Birthdays: December 24
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Louis Tomlinson was born on 24 December 1991 in Doncaster, England, UK. He is an actor and composer, known for iCarly (2007), Unforgotten (2015) and Family Guy (1999).- Abigail Klein was born on 24 December 1988 in Dallas, Texas, USA. She is an actress, known for Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), That's My Boy (2012) and Butterfly Caught (2017).
- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Akinwunmi Ishola was born in 1939 in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. He was a writer and actor, known for Efunsetan Aniwura (1981), Efunsetan Aniwura (2005) and Kòseégbé (1995). He died on 17 February 2018 in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.- Alberto Locatti was born in 1935 in Villa Crespo, Buenos Aires City, Distrito Federal, Argentina. He was an actor, known for El mago de las finanzas (1962), La chacota (1962) and Cristóbal Colón en la facultad de medicina (1962). He died on 13 December 2007 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Actor
- Producer
Amaury Nolasco was born in Puerto Rico. He is an actor and producer, known for Prison Break (2005), A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) and Transformers (2007).- Actress
- Director
- Soundtrack
American actress and singer Ana Brenda Contreras was born in 24 December 1986 in McAllen, Texas, daughter of Blanca Pérez and Efraín Contreras Puente. She lived in Río Bravo and later arrived to Mexico City at age 15 to participate in the reality show "Pop Stars" where she became a finalist and joined the musical band "T'detila". Studied at the Televisa's Centro De Educación Artistica.
Her actress career includes participaciones in soap operas like Barrera De Amor (2005), Duelo de pasiones (2006), Juro que te amo (2008), Sortilegio (2009) and Teresa (2010). She has also participated in films such as "Divina confusion" in 2008 and "Cabeza De Buda" in 2009, as well as the TV series "Tiempo final" and "Mujeres Asesinas" in 2009. She performed in plays such as "Aladino", "Vaselina" and "Timbiriche, el musical". She is currently starring the soap opera "La que no podia amar" (2011).- Actor
- Producer
- Music Department
Living in a Chawl in Tilak Nagar, Punjabi-speaking Anil was born in 1959 to Surinder and Nirmal aka Suchitra Kapoor. He has an elder brother, Boney, a sister, Reena, and a younger brother, Sanjay. His dad used to be Shammi Kapoor's Secretary.
A loner, without many friends, he studied in the nearby O.L.P.S. (Our Lady of Perpetual Succor) School, and was an ardent fan of Bollywood flicks that were telecast during the Ganesh Maha Utsav every year. He was a fan of Raj Kapoor, and it was this that influenced his acting, and people saw him as a mimic of the legendary showman. He landed a role as a child artiste with Shashi Kapoor in the lead, but the movie (Tu Payal Main Geet) was never released.
After school, he went to study in St. Xaviers College. He commuted by bus and train from Chembur to Bombay V.T., and the walked the rest of the way. It was here that he met Mazhar Khan. A distracted Anil was kicked out of College in the second year due to his lack of presence. His attempts to join the Pune Film Institute were in vain, as he failed in the written examination. He then decided to join Roshan Taneja's Acting school.
He first appeared on the silver screen in Hamhare Tumhare in a character role. His first lead role was in 'Woh 7 Din' and from thence on there has been no looking back. He has acted in close to a 100 movies, and has 5 in production. He has produced two movies (Gandhi My Father & Badhaai Ho Badhaai), as well as been a Casting Director/Outdoor In charge for 'Hum Paanch'.
Kapoor's first role in an international film was in Danny Boyle's 2008 Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, for which he shared the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. His performance in the eighth season of the action series 24 generated rave reviews from the American press Globally, Anil Kapoor is one of the most recognized Indian actors.
Anil met wealthy and chic model, Sindhi-speaking Sunita Bhambhani, and married her in 1984. Since then they have given birth to 3 children, kapoor has two daughters and a son Harshwardhan Kapoor.Kapoor's elder daughter is actress Sonam Kapoor. Rhea Kapoor attended school in New York and is now a producer in Mumbai.- Actor
- Producer
Apache Ramos was born on 24 December 1953 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Warriors (1979), The Ungovernable Force (2015) and The Genesis Project (2014). He has been married to Rae Chamblee-Ramos since 12 October 1984. They have one child.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Austin Stowell was born and raised in Kensington, Connecticut, by his father, Robert, a retired steelworker, and his mother, Elizabeth, a schoolteacher. He graduated from Berlin High School in 2003. Upon acceptance at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut, he studied with the Department of Dramatic Arts, a division of the School of Fine Arts. He performed in several productions with the Connecticut Repertory Theatre, including Julius Caesar, It Can't Happen Here, and As You Like It. Stowell graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2007.- Actress
- Stunts
- Soundtrack
Ava Lavina Gardner was born on December 24, 1922 in Grabtown, North Carolina, to Mary Elizabeth (née Baker) and Jonas Bailey Gardner. Born on a tobacco farm, where she got her lifelong love of earthy language and going barefoot, Ava grew up in the rural South. At age 18, her picture in the window of her brother-in- law's New York photo studio brought her to the attention of MGM, leading quickly to Hollywood and a film contract based strictly on her beauty. With zero acting experience, her first 17 film roles, 1942-1945, were one-line bits or little better. After her first starring role in B-grade Whistle Stop (1946), MGM loaned her to Universal for her first outstanding film The Killers (1946). Few of her best films were made at MGM which, keeping her under contract for 17 years, used her popularity to sell many mediocre films. Perhaps as a result, she never believed in her own acting ability, but her latent talent shone brightly when brought out by a superior director, as with John Ford in Mogambo (1953) and George Cukor in Bhowani Junction (1956).
After three failed marriages, dissatisfaction with Hollywood life prompted Ava to move to Spain in 1955; most of her subsequent films were made abroad. By this time, stardom had made the country girl a cosmopolitan, but she never overcame a deep insecurity about acting and life in the spotlight. Her last quality starring film role was in The Night of the Iguana (1964), her later work being (as she said) strictly "for the loot". In 1968, tax trouble in Spain prompted a move to London, where she spent her last 22 years in reasonable comfort. Her film career did not bring her great fulfillment, but her looks may have made it inevitable; many fans still consider her the most beautiful actress in Hollywood history. Ava Gardner died at age 67 of bronchial pneumonia on January 25, 1990 in Westminister, London, England.- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Barry Chuckle was born on 24 December 1944 in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for ChuckleVision (1987), Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (2002) and The Freddie Starr Showcase (1983). He was married to Ann Elliott. He died on 5 August 2018 in England, UK.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Ben Geurens was born on 24 December 1979 in Australia. He is an actor and director, known for Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023), Locusts (2019) and The Jesters (2009).- Director
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Bill Siegel was born on 24 December 1962 in Orlando, Florida, USA. He was a director and producer, known for The Weather Underground (2002), The Trials of Muhammad Ali (2013) and Independent Lens (1999). He was married to Lauren Goffen. He died on 11 December 2018 in the USA.- Bob Smith was born on 24 December 1958 in Buffalo, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for Side by Side by Susan Blackwell (2009), Outlaugh! (2006) and CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival (2002). He died on 20 January 2018 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Director
- Producer
- Actor
Breck Eisner was born on 24 December 1970 in California, USA. He is a director and producer, known for The Crazies (2010), The Expanse (2015) and Sahara (2005). He has been married to Georgia Irwin Eisner since 24 June 2006.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Burak Ozcivit was born in Istanbul on December 24, 1984. He has a BA degree and he is graduated from Marmara University, Faculty of Fine Arts. In 2003, he was elected the Top Model of Turkey and he began working with Model Agencies. In 2005, he was chosen the second best model of the world and he took part in the most important fashion shows throughout the world. Then, he began his life of actor especially in Musallat (Impossible love).- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Camille Balsamo was born on 24 December 1988 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Murder in the First (2014), Harbinger Down (2015) and The Paperboy (2012).- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Carmen has had an extensive career in film and television for over 25 years, with prominent roles in many fan favorite shows.
