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1-23 of 23
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Born in Oklahoma City in 1942, Pamela Tiffin Wonso grew up in Chicago, where she began a modeling career while in her early teens. She moved to New York to model and attend college, but became so successful in her modeling career that college soon took a back seat. On a trip to California she met producer Hal B. Wallis (husband of actress Martha Hyer) who was so impressed with the beautiful teenager that he cast her in the Tennessee Williams drama Summer and Smoke (1961). Her sterling performance netted her nominations for two Golden Globe awards (in the Best Supporting Actress and Most Promising Female Newcomer categories) in early 1962. Later that year she married American journalist, editor, and magazine publisher, Clay Felker.
She posed for a number of cheesecake shots in the 1960s and appeared in several lighthearted, frothy romantic comedies. Legendary director Billy Wilder was taken with her comedic skills and cast her in the Coca-Cola-themed One, Two, Three (1961) (with James Cagney and Arlene Francis), and she appeared in such comedies as The Pleasure Seekers (1964) (with Ann-Margret and Carol Lynley) and For Those Who Think Young (1964) (with James Darren and Tina Louise) and Harper (1966) (starring Paul Newman).
By the mid-1960s, with her marriage ending, she went to Italy to star in some comedies including Straziami ma di baci saziami (1968) (with Nino Manfredi and Ugo Tognazzi), directed by Dino Risi. In these comedies she showed an excellent adaptability to act as a small-town Italian girl. In 1974, she remarried and retired from the screen to raise a family and pursue other interests. She lived in New York with husband Edmondo Danon and her two daughters until her death in 2020, aged 78.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Warren Berlinger was born on 31 August 1937 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Cannonball Run (1981), The Long Goodbye (1973) and The World According to Garp (1982). He was married to Betty Lou Keim. He died on 2 December 2020 in Santa Clarita, California, USA.- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
A distinguished American athlete and occasional actor with many other strings to his bow, Rafer Johnson was a UCLA basketball star who went on to become Pan American decathlon champion in 1955, a two time decathlon silver medallist at the Melbourne Olympics (despite injuries) and winner of gold four years later in Rome. In 1968, he joined the Special Olympics International Board of Directors as a co-founding member and the following year also co-founded the California Special Olympics, serving as board president from 1983 to 1992. He was briefly a member of the Peace Corps during the administration of John F. Kennedy. While sports anchor at KNBC in Los Angeles, he took time out to support his close friend Robert F. Kennedy during the latter's 1968 presidential campaign in the role of advisor and quasi bodyguard. Along with L.A. Rams football star Roosevelt Grier he famously tackled Kennedy's assassin Sirhan Sirhan and secured the murder weapon, a .22 caliber revolver. In 1984, Johnson was the torch bearer at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. He became an inductee into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame in 1994, the California's Hall of Fame in 2009 and seven years later was awarded the UCLA medal.
In between his many sporting achievements, Johnson enjoyed a modest acting career. At its outset, he had befriended film legend Kirk Douglas while in Rome training for the 1960 Olympics and was offered the plum role of the Ethiopian slave Draba in the upcoming blockbuster epic Spartacus (1960). Since accepting the part would have made Johnson a professional actor and therefore disqualified him from participating in the games, he had little choice but to turn down the offer. The role subsequently went to fellow athlete Woody Strode. After 1960, Johnson appeared sporadically in films, often cast as native Africans in period adventures (The Sins of Rachel Cade (1961), The Fiercest Heart (1961), Tarzan and the Great River (1967)) and subsequently guest-starred in episodes of Mission: Impossible (1966),Roots: The Next Generations (1979) and Quincy M.E. (1976). He also made a brief appearance as a DEA operative in the James Bond thriller Licence to Kill (1989).
Rafer Johnson passed away on December 2 2020 in Sherman Oaks, California, at the age of 85.- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
In 1970, David Sheehan was the first entertainment reporter and critic on a news broadcast in the history of television. Sheehan wrote, produced and hosted the most successful o-t-o (one time only) syndicated special in the history of television: Academy Awards Movie Magic, airing in 96.544% of the United States on 259 stations in 198 markets, many during Oscar weekend.
