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Virginia O'Brien

Biography

​Known to classic film fans by various nicknames--including Miss Deadpan, Frozen Face, and Miss Ice Glacier--this statuesque, dark-haired singer/actress carved a unique niche for herself on stage and screen by the hilarious Sphinx-like way she delivered a song. The daughter of the captain of detectives of the Los Angeles Police Department, Virginia Lee O'Brien became interested in music and dance at an early age (it didn't hurt her career chances that her uncle was noted film director Lloyd Bacon). Her big show-business break came in 1939 after she secured a singing role in the L.A. production of the musical/comedy "Meet the People". On opening night, when time came for her solo number, Virginia became so paralyzed with fright that she sang her song with a wide-eyed motionless stare that sent the audience (which thought her performance a gag) into convulsions. Demoralized, Virginia left the stage only to soon find out that she was a sensation. Signed by MGM in 1940, she deadpanned her way to acclaim and immense popularity with appearances in some of the studio's most memorable musicals including Thousands Cheer (1943), The Harvey Girls (1946), Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), Ziegfeld Follies (1945), Panama Hattie (1942), Ship Ahoy (1942), Meet the People (1944) and Du Barry Was a Lady (1943), performing inimitable renditions of such classic songs as "The Wild Wild West" (from The Harvey Girls), "A Fine Romance" (from Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)), "It's a Great Big World" (from The Harvey Girls (1946)), "Poor You" (from Ship Ahoy (1942)), and "Say We're Sweethearts Again" (from Meet the People (1944)). Although too often relegated to featured songs and small supporting roles, she still managed to become an audience favorite by the sheer force of her personality, polished vocals and way with a comic quip. The latter ability is especially apparent in one of her last MGM films, Merton of the Movies (1947), in which she co-starred with Red Skelton. In 1948, after 17 memorable screen appearances for MGM, the studio unceremoniously dropped her from its roster. She returned to films only twice more after her termination from MGM, in Universal's Francis in the Navy (1955) and Disney's Gus (1976), preferring to focus her energies on television and the stage, where she delighted audiences for three more decades. In the 1980s the still youthful beauty toured the country in a one-woman show and recorded a live album at the famed Masquers Club entitled, "A Salute to the Great MGM Musicals". One of her last significant stage appearances came in 1984 as Parthy Ann in the Long Beach Civic Light Opera's production of "Showboat", with Alan Young. She remained in semi-retirement in a large home in Wrightwood, California, for most of her later years until her death at the Motion Picture Country Hospital in Woodland Hills, 16 January, 2001, from a heart attack.
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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 31 October 2020, it was announced that Connery had died at the age of 90. Description above from the Wikipedia article Sean Connery, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
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Kevin O'Morrison

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Kevin O'Morrison (25 May 1916, St. Louis, Missouri) is an American playwright and actor. He started his career working as an actor in theatre, radio, television, and film in the 1940s. He began writing plays in the 1960s, most of which have been performed Off-Broadway and in theatres throughout the United States, and two of which have been performed in Europe. He is a Creative Art Public Service (CAPS) Playwriting Fellow, a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)Playwriting Fellow, Winner of the National Repertory Theatre's First Prize for Playwriting (for his play "A Party For Lovers),was awarded The Pinter Review Gold Medal for Drama (for his play "The Nighgatherers"), two of his plays were chosen to be staged at The O'Neil National Playwrights Conference ("The Morgan Yard" and "Ladyhouse Blues"), and when "The Morgan Yard" was chosen to open The Dublin Play Festival Siobhan McKenna won Irland's "Best Actress" Award in the lead role. Description above from the Wikipedia article Kevin O'Morrison, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Sam Seder

Biography

Samuel Lincoln "Sam" Seder (born November 28, 1966) is a comedian, writer, actor, film director, television producer-director, and progressive talk radio host. His works include the film "Who's the Caboose?" (1997) starring Sarah Silverman and Seder, as well as the television shows "Beat Cops" (2001) and "Pilot Season" (2004). He also appeared in "Next Stop Wonderland" (1998). Seder also made guest appearances on "Spin City" (1997), "Sex and the City" (2000) and "America Undercover" (2005).
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Anna Sten

Biography

Anna Sten (Ukrainian: А́нна Стен; born Anna Petrivna Fesak) was a Ukrainian-born American actress. She began her career in stage plays and films in the Soviet Union before traveling to Germany, where she starred in several films. Her performances were noticed by film producer Samuel Goldwyn, who brought her to the United States with the aim of creating a new screen personality to rival Greta Garbo. After a few unsuccessful films, Goldwyn released her from her contract. She continued to act occasionally until her final film appearance in 1962.
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Todd Solondz

Biography

Todd Solondz (born October 15, 1959) is an American filmmaker and playwright known for his style of dark, socially conscious satire. Solondz's work has received critical acclaim for its commentary on the "dark underbelly of middle class American suburbia," a reflection of his own background in New Jersey. His work includes Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995), Happiness (1998), Storytelling (2001), Palindromes (2004), Life During Wartime (2009), Dark Horse (2011), and Wiener-Dog (2016). Description above from the Wikipedia article Todd Solondz, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Faith Evans

Biography

Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, actress and author. Born in Florida and raised in New Jersey, Evans relocated to Los Angeles during 1993 for a career with the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B. Sure and Christopher Williams, she became the first female artist to be contracted with Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment recording company during 1994, for which she released three platinum-certified studio albums between the years 1995 and 2001. During 2003, she ended her relationship with the company to contract with Capitol Records. Other than her recording career, Evans is known as the widow of New York rapper Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, whom she married on August 4, 1994, a few weeks after meeting at a Bad Boy photoshoot. The turbulent marriage resulted in Evans' involvement in the East Coast-West Coast hip hop feud, dominating the rap music news at the time, and ended with Wallace's murder in a yet-unsolved drive-by shooting in Los Angeles, California during March 1997. A 1997 tribute single featuring Puff Daddy and the band 112, named "I'll Be Missing You", became Evans' best-selling song to date and won her a Grammy Award during 1998. Also an avocational actress and writer, Evans made her screen debut in the 2000 musical drama Turn It Up by Robert Adetuyi. Her autobiography Keep the Faith: A Memoir was released by Grand Central Publishing during 2008 and won a 2009 African American Literary Award for the Best Biography/Memoir category. Description above from the Wikipedia article Faith Evans, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Eddie Parker

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Eddie Parker (December 12, 1900 – January 20, 1960) was an American stuntman and actor who appeared in many classic films, mostly westerns and horror films. Some of his more famous films and serials include the 1943 "Batman" (as Lewis Wilson's stunt double), The Crimson Ghost, Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (as the Mummy), and Rear Window for Alfred Hitchcock as well as many classic Universal horror films. He appeared three times in the early television series, Tales of the Texas Rangers, and also performed stunts for that program. Parker died of a heart attack in 1960.
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Jean Harlow

Biography

Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the pre-Code era of American cinema. Often nicknamed the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde", Harlow was popular for her "Laughing Vamp" screen persona. Though her screen persona changed dramatically during her career, one constant was her sense of humor. She was given superior movie roles to show off her looks and nascent comedic talent. Harlow was in the film industry for only nine years, but she became one of the biggest stars in the US, whose image in the public eye has endured. Harlow was consistently voted one of the strongest box office draws in the United States from 1933 onward, often surpassing that of MGM's top leading ladies, such as Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer. Her movies also continued to make huge profits at the box office even during the middle of the Depression. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Harlow No. 22 on its greatest female screen legends of classical Hollywood cinema list.
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François Delisle

Biography

François Delisle is a Canadian film director, screenwriter and producer. François Delisle directed several experimental short films between 1987 and 1990. In 1991, François Delisle was named best new director of short and medium-length films at the Rendez-Vous du cinéma québécois for his medium-length film Beebe-Plain. In 1994, Ruth, François Delisle’s first feature film, was named best feature of the year and best screenplay at the Rendez-Vous du cinéma québécois. In 2002, François Delisle founded the company Films 53/12.
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