Thursday, December 24, 2015

Eleanor Roosevelt

 
 
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt.

(October 11, 1884 – November 7, 1962) was an American politician, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, holding the post from March 1933 to April 1945 during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four terms in office, and served as United States Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly from 1945 to 1952. President Harry S. Truman later called her the "First Lady of the World" in tribute to her human rights achievements.

Roosevelt was a member of the prominent American Roosevelt and Livingston families and a niece of President Theodore Roosevelt. She had an unhappy childhood, suffering the deaths of both parents and one of her brothers at a young age. At 15, she attended Allenwood Academy in London, and was deeply influenced by its feminist headmistress Marie Souvestre. Returning to the U.S., she married her fifth cousin once removed, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in 1905. The Roosevelts' marriage was complicated from the beginning by Franklin's controlling mother, Sara, and after discovering an affair of her husband's with Lucy Mercer in 1918, Roosevelt resolved to seek fulfillment in a public life of her own. She persuaded Franklin to stay in politics after he was stricken with debilitating polio in 1921, costing him the use of his legs, and began giving speeches and appearing at campaign events in his place. Following Franklin's election as Governor of New York in 1928, and throughout the remainder of Franklin's public career in government, she regularly made public appearances on his behalf, and as First Lady while her husband served as President, she significantly reshaped and redefined the role of that office during her own tenure and beyond, for future First Ladies.

Though widely respected in her later years, Roosevelt was a controversial First Lady for her outspokenness, particularly her stance on racial issues. She was the first presidential spouse to hold press conferences, write a syndicated newspaper column, and speak at a national convention. On a few occasions, she publicly disagreed with her husband's policies. She launched an experimental community at Arthurdale, West Virginia, for the families of unemployed miners, later widely regarded as a failure. She advocated for expanded roles for women in the workplace, the civil rights of African Americans and Asian Americans, and the rights of World War II refugees.

Following her husband's death, Roosevelt remained active in politics for the rest of her life. She pressed the United States to join and support the United Nations and became one of its first delegates. She served as the first chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights, and oversaw the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Later she chaired the John F. Kennedy administration's Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. By the time of her death, Roosevelt was regarded as "one of the most esteemed women in the world"; she was called "the object of almost universal respect" in her New York Times obituary.[5] In 1999, she was ranked ninth in the top ten of Gallup's List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century.

Source: Wikipedia

Monday, December 21, 2015

Jorge Garcia

Jorge Garcia.

(born April 28, 1973) is an American actor and comedian. He first came to public attention with his performance as Hector Lopez on the television show Becker, but probably more known later for his portrayal of Hugo "Hurley" Reyes in the television series Lost from 2004 to 2010. Garcia also performs as a stand-up comedian. He more recently starred in the FOX television series Alcatraz, as well as playing a minor character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. Currently he stars as Jerry Ortega on Hawaii Five-0. Most recently Jorge Garcia can be seen in the Netflix original movie Ridiculous 6.

Source: Wikipedia

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Roy Clark

Country music artist Roy Clark playing guitar. Clark was a regular on the popular 1960s and 70s variety show Hee Haw. pencil sketch by www.gregjoens.com

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Andy Griffith

Andy Samuel Griffith

(June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, television producer, Southern gospel singer, and writer. He was a Tony Award nominee for two roles, and gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's film A Face in the Crowd (1957) before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead character in the situation comedy, The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968), and in the legal drama, Matlock (1986–1995).

Source: Wikipedia

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas

(born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916) is an American actor, producer, director, and author.
After an impoverished childhood with immigrant parents and six sisters, he had his film debut in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Douglas soon developed into a leading box-office star throughout the 1950s and 1960s, known for serious dramas, including westerns and war movies. During a sixty-year acting career, he has appeared in over 90 movies, and in 1960 was responsible for helping to end the Hollywood blacklist.

In 1949, after a lead role as an unscrupulous boxing hero in Champion,
for which he was nominated as Best Actor, Douglas became a star.
His style of acting relied on expressing great concentration, realism,
and powerful emotions, and he subsequently gravitated toward roles requiring strong characters.

Among his early films were Young Man with a Horn, playing opposite Lauren Bacall (1950),
Billy Wilder's controversial Ace in the Hole (1951), and Detective Story (1951).
He received a second Oscar nomination for his dramatic role in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952),
where he played opposite Lana Turner. And his powerful acting as Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life (1956)
is considered one of his finest roles. He is one of the last living actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

In 1955, he established Bryna Productions, which began producing films as varied
as Paths of Glory (1957) and Spartacus (1960). In those two films, he starred and
collaborated with then relatively unknown director, Stanley Kubrick. He produced
and starred in Lonely Are the Brave (1962), considered a cult classic,
and Seven Days in May (1964), opposite Burt Lancaster, with whom he made seven films.

In 1963, he starred in the Broadway play One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,
a story he purchased, which he later gave to his son Michael Douglas,
who turned it into an Oscar-winning film.

As an actor and philanthropist, Douglas has received three Academy Award nominations,
an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, and the Medal of Freedom. As an author,
he has written ten novels and memoirs. Currently, he is No. 17 on the
American Film Institute's list of the greatest male screen legends of
classic Hollywood cinema, and the highest-ranked living person on the list.

After barely surviving a helicopter crash in 1991 and
then suffering a stroke in 1996, he has focused on renewing his
spiritual and religious life. He lives with producer
Anne Buydens, his wife of over 60 years.

Source: Wikipedia

Friday, November 20, 2015

Elvis

Elvis Aaron Presley

(January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is often referred to as "the King of Rock and Roll", or simply, "the King".

Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi as a twinless twin, and when he was 13 years old, he and his family relocated to Memphis, Tennessee. His music career began there in 1954, when he recorded a song with producer Sam Phillips at Sun Records. Accompanied by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, Presley was an early popularizer of rockabilly, an uptempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country music and rhythm and blues. RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, who managed the singer for more than two decades. Presley's first RCA single, "Heartbreak Hotel", was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the United States. He was regarded as the leading figure of rock and roll after a series of successful network television appearances and chart-topping records. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines that coincided with the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement, made him enormously popular—and controversial.

In November 1956, he made his film debut in Love Me Tender. In 1958, he was drafted into military service. He resumed his recording career two years later, producing some of his most commercially successful work before devoting much of the 1960s to making Hollywood films and their accompanying soundtrack albums, most of which were critically derided. In 1968, following a seven-year break from live performances, he returned to the stage in the acclaimed televised comeback special Elvis, which led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of highly profitable tours. In 1973, Presley was featured in the first globally broadcast concert via satellite, Aloha from Hawaii. Several years of prescription drug abuse severely damaged his health, and he died in 1977 at the age of 42.

Presley is one of the most celebrated and influential musicians of the 20th century. Commercially successful in many genres, including pop, blues and gospel, he is the best-selling solo artist in the history of recorded music, with estimated record sales of around 600 million units worldwide.He won three Grammys, also receiving the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36, and has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame.

Source: Wikipedia

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Clint Eastwood

Clinton "Clint" Eastwood Jr.

(born May 31, 1930) is an American actor, film director, producer, musician, and political figure. He rose to international fame with his role as the Man with No Name in Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy of spaghetti Westerns during the 1960s, and as antihero cop Harry Callahan in the five Dirty Harry films throughout the 1970s and 1980s. These roles, among others, have made him an enduring cultural icon of masculinity.

For his work in the Western film Unforgiven (1992) and the sports drama Million Dollar Baby (2004), Eastwood won Academy Awards for Best Director and Producer of the Best Picture, as well as receiving nominations for Best Actor. His greatest commercial successes have been the adventure comedy Every Which Way But Loose (1978) and its sequel, the action comedy Any Which Way You Can (1980), after adjustment for inflation.[5] Other popular films include the Western Hang 'Em High (1968), the psychological thriller Play Misty for Me (1971), the crime film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974), the Western The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), the prison film Escape from Alcatraz (1979), the action film Firefox (1982), the suspense thriller Tightrope (1984), the Western Pale Rider (1985), the war film Heartbreak Ridge (1986), the action thriller In the Line of Fire (1993), the romantic drama The Bridges of Madison County (1995), and the drama Gran Torino (2008).

In addition to directing many of his own star vehicles, Eastwood has also directed films in which he did not appear, such as the mystery drama Mystic River (2003) and the war film Letters from Iwo Jima (2006), for which he received Academy Award nominations, and the drama Changeling (2008). The war drama biopic American Sniper (2014) set box office records for the biggest January release ever and was also the biggest opening ever for an Eastwood film. He received considerable critical praise in France for several films, including some which were not well received in the United States. He has been awarded two of France's highest honors: in 1994 he became a recipient of the Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and in 2007 he was awarded the Légion d'honneur medal. In 2000, he was awarded the Italian Venice Film Festival Golden Lion for lifetime achievement.

Since 1967, Eastwood has run his own production company, Malpaso, which has produced all except four of his American films. From 1986 to 1988, he served as the nonpartisan mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.

Source: Wikipedia

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Denise Richards

Denise Lee Richards (born February 17, 1971)

is an American actress and a former fashion model. She has appeared in numerous films, including Starship Troopers (1997), Wild Things (1998), Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999), The World Is Not Enough (1999) as a Bond girl, and in Valentine (2001).

She played Monica and Ross Geller's cousin on Friends (2001). From 2008 to 2009, she starred on the E! reality show Denise Richards: It's Complicated. Between 2010 and 2011, she was a series regular on the comedy Blue Mountain State.

Source: Wikipedia

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Cory Michael Smith


Cory Michael Smith

(born November 14, 1986) is an American actor and native of Columbus, Ohio, Smith was raised by his parents, David Smith and Theresa Fagan–Smith, with his one older brother Chad and graduated from Hilliard Darby High School in 2005.

He had had aspirations ranging from becoming a concert pianist to a lawyer. While at Otterbein University Smith was cast in such plays as The Scene, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and Tartuffe.

He currently portrays Edward Nygma in FOX's television drama series Gotham. He appeared in Camp X-Ray in 2014. He appeared in 2013 in Breakfast at Tiffany's on Broadway, which starred Emilia Clarke. 

Information Source: Wikipedia

Friday, November 13, 2015

The Fonz



Henry Winkler as "The Fonz" in the 1970s sitcom "Happy Days".

Although Winkler had already shot the film, The Lords of Flatbush,
he was a relative unknown. In 1973, a year before that film was released, producer Tom Miller was instrumental in Winkler getting cast for the role of Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli, nicknamed "The Fonz" or "Fonzie", in Happy Days, which first aired in January 1974.

For Happy Days, director/producer Garry Marshall originally had in mind a completely opposite physical presence. Marshall sought to cast a hunky, blonde, Italian model-type male in the role of Fonzie, intended as a stupid foil to the real star, Ron Howard. However, when Winkler, a Yale School of Drama graduate, interpreted the role in auditions, Marshall immediately snapped him up. According to Winkler, "The Fonz was everybody I wasn't. He was everybody I wanted to be."

Winkler's character, though remaining very much a rough-hewn outsider, gradually became the focus of the show as time passed (in particular after the departure of Ron Howard). Initially, ABC executives did not want to see the Fonz wearing leather, thinking the character would appear to be a criminal. The first 13 episodes show Winkler wearing two different kinds of windbreaker jackets, one of which was green.

As Winkler said in a TV Land interview, "It's hard to look cool in a green windbreaker". Marshall argued with the executives about the jacket. In the end, a compromise was made. Winkler could only wear the leather jacket in scenes with his motorcycle, and from that point on, the Fonz was never without his motorcycle until season 2. Happy Days ended its run in 1984.

Monday, November 9, 2015

Clark Gable

Clark Gable
(February 1, 1901 – November 16, 1960)
was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood" or
just simply as "The King". Gable began his career as a stage actor and
appeared as an extra in silent films between 1924 and 1926, and progressed to supporting roles with a few films for MGM in 1931. The next year he landed his first leading Hollywood role and became a leading man in more than 60 motion pictures over the next three decades.
Gable won an Academy Award for Best Actor for It Happened One Night (1934),and was nominated for leading roles in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
and for his, arguably best-known, role as Rhett Butler in the epic Gone with the Wind (1939).
Gable also found success commercially and critically with films like Red Dust (1932), Manhattan Melodrama (1934), San Francisco (1936), Saratoga (1937) Boom Town (1940), The Hucksters (1947) Homecoming (1948) and The Misfits (1961) which was his final screen appearance.[3]
Gable appeared opposite some of the most popular actresses of the time: Joan Crawford, who was his favorite actress to work with, was partnered with Gable in eight films; Myrna Loy worked with him seven times, and he was paired with Jean Harlow in six productions.
He also starred with Lana Turner in four features, and with Norma Shearer and Ava Gardner in three each.
Gable's final film, The Misfits (1961), united him with Marilyn Monroe (also in her last screen appearance). Gable is considered one of the most consistent box-office performers in history, appearing on Quigley Publishing's annual Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll sixteen times.
He was named the seventh greatest male star of classic American Cinema by the American Film Institute.
Source: Wikipedia

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Kurt Vonnegut



 
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author. In a career spanning over 50 years, Vonnegut published fourteen novels, three short story collections, five plays, and five works of non-fiction. He is most famous for his darkly satirical, best-selling novel Slaughterhouse-Five (1969). Born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, Vonnegut attended Cornell University, but dropped out in January 1943 and enlisted in the United States Army. He was deployed to Europe to fight in World War II, and was captured by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge. He was interned in Dresden and survived the Allied bombing of the city by taking refuge in a meat locker. After the war, Vonnegut married Jane Marie Cox, with whom he had three children. He later adopted his sister's three sons, after she died of cancer and her husband died in a train accident. Vonnegut published his first novel, Player Piano, in 1952. The novel was reviewed positively, but was not commercially successful. In the nearly twenty years that followed, Vonnegut published several novels that were only marginally successful, such as Cat's Cradle (1963) and God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1964). Vonnegut's magnum opus, however, was his immediately successful sixth novel, Slaughterhouse-Five. The book's antiwar sentiment resonated with its readers amidst the ongoing Vietnam War, and its reviews were generally positive. After its release, Slaughterhouse-Five went to the top of The New York Times Best Seller list, thrusting Vonnegut into fame. He was invited to give speeches, lectures, and commencement addresses around the country and received many awards and honors. Later in his career, Vonnegut published several autobiographical essay and short-story collections, including Fates Worse Than Death (1991), and A Man Without a Country (2005). After his death, he was hailed as a morbidly comical commentator on the society in which he lived, and as one of the most important contemporary writers. Vonnegut's son Mark published a compilation of his father's unpublished compositions, titled Armageddon in Retrospect. Numerous scholarly works were released, examining Vonnegut's writing and humor.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Festus Haggen

Ken Curtis (July 2, 1916 – April 28, 1991) was an American singer and actor best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the long-running CBS western television series Gunsmoke. Although he appeared on Gunsmoke in other roles he first appeared in his iconic role along in season 8 and episode 13, "Us Haggens." His next appearance was with his mule Ruth in "Prairie Wolfer," season 9 and episode 16, also featuring Noah Beery, Jr. as the episode's villain.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

TS Eliot


Thomas Stearns Eliot AKA TS Eliot

(26 September 1888 – 4 January 1965),
usually known as T. S. Eliot, was an essayist, publisher,
playwright, literary and social critic, and "one of the twentieth century's major poets".

He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to the old Yankee Eliot family descended from Andrew Eliot,

who migrated to Boston, Massachusetts from East Coker, England in the 1660s.
He immigrated to England in 1914 (at age 25), settling, working and marrying there.
He was eventually naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39,
renouncing his American citizenship.

Eliot attracted widespread attention for his poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (1915),
which is seen as a masterpiece of the Modernist movement.
It was followed by some of the best-known poems in the English language,
including The Waste Land (1922), The Hollow Men (1925), Ash Wednesday (1930),
and Four Quartets (1945). He is also known for his seven plays,
particularly Murder in the Cathedral (1935). He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948,
"for his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day poetry."

Source: Wikipedia

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Rosa Parks

"At the time I was arrested I had no idea it would turn into this. It was just a day like any other day. The only thing that made it significant was that the masses of the people joined in." — Rosa Parks

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Dick Martin


Dick Martin - A graphite pencil sketch on bristol paper by Greg Joens.

Thomas Richard "Dick" Martin (January 30, 1922 – May 24, 2008) was an American comedian and director. He was known for his role as the cohost of the sketch comedy program Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1968 to 1973.


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Bruce Lee


Prints for Purchase....