With a start in local theatre in Vancouver she quickly gained recognition with a couple of Jesse nominations. Auditions for film started a slew of guest starring and recurring roles on many popular TV series. From 2004-2005 Carmen played one of the leads, "Simone", in Vancouver's "Godiva's" and was nominated for her first Leo (BC Film/Television Awards) for her performance as the mysterious, sexy bartender. After Godiva's Carmen played the leading role of "Rebecca" in the Canadian Independent Feature Film "Unnatural & Accidental" and was honored for her performance with the Women in Film & Video Artistic Merit Award at the Vancouver Film Festival in 2006. She played the leading role of "Leona Stoney" for 5 seasons in APTN's multi-award winning Blackstone for which she won the 2011 Leo award and was nominated for a Gemini award; was nominated for another Leo in 2012 and 2015, and won the 2014 Leo Award and the 2016 Leo Award. She was nominated for a 2017 Canadian Screen Award for her performance in Blackstone's Series Finale. Carmen played "Loreen Cassway" for the 3 seasons of CBC's "Arctic Air" with Adam Beach, for which she was nominated for a Leo Award in 2012. The past few years have had her recurring on "Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce", "Arrow", "iZombie", "Chesapeake Shores" and the Fox series "Second Chance" in which she played "Special Agent in Charge Sue Adair". 2018 proved to be an exciting year. She found herself overseas in Scotland running through the forest with Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe aka "Jamie and Claire" as the fierce warrior "Wahkatiiosta" in Starz hit TV series "Outlander" Season 4. Once home, she jetted off to Quebec to shoot the leading role of "Susan Russel" in the Indy feature "Rustic Oracle", the story of a Mohawk woman desperately searching for her missing teenage daughter; meeting racism, ignorance, and indifference in the years following the Oka crises. Told through the lens of her 8-year-old daughter "Ivy" played by the brilliant "Lake Delisle". With several awards from film festivals (including two for Carmen so far for her heart wrenching performance) , Rustic is set for limited theatrical release across Canada soon. She was then off again near the end of 2018...and found herself in Ireland as a recurring guest star on another hit series...which she unfortunately is under strict gag orders about...more on that to come later ;) 2020 has Carmen guest starring in CTV's 4th Season of "Cardinal" as "Shiela Gagne", MLA and mysterious wife to district attorney Robert Quillen, as well as recurring as "Hannah Gruen" on The CW's "Nancy Drew".
Carmen was honored at the 2013 UBCP/ACTRA Awards with the "Lorena Gale Woman of Distinction Award", for her contribution to the empowerment of women in the Vancouver Film Industry. She has producing credits on two Feature Films, "Two Indians Talking" and "White Indians Walking", as well as a short film "Not Indian Enough". Carmen made her directorial debut on the short film "Ariel Unraveling", a BravoFact award winner, in 2015. Ariel premiered in February 2016 at the Victoria Film Festival.
Her biggest and most important production to date is her son Jaden.- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Carol Vorderman was born on 24 December 1960 in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for W1A (2014), Trollied (2011) and Mr Blobby: Mr Blobby (1993).- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Caroline Aherne was born on 24 December 1963 in Ealing, London, England, UK. She was an actress and writer, known for The Royle Family (1998), The Mrs. Merton Show (1995) and Mrs Merton & Malcolm (1999). She was married to Peter Hook. She died on 2 July 2016 in Timperley, Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England, UK.- Actor
- Casting Director
- Soundtrack
Cengiz Bozkurt was born on 24 December 1965 in Nevsehir, Turkey. He is an actor and casting director, known for Losers' Club (2011), Coming Soon (2014) and Leyla and Mecnun (2011).- Christiane Schmidtmer was born in Mannheim, Germany. She took acting lessons in Munich and worked in the stage in Germany from 1961-1963, then turned to photographic modeling for German nude magazines and later, Playboy. She also modeled for advertising companies, namely Max Factor cosmetics, before she started her movie career.
She was the beautiful mistress of José Ferrer in Ship of Fools (1965), but most people will remember her as the evil wardress in the exploitation women-in-prison film, The Big Doll House (1971), as well as one of the three airline stewardesses in Boeing, Boeing (1965). - Actor
- Director
- Producer
Clarence Gilyard Jr. was born on 24 December 1955 in Moses Lake, Washington, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Die Hard (1988), Walker, Texas Ranger (1993) and Top Gun (1986). He was married to Elena Castillo and Catherine Dutko. He died on 28 November 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Cristina Umana was born on the 24th of December in Colombia. Today she is doing what she dreamed of as a child: acting. Known by the public for her performances as Robin, Paquita Gallego and Lorenza, she has achieved a decade of professional acting experience. Cristina has performed in theater, television and film.
Her first steps as an actress began with childhood games in her birthplace, Ibagué, Colombia. At age nine, Cristina moved to Bogotá, where she took part in short literature and theater workshops as well as dramatizing some of her pieces of homework at school. Her evident talent led her to become part of the school's ("Las esclavas del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus") theater group.
When she was 18 years old, Cristina decided to travel to Mexico to study acting. In Mexico, Cristina was granted a scholarship by the production company "Televisa", and during a three year period she studied and learned the acting profession at the company's Center for Artistic Education - CEA. There, she demonstrated her great talent and was involved in several end of term stage productions.
Nostalgia for family and friends motivated Cristina to move back to Colombia, where she was chosen to star in the youth series "Cartas a Harrison" by the then production company "Punch". Therafter, she was selected out of 40 actresses for the part of Robin in "La mujer del presidente", a Caracol TV production. These performances won her critical acclaim and as a result Cristina won the "Shock" and "Tv Novelas" awards that year.
Shortly after, production company RTI spotted Cristina's talent and gave her the starring role in the soap opera "Yo amo a Paquita Gallego". This production achieved great success and public acceptance, and as a result both the magazines "Tv y Novelas" and "Semana" voted Cristina as personality of the year.
During this period Cristina was also asked to star in Jorge Echevery's feature film: "Malamor". In this production Cristina plays the role of a confused teenager who develops destructive behaviors. The film won national public acceptance and was also featured at the Moscow film festival.
In addition to all this, Cristina continued training in order to reinforce her acting technique; she took short courses on dramaturgy, clown and physical training.
Having finished her work commitments in Colombia, Cristina soon left the country again for a few months; this time she visited Spain, France, Italy, Germany and the Czech Republic.
A proposal from production company Caracol to star in soap opera "Traga Maluca" forced Cristina to stop her travels and return to Colombia. During that time she also starred in the theater play "Como aprendi a manejar" and the short film "Quien paga el pato?". At the end of this period, Cristina packed her bags again and moved to New York, where she took part in a workshop with John Stransberg.
Cristina came back to Colombia and again signed a contract with Caracol to act in soap opera "Siete veces amada". That same year Cristina got married to musician Cesar Lopez, and got divorced two years later.
Around that same time, Cristina played as "Blanca" in the film "El Rey"; thereafter working in two productions by RCN: "Punto de Giro" and "Todos quieren con Marilyn". In the latter she performed the character of Lorenza, which earned Cristina the "Tv y Novelas" award for best villain.
Cristina went back to theater to star, alongside Fabio Rubiano, Fanny Mickey's "Hombres en Escabeche", which played for a period of five months. This play, which was comprised of various monologues, allowed Cristina to demonstrate her comedy skills and her ability to memorize long texts.
Together with a theater director and four other actresses, Cristina has recently developed her own independent theatrical project. So far they have performed the play "Carta a una desconocida". This is a current project with an independent and novel approach that looks for new and private spaces for public performance.
Currently Cristina is working on a Caracol television series, which will portray the experiences of a group of people that survive an air accident.- Music Department
- Soundtrack
David Bartholomew was born on 24 December 1918 in Edgard, Louisiana, USA. He is known for The Blues Brothers (1980), Gangster Squad (2013) and Road House (1989). He was married to Pearl and Rhea Douse. He died on 23 June 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.Dave Bartholomew- David Arkin was born on 24 December 1941 in Los Angeles County, California, USA. He was an actor, known for M*A*S*H (1970), All the President's Men (1976) and The Long Goodbye (1973). He was married to Anne E. Curry, Deborah Lee Lubin and Lynn Coleman Gillham. He died on 14 January 1991 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Location Management
- Actor
Richard Powell was born on 24 December 1950 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Alien Nation (1988), Brother (2000) and Midnight Man (1995). He was married to Linda Rae Boatman-Iversen. He died on 5 April 2022 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Diedrich Bader was born in Alexandria, Virginia, but moved to Paris, France, with his family at age two. While in the "City of Light" he developed an appreciation for movie legends like Fred Astaire and Charles Chaplin. So, when a fragile "Chaplin" movie reel burned in the theater's projector, four-year-old Bader hopped on stage and entertained the crowd with an imitation of the "Little Tramp." The standing ovation he received set the course for the rest of his life--he knew he wanted to perform.
He returned to the United States for high school and attended North Carolina School of the Arts. During spring break he was discovered by a casting director in Santa Fe, New Mexico. That meeting led to an audition for a small role in a TV pilot. Bader landed a starring role instead. Although the pilot wasn't picked up, Bader moved to Los Angeles and began auditioning for other roles. He landed guest spots on several series, including Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990), Cheers (1982) and Quantum Leap (1989). Filmmaker Penelope Spheeris liked his tongue-in-cheek delivery when he read for her action-adventure spoof series, Danger Theatre (1993). She hired him in that role and for the feature film The Beverly Hillbillies (1993), which she directed. Bader played the dual roles of twins Jethro and Jethrine Beaudine. He also filmed the political thriller The Assassination File (1996) for the Encore Entertainment Group. Bader was excited to work on the project, as it allowed him to be shot in the head -- a first for the actor. Bader's father, William, was Chief of Staff for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is president of the Eurasia Foundation on Capitol Hill. His mother, Gretta, is a sculptor whose portrait of the late Sen. J. William Fulbright sits in the National Gallery in Washington, DC. Bader's wife is actress Dulcy Rogers; they reside in Los Angeles, CA.- Donald Paul was born in Boynton Beach, Florida and was raised down the road in Delray Beach, Florida. Donald attended the University of Maryland at college park to study theatre and later moving to New York city to attend The American Academy of Dramatic Arts where he would study Drama. Donald is also a hardcore Miami Heat and Miami Dolphins fan.
- Donovan McCrary was born on 24 December 1979 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor, known for Boyz n the Hood (1991), Family Matters (1989) and Sister, Sister (1994).
- Actress
- Producer
Edwige Fenech was born Edwige Sfenek on December 24, 1948, in Bone, Constantine, France, to a Maltese father and an Italian mother. She began her show-business career as a participant in beauty contests (she won the title of "Miss Mannequin de la Cote d'Azur" at age 16 and even won a Miss France beauty contest) and worked as a photo model prior to making her film debut in the comedy Toutes folles de lui (1967). She appeared in such saucy West German sex farces as Alle Kätzchen naschen gern (1969) and Sexy Susan Sins Again (1968).
With her lustrous and long black hair, lovely and sensuous face, full shapely figure and smoldering screen presence, Edwige soon became a very popular and much sought-after actress in a diverse array of European productions made in Italy, France, Spain and West Germany. She achieved her greatest enduring cult cinema popularity by starring in several superior Italian giallos for director Sergio Martino: The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1971), They're Coming to Get You! (1972) and Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972) (she was the onetime girlfriend of Martino's producer brother, Luciano Martino).
Edwige also acted for Martino in a handful of racy Italian sex comedies and the Italian mini-series Delitti privati (1993). Other noted Italian film directors Fenech has worked for are Mario Bava (Five Dolls for an August Moon (1970)), Giuliano Carnimeo (The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972)), Andrea Bianchi (Strip Nude for Your Killer (1975)), Umberto Lenzi (The Biggest Battle (1978)), Steno (Dr. Jekyll Likes Them Hot (1979)), Dino Risi (Sono fotogenico (1980)) and Ruggero Deodato (Phantom of Death (1987)).
She demonstrated her exceptional range and skill as an actress with enjoyably uninhibited performances in such amusingly bawdy Italian comedic romps as Quel gran pezzo della Ubalda tutta nuda e tutta calda (1972) and The School Teacher (1975). Edwige became a television personality in the 1980s and made frequent appearances on an Italian chat show along with fellow giallo goddess Barbara Bouchet. Moreover, Fenech launched her own fashion line and founded her own film production company, Immagine e Cinema S.r.l., with her son Edwin Fenech (she co-produced the 2004 film The Merchant of Venice (2004) as well as various Italian TV mini-series and made-for-TV features).
In the mid-1990s Edwige was engaged to famous Italian industrialist Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. She made a welcome return to acting with a small but funny part as an alluring art class professor in Eli Roth's Hostel: Part II (2007).- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
As a star of both English- and Spanish-language television programming, Eva Tamargo has carved out two unique spaces within which her career can be categorized: as a Hispanic icon, and as a prominent example of the rich multiculturalism that exists within the United States and continues to play an expanding role in American television. Born in Brooklyn to Cuban journalist Augustin Tamargo and Rosalba Nápoles, the actress honed her craft studying under Sam Waterston, William Hickey and Dorothy Dorff and would go on to work in television, radio, commercials and theatre- most notably with New York's Repertorio Español- in both English and Spanish. Although Tamargo is an accomplished actress across a variety of entertainment mediums, she is unquestionably best known as a star of daytime television, where she has been a mainstay for Hispanic representation for nearly three decades. In 1999 the actress would go on to star in one of her biggest roles with the quirky NBC soap Passions.
Premiering on July 5, 1999, Passions is like most telenovelas with its focus on a large ensemble cast of characters, which in this case is divided into a set of diverse families residing in New England. Tamargo was still able to rack up two ALMA Award nominations for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama, first in 2002 and again in 2008, the final year that the soap was on the air.
Tamargo's character on OWN's The Haves and the Have Nots may be the role that best fits the categorization of the femme fatale. As Celine Gonzales. While the actress will always be best known for her work in scripted programming, especially on daytime television, her brief work with unscripted content is monumental in meaning within the broader scope of the portrayal of Hispanic women on television. As the host of Telemundo's 2003 unscripted dating show La Cenicienta, Tamargo brought attention to the cultural nuances of dating for Hispanic women, as the series followed the experience of Minerva Ruvalcaba, a single mother in search of love. Across various Hispanic cultures, there is a high value placed on women remaining abstinent until marriage. Tamargo's involvement bolstered the show's credibility. Speaking of the show and its premise, Tamargo emphasized the importance of such a program in showing young Hispanic women that "there is a second chance in life." La Cenicienta showed a willingness to explore the breaking of cultural taboos without a sense of judgment, furthering the importance of Tamargo's career in what it has meant for diverse representation of Hispanic women in both fictional and non-fictional contexts. Throughout her career, Eva Tamargo has been a mainstay for Hispanic representation on daytime television. Through small roles and iconic ones, as a strongly hated character and as the host of a groundbreaking reality series, the actress has consistently demonstrated her range as a performer. As the industry continues to push for more Hispanic representation onscreen, it can already look back at Eva Tamargo as one of its early trailblazers.- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Franz Waxman (Wachsmann) pursued his dream of a career in music despite his family's misgivings. He worked for several years as a bank teller and paid for piano, harmony and composition lessons with his salary. He later moved to Berlin, where he continued his study and progress as a musician. He was able to support himself by playing and arranging for a popular German jazz band, Weintraub Syncopaters, in the late 1920s. Friedrich Hollaender, who had written some music for the Weintraubs, gave Waxman his first chance to move into movie scoring by hiring him to orchestrate and conduct Hollander's score (an arrangement of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) for the film that launched Marlene Dietrich, The Blue Angel (1930), directed by Josef von Sternberg. During 1932 Waxman, a Jew, joined many other Jews leaving Germany as the Nazi vise closed irrevocably on free society. He continued working with Germanfilm makers in France. Waxman did musical arranging and co-scoring, usually with Allan Gray, for approximately 15 European movies (his first independent score was in 1932). "The Blue Angel" producer Erich Pommer liked Waxman's work and offered him the composing job for Liliom (1934), directed by Fritz Lang in France.
Pommer decided to do Music in the Air (1934), a Jerome Kern musical, which meant going to Hollywood. Waxman was asked to come along to do the arranging. Needing no further reason to remain in Europe as the Nazi clouds darkened over it, Waxman began a new chapter in Hollywood film music history. He fortunately had some spare time to study with 'Arnold Schoenberg' after coming to Los Angeles, but he was soon talking to another new arrival, English director James Whale, about scoring Bride of Frankenstein (1935) for Universal. Waxman gave Whale what he wanted--an unusual score to fit the quirky, somewhat over-the-top content of the film (in fact, some of this score was later used in other films). As Waxman worked for Universal through the 1930s, he found himself in assembly-line mode, sometimes sharing scoring credit, and doing a lot of arranging stock music, which was usually used for the studio's many serials. This cranked up Waxman's yearly film output to around 20 or so through 1940.
