Tuesday, October 28, 2014

10/28 Jeff Fahey

Jeffrey David "Jeff" Fahey (born November 29, 1952) is an American film and television actor. He has portrayed Captain Frank Lapidus on the ABC seriesLost and the title role of Deputy Marshal Winston MacBride on The Marshal.

Early life
Fahey was born in Olean, New York, the sixth of 13 siblings in an Irish American family. His mother, Jane, was a homemaker, and his father, Frank Fahey, worked at a clothing store. Fahey was raised inBuffalo, New York, from the age of ten and attendedFather Baker's High School there. Fahey left home at the age of 17, subsequently hitchhiking to Alaska. He later backpacked through Europe, and worked on an Israeli kibbutz.

Career
Fahey started performing when he won a full scholarship to dance at the Joffrey Ballet School at the age of 25. He performed in theaters across the United States and on Broadway. He landed his first major role in television playing Gary Corelli on the soap opera One Life to Live.

In 1985 he received his first major role in film, playing "Tyree" in Silverado. In 1986 he starred inPsycho III as Duane Duke, a money desperate guitarist. That same year, Fahey guest starred on theSeason 3 premiere of Miami Vice as gun dealer "Eddie Kaye", famously destroying Detective Sonny Crockett's Ferrari Daytona.

He played "Thorold Stone" in the film Revelation. Fahey later starred alongside Pierce Brosnan in The Lawnmower Man.

In 1990 he starred alongside Marisa Tomei in Parker Kane and Clint Eastwood in the Eastwood directed White Hunter, Black Heart. In 1995 he starred as "Winston McBride" on ABC's The Marshal. In 2007, he appeared in the Robert Rodriguez film Planet Terror and starred in Messages with Bruce Payne.

Fahey appeared as daredevil "Dutch the Clutch" in an episode of Psych in the beginning of the third season of the show.

Fahey played recurring character, Frank Lapidus, the airplane and helicopter pilot of the research team sent to the island in the fourth, fifth, and as a regular character for the sixth season of Lost.

In 2010 he had a major role in the Robert Rodriguez action film Machete.

In 2013 a new production of the classic play Twelve Angry Men took place at the Garrick Theatre inLondon, running until March 2014. Fahey played the part of the last juror in the story to change his vote to not guilty. Other notable actors appearing in this production were Martin Shaw who played the part of juror number 8 (a role made famous in the 1957 film by Henry Fonda), Robert Vaughn andNick Moran.

Humanitarian efforts
In 2006 and 2007 Fahey spent time in Afghanistan assisting the newly established American University of Afghanistan, and launching a project to assist orphans in Kabul.

Fahey's recent humanitarian work has revolved around the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, in which he has been focusing on the subject of warehousing, a practice in which the rights and mobility of refugees is restricted by a host country. Fahey's work specifically has addressed the subject of warehoused Sahrawi refugees in Algeria.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

RIGATONI WITH PROSCIUTTO AND PEAS

Ingredients:
1 lb rigatoni
2 cups heavy cream
6 ounces prosciutto(cut into pieces)
4 oz. ricotta cheese
1 cup parmigian cheese
1 can peas (drained)
pepper (to taste)

Cook the past in salted water until al dente. Melt the ricotta cheese into the cream and add the prosciutto then the parmigian cheese. Let simmer but be careful not to burn, add pepper to taste and throw in the peas to heat. It is done when all ingredients are married.

Drain the pasta and combine with sauce/ Sprinkle a little more parmigian cheese and enjoy!

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

10/21 Tony Danza

Perhaps best known for starring on some of television’s most beloved and long-running series, including Taxi (1978–1983) and Who’s the Boss (1984–1992), Tony Danza has also established himself as a stage and screen star, and has indisputably been one of America’s most iconic and beloved performers for over thirty years.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Danza received a wrestling scholarship to the University of Dubuque in Iowa, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history education. Before finding a job teaching, he found himself earning a living as professional boxer. While training in a boxing gymnasium in New York, Danza was “discovered” and ultimately cast in the critically acclaimed ABC series Taxi, earning him a place in television history and making him a household name. He followed Taxi with a starring role in the classic ABC comedy series Who’s the Boss?, which ran for eight seasons and broke all syndication records.

