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James Ellroy

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. James Ellroy (born March 4, 1948) is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a so-called "telegraphic" prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, staccato sentences, and in particular for the novels The Black Dahlia (1987), The Big Nowhere (1988), L.A. Confidential (1990), White Jazz (1992), American Tabloid (1995), The Cold Six Thousand (2001), and Blood's a Rover (2009). Description above from the Wikipedia article James Ellroy, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
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Mariska Hargitay

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Mariska Hargitay (born January 23, 1964)  is an American actress, producer, director and activist, best known for her role as New York City sex crimes Detective Olivia Benson on on the NBC television drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a role that has earned her multiple awards and nominations, including an Emmy and Golden Globe. The daughter of actress Jayne Mansfield and actor/bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay, Hargitay is a former beauty queen who made her film debut in the 1985 horror-comedy film Ghoulies, and her major television debut in the 1986 adventure drama series, Downtown. She appeared in numerous roles in film and television shows throughout the late 1980s and 1990s before being cast as Olivia Benson, a role that led to her founding the Joyful Heart Foundation, which provides support to women who have been sexually abused.
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Eddy Grant

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Edmond Montague Grant (born 5 March 1948) is a Guyanese-British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known for his genre-blending sound; his music has blended elements of pop, British rock, soul, funk, reggae, electronic music, African polyrhythms, and Latin music genres such as samba, among many others. In addition to this, he also helped to pioneer the genre of "Ringbang". He was a founding member of the Equals, one of the United Kingdom's first racially-mixed pop groups who are best remembered for their million-selling UK chart-topper, the Grant-penned "Baby, Come Back". His subsequent solo career included the 1982 song "I Don't Wanna Dance", plus the platinum 1983 single "Electric Avenue", which is his biggest international hit. He earned a Grammy Award nomination for the song. He is also well known for the anti-apartheid 1988 song, "Gimme Hope Jo'anna". Grant was born in Plaisance, British Guiana (now Guyana), later moving to Linden. His father, Patrick, was a trumpeter who played in Nello and the Luckies. While he was at school, his parents lived and worked in the United Kingdom, sending back money for his education. In 1960, he emigrated to join his parents in London. He lived in Kentish Town and went to school at the Acland Burghley Secondary Modern at Tufnell Park, where he learned to read and write music. He became a big fan of Chuck Berry, and after seeing him play at the Finsbury Park Astoria decided on a career in music. In 1965, Grant formed the Equals, playing guitar and singing background vocals, and the band had two hit albums and a minor hit with the single "I Get So Excited" before having a number one hit in 1968 with his song "Baby Come Back". The tune also topped the UK Singles Chart in 1994, when covered by Pato Banton featuring Robin and Ali Campbell of the reggae group UB40. The Equals had five further top 40 hits in the UK up to the end of 1970. The Baby Come Back album featured a song by Grant titled "Police on My Back," which was recorded by the Clash for their 1980 album Sandinista!. Willie Nile released his version of "Police on My Back" on his Streets of New York CD. The Equals' song "Green Light" co-written by Grant from their 1968 album Supreme, was recorded by the Detroit Cobras, for their 2007 album, Tied & True. In this period he also worked as a songwriter and producer for other artists, including the Pyramids (producing their debut single "Train Tour to Rainbow City") and Prince Buster, for whom he wrote "Rough Rider", and started the Torpedo record label, releasing British-made reggae singles. On 1 January 1971, Grant suffered a heart attack and collapsed lung, leading to his departure from the Equals to concentrate on production, opening his own Coach House Studios in the grounds of his Stamford Hill home in 1972, and starting Ice Records in 1974, initially distributed by Pye Records and later by Virgin Records. He produced the Pioneers' 1976 album Feel the Rhythm, as well as early recordings by his younger brother Rudy, working under the name the Mexicano. During this time he also branched out of music, learning to tap dance, and subsequently trying his hand at acting at the behest of fellow Guyanese immigrant, actor Norman Beaton. ... Source: Article "Eddy Grant" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
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Douglas Fairbanks

Biography

Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. (May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films such as The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro. An astute businessman, Fairbanks was a founding member of United Artists. Fairbanks was also a founding member of The Motion Picture Academy and hosted the first Oscars Ceremony in 1929. With his marriage to Mary Pickford in 1920, the couple became Hollywood royalty with Fairbanks constantly referred to as "The King of Hollywood", a nickname later passed on to actor Clark Gable.
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Richard Fleischer

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Richard O. Fleischer (December 8, 1916 – March 25, 2006) was an American film director. Fleischer was born in Brooklyn, the son of Essie (née Goldstein) and animator/producer Max Fleischer. After graduating from Brown University, he went to Yale School of Drama, where he met his future wife, Mary Dickson. His film career began in 1942 at the RKO studio, directing shorts, documentaries, and compilations of forgotten silent features. Fleischer moved to Los Angeles and was assigned his first feature, Child of Divorce (1946). In 1954, he was chosen by Walt Disney (his father's former rival as a cartoon producer) to direct 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea starring Kirk Douglas. In 1955 Fox signed Fleischer to a long term contract. He would work for that studio for the next fifteen years. His first film under his new contract with Fox was The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (1955). Kirk Douglas hired Fleischer to make The Vikings (1958), which was another big hit. He then moved to Paris where he directed two stories for Darryl F. Zanuck starring Greco. Fleischer then signed a contract with Dino de Laurentiis to make Barabbas (1962). Back in Hollywood, Richard Zanuck had become head of production at Fox and offered Fleischer Fantastic Voyage (1966). It was a success and resurrected his Hollywood career. Che! (1969), a biopic of Che Guevera that starred Omar Sharif, was an expensive flop, as was an account of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970). This was his last film for 20th Century Fox. Fleischer travelled to England, where he directed an acclaimed thriller, 10 Rillington Place. See No Evil (1971) with Mia Farrow was another thriller. In Hollywood, he made The New Centurions (1972). At MGM, he made a science-fiction film, Soylent Green (1973), with Charlton Heston. He was reunited with De Laurentiis for the popular, if controversial, Mandingo (1975). The Prince and the Pauper (1977) was a version of the Mark Twain novel that featured Heston, Harrison and Scott in its cast. Fleischer was then hired on Ashanti (1979), starring Michael Caine, which turned out to be a flop. Tough Enough (1983) was about the Toughman Contest starring Dennis Quaid. He made three more for de Laurentiis. His final theatrical feature was Million Dollar Mystery (1987). Fleischer was chairman of Fleischer Studios, which today handles the licensing of Betty Boop and Koko the Clown. In June 2005, he released his memoirs of his father's career in Out of the Inkwell: Max Fleischer and the Animation Revolution. Fleischer's 1993 autobiography, Just Tell Me When to Cry, described his many difficulties with actors, writers and producers. Description above from the Wikipedia article Richard O. Fleischer, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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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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Emilia Krakowska

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Emilia Krakowska (born 20 February 1940 in Poznan) is Polish entertainer, film and theater actress. She graduated from High School in Drezdenko. A graduate of the Theatre Academy in Warsaw (1963). She played in the following theaters: Powszechny in Warsaw (1964-1968), National (1968-1978), Contemporary in Warsaw (1978-1985) and Variety in Warsaw (1985-1991) and Teatr Powszechny in. Jan Kochanowski in Radom in 2008; Wroclaw Comedy Theatre, Drama Theatre; Alexander Hungarian Bialystok and the New Theatre in Slupsk. She is a film actress, and consolidated her position as the participation in a number of television series. In the 1980s, she was a member of the National Council for Culture. She belonged to a group of actors who boycotted the Polish stage after the introduction of martial law in 1981.. In 2005, during the X Festival of Stars in Międzyzdroje she participated in the Promenade of Stars. In 2013 she was awarded by the Polish section of the International Association of Theatre Critics.
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Donald Hager Jr.

Biography

Donald Jacob Hager Jr. is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Jake Hager. Hager is also known for his time in WWE under the ring name Jack Swagger. As a mixed martial artist, he is currently signed to Bellator MMA where he competes in the heavyweight division. Hager attended the University of Oklahoma as a two-sport athlete, participating in both football and wrestling. He switched to wrestling full-time in his sophomore year, and in 2006, set the record for most pins in a season with 30 as an All-American. Following a try-out, Hager signed a WWE contract in mid 2006 where he performed as "Jack Swagger". During his time with WWE, he became a two-time world champion, having held the WWE's World Heavyweight Championship and the ECW Championship once each and a one-time United States Champion. He left the company in 2017 after he decided to pursue a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career. In 2017, Hager signed with Bellator MMA. He had his first professional fight on January 26, 2019 against J.W. Kiser at Bellator 214, where he won via arm-triangle choke in the first round. In his second fight with the promotion, he faced T.J. Jones on May 11, 2019 at Bellator 221, where he again won via arm-triangle choke in the first round. He is currently undefeated with a record of 3–0 (1). As a wrestler, he kept working with various promotions before signing with AEW in 2019, including in Lucha Underground as Jake Strong, where he was the final Lucha Underground Champion. He is the only man in history to have been ECW, (WWE) World and Lucha Underground Champion.[citation needed] Hager, in total, is a four-time world champion in professional wrestling.
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Wawa Zainal

Biography

Nur Hawa binti Zainal Abidin now known as Wawa Zainal, is a Malaysian actress and model. She is best known for playing Bunga in the drama series "Ana Lu'lu". Wawa is the eighth of eleven children, born to a hybrid Filipino-Malaysian family. Her father is a Bruneian mix with Bajau, while her mother is a Filipino Tausūg. Wawa attended school at St. Dominic. Before entering the world of acting, Wawa first went into modelling industry at the age of 12. Following a short career as a model, Wawa began work as an actress for Metrowealth (MIG), and has starred in a variety of movies and dramas produced by the company. Wawa's first role as an actor was in the film Sumpahan Kum Kum directed by Ismail Bob Hisham.
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Coco Fan

Biography

Yujun Fan, who goes by the foreign name "Coco" or alias "Fan Fan", was born on November 4, 1985 in Shanxi Province, and is an actress in Mainland China. From 1995 to 2001, Yujun studied as a dance major of the Xinlei School in Shanxi Province. In 2001, she entered the Taigan Arts and Works Group in Shanxi Province as a dancer. In 2002, she took a different route by graduating from the Beijing Film Academy's performance department and acted in the historical drama "King of Turpan".
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