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Thunderbolt And Lightfoot
''Thunderbolt and Lightfoot'' is a 1974 American crime comedy film written and directed by Michael Cimino and starring Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, George Kennedy, and Geoffrey Lewis. Plot A young ne'er-do-well, Lightfoot steals a car. Elsewhere, an assassin attempts to shoot a preacher who is delivering a sermon at his pulpit. The preacher escapes on foot. Lightfoot, who happens to be driving by, inadvertently rescues the preacher by running over his pursuer and giving the preacher a lift. They steal a series of cars, patronize prostitutes, and escape another attempt on their lives by two men. Lightfoot learns that the "minister" is a notorious bank robber (known as "The Thunderbolt" for his use of an Oerlikon 20 mm cannon to break into a safe) who has been hiding out in the guise of a clergyman following the robbery of a Montana bank. Thunderbolt tells Lightfoot that the ones trying to kill him are members of his gang who mistakenly think Thunderbolt double-crossed them ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Cimino
Michael Antonio Cimino ( ; February 3, 1939 – July 2, 2016) was an American filmmaker. One of the "New Hollywood" directors, Cimino achieved fame with ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978), which won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Born in New York City, Cimino began his career filming commercials and moved to Los Angeles to take up screenwriting in 1971. After co-writing the scripts of ''Silent Running'' (1972) and ''Magnum Force'' (1973), he wrote the preliminary script for ''Thunderbolt and Lightfoot'' (1974), which became his directorial debut, and one of the highest-grossing films of its year. The critical accolades for co-writing, directing, and producing ''The Deer Hunter'' in 1978 led to Cimino receiving creative control for '' Heaven's Gate'' (1980). The film became a critical failure and a legendary box-office bomb, which lost production studio United Artists an estimated $37 million. Its failure was widely credited with Hollywood studios shifting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oerlikon 20 mm Cannon
The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models employed by both Allied and Axis forces during World War II. Many versions of the cannon are still used today. Blowback-operated models History Origins During World War I, the German industrialist Reinhold Becker developed a 20 mm caliber cannon, known now as the 20 mm Becker using the advanced primer ignition blowback (API blowback) method of operation. This used a 20×70mmRB cartridge and had a cyclic rate of fire of 300 rpm. It was used on a limited scale as an aircraft gun on ''Luftstreitkräfte'' warplanes, and an anti-aircraft gun towards the end of that war. Because the Treaty of Versailles banned further production of such weapons in Germany, the patents and design works were transferred in 1919 to the Swiss firm SEMAG (''Seebach ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vic Tayback
Victor E. Tayback (January 6, 1930 – May 25, 1990) was an American actor. He is known for his role as Mel Sharples in the film '' Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'' (1974) and the television series '' Alice'' (1976–1985). The latter earned him two consecutive Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. Life and career Tayback was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Helen (née Hanood) and Najeeb James Tayback. His parents were immigrants from Aleppo, Syria. He moved with his family to Burbank, California during his teenage years and attended Burbank High School, from which he graduated in 1947. He also attended Glendale Community College and the Frederick A. Speare School of Radio and TV Broadcasting. Tayback served in the United States Navy before beginning his acting career at the age of 25. A lifetime member of the Actors Studio, he was a familiar face on television in the 1960s and 1970s, appearing on numerous series, including ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'', '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill McKinney
William Denison McKinney (September 12, 1931 – December 1, 2011) was an American character actor. He played the sadistic mountain man in John Boorman's 1972 film ''Deliverance'' and appeared in seven Clint Eastwood films, most notably as Captain Terrill, the commander pursuing the last rebels to "hold out" against surrendering to the Union forces in ''The Outlaw Josey Wales''. Early life William Denison McKinney was born September 12, 1931, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He had an unsettled life as a child, moving 12 times. At the age of 19, he joined the Navy during the Korean War. He served two years on a mine sweeper in Korean waters, and was stationed at Port Hueneme in Ventura County, California. While on leave, he visited Los Angeles and decided he wanted to become an actor. Upon his discharge in 1954, he settled in California, attending acting school at the famous Pasadena Playhouse in 1957. His classmates included Dustin Hoffman and Mako Iwamatsu. During this time, McKinne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claudia Lennear
Claudia Lennear (born Claudia Joy Offley; 1946) is an American soul singer and educator. Lennear began her performing with the Superbs before becoming an Ikette in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. She was also a background vocalist for various acts, including Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, and Freddie King. She released her only solo album in 1973. Lennear was featured in the 2013 Oscar-winning documentary ''20 Feet from Stardom''. She was inducted in the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame in 2019. Early life Lennear was born Claudia Joy Offley at Providence Lying-In Hospital in Rhode Island. Her last name was changed after her mother married Leo V. Lennear, a Navy man stationed in Newport. She grew up in different neighborhoods in Providence. Although raised a Catholic, her grandmother taught her to sing gospel songs as a child. In elementary school, Lennear studied music theory and took French at St. Charles Borromeo parochial school. Her career goal was to become a translator at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roy Jenson
