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1-18 of 18
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Woefully misused while in her prime screen years at Paramount during the late '30s and '40s, Patricia Morison, lovely and exotic with Rapunzel-like long, dark hair, nevertheless became a star in her own right -- as a supremely talented diva on the singing stage.
Born on March 19, 1915, in New York City, her father, William Morison, was a playwright and occasional actor who billed himself under the name Norman Rainey. Patricia's mother worked for British Intelligence during WWI. Graduating from Washington Irving High School in New York, Patricia studied at the Art Students League and proceeded to take acting classes at the Neighborhood Playhouse while also studying dance with the renowned Martha Graham. She earned a steady check at the time as a dress shop designer.
At age 19 Patricia made her Broadway debut in the short-lived play "Growing Pains" and proceeded to understudy the legendary Helen Hayes in her classic role of "Victoria Regina". She never went on. In 1938, shortly after opening in the musical "The Two Bouquets" opposite musical star Alfred Drake, Paramount talent scouts, looking for exotic, dark-haired glamour types then to rein in their star commodity, Dorothy Lamour, scoped Patricia out and tested her. The blue-eyed beauty who indeed resembled Lamour was signed and made her film debut the following year, showing bright promise in the "B" film Persons in Hiding (1939).
Patricia's stock did not improve, however, despite such promise, and she was relegated to such second-string westerns as I'm from Missouri (1939), Rangers of Fortune (1940), Romance of the Rio Grande (1940), and The Round Up (1941). When things didn't improve with such stilted fare as Night in New Orleans (1942), Beyond the Blue Horizon (1942), and Are Husbands Necessary? (1942), she left Paramount. She freelanced in 'other woman' roles which included the Tracy/Hepburn vehicle Without Love (1945) and The Fallen Sparrow (1943), and played Empress Eugenie in The Song of Bernadette (1943), but the focus was seldom on her. Overlooked when cast in top leads at 'poverty row' programmers, her best chance at film stardom came as Victor Mature's despairing wife who takes her own life (which was to have been shown on screen) in Kiss of Death (1947), but her juicy role was excised from the film by producers (or, more likely, the Breen Commission) who felt audiences weren't ready for such shocking displays.
During the war years, Patricia had trained her voice and performed in USO tours. Cole Porter heard her sing in Hollywood one evening and decided she had the right tenacity, feistiness and vocal expertise to play the female lead in his new show. In 1948, over the objections of both the producer and director, stardom was clenched in the form of Porter's classic musical-within-a-musical "Kiss Me Kate." As the sweeping, vixenish Lilli Vanessi, a severe-looking stage diva whose own volatile personality coincided with that of her onstage role (Kate from "The Taming of the Shrew"), Patricia found THE role of her career, giving over 1,000 performances in all. Playing again alongside her former Broadway co-star Alfred Drake, Patricia basked in the multitude of glowing reviews, and such songs as "I Hate Men," "Wunderbar" and "So In Love" rightfully became signature songs. Following this triumph, film work never became a top priority again.
Patricia continued on successfully in the London version of "Kate" and went on to conquer other classic leads in the musicals "The King and I," "Kismet," "The Merry Widow," "Song of Norway" and Pal Joey," among others. Her last movie role was a cameo part as writer George Sand in the mildly received biopic Song Without End (1960) starring Dirk Bogarde as composer Franz Liszt.
On TV Patricia recreated her Kate role with Mr. Drake and made a few scattered but lively appearances over the years. One of her later guest shots was on a 1989 episode of "Cheers" and a 1991 episode of "Gabriel's Fire." In later years the never-married actress devoted herself to painting (an early passion) and enjoyed many showings in the Los Angeles area. The lovely lady with the trademark long hair died in L.A. at the age of 103, on May 20, 2018.- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Richard N. Goodwin was born on 7 December 1931 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Quiz Show (1994), The Hinge of the World and 1968: A Crack in Time (1978). He was married to Doris Kearns Goodwin and Sandra Gail Leverant. He died on 20 May 2018 in Concord, Massachusetts, USA.- Stunts
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stuntman and actor Roydon Elwood Clark was born on April 15, 1928 in Dalton, Pennsylvania. One in a family of eight children (said family was made up of crop tenders and migrant farm workers), Roydon starting in 1942 spent his summers around the Hudkins stables which provided livestock and wagons for Western films. Clark was taken in by the Hudkins family after his family separated and worked for twenty-five dollars per week pitching hay, taking care of the horses, and doing general chores around a stable. Roydon began his career as an actor and stuntman in Westerns for director Joseph Kane at Republic Pictures. Among the notable actors that Clark doubled for are Errol Flynn, James Garner, Sean Connery, and Joe Don Baker. Moreover, Roydon did volunteer work for four years as a stunt safety investigator for the Directors Guild of America as well as worked as both a stunt coordinator and second unit director on a handful of TV movie follow-ups to the hit TV series The Rockford Files (1974).- Lois Kelso Hunt was born on 16 July 1926 in Oak Park, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for Head of State (2003), The House on Sorority Row (1982) and Homicide: Life on the Street (1993). She was married to Leon Gibson Hunt. She died on 20 May 2018 in Alexandria, Virginia, USA.
