I caught the tail end of the movie Force Ten from Navarone and started wondering whatever happened to Franco Nero. If you remember, Franco Nero played the handsome Lancelot in the movie musical Camelot (he didn’t actually sing in the movie).
Nero was born Francesco Sparanero on November 23, 1941, in San Prospero, Itay and grew up in Bedonia and Milan. He first studied Economy and Trade at the university before leaving to study acting.
His first films were Italian starting in 1964. In 1967, he starred in his first English speaking film, Camelot. There is met Vanessa Redgrave and they began a long term love affair. In 1969, they had a son Carlo Gabriel Sparanero (Carlo Nero) who is now a screenwriter and director. Nero and Redgrave separated for many years, but later reunited and were married on December 31, 2006. It was Nero who walked his step-daughter, Natasha Richardson, down the aisle when she wed Liam Neeson.
His roles were sometimes limited due to his lack of proficiency in English but he also appeared in several other American films including Die Hard 2. He has also appeared in many Italian films.
The movie Die Hard was released in 1988 starring Bruce Willis as John McClane, a New York City Police Officer. The movie was a hit and three more movies followed over the years. By the last edition, Live Free or Die Hard, Willis’ hair was replaced with a shaven head (I guess he hadn’t heard of best hair loss treatment), but other than that, the format for the movie was basically the same: bad guys that wreck havoc and only one man (McClane) is able to stop them.
The four films have grossed over $1 billion dollars worldwide. All four films received mixed reviews, the first and last being the best of the bunch. The last film also features the Apple Guy (from the Mac vs. PC commercials) as a cyberhacker, Matthew Farrell.
Have you watched the continuous reruns of A Christmas Story? I bet you are wondering whatever happened to the kid who played Ralphie?
Peter Billingsley was born April 16, 1971 in New York as Peter Michaelsen. He decided to use his mother’s maiden name for his stage name. Peter is one of five children and all five had acting careers when they were younger. Peter’s first acting role was when he was two in a Geritol commercial. He would eventually star in more than 120 television ads int he 70s and 80s.
He appeared in a few films before A Christmas Story and in television movies as well. In 1983, he starred as Ralphie, whose one dream for Christmas was to get a Red Ryder BB gun. After this movie, Billinglsey had a number of small roles in television and movies. He has done some writing and directing as well. He continues to act in small roles in movies.
Yesterday, I happened to catch the beginning of one of my favorite war movies – The Dirty Dozen. One of the prisoners, Posey, stands out because of his soft spoken nature and the fact that he is six foot six inches tall and very muscular. The character Posey, was played by Clint Walker.
Norman Eugene “Clint” Walker was born on May 30, 1927 in Hartford, Illinois and has a twin sister. He is one-quarter Cherokee Indian. He had many jobs at a young age including working in a factory and on a river boat. At 17 he joined the Merchant Marines during World War II. After the war, he worked odd jobs in Texas, Las Vegas and California. In California, several actors encouraged him to get into the movie business because of his good looks and stature. He was hired by Cecil B. DeMille to play a guard in The Ten Commandments. Warner Brothers then hired him as the lead in the television series Cheyenne. The series lasted for eight seasons.
After the series, Walker appeared in a number of movies, including The Dirty Dozen. In the 1970s he appeared in a number of western television shows and in 1998 he was the voice of Nick Nitro in the film Small Soldiers.
In 1974, Walker had a freak skiing accident and was pierced in the heart by a ski pole. He eventually recovered.
He has been married three time. First to Verna Garver in 1948, they divorced in 1968 and had one daughter. Then to Giselle Hennessy who is married in 1974. She passed away in 1994. He is currently married to Susan Cavallari.
Some celebrities will do anything to get a coveted movie role and that includes losing and gaining weight. They will try all kinds of ?? from binge eating to finding the best appetite suppressant.