By 1940, however, he was composing original music scores for other studios, beginning with the romantic music for Selznick Studios' Rebecca (1940)--the first Hollywood film for Alfred Hitchcock--and whimsical fare for MGM's The Philadelphia Story (1940). In 1941 he was doing more work for MGM with Honky Tonk (1941) and his second Hitchcock score, Suspicion (1941) from RKO. By 1943 and for the rest of the decade Waxman was usually scoring for Warner Bros., starting with Destination Tokyo (1943) and including music for some of that studio's classics of the period, such as To Have and Have Not (1944) with Humphrey Bogart. Through the decade he was nominated for an Oscar seven times for Best Film Score.
Waxman moved on to Paramount through the first half of the 1950s and garnered his two Oscars in back--to-back wins for Sunset Boulevard (1950) and A Place in the Sun (1951). This recognition finally underscored what was at the heart of all of Waxman's music: seriously focused attention on relaying a film's story through the content of the music. He would continue his scoring work for several studios into the 1960s, with three more nominations. Some of his music in the 1950s was recycled from his previous scores, as in the case of his third assignment for Hitchcock, Rear Window (1954) which contained used music. Waxman was also active in contemporary classical music. In 1947 he founded the Los Angeles International Music Festival and, as Music Director and Conductor, brought the premieres of works by world renowned contemporary composers to the Los Angeles cultural scene. Among his own output of such music was his popular "Carmen Fantasy" for violin and orchestra. Waxman also composed for TV's Gunsmoke (1955), The Fugitive (1963), Peyton Place (1964) (he had composed the music for the film the series was based on, Peyton Place (1957)) and others. Waxman died relatively young, but because of his steady output, only fellow emigrant Max Steiner (who was nearly 20 years older and whose output entailed more than 200 arrangements of stock music, rather than original scores) was a more prolific early Hollywood composer.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Gavin O'Connor was born on 24 December 1963 in Huntington, Long Island, New York, USA. He is a producer and director, known for The Accountant (2016), Pride and Glory (2008) and Warrior (2011). He has been married to Brooke Burns since 22 June 2013. They have one child. He was previously married to Angela Shelton.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Georgina Barbarossa was born on 24 December 1954 in Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina. She is an actress, known for Tu cara me suena - Argentina (2013), Candy Love (2012) and Ciega a citas (2009). She was previously married to Miguel Lecuna.- Director
- Animation Department
Glenn McQueen was born on 24 December 1960 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was a director, known for A Bug's Life (1998), Toy Story (1995) and Monsters, Inc. (2001). He was married to Audrey Fleisher and Terry McQueen. He died on 29 October 2002 in Berkeley, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Grand L. Bush was born on 24 December 1955 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor, known for Licence to Kill (1989), Die Hard (1988) and Street Fighter: The Movie (1995). He has been married to Sharon Dahlonega since 7 December 1994. They have four children. He was previously married to Romona Jean Bynum.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Harry Warren was born on 24 December 1893 in Brooklyn [now in New York City], New York, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for The Shape of Water (2017), An Affair to Remember (1957) and Sphere (1998). He was married to Josephine Wensler. He died on 22 September 1981 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Composer
- Soundtrack
Héctor Stamponi was born on 24 December 1916 in Campana, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was a composer, known for Carlos Gardel, historia de un ídolo (1964), Pasión dominguera (1970) and Historia Clinica (2012). He died on 3 December 1997 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.- Actress
Helen Brown was born on 16 August 1901 in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, USA. She was an actress, known for Shane (1953), Medic (1954) and Out West with the Peppers (1940). She died on 24 December 1997 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Henny Reents was born on 24 December 1974 in Wittmund, Lower Saxony, Germany. She is an actress, known for Doktor Martin (2007), Les papillons noirs (2022) and Banklady (2013).
- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Director
Billionaire businessman, film producer, film director, and aviator, born in Humble, Texas just north of Houston. He studied at two prestigious institutions of higher learning: Rice University in Houston and California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. Inherited his father's machine tool company in 1923. In 1926 he ventured into films, producing Hell's Angels (1930), Scarface (1932) and The Outlaw (1943). He also founded his own aircraft company, designed, built and flew his own aircraft, and broke several world air speed records (1935-1938). His most famous aircraft, the Hercules (nicknamed "The Spruce Goose"), which was as he discovered, an under-powered wooden seaplane designed to carry 750 passengers. That plane was completed in 1947, but flew only once over a distance of one mile despite having eight Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major engines, among the most powerful radial piston engines of the day. Throughout his life he shunned publicity, eventually becoming a recluse but still controlling his vast business interests from sealed-off hotel suites, and giving rise to endless rumors and speculation. In 1971 an "authorized" biography was announced, but the authors wound up in prison for fraud, and the mystery surrounding him continued until his death in Houston. He is buried in Glenwood Cemetery, Houston- Actor
- Producer
- Director
J.D. Walsh was born on 24 December 1973 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Tremors (2003), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) and Bad Boys II (2003).- Jan Stráský was born on 24 December 1940 in Plzen, Protektorát Cechy a Morava [now Czech Republic]. He died on 6 November 2019 in Sterboholy, Prague, Czech Republic.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Janet began her stage career, right out of high school, at the legendary Kansas City Starlight Theatre, appearing in many many musicals including: "Hello Dolly", "Guys and Dolls"," Mame", "Gypsy", "South Pacific", "Pajama Game", "Carousel" and many others. Janet continued her stage work in California for many years, starring opposite Cloris Leachman in "A Couple of White Chicks", starred with Lynn Redgrave and John Lithgow in "Lady Windemere's Fan", among other productions. Janet made her Broadway debut in "Little Women", alongside Sutton Foster and Maureen McGovern.
Her big break in films came when she was cast as Tom Cruise's mother in Risky Business (1983). From there, she went on to star in numerous films, working almost non-stop till last year. Her films include: Family Business (1989), Memories of Me (1988), Forces of Nature (1999), The Killing Time (1987), Enough (2002), Talent for the Game (1991), "My Guaranteed Student Loan", among many others. Her television career was just as busy, with recurring roles or lead roles in: The Bronx Zoo (1987), Murphy Brown (1988), Melrose Place (1992), Married... with Children (1987), Bonnie (1995), and guest appearances on: Brothers & Sisters (2006), Scrubs (2001), Designing Women (1986), 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996), Mary (1985), etc. Her co- stars includes such luminaries as: Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman, Celeste Holm, Jennifer Lopez, Sandra Bullock, Billy Crystal, Alan King, Ben Affleck, Mary Tyler Moore, Edward Asner, Brad Pitt, Matthew Broderick, Billy Campbell, Lorraine Bracco and Edward James Olmos, to name a few.
Janet won the coveted Los Angeles Drama Logue Critics Award for outstanding achievement in theatre for Ezra Pound's "Electra". For eight years, she was the Artistic Director of The Jazz Series at The Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center, Janet was the co-founder of "The Victory Ball" in Westport CT, annually benefiting ALS Foundation(Lou Gehrig's Disease). She served on the Executive Board of Directors of Ginny Mancini's "Society of Singers" as VP of Development.
Her ashes will be spread in the Edgebrook Lutheran Church Memorial Garden in Chicago, Illinois, in a ceremony to be determined at a later date.- Jason Mayne is known for Jake & Blake (2009) and Hoy nos toca (2017).
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Jason Paul is an actor from Sudbury, Ontario. Before being an actor he worked as a millwright, tech support worker, loss prevention at a Best Buy, and countless administrative jobs. None of it seemed to fit, until one fateful day when his brother in-law called him for a ride to a set, and he got the opportunity to do some featured background work in the movie "Ice Soldiers", starring Dominic Purcell, Adam Beach and Michael Ironside. From there, he knew the direction his life should take.
Finding his passion for creativity took many years, but now that he's found it, he's never letting go.- Jay Frank was a producer, known for I Belong to Me: The Cool Blue Halo Story (2012). He was married to Linda. He died on 13 October 2019 in the USA.
