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- Actor
- Soundtrack
Howard Keel was the Errol Flynn and Clark Gable of "golden age" movie musicals back in the 1950s. With a barrel-chested swagger and cocky, confident air, the 6'4" brawny baritone Keel had MGM's loveliest songbirds swooning helplessly for over a decade in what were some of the finest musical films ever produced.
Born Harry (or Harold) Clifford Keel in Gillespie, Illinois, in 1919 to Homer Charles Keel and Grace (Osterkamp) Keel, and the brother of Frederick William Keel, his childhood was unhappy, his father being a hard-drinking coal miner and his mother a stern, repressed Methodist homemaker. When Keel was 11 his father died, and the family moved to California. He later earned his living as a car mechanic, then found work during WWII at Douglas Aircraft in Los Angeles. His naturally untrained voice was discovered by the staff of his aircraft company and soon he was performing at various entertainments for the company's clients. He was inspired to sing professionally one day while attending a Hollywood Bowl concert, and quickly advanced through the musical ranks from singing waiter to music festival contest winner to guest recitalist.
Oscar Hammerstein II discovered Keel in 1946 during John Raitt's understudy auditions for the role of Billy Bigelow in Broadway's popular musical "Carousel." He was cast on sight and the die was cast. Keel managed to understudy Alfred Drake as Curly in "Oklahoma!" as well, and in 1947 took over the rustic lead in the London production, earning great success. British audiences took to the charismatic singer and he remained there as a concert singer while making a non-singing film debut in the British crime drama The Hideout (1948) (aka "The Small Voice"). MGM was looking for an answer to Warner Bros.' Gordon MacRae when they came upon Keel in England. They made a great pitch for him and he returned to the US, changing his stage moniker to Howard Keel. He became a star with his very first musical, playing sharpshooter Frank Butler opposite brassy Betty Hutton's Annie Oakley in the film version of the Broadway musical Annie Get Your Gun (1950). From then on Keel was showcased in several of MGM's biggest extravaganzas, with Show Boat (1951), Calamity Jane (1953), Kiss Me Kate (1953) and (reportedly his favorite) Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) at the top of the list. Kismet (1955) opposite Ann Blyth would be his last, as the passion for movie musicals ran its course.
Keel managed to move into rugged (if routine) action fare, appearing in such 1960s films as Armored Command (1961), Waco (1966), Red Tomahawk (1967) and The War Wagon (1967), the last one starring John Wayne and featuring Keel as a wisecracking Indian, of all things. In the 1970s Keel kept his singing voice alive by returning full force to his musical roots. Some of his summer stock and touring productions, which included "Camelot," "South Pacific", "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers", "Man of La Mancha", and "Show Boat", often reunited him with his former MGM leading ladies, including Kathryn Grayson and Jane Powell. He also worked up a Las Vegas nightclub act with Grayson in the 1970s.
Keel became an unexpected TV household name when he replaced Jim Davis as the upstanding family patriarch of the nighttime soap drama Dallas (1978) after Davis' untimely death. As Clayton Farlow, Miss Ellie's second husband, he enjoyed a decade of steady work. In later years he continued to appear in concerts. As a result of this renewed fame on TV, Keel landed his first solo recording contract with "And I Love You So" in 1983. Married three times, he died in 2004 of colon cancer, survived immediately by his third wife, three daughters and one son.- Director
- Producer
- Actor
John Ford came to Hollywood following one of his brothers, an actor. Asked what brought him to Hollywood, he replied "the train". He became one of the most respected directors in the business, in spite of being known for his westerns, which were not considered "serious" film. He won six Oscars, counting (he always did) the two that he won for his WWII documentary work. He had one wife; a son and daughter; and a grandson, Dan Ford who wrote a biography on his famous grandfather.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Gavin MacLeod's pleasing, agreeable manner on two hit TV series in the 1970s and '80s belied a number of shady villains he portrayed in his early career. Born Allan George See in Mt. Kisco, New York, on February 28, 1931, and raised in Pleasantville, he was the son of Margaret (Shea) and George See, a gas station owner who was part Chippewa Indian (Ojibwa). He followed his 1952 graduation from Ithaca College (Fine Arts major) with Air Force military duty, then moved to New York City and worked for a while as an usher and elevator operator at Radio City Music Hall. Focusing on acting, he changed his stage name to "Gavin McLeod."
A solid break on Broadway in "A Hatful of Rain" in 1956 led to a move to Los Angeles in an attempt to break into film and TV. MacLeod began to earn a minor reputation as a second-string heavy in such crime shows as "The Thin Man," "Steve Canyon," "Manhunt," "Mr. Lucky," "Peter Gunn," "Michael Shayne," "The Untouchables" and "Perry Mason." This led to a regular comedy role as part of the McHale's Navy (1962) TV series. He also managed several film roles, although far down the credits, with I Want to Live! (1958), Compulsion (1959), Pork Chop Hill (1959), Operation Petticoat (1959), Twelve Hours to Kill (1960), High Time (1960), War Hunt (1962) and McHale's Navy (1964). He was a member of the superb supporting cast of The Sand Pebbles (1966). He returned to Broadway in "The Captains and the Kings" in 1962.
MacLeod's career more or less flowed and ebbed until 1972, when his shiftless typecast was shattered forever. As Murray Slaughter, the balding, beaming, wisecracking, gleaming-toothed news writer on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970), MacLeod became a happy household name. From then on, he could only be envisaged as a lovable schmuck and nice guy. From there he went on to another benign starring role with the TV series, The Love Boat (1977), as the ingratiating Captain Stubing.
On the down side, "Love Boat" marred MacLeod's chances to be considered for more challenging work, and his inability to cope with success led to alcoholism and divorce from second wife Patti. However, he later turned his life around, remarried his wife, and they both wrote a book called "Back on Course" (1987). MacLeod continued sporadically on the musical stage ("Gypsy," "Annie Get Your Gun," "Gigi"), in TV reunions ("Love Boat" specials) and as a TV guest ("Murder, She Wrote," "Touched by an Angel," "The King of Queens," "Oz," "That 70s Show," "JAG" and "The Comeback Kid").- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Ralph Waite was born in White Plains, New York on June 22, 1928. Educated at Bucknell University where he graduated with a BA degree, Waite existed rather aimlessly as a young adult while trying to find his way in the world. Occupations came and went, including social worker, religious editor for Harper & Row, and even Presbyterian minister after spending three years at the Yale School of Divinity. At age 30, however, he began to study acting and found his true life's passion.
