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- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Lauren Ash is a recent alumnus of the Second City Chicago Mainstage. She is also an alumna of the Second City Toronto Mainstage and is one half of sketch comedy duo "Cory!". She is a two-time Canadian Comedy Award winner for Best Female Improviser and has also won for Best Comedic Play in 2008 and Best Sketch Troupe in 2006.
She's played various roles in "Scare Tactics" as well as the Canadian TV series, "Almost Heroes." She had a recurring role in "The Ron James Show" and made guest appearances in "Lost Girl," "Cracked," "Bomb Girls" and "Call Me Fitz." Other film and television credits include "Video on Trial," "Hotbox" and the Academy Award-nominated film "Lars and the Real Girl." She is also the voice of Sam in the animated Canadian series "The Dating Guy."- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Her father is Tariq Anwar and her mother is Shireen Anwar. Anwar attended Laleham Church of England Primary and Middle School from 1975 to 1982. Trinian's sketch in the school concert of 1982 gave an early indication of her theatrical leanings. She studied at the London drama and dance school, "Italia Conti". She appeared in many British television productions before making her film debut in Manifesto (1988).
Her first American movie was If Looks Could Kill (1991), in which she played the daughter of a murdered British Agent (played by Roger Daltrey). In 1992, she made a guest appearance on Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990) as "Tricia Kinney". She followed that with the films, Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken (1991) (inspired by "A Girl and Five Brave Horses"), Scent of a Woman (1992), Body Snatchers (1993), For Love or Money (1993) and The Three Musketeers (1993). In 1994, People magazine named her one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. One of her most memorable moments on screen came in 1992's Scent of a Woman (1992), when she danced a tango with Al Pacino, whose character was blind.- Jenette Goldstein is a true chameleon. She is so effective as an actress, it is nearly impossible to recognize her from role to role. Jenette spent most of her childhood in Los Angeles. Born to theater-loving parents, she attended fine arts-oriented schools, and was the young star of the drama classes. She often competed in citywide drama competitions with soon-to-be famous peers Val Kilmer, Gina Gershon, Kevin Spacey and Mare Winningham. To hone her craft after high school, Jenette studied at London's Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, and at Circle in the Square Theater in New York City, mastering drama theory, physicality, dialects and the classics. It was in London, while performing in local theater productions, where Jenette answered an audition request for American actors with British Equity cards. Thinking it was another play or a small film, she read for a tough, macho Latina character, named 'Vasquez' And shot to fame in James Cameron's iconic film Aliens (1986). Cameron was so pleased with Jenette's creativity and strong work ethic, he recast her as 'Janelle' in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and a cameo role as the loving 'Irish Mother' in the epic Titanic (1997).
Her resume is testament to her range and versatility: Vampy killer Diamondback in Near Dark (1987), good cop Meagan Shapiro in Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), Patti Jean Lynch in The Presidio (1988), Alice the Maid in a one-scene role in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), etc.
In addition to film, Jenette has made several appearances on the small screen. She guest-starred on such award-winning shows as Six Feet Under (2001), L.A. Law (1986), Strong Medicine (2000) and ER (1994) - where she guest-starred on the 100th anniversary show as a grieving mother, and in a separate episode opposite Anthony Edwards, as a heroic flight nurse. It was only after Jenette was hired for the second role that the show's producers realized she had done the show before.
Jenette has continued working in theater throughout her career, appearing in plays in New York, London and Los Angeles. She has performed the classics, William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," to more contemporary pieces, such as Arthur Miller's "After The Fall," which won the 2002 Los Angeles Ovation Award for Best Production. Currently, Jenette is excited about her latest creation: a one-woman show she is writing herself. - Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Bug Hall was born on 4 February 1985 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Little Rascals (1994), Baby Driver (2017) and The Stupids (1996). He has been married to Jill DeGroff since 11 February 2017. They have one child.- Charlie Barnett was born on 4 February 1988 in Sarasota, Florida, USA. He is an actor, known for Men in Black³ (2012), Private Romeo (2011) and Russian Doll (2019).
- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Patrick Bergin has done more than 80 films and TV movies and is best known internationally for playing the menacing husband of Julia Roberts’ character in the thriller Sleeping With the Enemy, or for his role as an Irish terrorist alongside Harrison Ford in the film adaption of Patriot Games. He starred opposite Uma Thurman in the 1991 TV movie “Robin Hood,” playing the title role, and was a psychotic Provisional Irish Republican Army gunman in Johnny Was, with Vinnie Jones and Roger Daltrey. More recently Bergin appeared in Age of Kill, We Still Steal the Old Way, Free Fire, Black Bird and The Last Days of American Crime. Bergin’s recent TV credits include guest leads on ITVs “Wild Bill” and Channel 4’s “No Offence,” as well as playing series regular Jim Tierney in the fourth series of “Red Rock” for TV3/ BBC One and Aidan Maguire in “EastEnders” for BBC One.- Actress
- Producer
Brandy Ledford is an American/Canadian actress, dancer and former model. She was born on February 4th to Sandra and Ken Ledford. Her mother is from Canada, with New Zealand roots and her father is part Cherokee Indian from North Carolina. Brandy was raised in Redondo Beach, CA with her mother and her younger sister and brothers. She discovered her love for dancing at an early age and began competing in local and national drill team competitions, winning the World Drill Team championships in 1980.
After graduating from Redondo Union High School, Brandy started her modeling career. She lived in Japan, New York and Canada and traveled all over the globe as a model and dancer.
From 1993-96, Brandy attended the Baron Brown Studio in Los Angeles, CA, where she studied acting with DW Brown. She continued her training with Margie Haber at the Margie Haber Studio for a number of years. She made her film debut in a small, but memorable role in the blockbuster movie, Demolition Man (1993), starring Sylvester Stallone. Her next role was as Bud's love interest on Married... with Children (1987), which landed her the lead role of Alex Davies in the ABC production of Aaron Spelling's, Pier 66 (1996).
Since then, she has starred as a series regular on several TV series' and guest-starred in popular sitcoms like, Modern Family (2009) and movies such as Rat Race (2001) and the HBO hit, Zebra Lounge (2001). She has a large sci-fi following due to her role as Doyle in Andromeda (2000), which she counts as her favorite character to play. In 2006, Brandy was cast in the critically acclaimed television show, Whistler (2006), for which she was nominated both the Leo Award and the Gemini Award for her performance.
Brandy continues to study dance and spends her time between Los Angeles, Vancouver and Kauai where she enjoys being a mom and a wife and spends quality time on fitness, health and helping others.- Ben was born in Newcastle, England. He went to school at Newlands Preparatory in Newcastle, before then attending Stowe, located in Buckinghamshire. Ben attended the University of West of England and graduated with business honours, before moving to Los Angeles to study at the Stella Adler Academy. In Los Angeles, he began his acting career on stage with "The Goldilocks Effect" in 2010, and then performed in more stage roles in 2011. Ben has performed with Janet Montgomery, Matthew Rhys and then Jon Voight.
- Michael Beck was born on 4 February 1949 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. He is an actor, known for The Warriors (1979), Xanadu (1980) and Megaforce (1982). He has been married to Carolyn Louise Brendel since September 1980. They have two children.
- Actor
- Director
- Stunts
Lewis Tan is a half Chinese half English, film, television and theatre actor. He played as the series regular Gaius Chau on season three of AMC's "Into The Badlands" ; Lu Xin Lee on Netflix's first Asian American original series "Wu Assassins" and many films including the record breaking Marvel film "Deadpool 2" and most recently the lead role in James Wans Warner Bros reboot of "Mortal Kombat"
Born in Manchester, England to a fashion model Joanne Cassidy and national champion martial artists Philip Tan. Lewis moved to Los Angeles at a young age as his father was making a mark on action cinema as a stuntman and fight choreographer working on legendary films like "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", "Batman" and "Tango and Cash". Lewis began learning martial arts from his father while at the same time attending theatre school. Lewis had multiple honors in school as well as winning many amateur fights in kickboxing and Muay Thai.