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Jeremy Davidson was born on 24 December 1971 in Vestal, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Salt (2010), Windtalkers (2002) and Tickling Leo (2009). He has been married to Mary Stuart Masterson since 17 February 2007. They have four children. He was previously married to Shari Berkowitz.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Jesús Ochoa was born on 24 December 1959 in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. He is an actor and director, known for Man on Fire (2004), Quantum of Solace (2008) and Get the Gringo (2012).- Actress
- Writer
Jill Bennett was born on 24 December 1931 in Penang, Malaysia. She was an actress and writer, known for The Nanny (1965), For Your Eyes Only (1981) and Moulin Rouge (1952). She was married to John Osborne and Willis Hall. She died on 4 October 1990 in Kensington, London, England, UK.- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Jim Burns was a producer and writer, known for Unplugged (1989), KC & The Sunshine Band: Give It Up (1983) and Autograph: That's the Stuff (1986). He died on 24 December 2017 in New York City, New York, USA.- John Barron was born on Christmas Eve, 1920. A kind godfather paid his training fees at RADA in 1938. During the war, he served in the Navy, then returned to acting after demob, mostly in rep. productions. He soon became a theatre director, and directed Leonard Rossiter in numerous productions throughout the 1950s. His first regular TV role was in Emergency-Ward 10 (1957), which was quickly followed by many sitcoms. Since recording the third series, John has lost two wives: Joan Peart (who played Mrs. E. Blythe-Erpingham in Series Three, Episode Five) died in 1989, after 40 years marriage. His second wife, actress Helen Christie, died in 1995. He now concentrates on theatre work and lives in a cottage in Sussex. His hobbies include fine wines.
- John Critchinson was born on 24 December 1934 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Screen One (1985). He died on 15 December 2017.
- Director
- Cinematographer
- Editor
Jonas Mekas, born December 24, 1922, Semeniskiai, Birzai, Lithuania, is a director, cinematographer, editor, writer, actor, poet, artist and publicist. More than 60 years of tireless work in film, arts and media has earned him the epithet "The Godfather of American Avant-Garde Cinema". In 1944 Jonas Mekas left Lithuania, with his brother Adolfas, because of the war. The both of them were imprisoned in a labor-camp in Elmshorn, Germany. After eight months they escaped to Denmark. By the end of 1949 the Mekas brothers emigrated to the U.S., settling in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. Two weeks after his arrival, he borrowed the money to buy his first Bolex 16mm camera and began to record brief moments of his life. Soon he got deeply involved in the American Avant-Garde film movement. In 1954, together with his brother, he started Film Culture magazine, which soon became the most important film publication in the US. In 1958 Jonas Mekas began his legendary Movie Journal column in the Village Voice. In 1962 he founded the Film-Makers' Cooperative, and in 1964 the Film-Makers' Cinematheque, which eventually grew into Anthology Film Archives, one of the world's largest and most important repositories of avant-garde cinema, and a screening venue. Jonas Mekas film "The Brig" was awarded the Grand Prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1963. Other films include "Walden" (1969), "Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania" (1972), "Lost Lost Lost" (1975), "Scenes from the Life of Andy Warhol" (1990), "Scenes from the Life of George Maciunas" (1992), "As I was Moving Ahead I saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty" (2000), "Letter from Greenpoint" (2005), "Sleepless Nights Stories" (2011) and "Out-takes from the Life of a Happy Man" (2012). In 2007, he completed a series of 365 short films released on the internet -- one film every day -- and since then has continued to share new work on his website. He currently lives and works in New York City.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Jonathan is an award-winning actor who works across television, theatre and film. Recent TV credits include 'Ted Lasso' Series 3 and 'Trying' for Apple TV+; 'Stonehouse' with Matthew Macfadyen; ITV's period-drama 'Belgravia' and the BBC Studios drama 'MotherFatherSon' with Richard Gere. He also appears in 'The Crown' and 'The Irregulars' for Netflix; and NBC's 'Dominion'. He began by starring in smaller independent films and his first TV role came with a regular part in the CBBC show 'M.I. High' as the mean-spirited Chief Agent Stark.
Recent feature film credits include 'Drift' by Anthony Chen and 'Misbehaviour'.
He also enjoys the opportunity to create his own work. The bone-dry satirical short film 'Big Society' has won several awards; and the super-short 'School Portrait' scored one million views in ten days and was nominated for a Webby.
He also has a number of voice-overs; prestigious stage roles and commercials to his name.
Jonathan's roots lie in the Cambridgeshire market-town of St Ives; while he trained at Dartington College of Arts and the Birmingham School of Acting before moving to London in 2000.- Actor
- Producer
Julius Tennon is an accomplished film, television, and theatre producer and actor with over thirty years of experience. A native of Austin, Texas, he began as both a thespian and a star linebacker. Julius was offered a full football scholarship to the University of Tulsa, where he became the very first African American to graduate from the theatre department. His notable screen credits include: The Simone Biles Story, Batman v. Superman, Get On Up, Fame, Friday Night Lights, and Dazed and Confused, and popular television shows such as Criminal Minds and Lonesome Dove, among many others. In 1999, Julius was blessed to meet the love of his life, Viola Davis, on the set of the CBS series City of Angels. They were married four years later. A couple in every sense of the word, their greatest joy comes from sharing both their life and art together. Julius and Viola have shared both the stage and screen, appearing in such notable projects as How to Get Away With Murder and Lila and Eve, the first film they also produced together.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Kate Danson was born on 24 December 1979 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress and director, known for Everything I Ever Wanted to Tell My Daughter About Men (2021), Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008) and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000). She was previously married to Jesse Bochco.- Kate McIninch was born on 24 December 1978 in Montréal, Québec, Canada. She is an actress, known for Space Cases (1996), Student Bodies (1997) and Crisis (2021).
- Actress
- Additional Crew
Kate Brosnahan was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1962. She majored in journalism at Arizona State University (ASU), where she met her future husband, architect Andy Spade. After college, she worked in the accessories and art departments of Mademoiselle, eventually becoming senior fashion editor and head of accessories. In 1991, she left Mademoiselle to start a line of stylish and sensible handbags, and Andy and Kate launched the design company "kate spade handbags" in 1993. Today, Kate Spade also sells stationery, personal organizers, address books, shoes, beauty products, perfume, raincoats, pajamas, eyewear, and a home collection of bedding, bath items, china, and wallpaper. The company, now owned by Neiman Marcus, reports annual sales of around $200 million. It has won numerous fashion awards.- Actor
- Sound Department
- Additional Crew
Keith Silverstein is an American voice actor who primarily works on English dubs of Japanese anime and video games. He is best known for voicing Kimimaro Kaguya in the Naruto franchise, Hisoka in the 2011 version of Hunter × Hunter, and Vector the Crocodile in the Sonic the Hedgehog series since 2010. His other roles include Gabriel Agreste/Hawk Moth in Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, Torbjörn Lindholm in Overwatch, Zhongli in Genshin Impact, and Johan Liebert in Monster, among others.- Actor
- Writer
Kevin Killian was born on 24 December 1952 in Long Island, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Visitor Owl, Morgies (2014) and Boyland (2015). He was married to Dodie Bellamy. He died on 15 June 2019 in the USA.- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Laura Aikman was born on 24 December 1985. She is an actress and producer, known for Archie (2023), Gavin & Stacey (2007) and The Job Lot (2013).- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Lee Daniels gave his parents an early Christmas present when he entered the world on December 24, 1959; unfortunately, the Philadelphia native was to have a difficult relationship with his police officer father who later reacted violently to his son's sexuality. Despite the brutality of his childhood, Lee completed high school and attended Lindenwood University in St.Charles, Missouri for two years.
Daniels's career took an interesting and profitable turn. He moved to Los Angeles and started a nursing agency of his own. He later sold the agency for a substantial sum then began his career in entertainment, first as a casting director and later as a manager. By his mid-twenties, he was working with Prince on Purple Rain (1984) and Under the Cherry Moon (1986). Despite being involved in film production, Lee continued to manage talent and grew a roster of clients that included several Academy Award nominees and winners.
He created his own production company, Lee Daniels Entertainment, and its first film was the acclaimed Monster's Ball (2001), which starred Billy Bob Thornton, the late Heath Ledger and Halle Berry, who went on to win the Best Actress Oscar. Monster's Ball was a critical and financial success and as its producer, Daniels became a force to be reckoned with.
