Category: Profiles

Born May 30, 1896 in Goshen, Indiana, Howard Winchester Hawks was the eldest of five children of one of the Midwest’s wealthiest families. The family moved to Pasadena, California due to his mother’s poor health after the birth of her fifth child in 1906. Hawks attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York studying mechanical engineering…

Born December 28, 1934 in Essex, England, Maggie Smith made her stage debut in 1952, her TV debut in 1955 and her screen debut in 1958. She was the  recipient of seven BAFTAs, two Oscars, two Golden Globes, four Emmys and a Tony. She was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1990. Although…

Born in 1888, Beulah Bondi was a seasoned stage actress who made her film debut at 43, reprising her Broadway role as the neighborhood gossip in 1931’s Street Scene. After playing several other mean-spirited characters she moved up considerably on the likability scale as Rachel Jackson, Andrew Jackson’s pipe-smoking wife in 1936’s The Gorgeous Hussy, for which…

Born December 29, 1915 in Oakland, California, Catherine Josephine Van Fleet, known professionally as Jo Van Fleet, was the daughter of a railroad worker and his wife.  Her father died in 1919, after which Jo, her older sister, and her mother moved in with her mother’s parents. The budding actress was attracted to the stage…

Born January 17, 1931 in Arkabutla, Mississippi to actor Robert Earl Jones and his wife, James Earl Jones suffered from a childhood stutter that he studied dramatics to overcome. Writing and reading poetry in class helped him overcome the disability that he had all his life despite his reputation as the possessor of one of…

Born January 30, 1974 in Norfolk, England, Sarah Caroline Colman, known professionally as Olivia Colman, is the daughter of a nurse mother and chartered surveyor father. Privately schooled, Colman’s first acting assignment was in a school production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.  She made her professional acting debut in 2000 in the British…

Born August 12, 1916 in Long Island City, New York, Ralph Nelson had a troubled childhood.  A judge once described him as “potentially the most juvenile criminal in New York.”  His life turned around after a high school teacher got him interested in acting. Nelson won an oratory award sponsored by the New York Times…

Born June 19, 1930 in Madison, Wisconsin to a state legislator and his painter wife, Virginia Cathryn (Gena) Rowlands moved with her family to Washington, D.C. in 1939 when her father became a member of the Department of Agriculture. They moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1942. Rowlands attended the University of Wisconsin from 1947-1950 and…

Born August 10, 1902 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, (Edith) Norma Shearer was the third child of Andrew, a successful contractor, and Edith, a minor actress, Shearer.  Older brother Douglas Shearer (1899-1971) became the head of the MGM sound department who won seven Oscars.  Older sister Athole Shearer (1900-1985) was married to Howard Hawks from 1928-1940…

Born June 13, 1894 in Santa Ana, California, William Taylor Garnett, known professionally as Tay Garnett, was one of the most prolific writer-directors of films and TV dramas from 1920 through 1975. Although he was never nominated for an Oscar, Garnett worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, directing a couple of them…