25 Oct 2019
Motion Pictures Permalink

Johnny Depp

October 25, 2019

John Christopher “Johnny” Depp II is an American actor and musician known for his portrayals of offbeat, eccentric characters such as Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, Raoul Duke in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow.

Depp rose to prominence in a lead role on the television series 21 Jump Street and quickly became regarded as a teen idol. Uncomfortable with this career direction, he turned his focus to film roles. He initially came to film prominence as the titular character of Edward Scissorhands, and later found box office success in roles such as Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow, Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series and Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

He has collaborated with director and close friend Tim Burton in seven films, the most recent of which are Alice in Wonderland and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Depp has garnered acclaim for his portrayals of real life figures such as Edward D. Wood, Jr., in Ed Wood, Joseph D. Pistone in Donnie Brasco and George Jung in Blow. More recently, he portrayed legendary bank robber John Dillinger in Michael Mann’s 2009 film Public Enemies.

Films featuring Depp have grossed over $2.6 billion at the United States box office and over $6 billion worldwide. Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor three times, Screen Actors Guild Awards four times and Golden Globe Awards eight times, Depp won the Best Actor Awards from the Golden Globes for his role in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and from the Screen Actors Guild for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

25 Oct 2019
Recording, Television Permalink

Johnny Grant

October 25, 2019

In memory of Hollywood’s Honorary Mayor, the late Johnny Grant, who passed away on this day in 2009, flowers were placed on his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday, January 9, 2014. The star in category of Television is located at 6915 Hollywood Blvd. “Rest in Peace, Johnny! We miss you!” Ana Martinez, producer of the Walk of Fame signed the card on behalf of the Hollywood Historic Trust and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

Johnny Grant was an American radio personality and television producer who also served as the honorary mayor of Hollywood, in which capacity he was often present at Hollywood community functions, including the unveiling of new stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. An intersection just north of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue is designated "Johnny Grant Way."

Grant was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina. He made his show business debut on the radio in 1939 as a local newscaster there. According to publicity released by the third annual Hollywood Film Festival in 1999:

Grant joined the Army Air Corps during World War II, hosting a daily radio show in New York City for servicemen and women. During this time, he interviewed many entertainment stars who were in the city. After his discharge, he stayed in New York, working as a reporter for station WINS. Along with Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra, Grant co-hosted the first national telethon ever produced, a fundraiser to help send America's athletes to the Helsinki Olympics in 1952.

In the 1950s, Grant appeared in several films, often portraying uncredited fictional hosts. He played "Ed Harrison," an Ed Sullivan-type TV-show host, in the 1954 film White Christmas, and the Master of Ceremonies in the 1956 film The Girl Can't Help It.

25 Oct 2019
Motion Pictures Permalink

Johnny Mack Brown

October 25, 2019

Johnny Mack Brown was an All-American college football player and film actor.

Born and raised in Dothan, Alabama, Brown was a star of the high school football team, earning a football scholarship to the University of Alabama. Playing the halfback position on his university’s Crimson Tide football team, he earned the nickname “The Dothan Antelope” and helped his team to become the 1926 NCAA Division I-A national football champions. In that year’s Rose Bowl Game, he earned Most Valuable Player honors after scoring two of his team’s three touchdowns in an upset win over the heavily favored Washington Huskies. While at The University of Alabama, Brown became an initiated member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity.

His good looks and powerful physique saw him portrayed on Wheaties cereal boxes and in 1927, brought an offer for motion picture screen tests that resulted in a long and successful career in Hollywood. He played silent film star Mary Pickford’s love interest in her first talkie, Coquette, for which Pickford won an Oscar.

