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Auto Focus
''Auto Focus'' is a 2002 American biographical drama film directed by Paul Schrader and starring Greg Kinnear and Willem Dafoe. The screenplay by Michael Gerbosi is based on Robert Graysmith's book ''The Murder of Bob Crane'' (1993). ''Auto Focus'' tells a dramatized story of the actor Bob Crane, an affable radio show host and amateur drummer who found success on ''Hogan's Heroes'', a popular television sitcom, and his dramatic descent into the underbelly of Hollywood after the series was cancelled and he formed a friendship with John Henry Carpenter. Carpenter was later tried, and acquitted in 1994 of Crane's murder. Although the crime remains officially unsolved, Carpenter has remained the main subject of suspicion even after his death in 1998. Synopsis Disc-jockey-turned-actor Bob Crane develops a secret personal life, focusing on his relationship with John Henry Carpenter, an electronics expert involved with the nascent home video market. Encouraged by Carpenter and enabled b ...
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Paul Schrader
Paul Joseph Schrader (; born July 22, 1946) is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He first received widespread recognition through his screenplay for Martin Scorsese's ''Taxi Driver'' (1976). He later continued his collaboration with Scorsese, writing or co-writing ''Raging Bull'' (1980), '' The Last Temptation of Christ'' (1988), and ''Bringing Out the Dead'' (1999). Schrader has also directed 24 films, including ''Blue Collar'' (1978), ''Hardcore'' (1979), '' American Gigolo'' (1980), '' Cat People'' (1982), '' Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters'' (1985), ''Light Sleeper'' (1992), ''Affliction'' (1997), and '' First Reformed'' (2017); the latter earned him his first Academy Award nomination. Schrader's work is known for its frequent depiction of alienated men struggling through existential crises, a premise he dubbed "God’s lonely man." Raised in a strict Calvinist family, Schrader attended seminary at Calvin College before electing to pursue film studie ...
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Bob Crane
Robert Edward Crane (July 13, 1928 – June 29, 1978) was an American actor, drummer, radio personality, and disc jockey known for starring in the CBS situation comedy ''Hogan's Heroes''. Crane was a drummer from age 11, and he began his entertainment career as a radio personality, beginning in Hornell, New York and later in Connecticut. He then moved to Los Angeles, where he hosted the number-one rated morning radio show. In the early 1960s, Crane moved into acting, eventually landing the lead role of Colonel Robert Hogan in ''Hogan's Heroes''. The series aired from 1965 to 1971, and Crane received two Emmy Award nominations. Crane's career declined after ''Hogan's Heroes''. He became frustrated with the few roles that he was being offered and began performing in dinner theater. In 1975, he returned to television in the NBC series ''The Bob Crane Show'', but the series received poor ratings and was cancelled after thirteen weeks. Afterward, Crane returned to performing in din ...
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Richard Dawson
Richard Dawson (born Colin Lionel Emm; 20 November 1932 – 2 June 2012) was a British-born American actor, comedian, game-show host and panelist in the United States. Dawson was well known for playing Corporal Peter Newkirk in ''Hogan's Heroes'', as a regular panelist on ''Match Game'' (1973–1978), and as the original as well as third host of ''Family Feud'' (1976–1985, 1994–95). Early life Colin Lionel Emm was born in Gosport, Hampshire, England, on 20 November 1932 to Arthur Emm (born 1897) and Josephine Lucy Emm ( Lindsay; born 1903). His father drove a moving van and his mother worked in a munitions factory. He and his brother John Leslie Emm (five years older) were evacuated as children during World War II to escape the bombing of England's major port cities in the south. In a radio interview with ''Hogan's Heroes'' co-star Bob Crane, Dawson recounted how this experience severely limited his school attendance, stating that he attended school regularly for only two ...
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Michael E
SS ''Michael E'' was a cargo ship that was built in 1941. She was the first British Catapult Aircraft Merchant ship: a merchant ship fitted with a rocket catapult to launch a single Hawker Hurricane fighter to defend a convoy against long-range German bombers. She was sunk on her maiden voyage by a German submarine. Description ''Michael E'' was built by William Hamilton & Co Ltd, Port Glasgow. Launched in 1941, she was completed in May of that year. She was the United Kingdom's first CAM ship, armed with an aircraft catapult on her bow to launch a Hawker Sea Hurricane. The ship was long between perpendiculars ( overall), with a beam of . She had a depth of and a draught of . She was and . She had six corrugated furnaces feeding two 225 lbf/in2 single-ended boilers with a combined heating surface of . The boilers fed a 443 NHP triple-expansion steam engine that had cylinders of , and diameter by stroke. The engine was built by David Rowan & Co Ltd, Glasgow. History ...
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Sigrid Valdis
Patricia Annette Olson (September 21, 1935 – October 14, 2007), known by her stage name Sigrid Valdis, was an American actress who played "Hilda" in the American television series ''Hogan's Heroes''. Early life and career Valdis began acting in the late 1950s. She appeared in bit parts in films and guest starred in several television shows including ''The Wild Wild West'' and ''Kraft Television Theatre''. She appeared in one episode of ''Hogan's Heroes'' as a different character before landing the role of Hilda, Colonel Klink's secretary, replacing Cynthia Lynn ("Helga") who played the role in the first season. Personal life Valdis was married twice. Her first marriage was to fashion businessman George Gilbert Ateyeh, with whom she had a daughter, Melissa. Ateyeh died in 1967. Valdis' second marriage was to ''Hogan's Heroes'' star Bob Crane on the set of the series on October 16, 1970. Co-star Richard Dawson served as Crane's best man. Following the birth of their son Robe ...
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Scottsdale, Arizona
, settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nickname = "The West's Most Western Town" (official) , image_map = File:Maricopa County Arizona Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Scottsdale Highlighted 0465000.svg , mapsize = 200x200px , map_caption = Location in Maricopa County, Arizona , mapsize1 = , map_caption1 = , pushpin_map = USA Arizona Maricopa County#USA Arizona#USA , pushpin_label = Scottsdale , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = Arizona , subdivision_type2 = County , subdivision ...
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Dinner Theater
Dinner theater (sometimes called dinner and a show) is a form of entertainment that combines a restaurant meal with a staged play or musical. "Dinner and a show" can also refer to a restaurant meal in combination with live concert music, where patrons listen to a performance during a break in the meal. In the case of a theatrical performance, sometimes the play is incidental entertainment, secondary to the meal. In the style of a night club, the play may be the main feature of the evening, with dinner less important or optional. Dinner theater requires the management of three distinct entities: a live theater, a restaurant and, usually, a bar. History The Madrigal dinners in the Renaissance were early forms of dinner theater. Some early dinner theaters, known as "theatre restaurants", served dinner in one room and staged the play in another.Lynk, p. 18 Notable venues in the United States Barksdale Theatre Barksdale Theatre in Richmond, Virginia, founded in 1953 by David and Nancy ...
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Superdad
''Superdad'' is a 1973 American comedy film by Walt Disney Productions starring Bob Crane, Barbara Rush, Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn, and Kathleen Cody. Directed by Vincent McEveety, the film marks the motion picture debut of Bruno Kirby. Plot Charlie McCready (Bob Crane) tries to wrest his daughter Wendy ( Kathleen Cody) from her childhood friends, whom he believes have no ambition. He especially disapproves of her boyfriend, Bart (Kurt Russell). Initially he makes a few attempts to bridge the generation gap, but to no avail. For instance, he attempts to impress his daughter's friends by trying his hand at beach volleyball and water skiing, but both attempts result in humiliating accidents. Late in the summer, Wendy receives a letter informing her that she's won a full scholarship to her parents' alma mater, Huntington College. Unbeknownst to her, the letter is fake; her father has paid the first year's tuition himself, and had a friend at the college send the letter to her. ...
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Walt Disney Productions
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt and Roy O. Disney as the Disney Brothers Studio; it also operated under the names the Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before changing its name to the Walt Disney Company in 1986. Early on, the company established itself as a leader in the animation industry, with the creation of the widely popular character Mickey Mouse, who is the company's mascot, and the start of animated films. After becoming a major success by the early 1940s, the company started to diversify into live-action films, television, and theme parks in the 1950s. Following Walt's death in 1966, the company's profits began to decline, especially in the animation division. Once Disney's shareholders voted in Michael Eisner as the hea ...
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Sexual Addiction
According to proponents of the concept, sexual addiction, also known as sex addiction, is a state characterized by compulsive participation or engagement in sexual activity, particularly sexual intercourse, despite negative consequences. The concept is contentious; neither of the two major mainstream medical categorization systems recognise sex addiction as a real medical condition, instead categorizing such behavior under labels such as compulsive sexual behavior. Concept Proponents of a diagnostic model for sexual addiction consider it to be one of several sex-related disorders within hypersexual disorder. The term ''sexual dependence'' is also used to refer to people who report being unable to control their sexual urges, behaviors, or thoughts. Related or synonymous models of pathological sexual behavior include hypersexuality (nymphomania and satyriasis), erotomania, Don Juanism, and paraphilia-related disorders. The concept of sexual addiction is contentious. There is c ...
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Videocassette Recorder
A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other source on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocasset ..., and can play back the recording. Use of a VCR to record a television program to play back at a more convenient time is commonly referred to as ''timeshifting''. VCRs can also play back prerecorded tapes. In the 1980s and 1990s, prerecorded videotapes were widely available for purchase and rental, and blank tapes were sold to make recordings. VCRs declined in popularity during the early 2000s and in July 2016, Funai Electric, the last manufacturer of them ceased production. History Early machines and formats The h ...
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Acquittal
In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the United States, an acquittal operates to bar the retrial of the accused for the same offense, even if new evidence surfaces that further implicates the accused. The effect of an acquittal on criminal proceedings is the same whether it results from a jury verdict or results from the operation of some other rule that discharges the accused. In other countries, the prosecuting authority may appeal an acquittal similar to how a defendant may appeal a conviction. Scotland Scots law has two acquittal verdicts: ''not guilty'' and ''not proven''. However a verdict of "not proven" does not give rise to the double jeopardy rule. England and Wales In England and Wales, which share a common legal system, the Criminal Justice Act 2003 creates an ex ...
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