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Alain Fondary
Biography
Alain Fondary (born 9 October 1932 in Bagnolet) is a French baritone.
Before embarking on his lyrical career, Alain Fondary followed the family tradition of glass blower, like his parents, in Paris, Boulevard Voltaire. He attended glass school and went to opera with his parents and José Luccioni, a friend of the family. Passionate about judo, he nevertheless worked on singing at the age of thirty, first with André Baugé, then with Georges Jouatte and André Hauth, then with Yvonne Pons, Alice Monfort and Gaetano Abrani.
He made his debut in Cherbourg in Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo, performing the role of Tonio in 1968 and the following year sang Ourrias in Mireille by Charles Gounod in Toulouse. He created Les Boréades by Jean-Philippe Rameau, under the direction of Gardiner in London in 1980. His career accelerated in Bercy in 1984, when he replaced Piero Cappuccilli in Aida by Verdi, where he played Amonasro; he was then offered the biggest stages. The following year he sang at the Chorégies d'Orange, at Covent Garden, and La Scala. In 1987, he made his American debut in San Francisco in the role of Scarpia of Tosca by Giacomo Puccini and the following year at the MET in Cavalleria rusticana by Pietro Mascagni and Aida; later operas in which he sang in New York included La gioconda, Samson et Dalila, La fanciulla del west and Tosca. In Munich, he sang in Les Contes d'Hoffmann. In Paris, he sang in Thaïs by Jules Massenet and Rigoletto by Verdi. He appeared for the first time at the Easter festival of Salzburg in 1989 in Tosca alongside Luciano Pavarotti and under the direction of Karajan, and in Carmen in Paris. The following year he was asked to play at the Wiener Staatsoper; in 1992 he played Falstaff in Buenos Aires.
In March 2008, he played the role of Sultan Alaouddin in Padmâvatî by Albert Roussel, under the direction of Lawrence Foster, at the Théâtre du Châtelet.
His repertoire comprises more than thirty roles including Tosca, La Gioconda, Hérodiade, Henry VIII, Samson and Dalilah, Thaïs, Jérusalem, and the great verdian roles: Macbeth, Rigoletto, Don Carlos, Othello, Simon Boccanegra, Aida, Nabucco, Falstaff as well as Les Contes d'Hoffmann and la Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein.
He has also premiered works by Charles Chaynes, including Cecilia at Monte-Carlo in 2000, revived in Avignon in January 2005 and Mi amor in March 2007 in Metz.
Source: Article "Alain Fondary" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
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Sean Connery
Biography
Sir Thomas Sean Connery (August 25, 1930 - October 31, 2020) was a Scottish actor and producer who won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards (one being a BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award), and three Golden Globes, including the Cecil B. DeMille Award and a Henrietta Award.
Connery was the first actor to portray the character James Bond in film, starring in seven Bond films (every film from Dr. No to You Only Live Twice, plus Diamonds Are Forever and Never Say Never Again), between 1962 and 1983. In 1988, Connery won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Untouchables. His films also include Marnie (1964), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), A Bridge Too Far (1977), Highlander (1986), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Dragonheart (1996), The Rock (1996), and Finding Forrester (2000).
Connery was polled in a 2004 The Sunday Herald as "The Greatest Living Scot" and in a 2011 EuroMillions survey as "Scotland's Greatest Living National Treasure". He was voted by People magazine as both the “Sexiest Man Alive" in 1989 and the "Sexiest Man of the Century” in 1999. He received a lifetime achievement award in the United States with a Kennedy Center Honor in 1999. Connery was knighted in the 2000 New Year Honours for services to film drama.
On October 31, 2020, it was announced that Connery had died at the age of 90.
