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Love Is Better the Second Time Around
2024
Journalist Akihiro reunites with Takashi, his high school love, now a professor. Old emotions resurface as they navigate between professionalism and the past.
Barbara Bates
Barbara Jane Bates (August 6, 1925 – March 18, 1969) was an American singer and actress, best known for her portrayal of Phoebe in the 1950 drama film All About Eve and as Katy Morgan on It's a Great Life (1954–1956). The eldest of three daughters, Bates was born in Denver, Colorado. While growing up in Denver, she studied ballet and worked as a teen fashion model. The shy teen was persuaded to enter a local beauty contest and won, receiving two round-trip train tickets to Hollywood, California. Two days before returning to Denver, Bates met Cecil Coan, a United Artists publicist, whom she would later marry. In September 1944, 19-year-old Bates signed a contract with Universal Pictures after Cecil Coan introduced her to producer Walter Wanger. Soon after, she was cast as one of the "Seven Salome Girls" in the 1945 drama, Salome Where She Danced starring Yvonne De Carlo. Around this time, she fell in love with Coan, who was married with two sons and two daughters. In March 1945, Coan divorced his wife Helen Coan and secretly married Bates, on March 25, 1945, in Chihuahua, Mexico. Bates spent the next few years as a stock actress, landing bit parts in movies and doing cheesecake layouts for magazines such as Yank, the Army Weekly and Life. One of those photo sessions caught the eye of executives at Warner Bros., which signed her in 1947. Warner Bros. highlighted her "girl-next-door" image and her acting career took off. She appeared with some of the biggest stars of the day, including Bette Davis in June Bride and Danny Kaye in The Inspector General. In late 1949, Bates auditioned for the small role of Phoebe in Fox's upcoming All About Eve. In competition for the part were Zsa Zsa Gabor and others, but Bates impressed the producers and was given the part. She made a short but important appearance as the devious schemer, Phoebe, at the end of the film. Bates's image is enshrined in the film's last scene, posing in front of a three-way mirror, while holding the award won by her idol Eve Harrington, played by Anne Baxter. After her appearance in All About Eve, Bates co-starred in Cheaper by the Dozen, and its sequel Belles on Their Toes, with Jeanne Crain and Myrna Loy. In 1951, she landed a role opposite MacDonald Carey and Claudette Colbert in the comedy Let's Make It Legal. Fox refused to lend out Bates for the role of the suicidal ballerina saved by Charlie Chaplin's aging vaudevillian in Limelight (1952). She co-starred with Donna Reed as the love interests of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in the 1953 hit comedy The Caddy. In January 1967, Bates's husband died of cancer. Devastated by his death, Bates grew more depressed, and she again became suicidal. Later that year, she returned to Denver and fell out of public view. For a time, Bates worked as a secretary, dental assistant, and hospital aide. In December 1968, she married for the second time, to a childhood friend, sportscaster William Reed. Despite her new marriage and location, Bates remained increasingly despondent and depressed. On March 18, 1969, just months after her marriage to Reed, Barbara Bates died from suicide in her mother's garage by carbon monoxide poisoning. She was 43 years old. She is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Jefferson County, Colorado.
Peter Noone
Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone (born 5 November 1947) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist and actor. He was the lead singer "Herman" in the 1960s pop group Herman's Hermits. Noone was born in Davyhulme, Lancashire, England, the second of five children, the son of an accountant, and attended English Martyrs (Urmston), Wellacre Primary School (Flixton), Stretford Grammar School, and St Bede's College, Manchester. Noone played a number of acting roles on television, including that of Stanley Fairclough in the soap opera Coronation Street. Noone studied voice and drama at the Manchester School of Music, where he won the Outstanding Young Musician Award. Early in his career, he used the stage name Peter Novac. At 15, he became the lead singer, spokesman and frontman of Herman's Hermits, who were discovered by Harvey Lisberg. As "Herman", the photogenic Noone appeared on the cover of many international publications, including Time Magazine's collage showing new faces in popular music. The Hermits consisted of Noone, Derek “Lek” Leckenby and Keith Hopwood (guitars), Karl Green (bass) and Barry Whitwam (drums). The band's hits included: "I'm into Something Good", "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat", "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter", "Silhouettes", "Wonderful World", "I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am" (in the U.S.), "There's a Kind of Hush", "Just a Little Bit Better", "A Must to Avoid", "Listen People", "The End of the World", "Dandy", and "No Milk Today". Herman's Hermits sold more than 60 million records and had 14 gold singles and seven gold albums. The Hermits were twice named in the U.S. trade paper Cashbox as "Entertainer of the Year". As Herman, Noone performed on hundreds of television programmes and appeared with the Ed Sullivan, Jackie Gleason, Dean Martin and Danny Kaye television programs. He starred in ABC's musical version of The Canterville Ghost, Hallmark Hall of Fame's presentation of the classic Pinocchio (in which he played the title role), and three feature films for MGM: Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter, Hold On! and When The Boys Meet The Girls. Noone at a dairy in the Netherlands, after his gold record for "No Milk Today" in 1966 They were the opening act of the 1970 Royal Variety Performance from the London Palladium performing a medley of their hits to date followed by their rendition of If I Were a Rich Man, Where is Love? and Old Henry's Fish and Chips. They ended with their recent hit There's a Kind of Hush. ... Source: Article "Peter Noone" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Priscilla Zuniga
