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1-41 of 41
- Actor
- Writer
- Music Department
Spike was born an 'Army Brat', the son of an Irish Captain in the British Raj in India. Educated in a series of Roman Catholic schools in India and at Lewisham Polytechnic in England, he spent his formative years playing the fool and playing the trumpet in local jazz bands.
He joined the British Army himself (under protest if you believe his auto-biogs) as a conscript at the outbreak of WWII. He served in the Royal Artillery as Gunner Milligan through the North African and Italian campaigns. He got a bit too close to an exploding shell and was hospitalised with shell-shock. On his escape from army life he started his "real" work as an author and humourist.
Most famous for 'The Goon Show' with Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe (and originally Michael Bentine), these radio shows are commonly regarded as re-writing the rules of comedy (even before Monty Python). However under the pressure of writing all the scripts he suffered a breakdown and became a clinical manic-depressive.
He was fondly regarded as the last of the great British eccentrics and had written a wealth of comic poetry mainly for children, a few novels and his multi-volume auto-biography. Spike was also a keen (fanatical?) environmental campaigner.- Producer
- Director
- Composer
Producer, author, and composer, educated at NYU. Until 1960, he worked at a New York advertising agency, and then co-founded a film production company in New York. He joined ASCAP in 1963 and collaborated musically with Edward Thomas and James Polack. His popular-song works include "Pinocchio," "Three Sad Souls," and "Daydreamer." His most famous and lasting collaboration was with Arthur Rankin Jr., with whom he partnered on many of his hits, including all his ABC-TV Christmas specials of stop motion animation and many cartoons.- Jim Boyd was born on 11 November 1933 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for The Electric Company (1971), Law & Order (1990) and Space Force (1978). He was married to Kathleen Paris. He died on 2 January 2013 in Rye Brook, New York, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
From the day she was born Martha lived in a world of music. For sure her father was a banker but he was also an amateur pianist. As for her mother, she was a housewife but also a very talented opera singer who had given up her career for the joys of matrimony and motherhood. It does not come as a surprise, under such circumstances, that the little girl's singing capacities were soon discovered. At eight she was already on a scene singing an aria from "The Barber of Seville". A critic attended the show and was impressed by her performance. He introduced her to the director of the Magyar Theater, where she landed her first contract. As of the age of 10 she was hailed as Hungary's "national idol". And it was not long before her triumph became international. An operetta, "Pogasza", was written specially for the crystal-clear-voiced little singer. Among others, she played the role of the doll in "Tales of Hoffmann" and starred in "Das Veilchen vom Montmartre" by Kalman. With the advent of sound films, she found herself very much in demand in the 1930s, bringing her beautiful voice and looks to yet more delighted viewers. It is on the set of "Mein Herz ruft nach dir" that she met Jan Kiepura, another successful opera and operetta singer. Although it was not love at first sight, Jan and Martha gradually fell in love, married two years later, had two sons and were separated only by death with the demise of Jan in 1966. In 1938, the couple fled Austria after its annexation by Hitler and settled down in the South of France first then in the USA. Martha made fewer movies but kept on singing. For instance she co-starred in "The merry Widow" in Broadway for three years with Jan Kiepura. She became an American citizen in the fifties and currently lives in Rye, new York.- Sarah Parkinson was born on 6 June 1962 in Islington, London, England, UK. She was a writer, known for The Suicidal Dog (2000), Room 101 (1994) and The South Bank Show (1978). She was married to Paul Merton. She died on 23 September 2003 in Rye, East Sussex, England, UK.
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Dr. William Moulton Marston was a man who managed to combine interests of several dissimilar fields into an idea that has lasted for decades. Marston was born and raised in Massachusetts. He earned a law degree in 1918 and got a Ph.D in Psychology from Harvard University in 1921. Long interested in finding a scientific way to prove a person's innocence, Marston invented the systolic blood-pressure test, which is the basis for the polygraph machine. While campaigning for the wider use of the lie-detector in criminal cases, Marston became convinced from his studies that women were more honest and trustworthy than men. Marston became an early feminist because of this belief, and championed the idea that women represented a peaceful force in society. In 1940, Marston was invited by then DC Comics publisher Maxwell Charles Gaines to serve on an educational advisory board for DC. Marston was unhappy with the cliched male superhero, and suggested to Gaines that there was a need for a female superhero. Gaines was enthusiastic, and encouraged Marston to develop this character. That character, Wonder Woman, appeared in 1941, credited to Charles Moulton (the name came from Gaines and Marston's middle names). Wonder Woman was extremely popular, and soon starred in her own eponymous comic. Marston continued to work on his creation until his early death from cancer in 1947. Wonder Woman lives on.- Wellington Mara was born on 14 August 1916 in New York City, New York, USA. He was married to Ann Maria Teresa Mumm. He died on 25 October 2005 in Rye, New York, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Jan Kiepura, the son of a baker, was born in 1902 in the gloomy mining town of Sosnowiec, now in Poland, but situated in Russia at that time. He left his native town, that - although dirty and dark - would always remain dear to his heart, for Warsaw, where he started studying law. At the same time he took singing lessons with Waclaw Brzesinsky and Tadeusz Leliwa. He soon realized that singing was his real vocation and was lucky to benefit from the support of his parents, who understood how talented he was in this field. At age 23, Jan was hired for the first time, as a replacement in the choir of the Warsaw Opera, but he sang so loud that his voice covered all the other ones, which resulted in his being fired. However, three months later, he found himself on the same stage, but in the right place this time, as the lead singer of Gounod's "Faust". This outstanding performance marked the beginning of a rapid rise: from then on, Jan Kiepura was wanted everywhere in the world. In addition,it was not long before the cinema - now talking - required his beautiful voice and his good looks. As of the early thirties he starred in a series of filmed operettas. It was on the set of "Mein Herz ruft nach dir" that he met the woman of his life, Hungarian-born Marta Eggerth, another star singer, with whom he lived until his death in 1966 and who gave him two sons. In March '38, the couple fled Austria and took refuge in the South of France. The following year, he joined the French Polish Legion and shortly after the Phoney War, he was assigned the mission to defend the cause of invaded Poland in the States. He found Marta there and after the end of the War they teamed together on Broadway where they co-starred in "The Merry Widow" and "La Polonaise". In 1953, Jan and Marta settled down in the USA for good and Jan acquired American citizenship shortly afterwards. But his career quickly declined and, at the age of 64, he died of a heart attack in his New York State home.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Roberta Peters was born on 4 May 1930 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for City Hall (1996), The Captive (2014) and Die Zauberflöte (1964). She was married to Bertram Fields and Robert Merrill. She died on 18 January 2017 in Rye, New York, USA.- Dr. Dow was born on 6 November 1915 in Yuzhong, Gansu, China. He was an actor, known for Caddyshack (1980) and Caddyshack: The Inside Story (2009). He died on 6 July 2017 in Rye, New York, USA.
- Berkely Mather was born on 25 February 1909 in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England, UK. Berkely was a writer, known for Dr. No (1962), The DuPont Show of the Week (1961) and The Avengers (1961). Berkely was married to Kay Jones. Berkely died on 7 April 1996 in Brede, Rye, East Sussex, England, UK.
- Ralph Branca was born on 6 January 1926 in Mount Vernon, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Parental Guidance (2012), Hitler, Stalin & Walter O'Malley (2005) and 1949 World Series (1949). He was married to Ann Mulvey. He died on 23 November 2016 in Rye Brook, New York, USA.
- Additional Crew
- Production Manager
Noreen Hipwell was born on 9 September 1909 in Hendon, Middlesex, England, UK. She was a production manager, known for Exodus (1960), Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965) and Look Before You Love (1948). She was married to Harry Hipwell. She died on 31 August 2006 in Rye, East Sussex, England, UK.- Writer
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Bill Stern was born on 1 July 1907 in Rochester, New York, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for The Pride of the Yankees (1942), We've Never Been Licked (1943) and XIVth Olympiad: The Glory of Sport (1948). He died on 19 November 1971 in Rye, New York, USA.- Babs Simpson was born on 9 April 1913 in Beijing, China. She was married to William Simpson. She died on 7 January 2019 in Rye, New York, USA.
- Producer
- Writer
- Art Department
John Ryan was born on 4 March 1921 in Edinburgh, Lothian, Scotland, UK. He was a producer and writer, known for Captain Pugwash (1957), The Adventures of Sir Prancelot (1972) and The Adventures of Captain Pugwash (1998). He was married to Priscilla Ryan. He died on 22 July 2009 in Rye, East Sussex, England, UK.- Elizabeth Janeway was born on 7 October 1913 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. She was a writer, known for Daisy Kenyon (1947) and Studio One (1948). She was married to Eliot Janeway. She died on 15 January 2005 in Rye, New York, USA.
- Ben Novack Jr. was born on 19 January 1956 in Miami, Florida, USA. He was married to Narcy Novack. He died on 12 July 2009 in Rye Brook, New York, USA.
- Writer
- Producer
- Script and Continuity Department
Norman Barasch was born on 18 February 1922 in Rockville Center, New York, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for The Danny Kaye Show (1963), Rhoda (1974) and Fish (1977). He died on 13 August 2019 in Rye Brook, New York, USA.- Helen Carroll was born on 23 May 1915 in Bloomington, Indiana, USA. She was an actress, known for Love Thy Neighbor (1940) and Swift Home Service Club (1947). She was married to Carl Kress. She died on 21 February 2011 in Rye, New Hampshire, USA.
- Oliver Wakefield, "The Voice of Inexperience, " has been described as an English comedian with an American sense of humor. A master of droll, unfinished sentences and pithy remarks, Oliver Wakefield has a brilliant faculty for biting sarcasm and sage observations of human foibles. While seeming to spout nonsense, he nevertheless leaves the audience with an overall impression that, like "The Melancholy Dane", he has "method in his madness." This specialist in making nonsense sound philosophical - and vice versa - was born to be a comedian. Who else in the world can stand before an audience and announce, truthfully, that he was born in Zululand, South Africa? Only another Zululander, and at last count there weren't very many Zulu comedians making the rounds in show business. Following his unusual beginning, Oliver remained on the Dark Continent long enough to get a formal education, then journeyed to England and an acting job with a Shakespearean repertory company. From there he went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts for further study. While studying he developed a new style of humor and very quickly established himself in nightclubs and music hall circles as a very clever and versatile comedian. He has the distinction of being the first Resident Comedian on the B.B.C., and was also a pioneer in British T.V. He starred and played feature roles for Warner Brothers and Gainsborough Pictures opposite such top-flight British performers as Gracie Fields, Anne Crawford, Glynis Johns and Patricia Roc, and appeared regularly at the Savoy, The Berkeley, The Ritz, Cafe de Paris, and other clubs. He was booked to open at the Rainbow Room in New York three weeks after the out break of the war, but chose to remain in England and joined the R.A.F. After the war, Oliver Wakefield returned to show business, playing for a full year in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. This was followed by a 52 week radio series for the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Returning to the United States in 1952 he was immediately booked into the Blue Angel in New York, where he re-established himself in the American scene as a definite British asset. He delighted audiences at Blue Angel, Number One Fifth Avenue, Ruban Bleu, and Bon Soir and has made successful appearances on the All Star Revue, Kate Smith, Steve Allen and many other guest appearances. His Last Broadway appearance was in the Bette Davis Revue, "TWO'S COMPANY" at the Alvin Theatre in New York. It is difficult to describe Oliver Wakefield's act. It has often been said that his grasp of current affairs is only exceeded by his inability to express them. He makes a very good-looking appearance, wearing a distinguished handlebar moustache; he impresses one as a typical English gentlemen --, which he is: He writes his own material. With extreme nonchalance he tells us that "Britain has built herself up from nothing to a state of extreme poverty, " and makes one share his confidence that "They will get an American loan even if they have to borrow the money." In Canada apart from appearing frequently for CBS on the Frigidair T.V. Show he played a record breaking fourteen weeks at Montreal's smart "Ruby Foos" and also had his own T.V. Panel Show "Make a Match." With his additional Motion Picture and Dramatic background we close this biography with a quote from Variety "Wakefield seems strong for any medium."
- William Courtenay was born on 19 June 1875 in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Miss Jerry (1894), The Sacred Flame (1929) and The Way of All Men (1930). He was married to Virginia Harned. He died on 20 April 1933 in Rye, New York, USA.
- Tony Hughes was born on 19 June 1928 in Bristol, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (1973), A Question of Guilt (1980) and Marked Personal (1973). He died on 8 February 2011 in Rye, East Sussex, England, UK.
- Additional Crew
- Actor
- Director
William Chappell was born on 27 September 1907 in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, UK. He was an actor and director, known for The Trial (1962), Theatre Night (1957) and Before the Fringe (1967). He died on 1 January 1994 in Rye, East Sussex, England, UK.- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Susan Sollins was born on 20 March 1939 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. She was a producer and writer, known for Art in the Twenty-First Century (2001), William Kentridge: Anything Is Possible (2010) and Extended Play (2008). She was married to Earle Brown. She died on 13 October 2014 in Rye, New York, USA.