Waite made his professional NY debut in a 1960 production of "The Balcony" at the Circle in the Square and was seen on Broadway in "Blues for Mister Charlie" before earning fine reviews in 1965 alongside Faye Dunaway in "Hogan's Goat". This was enough to encourage him to move West where he began collecting bit parts in prestigious movies, including Cool Hand Luke (1967) and Five Easy Pieces (1970). One of those films, the coming-of-age Last Summer (1969) starred an up-and-coming talent named Richard Thomas, who, of course, would figure prominently in Waite's success story in years to come. Waite continued to thrive as well on the stage appearing in both contemporary plays ("The Trial of Lee Harvey Osward") as well as Shakespearean classics (Claudius in "Hamlet" and Orsino in "Twelfth Night").
Stardom came for him in the form of the gentle, homespun Depression-era series The Waltons (1972). In the TV-movie pilot, the roles of John and Olivia Walton were played by Andrew Duggan and Patricia Neal. The Earl Hamner Jr. series, however, would welcome Waite along with Michael Learned, and make both, as well as Richard Thomas playing their son John-Boy, household names. Waite also directed several episodes of the series during the nine seasons. Throughout the seventies, he strove to expand outside his Walton patriarchal casting with other TV mini-movie endeavors. Those included Roots (1977), for which he received an Emmy nomination, the title role in The Secret Life of John Chapman (1976), OHMS (1980), Angel City (1980) and The Gentleman Bandit (1981). He also appeared in a few films including On the Nickel (1980) which he wrote and directed.
Throughout the run of the series, Waite continued to revert back to his theater roots from time to time. Notable was his role as Pozzo in Waiting for Godot (1977), which was televised by PBS, and a return to Broadway with "The Father" in 1981. Waite also founded the Los Angeles Actors Theatre in 1975 and served as its artistic director.
The Waltons (1972), which earned him an Emmy nomination, ended in 1981 and Waite ventured on to other TV character roles during the 80s and 90s but less visibly. In his second TV series The Mississippi (1982), which was produced by his company Ralph Waite Productions, he played a criminal lawyer who abandoned his practice (almost) for a leisurely life captaining a riverboat. It lasted only a year. There have been other more recent theater excursions including "Death of a Salesman" (1998), "The Gin Game" (1999), "Ancestral Voices (2000) and "This Thing of Darkness" (2002). He also had a recurring role on the offbeat HBO series Carnivàle (2003) and in 2009 began putting time in on the daytime soap Days of Our Lives (1965) as Father Matt. Waite was able to carry with him a certain grizzled, rumpled, craggy-faced, settled-in benevolence, although he was quite capable of villainy. He always seemed more comfortable in front of the camera wearing a dusty pair of work clothes than a suit. He continued to act well into his 80s, most notably playing the father of Mark Harmon on NCIS (2003).
For many years, Waite had held passionate political ambitions. He twice ran unsuccessfully for a Congressional seat -- in 1990 and 1998. A Palm Desert resident during his second attempt, the 70-year-old Californian was a Democratic hopeful for a seat left vacant by the late Sonny Bono after his fatal skiing accident in 1998. He was ultimately defeated by Bono's widow, Mary Bono.
Waite died in Palm Desert, California on February 13, 2014, at age 85. He is survived by his third wife, Linda East, whom he married in 1982 and two daughters from his first marriage.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Nancy Kulp wore many hats: Publicity person, actress, linguist, would-be politician, and teacher. Originally from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Kulp attended college in Florida, then headed for Hollywood to work in publicity for the movies, not star in them. Soon after arriving in Hollywood, Kulp was convinced by director George Cukor and casting director Billy Gordon that she should be in front of the camera, not behind the scenes. She then began a solid career as a character actress in films and television, including two memorable roles: on The Bob Cummings Show (1955) as bird-loving "Pamela Livingstone", and on The Beverly Hillbillies (1962) as the long-suffering, lovesick, and bird-loving "Miss Jane Hathaway". After the Hillbillies ended its 9-year run, Kulp found work in theater, Broadway, and television, and dabbled in politics, making an unsuccessful 1984 run for Congress in Pennsylvania. Later, she taught acting and retired to a farm in Connecticut and, later, Palm Springs, where she died of cancer in 1991.- Estelle Harris was an American actress and comedienne, known for her exaggerated shrill and grating comedic voice. She often worked as a voice actress in animation, voicing supporting characters and guest stars. Her best known roles are the obnoxious mother Estelle Costanza in the sitcom "Seinfeld" (1989-1998) and the sweet wife Mrs. Potato Head in the "Toy Story" film series.
Harris was born Estelle Nussbaum in 1928 in Manhattan, New York City. Her parents were Isaac "Ira" Nussbaum and his wife Anna (Stern), first-generation Jewish emigrants from Poland. Her parents owned a candy store in New York City. In 1935, the Nussbaum family moved to Tarentum, Pennsylvania, an industrial town primarily known for production of bottles. Ira had accepted a job offer from relatives who had already settled in Tarentum.
Harris was primarily raised in Tarentum, and graduated from the local high school. Relatively little is known for her life in early adulthood. In 1952, Estelle started dating Sy Harris, a window treatment salesman. They were married in early 1953, despite knowing each other for only 6 months at that point. Between 1957 and 1964, Harris gave birth to three children (two sons and a daughter). She was primarily a housewife until her children were old enough to attend school.
Harris aspired to an acting career, but started out in amateur productions. She eventually had roles in dinner theater, and found some success when cast in various television commercials. At one point she filmed 23 different commercials in a single year. In 1984, Harris had a small role in the crime film "Once Upon a Time in America", which primarily depicted the lives of Jewish-American gangsters.
In 1985, Harris was cast in the recurring role of Easy Mary in the sitcom "Night Court" (1984-1992). The sitcom focused on eccentric characters interacting with the night shift staff of a Manhattan municipal court. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, Harris was frequently cast in guest-star roles in various then-popular series, such as "Married... with Children" and "Mad About You".
