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The Hustler
''The Hustler'' is a 1961 American sports romantic drama film directed by Robert Rossen from Walter Tevis's 1959 novel of the same name, adapted by Rossen and Sidney Carroll. It tells the story of small-time pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson and his desire to break into the "major league" of professional hustling and high-stakes wagering that follows it. He throws his raw talent and ambition up against the best player in the country, seeking to best the legendary pool player " Minnesota Fats". The film was shot on location in New York City and stars Paul Newman as Eddie; Jackie Gleason as Minnesota Fats; Piper Laurie as Sarah; and George C. Scott as Bert. It was followed by ''The Color of Money'' in 1986, with Newman reprising his role. ''The Hustler'' was a major critical and popular success, gaining a reputation as a modern classic. Its exploration of winning, losing, and character garnered a number of major awards; it is also credited with helping to spark a resurgence in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Rossen
Robert Rossen (March 16, 1908 – February 18, 1966) was an American screenwriter, film director, and producer whose film career spanned almost three decades. His 1949 film ''All the King's Men'' won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, while Rossen was nominated for an Oscar as Best Director. He won the Golden Globe for Best Director and the film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture. In 1961, he directed ''The Hustler'', which was nominated for nine Oscars and won two. After directing and writing for the stage in New York, Rossen moved to Hollywood in 1937. From there, he worked as a screenwriter for Warner Bros. until 1941, and then interrupted his career to serve until 1944 as the chairman of the Hollywood Writers Mobilization, a body to organize writers for the effort in World War II. In 1945, he joined a picket line against Warner Bros. After making one film for Hal B. Wallis's newly formed production company, Rossen made one for Colum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Color Of Money
''The Color of Money'' is a 1986 American sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film was created from a screenplay by Richard Price, based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis. The film stars Paul Newman and Tom Cruise, with Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Helen Shaver, and John Turturro in supporting roles. It features an original score by Robbie Robertson, and was released on October 17, 1986, after a premier a week earlier at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City in New York. The film grossed $52.3 million at the box office. The film continues the story of pool hustler and Edward "Fast Eddie" Felson from Tevis's first novel, ''The Hustler'' (1959), with Newman reprising his role from the 1961 film adaptation. It begins more than 25 years after the events of the previous film, with Eddie retired from the pool circuit. Newman won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, his first Oscar win after seven n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willie Mosconi
William Joseph Mosconi (; June 27, 1913 – September 17, 1993) was an American professional pool player from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Between the years of 1941 and 1956, he won the World Straight Pool Championship nineteen times. For most of the 20th century, his name was essentially synonymous with pool in North America – he was nicknamed "Mr. Pocket Billiards" – and he was among the first Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame inductees. Mosconi pioneered and regularly employed numerous trick shots, set many records, and helped to popularize pool as a national recreation activity. During the 1940s and 1950s, the pocket billiards game most often played in competition was called straight pool, or 14.1 continuous, a form of pool considered by most top players to be more difficult than today's fast tournament game nine-ball. Mosconi set the officially-recognized straight pool high world record of 526 consecutive balls in 1954. Early life Mosconi's family ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Dierkop
Charles Richard Dierkop (born September 11, 1936) is an American character actor. He is most recognized for his supporting roles in the films ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (1969) and ''The Sting'' (1973) and the television series ''Police Woman'' (1974-1978). Early years Dierkop was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and attended Aquinas High School in La Crosse. He was raised by his aunt and uncle after his father left when Dierkop was an infant and his mother "left home when he was still a tot". Military service Dierkop dropped out of high school after his junior year and enlisted in the U.S. Marines. He served in Korea after the Korean War had ended and returned from there when he was discharged at age 19. Upon his return, he lived with his mother in Philadelphia, and with the help of the G.I. Bill, he enrolled in the American Foundation of Dramatic Arts in Philadelphia. Career Dierkop is a lifetime member of the Actors Studio. His first role as a professional actor wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vincent Gardenia
Vincent Gardenia (born Vincenzo Scognamiglio; January 7, 1920 – December 9, 1992) was an Italian-American stage, film, and television actor. He was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, first for ''Bang the Drum Slowly'' (1973) and again for ''Moonstruck'' (1987). He also portrayed Det. Frank Ochoa in '' Death Wish'' (1974) and its 1982 sequel, ''Death Wish II'', and played "Mr. Mushnik" in the musical film adaptation of '' Little Shop of Horrors'' (1986). Gardenia's other notable feature films include '' Murder Inc.'' (1960), ''The Hustler'' (1961), ''The Front Page'' (1974), ''Greased Lightning'' (1977), '' Heaven Can Wait'' (1978), and '' The Super'' (1991). In 1990, Gardenia was awarded the Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a television movie or television series for the HBO production ''Age Old Friends''. Gardenia was twice honored for his performances on Broadway. In 1972, he won the Tony Award for Best Supporting Actor in ''The Prisone ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stefan Gierasch
Stefan Gierasch (February 5, 1926 – September 6, 2014) was an American film and television actor. Career Gierasch made over 100 screen appearances, mostly in American television, beginning in 1951. In the mid-1960s, he performed with the Trinity Square Players in Providence, Rhode Island. He appeared in dozens of films including in ''The Hustler'' (1961), ''The Traveling Executioner'' (1970), '' Jeremiah Johnson'' (1972), '' What's Up Doc?'' (1972), ''High Plains Drifter'' (1973), ''Carrie'' (1976), '' Silver Streak'' (1976), ''Victory at Entebbe'' (1976), '' Blue Sunshine'' (1977), '' The Champ'' (1979), ''Blood Beach'' (1980) and '' Perfect'' (1985). In 1994 he appeared in the Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito film ''Junior'' as Edward Sawyer, and in 1995's '' Murder in the First'' as Warden James Humson. Gierasch made many TV appearances, as in ''Kung Fu'', ''M*A*S*H'', '' Starsky & Hutch'', ''Gunsmoke'' (1966 S12E6’s “Gunfighter, RIP”), '' Star Trek: The Next G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Constantine
Michael Constantine (born Gus Efstratiou (Ευστρατίου); May 22, 1927 – August 31, 2021) was an American actor. He is most widely recognized for his portrayal of Kostas "Gus" Portokalos, the Windex bottle-toting Greek father of Toula Portokalos (Nia Vardalos), in the film ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' (2002). Earlier, he earned acclaim for his television work, especially as the long-suffering high school principal, Seymour Kaufman, on ABC's comedy-drama, ''Room 222,'' for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1970; he was again recognized by the Emmy Awards, as well as the Golden Globe Awards, the following year. After the conclusion of ''Room 222'', Constantine portrayed night court magistrate Matthew J. Sirota on the 1976 sitcom ''Sirota's Court'', receiving his second Golden Globe nomination. Constantine reprised his role as Gus Portokalos in ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2'' (2016). Early life Constantine was born ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murray Hamilton
Murray Hamilton (March 24, 1923 – September 1, 1986) was an American stage, screen, and television character actor who appeared in such films as ''Anatomy of a Murder'', ''The Hustler'', ''The Graduate'', ''Jaws'' and ''The Amityville Horror''. Early life Born in Washington, North Carolina, Hamilton displayed an early interest in performing during his days at Washington High School just before America's entry into World War II. Bad hearing kept him from enlisting, so he moved to New York City as a 19-year-old to find a career on stage. Career In an early role, he performed on stage with Henry Fonda in the classic wartime story '' Mister Roberts'' as a replacement for David Wayne, playing Ensign Pulver. In 1960, he was onstage again with Fonda in '' Critic's Choice''; Howard Taubman of ''The New York Times'' called him "properly obnoxious as the director". Hamilton was teamed once more with Fonda in 1968 for the drama film ''The Boston Strangler''. His best known perfor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Three-cushion Billiards
Three-cushion billiards, also called three-cushion carom, is a form of carom billiards. The object of the game is to the off both while contacting the at least three times before contacting the second object ball. A point is scored for each successful carom. In most shots the cue ball hits the object balls one time each, although hitting them any number of times is allowed as long as both are hit. The cue ball may contact the cushions before or after hitting the first object ball. It does not have to contact three different cushions as long as it has been in contact with any cushion at least three times in total. History Three-cushion dates to the 1870s, and while the origin of the game is not entirely known, it evolved from one-cushion billiards, which in turn developed from straight rail billiards for the same reason that balkline also arose from straight rail. Such new developments made the game more challenging, less repetitive, and more interesting for spectators as well ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry and fillies . It is dubbed "The Run for the Roses", stemming from the blanket of roses draped over the winner. It is also known in the United States as "The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports" or "The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports" because of its approximate duration. It is the first leg of the American Triple Crown, followed by the Preakness Stakes, and then the Belmont Stakes. Of the three Triple Crown races, the Kentucky Derby has the distinction of having been run uninterrupted since its inaugural race in 1875. The race was rescheduled to September 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Preakness and Belmont Stakes races had taken hiatuses in 1891–18 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Straight Pool
Straight pool, which is also called 14.1 continuous and 14.1 rack, is a cue sport in which two competing players attempt to as many billiard balls as possible without playing a . The game was the primary version of pool played in professional competition until it was superseded by faster-playing games like nine-ball and eight-ball in the 1980s. In straight pool, the player may and attempt to pocket any object ball on the table regardless of its number or color until only one object ball and the remain, at which point the other fourteen balls are re-racked. At this point, play resumes with the objective of pocketing the remaining ball in a manner that causes the cue ball to carom into the rack, spreading out the balls and allowing the player to continue the run. The goal is to reach a set number of points that is determined by agreement before the game begins; traditionally 100 points is needed for a win, though professional matches may be higher. One point is scored by poc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_LCCN2014682795_(cropped).jpg "Click for more on -> Straight Pool")