Ed Lauter
Edward Matthew Lauter Jr. ( ; October 30, 1938 – October 16, 2013) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He appeared in more than 200 films and TV series episodes in a career that spanned over 40 years. Early life Lauter was born and raised in Long Beach, New York, the son of Edward Matthew Lauter and Sally Lee, a 1920s Broadway actress and dancer. He was of German and Irish descent. After graduating from high school, he majored in English Literature in college and received a B.A. degree in 1961 from the C.W. Post campus of Long Island University. While in college, he played basketball. Lauter served for two years in the U.S. Army. Career Lauter's first acting role was a small part in the Broadway production of ''The Great White Hope'', a boxing drama, in 1968. Before that, he was a stand-up comedian. His screen acting debut was in a 1971 episode of the television series ''Mannix''. His first theatrical film role was in the Western '' Dirty Little Billy'' in 1972. A ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Long Beach, New York
Long Beach is an oceanfront city in Nassau County, New York, United States. It takes up a central section of the Long Beach Barrier Island, which is the westernmost of the outer barrier islands off Long Island's South Shore. As of the 2020 Census, the city's population was 35,029. The City of Long Beach was incorporated in 1922, and is nicknamed "The City by the Sea" (the Latin form, ''Civitas ad mare'', is the city's motto). The Long Beach Barrier Island is surrounded by Reynolds Channel to the north, east and west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. In 2022, Long Beach was named one of the best East Coast towns for a summer getaway by '' Time Out'' magazine. History Pre-settlement The city of Long Beach's first inhabitants were the Algonquian-speaking Lenape, who sold the area to English colonists in 1643. From that time, while the barrier island was used by baymen and farmers for fishing and harvesting salt hay, no one lived there year-round for more than two c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Great White Hope
''The Great White Hope'' is a 1967 play written by Howard Sackler, later adapted in 1970 for a film of the same title. The play was first produced by Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., and debuted on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre in October 1968, directed by Edwin Sherin with James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander in the lead roles. The play won the 1969 Tony Award for Best Play and the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, with the only singing role as Barbara Johnson Tucker. Subsequent touring companies of the play featured Brock Peters and Claudette Nevins in the lead roles. The play is based on the true story of Jack Johnson (fictionalized under the character name "Jack Jefferson") and his fight against Jim Jeffries, and also covers the controversy over his marriage to first wife, Etta Terry Duryea, and Duryea's death by suicide in 1912. Background While the play is often described as being thematically about racism, this is not how Sackler viewed his work. Though not denyi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Magic (1978 Film)
''Magic'' is a 1978 American psychological horror drama film directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margret and Burgess Meredith. The screenplay is by William Goldman, who adapted his novel of the same title. The score was composed by Jerry Goldsmith. Plot After Charles "Corky" Withers fails in his first attempt at professional magic, his mentor Merlin says that he needs a better gimmick. Corky comes back as a combination magician and ventriloquist with a foul-mouthed dummy named Fats, becoming a huge success. Corky's agent, Ben Greene, is on the verge of signing him for his own television show, but Corky bails for the Catskills, where he grew up, since he does not want to take the TV network's medical examination because the doctors might find out that he suffers from severe mental issues and cannot control Fats (a manifestation of Corky's id). In the Catskills, Corky reunites with his high-school crush, Peggy Ann Snow, who is stuck in a pass ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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King Kong (1976 Film)
''King Kong'' is a 1976 American monster adventure film produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by John Guillermin. It is a modernized remake of the 1933 film about a giant ape that is captured and taken to New York City for exhibition. It stars Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, and Jessica Lange in her first film role, and features mechanical effects by Carlo Rambaldi and makeup effects by Rick Baker who also played the title character. It is the fifth entry in the ''King Kong'' franchise. The idea to remake ''King Kong'' was conceived by Michael Eisner, who was then an ABC executive, in 1974. He separately proposed the idea to Universal Pictures CEO Sidney Sheinberg and Paramount Pictures CEO Barry Diller. Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis quickly acquired the film rights from RKO-General and subsequently hired television writer Lorenzo Semple Jr. to write the script. John Guillermin was hired as director and filming lasted from January to August 1976. Before the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Breakheart Pass (1975 Film)
''Breakheart Pass'' is a 1975 American Western film that stars Charles Bronson, Ben Johnson, Richard Crenna, and Jill Ireland. Based on the 1974 novel of the same title by Scottish author Alistair MacLean (1922–1987), it was filmed in north-central Idaho. Plot In the 1870s, residents of the garrison at the Fort Humboldt frontier outpost of the United States Army are reported to be suffering from a diphtheria epidemic. A special express train is heading up into the remote mountain ranges towards the fort filled with reinforcements and medical supplies. Also, civilian passengers are on the train in the rear luxurious private car – Nevada Governor Fairchild (Richard Crenna) and his fiancée Marica (Jill Ireland), the daughter of the fort's commander. The train stops briefly in the small whistle stop settlement of Myrtle, where it takes on board local lawman United States Marshal Pearce (Ben Johnson) and his prisoner, John Deakin (Charles Bronson), a supposedly notorio ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Longest Yard (1974 Film)
''The Longest Yard'' is a 1974 American prison film, prison sports film, sports Comedy drama, comedy-drama film directed by Robert Aldrich, written by Tracy Keenan Wynn, based on a story by producer Albert S. Ruddy, and starring Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, Ed Lauter, Michael Conrad and James Hampton (actor), James Hampton. The film was released as ''The Mean Machine'' in the United Kingdom and South Africa. The film follows a former NFL player recruiting a group of prisoners and playing gridiron football, football against their guards. It features many real-life football players, including Ray Nitschke of the Green Bay Packers. The film has spawned three remakes: the 2001 British film ''Mean Machine (film), Mean Machine'' starring Vinnie Jones; 2005's ''The Longest Yard (2005 film), The Longest Yard'' starring Adam Sandler and featuring Reynolds as coach Nate Scarborough; and the 2015 Egyptian film '':ar:كابتن مصر (فيلم), Captain Masr''. In the two international rem ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Short Night
''The Short Night'' was a film planned by British director Alfred Hitchcock. The project was originally announced in the late 1960s at the time of ''Topaz'' and Hitchcock scouted locations in Finland. A romantic suspense thriller with espionage elements, the script was based on both a same-titled novel by Ronald Kirkbride, and the non-fiction book documenting the case of real-life double agent George Blake titled ''The Springing of George Blake'' by Sean Bourke, the motion picture rights to both of which Hitchcock acquired. Plot Gavin Brand, a double agent, has escaped from London's Wormwood Scrubs Prison. An American named Joe Bailey, brother to one of Brand's victims, is called on by the CIA to kill Brand through finding his family. The objective, as put by CIA chief Zelfand, is to "find the wife and kids, find the husband." Bailey reluctantly accepts the assignment to kill Brand and finally tracks down Brand's family to a private island near Savonlinna in Finland, where ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Family Plot
''Family Plot'' is a 1976 American black comedy thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in his final directing role. It was based on Victor Canning's 1972 novel '' The Rainbird Pattern'', which Ernest Lehman adapted for the screen. The film stars Karen Black, Bruce Dern, Barbara Harris and William Devane; it was screened at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival but was not entered into the main competition. The story involves two couples: one a "fake" psychic and her cab-driving boyfriend, the other a pair of professional thieves and kidnappers. Their lives come into conflict because of a search for a missing heir. The film's title is a pun: "family plot" can refer to an area in a cemetery that has been bought by a family for the burial of its various relatives; in this case it also means a dramatic plot line involving various family members. Plot Fake psychic Blanche Tyler and her boyfriend, George Lumley, attempt to locate the nephew of wealthy, guilt-ridden, elderly Julia ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 feature films, many of which are still widely watched and studied today. Known as the "Master of Suspense", Hitchcock became as well known as any of his actors thanks to his many interviews, List of cameo appearances by Alfred Hitchcock, his cameo appearances in most of his films, and his hosting and producing the television anthology ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' (1955–65). His films garnered 46 Academy Award nominations, including six wins, although he never won the award for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director, despite five nominations. Hitchcock initially trained as a technical clerk and copywriter before entering the film industry in 1919 as a title card designer. His directorial debut was the British–German silent film ''Th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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William Devane
William Joseph Devane (born September 5, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Greg Sumner on the primetime soap opera ''Knots Landing'' (1983–1993) and as James Heller on the Fox serial dramas '' 24'' (2001–2010) and '' 24: Live Another Day'' (2014). He is also known for his work in films such as '' Family Plot'' (1976), '' Marathon Man'' (1976), '' Rolling Thunder'' (1977), '' Payback'' (1999), and '' Space Cowboys'' (2000). Early life Devane was born on September 5, 1939, in Albany, New York, the son of Joseph Devane, who had been Franklin D. Roosevelt's chauffeur when he was governor of New York. His father was of Irish descent and his mother Kate had Dutch and German ancestry. Devane graduated from Philip Schuyler High School in Albany, and then the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City in 1962. Career Devane began his acting career with the New York Shakespeare Festival, where he performed in fifteen plays. In 1966, Devane portrayed ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Karen Black
Karen Blanche Black (née Ziegler; July 1, 1939 – August 8, 2013) was an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence for her work in various studio and independent films in the 1970s, frequently portraying eccentric and offbeat characters, and established herself as a figure of New Hollywood. Her career spanned over 50 years and includes nearly 200 credits in both independent and mainstream films. Black received numerous accolades throughout her career, including two Golden Globe Awards, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actress. A native of suburban Chicago, Black studied theater at Northwestern University before dropping out and relocating to New York City. She performed on Broadway in 1965 before making her major film debut in Francis Ford Coppola's ''You're a Big Boy Now'' (1966). Black relocated to California and was cast as an LSD-tripping prostitute in Dennis Ho ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Barbara Harris (actress)
Barbara Densmoor Harris (July 25, 1935 – August 21, 2018) was an American Tony Award-winning Broadway stage star and Academy Award-nominated motion picture actress. Early life Harris was born in Evanston, Illinois, the daughter of Natalie (née Densmoor), a pianist, and Oscar Graham Harris, an arborist who later became a businessman. She was the youngest of four children. In her youth, Harris attended Senn High School and then Wilbur Wright College. She began her stage career as a teenager at the Playwrights Theatre in Chicago. Her fellow players included Edward Asner, Elaine May and Mike Nichols. She was also a member of the Compass Players, the first ongoing improvisational theatre troupe in the United States, directed by Paul Sills, to whom she was married at that time.Hart, Hugh"The Return Of Barbara"''Chicago Tribune'', April 21, 1991 Though the Compass Players closed in disarray, a second theatre directed by Sills called ''The Second City'' opened in Chicago in 195 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |