Hollywood Actors Archives - Page 38 of 128

Powers Boothe

TCM overview:

A dependable character actor for over three decades, Emmy winner Powers Boothe lent grit to powerful men on both sides of the moral fence in a variety of diverse projects like “Red Dawn” (1984), “Nixon” (1995), “Deadwood” (HBO, 2004-06), “24” (Fox, 2001-2010) and “The Avengers” (2012). Boothe made an indelible impression on audiences with his first major screen role as the deranged Reverend Jim Jones in “Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones” (CBS, 1980) before making the leap to features with Walter Hill’s “Southern Comfort” (1981). He soon became a favorite for directors like Hill and Oliver Stone, who cast Boothe as flinty bad guys in “Extreme Prejudice” (1987), “U Turn” (1990) and “Nixon” (1995). “Deadwood” brought him back to prominence with his complex turn as a brutal but emotionally wounded brothel owner, which in turn led to high-profile parts on “24” and significant smaller roles in “Sin City” (2005) and “The Avengers” (2012). Boothe’s tough exterior and talent for intimate drama made him one of the most in-demand character actors in Hollywood.

Born June 1, 1948 on a farm in Snyder, TX, Powers Allen Boothe was the youngest of three sons by Merrill Vestal Boothe and his wife, Emily Reeves. He attended Texas State University, where he earned a degree in theater. Unsure if he could make a living as an actor, Boothe considered teaching before being encouraged by fellow members in a summer stock troupe to audition for the graduate program at Southern Methodist University. After receiving his Master of Fine Arts degree in 1972, Boothe was a member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, then made his stage debut in New York in a 1974 production of “Richard III” at Lincoln Center. He would return to the play for his screen debut in 1977’s “The Goodbye Girl,” which featured him as a cast member in a doomed, off-off-Broadway production which depicted Richard – as portrayed by Richard Dreyfuss’ character Elliot Garfield – as a camp homosexual.

Boothe made his Broadway debut in 1980 with the comic one-act “Lone Star,” but his stage work was completely overshadowed by his terrifying performance as the Reverend Jim Jones, the fanatical leader of the People’s Temple who led his followers to commit mass suicide, in “Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones” (CBS, 1980). For his formidable turn as the messianic madman, Boothe received not only critical praise but also the Emmy for Best Actor in 1980. He was the only actor in any category to attend the ceremony that year, which was under boycott by the Screen Actors Guild due to a strike. In his acceptance speech, Boothe admitted that his appearance at the ceremony was either the bravest moment of his career or the most foolish.

Boothe’s fears proved unwarranted, as the acclaim for “Guyana Tragedy” led to a string of lead and supporting roles in features. Blessed with considerable height (6’5″) and a strong jaw, he was a natural to play men of action, as he did for Walter Hill in “Southern Comfort” (1981) and John Milius in the cult favorite “Red Dawn” (1984). But Boothe brought more than brawn to his tough guy roles; there was also an all-too-evident humanity that made him both vulnerable and appealing to audiences. These traits were put to excellent use in John Boorman’s “The Emerald Forest” (1985), with Boothe as an engineer in Brazil whose son (the director’s son, Charley Boorman), was abducted by and inducted into a primitive tribe. Boothe also possessed the right mix of brass and world-weariness to play Philip Marlowe, Raymond Chandler’s iconic detective, in the cable series “Philip Marlowe, Private Eye” (ITV/HBO, 1983-86).

By the end of the 1980s, Boothe’s movie career seemed stuck in conventional action roles, playing heavies or cops in Hill’s ultra-violent “Extreme Prejudice” (1987) and Brandon Lee’s sidekick in “Sudden Death” (1990). He found more substantive work on the small screen, where he essayed Navy officer and convicted spy John A. Walker, Jr. in “Family of Spies” (CBS, 1990), and “By Dawn’s Early Light” (HBO, 1990), as a B-52 bomber pilot who refused to honor orders to drop nuclear weapons on the Soviet Union. In 1993, he played real-life outlaw “Curly Bill” Brocious in the all-star “Tombstone” (1993), about the events leading up to and after the famed gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

In the mid-1990s, Boothe settled into character roles, often as imposing authority figures, ruthless villains or some combination of both attributes. He faced off against Jean-Claude Van Damme as a terrorist holding the vice president hostage at a hockey game in Peter Hyams’ “Sudden Death” (1995), then shifted gears to play the hawkish Alexander Haig, White House chief of staff in Oliver Stone’s “Nixon” (1995). Boothe reunited with Stone in 1997 to play a corrupt Southwestern sheriff in the neo-noir “U Turn.” His gravely voice also found frequent employment on animated series like “Justice League” (Cartoon Network, 2001-04) and full-length animated features like “Superman: Brainiac Attacks” (2006), for which he voiced the DC Comics supervillains Gorilla Grodd and Lex Luthor, respectively.

In 2004, he enjoyed something of a revival with a recurring role on “Deadwood” as Cy Tolliver, a polished brothel owner whose dandified veneer hid both an iron hand in business dealings, as well as a damaged heart over Joanie Stubbs (Kim Dickens), a former prostitute made madam under Tolliver’s aegis. The exposure afforded by the critically acclaimed but short-lived “Deadwood” led to small parts in major features like “Sin City” (2005) and steady work on television, most notably as the duplicitous Vice President Noah Daniels on “24” (Fox, 2001-2010).

In 2008, Boothe’s steely, conservative screen persona made him the ideal choice to narrate a television campaign for Senator John McCain’s bid for the Presidency. He worked steadily over the next few years in projects ranging from the wildly popular animated series “Ben 10: Alien Force” (Cartoon Network, 2008-2010) to the dismal failed comedy “MacGruber” (2010). However, 2012 proved to be a banner year for Boothe, with a bit role as the World Security Council Leader in the box office blockbuster “The Avengers” (2012) landing shortly before his appearance as judge Valentine “Wall” Hatfield, whose decision in a case involving stolen livestock leads to a bloody feud in “Hatfields & McCoys” (A&E, 2012), one of the highest-rated made-for-cable miniseries in history. He died in 2017.

By Paul Gaita

The above TCM overview can also be accessed online here.

Katina Paxinou TCM Overview

TCM overview:

One of Greece’s most beloved and respected actresses, Katina Paxinou had a brief but illustrious career in American films of the 1940s. Paxinou was born in Piraeus, an Athenian seaport, but studied theater and opera in Switzerland. She made her debut singing in the Mitropoulis Opera in Athens (1920), then became a legit actress in ’29. While working at the Greek National Theater, she met (and later married) actor/director Alexis Minotis. The two co-starred in and co-directed many productions, becoming known as Greece’s Lunt and Fontanne. Thei

r repertory included Shakespeare, Ibsen, O’Neill and classical Greek drama (Paxinou herself translated many scripts into modern Greek and wrote musical scores for several).

With the onset of World War Two, she found herself stranded in London, unable to return to her home. She fled to the US, making her Broadway debut in “Hedda Gabler” (1942). She next appeared in the film “For Whom the Bell Tolls” (1943), as a peasant woman caught in the Spanish Civil War, and won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her work. She made another four films in the US: “Hostages” (1943), “Confidential Agent” (1945), “Mourning Becomes Electra” (1947), and “Prince of Foxes” (1949) before returning to Greece.

Paxinou’s stage career continued where she’d left off.
She and her husband rejoined the National Theater and eventually opened their own Royal Theater in Athens.
They toured the world in revivals of Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides. She made a handful of films in various countries, including Spain (“Mr. Arkadin”, 1955), the US (“The Miracle”, 1959), Italy (“Rocco e i suoi Fratelli”, 1960), and France (“The Trial”, 1962, “Aunt Zita”, 1967, and “Un Ete sauvage”, 1970). Paxinou was still acting alongside her husband at the time of her death

Larry Pennell

Boot Hill website:

Film and TV actor Larry Pennell died on August 28, 2013, place unknown. Born Lawrence Keneth Pennell on February 2, 1928 in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Before becoming an actor he was a professional baseball player for the Boston Braves [1948-1953]. He then drifted into acting appearing in several films before he was given the lead in the 1961-1963 TV series ‘Ripcord’ about skydivers. He made his most lasting impression on the TV series, ‘The Beverly Hillbillies” as Elly May’s boyfriend Dash Riprock. His career continued with small parts in films and television including “Mr. Baseball” (1992) with Tom Selleck. His last film appearance was in “The Passing” (2011).

The above “Boot Hill” obituary can also be accessed online here.

2523615 ARE HUSBANDS NECESSARY?: ARE HUSBANDS NECESSARY, US poster, from left: Ray Milland, Betty Field, Patricia Morison, 1942; (add.info.: Affiche du film ARE HUSBANDS NECESSARY? de Norman Taurog avec Ray Milland, Betty Field, Patricia Morison, 1942 ); Everett Collection.

Ray Milland’s TCM profile:

Ray Milland was named Best Actor of 1945 for his performance as an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend. It was a career making film — and a record making Oscar® acceptance. Milland is the only Best Actor winner to have not spoken a single word when accepting the Oscar. Instead of a speech, Milland simply bowed and made a graceful exit. In his career, like his speech, Milland’s style was often understated. He spent many years in Hollywood playing B-movie romantic leads and the buddies and rivals of the films’ male stars. The Lost Weekend should have launched Milland into stardom at long last. It proved, instead, to be the pinnacle of a 50-year career of an actor who didn’t take Hollywood fame too seriously and was willing to take on roles others might not equate with an Oscar® winner.

Milland was born Reginald Alfred John Truscott-Jones on January 3, 1905 in Wales. He made his start in British films in 1929 – his first two films were The Plaything and The Lady from the Sea (both 1929). In 1930, Milland made his way to Hollywood and took a stage name. There are several versions of how “Ray Milland” came to be. In some accounts the name was a version of his stepfather’s name Mullane. Others suggest the moniker came from the flat mill lands that surround Milland’s hometown of Neath. This second explanation mostly likely did play a part. As with most people’s life decisions, there was another influential factor – his mother. In his 1974 autobiography Wide-eyed in Babylon, Milland recalls arguing for hours with his agent over the name. Fed up, Milland claims he got up and said, “I don’t really care what you call me. I must keep the initial R because my mother had it engraved on my suitcases. Other than that, I don’t really care, but if you all don’t come up with something soon, I’m packing these suitcases and going back to the mill lands where I came from.” And so the name Ray Milland remained.

