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Jiří Wachsmann
Jiří Voskovec () (born Jiří Wachsmann; June 19, 1905 – July 1, 1981), known in the United States as George Voskovec, was a Czech-American actor. Throughout much of his career, he was associated with actor and playwright Jan Werich. In the U.S., he is known for his role as the polite Juror #11 in the 1957 film '' 12 Angry Men''. Life and career Voskovec was born as Jiří Wachsmann in Sázava in Bohemia to Jiřina Valentina Marie ( Pinkasová) and Václav Vilém Eduard ( Voskovec; later Wachsmann). He had two siblings, Mrs. Olga Adriena Kluckaufová and Dr. Prokop Voskovec. His granduncle was Bedřich Wachsmann and his cousin was Alois Wachsman, both painters and architects. Another uncle was Austrian painter Julius Wachsmann (1866–1936). He immigrated to the US in 1939 and again in 1948 with the onset of the National Socialist and Stalinist regimes, respectively, in Czechoslovakia. He attended school in Prague and Dijon, France. In 1927, together with Werich, he joine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
12 Angry Men (1957 Film)
''12 Angry Men'' is a 1957 American legal drama film directed by Sidney Lumet in his feature directorial debut, adapted by Reginald Rose from his Twelve Angry Men (Westinghouse Studio One), 1954 teleplay. A critique of the Juries in the United States, American jury system during the McCarthyism, McCarthy era, the film tells the story of a jury of twelve men as they deliberate the conviction or acquittal of a teenager charged with murder on the basis of reasonable doubt; disagreement and conflict among the jurors forces them to question their morals and values. It stars an ensemble cast, featuring Henry Fonda (who also produced the film with Rose), Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley, E. G. Marshall, and Jack Warden. An independent film, independent production distributed by United Artists, ''12 Angry Men'' received acclaim from critics, despite a lukewarm box-office performance. At the 30th Academy Awards, it was nominated for Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture, Academy Award for B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, (Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak: ''Československá socialistická republika'', ČSSR) known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic (''Československá republika)'', Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, or simply Czechoslovakia, was the Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak state from 1948 until 1989, when the country was under Marxist-Leninist state, communist rule, and was regarded as a satellite state in the Soviet Union, Soviet sphere of interest. Following the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état, coup d'état of February 1948, when the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia seized power with the support of the Soviet Union, the country was declared a "people's democratic state" when the Ninth-of-May Constitution became effective. The traditional name (''Czechoslovak Republic''), along with several other state symbols, were changed on 11 July 1960 following the implementation of the 1960 Constitution of Czechoslovakia as a symbol of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jane Seymour (actress)
Jane Seymour (born Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg; 15 February 1951) is a British actress. After making her screen debut as an uncredited teenage extra in the 1969 musical comedy ''Oh! What a Lovely War'', Seymour moved to roles in film and television, including a leading role in the television series '' The Onedin Line'' (1972–1973) and the role of psychic Bond girl Solitaire in the James Bond film '' Live and Let Die'' (1973). Critical acclaim followed, with a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series for her role in '' Captains and the Kings'' (1976). In 1982, Seymour won her first Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television for her role in the miniseries '' East of Eden'' (1981). She received three additional Golden Globe nominations in that same category: one for her portrayal of Wallis Simpson, the twice-divorced American wife of King Edward VIII, in the television f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Reeve
Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, activist, director, and author. He amassed Christopher Reeve on stage and screen, several stage and screen credits in his 34-year career, including playing the Superman (1978 film series character), title character in the Superman in film, ''Superman'' film series (1978–1987). He won a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film Award, an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He was also known for his activism. Born in New York City and raised in Princeton, New Jersey, Reeve discovered a passion for acting and theater at the age of nine. He studied at Cornell University and the Juilliard School, making his Broadway theatre, Broadway debut in 1976. His Breakthrough role, breakthrough came with playing the title character in ''Superman (1978 film), Superman'' (1978) and its three sequels (1980–1987). Afterwards, Reeve turned down multiple roles in big-budget mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Somewhere In Time (film)
''Somewhere in Time'' is a 1980 American romantic fantasy drama film from Universal Pictures, directed by Jeannot Szwarc and starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour and Christopher Plummer. It is a film adaptation of the novel '' Bid Time Return'' (1975) by Richard Matheson, who also wrote the screenplay. Reeve plays Richard Collier, a playwright who becomes obsessed with the photograph of a young woman at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan. Through self-hypnosis, he transports himself back in time to the year 1912 to find love with actress Elise McKenna (portrayed by Seymour). He comes into conflict with Elise's manager, William Fawcett Robinson (portrayed by Plummer), who attempts to deter him, fearing that romance would derail her career. The film is known for its musical score composed by John Barry, featuring pianist Roger Williams. The 18th variation of Sergei Rachmaninoff's '' Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini'' is also used several times. In 2018, Seymour di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Nativity (1978 Film)
''The Nativity'' is a 1978 American made-for-television biographical drama film starring Madeleine Stowe as Mary, set around the Nativity of Jesus and based on the accounts in the canonical Gospels of Matthew and Luke, in the apocryphal gospels of Pseudo-Matthew and James, and in the '' Golden Legend''. It was directed by Bernard L. Kowalski, written by Morton S. Fine and Millard Kaufman, and filmed in Almería, Spain. Plot Cast * Madeleine Stowe as Mary * John Shea as Joseph * Jane Wyatt as Anna * Paul Stewart as Zacharias * Audrey Totter as Elizabeth * George Voskovec as Joachim * Freddie Jones as Diomedes * John Rhys-Davies as Nestor * W. Morgan Sheppard as Flavius * Kate O'Mara as Salome * Leo McKern as Herod * Geoffrey Beevers as Eleazar Home Video The film was released on VHS on October 16, 2001. See also * Life of the Virgin * List of Christmas films Many Christmas stories have been Christmas film, adapted to feature films and TV specials, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Josef Škvorecký
Josef Škvorecký (; September 27, 1924 – January 3, 2012) was a Czech-Canadian writer and publisher. He spent half of his life in Canada, publishing and supporting banned Czech literature during the communist era. Škvorecký was awarded the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 1980. He and his wife were long-time supporters of Czech dissident writers before the fall of communism in that country. Škvorecký's fiction deals with several themes: the horrors of totalitarianism and repression, the expatriate experience, and the miracle of jazz. Life Born the son of a bank clerk in Náchod, Czechoslovakia, Škvorecký graduated in 1943 from the Reálné '' gymnasium'' in his native Náchod. He had a youthful love-affair with jazz and was an amateur tenor saxophone player in the period just prior to the Second World War, an experience he drew upon for his novella ''The Bass Saxophone'' (1967). For two years during the War he was a slave labourer in a Messerschmitt air ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gramophone Record
A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near the outside edge and ends near the center of the disc. The stored sound information is made audible by playing the record on a phonograph (or "gramophone", "turntable", or "record player"). Records have been produced in different formats with playing times ranging from a few minutes to around 30 minutes per side. For about half a century, the discs were commonly made from shellac and these records typically ran at a rotational speed of 78 rpm, giving it the nickname "78s" ("seventy-eights"). After the 1940s, "vinyl" records made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) became standard replacing the old 78s and remain so to this day; they have since been produced in various sizes and speeds, most commonly 7-inch discs pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gary Busey
William Gary Busey (; born June 29, 1944) is an American actor. He portrayed Buddy Holly in ''The Buddy Holly Story'' (1978), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor. His other starring roles include ''A Star Is Born (1976 film), A Star Is Born'' (1976), ''D.C. Cab'' (1983), ''Silver Bullet (film), Silver Bullet'' (1985), ''Eye of the Tiger (film), Eye of the Tiger'' (1986), ''Lethal Weapon'' (1987), ''Hider in the House (film), Hider in the House'' (1989), ''Predator 2'' (1990), ''Point Break'' (1991), ''Under Siege'' (1992), ''The Firm (1993 film), The Firm'' (1993), ''Drop Zone (film), Drop Zone'' (1994), ''Black Sheep (1996 film), Black Sheep'' (1996) and ''Lost Highway (film), Lost Highway'' (1997). Early life William Gary Busey was born in Goose Creek, Texas#History, Goose Creek, Texas. While he was in fourth grade, Busey moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he later attended Bell Junior ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restrictions of the Nashville sound. The critical success of his album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust (Willie Nelson album), Stardust'' (1978), made Nelson one of the most recognized artists in country music. Nelson has acted in over 30 films, co-authored several books, and has been involved in activism for the use of biofuels and the Legalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States, legalization of marijuana. Nelson wrote his first song at age seven and joined his first band at ten. During high school, he toured locally with the Bohemian Polka as their lead singer and guitar player. After graduating from high school in 1950, he joined the U. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbarosa
''Barbarosa'' is a 1982 American Western film starring Willie Nelson and Gary Busey. It is about a young cowboy on the run from the law who partners with a famous ''bandido'' and learns about life from him. "One of the best overlooked westerns of the last 20 years" according to reviewer LG Writer, and featured on an episode of the television show '' Siskel & Ebert'' dedicated to uncovering worthy sleepers, it is "a tale of betrayal, vendetta, honor, and dignity". ''Barbarosa'' was the first American-made film by noted Australian director Fred Schepisi. Plot Young Karl Westover, a post-Civil War Texas farm boy, accidentally kills his brother-in-law and must flee to Mexico. Early into his flight he is met by the outlaw Barbarosa, who, seconds later, kills a man who was following him, whom he seems to know. Barbarosa takes pity on Karl and shows him how to find water, make a fire, and catch an armadillo for his supper. He leaves and tells Karl to go home to Texas. Karl makes his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Hurkos
Pieter van der Hurk (21 May 1911 – 1 June 1988) known as Peter Hurkos, was a Dutchman who claimed he manifested extrasensory perception (ESP) after recovering from a head injury and coma caused by a fall from a ladder when aged 30. He went to the United States in 1956 for psychic experiments, later becoming a professional psychic who sought clues in the Manson Family murders and the Boston Strangler case. With the help of businessman Henry Belk and parapsychologist Andrija Puharich, Hurkos became a popular entertainer known for performing psychic feats before live and television audiences. Testing and analysis Hurkos stated in a 1960 episode of the television series '' One Step Beyond'', after giving a lecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology to a scientific panel, that he would participate in any scientific experiment under any circumstances. However, author and stage magician James Randi contended that Hurkos refused to allow his skill to be tested by scien ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
