William Spier
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William Spier
William Hannan Spier (October 16, 1906 – May 30, 1973) was an American writer, producer, and director for television and radio. He is best known for his radio work, notably ''Suspense'' and ''The Adventures of Sam Spade''. Early life William Hannan Spier (pronounced like the word “spear”) was born in New York City to a Jewish father and a Presbyterian mother. Spier graduated from Evander Childs High School. Early career At age 19, Spier was hired at Musical America magazine, which was edited by Deems Taylor. He eventually became the chief critic for the magazine.radiospirits Radio In 1929, Spier was hired at the advertising agency Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborn. At the agency, he produced and directed radio shows, such as ''The Atwater Kent Hour'', an hour-long Sunday night presentation of Metropolitan Opera singers; '' General Motors’ Family Party''; and '' Ethyl Tune-Up Time''. In 1936, he directed and co-wrote ''The March of Time'' program, hiring Orso ...
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Weston, Connecticut
Weston is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,354 at the 2020 census with the highest median household income in Connecticut. The town is served by Route 57 and Route 53, both of which run through the town center. About 19% of the town's workforce commutes to New York City, about to the southwest. Like many towns in southwestern Connecticut, Weston is among the most affluent communities in the United States. Data collected in 2019 showed that Weston had the highest median household income in Fairfield County, Connecticut, at US $219,868. In 2015, Connecticut Magazine rated Weston as the 9th best among towns in Connecticut with median home values over $325,000. The rating considers education, crime, economy, community engagement, and culture/leisure. In 2017, SafeWise ranked Weston the safest town in Connecticut and the 6th safest town in the country. Weston is the closest Connecticut town to New York City without a train station. Aside ...
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Duffy's Tavern
''Duffy's Tavern'' is an American radio situation comedy that ran for a decade on several networks (CBS, 1941–42; NBC-Blue Network, 1942–44; and NBC, 1944–51), concluding with the December 28, 1951, broadcast. The program often featured celebrity guest stars but always hooked them around the misadventures of Archie, the tavern's manager, portrayed by Ed Gardner. Archie was prone to involvement in get-rich-quick schemes and romantic missteps, and constantly communicated with malaprops and mixed metaphors. Gardner had performed the character of Archie, talking about Duffy's Tavern, as early as November 9, 1939, when he appeared on NBC's ''Good News of 1940''. Characters and story In the early 1940s, Gardner worked as a director, writer, and producer for radio programs. In 1941, he created a character for ''This Is New York'', a program that he was producing. The character, which Gardner played, became Archie of ''Duffy's Tavern''. In the familiar opening, "When Irish Eye ...
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Agnes Moorehead
Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900April 30, 1974) was an American actress. In a career spanning four decades, her credits included work in radio, stage, film, and television.Obituary ''Variety'', May 8, 1974, page 286. Moorehead was the recipient of such accolades as a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for four Academy Awards. She is best known for her role as Endora on the television series ''Bewitched'', but she also had notable roles in films, including ''Citizen Kane'', ''Dark Passage'', ''All That Heaven Allows'', and ''Show Boat''. She is also known for the radioplay ''Sorry, Wrong Number'' (1943) and its several subsequent re-recordings for '' Suspense''. Moorehead garnered four nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for her performances in: ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1942), ''Mrs. Parkington'' (1944), '' Johnny Belinda'' (1948), and '' Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte'' (1964). Early life Agnes ...
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William Holden
William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for the television film '' The Blue Knight'' (1973). Holden starred in some of Hollywood's most popular and critically acclaimed films, including ''Sunset Boulevard'' (1950), ''Sabrina'' (1954), ''Picnic'' (1955), ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' (1957), ''The Wild Bunch'' (1969) and ''Network'' (1976). He was named one of the " Top 10 Stars of the Year" six times (1954–1958, 1961), and appeared as 25th on the American Film Institute's list of 25 greatest male stars of Classical Hollywood cinema. Early life and education Holden was born William Franklin Beedle, Jr., on April 17, 1918, in O'Fallon, Illinois, son of Mary Blanche Beedle (née Ball), a s ...
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Richard Widmark
Richard Weedt Widmark (December 26, 1914March 24, 2008) was an American film, stage, and television actor and producer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, '' Kiss of Death'' (1947), for which he also won the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer. Early in his career, Widmark was typecast in similar villainous or anti-hero roles in films noir, but he later branched out into more heroic leading and supporting roles in Westerns, mainstream dramas, and horror films among others. For his contributions to the motion picture industry, Widmark has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6800 Hollywood Boulevard. In 2002, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Early life Widmark was born December 26, 1914, in Sunrise Township, Minnesota, the son of Ethel Mae ( ''née'' Barr) and Carl Henry Widmark. His father was of ...