In 2004, Lee used skills honed as a filmmaker to produce a series of public service announcements aimed at inspiring young people of color to vote. He worked with former President, Bill Clinton and was able to enlist actor/rap artist LL Cool J and actor/singer Alicia Keys. Lee's next production, The Woodsman (2004), was another edgy tale about a pedophile trying to reform after being released from prison and starred Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick and Yasiin Bey. While The Woodsman (2004) was not the critical success that Monster's Ball (2001) was, it attracted a great deal of critical attention and earned its star, Kevin Bacon, raves for his performance.
Daniels made his directorial debut with his next project, Shadowboxer (2005), a provocative drama with an intriguing cast that included Helen Mirren, Cuba Gooding Jr., Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Stephen Dorff. Shadowboxer (2005) was also the first time Lee worked with Mo'Nique; unfortunately, despite an interesting cast, Shadowboxer (2005) received mixed reviews and failed at the box office. Lee's next production, Tennessee (2008) was not a critical or financial success but allowed Lee to help singer 'Mariah Carey' gain acting credentials after the failure of her first film, Glitter (2001).
Daniels hit the mother lode with his next effort, Precious (2009), which he directed and produced. The film won at the Sundance Film Festival and has garnered every imaginable accolade under the sun. The film stars newcomer Gabourey Sidibe in the title role as a Harlem teen who is the victim of unimaginable abuse from her father, mother and society. The film allowed Daniels to re-team with both Mariah Carey and Mo'Nique, who has been a revelation to both critics and audiences as Precious's abusive mother. Daniels has said that he felt compelled to bring this story of child abuse to the screen to help heal the scars from his relationship with his abusive father.- Soundtrack
New Orleans-born Lee Dorsey was a former boxer who turned rock singer. He had a minor hit for a local New Orleans record company that resulted in a contract with Fury Records, a nationally distributed label. In 1961 he recorded the catchy "Ya Ya", which went to the #1 spot on the US charts. A follow-up record, "Do-Re-Mi", was a smaller hit. It wasn't until 1965, however, that he had another hit, "Ride Your Pony". The next year he had his biggest-selling record, "Working in a Coal Mine". That was followed by several lesser hits over the years. He still toured regularly, though, and in 1980 was one of the acts on The Clash's US tour. He died in New Orleans of emphysema in 1986.- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
- Producer
Lem Dobbs was born on 24 December 1958 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK. He is a writer and producer, known for Dark City (1998), The Limey (1999) and Kafka (1991). He has been married to Dana Kraft since 1991.- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Lemmy was born on 24 December 1945 in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, UK. He was an actor and composer, known for Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), Airheads (1994) and Smokin' Aces (2006). He died on 28 December 2015 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Additional Crew
Logan Goodman was born on 24 December 1950 in Bennington, Vermont, USA. Logan is known for Return of the Secaucus Seven (1980). Logan has been married to David Strathairn since 1980. They have two children.- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Louis Jouvet was a living glory of the French theatre where he debuted in 1910. In his life he has worked as pharmacist, manager of a theatre, actor and theatre teacher. He debuted at the movies in 1932 and his best films were of the Golden Age of French cinema called the "poetical realism", e.g. "Hotel du Nord (1938)" or "La fin du jour (1939)". His character, his eagle-like profile and his unique way of speaking made him unforgettable.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
At the age of five, Lynn Chen began singing on the stage of The Metropolitan Opera House. She has been performing ever since. Her feature film debut was in Sony Pictures Classics' Saving Face, a role that won her the title of "Outstanding Newcomer" at the 2006 AXAwards. She has been a fixture on the film festival circuit -- including Sundance, Toronto, Tribeca, and SXSW. In 2017, she won "Best Actor" at the NBC Shorts Fest and a talent holding deal with the network.
Lynn was featured in Variety's 2020 "Power of Women" Issue for her directorial debut I WIll Make You Mine, which she also wrote, produced, and starred in. The movie has a 100% Rotten Tomato Rating and was an Official Selection of the 2020 SXSW Film Festival.
Lynn has produced, directed, and hosted non-scripted content for outlets like BuzzFeed, Tastemade, Hello Giggles, and ISATV that have seen over 40 million views. She founded the blogs/podcasts "The Actor's Diet" and "Thick Dumpling Skin" (the first site dedicated to Asian-Americans and eating disorders). She has been featured on NPR, Cosmopolitan, and Marie Claire Magazine and has been a speaker at various colleges (Stanford, Dartmouth, Wellesley), conferences (WonderCon), and festivals (Disneyland California Adventure Food & Wine) for her acting work and body image activism. Lynn has been an Ambassador for The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) and Miry's List. She has also written for LA Weekly, Filmmaker Magazine, and cupcakes & cashmere.- Actor
- Producer
Marcelo Salas was born on 24 December 1974 in Temuco, Araucanía Region, Chile. He is an actor and producer, known for Kiltro (2006), Videomatch (1990) and Fox Sports: Copa Libertadores (2002). He was previously married to Carolina Messen.- Mariela Muñoz was born on 24 December 1943 in Lules, Tucumán, Argentina. She died on 5 May 2017 in Quilmes, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
Mark Millar is the New York Times best-selling writer of Jupiter's Legacy, Kick-Ass, Kingsman, The Magic Order, Wanted, Old Man Logan, Marvel Civil War and Superman: Red Son.
He is also President of Netflix's Millarworld Division in Los Angeles and serves as an executive producer on all his Hollywood properties.
Marvel and DC In Summer 2000, Marvel brought Millar in as part of a new team to revitalise their comic-book line. He worked with the best artists in the industry and launched his X-Men revamp at number one with Ultimate X-Men, re-thinking The Avengers next and shattering his own sales numbers with The Ultimates before creating the Marvel Civil War storyline in 2006, remaining Marvel's most financially successful event of the 21st century and their best-selling graphic novel of all time.
Screen-writer Zak Penn credits The Ultimates as his template for the 2012 Avengers movie and both Civil War and his classic Wolverine: Old Man Logan provided the inspiration for two blockbuster movies of the same name.
His Superman book, Red Son, is the highest-selling Superman graphic novel in history and was adapted by Warner Bros as an animated movie in 2020.
Millarworld On the advice of Stan Lee, Mark decided to branch out from Marvel and create his own characters while still working at the company.
Wanted was his first comic-book under the Millarworld banner, a huge hit that spawned the 2008 movie starring Angelina Jolie. Wanted grossed $342 million on a $70 million budget and paved the way for the successful adaptation of his Kick-Ass comic in 2010, starring Nicolas Cage.
Quitting Marvel soon after, Millar focused all his attention on Millarworld and co-created properties which include Jupiter's Legacy, The Magic Order, American Jesus, Super Crooks, Sharkey The Bounty Hunter, Empress, Superior, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Chrononauts, Starlight, Nemesis, Space Bandits, MPH and Huck.
Kingsman was released as a movie in 2015 and, like Kick-Ass has spawned at least one sequel. The most recent Kingsman movie, The King's Man, is released on March 12th, 2021.
Netflix Netflix bought Millarworld in 2017 and now owns the full rights to all 17 properties purchased, later hiring Mark and his wife Lucy to act as President and CEO of their Millarworld line and help develop these comic-books into big-budget original movies, shows and animated series.
The first of these to be streamed is Jupiter's Legacy in 2021, Super Crooks, Huck, Sharkey The Bounty Hunter, Space Bandits, The Magic Order, Prodigy and more are all either in production now or in active development.
The only franchises excluded from this sale were Kick-Ass and Kingsman, which Mark still co-owns independently.
Awards and honours Mark has received or been nominated for numerous industry honours over the years including Eagles, Eisners, UKCAC, Speakeasy and Wizard awards.
Outside of comics, he has won the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland award for writing, the Scottish Press Awards Hall of Fame, the SFX Award for Best Comic, Time Magazine's Comic-Book of the Decade (for The Ultimates) and two GLAAD awards for excellence.
He was awarded and honorary doctorate for literature from Glasgow Caledonia University in 2012 and in 2013 received an MBE from the Queen at Buckingham Palace for services to Film and Literature.
Personal life Mark was born in Coatbridge, Scotland, on December 24th 1969. He is the youngest of six children and married to Lucy Millar, CEO of Netflix's Millarworld Division. He has three daughters.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Mark Valley was born in Ogdensburg, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Stolen (2012), Boston Legal (2004) and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 (2013). He was previously married to Anna Torv.- Mary Ashleigh Green was born on 24 December 1992 in Hollywood, California, USA. She is an actress, known for Miss Congeniality (2000), Arlington Road (1999) and Where the Heart Is (2000).
- Writer
- Actress
- Producer
In 2002 Mary Higgins Clark published her memoir "Kitchen Privileges". The book describes her upbringing, first marriage and how she became such a famous author. Meanwhile 36 movies have been made that are based on Mary Higgins Clark's thrillers. For a while Mary Higgins Clark and her daughter published their own magazine.- Mary Hosford was born on 24 December 1925 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for The Missouri Traveler (1958). She was married to John Hendrickson, C.V. Whitney and Frank Hosford. She died on 19 July 2019 in Saratoga Springs, New York, USA.Marylou Whitney
- Actor
- Producer
- Music Department
Matt Passmore was born on 24 December 1973 in Wynnum-Manly, Queensland, Australia. He is an actor and producer, known for The Glades (2010), Satisfaction (2014) and Jigsaw (2017). He has been married to Natalia Cigliuti since 3 January 2016. He was previously married to Jacqui Passmore.- 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.- Actress
- Location Management
Meghan Glennon was born on 24 December 1980 in Malibu, California, USA. She is an actress, known for Heights (2005), LA Blues (2007) and Deadwood (2004).- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Michael Billington was born on 24 December 1941 in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for UFO (1970), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and The Onedin Line (1971). He was married to Katherine Kristoff. He died on 3 June 2005 in Margate, Kent, England, UK.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Curtiz began acting in and then directing films in his native Hungary in 1912. After WWI, he continued his filmmaking career in Austria and Germany and into the early 1920s when he directed films in other countries in Europe. Moving to the US in 1926, he started making films in Hollywood for Warner Bros. and became thoroughly entrenched in the studio system. His films during the 1930s and '40s encompassed nearly every genre imaginable and some, including Casablanca (1942) and Mildred Pierce (1945), are considered to be film classics. His brilliance waned in the 1950s when he made a number of mediocre films for studios other than Warner. He directed his last film in 1961, a year before his death at 74.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Michael Raymond-James is an American actor. He is best known for playing René Lenier in the first season of the HBO series True Blood, Britt Pollack on the FX series Terriers, Neal Cassidy/Baelfire on the ABC series Once Upon a Time, and Mitch Longo on the CBS All Access series Tell Me a Story.- Mónica Scapparone was born on 24 December 1967 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is an actress, known for Montecristo (2006), Ashes of Paradise (1997) and La venganza (1999).
- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Moon Choi (aka Hee-Seo Choi) is a Korean actress who is currently based in Seoul, South Korea.
She spent her childhood in South Korea, Japan and the United States where she learned versatile culture, art and language. At the age of 18, she returned to Seoul and attended Yonsei University where she studied Journalism and English Literature during the day, and trained as an actor at Yonsei Theater Art Club at night. At the age of 21, Choi went on to take acting classes at UC Berkeley as an exchange student for a year. On her return to Seoul, she auditioned for her first commercial film "Lifting King Kong"(2009, South Korea), a dramatic story of female weightlifters, and landed on her first professional acting career. After her major supporting role from the film "Lifting King Kong", she acted in several independent films and short films which were screened in prestigious film festivals worldwide. Her short "Janus", a 15-minute film which premiered in Cannes Film Festival 2014, has won Jury's Grand Prize at Poitiers Film Festival in France, 2015.
In 2016, Choi met a life-changing opportunity on her way to a rehearsal: a prominent writer and director Shin Yeon-shick, who, after observing her memorizing her lines on subway, gave her his name card and invited her to meet the venerated director of "King and the Clown", Lee Jun-ik. The coincidental encounter led her to land a role of "Kumi" in director Lee's new film "Dong-Ju: the Portrait of the Poet," which earned several prizes in South Korea as "Best Film of the Year" in 2016. Her performance in the film was acclaimed by film critics and she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in the Wildflower Film Awards in 2016. In 2017, Choi achieved widespread recognition and acclaim for her breakthrough role in "Anarchist from Colony", also directed by Lee Jun-ik, where she portrayed the Japanese anarchist and a feminist Kaneko Fumiko, who fought for freedom and equal rights of Korean people from Japanese imperialism. After the nationwide release, Choi rose to fame for her breakout performance as Fumiko and for the number of prizes she received for the role: she won 9 awards including Best New Actress from Blue Dragon Awards, Korean Association of Film Critics Awards, Buil Film Awards, etc., and received both Best New Actress and Best Actress at Grand Bell Awards. Choi was the first actress to have received Best New Actress and Best Actress awards at the same time in the 54-year-history of Grand Bell Awards.
Choi performs in fluent Korean, English and Japanese. She also speaks conversational Italian.- Moose was the youngest of a litter of four, yet was also the biggest, hence his name. Hyper and destructive as a pup, he eventually found his way to Birds & Animals Unlimited, where he got his job playing Eddie on 'Frasier', before going on to act in the film My Dog Skip (2000), along with his son, Enzo.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Neil Vipond was born on 24 December 1929 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor, known for Star Trek: Voyager (1995), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) and Cold Case (2003). He died on 15 July 2022 in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, USA.- Location Management
- Actor
- Production Manager
Nicanor Gonzalez del Solar is known for La vida después (2015), Patagonia (2010) and El fin del Amor (2022).- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Nicholas Meyer was born in New York City, the son of a psychoanalyst and a concert pianist. He attended the University of Iowa, home of the famous Writers Workshop.
Meyer's award-winning teleplays for ABC's JUDGE DEE & MONASTERY MURDERS and CBS's NIGHT THAT PANICKED AMERICA launched his screenwriting career, though the WGA strike of 1973 caused him to set aside screenwriting and try his hand at novels. TARGET PRACTICE was published in March 1974 and won an Edgar nomination. It was followed four months later by his Sherlock Holmes pastiche, THE SEVEN-PER-CENT SOLUTION, which remained on the NY Times Bestseller list for 40 weeks and won the British Gold Dagger award for crime fiction.
Meyer's screenplay for The Seven-Per-Cent Solution was nominated for an Academy Award in 1976. The film starred Nicole Williamson, Robert Duvall, Alan Arkin, Laurence Olivier and Vanessa Redgrave.
In 2015 IDW published the graphic novel version of the book in five installments.
Meyer's directing debut - from his own screenplay - occurred in 1979 with TIME AFTER TIME, starring Malcolm MacDowell and David Warner. The film introduced Mary Steenburgen.
This was followed by STAR TREK II - THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982) and THE DAY AFTER, (1983) ABC's nuclear-themed movie, which remains the single most watched television film ever made, nominated for fourteen Emmys. Its controversial telecast drew over one hundred million viewers.
Subsequent Meyer novels include two other Holmes pastiches, THE WEST END HORROR, (1976) and THE CANARY TRAINER (1993); also BLACK ORCHID (co-authored with Barry Jay Kaplan) (1977) and CONFESSIONS OF A HOMING PIGEON (1981).
Other directing credits include VOLUNTEERS, starring Tom Hanks and John Candy (1986), THE DECEIVERS, starring Pierce Brosnan (1988), COMPANY BUSINESS, starring Gene Hackman and Mikhail Baryishnikov (1991), STAR TREK VI, THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY, starring Christopher Plummer (1992) and the HBO film, VENDETTA, (1999), starring Christopher Walken.
Other screenplays include SOMMERSBY, starring Richard Gere and Jody Foster (1993) and contributions to the Dreamworks animated feature, PRINCE OF EGYPT.
His screenplay, THE INFORMANT, based on Gerald Seymour's novel, FIELD OF BLOOD, won the PEN award for Best Teleplay, 1999.
His screenplay for the novel THE HUMAN STAIN by Philip Roth, starring Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman, was released October 31, 2003. His screenplay, ELEGY, (based on Roth's novella, THE DYING ANIMAL), was released in August of 2008. The film stars Ben Kingsley, Penelope Cruz, Dennis Hopper, Patricia Clarkson and Peter Saarsgard.
His Hollywood memoir, THE VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE - Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood, was published by Viking in 2009.
His two part miniseries, HOUDINI, starring Adrien Brody, aired over Labor Day 2014. Meyer's script was nominated for a WGA award and the series was nominated for seven Emmys.
In 2016, He co-created and wrote the first two episodes of the Netflix series, MEDICI - Masters of Florence, starring Dustin Hoffman.
