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1-5 of 5
- Actor
- Director
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Tubby 5' 10 1/2" character actor Bruno VeSota had a remarkably long, varied and impressive career acting and directing in the mediums of stage, radio, movies and television. He was born Bruno William VeSota on March 25th, 1922 in Chicago, Illinois. He was the second of three sons born to Lithuanian immigrants Kasmir and Eleanora VeSota. Bruno first began acting in the 7th grade while attending the Catholic parochial school St. George's. He made his stage debut as the villain in the children's play "Christopher's Orphans." At age 19 VeSota went to the Hobart Theatre in Chicago where he learned the basics on acting, make-up and direction. He made his stage directorial debut with a production of "Richard III" and went on to direct everything from the classics to light comedies. After briefly working in Lithuanian radio in the 40s Vesota did a longer stint on English-language radio. He even provided the voice of Winston Churchill for a radio production. Moreover, Bruno joined the Actors Company of Chicago and continued to perform on stage. VeSota then worked in live television in Chicago in 1945. He directed over 2,000 live TV programs and acted in some 200 more. VeSota moved to Hollywood, California in 1952. Bruno began acting in films in 1953. He achieved his greatest cult feature popularity with his frequent and delightful appearances in a bunch of hugely enjoyable low-budget Roger Corman exploitation pictures. Bruno was especially excellent as Yvette Vickers' angry cuckolded husband in the Grade B monster classic "Attack of the Giant Leeches." Other notable movie roles include a disgusting slob junkyard owner who sells stolen automobile parts on the side in "The Choppers," a bartender in "The Haunted Palace," a hapless night watchman who becomes a victim of "The Wasp Woman," a snobby coffeehouse regular in the hilarious black comedy gem "A Bucket of Blood," a perverse oddball named Mr. Donald Duck from Duluth in "Single Room Unfurnished," a nervous innkeeper in "The Undead," a Russian spy in "War of the Satellites," a minister in "Hell's Angels on Wheels," a cultured gangster in "Daddy-O," and a brutish loan enforcer in "Carnival Rock." Bruno narrated the atrocious cheapie clunker "Curse of the Stoned Hand" for notorious schlockmeister Jerry Warren. He also worked on the make-up and has a bit part in Curtis Harrington's nicely spooky "Night Tide." VeSota does a cameo in Steven Spielberg's made-for-TV fright feature "Something Evil." Bruno directed three movies: the entertainingly lurid crime potboiler "The Female Jungle," the fun alien invasion entry "The Brain Eaters," and the silly spoof "Invasion of the Star Creatures." VeSota had a recurring role as a bartender in a handful of episodes of the hit Western TV show "Bonanza." Among the TV shows VeSota had guest spots on are "Kojak," "McMillan and Wife," "Hogan's Heroes," "Mission: Impossible," "It Takes A Thief," "Hondo," "Branded," "My Mother the Car," "The Wild, Wild West," "The Untouchables," and "Leave It to Beaver." VeSota had six children with his wife Genevieve. Bruno VeSota died of a heart attack at age 54 on September 24th, 1976.- Actor
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
The dapper Mexican-born actor Romney Brent, born Romulo Larralde, had a multi-faceted career as a playwright, producer, stage manager/director and drama teacher. The son of a diplomat, he first appeared on stage in a 1922 Theatre Guild production of "He Who Gets Slapped". That same year, he made his bow on Broadway in the comedy "The Lucky One", henceforth establishing himself for the next thirteen years as a solid character player in just about any role of exotic ethnicity, ranging from Ibsen and Gogol, to Shakespeare. He also sang and danced with the 'Garrick Gaieties' and even had time to author a comedy play of high society manners, "The Mad Hopes", in 1932. In 1933, Brent adapted a somewhat risqué novel, "Nymph Errant", by James Laver, into a play, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It had a successful run of 154 performances at the Adelphi Theatre in London, but did not premiere on Broadway until 1982. Brent acted at the same London venue in Noël Coward's popular revue "Words and Music", co-starring alongside a young John Mills.
By 1936, Brent had segued into film work, spending four years acting in prestige British productions, such as Dinner at the Ritz (1937) and The Middle Watch (1940), in which he played a Chinese character named Ah Fong. With the outbreak of World War II, he enlisted in the Canadian Army and was demobbed in 1945 with the rank of captain. Brent made a stop-over in Hollywood three years later, cast as a memorable King Phillip III in the lavishly-produced Warner Brothers Technicolor production of Adventures of Don Juan (1948), with Errol Flynn at his swashbuckling best. The remainder of his screen career, which generally took backstage to a resumption of his theatrical work on Broadway, consisted mainly of guest appearances in early TV anthology series. An exception was a recurring role as the benevolent Padre Felipe in Zorro (1957). In 1961, Brent returned to his theatrical roots for good, travelling through Europe and South America at the head of a repertory company under the aegis of the State Department. Four years later, fully retired from screen acting, he toured the Far East along with Helen Hayes, holding seminars and workshops on stage direction. He spent the last seven years of his life back in the country of his birth, teaching drama.- Vic Wise was born on 3 February 1900 in South Stoneham, Southampton, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Madame Gambles (1951), Make Me an Offer! (1955) and The Avengers (1961). He died on 24 September 1976 in Hampstead, London, England, UK.
- J. Paul Kehm was born on 11 September 1906 in Richland, Pennsylvania, USA. He was married to Grace Ursser. He died on 24 September 1976 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Gerda Calander was born on 1 January 1891 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden. She was an actress, known for Harry Munter (1969) and Leva livet (1976). She died on 24 September 1976 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden.