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The Advisors Alliance

2017

The story of Sima Yi, a great politician and strategist who lived during the Three Kingdoms era. By his side, Sima Yi has his politically-astute distaff members of his household, and pitted against them are the formidable Cao Cao and his heirs. After defending the Kingdom of Wei from Kongming formidable talents, who will end up with the ultimate power?

Liu Tao

Cast · Known for The Advisors Alliance

Tamia Liu Tao (Chinese: 刘涛, born 12 July 1978) is a Chinese actress from Jiangnan. She is known for her roles in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils (2003), Mazu (2012), To Elderly With Love (2013), Nirvana in Fire (2015), Legend of Mi Yue (2015), Ode to Joy (2016) and The Advisors Alliance (2017). In 2017, Liu ranked 6th on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list.

David Stone

Producer · Known for Wicked, Wicked: For Good

David Stone is an American theater and film producer. Stone was born in Brooklyn, New York, on August 14, 1966, and raised in Marlboro Township, New Jersey. Stone married Michael Seelbach in 2014. Stone graduated Valedictorian from Marlboro High School and received a B.A. from The University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1988. Stone is a Broadway and Off-Broadway producer, most notably on the international blockbuster musical Wicked, which he produced with Marc Platt. He and Platt also produced the upcoming two-part film adaptation of the musical. He had his first contact with the theater business through an internship at Jujamcyn Theaters. Later he worked with Broadway producers Fran and Barry Weissler before he had his first own production with the 1993 off-Broadway hit Family Secrets. Stone is a longtime member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors of The Broadway League. He is also on the boards of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the Second Stage Theatre Advisory Board, and the Atlantic Theater Company board, as well as being a Prince Fellowship Mentor. He has lectured at the Juilliard School, New York University, Yale University, Columbia University, and the University of Pennsylvania. Stone is involved with supporting several charities, including V-Day (where he serves on the Advisory Board), The Broadway Green Alliance, The Great Adventure Grants, Broadway Advocacy Coalition, and Black Theater United. Description above from the Wikipedia article David Stone (producer), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Amanda Blake

Amanda Blake was an American actress known for the role of the red-haired saloon proprietress "Miss Kitty Russell" on the television western Gunsmoke. Amanda Blake (born Beverly Louise Neill; February 20, 1929 – August 16, 1989) was an American actress best known for the role of the red-haired saloon proprietress "Miss Kitty Russell" on the Western television series Gunsmoke. Along with her fourth husband, Frank Gilbert, she ran one of the first successful programs for breeding cheetahs in captivity. Early life Amanda Blake was born Beverly Louise Neill in Buffalo, New York, the only child of Jesse and Louise (née Puckett) Neill. Her father was a banker. Blake was a telephone operator and briefly attended Pomona College before she took up acting. Blake attended Brenau Academy from 1944 to 1945. She then served on the board of advisors and became a trustee. Career In the late 1940s, Blake was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as the studio saw her as its next Greer Garson. She appeared in a few Hollywood films, such as the 1952 western Cattle Town and in the starring role of Miss Robin Crusoe, a 1954 adaptation of the Robinson Crusoe adventure. In 1954, she appeared in A Star Is Born. Blake became best known for her 19-year stint as the saloon-keeper Miss Kitty on the television series Gunsmoke from 1955 to 1974. On February 27, 1974, Blake brought a lion named Kemo on to the Gunsmoke set. Because of her continuing role on television, Blake rarely had time for films. She did appear on a number of television shows, including a recurring comedy routine on The Red Skelton Show; as a celebrity on Hollywood Squares, Tattletales, and the 1970s revival of Match Game; and comedy appearances on the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast. In 1957, Blake guest-starred as Betty Lavon-Coate in the episode titled "Coate of Many Colors" on Rod Cameron's crime drama, State Trooper. Later, after a Gunsmoke reunion film, she made two feature-film appearances: in The Boost, a drug-addiction drama starring James Woods and Sean Young, and B.O.R.N, both in 1988. Personal life Blake was married five times, first to Jack Shea (1952–53), then Don Whitman in 1954, divorced from him in 1956. After the divorce from Whitman, she would go to the 'saloon set' of Gunsmoke. Blake felt like it was home to her on the days when she was not needed. She married Austin, Texas, city councilman Mark Edward Spaeth in 1984. Spaeth died of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1985. Declining health and death In 1977 Blake, who was a heavy cigarette smoker, developed oral cancer that was successfully treated with surgery. She became a supporter of the American Cancer Society and made fundraising appearances throughout the country. On August 16, 1989, Blake died of AIDS-related hepatitis at Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento, California, at the age of 60. Her death was initially attributed to throat cancer but, after her death, her doctor publicly announced her death was due to complications from AIDS. It is not known how Blake contracted the disease. Blake's close friends insisted that she was not a drug user or sexually promiscuous, and that she may have acquired AIDS from her fifth husband who also died of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1985. CLR From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mildred Natwick

Mildred Natwick (June 19, 1905 – October 25, 1994) was an American stage, film and television actress. In 1967, she earned an Academy Award nomination for her supporting role in Barefoot in the Park. She was nominated for two Tony Awards in 1957 and 1972 and won a Primetime Emmy Award for her work in the miniseries The Snoop Sisters, opposite Helen Hayes. Natwick began performing on the stage at age 21 with "The Vagabonds", a non-professional theatre group in Baltimore. She soon joined the University Players on Cape Cod. Natwick made her Broadway debut in 1932 playing Mrs. Noble in Frank McGrath’s play Carry Nation, about the famous temperance crusader Carrie Nation. Throughout the 1930s she starred in a number of plays, frequently collaborating with friend and actor-director-playwright Joshua Logan. On Broadway, she played "Prossy" in Katharine Cornell's production of Candida. She made her film debut in John Ford's The Long Voyage Home as a Cockney slattern, and portrayed the landlady in The Enchanted Cottage (1945). Natwick is remembered for small but memorable roles in several John Ford film classics, including 3 Godfathers (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), and The Quiet Man (1952). She played Miss Ivy Gravely, in Alfred Hitchcock's Trouble with Harry (1955), and a sorceress in The Court Jester (1956). Natwick in the film The Trouble with Harry in 1955 She continued to appear onstage, and made regular guest appearances in television series. She was twice nominated for Tony Awards: in 1957 for The Waltz of the Toreadors, the same year she also starred in Tammy and the Bachelor with Debbie Reynolds and Leslie Nielsen and in 1972 for the musical 70 Girls 70. She returned to film in Barefoot in the Park (1967) as the mother of the character played by Jane Fonda. The role earned Natwick her only Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting actress. One of Natwick's memorable roles was in The House Without a Christmas Tree (1972), which starred Jason Robards and Lisa Lucas. The program's success spawned three sequels: The Thanksgiving Treasure, The Easter Promise, and Addie and The King of Hearts. In 1971, Natwick co-starred with Helen Hayes in the ABC Movie of the Week, Do Not Fold, Spindle, or Mutilate, in which their characters worked together as amateur sleuths. The success of that telefilm resulted in a 1973-74 series, also called The Snoop Sisters, which was part of The NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie. For her performance, Natwick won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. In 1981, Natwick joined Hayes as the first members of the Board of Advisors to the Riverside Shakespeare Company. Both attended and supported several fund raisers for that off-Broadway theatre company. She guest-starred on such television series as McMillan & Wife, Family, Alice, The Love Boat, Hawaii Five-O, The Bob Newhart Show, and Murder, She Wrote. She made her final film appearance at the age of 83 in the 1988 historical drama Dangerous Liaisons. Description above from the Wikipedia article Mildred Natwick, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Praful Nargund