Eventually Tony explored his love for the stage, and among his many stage credits is his exciting run on Broadway in Mel Brooks’s hit musical The Producers, playing Max Bialystock (2006–2007), and his reprise of the role in the Las Vegas production at Paris Las Vegas (2007). For his theatrical debut in Wrong Turn at Lungfish (1993), he earned an Outer Critic’s Circle Award nomination. Other stage credits include the critically acclaimed The Iceman Cometh, opposite Kevin Spacey, Arthur Miller’s Tony Award–winning play A View from the Bridge, and I Remember You.

Most recently, Tony returned to the stage in the pre-Broadway run of the much buzzed about and highly acclaimed smash hit musical Honeymoon In Vegas, which he starred in at the Paper Mill Playhouse along with Tony Award nominee Rob McClure (Chaplin), and Brynn O’Malley (Annie). With music and lyrics by Tony Award winner, Jason Robert Brown (Parade, The Last Five Years), the musical is written by Andrew Bergman (Fletch, The Freshman, Blazing Saddles, Soap Dish, The In Laws) and based on his hit Castle Rock / New Line comedy of the same title. Both the show and Tony’s performance received amazing reviews, including a love letter from The New York Times, which compares Tony’s performance to “the cooler-than-cool spirit” of Frank Sinatra. The musical is expected to open on Broadway later this year.

Tony also recently returned to the big-screen and received great buzz and fantastic reviews for his performance as Joseph Gordon Levitt’s father in Levitt’s much buzzed and acclaimed directorial debut, Don Jon. The film, which stars Levitt, Danza, Julianne Moore, Brie Larson, and Scarlett Johansson, was was released in theaters in the fall of 2013.

Among Tony’s previous television experience is his role as attorney Joe Celano on the CBS dramatic series Family Law (2000–2002), his Emmy-nominated performance on David E. Kelley’s award-winning series The Practice (1998), and ABC’s The Tony Danza Show, a talk show that was broadcast live in New York from 2004–2006. He also starred in and executive-produced the ABC comedy series Hudson Street, NBC’s The Tony Danza Show, hosted Saturday Night Live several times and hosted numerous award shows, including the 2001 Miss America Pageant and the 2003 People’s Choice Awards.

Amongst Tony’s big-screen credits are his roles in Walt Disney’s Angels in the Outfield, She’s Out of Control, The Hollywood Knights, and A Brooklyn State of Mind.

In 2009-2010, Tony took on his most challenging role yet—teaching tenth-grade English at Philadelphia’s Northeast High School. His amazing experience working as a real teacher was taped and aired on A&E last year in the form of the critically acclaimed seven-part documentary series, entitled Teach. In September 2012, Crown Publishers (a division of Random House) releases Tony’s book, I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had: My Year as a Rookie Teacher at Northeast High, a much buzzed about and critically acclaimed reflection of his experience teaching for a year. The book premiered on the New York Times Best Sellers list at number 16 and stayed on the list for two months. The paperback edition hit bookstores in September of 2013.

In 2010, AARP The Magazine, the definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the world’s largest-circulation magazine with more than 35 million readers, presented Tony with their Inspire Award. The Inspire Awards pay tribute to extraordinary people who inspire others to action through their innovative thinking, passion and perseverance.

In December of 2012, Tony was amongst the iconic celebrities who participated in the Weinstein Company’s historic concert for Hurricane Sandy Relief at Madison Square Garden. He was featured in the documentary about the concert, released by the Weinstein Company in the fall of 2013, in which Tony reminds people of the forgotten motto of America, “E pluribus unum,” or “out of many one,” or as Tony’s father would say, “we’re all in this together, pal.” It’s with great belief in the spirit of that motto that Tony participates in many charity efforts.

In April of 2013, USA Today honored Tony at their annual National Make A Difference Day Awards for his commitment to helping others through his numerous charity efforts.
Tony currently lives in New York City.

CURRENT PROJECTS

September 20th marked the 30th anniversary of the premiere of one of the most universally beloved and financially successful sitcoms of all time - Who's The Boss starring Tony Danza.

As reruns are currently playing 6 nights a week on TV Land (as they also play in almost every other major country around the world), Danza's iconic career is still going and ever growing impressively since he first came into our lives in September of 1978 as Tony Banta in Taxi, also one of the most classic and beloved sitcoms of all time.

Almost 40 years and many great screen and stage performances later, Danza is still impressing with each of his performances.  Recently, his performance in the breakout Sundance hit Don Jon, opposite Joseph Gordon Levitt and Scarlett Johansson, received rave reviews from critics and audiences, and the LA Times amongst others even said he should have been nominated for an Oscar.  It was actually his second time opposite Joseph Gordon Levitt, the first time was in the classic sports movie - ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD, in which Tony starred as the pitcher and Joe starred as the kid.

This fall he is heading to Broadway, as one of the stars of  three time Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown's highly anticipated new Broadway musical Honeymoon In Vegas. For his performance in the musicals pre-Broadway run last fall, Tony received a love letter of a review from Ben Brantley of the New York Times, who said "the cooler-than-cool spirit Frank Sinatra is present in “Honeymoon,” made flesh in a deliciously underplayed star turn by Tony Danza" and that his performance "may be the best musical portrayal of a gentleman gangster since the heyday of “Guys and Dolls.”  Full link to the review here

Tickets are currently on sale (go to Ticketmaster or Honeymoonbroadway.com) and performances begin Nov 18th.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

10/14 Tom Selleck, Blue Bloods, Magnum P.I.

It's a Magnum P.I. Reunion! Tom Selleck Joins the Show!

Thomas William "Tom" Selleck (born January 29, 1945) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for his starring role as the private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series Magnum, P.I. (1980 to 1988), based in Hawaii. He also plays Police Chief Jesse Stone in a series of made-for-TV movies based on Robert B. Parker novels. Since 2010, he has appeared as NYPD Police Commissioner Frank Reagan in the drama Blue Bloods on CBS-TV.

Selleck has appeared in more than fifty film and television roles since his initial success with Magnum, P.I., including a co-starring role in the highest-grossing movie of 1987, Three Men and a Baby; Quigley Down Under; Mr. Baseball; and Lassiter, to name a few. Selleck has also appeared as Dr. Richard Burke on Friends, where he played the on-again, off-again love-interest of Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), and A.J. Cooper on Las Vegas.

Early life

Selleck was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Martha S. (née Jagger), a housewife, and Robert Dean Selleck (died 2001), who was an executive and real estate investor. His father was of English and distant German ancestry, and his mother was of English descent. Selleck's family moved to Sherman Oaks, California, during his childhood. Tom's siblings include brother Robert (born 1944), sister Martha (born 1953) and brother Daniel (born 1955). Selleck graduated from Grant High School, in 1962.

Along with modeling, Selleck attended the University of Southern California on a basketball scholarship where he played for the USC Trojans men's basketball team. He is a member of Sigma Chi fraternity and a member of the Trojan Knights. While he majored in business administration, a drama coach suggested Selleck try acting. He then studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, under Milton Katselas.

Selleck served as a soldier in the 160th Infantry Regiment of the California Army National Guard and his unit was activated for the Watts Riots in Los Angeles.

Career

Early work and Magnum P.I.

Selleck's first TV appearance was as a college senior on The Dating Game in 1965, and again in 1967. Soon after, he appeared in commercials for products such as Pepsi-Cola.

He began his career with bit parts in smaller movies, including Myra Breckinridge and The Seven Minutes. He also appeared in number of TV series, mini-series and TV movies. Selleck also had a recurring role in the 1970s as "too good to be true" private investigator Lance White in The Rockford Files. Lance was very trusting and always lucky, much to the annoyance of Jim Rockford, the show's star private eye played by James Garner. White would frequently say to Rockford, "Don't worry Jim, clues will turn up" and then a clue would just turn up, much to Rockford's consternation, for whom obtaining clues required hard work and hard knocks. Selleck's character was based on one played in Garner's earlier TV series Maverick (1957) by Wayde Preston in the episode "The Saga of Waco Williams".

Selleck, an accessible but relatively untested actor, spent years receiving little interest from the entertainment industry. His big break came when he was cast in the lead role as Thomas Magnum in Magnum, P.I.. The producers would not release the actor for other projects, so Selleck had to pass on the equally enticing film project for the role of Indiana Jones in "Raiders of the Lost Ark", which then went to rising star Harrison Ford. The choice between the roles of Indiana Jones and Magnum actually haunted Selleck so much that before making the decision, he consulted his best friend on what to do. Together they came to the conclusion taking the high road and honoring the first contract with Universal Studios was the career-savvy direction. It turned out shooting of the pilot for Magnum was delayed for over six months by a writers' strike, which would have enabled him to complete "Raiders".

Film

Selleck starred in the 1979 TV movie Concrete Cowboys with Jerry Reed. He starred in a number of film roles during and after Magnum; among the most notable were as an acrophobic police detective in Runaway; as a stand-in father in Three Men and a Baby; and as an American 19th century sharpshooter in the Australian western Quigley Down Under – a role and film that he considers one of his best. His other films include Three Men and a Little Lady; High Road to China; Lassiter; Coma; Her Alibi; An Innocent Man; Folks!; Christopher Columbus: The Discovery; Mr. Baseball; In & Out and The Love Letter.