Milland’s early days in Hollywood were made up of supporting roles. One of his first films, Way for a Sailor(1930) cast him opposite John Gilbert and Wallace Beery. Other memorable films of his early career include:Strangers May Kiss (1931) with Norma Shearer and Robert Montgomery; the James Cagney-Joan Blondell crime drama Blonde Crazy (1931); the romantic comedy Just a Gigolo (1931); and Payment Deferred(1932) with Charles Laughton and Maureen O’Sullivan. By the late ’30s Milland had made the jump to more leading roles in films like Easy Living (1937) with Jean Arthur, Wise Girl (1937) opposite Miriam Hopkins, and the romantic musical-comedy Irene (1940). The 1940s brought more first rate films like the Billy Wilder comedy The Major and the Minor (1942) with Ginger Rogers, the haunted house story The Uninvited(1944) and Fritz Lang’s spy thriller Ministry of Fear (1944).

1945 would bring Milland the best role of his career with The Lost Weekend. Ironically, since this film has become so synonymous with Milland, he was not director Billy Wilder’s first choice for the part. Actors such as Cary Grant and Jose Ferrer were considered before him – and like most Hollywood stars, they wanted nothing to do with what was sure to be an unpopular film. Studio advisors also warned Milland that the film’s grim subject matter could offend viewers and hurt his career. On the other hand, Wilder, once he settled on Milland, correctly predicted that the actor would win the Oscar®. Not only was he right, but Milland also became the first actor to win both the Oscar® and the leading acting award at Cannes for the same role.

Despite his success in The Lost Weekend, Milland’s Hollywood life was largely unchanged. He followed up the film with three unremarkable pictures that might’ve been made years earlier in his career; there was the romantic comedy The Well-Groomed Bride (1946) with Olivia de Havilland, the western California (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck and the comedy The Trouble with Women (1947) opposite Teresa Wright. Two high points in those post-Lost Weekend years were the noir thriller, The Big Clock (1948), and Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder (1954) where Milland had a chance to play the villain. For the most part, however, Milland was no longer getting “A” roles.

As several stories from his early career illustrate, Milland was always a risk taker. He had a near-fatal accident while filming Hotel Imperial (1939). The script called for him to jump on a horse, and being an accomplished horseman, Milland insisted on doing the stunt himself. Unfortunately when he made the jump, the saddle came loose and Milland fell into a pile of broken masonry. He was hospitalized for weeks with fractures and lacerations. Another stunt on I Wanted Wings (1941) found Milland on a test flight where he thought he’d take a jump (he was an amateur parachutist). But engine trouble forced the plane to land before he could jump. On the ground, Milland told the story to his costumer who went suddenly pale. Apparently, the parachute Milland had almost jumped with contained no parachute at all – it was just a prop. With a history of taking risks like these, it probably came as no surprise when Milland took his career in his own hands in the 1950s and began directing.

Milland made his directorial debut in 1955 on the Republic western A Man Alone. He would go on to direct several more films including The Safecracker (1958) and Panic in the Year Zero! (1962). In his later career, Milland turned his attention largely to television. He co-starred in two TV series – the comedy Meet Mr. McNuttyand the crime-drama Markham. He also appeared in a number of made-for-TV movies, including the popular mini-series Rich Man, Poor Man (1976). Milland also turned up in a number of low budget horror features such as Roger Corman’s cult sci-fi drama, X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes (1963) and Frogs (1972). And he made something of a comeback in 1970’s Love Story, where he played Oliver Barrett III (Ryan O’Neal’s father). He also starred as an evil business mogul in Disney’s Escape to Witch Mountain (1975).

Never one to be interested in the limelight, Milland was, on a personal level, something of a book-lover and homebody. He was married to the same woman, his wife Malvina, from 1932 until his death on March 10, 1986.

by Stephanie Thames

The above TCM profile can also be accessed online here.

TCM overview:

A versatile character actor for over five decades, Academy Award winner George Kennedy brought both gravity and boundless energy to a considerable list of memorable pictures ranging from “Cool Hand Luke” (1967) and “The Dirty Dozen” (1967) to the campy “Airport” pictures and the “Naked Gun” franchise. A near two-decade stint in the military preceded his acting pursuits, where he logged numerous appearances as heavies and rough-hewn types in pictures like “Charade” (1963) and “The Sons of Katie Elder” (1964). However, his turn as a tough Southern prisoner who becomes Paul Newman’s disciple of sorts in “Cool Hand Luke” brought him both an Oscar and a career boost that included heroic turns in all four “Airport” films, “The Boston Strangler” (1968) and “The Eiger Sanction” (1975). Kennedy’s career went into decline in the mid-1970s, though there were occasional flashes of offbeat brilliance; most notably the slapstick “Naked Gun” series. Kennedy’s long and impressive body of work surpassed any career dips, and he remained one of Hollywood’s most dependable and well-regarded talents.

George Harris Kennedy, Jr. was born into a New York-based show business family on Feb. 18, 1925. Kennedy’s father was a musician and orchestra leader who died when his son was only four years old, leaving him to be raised by his mother, former ballet dancer Helen Kieselbach. He made his acting debut two years before in a touring production of “Bringing Up Father;” he would continue to perform as a radio actor until the outbreak of World War II, when he joined the Army. The service would occupy the next 16 years of his life, during which he was instrumental in establishing the Army Information Office, which provided technical service to the film and television industries, and spun records as a disk jockey on Armed Forces Radio.

A back injury ended Kennedy’s career in the military, but it provided him with a direct route back into show business. He served as a technical advisor for the popular “Phil Silvers Show” (CBS, 1955-59) and landed a few uncredited appearances on the series as well. The experience inspired him to try his hand at acting. In the late 1950s he began appearing in bit and supporting roles on television series. His burly frame and deep voice made him ideal for crooked cowpokes, gunmen and the occasional tough detective in Western and crime series throughout the early 1960s; he also made his screen debut around this time as one of the rebel soldiers who joins “Spartacus” (1960) in the rousing conclusion of Stanley Kubrick’s acclaimed epic. Within a few years, he was handling more substantial roles in features like “Lonely Are the Brave” (1962) and “Charade” (1963) opposite Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.

Like all journeyman actors, Kennedy worked in every possible genre, from high-gloss thrillers like “Charade” and “Mirage” (1965) to low-budget horror flicks like “Strait-Jacket” (1964) and scores of Westerns, including the John Wayne classic, “The Sons of Katie Elder” (1965). Kennedy’s on-screen roles continued to subsist largely of tough, loud-mouthed rogues and authority figures, though there were occasional forays into more sympathetic parts, like the compassionate Union officer in the anti-war film “Shenandoah” (1965), starring his acting idol, Jimmy Stewart.

Kennedy’s onscreen assignments continued to grow in stature throughout the 1960s. He reunited with Stewart in the air crash drama “Flight of the Phoenix” (1966), then lent solid support to such major players as Lee Marvin, John Cassavetes and Robert Ryan in “The Dirty Dozen” (1967), as well as Michael Caine and Jane Fonda in “Hurry Sundown” (1967). That same year, the 42-year-old actor finally landed his big break as Paul Newman’s chain-gang antagonist and eventual companion in Stuart Rosenberg’s “Cool Hand Luke” (1967). The role afforded Kennedy a rare opportunity to show all the colors in his acting palette – menacing at first, but later thoughtful, repentant and even worshipful towards Newman’s unbreakable convict. The turn won Kennedy an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1967, and ushered him to the forefront of the screen acting community.

By 1970, Kennedy had finally broken out of the supporting acting mold to land his first lead in “Guns of the Magnificent Seven” (1970), as the gun for hire played by Yul Brynner in “The Magnificent Seven” (1960). That same year, he made his first appearance as dogged airplane mechanic Joe Patroni in the glossy disaster drama, “Airport” (1970). After receiving a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor, Kennedy revisited the character in its three ludicrous sequels, “Airport 1975” (1975), “Airport ’77” (1977) and “The Concorde: Airport ’79” (1979), in which Patroni finally got to pilot a doomed flight. There were also impressive appearances opposite Clint Eastwood – once as his nemesis in “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot” (1973) and later as his ally in “The Eiger Sanction” (1975) – and a single-season stint as a fair-minded beat cop on the TV series, “The Blue Knight” (CBS, 1975-76).

The mid-1970s marked a precipitous decline in Kennedy’s career. Gone, suddenly, were the roles in major Hollywood movies; replaced instead were a string of low-budget horror pictures, comedies and exploitation flicks. The worst of the lot was John Derek’s jaw-dropping “Bolero” (1984) which starred his ubiquitous wife Bo in various states of undress, but “Wacko” (1982), “Uninvited” (1988) and “Demonwarp” (1989) certainly gave the Derek flesh-fest a run for its money. Television provided some degree of respect for Kennedy’s talents; he enjoyed a recurring role on “Dallas” (CBS, 1978-1991) as a oil company foil for Larry Hagman’s J.R. Ewing, and there were quality TV projects like “The Jesse Owens Story” (1984) and “Backstairs at the White House” (NBC, 1979), in which he played President Warren G. Harding.

Fortunately, this low-budget material, which dominated Kennedy’s output well into the 21st century, eventually transformed industry perception of him into a camp figure, which in turn afforded him a new audience as a broad comic performer. He had shown flashes of ability in that arena in Albert Brooks’ “Modern Romance” (1981), in which he played himself as the star of an atrocious science fiction film, as well as serving as host of a 1981 episode of “Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 1975- ), but his turn as Captain Ed Hocken, the slow-witted, food-loving sidekick to Leslie Nielsen’s Frank Drebin in “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!” (1988) and its two successful sequels – The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991) and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994) – were particularly spirited. In fact, his performance as Hocken nearly sent up that of Nielsen’s, which was no small feat. Because of his success with “Naked Gun,” he was later asked to join his “Dirty Dozen” co-stars Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown and Clint Walker to voice an aggressive action toy brought to life in Joe Dante’s underrated sci-fi comedy, “Small Soldiers” (1997). He also made for an ebullient pitchman for Breathasure tablets in a series of humorous spots in the late 1990s.

Kennedy retired from acting in 1998, but returned in 2003 to a regular routine of television and low-budget features, including a stint on “The Young and the Restless” (CBS, 1973- ). A pleasant exception at this time was Wim Wenders’ “Don’t Come Knocking” (2003), which cast him as the frustrated director of a trouble-plagued Western. In addition to his acting roles, Kennedy was credited as author on two mystery novels, Murder on Location (1981) and Murder on High (1984), both of which featured Kennedy as amateur sleuth on the trail of killers in a Hollywood setting rife with his many famous co-stars. An uncredited ghost author penned both novels.

The above TCM overview can also be accessed online here.

Jane Wyman, Maxie Rosenbloom & Victor Moore

IMDB entry:

Max Rosenbloom was 5’11” and weighed 165-170 lb. during the peak of his professional boxing years (which included 289 fights). In later years the larger-than-life “Slapsie Maxie” would parlay his sports fame into a Hollywood career playing a series of Runyonesque-type thugs and pugs. Born Max Everitt Rosenbloom in Connecticut, the son of an impoverished Russian-Jewish shoemaker and his wife, Maxie was a truant and upstart from the beginning. An older brother, who fought under the name Leonard Rose, helped straighten him out and influenced him to try jabbing away at his own career. The lackluster amateur once called the “Harlem Harlequin” lost most of his matches, working odd jobs as a railroad worker, lifeguard and elevator operator to support himself. Everything turned around for Maxie after he became managed by the seasoned Frank Bachman and turned pro in 1923 as a welterweight. He won all of his first 36 professional fights in various weight divisions. He reached his peak from 1930, after winning the light heavyweight belt in a decision against Jimmy Slattery, to 1932, when he earned international recognition as champion in a decision against Lou Suozzo. Dubiously nicknamed “Slapsie Maxie” by sportswriter Damon Runyon who disapproved of Maxie’s less-than-classy style of slapping opponents with open gloves, he is considered the most active champion in contemporary boxing history with a fighting total of 106 while champion (only eight, however, were for the title). Outside the ring, Maxie eased easily into the nightlife and became infamous for his gambling and womanizing. Though he married psychologist Muriel Faider in 1937, the marriage was childless and lasted but 8 years. Hollywood opened its doors to Maxie the celebrity after he permanently hung up his gloves. He would go on play in more than a hundred films, his better known beingNothing Sacred (1937), The Kid Comes Back (1938), Each Dawn I Die (1939) and Irish Eyes Are Smiling (1944). A colorful character with cauliflower ears, fat lips and punch-drunk mug, he was usually only called upon to play various extensions of his own flashy persona. After opening the Hollywood nightclub “Slapsie Maxie’s” in 1943, he partnered with another former boxing champion, Max Baer, in a nightclub act and in a few films following WWII. On TV in 1955, he was a regular as Clyde on The Joe Palooka Story(1954). On stage he was ideally suited to the role of Big Jules in a 1961 revival of “Guys and Dolls”. Three years earlier he had published his autobiography titled “Fifty Years at Ringside.” Maxie’s health deteriorated with age, and he suffered from pugilistica dementia (better known as Paget’s disease) as a result of the continuous head blows he endured as a boxer. He died at age 71 in South Pasadena, California.

– IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net

The above IMDB entry can also be accessed online here.

Jane Wyman, Maxie Rosenbloom & Victor Moore

IMDB entry:

Victor Moore was born on February 24, 1876 in Hammonton, New Jersey, USA as Victor Frederick Moore. He was an actor, known for Swing Time (1936), Make Way for Tomorrow(1937) and The Seven Year Itch (1955). He was married to Shirley Paige and Emma Littlefield. He died on July 24, 1962 in East Islip, Long Island, New York, USA.

Moore and his first wife were a vaudeville team for several decades before her death. Moore did not announce his marriage to Shirley Paige until they had been married for a year and a half. At the time of the announcement he was 67 and she was 22.

Moore, or his family, was into buying real estate. A building in the Jackson Heights section of Queens is named after him. The Victor Moore Arcade is bounded by Roosevelt Ave., Broadway (Queens’ Broadway) and 75th St. It houses stores, offices, a bus terminal and two entrances to a subway station. The Victor Moore Arcade was actually seen in a movie. Henry Fonda exits from the subway at this building at the start of Alfred Hitchcock‘s The Wrong Man (1956).

Children: Victor Jr. (c. 1910), Ora (c. 1919) and Robert (c. 1921)

There is a rarely shown sound film in existence that shows Moore as Vice President Throttlebottom in a dialogue scene from “Of Thee I Sing” (the scene in which Throttlebottom is lost in the White House and gets mixed up with a group touring the building). It was part of an Edward R. Murrow See It Now (1951) program on the Vice Presidency, and not, as is assumed by some, part of a film version of “Of Thee I Sing”. “Of Thee I Sing” has never been filmed theatrically, although there is a videotaped 1972 television production of the musical.His last film was The Seven Year Itch (1955).

His first part was a non-speaking role in an 1893 Boston Theatre production of “Babes in the Woods”. He subsequently appeared on Broadway and in vaudeville (1913-15). Came to Los Angeles for an appendectomy in 1915, and decided to stay and try his luck in the movies. He initially appeared in 5-reel features for Jesse L. Lasky, then starred in his own series of one-reel situation comedies for Paramount, 1916-17. Resumed stage work in 1918 with only occasional forays to the screen until the mid-30’s.

The above IMDB entry can also be accessed online here.

