25 Oct 2019
Motion Pictures, Television Permalink

David Niven

October 25, 2019

James David Graham Niven, known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. “the Phantom,” in The Pink Panther. He was awarded the 1958 Academy Award for Best Actor in Separate Tables.

David Niven was born in London, England. He was the son of William Edward Graham Niven and Henrietta Julia Degacher. He was named David for his birth on Saint David’s Day. Niven often claimed that he was born in Kirriemuir, in the county of Angus in 1909, but after his death, his birth certificate showed this was not true.

Henrietta was of French and British ancestry. She was born in Wales, the daughter of army officer William Degacher and Julia Caroline, daughter of Lieutenant General James Webber Smith. Her father, born William Hitchcock, had assumed his mother’s maiden name of Degacher in 1874.

William Niven, David Niven’s legal father, was of Scottish descent; his paternal grandfather, David Graham Niven, was from St. Martins, a village in Perthshire. William served in the Berkshire Yeomanry in the First World War and was killed during the Gallipoli Campaign on 21 August 1915. He was buried in Green Hill Cemetery, Turkey in the Special Memorial Section in Plot F. 10.

25 Oct 2019
Motion Pictures Permalink

David O. Selznick

October 25, 2019

David O. Selznick, born David Selznick, was an American film producer. He is best known for producing Gone with the Wind and Rebecca, both of which earned him an Oscar for Best Picture.

Selznick was born to a Jewish family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of silent movie distributor Lewis J. Selznick and Florence A. Selznick. Selznick added the “O” to his name later on a whim.

He studied at Columbia University and worked as an apprentice for his father until the elder’s bankruptcy in 1923. In 1926, Selznick moved to Hollywood, and with the help of his father’s connections, got a job as an assistant story editor at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He left MGM for Paramount Pictures in 1928, where he worked until 1931, when he joined RKO as Head of Production. His years at RKO were fruitful, and he worked on many films, including A Bill of Divorcement, What Price Hollywood?, Rockabye, Our Betters, and King Kong. While at RKO, he also gave George Cukor his directing break. In 1933 he returned to MGM to establish a second prestige production unit, parallel to that of Irving Thalberg, who was in poor health. His unit’s output included Dinner at Eight, David Copperfield, Anna Karenina and A Tale of Two Cities. Despite his successes at MGM, Paramount Pictures, and RKO Pictures, Selznick longed to be an independent producer with his own studio. In 1935 he realized that goal by forming Selznick International Pictures and distributing his films through United Artists. His successes continued with classics such as The Garden of Allah, The Prisoner of Zenda, A Star Is Born, Nothing Sacred, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Young in Heart, Made for Each Other, Intermezzo and Gone with the Wind, which remains one of the all-time highest grossing films. It also won seven additional Oscars and two special awards. Selznick also won the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award that same year.

25 Oct 2019
Motion Pictures Permalink

David Powell

October 25, 2019

David Powell was a Scottish born stage and later film actor of the silent era. In his twenties Powell appeared in stage companies of Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, Ellen Terry and Johnston Forbes-Robertson. In 1907 he appeared with Terry on Broadway in the first American presentation of Shaw’s Captain Brassbound’s Conversion. He later appeared with Forbes-Robertson in the United States and decided to stay in that country.

In 1912 Powell started his film career in one to three reel shorts. Possessed of dark good looks and shiny dark eyes, he was often cast opposite or in support of well-known star actresses of the time. Many of these actresses include Mary Pickford, Clara Kimball Young, Billie Burke, Hazel Dawn, Ann Murdock, Alice Brady, Edna Goodrich, Elsie Ferguson, Mae Murray, Mary Glynne and Ann Forrest amongst others. At the beginning of the 1920s he starred in several Paramount produced English films. Alfred Hitchcock was the title card writer for several of these films. As with other silent screen performers Powell has a lot of his filmography missing. Extant films that feature Powell are The Dawn of A Tomorrow, Less Than Dust, Idols of Clay, The Virtuous Liar, The Green Goddess, The Average Woman. Several of these however are in film vaults and foreign archives.

Powell died of pneumonia in April 1925 at the age of 42. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

25 Oct 2019
Motion Pictures, Recording Permalink

Dave Koz

October 25, 2019

Jazz musician Dave Koz celebrated 20 years in the business with the 2,389th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Leron Gubler, President and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, presided over the ceremony. Guests included Barry Manilow, Chris Gardner, Jason Alexander, Kenny G, Dave Grohl, Bob Saget, Bruce Vilanch, and Bebe Winans. Koz performed his Grammy-nominated rendition of "Over the Rainbow" at the ceremony.

1750 N. Vine Street on September 22, 2009.

BIOGRAPHY

In a career spanning two decades, Dave Koz has established himself as a platinum-selling artist, humanitarian, entrepreneur, radio host, and instrumental music advocate. A six-time Grammy® nominee, the list of artists he has played with bears testament to his talent and includes such musical luminaries as Burt Bacharach, Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Celine Dion, Kenny Loggins, U2, Barry Manilow, Michael McDonald, Luther Vandross, and Rod Stewart.

Many of his own hits — smash singles such as "You Make Me Smile," Koz's signature song, "Castle of Dreams," "Can't Let You Go" featuring the late Luther Vandross, "Together Again," "Honey-Dipped," "All I See Is You," and "Faces of the Heart," which was the theme song for "General Hospital" for more than 10 years — were collected in his first-ever retrospective album, Dave Koz – Greatest Hits, which bowed at No. 1 on both Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart and iTunes' Jazz Album chart in September 2008. "Life In The Fast Lane," one of four new songs included on the album, spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the Smooth Jazz chart and "Bada Bing" hit No. 2. Koz's latest single, "And Then I Knew," produced by Rob Cavallo (Dave Matthews Band, Green Day) just went to radio.

Born and raised in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley, Koz initially picked up the saxophone to gain entry into his big brother's band. What began as a ploy became a lifelong obsession. After earning his degree in mass communications from UCLA, Koz decided to become a professional musician and toured with Bobby Caldwell's band, keyboardist Jeff Lorber, and pop singer Richard Marx. His 1990 self-titled solo debut album on Capitol Records was the first in a body of best-selling work, which includes the gold-certified Lucky Man (1993), Off The Beaten Path (1996), The Dance (1999, certified gold), Saxophonic (2003) and the holiday-themed albums December Makes Me Feel This Way (1997), Dave Koz & Friends – A Smooth Jazz Christmas (2001) and Memories Of A Winter's Night (2007). In 2007, Koz released At The Movies, a lush, romantic celebration of timeless melodies from cinema that spent 12 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz chart. Produced by the legendary Phil Ramone, it was nominated for a Grammy in the "Best Pop Instrumental Album" category and included "Over the Rainbow," which was also nominated for a Grammy.

Koz also serves as the host of a weekday afternoon radio show that's nationally distributed on the Smooth Jazz Radio Network; and, on weekends, as the host of the Dave Koz Radio Show, now in its 15th year and syndicated in approximately 120 markets. As an entrepreneur, Koz founded Rendezvous Entertainment. As a philanthropist, he has served for 17 years as global ambassador for the Starlight Children's Foundation. He recently partnered with Vinum Cellars, a Napa Valley boutique winery, and Whole Foods Market® to introduce three types of KOZ wines. He is donating all his proceeds from KOZ wines – available exclusively at Whole Foods Market stores in Southern California, Arizona and Nevada – to help Starlight continue its vital mission. Koz completed a four-year term on the Grammy Foundation Artists Committee, has served as National Trustee for the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS) and is an ongoing member of the Board of Governors for the Grammy® Foundation.

25 Oct 2019
Motion Pictures, Recording Permalink

Dave O’Brien

October 25, 2019

Dave O'Brien was an American film actor, director and writer. Born David Poole Fronabarger in Big Spring, Texas, O'Brien started his film career in bit parts before gradually winning larger roles, mostly in B pictures.

O'Brien became familiar to movie audiences in the 1940s as the hero of the famous MGM comedy short film series Pete Smith Specialties narrated by Pete Smith. O'Brien wrote and directed many of these subjects under the name David Barclay.

He also appeared in many low-budget Westerns, often billed as 'Tex' O'Brien, alluding to his home state. To modern audiences, he is most likely best to be remembered as a frantic dope addict in the low-budget exploitation film Reefer Madness, yelling "Play it faster, play it faster!!" to a piano-playing girl. He appeared in Queen Of The Yukon as Bob Adams.

In 1942, O'Brien starred in the movie serial Captain Midnight.

25 Oct 2019
Television Permalink

Dave Willock

October 25, 2019

Dave Willock was an American character actor. Willock appeared in 181 films and television shows from 1939-1989. He is probably most familiar to modern audiences from his performance as Baby Jane Hudson’s father in the opening scenes of the 1962 cult classic What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?. He played seven different characters on CBS’s Green Acres with Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor, but mostly portrayed clerks or elevator operators.

He appeared on an episode of Dragnet as an ex-vaudevillean who is cheated out of $9,000 that he found on a sidewalk. In the 1961-1962 season, he played Harvey Clayton, father of the 1920s teenager Margie Clayton, portrayed by Cynthia Pepper in ABC’s Margie.Willock also appeared in animated roles, such as the offscreen narrator on Wacky Races and as father Augustus “Gus” Holiday on The Roman Holidays. He appeared in a television commercial for “The Great American Soups,” directed by American satirist Stan Freberg, alongside tap-dancing star Ann Miller.

25 Oct 2019
Recording Permalink

David Bowie

October 25, 2019

David Bowie is an English rock musician, who has also worked as an actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for five decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s, and is known for his distinctive voice and the intellectual depth of his work.

Although he released an album and several singles earlier, Bowie first caught the eye and ear of the public in July 1969, when the song “Space Oddity” reached the top five of the UK Singles Chart. After a three-year period of experimentation he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era as the flamboyant, androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust, spearheaded by the hit single “Starman” and the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Bowie’s impact at that time, as described by biographer David Buckley, “challenged the core belief of the rock music of its day” and “created perhaps the biggest cult in popular culture.” The relatively short-lived Ziggy persona proved merely one facet of a career marked by continual reinvention, musical innovation and striking visual presentation.

In 1975, Bowie achieved his first major American crossover success with the number-one single “Fame”, co-written with John Lennon, and the hit album Young Americans, which the singer characterised as “plastic soul”. The sound constituted a radical shift in style that initially alienated many of his UK devotees. He then confounded the expectations of both his record label and his American audiences by recording the minimalist album Low ?the first of three collaborations with Brian Eno over the next two years. The so-called “Berlin Trilogy” albums all reached the UK top five and garnered lasting critical praise.

After uneven commercial success in the late 1970s, Bowie had UK number ones with the 1980 single “Ashes to Ashes” and its parent album, Scary Monsters . He paired with Queen for the 1981 UK chart-topping single “Under Pressure”, then reached a new commercial peak in 1983 with the album Let’s Dance, which yielded the hit singles “Let’s Dance”, “China Girl”, and “Modern Love”. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie continued to experiment with musical styles, including blue-eyed soul, industrial, adult contemporary, and jungle. His last recorded album was Reality, which was supported by the 2003?2004 Reality Tour.

25 Oct 2019
Television Permalink

David Brian

October 25, 2019

David Brian was an American actor and dancer.

Brian was signed by Warner Bros. in 1949 and appeared in such films as The Damned Don’t Cry! and Flamingo Road with Joan Crawford, and Beyond the Forest with Bette Davis. He also had a role in the John Wayne movie The High and the Mighty of 1954 as Ken Childs.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Brian was active in television with guest roles in dozens of shows ranging from dramatic to comedic, from Rawhide to I Dream of Jeannie. In the mid-1950s, he was the lead actor in the TV show, Mr. District Attorney.

25 Oct 2019
Recording, Television Permalink

David Carradine

October 25, 2019

David Carradine, born John Arthur Carradine, was an American character actor, best known for his role as Kwai Chang Caine in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu and its 1990s sequel series, ‘. He was a member of a productive acting dynasty that began with his father, John Carradine. His acting career, which included major and minor roles on stage, television and cinema, spanned over four decades. A prolific “B” movie actor, he appeared in more than 100 feature films and was nominated four times for a Golden Globe Award. The latest nomination was for his part in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill.

Film projects that featured Carradine continued to be released long after his death. These posthumous credits were from a variety of genres including horror, action, western, martial arts, drama, science fiction and documentary. In addition to his acting career, Carradine was also a musician and pursued a directing career. Influenced by his most popular acting role, he studied martial arts. The child of a frequently married actor, “Jack”, as Carradine was known in his youth, had an unstable childhood. This instability would continue throughout his life as he himself was married several times. He was also frequently arrested and prosecuted for a variety of offenses which often involved substance abuse. His death occurred in June 2009, under unusual circumstances.

He was born John Arthur Carradine”’ in Hollywood, California, the son of Ardanelle “Abigail” and noted American actor John Carradine. He was a brother of Bruce, half-brother of Keith, Christopher and Robert Carradine, and an uncle of Ever Carradine and Martha Plimpton. He was the great-grandson of Methodist evangelical author Beverly Carradine and the grandnephew of artist Will Foster.

“Jack” Carradine’s formative years were turbulent. Both of his parents repeatedly married. He was the product of his mother’s second marriage of three, and his father’s first of four. At the time his parents married each other, his mother already had a son, Bruce, by her first husband, whom John adopted. John Carradine planned a large family but, as his son explained in his autobiography, after his wife had a series of miscarriages, he discovered that she had had repeated illegal abortions without his knowledge. This rendered her unable to carry a baby to full term. It was with this backdrop of marital discord that at the age of 5, Jack almost succeeded in committing suicide by hanging. He said that the incident followed his discovery that he and Bruce had different biological fathers. He added that, “My father saved me, and then confiscated my comic book collection and burned it