Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-19 of 19
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Barbara Hale was born on April 18, 1922 in DeKalb, Illinois, to Wilma (née Colvin) and Luther Ezra Hale, a landscape gardener. She had one sister, Juanita. As a young girl, she intended to major in art and drawing but to work her way through The Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, she began her professional career as a model for a comic strip called "Ramblin' Bill."
Hale is best remembered as Della Street, long-time secretary to attorney Perry Mason on the TV series Perry Mason (1957) from 1957 to 1966 and again in over 25 Perry Mason TV movies from 1985 to 1995. She married actor Bill Williams in 1946. He was best remembered for his portrayal of Kit Carson in The Adventures of Kit Carson (1951) from 1951 to 1955. The couple had three children - two daughters: Jody (born in 1947), Juanita (born in 1953), and, in 1951, a son, William Katt (the spitting image of his father), and actor in his own right, probably best known as the titular character's ill-fated prom date in the film Carrie (1976) and, later, as Ralph Hinkley, the klutzy superhero on the quirky 1980s adventure series The Greatest American Hero (1981) (from 1981 to 1986).- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
He once jokingly described himself as 'a frustrated song-and-dance man' who wound up typecast as a TV crime fighter. Tall, handsome Armenian-American Mike Connors had a minor career in the movies before becoming a star on the small screen as the impeccably dressed macho sleuth Joe Mannix. Towards the end of the series, his earnings per episode averaged a respectable $40,000. He was four times nominated for an Emmy Award and won a Golden Globe in 1969. Mannix (1967) was highly innovative in its day: among its winning combination were an upbeat jazzy score (composed by Lalo Schifrin), teasers, fast cuts from scene to scene, a car replete with a computer transmitting and receiving fingerprints and an African-American co-star (the charming Gail Fisher, who played Joe's secretary Peggy Fair). Many notable names guested in the show, some at very beginning of their careers (Diane Keaton and Martin Sheen, among others). 'Mannix' ran for eight seasons (1967-1975), a testament to its enduring popularity.
Connors was born Krekor Ohanian in Fresno, California. His mother wanted him to become an attorney. After wartime service in the Army Air Force he enrolled at UCLA on the G. I. Bill of Rights, began in law school but eventually took up theatre studies as his major. The nickname "Touch', Mike acquired on the basketball court where he first came to the attention of the director William A. Wellman who considered his features 'expressive'. He was first signed by Goldwyn studios on a 90-day contract. However, Goldwyn never took up the option and Mike never appeared in any of his films (it turned out that his signing had been no more than leverage to bring Farley Granger back in line who was causing Goldwyn some trouble). Through a talent agent, Mike got an interview at Republic to do a film with Joan Crawford called Sudden Fear (1952). That same guy also decided that his original surname Ohanian sounded too much like O'Hanlon -- George O'Hanlon was already a well-established film actor and writer -- and consequently changed his name to 'Connors'. Until 1957, Mike appeared in mainly low budget movies and TV anthologies, billed as 'Touch Connors' (an appellation he thoroughly disliked). He did several films for Roger Corman for $400 a pop. Arguably, the one highlight of his film career -- several years later -- could be said to be his role as one of a pair of American bomber crew (the other being Robert Redford) held captive in a cellar by a lonely German drug store clerk who chooses to withhold from them the trivial matter of Germany's surrender to the Allies (played with whimsical aplomb by the brilliant Alec Guinness) in the underrated and very funny black comedy Situation Hopeless -- But Not Serious (1965).
After many years as a struggling actor, Mike's first TV hit was Tightrope (1959) for CBS in which he starred as an undercover cop infiltrating an organized crime syndicate. Though the story lines became increasingly repetitive through its 37 episodes, the role pretty much defined his subsequent tough-guy image. During the original pilot for 'Mannix', which initially had Joe Mannix as the top investigator for the computerized Intertect detective agency under boss Joseph Campanella, Mike performed many of the stunts himself, in the process breaking a wrist and dislocating a shoulder. In an effort to make his character 'more real' than the traditional cynical Bogart-style gumshoe, he played Mannix as being more 'humane', often becoming emotionally involved in his cases and -- just as often -- ending up on the wrong end of a knuckle sandwich (in the course of the 194 episodes, poor old Joe was knocked unconscious on fifty-five occasions and shot seventeen times), or watching his beautiful client walk off with another man.
Another subsequent starring role as a modern-day G-Man in the short-lived Today's F.B.I. (1981) did not come close to rekindling his earlier success. Most of Mike's later appearances were as guest stars, notably a return as Joe Mannix in an episode of Diagnosis Murder (1993). Later interviews revealed him to have been acutely aware of the transitory nature of TV stardom and exceedingly grateful for his one opportunity to shine. Mike Connors was happily married to Mary Lou Willey for 67 years.- Stephen Joyce was an American stage, television and film actor. He was born in New York City, to Stephen James Joyce and Ruth Rita Reilly. The family moved to Brooklyn, and he attended Catholic schools, Xavier High School and Fordham University (where he majored in theater). He married Billie Jean Jones; the couple had three children.
At the beginning of the Korean War he joined the Air Force and spent two years in the Far East. A few weeks after his discharge he was cast as the juvenile lead in the George Montgomery film, Street of Sinners (1957). Later movie roles would include 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' (1965), Irish Whiskey Rebellion (1972), The Dark Secret of Harvest Home (1978), One Police Plaza (1986), A Stranger Is Watching (1982), The Red Spider (1988), Stranger on My Land (1988), Billy Bathgate (1991), and Invasion (1997).
