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Beyond Vaudeville
''Beyond Vaudeville'' was a New York City public-access television show that ran from 1986 to 1996. The talk/variety show featured amateur talents and nostalgia-inducing celebrities housed within the confines of a crowded, Manhattan-based public access television station. Awkward host Frank Hope and his violence-prone sidekick David Greene created strange and uncomfortably compelling television. Frank was a fidgety collector-type who enjoyed Wacky Packages and Star Trek; David a silent behemoth who only spoke out of anger. For many of the episodes, Joey the Dancing Monkey (played by John Walsh) gets called by Frank to come out and dance, and various puppets appear behind the seats of the guests while they get interviewed, sometimes attempting to annoy David. Celebrity guests, including the likes of Tiny Tim (musician), Fred Willard, and Bobby “Boris” Pickett (“Monster Mash”), shared the stage with amateur singers, dancers, and Klingons, their surprised and befuddled reaction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Fleishaker
Joseph Isaac Fleishaker (1954 – May 23, 2016) was an American character actor best known for his appearances in low-budget cult and horror comedy movies. In particular, those produced by New York-based independent film company Troma Entertainment, who have billed Fleishaker as "Troma's biggest action star", humorously alluding to his morbid obesity, which surpassed five hundred pounds. Biography Fleishaker was first cast in Troma's 1988 action-comedy ''Troma's War'' as an extra, where he played a member of a violent terrorist sect. Lloyd Kaufman, the film's director, was amused by Fleishaker's screen presence as an obese guerrilla soldier and ended up giving him more screen time throughout the film. Following ''Troma's War'', Fleishaker struck up an ongoing partnership with Troma, having acted in every Kaufman-directed film from 1989 to 2006. These parts have ranged from background parts and short cameos to much larger supporting roles, such as The Toxic Avenger's sidekick La ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ron Palillo
Ronald Gabriel Palillo (April 2, 1949 – August 14, 2012) was an American actor and teacher. He was best known for his role as the endearingly dim-witted character Arnold Horshack on the ABC sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979). Early life and education Ronald Gabriel Paolillo was born in New Haven, Connecticut, to Italian-Americans Gabriel and Carmel Paolillo, and raised in nearby Cheshire. He graduated from Cheshire High School and the University of Connecticut at Storrs, where he would teach in the 1990s. He attended Fairfield University while pursuing a postgraduate degree. He adopted the last name ''Palillo'' for his acting career. Career In 1975, Palillo was cast as Arnold Horshack, one of the misfit "sweathogs" in the high school sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'', whose antics made him one of the standout characters of the series. In the last season of the series, a backdoor pilot episode for a spin-off series featuring Horshack was produced, but the series was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pat Cooper
Pat Cooper (born Pasquale Caputo; July 31, 1929) is an American actor and comedian. Life and career His father Michael Caputo was a bricklayer from Mola di Bari, Italy and his mother, Louise Gargiulo was born in Brooklyn, New York, where Cooper was also born and raised. Cooper often makes reference to his Italian heritage in his stand up comedy routines. Cooper started performing in the 1950s, originally for primarily Italian-American audiences. His big break came in 1963 on ''The Jackie Gleason Show''. Afterwards, he played top nightclubs such as the Copacabana (nightclub), 500 Club, Latin Casino, Palumbo's, Atlantic City and Las Vegas Hotels and casinos. Cooper appeared on the same shows as Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Sergio Franchi, Sammy Davis Jr., Connie Francis, Bobby Vinton, Bobby Darin, Tony Martin, Liza Minnelli and many others. On May 2, 1969, Cooper and singer Jimmy Roselli premiered in their two-man show at Broadway's Palace Thea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joey Faye
Joey Faye (born Joseph Antony Palladino, July 12, 1909 or 1910 or 1902– April 26, 1997) was an American comedian and actor. Born in New York City, he gained fame as a comic in vaudeville and claimed that he created two of vaudeville's more renowned pieces of business, "Floogle Street" (a.k.a. "Susquehana Hat Company") and "Slowly I Turned". In addition to an active career in vaudeville and the legitimate theater, he appeared in many movies and TV shows. Broadway The Republic Theatre was the site of Faye's New York stage debut at age 21. During World War II, he entertained Allied military personnel in Africa and Europe as part of a troupe headed by Marlene Dietrich. Faye playesecond banana(the second-ranking comedian in a show) to Phil Silvers in two Broadway shows, ''High Button Shoes'' and '' Top Banana''. He also appeared in the 1954 film. In a Broadway career that stretched between the late 1930s and the early 1990s, he appeared in 17 shows altogether, including ''Room Serv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bern Nadette Stanis
Bernnadette Stanis, also billed as Bern Nadette Stanis (born Bernadette Stanislaus, December 22, 1953), is an American actress and author. Stanis is best known for her role as Thelma Evans, the only daughter of Florida and James Evans Sr. on the CBS sitcom '' Good Times'' which originally ran from 1974 to 1979. Stanis is the author of four books: ''Situations 101: Relationships, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly''; ''For Men Only''; ''Situations 101: Finances''; and ''The Last Night''. Early life One of five children, Stanis was born and raised in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, New York City. Her paternal grandparents were from Carriacou in the Grenadine Islands. She attended Erasmus Hall High School and later attended the Juilliard School. As a teen, Stanis entered Miss Black America pageants, and went on to become Miss Brooklyn, a title with which she became first runner-up in the Miss New York state pageant. Career Stanis played the role of Thelma Ann Evans on the CBS s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bobby “Boris” Pickett
