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Ronnie Rondell Jr.
Ronnie Rondell Jr. was born on 10 February 1937 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a stuntman and assistant director, known for Star Trek: First Contact (1996), They Live (1988.) He also appeared in millions of record collections as he's the man on fire on the cover of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here album.
Gerardo Taracena
Cast · Known for Apocalypto
Gerardo Taracena (born 1970) was a Mexican film and theatre actor and dancer. He is known for his roles in Apocalypto, Man on Fire, The Mexican and Sin Nombre as well as the Netflix series Narcos: Mexico. He was born in Mexico City.
Rachel Ticotin
Cast · Known for Total Recall, Man on Fire, The Eye
Rachel Ticotin Strauss (born November 1, 1958) is an American film and television actress. She's best known for her roles as Director Tyson in Superintellegince, Lt. Arleen Gonzales on NBC's Law & Order: LA, Christina Lowell in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1 & 2, Mariana Garcia Guerrero in Man on Fire, Dr. Martinez in Something's Gotta Give, Laura Roam on the FOX series Skin, Guard Sally Bishop in Con Air, Rachel Taper in Turbulence, Doña Inez in Don Juan DeMarco, Melina in Total Recall (1990), and Teresa Storm on the ABC series Ohara. She was married to actor David Caruso from 1984 to 1987, with whom she has a daughter Greta, born in 1984. Since 1998, she has been married to actor Peter Strauss.
Harry Gregson-Williams
Composer · Known for Animals, Man on Fire, Shrek 2
Harry Gregson-Williams (born 13 December 1961) is a British composer, conductor, orchestrator, and record producer. He has composed music for video games, television and films including the Metal Gear series, Spy Game, Phone Booth, Man on Fire, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian, Déjà Vu, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Martian, Antz, The Tigger Movie, Chicken Run and its sequel, the Shrek franchise, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, Flushed Away, Arthur Christmas, Early Man, and Catch-22. He is also the older brother of fellow composer Rupert Gregson-Williams.-Williams worked with several film directors such as Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, Andrew Adamson, Ben Affleck, Joel Schumacher, Antoine Fuqua, Niki Caro, Nick Park, and Dan Ireland.
Dakota Fanning
Cast · Executive Producer · Known for Man on Fire, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Hannah Dakota Fanning (born February 23, 1994) is an American actress. Fanning is known for her roles in blockbuster films and independent features, both as a child actor and as an adult. Her accolades include nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Fanning received recognition at age 7 for starring in the drama film I Am Sam (2001), for which she was nominated for the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role. She became the youngest nominee in SAG history. Fanning appeared in the films Uptown Girls (2003), Man on Fire (2004), and War of the Worlds (2005), the latter two cementing her stardom. She continued to appear in children's films such as Charlotte's Web (2006) and The Secret Life of Bees (2008). She transitioned to mature roles with The Twilight Saga (2009–2012), the independent film The Runaways (2010), and a co-starring role in Night Moves (2013). Fanning has appeared in films such as Ocean's 8 (2018), Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), and The Equalizer 3 (2023). Since 2018, she has starred in television series The Alienist (2018), The First Lady (2022), and The Perfect Couple (2024). She has also had a starring role in The Watchers (2024) and received renewed critical recognition for the miniseries Ripley that same year, earning Golden Globe and Emmy nominations. Fanning also starred and produced The Sun Never Sets. Description above from the Wikipedia article Dakota Fanning, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Radha Mitchell
Cast · Known for Seven Snipers, Silent Hill, Man on Fire
Radha Rani Amber Indigo Ananda Mitchell (born November 12, 1973) is an Australian actress. She started her career acting in various Australian television series and films, and later appeared in Hollywood films such as High Art, Pitch Black, Phone Booth, Man on Fire, Finding Neverland, Melinda and Melinda, Silent Hill and The Crazies. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tony Scott
Director · Known for Beverly Hills Cop II, Déjà Vu, Man on Fire
Anthony David Leighton Scott (June 21, 1944 – August 19, 2012) was an English and American film director, producer and actor. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as Top Gun (1986), Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), Days of Thunder (1990), The Last Boy Scout (1991), True Romance (1993), Crimson Tide (1995), Enemy of the State (1998), Man on Fire (2004), Déjà Vu (2006), and Unstoppable (2010). Scott was the younger brother of film director Sir Ridley Scott. They both graduated from the Royal College of Art in London, and were among a generation of British film directors who were successful in Hollywood having started their careers making television commercials. In 1995, both Tony and Ridley received the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema. In 2010, they received the BAFTA Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Filmed Entertainment.
Angelina Peláez
Cast · Known for Man on Fire
Teacher Angelina Peláez is a graduate of INBA, with subsequent studies of Spanish Literature at UNAM. It was perfected with the teacher Héctor Mendoza. Since 1976 she has worked as a teacher at the Centro Universitario de Teatro (CUT), she also teaches at the CEA of Televisa and at the National School of Theater Art of INBA. With a career of 42 years, Angelina has participated in films such as Between Pancho Villa and a naked woman, Man on fire, Mezcal, The same moon and Five days without Nora. For the latter, she won the Ariel Award for Best Female Co-Acting.
Mickey Rourke
Cast · Known for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Iron Man 2, Man on Fire
Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr. (born September 16, 1952) is an American actor and former boxer who has appeared primarily as a leading man in drama, action, and thriller films. During the star of the 1980s, Rourke played supporting roles in films like Body Heat (1981) and Diner (1982), before portraying leading roles in films like The Motorcycle Boy in Rumble Fish (1983), Charlie Moran in The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), Captain Stanley White in Year of the Dragon and John Gray in 9½ Weeks (1986). He received critical praise for his work in the Charles Bukowski biopic Barfly and the horror mystery Angel Heart (both 1987). In 1991, following a string of critical and commercial failures, Rourke—who trained as a boxer in his early years—left acting and became a professional boxer for a time. After retiring from boxing in 1994, Rourke returned to acting and had supporting roles in several films such as The Rainmaker (1997), Buffalo '66 (1998), Animal Factory, Get Carter (both 2000), The Pledge (2001), Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003), Man on Fire (2004) and Domino (2005). In 2005, Rourke made a comeback in mainstream Hollywood circles with a lead role in the neo-noir action thriller Sin City, for which he won awards from the Chicago Film Critics Association, the Irish Film and Television Awards, and the Online Film Critics Society. This comeback culminated in his portraying aging wrestler Randy 'The Ram' Robinson in the sports drama film The Wrestler (2008). For the role, Rourke won the Golden Globe Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actor, and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. After this, Rourke appeared in several commercially successful films; Iron Man 2, The Expendables (both 2010) and Immortals (2011), before primarily going on to work in independent and direct-to-video productions.
Giancarlo Giannini
Cast · Known for Quantum of Solace, Casino Royale, Man on Fire
Giancarlo Giannini (Italian: [dʒaŋˈkarlo dʒanˈniːni]; born 1 August 1942) is an Italian actor. He won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in Love and Anarchy (1973) and received an Academy Award nomination for Seven Beauties (1975). He is also a four-time recipient of the David di Donatello Award for Best Actor. Giannini began his career on stage, starring in Franco Zeffirelli's productions of Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream. After appearing predominantly on television throughout the early 1960s, he had his first lead role in a film in Rita the Mosquito (1965), the first of many collaborations with filmmaker Lina Wertmüller. He rose to international stardom through Wertmüller's The Seduction of Mimi (1972), Love and Anarchy (1973), Swept Away (1974), culminating in his Oscar-nominated turn in Seven Beauties (1975). His other films include The Innocent (1976), Lili Marleen (1980), New York Stories (1990), A Walk in the Clouds (1995), Hannibal (2001), Man on Fire (2004), and the James Bond films Casino Royale (2006) and Quantum of Solace (2008). He is also a dubbing artist, contributing voice work to the Italian-language versions of dozens of films since the 1960s. He has been the main Italian dubber of Al Pacino since 1975, and has also dubbed Jack Nicholson, Michael Douglas, and Helmut Berger. Description above from the Wikipedia article Giancarlo Giannini, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Denzel Washington
Cast · Known for Flight, Inside Man, Man on Fire
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor. Known for his dramatic roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, an Actor Award, two Golden Globes, two Silver Bears and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for a Grammy Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2020, The New York Times named Washington the greatest actor of the 21st century. He has also been honoured with the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2016, AFI Life Achievement Award in 2019, the Honorary Palme d'Or in 2025, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2025. Films in which he has appeared have grossed over $5.1 billion worldwide. After training at the American Conservatory Theater, Washington began his career in theatre, acting in Off-Broadway performances. He first came to prominence in the NBC medical drama series St. Elsewhere (1982–1988), and in the war film A Soldier's Story (1984). Washington won Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for playing an American Civil War soldier in the war drama Glory (1989) and for Best Actor for playing a corrupt police officer in the crime thriller Training Day (2001). He was Oscar-nominated for his roles in Cry Freedom (1987), Malcolm X (1992), The Hurricane (1999), Flight (2012), Fences (2016), Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017), and The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021). Washington has starred in other notable films, including The Pelican Brief, Philadelphia (both 1993); Crimson Tide, Devil in a Blue Dress (both 1995); He Got Game (1998); Remember the Titans (2000); Man on Fire (2004); Déjà Vu, Inside Man (both 2006); American Gangster (2007); Unstoppable, The Book of Eli (both 2010); The Equalizer trilogy (2014–2023), Gladiator II (2024), and Highest 2 Lowest (2025). Washington has also directed the films Antwone Fisher (2002), The Great Debaters (2007), Fences (2016), and A Journal for Jordan (2021). On stage, he has acted in The Public Theater productions of Coriolanus (1979) and The Tragedy of Richard III (1990). He made his Broadway debut in the Ron Milner play Checkmates (1988). He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as a disillusioned working-class father in the Broadway revival of August Wilson's play Fences (2010). He has also acted in the Broadway revivals of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (2005) and Othello (2025), Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun (2014), and Eugene O'Neill's play The Iceman Cometh (2018).
Inger Stevens
Inger Stevens (born Ingrid Stensland; October 18, 1934 – April 30, 1970)[1] was a Swedish–American film, television, and stage actress. Stevens was born in Stockholm, Sweden, the eldest child of Per Gustaf and Lisbet Stensland. When she was six years old, her mother abandoned the family (taking her youngest son Peter with her). Soon afterwards Stevens' father moved to the United States, leaving Stevens and her brother, Ola, in the custody of the family maid—and then later with an aunt in Lidingö, near Stockholm. In 1944, she and her brother moved to the United States and lived with their father and his new wife in New York City where he was teaching at Columbia University. At age 13, Stevens moved with her family to Manhattan, Kansas, where her father taught at Kansas State University. Stevens attended Manhattan High School. At 16, she ran away from home to Kansas City, and worked in burlesque shows. At 18, she left Kansas City to return to New York City, where she worked as a chorus girl and in the Garment District while taking classes at the Actors Studio. Stevens appeared on television series, in commercials, and in plays until she received her big break in the film Man on Fire, starring Bing Crosby. Roles in major films followed, including a starring role opposite Harry Belafonte in 1959's The World, the Flesh and the Devil, but she achieved her greatest success in the television series The Farmer's Daughter (1963–1966), with William Windom. Previously, Stevens had appeared in episodes of Bonanza, Route 66, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Eleventh Hour, Sam Benedict The Aquanuts (1960 TV series) and The Twilight Zone. Following the cancellation of The Farmer's Daughter in 1966, Stevens appeared in several films: A Guide for the Married Man (1967), with Walter Matthau; Hang 'Em High, with Clint Eastwood; 5 Card Stud, with Dean Martin and Robert Mitchum; and Madigan with Henry Fonda and Richard Widmark. At the time of her death, Stevens was attempting to revive her television career with the detective drama series The Most Deadly Game. Her first husband was her agent Anthony Soglio, to whom she was married from 1955 to 1957. In January 1966, she was appointed to the Advisory Board of the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute by then-California governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown. She also was named Chairman of the California Council for Retarded Children. Her aunt was Karin Stensland Junker, author of The Child in the Glass Ball. On the morning of April 30, 1970, Stevens's sometime roommate and companion, Lola McNally, found her on the kitchen floor of her Hollywood Hills home. According to McNally, when she called Stevens's name, she opened her eyes, lifted her head, and tried to speak, but was unable to make any sound. McNally told police that she had spoken to Stevens the previous night and had seen no sign of trouble. Stevens died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. On arrival, medics removed a small bandage from her chin that revealed a small amount of fresh blood oozing from a cut that appeared to have been a few hours old. Los Angeles County Coroner Dr. Thomas Noguchi attributed Stevens's death to "acute barbiturate poisoning" that was eventually ruled a suicide.
Brian Smyj
Brian Smyj (pronounced Smy) is a highly trained Stunt Coordinator and Stunt man with over 20 years in the business. From Gladiator (2000) to The Pink Panther (2006) he's crashed and burned his way across the big screen time and time again. When he's not launching someone off a building or lighting them on fire, he's designing and fabricating one-of-a-kind rigs, machines, and safety systems to make his stunts the best and safest in the business. Brian is one of the most creative, accomplished stunt rigger in the United States. Brian knows how to flex the rules of physics to defy the laws of gravity.
Jesse Hutch
Cast · Known for Freddy vs. Jason
Sharing the same Birth place as Marvel Character Wolverine, Jesse James Hutch was born in Alberta Canada. At the age of ten he watched his first film, the animated movie "The Hobbit", and was instantly hooked on the art of story telling. Through out high school Jesse was known as "Hardcore" Hutch, because of his outdoor adrenaline hobbies which included: white water rafting, white water kayaking, free climbing and mountain biking. Often times these hobbies were recorded on video and turned into short movies. At one point in Hutch's High School History class he Acted and played out a hostage take over scenario for a presentation. The teacher was apprehended, smoke grenades went off, paintball guns were used and the fire alarm went off. His marks for presentation were high, minus a few points because of the fire department being called. A collector of Movie Posters, some would say Hutch was an "Actor" even as a young boy, It was in 2001 that the title of "Thespian" became a professional one. His first official audition, which he booked, was for Dark Angel(FOX) in which he played the role of a Mutant, his second audition for Wolf Lake(CBS), which he also booked, had to be passed on due to a filming conflict with Dark Angel. Many Lead roles include that of: Romantic Comedy Teacher(Hallmark) My Boyfriends Dogs, Race Car Driver(Jordan Wells) 20th Century Fox: Joy Ride 3, Luke Bailey: Cedar Cove Season 2(Hallmark), Navy Seal: True Justice(Reelz), College Hunk: About a Girl(N Network), Hard Working Mans Man on The Hallmark Romantic Comedy Let it Snow, starring alongside Candace Cameron Bure(Full House). Roles on TV Series such as Almost Human, Once Upon A Time, American Dreams, Smallville, Kyle xy & Heartland are but a few of Hutch's recognizable credits alongside Feature films such as: The Butterfly Effect, Freddy vs Jason, Scary Movie 3 & Joy Ride 3. Performing almost all of his own stunts to date, Hutch has always had an attraction to Action and Adrenaline. Kick Boxing & Muay Thai are some of his past training. Jesse Hutch's most important Lead roles are: Husband,Father, Son, Brother & Wild Man. - IMDb Mini Biography
James Maritato
James Maritato is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring names Little Guido Maritato and Nunzio Maritato wrestled for Jersey All Pro Wrestling on September 19. On November 15, he won the JAPW Tag Team Championship with Tracy Smothers. On January 16, 2009, Maritato was inducted into the ECPW Hall of Fame. In February 2009, it was announced that Maritato would be a trainer for the "Bodyslam U" professional wrestling school in New Jersey, while still competing on the independent circuit.In June Guido returned to Ring of Honor losing to Jay Briscoe at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. In late 2009, Maritato began competing for the National Wrestling Alliance under the name Nunzio. He also performed for the NWA On Fire expansion based out of New England. Maritato reunited again on October 6, 2012 as F.B.I., being defeated by Danny Doring and Roadkill in the House of Hardcore's first show At House of Hardcore 2, now returning under his Little Guido ringname, faced Vik Dalishus in a losing effort. On June 6, 2014, at House of Hardcore 4, Maritato defeated Matt Striker. Maritato wrestled at House of Hardcore's next event on June 7, 2014, in which he defeated Danny Doring. At House of Hardcore 7, Maritato teamed up with Team Tremendous (Bil Carr and Dan Barry) to take on Anthony Greene, Ben Ortiz, and Vik Dalishus in a winning effort. He then took part in a ten-man tag team match at House of Hardcore 10, teaming up with Officer Colt Cabana, Bill Carr, Dan Barry, and F.B.I. member Tony Mamaluke, to successfully defeat Afa Jr., Jade, Lance Anoa'i, L.A. Smooth, and Vik Dalishus. On August 8, 2010, Maritato took part in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's ECW reunion show, Hardcore Justice, where he, Tony Mamaluke (billed as Tony Luke) and Tracy Smothers defeated Kid Kash, Simon Diamond and Johnny Swinger in a six-man tag team match.[46] On the following edition of TNA Impact!, the ECW alumni, known collectively as Extreme, Version 2.0 (EV 2.0), were assaulted by A.J. Styles, Kazarian, Robert Roode, James Storm, Douglas Williams and Matt Morgan of Ric Flair's Fourtune stable, who thought they didn't deserve to be in TNA.The following week TNA president Dixie Carter gave each member of EV 2.0 TNA contracts in order for them to settle their score with Fourtune.On the August 26 edition of Impact! Guido and Luke were squashed by Roode and Storm in a tag team match.The match ended F.B.I.'s association with TNA. Maritato was announced as a part of the new Total Nonstop Action India based project Ring Ka King working under the name Tony Broadway teaming with Joey Hollywood. However Ring Ka King only lasted one season and ended the same year. On March 6, 2006, Maritato was seen supporting his brother on the NBC game show Deal or No Deal in which he won $25,000.In 1996 Mariato competed in a mixed martial arts fight in Texas against Steve Nelson who was also his past opponent in UWFi. The fight appears on Nelson's official MMA record as a win. Mariato competed under the name James Stone which he also wrestled under in UWFi in Japan.
Elinor Donahue
Cast · Known for Pretty Woman, The Andy Griffith Show
Mary Eleanor Donahue (born April 19, 1937), credited as Elinor Donahue, is an American actress, best remembered today for playing the role of Betty Anderson, the eldest child of Robert Young and Jane Wyatt, on the 1950s American sitcom Father Knows Best. Donahue achieved stardom for her role as the elder daughter, Betty, on the television family series Father Knows Best. Her co-stars were Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Billy Gray as her younger brother, James "Bud" Anderson, Jr., and Lauren Chapin as her younger sister, Kathy. Donahue was a musical judge in ABC's Jukebox Jury (1953–54). While in the first season of Father Knows Best she also appeared on The Ray Bolger Show, starring Ray Bolger as a song-and-dance man. Thereafter, she was cast with James Best, Ann Doran, and J. Carrol Naish in the 1956 episode "The White Carnation" of the religion anthology series, Crossroads. She guest starred on an episode of U.S. Marshal. She also appeared as a new bride in the George Burns and Gracie Allen Show episode titled "The Newlyweds" that aired April 2, 1956. She played Georgiana Balanger in the episode "Dennis and the Wedding" (1960) on Dennis the Menace.[5] Donahue was also cast, in 1960, with Marion Ross in an episode ("Duet") of The Brothers Brannagan. She played Miriam Welby on ABC's The Odd Couple, Jane Mulligan on Mulligan's Stew, and Nurse Hunnicut on Days of Our Lives. She was featured in 12 episodes of CBS's The Andy Griffith Show as pharmacist Ellie Walker, even getting a mention in the opening credits. The character was intended to be a love interest for Sheriff Andy Taylor, but after one season (1960–1961), Donahue decided to ask for a release from her three-year contract.[6] In 1963, Donahue was cast in an episode of NBC's short-lived modern Western series, Redigo, with Richard Egan as the rancher Jim Redigo; then in 1964, she appeared as Melanie in "The Secret in the Stone" in the NBC medical drama dealing with psychiatry, The Eleventh Hour, starring Jack Ging and Ralph Bellamy. Additionally, on February 9, 1963, she played Letty May in the episode "The Burning Tree" on Have Gun Will Travel. In the 1964–65 season, Donahue costarred as Joan Randall, the daughter of Walter Burnley, played by John McGiver, on the CBS sitcom, Many Happy Returns about the complaint department of a fictitious Los Angeles department store. She guest-appeared on Star Trek in the second-season episode "Metamorphosis" (1967) as commissioner Nancy Hedford. In 1966, she guest starred on the TV series A Man Called Shenandoah, episode 8, "Town On Fire."
Mike Massa
Mike Massa (born February 8, 1968) is a stunt performer, coordinator, and second-unit director with a career spanning over three decades. He was born in Frankfurt, Germany. Standing at 6 feet 1 inch tall, Massa has become a prominent figure in the stunt industry. He began his career in the early 1990s, performing stunts in various television series and films. Massa gained significant recognition as the main stunt double for David Boreanaz in the fantasy series "Angel" (1999–2004), where he also served as a stunt coordinator for 63 episodes. His exceptional work on the show earned him a nomination for an American Choreography Award in 2002 for Outstanding Achievement in Fight Choreography for the episode "A New World". Massa's film credits are extensive, including work as a stunt performer and coordinator in major productions such as "Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens," "Blade Runner 2049," "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," "Iron Man 3," and "The Fate of the Furious." Notably, he served as a stunt double for Harrison Ford in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and "Blade Runner 2049". In 2004, Massa received the Taurus World Stunt Award for Best Specialty Stunt for his boat work in "The Italian Job" (2003), where he piloted a white boat during a high-speed chase scene through Venice's canals. This sequence was directed by Alexander Witt and coordinated by Gary Hymes. His contributions to the industry have been recognised with several accolades. In 2009, he was among the stunt performers nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." The following year, he won the same award as part of the "Star Trek" stunt crew. Additionally, in 2010, he received two Taurus World Stunt Award nominations in the categories of Best High Work and Best Specialty Stunt. Beyond his on-screen work, Massa is a board member of Stunts Unlimited, a prestigious organisation of elite stunt professionals. He has also endorsed training programs for aspiring stunt performers, emphasising the importance of foundational skills and mentorship within the industry. In July 2023, Massa made headlines during a SAG-AFTRA strike rally in Atlanta, Georgia, where he performed a live stunt by setting himself on fire while holding a "SAG-AFTRA on Strike" sign. This act was intended to draw attention to the challenges faced by stunt performers and to show solidarity with fellow union members.
Gary McLarty
Gary McLarty (January 16, 1941 – October 11, 2014) was an American stunt performer and stunt coordinator for film and television. His abilities earned him the nickname "Whiz Kid" in Hollywood. McLarty performed stunts in over 150 films between 1966 and 2004, among them The Wild Bunch, Little Big Man, The Longest Yard, Blade Runner, The Terminator, Jurassic Park, Heat, and Collateral. He was in the helicopter, as a stunt coordinator, when actor Vic Morrow and two children died in an accident on a "Twilight Zone" movie set. In the subsequent trial, McLarty testified that, prior to the accident, he had warned director John Landis that the stunt was too dangerous. In 1991 McLarty shot and killed his roommate. McLarty was cleared of all charges when the Deputy District Attorney determined that it was a clear case of justifiable homicide. On the Friday before as part of a bizarre series of events another man had been fatally shot by Sheriff's deputies at McLarty's Lake View Terrace ranch. McLarty's house also caught on fire and burned down during the same incident. McLarty semi-retired from stunt work in 2004. The following year, he testified at the murder trial of actor Robert Blake, testifying that Blake offered him $10,000 to murder Blake's wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley; McLarty declined. Bakley was fatally shot in Blake's car outside a restaurant in May 2001. Blake was thought by most to be the actual murderer, but was acquitted in a 2005 criminal trial. McLarty died on October 11, 2014 when a pickup truck driven by fellow stuntman Bob Orrison making a U-turn was broadsided by a Jeep Cherokee in Rancho Cordova, California, USA. Both stuntmen were killed instantly. The two persons in the Jeep Cherokee were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.
Fernando Di Leo
Writer · Known for A Fistful of Dollars
Fernando Di Leo (11 January 1932 – 2 December 2003) was an Italian film director and script writer. He made 17 films as a director and about 50 scripts from 1964 to 1985. Fernando Di Leo was born on 11 January 1932 in San Ferdinando di Puglia. After briefly working in Rome's film school Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, di Leo made his debut as a director as part of the omnibus comedy "Gli eroi di ieri, oggi, domani" with his episode titled "Un posto in paradiso" (transl. "A Place in Heaven"). Following this Di Leo wrote several scripts for Westerns, often uncredited. This included work on "A Fistful of Dollars", "For a Few Dollars More". Some of his Westerns had uncredited literary sources, such as "Days of Vengeance" which is loosely based on Alexandre Dumas' "The Count of Monte Cristo". Di Leo was a fan of film noir and wanted to make an Italian version of these films. Among his first efforts was the script for Mino Guerrini's "Date for a Murder" based on Franco Enna's novel "Tempo di massacro", written in 1955. In Di Leo's version, the setting is moved to a contemporary Rome and has elements of contemporary spy films. Di Leo worked with Guerrini again on the film "Gangsters '70" which did not do well at the box office. Di Leo began directing more of his own films at the time including the war film "Red Roses for the Fuhrer" and a few erotic films: "A Woman on Fire", "A Wrong Way to Love" and "Seduction". From 1969 to 1976, di Leo was able to produce many of his own works with his production company Duania cineproduzioni 70. He followed this with a return to noir with "Naked Violence", a film adapting a novel by Giorgio Scerbanenco, a writer who Di Leo would adapt for several future film productions. Di Leo would make a giallo film with "Slaughter Hotel" starring Klaus Kinski and Margaret Lee. Following this Di Leo worked on "Caliber 9" and "The Italian Connection" which were both inspired by the writing of Scerbanenco. He followed up this film "Il Boss", a film which got Di Leo in trouble with politicians and authorities due to the film's display of connections between the mafia and Italy's major party Democrazia Cristiana. Di Leo followed this up with "Shoot First, Die Later" in 1974. Di Leo worked through the latter half of the 1970s directing "Mister Scarface", "Kidnap Syndicate", and "Nick the Sting". He also wrote scripts for other directors such as Romolo Guerrieri's "Young, Violent, Dangerous", and Ruggero Deodato's "Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man". Di Leo's last film produced by his company Duania cineproduzioni 70 was "Rulers of the City" in 1976. He continued with a few more films after with the film noir "Blood and Diamonds", the erotic drama "To Be Twenty" - both in 1978, and "Madness" in 1980. Di Leo worked in television in the 1980s, starting with the television series "L'assassino ha le ore contate", which involved six one-hour-long made-for-TV films produced by RAI Uno which as of 2013 are unreleased. Di Leo also made "The Violent Breed" and his last film "Killer vs. Killers" in the mid-1980s. "Killer vs. Killers" wasn't released theatrically in Italy and only surfaced 20 years later on DVD. Di Leo died in December 2003.
Wesley Thompson
Wesley Thompson (born October 2, 1956) appeared as an Army Corpsman in the Season 11 episode of M*A*S*H titled "As Time Goes By". Wesley's other TV series guest appearances include The White Shadow, The Larry Sanders Show, Boston Legal, and Seinfeld. He has degrees in Theater Arts from San Francisco State University & UCLA. Born in Chicago, IL and raised in Pasadena, CA, Wesley began his career on the stage. He was voted Best Actor in college for his leading role in prolific playwright and director George C. Wolfe's very first play, "Up For Grabs". he's performed all over the Southland in such roles as Honey in "A Member of the Wedding" (with Virginia Capers), convicted felon Ice in Miguel Pinero's prison drama "Short Eyes", and in three long-running productions at West LA's Odyssey Theater: Filtch in Molière's "The Miser" with George Murdock, soldier McGlade in a Vietnam drama, "The Bridgehead", directed by Stephen Tobolowsky, and wisecracking relief pitcher Duke in the baseball comedy hit, "Bullpen", which moved, after its initial run, to Boston's Hasty Pudding Theater at Harvard. He has since gone on to do dozens of plays all over, but none as rewarding as his supporting role as the lovable loan shark Jumbo in the 2000 production of the romantic-comedy "Panache". It opened at the Pasadena Playhouse but within two months was swiftly moved to off-Broadway, to the Players Theater in Greenwich Village, in which The New York Times called Wesley "an electric, on-stage presence". He was a series regular on two ABC programs: He's the Mayor (1986) and Pursuit of Happiness (1987). His most recent stints include Friends (1994), Providence (1999), Just Shoot Me! (1997), Malcolm in the Middle (2000) and recurring roles on ER (1994) and Grounded for Life (2001). He has been very fortunate to have done over 200 commercials over the years. His first audition for film was for a low-budget drama intended as a documentary where the actors had to be believed as real people. The director, a young newcomer to feature filmmaking, hired him on the spot. The director, Taylor Hackford ("An Officer and a Gentleman", "The Devil's Advocate"). The film, "Teenage Father" (1978), won the Academy Award as Best Live Action Short. From there he has appeared such films as the Walter Hill film Brewster's Millions (1985) with Richard Pryor and John Candy, Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), directed by Joe Dante and working alongside Alfre Woodard in the Ivan Passer film Pretty Hattie's Baby (1991). Other film roles include the stage manager in L.A. Story (1991) with Steve Martin; Christina Ricci's teacher, Mr. Curtis, in the Brad Silberling-directed/Steven Spielberg-produced Casper (1995); as John Travolta's boss in Desmond Nakano's White Man's Burden (1995) with Harry Belafonte and the winner of the Discovery Award at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival, Smiling Fish & Goat on Fire (1999) produced by Martin Scorsese. He was last seen with Vivica A. Fox in Two Can Play That Game (2001), written and directed by Mark Brown (writer of Barbershop (2002)). (mash wikia)
Cole Stratton
Cole Stratton is the co-founder of SF Sketchfest, the San Francisco Comedy Festival, a month-long annual event highlighting the best in improv, sketch, stand-up, TV and film comedy. He's co-host of the Pop My Culture Podcast and regular sub host of Alchemy This. Along with Janet Varney, he has written and performed downloadable comedic commentary to the films Dirty Dancing, Ghost, Footloose, Poltergeist, The Lost Boys, Flatliners, Dreamscape and Jaws 3D for RiffTrax.com, an online venture helmed by Mystery Science Theater 3000’s Michael J. Nelson. Also with Varney, he co-created and co-hosts the Audible original comedy series The Bat: Improv in the Dark, featuring a who’s-who of guest improvisers winging a set sans lights in front of a live audience. He's appeared on American Horror Story, 9-1-1, Good Girls, Nash Bridges and America's Most Wanted, and in the films Diani & Devine Meet the Apocalypse, The Selling, Dead Man on Campus, Around the Fire and Callback. He's part of a washed-up boy band called Hot Basics in Janet Varney's IFC web series Fortune Rookie. As an improviser, he tours with Theme Park Improv, which features Ian Brennan, Rachel Dratch, Oscar Nunez, Danny Pudi, Simon Helberg, John Michael Higgins, Jessica Makinson and Janet Varney. He performs regularly at the Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica, CA.
John Nicolella
Director · Known for Miami Vice
John Joseph Nicolella (May 28, 1945 – February 21, 1998) was an American film and television director and producer. He is best known for his work on the 1980s television series Miami Vice. Nicolella began his career working as an assistant director on the Ivan Passer-directed film Born to Win (1971). Other films soon followed, the Paul Newman-directed film The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972), Crazy Joe (1974) starring Peter Boyle, Sweet Revenge (1976) starring Stockard Channing and Sam Waterston and Time Square (1980). He was also as a production manager on the films Saturday Night Fever (1977), Curse of the Pink Panther (1983) and co-produced Easy Money starring Rodney Dangerfield, Joe Pesci, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. In 1984, he joined the production crew of Miami Vice directing a number of episodes until 1987. He continued working with the show's star Don Johnson directing the music video short film for Johnson's song "Heartbeat" from the album of the same name. They reunited again when Nicolella served as executive producer for eight episodes of Nash Bridges. Nicolella's other directorial television credits include M.A.N.T.I.S., Crime Story, Leg Work, Gabriel's Fire, Dark Justice, Melrose Place, Key West, Marker and Super Force. He also directed a number of television films, most notably Mike Hammer: Murder Takes All (1989) and Rock Hudson (1990), as well as all four of the Vanishing Son films. He also directed the theatrical features Sunset Heat (1992) and Kull the Conqueror (1997), his final directing credit before his death in 1998.
Sarah Chalke
Cast · Known for Rick and Morty, Scrubs
Sarah Louise Christine Chalke (born August 27, 1976) is a Canadian actress and model. She is best known for her roles as Kate Mularkey on Netflix's Firefly Lane, Gabi in the movie Mother's Day, Paula Crowe in Chaos Theory, Dr. Elliot Reid on the NBC/ABC sitcom Scrubs, Gloria Macintosh in the movie Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy and on the subsequent CBC series, Muriel Jake's on Showtime's series Dead Man's Gun, Annie on CTV's series Neon Rider, and "Second Becky" Conner on Roseanne. She's had recurring roles as Merrill Morgan on Netflix's Friends from College, Melanie Hertzal on ABC's sitcom Speechless, Amy Gazanian on FOX's series Backstrom, and Stella Zinman on CBS's sitcom How I Met Your Mother. She's also voiced a number of roles including The Professor on Disney Channel's Hailey's on It!, Stella on Netflix's Dogs in Space, Gina Jabowski on Netflix's Paradise PD, Beth Smith on [adult swim]'s Rick & Morty, and Magee in Prep & Landing series of animated shorts. In December 2006, she became engaged to Canadian lawyer Jamie Afifi, after three years of dating. In September 2022, she announced that they had called off the engagement and "separated some time ago". They have two children together, a son born in December 2009, and a daughter born in May 2016. Her son was diagnosed at two years old with Kawasaki disease. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Ernest Pintoff
Ernest Pintoff (December 15, 1931 in Watertown, Connecticut – January 12, 2002 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles) was an American film and television director, screenwriter and film producer. He won the Oscar for Best Animated Short for The Critic (1963), a satire on modern art written and narrated by Mel Brooks. Born in Watertown, Connecticut, but raised in New York City, Pintoff originally began as a jazz trumpeter who taught painting and design at Michigan State University. However, he had always shown an interest in the animation of film and began writing in 1956. His career took off in 1957, when he wrote the script for Flebus, followed by 1959 as a producer and director for the animated short film, The Violinist. Narrated by Carl Reiner, the film earned Pintoff an Oscar nomination and illustrated a promising young career in directing film ahead of him. In 1964, he won an Oscar for his direction of the 1963 film, The Critic, which was narrated by co-creator Mel Brooks and focused on a man with a grumpy voice trying to understand abstractions he observes. On television, Pintoff directed many episodes of popular television series, including Hawaii Five-O (1968), Kojak (1968), The Six Million Dollar Man (1974), The Dukes of Hazard (1979), Falcon Crest (1981) and Voyagers! (1982). As part of NBC's "Experiments in Television" in the late 1960s, he also directed the documentaries This Is Marshall McLuhan and This Is Sholem Aleichem. Pintoff produced and directed a number of low-budget independent films such as Harvey Middleman, Fireman (1965), Who Killed Mary What's 'Er Name? (1971) and Dynamite Chicken (1972), a film using a collection of old clips from music with appearances by John Lennon, Richard Pryor and Andy Warhol, Nel mirino del giaguaro (1979). Following his last film in 1985, Pintoff taught directing at the School of Visual Arts, American Film Institute, USC School of Cinematic Arts, California Institute of the Arts and UCLA. He received the International Animated Film Society's Winsor McCay Award for prolific lifetime contributions to animation in 1998.