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Nicholas Parsons
Christopher Nicholas Parsons (10 October 1923 – 28 January 2020) was an English actor, straight man and radio and television presenter. He was the long-running presenter of the comedy radio show Just a Minute and hosted the game show Sale of the Century during the 1970s and early 1980s. Parsons was born and grew up in Grantham, Lincolnshire, and was educated at St Paul's School, London. He became a full-time actor following the Second World War and began appearing in various theatre, film and television roles, including support to Arthur Haynes. He began presenting Just a Minute in 1967 and never missed a show until 2018. In addition to his well-known roles on this and Sale of the Century, he appeared as a guest on other television shows, including Doctor Who and Have I Got News for You. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Alyssa-Jane Cook
Cast · Known for E Street
Alyssa-Jane Cook is an Australian actress and television presenter. She has appeared in numerous television drama series including Sons & Daughters, A Country Practice, E-Street, Home and Away, The Strip and Packed to the Rafters and has been a regular guest on Good News Week and Beauty & The Beast. Alyssa-Jane’s television hosting experience includes Sex Life, Breakfast Time, Australia’s Funniest People, Sale of the Century and Bright Ideas. Alyssa-Jane is currently a regular presenter on Foxtel.
Jeff Vintar
Writer · Known for I, Robot
Jeff Vintar attended the University of Iowa's Writers' Workshop, where he published a series of cartoons in Random House's The Quarterly. Carving out a living as a factory worker, English teacher and transit bus driver, Vintar broke into the film business when he sold three original spec scripts in the span of six months. The second screenplay, a twist-filled sci-fi love story called Spaceless, has become almost legendary in insider circles due to its reputation and long tortuous twenty-three year struggle through Hollywood's "development hell." With notable professionals calling it their favorite unproduced screenplay and online collectors always on the lookout for a copy of the script, it is often referred to as one of the Holy Grail scripts. It is a long-time favorite of Gore Verbinski, who directed The Ring, Pirates of the Caribbean and Rango. The third spec sale, Hardwired, renamed by the studio I, Robot after the Isaac Asimov short story collection, starred Will Smith and made $350 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing non-sequel of the summer, and the tenth highest-grossing film of 2004. The original Hardwired screenplay was a cerebral murder mystery that read like a stage play, and representatives of the Asimov estate considered it "more Asimov than Asimov." Vintar transformed the script into a big-budget studio film, also moving the story into the greater I, Robot universe. Mandated changes made the project more of a summer action blockbuster, a move that angered Asimov purists, although many critics considered the final product to have brains as well as brawn. The years have been kind to I, Robot which remains a popular audience favorite, and has inspired a generation of A.I. researchers, with retrospective articles calling for the film's reevaluation, saying it is more relevant than ever, far more faithful to Asimov's entire body of work than generally recognized, and hoping for a sequel. Ten years before Iron Man with Robert Downey, Jr. was released, Vintar wrote an early draft called The Iron Man for 20th Century Fox. He only agreed to take the job after he asked Stan Lee to co-write the screenplay or story with him, and Stan agreed. This was before the X-Men and Spider-Man films proved super-heroes are box office gold. Studio head Tom Rothman complimented the script, saying he did not understand the character until he read the Vintar/Lee draft, but insisting that the market would never support all these super-hero movies, especially not a fringe title like Iron Man. The Iron Man by Jeff Vintar and Stan Lee has made several reader's lists, including the one at Screenwriter's Utopia, of Best Unproduced Screenplays, and has been called "perhaps the best superhero screenplay of the era.” His first television series, The Hot Zone, became NatGeo's most-watched scripted series and warned of a coming catastrophe six months before the worldwide pandemic hit. Vintar's current projects include an adaptation of Blood Music, an original Christmas comedy, a time travel adventure series, and a crazy monster detective show with a great deal of cannabis. In his spare hours, just for fun, Vintar creates comic strips using his vintage action figure collection.
Matt Groening
Executive Producer · Producer · Known for Futurama, The Simpsons, The Simpsons Movie
Matthew Abram Groening (/ˈɡreɪnɪŋ/ GRAY-ning; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is best known as the creator of the television series The Simpsons (1989–present), Futurama (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2023–present), and Disenchantment (2018–2023), as well as the comic strip Life in Hell (1977–2012). The Simpsons is the longest-running American primetime television series in history, as well as the longest-running American animated series and sitcom. Born in Portland, Oregon, Groening made his first professional cartoon sale, of Life in Hell, to the avant-garde magazine Wet in 1978. At its peak, it was carried in 250 weekly newspapers and caught the attention of American producer James L. Brooks, who contacted Groening in 1985 about adapting it for animated sequences for the Fox 21st Century variety show The Tracey Ullman Show. Fearing the loss of ownership rights, Groening created a new set of characters, the Simpson family. The shorts were spun off into their own series, The Simpsons, which has since aired 791 episodes. In 1997, Groening and former Simpsons writer David X. Cohen developed Futurama, an animated series about life in the year 3000, which premiered in 1999. It ran for four years on Fox, was picked up in 2008 by Comedy Central for another five years, and was finally picked up by Hulu for another revival in 2023. In 2016, Groening developed a new series for Netflix, Disenchantment, which premiered in August 2018. Groening has won 14 Primetime Emmy Awards, 12 for The Simpsons and 2 for Futurama, and a British Comedy Award for "outstanding contribution to comedy" in 2004. In 2002, he won the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award for his work on Life in Hell. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 14, 2012. Description above from the Wikipedia article Matt Groening, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Matthew Helderman
Executive Producer · Known for Christmas at the Kringles, The Cycle
Matthew Helderman is the CEO and co-founder of BondIt Media Capital and Buffalo 8. Helderman founded Buffalo 8 in 2010, while an undergrad student at Lake Forest College. Buffalo 8 has since premiered projects at Sundance, SXSW, and Berlin, as well as producing the Netflix original film "Rodney King" directed by Spike Lee and the global Netflix hit "Conversations With a Killer: Jeffrey Dahmer" directed by Emmy winner Joe Berlinger. In 2013, he co-founded BondIt Media Capital and has led BondIt in the deployment of over $250M of capital in over 400+ film, television, and media opportunities, while raising $30M of equity and debt for a partial sale to public traded Accord Financial (TSX: ACD) in addition to expanding the company's credit facility to $75M in 2020 with Texas based hedge fund Revere Capital. BondIt projects include Oscar nominated Loving Vincent, the Roland Emerich directed war epic Midway, the Indie Spirit winner The Peanut Butter Falcon, and projects Robert De Niro, Bruce Willis, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Nicolas Cage, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Liam Neeson, Mel Gibson, Kevin James, Morgan Freeman, Jason Sudeikis, Kevin Smith, and Samuel L. Jackson resulting in over $500M+ of worldwide box office performances. Helderman also co-managed the acquisition of 30-year-old entertainment payroll firm, ABS Payroll in 2017 and today serves as an Executive Director, Partner, and Board Member having overseen the sale of the business to largest PEO provider in the United States, Vensure Employer Services. Helderman graduated from Lake Forest College with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, has been a featured TED speaker, profiled in the New York Times, and is a member of YPO.
Arianne Fraser
Executive Producer · Producer · Known for Just Play Dead, Protector
Ms. Fraser's first experience in the business was as a producer on the film Wassup Rockers, directed by Larry Clark, where she handled the sale of the film's worldwide rights. This led to a career in film sales. In August, 2005, Ms. Fraser became Director of Foreign Sales and Distribution for First Look International, where she handled sales of the company's library consisting of over 800 titles and the then-current film slate. Ms. Fraser decided to take the entrepreneurial plunge in early 2010 with the formation of Highland Film Group (HFG), where she partnered with Delphine Perrier. Ms. Fraser continues to use her unique and integral approach for film sales and her passion for commercial and quality packages to assist in financing films and bringing them to audiences worldwide.
Kevin Ulrich
Executive Producer · Known for Challengers
Kevin Ulrich is a leading force in the entertainment industry, global financial markets, and private equity platforms. Ulrich has served as executive producer for countless films including Cyrano, House of Gucci, Challengers, Dumb Money, and The Boys in the Boat. He is founder and Chairman of Anchorage Capital Group and the former Chairman of the Board of MGM Studios. Ulrich is known for designing and executing the sale of MGM studios to Amazon in 2022. It was Ulrich who stood behind MGM’s revitalization; his financial expertise was the basis for one of the notable entertainment transactions in this decade. As Chairman of J.Crew Group, Inc., Ulrich has applied his financial acumen to guide the legendary brand through structural changes and economic reform, all to ensure sustainability and continued advancement. At Anchorage, Ulrich is an involved and meticulous leader, shaping and securing the international firm’s position as a renowned provider of alternative credit and distressed management. Ulrich directed the Anchorage investment in J.Crew which brought the brand out of bankruptcy and onto a growth trajectory in record time.
Jack L. Warner
Executive Producer · Known for Casablanca
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jack Leonard "J. L." Warner (August 2, 1892 – September 9, 1978), born Jacob Warner in London, Ontario, was a Canadian-American film executive who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Warner's career spanned some 45 years, its duration surpassing that of any other of the seminal Hollywood studio moguls. As co-head of production at Warner Bros. Studios, he worked with his brother, Sam Warner, to procure the technology for the film industry's first talking picture. After Sam's death, Jack clashed with his surviving older brothers, Harry and Albert Warner. He assumed exclusive control of the film production company in the 1950s, when he secretly purchased his brothers' shares in the business after convincing them to participate in a joint sale of stocks. Although Warner was feared by many of his employees and inspired ridicule with his uneven attempts at humor, he earned respect for his shrewd instincts and tough-mindedness. He recruited many of Warner Bros.' top stars and promoted the hard-edged social dramas for which the studio became known. Given to decisiveness, Warner once commented, "If I'm right fifty-one percent of the time, I'm ahead of the game." Throughout his career, he was viewed as a contradictory and enigmatic figure. Although he was a staunch Republican, Warner encouraged film projects that promoted the agenda of Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. He opposed European fascism and criticized Nazi Germany well before America's involvement in World War II. An opponent of Communism, after the war Warner appeared as a friendly witness before the House Un-American Activities Committee, voluntarily naming screenwriters who had been fired as suspected Communists or sympathizers. Despite his controversial public image, Warner remained a force in the motion picture industry until his retirement in the early 1970s.
F. Scott Frazier
Writer · Known for xXx: Return of Xander Cage
F. Scott Frazier is an American screenwriter who first embarked on his career in the video game industry. After completing high school, he began working for a video game company, where he advanced to the role of producer. During this time, he contributed to titles such as Tetris Evolution (2007), Fairly OddParents: Breakin’ da Rules (2004), Hot Wheels: Stunt Track Challenge (2004), and The Granstream Saga (1997). Driven by his passion for storytelling, Frazier took a bold leap: he quit his full-time day job around 2009 to pursue screenwriting full-time. Within eight to nine months, through networking and persistence, one of his scripts—The Numbers Station—caught the attention of a manager at H2F Entertainment, ultimately leading to the sale of the project. His breakout script, The Numbers Station (2013), was his first to be produced, marking his transition from video games to film. Frazier went on to contribute the story for Collide (2016) and co-executive produced it. He also wrote the screenplay for xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017). His earlier writing career was marked by rapid success; he was recognised on The Black List for his script Line of Sight, and by late 2012 had sold six scripts in about two years. Frazier’s writing process has been described as disciplined and rigorous: he typically writes four or five hours in the morning, pauses for lunch and a walk, then spends another three to four hours rewriting. He emphasises starting with a rough draft quickly, then meticulously refining each scene and line of dialogue. He comes from a creative background—his father was a television writer in the 1970s and 1980s. He is married.
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson was the founder and frontman of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief songwriter and producer. Robinson led the group from its 1955 origins as "the Five Chimes" until 1972, when he announced a retirement from the group to focus on his role as Motown's vice president. However, Robinson returned to the music industry as a solo artist the following year. Following the sale of Motown Records in 1988, Robinson left the company in 1990. Robinson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and was awarded the 2016 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for his lifetime contributions to popular music.
Oleg Stefan
After graduating from high school in 1976, he entered the Shchepkin Theatre School in Moscow. As a second-year student, he played two roles on the stage of the Maly Theatre. In 1979, his television and film career began. After graduating from theatre school in 1980, he was accepted into the troupe of the Academic Maly Theatre of the USSR, where he played with such actors as Smoktunovsky, Tsarev, Ilyinsky, Zharov, the Solomin brothers, and Martsevich. He worked on radio, television, and in cinema. He toured many cities in the Soviet Union with his solo concert program. In 1985-1986, he served in the ranks of the USSR Armed Forces in the Moscow region in the engineering troops. On the stage of the Maly Theatre, he played in more than 20 plays. Some of them are: Long Day's Journey into Night, Agony, Cyrano de Bergerac, and The Shore. In early 1992, Stefanko emigrated to the United States. Living in New York, he mastered new professions: waiter, taxi driver, bartender, car dealer; security guard, kickboxer; was engaged in the sale of insurance policies. At the same time, he worked in the modeling business, theater, played on the stage of the "Theater of New York City". In New York, Oleg starred in his first American film. In 1994, he moved to Los Angeles, worked in television and film. He was accepted into two American acting guilds: SAG - Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. In Los Angeles, he continued his education at the "L.A. Actors Circle Theater School". Having received American citizenship, he changed his last name to Oleg Stefan. Under this name, he starred in 14 Hollywood films, working with such actors as Robert De Niro, Michael York, Gene Hackman, Sigourney Weaver, Jude Law, James Belushi, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin, Vincent Perez, Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, Tom Wilkinson, Denis O'Hea and others. He later returned to Russia, where he continued acting. Oleg Stefanko gained wide fame for his role as Leonid Zubov in the TV series "The Forester". In total, Stefanko has 76 film and television works, in 54 of which he played the leading roles. Personal life: First wife - Larisa Stefanko, Daughter - Kristina, Son - John (Ivan), born in the late 1990s. It was decided to call him Ivan. But after some time his name was changed to John, as it sounds better to Americans. Second wife - Anna Stefanko.
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay Jr. was born on April 2, 1939, the second oldest child of domestic worker Alberta Gay and Pentecostalist minister Marvin Gay Sr. From an early age, Gaye took an ardor for singing; he believed that this vocation helped him through his severely troubled youth. Gaye's sister has stated that Gay Sr. beat Marvin often and into his teens. At 17, Gaye became a high school dropout, enlisting in the U.S. Air Force. Disgruntled by the humble labor he had to do, Gaye pretended to have mental illness. The service authorized him a "General Discharge." Gaye returned to the D.C. area and set up a vocal quartet with a friend called The Marquees. Gaye's first vocal recording as a lead singer, "Mama Loocie," was recorded with Harvey and the New Moonglows, which was composed of Harvey Fuqua and members of The Marquees. After the group's dissolution in 1960, Gaye moved to Detroit. Performing at Motown head Berry Gordy's house, Gaye drew Gordy's interest; the ensuing sale of Fuqua's part of Gaye's contract led to Gaye signing with Motown company Tamla. Gaye initially wanted a career as a standards and jazz performer. After numerous album releases and chart successes, in 1971, Gaye saw the release of his concept album What's Going On. It was his first platinum-selling album and earned him much critical praise. His next project would be the score and soundtrack to the 1972 blaxploitation film, Trouble Man. In 1981, advised by music promoter Freddy Cousaert, tax exile Gaye moved into Cousaert's Ostend apartment in Belgium. Staging a personal recovery, Gaye penned the song "Sexual Healing," which would be his greatest hit, eventually doing ten weeks in the top position on the Hot Black Singles chart. The song was the first single from the album Midnight Love, which sold in excess of six million units. Gaye then went out on the Sexual Healing Tour, starting April 18, 1983, which would be his last tour. Around halfway through the year, he ended the tour, suffering paranoia stemming from cocaine use. Gaye then relocated to his parents' residence in L.A. Marvins Sr. and Jr. had growing conflict between them for months. Relatives and friends felt that Marvin Jr. was sometimes suicidally driven. One day, Gaye attempted to follow this urge with a leap from a hurtling sports car. He only received slight bruises. On April 1, 1984, Marvin Sr. yelled at Alberta about a lost insurance policy letter; they'd argued about the form for days. A severe thrashing then ensued between the two Marvins, with Marvin Sr. on the receiving end. Minutes thereafter, Marvin Sr. entered Gaye's bedroom, clutching a .38 pistol that had been bought for him by Gaye, and shot his son once in his heart and once in the shoulder. Marvin Jr.'s body was transported to California Hospital Medical Center, where at about 1 P.M., Gaye was pronounced dead on arrival. Celebrities across the world were shocked by the news of Gaye's untimely passing, from Smokey Robinson to Al Sharpton. Following Gaye's death, his awards and honors have flourished -- a fitting legacy for the man titled Prince of Soul.
