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Arvo Ojala
Arvo Oswald Ojala (February 21, 1920 – July 1, 2005) was a Hollywood technical advisor on the subject of quick-draw with a revolver. He also worked as an actor; his most famous role was that of the unnamed man shot by Marshal Matt Dillon in the opening sequences of the long-running television series ''Gunsmoke''. As a joke on the producers, James Arness and Arvo actually did the opener once with Dillon falling to the ground. Biography Born to Finnish immigrant parents as a young man, Ojala taught himself marksmanship and how to quick-draw a handgun while living on his father's ranch near Yakima, Washington. He said he sharpened his marksmanship skill by shooting the heads off rattlesnakes. During the early 1950s, Ojala was living in Los Angeles, and working for the Hollywood film studios. "I watched these guys in Westerns," he told a reporter in 1957, "and realized that they were slow on the draw because the cylinder of their guns got stuck in their holsters. I decided the tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the county seat of King County, the most populous county in Washington. The Seattle metropolitan area's population is 4.02 million, making it the 15th-most populous in the United States. Its growth rate of 21.1% between 2010 and 2020 made it one of the country's fastest-growing large cities. Seattle is situated on an isthmus between Puget Sound, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and Lake Washington. It is the northernmost major city in the United States, located about south of the Canadian border. A gateway for trade with East Asia, the Port of Seattle is the fourth-largest port in North America in terms of container handling . The Seattle area has been inhabited by Native Americans (such as the Duwamish, who had at least 17 villages a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
James Arness
James Arness (born James King Aurness; May 26, 1923 – June 3, 2011) was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon for 20 years in the series ''Gunsmoke''. He has the distinction of having played the role of Dillon in five decades: 1955 to 1975 in the weekly series, then in '' Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge'' (1987) and four more made-for-television ''Gunsmoke'' films in the 1990s. In Europe, Arness reached cult status for his role as Zeb Macahan in the Western series '' How the West Was Won''. He was the older brother of actor Peter Graves. Early life James Arness was born in Minneapolis. His parents were businessman Rolf Cirkler Aurness and journalist Ruth Duesler. His father's ancestry was Norwegian; his mother's was German."Ancestry of James Arness" '' [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
1920 Births
Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own market town. * January 7 – Russian Civil War: The forces of White movement, Russian White Admiral Alexander Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk; the Great Siberian Ice March ensues. * January 10 ** The Treaty of Versailles takes effect, officially ending World War I. ** The League of Nations Covenant enters into force. On January 16, the organization holds its first council meeting, in Paris. * January 11 – The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic is recognised de facto by European powers in Palace of Versailles, Versailles. * January 13 – ''The New York Times'' Robert H. Goddard#Publicity and criticism, ridicules American rocket scientist Robert H. Goddard, which it will rescind following the launch of Apollo 11 in 1969. * Janua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
The McConnell Story
''The McConnell Story'' is a 1955 dramatization of the life and career of United States Air Force (USAF) pilot Joseph C. McConnell (1922–1954) directed by Gordon Douglas. McConnell served as a navigator in World War II before becoming the top American ace during the Korean War and was killed on August 25, 1954, while serving as a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, California. The Warner Brothers production, filmed in CinemaScope and Warner Color, stars Alan Ladd as McConnell and June Allyson as his wife. Longtime Warners staff composer Max Steiner wrote the musical score for the film. Plot In 1941, Joseph "Mac" McConnell, Jr. (Alan Ladd), a private in the Army medical corps near Fitchburg, Massachusetts, aspires to be a pilot, even going AWOL to take private lessons. While flying with his instructor, he realizes that military police are waiting for him at the airport and to avoid arrest, he parachutes out of the aircraft and hitches a ride with t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Two-Gun Lady
''Two-Gun Lady'' is a 1955 American western film directed and produced by Richard Bartlett and starring Peggie Castle, William Talman, and Marie Windsor. The working title was ''Six Gun Lady''. Plot A young woman named Kate Masters, who has become a trick shooter, works to track down and kill the men who murdered her parents when she was a child. At the same time, Marshal Dan Corbin is under cover trying to find the same men. Cast *Peggie Castle as Karen Marshall, also known as Kate Masters * William Talman as Marshal Dan Corbin *Marie Windsor as Bess *Earle Lyon as Ben Ivers * Robert Lowery as 'Big Mike' Dougherty *Ian MacDonald as Jud Ivers *Joe Besser as Doc McGinnis * Barbara Turner as Jenny Ivers * Arvo Ojala as Ivers' Henchman *Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman, fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent and United States Army, U.S. Army officer. He became an American frontier legend in his own ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
The Oregon Trail (1959 Film)
