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1-18 of 18
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Jeanne Cooper was born on 25 October 1928 in Taft, California, USA. She was an actress, known for The Young and the Restless (1973), Ben Casey (1961) and Kansas City Bomber (1972). She was married to Harry Bernsen. She died on 8 May 2013 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Excellent and engaging character actor Dennis Fimple was born 11 November, 1940, in Ventura, California and raised in the nearby town of Taft. His father, Elmer was an electrician, and his mother, Dolly was a beautician. Dennis first became interested in acting after he portrayed Tom Sawyer in a junior high school play. After graduating Taft Union High School, Fimple attended San Jose College on a scholarship, and majored in both speech and drama. He also earned a teaching credential at San Jose College. Dennis worked in a Cheetos factory by day and acted in dinner theater at night in his early days. Fimple eventually moved to Hollywood, where he initially worked as a teacher by day and a delivery man at night, prior to getting his first break; a 2-episode guest appearance on Petticoat Junction (1963).
Best known as the lovably dim-witted Kyle Murty on the comedy Western television program, Alias Smith and Jones (1971), Dennis popped up in many TV series throughout the years including; Here Come the Brides (1968), M*A*S*H (1972), The Rockford Files (1974), Starsky and Hutch (1975), Battlestar Galactica (1978), The Dukes of Hazzard (1979), Matt Houston (1982), Highway to Heaven (1984), Knight Rider (1982), The A-Team (1983), The Incredible Hulk (1978),Simon & Simon (1981), Sledge Hammer! (1986), Quantum Leap (1989) Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996) and ER (1994). Fimple was frequently cast as scruffy rural types in both films and TV shows alike. Among his most memorable movie roles are the amiable Curly in the delightful Claudia Jennings' drive-in classic, Truck Stop Women (1974), easygoing moonshine runner Dewey Crenshaw in Bootleggers (1974), likable eager beaver college anthropology student Pahoo, in the terrific Sasquatch cinema outing Creature from Black Lake (1976), the goofy Sunfish in the much-maligned King Kong (1976) remake, and cloddish fur trapper, Posey in the superior horror-Western The Shadow of Chikara (1977). His last film part was as the madcap Grandpa Hugo Firefly in Rob Zombie's enjoyably trashy 70's horror exploitation pastiche, House of 1000 Corpses (2003).
Dennis was not only an avid reader, but also a lover of antiques and collectibles. He's the father of son Chris. Dennis Fimple died at age 61, of complications from a car accident at his home in Frazier Park, California on August 23, 2002 - Amanda Hayes was born on 8 April 1972 in Taft, Texas, USA. She is an actress, known for WRAL Murder Trials (2003).
- Michael Alldredge was born on 13 April 1941 in Taft, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Scarface (1983), V (1983) and Robot Jox (1989). He was married to Liza Jane Prince and Judith Lue Pilant. He died on 19 December 1997 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
Bill Wittliff was born in Taft, a small town in south Texas, in 1940. After his parents divorced, he and his brother Jim moved with their mother to Gregory, Texas, where Mrs. Wittliff ran a small telephone office during World War II (these experiences provided the basis for "Raggedy Man," Wittliff's feature film). Later, when his mother remarried, the family moved to a ranch in Blanco, a rural community of 700 in the hill country of central Texas.
In 1964, shortly after graduating from the University of Texas, Wittliff, with his wife Sally, founded a book publishing company, The Encino Press, which specialized in regional material about Texas and the Southwest. To date, Encino has won over 100 awards for quality of design and content. The press operated out of a 19th-century Victorian house in Austin in which O. Henry once lived and wrote
An accomplished photographer, Wittliff's photographs documenting the life of the Mexican vaquero (taken 1969-71) have been exhibited in numerous galleries and institutions throughout this country and in Mexico, including the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, and the Texas Capitol. In Japan, they represented the United States during its bicentennial year. After twenty years, the exhibit is still shown as a traveling display in the U. S. and Mexico under the auspices of the Institute of Texan Cultures.
At 29, Wittliff was elected to the Texas Institute of Letters. He served as president during 1974-78, and sat on the Executive Council until 1990. In 1993, he was elected Fellow of the the Institute. He is a member of the historic Texas Philosophical Society, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences; and he served for six years on the Executive Board of Trustees of Robert Redford's Sundance Institute.
In 1985, with the donation of their lifelong collection of original manuscripts and books, Bill and Sally founded the Southwestern Writers Collection at Southwest Texas State University. Since that time the collection has grown rapidly, supported by donors from all over the country. It features original manuscripts by J. Frank Dobie, John Graves, Larry McMurtry, Walter Prescott Webb, Bud Shrake, Larry L. King, Horton Foote, Preston Jones, Sam Shepard, Willie Nelson, and many others. It also includes paintings by numerous regional artists including William Lester, Tom Lea, John Groth, Jerry Bywaters, Kermit Oliver, Robert Wade. Expanding the scope of the current facility, in 1996 the Wittliffs endowed the Wittliff Gallery of Southwestern & Mexican Photography which already includes works by Russell Lee, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Ansel Adams, Keith Carter, Henri Cartier Bresson, Lola Bravo, Laura Gilpin, Edward Weston, Graciela Iturbide, Edward Curtis, Nacho Lopez, Erwin E. Smith, Marco Antonio Cruz, Jim Bones, Paul Strand, Mariana Yampolsky, and many others. Both collections are housed in eight specially designed rooms and a large, chambered gallery on the top floor of the Albert B. Alkek Library on the university campus.
The Wittliffs have two grown children and live in Austin, Texas.- Lee Roberts was born on 10 March 1913 in Taft, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for Missile to the Moon (1958), Captain China (1950) and King of the Carnival (1955). He was married to Evelyn Finley. He died on 18 May 1993 in San Diego, California, USA.
- Actor
- Composer
- Writer
Ryan Shuck was born on 11 April 1973 in Taft, California, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Transformers (2007), Charlie's Angels (2000) and Underworld: Evolution (2006).- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Sam Andrew was born on 18 December 1941 in Taft, California, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for The Dreamers (2003), Bringing Out the Dead (1999) and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998). He was married to Elise Wainani Piliwale and Suzanne Thorson. He died on 12 February 2015 in San Francisco, California, USA.- Winfield Scott Condict III was born on August 13, 1943 in Taft, California. Winfield was the son of Winfield Scott Condict and Dorothy Anne Pedersen. Condict III graduated from Fullerton Union High School in Fullerton, California in 1961. Winfield was an All-American in Swimming and Water Polo at the University of California, Los Angeles as well as a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. Moreover, Condict III worked as both a lifeguard in Huntington Beach, California and as an advertising print model. He played the titular monster in the low-budget horror cult favorite Spawn of the Slithis (1978). In addition, Winfield was an avid skier who lived in Mammoth Lakes, Santa Barbara, and the Central Coast in California before settling down in Orange County. Condict III died at age 72 on March 7, 2016. He was survived by his wife Barbara Walker Condict, stepdaughters Jill and Wendy Johnson, sister Sallie, and brothers Wayne, Scott, Kevin, and Preston.
- Ronald Graham was born on 31 October 1935 in Taft, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Director's Cut (2016), Horizon (1964) and N Is a Number: A Portrait of Paul Erdös (1993). He was married to Nancy Young and Fan Chung. He died on 6 July 2020 in San Diego, California, USA.
- Writer
- Director
- Editor
Tyler Smith was born on 25 February 1982 in Taft, California, USA. He is a writer and director, known for Valley of the Shadow: The Spiritual Value of Horror (2021), Speech and Debate (2010) and Crisis Mode. He has been married to Jennifer Alders since 25 June 2005.- Michael Pendry was born on 13 April 1941 in Taft, California, USA. He is an actor, known for God Told Me To (1976), Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972) and Blade (1973).
- The multi-talented Eric James Cardwell was born in Taft, California on March 22, 1976. He grew up and attended high school in Oregon. He took drama classes there, and stood out heavily amongst his classmates. He opted to not continue his acting career in order to start a family. He has made several short films in his family-owned company Cardwell Films, in which he usually stars, and/ or directs. He also heads a band, Eye, in which he is the lead singer and guitarist. When needed, he can play drums, bass, and keyboard. He started his Hollywood career modestly: by helping the crew deliver supplies to the production of "The Ring 2", in Astoria, Oregon in 2004, along with helping to produce the film "The 1 Second Film" in 2005.