Roy Cameron Jenson, also known and credited as Roy Jensen, (February 9, 1927 – April 24, 2007) was a Canadian American football player, stuntman, and actor. Early years Born in Calgary, Alberta, Jenson moved to Los Angeles with his family as a child. He joined the United States Navy and then graduated from UCLA where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity. He then became a professional Canadian football player for the Calgary Stampeders and the BC Lions from 1951 through 1957. Jenson was a lumberjack and a construction worker before he joined the United States Navy in World War II. Television Jenson guest starred on NBC's television series ''Daniel Boone'' during the fourth season (1968–1969); however, he is remembered by many as the first man beaten up by Caine on the television series ''Kung Fu'' (1972), for his appearance in the ''Star Trek'' episode "The Omega Glory" and as the villain Puddler in ''Harper'', he worked frequently in television in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burton Gilliam
Burton Gilliam (born August 9, 1938) is an American actor. He is best known for memorable roles in several popular 1970s movies, such as '' Blazing Saddles'' and '' Paper Moon'', as well as comedic cameos in '' Back to the Future, Part III'' and ''Honeymoon in Vegas''. Biography Career Before acting, Gilliam was a member of the Coast Guard's boxing team, where he won 201 out of 217 fights. He remained in the boxing world for decades, working as a referee in California. While working as a fireman for the city of Dallas, Gilliam appeared in the role of "Floyd", the desk clerk, in the film '' Paper Moon''. He then went on to appear in such popular movies as '' Blazing Saddles'' and '' Back to the Future Part III''. Performing in ''Blazing Saddles'' was difficult for him, since he played a despicable racist who repeatedly hurls racial insults (including "nigger") at the black characters, especially the hero, played by Cleavon Little. Gilliam was so uncomfortable with his use of that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Dodson
John Smeaton "Jack" Dodson (May 16, 1931 – September 16, 1994) was an American television actor best remembered for the milquetoast character Howard Sprague on ''The Andy Griffith Show'' and its Spin-off (media), spin-off ''Mayberry R.F.D.'' From 1959 until his death in 1994, Dodson was married to television art director Mary Dodson. Career In 1966, Andy Griffith hired Dodson for the Howard Sprague role, having previously seen him in Broadway's ''Hughie''. Dodson also portrayed insurance agent Ed Jenkins in the "Lost and Found" episode of ''The Andy Griffith Show''. Dodson also appeared in episodes of ''My Friend Flicka'', ''Hazel (TV series), Hazel'', ''The Virginian (TV series), The Virginian'', ''Maude (TV series), Maude'', ''Barney Miller'' (four episodes), ''Welcome Back Kotter'', ''Archie Bunker's Place'', ''Newhart'', ''Mr. Belvedere'', ''Matlock (TV series), Matlock'', ''Mama's Family'', and ''St. Elsewhere'', on which he had a recurring role. Dodson appeared as an ai ... [...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] |
Catherine Bach
Catherine Bach (born Catherine Bachman; March 1, 1954) is an American actress. She is known for playing Daisy Duke in the television series ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' and Margo Dutton in '' African Skies''. In 2012, she joined the cast of the CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' as Anita Lawson. Early life Bach was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of Norma Jean Kucera (née Verdugo), an acupuncturist, and Bernard P. Bachman, a rancher. Her mother was a daughter of Antonio L. Verdugo, of Bisbee, Arizona, a baker born in Mexico, while her father was of German ancestry. She was raised in Warren, Ohio. Her mother, born into the Verdugo family, claimed to be descended from one of California's earliest landed families. She spent some of her childhood on a ranch in South Dakota, and she visited her grandparents in Faith, South Dakota. In 1970, Bach graduated from Stevens High School in Rapid City, South Dakota. She briefly majored in drama at UCLA, where she supplem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guard Dog
A guard dog or watchdog (not to be confused with an attack dog) is a dog used to watch for and guard property against unwanted or unexpected human or animal intruders. The dog is discerning so that it does not annoy or attack the resident humans of the house. History The use of dogs as guardians is well known since ancient times. The Romans used to put mosaics (''Cave canem'' mosaics) at the entrance of the houses to warn visitors and intruders of the presence of dangerous dogs at the property. One of the first dog types used as guardians were the ancestral Mastiff-type landraces of the group known as Livestock guardian dogs which protected livestock against large predators such as wolves, bears and leopards. Orthrus is a famous example of a livestock guardian dog from the Greek mythology known for guarding Geryon's red cattle. Some ancient guard dogs in more urban areas, such as the extinct bandogges, were chained during the day and released at night to protect propertie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drive-in Movie
A drive-in theater or drive-in cinema is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movies from the privacy and comfort of their cars. Some drive-ins have small playgrounds for children and a few picnic tables or benches. The screen can be as simple as a painted white wall, or it can be a steel truss structure with a complex finish. Originally, the movie's sound was provided by speakers on the screen and later by individual speakers hung from the window of each car, which was attached to a small pole by a wire. These speaker systems were superseded by the more practical method of microbroadcasting the soundtrack to car radios. This also has the advantage of the film soundtrack to be heard in stereo on car stereo systems, which are typically of much higher quality and fidelity than the basic small mono speakers used in the o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
