|
Onionhead
''Onionhead'' is a 1958 American comedy drama film set on a U.S. Coast Guard ship during World War II, starring Andy Griffith and featuring Felicia Farr, Walter Matthau, Erin O'Brien, James Gregory, Joey Bishop and Claude Akins. It is directed by Norman Taurog and is written by Nelson Gidding and Weldon Hill from Hill's novel. ''Weldon Hill'' is the pseudonym of William R. Scott, a native Oklahoman who based the novel on his own World War II service in the Coast Guard. Griffith had experienced success earlier in 1958 with his service comedy '' No Time for Sergeants'', and ''Onionhead'' was an attempt to cash in on that success. It was mistakenly marketed as an uproarious comedy, but it is actually a comedy-drama with some dark themes, including theft and adultery. ''Onionhead'' was such a notorious flop that it drove Griffith into television, according to Griffith in a videotaped interview in the Archive of American Television. Plot In the spring of 1941, Al Woods quits ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erin Joanne O'Brien
Erin O'Brien (January 17, 1934May 20, 2021) was an American actress and singer, active during the mid-twentieth century and best known as the leading lady of arguably the first made-for-TV movie in 1958, '' Girl on the Run'', which also served as the pilot for the television series ''77 Sunset Strip'' written by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., which played briefly in theaters before airing on television on October 10, 1958. Early years The daughter of a milk delivery man, Vincent O'Brien, and his wife, Betty, she was the oldest of 14 siblings, with seven sisters and six brothers. She was born in Hollywood, grew up in Long Beach, California, and was a graduate of St. Anthony High School. At the age of 15, O'Brien had a notable encounter singing to Helen Keller, who was staying temporarily at a nunnery in Pasadena, California. One account of that encounter states, "The sister surrounding Keller's bed encouraged a frightened O'Brien to continue inging Finally Ke ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andy Griffith
Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, singer, and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characters with a folksy-friendly personality, as well as his gruff but friendly voice, Griffith was a Tony Awards, Tony Award nominee for two roles. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's film ''A Face in the Crowd (film), A Face in the Crowd'' (1957) and ''No Time for Sergeants (film), No Time for Sergeants'' (1958) before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead roles of Andy Taylor (The Andy Griffith Show), Andy Taylor in the sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show'' (1960–1968) and Ben Matlock in the legal drama ''Matlock (1986 TV series), Matlock'' (1986–1995). Early life and education Griffith was born on June 1, 1926, in Mount Airy, North Carolina, the only child of Carl Lee Griffith and his wife, Geneva (n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claude Akins
Claude Aubrey Akins (May 25, 1926 – January 27, 1994) was an American character actor. He played Sonny Pruit in '' Movin' On'', a 1974–1976 American drama series about a trucking team; Sheriff Lobo on '' The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo'', a 1979–1981 television series; and in a variety of other roles on television as well as in feature films. Early years Akins was born in Nelson, Georgia, and grew up in Bedford, Indiana, the son of Maude and Ernest Akins. Although film reference books gave his age at death as 75, Akins' son said his father was born in 1926, which is supported by public records. He was part Cherokee. Akins served in the Pacific with the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II. After the war, he graduated from Northwestern University in 1949, where he had majored in theatre arts and was trained in Shakespeare. He began his theatrical career at the Barter Theater in Abington, Virginia. He became an actor on Broadway in the late 1940s, and ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nelson Gidding
Nelson Roosevelt Gidding (September 15, 1919 – May 2, 2004) was an American screenwriter specializing in film adaptation. A longtime collaboration with director Robert Wise began with Gidding's screenplay for '' I Want to Live!'' (1958), which earned him an Oscar nomination. His long-running course on screenwriting adaptions at the University of Southern California inspired screenwriters of the present generation, including David S. Goyer. Gidding was born in New York City and attended school at Phillips Exeter Academy; as a young man he was friends with Norman Mailer. After graduating from Harvard University, he entered the Army Air Forces during World War II as the navigator on a B-26. His plane was shot down over Italy, but he survived; he spent 18 months as a POW but effected an escape. Returning from the war, in 1946 he published his only novel, ''End Over End'', begun while captive in a German prison camp. In 1949, Gidding married Hildegarde Colligan; together they ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Buttolph
James David Buttolph Jr. (August 3, 1902 – January 1, 1983) was an American film composer who scored over 300 movies in his career. Born in New York City, Buttolph showed musical talent at an early age, and eventually studied music formally. After earning a music degree, Buttolph moved to Europe in 1923 and studied in Austria and Germany supporting himself as a nightclub pianist. He returned to the U.S. in 1927 and, a few years later, began working for NBC radio network as an arranger and conductor. In 1933, Buttolph moved to Los Angeles and began working in films. Buttolph's best work, according to many, was his work as an arranger on the Alfred Newman score for '' The Mark of Zorro'' (1940). In the mid-1950s, Buttolph started to compose scores for television, the most memorable being the theme for the TV western '' Maverick'' starring James Garner with the same music appearing in his score of ''The Lone Ranger'' (1956). He continued to compose music for televisio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harold Rosson
Harold G. "Hal" Rosson, A.S.C. (April 6, 1895 – September 6, 1988) was an American cinematographer who worked during the early and classical Hollywood cinema, in a career spanning some 52 years, starting from the silent era in 1915. He is best known for his work on the fantasy film '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939) and the musical '' Singin' in the Rain'' (1952), as well as his marriage to Jean Harlow. Family Born in New York City, Rosson came from a film-making family. His older brother Arthur was a successful director as was his other older brother Richard and his younger sister Helene was an actress. Career Harold Rosson began his film career in 1908 as an actor at the Vitagraph Studios in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn. He became the assistant to Irvin Willat at the Mark Dintenfass Studios. In 1912 he divided his time as an office boy in a stockbrokers firm and as an assistant, extra, and handyman at the Famous Players Studio in New York. His first film for Famous Players ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joey Bishop
Joseph Abraham Gottlieb (February 3, 1918 – October 17, 2007), known professionally as Joey Bishop, was an American entertainer who appeared on television as early as 1948 and eventually starred in his own weekly comedy series playing a Talk show, talk/variety show host, then later hosted a late-night talk show with Regis Philbin as his young sidekick on ABC. He also was a member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford. He is listed as the 96th entry on Comedy Central's list of 100 greatest comedians. Early life and education Bishop, the youngest of five children, was born on February 3, 1918, in the The Bronx, Bronx, New York City, the son of History of the Jews in Poland, Polish-Jewish immigrants Anna (née Siegel) and Jacob Gottlieb. His father was a bicycle repairman. Bishop was raised in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Bishop was drafted into the US Army during World War II, and he rose to the rank of sergeant in the Spe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Gregory (actor)
James Gregory (December 23, 1911 – September 16, 2002) was an American character actor who played roles such as Schaffer in ''Al Capone (1959 film), Al Capone'' (1959), the Joseph McCarthy, McCarthy-like Sen. John Iselin in ''The Manchurian Candidate (1962 film), The Manchurian Candidate'' (1962), General Ursus (Planet of the Apes), General Ursus in ''Beneath the Planet of the Apes'' (1970), and Inspector Frank Luger in the television sitcom ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1982). Career In 1939, he made his Broadway theatre, Broadway debut in a production of ''Key Largo (play), Key Largo''. He served from 1941 to 1946 in the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps during World War II. His early acting work included army training films; one such appearance is excerpted in ''The Atomic Café'' (1982). He also worked in radio, including a year (1955–1956) on ''21st Precinct''. Gregory was the lead in ''The Lawless Years'', a 1920s-era crime drama which aired 45 epis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felicia Farr
Felicia Farr (born Olive Dines; October 4, 1932) is an American former actress and model. Early years Farr was born in Westchester County, New York. She attended Erasmus Hall High School and studied sociology at Penn State. Career Farr began modeling lingerie at age 15. In 1955, she told a wire-service reporter: "I was under age and over-developed ... The agency claimed I was 19 because a state law required underage lingerie models to be chaperoned". She appeared in several modeling photo shoots and advertisements during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1955, she signed a seven-year contract with Columbia Pictures. Her earliest screen appearances date from the mid-1950s. They include three westerns directed by Delmer Daves: '' Jubal'' (1956) and '' 3:10 to Yuma'' (1957), both starring Glenn Ford, and '' The Last Wagon'' (1956), starring Richard Widmark. Farr's later film appearances include the bawdy Billy Wilder farce ''Kiss Me, Stupid'' (1964) with Dean Martin and Ray Walston ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Matthau
Walter John Matthau ( Matthow; ; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, known for his "hangdog face" and for playing world-weary characters. He starred in 10 films alongside his real-life friend Jack Lemmon, including '' The Odd Couple'' (1968) and ''Grumpy Old Men'' (1993). ''The New York Times'' called this "one of Hollywood's most successful pairings". Among other accolades, he was an Academy Award, a two-time BAFTA Award, and two-time Tony Award winner. On Broadway, Matthau originated the role of Oscar Madison in '' The Odd Couple'' by playwright Neil Simon, for which he received a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play in 1965, his second after '' A Shot in the Dark'' in 1962. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the Billy Wilder film ''The Fortune Cookie'' (1966), with further Best Actor nominations for '' Kotch'' (1971) and ''The Sunshine Boys'' (1975). He gained further recognition for his portrayal of the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a population of 675,647 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the third-largest city in the Northeastern United States after New York City and Philadelphia. The larger Greater Boston metropolitan statistical area has a population of 4.9 million as of 2023, making it the largest metropolitan area in New England and the Metropolitan statistical area, eleventh-largest in the United States. Boston was founded on Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by English Puritans, Puritan settlers, who named the city after the market town of Boston, Lincolnshire in England. During the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, Boston was home to several seminal events, incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lieutenant (junior Grade)
Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), is a junior commissioned officer rank of the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA Corps). LTJG has a US military pay grade of O-2,10 USC 5501 Navy: grades above chief warrant officer, W–5 Pay grades: assignment to; general rules and a [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
