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Tom Harkin

Biography

Thomas Richard Harkin (born November 19, 1939) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as a United States senator from Iowa from 1985 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. representative for Iowa's 5th congressional district from 1975 to 1985. He is the longest-serving senator to spend the entire tenure as a state's junior senator. Born in Cumming, Iowa, Harkin graduated from Iowa State University and The Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law. He served in the United States Navy as an active-duty jet pilot (1962–1967). After serving as a congressional aide for several years, he made two runs for the U.S. House of Representatives, losing in 1972 but winning in 1974. He went on to serve five terms in the House. Harkin won a race for U.S. Senate in 1984 by a wide margin. He was an early frontrunner for his party's presidential nomination in 1992, but he dropped out in support of eventual winner Bill Clinton. He served five Senate terms and at the end of his time in the Senate served as chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. He authored the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and was its chief sponsor in the Senate. Harkin delivered part of his introduction speech in sign language, saying it was so his deaf brother could understand. On January 26, 2013, Harkin announced that he would not seek reelection in 2014.
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Jacques Vergès

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Jacques Vergès (French pronunciation: [ʒak vɛʁʒɛs]; 5 March 1925 – 15 August 2013) was a French-Algerian lawyer of Vietnamese origin and anti-colonial activist. Vergès began as a fighter in the French Resistance during World War II, under Charles de Gaulle's Free French forces. After becoming a lawyer, he became well known for his defense of FLN militants during the Algerian War of Independence. He was later involved in a number of controversial and high-profile legal cases, with a series of defendants charged with terrorism, serial murder, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. This includes Nazi officer Klaus Barbie, "the Butcher of Lyon", in 1987, terrorist Carlos the Jackal in 1994, and former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan in 2008. He also defended infamous Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy in 1998, as well as members of the Baader-Meinhof gang. As a result of taking on such clients, he garnered criticism from members of the public, including intellectuals Bernard-Henri Lévy and Alain Finkielkraut, political activist Gerry Gable and Nazi hunter Serge Klarsfeld. Vergès attracted widespread public attention in the 1950s for his use of trials as a forum for expressing views against French colonial rule in Algeria, questioning the authority of the prosecution and causing chaos in proceedings – a method he promoted as "rupture defense" in his book De la stratégie judiciaire. He was imprisoned for his activism in 1960 and temporarily lost his license to officially practice law. He was a supporter of the Palestinian fedayeen in the 1960s. He would later disappear from 1970 to 1978, without ever explaining his whereabouts during that period. An outspoken anti-imperialist, he continued his vocal political activism in the 2000s, including opposing the war on terror. The media sensationalized his activities with the sobriquet "the Devil's advocate",[note 2] and Vergès himself contributed to his "notorious" public persona by such acts as titling his autobiography The Brilliant Bastard and giving provocative replies in interviews, such as "I'd even defend Bush! But only if he agrees to plead guilty." Description above from the Wikipedia article Jacques Vergès, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.​
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Sean Connery

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Sir Thomas Sean Connery (August 25, 1930 - October 31, 2020) was a Scottish actor and producer who won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards (one being a BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award), and three Golden Globes, including the Cecil B. DeMille Award and a Henrietta Award. Connery was the first actor to portray the character James Bond in film, starring in seven Bond films (every film from Dr. No to You Only Live Twice, plus Diamonds Are Forever and Never Say Never Again), between 1962 and 1983. In 1988, Connery won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Untouchables. His films also include Marnie (1964), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), A Bridge Too Far (1977), Highlander (1986), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Dragonheart (1996), The Rock (1996), and Finding Forrester (2000). Connery was polled in a 2004 The Sunday Herald as "The Greatest Living Scot" and in a 2011 EuroMillions survey as "Scotland's Greatest Living National Treasure". He was voted by People magazine as both the “Sexiest Man Alive" in 1989 and the "Sexiest Man of the Century” in 1999. He received a lifetime achievement award in the United States with a Kennedy Center Honor in 1999. Connery was knighted in the 2000 New Year Honours for services to film drama. On October 31, 2020, it was announced that Connery had died at the age of 90.
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Max Lichtig

Biography

A fan of all things in life weird, Max has performed as a plethora of characters, from Hedwig (with the angry inch) to Batman to Roger from Rent, with a propensity to play towards the absurd. You can sometimes catch him on reruns of Sex Sent Me to the ER, or in a commercial advertising suits as a poor man’s Justin Timerlake. He is super excited to be performing in the Dan Sugi original musical “Broadway Noir”, and encourages everyone to dry their hair after showering, unless they want to catch a cold.
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Amy Geist

Biography

Amy Geist is a producer, director, writer, and founder of Beloved Root. Hailing from Ohio, she made a five-year pit-stop in Chicago before landing in Los Angeles. She collaborates with emerging filmmakers and nurtures relationships with vendors, clients, and crew, hammering out budgets, scripts, decks, and mood boards. She has worked in almost every department, always striving to be a well-rounded ally. She started in Los Angeles as a freelance Producer and Production Manager at The Woo Agency, working with such clients as Lenovo (*Telly Award Winning), Disney, Sebastian, Motorola, Marvel, Milani, Bosch, Braun, and Delonghi. Her feature film and television work include Blade Runner 2049 (Alcon Entertainment *Academy Award Winning), Little (Universal), The Exorcist (Fox), Alex Inc (ABC), and most recently, Trees of Peace (Abstract Entertainment). In 2018, she wrote and produced the short film "The Way You Saw Me," which screened at twelve film festivals and won Runner-Up for Best Narrative Short at Denver Underground Film Festival and Bronze Film Award for Narrative Dramatic Short at WorldFest Houston.
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Kishore Kadam

Biography

A veteran Indian actor and writer, Kishor Kadam is noted for his works in Marathi and Hindi cinema. The multiple award-winning actor made his debut on the silver screen with the Hindi feature film Antarnaad in 19991, which was directed by the acclaimed filmmaker Shyam Benegal. Continuing his collaboration with Shyam Benegal, he subsequently worked in other parallel films like Mammo (1994) before eventually rising to fame with a stellar performance in Samar (1999), an Urdu feature film. The film won the National Film Award for Best Film in 1999 and Kishor for his outstanding performance in the lead won wide critical appreciation. Following the huge success of Samar, Kishor starred in films like Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar (2000), Black Friday (2004) and Ek Chalis Ki Last Local (2007), all of which fared well at the box office. Post-2007, Kishor Kadam worked mostly in Marathi films. Some of his popular film credits include Natrang (2010), Balak Palak (2013), Fandry (2014), Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru (2017), which marked his debut in Tamil cinema and Wagherya (2018), a Marathi comedy satire directed by Sameer Asha Patil. His 2019 releases include Chhatrapati Shasan and Adham.
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Shiva Rajkumar

Biography

Shivarajkumar was born on 12.07.1962 to Superstar Dr. Rajkumar and Producer Parvathmma Rajkumar couple. He was born Nagaraju Shiva Puttaswamy in the then State of Madras now known as Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Nagaraju Shiva Puttaswamy did his schooling in T Nagar Chennai and college at New College Chennai and graduated from Madras University. He is also a trained Kuchupudi Dancer and a student of Vempetti Chinni Sathyam. His father a matinee idol, his mother an acclaimed movie producer and his youngest brother Puneeth Rajkumar had already amassed 12 movies as a child artist, who won a national award for Bettada Hovvu in 1985; Nagaraju Shiva Puttaswamy was not a stranger to the world of movies but it was only time before he decided to arrive on the silver screen. He gains interest in movies after the legendary director K. Balachander approached him for a movie to be made in Malayalam, which did not materialize. This incident ignites Nagaraju Shiva Puttaswamy to hone his skills as an actor and debuts with his screen name Shivarajkumar through Anand, 1986 movie which was directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao and he has not turned back ever since. He was also the first actor of his time who could do the western dance moves, essentially the first Superstar who could dance in the Kannada movie industry, earning him the title Natyasaarvabhouma, meaning Emperor of Dance. Having acted in over 130 movies as a lead hero, he is known for his versatility and varied story choices and earned the title Hattrick Hero after his first three movies celebrated silver jubilee theatrically through Anand, Rathasapthami and Mana Mechchida Hudugi. His notable movies are OM (which was directed by Upendra), Nammoora Mandara Hoove, Chigurida Kanasu, Janumada Jodi, AK 47, Jogi, Kaddipudi, Mufthi, Tagaru, Bhoomi Thayiya Chochala Maga, Ranaranga, Ade Raaga Ade Haadu, Inspector Vikram, Dhore, Samyukta, Assegobba Meesegobba, Mruthyunjaya, Modada Mareyali, Midida Shruthi, Mutthanna, Samara, Simhada Mari, Kurubana Rani, Andaman, Hrudaya Hrudaya, Rishi and many others. Often late he has gained fame nationwide after his cameo as Narasimha in Rajinikanth starrer Jailer and as Senganna in Dhanush starrer Captain Miller. He has won 4 state awards for best actor in a leading role (Kannada) for Om, Hrudaya Hrudaya, Chugurida Kanasu and Jogi while having won 10 filmfare awards for best actor in a leading role (Kannada).
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Nathália Timberg

Biography

Nathalia Timberg (Rio de Janeiro, August 5, 1929) is a Brazilian actress. Her career spans more than seven decades in theater, film and television. Graduated from the School of Fine Arts at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, she began her career on stage in the 1950s, participating in important theatrical productions. Throughout her career she received the Molière Award twice, an APCA Award, a Mambembe Trophy, a Shell Award, in addition to having already been awarded the Mário Lago Trophy.
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Benny Safdie

Biography

Benjamin Safdie (born February 24, 1986) is an American filmmaker, actor, and editor best known for his collaborations with his older brother, Josh Safdie. Together, the Safdie brothers have established themselves as leading voices in contemporary independent cinema with acclaimed films such as Heaven Knows What (2014), Good Time (2017), and Uncut Gems (2019). In addition to directing, Benny has pursued a parallel career as an actor. His performance in Good Time earned him a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. He has since appeared in high-profile films including Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza (2021), Kelly Fremon Craig’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (2023), and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (2023). On television, he co-created, co-wrote, and starred alongside Nathan Fielder and Emma Stone in the Showtime series The Curse (2023).
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Jhonnã Bao

Biography

Jhonnã Bao is an actress, screenwriter, director, and transmedia artist from the outskirts of São Paulo. Currently, she studies Film Direction at the International Cinema Academy. She is part of the audiovisual collective CONTRAPLANO. In 2021, she premiered her first authorial film called “Tenebrosas?”, a documentary that reflects the reinvention of social imaginaries about trans and transvestite bodies in everyday life. In “Erguida” she acts, writes the script, directs and executive produces.
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