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1-12 of 12
- Henry Rowland was born on 28 December 1913 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. He was an actor, known for Supervixens (1975), Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) and Wolf Larsen (1958). He was married to Eleanor. He died on 26 April 1984 in Northridge, California, USA.
- Music Department
- Actor
- Composer
The famed composer ("One O'Clock Jump", "Two O'Clock Jump", "Jumpin' at the Woodside"), pianist, songwriter and bandleader began as an accompanist to vaudeville acts. He joined the Bennie Moten orchestra in Kansas City, later organizing his own orchestra and performing on radio. In 1936 he came to New York, appearing in hotels, night clubs, theatres and jazz festivals. He toured the US, and also, in 1954, Europe. He was elected to the Down Beat Magazine's Hall of Fame in 1958, and has made many records. Joining ASCAP in 1943, his chief musical collaborators included Mack David, Jerry Livingston, James Rushing, Andy Gibson, Eddie Durham, and Lester Young. His songs and instrumentals also include "Good Morning Blues"; "Every Tub"; "John's Idea"; "Basie Boogie"; "Blue and Sentimental"; "Gone With the Wind"; "I Ain't Mad at You"; "Futile Frustration"; "Good Bait"; "Don't You Miss Your Baby?"; "Miss Thing" "Riff Interlude"; "Panassie Stomp: "Shorty George"; "Out the Window"; "Hollywood Jump: "Nobody Knows"; "Swinging at the Daisy Chain"; and "I Left My Baby".- Silent-screen star May McAvoy was born in an upscale area of New York City. Her well-to-do family owned and operated a large livery stable situated where the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel now stands. She initially wanted to be a teacher but became intrigued with show business after watching a friend rehearse a show at a nearby vaudeville theater. A model whose first job was a commercial for Domino Sugar, she moved into extra work in films and received her first major break with The Devil's Garden (1920) co-starring Lionel Barrymore. Stardom was hers, however, as the lead in Sentimental Tommy (1921), which led to a Paramount contract.
McAvoy later stated that she was not content to play whatever part the studio might choose for her and she demanded quality. She claimed that Cecil B. DeMille wanted her as the leading lady for _Adam's Rib (1923)_ but she balked at bobbing her hair and wearing the required pelt for the caveman sequence. She believed that he was able to have her unofficially suspended because of her refusal. Whatever her reasons for leaving Paramount, May bought out her contract and freelanced for the next six years. McAvoy wound up flourishing in such movies as The Enchanted Cottage (1924), Tessie (1925) and Lady Windermere's Fan (1925), while replacing Gertrude Olmstead as Esther in her best known silent film, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925). Mostly forgotten today except by more devoted film enthusiasts, May nevertheless holds a steadfast position in film history thanks to her co-starring role in Hollywood's first talkie, The Jazz Singer (1927) opposite Al Jolson, which is actually a silent film with several sound musical and speaking sequences; she herself had no talking scenes. Coincidentally, May also starred in England's first all-talking picture The Terror (1928). She retired after her marriage in 1929 and bore one son, Patrick. She returned to films for a decade and a half in the 1940s for MGM but never received any screen credit for these parts (her final role was as an extra in Ben-Hur (1959). She was widowed in 1973 and died a decade later of a heart attack. - Music Department
- Composer
- Writer
Although many reference sources inexplicably give Barry Gray's year of birth as 1925, he was in fact born John Livesey Eccles in Blackburn on 18 July 1908. His father John Haworth Eccles was a stationery traveller by profession, but both parents were said to be musically talented, and John Junior went to study at the Royal Manchester College of Music and at Blackburn Cathedral, learning composition from Matyas Seiber. His professional music career began with London publishers B. Feldman & Co. where he arranged scores for variety theatres, and he also worked for Radio Normandy. After war service with the R.A.F. he became a freelance composer and lyricist for radio, records and film music libraries. He joined the Performing Right Society in 1947 under his real name, but later changed it by deed poll to John Livesey Barry Gray. After several years as musical assistant to Eartha Kitt, Hoagy Carmichael and Vera Lynn, in 1956 he began a long and successful association with producers Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, scoring popular marionation series such as Twizzle, Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray and Thunderbirds. He continued to compose independently, sometimes using the pseudonyms John Livesey, Gene Durant or Martin Jerbourg (a character in Bergerac). Barry Gray himself moved to the Channel Islands in 1970, settling in St Peter-in-the-Wood in Guernsey and with a music studio in St Peter Port, and occasionally guesting as pianist at island venues. He died of heart disease at Guernsey's Princess Elizabeth Hospital on 26 April 1984, age 75. His music continues to find favour with film makers, particularly the ever-popular Thunderbirds March which enjoyed a notable revival in the expensive Thunderbirds remake of 2004.- Shen Chan was born on 11 March 1940 in Taichung, Taiwan. He was an actor, known for Five Fingers of Death (1972), Rivals of Kung Fu (1974) and Godfather from Canton (1982). He was married to Shirley Yu. He died on 26 April 1984 in Hong Kong.
- Camille Ducharme was born on 12 December 1909 in Cookshire-Eaton, Québec, Canada. He was an actor, known for Les brûlés (1959), L'esprit du mal (1954) and A Man and His Sin (1949). He died on 26 April 1984 in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
- Ronald Goodale was an actor, known for Sapphire & Steel (1979), Napoleon and Love (1974) and Call the Gun Expert (1964). He died on 26 April 1984 in London, England, UK.
- Ruth Lockwood was born on 22 October 1890 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Oh, Say Can You Hear? (1937) and Cupid Takes a Holiday (1938). She died on 26 April 1984 in Florida, USA.
- Dolores Cassinelli was born on 4 July 1888 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for Jamestown (1923), Christopher Columbus (1923) and The Right to Lie (1919). She died on 26 April 1984 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
- Art Department
- Special Effects
Russ Kelley was born on 22 July 1908 in Indiana, USA. He is known for Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956), The Pathfinder (1952) and The Lost Planet (1953). He died on 26 April 1984 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Ruth Leavitt was born on 22 October 1890 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Playboy Number One (1937). She was married to Douglas Leavitt. She died on 26 April 1984 in Broward County, Florida, USA.
- Actor
Louis Yaccarino was born on 26 October 1906 in Piano, Avellino, Campania, Italy. He was an actor. He died on 26 April 1984 in Plainview, New York, USA.