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Howard Strickling
Howard Strickling (September 25, 1896 – July 16, 1982) served as head of publicity for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer pictures from the late 1920s into the late 1960s. Biography He was born in West Virginia; Strickling was in charge of the publicity surrounding MGM's films, and the studio's stars for what most film buffs consider the heyday of the company. He was also the voice-over announcer on several trailers for famous MGM films including ''Gone with the Wind'', and all three theatrical releases of '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939, 1949, and 1955). Strickling was also well known in Hollywood as one of MGM's " fixers", along with studio vice-president, Eddie Mannix. Strickling and Mannix are the subject of E. J. Fleming's book ''The Fixers: Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling and the MGM Publicity Machine'' (2004). According to the book, Strickling and Mannix were responsible for covering up or working to tone down several scandals, including pregnancies and abortions, surrounding high-profile ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was founded on April 17, 1924, and has been owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon (company), Amazon since 2022. MGM was formed by Marcus Loew by combining Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Pictures into one company. It hired a number of well-known actors as contract players—its slogan was "more stars than there are in heaven"—and soon became Hollywood's most prestigious filmmaking company, producing popular musical films and winning many Academy Awards. MGM also owned film studios, movie lots, movie theaters and technical production facilities. Its most prosperous era, from 1926 to 1959, was bracketed by two productions of ''Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Virginia
West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies the state as a part of the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regionMid-Atlantic Home : Mid-Atlantic Information Office: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics" www.bls.gov. Archived. It is bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland to the northeast, Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, and Ohio to the northwest. West Virginia is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 10th-smallest state by area and ranks as the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 12th-least populous state, with a population of 1,769,979 residents. The capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gone With The Wind (film)
''Gone with the Wind'' is a 1939 American epic historical romance film adapted from the 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell. The film was produced by David O. Selznick of Selznick International Pictures and directed by Victor Fleming. Set in the American South against the backdrop of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction era, the film tells the story of Scarlett O'Hara ( Vivien Leigh), the strong-willed daughter of a Georgia plantation owner, following her romantic pursuit of Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard), who is married to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton (Olivia de Havilland), and her subsequent marriage to Rhett Butler (Clark Gable). The film had a troubled production. The start of filming was delayed for two years until January 1939 because Selznick was determined to secure Gable for the role of Rhett, and filming concluded in July. The role of Scarlett was challenging to cast, and 1,400 unknown women were interviewed for the part. Sidney Howard's original screenpl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Wizard Of Oz (1939 Film)
''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left production to take over the troubled ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind''. It stars Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke, and Margaret Hamilton (actress), Margaret Hamilton. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, while others made uncredited contributions. The music was composed by Harold Arlen and adapted by Herbert Stothart, with lyrics by Yip Harburg, Edgar "Yip" Harburg. ''The Wizard of Oz'' is celebrated for its use of Technicolor, fantasy storytelling, musical score, and memorable characters. It was a critical success and was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture, winning Academy Awa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cleaner (crime)
A fixer is someone who is assigned or contracted to solve problems for others. The term has different meanings in different contexts. In British usage (and in other Commonwealth countries) the term is neutral, referring to a person, such as a special adviser, "who...gets things done". Use in American English implies that the methods used are of questionable morality and legality. In organized crime, cleaners remove incriminating physical evidence, including the disposal of bodies or witnesses. In sports, the term 'fixer' describes someone who makes arrangements to manipulate or pre-arrange the outcome of a sporting contest. In journalism, a fixer is a local person who expedites the work of a foreign correspondent. Facilitator Fixers may primarily use legal means, such as lawsuits and payoffs, to accomplish their ends, or they may carry out unlawful activities. The White House Plumbers have been described as fixers for Richard Nixon; their methods included break-ins a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eddie Mannix
Joseph Edgar Allen John Mannix (February 25, 1891 – August 30, 1963) was an American film studio executive and producer. He is remembered for his work as a "fixer (crime), fixer", who was paid to cover up Hollywood stars' often colorful private lives to protect their public image and profitability for the studio. Among his most lasting contributions to Hollywood was a ledger he maintained that listed the costs and revenues of every Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MGM film produced from 1924 to 1962, an important reference for film historians. Early life Mannix was born in Fort Lee, New Jersey, the son of John and Lizzie (née Striker) Mannix. Christened Joseph Edgar Allen John Mannix, he used Edgar Joseph Mannix as his official name, but was known to most associates as Eddie. He was of Irish Catholic descent. Career After working as a bouncer and then treasurer of the Palisades Amusement Park, he became involved in motion picture exhibition, then was sent to Hollywood in 1925. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Spano
Joseph Peter Spano (born July 7, 1946) is an American actor known best for his roles as Lt. Henry Goldblume on ''Hill Street Blues'' and FBI Special Agent Tobias C. Fornell on '' NCIS''. He also voiced the Chuck E. Cheese (at the time Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre) character, Pasqually the Chef, from 1977 to 1983. Career Spano was a member of the San Francisco improvisation group The Wing, and in college debuted as Paris in a production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1967. In 1968, he helped found the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, acting in its first production, and stayed with the company for ten years. He relocated to Hollywood during the late 1970s, obtaining guest roles for television and minor roles in ''American Graffiti'' (1973) and '' The Enforcer'' (1976). In ''Hill Street Blues'' he played Henry Goldblume during the entire seven-year run of the series, first as a detective sergeant, later as a lieutenant. Goldblume was one of Hill Street precinct captain Frank Furill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hollywoodland
''Hollywoodland'' is a 2006 American mystery drama film directed by Allen Coulter and written by Paul Bernbaum. The story presents a fictionalized account of the circumstances surrounding the death of actor George Reeves ( Ben Affleck), the star of the 1950s film '' Superman and the Mole Men'' and the television series '' Adventures of Superman''. Adrien Brody stars as a fictional character, Louis Simo, a private detective investigating Toni Mannix ( Diane Lane); who was involved in a long romantic relationship with Reeves and was the wife of MGM studio executive Eddie Mannix ( Bob Hoskins). Reeves had ended the affair and had become engaged to a younger woman, aspiring actress Leonore Lemmon ( Robin Tunney). Development for ''Hollywoodland'' began in 2001 when Focus Features purchased Bernbaum's script, titled ''Truth, Justice, and the American Way''. Michael and Mark Polish were set to direct with Benicio del Toro in the lead role, but Focus Features placed the film in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Superman (1952 TV Series)
''Adventures of Superman'' is an American superhero television series based on comic book characters and concepts that Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created in 1938. The show was the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California on RKO-Pathé stages and the RKO Forty Acres back lot. Cereal manufacturer Kellogg's sponsored the show. The first and last airdates of the show, which was produced for first-run syndication rather than for a network, are disputed, but they are generally accepted as September 19, 1952, and April 28, 1958. The show's first two seasons (episodes 1–52, 26 titles per season) were filmed in black-and-white; seasons three to six (episodes 53–104, 13 titles per season) were filmed in color, but were originally telecast in black-and-white. ''Adventures of Superman'' was not shown in color until 1965, when the series was syndicated to local stations. George Reeves played Superman, with Jack Larson as Jimmy Olsen, John Hami ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Reeves
George Reeves (born George Keefer Brewer; January 5, 1914 – June 16, 1959) was an American actor. He was best known for portraying Superman, Clark Kent/Superman in the television series ''Adventures of Superman (TV series), Adventures of Superman'' (1952–1958). His death by gunshot at age 45 remains controversial. The official finding was suicide, but some believe that he was murdered or the victim of an accidental shooting. Early life Reeves was born January 5, 1914, as George Keefer Brewer in Woolstock, Iowa, the son of Donald Carl Brewer and Helen Lescher. Reeves was born five months into their marriage. When the couple separated, soon after Reeves's birth, Reeves and his mother moved from Iowa to Ashland, Kentucky, to stay with relatives for a time and then to her home in Galesburg, Illinois. Later, Reeves's mother, who was of German descent, moved to California to stay with her sister. There, by 1920, she had met and married Frank Joseph Bessolo (according to tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Hoskins
Robert William Hoskins (26 October 1942 – 29 April 2014) was an English actor and film director. Known for his intense but sensitive portrayals of "tough guy" characters, he began his career on stage before making his screen breakthrough playing Arthur Parker on the 1978 BBC Television serial '' Pennies from Heaven''. He subsequently played acclaimed lead roles in the films '' The Long Good Friday'' (1980), ''Mona Lisa'' (1986), ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' (1988), '' Mermaids'' (1990) and '' The Good Pope: Pope John XXIII'' (2002). Hoskins had supporting roles in ''Pink Floyd – The Wall'' (1982), '' The Honorary Consul'' (1983), '' The Cotton Club'' (1984), ''Brazil'' (1985), ''Hook'' (1991), '' Nixon'' (1995), ''Enemy at the Gates'' (2001), '' Maid in Manhattan'' (2002), '' Mrs Henderson Presents'' (2005), ''A Christmas Carol'' (2009), ''Made in Dagenham'' (2010), and ''Snow White and the Huntsman'' (2012). He portrayed Mario in the 1993 film '' Super Mario Bros.'', based ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Brand
Harry Brand (October 20, 1895 – February 22, 1989) was an American press agent. Described as "the mastermind who made Shirley Temple the most famous child star in history, Betty Grable a GI Joe pinup girl and Marilyn Monroe a sex goddess," Brand was the head of publicity at 20th Century Fox from 1935 until 1962. Known as the "Herald of Hyperbole" for his exuberant press releases, Brand was an accomplished fixer. Married to Sybil Brand, a prominent philanthropist and political fundraiser, and the brother of a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge, he utilized his family connections as well as his relationships with powerful columnists such as Louella Parsons and Walter Winchell to keep scandals and indiscretions that involved his clients out of the headlines. Early life and education Brand was born in New York to Austrian immigrants Louis Brand, a tailor, and Celia Berry Brand. He moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1900, and in 1902 broke his leg. Set improperly, he walked with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
