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Fast Forward (1985 Film)
''Fast Forward'' is a 1985 dance film directed by Sidney Poitier. In the film, a dance troupe from Ohio comes to New York to compete in a national talent competition. Plot "The Adventurous Eight," a multiracial talented group of singing and dancing teenagers from Sandusky, Ohio crave stardom so badly that they spend their spare time rehearsing their original songs and dance routines in an old building every day after school. The group consists of two boys and 6 girls: Matt, Michael, June, Debbie, Rita, Francine, Meryl and Valerie. A tacit promise of an audition from Mr. Sabol, a well known dance executive, leads them to New York, where they are greeted by the news that he died. At his company headquarters, they prove they have met him personally, which leads them to a meeting with the current CEO, Clem Friedkin. Clem tells them the show they arrived to perform in has been postponed for three weeks and he doubts they'd make it past the first round. After pressing him, he promises ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Wesley
Richard Wesley (born July 11, 1945) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He is an associate professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in the Rita and Burton Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing. Early life Wesley was born in Newark, New Jersey, to George and Gertrude Wesley, and grew up in the Ironbound section.Galant, Debra"Look Homeward" ''The New York Times'', September 17, 2000. Accessed September 22, 2008. After finishing high school, he studied playwriting and dramatic literature at Howard University and graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1967. Freedman, Samuel G.br>"THEATER; One Struggle Over, Attention Turns to Guilt" ''The New York Times'', October 29, 1989. Accessed September 22, 2008. Career He first became known for the 1971 New York Shakespeare Festival of his play ''Black Terror,'' which portrayed the story of a black revolution. Clive Barnes, writing for ''The New York Times,'' described the play as a "winner" that "makes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irene Worth
Irene Worth, CBE (June 23, 1916March 10, 2002) was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the British and American theatre. She pronounced her given name with three syllables: "I-REE-nee". Worth made her Broadway debut in 1943, joined the Old Vic company in 1951 and the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1962. She won the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress for the 1958 film ''Orders to Kill''. Her other film appearances included ''Nicholas and Alexandra'' (1971) and '' Deathtrap'' (1982). A three-time Tony Award winner, she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for ''Tiny Alice'' in 1965 and ''Sweet Bird of Youth'' in 1976, and won the 1991 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for ''Lost in Yonkers'', a role she reprised in the 1993 film version. One of her later stage performances was opposite Paul Scofield in the 2001 production of ''I Take Your Hand in Mine'' at the Almeida Theatre in London. Early life Harriett Elizabeth Ab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Narada Michael Walden
Narada Michael Walden ( ; Michael Walden; born April 23, 1952) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He acquired the nickname Narada from Sri Chinmoy. He began his career as a drummer, working primarily in the jazz fusion realm, appearing with John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Chick Corea, Jaco Pastorius, Wayne Shorter and Weather Report, and Allan Holdsworth. After being mentored by Quincy Jones, he transitioned into a role as a songwriter and producer, working in the 1980s and 1990s with numerous R & B acts such as Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, as well as other singers across a number of genres. In 2020, he became the drummer for Journey, replacing Steve Smith. In 2021, he became one of two drummers in the band alongside the returning Deen Castronovo prior to leaving in 2022. He appears on the band's album ''Freedom'' (2022), having co-produced and played on the album before his departure. Biography Walden was born i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John "Jellybean" Benitez
John Benitez (born November 7, 1957), also known as Jellybean, is an American musician, songwriter, DJ, remixer, and music producer. He has produced and remixed artists such as Madonna, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and the Pointer Sisters. He was later the executive producer of Studio 54 Radio. In December 2016, ''Billboard magazine'' ranked him as the 99th most successful dance artist of all-time. Life and career Early life Benitez was born in the South Bronx neighborhood of New York City, the son of Puerto Rican parents. After his parents divorced, Benitez and his younger sister Debbie were raised by their mother, who worked in the executive offices of Sloan's supermarkets. Benitez grew up enjoying music and would watch deejays at local clubs. Benitez borrowed his sister's record player and practiced on two turntables. His sister, nicknamed him Jellybean as his initials are J.B. and from the expression "Know what I mean, Jellybean?," he said. Benitez attended De Witt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Bahler
Thomas Lee Bahler (also spelled Bähler; born June 1, 1943) is an American singer, composer, songwriter, arranger, producer, and author. He is the younger brother of singer, arranger, conductor and composer John Bahler. Bahler is most known for his song "She's Out of My Life"; recorded by Michael Jackson, the song was originally written for Frank Sinatra, who never recorded it. In Bahler's early career, he worked with Jan Berry (of Jan and Dean). Later, he and his elder brother John were vocalists in the Ron Hicklin Singers. Together with The Wrecking Crew (music), the Wrecking Crew, the Bahler brothers have sung, produced, and arranged hundreds of worldwide hits. They were the featured background voices on The Partridge Family recordings in the 1970s. The Love Generation John and Tom Bahler tried their hands with their own band The Love Generation which was not a great success. They made three records as a band. The last record, "Montage", is considered to be a project just by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award nominations, 28 Grammys, and a Grammy Legend Award in 1992. Jones came to prominence in the 1950s as a jazz arranger and conductor before working on pop music and film scores. He moved easily between musical genres, producing pop hit records for Lesley Gore in the early 1960s (including " It's My Party") and serving as an arranger and conductor for several collaborations between the jazz artists Frank Sinatra and Count Basie in the same time period. In 1968, Jones became the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "The Eyes of Love" from the film '' Banning''. Jones was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work on the 1967 film ''In Cold Blood'', making him the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hot Dance Music/Club Play
Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as the Disco Action Top 30 chart on August 28, 1976, and became the first chart by ''Billboard'' to document the popularity of dance music. The first number-one song on the chart for the issue dated August 28, 1976, was "You Should Be Dancing" by the Bee Gees, spending five weeks atop the chart and the group's only number-one song on the chart. In January 2017, ''Billboard'' proclaimed Madonna as the most successful artist in the history of the chart, ranking her first in their list of the 100 top all-time dance artists. Madonna holds the record for the most number-one songs with 50. Katy Perry holds the record for having eighteen consecutive number-one songs. Perry's third studio album, '' Teenage Dream'' (2010), became the first album in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siedah Garrett
Deborah Christine "Siedah" Garrett (born June 24, 1960) is an American singer and songwriter who has written songs and performed backing vocals for many recording artists in the music industry, such as Michael Jackson, the Pointer Sisters, Brand New Heavies, Quincy Jones, Tevin Campbell, Donna Summer, Madonna, Jennifer Hudson among others. Garrett has been nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Original Song, and won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards for co-writing "Love You I Do" (performed by Jennifer Hudson) for the 2006 musical film, ''Dreamgirls''. Biography Garrett was born on June 24, 1960, in Los Angeles and raised in Compton, where she started singing as a child. Born Deborah Christine Garrett, she opted to change her name at age 13, because of the disdain she had towards her birth name. Garrett said, "It's a pretty name but nobody called me Deborah. It was always abbreviated to Deb, Debbie, or DeeDee. I hated it". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Ryan (actor)
Paul Ryan (June 11, 1945 – April 23, 2015), born Bernard Paul Feldman, was an American actor, producer and television personality. His television roles included bit parts in '' Bewitched'', ''Emergency!'', '' Mission: Impossible'', ''Night Court'', '' Murder, She Wrote'' and '' Desperate Housewives''. His film appearances include '' Coma'' (1978), '' The Promise'' (1979), ''Star 80'' (1983), and ''Fast Forward'' (1985). Ryan also worked as a correspondent for '' Entertainment Tonight'' and ''KTLA Morning News''. Death Ryan died at the Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California of leukemia in 2015, aged 69. Partial filmography *''Butterflies Are Free'' (1972) – Man in Mod Shop (uncredited) *'' Coma'' (1978) – 1st Technician *'' Starhops'' (1978) – Norman *'' The Promise'' (1979) – Doctor Fenton *'' The Last Word'' (1979) – Denise's Date *'' Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen'' (1981) – Masten *''Star 80'' (1983) – Radio Interviewe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert DoQui
Robert DoQui (April 20, 1934 – February 9, 2008) was an American actor who starred in film and on television. He is best known for his roles as King George in the 1973 film ''Coffy'', starring Pam Grier; as Wade in Robert Altman's 1975 film ''Nashville''; and as Sgt. Warren Reed in the 1987 science fiction film ''RoboCop'', the 1990 sequel ''RoboCop 2'', and the 1993 sequel ''RoboCop 3''. He starred on television and is also known for his voice as Pablo Robertson on the cartoon series ''Harlem Globetrotters'' from 1970 to 1973. Early life DoQui was born on April 20, 1934, in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He served in the U.S. Air Force before heading to Hollywood in the early 1960s. DoQui was married to Janee Michelle from 1969 until 1978. Career He is best known for his roles as the flashy pimp King George in the 1973 blaxploitation film ''Coffy''. He starred in the miniseries ''Centennial'' in 1978, and the television film ''The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson'' in 1990. He st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constance Towers
Constance Mary Towers (born May 20, 1933) is an American film, stage, and television actress, and singer. She gained prominence for her appearances in several mainstream 1950s films before transitioning to theater, starring in numerous Broadway productions through the 1970s. Her accolades include two Emmy Award nominations. Beginning in 1965, Towers embarked on a career in theater, making her Broadway debut in the musical '' Anya'', opposite Lillian Gish, followed by a 1966 production of ''Show Boat'' at Lincoln Center. Towers starred in four other Broadway productions throughout the 1970s, most notably as Anna in ''The King and I'' in 1977 and 1978. Her later career largely has been based in television, with roles as matriarch Clarissa McCandless on the daytime drama ''Capitol'' from 1982 to 1987, and the villainous Helena Cassadine on ''General Hospital'', which she began portraying in 1997. Early life Towers was born May 20, 1931 in Whitefish, Montana, one of two daughters bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David White (actor)
David White (April 4, 1916 – November 27, 1990) was an American stage, film, and television actor best known for playing Darrin Stephens' boss Larry Tate from 1964 to 1972 on the ABC situation comedy ''Bewitched''. Early life Born on April 4, 1916, in Denver, Colorado, he later moved with his family to Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Los Angeles City College and began acting at the Pasadena Playhouse and the Cleveland Play House. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, and after his discharge, made his Broadway debut in 1949 in ''Leaf and Bough''. Career White appeared on numerous television series in the 1950s and 1960s, including ''One Step Beyond'', where he played a police officer. He made two guest appearances on the CBS courtroom drama ''Perry Mason''. In 1960, he played Henry De Garmo in "The Case of the Madcap Modiste" and in 1963, he played newspaper editor and murderer Victor Kendall in "The Case of the Witless Witness". He al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
