Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-30 of 30
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Barbara Pepper's signature roles were as worldly "dames" during the Hollywood's 1930s and 1940s Golden Era, fitting snugly alongside other flashy broads of that period such as Iris Adrian, Joan Blondell and Veda Ann Borg. Barbara patented her own unique, hard-boiled style, however, and should have gone further than she did. Most people who remember this fine character actress today as Doris Ziffel, the shrill, slovenly barnyard neighbor of Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor on TV's highly popular bucolic Green Acres (1965) series.
Barbara was born Marion Pepper in New York City in 1915. By age 16, her mind was already set for a show biz career. Within a short time, and against her parents' wishes, she nabbed a show girl spot in Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.'s Follies and changed her first name to Barbara. Here is where she met fellow chorine Lucille Ball and the two became lifetime, dedicated friends. After appearing as a member of the "George White's Scandals" on Broadway, Barbara soon integrated radio and film work as well, paying her dues primarily in bit parts as saloon girls, clerks, chippies, and the like. Her film debut was as a slave girl extra (along with Lucy) in Eddie Cantor's Roman Scandals (1933). A couple of movies gave her the chance for brassy stardom, including Our Daily Bread (1934) as a floozie named Sally, and a love interest role opposite comedian Bert Wheeler (of Wheeler and Woolsey) in Mummy's Boys (1936), but the roles were basically one-dimensional and she remained in the secondary ranks for the rest of her career. Her father, Dave Pepper, a non-professional, put together a brief, minor character career when he visited his daughter on the film set of Wanted! Jane Turner (1936) and was cast by director Edward Killy in the unbilled role of a detective. Father and daughter both also appeared in another movie the following year: The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1937).
Trained by acting guru Maria Ouspenskaya at one stage, she married actor Craig Reynolds (ne Harold Hugh Enfield) in 1943 and the marriage proved a loving one despite later financial hardships when both could only find sporadic work. On stage in 1944, they appeared together in a modern version of "Lady Chatterly's Lover" at the Geary Theater in San Francisco. They went on to have two sons, Dennis Michael and John Hugh Enfield.
In 1949, however, her husband died tragically in a motorcycle accident. Barbara was absolutely devastated. Overwhelmed with her loss and the prospect of raising two sons alone, severe depression and a debilitating alcohol problem set in and she was forced to find work as a laundress and waitress in between sparse acting parts. During this period she could only muster up tiny roles on film and TV as various comic snoops and harridans.
Friends like Lucy stepped in to help. Over the years, Barbara would be glimpsed several times on I Love Lucy (1951), including the classic episode "Friends of the Friendless" and as a frightened hospital nurse who is taken aback by Ricky Ricardo's severe voodoo make-up when Lucy gives birth to Little Ricky. Barbara also brightened up other TV comedies with small parts on Jack Benny's program as well as George Burns and Gracie Allen's popular show. She could also be found occasionally on the Perry Mason (1957) series playing minor but colorful characters.
In the 1960s, Barbara was glimpsed as a minor, plus-sized foil for Jerry Lewis in several of his slapstick film vehicles (Rock-a-Bye Baby (1958), Who's Minding the Store? (1963), The Patsy (1964) and Hook, Line and Sinker (1969), the last mentioned released posthumously). One bright respite from all her financial miseries during this time came with a steady paycheck and her semi-regular series role as "mother" to a TV-watching pig on the popular Green Acres (1965) series.
While Barbara was quite fun in her cranky bucolic role, the fun wouldn't last very long. Her health began to deteriorate rapidly during the run of this sitcom and she was eventually forced to relinquish the part during the 1968-1969 season, with actress Fran Ryan taking over the part. Plagued by a heart condition, Barbara died of a coronary in July, 1969, at the age of 54.- Don Megowan was born on 24 May 1922 in Inglewood, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Creation of the Humanoids (1962), The Werewolf (1956) and Blazing Saddles (1974). He was married to Alva Megowan and Betty Eleanor Wright. He died on 26 June 1981 in Panorama City, California, USA.
