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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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James Earl Jones

Biography

James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is a multi-award-winning American actor of theater and film, well known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership. He is known for providing the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise and the tagline for CNN. James Earl Jones was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi, the son of Ruth (née Connolly) and Robert Earl Jones. At the age of five, he moved to Jackson, Michigan, to be raised by his maternal grandparents, but the adoption was traumatic and he developed a stutter so severe he refused to speak aloud. When he moved to Brethren, Michigan in later years a teacher at the Brethren schools started to help him with his stutter. He remained functionally mute for eight years until he reached high school. He credits his high school teacher, Donald Crouch, who discovered he had a gift for writing poetry, with helping him out of his silence. Jones attended the University of Michigan where he was a pre-med major. While there, he joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps, and excelled. During the course of his studies, Jones discovered he was not cut out to be a doctor. Instead he focused himself on drama, with the thought of doing something he enjoyed, before, he assumed, he would have to go off to fight in the Korean War. After four years of college, Jones left without his degree. In 1953 he found a part-time stage crew job at the Ramsdell Theatre in Manistee, Michigan, which marked the beginning of his acting career. During the 1955–1957 seasons he was an actor and stage manager. He performed his first portrayal of Shakespeare’s Othello in this theater in 1955. After his discharge from the Military, Jones moved to New York, where he attended the American Theatre Wing to further his training and worked as a janitor to earn a living. His first film role was as a young and trim Lt. Lothar Zogg, the B-52 bombardier in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb in 1964. His first big role came with his portrayal of boxer Jack Jefferson in the film version of the Broadway play The Great White Hope, which was based on the life of boxer Jack Johnson. For his role, Jones was nominated Best Actor by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, making him the second African-American male performer (following Sidney Poitier) to receive a nomination. In 1969, Jones participated in making test films for a proposed children's television series; these shorts, combined with animated segments were the beginnings of the Sesame Street format. The next year, in the early 1970s, James appeared with Diahann Carroll in the film called Claudine. While he has appeared in many roles, he is well known as the voice of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy. Darth Vader was portrayed in costume by David Prowse in the original trilogy, with Jones dubbing Vader's dialogue in postproduction due to Prowse's strong West Country accent being unsuitable for the role. At his own request, he was originally uncredited for the release of the first two films (he would later be credited for the two in the 1997 re-release).  His other voice roles include Mufasa in the 1994 film Disney animated blockbuster The Lion King, and its direct-to-video sequel, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. He also has done the CNN tagline, "This is CNN", as well as "This is CNN International", and the Bell Atlantic tagline, "Bell Atlantic: The heart of communication". When Bell Atlantic became Verizon, Jones used the tagline greeting of "Welcome to Verizon" or "Verizon 411" right before a phone call would go through. The opening for NBC's coverage of the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics; "the Big PI in the Sky" (God) in the computer game Under a Killing Moon; a Claymation film about The Creation; and several guest spots on The Simpsons. In addition to his film and voice over work, Jones is an accomplished stage actor as well; he has won Tony awards in 1969 for The Great White Hope and in 1987 for Fences. Othello, King Lear, Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Abhorson in Measure for Measure, and Claudius in Hamlet are Shakespearean roles he has played. He received Kennedy Center Honors in 2002. Jones has been married to actress Cecilia Hart since 1982. They have one child, Flynn Earl Jones. He was previously married to American actress/singer Julienne Marie (born March 21, 1933, Toledo, Ohio); they had no children. Jones is a registered Republican.
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Partha Majumder

Biography

Partha Pratim Majumder (born 18 January 1954) is a Bangladeshi mime artist who is considered the "forerunner" of mime art in Bangladesh. Born in Pabna District in the north-western part of the country, Partha went to France in early 1980s under a scholarship program and trained under Marcel Marceau. Since then he has been performing in several countries throughout the world earning international recognition. In 2010, he was awarded the Ekushey Padak, one of the highest civilian awards in Bangladesh. In 2011, the French government awarded him the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He is the elder brother of musician Bappa Mazumder and music composer Partha Sharothi Mojumdar. Partha was born to Himangshu Kumar Bishwash and Shusrika Bishwash in Kalachadpara of Pabna district which was then part of East Pakistan. Born as Premanshu Kumar Biswas, Partha was later adopted by Ustad Barin Mazumder and Ila Majumder. After receiving primary education at Jubilee School, he was sent to Chandannagar, India and was admitted in Dr. Shitol Prasad Ghosh Ideal School. There he met with Jogesh Dutta, an Indian mime artist and became interested in mime. Between 1966 and 1972 he studied at the Jogesh Dutta Mime Academy and received basic knowledge about the art. Meanwhile, Bangladesh became independent after a nine-month war and Partha moved back to his country. In 1972 he was admitted to Government Music College in Dhaka before graduating in 1976. Partha started his career in the 1970s through singing and occasionally acting in some television and radio programs. His career got a break-through in 1979. His solo performance at Shilpakala Academy impressed the then French Ambassador to Dhaka, Loic Moreau and the director of Alliance Française, Gerard Grousse, who offered him a scholarship in 1981 to obtain professional training on mime under the French mime artist Etienne Decroux. He was then introduced to Marcel Marceau who trained him from 1982 to 1985. In 1986 Partha performed a solo titled Boatman of Padma at the UNESCO Headquarter in Paris which was the first mime act at the World Heritage Centre. In 1994 he wrote, choreographed and staged The Nightmare which was the first mimodrama pertaining to child abuse to be staged in South Asia. Source: Article "Partha Pratim Majumder" from Wikipedia in english, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
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Leroy Wallace