Selleck is an avid outdoorsman, and a marksman and knowledgeable firearms collector. These interests led him to leading-man cowboy roles in Western films, starting with his role as cowboy and frontier marshal Orrin Sackett in the 1979 film The Sacketts, opposite Sam Elliott, Jeff Osterhage, and Western legendsGlenn Ford and Ben Johnson. He followed The Sacketts with The Shadow Riders in 1982, then portraying a cat burglar in 1930s London in Lassiter in 1984.Quigley Down Under is probably one of his best known Western films, however he also won a "Western Heritage Award" for his 1997 role in Last Stand at Sabre River. His last two cowboy roles to date were in the 2001 TNT movie Crossfire Trail (based on a Louis L'Amour novel of the same name), and the 2003 motion picture Monte Walsh.

He most recently appeared in the film Killers, along with Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher.

Television

Magnum P.I.

Selleck played the role of Thomas Magnum in 1980 after six failed TV pilots. Magnum was a former U.S. Navy Officer, a veteran of a special operations unit in the Vietnam War, who had resigned his commission with the Office of Naval Intelligence and become a private investigator living in Hawaii. The show would go on for eight seasons and 162 episodes until 1988, winning him an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1984. Selleck was famous for his mustache, a Hawaiian-style aloha shirt, a Detroit Tigers baseball cap, and the Colt Model 1911A1 .45 ACP Caliber pistol his character carried. Magnum drove a Ferrari 308GTSi in the series. The model became so identified with the role that Ferrari fans now refer to the red-painted model as a "Magnum" Ferrari.
Selleck has confirmed that he is the most popular choice by fans to play the role of Magnum in the rumoured upcoming Magnum P.I. movie.
Friends

In the late nineties, Selleck played the role of Richard Burke, Monica's boyfriend, at the end of the second season of the hugely successful TV series Friends. Richard was a divorced ophthalmologist who was a friend of Monica's parents, and at first the relationship was hidden from her parents. The relationship eventually ended over Richard's reluctance to commit to raising a family, though Selleck did make a few extra appearances in later shows.

The Closer

In February 1998, Selleck accepted the lead role in a sitcom for CBS called The Closer. In it he played Jack McLaren, a legendary publicist heading up a brand new marketing firm. His costars included Ed Asner, David Krumholtz, and Penelope Ann Miller. Despite the high pedigree, and the expectations for his first series since Magnum, P. I., low ratings caused the show to be canceled after ten episodes.

Jesse Stone series

Since 2005, Selleck has starred in the role of transplanted lawman Jesse Stone in a series of made-for-TV movies based on Robert B. Parker's novels. To date, the series comprises eight films, with the most recent released on May 20, 2012. In addition to his portrayal of the films' protagonist, Selleck now also acts as producer for the series. The fifth film, Jesse Stone: Thin Ice, was not adapted from Parker's novels, but rather an original story by Selleck.

Las Vegas

He joined the cast of the NBC drama Las Vegas in the season-five premiere on September 28, 2007. He played A.J. Cooper, the new owner of the Montecito Casino. He replaced James Caanwho left the cast in the same episode. This was Selleck's first regular role on a drama show since he played Thomas Magnum on Magnum, P.I..

Blue Bloods

Blue Bloods is an American police procedural/drama series on CBS, filmed on location in New York City. Frank Reagan (Selleck) is the Police Commissioner; the series follows the Reagan family of police officers with the New York City Police Department. The show premiered on September 24, 2010.

Other work

Selleck has also appeared in a number of made-for-TV movies in recent years. In particular, he has sought to help bring back to popularity the western, often playing one of that genre's typical characters but thrust into a modern context.

Selleck was offered the lead role of Mitch Buchannon in Baywatch, but turned down the role because he did not want to be seen as a sex symbol. The role eventually went to David Hasselhoff.

Surprising many of his fans, Selleck unexpectedly played the role of General Dwight D. Eisenhower in A&E's 2004 made-for-TV movie Ike: Countdown to D-Day. The movie showed the planning, politics, and preparation for the 1944 Invasion of Normandy, and Selleck was critically lauded for playing a cool, calm Eisenhower.

Selleck appeared in a recurring role on the acclaimed ABC drama Boston Legal as Ivan Tiggs—the troubled ex-husband of Shirley Schmidt (Candice Bergen)—and as novelist Robert B. Parker's character Jesse Stone in several CBS made-for-TV movies, earning a 2007 Emmy nomination for Jesse Stone: Sea Change.

Broadway

In 2001, Selleck played the lead role of Murray in a Broadway revival of Herb Gardner's comedic play A Thousand Clowns. It ran for only two months. Critics, though far from uniformly negative about Selleck's performance, generally compared it unfavorably to that of Jason Robards, Jr., who won awards in the 1960s for playing the character on the stage and in a movie version. (It remains the role with which Robards is most identified.) Playwright Gardner, however, actually preferred Selleck to Robards in the part, and even said that Selleck was the way he had always envisioned Murray.


Tuesday, October 7, 2014

10/07 Tony Danza

Perhaps best known for starring on some of television’s most beloved and long-running series, including Taxi (1978–1983) and Who’s the Boss (1984–1992), Tony Danza has also established himself as a stage and screen star, and has indisputably been one of America’s most iconic and beloved performers for over thirty years.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Danza received a wrestling scholarship to the University of Dubuque in Iowa, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history education. Before finding a job teaching, he found himself earning a living as professional boxer. While training in a boxing gymnasium in New York, Danza was “discovered” and ultimately cast in the critically acclaimed ABC series Taxi, earning him a place in television history and making him a household name. He followed Taxi with a starring role in the classic ABC comedy series Who’s the Boss?, which ran for eight seasons and broke all syndication records.

Eventually Tony explored his love for the stage, and among his many stage credits is his exciting run on Broadway in Mel Brooks’s hit musical The Producers, playing Max Bialystock (2006–2007), and his reprise of the role in the Las Vegas production at Paris Las Vegas (2007). For his theatrical debut in Wrong Turn at Lungfish (1993), he earned an Outer Critic’s Circle Award nomination. Other stage credits include the critically acclaimed The Iceman Cometh, opposite Kevin Spacey, Arthur Miller’s Tony Award–winning play A View from the Bridge, and I Remember You.

Most recently, Tony returned to the stage in the pre-Broadway run of the much buzzed about and highly acclaimed smash hit musical Honeymoon In Vegas, which he starred in at the Paper Mill Playhouse along with Tony Award nominee Rob McClure (Chaplin), and Brynn O’Malley (Annie). With music and lyrics by Tony Award winner, Jason Robert Brown (Parade, The Last Five Years), the musical is written by Andrew Bergman (Fletch, The Freshman, Blazing Saddles, Soap Dish, The In Laws) and based on his hit Castle Rock / New Line comedy of the same title. Both the show and Tony’s performance received amazing reviews, including a love letter from The New York Times, which compares Tony’s performance to “the cooler-than-cool spirit” of Frank Sinatra. The musical is expected to open on Broadway later this year.

Tony also recently returned to the big-screen and received great buzz and fantastic reviews for his performance as Joseph Gordon Levitt’s father in Levitt’s much buzzed and acclaimed directorial debut, Don Jon. The film, which stars Levitt, Danza, Julianne Moore, Brie Larson, and Scarlett Johansson, was was released in theaters in the fall of 2013.

Among Tony’s previous television experience is his role as attorney Joe Celano on the CBS dramatic series Family Law (2000–2002), his Emmy-nominated performance on David E. Kelley’s award-winning series The Practice (1998), and ABC’s The Tony Danza Show, a talk show that was broadcast live in New York from 2004–2006. He also starred in and executive-produced the ABC comedy series Hudson Street, NBC’s The Tony Danza Show, hosted Saturday Night Live several times and hosted numerous award shows, including the 2001 Miss America Pageant and the 2003 People’s Choice Awards.

Amongst Tony’s big-screen credits are his roles in Walt Disney’s Angels in the Outfield, She’s Out of Control, The Hollywood Knights, and A Brooklyn State of Mind.

In 2009-2010, Tony took on his most challenging role yet—teaching tenth-grade English at Philadelphia’s Northeast High School. His amazing experience working as a real teacher was taped and aired on A&E last year in the form of the critically acclaimed seven-part documentary series, entitled Teach. In September 2012, Crown Publishers (a division of Random House) releases Tony’s book, I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had: My Year as a Rookie Teacher at Northeast High, a much buzzed about and critically acclaimed reflection of his experience teaching for a year. The book premiered on the New York Times Best Sellers list at number 16 and stayed on the list for two months. The paperback edition hit bookstores in September of 2013.

In 2010, AARP The Magazine, the definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the world’s largest-circulation magazine with more than 35 million readers, presented Tony with their Inspire Award. The Inspire Awards pay tribute to extraordinary people who inspire others to action through their innovative thinking, passion and perseverance.

In December of 2012, Tony was amongst the iconic celebrities who participated in the Weinstein Company’s historic concert for Hurricane Sandy Relief at Madison Square Garden. He was featured in the documentary about the concert, released by the Weinstein Company in the fall of 2013, in which Tony reminds people of the forgotten motto of America, “E pluribus unum,” or “out of many one,” or as Tony’s father would say, “we’re all in this together, pal.” It’s with great belief in the spirit of that motto that Tony participates in many charity efforts.

In April of 2013, USA Today honored Tony at their annual National Make A Difference Day Awards for his commitment to helping others through his numerous charity efforts.
Tony currently lives in New York City.

CURRENT PROJECTS

September 20th marked the 30th anniversary of the premiere of one of the most universally beloved and financially successful sitcoms of all time - Who's The Boss starring Tony Danza.

As reruns are currently playing 6 nights a week on TV Land (as they also play in almost every other major country around the world), Danza's iconic career is still going and ever growing impressively since he first came into our lives in September of 1978 as Tony Banta in Taxi, also one of the most classic and beloved sitcoms of all time.

Almost 40 years and many great screen and stage performances later, Danza is still impressing with each of his performances.  Recently, his performance in the breakout Sundance hit Don Jon, opposite Joseph Gordon Levitt and Scarlett Johansson, received rave reviews from critics and audiences, and the LA Times amongst others even said he should have been nominated for an Oscar.  It was actually his second time opposite Joseph Gordon Levitt, the first time was in the classic sports movie - ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD, in which Tony starred as the pitcher and Joe starred as the kid.  

This fall he is heading to Broadway, as one of the stars of  three time Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown's highly anticipated new Broadway musical Honeymoon In Vegas. For his performance in the musicals pre-Broadway run last fall, Tony received a love letter of a review from Ben Brantley of the New York Times, who said "the cooler-than-cool spirit Frank Sinatra is present in “Honeymoon,” made flesh in a deliciously underplayed star turn by Tony Danza" and that his performance "may be the best musical portrayal of a gentleman gangster since the heyday of “Guys and Dolls.”  Full link to the review here

Tickets are currently on sale (go to Ticketmaster or Honeymoonbroadway.com) and performances begin Nov 18th.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

9/30 Chris Montan, The Lion King: The Legacy Collection

Montan began his association with The Walt Disney Studios in 1984 and, three years later, was named vice president of music for motion pictures and television. In 1991, he began a four-year stint as senior vice president, music. In 1995, he entered into an exclusive five-year arrangement with Disney to produce motion pictures and provide consultation on a variety of music-related projects. In that role, he most recently served as producer of the acclaimed 1997 TV musical production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Cinderella" (starring Whitney Houston and Brandy); and as executive producer of "Annie," a major new television musical for "The Wonderful World of Disney," airing on Sunday, November 7th on ABC.

Under Montan's guidance, soundtracks from eight of the Studio's theatrical releases ("Cocktail," "Beaches," "The Little Mermaid," "Pretty Woman," "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," "The Lion King," "Pocahontas") have been certified multi-platinum. Sales for "Pretty Woman" surpassed the five million unit mark. Additionally, many of the Studio's songs and scores that were created during his tenure have received Grammy, Golden Globe and Academy Award recognition.

Among his other Disney credits, Montan served as executive music producer for such recent Disney animated features as "Pocahontas," "Toy Story," "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," "Hercules," "Mulan" and "Tarzan."


The Lion King: The Legacy Collection

Walt Disney Records' newly created line of collectible CDs, Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection, will celebrate the anniversaries of Disney's most cherished and classic properties that have been enchanting audiences for generations. Through 2015, Walt Disney Records will celebrate 12 anniversaries including 'Pinocchio' (75th), 'Fantasia' (75th), 'Cinderella' (65th), 'Lady and the Tramp' (60th), 'Sleeping Beauty' (55th), 'Mary Poppins' (50th), 'The Lion King' (20th) and 'Toy Story' (20th), among others.

To honor these musical landmarks, Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection will feature the beloved original soundtracks, plus valuable documentary content that tells the story behind the music. Each album will feature newly created artwork from Lorelay Bove, a visual development artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios ('Tangled,' 'Winnie the Pooh,' 'Wreck-It Ralph'). The illustrations, inspired by the original properties, will celebrate Disney's rich heritage and create a unified look for the entire collection.