Bruce Lee (November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973)
was a Hong Kong American martial artist, Hong Kong action film actor,
martial arts instructor, philosopher, filmmaker, and the founder of Jeet Kune Do.
Lee was the son of Cantonese opera star Lee Hoi-Chuen. He is widely considered by commentators,
critics, media and other martial artists to be one of the most influential martial artists of all time,
and a pop culture icon of the 20th century. He is often credited with helping to change the way Asians were presented in American films.

Lee was born in Chinatown, San Francisco on November 27, 1940 to parents from Hong Kong
and was raised in Kowloon with his family until his late teens. He was introduced to the film industry
by his father and appeared in several films as a child actor. Lee moved to the United States at the age of 18 to receive his higher education, at the University of Washington, at Seattle[8] and it was during this time that he began teaching martial arts. His Hong Kong and Hollywood-produced films elevated the traditional Hong Kong martial arts film to a new level of popularity and acclaim, sparking a surge of interest in Chinese martial arts in the West in the 1970s. The direction and tone of his films changed and influenced martial arts and martial arts films in the United States, Hong Kong and the rest of the world.

He is noted for his roles in five feature-length films: Lo Wei's The Big Boss (1971)
and Fist of Fury (1972); Golden Harvest's Way of the Dragon (1972), directed and written by Lee;
Golden Harvest and Warner Brothers' Enter the Dragon (1973) and The Game of Death (1978),
both directed by Robert Clouse. Lee became an iconic figure known throughout the world,
particularly among the Chinese, as he portrayed Chinese nationalism in his films.
He trained in the art of Wing Chun and later combined his other influences from various sources,
in the spirit of his personal martial arts philosophy, which he dubbed Jeet Kune Do
(The Way of the Intercepting Fist). Lee held dual nationality of Hong Kong and the United States.
He died in Kowloon Tong on July 20, 1973 at the age of 32.

Source: Wikipedia

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Three Eagles

Three Eagles, a Nez Percé Indian - graphite pencil sketch by Greg Joens.

 Original for Sale...
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Red Cloud

Red Cloud - A graphite pencil sketch on bristol paper by Greg Joens. 
(Lakota: Maȟpíya Lúta) (1822 – December 10, 1909) was a war leader and a chief of the Oglala Lakota. He led as a chief from 1868 to 1909. One of the most capable Native American opponents the United States Army faced, he led a successful campaign in 1866–1868 known as Red Cloud's War over control of the Powder River Country in northeastern Wyoming and southern Montana.

After signing the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868), Red Cloud led his people in the important transition to reservation life. Some of his US opponents mistakenly thought of him as overall chief of the Sioux (Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota). The large tribe had several major divisions and was highly decentralized. Bands among the Oglala and other divisions operated independently, even though some individual leaders such as Red Cloud were renowned as warriors and highly respected as leaders.  Source: Wikipedia

Original available for purchase
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Thursday, October 22, 2015

Sitting Bull


 Purchase Original for $310  - Ships to US


Sitting Bull - A graphite pencil sketch on bristol paper by Greg Joens.

( c. 1831 – December 15, 1890)
was a Hunkpapa Lakota holy man who led his people as a tribal chief during years of resistance to United States government policies.
He was killed by Indian agency police on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation during an attempt to arrest him, at a time when authorities
feared that he would join the Ghost Dance movement.


Before the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull had a vision in which he saw the defeat
of the 7th Cavalry under Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer on June 25, 1876. Sitting Bull's
leadership inspired his people to a major victory. Months after their victory at the battle,
Sitting Bull and his group left the United States for Wood Mountain, North-West Territories
(now Saskatchewan), where he remained until 1881, at which time he and most of his band returned to
US territory and surrendered to U.S. forces. A small remnant of his band under Chief Waŋblí Ǧí decided to stay at Wood Mountain.

After working as a performer with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, Sitting Bull returned to the Standing Rock Agency
in South Dakota. Because of fears that he would use his influence to support the Ghost Dance movement,
Indian Service agent James McLaughlin at Fort Yates ordered his arrest. During an ensuing struggle between Sitting Bull's
followers and the agency police, Sitting Bull was shot in the side and head by Standing Rock policemen Lieutenant Bull Head
(Tatankapah Lakota: Tȟatȟáŋka Pȟá) and Red Tomahawk (Marcelus Chankpidutah Lakota: "Čhaŋȟpí Dúta")
after the police were fired upon by Sitting Bull's supporters. His body was taken to nearby Fort Yates for burial.
In 1953, his Lakota family exhumed what were believed to be his remains, reburying them near Mobridge, South Dakota, near his birthplace.