He appeared in minor roles until 1930 when he was cast as the star in a Western entitled Billy the Kid and directed by King Vidor. An early widescreen film, the movie also features Wallace Beery as Pat Garrett. Brown was billed over Beery, who would become the studio’s highest paid actor within the next three years. Also in 1930, Brown played Joan Crawford’s love interest in Montana Moon. Brown went on to make several more top-flight movies under the name John Mack Brown, including The Secret Six with Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow, and Clark Gable, as well as the legendary Lost Generation celebration of alcohol, The Last Flight, and was being groomed by MGM as a leading man until being abruptly replaced on a film in 1931, with all his scenes reshot substituting rising star Clark Gable in his place.

25 Oct 2019
Recording Permalink

Johnny Maddox

October 25, 2019

Johnny Maddox is a ragtime pianist and collector of ragtime memorabilia.

His interest in the era of ragtime and blues was fueled by his Aunt Zula Cothron. She played ragtime piano at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, and taught Johnny to play. Johnny played his first public concert when he was only five and began his professional career at the age of twelve.

In 1950 Maddox worked with his friend, Randy Wood, at Randy?s Record Shop in Gallatin when Randy launched Dot Records. Maddox became the first artist to record for Dot Records, and his instant first success helped build the label into one of the most successful labels in the 1950s. His very first single “Crazy Bone Rag” with “St. Louis Tickle? on the flip side sold over 22,000 copies in five weeks. He continued to record for Dot through its acquisition by MCA into the 1970s. During his career with Dot and MCA, Johnny recorded 50 albums and 87 singles. From these he racked up nine gold records with total record sales of over 11,000,000.

In 1955 Maddox recorded “The Crazy Otto Medley,” made up of pieces written by German comic performer Fritz Schulz-Reichel under the persona Otto der Schräge. It spent 14 weeks at #2 and became the first million-selling ragtime record, eventually selling more than two million copies. Crazy Otto soon became Maddox’s nickname, as well as Schulz-Reichel’s. In fact, the reference to Crazy Otto in the Grateful Dead song “Ramble on Rose” is a reference to Maddox. Creedence Clearwater Revival also did a song called “Crazy Otto”, although it is not known if this is a reference to Maddox.

25 Oct 2019
Recording, Television Permalink

Johnny Mathis

October 25, 2019

John Royce "Johnny" Mathis is an American singer of popular music.

The fourth of seven children, John Royce Mathis was born on September 30, 1935 in Gilmer, Texas to Clem and Mildred Mathis. As a small boy, the family moved to Post Street in San Francisco. It was there that he learned an appreciation of music from his father who taught him his first song, “My Blue Heaven”. At age eight, his father purchased an old upright piano for $25. When he brought it home, it wouldn't fit through the front door. So that evening, Johnny stayed up all night to watch his father dismantle the piano, get it into the small living room of their basement apartment and then reassemble it. Clem Mathis, who worked briefly as a musician back in Texas playing the piano and singing on stage, would continue to teach his son many songs and routines. Johnny had proven to be the most eager of the children to learn all about music. He sang in the church choir, school functions, community events, for visitors in their home as well as amateur shows in the San Francisco area. He was also a successful track & field athlete, and was offered a chance to compete in the Olympic Trials. In the same week Columbia Records called, so he choose to go to New York to record his first album, which was released in March 1956.

 

Best-known for his supremely popular hits like “Chances Are," "It's Not For Me To Say," and "Misty”, Johnny has recorded more than 80 albums, 6 Christmas albums, and has sold millions of records worldwide. During his extensive career he has had 3 songs inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, achieved 50 Hits on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary Chart, and ranks as the all-time #6 album artist in the history of Billboard’s pop album charts.  He has received 5 Grammy Nominations, and in 2003 he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. In addition to all this Johnny & his music have appeared in numerous films & TV shows, including The Tonight Show, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Family Ties, and Mad Men. 

He continues to be Columbia Records longest signed recording artist.

