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Victor McLaglen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Born December 10, 1886
Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, UK
Died November 7, 1959
Newport Beach, California, USA

Academy Awards Best Actor
1935 The Informer

Victor McLaglen (December 10, 1886[1] - November 7, 1959) was a boxer and actor.

McLaglen was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. His father, a bishop, moved the family to South Africa when McLaglen was a child. He left home at fourteen to join the army with the intention of fighting in the Second Boer War. However much to his chagrin, he was stationed at Windsor Castle and was later forced to leave the army when his true age was discovered.

Four years later, he moved to Canada, where he earned a living as a wrestler and heavyweight boxer, with several notable wins in the ring. One of his most famous fights was against Heavyweight Champion Jack Johnson. The fight was a 6 round "No contest" bout which meant that the only way to win was by a knockout prior the bell to end the 6th round. McLaglen survived all 6 rounds and a no contest was declared. Between bouts, he toured with a circus, which offered $25 to anyone who could go three rounds with him. He returned to England in 1913 and claimed to have served with the Royal Irish Fusiliers during World War I although no records contain his name {He actually served as a Temporary Captain with the 10th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment {The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires). See following note for war service [2]. He also continued boxing, and was named Heavyweight Champ of the British Army in 1918. After the war, he began taking roles in British silent films.

McLaglen's career took a turn in the 1920s, when he moved to Hollywood. He became a popular character actor, with a particular knack for playing drunks. The highlight of his career was an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in The Informer (1935), based on a novel by Liam O'Flaherty. Near the end of his career he was nominated again, this time for Best Supporting Actor, for his role opposite John Wayne in The Quiet Man (1952). He was especially popular with director John Ford, who frequently included McLaglen in his films. Toward the end of his career, McLaglen made several guest appearances on television, particularly in Western series such as Have Gun, Will Travel and Rawhide.

He died of a heart attack in 1959. He had by that time become a naturalized U.S. citizen. His son, Andrew McLaglen was a director.

Gilbert Roland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gilbert Roland (December 11, 1905 - May 15, 1994) was an American actor.

He was born Luis Antonio Damaso de Alonso in Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. He initially intended to follow in his father's footsteps and become a bullfighter but when the family moved to the United States, he became interested in acting when he was literally picked off the streets for a role as an extra. He chose his screen name by combining the names of two of his favorite actors, John Gilbert and Ruth Roland. His dashing good looks helped him find work immediately although he was often cast in the typical "Latin Lover" role.

His first major role was as one of Clara Bow's love interests in the collegiate comedy The Plastic Age (1925). In 1927, he played Armand in Camille opposite Norma Talmadge, with whom he was romantically linked. He went to star opposite Talmadge in several more films but when sound ended her career, Roland's voice was well suited for the new medium and his career continued uninterrupted. He starred in several Spanish language adaptations of American films and continued as a romantic lead.

Beginning in the 1940s, Roland's roles became smaller but critics began to take notice of his acting and he was praised for his supporting roles in John Huston's We Were Strangers (1949), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), and Cheyenne Autumn. He also appeared in a series of films in the mid 40s as the popular character "The Cisco Kid." Catholic viewers probably know him best as Hugo, the agnostic (and totally fictional) friend of the three shepherd children in The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima, which is based on the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima in 1917. His last appearance was in the 1982 western movie Barbarosa.

He was married to actress Constance Bennett from 1941 to 1946. His second marriage to Guillermina Cantu in 1954 lasted until his death in 1994.

Roland died of cancer in 1994 at the age of 88. Roland was nominated twice for a Golden Globe Award, for his roles in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and Cheyenne Autumn (1964).

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Gilbert Roland has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6730 Hollywood Blvd.

Marie Windsor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Marie Windsor (December 11, 1919--December 10, 2000). Sometimes called "Queen of the Bs" because she appeared in so many noirs and b-movies like Cat-Women of the Moon (1953), Marie Windsor was born Emily Bertelson in Marysvale, Piute County, Utah on December 11, 1919.

She got her break into movies when she was seen crying while working as a cigarette girl. Film producer Arthur Hornblow saw the young student actress and as a consolation offered her a screen test - eventually leading to her long film career.

The 5'9" actress first memorable role was opposite John Garfield in Force of Evil playing seductress Edna Tucker . Windsor also had large roles in film noir movies including The Sniper, The Narrow Margin, City That Never Sleeps and Stanley Kubrick's heist movie The Killing playing Elisha Cook Jr.'s scheming wife. Later in her career she acted in television appearing on such shows as The Incredible Hulk, General Hospital and Murder, She Wrote.

After her acting career she became a painter and sculptor. She died of undisclosed causes on the day before her 81st birthday, December 10, 2000.


She was one of the 500 stars nominated to become one of the 50 greatest American screen legends as part of the American Film Institute's 100 years.

Betsy Blair
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Betsy Blair (b. Elizabeth Winifred Boger on December 11, 1923 in Cliffside Park, New Jersey) is an Oscar-nominated American character actress.

She was originally a dancer who was first married to actor/dancer Gene Kelly. They were married for sixteen years and had one child together before divorcing. At the time she held some extreme political views and admittedly attempted to join the Communist Party. Her application was rejected as the Party felt she would be more valuable as the wife of the very liberal Kelly.

