George Walton Lucas, Jr. (May 14, 1944 - )
George Lucas is an Academy Award-nominated American film producer, screenwriter, director and chairman of Lucasfilm Ltd. He is best known for being the creator of the epic Sci-Fi franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones.
Posted in The Big Screen, The Little Screen (Television)
Douglas Noël Adams (March 11, 1952 – May 11, 2001)
Douglas Adams was an English author, comic radio dramatist, and musician. He is best known as author of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. Hitchhiker’s began on radio, and developed into a “trilogy” of five books (which sold more than fifteen million copies during his lifetime) as well as a television series, a towel, a live theater show, a drink, a comic book series, a computer game and a feature film that was completed after Adams’ death. He was known to some fans as Bop Ad (after his illegible signature), or by his initials “DNA”.
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish is the fourth book of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy “trilogy”. Its title is the message left by the dolphins when they departed Planet Earth just before it was demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass, as described in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The phrase has since been adopted by some science fiction fans as a humorous way to say “goodbye.”
Dominick "Dom" DeLuise (August 1, 1933 – May 4, 2009)
Dominick “Dom” DeLuise (August 1, 1933 – May 4, 2009) was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author.
Posted in Humor, The Big Screen, The Little Screen (Television)
Beatrice "Bea" Arthur (May 13, 1922 – April 25, 2009)
Beatrice “Bea” Arthur (May 13, 1922 – April 25, 2009) was an American comedienne, actress, and singer. In a career spanning seven decades, Arthur achieved success as the title character, Maude Findlay, on the 1970s sitcom Maude, and as Dorothy Zbornak on the 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls; she won Emmys for both roles.
Posted in Humor, The Little Screen (Television)
Shirley Jane Temple (born April 23, 1928), later known as Shirley Temple Black, is an American diplomat and former film child actress. She starred in over 40 films during the 1930s.
Posted in Humor, The Big Screen, The Little Screen (Television)
Alfred Hawthorn Hill, better known as Benny Hill, was a prolific English comic, actor & singer, best known for his television program, The Benny Hill Show. Since its debut in 1955 his television show has been sold to over 140 countries worldwide, with viewership in the billions.
Alfred Hawthorn Hill (January 21, 1924 – April 20, 1992)
Posted in Because I Can, Humor, The Little Screen (Television)
Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an acclaimed American folk music singer, author and actor.
Possibly his most remembered role today is as narrator Sam the Snowman in the Rankin-Bass animated television special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964).
Ives’s “A Holly Jolly Christmas” is a very popular tune during the Christmas season, as it’s frequently played on the radio and was featured in the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer special.
Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (14 June 1909 – 14 April 1995)
Posted in Because I Can, Music, The Little Screen (Television)
Jerry Lewis (March 16, 1926 - )
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, producer, writer, director and singer. He is best-known for his slapstick humor on stage, screen and television, his singing ability in a string of music album recordings and his charity fund-raising telethons for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).
Posted in Humor, The Big Screen, The Little Screen (Television)
Douglas Noël Adams (March 11, 1952 – May 11, 2001)
Douglas Adams was an English author, comic radio dramatist, and musician. He is best known as author of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. Hitchhiker’s began on radio, and developed into a “trilogy” of five books (which sold more than fifteen million copies during his lifetime) as well as a television series, a towel, a live theater show, a drink, a comic book series, a computer game and a feature film that was completed after Adams’ death. He was known to some fans as Bop Ad (after his illegible signature), or by his initials “DNA”.
Charles Martin “Chuck” Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Brothers cartoon studio.
In 1966, he produced and directed the TV special How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
He directed the Rudyard Kipling book adaptation of “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi“, which was released on January 9, 1975.
Posted in Because I Can, The Little Screen (Television)
Alan Alexander Milne, also known as A. A. Milne, was a British author, best known for his books about the teddy bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, and for various children’s poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work.
Alan Alexander Milne (January 18, 1882 – January 31, 1956)
Posted in Because I Can, Literary, The Little Screen (Television)
Alfred Hawthorn Hill, better known as Benny Hill, was a prolific English comic, actor & singer, best known for his television program, The Benny Hill Show. Since its debut in 1955 his television show has been sold to over 140 countries worldwide, with viewership in the billions.
Alfred Hawthorn Hill (January 21, 1924 – April 20, 1992)
Posted in Because I Can, Humor, The Little Screen (Television)
“I will not carry a gun, Frank. When I got thrown into this war I had a clear understanding with the Pentagon: no guns. I’ll carry your books, I’ll carry a torch, I’ll carry a tune, I’ll carry on, carry over, carry forward, Cary Grant, cash and carry, carry me back to Old Virginia, I’ll even ‘hari-kari’ if you show me how, but I will not carry a gun.”
-Hawkeye Pierce
Posted in Because I Can, The Little Screen (Television)
Curly Howard (October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952)
Jerome Lester “Jerry” Horwitz, better known by his stage name Curly Howard, was an American comedian, part of the “3 Stooges.”
Posted in Because I Can, Humor, The Little Screen (Television)
Alan Alexander Milne, also known as A. A. Milne, was a British author, best known for his books about the teddy bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, and for various children’s poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work.
Alan Alexander Milne (January 18, 1882 – January 31, 1956)
Posted in Because I Can, Literary, The Little Screen (Television)
Robert Osbourne "Bob" Denver (January 9, 1935 – September 2, 2005)
Robert Denver was an American comedic actor best known for his role as Willy “Gilligan” Gilligan on the television series Gilligan’s Island.
In later life it was rumored that he hated being known as “Gilligan,” but he’ll always be Gilligan to most of us.
In tribute to a wonderful set of memories, my picture is subtle, “Gilligan”-esce, but with style.
Posted in Because I Can, The Little Screen (Television)
Walter Elias Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, visionary, and philanthropist. He was the son of Flora and Elias Disney, and had three brothers and one sister. As the co-founder (with his brother Roy O. Disney) of Walt Disney Productions, Walt became one of the best-known motion picture producers in the world.
Walt Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966)
Walter Elias Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, visionary, and philanthropist. He was the son of Flora and Elias Disney, and had three brothers and one sister. As the co-founder (with his brother Roy O. Disney) of Walt Disney Productions, Walt became one of the best-known motion picture producers in the world.
Walt Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966)
Dear George:—
Remember no man is a failure who has friends.
Thanks for the wings!
Love
Clarence.
Posted in Because I Can, The Little Screen (Television)
“I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley”
Leslie Nielsen (February 11, 1926 – November 28, 2010)
Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in over one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying over 220 characters.
Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, Nielsen enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and worked as a disc jockey before receiving a scholarship to Neighborhood Playhouse. Beginning with a television role in 1948, he quickly expanded to over 50 television appearances two years later. Nielsen appeared in his first films in 1956 and began collecting roles in dramas, westerns, and romance films. Nielsen’s lead roles in the films Forbidden Planet (1956) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972) received positive reviews as a serious actor, though he is primarily known for his comedic roles.