- Ruth Cohen was born on 28 January 1930 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Seinfeld (1989), V.I.P. (1998) and Life Among the Cannibals (1999). She died on 23 August 2008 in Panorama City, California, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Dick Foran was the matinée idol of the B movies. He started as a band singer and then sang on the radio. He was hired by Warner Brothers as a supporting actor who could croon a tune when called upon. His good looks and good natured personality made him a natural choice for the supporting cast. His first starring role was in the western Treachery Rides the Range (1936) which was Warner Brothers answer to Gene Autry. In the westerns that followed, he would sing the tune while riding the horse or romancing the gal. Whether it was Song of the Saddle (1936) or California Mail (1936), his character name may be different, but 'The Singing Cowboy' tag was always the same. While at Warner's he also played straight dramatic roles, supporting the star. In 1940, Dick headed for Universal where he was, again, in the supporting cast. He worked in serials, Rangers of Fortune (1940); horror, The Mummy's Hand (1940); to comedy, Ride 'Em Cowboy (1942). His signature theme "I'll Remember April" was introduced in Ride 'Em Cowboy (1942). After that, roles were sporadic. He made a half dozen films in the late fifties and did some Television. His last film role was in Donovan's Reef (1963) with his longtime friend John Wayne.- Actor
- Soundtrack
After military service during the First World War, Chandler studied at the University of Illinois, financing his studies by playing jazz violin in a band. During the early 1920's, he returned to the vaudeville circuit and began in films from 1928. Most of his early efforts were short one- and two-reel comedies, arguably his best being The Fatal Glass of Beer (1933) with W.C. Fields. While he mostly appeared in comedy and had countless bit parts, he later proved that he could handle meatier assignments, such as the simple-minded husband of Ginger Rogers, Amos, in Roxie Hart (1942). George was a protege of director William A. Wellman , who used him in twenty of his films.
On television, he made his mark as the jovial, well-remembered Uncle Petrie in Lassie (1954). He also had many good guest spots in other series, a particularly enjoyable one being the old man who sells a haunted Model A to dubious second-hand car dealer Jack Carson(with interesting results) in The Twilight Zone (1959) episode 'The Whole Truth' (1961). Prior to replacing Ronald Reagan as president of the Screen Actor's Guild, Chandler had been treasurer for twelve years (1948-60).- Script and Continuity Department
- Actor
- Director
Harry Harvey Jr. was born on 9 October 1929 in Jacksonville, Florida, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Forbidden Planet (1956), Mannix (1967) and Convoy (1978). He died on 8 December 1978 in Panorama City, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Fred Asparagus was born on 10 June 1947 in Los Angeles County, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Three Amigos! (1986), Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) and Colors (1988). He was married to Sandy Acord. He died on 30 June 1998 in Panorama City, California, USA.- Joe Patridge was born on 21 July 1930 in Arcola, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Highway Patrol (1955), 77 Sunset Strip (1958) and The Hypnotic Eye (1960). He died on 3 June 2023 in Panorama City, California, USA.
- Director
- Actor
- Producer
Jack Banner was a director and actor, known for Restraining Order (2002). He died on 3 August 2012 in Panorama City, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Maxine Gates was born on 3 March 1917 in Hebron, Nebraska, USA. She was an actress, known for The Unholy Rollers (1972), Goof on the Roof (1953) and Oklahoma Annie (1952). She died on 27 July 1990 in Panorama City, California, USA.- Nancy Brinckman was born on 13 August 1922 in Hollywood, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Detour to Danger (1946), Mr. Muggs Rides Again (1945) and Live Wires (1946). She was married to Paul McArthur. She died in June 1985 in Panorama City, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Mamo Clark was born on 6 December 1914 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. She was an actress, known for Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), One Million B.C. (1940) and The Hurricane (1937). She died on 18 December 1986 in Panorama City, California, USA.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Sid Troy was born on 20 March 1908 in New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Rebel (1959). He died on 10 June 1978 in Panorama City, California, USA.- Additional Crew
- Director
- Producer
Irving Berwick was a child prodigy, playing concert piano before the age of ten. Although he never gave up playing privately, his career was to be in films. His first job, in Hollywood, was as a dialogue coach, working under contract at Columbia Studios in the mid- to late 1940s and frequently with William Castle. Berwick was employed at Universal-International throughout much of the 1950s, working often with Jack Arnold on several science-fiction thrillers and westerns, and was dialogue coach on Against All Flags (1952) starring Errol Flynn, who gave him a case of expensive liquor for his services (although Berwick did not drink). During the same time period, he worked (uncredited) on the TV series Topper (1953). In 1958-59 Universal-International laid off many of its employees. Berwick then joined with make-up expert Jack Kevan to form a production company, Vanwick Productions. The company's first picture, The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959), was a deliberate attempt to emulate the success of Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954). Universal supplied equipment and crew members in order to keep them working, even on an independent production. Shot entirely on location at Point Concepcion, California (the lighthouse scenes), and nearby Cayucos (the beach and town scenes), the film featured a monster suit that Kevan created primarily from odds and ends of other monsters used in other Universal Pictures films: The Mole People (1956) (the hands), This Island Earth (1955) (the feet), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) (basic body construction). Kevan gave an entirely original texture and head to the "Piedras Blancas" monster. Ironically, the film was not shot at the real Piedras Blancas (some 50 miles away), since that location was judged not to be as photogenic. The Vanwick team followed that film with The Street Is My Beat (1966), which turned out to be Berwick's favorite film. Like "Piedras Blancas", it featured character actor John Harmon, who appeared in nearly every film Berwick made. Harmon is also the godson of Berwick's son Wayne Berwick (who played the little boy in "Piedras Blancas"). Berwick worked variously as a producer, director and second-unit director on his own and other producers' films throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In the early 1970s he began teaching filmmaking through the UCLA Adult Extension, which he continued for nearly a decade.- Stanley Myron Handelman was born on 21 November 1929 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Rodney Dangerfield Show: It's Not Easy Bein' Me (1982), Harvey Middleman, Fireman (1965) and Linda Lovelace for President (1975). He died on 5 August 2007 in Panorama City, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Mel Prestidge was born on 20 November 1928 in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, USA [now Hawaii, USA]. He was an actor, known for Hawaiian Eye (1959), The Wild Wild West (1965) and Ghost of the China Sea (1958). He was married to Evangeline Prestidge. He died on 25 January 2011 in Panorama City, California, USA.
