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Jacques Mayol
Biography
Jacques Mayol (1 April 1927 – 22 December 2001) was a French diver and the holder of many world records in free diving. The 1988 film The Big Blue, directed by Luc Besson was inspired by his life story and that of his friend, Enzo Maiorca. Mayol was one of the screenwriters and authored the book Homo Delphinus: the Dolphin Within Man of his philosophy about the aquatic origins of humans.
Jacques Mayol was a French national born in Shanghai, China. Mayol spent his summer holidays in Karatsu (Japan) every year as a child. When he was 7, he would skin dive with his older brother in seas around Nanatsugama (ja:七つ釜)(Karatsu, Japan), where he saw a dolphin for the first time. Mayol described the fateful encounter in his book, "Homo Delphinus: The Dolphin Within Man".
On 23 November 1976, at 49, he became the first free diver to descend to 100 metres (330 ft), and when he was 56 he managed to descend to 105 metres (344 ft). During the scientific research phase of his career, Mayol tried to answer the question of whether man had a hidden aquatic potential that could be evoked by rigorous physiological and psychological training.
Mayol's lifelong passion for diving was based on his love for the ocean, his personal philosophy, and his desire to explore his own limits. During his lifetime, he helped introduce the then-elitist sport of free-diving into the mainstream. His diving philosophy was to reach a state of mind based on relaxation and yoga breathing, with which he could accomplish apnea. He also contributed to technological advances in the field of free-diving, particularly improving assemblies used by no-limits divers. He was also instrumental in the development of scuba diving's octopus regulator, which was invented by Dave Woodward at UNEXSO in 1965 or 1966. Woodward believed that having safety divers carry two second stages would be a safer and more practical approach than buddy breathing in the event of an emergency.
Mayol was already an experienced free diver when he met the Sicilian Enzo Maiorca, who was the first person to dive below 50 metres (160 ft). Mayol reached 60 metres (200 ft) depth. A friendship, as well as rivalry, between the two men ensued. Their most famous records were set in the no-limits category, in which divers are permitted to use weighted sleds to descend and air balloons for a speedy ascent. Between 1966 and 1983, Mayol was the no-limits world champion eight times. In 1981 he set a world record of 61 metres (200 ft) in the constant weight discipline, using fins. In 1976, Mayol broke the 100 metres (330 ft) barrier with a no-limits 101 metres (331 ft) dive off Elba, Italy. Tests showed that during this dive his heart beat decreased from 60 to 27 beats/min, an aspect of the mammalian diving reflex, a reflex more evident in whales, seals, and dolphins. Mayol's last deep dive followed in 1983 when he reached the depth of 105 metres (344 ft), at the age of 56. ...
Source: Article "Jacques Mayol" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
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Iain Glen
Biography
Iain Alan Sutherland Glen (born 24 June 1961) is a Scottish actor. Glen is best known for his roles as Dr. Alexander Isaacs/Tyrant in three films of the Resident Evil film series (2004–2016) and as Ser Jorah Mormont in the HBO fantasy television series Game of Thrones (2011–2019). Other notable roles include John Hanning Speke in Mountains of the Moon (1990), Larry Winters in Silent Scream (1990) for which he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor from the Berlin International Film Festival, Manfred Powell in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), Brother John in Song for a Raggy Boy (2003), the title role in Jack Taylor (2010–2016), Sir Richard Carlisle in Downton Abbey (2011), James Willett in Eye in the Sky (2015), Bruce Wayne in Titans (2019–2021), Magnus MacMillan in The Rig (2023–present), and Dr. Pete Nichols in Silo (2023–present).
Description above from the Wikipedia article about Iain Glen, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Annabel Leventon
Biography
Judith Annabel Leventon (born 20 April 1942 in Hertfordshire, England) is an English actress who has acted in various roles on stage and television.
While reading English at the University of Oxford she made several appearances at the Oxford Playhouse and toured France as Desdemona in the Oxford University Dramatic Society's production of Othello. She then joined the Fourbeats pop group, played at the Edinburgh Festival and continued in various other OUDS productions.
On obtaining her BA she gained a grant to LAMDA and made her professional stage debut in Leicester. In December 1967 she left for America where she joined Tom O' Horgan's La MaMa troupe in New York and worked with them for seven months before returning to Britain. She was in the original London cast of Hair in 1968 at the Shaftesbury Theatre, also directed by O'Horgan. She went on to direct and appear in the show in Paris. She also appeared in the original London production of The Rocky Horror Show.
Her first TV appearance was in The White Rabbit in 1967, and she went on to appear in a number of long-running series over the next four decades.
Her film credits include roles in Come Back Peter (1969), Le Mur de l'Atlantique (1970), Every Home Should Have One (1970), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Shock Treatment (1981), Real Life (1984), Defence of the Realm (1986), M. Butterfly (1993), Wimbledon (2004) and A Royal Night Out (2015).
In 2013, Leventon appeared in the role of Constance, the Madwoman of the Flea Market, in the British premiere of Jerry Herman's Dear World at the Charing Cross Theatre, London. In 2023, Leventon appeared in the role of Edith Tellmann in the British premiere of Bjørg Vik's The Journey to Venice at the Finborough Theatre, London. For this role, she was nominated for an Offie for Lead Performance in a Play.
She is the author of The Real Rock Follies: The Great Girl Band Rip-Off of 1976, released in 2017.
Source: Article "Annabel Leventon" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
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Adam Rifkin
Biography
Adam Rifkin sometimes credited as Rif Coogan, is an American film director, producer, actor and writer. Rifkin is claimed to belong to a rare breed of film directors that transited from public access television to Hollywood. Adam Rifkin is a writer/director/producer/actor whose eclectic career ranges from broad family comedies to cult classics to dark and gritty urban dramas. Rifkin is best known in Hollywood circles for writing family-friendly comedies like Mousehunt and 2007's Underdog. Most recently Rifkin wrote, executive produced and directed all 11 episodes of Look for Showtime. Based on his award winning film of the same name, LOOK is a drama that takes the viewer into the foreboding world of hidden cameras. Armed with the knowledge that Americans are captured on surveillance cameras more than 300 times a day, the topical series, like the film, tells its story exclusively through the eyes of the security cameras, web cams, and cell phone cameras Americans live in front of everyday, bringing to light the realities of what it means to be watched in a camera consumed culture.
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Alan Thicke
Biography
Alan Willis Thicke (né Jeffrey; 1 March 1947 – 13 December 2016) was a Canadian-American actor, songwriter, and game/talk show host. He was the father of singer Robin Thicke. Thicke was best known for playing Dr. Jason Seaver on the 1980s sitcom Growing Pains on ABC. In 2013, he was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. Thicke was born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada, the son of Shirley "Joan" Isobel Marie (née Greer), a nurse, and William Jeffery, a stockbroker. They divorced in 1953. His mother remarried to Brian Thicke, a physician, and they moved to Elliot Lake.
Thicke graduated from Elliot Lake Secondary School in 1965, and was elected homecoming king. He went on to attend the University of Western Ontario, where he joined the Delta Upsilon fraternity.
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Nino D'Angelo
Biography
Originario di San Pietro a Patierno, quartiere della periferia nordorientale di Napoli, ebbe un'infanzia molto difficile e, a causa delle condizioni economiche della sua famiglia, lasciò presto la scuola e cominciò a lavorare saltuariamente come cantante ai matrimoni e come gelataio alla Stazione di Napoli Centrale.
Dopo una breve gavetta musicale, giunse ad un immediato successo in ambito regionale con il suo primo album, 'A storia mia (1976), pubblicato grazie a fondi familiari. L'album ebbe notorietà anche nelle altre regioni meridionali.
Si sposò in giovane età nel 1979 con Annamaria (con cui si era fidanzato ventenne quando lei aveva appena 13 anni) dalla quale ebbe due figli: Antonio e Vincenzo. In questo periodo cominciò anche a lavorare in teatro nelle cosiddette sceneggiate, tipica forma teatrale napoletana. Già nel 1980, al debutto, trovò subito il successo con "Esposito Teresa", tre atti e due quadri di Alberto Sciotti, tratta dalla sua stessa omonima canzone. Il successo fu confermato l'anno seguente da "'A discoteca", anch'essa di Alberto Sciotti e tratta da una sua canzone.
Nel 1981 debuttò nel cinema, con Celebrità. Nel 1982 Interpreta Tradimento e Giuramento in coppia con il grande Mario Merola. Si realizzò l'abbinamento disco e film con 'Nu jeans e 'na maglietta. Il film, di cui gli autori e produttori avevano aspettative molto basse, tenne testa negli incassi a Flashdance. Da questo momento cominciò il "fenomeno Nino D'Angelo".
Nel 1983 pubblica in successione due album che lo proiettano verso il successo nazionale: "Sotto 'e stelle" e "Forza campione" rafforzando la collaborazione nei testi con il paroliere Antonio Casaburi, già precedentemente presente negli album "Nu jeans e 'na maglietta" e "Le due facce di Nino D'Angelo" e con Antonio Casaburi nascono canzoni come: 'Na muntagna 'e Poesie-T'amo-Aggio scigliuto a tte-Compagna di Viaggio-Vedrai- Fra cinquant'anni- Racconto d'amore. Gli arrangiamenti sono curati da Franco Chiaravalle.
Nel 1985 raggiunse la Top Ten delle classifiche nazionali con l'album Eccomi qua, che creò le premesse per il suo debutto al Festival di Sanremo nel 1986, dove presentò Vai. Fu totalmente ignorato dai critici ma il suo album Cantautore fu uno dei più venduti tra quelli del festival. Il successo su vasta scala gli permise di ottenere il passaggio dalla casa discografica Vis Radio alla Dischi Ricordi, per la quale pubblicò, nell'autunno di quell'anno l'album Fotografando l'amore. In questi anni cominciò a girare il mondo con i suoi concerti: Belgio, Francia, Svizzera, Germania, Stati Uniti. Una sua canzone, "Napoli" tratta dal film Quel ragazzo della curva B, divenne un inno per i tifosi di calcio napoletani.
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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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Nancy La Scala
Biography
Nancy La Scala is an actress in film, television, and live theatre. She most recently appeared on the screen in Clint Eastwood's "Jersey Boys". Nancy has consistently landed roles alongside the best of the best in films like "Guardian", "In the Cut", and the Venice Film Festival Golden Lion-nominated "Vegas: Based on a True Story", which earned her a Best Actress nomination at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival for her performance as Tracy. The work just kept coming after she got her big break in the MGM cult classic, "Species II". From award-winning films (Courting Chaos, Best Comedy, Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival 2014) to award-winning plays (The Importance of Being Earnest, Producer's Encore Award, Hollywood Fringe Festival 2014), Nancy has a keen eye for great scripts, be it stage, screen, or television. She became a familiar face on television from her numerous appearances on shows like "Criminal Minds", "Castle", and "Nip/Tuck". You may also recognize her thanks to a steady string of commercial roles (Acura, Macy's, Ikea, Pond's, Verizon). She had intensely studied her craft as an actress and comedienne in New York under Sheila Gray and Freddie Karamen at Carnegie Hall. In Los Angeles, she continued her studies with Karen Maruyama at The Groundlings and Gary Imhoff. In addition to her career as an actress, Nancy is also an accomplished model. At a young age, she traded her humble beginnings of upstate farm life for Europe and New York City, walking the runways for YSL, Givenchy, and Christian Lacroix, not to mention countless editorials for Vogue Italia, L'Officiel, and Marie Claire. Amongst her favorite photographers to work with was Helmut Newton as a 'Big Nude.' Their highly-praised collaboration can be seen on the introductory page of TASCHEN's Helmut Newton: Polaroids. Nancy is also a devoted animal lover; inspired by her own adopted pit bulls, she created Throw Your Dog a Bone, a line of high-end pet products.
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John Hoogenakker
Biography
In 2021, acclaimed actor John Hoogenakker can be seen starring in Hulu's limited series "Dopesick" opposite Michael Keaton, Peter Sarsgaard, Kaitlyn Dever, and Rosario Dawson. Inspired by the New York Times bestselling book by Beth Macy, "Dopesick" takes viewers to the epicenter of America's struggle with opioid addiction, from the boardrooms of Purdue Pharma, to a distressed Virginia mining community, and to the hallways of the DEA. Hoogenakker shines as Randy Ramseyer, an assistant US Attorney prosecuting the infamous and ongoing Purdue Pharma case. "Dopesick" is slated to premiere in October 2021. In addition to "Dopesick," Hoogenakker most recently recurred on the Hulu mystery series "Castle Rock" as Carl Wilkes, opposite Lizzy Caplan. He is perhaps best known however, for his role as black-ops CIA operator Matice in the hit Amazon series "Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan" opposite John Krasinski and Wendell Pierce. Additional credits include: "A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas," "Public Enemies" opposite Marion Cotillard and Christian Bale, USA's "Colony," STARZ's "The Girlfriend Experience," and Fox's "Empire," to name a few. Born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, Hoogenakker became an actor at an early age. As a two-time state and district high school debate champion in Humorous Interpretation, Hoogenakker went on to attend The Theatre School at DePaul University, in Chicago. He found his calling on stage, appearing in many of the city's illustrious houses including The Goodman, Writers' Theatre, Court Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and the renowned Steppenwolf Garage. His varied stage work ranges from Chris Smith in Tracy Letts' Killer Joe to the role of Hamlet at The Illinois Shakespeare Festival. At the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York, he received excellent reviews as the tragic alcohol-addled Willie Oban in the acclaimed remounting of "The Iceman Cometh," alongside Nathan Lane and Brian Dennehy. One of his first on-camera credits came in the 2006 feature "Flags of Our Fathers," under the esteemed direction of Clint Eastwood. While Hoogenakker holds an illustrious resume in film and TV, he has also appeared in millions of homes across the country on the commercial front. From Pepsi/NASCAR, Baskin-Robbins, Avocados of Mexico, Hyundai, to voicing campaigns for McDonald's, BMO Harris, Nintendo, Tyson and Sears, and even working with Robert De Niro for Santander, Hoogenakker has had a lucrative career commercially. His work as the Bud Light King helped introduce the nonsensical phrase 'Dilly Dilly' into the cultural lexicon, and he has been seen most recently with his sidekick Walter the cat, for Chevy. When Hoogenakker is not on sets around the world, he enjoys spending time with his family and being outside as much as possible.
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Ena Gregory
Biography
Ena Gregory (1906–1993) was an Australian motion picture actress.
In Australia, Gregory was known as the child wonder of the vaudeville stage. Her first screen experience came at the age of four when she was shown in her mother's arms in a crowd which was welcoming British dignitaries.
She was first signed in Hollywood for ingenue roles by Universal Pictures in 1921. She also worked for Hal Roach Studios and First National Pictures. In all she spent five years in comic roles before going into dramatic work. By 1924 she was the leading lady of the Independent Pictures Corporation. She was a WAMPAS Baby Star of 1925.
Gregory's film career started with comedy shorts like The Bull Thrower, Lion's Jaws and Kitten's Paws, and The Whizbang. After completing The Calgary Stampede and The Chip of the Flying U, she was promoted to leading lady for Jack Hoxie for two movies.
When Gregory failed to achieve stardom, she consulted a Hollywood seer. He suggested a new name which combined the syllables of Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. It was Marian Douglas. Her first film using the new name was The Shepherd of the Hills. She took steps to become an American citizen beginning in October 1927.
Gregory continued to make movies as Marion Douglas until 1931. Her final films are Twisted Tales, Three Wise Clucks, Aloha, and Beach Pajamas.
Gregory divorced film director Alfred Rogell in August 1934. Gregory married Dr. Frank Nolan on 5 November 1937. The couple separated in May 1938 and Gregory obtained a divorce decree in July 1939.
Ena Gregory died in Laguna Beach, California in 1993, aged 87.
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