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1-9 of 9
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
One of Italy's most captivating and talented cinematic comedy stars, Italian veteran Alberto Sordi was known for satirizing his country's social mores in pungent black comedies, farcical tales and grim drama. He, along with peers Vittorio Gassman, Ugo Tognazzi and Nino Manfredi, arguably represent the finest of post-war Italian cinema history. Born in Rome on June 15, 1920 in the Trastevere district, Sordi grew up in a musical family, his father being a tuba player for the Rome Opera House. A choir boy at the Sistine Chapel, he later trained for the theater in Milan but returned to Rome to work in radio and musical halls in comedy shows. In the late 30s he found his way into film as an extra. His first important role was in The Three Pilots (1942), a fascist war picture, but he wouldn't hit international stardom until a decade later when he starred in Federico Fellini's early films The White Sheik (1952) and I Vitelloni (1953). The titles of some of his most prolific characters were as simple as their titles: The Seducer, The Bachelor, The Husband, The Widower, The Traffic Cop, and The Moralist. Most of his protagonists amusingly, but not always pleasantly, stereotyped the worst attributes of Italian men and society, yet many of his films are unparalleled in quality and considered masterpieces. Sordi went on to star, direct and co-write more than 150 films. Never married and rather an introvert, he enjoyed a quiet, reclusive personal life. On his 80th birthday, he was made Mayor of Rome for the day. In 2002, after 190 films, he announced his retirement, and died of a heart attack the following year at age 82.- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Emmy- and Golden Globe-winner and ten-time Oscar-nominee Walter Scharf was born and raised in New York City, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants. He started playing music at an early age, helping his uncle play the piano in theaters for silent films. His mother Bessie Zwerling was a well-known comedian in New York's Yiddish theater.
He got his first real Broadway gig at the age of 17, orchestrating George Gershwin's "Girl Crazy." He also played in several college shows written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Later he worked as a session musician in the early years of recording, along with Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and Jimmy Dorsey. He took his earnings and studied at New York University, even spending a year and a half studying in Berlin, witnessing the rise of the Nazis in 1932.
Back in New York he became the accompanist for the legendary chanteuse Helen Morgan, who introduced him to the world of film with Manhattan Melodrama (1934). Her sometime substitute, Alice Faye, coaxed him to join Rudy Vallee's orchestra, playing at the Embassy Club, and eventually going to Hollywood with them to make Sweet Music (1935) at Warner Brothers. Throughout the 1930s he wrote music for over a dozen films, mostly without receiving screen credit. His first Oscar nomination came for the score of Mercy Island (1941), and his film music career continued through six decades. He worked extensively with stars such as Shirley Temple, Al Jolson, Irving Berlin, Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand' and Michael Jackson.
Other Oscar nominations came for his work on Hans Christian Andersen (1952), Funny Girl (1968), Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) and Ben (1972), but he never won. His Emmy award came for his work on a National Geographic television special, and his Golden Globe award was won for his work on "Ben". He shared a credit for co-writing the "Ben" title song with Don Black.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Susan Johnson was born on 6 July 1927 in Columbus, Ohio, USA. She was an actress, known for Sister Act (1992), Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993) and I Love Lucy (1951). She was married to Robert Pastene and Chet Kehn. She died on 24 February 2003 in Sacramento, California, USA.- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
One of the sweetest-sounding thrushes of the swing era, as well as one of the prettiest, Imogene Lynn began her performing career in 1940 with Emerson Gill's Bamboo Gardens Orchestra in Cleveland. After two years and including other stints with society bands, she joined the drummer Ray McKinley as featured vocalist and became the first wife of one of the band's key sidemen, the saxophonist and clarinettist Mahlon Clark. Following a brief sojourn with another short-lived big band, that of composer Freddie Slack, her next engagement was with Artie Shaw's Gramercy Five during which time she made her famous RCA recording of "Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive". Other hit numbers during the two-year long tenure with Shaw included "Let's Take the Long Way Home", "On the Atcheson, Topeka and the Santa Fe", "It Might As Well Be Spring", "Together" and "Gotta Be This Or That". She also accompanied the band on its wartime tours of military bases, theatres and dance halls. After leaving Shaw in 1945, Imogene had a stint with the orchestra of saxophonist/arranger Dave Matthews on the West Coast and subsequently replaced Virginia Rees as lead female vocalist in the Merrymacs vocal quartet. In 1949, she became a member of The Starlighters (replacing Pauline Byrne).
Striking out on her own, Imogene remained in Hollywood. She was featured in films on and off camera, lent her voice to several of Tex Avery's animated shorts at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and dubbed for non-singing stars: Mona Freeman (Mother Wore Tights (1947), Loretta Young (Mother Is a Freshman (1949)) and Vera Miles (Beau James (1957), including a lovely rendition of "Someone To Watch Over Me"). In between, Imogene made commercials for Dial Soap, appeared on television in The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show (1956) and provided backup vocals for, among others, Nat 'King' Cole, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. Imogene lived the last seventeen years of her life in Lancaster, California, where she died in February 2003 at the age of eighty.- John Shaw was born on 12 October 1924 in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. He was an actor, known for War and Peace (1973) and Adriana Lecouvreur (1984). He was married to Isabel Begg. He died on 24 February 2003 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- Adeline Craig was born on 16 April 1920 in Copper Cliff, Ontario, Canada. She was an actress, known for Annie Oakley (1935). She died on 24 February 2003 in San Juan Capistrano, California, USA.
- Albert Hibbs was born on 19 October 1924 in Akron, Ohio, USA. He was married to Marka Ann Wilson and Florence Pavin. He died on 24 February 2003 in Pasadena, California, USA.
- Additional Crew
Robert P. Schlaefli was born on 31 March 1922 in Yankton, South Dakota, USA. He is known for Always (1989). He died on 24 February 2003 in Soap Lake, Washington, USA.- Bernard Loiseau was born on 13 January 1951 in Chamalières, Puy-de-Dôme, France. He was married to Dominique Muriel Véronique Brunet. He died on 24 February 2003 in Saulieu, Côte-d'Or, France.