Romanian-American celebrities
Celebrities with Romanian ancestry.
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Adam Lambert is a Grammy-nominated international artist, actor, philanthropist, and LGBTQ+ activist.
As the first openly gay male artist to top the Billboard album charts, Adam has released five studio albums to date, amassing more than three million album sales worldwide-all while honoring the legacy of Freddie Mercury as the frontman of the iconic band, Queen.
Adam counts the British Royal Family among his fans. A personal invitation from HRH The Princess of Wales had him performing at last year's Royals: Together At Christmas and previously for HRH Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee, opening the show alongside Brian May and Roger Taylor.
Recent highlights include the release of Adam's latest top 10 charting album, High Drama, headlining London Pride, and showcasing his acting skills in Sofia Coppola's Fairyland, as well as the five-time Academy Award-winning film Bohemian Rhapsody.
Continuing his support for the LGBTQ+ community, Adam founded the Feel Something Foundation, a non-profit organization supporting LGBTQ+ human rights. The foundation raises funds and contributes to marginalized and underrepresented groups globally.
Adam continues to gain superstar momentum worldwide. This year, he will join the judging panel of The Voice Australia, work on his highly anticipated 6th Studio Album, and embark on a stadium tour across Japan after a successful North American tour with Queen last year. In 2024, Adam will release an ITV documentary exploring the LGBTQ+ experience within the music industry, featuring interviews with iconic musicians spanning multiple decades.- Actor
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Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt was born February 17, 1981 in Los Angeles, California, to Jane Gordon and Dennis Levitt. Joseph was raised in a Jewish family with his late older brother, Dan Gordon-Levitt, who passed away in October 2010. His parents worked for the Pacifica Radio station KPFK-FM and his maternal grandfather, Michael Gordon, had been a well-known movie director. Joseph first became well known for his starring role on NBC's award-winning comedy series 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996). During his six seasons on the show, he won two YoungStar Awards and also shared in three Screen Actors Guild Award® nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Comedy Series Ensemble.
Prior to his success on television, Joseph had already worked steadily in feature films. Early in his career, he won a Young Artist Award for his first major role, in Robert Redford's drama A River Runs Through It (1992). During the 1990s, he also co-starred in the films Angels in the Outfield (1994), The Juror (1996), Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), a well-reviewed slasher sequel, and 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), opposite Heath Ledger, which has become a teen comedy classic.
Following his work on 3rd Rock, Joseph took time off from acting to attend Columbia University. In the early 2000s, he broke from the mold of his television and film comedy supporting roles by appearing in a string of intense dramatic parts, mostly in smaller, independent films, such as Manic (2001), with Don Cheadle; Mysterious Skin (2004), for writer/director Gregg Araki; Rian Johnson's award-winning debut, dramatic thriller Brick (2005) (2005); Lee Daniels' Shadowboxer (2005); the crime drama The Lookout (2007), which marked Scott Frank's directorial debut; John Madden's Killshot (2008), with Diane Lane and Mickey Rourke; Spike Lee's World War II film Miracle at St. Anna (2008); and the controversial drama Stop-Loss (2008), in which he starred with Ryan Phillippe, under the direction of Kimberly Peirce. By 2009, Joseph was officially established as one a new generation of leading men with his Golden Globe-nominated role in Marc Webb's comedy-drama 500 Days of Summer (2009), also starring Zooey Deschanel , for which he received Golden Globe, Independent Spirit Award and People's Choice Award nominations. He also adapted the Elmore Leonard short story Sparks (2009) into a 24-minute short film that he directed, which screened at the Sundance Film Festival.
Beginning the new decade, he headlined the indie drama Hesher (2010) and established himself as an action star in Christopher Nolan's Inception (2010), also starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard and Elliot Page. Balancing both independent and Hollywood film, Joseph scored another Golden Globe nod for the cancer drama 50/50 (2011), directed by Jonathan Levine and also starring Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, and Bryce Dallas Howard. He worked again with director Nolan on The Dark Knight Rises (2012), the third and final installment in the director's Batman series, for which he received a People's Choice Award nomination for Favorite Movie Actor; and snagged leading roles in both Premium Rush (2012), directed by David Koepp, and Looper (2012), reuniting with his Brick director, Rian Johnson, opposite Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt. Rounding out the year, he played Abraham Lincoln's son Robert in Steven Spielberg's Oscar-nominated Lincoln (2012), with Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Field.
In 2013, Gordon-Levitt starred in his critically-acclaimed feature film directorial debut, Don Jon (2013), from a script he wrote, opposite Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore. He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for "Best First Screenplay" for the film. He also provided the voice of Jiro Horikoshi in the 2014 English-language version of Hayao Miyazaki's Academy Award-nominated animated feature The Wind Rises (2013), and appeared in Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014), in which he played Johnny, a character Miller created for the film. In 2015, he starred in The Walk (2015), directed by Robert Zemeckis, and in which he portrayed Philippe Pettit, and in 2016 headlined Oliver Stone's Snowden (2016).
Joseph has completed production on Project Power (2020), Henry Joost/Ariel Schulman sci-fi film for Netflix, in which he stars opposite Jamie Foxx, and on the independent thriller, 7500 (2019), written and directed by Patrick Vollarth. Among his other projects, he will play attorney Richard Schultz in Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020), and is in development on a variety of feature films including Fraggle Rock.
Joseph has also founded and directs hitRECord, an open collaborative production. hitRECord creates and develops art and media collectively using their website where anyone with an internet connection can upload their records, download and remix others' records, and work on projects together. When the results of these RECords are produced and make a profit, hitRECord splits the profits 50/50 with everybody who contributed to the final production. hitRECord has published books, put out records, gone on tour and has screened their work at major festivals including Sundance and TIFF. The half-hour variety program, "Hit Record on TV with Joseph Gordon-Levitt," which includes short films, live performances, music, animation, conversation and more, earned an Emmy Award for Creative Achievement in Interactive Media - Social TV Experience. hitRECord's project, "Band Together with Logic," is a one-hour YouTube Originals special that sees Grammy-nominated rapper Logic open up his creative process like never before, inviting the world to collaborate with him on an original song and music video.
In 2016, the ACLU honored Gordon-Levitt with their annual Bill of Rights Award for furthering diversity efforts, promoting free speech, empowering women and otherwise supporting civil rights and liberties for all Americans.- Actress
- Producer
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Jamie-Lynn Sigler has been acting and singing since the age of 7. She got her start in New York regional theater, and has since starred in over two dozen theatrical productions including "Annie," "The Wizard of Oz," "The Sound of Music," "The Wiz," and "Gypsy." In the summer of 2001, she starred in the touring production of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's "Cinderella," playing the lead opposite Eartha Kitt. Jamie made her Broadway debut starring as Belle in Disney's Broadway production of "Beauty and the Beast" from October of 2002 through February 2003.
Beyond her theatrical appearances, she starred as Meadow Soprano in the critically acclaimed HBO original series The Sopranos (1999). For her work on the show, she received the 1999 and 2000 Hollywood Reporter Young Star Awards for Best Young Actress in a Dramatic Television Series and both 2001 and 2002 ALMA nominations. She also has a SAG Award for The Sopranos (1999) Best Ensemble Cast.
Jamie has also starred as former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss in the USA Network's two-hour original movie Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss (2004). She recently completed her first feature film, Extreme Dating (2005), and starred in the music video for Mariah Carey's single, "Through the Rain."
Jamie, who battled an eating disorder in the late 1990s while starring on The Sopranos (1999), is now a spokesperson for the National Eating Disorders Association (www.nationaleatingdisorders.org). In 2002, she published her revealing autobiography, "Wise Girl" (Pocket Books) to rave reviews. A few years ago, she was paralyzed from the waist down for several days with Lyme Disease. Her recovery has given her a fresh outlook on her work and her life.
Jamie is originally from Jericho (Long Island, New York) and currently resides in New York City. She married her manager, A.J. Discala, in July of 2003. However, that marriage has since ended.- Actor
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Although versatile character actor and voice extraordinary Henry Corden will forever be associated with, and fondly remembered for, providing the bellicose, gravel-toned rasp of cartoon immortal Fred Flintstone, he enjoyed a long and varied career prior to this distinction, which took up most of his later years.
Born in Montreal, Canada, on Tuesday, January 6, 1920, his family moved to New York while he was still a child. Henry received his start on stage and radio before heading off to Hollywood in the 1940s. He made his film debut as a minor heavy in the Danny Kaye vehicle, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), as Boris Karloff's bestial henchman, and continued on along those same lines, often in uncredited/unbilled parts. A master at dialects, he was consistently employed as either an ethnic Middle Eastern villain or some sort of streetwise character (club manager, salesman) in 1950s costumed adventures and crime yarns, both broad and serious.
He seldom made it into the prime support ranks, however, with somewhat insignificant parts in Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), Viva Zapata! (1952), Scaramouche (1952), I Confess (1953), King Richard and the Crusaders (1954), Jupiter's Darling (1955) and The Ten Commandments (1956). On TV, he could regularly be found on both drama ("Perry Mason", "The Untouchables") and light comedy ("My Little Margie," "Mister Ed"). A heightened visibility on TV included playing Barbara Eden's genie father on "I Dream of Jeannie" and as the contentious landlord "Mr. Babbitt" on "The Monkees".
Henry made a highly lucrative move into animation in the 1960s supplying a host of brutish voices on such cartoons as "Johnny Quest", "The Jetsons", "Secret Squirrel", "Atom Ant", "Josie and the Pussycats", and "The Harlem Globetrotters". He inherited the voice of Fred Flintstone after the show's original vocal owner, Alan Reed, passed away in 1977. He went on to give life to Flintstone for nearly three decades on various revamped cartoon series, animated specials and cereal commercials. He was performing as Flintstone, in fact, until about three months prior to his death of emphysema at the age of 85 on Wednesday, May 19, 2005.
Married four times, he was survived by wife Angelina; two daughters (from his first marriage), and three stepchildren (from his last union).- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Actor
Art Garfunkel was born on 5 November 1941 in Forest Hills, New York, USA. He is a music artist and actor, known for Carnal Knowledge (1971), The Rebound (2009) and Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession (1980). He has been married to Kim Garfunkel since 18 September 1988. They have two children. He was previously married to Linda Grossman.- Actor
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- Director
Dustin Lee Hoffman was born in Los Angeles, California, to Lillian (Gold) and Harry Hoffman, who was a furniture salesman and prop supervisor for Columbia Pictures. He was raised in a Jewish family (from Ukraine, Russia-Poland, and Romania). Hoffman graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1955, and went to Santa Monica City College, where he dropped out after a year due to bad grades. But before he did, he took an acting course because he was told that "nobody flunks acting." Also received some training at Los Angeles Conservatory of Music. Decided to go into acting because he did not want to work or go into the service. Trained at The Pasadena Playhouse for two years.- Actress
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This vibrant, fine-humored coloratura was able to accomplish what most others of her ilk could or would not do -- she humanized opera and made it approachable to the masses. There were no diva-like traits in this star and the public absolutely adored her for it. Dubbed "America's Queen of Opera" in 1971 by Time magazine, Beverly Sills, the lovely blonde with the toothy smile and fireplace-warm personality, also gained notice for her rise to stardom without benefit of European training, eventually paving the way for other American-trained singers to succeed without the accustomed "Met certification". During her career she recorded 18 full-length operas as well as numerous recital discs. A Victor Herbert album she recorded won a Grammy Award in 1978. If not one of its most distinctive and charismatic voices, she certainly became opera's most accessible figurehead and with it enticed a surprisingly wide audience who would have typically turned away from the long-haired art form.
Brooklyn-born Belle Miriam Silverman arrived on May 25, 1929, to Russian-Jewish émigrés and the good humor already started at birth when she was nicknamed "Bubbles" due to bubbles emanating from her mouth as she arrived. At age 3 she made her debut on a kiddie show and won a Brooklyn "beautiful baby" contest as well. Her singing gifts were detected early on and she began to study at age 7. Performing increasingly on various radio shows well into her teen years, she made her operatic debut at age 18 singing the role of Frasquita in "Carmen" with the Philadelphia Civic Opera.
In the early 1950s Beverly toured with the Charles L. Wagner Opera Company and established herself in the roles of Violetta in "La Traviata" and Micaela in "Carmen". The highlight during this time came with her role as Helen of Troy in "Mephistopheles" with the San Francisco Opera in 1953. She met future husband Peter Greenough, an associate editor, while touring with the New York City Opera in 1955 (she had auditioned unsuccessfully for the company for nearly 4 years). The couple married a year later and went on to have two children: Meredith and Peter Jr. Despite her sunny, optimistic demeanor, Beverly had her fair share of misfortune. Her daughter was born deaf and son born autistic. For the remainder of her life she became an avid spokesperson for children with particular needs.
Her buildup on the opera scene was surprisingly gradual. Over the years she developed a strong repertoire of leading roles in the works of Mozart, Handel, Offenbach, Donizetti, Rossini and Verdi. Stardom came with the role of Cleopatra in Handel's "Julius Caesar" in 1966 at Lincoln Center, and she confirmed it with subsequent roles in "Le Coq d'Or, "Mamon", "Lucia di Lammermoor" "The Siege of Corinth" and "Il Trittico".
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s she made herself available to the public in lighter forums at such open venues as the Hollywood Bowl. She willingly shared both the stage and small screen with such unlikely co-stars as Carol Burnett ("Sills and Burnett at the Met"), Danny Kaye, John Denver, Tony Bennett, Johnny Carson and even the Muppets. She won four Emmys for her interview show "Lifestyles with Beverly Sills" in the late 70s. On the operatic side, some of her televised performances included that of "The Barber of Seville", "La Traviata" and "Manon".
Beverly's lyric soprano began to falter at around age 50 in the late 1970s. She bid her audiences adieu in a 1980 performance of "Die Fledermaus" with Joan Sutherland for the San Diego Opera. Later that decade she was the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980 and was paid tribute at the 1985 Kennedy Center Honors for her lifetime of contribution to the arts.
In later years Beverly worked behind the scenes after taking over the mismanaged City Opera Company and turning things around as its general director. She retired successfully from that leadership post in 1989 and five years later became chairman of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Retiring in 2002, she took over the chair for the Metropoliatan Opera itself until 2005 due to family obligations and health issues. Her husband Peter died in September of 2006; ten months later Beverly would follow.
(Obviously) a non-smoker all her life, Beverly nevertheless developed lung cancer. Her father had died of the same disease back in 1947. She died on July 2, 2007 at her Manhattan residence. Her two children and one grandchild survive.- Writer
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Babaloo Mandel was born on 13 October 1949 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Splash (1983), Multiplicity (1996) and A League of Their Own (1992).- Producer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Actor
Lawrence Bender is a movie producer working in the entertainment industry for 20 years. He helped produce Hollywood films like Reservoir Dogs (1992), Good Will Hunting (1997), Inglourious Basterds (2009) and Django (2012). Lawrence won 6 Academy Awards with 29 nominations including 3 Best Picture films. An Inconvenient Truth is a documentary he produced that raised awareness of climate change and won him an Academy Award for Best Documentary. Lawrence Bender was born in The Bronx, New York City, as Lawrence Kirk Bender. His mother was a kindergarten teacher. Lawrence's father was a college history professor. In high school, he was inspired to follow his grandfather's career as a civil engineer. At the University of Maine in 1979, he graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering. After he graduated, he became a dancer for several years which ended after an injury. Lawrence is a political and environmental activist as the co-founder of the Detroit Project. In 2003 he worked with environmentalists in targeting gas-guzzling SUVs. As the Dean of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, he sits on the Advisory Board. Lawrence has used his influence to support philanthropic initiatives working with Yahoo, the Muppets, the EPA, and Wal-Mart. He is a Director for CleanSource Power, LLC and a board member of The Creative Coalition Inc.- Actor
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As a seasoned actor, writer, producer, and stand-up comedian, Paul Reiser continues to add to his list of accomplishments. In addition to co-creating and starring on the critically acclaimed NBC series, Mad About You (1992), which garnered him Emmy, Golden Globe, American Comedy Award and Screen Actors Guild nominations for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, his successes also include his book, "Couplehood", which sold over two million copies and reached the number one spot on "The New York Times" best-seller list, and "Babyhood", his follow-up book, which features his trademark humorous take on the adventures of being a first-time father, which also made "The New York Times" best-seller list. He also wrote follow-up bestseller Familyhood.
Born and raised in New York City, Reiser was drawn to Greenwich Village clubs, which featured, among others, George Carlin, Robert Klein and David Steinberg. He subsequently attended college at the State University of New York at Binghamton, where he majored in music (piano and composition) and participated in drama classes. During his university years, he was active in student theater productions at the Hinman Little Theater, an on-campus community theater organization located in Hinman College, his dorm community. Reiser later began performing as a comedian at the Improv and Comic Strip during university summer breaks.
Remembered for notable performances in films, such as Diner (1982), Aliens (1986), Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), The Marrying Man (1991), Bye Bye Love (1995) and One Night at McCool's (2001). More recently, he starred in two original movies for Showtime - Strange Relations (2001) opposite Julie Walters, Chazz Palminteri's Women vs. Men (2002), opposite Joe Mantegna and Christine Lahti. His first original screenplay also became his next film The Thing About My Folks (2005), also starring Peter Falk, Olympia Dukakis and Elizabeth Perkins.
Reiser's development company, "Nuance Productions", has produced several projects for NBC television including, My 11:30 (2004), starring Jeff Goldblum and Donna Murphy - which Reiser co-wrote with Steven Sater. Also in the works - for the Showtime cable network - is a mock-documentary about "The Smothers Brothers" and their battles with television network censorship in the late 1960s. Since then, he has maintained a lower profile, working more as an executive producer and writer than as an actor.
In 2003, Reiser made his stage debut in Woody Allen's directorial play debut Writer's Block. He also paired with Steven Soderbergh to star in the Amazon Original Series Red Oaks.
Reiser tours the country performing to sold-out venues and was recently voted one of Comedy Central's "Top 100 Comedians of All Time."- Director
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Keith Gordon was born on 3 February 1961 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a director and actor, known for A Midnight Clear (1992), Waking the Dead (2000) and Mother Night (1996). He has been married to Rachel Griffin since 1998.- Producer
- Director
- Actor
Mark Gordon was born on October 10, 1956 in Newport News, Virginia, USA. He is a producer known for his work on Saving Private Ryan, Speed, The Day After Tomorrow, The Patriot, Steve Jobs, Greys Anatomy, Criminal Minds, and Ray Donovan. In addition he served as president of the Producer's Guild of America from 2010 to 2014 where he championed the producer's mark.- Of Russian/Romanian and Jewish ancestry, sultry, amber-eyed Olive Felicia Dines grew up in Westchester County, New York. She was the daughter of Max Dines and his wife Sylvia Schwartz. According to differing sources, Max may have been a journalist or an attorney.
Felicia began in movies after first working as a teenage lingerie model in order to afford her dancing lessons. She then studied sociology at Pennsylvania State University (graduating with a B.A. in 1954), acted in college plays, attended drama school and eventually appeared in live TV commercials. As to her modeling bathing suits, negligees, bras and girdles, she later remarked "There is nothing very sexy or exciting about standing around in undergarments under hot lights" and "Modeling was hard work for me. I never liked it very much because I kept thinking I was in a rut".
Felicia's situation improved after a talent agent spotted her playing the female lead in William Inge's play Picnic at The Players Ring Theater in 1955 (Kim Novak starred in the film version that year). Columbia executives were impressed and signed the budding starlet to a seven-year contract. Initially billed as Randy Farr, Felicia found her niche as an intelligent and sexy western leading lady, first showcased in a trio of classics directed by the veteran Delmer Daves: Jubal (1956), 3:10 to Yuma (1957) and (in her best role yet) The Last Wagon (1956), opposite Richard Widmark. For the next two decades, she essayed a wide variety of characters, ranging from religious types to barmaids, from party girls to the occasional femme fatale.
Sandwiched in between frequent TV guest spots, Felicia excelled in just a handful of comedies and action films, notably in Billy Wilder's Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) (as an unfaithful wife), in the poignant, idiosyncratic Jack Lemmon-directed comedy-drama Kotch (1971) (as Walter Matthau's daughter-in-law) and in the slick heist thriller Charley Varrick (1973) (this time as Matthau's love interest). A talented, much underused actress, she left show biz in 1992 but made a brief comeback 22 years later to co-star in a little known comedy drama, Loser's Crown (2014).
Felicia divorced her first husband, the actor Lee Farr, in 1955. Her second marriage was to Jack Lemmon, whom she had first met while he was filming Cowboy (1958). They married in 1962 in Paris during his work on Irma la Douce (1963). A daughter, Courtney, was born in 1966. Latterly known as Felicia F. Lemmon, she has resided in Los Angeles, devoting time and money to various philanthropic endeavours and to her much loved feline pets. - Producer
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Stan Lee was an American comic-book writer, editor, and publisher, who was executive vice president and publisher of Marvel Comics.
Stan was born in New York City, to Celia (Solomon) and Jack Lieber, a dress cutter. His parents were Romanian Jewish immigrants. Lee co-created Spider-Man, the Hulk, Doctor Strange, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Daredevil, Thor, the X-Men, and many other fictional characters, introducing a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. In addition, he challenged the comics' industry's censorship organization, the Comics Code Authority, indirectly leading to it updating its policies. Lee subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
He had cameo appearances in many Marvel film and television projects, with many yet to come, posthumously. A few of these appearances are self-aware and sometimes reference Lee's involvement in the creation of certain characters.
On 16 July 2017, Lee was named a Disney Legend, a hall of fame program that recognizes individuals who have made an extraordinary and integral contribution to The Walt Disney Company.
Stan was married to Joan Lee for almost 70 years, until her death. The couple had two children. Joan died on July 6, 2017. Stan died on November 12, 2018, in LA.Creator of Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk and The Fantastic Four- Matt was educated at Ohio University, Athens, Ohio where he majored in communications. He was hired for internship and quit school in 1979 - four credits shy of graduation. Matt later obtained the degree in 1997 by writing a paper on work experience and delivering the commencement address. Matt's first wife was Nancy Alspaugh, born in 1955, a TV producer. Matt was briefly engaged to Kristen Gesswein, a newscaster. They were together from 1989-96. Matt's current wife is Dutch born model Annette Roque (aka Jade Roque). They have been together since the summer of 1997. They were married October 3, 1998. Matt's father's name is Robert Lauer. He was a retired bicycle-company executive who divorced from Lauer's mother. He died of cancer in 1997 at age 74. Matt's mother's name is Marilyn Kolmer, who is a boutique owner and a former model. She remarried to Richard Kolmer who is Matt's stepfather. Marilyn's father, Matt's grandfather, is Art Gentry, a singer. Matt has a sister whose name is April Lauer Stone. April was born in 1953 and is married with two children. In 1999 Matt won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Program, 1998 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
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Ezra Koenig was born on 8 April 1984. He is a writer and actor, known for Peter Rabbit (2018), The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010) and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008).- Actor
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David Proval launched his acting career with a starring role in Mean Streets (1973), directed by Martin Scorsese, and has been working nonstop ever since. Notable features in which he has appeared include The Phantom (1996), The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) Four Rooms (1995) and The Shawshank Redemption (1994). He is currently set to appear in the independent film White Boy (2002).- Actor
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Adrian Zmed was born on 14 March 1954 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Bachelor Party (1984), Grease 2 (1982) and T.J. Hooker (1982). He has been married to Lyssa Lynne since 5 October 2012. He was previously married to Barbara Fitzner and Susan Wood.- Actor
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Raymond Herbert "Ray" Wise (born August 20, 1947) is an American actor. Some of his best-known roles include Leland Palmer in Twin Peaks (1990), henchman Leon C. Nash in RoboCop (1987), Jack Taggart Sr. in Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003), the Devil in the CW television series Reaper (2007), Donald Wadsworth in Suburban Gothic (2014).
Wise was born in Akron, Ohio, graduated from Garfield High School in 1964 and attended Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. He is of Romanian descent on his mother's side.- Actress
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A native of Lakewood, Ohio, Holly studied acting in Chicago and was a member of the acclaimed Remains Theatre Company, where she starred in the American premieres of "Road", "Our Country's Good" and "Lloyd's Prayer", working, among others, with Tony award-winning director Robert Falls. She has been working in TV and Film in Hollywood for the last thirty+ years. When she was younger she played every famous (Jamie Lee Curtis, Ellen DeGeneres, Rene Russo, etc.) actress' best friend, then played wacky aunts (Aunt Judy in "Zenon, Girl of 21st Century"), TV moms (Mom to to Ashlee Simpson on "7th Heaven"), and sad and crying women experiencing trauma ("CSI," "The Practice"). Recently she created, wrote, produced and starred in "Speaking of Beauty," interviewing women of all ages and races about their views of beauty. "The Hollywood Beauty Detective," an exploration of beauty in a beauty obsessed culture, followed that. She has now founded and is the CEO of a nonprofit, "True Beauty Discovery," whose mission is to provide a platform for girls and women to understand that it is their individuality that makes them beautiful and powerful.- Actor
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Bob Balaban was born on 16 August 1945 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Gosford Park (2001), A Mighty Wind (2003) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). He has been married to Lynn Grossman since 1 April 1977. They have two children.- Writer
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Veteran performer John Randolph was a Tony Award-winning character actor whose union and social activism in the '40s and '50s caused him to be blacklisted during the McCarthy era. The balding performer may not have been a household name, but he was a regular face in movies and TV for over four decades.
He was born Emanuel Cohen on June 1, 1915, in New York City, to Jewish immigrants from Romania and Russia, mother Dorothy (Shorr), an insurance agent, and father Louis Cohen, a hat manufacturer. When his father died and his mother remarried, his stepfather, Joseph Lippman, renamed him Mortimer.
He began his dramatic training in the '30s, studying under Stella Adler and changing his name to the less ethnic moniker of "John Randolph". He served in the Army Air Force during WWII and married actress Sarah Cunningham in Chicago in 1945 while performing in Orson Welles's stage production of "Native Son". They had two children, Martha and Harrison.
After the war, Randolph become one of the original members of the Actors Studio. After making his film debut with The Naked City (1948), his passionate, outspoken leftist views and defense of other accused figures led to Randolph and his wife being blacklisted. In 1955, they were both called before the House Un-American Activities Committee and pleaded the Fifth Amendment. Although Randolph lost many jobs during this 15-year blacklist, he continued to find work onstage, mainly in New York.
Finally, director John Frankenheimer broke the Hollywood blacklist after casting Randolph, along with fellow "marked" actors Will Geer and Jeff Corey, in Seconds (1966), in which he played a disillusioned older man surgically made to look decades younger (now played by Rock Hudson). Randolph continued to flourish in films and TV following this breakthrough with important roles in Serpico (1973), Frances (1982), Prizzi's Honor (1985) and You've Got Mail (1998), along with the TV movies The Missiles of October (1974) and "Lincoln" (1975) (mini). He also played the recurring role of Roseanne Barr's father on her popular sitcom.
In 1987, he was the recipient of both Tony and Drama Desk awards for his close-to-home portrayal of a Communist, left-wing grandfather in Neil Simon's "Broadway Bound". Randolph continued his activism into the 1980s, heading the Council of American-Soviet Friendship, a cultural exchange organization. He died of natural causes at age 88.- Actor
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Adam Pascal was born on 25 October 1970 in The Bronx, New York, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Rent (2005), School of Rock (2003) and SLC Punk! (1998). He has been married to Cybele Chivian since 19 December 1998. They have two children.- Actress
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Lin attended the University of Michigan, where she was an Art History major, although acting in as many University productions as possible, including "Bye Bye Birdie" and "On The Town". After U of M, she attended Columbia University School of the Arts, and acquired a Master of Fine Arts degree in Acting. She stayed in New York upon graduation and worked in numerous off- and off-off- Broadway productions, as well as Lincoln Center and Broadway. She has studied with some of the finest: Uta Hagen, Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg. Lin is a lifetime member of the Actors Studio.- Darrell Zwerling was born on 9 September 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Grease (1978), Chinatown (1974) and And Justice for All (1979). He died on 11 April 2014 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Actress
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Ava Lazar was born on 1 January 1955 in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany. She is an actress and producer, known for Forever Young (1992), Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) and Scarface (1983). She was previously married to John Tarnoff.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Johnny Pacar was born in Dearborn, Michigan. He grew up an avid hockey player, who always dreamed of one day playing in the NHL. However, Johnny's hockey career was put on hold after he was discovered while performing in his high school's theater productions. Johnny received great feedback for his acting talents and was encouraged to move to Los Angeles. Within a month of arriving in Los Angeles Pacar booked a national commercial. Not long after that came numerous television roles on many prime time shows including recurring characters on Boston Public and American Dreams.
He became a teen icon when landing the lead in the Disney Channel Original Movie Now You See It.... He went on to star as a series regular in NBC/Discovery Kids hit series Flight 29 Down (2005-2007). His success in television propelled him into film landing him many starring roles in such features as Universal Pictures Wild Child and the lead opposite Richard E. Grant in the romantic comedy Love Hurts which earned him numerous acting nominations and a Best Supporting Actor award win. He also starred in the CBS/Hallmark hit Front of the Class (based on the novel "Front of the Class" that explored a families struggle with Tourette's Syndrome).
In 2009 he landed a role in ABC Family's gymnastics hit series Make It or Break It where he played the bad boy rocker Damon Young. While on hiatus from the show he got the chance to star opposite one of his childhood idols Christian Slater in the thriller Playback. He continued landing roles in film and television such as SyFy Network's hit TV movie Zombie Apocalypse and in the MTV pilot Hot Mess where he played the heartthrob Ben. He also starred in the Sony/Affirm thriller The Remaining. Aside from his acting career Johnny is an accomplished musician releasing two records with his pop/rock band Forever The Day where he served as frontman/lead singer and has released several singles as a solo artist as well. Johnny played for the charity celebrity basketball organization the Hollywood Knights playing for local schools and USO sponsored tours overseas.
When he's not acting or making music his other passions include cooking, painting and writing.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
A social misfit, Belzer was kicked out of every school he ever attended, due to his uncontrollable wit. His mother (Frances) died of breast cancer when Richard was 18. Four years later, his father (Charles) committed suicide. A dedication is written to Charles Belzer in Richard Belzer's "UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don't Have To Be Crazy To Believe" (Ballantine Books, 1999).- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Originally from Alliance, Ohio, which was the first of many homes for Yuri: he lived in Virginia, Tennessee, West Africa, Japan, and New York before settling in Los Angeles.
Yuri discovered his talent and passion for acting near the end of high school and since then has made a reputation of being a committed and creative artist on both stage and screen internationally.
He made his debut in writing, producing, and starring in the independent short "Faithful." He is a student of martial arts and speaks fluent Japanese, French, and German.
Yuri is becoming well-known for his work in voice over in video games and animation. Some of his roles include Superman in Legion of Super Heroes (2006), Sasuke in Naruto (2002), and the Prince in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003) video-game series.
In 2004, he started his own production company, Monkey Kingdom Productions, with business partner Tara Platt.- Music Department
- Composer
- Additional Crew
Born on February 10, 1929, Jerry Goldsmith studied piano with Jakob Gimpel and composition, theory, and counterpoint with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. He also attended classes in film composition given by Miklós Rózsa at the Univeristy of Southern California. In 1950, he was employed as a clerk typist in the music department at CBS. There, he was given his first embryonic assignments as a composer for radio shows such as "Romance" and "CBS Radio Workshop". He wrote one score a week for these shows, which were performed live on transmission. He stayed with CBS until 1960, having already scored The Twilight Zone (1959). He was hired by Revue Studios to score their series Thriller (1960). It was here that he met the influential film composer Alfred Newman who hired Goldsmith to score the film Lonely Are the Brave (1962), his first major feature film score. An experimentalist, Goldsmith constantly pushed forward the bounds of film music: Planet of the Apes (1968) included horns blown without mouthpieces and a bass clarinetist fingering the notes but not blowing. He was unafraid to use the wide variety of electronic sounds and instruments which had become available, although he did not use them for their own sake.
He rose rapidly to the top of his profession in the early to mid-1960s, with scores such as Freud (1962), A Patch of Blue (1965) and The Sand Pebbles (1966). In fact, he received Oscar nominations for all three and another in the 1960s for Planet of the Apes (1968). From then onwards, his career and reputation was secure and he scored an astonishing variety of films during the next 30 years or so, from Patton (1970) to Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and from Chinatown (1974) to The Boys from Brazil (1978). He received 17 Oscar nominations but won only once, for The Omen (1976) in 1977 (Goldsmith himself dismissed the thought of even getting a nomination for work on a "horror show"). He enjoyed giving concerts of his music and performed all over the world, notably in London, where he built up a strong relationship with London Symphony Orchestra.
Jerry Goldsmith died at age 75 on July 21, 2004 after a long battle with cancer.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and songwriter, the son of Morris Goldenberg. He was educated at Columbia College (BA), where he composed and arranged the Columbia Varsity Shows, and also Camp Tamiment. He took private music studies with Hall Overton and he wrote incidental music for the Broadway revue "An Evening With Mike Nichols & Elaine May", and arranged dance music for "Greenwillow", "110 in the Shade", and "High Spirits". His chief musical collaborator was songwriter (and author) Larry Alexander. He joined ASCAP in 1961, and his popular-song compositions include "Shouldn't There Be Lightning?"; and "Take You For Granted". His classical compositions include "Brass Quintet"; "Woodwind Quintet"; and "String Quartet".- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Jillian Bell was raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. She began studying improv at the age of eight. She graduated from Bishop Gorman High School in 2002, and then moved to Los Angeles, where she became a member of the Groundlings. She auditioned for Saturday Night Live, and though she did not join the cast, she became a writer for the show in 2009 for the 35th season. The same year Bell appeared in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm as an assistant who wears revealing clothing at work.- Original Woolite Girl. Traveled around USA for 2 years with "Wooly" the lamb promoting the product. Woolite was a powdered product which came in a blue can at that time.
Had one of the first talk shows on television called "Dinner with Lisa" out of New York City where she interviewed dignitaries and other notable persons of the day.
Appeared on radio "talk" as well.
Traveled to Greenland and other faraway locales to entertain the troops with Bob Hope.
Conover Model, New York.
Summer stock theater in the US and Europe throughout her career.
Donated her time and talent to numerous charity events throughout her career and life.
Master gardener.
Dedicated,Loving mother and wife.... and grandmother to 3 grandchildren.
Lisa Ferraday is the mother of actress, Carrie Anderson-Kincaid. Recent credits include: The Rack Pack (2017) SIX ( History Channel ) Good Behavior (TNT) Fallen Redemption ( post production ) Mall Church ( post production ) London Town The Struggle is Real ( Web Series) Under the Dome (CBS) Bolden Secrets & Lies Sleepy Hollow The Longest Ride The Laramie Project ( HBO ) HAON (post production) - Actress
- Soundtrack
Andrea Marcovicci was born on 18 November 1948 in New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for The Front (1976), The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979) and Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983). She was previously married to Daniel Reichert.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Emanuel Goldenberg arrived in the United States from Romania at age ten, and his family moved into New York's Lower East Side. He took up acting while attending City College, abandoning plans to become a rabbi or lawyer. The American Academy of Dramatic Arts awarded him a scholarship, and he began work in stock, with his new name, Edward G. Robinson (the "G" stood for his birth surname), in 1913. Broadway was two years later; he worked steadily there for 15 years. His work included "The Kibitzer", a comedy he co-wrote with Jo Swerling. His film debut was a small supporting part in the silent The Bright Shawl (1923), but it was with the coming of sound that he hit his stride. His stellar performance as snarling, murderous thug Rico Bandello in Little Caesar (1931)--all the more impressive since in real life Robinson was a sophisticated, cultured man with a passion for fine art--set the standard for movie gangsters, both for himself in many later films and for the industry. He portrayed the title character in several biographical works, such as Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940) and A Dispatch from Reuters (1940). Psychological dramas included Flesh and Fantasy (1943), Double Indemnity (1944), The Woman in the Window (1944)and Scarlet Street (1945). Another notable gangster role was in Key Largo (1948). He was "absolved" of allegations of Communist affiliation after testifying as a friendly witness for the House Un-American Activities Committee during the McCarthy hysteria of the early 1950s. In 1956 he had to sell off his extensive art collection in a divorce settlement and also had to deal with a psychologically troubled son. In 1956 he returned to Broadway in "Middle of the Night". In 1973 he was awarded a special, posthumous Oscar for lifetime achievement.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
David Pittu is an award-winning actor and two-time Tony Award nominee, for his performance as Bertolt Brecht in LoveMusik (directed by Hal Prince) and for his multiple-role turn in the Mark Twain/David Ives comedy Is He Dead? (directed by Michael Blakemore). His other Broadway credits include The Front Page (with Nathan Lane) and Tom Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia (both directed by Jack O'Brien) and Never Gonna Dance (directed by Michael Greif). His extensive off-Broadway and regional credits most recently include Conor McPherson's acclaimed Girl from the North Country at the Public Theater and Murder on the Orient Express (directed by Emily Mann) at Hartford Stage, in which he starred as Hercule Poirot.
Also at the Public Theater, he received the St Clare Bayfield Award for his work as Feste in Twelfth Night (with Anne Hathaway & Audra McDonald), and the Best Ensemble Drama Desk Award for David Hare's Stuff Happens (both directed by Daniel Sullivan).
He created and starred in What's That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling (with music by Randy Redd), receiving Outer Critics' Circle Award nominations for Best Off-Broadway Musical and Best Actor in a Musical.
He has received Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel nominations for his his work at Atlantic and Manhattan Theater Club, and the National Broadway Award for the first national tour of Parade, by Jason Robert Brown & Alfred Uhry, directed by Hal Prince.
He has starred in Encores! revivals of Of Thee I Sing, Bells Are Ringing, It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman, and Big River, and the MasterVoices concerts of The Firebrand of Florence, Of Thee I Sing, Lady in the Dark and Let 'Em Eat Cake.
TV/Film: The Plot Against America, Elementary, Cafe Society, The Blacklist, Submission, Emily & Tim, The Following, The Knick, House of Cards, Mercy Street, Chicago PD, Person of Interest, The Good Wife, Men in Black 3, Damages, Pan Am, Law & Order, L&O:SVU, L&O:CI, True Story, The Invention of Lying, King Kong, Rescue Me, Cashmere Mafia, The Black Donnellys, Sex & the City, The Sopranos.
David is a prolific and award-winning audio-book narrator. He received the Audie Award for Best Solo Male Performance for his reading of The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Sebastian Stan was born on August 13, 1982, in Constanta, Romania. He moved with his mother to Vienna, Austria, when he was eight, and then to New York when he was twelve. Stan studied at Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts and spent a year at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London.
When he went back to New York he started working in some projects like Law & Order (1990), Tony & Tina's Wedding (2004) and Red Doors (2005). Upon finishing college, he played Martin Waters in The Architect (2006), Chase Collins in The Covenant (2006) and worked in Eric Bogosian's theater play The Talk (2007). Also in 2007, Stan started playing Carter Baizen in Gossip Girl (2007). His following projects were Spread (2009), Kings (2009), Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), and Black Swan (2010). He landed also the role of Bucky Barnes in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). In 2012, Stan worked in several projects: Gone (2012), Political Animals (2012), The Apparition (2012), Once Upon a Time (2011) and the mini series Labyrinth (2012). In 2013, he was in Broadway's Picnic and in 2014 he was introduced as The Winter Soldier in the Marvel universe in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). He has continued his role as Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier in [=tt3498820], Black Panther (2018) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018). Other notable projects include Ricki and the Flash (2015), The Martian (2015), The Bronze (2015) and Logan Lucky (2017). He was given high praise for his work in the recent I, Tonya (2017).- Actress
- Producer
Melinda Culea was born in a suburb of Chicago on May 5, 1955. At the age of 20, she moved to New York to join a prestigious modeling agency; her first marriage broke up in the process. After four years in New York, she moved to California to break into the TV industry. After doing a number of commercials, including a successful Burger King campaign, she landed a starring role in the sitcom pilot Dear Teacher (1981). Though that pilot didn't sell, she soon got what seemed like her big break when she won the role of Amy Allen, the female lead in The A-Team (1983). Though the pilot episode presented Amy as a spunky, Howard Hawksian heroine, in subsequent episodes, the role became little more than that of a token female, tagging along with the heroes but rarely having much to do with the plot. At the time, Culea expressed dissatisfaction with the insignificance of her part, and began lobbying for the writers to give her more to do. Reportedly, she asked that her character be allowed to participate in fight scenes. During the second season, producer John Ashley allegedly told Culea's agent, "tell Melinda to shape up or she's out". A few weeks later, Culea discovered that she had been dropped from the show when she received a script with no lines for her character. Why she was fired has never been completely clear; reports at the time focused on the fact that she didn't seem to get along with star George Peppard, who reportedly felt that the show should not have a female co-star. Marla Heasley, who briefly replaced Culea, was told that Culea had been considered too "tomboyish" by the producers.
After a role on the short-lived Aaron Spelling series Glitter (1984), Culea re-emerged in 1986 with a series of high-profile guest roles on Family Ties (1982) and St. Elsewhere (1982). She then took a hiatus from acting, returning in 1988 with a regular role on Knots Landing (1979). Since then, Culea has worked steadily as a dependable and versatile TV performer, most notably in a guest-starring role in the famous Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) episode The Outcast (1992). Since 1995, she has been married to television and film director Peter Markle.- Actress
- Producer
Sadie Alexandru was born in New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Mad Men (2007), The Fosters (2013) and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020). She has been married to Mike Dolan since 20 July 2013. They have one child.- Michael Lerner was an American actor from New York City, the older brother of actor Ken Lerner. He was once nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the domineering studio head Jack Lipnick in "Barton Fink" (1991). Other well-known roles include crime boss Arnold Rothstein (1882-1928) in "Eight Men Out" (1988), Mayor Ebert in "Godzilla" (1998), and Senator Brickman in "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2014).
In 1941, Lerner was born to a family of Romanian-Jewish descent. His father was George Lerner, a fisherman and antiques dealer. Lerner was primarily raised in Solon, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland), and in the port area of Red Hook, Brooklyn. Red Hook was the site of a shack city for the homeless during the 1930s, and had a reputed connection to organized crime for most of the 20th century.
Lerner started his acting career as a theatrical actor. During the 1960s, he performed with the American Conservatory Theater (ACT), a nonprofit theater company based in San Francisco, California. He made his film debut in the comedy-drama "Alex in Wonderland" (1970). The film concerns a film director who has had only one box-office hit in his career, and is uncertain about his options in life.
Over the following years, Lerner mostly played supporting roles in various films. He enjoyed some success in horror films, portraying the Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Police Department in "Maniac Cop 2" (1990), and a private detective in "Omen IV: The Awakening" (1991). The most acclaimed role in his career was portraying Jack Lipnick in "Barton Fink" (1991). His character was the head of a film studio who constantly switched between flattering and threatening his employees, but maintained complete control over them. Lerner was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, but the award went to veteran actor Jack Palance. Lerner did, however, win the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Lerner found steady work in films throughout the 1990s. He portrayed bank president Edward H. Biderman in the comedy "Blank Check" (1994), where the bank is used for money laundering. He portrayed a short-tempered police lieutenant in the comedy thriller "Radioland Murders" (1994), with his character ultimately unable to prevent the serial killer of the film from pursuing his agenda. He portrayed Professor Marcus in "Tale of the Mummy" (1998), a respected scholar who is manipulated into killing someone.
Lerner was still active in the 2000s. He portrayed a doctor in "Mockingbird Don't Sing" (2001), a fictionalized depiction of the life of the feral child Genie (1957-). He portrayed domineering CEO Fulton Greenway in the Christmas comedy "Elf" (2003). He portrayed father figure Harvey Wiener in the comedy-drama "Life During Wartime" (2009).
Lerner had relatively few new roles in the 2010s, but some were still memorable. He portrayed ruthless politician Wesley Mouch in the science fiction film "Atlas Shrugged: Part I" (2011), based on Ayn Rand's iconic novel.
Lerner portrayed the Baron in the fantasy comedy "Mirror Mirror" (2012), an elite courtier who has won the favor of the wicked queen played by Julia Roberts. He portrayed Senator Brickman in the superhero film "X-Men: Days of Future Past", a politician who votes to sever funding for the Sentinel program. Lerner portrayed real-life producer/MGM studio executive Louis B. Mayer in "First Oscar" (2022). - Jo Ann Zerfas is known for Beach Blanket Bingo (1965).
- Stunts
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fred Lerner was born on 2 February 1935 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Die Hard (1988), Escape from New York (1981) and The Jerk (1979). He was married to Evelyn Marie Herran. He died on 15 July 2009 in Ventura, California, USA.- Actor
- Director
- Soundtrack
Marty Allen was born on 23 March 1922 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Night Gallery (1969), The Last of the Secret Agents? (1966) and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (2014). He was married to Karon Kate Blackwell and Lorraine 'Frenchy' Trydelle. He died on 12 February 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.- Actor
- Director
A graduate of the University of Southern California School of Law, Morris Ankrum was an attorney and an economics professor before switching careers and joining the theater. He was a veteran stage actor by the time he entered the film industry in the 1930s. His film career spanned 1933-64, during which time he played in 279 films and TV shows. Ankrum spent much time in westerns, playing everything from Indian chiefs to crooked bankers. Among his best remembered parts are his numerous villainous roles in Paramount's highly popular Hopalong Cassidy film series. The Hoppy films in which he appears include North of the Rio Grande (1937), Hills of Old Wyoming (1937), Pirates on Horseback (1941), Three Men from Texas (1940), Borderland (1937), and Hopalong Cassidy Returns (1936), among others.
He was cast in many other films throughout the '30s, '40s, and '50s, varying from small appearances to co-starring roles. He can be seen in low-budget "B" pictures and big-budget blockbusters alike. It was in the 1950s, though, that he hit his stride in the science-fiction genre, where his gruff, no-nonsense demeanor and authoritative voice perfectly fit the role of the military officer helping scientists fight off outer-space menaces, most memorably as Col. Fielding in the classic Invaders from Mars (1953).
Later in his career he did much TV work, in such series as Bonanza (1959), The Rifleman (1958), Rawhide (1959), Cheyenne (1955), Gunsmoke (1955), The 20th Century-Fox Hour (1955), Maverick (1957), Have Gun - Will Travel (1957), Sea Hunt (1958), and over a dozen more. At the end of his career from 1957-64, he had a recurring role as a judge in 22 episodes on the Perry Mason (1957) TV series.- Producer
- Sound Department
Seamore Butts is known for Uber: Los Angeles (2018) and Halo: The Rebellion.- Writer
- Producer
- Script and Continuity Department
Ed Simmons began his writing career partnering with Norman Lear to write a monologue for Danny Thomas. The two went on to write for the Ford Star Revue starring Jack Haley, The Colgate Comedy Hour with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, and the Martha Raye show.
After he and Mr. Lear ended their partnership, he went on to write for such stars as George Gobel, Dinah Shore, Red Skelton and Tom Jones. He wrote for Jerry Lewis's variety show in the 1960s, and he is credited with creating the "drunk" lounge singer act for Dean Martin when he went solo. The pinnacle of Mr. Simmons's career was in the 1970s, when he was the head writer/producer for the Carol Burnett show, winning five Emmys.
Mr. Simmons was married and divorced three times, and had two children.- Writer
- Producer
- Script and Continuity Department
Ed Jurist was born on 8 April 1916 in New Jersey, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for The Paul Lynde Show (1972), The Flying Nun (1967) and Hawaiian Eye (1959). He died on 12 March 1993 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
Writer, director, producer, actor. Born in Los Angeles, California, USA, and raised in the seaport town of San Pedro. Got his start acting and writing for legendary exploitation director/producer Roger Corman. Came into his own during the 1970s when he was regarded as one of the finest screenwriters in Hollywood. Began directing with mixed success in 1982. One of the best script doctors in Hollywood, he contributed crucial scenes to such films as Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and The Godfather (1972).- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Mel Stuart was born on 2 September 1928 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a producer and director, known for Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), Running on the Sun: The Badwater 135 (2000) and The Making of the President 1960 (1963). He was married to Roberta Frances Silberman and Harriet Rosalind Dolin. He died on 9 August 2012 in Beverly Hills, California, USA.- Ken Lerner is an American television, stage and film actor who is perhaps most famous for playing "Principal Flutie" in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), the heartless HMO lawyer in Chicago Hope (1994), Kurt Russell's lawyer in Unlawful Entry (1992) and Rocco Malachi in Happy Days (1974).
Lerner was born in Brooklyn, New York and graduated from Brooklyn College . He is the father of actor Sam Lerner and the brother of actor Michael Lerner. Ken Lerner is well known for playing funny characters like the agent Arnold Schwarzenegger stabs in the back with a pen in The Running Man (1987) and the attorney who yells to police "Don't shoot! I'm a lawyer!" in Unlawful Entry (1992).
Lerner has appeared in more than 80 television shows and 44 movies. He has had recurring roles on such shows as Desperate Housewives (2004), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), Chicago Hope (1994), Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990) and Happy Days (1974).
Lerner came to Hollywood and, almost immediately, was cast in the hit show _Happy Days_, in which he played three different characters, Rocco Malachi of the Malachi Brothers, Rocco Boruffi and Frankie Bing Bong. He also starred in Hot Tomorrows (1977), the award-winning American Film Institute student film debut of director Martin Brest.
While working steadily as an actor, Ken was asked by his acting teacher Roy London to teach acting classes. He continued in that role until London's death in 1993. He now operates The Ken Lerner Studio, which offers cold reading and scene study classes and frequent free public seminars in which directors, casting directors, managers, agents and publicists give advice to Ken's students and actors in the community at large. Ken's classes are somewhat unusual in that he himself steadily auditions and works as an actor and therefore can impart firsthand knowledge of what it is like in the audition room and on set.
Lerner has done numerous notable and funny commercials, including Kitchenaid's "Through the Years" series, the award-winning Federal Express "Gotcha," Visa's "Bill Fight," Imodium's "Carpoo,l" and the award-winning Mars' Snickers "Optometrist," for which Lerner won the Best Actor award of The Association of Independent Commercial Directors. Lerner also has starred in plays at the Pasadena Playhouse, at Garry Marshall's Falcon Theater and at various other venues in Los Angeles and New York City.
Lerner teaches seminars for the Screen Actors Guild and the Screen Actors Guild Foundation, for Backstage West's Actorfest and at colleges and universities as a visiting lecturer as well as coaches in person and via Skype.
Lerner is frequently called upon by networks, production companies and studios including Disney, ABC, NBC and CBS to privately coach actors for pilots movies and television. Among the actors Ken has taught or coached are Famke Janssen, Sheena Easton, Lisa Edelstein, Mitchel Musso, Nicollette Sheridan, Emily Procter, Dayanara Torres, Christa Miller, Adrienne Wilkinson, Creed Bratton, Byron Mann, Freddie Prinze Jr., Lou Ferrigno, Armin Shimerman, Mike Ditka, Dick Butkus, Sandra Hess, Costas Mandylor, Elizabeth Berkley, Jason Gould and Michael Trucco.
Ken also works with motivational speakers, psychologists and lawyers seeking to present a more animated, interesting and professional image. - Editor
- Writer
- Editorial Department
Marion Rothman was born on 3 July 1928 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Marion was an editor and writer, known for Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992), Starman (1984) and Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970). Marion died on 17 May 2013.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Jack Gilford was born in Brooklyn, New York, as Yankel Gellman. He began his career in the Amateur Nights of the 1930s moving on to nightclubs as an innovative comedian doing satire and pantomime. He was a regular at the Greenwich Village nightspot, Cafe Society and hosted shows featuring Zero Mostel, Billie Holiday and jazz greats like Hazel Scott. It is said that he invented the expression, "The butler did it!", as part of one of his movie satire routines. He also did a facial pantomime of "Pea Soup Coming to a Boil". During the 1950s, he was a victim of the The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) blacklisting which stalled his TV career until the early 1960s. But after that, he became a regular popular comic character actor on dozens of TV series and movies. He was most recognized for being the rubber-faced guy on the "Cracker Jacks" commercials for a dozen years, from 1960-1972.
He was nominated for Tony awards on Broadway for best supporting actor in the musical, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", and "Cabaret". The song "Meeskite" was written for him by John Kander & Fred Ebb.
He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film, Save the Tiger (1973), starring opposite Jack Lemmon, who won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance.- Actor
- Sound Department
Jared Kusnitz was born on 8 November 1988 in the USA. He is an actor, known for Dance of the Dead (2008), Otis (2008) and Prom (2011).- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Hal March, born Harold Mendelson, first came on the scene in 1944 as one half of the comedy duo, Sweeney & March. He and Bob Sweeney had their own radio program, aptly named the "Sweeney and March Show" on CBS radio through 1948. In the early fifties, March sought a variety of venues in which to perform, taking small, uncredited roles in movies and appearing on a few TV shows such as "I Love Lucy" and "The Kate Smith Evening Hour." His first big break came when he was hired as one of the four Harry Mortons on "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show." He eventually lost the part to Fred Clark who the producers felt was perfectly paired with Bea Bernaderet (Blanch Morton) because of his acerbic, yet child-like grumpiness.
About this same time March paired up with another comedian Tom D'Andrea and together they made seven appearances on "The Colgate Comedy Hour."
His biggest break came when he was hired to host "The $64,000 Question," the most lucrative money quiz show of its time. March's personality combined with the astronomical prize money made the program the undisputed king of game shows and inspired a few copycat productions.
In 1955, Jack Benny appeared as a contestant on "The $64,000 Question." Jack's category was violins. After answering the first question correctly, Jack quit and took home his one dollar winnings. In 1957, at the height of March's run with "The $64,000 Question," he was invited to be on "The Jack Benny Program," where Jack set up his own game show in which Hal tried desperately to win his dollar back.
Also in 1955, March married Candy Toxton who had recently divorced Mel Tormé. Together they had three children, Peter, Jeffery, and Victoria, in addition to raising Candy's two children from her previous marriage.
"The $64,000 Question" came to an early end when the infamous Quiz Show Scandals came to light.
One biographer online states that because of the scandal, except for a few film roles, Hal March was out of show business for nearly a decade.
That is a slight exaggeration. Work had slowed down, but Hal hung in finding work here and there. Immediately following the close of his quiz show, he appeared on the "Ed Sullivan Show" to perform his stand-up routine.
He acted for "The Schlitz Playhouse" in 1959, "Westinghouse Preview Theater" in 1961, "The DuPont Show of the Week" in 1963, and even appeared on Broadway in "Two for the Seesaw" (replacing Henry Fonda) and in "Come Blow Your Horn."
In 1961 Hal starred in an unsold pilot for a comedy series called "I Married a Dog." The story starts out with Hal's character marrying a woman in Las Vegas he'd just met. When they arrive at her home in Los Angeles, Hal discovers he's married into wealth, and then, to his surprise and dismay, he quickly learns that the money maker in the home is a movie star dog that takes a harsh dislike to Hal immediately. Alone in the bedroom, Hal tries to make friends with the dog, but quickly discovers how well the dog can act when it follows him out of the bedroom limping, to the shock of his new bride. Throughout the show the dog constantly gets the better of him. You can find the show on YouTube.
In 1966 Hal March appeared on "The Lucy Show" and "The Monkees," and a year later he both appeared in and worked as the technical adviser on "A Guide for the Married Man," all the while making an occasional guest appearance on a variety of television shows such as "Here's Hollywood," "I've Got a Secret," and even guest hosted "The Tonight Show."
In July of 1969 March finally got the break he'd been looking for and began hosting the game show "It's Your Bet" in which celebrity couples played against each other, their winnings going to a member of the audience. The show quickly grew in popularity, but after finishing just 13 weeks of taping, he complained of exhaustion. A trip to the doctor showed that, as a result of his chain smoking, he'd developed lung cancer.
Hal March died at the age of 49 in Los Angeles on January 19, 1970. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for his work in radio and one for his work in television. He is buried at Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City, California.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Paul Richards was born on 23 November 1924 in Hollywood, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), Monkey on My Back (1957) and The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967). He was married to Monica Keating. He died on 10 December 1974 in Culver City, California, USA.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Edward G. Robinson Jr. was born on 19 March 1933 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Some Like It Hot (1959), Get Smart (1965) and Invasion, U.S.A. (1952). He was married to Nan Elizabeth Morris, Ruth Elaine Menold Conte and Frances Chisholm. He died on 26 February 1974 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Benny Rubin was born on 2 February 1899 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Bright Lights (1935), Traveling Saleslady (1935) and High Flyers (1937). He was married to Beatrice Dallinger and Mary Bolt. He died on 15 July 1986 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Executive
Avi Lerner is the Chairman and founder of Nu Image, Inc., Millennium Films and all related companies. With more than 350 films to his credit, he is one of the most experienced, prolific and successful independent producers of our time.
Born and raised in Haifa, Israel, Lerner began as manager of Israel's first drive-in cinema. In 1979, Lerner anticipated the explosion of home video rental, which led to his pioneering the largest specialized video distribution company in Israel and becoming a partner in the country's largest theatrical distribution company.
In 1984, he executive produced the remake of King Solomon's Mines. He then sold his Israeli company and relocated to Johannesburg, South Africa, where he founded the Nu Metro Entertainment Group. The company's interests grew to include owned-and-operated theaters, a video distribution division representing top studios and independent companies, and a production arm that made over 60 features distributed worldwide by major studios. Lerner eventually sold Nu Metro to join MGM/United Artists.
In 1992, he moved to Los Angeles and opened Nu Image, Inc., focusing on production and distribution for the home entertainment market. In 1996, he launched Millennium Films, which produces theatrical motion pictures.
Under the Millennium Films label, Lerner has produced such films as Expendables 1, 2, and 3, Rambo IV, Olympus Has Fallen, London Has Fallen, Brooklyn's Finest, and The Mechanic.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Writer-director Jeff Lieberman has crafted a handful of highly quirky, creative, and distinctive horror movies that are much enjoyed and appreciated by fans of offbeat and imaginative fright-film fare. His pictures are distinguished by their novel oddball plots and an amusingly eccentric sense of off-center humor.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1947, Lieberman attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Lieberman's first film credit was co-writing the script for the gritty police action thriller Blade (1973), which was directed by his mentor Ernest Pintoff. Lieberman made his debut as a writer-director with the excellent and inspired revolt-of-nature killer-worm outing Squirm (1976). He followed this substantial drive-in hit with his best and most beloved film to date, Blue Sunshine (1977), which tells the extremely absorbing and original tale of a bunch of hippies who take a lethal form of LSD that causes them to lose their hair and become insane psychotics 10 years afterward. Lieberman's entry in the popular early-1980s wackos-in-the-woods slasher sub-genre was the potent and harrowing "Deliverance" (1972) variant Just Before Dawn (1981). Remote Control (1988) was a hugely entertaining science-fiction alien invasion romp.
After a regrettably lengthy absence from directing, Lieberman made a triumphant return to fabulously freaky form with the enormously fun-n-funky psycho hoot Satan's Little Helper (2004). In addition to his own pictures, he also penned the screenplays for the TV movie Doctor Franken (1980)--which he also co-directed--and The NeverEnding Story III (1994). He also produced and directed TV commercials throughout his career.- Director
- Animation Department
- Art Department
Brian Iles was born on 20 October 1975 in Sterling, Virginia, USA. Brian is a director, known for Family Guy (1999), The Oblongs (2001) and The Simpsons (1989).- Connie Sawyer was born on 27 November 1912 in Pueblo, Colorado, USA. She was an actress, known for Dumb and Dumber (1994), Pineapple Express (2008) and Out of Sight (1998). She was married to Marshall Schacker. She died on 21 January 2018 in Woodland Hills, California, USA.
- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Gene Levitt was born on 28 May 1920 in New York City, New York, USA. Gene was a writer and producer, known for Fantasy Island (2020), Cool Million (1972) and Combat! (1962). Gene was married to Diana Herbert. Gene died on 15 November 1999 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Creator of Fantasy Island- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
David Milch was born on 23 March 1945 in Buffalo, New York, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Hill Street Blues (1981), NYPD Blue (1993) and Brooklyn South (1997). He has been married to Rita Stern since 1982. They have three children.- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Peter S. Fischer was born on 10 August 1935 in Queens, New York, New York, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Murder, She Wrote (1984), The Law and Harry McGraw (1987) and Columbo (1971). He was married to Lucille Warnock . He died on 30 October 2023 in Pacific Grove, California, USA.- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Gary Glasberg was born on 15 July 1966 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a producer and writer, known for NCIS (2003), NCIS: New Orleans (2014) and The Mentalist (2008). He was married to Mimi Schmir. He died on 28 September 2016 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Chuck Barris was born on 3 June 1929 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was a producer and writer, known for The Gong Show Movie (1980), Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) and X-Men: First Class (2011). He was married to Mary Clagett Kane, Robin Altman and Lynne Frances Levy. He died on 21 March 2017 in Palisades, New York, USA.- A general utilitarian player on TV and film, Ross Elliott provided clean-cut, reliable support for over four decades. Born Elliott Blum on June 18, 1917 in New York City, Ross grew up in the Bronx and began appearing in plays while a teenage at both summer camps and in high school. He attended New York's City College upon graduation pursing both law and appearing in the college's dramatic productions. Acting won out in the long run after he received his degree in 1937.
Following variety show and summer stock work, Elliott became a member of Orson Welles Mercury Theatre and played minor parts on Broadway in "Julius Caesar" (modern version), "The Shoemaker's Holiday" and "Danton's Death." He also was a part of the notorious "War of the Worlds" broadcast on radio in 1938. He also stage toured with Welles in "Five Kings". His career was interrupted by a tour of duty in the Army. Appearing in several of their touring show, one of the better known was "This Is the Army". He would also appearing in the Warner Brothers' film version of This Is the Army (1943).
Elliott returned to professional acting following his honorable discharge and replaced Tom Ewell touring with Walter Huston in "Apple of His Eye". By 1947, he had relocated to Los Angeles and appeared in his first film The Burning Cross (1947) with a story involving the KKK. His four-decade career would include hundreds of movie and TV roles. His more visible clean-cut appearances occurred in the films Woman on the Run (1950), Hot Lead (1951), Woman in the Dark (1952), Problem Girls (1953), The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), Carolina Cannonball (1955), Indestructible Man (1956), Monster on the Campus (1958). Of the scores of parts he played on TV, from the dramas ("Perry Mason", "Death Valley Days", "The Adventures of Superman", "Lassie", "The Twilight Zone", "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", "Kung Fu", "The Mod Squad", "Dallas", "Little House on the Prairie", and "The A-Team") to the comedies ("The Dick Van Dyke Show", "Leave It to Beaver", "Hazel", "Here's Lucy", "The Doris Day Show", and "Phyllis"), Ross will be forever remembered as Lucy Ricardo's director in the classic Vitameatavegamin commercial episode of I Love Lucy (1951). In other "Lucy" episodes, he played Ricky Ricardo's publicity agent. He also played Virgil Earp in several episodes of The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955), appeared frequently as a straight man for Jack Benny on his long-running TV show, and played Sheriff Abbott in many segments of The Virginian (1962).
After several detours, his career waned in the 1970s and he turned to real estate. His last film was a small role in Scorpion (1986). He died of cancer at age 82 on August 12, 1999, and was cremated. - Producer
- Director
- Additional Crew
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Kevin Sussman was born on 4 December 1970 in Staten Island, New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Burn After Reading (2008), Killers (2010) and Almost Famous (2000).- Miles Orman is known for Sesame Street (1969) and Sesame Street: 20 Years & Still Counting! 1969-1989 (1989).
- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Mark Blankfield was born on 8 May 1950 in Pasadena, Texas, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) and Sledge Hammer! (1986). He was previously married to Brandis Kemp.- Jacques Sandulescu was born on 21 February 1928 in Romania. He was an actor, known for Trading Places (1983), The Owl and the Pussycat (1970) and Great Performances (1971). He died on 19 November 2010 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
- While she may have been a small-part character actress most her career, Sandra Gould possessed an unmistakable look and voice that she called her own and separated her from the rest of the pack, contributing to four types of entertainment mediums (stage, screen, TV and radio) for over five decades.
Short in height (just under 5') and with a very familiar chubby, chipmunk-like face, comedic actress Sandra Gould was born in Brooklyn on July 23, 1916. She kicked into high gear as a teenager with roles in the musical revue "Thumbs Up!" (1934) and comedy "Having Wonderful Time" (1937). Her unique voice was also ideal for radio and she appeared in scored of programs such as "My Friend Irma" and "Duffy's Tavern", the latter in which she replaced original star Shirley Booth. Sandra would go on to spend nearly 15 years on the radio airwaves with star Jack Benny on his legendary program.
By 1947, the middle-aged actress began to be glimpsed in minor filming, appearing in dozens of small, urban bits. Typically, the unhelpful telephone operator or nurse, gabby receptionist, inveterate gossip, abrupt landlady or curt saleslady with her irrepressible New York flair, Sandra was glimpsed in such fare as June Bride (1948), Romance on the High Seas (1948) and My Dream Is Yours (1949)(both with Doris Day), Fourteen Hours (1951), The Great American Pastime (1956), Teacher's Pet (1958) (again starring Ms. Day)), Imitation of Life (1959), Honeymoon Hotel (1964) and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966).
Seldom rising to featured status in films, TV comedy proved a more visible medium. Aside from being a regular on the series I Married Joan (1952) in the 1950s, audiences still fondly remember Sandra from her appearance on a classic I Love Lucy (1951) episode in which she played the fur-bearing wife of Harry Cheshire, a Southern tycoon whom Lucy suspects of selling her fraudulent oil stock. Gould also appeared in a number of popular comedy TV programs including "Our Miss Brooks," "December Brides," "The Danny Thomas Show," "Peter Loves Mary," "Pete and Gladys," "The Jack Benny Program," "The Lucy Show," "The Joey Bishop Show," "Mister Ed," "I Dream of Jeannie," "The Red Skelton Hour," "The Farmer's Daughter" and "Gilligan's Island." She also occasionally provided cartoon voices for "The Flintstones." In 1966, Sandra's biggest career break occurred when she was hired to replace the late Alice Pearce (who had died of ovarian cancer) as neighborhood snoop "Gladys Kravitz" on the classic sitcom Bewitched (1964). She stayed with the role for five seasons.
Following this long-running sitcom success, Sandra slowed her busy schedule down, but never retired. Focusing more and more on her passions, art and writing, she still found plenty of time for TV comedy show appearances with featured parts on "Love, American Style," "The Brady Bunch," "Kolchak: The Night Stalker," "Marcus Welby," "Tabitha," (a 1977 spin-off of "Bewitched" in which she and TV husband George Tobias revived their "Abner and Gladys Kravitz" roles), "The New Leave It to Beaver," "Punky Brewster" and "Friends." She made her last on-camera appearances with 1999 episodes of "Veronica's Closet" and "Boy Meets World." Later sporadic film glimpses included Airport (1970), The Barefoot Executive (1971), Whiffs (1975), Chatterbox! (1977), Deep Cover (1992) and The Nutt House (1992).
Twice wed and widowed, her first husband was broadcasting executive Larry Berns, by whom she had one son, writer/producer Michael Berns. Her second husband was TV director Hollingsworth Morse. Sandra died of a stroke on July 20, 1999, following bypass surgery -- three days before her 83rd birthday. - Jon Lormer was born on 7 May 1906 in Canton, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for Creepshow (1982), The Twilight Zone (1959) and Getting Straight (1970). He died on 19 March 1986 in Burbank, California, USA.
- Director
- Producer
- Cinematographer
Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Alan J. Levi began his filmmaking career at age 15 when he produced and directed a half-hour 16mm black-and-white comedy entitled "Keep Your Spirits High" while a sophomore in high school. Finding no one who would hire this aspiring director, he organized his own company, "Petite Productions," which was financed entirely by his fellow schoolmates, and with a grand total of $256 in operating costs, he began his career as a Director/Producer. By the time he graduated from high school, he completed a total of 43 films, produced for such organizations as the National Conference of Christians and Jews, St. Louis Board of Education, The National Safety Council and other institutions that couldn't afford the high prices of commercial filmmaking companies.
During the summer between high school and college, Alan came to Hollywood and, under the guidance of his mentor Dick Powell, studied film technique at various studios--direction under André De Toth, makeup at the MGM makeup department with William Tuttle, photography at Paramount and Warner Bros. on the sets of in-production feature films, editing with the Warner's TV editing staff, etc.
A graduate of Northwestern University with a degree in Radio, TV and Film and minors in Psychology and Electrical Engineering, Alan had directed and/or photographed over 2000 hours of live and videotaped television around the world, and functioned as Director of Photography and Director for over 450 prime-time network commercials before landing a job as Associate Producer at MGM. Since then his directing credits have earned him a Cannes Film Festival Gold Lion, a Western Heritage Award, two New York International TV and Film Festival Grand Awards, two Clio Awards and several Silver Spikes. He has guest-lectured on filmmaking technique at AFI, USC, UCLA, National Institute of Health, and Brooks Institute of Photography as well as numerous acting and film-making study groups.
He was director and/or director of photography on nearly 70 Wide World of Sports (1981) and the acclaimed "Up Close and Personals" for the 1972 and 1976 Olympics. These afforded him the opportunity to become intimately involved in such events as auto racing (Indy, stock, midgets, drags), airplane racing, gymnastics, water polo, wrestling, golf, swimming and diving an, among many others, the traditional stand-bys--baseball and football.
Alan has directed over 350 hours of prime-time network television over the past over 45 years, which included Movies-of-the-Week, pilots and miniseries such as Scruples (1981), The Immigrants (1978), Battlestar Galactica (1978), The Incredible Hulk (1978), Columbo (1971), Knight Rider 2000 (1991) (TV), The Return of Sam McCloud (1989), B.L. Stryker (1989), Dead Man's Revenge (1994). The Legend of the Golden Gun (1979), Go West, Young Girl (1978), Judgment Day (1999), The Invisible Woman (1983), The Stepford Children (1987) and The Last Song (1980).
Among the series he's directed are NCIS (2003), NCIS: Los Angeles (2009), ER (1994), JAG (1995), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), Dr. Vegas (2004), The Fugitive (2000), Magnum, P.I. (1980), Miami Vice (1984), Tales of the Gold Monkey (1982), Quantum Leap (1989), Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993), Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995), Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993), The Cosby Mysteries (1994), Promised Land (1996), Courthouse (1995), Sweet Justice (1994), Simon & Simon (1981), Airwolf (1984), Hooperman (1987), Misfits of Science (1985), The Bionic Woman (1976), Fame (1982), The Six Million Dollar Man (1974), Gemini Man (1976), Falcon Crest (1981), Scene of the Crime (1984), The Oregon Trail (1976), What Really Happened to the Class of '65? (1977) and a few (unmentionable) others. He has also produced the pilots and/or series of "Columbo", "Airwolf", "Voyagers", "Misfits of Science", "The Invisible Woman" and "Probe".
Alan lives in the Los Angeles area with his actress/wife of nearly 40 years, Sondra Currie, and their "kid"--a Bombay rescue kitty "Boo".- Gheorghe, a native of the Transylvania region of Romania, has become one of the top centers in the NBA. A dominant force in Europe, he began his NBA career feeling a little out of place. That quickly changed when he bumped the Bullets regular center and became the starter. He contributed almost immediately with his large powerful arms and towering presence. Gheorghe's height is not due to genetics, but to a pitituary gland condition. His late mother was 5'7" and his father is 5'9". Gheorghe, once regarded as an oddity by many, went on to win the 1995-1996 NBA Most Improved Player award. He has led the NBA in field-goal percentage in both the 95-96 season and the 96-97 season. His presence is sorely missed by the Wizards during the 97-98 season, as he has not played a single minute due to injury. When he returns however, his fans and teammates will certainly be relieved to know that "Big Gheorghe" is back patrolling the paint.
- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Zachary Ray Sherman was born on 5 February 1984 in Portland, Oregon, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Under the Banner of Heaven (2022), 90210 (2008) and Everything Sucks! (2018).- Stunts
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ron Stein was born on 5 October 1938 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor and assistant director, known for Airwolf (1984), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) and Godzilla (1998).- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Jackie Hoffman was born on 29 November 1960. She is an actress and writer, known for Garden State (2004), Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) and Glass Onion (2022).- Actor
- Producer
Jake Steinfeld was born on 21 February 1958 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Coming to America (1988), Ratatouille (2007) and Tough Guys (1986). He has been married to Tracey L Morrison since December 1988. They have four children.- Producer
- Visual Effects
- Production Manager
Muscal attended the University of North Carolina on a soccer scholarship after being named an All South Jersey performer in high school. After graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill, Michael Muscal journeyed to Houston, Texas where for two years; he videotaped open heart surgery for the infamous Denton Cooley of the Texas Heart Institute. From there the path would lead to a more ambitious career in Hollywood and the motion picture business.
Call it a classic case of "beginner's luck," as Muscal's first job in feature films was as Unit Production Manager for the renowned cult classic hit "Re-Animator." From here, he would UPM several more low-budget horror films, leading up to the Co-Producing chores on the equally successful, "The Bride of Re-Animator."
One of those UPM stints was to co-ordinate a package of visual effects "test shots" for a project in development at Disney Studios called "The Teenie Weenies." Disney loved the shots and followed through on making the movie that would become, "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids." Muscal was kept on board to co-ordinate all the visual effects for this blockbuster hit and, the film would win the British Academy Award for Best Achievement in Visual Effects.
Later, he would receive an Emmy Nomination for his Visual EFX work on the acclaimed HBO original movie "The Tuskegee Airmen" and produce the Effects for the re-make of "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman" starring Darryl Hannah. When aired, it was the highest rated cable movie of all time! With this success, HBO asked him to come back and assist Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver) on the effects laden, "Witch Hunt."
Now, it was time to make the transition from the world of visual effects to producing.
In 1999, Muscal would cross paths with British distributor, Hamish McAlpine of Metro Tartan Films and the two would team up to produce a trilogy of critical and financially successful serial killer films, "Ed Gein," "Ted Bundy" and "The Hillside Strangler." "Gein," starring Steve Railsback and the late Carrie Snodgrass, would garner several prestigious awards including named Best Picture at the 2000 Sitges International Horror Film Festival, considered the most important horror genre festival in the world.
For the record, let it show that Muscal has Co-Produced or Produced four highly touted genre films that would either be nominated or named Best Picture at renowned Sitges. Re-Animator (Won) Bride of Re-Animator (Nominated) Ed Gein (Won) and Ted Bundy (Nominated).
Then, on Super Bowl Sunday, 2008, Michael Muscal would get "the call." Longtime friend and fellow visual effects veteran, Justin Ritter, was producing a project and simply asked the question, "would you like to direct a movie?" Working with a wild and crazy bunch of improv comedians, his directorial debut would lead to the making of one of the most absurd horror - stoner - comedies ever: "Little F*cker." Genre fans would not be disappointed! The film was named Best Comedy at the High Times magazine 2010 World Marijuana Film Festival.
From there, Muscal has written the original screenplay and executive produced the high school horror thriller, "Detention," starring world famous and recently departed David Carradine. The film, picked up by American World Pictures, was given its World Premiere at the 2010 American Film Market in LA, then sold overwhelming on the international market.
Later that year, the UK Horror Channel premiered the film there on Halloween night!
In the summer of 2011, Muscal decided to move back to Houston, Texas where he would produce the dark comedy, "Suicide Notes" starring Sopranos vet Lou Martini, Jr. "Notes" not only had its World Premiere at the 2013 World Film Fest but also walked away with an Oscar style sweep being named Critic's Choice Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Actress.
Most recently, Muscal has joined forces with Houston production house Eye Candy, Inc. and together they have produced the critically acclaimed short, "The Rolling Road," starring the legendary Lance Henriksen and horror thriller "KILD TV." KILD TV has captivated audiences at more than a dozen international festivals en route to winning SIX! "Best Picture" Awards along with other awards for Directing, Editing, Effects and Best Actor.
2020 promises to be quite a year. Muscal Co-Wrote the Story and was Associate Producer on "Girl Next." A horror thriller now ready for distribution and one hell of a film they'll be talking about for decades.- Stunts
- Producer
- Actor
Steve Lucescu was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is known for The Shape of Water (2017), The Deep Rig (2021) and Cinderella Man (2005).- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Academy Award-winner Lee Grant was born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal on October 31, 1925 in Manhattan, New York City, to Witia (Haskell), a teacher and model, and Abraham Rosenthal, an educator and realtor. Her father was of Romanian Jewish descent, and her mother was a Russian Jewish immigrant. Lee made her stage debut at age 4 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, playing the abducted princess in "L'Orocolo". After graduating from high school, she won a scholarship to the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, where she studied acting with Sanford Meisner. When she was a teenager Grant established herself as a formidable Broadway talent when she won The Critics' Circle Award for her portrayal of the shoplifter in "Detective Story". She reprised the role in the film version (Detective Story (1951), a performance that garnered her the Cannes Film Festival Citation for Best Actress as well as her first Academy Award Nomination. Immediately following her screen debut, however, Lee became a victim of the McCarthy-era blacklists in which actors, writers, directors, etc., were persecuted for supposedly "Communist" or "progressive" political beliefs, whether they had them or not. Except for an occasional role, she did not work in film or television for 12 years. In 1965 Lee re-started her acting career in the TV series Peyton Place (1964), for which she won an Emmy Award as Stella Chernak, and she later garnered her first Academy Award for Shampoo (1975), also receiving Academy Award nominations for The Landlord (1970) and Voyage of the Damned (1976). Since 1980 Lee has been concentrating on her directorial career, which began as part of the Women's Project at The Americal Film Institute (AFI); her adaptation of August Strindberg's, "Stronger, The" was consequently selected as one of the 10 best films ever produced for AFI. In 1987 she received an Academy Award for the HBO documentary, Down and Out in America (1985) and directed Nobody's Child (1986) for CBS, for which she received the Directors Guild Award. In 1983 she received the Congressional Arts Caucus Award for Outstanding Achievement in Acting and Independent Filmmaking. Subsequently, Women in Film paid tribute to her in 1989, with its first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award. Both the New York City Council and the County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors have recognized Ms. Grant for the contribution her films have made to the fight against domestic violence.- Of Russian/Romanian and Jewish ancestry, sultry, amber-eyed Olive Felicia Dines grew up in Westchester County, New York. She was the daughter of Max Dines and his wife Sylvia Schwartz. According to differing sources, Max may have been a journalist or an attorney.
Felicia began in movies after first working as a teenage lingerie model in order to afford her dancing lessons. She then studied sociology at Pennsylvania State University (graduating with a B.A. in 1954), acted in college plays, attended drama school and eventually appeared in live TV commercials. As to her modeling bathing suits, negligees, bras and girdles, she later remarked "There is nothing very sexy or exciting about standing around in undergarments under hot lights" and "Modeling was hard work for me. I never liked it very much because I kept thinking I was in a rut".
Felicia's situation improved after a talent agent spotted her playing the female lead in William Inge's play Picnic at The Players Ring Theater in 1955 (Kim Novak starred in the film version that year). Columbia executives were impressed and signed the budding starlet to a seven-year contract. Initially billed as Randy Farr, Felicia found her niche as an intelligent and sexy western leading lady, first showcased in a trio of classics directed by the veteran Delmer Daves: Jubal (1956), 3:10 to Yuma (1957) and (in her best role yet) The Last Wagon (1956), opposite Richard Widmark. For the next two decades, she essayed a wide variety of characters, ranging from religious types to barmaids, from party girls to the occasional femme fatale.
Sandwiched in between frequent TV guest spots, Felicia excelled in just a handful of comedies and action films, notably in Billy Wilder's Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) (as an unfaithful wife), in the poignant, idiosyncratic Jack Lemmon-directed comedy-drama Kotch (1971) (as Walter Matthau's daughter-in-law) and in the slick heist thriller Charley Varrick (1973) (this time as Matthau's love interest). A talented, much underused actress, she left show biz in 1992 but made a brief comeback 22 years later to co-star in a little known comedy drama, Loser's Crown (2014).
Felicia divorced her first husband, the actor Lee Farr, in 1955. Her second marriage was to Jack Lemmon, whom she had first met while he was filming Cowboy (1958). They married in 1962 in Paris during his work on Irma la Douce (1963). A daughter, Courtney, was born in 1966. Latterly known as Felicia F. Lemmon, she has resided in Los Angeles, devoting time and money to various philanthropic endeavours and to her much loved feline pets. - As the daughter of two former Romanian gymnasts, it was almost inevitable that Dominique Moceanu would follow in her parents' well balanced footsteps. At the young age of 3 and a half, Dominique began taking gymnastics classes in Highland Park, IL. While Dominique's athletic interests appeared to most as only a childhood hobby, gymnastics rapidly developed into her ultimate passion and, unbeknownst to the world, an Olympic Champion was in the making. By age 10, Dominique's inherited talent and evident ability were obvious. She dreamed of one day competing at the elite level, joining the ranks of Nadia Comaneci, Betty Okino, and Mary Lou Retton. Dominique solidified her committment to success in 1991 when she began training with world-renowned coach Bela Karolyi. With Bela's instruction, visions of becoming a champion manifested into reality. Dominique was well on her way to securing her place in gymnastics history. Only 7 months after joining Karolyi's gym, Dominique became the youngest member to qualify for the U.S. Jr. National Team. At the 1992 Jr. National Championships, she won a silver medal in the balance beam competition and placed fifth in the all-around. That same year, as the youngest gymnast to ever compete at the Pan America Games in Sao Paulo, Brazil, she captured five gold medals, including the all-around competition, floor exercise, uneven bars, and vault. Although the 1993 Junior National Championships did not result quite as successfully as 1992, Dominique considers her seventh place all-around finish to be one of her greatest competitions as a learning experience. Karolyi's philosophy, "you can always do better," inspired an even greater dedication in Dominique's training regimen and resulted in her triumphant all-around title and gold medal in the floor exercise and vault at the 1994 Jr. Nationals. 1995 proved to be a stellar year for Dominique. After winning a gold medal in the uneven bars at the Reese's International Gymnastics Cup, she placed first in vault at the American Classic. Advancing to the senior division, Dominique continued her winning streak at the Visa Challenge by capturing her first all-around title against an international field, winning a gold medal in the floor exercise as well as the team gold. At the 1995 U.S. Nationals (Sr. Division) in New Orleans, Dominique, in her first major national meet, become the youngest gymnast in U.S. history to capture the all-around title. Shortly after, Dominique won a gold medal in the all-around competition at the World Team Trials. Two months later, she won a silver medal on the balance beam at the 1995 World Championships in Sabae, Japan, placing fifth overall, the best finish for an American. Leading up to the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Dominique unfortunately experienced a painful stress fracture in her tibia, resulting in disappointing U.S. Nationals and World Championship finishes. Furthermore, her injury had a considerable impact on her Olympic performance, preempting her chances for an individual gold medal. Although Dominique's Olympic performance did not result in an individual medal, it did earn the team gold medal. Subsequently, the 1996 Gymnastics team, becoming the first American Women's Gymnastics Team to win the Olympic team gold medal, was dubbed the "Magnificent 7." Following the 1996 Olympics, Karolyi retired, and Dominique began training under Luminita Miscenco, a former gymnast at the famous school in Deva, Romania. Doubt arose about Dominique's ability to rebound from the disappointment of not winning an individual medal in Atlanta. However, most did not credit that she was only 14 at the 1996 Olympics, and that her Olympic experience came relatively early in her career. Moceanu credits Miscenco for putting her back on track and for helping her adjust to her new frame after she grew seven inches in height and gained 18 pounds in 1997. As Dominique continued to develop physically and mentally under the guidance of Miscenco, her confidence was restored and her eagerness to regain respect by proving herself as an individual escalated. Leading up to the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York, there was a great deal of pressure on Dominique to perform well. Embracing the challenge with determination and maturity, Dominique proved to the world that her will to succeed indeed overcome her adversity. She triumphantly captured the all-around title at the Goodwill Games. The gold medal reestablished Dominique's position among the world's elite. In the fall of 1998, Dominique encountered a very emotional and personal family struggle causing an explicable conflict with her training. Even with her name plastered across newspapers and magazines nationally, her privacy invaded, and her training interrupted, Dominique maintained a profound poise and maturity. Having missed a few months of training and competitions, some doubt has arisen surrounding Dominique's ability to rebound. However, enduring both tragedy and triumph, Dominique's unique and undying spirit as well as her love of the sport continued to flourish. In a determined comeback and spirited return to the sport of gymnastics, Dominique moved to Cincinnatti, Ohio in January of 2000 to resume training under the guidance and support of 1996 Assistant Olympic coach Mary Lee Tracy. Advancing from the U.S. Classic, through to the National Championships, and on to the Olympic Trials, Dominique was well on track to realizing her Olympic dream for the second time. Unfortunately, her planned return to the Olympic stage was cut short when she was forced to withdraw from the 2000 Olympic trials with a knee injury. Although Dominique's return to the Olympics was cut short, she proved to herself and the whole world that after all that she had been through, she still wore the heart of a champion. Leaving an indelible mark on the gymnastics world, Dominique continues to participate in professional tours, coach at summer gymnastics camps, and inspire young athletes everywhere. A gymnast by birth, turned champion by heart, Dominique Moceanu is the embodiment of a true Olympian.
- Actress
- Writer
- Composer
Diana Rein was born in Bucharest, Romania. She began her career in Chicago as an actress in Home Alone (1990), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) and Dennis the Menace (1993). She moved to Los Angeles and continued acting in short films, TV, commercials and also wrote/produced and acted in her film Gypsy Gift. As of 2007 Diana began her songwriting/guitarist/recording artist career and has released 4 albums and multiple singles.- Sylvia Sidney was born in The Bronx, New York City, on August 8, 1910 as Sophia Kosow to Jewish parents. Her father was born in Russia and her mother was born in Romania. They divorced not long after her birth. Her mother subsequently remarried and young Sophia was adopted by her stepfather, Sigmund Sidney.
