Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-12 of 12
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Brooklyn-born Buddy Hackett was known mainly as a nightclub comic, especially in Las Vegas, where he first performed in 1952 and wound up being one of the biggest headliners in that city's history. Hackett always referred to himself as a "saloon comic" and preferred the intimacy of his stage act--where he would often bring members of the audience up on stage with him--to films and television. He, along with Lenny Bruce, pioneered "blue" comedy, although Hackett's career did not suffer nearly as much as Bruce's did because of it. Hackett's act was noted for its, at the time, "adult" content, and at one point he was sued by a woman who attended one of his shows and said she was "shocked and offended" at the language (she lost the suit). However, contrary to his nightclub image, Hackett's appearances in films were mostly of the family type, such as his roles in the "Herbie" series of comedies for Disney about a Volkswagen Bug with a mind of its own and as Robert Preston's sidekick in The Music Man (1962). In 1954, Hackett was paired by Universal Pictures with Hugh O'Brian as a potential comedy team to replace the studio's reigning team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, They actually did replace the famous team in the film Fireman Save My Child (1954), due to Costello's illness (Bud and Lou can still be glimpsed in long shots). Hackett took the part that Costello was playing (an eerie coincidence considering that more than 20 years later he would actually play Costello in the movie Bud and Lou (1978)) and O'Brian took Abbott's place, but the film was not successful and Universal dropped its plans to make a team out of the two. Hackett also had a showy part in the ensemble comedy It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), partnered with Mickey Rooney. However, despite his success in movies, he still preferred his nightclub work and played Las Vegas and clubs in other cities whenever possible. He had a reputation among his fellow comics as a brilliant ad-libber and someone who knew exactly how far to take a joke before it ran its course, something not all comedians managed to do.
Buddy Hackett died at age 78 of natural causes at his beach house in Malibu, CA, on June 30, 2003.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Strikingly attractive, but troubled Irish leading lady of the 1950's, born to a struggling family in Limerick. Constance's is, perhaps, one of the more lurid and tragic tales of a promising career ending up on the skids. It began with her winning a 1946 look-alike competition in a Dublin movie magazine, touting her as a dead ringer for Hedy Lamarr. A successful screen test with the Rank Organisation followed. In the process of being groomed by the Rank 'charm school', Constance first demonstrated her fiery temperament and unwillingness to tow the line. This quickly got her fired. Moving to London, she made ends meet by appearing in supporting roles in several British films. A small part as a maid in The Mudlark (1950) got her noticed in Hollywood and she was signed, with much fanfare and publicity, under contract to 20th Century Fox. Again, Constance clashed with producers and executives, starting with her refusal to change her surname from 'Smith' to something, presumably more memorable to movie-going audiences. She later claimed to have been the victim of casting couch politics -- an assertion, which, given her looks, and the fact that Darryl F. Zanuck was Fox's head of production at the time, is not entirely implausible.
Briefly in the limelight as a presenter at the 1952 Academy Awards, she was featured in a string of B-movies, including Red Skies of Montana (1952), Treasure of the Golden Condor (1953) and the thriller Man in the Attic (1953). Whether too emotionally frail to mount the pressures of stardom, or simply not talented enough to be thought of as star material, Constance never made it beyond leading lady status. By the time her contract expired in 1953, she had undergone an abortion forced upon her by the studio, and the first of her three marriages was on the ropes. As the years went on and she failed to get the parts she felt were commensurate to her abilities, she began an embittered descent into a life of drugs and alcohol. Constance last acted in a brace of minor films made in Italy between 1955 and 1959, including a role as Lucretia Borgia in Conspiracy of the Borgias (1959). None of these did anything to resuscitate her failing career. During her time in Rome, she first attempted suicide by overdosing on barbiturates.
Worse was to come: in 1962 and 1968, she was twice sentenced to brief prison terms for attempting to stab her partner, documentary filmmaker and film historian Paul Rotha. She also tried several more times to kill herself. Her last decades were spent, dissipated, in and out of hospitals. When able to get herself together for brief periods, she worked as a cleaner. Constance died, in obscurity, as an alcoholic on a street in Islington, London. As Irish author and blogger Sharon Slater wrote of Smith, 'a sadder end is hard to imagine.'- Theodor Haller died on 30 June 2003 in Jávea, Alicante, Spain.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
María Gabriela Epumer was born on 1 August 1963. She was an actress, known for Peligro nuclear (1999), Heroes of Sorrow (2002) and Apariencias (2000). She died on 30 June 2003 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.- Writer
- Actor
Robert McCloskey was born on 15 September 1914 in Hamilton, Ohio, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for The Case of the Cosmic Comic, Hidden Pages (1954) and ABC Weekend Specials (1977). He was married to Margaret (Peggy) Durand. He died on 30 June 2003 in Deer Isle, Maine, USA.- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Fenton Jones was born on 2 June 1907 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Octagon (1980), Hound-Dog Man (1959) and Square Dance Katy (1950). He died on 30 June 2003 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Péter Balassa was born on 3 June 1947 in Budapest, Hungary. He died on 30 June 2003 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Production Manager
- Additional Crew
Danuta Oskierka was born on 22 April 1949. Danuta was a production manager, known for Noce i dnie (1978), The White Mazurka (1979) and Najdluzsza wojna nowoczesnej Europy (1980). Danuta died on 30 June 2003.- Oriel Gray was born on 26 March 1920. Oriel was a writer, known for Beyond Reason (1970), Rush (1974) and The Sullivans (1976). Oriel was married to John Gray. Oriel died on 30 June 2003.
- Yuriy Solton was a producer, known for America of the seventies. San Francisco hills (1976), America of the seventies. Smoke over Chicago (1970) and America of the seventies. Dallas Mysteries (1978). He died on 30 June 2003 in Moscow, Russia.
- Production Manager
- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Frank Bevis was born on 30 April 1907 in Alverstoke, Hampshire, England, UK. He was a production manager and producer, known for Curse of the Demon (1957), Odd Man Out (1947) and Escape to Danger (1943). He died on 30 June 2003 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, UK.- Jonathan Pilurs was born on 18 November 1945 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Dummy (1979). He died on 30 June 2003 in Los Angeles, California, USA.