''The Oregon Trail'' is a 1959 American CinemaScope and DeLuxe Color Western film directed by Gene Fowler Jr. and starring Fred MacMurray, William Bishop and Nina Shipman. The film's sets were designed by the art directors John B. Mansbridge and Lyle R. Wheeler. Plot In the midst of the Oregon boundary dispute with British North America, President James K. Polk (1845–1849) is secretly sending military agents, disguised as pioneers, out west on the Oregon Trail so that they can protect American settlers in the event of war. Rumors of this conspiracy reach James Gordon Bennett Sr., publisher of the '' New York Herald''. He assigns one of his reporters, Neal Harris, to go on the Oregon Trail himself and find out the truth. On the trail, Harris befriends the eccentric Zachariah Garrison, who is bringing pots with apple tree saplings to plant in Oregon. Harris clashes with George Wayne, the leader of the wagon train, and secretly in command of Polk's agents; they bec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Audie Murphy
Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was an American soldier, actor, and songwriter. He was widely celebrated as the most decorated American combat soldier of World War II, and has been described as the most highly decorated enlisted soldier in U.S. history. He received every military combat award for valor available from the United States Army, as well as French and Belgian awards for heroism. Murphy received the Medal of Honor for valor that he demonstrated at age 19 for single-handedly holding off a company of German soldiers for an hour at the Colmar Pocket in France in January 1945, before leading a successful counterattack while wounded. Murphy was born into a large family of Sharecropping, sharecroppers in Hunt County, Texas. After his father abandoned them, his mother died when he was a teenager. Murphy left school in fifth grade to pick cotton and find other work to help support his family; his skill with a hunting rifle helped feed his family. After th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Thomas F
Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (other) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Apostle * Thomas (bishop of the East Angles) (fl. 640s–650s), medieval Bishop of the East Angles * Thomas (Archdeacon of Barnstaple) (fl. 1203), Archdeacon of Barnstaple * Thomas, Count of Perche (1195–1217), Count of Perche * Thomas (bishop of Finland) (1248), first known Bishop of Finland * Thomas, Earl of Mar (1330–1377), 14th-century Earl, Aberdeen, Scotland Geography Places in the United States * Thomas, Idaho * Thomas, Illinois * Thomas, Oklahoma * Thomas, Oregon * Thomas, South Dakota * Thomas, Virginia * Thomas, Washington * Thomas, West Virginia * Thomas County (other) * Thomas Township (other) Elsewhere * Thomas Glacier (Greenland) Arts and entertainment *Thomas (Burton novel), ''Thomas'' (Burton novel) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as well as an emblem of the era's sexual revolution. She was a top-billed actress for a decade, and her films grossed $200 million (equivalent to $ billion in ) by Death of Marilyn Monroe, her death in 1962. Born in Los Angeles, Monroe spent most of her childhood in foster homes and an orphanage before marrying James Dougherty (police officer), James Dougherty at the age of 16. She was working in a factory during World War II when she met a photographer from the First Motion Picture Unit and began a successful pin-up modeling career, which led to short-lived film contracts with 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures. After roles as a freelancer, she began a longer contract with Fox in 1951, becomi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Clint Walker
Norman Eugene "Clint" Walker (May 30, 1927 – May 21, 2018) was an American actor. He played cowboy Cheyenne (TV series), Cheyenne Bodie in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC/Warner Bros. Western (genre)#Film, western series ''Cheyenne (TV series), Cheyenne'' from 1955 to 1962. Early life Clint Walker was born in Hartford, Illinois.Walker's biography from his official website His mother was Czech. He had a fraternal twin sister, Neoma Lucille "Lucy" Westbrook and another half-sister. Walker left school to work at a factory and on a riverboat, then joined the United States Merchant Marine at the age of 17. After leaving the Merchant Marine, he did odd jobs in Brownwood, Texas; Long Beach, California; and Las Vegas, Nevada, where he worked as a Doorman (profession), door ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Hugh O'Brian
Hugh O'Brian (born Hugh Charles Krampe; April 19, 1925 – September 5, 2016) was an American actor and humanitarian, best known for his starring roles in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC Western (genre), Western television series ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'' (1955–1961) and the National Broadcasting Company, NBC action television series ''Search (American TV series), Search'' (1972–1973). His notable films included the adaptation of Agatha Christie's ''Ten Little Indians (1965 film), Ten Little Indians'' (1965); he also had a notable supporting role in John Wayne's last film, ''The Shootist'' (1976). He created the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Foundation, (HOBY) a nonprofit youth leadership-development program for high-school scholars. It has sponsored more than 500,000 students since O'Brian founded the program in 1958, following an extended visit with physician and theologian Albert Schweitzer. Life and career Early life and military service O'Bri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA Award, seven Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Silver Bear for Best Actor, a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, and nominations for two Grammy Awards and a Tony Award. Along with his Best Actor Academy Award win, Newman also received two additional Oscars, both meritorious: the Academy Honorary Award and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio, Shaker Heights, the eastern suburbs of Cleveland, Newman showed an interest in theater as a child and at age 10 performed in a theatrical production, stage production of ''Saint George and the D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
