Trending
Popular people
Chris Tucker
Biography
Christopher "Chris" Tucker (born August 31, 1971) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his roles as Detective James Carter in the Rush Hour trilogy and Smokey in the 1995 film Friday. Tucker was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the youngest son of Mary Louise and Norris Tucker. Tucker was raised in Decatur, Georgia. After graduating from Columbia High School, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy and movies. In 1992, Tucker was a frequent performer on Def Comedy Jam. He made his cinematic debut in House Party 3, and gained greater film recognition alongside rapper Ice Cube in the 1995 film Friday. In 1997, he co-starred with Charlie Sheen in Money Talks, and alongside Bruce Willis in The Fifth Element. Tucker did not reprise his role of Smokey in Next Friday (2000) because he had become a born-again Christian after filming Money Talks (1997).He later starred in the 1998 martial arts action comedy Rush Hour and its sequels, Rush Hour 2 and Rush Hour 3, in which he played James Carter, an abrasive wise-cracking detective. Tucker is good friends with fellow Rush Hour star Jackie Chan, and was also close friends with the late singer Michael Jackson, introducing and dancing with him at his 30th Anniversary Special, appearing in Jackson's video "You Rock My World" from his 2001 album Invincible and attending Jackson's memorial service. A friend of Bill Clinton, Tucker has traveled with the former President overseas, though he endorsed Barack Obama rather than Hillary Clinton in the 2008 primaries. On February 13, 2009, Tucker participated in the NBA All-Star Weekend's Celebrity Game.
Read more
Bernie Mac
Biography
Bernard Jeffrey McCullough (October 5, 1957 – August 9, 2008), better known by his stage name, Bernie Mac, was an American actor and comedian. Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Mac gained popularity as a stand-up comedian. He joined comedians Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and D. L. Hughley as The Original Kings of Comedy. After briefly hosting the HBO show Midnight Mac, Mac appeared in several films in smaller roles. His most noted film role was as Frank Catton in the remake Ocean's Eleven and the titular character of Mr. 3000. He was the star of The Bernie Mac Show, which ran from 2001 through 2006, earning him two Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. His other films included starring roles in Booty Call, Friday, The Players Club, Head of State, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Bad Santa, Guess Who, Pride, Soul Men, Transformers and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.
Mac suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the solid organs, but had said the condition was in remission in 2005. His death on August 9, 2008, was caused by complications from pneumonia.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Read more
Jacques Mayol
Biography
Jacques Mayol, born April 1, 1927, in Shanghai, China, and died December 22, 2001, in Capoliveri, on the island of Elba, Italy, was a French freediver whose story inspired the film The Big Blue (1988).
Jacques Mayol grew up in Shanghai, in the French Concession, where his father was an architect. In the summer, the family would often travel to Karatsu, Japan, via the Shanghai-Nagasaki shipping line. It was there that he learned to dive at the age of six. He was fascinated by the "ama," Japanese freedivers who dived for shellfish. It was also in the Nanatsugama caves that he encountered his first dolphin when he was ten years old. In the late 1930s, Japanese militarism drove Westerners away. Jacques Mayol would not return to Karatsu until 1971.
In 1939, he settled with his family in Marseille, where he was stranded due to World War II. With his brother, Pierre Mayol, he often went diving, using masks fashioned from truck inner tubes and a homemade speargun to catch a few fish. At seventeen, he decided to join the air force in Morocco but returned to Marseille in 1945. He then spent his time in the Calanques of Marseille with Albert Falco, who later became the captain of Jacques-Yves Cousteau's Calypso. Drawn to Sweden, Jacques Mayol moved there in 1948, where he married a Danish woman, Vibeke Boje Wadsholt (or Vicky), a few years later. They had a daughter (Dottie) and a son (Jean-Jacques/Pedro), and divorced in 1957.
The family then settled in Miami (USA), where in 1955 Mayol was hired as a diver to clean the aquariums at a local water park, the Seaquarium. He spent a lot of time with a female dolphin named Clown, the mother of Flipper, the star of the famous 1960s television series. Observing her like a student observes a teacher, he managed to improve his freediving skills. In 1966, he met the Italian Enzo Maiorca in the Bahamas, breaking his personal best with a dive to 60 meters. He became the first diver in the world to reach a depth of 100 meters on a single breath, in November 1976, in the waters off the island of Elba, and then reached 105 meters in 1983, a feat that would remain iconic for many years. He was interested in the physiology of diving, practiced gymnastics, yoga, and meditation, seeking to better understand how the human body adapts to immersion. When he dived, Mayol surprised scientists because his heart rate could drop from 70 to 20 beats per minute; this bradycardia should have caused him to faint.
Jacques Mayol, who paved the way for many freedivers, conceived of diving not as a simple sport, but as a physical and spiritual experience.
In 1983, he met Luc Besson, who presented him with his film project, The Big Blue. The fictionalized character of Jacques Mayol was portrayed by Jean-Marc Barr. His rivalry with Enzo Maiorca (named Enzo Molinari in the film and played by Jean Reno) is a recurring theme.
According to Umberto Pelizzari, he was consumed by loneliness and had been depressed for several months. He took his own life on December 22, 2001, at his home in Calone on the island of Elba, where he had lived for over thirty years. His ashes were scattered off the coast of Tuscany.
Read more
Frank Vincent
Biography
Frank Vincent (August 4, 1939 - September 13, 2017) was an American actor, musician, author and entrepreneur. He was a favorite performer of director Martin Scorsese, having played important roles in three of Scorsese's most acclaimed films: Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990) and Casino (1995). He often played a gangster and worked both in features and television. He also lent his voice talents to video games. He played the New York Boss Phil Leotardo in the HBO series The Sopranos.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Frank Vincent, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Read more
Antonino Bruschetta
Biography
Ninni Bruschetta (born Antonino Bruschetta on 6 January 1962) is an Italian actor, film and stage director and screenwriter.
Born in Messina, in 1983 Bruschetta co-founded with Maurizio Puglisi 'Nutrimenti terrestri', a stage company which primarily focused on subjects of social value, and was active both as an actor and a director. In 1987 he debuted as a screenwriter with the indie drama La gentilezza del tocco, and in 1989 he co-directed the indie film Private Screening. He is also very active as an actor in films and television series.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Read more
Sean Connery
Biography
Sir Thomas Sean Connery (August 25, 1930 – October 31, 2020) was a Scottish actor and producer. He 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, Connery died at the age of 90.
Read more
Halit Akçatepe
Biography
Halit Cavit Akçatepe (1 January 1937 – 31 March 2017) was a Turkish actor.
Akçatepe was born in Üsküdar in 1938, the son of actor Sıtkı Akçatepe and actress Leman Akçatepe. His father is grandson of Nevşehirli Damat Ibrahim Pasha and Fatma Sultan (daughter of Ahmed III). In 1943, he made his debut in the film Dertli Pınar at the age of 5 and made more appearances in other films in some child roles. Akçatepe completed his studies in Saint Benoit French High School. In 1956 he joined the army and stayed there for 1,5 years before returning to acting. He played supporting roles in many classic films.
In 1975, he acted in Hababam Sınıfı and then later its sequels Hababam Sınıfı Sınıfta Kaldı, Hababam Sınıfı Uyanıyor, Hababam Sınıfı Yeniden, Hababam Sınıfı Askerde, Hababam Sınıfı Üç Buçuk.
He had leading role in classic comedy films Süt Kardeşler, Yaşar Ne Yaşar Ne Yaşamaz, Salak Milyoner, Şaban Oğlu Şaban, Köyden İndim Şehre, Bizim Aile, Ah Nerede and classic drama Üç Arkadaş, Canım Kardeşim.
He died of a heart attack caused by respiratory failure in 2017.
Read more
Dolores Gray
Biography
Dolores Gray (June 7, 1924 – June 26, 2002) was an American stage and film actress. During her successful music career, she sang Marilyn Monroe's part on the Decca records soundtrack album of There's No Business Like Show Business (1954).
Born as Dolores Stein to Barbara Gray and Henry Stein in Chicago, Dolores Gray was briefly signed with MGM, appearing in Kismet (1955) and It's Always Fair Weather(1955).
Among her many stage roles, she appeared in Two on the Aisle (1951), Carnival In Flanders (1953); Destry Rides Again (1959); Sherry! (1967); and 42nd Street (1986). She also performed the lead role in Annie Get Your Gun in London (1947).
Gray earned the Tony Award for her role in Carnival in Flanders even though this Broadway musical, with a script by Preston Sturges, ran for only six performances. She therefore holds a record that is unlikely to be broken: briefest run in a performance which still earned a Tony.
She was best-known for her theatre roles. She recalled once "What a gift that would be to have more of a permanent record. A stage performance is just that, then it's lost. When I see movies on TV, I think, 'How great to have that.' But why look back? The decisions I made, I made. I can't change that."
On September 24, 1966, Dolores Gray married Andrew J. Crevolin, a California businessman and Thoroughbred racehorse owner who won the 1954 Kentucky Derby. Despite erroneous reports in the media that they divorced, they remained married until his passing in 1992.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Dolores Gray, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Read more
Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche
Biography
Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche is a Franco-Algerian filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He moved to France in 1968 and grew up in Montfermeil, on the outskirts of Paris. After studying sociology, he founded his own production company, Sarrazinc Productions, in 1999. His debut feature film, Wesh Wesh, qu'est-ce qui se passe? (2001), received the Louis Delluc Prize for Best First Film. Ameur-Zaïmeche's films often explore themes of identity, migration, and social justice, with a focus on marginalized communities. His notable works include Wesh wesh, qu'est-ce qui se passe?(2001) and Dernier Maquis (2008) and Le Gang des Bois du Temple (2023).
Read more
Fan Mei-Sheng
Biography
Fan Mei-sheng (樊梅生; born 13 September 1942) also known as Fan Mui Sang, is a prolific Hong Kong Cantonese actor.
Fan Mei-sheng started acting in movies from 1964; his first movie was The Story of Sue San. He made his name in Shaw Brothers Studio productions, including the role of 'Black Whirlwind' in All Men Are Brothers. Through the 1970s and 1980s, he was often cast as the villain in many Hong Kong martial arts films and thrillers. In 1979, Fan replaced Simon Yuen (who died during filming) in The Magnificent Butcher. That, as well as his role as an explosives man in The Postman Fights Back, became one of his best known performances. He also acted in the Michael Cimino film, Year of the Dragon; and in total has acted in one hundred films. In addition, he has directed one film, Amsterdam Connection in 1978, and produced another, Dark Side of Chinatown in 1989.
Read more
