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- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Composer
Widely regarded as the greatest and most influential guitarist in rock history, Jimi Hendrix was born on November 27, 1942 in Seattle, Washington, to African-American parents Lucille (Jeter) and James Allen Hendrix. His mother named him John Allen Hendrix and raised him alone while his father, Al Hendrix, was off fighting in World War II. When his mother became sick from alcoholism, Hendrix was sent to live with relatives in Berkeley, California. When his father returned from Europe in 1945 he took back Hendrix, divorced his wife, and renamed him James Marshall Hendrix.
When Jimi was 13 his father taught him to play an acoustic guitar. In 1959 Jimi dropped out of high school and enlisted in the U.S. Army, but soon became disenchanted with military service. After he broke his ankle during a training parachute jump, he was honorably discharged. He then went to work as a sideman on the rhythm-and-blues circuit, honing his craft but making little or no money. Jimi got restless being a sideman and moved to New York City hoping to get a break in the music business. Through his friend Curtis Knight, Jimi discovered the music scene in Greenwich Village, which left indelible impressions on him. It was here that he began taking drugs, among them marijuana, pep pills and cocaine.
In 1966, while Jimi was performing with his own band called James & the Blue Flames at Cafe Wha?, John Hammond Jr. approached Jimi about the Flames playing backup for him at Cafe Au Go Go. Jimi agreed and during the show's finale, Hammond let Jimi cut loose on Bo Diddley's "I'm the Man." Linda Keith, girlfriend of The Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, was one of Jimi's biggest fans and it was she who told friend Chas Chandler, a band manager, about Jimi. When Chandler heard Jimi play, he asked him to come to London to form his own band, and while there Chandler made the simple change in Jimi's name by formally dropping James and replacing it with Jimi. Having settled in England with a new band called the Jimi Hendrix Experience, which consisted of Jimi as guitarist and lead singer, bass player Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, Jimi took the country by storm with the release of his first single "Hey, Joe."
In the summer of 1967 Jimi performed back in the USA at the Monterey Pop Festival, a mix-up backstage forced Jimi to follow The Who onstage, where after a superb performance Jimi tore up the house by trashing his guitar in a wild frenzy. Afterwards, Jimi's career skyrocketed with the release of the Experience's first two albums, "Are You Experienced?" and "Axis: Bold as Love," which catapulted him to the top of the charts. However, tensions, possibly connected with Jimi's drug use and the constant presence of hangers-on in the studio and elsewhere, began to fracture some of his relationships, including Chas Chandler, who quit as manager in February 1968.
In September 1968 the Experience released their most successful album, "Electric Ladyland." However, in early 1969 bassist Redding left the Experience and was replaced by Billy Cox, an old army buddy who Jimi had jammed with. Jimi began experimenting with different musicians. For the Woodstock music festival Jimi put together an outfit called the Gypsies, Sun and Rainbows, with Mitchell and Cox as well as a second guitarist and two percussionists. Their one and only performance in August 1969 at Woodstock took place near Bethel, New York, where Hendrix and his band were to be the closing headline act. Because of the delay getting there and the logistical problems, Jimi performed on the morning of the fourth and final day. Only 25,000 people of the original 400,000 stayed to watch Jimi and his band as the closing music number, where Jimi's searing rendering of "The Star-Spangled Banner" became the anthem for counterculture.
After Woodstock, Jimi formed a new band with Cox on bass and Buddy Miles on drums with the May 1970 release of the album "The Band of Gypsys." Jimi's last album, "Cry of Love", featured Cox on bass and former Experience drummer Mitchell on drums. However, Jimi's drug problem finally caught up with him. On the night of September 17, 1970, while living in London, Jimi took some sleeping pills, which were prescribed for his live-in girlfriend Monika Danneman. Sometime after midnight, Jimi threw up from an apparent allergic reaction to the pills and then passed out. Danneman, thinking him to be all right, went out to get cigarettes for them. When she returned, she found him lying where he collapsed, having inhaled his own vomit, and and she couldn't wake him. Danneman called an ambulance, which took him to a nearby hospital, but Jimi Hendrix was pronounced dead a short while later without regaining consciousness. He was 27 years old.
Jimi Hendrix's life was short, but his impact on the rock guitar is still being heard and set the course for a new era of rock music.- Ann Shoemaker was born on 10 January 1891 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Alice Adams (1935), Sunrise at Campobello (1960) and My Favorite Wife (1940). She was married to Henry Stephenson and Louis Leon Hall. She died on 18 September 1978 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
At age 16, Annabella was chosen by Abel Gance to appear in Napoleon (1927). In the 30s, she became a star of French movies. She made movies in numerous other countries, before being called to Hollywood in 1938, where she met and married Tyrone Power. She remained in the USA until 1947. Then she attempted a comeback in France. She retired from show business in 1954.- Stocky, versatile, and wonderfully engaging character actor Ben Hammer was born on December 8, 1924 in Brooklyn, New York. Hammer often portrayed judges, priests, doctors, and other such authority figures in a slew of films and TV shows alike. Ben's most memorable movie roles were a square middle-aged scientist in the terrific sci-fi/horror exploitation cult classic "Invasion of the Bee Girls," Young Dar's father in the delightful fantasy adventure "The Beastmaster," and feisty old guy Hal in the excellent "Survival Quest." Hammer had a recurring part as Judge Herman Mooney on the hit TV show "Law & Order." Among the many television programs Ben did guest spots on are "Highway to Heaven," "Airwolf," "T.J. Hooker," "The A-Team," "Fame," "Simon & Simon," "Barney Miller," "CHiPs," "The Incredible Hulk," "Charlie's Angels," "The Streets of San Francisco," "Kojak," "Police Woman," "Mannix," "Ironside," "Mission: Impossible," and "The Virginian."
Moreover, Hammer has also had an extremely lengthy and distinguished career acting in Broadway plays. He made his Broadway stage debut in 1956 in "The Great Sebastians." Other plays Ben acted in are "The Tenth Man," "The Deputy," "The Three Sisters," "The Crucible," "Golda," and "The Gathering." Hammer married his potter wife Dorothea on December 21, 1958. Hammer died at age 92 on September 18, 2017. He was survived by two daughters. - Actor
- Animation Department
- Art Department
Clay Martin Croker was the son of Marion Winchell Croker (1924-2004) and Ouida Thelma Martin (1925-2017). He showed talent for drawing at a very early age; no blank piece of paper stayed that way long. His first love was of dinosaurs, then Godzilla, Gamera, Ultraman and eventually comic book characters.
As a kid, Clay would recite Tex Avery and Chuck Jones cartoons verbatim - flawlessly providing all the accompanying voices.
As a teen, he was the part of a unique group of artists and full-time dreamers in the metro Atlanta area. They spent late nights in graveyards making home movies or passing a sketchbook around, each contributing their own art to what they called "the strip." For employment, they took over the airbrush booth at Six Flags Over Georgia. (Think Caddyshack but with art!) Those friends are still working as artists, producers and musicians to this day.
Clay's first animation gig was making the confederate soldiers carved on the side of Georgia's Stone Mountain gallop away, the big finish of the summer laser light show. He joked that many were happy to see them go.
He animated many national TV commercials and then arguably made Cartoon Network's Adult Swim what it is today with the success of Space Ghost Coast to Coast. Clay provided the animation as well as the voices for Zorak and Moltar. SG led to the Brak Show and Toonami, for which he provided voices and animation.
Later, Clay animated Aqua Teen Hunger Force and had a heavy hand in the development of the main characters, Frylock, Master Shake and Meatwad. He also provided the voices for Dr. Weird, Steve, and various characters. For a brief stint, he hauled his collection of 8 and 16 mm vintage cartoons to the Plaza Theatre, Atlanta's most popular indie movie house, for the Bizarro Saturday Morning show.
He became a fixture at various comic conventions and expos and was always humbled and flattered by the love and adoration of his fans.
In his untimely death, Clay leaves behind not only a legacy not to soon be repeated, but also a vast collection of personal art, priceless movie memorabilia and a trail of brokenhearted friends and colleagues. He died at his home on September 17, 2016.- Chuck Low was born on 21 July 1928 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Goodfellas (1990), The Mission (1986) and Sleepers (1996). He died on 18 September 2017 in Allendale, New Jersey, USA.
- David Dichiera was born on 8 April 1935 in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, USA. He was married to Karen VanderKloot. He died on 18 September 2018 in Detroit, Michigan, USA.
- Genteel, ladylike British actress who was a much respected theatrical star in the 1920s and '30s, both in her own country and in the United States. Born in March 1900 in Hove, Sussex, she took to the stage at the age of seventeen as Ela Delahay in 'Charley's Aunt'. She played Peter Pan three years later and married the first of her actor husbands, Seymour Beard. By the mid '20s, Edna had become the toast of London for her performances in 'Fallen Angel' (with Tallulah Bankhead), and (in a role she made her own) as Teresa (Tessa) Sanger in 'The Constant Nymph' (opposite Noël Coward, and, subsequently, John Gielgud). With the part of Tessa she also enjoyed a successful run on Broadway in 1926, which was followed by another Margaret Kennedy play, 'Come With Me'. She married her co-star, Herbert Marshall, after divorcing Beard in 1928.
