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Matteo van der Grijn
Biography
Matteo van der Grijn completed his education in 2007 at the Theatre School Arnhem. After his education, Matteo started his career in the performance Hamlet, by the Theater Company, directed by Theu Boermans. In addition, he appeared in various productions of the National Theater: Levende Doden, De Prooi and A midsummer night's dream. In the 2010/2011 season Matteo was the first actor to play the title role in the musical Soldier of Orange directed by Theu Boermans and in 2014/2015 he played at the National Theater in Blauwdruk Voor Een Nog Beter Leven directed by Johan Doesburg. He was also the lead in Fatal Attraction and Indecent Proposal, among others. In addition, Matteo appeared in many television series such as Levenslied, Nieuwe Buren, Adem in - Adem uit, Klem, Celblok H, De Mannen van Dokter Anne, Keizersvrouwen, DNA and Oogappels. He also played various guest roles in Het Klokhuis. Matteo also played in many films including Tuscany Wedding, Daglicht, Of Ik Gek Ben, Mannenharten, The Resistance Banker, Kapsalon Romy, Hartenstrijd and Gek Van Geluk. Matteo played a beautiful role in the international series Ted Lasso. The New York Times wrote about him: "I found the scenes between Matteo van der Grijn and Hannah Waddingham to be perhaps the best of the entire season". He also appeared in Tribes of Europa and the international film The Goldfinch. He recently appeared in the film Zwanger & Co and in the series Hockeyvaders, Golden Hour and Het Herriehofje.
In addition to his work for the camera or on stage, Matteo is in demand as a voice actor. He is the regular voice of Lexus and Gilette, has spoken in various cartoons including Sing 2, The Croods, Lightyear (voice: Buzz Lightyear), Lyle Lyle Crocodile and also speaks audio books and audio tours (including Amsterdam Light Festival 2022).
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Robert Clohessy
Biography
Robert Clohessy (born June 10, 1958) is an American actor, known for playing Correctional Officer Sean Murphy on the HBO drama Oz. He was also a cast member in the final season of Hill Street Blues.
He has had recurring roles in the ABC daytime drama All My Children, Guiding Light, and appeared in the short lived Fox show New Amsterdam. He also played a semi-minor role in the film "Across the Universe", playing the part of Jude's long-lost father. He was also a series regular in short-lived shows such as Laurie Hill who at that time starred a then-unknown Ellen Degeneres.
He played the role of "Mike" in the Broadway Roundabout Theatre Company revival of Pal Joey, from November 2008 through February 2009. He is currently seen on HBO's new show Boardwalk Empire.
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Russell Yuen
Biography
Toronto/Montreal-based Russell Yuen is one of Canada's busiest character actors.
Like most actors Yuen spent his early career doing an assortment of jobs to make ends meet while he became established. Unlike most actors it wasn't waiting tables or serving drinks. A dedicated athlete, Yuen spent his time as a white water rescuer and rafting guide in Northern Quebec, ran a Nautilus facility and worked as a fitness trainer. Yuen is also an enthusiastic scuba diver, a mountain and ice-climber, an in-line skater, a mountain biker and a fencer.
A former martial artist in Shaolin, Yuen used his stunt skills to move from bit parts, playing Asian gangsters and fighters, into meatier roles. His breakout opportunity came with The Red Violin and more feature film parts quickly followed for this versatile young actor whose skills range from action, to drama, to broad comedy. Other screen performances include Bulletproof Monk directed by John Woo, Owning Mahoney and Long Life, Happiness and Prosperity. He has appeared in Billy Ray's Shattered Glass, David Weaver's Indie feature Century Hotel; Between the Moon and Montevideo; Phillip Noyce's The Bone Collector, opposite Denzel Washington; David Mamet's The Heist; Ron Underwood's Pluto Nash, opposite Eddie Murphy, and Stephan Elliot's Eye Of The Beholder. Well known to Quebec audiences for his film work Yuen starred in the Quebec feature film Ballade des Dangereux, directed by Louis Saia.
Yuen has an extensive list of television credits on both English and French projects and series. He was most recently featured on the popular French series Jack Carter, in the recurring role of impotent mobster "Wong Phat". He has a recurring role in Diva and other recent television credits include principal roles in: Relic Hunter; The Associates; A Touch of Hope; and The Adventures of Jules Verne. Television credits also include multiple appearances in Kung Fu:The Legend Continues, and roles in Urban Angel, Counterstrike, John Woo's Once A Thief, and PSI Factor.
Fluently bilingual (French/English) Yuen maintains homes in both Toronto and Montreal. A fourth-generation Canadian, born and raised in the Montreal suburbs of St. Laurent and Pierrefond, with deep connections to Vancouver (all of his extended family live there still), Yuen was guided by his parents to become a doctor. However, his studies came to an abrupt halt when a chance Drama elective turned into a full-time pursuit. After studying Theatre at Concordia University, in the honors program, he quickly moved into film and television where he has found continuing success. IMDb Mini Biography
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Robert Alda
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert Alda (February 26, 1914 – May 3, 1986) was an American theatrical and film actor and father of actors Alan and Antony Alda. A singer and dancer, Alda was featured in a number of Broadway productions before moving to Italy during the early 1960s. He appeared in many European films over the next two decades, occasionally returning to the U.S. for film appearances such as The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1969).
Alda, an American of Italian descent, was born Alphonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo in New York, New York, the son of Frances (née Tumillo) and Antonio D'Abruzzo, a barber born in Sant'Agata de' Goti, Benevento, Campania, Italy. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School in New York in 1930. He began as a singer and dancer in vaudeville after winning a talent contest, and moved on to burlesque.
Alda is known for portraying George Gershwin in the biopic Rhapsody in Blue (1945) as well as the talent agent in the Douglas Sirk classic Imitation of Life (1959). He was very successful on Broadway, starring in Guys and Dolls (1950), for which he won a Tony Award, and in What Makes Sammy Run? (1964). He was also the host of the short-lived DuMont TV version of the game show What's Your Bid? (May–June 1953).
Alda's first wife, and mother of actor Alan Alda, Joan Browne, was a homemaker and former beauty pageant winner. Alda was married to his second wife, Flora Marino, an Italian actress whom he met in Rome, until his death.
Alda made two guest appearances with his son Alan on M*A*S*H, in the episodes "The Consultant" (January 1975) and "Lend a Hand" (February 1980). The latter episode also featured Antony Alda (1956–2009), his younger son by his second wife.
Alda appeared in an episode of The Feather and Father Gang in 1977.
Alda died on May 3, 1986, aged 72, after a long illness following a stroke.
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Ed Nelson
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Edwin Stafford Nelson (December 21, 1928 – August 9, 2014) was an American actor.
Nelson began acting while attending Tulane University in New Orleans. He left college after two years to study at the New York School of Radio and Television Technique. After graduating, he took a position as a director at WDSU-TV in New Orleans. By 1956, acting became his central focus and he moved to the Los Angeles area. Early in his career he worked with famed B-movie producer Roger Corman on such Corman films as Cry Baby Killers, A Bucket of Blood, Teenage Cave Man and Attack of the Crab Monsters. In 1958 he participated in Bruno VeSota's science fiction horror film The Brain Eaters.
His early television career featured many guest starring roles in such series as The Fugitive, Gunsmoke, Harbor Command, Tombstone Territory, Tightrope, The Blue Angels (as arrogant flight instructor Lieutenant Dayl Martin), Laramie, COronado 9, The Eleventh Hour, Bonanza, Thriller (US TV series), and Channing, an ABC drama about college life.
In 1964 he won his most famous role portraying Dr. Michael Rossi on the ABC drama Peyton Place, which ran from 1964 to 1969. Nelson's fellow cast members included Mia Farrow, Ryan O'Neal, and Dorothy Malone. Dr. Rossi proved to be so popular that by 1968, he became the lead actor on the show. Nelson reprised his role in two made-for-TV movies, Murder in Peyton Place and Peyton Place: The Next Generation.
After Peyton Place ended, Nelson worked in many more productions of all varieties, including starring role in many movies of the week, a second TV series, "The Silent Force," and a popular morning talk show which he hosted for three years.
Soon after, Nelson struck gold with his critically acclaimed portrayal of elusive pit crew chief Robert Denby in the hit film Riding with Death (1976), earning him several prestigious accolades and legions of devoted fans.
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Ernst Winar
Biography
Ernst Winar, born Wilhelm Joseph Carl Eichhoff (1894–1978), was a German-Dutch actor, film director and novelist. He appeared in 34 films between 1916 and 1955, and directed 14 films in that period. In 1920 he published the novel 'Peccavi...???', which he co-wrote with actor Adolphe Engers; the book was considered scandalous at the time because of its gay protagonist.
Born into a German family as Wilhelm Joseph Carl Eichhoff, Winar broke off his studies in engineering at a young age and joined the Filmfabriek Hollandia in Haarlem; he assisted directors and crew, and made his acting debut in a supporting role in the film Majoor Frans (1916). Winar was also active on stage, joining the Bouwmeester theater for a short time. Adter some time he started taking on acting jobs in Germany as well; he got his first leading role in Zirkus Renz ('Circus Renz', 1927) by Austrian director Wolfgang Neff. He trained his directing skills at the Terra Film film school in Berlin and in 1923 he directed his first film, Der Mann im Hintergrund ('The Man in the Background').
In the early thirties he came back to the Netherlands. He signed with the Cinetone Studios and subsequently made the films De kribbebijter (1935) and Op stap (1935) with Louis Davids in the lead role. Winar was considered one of only few Dutch directors at Cinetone who had truly mastered the filmmaking profession. After the Second World War, Winar shifted his interest to making children's films, such as Dik Trom en zijn dorpsgenoten ('Dik Trom and his fellow villagers', 1947) and Vier Jongens en een Jeep ('Four guys and a jeep', 1955). The latter was his last film as both actor and director. In the 1960s, Winar supervised young filmmaker Paul Verhoeven as editor and co-writer for his short film Eén hagedis teveel ('One lizard too many', 1960) and documentary Het Korps Mariniers ('The Marine Corps', 1965).
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Sonny Chiba
Biography
Sonny Chiba (born January 23, 1939 - August 19, 2021), also known as Shin'ichi Chiba, was a Japanese actor and martial artist. Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later before an international audience. Born in Fukuoka, Chiba played a variety of sports in high school, including baseball and volleyball. He also practiced gymnastics and participated at the National Sports Festival of Japan in his third year. When he was a university student, he learned martial arts, earning a black belt in Kyokushin Karate in 1965 and later receiving a fourth degree in 1984.
Chiba's career began in the 1960s, when he starred in two tokusatsu superhero shows. In his first role, he replaced Susumu Wajima as the main character Kōtarō Ran/Seven Color Mask in Seven Color Mask (Nana-iro Kamen) in the second half of the series. However, his breakthrough role was in the 1974 film The Street Fighter. Before retiring, Chiba had also appeared in a number of English language American films, including Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) and Fast & Furious 3: Tokyo Drift (2006).
Chiba died of COVID-19 complications at the hospital in Tokyo on 19 August 2021, at the age of 82.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Sonny Chiba, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Christopher George
Biography
Christopher John George (February 25, 1931 - November 28, 1983) was an American television and film actor who was perhaps best known for his starring role in the 1966-1968 TV series The Rat Patrol. He was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1967 as Best TV Star for his performance in the series. He was also the recipient of a New York Film Festival award as the Best Actor in a Television Commercial. George was married to actress Lynda Day George.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Christopher George licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Brenda McDonald
Biography
Brenda McDonald (born Brenda Olive Nicholls; February 12, 1931 – November 23, 2024) was a Canadian actress. Born in London, Brenda moved to Canada at 21, settling first in Toronto, then in Vancouver, where she met her first husband, Thomas Guy, and had four children with him.
She graduated from UBC with a teaching degree in 1977, soon after Thomas had died of a heart attack. She taught English, French and Drama for nine years before quitting to follow her dream of acting. Her career spanned 33 years. She performed on stage, in film, and in training and educational videos, as well as doing voice-over work. She was also very active in community theatre with North Vancouver Community Players and United Players in Jericho.
Her first film gig of note was as a body double for Katharine Hepburn, and over the years she shared the set with many of the greats: Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Anthony Quinn, Paul Hogan and many others. She worked on many Vancouver-shot series, including X-Files, Stargate: Atlantis, Battlestar Galactica, Supernatural, and the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. She is known by many for a single line delivered while playing the nun in Elf: “But the children love the books!”
Brenda had an active personal life: she remarried twice, surviving all of her husbands, had 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. She maintained her independence by keeping her driving licence until she was 92, played saxophone, attended art classes, walked every day, and she was a passionate fan of Vancouver Canucks.
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Chris Wedge
Biography
John Christian Wedge (born March 20, 1957) is an American filmmaker, animator, and voice actor. He is best known for being the lead animator of the sci-fi action film Tron (1982), co-founding the now defunct animation studio Blue Sky Studios, and directing the short film Bunny (1998) and the feature films Ice Age (2002), Robots (2005) and Epic (2013). Wedge has received two Academy Awards nominations: one for Bunny, for which he won Best Animated Short; and Ice Age, nominated for Best Animated Feature. He also created and voiced the character Scrat in the Ice Age franchise (2002–2022).
Description above from the Wikipedia article Chris Wedge, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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