He also worked on the forthcoming Star Trek television series, DISCOVERY, for CBS Access.
Forthcoming projects include a feature adaptation Dan Simmons' novel, THE CROOK FACTORY, for Johnny Depp, and FREUD - THE SECRET CASEBOOK as well as the limited series, RAT LINE - Nazis on the Run.- Writer
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- Director
Nick Love was born on 24 December 1969 in London, England, UK. He is a writer and producer, known for The Football Factory (2004), The Sweeney (2012) and Monsters (2010). He was previously married to Patsy Palmer.- British character actor Norman Rossington was born in Merseyside, Liverpool, so it shouldn't be considered THAT ironic that he would end up appearing in The Beatles' debut film smash, A Hard Day's Night (1964), as "Norm", the Fab Four's chagrined road manager.
The son of a publican, he never finished high school, leaving at age 14 and living a rather wanderlust adolescent life as messenger, office boy, carpenter apprentice, etc. Later, he went to night school and studied industrial design in order to become a draftsman. Interest in acting happened by accident and, eventually, Rossington joined a local theatre group.
He trained seriously at the Bristol Old Vic and began appearing in both straight plays ("A Midsummer Night's Dream") and musicals ("Salad Days") by the mid-50s. Within a few years, he had extended his visibility to films and TV, setting up his rather bumbling persona as "Private Cupcake" on the TV comedy series, The Army Game (1957). Along with roles in a few of the zany "Carry On..." slapstick films. Rossington established himself firmly as a comedy performer with I Only Arsked! (1958), Crooks Anonymous (1962) and Nurse on Wheels (1963), representing a few of his farcical credits. Yet his finest creation was arguably in the "kitchen sink" drama, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), as Albert Finney's sensible, down-to-earth, blue-collar pal.
Though he never attained outright stardom, Rossington became a reliable, familiar face with minor roles in such epic British and U.S. films as Saint Joan (1957), The Longest Day (1962), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes (1965), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) and Young Winston (1972), not to mention the equally epic TV miniseries, I, Claudius (1976) and Masada (1981).
Rossington's greatest impression would lie in musical theatre, especially in his later career. Such spirited roles in "Peter Pan" (as "Starkey"), "My Fair Lady" (as "Alfred Doolittle"), "Annie Get Your Gun" (as "Charlie Davenport"), "Pickwick: The Musical" (as "Tony Weller"), "Guys and Dolls" (as "Nathan Detroit") and, lastly, as Beauty's father in "Beauty and the Beast", made him an endearing favorite in the West End. He died of cancer at the age of 70 in 1999. - Patricia Lage was born on 24 December 1955 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She died on 15 October 2023 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Perry Lang was born on 24 December 1959 in Palo Alto, California, USA. He is a director and actor, known for An Interview with God (2018), Men of War (1994) and Little Vegas (1990). He has been married to Sage Parker since 15 June 1996. They have two children.- Actor
- Producer
Philippe Nahon was born on 24 December 1938 in Paris, France. He was an actor and producer, known for I Stand Alone (1998), Irreversible (2002) and Carne (1991). He was married to Elisabeth Weissman. He died on 19 April 2020 in Paris, France.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Randy J. Goodwin, born Ivan J., is known in Hollywood for his integrity, morals and values. Born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, he began his performing career at age 8, singing, dancing and acting in local theater productions, church plays, musicals, and high school talent shows. Temporarily putting aside his Hollywood dreams, Randy attended the University of Nebraska Architectural School and then joined his older brother in the US Air Force. After completing his active service, he returned to what he loved most...showbiz, performing stand-up comedy and acting in regional theater in Chicago and surrounding cities in the Midwest. After his stint on the comedy scene, Randy made the move to Hollywood. He quickly appeared in several television commercials before landing a supporting role in American History X starring Edward Norton and Stacy Keach. In the same month, he booked his first series regular role, Kennedy Winslow, the first Black NASCAR driver in the Showtime series "Fast Track" exec produced by THE Larry Gelbart (creator of M.A.S.H.) He also starred in "Livin' for Love: The Natalie Cole Story", "The Old Settler", "Hyperion Bay" and "Linc's," his second series for The Showtime Network. He would star in another pilot for Showtime titled "Insatiable" starring Andie MacDowell, Lara Flynn Boyle, and Peter Facinelli. Randy is best known for his character Davis from "Girlfriends". The show was exec produced by Kelsey Grammer (Frasier), who also cast him in "L.A. Sheriff's Homicide" and "Neurotic Tendencies." Randy has worked with Kelsey on five projects.
Other guest star roles include "24", "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation", "Navy NCIS", "Yes Dear", "Coupling", "Emeril," "The Steve Harvey Show", "Nash Bridges", "The Pretender", "The Geena Davis Show". Other more recent television appearances include a recurring role on the cult favorite 'Vampire Diaries" and roles on "The Mentalist", "The Client List","Love They Neighbor", "Grey's Anatomy" and "The Rookie". Randy also joined the Disney ranks, guest starring in the hugely successful, "Dog With A Blog" as Barry, Bennet's publisher, and in Disney's newest hit, "Best Friends Whenever", as Vance Carroway.
In motion pictures, Randy has been seen in "Down N' Dirty" starring Fred "Da Hamma" Williamson and Gary Busey, "Flip the Script" starring Robin Givens and Miguel Nunez, Jr. and "Towelhead", a film by Alan Ball starring Aaron Eckhart and Toni Collette.
Upcoming projects include, the soon to be released, "Ernesto's Manifesto", FOX'S 9-1-1, Grey's Anatomy and The Rookie.
After advice from Quintin Tarantino, and stacking many scripts over the years, Randy has moved behind the camera, starring in as well as producing the indie film Xander Cohen aka The Holy Man (Amazon Prime). He also recently wrapped, "The Job", a Christian/Faith based film he produced, starred in and directed. Focus groups and private screening reviews have been through the roof!
He was also spokesman for the Chrysler PT Cruiser for two years.- Composer
- Music Department
- Writer
Ray Colcord is a film and TV composer living in Los Angeles, a past President of the Society of Composers & Lyricists, and a governor of the Television Academy. He's written the music for more than 700 television shows, feature films, miniseries and specials, garnering Emmy nominations, ASCAP awards, BMI Awards, and Dramalogue awards along the way. His films include Heartwood, The King's Guard, Wish Upon A Star, The Paper Brigade, Off Your Rocker, and Amityville Dollhouse. His television work includes Family Affair, Lost At Home, Big Brother Ii, Iii, And Iv, Boy Meets World, Promised Land, Dinosaurs, The Facts Of Life, 2-2-7, My Two Dads, Where I Live, Hiller & Diller, Trial & Error, Silver Spoons, Touched By An Angel, and The Simpsons. As an A&R man for Columbia records he was responsible for signing Aerosmith to their first record deal and co-produced their second album, Get Your Wings. He also wrote the theme for Project Literacy (I'm Changing My Life), and The Homecoming Queen's Got A Gun, and I Like 'Em Big And Stupid, for Earth Girls Are Easy, with Julie Brown. As music director of the Groundlings he worked with Phil Hartman, Jon Lovitz, Mindy Sterling, Paul Reubens, Lorraine Newman, Edie McClurg, Cassandra Peterson and Kevin Nealon. He toured as a keyboard player with Lou Reed, John Hammond Jr., and Roy Head, and played on Don Maclean's American Pie album. Ray attended Rice University in Houston, has taught Music Production for Film & Television at UCLA extension, and is also on the board of directors of the Film Music Society.- Stunts
- Actress
Renee Baio was born in Tennessee, USA. She is an actress, known for Baywatch (1989), Scott Baio Is 45... And Single (2007) and Silk Stalkings (1991). She has been married to Scott Baio since 14 September 2007. They have one child.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Ricky Grover was born on 24 December 1961 in London, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Big Fat Gypsy Gangster (2011), Fyre Rises (2024) and Revolver (2005). He is married to Maria Grover. They have one child.- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Actor
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Ricky initiated his singing career in the Latin all boy-band group Menudo. After leaving the group, he moved to New York to study acting. After finishing his studies, he relocated to Mexico where he performed as actor in "Mama ama el Rock", "Alcanzar una Estrella II". In 1991, he began to focus his career as a soloist singer, eventually becoming an international superstar with the release of his self-titled English language album in 1996.