Harris' big break came in 1992 when cast in "Seinfield" as Estelle Costanza, the overbearing mother of neurotic character George Costanza (played by Jason Alexander). The character spend most of her screen-time in berating her son, belittling anything which her son cared about, arguing with her husband, and maintaining hostile relations with nearly everyone who she interacted with. She became one of the series' most prominent supporting characters, allowing Harris to become a household name.
By 1995, Harris had started voicing characters in animated television series. Among her earliest prominent roles in the medium was voicing Timon's mother in the comedy series "Timon & Pumbaa" (1994-1999), which was a spin-off of "The Lion King". In 1996, Harris had a guest-star role in the science fiction series "Star Trek: Voyager", as an unnamed elder of the Nechani tribe. Her role was to guide protagonist Kathryn Janeway (played by Kate Mulgrew) through a tribal ritual which would heal Janeway's friend Kes (played by Jennifer Lien).
In 1998, Harris was cast as Grandmama Delilah Addams in the television film "Addams Family Reunion", the paternal grandmother of Gomez and Fester Addams. The film was based on the comic strip "Addams Family" (1938-1964) by Charles Addams, which had many other adaptations. In the film, Delilah suffers from Walthzheimer's disease, a condition which turns aging people into unnaturally "pleasant" versions of themselves. The rest of the Addams family is horrified by Delilah's fate.
In 1999, Harris was cast as Mrs. Potato Head in the computer-animated film "Toy Story 2". The character was depicted as the sweet and loving wife of Mr. Potato Head (voiced Don Rickles). Her personality was intended to contrast with the hot-headed and pessimistic behavior of her husband. The film was a box office hit. Harris would resume this role in the sequels "Toy Story 3" (2010) and "Toy Story 4" (2019), which were also commercially successful.
In 2004, Harris voiced the nervous hen Audrey in the Western comedy film "Home on the Range". The character was a member of the film's supporting cast and had a tendency to panic when dealing with her fear of abandonment. This animated film under performed at the box office, convincing Disney to cease producing traditionally animated films.
Also in 2004, Harris was cast in the recurring role of Mrs. Lipsky in the comedy adventure television series "Kim Possible". Her character was depicted as the overly-affectionate mother of the super-villain Dr. Drakken/Drew Theodore P. Lipsky, who still treated him as her baby boy and unwittingly interfered with his plans. Harris was also cast in a recurring role in the fantasy television series "Dave the Barbarian", as Lula the sentient enchanted sword.
In 2005, Harris voiced the antagonist Mama Gunda in the animated film "Tarzan II". The character was a female gorilla who used her own sons in a scheme to gain political power, but reforms after falling in love with a new mate. The film was one of the few Disney films were the antagonists find redemption.
Also in 2005, Harris was cast in the recurring role of Muriel in the live-action sitcom The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (2005). Her character was an elderly hotel maid, whose greed, laziness, and irritability were recurring plot points. In her last appearance on the show Muriel was "fired" by her boss, who failed to realize that Muriel had already retired and was no longer in his payroll.
Harris had relatively few new roles during the 2010s. Her most prominent recurring role at that time was the benevolent ghost Peg-Leg Peg in the fantasy series Captain Jake and the Never Land Pirates (2011), a spin-off of Peter Pan. She died in 2022, a year after husband Sy. Harris is fondly remembered for the many recurring characters which she has played or voiced, and is regarded as a veteran of the animation industry. - Actor
- Soundtrack
At the age of seven, he and his family moved to Oregon. After studying at the University of Oregon, he followed in his father's footsteps and became a dentist, graduating from North Pacific Dental College. From 1929 to 1937, he practiced oral surgery in Eugene, Oregon. He then moved his practice to Altadena, CA. There he joined the Pasadena Community Playhouse, eventually giving up dentistry at the age of 36 to become an actor. He made his film debut in 1939. His chubby face and gravelly voice were featured in over 100 films, but he is perhaps best known for TV roles in Hopalong Cassidy (1952), Judge Roy Bean (1955), Petticoat Junction (1963), and Cade's County (1971).- Linda Christian was born Blanca Rosa Welter, to a Dutch father, Gerardus Jacob Welter, and a Mexican-born mother, Blanca Rosa Vorhauer. Her Father was an executive with Royal Dutch Shell and Christian traveled extensively as a result living in South Africa, Romania, Germany, France, Switzerland, England, and Palestine at various times during her childhood This was beneficial in that the little girl - a very good pupil at school - eventually was able to speak seven languages. She also turned into a shapely young lady who won a beauty contest. She started studying medicine in Palestine but had to be repatriated to the USA due to the international situation. She landed in Los Angeles and naturally considered a movie career there. She studied drama but got only minor parts for years. She really became famous when she married Tyrone Power, and her career somewhat improved. But it is scandal more than her film roles that long made her a favorite of the celebrity press rather than of specialized movie magazines.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
London-born actress, daughter of the King's Counsel, St. John Field, educated in Paris and Vienna. Her mother, a cousin of famous Confederate General Robert E. Lee, chose the name "Virginia" as homage to Lee's beloved home state. Virginia also had an actress aunt, Auriol Lee, who paved the way for her debut on the stage. She first appeared in "This Side Idolatry" in 1933 (with Leslie Howard). She was later signed by 20th Century Fox (actually by standing in at a screen test as a favour to another actress), but was quickly typecast as the "other woman" or as perfunctory second fiddle to "Charlie Chan" and "Mr. Moto". She had greater success on Broadway, where she starred in the screwball comedy "The Doughgirls" (1942) at the Lyceum Theatre, and the Moss Hart farce "Light Up the Sky" (1948), with Sam Levene, Barry Nelson and Glenn Anders.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Comic light actor in U.S. films and TV. Born in Vincennes and raised in Terre Haute, IN, Moore studied drama at Indiana State Teachers College before serving in the Marines in WWII. He had a tough time breaking into movies, although he performed in local and regional live theatre. He finally found his niche in television, starring as the incompetent county agent Hank Kimball in GREEN ACRES from 1965-71. He also appeared in at least thirty other TV series and numerous commercials. He and his wife had been married 47 years at the time of his death.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Rochelle Hudson was born on 6 March 1916 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. She was an actress, known for Imitation of Life (1934), The Officer and the Lady (1941) and Born Reckless (1937). She was married to Robert Louis Mindell, Charles Kenneth Brust Jr., Richard Francis Hyland and Harold Edward Mexia Thompson. She died on 17 January 1972 in Palm Desert, California, USA.- Ned Romero was born on 4 December 1926 in Franklin, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor, known for I Will Fight No More Forever (1975), Star Trek (1966) and Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987). He was married to Gwyneth E. Howard Coty and Jolene Lontere. He died on 4 November 2017 in Palm Desert, California, USA.
