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Frank McCourt

Francis McCourt was an Irish-American teacher and writer. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his book Angela's Ashes, a tragicomic memoir of the misery and squalor of his childhood. In October 1949, at the age of 19, McCourt left Ireland. He had saved money from various jobs including as a telegram delivery boy and stolen from one of his employers, a moneylender, after her death. He took a boat from Cork to New York City. A priest he had met on the ship got him a room to stay in and his job at New York City's Biltmore Hotel. He earned about $26 a week and sent $10 of it to his mother in Limerick. Brothers Malachy and Michael followed him to New York and so, later, did their mother Angela. In 1951, McCourt was drafted during the Korean War and sent to Bavaria for two years initially training dogs, then as a clerk. Upon his discharge from the US Army, he returned to New York City, where he held a series of jobs on docks, in warehouses, and in banks. Using his GI Bill education benefits, McCourt talked his way into New York University by claiming he was intelligent and read a great deal; they admitted him on one year's probation provided he maintained a B average. He graduated in 1957 from New York University with a bachelor's degree in English. He taught at six New York schools, including McKee Vocational and Technical High School, Ralph R. McKee CTE High School in Staten Island, New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn, Stuyvesant High School, Seward Park High School, Washington Irving High School, and the High School of Fashion Industries, all in Manhattan. In 1967, he earned a master's degree at Brooklyn College, and in the late 1960s he spent 18 months at Trinity College in Dublin, failing to earn his PhD before returning to New York City. In a 1997 New York Times essay, McCourt wrote about his experiences teaching immigrant mothers at New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn. McCourt won the annual Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography and one of the annual National Book Critics Circle Awards for his bestselling 1996 memoir, Angela's Ashes, which details his impoverished childhood from Brooklyn to Limerick. Three years later, a movie version of Angela's Ashes opened to mixed reviews. Northern Irish actor Michael Legge played McCourt as a teenager. McCourt also authored 'Tis , which continues the narrative of his life, picking up from the end of Angela's Ashes and focusing on his life after he returned to New York. He subsequently wrote Teacher Man which detailed his teaching experiences and the challenges of being a teacher. McCourt was accused of greatly exaggerating his family's impoverished upbringing by many Limerick natives, including Richard Harris. McCourt's own mother had denied the accuracy of his stories shortly before her death in 1981, shouting from the audience during a stage performance of his recollections that it was "all a pack of lies." However, at the very least, many of his Stuyvesant High School students remembered quite clearly the mordant childhood anecdotes that he continually told during sessions of his senior-level Creative Writing elective. McCourt wrote the book for a 1997 musical entitled The Irish… and How They Got That Way, which featured an eclectic mix of Irish music; everything from the traditional "Danny Boy" to U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For."

Mitch Hedberg

Mitchell Lee "Mitch" Hedberg (February 24, 1968 – March 30, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian known for his surreal humor and unconventional comedic delivery. His comedy typically featured short, sometimes one-line jokes, mixed with absurd elements and non sequiturs. Hedberg's comedy and on-stage persona gained him a cult following, with audience members sometimes shouting out the punchlines to his jokes before he could finish them.

John Nord

is a retired American professional wrestler. John Nord started wrestling in late 1984 as "The Barbarian" for Mid-South Wrestling under manager Skandor Akbar. In 1985 and 1986 he changed his ring name to Nord the Barbarian and wrestled in singles and tag team competition under manager Adnan El Kassey in the American Wrestling Association. He frequently teamed with Bruiser Brody while there. The two faced Greg Gagne and Jimmy Snuka as part of a triple main event at WrestleRock 86. Nord then went to World Class Championship Wrestling under manager Gary Hart where he feuded with Kevin Von Erich for the World Class Title. He challenged Von Erich for the WCCW title at the 3rd Annual David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions at Texas Stadium in 1987. In 1989, he returned to the AWA under the name "Yukon John". A lumberjack gimmick where he would come to the ring with an ax, dressed in blue jeans, flannel shirt, animal skin hat, and boots. He mainly competed in singles competition until forming a tag team in 1990 with Scott Norton, calling themselves the ""Yukon Lumberjacks". They feuded briefly with the Texas Hangmen. When the AWA stopped promoting, he moved to Pacific Northwest Wrestling. In 1991, Nord went to the WWF as The Viking. He soon changed his name to The Berzerker and was managed by Mr. Fuji and he feuded with Davey Boy Smith and Jimmy Snuka. His most preferred method of winning matches was by throwing his opponents out of the ring and getting a "count out" victory, all the while holding his wrist, licking his hand, shouting "Huss! Huss!" à la Bruiser Brody, and intentionally falling flat on his back. He wrestled as part of a 4-man team in an elimination match at the 1991 Survivor Series pay-per-view event. He was the last man eliminated for his team. He then feuded with The Undertaker, at one point attempting to stab him with his sword. In 1992 he won a 40-man Battle Royal, aired on WWF Prime Time Wrestling, but left the WWF the following year. He went to All Japan Pro Wrestling in 1994 and stayed until 1997 when he showed up in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) with bleach blond hair under his real name, John Nord. He wrestled mainly on WCW Saturday Night and started a long winning streak that culminated with a match against another streak holder, Bill Goldberg, on July 4, 1998. Nord lost the match, had a short-lived team with Barry Darsow, and was soon gone from WCW. He retired from wrestling and went to work at his brother's auto dealership, Nord East Motors in Hilltop, MN. He has a son, Joe that wrestles HWT for the University of Minnesota. He is a junior this season 2009-2010.

Barton MacLane

Cast · Known for I Dream of Jeannie

Barton MacLane graduated from Wesleyan University, where he displayed a notable aptitude for sports, in particular football and basketball. Not surprisingly, his physical prowess led to an early role in The Quarterback (1926) with Richard Dix. MacLane once commented that, as an actor, he needed to have the physical strength to tear the bad guys "from limb to limb", if necessary. Ironically, it was usually Barton himself who was destined to be at the end of a hiding (when not getting shot, instead), typically as snarling henchmen, outlaws and other assorted dubious or abrasive types throughout most of his 40-year acting career. In fact, Barton became so typecast that his name was for a time used proverbially, to generally describe a shouting, hard-nosed ruffian. After training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, MacLane joined a stock company in Brooklyn. In 1927 he had his first part on Broadway, a brief moment as an assistant district attorney, in the melodrama "The Trial of Mary Dugan". He then played a small featured role as a police officer in "Subway Express" (1929-30), a drama enacted in the interior of a subway car. In mid-1932 MacLane tried his hand at writing his own starring vehicle for the stage, entitled "Rendezvous". While the play closed after just 21 performances, it led to a contract with Warner Brothers. Barton had already appeared in bit roles for Paramount at their Astoria Studios, including The Marx Brothers' debut film The Cocoanuts (1929). He portrayed mobster Brad Collins in 'G' Men (1935) (with James Cagney), which set the tone for most of his future assignments. Brawny, with squinty eyes and a rasping voice, MacLane was the ideal surly tough guy, particularly suitable for westerns and the type of films noir Warner Brothers excelled at. He was often cast as cops, be they bent or honest. Some of his most representative performances include gangster Al Kruger in Bullets or Ballots (1936), which won him some of the best critical notices of his career; outlaw Jack Slade in Western Union (1941); crooked construction boss Pat McCormick, who gets beaten up by Humphrey Bogart and Tim Holt over past-due wages in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948); hard-nosed cops Detective Dundy in The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Lt. Reece in Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950). MacLane, on loan to Universal, also had a starring role in Prison Break (1938) as an innocent tuna fisherman who is framed for murder. He was prominent as a tough but sympathetic cop, foil to sleuthing girl reporter Glenda Farrell in the "Torchy Blaine" series of the mid- to late 1930s. In the 1960s Barton began to cultivate a good-guy image as Marshal Frank Caine in the NBC western series Outlaws (1960) as well as showing up in a small recurring role as Air Force Gen. Martin Peterson in I Dream of Jeannie (1965). Barton was married to the actress Charlotte Wynters, who appeared with him in six of his films. When not on the set, the couple spent time on their 2000-acre cattle ranch in Madera County, California. For his work in television, Barton has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Frank McRae

Cast · Known for 48 Hrs., Licence to Kill

Frank McRae (born June 3, 1942, died April 29, 2021) was an American actor and former professional football player. McRae was born in Memphis, Tennessee. McRae graduated from Tennessee State University with a double major in drama and history. He was a defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears in the 1967 NFL season. Among his acting roles are the history teacher, Mr. Teasdale, in Red Dawn, bank robber Reed Youngblood in Dillinger, Hazel in Cannery Row, Spanky in The Wizard, James Bond's friend Sharkey in 1989's Licence to Kill, inmate Eclipse in Lock Up, shouting police captain in 48 Hrs. (a role he later parodied in Last Action Hero and Loaded Weapon 1), the train coachman in Tracks and former professional boxing champion Harry Noble in *batteries not included. He also made an effective pairing with John Candy as two bumbling subordinates; first as two tank soldiers (under an equally bumbling Sgt. Frank Tree played by Dan Aykroyd) in the cult classic 1941 and later as "Walley World" Security Guards in National Lampoon's Vacation . He played Jim, the Mechanic in the movie Used Cars. His most recent role was as a guest star on the television series ER. He also portrayed the character of Sergeant Tenga in Farewell to the King Description above from the Wikipedia article Frank McRae, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Yu Ailei

Cast · Known for Tigers Sniff the Rose

Yu Ailei (Chinese: 余皑磊) born on November 29, 1977 in Tangshan, Hebei Province, graduated from the Beijing Film Academy, a Chinese actor. In 1997, he began shooting TV series. In 1999, he appeared in the personal screen debut "Summer Warm Ocean". In 2000, he appeared in the criminal investigation drama "The Six Cases of Serious Cases". In 2003, he starred in the black humor movie "Wu Song Beat Me" and won the Best Actor Award at the Brussels International Independent Film Festival. In 2006, he starred in the youth emotional drama "Days Related to Youth." In 2008, in the spy drama "Changjiang No. 1" starring in the role of the male No. 1 Wu Xianming. In 2010, he starred in the anti-war drama "For the New China." In 2011, he appeared in the spy war drama "Dark Red 1936". In 2014, he won the Nomination for Best Supporting Actor in the 15th Chinese Film Media Awards in the corner of the criminal war movie "White Fireworks". In the same year, he appeared in the costume drama "Wu Mei Niang Legend". In 2015, he appeared in the criminal film "Mr. Saved" and played Yang Yuxi in the chronological drama "Young Shuai". In 2016, starred in the crime romance "Shouting Mountain".

Andrew Grush

Composer · Known for Daredevil: Born Again, Doctor Sleep, Five Nights at Freddy's

John Andrew Grush and Taylor Newton Stewart, known collectively as The Newton Brothers, are American film score composers, record producers, and multi-instrumentalists. Their works include scores for several films with director Mike Flanagan, who has composed for every project since Oculus (2013) and various other films and television series. Despite the name, they are not related. Early in their lives, Grush and Stewart were inspired to combine music and visuals and seek a career in film composition. They are both accomplished musicians and multi-instrumentalists who can play piano, guitar, bass, clarinet, flute, accordion, saxophone, harmonica, percussion, organ, kazoo and cello. Together they apprenticed under Hans Zimmer and co-scored the Mike Flanagan thriller Before I Wake with Danny Elfman. The Newton Brothers have been scoring feature films together for over a decade, breaking into the mainstream with their work on Tony Kaye's film Detachment. In 2013, they began their work in horror films with Mike Flanagan and Blumhouse Productions including Oculus, which The Irish Times said, "Andy and Taylor Newton's dynamic combination of simple melodic fragments, aleatory noise (broken glass, metal scrapes) and a solemn choir gradually inject the seriously spooky Oculus with nerve-shredding suspense and skin-crawling dread," and Ouija: Origin of Evil. They have since started scoring multiple horror genre projects for film and television. Description above from the Wikipedia article The Newton Brothers, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Taylor Stewart

Composer · Known for Daredevil: Born Again, Doctor Sleep, Five Nights at Freddy's