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1-13 of 13
- Cult figure who will forever be remembered as Ben, the resourceful, yet ill-fated hero of George A. Romero's low-budget zombie film Night of the Living Dead (1968). Jones was a former English professor who directed at the Maguire Theater at the Old Westbury campus of New York State University, and he additionally served as artistic director at the Richard Allen Center in New York City. His casting as the hero of the Romero film was unique, as it was the first occasion that an African-American actor had portrayed the hero in a horror film. The tall, talented Jones appeared in a handful of other B-grade horror movies such as Ganja & Hess (1973) and Vampires (1986), but none are remembered as well as his first on-screen role.
He passed away at only 51 years of age from heart failure. - Actor
- Soundtrack
If any man ever had a curmudgeon character face absolutely made for TV and film, it was Paul Ford. Small-eyed, balding, lugubrious, pot-bellied and with a memorable plum nose to rival that of the great Karl Malden, he made a very late entry into show business, finding major success as blowhard military brass, gruff executives, grouchy sheriffs and blustery judges.
Born Paul Ford Weaver on November 2, 1901, in Baltimore, Maryland, he dropped out of Dartmouth College before working as a salesman throughout the Great Depression. The married Ford was a rather wanderlust family man who decided to give acting a try in his early 40s. He excelled at puppetry and found work staging such shows at the World's Fair. Billing himself as Paul Ford, his middle name and mother's maiden name, he eventually found a fair amount of radio and theatre offers. Making his off-Broadway debut in 1939, he moved to Broadway playing a sergeant in the 1944 play "Decision" and continued on the New York stage with such popular 40's plays as "Kiss Them for Me," "Flamingo Road" and "Command Decision."
Paul moved inauspiciously into films with uncredited roles in the dramatic films The House on 92nd Street (1945), The Naked City (1948) and All the King's Men (1949), then walked up the credits ladder rung by rung with credited roles in Lust for Gold (1949), The Kid from Texas (1950) and Perfect Strangers (1950). Eventually he included the newer medium of TV, finding roles on various anthology series including "Armstrong Circle Theatre," "The Ford Theatre Hour," "The Philco Television Playhouse," "Suspense" and "Studio One in Hollywood."
Paul earned a huge hit on Broadway with his delightfully huffy portrayal of Colonel Wainright Purdy in the 1953 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning war comedy "Teahouse of the August Moon." He went on to transfer his role to film with The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956). From there, he was given the part of irascible Horace Vandergelder in the movie version of the Thornton Wilder play The Matchmaker (1958) also starring Shirley Booth as Dolly Levi, Shirley MacLaine as Irene Malloy, Anthony Perkins as Cornelius Hackl and Robert Morse as Barnaby Tucker.
Having already conquered radio, stage and film, it was on TV that 54-year-old Paul would achieve "overnight success" and become a household name when he was hired played a befuddled second banana to comedian Phil Silvers on TV. Butting heads week after week as the ever-flustered Colonel Hall with Silvers' classic portrayal of the sly, manipulative Sergeant Bilko in The Phil Silvers Show (1955), Paul amused audiences for four seasons and was Emmy-nominated three times. During this time he scored another Broadway success playing multiple roles in the light-hearted sketch revue "Thurber's Carnival" in 1960.
As a reward for his small screen success, Paul was awarded the opportunity to film another stage hit. Shining in the pompous supporting role of Mayor Shinn in the 1957 Tony-awarded musical hit "The Music Man" (he replaced Tony-winning David Burns, the actor, along with Robert Preston (as Harold Hill) and Pert Kelton (as Mrs. Paroo) transferred his character to the immortal feature film version of The Music Man (1962).
Ford went on playing playing old coot gents and took a third Broadway triumph to film as elderly father-to-be Harry Lambert in the family comedy Never Too Late (1965) co-starring his stage partner Maureen O'Sullivan as expectant wife Edith. Other twilight character film roles included his senator in Advise & Consent (1962), another colonel in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), a general in The Spy with a Cold Nose (1966), a military commander in The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming (1966), a one-time third-party presidential candidate in The Comedians (1967) (for which he won a National Board of Review award for "Best Supporting Actor"), and his last film, as a doctor in the little seen comedy Richard (1972).
Ford eventually retired in 1972, and died four years later due to a massive heart attack in Mineola, New York, on April 12, 1976. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Falling somewhat below W.C. Fields and Walter Matthau in crabby popularity, this delightful curmudgeon nevertheless earned and deserved his brief, late-night success.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
James Barton was born on 1 November 1890 in Gloucester City, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Shepherd of the Hills (1941), The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady (1950) and His Family Tree (1935). He was married to Kathryn M. Mullin and Ottilie Regina Kleinert. He died on 19 February 1962 in Mineola, Long Island, New York, USA.- Michael Oshry was born on 5 May 1956 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Arthur's Quest (1999). He was married to Linda Karmin and Pamela Geller. He died on 4 October 2008 in Mineola, New York, USA.
- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Sonny Terry was born on 24 October 1911 in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for The Jerk (1979), House at the End of the Street (2012) and Superbad (2007). He died on 11 March 1986 in Mineola, Long Island, New York, USA.- Cliff Montgomery was born on 17 September 1910 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He died on 21 April 2005 in Mineola, Long Island, New York, USA.
- Additional Crew
Mr. Schwartz is a pioneer in both the science fiction and comic book fields. He is credited with publishing the very first SF fanzine, "The Time Machine", in 1930. In 1934, he started the Solar Sales Service, a literary agency that represented such classic SF writers as 'Alfred Bester', Ray Bradbury and Robert Bloch. In 1939, he, along with fellow fans Samuel Moskowitz and other, organized the very first World Science Fiction Convention in NYC; the convention is still held annually to this day.
In 1944, Schwartz became an editor at All-American Comics (later merged with DC). He was unfamiliar with the media (he read his first comic book just before his job interview), and spent several years working on various genre titles.
In 1956, with interest in superhero comics at an all time low, Schwartz was given the opportunity to update a character from the 1940s, "The Flash". Instead of reusing the same character, Schwartz and his team rebuilt the character from the ground up. The new "Flash" was a hit, and Schwartz began using the same technique to revive such Golden Age characters as "Green Lantern", "Hawkman", and so on. Because of this, Schwartz has been given much of the credit for starting the Silver Age of comics. Schwartz continues his work with DC Comics to this day. He greatly scaled back his work as editor, but still found time to work with writers new and old (including longtime client and friend Ray Bradbury). He passed away on the 8th February 2004, in Winthrop Hospital, New York, due to complications from pneumonia. He was 88. He is survived by his son-in-law, three grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. The Science Fiction and Comic book world mourned his passing.- Jack Spector was born on 17 September 1928 in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Mafia Girls (1969). He died on 8 March 1994 in Mineola, Long Island, New York, USA.
- John Santucci was born on 2 April 1931 in Ozone Park, Queens, New York City, New York, USA. He was married to Enda Ann Hayes. He died on 26 June 2016 in Mineola, Long Island, New York, USA.
- Eva Taylor was born on 22 January 1895 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for A Night Out (1916). She was married to Clarence Williams. She died on 31 October 1977 in Mineola, Long Island, New York, USA.
- Grace Williams was born on 10 October 1894 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Truth About Helen (1915), The Cossack Whip (1916) and On Dangerous Paths (1915). She died on 4 January 1987 in Mineola, Long Island, New York, USA.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Joseph Esposito was born on 28 March 1950 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for World Trade Center (2006), The Making of 'World Trade Center' (2006) and A Good Job: Stories of the FDNY (2014). He was married to Christine Pappacoda. He died on 8 January 2024 in Mineola, Long Island, New York, USA.- Allan Gavin was born on 21 February 1934. He was an actor, known for Undefeated (2003). He died on 8 July 2004 in Mineola, Long Island, New York, USA.