Childhood Crushes
Have you ever had a crush on a singer or actor and they were the only thing you obsessed about day and night? Well, these are those guys! Some I still like, some I outgrew and some I'm wondering... what in the hell was I thinking?!
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- Actor
- Composer
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El DeBarge was born on 4 June 1961 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Short Circuit (1986), Snake Eyes (1998) and The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005). He is married to Monique DeBarge. They have one child. He was previously married to Tracey Ferguson.- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Born on November 21, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois, Harold Allen Ramis got his start in comedy as Playboy magazine's joke editor and reviewer. In 1969, he joined Chicago's Second City's Improvisational Theatre Troupe before moving to New York to help write and perform in "The National Lampoon Show" with other Second City graduates including John Belushi, Gilda Radner and Bill Murray. By 1976, he was head writer and a regular performer on the top Canadian comedy series SCTV (1976). His Hollywood debut came when he collaborated on the script for National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) which was produced by Ivan Reitman. After that, he worked as writer with Ivan as producer on Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989) and acted in the latter three. Harold Ramis died on February 24, 2014 at age 69 from complications of autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana, and entertained audiences nearly his entire life. His father, Joe Jackson (no relation to Joe Jackson, also a musician), had been a guitarist, but was forced to give up his musical ambitions following his marriage to Michael's mother Katherine Jackson (née Katherine Esther Scruse). Together, they prodded their growing family's musical interests at home. By the early 1960s, the older boys Jackie, Tito and Jermaine had begun performing around the city; by 1964, Michael and Marlon had joined in.
A musical prodigy, Michael's singing and dancing talents were amazingly mature, and he soon became the dominant voice and focus of the Jackson 5. An opening act for such soul groups as the O-Jays and James Brown, it was Gladys Knight (not Diana Ross) who officially brought the group to Berry Gordy's attention, and by 1969, the boys were producing back-to-back chart-busting hits as Motown artists ("I Want You Back," "ABC," "Never Can Say Goodbye," "Got to Be There," etc.). As a product of the 1970s, the boys emerged as one of the most accomplished black pop / soul vocal groups in music history, successfully evolving from a group like The Temptations to a disco phenomenon.
Solo success for Michael was inevitable, and by the 1980s, he had become infinitely more popular than his brotherly group. Record sales consistently orbited, culminating in the biggest-selling album of all time, "Thriller" in 1982. A TV natural, he ventured rather uneasily into films, such as playing the Scarecrow in The Wiz (1978), but had much better luck with elaborate music videos.
In the 1990s, the downside as an 1980s pop phenomenon began to rear itself. Michael grew terribly child-like and introverted by his peerless celebrity. A rather timorous, androgynous figure to begin with, his physical appearance began to change drastically, and his behavior grew alarmingly bizarre, making him a consistent target for scandal-making, despite his numerous charitable acts. Two brief marriages -- one to Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie Presley -- were forged and two children produced by his second wife during that time, but the purposes behind them appeared image-oriented.
Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. His passion and artistry as a singer, dancer, writer and businessman were unparalleled, and it is these prodigious talents that will ultimately prevail over the extremely negative aspects of his troubled adult life.- Music Artist
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- Composer
Michael Bolton, the multiple Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and social activist, has sold more than 65 million albums and singles worldwide. He continues to tour the world every year, all while writing, recording and taping for a wide array of projects spanning music, film, television and branded entertainment. Known for his soulful voice and poignant lyrics, his timeless charm and good looks have also earned him a spot in several "People Magazine's Sexiest Man" issues, including slots in the "Sexiest Man Alive" issue. Bolton remains committed to humanitarian causes, especially through the Michael Bolton Charities as well as other philanthropic organizations.
Michael was born Michael Bolotin in New Haven, Connecticut, to Helen (Gubin) and George Bolotin.. He has a brother, Orrin, and a sister, Sandra. His grandparents on both sides were Russian Jewish immigrants.
Bolton's signature success was seized with the album Soul Provider, selling more than 12.5 million copies world-wide, and showcasing several chart-toppers including the #1 hit single "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You," which earned Michael his first Grammy. This pivotal album also includes the hit singles "When I'm Back on My Feet" Again," "How Can We Be Lovers," "Soul Provider," and of course the Grammy-nominated "Georgia on My Mind."
Soon after, Bolton released the #1 album Time, Love & Tenderness, which has sold over 16 million copies world-wide, and features his Grammy Award-winning vocal performance of the #1 blockbuster hit "When A Man Loves a Woman." This album also produced the hit singles: "Love Is a Wonderful Thing," "Time, Love and Tenderness" and "Missing You Now," as well as the Dylan co-write "Steel Bars."
Bolton followed this up with a collection of soulful classics on Timeless, delivering the hit singles "To Love Some Somebody" and "Reach Out I'll Be There." Timeless sold over 7 million copies worldwide. From his next album, The One Thing, came Michael's massive single "Said I Loved You...But I Lied," which spent 12 weeks at #1 on the AC charts and earned him another Grammy-nomination.
In recognition of his artistic achievements, Michael won 2 Grammys for Best Pop Male Vocal Performance (nominated four times), 6 American Music Awards, and a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As a songwriter, he has earned over 24 BMI & ASCAP Awards, including Songwriter of the Year, 9 Million-Air awards, and the Hitmakers Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Internationally renowned, Michael has recorded and performed with musical icons that have inspired and influenced his own career. He joined Luciano Pavarotti on stage in a highly praised rendition of "Vesti La Giubba," and pays homage to the Italian tenor when performing the aria "Nessun Dorma" at each of his concerts while on tour. He has sung with Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and Renee Fleming and played guitar with BB King. Bolton earned a Grammy-nomination for "Georgia on my Mind," and was invited to sing the classic song to Ray Charles when Ray was honored at the International Jazz Hall of Fame Awards in 1997.
A diverse and prolific songwriter, Bolton has worked with some of the greatest songwriters and producers of our time, including Lady Gaga, Diane Warren, Desmond Child, David Foster, Walter Afanasieff, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, John "Mutt" Lange, Dann Huff, A.R. Rahman, Phil Ramone, and Ne Yo, among others. He is one of the very few artists to have co-written with the legendary Bob Dylan, resulting in the mega hit, "Steel Bars." Michael has penned songs that have been recorded and performed by a diverse list of over 100 artists, ranging from country western legend Conway Twitty to hip hop superstar Kanye West featuring Jay Z and John Legend. Other greats who have performed Bolton's songs include Mark Anthony, Wynonna Judd, Joe Cocker, Peabo Bryson, Kenny Rogers, and Patti LaBelle. Michael has written #1 hit singles impacting the careers of artists such as Laura Branigan ("How Am I Supposed to Live Without You"), KISS ("Forever"), Barbra Streisand ("We're Not Making Love Anymore"), Cher ("I Found Someone"), and Kenny G ("By the Time this Night is Over").
Michael has always balanced a love for writing new songs with a passion for covering the classics. On his breakthrough album The Hunger, Bolton authored the #1 single "That's What Love is All About" and sang his chart topping version of Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay," which was a hit on four radio formats. That album was certified double Platinum and shipped 4 million copies worldwide.
To date, Michael has seen nine studio albums rank in the Top Ten, with 9 #1 singles. His most recent album Songs of Cinema, a selection of iconic film soundtrack songs, was released alongside an original Netflix production Michael Bolton's Big Sexy Valentine's Day Special, which ranked among the network's top fifty best comedies upon debut.
Michael has always been attracted to a wide array of musical categories, from Sinatra favorites (Bolton Swings Sinatra), to classical arias (My Secret Passion), which achieved #1 on the classical charts for 6 consecutive weeks. His most recent studio album features an authentic approach to Motown and soulful classics, as well as original songs written in the same vein.
Michael's songs and performances have been featured in numerous television and film soundtracks, including the Oscar-nominated theme song "Go the Distance" from Walt Disney's blockbuster animated film Hercules and the recent Russell Crowe film Fathers & Daughters. He also executive produced the documentary Terror at Home addressing Domestic Violence in America, and was Emmy-nominated for writing the title song "Tears of The Angels". Michael is completing a feature-length documentary, Gotta Keep Dreamin about the 21st Century Renaissance of Detroit.
Bolton was first drawn to Detroit to explore Hitsville USA, the roots of his greatest musical influences, but what he realized there was so much more. Told through the eyes of Michael's own discovery over the course of filming for 3 years, the film celebrates the golden age of Detroit - featuring its native entertainment legends like Francis Ford Coppola, Jerry Bruckheimer, Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson, Alice Cooper and many more - and reveals the landscape of the new Detroit being built by entrepreneurial moguls Dan Gilbert, Michael Ilitch, Big 3 as well as young innovators across new industries. The comeback of Detroit is poised to be the greatest turnaround story of American history. This is the story of the American Dream.
Michael became a viral sensation in The Lonely Island's Emmy nominated video, "Captain Jack Sparrow" that launched on Saturday Night Live and has racked up nearly 160 million views on YouTube. He then partnered with Funny Or Die to release a spoof on the cult-classic Office Space. Bolton continued his comedic appearances in several episodes of CBS's hit series Two and a half Men, the hit Fox network show Glee, HBO's hit series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and has ongoing campaigns with American Greetings. In his autobiography, "The Soul of it All" (Hachette/Center Street), Bolton states he is just teeing off on the back nine of his career.
For his dedication to social activism, Michael has been honored with several Humanitarian awards - including the Martin Luther King Award granted by the Congress of Racial Equality (C.O.R.E.), the Lewis Hine Award from The National Child Labor Committee, the Muhammed Ali Humanitarian Award, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, and the Frances Preston Lifetime Achievement Award. Michael is especially proud of the initiatives carried out by his own foundation, the The Michael Bolton Charities, now in its 24th Year of advocating on behalf of women and children at risk.- Music Artist
- Composer
- Actor
Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Mattie Shaw, a jazz singer and social worker, and John L. Nelson, a lyricist and pianist. His father's stage name was "Prince Rogers". His parents were both from African-American families from Louisiana. They separated during his youth, which lead him to move back and forth. Prince had a troubled relationship with his step-father which lead him to run away from home. Prince was adopted by a family called the Andersons. Prince soon after became friends with the Anderson's son, Andre Anderson (Cymone) together along with Charles Smith they joined a band called Grand Central. The band later renamed themselves Champagne and were a fairly successful live band, however soon diminished.
Prince at the age of eighteen started working on high-quality demo tracks with Chris Moon. With these demo tracks Prince eventually ended up signing a recording contract with Warner Brothers Records and was the youngest producer associated with the label. Prince made his debut on the record label with his 1978 album, For You. It wasn't a strong successful album, however it was fair for a beginning artist and ranked 163 on the U.S. Pop Charts. Prince's next releases would tend to do much better on the charts with his singles, "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" and I Wanna Be Your Lover in 1979. This would start to introduce Prince as a person who presented sexually explicit material into the music industry. However Prince didn't begin to attract mainstream artists until he release his single, 1999. This single began to be noticed by M.T.V. viewers and this would make him a part of the main-stream music media. Prince released two more singles called Little Red Corvette and Delirious. The album featured Prince's new band, The Revolution. In 1984 Prince would release what would be seen as an admired and profound masterpiece the feature film/sound-track album, Purple Rain in 1984. Prince's father contributed to this album, by cowriting the chord sequence for a couple of his songs. Prince continued to give cowriting credit to his father on several other albums, as his famous chord sequence would be used in several of Prince's singles and albums.
A lot of Prince's songs did not agree with listeners and one of his songs, Darling Nikki prompted a group of people to start a censorship organization called, Parents Music Resource Center (P.M.R.C.) as the track implemented grinding ludicrous acts such as masturbating, which stunned listeners. Prince however continued to release various other singles with the same platform his memorable releases being, Around The World In A Day, Parade, Love Sexy, and Batman.
Prince released a sequel to Purple Rain in 1990 called Graffiti Bridge, a soundtrack album accompanied this movie entitled, Graffiti Bridge. The film did terrible in box-office and was nominated for several Razzie awards. Many people saw the sound-track album, as the high point of the film.
In 1991, Prince assembled a new band called, The New Power Generation with this band he would release singles such as Diamond And Pearls, Cream, and Gett Off. Prince eventually changed his stage name from Prince to a symbol, which lead people to call him, "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince". Prince soon took back his old stage name.
In the 1990s, Prince continued to release singles such as Came, The Gold Experience, Chaos And Disorder, and Emancipation. With the rise of the new millennium, Prince released material such as a religious album called The Rainbow Children,One Nite Alone,The Chocolate Invasion,The Slaughter House, and had a collaboration with Stevie Wonder on Stevie's single called, What The Fuss in 2005.
Prince died on April 21, 2016 in Chanhassen, Minnesota, at his Paisley Park recording studio complex. He was 57.
Prince will be remembered as a musician and artist who inspired millions through his music, and set an inspirational platform which others still abide by.- Music Artist
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Kenny G was born on 5 June 1956 in Seattle, Washington, USA. He is a music artist and actor, known for The Bodyguard (1992), A Bad Moms Christmas (2017) and Pretty Woman (1990). He was previously married to Lyndie Benson and Janice Deleon.- Composer
- Actor
- Director
Roland Orzabal was born on 22 August 1961 in Havant, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, UK. He is a composer and actor, known for Watchmen (2009), Ready Player One (2018) and Donnie Darko (2001). He has been married to Emily McCauley Rath since 25 September 2020. He was previously married to Caroline Johnston Orzabal.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
David Bowie was one of the most influential and prolific writers and performers of popular music, but he was much more than that; he was also an accomplished actor, a mime and an intellectual, as well as an art lover whose appreciation and knowledge of it had led to him amassing one of the biggest collections of 20th century art.
Born David Jones, he changed his name to Bowie in the 1960s, to avoid confusion with the then well-known Davy Jones (lead singer of The Monkees). The 1960s were not a happy period for Bowie, who remained a struggling artist, awaiting his breakthrough. He dabbled in many different styles of music (without commercial success), and other art forms such as acting, mime, painting, and play-writing. He finally achieved his commercial breakthrough in 1969 with the song "Space Oddity", which was released at the time of the moon landing. Despite the fact that the literal meaning of the lyrics relates to an astronaut who is lost in space, this song was used by the BBC in their coverage of the moon landing, and this helped it become such a success. The album, which followed "Space Oddity", and the two, which followed (one of which included the song "The Man Who Sold The World", covered by Lulu and Nirvana) failed to produce another hit single, and Bowie's career appeared to be in decline.
However, he made the first of many successful "comebacks" in 1972 with "Ziggy Stardust", a concept album about a space-age rock star. This album was followed by others in a similar vein, rock albums built around a central character and concerned with futuristic themes of Armageddon, gender dysfunction/confusion, as well as more contemporary themes such as the destructiveness of success and fame, and the dangers inherent in star worship. In the mid-1970s, Bowie was a heavy cocaine abuser and sometime heroin user.
In 1975, he changed tack. Musically, he released "Young Americans", a soul (or plastic soul as he later referred to it) album. This produced his first number one hit in the US, "Fame". He also appeared in his first major film, The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). With a permanently-dilated pupil and skeletal frame, he certainly looked the part of an alien. The following year, he released "Station to Station," containing some of the material he had written for the soundtrack to this film (which was not used). As his drug problem heightened, his behavior became more erratic. Reports of his insanity started to appear, and he continued to waste away physically. He fled back to Europe, finally settling in Berlin, where he changed musical direction again and recorded three of the most influential albums of all time, an electronic trilogy with Brian Eno "Low, Heroes and Lodger". Towards the end of the 1970s, he finally kicked his drug habit, and recorded the album many of his fans consider his best, the Japanese-influenced "Scary Monsters". Around this time, he appeared in the title role of the Broadway drama The Elephant Man, and to considerable acclaim.
The next few years saw something of a drop-off in his musical output as his acting career flourished, culminating in his acclaimed performance in Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983). In 1983, he released "Let's Dance," an album which proved an unexpected massive commercial success, and produced his second #1 hit single in the United States. According to producer Nile Rodgers, the album was made in just 17 days and was "the easiest album" he'd ever made in his life. The tour which followed, "Serious Moonlight", was his most successful ever. Faced with this success on a massive scale, Bowie apparently attempted to "repeat the formula" in the next two albums, with less success (and to critical scorn). Finally, in the late 1980s, he turned his back on commercial success and his solo career, forming the hard rock band, Tin Machine, who had a deliberate limited appeal. By now, his acting career was in decline. After the comparative failure of Labyrinth (1986), the movie industry appears to have decided that Bowie was not a sufficient name to be a lead actor in a major movie, and since that date, most of his roles have been cameos or glorified cameos. Tin Machine toured extensively and released two albums, with little critical or commercial success.
In 1992, Bowie again changed direction and re-launched his solo career with "Black Tie White Noise", a wedding album inspired by his recent marriage to Iman. He released three albums to considerable critical acclaim and reasonable commercial success. In 1995, he renewed his working relationship with Brian Eno to record "Outside." After an initial hostile reaction from the critics, this album has now taken its place with his classic albums. In 2003, Bowie released an album entitled 'Reality.' The Reality Tour began in November 2003 and, after great commercial success, was extended into July 2004. In June 2004, Bowie suffered a heart attack and the tour did not finish its scheduled run.
After recovering, Bowie gave what turned out to be his final live performance in a three-song set with Alicia Keys at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York in November 2006. He also returned to acting. He played Tesla in The Prestige (2006) and had a small cameo in the comedy David Bowie (2006) for fan Ricky Gervais. In 2007, he did a cartoon voice in SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) playing Lord Royal Highness. He had a brief cameo in the movie ''Bandslam'' released in 2009; after a ten year hiatus from recording, he released a new album called 'The Next Day', featuring a homage cover to his earlier work ''Heroes''. The music video of ''Stars are Out Tonight'' premiered on 25 February 2013. It consists of other songs like ''Where Are We Now?", "Valentine's Day", "Love is Lost", "The Next Day", etc.
In 2014, Bowie won British Male Solo Artist at the 2014 Brit Awards, 30 years since last winning it, and became the oldest ever Brit winner. Bowie wrote and recorded the opening title song to the television miniseries The Last Panthers (2015), which aired in November 2015. The theme used for The Last Panthers (2015) was also the title track for his January 2016 release, ''Blackstar" (released on 8 January 2016, Bowie's 69th birthday) was met with critical acclaim. Following Bowie's death two days later, on 10 January 2016, producer Tony Visconti revealed Bowie had planned the album to be his swan song, and a "parting gift" for his fans before his death. An EP, No Plan, was released on 8 January 2017, which would have been Bowie's 70th birthday. The day following his death, online viewing of Bowie's music skyrocketed, breaking the record for Vevo's most viewed artist in a single day.
On 15 January, "Blackstar" debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart; nineteen of his albums were in the UK Top 100 Albums Chart, and thirteen singles were in the UK Top 100 Singles Chart. The song also debuted at #1 on album charts around the world, including Australia, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the US Billboard 200. At the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, Bowie won all five nominated awards: Best Rock Performance; Best Alternative Music Album; Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical; Best Recording Package; and Best Rock Song. The wins marked Bowie's first ever in musical categories. David Bowie influenced the course of popular music several times and had an effect on several generations of musicians.- Actor
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- Music Department
Saul Hudson, mainly known as Slash, was born on July 23, 1965, and was raised in Stoke-on-Trent. Both his parents worked in the entertainment business, his mother being a clothing designer (she did some of David Bowie's costumes) and his father being an art director for a record company. When Slash was 11 he moved with his mother to Los Angeles, leaving his father behind in England, although he eventually joined them in L.A. years later. Slash became sort of an outsider at school since he didn't really fit in with other kids. In the mid 70s his parents separated and Slash moved in with his grandmother. During this time Slash got interested in BMX riding, and went on to win several awards and money in competitions.
When he was 15 he got his first guitar, and his schoolwork started to go downhill as he skipped class to sit playing guitar all day. Slash eventually got so tired of school that he dropped out in 11th grade. As he lived in Los Angeles, a city flourishing with new, young rock bands, he quickly got in touch with people to jam with. After meeting Steven Adler the two of them formed a band called Road Crew. Then he met Izzy Stradlin who played in a band with Axl Rose, and after hearing Axl sing live, he was set on getting him in his band. Soon a bass player answered one of Slash's ads in the paper, and Slash (guitar), Steven (drums), Izzy (guitar), Axl (vocals) and Duff McKagan (bass) formed Guns N' Roses in 1986. Soon enough, GNR were known across the globe as the new rock n' roll sensation. Album sales went sky high and the band was having a blast on their world tours, and during this time Slash worked with artists like Michael Jackson on the Dangerous album and Lenny Kravitz, just to name two. But after the Use Your Illusion tour, GNR decided to take a break. Slash however, needed to play music and so he formed his own band Slash's Snakepit. With the success of this bands album It's Five O'Clock Somewhere (1995), Slash told the public that Slash's Snakepit would be back again. During this time Slash and Axl were having some heated arguments about Guns N' Roses and what would happen next. Guns N' Roses as we knew them then, was terminated by the result as Slash decided to leave the band, handing all rights of the band name over to Axl.
After this Slash did a few gigs here and there, formed a band called Blues Ball who played blues covers, and even brought back Slash's Snakepit as he said he would, although they didn't last very long this time either. In 2000, Slash met Perla Ferrar and on October 15, 2001, married her. It's not surprising that he wore black leather pants, a white shirt and his faithful black leather jacket to the wedding! His new status as a married man didn't slow him down, though. In 2003, Velvet Revolver was formed by the former members of Guns N' Roses; Slash, Duff and Matt (who replaced Steven in 1990), Scott Weiland (vocals) from Stone Temple Pilots and Dave Kushner (guitar) from Wasted Youth. Velvet Revolver's debut album Contraband (2004) was long-awaited and sold incredibly well. They are now going to show up on the second Live Aid concert along with many other huge artists, which will be held in London. Velvet Revolver's plans to become a rock band of great magnitude are definitely in the works, and Slash himself has earned his title as one of the greatest rock n' roll guitar players in history.- Producer
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Oscar De La Hoya was born on 4 February 1973 in Montebello, California, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for 40 Days: Canelo vs. Kovalev (2019), I Am Boxing (2017) and Los Golden Boys (2015). He was previously married to Millie Corretjer.- Actor
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Christopher D'Olier Reeve was born September 25, 1952, in New York City, to journalist Barbara Johnson (née Barbara Pitney Lamb) and writer/professor F.D. Reeve (Franklin D'Olier Reeve). He came from an upper-class family; his paternal grandfather was CEO of Prudential Financial, and one of his maternal great-grandfathers was Supreme Court Associate Justice Mahlon Pitney.
When Reeve was four, his parents divorced. His mother moved him and his brother Benjamin to Princeton, New Jersey, and married an investment banker a few years later. After graduating from high school, Reeve studied at Cornell University while at the same time working as a professional actor. In his final year at Cornell, he was one of two students selected (Robin Williams was the other) to study at New York's famous Juilliard School, under the renowned John Houseman. Although Christopher is best known for his role as Superman (1978), a role which he played with both charisma and grace, his acting career spans a much larger ground. Paralyzed after a horse riding accident, he died suddenly at age 52 after several years of living and working with his severe disability.- Music Artist
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- Actor
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Ricky initiated his singing career in the Latin all boy-band group Menudo. After leaving the group, he moved to New York to study acting. After finishing his studies, he relocated to Mexico where he performed as actor in "Mama ama el Rock", "Alcanzar una Estrella II". In 1991, he began to focus his career as a soloist singer, eventually becoming an international superstar with the release of his self-titled English language album in 1996.- Actor
- Producer
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Timothy James Curry was born on April 19, 1946 in Grappenhall, Cheshire, England. His mother, Maura Patricia (Langmead), was a school secretary, and his father, James Curry, was a Methodist Royal Navy chaplain. Curry studied Drama and English at Birmingham University, from which he graduated with Combined Honors. His first professional success was in the London production of "Hair", followed by more work in the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Glasgow Citizens Repertory Company, and the Royal Court Theatre where he created the role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in "The Rocky Horror Show". He recreated the role in the Los Angeles and Broadway productions and starred in the screen version entitled The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). Curry continued his career on the New York and London stages with starring roles in "Travesties", "Amadeus", "The Pirates of Penzance", "The Rivals", "Love for Love", "Dalliance", "The Threepenny Opera", "The Art of Success" and "My Favorite Year". He also starred in the United States tour of "Me and My Girl". He has received two Tony Award nominations for best actor and won the Royal Variety Club Award as "Stage Actor of the Year".
A composer and a singer, Tim Curry toured the United States and Europe with his own band and released four albums on A&M Records. In addition to an active movie and television career, he is a sought-after actor for CD-ROM productions. His distinctive voice can be heard on more than a dozen audio books, and in countless animated television series and videos. He lives in Los Angeles, California.- Actor
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Michael DeLorenzo was born on 31 October 1959 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Alive (1993), Resurrection Blvd. (2000) and A Few Good Men (1992).- Actor
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Steven Tyler was born on 26 March 1948 in Yonkers, New York, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Be Cool (2005), Epic (2013) and Wayne's World 2 (1993). He was previously married to Teresa Barrick and Cyrinda Foxe.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Christopher Atkins was born on 21 February 1961 in Rye, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for The Blue Lagoon (1980), The Pirate Movie (1982) and A Night in Heaven (1983). He was previously married to Lyn Barron.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Michael Connell Biehn was born on July 31, 1956 in Anniston, Alabama, to Marcia (Connell) and Don Biehn, a lawyer. He grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, and at age 14 moved with his family to Lake Havasu, Arizona, where he won a drama scholarship to the University of Arizona. He left prematurely two years later to pursue an acting career in Hollywood. His first big role was as a psychotic fan stalking Lauren Bacall in The Fan (1981) and later appeared in The Lords of Discipline (1983). He hit the big-time when he was cast as Kyle Reese, the man sent back through time to stop Arnold Schwarzenegger in James Cameron's The Terminator (1984). This established a good working relationship with Cameron, a relationship that should have catapulted Biehn to international stardom. He starred in Cameron's subsequent films, Aliens (1986) and The Abyss (1989), the latter a standout performance as unstable Navy SEAL officer Lt. Hiram Coffey. In the 1990s he starred in films like Navy Seals (1990), K2 (1991) and was particularly memorable as Johnny Ringo in Tombstone (1993). Biehn is married and the father of five sons.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Daytime Emmy Award winning Actor Maurice Benard joined the cast of General Hospital in the role of Sonny Corinthos in August 1993. He briefly left the show for a year-long hiatus in December 1998. For his portrayal, Mr. Benard received the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in 2003. He was also nominated in 1996, 1997, 2004, 2006 and 2011.
Mr. Benard's multi-cultural upbringing began in San Francisco, where he was born to parents from Nicaragua and San Salvador. Uninspired by the traditional education route, he gleaned an education in the open job market after high school. He began modeling in his early twenties. Following that, Mr. Benard took up acting in numerous theatrical productions in the Bay area.
After auditioning for a role on the ABC drama All My Children, Mr. Benard was cast as Nico Kelly. Two years later, he struck out to find new challenges and moved to Los Angeles, where he was cast as the lead in the much-publicized TV movie, Lucy and Desi: Before the Laughter. He later added a pivotal role in the feature film Ruby to several other prominent film and television credits.
Mr. Benard has been a popular voice in the battle against bipolar disorder. He has been very open about his personal battle with the illness, appearing on television programs such as The View, Entertainment Tonight, and Oprah. He has been featured in People and LA Life Magazines. He also began working with the National Mental Health Association (NMHA) on the "Bipolar Disorder: Do You Know It?" campaign to help educate Americans about the importance of recognizing the signs and symptoms of bipolar disorder.- Actor
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Mr. Geary has come a long way from Coalville, Utah, the small mountain community of 800 where he was born. Tony was a gifted student, attending the University of Utah as a Presidential Award Scholar in theater. Jack Albertson saw Tony perform there, a nd cast him in "The Subject Was Roses." The production, starring Albertson and Martha Scott, toured Hawaii and settled at the Huntington Hartford Theater in Los Angeles, where Tony decided to establish himself. His ensuing musical theater credits comprise a catalog of classics. A highlight in this period was his co-starring engagement with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas in "Your Show of Shows." Mr. Geary has performed in more than 50 stage productions throughout the United States. His extensive theatrical credits include roles in productions of "The Wild Duck, " "The Inspector General, " "The Cat's Paw, " "The Glass Menagerie, " and "Barabbas" a t the Los Angeles Theater Center. In addition, he toured with a production of "Jesus Christ Superstar, " portraying the title role. He also portrayed Octavius Caesar, opposite Lynn Redgrave and Timothy Dalton, in a production of Shakespeare's "Antony and C leopatra" for PBS and the BBC. Mr. Geary has made guest appearances on more than 40 television shows. Among his TV credits are roles on "Starsky & Hutch, " "Barnaby Jones, " "The Streets of San Francisco, " "The Blue Knight, " "All in the Family, " "The Six Million Dollar Man, " "The Par tridge Family, " "Most Wanted, " "Mannix, " "The Mod Squad, " "Room 222, " "Doc Elliot, " "Temperatures Rising, " "Marcus Welby, M.D., " Arthur Hailey's "Hotel" and "Murder, She Wrote." He also performed in the television movies, "Perry Mason and the Case of the Murdered Madam, " "Kicks, " "Sins of the Past, " "The Imposter, " "Intimate Agony" and "Do You Know the Muffin Man?" and in the daytime dramas, "Bright Promise" and "The Young and the Restless." As a producer, Mr. Geary received a Cindy Award for the drama, "Sound of Sunshine, Sound of Rain, " a children's story for Public Radio. He has also taught improvisation and story-theater techniques. Mr. Geary competed in track and field and swimming events as a college student, and also raced horses. He is a certified scuba diver as well as an accomplished rollerblader. Tony also claims to be "the world's oldest Hip Hop dancer." As portrayed by Anthony Geary, Luke Spencer was described as the most popular character in soap opera history. One critic said, "Geary's individualism, uniqueness and awesome range is the most notable in daytime (television) history, " a statement that is typical of the actor's reviews. He added to his laurels by winning the 1981 Emmy Award as Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series. In January, 1991, Mr. Geary returned to "General Hospital" in the role of Bill Eckert, a cousin of Spencer's, and a man of many, often dark, colors. Mr. Geary was seen on-screen as both Bill Eckert and Luke Spencer as the story progressed, until the death of Eckert.- Keith Hamilton Cobb Graduated Sleepy Hollow High School and Westchester Community College. As well as New York University Tisch School of the Arts. He attended Circle in the Square Theatre School and Playwrights Horizons Theater School. His hobbies are writing, photography & renovating home. He lives in Los Angeles, California, USA. He has two sisters, Pamela and Lane Cobb, both of whom are physicians. His mother, Mary Lane Cobb is a retired physician and father James Cobb is a mechanical engineer. Keith has often said that his biggest inspiration are his hard working African American parents.
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Raised in the backstage wings of Las Vegas hotels by his Cuban father, Puerto Rico-born Kamar de los Reyes knew the second he was hoisted onto the stage to dance with Lola Falana at the age of 8, that he not only wanted to perform, but he wanted to be out front.
Kamar's father, a Cuban drummer and percussionist, would see two of his three sons follow in his footsteps: one a world-renowned drummer, the other a world-renowned percussionist. Kamar, the youngest of the brood, chose to go another route. While in high school, he discovered the arts as a singer and dancer. During his senior year, a stage role as El Gallo in "The Fantastiks" marked his acting debut. Shortly thereafter, Kamar would go to Los Angeles, to visit his brother Daniel, who was playing percussion for the Cher video "We All Sleep Alone." Kamar landed a dancing role and subsequently went on to work with Kenny Ortega in the feature film Salsa (1988) and the television series Dirty Dancing (1988). Later in 2001, Kamar would work again with Ortega in the VH-1 movie The Way She Moves (2001). Only this time, he would work as the lead actor.
In 1989, Kamar began to focus only on his acting career; "I was baptized by fire," he likes to say. With very little professional experience as an actor, he landed a role in the critically acclaimed Off Broadway play "Blade to the Heat" and rose to critical attention for his portrayal of gay Irish-Mexican boxer Pedro Quinn. The rest, I guess you can say, is history.
Kamar has steadily performed alongside a virtual Who's Who in television, movies, stage, and music for more two decades, including projects such as The Gifted (2017)), Sleepy Hollow (2013), One Life to Live (1968), Shooter (2016), and Blue Bloods (2010), to name just a few. He would star in the made-for-television movie The Way She Moves (2001); in Nixon (1995), directed by Oliver Stone; and in the feature film Salt (2010), starring Angelina Jolie. You might also recognize him as the face and voice of Raul Menendez in the most successful video game franchise in history, Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012), Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2018), and Call of Duty: Vanguard (2021).
Joining forces with his actor wife Sherri Saum, they created MaPá Productions and recently starred in and produced their first short film, First Strike Butcher Knife (2017), which premiered at the Los Angeles Short Film Festival to critical acclaim.
An avid gym rat and self-professed weekend warrior, Kamar resides in Los Angeles with his wife and twin sons, Michael Luis and John Rubén. Kamar is also very active in helping with the recovery efforts of his beloved island Puerto Rico. To date, Kamar and his brother Daniel de los Reyes, along with Day Glow Relief, have made five trips to the hurricane-ravaged island. "We want to make sure that the relief aid makes it into the hands of the people who need it most, but also create awareness so that the people of Puerto Rico aren't forgotten," he has said- Actor
- Producer
Andrew Keegan was born in Shadow Hills, California. He was first recognized for his gregarious performance of teen rebel "Zack Dell in the cult-classic film Camp Nowhere (1994). Barely in high school, Roland Emmerich cast Keegan in the blockbuster Independence Day (1996). After an immediate rise in popularity, the charismatic actor guest-starred on many hit shows before being cast on the TV drama Party of Five (1994). That same year, he landed another recurring role on 7th Heaven (1996), the WB's longest-running hit series, on which he played a single teenaged father in love with Jessica Biel's character Mary. Keegan showed his range from comedy to drama in two modern-day Shakespearean film adaptations. His hilarious performance as the antagonist of Heath Ledger in the comedy 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) was balanced by a solid dramatic performance as Mekhi Phifer's best friend in O (1995), which was directed by Tim Blake Nelson.
A bold choice in his career, Keegan accepted the lead role in Greg Berlanti's critically acclaimed The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000), which showed a more vulnerable side of his acting range as the newbie. The film won best picture that year at the GLAAD Awards. Expanding his range in 2009, Keegan made his theatrical stage debut in the provocative award winning play "He Asked For It." Keegan stepped on stage as Rigby, a character tackling the emotional issues of being HIV-positive in modern-day society. In 2010, Keegan jumped into the cockpit as Strayger, a drug-smuggling pilot in the high-octane action film Kill Speed (2010). Innovative camera technology allowed the adrenaline-driven actor to give his performance while doing aeronautical stunts in mid-flight.
Alongside William Sadler and John Heard, Keegan took on a darker role as a sadistic and sociopathic vampire named Blake in the film Living Among Us (2018).- Actor
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John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II was born on June 9, 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky, to Betty Sue Palmer (née Wells), a waitress, and John Christopher Depp, a civil engineer. He was raised in Florida. He dropped out of school when he was 15, and fronted a series of music-garage bands, including one named 'The Kids'. When he married Lori A. Depp, he took a job as a ballpoint-pen salesman to support himself and his wife. A visit to Los Angeles, California, with his wife, however, happened to be a blessing in disguise, when he met up with actor Nicolas Cage, who advised him to turn to acting, which culminated in Depp's film debut in the low-budget horror film, A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), where he played a teenager who falls prey to dream-stalking demon Freddy Krueger.
In 1987 he shot to stardom when he replaced Jeff Yagher in the role of undercover cop Tommy Hanson in the popular TV series 21 Jump Street (1987). In 1990, after numerous roles in teen-oriented films, his first of a handful of great collaborations with director Tim Burton came about when Depp played the title role in Edward Scissorhands (1990). Following the film's success, Depp carved a niche for himself as a serious, somewhat dark, idiosyncratic performer, consistently selecting roles that surprised critics and audiences alike. He continued to gain critical acclaim and increasing popularity by appearing in many features before re-joining with Burton in the lead role of Ed Wood (1994). In 1997 he played an undercover FBI agent in the fact-based film Donnie Brasco (1997), opposite Al Pacino; in 1998 he appeared in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), directed by Terry Gilliam; and then, in 1999, he appeared in the sci-fi/horror film The Astronaut's Wife (1999). The same year he teamed up again with Burton in Sleepy Hollow (1999), brilliantly portraying Ichabod Crane.
Depp has played many characters in his career, including another fact-based one, Insp. Fred Abberline in From Hell (2001). He stole the show from screen greats such as Antonio Banderas in the finale to Robert Rodriguez's "mariachi" trilogy, Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003). In that same year he starred in the marvelous family blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), playing a character that only the likes of Depp could pull off: the charming, conniving and roguish Capt. Jack Sparrow. The film's enormous success has opened several doors for his career and included an Oscar nomination. He appeared as the central character in the Stephen King-based movie, Secret Window (2004); as the kind-hearted novelist James Barrie in the factually-based Finding Neverland (2004), where he co-starred with Kate Winslet; and Rochester in the British film, The Libertine (2004). Depp collaborated again with Burton in a screen adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), and later in Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Dark Shadows (2012).
Off-screen, Depp has dated several female celebrities, and has been engaged to Sherilyn Fenn, Jennifer Grey, Winona Ryder and Kate Moss. He was married to Lori Anne Allison in 1983, but divorced her in 1985. Depp has two children with his former long-time partner, French singer/actress Vanessa Paradis: Lily-Rose Melody, born in 1999 and John Christopher "Jack" III, born in 2002. He married actress/producer Amber Heard in 2015, divorcing a few years later.- Actor
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After leaving Vietnam with his family in 1975 Dustin Tri Nguyen (pronounced "Gwen") went on to establish himself as one of Hollywood's premiere Asian-American actors, having starred on the hit TV shows "21 Jump Street," "Seaquest DSV," "VIP," He went on to star in the films THE REBEL and THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS 2. In 2005 Dustin won the much sought after role in the Australian based critically acclaimed film LITTLE FISH starring opposite Academy Award-winner Cate Blanchett. In the film Dustin plays 'Jonny,' Blanchett's love interest in a story that revolves around her 'Tracy,' an ex-heroin-addict trying to rebuild her life. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and went on to become the number-one film in Australia. Along the way, it collected 5 Australian Film Institute Awards and 3 Film Critics' Awards. LITTLE FISH then opened in New York to rave reviews. Critics took note of Dustin's performance and transformation into a leading man among the A-list cast. This very performance earned him the 2007 Asian Excellence Award for Best Supporting Actor in a feature film.
Dustin can be seen starring in and directing Justin Lin's series "Warrior" on Cinemax. The Show, based on the writings of Bruce Lee and set in the late 1870s San Francisco during the Tong Wars in Chinatown. In the Series he plays the "Big Bad" Zing. Dustin is especially looking forward to season 2 where he has directed the sixth episode of the show. This past season also saw Dustin guest starring on the NBC hit Drama "This Is Us."
In more recent years, Dustin has transitioned to directing and producing films under his Vietnam-based Dreamscape DBS; the production company he shares with his producer wife, Bebe Pham. 2015 was a particularly good year for Dustin as his second directorial effort, JACKPOT, was chosen to represent Vietnam for Best Foreign Language Films at the 2016 Oscars. The film also was one of the surprise hits with Vietnamese audiences that year as it was inspired by the true events of a poor countryside lottery peddler who returned the winning lottery ticket to its rightful owner. By summer of 2016, JACKPOT collected 3 Golden Kite Awards (Vietnam's highest cinematic award) for Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Screenplay, in addition to People's Choice Award for the Best Film of 2015.
In 2014, Dustin collaborated as an actor in a Vietnamese adaptation of Dostoyevsky's A GENTLE CREATURE. This film, GENTLE, earned him a Leonardo da Vinci Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 2015 Milan International Film Festival. In the same year, Dustin starred in Universal Pictures' sequel to THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS.
In 2013, Dustin made his directorial debut with a script he wrote which was his personal homage to Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns, called ONCE UPON A TIME IN VIETNAM - the first fantasy-martial-arts-drama in Vietnam. The film was picked up by Lionsgate for North America distribution, as well as being distributed in England, Germany, Italy, France, Australia and South America.
In 2011, Dustin was awarded Best Actor at the Vietnamese International Film Festival for his performance as an abusive and bitter single father raising two children in the Mekong Delta in FLOATING LIVES.
In 2009, Dustin was awarded the Vietnamese Golden Lotus Award (Vietnam's Highest Film Award) for Best Actor in the motion picture THE LEGEND IS ALIVE, as well as the Golden Kite Award (Vietnam's Cinema Association) for the very same role. He was also awarded the Golden Rooster (China's most prestigious film award) for Favorite International Actor for this very role. Dustin played Long, a mentally challenged man, whose only wish is to bring his recently deceased mother's ashes to America. Along his journey, Long encounters and reluctantly involves himself with a young girl who has been sold to human traffickers.
In 2008, Dustin starred in Justin Lin's film FINISHING THE GAME, which had premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2006, Dustin starred in his first villain role in the Vietnamese blockbuster THE REBEL, a French-Vietnamese 1920's period action-drama. It marked his first return to Vietnam in 32 years.
Dustin's martial arts expertise was fully showcased in 2000 when he starred in a Levi's Jeans' European "Hero" campaign, which expanded upon his ever-growing international profile. The campaign was uniquely groundbreaking in that it was the first time Levi's had ever used an Asian star in their awarded winning campaigns. For Dustin, it offered the first opportunity to apply his love for the martial arts along with his dramatic training as he collaborated with director Jonathan Glazer (UNDER THE SKIN, SEXY BEAST, BIRTH) on the fight choreography.
Dustin currently lives in Vietnam with his wife, Bebe Pham, and their three children.- Producer
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Peter DeLuise was born on 6 November 1966 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Stargate SG-1 (1997), Stargate: Atlantis (2004) and 21 Jump Street (1987). He has been married to Anne Marie DeLuise since 7 June 2002. They have one child. He was previously married to Gina Nemo.- Actor
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Richard Grieco was born to an Italian father (Richard Grieco) and an Irish mother (Carolyn O'Reilly). He is a musician and, in 1995, released a CD ('Waiting for the Sky to Fall') in Germany. In 2009, several years after being encouraged by Dennis Hopper, Grieco publicly revealed that he has been painting since 1991. He calls his work "Abstract Emotionalism".- Actor
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Born on May 24, 1962, in Harlem. Attended Julia Richmond High School, where he performed in a dance class, and later auditioned for Louis Falco, the choreographer for the film Fame (1980). Actually attended New York's High School of the Performing Arts for a year, before being kicked out. He was, therefore, perfectly cast as Leroy in the film, which won Academy Awards for best song and original score. Like his character in the film, Ray had never had professional dance training but had an abundance of raw talent. In 1982, he toured Britain to perform with other Fame (1980) cast members in 10 concerts. The Kids from Fame in Concert (1983), a television special about the tour, was broadcast in the United States a year later.- Philip Moon is an actor, known for Deadwood (2004), The Big Lebowski (1998) and True Detective (2014).
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Erik Estrada was born on 16 March 1949 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for CHiPs (1977), Loaded Weapon 1 (1993) and National Lampoon's Van Wilder (2002). He has been married to Nanette Mirkovich since 20 September 1997. They have one child. He was previously married to Peggy Rowe and Joyce Miller.- Actor
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Richard Simmons was born on 12 July 1948 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for What Women Want (2000), The Larry Sanders Show (1992) and CHiPs (1977).- Music Artist
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George Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in Finchley, north London, in the United Kingdom, to Lesley Angold (Harrison), a dancer, and Kyriacos Panayiotou, a restaurateur. His father was a Greek Cypriot, and his mother was of English background. He first discovered fame as a musician when he and school friend, Andrew Ridgeley, formed the pop group Wham!. Success came fast and furious with their first album, 'Fantastic' (1983) hitting the UK number one spot. Wham! survived for five years and during that time the group notched up four number one singles and two number one albums. Most of their other releases made top three. George also contributed to the Band Aid Single 'Do They Know It's Christmas' (1984), and scored two further solo number one hits with 'Careless Whisper' and 'A Different Corner'.
Following the break-up of Wham!, George went on to have a hugely successful career as a solo artist, his debut album 'Faith' (1987) - and the single of the same name - both achieving instant and international success. The album has since been certified Diamond.
Over the last four decades George has notched up 8 number one albums in the and 13 number one singles in the UK (including Wham!, Band Aid, and the 'Five Live' EP). In the U.S. he has achieved 2 number one albums and 10 number one singles, with numerous other number one hits throughout the rest of the world.
He has performed duets with artists including Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Queen, and Lisa Stansfield, and actively participates in charitable causes, Live Aid and the Freddie Mercury concert for AIDS being just two of the more prominent examples. According to a BBC documentary, George donated more than five million pounds towards various charities. Whilst with Wham!, he donated all the proceeds of 'Last Christmas' (1984) to charity. The single reached number two in the UK and George also performed simultaneously on the number one charity record 'Do They Know It's Christmas?'.
George released the single 'December Song' in 2008 as a free download: his hope was that purchasers would donate money to charity.
He remained in contact with his Wham! partner and long-time friend Andrew Ridgeley until his death in 2016.- Actor
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Judd Asher Nelson was born on November 28, 1959 in Portland, Maine to attorney Leonard Nelson and his wife, Merle Nelson (attorney and state assemblywoman). Judd attended St. Paul's preparatory school in Concord, New Hampshire before majoring in philosophy at the prestigious Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania. The acting bug bit when he went to watch a friend's audition and was obliged to audition in order to stay. He won the role.
After graduation, Judd headed for New York City and the Stella Adler Conservatory where he was believable in the role as the street-smart Eddie Keaton in the comedy Making the Grade (1984). Judd's next film role was as the stodgy ROTC cadet, Phil Hicks, in the ensemble comedy Fandango (1985). Important and diverse roles in the brat-pack films The Breakfast Club (1985) and St. Elmo's Fire (1985) quickly followed. With his privileged upbringing, Judd could have brought the right degree of preppy-smarmyness, (ala James Spader), to any number of vapid roles, but his intense stare and dark smoldering looks gave him a hint of danger which added to his credibility in films like Billionaire Boys Club (1987), From the Hip (1987) and New Jack City (1991).
While Judd's career has been peppered with under-promoted films and poorly-written television appearances, critics have not been overly kind to this misunderstood actor.- Actor
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Henry Franklin Winkler was born on October 30, 1945, in Manhattan, New York. His parents, Ilse Anna Maria (Hadra) and Harry Irving Winkler, were German Jewish immigrants who escaped the Holocaust by moving to the US in 1939. His father was the president of an international lumber company while his mother worked alongside his father. Winkler is a cousin of Richard Belzer.
Winkler grew up with "a high level of low self-esteem." Throughout elementary school and high school, he struggled with academics. This was due to what he would later identify as dyslexia. His parents expected him to eventually work with them at the lumber company. However, he had other plans as he saw roles on stage as the key to his happiness. Winkler's acting debut came in the eighth grade when he played the role of Billy Budd in the school play of the same name. Following his graduation from McBurney High School, Winkler was able to incorporate his learning disability and succeed in higher education. He received a Bachelor's degree from Emerson College in 1967 and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Drama in 1970. He later received an honorary PhD in Hebrew Literature in 1978 from Emerson College.
Following college, his top priority was to become an actor. However, if this was unsuccessful, he wanted to become a child psychologist because of his deep interest in working with children. Like many other actors, he began his career by appearing in 30 commercials. His first major film role was in The Lords of Flatbush (1974) in which he played a member of a Brooklyn gang. After that, he was cast on a new ABC series which was set in the 1950s, Happy Days (1974). He was given the role of high school dropout and greaser Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli. The character was seldom seen during the first few episodes as ABC initially feared he would be perceived as a hoodlum. However, the character became extremely popular with viewers, and the show's producers decided to give Fonzie a more prominent role in the series.
Following this, the show's ratings began to soar, and Fonzie became a 1970s icon and the epitome of cool. His motorcycle, leather jacket, thumbs-up gesture, and uttering of the phrase "Aayyyy!" became television trademarks. Unlike many other 1970s stars who rose to fame in a short period of time and developed "big heads", Winkler managed to stay well-grounded and avoided falling into this trap. He was said to be more polite and agreeable even after his popularity soared. He remained on the series until its cancellation in 1984.
In the mid-1980s, with his Happy Days (1974) now behind him, Winkler decided to change his focus toward producing and directing. He produced and directed several television shows and movies, most notably MacGyver (1985) and Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996). In the mid-1990s and early 2000s, he was able to re-establish himself with a younger generation of moviegoers and TV viewers, appearing in the popular films, Scream (1996) and The Waterboy (1998) and on shows such as The Practice (1997) and Arrested Development (2003).
In 2018 after over 45 years in the entertainment industry, he won his first-ever Prime Time Emmy Award: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his role on the HBO series Barry (2018). In addition to his movie and film credits, Winkler is a well-accomplished author. Between 2003 and 2007, he co-authored 12 children's novels with Lin Oliver. The series is called "Hank Zipzer, the World's Greatest Underachiever." The books are based on his early struggles with dyslexia, and they sold more than two million books in that time.
Winkler has been married since 1978 to Stacey Winkler (nee Weitzman) with whom he has three children. Together, they are actively involved with various children's charities. In 1990, they co-founded the Children's Action Network (CAN), which provides free immunization to over 200,000 children. Winkler is also involved with the Annual Cerebral Palsy Telethon, the Epilepsy Foundation of America, the annual Toys for Tots campaign, the National Committee for Arts for the Handicapped, and the Special Olympics.
In September 2003, Winkler suffered a personal setback when John Ritter unexpectedly passed away. Winkler was on the set of 8 Simple Rules (2002) that day for a guest appearance and was one of the last people to talk to Ritter.- Actor
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Considered the greatest diver in history, Greg Louganis is the only male to win gold medals on both 3 meter springboard and 10 meter platform in consecutive Olympic Games (1984, 1988). A trained actor, dancer, model and spokesman, Greg's wide repertoire of skills keeps him in demand and in the public eye.
Full biography
Early life
Greg Louganis was adopted at 9 months by Frances and Peter Louganis, who lived in Lemon Grove, CA, just outside of San Diego. Teased and bullied as a child for the dark skin he inherited from his Samoan father and for his learning "differences," he turned to what he could do well: sport. His first love was gymnastics and by nine years old, he was a "seasoned performer on the local talent show and convalescent-home circuit," (Breaking the Surface).
In 1968, Greg's mom took him to diving practice to keep him from breaking his neck doing stunts off his backyard diving board. He wasn't crazy about the sport at first, but his interest grew when he discovered he was quite good at it.
At the age of 11, Greg entered the national Junior Olympics. During the tough competition, Greg's mom took him outside to find out why he was struggling. He told her he was afraid of letting everyone down. She reassured him, saying that he would always be her son and no matter what, she would always love him. He went back to the pool and moved from twelfth place to tie for second. Those words stayed with him and helped him through every competition in his career.
First Olympics: 1976 Montreal, silver medal, platform (16 years old)
Five years later, Greg was working with diving legend Dr. Sammy Lee. Dr. Lee helped teach Greg to be a fighter, lessons that would be invaluable later in life. At sixteen years old, Greg qualified for the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, where he won an Olympic silver medal on 10m platform. Four years later, in peak form, Greg was one of the many athletes to suffer from the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games. It was widely expected that he would win gold medals in Moscow.
University Years
In 1978, Greg entered the University of Miami on a full diving scholarship and studied theater as part of the BFA program. In 1980, in order to dive with coach Ron O'Brien, he transferred to UC Irvine, also on an athletic scholarship. He graduated in 1983 with a major in drama and a minor in dance. As part of the drama department, Greg was dance captain and a lead player in a production of Pippin and assistant choreographer for The Gondoliers.
Olympic Champion: Securing his place in history
At the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984, Greg became the second man in the history of the sport to win gold medals in both springboard and platform, the first being Pete Desjardins in 1928. Following the Olympics, Greg's life was full of appearances, exhibitions, speaking engagements, commercials and modeling. But his time to celebrate was brief; soon he was training again for what would be one of his greatest challenges.
By 1988, Greg's physique had changed a little and he was twice as old as his competition on the Chinese diving team. He had learned he was HIV-positive and was struggling with the physical and emotional toll of his status. Many people will remember the infamous scene during the diving preliminary competition at the Seoul Olympics when Greg, comfortably in first place, performed a reverse two and ½ pike and hit his head on the diving board. For most divers, an accident that severe would be competition ending, if not career ending. But not for Greg... the consummate competitor... the consummate performer.
Despite the concussion, the four stitches, the pain, and his overwhelming fear of spreading HIV, Greg continued the competition and qualified for the finals in third place. He came back in the finals to win gold in the men's three-meter springboard event. On the ten-meter platform, he was neck and neck with his Chinese opponent, 14-year-old Xiong Ni, throughout the competition. The fight for gold came down to the last dive. Xiong Ni's was near perfection, but it wasn't enough. By a difference of only 1.14 points, Greg won gold and earned the distinction of being the only man ever to win gold medals in both springboard and platform in two consecutive Olympics.
Coming out and HIV
In February 1995, Greg shocked the world when, courageously, he announced on Barbara Walter's 20/20 and The Oprah Winfrey Show that he is gay and HIV-positive. The interviews were in advance of the release of his autobiography Breaking the Surface (co-written with Eric Marcus), which detailed the struggles he'd faced on his journey to gold medal glory.
Freed from the secrets he'd carried through his life, Greg pursued his other great loves - animals and acting. He began training and showing dogs, co-authoring the book, For the Life of Your Dog, with Betsy Sikora Siino in 1999. He has appeared in eight films, including narrating a dramatization of Breaking the Surface, starring Mario Lopez. He has appeared in numerous television shows and been interviewed countless times.