Cast · Known for Newsnight

Praful is the founder and director of the Good Growth Foundation, a think thank that campaigns for popular economic policies to grow the economy while reducing inequality. Until 2023, he was the CEO of Create Fertility. Praful is also a co-founder of Social Impact Enterprises, which aims to drive sustainable growth. He has won innovation and business awards from The Telegraph, The Spectator and London Business School. Praful ran as The Labour Party’s parliamentary candidate in Islington North during the 2024 General Election and shaped education policy as part of Labour’s Council of Skills Advisors. Taken from www.prafulnargund.co.uk

Laura Kirk

Laura Kirk is an award winning filmmaker with credits as a producer and actor in many films including Andrea Arnold’s American Honey: Cannes 2016, The Sublime and Beautiful : Slamdance 2014. A veteran on the independent film festival circuit, Kirk co-wrote and starred one of the first digital films: Lisa Picard is Famous: Cannes 2000. It is included in John Gaspard’s book “Fast, Cheap and Under Control ...Lessons Learned from the Greatest Low Budget Movies of All Time.” Kirk began her career on stage in New York off-Broadway and regionally where she was also a teaching artist in homeless shelters and in schools for Dreamyard Drama Project. Major training in Meisner was with Wynn Handman and Suzanne Esper and improvisation with Alan Arkin. Commercials include national campaigns for Block Advisors, Verizon, Wrangler Jeans, Jeep and Dr. Pepper. Laura is a co-founder of the mentoring group “Women of Lawrence Film” where she puts into practice her interests in remedying gender inequity in film. Her research on Eve Unsell will be published in the upcoming "When Women Wrote Hollywood" (Forthcoming McFarland).

Saul Perlmutter

Saul Perlmutter is a U.S. astrophysicist, a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, where he holds the Franklin W. and Karen Weber Dabby Chair, and head of the International Supernova Cosmology Project at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He is a member of both the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the American Philosophical Society,[2] and was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2003. He is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Perlmutter shared the 2006 Shaw Prize in Astronomy, the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics, and the 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics with Brian P. Schmidt and Adam Riess for providing evidence that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. Since 2021, he has been a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)

Juliette Goglia

Juliette Rose Goglia (born September 22, 1995) is an American actress, singer and musician. She is best known for portraying Sierra in the Disney Channel series That's So Raven, Eve Henry on The Michael J. Fox Show, Rachel Cunningham on Resident Advisors, and Olive (in 8th grade) in the film Easy A.

William Hanna

Executive Producer · Director · Known for Johnny Bravo, Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo

William Denby "Bill" Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator, director, producer, television director, television producer, and cartoon artist, whose movie and television cartoon characters entertained millions of fans worldwide for much of the 20th century. When he was a young child, Hanna's family moved frequently, but they settled in Compton, California, by 1919. There, Hanna became an Eagle Scout. Hanna graduated from Compton High School in 1928. He briefly attended Compton City College but dropped out at the onset of the Great Depression.After working odd jobs in the first months of the Depression, Hanna joined the Harman and Ising animation studio in 1930. During the 1930s, Hanna steadily gained skill and prominence while working on cartoons such as Captain and the Kids. In 1937, while working at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Hanna met Joseph Barbera. The two men began a collaboration that was at first best known for producing Tom and Jerry and live action films. In 1957, they co-founded Hanna-Barbera, which became the most successful television animation studio in the business, producing programs such as The Flintstones, The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, The Smurfs, and Yogi Bear. In 1967, Hanna–Barbera was sold to Taft Broadcasting for $12 million, but Hanna and Barbera remained heads of the company until 1991. At that time the studio was sold to Turner Broadcasting System, which in turn was merged with Time Warner, owners of Warner Bros., in 1996; Hanna and Barbera stayed on as advisors.Hanna and Barbera won seven Academy Awards and eight Emmy Awards. Their cartoons have become cultural icons, and their cartoon characters have appeared in other media such as films, books, and toys. Hanna–Barbera's shows have a global audience of over 300 million people and have been translated into more than 20 languages.

