three children, Bridget and Bill, would spend some time in mental institutions, and commit suicide. Friends noted that the collapse of her family life led to her breakdown. Her condition worsened over time, until she was discovered unconscious from barbiturate poisoning in a hotel room. Her death was ruled accidental by the county coroner.

Nicholas Tucci was born and raised in Middletown, CT. He graduated from Middletown High School before attending Yale University, where he received a BA in Theater and was a member of the sketch comedy group Suite 13. He had acted in numerous theatrical productions across the country, including multiple original works and many by William Shakespeare. He wrote several screenplays, both adapted and original, and all mainly rooted in the horror genre. A rabid, lifelong Stephen King fan, he owns a well-mannered Maine Coon cat named Church (after his favorite novel). Church is alive and well and lives in Middletown, albeit by a busy road.

James Joseph Broderick III was an American actor of English and Irish descent. Broderick was born in Charlestown, New Hampshire to James Joseph Broderick II (1895-1959) and his wife Mary Elizabeth Martindale. His father, a highly-decorated veteran of World War I, was of Irish descent and his mother had both English and Irish ancestry.

Broderick attended Manchester Central High School, in Manchester, New Hampshire. He then attended the University of New Hampshire, where he took pre-medical courses. In 1945, the 18-year-old Broderick interrupted his studies to join the United States Navy during the closing months of World War II, enlisting as a pharmacist. He was discharged in 1947 during the post-World War II demobilization of the United States armed forces.

In 1947, Broderick returned to his studies at the University of New Hampshire, as junior pre-med student. His life changed course when Broderick auditioned for a pat in a theatrical production of the University. His acting skills gained him the leading role of Captain Bluntschli,the cynical mercenary officer in the play "Arms and the Man" (1894) by George Bernard Shaw.

J. "Joe" Donald Batcheller served as Faculty advisor to the student drama club, and was impressed with Broderick. Batcheller arranged a meeting between Broderick and the experienced actor Arthur Kennedy (1914-1990), who happened to be an old friend of Batcheller. Kennedy gave Broderick a few acting tips, and advised him to attend the "Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre", a full-time professional conservatory for actors in New York City. The faculty there included Sanford Meisner (1905-1997), the acting teacher who developed the so-called "Meisner technique" of acting.

Following his acting studies, Broderick was ready for a professional career. He was mostly a theatrical actor, but started appearing in television productions in the 1950s. He was cast in the leading role of Officer Ernie Brenner in the crime drama "Brenner" (1959-1964). The series featured a father-son duo of New York City police officers. The father was Roy Brenner (played by Edward Binns), a hardened, cynical veteran of the police force, with over 20 years of service. The son was Ernie Brenner (played by Broderick), an optimistic young man who was was only starting his career.

Another highlight of Broderick's television career was the episode "On Thursday We Leave for Home"(1963) in the anthology series "The Twilight Zone". In the episode, the residents of a failed space colony request transportation back to Earth. But the colony's leader desperately tries to keep them there, unwilling to relinquish power. Broderick played the character Al Baines, the engineering officer who unsuccessfully tries to rescue the former leader, after everyone else abandons him.

In the 1960s, Broderick started appearing in theatrical films. Highlights of his film career include the roles of the bohemian-commune leader Ray Brock in "Alice's Restaurant" (1969), the motorman (rail vehicle operator) Denny Doyle in the hijacking-themed film "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" (1974), and the FBI agent Sheldon in the crime drama "Dog Day Afternoon".

In the late 1970s, Broderick gained a new leading in television, playing the lawyer and proverbial pater familias Doug Lawrence in the drama series "Family" (1976-1980). The series mainly focused on the family problems of the Lawrence family. Doug's wife Kate had quit a promising academic career to get married, and felt frustrated with the life of a homemaker. The elder daughter Nancy had divorced a philandering husband and was struggling as a single mother. Younger daughter Letitia (nicknamed "Buddy") had body-image issues, and considered herself abnormal. The family's only living son Willie was a high-school dropout and had no intention of getting a full-time job. The family mentioned to be still mourning another son, Timothy, who had died years earlier.

Broderick's last acting role was the television film "The Shadow Box" (1980), an adaptation of a play by Michael Cristofer. In the film, Broderick plays Joe, a man dying from an incurable disease and, trying to understand why his wife and son refuse to keep him company.

In the early 1980s, Broderick himself suffered from cancer, and his poor health prevented him from accepting more roles. He died in 1982, due to cancer. He was survived by his wife, painter Patricia Biow Broderick (1925-2003), and their three children. Broderick's son Matthew Broderick (1962 - ) followed in his father's footsteps and became an actor.

Donald Cook was born on 26 September 1901 in Portland, Oregon, USA. He was an actor, known for The Public Enemy (1931), Show Boat (1936) and Baby Face (1933). He was married to Princess Gioia Tasca di Cuto. He died on 1 October 1961 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

When they were casting for the movie The Week Of, a casting call went out for a man without legs. Multiple staff at Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford, Ct pushed for him to try out, and actually submitted his name for consideration. He was known as the funniest guy around already, so they felt he was the natural choice.

John Hubley was born on 21 May 1914 in Marinette, Wisconsin, USA. He was a director and producer, known for Of Stars and Men (1961), The Hole (1962) and A Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass Double Feature (1966). He was married to Faith Hubley and Claudia Lenora (Ross) Sewell. He died on 21 February 1977 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Dennis Scott was born on 16 December 1939 in Kingston, Jamaica. He was an actor, known for The Cosby Show (1984). He died on 21 February 1991 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Desiree Anzalone was born on 15 September 1989 in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA. Desiree died on 27 September 2020 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Faith Hubley (née Faith Chestman) was born in 1924 in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan. She left home without completing high school to go to Hollywood to pursue a career in filmmaking. She began as a messenger at Columbia Studios, but eventually worked as a sound-effects and music editor. During her time in California, she met John Hubley, an animator with Disney Studios, whom she married in 1955. A pro-union political activist, John was blacklisted from Disney. Thus began Faith's and John's filmmaking partnership. Many of their films featured the voices of their four young children.

They won their first Oscar for their film, Moonbird (1959) in 1959. Their second Oscar was for The Hole (1962) in 1962. The Hubleys were also lovers of jazz, and several of their films feature the voice and music of Dizzy Gillespie. They also contributed many animated segments to the legendary and beloved children's shows Sesame Street (1969) and The Electric Company (1971). Sadly, John died during heart surgery in 1977. Faith, however, continued to make a new animated film each year until her death from cancer in December 2001.

Riley Thompson was born on 5 October 1912 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor. He died on 30 September 1966 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Salvatore 'Sally' Consiglio was born in 1915. He was married to Flora Consiglio. He died on 4 April 1989 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Julien Derode was born in 1913. He was a producer and production manager, known for The Day of the Jackal (1973), The Sleeping Car Murder (1965) and Blow Hot, Blow Cold (1969). He died on 11 March 1979 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Ethelbert Nevin was born on 25 November 1862 in Edgeworth, Pennsylvania, USA. He died on 17 February 1901 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Charles Fuqua was born on 20 October 1910. He was an actor, known for The Great American Broadcast (1941) and NBC/RCA Experimental Television Demonstration for the Press (1936). He died on 21 December 1971 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Ilya Lvovich ("son of Leo") Tolstoy was the 3rd child of the world-famous Russian writer and philosopher Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), from the latter's 48-year marriage to Sonya Behrs, a marriage which produced 13 children in all. Although 5 of the Tolstoys' children died at birth or in infancy, the other 8 (including Ilya) survived to adulthood, and had careers which took them in many different directions. Ilya worked as a journalist, migrated to the USA in 1918 (around the time of the Russian Revolution), and had a motley career in the States. He did some journalism, including writings about his famous father in Russia, and served as a consultant on a few Hollywood films with Russian themes, including "Resurrection" and "Love" (1927). In one film Ilya Tolstoy even appeared briefly playing the role of his own father Leo Tolstoy. He died in poverty in a New York hospital in 1933. Ilya Lvovich Tolstoy's children were: Anna (1888- ), Mikhail (1893-1919), Andrei (1895-1920), Ilya Jr. (1896- ), and Vera (1898- ).

Rick McGraw was born on 19 March 1955 in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. He was an actor, known for WWF on MSG Network (1973), WWF Championship Wrestling (1972) and WWF Prime Time Wrestling (1985). He was married to Lisa McCarty. He died on 1 November 1985 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Ron Whyte was born on 18 November 1941 in Washington, USA. He was a writer, known for The Mind Snatchers (1972), The Sidelong Glances of a Pigeon Kicker (1970) and Look Up and Live (1954). He died on 13 September 1989 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Roy Maxwell was born in 1932 in Salford, Lancashire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Tom Grattan's War (1968), The Whisperers (1967) and The Man in Room 17 (1965). He died on 12 September 2016 in Lake Haven, Wyong, New South Wales, Australia.

Annie Le Anh Thu was born on 3 July 1985 in Placerville, California, USA. She died on 8 September 2009 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

John Boruff was born on 31 December 1910 in Mount Vernon, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Lights Out (1946), Days of Our Lives (1965) and As the World Turns (1956). He died on 12 January 1993 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Jean Harris was born on 27 April 1923 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was married to James Scholes Harris. She died on 23 December 2012 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.