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Marlene Dietrich
Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; 27 December 1901 – 6 May 1992) was a German and American actress and singer whose career spanned from the 1910s to the 1980s. In 1920s Berlin, Dietrich performed on the stage and in silent films. Her performance as Lola-Lola in Josef von Sternberg's ''The Blue Angel'' (1930) brought her international acclaim and a contract with Paramount Pictures. She starred in many Hollywood films, including six iconic roles directed by Sternberg: ''Morocco'' (1930) (her only Academy Award nomination), ''Dishonored'' (1931), '' Shanghai Express'' and ''Blonde Venus'' (both 1932), ''The Scarlet Empress'' (1934) and '' The Devil Is a Woman'' (1935), ''Desire'' (1936) and ''Destry Rides Again'' (1939). She successfully traded on her glamorous persona a ...
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Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer and producer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined the term "The Love Goddess" to describe Hayworth after she had become the most glamorous screen idol of the 1940s. She was the top pin-up girl for GIs during World War II. Hayworth is perhaps best known for her performance in the 1946 film noir ''Gilda'', opposite Glenn Ford, in which she played the '' femme fatale'' in her first major dramatic role. She is also known for her performances in ''Only Angels Have Wings'' (1939), ''The Strawberry Blonde'' (1941), '' Blood and Sand'' (1941), ''The Lady from Shanghai'' (1947), '' Pal Joey'' (1957), and ''Separate Tables'' (1958). Fred Astaire, with whom she made two films, ''You'll Never Get Rich'' (1941) and ''You Were Never Lovelier'' (1942), once called her his favorite dance partner. She also ...
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Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939). She attained international stardom as an actress in both musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage. Renowned for her versatility, she received an Academy Juvenile Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Special Tony Award. Garland was the first woman to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, which she won for her 1961 live recording titled ''Judy at Carnegie Hall''. Garland began performing as a child with her two older sisters, in a vaudeville group " The Gumm Sisters" and was later signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a teenager. She appeared in more than two dozen films for MGM. Garland was a frequent on-screen partner of both Mickey Rooney and Gene Kelly and regularly collaborated w ...
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Joan Fontaine
Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was a British-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". Fontaine appeared in more than 45 films in a career that spanned five decades. She was the younger sister of actress Olivia de Havilland. Their rivalry was well-documented in the media at the height of Fontaine's career. She began her film career in 1935, signing a contract with RKO Pictures. Fontaine received her first major role in ''The Man Who Found Himself'' (1937) and in '' Gunga Din'' (1939). Her career prospects improved greatly after her starring role in Alfred Hitchcock's '' Rebecca'' (1940), for which she received her first of three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress. The following year, she won that award for her role in Hitchcock's ''Suspicion'' (1941). A third nomination came with '' The Constant Nymph'' (1943). She appeared ...
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Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical films, suspense horror, and occasional comedies, although her greater successes were in romantic dramas. A recipient of two Academy Awards, she was the first thespian to accrue ten nominations. Bette Davis appeared on Broadway in New York, then the 22-year-old Davis moved to Hollywood in 1930. After some unsuccessful films, she had her critical breakthrough playing a vulgar waitress in ''Of Human Bondage'' (1934) although, contentiously, she was not among the three nominees for the Academy Award for Best Actress that year. The next year, her performance as a down-and-out actress in ''Dangerous'' (1935) did land Davis her first Best Actress nomination, ...
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Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion picture contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1925. Initially frustrated by the size and quality of her parts, Crawford launched a publicity campaign and built an image as a nationally-known flapper by the end of the 1920s. By the 1930s, Crawford's fame rivaled MGM colleagues Norma Shearer and Greta Garbo. Crawford often played hardworking young women who find romance and financial success. These "rags-to-riches" stories were well received by Depression-era audiences and were popular with women. Crawford became one of Hollywood's most prominent movie stars and one of the highest paid women in the United States, but her films began losing money. By the end of the 1930s, she was labeled "box office poison". After an absence of nearly two years fr ...
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Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in ''The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Douglas soon developed into a leading box-office star throughout the 1950s, known for serious dramas, including westerns and war films. During his career, he appeared in more than 90 films and was known for his explosive acting style. He was named by the American Film Institute the 17th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood cinema and was the highest-ranked living person on the list. Douglas became an international star for his role as an unscrupulous boxing hero in ''Champion'' (1949), which brought him his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. His other early films include ''Out of the Past'' (1947), '' Young Man with a Horn'' (1950), playing opposite Lauren Bacall and Doris Day, '' Ace in the Hole'' (1951), and ''D ...
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