Died Today (July 27th): William Wyler (1902–1981)

williamwyler.jpgWilliam Wyler (1902–1981)

Born: July 1, 1902 in Mülhausen, Alsace, Germany [now Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, France]

Died: July 27, 1981 (age 79) in Los Angeles, California, USA

Married to: Margaret Tallichet (23 October 1938 – 27 July 1981) (his death) (5 children)

William Wyler – Born in France in 1902, Wyler emigrated to the US and began his career via family connections in cinema. He learned the directorial craft on low-budget silent pictures, his first success being one of the first ‘talkies’ – 1930’s Hell’s Heroes.

Over the next thirty years William received fourteen Oscar nominations, winning three (for ‘42’s Mrs. Miniver, ‘46’s The Best Years of Our Lives, and ‘59’s Ben-Hur).

Ben-Hur set a record win of eleven Oscars, (since tied by two other films). William Wyler died in 1981.

The Good Fairy
1935
dir. Wyler
starring
Margaret Sullavan
Frank Morgan
DodsworthDodsworth
1936
dir. Wyler
starring
Walter Huston
WUTHERING HEIGHTSWuthering Heights
1939
dir. Wyler
Starring
Laurence Olivier
Merle Oberon
RebeccaThe Letter
1940
dir. Wyler
Starring
Bette Davis
Herbert Marshall
THE LITTLE FOXESThe Little Foxes
1941
dir. William Wyler
Starring
Bette Davis
Teresa Wright
THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVESThe Best Years of our Lives
1946
dir. William Wyler
Starring
Myrna Loy
Fredric Marsh
Dana Andrews
The HeiressThe Heiress
1949
dir. Wyler
starring
Olivia de Havilland
Montgomery Clift
ROMAN HOLIDAYRoman Holiday
1953
dir. Wyler
Cast
Gregory Peck
Audrey Hepburn
HOW TO STEAL A MILLIONHow to Steal a Million
1966
dir. Wyler
Starring
Audrey Hepburn
Peter O’Toole
Funny GirlFunny Girl
1968
dir. Wyler
starring
Barbra Streisand
Omar Sharif

Died Today (July 27th): James Mason (1909–1984)

jamesmason.jpgJames Mason (1909–1984)

Born: May 15, 1909 in Huddersfield, Yorkshire [now in Kirklees, West Yorkshire], England, UK

Died: July 27, 1984 (age 75) in Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland

Married to:
Clarissa Kaye-Mason (13 August 1971 – 27 July 1984) (his death)
Pamela Mason (February 1941 – 31 August 1964) (divorced) (2 children)

movie posterTHE BOYS FROM BRAZIL
1978
dir. Franklin J. Schaffner
Starring:
Gregory Peck
Laurence Oliviera
MURDER BY DECREEMurder by Decree
1979
dir. Bob Clark
Starring
Christopher Plummer
James Mason
North by NorthwestNorth by Northwest
1959
dir. Hitchcock
Starring
Cary Grant
Eva Marie Saint
MOVIE POSTERA STAR IS BORN
1954
dir. George Cukor
Stars:
Judy Garland
James Mason
MOVIE POSTERTHE WICKED LADY
1945
dir. Leslie Arliss
Stars:
Margaret Lockwood
James Mason
THE VERDICTThe Verdict
1982
dir. Sydney Lumet
Cast
Paul Newman
Charlotte Rampling
MOVIE POSTERLOLITA
1962
dir. Stanley Kubrick
Stars:
James Mason
Sue Lyon

 

Died Today (July 27th): Bob Hope (1903–2003)

bobhope.jpgBob Hope (1903–2003)

Born: May 29, 1903 in Eltham, Woolwich [now in Greenwich], London, England, UK

Died: July 27, 2003 (age 100) in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles, California, USA

Married to: Dolores Hope (19 February 1934 – 27 July 2003) (his death) (4 children)

The Cat and the Canary
1939
dir. Elliott Nugent
starring
Hope
Paulette Goddard
The Ghost BreakersThe Ghost Breakers
1940
dir. by George Marshall
starring
Hope
Paulette Goddard
Nothing but the Truth
1941
dir. Elliott Nugent
starring
Hope
Paulette Goddard
ROAD TO UTOPIARoad to Utopia
1946
dir. Hal Walker
starring
Bing Crosby
Hope
MY FAVORITE BRUNETTEMy Favorite Brunette
1947
dir. Elliott Nugent
Starring
Hope
Dorothy Lamour

Happy Birthday: Norman Lear

normanlear.jpgNorman Lear

Born: July 27, 1922 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA

Norman Lear is a World War II veteran, actor, writer, producer, director, and creator of such legendary sitcoms like All In The Family, Good Times, Sanford And Son, The Jeffersons, Maude, and many other sitcoms that defined and revolutionized American television.

Married to:
Lyn Davis (5 September 1987 – present) (3 children)
Frances Lear (7 December 1956 – 1986) (divorced) (2 children)
Charlotte Rosen (? – ?) (divorced) (1 child)

In 1959 Lear produced a pilot for a situation comedy called “Band of Gold” in which James Franciscus and Suzanne Pleshette played a different couple each week. The program was considered too “experimental” and was never broadcast.

