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Knock On Any Door
''Knock on Any Door'' is a 1949 American courtroom trial film noir directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Humphrey Bogart. The movie was based on the 1947 novel of the same name by Willard Motley. The picture gave actor John Derek his breakthrough role as young hoodlum Nick Romano, whose motto was "Live fast, die young, and have a good-looking corpse." Plot Against the wishes of his law partners, slick talking lawyer Andrew Morton takes the case of Nick Romano, a troubled punk from the slums, partly because he himself came from the same slums and partly because he feels guilty for his partner botching the criminal trial of Nick's father years earlier. Nick is on trial for shooting a policeman point-blank and faces execution if convicted. Nick's history is presented through flashbacks showing him as a hoodlum committing one petty crime after another. Morton's wife Adele convinces him to play nursemaid to Nick to make Nick a better person. Nick then robs Morton of $100 after a f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicholas Ray
Nicholas Ray (born Raymond Nicholas Kienzle Jr., August 7, 1911 – June 16, 1979) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor. Described by the Harvard Film Archive as "Hollywood's last romantic" and "one of postwar American cinema's supremely gifted and ultimately tragic filmmakers," Ray was considered an iconoclastic auteur director who often clashed with the Hollywood studio system of the time, but would prove highly influential to future generations of filmmakers. His best-known work is the 1955 film '' Rebel Without a Cause'', starring James Dean. He is appreciated for many narrative features produced between 1947 and 1963, including ''They Live By Night'' (1948), '' In a Lonely Place'' (1950), '' Johnny Guitar'' (1954), '' Bigger Than Life'' (1956), and ''King of Kings'' (1961), as well as an experimental work produced throughout the 1970s titled '' We Can't Go Home Again'', which was unfinished at the time of Ray's death. During his lifetime, Ray was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lost Gay Novels
''Lost Gay Novels'' is a 2003 reference guide written by Anthony Slide that provides commentary on 50 works of gay literature published between 1900 and 1950 that Slide found to be not well known by late 20th and early 21st-century audiences. Summary ''Lost Gay Novels'' provides plot summaries and reviews of 50 novels, organized alphabetically by the authors' last names. The book does not comprehensively cover gay literature from the time period, nor was it designed to be a recommended reading list, but rather covers books with different outlooks on homosexuality and gay issues and the context of their times. Most of the novels included are American, though a few are from Europe. The book also provides a discussion on the characters, and presents authors who are not normally associated with homosexuality. Covered works Impact ''Lost Gay Novels'' is notable for documenting the gay literature subculture that was active prior to the Stonewall riots. The novels discussed in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pierre Watkin
Pierre Frank Watkin (December 29, 1887 – February 3, 1960) was an American character actor best known for playing distinguished authority figures throughout the Golden Age of Hollywood. He is best remembered for his roles of Mr. Skinner the bank president in '' The Bank Dick'' (1940); Lou Gehrig's father-in-law Mr. Twitchell in '' Pride of the Yankees'' (1942); and the first actor to portray Perry White in the ''Superman'' serials ''Superman'' (1948) and '' Atom Man vs. Superman'' (1950). Early life Watkin was born on December 29, 1887, in Afton Township, Iowa, the third of four sons born to Charles Henry Watkin and Elizabeth Jeannette (née Scoles) Watkin. When Watkin was a young child, his family moved to Sioux City, Iowa, where his parents ran a boarding house for actors. This environment influenced Watkin to go into acting. When he was a teenager, the family moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where he began acting in theater. Career Watkin began his career touring the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Florence Auer
Florence Auer (March 3, 1880 – May 14, 1962) was an American theater and motion picture actress whose career spanned more than five decades. Life and career Born in Albany, New York, Auer began her career on East Coast stages at the turn of the 20th century. Her earliest known Broadway theatre performance was in a September 1907 production of ''The Ranger'', produced by Charles Frohman at Wallack's Theatre. Auer was among Frohman's stock theatre company of fourteen actors who would be brought into Vitagraph Studios as their first stable of prominent film actors around 1907. She began appearing in films shortly thereafter; her first film appearance was in the 1908 Wallace McCutcheon Sr. directed comedy short ''The Sculptor's Nightmare'' opposite director D.W. Griffith. One of the original " Biograph Girls" (along with actresses Marion Leonard and Florence Lawrence), Auer would appear alongside such notable future directors as Griffith, Thomas H. Ince, Robert G. Vignola, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vince Barnett
Vince Barnett (July 4, 1902 – August 10, 1977) was an American film actor. He appeared on stage originally before appearing in more than 230 films between 1930 and 1975. Early years Barnett was born July 4, 1902, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Luke Barnett, a well-known comedian who specialized in insulting and pulling practical jokes on his audiences.Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 32-34. (Luke's professional nickname was "Old Man Ribber" and "the King of Ribbing".) Barnett graduated from Duquesne University Prep School and the Carnegie Institute of Technology. An avid amateur pilot since 1921, he flew mail planes during 1925-1926. Barnett appeared on Broadway in '' Earl Carroll's Vanities'' during 1927. Practical jokes A 1932 newspaper report noted that "Barnett for years asknown in Hollywood as the 'professional ribber' -- appearing at banquets and parties as a paid 'insulter.'" He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Houseley Stevenson
Houseley Stevenson (30 July 1879 – 6 August 1953) was a British-American character actor who was born in London on July 30, 1879, and died in Duarte, California on August 6, 1953. He began his movie career in 1936 and had a short career in early television productions. Stevenson performed in live stage productions in New York under the name Houseley Stevens. He was a resident teacher at the Pasadena Playhouse in California. He was the father of actors Houseley Stevenson Jr., Edward Stevenson and Onslow Stevens. Films # '' The Law in Her Hands'' (1936) – Appellate Court Chief Judge (uncredited) # '' The White Angel'' (1936) – Surgeon (uncredited) # ''Bengal Tiger'' (1936) – Justice of the Peace (uncredited) # ''China Clipper'' (1936) – Doctor (uncredited) # '' Isle of Fury'' (1936) – The Rector # '' Once a Doctor'' (1937) – Magistrate Kendrick # '' Stolen Holiday'' (1937) – Wedding Official (uncredited) # '' Midnight Court'' (1937) – Mr. Jones - Witness (uncr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Davis Roberts
Davis Roberts (born Robert A. Davis, March 7, 1917 – July 18, 1993) was an American character actor whose career spanned five decades, from the late 1940s until just before his death in 1993. He started out making films in the 1940s and 1950s and expanded into television work in the following decades. Davis was known for his dignified portrayals which were often in contrast to prevailing stereotypical roles. He played the role of Dr. Caldwell in three episodes in the second and third seasons of the NBC-TV sitcom series '' Sanford and Son'', and as Dr. Ozaba in the 1968 episode " The Empath" in the original ''Star Trek'' series. He was active off-screen as well, serving several terms on the western advisory board of Actors' Equity Association. As one of the officers of Beverly Hills-Hollywood Branch of the NAACP he helped present the first Image Awards in 1967. Death Davis died in the home of his brother Charles on July 18, 1993, of emphysema Emphysema is any air-fille ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dewey Martin (actor)
Dewey Dallas Martin (December 8, 1923 – April 9, 2018) was an American film and television actor. Early life Martin was born in Katemcy, Texas. As a teenager, he lived in Florence, Alabama. Martin joined the United States Navy in 1940. In November 1942, he was one of a few enlisted sailors from Naval Air Technical Training Center Norman, Oklahoma, selected for pre-flight training with the opportunity to earn a commission as an officer and become a naval aviator. In April 1943, he was transferred to pre-flight training at the CAA War Training Service School in Natchitoches, Louisiana."Metalsmith Goes to Pre-Flight School" ''The Bull Horn'', Norman, Oklahoma, volume 1, number 21, April 1, 1943, page 3. At the time of his transfer, he was an Aviation Metalsmith 2nd Class and served as the Aviation Metalsmit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pepe Hern
José Hernández Bethencourt (June 6, 1927 – February 28, 2009), better known as Pepe Hern, was an American supporting actor, who usually played Spanish and Latino (primarily Mexican) roles throughout his career.Pepe Hern: Information from Answers.com: Biography Consulted April 17, 2011, 20:17 pm. Pepe Hern participated in nearly 50 films (most of which were premiered in television). He played his most important roles in '' Borderline'' and '' Make Haste to Live''. He was brother of actor [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sid Melton
Sidney Meltzer (May 22, 1917 – November 2, 2011), known professionally as Sid Melton, was an American actor. He played the roles of incompetent carpenter Alf Monroe in the CBS sitcom ''Green Acres,'' Ichabod 'Ikky' Mudd as sidekick to Captain Midnight (aka Jett Jackson The Flying Commando in syndication) and Uncle Charlie Halper, proprietor of the Copa Club, in ''The Danny Thomas Show'' and its spin-offs. He appeared in about 140 film and television projects in a career that spanned nearly 60 years. Among his most famous films were '' Lost Continent'' with Cesar Romero, '' The Steel Helmet'' with Gene Evans and Robert Hutton, '' The Lemon Drop Kid'' with Bob Hope, and '' Lady Sings The Blues'' with Diana Ross and Billy Dee Williams. He was a regular on ''The Danny Thomas Show'' and ''Green Acres'', and appeared in flashback on several episodes of ''The Golden Girls'' as Salvadore Petrillo, the long-dead husband of Sophia (played by Estelle Getty) and father of Dorothy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmy Conlin
Jimmy Conlin (October 14, 1884 – May 7, 1962) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 150 films in his 32-year career. Career Conlin was born in Camden, New Jersey in 1884, and his acting career started in vaudeville. He and singer Myrtle Glass worked up a musical vaudeville act in 1918; they were married later that year. Conlin & Glass played the Keith-Albee-Orpheum circuits in big-city theaters.Erickson, HaBiography (Allmovie)/ref> They also starred together in two short films, ''Sharps and Flats'' (1928) and ''Zip! Boom! Bang!'' (1929) for Vitaphone. These early shorts display Conlin's musical talents, including his impressive skills at the piano. In later years Conlin became strictly a character comedian, with little opportunity to show his vaudeville skills. Jimmy Conlin made another comedy short without Glass in 1930 (''A Tight Squeeze''), but his film career started in earnest in 1933, and for the next 27 years, every year saw the release of at lea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cara Williams
Cara Williams (born Bernice Kamiat; June 29, 1925 – December 9, 2021) was an American film and television actress. She was best known for her role as Billy's mother in '' The Defiant Ones'' (1958), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and her role as Gladys Porter on the 1960–62 CBS television series '' Pete and Gladys'', for which she was nominated for the Emmy Award for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy. At the time of her death, Williams was one of the last surviving actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Personal life Cara Williams was born Bernice Kamiat on June 29, 1925, in Brooklyn, New York City, to a Romanian Jewish mother Florence "Flora" Kamiat (née Schwartz; 1897—1990) and an Austrian Jewish father Benjamin Irving "Benny" Kamiat (1865—1957). She began making impersonations of all the screen stars she watched in the movies there, and knew she wanted to be an actress. Her parents divorced, and her mother relocated her t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
