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9 Songs

2004

Matt, a young glaciologist, soars across the vast, silent, icebound immensities of the South Pole as he recalls his love affair with Lisa. They meet at a mobbed rock concert in a vast music hall - London's Brixton Academy. They are in bed at night's end. Together, over a period of several months, they pursue a mutual sexual passion whose inevitable stages unfold in counterpoint to nine live-concert songs.

Margo Stilley

Cast · Known for 9 Songs

Margo Stilley (born November 20, 1982) is an American actress, having had roles in How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008), Marple: Murder Is Easy and Hippie Hippie Shake (2009), The Trip (2010), and The Royals (2016). However, she is most remembered for appearing in her debut film 9 Songs (2004), which has been described as the most sexually explicit mainstream film ever produced in the UK. Stilley was born in Conway, South Carolina, and grew up between there and Swansboro, North Carolina. She was raised in a strict Baptist household in North America's Bible Belt. The day she turned 16 years of age, she moved out of her family home and lived on her own. She put herself through high school working as a telemarketer and a lifeguard until she graduated a year early from Conway High School with honors in art and history. She was voted "The Funniest" in the class of 2000. Stilley has been a long time supporter of hands-on charitable acts. In high school, she volunteered at local nursing homes feeding and reading to the elderly. She left the rural South as a teenager to begin working briefly as a model in Milan with Elite Model Management in February 2001, before moving to London by the end of the year, at the age of 18, to pursue her acting career. Her first acting job was to star as Lisa, the lead actress in the controversial 2004 British film 9 Songs, directed by Michael Winterbottom. Her interest in art as a platform led to her decision to accept the role. According to the Guardian, 9 Songs was the most sexually explicit mainstream film to date, largely because it includes several scenes of real sexual acts between Stilley and her co-star, actor Kieran O'Brien. Her role is highly unusual in that she had unsimulated and very graphic sex with O'Brien, including genital fondling, female masturbation, with and without a vibrator, penetrative vaginal sex, cunnilingus, footjob and fellatio. During a scene in which Stilley stimulates his penis with her hand after performing fellatio on him, he became the only mainstream British actor who has been shown ejaculating in a mainstream UK-produced feature. The film screened in Cannes Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival and had a worldwide theatrical release. Stilley asked that director Michael Winterbottom refer to her simply by her character's name in interviews about the film at the beginning to protect the artistic integrity of the film. Her second credit solidified her standing in Great Britain's indie film scene, when she starred in the satirical comedy Nathan Barley directed by Chris Morris for British television. Stilley has since appeared in 19 American and British productions, including How to Lose Friends & Alienate People, with Simon Pegg and Jeff Bridges, and Agatha Christie's Marple (Murder Is Easy), with Benedict Cumberbatch, and has worked again with Winterbottom on a BBC Two comedy The Trip, with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. She appeared as a model in feature articles in Vogue, In Style UK, The Face, Harper's Bazaar, Black Book Magazine and Elle. She has been a presenter at award shows, handing a Fashion Awards to Giles Deacon at the 2006 Elle Style Awards and presenting the New Designer Award to Christopher Kane at the 2007 British Fashion Awards. In 2010, she signed on to play Lady Furness in Madonna's film WE, but renounced the role because of artistic differences.

Jessica Molaskey

Jessica Molaskey (born January 9, 1962) is an American professional actor and singer of torch songs and show tunes.[1] She has appeared in a dozen Broadway shows, including Sunday in the Park with George, Tommy, Crazy for You, Chess, Oklahoma!, Cats, City of Angels, and the first national tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Benj Pasek

Executive Producer · Known for Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile

Benjamin Pasek (born June 9, 1985), known professionally as Benj Pasek, is an American composer and lyricist best known for writing songs for films such as La La Land (2016) and The Greatest Showman (2017), and the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen, all of which he co-wrote with his songwriting partner, Justin Paul. With Paul, Pasek became the 20th/21st person to win the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards).

Michael Corcoran

Composer · Known for iCarly

Michael Corcoran (born December 9, 1972), known professionally as Backhouse Mike or Ken Lofkoll, is an American record producer, composer, and musician. He has composed songs for Drake & Josh, Best Friends Whenever, iCarly, Victorious, Shake It Up, Hit the Floor, Sam & Cat, Liv and Maddie, Henry Danger, and The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show.

Jackson Browne

Browne was born October 9, 1948, in Heidelberg, Germany, where his father Clyde Jack Browne, an American serviceman, was stationed for his job assignment with the Stars and Stripes newspaper. Browne's mother, Beatrice Amanda (née Dahl), was a Minnesota native of Norwegian ancestry. Browne has three siblings. Roberta "Berbie" Browne was born in 1946 in Nuremberg, Germany; and Edward Severin Browne was born in 1949 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. His younger sister, Gracie Browne, was born a number of years later. At the age of three, Browne and his family moved to his grandfather's house, Abbey San Encino, in the Highland Park district of Los Angeles. In his teens, he began singing folk songs in local venues such as the Ash Grove and The Troubador Club. He attended Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton, California, graduating in 1966. Clyde Jackson Browne is a German/American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 18 million albums in the United States. Coming to prominence in the 1970s, Browne has written and recorded songs such as "These Days", "The Pretender", "Running on Empty", "Lawyers in Love", "Doctor My Eyes", "Take It Easy", "For a Rocker", and "Somebody's Baby". In 2004, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, and given an honorary doctorate of music by Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked him as 37th in its list of the "100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time".

Will Geer

Cast · Known for The Waltons

Will Geer (March 9, 1902 – April 22, 1978) was an American actor and social activist. His original name was William Aughe Ghere. He is remembered for his portrayal of Grandpa Zebulon Tyler Walton in the 1970s TV series, The Waltons.   Geer made his Broadway debut as Pistol in a 1928 production of Much Ado About Nothing, created the role of Mr. Mister in Marc Blitzstein's The Cradle Will Rock, played Candy in John Steinbeck's theatrical adaptation of his novella Of Mice and Men, and appeared in numerous plays and revues throughout the 1940s. From 1948 to 1951, he appeared in more than a dozen movies, including Winchester '73 (as Wyatt Earp), Broken Arrow, Comanche Territory (all 1950) and Bright Victory (1951). Geer became a member of the Communist Party of the United States in 1934. Geer was also influential in introducing Harry Hay to organizing in the Communist Party. In 1934, Geer and Hay gave support to a labor strike of the port of San Francisco; the 1934 West Coast waterfront strike which lasted 83 days. Though marred by violence, it was an organizing triumph, one that became a model for future union strikes Geer became a reader of the West Coast Communist newspaper People's World. Geer became a dedicated activist, touring government work camps in the 1930s with folk singers like Burl Ives and Woody Guthrie (whom he introduced to the People's World and the Daily Worker; Guthrie would go on to write a column for the latter paper). In 1956, the duo released an album together on Folkways Records, titled Bound for Glory: Songs and Stories of Woody Guthrie. In his biography, fellow organizer and homosexual rights pioneer Harry Hay described Geer's activism and outlined their activities while organizing for the strike. Geer is credited with introducing Guthrie to Pete Seeger at the 'Grapes of Wrath' benefit Geer organized in 1940 for migrant farm workers. Geer acted with the Group Theatre (New York) studying under Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford and Lee Strasberg. Geer also acted in radio, appearing as Mephistopheles (the Devil) in the 1938 and 1944 productions of Norman Corwin's The Plot to Overthrow Christmas. He also acted in the radio soap opera Bright Horizon. Geer was blacklisted in the early 1950s for refusing to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. As a result, Geer appeared in very few films over the next decade. Among them was Salt of the Earth (1954) which was produced, directed, written, and starring blacklisted Hollywood personnel and told the story of a miners' strike in New Mexico from a pro-union standpoint. The film was denounced as "subversive" and faced difficulties in its production and distribution as a consequence.

Andrew W.K.

