|
Climax!
''Climax!'' (later known as ''Climax Mystery Theater'') is an American television anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS programs of that era to be broadcast in color, using the massive TK-40A color cameras pioneered and manufactured by RCA, and used primarily by CBS' arch-rival network, NBC (the broadcasting division of RCA). Many of the episodes were performed and broadcast live, but, although the series was transmitted in color, only black-and-white ''kinescope'' copies of some episodes survive to the present day. The series finished at #22 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1955-1956 season and #26 for 1956-1957. Notable episodes In 1954, the Climax! episode "Casino Royale" featured secret agent James Bond in a television adaptation of Ian Fleming's novel '' Casino Royale''. It starred Barry Nelson as American secret agent "Jimmy Bond" and Peter Lorre as the vill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martin Manulis
Martin Ellyot Manulis (May 30, 1915 – September 28, 2007) was an American television, film, and theatre producer. Manulis was best known for his work in the 1950s producing the CBS Television programs ''Suspense'', '' Studio One Summer Theatre'', ''Climax!'', ''The Best of Broadway'' and ''Playhouse 90''. He was the sole producer of the award-winning drama series, ''Playhouse 90'', during its first two seasons from 1956 to 1958. After leaving ''Playhouse 90'', Manulis was the "head of television" for 20th Century Fox Television where he was responsible for creating and producing the series, ''The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'', '' Adventures in Paradise'', and '' Five Fingers''. In 1962, he produced the film '' Days of Wine and Roses'' starring Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick. Early years Manulis was born and raised in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. His father, Abraham "Gus" Manulis, immigrated to the United States from Russia in 1897, became a naturalized U.S. c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casino Royale (novel)
''Casino Royale'' is the first novel by the British author Ian Fleming. Published in 1953, it is the first List of James Bond novels and short stories, ''James Bond'' book, and it paved the way for a further eleven novels and two short story anthology, collections by Fleming, followed by numerous continuation Bond novels by other authors. The story concerns the British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond, gambling at the casino in Royale-les-Eaux to bankrupt Le Chiffre, the treasurer of a French union and a member of the Russian secret service. Bond is supported in his endeavours by Vesper Lynd, a member of his own service, as well as Felix Leiter of the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA and List of James Bond allies#René Mathis, René Mathis of the French Deuxième Bureau. Fleming used his wartime experiences as a member of the Naval Intelligence Division (United Kingdom), Naval Intelligence Division, and the people he met during his work, to provide plot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Frankenheimer
John Michael Frankenheimer (February 19, 1930 – July 6, 2002) was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films. Among his credits were ''Birdman of Alcatraz'' (1962), ''The Manchurian Candidate'' (1962), ''Seven Days in May'' (1964), '' The Train'' (1964), '' Seconds'' (1966), ''Grand Prix'' (1966), '' French Connection II'' (1975), '' Black Sunday'' (1977), '' The Island of Dr. Moreau'' (1996), and '' Ronin'' (1998). He won four Emmy Awards—three consecutive—in the 1990s for directing the television movies '' Against the Wall'', '' The Burning Season'', '' Andersonville'', and '' George Wallace'', the last of which also received a Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film. Frankenheimer's 30 feature films and over 50 plays for television were notable for their influence on contemporary thought. He became a pioneer of the "modern-day political thriller", having begun his career at the height of the Cold War.Yor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casino Royale (Climax!)
"Casino Royale" is a live 1954 television adaptation of the 1953 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. An episode of the American dramatic anthology series ''Climax!'', the show was the first screen adaptation of a James Bond novel, and stars Barry Nelson, Peter Lorre, and Linda Christian. Though this marks the first onscreen appearance of the secret agent, Nelson's Bond is played as an American spy working for the "Combined Intelligence Agency". Most of the largely forgotten show was uncovered by film historian Jim Schoenberger in 1981, with the ending (including credits) found later. Both copies are black and white kinescopes, but the original live broadcast was in colour. The rights to the program were acquired by MGM at the same time as the rights for the 1967 film version, clearing the legal pathway and enabling it to make the 2006 film of the same name. Plot "Combined Intelligence" agent James Bond comes under fire from an assassin. He dodges the bullets and enters Casi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the Rambo (franchise), ''Rambo'' franchise, as well as for ''Logan's Run (film), Logan's Run'', ''Planet of the Apes (1968 film), Planet of the Apes'', ''Tora! Tora! Tora!'', ''Patton (film), Patton'', ''Chinatown (1974 film), Chinatown'', ''Alien (1979 film), Alien'', ''Poltergeist (1982 film), Poltergeist'', ''Gremlins'', ''Hoosiers (film), Hoosiers'', ''Total Recall (1990 film), Total Recall'', ''Air Force One (film), Air Force One'', ''L.A. Confidential (film), L.A. Confidential'', ''Mulan (1998 film), Mulan'', and ''The Mummy (1999 film), The Mummy''. He also composed the #Studio fanfares, fanfares accompanying the production logos used by multiple major film studios, and music for the Disney attraction Soarin'. He collaborated with directors including Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. (January 15, 1913 – March 10, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, including the actors Beau Bridges and Jeff Bridges. He started his career as a contract performer for Columbia Pictures, appearing in films such as '' Sahara'' (1943), '' A Walk in the Sun'' (1945), '' Little Big Horn'' (1951) and '' High Noon'' (1952). On television, he starred in ''Sea Hunt'' 1958 to 1961. By the end of his career, he had re-invented himself and demonstrated a comedic talent in such parody films as ''Airplane!'' (1980), ''Hot Shots!'' (1991), and ''Jane Austen's Mafia!'' (1998). Among other honors, Bridges was a two-time Emmy Award nominee. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 1, 1994. Early life Bridges was born in San Leandro, California, to Harriet Evelyn (Brown) Bridges (1893–1950) and Lloyd Ve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, first in Europe and later in the United States. He began his stage career in Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before moving to Germany where he worked first on the stage, then in film in Berlin in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Lorre caused an international sensation in the Weimar Republic-era film '' M'' (1931), directed by Fritz Lang, in which he portrayed a serial killer who preys on little girls. Of Jewish descent, Lorre left Germany after Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power. His second English-language film, following the multiple-language version of ''M'' (1931), was Alfred Hitchcock's '' The Man Who Knew Too Much'' (1934), made in the United Kingdom. Eventually settling in Hollywood, he later became a featured player in many Hollywood crime and mystery films. In his initial American films, '' Mad Love'' and ''Crime and Punishment'' (both 193 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barry Nelson (actor)
Barry Nelson (born Robert Haakon Nielsen; April 16, 1917 – April 7, 2007) was an American actor, noted as the first actor to portray Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond. Early life Nelson was born in San Francisco, the son of Norwegian immigrants, Betsy (née Christophersen) and Trygve Nielsen His year of birth has been subject to some debate, but is listed as 1917 on both his 1943 Army enlistment record and his 1993 voter registration records. Career With MGM, Nelson made his screen debut in the role as Paul Clark in ''Shadow of the Thin Man'' (1941) starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, with Donna Reed. He followed that with his role as Lew Rankin in the film noir ''Johnny Eager'' (1942) starring Robert Taylor and Lana Turner. During his service in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II, Nelson debuted on the Broadway stage in Moss Hart's play ''Winged Victory'' (1943) in the role of Bobby Grills. His next Broadway appearance was as Peter Sloan, playwright, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have written authorised Bond novels or novelisations: Kingsley Amis, Christopher Wood, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffery Deaver, William Boyd, and Anthony Horowitz. The latest novel is ''With a Mind to Kill'' by Anthony Horowitz, published in May 2022. Additionally Charlie Higson wrote a series on a young James Bond, and Kate Westbrook wrote three novels based on the diaries of a recurring series character, Moneypenny. The character—also known by the code number 007 (pronounced "double-oh-seven")—has also been adapted for television, radio, comic strip, video games and film. The films are one of the longest continually running film series and have grossed over US$7.04 billion in total at the box office ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Lundigan
William Paul Lundigan (June 12, 1914 – December 20, 1975) was an American film actor. His more than 125 films include ''Dodge City'' (1939), ''The Fighting 69th'' (1940), ''The Sea Hawk'' (1940), ''Santa Fe Trail'' (1940), ''Dishonored Lady'' (1947), '' Pinky'' (1949), ''Love Nest'' (1951) with Marilyn Monroe, ''The House on Telegraph Hill'' (1951), ''I'd Climb the Highest Mountain'' (1951) and ''Inferno'' (1953). Biography Growing up in Syracuse, New York, Lundigan was the oldest of four sons. His father, Michael F. Lundigan, owned a shoe store (at which Lundigan worked) in the same building as a local radio station, WFBL. Becoming fascinated by radio, he was playing child roles on radio and producing radio plays at 16.William Lundigan, vet of 125 movies, dies at 61 Chicago Tribune 22 Dec 1975: c11. A graduate of Nottingham High School, Lundigan studied law at Syracuse University, earning money as a radio announcer at WFBL. He graduated and passed the bar examination bef ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phyllis Kirk
Phyllis Kirk (born Phyllis Kirkgaard; September 18, 1927 October 19, 2006) was an American actress. Early life Kirk was born in Syracuse, New York, although some sources state her birthplace as Plainfield, New Jersey. She contracted polio as a child, which resulted in health problems for the rest of her life. Kirk grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey and graduated from Battin High School."Murray's Niece Appears in Film" '''', October 25, 1950. Accessed February 9, 2022, via . "A niece of Police Capt. and Mrs. Patrick J. Murray. 7 Jefferson Ave., appears in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dennis O'Keefe
Dennis O'Keefe (born Edward Vanes Flanagan, Jr., March 29, 1908 – August 31, 1968) was an American actor and writer. Early years Born in Fort Madison, Iowa, O'Keefe was the son of Edward Flanagan and Charlotte Flanagan, Irish vaudevillians working in the United States. As a small child, he joined his parents' act and later wrote skits for the stage. He attended the University of Southern California but left midway through his sophomore year after his father died. Career O'Keefe continued his father's vaudeville act for several years after the father's death. He started in films as an extra in 1931 and appeared in numerous films under the name Bud Flanagan. After a small but impressive role in '' Saratoga'' (1937), Clark Gable recommended O'Keefe to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which signed him to a contract in 1937 and renamed him Dennis O'Keefe. His film roles were bigger after that, starting with ''The Bad Man of Brimstone'' (1938) opposite Wallace Beery, and the lead role ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
%2C_publicity_photo.jpg "Click for more on -> John Frankenheimer")
