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Emmy-nominated actor and producer Michael Kenneth Williams was one of his generation's most respected and acclaimed talents. By bringing complicated and charismatic characters to life--often with surprising tenderness--Williams established himself as a gifted and versatile performer with a unique ability to mesmerize audiences with his stunning character portrayals.

Born in 1966 in Brooklyn, Williams was best known for his remarkable work on The Wire (2002). The wit and humor that Williams brought to Omar, the whistle-happy, profanity-averse, openly gay drug dealer-robbing stickup man, earned him high praise, and made Omar one of television's most memorable characters. Williams also co-starred in HBO's critically acclaimed series Boardwalk Empire (2010), in which he played Chalky White, a 1920s bootlegger and the impeccably suited, veritable mayor of Atlantic City's African American community. In 2012, "Boardwalk Empire" won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. He received his first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie for HBO's Bessie (2015) and subsequently received his second nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series for his portrayal of Freddy in HBO's The Night Of (2016).

In 2018, Vice (2013) returned for its sixth season with an extended special season premiere produced by and featuring Williams as he embarked on a personal journey to expose the root of the American mass incarceration crisis: the juvenile justice system. The episode "Raised in the System" offered a frank and unflinching look at those caught up the system, exploring why the country's mass incarceration problem cannot be fixed without first addressing the juvenile justice problem. Williams investigated the solutions that local communities were employing that resulted in drastic drops in both crime and incarceration. Michael garnered his first Emmy nomination as a producer for this incredible documentary and continues to host screenings across the country as a way to educate and raise awareness.

Giving back to the community played an important role in Williams' off-camera life. He launched Making Kids Win, a charitable organization, the primary objective of which is to build community centers in urban neighborhoods that are in need of safe spaces for children to learn and play. Williams served as the ACLU's Ambassador of Smart Justice.

Williams began his career as a performer by dancing professionally at age 22. After numerous appearances in music videos and as a background dancer on concert tours for Madonna and George Michael, Williams decided to pursue acting seriously. He participated in several productions of the La MaMA Experimental Theater, the prestigious National Black Theater Company. and the Theater for a New Generation, directed by Mel Williams.

Michael K. Williams was born, raised, and resided in Brooklyn, New York, until his death on September 6, 2021.

Eden Marryshow is an award-winning Director/Writer/Actor from Flatbush, Brooklyn. For over a decade, Eden served New York City's Department of Education as a Paraprofessional where he taught some of New York City's most marginalized youth. Latina "Peanut" Bilbro, one of his most beloved students, would always tell him that she believed in him, she knew he was going to make movies someday. While driving to work on June 22nd 2006, Eden received a call that Peanut was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting. He finally realized how short life is and decided to keep his promise to his beloved Peanut, it was time to follow his dream... and to prove her right. Eden recently co-wrote, produced and starred in the Feature Film Bruce!!!! which garnered Marryshow the Grand Jury Prize: Best Director at the American Black Film Festival, the HBO Award for Best Film and the Audience Award at the Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival, and was nominated for Best Film at Urbanworld Film Festival. Bruce!!!! opened Nationwide theatrically in March of this year in 25 cities through AMCindependent. Eden had his Broadway debut this year as Ray Mills in the Tony Award winning play INK. He is also excitedly gearing up to shoot the feature Flatbush in 2020. Dream Big, Go Hard! Lets Get It! Peanut, I love you.

Joey Bada$$ was born on 20 January 1995 in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He is a music artist and actor, known for Creed (2015), Two Distant Strangers (2020) and Mr. Robot (2015).

Jewel Shepard has made that difficult, odd segue from working in front of the camera to in front of the word processor. Since her days in the cradle, her dream was to be a grade A movie star. She got about as far as a few dozen grade B (or lower) movies viewed on late night TV by either die-hard fans or insomniacs.

Finally, after fifteen years of being thrown into pig excrement - no kidding; she really did a movie where she was thrown in genuine pig excrement - Party Camp - she decided it was time for a change. It was time to get away from working conditions such as the time she was shipped off to the Philippines for what the casting director assured her would be a vacation in paradise. (It was a Roger Corman epic, Caged Heat 2, and she was thrown in prison, flogged, beaten up by a band of orange-clad warrior women and practically devoured by bugs the size of Buicks) It was time to get away from films where they'd tell her, "There will be brief nudity." (In Christina, "brief" turned out to mean about 88 out of 90 minutes, including one nude scene shot on location in front of the Eiffel Tower in near-zero degree weather.) It was time to get away from doing your own stunts, eating Spam on a meal break, producers who insist that a separate hotel room is not in the budget and you must share theirs, ice-cold sets, colder dialogue and film companies that are so under funded, they can't afford a Casting Couch and expect you to put out on a folding chair.

Of course, there were some good movies. Like the time where she got chased around a graveyard by a bunch of Zombies screaming, More Brains (the highlight being; she got to keep her clothes on during the entire episode) in the Horror/Comedy The Return of the Living Dead written and directed by the king of monster gore - and creator of Alien - Dan O'Bannon.

Of course, her happiness was short-lived - twenty-minutes later she was nuked. Never to survive the endless sequels that followed.

Such is life.

Occasionally, she had a dramatic moment on film. Scenes from the Goldmine offered her that rare moment where she wasn't getting whipped, or thrown in pig-dung, or tossed in a hot tub... she got pregnant instead.

But hey, it was a chance for her to work with a former Sopranos star, Joey Pantiliano - Rock Star and member of the Mega-group The Eagles - Timothy B. Schmidt, and the actor best known for his eerie depiction of Charles Manson, in Helter- Skelter - Steve Railsback.

While all of these people are great - it was her friendship with fellow co-star, Catherine Mary Stewart (Night of the Comet) that made her pregnancy truly special. It was after-all her on screen dad, Alex Rocco, who got her pregnant which somehow lead to the part of a blind hooker in Roots of Evil.

I want to know who came up with that one! Ahh... it was back to popping-off her top - Again.

This time it was in the absolutely forgettable The Underachievers, where for a brief moment she had an encounter with an Alien that somehow inspired her to rip her top off with desire - at least when she ripped her top off in Zapped! It was for Scott Baio. Or in My Tutor, it was for Matt Latanzi. At least, ripping off my top for any of the aboved mentioned was better than ripping of my top in an elevator in Raw Force - just for the heck of it.

I am not even going to bother to mention all the made for the Z channel pop-the- topper's I've been in...

Time to start on a second-choice career goal...

So Jewel decided to become a writer, knowing full well that she was fighting an uphill battle to get folks to take the star of Hollywood Hot Tubs (and its even-better sequel, Hollywood Hot Tubs II) seriously. She started by polling her fellow B-Movie Queens, interviewing stars of the past and present to create the definitive book on the subject, Invasion of the B-Girls. This is the book that answers the musical question, why would anyone appear in a film called Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-a-Rama? Why anyone would watch such a film remains unanswered.

Her first book was a smash.

It sold like crazy, still sells (do a search on eBay) and even got purchased by Dick Clark as the basis for a not-yet-filmed-but-she's-still-hoping A movie. Better still, it prompted a demand for her second book - an autobiography entitled, If I'm So Famous, How Come Nobody's Ever Heard of Me? - and brought her offers to write for magazines, including Premiere, Cosmopolitan, Details and many others. (It also yielded this surreal scene: Jewel autographing copies at the American Booksellers Association, seated between Ross Perot and Senator Paul Simon, both of whom wanted their picture with her.) She also received a fan letter - which she opened very carefully - from Ted Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber.

It was Premiere that especially grabbed up her writing, saving her from getting whipped in any more bad movies. She was tapped for a feature article in their Women in Film issue, in which she profiled the 6'1 goddess and reigning Queen of B-Movies, Julie Strain and her hubby, who became filthy rich by creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Five pages later, Premiere appointed her a Contributing Writer and began lobbing assignments her way, covering the Hollywood scene from her unique perspective.