- Art Department
Bill Gold was an American graphic designer best known for thousands of film poster designs.
During his 70-year career he worked with some of Hollywood's greatest filmmakers, including Laurence Olivier, Clint Eastwood, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Elia Kazan, Ridley Scott, and many more. Among his most famous film posters are those for Casablanca and A Clockwork Orange.
His first film poster was for Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), and his.final work was for J. Edgar (2011).
Gold died on 20 May 2018, aged 97, at Greenwich Hospital, Connecticut, from complications of Alzheimer's disease.- Editor
- Director
- Producer
Larry Marinelli was born in February 1939. He was an editor and director, known for Da Heist (2010), Monkey Theory (2009) and Wrongs (2012). He was married to Deborah Aydt Marinelli and Judy Dugan Marinelli. He died on 20 May 2018 in Albany, New York, USA.- Producer
- Production Designer
Dirk Haegemans was born on 24 May 1967 in Leuven, Flanders, Belgium. Dirk was a producer and production designer, known for Thuis (1995), Witse (2004) and Goesting (2010). Dirk died on 20 May 2018 in Hoegaarden, Belgium.- Art Department
- Art Director
- Production Designer
Antonio Sarzi-Braga was an art director and production designer, known for Jason and the Argonauts (1963), Genghis Khan (1965) and The Brotherhood (1968). He died on 20 May 2018 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- Slobodan Slobodanovic was born on 10 November 1930 in Sabac, Serbia, Yugoslavia. He was an actor, known for Life Is Ours (1948) and TV teatar (1956). He died on 20 May 2018 in Belgrade, Serbia.
- DeCharlene Williams was born on 13 January 1943 in Temple, Texas, USA. She died on 20 May 2018 in Seattle, Washington, USA.
- Ramón Chao was born on 21 July 1935 in Vilalba, Terra Chá, Galicia, Spain. He was a writer, known for Arriba España (1976), El debate de la 2 (2002) and Un Buñuel mexican (1997). He was married to Felisa Ortega. He died on 20 May 2018 in Barcelona, Spain.
- Andrzej Wojciechowski was born on 27 August 1930 in Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland. He died on 20 May 2018.
- Additional Crew
- Actor
Tyler Cullen was an actor, known for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), Nancy (2018) and Days and Nights (2014). He died on 20 May 2018 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.- Colin Morris was born on 13 January 1929 in Bolton, Lancashire, England, UK. He was married to Sandy James. He died on 20 May 2018 in the UK.
- Actor
- Composer
Dieter Schnebel was born on 14 March 1930 in Lahr, Germany. He was an actor and composer, known for Metamorphosen (1992), Film über Nichts (1992) and Alpha Forum (1998). He was married to Iris von Kaschnitz and Camilla Riegger. He died on 20 May 2018 in Berlin, Germany.- Carol Mann was born on 3 February 1941 in Buffalo, New York, USA. She was married to James Michael Hardy. She died on 20 May 2018 in The Woodlands, Texas, USA.
- Slobodan Slobodanovic was born on 10 November 1930 in Sabac, Serbia, Yugoslavia. He was an actor, known for Povratak otpisanih (1976) and Martin Krpan s vrha (1968). He died on 20 May 2018 in Belgrade, Serbia.
- Rolf Sand was born on 21 February 1921 in Kristiania, Norway. He was an actor, known for Volpone (1965), Pastor Jarman kommer hjem (1958) and Douglas (1970). He was married to Britt Elisabeth Joner. He died on 20 May 2018 in Baerum, Norway.