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France Gall

Biography

Isabelle Geneviève Marie Anne Gall (9 October 1947 – 7 January 2018), known professionally as France Gall, was a French yé-yé singer. In 1965, aged 17, she won the Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg. Between 1973 and 1992, she collaborated with singer-songwriter Michel Berger. Gall was born in Paris on 9 October 1947, to a highly musical family. Her father, the lyricist Robert Gall, wrote songs for Édith Piaf and Charles Aznavour. Her mother, Cécile Berthier, was a singer as well and the daughter of Paul Berthier, the co-founder of Les Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois. The only daughter of her family, France had two brothers: Patrice and Philippe. In spring 1963, Robert Gall encouraged his daughter to record songs and send the demos to the music publisher Denis Bourgeois. That July, she auditioned for Bourgeois at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, after which Bourgeois wanted to sign her immediately. France was subsequently signed to Philips. At the time, Bourgeois was working for the label as artistic director for Serge Gainsbourg and assumed this role for Gall as well. He encouraged her to record four tracks with the French jazz musician, arranger and composer Alain Goraguer. The first airplay of France's first single, "Ne sois pas si bête" ("Don't Be So Stupid"), occurred on her 16th birthday. It was released in November and became a hit, selling 200,000 copies. Gainsbourg, who had released several albums and written songs for singers including Michèle Arnaud and Juliette Gréco, was asked by Bourgeois to write songs for Gall. Gainsbourg's "N'écoute pas les idoles" ("Don't listen to the idols") was Gall's second single; it reached the top of the French charts in March 1964 and stayed there for three weeks. At the same time, Gall made her live debut, opening for Sacha Distel in Belgium. She teamed up with Distel's business manager, Maurice Tézé, a lyricist, which allowed her to create an original repertoire, unlike the majority of her contemporaries who sang adaptations of Anglophone hits. Elaborate orchestrations by Alain Goraguer blended styles, permitting her to navigate between jazz, children's songs, and anything in between. Examples of this mixed-genre style included "Jazz à gogo" (by Alain Goraguer and Robert Gall) and "Mes premières vraies vacances" (by Jacques Datin and Maurice Vidalin). Gall and Gainsbourg's association produced many popular singles, continuing through the summer of 1964 with the hit song "Laisse tomber les filles" ("Leave the girls alone") followed by "Christiansen" by Datin-Vidalin. Gainsbourg also secretly recorded Gall's laughter to use on "Pauvre Lola'", a track on his 1964 album Gainsbourg Percussions. Having previously resisted, Gall gave in to her managers at the end of 1964 and recorded a single intended for children. The song "Sacré Charlemagne", written by her father, and set to the music of George Liferman, was a hit in 1965, peaking at number one in France and number five in Turkey. .. Source: Article "France Gall" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
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Katey Sagal

Biography

Katey Sagal, born Catherine Louise Sagal on January 19, 1954, is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She has had a successful and versatile career in both television and music, becoming a well-known and respected figure in the entertainment industry. Sagal first gained recognition for her role as Peggy Bundy, the sassy and materialistic wife of Al Bundy, in the long-running sitcom "Married... with Children" (1987-1997). Her portrayal of Peggy Bundy showcased her comedic talent and made her a beloved character in the world of television. Following the success of "Married... with Children," Sagal continued to thrive in the industry and took on a variety of roles in both comedic and dramatic projects. She has appeared in shows such as "Futurama," where she provided the voice of Leela, and "Sons of Anarchy," where she played the complex character Gemma Teller Morrow. Sagal's performances have earned her critical acclaim and various award nominations. In addition to her acting career, Sagal is also a talented singer and songwriter. She has released several albums, showcasing her skills in genres such as rock and country. Sagal's musical talents have been featured on various television shows, including "Sons of Anarchy," where she performed several songs. Throughout her career, Katey Sagal has proven her versatility and range as an actress, tackling both comedic and dramatic roles with equal aplomb. Her captivating performances and memorable characters have solidified her status as a respected and accomplished actress in the industry.
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Oliver Dimsdale

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, he was brought up in Hertfordshire. Dimsdale is the son of aSwiss mother. He has a sister, Anna. He developed a stammer at age six which he has since partially brought under control through speech therapy. Dimsdale attended the Dragon School and then Eton College, and went on to study French and Economics at university. He trained atGuildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1999. Dimsdale began his performing career at the age of thirteen in a radio play for the BBC. He has lent his voice to the radio productions In The Company of Men and Sharp Focus. His film credits include RocknRolla (2008), Cosi (2010) and the short film Pest. On television, he played the lead roles of Louis Trevelyan in the 2004 adaptation of He Knew He Was Right, and Dr Felix Quinn in the 2008 ITV1 medical drama Harley Street. He has also made guest appearances in Doctors, Casualty and Lark Rise to Candleford. Dimsdale is the co-founder and co-Artistic Director of Filter Theatre. His theatre work includes Great Expectations, The Changeling, Five Finger Exercise and The Tempest. Dimsdale married actress Zoe Tapper on 30 December 2008. In April 2011, she gave birth to their daughter, Ava. Dimsdale won Best Fringe Performer in the 2002 Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards, for theRoyal Exchange performance of Paul Herzberg’s The Dead Wait.
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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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Maria Olsen

Biography

Maria Olsen is an American actress. Best known for her appearances as Mrs. Dodds/The Fury in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Paranormal Activity 3, American Horror Story and Rob Zombie's Lords of Salem, Maria Olsen has worked on more than 65 feature films and over 150 shorts, television shows, music videos and commercials since 2005. She has also won four awards (including awards for both acting and directing), had two short films appear at the 2009 Cannes Short Film Program, one at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, plus others at Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors and HorrorFest. Olsen also owns MOnsterworks66, producer of features such as Brandon Scullion's Live in Fear, Randal Kamradt Jr's Faraway, Eric Michael Kochmer's Way Down In Chinatown, Bert Havird's Reunion and Michael LaPointe's LoveTouchHate.
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Libertad Lamarque

Biography

Libertad Lamarque (November 24, 1908 – December 12, 2000) was an Argentine actress and singer, one of the icons of the Golden Age of Argentine and Mexican cinema. She achieved fame throughout Latin America, and became known as “La Novia de América” (“The Sweetheart of the Americas”). By the time she died in 2000, she had appeared in 65 films (21 filmed in Argentina, 45 in Mexico and one in Spain) and six soap operas, had recorded over 800 songs and had made innumerable theatrical appearances.
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Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Biography

Jacques-Yves Cousteau, AC (11 June 1910 – 25 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, scientist, inventor, filmmaker, photographer, innovator, conservationist, author, and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water. He co-invented the first successful open-circuit self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, ("SCUBA"), called the Aqua-Lung, which assisted him in producing some of the first underwater documentaries. He also pioneered marine conservation and was a member of the Académie française. From 1966 to 1976, he hosted The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, a documentary television series, presented on American commercial television stations. A second documentary series, The Cousteau Odyssey, ran from 1977 to 1982 on public television stations. In his first book, The Silent World: A Story of Undersea Discovery and Adventure, he surmised the existence of the echolocation abilities of porpoises. The book was adapted into an underwater documentary called The Silent World. Co-directed by Cousteau and Louis Malle, it was one of the first films to use underwater cinematography to document the ocean depths in color. The film won the 1956 Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and remained the only documentary to do so until 2004 (when Fahrenheit 9/11 received the award). It was also awarded the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1957. ​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Pierre Png

Biography

Pierre Theodore Png Tiang Huat, is a Singaporean actor of Peranakan descent. He is known for starring in multiple Singaporean MediaCorp's Channel 5 and Channel 8's dramas, with recent works include The Gentlemen and When Duty Calls. Early in his career, he was known for playing the comedic role of Phua Chu Beng in the long-running sitcom Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd. He is also known for his role as a troubled and unhappy husband in the 2008 year-end blockbuster period drama The Little Nyonya, and as a villain in 2013 drama The Journey: A Voyage. He co-starred in Hollywood film Crazy Rich Asians (2018). Png was born on 29 October 1973 in Singapore, and was educated at St Gabriel's Primary School and Holy Innocents' High School. Png first encountered acting shortly after National Service in his role in the 1998 film Forever Fever. The role piqued his interest in acting, and he enrolled in an acting course. The same year, Png won the Channel 5 talent competition The Fame Awards. Png made his television debut on Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd, and starred in several other Channel 5 productions. He later began acting in Chinese language dramas on Channel 8 and was nominated for the Most Popular Newcomer Award at the 2001 Star Awards. In 2006 he received his first Best Actor award nomination at the Star Awards 2006 for his role in The Shining Star. Png won the coveted award on his fourth nomination in 2014 for his vicious role Hei Long in MediaCorp's year-end mega-blockbuster The Journey: A Voyage. In 2014, he snared a leading role in the Channel 5 blockbuster drama Zero Calling and clinched the "Best Actor" award at the 19th Asian Television Awards (ATA). He co-starred in the Warner Bros. film Crazy Rich Asians, with Constance Wu and Henry Golding. The film marked his Hollywood feature film debut. Png has gotten 3 out of 10 Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes from 2012, 2018-2019 respectively.
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Susan Lucas

Biography

Susan Lucas, better known as Soo Catwoman, was a member of London's early punk subculture. Lucas was active in the London punk scene between 1976 and 1978, where she became a muse of photographer Bob Gruen and befriended the members of the Sex Pistols. Her distinctive, cat-influenced hairstyle is an iconic image within punk, and has led to her being featured in publications including the Guardian and News of the World. Her image has influenced other pop culture figures such as Keith Flint, and fashion designers including Junya Watanabe, Chanel, Obey and Mugler. She has appeared in the films "The Punk Rock Movie" (1978) and "The Filth and the Fury" (2000).
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Vivian Wu

Biography

Vivian Wu (born February 5, 1966 in Shanghai), is a Chinese actress, known for her roles in The Last Emperor (1987), Heaven & Earth (1993), The Joy Luck Club (1993), and The Pillow Book (1996) and as the historical figure of Soong May-ling, commonly referred to as Madam Chiang Kai-shek, in two major Chinese motion pictures The Soong Sisters (1997) and The Founding of a Republic (2009) Description above from the Wikipedia article Vivian Wu, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia​
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