- Donald Redding (real name: Donald E. Payne) was born in Taft, California on December 15, 1948. His Father, Russell E. Payne was and oil worker and his mother, Betty G. (Boles) Payne was a grocery clerk. Payne spent his early years living in Taft and attended his first few years of school there. After remarrying, his mother and her new husband (Mervyn G. Cademartori) moved around the state of California, finally settling in the San Fernando Valley. In 1959, the Cademartori family (which now included another son, Steven L. Cademartori) relocated to Buena Park, California, where Payne finished his grade school years. He attended Walker Junior High School and John F. Kennedy High School in La Palma, California (graduating in 1967). After high school, Payne lived in San Francisco while attending broadcasting school. He then lived for a year in Grants Pass, Oregon, where he free-lanced as a radio news reporter. Payne returned to the area of his birth in 1969 when he was hired as an on-the-air personality at KIFM-FM radio in Bakersfield, California. While still in high school, Payne was hired to perform as a costumed character in Disneyland's Christmas Parade (1966 and 1967). He was costumed as a Disney Fantasia "hippo" and performed as a "greeter" at the premiere of Walt Disney's animated feature "The Jungle Book" at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California. Payne became a full-time Disney character at Disneyland in December of 1966 when he was assigned to perform as "Pluto" at Disney's Anaheim, California theme park. He spent several years playing "Winnie the Pooh, " also. In 1978, Payne was cast as one of the comic leads in Disneylands famous, original "Golden Horseshoe Revue," in Frontierland. He was a "sub" for the acclaimed Wally Boag, who originated the part of the "Traveling Salesman / Pecos Bill" in the longest running stage show in history. During this period, Payne also functioned as a writer and performer for many Disney special events, stage shows and did some work voicing some of the Disney characters for "in-park" shows in Anaheim and Orlando. Payne left his full-time position at Disneyland in 1980 to become the Vice-President In Charge of Productions for Tom Carter Productions, an entertainment production company and animation studio, based in Irvine,CA. Payne left Orange County, California in 1986, relocating his family to the community of Crestline, California in the mountains high above and overlooking San Bernardino. There, he began a career in Residential Real Estate Sales, eventually obtaining his Real Estate Broker's license and earning the prestigeous "GRI" designation. In 2003, Payne left the mountain area to relocate to Victorville, California. He continues in his real estate careeer, but has shifted emphasis from the resale market to specializing as a New Homes Sales Associate, affiliated with The Ryness Company, a sales and marketing company providing services to new home builders and developers. He has earned the prestigous Certified New Home Sales Professional (CSP) designation through the Sales and Marketing Council of the Inland Empire. Through the years, Payne (professionally known as Donald Redding) has maintained his acting career by appearing in numerous commercials, TV programs, stage shows and a motion picture, virtually shot in his own back yard. When asked why he postponed his dream of a professional acting career, Payne responded, "It was a matter of raising my young children in the best atmosphere possible. I feel my primary responsibility is to my family! After the kids have grown and left the nest... I'll be able to chase my dream of a career in films and on television!" Payne, in conjunction with his good friend, actor/comic/writer, Jim Adams (also a Disney veteran)is actively involved in the development and growth of "Prof. Productions," a Christian Entertainment Production Company and family outreach ministry. Payne maintains his active memberships in SAG, AFTRA and AGVA in case a "call comes in for an acting role."
- Actress
Betty Alliene Timmons was born on 14 September 1916 in Taft, California. She was an actress. She died on 27 April 2001 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Loren Cunningham was born on 30 June 1935 in Taft, California, USA. He was married to Darlene Joy Scratch. He died on 6 October 2023 in Kona, Hawaii, USA.
- Don DeClue was born on 7 April 1929 in Taft, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Teenagers from Outer Space (1959). He died on 26 December 1991 in Los Angeles County, California, USA.
- Kathryn Trask was born on 4 June 1930 in Taft, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Shoot the Moon (1982), Tessera (2000) and Hard Traveling (1986). She died on 27 December 2006 in San Francisco, California, USA.