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Union County
2026
Assigned to a county-mandated drug court program, Cody Parsons embarks on the tenuous journey toward recovery amid the opioid epidemic in rural Ohio.
Ashley Romans
Ashley Romans is an American actress. She attended Scotch Plains Fanwood High School in Union County, New Jersey. In 2015 she graduated from Pace University, where she studied theater. In 2017, she won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Lead Performance in the play Rotterdam, in which she plays a character undergoing gender transition in conjunction with a partner who is struggling with coming out to her parents as a lesbian.
Dan Avidan
Leigh Daniel Avidan (born March 14, 1979), known professionally as Dan Avidan and by his stage name Danny Sexbang, is an American musician, Internet personality, singer-songwriter, comedian, and actor. He is one half of the musical comedy duo Ninja Sex Party with Brian Wecht, as well as the co-host of the Let's Play webseries Game Grumps with Arin Hanson. He is also part of the video game-based comedy music trio Starbomb, alongside both Wecht and Hanson. Avidan was born and raised in Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey, the elder of two children of Debra Schwartz and Avigdor Avidan. His father was born and raised in Israel, and served in the Yom Kippur War before immigrating to America where he met Avidan's mother. His younger sister, Dana Avidan Cohn, is a bench jeweler, the executive style correspondent of InStyle magazine, and the executive style director of PopSugar. His maternal grandfather Bernard Schwartz assisted in inventing the body electrode. After graduating from Jonathan Dayton High School in 1997, Avidan pursued advertising at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts. After dropping out due to disinterest in the course, Avidan entered a student exchange program, attending a Tufts University satellite campus in Talloires, France to study botany. (Wikipedia)
Nona Khodai
Editor · Known for The Boys, The Fantastic 4: First Steps, The Strain
Nona Khodai, ACE, is a Los Angeles–based editor. Born and raised in Southern California, growing up in Orange County, she pursued film studies in Los Angeles before embarking on her professional journey during her final semester of undergraduate film school. A winter holiday assistant editing role evolved into nearly two years of steady work, during which she garnered enough union days to further her career via union film positions, propelling her into consistent editing work across television. Khodai has developed a notable editorial collaboration with Marvel Studios. She earned double Emmy nominations in 2021 in the category of Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her contributions to WandaVision—one as lead editor on the episode “On a Very Special Episode…” and another as additional editor on the series finale. Her work on WandaVision was widely praised for seamlessly melding traditional sitcom pacing and formats with high-concept MCU action and visual style, with Khodai describing the challenge of balancing multi-genre transitions as “fun and challenging.” She was again nominated in 2023 for Outstanding Picture Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her work on Ms. Marvel, sharing the nomination with Sabrina Plisco. Beyond her Emmy-recognised projects, Khodai’s editing credits span major television dramas, including The Boys (Prime Video), Revolution (NBC), Colony (USA Network), The Strain (FX), and Amazing Stories (Apple TV). She is well-versed in technical editorial tools, particularly using Boris FX’s Continuum and Sapphire plugins within an Avid Media Composer workflow—a combination she credits with enabling creative experimentation through effects like motion blur, shake, film damage, and glitch, which help define stylistic beats and transitions during production. In interviews, Khodai has talked about the importance of rhythm, pacing, and emotional beats in storytelling. She has noted that stepping outside her comfort zone—especially when blending genres and styles—offers both creative growth and editorial innovation. She credits her dog walks, coffee, and occasional naps as vital tools for maintaining balance and clarity during intense creative work.
Don Galloway
Cast · Known for Ironside
Donald Poe Galloway (July 27, 1937 – January 8, 2009, Height: 6 feet 2 inches) was an American stage, film, and television actor, best known for his role as Detective Sergeant Ed Brown in the long-running series Ironside (1967–1975). He reprised the role for a TV film in 1993. He was also a politically active Libertarian and columnist. Galloway was born in Augusta, Kentucky. His parents moved to the county in Bracken County after the Great Flood of 1937 along the Ohio River the same year he was born. Galloway was a 1955 graduate of Bracken County High School, where he played varsity basketball, and a 1959 graduate of the University of Kentucky, where he studied drama. After graduating from college, Galloway moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting. He studied with renowned acting coach Herbert Berghof and appeared in several off-Broadway productions. In 1963, he made his Broadway debut in the play Bring Me a Warm Body. Galloway's big break came in 1967 when he was cast as Detective Sergeant Ed Brown in the NBC crime drama series Ironside. The show starred Raymond Burr as Robert Ironside, a wheelchair-bound police chief who solves crimes with the help of his team of detectives, including Brown. Ironside was a critical and commercial success, and Galloway remained with the show for its entire run. After Ironside ended, Galloway continued to act in television and film. He made guest appearances on popular shows such as Mork & Mindy, The A-Team, and Murder, She Wrote. He also appeared in the films The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and Death Wish II (1982). In addition to his acting career, Galloway was also a politically active Libertarian and columnist. He wrote a weekly column for the Manchester Union Leader newspaper in New Hampshire, in which he espoused his libertarian views. Galloway died in 2009 at the age of 71 from complications of a stroke. He is survived by his wife, Linda, and four children.
Gretchen Whitmer
Gretchen Esther Whitmer (born August 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 49th governor of Michigan since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2001 to 2006 and in the Michigan Senate from 2006 to 2015. Whitmer was born and raised in Michigan. She is a graduate of Forest Hills Central High School, Michigan State University, and the Detroit College of Law. She ran unsuccessfully for the state House of Representatives in the 1990s before being elected in 2000. In 2006, she became a state senator, a position she kept until 2015. She was the Senate's first female Democratic leader from 2011 to 2015. In 2013, Whitmer gained national attention for a floor speech during a debate on abortion in which she shared her experience of being sexually assaulted. For six months in 2016, she was the prosecutor for Ingham County. Whitmer was elected governor in 2018, defeating Republican nominee and state attorney general Bill Schuette. As governor, Whitmer has focused on healthcare and infrastructure legislation. In February 2020, she was selected to give the Democratic response to then President Donald Trump's 2020 State of the Union Address. On October 8, the Federal Bureau of Investigation thwarted a militia group's kidnapping plot against Whitmer. Since January 2021, Whitmer has served as one of the vice chairs of the Democratic National Committee. She was reelected governor in 2022, defeating Republican nominee Tudor Dixon.
Will Ryan
Cast · Known for The Little Mermaid
William Frank Ryan (May 21, 1949 – November 19, 2021) was an American voice actor and producer–writer–composer, well-known for singing about the American West. In the late seventies he teamed up with Phil Baron as Willio and Phillio. They had regular gigs on television, radio and comedy clubs and universities throughout the US. Ryan and Baron later paired up again voicing characters of best friends Teddy Ruxpin (Baron) and Grubby the Octopede (Ryan) in the Teddy Ruxpin book and tape series as well as the 1987 television show The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin. The Willio and Phillio act brought Ryan back into music and after moving to California, he began to write and record songs for Disney. He provided the voice of Rabbit, Tigger, and Eeyore in the Disney Channel's long-running series Welcome to Pooh Corner and in many other Pooh cartoons. He also provided the voice of Barnaby the Dog on the popular series Dumbo's Circus. Since 1987, Ryan has been a fixture of the radio drama Adventures in Odyssey, playing Eugene Meltsner, Harlow Doyle, David Harley, Patrick O'Ryan and hundreds of one-shot characters. Throughout his lifetime, Ryan voiced: Rabbit (Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore) - after the death of Junius Matthews. Digit (the 1986 animated film An American Tail) Petrie (original voice, the 1988 animated film The Land Before Time) Elmo Aardvark. (Elmo Aardvark: Outer Space Detective) - and in several Elmo Aardvark CDs. Willie the Giant (Mickey's Christmas Carol) He appeared in the film The Wizard of Speed and Time as several different motion picture union representatives. Ryan's youthful involvement in pop music has continued alongside his animation career. Will Ryan compositions have been recorded by artists such as Patti LaBelle, Diane Schuur, Victoria Jackson, The Pointer Sisters and Joanie Sommers (whom he also produced). His musical incarnation was being the leader of Los Angeles-based Will Ryan and the Cactus County Cowboys, a cross between the Marx Brothers and The Sons of the Pioneers. His variety show, Will Ryan's Cactus County Round-Up, has been a staple in Southern California since 2008. It regularly plays at several venues, including the Steve Allen Theatre in Hollywood. With Andrew J. Lederer and Michael Rosenberg (Jackie Diamond), Ryan performed in the '20s-style music and comedy trio, The Merry Metronomes. He and Lederer also appeared from time to time as a duo, usually under the name The Natty Nabobs. In 2009, he was working on the third season of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, the 21st season of Adventures in Odyssey, and a radio series called Will Ryan's Cactus County Round-Up. On November 19, 2021, at the age of 72, Will Ryan died from complications related to pancreatic cancer. Description above from the Wikipedia article Will Ryan, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia .
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.
Lyle Bettger
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Lyle S. Bettger (February 13, 1915 – September 24, 2003) was a character actor known most for his Hollywood roles from the 1950s, typically portraying villains. He is perhaps most recognisable as the wrathfully jealous elephant handler Klaus from the Oscar winning film The Greatest Show on Earth (1952). Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Lyle was the son of Frank Bettger, who was an infielder for the St Louis Cardinals. An enthusiastic fan of cinema, Lyle left school in his late teens with the ambition of becoming an actor. Bettger graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. His theatrical debut was in Brother Rat at the Biltmore Theatre in New York City in 1936. After a period languishing in small-time theatre he landed the lead role in the Broadway production of The Flying Gerardos in 1940. When Paramount sent a talent scout to see the show, Bettger was signed on a three-year contract. Bettger's movie career began when he was cast as the lead in the film noir No Man of Her Own (1950). He soon became a regular on the set of Westerns such as Denver and Rio Grande (1952), The Great Sioux Uprising (1953), Drums Across the River (1954), The Lone Ranger (1956) and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957). Lyle developed a reputation for playing the bad guy and excelled in villainous roles such as the menacing Joe Beacom in Union Station (1950) and the cold-blooded Nazi Chief Officer Kirchner in The Sea Chase (1955). Bettger also made many appearances in dramatic roles on television, starring in the 1957 series The Court of Last Resort as well as guesting on Hawaii Five-O, Rawhide, The Rifleman, Bonanza and The Time Tunnel. Lyle was married to Mary Rolfe (1940–1996) until her death. They had three children: Lyle Jr., Frank and Paula. He was also survived by a sister, Lee Morgan. Lyle Bettger died on September 24, 2003 in San Luis Obispo County, California. Description above from the Wikipedia article Lyle Bettger, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Evgeny Popov
Evgeny Georgievich Popov is a Russian politician, journalist and a deputy of the 8th State Duma. He was included by the Security Service of Ukraine on the list of individuals banned from entering Ukrainian territory.[19] Since February 24, 2022, due to his support for Russian aggression and the violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity during the Russian-Ukrainian war, he has been under personal international sanctions imposed by 27 European Union countries. He was also included in Canada's "regime associates" sanctions list for "voting in favor of recognizing the so-called republics in Donetsk and Luhansk as independent." This article uses material from the Wikipedia article evgeny_Popov_(journalist), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (15 April [O.S. 3 April] 1894 – 11 September 1971) led the Soviet Union as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and as chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev stunned the communist world with his denunciation of Stalin's crimes and began de-Stalinization. He sponsored the early Soviet space program, and enactment of relatively liberal reforms in domestic policy. After some false starts, and a narrowly avoided nuclear war over Cuba, he conducted successful negotiations with the United States to reduce Cold War tensions. His proclivity toward recklessness led the Kremlin leadership to strip him of power, replacing him with Leonid Brezhnev as First Secretary and Alexei Kosygin as Premier.
