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- Anyone who loves B-movies of the 1950s appreciates this lovely actress Allison Hayes. She was born Mary Jane Hayes on March 6, 1930 in Charleston, West Virginia. The auburn-haired beauty was the 1949 Washington, D.C. entry into the Miss America pageant. Shortly afterwards, Mary Jane adopted the familiar first name of Allison. She got her start on local Washington television before heading to Hollywood in the early 1950s. Allison began her career with Universal Pictures; the studio groomed her, but only on the path of B-movies. In her film debut, Francis Joins the WACS (1954), she was a supporting actress to the speaking mule, which had the title role. She played the devilishly alluring "Livia" in The Undead (1957), and co-starred with B-movie legend Tor Johnson in The Unearthly (1957).
Allison achieved film immortality in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958), in which she tore the roof off the place, and killed rival Yvette Vickers. After that, Allison was a staple in classic B-grade horror films. She was in the exploitation classic The Hypnotic Eye (1960), which had a trailer showing an alleged hypnotist mesmerizing a volunteer as he stuck long needles in her arms (this was some of the typical ballyhoo going on at the time). However, Allison was a versatile actress; she did drama very well, as when she guest-starred on the television series The Untouchables (1959), in the highly-rated episode, The Rusty Heller Story (1960).
Allison had a flair for comedy, which she demonstrated when she appeared in the Dean Martin film, Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963). Her last film appearance was with "The King", himself, Elvis Presley in Tickle Me (1965), with a hilarious script by the legendary writer Elwood Ullman. However, Allison's health declined steadily throughout the 1960s. Her death on February 27, 1977 was due either to leukemia or lead poisoning (due to doctor-prescribed calcium supplements). Allison Hayes died far too young; her fans will forever remember her legacy in films. - Actor
- Additional Crew
One of the most versatile character actors in the business, Joseph Patrick Carrol Naish (pronounced Nash) was born of Irish descent in New York City. His illustrious ancestors hailed from county Limerick and were listed in Burke's Peerage. He had a Catholic education at St. Cecilia's Academy, but absconded from school at the age of 14 to become a song plugger. He briefly joined a children's vaudeville company run by Gus Edwards. At 16, he enlisted in the Navy, was thrown out, re-enlisted to experience wartime action with the U.S. Army Signals Corps in France, then spent years sailing the world's seas with the Merchant Marine. Around this time, he acquired as many as eight languages and became adept at dialects. J. Carroll then spent some time in Paris singing and dancing with a stage troupe run by musical comedy star Gaby Deslys. Sometime around 1925, he returned to New York for further theatrical work, possibly with Molly Picon's Yiddish Theatre. The following year, he travelled by tramp steamer to California en route to China. The ship suffered mechanical breakdowns and departure was delayed. While ashore, J. Carroll was somehow spotted by a Fox studio talent scout and wound up in Hollywood. He played a few bit roles and then joined a road company production of 'The Shanghai Gesture'. In 1929, he married an Irish stage actress, Gladys Heaney, in what would become one the most enduring of show business unions.
Back in Hollywood from 1930, J. Carroll's gift for dialects were to land him plum character parts as Arabs, Italians, Pacific Islanders, Hindus, Mexicans, African-Americans and Orientals. Villains of the black-hearted variety were his stock-in-trade. Indeed, he was so damn good at his job that Time Magazine referred to him as a 'Hollywood's one-man United Nations'. Ironically, J. Carroll's black hair, moustache and swarthy complexion invariably denied him roles as an Irishman (the sole exception being General Phil Sheridan in Rio Grande (1950)).
On radio, J. Carroll enjoyed one of his most profound successes as the voice of Italian immigrant Luigi Basco. 'Life with Luigi' was broadcast from 1948 to 1954, entertained millions of listeners and helped shape American consciousness about Italian values and the Italian way of life. Of its time, it was also essentially stereotypical. In films, J. Carroll was the consummate scene-stealer who could make even a bad movie look good. There weren't many of those, to be sure. His very best work includes the Italian prisoner Giuseppe in Sahara (1943) (one of his two Oscar-nominated roles), Loretta Young's Chinese father Sun Yat Ming in The Hatchet Man (1932), a Mexican peasant in A Medal for Benny (1945) (his second Oscar nomination), the pirate Cahusac in Captain Blood (1935) and John Garfield's well-meaning father Rudy in Humoresque (1946). He played Lakota medicine man and warrior Sitting Bull twice: in Annie Get Your Gun (1950) and in the title role of Sitting Bull (1954). He was the archetypal evil genius Dr. Daka in the Batman (1943) serial and, in 1956, brought his talents to the small screen as Charlie Chan in The New Adventures of Charlie Chan (1957). Having amassed some 224 screen credits, J. Carroll Naish died of emphysema in January 1973 at the age of 77. Sadly, he never won an Oscar which would have been richly merited. However, A Medal for Benny garnered him a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actor and he is remembered with a star on the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Character actor Milburn Stone, the beloved "Doc Adams" on TV's long-running western classic Gunsmoke (1955), was born in Kansas on July 5, 1904. Acting must have been in his blood as the nephew of Broadway comedian Fred Stone for Milburn left home as a teenager to find work with touring repertory troupes. Emulating his famous uncle Fred, he appeared in vaudeville as part of a song-and-dance team called "Stone and Strain."
Following a minor appearance on Broadway in "The Jayhawkers," Milburn moved to Los Angeles in 1935 to try his luck in films. He toiled for years in mostly unbilled parts for 'poverty row' Monogram Pictures and a few major studios, apprenticing in a number of background roles as both benign fellows (clerks, reporters, sailors, detectives) and bad guys (convicts, robbers, henchmen) in such films as Ladies Crave Excitement (1935), The Fighting Marines (1935), The Princess Comes Across (1936), Banjo on My Knee (1936) and They Gave Him a Gun (1937)
Out of the blue he would occasionally nab a heroic film lead in films as the crime drama Federal Bullets (1937) and The Judge (1949) or serial thrillers as The Great Alaskan Mystery (1944) and The Master Key (1945), then would invariably go right back to unbilled status in his very next role. One memorable featured part (which was also unbilled) was as debater Stephen A. Douglass in John Ford's Young Mr. Lincoln (1939). In addition he played a regular support role as pal/co-pilot "Skeeter Milligan" in the "Tommy Tailspin" airborne film quickies Mystery Plane (1939), Sky Patrol (1939) and Danger Flight (1939).
Other higher visible support roles occurred in such films as the Roy Rogers western Colorado (1940), as well as Captive Wild Woman (1943), The Frozen Ghost (1945), Roadblock (1951), Black Tuesday (1954), Smoke Signal (1955). He also went on to appear in a couple of John Ford's later features such as Simone Bär and The Long Gray Line (1955).
When the crusty but lovable role of "Doc Adams" finally landed at his feet in 1955, Milburn was only too appreciative to experience a steady paycheck. He became an "overnight" star and, along with Matt Dillon's James Arness, earned an Emmy Award for "supporting actor" and stayed a citizen of Dodge City throughout its entire 20-year run (500 episodes). In 1971, Stone was temporarily sidelined by a heart attack and briefly replaced by another "doc" played by Pat Hingle. The ever-durable Stone missed only seven episodes, however, and did return on a more limited basis.
Fully retired to his ranch in 1975 after the show's cancellation, he was eventually awarded an honorary doctorate from St. Mary of the Plains College in (of course) Dodge City, Kansas. Married to Jane Garrison, the 75-year-old veteran died of a heart attack on June 12, 1980 in La Jolla, California. His wife passed away much later in 2002.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Mercedes McCambridge was a highly talented radio performer who won a best supporting Actress Oscar for her film debut.
Mercedes McCambridge was born in Joliet, Illinois, to Marie (Mahaffry) and John Patrick McCambridge, a farmer. She was of mostly Irish (with a small amount of English and German) ancestry. Despite a career full of supporting roles, she later became something of a cult figure. Her memorable voice-over for the demon child in The Exorcist (1973) has secured her place in movie history. Ironically, she took Warner Bros. to court over her being uncredited for the role, which was probably the most important in the film.
Mercedes enjoyed a quiet retirement starting from the early 1980s. She was a special guest star at the 70th Annual Anniversary Academy Awards in 1998 along with many other Oscar winners. Mercedes also made special television appearances to discuss her role in The Exorcist (1973) at the 30th Anniversary of the film's release.
She died in La Jolla in California on 2nd March 2004 from natural causes.- John Williams was a tall, urbane Anglo-American actor best known for his role as Chief Inspector Hubbard in Dial M for Murder (1954), a role he played on Broadway, in Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1954 film, and on television in 1958. Playing Hubbard on the Great White Way brought him the 1953 Tony Award as Best Featured Actor in a Play. "Dial M for Murder" was the 27th Broadway play he had appeared in since making his New York debut in "The Fake" in 1924, which he had originally appeared in back in his native England.
Williams was born on April 15, 1903 in Buckinghamshire and attended Lancing College. He first trod the boards as a teenager in a 1916 production of Peter Pan (1924). He moved to America in the mid-1920s and was a busy and constantly employed stage actor for 30 years. After "Dial M for Murder" in the 1953-54 season, though, he appeared in only four more Broadway plays between 1955 and 1970 as he focused on movies and television.