Happy Birthday: Kenny Wormald

kennywormald.jpgKenny Wormald

Born: July 27, 1984 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA

When I was performing on tour with Justin Timberlake, we did a show in Boston, Massachusetts at the TD Banknorth Garden. I’m from Boston, and just a few years prior to the performance, I’d been back home in my living room trying to learn JT’s choreography. To return to my hometown performing with my favorite artist in the world was amazing. It taught me that anything is possible!

 

MOVIE POSTERFOOTLOOSE
dir. Craig Brewer
Stars:
Kenny Wormald
Julianne Hough
CLERKS IIClerks II
2006
dir. Kevin Smith
Cast
Brian O’Halloran
Jeff Anderson

 

Happy Birthday: Julian McMahon

julianmcmahon.jpgJulian McMahon

Born: July 27, 1968 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Married to:
Kelly Paniagua (June 2014 – present)
Brooke Burns (22 December 1999 – 7 January 2002) (divorced) (1 child)

 

 

MOVIE POSTERPARANOIA
2013
dir. Robert Luketic
Stars:
Liam Hemsworth
Gary Oldman

PREMONITIONPremonition
2007
dir. Mennan Yapo
also starring
Julian McMahon
Nia Long
REDRED
dir. Robert Schwentke
Stars:
Bruce Willis
Helen Mirren
FANTASTIC FOUR 4FANTASTIC FOUR 4
dir. Tim Story
Starring
Ioan Gruffudd
Jessica Alba

 

Happy Birthday: Cliff Curtis

cliffcurtis.jpgCliff Curtis

Born: July 27, 1968 in Rotorua, New Zealand

(On Whale Rider) I’ve been waiting for this film for a long time. It’s fun to go off and put on a disguise and pretend to be someone else, but to be able to get back to myself and my culture, that was just more than really nice, y’know – it was vital.

 

 

COLOMBIANA
dir. Olivier Megaton
Stars:
Zoe Saldana
Michael Vartan
PUSHPush
2009
dir. Paul McGuigan
Starring
Fanning
Chris Evans
THREE KINGSThree Kings
1999
dir. David O Russell
Starring
George Clooney
Mark Wahlberg
10000 BC10,000 BC
2008
dir. Emmerich
Starring
Steven Strait
Camilla Belle
Live Free of Die Hard
2007
dir. Len Wiseman
Starring
Willis
Justin Long
FRACTUREFracture
2007
dir. Gregory Hoblit
Starring
Anthony Hopkins
Ryan Gosling
The Last Airbender Movie PosterThe Last Airbender
dir. M. Night Shyamalan
Stars
Noah Ringer
Nicola Peltz
THE INSIDERThe Insider
1999
dir. Michael Mann
starring
Crowe
Al Pacino
MOVIE POSTERTHE FOUNTAIN
2006
dir. Darren Aronofsky
Stars:
Hugh Jackman
Rachel Weisz
MOVIE POSTERA THOUSAND WORDS
dir. Brian Robbins
Stars:
Eddie Murphy
Cliff Curtis
ONCE WERE WARRIORS
1994
dir. Lee Tamahori
Starring
Rena Owen
Temuera Morrison
THE PIANOThe Piano
1993
dir. Jane Campion
Starring
Hunter
Harvey Keitel
Paquin

 

Happy Birthday: Maya Rudolph

mayarudolph.jpgMaya Rudolph

Born: July 27, 1972 in Gainesville, Florida, USA

On May 6, 2000, Maya joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (1975). and has since become one of that show’s most popular performers. Favorite sketches include a dead-on impression of fashion diva Donatella Versace; high school flake “Megan”, the host of her own morning talk show, “Wake-up WakeField”; and one of the members of the R&B parody “Gemini’s Twin”.

 

Shrek Forever After
dir. Mike Mitchell
Stars
Mike Myers
Cameron Diaz
bridesmaidsBRIDESMAIDS
dir. Paul Feig
Stars:
Kristen Wiig
Maya Rudolph
AWAY WE GO Movie PosterAway We Go
dir. Sam Mendes
Starring
John Krasinski
Maya Rudolph
Grown Ups
dir. Dennis Dugan
Stars
Adam Sandler
Salma Hayek
MOVIE POSTERFRIENDS WITH KIDS
dir. Jennifer Westfeldt
Stars:
Jennifer Westfeldt
Adam Scott
MacGruber PosterMacGruber
dir. Jorma Taccone
Stars
Will Forte
Kristen Wiig
MOVIE POSTERGROWN UPS 2
2013
dir. Dennis Dugan
Stars:
Adam Sandler
Kevin James
MOVIE POSTERTURBO
2013
dir. David Soren
Stars:
Ryan Reynolds
Paul Giamatti
MOVIE POSTERTHE WAY WAY BACK
2013
dir. Nat Faxon
Jim Rash
Stars:
Steve Carell
Toni Collette
A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION
2006
dir. Robin Altman
Stars:
Meryl Streep
Lily Tomlin
MOVIE POSTERIDIOCRACY
2006
dir. Mike Judge
Stars:
Luke Wilson
Maya Rudolph
MOVIE POSTERTHE NUT JOB
2014
dir. Peter Lepeniotis
Stars:
Will Arnett
Katherine Heigl