Wednesday, December 28, 2011

12/27 David Hedison

Hedison decided he wanted to be an actor after he saw Tyrone Power in the film Blood and Sand. He began his acting career with the Sock and Buskin Players at Brown University before moving to New York to study with Sanford Meisner and Martha Graham at the Neighborhood Playhouse and with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio.

His work on the New York stage includes the off-Broadway production of A Month in the Country, directed by Michael Redgrave, which starred Uta Hagen, for which role Hedison won a Theater World Award. Hedison toured with Anita Gillette in Neil Simon's Chapter Two and appeared in the West Coast premiere of Forty Deuce. He toured with Elizabeth Ashley in Come into My Parlour, and was in the world premiere run of Bernard Slade's Return Engagements. He appeared at the Cape Playhouse in 1998 in Alone Together with Anita Gillette. He also starred in he New York City premiere of First Love with Lois Nettleton. He returned to the Cape Playhouse to appear in Tale of the Allergist's Wife (2002), and his most recent theatrical appearance was at Monmouth University's Pollak Theatre, in Love Letters with Nancy Dussault.

After his role in A Month in the Country, Hedison signed a film contract with 20th Century-Fox. His first movie with them was the classic war film The Enemy Below, which also starred Robert Mitchum. He followed that up with the 1958 horror classic The Fly. Other films in which he appeared include The Son of Robin Hood, Marines, Let's Go!, The Lost World, The Greatest Story Ever Told; ffolkes and The Naked Face. Hedison was the first actor to play James Bond's ally Felix Leiter in more than one film (Live and Let Die and Licence to Kill). Hedison as Evan Robley in the TV series Wonder Woman

Much of Hedison's acting career has been on television. In 1961, he appeared with Geraldine Brooks (1925–1977) in an episode of ABC's Bus Stop with Marilyn Maxwell, for which Brooks was nominated for an Emmy Award. He was cast as a counter espionage agent who traveled the world as a Hollywood talent agent in the 16-episode series Five Fingers. He followed that up with a starring role as Captain Lee Crane in the ABC television version of Irwin Allen's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea with Richard Basehart. The show ran for four years. He also had a semi-regular role on ABC's The Colbys.

In 1990, he was the series host for Phenomenal World. He appeared in the television movie A.D. as well as The Saint Family, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, The Bob Newhart Show, Charlie's Angels, The A-Team, Knight Rider, and Wonder Woman, among many others. He played Spencer Harrison on the American soap opera Another World from 1991 to 1996. He followed that up in 2004 with a role on The Young and the Restless as Arthur Hendricks. His most recent role was in 2005's The Reality Trap. Also appeared in the 2001 movie "Mach 2". In 2010 he fell victim in prankster Kayvan Novak's Facejacker.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

12/20 Barry Corbin, No Country For Old Men, MoonShot

Corbin began his career as a Shakespearean actor in the 1960s, but today he is more likely to be seen in the role of the local sheriff, military leader, or some other authority figure, though on occasion, he has effectively portrayed murderous villains as well. To moviegoers he is well remembered as General Beringer in WarGames, John Travolta's uncle in Urban Cowboy, co-starring with Clint Eastwood in Any Which Way You Can, or Roscoe Brown, who was July Johnson's bumbling deputy, in the acclaimed western Lonesome Dove.

He also had a role in 2008's Oscar-winning film No Country for Old Men.

From 1979 until 1984 he appeared in several episodes of "Dallas (TV series)" as Sheriff Fenton Washburn. In 1983, Corbin co-starred in the famed television mini-series The Thorn Birds. Corbin played Mary Carson's stockman "Pete", who teaches the Cleary's sons how to shear sheep on their aunt's gigantic sheep station Drogheda, in Australia. In 1983-1984, Corbin played Merit Sawyer in the NBC television series Boone. Corbin's role was that of a stern father to the young actor Tom Byrd, who played Boone Sawyer, an aspiring singer. The program was set in rural Tennessee during the 1950s and was created by Earl Hamner, who had great success earlier with CBS's The Waltons. From 1990 to 1995, Corbin portrayed former astronaut Maurice Minnifield on CBS's Northern Exposure, for which he received an Emmy nomination.

In 1994, Corbin narrated the acclaimed TBS documentary MoonShot, telling the story of the 1960s space race from the first-person viewpoint of Mercury Seven astronaut Deke Slayton. In 2007, He played the character Clay Johnson, father of Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson on The Closer series.

From 2003-2008, Corbin was a cast member of the teenage drama series One Tree Hill, where he portrayed a basketball coach for the Tree Hill Ravens. Corbin lost most of his hair in the 1990s due to alopecia areata. Since then, he has played various roles with a shaved head, wearing a cowboy hat, or occasionally wearing a full toupee. Corbin is the signature voice of radio station KPLX in Fort Worth, Texas, and has also voiced trailers and promos for CMT and various other country radio stations.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

12/13 John Larroquette, Mastro's Steakhouse

John Edgar Bernard Larroquette, Jr. (born November 25, 1947) is an American film, television and Broadway actor. His roles include Dan Fielding on the series Night Court, Mike McBride in the Hallmark Channel series McBride, John Hemingway on The John Larroquette Show, and Carl Sack in Boston Legal.

Larroquette was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of: Berthalla Oramous Larroquette (née Helmstetter), a department store clerk; and John Edgar Bernard Larroquette, Sr,[1] who was in the U.S. Navy. He grew up in the Ninth ward of New Orleans not far from the French Quarter. He played clarinet and saxophone through childhood but quit when he discovered acting after seeing some actors rehearse the Tennessee Williams play Vieux Carré in 1973.[3] He moved to Hollywood in 1973 after working in radio and the record business.

Larroquette met his wife Elizabeth Ann Cookson in 1974 while working in a play called Enter Laughing.[4] They have three children; one of his sons, Jonathan Larroquette, co-hosts a popular comedy podcast called Uhh Yeah Dude.





Dennis Mastro joins the show, informing us of the unparelleled dining experience Mastro's Steakhouse has to offer. Consistently hailed by diners and critics alike as "masterful" (Los Angeles Daily News), "high end" ( Los Angeles Times), one of the "top 10 steakhouse in the U.S. (Gayot) and "the preferred steakhouse of celebs and locals" (944), Mastro`s Restaurants, LLC is a collection of sophisticated, classic steakhouses and sumptuous fish houses.





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Tuesday, December 6, 2011

12/06 Roger E. Mosley, Magnum P.I.


Roger Earl Mosley (born December 18, 1938) is an American actor best known for his role as the helicopter pilot Theodore "T.C." Calvin on the long running television series, Magnum, P.I., which starred Tom Selleck as the title character.

Mosley was born in Los Angeles, California. He grew up in the Imperial Courts project with his mother Eloise Harris in Watts, one of the most dangerous parts of the inner city. In 1974, he founded the Watts Repertory Company.

Mosley's most prominent film role to date was his 1976 starring turn as the title character in Leadbelly, directed by Gordon Parks. He has guest starred on shows such as Night Court, Starsky and Hutch, Kojak, The Rockford Files, Baretta, and Sanford and Son; he also had a role in Roots: The Next Generation. He also made a memorable appearance in the 1973 film The Mack, as the militant brother of the main character Goldie, and played officer Roy Cole alongside Kurt Russell and Ray Liotta in Unlawful Entry (1992).

Most recently he appeared in season five of Las Vegas as the billionaire friend of Montecito owner AJ Cooper (Tom Selleck). There is a vague homage to his Magnum P.I. days as his character 'Roger' is worth more than $2bn and owns a fleet of jets having started with a single helicopter in Hawaii.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

11/29 James Whitmore Jr.

James Allen Whitmore III (born October 24, 1948, in Manhattan, New York), better known by the name James Whitmore, Jr., is an American actor best known for his role as Captain Jim Gutterman on the television program Baa Baa Black Sheep (later known as Black Sheep Squadron), and (since the 1980s) a television director. He is the son of actor James Whitmore.

Whitmore has had recurring guest-starring roles on the TV series The Rockford Files and Hunter. He also appeared in two episodes of Magnum, P.I. and an episode of Battlestar Galactica before directing many episodes of series by Donald Bellisario, the creator of Magnum and a writer on Galactica.

Whitmore has a unique distinction of occasionally acting in the episodes he directs, such as two episodes of Quantum Leap ("8 1/2 Months," "Trilogy, Pt. 1" and "Mirror Image"). In that series as well as several others, he played different characters in each appearance, rather than recurring roles.

In addition to directing episodes of shows for Bellisario (Quantum Leap, Tequila and Bonetti, JAG, NCIS, and NCIS: Los Angeles), Whitmore directed episodes of more than one series for Joss Whedon. Whitmore directed the final episodes of two different series (Dawson's Creek and the aforementioned Quantum Leap). After Leap, Whitmore would again direct Scott Bakula in episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. He would also direct David Boreanaz in both Angel and Bones. The Pretender reunited Whitmore with much of the same writing staff as Leap.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

11/22 Charles Floyd Johnson, NCIS, JAG, The Rockford FIles

Charles Floyd Johnson was born in Camden, New Jersey to Bertha Ellen Seagers, a teacher, and Orange Maull Johnson, who went off to fight in World War II shortly before Johnson was born and returned to tell his son stories of the Tuskegee Airmen, although he himself was in the American cavalry in North Africa. Johnson's family initially encouraged him to be a lawyer, and in order to give him the best possible educational preparation, Johnson attended Stony Brook, the second African American student to attend the prestigious school, in 1956. Johnson was an ambitious student, and was accepted at both Howard and Brown Universities.

In 1958, Johnson began attending Howard University alongside some well-known classmates that included Stokely Carmichael. Johnson worked in New York during the summers as a teacher for young children. During the Civil Rights Movement, Johnson was active in marches. He majored in political science, minored in history and education, and worked at the Library of Congress. He was also involved in John F. Kennedy's presidential campaign, and was even invited to Kennedy's inauguration. Despite his political aspirations, Johnson had a burgeoning interest in communications, and joined the Howard Players upon arriving at Howard. He graduated with honors from the school in 1962.

That year, Johnson was initially drawn to the New York theater world, but was accepted and enrolled in Howard University Law School with a full scholarship. While at law school, he was published in the Howard Law Journal, and he flourished under professors Herbert Reed and Patricia Harris. Shortly after taking the bar exam, Johnson was drafted during the Vietnam War. After marrying his girlfriend at the time, Johnson was sent to work as a clerk in New Jersey, then shifted to work as a defense counsel largely for AWOL soldiers, for which he received an Army Commendation Medal.

After leaving the military, Johnson moved to Washington, D.C., and worked as a copyright lawyer for three years. His work schedule allowed him to work in theatrical companies and study communications in his free time. He also did some work in television for a show entitled Harambee and also worked for Howard University's radio station. At the end of his tenure with the copyright office, Johnson worked with a justice from Sweden, who invited him to work as a law intern in Stockholm. After working in Stockholm, he almost took a job working in France, but changed his mind to follow his dreams and moved to Los Angeles in early 1971.

Thanks to the G.I. Bill, Johnson applied to the Professional Theater Workshop in Santa Monica, California, which he attended for nine months and took acting classes. Thanks to his law degree, Johnson found an entry-level position at Universal Studios working in the mail room. Two days after his mailroom experience began, a new job opened up, and Johnson began his climb to the top of the ladder, becoming a production coordinator in late 1971.

In 1981, Johnson moved to Hawaii, and married his second wife, who stayed in Los Angeles. His career in Hollywood has been accomplished and diverse, including roles in such television programs as JAG and Navy: NCIS. He has worked as a writer and producer in a wide variety of television programs, including as a prominent figure behind the notable television programs, The Rockford Files and Magnum, P.I.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

11/15 Connie Stevens, Larry Manetti, Hawaiian Eye

Born in Brooklyn of Italian and native-American parentage with the unlikely name of Concetta Anna Ingolia, Connie Stevens was raised by grandparents when her parents (both jazz musicians) filed for divorced. She attended Catholic boarding schools in her formative years and a distinct interest in music led to her forming a vocal quartet called "The Foremost" which was comprised of Connie and three men. Those men later became part of The Lettermen. In Hollywood from 1953, Connie formed yet another vocal group "The Three Debs" while trying to break into films as an extra. Although she managed to co-star in a few mediocre teen dramas such as Young and Dangerous (1957), Eighteen and Anxious (1957), The Party Crashers (1958), and Dragstrip Riot (1958), it was comedian Jerry Lewis who set things in motion by casting the unknown starlet in his comedy Rock-a-Bye Baby (1958). Warner Bros. signed her up for their hot detective series "Hawaiian Eye" (1959) and she was off.

As pert and pretty "Cricket Blake", a slightly flaky and tomboyish singer/photographer, Connie became an instant teen idol -- trendy and undeniably appealing. A couple of record hits came her way including "Sixteen Reasons" and the novelty song "Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb". Connie's acting talent was light and limited, however, and some attempts at adult film drama, including the title role in Susan Slade (1961), Parrish (1961), Palm Springs Weekend (1963) and Two on a Guillotine (1965) came and went. In the 1970s, she refocused on her voice and started lining up singing commercials (Ace Hardware) while subsisting in nightclubs and hotels. Connie eventually built herself up as a Las Vegas headlining act. She also starred on Broadway with "The Star-Spangled Girl" and won a Theatre World Award for her performance in 1967. Comedian Bob Hope's made her one of his regular entertainers on his USO tours. Sporadic films came her way every now and then. A TV-movie The Sex Symbol (1974) (TV) had her playing a tragic Marilyn Monroe type goddess. There was also innocuous fun with Grease 2 (1982) and Back to the Beach (1987) with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. Episodics on "Murder, She Wrote" (1984), "The Love Boat" (1977) and "Baywatch" (1989) also kept her afloat -- but barely. Once wed to actor James Stacy, she later married and divorced singer Eddie Fisher. From her union with Fisher came two daughters, Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher, both of whom became actors. Single with two daughters, and completely out of sync with Hollywood,

Connie started experiencing severe financial woes. In the 1990s, the never-say-die personality began a new lucrative career in the infomercial game with skin-care and make-up products. She was unbelievably successful in turning her finances around. Now a self-made tycoon with her own successful beauty line to boot, Connie is living proof that anything can happen in that wild and wacky world called show biz.