She and Kelly were married for sixteen years and had one child together before divorcing. He claimed to have had no knowledge of her political views and was insulated from political damage by his Irish Catholic extraction (which had also, by his own account, protected liberal actor Robert Ryan).

She starred in such films as A Double Life and The Snake Pit in the late 1940s. In the 1950s, she was under investigation from HUAC and almost lost one of her signature roles, that of Marty's girlfriend in Marty. For this performance, she received prizes from Cannes and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Her career, nonetheless, was damaged during the McCarthy era, and she found work in New York.

Jean-Louis Trintignant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jean-Louis Trintignant (born on December 11, 1930 in Piolenc, Vaucluse, France) is a French actor.

At the age of twenty, Trintignant moved to Paris, France to study drama, and made his theatrical debut in 1951 going on to be seen as one of the most gifted French actors of the post-war era. After touring in the early 1950s in several theater productions, his first motion picture appearance came in 1955 and the following year he gained stardom with his performance opposite Brigitte Bardot in Roger Vadim's And God Created Woman.

From a wealthy family, he is the nephew of race car driver, Louis Trintignant, who was killed in 1933 while practicing on the Péronne racetrack in Picardie. His other uncle, Maurice Trintignant (born 1917), was a Formula One driver who twice won the Monaco Grand Prix as well as the 24 hours of Le Mans. Raised in and around automobile racing, Jean-Louis Trintignant was the natural choice of film director Claude Lelouch for the starring role of race car driver in the 1966 film, Un homme et une femme, a global success that made him an international star.

Trintignant's acting was interrupted for several years by mandatory military service. After serving in Algiers, he returned to Paris and a very successful career. Subsequent leading roles in art-house classics such as Un homme et une femme (A Man and a Woman) (at the time the most successful French film ever screened in the foreign market), Bertolucci's The Conformist, and the 1969 political thriller Z, in which he portrayed an idealistic young attorney, garnered him an international following as well as the Best Actor award at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival.

He married Nadine Marquand, herself an actress as well as a screenwriter and director. Since divorced, they had a daughter, Marie (January 21, 1962-August 1, 2003), who at the age of 17 years of age performed in La Terrasse alongside her father and had become a very successful actress in her own right.

Throughout the 1970s Trintignant starred in numerous films and in 1983 he made his first English language feature film, Under Fire. Following this, he starred in François Truffaut's final film, Vivement Dimanche!

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Trintignant worked infrequently because of health problems (consecutive from a car accident) and a growing lack of interest for movies. His 1994 role in the late Krzysztof Kieślowski's last film, Three Colors: Red marked a rare appearance for him but still earned him a César Award nomination for Best Actor.

The following year he lent his voice to the widely acclaimed La Cité des Enfants Perdus, and has made films only occasionally since. He has focused essentially on his stage work.

Rita Moreno
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rita Moreno (born December 11, 1931 in Humacao, Puerto Rico) is an Academy Award-winning actress and the first and only Hispanic actress in history (as well as one of only nine people) to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award.


Biography

Moreno (born Rosita Dolores Alverío) moved with her mother to New York City at the age of five. When she was eleven years old, she lent her voice to Spanish-language versions of American films. She had her first Broadway role by the time she was thirteen, which caught the attention of Hollywood talent scouts. For the next ten years, Moreno played roles in movies which she considered degrading.

Finally, in 1961, Moreno landed the role of "Anita" in Robert Wise's film adaptation of Leonard Bernstein's and Stephen Sondheim's groundbreaking Broadway musical, West Side Story. Moreno gained fame and an Academy Award as the Best Supporting Actress for that role.

Moreno went on to be the second actor, and the first Hispanic, to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar (as mentioned), and a Tony. In 1985 she won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theatre.

Notably, Moreno appeared in Singin' in the Rain (1952), The King and I (1956), and Carnal Knowledge in (1971). In the 1970s and 1980s, she appeared on the PBS children's series The Electric Company notably as Millie the Helper, (in fact it was Rita who screamed the show's opening line, "HEY, YOU GUYS!!!!!"), the often naughty little girl, Pandora, and as the very short-tempered Director, and the popular family variety series The Muppet Show. She has made guest appearances on television series such as The Rockford Files, The Love Boat, The Cosby Show, The Golden Girls, and Miami Vice. She was also a regular on the short-lived sitcom version of Nine to Five (based on the hit film) during the early 1980s.

During the mid 1990s, Moreno provided the voice of Carmen Sandiego on the hit animated FOX show Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? In the late 1990s, she gained exposure to a new generation of viewers, as she played Sister Peter Marie Reimondo, a nun trained as a psychologist in the popular HBO series, Oz. Moreno has participated in more than fifty productions, combining her television, movie and theatrical works. She made a guest appearance on The Nanny as Coach Stone, Maggie's tyranical gym teacher, whom Fran Fine also remembered from her school as Ms. Wickavich.

Perhaps Moreno's main contribution to the Hispanic community has been her ability to transcend what some have viewed as the widespread discriminatory practices of Hollywood.

She has openly acknowledged her partial Marrano (or crypto-Jewish) ancestry. [1]

Among Moreno's many awards and recognitions are the following:


Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004Academy Award Best Supporting Actress, "West Side Story" (1961).
"The Joseph Jefferson Award" Best Chicago Theatre Actress (1968).
Grammy Award The Electric Company Album (1972).
Tony Award Best Featured Actress, "The Ritz" (1975).
2 Emmy Awards "The Muppet Show" (1977), and "The Rockford Files" (1978).
"The Golden Apple" Cue Magazine Award.
"The Sarah Siddons Awards" for her portrayal of Olive Madison in the female version of the Odd Couple.
"Special Recognition Award" from the International Latin Music Hall of Fame (2001).
"Presidential Medal of Freedom" from President George W. Bush in June 2004.
Rita Moreno has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7083 Hollywood Blvd.

On June 18, 1965 Moreno married Lenny Gordon, who remains her husband and manager. They have one daughter, Fernanda (Gordon) Fisher.

Teri Garr
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Teri Garr (born December 11, 1949 in Lakewood, Ohio) is an American actress and comedian. Garr's father was Eddie Garr, a comedian and actor whose career peaked when he briefly took over the lead role in the Broadway drama Tobacco Road.

One of her most acclaimed roles was in Tootsie, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress in 1982. Her movie debut was as an extra in the 1963 film A Swingin' Affair. During her early career she appeared in several Elvis Presley movies, usually in uncredited roles as a dancer. She had a cameo appearance as a damsel in distress in The Monkees film Head and in the mid-1970s had significant roles in major films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Young Frankenstein.

While some more recent sources give Garr a revised birth year of 1949, older sources state she was born in 1944 or 1947. As she certainly wasn't 13 when she played a dancer in "Fun in Acapulco", and she graduated from high school in 1962 [1], one of the earlier birth years is most likely to be accurate.

Garr has also appeared frequently on television. A notable early appearance was in the Star Trek episode "Assignment: Earth" (1968). She played the recurring character of a desk police officer who was constantly forced to work late and always had to phone her date and cancel in McCloud. She was also a regular on several variety shows in the early 1970s including The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, The Ken Berry 'Wow' Show and The Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour. She hosted Saturday Night Live three times during the early and mid-1980s. She played a recurring character in Friends (the estranged birth mother of Lisa Kudrow's character, Phoebe Buffay) in the late-1990s.

Garr appeared in a series of local television commercials in several markets for various FM radio stations.

Garr has continued to work in spite of having suffered from multiple sclerosis since 1983, undiagnosed until 1999.

Early in her career she was sometimes credited as Terri Garr, Terry Garr, Teri Hope, or Terry Carr.

She is the mother of an adopted daughter, and resides in Los Angeles.

Brenda Lee
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Background information

Birth name Brenda Mae Tarpley
Born December 11, 1944 (age 62)
Origin Atlanta, Georgia

Brenda Lee (born Brenda Mae Tarpley on December 11, 1944 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a Pop singer, who was immensely popular during the 50s and 60s and is probably best known for the hit song "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree". She was also one of the first teen idols in music. She was given the nickname Little Miss Dynamite for her big voice and short body frame. In the 70s, she became a popular Country singer.



Early Years

Brenda sang in a big adult voice from childhood and began her recording career at age 11 on July 30 in 1956, with songs like "BIGELOW 6-200" (pronounced six two oh oh) and "Little Jonah". The song "Dynamite" coming out of a 4 ft 9 in (1.45 meter) frame led to her lifelong nickname, "Little Miss Dynamite".

Along with Connie Francis, she was one of the first female idols, achieving huge popularity with a long string of hits. At Christmas 1958 she hit the top of the charts with "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree". Then, disc jockeys also dubbed her "Little Miss Razz Matazz" after her husky, pounding voice belted out her second big hit, "Sweet Nothin's".


The Height of Her Career

Brenda Lee first attracted attention performing in country music venues and her first single, 1957's "One Step at a Time" was a country hit. However, her label and management felt it best to market her exclusively as a pop artist, the result being none of her best-known recordings from the 1960's were released to country radio. She would not have another country hit until 1969. Brenda Lee came to her biggest success on the Pop charts in the late 50s through the mid 60's with Rock and Roll styled hits. Her biggest hits during this time include "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)", "Sweet Nothins", "I Want to Be Wanted", "All Alone Am I" and "Fool #1". Her biggest hit and probably her signature song was the 1960 hit song "I'm Sorry". Her other best known hit was "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree". Brenda Lee became one of the few female Rock and Roll singers of the era. With this, she created a whole revolution of future rock singers to come.

Her last top-10 single on the pop charts was 1963's "Losing You", while she continued to have other chart songs such as her 1966 song "Coming On Strong".


During the early 1970s, Lee established herself as a country music artist, and earned a string of Top 10 hits. Lee decided to trade in her big Pop career to a more Country type of career instead. The first came with 1973's "Nobody Wins," which reached the Top 5 that spring and also became her last Top 100 pop hit peaking at #70. The follow-up, "Sunday Sunrise", reached No. 6 on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles chart that October. Other major hits included "Wrong Ideas" and "Big Four Poster Bed" (1974); and "Rock On Baby" and "He's My Rock" (both 1975). After a few years of lesser hits, Lee began another run at the Top 10 with 1979's "Tell Me What It's Like". Two follow-ups also reached the Top 10 in 1980: "The Cowboy and the Dandy" and "Broken Trust" (the latter featuring vocal backing by The Oak Ridge Boys). Her last well-known hit was 1985's "Hallelujah I Love Her So", a duet with George Jones. Today, she continues to perform and tour as a country singer.


