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The Last American Hero
''The Last American Hero'' (also known as ''Hard Driver'') is a 1973 American sports drama film based on the true story of NASCAR driver Junior Johnson. Directed by Lamont Johnson (no relation), the film stars Jeff Bridges as Junior Jackson, a character based on Johnson. It is based on Tom Wolfe's essay "The Last American Hero Is Junior Johnson. Yes!", which was first published in ''Esquire'' magazine in March 1965 and included in his debut collection of essays, ''The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby'', later that year. The film's theme song, " I Got a Name", sung by Jim Croce, was released in September 1973 as a single, peaking at No. 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 4 on its Easy Listening chart. Plot Junior Jackson is a restless young man who finds himself the family breadwinner when his father, a career moonshiner, is arrested and sentenced to one-year imprisonment. Junior is an outstanding driver, so he enters a demolition derby promoted by Hackel, the own ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lamont Johnson
Ernest Lamont Johnson Jr. (September 30, 1922 – October 24, 2010) was an American actor and film director who has appeared in and directed many television shows and movies. He won two Emmy Awards. Early years Johnson was born in Stockton, California, the son of Ruth Alice ( née Fairchild) and Ernest Lamont Johnson, who was a realtor. He attended Pasadena Junior College and UCLA and was active in theatrical productions at both schools. Acting When he was 16, Johnson began his career in radio, eventually playing the role of Tarzan in a popular syndicated series in 1951. He also worked as a newscaster and a disc jockey. Johnson was also one of several actors to play Archie Goodwin in ''The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe'', opposite Sydney Greenstreet on NBC Radio. He then turned to films and television, first as an actor, then as a director. Directing Johnson's directing debut came in 1948 with the play ''Yes Is For a Very Young Man'' in New York. His television ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billboard (magazine)
''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music industry. Its music charts include the Hot 100, the 200, and the Global 200, tracking the most popular albums and songs in different genres of music. It also hosts events, owns a publishing firm, and operates several TV shows. ''Billboard'' was founded in 1894 by William Donaldson and James Hennegan as a trade publication for bill posters. Donaldson later acquired Hennegan's interest in 1900 for $500. In the early years of the 20th century, it covered the entertainment industry, such as circuses, fairs, and burlesque shows, and also created a mail service for travelling entertainers. ''Billboard'' began focusing more on the music industry as the jukebox, phonograph, and radio became commonplace. Many topics it covered were spun-off ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lane Smith
Walter Lane Smith III (April 29, 1936 – June 13, 2005) was an American actor. His well-known roles included newspaper editor Perry White in the ABC series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', Walter Warner in ''Son in Law'', collaborator entrepreneur Nathan Bates in the NBC television series '' V'', Mayor Bates in the film ''Red Dawn'', Coach Jack Reilly in ''The Mighty Ducks'', district attorney Jim Trotter III in ''My Cousin Vinny'', U.S. Congressman Dick Dodge in ''The Distinguished Gentleman'' and U.S. President Richard Nixon in ''The Final Days'', for which he received a Golden Globe award nomination. Early life Lane Smith was born in 1936 in Memphis, Tennessee. He graduated from the Leelanau School, a boarding school in Glen Arbor, Michigan, and spent one year boarding at the Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, before going off to study at the Actors Studio in the late 1950s and early 1960s along with Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino; he was recognized in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Ligon
Thomas Ligon (born September 10, 1940) is an actor of Cajun ancestry. He appeared in the films '' Paint Your Wagon'', ''Jump'', and ''Bang the Drum Slowly'' (in which he also sang the title song) as well as the television series ''The Young and the Restless'', and '' Oz''. Life and career Mentored by folksinger and actor Gordon Heath in Paris, beginning in the mid 1950s, Ligon then attended St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.), where he suffered a broken leg while playing football, and, sans sports, his interests turned solidly toward theater. At Yale, where he was a member of Skull and Bones and graduated as an English major (1962), he was discovered by Tennessee Williams, who saw his performance as Kilroy in Williams' play, '' Camino Real'' at the Yale Dramatic Association. Ligon became one of the most sought after young actors in New York in the 1960s. Ligon has appeared on many prominent regional stages in the U.S., notably the Arena Stage where he played the title role i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gregory Walcott
Gregory Walcott (born Bernard Wasdon Mattox, January 13, 1928 – March 20, 2015) was an American television and film actor. Although he had roles in many Hollywood films and television series, he is perhaps best known for having appeared in the 1994 film ''Ed Wood'' and Wood's ''Plan 9 from Outer Space'' from 1957.Rudolph Grey, Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1992). pg. 203. ISBN 978-0-922915-24-8. Early years Walcott was born Bernard Wasdon Mattox in Wendell, North Carolina, on January 13, 1928. He was raised in Wilson, North Carolina. Walcott served in the United States Army towards the end of World War II and the Korean War. Career While serving in the United States Army, Walcott appeared as a marine corps drill instructor in the film ''Battle Cry'' (1955), then as a shore patrolman in 1955's war-themed classic '' Mister Roberts'', again as a marine corps drill instructor in '' The Outsider'' (1961), and later in '' Midway'' (1976) as Capt. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Smith II
William Emmett Smith (March 24, 1933 – July 5, 2021) was an American actor. In a Hollywood career spanning more than 79 years, he appeared in almost three hundred feature films and television productions in a wide variety of character roles, accumulating over 980 total credits, with his best known role being the menacing Anthony Falconetti in the 1970s television mini-series '' Rich Man, Poor Man''. Smith is also known for films like ''Any Which Way You Can'' (1980), ''Conan The Barbarian'' (1982), ''Rumble Fish'' (1983), and ''Red Dawn'' (1984), as well as lead roles in several exploitation films during the 1990s. Early life and career Smith was born on March 24, 1933, in Columbia, Missouri, to William Emmett Smith and Emily Richards Smith, and grew up on the cattle ranch owned by his parents. His family later moved to Southern California, where he began his acting career at the age of eight in 1942; entering films as a child actor in such films as ''The Ghost of Frankenst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ed Lauter
Edward Matthew Lauter Jr. ( ; October 30, 1938 – October 16, 2013) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He appeared in more than 200 films and TV series episodes in a career that spanned over 40 years. Early life Lauter was born and raised in Long Beach, New York, the son of Edward Matthew Lauter and Sally Lee, a 1920s Broadway actress and dancer. He was of German and Irish descent. After graduating from high school, he majored in English Literature in college and received a B.A. degree in 1961 from the C.W. Post campus of Long Island University. While in college, he played basketball. Lauter served for two years in the United States Army. Career Lauter's first acting role was a small part in the Broadway production of ''The Great White Hope'', a boxing drama, in 1968. Before that, he was a stand-up comedian. His screen acting debut was in a 1971 episode of the television series ''Mannix''. His first theatrical film role was in the Western ''Dirty Little Billy'' in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Art Lund
Arthur Lund (April 1, 1915 – May 31, 1990) was an American baritone singer, initially with bandleaders Benny Goodman and Harry James, and was also a television and stage actor. Biography Arthur Lund was a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University, and received his master's degree from the United States Naval Academy in aerological engineering. Lund was a high school math teacher in Kentucky who worked as a musician on the side. He left teaching to tour with Jimmy Ray and his band. He originally billed himself as Art London. He found work early on as a vocalist with a band led by clarinetist Jimmy Joy. A better-known clarinetist whom Lund would later sing with was Benny Goodman, with whom he cut several records, including “Blue Skies,” “On the Alamo,” and (in duet with Peggy Lee) “Winter Weather” and “If You Build a Better Mousetrap”. In addition to his work with the King of Swing, Lund sang and recorded with bandmaster and trumpet king Harry James. https:// ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gary Busey
Gary Busey (; born 1944) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Buddy Holly in ''The Buddy Holly Story'' (1978), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor. His other starring roles include '' A Star is Born'' (1976), ''D.C. Cab'' (1983), ''Silver Bullet'' (1985), ''Lethal Weapon'' (1987), ''Predator 2'' (1990), ''Point Break'' (1991), ''Under Siege'' (1992), '' Rookie of the Year'' (1993), '' The Firm'' (1993), '' Black Sheep'' (1996) and '' Lost Highway'' (1997). Early life Busey was born in Goose Creek, Texas. While he was in fourth grade, Busey moved from Goose Creek to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he later attended Bell Junior High School, then attended and graduated from Nathan Hale High School. Busey attended Coffeyville Community College before attending Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, on a football scholarship, where he became interested in acting. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ned Beatty
Ned Thomas Beatty (July 6, 1937 – June 13, 2021) was an American actor and comedian. In a career that spanned five decades, he appeared in more than 160 films. Throughout his career, Beatty gained a reputation for being "the busiest actor in Hollywood". His film appearances included ''Deliverance'' (1972), ''White Lightning (1973 film), White Lightning'' (1973), ''All the President's Men (film), All the President's Men'' (1976), ''Network (1976 film), Network'' (1976), ''Superman (1978 film), Superman'' (1978), ''Superman II'' (1980), ''Back to School'' (1986), ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''Shooter (2007 film), Shooter'' (2007), and ''Toy Story 3'' (2010). Beatty was nominated for an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain, and a Golden Globe Award; he also won a Drama Desk Award. Early life Beatty was born on July 6, 1937, in Louisville, Kentucky, to Margaret (''née'' Fortney) and Charles William Beatty. He had an older sister, M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AllMovie
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-culture archivist Michael Erlewine, who also founded AllMusic and AllGame. The AllMovie database was licensed to tens of thousands of distributors and retailers for point-of-sale systems, websites and kiosks. The AllMovie database is comprehensive, including basic product information, cast and production credits, plot synopsis, professional reviews, biographies, relational links and more. AllMovie data was accessed on the web at the AllMovie website. It was also available via the AMG LASSO media recognition service, which can automatically recognize DVDs. In late 2007, TiVo Corporation acquired AMG for a reported $72 million. The AMG consumer facing web properties AllMusic.com, AllMovie.com and AllGame.com were sold by Rovi in August 2013 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Demolition Derby
Demolition derby is a non-racing motorsport usually presented at county fairs and festivals. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their vehicles into one another. The last driver whose vehicle is still operational is awarded the victory. Demolition derbies originated in the United States and quickly spread to other Western nations. For example, Australia's first demolition derby took place in January 1963. In the UK and parts of Europe, demolition derbies (sometimes called "destruction derbies") are often held at the end of a full day of banger racing. In demolition derbies, serious injuries such as whiplash Whiplash may refer to: * The long flexible part of a whip * Whiplash (medicine), a neck injury ** Whiplash Injury Protection System (WHIPS), in automobiles Film and television * ''Whiplash'' (1948 film), a US film noir about a boxer * ''Whiplas ... are rare but they do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