Edna started in films as early as 1921 but made little headway until Michael and Mary (1931), for which she recreated her role from the London stage. She then co-starred again with husband Herbert Marshall in Faithful Hearts (1932), but neither of these films received much international exposure. Her only Hollywood film at this time was The Key (1934), which -- though directed by Michael Curtiz -- was decidedly too 'low-key' as far as critical plaudits or the box office was concerned. She had smallish parts in other British films, notably South Riding (1938) and the original version of Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) as the mother of kidnap victim Nova Pilbeam. Not until 1939 did a worthy motion picture role come her way in the shape of the forlorn wife whom violinist Leslie Howard deserts for Ingrid Bergman in Intermezzo (1939). Other worthy screen roles included her Catherine Apley in The Late George Apley (1947) and the housekeeper Martha in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), which the New York Times review of June 27 considered 'by far the best performance' in the picture. All in all, Edna's film appearances were few and far between, and only a handful adequately showcased her talents as an actress otherwise so abundantly evident from the body of her work in the theatre.
From 1939 a U.S. resident and a nationalised citizen by the early 1950s, Edna continued her frequent triumphant returns to the stage. Her most celebrated performances on Broadway were in Terence Rattigan's 'The Browning Version' as downtrodden housewife Millie Crocker-Harris and in 'Harlequinade' (1949) (both co-starred 'Maurice Evans (I)' (q)) and as the titular character 'Jane' (1952) in a play adapted by S.N. Behrman from a W. Somerset Maugham short story. Brooks Atkinson described her performance as the timorous spinster as both 'comic' and 'forceful'. In her last significant role on stage she co-starred with Brian Aherne and Lynn Fontanne in the romantic comedy 'Quadrille' (1954-55), directed by Alfred Lunt and outfitted by Cecil Beaton, who also designed the costumes. Edna retired from acting in the early 1960s and died in a clinic in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1974. - Eduardo Bonvallet was born on 13 January 1955 in Santiago, Chile. He was married to María Victoria Laymuns, Beatriz Gross and Ángela Setti. He died on 18 September 2015 in Santiago, Chile.
- Actor
- Producer
- Director
President of the Dramatic Club at Cornell University, Franchot Tone gave up the family business for acting, making his Broadway debut in "The Age of Innocence".
Tone then went into movies for MGM, making his film debut (at Paramount Pictures) in The Wiser Sex (1932). With his theatrical background, Tone became one of the most talented movie actors in Hollywood.- Francis J. McDonald - not a name to bring ready recognition-but a look at the face reminds one of many old movie roles indeed. His career as an actor literally spanned from early silent films and the great silver screen era of sound film to follow on through the golden age of television. His screen credits, noticeable and small, amount to an amazing nearly 350 roles. Starting on stage, he was a slight but handsome leading man who entered films in 1913 and continued lead and featured romantic roles from contemporary to costume adventure into the 1920s. It was during this period that he married - and divorced - actress Mae Busch, most familiar for the many Laurel and Hardy comedies she did. MacDonald worked on Broadway briefly in only two plays (mid-1918). By the time he did his first totally sound film (late silent movies had intervals of background or short dialog sound), Burning Up (1930), MacDonald had 83 films under his belt. But into the 1930s, being older, his roles were turning toward shady characters of second order - and increasingly uncredited. With dark hair and mustache and beady eyes with a prominent nose, MacDonald fit well into many an ethnic or sneaky villain role and continued in demand. He got to know Cecil B. DeMille and had a regular featured character role in his long history of films beginning with The Plainsman (1936).
Still through the 1930s and 40s MacDonald averaged a steady five to ten films a year-dipping somewhat in the World War II years. Into the 1950s he was increasingly cast in one of his perennial staples, westerns, with roles already familiar to him: weaselly, tin horn gamblers, henchmen, but also dignified Indian chiefs. He was a natural to move into the incredibly popular western phenomenon that burst over the new medium of TV. He showed up in the spectrum of episodic oaters: from early Range Rider, Kit Carson, Wild Bill Hickok, and The Lone Ranger to later fare, such as, Have Gun-Will Travel, Wanted Dead or Alive, Wagon Train, the whole stable of Warner Bros. westerns at the end of the decade (Maverick, etc.), and The Virginian in the next. In the meanwhile there were some good character pieces in movies. Perhaps the most poignant being his last for DeMille's, The Ten Commandments (1956), where he had the small but showcase role as Simon, the old Jewish slave. Bedraggled and working in the clay pit - with Charlton Heston - he pleads for freedom for the Israelites - and gets a a trowel in the gut from a Egyptian guard for his trouble - dying heroically in Heston's arms - it is classic DeMille. And it was classic MacDonald - always ready to give a skillful and memorable performance. - Actor
- Soundtrack
Jovial, somewhat flamboyant Frank Morgan (born Francis Wuppermann) will forever be remembered as the title character in The Wizard of Oz (1939), but he was a veteran and respected actor long before he played that part, and turned in outstanding performances both before and after that film. One of 11 children of a wealthy manufacturer, Morgan followed his older brother, Ralph Morgan (born Raphael Wuppermann) into the acting profession, making his Broadway debut in 1914 and his film debut two years later. Morgan specialized in playing courtly, sometimes eccentric or befuddled but ultimately sympathetic characters, such as the alcoholic telegraph operator in The Human Comedy (1943) or the shop owner in The Shop Around the Corner (1940). He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for The Affairs of Cellini (1934). Frank Morgan died at age 59 of a heart attack on September 18, 1949 in Beverly Hills, California.- Geraldine Hall was born on 31 January 1905 in Springfield, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for Ace in the Hole (1951), Remember the Day (1941) and More Than a Secretary (1936). She was married to Porter Hall. She died on 18 September 1970 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Gloria Guzmán was born on 15 April 1902 in Vitoria, Ávala, Spain. She was an actress, known for Radio Bar (1936), Las luces de Buenos Aires (1931) and Yo quiero vivir contigo (1960). She died on 18 September 1979 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Graeme Gibson was born on 9 August 1934 in London, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor, known for The Wars (1983), The Great Canadian Culture Hunt (1976) and Margaret Atwood: A Word After a Word After a Word Is Power (2019). He was married to Margaret Atwood and Shirley Gibson. He died on 18 September 2019 in London, England, UK.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Hazel Brooks was born on 8 September 1924 in Cape Town, South Africa. She was an actress, known for Body and Soul (1947), Sleep, My Love (1948) and The Basketball Fix (1951). She was married to Cedric Gibbons and Dr. Rex Ross. She died on 18 September 2002 in Bel-Air, California, USA.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Jean Piat was born on 23 September 1924 in Lannoy, Nord, France. He was an actor and writer, known for Rouletabille joue et gagne (1947), Would-Be Gentleman (1958) and Marriage of Figaro (1959). He was married to Françoise Engel. He died on 18 September 2018 in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France.- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Jimmy Witherspoon was born on 8 August 1921 in Gurdon, Arkansas, USA. He was an actor, known for Fido (2006), Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) and The Black Godfather (1974). He was married to Diana Williams. He died on 18 September 1997 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- The name may be hard-pressed to anyone but the most devoted film buffs, but dark-haired actor John Bromfield was a "B"-level leading man during the late 1950s. Possessed with a fine build and square-faced handsomeness, he was somewhat of a blend between Steve Cochran and Rory Calhoun, both 1950s hunks. During his heyday, John headlined a handful of mediocre sci-fi programmers, melodramas and westerns and was often seen in skimpy outfits (especially a swim suit) that showed off his fine physique. Born in South Bend, Indiana, in 1922 and christened Farron Bromfield, his strong athleticism and good looks were not lost on the picture business. By age 26 he was in Hollywood and a contractee of Paramount. His first feature film came in the form of a small role in the Barbara Stanwyck/Burt Lancaster film noir tingler Sorry, Wrong Number (1948) for Paramount. Following the minor documentary/adventure Harpoon (1948) at Paramount, he made his third film, Rope of Sand (1949). There he met his first wife, the delectable French actress Corinne Calvet, who was a co-star on the film and just starting to create an international stir. The couple married shortly after completing the film in 1948. The pairing proved beneficial for Bromfield and his career but the marriage itself lasted only five years. A featured performer in the early 1950s, he earned leading man status by 1955, but it was a very brief tenure. The pictures themselves were hardly the talk of the town, including The Big Bluff (1955), Frontier Gambler (1956), Three Bad Sisters (1956), Quincannon, Frontier Scout (1956), Manfish (1956) and Hot Cars (1956), and most of them fell by the wasteside. One of his films, however, managed to earn sci-fi "cult" status -- Revenge of the Creature (1955). At around this time he fell for dancer Larri Thomas while on the set of Curucu, Beast of the Amazon (1956) and married her shortly after filming. Following his last movie (and 20th feature) in Crime Against Joe (1956) with sultry singer Julie London, he switched mediums and corralled the title role (and mild stardom) in the syndicated TV western series The Sheriff of Cochise (1956), which was later retitled "U.S. Marshal" during its third season. In 1959, his second marriage ended after only 3 years and his western series soon bit the dust as well. Unfulfilled with his life as an actor, John abruptly retired in 1960, finding renewed interest as a commercial fisherman. A hunting enthusiast most his life, he was an emcee at Chicago's annual Sportsman's Show in the 1980s. Not much else was heard until his recent passing from kidney failure on September 18, 2005, at the age of 83. He is survived by his third wife.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Johnny Laboriel was born on 9 July 1942 in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. He was an actor, known for Neutrón, el enmascarado negro (1960), Superzan El Invencible (1971) and Neutrón contra el Dr. Caronte (1963). He was married to Viviane Thirion. He died on 18 September 2013 in Mexico City, Mexico.- Writer
- Director
- Editor
Kathleen Collins only managed to direct two films (she also wrote short stories and plays) but left an impact on the cinema as the second African American woman to direct a film, and as a teacher through her students. She had a strict upbringing in Jersey City as the daughter of an undertaker (who later became a school principal).Her college years at Skidmore in Saratoga Springs, New York brought her into the time of early 1960s activism when she wrote for the student paper, travelled to Georgia with SNCC where she was briefly arrested, and then abroad after graduation to Africa as part of the Crossroads program.There she met her future husband who she would reconnect with when she went to the Sorbonne in Paris to pursue her master's degree, that was also where she became more interested in film. In the 70s, back in New York, she got the film program going at City College and worked as an editor on Sesame Street and such. She died young, in her early 40s, of cancer, but her two features from the 1980s are being rediscovered by a new generation.- Ken Norton was born on 9 August 1943 in Jacksonville, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Dirty Work (1998), Mandingo (1975) and Drum (1976). He was married to Rose Conant, Jacqueline Halton and Jeannette Brinson. He died on 18 September 2013 in Henderson, Nevada, USA.
- Director
- Actress
- Writer
Marceline Loridan-Ivens (née Marceline Rosenberg) was an Holocaust survivor. She was born in France, the daughter of Polish Jewish parents who emigrated to France in 1919. She survived Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, and Theresienstadt. In WWII she was part of the Résistance. She was captured by the Gestapo and deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau (in the same transport than Simone Veil) on April 13, 1944 (she was then 16 years old). She was transferred to Bergen-Belsen and to Theresienstadt. She was liberated on May 10, 1945.
In 1963 she married Dutch documentary filmmaker Joris Ivens. They remained married until his death.- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Director, scriptwriter, producer.
Graduated from schools in Poland and Amsterdam. Member of the European and the Polish Film Academy. Annual Award of the Ministry of Culture in 2011 PhD in film directing 2011.
His short diploma film "Magnet Man" (2001), won acclaim at numerous film festivals including winning Best Student Film Award at the Tribeca Film Festival 2002.
Marcin's first feature "My Flesh My Blood" (2009) had its premiere at the Rome FF 2009. The picture received: the Jounalist's Award and The Best Script Award at the Polish Debuts Film Festival 2009 also the Grand Prix of the Polish Edition Hartley-Merrill Award in 2007 and the Third Prize of Hartley-Merrill International Screenwriting Award in Cannes 2007 (working title: "Tamagotchi"), also many other awards at film festivals, including Avanca IFF, Nikosis IFF.
"The Christening" (2010), second feature directed and co-produced by Marcin Wrona, premiered in 2010 at the San Sebastian IFF (Europe), Toronto FF (North America), Warsaw FF (Poland). The film received The Silver Lion Award for the best film, the Best Actor Award and award for the Best Editing at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia in 2010. "The Christening" also won awards in: Rejkyavik IFF (Special Mention), Mons - Love IFF (Grand Prix & Best Scenario), Prague - Febio FF (Grand Prix), Cracow - Off Plus Camera (Grand Prix in Polish films competition), Ploiesti, Romania - Golden Carpathian FF (Best Director), Tarnow FF, Poland - Youth Jury Award The film has been showing at many international festivals, and received distribution in USA, UK, Romania, Hungary and Spain.
His third film "Demon" is in post-production. It is a Polish-Israeli co-production with Itay Tiran in the lead role.
Marcin Wrona directed also several well-received and awarded TV dramas (inc: Harold Pinter's "Collection" and recently "The Morality of Mrs. Dulska") and some popular TV series. During the European Film Awards ceremony in Barcelona 2004, he presented his short film "Telefono" which was later included in Pedro Almodovar's DVD collection. In the 2013 he made musical "Chopin must die" premiered simultaneously in Warsaw and London.- María Esther Podestá was born on 24 November 1896 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was an actress, known for Madame Bovary (1947), Tu cuna fue un conventillo (1925) and La loba (1924). She was married to Carlos Goicoechea and Segundo Pomar. She died on 18 September 1983 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Music Department
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Mark Selby was born in 1961 in Enid, Oklahoma, USA. He was an actor, known for Only the Brave (2017), Steps to the Stars (2000) and SpotlightON Unique Music Television (2004). He was married to Tia Sillers. He died on 18 September 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.- Composer
- Director
- Writer
Mauricio Kagel was born on 24 December 1931 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was a composer and director, known for Antithese (1965), Pas de cinq (1966) and Ludwig van (1970). He was married to Ursula Burghardt. He died on 18 September 2008 in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Norifumi Yamamoto was born on 15 March 1977 in Japan. He was married to Miyu. He died on 18 September 2018 in Guam.
- Pamela Brown trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). Her first appearance was as "Juliet" in "Romeo and Juliet" at Stratford-on-Avon in 1936. She followed this with a variety of roles for the Old Vic Company in London. She appeared on Broadway in the 1947 production of "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde. Her screen debut was in One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942) for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. She went on to star in two more of Powell's films and they lived together until her unfortunately early death from cancer. Her memorable face with eyes you can drown in & a resonant voice always made Pamela an actress worth watching. She was often cast as an eccentric or mysterious character which suited her perfectly.
