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Francis Blanche

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François Jean Blanche, known as "Francis Blanche" (20 July 1921 – 6 July 1974) was a French actor, singer, humorist and author. He was a very popular figure on stage, radio and in films, during the 1950s and 1960s. His two daughters, Barbara & Dominique, are artists with their studios in Eze. Blanche was born in an artistic family, mainly of stage actors—including his father Louis Blanche and his uncle, Emmanuel Blanche, who was a painter—. He completed his secondary schooling at fourteen, the youngest in France to do so at the time. In the 1940s and 1950s, Blanche was part of Robert Dhéry's theatrical company Les Branquignols, with whom he played in the film Ah! Les belles bacchantes, starring Robert Dhéry, Colette Brosset (Dhéry's then-wife), and Louis de Funès; directed by Jean Loubignac in 1954. Blanche teamed up with Pierre Dac to form a comic duo best remembered for Le Sâr Rabindranath Duval, a sketch about a phony and nonsensical Indian clairvoyant and guru (1957). They also created a popular and equally nonsensical radiophonic series, loosely based on a highly improbable espionage and conspiration plot, Malheur aux barbus, which was broadcast on Paris Inter in 213 episodes from 1951 to 1952. The same plot and characters were revived on Europe 1 in a series called Signé Furax, enjoying no less than 1,034 daily episodes between 1956 and 1960. Both broadcasts were phenomenal audience successes in the pre-television era. Blanche was also renowned for broadcasting phone pranks, in which he entertained listeners by making the most improbable situations sound plausible. He wrote poems, and the lyrics of 673 songs. On stage, he acted in Tartuffe and Néron and, in 1955, Chevalier du Ciel, an operetta by Luis Mariano at the Gaîté-Lyrique theatre. Blanche also enjoyed a successful cinematographic career, both as an actor and scriptwriter. He appeared as a hard-headed German colonel ("Obersturmführer Schulz") opposite Brigitte Bardot in Babette s'en va-t-en guerre (1959). He was one of the favourite actors of French filmmaker Georges Lautner, and played Maître Folace (a shady solicitor counselling a colourful gangster mob) in Les Tontons flingueurs (1963). Blanche also appeared in Boris Vassilief's Les Barbouzes (1964). He delighted in parodying classical music, adapting famous works such as Schubert's "Die Forelle" (The Trout) into a crazy and slightly risqué piece about a 16-year-old romantic girl obsessed with Schubert's song to the point of giving birth to a live trout while performing it on her piano. Similarly, he turned Beethoven's 5th Symphony into a lengthy and quite repetitive musical glorification of the clothes peg and its fictitious inventor, Jérémie-Victor Opdebec. Blanche died at the age of 52, from a heart attack with a background of untreated Type 1 diabetes. He is buried in Èze cemetery. Source: Article "Francis Blanche" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
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Robert Flemyng

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Robert Flemyng OBE, MC (3 January 1912 – 22 May 1995) was a British film and stage actor. Flemyng was born in Liverpool, the son of a doctor, and was educated at Haileybury. He began his career as a medical student before abandoning medicine to become an actor. Flemyng made his stage debut in the early 1930s, and worked steadily in both London and Broadway. His first film appearance was in 1937, but he didn't appear steadily in films until after he served in World War II. During the war he was commissioned into the Royal Army Medical Corps and served with great distinction, reaching the rank of full colonel at the age of 33. He was awarded the Military Cross in 1941, mentioned in despatches, and was appointed OBE in 1944. He played the idealistic schoolmaster in the 1948 Roy Boulting film, The Guinea Pig, starring Richard Attenborough, and the key role of Detective Sergeant Roberts in the 1950 film The Blue Lamp. One memorable role was as a necrophiliac in the film The Horrible Dr. Hichcock in 1962. He ably played a sardonic British Secret Intelligence Service chief (his boss being George Sanders) in the 1966 film The Quiller Memorandum. The character actor worked in films and television until his death in 1995. Some of his later films include Kafka (1991) and Shadowlands (1993). Description above from the Wikipedia article Robert Flemyng, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.​
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Betise Assumpção

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Betise Assumpção, born on November 30, 1967, in São Paulo, Brazil, is a multifaceted media professional with a career spanning journalism, film production, and international media. Early in her career, Assumpção worked as a journalist and gained unique insight into the world of motorsport, notably working with legendary Formula One driver Ayrton Senna. Her time with Senna provided her with an intimate perspective on the sport and its global impact, shaping her understanding of storytelling and media. Assumpção later transitioned into film production, where she has since become a prominent figure, especially in Brazilian and international co-productions. Her work bridges cultures and brings Brazilian stories to the global stage, making her an influential advocate for cross-cultural collaboration in the film industry.
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Rula Lenska

