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Pia Zadora
Pia Zadora (born Pia Alfreda Schipani, May 4, 1954) is an American actress and singer. After working as a child actress on Broadway, in regional theater, and in the film ''Santa Claus Conquers the Martians'' (1964), she came to national attention in 1981 when, following her starring role in the highly criticized ''Butterfly'', she won a Golden Globe Award as New Star of the Year while simultaneously winning the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress and the Worst New Star for the same performance. When in the 1980s Zadora's film career failed to achieve critical success, she switched her focus to music. As a singer, Zadora has released several albums featuring popular standards, often backed by a symphonic orchestra. She was nominated for a Grammy in 1984. Early life Zadora was born Pia Alfreda Schipani in Hoboken, New Jersey. Her father, Alphonse Schipani, was an Italian-American violinist, and her mother, Saturnina Schipani (née Zadorowski), was a Polish-American theatrica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Santa Claus Conquers The Martians
''Santa Claus Conquers the Martians'' is a 1964 American science fiction comedy film directed by Nicholas Webster, produced and written by Paul L. Jacobson, based on a story by Glenville Mareth, that stars John Call as Santa Claus. It also features a ten-year-old Pia Zadora as Girmar, one of the Martian children. The film also marks the first documented appearance of Mrs. Claus in a motion picture (Doris Rich plays the role), coming three weeks before the television special ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'', which also featured Mrs. Claus. The film regularly appears on lists of the worst films ever made, is regularly featured in the "bottom 100" list on the Internet Movie Database and was featured in an episode of the syndicated series of the '' Canned Film Festival'' of 1986. ''Santa Claus Conquers the Martians'' took on newfound fame in the 1990s after being featured on an episode of the comedy series ''Mystery Science Theater 3000''. That episode became a holiday staple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stacy Keach
Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor and narrator. He has played mainly dramatic roles throughout his career, often in law enforcement or as a private detective. His most prominent role was as Mickey Spillane's fictional detective Mike Hammer, which he played in numerous stand-alone television films and at least three television series throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The role earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination in 1984. He has appeared as the lead in films such as '' Fat City'' and ''The Ninth Configuration''. He has also performed as a narrator for programs including CNBC'S ''American Greed'' (2008–) and various educational television programs. Comedic roles include Ken, the father of comedian Christopher Titus in the FOX sitcom ''Titus'' (2000–2002), and as Sergeant Stedenko in Cheech & Chong's films '' Up in Smoke'' (1978) and ''Nice Dreams'' (1981). Keach won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for the televi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voyage Of The Rock Aliens
''Voyage of the Rock Aliens'' is a 1984 film directed by James Fargo and starring Pia Zadora and Craig Sheffer. Plot A guitar-shaped spaceship and Robot 1359 (voiced by Peter Cullen), search the universe for the source of rock and roll music. After discounting the planets Teldar and Malox, they come across Acirema. After listening to a dance/musical performance of “When the Rain Begins to Fall”, featuring Pia Zadora and Jermaine Jackson portraying members of rival gangs who fall in love, ala Romeo and Juliet, 1359 discounts this one too. The last planet left to visit is Earth. 1359 wakes the crew to visit the planet. A rocket telephone booth lands in the town of Speelburgh and ABCD (pronounced "Absid") (Tom Nolan) with his group of aliens exit. The humanoid aliens force robot 1359 to take the form of a fire hydrant. Only the Sheriff (Ruth Gordon) witnesses their landing, and she becomes obsessed with alien invaders. Dee Dee (Pia Zadora) is a singer in high school who is i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extraterrestrial Life
Extraterrestrial life, colloquially referred to as alien life, is life that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been conclusively detected, although efforts are underway. Such life might range from simple forms like prokaryotes to intelligent beings, possibly bringing forth civilizations that might be far more advanced than humankind. The Drake equation speculates about the existence of sapient life elsewhere in the universe. The science of extraterrestrial life is known as astrobiology. Speculation about the possibility of inhabited "worlds" outside the planet Earth dates back to antiquity. Multiple early Christian writers discussed the idea of a "plurality of worlds" as proposed by earlier thinkers such as Democritus; Augustine references Epicurus's idea of innumerable worlds "throughout the boundless immensity of space" (originally expressed in his Letter to Herodotus) in ''The City of God''. In his first century p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Lonely Lady
''The Lonely Lady'' is a 1983 American drama film directed by Peter Sasdy, adapted from Harold Robbins' 1976 novel of the same name, believed to have been based on Robbins' memories of Jacqueline Susann. The film stars Pia Zadora in the title role, Lloyd Bochner, Bibi Besch, Jared Martin and Ray Liotta in his film debut. The original music score was composed by Charlie Calello. The plot follows an aspiring screenwriter who deals with many abusive men in her attempts to achieve success in Hollywood. ''The Lonely Lady'' was the last adaptation of one of Robbins' novels before his death in 1997. Critically panned, the film was a box-office bomb, grossing only $1.2 million against a budget of between $6–7 million. Plot Jerilee Randall, an innocent high school student, living in the San Fernando Valley, dreams of becoming a famous writer. Shortly after winning a trophy for her creative writing, she meets Walt, the son of famous screenwriter Walter Thornton, at a party. She goes h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harold Robbins
Harold Robbins (May 21, 1916 – October 14, 1997) was an American author of popular novels. One of the best-selling writers of all time, he wrote over 25 best-sellers, selling over 750 million copies in 32 languages. Early life Robbins was born Harold Rubin in New York City, the son of Frances "Fannie" Smith and Charles Rubin. His parents were well-educated Jewish emigrants from the Russian Empire, his father from Odessa and his mother from Neshwies (Nyasvizh), south of Minsk. Robbins later falsely claimed to be a Jewish orphan who had been raised in a Catholic boys' home. Instead he was raised by his father, a pharmacist, and his stepmother, Blanche, in Brooklyn. Robbins dropped out of high school in the late 1920s to work in a variety of jobs, including errand boy, bookies' runner, and inventory clerk in a grocers. He was employed by Universal Pictures from 1940 to 1957, starting off as a clerk and rising to an executive. Work His first book was ''Never Love a Stranger'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Desi Arnaz Jr
Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV (born January 19, 1953), known professionally as Desi Arnaz Jr., is an American actor and musician. He is the son of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Early life Arnaz was born on January 19, 1953, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. His older sister is actress Lucie Arnaz, who was born in 1951. His birth was one of the most publicized in television history. His parents were the stars of the television sitcom ''I Love Lucy'', and Ball's pregnancy was part of the story line, which was considered daring in 1952. The same day Ball gave birth to Desi Jr., the fictional Lucy Ricardo gave birth to "Little Ricky." As a testament to how interested the American public was in Lucy's TV baby, Arnaz appeared on the cover of the very first issue of ''TV Guide'' with the headline "Lucy's $50,000,000 baby," ($ in dollars) because revenue from advertising tie-ins was expected to top that mark. Actor Richard Keith (a.k.a. Keith Thibodeaux) later po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Telly Savalas
Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American actor and singer whose career spanned four decades. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on the crime drama series ''Kojak'' (1973–1978) and James Bond archvillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the film '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (1969). Savalas' other roles include ''Birdman of Alcatraz'' (1962), ''The Greatest Story Ever Told'' (1965), ''Battle of the Bulge'' (1965), ''The Dirty Dozen'' (1967), ''Kelly's Heroes'' (1970), ''Horror Express'' (1972), ''Lisa and the Devil'' (1974) and ''Escape to Athena'' (1979). For ''Birdman of Alcatraz'', he was nominated for the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. As a singer, Savalas released a cover of the Bread song " If", which became a UK No. 1 single in 1975. The song also peaked at number 12 in Australia. Early life Aristotelis Savalas was born in Garden Ci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
B-movie
A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature (akin to B-sides for recorded music). However, the U.S. production of films intended as second features largely ceased by the end of the 1950s. With the emergence of commercial television at that time, film studio B movie production departments changed into television film production divisions. They created much of the same type of content in low budget films and series. The term ''B movie'' continues to be used in its broader sense to this day. In its post-Golden Age usage, B movies can range from lurid exploitation films to independent arthouse films. In either usage, most B movies represent a particular genre—the Western was a Golden Age B movie staple, while low-budget science-fiction and horror films became more popular in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Women In Prison Film
The women in prison film (or WiP film) is a subgenre of exploitation film that began in the early 20th century and continues to the present day. Their stories feature imprisoned women who are subjected to sexual and physical abuse, typically by sadistic male or female prison wardens, guards and other inmates. The genre also features many films in which imprisoned women engage in lesbian sex. WiP films are works of fiction intended as pornography. The films of this genre include a mixture of erotic adventures of the women in prison. The flexible format, and the loosening of film censorship laws in the 1960s, allowed filmmakers to depict more extreme fetishes, such as voyeurism (strip searches, group shower scenes, catfights), sexual fantasies (lesbianism, rape, sexual slavery), fetishism ( bondage, whipping, degradation), and sadism (beatings, torture, cruelty). Prior to these films, another expression of pornographic women in prison was found in "true adventure" men's magazines ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fake-Out
''Fake-Out'' (also released as ''Nevada Heat'') is a 1982 American crime comedy film directed by Matt Cimber, written by Cimber and John F. Goff, and starring Pia Zadora, Telly Savalas, Desi Arnaz Jr., and Larry Storch. Cast *Pia Zadora as Bobbie Warren *Telly Savalas as Lt. Thurston * Desi Arnaz Jr. as Det. Clint Morgan *Larry Storch as Ted *G. Wesley Stevens as Michelle *George Savalas as Pit Boss * Buddy Lester as Blackjack Player *Sammy Shore as Waiter * Nelson Sardelli as Danny Perelli *George Buck Flower as Merrich *Tim Rossovich as Roy *Matt Cimber as Don *Rusty Feuer as Happy Johnson *Mercedes Hawthorne-Maharis as Warden Curtis *Connie Hair as Roberta *Meshulam Riklis as Spiveck *Charlotte Laws as Sharon Production The film was Pia Zadora's second lead role in a feature. All her first three films as star were financed by the company of her then husband Meshulam Riklis (the others were ''Butterfly'' and ''The Lonely Lady''). Matt Cimber, who directed ''Butterfly'', also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden Raspberry Award
The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, the Razzie Awards' satirical annual ceremony has preceded its opposite, the Academy Awards, for four decades. The term '' raspberry'' is used in its irreverent sense, as in "blowing a raspberry". The statuette itself is a golf ball-sized raspberry atop a Super 8mm film reel spray-painted gold, with an estimated street value of $4.97. The Golden Raspberry Foundation has claimed that the award "encourages well-known filmmakers and top notch performers to own their bad." The first Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony was held on March 31, 1981, in John J. B. Wilson's living-room alcove in Hollywood, to honor the perceived worst films of the 1980 film season. To date, Sylvester Stallone is the most awarded actor ever with 10 awards. History ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
