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Louis Calhern
Biography
Carl Henry Vogt (February 19, 1895 – May 12, 1956), known professionally as Louis Calhern, was an American stage and screen actor. For portraying Oliver Wendell Holmes in the film The Magnificent Yankee (1950), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Calhern began working in silent films for director Lois Weber in the early 1920s; the most notable being The Blot in 1921. A 1921 newspaper article commented, "The new arrival in stardom is Louis Calhern, who, until Miss Weber engaged him to enact the leading male role in What's Worth While?, had been playing leads in the Morosco Stock company of Los Angeles."
In 1923 Calhern left the movies, but would return to the screen eight years later after the advent of sound pictures. He was primarily cast as a character actor in films while he continued to play leading roles on the stage. He reached his peak in the 1950s as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player. Among his many memorable screen roles were Ambassador Trentino in the Marx Brothers classic Duck Soup (1933) and three that he appeared in at MGM in 1950: a singing role as Buffalo Bill in the film version of the musical Annie Get Your Gun, the double-crossing lawyer and sugar-daddy to Marilyn Monroe in John Huston's film noir The Asphalt Jungle, and his Oscar-nominated performance as Oliver Wendell Holmes in The Magnificent Yankee (re-creating his role from the Broadway stage). He was also praised for his portrayal of the title role in the John Houseman production of Julius Caesar (adapted from the Shakespeare play) in 1953, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Calhern also played the role of the devious George Caswell, the manipulative board member of Tredway Corporation in the 1954 production of Executive Suite.
Calhern's other film roles included the grandfather in The Red Pony (1949), adapted from the novel by John Steinbeck and starring Robert Mitchum, and the spy boss of Cary Grant in the Alfred Hitchcock suspense classic Notorious (1946). A performance as Uncle Willie in High Society (1956), a musical remake of The Philadelphia Story, turned out to be his final film.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Louis Calhern, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Bill Noble
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Bill Noble was an Australian international representative rugby league footballer. He played club football in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership's very first season with Newtown. That year he was also selected to play for Australia, making his full international debut against New Zealand the following year. He went on to play in the first ever test match against Great Britain on Australian soil during the 1910 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand. Noble was also selected for the 1911-12 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain. He stayed with Newtown for five seasons before playing a final year with Balmain.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Bill Noble, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Willard Robertson
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Willard Robertson (January 1, 1886 – April 5, 1948) was an American actor and writer. He appeared in 147 films between 1924 and 1948. He was born in Runnels, Texas and died in Hollywood, California.
Willard Robertson first worked as a lawyer in Texas, but he left his profession for a sudden interest in acting. He appeared on Broadway in 16 plays between 1907 and 1930. Robertson played supporting roles in many Hollywood films from 1930 until the year he died, typically portraying men of authority such as doctors, elected officials, military officers, and also lawyers. He played Jackie Cooper's stern but loving father in the oscar-winning drama Skippy (1931) and its sequel Sooky (1931). Robertson also portrayed a flamboyant lawyer in Remember the Night (1940) and the straight sheriff in The Ox-Bow Incident (1943).
Willard Robertson was also a notable writer of numerous plays, two of them were adapted into films. He also wrote the novel Moon Tide (1940) which was turned into Archie Mayo's drama thriller Moontide (1942) starring Jean Gabin and Ida Lupino.
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Eartha Kitt
Biography
Eartha Mae Kitt (January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American actress, singer and cabaret star. She was perhaps best known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 hit Christmas song "Santa Baby". Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the world." She took over the role of Catwoman for the third season of the 1960s Batman television series, replacing Julie Newmar, who was unavailable for the final season. She also was famous for being the voice of Yzma in Disney's The Emperor's New Groove as well as its sequel and TV series.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Eartha Kitt, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
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Joe Strummer
Biography
John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British musician. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist, and lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, formed in 1976. The Clash's second studio album, Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978), reached No. 2 on the UK charts. Soon after, they achieved success in the US, starting with London Calling (1979) and peaking with Combat Rock (1982), which reached No. 7 on the US charts and was certified 2× platinum there. The Clash's explosive political lyrics, musical experimentation, and rebellious attitude greatly influenced rock music in general, especially alternative rock. Their music incorporated punk with reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap and rockabilly.
Strummer's other career highlights included stints with the 101ers, the Latino Rockabilly War, the Mescaleros and the Pogues, as well as solo music. His work as a musician allowed him to explore other interests such as acting, scoring television shows and films, and hosting the BBC Radio show London Calling. Strummer and the Clash were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in January 2003. In his remembrance, Strummer's friends and family established the Joe Strummer Foundation (initially known as Strummerville), a non-profit organisation that gives opportunities to musicians and supports projects around the world that create empowerment through music.
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Dennis Muren
Biography
Dennis Muren, A.S.C. (born November 1, 1946) is an American film visual effects artist and supervisor. He has worked on the films of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and James Cameron, among others, and has won nine Oscars in total: eight for Best Visual Effects and a Technical Achievement Academy Award. The Visual Effects Society has called him "a perpetual student, teacher, innovator, and mentor."
He has been identified as "a pioneer in bringing a new wave of visual effects films to the public, opening the doors for screenwriters and directors to tell stories never before possible with a new realism through the use of his skills in cinematic arts and advanced technologies."
