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Max von Sydow
Biography
Max von Sydow (born Carl Adolf von Sydow; April 10, 1929 – March 8, 2020) was a Swedish actor. He also held French citizenship since 2002. He starred in many films and had supporting roles in dozens more. He performed in films filmed in many languages, including Swedish, Norwegian, English, Italian, German, Danish, French and Spanish.
Some of his most memorable film roles include knight Antonius Block in Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal (the first of his eleven films with Bergman and the film that includes the iconic shot of his career in the scene where he plays chess with Death), Jesus in George Stevens's The Greatest Story Ever Told, Father Merrin in Friedkin's The Exorcist, Joubert the assassin in Three Days of the Condor, and Ming the Merciless in the 1980 version of Flash Gordon.
He was twice nominated for the Academy Award - Best Leading Actor for Pelle the Conqueror (1988) and Best Supporting Actor for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011).
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Forest Whitaker
Biography
Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, producer, director, and activist. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
After making his film debut in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Whitaker went on to earn a reputation for intensive character study work for films, such as Platoon (1986), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Bird (1988), The Crying Game (1992), Phenomenon (1996), Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), The Great Debaters (2007), The Butler (2013), Arrival (2016), and Respect (2021). He has also appeared in blockbusters, such as Panic Room (2002), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) as Saw Gerrera, and Black Panther (2018) as Zuri. For his portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the British historical drama film The Last King of Scotland (2006), Whitaker won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Whitaker made his directorial debut with the television film Strapped (1993), and directed the films Waiting to Exhale (1995), Hope Floats (1998), and First Daughter (2004).
Apart from his film career, Whitaker is also known for his humanitarian work and activism. In 2011, he was inducted as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, later receiving a promotion to Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation, and serves as the CEO of Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI), a non-profit outreach program.
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Natalie Schafer
Biography
Natalie Schafer (November 5, 1900 – April 10, 1991) was an American actress, best known today for her role as Lovey Howell on the sitcom Gilligan's Island (1964–1967).
Schafer began her career as an actress on Broadway before moving to Los Angeles in 1941 to work in films. She appeared on Broadway in 17 plays between 1927 and 1959, often playing supporting roles. Most of those appearances were in short-run plays, with the exceptions of Lady in the Dark (1941–42), The Doughgirls (1942–44), and Romanoff and Juliet (1957–58). She was seen in a revival of Six Characters in Search of an Author, directed by Sir Tyrone Guthrie (1955–56). She also appeared in stock and regional productions, including the off-Broadway production The Killing of Sister George with Claire Trevor in the title role. She also guest-starred in TV productions beginning in the 1950s, such as an episode (“The Shy Ballerina”) of Sherlock Holmes, and in "The Charm School" episode of I Love Lucy, both in 1954.
Schafer performed in many films, usually portraying sophisticates. On TV, her roles included "Lovey Howell" on Gilligan's Island from 1964–67. She reprised her role in three made-for-television spin-off films after the show ended: Rescue from Gilligan's Island (1978), The Castaways on Gilligan's Island (1979), and The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island (1981). She also voiced Lovey Howell on the animated spinoffs, The New Adventures of Gilligan from 1974–77 and Gilligan's Planet from 1982–83.
In 1969, Schafer appeared in The Survivors—a high-profile prime time soap opera aired by the ABC television network. Despite the presence of movie stars like Lana Turner, Kevin McCarthy and George Hamilton, the show was a ratings failure and lasted only one season. For the 1971–1972 television season, Schafer joined the cast of the CBS daytime serial, Search for Tomorrow, portraying Helen Collins, mother of Wade and Clay Collins. Immediately following that role, she played Augusta Roulland on another daytime soap, Love of Life. Her final performance was in the 1990 made-for-television horror film I'm Dangerous Tonight.
She guest-starred as well on many other television series, including Goodyear Playhouse/Philco Playhouse ("The Sisters", with Grace Kelly, 1951), I Love Lucy (1954), Producers' Showcase ("The Petrified Forest", 1955), Guestward, Ho! (1960), The Beverly Hillbillies (1964), Mayberry RFD (1970), Mannix (1972), The Brady Bunch (1974), Phyllis (1976), Three's Company (1978), and The Love Boat (1979).
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Joan Freeman
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Joan Freeman (born January 8, 1942) is an American actress.
Freeman was a child actor, having appeared in her first film in 1949 at the age of seven. In 1961-1962, she was a regular cast member, the young waitress Elma Gahrigner, in the ABC TV series Bus Stop with co-stars Marilyn Maxwell and Buddy Ebsen.
In this early segment of her career Miss Freeman played the part of Marilyn Hayes in the doom and gloom classic film of 1962 called Panic in Year Zero! alongside veteran film stars Ray Milland, Jean Hagen, and singer teenage heart-throb Frankie Avalon. Avalon and she were rumored to have been an item during filming but that was never confirmed or denied.
Freeman appeared as tourist guide Amelia Carter in The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze. However, she is best known for her roles in two musical films. In 1964 she was the love interest of Elvis Presley in Roustabout and in 1967 with Roy Orbison in The Fastest Guitar Alive. Also in 1967, she appeared as the love interest opposite Don Knotts in the Cold War space-race comedy The Reluctant Astronaut.
In 1977, she costarred as Barbara Robinson in the 13-episode CBS series Code R about the emergency services, fire, police, and ocean rescue, in the California Channel Islands. Tom Simcox played her husband, police chief Walt Robinson. Other co-stars were James Houghton and Martin Kove. The program was seen as an imitation of NBC's long-running Emergency!.
Freeman also made a number of guest appearances on different television shows from the 1950s through the 1980s. She appeared on the popular series The Virginian four times. Her last motion picture performance came as "Mrs. Jarvis" in the 1984 horror film, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Joan Freeman, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Carrie Loring
Biography
Carrie Loring, known as the Kinder and Prep Choir Conductor and former host of TV Ontario's "Polka Dot Door," has embarked on nationwide children's show tours, showcasing talents in storytelling, mime, guitar, and puppetry. Armed with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto and singing certificates from the Royal Conservatory of Music, she's a notable vocalist, prominently with groups like Tafelmusik, Elmer Iseler Singers, and Elora Singers. Her impressive repertoire includes singing for film, television, and contributing to 25 CD recordings. Beyond performing, Carrie instructs privately and contributes to BCC’s Virtual Voices program, sharing her expertise in singing.
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Arthur O'Connell
Biography
Arthur O'Connell (March 29, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared in films (starting with a small role in Citizen Kane) in 1941 and television programs (mostly guest appearances). Among his screen appearances were Picnic, Anatomy of a Murder, and as the watch-maker who hides Jews during WWII in The Hiding Place.
A veteran vaudevillian, O'Connell, from New York City, made his legitimate stage debut in the mid 1930s, at which time he fell within the orbit of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre. Welles cast O'Connell in the tiny role of a reporter in the closing scenes of Citizen Kane (1941), a film often referred to as O'Connell's film debut, though in fact he had already appeared in Freshman Year (1939) and had costarred in two Leon Errol short subjects as Leon's conniving brother-in-law.
After numerous small movie parts, O'Connell returned to Broadway, where he appeared as the erstwhile middle-aged swain of a spinsterish schoolteacher in Picnic - a role he'd recreate in the 1956 film version, earning an Oscar nomination in the process. Later the jaded looking O'Connell was frequently cast as fortyish losers and alcoholics; in the latter capacity he appeared as James Stewart's boozy attorney mentor in Anatomy of a Murder (1959), and the result was another Oscar nomination. In 1962 O'Connell portrayed the father of Elvis Presley's character in the motion picture Follow That Dream, and in 1964 in the Presley-picture Kissin' Cousins.
O'Connell continued appearing in choice character parts on both TV and films during the 1960s, but avoided a regular television series, holding out until he could be assured top billing. He appeared as Joseph Baylor in the 1964 episode "A Little Anger Is a Good Thing" on the ABC medical drama about psychiatry, Breaking Point. The actor accepted the part of a man who discovers that his 99-year-old father has been frozen in an iceberg on the 1967 sitcom The Second Hundred Years, assuming he'd be billed first per the producers' agreement. Instead, top billing went to newcomer Monte Markham in the dual role of O'Connell's father and his son. O'Connell accepted the demotion to second billing as well as could be expected, but he never again trusted the word of any Hollywood executive.
Ill health forced O'Connell to significantly reduce his acting appearances in the mid '70s, but the actor stayed busy as a commercial spokesman, a friendly pharmacist who was a spokesperson for Crest toothpaste. At the time of his death from Alzheimer's disease in California in May 1981, O'Connell was appearing solely in these commercials, by his own choice.
O'Connell was buried in Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Arthur O'Connell, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Spike Jonze
Biography
Adam Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze, is an American director, producer and actor, whose work includes music videos, commercials, film and television. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Charlie Kaufman, which include the 1999 film Being John Malkovich and the 2002 film Adaptation., and for his work as director of the 2009 film Where the Wild Things Are. He was also a co-creator and executive producer of MTV's Jackass. He is currently the creative director of VBS.tv. He is also part owner of skateboard company Girl Skateboards with riders Rick Howard and Mike Carroll.
He also co-founded Directors Label with filmmakers Chris Cunningham and Michel Gondry.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Spike Jonze, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Guillermo Gil
Biography
Mexican actor Guillermo Gil participated in 51 plays, 49 feature films and 19 soap operas, as well as teaching at the Centro de Educación Artística (CEA).
He died at the age of 65, a native of Tehuacán, Puebla, and a graduate of the School of Theatrical Art of the National Institute of Fine Arts (INBA).
Juan Guillermo Sánchez Bolaños, his real name, stood out in the acting field thanks to his participation in theater and film productions, which earned him the Virgina Fábregas medal in February 2001, awarded by the National Actors Association (ANDA), for more than 25 years of uninterrupted career.
He founded his own theater company which he named "San-Gil", in honor of his late father's name, Don Guillermo Sánchez. He was a teacher for seven years in the acting and theater workshop at CEA, and served as stage director at the experimental and amateur level in 108 plays.
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Mark Mitchell
Biography
Mark Mitchell (born 29 September 1954) is an Australian actor, comedian and contemporary artist, best known for his character Con the Fruiterer.
Mitchell trained as a teacher of English - B.A. (Melb) Dip.Ed (S C V Rusden) - Mark taught middle and senior English for 5 years before deciding to follow his heart into performance. His entry into the entertain-ment world, dressed as the Devil, required him to deliver singing telegrams! Oddly enough this venture lasted only two weeks. Deciding that he was ready for stand-up comedy, Mark soon realized that perhaps stand-up comedy was not ready for him, but he persevered with it for almost six years before concluding that the corporate sector offered more intriguing opportunities for comedic addresses around focused themes.
The huge success of The Comedy Company (1988-1990) during the late 1980s brought Mark Mitchell, larger than life, into the homes of all Australians. His character portrayal of a Greek fruiterer named CON endeared him not only to many Australians, but also to the Greek community.
Mark soon found himself in demand from both local and international film and tele-movie including The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas (1996), Like Mother Like Son: The Strange Story of Sante and Kenny Kimes (2001), Blonde (2001), On the Beach (2000), Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story (2001) and Inspector Gadget 2 (2003).
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Brian Tee
Biography
Brian Tee (born Jae-Beom Takata) is a Japanese-born American actor. At the age of two, he and his family moved from Japan to Hacienda Heights, CA. He is most known for his starring role as Dr. Ethan Choi on NBC's Chicago Med and for his role as D.K. Takashi in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.
In James Mangold's The Wolverine (2013), starring Hugh Jackman, Tee played Noburo Mori, a sadistic minister of justice arranged to marry the daughter of the Yakuza Boss. He played Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, the 2016 sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
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