Joyce's first professional job was with the Irish Players. His first major role in New York City was as Romeo in the initial production of Shakespeare in the Park. In his review in the Herald Tribune, Walter Kerr wrote, "in short this Romeo must be fairly close to what Shakespeare had in mind". He appeared at the American Shakespeare Festival as well as the San Diego Festival, where he played such roles as Hotspur ('Henry IV, Part 1'), Leontes in 'The Winter's Tale' (with his son, Michael, playing the prince), and Puck ('A Midsummers Night Dream'). He played Edgar to Morris Carnovsky's titular King Lear at the Pilgrimage Theater in Hollywood directed by John Houseman. With the Seattle Repertory Theater he played Hamlet and Biff ('Death of a Salesman'). At Yale, he interpreted Caliban ('The Tempest'), Bill Cracker ('Happy End'), and Sigismund ('Life is a Dream').
Below the Mason Dixon Line, Joyce appeared in the World Premiere production of Hugh Leonard's 'Da', a role he repeated in Chicago where he was nominated for the Joseph Jefferson award. He created the role of the tormented priest Father Rivard in 'The Runner Stumbles' in Stamford, Connecticut, and repeated that role at the Little Theater on Broadway. For that portrayal, Clive Barnes, then-New York Times critic, posited that Joyce was a consummate actor and that he had been brought to tears by his performance. Joyce garnered excellent reviews for his portrayal of the violent soldier Pvt. Brown in 'Maneuvers'. He won a Theater World Award (1967-68) for his portrayal of the title role in 'Stephen D.' He was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for his role as Capt. Blakely in 'The Caine Mutiny Court Martial' at the Circle in the Square in New York City, which was his last role on Broadway.
During his career, Joyce also appeared numerous times on television, including but not limited to daytime soap operas and prime-time series such as Another World (1964), The Edge of Night (1956), Search for Tomorrow (1951), All My Children (1970), General Electric Theater (1953), Bronco (1958), Texas (1980), For Richer, for Poorer (1977), Omnibus (1952), Combat! (1962), Matinee Theatre (1955), 'Studio One', Where the Heart Is (1969), Miami Vice (1984), The Equalizer (1985), Crazy Like a Fox (1984), and Spenser: For Hire (1985), as well as numerous voice-overs. - Editor
- Producer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Hal Geer was born on 13 September 1916 in Oronogo, Missouri, USA. He was an editor and producer, known for How Bugs Bunny Won the West (1978), Bugs Bunny: All American Hero (1981) and Bugs Bunny's Mad World of Television (1982). He was married to Carol Jones and Nancy Walker. He died on 26 January 2017 in Simi Valley, California, USA.- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Montserrat Julió was born in 1929 in Mataró, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. She was an actress and writer, known for Estudio 1 (1965), Wheels on Meals (1984) and Teatro estudio (1976). She died on 26 January 2017 in Madrid, Spain.- John Peakes was born on 1 July 1933. He was an actor, known for Evil Dead II (1987), 6 Souls (2010) and Cold Case (2003). He was married to Judith Gentry and Connie Villiers. He died on 26 January 2017 in the USA.
- Frederick Parslow was born on 14 August 1932. He was an actor, known for The Last Wave (1977), Mission Top Secret (1993) and Neighbours (1985). He died on 26 January 2017 in Caulfield, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- Maija-Liisa Majanlahti was born on 6 June 1939 in Ilomantsi, Finland. She was an actress, known for Verinen lyhty (1964), Neljäs nikama (1966) and Kuusi henkilöä etsii tekijää (1965). She was married to Mikko Majanlahti. She died on 26 January 2017 in Finland.
- Producer
- Director
- Actor
David Rose was born on 22 November 1924 in Swanage, Dorset, England, UK. He was a producer and director, known for Scotland Yard (1960), The First Lady (1968) and Walk a Crooked Mile (1961). He was married to Karin Bamborough, Valerie Edwards and Sarah Reid. He died on 26 January 2017 in the UK.- Michael Tönnies was born on 19 December 1959 in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. She died on 26 January 2017 in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Tadeusz Malak was born on 9 February 1933 in Znin, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Poland. He was an actor and writer, known for Television Theater (1953), Stastie ulietlo nezachytené (1974) and Blisko, coraz blizej (1983). He died on 26 January 2017 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.- John Carpenter was born on 14 March 1929 in Hermosa Beach, California, USA. He died on 26 January 2017 in Virginia, USA.
- Vegim Xhani was born on 26 June 1940 in Tirana, Albania. He was an actor, known for Vajzat me kordele të kuqe (1978), Shtigje Lufte (1974) and Kur hiqen maskat (1975). He died on 26 January 2017 in Tirana, Albania.
- Pietro Giordano was an actor, known for Lo zio di Brooklyn (1995), Il ritorno di Cagliostro (2003) and Cani (1992). He died on 26 January 2017 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy.
- Tam Dalyell was born on 9 August 1932 in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. He died on 26 January 2017 in Scotland, UK.
- Yves Drouhet was born on 6 August 1929. He was an actor, known for Mississippi Mermaid (1969). He died on 26 January 2017 in Saint- Denis, France.
- Production Designer
Bohdan Paczowski was born on 5 June 1930 in Warsaw, Poland. He was a production designer, known for Kalosze szczescia (1958) and The Public Woman (1984). He died on 26 January 2017 in Luxembourg.- Maurice Hobbs was born on 24 January 1999. He was an actor, known for The Co-Signer (2022), Maurice Hobbs feat. Bezz Believe: Run Up a Check (2016) and Maurice Hobbs: Blame It on Me (2016). He died on 26 January 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida, USA.
- Bonzo was an actor, known for Black Pond (2011). He died on 26 January 2017 in Croydon, Surrey, England, UK.