Pasadena Playhouse
Encyclopedia
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California
. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.
developed in cities and towns across the United States
. The artistic community that founded the Pasadena Playhouse was started in 1916 when actor-director Gilmor Brown began producing a series of plays at a renovated burlesque
theatre with his troupe "The Gilmore Brown Players". Brown established the Community Playhouse Association of Pasadena in 1917 that would later become the Pasadena Playhouse Association, which necessitated a new venue for productions.
The community theatre
organization quickly grew and in May 1924, the citizens of Pasadena raised funds to build a new theatre in the city center at 39 South El Molino Avenue. Completed in 1925, the theater was designed in a Spanish Colonial Revival style by Pasadena artist and architect Elmer Grey
.
Its non-professional, community beginnings and the tremendous amount of local support for the project led George Bernard Shaw
to dub Pasadena "the Athens
of the West", likening the enterprise to the ancient Festival Dionysia
.
The building that was designed by Grey and built by the Winter Construction Co. drew the attention of the nation, bringing Southern California world premieres by authors such as Eugene O'Neill
, William Saroyan
, Noel Coward
, F. Scott Fitzgerald
and Tennessee Williams
, as well as many English language premieres of significant Continental dramas. The Playhouse was recognized by the Legislature as the State Theatre of California
in 1937 after the laudable achievement of having performed the entire Shakespeare canon on a single stage for the first time in the United States.
A school of theatre arts was established in the late 1920s that became an accredited college by 1937, eventually training such notable talents as Raymond Burr
, Victor Mature
, Ernest Borgnine
, Eleanor Parker
, Charles Bronson
, Mako, Jamie Farr
, Gene Hackman
, Dustin Hoffman
, Sally Struthers
and others. During the school years, the Playhouse was very active, having as many as five independent stages in operation at any given time, giving 306–322 performances annually on the main stage alone.
The varied staging capabilities offered by its five venues led the Playhouse to become one of the first companies in California to experiment with new theatrical forms such as theater-in-the-round. The Playhouse also built and operated one of the first television stations in Southern California. In addition to training the Air Force to use television and radio equipment, the Pasadena Playhouse supplied the majority of Southern California's early TV stations with the first trained technicians in the business.
Due to changes in Actors Equity Association laws, and the after the opening of drama departments in many schools and universities across the country, the School of Theatre Arts shut down in 1969. Later that year, after the death of founding director Gilmor Brown, the theatre itself went bankrupt. After six years, the city bought the building in 1975 and later transferred it to real estate developer David Houk. After 17 years of lying dormant, he relaunched the theater in 1986 as a place to develop shows that would tour other California venues. While the Pasadena Playhouse reopened for use as a community theatre, the acting school remained closed. Over the next twenty years, the theatre staged classic drama, new musicals and plays, and integrated itself as an educational facility, slowly regaining a prominent place in the national theater scene to become a major operation of over 8 million dollars a year by 2008.
On January 29, 2010, the Los Angeles Times announced that, due to financial difficulties, the theater would close on February 7 after its run of the musical Camelot and cancel the remaining 2010 season. On May 11, 2010, the Pasadena Playhouse filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and announced an intention to restructure its operations to reduce its debt burden.
After less than four months, on July 7, 2010, it emerged from bankruptcy after a multi-million dollar anonymous matching fund contribution toward operating costs and judicially approved debt cancellation. The Pasadena Playhouse also reduced paid staff to essential upper level administration, keeping the Artistic Director Sheldon Epps
as coordinator for the rest of the planned consolidation. Director Epps announced through an interview with the LA Times that the shake-up is intended to put the theater back on solid financial footing and ensure the Playhouse's survival into the future. The Playhouse released a tentative Fall/Winter season schedule including one new production of Dangerous Beauty slated for January 2011. Plans for a new extension and 400 seat venue designed pro bono
by Frank Gehry
that was announced in 2007 were not confirmed to be moving forward despite its possibility as a revenue stream and the strong donation campaign already in place for its construction.
Under the guidance of Epps, the Pasadena Playhouse intends to continue events slowly with a reduced operating schedule and has already announced a new fundraising campaign. The Playhouse operates under a nonprofit, LORT-B designated regional theatre status. While traditionally it produced six plays annually on its mainstage, under the new guidelines the season will go through a possible reduction to under 4 productions into the foreseeable future. A majority of the subscribers donated the rest of their season back to the theater rather than requesting refunds, recusing the theater of over a million dollars in possible financial liability. Epps has said that as the debt burden is lifted these steps will allow the theater to carefully and responsibly rebuild the company.