is an American-born Cuban-Ecuadorian professional wrestler who is currently signed to Impact Wrestling under the ring name Diamanté. She is the younger sister of fellow professional wrestler Ricky Martínez who is better known under his ring name Maxx Stardom. Early Career (2008-2012) Rose debuted in 2008 competiting in Independent Championship Wrestling. During her first five years in ICW, she won the Women's title four times, beginning her first reign on July 19, 2008 after defeating Kellie to win the vacant title at ICW Crossing The Line 2008. Her second title reign began on January 16, 2010 at ICW Battle Rumble 2010 when she defeated Stud Magnum. She won her next title reign on November 6, 2010 at ICW Lethal Lottery 2010 after winning a triple threat match against defending champion Calypso and Santana G. Rose had a one-time title reign with the ICW Hard Knocks Championship beginning on December 17, 2010 and ending on February 19, 2011. Her final ICW match of her first run in the promotion was on November 16, 2012 at ICW Raging Controversy - Supercard Of Wrestling where she challenged for the ICW Hard Knocks Championship in a Falls Count Anywhere Triple Threat match against defending champion J-Dawg Brooks (match-winner) and TC Read. World Wrestling Entertainment (2017) NXT (2017) On February 22, debuting under the ring name Priscilla Zuniga, she was defeated in a singles match by Asuka. Impact Wrestling (2017) On the March 2 television taping of Impact Wrestling (formerly Total Nonstop Action Wrestling), she debuted as Angel Rose, in a match won by Angelina Love. On March 4, she returned to join a Gauntlet Battle Royal won by ODB for the Impact Women's Knockout Championship. On March 4 at One Night Only: Knockouts Knockdown 2017, she debuted under her new name Diamante to team with Angelina Love, Laurel Van Ness and Rosemary in a six-woman tag match won by Alisha Edwards, Leva Bates, ODB and Santana Garrett. Later at the event, she defeated Amanda Rodriguez in her second Impact Wrestling singles match. Independent circuit (2009-present) Beside spending her first five years working in Independent Championship Wrestling, Rose worked in other Florida-based wrestling events. In 2010, she worked in World Xtreme Wrestling where she unsuccessfully challenged for the WXW Women's Championship in a series of title matches from June until September of that year. On July 25, 2015 she debuted in Ronin Pro Wrestling appearing at RONIN 7 where she was defeated by Leva Bates. Rose also made her Queens of Combat debut at QOC 14 where she was defeated by Ariel Monroe. She returned on September 17, 2016 at QOC 15 in a Four Way match won by Rachael Ellering against Samantha Heights and Savannah Evans. On November 27, 2016 she returned at QOC 16, defeating Samantha Heights.
Dick Shawn
Dick Shawn (December 1, 1923 – April 17, 1987) was an American actor. Way ahead of his time most say, it was extremely difficult indeed to know how to properly tap into this man's eclectic talents. Shawn began inching toward the forefront during the be-bop 50s and early 60s with his odd penchant for playing cool cats. During his mild bid for film stardom, he was top-billed as a hip, laid back genie in the thoroughly dismal satire The Wizard of Baghdad (1960), but seemed to have better luck when taken in smaller doses. He fared quite well opposite another "way-out-there" comedian, Ernie Kovacs, in Wake Me When It's Over (1960) as a hustling soldier out to make a buck in the Far East. Also on the plus side, he replaced Zero Mostel in the bawdy musical "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" on Broadway and stole a small scene in the all-star epic comedy It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963). By far, the one role that completely overshadows all of his other hard work is his mock portrayal of a singing Adolf Hitler in the show-within-a-movie The Producers (1968). In the film, which starred Mostel and Gene Wilder as two con artists deliberately producing a stage "bomb" called "Springtime for Hitler," Shawn sang the hammy, absurdly narcissistic song "Love Power." The movie finally captured Shawn in his element, but this stroke of genius of matching actor to role would never happen again for him. For the most part his roles came off slick and smarmy, and were stuck in mediocre material. Shawn won a huge fan base, however, touring in one-man stage shows which contained a weird mix of songs, sketches, satire, philosophy and even pantomime. A bright, innovative wit, one of his best touring shows was called "The Second Greatest Entertainer in the World." During the show's intermission, Shawn would lie visibly on the stage floor absolutely still during the entire time. By freakish coincidence, Shawn was performing at the University of California at San Diego in 1987 when he suddenly fell forward on the stage during one of his spiels about the Holocaust. The audience, of course, laughed, thinking it was just a part of his odd shtick. In actuality, the 63-year-old married actor with four children had suffered a fatal heart attack. A not-surprising end for this thoroughly offbeat and intriguing personality.
