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1-12 of 12
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
John Cassavetes was a Greek-American actor, film director, and screenwriter. He is considered a pioneer of American independent film, as he often financed his own films.
Cassavetes was born in New York City in 1929 to Nicholas John Cassavetes (1893-1979) and his wife, Katherine Demetre (1906-1983). Nicholas was an immigrant from Greece, while Katherine was Greek-American who had been born in New York City. The Cassavetes family moved back to Greece in the early 1930s, and John learned Greek as his primary language. The family moved back to the United States around 1936, possibly to evade Greece's new dictatorship, the 4th of August Regime (1936-1941). Young John had to learn to speak English. He spent his late childhood and most of his teenage years in Long Island, New York. From 1945-47, he attended the Port Washington High School. He wrote for the school newspaper and the school yearbook. The 18-year-old Cassavetes was then transferred to the Blair Academy, a boarding school located in Blairstown, New Jersey. When the time came for him to start college, Cassavetes enrolled at Champlain College (in Burlington, Vermont) but was expelled owing to poor grades.
After a brief vacation to Florida, Cassavetes enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA), in New York City. Several of his old friends were already students there and had recommended it to Cassavetes, who would be mentored by Don Richardson (1918-1996). After graduating, he began to regularly perform on stage while also appearing in small roles in films and television shows.
Cassavetes's first notable film role was that of Robert Batsford, one of the three villains (along with Vince Edwards and David Cross) in The Night Holds Terror (1955). His next major role was juvenile delinquent Frankie Dane in the crime film "Crime in the Streets" (1956). He won a lead role in Edge of the City (1957) as drifter Axel Nordmann. His co-star for the film was Sidney Poitier, who played stevedore Tommy Tyler. The film helped break new ground, portraying a working-class interracial friendship. Cassavetes gained critical acclaim for his role, and film critics compared him to Marlon Brando. Cassavetes's success as an actor led to his becoming a contract player for MGM. In 1959, he directed his first film, Shadows (1958). It depicted the lives of three African-American siblings in New York City. It won the Critics Award at the Venice Film Festival.
His next directing effort, Too Late Blues (1961), was about the professional and romantic problems of a struggling jazz musician. The film was poorly received at the time, though its autobiographical elements are considered remarkable. Cassavetes then directed A Child Is Waiting (1963), which depicted life in a state institution for mentally handicapped and emotionally disturbed children. The film was a documentary-style portrayal of problems in the social services. It was praised by critics but failed at the box office.
In 1968, Cassavetes had a comeback as a director with Faces (1968), which depicts a single night in the life of a middle-aged married couple. After 14 years of marriage, the two feel rather miserable and seek happiness in the company of friends and the beds of younger lovers, but neither manages to cure their sense of misery. The film gained critical acclaim, and, in 2011, was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
Cassavetes returned to the theme of a midlife crisis in his next film, Husbands (1970). The film depicts three middle-aged men, professionally successful and seemingly happily married. The death of a close childhood friend reminds them of their own mortality, and of their fading memories of youth. They flee their ordinary lives with a shared vacation to London, but their attempts to rejuvenate themselves fail. This film attracted mixed reviews, with some critics praising its "moments of piercing honesty" and others finding fault with its rambling dialogue.
Cassavetes's next film was Minnie and Moskowitz (1971), about the romantic relationship between a seemingly incompatible couple, jaded museum curator Minnie Moore and the temperamental drifter Seymour Moskowitz. It was well received and garnered Cassavetes a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen. His next film was A Woman Under the Influence (1974), concerning the effects of mental illness on a working-class family. In the film, ordinary housewife Mabel Longhetti starts displaying signs of a mental disorder. She undergoes psychiatric treatment for six months while her husband, Nick Longhetti, attempts to play the role of a single father. But Nick seems to be a social misfit in his own right, and neither parent seems to be "normal". Cassavetes was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for this film, but the award was won by Francis Ford Coppola.
Cassavetes next directed the gritty crime film, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976). In the film, Korean War veteran and cabaret owner Cosmo Vittelli owes a large debt to a criminal organization and is coerced to serve as their hit-man in an assassination scheme. He has been told that the target is an insignificant bookie, but after the assassination Vittelli learns that he just killed a high-ranking crime boss of the Chinese mafia and that he himself is now a target for assassination. The film gained good reviews and a cult following.
His next film, Opening Night (1977), was more enigmatic, mixing drama with horror elements. Protagonist Myrtle Gordon (played by Cassavetes's wife, Gena Rowlands) is a famous actress, but aging and dissatisfied with the only theatrical role available to her. After seeing teenager Nancy Stein, one of her obsessive fans , get killed in a car accident, Myrtle starts having visions of Nancy's ghost. As she keeps fighting the ghost, drinking heavily and chain-smoking, the film ends without explaining what seems to be going wrong with Myrtle's perception of reality. The film was a hit in Europe but flopped in the United States.
Cassavetes had another directing comeback with "Gloria" (1980). In the film, Gloria Swenson (formerly a gangster's girlfriend) is asked to protect Phil Dawn, the young son of an FBI informant within a New York crime family. After the apparent assassination of Phil's parents, Gloria finds herself targeted by gangsters and wanted by the police as a kidnapping suspect. The film won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival, and protagonist Gena Rowlands was nominated for several acting awards.
Cassavetes's 11th directing effort was the rather unconventional drama Love Streams (1984), about the relationship between two middle-aged siblings. In the film, Sarah Lawson suffers from depression following a messy divorce and moves in with her brother, Robert Harmon, an alcoholic writer with self-destructive tendencies. Though estranged from his ex-wife and his only son and unable to protect himself from violent foes, in the end Robert finally has someone for whom to care. The film won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Cassavetes' swan song as a director was the comedy Big Trouble (1986), replacing the much younger Andrew Bergman. The film concerns an insurance agent who needs $40,000 for college tuition for his three daughters. He agrees to cooperate in an insurance scam with the wife of one of his clients, though the plan may require them to murder her husband. Several elements of the film were recycled from the plot of the iconic film noir Double Indemnity (1944), and "Big Trouble" served as its unofficial remake. The film was unsuccessful, and Cassavetes himself reportedly disliked the script.
In the late 1980s, Cassavetes suffered from health problems and his career was in decline. He died in 1989 from cirrhosis of the liver caused by many years of heavy drinking. He was only 59 years old. He is buried at the Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles, having left more than 40 unproduced screenplays and an unpublished novel. His son, Nick Cassavetes, eventually used one of the unproduced screenplays to direct a new film, the romantic drama, She's So Lovely (1997). It was released eight years after the death of John Cassavetes, and was well received by critics.- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Lionel Newman was the youngest of a triumvirate of accomplished virtuosos, composers and conductors, who dominated the music department at 20th Century Fox for more than four decades. Already a highly regarded pianist by the age of 15, Lionel went on the national vaudeville circuit as accompanist for Mae West, before joining his siblings, Alfred and Emil, on the West Coast. He completed his music studies under Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco in Los Angeles and, by 1934, fronted his own musical ensemble, 'Newman's Society Orchestra', aboard the luxury cruise ship SS Rotterdam on the Holland-America Line.
Under the tutelage of older brother Alfred (who headed the music department at 20th Century Fox from 1939-60), Lionel gradually broke into the movie business. He was first commissioned to write the title song for the modern western, The Cowboy and the Lady (1938). For this, he shared an Oscar-nomination for Best Song with lyricist Arthur Quenzer. In 1942, Lionel was hired by Fox as rehearsal pianist and songwriter. He scored his first major hit in 1948 with the standard "Again" (written for the movie Road House (1948)), which rode high in the Hit Parade, and was covered by many top stars of the day, including Mel Tormé, Doris Day, Vera Lynn and Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra.
By the early 50's, Lionel was receiving more prestigious assignments, both as musical director and as composer. From the time they first worked together on Don't Bother to Knock (1952), he struck up a close working relationship (and subsequent friendship) with fellow Fox contract player Marilyn Monroe. He became her favorite conductor on some of her best films, including Niagara (1953) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). He also wrote the title song for River of No Return (1954) (with lyrics by Ken Darby), plus another piece from the movie, "Down in the Meadow" - both sung by Marilyn. Other notable films he worked on over the years, include North to Alaska (1960), Cleopatra (1963), The Sand Pebbles (1966) and Alien (1979). Among his compositions are the theme for The Proud Ones (1956) (with pre-Spaghetti western whistling) and (as co-writer with brother Alfred) the stirring opening theme for the gritty revenge western The Bravados (1958), starring Gregory Peck.
Following Alfred's departure from Fox in 1959, Lionel was promoted to music director, then to vice president in charge of feature and television music. During the following decade, he supervised the majority of musical segments at the studio, in addition to composing some classic TV music, such as the jazz-tinged theme from The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959). In 1969, Lionel won an Oscar (shared with Lennie Hayton) for Best Score of a Musical Picture for Hello, Dolly! (1969). The following year, Alfred died and Lionel took over the mantle of general director of music at Fox, a position he held until his own departure in 1985. He subsequently joined MGM/United Artists in a similar executive capacity for the remaining years of his life.
Known for his consummate perfectionism, as well as his often raucous sense of humor, Lionel was greatly respected by his peers and appreciated by up-and -coming film composers. A scholarship for young classical conductors is named in his honor.- Writer
- Producer
Frank Hursley was born on 21 November 1902 in Canada. He was a writer and producer, known for General Hospital (1963), Bright Promise (1969) and Matinee Theatre (1955). He was married to Doris Hursley. He died on 3 February 1989 in Santa Barbara, California, USA.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Danish actor Ebbe Langberg was the son of actor Sigurd Langberg and actress Karna Loewenstein-Jensen. He started his carrier as a child actor in the theater, and later had his first film debut in the movie "Ditte menneskebarn" in 1946. He studied theater in London from 1950-1951, and continued his studies at Odense Theatre in Denmark from 1951-1953. He failed to get accepted at the Danish Royal Theatre twice. After finishing his studies in Odense, he moved to Copenhagen with some friends. In the 1940's and 50's he stared in more than 40 movies and quickly became the female audiences favorite hero. We often saw him opposite the danish actress Ghita Noereby. He later stepped behind the screen to become Director and Stagedirector on several movies. From January 1968 to October 1973 he became theater director for Aalborg Theatre. And spend one season as theater director for the Danish Theatre from 1973-1974. In 1982 he opened the Rialto Theatre, which he ran till he died in 1989.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Betty Farrington was born on 14 May 1898 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for Rescue 8 (1958), My Heart Belongs to Daddy (1942) and Anybody's War (1930). She died on 3 February 1989 in San Diego, California, USA.- Bette Treadville was born on 2 May 1911 in Territory of Hawaii, USA [now Hawaii, USA]. She was an actress, known for Day of the Nightmare (1965), The Vendors (1970) and Ben Casey (1961). She died on 3 February 1989 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Producer
- Production Manager
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mark Silverman was born on 29 August 1952 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was a producer and production manager, known for Miller's Crossing (1990), Raising Arizona (1987) and Crocodile Dundee (1986). He died on 3 February 1989 in New York City, New York, USA.- Writer
- Actress
Helen Leary was born on 2 August 1900 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She was a writer and actress, known for Make Way for Tomorrow (1937), Em Família (1971) and Destiny Express Redux (2009). She was married to Nolan Leary. She died on 3 February 1989 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Joe Newton was born in 1901 in Texas, USA. He died on 3 February 1989 in Uvalde, Texas, USA.
- Joan Grant was born on 12 April 1907 in London, England, UK. She was married to Denys Kelsey, Charles Beatty and Leslie Grant. She died on 3 February 1989.
- Nina Kirsanova was born on 21 July 1898 in Moscow, Russian Empire [now Russia]. She was an actress, known for Something in Between (1982), Nesto izmedju (1984) and Covek se uci dok je ziv (1981). She died on 3 February 1989 in Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia [now Serbia].
- Casting Director
Joe Rivkin was born on 9 December 1905 in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. Joe was a casting director, known for Two Too Young (1936), Reunion in Rhythm (1937) and Spooky Hooky (1936). Joe died on 3 February 1989 in Escondido, California, USA.