Oliver North
Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is an American political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. North was a National Security Council staff member during the Iran–Contra affair, a political scandal of the late 1980s. It involved the illegal sale of weapons to the Khomeini regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran to encourage the release of American hostages then held in Lebanon. North formulated the second part of the plan, which was to divert proceeds from the arms sales to support the Contra rebel groups in Nicaragua, sales which had been specifically prohibited under the Boland Amendment. North was granted limited immunity from prosecution in exchange for testifying before Congress about the scheme. He was initially convicted on three felony charges, but the convictions were vacated and reversed and all charges against him dismissed in 1991. North unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate seat held by Chuck Robb from Virginia in 1994. In a three-way race, North narrowly lost to Robb by a margin of 2.73%. He then hosted a talk show on Radio America from 1995 to 2003 and one on Fox News from 2001 to 2016. He was also president of the National Rifle Association from 2018 to 2019. Description above from the Wikipedia article Oliver North, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmul Gelbfisz), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish American film producer. He was most well known for being the founding contributor and executive of several motion picture studios in Hollywood. In 1916, Goldwyn partnered with Broadway producers Edgar and Archibald Selwyn, using a combination of both names to call their movie-making enterprise Goldwyn Pictures. Seeing an opportunity, Samuel Gelbfisz then had his name legally changed to Samuel Goldwyn, which he used for the rest of his life. Goldwyn Pictures proved successful but it is their Leo the Lion trademark for which the organization is most famous. On April 10, 1924, Goldwyn Pictures was acquired by Marcus Loew and merged into his Metro Pictures Corporation. Despite the inclusion of his name, Goldwyn had no role in the management or production at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Before the sale and merger of Goldwyn Pictures in April 1924, Goldwyn had established Samuel Goldwyn Productions in 1923 as a production-only operation (with no distribution arm). Their first feature was Potash and Perlmutter, released in September 1923 through First National Pictures. Some of the early productions bear the name Howard Productions, named for Goldwyn's wife Frances Howard. For 35 years, Goldwyn built a reputation in filmmaking and developed an eye for finding the talent for making films. William Wyler directed many of his most celebrated productions, and he hired writers such as Ben Hecht, Sidney Howard, Dorothy Parker, and Lillian Hellman. (According to legend, at a heated story conference Goldwyn scolded someone —in most accounts Mrs. Parker, who recalled he had once been a glove maker— with the retort: “Don't you point that finger at me. I knew it when it had a thimble on it!” During that time, Goldwyn made numerous films and reigned as the most successful independent producer in the US. Many of his films were forgettable; his collaboration with John Ford, however, resulted in Best Picture Oscar nomination for Arrowsmith (1931). William Wyler was responsible for most of Goldwyn's highly lauded films, with Best Picture Oscar nominations for Dodsworth (1936), Dead End (1937), Wuthering Heights (1939), The Little Foxes (1941) and The Best Years of Our Lives (1948). The leading actors in several of Goldwyn films, especially those directed by William Wyler, were also Oscar-nominated for their performances. Throughout the 1930s, Goldwyn released all his films through United Artists, but beginning in 1941, and continuing almost through the end of his career, Goldwyn released his films through RKO Radio Pictures. Goldwyn died at his home in Los Angeles in 1974 from natural causes, at the probable age of 94. He was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. In the 1980s, Samuel Goldwyn Studio was sold to Warner Bros. There is a theater named after him in Beverly Hills and he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1631 Vine Street.
Richard Sale
Costume Design · Known for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Back in Action, Masters of the Universe
Richard Sale is known for Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Ready Player One (2018) and World War Z (2013). Though most of his career has been spent as an assistant costume designer, Richard Sale's experience as the lead costume designer remains very minimal. Now, IMDB has him slated as the designer for James Wan's Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2022), and his work already looks to be promising.
Virginia Sale
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Virginia Sale (May 20, 1899 – August 23, 1992) was an American character actress whose career spanned six decades, during most of which she played older women, even when she was in her twenties. Over the 46 years she was active as an actress, she worked in films, stage, radio and television. She was famous for her one-woman stage show, Americana Sketches, which she did for more than 1,000 performances during a 15-year span. Married to actor and studio executive Sam Wren, she co-starred with him in one of the first television family comedies, Wren's Nest, in the late 1940s and early 1950s. She gave birth to fraternal twins, Virginia and Christopher, in 1936. Later in her career she worked on television, and in commercials. She died from heart failure at the age of 93 at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in 1992.
