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Jinxed!
''Jinxed!'' (also branded as ''Jinxed'' on promotional media) is a 1982 American comedy film starring Bette Midler, Rip Torn and Ken Wahl. The film was the last to be directed by Don Siegel, who suffered a heart attack during production. Siegel hired Sam Peckinpah, who had worked for him in the past, to shoot second-unit work, for which Peckinpah was uncredited. Plot Bonita Friml is a Las Vegas lounge singer whose husband Harold Benson is a cigar-smoking recreational gambler with a long winning streak. It seems that he cannot lose to one blackjack dealer in particular, a man named Willie Brodax. When the casino notices Willie's losing streak, they fire him, figuring that he must be jinxed. Willie then lands another blackjack-dealing job in Reno, Nevada and Harold follows him there, forcing Bonita to abandon her lucrative singing gig to accompany him. When Willie sees that Harold is now in Reno, Willie reports Harold to security, but they find no evidence of cheating. Milt Hawk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic '' The Wild Bunch'' received two Academy Award nominations and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Institute's top 100 list. His films employed a visually innovative and explicit depiction of action and violence as well as a revisionist approach to the Western genre. Peckinpah's films deal with the conflict between values and ideals, as well as the corruption and violence in human society. His characters are often loners or losers who desire to be honorable but are forced to compromise in order to survive in a world of nihilism and brutality. He was given the nickname "Bloody Sam" owing to the violence in his films. Peckinpah's combative personality, marked by years of alcohol and drug abuse, affected his professional legacy. The production of many of his films included battles with producers and crew members, damaging his reputation and ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Siegel
Donald Siegel ( ; October 26, 1912 – April 20, 1991) was an American film director and producer. Siegel was described by ''The New York Times'' as "a director of tough, cynical and forthright action-adventure films whose taut plots centered on individualistic loners". He directed the Science fiction film, science-fiction horror film ''Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' (1956), as well as five films with Clint Eastwood, including the police thriller ''Dirty Harry'' (1971) and the prison drama ''Escape from Alcatraz (film), Escape from Alcatraz'' (1979). He also directed John Wayne's final film, the Western ''The Shootist'' (1976). Early life Siegel was born in 1912 to a Jewish family in Chicago; his father was Samuel Siegel, a mandolin player. Siegel attended schools in New York and later graduated from Jesus College, Cambridge in England. For a short time, he studied at Beaux-Arts de Paris, Beaux Arts in Paris, but left at age 20 and later went to Los Angeles.Munn, p. 75 Career ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kathryn Kates
Kathryn Jane Kates (January 29, 1948 – January 22, 2022) was an American actress. She was known for appearances on ''Seinfeld'' in the episodes "The Rye" and "The Dinner Party." She also appeared in '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', ''Orange Is the New Black'', ''The Many Saints of Newark'' among other roles in television and film. Kates also has many off-Broadway credits. Early life and career Kathryn Jane Kates was born in New York City on January 29, 1948. Her father, Louis Kates, was an electronics engineer. Her mother, Sylvia Kates, was an actress who worked under the stage name Madelyn Cates. Kathryn Kates graduated from Great Neck North Senior High School in 1967. She graduated from Tisch School of the arts at New York University in 1971. Ms. Kates moved to Los Angeles in 1974 where she began her acting career. She is one of 25 actors who are founding members of The Colony Theatre, at The Studio Theatre in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles. Kates, was co-gene ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rip Torn
Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn Jr. (February 6, 1931 – July 9, 2019) was an American actor whose career spanned roughly 60 years. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing Marsh Turner in '' Cross Creek'' (1983). Torn's portrayal of Artie the producer on ''The Larry Sanders Show'' (1993–1998) received six Emmy Award nominations, winning in 1996. Torn is also known for his roles as Judas Iscariot in ''King of Kings'' (1961), Thomas J. Finley, Jr. in '' Sweet Bird of Youth'' (1962), Dr. Nathan Bryce in '' The Man Who Fell to Earth'' (1976), Bob Diamond in '' Defending Your Life'' (1991), Zeus in ''Hercules'' (1997), Zed in the ''Men in Black'' franchise (1997, 2002), Jim Brody in '' Freddy Got Fingered'' (2001), Patches O'Houlihan in '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' (2004), and Louis XV in ''Marie Antoinette'' (2006). Early life Elmore Rual Torn Jr. was born on February 6, 1931, in Temple, Texas, the son of Elmore Rual "Tiger" Torn Sr., and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bette Midler
Bette Midler ( ;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her five-decade career Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Bette Midler, numerous accolades, including four Golden Globe Awards, three Grammy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Kennedy Center Honors, Kennedy Center Honor, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards and a British Academy Film Award. Born in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, Hawaii, Midler began her professional career in several off-off-Broadway plays, prior to her engagements in ''Fiddler on the Roof'' and ''Salvation (musical), Salvation'' on Broadway theatre, Broadway in the late 1960s. She came to prominence in 1970 when she began singing in the Continental Baths, a local gay bathhouse where she managed to build up a core following. Since 1970, Midler has released 14 studio albums as a solo artist, selling over 30 milli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ken Wahl
Ken Wahl (born February 14, 1957) is an American retired actor. Rising to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s, he starred in the CBS television crime drama '' Wiseguy''. Early life and career Wahl, who was born in Chicago, Illinois, Note: Only page 1 of article appears online. Full text appears in print edition. is elusive about his personal life, and has given more than one birthdate. A Newspaper Enterprise Association syndicated article in 1988, citing records checked by the CBS publicist for Wahl's television series '' Wiseguy'', gives February 14, 1957, a date that corresponds with the year of his high school graduation: "A call to Bremen High School in the Chicago suburb of Midlothian reveals Wahl graduated from there in June 1975, presumably at age 18." In 2004, ''Entertainment Weekly'' noted the confusion surrounding Wahl's date of birth and added that "Ken Wahl is not actually Ken Wahl. At least he wasn't when he was born. While he declines to disclose his birth name, he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kathleen O'Malley
Mary Kathleen O'Malley (March 31, 1924 – February 25, 2019) was an American film and television actress, who was the daughter of vaudevillian and actor Pat O'Malley. Her screen debut came during the silent film, silent film era as a thirteen month old baby in 1926, when she appeared alongside her father and her sister Sheila in the western ''My Old Dutch (1926 film), My Old Dutch''. O'Malley went on to appear in several films and television shows during a seven decade career, including ''Cover Girl (film), Cover Girl'', ''Lady on a Train'', ''Two Tickets to Broadway'', ''Gunsmoke'', ''Maverick (TV series), Maverick'', ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', ''Leave it to Beaver'' and ''General Hospital''. O'Malley also appeared in the second season of Barnaby Jones; episode titled, "Blind Terror" (09/16/1973). Her last acting credit came in 1998 when she appeared in the short-lived American crime drama ''Buddy Faro''. Early life O'Malley was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, to vau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ian Wolfe
Ian Marcus Wolfe (November 4, 1896 – January 23, 1992) was an American character actor with around 400 film and television credits. Until 1934, he worked in the theatre. That year, he appeared in his first film role and later television, as a character actor. His career lasted seven decades and included many films and TV series; his last screen credit was in 1990. Early years Born in Canton, Illinois, Wolfe studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Career Wolfe's stage debut came in ''The Claw'' (1919). His Broadway credits include ''The Deputy'' (1964), ''Winesburg, Ohio'' (1958), ''Lone Valley'' (1933), ''Devil in the Mind'' (1931), ''The Barretts of Wimpole Street'' (1931), ''Lysistrata'' (1930), ''The Seagull'' (1930), ''At the Bottom'' (1930), ''Skyrocket'' (1929), ''Gods of the Lightning'' (1928), and ''The Claw'' (1921). Wolfe made his film debut in '' The Barretts of Wimpole Street'' (1934). He appeared in many films, including '' Mutiny on the Bounty'' (193 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Elam
William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1920 – October 20, 2003) was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villainous image). His most distinguishing physical quality was his misaligned eye. Before his career in acting, he took several jobs in finance and served two years in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Elam performed in 73 movies and in at least 41 television series. Early life Born in 1920 in Miami, Arizonaa small mining town located 85 miles east of PhoenixJack was one of two children of Millard Elam (1887–1965) and Alice Amelia, née Kerby (1884–1924)"Arizona, Birth Certificates and Indexes, 1855–1930", William Scott Elam, Miami, Gilda County, Arizona, November 13, 1920, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Arizona State Board of Health, Phoenix. Microfilm image of original birth certificate signed by attending physician Cyril M. Crow, M.D.; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Val Avery
Sebouh Der Abrahamian (July 14, 1924 – December 12, 2009), known professionally as Val Avery, was an American character actor who appeared in hundreds of movies and television shows. In a career that spanned 50 years, Avery appeared in over 100 films and had appearances in over 300 television episodes. Early life and education Avery was born in Philadelphia to Armenian parents Megerdich and Arousiag Der Abrahamian. His father was from Sebastia and moved to the United States in 1907. During the Armenian genocide, his grandfather Bedros Der Abrahamian, a priest at the Church of the Holy Mother of God in Sebastia, was murdered. In his early years, Avery acted in plays with the Armenian Youth Federation. After serving in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, he attended the Bessie V. Hicks School of Drama in Philadelphia. Career Avery was frequently cast as tough or low-class types, such as policemen, thugs, mobsters, bartenders, and blue-collar workers. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herb Jaffe
Herb Jaffe (May 20, 1921-December 7, 1991) was an independent film producer in the United States. Biography Jaffe was born in Brooklyn, New York, and began his career as a literary agent, working with authors such as Reginald Rose (''Twelve Angry Men,'' 1954), Joseph Heller (''Catch-22'', 1961, ''Something Happened,'' 1974), and Philip Roth (''Goodbye, Columbus,'' 1959, ''Portnoy's Complaint,'' 1969, '' American Pastoral,'' 1997, and ''The Human Stain,'' 2001). He then took a position at United Artists, eventually becoming the studio's head of worldwide production. Having become an independent producer in 1973, he produced ''The Wind and the Lion'' (1975), starring Sean Connery, and 11 other films, including Who'll Stop the Rain with Nick Nolte'', Jinxed!'' with Bette Midler, '' The Demon Seed'' with Julie Christie'','' and '' Time After Time'' and '' Fright Night Part 2'' with Julie Carmen. He also executive produced four films, including Those Lips, Those Eyes, and '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joan Freeman (actress)
Joan Freeman is a retired American actress. Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, she started her career as a child actress in the 1949 television series ''Sandy Dreams'' before making her film debut with the western '' Pistol Harvest''. Starting from 1961, she appeared in TV series and films like ''Bus Stop'', '' Panic in Year Zero!'', and ''Tower of London'', and in 1962 was nominated as Most Promising New Star in the film magazine ''Photoplay''. In 1964, she played alongside Elvis Presley in ''Roustabout'', and earned another Photoplay Gold Medal nomination. Her last acting role was in 1994. Early life Freeman was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa.Lisanti, Tom (2003). Drive-in Dream Girls : A Galaxy of B-Movie Starlets of the Sixties'. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 246. . She attended Mother Cabrini School in Burbank, California, and later attended John Burroughs High School where she graduated in 1959. Career Freeman started as a child actress, having appeared in the 1949 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
