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- Actor
- Soundtrack
Since David McCallum's father, David McCallum Sr., was first violinist for the London Philharmonic Orchestra and his mother, Dorothy Dorman, was a cellist, it's not surprising that David was originally headed for a career in music, playing oboe. He studied briefly at the Royal Academy of Music. He left that, however, for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and joined Actor's Equity in 1946, his first acting work being for BBC Radio. He made nearly a dozen movies in the United Kingdom before his critically acclaimed work as Lt. Wyatt in Billy Budd (1962).
To the older generation, he is perhaps best known for his portrayal of U.N.C.L.E. agent Illya Kuryakin in the hit TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964). To younger audience, he is best known for his superlative portrayal of Dr. Donald "Duckie" Mallard on NCIS (2003).
McCallum was first married to actress Jill Ireland, whom he met while filming Hell Drivers (1957). In 1962 he introduced Ireland to Charles Bronson when both were filming The Great Escape (1963). She eventually left McCallum and married Bronson in 1968. McCallum and Ireland had three sons: Paul, Jason (an adopted son who died from an accidental drug overdose in 1989), and Val (short for Valentine).
He met fashion model Katherine Carpenter during a photo shoot for Glamour in 1965 and married her two years later. The couple had a son, Peter, and a daughter, Sophie. They were together for 58 years and were active with charitable organizations that support the The United States Marine Corps: Katherine's father was a Marine who served in the Battle of Iwo Jima, and her brother lost his life in the Vietnam War. McCallum had eight grandchildren.
David McCallum died on September 25 2023 in New York City from natural causes at the age of 90.- Murray Hamilton was one of those character actors whose face would be familiar to most movie buffs at an instant, yet his name may not. That's a shame, because Hamilton was one of the most versatile and prolific of performers who was never anything less than completely convincing in any role he took on, from priests to gangsters, soldiers to politicians, ordinary men to aliens. His characters would rarely fail to evoke emotion, whether that be sympathy or dislike. He particularly excelled at hard-edged, street-wise tough guys on either side of the law. His own dictum was to be always "true to the part as it is written".
Born and schooled in Washington, North Carolina, he had originally studied graphic design but had an early yearning for the acting profession. Barely out of his teens, he took a bus to Los Angeles, eventually arriving in Hollywood with just $50 to his name. He gained a foothold at Warner Brothers (his favorite studio) through the back door, as a messenger boy, earning $22 a week. He soon found work as an extra in films, but by 1945, returned to New York making his debut on Broadway as "a mill hand" in 'Strange Fruit', directed by 'Jose Ferrer (I)'.
His breakthrough came three years later, when he appeared with Henry Fonda in the long-running play 'Mister Roberts' (1948-51), first playing the role of a shore patrol officer, later taking over from David Wayne in the key part of Ensign Pulver. Over the years, Murray became quite comfortable with playing more comedic roles on stage and made good impressions as the over-zealous director Dion Kapakos in 'Critic's Choice' (1960-61), and as Otis Clifton in his Tony Award-nominated performance in 'Absence of a Cello' (1964-65), co-starring with Fred Clark and Charles Grodin. Of his enactment as Robert E. Lee Prewitt in the short-lived military drama 'Stockade' (1954), critic Brooks Atkinson remarked: "Modest of manner, pleasant of voice, he has a steel-like spirit that brings Prewitt honestly to life" (New York Times, September 17, 1986).
Murray began in films properly as a credited screen actor from 1951, alternating with guest starring roles on television (by the end of his life he had appeared in more than 100 TV shows). His expressive face and gravelly voice became an adaptable combination for playing surly gangsters (Perry Mason (1957)), authority figures with integrity (James Stewart's ill-fated colleague in The FBI Story (1959)), or without (pompous mayor Larry Vaughn in Jaws (1975)). He was particularly good as Irving Blanchard in the comedy No Time for Sergeants (1958), giving an excellent drunk impersonation; as obtuse barkeeper Al Paquette in Anatomy of a Murder (1959), the key witness to the crime who keeps mum out of misguided loyalty; cocky Kentuckian millionaire Findley who thinks he can take Fast Eddie in The Hustler (1961); and Anne Bancroft's complacent, cuckolded husband, Mr. Robinson, in The Graduate (1967), a role for which Marlon Brando was at one time considered. Of Murray's performance in the iconic 1960s film, Bosley Crowther posited that "Murray Hamilton is piercing ... a seemingly self-indulgent type who is sharply revealed as bewildered and wounded in one fine, funny scene" (New York Times, December 22, 1967).
On the small screen, he was memorable as "Mr. Death" in the 'One for the Angels' episode of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone (1959), who is seemingly sweet-talked by salesman Lew Bookman (Ed Wynn) to remain on earth just long enough to make his big "pitch to the angels". As Lewis Dunn in the episode 'The Condemned' of The Invaders (1967), he was a very different type of visitor to earth, a sinister alien. In addition to numerous portrayals of harassed or cynical cops, he is also remembered for his recurring TV role, Captain Rutherford T. Grant, in B.J. and the Bear (1978).
Unlike other busy actors, Hamilton was not a part of the established Hollywood set, preferring to spend his life in his native North Carolina, and in Manhattan. He counted George C. Scott, Jason Robards, and Walter Matthau, among his close friends.
When the actor was suffering from the effects of cancer and found film roles harder to come by, Scott helped out by getting him a part in the made-for-television movie The Last Days of Patton (1986).
Murray Hamilton died, aged 63, in September 1986 in his native North Carolina. - Actress
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Ann Reinking was born on November 10, 1949, in Seattle, Washington. Renowned more for her dancing than acting, Reinking has danced in many Broadway shows. She made her film debut in Movie Movie (1978) and the following year starred opposite Roy Scheider and Jessica Lange in the Bob Fosse biopic All That Jazz (1979), which won many Oscar nominations -- including a nod for Best Picture of 1979. Reinking was charming as Grace Farrell, the sympathetic and devoted secretary to grouchy Daddy Warbucks (Albert Finney) in John Huston's Annie (1982), in which she sang the songs "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here", "We Got Annie" and "Let's Go To The Movies." Her best performance was also in her last film to date in Blake Edwards' brilliant 1984 comedy Micki + Maude (1984), in which Dudley Moore plays a bigamist with two pregnant wives -- workaholic attorney Micki (Reinking) and laid-back cellist Maude (Amy Irving). After that, Ann Reinking never acted in another motion picture. She was married to financier Herbert Allen for a time, and only popped up sporadically on television and on the stage. Her big Broadway comeback occurred in the early 1990s with Chicago, which won her a well-deserved Tony Award for Best Choreography.- Producer
- Actor
- Director
Robert Montgomery was born Henry Montgomery Jr., the elder son of New York businessman Henry Montgomery and his wife, Mary Weed (Barney), a native of Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. Montgomery had a younger brother, Donald. He was not related to Belinda Montgomery.
As a child, he enjoyed a privileged life. His father, Henry Montgomery, was the president of the New York Rubber Co. When Henry Montgomery died and owing to the Depression, the family fortune was gone. Henry Jr. and his younger brother, Donald, worked at a number of jobs. He later went to New York to be a writer, and on the advice of a friend, tried acting. He worked with George Cukor on the stage and his first film, at MGM, was So This Is College (1929), changing his forename.
When Norma Shearer picked him to be her leading man in Private Lives (1931), he was set. He ran the gamut of different characters over the years. He served as President of the Screen Actors Guild from 1935-38 and 1946-47.. His stay with MGM lasted 16 years, and was only interrupted by WWII when he joined the navy. He saw action in both Europe and the Pacific.
He returned to MGM in 1945 and co-starred with John Wayne in the John Ford-directed They Were Expendable (1945) and then made his directorial debut with Lady in the Lake (1946) (although he had directed a few scenes, uncredited, in They Were Expendable (1945) when John Ford took ill). He left MGM to become an independent director, preferring work behind the camera instead of in front.
A staunch Republican, he was a friendly witness before the House Un-American Activities in 1947 during the McCarthy era and then spent most of his time on television and stage. His popular show, Robert Montgomery Presents (1950), was where his daughter, Elizabeth Montgomery (who later gained lasting fame as beautiful witch Samantha Stevens on Bewitched (1964)), got her first acting job.
Robert Montgomery died of cancer on September 27, 1981, aged 77, at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan, New York City. His body was cremated and the ashes were given to the family.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Long before he was known as "The Professor" in the cult comedy classic Gilligan's Island (1964), Russell Johnson was a well-known character actor, starring in several Westerns and Sci-Fi classics as This Island Earth (1955) and It Came from Outer Space (1953). Johnson grew up in Pennsylvania and was sent to a boarding school in Philadelphia with his brothers when his father died.
Johnson said that, unlike his Professor character, he was not a bright student early on and was, in fact, held back a grade. However, he did redeem himself later on by making the National Honor Society in high school. He joined the Army Air Corps in World War II. Both his ankles were broken when his B-24 Liberator was shot down over the Philippines during a bombing raid in March of 1945 and he was awarded the Purple Heart as he recovered in the hospital. After the war, he used the G.I. Bill to enroll in acting school to pursue his new trade.
Johnson lived in the state of Washington and did several guest appearances on television shows. He passed away peacefully on the morning of Thursday January 16, 2014 from kidney failure, with his wife, Constance Dane, and his two children by his side. Connie described her husband as a very brave man.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Gary Graham was born on 6 June 1950 in Long Beach, California, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Robot Jox (1989), Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) and The Jackal (1997). He was married to Becky Hopkins, Diane Patricia Vaughan, Caren Leslie Williams and Susan Lavelle. He died on 22 January 2024 in Spokane Valley, Washington, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Albert Salmi was born on March 11, 1927, in Brooklyn, New York, to Finnish parents. After serving in the Army during WWII, he used the GI Bill to study at the Dramatic Workshop of the American Theater Wing and the prestigious Actors Studio. He became a stage actor, very soon landing on Broadway, where his role as Bo Decker in "Bus Stop" was his biggest stage success. A compromise between the stage and screen was live TV drama, in which he was cast regularly. His portrayal of Bruce Pearson in the The United States Steel Hour (1953)'s live 1956 broadcast of "Bang the Drum Slowly" was heart-tuggingly poignant. Salmi's very first film appearance was a choice role in The Brothers Karamazov (1958), for which he turned down an Oscar nomination. The National Board of Review succeeded in presenting him with its award for the same picture, however. Salmi came to enjoy film work and actively sought out parts in westerns. He became a very familiar presence, especially on the TV screen, where he guest starred in many of the westerns and other series of the 1960s and 1970s.
In 1967 he was presented with the Western Heritage (Wrangler) Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame for his role in the Gunsmoke (1955) episode entitled "Death Watch". This bronze cowboy on horseback became his most cherished award. Salmi demonstrated his versatility, however, as years went on. Tall, brawny and sometimes quite intimidating, he was often cast as the bad guy or the authority figure. He was equally convincing, though, as a wronged or misunderstood good guy or a good-natured sidekick. A method actor, Salmi had the ability to make you love or hate his character.
He was, in real life, quite different from most of the characters he played. A quiet-natured family man, he was an oddity by glitzy Hollywood standards. Many of his friends and co-stars have commented on his sense of humor and his lack of pretense. In semi-retirement, he shared his knowledge of theatre by teaching drama classes in Spokane, Washington, where he and his wife settled.- Michael Mantenuto was born on 13 May 1981 in Holliston, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Miracle (2004), Surfer, Dude (2008) and Dirtbags (2006). He was married to Kati Vienneau. He died on 24 April 2017 in Des Moines, Washington, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Robert Prosky was born on 13 December 1930 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Thief (1981), Broadcast News (1987) and Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). He was married to Ida Hove. He died on 8 December 2008 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA.- Additional Crew
- Actor
- Director
Bob Fosse was born on 23 June 1927 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Cabaret (1972), All That Jazz (1979) and Lenny (1974). He was married to Gwen Verdon, Joan McCracken and Mary Ann Niles. He died on 23 September 1987 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Best known as Scotty in Star Trek he was educated at High School in Sarnia, Ontario, where he acted in school productions.
When WWII began he joined the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery eventually obtaining the rank of Captain. He was wounded on D-Day, suffering severe damage to his right middle finger which was removed ahead of first knuckle, then became a flying observer for the rest of the war. His daring aerial maneuvers flying in an observation plane got him known as the craziest pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Once the war ended, he found himself on many other adventures although none of them would come anywhere close to what he experienced before.
He would become a popular voice actor who participated in thousands of CBC programs spread across both radio and television.
Later on, during the mid-1960's, he would develop into the Star Trek great we now know as Montgomery Scott, "Scotty".
In 1946 he won a 2 year scholarship to the Neighbourhood Playhouse in New York City and from there went to teach for three years.
In 1953 he returned to Canada and lived in Toronto for 8 years acting on radio, television and some films before moving to Hollywood where he also appeared in a number of popular television series such as the Canadian version of The Howdy Doody Show, Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans, R.C.M.P., Gunsmoke, The Twilight Zone, Hazel, The Gallant Men, Bonanza, The Richard Boone Show, The Outer Limits, Ben Casey, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Fugitive, Laredo, Bewitched, The Virginian, The Man from Uncle, The F.B.I., Peyton Place, Daniel Boone, Marcus Welby M.D., Fantasy Island, Magnum P.I., Danger Bay and The Bold and The Beautiful, while in between he made a return to the stage for various plays.
James Doohan departed the scene at the age of 85 on 20 July 2005.
Many current-day engineers credit Scotty with being their childhood inspiration and in honour of his memory a portion of Doohan's ashes were sprinkled in space by the rocket SpaceLoft XL.- Actor
- Director
- Soundtrack
George Gaynes was born in Helsinki in May, 1917, which was then the capital of the Grand Duchy of Finland. The Grand Duchy was part of the Russian Empire, which was in a state of collapse at the time of Gaynes' birth. The Emperor Nicholas II of Russia had abdicated the throne on March 15, two months prior to Gaynes' birth, and the Empire was in the process of splintering.
His family left the country, and George was primarily raised in France, England, and Switzerland. Neither of his parents was Finnish. His father Gerrit Jongejans was a Dutch businessman, and his mother Iya Grigorievna de Gay was a Russian artist. George attended college in the vicinity of Lausanne, Switzerland and graduated in 1937. He then attended a music school in Milan, Italy for about a year.
In 1940, George Gaynes was living in France, during the time of the Battle of France in World War II. The Battle ended in defeat for the French Third Republic and the country was occupied by Nazi Germany. George attempted to flee the occupation authorities, by crossing the Pyrenees mountains into neutral Spain. He was arrested by the Spanish authorities for illegally crossing the border, but was soon released.
In 1943, George joined the Royal Netherlands Navy. With the Netherlands under German occupation, the headquarters of the Navy had moved to London, in the United Kingdom. George had no previous military experience, but he was noticed for multilingual skills. He fluently spoke Dutch, English, French, Italian and Russian. He was soon detached to the (British) Royal Navy to serve as a translator.
During his naval service in World War II, George took part in the Allied invasion of Sicily, the Battle of Anzio in the Italian Campaign, and the Adriatic Campaign. The War ended in 1945 and George was honorably discharged in July, 1946. His highest military rank was that of a sergeant.
In 1946, George briefly returned to living in France. He was approached by an American theater director with the offer to play a part in a musical. He took the offer and moved to New York City, where he started appearing in Broadway musicals. He applied for American citizenship and officially became a citizen in 1948.
From the late 1940s to the early 1960s, George Gaynes was primarily a theatrical actor. His roles included various musicals, dramas, and comedies. One of his better-known roles was that of Henry Higgins in the theatrical version of ''My Fair Lady'', which went on a successful tour in 1964.
In the early 1960s, George started appearing as a character actor in various television series. He was also offered a number of film roles. His career unexpectedly took off in the 1980s, with a major part in the television series Punky Brewster (1985) and another one in the then-popular film series "Police Academy" from 1984 to 1994. In Police Academy (1984), his role was that of Commandant Eric Lassard, the titular leader of the Academy. He played the role in all 7 films of the series, though he only had a featured part in the fifth film. This was probably his most memorable role and gained him celebrity recognition for the first time.
In the 1990s, his career slowed down again, with only a few film appearances. He only played in a single film through the 2000s, Just Married (2003), and then retired. He was 86-years-old and could no longer play physically demanding roles. He spend 13 years in retirement before he died of natural causes in 2016.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Born an entertainer, Casey reigns from Michigan, the same birthplace for fellow Shaggy voice actor Matthew Lillard (whom both Casey and Matthew do a very fine, smashing job voicing the iconic character). Debuted as a radio operator and legendary disc jockey in his early days, he was the greatest and most likely the best one seen in recent years. Having an iconic voice and a set of vocal cords, Casey pleased the audience through radio and voice. Casey hit the big time in the early 60's with voicing both major and minor roles in television series, until Hanna-Barbera released, then later debuted, the same role he characterized his career off of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, in which he had the pleasure of working with legendary voice actors Don Messick and Hal Smith. For over 3 decades, he co-founded and hosted American Top 40, which aired the top songs of the week. In his later years, he spent his time with his friends and family, in the way he could showcase with love, passion, and voicing. He died on June 15th, 2014. He was 82 years old. He will be forever missed in the hearts of fans around the world.- Anne Whitfield was born August 27, 1938 in Oxford, Mississippi, USA. She was an actress, known for White Christmas (1954), numerous TV shows and commercials, and a long radio career beginning in 1945 when she was seven. Her TV appearances include One Step Beyond, 3 Perry Masons, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, 77 Sunset Strip, Dobie Gillis, 2 Cheyennes, and a Bonanza. When she left Hollywood in 1976, she went back to college, got a degree in Mass Communications, and began a new career as a water quality educator at the state Department of Ecology. Now retired, Annie is a climate activist and a proud but worried grandmother of seven.
- Actor
- Director
- Cinematographer
His filmography reads like an A-list of iconic 60s and 70s TV shows. The prolific Richard Evans could be found playing a host of gauche rancher's sons and junior officers or beady-eyed gunslingers and ne'er-do-wells on prime-time classics like Gunsmoke (1955), Bonanza (1959), Star Trek (1966), The Virginian (1962), The F.B.I. (1965), Mannix (1967), Lou Grant (1977) and Quincy M.E. (1976), to name but a few. On the popular soap Peyton Place (1964) he was a season regular as an English literature professor. On the big screen, he co-starred as saloon-owning gambler and killer Goldie, mentor to Billy the Kid (played by Michael J. Pollard) in Stan Dragoti's unromantic western Dirty Little Billy (1972). He was also the ex-Marine sidekick of George C. Scott (whom he considered his favourite actor to work with) in Islands in the Stream (1977).
Evans was born on January 23, 1935, in Kansas City, Missouri. His family was affected by the Dust Bowl, a severe drought which impacted the Southern Plains and amplified the effects of the Great Depression. Some of his early childhood was spent in pre-war Japan. Many years and travels later, a circuitous route led to his first acting gig at a California community playhouse where he was noticed by a talent agent. Initially billed as 'Dick Evans', he made his television debut in 1958. In addition to screen acting, Evans also worked in local theatre (latterly on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound), acting, writing and directing. Influenced by the French New Wave, he also wrote, produced and directed several unambitious indie movies. In 2018, Evans published an autobiographical book ("Fazkils") of recollections and reminiscences about family history, Hollywood and his battle with cancer.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Erin O'Brien was born on 17 January 1934 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for In Like Flint (1967), John Paul Jones (1959) and Onionhead (1958). She was married to Kanan Awni and James (Jimmy) Donald Fitzgerald. She died on 20 May 2021 in Seattle, Washington, USA.- David Dukes was born on 6 June 1945 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Gods and Monsters (1998), Rawhead Rex (1986) and A Little Romance (1979). He was married to Carol Muske-Dukes and Carolyn Lee McKenzie. He died on 9 October 2000 in Lakewood, Washington, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Flashy, leggy, bouffant blonde Dorothy Provine was a solid screen representation of the Kennedyesque era when life seemed so full of fun, so innocent and so optimistic. This sparkling beauty also gave TV audiences a double dose blast to the past via her popular co-starring roles on late 50s/early 60s series TV. A talented girl whose comedic gifts were never sufficiently tapped into by Hollywood, Dorothy nevertheless secured a dedicated fan base merely on her sunny smile, creamy good looks and carefree radiance alone.
Graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in Theater Arts. Hollywood folklore has it that the South Dakota-born (but raised in San Francisco) actress landed the role of the notorious femme bank robber in the low-budget "B" film The Bonnie Parker Story (1958) just three days after arriving in Hollywood. It certainly proved to be a lucky break, although it didn't clinch the movie stardom she might have expected. On the contrary, Dorothy was forced to languish in such predicable programmers as Riot in Juvenile Prison (1959) and Live Fast, Die Young (1958), while playing the gigantic, radiation-exposed love interest in the poorly-executed The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (1959) opposite rolypoly comedian Lou Costello in his only film effort after breaking up with partner Bud Abbott. Fortunately, TV made up for her lack of success on film.
Signed up by Warner Bros. and seemingly better suited for the small screen, Dorothy became one of the more visible female faces on TV and would be best remembered for her period roles as 1890s saloon singer Rocky Shaw, the friend of "Gold Rush" fortune seekers Roger Moore and Jeff York in The Alaskans (1959) and, better yet, as Pinky Pinkham, the Charleston-dancing flapper in the Warner Bros. adventure series The Roaring 20's (1960).
A vivacious guest on scores of other TV shows, Dorothy occasionally reappeared in lightweight 1960s films wherein she generally projected a squeaky-clean image playing various sparkly housewives, girlfriends and sisters. She was part of the all-star zaniness in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) as Milton Berle's wife; appeared as Jack Lemmon's bright-eyed better half in the suburban comedy Good Neighbor Sam (1964); played Hayley Mills's beleaguered older sis in the feline caper That Darn Cat! (1965); had a slam-bang cameo as Lily Olay the barroom singer who belts out the memorable "He Shouldn't-A, Hadn't-A, Oughtn't-A Swang on Me" in the slapstick farce The Great Race (1965); showed up as the true-blue gal pining for Jim Hutton in the bank heist comedy Who's Minding the Mint? (1967); and made her last silver screen appearance alongside Dick Van Dyke in the comedy Never a Dull Moment (1968), which did not live up to its title.
During this time Dorothy occasionally made use of her vocal talents on the live stage, and appeared briefly as a duo with George Burns in a 1963 Las Vegas nightclub act, replacing Burns' ailing wife Gracie Allen, who by this time had fully retired due to serious heart problems. Eventually, however, she lost interest in her career.
Dorothy abruptly left the business in 1969 after marrying director Robert Day, who was involved in several of the Tarzan movies. She showed up a couple of times on TV in the 70s but, for the most part, found her self-imposed retirement completely to her liking. The couple moved permanently to Bainbridge Island, Washington in 1981, and there she found contentment simply gardening and tending to her animals. They had one son, Robert Day Jr., who became a musician. Dorothy battled emphysema in her last years and died at a nearby hospice on April 25, 2010, at age 75.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Burl Ives was one of six children born to a farming family in Hunt City, Jasper, Illinois, the son of Cordellia "Dellie" (White) and Levi Franklin Ives. He first sang in public for a soldiers' reunion when he was age 4. In high school, he learned the banjo and played fullback, intending to become a football coach when he enrolled at Eastern Illinois State Teacher's College in 1927. He dropped out in 1930 and wandered, hitching rides, doing odd jobs, street singing.
Summer stock in the late 1930s led to a job with CBS radio in 1940; through his "Wayfaring Stranger" he popularized many of the folk songs he had collected in his travels. By the 1960s, he had hits on both popular and country charts. He recorded over 30 albums for Decca and another dozen for Columbia. In 1964 he was singer-narrator of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), an often-repeated Christmas television special. His Broadway debut was in 1938, though he is best remembered for creating the role of Big Daddy in the 1950s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) when it ran on Broadway through the early 1950s.
His four-decade, 30+ movie career began with Ives playing a singing cowboy in Smoky (1946) and reached its peak with (again) his role as Big Daddy role in the movie version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and winning an Oscar for best supporting actor in The Big Country (1958), both in 1958. Ives officially retired from show business on his 80th birthday in 1989 and settled in Anacortes, Washington, although he continued to do frequent benefit performances at his own request. Burl Ives died in 1995.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Amzie Strickland was born on 10 January 1919 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. She was an actress, known for Doc Hollywood (1991), Pretty Woman (1990) and Matinee Theatre (1955). She was married to Frank Behrens. She died on 5 July 2006 in Spokane, Washington, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Margaret "Peg" Phillips was a retired accountant when she began taking acting classes at age 65. In 1990 she was cast in the role of Ruth-Anne Miller, the shop keeper in the series Northern Exposure (1990). The role was supposed to be only intermittent, but Peg's portrayal won the hearts of viewers, and Ruth-Anne became a regular role. In addition to Northern Exposure (1990), Peg appeared with Shirley MacLaine in Waiting for the Light (1990) and TV movies How the West Was Fun (1994) and Chase (1985), and guest appearances in 7th Heaven (1996), Touched by an Angel (1994), and ER (1994), and a number of commercials. Born in Everett, Washington, Peg overcame polio, peritonitis, a ruptured aorta, and, at age 81, a broken hip and wrist from being hit by a car. A smoker since age 13, Peg Phillips died of lung disease in a suburban Seattle care center. She was 84.- Actress
- Soundtrack
A talented actress, dancer, and singer with a long history on Broadway and in Hollywood, McLerie retired in 1993.
Born in Canada, she was raised in Brooklyn, where she attended Fort Hamilton High School. She was married to actor George Gaynes for over 60 years, until his death in 2016. They had two children. She died at her home in North Bend, Washington, aged 91, in 2018.- Actor
- Stunts
- Soundtrack
Mahoney is of French and Irish extraction, with some Cherokee. At the University of Iowa, he was outstanding in swimming, basketball and football. When World War II broke out, he enlisted as a Marine fighter pilot and instructor. In Hollywood, he was a noted stunt man, doubling for Errol Flynn, John Wayne, and Gregory Peck. Gene Autry signed him for the lead in his 78-episode The Range Rider (1951) TV series. He tested to replace Johnny Weissmuller, as Tarzan but lost out to Lex Barker. In 1960, he played the heavy in Gordon Scott's Tarzan the Magnificent (1960), and his part there led Sy Weintraub to hire him as Scott's replacement. In his two Tarzan movies, he did all his own stunts. In Tarzan's Three Challenges (1963), he continued working in spite of dysentery, dengue fever and pneumonia. By this time, Weintraub was looking for a younger Tarzan, envisioning a future TV series. By mutual agreement, his contract with Mahoney was dissolved. After a couple of years regaining his strength and weight, Jock returned to making action films.- Christine White was born on 4 May 1926 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. She was an actress, known for Magnum Force (1973), Ichabod and Me (1961) and General Electric Theater (1953). She died on 14 April 2013 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
George DiCenzo was an American character actor, voice actor, and acting teacher from New Haven, Connecticut. His acting career lasted for about 30 years, and he had previously served as an associate producer for the gothic soap opera "Dark Shadows" (1966-1971). His best-remembered live-action role was portraying Sam Baines (Marty McFly's maternal grandfather) in the time-travel-themed science fiction film "Back to the Future" (1985). As a voice actor, he is primarily remembered for portraying stranded astronaut John Blackstar in "Blackstar" (1981) and the tyrant Hordak in "She-Ra: Princess of Power" (1985-1986).
DiCenzo received his acting training from Milton Katselas (1933- 2008), the acting instructor who founded the Beverly Hills Playhouse. He later served as an apprentice teacher under Katselas, before branching out on his own. He used both New York City and Philadelphia as his home-base at various points in his teaching career.
Towards the end of his career, DiCenzo voiced roles in a few video games. His better known role in the field was voicing crime lord Ennio Salieri in the crime-themed video game "Mafia" (2002). In the video game, Salieri eliminates a rival crime lord and becomes the de facto ruler of a fictional city in 1930s Illinois. He starts mistreating his own henchmen, until one of them turns against him and betrays Salieri to the authorities. The game had a number of sequels, but DiCenzo never had a chance to voice Salieri again.
DiCenzo had his final film role in the drama film "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints" (2006). The film was an adaptation of a memoir by film director Dito Montiel, concerning the troubling experiences which convinced him to abandon his family and few remaining friends in 1986. DiCenzo effectively retired afterwards, due to his declining health.
DiCenzo died in August 9, 2010 due to sepsis (blood poisoning). He was 70-years-old at the time of his death, and was living in Pennsylvania. He was buried in the North and Southampton Churchyard, located at Churchville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. DiCenzo is fondly remembered for a number of memorable roles in his career, but he was better known for his voice rather than his face.