Madge Evans
Lovely Madge Evans was the perennial nice girl in films of the 1930s. By then, she had been in front of the camera for many years, starting with Fairy Soap commercials at the age of two (she sat on a bar of soap holding a bunch of violets with the tag line reading "have you a little fairy in your home?"). 'Baby Madge' also lent her name to a children's hat company. In 1914, aged five, she was picked out by talent scouts to appear in the William Farnum movie The Sign of the Cross (1914), followed by The Seven Sisters (1915) with Marguerite Clark. By the end of the following year, she had amassed some twenty film credits, appearing with such noted contemporary stars as Pauline Frederick or Alice Brady. All of her early films were made on the East Coast, at studios in Ft.Lee, New Jersey. In 1917 (aged eight), Madge made her Broadway debut in 'Peter Ibbetson' with John Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore. She resumed her stage career in 1926 as an ingenue with 'Daisy Mayme' and the following year appeared with Billie Burke in Noel Coward's costume drama 'The Marquise' (1927). Her pleasing looks and personality soon attracted the attention of Hollywood and she was eventually signed by MGM in 1931. During the next decade, she appeared in several A-grade productions, notably as Lionel Barrymore's daughter in MGM's Dinner at Eight (1933) and as the dependable Agnes Wickfield in one of the best-ever filmed versions of David Copperfield (1935). She co-starred opposite James Cagney in the gangster movie The Mayor of Hell (1933), Spencer Tracy in The Show-Off (1934) and listened to Bing Crosby crooning the title song in Pennies from Heaven (1936). Madge received praise for her performance as the star of Beauty for Sale (1933) and The New York Times review of January 13 1934 described her acting in Fugitive Lovers (1934) (opposite Robert Montgomery ) as 'spontaneous and captivating'. Many of her 'typical American girl' roles did not allow her to express aspects of the greater acting range she undoubtedly possessed. Too often she was cast as the 'nice girl' - and those rarely make much of a dramatic impact. On the few occasions she was assigned the role of 'other woman' , such as the Helen Hayes-starrer What Every Woman Knows (1934), audiences found her character difficult to believe and disassociate from her all-round wholesome image. When her contract with MGM expired in 1937, Madge wound down her film career and, following her 1939 marriage, concentrated on being the wife of celebrated playwright Sidney Kingsley. She last appeared on stage in one of his plays, "The Patriots", in 1943.
Karl Spoerri
Producer · Known for A Talent for Murder
Karl Spoerri co-founded the Zurich Film Festival in 2005. As artistic director of the festival, he led it to become the largest fall festival in the German-speaking world with over 130,000 visitors and 160 films screened each year. Spoerri is also the founder of the Zurich Summit, the most important industry event of the Zurich Film Festival. In 2014, he initiated the film magazine "Frame" in collaboration with NZZ am Sonntag. Spoerri and his business partners sold the festival and the associated marketing company Spoundation Motion Picture AG, the current owner of the "Frame" cinema in Zurich, to NZZ Mediengruppe AG, and he resigned from his position as artistic director of the ZFF in 2019. In his further career as a producer and executive producer, Spoerri worked on David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method with Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender. With Zurich Avenue, Spoerri was executive producer on films such as Julian Schnabel's At Eternity's Gate with Willem Dafoe, David Lowery's The Old Man & the Gun with Robert Redford and Casey Affleck, Harmony Korine's The Beach Bum with Matthew McConaughey, Snoop Dogg and Isla Fisher, and Roland Emmerich's Moonfall. As a producer, he brought Bill Pohlad's Dreamin' Wild with Casey Affleck, Zooey Deschanel and Beau Bridges to the big screen. The film celebrated its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival 2022 and was released by Roadside Attractions in the USA in summer 2023. Zurich Avenue also co-developed the acclaimed Netflix production Nyad starring Jodie Foster and Annette Bening together with Black Bear Pictures. Nyad celebrated its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival and screened at all the fall festivals before the film was successfully launched on Netflix. Karl Spoerri co-developed Monsanto, a highly anticipated film starring Glen Powell, Anthony Mackie, and Laura Dern, directed by John Lee Hancock. The project generated significant buzz at the 2024 Cannes Market, leading to an impressive pre-sale deal with Netflix for worldwide distribution. The streaming platform secured the rights for over $30 million, making it one of the largest deals at Cannes that year. Spoerri also produced the action comedy Thelma with June Squibb, Fred Hechinger, Richard Roundtree, Parker Posey and Clark Gregg. Thelma had its World premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it received exceptional critical acclaim. With a 98% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes based on over 190 reviews, the film resonated strongly with both audiences and critics alike. Following its successful festival debut, Thelma was released in the U.S. by Magnolia Pictures over the summer of 2024, where it quickly became an independent box office sensation, grossing over $10 million. Thelma was successfully released internationally by Universal Pictures, rolling out in key territories such as the UK, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Finland, and Japan. The film resonated with audiences worldwide, cementing its success across multiple markets. In spring 2025, Spoerri was involved in the feature film Switzerland, a psychological thriller starring Helen Mirren and Alden Ehrenreich, directed by Anton Corbijn. The film is currently in postproduction.
Anne Howells
Anne Elizabeth Howells (12 January 1941 – 18 May 2022) was a British operatic mezzo-soprano. Howells was born in Southport, Lancashire, on 12 January 1941, the daughter of Trevor Howells and Mona Howells (née Hewart). She was educated at Sale Grammar School, where her teachers included Alfred Higson. She further studied music at the Royal Manchester College of Music (now the Royal Northern College of Music), where her teachers included Frederic Cox. Howells continued singing studies with Vera Rózsa. Howells sang in productions at Glyndebourne, the Royal Opera House, and with the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the opera houses of both San Francisco and Los Angeles, the four Parisian opera houses, the Grand Théâtre de Genève, the Salzburger Festspiele, the Vienna Staatsoper, the Carnegie Hall, and the Musikverein of Vienna. She sang in the premieres of Rolf Liebermann's Forêt (as Régine), Nicholas Maw's The Rising of the Moon (as Cathleen) and of Richard Rodney Bennett's Victory (as Lena). Following her retirement from public performance, Howells taught at the Royal Academy of Music. Howells was married three times. Her first marriage to Ryland Davies was from 1966 to 1981. Her second marriage was to Stafford Dean, from 1981 to 1988, and produced a son, Matthew, and a daughter, Laura. Both marriages ended in divorce. Her third marriage was to Peter Fyson, which lasted until his death in 2005. Howells died from myeloma in Andover, Hampshire on 18 May 2022, at the age of 81. Her children survive her. Source: Article "Anne Howells" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Gina Lollobrigida
Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida OMRI (4 July 1927 – 16 January 2023) was an Italian actress, model, photojournalist, and sculptor. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and 1960s, a period in which she was an international sex symbol. Dubbed "the most beautiful woman in the world", at the time of her death she was among the last surviving high-profile international actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. As her film career slowed, Lollobrigida established a second career as a photojournalist. In the 1970s she achieved a scoop by gaining access to Fidel Castro for an exclusive interview. Lollobrigida continued as an active supporter of Italian and Italian-American causes, particularly the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF). In 2008 she received the NIAF Lifetime Achievement Award at the Foundation's Anniversary Gala. In 2013, she sold her jewellery collection and donated the nearly US$5 million from the sale to benefit stem-cell therapy research. She won the Henrietta Award at the 18th Golden Globe Awards. Description above from the Wikipedia article Gina Lollobrigida, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
John Hodgman
Cast · Known for Coraline
John Kellogg Hodgman (born June 3, 1971) is an American actor, author and humorist. In addition to his published written works, such as The Areas of My Expertise and More Information Than You Require, he is known for his personification of a PC in contrast to Justin Long's personification of a Mac in Apple's "Get a Mac" advertising campaign, and for his correspondent work on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. His writings have been published in One Story (to which he contributed the debut story), The Paris Review, McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Wired and The New York Times Magazine, for which he is editor of the humor section. He contributes to Public Radio International’s This American Life, and CBC Radio One’s Wiretap. His first book and accompanying audio narration, The Areas of My Expertise, a satirical tongue-in-cheek almanac which actually contains almost no factual information, was published in 2005. His second book, More Information Than You Require, went on sale October 21, 2008. Hodgman was the headline speaker at the 2009 Radio and Television Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D.C.
