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1-50 of 83
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Scatman Crothers was born Benjamin Sherman Crothers on May 23, 1910 in Terre Haute, Indiana. Songwriter ("Dearest One"), actor, composer, singer, comedian, and guitarist who, after high school, appeared in nightclubs, hotels, and films, and on television. He made many records, including his own compositions. He joined ASCAP in 1959, and his popular-song compositions also include "The Gal Looks Good", "Nobody Knows Why", "I Was There", "A Man's Gotta Eat", and "When, Oh When". Scatman Crothers died at age 76 of pneumonia and lung cancer at his home in Van Nuys, California on November 22, 1986.- Actress
Rhonda Bates was born on 15 August 1948 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. She is an actress, known for Roadie (1980), Harry O (1973) and Police Story (1973).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Bill Thompson was born on 8 July 1913 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Lady and the Tramp (1955), Peter Pan (1953) and Sleeping Beauty (1959). He was married to Mary Margaret McBride. He died on 15 July 1971 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Summer Selby is an American film, television and stage actress, voice-over talent, print model, television producer and talk show host, born November 30th in Terre Haute, Indiana and raised on Chicago's South Side.
From when Summer was 8 years old, she wanted to pretend to be other people, not knowing acting was the term for her ambition. Her mother, an educator, enrolled her in an esteemed after school academy on Chicago's South Side. There Summer studied modern dance, tap, modeling, and etiquette. She attempted to explore acting in high school and while attending a private liberal arts college. Stage crew experience was plentiful but roles were limited for Summer's demographic at that time.
After graduation, Summer began a corporate career but continued her pursuit of opportunities to act in Chicago, Indianapolis, and Dallas regional theaters. Then she was selected to be a featured extra in the exploding birthday cake party scene in Problem Child (1990) and she instantly committed to a career in acting.
Very often told by strangers and casual acquaintances she has a "familiar" face, Summer starred as Harriet Tubman in the Emmy nominated educational film The Quest for Freedom (1992), which was purchased by hundreds of US school districts who then showed it to thousands of students. The Quest for Freedom was broadcast on PBS stations throughout the country each February for decades. She then was cast in two roles in the Barney & Friends (1992) series as well as in the television movie Wishbone's Dog Days of the West (1998).
Summer played along side LeAnn Rimes in Ms. Rimes first film, the Christmas staple Holiday in Your Heart (1997), which also starred Bernadette Peters. She landed the lead role in the director John Carstarphen debut film Weekend of Our Discontent (1993) and has gone on to win roles appearing with some of Hollywood's favorites such as Nia Peeples, C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Duffy, Paul Adelstein and Sarah Wayne Callies. Viewers still enjoy Summer's 3 roles in Walker Texas, Ranger, Prison Break, and her role as the nosy neighbor in Did I Kill My Mother?
Among other national ad campaigns, Summer was one of the original print models for the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women campaign; she appeared in the Women in Film short Gilda's Club: A Special Place (2004), remembering the Saturday Night Live comedienne Gilda Radner; and she has extensive national voice-over credits.
Summer produced and hosted her second talk show, Grown Folk (2012), which aired in Dallas and on the internet; she co-stars in the alternative/blues musician Benjamin Booker debut music video The Future Is Slow Coming (Slow Coming/Wicked Waters) (2015); and she co-stars in the writer/director Carlos Bido enigmatic film Finding Hope (2013).
More recently, Summer appears alongside Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Matt Czuchry, and Manish Dayal in various film and TV projects; in the Italian produced and directed, international crime mini-series ZeroZeroZero; as an African astronaut's mother in the dazzling space mini-series The First, directed by the acclaimed Polish director Agnieszka Holland; and in a recurring role as uber mother to Malcolm-Jamal Warner's character, the beloved resident Dr AJ Austin, on the highly rated FOX series The Resident, now streaming on Hulu.
Summer continues to hone her craft in film, television and stage roles.- Chubby Johnson was born Charles Rutledge Johnson on August 13, 1903, in Terre Haute, Indiana. He made a living as a journalist and did not become a movie actor until he was in his 40s, making his debut in the Randolph Scott oater Abilene Town (1946) in support of Scott, Ann Dvorak and Edgar Buchanan. He continued to practice his craft as a member of the press, serving as a radio announcer as well as pounding the keys as a columnist, until he was nearly 50. Chubby appeared in the Errol Flynn horse opera Rocky Mountain (1950) as part of an army of quirky character actors, including Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams and Slim Pickens. Chubby then quit the Fourth Estate for a Hollywood career.
When Republic Pictures sought a replacement for Eddy Waller to play sidekick to B-movie cowboy star Allan Lane in the Rocky Lane series, Chubby filled in for most of 1951-52. He also starred in the TV series Sky King (1951) as ranch foreman Jim Bell. The low-budget series, a spin-off from a five-year-old radio show in which individual episodes were made for approximately $9,000 each, ran on NBC from Sept 16, 1951, until Oct 26, 1952. The series was then picked up by ABC, which ran the same NBC episodes from November 8, 1952, until September 12, 1954. A season of new episodes was aired in 1955.
Chubby freelanced as a character actor after these stints on the TV, appearing in support of James Stewart in the Anthony Mann classic Bend of the River (1952), and in their The Far Country (1954), which also featured character actor par excellence Walter Brennan, the movies' first triple-Oscar threat. Chubby then went on to appear in support of Doris Day in Calamity Jane (1953), Audie Murphy in Gunsmoke (1953), Ronald Reagan in Law and Order (1953), Barbara Stanwyck and Ronnie again in Cattle Queen of Montana (1954) and James Cagney in Tribute to a Bad Man (1956), one of the legend's rare forays into the western.
Other stars Chubby supported were Richard Chamberlain and Claude Rains in Twilight of Honor (1963), the 1963 courtroom drama that won the ill-fated Nick Adams a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination; James Garner in Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969); and Burt Reynolds in his audacious debut as a big-screen star as the eponymous Sam Whiskey (1969). He also appeared uncredited in the classic High Noon (1952).
After appearing as a regular in the short-lived series Frontier Doctor (1956), Chubby appeared as Concho on another TV western, Temple Houston (1963), which starred Jeffrey Hunter. He also guested on many other TV westerns, including Bonanza (1959), Gunsmoke (1955) and The Rifleman (1958).
Chubby continued to appear in films until 1969, with Sam Whiskey (1969) serving as the nightcap to his career. He died on Halloween Day 1974 from complications from a leg infection. - Hunter von Leer was born on 3 April 1944 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He is an actor, known for Halloween II (1981), History of the World: Part I (1981) and Under the Boardwalk (1988).
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Indiana-born Jess Hahn never played in an American movie, at least shot on American soil. On the other hand, this friendly giant with a nice sense of humor was a fixture in French movies where he often landed roles as a tough gangster or a Yankee (whether an army officer, a C.I.A./F.B.I. agent or an expatriated John Doe). Adored by French and (unfortunately) by campy Italian directors, he was in more than ninety movies and appeared twenty-odd times on French television. He could have made it in art film thanks to his wonderful performance as the tramp in Eric Rohmer's "Le Signe du Lion" but was ignored by other "serious-minded" directors. On the contrary, and oddly enough to be sure, the quality of the film he was in declined dramatically after 1966, which was not doing justice to his wonderful screen presence. He also acted in ten theater plays. Whatever the case, the public loved him, although not knowing his name. In the mid seventies, a bit disappointed with his career, he preferred working on his farm near Dinan in Brittany, acting only occasionally. He died in Saint Malo hospital, forgotten by the film profession but not by TV or DVD viewers who still nowadays worship Nénesse from "Les grandes Gueules" or "La Douceur" (quite a misnomer!) from"Cartouche".- Timothy Wead was born on 2 January 1956 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He is an actor, known for Fame (1982), Heroes Stand Alone (1989) and The Powers of Matthew Star (1982).
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Richard Ely was born on 4 May 1945 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for M*A*S*H (1972), I Escaped from Devil's Island (1973) and The Streets of San Francisco (1972). He died on 9 December 2019 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Writer
Mark Jeffrey Miller was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for The Patriot (2000), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015) and Cold Mountain (2003).- Joe Keaton and wife Myra were grade-Z vaudeville performers in the early 1900s. Their son Buster joined the act when he was only a few months old. The act was a rough-and-tumble one, with Buster being thrown around on stage most of the time. As the years went by, Joe Keaton became an alcoholic, which forced Buster to quit the act by the time he was a teenager. However, after he hit it big in silent film, Buster provided Joe with small parts in several movies. Myra and Joe split up long after Buster had become an adult. She'd had it with the constant verbal and physical abuse Joe put her through. He lived alone in a Hollywood hotel for many years and was said to have stopped drinking after becoming a Christian Scientist. Buster said Joe died as a result of being run over by a passing car.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Rob Youngblood was born on 13 November 1969 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He is an actor, known for Space Precinct (1994), L.A. Firefighters (1996) and Murder One (1995). He was previously married to Jenee Conway.- Michelle Deighton was born on 8 December 1984 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. She is an actress, known for WWE Smackdown! (1999), WrestleMania XXVII (2011) and WWE Tough Enough (2001). She has been married to Bobby Carlsen since 2 April 2015. She was previously married to Jon Dalton.
- Actor
- Composer
- Producer
Mick Mars was born on 4 May 1951 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for The Dirt (2019), Spun (2002) and The Indian in the Cupboard (1995).- Darrell Kurt Rambis (born February 25, 1958) is a Greek-American basketball coach and former player who is a senior basketball adviser for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, he won four NBA championships while playing power forward for the Lakers. Rambis was a key member of the Showtime era Lakers and was extremely popular for his hard-nosed blue collar play. With his trademark black horned rim glasses, Rambis complemented the flashy Hollywood style of the Showtime era Lakers.
Rambis played college basketball for the Santa Clara Broncos. As a senior in 1980, he was named the player of the year in the West Coast Conference (WCC). Rambis was selected by the New York Knicks in the third round of the 1980 NBA draft, but began his career in Greece with AEK Athens before joining the Lakers. He also played for the Charlotte Hornets, Phoenix Suns, and Sacramento Kings. Rambis became a coach, and has served as head coach for the Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves and the Knicks. He also won two league championships as an assistant coach with the Lakers. - Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
He received his SAG-AFTRA card by landing the role of "Rocky" in "Death in the Desert". He auditioned for another role but they wanted him to play "Rocky". Josh Evans who is the son of Robert Evans and Ali McGraw directed this film.
He lives in Palm Springs, California.
He became a "national" member of SAG-AFTRA in 2016 and can work in any state.
His stage name and legal name are one in the same.- Trent Gill was born in Terre Haute, Indiana. When he was 10 his family moved to Naperville, Illinois where Trent attended Hill Middle School and was a serious athlete. He not only played baseball and football, but was an All-state wrestler for 3 years. His family moved to California when Trent was fifteen and his sports obsession was soon replaced by his new love of acting. He was immediately recruited by an agent and began his career in commercials. He appeared in several national spots such as McDonalds, Gateway, Dominos Pizza, and as the Nike kid with Marshall Faulk. He is a gifted musician who writes all of his own lyrics and music. He is in the process of putting together his first CD.
- Eleanor Hansen was born on 13 September 1917 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. She was an actress, known for Flaming Frontiers (1938), The Mad Miss Manton (1938) and Russian Dressing (1938). She died on 27 May 2013 in San Diego, California, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher was born on 28 July 1891 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Idiot's Delight (1939), Possessed (1931) and Lightning Strikes Twice (1934). He was married to Pauline Mason and Irene Martin. He died on 22 May 1955 in Santa Monica, California, USA.- Bob March was born on 31 May 1927 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Magnum Force (1973). He died on 6 August 2020 in Loomis, California, USA.
- Producer
- Actor
- Executive
Frank Kramer was born on 5 September 1970 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for Squatters (2010), Totally Baked (2007) and Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (2015).- Actress
Valeska Suratt was born in Owensville, Indiana on June 28, 1882 to parents of French ancestry. She moved from Terre Haute to Indianapolis, where she worked at a department store in 1899 before moving to Chicago in 1900 to pursue an acting career. She appeared in vaudeville before debuting in Broadway in 1906 in the musical The Belle of Mayfair. The following year she starred in Hip! Hip! Hooray! She became known for voluptuous movements and her very expensive glamorous costumes and gowns, some of which are said to have cost up to $25,000. Some magazines of the time called her the most elegant woman on stage. Her third Broadway musical, The Girl with the Whooping Cough, was cancelled shortly after its debut in 1910 by New York City mayor William Jay Gaynor who claimed the show was too sexually suggestive. From 1915 to 1917 she moved on to movies and made 11 feature films all of which are considered lost today. In the late 1920s her fame waned and she quickly disappeared from public view, never to return. Suratt died in a Washington DC nursing home on July 2, 1962 at the age of 80.
Valeska Suratt married twice but had no children. In 1904 she married William J. Flannery (1869-1950) better known by his stage name Billy Gould. Gould had been one of her first partners on the Chicago scene and together they created an act where Valeska performed several exotic dances including an Apache dance. They divorced in 1911 and that same year Suratt married Fletcher Norton. They remained married until his death in 1941.- Writer
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Arthur Sellers was born on 16 August 1945 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for The Vivero Letter (1999), Max Headroom (1987) and Earth 2 (1994).- Actor
- Stunts
Tex Terry was born on 22 August 1902 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Death Valley Days (1952), Sweethearts on Parade (1953) and Rough Riders of Cheyenne (1945). He was married to Isabel Draesemer and Dorothy Peters. He died on 18 May 1985 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA.- Lynne Topping was born on 10 July 1949 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. She was an actress, known for Hunter (1984), Knight Rider (1982) and The Incredible Hulk (1978). She was married to James Farrell. She died on 17 April 2011 in New York, New York, USA.
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Raised in the great acting Mecca of the mid-west... Rockville, Indiana... Brad discovered at an early age that acting and writing can lead to many terrible things like starvation and laziness. He didn't let that stop him from pursuing his dream of a life on screen, though... lack of funds did that for him. Following a very successful career as a work-mime for the U.S. Air Force in the mid-80's, Brad wandered aimlessly through job after job before ending up performing in off-off-off (insert 42 more "offs" here) Broadway theater in Logansport, Indiana as well as the little-known b-movie hit "Starship 1: Havoc on Homeworld".
Currently, Brad may be found working as a Broadcast Journalist for the U.S. Army, performing voice-over work, finishing that great American novel, and attempting to learn why his editing computer constantly seems to be sticking it's tongue out at him.- Tom Bozell was born on 22 September 1946 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Magic Hour, Wallace Sprague: Dog Psychiatrist (2019) and Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001). He died on 9 April 2024 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.
- The author of dozens of books and even more short stories, Philip Jose Farmer was born in Indiana in 1918 to George and Lucile Jackson Farmer, but has called Peoria, Illinois, home for most of his life. He revolutionized science-fiction with his 1952 short story (later a novel) titled "The Lovers", the first known science-fiction tale to portray sex between a human and a non-humanoid alien. The winner of three Hugo awards and named a Grand Master of Science-Fiction in 2001, his best known series was made into two made-for-TV movies: Riverworld (2003) and Riverworld (2010), both for the SyFy Channel. He is also well known for writing novels around established fictional characters such as Tarzan and Doc Savage - going so far as to write a detailed biography of Tarzan - and his novel "Venus on the Half Shell" was written under the alias of Kilgore Trout, a character created by novelist Kurt Vonnegut Jr..
- Theodore Dreiser was one of the great American writers, and a transitional figure between Victorian America and the "modern" age that was inaugurated after the cessation of hostilities after WWI and the publication of Sinclair Lewis' "Main Street" in 1920. A naturalist with a committed social conscience (Dreiser was a socialist in a time when socialists were an established third party and had many mayoral posts and seats in state legislatures before the post-WWI "Red Scare" wiped out socialism in the U.S.), Theodore Dreiser is a seminal figure in the evolution of American letters to a more mature literature.
Born on August 27, 1871 in Terre Haute, Indiana, he was the twelfth of thirteen children Born to John Paul & Sarah Dreiser, ten of whom survived infancy. Theordore's Dreiser's father, John, was a German immigrant and a strict Baptist. His mother Sarah came from a Mennonite community who later converted to Roman Catholicism. His older brother Paul Dresser became a famous songwriter.
Theodore Dreiser attended Indiana University from 1889 to 1890, but flunked out and became a journalist in Chicago and St. Louis. He married the former Sara White in 1898, but the marriage failed and they separated in 1909. Dreiser never divorced his wife.
His first novel "Sister Carrie" was published in 1900. It is considered a classic and a seminal piece of American literature. The publisher did not promote the novel, likely due to its controversial subject matter (adultery, extramarital sex), and the book sold poorly. He did not score a best-seller for a quarter-of-century, until "An American Tragedy" in 1925. (The novel was made into George Stevens 1951 masterpiece A Place in the Sun (1951).
