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Gilbert Montagné

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Gilbert Montagné (born 28 December 1951) is a French singer, musician, pianist and organist from the Ménilmontant neighbourhood of Paris and Bourbonnais historical region of central France. Blind since shortly after birth, he is best remembered for his international hit "The Fool" which was a number 1 single across Europe and South America in 1971, as well as his songs "On va s'aimer" (1983) and "Les Sunlights des tropiques" (1984). In France, he is still a popular albums and concert artist, having toured and sang with the likes of Johnny Hallyday and Kool & the Gang. In 2009, he participated in the television show Rendez-vous en terre inconnue in Zanskar. He was made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in 1982, an Officer in the National Order of Merit in 2011 and an Officer in the Order of the Legion of Honour in 2020. Montagné was active in politics within the Union for a Popular Movement under the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy. In the 2010 regional election, he ran as a candidate in Allier. Montagné is also noted for his activism for blind people. From ages 10 to 16, he was a student at the Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles in Paris. In 2022, Saint-Léon, the village his father was originally from and Gilbert Montagné visited as a child, named a square after him. Source: Article "Gilbert Montagné" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
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Sean Connery

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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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Adolf Hitler

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Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, abbreviated NSDAP), commonly known as the Nazi Party. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and served as head of state as Führer und Reichskanzler from 1934 to 1945. Hitler is most remembered for his central leadership role in the rise of fascism in Europe, World War II and the Holocaust. A decorated veteran of World War I, Hitler joined the precursor of the Nazi Party (DAP) in 1919, and became leader of NSDAP in 1921. He attempted a coup d'état known as the Beer Hall Putsch, which occurred at the Bürgerbräukeller beer hall in Munich on 8–9 November 1923. Hitler was imprisoned for one year due to the failed coup, and wrote his memoir, Mein Kampf (in English "My Struggle"), while imprisoned. After his release on 20 December 1924, he gained support by promoting Pan-Germanism, antisemitism and anti-communism with charismatic oratory and propaganda. He was appointed chancellor on 30 January 1933, and transformed the Weimar Republic into the Third Reich, a single-party dictatorship based on the totalitarian and autocratic ideology of Nazism. Nazi forces engaged in numerous violent acts during the war, including the systematic murder of as many as 17 million civilians, including an estimated six million Jews targeted in the Holocaust and between 500,000 and 1,500,000 Roma, added to the Poles, Soviet civilians, Soviet prisoners of war, people with disabilities, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other political and religious opponents. In the final days of the war, during the Battle of Berlin in 1945, Hitler married his long-time mistress Eva Braun. To avoid capture by Soviet forces, the two committed suicide less than two days later on 30 April 1945 and their corpses were burned.
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Bruce Vilanch

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Bruce Vilanch (born November 23, 1948) is an American comedy writer, songwriter and actor. He is a six-time Emmy Award-winner known to industry professionals in Hollywood and New York as "the fat guy who writes everyone's jokes." He is likely best known for his four-year stint on Hollywood Squares, as both a celebrity participant and head writer for the show. He also performed off-Broadway in his one-man show Bruce Vilanch: Almost Famous in 2000. Since 2000, Vilanch has been the head writer for the Oscars, after being an Oscar program co-writer for the previous 10 years. He is a featured writer for the Tonys, Grammys and Emmys. Description above from the Wikipedia article Bruce Vilanch, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Simona Roman

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Simona Roman, born Brhlíková, hails from former Czechoslovakia. She was bitten by the entertainment-bug in her early childhood and at the young age starred in several stage and musical productions. Known not only for her striking aesthetic appeal - Simona also speaks 7 languages. Leaving the family nest at 17 Simona embarked on the bold adventure across Northern America and Africa for some 'fun' and life experience. During her audacious journey, Simona lived with Eskimos in Alaska, learned some warrior-techniques from Masai tribe in Kenya and eventually followed her acting dreams to London where she diligently honed her academic and dramatic skills at prestigious London institutions such as UCL and RADA. Simona's natural talent lead her to star in terrific theatre productions like 'Much Ado About Nothing', 'As You Like It', 'Queen of Spades' amongst others. Naturally standing out from the crowd Simona was soon invited to play in prime-time Television shows and features like 'IT Crowd', 'Life Begins', the ever popular 'Footballers' Wives', the national favorite 'Bad Girls' and 'Casanova's Love Letters' as well as string of independent films and major international features such as Casino Royal, Gallowwalkers in which she excels as the villainous Kiss-Cut, and highly popular British action thriller Vendetta. When not working, chasing outdoor thrills or cooking, Simona keeps herself grounded by meditating in the nature and animal rescue.
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Todd Von Joel

Biography

TODD is multifaceted creative from London. Over the past decade he has worked within film, TV and radio as an actor, voice artist, writer and producer. Notable acting credits include Eastenders (BBC), Holby City (BBC), Silent Witness (BBC) and TINAR (Nominee - The Taash Award for Comedy in Film, London Short Film Festival 2021). Commercially he has fronted TV campaigns for Sky Bet, Volvic, Cadbury and KFC. He voiced the intro to the UEFA Europa League Final 2019 (BT Sport), was 'Nathan' on the Royal Navy radio ads (2015-19) and is a regular voice on TFL's radio announcements. Further voice credits include Google, Xbox, Carling, ITV, BBC, Lynx, Halfords, Nestle and Sony PlayStation. Todd also co-hosts the weekly Painting & Decorating Show & Podcast on UK national DAB radio station Fix Radio. His critically acclaimed poem Company was published in Lung Jazz - Young British Poets Anthology (Cinnamon Press, 2012). Todd produced No Dog (Nominee - Best Short Film, British Urban Film Festival 2021 & Winner - Best Casting, Kinsale Shark Awards 2021), based on the critically acclaimed novel The Lost Boyz (Waterside Press, 2011) by Justin Rollins. Further production credits include NatWest, Heineken, Eharmony and Harry Potter And The Cursed Child. Away from work, he mentors ex-offenders at Carney's Community boxing gym in South London and is a guest speaker for Lads Need Dads in Essex. Both are award winning charities doing life changing work within their communities. Todd holds a First Class BA Hons Degree in Creative Writing & Drama from Kingston University, Surrey.
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Bill Hicks

Biography

William Melvin "Bill" Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994) was an American stand-up comedian and satirist. His humor challenged mainstream beliefs, aiming to "enlighten people to think for themselves." Hicks used a ribald approach to express his material, describing himself as "Chomsky with dick jokes." His jokes included general discussions about society, religion, politics, philosophy and personal issues. Hicks' material was often deliberately controversial and steeped in dark comedy. In both his stand-up performances, and during interviews, he often criticized consumerism, superficiality, mediocrity and banality within the media and popular culture, describing them as oppressive tools of the ruling class, meant to "keep people stupid and apathetic." Hicks died of pancreatic cancer, which had spread to his liver, in 1994 at the age of 32. In the years after his death, his work and legacy achieved significant admiration and acclaim, of numerous comedians, writers, actors and musicians alike. He was listed as the 19th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central in 2004, and 6th greatest in 2007 and 4th greatest by Channel 4 in 2010.
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Jessica Castello

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Jessica Castello was born in Santa Monica, California. She is of Italian (father) and Welsh-English (mother) descent. As a child, she was featured in national commercials for Burlington, Facebook and DISH Network. Jessica studied with John D'Aquino, Cynthia Bain and Kristopher Kyer in Los Angeles. Her theatrical resume includes Beauty & The Beast (Belle), The Little Mermaid (Aerial) and as a Singer/Soloist for the Cabrillo Teen Project at the Cabrillo Music Theater. Jessica's films include starring roles in Before Summer (2016), I Feel Fine (2017) and Oildale (2019) in which she was named "Best Actress in a Feature Film" at the SENE Film Festival.
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Noah Teichner

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Noah Teichner is an American-born filmmaker, artist, and researcher based in Paris, France. His films, performances, and installations make use of a variety of sound and image technologies to look at issues related to both humor and historiography. He holds an MFA from the Paris-Cergy National Graduate School of Art and a PhD in Film and Media Studies from the University of Paris 8, where he has taught since 2015. In addition to his practice as an artist and filmmaker, he has presented research at conferences and published articles in English and French on subjects related to the history of comedy, media archaeology, and sound studies. He is a member of the artist-run film lab L’Abominable, where he made first feature-length film Navigators.
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James Ford

Biography

Blending his love of athletics and formal wear, James is a master of custom suiting. But he doesn’t design “your uncle’s obligatory office suits.” Instead, James is focused on crafting suits that “stand for something very, very different” — particularly when it comes to sizing for female, trans and gender nonconforming bodies. As a former four-sport athlete, the designer pulls inspiration from the “silhouettes, color palettes, construction techniques and practicality” of sportswear to inform his approach to suiting, “marrying dichotomies” of the two with every stitch. Ultimately, he’s dedicated to prioritizing his client’s needs to discover what “their suit will communicate to the world on behalf of them,” but never forgetting to strike a “balance of sophistication and fun.” His current favorite garment is his Utility Grandma Vest because of how it blends “two things that don’t belong together.” The pocket-heavy garment, which James describes as a “fly-fishing vest meets a French Victorian couch,” is function-focused, but fashioned out of a burnt orange velvet upholstery fabric.
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