- Special Effects
- Make-Up Department
- Actor
Mark Williams was born on 18 December 1959 in Santa Clara County, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Aliens (1986), The Fly (1986) and Big Sister 2000 (1995). He died on 27 May 1998 in Panorama City, California, USA.- Music Department
- Actor
- Composer
A saxophonist, Art Pepper played briefly with Gus Arnheim but most often played with black groups in downtown Los Angeles. It was during the late 1940s and early 1950s that he became addicted to heroin, and during the 1960s he served a few jail sentences. Pepper's wife wrote his biography, entitled "Straight Life."- Art Department
- Composer
- Editor
Eric Lowen was born on 23 October 1951 in Utica, New York, USA. He was a composer and editor, known for Deadpool 2 (2018), Blue Valentine (2010) and Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987). He died on 23 March 2012 in Panorama City, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Camera and Electrical Department
Richard Doran was born on 18 September 1908 in Colorado, USA. Richard is known for Hotel (1967) and Flap (1970). Richard was married to Joycw Doran. Richard died on 14 October 1983 in Panorama City, California, USA.- Eugenia Clinchard was born on 5 July 1904 in Alameda, California, USA. She was an actress, known for A Frontier Doctor (1911), The Sheriff's Inheritance (1912) and The Crazy Prospector (1913). She was married to Robert R. Horton and Walter George Pearch. She died on 15 May 1989 in Panorama City, California, USA.
- Maurice Millard was born on 29 December 1922 in South Africa. He was an actor, known for The Silent Service (1957), Alice Goodbody (1974) and Adventures in Paradise (1959). He was married to Thelma White. He died on 12 May 1999 in Panorama City, California, USA.
- Paul Parry was born on 13 September 1908 in Baldwin, Georgia, USA. He was an actor, known for Smashing the Vice Trust (1937). He died on 4 December 1966 in Panorama City, California, USA.
- Additional Crew
Lolly Stevenson was born on 5 February 1922 in Duluth, Minnesota, USA. She is known for The Hunter (1980) and Nobody's Perfekt (1981). She died on 15 March 2003 in Panorama City, California, USA.- Richard Setlowe was Vice President of Creative Affairs of ABC Pictures during the early Seventies, a period noted as a Golden Age of filmmaking. The feature films produced during his tenure-notably CABARET, KOTCH, and STRAW DOGS--received 14 Academy Award nominations and won eight Oscars. Other films on his watch included JUNIOR BONNER, starring Steven McQueen, directed by Sam Peckinpah, and TOUCH, director Igmar Berman's only English-language, American production starring Elliott Gould and Bibi Andersson.
Setlowe moved into the executive suite directly from VARIETY, where he was the lead film critic. He is cited in the biographies of independent filmmakers such as John Cassavettes and Melvin Van Peebles as being an early champion and quoted in the bios of iconic directors like Michelangelo Antonioni and Francis Ford Coppola.
In 1976, Setlowe published his first novel THE BRINK, drawing on his youth experiences in the Navy. It was a finalist for the Ernest Hemingway Award for First Novels. He thereafter devoted full time to writing novels, subsequently publishing THE EXPERIMENT, THE HAUNTING OF SUZANNA BLACKWELL, THE BLACK SEA, and THE SEXUAL OCCUPATION OF JAPAN, which enjoyed critical and commercial success and have been translated into a dozen languages. Most recently he has written plays. THE APPLE THAT FELL FAR FROM THE TREE and NORMA JEAN & JOHNNY, have had Los Angeles stagings.
He is a graduate of the University of Southern California, and also earned a Masters of Professional Writing with honors at USC.