Felix Kandel
He was born in 1932 in Moscow, Soviet Union to a Jewish family. In 1941 his mother and he were evacuated to Ural mountains, where they remained till 1944. In 1950 he was admitted to the Moscow Aeronautic Institute, and graduated with an engineering degree in 1955. During his studies he and a classmate started writing sketches and directing institute amateur performances. They quickly assembled a group of students around them, and continued to write for them after graduation. In 1963 Kandel quit his military job and became a professional freelance writer. He wrote plays, scripts for motion pictures, and published (with co-authors Eduard Uspensky, Grigory Gorin, and Arkady Arkanov) two books of short stories. His works were published by Literaturnaya Gazeta, Yunost', Novi Mir and other prestigious literary journals in Moscow. In 1965-66 he worked as an editor in the short documentaries almanac "Fitil'!", but then became a free-lance writer again. In 1967, Felix Kamov, Arkadiy Khait, and Alexander Kurlandsky began writing scripts for the animated series Nu, pogodi!, directed by Vyacheslav Kotenochkin of the Soyuzmultfilm studio. From the very beginning, this became the most recognized animated series in the former Soviet Union, and later in the Eastern European countries. Today, it is hard to find a person in these countries, who would not recognize the wolf character from the series.
Sharif Dorani
Sharif was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, at the time of the Soviet Union's occupation of the country. The Soviet occupation, the Mujahideen Civil War and the Taliban's initial takeover of Kabul in 1996 forced Sharif (with his parents and siblings) to flee to many countries, including Pakistan, Iran and the Central Asian States. While the numerous journeys weren't easy, they had their advantage: the exposure enabled Sharif to learn about different cultures and speak numerous languages, including Pashto, Dari, Farsi, Urdu, Hindi, Russian, and some Arabic. After a long and dangerous voyage in late 1999, Sharif, along with his parents, claimed asylum in the UK. Although he'd come far away from the danger of the brutal wars, a new set of challenges presented themselves; chief among them was the language. But Sharif knew he had to learn English and catch up on his education. He committed to studying during the day and worked at night (in factories or as a pizza delivery driver). The hard work paid off: he gained undergraduate and master's degrees in Law from The University of Northampton and UCL, respectively, and a PhD in the United States' Middle Eastern Policy from Durham University. While he learned to love the UK and adopted it as a second home, his love for his native country has never diminished. He has authored several articles and two acclaimed books on Afghanistan: "The Lone Leopard", a novel set in Afghanistan, and "America in Afghanistan", published by Bloomsbury Publishing House. His passion, linguistic skills and in-depth knowledge of the Middle East and South Asia, as well as his postgraduate training from one of the most prestigious schools in London, have enabled Sharif to be part of some major projects by established production houses, including The Millennium Media' war movie and Critic Choice award nominee The Outpost, CBC Films/Lionsgate's action thriller film American Assassin, Channel 5's television movie Agatha and The Curse of Ishtar, Netflix's political thriller series The Diplomat, BBC's BAFTA Awards winner detective drama series Shetland, the Emmy Award-winning series Homeland, Fox's Drama series Deep State, Apple's thriller Disclaimer, Canal+'s French multi-awards winner series The Bureau, Channel 4's the Royal Television Society-UK winner series No Offence, ITV's longest-running police series The Bill and SKY's series Strike Back.
Joel-Ryan Armamento
Bay Area native Joel-Ryan Armamento was born in Castro Valley, CA and is of Filipino descent. As a student at James Logan High School in Union City, CA, he was involved in the Forensics Speech and Debate team, competing in Dramatic and Duo Interpretation across the country. In 2005, he and his partner took 1st place at the California State Championship in Duo Interpretation, and 2nd place at the National Forensics League Championship as Miles in "The Drawer Boy". He attended the University of San Francisco and earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing. Now residing in Southern California, he continues to follow his passion for performance while working as a Registered Nurse.
