Craig Zadan
Craig Zadan (April 15, 1949 – August 20, 2018) was an American producer and writer. Working alone and with Neil Meron, his partner in the production company Storyline Entertainment, he produced such films as ''Footloose'', ''Chicago'' and ''Hairspray''. Life and career Early life Zadan was born in Miami, Florida. He grew up in New York City, and attended Hofstra University. He wrote for ''New York'' magazine and also contributed articles to publications such as '' After Dark''. He co-produced a Broadway tribute to Stephen Sondheim, ''Sondheim: A Musical Tribute'', featuring Angela Lansbury and Alexis Smith in 1973. He wrote a book relating the "behind-the-scenes" of the musicals of composer Stephen Sondheim titled "Sondheim & Co." published in 1974, which has been updated with a subsequent edition and revisions until 1990. Meron invited Zadan to speak at a lecture series at Brooklyn College, and they became professional partners upon Meron's 1976 graduation. They worked for ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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:Template:Infobox Writer/doc
Infobox writer may be used to summarize information about a person who is a writer/author (includes screenwriters). If the writer-specific fields here are not needed, consider using the more general ; other infoboxes there can be found in :People and person infobox templates. This template may also be used as a module (or sub-template) of ; see WikiProject Infoboxes/embed for guidance on such usage. Syntax The infobox may be added by pasting the template as shown below into an article. All fields are optional. Any unused parameter names can be left blank or omitted. Parameters Please remove any parameters from an article's infobox that are unlikely to be used. All parameters are optional. Unless otherwise specified, if a parameter has multiple values, they should be comma-separated using the template: : which produces: : , language= If any of the individual values contain commas already, add to use semi-colons as separators: : which produces: : , ps ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in 1994; Turner later merged with Time Warner (later known as WarnerMedia from 2018 to 2022) in 1996, and New Line was merged with Warner Bros. Pictures in 2008. The studio has been nicknamed, "The House that Freddy Built" due to the success of the ''Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. History New Line Cinema was established in 1967 by the then 27-year-old Robert Shaye as a film distribution company, supplying foreign and art films for college campuses in the United States. Shaye operated New Line's offices out of his apartment at 14th Street and Second Avenue in New York City. One of the company's early successes was its distribution of the 1936 anti-cannabis propaganda film ''Reefer Madness'', whi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment industry worldwide. Given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the awards are an international recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements, as assessed by the Academy's voting membership. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a golden statuette as a trophy, officially called the "Academy Award of Merit", although more commonly referred to by its nickname, the "Oscar". The statuette, depicting a knight rendered in the Art Deco style, was originally sculpted by Los Angeles artist George Stanley from a design sketch by art director Cedric Gibbons. The 1st Academy Awards were held in 1929 at a private dinner hosted by Douglas Fairbanks in The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The Academy Awards cerem ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Corey Reynolds
Corey Reynolds (born July 3, 1974) is an American actor known for originating the role of Seaweed in the Broadway adaptation of ''Hairspray'', and for the TNT crime show ''The Closer''. Early life and career Reynolds was born in Richmond, Virginia, where he attended Monacan High School before moving to California to pursue his acting career. He got his start at Paramount Kings Dominion performing in various shows. While living in California, he was cast in a touring production of the revue ''Smokey Joe's Cafe'', as well as the tour of ''Saturday Night Fever''. After this run, he went to New York City and auditioned for various shows. He was originally cast in ''Hairsprays ensemble, but was offered the role of Seaweed after three readings.Riegel, Katie Retrieved November 4, 2006. For this role, he was nominated for a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award, both for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. Reynolds guest starred on ''Without a Trace'' and appeared in ''The Guardian'' prio ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mink Stole
Nancy Paine Stoll (born August 25, 1947), known professionally as Mink Stole, is an American actress from Baltimore, Maryland. She began her career working for director John Waters, and has appeared in all of his feature films to date (a distinction shared only with Mary Vivian Pearce). Her extensive work with Waters has made her one of the Dreamlanders, Waters' ensemble of regular cast and crew members. Biography She was born into a large Roman Catholic family, and has nine siblings, including children's-book author Ellen Stoll Walsh and sculptor George Stoll. Her father, Joseph A. Stoll, died in 1955, and her mother, Nell, remarried twice, resulting in an extensive step-family. Stole has performed in most of the films by close friend John Waters. Her film career began as a party guest in Waters' film '' Roman Candles''. Since then, she has appeared in all of his feature films up to and including 2004's ''A Dirty Shame''. The only Waters films in which she does not appear are t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Forbes Fierstein ( ; born June 6, 1952) is an American actor, playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for his theater work in ''Torch Song Trilogy'' and ''Hairspray'' and movie roles in ''Mrs. Doubtfire'', '' Independence Day'', and as the voice of Yao in ''Mulan'' and ''Mulan II''. Fierstein won two Tony Awards, Best Actor in a Play and Best Play, for ''Torch Song Trilogy''. He received his third Tony Award, Best Book of a Musical, for the musical '' La Cage aux Folles'' and his fourth, the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, for playing Edna Turnblad in ''Hairspray''. Fierstein also wrote the book for the Tony Award-winning musicals '' Kinky Boots, Newsies,'' and Tony Award-nominated, Drama League Award-winner ''A Catered Affair.'' He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2007. For his role on the television show ''Cheers'', he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Early life and educ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Marissa Jaret Winokur
