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Harry 'Snub' Pollard
Biography
Snub Pollard (9 November 1889 – 19 January 1962) was an Australian-born vaudevillian, who became a silent film comedian in Hollywood, popular in the 1920s.
Born Harold Fraser, in Melbourne, Australia on 9 November 1889, he began performing with Pollard's Lilliputian Opera Company at a young age. Like many of the actors in the popular juvenile company, he adopted Pollard as his stage name. The company ran several highly successful professional children's troupes that traveled Australia and New Zealand in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
In 1908, Harry Pollard joined the company tour to North America. After the completion of the tour, he returned to the US. By 1915 he was regularly appearing in uncredited roles in movies, for example Charles Epting notes that Pollard can clearly be seen in Chaplin's 1915 short By the Sea. In later years, Pollard claimed Hal Roach had discovered him while he was performing on stage in Los Angeles.
Pollard played supporting roles in the early films of Harold Lloyd and Bebe Daniels. The long-faced Pollard sported a Kaiser Wilhelm mustache turned upside-down; this became his trademark. Lloyd's producer, Hal Roach, gave Pollard his own starring series of one- and two-reel shorts. The most famous is 1923's It's a Gift, in which he plays an inventor of many Rube Goldberg-like contraptions, including a car that runs by magnet power.
In early 1923, shortly after his second marriage, Pollard returned with his wife Elizabeth to see his relations in Australia. His visit attracted considerable attention, and he appeared again in several theatres to speak about the motion picture business. On his return to the US, he left Roach and joined the low-budget Weiss Brothers studio in 1926. There he co-starred with Marvin Loback as a poor man's version of Laurel and Hardy, copying that team's plots and gags.
In later years, Pollard claimed the Great Depression wiped out his investments, and he had been unable to "adjust to the talkies." However, in the 1930s, he played small parts in talking comedies, and was featured as comic relief in "B" westerns. Pollard's silent-comedy credentials guaranteed him work in slapstick revivals. He appeared with other film veterans in Hollywood Cavalcade (1939), The Perils of Pauline (1947), and Man of a Thousand Faces (1957). He also appeared regularly as a supporting player in Columbia Pictures' two-reel comedies of the mid-1940s.
Forsaking his familiar mustache in his later years, he landed much steadier work in films as a mostly uncredited bit player. He played incidental roles in scores of Hollywood features and shorts, almost always as a mousy, nondescript fellow, usually with no dialogue.
Snub Pollard died of cancer on 19 January 1962, aged 72, after nearly 50 years in the movie business. His interment was at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills).
For his contributions to motion pictures, Pollard has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6415½ Hollywood Boulevard.
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Coleman Hough
Biography
Coleman Hough (1961-2024) was a poet, playwright, and screenwriter. Her screen credits included Bubble and Full Frontal, both directed by Steven Soderbergh. Her plays were produced in Los Angeles at Theatre of N.O.T.E. and Padua Playwrights. She performed her monologues in NYC and LA. Her poems appeared in Southern Poetry Review, The Louisville Review, and The Brooklyn Rail. She taught writing and performance workshops at Lehman College, Emerson College, Emma Willard School, and screenwriting in the Masters of Professional Writing Program at USC and in the School of Film at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. She died February 24, 2024 at the Actors Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
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William Marshall
Biography
William Marshall was an American actor, director, and opera singer. He is best known for his title role in Blacula and its sequel Scream Blacula Scream as well as his role on Pee-wee's Playhouse.
Marshall made his Broadway debut in 1944 in Carmen Jones. In 1950, he understudied Boris Karloff as Captain Hook in the Broadway production of Peter Pan. He played the leading role of De Lawd in the 1951 revival of The Green Pastures, a role he repeated in 1958 in a BBC telecast of the play. He performed in several Shakespearean plays on the stage in the U. S. and Europe, including the title role in at least six productions of Othello. Harold Hobson of the London Sunday Times praised Marshall’s portrayal as "the best Othello of our time."
In 1968, Marshall joined the Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles to play Othello in a jazz musical version, Catch My Soul, with Jerry Lee Lewis as Iago. Marshall portrayed Paul Robeson and Frederick Douglass on stage. He researched Douglass' life extensively, and in 1983 produced and played the lead role in Frederick Douglass: Slave and Statesman.
Marshall's career on screen began in the 1952 film Lydia Bailey as a Haitian leader. He followed that with a prominent role as Glycon, comrade and fellow gladiator to Victor Mature in the 1954 film Demetrius and the Gladiators. His demeanor, voice and stature gave him a wide range, though he was ill-suited for the subservient roles that many black actors of his generation were most frequently offered. He was a leader of the Mau-Mau uprising in Something of Value, and Attorney General Edward Brooke in The Boston Strangler. He probably received the most notice for his role in the vampire film Blacula and its sequel Scream Blacula Scream. In later years, Marshall played the King of Cartoons on Pee-wee's Playhouse.
Despite blacklisting because of his supposed communist connections, Marshall managed to continue appearing in both television and films. He appeared on the British spy series Danger Man in episodes titled "Deadline" and "The Galloping Major". He also won two local Emmys for producing and performing in a PBS production, As Adam Early in the Morning, a theatre piece originally performed on stage. He also was featured in an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour titled, "The Jar", with actors Pat Buttram and George Lindsey.
In addition to acting and producing, Marshall taught acting at various universities including the University of California, Irvine, and the Mufandi Institute, an African-American arts and music institution in the Watts section of Los Angeles. He did similar work at Chicago's ETA Creative Arts Foundation, which in 1992 named Marshall one of its Epic Men of the 20th century. Marshall died June 11, 2003, from complications arising from Alzheimer's disease and diabetes.
Marshall was considered by many to be a much underrated actor and one who never got his due. Some have remarked that Marshall should have had a much more successful and larger screen career, even saying that Marshall would have been a perfect choice for the role of Thulsa Doom in Conan the Barbarian.
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James Curtin
Biography
James Michael Curtin is an English former professional wrestler. He currently works for WWE as a writer on Raw. During his time as an on screen performer in the company, he worked under the ring name Drake Maverick. He has also worked for Impact Wrestling (formerly Total Nonstop Action Wresting), under the ring name Rockstar Spud.
During his first decade, Curtin worked in the British independent circuit, winning several championships in promotions like International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom (IPW:UK), One Pro Wrestling (1PW), Revolution Pro Wrestling (RPW), and XWA Wrestling. In 2012, he appeared in the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA, later Impact Wrestling) program British Boot Camp, winning the competition and being signed to a contract with the promotion. In TNA/Impact, he was a two-time X Division Champion.
Curtin left Impact in October 2017 and signed a contract with WWE that same month. He would be named as the on-screen General Manager of 205 Live, the brand created by WWE for their cruiserweight division (205 lbs. and under), and served for a brief time as the manager of AOP on Raw. In 2019, he became more active as an in-ring competitor, becoming a eight-time 24/7 Champion. He was released from the company in April 2020 due to budget cuts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Following his release, WWE still had Curtin compete in the multi-month Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship tournament. After losing the finals, he was given a new WWE contract and joined the NXT brand.
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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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Daniel Lind Lagerlöf
Biography
Daniel
Lind Lagerlöf is a Swedish director, screenwriter and producer. Lagerlöf
began his work in television as an assistant, and directed his first film,
Föreställningen (The Performance) in 1990. In 1997 he began working on
Skjärgårdsdoktoren, a highly successful drama series in Sweden and Norway.
After it ended in 2000, Lagerlöf worked on several Beck-films, before returning
to television. His last completed project was the three-part mini-series
Bibliotekstjuven (the Library Thief), written by his wife Marie Lagerlöf. Missing,
presumed dead, near Tanumshede on the Swedish west coast. While doing research
for an upcoming movie and taking photos, Daniel Lind Lagerlöf disappeared from
two other members of the crew, and has not been seen since 6 October 2011. The
search for Lind Lagerlöf was cancelled after more than two days extensive
search with police, sea rescue service and military in the rather limited area
where he disappeared. It is believed that he has fallen into the sea and
perished.
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Tom Konkle
Biography
Thomas (Tom) Konkle, a distinguished figure in the entertainment industry, is renowned for his multifaceted expertise as an actor, director, writer, and producer. Known professionally as Tom in his acting endeavors and as Thomas in his writing and directing roles, Konkle has cultivated a career marked by creative and technical prowess, which began with his move to Los Angeles at the age of 22. Konkle has moved into directing and writing genre movies with his Los Angeles based production company.
Konkle's on-screen presence is notably recognized in the FX Network series "Baskets," where he starred alongside Zach Galifianakis and Louie Anderson. His diverse skill set extends to his role as a staff writer for Warner Brothers' "Be Cool Scooby Doo" television series, and his directorial acumen is exemplified in the WWII period film, "The Longest Knife." Additionally, he is a published author, having penned the novel "Red Skies."
A product of The American University's Film and Drama program, Konkle's early films garnered accolades and set the stage for a trajectory filled with critical and creative triumphs. Throughout the 1990s, he refined his craft in live stage productions while simultaneously navigating the forefront of the digital revolution in filmmaking. This period was instrumental in shaping his comprehensive understanding of storytelling, the acting process, and the rapidly evolving technological landscape of production, post-production, and visual effects.
Konkle's unique blend of artistic intuition and technical knowledge has resulted in over 80 IMDb credits and a plethora of award-winning projects in various capacities, including acting, writing, and directing. As an independent producer, his insights span the entire spectrum of film production, from initial concept to distribution and promotion, particularly through social media channels.
Throughout his illustrious career, Konkle has had the privilege of learning from industry titans such as writer/director Christopher Guest, legendary TV director James Burrows, director Jim Sheridan, writer/director David Twohy, director Ruben Fleischer, and horror maestro Wes Craven. He also apprenticed under Graham Ford, the visionary producer behind "Time Bandits," "Brazil," and "Gandhi." Konkle's versatility and comedic talent were showcased when he collaborated with John Cleese on a comedy television special in Europe. Furthermore, the members of the legendary Monty Python ensemble enlisted his talents to direct, perform, and reinterpret their never-before-seen sketches for the show "Owl-Stretching Time."
Konkle's contributions extend across major networks as a director, performer and writer. His body of work includes over a hundred internet productions, films, commercials, and live stage productions, highlighting his dynamic range and adaptability. As the owner and partner of Lumen Actus Productions, Inc, based in Burbank, CA, Konkle continues to be a pivotal force in the industry, seamlessly integrating production and post-production expertise to bring visionary projects to life. His career stands as a testament to his unwavering commitment to the art of storytelling and his remarkable ability to navigate the multifaceted world of entertainment.
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Jayne Modean
Biography
Jayne Modean (born October 15, 1957) is an American model and actress who got her break as a fashion model in the late 1970s, appearing on four Seventeen covers in 1977. She was the featured cover model on the February 1981 Inside Sports annual swimsuit issue.
She appeared in several feature films, including Spring Break (1983) and House II: The Second Story (1987), and a number of TV shows, including Cheers, Full House, Trauma Center (1983), Street Hawk (pilot episode), and The Fall Guy.
Modean was briefly married to comedian Dave Coulier in the early 1990s, with whom she had a son, Luc Coulier (born 1990). - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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R. Neelakantan
Biography
R. Neelakantan started acting in school dramas from school days, continuing through his college days at Vivekananda College. He along with Ambi (Cho Ramaswamys brother) and Narayanasamy started Viveka Fine Arts. He acted in plays like Muhammad bin Tughluq, Endru Thaniyum Indha Sudandira Dhaagam, Quo Vadis, Unmayae Un Vilai Enna?, Yarukkum Vetkamillai. In 1966 he made his film début Aayiram Poi directed by Muktha Srinivasan. He has acted in plays along with Crazy Mohan, Cho Ramaswamy. He has also worked as production manager in Jerry. All through his career, he worked with V D Swamy before retiring from his day job after 40 years of service.
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Vincent Gallo
Biography
Vincent Gallo is American director, producer, screenwriter, actor, singer-songwriter, and painter best known for his films The Brown Bunny (2003) and Buffalo '66 (1998).
Vincent Gallo (born April 11, 1961) is an American film actor, director, producer, screenwriter, singer-songwriter, and painter. Although he has had minor roles in mainstream films such as Goodfellas, he is most associated with independent movies, including Buffalo '66, which he wrote, directed, did the music for and starred in; The Brown Bunny, which he also wrote, directed, produced, starred in and photographed; Arizona Dream; The Funeral; and Palookaville. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Gallo was a painter in the New York City art scene showing with famed art dealer Annina Nosei, performed in a rap duo and was part of the first hip hop television broadcast Graffiti Rock, and played in an industrial band called Bohack which released an album title It Took Several Wives.
In the early 2000s, he released several solo recordings on WARP records. Gallo is known for his outspoken views and generally sarcastic nature, once stating: "I stopped painting in 1990 at the peak of my success just to deny people my beautiful paintings; and I did it out of spite." Gallo was awarded the Coppa Volpi for Best Actor at the 67th Venice International Film Festival for his performance as a wordless escaping Muslim prisoner in Jerzy Skolimowski's Essential Killing. His own feature film Promises Written In Water, which he wrote, directed, produced and starred in, also screened In Competition at the festival.
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