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1-11 of 11
- Producer
- Additional Crew
College-educated Arthur Hornblow Jr. was the son of a successful novelist, turned playwright. After graduating from New York Law School, he worked for some time as a practising lawyer and was posted in counter-intelligence during the First World War. After the war, his literary inclinations took over and he changed his career by producing plays on Broadway. One of his biggest hits was "The Cardboard Lover", starring Tallulah Bankhead. His penultimate play, "The Captive" (1926), was translated from an original French version written by 'Edouard Bourdet', entitled 'La Prisonniere'. Due to its lesbian content, it caused a massive controversy with less liberally-minded elements of the community, who prompted its closure by police after a run of 160 performances. All the leading actors in the cast were arrested (though later released on bail), including the venerable Basil Rathbone. Following this experience, Hornblow left the theatre and went to Hollywood.
In 1927, he was hired as a production supervisor by Samuel Goldwyn. He learned the tricks of his trade for the next six years. By the time he joined Paramount, it was as producer of popular entertainments, such as Ruggles of Red Gap (1935) and the Bing Crosby-W.C. Fields vehicle Mississippi (1935). He also helped elevate Bob Hope from comedic support to romantic lead in three films opposite Paulette Goddard, beginning with The Cat and the Canary (1939). In 1944, he switched to MGM, producing the classic Victorian thriller Gaslight (1944) with Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman; the all-star musical Week-End at the Waldorf (1945) and the superior Clark Gable drama The Hucksters (1947), based on a best-selling novel. The Asphalt Jungle (1950), one of the most imitated crime films of the decade, brought a young Marilyn Monroe to the attention of the movie-going public. Hornblow's last three films were independently produced and included the exuberant musical Oklahoma! (1955) and the edgy courtroom drama Witness for the Prosecution (1957). After his retirement from the industry in 1962, Hornblow co-authored six children's books with his wife, the former actress Leonora Hornblow (nee Schinasi), which were published by Random House.- Keith Pittman was born on 14 March 1955 in Rochester, Michigan, USA. He died on 17 July 1976 in St. Clair County, Michigan, Michigan, USA.
- Actress
- Additional Crew
Spanning five decades of Italian cinema, Rina Morelli's screen appearances were always interesting and powerful, but it is on the stage that she produced her most interesting and ground-breaking work. She debuted, aged seven, in 'Morte Civile' by Paolo Giacometti, directed by the famous stage actor Ermete Zacconi alongside her father Amilcare Brillanti. Her first notable success was 'Liliom' by Ferenc Molnár opposite Annibale Betrone. In 1938, she joined the company of the Teatro Eliseo in Rome and spent the next few years appearing alongside Gino Cervi, Andreina Pagnani and Paolo Stoppa who would become her life-long partner. Their many successes include William Shakespeare's 'La dodicesima notte' (Twelth Night) (1938) and 'Le allegre comari di Windsor' (The Merry Wives of Windsor) in 1939; the adaptation of the French play 'Les jours heureux' by Claude-André Puget (Giorni Felici) also in 1938. In 1944 they all appeared in Ernst Eklund's 'Quartetto pazzo' directed by 'Guido Salvani', remade for the big screen in 1945 with the same team except for Andreina Pagnani who was replaced by Anna Magnani in the role of Elena. It was after the war though that Rina Morelli would be at her most powerful in plays directed by the brilliant Luchino Visconti with whom she would work almost exclusively in the theatre for the next 20 years. His directing genius and her versatility as an actress would perfectly serve modern plays like 'Parenti terribili' (Les parents terribles) by Jean Cocteau (1945), Jean Anouilh's 'Antigone', 'A porte chiuse' (Huis clos) by Jean-Paul Sartre appearing alongside Paolo Stoppa and Vivi Gioi (all in 1945) and 'Zoo di vetro' (The Glass Menagerie) by Tennessee Williams (1946). She triumphed in 1949 in another Tennessee Williams' play: 'Un tram che si chiama desiderio' (A Streetcar Named Desire) with Vivi Gioi again and Vittorio Gassman (she would reprised the role of Blanche Dubois two years later, this time opposite Paolo Stoppa, a young Marcello Mastroianni and Rossella Falk) and in 1951 in Arthur Miller's 'Morte di un commesso viaggiatore' (Death of a Salesman). Visconti would also direct her in classics like Shakespeare's 'Rosalinda o come vi piace' (As You Like It) (1948), 'Troilo e Cressida' (Troilus and Cressida) (1949), Goldoni's 'La locandiera' (1952) and 'L'impresario di Smirne' in 1957, Anton Checkhov's 'Tre sorelle' (Three Sisters) (1952) and 'Zio Vania' (Uncle Vania) (1955). Her work also includes Vittorio Alfieri's 'Oreste' (1949); two plays by the Italian author Diego Fabbri: 'Il seduttore' (1951) and 'Figli d'arte' (1959); another Miller's play 'Uno sguardo dal ponte (A View from the Bridge)' with Paolo Stoppa; 'I ragazzi della Signora Gibbons' (Mrs. Gibbons' boys) by Will Glickman and Joseph Stein and 'Immagini e tempi di Eleonora Duse' all three in 1958 and 'L'Arialda' by Giovanni Testori in 1960, all directed by Visconti. Her last collaborations with the maestro were 'Il tredicesimo albero' (Le treizième arbre) by André Gide and Checkhov's 'Giardino dei ciliegi' (The Cherry Orchard), respectively in 1963 and 1965.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Director
Mario Pisu was born on 21 May 1910 in Montecchio Emilia, Italy. He was an actor and director, known for 8½ (1963), We the Living (1942) and La grande avventura (1954). He died on 17 July 1976 in Velletri, Italy.- Additional Crew
Edgar Stein was born on 13 April 1894 in California, USA. He died on 17 July 1976 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Mikhail Yanshin was a Russian actor of Moscow Art Theatre.
He was born Mikhail Mikhailovich Yanshin on November 2, 1902, in Yukhnov, Smolensk province, Russian Empire (now Kaluga province, Russia). His father, Mikhail Yanshin, was a banking clerk. From 1909-1916 Yanshin studied at private Olkhovsky School in Moscow. From 1916-1919 he studied at Moscow Technical school, then entered the College of Technology, then joined the Red Army. He served in the Security Forces of the Red Army until 1922. That same year he was admitted to 2nd Studio of the Moscow Art Theatre where his teacher was Michael Chekhov. In 1924 he was promoted to leading roles by Konstantin Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko.
Yanshin shot to fame in Moscow in 1926, with his successful performances as Lariosik in 'Dni Turbinykh' (The days of the Turbins) by Mikhail A. Bulgakov. The play ran more than two hundred performances and was attended by Joseph Stalin for at least fifteen times. In November of 1926 Yanshin married actress Veronika Polonskaya, who was just eighteen; writer Mikhail A. Bulgakov was his best man at the wedding. Polonskaya and Yanshin were friends of Vladimir Mayakovsky, who became involved in affair with Polonskaya. All three were together the night before Vladimir Mayakovsky killed himself by the gunshot.
From 1937-1941 Mikhail Yanshin was Artistic Director of Moscow Gipsy Theatre "Romen"; at that time he was married to the leading actress Lyalya Chyornaya (Nadezhda Kiseleva). Yanshin updated the repertoire by adding classic plays of Alexander Pushkin and Maxim Gorky to the traditional Gipsy show. In 1939 he also directed two plays by 'Federico Garcia Lorca', who was revered in Russia after his tragic execution in Franco's Spain. From 1941 to the end of his life Yanshin was again with the Moscow Art Theatre.
From 1950-1963 Yanshin was Artistic Director of the Stanislavsky Drama Theatre. There he met beautiful actress Nonna Meyer; they married in 1955 and remained together until his death. Yanshin was responsible for bringing new life to the struggling Stanislavsky Drama Theatre. He stimulated mature actors and encouraged young talents, such as Evgeniy Leonov, Evgeniy Vesnik, Evgeniy Urbanskiy, Boris Levinson, Pyotr Glebov, Liliya Gritsenko, Elizaveta Nikishchikhina, Vladimir Anisko and other notable Russian actors. After the death of Joseph Stalin, when the cultural "Thaw" was initiated by Nikita Khrushchev, Yanshin again staged 'Dni Turbinykh' (The days of the Turbins) by Mikhail A. Bulgakov. This time the legendary role of Lariosik was brilliantly played by Evgeniy Leonov.
In 1963 Yanshin was attacked by the Soviet Ministry of Culture. His effort to stage new contemporary plays was criticized by hard-line officials. Yanshin quit the Stanislavsky Drama Theatre and moved back to the troupe of Moscow Art Theatre, which was struggling after the death of both founders, Konstantin Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko. At that time, Yanshin was instrumental in bringing director Oleg Efremov to lead the struggling MKhAT to renewal and re-gaining popularity among the younger audiences. Yanshin together with Alla Tarasova were the strongest supporters of artistic innovations brought by Oleg Efremov to the Moscow Art Theatre.
Mikhail Yanshin was designated People's Artist of the USSR (1955), and was awarded State Prize of the USSR (1975). He was twice decorated with the Order of Lenin, and received other awards and decorations. He enjoyed a lasting film career spanning over 45 years, from silent films to Soviet comedies of the 60s and 70s. Yanshin died of a heart failure on July 17, 1976, in Moscow, and was laid to rest in Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, Russia.- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John Prettyman was born on 17 March 1906 in Louisiana, Missouri, USA. John was an assistant director. John died on 17 July 1976 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- David Malyan studied in Armenian Drama studio in Tbilisi in 1922-1923. He worked in the theatres in Yerevan, Tbilisi, Leninakan (now Gyumri). From 1932 he was one of the leading actors of the Sundukyan Drama Theatre of Yerevan.
- Eugenie Engelbertová was born on 4 October 1888 in Chotebor, Cechy, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for Ahasver (1915). She died on 17 July 1976 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].
- Marguerite Reid was born on 20 October 1895 in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, USA. She was an actress, known for A Scandal in Hickville (1915), Barriers of Prejudice (1915) and Ghosts and Flypaper (1915). She was married to James O. Henson. She died on 17 July 1976 in Seattle, Washington, USA.
- Actor
Louis Cortina was born on 21 June 1909. He was an actor. He died on 17 July 1976 in West Hollywood, California, USA.