Sheryl Crow
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Background information
Birth name Sheryl Suzanne Crow
Born February 11, 1962 (1962-02-11) (age 46) Kennett, Missouri,
United States
Genre(s) Rock, pop, blues rock, country, folk
Occupation(s) Musician
Instrument(s) Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, piano, accordion, harmonica, autoharp
Years active 1993-present
Label(s) A&M Records
Website Official Website
Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American blues rock singer, guitarist, bassist, and songwriter. Her music blends country, pop, folk, and blues rock into one mainstream sound, and she has won ten Grammy Awards. Crow is also a noted political activist.[citation needed]
Crow's recordings have appeared on the soundtracks to Pixar Cars, Point Break, The X-Files, Big Daddy, Crossroads, Home of the Brave and Stone Cold.
Early life
Sheryl Suzanne Crow was born in Kennett, Missouri on February 11, 1962, to parents Wendell, a trumpet player and lawyer, and Bernice Crow, a piano teacher. The third child of the family, Sheryl has three siblings: older sisters Kathy and Karen, and younger brother Steve.
While studying at Kennett High School in Kennett, Missouri, Sheryl was a majorette. She was an All-State track athlete, medalling in the 75 low hurdles. She also joined the Pep Club, the National Honor Society, Future Farmers of America, Freshman Maid, Senior Maid and Paperdoll Queen. She then enrolled at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, and received a BA degree in Music Composition, Performance and Education. While in college, Sheryl sang in the local band Cashmere. She was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta social sorority and Sigma Alpha Iota, a women's music fraternity. Later, Sheryl was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
Early career
Crow graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in Education. She was a member of the school's Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and is also a member of Sigma Alpha Iota, a women's music fraternity. After graduation, she worked as a elementary school music teacher at Garlin Kellison in Fenton, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Teaching during the day allowed her the opportunity to sing in bands on the weekends.
She was introduced to local musician and producer Jay Oliver. He had a thriving studio in the basement of his parents' home in St. Louis and helped her by using her in advertising jingles. Her first jingle was a back-to-school spot for the St. Louis department store Famous-Barr. McDonald's and Toyota commercial jingles soon followed. She was recently quoted in a 60 Minutes segment as saying she made $50,000 on her McDonald's commercial alone.[citation needed]
She toured with Michael Jackson during the BAD world tour in 1987-1989 and sang with him during the performance of "I Just Can't Stop Loving You".[citation needed]
In 1992, Crow recorded her first attempt at her debut album with Phil Collins' producer, Hugh Padgham. The self-titled debut album was slated to be released on September 22, 1992, but was ultimately rejected by her label. However, a handful of cassette copies of the album were leaked along with press folders to be used for album publicity. This album has been widely dispersed via file sharing networks and fan trading over the years.
Sheryl then began dating Kevin Gilbert and joined him in an ad hoc group of musicians known to everyone in the group as the Tuesday night music club (hence the name of Sheryl's first album), who came together on Tuesdays to work on the album. Many of them share songwriting credits with Crow.
The group existed as a casual songwriting collective prior to its association with Crow, but rapidly developed into a vehicle for her debut album after her arrival (she was at the time dating Kevin Gilbert, who actually co-wrote most of the songs for the TNMC album along with Crow, Baerwald, Ricketts, Bottrell, Schwartz and MacLeod). Her relationship with Gilbert became acrimonious soon after the album release and there were disputes about songwriting credits. Crow claimed to have written them in interviews later. Both Gilbert and Baerwald castigated Crow publicly in the fallout, although Baerwald would later soften his position. A similar tension would arise with TNMC member Bill Bottrell after her second album, over which he collaborated, at least in the early stages.
Tuesday Night Music Club went on to sell some 7.6 million copies in the US and UK during the 1990s. The album also won Crow three Grammy Awards in 1995: Record of the Year, Best New Artist and Best Female Vocal Performance.
Solo success
Crow appeared in the "New Faces" section of Rolling Stone in 1993. The album featured many of the songs written by Crow's friends, including the second single, "Leaving Las Vegas". The album was slow to garner attention, until "All I Wanna Do" became an unexpected smash hit in the spring of 1994. As she later stated in People, she found an old poetry book in a used book store in the L.A. area and used a poem as lyrics in the song. To their credit, she and then-collaborator Bill Bottrell tracked down the author, Wyn Cooper, and he ended up being paid royalties on the song.[1] The singles "Strong Enough" and "Can't Cry Anymore" were also released, with the former charting in the Top Ten and the latter hitting the Top 40. Crow received several Grammy awards in 1994: Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "All I Wanna Do"; Record of the Year for "All I Wanna Do"; and Best New Artist.