Champion for all time
In the spring of 2012, Greg is living a busy life filling many roles, including mentoring the 2012 U.S. Olympic diving team, acting as Vice President for the U.S. Olympian & Paralympian Association, traveling the world as a judge for the Red Bull Cliff Diving Tour, running training camps and authoring a new book, both on creative learning and peak performance, and of course, modeling and acting. But perhaps closest to his heart is the work he does to raise awareness and support for various philanthropic organizations dealing with animals, diversity (GLBT), learning differences and HIV/AIDS.- Actor
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- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bret Hart is one of Canada's most successful wrestlers. He is also recognized as one of the worlds best wrestlers ever. Hart comes from the legendary Hart Family of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He owns a junior hockey team named after him and has his own column in the Calgary Sun. Bret has held the WWF World Title (5), Intercontinental Title (2), co-held the Tag Team Title (2), the US Heavyweight Title (2) and was the 1993 King of the Ring. He and his brothers and sister hold dual citizenships in both Canada (where he was born) and the US (where his mother was born).- Actor
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Robert Knepper, the son of a veterinarian, was born in Fremont, Ohio, and was raised in Maumee (near Toledo). When he was growing up, his mother worked in the props department for the community theater, and because of her involvement, he became interested in acting. Robert began his career in theater in his hometown before majoring in theater at Northwestern University. He has performed in over one hundred professional theatrical productions around the world. He is a resident of Southern California.- Actor
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- Music Department
Draco Rosa was born on 27 June 1969 in Long Island, New York, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Meet Dave (2008), Undercover Brother (2002) and August: Osage County (2013). He has been married to Angela Alvarado since 1990. They have two children.- Actor
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Donald Edmond "Donnie" Wahlberg Jr. was born on August 17, 1969 in Boston, Massachusetts into a family of Swedish (from his paternal grandfather), Irish, and more distant French-Canadian, English, and Scottish, descent. He is the eighth of nine children of Alma Elaine Conroy (née Donnelly), a nurse's aide and clerk & Donald Edward Wahlberg, a delivery driver. His parents eventually divorced and Donnie, finding himself already in trouble, discovered a positive outlet performing in school plays and became involved in varied aspects of theater -- acting, writing, and directing. At 15, he became a member of the teen vocal group originally called NYNUK. Donnie's little brother, Mark Wahlberg was originally one of the Boys but balked at the direction the group was taking and backed out.
A founding member of the boy band "New Kids on the Block," the five teens survived a false start with their debut album and proceeded to hit #1 with the single "Please Don't Go Girl" on their second in 1988. They continued to bombard the market with one-after-another "Top Ten" hits including "The Right Stuff" and "I'll Be Loving You Forever." Leaving the young girls panting for more, they became one of the hottest young singing/line-dancing groups to hit the late 80s/early 90s. The Boys went on to sell over 70 million albums worldwide, and provoke the spawning of other five-member harmony groups such as Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. During its heyday, Donnie played up his resident "bad boy" persona by tallying up several run-ins with the law, including an alleged arson at a Kentucky hotel (charges were dropped). He also delved into "body art" with numerous tattoos and body piercings in an effort to buck their already-cloying image. Amid intergroup dissension and Milli Vanilli-like charges of not contributing all the vocals to their albums, the pop band finally disbanded in 1994 -- partly out of frustration but also having outgrown the group's juvenile moniker.
Unsure of his direction while attracting more trouble in the tabloids, Donnie, who helped write, arrange and produce brother Mark's Funky Bunch group's first two albums a few years earlier, switched gears. He rapped some and modeled some, then transformed himself into an actor, a route taken earlier by his talented bro. While Mark has turned out to become the bigger film star over the years, Donnie has stepped out of his shadows to receive raves and renewed respect for his own tense and compelling character work.
He first showed up in big screen action. Making his debut as a "tough guy" thug in the Mickey Rourke urban outing Bullet (1996), filmed in 1994 but not released until two years later. Usually cast as an amoral heavy, Donnie moved up the quality ladder with director Ron Howard's thriller Ransom (1996) as part of a gang of kidnappers who nab Mel Gibson's son, to their eventual regret, of course. His next repellent took the form of a drug dealer in the goth indie horror Black Circle Boys (1997), but the film came and went. After a couple of TV movies, he finally nabbed a starring role in the film Southie (1998) playing more or less himself as an Irish-American prodigal son who returns to the mean streets of his native Boston. The movie also featured another brother Robert Wahlberg who also was testing the acting waters.
Ironically, one of Donnie's most powerful roles during this period was also one of his briefest. Seen in the opening sequence, he is nearly unrecognizable (having dropped an alarming amount of weight) portraying a deranged former patient of psychiatrist Bruce Willis whose sudden explosion into unfathomable violence sets up the clever twists and turns that turned M. Night Shyamalan's classic psychological thriller The Sixth Sense (1999) into a critically-acclaimed box office hit. Donnie's opening bit was mouth dropping and jarring in its horror. He also proved he wasn't a flash in the pan by backing up this performance with a major role as a WWII paratrooper in the critically-hailed ten-part epic Band of Brothers (2001), which won multiple Emmy awards (6).
This TV role directly led to his casting as a gritty L.A. detective in the NBC dramatic series Boomtown (2002), an acclaimed series that didn't survive a second season. Since then Donnie has patented his unrefined intensity into a number of films such as Triggermen (2002), Dreamcatcher (2003), Saw II (2005), Annapolis (2006), Saw III (2006), Saw IV (2007) and Zookeeper (2011). He has also clocked in lead roles for such roughhewn TV series as Runaway (2006), The Kill Point (2007), Return of the Mac (2017) and, most notably, as detective Danny Reagan in Blue Bloods (2010).
Donny has two sons, Xavier and Elijah, by first wife Kim Fey, and is married to actress/producer/writer Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg. As a former teen heartthrob seemingly headed down a troubled and dangerous path after his initial success, he somehow managed to avoid the traditional pitfalls of drugs and self-destruction, and has since proven himself an actor with "the right stuff." In addition, the "New Kids on the Block" reteamed in 2007 in recording and book tours. The group received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2014.- Actor
- Producer
- Composer
As frequent lead vocalist for New Kids On The Block, Jordan Knight toured the world's stages, belting out a pop-R&B rap hybrid that climbed to the Top 20 ten times in half as many years, sparked a revolution in merchandising, and endeared five young men to millions of crazed fans. His fame endures as evidenced by the tens of thousands of fans that visit his web page every week.
Knight was just shy of 15 when he joined what would become New Kids On The Block. At 16, he began teaching himself keyboards. By 17, Knight had begun writing songs. But Maurice Starr, the New Kids' producer, who also wrote much of the New Kids material, was reluctant to add the teenager's work to the band's repertoire. Knight offered his composition "I'll Be Your Everything" to a young singer named Tommy Page. Page's version of the track, which Knight produced, went all the way to #1 and spent 13 weeks on the Billboard charts.
The New Kids On The Block's fourth album, Step by Step, hit #1 in the U.S. and the U.K. The New Kids also had merchandise, record selling dolls, the debut of New Kids cartoon series and milestones on top of bestselling books, video collections and comic strips. Five of their albums were charting simultaneously on the Billboard 200. At the peak of the band's popularity, their recorded telephone message line received 100,000 calls a week. Conservative estimates of the New Kids' 1990 income topped $850 million.
As a solo artist, Knight enlisted the help of veteran producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. As it turns out, Jam and Lewis were intrigued by Knight's concepts for his first solo album and quickly took the gig. The album turned out to be a success. In 1999/2000, Knight enjoyed Top 10 status in Asia, England and Germany as well as the rest of Europe with his debut single "Give It To You." In America, the single went platinum and the album went gold.
With his first solo album under his belt, Knight has been in the studio non stop continually expanding his repertoire and is currently preparing the next solo project with a scheduled release in 2005. Knight feels that this project, judging from the countless letters from fans that subscribe to his website, is being eagerly awaited. As seen on VH-1's "The Surreal Life," Knight is ready to embark upon the new phase of his already impressive recording career.- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Color Me Badd is known for New Jack City (1991), The Devil's Own (1997) and You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008).- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Wirth attended Collegiate Prep School in Manhattan and Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Discovered by photographer Bruce Weber while at Brown University, he started modeling in New York City in the mid 80s for such magazines as Seventeen, GQ, Interview, and teen magazines. While at Brown he did his first Diet Pepsi Commercial before moving on to television and movies. His first television show was The Equalizer and moved to LA to start an acting career. His first movie was Seven Minutes In Heaven. Fifteen years later he is fine tuning his craft and has moved on to being behind the camera. Besides acting, he is also serious about writing,directing,and his artwork is showing in many California galleries. Having completed a Short Film, Kismet, in 1999, he moved on to his first full length Independent film, MacArthur Park, for which he was the writer, director and producer. The film was screened at the Sundance Film Festival 2001 (Grand Prize nominee), Taos Talking Picture Festival (Land Grant nominee), and Seattle International Film Festival 2001 as part of the Black Experience in Films. In the early 1990s Billy fronted a rock band in LA called Dust N'Bones. He works off and on with a band called "The Cronies" and they are still in the working stage of a new acoustic CD with music written by Wirth and Steven Costentino. Billy seems to have found his calling behind the scenes of movie making and at the present time is working on a documentary that combines the plight of the homeless, one of Billy's long time interests, and behind the making of MacArthur Park. He changed management in 2007 by going with John Crosby Management of LA and will be working with manager looking for acting and directing projects. He has also opened his own online Art Gallery and completed a new film The Drone Virus, plus a feature for director Andrew Wagner called The Talent Given Us.- Speaks fluent Spanish and French. Lives in London. Attended Bristol University (BA in Hispanic Studies). Has appeared in numerous British plays and television programs. Most recognized by Americans as Sherlock Holmes in Young Sherlock Holmes (1985). The son of a member of Parliament. Lived with Lou Gish for six years until her death in February, 2006.
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- Director
- Producer
Alex Winter began his career as a child actor; co-starring roles include the Broadway productions of "The King & I" with Yul Brynner, and "Peter Pan" with Sandy Duncan, and the American premiere of Simon Gray's "Close of Play" at the Manhattan Theater Club, directed by Lynne Meadow.
After attending NYU film school, Winter went on to have starring roles in several feature films, including Orion's huge hit "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" and its sequel "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" the Warner Brothers cult favorite "The Lost Boys", Ivan Passer's "Haunted Summer" and Percy Adlon's "Rosalie Goes Shopping." With directing partner Tom Stern, Winter starred in, co-directed and co-wrote the hit MTV comedy series, "The Idiot Box" and starred in their theatrical co-directing debut, "Freaked," released by Twentieth Century Fox. "Freaked" was acclaimed by critics, including The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly, who heralded the film on their list of "Top Ten greatest comedies of the Nineties." Winter's solo directorial debut was the critically acclaimed "Fever," for Lionsgate, which screened in the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes. Also written by Winter, The New York Times' A.O. Scott praised the film as "Pure Hitchcockian panic. An arresting example of what a talented filmmaker can do with the sparest of means."
Winter is the founder of Trouper Productions, which services much of his directing work. In 2020, Winter released two new documentary feature films, "Showbiz Kids," premiered on HBO to widespread critical acclaim, garnering a Critics Choice nomination for Best Score by Tweedy. Followed by "Zappa," the first all-access documentary on the life and times of Frank Zappa. The Kickstarter campaign for this project was the highest funded documentary in crowdfunding history. Magnolia Pictures released "Zappa," a Critics Pick in the New York Times, and nominated for Best Music Documentary by the Critics Choice Awards.
Previous documentary work includes "The Panama Papers," about the largest global corruption scandal in history, and the journalists who worked in secret and at considerable risk to break the story. A multiple award-winner, "The Panama Papers," executive produced by Laura Poitras, opened to a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Also in release worldwide is "Trust Machine," about the rise of bitcoin and the blockchain, from Breaker Studios.
"Deep Web" is about the online black market Silk Road and the trial of its creator Ross Ulbricht. The documentary premiered on the Epix network, opening as the #1 documentary on iTunes and earning a Cinema Eye nomination among several award wins. "Downloaded" is a VH1 RockDoc about Napster and the digital revolution. The film premiered at SXSW, garnering worldwide critical acclaim at theatrical and festival screenings.
In 2013, Winter returned to the screen in "Grand Piano," directed by Eugenio Mira, from the Blacklist script by Damian Chezelle (La La Land), co-starring alongside Elijah Wood and John Cusack. Recently, Winter co-starred in the highly anticipated third installment in the Bill & Ted franchise, "Bill & Ted Face The Music," which opened in 2020 as the number one movie both in the U.S. and the UK.
Soon to be released is Winter's next feature documentary, "The YouTube Effect." Produced by Winter & Trouper Productions in partnership with Gale Anne Hurd & Valhalla Entertainment and Glen Zipper. The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in June of 2022.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Though born in Great Neck, Long Island, Christopher Lambert's family left the US when he was only two years old. His father was a United Nations diplomat assigned to Switzerland and, as a result, Chris was educated at private boarding schools in Geneva. Inspired through his having appeared in a play at age 12, he went to the Paris Conservatoire where he remained for two years. After a few small parts in French films, beginning in 1980, he successfully competed for the title role in Warner Bros. Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984). His co-stars included Ian Holm, James Fox and Ralph Richardson (in his final film performance). The movie was popular with Tarzan buffs for remaining faithful (in the first half at least) to Edgar Rice Burroughs' original story. Two years later Lambert brought to the screen Gregory Widens' legendary Connor MacLeod, the immortal Highlander (1986), born in the Highlands of Scotland in 1518 and carrying over into the futuristic Highlander II: The Quickening (1991) and Highlander: The Final Dimension (1994). In recent years he has become a producer while continuing to act in mostly action/adventure films.- Mike Vitar started acting at age 12, when a casting manager spotted him in line for a ride at a school carnival. After several roles as a child, such as The Sandlot (1993), D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994) and D3: The Mighty Ducks (1996), and a couple guest roles on TV series as a teenager, he discontinued his professional acting career.
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- Additional Crew
- Director
Adolfo "Shabba-Doo" Quinones was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He moved to the west coast (Los Angeles) in the early 70s. He's one of the forefathers of hip-hop dancing, "The Original Lockers" and was an Original Soul Train Gang member in the 70s and early 80s. The Lockers are famously known for pioneering "Locking." Shabba-Doo also starred in the 80s classic dance films "Breakin', and Breakin' 2 Electric Boogaloo, and the 1990 film Lambada. He's an award-winning musical theater choreographer, and director. He's choreographed for Lionel Richie, Madonna, Luther Vandross, and Jamie Kennedy's MTV show, "Blowin' Up" to name a few. He also served as the associate choreographer and lead dancer for the 78th Annual Academy Awards, performing with first time Oscar winners, "Three Six Mafia" and Taraji P. Henson for their performance of, "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp."
The ever-evolving Shabba-Doo has set his sights on new horizons. He has several projects in development including a theatrical feature dance film, Battle for the Streets, a reality-dance competition television series, and "Planet Dance," a reality series focused on global dance. Shabba-Doo's recent choreography projects include the Yari Film Group production "Kickin' It Old Skool," starring Jamie Kennedy, now on DVD, and headlining two instructional dance films and two accompanying music videos for On Q Media Group. He currently serves as a member of the Artifacts, Exhibits and Preservation Committee for the Hip Hop Hall of Fame set to open in the Bronx in 2020. Shabba-Doo is writing his autobiography, The King of Crenshaw: Rise of Shabba-Doo the Dance Forefather of Hip Hop which will look at the history of Hip Hop through the lens of his career.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
With over 30 films and 200 hours of television experience, versatility, discipline and a solid work ethic have been the underpinnings of Adrian's very successful 30-year acting career. Internationally recognized for his role as Duncan Macleod, in Highlander-The Series", Adrian has also produced and directed both film and television projects.
Born and raised in London, England, Adrian arrived in the United States in 1984, working as a choreographer and a model. After a year of taking acting classes with acting coaches, Ivana Chubbuck and Roy London, his first series role came on the ABC television show, The Colbys. This led to a role in the Broadway play, "Bouncers", in 1987, a guest role on the television show, Beauty and the Beast (1987) and his first film role in the film Last Rites (1988), with Tom Berenger.
After a starring role in "Masque of the Red Death"(1989), he became a series regular in the second season of the television series "War of the Worlds"(1988), followed by four episode arc on the MGM, "Dark Shadows" series. Fast becoming known for his solid work ethic, CBS cast him as the lead in the television pilot, "The Owl" (1990). Although the series wasn't picked up, Adrian didn't stop working, guest starring on Angela Lansbury's "Murder She Wrote", and co starring opposite the up-and-coming Sandra Bullock in, "Love Potion Number 9". But it would be his next role that would bring him international recognition...that of "Duncan MacLeod" in the syndicated series, Highlander (1991-1997). During the 6 year run, Adrian directed four of the series' episodes, including the epic 100th episode, shot in Bordeaux France. Three of these episodes were voted in the top ten best of series for the 119 episode run.
Although he was in demand when the series ended in 1997, Paul wanted to go back to his acting roots. After studying with renowned acting coach Larry Moss, he worked on John Landis' romantic comedy, "Susan's Plan", the action thriller, "Dead Men Can't Dance", and helped found Actors in Process, a theater group, where actors could meet weekly to showcase current work and receive positive critique from their peers. After two years, a production of an original play, "Things Just Change", was showcased at the Odyssey theater in Los Angeles, with Paul in the lead role.
The success of the Highlander series however, was still current, leading Paul to be offered to star opposite Christopher Lambert in "Highlander : Endgame"(2000), to take over the franchise's lead position. Other films followed, including the now cult classic "The Breed" (2001), shot in Budapest, Hungary where Adrian met his future wife, Alexandra.
In 2001, Lionsgate signed Adrian to a 3 picture deal, as well as to star in and executive produce the Sci Fi action thriller, "Tracker" (created by Gil Grant) for Lionsgate Television. With the advent of so many new media outlets however, the syndicated series was not renewed for a second season. Adrian continued to work on films such as "Nemesis Game" (Lionsgate) and "Tides of War", along with the Spelling Television and Paramount Pictures' hit TV series, "Charmed". This was the first time in thirteen years that Adrian had actually filmed again on US soil.
In 2006 the Highlander Franchise was back again, this time filming in Lithuania, with Adrian starring in and Executive Producing, what would become his last sortie as Duncan Macleod, in "Highlander :The Source". After that came, "The Legend of Roanoke"(2007) and the Sci Fi Action Comedy "The Immortal Voyages of Captain Drake"(2009), a film in which Paul choreographed all the fight scenes.
Always looking for interesting roles, Adrian found himself in Hungary and Tunisia, filming the Seven Arts production, "Nine Miles Down"(2009), that he now considers one of his most emotionally challenging roles. Next, he was off to London, in an out of character role, as a Conservative member of Parliament in the thriller, "The Heavy "(2010), with Gary Stretch, Stephen Rea and Christopher Lee. Also in 2010, Adrian co-founded his first production company Filmblips Inc.
Since 2010, while working as an actor on several other films and TV movies, Adrian also wrote three screenplays, developed financial and artistic presentation packages for film and television, along with spearheading his charity, The Peace Fund, that he founded in 1997. Peace stands for Protect. Educate. Aid. Children. Everywhere. Over the past 17 years, Adrian has overseen the work of the fund in countries such as Romania, Bellarus, Niger, Hungary, Haiti, Cambodia, Thailand and the United States. In 2012, Adrian launched Peace Fund Radio that he co hosts with Ethan Dettanmaeir, with an estimated audience of between 1.8 and 2 million listeners a month. The innovative radio show, has been host to many celebrities with causes of their own and is the catalyst behind the Peace Fund's partnership and donation to bring computers into LAUSD schools. Through the radio shows influence the fund has also partnered with Kimberly Moore's," Adopt a Letter" program to fulfill children's wishes at Christmas, brought books for libraries and lights for homes in El Salvador, along with connecting like minded charities to fulfill their initiatives.
In 2015, Adrian helped launch his second production company, Radical Road, aimed at lower budget films, some of which Adrian is set to direct and act in. In 2016 Adrian has two movies, "The Secret of Emily Blair" and "Stormageddon", releasing and he is getting ready to direct his first feature, "Chemical Influence", a screenplay he wrote from an original script. Adrian also launched, "The Sword Experience" in 2016. Half day seminars of sword training, that include stage and real life combat and safety tips aimed at individuals, corporations, film, stage, re-enactment societies, martial artists and role playing groups.
He is still married to Alexandra and they have two children together, Angelisa and Royce.- Music Artist
- Composer
- Actor
Sir Paul McCartney is a key figure in contemporary culture as a singer, composer, poet, writer, artist, humanitarian, entrepreneur, and holder of more than 3 thousand copyrights. He is in the "Guinness Book of World Records" for most records sold, most #1s (shared), most covered song, "Yesterday," largest paid audience for a solo concert (350,000+ people, in 1989, in Brazil). He is considered one of the most successful entertainers of all time.
He was born James Paul McCartney on June 18, 1942, in Liverpool General Hospital, where his mother, Mary Patricia (Mohin), was a medical nurse and midwife. His father, James "Jim" McCartney, was a cotton salesman and a pianist leading the Jim Mac's Jazz Band in Liverpool. He has Irish and English ancestry. Young McCartney was raised non-denominational. He studied music and art, and had a happy childhood with one younger brother, Michael. At age 11, he was one of only four students who passed the 11+ exam, known as "the scholarship" in Liverpool, and gained a place at Liverpool Institute for Boys. There he studied from 1953 to 1960, earning A level in English and Art.
At the age of 14, Paul McCartney was traumatized by his mother's sudden death from breast cancer. Shortly afterward, he wrote his first song. In July 1957 he met John Lennon during their performances at a local church fête (festival). McCartney impressed Lennon with his mastery of guitar and singing in a variety of styles. He soon joined Lennon's band, The Quarrymen, and eventually became founding member of The Beatles, with the addition of George Harrison and Pete Best. After a few gigs in Hamburg, Germany, the band returned to Liverpool and played regular gigs at the Cavern during 1961.
In November 1961, they invited Brian Epstein to be their manager, making a written agreement in January 1962. At that time McCartney and Harrison were under 21, so the paper wasn't technically legal, albeit it did not matter to them. What mattered was their genuine trust in Epstein. He improved their image, secured them a record deal with EMI, and replaced drummer Best with Ringo Starr. With a little help from Brian Epstein and George Martin, The Beatles consolidated their talents and mutual stimulation into beautiful teamwork, launching the most successful career in the history of entertainment.
The Beatles contributed to music, film, literature, art, and fashion, made a continuous impact on entertainment, popular culture and the lifestyle of several generations. Music became their ticket to ride around the world. Beatlemania never really ended since its initiation; it became a movable feast in many hearts and minds, a sweet memory of youth, when all you need is love and a little help from a friend to be happy. Their songs and images carrying powerful ideas of love, peace, help, and imagination evoked creativity and liberation that outperformed the rusty Soviet propaganda and contributed to breaking walls in the minds of millions, thus making impact on human history.
All four members of The Beatles were charismatic and individually talented artists, they sparked each other from the beginning. Paul McCartney had the privilege of a better musical education, having studied classical piano and guitar in his childhood. He progressed as a lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, as well as a singer-songwriter. In addition to singing and songwriting, Paul McCartney played bass guitar, acoustic and electric guitars, piano and keyboards, as well as over 40 other musical instruments.
McCartney wrote more popular hits for the Beatles than other members of the band. His songs Yesterday, Let It Be, Hey Jude, Blackbird, All My Loving, Eleanor Rigby, Birthday, I Saw Her Standing There, I Will, Get Back, Carry That Weight, P.S. I Love You, Things We Said Today, "Hello, Goodbye," Two of Us, Why Don't We Do It in the Road?, Helter Skelter, Honey Pie, When I'm 64, Lady Madonna, She's a Woman, Maxwell's Silver Hammer, "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," Mother Nature's Son, Long And Winding Road, Rocky Raccoon, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Fool on the Hill, You Never Give Me Your Money, Your Mother Should Know, The End, Yellow Submarine, and many others are among the Beatles' best hits. Yesterday is considered the most covered song in history with over three thousand versions of it recorded by various artists across the universe.
Since he was a teenager, McCartney honored the agreement that was offered by John Lennon in 1957, about the 50/50 authorship of every song written by either one of them. However, both were teenagers, and technically, being under 21, their oral agreement had no legal power. Still, almost 200 songs by The Beatles are formally credited to both names, regardless of the fact that most of the songs were written individually. The songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney was really working until the mid-60s, when they collaborated in many of their early songs. Their jamming on a piano together led to creation of their first best-selling hit 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' in 1963.
In total, The Beatles created over 240 songs, they recorded many singles and albums, made several films and TV shows. Thousands of memorable pictures popularized their image. In their evolution from beginners to the leaders of entertainment, they learned from many world cultures, absorbed from various styles, and created their own. McCartney's own range of interests spanned from classical music and English folk ballads to Indian raga and other Oriental cultures, and later expanded into psychedelic experiments and classical-sounding compositions. His creative search has been covering a range of styles from jazz and rock to symphonies and choral music, and to cosmopolitan cross-cultural and cross-genre compositions.
Epstein's 1967 death hurt all four members of The Beatles, as they lost their creative manager. Evolution of each member's creativity and musicianship also led to individual career ambitions, however, their legacy as The Beatles remained the main driving force in their individual careers ever since. McCartney and The Beatles made impact on human history, because their influence has been liberating for generations of nowhere men living in misery beyond the Iron Curtain.
Something in their songs and images appealed to everybody who wanted to become free as a bird. Their songs carrying powerful ideas of real love, peace, help, imagination and freedom evoked creativity and contributed to breaking chains and walls in the minds of millions. The Beatles expressed themselves in beautiful and liberating words of love, happiness, freedom, and revolution, and carried those messages to people across the universe. Their songs and images helped many freedom-loving people to come together for revolutions in Prague and Warsaw, Beijing and Bucharest, Berlin and Moscow. The Beatles has been an inspiration for those who take the long and winding road to freedom.
McCartney was 28 when he started his solo career, and formed his new band, Wings. His first solo album, "McCartney," was a #1 hit and spawned the evergreen ballad "Maybe I'm Amazed", yet critical reaction was mixed. He continued to release music with Wings, that eventually became one of the most commercially successful groups of the 70s. "Band on the Run" won two Grammy Awards and remained the Wings' most lauded work. The 1977 release "Mull of Kintyre" stayed at #1 in the UK for nine weeks, and was highest selling single in the UK for seven years. In 1978 McCartney's theme "Rockestra" won him another Grammy Award. In 1979, together with Elvis Costello, he organized Concerts for the People of Kampuchea. In 1979, McCartney released his solo album "Wonderful Christmastime" which remained popular ever since.
In 1980 McCartney was arrested in Tokyo, Japan, for marijuana possession, and after a ten-day stint in jail, he was released to a media firestorm. He retreated into seclusion after the arrest, and was comforted by his wife Linda. Yet he had another traumatic experience when his ex-band-mate, John Lennon, was shot dead by a crazed fan near his home in New York City on December 8, 1980. McCartney did not play any live concerts for some time because he was nervous that he would be "the next" to be murdered.
After almost a year of absence from the music scene, McCartney returned in 1982 with the album "Tug of War," which was well received by public and enjoyed great critical acclaim. He continued a successful career as a solo artist, collaborated with wife Linda McCartney, and writers such as Elvis Costello. During the 80s, McCartney released such hits as 'No More Lonely Nights' and his first compilation, "All the Best." In 1989, he started his first concert tour since the John Lennon's murder.
In 1994, the three surviving members of The Beatles, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr, reunited and produced Lennon's previously unknown song "Free as a Bird." It was preserved by Yoko Ono on a tape recording made by Lennon in 1977. The song was re-arranged and re-mixed by George Martin at the Abbey Road Studios with the voices of three surviving members. The Beatles Anthology TV documentary series was watched by 420 million people in 1995.
During the 1990s McCartney concentrated on composing classical works for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society, such as "The Liverpool Oratorio" involving a choir and symphony, and "A Leaf" solo-piano project, both released in 1995. That same year he was working on a new pop album, "Flaming Pie," when his wife Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer, and caring for his wife during her illness meant only sporadic public appearances during that time. The album was released in 1997 to both critical and commercial success, debuting at #2 on both the UK and US pop charts. That same year he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II as Sir Paul McCartney for his services to music.
In April 1998, Linda McCartney, his beloved wife of almost 30 years, mother of their four children, and his steady partner in music, died of breast cancer. McCartney suffered from a severe depression and undergone medical treatment. He spent much of the next year away from the public eye, emerging only to campaign on behalf of his late wife for animal rights and vegetarian causes.
He eventually returned to the studio, releasing an album of rock n'roll covers in 1999. "Run Devil Run" made both Entertainment Weekly and USA Today's year-end top ten lists. McCartney also slowly returned to the public spotlight with the release of his another classical album, "Working Classical" in November 1999, in recording by the London Symphony Orchestra. His 2000 release "A Garland for Linda" was a choral tribute album, which raised funds to aid cancer survivors.
In 2000 he was invited by Heather Mills, a disabled ex-model, to her 32nd birthday. McCartney wrote songs dedicated to her, he and Mills developed a romantic relationship and became engaged in 2001. However, the year brought him a cascade of traumatic experiences. On September 11, 2001, Paul McCartney was sitting on a plane in New York when the World Trade Center tragedy occurred in front of his eyes, and he was able to witness the events from his seat. Yet there was another sadness, as his former band-mate George Harrison died of cancer in November, 2001.
Recuperating from the stressful year, McCartney received the 2002 Academy Award nomination for the title song to the movie Vanilla Sky (2001), and also went on his first concert tour in several years. In June, 2002, Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills married in a castle in Monaghan, Ireland. Their daughter, Beatrice Milly McCartney, was born in October 2003. Four years later, the high profile marriage ended in divorce, after a widely publicized litigation. "Whenever you're going through difficult times, I'm at the moment, it's really cool to be able to escape into music" says Paul McCartney.
In 2003 Paul McCartney rocked the Red Square in Moscow with his show "Back in USSR" which was attended by his former opponents from the former Soviet KGB, including the Russian president Vladimir Putin himself, who invited McCartney to be the guest of honor in the Kremlin. In 2004 Paul McCartney received a birthday present from the Russian president. In June 2004, he and Heather Mills-McCartney stayed as special guests at suburban Royal Palaces of Russian Tsars in St. Petersburg, Russia. There he staged a spectacular show near the Tsar's Winter Palace in St. Petersburg where the Communist Revolution took place, just imagine.
In 2005 the Entertainment magazine poll named The Beatles the most iconic entertainers of the 20th Century. In 2006, the guitar on which Paul McCartney played his first chords and impressed John Lennon, was sold at an auction for over $600,000.
On June 18, 2006, Paul McCartney celebrated his 64th birthday, as in his song "when I'm Sixty-Four." McCartney's celebrity status, made it a cultural milestone for a generation of those born in the baby-boom era who grew up with the music of The Beatles during the 1960s. The prophetic message in the song has been intertwined with McCartney's personal life and his career.
In 2007 McCartney left his longtime label, EMI, and signed with Los Angeles based Hear Music. He learned to play mandolin to create a refreshing feeling for his latest album "Memory Almost Full," then appeared in Apple Computer's commercial for iPod+iTunes to promote the album. In June 2007 McCartney appeared together with Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, Olivia Harrison and Guy Laliberté in a live broadcast from the "Revolution" Lounge at the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
His 3-DVD set "The McCartney Years" with over 40 music videos and hours of Historic Live Performances was released in November 2007. His classical album "Ecco Cor Meum" (aka.. Behold My Heart), recorded with the Academy of St. Martin of the Fields and the boys of King's college Choir, was voted Classical Album of the Year in 2007. That same year, Paul McCartney began dating Nancy Shevell. The couple married in 2011, in London. Sir Paul's "On the Run Tour" once again took him flying across world from July through December 2011 giving sold out concerts in the USA, Canada, UK, United Arab Emirates, Italy, France, Germany, Sweden, Finland and Russia.
In July 2012, Paul McCartney rocked the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He delivered a live performance of The Beatles's timeless hit "Hey Jude" and engaged the crowd of people from all over the world to join his band in a sing along finale. The show was seen by a live audience of close to 80000 people at the Olympic Park Stadium in addition to an estimated TV audience of two billion people worldwide.
On the long and winding road of his life and career, Sir Paul McCartney has been a highly respected entertainer and internationally regarded public figure.- Director
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Keith Gordon was born on 3 February 1961 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a director and actor, known for A Midnight Clear (1992), Waking the Dead (2000) and Mother Night (1996). He has been married to Rachel Griffin since 1998.- Actor
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Award-winning actor Esai Morales is a graduate of New York's High School for the Performing Arts. He was born in Brooklyn, to Puerto Rican parents, and began his acting career on the stage, first appearing in El Hermano at the Ensemble Theatre Studio and at New York's Shakespeare Festival In The Park in The Tempest. He had his feature film debut in Bad Boys and his breakthrough role as Bob Morales in La Bamba made him a star, contributing to making the film the most commercially successful Latino-themed Rock biopic of all time.
In 1997 Esai Morales co-founded the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, created to advance the presence of Latinos in the media, telecommunications and entertainment industries. The NHFA has provided scholarships to hundreds of Hispanic students in excess of 1 million dollars. Theater performances include Oscar Wilde's Salome with Al Pacino (Broadway) Joe Papp's production of The Tempest with Raul Julia (New York's Shakespeare in the Park Festival) Tamer of Horses (Los Angeles Theater Center) The Exonerated, directed by Bob Balaban and his musical theater debut on The Mambo Kings. Film credits include Bad Boys, La Bamba, Rapa Nui, Mi Familia, Fast Food Nation, Paid in Full, The Line, Atlas Shrugged: Part II, Jarhead II: Field of Fire, The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca and Gun Hill Road a film he starred and executive produced. The film was a grand Jury Nominee at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011. Television credits comprise the Emmy award-winning series NYPD BLUE (ABC) Resurrection Blvd (Showtime) American Family (PBS) Miami Vice (NBC) Fame (NBC) Law and Order: SVU (NBC) The Burning Season: The Chico Mendes Story (HBO) Vanished (FOX) Burn Notice (USA) Jericho (CBS) Caprica (Syfy) Fairly Legal (USA) Criminal Minds (CBS) Major Crimes (TNT) and Saving Westbrook High. Morales plays the role of President of The United States on The Brink, HBO's dark comedy about a geopolitical crisis.- Of Hawaiian and Chinese descent, Jason Scott Lee was born in Los Angeles, California, but raised in Hawaii from the age of two. His interest in acting began while studying in high school. It blossomed further when he enrolled in Fullerton College, where he studied under acting coach Sal Romeo. His first film role was in Born in East L.A. (1987). After taking many supporting roles, he took his star turn in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993). His next starring role was in The Jungle Book (1994). Though he has not yet panned out as a leading man, Jason continues to work in supporting roles while pursuing his interest in live theater.
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Corey Scott Feldman began his career at the age of three, starring in a Clio Award-winning McDonald's commercial and has sustained a career for nearly 50 years as a steadily working actor, with more than 80 films under his belt. Corey began his career in guest-starring roles on television series such as Mork & Mindy (1978), Alice (1976) and Eight Is Enough (1977), before landing a regular part on the sitcom, The Bad News Bears (1979). In the same year, Feldman made his big screen debut in Time After Time (1979). Over the next few years, Feldman continued making guest appearances in many television shows and, in 1981, Feldman supplied the voice of "Young Copper", in Disney's The Fox and the Hound (1981). Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) launched Feldman's career in the horror genre with the role of the main character, "Tommy Jarvis", as a child. He reprised that role in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985). Feldman then began a series of appearances in blockbuster films such as Gremlins (1984), The Goonies (1985) and Stand by Me (1986). In 1987, Feldman won the Jackie Coogan Award for Stand by Me (1986), and appeared in the legendary cult classic film, The Lost Boys (1987), alongside Jason Patric and Kiefer Sutherland. In 1988, he won the Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor in a Horror Motion Picture for his performance in The Lost Boys (1987).
In 1989, Feldman appeared in The 'Burbs (1989), along with Tom Hanks and Carrie Fisher, and also provided the voice of "Donatello" for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), which holds the biggest box office for an independent feature in history and also marked his thirteenth number-one box office hit in a row.
Feldman then took time off to focus on his personal life and returned to the film world with appearances is Loaded Weapon 1 (1993), Maverick (1994) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993). He was a regular on the CBS series, Dweebs (1995), followed by a starring role in the Richard Donner, Robert Zemeckis, Joel Silver-produced Bordello of Blood (1996) for Universal. In 1996, Feldman directed his first film, Busted (1997).
In 2002, Feldman appeared in the comedy, Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003), for which he wrote and performed a song for the soundtrack, shortly followed by an opportunity to work with Wes Craven on Cursed (2005).
In 2004, Feldman was honored with a Former Child Star Lifetime Achievement Award. 2006 found him receiving the best actor award at the Luxemburg Film Festival for his performance in The Birthday (2004), a film that he feels to be his finest work to date. The Eyegore Awards honored Feldman with an award for Legendary Work in Horror Films in 2007.
The hit show, The Two Coreys (2007), not only starred Feldman, but he also executive produced two seasons, as well as Lost Boys: The Tribe (2008). He starred in Terror Inside (2008) in 2008, for which he won the Crystal Reel Best Actor Award, and Feldman executive produced and starred in Lost Boys: The Thirst (2010), which was released in 2010. Other work this decade , includes: Operation Belvis Bash (2011) and Lucky Fritz (2009), plus Henry Jagloms "The M Word", the mind bending performance in "Zero Dark Dirty" as Comedian {Samuel Stillman}, & his most recent theatrical release 2019's "Corbin Nash" in which Feldman takes his biggest departure yet, as the Transvestite Vampire {Queenie}.
Now a husband, father and environmentalist, Feldman is focused on his career as an adult. Nurturing a growing music career with seven albums and seven sound tracks, he has toured North America twice with his band, "The Truth Movement" and five times as a solo artist. Including his last tour in 2017 with Corey's Angels.
In 2013 Corey Feldman wrote a New York Times Best Selling Autobiography that was met with incredible reviews.
Off-screen, Feldman is a spokesperson for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), the world's largest animal rights organization, and the Amie Karen Cancer Fund, as well as a supporter of environmental charity, Global Green. In 2009, he was presented with The Paws of Fame Award from Wildlife Waystation for his exemplary work in support of animal rights.
Corey is also the National Ambassador for CHILD USA, a non profit designed to fight statute of limitations preventing children who were sexually abused from obtaining justice. Corey helped change laws in the States of New York in 2018 and California in 2019 giving victims a chance for justice by opening look back windows for civil cases in those states.
Corey also self produced and self financed a Documentary about the abuse he and his best friend endured as children called "My Truth: The Rape of Two Corey's".- Actor
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Louis Diamond Phillips is an American actor and film director. His breakthrough came when he starred as Ritchie Valens in the biographical drama film La Bamba (1987). For Stand and Deliver (1988), Phillips was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and won an Independent Spirit Award. Phillips made his Broadway debut with the 1996 revival of The King and I, earning a Tony Award nomination for his portrayal of King Mongkut of Siam. Phillips' other notable films include Young Guns (1988), Young Guns II (1990), Courage Under Fire (1996), The Big Hit (1998), Brokedown Palace (1999), Che (2008), and The 33 (2015). In the television series Longmire, he played a main character named Henry Standing Bear. He played New York City Police Lieutenant Gil Arroyo on Prodigal Son on FOX from 2019 to 2021.- Actor
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Dan Cortese shot to stardom as the creator and host of the Emmy award winning MTV Sports, where he interviewed everyone and everything that had to do with the worlds of sports & entertainment for six successful years. He then went on to star in NBC's remake of the cult classic Route 66.
Next on his plate was starring in the CBS drama Traps with Academy Award winner, George C. Scott. Dan kept the ball rolling and later co-starred for three years on the NBC sitcom Veronica's Closet, opposite Emmy winner Kirstie Alley. From there he moved onto, starring in the comedies Rock Me Baby for UPN and What I Like About You for the WB, opposite Jennie Garth.
Cortese's numerous television credits also include memorable guest-starring roles. A few favorites were when he appeared on Seinfeld, as Elaine's "Mimbo" boyfriend that George had a "man crush" on. As the evil Jess Hanson on Melrose Place and on Hot In Cleveland opposite the legendary Betty White.
In addition, Dan starred in the made for television movies The Triangle, for TBS and NBC's spin on the Shirley Jackson classic, The Lottery. Cortese has appeared in many feature films as well, including Demolition Man, opposite Sylvester Stallone and Sandra Bullock and After Sex with Brooke Shields.
When not acting, Dan's kept his hosting skills sharp by starring in, NBC's My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad, ABC's action packed Crash Course and the fun-filled Guinness World Records: Unleashed. Dan has also added author to his resume when he released his memoir, Step Off! My journey from 'mimbo' to manhood, in the summer of 2020.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Dan attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he played football for the Tarheels and he resides with his wife, Carolina and four kids in Malibu, California.- Actor
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Gerardo Mejía was born on 16 April 1965 in Guayaquil, Ecuador. He is an actor and producer, known for Breakneck, Colors (1988) and Can't Buy Me Love (1987). He has been married to Kathy Eicher since 15 July 1994. They have three children.- Actor
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Gérard Depardieu was born in Châteauroux, Indre, France, to Anne Jeanne Josèphe (Marillier) and René Maxime Lionel Depardieu, who was a metal worker and fireman. Young delinquent and wanderer in the past, Depardieu started his acting career at the small traveling theatre "Café de la Gare", along with Patrick Dewaere and Miou-Miou. After minor roles in cinema, at last, he got his chance in Bertrand Blier's Going Places (1974). That film established a new type of hero in the French cinema and the actor's popularity grew enormously. Later, he diversified his screen image and became the leading French actor of the 80s and 90s. He was twice awarded a César as Best Actor for The Last Metro (1980) and Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), also received an Oscar nomination for "Cyrano" and a number of awards at international film festivals. In 1996, he was distinguished by the highest French title of "Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur". He married Elisabeth Depardieu in 1971, and they divorced in 1996; she appeared with him in Jean de Florette (1986) and Manon of the Spring (1986); their children Guillaume Depardieu and Julie Depardieu are both actors.- Director
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David Copperfield is the first living illusionist to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: he won the star on April 25th, 1995, for the category "Live Performance" and the address is 7021 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California, USA. On October 2nd, 1994, he was knighted by the French government as Chevalier of Arts and Letters, and on May 22th, 1999, he received an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from Fordham University. Along with Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Colin Powell, on April 24th, 2000, he received the Living Legend award from the United States Library of Congress. In 1979 and 1986 he has been named "Magician of the Year" by the Academy of Magical Arts, in July 2000 he has been named "Magician of the Millennium" by the International Federation of Magic Societies (FISM), and on September 15th, 2011, he has been named "Magician of the Century" and "King of Magic" by the Society of American Magicians. His face graces the postage stamps of six different countries, making him the only living magician to receive this honor.
16 of his groundbreaking 19 TV specials were nominated for Emmy Awards 38 times between 1979 and 2001, and 10 of them have won 21 times between 1981 and 1995. Year after year he continues to tour sold-out arenas throughout the world. He holds 11 Guinness World Records, published in the 2006 edition of this book (pag. 179) and has sold more tickets than any other solo entertainer in history, with ticket sales in the billions, more than Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley.
Sound impossible? David Copperfield built a reputation on making the impossible look easy. He singlehandedly redefined his art, and remains the most emulated illusionist in the history of magic.
An only child, David was born in Metuchen, New Jersey, USA, on September 16th, 1956, as David Seth Kotkin. His father, Hyman Kotkin, son of Jewish immigrants from Russia, owned and operated in Korby's, a clothing/tailor shop for men and boys on Metuchen's Main Street. His mother, Rebecca Kotkin, a Jewish immigrant born in Jerusalem, Israel, worked in the insurance business. David was a shy and lonely kid who overcame his insecurity with the help of magic. He initially wanted to become a ventriloquist, being fascinated by Paul Winchell, seen in his show Winchell-Mahoney Time (1965). So he bought a ventriloquist's dummy to Macy's, a shop selling magic tricks owned by the American multinational corporation Macy's, founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. When he made a little show in front of his classmates, he realized he was a bad ventriloquist, despite receiving an applause. Then he returned to Macy's in search of a better dummy, and in that occasion there was a demonstrator, called Dan Tsukalas, who performed a magic trick with a little wooden board where a quarter would appear and disappear. David liked it so much that he decided to buy it. Thanks to that his first magic trick he realized he was better as a magician rather than as a ventriloquist. So, by the age of 10 he began practicing magic in his neighborhood, with the stage name "Davino the Boy Magician". At 12 (1968) he was invited to join the Society of American Magicians, so became its youngest member ever and began performing professionally. At 16 (1972) was an adjunct professor at New York University, where he taught a course called "The Art of Magic".
At 18 (1974), he graduated from Metuchen High School and then enrolled at Fordham University, a Jesuit based school in New York City. But after just a week he was cast as the lead in "The Magic Man", a new musical comedy created by the producers of Grease (1978), Allan Carr and Robert Stigwood, and written by mystery author Barbara Steketee with her husband Anthony D'Amato. So after three weeks David left Fordham to play in this show. It was for this occasion that, following the suggestion of a friend, he adopted the stage name "David Copperfield", inspired by the abandoned character of the homonymous Charles Dickens's novel. The show opened in Chicago, Illinois, USA, to rave reviews. It went on to become the longest running musical in Chicago's history, and gave David the invaluable experience of performing daily in front of a live audience, allowing him to develop the spontaneity and love of live performance that has him performing up to four shows a day, and doing over 550 performances every year since 1983.
When "The Magic Man" closed after a year, David returned to New York. He continued to develop his singular approach to magic, which was strongly influenced by his love of classic MGM musicals, the dramatic storytelling exemplified by Orson Welles and Walt Disney (2 of the 4 David's idols, which also include Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire) and the lyrical, muscular romanticism of a Sinatra ballad. At 19 (1975) he performed for several months at the Pagoda Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii.
David appeared on television for the first time on May 26th, 1976, in Magic at the Roxy (1976), a TV special dedicated to magic and filmed at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, on October 9th, 1975, then he made an "official" debut on September 7th, 1977, as illusionist conductor of The Magic of ABC (1977). Thanks to this ABC variety TV special he achieved top ratings and shared his unique style of magic with millions of viewers. Immediately the producer Joseph Cates put David under contract for a series of yearly TV specials titled "The Magic of David Copperfield", broadcasted on CBS starting with The Magic of David Copperfield (1978), the first official Copperfield TV special. On television between 1976 and 2001 he has performed over 150 different illusions, covering practically all kinds of them.
In each special he presented new illusions on a scale never before imagined or attempted, and always in front of a live audience, without any use of camera tricks, and rather filming in long take to demonstrate the absolute absence of manipulation of the shoot through video editing or inserting of special effects. In his 4th special, The Magic of David Copperfield IV: The Vanishing Airplane (1981), he vanished a 7 tonnes Lear Jet airplane surrounded by a ring of blindfolded spectators, and in his 5th one, The Magic of David Copperfield V (1983), he performed in front of a live audience on Liberty Island "the illusion of the century": the disappearance of the Statue of Liberty, the largest illusion ever performed by an illusionist, but especially the one that made Copperfield famous worldwide.
For the next two decades, until 2001, David continued to break new ground with his annual top-rated, Emmy Award winning TV specials, with which he continued to surpass himself, for example by "Walking Through The Great Wall Of China" (1986), making a daring "Escape From Alcatraz" prison (1987), surviving being locked in a safe on the 4th floor of an imploding building (1989), levitating and vanishing a 70 tonnes Orient Express dining car surrounded by a ring of spectators (1991), flying freely on the stage for several minutes, and also flying into an examined plexiglas container, and then flying again freely but with a girl held on to his arms (1992), escaping while hanging upside down from burning ropes in a strait jacket 10 stories above flaming steel spikes (1993), testing, in live (in USA only) broadcast, his endurance by surviving the deadly heat standing in the center of a 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit (or 1,093 degrees Celsius) "Tornado Of Fire" (April 3rd, 2001). His TV specials have been broadcasted in over 40 countries worldwide, reaching an estimated audience of over 3 billion people.
In 1996 David realized his lifelong dream of performing on Broadway: he created "Dreams and Nightmares", written by David Ives and developed with Francis Ford Coppola and Eiko Ishioka. This show, opened at Martin Beck Theatre for 25 days between December 5th and 29th, still holds the Broadway record for most tickets sold in a week, more than Cats, The Lion King, and The Producers.
As historian of his art, in 1991 he purchased for $ 2,2 million the Mulholland Library of the Conjuring and the Allied Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada, to found The International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts, which houses the world's largest collection of historically significant magic memorabilia: thousands of graphic images, prints, posters, playbills, photographs, manuscripts, letters, props and artifacts. It comprises of approximately 80,000 items of magic history, including 15,000 magic books, some of them from the 16th century, the Harry Houdini's Water Torture Cell (purchased at a Las Vegas auction on October 30th, 2004, for $ 300,000), his Metamorphosis Trunk and also his death certificate, the Orson Welles's Buzz Saw illusion designed for Rita Hayworth, the rifle that killed magician Chung Ling Soo, the third version of the Edgar Bergen's Charlie McCarthy ventriloquism dummy (purchased at a Sotheby's auction on June 9th, 1995, for $ 112,500), and the automaton created by Robert-Houdin (December 6th, 1805 - June 13th, 1871), who is considered the father of modern magic. It also includes the only known recording of the original Houdini's voice, pressed in 1914 on the Thomas A. Edison's wax cylinders. However the museum is not open to the public, but reserved to colleagues, fellow magicians and serious collectors.
On the literary front, Copperfield joined forces with Dean R. Koontz, Joyce Carol Oates, Ray Bradbury and others for "David Copperfield's Tales of the Impossible" (385 pages, published in December 1995), an anthology of original fiction set in the world of magic and illusion. This collection was so well received that a second volume was published: "David Copperfield's Beyond Imagination" (352 pages, published in December 1996). David has been featured on the cover of Vanity Fair, Esquire, Forbes, and Architectural Digest. The word "Copperfield" has become a part of popular culture, in a manner quite apart from anything envisioned by Charles Dickens. In today's literature and media, to "do a David Copperfield" or to "be the David Copperfield of" something has come to mean doing something magical or achieving the impossible.
In August 2006 Copperfield found a unique platform on which to create his newest wonders: "Musha Cay and the Islands of Copperfield Bay". Recognized by many as the most beautiful and spectacular destination in the world, Musha Cay is the ultimate private island paradise. Located in the Exumas, Bahamas, these 11 private islands, bought for $ 50 million, have 700 acres of lush natural beauty, 40 sugar sand beaches and a 3,218 meters (or 10,560 feet) long sandbar, truly paradise on earth. David has been developing unique magical adventures for island guests, including Dave's Drive-in, where a giant silver screen "appears" on the beach, a custom designed magical Treasure Hunt adventure, and the Secret Village, a hidden sanctuary of enchanted monkeys accessed only by entering beneath a giant rising statue and journeying through an ancient, underground passage.
David's proudest achievement, however, is Project Magic, a therapy program conceived in 1981 and organized by Copperfield with Julie DeJean, O.T.R., until the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) formally approved it in March 1982. Based in the Kansas Rehabilitation Hospital, this program, that uses magic as therapy, have been established in nearly every state in the USA and in 1,100 hospitals in 30 countries worldwide. This medically-certified program motivates patients to regain their dexterity, coordination and cognitive skills by learning simple magic and sleight of hand. It is also described and shown in his 6th special, The Magic of David Copperfield VI: Floating Over the Grand Canyon (1984).
In February 2010, at the age of 53, he became a father: the French model Chloe Gosselin, his girlfriend since 2006, gave birth to their child, a daughter called Sky.- Actor
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Andrew Dice Clay was born on 29 September 1957 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990), Blue Jasmine (2013) and A Star Is Born (2018). He has been married to Valerie Silverstein since 14 February 2010. He was previously married to Kathleen Monica and Kathleen Swanson.- Actor
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Fast-talking and feisty-looking John Leguizamo has continued to impress movie audiences with his versatility: he can play sensitive and naïve young men, such as Johnny in Hangin' with the Homeboys (1991); cold-blooded killers like Benny Blanco in Carlito's Way (1993); a heroic Army Green Beret, stopping aerial terrorists in Executive Decision (1996); and drag queen Chi-Chi Rodriguez in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995). Arguably, not since ill-fated actor and comedian Freddie Prinze starred in the smash TV series Chico and the Man (1974) had a youthful Latino personality had such a powerful impact on critics and fans alike.
John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez was born July 22, 1960, in Bogotá, Colombia, to Luz Marina Peláez and Alberto Rudolfo Leguizamo. He was a child when his family emigrated to the United States. He was raised in Queens, New York, attended New York University and studied under legendary acting coach Lee Strasberg for only one day before Strasberg passed away. The extroverted Leguizamo started working the comedy club circuit in New York and first appeared in front of the cameras in an episode of Miami Vice (1984). His first film appearance was a small part in Mixed Blood (1984), and he had minor roles in Casualties of War (1989) and Die Hard 2 (1990) before playing a liquor store thief who shoots Harrison Ford in Regarding Henry (1991). His career really started to soar after his first-rate performance in the independent film Hangin' with the Homeboys (1991) as a nervous young teenager from the Bronx out for a night in brightly lit Manhattan with his buddies, facing the career choice of staying in a supermarket or heading off to college and finding out that the girl he loves from afar isn't quite what he thought she was.
The year 1991 was also memorable for other reasons, as he hit the stage with his show John Leguizamo: Mambo Mouth (1991), in which he portrayed seven different Latino characters. The witty and incisive show was a smash hit and won the Obie and Outer Circle Critics Award, and later was filmed for HBO, where it picked up a CableACE Award. He returned to the stage two years later with another satirical production poking fun at Latino stereotypes titled John Leguizamo: Spic-O-Rama (1993). It played in Chicago and New York, and won the Drama Desk Award and four CableACE Awards.
In 1995 he created and starred in the short-lived TV series House of Buggin' (1995), an all-Latino-cast comedy variety show featuring hilarious sketches and comedic routines. The show scored two Emmy nominations and received positive reviews from critics, but it was canceled after only one season. The gifted Leguizamo was still keeping busy in films, with key appearances in Super Mario Bros. (1993), Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Spawn (1997). In 1998 he made his Broadway debut in John Leguizamo: Freak (1998), a "demi-semi-quasi-pseudo-autobiographical" one-man show, which was filmed for HBO by Spike Lee.
Utilizing his distinctive vocal talents, he next voiced a pesky rat in Doctor Dolittle (1998) before appearing in the dynamic Spike Lee-directed Summer of Sam (1999) as a guilt-ridden womanizer, as the Genie of The Lamp in the exciting Arabian Nights (2000) and as Henri DE Toulouse Lautrec in the visually spectacular Moulin Rouge! (2001). He also voiced Sid in the animated Ice Age (2002), co-starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in Collateral Damage (2002) and directed and starred in the boxing film Undefeated (2003). Subsequently, Leguizamo starred in the remake of the John Carpenter hit Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) and George A. Romero's long-awaited fourth "Dead" film, Land of the Dead (2005).
There can be no doubt that the remarkably talented Leguizamo has been a breakthrough performer for the Latino community in mainstream Hollywood, in much the same way that Sidney Poitier crashed through celluloid barriers for African-Americans in the early 1960s. Among his many strengths lies his ability to not take his ethnic background too seriously but also to take pride in his Latino heritage. He has opened many doors for his countrymen. A masterly and accomplished performer, movie audiences await Leguizamo's next exciting performance.- Actor
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Terrence Vaughn Mann was born to Charles and Helen Mann in Ashland, Kentucky on July 1, 1951. Terry left Jacksonville University after two years there (1969-1971), and later graduated with honors from the North Carolina School for the Arts (1971-73, 1975-76). During his first summer in Paul Green's outdoor drama, "The Lost Colony", Terry was Ira David Wood III's understudy for the role of Old Tom. Terry eventually took over the role. Terry became the Children's Theatre Director for Raleigh, North Carolina's Theatre In The Park when David Wood broadened the theatre's scope. While at TIP, Terry appeared in a number of main stage productions including "A Christmas Carol", "The Taming of the Shrew" and "Romeo & Juliet". After spending a couple of years performing at the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, Terry moved to New York and landed a spot in the chorus of "Barnum", directed by Joe Layton (Director of The Lost Colony.) Shortly thereafter, he auditioned for the role of Rum Tum Tugger in "Cats", and a star was born.
Terry spent the rest of the 1980s starring in such films as Critters (1986) and A Chorus Line (1985), making television guest appearances on shows like The Equalizer (1985) and various soap operas, and originating such roles as Saul in "Rags" and Javert in "Les Miserables".
Terry is happily married to his second wife, a fellow Broadway veteran, Charlotte d'Amboise. For the past ten years, he seems to have switched his focus to directing and TV movies, and has honed his talents by starring as the Beast in the Broadway production of "Beauty & the Beast" and Chauvelin in "The Scarlet Pimpernel". For a time, he served as Artistic Director for The North Carolina Theatre, based in Raleigh. Terry is currently working on a rock musical version of William Shakespeare's classic, "Romeo & Juliet". He has served as Director of "The Lost Colony" for the past two summers.- Actor
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Mark Blankfield was born on 8 May 1950 in Pasadena, Texas, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) and Sledge Hammer! (1986). He was previously married to Brandis Kemp.- Actor
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Jimmy L. Smits is an American actor. He is best known for playing attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s-1990s legal drama L.A. Law, NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s-2000s police drama NYPD Blue, Matt Santos on the political drama The West Wing, and for appearing in Switch (1991), My Family (1995), and as ADA Miguel Prado in Dexter. He also appeared as Bail Organa in Star Wars. From 2012 to 2014, he joined the main cast of Sons of Anarchy as Nero Padilla. Smits also portrayed Elijah Strait in the NBC drama series Bluff City Law.- Actor
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Russell Wong has earned a reputation as a sexy, charismatic leading man whose good looks are matched by his skills as an actor. The sixth of seven children, Russell Wong was born in Troy, New York; the son of restaurateur William Wong and Dutch-American artist Connie Van Yserloo. When Russell was seven years of age, his parents divorced, and he moved with his mother to California, settling near Yosemite. Russell attended Santa Monica College. As a trained dancer and a martial artist, Russell is able to perform many of his own stunts.
Russell made his big screen debut in James Clavell's "Tai Pan". He made a memorable guest appearance on the drama series "21 Jump Street" and won a leading role in Wayne Wang's acclaimed independent romantic comedy "Eat a Bowl of Tea". Supporting roles in "China Cry" and "New Jack City" soon followed. In 1993, Russell gained critical acclaim for his outstanding performance in "The Joy Luck Club".
Russell scored a high-profile role in 1994, when he was cast in the leading role in the made-for-TV movie "Vanishing Son" produced by Rob Cohen, in which he played a Chinese political activist exiled in America. The show was popular enough to spawn three sequels, and was later spun off into a syndicated TV series. People magazine named him one of the "Fifty Most Beautiful People" in 1995.
After "Vanishing Son" ran its course, Russell moved on to more big-screen work, including major roles in "Takedown", co-starring Skeet Ulrich, and "Twisted" with Sam Jackson and Ashley Judd. His breakthrough performance opposite Jet Li in "Romeo Must Die" firmly established Russell's star power.
Russell is next seen in this summer's blockbuster "Mummy 3" directed by Rob Cohen, as well as "Dim Sum Funeral" a black comedy co-starring Bai Ling and Kelly Hu. He will star alongside Ving Rhames in the martial arts thriller "Unshakable" this Fall.- Actor
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Robert Torti was born on 22 October 1961 in Van Nuys, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for She's the Man (2006), The Game Plan (2007) and Race to Witch Mountain (2009). He has been married to DeLee Lively since 24 June 1999. They have three children. He was previously married to Sandy Edgerton.- Actor
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Michael John Myers was born in 1963 in Scarborough, Ontario, to Alice E. (Hind), an officer supervisor, and Eric Myers, an insurance agent. His parents were both English, and had served in the Royal Air Force and British Army, respectively.
Myers' television career really started in 1988, when he joined Saturday Night Live (1975), where he spent six seasons. He brought to life many memorable characters, such as Dieter and Wayne Cambell. His major movies include Wayne's World (1992), Wayne's World 2 (1993), So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993), the Austin Powers movies and The Cat in the Hat (2003).- Actor
- Director
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Michael Greyeyes is an actor, director, scholar and founding artistic director of Signal Theatre. He is Nêhiyaw (Plains Cree) from Muskeg Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada. His film work includes the role of Traylor in "Blood Quantum," (Elevation Pictures/ Shudder Original), written and directed by Jeff Barnaby, Sitting Bull in "Woman Walks Ahead," (A24/ DirecTV) co-starring Jessica Chastain and directed by Susanna White. He also appeared in HBO's "True Detective" (Season 3) in the role of Brett Woodard and AMC Television's third season of "Fear the Walking Dead," playing Qaletaqa Walker. He has appeared in numerous feature films, including "The New World," directed by Terence Malick, "Skipped Parts," "Sunshine State," directed by John Sayles, "Passchendaele" directed by Paul Gross and "Dance Me Outside," a cult-classic directed by Bruce McDonald.
Most recently, he can be seen as Ralph Drinkwater in HBO's acclaimed mini-series "I Know This Much is True," written and directed by Derek Cianfrance and starring Mark Ruffalo, Apple TV+ "Home Before Dark," Disney+ "Togo," and "V-Wars" for Netflix. He has appeared in a wide range of roles, including "Law and Order: Criminal Intent," to the title role in "Crazy Horse" (TNT), and Tecumseh in "Tecumseh's Vision" (PBS) to mini-series such as "Klondike" (Discovery), "Saints and Strangers" (National Geographic), and "Dreamkeeper" (ABC). As a director, he has created numerous theatre works including "Bearing," a searing dance opera that premiered at the 2017 Luminato Festival in Toronto, "A Soldier's Tale" (National Arts Centre), "from thine eyes" (Harbourfront Centre), and wrote "Nôhkom" (directed by Yvette Nolan). He was nominated for a Dora award for his direction (with Cole Alvis) for "Two Odysseys: Pimooteewin / Gállábártnit," a full-length evening of Indigenous opera featuring 2 librettos in Cree and Sami.
He is represented by long-time manager Alan Mills (Mills Kaplan Entertainment) and talent agents MaryJane MacCallum (ARC) and Harry Gold (Talent Works).- Eric Schweig was born on 19 June 1967 in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada. He is an actor, known for The Last of the Mohicans (1992), Big Eden (2000) and Skins (2002). He was previously married to Leah ?.
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- Producer
Native American actor, Rodney Arnold Grant was born the 9th of March, 1959. After his biological parents abandoned him, his grandparents raised him from 6 months of age, up until 1982. Rodney has five adult children: three daughters from his ex-wife, all of which were raised by their mother, and two sons from previous relationships. He is now married to Lee-Anne. Over time, Rodney initially has performed in major motion pictures, as well as television appearances. One in particular CBS's Stolen Women, Captured Hearts (1997), opposite Janine Turner and Michael Greyeyes. On the big screen, Rodney is extensively known for his portrayal of "Wind in His Hair" in Dances with Wolves (1990). Inasmuch as Rodney has proven to be eclectic in his acting ability, he can "play the part" in other genus as well.
Rodney has other multitudinous ways in which he contributes to those in "need" -- especially the Native American Youth. For example, The Boys and Girls Club of Cheyenne country, South Dakota, where he is on the Board of Directors. At the present time, Rodney has taken an interim from acting to bestow his time to family, charities, and independent film making.- Actor
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Greg Serano was born on 7 August 1972 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Legally Blonde (2001), The Postman (1997) and Felon (2008). He was previously married to Carmen Serano.- Actor
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Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Borrego studied theatre and dance at The University of Incarnate Word; he studied acting at The California Institute of the Arts. In the 1980s he attended an open audition for the TV Series "Fame" where he won the role of "Jesse Velasquez", a role he would have for three years. Borrego, however, would return to the stage appearing in productions at the noted Joseph Papp Theatre in New York City and The Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. In addition to standout performances on stage and in films such as "Blood In, Blood Out" and "Follow Me Home", he began Lupita Productions in 1990. Lupita has produced theatrical productions and concerts; additionally, Lupita has produced two 16mm short films: "El Suendo de Simon" (1993) by James Borrego and "Flattime" (1995) by Jimmy Santiago Baca. At home in front of the camera, on stage, or in the producer's seat, Borrego continues to be one of the most versatile and resilient talents of our time.- Director
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Yahoo Serious (born Greg Gomez Pead) became one of Australia's most successful independent conceptual artists and filmmakers of the 1980s and 1990s. Considered the first Australian to write, produce, direct and star in a major motion picture. He legally changed his name to "Yahoo Serious" in 1980 before his sudden fame.
Born July 27, 1953 in New South Wales, Australia, Greg grew up near Newcastle and worked as a tyre fitter for a time to get through art school, but was eventually expelled from the school. Soon after he started combining his artistic talents with absurdist comedy and earned a lot of skeptical looks along the way.
At age 21, Yahoo independently wrote, produced, directed and filmed "Coaltown," a documentary tracing the socio-political history of coal mining. It was released in 1977. The following year he won the National Award for Best Australian Educational Documentary for his TV series "Lifestyle." After extensive traveling throughout Asia, Europe and America, he began writing, directing and performing in experimental comedy and became the first Australian to do so in a major motion picture.
This led to the spectacular success of his first weird, skimpily-budgeted vehicle Young Einstein (1988), the story of a young Tasmanian farmer who discovers rock music along with the theory of relativity. Blending political/social satire, silliness and slapstick with eye-popping visuals, he hit the jackpot with young audiences. Grossing over $100 million, he instantly branched out internationally, hitting all the popular talk shows and even making the cover of TIME magazine (February, 1989). Audiences took a fascination to his unique cinematic style. True to form, Serious involved himself in practically every detail of the making of the movie, from creating the original concept and script through incorporating the visual design and music soundtrack and performing all his own stunts.
Following this crazy but fantastic roller coaster ride, Yahoo was not able to produce a follow up movie soon enough and quickly became yesterday's news. Coming out five years later, Reckless Kelly (1993) was the story of a Robin Hood-like, motorcycle-riding robber who becomes a Hollywood movie star. While it matched his first film in unconventional silliness, it would not match its box office success or popularity and it disappeared rather quickly. He worked in tandem with his one-time wife, producer Lulu Pinkus, on all three films. They divorced in 2007.
Yahoo's third movie, Mr. Accident (2000), which centered around the most accident-prone man in the world, was also a commercial failure while still finding a cult following. Receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Newcastle in 1996, he was a guest for the opening of the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
While no projects have occurred since his third film, who knows what's up this unique artist's sleeve next. An inveterate traveler and surfer living on the beaches of New South Wales, Yahoo is a board member of the Kokoda Track Foundation, a humanitarian aid organization focused on the indigenous people of Papua New Guinea. The Foundation provides education, health, and community services as well as disaster relief and tourism plans.- Actor
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Mark Dacascos is an actor, director, martial artist, and television personality. Whether seen on the big screen or small, playing the good guy or the bad, Mark has been making audience stand up and take notice for many years.
This May, Mark will be seen in highly anticipated film John Wick: Chapter 3-Parabellum playing the lethal assassin, Zero, opposite Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Asia Kate Dillon, and Laurence Fishburne.
Later this summer Mark can be seen in Roger Avary's film Lucky Day in the scene stealing role of Louis opposite Nina Dobrev and Crispin Glover and the new Netflix series Wu Assassins opposite Katheryn Winnick.
Dacascos has appeared in over 40 feature films including the haunting French film and box office success, Brotherhood of the Wolf, nemesis to Jett Li in Cradle to the Grave, and cult classic action film, Drive. He has also reprised the iconic role of Wo Fat in the hit CBS series Hawaii 5-0, Mr. Giyera on the hit television show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as the star of the series The Crow. Mark has appeared in numerous television shows such as Chicago P.D., Lucifer, and the hugely popular Hallmark franchise, The Perfect Bride and it's follow up The Perfect Bride: Wedding Bells.
Mark's turn as The Chairman on the Food Network's hit show, Iron Chef America launched him into pop icon status with over 200 episodes and counting on the Food Network. He also took his turn on the dance floor transforming his martial arts moves into dancing magic on ABC's hit show, Dancing With the Stars. Many millions have also enjoyed watching Mark in the hugely popular and uber successful web series Mortal Kombat Legacy and the international web series The Way.
Besides starring in television and films, Mark achieved a career milestone by directing his first feature film titled Showdown in Manilla starring Casper Van Dien and Tia Carrere.
The darkly exotic, multi-lingual, multi-skilled Dacascos is a mix of Japanese, Filipino, Spanish, Irish, and Chinese heritages. He was born in Hawaii and attended school in Germany. He is married and the proud father of 3 children.- Actor
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Hart Matthew Bochner was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to Ruth (Roher), a concert pianist, and Lloyd Bochner, an actor. He is of Russian Jewish and Ukrainian Jewish descent. Hart made his feature film debut portraying George C. Scott's son in Ernest Hemingway's Islands in the Stream (1977) and would go on to gain notice for his role in the Academy award-winning, Breaking Away (1979). However, it was his role in Die Hard (1988), opposite Bruce Willis, that would earn him pop culture status. His performance as the obnoxiously sleazy Harry ("Hans, Bubby") Ellis was bestowed the #2 spot on Maxim's "The Greatest Movie Sleazeballs Of All Time" list. Other films also include playing opposite Susan Sarandon in Wayne Wang's Anywhere But Here (1999), Break Up (1998) with Bridget Fonda, the cult hit Apartment Zero (1988) opposite Colin Firth, George Cukor's Rich and Famous (1981), with Jacqueline Bisset, and John Schlesinger's The Innocent (1993), opposite Anthony Hopkins.
On television, Bochner starred in the Emmy award-winning epic miniseries, War and Remembrance (1988), Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises (1984), John Steinbeck's East of Eden (1981), And the Sea Will Tell (1991), Children of the Dust (1995), and Haywire (1980).
He would inevitably transition to behind-the-scenes work as a director, making his debut with the cult comedy, PCU (1994), for Twentieth Century Fox, and High School High (1996) for Columbia Pictures. Just Add Water (2008) for Sony Pictures is his latest directorial effort, which he also wrote, and stars Danny DeVito, Dylan Walsh, Jonah Hill, and Justin Long.
He will next be seen starring in the upcoming Campbell Scott film, Company Retreat (2009), as well as Spread (2009) opposite Ashton Kutcher. Most recently was seen starring as Debra Messing's love interest in the USA Network series, The Starter Wife (2008).
Bochner lives in Los Angeles and is actively involved in several causes, sitting on the board of directors for the Environmental Media Association as well as the DGA-PAC Leadership Council, and L.A.'s Green Ribbon Commission. In 2008, Bochner was named Time Magazine's "Greenest Celebrity in Hollywood".- Actor
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Highly talented, lightly built American actor who always looks unsettled and jumpy has become a favourite of cult/arthouse film aficionados with his compelling performances in a broad range of cinematic vehicles.
Turturro was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian-American parents, Katherine (Incerella), a jazz singer, and Nicholas Turturro, a construction worker and carpenter, who was born in Giovinazzo. His brother, also named Nicholas Turturro, is an actor, and actress Aida Turturro is his cousin.
Turturro has become a regular in the thought provoking films of Spike Lee and the off the wall comedies of Joel Coen & Ethan Coen. His wonderful performances include as the highly agitated "Pino" in Do the Right Thing (1989), as an intellectual playwright in Barton Fink (1991), a pedophile tenpin bowler in The Big Lebowski (1998), a confused boyfriend in Jungle Fever (1991) and as the voice of Harvey the dog in Summer of Sam (1999).
Turturro has continued to appeal to audiences despite his unconventional looks and the often annoying onscreen mannerisms of his characters which he used to great effect in films such as his blue collar tale of warring brothers in the construction business, Mac (1992), as the irate, dumped game show contestant, Herbie Stempel, in Robert Redford's dynamic Quiz Show (1994). One of modern American cinema's gems of acting, Turturro remains in strong demand for his high calibre thespian talents.- Bronson Picket was born on 7 November 1971 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for Wild Card (2003), Any Day Now (1998) and Odyssey 5 (2002). He has been married to Lynn Snowden since 30 April 2000. They have two children.
- Attended the Air Force Academy Prep School after high school. He quit and switched over to Mississippi State to play football, but was forced to quit when he broke his hand. He then transferred to the University of the South, and graduated with a B.A. in psychology. He worked a year as a counselor at the Tennessee State Prison, then traveled around a bit before being asked to appear as an extra in a TV movie. He moved to Los Angeles in 1980, and sent in his picture to the makers of Tarzan the Ape Man (1981). The rest is history.
