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1-17 of 17
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Shelley Berman began studying acting shortly after he was honorably discharged from the US navy. He enrolled as a drama student at Chicago's Goodman Theater, where he met Sarah Herman, another aspiring thespian. They fell in love and were married in 1947. After graduating from the Goodman Theater, Shelley joined the Woodstock Players, a stock theater company in Woodstock, IL. It was here that he had the opportunity to really develop and polish his acting skills, with the support and encouragement of fellow players Geraldine Page, Betsy Palmer and Tom Bosley. Leaving Woodstock in 1949, Shelley and Sarah made their way across the country, with Shelley in search of acting work. When those jobs were scarce, he worked as a social director, a cab driver, a speech teacher, an assistant manager at a drug store and an instructor at Arthur Murray Dance Studios. While in New York Shelley found work as a sketch writer for The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (1956), and was doing well when he received an invitation to join an improvisational troupe known as The Compass Players, which took him back home to Chicago. With Compass (which later evolved into Second City) Shelley worked with soon-to-be famous performers Mike Nichols, Elaine May, Severn Darden and Barbara Harris, among others. While performing improvised sketches with the Compass Players, Shelley began developing solo pieces, employing an imaginary telephone to take the place of an onstage partner. While watching Mort Sahl perform at Mr. Kelly's in Chicago in 1957, Shelley realized he didn't necessarily have to tell traditional jokes, as other comedians of the day did, in order to work in nightclubs and went on to audition at the club, performing his one-man monologues and telephone routines with great success. Those first dates at Mr. Kelly's led to other nightclub engagements around the country, appearances on national television and a recording contract with Verve Records. "Inside Shelley Berman", released in early 1959, became the first comedy album to be awarded a gold record--for selling one million copies--and the first non-musical recording to win a Grammy Award. Shelley would eventually record a total of six albums for Verve, including "Outside Shelley Berman" and "The Edge of Shelley Berman", both of which also went gold. Shelley would go on to appear on numerous TV specials, and all of the major variety shows, including those of Ed Sullivan, Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Dinah Shore, Perry Como, Andy Williams and Dean Martin. Shelley's great success as a comedian enabled him to continue with his first love, acting. He starred on Broadway in "A Family Affair" and would continue to do stage work in productions of "The Odd Couple", "Damn Yankees", "Where's Charley?", "Fiddler On the Roof", "Two by Two", "I'm Not Rappaport", "La Cage aux Folles", "Prisoner of Second Avenue" and "Guys & Dolls", among others. Comedic and dramatic acting roles in what came to be known as "The Golden Age of Television" began to come his way, including memorable appearances on episodes of Peter Gunn (1958), The Twilight Zone (1959), Rawhide (1959), Bewitched (1964), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964), The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970), Adam-12 (1968), Emergency! (1972), CHiPs (1977), St. Elsewhere (1982), Night Court (1984), MacGyver (1985), L.A. Law (1986), Friends (1994), Arli$$ (1996), Lizzie McGuire (2001), Providence (1999), Walker, Texas Ranger (1993), The King of Queens (1998), "The Bernie Mac Show" (2001)_, "Grey's Anatomy" (2005)_ Entourage (2004) Hannah Montana (2006), CSI: NY (2004) and Boston Legal (2004), the latter of which he made numerous recurring guest -tar appearances as the hilariously semi-senile Judge Robert Sanders. Since 2002 Shelley has appeared as Nat David (Larry David's father) on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000), a role for which he received a 2008 Emmy Award nomination. With dialogue entirely improvised by its cast, "Curb" has given Shelley the opportunity to return to his improv roots, introduced him to a new generation of TV viewers and brought him acclaim from critics and fans alike. Among Shelley's film credits are The Best Man (1964) with Henry Fonda; Divorce American Style (1967) with Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Reynolds; Every Home Should Have One (1970) with Marty Feldman; '80s cult favorite Teen Witch (1989); with 'Burt Reynolds' in The Last Producer (2000); Meet the Fockers (2004) with Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller; The Aristocrats (2005); The Holiday (2006) with Cameron Diaz, and You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008) (with Adam Sandler). Shelley continues to do film and television work and make personal appearances across the country year-round. He has authored three books, two plays, several TV pilot scripts and numerous poems. For over 20 years he taught humor writing in the Master of Professional Writing program at USC, where he is now a Lecturer Emeritus. Shelley spends his (precious little) free time volunteering for various charitable organizations and indulging in his favorite hobby, knife collecting.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Born in Philadelphia to a Jewish family, she landed her one and only film role in the 1962 thriller What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) after winning a contest. After appearing as the young Jane Hudson she never returned to the screen or any other form of acting thereafter due to the religious beliefs of her family. She spent the remainder of her life living in her birthplace of Pennsylvania married to a dentist and later raised a family.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Joe Camp was born on 20 April 1939 in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. He was a writer and director, known for Oh Heavenly Dog (1980), Benji (1974) and For the Love of Benji (1977). He was married to Kathleen Garrett and Carolyn H. Camp. He died on 15 March 2024 in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Don Herbert was born on 10 July 1917 in Waconia, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Mr. Wizard's World (1983), Scarecrows (1988) and Mr. Wizard (1951). He was married to Norma Herbert and Maraleita Dutton. He died on 12 June 2007 in Bell Canyon, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Dorothy Page was born March 4, 1904, in Northampton, Pennsylvania. As a college student in Pennsylvania she was picked by the Curtis Publishing Co. to be a cover model for the "Saturday Evening Post". She married a medical student in 1925, and after he became a doctor they moved to Detroit, his hometown, to start his medical practice. The Depression hit the US in the 1930s, and many families needed extra income to survive, so Dorothy--who had majored in music in college--auditioned for a singing spot in the Paul Whiteman band. She got the job, and was soon singing with Whiteman's band on his NBC Radio show. She became quite popular with audiences. In 1935 she was a regular on the "Paducah Plantation" radio program of Irvin S. Cobb. That same year she was signed to a contract by Universal Pictures, which put her in a lower-budget musical with Ricardo Cortez called Manhattan Moon (1935), which clicked with audiences. Her next film, though, King Solomon of Broadway (1935), was less successful, and she was dropped by Universal.
A few years later she tried her luck in films again with a film for Republic Pictures, Mama Runs Wild (1937), a Charles Ruggles-Mary Boland comedy, but in this film Dorothy didn't sing, and the picture didn't do well critically or financially. However, "B" studio Grand National Pictures thought that Dorothy could save their studio, which was on the financial ropes due to the disastrous Something to Sing About (1937), a million-dollar James Cagney musical that flopped big-time and cost Grand National a fortune. The studio signed Dorothy for a series of medium-budgeted musical westerns, with the gimmick of her being a singing cowgirl. However, "medium budgeted" for Grand National was "very low budgeted" anywhere else, and the films--three in all--were not particularly successful, as audiences didn't take to the idea of a singing cowgirl the way they had to a singing cowboy. After the third film Grand National dropped the series, and Dorothy as well, and the studio soon went out of business. Dorothy retired from acting to devote her time to her family. Her first marriage having ended in a divorce, she remarried again in 1939, to an attorney, but he died of a heart attack in 1941. She soon remarried a third time, to a rancher in Fresno, California, and moved there to help him run his ranching business for many years. The 1950s were not good for her, however, Her marriage broke up and later she was diagnosed with cancer. She moved to Florida after the divorce to be nearer to the hospital where she was receiving treatment for her disease, but she succumbed to it in 1961.- Actor
- Writer
Jean-Marc Bory was born on 17 March 1934 in Noville, Vaud, Switzerland. He was an actor and writer, known for The Lovers (1958), Bernadette (1988) and A Tale of Two Cities (1989). He died on 31 March 2001 in Belle-Île-en-Mer, Morbihan, France.- Mitchell Guist was born on 18 May 1964. He died on 14 May 2012 in Belle River, Louisiana, USA.
- Director
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Klaus-Michael Grüber was born on 4 June 1941 in Neckarelz, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. He was a director and writer, known for Winterreise im Olympiastadion (1979), Fermata Etna (1981) and The Lovers on the Bridge (1991). He died on 23 June 2008 in Belle-Île-en-Mer, Morbihan, France.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Duane Tatro was born on 18 May 1927 in Van Nuys, California, USA. He was a composer, known for Mission: Impossible (1966), Tales of the Unexpected (1977) and The Invaders (1967). He was married to Francoise. He died on 9 August 2020 in Bell Canyon, California, USA.- Ruby Lafayette was born on 22 July 1844 in Augusta, Kentucky, USA. She was an actress, known for The Man Trap (1917), Toby's Bow (1919) and Beauty in Chains (1918). She was married to John T. Curran. She died on 3 April 1935 in Bell, California, USA.
- Ed Winn died on 2 September 2004 in Bell, California, USA.
- Actress
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Additional Crew
Natacha Perchais was born on 6 November 1973 in Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France. She was an actress and assistant director, known for Le bar des amants (1998), Coupures (1998) and L'Oeil du cyclone (1991). She died on 29 May 1998 in Capesterre-Belle-Eau, Guadeloupe, France.- Music Department
- Sound Department
- Additional Crew
Al Schmitt was born on 17 April 1930 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He is known for Dune (1984), Anything Else (2003) and Hope Floats (1998). He was married to Lisa. He died on 26 April 2021 in Bell Canyon, California, USA.- Norma Herbert was born on 27 March 1918 in Sidney, Iowa, USA. She was a producer, known for Mr. Wizard's World (1983) and Hollywood and the Stars (1963). She was married to Don Herbert. She died on 25 January 2010 in Bell Canyon, California, USA.
- Fabián Show was born in 1968 in Pozo del Molle, Córdoba, Argentina. He died on 10 December 2016 in Bell Ville, Córdoba, Argentina.
- Henri Bedex was born on 3 September 1929 in France. He was an actor, known for Airs de France (1955), La vie de bohème (1960) and Don Quichotte (1961). He was married to Françoise. He died on 10 September 2015 in Le Palais, Belle-Ile, Morbihan, France.
- Marc Dantzer was born on 30 July 1903 in Belle-Île-en-Mer, Morbihan, France. He was an actor, known for Moon Over Morocco (1931), Die fünf verfluchten Gentlemen (1932) and Pontcarral, colonel d'empire (1942). He died on 12 July 1990 in Belle-Île-en-Mer, Morbihan, France.