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Rula Lenska (born Róża Maria Leopoldyna Łubieńska, 30 September 1947) is an English-Polish actress. She mainly appears in British stage and television productions, but is known in the United States for a series of commercials for Alberto VO5 hairspray in the late-1970s and early-1980s. Lenska was born at St. Neots, Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire, England. Her family are members of the Polish nobility, and bearers of the Pomian coat of arms. They once owned a castle and estate in Kazimierza Wielka, Poland. Her father, Major Count Ludwik Łubieński, was personal secretary to Józef Beck, Minister for Foreign Affairs in Poland before the Nazi occupation of the country. Later, he became adjutant to General Władysław Sikorski, Prime Minister of the Polish Government in Exile and chief of the Polish military mission in Gibraltar during World War II. Łubieński later became head of the CIA-funded Polish Section of Radio Free Europe in Germany during the Cold War. Her mother was Countess Elżbieta Tyszkiewicz who escaped from Poland during the Nazi occupation, to Italy, but was captured with her own mother and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp where they survived for two years. Lenska was educated at the Ursuline Convent School in Westgate-on-Sea, Kent. Her big break was as Little Ladies' band member, "Q", in the British TV series Rock Follies (1976) and its sequel, Rock Follies of '77, the following year. By this time, she had renounced her title as a Polish countess. Lenska appeared in advertisements for the hair product Alberto VO5, which were shown on US television. Though Lenska was a popular actress in the UK, she was virtually unknown in the United States. In a Tonight Show monologue broadcast after the commercials started running, Johnny Carson asked "Who the hell is Rula Lenska?" and began using Lenska's name as a running joke on his show. Around the same time, Jane Curtin played Lenska in a sketch on Saturday Night Live.
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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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Vinod Khanna

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Vinod Khanna (6 October 1946 – 27 April 2017) was an Indian actor and producer of Bollywood films. He was the recipient of 2 Filmfare awards. He was also an active politician. He was the sitting MP from Gurdaspur (between 1998-2009 and 2014-2017). He had advanced cancer of the bladder. Vinod Khanna acted in lead roles in many superhit films and is best remembered for his performance in films like Mere Apne, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Gaddaar (1973 film), Jail Yatra, Imtihaan, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Inkaar, Kuchhe Dhaage, Amar Akbar Anthony, Rajput, Qurbani, Kudrat, Dayavan, Kaarnama, Suryaa: An Awakening and Jurm. After making his debut in 1968, Khanna first acted in small second lead roles or negative roles. His angry young man role in the movie Mere Apne, his negative role as the main villain in the superhit movie Mera Gaon Mera Desh and his role in the crtically acclaimed movie Achanak based on K. M. Nanavati v. State of Maharashtra, as the military officer turned fugitive. In 1982, at the peak of his film career, Khanna temporarily quit the film industry to follow his spiritual guru Osho Rajneesh. After a 5 year hiatus, he returned to the Hindi film industry giving two back to back hit films Insaaf and Satyamev Jayate. Khanna is popularly hailed as one of the most handsome lead actors ever in Bollywood.
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Nabhaan Rizwan

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Nabhaan Rizwan is a British actor known for his work in film and television. He gained prominence for his role as Raza Shar in the British drama series "Informer" (2018). Rizwan's compelling performance in the series garnered attention and critical acclaim. Additionally, he has appeared in various other projects, including "Station Eleven," showcasing his talent and versatility as an actor. Rizwan continues to make strides in the entertainment industry, establishing himself as a promising talent to watch.
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Devika

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Devika or Prameela Devi (25 April 1943 – 2 May 2002) was a Tamil and Telugu actress. Devika is the granddaughter of Telugu cinema doyen Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu. One of her uncles was a Mayor of Chennai. Kanaka is her daughter. In Tamil, she has acted with all major heroes of the day. In Mudhalali, an AVM film, in which she made her debut, she paired with S. S. Rajendran. The film received a certificate as the (Best regional language film) for the year from the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil. She paired with M. G. Ramachandran in Anandha Jodhi. She won accolades from viewers for the role she played in this film. With Sivaji Ganeshan she has acted in films like Karnan, Kulamagal Radhai and Bale Pandiya, pairing with him in the last mentioned film. Her role in Sumaithaangi was very moving. Though she is paired with Gemini Ganesan in this film, the relationship did not culminate in marriage and the end was a tragedy. This was a film by Sridhar. She acted in some other Sridhar films like Nenjam Marappathillai and Nenjil Or Aalayam. The song Sonnadhu Nee thaanaa in Nenjil or Aalayam became a hit because of her acting, apart from the lyrics and music.
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Daniel Sudick

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Dan Sudick is a special effects supervisor. Sudick and his fellow visual effects artists were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, War of the Worlds, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Free Guy, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Description above from the Wikipedia article Dan Sudick, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Gordan Kičić

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Gordan Kičić is a Serbian actor, comedian and director. Acclaimed for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is prominent for his starring role in the acclaimed television series Balkan Shadows, and for his roles in praised Serbian films War Live (2000), Sky Hook (2000), Mala noćna muzika (2002), Kad porastem biću Kengur (2004), Seven and a Half (2006) and Redemption Street (2012). He is also known for his supporting role as foolish Rajko in the popular television comedy Otvorena vrata. In November 2019, he made his directorial debut with the successful film Realna priča. He is a permanent member of the Atelje 212 theatre. In 2010, he won the Zoran Radmilović Award for his performance in the cult theatre's production of Hair.
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