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
William Asher was born on 8 August 1921 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He was a director and producer, known for Bewitched (1964), Fireball 500 (1966) and I Love Lucy (1951). He was married to Meredith Coffin, Joyce Bulifant, Elizabeth Montgomery and Danni Sue Nolan. He died on 16 July 2012 in Palm Desert, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Missouri-born Ellen Drew was born Esther Loretta Ray in 1914, the daughter of an Irish-born barber. After her parents separated when she was 15 years old, she worked various jobs (accountant, salesgirl) to support her mother and younger brother. At one time she worked at Marshall Field's Department Store. She then went to Kansas City as an elevator operator at the Aladdin Hotel, earning $14 a week. After rejoining her family in Englewood, Illinois, she found yet another job at the Grant store. The manager liked her fresh-faced good looks and high-wattage smile and entered her in a beauty pageant sponsored by the Kiwanis, which she ended up winning. Encouraged to try her luck in tinseltown, she got a job at Brown's Confectionary on Hollywood Boulevard for $11.50 a week before she was discovered in somewhat typical Lana Turner fashion. While working at an ice cream parlor, customer William Demarest took notice of her and was instrumental in having her put under a $50 a week contract at Paramount Studios in 1936, aged 21.
Initially billed as Terry Ray, she was groomed in starlet bits for two years until finally given a role she could sink her teeth into in the Bing Crosby musical Sing, You Sinners (1938). Her hair was changed from brunette to auburn (sometimes blonde) and her moniker changed from Terry Ray to Ellen Drew, after briefly being known as Erin Drew. Brighter roles came her way with If I Were King (1938) (which clinched her celebrity), Women Without Names (1940) and Buck Benny Rides Again (1940), but she never quite managed to distinguish herself among the bevy of Hollywood beauties on display and so remained on the outer fringes for most her career. Despite fine roles in fine movies, notably the Preston Sturges classic, Christmas in July (1940), and the Dick Powell starrer, Johnny O'Clock (1947), her film career went into decline. In the 1950s she transferred her talents to television before retiring the following decade. Married four times, including to writer/producer Sy Bartlett, she was survived by her son and five grandchildren when she passed away in 2003, aged 89, in Palm Desert, California.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
John Finnegan, or sometimes known as J.P. Finnegan, is an American film actor, mostly known for his roles on the American crime fiction series, Columbo (1971), which aired regularly from 1971 to 1978. Another role included voicing the character, "Warren T. Rat", who was the main villain in the 1986 Don Bluth film, An American Tail (1986). Finnegan was a friend of director/actor John Cassavetes and appeared in 6 of his movies. He also appeared in The Natural (1984), with Robert Redford, as "Sam Simpson", the manager of "Roy Hobbs".- Jed Allan was born on 1 March 1935 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for General Hospital (1963), Days of Our Lives (1965) and Port Charles (1997). He was married to Janice Toby Druger. He died on 9 March 2019 in Palm Desert, California, USA.
- Wally Cassell was born on 3 March 1912 in Agrigento, Sicily, Italy. He was an actor, known for White Heat (1949), Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) and Story of G.I. Joe (1945). He was married to Marcy McGuire. He died on 2 April 2015 in Palm Desert, California, USA.
- California native Imogene Williams (born in Los Angeles, raised in Sherman Oaks) was a student at The Pasadena Playhouse when an agent helped her get a contract with Warner Bros. Under her new name, Claudia Barrett, Warners gave her juicy secondary parts in several films, and freelance work with Republic Pictures earned her leads in a number of horse operas. In 1953 she starred in what would become her most noted picture, Robot Monster (1953), opposite George Nader. Released by third-string distributor Astor Pictures, the film is of an uncommonly low quality, and has generated a wide cult following with fans of bad and campy movies. Following this dubious project, Ms. Barret acted extensively on television for several years. After leaving show business entirely in the early 1960s, she spent 14 years working for AMPAS. More recently, she has kept busy as an artist, whose work is represented in galleries and has been commercially published.
- Actor
- Stunts
Ted Jordan was born on 23 May 1924 in Circleville, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for Walking Tall (1973), The Magical World of Disney (1954) and The High Chaparral (1967). He was married to Lili St. Cyr and Lynette Bernay. He died on 30 March 2005 in Palm Desert, California, USA.- The name may be hard-pressed to anyone but the most devoted film buffs, but dark-haired actor John Bromfield was a "B"-level leading man during the late 1950s. Possessed with a fine build and square-faced handsomeness, he was somewhat of a blend between Steve Cochran and Rory Calhoun, both 1950s hunks. During his heyday, John headlined a handful of mediocre sci-fi programmers, melodramas and westerns and was often seen in skimpy outfits (especially a swim suit) that showed off his fine physique. Born in South Bend, Indiana, in 1922 and christened Farron Bromfield, his strong athleticism and good looks were not lost on the picture business. By age 26 he was in Hollywood and a contractee of Paramount. His first feature film came in the form of a small role in the Barbara Stanwyck/Burt Lancaster film noir tingler Sorry, Wrong Number (1948) for Paramount. Following the minor documentary/adventure Harpoon (1948) at Paramount, he made his third film, Rope of Sand (1949). There he met his first wife, the delectable French actress Corinne Calvet, who was a co-star on the film and just starting to create an international stir. The couple married shortly after completing the film in 1948. The pairing proved beneficial for Bromfield and his career but the marriage itself lasted only five years. A featured performer in the early 1950s, he earned leading man status by 1955, but it was a very brief tenure. The pictures themselves were hardly the talk of the town, including The Big Bluff (1955), Frontier Gambler (1956), Three Bad Sisters (1956), Quincannon, Frontier Scout (1956), Manfish (1956) and Hot Cars (1956), and most of them fell by the wasteside. One of his films, however, managed to earn sci-fi "cult" status -- Revenge of the Creature (1955). At around this time he fell for dancer Larri Thomas while on the set of Curucu, Beast of the Amazon (1956) and married her shortly after filming. Following his last movie (and 20th feature) in Crime Against Joe (1956) with sultry singer Julie London, he switched mediums and corralled the title role (and mild stardom) in the syndicated TV western series The Sheriff of Cochise (1956), which was later retitled "U.S. Marshal" during its third season. In 1959, his second marriage ended after only 3 years and his western series soon bit the dust as well. Unfulfilled with his life as an actor, John abruptly retired in 1960, finding renewed interest as a commercial fisherman. A hunting enthusiast most his life, he was an emcee at Chicago's annual Sportsman's Show in the 1980s. Not much else was heard until his recent passing from kidney failure on September 18, 2005, at the age of 83. He is survived by his third wife.
- Marian Carr was born on 6 July 1925 in Providence, Kentucky, USA. She was an actress, known for Kiss Me Deadly (1955), Nightmare (1956) and The Devil Thumbs a Ride (1947). She was married to Lester Linsk, Fred Leonard Levy and Francis Jerome Mason. She died on 30 July 2003 in Palm Desert, California, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Frances Eloise Hodges, who died in California on 19 January 2003 following a stroke, was not only a successful singer and actor, but will also be remembered for her part in launching Ronald Reagan's film career by getting him to 'ditch the glasses.' This he did, and the rest is history.
She was born on 29 January 1915 in Des Moines, Iowa, to Verne Hodges and his wife. At the age of eight, she became one half of the Bluebird Twins, performing across Iowa, and later at high school was part of a trio named the Crooning Co-eds.
Married three times, firstly to Gil Doorly from 1939 - 1941, then to Paul Helmund and finally, until his death, to Eugene Scheiss, she appeared frequently on stage, in films and on TV and radio. Her career began when she won a talent contest at the Paramount Theatre, and in 1935 she signed a 5-year contract with RKO.
She appeared with Fred Astaire in Follow the Fleet (1936) and in 1937 was singing at Hollywood's Biltmore Bowl and in various Broadway musicals, including 'I'd Rather Be Right'. In 1946 she had the lead role in 'Nellie Bly', and as late as 1972 took over from Ruby Keeler in the Broadway revival of 'No, No, Nanette'.
Ronald Reagan kept in touch with Joy for over 60 years, and she was a frequent guest at the White House, where she once sat next to President Gorbachev at dinner.- Actress
- Soundtrack
One of the early sound era's most attractive young leading ladies, doll-faced Marian Marsh enjoyed a short yet significant film career as the star of several memorable 1930s melodramas opposite some of the cinema's best, most charismatic lead actors. Her youthful, wide-eyed innocence combined with an innate delicacy to make a storybook heroine who was the perfect counterbalance to the licentious characters who often menaced her on film. So successful was she as a damsel in distress that she quickly became typecast, which impeded her development as an actress and helped bring her film career to a premature end.
The youngest of four children of a German chocolate manufacturer and his French-English wife, the future star was born Violet Ethelred Krauth on October 17, 1913, on the island of Trinidad, British West Indies. When World War I ruined his business, Mr. Krauth moved the family to Massachusetts, where his children developed an appreciation for the arts and theater.
During the mid 1920s, Violet's older sister Jean Fenwick became a student at Paramount's Astoria studio and later a Paramount contract player. When Jean signed a contract with FBO Pictures in Hollywood, the Krauth family moved to the West Coast, where Violet attended La Conte Junior High School and later Hollywood High. In 1928 Jean helped her strikingly attractive golden-haired sister secure a screen test with Pathe Studios, which promptly signed her but dropped her after a short film appearance. After another short pact with Samuel Goldwyn, Violet, now known as Marilyn Morgan, opted to study acting and voice with Nance O'Neil. In 1929 Warners signed the 16-year-old, who changed her name once again, this time to Marian Marsh.
Despite appearances in 30 short films starring James Gleason and a small part in Hell's Angels (1930), Marian's career seemed headed to oblivion when she won the role of her life in Svengali (1931), Warner's film remake of George L. Du Maurier's 1894 novel "Trilby"; the tragic tale of an artists' model who becomes a great singing diva under the hypnotic tutelage of the malevolent Svengali (charismatically portrayed by John Barrymore). According to Miss Marsh, she was tested for the plum role several times before being selected by Barrymore, apparently because she resembled his wife, Dolores Costello.
The immense critical and financial success of the film combined with young Miss Marsh's rave reviews to raise her Hollywood stock. Selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1931, she became one of filmdom's top up-and-coming actresses. Hoping to exploit her growing popularity and capitalize on her ability to project warmth, sincerity and inner strength on screen, Warners cast her as virginal heroines in a series of films. Of special note were her compelling performances as the daughter of a woman driven to suicide by amoral newspaper editor Edward G. Robinson in Five Star Final (1931), a ballerina menaced by evil clubfooted puppeteer John Barrymore in The Mad Genius (1931), a sexy teen smitten with mature William Powell in The Road to Singapore (1931), and the fast talking Cinderella secretary of skirt-chasing financier Warren William in Beauty and the Boss (1932).
Just when it appeared as if Marian was on the verge of superstardom, she seemed to fall out of favor at Warners. After the critical failure of the much ballyhooed drama Under Eighteen (1931), a disappointed, exhausted Marian rebelled against the studio, which retaliated by not picking up her option. Her career never fully recovered.
After she departed Warners, the 19-year-old freelance actress compounded her problems and further diminished her reputation by accepting film work overseas and at minor studios. Although her performances in such films as The Sport Parade (1932), the British comedy Over the Garden Wall (1934) and A Girl of the Limberlost (1934) were admirable, low-budget production values and other assorted problems doomed the projects.
In 1935 Marian signed a two-year pact with Columbia Pictures and tried with some success to resurrect her foundering career. Of the eight Columbia pictures she made during the period 1935-36, four were memorable. She was excellent, if typecast, as a young girl mixed up with crooks and gangsters in the entertaining melodrama Counterfeit (1936), as the bespectacled daughter of a retailer in love with a shyster salesman in the charming B comedy Come Closer, Folks (1936), as an accursed young woman forced to marry murderer Boris Karloff in the fondly remembered suspense classic The Black Room (1935), and notably as the beautiful prostitute Sonya in Josef von Sternberg's controversial film version of Fyodor Dostoevsky's timeless novel Crime and Punishment (1935) starring Peter Lorre. Her performance in the latter is without a doubt one of the best, if not the best, of her career.
When her Columbia contract expired in 1936, Marian once again squandered her momentum and talent by appearing in routine second features. From 1937 to 1938, she made seven mostly forgettable films, the best of which was Republic's B drama Youth on Parole (1937), in which Marian was poignant as a girl suffering the rejection and prejudice associated with being a parolee.
In March 1938 Miss Marsh, long one of Hollywood's most eligible bachelorettes, wed stockbroker Albert Scott, the former husband of actress Colleen Moore. After the marriage she made only five more feature films. "I loved acting," she told author Richard Lamparski, "but I had become a professional because we needed the money. In 1938 I married a businessman and just drifted away from acting." PRC's money-starved comedy House of Errors (1942) is her last film to date.
In the late 1950s Marian, was briefly lured back to acting, appearing in an episode of the popular John Forsythe sitcom "Bachelor Father" and an episode of Schlitz Playhouse (1951) before retiring in 1959. One year later she married aviation pioneer and wealthy entrepreneur Clifford Henderson and moved to Palm Desert, California, a town Henderson founded in the 1940s.
In the 1960s Marian founded Desert Beautiful, a non-profit, all-volunteer conservation organization to promote environmental and beautification programs. "We planted palm trees along the West Coast and were the first to plant palms in the lower valley [Coachella] to Palm Springs. If you want to leave something behind, plant a tree!" she told author Dan Van Neste in a 1998 interview.
After Cliff Henderson died in 1984, Marian continued to live in the Henderson ranch house continuing her charitable work. Miss Marsh remained in Palm Desert through 2005 and died in 2006. Near her end, Miss March was less active but still committed to her beloved Desert Beautiful. She retains fond memories of her filmmaking years and expresses appreciation for the continuing interest in her career. When asked how she'd like to be remembered in 1998, the modest, ever-gracious star simply replied, "For doing my best. I think anything I've ever tried, I tried to do my best. In the end, that's all you can do!"- Director
- Actor
- Producer
Joseph Pevney was born on 15 September 1911 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a director and actor, known for Star Trek (1966), Tammy and the Bachelor (1957) and Man of a Thousand Faces (1957). He was married to Margo Yvette Collins, Philippa Hilber and Mitzi Green. He died on 18 May 2008 in Palm Desert, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Barry Coe was born on 26 November 1934 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Peyton Place (1957), Jaws 2 (1978) and The 300 Spartans (1962). He was married to Jorunn Kristiansen. He died on 16 July 2019 in Palm Desert, California, USA.- James Westmoreland was born on 25 November 1935 in Dearborn, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for Don't Answer the Phone! (1980), The Monroes (1966) and Bronco (1958). He was married to Kim Darby. He died on 14 September 2016 in Palm Desert, California, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Patsy Ruth Miller was born on 17 January 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), Daughters of Today (1924) and Fools in the Dark (1924). She was married to Effingham Smith Deans, John Lee Mahin and Tay Garnett. She died on 16 July 1995 in Palm Desert, California, USA.- Born Mary Elizabeth Greear, the actress best known as Joan Barclay came out to Hollywood when her mother, anxious to leave Minnesota's cold climate, put "Florida" and "California" in a hat and let young Mary Elizabeth draw. One of her earliest acting jobs was a role in The Gaucho (1927) with Douglas Fairbanks, who wanted to make her his next leading lady even though she was only 12(!). She was under contract to Warners in the early 1930s and to RKO in the 1940s, and co-starred in many "B" westerns and serials in the interim. She left movies in the mid-'40s to marry a wealthy man in the rent-a-car business, the first of her three husbands.
- Eddie Garrett was born on 19 November 1927 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. He was an actor, known for Quincy M.E. (1976), Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) and Batman (1966). He was married to Maggie Hartshorn. He died on 13 May 2010 in Palm Desert, California, USA.
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- Additional Crew
Rivaling Sam Newfield and William Beaudine as one of the American film industry's most prolific directors, Lew Landers began directing features in the mid-'30s under his real name of Louis Friedlander, but changed it to Lew Landers after several films. His first effort, The Raven (1935), with Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, was probably his best. Landers worked for just about every studio in Hollywood during his long career, but spent a lot of time at RKO and Columbia turning out low-budget adventure epics, thrillers and westerns. In the 1950s he turned to series television, as many of his fellow B directors did, and alternated between that and features for the remainder of his career.- Music Department
- Actor
- Camera and Electrical Department
Hal Blaine was an American drummer and session musician of Jewish descent, with a career that lasted about 70 years. He was born in 1929 as "Harold Simon Belsky", son to Meyer Belsky and Rose Silverman. Both of his parents were immigrants from Eastern Europe.
Blaine was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, a planned city that was once famed for its paper mills. He became interested in music as a child, and started playing drums as a hobby when 8-years-old. In 1943, the 14-year-old Blaine and his family moved to California. From 1949 to 1952, received lessons in drumming by Roy Knapp, the same music teacher who had trained the famed jazz drummer Gene Krupa (1909-1973). Meanwhile, Blaine started performing professionally in Chicago strip clubs. He worked on improving his sight-reading skills, reading and performing of pieces of music or songs in music notation that the performer has not seen before.
He started out as a jazz musician. He served for a while in the big band of Count Basie (1904-1984), and went on music tours with Patti Page (1927-2013) and Tommy Sands (1937-). But he also enjoyed the emerging "rock and roll" of the 1950s, and performed as a session musician in rock recordings.
In the 1960s, Blaine served as a core member of "the Wrecking Crew", a loose collective of session musicians working in Los Angeles. Most of them had formal training in both jazz and classical music, and provided their music skills to record companies producing various rock, pop, and rhythm and blues recording of this era. While relatively unknown to the music audience, the Wrecking Crew were viewed with reverence by industry insiders.
From 1962 to 1976, Blaine played drums for 40 recordings that hit number 1 in the Billboard Hot 100, in what was probably the most memorable period of his career. These recordings included "Johnny Angel" (1962, by Shelley Fabares), "He's a Rebel" (1962, by The Crystals), "Surf City" (1963, by Jan & Dean), "I Get Around" (1964, by The Beach Boys ), "Everybody Loves Somebody" (1964, by Dean Martin), "Ringo" (1964, by Lorne Greene), "This Diamond Ring" (1965, by Gary Lewis & the Playboys), "Help Me, Rhonda" (1965, by The Beach Boys), "Mr Tambourine Man" (1965, by The Byrds), "I Got You Babe" (1965, by Sonny & Cher), "Eve of Destruction" (1965, by Barry McGuire), "My Love" (1966, Petula Clark), "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" (1966, by Nancy Sinatra), "Monday, Monday" (1966, by The Mamas & the Papas), "Strangers in the Night" (1966, by Frank Sinatra), "Poor Side of Town" (1966, by Johnny Rivers), "Good Vibrations" (1966, by The Beach Boys), "Somethin' Stupid" (1967, by Frank & Nancy Sinatra), "The Happening" (1967, by The Supremes), "Windy" (1967, by The Association), "Mrs. Robinson" (1968, by Simon & Garfunkel), "Dizzy" (1969, by Tommy Roe), "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (1969, by The 5th Dimension), "Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet" (1969, by Henry Mancini), "Wedding Bell Blues" (1969, by The 5th Dimension), "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (1970, by Simon & Garfunkel), "(They Long to Be) Close to You" (1970, by The Carpenters), "Cracklin' Rosie" (1970, by Neil Diamond), "I Think I Love You" (1970, by The Partridge Family), "Indian Reservation" (1971, by The Raiders), "Song Sung Blue" (1972, by Neil Diamond), "Half Breed" (1973, by Cher), "Top of the World" (1973, by The Carpenters), "The Way We Were" (1974, by Barbra Streisand), "Annie's Song" (1974, by John Denver), "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" (1975, by John Denver), "Love Will Keep Us Together" (1975, by Captain & Tennille), "I'm Sorry"/"Calypso" (1975, by John Denver), and "Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" (1976, by Diana Ross).
Blaine's career declined considerably in the 1980s. The drum machine, an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion, became popular in the music industry. This largely eliminated the recording studios' demand for session drummers. Blaine found himself competing for work with musicians much younger than himself. He kept on working, by performing music for advertising jingles. Due to the decline in his personal finances, he took various odd jobs to supplement his income. At one point, he worked as a security guard.
Late in life, Blaine received some music industry recognition for his decades of solid work. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a sideman in 2000, inducted into the the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2010, and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
In 2019, Blaine died in Palm Desert, California, due to unspecified "natural causes". He was 90-years-old. His former colleague Brian Wilson (1942-) commemorated his death with statements of praise for Blaine's music skills.- A familiar face, if not a familiar name, actor John Craig worked on stage, television and occasionally on screen from the late 1940s on. A tall, handsome, robust performer, he was born Joseph Cline, Jr. in 1928. The son of an insurance executive and former Army man, John received a Bachelor of Science degree from Butler University in Indianapolis, and, for all intents and purposes, was planning on post-graduate work at George Washington University when fate stepped in. At a formal French embassy gathering John sang by chance and was encouraged to try a professional musical career along the lines of an Alfred Drake, Howard Keel or John Raitt.
Inspired, he headed to New York and eventually won a role in a touring company of "South Pacific," Broadway's biggest hit at the time. He went on to perform in other plays as well before breaking into TV work on episodes of such established shows as "I Remember Mama." Broadway came his way with the Ethel Merman musical "Happy Hunting" and then an understudy job in the title role of "Li'l Abner" starring Peter Palmer. John eventually replaced Palmer in the popular country bumpkin role. While singing in Las Vegas, he was spotted by a talent scout and signed by the William Morris agency for films and TV.
John made the typical rounds in such rugged fare as Tales of Wells Fargo (1957), Surfside 6 (1960), The Rifleman (1958), Rawhide (1959), and Wagon Train (1957), as well as an occasional sitcom like Here's Lucy (1968). Although he worked sporadically in films, including The Gambler Wore a Gun (1961), Shock Corridor (1963), Devil's Angels (1967). The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968), Sweet Charity (1969), The Late Liz (1971), Homebodies (1974) and Pennies from Heaven (1981), his parts were by and large minor.BG: John would stay true to the theater and was a solid presence for the duration of his career, particularly in musicals. He appeared with both Vivian Blaine and Gale Storm in separate productions of "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" and performed in "Damn Yankees" with Julie Newmar. He retired in the 1980s and moved to Palm Desert where he has been involved in animal causes. - Director
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- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Cliff Bole was born on 9 November 1937 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was a director and producer, known for Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), The Six Million Dollar Man (1974) and V (1984). He was married to Brenda. He died on 15 February 2014 in Palm Desert, California, USA.- Laura Lamb was born on 16 April 1945 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for The Beverly Hillbillies (1962). She died on 23 April 2012 in Palm Desert, California, USA.
- William Frye was born on 5 October 1921 in Salinas, California, USA. He was a producer, known for Raise the Titanic (1980), Thriller (1960) and Airport '77 (1977). He died on 3 November 2017 in Palm Desert, California, USA.
- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Actor
Originally a lawyer from New York City, Jennings Lang came to Hollywood in 1938 and set up an office as a talent agent. In 1940, he joined the Jaffe Agency and, within a few years, became the company's president and one of Hollywood's leading agents. He joined MCA in 1950 and, two years later, became vice president of MCA TV Ltd. In this capacity, he worked with Universal Studios and was involved in developing, creating and selling new series throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including Wagon Train (1957), The Bob Cummings Show (1955) and McHale's Navy (1962). Lang also played a key role in developing television movies as a staple of TV programming.
Lang produced and executive-produced theatrical films for Universal from 1969 to 1986, when his career was curtailed by a major stroke. Among them were Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969), Play Misty for Me (1971), Charley Varrick (1973), Slaughterhouse-Five (1972), Airport 1975 (1974), Airport '77 (1977), Earthquake (1974), Rollercoaster (1977), Nunzio (1978), The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979) and The Sting II (1983). He is credited with helping launch the early careers of Clint Eastwood and Steven Spielberg and developing the technique of "Sensurround".- Bill Chadney was born on 16 September 1924 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Peter Gunn (1958), Dante (1960) and The Richard Boone Show (1963). He was married to Joy C Knittel, Leslie M Smith, Lola Albright and Marilyn Loreen Mann. He died on 9 December 2003 in Palm Desert, California, USA.
- A pretty, diminutive (4'11") actress of the silent and early sound era, Barbara Cloutman (later Kent) was born in Gadsby, Alberta, Canada on December 16, 1907. Upon graduating from Hollywood High School in 1925, Kent won the Miss Hollywood Pageant, and set her sights on a career in the movies. She was 18 when Universal Studios signed her; she made her film debut in the western Prowlers of the Night (1926). That same year, Kent established herself with the classic romantic melodrama Flesh and the Devil (1926), in which she played the rival to femme fatale Greta Garbo's affections for John Gilbert. She was loaned to MGM for that movie. Kent was selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1927 as a result of the popularity of her film No Man's Law (1927), in which she had a nude scene.
Kent subsequently appeared opposite Richard Barthelmess in The Drop Kick (1927) and had a starring role in another silent classic, Lonesome (1928), before smoothly making the transition to talkies. She played Harold Lloyd's love interest in his first two sound movies, Welcome Danger (1929) and Feet First (1930). Kent had supporting parts opposite Gloria Swanson in Indiscreet (1931) and Marie Dressler in Emma (1932), as well as playing the role of the aunt in Oliver Twist (1933) (notable since the character is often omitted from dramatizations of the novel).
In 1933, Kent took a year-long hiatus from acting so that her new husband, talent agent Harry E. Edington, could groom her for what he intended to be a high-profile return. Unfortunately, Kent's popularity had declined by the time she did return. She made three more films between 1935 and 1941, before retiring from the screen.
Edington died in 1949, and Kent remarried in 1954, to Jack Monroe, an engineer. They settled in Palm Desert, California, where Kent remained after Monroe's death. Her retirement was long and peaceful; she passed away on October 13, 2011 at the age of 103. - Camila Ashland was born on 24 March 1911 in New York, USA. She was an actress, known for V: The Final Battle (1984), V (1983) and Dark Shadows (1966). She was married to James Vincent Russo. She died on 12 September 2008 in Palm Desert, California, USA.
- Alice Cooper was born on 10 September 1873 in Sheerness, Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England, UK. She was an actress, known for You Bet Your Life (1950). She was married to Charles Henry Cooper. She died on 6 October 1967 in Palm Desert, California, USA.
- Frances Marion Neal was born on June 27, 1920 in Carrollton, Mississippi. The daughter of Homer Neal, an army surgeon, and his wife, Charlotte (nee Server) Neal, she grew up in Texas. She began a modeling career at age 15 and landed a part in "George White's Scandals of '40" on Broadway.
After moving to Los Angeles, Neal was signed by RKO and made her debut in a small part in "Citizen Kane." She became the second wife of actor Van Heflin on May 16, 1942, and was the mother of Kate, Vana, and Tracy Heflin. She and Heflin divorced in 1967 after 25 years of marriage. - Actress
- Soundtrack
This Kansas redhead, only 16 when she was cast in Seven Days' Leave (1942), was already working as a nightclub entertainer. When her first role received excellent notices, stressing her singing and wide-eyed appeal, she was signed to an RKO contract. RKO made little use of her comedy talent, assigning her to a series of second leads for "jitterbug appeal" in low-budget musicals. In most of these, she played a mature-looking, boy-crazy teen with a vital, stimulating personality. Her most memorable screen moment (aside from her songs) was swooning at Frank Sinatra's feet in Higher and Higher (1943). Following her marriage to actor Wally Cassell in 1947, she had only two more roles, and definitely retired from acting in 1952. Husband Cassell (in films 1943-58) went into business, and the couple subsequently owned the prosperous Law Printing Co., which was sold in 1993. Marcy has two children and is a grandmother.- Director
- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dave Powers was born on 2 December 1932 in Big Bear Lake, California, USA. He was a director and producer, known for The Carol Burnett Show (1967), Sills and Burnett at the Met (1976) and Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center (1971). He died on 3 July 2008 in Palm Desert, California, USA.- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Bob Cobert was born on 26 October 1924 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Click (2006) and Dark Shadows (2012). He was married to Helen Elizabeth Fosse. He died on 19 February 2020 in Palm Desert, California, USA.- Actress
Lisa Figus was born on 24 October 1923 in Zanesville, Ohio, USA. She was an actress, known for Dutch (1991), Armed and Dangerous (1986) and The Rockford Files (1974). She was married to Felice Figus and David White. She died on 20 February 2017 in Palm Desert, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Linda Hayes was born on 11 October 1918 in Sac City, Iowa, USA. She was an actress, known for The Girl from Mexico (1939), I'm Still Alive (1940) and Mexican Spitfire (1939). She was married to Frank Ward Walker, Lou Crosby and Dominic Joseph Germano. She died on 19 December 1995 in Palm Desert, California, USA.- Grover Asmus was born on 2 January 1926 in North Bergen, New Jersey, USA. He was married to Louise Currie and Donna Reed. He died on 11 October 2003 in Palm Desert, California, USA.
- Judith Barrett was born on 2 February 1909 in Arlington, Texas, USA. She was an actress, known for Road to Singapore (1940), Behind the Mike (1937) and Let Them Live (1937). She was married to Lindsay C. Howard and Cliff Edwards. She died on 10 March 2000 in Palm Desert, California, USA.
- Michael Dugan was born on 26 September 1912 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He was an actor, known for She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Thunder Alley (1967) and The Destructors (1968). He died on 6 November 2002 in Palm Desert, California, USA.
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- Writer
- Producer
Coming from a show business family (his parents were stage actors), Rowland V. Lee began his career as a child actor in stock and on Broadway. He interrupted his stage career for a stint as a Wall Street stockbroker, but gave that up after two years and returned to the stage. Lee was hired by Thomas H. Ince as an actor in 1915, and after service in World War I returned to Ince, but this time as a director. Lee didn't specialize in any particular genre in the many films he directed, but several of his lower-budget horror films were especially effective in their grim, gritty atmosphere, and his last film, Captain Kidd (1945) with Charles Laughton, had the potential to be a first-rate adventure yarn, but was hampered by its low budget.