- Peg Entwistle was born on February 5, 1908 in Port Talbot, Wales at the home of her maternal grandparents, John and Caroline Stevenson because Caroline was to act as midwife. Peg's mother was Emily Stevenson Entwistle and her father was actor/ stage manager Robert Symes Entwistle (1872-1922). They married on November 3, 1904. When mother and child were able to travel, the family returned to their modest home in the London neighborhood of West Kensington where Peg spent the first few years of her life.
Both Robert and his brother Charles Harold Entwistle were actors. This no doubt influenced Peg Entwistle's acting aspirations from a very early age. So much of Robert and Peg's history is tied to Charles because it was Charles who was their lifeline, the one who saved the day, time after time. By 1908 when Peg was born, both brothers were working steadily as actors. Charles Entwistle not only had more experience, he had better contacts. His New York employer was famous stage producer Charles Frohman who, with his two brothers Daniel and Gustave Frohman, owned or had access to over 800 theaters in Europe and the United States. Charles Entwistle trained as an actor in Paris and Heidelberg, but it was his great organizational skills that showed he was best suited to working as a manager and business agent in England. He was accustomed to dealing with actor contracts, touring arrangements, and temperamental theater owners. In 1906, producer Charles Frohman paid Charles Entwistle's way to America and introduced him to the Broadway stage. It was around this time that Frohman gave him the job of managing the great Shakespearean actor Walter Hampden. They became fast friends which lasted until Charles Entwistle's death in 1944. At least once a year, Charles Frohman sailed from New York to Europe, to check on his theaters and to shop for new plays. As a valued employee, Charles Entwistle often accompanied him and was trusted to manage Frohman's affairs in his absence.
Peg's father Robert evidently got enough work as an actor to comfortably take care of his family because while their home was not lavish, it was in a London neighborhood where the homes were slightly upscale. No doubt it probably came as quite a surprise to their family, friends and neighbors when Robert Entwistle decided to divorce his wife Emily in 1910. After a bitter custody dispute, Robert was granted full custody of his two year old daughter. However he lied when he told Peg that her mother had died. Peg believed it, because she never saw her mother again. But, she wasn't dead.
Years later when Robert Entwistle died in 1922, Peg was 14 years old. There was a mysterious statement in Robert Entwistle's Last Will and Testament dated December 15, 1922 in which Robert Entwistle stated: " Millicent Lilian Entwistle is the daughter of my first wife whom I divorced and the custody of my said daughter was awarded to me. I do not desire said daughter to be at any time in the custody or control of her said mother."
If Emily Stevenson were dead, such a statement would not have been necessary at all. Her Uncle Charles verified that her mother did not die in 1910 as she was told, that her parents had divorced in 1910 because Emily Stevenson had been having an affair with an actor named Julius Shaw who later died in 1918 during WWI. This explanation, in part, explains Robert's mysterious statement.
The date of the letter and Will are suspicious because they were dated December 15, 1922, almost 12 years after her mother supposedly died. The date is also suspect because Robert Entwistle was hit by the limo on the evening of November 2, 1922, and was in a coma until he died on December 19, 1922. He was likely heavily medicated due to his injuries which according to the interview Charles Entwistle gave to the New York Times, his ribs and his spine were lodged in his brain. Robert Entwistle could not have been of sound mind to authorize the Will or the letter.
The year 1910 was momentous for King Edward VII too. When he died, everything stopped for about a year. For the coronation of his successor, King George V, celebrations were planned on a grand scale. Charles Entwistle's employer, producer Charles Frohman was chosen for the planning committee to choose and schedule the festivities at His Majesty's Theater in London. To perform Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, the committee chose Robert and Charles Entwistle. Peg, at not quite three years old, had a ringside seat to watch her father and uncle perform for King Edward V and Queen Mary.
When the festivities were over, Charles Entwistle went back to work in New York and Robert stayed in England to raise Peg with help from his family. In 1911, Charles Entwistle, age 45, met successful stage actress Jane Ross, age 26. Their courtship consisted of commuting back and forth between stage work in New York and relaxing at her ranch in Santa Monica, California. They married on June 5, 1912 at her family's home in Ohio. When they returned from their honeymoon, they were hired by the Shubert brothers to tour the United States with one play after another with short and long engagements. In April 1913, Charles and his bride sailed back to England on the SS Olympic so Jane could meet Robert, Peg and the rest of the Entwistle family. His employer, Charles Frohman also happened to be traveling on the SS Olympic. After dinner, Charles Entwistle inquired if Frohman had an open position for his brother Robert. Charles Frohman promised to hire him initially as a stage manager and to bring Robert and his daughter to New York.
Charles Frohman interviewed Robert Entwistle in England and hired him as stage manager in Frohman's New York theaters. Charles, Jane, Robert and Peg sailed from England on the SS Chicago and arrived in New York on July 29, 1913, marking Peg's official move to the US. Various accounts give the year 1916 as the year Robert and Peg 'first' sailed from England to New York on the SS Philadelphia. They did sail on the SS Philadelphia in 1916, but that was not Robert's or Peg's first trip. The reason their names were on the ship's 1916 manifest was because Robert, Peg, new wife Lauretta, Charles and Jane were sailing home to England from New York to attend a family reunion. Further proof was that Robert had been working on plays in the United States several times since 1912 with Charles Frohman's touring companies. It is Jane's diary that documents everyone's movements from 1911 onward when she first met Charles Entwistle, proving that Robert Entwistle and his daughter had sailed to the United States long before the 1916 date.
When Charles Entwistle introduced his new wife to his brother, Robert was bowled over and not so jokingly inquired if she had any sisters. She did.
From July 1913 on, life got busy and stayed busy. Rehearsals began for Robert's Broadway debut in The Younger Generation at Charles Frohman's Lyceum Theater which was scheduled for September 1913. That same month, Robert Entwistle was introduced to Jane's sister Lauretta Ross who would become his second wife. While Robert enjoyed acting and being a stage manager, more than anything he wanted to own his own business and raise a family. He opened a specialty shop on Madison Avenue where he made elaborate gift boxes for wealthy clients.
On July 29, 1914, Robert and Lauretta were married in Clarklake, Michigan. Peg was six years old and stayed with her new Ross relatives while her father and her new mother went on their honeymoon to Niagara Falls. In September 1914, the New York Times reviewed the Broadway production of The Beautiful Adventure with Robert Entwistle's name simply as a mention on the cast list. Meanwhile, Charles and Jane began the transition from stage plays in New York to making motion pictures in California. Charles already made his directorial debut and he felt that films were the next step. Peg spent a lot of time at both her father's home and her uncle's two homes. She was introduced to Jane's Santa Monica ranch, and enjoyed spending time in the stables.
On May 7, 1915, the RMS Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-boat and over 1198 people were killed. Among the passengers who were killed was Charles Frohman, the Entwistle's New York employer. His body (#24) was recovered the next day. There were several memorial tributes held in the US and in England. Robert, Lauretta and Peg Entwistle attended his funeral with Charles Entwistle's friend Walter Hampden and his wife Mabel Moore. Charles and Jane attended one of the memorials held in California.
Robert and Lauretta had two sons: Milton Ross Entwistle was born in 1917. He died in 2018 at the age of 100. Robert Bleaks Entwistle was born in 1919. He died in 2004 at age 85. Tragedy struck this family again and again: On April 2, 1921, Lauretta died suddenly from meningitis leaving Robert with 14 year old Peg, 4 year old Milton and 2 year old Robert. Charles and Jane came to the rescue to help out as did the Ross family in Ohio and Michigan. Then, a little over a year later, at 10:30pm on November 2, 1922 (Election Day), Peg's father, Robert was struck by a limousine driver on Park Avenue at 72nd Street after leaving his Madison Avenue specialty shop. The limo driver was observed looking at the injured man lying on the ground, then he ran back to the limo and quickly drove away. A man and woman at the scene transported Robert Entwistle to the Accident Ward at Presbyterian Hospital where it was determined that he was in a coma due to his injuries. When he was stabilized, Robert Entwistle was moved to Bellevue Hospital and then moved one last time to Prospect Heights Hospital, a private hospital in Brooklyn. None of the pedestrian observers wrote down the correct license number of the limo. Robert Entwistle lay in coma for 47 days and died on December 18th, 1922 at Prospect Heights Hospital. His brother Charles Harold Entwistle said, when he was interviewed by the New York Times at his Hotel Flanders suite, that Robert's spine was broken in two places and had penetrated the brain which was the actual cause of death. The newspaper reported that Robert was about 50 years old, and left three children: Millicent, age 15, Milton, age 5, and Robert, age 4. His body was taken to Cincinnati and buried next to his second wife Lauretta Ross Entwistle in Oak Hill Cemetery in Glendale, Ohio.
Charles and Jane Entwistle adopted Peg, Milton and Robert. In 1924, they enrolled Peg in Henry Jewett's Repertory School in Boston to study acting. She was one of the Henry Jewett Players and studied with famed director & actress, Blanche Yurka. In 1925, Charles Entwistle's friend and employer, actor Walter Hampden, gave Peg her first Broadway role in his production of Hamlet, starring Ethel Barrymore. It was an uncredited walk-on part where she carried the King's train and brought in the poison cup, but it was enough for Peg to attract the attention of scouts from the prestigious New York Theatre Guild. She was the youngest actress ever to be recruited. At age 17, Peg played the role of Hedvig in the 1925 production of Henrik Ibsen's "The Wild Duck." It was after seeing this play that Bette Davis said to her mother that she wanted to be exactly like Peg Entwistle. She claimed Peg was her inspiration to study acting.
Peg went on to play good supporting roles with Dorothy Gish, Laurette Taylor, Henry Travers, William Gillette, Robert Cummings, Romney Brent, and other famous directors, producers, actors and actresses. George M. Cohan personally directed her in one of his original Broadway comedies. Peg traveled around the country as a representative of the Guild during a special tour celebrating the Theatre Guild's ten-year birthday. The tour was orchestrated by the great Bernard Shaw. Peg received rave reviews in each play, including plays the critics did not like. Her longest running play was the 1927 hit play Tommy starring Sidney Toler. It ran for 232 performances and is the play for which Peg is most remembered.
On April 18, 1927, Peg married actor Robert Keith in the chapel of the New York City Clerk's office. Keith, who was also a writer, notably "The Tightwad," wasn't exactly truthful with her. Nearly a year after they married, Peg learned that Robert had been married twice before and had a son by his second wife that he was now expected to take care of while his mother, stage actress Helen Shipman, toured with plays. In 1928, feeling there was no other choice, Peg became the stepmother of Robert's son, a child actor named Brian, who grew up to become Brian Keith, star of the 1960's TV series Family Affair (aired 1966-1971). Peg divorced Robert Keith in May of 1929 on the grounds of infidelity, cruelty and concealing that he had a child. Robert Keith married again in 1930 to Dorothy Tierney and remained married till he died in 1966 at age 68. His son Brian Keith committed suicide (by gunshot) at age 75 on June 24, 1997. He left a suicide note saying he was in despair about his health problems (lung cancer) and depressed because he missed his daughter Daisy Keith Sampson, an actress who starred with Brian Keith on Heartland, who had committed suicide two months prior on April 16, 1997.
In 1932, after the popular James Barrie revival of "Alice Sit-By-The-Fire" was pulled because of problems with the star actress, Laurette Taylor, Peg Entwistle was brought out to Los Angeles by producers Edward DeBlasio and Homer Curran especially to co-star opposite Billie Burke and Humphrey Bogart in a tryout production of Romney Brent's "The Mad Hopes." The show was a huge smash and Peg was again given accolades. Three days after the production had ended, Peg was in her room at her uncle and aunt's California house at 2428 Beachwood Drive, packing to go back to New York, when RKO Pictures called. They asked if she would come in to do a screen test. She did and was soon signed to a small role in David O. Selznick's Thirteen Women (1932), with Irene Dunne and Myrna Loy. The film was a flop despite the talents of movie stars like Irene Dunne and Myrna Loy. Peg's contract was not renewed.
It was the worst year of The Great Depression. Money was tight for everyone. Peg was broke and had no way to get back to New York. There were no stage roles to be had in Los Angeles. In her mind, with no prospects, everything seemed hopeless. On Friday evening, September 16th, 1932, Peg left a note for her Uncle Charles and Aunt Jane Entwistle saying that she was going to visit friends and to buy some books. On Sunday, September 18th, 1932, a hiker found Peg's coat, one of her shoes and her purse containing her suicide note. The hiker saw her body lying about one hundred feet below the 50-foot tall letter "H" of the Hollywoodland sign. She gathered up Peg's things, went to the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollywood Station and left them on their step. Then the hiker called Central Station to report where she left the items and to give them the location of the body.
When police found her body, they believed that Peg had climbed up a workman's ladder that had been leaning up against the back of the letter "H" and she jumped head-first to her death. The note found in Peg's purse read: "I am afraid, I am a coward. I am sorry for everything. If I had done this a long time ago, it would have saved a lot of pain. P.E." (the initials of her name). An autopsy was performed showing the cause of death was internal bleeding caused by "multiple fractures of the pelvis." No alcohol was present. Because of no identification found in her purse, it took two days for her uncle to recognize the details from a newspaper report and to come forward to identify her body.
Peg's only film credit was Thirteen Women (1932) starring Myrna Loy and Irene Dunne. It was produced by David O Selznick and was released about one month after her death on October 14, 1932.
The nickname, "The Hollywoodland Sign Girl" was given by an editor at the now defunct Los Angeles Herald Examiner newspaper.
Peg is buried in the family plot with her father and her stepmother Lauretta in Oak Hill Cemetery in Glendale, Ohio. (not to be confused with Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, CA).
Charles Harold Entwistle (b. September 5, 1866 - d. April 1, 1944) died at the age of 77. Jane Ross Entwistle (b. December 22, 1885 - d. January 14, 1957) died at the age of 71. Both are buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, CA.
Milton Ross Entwistle was cremated when he died at age 100 on February 1, 2018.
Robert Bleaks Entwistle died on October 31, 2004 at age 85 and is buried in Valhalla Memorial Park in North Hollywood, CA
What a talented family, some of whom met with their own tragic ends. Although she only made one film, it is Peg's stage accomplishments for which she should be most remembered. But unfortunately, she will always be remembered as the only person to ever jump to her death from the Hollywoodland sign. - Director
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