Mariella Balbuena Torres
is a Mexican Luchadora, or female professional wrestler best known under the ring name Mari Apache (sometimes written as "Mary Apache"). She is the daughter of Luchador Gran Apache and the sister of luchadora Faby Apache. She has wrestled for an extended period of time in Japan but is best known for working in Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide along with her father and sister. She is a former one-time AAA Reina de Reinas Champion and a two-time AAA World Mixed Tag Team Champion, having held the title with her father and Halloween. Torres has previously wrestled under the ring name Princesa Apache as well as the enmascarada (masked) characters Love and Lady Venum. In 2017, Apache relocated to Japan, where she began working regularly for World Wonder Ring Stardom. It was also announced that her daughter Natsumi had started training professional wrestling and would debut in Japan. On August 13, Apache defeated Shanna for the High Speed Championship.On September 24, Apache made her first successful title defense on against Hiromi Mimura.On December 24, Apache defeated Starlight Kid for her second successful title defense. On January 21, 2018, at Stardom's seventh anniversary, Apache defeated Kay Lee Ray for her third successful title defense. Apache teamed with her sister Faby Apache on March 31, when they unsuccessfully challenged Hana Kimura and Kagetsu for their Goddess of Stardom Championship. On December 24, Apache lost the championship to Hazuki. Personal life Mariella Torres comes from a wrestling family, she's the oldest daughter of Mario Balbuena González, who wrestled as Gran Apache. Her younger sister Fabiola wrestles as Faby Apache. She is the stepdaughter of Sandra González Calderón, better known as Lady Apache although Torres' father and Lady Apache divorced years ago. Torres also has a younger sister Jessica, who briefly worked as Baby Apache. She is the sister-in-law of wrestler José Roberto Islas García, known as Billy Boy, who was married to Fabiola, as well as the aunt to their son Marvin Mariella Torres trained with her father Mario Balbuena González, better known as Gran Apache, who is one of Mexico's most prolific trainer of female wrestlers. She made her debut in 1996, at the age of 17, working under the ring name Princesa Apache, playing off her father's Native American ring character. Through her father's position with Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, one of Mexico's largest wrestling promotions, she began working for AAA upon making her debut. In either late 1996 or early 1997 she adopted a new ring character, a masked character called "Love
Kenny G
Kenneth Bruce Gorelick, better known by his stage name Kenny G, is an American jazz saxophonist. His 1986 album, Duotones, brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the best-selling artists of all time, with global sales totaling more than 75 million records. Kenny G's career started with a job as a sideman for Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra in 1973; he was 17 and still in high school. He continued to play professionally while studying for a major in accounting at the University of Washington in Seattle, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude. He played with the funk band Cold, Bold and Together before becoming a credited member of The Jeff Lorber Fusion. He began his solo career after his period with Lorber. Kenny G has worked on several film soundtracks, including Dying Young and The Bodyguard. The song "Theme for Dying Young", written for that movie, was nominated for a Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Kenny G co-wrote the soundtrack of The Bodyguard, starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston, and performed his own song "Waiting for You" as well as his single "Even If My Heart Would Break". His music was also included in The Shadow and Miracle on 34th Street. His sixth studio album, Breathless, was released in 1992, and went on to become the best-selling instrumental album ever, with over 15 million copies sold worldwide, selling 12 million copies in the United States alone. The album included many hits such as "Forever in Love", the recipient of the Grammy Award for the Best Instrumental Composition and which charted in the Billboard Year-End Hot 100. "Sentimental" charted at No. 27 on the Adult Contemporary Chart, and "By the Time This Night Is Over", a collaboration with Peabo Bryson, peaked at No. 25 on the Hot 100. His first holiday album, Miracles, sold over 13 million copies, making it the most successful Christmas album to date. He also performed the "National Anthem of the United States" at the 1994 FIFA World Cup closing ceremony at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on July 17, 1994. Kenny G earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1997 for playing the longest note ever recorded on a saxophone. Using circular breathing, Kenny G held an E-flat for 45 minutes and 47 seconds at J&R Music World in New York City. The same year, his song "Havana", from the album The Moment, was remixed by Todd Terry and Tony Moran and released to dance clubs in the U.S. The mixes went to No.1 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs chart in April 1997. Kenny G's second holiday album, Faith, is the best selling holiday album of 1999 in the United States selling 2 million units according to Nielsen/SoundScan. The singles taken from the album, the traditional "Auld Lang Syne", reached No. 7 on the Hot 100. His rendition of "Auld Lang Syne" was, at the time of charting, popularized by the then-upcoming New Year celebration for 2000. At the time of its peak, it was also the oldest-written song to make the Hot 100 charts
Joan Fontaine
Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was an English-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". She was born in Tokyo, Japan, in what was known as the International Settlement. Her father was a British patent attorney with a lucrative practice in Japan, but due to Joan and older sister Olivia de Havilland's recurring ailments the family moved to California in the hopes of improving their health. Mrs. de Havilland and the two girls settled in Saratoga while their father went back to his practice in Japan. Joan's parents did not get along well and divorced soon afterward. Mrs. de Havilland had a desire to be an actress but her dreams were curtailed when she married, but now she hoped to pass on her dream to Olivia and Joan. While Olivia pursued a stage career, Joan went back to Tokyo, where she attended the American School. In 1934 she came back to California, where her sister was already making a name for herself on the stage. Joan likewise joined a theater group in San Jose and then Los Angeles to try her luck there. After moving to L.A., Joan adopted the name of Joan Burfield because she didn't want to infringe upon Olivia, who was using the family surname. She tested at MGM and gained a small role in No More Ladies (1935), but she was scarcely noticed and Joan was idle for a year and a half. During this time she roomed with Olivia, who was having much more success in films. In 1937, this time calling herself Joan Fontaine, she landed a better role as Trudy Olson in You Can't Beat Love (1937) and then an uncredited part in Quality Street (1937). Although the next two years saw her in better roles, she still yearned for something better. In 1940 she garnered her first Academy Award nomination for Rebecca (1940). Although she thought she should have won, (she lost out to Ginger Rogers in Kitty Foyle (1940)), she was now an established member of the Hollywood set. She would again be Oscar-nominated for her role as Lina McLaidlaw Aysgarth in Suspicion (1941), and this time she won. Joan was making one film a year but choosing her roles well. In 1942 she starred in the well-received This Above All (1942). The following year she appeared in The Constant Nymph (1943). Once again she was nominated for the Oscar, she lost out to Jennifer Jones in The Song of Bernadette (1943). By now it was safe to say she was more famous than her older sister and more fine films followed. In 1948, she accepted second billing to Bing Crosby in The Emperor Waltz (1948). Joan took the year of 1949 off before coming back in 1950 with September Affair (1950) and Born to Be Bad (1950). In 1951 she starred in Paramount's Darling, How Could You! (1951), which turned out badly for both her and the studio and more weak productions followed. Absent from the big screen for a while, she took parts in television and dinner theaters. She also starred in many well-produced Broadway plays such as Forty Carats and The Lion in Winter. Her last appearance on the big screen was The Witches (1966) and her final appearance before the cameras was Good King Wenceslas (1994). She is, without a doubt, a lasting movie icon.
Kristin Scott Thomas
Cast · Known for Slow Horses, Mission: Impossible
Dame Kristin Ann Scott Thomas (born 24 May 1960) is a British actress. A five-time BAFTA Award and Olivier Award nominee, she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and the Olivier Award for Best Actress in 2008 for the Royal Court revival of The Seagull. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in The English Patient (1996). Scott Thomas made her film debut in Under the Cherry Moon (1986), and won the Evening Standard Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer for A Handful of Dust (1988). Her work includes Bitter Moon (1992), Mission: Impossible (1996), The Horse Whisperer (1998), Gosford Park (2001), The Valet (2006), and Tell No One (2007). She won the European Film Award for Best Actress for Philippe Claudel's I've Loved You So Long (2008). Her other films include Leaving (2009), Love Crime (2010), Sarah's Key (2010), Nowhere Boy (2010), The Woman in the Fifth (2011), Only God Forgives (2013), Darkest Hour (2017), and Tomb Raider (2018). On television, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for her guest appearance in the second season of the comedy series Fleabag (2019), and has starred in the Apple TV+ spy series Slow Horses since 2022. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2003 Birthday Honours and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to drama. She was named a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur by the French government in 2005. Scott Thomas was born in Redruth, Cornwall. Her mother, Deborah (née Hurlbatt), was brought up in Hong Kong and Africa, and studied drama before marrying Kristin's father, Lieutenant Commander Simon Scott Thomas, a pilot in the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm 893 Squadron, who died in a flying accident on a de Havilland Sea Vixen when Kristin was aged five. She has three siblings, including Serena Scott Thomas. She is the niece of Admiral Sir Richard Thomas (a former Black Rod), the granddaughter of William Scott Thomas (who commanded HMS Impulsive during World War II) and the great-great-niece of the polar explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott. The childhood home of Scott Thomas was in Trent, near Sherborne, Dorset, England. Her mother remarried another Royal Navy pilot, Lieutenant Commander Simon Idiens (of Simon's Sircus aerobatic team flying Sea Vixens), who also died in a flying accident whilst flying a Phantom FG1 from RNAS Yeovilton off the North coast of Cornwall in January 1972. Scott Thomas was educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College and St Antony's Leweston in Sherborne, Dorset. On leaving school in 1978, she moved to Hampstead, London, and worked in a department store. She began training to become a drama teacher at the Central School of Speech and Drama, enrolling on a BEd in Speech and Drama. During her time at the school, she requested to switch degree courses to acting but was refused. After a year at Central, speaking French fluently, she decided to move to Paris to work as an au pair,[2] and studied acting at the École Nationale supérieure des arts et techniques du théâtre (ENSATT). When she was 25, she was cast as Mary Sharon in the film Under the Cherry Moon (1986).
Laia Costa
Cast · Known for Lee Cronin's The Mummy, The Wheel of Time
Laia Costa (Catalan: [ˈlajə ˈkɔstə]; born February 18, 1985) is a Spanish actress from Catalonia. She earned a degree in advertising, public relations and marketing, as well as a PhD in political science and media studies, before beginning her acting career at the age of 26. She is best known for starring in the critically acclaimed one-shot German thriller Victoria (2015), for which she received several accolades, including a German Film Award for Best Actress, becoming the first foreign actress to win a Lola and a BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination. After initial minor television roles in Spain, including an appearance in Polseres vermelles (2013), she went on to star in the romantic dramas Newness (2017) and Only You (2018), the horror thriller Piercing (2018), the romantic comedy Duck Butter (2018), and the multi-narrative drama Life Itself (2018). Costa featured in the romance series Foodie Love (2019), the financial drama Devils (2020), and the science fiction anthology Soulmates (2020). She gained widespread acclaim in Spain for her portrayal of Amaia in Lullaby (2022), becoming the most acclaimed performance of the awards season, winning the Goya Award for Best Actress, along with a Feroz Award, a Forqué Award, and a Platino Award. She later starred in the rural drama Un amor (2023), earning her a second Platino Award, and portrayed Moghedien in the Amazon Prime Video high fantasy series The Wheel of Time (2023–2025). She starred in the supernatural horror Lee Cronin's The Mummy (2026).
Foxes
Foxes (also known as Louisa Rose Allen) is a British singer-songwriter, most known for her hit singles 'Youth', 'Let Go For Tonight', 'Holding Onto Heaven', 'Right Here', and 'Clarity' with Zedd for which she won a Grammy award. Foxes' debut album, 'Glorious', was released in May 2014 and debuted in the top 5 on the UK Albums Chart. In 2016, she released her second album, 'All I Need' which debuted at number 12 in the UK Album Chart, it was promoted by the singles 'Better Love', 'Amazing', 'Cruel', and the hit single 'Body Talk'. Foxes debuted the track during a one-day tour of seven UK cities that earned her an entry to the Guinness World Records for the title of "most live concerts in 12 hours in multiple cities". After a four-year hiatus from music, in May 2020, Foxes announced her return releasing the single 'Love Not Loving You', which served as the lead single for her second EP, 'Friends in the Corner', which was released on April 2021.
Jessica Sharples
Jessica Sharples is an internationally award-winning actor-writer-producer and singer whose work in film, TV and live performance explores the innate power women have when they are able to break free of societal expectations and express their truth. By exposing the dark but very real aspects of her experience as a woman, Jessica creates containers for untold or ignored stories to finally be seen. Her work inspires audiences to empathize with the Woman Experience and, in turn, treat women better in their everyday lives. Jessica wrote, produced, and starred in the short film "Jen, 28" - an every woman story about the misunderstood "gray area" of sexual assault. Her timely film was selected to screen at 35 film festivals all over the world and won 14 awards. Jessica won 3 Best Actress Awards for her performance. Her second short film "Hostile Exchange" is in pre-production and is set to hit the film festival circuit at the end of 2024. You can also see her in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC), True Crime with Aphrodite Jones (ID), and several commercials. While earning her BFA in Theatre from NYU Tisch, Jessica studied The Method at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. There she performed in multiple plays and musicals, including: "Into the Woods," Maxim Gorky's "Vassa Zheleznova" (directed by Broadway director, Moritz von Stuelpnagel), and the world premiere of "Love Lab" (written by Lila Fein and directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch). Before graduation, Jessica also premiered her one act play at Theatre for the New City in NYC and appeared in the cult horror film "Powerplegic." After graduation, Jessica continued her studies at Stonestreet Film Studio, The PIT NY, and The Ruby L.A. She is also a trained singer, plays the piano and guitar, and can spin fire with her Dragon Staff and Poi. - IMDb mini biography by: Jessica Sharples
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.
Ne-Yo
Shaffer Chimere Smith, Jr. (born October 18, 1979), better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. Since his debut, Ne-Yo has had five top ten songs on the Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist and two number-one albums on the Billboard 200. Ne-Yo has also amassed a catalog of chart-topping songs that he has written for other artists. Ne-Yo broke into the recording industry as a songwriter, penning the hit "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario. The single's successful release in the United States prompted an informal meeting between Ne-Yo and Def Jam's label head, and signing a recording contract. In 2006, he released his debut album, In My Own Words, which contained the US number one hit "So Sick". Then in 2007, he released his second album, Because of You which contained the US top 3 hit, "Because of You". In 2008, he released his third album, Year of the Gentleman, which contained the top 10 hits "Closer" and "Miss Independent". His fourth studio album Libra Scale was released on November 22, 2010. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Liz Cackowski
Cast · Known for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Liz Cackowski (born Elizabeth T. Cackowski, November 6, 1977, in Woodbridge, Virginia) is an American actress, comedian, comedy writer, and producer who began her career performing and writing at The Second City in Chicago before being hired as a writer for Saturday Night Live (2003–2006, 59 episodes), for which she won a WGA Award for Best Comedy/Variety Series. She is married to director Akiva Schaffer (since 2003) and they have two children. Her most notable film credits include Liz Bretter in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), Zooey's Friend in I Love You, Man (2009), Flint's Teacher (voice) in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009), Wendy the Realtor in Neighbors (2014) and Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016), Poppies Producer in Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016), Lisa the Sommelier in Wine Country (2019, also writer and co-producer), Susan O'Malley in An American Pickle (2020), Stage Mom in Licorice Pizza (2021), and multiple voice roles in Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022). On television she is best known as Joyce in Speechless (2016–2019, 12 episodes, ABC), with writing and producing credits on The Last Man on Earth (2015, 6 episodes, also co-producer), Girls5eva (2021–2022, also co-executive producer), and Community (2009, 2 episodes), and she created the web series The Jeannie Tate Show (2007–2008).
Joan Lorring
Joan Lorring, born Mary Madeline Ellis is a Hong Kong-born American actress and singer known for her work in film and theatre. Soon after, her family moved to Los Angeles, Madeleine (known by her nickname "Dellie") began working as a child actress in radio and film – she was credited as "Dellie Ellis" when she played the title role in the radio program A Date With Judy (1942). She eventually adopted Joan Lorring as her stage name. Lorring made her Broadway debut in 1950, originating the role of Marie Buckholder opposite Shirley Booth in Come Back Little Sheba. Terry Moore later played Marie in the 1952 film version. For this role, Lorring won a Donaldson Award for Most Outstanding Female Debut in the 1949-1950 Broadway season. This success led to her performing in the 1951 Broadway production of the Lillian Hellman play The Autumn Garden. In 1954, she performed in the play Dead Pidgeons, and her last Broadway appearance was in 1957, originating the role of The Young Woman, opposite Kim Stanley as The Woman, in A Clearing in the Woods by Arthur Laurents. In 1970, Lorring performed in an Off-Broadway production of Awake and Sing! as Bessie Berger. Lorring made her film debut at age 18 in Song of Russia. Her second film was the Oscar-nominated drama The Bridge of San Luis Rey. For her third film role as Bessy Watty in 1945's The Corn Is Green opposite Bette Davis as Miss Moffat, Lorring (at age 19) was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Thelma Schnee had originated the role of Bessy on Broadway opposite Ethel Barrymore in 1940. Lorring next had supporting roles in the 1946 dramas Three Strangers and The Verdict, in which she plays Lottie Rawson and performs the song "Give Me a Little Bit". In 1947, she appeared in The Other Love, a drama that stars Barbara Stanwyck, and in The Lost Moment which stars Susan Hayward. In 1948, she played a supporting role in Good Sam, which stars Gary Cooper and was directed by Leo McCarey. In the early 1950s, Lorring began appearing often on television. In 1955, she performed in 13 episodes of the television series Norby as Helen Norby. The show lasted one season. Also in 1956, she reprised her award-winning role as Bessy in The Corn is Green on television opposite Eva Le Gallienne as Miss Moffat. She appeared on one episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, (The Older Sister, 1956) about Lizzie Borden, in which she portrayed her sister Emma. Lorring performed infrequently in the 1960s and 1970s focusing on her family life. Her last film role came in 1974 with The Midnight Man, and her later television roles were guest-starring for several episodes as Anna Pavel in Ryan's Hope and a 1980 episode of The Love Boat. Lorring enjoyed a quiet retirement through the 1980s and 1990s. She lived until May 30, 2014 when she died in Sleepy Hollow, New York at age 88 from natural causes. Description above from the Wikipedia article Joan Lorring, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Josephine Hutchinson
Cast · Known for North by Northwest
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Josephine Hutchinson (October 12, 1903 - June 4, 1998) was an American actress. Hutchinson was born in Seattle, Washington. Her mother, Leona Roberts, was an actress best known for her role as Mrs. Meade in Gone with the Wind. Under contract with Warner Bros., Hutchinson went to Hollywood in 1934, debuting in Happiness Ahead. She was featured on the cover of Film Weekly on August 23, 1935 and appeared in The Story of Louis Pasteur in 1936. At Universal, she played Elsa von Frankenstein in one of her more memorable roles alongside actor Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff in Son of Frankenstein (1939). She later played Mrs. Townsend in North by Northwest (1959) and Love Is Better Than Ever, starring Elizabeth Taylor. Hutchinson made a number of Television appearances, including episodes of Perry Mason, The Rifleman and Little House on the Prairie. She died, aged 94, on June 4, 1998 at the Florence Nightingale Nursing Home in Manhattan. Her ashes were scattered near her niece’s home at Springfield, Oregon.
Susanne Bier
Director · Known for Practical Magic 2
Susanne Bier (Danish: [suˈsænə ˈpiɐ̯ˀ]; born 15 April 1960) is a Danish filmmaker. Bier is the first female director to collectively receive an Academy Award (Foreign Film), a Golden Globe Award, a European Film Award (for In a Better World) and a Primetime Emmy Award (for directing The Night Manager). Bier debuted her feature film with Freud's Leaving Home (1991). She directed a string of films, including Open Hearts (2002), Brothers (2004), After the Wedding(2006), and In a Better World (2010), the later of which earned the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. She directed the English-language films Things We Lost in the Fire (2007), Love Is All You Need (2012), Serena (2014), and Bird Box(2018). She directed the BBC One / AMC miniseries The Night Manager (2016) on television, earning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. She also directed the HBO psychological miniseries The Undoing (2020), the Showtime historical anthology series The First Lady (2022), and the Netflix mystery series, The Perfect Couple (2024). Description above from the Wikipedia article Susanne Bier, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Kylie Minogue
Cast · Known for Street Fighter, San Andreas
Kylie Ann Minogue (born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and the fashion world as a major style icon. Her accolades include two Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards and eighteen ARIA Music Awards. Minogue is the highest-selling Australian female artist of all time, with sales surpassing 80 million records worldwide. In 2024, Time listed her in its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Born and raised in Melbourne, Minogue first achieved recognition starring as Charlene Robinson in the Australian soap opera Neighbours (1986–1988). She began her music career in the late 1980s, releasing four dance-pop studio albums under PWL. By the early 1990s, Minogue had amassed several hit singles in Australia and the UK, including "The Loco-Motion", "I Should Be So Lucky", "Especially for You", "Hand on Your Heart", and "Better the Devil You Know". Taking more creative control over her music, she signed with Deconstruction Records in 1993 and released the albums Kylie Minogue (1994) and Impossible Princess (1997). By joining Parlophone in 1999, Minogue returned to mainstream dance-oriented music with Light Years (2000), including the number-one hits "Spinning Around" and "On a Night Like This". The follow-up, Fever (2001), was an international breakthrough for Minogue, becoming her best-selling album to date. The lead single, "Can't Get You Out of My Head", was a worldwide chart-topper and became one of the most successful singles of the 2000s, selling over five million units. Follow-up singles "In Your Eyes" and "Love at First Sight" became hits as well. She continued reinventing her image and experimenting with a range of genres on her subsequent albums, which spawned successful singles such as "Slow", "I Believe in You", "2 Hearts" and "All the Lovers". In 2017, she signed with BMG Rights Management, leading to several number-one albums in Australia and the UK – Golden (2018), Step Back in Time: The Definitive Collection (2019), Disco (2020), Tension (2023) and Tension II (2024). She is the only female artist in the UK charts with chart-topping albums and a top ten single in five consecutive decades. In film, Minogue made her debut in The Delinquents (1989), and appeared in Street Fighter (1994), Moulin Rouge! (2001), Holy Motors (2012) and San Andreas (2015). In reality television, she appeared as a judge on The Voice UK and The Voice Australia, both in 2014. Her other ventures include product endorsements, books, perfumes, charitable work and a wine brand. Minogue's achievements include being an ARIA Hall of Fame inductee, Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), Officer of the Order of the British Empire, Chevalier (knight) of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and an honorary Doctor of Health Science (D.H.Sc.). Description above from the Wikipedia article Kylie Minogue, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Michael Zaslow
Michael Zaslow was born on November 1, 1942 in Inglewood, California and was an actor and writer, best known for his work in daytime dramas, or soap operas. He was married twice, to Joanne Dorian and Susan Hufford, by whom he had two daughters, Helena and Marika. He died on December 6, 1998 in New York City, succumbing to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a nerve-cell disorder better known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Michael's Broadway credits included Fiddler on the Roof, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Boccaccio, and Onward Victoria, while he appeared in the films You Light Up My Life, Meteor, and Seven Minutes in Heaven, and guested on numerous primetime series, from Star Trek (1966) to Law and Order (1990). He acted in several soap operas, namely CBS's Search for Tomorrow (1951) and Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (1967), and ABC's One Life to Live (1968), and wrote for NBC's Another World (1964). But he was best known for portraying the manipulative businessman Roger Thorpe on the CBS daytime drama Guiding Light, the longest running dramatic series of any genre, beginning January 25, 1937 on radio, and playing from June 30, 1952 to September 18, 2009 on television. Michael received four Emmy nominations playing the villainous Roger Thorpe from 1971 to 1980, and again from 1989 to 1997, and garnered a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1994 for the role. He was a favorite of both critics and fans.
Louis Nye
Louis Nye, born Louis Neistat, was an American comedic actor. He was an entertainer to the troops during World War II and is best known for his work on countless television, film and radio programs. Nye decided to go to New York City, where he worked in radio, playing various roles on soap operas. He recalled "I still think of myself as an actor. In the radio days, I was busy playing rotten Nazis, rich uncles and emotional juveniles -- the whole span -- and the only time I tried to be funny was at parties." Nye served in the United States Army during World War II, and because he earned laughs by mimicking other soldiers, he was assigned to run the recreation hall. Following his discharge, he returned to New York and began working in live television. He also appeared in several plays on Broadway, and made many appearances on television variety shows such as The Jack Benny Program (including one memorable turn as a crying cab driver), The Jimmy Durante Show, The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom and The Victor Borge Show. He earned his greatest fame as a regular on The Steve Allen Show, performing with Allen, Don Knotts, Tom Poston, Pat Harrington Jr., Dayton Allen, Gabriel Dell and Bill Dana. He primarily played urbane, wealthy, and often fey bon vivants; as part of the weekly "Man on the Street" sketches, his characterization of the pretentious country-club braggart Gordon Hathaway, with his catchphrase, "Hi-ho, Steverino," plus Allen's inability to resist bursting into hysterical laughter at his ad-libs, made Nye one of the favorites on Allen's show. When production moved to Los Angeles, Nye went too and became a character actor in Hollywood. Nye was cast as a guest star on many television series, including Make Room for Daddy; Guestward, Ho!; Burke's Law; The Munsters; Love, American Style; Laverne & Shirley; Starsky and Hutch; Police Woman; Fantasy Island; St. Elsewhere; and The Cosby Show. Nye played dentist Delbert Gray on several episodes of The Ann Sothern Show from 1960 to 1961, the romantic interest of Olive Smith, played by Ann Tyrrell. Nye also played Sonny Drysdale, the spoiled rich stepson of Milburn Drysdale on The Beverly Hillbillies during the 1962 season. He did six episodes, and received more mail than from anything else he had ever done on television, but the character was dropped. It was rumored that someone in the CBS network, or a sponsor, thought Sonny was too "sissified". However, Nye revived the character briefly during the 1966 season. During this period, Nye appeared in several television commercials for various products, including Rath brand lunch meats and the Better Business Bureau. Nye appeared as a celebrity judge on The Gong Show during the late 1970s. He also recorded a few comedy LPs, doing a variety of characterizations. Unfortunately, he never had the opportunity to reach his potential in movies. Many of his character roles were little more than cameos. Nevertheless, he performed with Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, Jack Lemmon, Dean Martin, Walter Matthau, Robert Mitchum, Jack Webb and Joanne Woodward, and others. Nye also appeared on the lecture circuit, in concerts and in nightclubs, and did voice work in animation, such as Inspector Gadget with Don Adams.
Justice Leak
Justice Leak was born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama. His father, George, a former police officer, named his daughter, Liberty and son, Justice after vowing to do so while a young soldier in Vietnam. "My Dad said if he made it back home, he'd give us these names after his love for his country." During his childhood, Justice was anything but fond of his name. "As a kid, you don't want to stick out. And when I was introduced to people, my name was (and still is) a conversation starter, which for me was a nightmare." Leak said. "But as you get older, you realize that it's good to have something that makes you different from everyone else." Leak was a shy kid who "could easily blend into the walls." His quiet nature, however, made him a keen observer of human behavior, a skill that has served him well. "All my life's experiences -- the good, the bad and the ugly -- have been preparing me to do this thing (acting). That's why I'm so thankful that I wasn't a popular kid!" His first stint in the spotlight came during his senior year at Jefferson Davis High School. He was chosen to lead the marching band, and recalls his experience as drum major as the "best of both worlds in terms of performing and music." "For the first time, I was in a leadership position," Leak said. "I couldn't hide behind anybody else, and looking back, that was the beginning point for me coming out of my shell." After graduation, Leak attended college in Texas and later Auburn University. While there, he became involved in the drama department, mainly working behind the scenes. But that all changed when he helped a classmate with an audition. "I told the director that I wasn't auditioning and was only helping," Leak said. "Afterwards, he stepped up and said, 'Why aren't you auditioning? You would be great in one of the leads.'" His first role was the lead in Arthur Miller's, "The Crucible." During his senior year, he starred in every main stage play produced at Auburn and earned two Irene Ryan Award nominations. He was also named "best actor" by the university's faculty and students. After earning a degree in theatre arts, Leak moved to Atlanta and was signed to the agency, People Store. He began doing commercials for companies such as Verizon Wireless, and later, had small roles in TV shows and independent films. His agent felt he could do more and sent his resume to the casting directors for "The Great Debaters," a career changing moment. As the buzz of The Great Debaters crossed the country, so did Justice, making his move from the east to the west coast; capitalizing on the momentum of this success. Once in Los Angeles, he was quickly signed by two leading agencies and booked back to back to back guest starring roles on three major network shows within a month's time - and the momentum shows no signs of slowing anytime soon. Leak plans to remain humble, no matter how successful he becomes. "I want to be known as a good soul with a kind heart, and a great artist who had the chance to make a difference in this world for the better and succeeded."
Seorina
Cast · Known for Love in Disguise, Strong Girl Bong-soon
Bang Ye-rin (born January 3, 1996), better known by the stage names Seorina or Seol In-a, is a South Korean actress. Seol is best known for her leading roles in television series Sunny Again Tomorrow (2018), Beautiful Love, Wonderful Life (2019), Business Proposal (2022), and Twinkling Watermelon (2023) and for her supporting roles in Strong Girl Bong-soon (2017), School 2017 (2017), and Mr. Queen (2020–2021).
Yoo Yeon-seok
Cast · Known for Oldboy
Ahn Yeon-seok (born April 11, 1984), better known by the stage name Yoo Yeon-seok, is a South Korean actor. After making his acting debut in 2003 with a small role in Oldboy, he resumed his acting career in 2008. His notable works include the films Re-encounter (2011), Architecture 101 (2012), A Werewolf Boy (2012), Whistle Blower (2014), and Love, Lies (2016), as well as the television series Reply 1994 (2013), Dr. Romantic (2016), Mr. Sunshine (2018), Hospital Playlist (2020–2021), and When the Phone Rings (2024).