Life Today

Over the ensuing years, Lee has continued to record and perform all around the world, previously cutting records in four different languages.She is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Chuck Berry wrote a song about Brenda Lee on the album St. Louis to Liverpool. She was also immortalized in the hit Golden Earring song "Radar Love": "Radio's playing some forgotten song / Brenda Lee's 'Coming on Strong'." Although her songs have often centered on lost loves, and although she did lose her father at a young age, she has been married to her husband Ronnie since 1963. Together they have two daughters, Jolie and Julie (who was named for Patsy Cline's daughter) Brenda & Ronnie have 3 grand children.

Brenda Lee celebrates 50 years as a recording artist. 1956-2006

Brenda Lee was given the Jo Meador-Walker Lifetime Achievement award by Source Nashville in September 2006. She is the second recipient of the award with Jo Meador-Walker being the first to receive it.


Trivia

During the late 1950's, Brenda Lee played a show and the promoter left her and her mother stranded when he ran off with the money. When Patsy Cline found out, Cline offered to let Lee and her mother ride with herself and her mother, Hilda. Cline reportedly told Brenda Lee: "Now don't you ever let that happen again, little sister!"
Lee was first offered "Here You Come Again". She failed to act on it for several months, during which Dolly Parton recorded it. Lee did eventually record the song; but, by that time, Parton had already taken her own single to the top ten on the pop and country charts in 1977, relegating Lee's version to an album cut.
Lee is the only female artist to be both in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Country Music Hall of Fame

Good late afternoon WA2K listeners and contributors. While we await our hawkman's continuing bio's, I thought that I would throw in a punny joke to match his of Rudolph:


The Frog King


There once was a frog King, who was king to thousands of frogs and they all lived in a huge grass hut, believe it or not! Now this Kings minions loved him dearly, and they would do anything for him so he didn't need any slaves. This king had a hobby of collecting Thrones. He had hundreds of them, and he stored them all in the attic of the huge grass hut they all lived in. Every time he got a new throne that he liked better than the one he was sitting on, he would store it in attic along with the rest of his collection. Presently, he was sitting on a very large and ornate, Gold throne. This throne was very heavy and was also very cold and hard to sit on, so the King was hoping to add to his collection soon. Then, his best friend from a neighboring kingdom, CROAKED! and left his throne to him in his will. After waiting an appropriate mourning period, the King sent some of his runners to pick up the throne. They soon returned with a beautifully carved, jewel encrusted teakwood throne which also had a padded leather seat cushion. WOW! He fell in love with it right away, and soon his people were trying to move the heavy old gold throne up to the attic with the rest of the collection. Well, it took hundreds of his people to push and pull this very heavy gold throne to the attic of this grass hut. As soon as they reached the top of the stairs the weight of the gold throne plus the rest of the stored collection was too much for the GRASS HUT and it collapsed, killing THE FROG KING and all his PEOPLE!...............

The moral of this story...

PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN GRASS HOUSES, SHOULDN'T STOWE THRONES

Well, it seems that our BioBob is having a wee bit of trouble, and I am concerned about our resident photographer, folks.



Let's hear a song by Brenda Lee.

Johnny One Time

(A.L.Ownes - D. Frazier)

So he told you that you're the dreamed
That he's been searchin' for
And he told you that he never met
Anyone like you before
And I can hear him telling you
Your lips taste just like cherry wine
But did he tell you that he's known
As Johnny one time

(Oh) did he tell you
That your heart would soon become
Another trinket on his bracelet of broken heart
Did he tell you
That the morning sun will you find you patching up
Your shattered pride and searchin' for the missing part.
Did he tell you that the special love your saving
Will disappear in flames of shame like mine
(Oh) did it tell you that he's know
As Johnny one time

So he told you that he never lead
Your heart astray and he told you
That he'd love you forever and a day
And I can hear him telling you
That he's the shy and bashful kind
But did he tell you that is known
As Johnny one time

(Oh) did he tell you
That your heart would soon become
Another trinket on his bracelet of broken heart
And did he tell you
That the morning sun will you find you patching up
Your shattered pride and searchin' for the missing part.
Did he tell you that the special love your saving
Will disappear in flames of shame like mine
(Oh) did it tell you that he's know
As Johnny one time

Did he tell you
That your heart would soon become
Another trinket on his bracelet of broken heart
Did he tell you
That the morning sun will you find you patching up
Your shattered pride and searchin' for the missing part.
Did he tell you that the special love your saving
Will disappear in flames of shame like mine
(Oh) did it tell you that he's know
As Johnny one time

Letty. Groan

In the meantime, Happy Birthday to Rita Moreno, Brenda Lee and Teri Garr.

Hoorah, folks. There's our Raggedy with her pictures and I do believe that we know most of them. I think I like Brenda better as a blonde.

Well, we had one by Brenda, how about one in which Rita starred. It's a Romeo and Juliet copycat of course:


Song: Something'S Coming
Album: Cast Recording

Could be!
Who knows?
There's something due any day;
I will know right away,
Soon as it shows.
It may come cannonballing down through the sky,
Gleam in its eye,
Bright as a rose!

Who knows?
It's only just out of reach,
Down the block, on a beach,
Under a tree.
I got a feeling there's a miracle due,
Gonna come true,
Coming to me!

Could it be? Yes, it could.
Something's coming, something good,
If I can wait!
Something's coming, I don't know what it is,
But it is
Gonna be great!

With a click, with a shock,
Phone'll jingle, door'll knock,
Open the latch!
Something's coming, don't know when, but it's soon;
Catch the moon,
One-handed catch!

Around the corner,
Or whistling down the river,
Come on, deliver
To me!
Will it be? Yes, it will.
Maybe just by holding still,
It'll be there!

Come on, something, come on in, don't be shy,
Meet a guy,
Pull up a chair!
The air is humming,
And something great is coming!
Who knows?
It's only just out of reach,
Down the block, on a beach,
Maybe tonight . . .

Good morning WA2K.

Hoping all is well with our Letty.

and wishing a Happy 68th to Connie Francis and 66th to Dionne Warwick.

Ah, Raggedy. What delightful photo's as usual. Hope our hawkman will gain access to our cyber radio today.

Well, this PD is a little discouraged for several reasons. Just as Kipling wrote about "The Light that Failed", Letty is thinking of the experiment that failed.

Altered lyrics from Dionne.

I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER

The moment I wake up
Before I put on my makeup
I say a little prayer for me
While combing my hair, now
And wondering what dress to wear, now
I say a little prayer for me

Google feels the same way:

Edward G. Robinson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Birth name Emanuel Goldenberg
Born December 12, 1893
Bucharest, Romania
Died January 26, 1973, age 79
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States

Edward Goldenberg Robinson (December 12, 1893 - January 26, 1973) was an American stage and film actor of Romanian origin.

Born Emanuel Goldenberg (עמנואל גולדנברג) to a Yiddish-speaking Jewish family in Bucharest, Romania, he emigrated with his family to New York City in 1903. He attended Townsend Harris High School and then City College of New York, but an interest in acting led to him winning an American Academy of Dramatic Arts scholarship, where he changed his name to Edward G. Robinson (the G. signifying his original last name). He began his acting career in 1913 and made his Broadway debut in 1915. He made his film debut in a very minor and uncredited role in 1916; in 1923 he made his named debut as E. G. Robinson in The Bright Shawl. One of many actors who saw his career flourish in the new sound film era rather than falter, he made only three films prior to 1930 but left his stage career that year and made fourteen films in 1930-32. He married the actress Gladys Lloyd in 1927 and the couple had one son, Manny Robinson (1933-1974).

A sensational performance as the gangster Rico Bandello in Little Caesar (1931) led to him being typecast as a 'tough' for much of his early career in works such as Five Star Final (1931), Smart Money (1931; his only movie with James Cagney), Tiger Shark (1932), Kid Galahad (1937) with Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, and A Slight Case of Murder (1938). In the 1940s, after a good performance in Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940), he expanded into edgy psychological dramas including Double Indemnity (1944), The Woman in the Window (1945) and Scarlet Street (1945); but he continued to accept gangster roles such as that of Johnny Rocco in John Huston's classic Key Largo (1948), the last of five films he made with Humphrey Bogart, and the only one in which he took second billing to Bogart (although his name was listed to the right of Bogart's but a little higher in both the posters and the film itself, to equalize the billing a bit).

In the 1950s he was called to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee and wound up blacklisted, even though he reluctantly named names, until Cecil B. DeMille finally cast him in The Ten Commandments (1956).

Robinson built up a very significant art collection that in 1956 he sold to Greek shipping tycoon, Stavros Niarchos in order to raise cash needed for his divorce settlement with Gladys Lloyd, which occurred at the end of his blacklist, when he was cash-strapped. That same year he returned to Broadway in Middle of the Night.

After DeMille brought Robinson back into movies, his most notable roles occurred in A Hole in the Head (1959) opposite Frank Sinatra and The Cincinnati Kid (1965), a superb Robinson showcase with Steve McQueen. Director Peter Bogdanovich was offered The Godfather in 1972 but turned it down, later remarking that he would have cast Robinson in the role later played by Marlon Brando. Robinson indeed tried to talk his way into the part (which was how he had won the role of Little Caesar forty years before), but Francis Coppola decided on Brando instead, over the initial objections of the studio.

Robinson was a hugely popular box-office draw in the 1930s and '40s and was able to avoid many flops over a career of over 90 films spanning 50 years. His last scene was a suicide sequence in the science fiction cult classic Soylent Green (1973) in which he dies in a euthanasia clinic while watching nature films on a wall-sized screen.

Robinson was never nominated for an Academy Award, but in 1973 he was awarded an honorary Oscar in recognition that he had "achieved greatness as a player, a patron of the arts, and a dedicated citizen ... in sum, a Renaissance man". He died from cancer at the age of 79 two months prior to the award ceremony.


Edward G. Robinson is interred in a crypt in the family mausoleum at Beth El Cemetery in Ridgewood, Queens, New York.


Trivia

The voice and of character of Chief Wiggum on The Simpsons is Hank Azaria's imitation of Robinson, which is used as a joke several times in the show. Chief Wiggum began to resemble Edward in character as seasons progressed.
On the 1960's cartoon "Courageous Cat & Minute Mouse", a character called "The Frog", a cigar-chomping amphibian, spoke in the gangster style of Edward G. Robinson.
A character bearing his likeness was featured in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.
George, one of the Gremlins in the Gremlins 2 movie, is based on Robinson.
The Gerry Anderson series Dick Spanner features a villain named Edgar G Hobson in "The Case Of The Maltese Parrot". The character is played as a Robinson gangster character, down to his "see?" catchphrase.

Connie Francis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia




Background information

Birth name Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero
Born December 12, 1938 (age 67), Newark, New Jersey, United States

Connie Francis (born December 12, 1938 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American pop singer best known for international hit songs such as "Who's Sorry Now?," "Where The Boys Are", and "Everybody's Somebody's Fool".



Biography

Born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in Newark's Italian Down Neck or Ironbound section of Newark, New Jersey neighborhood, she is considered the most prolific female rock 'n' roll hit-maker of the early rock era -- the late 1950s to the early 1960s. After an appearance on Startime, Francis was advised to change her name from Franconero to something more easily pronounceable, as well as to quit the accordion and focus on singing.

Francis' first single "Freddy" (1955) met with little success. Her next nine singles were also failures, and she began considering a career in medicine. However, "Who's Sorry Now" (a cover version of a 1923 song) launched her into super-stardom worldwide. Francis recorded the song at what was to have been her final recording session for MGM, as the label was about to drop her since her previous singles had generated little activity. She has said (paraphrased from The Billboard Book of Number One Singles by Fred Bronson) that she recorded it at the suggestion of her father, who convinced her it stood a chance of becoming a hit because it was a song adults already knew and that teenagers would dance to if it were released with a more contemporary arrangement.

The gamble paid off. In April 1958, "Who's Sorry Now" reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart (number four in the USA) and in 2000, was named one of the Songs of the Century. On January 1, 1958, she debuted it on Dick Clark's American Bandstand television show; by mid-year over a million copies were sold. This was followed by a slew of other hits over the next decade, as Connie Francis became one of the most popular vocalists in the world.

Francis specialized in downbeat ballads delivered in her trademark "sobbing" style, such as "My Happiness," "I'm Sorry I Made You Cry," "Among My Souvenirs," "Together," "Breakin' In a Brand New Broken Heart," and the Italian song "Mama," many of which were remakes of old standards. However, she also had success with a handful of more upbeat, rock-and-roll-oriented compositions, such as "Stupid Cupid," "Lipstick On Your Collar," and "Vacation." Among her other notable performances were "In the Summer of His Years" (a tribute to slain U.S. President John F. Kennedy) and Bert Kaempfert's "Strangers In The Night" (although the latter song is more identified with Frank Sinatra). Both "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" and "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" went to No.1 on the Billboard music charts in 1960. In 1962 she had another No.1 hit with "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You."


Francis recorded in nine languages during her career, including English, Italian, French, Spanish, German, and even Japanese, and remade many of her hits in foreign languages, including "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" and her signature song, "Where the Boys Are". In fact, her biggest hit album in the U.S. was 1960's Italian Favorites, and she followed it with several more albums of Italian songs over the years, as well as collections of Spanish-language and Jewish songs, among others.

"Where The Boys Are," one of many Neil Sedaka/Howard Greenfield compositions Francis recorded during her career (others included "Stupid Cupid" and "Everybody's Somebody's Fool"), gained wide exposure through its inclusion in the 1960 motion picture with the same title. Francis had a role in the film and sang the title song. During the first half of the 1960s she starred in three additional films -- Follow the Boys (1963) (the title song of which became a No. 17 Billboard single for Francis), Looking for Love (1964) and When the Boys Meet the Girls (1965).

In 1960 Francis became the youngest headliner to sing in Las Vegas, where she played 28 days a year for nine years. In 1961 she was successful in starring in her own television special on ABC television sponsored by Brylcreem titled Kicking Sound Around, singing and acting along-side Tab Hunter, Eddie Foy Jr. and Art Carney. She appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show on July 1, 1962 with French singing star, Johnny Hallyday in a show that was taped at the famous Moulin Rouge nightclub in Paris, France. On July 3, 1963 she played a Command performance before Queen Elizabeth II at the Alhambra Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland. By 1967, she had 35 U.S. Top 40 hits, and three number ones.

Connie Francis has always been a great fan of country music and recorded several albums of country standards during her pop career. In 1969 she had a modest country hit with "The Wedding Cake" and made the country charts again in 1982 with "There's Still a Few Good Love Songs Left in Me". Several country singers found chart success remaking Francis' pop hits for the country market, including Marie Osmond ("Who's Sorry Now" in 1975), Susan Raye ("My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" in 1972), Margo Smith ("Don't Break The Heart That Loves You" in 1978), and Debby Boone.

During the height of the Vietnam War in 1967, Connie Francis performed for U.S. troops.

Francis ended her recording career in 1969, returning in 1973 with "The Answer", a song written just for her, and soon began performing again. Her son Joey was born in 1974. Tragedies followed soon after. In 1974 she was sexually assaulted in a hotel following a performance in Westbury, New York. Nasal surgery to correct a sensitivity to air conditioning deprived her of her ability to sing professionally for four years. Her brother was murdered in 1981.

Francis' autobiography, Who's Sorry Now? was published in 1984. Francis was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a mental disease which includes severe depressions, but resumed her career in 1989 and has continued singing and recording since then. Francis still holds a world-wide appeal shown through continued music sales and sold-out appearances which reveal the star is in as fine voice as she ever was.

Her latest CD The American Tour contains performances from recent shows. In late December 2004, Francis headlined in Las Vegas for the first time since 1989.


Bio-pic

The screenplay for a movie based on Francis' life, titled Who's Sorry Now? is done, and filming is anticipated in 2007, Gloria Estefan said in a news conference. Latin music star Gloria Estefan wrote the screenplay. She will produce and play the lead. Estefan said, "She [Francis] isn't in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and yet she was the first pop star worldwide, and has recorded in nine languages. She has done a lot of things for victims' rights since her rape in the '70s . . . There's a major story there."


Trivia

The ending song in the animated series Futurama episode "Jurassic Bark" is 'I Will Wait for You' sung by Connie Francis.
Billboard chart historian Joel Whitburn ranks Connie Francis as the top female vocalist on the Adult Contemporary chart during the 1960s. In 1961, Francis was the first female artist to score a No. 1 Billboard AC single, with "Together," and she topped the AC chart again the following year with "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You."
"Connie Francis" is also a character in the anime series Victory Gundam, one of the five (of the six) original members of the "Shrike Team" who are named in homage to 20th century female singers.
Her recording of 'Siboney' appears in Wong Kar-Wai's 2046.
According to 1963's Movie Life Yearbook, at the time she was 5'1, 110 lbs, 35-23-35 1/2.

Dionne Warwick
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Background information

Birth name Marie Dionne Warrick
Born December 12, 1940 (age 66)
Origin East Orange, New Jersey

Marie Dionne Warrick (born December 12, 1940 in East Orange, New Jersey), known professionally as Dionne Warwick, is an African-American singer best known for her work with Hal David and Burt Bacharach as songwriters and producers.



Biography

Early years

Born to parents Mansel Warrick and Lee Drinkard, Dionne Warrick began singing gospel with her family, and started her professional career after graduating from the University of Hartford. In the earliest stage of her career, she sang backing vocals on records by Chuck Jackson, Dinah Washington and Solomon Burke, among others. Her first solo single was 1962's "Don't Make Me Over", the title (according to legend) supplied by Warrick herself when she snapped the phrase at producers Burt Bacharach and Hal David during an arduous recording session. [1] From the phrase, Bacharach and David created an elegant R&B recording, which became a top 40 pop hit in the US (and a top 5 US R&B hit.) Famously, Warrick's name was misspelled on the credits, and she soon began using the new spelling (i.e., "Warwick") both professionally and personally.[2]

The two immediate follow-ups to "Don't Make Me Over" were largely unsuccessful, but 1964's "Anyone Who Had a Heart" was Warwick's first top 10 pop hit. This was followed by "Walk on By," a major hit that launched her career into the stratosphere. For the rest of the 1960s, Warwick was a fixture on the US and Canadian charts, and virtually all of Warwick's singles from 1962-1972 were written and produced by the Bacharach/David team.

In fact, Warwick weathered the British Invasion better than most American artists, although she released only a few hits in the UK during the late 1960s, most notably "Walk On By" and "Do You Know The Way To San Jose". In the UK a number of Bacharach-David-Warwick songs were covered by UK singer Cilla Black, most notably "Anyone Who Had a Heart", which went to #1 in the UK. This upset Warwick and she has described feeling insulted when told that in the UK, record company executives wanted her songs recorded by someone else. Warwick even met Cilla Black whilst on tour in the UK. She recalled what she said to her - " I told her that "You're My World" would be my next single in the States. I honestly believe that if I'd sneezed on my next record, then Cilla would have sneezed on hers too. There was no imagination in her recording." [1]

"You're My World" was, in fact, not released as a single by Warwick. Black, however, went ahead with the single release of "You're My World" in 1964 and the track peaked at #1 UK, #26 US.


The late 1960s and early 1970s

A 1967 LP called Here Where There Is Love became a big hit for Warwick, as did her single "I Say a Little Prayer" (on her album The Windows of the World). Her next big hit was unusual in that it was not written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David; "(Theme From) Valley of the Dolls" was a smash success, as was the Bacharach/David-penned follow-up, "Do You Know the Way to San Jose". More hits followed in the last two years of the 1960s.

Warwick had become the priority act of Scepter Records with the release of "Anyone Who Had A Heart" in 1963. However, in the post-Woodstock era of the late 1960s, the decision was made that she would begin looking for a major label. Warwick's last recording for Scepter was in 1971. She debuted on the Warner Brothers label -- in a five-year contract that was the biggest contract for a female artist at that time. Although she initially teamed with Bacharach and David as writers/producers, this association dissolved after one LP on Warners. For the next few years, Warwick would team with a variety of producers, looking for an elusive hit.


Move to Arista

Her career slowed greatly in the 1970s, with no big hits until 1974's "Then Came You", recorded as a duet with the Spinners and produced by Thom Bell. It was her first US #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Nevertheless, other than this success, Warwick's five years on Warner Brothers -- despite the fact that she worked the entire time -- left her almost completely without hits, other than a few quality, but lesser known Disco hits such as "Track of the Cat" and "Once You Hit The Road" -- both of which were produced in 1974 and 1975, respectively, by Thom Bell.

This trend ended with the move to a new label and the release of "I'll Never Love This Way Again" in 1979. The song was produced by Barry Manilow. The accompanying album Dionne was her first to go platinum. This was her debut on Arista Records, to which she had been personally signed and guided by the label's founder Clive Davis.

Warwick's next hit was her 1982 full-length collaboration with Barry Gibb of The Bee Gees for "Heartbreaker". Her following hit was the duet "Friends In Love" recorded with Johnny Mathis, her good friend and fellow musical legend.

In 1986, Warwick led the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR) benefit single "That's What Friends Are For" with Friends (Gladys Knight, Elton John, and Stevie Wonder); it was a number one hit, and garnered Warwick's fifth Grammy Award. It also marked a reunion of Warwick and song co-writer Burt Bacharach (lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager).

In late 1987, Dionne scored another pop hit and Top 10 R&B chart hit with the song, "Love Power", a duet with Jeffrey Osborne. The album it came from, "Reservations For Two" was released in 1988.


Host of Solid Gold

In January 1980, while under contract to Arista Records, Dionne Warwick hosted a two-hour TV special called Solid Gold '79. This was adapted into the weekly one-hour show Solid Gold, which she hosted throughout 1980 and again in 1985-86.


1990s and Today

Her career took a major downturn in the 1990s, with only a few moderate-selling albums released and no major singles. The most well received album being, "Friends Can Be Lovers" which featured a moderate hit with the lead single, the sensual, "Where My Lips Have Been." The second single, "Love Will Find a Way" featuring Whitney Houston, would have been a major hit if given the chance. During this period, she was perhaps best known for hosting infomercials for the Psychic Friends Network, a 900 number psychic service.

In 2002, Warwick was arrested at Miami International Airport for possession of marijuana. Miami-Dade Police officers reported finding eleven marijuana cigarettes inside a lipstick container. Drug charges were dropped when she agreed to complete a drug treatment program, donate $250 to charity and make an anti-drug public service announcement directed at youth.[2].

In 2005, Dionne Warwick was honored by Oprah Winfrey at her "Legends Ball".

Warwick enjoyed one of her largest audiences ever when she appeared on the May 24, 2006 fifth-season finale of American Idol. 36 million U.S. viewers watched Warwick sing a medley of "Walk on By" and "That's What Friends Are For," with longtime collaborator Burt Bacharach accompanying her on the piano.

In 2006 Warwick released My Friends and Me, a duets album on which she sang with various female singing stars, on thirteen of her old hits. The album was produced by her son, Damon Elliot. Among her singing partners were Gloria Estefan, Olivia Newton John and Reba McEntire.


Famous relations

Warwick's sister Dee Dee Warwick also had a successful singing career, scoring a Top 20 R&B hit in the form of "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" in 1967. In 1971, at the advice of a numerologist, both Dionne and her sister Dee Dee added an "e" to the end of Warwick (thus making their professional last names "Warwicke"). The "e" was eventually dropped in mid-1975.

Warwick's mother, Lee Drinkard, along with many of Warwick's uncles and aunts, were members of The Drinkard Singers, a noted gospel music group which lasted from the 1940s through the 1990s.

One of Warwick's cousins is Whitney Houston.

Mr. and Mrs. Fenton are retired, and Mrs. Fenton insists her husband go with her to Wal-Mart. He gets so bored with all the shopping trips. He prefers to get in and get out, but Mrs. Fenton loves to browse.

One day Mrs. Fenton gets this letter from Wal-Mart:

Dear Mrs. Fenton,

Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and may ban both of you from our stores. We have documented all incidents on our video surveillance equipment. All complaints against Mr. Fenton are listed below.

Things Mr. Bill Fenton has done while hi s spouse was shopping in Wal-Mart:

1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people's carts when they weren't looking.

2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in House wares to go off at 5-minute intervals.

3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the ladies rest rooms.

4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official tone, 'Code 3' in house wares..... and watched what happened.

5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and asked to put a bag of M&M's on layaway.

6. September 14: Moved a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.

7. September 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other shoppers he'd invite them in if they'll bring pillows from the bedding department.

8. September 23: When a clerk asks if they can help him, he begins to cry and asks, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?'

9. October 4: Looked right into the security camera; used it as a mirror, and picked his nose.

10. November 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, asked the clerk if he knows where the antidepressants are.

11. December 3: Darted around the store suspiciously loudly humming the "Mission Impossible " theme.

12. December 6: In the auto department, practiced his "Madonna look" using different size funnels.

13. December 18: Hid in a cloth ing rack and when people browse through, yelled "PICK ME!" "PICK ME!"

14. December 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumes the fetal position and screams "NO! NO! It's those voices again!!!!"

And last, but not least .

15. December 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited a while, then yelled very loudly, "There is no toilet paper in here!"

Well, thank goodness, folks. Our hawk made it today, and may I say those were great bio's. I loved the way that Mr. Fenton brought the Wal Mart shopping to a screeching halt, Bob. Creative, wasn't he. Back later to review in detail your background info

Well, Frank did it his way, listeners:

And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, Ill say it clear,
Ill state my case, of which Im certain.

Ive lived a life thats full.
Ive traveled each and evry highway;
And more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Regrets, Ive had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.

I planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Yes, there were times, Im sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced it all and I stood tall;
And did it my way.

Ive loved, Ive laughed and cried.
Ive had my fill; my share of losing.
And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.

To think I did all that;
And may I say - not in a shy way,
No, oh no not me,
I did it my way.

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way!

Have to admire the man in some ways.