Bobby or Bobbie may refer to: People * Bobby (given name), a list of names * Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh * Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea * Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwriter * Bobby, old slang for a constable in British law enforcement * Bobby, disused British railway term for a signalman Events * Kidnapping of Bobby Greenlease, a 1953 crime in Kansas City, Missouri * Murder of Bobby Äikiä, Swedish boy who was tortured and killed by his mother and stepfather in 2006 Dogs * Greyfriars Bobby (1855–1???), legendary 19th century Scottish dog * Bobbie (dog), a British regimental dog who survived the Battle of Maiwand * Bobbie the Wonder Dog, an American dog that walked 2,551 miles to find its owners Films * ''Bobby'' (1973 film), an Indian Bollywood film * ''Bobby'' (2002 film), an Indian Telugu film * ''Bobby'' (2006 film), a film about the day Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated Music * BOBBY (band), an American indie-folk-psychedelic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carel Struycken
Carel Struycken (; born 30 July 1948) is a Dutch actor. He is known for playing the Giant/Fireman in the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017), the occasional guest role of Mr. Homn in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1992), and the household butler Lurch in the three 1990s ''Addams Family'' films. He also appeared in the films ''Gerald's Game'' (2017) and '' Doctor Sleep'' (2019). Early life Struycken was born on 30 July 1948 in The Hague, Netherlands. When he was 4 years old, his family moved to Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles. There, at age 15, he composed several Caribbean waltzes. At 16, he returned to his home country, where he finished secondary school. He graduated from the directing program at the film school in Amsterdam. After that, he spent a year at the American Film Institute, in Los Angeles. Career In 1978, Struycken was discovered as an actor at the corner of Hollywood and Vine in Los Angeles by a woman who had abandoned her ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Audrey Landers
Audrey Landers (born Audrey Hamburg; July 18, 1956) is an American actress and singer, best known for her role as Afton Cooper on the television series ''Dallas'' and her role as Val Clarke in the film version of ''A Chorus Line'' (1985). Early years Landers was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Landers began her acting career at the age of 9, when she starred in her first community theater musical, and continued acting and singing in community theater shows in New York State. In January 1970, she performed in ''Oh Dad, Poor Dad...'' at Elmwood Playhouse in Nyack, NY. Landers was first noticed with a country song that she wrote and performed at the age of twelve, which led to a Nashville recording contract with Epic Records, a performance on ''The Merv Griffin Show'', and a year-long role on the daytime drama, ''The Secret Storm''. During her teen years, she acted on the daytime drama ''Somerset'' and studied music at the Juilliard School in New York City, while majoring in ps ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Austin Pendleton
Austin Campbell Pendleton (born March 27, 1940) is an American actor, playwright, theatre director, and instructor. He is known as a prolific character actor on the stage and screen who has appeared in films including ''Catch-22'' (1970); '' What's Up, Doc?'' (1972); ''The Front Page'' (1974); ''The Muppet Movie'' (1979), ''Short Circuit'' (1986); ''Mr. and Mrs. Bridge'' (1990); ''My Cousin Vinny'' (1992); '' Amistad'' (1997); '' A Beautiful Mind'' (2001), which earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture nomination; and '' Finding Nemo'' (2003). Pendleton received a Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Play for the Broadway revival of ''The Little Foxes'' in 1981. He has received two Drama Desk Award nominations and the recipient of a Special Drama Desk Award in 2007. He also received a Obie Award for Best Director for the 2011 off-Broadway revival of '' Three Sisters''. Recent Broadway credits include ''Choir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Willard
Frederic Charles Willard (September 18, 1933 May 15, 2020) was an American actor, comedian, and writer. He was best known for his roles in the Rob Reiner mockumentary film ''This Is Spinal Tap'' (1984); the Christopher Guest mockumentaries ''Waiting for Guffman'' (1996), '' Best in Show'' (2000), ''A Mighty Wind'' (2003), '' For Your Consideration'' (2006), and ''Mascots'' (2016); and the ''Anchorman'' films; as well as for his television roles on ''Fernwood 2 Night'', ''Everybody Loves Raymond'', and ''Modern Family'' the latter of which earned him two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Early life Frederic Charles Willard was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 18, 1933. Willard's mother, Ruth (née Weinman) was a housewife. His father, Frederick Charles Willard, died in 1945 when he was 12 years old. He was raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Willard graduated from the Kentucky Military Institute in 1951 and the Virginia Military Institute in 1955. He was stationed in Germany wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judy Carne
Joyce Audrey Botterill (27 April 1939 – 3 September 2015), known professionally as Judy Carne, was an English actress best remembered for the phrase "Sock it to me!" on ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In''. Career Carne was born in Northampton, England. Her parents, Harold and Kathy, were greengrocers in Kingsthorpe. She received training at the Pitt-Draffen Academy of Dance before being accepted into the prestigious Bush-Davis Theatrical School for Girls in East Grinstead, West Sussex. An instructor at the school began calling her "Judy," telling her that Joyce was not a good professional name. The second part of Judy's stage name was taken from a character named Sarat Carn in the play ''Bonaventure'' by English playwright Charlotte Hastings. She made her first British television appearances on the series ''Danger Man'' (1961) and episodes of ''The Rag Trade'' (also 1961), a BBC sitcom. She moved to the US not long afterward. Her first regular role was in the sitcom '' Fair Excha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