Corbin Bernsen

IMDB entry:

Rugged, hirsutely handsome Corbin Bernsen blazed to TV stardom in 1986 on L.A. Law(1986) as opportunistic divorce lawyer “Arnie Becker”, whose blond and brash good looks, impish grin and aggressive courting style proved a wild sex magnet to not only the beautiful female clients desirous of his “services”, but his own lovelorn secretary who frequently bailed him out of trouble. Bernsen invested the Becker character with a likable “bad boy” charm that made him a favorite among the tight ensemble for eight solid seasons. In the process, he earned multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. He also proved the role was no flash-in-the-pan or dead-end stereotype, maintaining a steady career over the course of three decades now with no signs of let up. Moreover, his deep love for acting and intent devotion to his career recently impelled him to climb into the producer/director’s chair.

Born in North Hollywood, California, on September 7, 1954, Corbin was raised around the glitz of the entertainment business. The eldest of three children born to 70s film/TV producer Harry Bernsen and veteran grande dame soap star Jeanne Cooper (the couple divorced in 1977), he graduated from Beverly Hills High School and attended UCLA with the intention of pursuing law. Instead, he went on to receive a BFA in Theatre Arts and MFA in Playwriting. He worked on the Equity-waiver L.A. stage circuit as both actor and set designer, making his film debut as a bit player in his father’s picture Three the Hard Way (1974). Appearing unobtrusively in a couple of other films, he set his sights on New York in the late 70s. During his salad days, he eeked out a living as a carpenter and roofer while sidelining as a model. His first big break came in 1983 with the role of “Ken Graham” on daytime’s Ryan’s Hope (1975). During this time, he also met and married TV costumer designer Brenda Cooper, who later worked on The Nanny (1993) sitcom. They divorced four years later. This break led to an exclusive deal by NBC and eventually the TV role of a lifetime. The perks of his newly-found stardom on L.A. Law (1986) included a hosting stint on Saturday Night Live (1975) and the covers of numerous major magazines. Wasting no time, he parlayed his sudden small screen success into a major movie career, usually playing charmingly unsympathetic characters. He co-starred asShelley Long‘s egotistical husband in the lightweight reincarnation comedy Hello Again(1987); played an equally vain Hollywood star in the musical comedy Bert Rigby, You’re a Fool (1989); and starred as a disorganized ringleader of a band of crooks in the bank caper Disorganized Crime (1989). He capped the 1980s decade opposite Charlie Sheenand Tom Berenger in the box office hit Major League (1989), which took advantage of his natural athleticism, playing ballplayer-cum-owner “Roger Dorn”. Two sequels followed.

Corbin’s career has merrily rolled along ever since – active in lowbudgets as well as pricier film fare portraying both anti-heroes and villains. On the TV homefront, he has appeared in a slew of mini-movie vehicles, including Line of Fire: The Morris Dees Story(1991) as the famed civil rights attorney, and has ventured on in an assortment film genres – the mystery thriller Shattered (1991), which re-teamed him with Tom Berenger; the romantic comedy Frozen Assets (1992), again with Shelley Long; the war horror taleGrey Knight (1993); the slapstick farce Radioland Murders (1994); the melodramatic An American Affair (1997), and the fantasy adventure Beings (2002). Topping it off, Corbin’s title role in the expert thriller The Dentist (1996) had audiences excogitating a similar paranoia of tooth doctors as Anthony Perkins had decades before with motel clerks. As spurned husband-turned-crazed ivory hunter “Dr. Alan Feinstone”, Corbin reached cult horror status. The movie spawned a sequel in which he also served as associate producer.

Into the millennium, Corbin returned to his daytime roots with a recurring role on motherJeanne Cooper‘s popular serial The Young and the Restless (1973), and is currently seen as “John Durant” on General Hospital (1963), a role he’s played since 2004. A game and excitable player on reality shows, he added immeasurable fun to the “Celebrity Mole” series, and has enjoyed recurring roles on the more current and trendy The West Wing(1999), JAG (1995), Cuts (2005) and Psych (2006).

Of late, Corbin has decided to tackle the business end of show biz. In 2004, he formed Public Media Works, a film/TV production company in order to exert more creative control over his projects. On top of the list is the loopy film comedy Carpool Guy (2005), which he directed, produced and co-starred in. It features more than 10 of the currently reigning soap opera stars, including a wildly eccentric Anthony Geary in the title role, and, of course, his irrepressible real-life mom, Jeanne Cooper.

Obviously, his errant on-camera antics does not reflect a similar personal lifestyle for Corbin as he has been happily married (since 1988) to lovely British actress Amanda Pays. They have appeared together in the sci-fi film Spacejacked (1997) and the TV-movies Dead on the Money (1991) and The Santa Trap (2002), among others. The couple have four children, including twin boys. Just a few years ago, they relocated to Los Angeles after living in England for some time. In between, he still shows off as a master carpenter at home and continues to dabble in writing. Perseverance and dedication has played a large part in the acting success of Corbin Bernsen. Gleaning a savvy, take-charge approach hasn’t hurt either — characteristics worthy of many of the sharpies he’s played on screen.

– IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net

Corbin Bernsen stars as Henry Spencer in the sixth season of the USA Network original series PSYCH, also starring James Roday and Dule Hill.

Bernsen is also forging ahead as a prolific writer, producer and director, creating films for his Home Theater Films production and distribution banner.

As an actor, Bernsen recently completed a role as actress Rebecca Hall’s father in the indie comedy Lay The Favorite starring Bruce Willis, Vince Vaughn and Catherine Zeta Jones, directed by Stephen Frears. He also appears in the comedy The Big Year, directed by David Frankel for Fox 2000, starring Owen Wilson, Jack Black and Steve Martin.

For his Home Theater Films distribution banner, Bernsen recently completed writing, producing, directing and starring in the All-American Soap Box Derby film, 25 Hill which also stars Nathan Gamble (Dolphin Tale), Rolonda Watts (Days of Our Lives), Bailee Madison (Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark), Tim Omundson (Psych, Mission Impossible III), Maureen Flannigan (7th Heaven, A Day Without A Mexican), Ralph Waite (The Bodyguard), Meg Foster (They Live) and Michael Tucker (LA Law, D2: The Mighty Ducks) which he shot on location in Akron, Ohio.

Bernsen also just completed starring, writing and directing Barlowe Mann, an inspirational family drama. The film is a co-production between Home Theater Films and the small town of Provost, Alberta, Canada (Population: 2000) which helped finance the film, which stars Bernsen, Nathan Gamble (Dolphin Tale, Batman Returns), Dendrie Taylor (The Fighter ) and Bruce Davison (X-Men).

Previously, Bernsen starred in, wrote, produced and directed the drama Rust, for his production company in which Bernsen plays a minister who returns to his hometown to make sense of the aftermath of a local tragedy. The film, shot in the small town of Kipling, Canada, was released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in October 2010. Bernsen earned his Master’s in Playwriting from UCLA’s Theater Arts Department, later receiving a Drama-Logue Award for his scenic design of the Pilot Theater production of American Buffalo. After moving to New York and appearing in the off-Broadway production of Lone Star and a touring company of Plaza Suite, he became a regular for two years on the daytime drama Ryan’s Hope.

Roles in Blake Edwards’ S.O.B., King Kong and Eat My Dust, in addition to guest starring credits on a number of episodic mainstays, prompted an exclusive deal with NBC, which led to his role as Arnie Becker, the shrewd and handsome divorce attorney on the long-running L.A. Law series.

L.A. Law catapulted Bernsen to overnight stardom. During the late 80’s and early 90’s, he appeared on over 50 magazine covers and earned both Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, hosted Saturday Night Live, and appeared on Seinfeld and The Larry Sanders Show. In the feature film arena, he starred in the motion picture comedy Hello Again, followed by other critically acclaimed roles in Disorganized Crime, Wolfgang Peterson’s Shattered, and as Cleveland Indians third baseman-turned-owner Roger Dorn in the extremely popular Major League series of films. Other film credits include Tales From the Hood and Great White Hype and he starred opposite Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer in the Warner Brothers feature Kiss, Kiss Bang Bang, written and directed by Shane Black (“Lethal Weapon”).

Bernsen has also starred in an impressive string of films for television including the romance western Love Comes Softly for The Hallmark Channel with Katherine Heigl, Right To Die, a film in the Showtime series Masters Of Horror; Line of Fire: The Morris Dees Story, in which he portrayed the role of civil rights lawyer Morris Dees; and Love Can Be Murder, as a gumshoe ghost in the lighthearted NBC mystery romance with Jaclyn Smith. Other telefilm roles include Full Circle, Riddler’s Moon, The Dentist, The Dentist II, Two of Hearts and USA Network’s Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss. guest star roles on the primetime series Law And Order: Criminal Intent, NYPD Blue, West Wing, Boston Legal, The New Adventures Of Old Christine, Criminal Minds and Castle.

In addition to his acting, producing, writing and directing chores, Corbin has one of the largest snow globe collections in the world, in excess of over 8000, which he keeps displayed at his production company.

The eldest of three children, Bernsen was born in North Hollywood to a producer father and his mother, actress Jeanne Cooper who has starred as Katherine Chancellor on the CBS soap The Young And The Restless for over 38 years who he continues to draw inspiration from.

Bernsen makes his home in Los Angeles with his wife, actress Amanda Pays and their four sons.

– IMDb Mini Biography By: Charles Sherman

The above IMDB entry can also be accessed online here.

Spouse (2)

Sandy Duncan

TCM overview:

Forever known, fairly or not, as a perky, pixie-cut performer, Sandy Duncan earned Tony nominations for her wonderful theatrical turns in “Canterbury Tales,” “The Boy Friend” and “Peter Pan.” The epitome of all-American charm, Duncan shined in such fluff as “Million Dollar Duck” (1971) and “Star Spangled Girl” (1971) and received an Emmy nomination for starring in “Funny Face” (CBS, 1971). That series became “The Sandy Duncan Show” (CBS, 1972) after filming was suspended while she underwent surgery for a tumor, which left her without vision in one eye. So pervasive was the subsequent urban legend that Duncan had a prosthetic eye, that the joke was referenced, decades later, most notably on “Family Guy” (Fox, 1999-2002; 2005- ). Although she earned another Emmy nomination for a powerful dramatic turn in the miniseries “Roots” (ABC, 1977), Duncan seemed more comfortable in featherweight family fare like “The Cat from Outer Space” (1978); animated projects like “The Fox and the Hound” (1981), “My Little Pony ‘n Friends” (syndicated, 1984-87), and “The Swan Princess” (1994); and a ubiquitous series of Wheat Thins commercials. Her highest-profile screen role, however, came when she controversially replaced Valerie Harper as the sunny matriarch of the retooled “The Hogan Family,” formerly known as “Valerie” and “Valerie’s Family” (NBC, 1986-1990; CBS, 1990-91). Artistically gifted and endlessly charismatic, Sandy Duncan achieved pop culture immortality based more on the strength of her persona and her body of work than on any one role in particular.

Born Feb. 20, 1946 in Henderson, TX, Sandra Kay Duncan grew up with a unique spark that, even from a young age, helped her stand out from her fellow aspiring actresses. Determined to act since childhood, she gained her first professional experience as a teenager in regional theatrical productions of “The King and I” and “The Music Man” before making the leap to Broadway. Duncan’s screen debut came on the soap opera “Search for Tomorrow” (CBS, 1951-1982; NBC, 1982-86), but she garnered more critical and popular buzz on the Great White Way, earning back-to-back Tony nominations for “Canterbury Tales” and “The Boy Friend,” and winning a Drama Desk Award for her charming work in the latter musical. The winner of a Theatre World Award for her work in “Ceremony of Innocence,” Duncan received an outpouring of positive media attention for her delightful stage performances, and the buzz buoyed her to Hollywood, where she filmed a string of popular TV commercials as well as earning a Golden Globe nomination as a featherbrained housewife in Disney’s sweet but extremely silly family comedy “Million Dollar Duck” (1971).

Although very much in line with Disney’s live-action output at the time, “Duck” was savagely plucked by critics and achieved a sort of cult status as one of the only three films ever to cause famed reviewer Gene Siskel to walk out. Duncan’s star remained very much on the rise, however, and she landed the starring role on the sitcom “Funny Face” (CBS, 1971), playing an aspiring teacher and part-time actress. Although the show earned strong ratings and earned Duncan an Emmy nomination, it was canceled when she experienced a substantial health scare. After successful surgery to remove a tumor, Duncan lost all sight in her left eye, giving rise to an oft-repeated but untrue urban legend that she had it replaced with a glass prosthetic. Upon receiving a clean bill of health, the actress toplined “The Sandy Duncan Show” (CBS, 1972), which drew heavily from the “Funny Face” concept, but also proved equally short-lived. A similar lukewarm reception awaited her Golden Globe-nominated performance as a patriotic athlete in Neil Simon’s “Star Spangled Girl” (1971). Not surprisingly, Duncan stepped back from screen acting for a spell.

Remaining a popular favorite for her sunny disposition, Duncan played “Pinocchio” (CBS, 1976) opposite Danny Kaye’s Geppetto, hosted two Disneyland-themed specials, and impressed critics with what was arguably her best dramatic performance as Missy Anne Reynolds, a young woman of the plantation who teaches Kunte Kinte’s daughter Kizzy (Leslie Uggams) to read and write, but then denounces Kizzy when she refuses to be her servant in the groundbreaking miniseries “Roots” (ABC, 1977). Duncan earned an Emmy nomination for her heartbreaking work, but focused her later career efforts on lighter fare, including the Disney romp “The Cat from Outer Space” (1978). Back on Broadway, she won a Tony nomination and the hearts of countless fans for her wonderful interpretation of the titular boy who would not grow up in the revival of “Peter Pan.” Animation also proved a lucrative outlet for the sweet-voiced Duncan, who lent her pipes to such projects as “The Fox and the Hound” (1981), “My Little Pony ‘n Friends” (syndicated, 1984-87), “Rock-A-Doodle” (1991) and “The Swan Princess” (1994).

For many viewers, Duncan was best known as the perky, pixie-cut Wheat Thins spokesmom and for stepping in to Valerie Harper’s shoes when the actress left “Valerie” (a.k.a. “Valerie’s Family”) after two troubled seasons. The entrance of Duncan’s Sandy Hogan gave the series new life as the revamped sitcom “The Hogan Family” (NBC, 1986-1990; CBS, 1990-91), but it sparked considerable controversy for the unprecedented manner in which Harper was fired, as well as her subsequent lawsuits against NBC (dismissed) and Lorimar (she won). Although Duncan joined Judith Light and Jill Eikenberry as one-time members of a girl group who reunite for a TV show in “My Boyfriend’s Back” (NBC, 1989), she slowed her onscreen acting output after “The Hogan Family” wrapped, but continued to make time for hosting and talk show appearances. She returned to Broadway for a successful run, replacing Twiggy in “My One and Only,” and went on to serve a stint as Roxie Hart in “Chicago.”

Although she never truly earned a breakout screen role, Duncan remained a familiar and well-liked pop cultural figure. The animated series “Family Guy” (Fox, 1999-2002; 2005- ) featured a memorably bizarre joke in which show patriarch Peter (Seth MacFarlane) remembers his former job as the actress’ glass eye. The urban legend surrounding her injury continued to fascinate, and a punk rock band experienced minor success under the name Sandy Duncan’s Eye. Demonstrating a refreshing sense of self-deprecation, Duncan laughed about the strangeness of the myth in interviews while following her musical theater muse in multiple regional productions.

By Jonathan Riggs

The above TCM overview can also be accessed online here.

Collection of Classic Hollywood Actors

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Spouse (2)

Sandy Duncan

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