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Mr. Saturday Night
''Mr. Saturday Night'' is a 1992 American comedy-drama film that marked the directorial debut of its star, Billy Crystal. It focuses on the rise and fall of Buddy Young Jr., a stand-up comedian. Crystal produced and co-wrote the screenplay with the writing duo Babaloo Mandel and Lowell Ganz. It was filmed from November 1991 to March 1992 and released on September 23, 1992, by Columbia Pictures. Co-star David Paymer received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Plot Stand-up comedian Buddy Young Jr. became a television star with the help of his brother and manager, Stan, but alienated many of those closest to him once his career began to fade. Through a series of flashbacks, the brothers are seen during childhood entertaining their family in the living room. The older Buddy continues his career as a comic in the Catskills, where he meets his future wife, Elaine. As Buddy's fame grows, so does his ego. He hits the big time with his own Saturday night televisio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Crystal
William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He gained prominence in the 1970s and 1980s for television roles as Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom ''Soap'' and as a cast member and frequent host of ''Saturday Night Live''. Crystal then became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in '' Running Scared'' (1986), ''The Princess Bride'' (1987), ''Throw Momma from the Train'' (1987), ''Memories of Me'' (1988), '' When Harry Met Sally...'' (1989), ''City Slickers'' (1991), ''Mr. Saturday Night'' (1992), ''Analyze This'' (1999), and '' Parental Guidance'' (2012). He provided the voice of Mike Wazowski in the ''Monsters, Inc.'' franchise. He also starred on the Broadway stage in ''700 Sundays'' in 2004 and again in 2014 and in ''Mr. Saturday Night'' in 2022. Cryst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas close to or within the borders of the Catskill Park, a forest preserve protected from many forms of development under New York state law. Geologically, the Catskills are a mature dissected plateau, a flat region subsequently uplifted and eroded into sharp relief by watercourses. The Catskills form the northeastern end of the Allegheny Plateau (also known as the Appalachian Plateau). The Catskills were named by early Dutch settlers. They are well known in American society as the setting for films and works of art, including many 19th-century Hudson River School paintings, as well as for being a favored destination for vacationers from New York City in the mid-20th century. The region's many large resorts gave many young stand-up comedian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded CinemaScore in 1979 after disliking ''The Cheap Detective'' despite being a fan of Neil Simon, and hearing another disappointed attendee wanting to hear the opinions of ordinary people instead of critics. A Yom Kippur donation card with tabs inspired the survey cards given to audience members. The company conducts surveys to audiences who have seen a film in theaters, asking them to rate the film and specifying what drew them to the film. Its results are published in ''Entertainment Weekly''. CinemaScore also conducts surveys to determine audience interest in renting films on video, breaking the demographic down by age and sex and passing along information to video companies such as Fox Video Corporation. CinemaScore pollster Dede Gilmore re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang. Although the name "Rotten Tomatoes" connects to the practice of audiences throwing rotten tomatoes in disapproval of a poor stage performance, the original inspiration comes from a scene featuring tomatoes in the Canadian film ''Léolo'' (1992). Since January 2010, Rotten Tomatoes has been owned by Flixster, which was in turn acquired by Warner Bros in 2011. In February 2016, Rotten Tomatoes and its parent site Flixster were sold to Comcast's Fandango. Warner Bros. retained a minority stake in the merged entities, including Fandango. History Rotten Tomatoes was launched on August 12, 1998, as a spare-time project by Senh Duong. His objective in creating Rotten Tomatoes was "to create a site where people can get access to reviews from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saul Bass
Saul Bass (; May 8, 1920 – April 25, 1996) was an American graphic designer and Oscar-winning filmmaker, best known for his design of motion-picture title sequences, film posters, and corporate logos. During his 40-year career, Bass worked for some of Hollywood's most prominent filmmakers, including Alfred Hitchcock, Otto Preminger, Billy Wilder, Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorsese. Among his best known title sequences are the animated paper cut-out of a heroin addict's arm for Preminger's ''The Man with the Golden Arm'', the credits racing up and down what eventually becomes a high-angle shot of a skyscraper in Hitchcock's ''North by Northwest'', and the disjointed text that races together and apart in '' Psycho''. Bass designed some of the most iconic corporate logos in North America, including the Geffen Records logo in 1980, the Hanna-Barbera "swirling star" logo in 1979, the sixth and final version of the Bell System logo in 1969, as well as AT&T Corporation's fir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elaine Makatura Bass
Elaine Bass (née Makatura, born 1927) is an American title designer and filmmaker. Elaine worked for 40 years alongside Saul Bass, a graphic designer, title designer, and filmmaker whom she married in 1961. Together, they developed many projects for directors such as Martin Scorsese and Danny DeVito. She is one of the main designers who helped to elevate the short film and the title sequence to an art form. Early life Elaine Bass was born in 1927 in New York City, United States, to Hungarian immigrants. The youngest of four daughters, Elaine showed early promise at art, creating stories and drawing them, frame by frame, on the sidewalk. In the early 1940s, the girls began singing professionally as the Belmont Sisters. At the age of twelve, Elaine was admitted to the New York High School of Music and Art but withdrew in order to pursue her professional singing. She was the lead singer and soloist, and recordings made when she was fourteen to eighteen reveal a surprisingly mature ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York Friars' Club
The Friars Club is a private club in New York City. Famous for its risqué roasts, the club's membership is composed mostly of comedians and other celebrities. Founded in 1904, it is located at 57 East 55th Street, between Park Avenue and Madison Avenue, in the historic Martin Erdmann House (now known as the Monastery). History Early years The organization traces its roots to 1904, when representatives of the Broadway theaters working with New York publicists organized the Press Agents' Association to exchange lists of people who were fraudulently receiving complimentary passes to shows. The group regularly met at Browne's Chop House.The Story of the Friars Friars Club. Shortly thereafter it began its tribute dinners to theatrical celebrities, the first being |
Jackie Gayle
Jackie Gayle (March 1, 1926 – November 23, 2002), born Jack Potovsky, was an American standup comedian and actor. He performed as a comedian for 40 years, appearing in nightclubs and in Las Vegas, including working as the opening act for such performers as Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.Myrna Oliver"Jackie Gayle, 76; Stand-Up Comic, Movie and TV Character Actor" ''Los Angeles Times'', November 27, 2002. He also appeared on more than 20 episodes of ''The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast''. His acting credits include Barry Levinson's ''Tin Men'' (1987), Woody Allen's ''Broadway Danny Rose'' (1984) and Warren Beatty's ''Bulworth'' (1998), among others. Partial filmography *'' The Seven Minutes'' (1971) - Norman Quandt *''Wacky Taxi'' (1972) - Projectionist *''Mafia on the Bounty'' (1980) - Pinky / Captain Bligh *''Tempest'' (1982) - Trinc *''Broadway Danny Rose'' (1984) - Jackie Gayle *''Tin Men'' (1987) - Sam *'' Plain Clothes'' (1987) - Coach Zeffer *''Bert Rigby, You're a Fool'' (19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slappy White
Melvin Edward "Slappy" White (September 27, 1921 – November 7, 1995) was an American comedian and actor. He worked with Redd Foxx on the Chitlin' Circuit of stand-up comedy during the 1950s and 1960s. He appeared on the television shows ''Sanford and Son'', '' That's My Mama'', ''Blossom'', and '' Cybill'' and in the films '' Mr. Saturday Night'' and ''Amazon Women on the Moon''. Biography White was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 27, 1921. His official biography reported that he "ran away to join the circus" as a child. White was born near the old Royal Theatre in Baltimore, where by the age of 10, he used to dance outside for coins and sold candy at the theater. He left Baltimore at the age of 13 because he was in danger of being sent to reform school because of his school absences. White joined a traveling carnival and made a living as a tap dancer with the troupe. He was eventually picked up by police and returned to his family, but could not trade show busine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Ballantine
Carl Ballantine (September 28, 1917 – November 4, 2009) was an American magician, comedian and actor. Billing himself as "The Great Ballantine", "The Amazing Ballantine" or "Ballantine: The World's Greatest Magician", his vaudeville-style comedy routine involved transparent or incompetent stage magic tricks, which tended to flop and go "hilariously awry" to the wisecracking Ballantine's mock chagrin. He has been credited with creating comedy magic and has influenced comedians and magicians alike. Early life and career Ballantine was born Meyer Kessler in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Israel Kessler (1884–1930) and Rose Cohen (1890–1974), both Jewish immigrants from Borshchiv, Ukraine, and Russian Poland (then part of the Austrian Empire and Second Polish Republic). Nicknamed the "Jipper," he was inspired at age 9 by his barber who would do magic tricks with thimbles while cutting his hair. His first job was working as a printer. In the 1930s, Kessler was doing profession ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture, Lewis was nicknamed "The King of Comedy". Starting in 1946, he teamed with singer Dean Martin to form the famous Martin and Lewis, then in 1956, went on as a solo act on stage, top-grossing movie star, a staple on television and filmmaker. He starred in 60 films, directed 13 movies and was an early and prominent user of video assist, which allows real-time review of how a scene looks on camera. During his years as national chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), Lewis supported fundraising for muscular dystrophy research and hosted ''The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon, The Jerry Lewis Telethon'', which raised $2.6 billion. Early life Lewis was born Joseph Levitch on March 16, 1926, in Newark, New Jersey, to a Jewi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Mara
Mary T. Mara (September 21, 1960 – June 26, 2022) was an American television and film actress known for her main role as Inspector Bryn Carson on ''Nash Bridges'' and appearances on primetime dramas '' ER'' and ''Law & Order''. She also appeared in ''Mr. Saturday Night''. Early life and education Mara was born in Syracuse, New York, on September 21, 1960. Her father, Roger, worked as the director of special events for the New York State Fair; her mother, Lucille, was an accountant. Mara had a brother and two sisters. She attended Corcoran High School in Syracuse. After graduating, she studied at San Francisco State University and the Yale School of Drama, obtaining a Master of Fine Arts from the latter institution. Career Mara made her film debut in the 1989 television film ''The Preppie Murder''. In the same year, she participated in the New York Shakespeare Festival's production of ''Twelfth Night'', alongside Michelle Pfeiffer, Jeff Goldblum and Mary Elizabeth Mastra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