Biography

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace is a Jamaican drummer who worked for several years at Studio One, and has worked with numerous reggae artists including The Gladiators, Inner Circle, Prince Far I, Sound Dimension, Gregory Isaacs, Burning Spear, Ijahman Levi and Pierpoljak. He starred as himself in the lead role of the film Rockers. Wallace attended the Alpha Boys School in the 1960s and early 1970s, where he studied under Lennie Hibbert. Wallace also joined The Skatalites when they reformed in the mid-1970s. Wallace has been credited with inventing the 'Rockers' rhythm. He has also recorded as a DJ on a number of tracks, for example "Herb Vendor", produced by Lee Perry, and "Universal Love", released under the pseudonym Mad Roy. Description above from the Wikipedia article Leroy Wallace, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
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Professeur Choron

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Georget Bernier (21 September 1929 – 10 January 2005), more commonly known as Professeur Choron, was a French humorist and founder of Hara Kiri magazine. Born in La Neuville-aux-Bois in Lorraine, Bernier was orphaned by his father at 11 years and without a proper education, he vacillated between many jobs before fighting in the Indochina Wars for 28 months. On his return he worked in the press, and rose through the ranks to take the position of sales manager of the satirical newspaper Zéro. It was at Zéro that he met François Cavanna and Fred, with whom he founded the magazine Hara Kiri in 1960. After an initial ban, production of the magazine moved from Rue Choron to Rue de Montholon and Éditions du Square was created at its publication house. In addition to his role of patron of Éditions du Square, Bernier also invested time in writing and photo-editing for Hara Kiri. It was during this era that he appeared on Jean-Christophe Averty's television variety show Les Raisins verts. In 1969 the Hara Kiri team created Hara-Kiri Hebdo which shortly thereafter was renamed L’Hebdo Hara-Kiri. Other magazines published by Bernier's Editions du Square were the monthly comic Charlie Mensuel, one of the first ecological journals La Gueule ouverte, Mords-y l'œil, Surprise from designer Bernard Willem Holtrop, and Jean-Patrick Manchette's BD, l'hebdo de la BD. 1970 saw the creation of Charlie Hebdo, a weekly political newspaper for which Bernier was a regular contributor. The publication folded in 1981, but was relaunched by Cavanna and Bernier in 1993 and, as of 2011, remains in publication. In 1988 Bernier adapted his fiches bricolages for television. He also participated in Jean-Michel Ribes' Merci Bernard. His last publications include La Mouise and Grodada, a publication for children. He also participated in several publications affiliated with Hara-Kiri, including ZOO and Yeti, as well as the launching of the periodical Zero in 1986. In 1996, Aure Atika's interview of Jackie Berroyer for Radio Nova, at a bar's round table, degenerated into an angry exchange of words between Choron, who was sitting at the table, and Atika, with Choron denouncing her questions as "stupid" and Atika flinging the contents of her glass at him. Bernier was the father of the comedian Michèle Bernier. He died 10 January 2005 at Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital in Paris and was buried at Montparnasse Cemetery alongside his wife Odile Vaudelle (1934–1985). In 2008, director Pierre Carles and artist Martin released the documentary Choron Dernière in his honour. Source: Article "Professeur Choron" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
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Veronica Lorenz

Biography

Veronica Lorenz grew up in Vancouver, B.C. and spent her early years competing as an award winning figure skater but an injury left her with reduced feeling in her right hand. She adapted by learning how to use her left hand with make up brushes, and inspired by fine arts classes at Langara College, Veronica reached a launching point into make up artistry. She moved to Los Angeles where she studied make up and made her professional introduction as a make up artist on the set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Requests by celebrities like Diana Ross for fashion spreads soon followed and a true talent emerged. Veronica balances a hectic schedule between the sets of films and TV shows while independently working with musicians and celebrities. She resides in Los Angeles with her husband Pat and daughter Tesla.
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Sofia Wylie

Biography

Sofia Wylie (born January 7, 2004) is an American actress. She began her career in dance before gaining prominence through her role as Buffy Driscoll on the Disney Channel comedy-drama series Andi Mack (2017–2019). Wylie has continued to work with Disney; her roles include Cory Bailey in the film Back of the Net (2019), Riri Williams in the Marvel Rising animated franchise, Mia Brooks in the web series Shook (2019), and Gina Porter in the Disney+ mockumentary High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019–2023). She also stars in the Netflix fantasy film The School for Good and Evil (2022).
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Madhu

Biography

Madhavan Nair commonly known by his stage name Madhu, is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam films. Madhu was a prominent lead actor during the 1960s and 1970s. He has also directed and produced films, and at one time owned the production company Uma Film Studio. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2013 for his contributions towards the arts. He is the inaugural winner of Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Malayalam and has received three more Filmfare awards and is also the recipient of five Kerala State Film Awards.
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Nicolas Cage

Biography

Nicolas Cage (born Nicolas Kim Coppola) is an American actor and filmmaker; he is also nephew to Francis Ford Coppola. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe Award. During the early years of his career, Cage starred in a variety of films such as Rumble Fish (1983), Racing with the Moon (1984), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), Raising Arizona (1987), Vampire's Kiss (1989), Wild at Heart (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), and Red Rock West (1993). During this period, John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 36 listed him as one of twelve Promising New Actors of 1984. For his performance in Leaving Las Vegas (1995), he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received his second Academy Award nomination for his performance as Charlie and Donald Kaufman in Adaptation (2002). He subsequently appeared in more mainstream films, such as The Rock (1996), Con Air (1997), City of Angels (1998), 8mm (1999), Windtalkers (2002), Lord of War (2005), The Wicker Man (2006), Bangkok Dangerous (2008) and Knowing (2009). He also directed the film Sonny (2002), for which he was nominated for Grand Special Prize at Deauville Film Festival. Cage owns the production company Saturn Films and has produced films such as Shadow of the Vampire (2000) and The Life of David Gale (2003). In October 1997, Cage was ranked No. 40 in Empire magazine's The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time list, while the next year, he was placed No. 37 in Premiere's 100 most powerful people in Hollywood. In the 2010s, he starred in Kick-Ass (2010), Drive Angry (2011), Joe (2013), The Runner (2015), Dog Eat Dog (2016), Mom and Dad (2017), Mandy (2018), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), and Color Out of Space (2019). His participation in various film genres during this time increased his popularity and gained him a cult following.
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Keith Urban

Biography

Keith Lionel Urban (born October 26, 1967) is a New Zealand-born Australian, country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States and Australia. Urban was born in New Zealand and began his career in Australia at an early age. In 1991, he released a self-titled debut album, and charted four singles in Australia before moving to the United States in 1992. Eventually, Urban found work as a session guitarist before starting a band known as The Ranch, which recorded one studio album on Capitol Records and charted two singles on the Billboard country charts. Still signed to Capitol, he made his solo American debut in 1999 with the album Keith Urban. Certified platinum in the U.S., it also produced his first American Number One in "But for the Grace of God". His breakthrough hit was the Number One "Somebody Like You", from his second Capitol album Golden Road (2002). This album also earned Urban his first Grammy Award win for "You'll Think of Me", its fourth single and the fourth Billboard Number One of his career. 2004's Be Here, his third American album, produced three more Number Ones, and became his highest-selling album, earning 4× Multi-Platinum certification. Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing was released in 2006, producing the record-setting #17 country chart debut of "Once in a Lifetime", as well as Urban's second Grammy for the song "Stupid Boy", while a Greatest Hits package entitled Greatest Hits: 18 Kids followed in late 2007. This album was re-released a year later as Greatest Hits: 19 Kids with one track added: the number one "You Look Good in My Shirt", which he had previously recorded on Golden Road. Additional albums Defying Gravity and Get Closer were released on March 31, 2009 and November 16, 2010, respectively. Urban has released a total of nine studio albums (one of which was released only in the United Kingdom), as well as one album in The Ranch. He has charted more than fifteen singles on the U.S. country charts, including ten Number Ones. Urban plays acoustic and electric guitar, as well as ganjo, bass guitar, mandolin, piano, sitar, bouzouki and drums.
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