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1-9 of 9
- Bearing a strong resemblance to Humphrey Bogart certainly helped in typecasting the handsome, hairy-chested Gerald Mohr into "B" film noir. Born in New York City in 1914, he was the son of Sigmond Mohr and Henrietta Noustadt, a Viennese singer. In 1920 his father was killed in a tragic accident while at work when Mohr was five years old, and he was raised primarily by his mother and maternal grandfather, who was a psychologist and associate of Dr. Sigmund Freud, the famed psychoanalyst. Mohr became a fervent student of Freud as a result of this association. He was taught to ride and play piano at an early age and attended the prestigious Dwight Preparatory School in New York. Even as a teen, Mohr possessed a smooth vocal delivery and landed a job as a staff broadcaster for CBS Radio, which in turn opened the door for him to Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre. Mohr made his Broadway debut in the minor role of a gangster in "The Petrified Forest," the same play that put Bogart on the map.
His first starring role in films came with the serial Jungle Girl (1941), in which he played principal villain Slick Latimer. However, because of his pleasant, distinctive baritone voice, it was radio that became Mohr's meal ticket during the 1940s, and he signed on for a number of popular suspense thrillers such as "The Adventures of Philip Marlowe" and "The Whistler." In 1949, "Radio and Television Life" magazine named Mohr as the Best Male Actor on Radio.
After a number of bit parts, he finally won a noticeable role in Lady of Burlesque (1943) with Barbara Stanwyck, after Welles referred him to the film's director, William A. Wellman. Following WWII service with the Air Force, Mohr returned to acting and found his niche in intrigue, playing the title role in The Notorious Lone Wolf (1946) and its two sequels, along with Passkey to Danger (1946), Dangerous Business (1946) and The Truth About Murder (1946). As much as he wanted to extricate himself from this trenchcoat stereotype, he continued to chug along in the 1950s with the same type of roles represented by The Sniper (1952), Invasion, U.S.A. (1952) and Guns Girls and Gangsters (1959). His final leads were in This Rebel Breed (1960) and the low-grade sci-fi thriller The Angry Red Planet (1959). In 1954-55 he starred as Christopher Storm in 41 episodes of the Swedish-made TV series Foreign Intrigue (1951).
Finding film work scarce in the following decade, he found regular work on TV, guest starring in over 100 dramas, ranging from TV westerns like Maverick (1957), Bronco (1958), Cheyenne (1955) and Bonanza (1959) to action/courtroom series such as 77 Sunset Strip (1958), Hawaiian Eye (1959) and Perry Mason (1957), among many others.
His last movie role came in the top-notch musical Funny Girl (1968) starring Barbra Streisand and Omar Sharif, in which Mohr was featured as Tom Branca, one of Nicky Arnstein's cronies, who offers to help Fanny Brice out by giving the proud but debt-ridden gambler a prime casino job.
Mohr was overseas in Stockholm, Sweden, where he had just completed filming the pilot of a new TV series called "Private Entrance" when he suddenly died of a heart attack at the age of 54. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Mireille Balin was one the most glamorous and best loved actresses of pre-war French cinema. She appeared in two of the best remembered French films of the 1930s: Pépé le Moko (1937) and Lady Killer (1937), both opposite Jean Gabin. After the German occupation of France and her separation from her long-time fiancé, the singer/actor Tino Rossi in 1942, she starred in several films and became the idol of the Paris High Society where she met the love of her life, Birl Desbok, an officer in the Wehrmacht. In the summer of 1944, as Paris was about to be liberated, she and Desbok fled Paris and tried to reach the Italian border but on September 28th, 1944 they were arrested by the FFI in Beausoleil (near Nice). Separated from Desbok, who was probably executed (she never knew what really happened to him), she was beaten and raped before being taken to Nice prison. She was soon transferred to Fresnes prison (near Paris) where she stayed until her release on bail on 3rd January 1945. She was forbidden to work for a year but once this restriction lifted, she went back to the studios to appear in what proved to be her last film La dernière chevauchée (1947), her frail constitution prevented her from appearing in any other films. She died in 1968, forgotten and broke.- Costume Designer
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Rita Kaufman was born on 29 November 1888 in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. She was a costume designer, known for David Harum (1934), The Devil's in Love (1933) and I Loved You Wednesday (1933). She was married to Edmund Lowe and Vern H. Kaufman. She died on 9 November 1968 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Jan Johansson was born on the 16th of September 1931 in Söderhamn, Sweden, and began to play the piano at age 11. He moved to Gothenburg, Sweden to study electro engineering. It was during this period he met Stan Getz, who was living in Copenhagen, Denmark at the time. It didn't take long until Jan had to end his studies to move to Copenhagen to play with Getz. Jan played with a lot of different American jazz greats, and was the first European ever to join "Jazz at the Philharmonic". In 1957 he married his wife Else. In 1961-68 he lived in Stockholm, where he was very productive. He recorded about 20 records under his own name, wrote music for the Swedish Radio and TV (the Pippi Longstocking theme music, for example) and had two sons, Jens and Anders who both have become world wide known musicians themselves. Some of the more famous records are: Jazz på svenska ("Jazz in Swedish"), which has sold platinum many times over, Jazz på ryska ("Jazz in Russian"), Musik genom fyra sekler ("Music through four centuries"), 8 bitar Johansson ("8 pieces Johansson") and Innertrio. Jan was honoured with a lot of gold records, Grammies and other awards. On November 9th 1968 Jan Johansson was killed in a car crash on his way to a church concert in Jönköping, Sweden. After all these years since his death he is still the best selling and most well respected jazz piano player in Scandinavia.- Ernõ Kiss Angyal was born on 22 May 1899 in Csurgó, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]. He was a composer, known for Férjet keresek (1940), A szerelem nem szégyen (1940) and Nincsenek véletlenek (1939). He died on 9 November 1968 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Ian Johansson was born on 16 September 1931 in Söderhamn, Sweden. Ian was a composer, known for Forbrydelsen (2007), Rich Kids (2007) and Deadline (1999). Ian died on 9 November 1968.- Rita Spear was born on 29 November 1888. She was an actress, known for Come Out of the Kitchen (1919), The Kiss (1916) and The Death Dance (1918). She died on 9 November 1968 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Frits Vaerewijck was born on 29 June 1898 in Antwerp, Belgium. He was an actor, known for Alleen voor U (1935), Havenmuziek (1937) and Zig-zag (1941). He died on 9 November 1968 in Brussels, Belgium.
- Maria Morozowicz-Szczepkowska was born on 13 December 1885 in Warsaw, Poland, Russian Empire [now Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland]. Maria was a writer, known for Krysta (1919), Dr. Monica (1934) and Melodie duszy (1918). Maria was married to Jan Szczepkowski. Maria died on 9 November 1968 in Milanówek, Mazowieckie, Poland.