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- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Joey Lauren Adams is an American actress and director. Adams appeared in several Kevin Smith View Askewniverse films, including Chasing Amy, for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Adams was born in North Little Rock, Arkansas, the youngest of three children. Her father was a lumber yard owner. Adams grew up in the Overbrook neighborhood of North Little Rock and graduated from North Little Rock Northeast High School in 1986. She announced her intention to pursue acting after one year as an exchange student in Australia.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
George Newbern is an American actor from Little Rock, Arkansas known for voicing Superman in various DC cartoons and video games starting with 2001's Justice League and playing Charlie from Scandal. He also acted in Father of the Bride and provided the voice of Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and Kingdom Hearts II.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Jeff Nichols was born on 7 December 1978 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is a writer and director, known for Take Shelter (2011), Mud (2012) and Midnight Special (2016).- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Corin Nemec's name comes from his nickname, Corky, given to him as a child by his grandmother. He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and later moved to Atlanta. He now lives in California. His first acting parts were in the series Webster (1983) and Sidekicks (1986). He then got a part in Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988), directed by Francis Ford Coppola, followed by lead roles in I Know My First Name Is Steven (1989) and My Son Johnny (1991), and the lead role in the TV series Parker Lewis Can't Lose (1990).- Producer
- Director
- Writer
David Gordon Green was born on 9 April 1975 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Halloween Kills (2021), Halloween (2018) and Joe (2013).- Actress
- Producer
Jessica Serfaty was born on 4 April 1991 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for The Ride (2018), FML (2016) and Ryde (2017). She was previously married to Ididia Serfaty.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Gilbert "Gil" Gerard was born on January 23, 1943 in Little Rock, Arkansas, and did a good deal of acting in high school. He attended the University of Arkansas but dropped out before graduation. He landed a job as an industrial chemist. He became regional manager of a large chemical company, headed by (1967-1971) Arkansas Governor "Win" Winthrop Rockefeller. After a few years, Gil's employers said they would name him the firm's vice-president if he pursued his master's degree. Gil resigned rather than tell everyone he did not have a college diploma. He moved to New York where he studied drama by day and drove a cab at night. By chance, Gil picked up a fare who showed a lively interest in the problems of unknown, unemployed actors. Before that passenger left the cab, he told Gil to report in a few days to the set of Love Story (1970), which was being filmed on location in New York City. When Gil arrived on the "Love Story" set, he was hired as an extra. Later that day, he was singled out for a "bit" role, which eventually wound up on the cutting room floor, but Gil now had his first professional credit.
During the next few years, Gil did most of his acting in television commercials, some four hundred of them, including a stint as spokesman for the Ford Motor Company. Then came a leading role in the daytime soap opera The Doctors (1963). He formed his own production company in partnership with a writer-producer, co-authored a screenplay called Hooch (1977) and filmed it as a starring vehicle for himself. With "Hooch" completed, he was summoned to California to co-star with Yvette Mimieux in Ransom for Alice! (1977) and to play Lee Grant's youthful lover in Universal's Airport '77 (1977). A guest shot on Little House on the Prairie (1974) impressed producer-star Michael Landon, who cast him in the leading role in an ambitious television movie, Killing Stone (1978). He signed for his best known role as Captain Buck Rogers in the television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979).- Ben Piazza was born on 30 July 1933 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He was an actor, known for The Blues Brothers (1980), Mask (1985) and Guilty by Suspicion (1991). He was married to Dolores Dorn. He died on 7 September 1991 in Sherman Oaks, California, USA.
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Ashlie Atkinson is an award-winning theatre, film, and television actress. A 2003 graduate of the Neightborhood Playhouse, in 2005 she received the Theatre World Award for Breakthrough Performance for originating the role of Helen in Neil Labute's "Fat Pig"(opposite Jeremy Piven) - which also garnered her Outer Critics' Circle and Lucille Lortel nominations. She has graced screens both big and small in Denis Leary's critically-acclaimed Rescue Me, 3lbs, Spike Lee's Inside Man, Another Gay Movie, Sex and The City Movie, Margot at The Wedding, Law & Order, Law &Order: Criminal Intent, Puccini for Beginners, and Filthy Gorgeous. MTV fans may recognize Ashlie as her hip-hop alter ego, "Chunky Pam", a plus-size rap diva - and YouTube viral phenomenon. After appearing opposite Debra Jo Rupp in SecondStage's "Butcher of Baraboo", she returned to Broadway in 2007 to play Vivian Proclo in Terrence McNally's The Ritz (starring Rosie Perez). Ashlie is a proud member of both the Bridge Theatre Commpany and Gotham Girls Roller Derby (where she skates under the name Margaret Thrasher, Prime Minister of Your Demise). Ashlie toured the world in Sam Mendes' The Bridge Project and continues to work in film opposite actors such as Jessica Alba, Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst, Ricky Gervais and Julia Roberts.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Best known as Prison Break (2005)'s General Jonathan Kranz (Padman) and the Malibu police chief in The Big Lebowski (1998), Russom was, for 22 years, a New York stage actor whose day job was soaps, with long tenures as Joe Taylor on Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (1967), Willis Frame on Another World (1964), and Jack Darling on All My Children (1970). The feature No Way Out (1987) brought Russom to Los Angeles in 1987.