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- Soundtrack
Julio Iglesias Jr. was born on 25 February 1973 in Madrid, Spain. He is an actor, known for Music of the Heart (1999), Hacienda Heights (2008) and Tu cara me suena (2011).- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
David Blaine was born on 4 April 1973 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for The Great Buck Howard (2008), Mister Lonely (2007) and David Blaine: Real or Magic (2013).- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Wolf Larson was born on 22 December 1959 in West Berlin, West Germany. He is an actor and writer, known for Tarzán (1991), Just Can't Get Enough (2002) and Code Name: Eternity (2000). He has been married to Carolyn J Larson since 30 March 1998.- Production Manager
- Actor
José Solano was born on 22 February 1971 in Inglewood, California, USA. He is a production manager and actor, known for Baywatch (1989), Resurrection Blvd. (2000) and Mirada de mujer: El regreso (2003).- Mark Pillow was born on 14 April 1959 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), Wiseguy (1987) and Lara - Tödliche Eifersucht (2000). He has been married to Magdalena Barbara Plate since 23 November 1992. They have two children.
- Jason was first introduced to worldwide audiences as Logan Fowler in the hit TV series Baywatch, a Show viewed by a billion people across 142 countries. After 3 years on the show he walked away from Hollywood, and returned to stage school to study theatre, to complete his training with renowned acting teacher Sanford Meisner. He has taken on controversial roles both on stage & screen, including Greg Araki's film Nowhere with Christina Applegate and Heather Graham, the much acclaimed Eroica, directed by Paul Warner, Adam Meggido 's The End of the Sentence, Mad Cow Girl directed by Greg Hatanaka, and Greek Directed by Australian actor and director Marcus Graham, at the Power House Theatre in New Farm Qld. Sharknado bought Tasmanian born actor Jaason Simmons back into the international spotlight. He has presently four movies in pre-production. The upcoming projects like Jason are diverse. A new Australian Sci Fy series 3010 where he will play a futuristic Super Soldier. A comedy with British comic genus John Cleese. An Australian drama based on the true life story of underground free style flightier Zane Dirani. A thriller to be shot in the state of Georgia. And lastly Jason will be co hosting an Australian produced Environmental Documentary about our Oceans and how that impacts the consumer.
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When Bronson Pinchot began auditioning for Broadway roles, he refused to do accents. Years later, his ability to do accents is what gave him his first break in film and led to television success as Balki Bartokomous, the odd cousin from a Mediterranean island who comes to live with Mark Linn-Baker on the sitcom Perfect Strangers (1986).
Pinchot was born in New York, raised in Pasadena, and attended Yale on a full scholarship, first being interested in art. Although he came from a poor family, he was a class valedictorian. It was during his art studies that he began to pursue acting. Cast in an off-Broadway play soon after his 1981 graduation, Pinchot was seen by a casting director and gained the role of one of Joel's poker playing friends in Risky Business (1983) and appeared the next year in The Flamingo Kid (1984). Cast as Serge, an associate art dealer, in Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Pinchot stole his one real scene from Eddie Murphy. This role led to Balki with his odd accent and eccentric style. The series continued for seven seasons. He didn't fare as well in The Trouble with Larry (1993), where he again played a visitor who comes to stay.
His small screen success did not translate as easily to the big screen. The box office flops Second Sight (1989) and Blame It on the Bellboy (1992) didn't repeat his earlier successes. It wasn't until his role in True Romance (1993) and his reprisal of Serge in Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) that audiences took note of his talent again. He appeared in Courage Under Fire (1996) and took a familiar comedic role in The First Wives Club (1996) as Duarte Feliz, a flamboyant interior designer.
Television has continued to offer Pinchot opportunities. In 1995, he appeared in Stephen King's The Langoliers (1995). The following year, he joined the cast of Step by Step (1991) as the owner of a hair salon. Unlike the manic bizarrely-turned characters Pinchot often played, on TV talk shows he has proven to be witty and erudite.
He first appeared on Broadway in 1990 in 'Zoya's Apartment,' a comedic play at the Circle in the Square theater. In 1999, He appeared with Carol Burnett and John Barrowman in _Putting It Together' (1999) and in 2004's revival 'Sly Fox,' with Richard Dreyfuss and Eric Stoltz. More recently, he appeared on the 5th season of The Surreal Life (2003).- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Matthew Nelson is a American singer-songwriter and musician who, with his twin brother Gunnar Nelson, is a member of the multi-platinum-selling band Nelson, which had a #1 hit in 1990 with the single "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection". Entertaining is encoded in Nelson's DNA -- his father was pop star Ricky Nelson and his mother was actress Kristin Harmon, the sister of TV superstar Mark Harmon.- Actor
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- Soundtrack
Gunnar Nelson is a American singer-songwriter and musician who, with his twin brother Matthew Nelson, is a member of the multi-platinum-selling band Nelson, which had a #1 hit in 1990 with the single "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection". Entertaining is encoded in the Nelson brothers' DNA -- his father was pop star Ricky Nelson and his mother was actress Kristin Harmon, the sister of TV superstar Mark Harmon, while his paternal grandparents were bandleader Ozzie Nelson and singer Harriet Nelson Nelson of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952) fame.- Actor
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Bryan Scott was born on 15 December 1965 in the USA. He is an actor, known for Club Dread (2004), Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) and Undercover Brother (2002).- Actor
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- Producer
John Burstein was born on 25 December 1949 in Mineola, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for The Inside Story with Slim Goodbody (1980), Captain Kangaroo (1955) and Music City Tonight (1993).- Actor
- Producer
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Stoney Jackson moved to California in 1976 with his family. His parents started a Family Practice Medical Clinic in Riverside. It was then Stoney got an agent and started doing television commercials and eventually moved to the theatrical side of the industry. Stoney has appeared in over 40 films in addition to dozens of guest roles on television series as well starring in several TV series of his own. Stoney has appeared in 4 decades of television and movies.- Tom Shea is known for Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) and Somewhere, Tomorrow (1983).
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- Additional Crew
Jeff Hyslop was born on 30 May 1951. He is an actor, known for Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), The Magic of Aladdin (1989) and The Pirates of Penzance (1985). He is married to Ruth Nichol. They have one child.- Actor
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Immortalized as Cosmo Kramer on the classic sitcom Seinfeld (1989), West Coast comedy star Michael Richards was born on July 24, 1949, and raised in South Los Angeles, California, to Phyllis (Nardozzi), an Italian-American medical records librarian, and William Richards, an electrical engineer. Michael displayed an early talent for performance as a top Forensic League competitor during grade school. He went on to star in multiple high school and college productions while working as an ambulance attendant and hospital orderly. Michael trained as a medic in the US Army during the Vietnam War, was appointed writer and director of plays on drug abuse and race relations for the Army's V-Corp Training Roadshow. He attended the California Institute of the Arts and was mentored by famed performance art guru Allan Kaprow. He graduated from Evergreen State College in Washington with his BFA in drama.
After first performing with the San Diego Repertory Company, he subsequently returned to L.A. where he was discovered by Budd Friedman, founder of the Improv comedy club and talent manager Charles H. Joffe. Also a trained theater actor under the tutelage of Stella Adler, Michael starred in regional productions, Off-Broadway, and in London's West End. In addition to his comedic roles, Michael performed regularly in comedy clubs during the late 1970s and 1980s while driving a school bus by day.
Inspired by the physical comedy of such legends as Charles Chaplin and Jacques Tati, he paid his dues on the comedy circuit until comedian Billy Crystal noticed him and gave him a break on one of his comedy specials. Michael earned a regular spot on the sketch comedy series Fridays (1980), where he created the character of Battle Boy who liked to blow up army soldiers. He also appeared in such minor slapstick films such as Young Doctors in Love (1982) and Transylvania 6-5000 (1985).
Michael worked regularly as a dramatic "heavy" in television throughout the 1980s in shows such as "Miami Vice," "St. Elsewhere," and "Hill Street Blues." Following a recurring role on the offbeat comedy series Marblehead Manor (1987), everything finally came together for the elastic-faced comedian in 1989, after being cast as Cosmo Kramer, Jerry Seinfeld's wired, convulsive, frizzy-mopped neighbor and pal on Seinfeld (1989). The frenzied character earned him three Emmy awards, SAG awards, and instant cult status. He followed this success with his own short-lived series, the comedy mystery as a private investigator in The Michael Richards Show (2000) and the role of Micawber in a TV version of David Copperfield (2000).
Subsequent film credits include the cult classic UHF (1989), Problem Child (1990), Airheads (1994), Unstrung Heroes (1995) and Trial and Error (1997), a top-billed comedy role. TV work into the millennium has been very sporadic; however, he appeared as himself in several episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000), and played a regular role in Kirstie Alley's brief comedy series Kirstie (2013) with fellow TV comedy veteran and Rhea Perlman. He also made an isolated film appearance in the romantic comedy Faith, Hope & Love (2019).- Actor
- Additional Crew
Fabio was born on 15 March 1959 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy. He is an actor, known for Bubble Boy (2001), Dude, Where's My Car? (2000) and Dumbbells (2014).- Sasha Mitchell is a model, actor, and kick-boxer, who will forever be known for two roles. From 1990 to 1993, he took over for Jean-Claude Van Damme in the Kickboxer series, ending it with the fourth installment, Kickboxer 4: The Aggressor (1994). A black belt in tae kwon do, Sasha was once an amateur kickboxing champion, and it helped him land the role of a boxer in 1988's Spike of Bensonhurst (1988). In 1991, Sasha got the role of Cody Lambert on the popular TV series Step by Step (1991). He played Cody from 1991 to 1996, and after some personal problems, returned for its final season in 1998.
Prior to acting, Sasha modeled exclusively for a year with famed fashion photographer Bruce Weber and studied acting in New York City at the National Improvisational Theatre. He made his television film debut in Pleasures (1986), and burst onto screens as Ruggieri in the action thriller Death Before Dishonor (1987).
Three years later, he joined the soap opera Dallas as James Beaumont, the illegitimate son of J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman). Immediately following his exit on Dallas in 1991, Sasha was chosen to be Jean-Claude van Damme's replacement in the hit movie installments Kickboxer 2: The Road Back as the lead character David Sloan. The movie was so popular that Sasha reprised the role in Kickboxer 3: The Art of War (1992) and Kickboxer 4 (1994). In that same year, Sasha re-teamed with Dallas co-star Patrick Duffy as Duffy's nephew, Cody Lambert, on the television show Step By Step, which he played for 7 years and was in 114 episodes. In 2000, Sasha made his return to films with Gangland (2001), directed by Art Camacho. After Step by Step's cancellation, Sasha went on to guest appear in television shows such as ER, JAG, NYPD Blue and films such as L.A. Confidential, Abelar: Tales of an Ancient Empire, Cyborg Nemesis, City of Blood, and The Kickboxer: Empire of the Dead.
Now even more beefed up, he is the proud father of three daughters and one son, and continues to make movies. Sasha loves to cook, is a certified welder, and speaks fluent Spanish. - Actor
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Tom Wopat will forever be remembered as strapping, good ol' boy Luke Duke, the virile, blue-eyed, dark-haired, plaid-shirted rascal opposite equally good-looking John Schneider as Bo Duke, his strapping, plaid-shirted blond cousin on the bucolic 80s action series The Dukes of Hazzard (1979). Where others may have fallen by the TV wayside after the cancellation of such a popular series, both Tom and John moved on successfully. As for Tom, he reverted back to his first true love - music - successfully refocusing as a recording artist and musical leading man of Broadway, cabaret and regional shows.
The highly engaging Wisconsin native was born Thomas Steven Wopat on September 9, 1951, in Lodi, Wisconsin, the son of Ruth Arlene (Skarda) and Albin Carl Wopat, a dairy farmer. One of six brothers and sisters, Tom's father and maternal grandfather were of Czech descent. By age 12, he was singing and dancing in school musicals and, following high school graduation, decided to avidly pursue music as a viable profession. Studying at the University of Wisconsin, Tom dropped out to front a rock band as both guitarist and lead singer, and later found on-stage work in such musicals as "South Pacific", "West Side Story" and "Jesus Christ Superstar."
Appearing off-Broadway in 1978, Tom made his Broadway debut that same year as a replacement actor in the musical "I Love My Wife." Other musical shows around that time included "The Robber Bridegroom" (title role) and "Oklahoma!" (as Curly).
With solid, down-home good looks and appeal, it didn't take long for Hollywood to check Tom out. With relatively little TV exposure, Tom found sudden teen heartthrob stardom on the rollicking, down-home comedy series The Dukes of Hazzard (1979). During that period, he appeared elsewhere on an episode of "Fantasy Island," co-starred with singer Barbara Mandrell in the dramatic TV movie" Burning Rage (1984), and voiced the role of Luke Duke on the related animated version The Dukes (1983). During the 1981-82 season, stars Wopat and Schneider walked away from the hugely popular series after contractual disputes involving deserved pay raises and merchandise royalties. The producers tried to replace the popular duo with the similar good-looking pals Vance (played by Christopher Mayer) and Coy (played by Byron Cherry) for the following season, but the ratings dived alarmingly. The dispute with Wopat and Schneider was immediately settled, and the boys returned to the show in the next season and stayed until its 1985 cancellation.
During the show's run, Tom kick-started a recording career with his first (and self-titled) country album release in 1983. His output went on to include six other country albums before finally releasing a 2000 album of standard love songs.
In later years, Wopat made do with a few mini-movie efforts, reuniting with Schneider in the yuletide drama Christmas Comes to Willow Creek (1987); co-starring opposite Jean Smart as a famous rock singer in the romantic musical comedy movie Just My Imagination (1992); and appearing opposite Roxanne Hart in the action adventure Meteorites! (1998). He also showed up as a guest on a few TV series such as "Blue Skies," "Murder, She Wrote," "Crisis Center," "Home Improvement," and was seen in a recurring role on the sitcom Cybill (1995) as a stuntman and former husband of the Cybill Shepherd character.
Tom also re-sharpened his musical theater skills, finding commanding baritone leads as Billy Bigelow in "Carousel" (1986), Detective Stone in "City of Angels" (1990) and Sky Masterson in "Guys and Dolls" (1992). In 1999, he played the sharp-shooting Frank Butler opposite Bernadette Peters in the popular Broadway revival of "Annie Get Your Gun" and earned a Tony nomination in the process.
Guesting for the Cincinnati Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestras in programs featuring Broadway's finest music, Tom more than held his own in 2005 with his first straight-acting Broadway part as part of the excellent ensemble in the Tony-winning (for "Best Revival of a Play") production of "Glengarry Glen Ross" starring acting heavyweights Alan Alda and Liev Schreiber. That same year Wopat embarked on a 33-date national "Over The Rainbow" tour with Faith Prince featuring the gorgeous songs of Harold Arlen, a tour that included Carnegie Hall. Briefly playing slick lawyer Billy Flynn in "Chicago" in 2007, other Broadway musicals followed with "A Catered Affair," "Side by Side by Sondheim" and "Catch Me If You Can," as well as the 2013 legit play "The Trip to Bountiful."
As for on-camera work into the millennium, Tom returned for a few "Dukes of Hazzard" TV-reunions and video games. He also made a late, mid-career film debut in a featured role with the comedy drama Bonneville (2006) starring Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates and Joan Allen, and went on to appear in a number of others: The Understudy (2008), Jonah Hex (2010), Main Street (2010), Mariachi Gringo (2012), Django Unchained (2012), All in Time (2015). In addition, Tom was given a starring role in the gay-themed drama Fair Haven (2016) and appeared in the action western County Line (2017) with Jeff Fahey and Patricia Richardson. Among the ensemble of stars in the comedy Lost Cat Corona (2017), his more recent features include New Money (2017) and Delight in the Mountain (2019). On TV, Tom graced such popular programs as "Medium," "Smallville," "Blue Bloods," "The Blacklist," "Madam Secretary" and had a recurring sheriff role in the series Longmire (2012).
Divorced from his first wife of 15 years and the father of five, Tom is married to documentary producer and archivist Kirsten Larvick.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
John Richard Schneider IV was born April 8, 1960, in Mt. Kisco, New York, to Shirley and John Richard "Jack" Schneider III, a pilot and U.S. Air Force veteran. His parents divorced when he was two. John began acting at the age of eight. He was in many plays in New York City. He and his mother moved to Atlanta, Georgia, when he was fourteen. He got involved in the local theater and was in many local productions. He had a small part in Smokey and the Bandit (1977) starring Burt Reynolds.
His big break came when he won the role of Bo Duke on The Dukes of Hazzard (1979) on CBS from 1979-1985. He auditioned for the role pretending he was a genuine country boy. He had a weeks growth of beard and held a beer can claiming he was from Snellville, Georgia. He later became a very successful country singer and had several hit songs including "I've Been Around Enough To Know" and "Country Girls." He has since opened Faith Works Productions in San Antonio, Texas. He also appears in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993) as Daniel Simon/Red McCall.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Kevin spent 3 years traveling around the world, modeling for print ads and appearing in over 150 commercials, before landing in his breakout series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995).
Kevin David Sorbo was born in Mound, Minnesota, on September 24, 1958, to Ardis (Thompson), a nurse, and Lynn Nain Sorbo, a high school teacher. His father was of Norwegian descent and his mother's ancestry was English, Scottish, and German. In high school, he excelled at football, baseball and basketball; in college, he played these 3 sports, plus hockey. Kevin was also in a number of plays. After leaving college, Kevin joined an actors theater group, and traveled to Europe, then to Sydney, Australia appearing in commercials. At the end of 1986, he settled in Los Angeles. Kevin began to make guest appearances on such popular shows as Murder, She Wrote (1984). At 6' 3" and very muscular, Kevin was a natural for the title role in what would become his signature series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995). Kevin became internationally famous, and he learned the craft of film-making well enough to direct and co-write some of the episodes. Kevin even studied martial arts in order to do many of his own stunts. In real life, Kevin's heart is as big as Hercules'-- he leads "A World Fit for Kids!" as the chair and spokesperson. Kevin devotes much of his time to "A World Fit For Kids!" which is a successful mentoring model that trains inner-city teens to use school, fitness, sports and positive role models for themselves, and then become the coaches and mentors for younger children. In 1998, Kevin married lovely actress Sam Sorbo, best known for her dual role on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995) as Serena/the Golden Hind ("Hind" is a female red deer).