Patch Darragh
Patch Darragh graduated with honors from Juilliard and began his career playing significant roles in award-winning new plays and revivals at many of the countries top regional theaters, as well our foremost theaters both on and off-Broadway. He has accrued an extensive list of TV credits, more recently on the award winning HBO series SUCCESSION on which he played WayStar Royco board member, Ray Kennedy from Season two to Season four. Patch also had notable arcs on LAW & ORDER: SVU, MR. MERCEDES, THE LOUDEST VOICE, THE PATH, LONGMIRE, BOARDWALK EMPIRE & KALEIDOSCOPE. He's perhaps best known as the lovable Dad on the Netflix cult hit EVERYTHING SUCKS! on which he was a series regular. On the film side, Patch can be seen in the Blumhouse features THE FIRST PURGE and CAM. He also starred in the independent films , SULLY, BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON, and CABRINI. In 2017, Darragh starred in THE DEPTHS, and won Best Supporting Actor at the Los Angeles Film Awards. Upcoming: RESENTMENT, and THE UNION (Netflix). As a writer, Patch has developed three television pilots, including two with fellow Juilliard grad Erin Gann. Their feature BIRTHRITE wrapped principle photography in June of 2023.
Yakov Smirnoff
Yakov Naumovich Pokhis (Russian: Яков Наумович Похис; born 24 January 1951), better known as Yakov Smirnoff (Russian: Яков Смирнов; /ˈsmɪərnɒf/), is a Ukrainian-American comedian, actor and writer of Jewish origin. He began his career as a stand-up comedian in Ukraine, then immigrated to the United States in 1977 in order to pursue an American show business career, not yet knowing any English. He reached his biggest success in the mid-to-late 1980s, appearing in several films and the television sitcom vehicle What a Country!. His comic persona was of a naive immigrant from the Soviet Union who was perpetually confused and delighted by life in the United States. His humor combined a mockery of life under communism and of consumerism in the United States, as well as word play caused by misunderstanding of American phrases and culture, all punctuated by the catchphrase, "And I thought, 'What a country!'" The collapse of communism starting in 1989, and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, brought an end to Smirnoff's widespread popularity, although he continued to perform. In 1993, he began performing year round at his own theater in Branson, Missouri, where he remained until 2015. He occasionally still performs limited dates at his theater in Branson while touring worldwide. Smirnoff earned a master's degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2006 and a doctorate in psychology and global leadership from Pepperdine University in 2019. He has also taught a course titled "The Business of Laughter" at Missouri State University and at Drury University.
Nikita Mikhalkov
Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov (Russian: Никита Сергеевич Михалков; born 21 October 1945; Moscow) is a Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union. Mikhalkov is a three-time laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation (1993, 1995, 1999) and is a Full Cavalier of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland". Nikita Mikhalkov won the Golden Lion of the Venice Film Festival (1991) and was nominated for the Academy Award (1993) in the category Best International Feature Film for the film Close to Eden. He won an Academy Award (1995) for Best Foreign Language Film and the Grand Prix of the Cannes Film Festival (1994) for the film Burnt by the Sun. Mikhalkov received the "Special Lion" of the Venice Film Festival (2007) for his contribution to the cinematography and nominated for an Academy Award for the film 12 (2007). Mikhalkov was born in Moscow into the noble and distinguished Mikhalkov family. His great-grandfather was the imperial governor of Yaroslavl, whose mother was a princess of the House of Golitsyn. Nikita's father, Sergey Mikhalkov, was best known as writer of children's literature, although he also wrote lyrics to his country's national anthem on three occasions spanning nearly 60 years – two sets of lyrics used for the Soviet national anthem, and the current lyrics of the Russian national anthem. Mikhalkov's mother, poet Natalia Konchalovskaya, was the daughter of the avant-garde artist Pyotr Konchalovsky and granddaughter of another outstanding painter, Vasily Surikov. Nikita's older brother is the filmmaker Andrei Konchalovsky, primarily known for his collaboration with Andrei Tarkovsky and his own Hollywood action films, such as Runaway Train and Tango & Cash.
Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman (Hebrew: יצחק פרלמן; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist, conductor, and music teacher. Perlman has performed worldwide, and throughout the United States, in venues that have included a State Dinner at the White House honoring Queen Elizabeth II, and at President Barack Obama's inauguration. He has conducted the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Westchester Philharmonic. In 2015, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He has received 16 Grammy Awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and four Emmy Awards. Perlman was born in 1945 in Tel Aviv. His parents, Chaim and Shoshana Perlman, were Jewish natives of Poland and had independently emigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine (now Israel) in the mid-1930s before they met and later married. Perlman contracted polio at age four and has walked using leg braces and crutches since then and plays the violin while seated. As of 2018, he uses crutches or an electric Amigo scooter for mobility. Perlman first became interested in the violin after hearing a classical music performance on the radio. At the age of three, he was denied admission to the Shulamit Conservatory for being too small to hold a violin. He instead taught himself how to play the instrument using a toy fiddle until he was old enough to study with Rivka Goldgart at the Shulamit Conservatory and at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv (now the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music), where he gave his first recital at age 10. He moved to the U.S. at age 13 to study at the Juilliard School with the violin teacher Ivan Galamian and his assistant Dorothy DeLay. Perlman appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show twice in 1958, and again in 1964, on the same show with the Rolling Stones. He made his debut at Carnegie Hall in 1963 and won the Leventritt Competition in 1964. Soon afterward, he began to tour widely. In addition to an extensive recording and performance career, he has continued to make appearances on television shows such as The Tonight Show and Sesame Street as well as playing at a number of White House functions. Although Perlman has never been billed or marketed as a singer, he sang the role of "Un carceriere" ("a jailer") on a 1981 EMI recording of Puccini's "Tosca" that featured Renata Scotto, Plácido Domingo, and Renato Bruson, with James Levine conducting. He had earlier sung the role in an excerpt from the opera on a 1980 Pension Fund Benefit Concert telecast as part of the Live from Lincoln Center series with Luciano Pavarotti as Cavaradossi and Zubin Mehta conducting the New York Philharmonic. On July 5, 1986, Perlman performed at the New York Philharmonic's tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, which was televised live on ABC. The orchestra, conducted by Mehta, performed in Central Park. In 1987, Perlman joined the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) for its concerts in Warsaw and Budapest as well as other cities in Eastern bloc countries. He toured with the IPO in the spring of 1990 for its first-ever performance in the Soviet Union, with concerts in Moscow and Leningrad, and again in 1994, performing in China and India. ... Source: Article "Itzhak Perlman" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Dawn Wells
A wholesome beauty with comedic appeal, Dawn Elberta Wells was born on October 18, 1938 in Reno, Nevada. Wells' childhood was a happy and healthy one. She and her mother grew their own fruits and vegetables in their gardens and Dawn rode horses. In her high school years, she was the class treasurer, President of the debate team and an honor roll student. Dawn was on her way to becoming a ballerina, but bad knees prevented her from realizing the dream. She was Miss Nevada in 1959 and went on to the 1960 Miss America Pageant. Dawn had wanted to be a doctor, and enrolled in the elite Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri to study medicine, but then she discovered the Drama Club. She then transferred to the University of Washington, which was known for their Theatre Department, and she graduated with a Degree in Theatre. Dawn moved to Hollywood and was cast as Mary Ann Summers on CBS's Gilligan's Island (1964). The rest is history. However, there was much more to Dawn than her simple Mary Ann character. Wells refused to be an unemployed actor after the show ended and was never out of work since the show decades ago. She performed in over 66 theatrical productions, including the National Touring Company of "They're Playing Our Song!" She did countless voice-overs, commercials and talk shows. She worked for the Australian news show "Midday" and interviewed such talents as Julia Roberts, Eddie Murphy and Tom Hanks, to name a few. Dawn has also had great success as a producer and has a number of television movies to her credit. After years of touring and performing in dramas, comedies, and musical theatre, Dawn slowed down a little. In 1998, she founded the Dawn Wells' Film Actors Boot Camp in Driggs, Idaho. The camp is for the already trained actor looking to make the transition from the amateur to the professional actor. Wells managed the camp for many years. She has been in a popular commercial for Western Union, capitalizing on her character Mary Ann Summers. In 2003, Dawn did tours of the plays "Love Letters" with Adam West and Eve Ensler's Award Winning "The Vagina Monologues." In early 2004, Dawn established and founded The Spud Film Institute in Idaho and Wyoming, and held the first ever Spud Drive in Film and Music Festival in the summer of 2004. She was also the artistic director of the festival. If that is not enough, Ms. Wells also had her own clothing line for the physically challenged called "Wishing Wells Collections" and she recently launched her own skin care line, Classic Beauty. Dawn Wells continued to contribute to the business she loved so much and constantly gave back to the acting community. She mentored young actors and traveled to colleges all across the United States to teach Master Classes. She served as Artist in Residence at several Universities. Dawn was in constant demand for personal appearances and speaking engagements, yet never forgot to give back to the Artistic community. She will surely be remembered for all her good work. Wells passed away on December 30, 2020 at age 82. You can get information about all of Dawn's organizations at her website, dawn-wells.com.
Gabrielle Union
Cast · Known for GOAT, Bad Boys II, 10 Things I Hate About You
Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade (born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in The Brothers (2001), Deliver Us from Eva (2003), Bad Boys II (2003), Daddy's Little Girls (2007), Think Like a Man (2012), Think Like a Man Too (2014), and the remake of Cheaper by the Dozen (2022). She also starred as the lead in the BET drama series Being Mary Jane (2013-2019), for which she has received an NAACP Image Award, and in the crime series L.A.'s Finest (2019-2020) - a spinoff series for her character Syd in Bad Boys II.. She also had starring roles in the CBS medical drama series City of Angels (2000) and in the films Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), Neo Ned (2005), Cadillac Records (2008), Top Five (2014), Breaking In (2018), and The Perfect Find (2023). She has also co-starred in the films The Birth of a Nation (2016), Almost Christmas (2016), and Sleepless (2017). In high school, Union was an all-star point guard in basketball and a year-round athlete, also playing in soccer and running track. She went on to the University of Nebraska before moving on to Cuesta College. She eventually transferred to UCLA and earned a degree in sociology. While studying there, she interned at the Judith Fontaine Modeling & Talent Agency to earn extra academic credits. Invited by the agency's owner, Judith Fontaine, she started working as a model to pay off college loans. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on TV sitcoms prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films She's All That and 10 Things I Hate About You. She rose to greater prominence the following year, after she landed her breakthrough role in the teen film Bring It On. Bring It On helped push her into the mainstream and she began gaining more exposure. She was cast in her first leading role in the 2003 film Deliver Us from Eva with rapper L.L. Cool J. In 2003, she landed the role of Will Smith's girlfriend/Martin Lawrence's sister Sydney Burnett in the film Bad Boys II, and she starred with Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx in the film Breakin' All the Rules in 2004. She then starred in the short-lived 2005 ABC series Night Stalker. She has also starred in the independent drama films Neo Ned and Constellation, the latter of which was released to theaters. She won an award for Best Actress in Neo Ned at the Palm Beach International Film Festival, and the film received awards at several festivals. Outside of acting, she has written four books: two memoirs, titled We're Going to Need More Wine (2017) and You Got Anything Stronger? (2021), and two children's books, titled Welcome to the Party (2020), and Shady Baby (2021).
Kathleen Widomski
Production Design · Known for Medium, The Mindy Project, The Rookie
Union Production Designer for Broadcast Television, Streaming and Stage Productions.
Anthony L. Gardner
US Ambassador to the European Union 2014-2017.
Dave Penman
Dave Penman is a Scottish trade union leader who serves as general secretary of the FDA, a trade union for civil servants in the United Kingdom.
Christina McAnea
Christina McAnea is a Scottish trade union leader. She was elected as general secretary of Unison in succession to Dave Prentis, and took up the post on 22 January 2021.