According to Spielberg, Muren "set the example at Industrial Light & Magic for visual effects excellence with effects that add strong, appropriate emotion to a shot and fit seamlessly into a movie."
Description above from the Wikipedia article Dennis Muren, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Alexa Davalos
Biography
Alexa Davalos Dunas (born May 28, 1982) is an American actress. Her early role as Gwen Raiden on the fourth season of the TV series Angel (2002–03) was followed by some Hollywood films, including The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), Feast of Love (2007), The Mist (2007), Defiance (2008) and Clash of the Titans (2010). She has also appeared on the television series Reunion (2005–06) and in Frank Darabont's Mob City (2013). She starred as Juliana Crain, the main character in the Amazon Studios series The Man in the High Castle (2015–2019).
Description above from the Wikipedia article Alexa Davalos, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Simon Burke
Biography
Simon Burke (born 8 October 1961) is an Australian actor. Burke began his acting career as a 13 year-old in the Australian film, The Devil's Playground for which he was awarded Best Actor at the 1976 Australian Film Institute Awards.
He has since starred in numerous film, television and theatre productions in Australia and the UK. He starred as Captain Georg von Trapp in Rogers and Hammerstein's production of The Sound of Music at the London Palladium alongside Connie Fisher.
Burke was Federal President of Actors Equity Australia (2004–2014) and currently a Vice President of the International Federation of Actors (FIA).
Simon Burke is also well remembered for his long term stint as a presenter on the childrens television series Play School from 1988-2007 then 2013 and again in 2020.
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Evan Call
Biography
Evan Call was born in Lincoln, California. Although his brother and sister both played violin when they were children, he did not develop real interest music until he was thirteen. Growing up in a country town, he began taking bluegrass guitar lessons from a local teacher, John Massey. This was a big turning point in his life as it was the gateway to a new world.
As he started his studies in guitar, he developed a condition known as "Occipital Neuralgia" which caused incessant, extreme headaches. He could not attend school due to the pain, so he continued his studies at home and sent his work to school. As a wrestler, runner, and soccer player, this also was a big imposition not only on his academic endeavors, but also on his athletic lifestyle. During this time, as he could not do much else, he focused intensely on music. For the next three months, he spent the majority of his time playing guitar until he was able to return to school after the pain had subsided enough. However, it was not until four years later that he completely recovered.
When he was sixteen, he picked up electric guitar and learned a great deal from a good friend of his, Matt Di Giordano. At this point, he branched out from just fingerstyle guitar to metal, a genre that has had a great influence on his development as a musician. Inspired by his friend, he began to write his own music. Starting with fingerstyle tunes and metal, he eventually delved into other kinds of music, specifically orchestral music (often used in his metal tunes) and video game music.
At the same time he began playing electric guitar, he developed an interest in singing. After singing for a couple years on his own, he began taking classical lessons from a local vocal teacher, Chris Bello, and participated in a local theater production. He began to develop his technique as a classical/musical theater singer and has continued to develop over these past few years. As a voice principal at Berklee, he is branching out into other styles such as: rock, jazz, latin, etc...
His deep interest in other cultures has also had a huge influence on his music. Aside from his native language of English, he also speaks proficient Japanese and Spanish. Although not an expert, he plays other instruments such as: Sanshin, Ryuuteki, Hichiriki, Quena, Flauta Dulce, Ocarina, Balalaika, and Charango. As a film scoring major at Berklee, he continues to apply everything he has learned throughout his life to further his ability and competency in the music world.
He currently resides in Tokyo and belonged to the music production group Elements Garden until 2016.
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Rhiana Griffith
Biography
Rhiana Jade Griffith was born in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. She began modelling as a child, doing runway work and catalogue ads, and progressed from there to television commercials.
From there, she got her first guest-starring role on the Australian medical drama Children's Hospital, and won her first film role, as Mercia in the 1998 film 15 Amore. Shortly thereafter, she won ModelQuest98's Grand Final for the 12-to-15 division, and was cast as "Jack" in the science fiction film Pitch Black.
2004 also saw Griffith embark upon her art career in earnest, with two major solo gallery showings. Her first, Chrysalis, was held at the Tighes Hill Gallery in Newcastle, Australia in January 2004. Her second, A Month in Kaos, was held at the Surry Hills Cafe 249 art gallery in Sydney, Australia in May 2004. Griffith also acted in another short film, A Whole New You, and guest-starred in an episode of the hit Australian medical drama All Saints. As the year came to a close, Griffith portrayed Barbarella in print and television ads promoting the Flickerfest film festival.
In 2005, Griffith held her third art exhibition, a collaboration with her brother, poet Damien Griffith, called Sibling Revelry. In conjunction with the art show, they released a limited-edition book of their work, pairing her paintings with his poems. Griffith also contributed to a Wearable Art Festival, and will launch a line of clothing later in 2005. She is working on her second book, a children's book, for release in late 2005, and portrayed the starring role of Clare Newell in a short film, Wrong Answer, which will be continued in the psychological thriller called Volunteer, to be directed by JD Cohen. Description above from the Wikipedia article Rhiana Griffith, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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