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1-9 of 9
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Jim Henson never thought that he would make a name of himself in puppetry; it was merely a way of getting himself on television. The vehicle that achieved it was Sam and Friends (1955), a late-night puppet show that was on after the 11:00 news in Washington DC. It proved to be very popular and inspired Jim to continue using puppets for his work. He made many commercials, developing the signature humor that Henson Productions is known for. A key reason for the success of his puppets is that Jim realized he didn't need to hide puppeteers behind a structure when they were in front of a camera. All he had to do was instruct the camera operators to focus on the puppets and keep the puppeteers out of the frame. This allowed the puppets to dominate the image and make them more lifelike. This work on puppets and television would lead to separate projects that had different goals. The first one was his work on the The Jimmy Dean Show (1963) with the character Rowlf the Dog, the oldest clearly identified character that Henson Productions still uses. This show provided an income that allowed Jim to work on a pet project. That project was Time Piece (1965), a surrealistic short about time which was nominated for best live-action short Oscar. Henson shot to prominence when he was approached to use his muppets for the revolutionary educational show Sesame Street (1969). The show was a smash hit and his characters have become staples on public television. Unforetunately, this also led to Henson being typecast as only an entertainer for children. He sought to disprove that by being part of the initial crew of Saturday Night Live (1975), but his style and that of the creative staff simply didn't jibe. It was this circumstance that encouraged him to develop a variety show format that had the kind of sophisticated humor that "Sesame Street (1969)" didn't work with. No American broadcaster was interested, but British producer Lew Grade was. This led to The Muppet Show (1976). It initially struggled both in the ratings and in the search for guest stars, but in the second season it became a smash hit and would eventually become the most widely watched series in television history. Hungry for a new challenge, Henson made The Muppet Movie (1979), defying the popular industry opinion that his characters would never work in a movie. The film became a hit and spawned a series of features which included the moody fantasy The Dark Crystal (1982), which was a drastic and bold departure from the amiable tone of his previous work. The most successful TV work in the 1980s was Fraggle Rock (1983), a fantasy series specifically designed to appeal to as many cultural groups as possible. During this time he also established the Creature Shop, a puppet studio that became renowned for being as brilliant with puppetry as ILM was at special effects. When he died all too soon in 1990, he was indisputably one of the geniuses of puppetry. More importantly, he was a man who achieved his phenomenal success while still retaining his social conscience and artistic integrity as his work in promoting environmentalism and his brilliant The Storyteller (1987) series respectively attest to.- Actor
- Music Department
- Producer
Sammy Davis Jr. was often billed as the "greatest living entertainer in the world".
He was born in Harlem, Manhattan, the son of dancer Elvera Davis (née Sanchez) and vaudeville star Sammy Davis Sr.. His father was African-American and his mother was of Cuban and African-American ancestry. Davis Jr. was known as someone who could do it all, sing, dance, play instruments, act, do stand-up and he was known for his self-deprecating humor; he once heard someone complaining about discrimination, and he said, "You got it easy. I'm a short, ugly, one-eyed, black Jew. What do you think it's like for me?" (he had converted to Judaism).
A short stint in the army opened his eyes to the evils of racism. A slight man, he was often beaten up by bigger white soldiers and given the dirtiest and most dangerous assignments by white officers simply because he was black. He helped break down racial barriers in show business in the 1950s and 1960s, especially in Las Vegas, where he often performed; when he started there in the early 1950s, he was not allowed to stay in the hotels he played in, as they refused to take blacks as customers. He also stirred up a large amount of controversy in the 1960s by openly dating, and ultimately marrying, blonde, blue-eyed, Swedish-born actress May Britt.
He starred in the Broadway musical "Golden Boy" in the 1960s. Initially a success, internal tensions, production problems and bad reviews--many of them directed at Davis for playing a role originally written for a white man resulted in its closing fairly quickly. His film and nightclub career were in full swing, however, and he became even more famous as one of the "Rat Pack", a group of free-wheeling entertainers that included Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford.
A chain smoker, Davis died from throat cancer at the age of 64. When he died, he was in debt. To pay for Davis' funeral, most of his memorabilia was sold off.- Luis Aldás was born on 10 March 1910 in Tandil, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was an actor, known for Three and a Half Musketeers (1957), La devoradora (1946) and El enmascarado de plata (1954). He was married to Leonora Amar, Virginia Serret, Lucy Gallardo and Carmen Tuk. He died on 16 May 1990 in Mexico, Distrito Federal, Mexico.
- Rein Aren was born on 25 December 1927 in Tartu, Estonia. He was an actor, known for Doktor Stockmann (1989), Jahid merel (1955) and Pirates of the 20th Century (1980). He died on 16 May 1990 in Tallinn, Estonia.
- Yuki Tsuchiya was born on 1 January 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. He was an actor, known for Kyôdai Ken Baikurossâ (1985). He died on 16 May 1990.
- Dale Engel was born on 21 May 1921 in Ewing, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for Lights Out (1946), Musical Comedy Time (1950) and Jamie (1953). He died on 16 May 1990 in Manhattan, New York, USA.
- Emir Buczacki was born on 1 September 1935 in Suwalki, Podlaskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Pharaoh (1966), Nights and Days (1975) and Noce i dnie (1978). He died on 16 May 1990 in Zabrze, Slaskie, Poland.
- Sound Department
- Production Manager
Jorge Di Lauro was born on 13 December 1919 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was a production manager, known for El ídolo (1952), El gran circo Chamorro (1955) and Si mis campos hablaran (1947). He died on 16 May 1990 in Santiago, Chile.- Composer
- Soundtrack
Robert Gall was born on 27 May 1918 in Saint-Fargeau, Yonne, France. He was a composer, known for Heartbeats (2010), Makinavaja, el último choriso (1992) and Final Portrait (2017). He was married to Cécile Berthier. He died on 16 May 1990 in Paris, France.