 

In spite of a very busy tour schedule & many charity events, Johnny still finds time to enjoy a little free time. He was an avid tennis player until the late 1960s, when a good friend turned him on to his now life-long love of golf. He plays golf almost every day when he's not traveling and has also sung at many golf banquets such as the Ryder Cup. 2016 marks his 60th anniversary as a recording artist, so what’s next for Johnny? “I don’t think about retiring. I think about how I can keep singing for the rest of my life. I just have to pace myself.”

Mathis concentrated on romantic jazz and pop standards for the adult contemporary audience through the 1980s. Starting his career with singles of standards, Mathis became more popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status, and 73 making the Billboard charts. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Mathis has sales of over 27 million sellers, certified units in the United States. According to recordings chart historian and music writer Paul Gambaccini, Mathis has recorded over 130 albums.

Mathis was born on September 30, 1935 in Gilmer, Texas, the fourth of seven children of Clem Mathis and his wife, Mildred Boyd. The family moved to San Francisco, California, settling in the Fillmore district where he grew up. Mathis's father had worked in vaudeville, and when he saw his son's talent, he bought an old upright piano for $25 and encouraged his efforts. Mathis began learning songs and routines from his father; his first song was "My Blue Heaven." Mathis started singing and dancing for visitors at home, and at school and church functions.

When he was 13-years-old, Connie Cox, a voice teacher, accepted Mathis as a student in exchange for work around her house. He studied with Cox for six years, learning vocal scales and exercises, voice production, classical and operatic skills. He is one of the few popular singers who received years of professional voice training that included opera. The first band Mathis would sing with was formed by fellow Merl Saunders. Mathis eulogized him in October, 2007 at his funeral to thank for giving him his first chance as a singer.

25 Oct 2019
Television Permalink

Johnny Mercer

October 25, 2019

John Herndon “Johnny” Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others. From the mid-1930s through the mid-1950s, many of the songs Mercer wrote and performed were among the most popular hits of the time. He wrote the lyrics to more than fifteen hundred songs, including compositions for movies and Broadway shows. He received nineteen Academy Award nominations, and won four. Mercer was also a co-founder of Capitol Records.

Mercer was born in Savannah, Georgia. His father, George Anderson Mercer, was a prominent attorney and real estate developer, and his mother, Lillian Elizabeth, George Mercer?s secretary and then second wife, was the daughter of Croatian-Irish immigrants who came to America in the 1850s. Lillian’s father was a merchant seaman who ran the Union blockade during the U.S. Civil War. Mercer was George’s fourth son, first by Lillian. His great-grandfather was Confederate General Hugh Weedon Mercer and he was a direct descendant of Revolutionary War General Hugh Mercer, a Scottish soldier-physician who died at the Battle of Princeton. Mercer was also a distant cousin of General George S. Patton. The Mercer House in Savannah was built by General Hugh Weedon Mercer in 1860, later the home of Jim Williams, whose trial for murder was the centerpiece of John Berendt’s book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, although neither the General nor Johnny ever lived there.

Mercer liked music as a small child and attributed his musical talent to his mother, who would sing sentimental ballads. Mercer’s father also sang, mostly old Scottish songs. His aunt told him he was humming music when he was six months old and later she took him to see minstrel and vaudeville shows where he heard ?coon songs? and ragtime. The family?s summer home ?Vernon View? was on the tidal waters and Mercer?s long summers there among mossy trees, saltwater marshes, and soft, starry nights inspired him years later.

Mercer?s exposure to black music was perhaps unique among the white songwriters of his generation. As a child, Mercer had African-American playmates and servants, and he listened to the fishermen and vendors about him, who spoke and sang in the Creole dialect known as ?Geechee?. He was also attracted to black church services. Mercer later stated, ?Songs always fascinated me more than anything?. He never had formal musical training but was singing in a choir by six and at eleven or twelve he had memorized almost all of the songs he had heard and he had become curious about who had written them. He once asked his brother who the best songwriter was, and his brother said Irving Berlin, among the best of Tin Pan Alley.

25 Oct 2019
Motion Pictures Permalink

John Sturges

October 25, 2019

John Eliot Sturges was an American film director. His movies include Bad Day at Black Rock, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape and Ice Station Zebra. He started his career in Hollywood as an editor in 1932. During World War II, he directed documentaries and training films for the US Army Air Corps. Sturges’s mainstream directorial career began in 1946 with The Man Who Dared, the first of many B-movies. He made imaginative use of the widescreen CinemaScope format by placing Spencer Tracy alone against a vast desert panorama in the suspense film Bad Day at Black Rock for which he received a Best Director Oscar nomination in 1955. He was awarded the Golden Boot Award in 1992 for his lifetime contribution to Westerns.

He once met with Akira Kurosawa, who told him that he loved The Magnificent Seven and presented him with a samurai sword. Sturges considered this the proudest moment of his professional career.

25 Oct 2019
Motion Pictures, Television Permalink

John Tesh

October 25, 2019

John Frank Tesh is an American pianist and composer of pop and contemporary Christian music, as well as a radio host and television presenter. Besides playing keyboards, he plays the trumpet and sings, and has sold over 7 million records. His John Tesh Radio Show is syndicated on 400 stations and he is also known as the longtime host of the television program Entertainment Tonight. He has previously worked as a sportscaster for the Olympic Games, news anchor and reporter. Tesh has won 6 music Emmys, has 4 gold albums, 2 Grammy nominations and an Associated Press award for investigative journalism. His live concerts have raised more than $20 million for PBS. In 1995 Tesh sold 50% of his record company, GTS, to Polygram for $8 million. Tesh then created Garden City Records which he still owns today.

Tesh was born in Garden City, New York, on Long Island, and graduated from Garden City High School in 1970. Playing piano and trumpet from the age of 6, he studied with teachers from The Juilliard School and was named to the New York State Symphonic Orchestra in high school, while also playing the organ in a rock band. Tesh studied communications and music at North Carolina State University graduating in 1975. While at NC State, he was initiated into Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. While in the area, Tesh worked as a news anchor at WTVD in Durham, North Carolina. After graduation, Tesh went to Orlando, Florida, to take a television position at WFTV.

Tesh has been married to actress Connie Sellecca since 1992. They have one daughter together named Prima.

His television career included a stint as a news anchor and reporter at WSM-TV in Nashville, Tennessee, in the 1970s, where he often covered the same stories as Oprah Winfrey who worked at a competing Nashville station. He shuffled from Nashville to Raleigh, to Orlando, and finally to New York’s WCBS-TV where, at age 23, he was their youngest reporter. He later hosted the television show Entertainment Tonight from 1986 to 1996.

25 Oct 2019
Motion Pictures, Television Permalink

John Travolta

October 25, 2019

John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. He first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease. Travolta’s career re-surged in the 1990s, with his role in Pulp Fiction, and he has since continued starring in Hollywood films, including Face/Off, Ladder 49 and Wild Hogs.

Travolta has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. The first, for his role in Saturday Night Fever and the second for Pulp Fiction. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance in Get Shorty.

Travolta, the youngest of six children, was born and raised in Englewood, New Jersey, an inner-ring suburb of New York City. His father, Salvatore Travolta, was a semi-professional American football player turned tire salesman and partner in a tire company. His mother, Helen Cecilia, was an actress and singer who had appeared in The Sunshine Sisters, a radio vocal group, and acted and directed before becoming a high school drama and English teacher. His siblings are Joey, Ellen, Ann, Margaret, and Sam Travolta. Travolta’s father was a second-generation Italian American and his mother was Irish American; he grew up in an Irish-American neighborhood and has said that his household was predominantly Irish in culture. He was raised Roman Catholic.

After attending Dwight Morrow High School, Travolta moved across the Hudson River to New York City and landed a role in the touring company of the musical Grease and on Broadway in Over Here! singing the Sherman Brothers’ song “Dream Drummin'”. He then moved to Los Angeles to further his career in show business.