|
The Best Little Girl In The World
''The Best Little Girl in the World'' is a 1981 television film directed by Sam O'Steen and executive produced by Aaron Spelling. The film is based upon the 1979 novel of the same name written by Steven Levenkron. Plot Seventeen-year-old Casey Powell is a shy teenaged cheerleader who gets good grades and dreams of being a professional ballet dancer. Her parents, Frank and Joanne, give all their attention to her 19-year-old sister Gail, who has just found out she is pregnant by someone she has no interest in marrying. Frank is infuriated and Joanne is worried, so they forget to spend time with Casey; not a new thing, as problem-child Gail has always drawn attention away from good-girl Casey. Feeling ignored by her parents and embarrassed by harassment at her cheerleading audition, Casey starts wanting to look like the models on the covers of magazines and begins to diet and exercise. Casey is noticed by her ballet teacher, Madame Seuart, who tells her that she could be very good ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Best Little Girl In The World (novel)
''The Best Little Girl in the World'' is a 1979 American young adult coming of age novel by Steven Levenkron, telling the story of Kessa, a fictional teenager who suffers from an eating disorder. The book was originally published by Warner Books in 1979. It was adapted into a The Best Little Girl in the World, 1981 ABC TV film by the same name, and it won the American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults Award. Plot Francesca Dietrich is a middle-class American teenager, aspiring ballerina, and a girl who suffers from anorexia nervosa. She obsesses over a fantasy variant of herself, insisting on being called by the name "Kessa" and worrying over the demands of her controlling, strict ballet teacher. Fixated with weight loss and treated like a young child by her family, Kessa retreats further and further into her mental illness, leading her parents to finally recognize it months later, after which they send her to a male therapist. Kessa develops romantic feelings for the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steven Levenkron
Steven Levenkron (born 1941) is an American psychotherapist and writer known for his research into anorexia nervosa and self-injury. He lives in New York, where his practice is based. Levenkron started his research in 1970 and later took part in the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. He gained popularity due to his 1978 novel ''The Best Little Girl in the World'', which was recognized as a Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association and which later formed the basis of the American Broadcasting Company's television film ''The Best Little Girl in the World''. His notable clients included Karen Carpenter, who died in 1983. In 1998, W. W. Norton & Company published Levenkron's non-fiction book ''Cutting: Understanding and Overcoming Self-Mutilation''. In the book, he insisted that self-injury was not related to suicide in essentials. His book ''The Luckiest Girl in the World'' is the original work of the 2000 television movie '' S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sam O'Steen
Samuel Alexander O'Steen (November 6, 1923 – October 11, 2000) was an American film editor and director. He had an extended, notable collaboration with the director Mike Nichols, with whom he edited 12 films between 1966 and 1994. Among the films O'Steen edited are ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf'' (directed by Nichols, 1966), '' Cool Hand Luke'' (directed by Stuart Rosenberg, 1967), ''The Graduate'' (directed by Nichols, 1967), '' Rosemary's Baby'' (directed by Roman Polanski, 1968), and '' Chinatown'' (directed by Polanski, 1974). Note that this article's statement that O'Steen edited nine of Nichols's films is incorrect. On a 2012 listing of the 75 best-edited films of all time compiled by the Motion Picture Editors Guild based on a survey of its members, both ''The Graduate'' and ''Chinatown'' appear, ''Chinatown'' listed 31st and ''The Graduate'' 52nd. Life and career O'Steen was born in Paragould, Arkansas but raised in California. As a child in Burbank, he would try ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lamaze