In addition to "Dial M for Murder", he appeared in Hitchcock's The Paradine Case (1947) and in To Catch a Thief (1955) and in 10 episodes of the TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955). For Billy Wilder, he appeared in Sabrina (1954) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957). Beginning in the 1960s, most of his work was in television, including a nine-episode stint on Family Affair (1966) taking over Sebastian Cabot's duties as Brian Keith's butler when Cabot was waylaid by health problems.
He retired in the late '70s, his last acting gig being an appearance on Battlestar Galactica (1978) in 1979. He was known by many in the last phase of his career for his work on one of the first TV infomercials, when he served as the pitchman for a classical music record collection called "120 Music Masterpieces."
John Williams died on May 5, 1983 in La Jolla, California from an aneurysm. He was 80 years old. - Actor
- Soundtrack
Actor, composer, songwriter, guitarist and author. He moved from Broadway acting (1928-1932) into films, touring America with his wife and daughter, and did some recordings. He was the executive producer at the El Camino Playhouse in California. Joining ASCAP in 1953, his chief musical collaborator was Perry Botkin. His popular-song compositions include "Good Ship Lalapaloo" and "Two Shillelagh O'Sullivan".- Lew Brown was born on 18 March 1925 in Goltry, Oklahoma, USA. He was an actor, known for Airport (1970), Topaz (1969) and Days of Our Lives (1965). He was married to Toby Adler. He died on 27 July 2014 in La Jolla, San Diego, California, USA.
- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Although Delmer Daves obtained a law degree at Stanford University, he never had the opportunity to use it; while still in college, he obtained a job as a prop boy on The Covered Wagon (1923) and after graduation was hired by several film companies as a technical advisor on films with a college background. Soon afterward he entered films as an actor, and after appearing in several pictures he began collaborating on screenplays and original stories. He wrote scripts for many of Hollywood's best films of the 1930s and 1940s, including The Petrified Forest (1936), Love Affair (1939) and You Were Never Lovelier (1942). Turning director with the classic Destination Tokyo (1943), Daves often wrote and produced his own pictures. Of the many films he made, the westerns he did were especially close to his heart--as a youth he had spent much time living on reservations with Hopi and Navajo Indians.- Writer
- Actor
An American novelist, writer of crime fiction featuring the private detective Philip Marlowe, Raymond (Thornton) Chandler was born in Chicago of an American father and an Anglo-Irish mother. He moved to England when his parents divorced. He attended Dulwich College and studied languages in France and Germany before returning to England in 1907 and becoming a naturalized British subject. He took a civil service job in the Admiralty, which he left in 1912 to return to America, settling in California. After the US entered World War I he enlisted in the Canadian Army, then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps. After the armistice he returned to California and got a series of bookkeeping jobs, finally becoming a vice-president with the Dabney Oil syndicate.
All along, however, he had been submitting stories, poems, sketches and essays to a number of periodicals, but when the Depression hit and the bottom fell out of the oil business, he lost his job and turned to writing full-time. He found a niche with stories of the "hard-boiled" school popularized by Dashiell Hammett, and had many of his early stories accepted by Black Mask, the same mystery magazine that had first published Hammett. His first four novels--"The Big Sleep" (1939, filmed 1946 [The Big Sleep (1946)] and 1978 [The Big Sleep (1978)]); "Farewell My Lovely" (1940, filmed 1944 [Murder, My Sweet (1944)] and 1975 [Farewell, My Lovely (1975)]); "The High Window" (1942, filmed 1947 [The Brasher Doubloon (1947)]); and "The Lady in the Lake (1943, filmed 1946 [Lady in the Lake (1946)])--which reworked plots from some of his short stories, were his most successful.
He spent some time in Hollywood as a screenwriter, contributing to Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity (1944), the film noir classic The Blue Dahlia (1946) and Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train (1951). He wrote realistically, in stark contrast to the English style of drawing-room puzzle mysteries where an amateur detective always knows more than the police and clues turn up at just the right moment. Chandler dismissed these plots as "having God sit in your lap."- Writer
- Producer
- Music Department
Acclaimed writer, Dr. Seuss was born Theodor Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, March 2nd, 1904. After attending Dartmouth College and Oxford University, he began a career in advertising. His advertising cartoons, featuring Quick, Henry, the Flit!, appeared in several leading American magazines. Dr. Seuss's first children's book, titled "And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street", hit the market in 1937, changing the face of children's literature forever. It was rejected 27 times before it was finally published by Vanguard Press in 1937.
Following World War 2, Geisel and his first wife Helen moved to La Jolla, California, where he wrote and published several children's books in the coming years, including If I Ran the Zoo and Horton Hears a Who! A major turning point in Geisel's career came when, in response to a 1954 Life magazine article that criticized children's reading levels, Houghton Mifflin and Random House asked him to write a children's primer using 220 vocabulary words. The resulting book, The Cat in the Hat, was published in 1957 and was described by one critic as a "tour de force." The success of The Cat in the Hat cemented Geisel's place in children's literature.
In the following years, Geisel wrote many more books, both in his new simplified-vocabulary style and using his older, more elaborate technique, and including such favorites as Green Eggs and Ham and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966). In 1966, with the help of eminent & longtime cartoonist, Chuck Jones, The Grinch was immediately adapted into an animated film & Boris Karloff was the narrator, (& as the evil Grinch, that turned away from its bitterness, as the special begins) of the half-hour Christmas animation special.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 and three Academy Awards, Seuss overall was the author and illustrator of 44 children's books, some of which have been made into audio-cassettes, animated television specials, and videos for people of all ages. Even after his death in Autumn of 1991, Dr. Seuss continues to be the best-selling author of children's books in the world. Following the death of his first wife Helen Geisel in 1967, Geisel wed Audrey Geisel, who remained his wife until his death on Tuesday, September 24th, 1991, at the age of 87 years 6 months and 22 days. His full life-time was 31,982 days, equaling 4,568 weeks & 6 days.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Charlotte acted on stage from the age of five. At thirteen, she made her Broadway debut in 'Courage' (1928), two year later reprising her role for the screen version. Paramount wanted to cast an unknown actress in the title role of Alice in Wonderland (1933) and picked Charlotte from 7000 applicants worldwide (she was 57th to audition). Unfortunately, the picture flopped -- despite an excellent supporting cast which featured the likes of W.C. Fields, Cary Grant, Gary Cooper and Edna May Oliver. Charlotte then appeared as Bo-Peep in March of the Wooden Soldiers (1934) with Laurel & Hardy, but, thereafter, finding meatier roles few and far between. She had one final fling with the movies as the perfunctory female lead in Monogram's Bowery Blitzkrieg (1941), opposite the East Side Kids. She seems to have lost heart after that and returned to acting in stock theater. Charlotte eventually left L.A. and relocated to southern California where she had a lengthy tenure as the executive secretary to the Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Diego.- Actor
- Music Department
Jess Kirkpatrick was born on 2 October 1897 in Champaign, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for D.O.A. (1949), The Magical World of Disney (1954) and Gunsmoke (1955). He died on 9 August 1976 in La Jolla, California, USA.- Priscilla Allen was born on 19 July 1938 in Buffalo, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Total Recall (1990), The Naked Truth (1992) and Let Others Suffer (2007). She was married to Dennis Allen. She died on 14 August 2008 in La Jolla, California, USA.
- Jacqueline Malouf was born on 3 July 1941 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Donovan's Reef (1963), Petticoat Junction (1963) and I'm Dickens, He's Fenster (1962). She was married to Andrew Nassir. She died on 12 October 1999 in La Jolla, California, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Arthur Freed discovered Lucille when she was working in a nightclub doing a specialty dance act, and decided to cast her as Rose Smith in Meet Me in St. Louis, and began building up her career which never really took off despite being put in 3 big musical productions at MGM. When she married, she decided to retire.- Actress
- Additional Crew
Sandra Burns was born on 28 July 1934. She was an actress, known for The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950), Bob Monkhouse's Comedy Heroes (2004) and Meet the Stars #3: Variety Reel #1 (1941). She was married to Stephen Albert Luckman, Rod Amateau and Young James Wilhoite III. She died on 19 January 2018 in La Jolla, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Mary Young was born on 21 June 1879 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Lost Weekend (1945), Alias Jesse James (1959) and The Stork Club (1945). She was married to John Craig. She died on 23 June 1971 in La Jolla, California, USA.- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Reinhold Weege was born on 23 December 1949 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Night Court (1984), Barney Miller (1975) and Park Place (1980). He was married to Shelley Pierce. He died on 1 December 2012 in La Jolla, San Diego, California, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Music Department
An orchestra leader renowned for his Dixieland group, Bob Crosby Orchestra, and Bob Crosby and the Bobcats, Bob Crosby is Bing's younger brother. His band continues to perform today. His daughter, Cathy Crosby, appeared with him on his television program and sang in a few movies of her own, including The Beat Generation (1959). He was educated at Gonzaga University, and joined ASCAP in 1954. His popular-song and instrumental compositions include "Big Noise from Winnetka", "Until" and "Silver and Gold".- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Ravi Shankar was a world-renowned musician, composer, performer, and scholar of classical Indian music. He was one of the leading cultural figures of the twentieth century whose accomplishments placed him as the leading figure of an important musical tradition. His long and distinguished musical career included numerous recordings, performances at all the world's leading venues, and a series of unprecedented collaborations with other leading musicians. Although he is well known because of his interaction with the popular music world, it is important to underscore that Shankar is considered the leading international figure in a very elevated art form, Hindustani music. Shankar was born on April 7, 1920, in Varanasi, India. He moved to Paris in 1930, and received most of his education there. From the age of 12, he performed as a musician and dancer on tour in Europe and America with his brother Uday Shankar, and in 1939 had his first concert as soloist at a music conference in Allahabad. By 1945 Shankar's reputation as the leading performer of traditional Hindustani music on the sitar had coalesced. He began to branch out as a composer, writing music for ballet and for important films such as such as Dharti Ke Lal and Neecha Nagar. He also composed the song Sare Jahan Se Accha, which is one of the most widely known piece of music in India. In 1949, Shankar became Music Director of All-India Radio at Delhi, and founded the Vadya Vrinda Chamber Orchestra. During the years 1950-55 Shankar composed some of his most famous music, most notably in the internationally-acclaimed film studios of Calcutta, where he scored The Ray Triology. For his outstanding contribution to Indian music and culture, he received his first of five Presidential Awards in 1962, India's highest honor in the arts. In the mid-1960s, his preeminence as one of the world's leading serious musicians was augmented with wide popular success. George Harrison of The Beatles developed a deep, abiding interest in Hindustani music, and began to study with Shankar. One influence of this study can be heard in his song Within You, Without You. Shankar died in San Diego, California in 2012 at the age of 92.- Actor
Peter Sachse was born on 29 March 1940 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor. He was married to Salli Sachse. He died on 12 July 1966 in La Jolla, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Bert Parks was born on 30 December 1914 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He was an actor, known for The Freshman (1990), The Bionic Woman (1976) and Burke's Law (1963). He was married to Annette Liebman. He died on 2 February 1992 in La Jolla, California, USA.- Born Helen Darling, she was adopted by the Smith family in 1937 and lived with them until 1941, when she left to live with her brother, Dan Darling's family, a milkman in West Los Angeles, and the Smiths moved to Rochester, New York. She attended Emerson Jr. High in Westwood Village, California and University High School in West Los Angeles, CA 1936-1941. Actress Faith Domergue (Kelli Garner portrayed her in The Aviator (2004)) was in the same class and lived across the street from them on S. Carmelina Avenue in Brentwood. Helen was under contract with Paramount in 1942 and 1943, then Republic, and was Don 'Red' Barry's leading lady in a few Westerns, then became Republic's Queen of the Serials.
Helen married Richard M. "Dick" Hearn, a UniHi classmate and returning Navy fighter pilot veteran, in 1945; they moved to South Bend, Indiana, where he attended Notre Dame University and earned his degree in Corporate Law before they returned to West Los Angeles. They had one daughter before Dick died about 1965. In 1969, Helen married Larry Bailey, owner of a bakery in Northridge, CA. Larry died about 1980 and Helen still lives in Northridge. - Carol Dempster was born on 9 December 1901 in Duluth, Minnesota, USA. She was an actress, known for Sally of the Sawdust (1925), That Royle Girl (1925) and Isn't Life Wonderful (1924). She was married to Edwin S Larsen. She died on 1 February 1991 in La Jolla, California, USA.
- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
Philip Yordan was born on 1 April 1914 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Detective Story (1951), Broken Lance (1954) and Dillinger (1945). He was married to Faith Clift and Marilyn Nash. He died on 24 March 2003 in La Jolla, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Mary Lou Cook was born on 12 December 1908 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Melody Lane (1941), A Night at Earl Carroll's (1940) and Moonlight in Hawaii (1941). She was married to Elisha Cook Jr.. She died on 17 August 2008 in La Jolla, California, USA.- Claire Rochelle was born on 22 August 1908 in Nevada, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for Code of the Fearless (1939), Ridin' the Lone Trail (1937) and Blonde for a Day (1946). She was married to Leo Hirsch. She died on 23 May 1981 in La Jolla, San Diego, California, USA.
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Trained as an electrical engineer, Joseph LaShelle entered the film industry as a lab assistant with Paramount in 1920 in order to finance entry to Stanford University. Having worked his way up to superintendent of the Paramount printing room after three years, he decided to stay on. By 1925, he was being mentored by the veteran cinematographer Charles G. Clarke under whose auspices he gained valuable experience behind the camera. Subsequently, LaShelle worked as camera operator for Metropolitan Studios, Pathe and Fox in the 1930s, often in collaboration with Arthur C. Miller. In the wake of a decade-long apprenticeship, he was promoted to full director of photography in 1943, from there on gaining a reputation as one of Hollywood's foremost stylists. His chief talent lay in his ability to employ lighting, decor, close-ups and clever camera angles to convey a grainy realistic, natural look, especially vital to the ambience of films noirs.
Another aspect of LaShelle's artistry lay in suggesting a bigger budget than was sometimes in play. This was notably the case with Laura (1944), for which he won his only Oscar. Virtually every scene takes place indoors, without significant exterior footage beyond a few basic studio shots. In the absence of streets and traffic, LaShelle nonetheless succeeded in creating a believable Park Avenue jet-set, replete with elegant apartments and swank restaurants. He did much of his best work under contract at 20th Century Fox (1943-1954) and for expert directors like Martin Ritt (The Long, Hot Summer (1958)), Otto Preminger ("Laura", Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) and Billy Wilder (The Apartment (1960), The Fortune Cookie (1966)). He retired in 1969 and died of natural causes twenty years later, aged 89.- Winifred Kingston was born on 11 November 1894 in England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Squaw Man (1914), The Virginian (1914) and Cameo Kirby (1914). She was married to Carman Runyon and Dustin Farnum. She died on 3 February 1967 in La Jolla, California, USA.
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
A native of suburban Detroit, Michigan, Dick Enberg grew up near Pontiac, one of Detroit's suburbs. Upon graduating from high school Enberg went to college first at Central Michigan University and then at Indiana University. After graduating from college Dick moved to Los Angeles to become an assistant baseball coach at Northridge State University (Cal State-Northridge).
Shortly thereafter Dick became a sportscaster. At first Enberg called local minor league sports, but then became the play-by-play man for the (then) Los Angeles Rams, the California (now Anaheim) Angels, and the UCLA Bruins. He first earned national fame on the cartoon Where's Huddles? (1970), then earned a breakthrough role as the host of Sports Challenge (1971). His NBC connection began with Baffle (1973), and, upon the cancellation of Three for the Money (1975) became a full-time sportscaster for NBC, calling NFL games that year. Eventually he rose to become NBC's top play-by-play announcer, calling during the late '70s, the '80s and '90s such sports as college and NBA basketball; golf, including many U.S. Opens in the '90s; tennis, including Wimbledon and the French Open; baseball; and, of course, NFL football, including 8 Super Bowls, the last of which also was NBC's final NFL game and was held in San Diego, California, where he currently resides. Months after NBC lost the NFL, Enberg received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work as a sportscaster. After NBC lost NFL rights Enberg was seen rarely on the Peacock web, calling only a few sports events, including college basketball and tennis. In 1999 he was replaced on NBC's golf coverage by Dan Hicks , and at years's end left NBC and joined CBS, not only to resume NFL football, but also to become of the Eye web's college basketball announcers. In addition, he now calls the U.S. Open tennis tournament for CBS.- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Charles Reisner (also frequently billed as "Riesner") started his professional life as a prizefighter. He performed in vaudeville for ten years and eventually wound up writing lyrics for musical comedy on Broadway. After a spell under the auspices of impresario Charles B. Dillingham, Reisner moved to California in 1915, finding a job as an actor in one-reel comedies at Universal. He added further credentials to his resume at Vitagraph before his arrival at Keystone, where he made the acquaintance of Charles Chaplin. Before long his innate ability to devise intricate visual sight gags got him involved as a gag writer (as well as occasional bit part actor) in classic Chaplin comedies at First National, including A Dog's Life (1918) and The Kid (1921). His collaboration with the famous comic ended with The Gold Rush (1925), for which Reisner was credited as assistant director.
Moving on to Warner Brothers, he directed Charles' brother Syd Chaplin in The Man on the Box (1925), Oh! What a Nurse! (1926) and The Better 'Ole (1926). Reisner also worked on the frenetic Buster Keaton comedy Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928), using many of the old sight gags from bygone days of vaudeville comedy. Alas, it failed at the box office and proved to be Keaton's last film for his own production company.
During the 1930s Reisner made occasional forays into mystery and crime drama with minor entries like Sophie Lang Goes West (1937), but he was always more comfortable directing the screen's zaniest comedians, from Jack Benny in It's in the Air (1935) to The Marx Brothers in their hilarious and underrated The Big Store (1941), from Bud Abbott and Lou Costello who were Lost in a Harem (1944) to Joan Davis in one of the screen's last full-on slapstick farces, The Traveling Saleswoman (1950).- American writer of thrillers and film scripts, the son of a Chicago lawyer and a violinist. He was named 'Jonathan' after a famous ancestor who had served as a colonel on George Washington's staff during the American Revolutionary War. Latimer was a graduate of Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. Following travels in Europe, he began his writing career as a journalist for the Chicago Herald Examiner and the Chicago Tribune (1929-34), reporting on the activities of organized crime figures in his home town. That included meeting the likes of Al Capone and George Moran (aka 'Bugs') on their own turf!
From 1935, Latimer penned a series of hard-boiled crime novels published by 'The Crime Club' and usually featuring the dissolute private eye Bill Crane. These books were somewhat in the vein of Dashiell Hammett (by whom he was heavily influenced) and Raymond Chandler (whom he later befriended), with a suitably cynical but at times bawdily humorous, or self-mocking edge. He sometimes wrote under the pseudonym 'Peter Coffin' ("The Search for My Great Uncle's Head" (1937)). Latimer worked in Hollywood from the late 1930s, where he was at his best providing gritty dialogue for the film noir genre, notably Hammett's The Glass Key (1942), They Won't Believe Me (1947) and The Big Clock (1948). - Writer
- Additional Crew
Robert Irwin was born on 12 September 1928 in Long Beach, California, USA. He was a writer, known for A Few Things About Robert Irwin (2017), Robert Irwin: A Desert of Pure Feeling (2022) and American Art in the 1960s (1972). He was married to Nancy Olsburg and Adele Feinstein. He died on 25 October 2023 in La Jolla, San Diego, California, USA.- Ewing Mitchell was born on 29 December 1910 in Charlestown, South Carolina, USA. He was an actor, known for Tripoli (1950), The Adventures of Champion (1955) and The Gene Autry Show (1950). He died on 3 September 1988 in La Jolla, California, USA.
- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
Harry Julian Fink was born on 7 July 1923 in New York, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for Dirty Harry (1971), Magnum Force (1973) and Sudden Impact (1983). He was married to Rita M. Fink. He died on 8 August 2001 in La Jolla, California, USA.- Doris Pawn was born on 29 December 1894 in Norfolk, Nebraska, USA. She was an actress, known for The Penalty (1920), Putting It Over (1922) and What Happened to Rosa (1920). She was married to Samuel William Dunaway, Paul Reiners and Rex Ingram. She died on 30 March 1988 in La Jolla, California, USA.
- Audrey Grace Florine Stone was the wife of Ted Geisel or Dr. Seuss. After her husband died, she was in charge of authorizing Dr. Seuss films with the Seuss Estate. The first film was Ron Howard's How the Grinch Stole Christmas with Jim Carrey. The second and last live action film was The Cat in the Hat starring Mike Myers. She was appalled by the adult content and prevented future live action Dr. Seuss films being made. She produced 3 animated Dr. Seuss films for Blue Sky Studios and Illumination before her death.
- Actor
- Stunts
John Benson was born on 19 June 1916 in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for The Blob (1958), Route 66 (1960) and The Law and Mr. Jones (1960). He died on 16 April 1997 in La Jolla, California, USA.- Set Decorator
- Art Department
Sam Comer was born on 13 July 1893 in Topeka, Kansas, USA. Sam was a set decorator, known for Vertigo (1958), Sunset Boulevard (1950) and To Catch a Thief (1955). Sam died on 27 December 1974 in La Jolla, San Diego, California, USA.- Mathilda Loeser Calnan was the daughter of German Jewish parents Charles Alexander Loeser (died 1928) and Olga Loeser (née Kaufmann-Lebert) and heiress to a fortune derived from the Frederick Loeser Co. Department Store of Brooklyn, New York (founded by her paternal grandfather). Her father, a Harvard graduate, was an art collector of international stature and a wealthy American expatriate in Florence, Italy. The Loeser family donated eight Cézanne paintings (out of his collection of 15 such paintings) to the U.S. government, to be hung in the White House "Green Room".
First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy signed a thank you letter to Matilda (Mrs. Ronald) Calnan, dated May 2, 1961. The following month, Calnan's daughter, Philippa Calnan (later a public affairs director at the J. Paul Getty Trust), responded to the First Lady's invitation and came, in her mother's place, to the White House to view the paintings in their new setting. However, John Walker III (died 1995), chief curator of the National Gallery of Art, had surreptitiously diverted some or most of the artwork from the White House to boost the collection of the National Gallery of Art, of which he was curator.
To get them, Walker admitted he had bamboozled Matilda Calnan and former President Harry S. Truman. Walker visited Mrs. Calnan in Florence in 1950 and quizzed her on whether the Cézannes were being properly cared for, and claimed if anything happened to valuable government property, she was liable, adding that, as National Gallery curator, failure to protect the federal government's art could cause him to "end up in Leavenworth prison" for negligence, prompting Mrs. Calnan to divest herself of the paintings. Today, three of the Cézannes hang in the National Gallery and five are in the White House family quarters.
According to the White House curator's office, the eight have never been installed together as an ensemble, as the Loeser bequest directs. Mrs. Kennedy herself wrote, in an eight page missive (which she requested "Please please this letter is always to be secret", underlining the first words twice), to the curator in her final days in the White House following her husband's assassination, about how Walker had "violated poor Mr. Loeser's will."
Walker's account is contained in a 14-page brief, "My Most Infamous Intrigue: The White House Cézannes", which is now kept in the archives of the National Gallery. The events were kept quiet until 2008, when Margaret Leslie Davis' "Mona Lisa in Camelot" revealed the affair in its entirety but it never became the nationwide scandal Mrs. Kennedy had feared. - Production Designer
- Art Director
Lawrence G. Paull was born on 13 April 1938 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a production designer and art director, known for Blade Runner (1982), Back to the Future (1985) and Romancing the Stone (1984). He was married to Marcy Bolotin. He died on 10 November 2019 in La Jolla, San Diego, California, USA.- Natasha Josefowitz was born on 31 October 1926 in Paris, France. She was married to Herman Gadon. She died on 15 March 2023 in La Jolla, California, USA.
- Additional Crew
- Writer
- Producer
Sally Ride was born on 26 May 1951 in Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA. She was a writer and producer, known for Some Assembly Required (2008), Space Age (1992) and Storytime (2020). She was married to Steve Hawley. She died on 23 July 2012 in La Jolla, California, USA.- Charlie Jones was born on 9 November 1930 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, USA. He was an actor, known for McMillan & Wife (1971), McCloud (1970) and Personal Best (1982). He was married to Ann Jones. He died on 12 June 2008 in La Jolla, California, USA.
- Actor
Robert Alexander was born on 17 March 1929 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor. He was married to Jane Alexander. He died on 10 February 2008 in La Jolla, California, USA.- Ray Johnson was born in 1927 in New York, USA. He was a writer, known for Dangerous Company (1982) and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962). He was married to Joanna ?. He died on 5 November 1989 in La Jolla, San Diego, California, USA.
- Ellen Ross was born on 13 April 1923 in Muncie, Indiana, USA. She was an actress, known for The Pirate (1948). She died on 4 March 2014 in La Jolla, California, USA.
- Writer
- Director
Harold Bell Wright was born on 4 May 1872 in Rome, New York, USA. He was a writer and director, known for The Shepherd of the Hills (1919), It Happened Out West (1937) and The Californian (1937). He was married to Frances E. Long and Mrs. Winifred Mary Potter Duncan. He died on 24 May 1944 in La Jolla, California, USA.- Marian Mansfield was born on 15 March 1905 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for Here Is My Heart (1934) and Wanderer of the Wasteland (1935). She was married to Arthur Rankin. She died on 16 November 1988 in La Jolla, California, USA.
- Actress
- Producer
Laura Hidalgo, whose real name was Pesea Faerman, was born in Romania in 1927. She arrived in Argentina when she was two years old. From 1945 she showed a remarkable ambition to become a movie star. She was rejected by some studios because of her weight and she lost more than a few pounds. Meanwhile she had began studying theater with Hedy Crilla and in 1949 she shot her first movie - even when she had bits as an extra. That flick was a cheap quickie called His Last Boxing Match - Su Ultima Pelea. She was learning her craft and after some B movies she got lots of publicity because she was a real beauty. Dark haired and with emerald eyes, a big studio like Argentina Sono Film manufactured her as a sort of Argentinian Hedy Lamarr. The film that made her was The Orchid in 1951. She worked only for that studio and her career was brief because it lasted only until 1957. Not a very keen worker she did not like the business but it meant fame and money for her. Despite some successful weepies she did not reach a solid status until Beyond Oblivion - a beautiful melodrama directed by Hugo del Carril. She had filmed two movies outside Argentine - in Mexico and Spain.
In 1957 she went to Mexico to shoot a second movie there, a cheap thriller and decided to stay in that country. According to some sources she had begun a relationship with a powerful professional whose surname was Rossen. They married and they had three children. At the beginning of the 80s they moved to La Jolla in California. Hidalgo returned to Argetina for some opportunities during the 60s, but thanks to concert pianist Bruno Gelberg, in 1987 she came back with a vengeance. She was promoting a poetry book - a good one - and she played the game very carefully. She had not been forgotten and she had recovered her old self, the one from the movies. It was the last time she visited Argentina. She was invited to the Nantes Festival in 1995 where they were showing Beyond Oblivion but did not show interest in going there.
However, Uruguayan literature critic Jorge Rufinelli - resident in California - persuaded her to visit some universities in the States where that movie directed by Hugo del Carill was shown to students. Her death came as a surprise to all her admirers - the young ones now in their 50s and the old ones now in their 70s. She was a true star but never believed in stardom. Her goals were to raise a family and to live comfortably. One of the verses of her poems says it all: "I'm a little Jew immigrant belonging to the world".