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1-10 of 10
- Actress
- Soundtrack
One of Hollywood's more talented and watchable stars on screen was sullen and thin 50s actress Jan Sterling who didn't quite reach the top echelon of stardom but certainly ensured audiences of a real good time with her sexy pout and flashy style in soaps, film noir and saucy comedy.
Jan was born Jane Sterling Adriance in Manhattan in 1921 to a well-to-do family. Her father was a prominent advertising executive who divorced her mother when the girl was only eight years old. Her mother remarried (to an oilman) when Jan was still a youngster and the family relocated abroad where Jan was schooled by private tutors in Brazil, then later in London and Paris.
Although both sets of parents disapproved, Jan, who by this time possessed a strong British accent, set her sites on acting and was eventually enrolled in Fay Compton's dramatic school in London. A strong-minded young lady with a heartfelt passion for the arts, she returned to Manhattan to conquer Broadway and by the age of 17 had found her first ingénue role in "Bachelor Born," playing (naturally) a young British lady. Over the next 11 years, Jan dominated Broadway as proper British ladies while billing herself as "Jane Adrian."
One of her highlights was working with the legendary Ruth Gordon in 1942 in Gordon's first play entitled "Over 21." As Billie Dawn in the Chicago company of "Born Yesterday," Jan bowled over the critics and seemed almost a shoo-in to do the 1950 film version but she lost out in the end to Judy Holliday. The ash-blonde broke quickly into films supporting Oscar-winning Jane Wyman in Johnny Belinda (1948) in a key, emotional role.
To her absolute delight, she left the docile, ladylike image behind her and was allowed to dig her nails into a florid array of cheap floozies, hard-bitten dames, and lethal schemers and stood out well with 'bad girl' parts in the films Caged (1950), Ace in the Hole (1951), Flesh and Fury (1952), The Human Jungle (1954), and Female on the Beach (1955). In between she occasionally made a nicer, or at least a more sympathetic, impression in the movies Sky Full of Moon (1952) and The High and the Mighty (1954), the latter earning her an Oscar nomination.
Married to and divorced from actor John Merivale in the 1940s, Jan later married gruff film star Paul Douglas in 1950. The couple moved away from the Hollywood scene in Burlington, Vermont. The couple appeared together professionally on occasional TV shows and Douglas revived his "Born Yesterday" Harry Brock role with a stage tour starring Jan in the Billie Dawn part. It and they were a solid hit.
Jan's career slowed down considerably after the sudden death of her 52-year-old second husband in 1959. He suffered a massive heart attack at their Hollywood home. She refocused on stage and TV but at a slower step. Incidental filming occurred on occasion, including support roles in Love in a Goldfish Bowl (1961) and The Incident (1967). She also involved herself in humanitarian causes. In the late 1960s she moved to London, England and in the 1970s, she entered into a strong personal relationship with actor Sam Wanamaker. An isolated film role came her way with a small part in First Monday in October (1981). They never married but stayed together until his death in 1993.
Inactive for nearly two decades, Jan made an appearance at the Cinecon Film Festival in Los Angeles in the fall of 2001, still charming audiences at the age of 80. On 26 March 2004, she passed away at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. She was 82.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Jan Berry was one half of the popular 1960s "surf music" singing duo Jan & Dean, who enjoyed chart success with songs including "Surf City", "Little Old Lady from Pasadena", "Popsicle", "Dead Mans Curve", "Drag City" and "Ride the Wild Surf". Berry met future singing partner Dean Torrence at University High School in West Los Angeles and they became involved together in several musical groups, predominantly singing "doo wop" style tunes with limited success. However, fortune came their way when, in early 1963, they were booked to play several shows with The Beach Boys, and Berry struck up a friendship with songwriter Brian Wilson. Wilson passed across to Berry an unfinished tune titled "Surf City", which Jan & Dean completed and recorded, and it was their first number one single! Jan & Dean immediately changed their future musical output solely to "surf music" and their album sales performed very strongly over the next three years. However, on April 12th 1966, Jan Berry was critically injured in a motor vehicle accident in Los Angeles, when he crashed his Corvette into a parked truck. Berry was initially thought dead at the scene of the crash, and after being taken to hospital, it took him many, many years to recover and to learn how to walk and talk again.
The accident effectively ended the duo's soaring career, and it was not until the late 1980s that they did some minor touring, dependent on Jan's health. After being plagued by ill health for over 38 years since the car accident, Berry passed away from a stroke on March 26th, 2004 at age 62.- Cinematographer
- Director
- Camera and Electrical Department
Stelvio Massi was born on 26 March 1929 in Civitanova Marche, Italy. He was a cinematographer and director, known for A Fistful of Dollars (1964), Emergency Squad (1974) and Fearless (1978). He died on 26 March 2004 in Velletri, Italy.- Composer
- Music Department
- Editor
Fred Karlin was born on 16 June 1936 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Fred was a composer and editor, known for Westworld (1973), Licorice Pizza (2021) and Lovers and Other Strangers (1970). Fred was married to Megan Wells-Stagg. Fred died on 26 March 2004 in Culver City, California, USA.- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Production Manager
James Nicholson was born on 6 June 1915 in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. He was an assistant director and production manager, known for The Gallant Blade (1948), Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back (1947) and The Tougher They Come (1950). He was married to Millie. He died on 26 March 2004 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Vladimir Ivanovskiy was born on 21 June 1912 in Kursk, Russian Empire [now Russia]. He was an actor, known for Ty moy vostorg, moe muchene... (1984). He died on 26 March 2004 in Moscow, Russia.
- Carl Christian was born on 11 July 1911 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for The Silent Service (1957), Soldiers of Fortune (1955) and Schlitz Playhouse (1951). He died on 26 March 2004 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Cinematographer
Heinz Rox-Schulz was born on 23 March 1921 in Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany. He was a cinematographer, known for Indische Rhapsodie (1955). He died on 26 March 2004 in Saarbrücken, Saarland, Germany.- Alicia Aresté was an actress, known for El acompañamiento (1991), Juan Manuel de Rosas (1972) and Primicias (2000). She died on 26 March 2004.
- Director
- Writer
- Cinematographer
Wim Telders was born on 8 June 1925 in Antwerpen, Belgium. He was a director and writer, known for Onschuldig verlangen (1958), De grap (1968) and Waar het groeide (1956). He died on 26 March 2004 in Mortsel, Flanders, Belgium.