Andrew Fetterly Wilkes-Krier (born May 9, 1979), known professionally as Andrew W.K., is an American rock singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and motivational speaker. He is known for his combination of rock, metal and pop music and anthemic songs about partying. Raised in Michigan, Wilkes-Krier began his musical career in the mid-1990s. He performed in a number of local bands before eventually moving to New York, where he produced his first recordings under the Andrew W.K. moniker. After gaining initial attention with the 2000 EP Girls Own Juice, Wilkes-Krier rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album I Get Wet in November 2001. In the years following its release, he has undertaken a number of other musical and non-musical ventures including television and radio work, motivational speaking and writing.

Nashom Benjamin

Nashom Benjamin Wooden (October 9, 1969 – March 23, 2020) was an American performing artist. Wooden was a member of the electronic dance music band The Ones and performed as a drag queen under the stage name Mona Foot. He entered the New York nightlife scene as a Club Kid in the mid-1980's. By 1989, he worked in Manhattan running the men's clothing department at Patricia Field's boutique while developing the drag queen persona Mona Foot with his friend and former roommate Lady Bunny. Wooden credits RuPaul as an early mentor; RuPaul taught Wooden how to apply makeup, and both appeared in an off-Broadway play titled My Pet Homo. As Mona Foot, Wooden hosted the weekly drag competition "Mona Foot's Star Search" at the New York gay bar Barracuda, cited by The New York Times as a likely inspiration for the television series RuPaul's Drag Race. In 1997, Wooden began to work as a bartender and DJ at The Cock, a gay bar. In 1999, he appeared in drag in the comedy-drama film Flawless. Along with JoJo Americo and Paul Alexander as the music group The Ones, Wooden co-wrote and performed the 2001 song "Flawless", which peaked at #4 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, #7 in the United Kingdom, and #2 in Belgium. Later in his life, Wooden began to perform less frequently as Mona Foot, stating that "it just kind of fizzled out. I stopped taking gigs." Wooden gave his final performance as Mona Foot in 2018, where he revived the character for that year's Wigstock to perform as Wonder Woman. Wooden was HIV-positive, though he had an undetectable viral load. On March 23, 2020, Wooden died at the age of 50 as a result of complications from a suspected case of COVID-19 in New York, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. He was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

Mickey Gilley

Country western star Mickey Gilley was born on March 9, 1936 in Natchez, Mississippi, the cousin of future rockabilly legend Jerry Lee Lewis and disgraced televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, and raised in Ferriday, Louisiana. In their childhood, all three would play the piano when they got together and sing gospel and boogie-woogie songs. After Lewis became a chart-topper in the 1950s, Mickey turned professional himself and cut some singles before becoming a session player in the Big Easy. First married at age 17, Gilley had a minor hit, "Call Me Shorty", in 1958, but it would be years before he came out from under Jerry lee's shadow and established himself as a star. He didn't release his first album, "Down the Line", until 1967. The album yielded a minor hit, "Now I Can Live Again". Three years later, he became a nightclub owner when he opened Gilley's Club in Pasadena, Texas in 1971. The club, billed as the "world's biggest honky tonk", became famous when it was used as the setting for Urban Cowboy (1980), which boosted Gilley's national exposure. By the 1980s, Gilley was experiencing crossover success when he mellowed his C+W with a more pop orientation. He managed to put songs on the charts in each of 15 years, enjoying 17 #1 country hits. Gilley and partner Sherwood Cryer had a falling out after Cryer became increasingly hostile about changes made to the club. Gilley eventually had to sue Cryer over their "50-50" deal, which Gilley argued favored Cryer much more heavily. Gilley won $17 million from Cryer, but it completely shattered their relationship and forced the closing of the club in 1989. Gilley opened another club in Dallas under the same name in 2006. There's a Gilley's in Las Vegas, and the town of LaPorte, Texas, approved a new Gilley's, not far from the original.

Yves Montand

Ivo Livi (13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), better known as Yves Montand, was an Italian-born French actor and singer. He is said to be one of France's greatest 20th-century artists. Montand was born Ivo Livi in Stignano, a small village in the hills of Monsummano Terme, Italy, to Giovanni Livi, a broom manufacturer. Montand's mother Giuseppina Simoni was a devout Catholic. The family left Italy for France in 1923 following fascist Benito Mussolini's rise to power. He grew up in Marseille, where, as a young man, he worked in his sister's beauty salon (Salon de Coiffure), as well as later on the docks. He began a career in show business as a music-hall singer. In 1944, he was discovered by Édith Piaf in Paris; she made him part of her act. Montand achieved international recognition as a singer and actor, starring in many films. He is recognised for crooner style songs, with those about Paris becoming instant classics. He was one of the best known performers at Bruno Coquatrix's Paris Olympia music hall, and toured with musicians including Didi Duprat. In October 1947, he sang "Mais qu'est-ce que j'ai?" (music by Henri Betti and lyrics by Édith Piaf) at the Théâtre de l'Étoile. Betti also asked him to sing "C'est si bon" but Montand refused. Following the success of the recording of this song by the Sœurs Étienne in 1948, he decided to record it. Montand was also very popular in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, where he did a concert tour in 1956-57. During his career, Montand acted in American motion pictures as well as on Broadway. He was nominated for a César Award for Best Actor in 1980 for I comme Icare and again in 1984 for Garçon! In 1986, after his international box-office draw power had fallen off considerably, the 65-year-old Montand gave one of his best remembered performances, as the scheming uncle in Jean de Florette, co-starring Gérard Depardieu, and Manon des Sources (both 1986), co-starring Emmanuelle Béart. The film was a worldwide critical hit and revived Montand's profile in the United States, where he made an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. In 1951, he married Simone Signoret, and they co-starred in several films throughout their careers. The marriage was, by all accounts, fairly harmonious, lasting until her death in 1985, although Montand had a number of well-publicised affairs, notably with American actress Marilyn Monroe, with whom he starred in one of her final films, Let's Make Love. He was the stepfather to Signoret's daughter from her previous marriage, Catherine Allégret. Montand's only child, a son named Valentin, by his second wife, Carole Amiel (b. 1960), was born in 1988. In a paternity suit that caused commotion across France, another woman accused Montand of being the father of her daughter and went to court to obtain a DNA sample from him. Montand refused, but the woman persisted even after his death. In a court ruling that made international headlines, the woman won the right to have Montand exhumed and a sample taken. The results indicated that he was not the girl's biological father. He supported left-wing causes during the 1950s and 1960s, and attended Communist festivals and meetings. ... Source: Article "Yves Montand" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Miriam Makeba

Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she was an advocate against apartheid and white-minority government in South Africa. Born in Johannesburg to Swazi and Xhosa parents, Makeba was forced to find employment as a child after the death of her father. She had a brief and allegedly abusive first marriage at the age of 17, gave birth to her only child in 1950, and survived breast cancer. Her vocal talent had been recognized when she was a child, and she began singing professionally in the 1950s, with the Cuban Brothers, the Manhattan Brothers, and an all-woman group, the Skylarks, performing a mixture of jazz, traditional African melodies, and Western popular music. In 1959, Makeba had a brief role in the anti-apartheid film Come Back, Africa, which brought her international attention, and led to her performing in Venice, London, and New York City. In London, she met the American singer Harry Belafonte, who became a mentor and colleague. She moved to New York City, where she became immediately popular, and recorded her first solo album in 1960. Her attempt to return to South Africa that year for her mother's funeral was prevented by the country's government. Makeba's career flourished in the United States, and she released several albums and songs, her most popular being "Pata Pata" (1967). Along with Belafonte she received a Grammy Award for her 1965 album An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba. She testified against the South African government at the United Nations and became involved in the civil rights movement. She married Stokely Carmichael, a leader of the Black Panther Party, in 1968. As a result, she lost support among white Americans. Her visa was revoked by the US government when she was traveling abroad, forcing her and Carmichael to relocate to Guinea. She continued to perform, mostly in African countries, including at several independence celebrations. She began to write and perform music more explicitly critical of apartheid; the 1977 song "Soweto Blues", written by her former husband Hugh Masekela, was about the Soweto uprising. After apartheid was dismantled in 1990, Makeba returned to South Africa. She continued recording and performing, including a 1991 album with Nina Simone and Dizzy Gillespie, and appeared in the 1992 film Sarafina!. She was named an FAO Goodwill Ambassador in 1999, and campaigned for humanitarian causes. She died of a heart attack during a 2008 concert in Italy. Makeba was among the first African musicians to receive worldwide recognition. She brought African music to a Western audience, and popularized the world music and Afropop genres. She also made popular several songs critical of apartheid, and became a symbol of opposition to the system, particularly after her right to return was revoked. Upon her death, former South African President Nelson Mandela said that "her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us." ... Source: Article "Miriam Makeba" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Jack White

Cast · Known for The Colbert Report, Motor City

John Anthony White (né Gillis; born July 9, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. He is best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. He has won 12 Grammy Awards, and three of his solo albums have reached number one on the Billboard charts. White founded the White Stripes with fellow Detroit native and then-wife Meg White in 1997. Their 2001 breakthrough album, White Blood Cells, brought them international fame with the hit single and accompanying music video "Fell in Love with a Girl". In 2005, White founded the Raconteurs with Brendan Benson, and in 2009 founded the Dead Weather with Alison Mosshart of the Kills. In 2008, he recorded "Another Way to Die" (the title song for the 2008 James Bond film Quantum of Solace) with Alicia Keys, making them the only duet to perform a Bond song. White has also had a minor acting career. He appeared in the 2003 film, Cold Mountain, as a character named Georgia and performed five songs for the Cold Mountain soundtrack. The 2003 Jim Jarmusch film Coffee and Cigarettes featured both Jack and Meg in the segment "Jack Shows Meg His Tesla Coil". He also played Elvis Presley in the 2007 satire Walk Hard. In June 2017, White appeared in the award-winning documentary film The American Epic Sessions and was an executive producer of the film.

Sophie Tucker

Sophie Tucker (born Sofia Kalish; January 13, 1886 – February 9, 1966) was a Russian-American singer, comedian, actress, and radio personality. Known for her powerful delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers in the U.S. during the first half of the 20th century. She was known by the nickname "the Last of the Red-Hot Mamas".

Lila Downs

Ana Lila Downs Sánchez, best known as Lila Downs (born September 9, 1968), is an American–Mexican singer-songwriter and actress. She performs her own compositions as well as tapping into Mexican traditional and popular music. She also incorporates indigenous Mexican influences and has recorded songs in many indigenous languages such as Mixtec, Zapotec, Mayan, Nahuatl and Purépecha. Born and raised in Oaxaca, she primarily studied at the Institute of Arts by Oaxaca and briefly attended University of Minnesota, before withdrawing to focus on her musical career. She soon began performing in the traditional music scene of Oaxaca City.

Brian Bennett

Composer · Known for Nature

Brian Laurence Bennett, OBE (born 9 February 1940) is an English drummer, pianist, composer and producer of popular music. He is best known as the drummer of the UK rock and roll group the Shadows. He is the father of musician and Shadows band member Warren Bennett. Bennett was born in Palmers Green, North London, England. Educated at Hazlewood Lane School, Palmers Green, London and Winchmore Council School, he finished school at the age of sixteen to play drums in a Ramsgate skiffle group performing for holiday makers. After returning to London he became the in-house drummer at The 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho and was a regular performer on Jack Good's TV show Oh Boy! He then became a member of Marty Wilde's Wildcats in 1959. After a successful period with the Wildcats, during which he appeared on their instrumental record without Wilde (recorded as the Krew Kats), "Trambone", he backed Tommy Steele for some of his London stage performances. In October 1961 he joined Cliff Richard and the Shadows as the replacement for Tony Meehan. The Shadows were known for their instrumental songs, mainly; Apache (1960), F.B.I. (1961), Wonderful Land (1962), and Foot Tapper (1963), among many others. The band split up briefly between 1968 and 1973, but was reformed by Marvin, Welch and Bennett. He stayed with the group throughout all of their subsequent line-ups, and in May 2005 took part in the Shadows' European tour. During a show in Reykjavík, Iceland he sustained what was thought to be a minor injury to a finger. A splinter from a drumstick pierced under his fingernail on his right hand, he removed it with a pair of old pliers and applied a plaster. A few days later after arriving in Paris, France he was in so much pain he called a doctor. The doctor diagnosed a bad infection and recommended Bennett go to hospital immediately. Thinking it would be a short visit he attended only to find out that it would involve a minor, but very painful, operation to remove the poison. He was due to be playing on stage that evening and had already missed the soundcheck. He arrived at the theatre 15 minutes before the show with his right-hand bandaged and still numb from the anesthetic. He managed to play for the whole show using an altered playing style. In addition to his work with the Shadows he has also appeared in Cliff Richard's backing band and plays piano and occasionally vibraphone. In 1967, Bennett released a solo album of jazz music, entitled Change of Direction, in mono and stereo (neither charted). This was the first solo album by a member of the Shadows. In the 1970s, music by Bennett was selected for several Radley Metzger films, including Barbara Broadcast and The Opening of Misty Beethoven. ... Source: Article "Brian Bennett" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Jester Hairston

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jester Joseph Hairston (July 9, 1901 – January 18, 2000) was an American composer, songwriter, arranger, choral conductor, and actor. He was regarded as a leading expert on Negro spirituals and choral music. His notable compositions include "Amen," a gospel-tinged theme from the film Lilies of the Field and a 1963 hit for The Impressions, and the Christmas song "Mary's Boy Child". He sang with the Hall Johnson Choir in Harlem for a time but was nearly fired from the all black choir because he had difficulty with the rural dialects that were used in some of the songs. He had to shed his Boston accent and relearn the country speech of his parents and grandparents. Johnson had told him, "We're singing ain't and cain't and you're singing shahn't and cahn't and they don't mix in a spiritual." The Hall Johnson Choir performed in many Broadway shows including The Green Pastures. In 1936, they were asked to go to Hollywood to sing for the film The Green Pastures. At that time, a Russian composer, Dimitri Tiomkin, heard Jester and invited him to collaborate with him. This led to a thirty-year collaboration during which time Jester arranged and collected music for the movies. In 1939, Hairston married Margaret Swanigan. He also wrote and arranged spirituals for Hollywood films as well as for high school and college choirs around the country. Hairston wrote the song "Mary's Boy Child" in 1956. He also arranged the song "Amen", which he dubbed for the Sidney Poitier film Lilies of the Field, and arranged traditional Negro spirituals. Most of Hairston's film work was in the field of composing, arranging, and choral conducting. Hairston also acted in over 20 films, mostly in small roles, some of which were uncredited. Among the films he appeared in were bit parts in some of the early Tarzan movies, St. Louis Blues, The Alamo, To Kill a Mockingbird, In the Heat of the Night, Lady Sings the Blues, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and Being John Malkovich. In 1961, the US State Department appointed Jester Hairston as Goodwill Ambassador. He traveled all over the world teaching and performing the folk music of the slaves. In the 1960s he held choral festivals with public high school choirs, introducing them to Negro Spiritual music, and sometimes leading several hundred students in community performances. His banter about the history of the songs along with his engaging personality and sense of humor endeared him to many students. Hairston appeared on TV's The Amos 'n' Andy Show. He had the role of Leroy on the radio program and as Henry Van Porter on the television program. He also played the role of Wildcat on the show That's My Mama. In his senior years he appeared in the show Amen as Rolly Forbes. His last television appearance was in 1993 on an episode of Family Matters. Hairston also played the role of "King Moses" on radio for the Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall show Bold Venture. Hairston died in Los Angeles of natural causes in 2000 at age 98. Born in 1901, Hairston's life spanned each year of the 20th century. For his contribution to the television industry, Hairston has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6201 Hollywood Blvd. He is interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California.

Alan Menken

Composer · Known for Aladdin, Home on the Range, Tangled

Alan Irwin Menken (born July 12, 1949) is an American composer, pianist, music director, and record producer, best known for his scores and songs for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Menken's music for The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and Pocahontas (1995) has each won him two Academy Awards. He also composed the scores and songs for Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Newsies (1992), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), Home on the Range (2004), Enchanted (2007), Tangled (2010), and Disenchanted (2022), among others. His accolades include winning eight Academy Awards — becoming the second most prolific Oscar winner in the music categories after Alfred Newman (who has 9 Oscars), a Tony Award, eleven Grammy Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, and a Daytime Emmy Award. Menken is one of nineteen people to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony ("an EGOT").