A year later, after starring opposite Carol Burnett in Hostage (1988), he moved to LA permanently to star in NBC's TV 101 (1988). Emmy-nominated for Long Road Home (1991), Russom has continued his theatrical activity in Los Angeles (and on Broadway) while establishing himself as a presence in episodic television and feature films, including True Grit (2010), his second film with Joel and Ethan Coen.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Matt Besser was born on 22 September 1967 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007), Drillbit Taylor (2008) and Bad Teacher (2011).- Cute, perky, and engaging brunette actress Rebecca Balding was born on September 21, 1948, in Little Rock, Arkansas. The sweet, comely, and spirited Balding first began acting on television in the mid 1970s. She played an eager-beaver cub reporter on three episodes of Lou Grant (1977). She achieved her greatest and most enduring popularity as Carol David, the young lady who becomes a surrogate mother for gay Jodie Dallas' (Billy Crystal child on comedy program Soap (1977). She portrayed David Naughton's receptionist girlfriend in the sitcom Makin' It (1979). Balding tackled two substantial starring roles in a couple of hugely enjoyable early 1980s horror pictures: She was the endearingly spunky college student heroine of the superior slasher winner The Silent Scream (1979) and an equally likable damsel in distress in the immensely entertaining creature feature The Boogens (1981). Alas, her fright film scream queen phase proved to be sadly fleeting.
She racked up an impressively large volume of guest spot credits on numerous TV shows: Among the television programs she's appeared in are ER (1994), Melrose Place (1992), Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990), Home Improvement (1991), MacGyver (1985), Our House (1986), Family Ties (1982), Trapper John, M.D. (1979), Hotel (1983), Matt Houston (1982), Gimme a Break! (1981), The Insiders (1985), Cagney & Lacey (1981), This Is the Life (1952), I'm a Big Girl Now (1980), Supertrain (1979), Barnaby Jones (1973), The Bionic Woman (1976), and Starsky and Hutch (1975). She gave a touching performance as Edward Asner's estranged dejected daughter in the made-for-TV drama gem The Gathering (1977) and its lesser, more mawkish sequel, The Gathering, Part II (1979).
Late in her career, she popped up in a steady recurring part as Phoebe (Alyssa Milano)'s boss Elise Rothman on Charmed (1998). She was married to producer James L. Conway from 1981 until her death at 73 in 2022. She was also survived by two daughters. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Hailed by Gene Autry as the 'perfect western actress', diminutive, pig-tailed Betty Jeanne Grayson had all the genre's prerequisite attributes. The daughter of a prominent Arkansas physician (who went on to became State Health Officer), she had been trained in drama and dance at the University of Texas. More pertinently, she was of an athletic disposition, a keen swimmer, golfer and tennis player. She was also an ace rider (to the extent of performing in rodeos), as well as an expert trick shot. Her arrival in Hollywood happened some time in 1946. Thereafter, sources vary as to how she got into movies. One account has her being spotted by an MGM talent scout while working as a hat check girl, while another asserts that she had previously met Autry while performing amateur dramatics at a camp show for the Army Air Force. The story further goes, that Autry (who was serving in the military at the time) was so impressed with her, that he told her to look him up later at Columbia studios.
Gail's looks, feisty personality and tomboyish aptitudes soon got her cast in outdoorsy films. She went on to co-star opposite Autry (who prompted her change of name to 'Gail Davis') in fifteen of his films, as well as appearing at least a dozen times as different characters on his TV show. Gail tended to do all of her own stunts. She became sufficiently popular for Autry to produce Annie Oakley (1954) (through his Flying A Productions), starring Gail as the gun-toting titular heroine, invariably disarming (rather than killing) assorted screen villains with her Single Action Army Colt. Gail thus achieved an additional measure of prominence by becoming the first female to command the nominal lead in a western TV series. For this, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.- Brent Jennings was born on 13 April 1951 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is an actor, known for Lodge 49 (2018), Insecure (2016) and All American (2018). He has been married to Juanita Mahone since 8 August 1985. They have three children.
- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Jay C. Flippen could probably be characterized these days as one of those craggy, distinctive faces you know but whose name escapes you while viewing scores of old 1950s and 1960s films and television series. Playing both sides of the law throughout his career, his huge cranium, distinctive bulldog mug, beetle brows, bulky features, usually scowling countenance, and silver-white hair were ideally suited for roles as criminals and rugged adventurers, while his background as a standup comedian in burlesque, vaudeville and minstrel shows.