Andrea Bocelli
Cast · Known for Solo Mio
Andrea Bocelli was born on September 22, 1958 in Lajatico, a province of Pisa in Italy. Born with glaucoma cong nito, very low vision at the age of twelve suffered an accident playing football, losing completely the sense. He grew up on the farm who had his family in Tuscany, where they have a small vineyard from which her father produced "Chanti Bocelli. Very passionate about everything he had to do with the art, Andrea studied piano, flute and SAX, and after studying law at the University of Pisa, coming to obtain the title of doctor. For a year he was defender of the Court and after contacted the tenor Franco Corelli to become his pupil. The young apprentice spent some time singing in bars and nightclubs to pay for their classes and met Enrica, a beautiful woman who fell in love with. Later the couple decided to marry, and they were parents of Amos and Matteo. In 1992 Zucchero rock star, carries out auditions with tenors to perform tape demo of the song that was composed by Bono from U2 entitled Miserere. I wanted to have this great tenor Pavarotti accompany you to the duo, but in the end, Andrea was elected. When Pavarotti heard the tape it was impressed and also recorded the theme with rocker Italian, achieving a tremendous success. Subsequently Zucchero began his tour all over Europe and invited Andrea to sing the theme. It had also a participation in the concert ben fico annual gala of Pavarotti, which unites with the popular classical music, could sing a Duet with Pavarotti and other stars of the music such as Bryan Adams. In 1993 he could sign a contract with the record label Insieme/Sugar, renowned for representing famous artists of Italy. Some time later participates in the Festival of San Remo from where also emerged victorious. Years after became one of his most important dreams reality, the protagonist of La Boheme by Puccini, in Cagliari, Italy. A few months more tardepublicoo his "Aria" album, with themes of opera and Andrea received a nomination for the Grammy Awards. It would be his new work he titled "Sogno", with the same success that had earlier in March 1999 when comes to light. This production features 3 songs in Spanish and had the support of important composers such as Ennio Morricone, and they accompanied him also n Eros Ramazzotti, Celine Dion and Dulce Pontes. In the new millennium, Bocelli received 2 nominations for Grammy Awards and made the tour "World Tour 2000". His new album "Feeling" is recorded at 220 and for 2006 "Amore" is put on sale. Andrea Bocelli has come to sell more than 70 million records worldwide, became staying in one of the most renowned tenors of the planet. His marriage with Enrica ended in 2002 and after begins a new relationship with Veronica Beri.
Stephen Talbot
Stephen Henderson Talbot is a TV documentary producer, actor, writer and reporter. Talbot directed and produced "The Movement and the 'Madman' " for the PBS series American Experience in 2023. He is a longtime contributor to the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and worked for over 16 years for the series Frontline. Before becoming a journalist and documentary producer, Talbot was a television child actor in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He is best known for his role in the TV sitcom Leave It to Beaver, in which he played Gilbert Bates, friend of Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver (Jerry Mathers). Talbot's more than 40 documentaries include the Frontline films "The Best Campaign Money Can Buy", "Rush Limbaugh's America", "The Long March of Newt Gingrich", "Justice for Sale", and "News War: What's Happening to the News". Talbot has also written and produced PBS biographies of writers Dashiell Hammett, Beryl Markham, Ken Kesey, Carlos Fuentes, Maxine Hong Kingston and John Dos Passos. He was co-creator and executive producer of the PBS music specials, Sound Tracks: Music Without Borders.
Cormac Wibberley
Writer · Known for Bad Boys II, National Treasure
Marianne Wibberley & Cormac Wibberley are an American screenwriting team, as well as husband and wife. They have been writing together since 1991, and made their first screenplay sale in 1993. They have been credited writers on films including National Treasure, I Spy, The 6th Day and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. The pair both grew up in Southern California, where they attended the same high school, Mira Costa High School. Both went on to attend UCLA as undergraduates, with Marianne staying at UCLA for graduate work at the Film School. They currently live in the South Bay, Los Angeles area with their daughter, who attends Princeton University. Cormac's father was Leonard Wibberley, author of The Mouse That Roared among other books. Description above from the Wikipedia article Marianne Wibberley & Cormac Wibberley, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.