Joseph Barbera

Executive Producer · Director · Producer · Known for Johnny Bravo, Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo

Joseph Roland "Joe" Barbera was an influential American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist, whose movie and television cartoon characters entertained millions of fans worldwide for much of the twentieth century. Through his young adult years, Barbera lived, attended college, and began his career in New York City. After working odd jobs and as a banker, Barbera joined Van Beuren Studios in 1932 and subsequently Terrytoons in 1936. In 1937 he moved to California and while working at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Barbera met William Hanna. The two men began a collaboration that was at first best known for producing Tom and Jerry and live action films. In 1957, after MGM dissolved their animation department, they co-founded Hanna–Barbera, which became the most successful television animation studio in the business, producing programs such as The Flintstones, The Huckleberry Hound Show, Top Cat, The Jetsons,Scooby-Doo, The Quick Draw McGraw Show, The Smurfs, and Yogi Bear. In 1967, Hanna–Barbera was sold to Taft Broadcasting for $12 million, but Hanna and Barbera remained head of the company until 1991. At that time the studio was sold to Turner Broadcasting System, which in turn was merged with Time Warner, owners of Warner Bros., in 1996; Hanna and Barbera stayed on as advisors.Hanna and Barbera won seven Academy Awards and eight Emmy Awards. Their cartoon shows have become cultural icons, and their cartoon characters have appeared in other media such as films, books, and toys. Hanna–Barbera's shows have a global audience of over 300 million people and have been translated into more than 20 languages.

Jennifer Warnes

Jennifer Jean Warnes (born March 3, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter. She has performed as a vocalist on a number of film soundtracks. She has won two Grammy Awards, in 1983 for the Joe Cocker duet "Up Where We Belong" and in 1987 for the Bill Medley duet "(I've Had) The Time of My Life". Warnes also collaborated closely with Leonard Cohen. Warnes was born on March 3, 1947, in Seattle, Washington, but raised in Anaheim, California. Her desire and ability to sing came early; at age seven she was offered her first recording contract, which her father declined. She sang in church and local pageants until age 17 when Warnes was offered an opera scholarship to Immaculate Heart College. She was so committed to her Catholic faith, that for a while she entered a convent after graduating from high school. Warnes chose to sing folk music as it became popularized by Joan Baez in the mid-1960s. In 1968, after a few years with musical theatre and clubs, she signed with Parrot Records (a London Records subsidiary) and recorded her first album. That year, she joined the cast of the television show The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Early in her career, industry advisors suggested Warnes change her name to "Warren", but then realized that there was already an actress named Jennifer Warren, so she performed briefly as simply 'Jennifer', though she was credited as Jennifer Warren when she provided duet vocals for singer-guitarist Mason Williams on his 1968 album, The Mason Williams Ear Show. Soon, however, she returned to her birth name. In November 1968, Warnes (as "Jennifer Warren") portrayed the female lead in the Los Angeles, California, production of the stage musical Hair. She had a related UK single release as "Jennifer" on London HLU 10278 in June 1969 with "Let The Sunshine In" and "Easy to Be Hard", licensed from the US Parrot label. In 1971, Warnes met Canadian songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen, and the two remained friends. She toured Europe with Cohen's band in 1972 and 1979 — first as a back-up singer and then as a vocal arranger and guest singer on Cohen's albums Live Songs (1973), Recent Songs (1979), Various Positions (1985), I'm Your Man (1988), The Future (1992), Field Commander Cohen: Tour of 1979 (2001), and Old Ideas (2012). Warnes later (1987) recorded a critically acclaimed audiophile album of Cohen songs, Famous Blue Raincoat. In 1972, Warnes released her third album, Jennifer, which was produced by John Cale. It was unavailable after the LP was deleted, until it was finally reissued in Japan in 2013 (Reprise WPCR-14865). In 1976, Warnes released the album Jennifer Warnes (Arista 4062), which contained her breakthrough single, "Right Time of the Night", which hit number 1 on Billboard's Easy Listening (Adult Contemporary) chart in April 1977 and number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 1977. Warnes recorded the song "It Goes Like It Goes" for the 1979 motion picture Norma Rae. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Her 1979 single "I Know A Heartache When I See One", was a Top 10 Country hit and reached the Top 20 on both the Pop and Adult Contemporary charts. ... Source: Article "Jennifer Warnes" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Bob Dole

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Republican Leader of the Senate during the final 11 years of his tenure, including three nonconsecutive years as Senate Majority Leader. Prior to his 27 years in the Senate, he served in the United States House of Representatives from 1961 to 1969. Dole was also the Republican presidential nominee in the 1996 election and the vice presidential nominee in the 1976 election. Dole was born and raised in Russell, Kansas, where he established a legal career after serving with distinction in the United States Army during World War II. Following a stint as Russell County Attorney, he won election to the House of Representatives in 1960. In 1968, Dole was elected to the Senate, where he served as chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1971 to 1973 and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee from 1981 to 1985. He led the Senate Republicans from 1985 to his resignation in 1996, and served as Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and from 1995 to 1996. In his role as Republican leader, he helped defeat Democratic President Bill Clinton's health care plan. President Gerald Ford chose Dole as his running mate in the 1976 election after Vice President Nelson Rockefeller withdrew from seeking a full term. Ford was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter in the general election. Dole sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1980, but quickly dropped out of the race. He experienced more success in the 1988 Republican primaries but was defeated by Vice President George H. W. Bush. Dole won the Republican nomination in 1996 and selected Jack Kemp as his running mate. The Republican ticket lost in the general election to Clinton, making Dole the first unsuccessful major party nominee for both president and vice president. He resigned from the Senate during the 1996 campaign and did not seek public office again after the election. Dole remained active after retiring from public office. He appeared in numerous commercials and television programs and served on various councils. In 2012, Dole unsuccessfully advocated Senate ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He initially supported Jeb Bush in the 2016 Republican primaries, but later became the only former Republican presidential nominee to endorse Donald Trump in the general election. Dole was a member of the advisory council of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and special counsel at the Washington, D.C., office of law firm Alston & Bird. Dole was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal on January 17, 2018. He was married to former U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina. In February 2021, Dole announced he was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer and would undergo treatment. Dole received immunotherapy to treat the disease, forgoing chemotherapy due to its negative effect on his body. Dole died from the disease in his sleep on the morning of December 5, 2021, at the age of 98.

Mykhailo Podolyak

Mykhailo Mykhailovych Podolyak is a Ukrainian politician, journalist and negotiator, serving as the advisor to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. In 2022, he became one of the representatives of Ukraine at Russian-Ukrainian peace negotiations during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Mykhailo_Podolyak, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Mariana Tosca

Mariana Tosca (born December 28, 1971) is an actor, producer and social activist. She serves on the Advisory Council of Save the Chimps, the world's largest chimpanzee sanctuary.

Bob Kerrey

Joseph Robert Kerrey (born August 27, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 35th governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 1989 to 2001. Before entering politics, he served in the Vietnam War, as a United States Navy SEAL officer and was awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery in combat. During the action for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor, he was severely wounded, precluding further naval service. He later faced controversy for being the commanding officer during the Thanh Phong raid, where numerous civilians were killed. Kerrey was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992. He retired from the Senate in 2000 and was replaced by former governor and fellow Democrat Ben Nelson. From 2001 to 2010, he served as president of The New School, a university in New York City. In May 2010, he was selected to become the head of the Motion Picture Association of America. The MPAA, however, could not reach an agreement with him and chose former Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd instead. In 2012, Kerrey sought election to his old Senate seat to succeed his successor, the retiring Democratic incumbent Ben Nelson. He lost to Republican nominee Deb Fischer. In 2013, Kerrey joined the Carmen Group lobbying firm. Kerrey is a co-chair for the advisory board of Issue One, an organization that describes its mission as "fighting for real solutions to the problem of money in politics". In 1987, Kerrey was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board.

Doug Liman

Director · Producer · Executive Producer · Known for Road House, Suits, The Bourne Identity

Douglas Eric Liman (/ˈlaɪmən/; born July 24, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing the films Swingers (1996), Go (1999), The Bourne Identity (2002), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Jumper (2008), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), American Made (2017), and Road House (2024). Most of his career has been associated with the production company Hypnotic. He is co-owner with Dave Bartis, whom he met as an undergraduate at Brown University. They co-founded Brown Television (BTV) and the National Association of College Broadcasters (NACB). Liman is on the advisory board of the Legal Action Center and the Arthur Liman Public Interest Program at Yale Law School. Description above from the Wikipedia article Doug Liman, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Anke Engelke

Anke Engelke, born in Montreal/Canada in 1965, grew up trilingual. As a child, she gained early dubbing experience and hosted TV and radio shows. Engelke was part of the weekly show ensemble, her series Ladykracher is considered the most successful German sketch format with eight seasons. Since 2000, Anke Engelke has appeared regularly in feature films, soon in leading roles in Mein Sohn, Der Onkel and Mutter. Currently, Anke Engelke can be seen in the leading role in the Netflix series Das letzte Wort and on Amazon Prime Video in the first season of the acclaimed comedy format LOL - Last One Laughing. As a voice actress, she lends her voice to various characters: Marge on The Simpsons, Dory in Finding Nemo and in Finding Dory, Captain Ericka in Hotel Transylvania 3 and Silver in Angry Birds 2. In the pre-school television series Die Sendung mit dem Elefanten, Anke Engelke has been the inhabitant of Anke's World since its launch in 2007. Together with Kristian Thees, Anke Engelke can be heard on the SWR3 podcast Wie war der Tag, Liebling: Every Tuesday and Thursday, SWR3 presenter Kristian Thees calls his best friend Anke Engelke and the two tell each other their little stories of the day. Anke Engelke is on the road with various reading programmes: currently with KOMISCH - Iris Berben meets Anke Engelke and Letters of Note - Anke Engelke, Devid Striesow & Jörg Thadeusz, among others. Between 2003 and 2019, she presented the opening and the Bear Awards Gala of the Berlinale 13 times as host. In 2011, she co-hosted the German preliminary round of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) with Stefan Raab and Judith Rakers. From 2012 - 2017, Anke Engelke taught television dramaturgy and creative television production at the KHM in Cologne as a substitute professor. Alongside Dirk von Lowtzow, Prof. Diedrich Diederichsen and Prof. Dr. Christoph Jacke, Anke Engelke is a member of the advisory board of the Pop Institute of the Folkwang University of the Arts. Anke Engelke has been an ambassador for the medical aid organisation action medeor since 2003.

Willie Nelson

Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 30, 1933) is an American country singer-songwriter, author, poet, actor, and activist. Nelson was one of the main figures of the Outlaw Movement, a subgenre of Country music that developed between the end of 1960s and early 1980s. The critical success of the albums Shotgun Willie, Phases and Stages, and the commercial success of Red Headed Stranger made Nelson one of the most recognized artists in country music. Nelson is also recognized for his contributions to charity, he is the president and one of the founding members of Farm Aid charity concert, and his activism for the legalization of marijuana and for the use of bio-fuels. Nelson started studying music from mail order material that his grandparents gave him. He wrote his first song at age seven and joined his first band at nine. During high school, he toured locally with the Bohemian Fiddlers as their lead singer and guitar player. After graduating from high school in 1950, he joined the Air Force. However, he was discharged due to back problems. After his return, Nelson attended Baylor University for two years but dropped out because he was succeeding in music. During this time, he worked as a disc jockey in Texas radio stations and a singer in honky tonks. Nelson moved to Vancouver, Washington, where he wrote "Family Bible" and recorded the song "Lumberjack" in 1956. In 1960, he signed a publishing contract with Pamper Music which allowed him to join Ray Price's band as a bassist. During that time, he wrote songs that would become country standards, including "Funny How Time Slips Away", "Hello Walls", "Pretty Paper", and "Crazy". In 1962, he recorded his first album, And Then I Wrote. Due to this success, Nelson signed in 1965 with RCA Victor and joined the Grand Ole Opry. Nelson is a major liberal activist and the co-chair of the advisory board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, which is in favor of marijuana legalization. On the environmental front, Nelson owns the bio-diesel brand Willie Nelson Biodiesel, which is made from vegetable oil. He is the co-founder and president of Farm Aid, and has been contributing to the benefit concert series since the first event in 1985, organizing concerts and performing with other prominent artists. Nelson is also the Honorary Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Texas Music Project, the official music charity of the state of Texas. Description above from the Wikipedia article Willie Nelson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

Pun Bandhu

Pun Bandhu is an American actor, producer, and advocate of Thai descent, born in Indonesia where his banker father worked, and raised from age 13 in Chatham, New Jersey, where his mother ran the acclaimed restaurant The New Main Taste. He is 5′ 10″ (178 cm) tall, earned his undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis, and received his MFA in Acting from the Yale School of Drama (2000), where he now serves on the Advisory Board. He is a two-time Tony Award-winning producer through his company ZenDog Productions — for the 2005 revival of Glengarry Glen Ross (Best Play Revival) and the 2007 musical Spring Awakening (Best Musical) — and a co-founder of the Asian American Performers Action Coalition (AAPAC), for which he received an Obie Award and a Tony Honor. He is a Tony Award nominator, and lives in Cornwall, Connecticut, with his husband Marc Falato. His most notable film credits include Fourth Year in Michael Clayton (2007), Party Guest in Burn After Reading (2008, directed by the Coen Brothers), Joe in Two Days in New York (2012, with Chris Rock), Forensic Scientist in The Judge (2014, with Robert Downey Jr.), Yet Another Anchorman in Money Monster (2016, with Daniel Craig and George Clooney), Agent Doyle in Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018, with Melissa McCarthy, 98% on Rotten Tomatoes), Deputy Attorney John Woo in The Report (2019, with Adam Driver and Annette Bening), and Lee in Relay (2025, with Riz Ahmed, Lili James, and Sam Worthington). On television he has appeared in Law & Order (1990), Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2004), Nurse Jackie (2009), The Good Wife (2012), House of Cards (2013), Orange Is the New Black (2013), Gotham (2014, 2016), Blindspot (2015, 2017), FBI (2018), and Elsbeth (2024, as Victor Landis). On stage he made his Broadway debut in the Tony-nominated revival of Wit (2012, with Cynthia Nixon), and has performed Off-Broadway at The Public Theater, Playwrights Horizons, and Primary Stages, collaborating with playwrights including AR Gurney, David Henry Hwang, and Theresa Rebeck.

Sofya Levitsky-Weitz

Sofya Levitsky-Weitz is a playwright and TV/film writer. She has original TV projects in development with Hulu, Peacock, 20th Century Studios and Fifth Season. TV work includes FX’s THE BEAR (WGA Award for Outstanding New Comedy for S1 & 2), Hulu’s THE DROPOUT (WGA Nomination), GASLIT on Starz and as a writer/producer on Hulu’s THE TWISTED TALE OF AMANDA KNOX. In 2025, she and co-writer Isabelle Platt shot all 8 episodes of their independent short series SWITCH. She has an original film in development (which she will direct) with Marc Platt and has worked on multiple features with Michael Showalter including The Eyes of Tammy Faye. As a playwright, Sofya’s work has been developed in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. Her play flinching is currently being developed by the Hearth for an LA premiere. Her play this party sucks (2019 Kilroy’s List) is optioned for the stage/film & TV rights by Mark Gordon Pictures and will be commercially produced.. She was a 2018-2019 Jerome Fellow and 2019-2022 Core Writer at the Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis and is an alum of the Obie Award winning collective EST/Youngblood. She is a MacDowell Fellow and has been in residence at Barn Arts, and TOFTE Lake. She got her MFA in Writing for the Screen & Stage from Northwestern University, where she now serves on the Advisory Board.

Mark Rydell

Mark Rydell (March 23, 1929 — August 13, 2026) was an American actor, film director and producer. He has directed many Academy Award-nominated films including The Fox (1967), The Reivers (1969), Cinderella Liberty (1973), The Rose (1979), The River (1984) and For the Boys (1991). He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for On Golden Pond (1981). Rydell's initial training was in music. As a youth, he wanted to be a conductor. He began his career as an actor and first became known for his role as Walt Johnson on The Edge of Night and as Jeff Baker on As the World Turns, which he played from 1956 to 1962. When he would not sign a long-term contract to remain on ATWT the producers had his character die in a car crash. He won plaudits for his role of violent Jewish mob kingpin Marty Augustine in Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973). His most recent significant film role was in Woody Allen's Hollywood Ending (2002). As a director, Rydell's credits include The Reivers (1969), The Cowboys (1972), Cinderella Liberty (1973), The Rose (1979), On Golden Pond (1981), for which he received an Oscar nomination as Best Director, The River (1984), For the Boys (1991), and Intersection (1994). He directed the TV movie The Crime of the Century (1996), which starred Isabella Rossellini and Stephen Rea. In 2006, Rydell directed the movie Even Money. Rydell was also the director of the TV bio-pic James Dean (2001), which earned actor James Franco a Golden Globe award. Rydell also acted in the movie, playing Jack L. Warner (head of Warner Bros). In 2009, Rydell, working with actor Martin Landau and screenwriter/playwright Lyle Kessler, produced an education seminar, The Total Picture Seminar. It is a two-day event covering the disciplines of acting, directing, and writing for film. The three have worked together as a team for many decades at The Actors Studio teaching and coaching professional actors, writers, and directors. In 2010, Rydell joined the Advisory Board of Openfilm, an online video sharing site created to help aspiring independent filmmakers. Description above from the Wikipedia article Mark Rydell, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

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.

David Labrava

Cast · Known for Sons of Anarchy

David Labrava started his Hollywood career as a camera operator for the Zalman King Company (Red Shoe Diaries, 9 1/2 weeks, In God's Hands), where he learned script writing. He starred in the series Whiplash ZK as the host. He did an independent project entitled FTW for Picture Perfect Productions, and starred in Fencewalker, the new film from Chris Carter (The X-Files). David has been riding motorcycles for 30 years, and was hired to be the Technical Advisor for Sons of Anarchy. David was then cast as "Happy," and has been with the show since its inception. David developed a show he created with FX this past year, and has been editing a documentary he filmed about one of the larger MC's. He writes a column in a national Hot Rod Magazine called 'Ol Skool Rodz, called "Burnin' Rubber with Jimmy Carbone." Before that he used to write for the Horse Motorcycle magazine, and has built a bike that made the cover (issue #13 March 2001). He is a five diploma Harley Davidson Mechanic, graduating from the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, certified by Harley Davidson. David is an accomplished glass artist with his own shop. He also owns a tattoo shop in Northern California called Evil Ink Tattoo in the Bay Area. When he is not filming, he is tattooing there. David still builds Hot Rod cars and bikes for fun, not profit, and rides his motorcycle daily. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Howard Levine