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Chill Wills
Theodore Childress "Chill" Wills (July 18, 1902 – December 15, 1978) was an American actor and a singer in the Avalon Boys quartet. Early life Wills was born in Seagoville, Texas, on July 18, 1902. Career He was a performer from early childhood, forming and leading the Avalon Boys singing group in the 1930s. After appearing in a few Westerns, he disbanded the group in 1938, and struck out on a solo acting career. One of his more memorable roles was that of the distinctive voice of Francis the Talking Mule in a series of popular films. Wills' deep, rough voice, with its Western twang, was matched to the personality of the cynical, sardonic mule. As was customary at the time, Wills was given no billing for his vocal work, though he was featured prominently on-screen as blustery General Ben Kaye in the fourth entry, ''Francis Joins the WACS''. He provided the deep voice for Stan Laurel's performance of "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" in '' Way Out West'' (1937), in which th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seagoville, Texas
Seagoville ( ) is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Dallas. A small portion of Seagoville extends into Kaufman County. The population was 14,835 at the 2010 census. The city is located along U.S. Highway 175, from downtown Mesquite. History Seagoville was originally called Seago, and under this name was laid out in 1876 by T. K. Seago (1836–1904), and named after him. The United States Post Office changed the town's name to "Seagoville" in 1910 to prevent confusion with another city in Texas called Sego. During World War II, the Federal Reformatory for Women in Seagoville was the site of an Immigration and Naturalization Service detention camp for Japanese, German, and Italian Americans classified as "enemy aliens" and women of Japanese and German ancestry deported from Latin America.Mak, Stephen"Seogoville (detention facility)"''Densho Encyclopedia'' (accessed 17 Jun 2014). Internees at Seagoville published a German language newsletter called th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academy Award For Best Supporting Actor
The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role while working within the film industry. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Supporting Actress winner. At the 9th Academy Awards ceremony held in 1937, Walter Brennan was the first winner of this award for his role in '' Come and Get It''. Initially, winners in both supporting acting categories were awarded plaques instead of statuettes. Beginning with the 16th ceremony held in 1944, however, winners received full-sized statuettes. Currently, nominees are determined by single transferable vote within the actors branch of AMPAS; winners are selected by a plurality vote from the entire eligible voting members of the Academy. Since its inception, the award has been given to 77 actors. Brennan has received the most awards ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Texan (TV Series)
''The Texan'' is a Western television series starring film and television actor Rory Calhoun, which aired on the CBS television network from 1958 to 1960. Plot Episodes Release Home media Timeless Media Group released 70 episodes of the series on DVD. Reception The show was #15 in the 1958-59 season with an average viewership of 12.4 million, but it failed to rank in the top 30 the following season. Media information Like many of the television Westerns of the 1950s, The Texan was adapted to a comic by Dan Spiegle Dan Spiegle (December 10, 1920 – January 28, 2017) was an American comics artist and cartoonist best known for comics based on movie and television characters across a variety of companies, including Dell Comics, DC Comics, and Marvel Com ... in 1960. References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Texan, The CBS original programming 1958 American television series debuts 1960 American television series endings 1950s Western (genre) tele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rory Calhoun
Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in supporting roles in films such as ''How to Marry a Millionaire'' (1953). Life and career 1922–1943: Troubled early life Francis Timothy McCown was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Elizabeth Cuthbert and Floyd Conley McCown, a professional gambler. He spent his early years in Santa Cruz, California. He was of Irish ancestry. At age 13, he stole a revolver, for which he was sent to the California Youth Authority's Preston School of Industry reformatory at Ione, California. He escaped while in the adjustment center (jail within the jail). He left home at 17 to escape beatings from his stepfather and began hot-wiring cars. After robbing several jewelry stores, he stole a car and drove it across state lines. This made it a federal offense, and, when he was recaptured, he was senten ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wagon Train
''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings. It is the fictional adventure story of a large westbound wagon train through the American Old West, from Missouri to California. Its format attracted different famous guest stars per episode, as travelers or as residents of the settlements they encountered. The show initially starred supporting film actor Ward Bond as the wagon master (replaced after his death in 1960 by John McIntire) and Robert Horton as the scout (eventually replaced by similar-looking Robert Fuller when Horton opted to leave the series). The series was inspired by the 1950 film ''Wagon Master'' directed by John Ford and starring Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr., and Ward Bond, and by the 1930 early widescreen film ''The Big Trail'' directed by Raoul Walsh and starring ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Binion's Gambling Hall And Hotel
Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel, formerly Binion's Horseshoe, is a casino on Fremont Street along the Fremont Street Experience mall in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned by TLC Casino Enterprises. The casino is named for its founder, Benny Binion, whose family ran it from its founding in 1951 until 2004. The hotel, which had 366 rooms, closed in 2009. TLC reopened 81 of the rooms as a boutique hotel called Hotel Apache in July 2019. History Binion's Horseshoe (1951–2004) Benny Binion bought the Eldorado Club and Hotel Apache in 1951, re-opening them as Binion's Horseshoe (also called the Horseshoe Casino). The casino's interior had a frontier flavor, like an old-style riverboat, with low ceilings and velvet wallpaper. It was the first casino in downtown Las Vegas (also called Glitter Gulch) to replace sawdust-covered floors with carpeting, and was the first to offer comps to all gamblers, not just those who bet big money. Binion also instituted high table limits. Whe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Series Of Poker