The Lamaze technique, also known as the psychoprophylactic method or simply Lamaze, began as a prepared childbirth technique. As an alternative to medical intervention during childbirth, it was popularized in the 1950s by French obstetrician Dr. Fernand Lamaze and based on his observations in the Soviet Union. The goal of Lamaze is to build a mother's confidence in her ability to give birth, through classes that help pregnant women understand how to cope with pain in ways that both facilitate labor and promote comfort, including relaxation techniques, movement, and massage. There is a training and certification program available to practitioners, leading to the Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (LCCE) designation. History Dr. Lamaze was influenced by childbirth practices in the Soviet Union, which involved breathing and relaxation techniques under the supervision of a ''"monitrice"'', or midwife. The Lamaze method gained popularity in the United States after Marjorie Karmel wr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ally Sheedy
Alexandra Elizabeth Sheedy (born June 13, 1962) is an American actress. Following her film debut in 1983's '' Bad Boys'', she became known as one of the Brat Pack group of actors and starred in ''WarGames'' (1983), ''The Breakfast Club'' (1985) and ''Short Circuit'' (1986). For her performance in Lisa Cholodenko's ''High Art'' (1998), Sheedy won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. Early life Alexandra Elizabeth Sheedy was born in New York City on June 13, 1962, and has two siblings, brother Patrick and sister Meghan. Her mother, Charlotte (''née'' Baum), is a writer and press agent who was involved in women's and civil rights movements, and her father, John J. Sheedy Jr., is a Manhattan advertising executive. Sheedy's mother is Eastern European Jewish, whereas her father is of Irish Catholic background. Her maternal grandmother was from Odessa, Ukraine. Her parents divorced in 1971. She attended the Bank Street School for Children, followed by Columbia Grammar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Dudikoff
Michael Joseph Stephen Dudikoff Jr. (born October 8, 1954) is an American actor and martial artist. Born in New York City, his family later moved to Los Angeles. Dudikoff did different jobs to pay for his education, during this time he became a model. This led him to do acting auditions. He played supporting roles in films and television shows, until he got his break as the lead in the martial arts action film ''American Ninja'' (1985). Dudikoff became an action film leading man and followed up with '' American Ninja 2: The Confrontation'' (1986), ''Avenging Force'' (1986), ''Platoon Leader'' (1988), '' River of Death'' (1989), ''Soldier Boyz'' (1996), ''Bounty Hunters'' (1996), '' Bounty Hunters 2: Hardball'' (1997), etc. In the 2000s, Dudikoff started to work in real estate, and made film appearances in the 2010s. Early life Dudikoff's father, Michael Joseph Stephen Dudikoff Sr., was Eastern Orthodox Christian. Born in New York to Russian immigrants Mary Bogdanova and John ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laurence Lau
Laurence Henry Lau (born May 10, 1954) is an American television and stage actor, best known for his roles in several soap operas. Lau was born in Long Beach, California and raised in Lake Oswego, Oregon. He attended Columbia University and Brigham Young University. One of his first roles was on the TV comedy/drama ''Eight Is Enough'' in 1980. He first became popular by playing the role of rich kid Greg Nelson on '' All My Children'' (1981–1986), in which his character got involved with a girl from the other side of the tracks, Jenny Gardner (Kim Delaney). The pair was considered to be a supercouple and the status booted Lau to stardom. Other notable soap roles include NBC's '' Another World'' as Jamie Frame (1986–1990), and ABC's '' One Life to Live'' as attorney Sam Rappaport (2001—2003), taking over from actor Kale Browne. In 2007, Lau played Greeber in ''Scituate'', a play written by Martin Casella and directed by David Hilder, at TBG Arts Mainstage in New Yor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Venture
Richard Venture (born Richard Charles Venturella; November 12, 1923 – December 19, 2017) was an American actor. He performed in more than eighty films from 1964 to 2001. His television guest-credits include ''The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd'', '' Fame'', Street Hawk and ''Murder, She Wrote''. Venture died just 31 days prior to ex-wife actress Olivia Cole, in December 2017 at the age of 94. Venture was born in New York City. He debuted on Broadway in ''Dinosaur Wharf'' (1951). His other Broadway credits included ''The National Health'' (1974), ''Chemin de Fer'' (1973), ''The Visit'' (1973), ''Murderous Angels'' (1971), ''Solitaire / Double Solitaire'' (1971) ''Double Solitaire'' (1971), and ''The Merchant of Venice'' (1951). Venture wed actress Grayce Grant in 1946, and they divorced in 1971. They had four children. He was married to actress Olivia Cole from 1971 until their divorce in 1984. He and Lorraine Venture married in 1984 and divorced in 1995. He was married to Kath ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jason Miller (playwright)