Aira Yuuki

Aira Yuuki is a female Japanese singer signed to the record label Lantis. She began her career in 2007 and since then has primarily sung songs that were used for theme music in anime. She released her debut album Reflection on July 2, 2008. Her second album Eternalize. was released on June 9, 2010.

Tayla Parx

Taylor Monét Parks, known as Tayla Parx (born September 16, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, entrepreneur, and actor. A Grammy nominee in the Album of the Year category, songs she has written and co-written have exceeded 16 billion streams on Spotify and appeared on the pop, hip hop, R & B, K-pop, country, and Latin charts. She has released four albums, an EP, and a mixtape as a solo artist. Born in Dallas, Texas, Parx took singing, dance, and classical piano lessons growing up and wrote her first songs as a child. At 9, she was enrolled at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, where, at Allen's urging, she began to act. Her family moved to Los Angeles in 2005, and in 2006 she was cast in her first television show. In 2007, she appeared as Little Inez Stubbs in the film Hairspray.

Billy Ray Cyrus

Cast · Known for Blaze and the Monster Machines

William "Billy" Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961) is a European-American businessman, entrepreneur, country music singer, songwriter and actor, who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. He has released eleven studio albums since 1992, released 38 singles, best known for his Number One single "Achy Breaky Heart", that became the first single ever to achieve triple Platinum status in Australia and the 1992's best selling single in the same country. Thanks to the video of this hit, there was the explosion of the linedance into the mainstream, becoming a worldwide craze. Cyrus, a multi-platinum selling recording artist, has scored a total of eight top-ten singles on the Billboard Country Songs chart. His most successful album to date is the debut of Some Gave All, which has been certified 9× Multi-Platinum in the United States and is the longest time spent by a debut artist at Number One on the Billboard 200 (17 consecutive weeks) and most consecutive chart-topping weeks in the SoundScan era. It's the only album (from any genre) in the SoundScan era to log 17 consecutive weeks at Number One and is also the top-ranking debut album by a male country artist. It ranked 43 weeks in the top 10, a total topped by only one country album in history, Ropin' The Wind by Garth Brooks. Some Gave All was also the first debut album to enter at the number 1 in the Billboard Country Albums. The album has also sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and is the Best selling debut album of all time for a solo male artist. Some Gave All was also the best selling album of the 1992 in the US with 4,832,000 copies. In his career, he has released 29 charted singles, of which 15 charted in the Top 40. From 2001 to 2004, Cyrus starred in the television show Doc. The show was about a country doctor who moved from Montana to New York City. In late 2005, he began to co-star in the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana with his daughter Miley Cyrus. The series finale aired on January 16, 2011. In 2010, it was announced that he and his son Trace Cyrus would take part in a new Syfy reality series called UFO: Unbelievably Freakin' Obvious. Description above from the Wikipedia article Billy Ray Cyrus, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

JUN. K

Kim Min-jun, known professionally as JUN. K, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, dancer and actor. In 2008, he debuted as a member of 2PM, a boy band currently managed by JYP Entertainment. He has written and composed several of the group's songs, including Go Crazy!, My House, and With Me Again. Aside from his group activities, Jun.K has released five EPs in South Korea and six EPs and one compilation album in Japan. His first three Japanese albums peaked at number 2 on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart. His second Japanese album Love Letter ranked number 1 on both Billboard Japan's Top and Hot Albums charts. His first Korean album, Mr. NO♡, debuted at number 9 on the Billboard World Albums chart. His third Japanese album, No Shadow, ranked number 2 on the Billboard Japan Top and Hot Albums charts. His fourth Japanese album, No Time, ranked number 3 on the Oricon Daily Albums Chart.