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Ara Mina
Biography
Hazel Pascual Reyes (born on May 9, 1979 in Manila, Philippines), better known by her screen name, Ara Mina, is a Filipina actress, fashion model and singer. She won the Golden Screen Award in 2004 for Best Actress in a drama in the Philippines for her role as Luna in Minsan Pa. The Filipino Express said "Ara Mina's role in this Jeffrey Jeturian film actually lies in the borderline of lead and supporting actress. Although she is the leading lady of Jomari Yllana and is, in fact, billed alongside his name, her character is basically secondary to the flow of the story (her first scene, in fact, comes much later in the movie). But whether lead or support, Ara Mina had already proven her worth as an actress in films like Mano Po 2 and Huling Birhen sa Lupa--the two films that had already given her acting trophies in the past. In Minsan Pa, she delivers another fine performance that is worth of more acting awards She is the daughter of Chuck Mathay, a former Philippine congressman from Quezon City. Her half-sister Cristine Reyes is also an actress with ABS-CBN.
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Irene
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Irene Maud Lentz (December 8, 1901 – November 15, 1962) also known mononymously and professionally as Irene, was an American fashion designer and costume designer. Her work as a clothing designer in Los Angeles led to her career as a costume designer for films in the 1930s. Lentz also worked under the name Irene Gibbons.
Lentz had been taught sewing as a child and, with a flair for style, she decided to open a small dress shop. The success of her designs in her tiny store eventually led to an offer from the Bullocks Wilshire luxury department store to design for their Ladies Custom Salon which catered to a wealthy clientele including a number of Hollywood stars.
Lentz's designs at Bullocks gained her much attention in the film community and she was contracted by independent production companies to design the wardrobe for some of their productions. Billing herself simply as "Irene", her first work came in 1933 on the film Goldie Gets Along featuring her designs for star Lily Damita. However, her big break came when she was hired to create the gowns for Ginger Rogers for her 1937 film Shall We Dance with Fred Astaire. This was followed by more designs in another Ginger Rogers film as well as work for other independents such as Walter Wanger Productions, Hal Roach Studios as well as majors such as RKO, Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures. During the 1930s, Irene Lentz designed the film wardrobe for leading ladies such as Constance Bennett, Hedy Lamarr, Joan Bennett, Claudette Colbert, Carole Lombard, Ingrid Bergman, and Loretta Young among others. She "is generally regarded as the originator of the dressmaker suit" that was popular in the late 1930s.
Through her work, Lentz met and married short story author and screenwriter Eliot Gibbons, brother of multi-Academy Award winning Cedric Gibbons, head of art direction at MGM Studios. Despite her success, working under the powerful set designer Cedric while being married to his brother Eliot was not easy. Irene confided to her close friend Doris Day that the marriage to Eliot was not a happy one. Generally regarded as the most important and influential production designer in the history of American films, Cedric Gibbons hired Lentz when gown designer Adrian left MGM in 1941 to open his own fashion house. By 1943 she was a leading costume supervisor at MGM, earning international recognition for her "soufflé creations" and is remembered for her avant-garde wardrobe for Lana Turner in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946).
In 1950, Lentz left MGM to open her own fashion house. After Lentz was out of the film industry for nearly ten years, Doris Day requested her services for the production Midnight Lace (Universal, 1960). The following year she did the costume design for another Day film, Lover Come Back (1961), and during 1962 worked on her last production, A Gathering of Eagles (1963).
Lentz was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White for B.F.'s Daughter (1948). She was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Color for Midnight Lace (1960).
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Dan Noyes
Biography
Dan Noyes is the chief investigative reporter for the ABC7 News I-Team in San Francisco. He has received many industry awards, including 15 Emmys.
He worked for CNN, ABC News in Washington, D.C., and several television news magazines before joining ABC7 News.
Dan traveled on presidential campaigns, tracked a suspected Nazi war criminal to Germany, investigated the slaughter of near-extinct black rhinos in Zimbabwe, and exposed a Bay Area priest for molesting dozens of children. The priest was eventually convicted and sent to prison.
Dan lives in Marin County and is passionate about greyhound rescue and surfing. He's most proud of his sons, including a former U.S. Marine; both are now in college.
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Bettina Köster
Biography
Bettina Köster (born 15 June 1959 in Herford) is a German musician, saxophonist, composer, singer, songwriter and producer.
Fall 1978, Köster, student of the Berlin art school Hochschule der Künste, began playing Saxophone for the Berlin underground band DIN A Testbild. In May 1979 Köster started with Karin Luner, Beate Bartel, Eva Gossling and Gudrun Gut an all-girls-band project Mania D. In Fall 1979 Mania D performed in New York at Arleen Schloss A's, and in the Club Tier 3.
In the same year she opened with Gudrun Gut the store Eisengrau (metalgrey), showing underground fashion, Super 8-movies and artwork as part of the concept. Köster's Eisengrau-concept emerged to a scene hot-spot for Tabea Blumenschein, Alexander von Borsig, Blixa Bargeld and others. 1980 Eisengrau began publishing small editions of tapes with the musical works of underground bands, classifying thereby Eisengrau to a medium for music.
Bettina Köster belonged to a group of Berlin artists named genius dilettantes, who, starting in 1980, performed in quick changing band-formations such as Liebesgier, Nachdenkliche Wehrpflichtige and Einstürzende Neubauten among others. Wolfgang Müller from Die Tödliche Doris invented the characterizing term of the "genius dilettantes" in his book about the Berlin scene published at the Merve-Verlag. The British radiohost John Peel referred to Köster, Gut and Beate Bartel who meanwhile had separated, during a show on 25. July 1981, as his "Queens of Noise". Mania D's production track 4 was chosen by Peel in his Radio-Show to as the single of the year.
In the same year Köster and Gudrun Gut started the Indie band Malaria! Malaria! gained international recognition with their song "Kaltes klares Wasser", they performed at the New Yorker Studio 54 and Mudd Club. Malaria toured with Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Birthday Party among others. As a lyricist Köster influenced succeeding girl Bands, such as Chicks on Speed, who released a cover version of Malaria's 1981 Hit "Kaltes Klares Wasser". In Playboy Magazine January 1985 "The Girls of Rock 'n' Roll", she is model together with Grace Jones, Tina Turner, Pat Benatar and Diana Ross.
Köster lived in New York from 1983 to 2001, where she worked as a film author and producer with the director Isabel Hegner. In 1997, Köster composed the music for the film Peppermills, which won 1998 at the Berlinale the Teddy Award in the category Best Short Film. The film was directed by the Swiss Isabel Hegner, later producing a 2003 released documentary "Burma: Anatomy of Terror" which was co produced by Köster. While researching Burma for the film, Köster came across material about the drug princess Olive Yang, laying the foundation for the thriller Mandalay Moon, which she wrote together with Martin Schacht, published 2007 by Rowohlt. In 2005 Köster performed with the musician Jessie Evans in the supporting program of The Vanishing. This led to the music project Autonervous, releasing an album in 2006.
Since 2009, when "Queen of Noise" was published on Assinela Records, Vienna, Köster performs regularly with the Viennese drummer Ines Perschy in Clubs and on Festivals like Waregem in Belgium, Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig/Germany. She lives in southern Italy.
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Leona Cavalli
Biography
Alleyona Canedo da Silva ( Rosário do Sul , November 6 , 1969 ), better known as Leona Cavalli , is a Brazilian actress and theater director . She is the winner of several awards, including an APCA Award , two Brazil Quality Awards , a Shell Award , and a Guarani Award , as well as having received nominations for three Grande Otelo Awards .
Leona made her debut in professional theater at the age of 16, participating in a production of Waltz No. 6 . After studying theater at PUC in São Paulo , she took part in other productions of classic plays, such as Farsa by Inês Pereira and Auto da Barca do Inferno . [ 2 ] She received critical acclaim for her performance in the film Um Céu de Estrelas (1996), where she played hairdresser Dalva, who lives in a dark and violent relationship with her husband. For her work, she won the APCA Award for Best Actress in Cinema , the Candango Award for Best Actress at the Brasília Festival , as well as receiving her first of four nominations for the Guarani Award . [ 3 ]
In 2000 she began playing Geni in the play Toda Nudez Ser Castigada , a play written by Nelson Rodrigues in 1965 , for which she won the Shell Award for Best Actress . In 2002 she was praised for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in the play A Streetcar Named Desire , selling the Prêmio Qualidade Brasil for Best Actress in a Drama Play. [ 4 ]
Cavalli made her television debut in a special appearance in the series Os Normais , on TV Globo , in 2002. In the same year, she acted in the film Amarelo Manga , directed by Cláudio Assis . For her performance, she again received critical acclaim, winning the Guarani Award for Best Supporting Actress and being nominated for the Grande Otelo for Best Actress . [ 2 ] Her performances in the films Carandiru (2003) and Contra Todos (2004) earned her nominations from the Brazilian Cinema Academy for Grande Otelo for Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress , respectively.
In 2007 she played Justine in the miniseries Amazônia, from Galvez to Chico Mendes , her first prominent role on television, for which she won the Brazil Quality Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries . She also stood out in the character of the prostitute Zarolha in the soap opera Gabriela (2012) and in the role of the villain Glauce in the prime time soap opera Amor à Vida (2013). [ 5 ] In 2019 she played Teresa in Orphans of the Earth .
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Emory Covington
Biography
Emory is an Actor, Songwriter, and aspiring Film writer based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She is known for her performance as Homeowner 2 in indie film "Rotten Apple".
Her previous experience includes stage adaptations of "Diary of Anne Frank", "Bang, Bang, You're Dead", "Radium Girls", "All I Really Needed to Know, I Learned by Being in a Bad Play", "Christmas Shorts", "Gathering Blue", "Fourth and Fatal," "The Monologue Show from Hell", and musicals including "Seussical", "High School Musical", "Shrek the Musical", and "Annie".
-TMDB Mini Biography by Sawyer Jaime
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Aline Mineiro
Biography
Aline Mineiro, the Brazilian bombshell and Instagram sensation, Instagram star who got her start as an actress on television programs such as Pânico na Band and TV Fama . known for Conspiração Fatal (2022), Atração de Risco (2020) and Gota D'água (2023).
. She has a flight attendant course , but never pursued the profession. She has a degree in performing arts at the Wolf Maya School of Actors, where at the same time she was also studying journalism , but dropped out. In December 2014, she won the "Miss Mister Fitness Alphaville" contest. Mineiro debuted as a panicat in February 2015. Previously, she had worked on TV as a dancer on programs such as Programa do Gugu (2013), Arena SBT (2014) and Programa Raul Gil (2014).
In 2016, she was a judge at the "Garoto e Garota Fitness 2016" competition with Taiguara Nazareth. In 2018, Aline Mineiro debuted a comedy play in São Paulo. In September 2021, she was confirmed by RecordTV as one of the participants in the thirteenth season of A Fazenda , being the 13th eliminated from the reality show, together with MC Gui , in a match against Bil Araújo and Marina Ferrari, in which Aline obtained 19.77% of the votes to continue, placing seventh in the competition. She previously dated comedian Leo Lins , but the relationship came to an end after controversy with MC Gui during the reality show A Fazenda 13 . In 2023, she joined the cast of the third season of De Férias com o Ex: Caribe , as an original participant
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Aki Blendis
Biography
Aki Blendis started learning the violin at the age of four with Elisabeth Waterhouse. He was a pupil of Felicity Lipman for six years, and now studies with Ivo Stankov at the Junior Guildhall. He is a member of the National Youth Orchestra and is also an enthusiastic chamber musician, regularly participating in chamber music courses. Away from the violin, he is a keen sportsman, playing football for his school and for a local club, as well as representing both his school and his borough at athletics.
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