Today, she divides her time between more articles for magazines, special features for the Associated Press and a couple of secret projects. Asked about her work, she replies, "So this is what I do now. I sit in front of my computer and write. I write about people I've met, places I've seen. Did I mention the experience with African Wild Dogs? Or the last Botswana Bushman? Or the deer people of Mongolia?

It's sometimes exhausting, sometimes difficult, sometimes dangerous, traveling to the World's hotspots...

Recently, she was back in front of the camera - not in some crummy movie with over-heated producers, and lots of bad acting - no bad acting here - she got a chance to act opposite William Macy in The Cooler starring Alec Baldwin and better yet! She got to keep her top on!

Jewel is also a regular on The Garfield Show performing various voice roles as the occasional tourist, cat, or covered dish as opposed to the regular moments of her life playing an uncovered dish. She can also be seen in the wildly popular flick The Artist where she played a flapper babe to Jean Dujardin's Academy Award winning performance as George Valentin. When asked about her part in the Academy Award winning flick Jewel just smiles and says, "I had as many lines as anyone did in the movie". True. And, how many folks can say that about any part?

Eliza Hittman was born on 1 January 1979 in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. She is a director and producer, known for Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020), Beach Rats (2017) and It Felt Like Love (2013).

David Draiman's father YJ Draiman is a candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles in the 2017 Elections and is the number 2 candidate after the current mayor. David's father is a fourth term elected official in the City of Los Angeles, he also ran for mayor of Los Angeles in 2013 and his Agenda is to make Los Angeles the World Capital of Renewable Energy and Water conservation technology, bringing about thousands of businesses and revitalizing Los Angeles Economy and creating over a hundred thousand new jobs in Southern California.

Jpegmafia was born on 22 October 1989 in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He is a composer and actor.

Toni Hunter, a re-emerging actress from Indianapolis, Indiana. Most recently in 2019, Toni Hunter was an episodic feature in Showtime's "The Good Lord Bird". A series about John Brown & Harpers Ferry, filmed in historic Richmond, Virginia. Initially, she was first cast as a burlesque dancer in 1999, featured in the popular HBO series, that explored the traditional dance in a creative production led by the legendary, Toni Alendrini. Toni's professional break came with an episode in season 2 of "The Wire"in 2002, and several day player roles in daytime television's "Guiding Light". Toni followed up with, Spike Lee's, "The 25th Hour". While in New York, she trained with off Broadway Theatre actress, Esther Brandice within the "Actors Advent". In 2004, Toni was featured in MGM's "Soul Plane", starring Kevin Hart. In 2006, Toni garnered network television credits with UPN's "CUTS" co-starring with Marques Houston. You can also find her, starring as Lovely Daniels in, the DVD classic "It Ain't Easy" and her follow up appearance in "A Day in The Life" More notably known within the golden era of the Video Vixen, Toni Hunter appeared in a multitude of music videos from 2000-2009, with such artists as Missy Elliot, P. Diddy, Snoop Dogg, 50 cent, The Dave Mathew's Band, Pharrell, OutKast, & Usher just to name a few. From there, she Co-starred alongside Andre' 3000 on the Grammy-winning album "The Love Below". Also as a thespian, Toni was featured in Jecaryous Johnson's production of "Cheaters" and Carl Anthony Paine's "Irresponsible Behavior" during the 17 city national tour, in 2006.

Robert Anton Wilson was born on 18 January 1932 in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Illuminatus! Part 01 - The Eye in the Pyramid, Illuminatus! Part 02 - The Golden Apple and Illuminatus! Part 03 - Leviathan. He was married to Arlen Riley. He died on 11 January 2007 in Capitola, California, USA.

Jane Freilicher was born on 29 November 1924 in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. She is known for Something's Gotta Give (2003) and A Sense of Place: The Artist and the American Land (1980). She was married to Joseph H. Hazan and Jack Freilicher. She died on 9 December 2014 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.