In 1996, Crow released her self titled second album, which earned her the cover of Rolling Stone. The album was darker and grittier and far more political, with songs about abortion, homelessness and nuclear war. The debut single, "If It Makes You Happy", became a radio hit, and netted her two Grammy awards for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Rock Album. Other singles included "A Change Would Do You Good", "Home" and "Everyday Is A Winding Road". Crow produced the album herself. The album was banned from sale at Wal-Mart; in "Love Is A Good Thing," Crow suggests that guns sold by Wal-Mart too easily fall into the hands of children.[2]
In 1997, Crow contributed the theme song to the James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies. Her song Tomorrow Never Dies was nominated for a Grammy Award.
The Globe Sessions, acting, and Live from Central Park
In 1998 Crow released The Globe Sessions. During this period, she discussed in interviews having gone through a deep depression, and there was speculation about a brief affair with Eric Clapton. The debut single from this album, "My Favorite Mistake", was rumored to be about him, although Crow claims otherwise. The album won Best Rock Album at the 1998 Grammy Awards. It was re-released in 1999, with a bonus track, Crow's cover of the Guns N' Roses song "Sweet Child o' Mine", which was included on the soundtrack of the film Big Daddy. This song won the 1999 Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Other singles included "There Goes the Neighborhood", "Anything But Down" and "The Difficult Kind".
Later in 1998, Crow took part in a live concert in tribute to Burt Bacharach, in which she contributed vocals on One Less Bell To Answer, while wearing a full-length black formal dress.
In 1999, Crow also made her acting debut as an ill-fated drifter in the suspense/drama The Minus Man, which starred her then-boyfriend Owen Wilson as a serial killer. Shortly thereafter, she sported an unexpected short hairstyle.[3]
She also released a live album called Sheryl Crow and Friends: Live From Central Park. The record featured Crow singing many of her hit singles with new musical spins and guest appearances by many other musicians including Sarah McLachlan, Stevie Nicks, the Dixie Chicks, and Clapton. "There Goes the Neighborhood" was included in the album, eventually winning the Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Crow also appeared on Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons, duetting with Emmylou Harris on the Parsons' song, "Juanita".
2000s
Crow had been involved with the Scleroderma Research Foundation (SRF) since the late 1990s, performing at fund raisers and befriending Sharon Monsky. In 2002, as a result of her friend Kent Sexton dying from scleroderma, she interrupted work on her new album C'mon C'mon to record the traditional hymn "Be Still My Soul", to be played at his funeral. In November of that year it was released as a single, with the proceeds going to SRF.[4]
Crow opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, wearing a shirt that read "I don't believe in your war, Mr. Bush!" during a performance on Good Morning America and posting an open letter explaining her opposition on her website.[5]
Crow duetted with rapper Kid Rock on the crossover hit single "Picture". She also assisted Rock on the track "Run Off to L.A."
In 2003, Crow released a greatest hits compilation called The Very Best of Sheryl Crow. It featured many of her hit singles, as well as some new tracks. Among them was the ballad "The First Cut is the Deepest" (originally a Cat Stevens song), which became her biggest radio hit since "All I Wanna Do". She also released the single "Light In Your Eyes", which received limited airplay. "The First Cut is the Deepest" earned her two American Music Awards for Best Pop/Rock Artist and Adult Contemporary Artist of the Year, respectively.
In 2004, Crow appeared as a musical theater performer in the Cole Porter biopic De-Lovely.
Wildflower and cancer diagnosis
Her album Wildflower was released in September 2005. Although the album debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts, it received mixed reviews and was not as commercially successful as her previous albums. In December 2005, the album was nominated for a Best Pop Vocal Album Grammy, while Crow was nominated for a Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammy for the first single "Good Is Good". The album got a new boost in 2006 when the second single was announced as "Always on Your Side", re-recorded with British musician Sting and sent off to radio, where it was quickly embraced at Adult Top 40. The collaboration with Sting resulted in a Grammy-nomination for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals.
Crow was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in late February 2006. Her doctors have stated that "prognosis for a full recovery is excellent."[6]
Crow's first concert since her cancer diagnosis was on May 18 in Orlando, Florida where she played to over 10,000 Information Technology professionals at the SAP Sapphire Convention. Her first public appearance was on June 12, when she performed at the Murat Theater in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The singer also appeared on Larry King Live on CNN on August 23, 2006. In this show she talked about her comeback, her breakup with Lance Armstrong, her past job as Michael Jackson's backup singer, and her experience as a cancer survivor.
Crow wrote a foreword for the book Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips, author Kris Carr's book that was based on her 2007 documentary film Crazy Sexy Cancer.
Detours
Crow returned February 5, 2008 with her latest A&M/Interscope album, Detours. Shine Over Babylon, the first track released to the public, is at iTunes now. Crow told Billboard.com this summer that the song "is very environmentally conscious, in the tradition of Bob Dylan."
"I'm really encouraging artists to write about what's going on, because we seem to be very distracted by some lightweight topics," she said. "I think it's time to start writing about the reality of what's around us."
In additional comments on her Web site, Crow describes the single as "an every way a desperate cry for understanding. Perhaps it is even a battle song in the face of fear."
Detours was recorded at Crow's Nashville farm and will feature "14 or 15" of the 24 songs put to tape. The artist's baby son, Wyatt, makes an appearance on the song "Lullaby for Wyatt," which will be featured in the upcoming movie "Grace Is Gone."
"The songs are very inspired by the last three years of events in my life," Crow said of a time that found her battling breast cancer and splitting with partner Lance Armstrong.
It has been announced that Shine Over Babylon will be the first promotional single (download only). The music video for the single was released on the Sheryl Crow website and can be seen on the popular video site Youtube. The music video consists of newspaper articles and headlines of recent and current affairs that are affecting the world today. The first 'official' single to be released is Love Is Free. This song was inspired by the people of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Personal life
On the red carpet at the 2006 CMA Awards, Crow reported that she was working on a country music album. According to Entertainment Weekly, Wildflower, at one point was to be followed, in about six months, by a "pop record." According to Crow, Wildflower was the "art record," which she felt she had earned the right to make, following the success of The Very Best of Sheryl Crow.
At the 2006 CMA Awards, Crow performed the songs "What You Give Away" with Vince Gill, and "Building Bridges" with Brooks & Dunn and Vince Gill.
Crow is due to appear in a series of magazine advertisements in February for Revlon. In this, she uses the Buddy Holly classic "Not Fade Away" to sell the cosmetics of her sponsor. The iTunes page states that net proceeds will benefit breast cancer research.
On May 12, 2007, Crow announced on her official website that she had adopted a two-week-old boy named Wyatt Steven Crow. The child was born on April 29, 2007.[7]
Global warming activist Laurie David and Crow will participate in a "Virtual March". The multi-city tour will begin on April 9 2008. at SMU in Dallas, Texas and will continue on to select cities including: College Station, Texas; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; New Orleans; Birmingham, Alabama; Auburn; Gainesville, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; Charlottesville, Virginia; Nashville, Tennessee; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; College Park, Maryland and Washington, D.C.. The 90-minute presentation will include remarks by David, a short performance by Crow, clips from An Inconvenient Truth, clips from top comedians, and a dialogue with students. She worked with Reverb, a non-profit environmental organization, for the Stop Global Warming tour.[8]
At the 2007 White House Correspondents Dinner, Crow engaged Karl Rove in a heated exchange about the Bush administration's policies on global warming.[9] [10]
Other contributions
Crow performed at the 1994 and 1999 Woodstock Festivals, as well as Another Roadside Attraction in 1997.[11]
Crow was a main stage act at Lilith Fair and has contributed many songs to movie soundtracks and special projects that were never made available elsewhere. They include: "D'yer Maker" (Encomium: Led Zeppelin Tribute), "Solitaire" (from The Carpenters' tribute album If I Were A Carpenter), "La Ci Darem la Mano" from Don Giovanni (Pavarotti & Friends For War Child), and "Resuscitation" (The Faculty). In 2006, Crow contributed the opening track, "Real Gone", to the soundtrack for Disney/Pixar's animated film Cars. She also voices Elvis in the film.
Crow recorded the song "Kiss That Girl" for the film Bridget Jones's Diary. She also recorded a cover version of the Beatles' song "Mother Nature's Son" for the film I Am Sam.
She collaborated with Stevie Nicks, producing and performing on several tracks on Nicks' 2001 album, Trouble In Shangri-La and later touring with her. One track was "It's Only Love", of which Crow would later place her own version on C'Mon C'Mon. Nicks also worked with Crow on the soundtrack to the film Practical Magic. Crow and Nicks are close friends and Crow inducted Fleetwood Mac into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
Crow collaborated with U.S singer-songwriter Michelle Branch on the song "Love Me Like That" for Branch's second album, Hotel Paper, released in 2003.
Crow has also recorded duets with Tony Bennett, Dwight Yoakam, Vince Gill, and Willie Nelson, all of which have been released on various albums.[citation needed] She occasionally appears with the Rolling Stones, opening for the band on some occasions, and has performed "Honky Tonk Woman" as a duet with Mick Jagger.[12] She claims the Stones to be an early influence.
Crow and John Mayer co-headlined a tour in late 2006.[citation needed]
Starbucks' "Hear Music" label released a deluxe edition of Crow's favorite songs in 2006, featuring Crow's own versions of James Taylor's "You Can Close Your Eyes", Willie Nelson's "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain", Aretha Franklin's "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", and Jeff Trott's "The Few That Remain". "You Can Close Your Eyes" was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Female in 2006.
Crow was also featured on the Johnny Cash album American III: Solitary Man. She was featured in the song "Field of Diamonds" as a background vocalist, and also played the accordion for the song "Wayfaring Stranger".
Crow collaborated on Scott Weiland's 1998 solo album, 12 Bar Blues.
Crow supplied background vocals to the song "The Garden of Allah", a single from Don Henley's 1995 album Actual Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits.
She most recently contributed background vocals to the Ryan Adams song "Two" from the album Easy Tiger.
Sheryl contributed her cover of Beatles's Here comes the sun on the Bee Movie Soundtrack in November 2007.
There was a man who entered a local paper's pun contest. He sent in ten
different puns, in the hope that at least one of the puns would win.
Unfortunately, no pun in ten did.
Welcome back, BioBob and we are just happy that you didn't get cat scratch fever.
Thanks again for all the great background on the celebs.
I know that I can hear our audience groan with that pun, buddy, and thanks for the smile.
Wow! I just took a look at the soundtrack from Boogie Nights with Burt. What a delightful assortment, but this one came to mind because we are warming up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjZaXn18kKY
a japanese automobile maker was looking for an international name for their new car in the 1970's .
when they couldn't agree on a name , they phoned a german professor of linguistics and asked for his help .
the german professor asked : " how soon vill you need der neu name ? "
the japanese replied : " we will need a new name within six weeks ! "
the german profesor was rather startled and replied " DAT SOON ? "
the japanese replied quickly : "thank you , herr professor ! "
and DATSUN became the name of the car (later NISSAN) .
hbg
this singer was NOT satisfied with a datsun - she wanted something better ! :wink:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=PecJh0_mCNg&feature=related
edgar, Thanks for playing Jerry Butler. Why did they call him the Iceman? I thought that was Val Kilmer's epithet. <smile>
hbg, poor Janis. I really liked that song, Canada, and your pun on "Dat Soon?" was brilliant. I think, perhaps, Janis may have been poking fun at the very opulent.
Although jazz is still my preference, I enjoy listening to Peter, Paul, and Mary. (Bob Dylan's version of this song was not so hot)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ93dg8mnUk
Letty wrote:edgar, Thanks for playing Jerry Butler. Why did they call him the Iceman? I thought that was Val Kilmer's epithet. <smile>
hbg, poor Janis. I really liked that song, Canada, and your pun on "Dat Soon?" was brilliant. I think, perhaps, Janis may have been poking fun at the very opulent.
Although jazz is still my preference, I enjoy listening to Peter, Paul, and Mary. (Bob Dylan's version of this song was not so hot)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ93dg8mnUk
A friend (only acquaintance?) of Dylan's discovered some old music, from I think the 1800s, and shared it with Dylan. Shortly after that, he requested that Dylan not do anything with it, as he wanted write a song for it. Dylan's reply: "Too late; I already wrote it and recorded it." That's the origin of Don't Think Twice, as I understand it.
Thanks, edgar. That was funny and Ezio Pinza doing "Sam and Janet evening" is still thrilling.
I had forgotten how great the man did sing, folks. Well, as we have often observed, those Italians have great pipes.
Time for me to say goodnight, y'all, and I think a little of Bill looks at the converse of sunshine. Love this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlAgwd5JGPo&feature=related
Goodnight, my friends
From Letty with love
Good morning, WA2K listeners and contributors. No sunshine yet, Bill, but we will await the sun rising in the east.
Two birthdays today, folks. Abe Lincoln and a member of the Doobie Brothers. Let's begin with a poem, then a song.
Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight
In Springfield, Illinois
IT is portentious, and a thing of state
That here at midnight, in our little town
A mourning figure walks, and will not rest,
Near the old court-house, pacing up and down.
Or by his homestead, or by shadowed yards
He lingers where his children used to play,
Or through the market, on the well-worn stones
He stalks until the dawn-stars burn away.
A bronzed, lank man! His suit of ancient black,
A famous high top-hat, and plain worn shawl
Make him the quaint, great figure that men love,
The prairie-lawyer, master of us all.
He cannot sleep upon his hillside now.
He is among us:--as in times before!
And we who toss or lie awake for long
Breathe deep, and start, to see him pass the door.
His head is bowed. He thinks on men and kings.
Yea, when the sick world cries, how can he sleep?
Too many peasants fight, they know not why,
Too many homesteads in black terror weep.
The sins of all the war-lords burn his heart.
He sees the dreadnaughts scouring every main.
He carries on his shawl-wrapped shoulders now
The bitterness, the folly and the pain.
He cannot rest until a spirit-dawn
Shall come:--the shining hope of Europe free:
The league of sober folk, the Workers' Earth,
Bringing long peace to Cornland, Alp and Sea.
It breaks his heart that kings must murder still,
That all his hours of travail here for men
Seem yet in vain. And who will bring white peace
That he may sleep upon his hill again?
Vachel Lindsay
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYzZHV13HPE&NR=1
Lorne Greene
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born February 12, 1915(1915-02-12)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Died September 11, 1987 (aged 72)
Santa Monica, California
Lorne Hyman Greene O.C., LL.D. (February 12, 1915 - September 11, 1987) was a Canadian actor, best known in the United States for his roles on two American television programs: the long-running western Bonanza and the shorter-lived cult classic science fiction program Battlestar Galactica.
Biography
Greene was born Lyon Chaim Green in Ottawa, Ontario to Russian Jewish immigrants, Daniel and Dora Green. Lorne Green began acting while attending Queen's University in Kingston, where he also acquired a knack for broadcasting with the Radio Workshop of the university's Drama Guild on the campus radio station CFRC.
He gave up on a career in chemical engineering and, upon graduation, found a job as a radio broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). He was assigned as the principal newsreader on the CBC National News. The CBC gave him the nickname "The Voice of Canada"; however, his role in delivering distressing war news in sonorous tones following Canada's entry into World War II in 1939 caused many listeners to call him "The Voice of Doom". During his radio days, Greene invented a stopwatch that ran backwards. Its purpose was to help radio announcers gauge how much time they had available while speaking. He also narrated documentary films, such as the National Film Board of Canada's Fighting Norway (1943). In 1957 Greene played the role of the prosecutor in the socially controversial movie Peyton Place.
The first of his American television roles was as family patriarch Ben Cartwright on the long-running western series Bonanza (1959-1973), making Greene a household name. He garnered the role after having turned in a highly-regarded performance in a production of Nineteen Eighty-Four for the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). After the cancellation of Bonanza, he was host for the CBS nature documentary series Last of the Wild from 1974 to 1975. In the 1977 miniseries Roots, he played the first master of Kunta Kinte, John Reynolds. Greene was also popular as the spokesman for Alpo Beef Chunks dog food commercials through-out the 1970s.
Greene's next best-known role was Commander Adama, another patriarchal figure, in the science fiction feature film and television series Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979) and Galactica 1980 (1980).
In the 1960s, Greene capitalized on his Pa Cartwright image by recording several albums of country-western/folk songs, which Greene performed in a mixture of spoken word and singing. In 1964, Greene had a #1 single on the music charts with his ballad, "Ringo." He was also known as the host and narrator of the nature series, Lorne Greene's New Wilderness. He also appeared in the HBO mockumentary The Canadian Conspiracy, about the supposed subversion of the United States by Canadian-born media personalities. For nearly a decade, Greene co-hosted the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC. He is also fondly remembered as the founder of Toronto's Academy of Radio Arts (originally called the Lorne Greene School of Broadcasting).
Greene died of pneumonia on September 11, 1987 in Santa Monica, California at the age of 72. He was interred at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery, Culver City, California. Only weeks before his death, he had been signed to appear in a revival of Bonanza.
Personal life
Greene was married twice, first to Rita Hands of Toronto (1938-1960, divorced). Some reports list the start of their marriage as 1940. They had two children, twins born in 1945, Belinda Susan Bennet (née Greene) and Charles Greene.
His second wife was Nancy Deale (1961-1987, Greene's death), with whom he had one child, Gillian Dania Greene, born January 6, 1968 in Los Angeles, California. In 1993, Gillian married actor/director/producer Sam Raimi; they have five children.
Tributes
He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada on October 28, 1969, "For services to the Performing Arts and to the community." [1] Greene was the 1987 recipient of the Earle Grey Award for Lifetime Achievement at the Canadian Gemini Awards. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1559 N. Vine Street.
In May 2006, Greene became one of the first four entertainers to ever be honored by Canada Post by being featured on a postage stamp.
Forlorn Green[2], an album by trumpeter Greg Kelley and tape loop manipulator Jason Lescalleet, is an indirect tribute to the actor: the album's title is a pun ("For Lorne Green"), the four pieces are each named after a movie featuring Greene, and the album is dedicated "most of all" to "Ben Cartwright". A more subtle acknowledgement was given in the film Donnie Darko, wherein a Parent Teacher Association meeting discusses a proposal to ban celebrated author Graham Greene's (no relation to Lorne Greene) "The Destructors". When a supporter of the ban is asked "Do you even know who Graham Greene is?" she scoffs, "I think we've all seen Bonanza."
Forrest Tucker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Forrest Tucker (February 12, 1919 - October 25, 1986) was an American actor in both movies and television from the 1940s to the 1980s. Tucker, who stood 6'4" and weighed 200 lbs. (91 kg), excelled as both hero and villain in nearly 100 action films throughout the 1940s and 1950s.
Tucker was born in Plainfield, Indiana. He began his performing career at age 14 at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, pushing the big wicker tourist chairs by day and singing "Throw Money" at night. After his family moved to Washington, D.C., the young Tucker came to the attention of Jimmy Lake, the owner of the Old Gayety Burlesque Theater, by winning the Saturday night amateur contest there on consecutive weeks. After his second win he was hired full time as master of ceremonies at the theatre. However, his initial employment there was short-lived, for it was soon discovered that Tucker was underage. Again lying about his age, Tucker then joined the United States Army Cavalry, stationed at Fort Myer in Virginia, and returned to work at the Old Gayety after his 18th birthday.
When the theatre closed for the summer of 1939, Tucker took a vacation to California, and he soon began auditioning for movie roles. He was cast as Wade Harper in The Westerner (1940), which starred Gary Cooper. He stood out in a fight scene with Cooper and was signed to Columbia Pictures.
In 1941, he played his first lead in Emergency Landing, and the following year he co-starred in the classic Keeper of the Flame. From 1942 to 1945, Tucker served in World War II, reaching the rank of Second Lieutenant during his second stint in uniform. Tucker resumed his acting career after the war, appearing in the classic 1946 film The Yearling and stealing a few scenes from Errol Flynn in Never Say Goodbye the same year.
In 1948, Tucker left Columbia and signed with Republic Pictures. At Republic, he made his breakthrough in Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), as Corporal Thomas, a Marine with a score to settle with John Wayne's Sergeant Stryker. Graduating to top billing, Tucker starred in numerous action films during the 1950s, including Rock Island Trail (1950), California Passage (1950), The Abominable Snowman (1957), and The Crawling Eye (1958). Also in 1958, he played Beauregard Burnside, Mame's first husband in Auntie Mame, which was the highest grossing U.S. film of the year. This film marked another turning point in Tucker's career, as he showed a flair for light comedy under the direction of Morton Da Costa.
Tucker then was cast as "Professor" Harold Hill by director Da Costa in the national production of The Music Man, and he played the role 2,008 times over the next five years, including a 56 week run at the legendary Shubert Theatre in Chicago. Following his Music Man run, Tucker starred in the Broadway production of Fair Game for Lovers (1964) and then turned to television for his most famous role, starring as frontier capitalist Sgt. Morgan O'Rourke in F Troop (1965 - 1967). Though F Troop lasted only two seasons on ABC, the series has been in constant syndication since, reaching three generations of viewers. (Ironically, two of his Gunsmoke episodes feature Tucker in his cavalry uniform again, as another comic sergeant, "Sgt. Emmett Holly", who in one scene "marries" Miss Kitty.)
Following F Troop, Tucker returned to films in character parts (Barquero and Chisum, both 1970) and occasional leads (1975's The Wild McCullochs). On television, Tucker was a frequent guest star, including a total of six appearances on Gunsmoke and the recurring role of Jarvis Castleberry, Flo's estranged father on the 1976-1985 TV series, Alice and its spinoff, Flo. Tucker was a regular on three series after F Troop: Dusty's Trail (1973) with Bob Denver; The Ghost Busters (1975-76) which reunited him with F Troop co-star Larry Storch; and Filthy Rich playing the second Big Guy Beck. (1982-83). He continued to be active on stage as well, starring in the national productions of Plaza Suite, Show Boat, and That Championship Season.
Tucker returned to the big screen after an absence of several years, in the Cannon Films action film Thunder Run (1986), playing the hero, trucker Charlie Morrison. Unfortunately, Tucker's feature film comeback was short-lived, as he died from lung cancer on October 25, 1986, five months after the film's theatrical release.
Tucker is interred in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Gene McDaniels
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gene McDaniels (born Eugene Booker McDaniels, February 12, 1935 in Kansas City), Missouri, is an American singer and songwriter who had his greatest recording success in the early 1960s.
McDaniels grew up in Omaha, Nebraska.
McDaniels had six Top 40 hits. The two that went into the top five were 1961's "Tower of Strength" and "A Hundred Pounds of Clay," the latter reaching #3 on the U.S. pop charts.
"It's a lonely town" became in 1964 a good success of great italian singer Mina as "Città vuota".
McDaniels did, however, reach the top spot on the charts as a songwriter. In 1974, Roberta Flack reached #1 with McDaniels' "Feel Like Making Love." (This is not to be confused with the Bad Company song of the same name.)
Other songs that McDaniels recorded included "Point Of No Return" and "Spanish Lace."
In the early 1970s, McDaniels recorded on the Atlantic Records label, which released the McDaniels albums, Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse and Outlaw.
McDaniel's "Jagger the Dagger" was featured on the Tribe Vibes breakbeat compilation album, as it had been sampled by the musical group, A Tribe Called Quest.
In the late 1960s, McDaniels turned his attention to a more black consciousness form of song. His best-known song in this genre was probably "Compared to What," a jazz-soul protest song made famous (and into a hit) by Les McCann and Eddie Harris on their album Swiss Movement and also covered by Roberta Flack.
McDaniels also appeared in movies on the strength of his early 1960s hits. They included the 1962 film, It's Trad, Dad!, (released in the United States as Ring-A-Ding Rhythm). The movie which was directed by Richard Lester. He also appeared in 1963's The Young Swingers. McDaniels is briefly seen singing in the choir in the 1974 Sidney Poitier-Bill Cosby film Uptown Saturday Night.
Joe Don Baker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born February 12, 1936 (1936-02-12) (age 71)
Groesbeck, Texas, U.S.
Spouse(s) Maria Dolores Rivero-Torres
(1969-present)
Joe Don Baker (born February 12, 1936) is an American film actor, perhaps best known for his role as real-life Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser in the American film classic Walking Tall.
Biography
Life and career
Baker was born in Groesbeck, Texas, the son of Edna (née McDonald) and Doyle Charles Baker.[1] He got his start in acting as an uncredited character in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, but his real beginnings came when he scored the role of Steve McQueen's younger brother in the film Junior Bonner, directed by Sam Peckinpah. He later starred as the main character in the hugely successful 1973 film Walking Tall, directed by legendary filmmaker Phil Karlson (Baker also starred in the auteur's final film, "Framed", two years later). Baker was offered a cameo in the remake (which had nothing to do with Sheriff Pusser) and declined the offer.
Perhaps it is his work in director Don Siegel's (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Madigan, Dirty Harry) 1973 minor-masterpiece Charley Varrick, that remains Baker's most critical success. Baker was praised for his courageous and offbeat portrait of the sadistic hitman Molly. The film starred Walter Matthau as the eponymous Charley Varrick, and won a British Academy Award.
Although lampooned on the Mystery Science Theater 3000 television series: Mitchell and Final Justice, Baker has performances in a career spanning four decades. In 1980 Baker became the first actor to receive $1,000,000 to star in a television series--the short lived police drama Eischeid where he played Chief Earl Eischeid. In 1985 he portrayed the corrupt key villain Chief Jerry Karlin in the Chevy Chase hit Fletch. In the UK, Baker is probably best known as CIA agent Darius Jedburgh from the drama serial Edge of Darkness.
While actor Carroll O'Connor was undergoing heart bypass surgery, Baker took his place on the television series In the Heat of the Night. Baker appeared as Captain Tom Duggan, a retired police captain who filled in while O'Connor's character was away at a police convention.
James Bond series
In 1987, Baker got the role of the villain Brad Whitaker in the Bond film The Living Daylights, starring Timothy Dalton as James Bond. In 1995 and 1997 Baker returned to the series, this time playing a different character, the slovenly CIA agent Jack Wade, in GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies with Pierce Brosnan as Bond. He is one of nine actors to have played two separate roles in the official James Bond cinema series, preceded by Charles Gray, Marc Lawrence, Walter Gotell, Jeremy Bulloch, Maud Adams, Burt Kwouk, Anthony Dawson, Tsai Chin and Robert Brown (though Brown is disputed, as his M and Admiral Hargreaves were never officially declared two separate people.)
The character of Wade is similar to that of CIA agent Darius Jedburgh, played by Baker in the critically acclaimed 1985 BBC Television serial Edge of Darkness. He was nominated for "Best Actor" by the British Academy Television Awards. This serial was directed by Martin Campbell, who also cast Baker as Wade in GoldenEye.
Also, strangely enough Baker was said to have actually tried out for the role of James Bond once for Live and Let Die, but decided to work on other roles.
Maud Adams
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Birth name Maud Solveig Christina Wikström
Born February 12, 1945 (1945-02-12) (age 63)
Luleå, Sweden
Spouse(s) Roy Adams (1966-1975)
Charles Rubin (1999-present)
Maud Adams (born February 12, 1945) is a Swedish actress known for her roles as two different Bond girls in two James Bond films, The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) and as the title character in Octopussy (1983). She was also an extra in A View to a Kill (1985).
Biography
Early life
Adams was born Maud Solveig Christina Wikström in Luleå, Sweden, the daughter of Thyra, a government tax inspector, and Gustav Wikström, a comptroller.[1] She was discovered in 1963 in a shop by a photographer who asked to take her picture, a picture he submitted to the Miss Sweden contest arranged by the magazine Allers. Adams won this contest and from there her modelling career took off.
Career
Adams moved to Paris and later to New York City to work for Eileen Ford, at this time she was one of the highest paid and most exposed models in the world. Her acting career started when she was asked to star in the 1970 movie The Boys In The Band, in which she played a model. In the 1970s, she guest starred in such American TV series as Hawaii Five-O and Kojak. She hosted the Swedish TV show Kafé Luleå in 1994 and played a guest role in the Swedish soap opera Vita lögner in 1998.
Adams had a Swedish co-star on both of her Bond films, Kristina Wayborn as Magda in Octopussy and Britt Ekland as Mary Goodnight in The Man with the Golden Gun.
Personal life
Adams was first married to photographer Roy Adams from 1966 - 1975, ending in divorce. Her second husband is Charles Rubin, a judge, and she married him on May 23, 1999. She has no children.
Josh Brolin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born February 12, 1968 (1968-02-12) (age 40)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Spouse(s) Alice Adair (1988-1992)
Diane Lane (2004-present)
[show]Awards
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Best Cast - Motion Picture
2007 No Country for Old Men
Josh J. Brolin (born February 12, 1968) is an American film and television actor. The son of actor James Brolin, he has been married to actress Diane Lane since 2004.
Biography
Career
Josh Brolin started his career in TV movies and guest spots on TV shows before getting a more notable role as Brand Walsh in the Richard Donner-directed movie The Goonies (1985). He was then offered the role of Tom Hanson in the series 21 Jump Street but turned it down to star in the series Private Eye (1987), which lasted half a season. The role of Hanson later went to Johnny Depp. However, Josh guest starred in Jump Street in a season one episode. He is perhaps best known for his role as Jimmy (or James) Wild Bill Hickok in the ABC western TV series The Young Riders, which lasted three seasons (1989-92). Although an ensemble piece, Josh's character increasingly received significantly more screentime than his co-stars.
Two other TV series he was involved in include the Aaron Spelling production Winnetka Road (1994) and Mister Sterling (2003). Both series were canned after only a few episodes. His extensive film work consists mainly of supporting, bad-guy roles. His biggest box office success to date was Paul Verhoeven's Hollow Man (2000),(in which he went against type, playing a hero) which grossed $191,200,000 worldwide.
He has done extensive theatre work in Rochester, New York and has appeared alongside mentor and friend Anthony Zerbe. His most recent film work includes the Planet Terror segment of the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez collaboration Grindhouse, The Coen brothers' No Country for Old Men, and Ridley Scott's American Gangster.
It has been announced that Brolin is in his final negotiations to star in Gus Van Sant's upcoming Harvey Milk bio-pic Milk. Brolin is in talks to play assassin Dan White.
Variety also has reported that Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone is set to direct a film about the life and legacy of president George W. Bush with Brolin playing the lead role.[1]
Personal life
Brolin was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Jane Cameron Agee, an aspiring actress and native of Corpus Christi, Texas, and actor James Brolin.[2]
Brolin has been married to the actress Diane Lane since August 14, 2004. He was once engaged to actress Minnie Driver. Brolin has two children, Trevor Mansur (born 1988) and Eden (born 1994) from a previous marriage to actress Alice Adair, who is sometimes credited as Deborah Adair. On December 20, 2004, Lane called the police after an altercation with Brolin and he was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery. Lane declined to press the charge and the couple's spokesperson characterized the incident as a misunderstanding.[3] Brolin first met Lane in 1994 when he was working with her then-husband Christopher Lambert in the 1994 film The Road Killers.
Brolin has several prominent tattoos, which are visible in the film Flirting With Disaster (1996). He won the 24th Annual Toyota Pro Celebrity Race in Long Beach, California in April 2000.
Do Not Leave Them Hanging"
Ralph and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital. One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool, Ralph suddenly jumped into the deep end. He sank to the bottom of the pool and stayed there. Edna promptly jumped in to save him. She swam to the bottom and pulled Ralph out. When the Head Nurse became aware of Edna's heroic act she immediately ordered her to be discharged from the hospital, as she now considered her mentally stable.
When she went to tell Edna the news she said, "Edna, I have good news and bad news. The good news is you are being discharged; since you were able to rationally respond to a crisis by jumping in and saving the life of another patient, I have concluded that your act displays sound mindedness. The bad news is that Ralph, the patient you saved, hung himself with his bathrobe belt in the bathroom. I am so sorry, but he is dead."
Edna replied, "He did not hang himself. I put him there to dry. How soon can I go home?"
Could be worse Honey. A town in Minnesota the other day was recording 40 degrees below zero. It eased off later in the day to 18 degrees below zero so they all went out swimming. Factoring in the wind chill we were registering about 5 below zero. Curious conditions weather you like it or not.