He was born John Constantine Flippen on March 6, 1899, in Little Rock, Arkansas. His father, John (a bookkeeper), died in 1908. Flippen's older sister, Era, died a year later (in 1909). His mother, Emma L. Flippen (née Pack), earned an income as a dance and theatre instructor. His maternal grandmother, Mary Pack, lived with the family. Picking up on his mother's artistic interests, Flippen joined the Al G. Field Minstrels at age 16. He was discovered by African-American star comedian Bert Williams in the 1920s, and was Williams' Broadway black face understudy and tour replacement for the 1920 musical revue "Broadway Brevities". Between 1924-29, he recorded scores of songs for Pathé Columbia, Perfect, and Brunswick Records. A veteran radio announcer for Yankee baseball games, Flippen was a lifelong baseball fan who forged friendships with several major league baseball stars. He also appeared on Broadway throughout the mid-1920s (and after), including "June Days" (1925), "Hello, Lola" (1926), "The Great Temptation" (1926), "Padlocks of 1927" (1927), "Second Little Show" (1930), the musical "Hellzapoppin'" (1941), and "Take a Bow" (1944).
Flippen made his film debut in the short The Ham What Am (1928), which captured a vaudeville performance, followed by a few other early 1930's shorts. He didn't move strongly into feature films until post-World War II where he could be counted on to provide his patented gruff and bluster in primarily war stories, film noir, and westerns whether playing a sheriff, farmer, cop, prison warden, military high-ranker or bartender. After playing Hodges, a guard, in Brute Force (1947), he appeared in such other crime yarns as Intrigue (1947), They Live by Night (1948), A Woman's Secret (1949), The Las Vegas Story (1952), The Wild One (1953), The Killing (1956), The Midnight Story (1957), Studs Lonigan (1960) and, The Seven Minutes (1971). His also dominated in such westerns as The Lady from Texas (1951), Devil's Canyon (1953), Man Without a Star (1955), Oklahoma! (1955) (as Ike Skidmore), The Restless Breed (1957), Run of the Arrow (1957), The Deerslayer (1957), From Hell to Texas (1958), and The Plunderers (1960).
Flippen supported many a top Hollywood male star during his four-decade film career. His atmospheric characters notably supported James Stewart in several of his top-notch vehicles, including Winchester '73 (1950), Bend of the River (1952), Thunder Bay (1953), The Far Country (1954), Strategic Air Command (1955), The Restless Breed (1957), Night Passage (1957), and Firecreek (1968). He was a regular player on 1960s television as well, including Bonanza (1959), The Untouchables (1959), The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961), Route 66 (1960), Burke's Law (1963), Gunsmoke (1955), Rawhide (1959), That Girl (1966), and The Name of the Game (1968). He also co-starred as an Chief Petty Officer in Ensign O'Toole (1962).
In later years, Flippen was dogged by illness. While filming his sheriff role in the classic comedy western Cat Ballou (1965), he had to have his leg amputated after a minor scrape, probably aggravated by diabetes, turned into a severe infection. He continued his career often in a wheelchair. His latest television roles were on episodes of The Virginian (1962), Here Come the Brides (1968), and Ironside (1967).- Actor
- Soundtrack
John Gammon was born on 11 July 1985 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is an actor, known for Corey and Lucas for the Win (2011), The Middle (2009) and I Am Singh (2011).- Actor
- Director
- Soundtrack
Frank Bonner was born on 28 February 1942 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He was an actor and director, known for WKRP in Cincinnati (1978), Equinox (1970) and The New WKRP in Cincinnati (1991). He was married to Gayle Hardage, Catherine Sherwood, Lillian Garrett, Mary Alice Rings and Sharon Gray. He died on 16 June 2021 in Laguna Niguel, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Ann Gillis was born Alma Mabel Conner on February 12, 1927, in Little Rock, Arkansas. At age seven, she appeared in her first film, Men in White (1934), as an extra. During the next two years, she had uncredited appearances in six more films until she received her first major role in King of Hockey (1936). Warner Brothers Studios gave significant screen time to Gillis in this movie, in hopes that she would become another Shirley Temple. Although (like all child stars of the 1930s) she never achieved Temple's level of fame, for the next several years Gillis starred in many films, almost always playing a spoiled, bratty character. She had two rare sympathetic roles as Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) and as the title character in Little Orphan Annie (1938). One scene in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer called for her to go into screaming hysterics when her character was trapped in a cave of bats, and Gillis delivered in a powerful performance that is probably the most memorable scene of her film career. As Gillis grew older, however, her career slowed down, and she left Hollywood in 1947. When she left Hollywood she married Paul Ziebold and had 2 sons. She then divorced, relocated to New York City and married Richard Fraser, a Scottish-born actor (they had a son born in 1958). During the 1950s and '60s, Gillis made sporadic television appearances, and in 1959, she hosted a national telecast presentation of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Gillis and her husband moved to England in 1961, and they were living in London when they heard of a casting call for 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) that called for an American actress living in the city. Gillis auditioned and got the role, this was her final film.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Dick Hogan was born on 27 November 1917 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He was an actor, known for Rope (1948), Annapolis Salute (1937) and Submarine Patrol (1938). He died on 18 August 1995 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.- Kathleen King was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. A classically trained actress she has also worked professionally as a model, director, screenwriter, lyricist, stylist, author and acting coach whose clients have starred on stage and in film and television. Her childhood was spent in North Carolina, Washington, D.C. and Virginia. Known for her keen intelligence and ever-present wit.
- Josh Cowdery was born on 23 December 1978 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is an actor and executive, known for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), Wrath of Man (2021) and Belgravia: The Next Chapter (2024).
- Actress
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Phyllis Yvonne Stickney is the second child born to Felix and Belle. Phyllis Yvonne Stickney was one of the first comedians of color to perform at the Juste Pour Rire Comedy Festival in Montreal. Canada. She performed with the late John Candy as well as being introduced at the festival by Ed Begley Jr. to perform her stand up comedy. Her stand-up performance at the world famous Apollo Theater was one of the selling points to sell the now popular Showtime at the Apollo to the network. Ms. Stickney is also a motivational speaker and published author and poet. She was the first female to ever perform with The Last Poets on the soundtrack of Panther (1995). Essence Magazine's 25th Anniversary Issue named her as one of the 200 African American women who has changed the world. Ms. Stickney has created and designed a line of clothing for every woman called Butterbaby scheduled be launched in Spring/Summer of 2004. Ms Stickney is the Founder/Executive Director for a non-profit community based organization called Alternative Careers in the Arts. She is also an accomplished stage performer and has received two AUDELCO Awards for Excellence in Black Theater. She was also the writer/Creative Consultant on the ABC short lived series New Attitude a Castle Rock production.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Lil J.J. was born on 31 October 1990 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Twenty to One (2019), Tales (2017) and Wild 'N Out (2005).- Hart Denton was born on 20 June 1993 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is an actor, known for Riverdale (2017), 13 Reasons Why (2017) and American Cherry (2023).
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Sheryl Underwood was born on 28 October 1963 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Bulworth (1998), I Got the Hook Up (1998) and The Odd Couple (2015). She was previously married to Michael.- Producer
- Writer
- Actress
Chelsea Clinton is an outspoken advocate for those who need it most. She uses her voice - and a lifetime of experience standing up to bullies - to defend issues of human rights, public health, the environment and climate change, and to combat the spread of misinformation, particularly online.
Throughout her life, Chelsea has been dedicated to supporting young people in their pursuits to change the world around them - first as first-daughter and now as a teacher, best-selling author, and mentor. And, as a mom of three Chelsea is committed to doing everything she can to leave the world a better place for future generations to come.- Marjorie Stapp was born on 17 September 1921 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. She was an actress, known for The Adventures of Sir Galahad (1949), Kronos (1957) and The Blazing Trail (1949). She was married to Robert Alan Browne. She died on 2 June 2014 in Laguna Woods, California, USA.
- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Jeb Stuart was born on 21 January 1956 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Die Hard (1988), The Fugitive (1993) and Lock Up (1989). He has been married to Mari Stuart since May 2003. He was previously married to Anne Bryant Stuart.- Norman Snow was born on 29 March 1950 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He was an actor, known for The Last Starfighter (1984), Manhunter (1986) and The Europeans (1979). He was married to Mary-Joan Negro. He died on 28 November 2022 in Sherwood Forest, California, USA.
- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Ben Dickey is an actor and musician from Little Rock, AR. He was awarded the 2018 Sundance Special Jury Prize for Achievement in Acting for his portrayal of the musician Blaze Foley in the film Blaze, written and directed by Ethan Hawke.
Dickey is a recording artist who has released original music into the world since he was a teenager. Bands Ben Dickey has performed in include, Shake Ray Turbine (File Thirteen Records), Amen Booze Rooster (Max Recordings), Blood Feathers (Box Theory & Max Recordings) and Bod (Wirefare Sounds).
Dickey has released 2 solo albums: A Glimmer on the Outskirts, 2019 (SexHawkeBlack) produced by Charlie Sexton, and Sexy Birds and Salt Water Classics, 2016 (Max Recordings).
Ben Dickey met Michael Jordan at Kenny Rogers house in Athens, GA in 1989, where Jordan & Rogers both encouraged Dickey to continue his quest in life as an artist & musician, after Larry Bird pointed out that Dickey did not have the killer instinct to play serious basketball, even though Charles Barkley said it was in him.
Ben Dickey was a profesional Chef.
For fun, Ben Dickey teaches at a School For Frisbee Sports for German Shepherd Dogs that he founded in Gilliam, Louisiana in 2015. His other hobbies include playing basketball, fishing, cooking, telling stories and contemplating all things Cosmos & Quantum related.
Ben Dickey lives in the Hudson Valley with his wife Beth Blofson, his son Moses Jove, and his German Shepherd Dogs, Dinah & Django.- Jim MacKrell's broadcast career has spanned decades and has included every aspect of communications, from local and network commercials to hosting specials to guest-starring in popular series and features. For the four years of its run, Jim was the star of the hit NBC game-show, Celebrity Sweepstakes (1974). He also hosted The Game Game (1969) (CBS), Quiz Kids (1978) (Columbia Pictures TV), plus numerous other shows. Jim's career has taken him to all areas of television and movies. His theatrical credits include such memorable films as Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977), Albert Brooks' Defending Your Life (1991), Semi-Tough (1977), Gremlins (1984) and Teen Wolf (1985) with Michael J. Fox. He has had guest-starring roles on television in Dallas (1978), Soap (1977), Moonlighting (1985) and The Golden Girls (1985), amongst over 40 others. His made-for-TV movies include Christmas Miracle in Caufield, U.S.A. (1977), Run, Don't Walk (1981) and A Reason to Live (1985). Jim was also a regular on General Hospital (1963), Capitol (1982) and Days of Our Lives (1965).
As a performer/writer/producer, Jim has made advertising a major focal point of his career. He has been corporate spokesman for giants such as Chevrolet and Disney. He has starred in spots for household names such as Whirlpool, Fiber Con, Serta, Goodyear, Mattel, Oster, Radio Shack, Exxon, Entex, and more. He also has appeared as a spokesman for industrials and corporate films for Toyota, Exxon, Xerox, Shell, Coca Cola, and more. For 14 years, Jim was the corporate host for the National Easter Seals Telethon and he wrote and produced several projects for ACTA Communications in Chicago.
A veteran of radio, his credits include some of the top radio stations in the nation, including KMPC Los Angeles, KFI Los Angeles, WMEX Boston, WNOE New Orleans, WFUN Miami. In recent years, he hosted a top-rated talk show in Houston, Texas, on 97 Talk.
With acting, hosting, writing and producing highly-motivating sales films and to having most of his life laid out in Video Rental Stores across the country, there is not an avenue of entertainment or marketing in which Jim MacKrell has not excelled. - Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Eric Hanson is a versatile actor known for his leading roles in The Challenger Disaster (2019), No Ordinary Love (2019), and She's Perfect (2022). He is also known for memorable roles in Big George Foreman (2023), Nefarious (2023), and Neon Days (2019). Among his awards, he won Performance Of The Year for his stage portrayal of Lee in Sam Shepard's, "True West". Eric lives in Plano, Texas with his wife Tracy, who won't let him have a dog.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Best known for Directing critically acclaimed audience pleasing fare, filmmaker Jay Russell has an impressive track record of telling compelling stories with emotional resonance.
Russell completed his postgraduate studies at Columbia University in New York City, where he studied under the tutelage of Academy Award winning director Milos Forman. After receiving his MFA in Screenwriting and Directing, Russell was invited to attend the Sundance Institute Film Workshop. It was there Russell developed his first film, "End of the Line", a tale of two down-and-out railway workers played by Levon Helm and Wilford Brimley. The cast also included Kevin Bacon, Mary Steenburgen, and Holly Hunter.
Russell then developed a number of projects for Imagine Entertainment and TriStar Pictures. Russell also produced and directed documentary series and specials for NBC, CBS, The Learning Channel, and the Discovery Channel. At that time Russell wrote, produced, and directed episodes of "Great Drives", a miniseries on America's most famous highways.
During the filming of "Great Drives, " Russell met Pulitzer-nominated author Willie Morris who was working on an autobiographical memoir about his childhood, "My Dog Skip", which became a national bestseller. Russell secured the movie rights to the book, which led to the Russell Produced and Directed film adaptation of Warner Bros./Alcon release, "My Dog Skip", which starred Kevin Bacon, Frankie Muniz, Luke Wilson and Diane Lane. The film was a hit with critics and audiences alike and went on to score numerous awards, including the Critic's Choice Award for Best Family Film.
Russell followed up with Walt Disney's "Tuck Everlasting", starring Alexis Bledel (Handmaid's Tale) along with Academy Award winners, Sir Ben Kingsley, William Hurt, and Sissy Spacek. The well received fantasy was also nominated for a Critic's Choice Award for Best Family Film.
Next, Russell tackled his most commercial project yet with Disney/Touchstone Pictures' "Ladder 49." The film, an ode to the heroism of firefighters starred Academy Award nominee John Travolta and Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix as a pair of Baltimore firemen who share a father and son relationship that forges the backbone of this emotionally satisfying film. "Ladder 49" remains one of the top October weekend openers of all time and went on to make over $100 + million in worldwide box office.
Next, Sony Picture's "Water Horse: Legend of the Deep," was one of the best-reviewed family films of its year. Starring Alex Etel, Ben Chaplin, Brian Cox and Academy Award winner Emily Watson, the film was nominated by the Visual Effects Society for the groundbreaking digital work of the world-famous New Zealand FX company, Weta Digital. Worldwide, "The Water Horse," became Russell's second $100 + million dollar moneymaker in a row.
In different media, Russell produced the World Premiere of the theatrical stage production of the classic thriller, "Rear Window," adapted by Keith Reddin and directed by Tony Award Winner, Darko Tresnjak, starring Kevin Bacon, McKinley Belcher III, Melinda Page Hamilton, Robert Stanton, and John Bedford Lloyd. He also co-wrote his first graphic novel "Black Sparrow," published by John Carpenter's Storm-King Productions.
Russell has numerous projects in development and continues to make documentary films.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Hailing from Little Rock, Arkansas, Cleo Berry moved to the BIG APPLE at the ripe age of eighteen. Before graduating from The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (NYC), he was already booking work as an actor. With a flair for comedy and the ability to create complex characters, he is steadfastly building his entertainment career. Cleo has recurred and guest starred on TV series such as "Dad Stop Embarrassing Me" (Netflix), "Weird City" (YouTube Premium), "Idiotsitter" (Comedy Central), "School of Rock" (Nickelodeon), "House M. D." (Fox), "Young & Hungry" (Freeform) and more. Cleo gained recognition and adoration for his stunning tenor voice while touring with stage productions like "Children's Letters To God". He's honored to be the first African-American to portray "Horton" in a National Touring production of "Seussical the Musical".
Cleo has appeared in countless commercials and promos as "the funny guy". Most recently, he filmed several spots for Best Buy. And Super Bowl commercials for Tide and Pampers.
He stars in two horror-comedy feature films; The cult fan-fave "The Sand" and "American Nightmares". You can also see him in the award winning film "Love is All You Need?". He's recording the voice of a recurring character on an upcoming Disney Channel Animated series (2021). In his free time, Cleo enjoys - oh who are we kidding - all his free time is dedicated to building his career. And he loves it that way!- Director
- Actor
- Producer
American actor-director-writer-producer Gilbert M. Anderson, father of the movie cowboy and the first Western star, was born Maxwell Henry Aronson in Little Rock, Arkansas. His parents, Esther (Ash) and Henry Aronson, were from New York. His father was from a German Jewish family, and his mother was the daughter of Russian Jewish parents. He had worked as a photographer's model and newspaper vendor before drifting into acting. He performed in vaudeville before joining forces with Edwin S. Porter as an actor and occasional script collaborator. In Porter's startling early film The Great Train Robbery (1903), Anderson played several roles (among them, the train passenger shot by bandits as he tries to escape). The success of that film prompted Anderson to begin writing, directing and starring in his own series of Westerns. In 1907 he and George K. Spoor founded Essanay Film Manufacturing Co., destined to be one of the predominant early film studios. Anderson gained enormous popularity in hundreds of Western shorts, playing the first real cowboy hero, "Broncho Billy." Writing and directing most of the films, Anderson also found time to direct a series of "Alkali Ike" comedy Westerns starring Augustus Carney. In 1916 Anderson sold his ownership in Essanay and retired from acting. He returned to New York and bought the Longacre Theatre and produced plays there, though not achieving the same kind of success he enjoyed in films. He made a brief comeback as a producer with a series of shorts starring Stan Laurel for Metro Pictures. However, a series of conflicts with the studio led him retire again after 1920. He continued to produce films as owner of Progressive Pictures into the 1950s. In his 70s, he came out of retirement for a cameo role in The Bounty Killer (1965). He had been presented with an honorary Oscar in 1957 as a "motion picture pioneer, for his contributions to the development of motion pictures as entertainment." Anderson died in 1971 at the age of 90.- Zero Hubbard was born on 22 February 1971 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is an actor, known for Hill Street Blues (1981), Tribes (1990) and Pacific Blue (1996).
- Douglas MacArthur (26 January 1880 - 5 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He was Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s, and he played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. MacArthur received the Medal of Honor for his service in the Philippines campaign. This made him along with his father Arthur MacArthur Jr. the first father and son to be awarded the medal. He was one of only five to rise to the rank of General of the Army in the U.S. Army, and the only one conferred the rank of field marshal in the Philippine Army.
- Mary Ellen Stuart was born on 4 October 1961 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. She is an actress, known for As the World Turns (1956), The Greatest American Hero (1981) and A Chorus Line (1985). She has been married to Mark Lewis since 28 February 1987. They have one child.
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Corbin Pitts is a filmmaker, actor, and Eagle Scout who also enjoys soccer, playing percussion, scuba diving, singing, and dancing, in addition to writing, directing, and editing films with his own production company, Heroe Productions Entertainment LLC. He has been acting since he was five years old and started his production company when he was only eleven. TV credits: Corbin can be seen as the recurring character, Mike Ardoin, in True Detective Season 3 on HBO, recurring character, Stockboy Sam, in Mystery League on AR PBS, and as Fisher Davis in the TV pilot, Catch-Em Lane. Film credits: Crescent City, Murder at Hollow Creek, Ghosts of the Ozarks, Salad Days, The Red Sedan, Kronos, It Knows, Better, The Birthday Bully, Policy, Paulsy, Splitting Maul, Not the End, Red Courage, Antiquities, Love to Letter, Toy Wars, With You, Seating Clayton, The Third Save, among others. Theatre credits: (Regional) The America Project: A New Musical (Off-Broadway Workshop, NYC), The Music Man in Concert Broadway National Tour featuring Shirley Jones/Patrick Cassidy (Winthrop); Arkansas Repertory Theatre: Willy Wonka Jr (Mike Teavee), World Premiere of Project Elan, ELF, Mary Poppins (Michael Banks US); Argenta Community Theater: Billy Elliot the Musical (Billy Elliot), World Premiere of During Wind and Rain (Frierson Stroud), World Stage Premiere of Mrs. Miniver (Toby Miniver), Newsies (Les Jacobs), Jesus Christ Superstar (Ensemble), A Christmas Carol (Henry/Tiny Tim/Young Ebby), A Chorus Line (Lightboard Operator); Murry's Dinner Playhouse: ELF the Musical (Michael Hobbs), The Nerd (Thor Waldgrave); Arkansas Festival Ballet credits: The Nutcracker and Snow White. Corbin has been featured nationally and internationally in print ads and catalogs and has been seen in many commercials including the child Warrior King in the Game of War commercial (Mariah Carey spokesperson).- Writer
- Actress
- Casting Director
Diminutive red-headed actress, playwright and screenwriter. Her marriage to star actor Basil Rathbone was one of the most enduring in show business, lasting from 1926 until his death in 1967. The Rathbones were legendary in the 1930's for giving the most lavish Hollywood parties at their luxurious mansion in the Los Feliz Hills, replete with a 60-foot dining hall. The villa had once been home to famed heavyweight boxer Jack Dempsey and his wife, actress Estelle Taylor.
Ouida was of Spanish, French and English extraction and moved to America in her early teens. After completing her education, she joined the Shubert Stock Company in Brooklyn. Having gained experience in vaudeville, she starred in the 1911 Broadway melodrama 'The Stranger' with Wilton Lackaye at the Bijou. A multi-faceted woman, she ran a talent agency during World War I, whose illustrious clients included Adolphe Menjou, Lionel Atwill and Alla Nazimova. From 1915, she forsook the stage for a career as a writer, at once doing articles and short stories for The New York Herald and scenarios/screenplays for motion pictures. In 1921, she wrote the script and designed the costumes for 'Peter Ibbetson'. Her screen writing career lasted until 1923 and included work for Goldwyn, Pathe, First National and Paramount (at one time heading their scenario department).
In 1921, Ouida saw Basil Rathboon on stage in the Broadway play 'The Czarina' and was smitten. After meeting at a party two years later, the feeling turned out to be decidedly mutual and Ouida forthwith retired from films to become Hollywood's premier socialite, and, after 1926, Mrs. Basil Rathbone. She continued to write occasional plays, notably 'Sherlock Holmes' in 1953, as a vehicle for her husband.- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Cassie Keet was born on 19 November 1987 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Scream Therapy (2023), He Knows and Worst Case Scenario (2018).- Carlos Hathcock was born on 20 May 1942 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He was a producer, known for Untitled Carlos Hathcock Biopic and Sniper: Inside the Crosshairs (2009). He died on 22 February 1999 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA.
- Production Designer
- Art Department
- Art Director
Joseph C. Nemec III was born on 7 November 1948 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is a production designer and art director, known for Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Twister (1996) and Riddick (2013). He was previously married to Janis Lynne Collier.- Actor
- Editorial Department
Scott attended school in Southern California and received his start in the business from the creators of Hearts Afire (1992). He worked initially in various production capacities, but always knew that his real desire was to be on the other side of the camera. While working on the series, he met and worked with fellow Arkansan Billy Bob Thornton, who offered him his first film role in Sling Blade (1996).
In 2003, while living and working in Colorado, Stewart began taking his acting seriously, and started auditioning for short films and independent features. This began a longtime process of studying his craft, developing an on-camera persona, finding what works and doesn't work, and networking with other creatives in the Colorado film scene.
By 2018, Stewart knew he needed to move back to California to pursue new opportunities, and relocated back to the Los Angeles area, where he continues his craft.- Charles Willeford was a remarkably fine, talented, and prolific writer who wrote everything from poetry to crime fiction to literary criticism throughout the course of his impressively long and diverse career. His crime novels are distinguished by a mean'n'lean sense of narrative economy and an admirable dearth of sentimentality. He was born as Charles Ray Willeford III on January 2, 1919 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Willeford's parents both died of tuberculosis when he was a little boy and he subsequently lived either with his grandmother or at boarding schools. Charles became a hobo in his early teens. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps at age sixteen and was stationed in the Philippines. Willeford served as a tank commander with the 10th Armored Division in Europe during World War II. He won several medals for his military service: The Silver Star, the Bronze Star, two Purple Hearts, and the Luxembourg Croix de Guerre. Charles retired from the army as a Master Sergeant.
Willeford's first novel "High Priest of California" was published in 1953. This solid debut was followed by such equally excellent novels as "Pick-Up" (this book won a Beacon Fiction Award), "Wild Wives," "The Woman Chaser," "Cockfighter" (this particular book won the Mark Twain Award), and "The Burnt Orange Heresy." Charles achieved his greatest commercial and critical success with four outstanding novels about hapless Florida homicide detective Hoke Moseley: "Miami Blues," "New Hope for the Dead," "Sideswipe," and "The Way We Die Now." Outside of his novels, he also wrote the short story anthology "The Machine in Ward Eleven," the poetry collections "The Outcast Poets" and "Proletarian Laughter," and the nonfiction book "Something About a Soldier."
Willeford attended both Palm Beach Junior College and the University of Miami. He taught a course in humanities at the University of Miami and was an associate professor who taught classes in both philosophy and English at Miami Dade Junior College. Charles was married three times and was an associate editor for "Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine." Three of Willeford's novels have been adapted into movies: Monte Hellman delivered a bleakly fascinating character study with "Cockfighter" (Charles wrote the script and has a sizable supporting role as the referee of a cockfighting tournament which climaxes the picture), George Armitage hit one out of the ballpark with the wonderfully quirky "Miami Blues," and Robinson Devor scored a bull's eye with the offbeat "The Woman Chaser." Charles popped up in a small part as a bartender in the fun redneck car chase romp "Thunder and Lightning." Charles Willeford died of a heart attack at age 69 on March 27, 1988. - Larry Delaney was born on 24 September 1938 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He was an actor, known for Westworld (1973), Emergency! (1972) and The Six Million Dollar Man (1974). He was married to Arlene Golonka. He died on 11 October 2015 in Whitefish, Montana, USA.
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
Molly Vernon is a seasoned film and theatre professional in Houston, Texas, with over 75 IMDb credits. She is an award-winning filmmaker and a Film and Theatre Adjunct Professor at the College of the Mainland. and was recently a Digital Film and Video Production Adjunct Professor at The Art Institute - Houston, Adjunct Professor of Film at Houston Community College, and Vice-President of Women in Film & Television - Houston in conjunction with her film production work. Molly works as a 1st Assistant Director, Unit Production Manager, Production Coordinator, and Producer on local Texas films and is also a noted Director and Writer. In 2015, her short film "Red Pearl" won the Special Jury Award for Best Film Depicting Benefits to Mankind from the International Space Station from NASA for the first NASA/CineSpace Contest, which has screened on PBS and won multiple awards at many festivals since its NASA win. She was partnered with cinematographer Larry McKee (until his passing) in the production company Vernon-McKee, where they produced the short films "Cold War," "Persistence of Vision," "The Void," "Red Pearl," "Into the Light," "Biomass," "Abide," "Salting the Fly," and "Lillian" to much acclaim. Her most recent short film, "Men in Cars," is doing well in the festival circuit this year. She is in development on a limited series pilot, "Sexy Nails by Aunt Tootsie," a science fiction pilot, "I/O," and her narrative feature, "Trashman," about the I-45 serial killings. She is available for hire and can be reached for further information through social media or the info listed on IMDb.- Sally Gracie was born on 31 December 1920 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. She was an actress, known for Patterns (1956), The Doctors (1963) and Tales from the Darkside (1983). She was married to Rod Steiger and Charles Kebbe. She died on 13 August 2001 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Charlene Prickett was born on 9 April 1946 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. She is a director and writer, known for It Figures (1976), Advanced Cross-Trainer: Rev-Up Aerobics Workout & Muscle Building Workout (1987) and The Prickett System: Hang in There (1988). She has been married to James Perry Moore Waugh since 19 July 1970. They have one child.- Windland "Wendy" Smith Rice was the first child of the founder of FedEx, Frederick W. Smith. Her father named FedEx's first plane "Wendy" after her in 1973. She became an accomplished photographer of nature and animals. The movie, "P.S. I love you," was produced by her sister, Molly, in her honor.
Windland attended St. Mary's Episcopal School in Memphis, Tennessee. The school now has a state of the art library and classroom building that bears her name. She attended Duke University in 1992, where she studied drama.
She completed photography commissions for organizations such as Fujifilm, the National Geographic Society, and Nature's Best Photography Magazine. Her work won several awards and has been exhibited in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. The annual Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards are also named after her. She acccompanied the second pair of pandas sent from China to the National Zoo in 2000 in a FedEx plane that was repainted to say "Panda I." She photographed the pandas for Fujifilm who have used her work around the world.
Windland Smith Rice died suddenly in Memphis, Tennessee while visiting her mother, Linda Grisham Smith McFarland, of an undiagnosed genetic heart condition called Long QT Syndrome Type 2. The Mayo Clinic has since opened the Windland Smith Rice Sudden Death Genomics Laboratory. At the Long QT Syndrome Clinic, research efforts are devoted to identifying individuals at greatest risk for autopsy negative sudden death. Athletes, in particular, are susceptible-Windland was a triathlete and marathon runner.
A few weeks after Windland's death, her sister, Molly Smith, read Cecelia Ahern's debut novel "P.S. I Love You." She found such comfort in the story that she read it several times and ended up producing the movie. The movie has an all-star cast including Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Lisa Kudrow, Gina Gershon, Harry Connick Jr. and Kathy Bates. At the end of the movie, which was partially funded by her father, there is a dedication to Windland Smith Rice.
Windland had five sisters and three brothers. She resided in Jackson Hole, Wyoming with her husband and children. She was married to Jeffrey Scott Rice. They had two sons together; Mason Frederick Rice (born in 2003) and Alden James Rice (born in 2004.)