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1-26 of 26
- Best remembered as the second talking-era "Jane" (following Maureen O'Sullivan) of the durable Tarzan jungle film series and the only one in the sound era to play the role opposite two different Tarzan's (Johnny Weissmuller and Lex Barker, lovely Brenda was born Betty Leabo in Missouri, raised in Los Angeles, and nicknamed "Graftina" by her father when she was a girl. Attending UCLA for four years, the lovely blonde became a photographer's model to help pay her tuition. A 20th Century-Fox talent scout noticed a fashion layout of her and immediately signed her on.
The studio changed her name to "Brenda Joyce" after silent star Alice Joyce and immediately gave her an impressive movie debut with The Rains Came (1939) starring Tyrone Power and Myrna Loy in which she received fine reviews. Building her up to the public as a sexy single girl, she was subsequently showcased in Here I Am a Stranger (1939) opposite Richard Greene and partnered with John Payne in Maryland (1940).
The studio didn't take kindly to her impulsive 1941 marriage to army husband Owen Ward and supposedly punished her by relegating her to "B" films. Three children were the result of this first marriage -- Pam, Timothy and Beth. Brenda eventually lost interest in her career, but was coaxed back to the film set when brunette Maureen O'Sullivan left the Tarzan series and Johnny Weissmuller approved the athletic beauty as his new blonde swinging mate. Beginning a four-year excursion with the film Tarzan and the Amazons (1945), Brenda continued on as Jane after Weissmuller left (actor Lex Barker took over), but finally decided enough was enough. Brenda left after her fifth movie, Tarzan's Magic Fountain (1949), and just walked away -- never to return.
Following her movie career, Brenda moved to the Washington D.C. area and worked with the Refugee Services for nearly 10 years in which she helped displaced persons find employment and places to live. This line of work eventually had her relocate to the Carmel, California area and she worked with Catholic Resettlement in Seaside, California (near Monterey). Besieged by personal and health problems in later years, she endured a painful divorce from Ward in 1960 after 19 years of marriage. She was then married and divorced twice more. Suffering from dementia in her twilight years, she stayed with her children at various stages until she was forced to be institutionalized in a nursing home in Santa Monica, California. Brenda died there of complications from pneumonia on Independence Day in 2009. - Actor
- Soundtrack
Actor, singer, and expert fisherman Tony "Fish" Nunziata was born on April 25, 1958. He attended Richmond College in Staten Island. Tony's lone foray into film acting was a sizable role as cocky camp counselor T.P. in the nifty low-budget slasher cult favorite "Madman." Moreover, Nunziata also sang lead vocals on the songs "I Don't Need Words" and "Song of the Fifth Wind" featured on the soundtrack of this particular picture. Tony sang songs and performed comic sketches on stage with the theatrical group Hot Peach in downtown New York on a regular basis throughout the 80s and 90s. In addition, he was the director of The Sardine Museum in Seal Cove, Grand Manan, British Columbia, Canada. Nunziata died at age 51 from non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma on July 4, 2009 in New York.- Hugh Millais was born on 23 December 1929 in Blackwater Valley, Surrey, England, UK. He was an actor, known for McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), The Dogs of War (1980) and The Wicked Lady (1983). He was married to Anne Sheffield and Suzy Falconnel. He died on 4 July 2009 in Kirtlington, Oxfordshire, England, UK.
- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Actor
Klein was born into a New Jersey Jewish family in 1931. His mother died before he was a year old, and his father placed young Allen and his two sisters in Newark's Hebrew Shelter Orphanage. Later he lived with an aunt. In his teens, Klein worked several jobs while attending night school; in class, he sometimes appeared asleep, but when given a math or accounting question, he could work out the answer in seconds, without even opening his eyes.
Klein went on from accounting classes (marrying wife Betty after college) to working in the field, eventually for a company who handled the bookkeeping for several show-business personalities, learning the ins and outs of the business as he went along. When Klein met singer Bobby Darin at a wedding in the late 1950s, he candidly asked him "How would you like to make $100,000?" When the surprised Darin asked what he would have to do for it, Klein's reply was "Nothing. Just let me go over your accounts."
Klein's investigation of Bobby Darin's books resulted, true to his prediction, in a $100,000 check given to Darin by his record company, and Allen Klein began to make a name for himself--a good one among celebrity clients, who praised him for the money and financial security he was able to give them, and a nasty one among industry insiders, who spoke of his tenaciousness and tendency to be blunt, and as a contract-buster to be dreaded. Either way, Klein well earned his nickname "the Robin Hood of Pop."
The "British Invasion" of the early 1960s brought Klein many more clients-- some readily, some only with time. As The Beatles became the biggest act in popular music, Klein expressed an interest in "buying" them from Brian Epstein, but made little progress. In the meantime, he took over the management of The Rolling Stones from Andrew Loog Oldham, bought a quantity of stock in MGM, and gained control of the Cameo-Parkway record label. The latter he merged with his own company, resulting in the birth of ABKCO (for Allen & Betty Klein and Company).
Ironically, it was Paul McCartney who first suggested Klein be contacted to possibly work in some way for the Beatles, after the Rolling Stones sang his praises (so to speak) with the ready cash Klein acquired for them, by an advance on their recording contract. John Lennon met Klein casually in 1968 on the set of The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus (1996), but only months later did Klein's chance truly come, when he read Lennon's comment in the press that business problems at Apple Corps (the Beatles' company) would leave them "broke in six months". Their management had foundered since Brian Epstein's death, with no one person acting as "the boss" in over a year, and the band mostly in charge of their own affairs.
Klein invited Lennon and Yoko Ono to visit his hotel suite in London, and spent an evening getting acquainted with them. He impressed Lennon greatly by knowing not only his song lyrics, but the real meaning and intent behind many of them. Lennon felt some kinship with Klein; both had grown up without a father around and raised by an aunt, and both preferring to speak their minds. Klein was also kind to Yoko, which was a rare occurrence at the time.
After meeting with Klein, Lennon immediately endorsed him as his de facto manager (writing the chairman of EMI "From now on Allen Klein handles all my stuff"), and convinced George Harrison and Ringo Starr to also take him on. Paul McCartney objected, preferring his soon-to-be father-in-law Lee Eastman to take the reins. An attempt at a joint meeting between the band and both would-be managers misfired badly, as Eastman first patronized, then lost his temper with Klein, who used this to his advantage, gaining the immediate sympathies of Lennon, Harrison and Starr, and their signatures on paper soon afterward as their new manager. McCartney chose Eastman instead, but did pose for "signing" pictures with Klein.
Allen Klein's involvement with the Beatles was a factor in their breakup, the same with countless other things. He successfully renegotiated their recording contract with EMI, after threatening to have the Beatles quit recording if their royalty rates weren't increased, and stopped the money and resources that were pouring out of Apple, getting them on a more solid financial footing. (Apple staff balked at now having to punch in on a time-clock.) He wasn't able to regain control of Northern Songs (Lennon and McCartney's publishing company) though, or realize many of the original hopes for Apple as a conglomorate. And he wasn't able to stop the band from growing apart as people.
Klein's working relationship with the former Beatles deteriorated considerably after their split. He helped George Harrison put together the The Concert for Bangladesh (1972), with the proceeds going to UNICEF, but some mistakes in paperwork and timing kept much of the money frozen in an escrow account, instead of going where it was needed. Lennon and Yoko Ono also cooled on Klein, after Klein sided with Harrison in declining Ono a chance to perform at the concert, and was unable to help in their custody battle for her daughter Kyoko. Eventually suits and countersuits began to fly.
Klein eventually settled with Lennon, Harrison, and Starr in January 1977 and continued his own business career, eventually owning the publishings and recordings of many of his artists (and thereby considerable control of their potential income). Early records by Herman's Hermits, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, and Phil Spector are still sold through ABKCO, while most of the Cameo/Parkway repertoire (including hits by Chubby Checker, The Dovells, Little Eva, The Tymes, and ? and the Mysterians) remained in the vaults from the 1980s until the 2000s.
Klein gradually retired, turning his business affairs over to his son Jody. Jody remarketed ABKCO's music catalog, bringing out CDs of Cameo/Parkway acts for the first time, and also resolved his father's longtime dispute with El Topo (1970) director Alejandro Jodorowsky. Klein passed away of complications from Alzheimer's Disease in 2009.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Dee Dee Belson was born on 20 April 1960 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Never Too Young to Die (1986), Odd Jobs (1986) and The Boyfriend School (1990). She was married to Kevin J. Cummins. She died on 4 July 2009 in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.- Edward Proudfoot was born on 23 September 1943. He was an actor, known for The Last Outlaw (1993), Hells Angels Forever (1983) and Good Night America (1973). He died on 4 July 2009 in Oakland, California, USA.
- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Robert Mitchell was born on 12 October 1912 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Everybody Sing (1938), College Swing (1938) and Good Luck, Mr. Yates (1943). He died on 4 July 2009 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Steve McNair is an American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He spent most of his career with the Houston / Tennessee Oilers / Tennessee Titans and also played for the Baltimore Ravens.
Steve McNair played college football at Alcorn State in Lorman, Mississippi, where he won the 1994 Walter Payton Award as the top player in NCAA Division I-AA. He was drafted third overall by the NFL's Houston Oilers in 1995, becoming the team's regular starting quarterback in 1997, their first season in Tennessee (though he started six games over the prior two seasons in Houston), and remained the starting quarterback for the Titans through 2005. After the 2005 season, McNair was traded to the Baltimore Ravens, with whom he played for two seasons before retiring after thirteen NFL seasons.
Steve McNair led the Titans to the playoffs four times, and the Ravens once, and played in Super Bowl XXXIV with the Titans. McNair was selected to the Pro Bowl three times, and was an All-Pro and Co-MVP in 2003. McNair was the first African-American quarterback to win AP NFL MVP and is, along with Cam Newton and Patrick Mahomes, one of only three to win the award. - Actor
- Writer
- Editor
Lasse Strömstedt was born on 23 May 1935 in Gävle, Gävleborgs län, Sweden. He was an actor and writer, known for The Man Who Went Up in Smoke (1980), G (1983) and Lyftet (1978). He was married to Ann-Christine Bärnsten. He died on 4 July 2009 in Gränna, Jönköpings Län, Sweden.- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Costume Designer
Marion Herwood Keyes was born on 25 January 1904 in Greenfield, Massachusetts, USA. Marion Herwood was a costume designer, known for Gaslight (1944), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) and The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945). Marion Herwood was married to William O. Keyes. Marion Herwood died on 4 July 2009 in Sequim, Washington, USA.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Robert E. Pearson was born on 31 January 1928 in Concordia, Kansas, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Devil and Leroy Bassett (1973), Godchildren (1973) and Drive in Massacre (1976). He died on 4 July 2009 in Clay Center, Kansas, USA.- Drake Levin was born on 17 August 1946 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was married to Sandra. He died on 4 July 2009 in San Francisco, California, USA.
- Robert Louis-Dreyfuss was born on 14 June 1916 in Paris, France. He died on 4 July 2009 in Zurich, Switzerland.
- Jim Chapin was born on 23 July 1919 in New York City, New York, USA. He was married to Monja Elizabeth Kulczycki and Jeanne Elspeth Burke. He died on 4 July 2009 in Fort Myers, Florida, USA.
- Sound Department
- Music Department
John Neal was born on 10 September 1920 in Ogden, Utah, USA. He is known for Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and 1941 (1979). He died on 4 July 2009 in Ventura, California, USA.- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Soundtrack
Robert Ellsworth was born in 1927 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA. He is known for Knight Rider (1982), Centennial (1978) and Red Sky at Morning (1971). He was married to Eulalie "Lola" Duran. He died on 4 July 2009 in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Janusz Hamerszmit was born on 20 May 1947 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Day of the Wacko (2002), Twarza w twarz (2007) and Hi, Tereska (2001). He died on 4 July 2009 in Bialystok, Podlaskie, Poland.
- Béla Király was born on 14 April 1912 in Kaposvár, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]. He was married to Sarolta Gombos. He died on 4 July 2009 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Editor
- Director
- Actor
David Bilcock was born on 6 December 1937 in Croydon, Victoria, Australia. He was an editor and director, known for Stork (1971), Alvin Rides Again (1974) and Libido (1973). He died on 4 July 2009 in Neerim South, Victoria, Australia.- John Coney was born on 13 November 1928. He was an actor, known for Trail of Tears (1995). He died on 4 July 2009 in Sparks, Nevada, USA.
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Additional Crew
Robert Hopkins was born on 30 June 1915 in Belmont, Massachusetts, USA. He is known for No Way Back (1976) and Joshua (1976). He died on 4 July 2009 in Ithaca, New York, USA.- Daphne Fray was born on 28 February 1916 in Kingston, Jamaica. She was an actress, known for Moon Over Harlem (1939). She was married to Ralph Donald Gideon Mair and Winston Lambert Fray. She died on 4 July 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
- Leo Mol was born on 15 January 1915 in Poland, Russian Empire [now Ukraine]. He was an actor, known for Leo Mol in Light and Shadow (1994). He was married to Margareth. He died on 4 July 2009 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
- Production Manager
- Additional Crew
Paula Leonard was a production manager, known for All the World's a Stage (1984), The Shock of the New (1980) and Arena (1975). She died on 4 July 2009.- Bo Samuelsson was born on 8 December 1931 in Heby, Sweden. He was an actor, known for Körkarlen (1958), Varg (2008) and Sjutton år (1957). He died on 4 July 2009.
- Peter Tschopp was born on 26 April 1940 in Basel, Switzerland. He died on 4 July 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland.