Sunday, December 23, 2012

Barney


Friday, December 21, 2012

Danny Pudi



Danny Pudi

(born March 10, 1979) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his role as Abed Nadir on the NBC comedy series Community.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Gwyneth Paltrow





Gwyneth Kate Paltrow Martin 

Born September 27, 1972, is an American actress and singer. She made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. After appearing in several films throughout the decade, Paltrow gained early notice for her work in films such as Seven (1995) and Emma (1996) (in which she played the title role). Following the films Sliding Doors (1998) and A
 Perfect Murder (1998), Paltrow garnered worldwide recognition through her performance in Shakespeare in Love (1998), for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, for Outstanding Lead Actress and as a member of the Outstanding Cast. She also won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011 for her role as Holly Holliday on the Fox hit TV show Glee in the episode "The Substitute".

Paltrow has portrayed supporting as well as lead roles in films such as The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Shallow Hal (2001), and Proof (2005), for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress in Motion Picture Drama. Since 2008 she has portrayed Pepper Potts, the love interest of Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010) and The Avengers (2012). Paltrow has been the face of Estée Lauder's Pleasures perfume since 2005.

She is married to Chris Martin, the lead vocalist of Coldplay. They have two children together, Apple and Moses. She is also the face of American fashion brand Coach, owner of the lifestyle company Goop.com and author of the cookbook My Father's Daughter: Delicious, Easy Recipes Celebrating Family & Togetherness.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Raymond Walburn


Raymond Walburn

(September 9, 1887 – July 26, 1969) was an American character actor who appeared in dozens of Hollywood comedies and an occasional dramatic role during the 1930s and 1940s.

Born in Plymouth, Indiana, Walburn moved to Oakla
nd, California, and took up acting, the same profession as his mother. His filmography includes nearly 100 films, with his best known roles as a stereotypical bumbler and as a pompous snob. He could also be villainous, as he was when he played Danglars in the 1934 film version of The Count of Monte Cristo.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Capt. B.J. Hunnicut on M*A*S*H

Capt. B.J. Hunnicut on M*A*S*H as portrayed by Mike Farrell.

Michael Joseph "Mike" Farrell (born February 6, 1939) is an American actor, best known for his role as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the television series M*A*S*H (1975–83). He is an activist for political causes.
Farrell was a producer of Patch Adams (1998) starring Robin Williams, and has starred on the television series Providence (1999–2002). He appeared as Milton Lang, the father of Victor Lang (John Slattery), husband of Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria) on Desperate Housewives (2007–2008). He was seen in the tenth season episode "Persona" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Alan Alda


Hawkeye Pierce in the TV show M*A*S*H played by actor Alan Alda.

Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo (born January 28, 1936), better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. 

A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his roles as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H and Arnold Vinnick in The West Wing.

He is currently a Visiting Professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook School of Journalism and a member of the advisory board of The Center for Communicating Science.

In 1996, Alda was ranked #41 on TV Guide's "50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time".

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Monday, October 15, 2012

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Monday, September 17, 2012

Rhinoceros

Rhinoceros

often abbreviated as rhino, is a group of five extant species of knee-less, odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia.
Members of the rhinoceros family are characterized by their large size (they are some of the largest remaining megafauna, with all of the species able to reach one tonne or more in weight); as well as by a herbivorous diet; a thick protective skin, 1.5–5 cm thick, formed from layers of collagen positioned in a lattice structure; relatively small brains for mammals this size (400–600 g); and a large horn. They generally eat leafy material, although their ability to ferment food in their hindgut allows them to subsist on more fibrous plant matter, if necessary. Unlike other perissodactyls, the two African species of rhinoceros lack teeth at the front of their mouths, relying instead on their powerful premolar and molar teeth to grind up plant food.[1]
Rhinoceros are killed by humans for their horns, which are bought and sold on the black market, and which are used by some cultures for ornamental or (pseudo-scientific) medicinal purposes. The horns are made of keratin, the same type of protein that makes up hair and fingernails.[2] Both African species and the Sumatran rhinoceros have two horns, while the Indian and Javan rhinoceros have a single horn.
The IUCN Red List identifies three of the species as critically endangered.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

WC Fields

WC Fields 

William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880[1] – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler and writer.[2] Fields was known for his comic persona as a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathetic character despite his snarling contempt for dogs, children and women.
The characterization he portrayed in films and on radio was so strong it became generally identified with Fields himself. It was maintained by the movie-studio publicity departments at Fields's studios (Paramount and Universal) and further established by Robert Lewis Taylor's 1949 biography W.C. Fields, His Follies and Fortunes. Beginning in 1973, with the publication of Fields's letters, photos, and personal notes in grandson Ronald Fields's book W.C. Fields by Himself, it has been shown that Fields was married (and subsequently estranged from his wife), and he financially supported their son and loved his grandchildren.
However, Madge Evans, a friend and actress, told a visitor in 1972 that Fields so deeply resented intrusions on his privacy by curious tourists walking up the driveway to his Los Angeles home that he would hide in the shrubs by his house and fire BB pellets at the trespassers' legs. Several years later Groucho Marx told a similar story on his live performance album, An Evening with Groucho.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Carl Sandburg

Carl Sandburg 

(January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American writer and editor, best known for his poetry. He was the recipient of three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and another for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. H. L. Mencken called Sandburg "indubitably an American in every pulse-beat".

Geni.com: Carl Sandburg is my 17th cousin thrice removed.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Sir Patrick Stewart



Sir Patrick Stewart
OBE (born 13 July 1940) is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career on stage and screen. He is most widely known for his television and film roles, such as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and its successor films, or Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men film series.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Gary Oldman





Gary Leonard Oldman

(born 21 March 1958) is an English screen and stage actor, filmmaker and musician, noted for his chameleonic performances in diverse roles.[2] Oldman made his film acting debut in 1982 and rose to prominence with his portrayals of Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy(1986) and Joe Orton in Prick Up Your Ears (1987), receiving a Best Actor BAFTA Award nomination for that of Orton. Oldman's work in those films prompted pre-eminent US film critic Roger Ebert to hail him as "the best young British actor around."[3] Oldman increased his profile by playing a football firm leader in The Firm (1989) and an Irish-American gangster in State of Grace (1990), and gained international fame with two blockbuster roles: Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK (1991) and Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), with the latter bringing him the Saturn Award for Best Actor.
Oldman subsequently became a popular casting choice for villains,[2] starring as the antagonist of films such as True Romance (1993), Léon: The Professional (1994), The Fifth Element (1997), Air Force One (1997), and The Contender (2000), for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor; Norman Stansfield from Léon: The Professional has been named as one of cinema's greatest villains.[4] Meanwhile, he played Ludwig van Beethoven in Immortal Beloved (1994). During the 1990s, Oldman was spoofed on popular television shows, appeared in music videos and on magazine covers, and was dubbed by Empire as Hollywood's "psycho deluxe".[5] He later earned greater renown as heroic characters like Sirius Black in Harry Potter films Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Goblet of Fire (2005), Order of the Phoenix(2007) and Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011); James Gordon in the Dark Knight trilogy (2005-2012); and George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), which brought him BAFTA- and Academy Award nominations in the Best Actor category.
Aside from film acting, Oldman is a Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal Court Theatre alumnus who has appeared in many stage productions. He wrote and directed Nil by Mouth (1997), for which he won two BAFTA Awards (Best Original Screenplay and Best British Film) and was nominated for the Palme d'Or, and played an Emmy Award-nominated guest role in Friends in 2001. He has also performed on musical recordings alongside artists such as David Bowie and Glen Matlock. Oldman has garnered widespread critical, peer and audience respect throughout his career, and has been described as one of the greatest living actors.[5]

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Jason Statham

Jason Statham 

born 12 September 1967

An English actor and former diver, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Revolver, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Statham appeared in supporting roles in several American
 films, such as The Italian Job, as well as playing the lead role in The Transporter, Death Race, Crank, The Bank Job and War (opposite martial arts star Jet Li). Statham also appeared alongside established action film actors Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jet Li and Dolph Lundgren in The Expendables and The Expendables 2. He usually performs his own fight scenes and stunts.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Michael Clarke Duncan


Michael Clarke Duncan.... RIP (December 10, 1957 – September 3, 2012)

was an American actor, best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in The Green Mile, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. He is also recognized for his appearances in motion pictures such as Armageddon, The Whole Nine Yards, and Daredevil, as well as voice acting roles in works such as Brother Bear and Delgo.

"IKE"

"IKE"

"We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex."

President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Granny

Irene Ryan

(October 17, 1902 - April 26, 1973) was an American actress, one of the few entertainers who found success in vaudeville, radio, film, television and Broadway.

She is most widely known for her portrayal of "Granny" on the long-running TV series The Beverly Hillbillies (1962–1971), for which she was nominated for Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1963 and 1964.

Friday, August 31, 2012

Walter Brennan


Walter Brennan

(July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor.[1] Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most Oscar wins by a male actor, tied with Jack Nicholson.

Walter Andrew Brennan was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, less than two miles from his family's home in Swampscott, the second of three children 
born to Irish immigrants William John Brennan and Margaret Elizabeth Flanagan.

The elder Brennan was an engineer and inventor, and young Walter studied engineering at Rindge Technical High School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
While in school, Brennan became interested in acting, and began to perform in vaudeville at the age of fifteen. While working as a bank clerk, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served as a private with the 101st Field Artillery Regiment in France during World War I.

Following the war, he moved to Guatemala and raised pineapples, before settling in Los Angeles. During the 1920s, he became involved in the real estate market, where he made a fortune. Unfortunately, he lost most of his money when the market took a sudden downturn due to the Great Depression.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Robert Frost

Robert Lee Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963) was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech.[1] His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes. One of the most popular and critically respected American poets of his generation, Frost was honored frequently during his lifetime, receiving fourPulitzer Prizes for Poetry.

Daniel Craig as James Bond


Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English actor best known for playing British secret agent James Bond in a 2006 reboot of the film series and its sequels.

Craig is an alumnus of the National Youth Theatre and graduated from
 the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and began his career on stage. His early on screen appearances were in the films Elizabeth, The Power of One and A Kid in King Arthur's Court, and on Sharpe's Eagle and Zorro in television. His appearances in the British films Love Is the Devil, The Trench and Some Voices attracted the industry's attention, leading to roles in bigger productions such as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Road to Perdition, Layer Cake and Munich.

Craig achieved international fame when chosen as the sixth actor to play the role of Bond, replacing Pierce Brosnan. Though initially greeted with skepticism, his debut in Casino Royale was highly acclaimed and earnt him a BAFTA award nomination, with the film becoming the highest grossing in the series to date. Quantum of Solace followed two years later, with the third film Skyfall set for release in 2012, having been delayed due to MGM's financial troubles.[3]

Craig is married to actress Rachel Weisz, his second wife. He has a daughter Ella by his first wife, Fiona Loudon. In 2006 he joined the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Since taking the role of Bond, Craig has continued to appear in other films, most recently starring in the English language adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Craig made a guest appearance as Bond in the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, acting alongside Queen Elizabeth II.

Monday, July 30, 2012

John Lithgow

John Arthur Lithgow

(October 19, 1945) is an American actor, musician, and author. Currently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio. He also has written and published several books of poetry and children's literature.

He appeared in the films The World According to Garp (1982) and Terms of Endearment (1983), receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for each.

Lithgow is known for his roles as the Reverend Shaw Moore in Footloose, Dick Solomon on the NBC sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, the voice of Lord Farquaad in Shrek, and Arthur Mitchell on
Showtime's Dexter, for which he won Golden Globe and Emmy awards.

On the stage, he appeared in the musical adaptation of Sweet Smell of Success, winning the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. He again appeared in a musical, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, again receiving a Tony nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Musical.
He has also recorded music, such as the 1999 album of children's music, Singin' in the Bathtub, and has written poetry and short stories for children, such as Marsupial Sue.

Friday, July 27, 2012

Sheltie Sheep Dog

The Shetland Sheepdog

often known as the Sheltie, is a breed of herding dog. They are small to medium dogs, and come in a variety of colors, such as sable/white, tri-color, and blue merle. They are vocal, excitable, energetic dogs who are always willing to please and work hard. They are partly derived from dogs used in the Shetland Isles for herding and protecting sheep.The breed was formally recognized by the Kennel Club in 1909. 

The Shetland Sheepdog's early history is not well known. They were originally a small mixed-breed dog, often 10–13 inches (250–330 mm) in height and it is thought that the original Shetland herding dogs were of Spitz type, and were crossed with collie-type sheepdogs from mainland Britain.

In the early 20th century, James Loggie added a small Rough Collie to the breeding stock, and helped establish what would become the modern Shetland sheepdog. The original name of the breed was "Shetland Collie", but this caused controversy among Rough Collie breeders at the time, so the breed's name was formally changed to Shetland Sheepdog.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Ron Howard

Ronald William "Ron" Howard

(born March 1, 1954) is an American film director, producer and former child actor. He came to prominence playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years.

He appeared in the films The Music Man in 1962, American Graffiti in 1973 and The Shootist in 1976, the latter during his run on Happy Days. Howard made his directorial debut with the 1977 comedy Grand Theft Auto, and left Happy Days in 1980 to focus on directing. His films include the Academy Award-winning Cocoon, Apollo 13, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and A Beautiful Mind. In 2003, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.

Asteroid 12561 Howard is named after him.

Ron Howard is my 17th cousin once removed.

Friday, July 13, 2012


Leonard Norman Cohen
CC GOQ (born 21 September 1934) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet, and novelist. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality, and interpersonal relationships.[1] Cohen has been inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and both the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour.
While giving the speech at Cohen's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 10 March 2008, Lou Reed described Cohen as belonging to the "highest and most influential echelon of songwriters."

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Dennis Hopper





Dennis Lee Hopper

(May 17, 1936 - May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and Giant (1956). During the next 10 years, Hopper appeared frequently on television in guest roles, and by the end of the 1960s had played supporting roles in several films.
He directed and starred in Easy Rider (1969), winning an award at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as co-writer. Journalist Ann Hornaday wrote: "With its portrait of counterculture heroes raising their middle fingers to the uptight middle-class hypocrisies, Easy Rider became the cinematic symbol of the 1960s, a celluloid anthem to freedom, macho bravado and anti-establishment rebellion."[1] Film critic Matthew Hays notes that "no other persona better signifies the lost idealism of the 1960s than that of Dennis Hopper."[2]
He was unable to build on his success for several years, until a featured role in Apocalypse Now (1979) brought him attention. He subsequently appeared in Rumble Fish (1983) and The Osterman Weekend (1983), and received critical recognition for his work in Blue Velvet and Hoosiers, with the latter film garnering him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He directed Colors (1988) and played the villain in Speed (1994). He played another villain, King Koopa, in Super Mario Bros. (1993). Hopper also played heroes, such as John Canyon in Space Truckers. Hopper's later work included a leading role in the television series Crash. Hopper's last performance was filmed just before his death: The Last Film Festival, slated for a 2011 release. Hopper was also a prolific and acclaimed photographer, a profession he began in the 1960s.[3]

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

John Wayne

John Wayne

Marion Mitchell Morrison (born Marion Robert Morrison; May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer.[1] An Academy Award-winner, Wayne was among the top box office draws for three decades,[2][3] and was named the all-time top money-making star.[4] An enduring American icon, he epitomized rugged masculinity and is famous for his demeanor, including his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height.
Wayne was born in Winterset, Iowa but his family relocated to the greater Los Angeles area when he was four years old. He found work at local film studios when he lost his football scholarship to USC as a result of a bodysurfing accident.[5] Initially working for the Fox Film Corporation, he mostly appeared in small bit parts. His acting breakthrough came in 1939 with John Ford's Stagecoach, making him an instant star. Wayne would go on to star in 142 pictures, primarily typecast in Western films.
Among his best known films are The Quiet Man (1952), which follows him as an Irish-American boxer and his love affair with a fiery spinster played by Maureen O'Hara; The Searchers (1956), in which he plays a Civil War veteran who seeks out his abducted niece; Rio Bravo (1959), playing a Sheriff with Dean Martin; True Grit (1969), playing a humorous U.S. Marshal who sets out to avenge a man's death in the role that won Wayne an Academy Award; and The Shootist (1976), his final screen performance in which he plays an aging gunslinger battling cancer.
Wayne moved to Orange County, California in the 1960s, and was a prominent Republican in Hollywood, supporting anti-communist positions.[6] He died of stomach cancer in 1979. In June 1999, the American Film Institute named Wayne 13th among the Greatest Male Screen Legends of All Time.

John Wayne is my 13th cousin 2x removed.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Beach Boy's Founder Brian Wilson

 
Beach Boy's founder Brian Wilson:

Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. On stage, Wilson provided many of the lead vocals, and often harmonized with the group in falsetto. Early during his on-stage career, Wilson primarily played bass on stage, but gradually transitioned to primarily playing piano/keyboards. Besides being the primary composer in The Beach Boys, he also functioned as the band's main producer and arranger. After signing with Capitol Records in mid-1962, Wilson wrote or co-wrote more than two dozen Top 40 hits including "Surfin' Safari", "Surfin' USA", "Shut Down", "Little Deuce Coupe", "Be True to Your School", "In My Room", "Fun, Fun, Fun", "I Get Around", "Dance Dance Dance", "Help Me Rhonda", "California Girls" and "Good Vibrations".[2]

In the mid-1960s, Wilson used his increasingly creative ambitions to compose and produce Pet Sounds, considered one of the greatest albums of all time. The intended follow up to Pet Sounds, SMiLE, was cancelled for various reasons, including Wilson's deteriorating mental health. Wilson's contributions to The Beach Boys diminished and his erratic behavior led to tensions with the band. After years of treatment and recuperation, he began a solo career in 1988 with Brian Wilson, the same year that he and The Beach Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Since then, he has toured for the first time in decades with a new band and released acclaimed albums, including a reworked version of SMiLE in 2004, for which Wilson won a Grammy Award for "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow (Fire)" as Best Rock Instrumental.

In 2008, Rolling Stone magazine published a list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time", and ranked Wilson number 52.[3] He is an occasional actor and voice actor, having appeared in television shows, films, and other artists' music videos. On December 16, 2011, a 50th Anniversary Reunion was announced and Brian returned to The Beach Boys. Brian Wilson remains a member of the Beach Boys corporation, Brother Records Incorporated.

My 16th cousin, once removed.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Writer James Baldwin


James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American novelistessayistplaywrightpoet, and social critic.
Baldwin's essays, such as the collection Notes of a Native Son (1955), explore palpable yet unspoken intricacies of racialsexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th-century America, vis-à-vis their inevitable if unnameable tensions with personal identity, assumptions, uncertainties, yearning, and questing.[1] Some Baldwin essays are book-length, for instance The Fire Next Time (1963), No Name in the Street (1972), and The Devil Finds Work (1976).
His novels and plays fictionalize fundamental personal questions and dilemmas amid complex social and psychological pressures thwarting the equitable integration of not only blacks yet also of male homosexuals—depicting as well some internalized impediments to such individuals' quest for acceptance—namely in his second novel, Giovanni's Room (1956), written well before the equality of homosexuals was widely espoused in America.[2] Baldwin's best-known novel is his first, Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953).

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Dachshund Tribute


The dachshund (UK play /ˈdæksənd/ or US /ˈdɑːkshʊnt/ dahks-huunt or US /ˈdɑːksənt/;[2] German: [ˈdaksˌhʊnt]) is a short-legged, long-bodied dog breed belonging to the hound family. The standard size dachshund was bred to scentchase, and flush out badgers and other burrow-dwelling animals, while the miniature dachshund was developed to hunt smaller prey such as rabbits. In the American West they have also been used to hunt prairie dogs.