Besides interviewing all the Best Actor and Best Actress Oscar nominees, the show featured an exclusive in-depth career profile and candid conversation with Sheehan's longtime pal Chita Rivera, who was nominated for Best Director and Best Picture for Letters from Iwo Jima (2006).
No stranger to TV firsts, Sheehan, in 1972, on KCBS-TV in Los Angeles, was the first commentator to ever critique television on television, drawing "biting the hand" feature articles in both Time and Life magazines.
In 1975, he was the first local newsman to ever work for two networks simultaneously: appearing daily on "America Alive" on NBC and "The Big News" on CBS. In 1979 he hosted and produced the first Pay-TV monthly series in history, "Backstage in Hollywood", on HBO. Also in 1975, he produced, wrote and hosted the first pre-Oscar specials in the history of television with "Oscar Hopefuls", "Emmy Hopefuls" and "Grammy Hopefuls".
In the early 1980s, Sheehan produced and camera directed Pippin: His Life and Times (1982), with Bob Fosse directing the choreography, and starring Ben Vereen and Martha Raye. At NBC, Sheehan was the first local entertainment reporter to host and produce his own series of network specials, under the tutelage of then NBC president Don Ohlmeyer, including "Macho Men of the Movies" (with Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger) and "Hollywood's Leading Ladies" (with Julia Roberts, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sharon Stone and Barbra Streisand).
Sheehan worked the 1970s and early 1980s on KCBS-TV, moved to KNBC-TV from 1984-94, and finished up his 33 years of daily newscasting back at KCBS-TV from 1994 to 2004. He hosted three national specials every year for many years: "Summer Movie Magic", "Holiday Movie Magic" and "Academy Awards Movie Magic" (with Jack Nicholson recurring), all syndicated by Sheehan's production/distribution company, Hollywood Close-Ups Inc., in Studio City, California.
Sheehan had three children: son Brian Sheehan, actor turned owner/operator of the Eclectic Wine Bar & Grill; daughter Shannon, a real estate developer; and daughter Kelly, a recording studio engineer/producer for such pop music stars as Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds, Tyrese Gibson, and Usher.
Until his death in 2020, Sheehan and his wife, actress Susan Angelo, divided their time between Marina Del Rey (California), the Upper West Side (New York City), Indianapolis-Bloomington (Indiana) and his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
Sheehan's college education included Ohio State University, Notre Dame University, finally finishing up at UCLA. After college, he was a newspaperman with the United Press International syndicate, covering celebrities in politics and winning accolades for his insider reporting on Frank Sinatra's "Rat Pack" involvement in John F. Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign.
His magazine writing for Esquire, Playboy, Mademoiselle, and Los Angeles Magazine included rare interviews with "Tropic of Capricorn" author Henry Miller, mental health pioneer Abraham Maslow, Gestalt Therapy founder Fritz Perls, and Zen interpreter Alan Watts.
In the late 1960s, Sheehan was producer, actor and director of the Los Angeles Theater Now Troupe, producing the West Coast Premieres of plays by Edward Albee, Norman Mailer and Jules Feiffer. The Sheehan production of Feiffer's "Little Murders" broke box office records in 1969. Sheehan was also the author of one published novel "Before I Wake", under the nom de plume of David Dury. The book's editor was "Tropic of Capricorn" author Henry Miller.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Boris Plotnikov was born on 2 April 1949 in Nevyansk, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Russia]. He was an actor, known for The Ascent (1977), Heart of a Dog (1988) and Mikhaylo Lomonosov (1986). He died on 2 December 2020 in Moscow, Russia.- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Pat Patterson was born on 19 January 1941 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was an actor and writer, known for WWF Superstars (1986), Attitude Era (2012) and Undertaker - He Buries Them Alive (1994). He died on 2 December 2020 in Miami Beach, Florida, USA.- Art Department
- Animation Department
- Production Designer
Cullen Blaine was born on 26 September 1935 in Wichita Falls, Texas, USA. He was a production designer, known for R.O.T.O.R. (1987), The Get Along Gang (1984) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987). He died on 2 December 2020 in the USA.- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Franco Giraldi was born on 11 July 1931 in Comeno, Gorizia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy [now Komen, Slovenia]. He was a director and writer, known for La rosa rossa (1974), A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and Roma dodici novembre 1994 (1995). He died on 2 December 2020 in Trieste, Friuli, Italy.- Valéry Giscard d'Estaing was born on 2 February 1926 in Koblenz, Germany. He was married to Anne-Aymone Giscard d'Estaing. He died on 2 December 2020 in Authon, Loir-et-Cher, France.
- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Ludo Busschots was born on 2 April 1956 in Mortsel, Flanders, Belgium. He was an actor and producer, known for Alfa Papa Tango (1990), Windkracht 10 (1997) and Transport (1983). He died on 2 December 2020 in Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Kenneth V. Jones was born on 14 May 1924 in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, England, UK. He was a composer, known for Four Desperate Men (1959), Ferry to Hong Kong (1959) and The Brain (1962). He died on 2 December 2020.- Writer
- Art Department
- Director
Richard Corben was born on 1 November 1940 in Anderson, Missouri, USA. He was a writer and director, known for Heavy Metal (1981), Darkstar: The Interactive Movie (2010) and The Dark Planet (1989). He was married to Dona Corben. He died on 2 December 2020 in the USA.- Sound Department
- Actor
Alvy Dorman was born on 24 September 1933 in Ventura, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Galtar and the Golden Lance (1985), Super Friends (1973) and Pound Puppies (1985). He was married to Marilyn Landrum. He died on 2 December 2020 in Herriman, Utah, USA.- Actress
Eleanor Soohoo was born on 4 February 1917 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress. She died on 2 December 2020 in Long Beach, California, USA.- Camera and Electrical Department
Tom Cherry was born on 16 February 1967 in Columbus, Ohio, USA. He is known for Boss Level (2020), The Negotiator (1998) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). He died on 2 December 2020 in Columbus, Ohio, USA.- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
João Carlos Horta was a cinematographer and director, known for Litografia (1979), Diamante bruto (1978) and República dos Assassinos (1979). He died on 2 December 2020.- Detlef Lux was born on 19 February 1943 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor, known for Mein Kampf (2009), Ernst Thälmann (1986) and Sachsens Glanz und Preußens Gloria: Brühl (1985). He died on 2 December 2020 in Zittau, Saxony, Germany.
- Animation Department
Lester Pourier was born on 19 November 1931 in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, USA. Lester is known for Pac-Man (1982), ABC Weekend Specials (1977) and Josie and the Pussy Cats in Outer Space (1972). Lester died on 2 December 2020 in Whiteclay, Nebraska, USA.- Glenn Carruth was born on 4 February 1943 in Orange, Texas USA. He was an actor, known for The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972). He died on 2 December 2020.
- Actress
Nina Akimova was born on 10 February 1945. She was an actress, known for Metel (1965), Duel (1961) and Serdtse materi (1966). She died on 2 December 2020 in St. Petersburg, Russia.- Producer
- Editorial Department
- Director
Stephen Lyons was born on 27 February 1955 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Stephen was a producer and director, known for Across the Pacific (2020), The Mystery of Matter: Search for the Elements (2015) and Nova (1974). Stephen died on 2 December 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.- Claude François was born on 30 September 1940 in Stanleyville, now Kisangani, Congo. Claude was a director and writer, known for Le pavillon des passions humaines (1989), Fly Lady Fly (1995) and Le défilé des toiles (1998). Claude died on 2 December 2020 in Brussels, Brussels-Capital, Belgium.
- Pierre Monette was born in 1933 in Saint-Laurent, Québec, Canada. Pierre was a director, known for Rue de l'anse (1963), La Vie qui bat (1955) and Le grand duc (1959). Pierre was married to X. Pierre died on 2 December 2020 in Montréal, Québec, Canada.