Source: Wikipedia

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Wally Cleaver

Wally Cleaver from the 50s TV sitcom "Leave it to Beaver" - Pencil sketch by Greg Joens.

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Red Buttons




Red Buttons

(born Aaron Chwatt; February 5, 1919 – July 13, 2006) was an American comedian and actor.

Early life: Red Buttons was born Aaron Chwatt on February 5, 1919, in New York City, to Jewish immigrants Sophie (née Baker) and Michael Chwatt.

At sixteen years old, Chwatt got a job as an entertaining bellhop at Ryan's Tavern in City Island, Bronx. The combination of his red hair and the large, shiny buttons on the bellhop uniforms inspired orchestra leader Charles "Dinty" Moore to call him "Red Buttons," the name under which he would later perform.

Later that same summer, Buttons worked on the Borscht Belt;[1] his straight man was Robert Alda. Red Buttons was working at the Irvington Hotel in South Fallsburg, New York, when the Master of Ceremonies became incapacitated, and he asked for the chance to replace him. In 1939, Buttons started working for Minsky's Burlesque; in 1941, José Ferrer chose Buttons to appear in a Broadway show The Admiral Had a Wife. The show was a farce set in Pearl Harbor, and it was due to open on December 8, 1941. It never did, as it was deemed inappropriate after the Japanese attack. In later years, Buttons would joke that the Japanese only attacked Pearl Harbor to keep him off Broadway.
Career

In September 1942, Buttons made his Broadway debut in Vickie with Ferrer and Uta Hagen. Later that year, he appeared in the Minsky's show Wine, Women and Song; this was the last classic Burlesque show in New York City history, as the Mayor La Guardia administration closed it down. Buttons was on stage when the show was raided.

Drafted into the United States Army Air Forces, Buttons in 1943 appeared in the Army Air Forces' Broadway show Winged Victory, along with several future stars, including Mario Lanza, John Forsythe, Karl Malden and Lee J. Cobb. A year later he appeared in Darryl F. Zanuck's movie version of Winged Victory, directed by George Cukor. Buttons also entertained troops in the European Theater in the same unit as Mickey Rooney.

After the war, Buttons continued to do Broadway shows. He also performed at Broadway movie houses with the Big Bands. In 1952, Buttons received his own variety series on television, The Red Buttons Show," which ran for three years, and achieved high levels of success. In 1953, he recorded and had a two-sided hit with Strange Things Are Happening/The Ho Ho Song, with both sides/songs essentially being the same.

His role in Sayonara was a dramatic departure from his previous work. In that film, co-starring with Marlon Brando, he played Joe Kelly, an American airman stationed in Kobe, Japan during the Korean War, who marries Katsumi, a Japanese woman (played by Miyoshi Umeki), but is barred from taking her back to the United States. His moving portrayal of Kelly's calm resolve not to abandon the relationship, and the touching reassurance of Katsumi, impressed audiences and critics alike; both he and Umeki won supporting actor and actress Academy Awards for the film.
Buttons as Henry Phyfe.

After his Oscar-winning role, Buttons performed in numerous feature films, including the Africa adventure Hatari! with John Wayne, the war epic The Longest Day, the biopic Harlow, the disaster film The Poseidon Adventure, the dance-marathon drama They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, the family comedy Pete's Dragon, the disaster film When Time Ran Out with Paul Newman and the age-reversal comedy 18 Again! with George Burns.

In 1966, Buttons again starred in his own TV series, a spy spoof called The Double Life of Henry Phyfe, which ran for one season. Buttons also made many memorable guest television appearances on programs including The Eleventh Hour, Little House on the Prairie, It's Garry Shandling's Show, ER and Roseanne. His last regular role was as a homeless man on CBS' Knots Landing.

He became a nationally recognizable comedian, and his "Never Got A Dinner" routine was a standard of The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast for many years. He was number 71 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time.

Buttons received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for television, his star being located at 1651 Vine Street.
Pencil Sketch by Greg Joens  www.gregjoens.com

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Scott Caan

www.gregjoens.com

Scott Andrew Caan (born August 23, 1976) is an American actor. He currently stars as Detective Danny "Danno" Williams in the CBS television series Hawaii Five-0, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Caan is also known for his recurring role as manager Scott Lavin in the HBO television series Entourage. He was also a part of 1990s rap group The Whooliganz with The Alchemist. The duo went by the names Mad Skillz and Mudfoot, respectively.

 

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Alex O'Loughlin

Alex O'Loughlin - Pencil sketch on bristol paper - Greg Joens.
Alex O'Loughlin is an Australian actor, currently playing Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett on CBS' remake of the TV series Hawaii Five-0. He had starring roles in the films Oyster Farmer (2004) and The Back-up Plan (2010), as well as on such television series as Moonlight (2008) and Three Rivers (2009).
Source: Wikipedia

Monday, September 28, 2015

Daniel Dae Kim

Daniel Dae Kim sketch in graphite on bristol paper by Greg Chapin Joens​

Daniel Dae Kim (born August 4, 1968) is a South Korean-born American actor, producer, and director. Kim is best known for his roles as Jin-Soo Kwon in Lost, Chin Ho Kelly in Hawaii Five-0, and Johnny Gat in the Saints Row series of video games. He also played a recurring role on Angel.

Source: Wikipedia

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Grace Park Hawaii 5-0

Grace Park
Pencil Sketch on bristol paper by Greg Joens.

 (born March 14, 1974) is an American-Canadian actress. She gained recognition as Sharon "Boomer" Valerii and Sharon "Athena" Agathon on Battlestar Galactica, as well as Shannon Ng in the Canadian television series teen soap Edgemont. Park currently stars as Officer Kono Kalakaua in the CBS television series Hawaii Five-0, which debuted on September 20, 2010.

Source: Wikipedia

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Lon Chaney Jr



Lon Chaney, Jr. Pencil Sketch on bristol paper by Greg Joens.

Creighton Tull Chaney (February 10, 1906 – July 12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney, Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the 1941 film The Wolf Man and its various crossovers, as well as portraying other monsters such as The Mummy, Frankenstein's Monster, and Count Alucard (son of Dracula) in numerous horror films produced by Universal Studios.

He also portrayed Lennie Small in Of Mice and Men (1939). Originally referenced in films as Creighton Chaney, he was later credited as "Lon Chaney, Jr." in 1935, and after 1941's Man Made Monster, beginning as early as The Wolf Man later that same year, he was almost always billed under his more famous father's name as Lon Chaney.

Chaney had English, French and Irish ancestry, and his career in movies and television spanned four decades, from 1931 to 1971.

Monday, September 21, 2015

Wicked Witch of the West

Margaret Hamilton playing the character of the "Wicked Witch of the West" in the 1939 version of the Wizard of Oz.  Pencil sketch by Greg Joens.

Frankenstein

Boris Karloff - pencil sketch on bristol paper by Greg Joens.
AKA William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.
Karloff is widely known for his roles in horror films and especially for his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939), which resulted in his immense popularity. His best-known non-horror role is as the Grinch, as well as the narrator, in the animated television special of Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966). He also had a memorable role in the original Scarface (1932). For his contribution to film and television, Boris Karloff was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Source: Wikipedia


Thursday, September 17, 2015

Tom Hiddleston





Tom Hiddleston - Pencil sketch by  Greg Chapin Joens​.


Thomas William "Tom" Hiddleston (born 9 February 1981) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012), and Thor: The Dark World (2013). He has also appeared in Steven Spielberg's War Horse (2011), The Deep Blue Sea (2011), Woody Allen's romantic comedy Midnight in Paris (2011), the 2012 BBC series Henry IV, Henry V, and the romantic vampire film Only Lovers Left Alive (2013). In theatre, he has been in the productions of Cymbeline (2007) and Ivanov (2008). In December 2013 he starred as the title character in the Donmar Warehouse production of Coriolanus which played until February 2014.

He won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Play for his role in Cymbeline while also being nominated for the same award the same year for his role of Cassio in Othello. In 2011 he won the Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer and nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award for his role in Thor. He won the MTV Movie Award for Best Fight and Best Villain in 2013 for his role in The Avengers. For his role in the 2013 play Coriolanus, he won the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor. Source: Wikipedia

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Iowa Coach Hayden Fry

Former Iowa coach Hayden Fry.  Pencil Sketch by Greg Joens.

John Hayden Fry (born February 28, 1929) is a former American football player and coach. He played college football for Baylor University. He served as the head coach at Southern Methodist University (1962–1972), North Texas State University, now the University of North Texas (1973–1978), and the University of Iowa (1979–1998), compiling a career college football record of 232–178–10. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2003.

Source: Wikipedia

Friday, September 11, 2015

George Rogers

George Rogers College Football 1980 Heisman Trophy Winner South Carolina Gamecocks. Pencil Sketch by Greg Joens.


Thursday, September 10, 2015

Georgia College Football Coach Mark Richt



Georgia College Football Coach Mark Richt
A pencil drawing on 9x12 Bristol paper by Greg Joens.

Mark Richt (born February 18, 1960) is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at the University of Georgia. Richt played college football as a quarterback at University of Miami. His previous coaching affiliations include 14 years at Florida State University where he served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and one year as offensive coordinator at East Carolina University, and 14 years as head coach at the University of Georgia. He is one of three SEC football coaches with no middle name. Source: Wikipedia

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Gus Malzahn




Auburn Football Coach Gus Malzahn - pencil sketch by Greg Joens.

Arthur Gustav "Gus" Malzahn, III (born October 28, 1965) is an American football coach and former player. Malzahn is currently the head coach at Auburn University, a position he assumed prior to the 2013 season. He spent the 2012 season as the head football coach at Arkansas State University. From 2009 to 2011, Malzahn served as the offensive coordinator at Auburn University. In 2010, a season in which the Auburn Tigers won the national championship, Malzahn received the Broyles Award, which recognizes the top assistant coach in college football. Prior to his stints at Arkansas State and Auburn, Malzahn served as offensive coordinator at the University of Arkansas and the University of Tulsa, respectively.

In his first year as head coach at Auburn, Malzahn received national acclaim for overseeing one of the biggest turnarounds in college football history. Malzahn inherited an Auburn Tigers football team that did not win a single Southeastern Conference game in the 2012 season, then led them to an SEC Championship and an appearance in the 2014 BCS Championship Game. The Tigers won their eighth SEC title and tallied a record of 12–2 (7–1 in SEC play) only a mere year after what was considered by many to be their worst season in 60 years. For his accomplishments, Malzahn received several "Coach of the year" awards including the 2013 SEC Coach of the Year, Home Depot Coach of the Year, Sporting News Coach of the Year, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, Bobby Bowden Coach of the Year Award, Paul "Bear" Bryant Award, and the AP College Football Coach of the Year.

Source: Wikipedia

Nick Saban - Alabama Football Coach


Nicholas Lou "Nick" Saban, Jr. ( born October 31, 1951) is an American college football coach, and the current head football coach of the University of Alabama, a position he has held since the 2007 season. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins and three other universities: Louisiana State University, Michigan State University, and the University of Toledo. His eight-year contract totaling US $32 million made him one of the highest paid football coaches, professional or collegiate, in the United States at the time. He appeared on the September 1, 2008, cover of Forbes magazine as "The Most Powerful Coach in Sports". Saban's career record as a college head coach is 178–59–1.

Saban led the LSU Tigers to the BCS National Championship in 2003 and the Alabama Crimson Tide to BCS and AP national championships in the 2009, 2011 and 2012 seasons, making him the first coach in college football history to win a national championship with two different Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools since the inception of the AP Poll in 1936. Saban and Bear Bryant are the only coaches to win an SEC championship at two different schools. In May 2013, he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Source: Wikipedia

Friday, September 4, 2015

Monday, August 31, 2015

Iggy Azalea


Iggy Azalea is a rap singer from Australia.  I saw her perform in a lip sync competition hosted by fellow rapper LL Cool J. 

Admittedly, I don't care for rap music even a little bit, so I never thought I would sketch even one rapper, but it turns I've sketched a few already.  I think that goes to show how much a part of the mainstream they've become.

Unusual... bizarre quote of the day...

Richard Nixon was a fan of rap music. In a 1990 interview with the New York Times, he said, “I have often thought that if there had been a good rap group around in those days I might have chosen a career in music instead of politics.”