Marissa Jaret Winokur (born February 2, 1973), sometimes credited as Marissa Winokur, is an American actress and singer known for her Tony-winning performance as Tracy Turnblad in the Broadway musical ''Hairspray,'' an adaptation of John Waters's film, as well as her work on the Pamela Anderson sitcom '' Stacked.'' Some of her other TV credits include ''Curb Your Enthusiasm,'' ''Moesha,'' ''The Steve Harvey Show,'' ''Just Shoot Me!,'' '' and Felicity'' She was a contestant on the popular reality competition series ''Dancing with the Stars'' and went on to host the similar '' Dance Your Ass Off.'' From 2010-2011 she served as a co-host on the daily daytime talk show '' The Talk,'' ultimately leaving to focus on her clothing line and a new cable TV show. The cable TV show in question, when it premiered, proved to be a late-night talk show titled '' All About Sex,'' whose co-hosting duties she shared with Margaret Cho, Heather McDonald, and Dr. Tiffanie Davis Henry, which aired on ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nikki Blonsky
Nicole Blonsky (born November 9, 1988) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and internet personality. She is known for playing Tracy Turnblad in the film ''Hairspray'' (2007), for which she won two Critics' Choice Awards and received nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Blonsky has starred as Willamena Rader in the ABC Family series ''Huge'' (2010), for which she received a Teen Choice Award nomination, had a recurring role as Margot on the series ''Smash'' (2013), and had roles in the films ''Geography Club'' (2013) as Therese and ''The Last Movie Star'' (2017) as Faith. She is a licensed cosmetologist. Early life Blonsky was born and raised in Great Neck, New York. She and her brother Joey are the children of Karen, a school aide, and Carl Blonsky, a municipal worker for the village water pollution control district. Her father is Jewish, and her mother is Roman Catholic. Blonsky attended Great Neck North Middle School and attended Joh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ricki Lake
Ricki Pamela Lake (born September 21, 1968) is an American television host and actress. She is known for her lead role as Tracy Turnblad in the 1988 film ''Hairspray'', for which she received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. She is also known for her talk show, ''Ricki Lake'', which was broadcast internationally from September 1993 until May 2004. When the show debuted, Lake was 24 and credited as being the youngest person to host a syndicated talk show at the time. In late 2012, Lake began hosting a second syndicated talk show, ''The Ricki Lake Show''. The series was canceled in 2013 after a single season, but Lake won her first Daytime Emmy Award for the project. Early life Lake was born in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, to a secular Jewish family. Her parents are Jill (a homemaker) and Barry Lake (a pharmacist), though Lake was largely brought up by her paternal grandmother, Sylvia Lake, until Sylvia's death in 1978. Lake attended Ithaca ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jerry Stiller
Gerald Isaac Stiller (June 8, 1927 – May 11, 2020) was an American actor and comedian. He spent many years as part of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara with his wife, Anne Meara, to whom he was married for over 60 years until her death in 2015. Stiller saw a late-career resurgence starting in 1993, playing George Costanza's father Frank on the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', a part which earned him an Emmy nomination. The year ''Seinfeld'' went off the air, Stiller began his role as the eccentric Arthur Spooner on the CBS comedy series ''The King of Queens'', another role that garnered widespread acclaim. Stiller appeared together with his son Ben Stiller in films such as ''Zoolander'', ''Heavyweights'', ''Hot Pursuit'', '' The Heartbreak Kid'', and ''Zoolander 2''. He also performed voice-over work for films and television, including ''The Lion King 1½'' and '' Planes: Fire and Rescue''. In his later career, Stiller became known for portraying grumpy and eccentric characters who were n ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Waters (filmmaker)
John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including ''Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), ''Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and ''Female Trouble'' (1974). He wrote and directed the comedy film ''Hairspray'' (1988), which was an international success and was later adapted into a hit Broadway musical. He has written and directed other films, including ''Polyester'' (1981), ''Cry-Baby'' (1990), ''Serial Mom'' (1994), '' Pecker'' (1998), and ''Cecil B. Demented'' (2000). His films contain elements of post-modern comedy and surrealism. As an actor, Waters has appeared in ''Sweet and Lowdown'' (1999), ''Seed of Chucky'' (2004), '' 'Til Death Do Us Part'' (2007), '' Excision'' (2012), and ''Suburban Gothic'' (2014). More recently, he performs in his touring one-man show ''This Filthy World''. He often worked with actor and drag queen Divine and his regular cast of the Dreamlan ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Velma Kelly
Velma Kelly is one of the main characters in the successful 1975 Broadway musical ''Chicago''. Kelly is based on the character "Velma", who first appeared in the 1926 play, also called ''Chicago'', who was in-turn inspired by the life of Belva Gaertner. Character background Kelly is a nightclub singer/vaudevillian who had mediocre success as part of an acrobatics double act with her sister Veronica until, when she catches Veronica with her husband Charlie while on tour, she presumably kills them both (though she denies remembering it). She is sent to the Cook County Jail where she hires the best soliciting lawyer, Billy Flynn, a master of turning cases into a media circus to free his clients. The attention prompts an offer from the William Morris Agency to pay her more than fourteen times what she had made as her share of the proceeds from the double act with Veronica—once she is acquitted. Kelly's plans are upended when Roxie Hart, a failed vaudeville aspirant accused of murd ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |