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- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Buddy Ebsen began his career as a dancer in the late 1920s in a Broadway chorus. He later formed a vaudeville act with his sister Vilma Ebsen, which also appeared on Broadway. In 1935 he and his sister went to Hollywood, where they were signed for the first of MGM's Eleanor Powell movies, Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935). While Vilma retired from stage and screen shortly after this, Buddy starred in two further MGM movies with Powell. Two of his dancing partners were Frances Langford in Born to Dance (1936) and Judy Garland in Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937). They were a little bit taller than Shirley Temple, with whom he danced in Captain January (1936). MGM studio chief Louis B. Mayer offered him an exclusive contract in 1938, but Ebsen turned it down. In spite of Mayer's warning that he would never get a job in Hollywood again, he was offered the role of the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (1939). Ebsen agreed to change roles with Ray Bolger, who was cast as the Tin Man. Ebsen subsequently became ill from the aluminum make-up, however, and was replaced by Jack Haley. He returned to the stage, making only a few pictures before he got a role in the Disney production of Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier (1955). After this, he became a straight actor, and later won more fame in his own hit series, The Beverly Hillbillies (1962) and Barnaby Jones (1973).- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Ray Milland became one of Paramount's most bankable and durable stars, under contract from 1934 to 1948, yet little in his early life suggested a career as a motion picture actor.
Milland was born Alfred Reginald Jones in the Welsh town of Neath, Glamorgan, to Elizabeth Annie (Truscott) and Alfred Jones. He spent his youth in the pursuit of sports. He became an expert rider early on, working at his uncle's horse-breeding estate while studying at the King's College in Cardiff. At 21, he went to London as a member of the elite Household Cavalry (Guard for the Royal Family), undergoing a rigorous 19-months training, further honing his equestrian skills, as well as becoming adept at fencing, boxing and shooting. He won trophies, including the Bisley Match, with his unit's crack rifle team. However, after four years, he suddenly lost his means of financial support (independent income being a requirement as a Guardsman) when his stepfather discontinued his allowance. Broke, he tried his hand at acting in small parts on the London stage.
There are several stories as to how he derived his stage name. It is known, that during his teens he called himself "Mullane", using his stepfather's surname. He may later have suffused "Mullane" with "mill-lands", an area near his hometown. When he first appeared on screen in British films, he was billed first as Spike Milland, then Raymond Milland.
In 1929, Ray befriended the popular actress Estelle Brody at a party and, later that year, visited her on the set of her latest film, The Plaything (1929). While having lunch, they were joined by a producer who persuaded the handsome Welshman to appear in a motion picture bit part. Ray rose to the challenge and bigger roles followed, including the male lead in The Lady from the Sea (1929). The following year, he was signed by MGM and went to Hollywood, but was given little to work with, except for the role of Charles Laughton's ill-fated nephew in Payment Deferred (1932). After a year, Ray was out of his contract and returned to England.
His big break did not come until 1934 when he joined Paramount, where he was to remain for the better part of his Hollywood career. During the first few years, he served an apprenticeship playing second leads, usually as the debonair man-about-town, in light romantic comedies. He appeared with Burns and Allen in Many Happy Returns (1934), enjoyed third-billing as a British aristocrat in the Claudette Colbert farce The Gilded Lily (1935) and was described as "excellent" by reviewers for his role in the sentimental drama Alias Mary Dow (1935). By 1936, he had graduated to starring roles, first as the injured British hunter rescued on a tropical island by The Jungle Princess (1936), the film which launched Dorothy Lamour's sarong-clad career. After that, he was the titular hero of Bulldog Drummond Escapes (1937) and, finally, won the girl (rather than being the "other man") in Mitchell Leisen's screwball comedy Easy Living (1937). He also re-visited the tropics in Ebb Tide (1937), Her Jungle Love (1938) and Tropic Holiday (1938), as well as being one of the three valiant brothers of Beau Geste (1939).
In 1940, Ray was sent back to England to star in the screen adaptation of Terence Rattigan's French Without Tears (1940), for which he received his best critical reviews to date. He was top-billed (above John Wayne) running a ship salvage operation in Cecil B. DeMille's lavish Technicolor adventure drama Reap the Wild Wind (1942), besting Wayne in a fight - much to the "Duke's" personal chagrin - and later wrestling with a giant octopus. Also that year, he was directed by Billy Wilder in a charming comedy, The Major and the Minor (1942) (co-starred with Ginger Rogers), for which he garnered good notices from Bosley Crowther of the New York Times. Ray then played a ghost hunter in The Uninvited (1944), and the suave hero caught in a web of espionage in Fritz Lang's thriller Ministry of Fear (1944).
On the strength of his previous role as "Major Kirby", Billy Wilder chose to cast Ray against type in the ground-breaking drama The Lost Weekend (1945) as dipsomaniac writer "Don Birnam". Ray gave the defining performance of his career, his intensity catching critics, used to him as a lightweight leading man, by surprise. Crowther commented "Mr. Milland, in a splendid performance, catches all the ugly nature of a 'drunk', yet reveals the inner torment and degradation of a respectable man who knows his weakness and his shame" (New York Times, December 3, 1945). Arrived at the high point of his career, Ray Milland won the Oscar for Best Actor, as well as the New York Critic's Award. Rarely given such good material again, he nonetheless featured memorably in many more splendid films, often exploiting the newly discovered "darker side" of his personality: as the reporter framed for murder by Charles Laughton's heinous publishing magnate in The Big Clock (1948); as the sophisticated, manipulating art thief "Mark Bellis" in the Victorian melodrama So Evil My Love (1948) (for which producer Hal B. Wallis sent him back to England); as a Fedora-wearing, Armani-suited "Lucifer", trawling for the soul of an honest District Attorney in Alias Nick Beal (1949); and as a traitorous scientist in The Thief (1952), giving what critics described as a "sensitive" and "towering" performance. In 1954, Ray played calculating ex-tennis champ "Tony Wendice", who blackmails a former Cambridge chump into murdering his wife, in Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder (1954). He played the part with urbane sophistication and cold detachment throughout, even in the scene of denouement, calmly offering a drink to the arresting officers.
With Lisbon (1956), Ray Milland moved into another direction, turning out several off-beat, low-budget films with himself as the lead, notably High Flight (1957), The Safecracker (1958) and Panic in Year Zero! (1962). At the same time, he cheerfully made the transition to character parts, often in horror and sci-fi outings. In accordance with his own dictum of appearing in anything that had "any originality", he worked on two notable pictures with Roger Corman: first, as a man obsessed with catalepsy in The Premature Burial (1962); secondly, as obsessed self-destructive surgeon "Dr. Xavier" in X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963)-the Man with X-Ray Eyes, a film which, despite its low budget, won the 1963 Golden Asteroid in the Trieste Festival for Science Fiction.
As the years went on, Ray gradually disposed of his long-standing toupee, lending dignity through his presence to many run-of-the-mill television films, such as Cave in! (1983) and maudlin melodramas like Love Story (1970). He guest-starred in many anthology series on television and had notable roles in Rod Serling's Night Gallery (1969) and the original Battlestar Galactica (1978) (as Quorum member Sire Uri). He also enjoyed a brief run on Broadway, starring as "Simon Crawford" in "Hostile Witness" (1966), at the Music Box Theatre.
In his private life, Ray was an enthusiastic yachtsman, who loved fishing and collecting information by reading the Encyclopedia Brittanica. In later years, he became very popular with interviewers because of his candid spontaneity and humour. In the same self-deprecating vein he wrote an anecdotal biography, "Wide-Eyed in Babylon", in 1976. A film star, as well as an outstanding actor, Ray Milland died of cancer at the age of 79 in March 1986.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Rosemary Shirley DeCamp was the quintessential small-town American mother, a calming and steadying presence in scores of films in the 1940s and 1950s. She came to Hollywood after a successful career on the stage and in radio, making her film debut in 1941. Though she worked for many studios, she was most closely associated with Warner Bros., for whom she made many pictures, often playing a young mother or the friend or sister of the heroine. Her best-known role was probably as the mother of George M. Cohan (played by James Cagney) in the classic Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). She also did a lot of work on television; she was a regular on The Bob Cummings Show (1961) and played Marlo Thomas's mother on That Girl (1966).- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
One of the best and most familiar character actors of the first four decades of sound films, although few who knew his face also knew his name, John Qualen was born in Canada to Norwegian parents. His father was a minister. The family moved to the United States and Qualen (whose real name was Kvalen) grew up in Elgin, Illinois. He won an oratory contest and was given a scholarship to Northwestern University. His interest in acting was piqued there, and he began appearing in tent shows on the Lyceum-Chautauqua circuit and in stock. He went to New York in 1929 and got his big break as the Swedish janitor in Elmer Rice's Street Scene. He repeated the role two years later in the film version. That same year he first worked for director John Ford in Arrowsmith (1931). He became a member of Ford's famed stock company and had prominent roles for Ford for the next thirty-five years. He became a most familiar character player, specializing in Scandinavians of various nationalities, but frequently playing a wide variety of other ethnicities. Perhaps his greatest work among many memorable roles was as the pitiful Muley, who recounts the destruction of his farm by the bank in Ford's masterpiece The Grapes of Wrath (1940). Although plagued in his later years by failing eyesight, he continued to work steadily into his final years. He was treasurer of The Authors Club and historian of The Masquers, Hollywood's famed social group for actors. He had three children, Elizabeth, Kathleen, and Meredith. Qualen died in 1987.- Actor
- Soundtrack
A talented singer as a child, Peary later went into radio in 1925. By 1929, he had his own radio show and got his big break in 1935 when he was cast in the Fibber McGee and Molly Show as Throckmorton Gildersleeve. In 1939, Peary was making a personal appearance in a theatre promoting the Fibber McGee and Molly Show and casually did what would be his trademark giggle. It caught on with the audience and Peary incorporated it in the Gildersleeve character. Peary eventually got his own radio show, The Great Gildersleeve, which debuted on 8-31-41 and ran for 17 years. It was one of the longest-running comedy shows in radio history, leaving the air in 1958. Peary left the Gildersleeve radio show in 1951. He went on to make numerous feature films, four of them based on the Great Gildersleeve radio show. His career in films tapered off by the '50s, but he became busy in television and records in that decade. His last film appearance was in 1964; TV appearances continued into the early '70s.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Tom Drake was an American actor with a relatively lengthy career. Drake was born in 1918, in Brooklyn, New York. His real name was Alfred Sinclair Alderdice. He was educated at the Iona Preparatory School in New Rochelle, New York, and Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania,
He started his acting career in 1938, with theatrical performances in Broadway, New York City. He appeared in the plays "Run Sheep Run" (1938) and "Clean Beds" (1939), He initially used the stage name "Richard Alden", but later changed his stage name to "Tom Drake".
In the early 1940s, Drake started appearing in theatrical films. Following a number of uncredited parts as an extra, his first film credit was in the film "The Howards of Virginia" (1940), as the character James Howard. The setting of the film was 18th-century Virginia. In the film, the protagonist Matt Howard (played by Cary Grant) is a war orphan. His father was killed in the Braddock Expedition (1755), a failed British campaign during the French and Indian War. The impoverished Howard gains the favor and political patronage of Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), and uses this connection to acquire land and wealth, and build a new dynasty of plantation owners. But this family is undermined by the class difference and tensions between "new money" Matt and the "old money" heiress which he married.
In 1942, Drake received his first taste of fame by starring in the hit Broadway play "Janie". Afterwards, he was signed to a full contract with the film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Drake was 24 years old, but was found ineligible for military service in World War II; his medical exams diagnosed a heart disease.
Drake's most memorable role during the War was the character John Truett in the musical "Meet Me in St. Louis". Truett was the boy next door, who served as the love interest for the character Esther Smith (played by Judy Garland). Following the War, Drake appeared in over 30 films and several television series. He broke out of typecasting in 1959, when playing gang leader Abe McQuown in the Western film "Warlock".
By the early 1970s, Drake's career was in decline. His final film role was the character Dr. Adam Forrest in the horror film "The Spectre of Edgar Allan Poe" (1974), Drake died in 1982, suffering from lung cancer. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.- Kate Manx was born on 19 October 1930 in Akron, Ohio, USA. She was an actress, known for Hero's Island (1962), Private Property (1960) and Perry Mason (1957). She was married to Leslie Stevens and Anthony Brady Farrell. She died on 15 November 1964 in Torrance, California, USA.
- Bernard Punsly auditioned for the 1935 play "Dead End" on a lark - he had absolutely no show-business experience whatsoever, had never studied acting and had no desire to be an actor. He said that show business seemed like it might be fun, so he figured he'd give it a shot. To his surprise he was picked for he play, and when it turned out to be a huge hit, was called to Hollywood with the rest of the juvenile cast for the film version. While Punsly appeared in most of the "Dead End Kids" films made after the play, he didn't participate in most of his colleagues' "extra-curricular activities" - while they were out partying and getting into trouble with the law, Punsly would go home after a day's filming and read, mainly medical books, as he always wanted to be a doctor. His lack of film-industry ambition is reflected in the fact that he appeared in only two films outside of the Dead End Kids series, one was 'The Big Broadcast of 1938' and the other was 'Junior Army'. And even the, though 'Junior Army' was not a Dead End Kid movie, it still had in its cast fellow Dead Enders Billy Halop, Huntz Hall and Bobby Jordan. Punsley left the series in the early-40s to join the army, where he received his medical training. Upon his discharge he enrolled in the University of Georgia, eventually attaining his life's dream of becoming an MD. He returned to California, but not to a film career - he opened up a medical practice in Torrance. Punsly said that he never watched his old films - not because he had any regrets about making them, but because, as he said, he grew out of them.
- Jaime Cardriche was born on 20 March 1968 in Savannah, Georgia, USA. He was an actor, known for Malcolm & Eddie (1996), Freaked (1993) and Deep Cover (1992). He died on 28 July 2000 in Torrance, California, USA.
- Noble Craig was a Vietnam war veteran and creature performer in a handful of horror and fantasy films. Noble was shipped off to Vietnam in 1969. On his 12th day of duty in Vietnam Craig stepped on a buried artillery shell, which resulted in the loss of both his legs, one of his arms, and most of the sight in his right eye. Undaunted, Noble embarked on a brief acting career after returning to America. Craig made his film debut as Tim McGraw, the Snake Man in Sssssss (1973). Craig went on to play such memorably grotesque characters as the vomit creature in Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) and the sewer monster in Big Trouble in Little China (1986). Moreover, Noble was the kind of guy who lived life to the fullest: He not only engaged in such activities as scuba diving, water skiing, jumping from planes, and swimming in the ocean in both Hawaii and Costa Rica, but also was a hunter and a dancer. In addition, Craig raised five children and worked as a car, boat, and motorcycle mechanic. Noble died on April 26, 2018.
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Scoey Mitchell was born on 12 March 1930 in Newburgh, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Me & Mrs. C. (1986), Me & Mrs. C. (1984) and 13 East (1989). He was married to Claire T. Thomas. He died on 19 March 2022 in Torrance, California, USA.- Edward Grover was born on 23 October 1932 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Death Wish (1974), Serpico (1973) and Quincy M.E. (1976). He died on 22 November 2016 in Torrance, California, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Perhaps best remembered today for the '60s sitcom Petticoat Junction (1963), Rufe Davis had a long and varied career in show business, winding from an Oklahoma farm to the bright lights of New York and ultimately to Hollywood, including stops around the world.
Rufus Eldon Davidson was born in Vinson, Oklahoma on December 2, 1908, one of twelve children. He began imitating animal sounds at a young age and proved himself to be a natural mimic. Although he was a fullback on the Mangum High football team, Rufus was more interested in practicing his imitations than schoolwork or sports and he dropped out in the tenth grade. Mimicry would become his trademark; he later claimed to be able to imitate over 200 different sounds, though he regretted that he never mastered the sound of a piano. As an adult, he carried a tape recorder with him so that he could record various noises and perfect his repertoire.
After teaching himself some basic guitar chords, he won $5 in a local talent contest. Inspired by the possibility of life as a performer rather than a cotton farmer, he left home to try his hand at show business. Initially compelled to pick up farm work in Kansas, he continued to perform at every chance until he impressed the manager of a tent show and earned himself a $15 a-week-gig (roughly $280 today.) Adopting the stage name Rufe Davis, he toured with such vaudeville groups as Weaver Brothers and Elviry and The Radio Rubes and eventually landed in New York, performing with Xavier Cugat, and at numerous theatres and nightclubs. In the 1930s, he was active on the famed radio broadcast National Barn Dance, where his fellow players included future Petticoat Junction (1963) colleagues Smiley Burnette, Pat Buttram, and Curt Massey.
He made his big-screen debut in the Warner Brothers' short The City's Slicker (1936), playing a hillbilly mimic pursuing stardom in the big city. Paramount signed him to a film contract in 1937 after one of their talent scouts caught his performance in New York's aptly-named Hollywood Restaurant. Following eight films in three years for Paramount, Rufe signed with Republic in 1940 and was immediately cast in their "Three Mesquiteers" series as Lullaby Joslin, a role he would play for a total of fourteen films.
It was during a USO tour of the South Pacific after WWII that he first met Gene Autry, who invited him to appear in his touring company and The Strawberry Roan (1948). He recorded several songs during this time, the most well-known being "The Sow Song," "I'm The Sound Effects Man," and "Mama Don't Allow It." While Rufe continued to make films throughout the 1940s, his stock-in-trade remained the live show. He made repeated tours with the Autry group (which often included Burnette and Buttram) in addition to his individual performances, which blended music, imitations and down-home country humor. That solo work sustained him for over a decade as he criss-crossed the country maintaining an ambitious schedule; he estimated that in 1962, he put over 75,000 miles on his car, in addition to his considerable rail and bus travel.
Reunited again with old pal Smiley Burnette on Petticoat Junction in 1963, Rufe provided comic relief as Floyd Smoot, fireman and conductor of the Hooterville Cannonball. Occasionally the show would display Rufe's mimicry and musical skills. Smiley penned the song "Steam, Cinders, and Smoke," which the duo performed on the show and released as a single in 1964. Rufe and Smiley spent much of their time off from the show traveling the country, entertaining audiences as their Hooterville characters - and fishing as time allowed. In 1966, the two even became neighbors when Rufe took the apartment next door to Smiley, in a building within walking distance to the studio. Their personal and professional collaboration continued right up until Smiley's death in 1967, one day before the pair was scheduled to perform at LA's Shrine Auditorium.
Rufe left Petticoat Junction the following year when producers refused his request for a guaranteed number of episodes, though he did return to the show twice in 1970. In his final appearance, Last Train to Pixley (1970), he sang a shortened version of "Steam, Cinders, and Smoke," perhaps a bittersweet tribute to his late friend. Off-screen he kept up a steady touring schedule, with a particular fondness for country fairs and children's hospitals.
Married to former ballerina Hermoine Hawkinson from 1940 to 1956, Rufe was the father of four children: Susan, James, Richard, and Vivian. In 1969, he married Nettie Jane Scott Nettie Scott, the wardrobe mistress on Petticoat Junction. The couple soon embarked on a cross-country trip in their camper so that Rufe could continue his personal appearances. He suffered a heart attack in the fall of 1974 and later underwent open-heart surgery. Rufus Davidson died on December 13, 1974, eleven days after his sixty-sixth birthday. He is interred at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, where Nettie joined him in 1999.- Additional Crew
- Actor
Ryan Mouritsen was born on 5 June 1975 in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. He was an actor, known for Rita Rocks (2008), Clay Pigeons (1998) and Reba (2001). He died on 27 February 2009 in Torrance, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Creamy-complexioned brunette Marion Shilling was a beauty inclined to be overlooked when recalling those fairly well-known "B" leading ladies of the 1930s. Born in 1910, the Denver-born actress started her career promisingly enough with a featured role in MGM's Wise Girls (1929). From there she moved to lead and second lead status opposite William Powell in Shadow of the Law (1930) and Constance Bennett in The Common Law (1931). Among others, she appeared top billed in what would be considered "women's pictures" such as Forgotten Women (1931) and Shop Angel (1932). Although Marion was a charming addition to any film, her career began to wane within a few years, however, and she soon was relegated to love interest roles in poverty-row pictures. Westerns became her particular genre, with "prairie flower" roles opposite Buck Jones in the serial The Red Rider (1934) and Stone of Silver Creek (1935), Tim McCoy in The Westerner (1934) and Rex Bell in Idaho Kid (1936), among others. She retired from films at age 25 after co-starring with Hoot Gibson and Rex Lease in the oater Cavalcade of the West (1936). The following year she married a real estate mogul, a union that would last over 50 years. Little heard from over the years, Marion received a Golden Boot Award in 2002 from the Motion Picture and Television Fund for her contributions to the western genre. She died at age 93 of natural causes in Torrance, California.- Ann Richards was born on 13 December 1917 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She was an actress, known for Sorry, Wrong Number (1948), Love from a Stranger (1947) and Love Letters (1945). She was married to Paul Kramer and Edmond Angelo. She died on 24 August 2006 in Torrance, California, USA.
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Additional Crew
Christopher Salamunovich was born on 21 April 1960 in Santa Monica, California, USA. Christopher was an assistant director, known for Sleepwalkers (1992), ER (1994) and The Byrds of Paradise (1994). Christopher died on 25 July 1999 in Torrance, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Ann Baker was born on 23 July 1930 in Sedalia, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for Meet Corliss Archer (1954), Lux Video Theatre (1950) and Crossroads (1955). She was married to William Earl Long. She died on 2 March 2017 in Torrance, California, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Eadie Del Rubio was born on 23 August 1921 in Ancon, Panama. She was an actress, known for Bank Robber (1993), Americathon (1979) and The Golden Girls (1985). She died on 16 December 1996 in Torrance, California, USA.- Art Director
- Art Department
- Additional Crew
Max Parker was born on 12 July 1882 in Prescott, Arizona, USA. He was an art director, known for Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), George Washington Slept Here (1942) and The Roaring Twenties (1939). He was married to Fern. He died on 8 July 1964 in Torrance, California, USA.- Judy Ann Jordan was born on 17 June 1943 in Ohio, USA. She was an actress, known for Daring Game (1968). She was married to Paul Mace. She died on 10 January 1983 in Torrance, California, USA.
- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Actor
Aaron Rosenberg was born on 26 August 1912 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a producer and assistant director, known for Winchester '73 (1950), Bend of the River (1952) and Morituri (1965). He was married to Victoria Ann Astlett and Eleanor Rudolph. He died on 1 September 1979 in Torrance, California, USA.- Robert Ruth was born on 1 January 1936 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994) and Catch Me If You Can (2002). He died on 29 December 2018 in Torrance, California, USA.
- Jerry Boyd was the son of Irish immigrants. He worked odd jobs, including shoeshine boy, bartender, cement truck driver and vat cleaner. Inspired by Ernest Hemingway's book "Death in the Afternoon", he moved to Mexico City and studied bullfighting. After his brief matador career, Boyd returned to Los Angeles and began frequenting boxing gyms to get in shape. Eventually, he became a boxing trainer and ringside "cut man", whose sole job is to stop a fighter's bleeding.
Over the decades, with no formal writing training, he also began writing. After 40 years of rejection slips, he published a short story called "The Monkey Look" in Zyzzyva, a San Francisco literary journal, for $50 in Spring 1999. He was 69 years old. To keep his boxing and writing lives separate, Boyd took the pseudonym F.X. Toole, an amalgamation of Francis Xavier, the 16th century teacher, philosopher and Jesuit saint, and Irish actor Peter O'Toole.
After the story appeared, a New York literary agent offered to represent him. A collection of stories about the professional boxing community called "Rope Burns: Stories From the Corner" was published by Ecco Press (HarperCollins) when Boyd was 70. Boyd dedicated "Rope Burns" to his longtime boxing partner Dub Huntley. The book drew critical praise, and the movie rights were purchased. Unfortunately, Boyd did not live to see the story on the silver screen. "Rope Burns" became the film Million Dollar Baby (2004), which won the Best Picture Oscar in 2005. - Tina Lawrence was born on 4 October 1964 in Arizona, USA. She was an actress, known for Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995), Beach Babes 2: Cave Girl Island (1995) and Revenge of the Calendar Girls (1995). She died on 11 October 2015 in Torrance, California, USA.
- Actor
- Art Department
Duncan 'Dean' Parkin was born on 9 February 1931 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Cyclops (1957) and War of the Colossal Beast (1958). He died on 21 October 2009 in Torrance, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Stunts
- Music Department
Kurt Kuniyoshi was born on 12 July 1964 in the United States. He was an actor, known for Hit (2017), Day of Independence (2003) and Visas and Virtue (1997). He died on 14 March 2024 in Torrance, California, USA.- Actor
- Visual Effects
- Animation Department
Milton Quon was born on 22 August 1913 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Speed (1994), Sweet Jane (1998) and Chill Factor (1989). He was married to Peggy Wong. He died on 18 June 2019 in Torrance, California, USA.- Art Department
- Art Director
- Production Designer
Robert Kinoshita was born on 24 February 1914 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an art director and production designer, known for The Phantom Planet (1961), Highway Patrol (1955) and Hell's Bloody Devils (1970). He was married to Lillian F. Matsuyama. He died on 9 December 2014 in Torrance, California, USA.- Actor
- Producer
Kentucky-born Bob Custer was an actual cowboy who left the range to perform in rodeo shows. Like many other rodeo performers, he found out that appearing in western films paid quite a bit more (and was much less dangerous) than bull-riding and steer-roping, and he began to gain popularity as a western star in a series of medium-budget films in the early and mid-'20s. Unlike many other cowboy stars, however, Custer branched out into other genres, using his real name of Raymond Glenn. He returned to making westerns in the late 1920s but the advent of talkies posed a huge problem for Custer: he choked when reading lines. This mike fright was compounded by the fact that he was working at the bottom of the food chain in Hollywood, in micro-budgeted oaters by cheapjack producers like Harry S. Webb and J.P. McGowan; the shoddy productions only served to magnify Custer's limitations as an actor. Consequently, he never regained the measure of popularity he had in the 1920s. He appeared in his last film in 1936.- Rita Carewe was born Violette Fox on September 9, 1909 in New York City. Her father was Native American director Edwin Carewe. The family moved to Hollywood in 1914 after he was hired by United Artists. When Rita was a teenager her father helped her get contract at First National. She made her film debut in the 1925 silent comedy Joanna. Then she appeared in High Steppers and Resurrection which were both directed by her father. Rita became known for polishing her legs to give the impression she was wearing silk stockings. In 1927 she was chosen to be a WAMPAS Baby Star along with Sally Rand and Adamae Vaughn. The beautiful blonde auditioned for the role of Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes but Ruth Taylor got the part.
Rita was briefly engaged to Tom McDonald, a real estate dealer. The couple never made it down the aisle. She married actor LeRoy Mason in 1928. Unfortunately her career never took off. Her final film was the 1930 comedy Radio Kisses with Marjorie Beebe. She divorced LeRoy in 1936 claiming he drank too much and had threatened her with a gun. They never had children, With her acting days behind her she started working as a saleswoman in a dress shop. Sadly in 1954 she was diagnosed with mouth cancer. On October 22, 1955 she died from the disease. Rita was only forty-six years old. She was cremated and buried in an unmarked grave at Angelus Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. - Actor
- Additional Crew
Richard Cowgill was born on 8 February 1930 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for The Dorm That Dripped Blood (1982), Duke Nukem Forever (2011) and The Power (1984). He was married to Jacqueline Cowgill. He died on 26 February 2005 in Torrance, California, USA.- Richard Weisman was born on 29 July 1950 in the USA. He was an actor, known for Grease (1978), Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978) and Seduction (2006). He died on 6 May 2008 in Torrance, California, USA.
- Visual Effects
- Special Effects
- Cinematographer
Roy Seawright was born on 19 November 1905 in Los Angeles County, California, USA. He was a cinematographer, known for One Million B.C. (1940), Topper Returns (1941) and Topper Takes a Trip (1938). He died on 30 April 1991 in Torrance, California, USA.- Richard Bustillo was born on 28 January 1942 in Oahu, Hawaii, USA. He was married to Mary. He died on 30 March 2017 in Torrance, California, USA.
- Peggy McMartin Buckey was born on 18 November 1926 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was married to Charles Henry Buckey. She died on 15 December 2000 in Torrance, California, USA.
- Actor
Fred Farrell was born on 25 June 1869 in Dublin, Ireland, UK [now Republic of Ireland]. He was an actor. He died on 10 February 1953 in Torrance, California, USA.- Actress
- Producer
Felicia O'Dell was born on 7 May 1957 in Louisiana, USA. She was an actress and producer, known for Hogan (2017), Last Call (2015) and Bank (2016). She died on 17 March 2017 in Torrance, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Charline Burt was born on 11 April 1911. She was an actress, known for Beyond the Rio Grande (1930) and Buying a Gun (1929). She died on 2 November 2005 in Torrance, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Music Department
Vincent Falcone Jr. was born on 11 July 1938 in Syracuse, New York, USA. He is known for Sinatra: Concert for the Americas (1982) and Frank Sinatra: The Man and His Music (1981). He was married to Annette. He died on 24 March 2017 in Torrance, California, USA.- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Paul T. Smith was born on 17 April 1922 in San Diego, California, USA. He was a composer, known for The Legend of Amaluk: An Arctic Odyssey (1972), Land of the Sea (1969) and ALF (1986). He died on 29 June 2013 in Torrance, California, USA.- Marcella Daly was born on 31 January 1901 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for Accused (1925), The Midnight Watch (1927) and Black Paradise (1926). She died on 30 July 1966 in Torrance, California, USA.
- Jack Kissell was born on 24 September 1930 in South Bend, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Extreme Honor (2001), Wonder Woman (1975) and Quincy M.E. (1976). He was married to Jean. He died on 12 November 2009 in Torrance, California, USA.
- Joseph Rochefort was born on 12 May 1900 in Dayton, Ohio, USA. He died on 20 July 1976 in Torrance, California, USA.
- Hazel Page was born on 2 June 1891 in Denver, Colorado, USA. She was an actress, known for The Double Standard (1917), A Wife's Suspicion (1917) and How Weary Went Wooing (1915). She died on 18 March 1976 in Torrance, California, USA.
- Additional Crew
- Editorial Department
Kevin Iwaki was born on 12 November 1986 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Kevin is known for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012), Pig Goat Banana Cricket (2015) and Breadwinners (2014). Kevin died on 13 January 2017 in Torrance, California, USA.- Editor
- Editorial Department
- Producer
Ed Cotter was born on 3 November 1929 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was an editor and producer, known for Happy Days (1974), Frankenstein General Hospital (1988) and The Popcorn Kid (1987). He died on 16 February 2009 in Torrance, California, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Music Department
Walter O'Keefe was born on 18 August 1900 in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Vagabond Lady (1935), Too Many Blondes (1941) and Go Chase Yourself (1938). He was married to Roberta Robinson. He died on 26 June 1983 in Torrance, California, USA.- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Production Manager
Joe Boston was born on 20 January 1936. Joe was a producer and assistant director, known for The Master (1984), The Equalizer (1985) and McCloud (1970). Joe died on 14 July 2010 in Torrance, California, USA.- Joe Cassidy was born on 23 June 1862 in Laffette, Iowa, USA. He was an actor, known for After Midnight (1915), Sophie's New Foreman (1913) and Sophie Gets Stung (1914). He died on 19 July 1945 in Torrance, California, USA.