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Bert Freed
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Bert Freed (November 3, 1919 — August 2, 1994) was a prolific American character actor, voice over actor, and the first actor to portray "Detective Columbo" on television.
Born and raised in The Bronx, New York, Freed began acting while attending Penn State University, and made his Broadway debut in 1942. Following World War II Army service in the European Theatre, he appeared in the Broadway musical The Day Before Spring in 1945 and dozens of television shows between 1947 and 1985. His film debut occurred, oddly enough, in a musical Carnegie Hall (1947). A prominent role was as the villainous Ryker in the television series Shane, in which Freed added a unique touch of realism by beginning the show clean-shaven and growing a beard from one week to the next, never shaving again through the season.
Freed played Columbo in a live 1960 episode of the "Chevy Mystery Theatre" seven years before Peter Falk played the role. Thomas Mitchell also played the part on stage prior to Falk's version, which is probably where many of the eccentric Columbo traits originated; only a few were visible in Freed's straightforward interpretation, although the character as played by Freed is recognizably Columbo.
He appeared (sometimes more than once) in television shows such as The Rifleman, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, The Big Valley,The Virginian, Mannix, Barnaby Jones, Charlie's Angels, Then Came Bronson, Run For Your Life, Get Smart, The Lucy Show, Hogan's Heroes, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Dr. Kildare, Ben Casey, Perry Mason, Combat!, Petticoat Junction, The Outer Limits, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Route 66, Ironside, The Green Hornet, The Munsters, and many, many more. He directed one episode of T.H.E. Cat.
Freed appeared as a racist club owner in No Way Out (1950), a gangster in Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town (1950), a Marine private in Halls of Montezuma (1951 film), an Army sergeant in Take the High Ground! (1953), the Police Chief in Invaders From Mars (1953), Sgt. Boulanger in Paths of Glory (1957), the hangman in Hang 'Em High (1968), Max's father in Wild in the Streets (1968), as Chief of Detectives in Madigan (1968), a homosexual prison guard in There Was a Crooked Man... (1970) and Bernard's father in Billy Jack (1971) in which he got "whumped" on the side of the face by Billy Jack's right foot "just for the hell of it."
He retired from acting in 1986, and died of a heart attack in Canada in 1994 while on a fishing trip with his son.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Bert Freed, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Don McKillop
Biography
Donald Harley McKillop (15 February 1928 – 19 December 2005) was an English actor who trained at RADA. Notable roles include Bert the Landlord in the Doctor Who fifth and final serial of the eighth season, The Dæmons in 1971, Jack in The Likely Lads, Bill in Rosie and as Sgt. McKechnie in the first series of the Scottish TV production Sutherland's Law, opposite Maev Alexander. He appeared in five episodes of Dr. Finlay's Casebook between 1964 and 1970. He also appeared in notable films such as The Breaking of Bumbo (1970), An American Werewolf in London (1981) and Walter (1982).
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Chelsea Manalo
Biography
Chelsea Anne Manalo (born October 14, 1999) is a Filipino model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Universe Philippines 2024. As the first Filipino of African descent to win the national competition, Manalo represented the Philippines at Miss Universe 2024, where she finished as a top-30 semifinalist and was named the inaugural continental queen for Asia.
An advocate for indigenous Dumagat people, Manalo campaigns for youth education, accessibility, and empowerment. Manalo previously competed in Miss World Philippines 2017 and reached the top 15.
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John Ward
Biography
John Ward was lured into show business at the age of 12 when his younger sister, Jennifer, was named the photo double and stand-in for Drew Barrymore in Stephen King's Firestarter (1984), which was shot in his native Wilmington, NC. This gave him the acting bug, leading to several small acting roles over the years. In 1998 he made his directorial debut with Enchanted (1998), a film he also wrote, produced and starred in. It went on to cult status on cable, airing to this day. From there, he continued to write and direct feature films, with 11 to date. In 2013, he wrote, produced and directed Heart of the Country (2013) based upon the 2012 novel of the same name Ward also authored. He served as President of Bay Ridge Films, Inc. He died from complications from a rare plasma cell disorder on February 16 in 2024, Newport Beach, California.
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James Strong
Biography
James Strong is a British television and film director and writer, best known for his work on Broadchurch for which he was BAFTA-nominated for Best Director Fiction 2015. He trained at Granada TV and has directed episodes of the shows Holby City and Doctors, as well as seven episodes of Doctor Who and two episodes of its spin-off series Torchwood. His work on the Doctor Who episode "Voyage of the Damned" won him a BAFTA Cymru award for Best Director in 2008.
In 2007, he directed the autobiographical documentary Elton John: Me, Myself & I and in 2008 he directed three episodes of Bonekickers. He then directed Hunted and Best Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett Story and Silent Witness in 2010 followed by the feature film United and Downton Abbey in 2011. He was lead director and associate producer on Broadchurch, which won six BAFTAs including Best Drama and for which he was nominated for BAFTA Best Director Fiction.
Strong followed this with work on Series 2 of Broadchurch, the US remake Gracepoint in 2013 and other US pilots, including Kingmakers for ABC in 2015 and Drew in 2016. He also directed episodes of the Stephen King adaptation and J. J. Abrams produced 11.22.63.
In 2017 he directed and executive produced "Liar" for ITV and AMC. He recently directed the critically acclaimed mini-series “Vanity Fair “ for ITV and Amazon Studios. He is then set to direct a J.R.R. Tolkien biopic entitled 'Middle Earth'.
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Sean Connery
Biography
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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Gunther Hauk
Biography
Gunther Hauk has been a teacher, lecturer, biodynamic gardener, and beekeeper for more than 35 years. He co-founded the Pfeiffer Center in Chestnut Ridge, New York in 1996 and, together with his wife Vivian, Spikenard Farm, Inc., a non-profit honeybee sanctuary in 2006. Over these decades, he has given many workshops on the successful use of biodynamic principles in gardening and naturally harmonious beekeeping methods throughout the U.S. and Canada. In his book Toward Saving the Honeybee (2002) he calls for a radical change from current approaches to beekeeping. The Spikenard Honeybee Sanctuary is now located in Floyd, Virginia.
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Anthony Harrison
Biography
Drawn into the arts at an early age, Anthony went straight from high school into a three-year theatre program at Studio 58, Langara College. Although his professional acting career began on stage, his film and tv career got on a faster track where he performed in major films such as Snow Falling on Cedars, White Noise, The Core, Sixth Day, Alien Vs Predator 2 and Little Man. He has also written and produced two features, and recently completed his long-awaited writer/director debut with the feature film entitled "Joe Finds Grace". While screening this film on the festival circuit he performed as Admiral Richard Harrison on the Freeform series "Siren". As a trivia note - His first on camera role was playing the Motorcycle Cop in Bryan Adam's 'Heaven' video in 1984.
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Winston Hibler
Biography
Winston Hibler was an American screenwriter, film producer, director, and narrator associated with Walt Disney Studios. Educated at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, he began his career as a Broadway actor before transitioning to writing for radio, film, and television. Joining Disney in 1942, Hibler contributed as a songwriter, co-writing songs like "Following the Leader" from Peter Pan and "I Wonder" from Sleeping Beauty. He narrated several of Disney's True-Life Adventures documentaries and produced films such as Nikki, Wild Dog of the North (1961) and The Aristocats (1970). Hibler's versatile contributions significantly shaped Disney's storytelling and musical legacy.
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Leah Lewis
Biography
Adopted from a Chinese orphanage as an infant, American actress Leah Lewis is poised to emigrate into living rooms everywhere with her triple talent as an actress, singer, and dancer. She was raised in Windermere, FL and in Los Angeles, CA.
Leah Lewis is known for her breakout performance in the Netflix feature film, "The Half of It," written and directed by Alice Wu. The film launched globally on Netflix after winning the Founders Award for Best U.S. Narrative Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival. Lewis also portrays the starring role of 'Ember' in Pixar's animated feature, "Elemental" written and directed by Peter Sohn." She is also known for her role 'George Fan' in the CW series "Nancy Drew."
In addition to her acting, Lewis is professionally trained singer since childhood who has been writing her own music since the age of 15. In her free time, Lewis has many hobbies with a strong physical background including power lifting, dancing, yoga and strength and conditioning training. She enjoys writing, playing guitar, staying active in nature, advocating for mental health care, spending time with her family and creating strong community while traveling or resting between work.
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