On April 1st 2011 the Playhouse will be holding a "Premiere Gala: Opening Night" to celebrate it's newfound financial solvency and announce next year's productions. The theater has raised over $100,000 dollars from corporate sponsors to host the event that will proceed after the final showing of the new musical Dangerous Beauty.
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.
History
Beginning around 1912, the period known as the Little Theatre MovementLittle Theatre Movement
As the new medium of cinema was beginning to replace theatre as a source of large-scale spectacle, the Little Theatre Movement developed in the United States around 1912...
developed in cities and towns across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The artistic community that founded the Pasadena Playhouse was started in 1916 when actor-director Gilmor Brown began producing a series of plays at a renovated burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
theatre with his troupe "The Gilmore Brown Players". Brown established the Community Playhouse Association of Pasadena in 1917 that would later become the Pasadena Playhouse Association, which necessitated a new venue for productions.
The community theatre
Community theatre
Community theatre refers to theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community...
organization quickly grew and in May 1924, the citizens of Pasadena raised funds to build a new theatre in the city center at 39 South El Molino Avenue. Completed in 1925, the theater was designed in a Spanish Colonial Revival style by Pasadena artist and architect Elmer Grey
Elmer Grey
Elmer Grey, FAIA was an American architect and artist based in Pasadena, California. Grey designed many noted landmarks in Southern California, including the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Huntington Art Gallery, the Pasadena Playhouse and Wattles Mansion...
.
Its non-professional, community beginnings and the tremendous amount of local support for the project led George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
to dub Pasadena "the Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
of the West", likening the enterprise to the ancient Festival Dionysia
Dionysia
The Dionysia[p] was a large festival in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus, the central events of which were the theatrical performances of dramatic tragedies and, from 487 BC, comedies. It was the second-most important festival after the Panathenaia...
.
The building that was designed by Grey and built by the Winter Construction Co. drew the attention of the nation, bringing Southern California world premieres by authors such as Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
, William Saroyan
William Saroyan
William Saroyan was an Armenian American dramatist and author. The setting of many of his stories and plays is the center of Armenian-American life in California in his native Fresno.-Early years:...
, Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
, F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
and Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
, as well as many English language premieres of significant Continental dramas. The Playhouse was recognized by the Legislature as the State Theatre of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1937 after the laudable achievement of having performed the entire Shakespeare canon on a single stage for the first time in the United States.
A school of theatre arts was established in the late 1920s that became an accredited college by 1937, eventually training such notable talents as Raymond Burr
Raymond Burr
Raymond William Stacey Burr was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain...
, Victor Mature
Victor Mature
Victor John Mature was an American stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Mature was born in Louisville, Kentucky to an Italian-speaking father from the town Pinzolo, in the Italian part of the former County of Tyrol , Marcello Gelindo Maturi, later Marcellus George Mature, a cutler,...
, Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine is an American actor of television and film. His career has spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty...
, Eleanor Parker
Eleanor Parker
Eleanor Jean Parker is an American screen actress. Her versatility led to her being dubbed Woman of a Thousand Faces, the title of her biography by Doug McClelland.- Early life :...
, Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson , born Charles Dennis Buchinsky was an American actor, best-known for such films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the popular Death Wish series...
, Mako, Jamie Farr
Jamie Farr
Jamie Farr is an American television, film, and theater actor. He is best known for having played the role of cross-dressing Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger in the television sitcom M*A*S*H.-Early life:...
, Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
, Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
, Sally Struthers
Sally Struthers
Sally Ann Struthers is an American actress and spokeswoman, best-known for her roles as Gloria Stivic on All in the Family, for which she won two Emmy awards, and as Babette on Gilmore Girls.-Personal life:...
and others. During the school years, the Playhouse was very active, having as many as five independent stages in operation at any given time, giving 306–322 performances annually on the main stage alone.
The varied staging capabilities offered by its five venues led the Playhouse to become one of the first companies in California to experiment with new theatrical forms such as theater-in-the-round. The Playhouse also built and operated one of the first television stations in Southern California. In addition to training the Air Force to use television and radio equipment, the Pasadena Playhouse supplied the majority of Southern California's early TV stations with the first trained technicians in the business.
Due to changes in Actors Equity Association laws, and the after the opening of drama departments in many schools and universities across the country, the School of Theatre Arts shut down in 1969. Later that year, after the death of founding director Gilmor Brown, the theatre itself went bankrupt. After six years, the city bought the building in 1975 and later transferred it to real estate developer David Houk. After 17 years of lying dormant, he relaunched the theater in 1986 as a place to develop shows that would tour other California venues. While the Pasadena Playhouse reopened for use as a community theatre, the acting school remained closed. Over the next twenty years, the theatre staged classic drama, new musicals and plays, and integrated itself as an educational facility, slowly regaining a prominent place in the national theater scene to become a major operation of over 8 million dollars a year by 2008.
Current financial situation
Regardless of continued recent critical acclaim of the Playhouse, and despite its steadily popular and ambitious season schedules, the theater had a history of financial difficulties since its reopening in the 1980s. Saddled with millions of dollars worth of debt from earlier unforeseen expenditures during the theater's restoration, the Playhouse's operators struggled with balancing interest and loan repayments with increasing running costs.On January 29, 2010, the Los Angeles Times announced that, due to financial difficulties, the theater would close on February 7 after its run of the musical Camelot and cancel the remaining 2010 season. On May 11, 2010, the Pasadena Playhouse filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and announced an intention to restructure its operations to reduce its debt burden.
After less than four months, on July 7, 2010, it emerged from bankruptcy after a multi-million dollar anonymous matching fund contribution toward operating costs and judicially approved debt cancellation. The Pasadena Playhouse also reduced paid staff to essential upper level administration, keeping the Artistic Director Sheldon Epps
Sheldon Epps
Sheldon Epps is an American television and theatre director.-Career:Sheldon Epps was born in Los Angeles, California. He moved to Teaneck, New Jersey when he was 11 years old, where he attended the local public schools, and was first drawn to the stage while at Teaneck High School...
as coordinator for the rest of the planned consolidation. Director Epps announced through an interview with the LA Times that the shake-up is intended to put the theater back on solid financial footing and ensure the Playhouse's survival into the future. The Playhouse released a tentative Fall/Winter season schedule including one new production of Dangerous Beauty slated for January 2011. Plans for a new extension and 400 seat venue designed pro bono
Pro bono
Pro bono publico is a Latin phrase generally used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service. It is common in the legal profession and is increasingly seen in marketing, technology, and strategy consulting firms...
by Frank Gehry
Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, is a Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles, California.His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions...
that was announced in 2007 were not confirmed to be moving forward despite its possibility as a revenue stream and the strong donation campaign already in place for its construction.
Under the guidance of Epps, the Pasadena Playhouse intends to continue events slowly with a reduced operating schedule and has already announced a new fundraising campaign. The Playhouse operates under a nonprofit, LORT-B designated regional theatre status. While traditionally it produced six plays annually on its mainstage, under the new guidelines the season will go through a possible reduction to under 4 productions into the foreseeable future. A majority of the subscribers donated the rest of their season back to the theater rather than requesting refunds, recusing the theater of over a million dollars in possible financial liability. Epps has said that as the debt burden is lifted these steps will allow the theater to carefully and responsibly rebuild the company.
On April 1st 2011 the Playhouse will be holding a "Premiere Gala: Opening Night" to celebrate it's newfound financial solvency and announce next year's productions. The theater has raised over $100,000 dollars from corporate sponsors to host the event that will proceed after the final showing of the new musical Dangerous Beauty.
Notable alumni
- John AlvinJohn Alvin (actor)----John Alvin was an American film, stage and television actor. He appeared in over 25 films for Warner Brothers and numerous television and theater roles throughout his career, which spanned from the 1940s to the 1990s....
- Morris AnkrumMorris AnkrumMorris Ankrum was an American radio, television and film character actor.-Early life:Born Morris Nussbaum in Danville, Illinois, Ankrum originally began a career in academics. After graduating from USC with a law degree, he went on to an associate professorship in economics at the University of...
- Dana AndrewsDana AndrewsDana Andrews was an American film actor. He was one of Hollywood's major stars of the 1940s, and continued acting, though generally in less prestigious roles, into the 1980s.-Early life:...
- Eve ArdenEve ArdenEve Arden was an American actress. Her almost 60-year career crossed most media frontiers with supporting and leading roles, but she may be best-remembered for playing the sardonic but engaging title character, a high school teacher, on Our Miss Brooks, and as the Rydell High School principal in...
- Angela BassettAngela BassettAngela Evelyn Bassett is an American actress. She has become well known for her biographical film roles portraying real life women in African American culture, including singer Tina Turner in the motion picture What's Love Got to Do with It, as well as Betty Shabazz in the films Malcolm X and...
- Charles BronsonCharles BronsonCharles Bronson , born Charles Dennis Buchinsky was an American actor, best-known for such films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the popular Death Wish series...
- Raymond BurrRaymond BurrRaymond William Stacey Burr was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain...
- Ruth BuzziRuth BuzziRuth Ann Buzzi is an American comedienne and actress of theatre, film, and television. She is especially known for her performances on the comedy-variety show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1968 to 1973.-Early life:...
- Youssef ChahineYoussef ChahineYoussef Chahine was an Egyptian film director active in the Egyptian film industry since 1950. He was credited with launching the career of actor Omar Sharif...
- Maxine Cooper GombergMaxine Cooper GombergMaxine Cooper Gomberg was an American actress, activist, and photographer. She was perhaps best known for her role as a secretary in the 1955 film, Kiss Me Deadly, which the Los Angeles Times has called a "film noir classic." -Early life and career:Maxine Cooper was born in Chicago, Illinois in...
- Frances DeeFrances DeeFrances Marion Dee was an American actress. She starred opposite Maurice Chevalier in the early talkie musical, The Playboy of Paris...
- Don DeForeDon DeForeDonald John DeFore was an American actor who played "the regular guy" and "the good, ol' boy next door" in many films in the 1940s and 1950s.-Life and career:...
- Bill ErwinBill ErwinWilliam Lindsey "Bill" Erwin was an American film, stage and television actor with over 250 television and film credits...
- Jamie FarrJamie FarrJamie Farr is an American television, film, and theater actor. He is best known for having played the role of cross-dressing Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger in the television sitcom M*A*S*H.-Early life:...
- Dabbs GreerDabbs GreerRobert William "Dabbs" Greer was an American actor who performed many diverse supporting roles in film and television for some fifty years. His distinctive, southern-accented voice fitted well in shows featuring rustic characters, such as westerns...
- Gene HackmanGene HackmanEugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
- William HenryWilliam Henry (actor)William Albert Henry was an American actor working in Hollywood movies. He started as a child actor, then was a hero in B-movies , and ended his career as a character actor. He also appeared in various roles on episodes of many TV series. He was a member of the John Ford Stock Company and...
- Samuel S. HindsSamuel S. HindsSamuel Southey Hinds was an American actor who is perhaps best remembered for playing Peter Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life and for his part in You Can't Take It With You , both films by Frank Capra...
- Dustin HoffmanDustin HoffmanDustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
- Earl HollimanEarl Holliman-Early life:Earl Holliman was born at Delhi in Richland Parish of northeastern Louisiana. Holliman’s biological father died before he was born, and his biological mother, living in poverty with several other children, gave him up for adoption at birth...
- Carolyn JonesCarolyn JonesCarolyn Sue Jones was an American actress.Jones began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Bachelor Party and a Golden Globe Award as one of the most promising actresses...
- Victor JoryVictor JoryVictor Jory was a Canadian actor.-Biography:Born in Dawson City, Yukon, Jory was the boxing and wrestling champion of the Coast Guard during his military service, and he kept his burly physique. He toured with theater troupes and appeared on Broadway, before making his Hollywood debut in 1930...
- Celia KayeCelia KayeCelia Kaye is an American former actress who appeared in a recurring role as Marnie Massey, daughter of the character Christine Massey played by Loretta Young, on the comedy-drama series, The New Loretta Young Show. The program aired for twenty-six weeks on CBS from 1962 to 1963...
- Mako
- Kerwin MathewsKerwin MathewsKerwin Mathews was an American actor best known for playing the titular heroes in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad , The Three Worlds of Gulliver and Jack the Giant Killer .-Life and career:...
- Victor MatureVictor MatureVictor John Mature was an American stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Mature was born in Louisville, Kentucky to an Italian-speaking father from the town Pinzolo, in the Italian part of the former County of Tyrol , Marcello Gelindo Maturi, later Marcellus George Mature, a cutler,...
- Tyler MacDuffTyler MacDuffTyler MacDuff, born Tyler Glenn Duff, Jr. , was an American actor, primarily on television westerns and dramas who was cast as Billy the Kid in The Boy from Oklahoma.-Biography:...
- Rue McClanahanRue McClanahanRue McClanahan was an American actress, best known for her roles on television as Vivian Harmon on Maude, Fran Crowley on Mama's Family, and Blanche Devereaux on The Golden Girls, for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in 1987.-Early life:McClanahan was born Eddie Rue...
- Joyce MeadowsJoyce MeadowsJoyce Meadows is a Canadian-American actress. From 1960-1961, she co-starred as Stacy in the syndicated western series Two Faces West with Charles Bateman and Francis De Sales...
- Douglass MontgomeryDouglass MontgomeryRobert Douglass Montgomery was an American film actor.-Career:Son of a jeweler, he used the stage name of Douglass Montgomery when he first acted on stage in New York. He appeared as a ruggedly handsome fair-haired man, often slightly naive. He started his career in Hollywood, often playing the...
- Wayne Morris
- Lloyd NolanLloyd NolanLloyd Benedict Nolan was an American film and television actor.-Biography:Nolan was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Margaret and James Nolan, who was a shoe manufacturer...
- Moroni OlsenMoroni OlsenMoroni Olsen was an American actor.-Biography:Olsen was born in Ogden, Utah to Mormon parents Edward Arenholt Olsen and Marsha Hoverholst who named him after the Moroni found in the Book of Mormon. Some sources have claimed that Olsen's birth name was John Willard Clawson, or even John Willard...
- Eleanor ParkerEleanor ParkerEleanor Jean Parker is an American screen actress. Her versatility led to her being dubbed Woman of a Thousand Faces, the title of her biography by Doug McClelland.- Early life :...
- Tyrone PowerTyrone PowerTyrone Edmund Power, Jr. , usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as Ty Power, was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan,...
- Robert PrestonRobert Preston (actor)-Early life:Preston was born Robert Preston Meservey in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Ruth L. and Frank Wesley Meservey, a garment worker and billing clerk for American Express. After attending Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, California, he studied acting at the Pasadena Community...
- George ReevesGeorge ReevesGeorge Reeves was an American actor best known for his role as Superman in the 1950s television program Adventures of Superman....
- Barbara RushBarbara RushBarbara Rush is an American stage, film, and television actress.-Career:A student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Barbara Rush performed on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse before signing with Paramount Pictures...
- Onslow StevensOnslow StevensOnslow Stevens was an American stage, television and film actor.-Career:Born Onslow Ford Stevenson in Los Angeles, California, he was the son of character actor Housley Stevenson...
- Sally StruthersSally StruthersSally Ann Struthers is an American actress and spokeswoman, best-known for her roles as Gloria Stivic on All in the Family, for which she won two Emmy awards, and as Babette on Gilmore Girls.-Personal life:...
- Randolph ScottRandolph ScottRandolph Scott was an American film actor whose career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of genres, including social dramas, crime dramas, comedies, musicals , adventure tales, war films, and even a few...
- Ralph SenenskyRalph SenenskyRalph Senensky is an American television director and writer. He studied at the Pasadena Playhouse and worked as a stage director before directing for television....
- Paul SorensenPaul SorensenPaul Sorensen was an American film, theater and television actor who appeared in literally hundreds roles during his career, including The Brady Bunch and Dallas. He was frequently cast in Westerns or as a police officer....
- Harry Dean StantonHarry Dean StantonHarry Dean Stanton is an American actor, musician, and singer. Stanton's career has spanned over fifty years, which has seen him star in such films as Paris, Texas, Kelly's Heroes, Dillinger, Alien, Repo Man, The Last Temptation of Christ, Wild at Heart, The Green Mile and The Pledge...
- Gloria StuartGloria StuartGloria Frances Stuart was an American actress, activist, painter, bonsai artist and fine printer. Over a Hollywood career which spanned, with a long break in the middle, from 1932 until 2004, she appeared on stage, television, and film, for which she was best-known...
- Robert TaylorRobert Taylor (actor)Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
- George TobiasGeorge TobiasGeorge Tobias was an American character actor.-Early life and career:Born to a Jewish family in New York, he began his acting career at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California. He then spent several years in theater groups before moving on to Broadway and, eventually, Hollywood...
- Toni TrucksToni TrucksAntoinette Lindsay "Toni" Trucks is an American stage, film and television actress. She was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and grew up in Manistee, Michigan. She graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy and the Musical Theatre Department of the University of Michigan...
- Daniel TruhitteDaniel TruhitteDaniel Truhitte is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Rolf Gruber, the young German officer who performed "Sixteen Going on Seventeen", in the film The Sound of Music...
- Meg WyllieMeg WyllieMargaret Gillespie "Meg" Wyllie was an American actress. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, she was the first ever Star Trek villain, the Talosian Keeper in the first Star Trek: The Original Series pilot episode The Cage. The character was voiced by Malachi Throne...
- Jo Anne WorleyJo Anne WorleyJo Anne Worley is an American actress. Her work covers television, films, theater, game shows, talk shows, commercials, and cartoons. She is best known for her work on the comedy-variety show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.-Biography:...
- Gig YoungGig YoungGig Young was an American film, stage, and television actor. Known mainly for second leads and supporting roles, Young won an Academy Award for his performance as a dance-marathon emcee in the 1969 film, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?.-Early life and career:Born Byron Elsworth Barr in St...
- Robert YoungRobert Young (actor)Robert George Young was an American television, film, and radio actor, best known for his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father of Father Knows Best and as physician Marcus Welby in Marcus Welby, M.D. .-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Young was the son of an Irish immigrant father...