Roberto Carlos

Roberto Carlos Braga Moreira (born April 19, 1941) is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, also known as King of Latin Music or simply The King. Most of his songs were written in partnership with his friend, singer and songwriter Erasmo Carlos (no relation). Roberto Carlos has sold over 140 million albums around the world. He is considered one of the most influential artists in Brazil, being cited as a source of inspiration by many artists and bands. His net worth is estimated at US$160 million. Roberto Carlos Braga was born in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, at the southern part of the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo. He is the fourth and last son of watchmaker Robertino Braga (March 27, 1896 – January 27, 1980) and seamstress Laura Moreira Braga (April 10, 1914 – April 17, 2010). The family lived in a modest home on top of a hill in the Nook neighbourhood. His siblings were Lauro Roberto Braga, Carlos Alberto Moreira Braga and Norminha. At age 6, during the feast of St Peter, the patron saint of Cachoeiro do Itapemirim, Roberto Carlos was hit by a steam locomotive and had to have his right leg amputated just below his knee. He still uses a prosthesis, but avoids talking about it. As a child he learned to play the guitar and the piano – first with his mother and later at the Itapemirim Music Conservatory. At 9 years old, he performed for the first time at a children's show broadcast by Rádio Cachoeiro (he sang a bolero called "Mal Amor"). He won candies as the first prize. Years later, he recalled the occasion for the book Roberto Carlos Up Close, by Paulo Cesar de Araujo: "I was very nervous, yet very happy to be able to sing on the radio. I got a lot of candies, which was the prize for the kids who'd sing there. It was a beautiful day." He became a regular performer on that particular show. Influenced by his idol Elvis Presley and the 1950s rock revolution, he rose to stardom as the main figure of the 1950s and 1960s musical movement known as Jovem Guarda (or Young Guard), which was a rip off from another TV Show. From the same name "Jovem Guarda" was the first manifestation of the Brazilian pop rock movement. Since then, Roberto Carlos has been called "O Rei" (the King). When his first single and first LP (Louco por você, 1961) were commercial failures, Roberto Carlos was in danger of being fired from CBS in favor of Sérgio Murilo, the first successful rock singer in Brazil. Nevertheless, Murilo was fired instead for clashing with musical director Evandro Ribeiro over repertoire and payment, opening up space for Roberto Carlos. During his first decade of recording, Roberto Carlos also starred in a few motion pictures directed by Roberto Farias, many of them heavily inspired by the Beatles movies. Roberto Carlos insisted on investing time in young music, rock, and in 1962 released Splish Splash. With his friend Erasmo Carlos, Roberto recorded Portuguese versions of pop songs and wrote his own songs, such as "Parei Na Contramão" which became a big hit. The following year the singer was back on the charts with the album É Proibido Fumar, in which, besides the title track, the highlight was the song "O Calhambeque". Thus was born the Jovem Guarda (TV Show). ... Source: Article "Roberto Carlos (singer)" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Pat Boone

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.   Pat Boone (born Charles Eugene Patrick Boone on June 1, 1934) is an American singer, actor and writer who was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs (when part of the country was segregated) and sold more copies than his black counterparts. He sold over 45 million albums, had 38 Top 40 hits and appeared in more than 12 Hollywood movies. Boone's talent as a singer and actor, combined with his old-fashioned values, contributed to his popularity in the early rock and roll era. He continues to perform, and speak as a motivational speaker, a television personality, a conservative political commentator and a preacher. According to Billboard, Boone was the second biggest charting artist of the late 1950s, behind only Elvis Presley but ahead of Ricky Nelson and The Platters, and was ranked at No. 9—behind The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney but ahead of artists such as Aretha Franklin and The Beach Boys—in its listing of the Top 100 Top 40 Artists 1955-1995. Boone still holds the Billboard record for spending 220 consecutive weeks on the charts with more than one song. At the age of twenty-three, he began hosting a half-hour ABC variety television series, The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, which aired for 115 episodes (1957–1960). Many musical performers, including Edie Adams, Andy Williams, Pearl Bailey and Johnny Mathis made appearances on the show. His cover versions of rhythm and blues hits had a noticeable effect on the development of the broad popularity of rock and roll. During his tours in the 1950s, Elvis Presley was one of his opening acts. As a prolific author, Boone had a No. 1 bestseller in the 1950s (Twixt Twelve and Twenty, Prentice-Hall). In the 1960s, he focused on gospel music and is a member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Description above from the Wikipedia article Pat Boone, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.