Theodore Dreiser died on December 28, 1945, not long after he had joined the Communist Party, a move that Ernest Hemingway said was that of an old man trying to save his soul. - Writer
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Ken Pettus was born on 15 May 1915 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Matt Helm (1975), Mission: Impossible (1966) and The Green Hornet (1966). He died on 19 July 1992 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Cinematographer
- Writer
Orin Jackson was born on 28 July 1874 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He was an actor and cinematographer, known for Speed (1925), The Love Gamble (1925) and The Outlaw Express (1926). He was married to Rose Gardner. He died in December 1936.- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Production Manager
Richard Bremerkamp was born on 21 October 1916 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He was an assistant director and production manager, known for Petticoat Junction (1963), Smoke in the Wind (1975) and Barnaby Jones (1973). He was married to Mary Meade, Marguerite Chapman and Ruth Rosemary James. He died on 12 December 2001 in Apple Valley, California, USA.- Additional Crew
- Actor
- Writer
Matt Hughes was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Humor Me (2024), Perry Mason (2020) and Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019).- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Robert G. Hager was born on 6 January 1913 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. Robert G. was a cinematographer, known for Petticoat Junction (1963), The Brady Bunch (1969) and Perry Mason (1957). Robert G. died on 10 August 2002 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ken Parker was born on 27 July 1909 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Mr. Tease and His Playthings (1959), Russ Meyer's Lorna (1964) and Eve and the Handyman (1961). He died on 22 September 1979 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Born in Terre Haute, Indiana, Anthony Bruce began writing student articles for the Terre Haute Tribune in October of 1981 while attending Terre Haute North Vigo High School. He went on to continue his writing for several newspapers and magazines throughout the United States. In 1997 he penned his play, "Visions of Sugarplums", which premiered in a Palm Springs, California, theatre one year later. In 1998 independent film producer Edward J. Fasulo was impressed enough with Bruce's writing talent to commission him to write the screenplay for the film version of his play, Visions of Sugarplums (2001), which was released in VHS and DVD formats on November 30, 2001. On April 30, 2001, Bruce's screenplay "Murder at Random" (aka "Murder at Hollandsburg") was optioned for film production by Emmy Award winner and veteran producer/casting executive (Columbia/Screen Gems Television) Renée Valente and fellow producer Eddie Kritzer. Bruce has another screenplay in the works entitled "Redefining Normal", which is based on his own "very colorful" true life story.- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Andy Howard was born on 22 May 1980 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. Andy is a producer and writer, known for Build It Bigger (2006), The Works (2008) and Mega Engineering (2009).- Edward Roseman was born on 14 May 1875 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Fantomas (1920), The Tiger Woman (1917) and Big Hearted Jim (1913). He was married to Sophia Anderson. He died on 16 September 1957 in Syracuse, New York, USA.
- Writer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Soundtrack
Composer, songwriter ("My Gal Sal", "On the Banks of the Wabash" [the official Indiana state song]), author, actor, singer, publisher and producer, educated at St. Meinrad's in Switz City, Indiana during training for the priesthood. He joined a medicine show at 16, then toured in vaudeville as a singer and monologist. In 1885, he was the 'end man' with the Billy Rice Minstrels. He joined the publishing firm of Howley, Haviland & Dresser, and then he formed his own firm. His other popular-song compositions include "Wide Wings", "The Letter That Never Came", "The Blue and the Gray", "Just Tell Them That You Saw Me", "Once Ev'ry Year", "The Curse of the Dreamer", "The Pardon Came Too Late"Don't Tell Her That You Love Her", "Your Mother Wants You Home, Boy", "Bethlehem", "The Outcast Unknown", "Mr. Volunteer", and "I Was Looking for My Boy, She Said".- Animation Department
- Sound Department
Johnny Cannon was born on 17 March 1907 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He is known for Good Scouts (1938). He died on 6 December 1946.- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Additional Crew
Nathan Atkinson was born on 28 January 1973 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He is a director and assistant director, known for Tracks of Saints (2008), Compulsions (2009) and Locker 13 (2014).- Animation Department
Bob Carr was born in 1924 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He is known for Space Ghost (1966), The New Adventures of Batman (1977) and Super Friends (1973). He died on 27 September 2008 in Irvine, California, USA.- Joe Adelman was born on 30 January 1910 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for The Delinquents (1957), The Cool and the Crazy (1958) and Terror at Black Falls (1962). He was married to Sophia Greenberg. He died on 3 April 1991 in Overland Park, Kansas, USA.
- Actor
- Cinematographer
Jacob Hashem was born in Indiana and raised in Austin, Texas. His mother is an air force brat and college professor and his father is a 2 time Olympian (4 if you count coaching) and retired banker. Growing up, Jacob played football and baseball, but acting has always been his passion. He has an RTVF degree from the University of North Texas.- Tony Hulman was born on 11 February 1901 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He died on 27 October 1977 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
- Ray Arcel was born on 30 August 1899 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He died on 7 March 1994 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Location Management
- Additional Crew
- Art Department
Matthew T. was born on 28 June 1970 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He is known for Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), The Avengers (2012) and Alex Cross (2012).- Director
- Actor
- Writer
William Tanoos was born on 15 April 1983 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He is a director and actor, known for The Drunk (2014).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Claude Thornhill was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, on August 10 1909. He started playing the piano from the age of ten. His mother, a choir director and church organist, encouraged him to pursue a musical career. Her ambition was for him to become a concert pianist. However, a close friendship with the clarinettist Danny Polo soon steered young Claude away from classical music, towards jazz. After a season on the 'S.S. George Washington' with Heavy Elder's Riverboat Orchestra and another year with the 'Kentucky Colonels', Thornhill embarked on a musical education at the Cincinnati Conservatory and the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, studying not only piano, but harmony, counterpoint and arranging. Following a two-year stint with Austin Wylie's band in the Cleveland area, Thornhill settled in New York in early 1931. During the first half of the decade, he worked steadily for more than a few name orchestras, including those of Hal Kemp, Paul Whiteman, Donald Voorhees, Jacques Renard, Freddy Martin, Ray Noble and Benny Goodman.
Beginning in 1936, Thornhill enjoyed a somewhat lengthier spell with Andre Kostelanetz, further honing his skills as an arranger. His first bona fide success arrived a year later, courtesy of an arrangement of "Loch Lomond", which became a hit recording for a 25-year old vocalist named Maxine Sullivan. As her musical director, he also supervised her first recording dates for Okeh and Vocalion. By the late 1930's, Thornhill had moved to the West Coast as a free-lance arranger. He also helped Skinnay Ennis set up a band and served as musical director on the Bob Hope Show.
With forty of his own arrangements in hand (and encouragement from his close friend Glenn Miller), he finally took the step of assembling a big band in 1940. After several setbacks on the West Coast (including a fire which burned down one of the venues), Thornhill finally opened at the prestigious Glen Island Casino the following March. Some of the more prominent musicians who formed part of this group, were trumpeters Conrad Gozzo and Rusty Diedrick, clarinettist Irving Fazola, trombonist Tasso Harris and the excellent arranger Gil Evans. With its French horns and emphasized sustained chords, unison clarinets (there were six in the band!) and Thornhill's own delicate piano solos, the band sounded unlike any other. While rarely a true swinging outfit like Goodman's or Shaw's, the band excelled at lush, melodic ballads, such as "Sleepy Serenade", Thornhill's own composition (his theme song), "Snowfall", and arrangements of classic pieces, like "Träumerei".
Unfortunately, due to World War II and the draft, this first incarnation of the Claude Thornhill Orchestra was short-lived. Claude himself enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1942. He first served in Artie Shaw's navy band, 'The Rangers', before devoting more time to organising special musical events. In the process, he worked closely with some of the top brass, including Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and Admiral William F. Halsey. Thornhill then led a service orchestra in Hawaii until the end of the war. In 1946, he assembled another big band, which included a swinging drummer named Billy Exiner, the vocalist Fran Warren (whose biggest hit with the band was "A Sunday Kind of Love"), and, on some recording dates, emerging stars Lee Konitz and Gerry Mulligan. The main creative impetus came from Gil Evans, whose classic arrangements (such as, "Buster's Last Stand", "Donna Lee", "Anthropology" and "Yardbird Suite") are regarded by many as having presaged the birth of the 'Cool' movement (Evans, of course, went on to collaborate with Miles Davis on the seminal albums "Miles Ahead" and "Sketches of Spain"). However, Thornhill, like everyone else in the business, was eventually affected by the overall financial downturn, which made it less and less profitable to operate big bands. By the 1950's -- and suffering from health problems -- he had disbanded the orchestra and gone into semi-retirement. He re-emerged to briefly serve as musical director for Tony Bennett in 1957, thereafter confining his bandleading activities to a sextet. On July 1 1965, he died suddenly of a double heart attack at his home in Caldwell, New Jersey. A compilation of seventeen of the best arrangements by Thornhill and Evans (covering the period 1937-47) was compiled in an album entitled "Tapestries" , released by Charly Records in 1987.- Tommy John was born on 22 May 1943 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. He was previously married to Sally Simmons.