Jason Miller (born John Anthony Miller Jr.; April 22, 1939May 13, 2001) was an American playwright and actor. He won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play for his play ''That Championship Season'', and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Father Damien Karras in the 1973 horror film ''The Exorcist,'' a role he reprised in ''The Exorcist III.'' He later became artistic director of the Scranton Public Theatre in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where ''That Championship Season'' was set. Early years Miller was born John Anthony Miller Jr. in Queens, New York City to Mary Claire (née Collins), a teacher, and John Anthony Miller Sr., an electrician. His ancestry was primarily Irish Catholic, with some German. His family moved to Scranton in 1941, where Miller was educated at St. Patrick's High School and the Jesuit-run University of Scranton, where he received a degree in English and philosophy. He then attended t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Spielberg
David Spielberg (March 6, 1939 – June 1, 2016) was an American television and film actor. Early years Spielberg was born in Weslaco, Texas, and was a resident of Mercedes, Texas. His father was a Romanian-Jewish immigrant, and his mother was a Mexican-American teacher. After serving in the Navy for two years, he enrolled in the University of Texas. Two summers' acting experience in New York City led him to drop out of the university and move to New York to pursue a career in acting. He was not related to American film director Steven Spielberg. Film Spielberg's screen debut was in ''The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds'' (1972). He also appeared in ''Newman's Law'' (1974), '' Law and Disorder'' (1974), '' Hustle'' (1975), ''American Raspberry'' (1977), '' The Choirboys'' (1977), ''Real Life'' (1979), '' Winter Kills'' (1979), ''Christine'' (1983), '' The Stranger'' (1987), '' Alice'' (1990), and '' Red Ribbon Blues'' (1996). Television Spielberg's roles in tel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viveca Lindfors
Elsa Viveca Torstensdotter Lindfors (December 29, 1920 – October 25, 1995) was a Swedish stage, film, and television actress. She won an Emmy Award and a Silver Bear for Best Actress. Biography Lindfors was born in Uppsala, Sweden, the daughter of Karin Emilia Therese (née Dymling) and Axel Torsten Lindfors. She trained at the Royal Dramatic Training Academy, Stockholm. Soon after, she became a theater and film star in Sweden. She moved to the United States in 1946 after being signed by Warner Bros., and began working in Hollywood. She appeared in more than 100 films, including ''Night Unto Night'', ''No Sad Songs for Me'', ''Dark City (1950 film), Dark City'', ''The Halliday Brand'', ''King of Kings (1961 film), King of Kings'', ''An Affair of the Skin'', ''Creepshow'', ''The Sure Thing'', and ''Stargate (film), Stargate''. She appeared with actors including Ronald Reagan, Jeffrey Hunter, Charlton Heston, Glenn Ford, Lizabeth Scott, and Errol Flynn. In 1952, she appeare ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lisa Pelikan
Lisa Pelikan is an American stage, film, and television actress. Born in Berkeley, California, Pelikan studied drama at the Juilliard School on a full scholarship. She subsequently made her Broadway debut in a 1977 production of ''Romeo and Juliet''. The same year, she appeared as the younger version of Vanessa Redgrave's title character in the film ''Julia''. She subsequently starred in the horror film ''Jennifer'' (1978). Her other film credits include ''Ghoulies'' (1985) and ''Return to the Blue Lagoon'' (1991). Life and career Early life Pelikan was born in Berkeley, California, the daughter of Helen L., a psychologist, and Robert G. Pelikan, an international economist who served as the minister-counselor from the United States at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris. She is of Czech descent. At age six, Pelikan was diagnosed with a bone tumor in her leg, which was treated with surgery. Due to her father's work, Pelikan spent her childhood in s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