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker players to the Horseshoe Casino for a single tournament, with a set start and stop time, and a winner determined by a secret ballot of the seven players. As of 2020, the WSOP consists of 101 events, with most major poker variants featured. However, in recent years, over half of the events have been variants of Texas hold 'em. Events traditionally take place during one day or over several consecutive days during the series in June and July. However, starting in 2008, the Main Event final table was delayed until November. The 2012 and 2016 Main Event final tables commenced in October because of the United States presidential election. As of May 2017, the World Series of Poker has done away with the November Nine concept and instead gone back ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benny Binion
Lester Ben Binion (November 20, 1904 – December 5, 1989), better known as Benny Binion, was an American gambling icon, career criminal, and convicted murderer who established illegal gambling operations in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area. He would later relocate to Nevada, where gambling was legal, and open the successful Binion's Horseshoe casino in downtown Las Vegas. Early history Benny Binion was born and raised in Pilot Grove, Texas, north of Dallas. His parents initially kept him out of school due to poor health. His father, a horse trader, let him accompany him on trips. While the outdoor life restored his health, Binion never had any formal education. As he traveled with his father, the young man learned to gamble, a favorite pastime when horse traders met up with farmers and merchants during county fair trade days. Criminal history Binion's FBI file reveals a criminal history dating back to 1924. At age 18 he moved to El Paso, where he began moonshining during th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spartacus (film)
''Spartacus'' is a 1960 American epic historical drama film directed by Stanley Kubrick, written by Dalton Trumbo, and based on the 1951 novel of the same title by Howard Fast. It is inspired by the life story of Spartacus, the leader of a slave revolt in antiquity, and the events of the Third Servile War. It stars Kirk Douglas in the title role, Laurence Olivier as Roman general and politician Marcus Licinius Crassus, Peter Ustinov as slave trader Lentulus Batiatus, John Gavin as Julius Caesar, Jean Simmons as Varinia, Charles Laughton as Sempronius Gracchus, and Tony Curtis as Antoninus. Douglas, whose company Bryna Productions was producing the film, removed original director Anthony Mann after the first week of shooting. Kubrick, with whom Douglas had made ''Paths of Glory'' (1957), was brought on board to take over direction.Kirk Douglas. ''The Ragman's Son'' (Autobiography). Pocket Books, 1990. Chapter 26: The Wars of Spartacus. It was the only film directed by Kubrick ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lentulus Batiatus
Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Vatia (also called Lentulus Batiatus by Plutarch) was the Roman owner of a gladiatorial school in ancient Capua. It was from this school that, in 73 BC, the Thracian slave Spartacus and about 70 to 78 followers escaped. The breakout led to the slave rebellion known as the Third Servile War (73–71 BC). Identity and origins Shackleton Bailey noted that the name ('Batiatus'), as recorded by the ancient historians, could be a corrupted form of the cognomen ''Vatia'' and this ''Cornelius Lentulus Vatia'' would then have been either a Servilius Vatia by birth adopted into the Cornelii Lentuli or else a Cornelius Lentulus by birth adopted into the Servilii Vatiae. Shackleton Bailey, David. R. (1991) ''Two Studies in Roman Nomenclature'', p.73 Ronald Syme also agreed that the name 'Batiatus' was surely a corruption of 'Vatia'. It is often assumed following Shackleton Bailey's arguments that he was the same man as the Gnaeus Lentulus Vatia who was quaestor in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Ustinov
Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits for much of his career. An intellectual and diplomat, he held various academic posts and served as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF and president of the World Federalist Movement. Ustinov was the winner of numerous awards during his life, including two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor, Emmy Awards, Golden Globes, and BAFTA Awards for acting, and a Grammy Award for best recording for children, as well as the recipient of governmental honours from, amongst others, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. He also displayed a unique cultural versatility which frequently earned him the accolade of a Renaissance man. Miklós Rózsa, composer of the music for ''Quo Vadis'' and of numerous concert works, dedicated his String Quartet No. 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheilah Graham
Sheilah Graham (born Lily Shiel; 15 September 1904 – 17 November 1988) was a British-born, nationally syndicated American gossip columnist during Hollywood's "Golden Age". In her youth, she had been a showgirl and a freelance writer for Fleet Street in London. These early experiences would converge in her career in Hollywood, which spanned nearly four decades, as a successful columnist and author. Graham also was known for her relationship with F. Scott Fitzgerald, a relationship she played a significant role in immortalizing through the autobiographical ''Beloved Infidel,'' a bestseller that was made into a film. Early life Graham was born Lily Shiel in Leeds, England, the youngest of Rebecca (Blashman) and Louis Shiel's eight children (two died). Her parents were Ukrainian Jews. Her father, a tailor who had fled the pogroms, died of tuberculosis on a trip to Berlin while she was still an infant. Her mother and the children moved to a basement flat in a Stepney Green slum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