A shy, only child, her parents tried to encourage her to be more outgoing and gregarious. As an early teen, Sophia (later Sylvia) had decided she wanted a stage career. While most parents would have looked down on such an announcement, Sylvia was encouraged to pursue the dream she had made. She enrolled in the Theater Guild's School for Acting. Sylvia later admitted that when she decided to become a stage actress at 15, it wasn't being star struck that occurred to her, but the expression of beauty that encompassed acting. All she wanted was to be identified with good productions.
One school production was held at a Broadway theater and in the audience there was a critic from the New York Times who had nothing but rave reviews for the young woman. On the strength of her performance in New York, she appeared onstage in Washington, D.C. Further stage productions followed, each better than the last and it wasn't long before the film moguls were at the doorstep. She was appearing in the stage production of "Crime" when she made her first appearance on the silver screen in 1927. The film in question was Broadway Nights (1927) which dealt with stage personalities of which Sylvia, despite her extremely tender age, was one. After the film she returned to the stage where she appeared in creations which were, for the most part, forgettable. She moved to Colorado to tour with a stock company. She later returned to Broadway for a series of other plays. By 1929, she was on the big screen with Thru Different Eyes (1929) as Valerie Briand. This was followed by a short film, Five Minutes from the Station (1930). Sylvia Sidney was slowly leaving the stage for the production studios of Paramount.
1931 saw her appear in five films, one of which, City Streets (1931), made her a star. Aware that she was replacing the great Clara Bow, who was suffering from severe and debilitating health issues, mainly depression. The contrast between the two actresses was great but the movie was a hit. The sad-eyed Sylvia made a tremendous impact and her screen career was off a running. Her next film was Ladies of the Big House (1931) as Kathleen Storm McNeil, part of a couple framed for a murder they didn't commit. The film made huge profits at the box-office. She then made Merrily We Go to Hell (1932), appearing opposite Fredric March. The film was an unqualified success. Later, in Madame Butterfly (1932), she starred as the doomed geisha girl (Cho-Cho San); critics agreed that only her performance saved the film from being a total disaster.
In 1933, she starred in the title role in Jennie Gerhardt (1933). Yet another doom and gloom picture, she played a girl beset with poverty and the death of her young husband before the birth of their child. Sidney received the star spotlight in Good Dame (1934). Despite her fine performance, the film failed at the box-office. She scored big with the film critics as the lead female in Mary Burns, Fugitive (1935), a restaurant owner who falls for a big time gangster. Her performance was overshadowed by Alan Baxter, who gave an outstanding portrayal as the gangster. That film was quickly followed by "Accent On Youth", in which she played Linda Brown, a young lady fascinated by older men. In 1938, Sidney played in "You and Me", opposite George Raft. The film critics gave it mixed reviews but it did not fare well at the box-office. Afterward, the roles began to dissipate. She filmed ...One Third of a Nation... (1939) and would not be seen again onscreen until The Wagons Roll at Night (1941). There was a four year hiatus before Blood on the Sun (1945), opposite James Cagney.
In 1946, she starred in The Searching Wind (1946) as Cassie Bowman. The film was based on a Broadway play but it just didn't transfer well onto the big screen. It was widely considered to be too serious and flopped with the movie fans. After Love from a Stranger (1947), she didn't appear onscreen again until Les Miserables (1952), as "Fantine". Only three more films followed that decade. There were no films throughout the 1960s. After appearing in a made-for-television movie, she returned to the big screen in Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973), playing the mother of the character played by Oscar-winning actress Joanne Woodward. For her performance, Sidney received her only Oscar nomination, losing to another actress who also only received one Oscar nomination in her lifetime, Tatum O'Neal (Paper Moon (1973)). O'Neal was 10 years old when she accepted the award.
Aside from a few more supporting role film appearances strewn here and there, Sidney mostly appeared on television thereafter. In 1988, she appeared as Juno in Tim Burton 's hit film Beetlejuice (1988). Her last film for the big screen was Mars Attacks! (1996) as the unlikely heroine whose taste in music saves Earth from an exceptionally brutal Martian victory. She had been seriously injured after being hit by a car but director Burton waited for her to be able to appear (in a wheelchair) rather than recast the role. In 1998, she played Clia, the irritable elderly travel agency clerk, who appeared (along with Fyvush Finkel) at the beginning of every episode of Fantasy Island (1998), the short-lived black-humored reboot of the iconic 1970s series of the same name.
A lifelong heavy smoker, Sidney died on July 1, 1999, aged 88, of throat cancer. - Producer
- Actor
Alex Lebovici was born in Toronto, Canada,
Alex attended the New York Film Academy Los Angeles Campus.
Alex founded Hammerstone Studios in September of 2018.
Hammerstone Studios was named after Hammerstone Crescent, a street in the Toronto suburb of Thornhill which was the neighboring street to his childhood home. Alex and his friends made dozens of short films in their neighborhood growing up. Naming the company "Hammerstone" was an homage to Alex's early filmmaking with his friends.- Lance Spellerberg SAG-AFTRA-AEA
Lance has performed in film, television, commercials and theatre from LA to New York (and many, many places in between while touring with the National Shakespeare Company) and as far away as Hamburg, Germany and Iasi, Romania. Whether comedy, tragedy, musicals or period pieces, Lance relishes the challenge of exploring a character's humanity and presenting it truthfully. He us also a Trekkie and a fervent college football fan. Go Buckeyes! - Additional Crew
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Producer
Born and raised in Chicago, Aaron Semmel grew up wanting to make movies underwater with Jacque Cousteau. When Cousteau passed away, Semmel aimed his sights towards dry land and Hollywood.
After studying Film Production and Creative Writing at Columbia College, Semmel started as Grip on the set of a Roger Corman television series titled Black Scorpion. From there he got a job at Maverick Films, the film shingle of Madonna. At Maverick, Semmel helped to develop and produce several projects, including the film Agent Cody Banks.
Semmel was cast on the first season of the mega-hit NBC series The Biggest Loser. The experience gives him a unique perspective for developing and producing unscripted programs and dealing with reality casts and crews.
In 2005, Semmel began working under James G. Robinson (CEO) and Guy McElwaine (President) at Morgan Creek Productions. Working closely with development, production, marketing and distribution, Semmel helped to produce such feature films as The Good Shepherd, Man Of The Year, Georgia Rule, and Sydney White.
Semmel joined Thinkfactory Media in 2009, moving into the world of television production. As Director of Scripted Development, Semmel developed dozens of scripted television and feature film projects, including the feature film 10 Rules To Sleeping Arond , the comedy pilot Whitey (A&E), as well as the mini-series Texas Risins (History). Semmel also helped make unscripted television series such as Gene Simmons Family Jewels (A&E), Dogg After Dark (MTV), Teach: Tony Danza (A&E), Sinbad: It's All About Family (WeTV).
Semmel traveled to Romania in 2011 to Co-Produce Hatfields & McCoys, directed by Kevin Reynolds and starring Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton. Airing on History, the rating record holding mini-series won five Emmy's, two Golden Globes, and was nominated for many more awards.
Semmel launched his own company, Chicoastal, LLC, which creates, develops and produces television, films, branded content and live events. Semmel created and Executive Produced an unscripted special with country music star Big Kenny Alphin of Big & Rich for the TLC Network. Semmel also created and Executive Produced an unscripted dog training special for Nat Geo Wild titled Boss Dog With Stevo Henderson. In the Digital Space, Semmel Co-Executive Produced three web series for Snoop Dogg's cannabis centric MerryJane.
Semmel worked closely with Kevin Costner on the development of several feature films and television projects, including Horizon, the upcoming epic western double-feature. Semmel and Costner partnered with Toyota to create and produce branded content, as well as the development of a potential documentary adventure series.
Semmel is a Development Consultant at his old stomping grounds of Morgan Creek Entertainment. Semmel has helped oversee the development of a new trilogy reboot of The Exorcist, with director David Gordon Green, Blumhouse Productions and Universal/Peacock. Semmel is also a Development Producer at Voyage Media, where he works with authors to adapt their novels and memoirs into screenplays.
Semmel volunteers his time as a Program Consultant for American Cinematheque, Hollywood's premiere non-profit dedicated to the public display of motion pictures, where he produces special theatrical screenings and events. Semmel is also an advocate of Big Brother Big Sisters and has been a "Big Brother" himself.
In his free time, Semmel trains and competes in triathlons. Semmel lives in Los Angeles with his wife, their son and their adorable white boxer named Ob-La-De Ob-La-Da.- Christina Peck was born Christina Kramer to Daniel Kramer and Louise Kramer (Oppenheimer) in Flint Michigan. Her father was the first generation born to immigrant parents. Her grandfather was born in Romania and her grandmother was born in Hungary and immigrated to the United States by way of the Carpathia in 1908. Christina's mother is of German, Hebrew, Irish, Scottish and Algonquin Native American background.
Christina started acting and modeling at age 14, where she landed parts in small local theaters, extra roles, and small church play productions. She moved to Missouri with her husband, Josh, who works as a documentary filmmaker/director, and their children in 2016. Both she and her husband hosted a science show, Into the Multiverse, from 2016-2018. In 2016 Christina participated in local projects such as a music video for a local Blues band while pregnant with her third child, and continued to act in student films until late 2018. She then had to take a step back to care for her oldest son who was ill. In 2022 she returned to acting and has been active ever since. - Art Department
- Additional Crew
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Born in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, John Bert has always had an interest in film production. He became involved in historic preservation as a living historian, appearing as an extra in "Dances With Wolves" and "Gettysburg" before being contacted to work as a military advisor on "Gods and Generals" and "Cold Mountain". It was on "Cold Mountain" that he had the chance to work with two other respected historians; Brian C. Pohanka and Michael Kraus. Those scenes were shot in Romania.
He is a member of the Property Masters Guild (PMG), a huge history buff, and a private pilot.- Dolph Schayes was born on 19 May 1928 in New York City, New York, USA. He was married to Naomi Gross. He died on 10 December 2015 in Syracuse, New York, USA.
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
B. J. Manaly Novak is a Jewish-American actor, writer and director from Newton, Massachusetts known for playing Ryan Howard from The Office. He wrote several episodes for the show. He also acted in Saving Mr. Banks, Knocked Up, Reign Over Me, The Internship, Inglorious Basterds, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, The Founder and The Smurfs duology.- Actress
- Producer
- Composer
Hailee Steinfeld was born on December 11, 1996 in Tarzana, California, to Cheri (Domasin), an interior designer, and Peter Steinfeld, a personal fitness trainer. She has a brother, Griffin. Her uncle is Jake Steinfeld, a fitness trainer, and her great-uncle is actor Larry Domasin. Her father is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent and her mother's ancestry is Filipino, African-American, British Isles, and German. Hailee was raised in Thousand Oaks, California.
At an early age, she appeared in several short films to gain experience. She played the role of Talia Alden in She's a Fox (2009), which received several awards. Her debut in a feature film for theater was True Grit (2010). She played a major role, Mattie Ross, with Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin, and Matt Damon. She got big attention for her performance in this movie, and she was nominated for the 'Best Supporting Actress' Academy Award. After a short break, she appeared in several films which were released in 2013. She played the role of Juliet in Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet (2013), which also starred Douglas Booth, and was released in 2013. Also, she appeared in Ender's Game (2013) as Petra Arkanian, based on the book written by Orson Scott Card, and this movie was directed by Gavin Hood. She starred with Asa Butterfield and Harrison Ford, and this movie received positive reviews. She appeared in the short film The Magic Bracelet (2013), with Bailee Madison, as Angela.
In 2014, She appeared in 3 Days to Kill (2014), which was released on February 21, 2014. she played the major role of Zoey Renner, daughter of Kevin Costner. In Hateship Loveship (2013), she played Sabitha with Kristen Wiig. This movie was released on April 11, 2014 in USA. Steinfeld performed the role of Emily Junk in Pitch Perfect 2 (2015). She also starred in Barely Lethal (2015) with Jessica Alba. She filmed the movie, Ten Thousand Saints (2015), as the role of Eliza, again opposite Asa Butterfield.
In 2016, she starred in the teen dramedy The Edge of Seventeen (2016), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical.
She has been home-schooled since 2008. Hailee says she is very interested to be on the other side of camera and would like to eventually produce and direct.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Sabina Lisievici is known for Kingdom of Judas (2024), On Hold (2021) and Cookie (2024). She was previously married to Alexandru Lisievici.