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1-50 of 269
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Sam Shepard was born Samuel Shepard Rogers in Fort Sheridan, IL, to Jane Elaine (Schook), a teacher, and Samuel Shepard Rogers, a teacher and farmer who was also in the army. As the eldest son of a US Army officer (and WWII bomber pilot), Shepard spent his early childhood moving from base to base around the US until finally settling in Duarte, CA. While at high school he began acting and writing and worked as a ranch hand in Chino. He graduated high school in 1961 and then spent a year studying agriculture at Mount San Antonio Junior College, intending to become a vet.
In 1962, though, a touring theater company, the Bishop's Company Repertory Players, visited the town and he joined up and left home to tour with them. He spent nearly two years with the company and eventually settled in New York where he began writing plays, first performing with an obscure off-off-Broadway group but eventually gaining recognition for his writing and winning prestigious OBIE awards (Off-Broadway) three years running. He flirted with the world of rock, playing drums for the Holy Modal Rounders, then moved to London in 1971, where he continued writing.
Back in the US by 1974, he became playwright in residence at San Francisco's Magic Theater and continued to work as an increasingly well respected playwright throughout the 1970s and into the '80s. Throughout this time he had been dabbling with Hollywood, having most notably in the early days worked as one of the writers on Zabriskie Point (1970), but it was his role as Chuck Yeager in 1983's The Right Stuff (1983) (co-starring Fred Ward and Dennis Quaid) that brought him to the attention of the wider, non-theater audience. Since then he has continued to write, act and direct, both on screen and in the theater.
He died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis--commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease--in Kentucky on July 27, 2017.- Actor
- Stunts
- Director
An actor with a powerful physique, booming voice and who has played several "Native American" characters, Sonny Landham first broke into mainstream film with a bit part as a police officer in the subway. He ends up getting tripped when Michael Beck throws the baseball bat at his legs, in Walter Hill's gang film The Warriors (1979), then other minor roles in Southern Comfort (1981) & Poltergeist (1982), before Walter Hill cast him in his first decent role as James Remar's gun happy, criminal partner in the high voltage hit 48 Hrs. (1982). Landham continued to turn up in high testosterone films of the mid 1980s including the action sci-fi film Predator (1987), alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in Lock Up (1989), and being hurled out a window by Carl Weathers in Action Jackson (1988). His career on screen wound down during the 1990s, but he still managed to crop up in several roles taking advantage of his strong physical presence.- Actor
- Producer
Don Collier made over 200 credited movie and television appearances. He performed with John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Anthony Quinn, Dean Martin, Tom Selleck, James Arness, and even Elvis Presley. His first role was as an extra in 1948 in the western Massacre River (1949). This was followed by two more westerns -- Davy Crockett, Indian Scout (1950) and Fort Apache (1948) with John Wayne. He later appeared in three more John Wayne movies.
In 1959, Collier won the leading role of U.S. Deputy Marshal Will Foreman in the NBC series, Outlaws (1960). Starring with Don were Barton MacLane and Jock Gaynor. The second season of Outlaws (1960) found Will Foreman as a full-fledged Marshal. New characters were played by Bruce Yarnell, Slim Pickens, and Judy Lewis.
Collier kept busy appearing on all the other western TV shows, such as Bonanza (1959), Gunsmoke (1955), Wagon Train (1957), Branded (1965), and Death Valley Days (1952). In 1968, he was cast as the foreman of the ranch The High Chaparral (1967) in David Dortort's latest western series of the same name. Working alongside a extremely talented and experienced cast, his portrayal of Sam Butler was fundamental to the success of the highly acclaimed show, which ran until 1971. Even his commercials took advantage of his cowboy persona, when he became a 1980s icon as The Gum Fighter for Hubba Bubba Bubble Gum. More movies and TV kept him busy. Then he went further back in time when he was called on play the recurring role of William Tompkins in The Young Riders (1989).
He continued to guest star on TV in and out of the west in Little House on the Prairie (1974), two made-for-TV Gunsmoke movies (Gunsmoke: To the Last Man (1992) and Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice (1994)), a made-for-TV Bonanza movie (Bonanza: Under Attack (1995)), Banacek (1972), The Waltons (1972), Highway to Heaven (1984) and such big-screen movies as Tombstone (1993).
He worked on a western radio drama series titled West of the Story and was sidekick to Fred Imus on Sirius Radio's weekly show, Fred's Trailer Park Bash until Imus' death in 2011. He remained active with public appearances at Western and nostalgia shows like Western Legends Roundup in Kanab, Utah; Territorial Days in Tombstone, Ariz.; and the 50th Anniversary of The High Chaparral event being hosted in Sept. 2017 in Hollywood.- Jessica Madison Wright was born in Cincinnati on July 29th 1984, the eldest of four children. A pretty youngster who enjoyed dressing up and was very much a 'girlie' child, Madison began modeling at the age of five. Her interest in modeling and acting - something she shared with her younger sister Victoria - led the Wright family to relocate to Los Angeles and, in 1994, Madison had her acting debut aged nine in the comedy Grace Under Fire (1993), where she ironically played a small role as a snotty child model. Madison's big break came a few months later when she won the role of ten-year-old True Danziger in the science-fiction show Earth 2 (1994). Although the show was short-lived, Madison thoroughly enjoyed the chance of playing such an interesting character (and try her hand at being a tomboy!) and it also led to a friendship between her mother and the mother of her eight-year-old co-star Joey Zimmerman.
After 'Earth 2', Madison went on to portray a sick child in an Emmy-nominated episode of ER (1994) as well as have a co-starring role in the family film Shiloh (1996). She also had a role in the science-fiction film The Osiris Chronicles (1998), which was the pilot of a possible series that was never picked up.
By 1999, Madison was losing her interest in acting as she entered her mid-teens, and her family decided to move to Kentucky for a fresh start away from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. Unfortunately, it was then it was discovered she was suffering from cardiomyopathy, a very severe condition that leads to degeneration of the heart muscles, and the only hope of recovery was a heart transplant. Madison and her family were then forced to spend long periods of time in Cleveland where she was being treated although their travelling expenses were eased when they were offered a room at a Ronald McDonald house (a charity which provides a home away from home for families of seriously ill, hospitalized children) near the hospital.
Luckily, after a few months on the donor waiting list, she was admitted to the Cleveland Clinic where she received a heart transplant in March 2000, at the age of fifteen. Clancy Brown, the actor who played the screen father of Madison's character in Earth 2 (1994), led an appeal to raise money to cover the hefty medical bills and to support Madison and her family. He also bought her a laptop for her Christmas in 1999.
Sadly, on 21st July 2006, only a few days after marrying medical student Brent Morris, she died of a heart attack. - Edmon Ryan was born on 5 June 1905 in Cecilia, Kentucky, USA. He was an actor, known for Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), Mystery Street (1950) and Topaz (1969). He was married to Anne Sargent. He died on 4 August 1984 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Phyllis George was born on 25 June 1949 in Denton, Texas, USA. She was an actress, known for Meet the Parents (2000), My Wife Is Retarded (2007) and The $25,000 Pyramid (1974). She was married to John Y. Brown and Robert Evans. She died on 14 May 2020 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Silvana Gallardo was born on 13 January 1953 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress and producer, known for Death Wish II (1982), Centennial (1978) and A Walk in the Clouds (1995). She was married to Billy Drago. She died on 2 January 2012 in Paris, Kentucky, USA.- Ralph Foody was born on 13 November 1928 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for The Blues Brothers (1980), Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992). He died on 21 November 1999 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
- Busty, lovely, and well-built blonde stunner Nichole Van Croft was born on November 5, 1973 in Jacksonville, Florida. She hailed from a conservative Christian background. An only child, Nichole was a tomboy as a kid: She not only played both varsity volleyball and basketball in high school, but also once broke her collarbone while playing football. Van Croft attended Arizona State University as a psychology major for a year. Nichole was discovered by a "Playboy" photographer eating pizza with her girlfriends after a night spent clubbing in South Beach, Florida. Van Croft was the Playmate of the Month in the October, 2000 issue of "Playboy." She went on to appear in a couple of "Playboy" videos and various Playboy special editions. Nichole died at age 44 on April 20, 2018 in Bardstown, Kentucky .
- Actor
- Soundtrack
William 'Wee Willie' Davis was born on 7 December 1906 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Asphalt Jungle (1950), Reap the Wild Wind (1942) and Swanee River (1939). He died on 9 April 1981 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Harland Sanders was born on 9 September 1890 in Henryville, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Blast-Off Girls (1967), The Phynx (1970) and What's My Line? (1950). He was married to Claudia Ledington and Josephine King. He died on 16 December 1980 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Richard Mann Allan was born in Jacksonville, Illinois on June 22, 1923 to a farmer father Robert and a dietitian mother Edna. He grew up with two brothers, Edward and Robert Jr. and a sister Catherine. He began taking dance classes when he was seven years old, and he also loved going to see Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals. He partnered up with a little girl from his dancing class to do their own version of Fred and Ginger dances and became popular locally. He grew up to become a well-known dancer-singer-actor in Jacksonville. He then earned a scholarship to the University of Illinois, where he joined the Theatre Arts Department. However, he was soon drafted to the army unit in Italy where he was assigned the officers' laundry detail. Immediately upon his discharge from service, he went to New York City to audition professionally for the first time in the Broadway musical "The Red Mill" (1945). He landed a speaking part and stayed for its entire Broadway and national tour. Once that ended, he immediately landed another job, in the 1948 Los Angeles production of "Naughty Marietta" where he danced. He stayed behind in Los Angeles, determined to get into the movies. His tall, dark and handsome looks landed him a job as a double for Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun (1951), where Clift complimented him by saying that he should have been the star. However, Allan would spend his entire film career being overshadowed by his more famous leading ladies. He danced with Esther Williams in Neptune's Daughter (1949) and Duchess of Idaho (1950) and with Betty Grable in Wabash Avenue (1950), My Blue Heaven (1950), and Call Me Mister (1951), with Ava Gardner in The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952), with Academy Award winner Susan Hayward in With a Song in My Heart (1952), and with Mitzi Gaynor in Bloodhounds of Broadway (1952). He had signed a contract with Twentieth Century Fox (hereinafter Fox), and they cast him as Marilyn Monroe's passionate lover who tries to kill her husband for her in Niagara (1953). The film became a hit and he was on the movie's poster with Monroe, and he won a Photoplay citation as "One of America's Most Promising Newcomers" in 1953. "Niagara" remains his best known role. Nevertheless, he spent the next few years at Fox testing for many leads, but only securing small uncredited roles, such as when he was turned down for the lead role in The Egyptian (1954) which went to Edmund Purdom only to end up with a uncredited bit role. His career never went further at Fox, and he blamed "lousy, lousy management". The disappointing years at Fox took its toll on him. He was doing a hat dance with a star for a film, but the star found it too difficult to perform, so Fox had wanted to photograph Allan from a distance to accommodate the star. He refused, and the studio retaliated by dropping his contract. When it seemed like Tony Curtis might not be available to do The Defiant Ones (1958), the producers approached him wanting a Curtis lookalike, but Allan retorted "Tell them to call me when they want someone who looks like Richard Allan". (Curtis later did become available to take the role, for which he earned his sole Academy Award nomination.) Since Hollywood had nothing to offer him, Allan felt he had no choice but to take German star Caterina Valente's offer to come to Germany and act with her in several films. She had first seem him dance in The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952) and thought he had potential. He remained there long enough to make a few more films with other actors. Eventually, he returned to Hollywood where he teamed with Diane Hartman in a popular nightclub act called "Hartman & Allan", where they performed at Ciro's nightclub in Los Angeles. However, when Ciro's closed its doors as a nitery for the last time in 1961, it also took down its prominent marquee that had "Hartman & Allan", thus ending Allan's career as an entertainer. In 1964, a middle-aged Allan began earning a living as a masseur, and Kim Novak had initially recommended his masseur services to people in the entertainment industry. Over time, he had developed a clientele that had no connections to show business. He also stopped having any contact with show business people, including former friends Jeffrey Hunter and his then-wife Barbara Rush, explaining that "When you aren't successful, people just aren't comfortable with having you around". In the late 1980s, he moved to Prospect, Kentucky to be closer to his brother Robert Jr. He remained there until his death of of lung cancer on September 6, 1999 at the age of 76. After his death, his body was sent over to be buried in his family plot in Gillham Cemetery in Illinois.- Abe Meissner Yates was born in Pontiac, Michigan, to Joe Yates and Robin Meissner He became interested in Guitar and was talented on that subject he was also known by many as The Abester, Abeybaby, Rocket, Abob, Sir Dookie, and The Ginger Ninja. Abe was a critical thinker who liked to challenge himself (Math Rock key signatures). His whole life, he was mature beyond his years, but the goof came out occasionally he was also an actor that played in the Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Freshman Year which is a fan-film.
- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Carla Rueckert was born on 16 July 1943 in Lake Forest, Illinois, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for The Hidan of Maukbeiangjow (1973), The Get-Man (1974) and Abby (1974). She was married to James McCarty and James DeWitt. She died on 1 April 2015 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Wilhelmenia Fernandez was born on 5 January 1949 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She was an actress, known for Diva (1981), Someone to Watch Over Me (1987) and La Bohème (1980). She was married to Ormon Fernandez and Andrew William Smith . She died on 2 February 2024 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA.- J.S. Johnson was born on 3 February 1937 in Paris, Kentucky, USA. He was an actor, known for McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), Fuzz (1972) and McCoy (1975). He was married to Suzanne Zenor. He died on 24 August 1999 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
- Omer Jeffrey was born on 18 July 1957 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Black Caesar (1973). He died on 23 April 2016 in Owensboro, Kentucky, USA.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Owiso Odera was born on 19 March 1973 in Khartoum, Sudan. He was an actor, known for The Brothers Grimsby (2016), The Thirst: Blood War (2008) and Blue Bloods (2010). He was married to Nicole. He died on 3 November 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.- Stunts
- Actor
A.J. Bakunas was born on 23 October 1950 in Fort Lee, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor, known for The Warriors (1979), The Stunt Man (1980) and The Bees (1978). He died on 21 September 1978 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA.- Man o' War was born on 29 March 1917 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. He was an actor, known for Kentucky Pride (1925), The Race of the Age (1920) and Trained Hoofs (1935). He died on 1 November 1947 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Robin Moore was born on 31 October 1925 in Concord, Massachusetts, USA. He was a writer, known for The French Connection (1971), Caddyshack (1980) and Inchon (1981). He was married to Helen Moore and Mary Olga. He died on 21 February 2008 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, USA.- Writer
- Soundtrack
Bobby Russell was born on 19 April 1941 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. He was a writer, known for The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (1981), The Grasshopper (1970) and Kill Me Again (1989). He was married to Vicki Lawrence. He died on 19 November 1992 in Nicholasville, Kentucky, USA.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Tudor Sherrard was born on 23 July 1965 in the USA. He was an actor, known for Se7en (1995), Can't Buy Me Love (1987) and The Doors (1991). He died on 21 August 2010 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.- Hagen Mills was born on 9 August 1990 in Murray, Kentucky, USA. He was an actor, known for Baskets (2016), Swedish Dicks (2016) and Bonnie & Clyde: Justified (2013). He died on 19 May 2020 in Mayfield, Kentucky, USA.
- Additional Crew
- Writer
- Editorial Department
Michael Edens was born in Portland, Tennessee, in 1951 and grew up in the Nashville area. He graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Master's degree in Modern British History in 1978. In the mid-1980s, while living in Knoxville, Tennessee, he began his professional writing career working in television animation for such shows as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Tailspin, and The Real Ghostbusters. In 1990, he moved to Los Angeles, where he worked on series such as Beetlejuice, X-Men: The Animated Series, Exosquad, Wing Commander Academy, Mummies Alive, and Young Hercules. As writer and story editor, he has created over 200 hours of animated and live-action entertainment for major studios like Disney, Universal, Warner Brothers, and Sony. He has been married to Cindy Lietzke Edens since October 1, 1983. They have two children.