Recently, Jim Carrey said he is planning on gaining 50 pounds to play Curly in the upcoming Farrelly brothers’ movie, “The Three Stooges.” I guess that means shaving his head too! Matt Damon gained 30 pounds to play an FBI informant in “The Informant” while in 1996 he lost 50 pounds to play a heroin addict in “Courage Under Fire.”
Who has gained to most weight? Vincent D’Onofrio gained 70 pounds for his role in “Full Metal Jacket.” While on the other end, Christian Bale lost 63 pounds for his role in “The Machinist.”
Vampire stories have existed for ages. The original tales of vampires involved feeding on the life essence of living creatures. Vampires would often visit loved ones and cause mischief or deaths. Vampires were described as bloated and dark.
Compare this to the modern vampires we see in New Moon. These vampires are modern in every way. They go to school, use modern technology, such as laptops and iPods and they don’t turn into bats. They are described as beautiful.
This makes the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyers much more appealing to the teen crowd. Here is a clip of the movie in theaters now.
It is not just about diet, exercise and nutrition, but how the celebrities do it! I found a series of videos at eHow.com that are all about celebrity transformation and how you can achieve it yourself. From nutrition to best celebrity fat burner and foods to avoid, you can learn how the celebrities do it and give it a try yourself. Here is the video about celebrity exercise:
If the name doesn’t sound familiar, you’re right. Fred Sorenson had one bit part in Raiders of the Lost Ark. I was watching the movie with my son yesterday and started to wonder who way the pilot that flew Indiana Jones out of the jungle in the opening scene. The pilot is actually a pilot in real life and he the crew off the island of Kauai when a hurricane hit during the filming of Jurassic Park in 1993. I guess Steven Spielberg was very grateful!
The Singing Nun was the name that Jeanine Deckers was sometimes known as. Deckers, born on October 17, 1933 was a Belgian Nun whose hit song “Dominique” propelled her to international fame in 1963. At her convent, she used to write and sing music and she convinced her superiors to let her make an album. She became an overnight success using the name Soeur Souirire (Sister Smile). She appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.
Deckers left the monastery in 1967 to pursue her musical career. She produced additional albums, but they were not successful. She became critical of the Roman Catholic church’s position on birth control and she agreed with John Lennon’s statement that Christianity will shrink and vanish.
In the 1970s, Deckers opened a school for autistic children, but that venture failed when the Belgium government claimed she owed money for back taxes. She ran into more financial problems and tried again to score a hit with the disco version of “Dominique” in 1982.
On March 29, 1985, Deckers and her companion of ten years, Anna Pecher, committed suicide by taking an overdose of barbiturates. A note left by Deckers said she committed suicide due to her financial difficulties.
A movie supposedly based on her life, was released in 1966 starring Debbie Reynolds. Decker called the movie “fiction.” Here is a clip from the movie:
Recently, I read about the death of John Hart, who appeared for two seasons on the television show The Long Ranger. Hart, replaced Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger when Moore demanded a higher salary. The producers, thinking that the audience would easily take to a replacement since the character was masked, turned out to be wrong. After two years, Moore was re-hired as the Lone Ranger. The Lone Ranger ran from 1949-1957.
Have you watched the continuous reruns of A Christmas Story? I bet you are wondering whatever happened to the kid who played Ralphie?
Yesterday, I happened to catch the beginning of one of my favorite war movies – The Dirty Dozen. One of the prisoners, Posey, stands out because of his soft spoken nature and the fact that he is six foot six inches tall and very muscular. The character Posey, was played by Clint Walker.
If the name doesn’t sound familiar, you’re right. Fred Sorenson had one bit part in Raiders of the Lost Ark. I was watching the movie with my son yesterday and started to wonder who way the pilot that flew Indiana Jones out of the jungle in the opening scene. The pilot is actually a pilot in real life and he the crew off the island of Kauai when a hurricane hit during the filming of Jurassic Park in 1993. I guess Steven Spielberg was very grateful!