After graduating Lewis began his professional career guest starring in TV shows from "CSI:NY", "CSI:Miami", "Hawaii 5-0" to his first major films including "Pirates of the Caribbean 3", and "Den of Thieves".
At the same time Lewis gained notable fame as a fashion model. He signed with Wilhelmina modeling agency and secured a contract as the face of Nivea in Asia for a few years doing numerous campaigns and commercials. He did many editorial ads including Diesel, Dolce and Gabanna, Puma and Levi's.
Lewis was then picked by Forest Whitaker to play the lead in the indie drama "Sacrifice", this was the start of his film career. The film won awards at many film festivals, it was then that Lewis received world wide attention for his guest role in Marvel's "Iron Fist" where he played the drunken master "Zhou Cheng", the scene was top ten most paused Netflix moments of the year and the scene received a viral campaign with fans asking for a more prominent role.
Lewis is known for performing his own action scenes and got the attention of the show runners Al Gough and Miles Milar of AMC's "Into the Badlands", securing him a lead role in season 3 of the show, led by famous choreographer from "Kill Bill" and "The Matrix" Master Dee Dee. His role on the show and his action ability gained him more critical acclaim.
In 2018 Lewis began filming a lead role in Netflix's Asian American action series "Wu Assassins" along side Kathryn Winnick and Iko Uwais. He plays the flamboyant gangster Lu Xin Lee, the show premiered to great reviews both with fans and critics.
Lewis continues to be a strong voice in the Asian American media as an advocate for diversity and original story telling.
In 2019 Lewis was cast as the lead role in James Wan's reboot of "Mortal Kombat" for Warner Brothers and New Line. The film was released April 23, 2021 in theaters and HBO Max on the same day. The film's trailer broke the record for most watched R rated film of all time and is the most watched WB film.
In 2021 Lewis will star in the Netflix action film "Fistful of Vengeance" and alongside Emma Roberts in the romance comedy "About Fate". He is also producing and starring in the spy series "Quantum Spy" with partner Tony Krantz and is in development for his first feature film as a director.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Rob Corddry was born on 4 February 1971 in Weymouth, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Warm Bodies (2013), Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) and Childrens Hospital (2008). He has been married to Sandra Beth Leftowits since 2002. They have two children.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Ida was born in London to a show business family. In 1932, her mother took Ida with her to an audition and Ida got the part her mother wanted. The picture was Her First Affaire (1932). Ida, a bleached blonde, went to Hollywood in 1934 playing small, insignificant parts. Peter Ibbetson (1935) was one of her few noteworthy movies and it was not until The Light That Failed (1939) that she got a chance to get better parts. In most of her movies, she was cast as the hard, but sympathetic woman from the wrong side of the tracks. In The Sea Wolf (1941) and High Sierra (1940), she played the part magnificently. It has been said that no one could do hard-luck dames the way Lupino could do them. She played tough, knowing characters who held their own against some of the biggest leading men of the day - Humphrey Bogart, Ronald Colman, John Garfield and Edward G. Robinson. She made a handful of films during the forties playing different characters ranging from Pillow to Post (1945), where she played a traveling saleswoman to the tough nightclub singer in The Man I Love (1946). But good roles for women were hard to get and there were many young actresses and established stars competing for those roles. She left Warner Brothers in 1947 and became a freelance actress. When better roles did not materialize, Ida stepped behind the camera as a director, writer and producer. Her first directing job came when director Elmer Clifton fell ill on a script that she co-wrote Not Wanted (1949). Ida had joked that as an actress, she was the poor man's Bette Davis. Now, she said that as a director, she became the poor man's Don Siegel. The films that she wrote, or directed, or appeared in during the fifties were mostly inexpensive melodramas. She later turned to television where she directed episodes in shows such as The Untouchables (1959) and The Fugitive (1963). In the seventies, she made guest appearances on various television show and appeared in small parts in a few movies.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Jim O'Heir was born on 4 February 1962 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an actor, known for Smothered by Mothers (2019), Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) and Bad Times at the El Royale (2018).- Edvin Ryding was born on 4 February 2003 in Östermalm, Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden. He is an actor, known for Landslide (2024), Young Royals (2021) and Fröken Frimans krig (2013).
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Lisa Eichhorn was born on 4 February 1952 in Glens Falls, New York, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for The Vanishing (1993), Cutter's Way (1981) and The Europeans (1979). She has been married to Richard Moxon since 31 August 2005. She was previously married to Ben Nye III and John Curless.- Producer
- Writer
- Director
George A. Romero never set out to become a Hollywood figure; by all indications, though, he was very successful. The director of the groundbreaking "Living Dead" films was born February 4, 1940 ,in New York City to Ann (Dvorsky) and Jorge Romero. His father was born in Spain and raised in Cuba, and his mother was Lithuanian. He grew up in New York until attending the renowned Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.
After graduation he began shooting mostly short films and commercials. He and his friends formed Image Ten Productions in the late 1960s and they all chipped in roughly $10,000 apiece to produce what became one of the most celebrated American horror films of all time: Night of the Living Dead (1968). Shot in black-and-white on a budget of just over $100,000, Romero's vision, combined with a solid script written by him and his "Image" co-founder John A. Russo (along with what was then considered an excess of gore), enabled the film to earn back far more than what it cost; it became a cult classic by the early 1970s and was inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress of the United States in 1999. Romero's next films were a little more low-key but less successful, including The Affair (1971), The Crazies (1973), Season of the Witch (1972) (where he met future wife Christine Forrest) and Martin (1977). Though not as acclaimed as "Night of the Living Dead" or some of his later work, these films had his signature social commentary while dealing with issues--usually horror-related--at the microscopic level. Like almost all of his films, they were shot in, or around, Romero's favorite city of Pittsburgh.
In 1978 he returned to the zombie genre with the one film of his that would top the success of "Night of the Living Dead"--Dawn of the Dead (1978). He managed to divorce the franchise from Image Ten, which screwed up the copyright on the original and allowed the film to enter into public domain, with the result that Romero and his original investors were not entitled to any profits from the film's video releases. Shot in the Monroeville (PA) Mall during late-night hours, the film told the tale of four people who escape a zombie outbreak and lock themselves up inside what they think is paradise before the solitude makes them victims of their own, and a biker gang's, greed. Made on a budget of just $1.5 million, the film earned over $40 million worldwide and was named one of the top cult films by Entertainment Weekly magazine in 2003. It also marked Romero's first work with brilliant make-up and effects artist Tom Savini. After 1978, Romero and Savini teamed up many times. The success of "Dawn of the Dead" led to bigger budgets and better casts for the filmmaker. First was Knightriders (1981), where he first worked with an up-and-coming Ed Harris. Then came perhaps his most Hollywood-like film, Creepshow (1982), which marked the first--but not the last--time Romero adapted a work by famed horror novelist Stephen King. With many major stars and big-studio distribution, it was a moderate success and spawned a sequel, which was also written by Romero.
The decline of Romero's career came in the late 1980s. His last widely-released film was the next "Dead" film, Day of the Dead (1985). Derided by critics, it did not take in much at the box office, either. His latest two efforts were The Dark Half (1993) (another Stephen King adaptation) and Bruiser (2000). Even the Romero-penned/Tom Savini-directed remake of Romero's first film, Night of the Living Dead (1990), was a box-office failure. Pigeon-holed solely as a horror director and with his latest films no longer achieving the success of his earlier "Dead" films, Romero has not worked much since, much to the chagrin of his following. In 2005, 19 years after "Day of the Dead", with major-studio distribution he returned to his most famous series and horror sub-genre it created with Land of the Dead (2005), a further exploration of the destruction of modern society by the undead, that received generally positive reviews. He directed two more "Dead" films, Diary of the Dead (2007) and Survival of the Dead (2009).
George died on July 16, 2017, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was 77.- Actress
Ella Rumpf was born on 4 February 1995 in Paris, France. She is an actress, known for Raw (2016), Tiger Girl (2017) and Marguerite's Theorem (2023).- Of English and German heritage, lumbering, oval-faced John Schuck was born Conrad John Schuck, Jr. in Boston, Massachusetts on February 4, 1940, the son of an English professor who taught at, among others, both Princeton College and SUNY Buffalo while John was growing up. Following graduation from Denison University, where he appeared in a number of plays, John turned to regional theatre work ("Marat/Sade," etc.), including the Cleveland Playhouse, Baltimore Center Stage, and American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.
Discovered at ACT for film by Robert Altman, the director featured him as Captain Walter "Painless Pole" Waldowski, the virginal army camp dentist, in the classic Korean War film M*A*S*H (1970), giving him a memorable "deflowering" scene with sexy Jo Ann Pflug. Altman continued to use John in Brewster McCloud (1970), McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) and, most assuredly, in Thieves Like Us (1974), arguably his best movie role as a bank robber on the lam.
On 70's television, in addition to guest spots on such programs as "Gunsmoke," "Mission: Impossible," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "Room 222," "Bonanza," "Ironside" and "Love, American Style," "Schuck won a regular part as an inept but altruistic sergeant alongside Rock Hudson's police commissioner for six seasons on McMillan & Wife (1971). Following this, however, he found himself somewhat stereotyped as simple-minded, lovable lugs such as the robot on the silly short-lived comedy Holmes and Yoyo (1976), as buddy Murray in the revamped series The New Odd Couple (1982) and as Herman Munster on The Munsters Today (1987), a revisit to the ghoulish 1960s television family. He also kept his name alive on such popular games shows as "The $25,000 Pyramid," "Hollywood Squares" and "Password."
More challenging guest role work has come to him on occasion with television series such as NYPD Blue (1993), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), Star Trek: Voyager (1995) and Babylon 5 (1993) and in the historically acclaimed TV movie Roots (1977). In the popular films Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), John appeared in various roles and earned himself a place in the hearts of Trekkie fans all over the nation. Other film roles over time have included Blade (1973), Just You and Me, Kid (1979), Earthbound (1981), Finders Keepers (1984), Outrageous Fortune (1987), The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking (1988), My Mom's a Werewolf (1989) and Dick Tracy (1990).
The musical stage also took a shine to him. An accomplished singer, John appeared semi-regularly (from 1979 until 2006) as the bald-domed, gruff-speaking Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks in the hit musical "Annie," not only on Broadway but on tours and in smaller theater venues. He also garnered success playing Frank Butler in "Annie Get Your Gun" with Bernadette Peters on tour. Other roles over time have included the musicals "The Sound of Music", "Peter Pan", "The Most Happy Fella" and "She Loves Me." He co-starred in the original premiere of "Grumpy Old Men" in 2011 and then returned to Broadway in 2013 as a replacement in the Gershwin musical "Nice Work If You Can Get It."
Into the millennium, on TV John played a police captain on an episode of "Diagnosis Murder," had a recurring role as a Chief of Detectives in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), and had another recurring role as shop keeper Carl in the skateboarding adventure series Zeke and Luther (2009). He also appeared in the films Closer to God (2014) and All Light Will End (2018).
A sailor on the sly, John Schuck is father to son Aaron via his first marriage (1978-1983) to former actress Susan Bay Nimoy. He married his current wife, painter Harrison Houlé, in 1990. - Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Patty Guggenheim was born in Los Angeles, California, USA. Patty is an actor and producer, known for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022), Florida Girls (2019) and Mr. Mayor (2021).- Actor
- Soundtrack
John Gordon Sinclair was born on 4 February 1962 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. He is an actor, known for Gregory's Girl (1980), Erik the Viking (1989) and World War Z (2013). He has been married to Shauna McKeon since 2004. They have two children.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Linda Bassett was born in the Kentish village of Pluckley - location for the television series The Darling Buds of May (1991). She was brought up in Pimlico, South London, by her typist mother and police officer father. She became interested in acting as a child when she was frequently taken to see plays in London, most notably at the Old Vic, the famous classical theater. On leaving school, Linda went to work at the Old Vic as an usherette and catering manager, before going to read English at Leeds University. However, she dropped out after a year and became involved in a local drama group which put on plays in community-based locations, such as schools. She regards this as her theatrical schooling, having had no formal training. She made her London stage debut at the age of thirty-two in 1982 and, in 1991, she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. Although she was a well-regarded stage performer, it was the 1999 film version of the play East Is East (1999) (in which she had been an original stage cast member) which brought her to a larger audience and, throughout the 2000s, she has been a familiar face in a variety of films and television series. In the late 1980s, she returned to live in Pluckley.- A rising talent with a knack for both comedy and drama, Kyla Kenedy is quickly becoming one of the most sought after young actresses in the industry.
Kenedy can currently be seen starring opposite Minnie Driver in ABC's Television Critics Association Award-winning sitcom, "Speechless." The show follows a family with a special-needs child as they navigate everyday life. Kenedy plays the family's daughter, 'Dylan.' The show returned for its sophomore season on September 27th.
This year, Kenedy also starred as 'Briana', a patient with Cystic Fibrosis, on NBC's medical drama, "The Night Shift." She will star in multiple roles on the Nickelodeon sketch program, "Mackand Beef."
Kenedy is arguably most recognizable from her breakout role on AMC's international hit, "The Walking Dead," in which she starred as 'Mika' throughout seasons four and five opposite Andrew Lincoln and Norman Reedus. Throughout her time on the show, she hosted "The Walking Dead" fan interview YouTube series, "Down n' Dirty," in association with Walker Stalker.
Her other television credits include, "Rizzoli & Isles," "CSI," and "The New Normal," for which she was nominated for a Young Artist Award in the category of Best Actress in a Guest Starring Role.
On the big screen, Kenedy was last seen in Love Is All You Need? opposite Jeremy Sisto and Briana Evigan, for which she won the Best Actress Audience Award at the 2016 Napa Film Festival. Kenedy began her career at the age of eight in Charleston, South Carolina, booking print and local jobs before moving to Atlanta where she quickly expanded to commercials and films. It was there that she landed a small role in the Farrelly brothers feature film, Three Stooges. Shortly thereafter, Kenedy was cast in her first leading role as the titular character in the award-winning made-for-TV movie "Raising Izzie," for which she won the Grace Award at the 21st Movieguide Awards and a Young Artist Award for Best Actress. Shortly thereafter, Kenedy relocated to Los Angeles and continues to endear audiences and gain critical acclaim for her performances.
In addition to her work on screen, Kenedy is also passionate about giving back through her charitable efforts with Meals on Wheels and The Children's Hospital of Atlanta. She currently lives in Los Angeles, and loves reading, traveling, animals, and all outdoor activities. - Actress
- Writer
Actress Collin Wilcox extended her given name twice over the duration of her professional acting career -- billing herself as Collin Wilcox-Horne and Collin Wilcox Paxton, to be exact. She was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised in Highlands, North Carolina, and her interest in theater was sparked by her parents, Jack H. and Virginia Wilcox, who founded the Highlands Community Theatre (now known as the Highlands Playhouse) in 1939. She made her acting debut there as a young girl and appeared in various productions, including "Our Town". In later years, Collin would dutifully return from time to time and perform at her theater alma mater in appreciation.
She attended high school in Knoxville, Tennessee and became the resident ingénue at the regional Carousel Theatre. She majored in drama at the University of Tennessee and studied performing at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago, Illinois, as well as improv at The Compass (a forerunner of the Second City troupe) where Paul Sills was the director. There, she worked alongside up-and-coming talents Mike Nichols, Elaine May, Barbara Harris, Severn Darden and Shelley Berman. She eventually migrated to New York in 1957 and earned membership with Lee Strasberg's Actor's Studio, who saw great potential in her. She worked there for eight years.
Collins' Broadway debut came a year later with "The Day the Money Stopped", starring Richard Basehart and Mildred Natwick, which earned her the Clarence Derwent Award for "Best Supporting Actress". Slowly garnering notice for her growing quirks and interesting, edgy performances, Collin went on to work with the crème de la crème of Broadway eccentrics including Tallulah Bankhead in "Crazy October", Geraldine Page in "Strange Interlude" and Ruth Gordon in "La Bonne Soup". Neurotic Southern plays such as Tennessee Williams off-Broadway productions of "Camino Real" and "Suddenly, Last Summer" fit her like a glove. In Los Angeles, she appeared in "The Sea Gull" under the direction of John Houseman, "Period of Adjustment" with William Windom and "Getting Out" with Susan Clark. Williams, himself, chose Collin to repeat her leading role as "Isabel" in "Period of Adjustment", when the play went to London.
Collin's film debut came with her brilliant, award-worthy role as young "Mayella", whose Southern white trash teenager, under the duress of her racist father, falsely accuses black man Brock Peters of rape in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Her cross-examination courtroom sequence with Peters' hired attorney, Gregory Peck, is unforgettable. No other film role would have the same impact as that once-in-a-lifetime part. Prior to this, "Mockingbird" director Robert Mulligan personally selected the classically-trained Collin as his TV "Frankie" in a strong presentation of The Member of the Wedding (1958). It was her first television role. For such a strong start, her later film career would prove strangely erratic, with a number of offbeat roles in The Baby Maker (1970), arguably her best post-Mockingbird part, opposite Barbara Hershey and Sam Groom, Catch-22 (1970), September 30, 1955 (1977), Jaws 2 (1978), Marie (1985), The Journey of August King (1995) and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), among them.
While Collin graced a number of quality TV programs, such as the mini-movies The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974), Foxfire (1987) and Wildflower (1991) along with such established series as Gunsmoke (1955), The Twilight Zone (1959), The Fugitive (1963) and The Waltons (1972), it was the live stage that kept her fiery passion for acting alive. In the late seventies, she returned to her hometown, met and married third husband Scott Paxton, and founded the multi-arts center, "The Highlands Studio for the Arts", in 1981. She served as its artistic director for nine years as well as its resident playwright and improv teacher. She and her husband (who has been president of the Board of Directors) formed a troupe called "The Instant Theatre Company" (ITC) which reaffirmed her family's name in the commitment to its town's local theater. The company lasted for close to a decade before resurrecting again in 2003 with Collin and Rex Reed performing in a presentation of "Love Letters".
Married three times, she has two children, Kimberley and William, from her former husband, British actor Geoffrey Horne, and one child, Michael, from the marriage to Scott Paxton. She died of brain cancer at her North Carolina home in Highlands on October 14, 2009. She was 74.- Actor
- Writer
William Talman is best known for his role as Hamilton Burger, the district attorney who perpetually lost to Perry Mason in the long-running series Perry Mason (1957). Talman was an accomplished screenwriter and stage and screen actor, and appeared in numerous roles on television as a character actor from the mid-'50s until his death from lung cancer in August of 1968.
He was born William Whitney Talman Jr. on February 4, 1915, in Detroit, Michigan, the first son of William Talman Sr. and Ada B. Talman. His father was vice-president of an electrical company that manufactured industrial heat-measuring recording devices and yachts. During an interview with "TV Guide" in April of 1963, Talman told writer Richard Gehman that his father made a good deal of money, "enough to send me to school in a limousine each day. Public school. That meant I had to fight my way in and out." In school Talman developed an avid interest in athletics, especially boxing and baseball. He furthered his interest in boxing early in life by fighting on the local parish boxing team of the Episcopal Church. At one point in his life he played semi-professional baseball. He was educated at Cranbrook School and later attended Dartmouth College, where his interest in acting first took hold. He left Dartmouth in his sophomore year after an incident in which a freshman he knew "loaned" him a car so that he could go visit a girlfriend at Smith College. A bus forced the car off of the road and it hit a tree. A boy who was with them was killed and it later turned out that the car was stolen. Talman was asked to resign from Dartmouth, which he did. Although invited back the next year, he never returned.
Talman began his acting career on Broadway in the early 1940s. His first roles were in "Beverly Hills", "Yokel Boy" and "Of Mice and Men." He was appearing in "Spring Again" at Henry Miller's Theatre in January of 1942 when he received his draft notice for induction into the US army. Prior to leaving for active duty he married actress Lynne Carter. He entered the army as a private and saw 30 months of service in the Pacific, where he won a commission and eventually was promoted to the rank of major. During the war his assignments included the managing of a school that trained soldiers to put on shows. At one point he was in charge of training boxing and baseball teams. He was proud of the fact that his teams won both the boxing and baseball championships of the Western Pacific. Talman returned to Broadway after the war. Two of his more notable postwar roles were in Joseph M. Hyman's and Bernard Hart's production of "Dear Ruth" in 1946 and Henry Adrian's production of "A Young Man's Fancy" in 1947. In 1949 the actor moved to Hollywood and began making films. His first picture was Red, Hot and Blue (1949), in which he played gangster Bunny Harris. Other movie and television roles soon followed. In 1951 his wife sued him for divorce, citing extreme cruelty. She claimed that Talman had criticized her publicly in front of their friends. The divorce was granted in September of 1952 with custody of the couple's three-year-old daughter, Lynda, and 24% of Talman's income awarded to his former spouse. He went on to perform in over 17 films, several of which he starred in. Some of his more notable films include The Racket (1951), Armored Car Robbery (1950), Smoke Signal (1955), Big House, U.S.A. (1955), One Minute to Zero (1952) and Two-Gun Lady (1955). His best known role was as escaped killer and kidnapper Emmett Myers in the classic film noir The Hitch-Hiker (1953), directed by Ida Lupino. He also co-wrote two feature films, I've Lived Before (1956) and Joe Dakota (1957).
Talman married actress Barbara Read in 1952. The couple had two children, Barbie and Billy, but they separated in September of 1959. In a tragic turn of events, his former wife took her own life in December of 1963 by closing up her house and turning on the gas jets. Notes she left behind blamed ill health for her action. In March of 1960 Talman made headlines when he was arrested during a police raid of an alleged "wild nude party" being held at the home of an acquaintance, Richard Reibold. The incident caused CBS to invoke a morals clause in his contract that cost him his job on "Perry Mason." The charges were eventually dropped after a trial that was closely followed by the newspapers and sensationalized by the tabloids. Talman always maintained his innocence, and following the trial the judge in the case criticized the police for arresting him. He remained off the show until December of 1960, when CBS reinstated him after a flood of fan mail from supporters. He married Margaret (Peggy) Flanigan and adopted her two children from a previous marriage, Steve and Debbie. After the "Perry Mason" show ended in 1966, Talman went on a six-week tour of Vietnam to entertain the troops. Upon his return home, it was discovered that he had lung cancer. His last film was The Ballad of Josie (1967), with Doris Day.
Near the end of his life, Talman did something that, while common nowadays, was an extraordinarily courageous thing for an actor to do at that time. A heavy smoker for most of his life, he was angered by a newspaper article he read about actors being afraid to make anti-smoking messages for fear of losing opportunities to make lucrative cigarette commercials. He decided to do something about it. Talman volunteered to make a short film for the American Cancer Society, part of which was shown in late 1968 and 1969 as a television anti-smoking commercial. He was the first actor to ever make such a commercial. When the message was being filmed, Talman knew he was dying, was in a great deal of pain and was in fact under heavy sedation for it. The short film begins, "Before I die I want to do what I can to leave a world free of cancer for my six children . . . ",
William Talman died of cardiac arrest due to complications from lung cancer at West Valley Community Hospital in Encino, California, on August 30, 1968, at the age of 53. Although his life was short, he left an enduring legacy through his writing, his acting, his heroism and his never-ending championing of the underdog.- Actress
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Pamelyn Ferdin was born on 4 February 1959 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress, known for The Beguiled (1971), Charlotte's Web (1973) and A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969). She was previously married to Jerry Vlasak.