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T. N. Rajarathinam Pillai

Biography

Thirumarugal Natesapillai Rajarathinam Pillai (27 August 1898- 12 December 1956) or TNR was an Indian Carnatic musician, nadaswaram maestro, vocalist and film actor. He was popularly known as "Nadaswara Chakravarthi" (literally, the Emperor of Nadaswaram). Rajarathinam Pillai was born Balasubramanian to his parents, Kuppuswami Pillai and Govindammal at Thiruvaduthurai in Thanjavur District in South India. His father was an exponent of Carnatic music. He was given in adoption to his uncle Thirumarugal Natesa Pillai, who was his guru initially and a nagaswaram player who was regarded as an exponent of raga improvisation/ elaboration, and took his initials and the name Rajarathnam from then on. Rajarathnam Pillai married five times and died without issues. Contrary to the prevailing norms of dress for nadaswaram players, who, as temple servants, would dress humbly, Pillai often appeared in concerts wearing shirt and trousers or, on occasions, wore the dress favored by the Hindustani musicians.
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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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Patrick Swayze

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Patrick Wayne Swayze (August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009)  was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best-known for his tough-guy roles, as romantic leading men in the hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1991. His film and TV career spanned 30 years. Diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer in January 2008, Swayze told Barbara Walters a year later that he was "kicking it".  However, he died from the disease on September 14, 2009.  His last role was the lead in an ill-fated A&E TV series, The Beast, which premiered on January 15, 2009. Due to a prolonged decline in health, Swayze was unable to promote the series. On June 15, 2009, Entertainment Tonight announced the show's cancellation. Description above from the Wikipedia article Patrick Swayze, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Chuck Missler

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Charles W. "Chuck" Missler is an author, evangelical Christian, Bible teacher, engineer, and former businessman. He is the founder of the Koinonia House ministry based in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Charles W. Missler graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1956 before working for several years in the aerospace and computer industries. He joined the Ford Motor Company in 1963. Missler joined Western Digital as chairman and chief executive in June 1977, and became the largest shareholder of Western Digital. In a 1984 interview, Western Digital's then chairman, Roger Johnson, described the company under Missler as having a good reputation for technology with a terrible reputation for execution, and seriously undercapitalized. In 1983 Missler became the chairman and chief executive of Helionetics, Inc., another technology company. He left Helionetics in 1984 "to pursue other opportunities in the high-technology field". In August 1985 Helionetics sued Missler, alleging a conflict of interest, claiming that after Missler and other Helionetics executives had decided not to purchase a small defense electronics maker, that same company was purchased by an investment corporation in which Missler held a controlling interest. The suit was settled when Missler's firm agreed to pay Helionetics $1.6 million. In 1989 he headed up the Phoenix Group International, a former Colorado real estate company that entered the high-tech industry to sell personal computers to Russian schools. Phoenix filed for bankruptcy protection in 1990 when the deal did not develop as anticipated. After teaching for many years at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, Missler moved to Coeur d'Alene in 1992 and founded Koinonia House. Through this organization, Missler distributes a monthly newsletter and Bible study tapes, hosts a radio show, and speaks at conferences. He has also been involved in efforts to use computers to decipher what he considers coded messages contained in the Bible. Missler is a prominent speaker on the subject of bible prophecy. Missler has had numerous programs aired on the Christian television station GOD TV, namely the DVD versions of his biblical studies "Learn the Bible in 24 Hours", "The Book of Revelation", "The Book of Genesis", and "The Book of Daniel".[citation needed] Missler has also written the foreword to Exo-Vaticana, a book that uses evidence to draw attention to the Vatican and its practices. The book loosely presents the possibility that the Vatican is communicating with extraterrestrial life.
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Emma Thompson

Biography

Dame Emma Thompson (born April 15, 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. Regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation, she has received numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over four decades, including two Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2018, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama. Born to actors Eric Thompson and Phyllida Law, Thompson was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge, where she became a member of the Footlights troupe, and appeared in the comedy sketch series Alfresco (1983–1984). In 1985, she starred in the West End revival of the musical Me and My Girl, which was a breakthrough in her career. In 1987, she came to prominence for her performances in two BBC TV series, Tutti Frutti and Fortunes of War, winning the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for her work on both series. In the early 1990s, she often collaborated with then-husband, actor and director Kenneth Branagh, in films such as Henry V (1989), Dead Again (1991), and Much Ado About Nothing (1993). For her performance in the Merchant-Ivory period drama Howards End (1992), Thompson won the BAFTA Award and the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 1993, she received two Academy Award nominations—Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress—for the respective roles of the housekeeper of a grand household in The Remains of the Day and a lawyer in In the Name of the Father, becoming one of the few actors to achieve this feat. Thompson wrote and starred in Sense and Sensibility (1995), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay—making her the only person in history to win Oscars for both acting and writing—and once again won the BAFTA. Further critical acclaim came for her roles in Primary Colors (1998), Love Actually (2003), Saving Mr. Banks (2013), Late Night (2019), and Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022). Other notable film credits include the Harry Potter series (2004–2011), Nanny McPhee (2005), Stranger than Fiction (2006), An Education (2009), Men in Black 3 (2012) and the spin-off Men in Black: International (2019), Brave (2012), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Cruella (2021), and Matilda the Musical (2022). Her television credits include Wit (2001), Angels in America (2003), The Song of Lunch (2010), King Lear (2018) and Years and Years (2019). Authorised by the publishers of Beatrix Potter, Thompson has also written three Peter Rabbit children's books.
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Stephanie Lodge

Biography

Stephanie is an actress originally from South Yorkshire, now based in London. She trained at the Italia Conti Academy graduating with BA (Hons) in Acting in 2006. She has also attended Stella Adler Studio of Acting for a Chekhov course in the summer of 2012. Since graduating, Stephanie has worked in a number of theatre productions, and also co-founded new writing theatre company Descent with whom she produced a regular new writing event (hosted by stand-up comedian Tom Rosenthal), showcasing up and coming writers and their work. Stephanie has recently appeared in a number of feature films, including lead roles in horrors 'Don't Speak' and 'Bad Nun: Deadly Vows'. Other film credits include 'Hilda', 'The Looking Glass', 'Devil Djinn'. Stephanie is also a professional photographer specialising in actor headshots and theatre photography.
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Devin E. Haqq

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A native of Nashville, Tennessee and a graduate of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's Professional Actor Training MFA program. He has performed in numerous stage productions, around the regional United States and New York City, most recently appearing Off-Broadway in the New York premiere of David Harrower's Knives in Hens at 59E59 Theatres. Devin also appeared in HBO's award winning ad campaign "Surprise", directed by Sam Mendes, as well as, numerous commercial ad campaigns for Citigroup, Time Warner Cable, Comedy Central, McDonalds, the U.S. Navy, and Verizon, just to name a few.
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Takeshi Watabe

Biography

was a Japanese voice actor. He was born in Kōchi Prefecture. He usually played villains and performed the voices for many anime characters and tokusatsu villains. He is most famous for voicing Kaminari in Doraemon. He took over the ongoing roles of Shingo Kanemoto after his death. Other major roles included Inspector Takao Arizuka in the You're Under Arrest franchise, Naoyuki Kamikurata in Aquarian Age: Sign for Evolution, Colonel John Kowen in Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory, and Director Yachio Tokugawa in Strawberry Eggs. He also wrote an instructional book about voice acting, Seiyū Naritai. Watabe was being treated for lung cancer when he died of pneumonia at the age of 74.
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Chiranjeet Chakraborty

Biography

Deepak Chakraborty (born 2 November 1955), better known in film career as Chiranjeet Chakraborty, is an Indian actor and director in the Bengali film industry located in Kolkata, West Bengal. He is also a politician and a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Government of West Bengal. He was born on 2 November 1955 at Kolkata. He has got the BFJA Award for his film Abaidha in 2002. The film was directed by Gul Bahar Singh. Chiranjeet completed his Higher Secondary from Mitra Institution (Main). He studied B.E in Architecture at Jadavpur University, but did not appear for his final examination. He has worked for Desh magazine and as a newsreader on TV. He is also a famous stage artist. He is married and has a daughter. He made his debut with the 1981 film Sonay Sohaga. But it did not make his career. He gained popularity after starring in Anjan Choudhury's 1984 film Shotru. His first solo hit was the 1985 film Antarale. After that, he gave a series of hits like Pratikar, Paapi, Paap Punyo, Beder Meye Joshna, Amarkantak, Jibon Joubon, Bhoy, Shaitan, Pennam Kolkata, Chotushkone, etc. He got a turning point after starring in Rituparno Ghosh's 2000 film Bariwali. He is considered to be one of the most successful actors of Bengali Cinema.
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Jamila Chihi

Biography

Jamila Chihi is a Tunisian actress, especially known for her role as Zeineb Labiedh in the humorous series Choufli Hal. Jamila Chihi debuted at the cinema in two feature films: Mahmoud Ben Mahmoud's Les Siestes grenadine (1999) and Abdellatif Ben Ammar's Le Chant de la noria (2002). In 2005, she obtains the role of Zeineb in the television series Choufli Hal, role that makes it popular with the Tunisian public. Subsequently, she obtains the role of Kenza's mother in the Casting series. In 2011, she took the role of Malek in the series Master Malek broadcast by Tunisian Television 1. At the theater, she plays in 2010 in Noomen Hamda's "Life with Lost Body" and "Desire" by Chedly Arfaoui.
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