George Cukor,is a famous American motion-picture director. George Cukor is popularly known for his comedies and also known for the adaptations of literary classics.
George Cukor was born on 1899.Another popular name by which many fans call him or they regard him as a “women’s director” because he usually find the hidden talent in female actors and make them popular by finding their talent.
But he basically gets irritated with this comments because under his director usually male actors won Oscar awards and these includes Jimmy Stewart, Ronald Colman, and Rex Harrison, who all won Academy Awards for best actor under his direction.Those films includes
i)Jimmy Stewart for the film "The Philadelphia Story" in 1940
ii)Ronald Colman for the film "A Double Life" in (1947) and
iii)Rex Harrison for his film "My Fair Lady" in 1963
George was born as George Dewey Cukor on the Lower East Side of New York City,and he is the younger child and only son of Hungarian Jewish immigrants Victor, who was an assistant district attorney, and Helen Ilona Cukor.
George Cukor career started in a theater and there he was working as a stage manager and there he was directing "Broadway shows" during the mid-1920s.In the late 1920's he moved to Hollywood and there he worked initially as a dialogue coach for films, and it was this was the time where the dialogue was just begun.
It was in 1930, George started his carrier as a director and he quickly achieved a reputation for hisliterate films,which he often used to adapt from the novels or plays.Of these the important one includes
i)Dinner at Eight in 1933, with Jean Harlow and Marie Dressler
ii)David in 1935 ,which was adapted from the English novel written by Charles Dickens, with W. C. Fields as Micawber
iii)Romeo and Juliet in 1936,which he adapted from William Shakespeare's play, with Leslie Howard as Romeo and Norma Shearer as Juliet.
In 1932, Cukor directed the American actor Katharine Hepburn with a film called "A Bill of Divorcement" and this was Kathrine's motion picture debut.
Apart from this film the two worked together in many other films,that includes the following
i)Little Women in 1933,which was adapted from Louisa May Alcott novel
ii)Sylvia Scarlett in 1935
iii)Holiday in 1938
iv)The Philadelphia Story in 1940
v)Adam’s Rib in 1949 and
vi)The television movie called as "The Corn Is Green" in 1979.
Another important thing was that Cukor was Hired as the original director for the film Gone With the Wind in 1939,but he was removed from this film by the producers and this caused heated speculation that there was a misunderstanding between Cukor and the stars of the movie.
This removal from the film made Cukor disappointed because he prepared very well for this film
Apart from these films Cukor’s also made some other good films like
i)Camille in 1937, with Greta Garbo
ii)Gaslight in 1944, with Ingrid Bergman
iii)Born Yesterday in 1950, with Judy Holiday
iv)Pat and Mike in 1952, with Hepburn and Spencer Tracy and
v)A Star Is Born in 1954, with Judy Garland.
Cukor won the Academy Award for his film "My Fair Lady" in 1964 after he was nominated thrice before this movie.
Cukor died on January 24, 1983, because of a heart attack
Who is Nat “King” Cole?
Nat “King” Cole ,was born as Nathaniel Adams Coles,on March 17, 1919 in Montgomery, Alabama. He is a famous American pianist and singer.
He was a very popular man during the 1940's as he was one of the most stylistically advanced jazz pianists of the 1940s and during the 1950's and 1960's, he is considered as one of the most eading popular singer.
Early Life and his carrier
Eventhough he was born in Alabama, he grew up in Chicago,and his major influence was pianist Earl Hines was a major influence.It was in 1937,in Los Angels, Cole formed his first trio with famous guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Wesley Prince.
It was during this time he had an extended stay at the Sewanee Inn,and this is where he first started singing to vary the musical pace.
He along with The trio which includes Johnny Miller who replaced Prince on bass and in 1944 this troop achieved its first major success with “Straighten Up and Fly Right.”
Marriage and children
In 1948 cole divorced his first wife Nadine Robinson, ended in 1948 and after six days On March 28, 1948 ,on an Easter Sunday, he married the famous singer Maria Hawkins Ellington.The couples got married in Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church by Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. The couples had 5 daughter and they were
i)Daughter - Natalie,born in 1950
ii)Adopted daughter - Carol, she was the daughter of Maria's sister was born on 1944 and she recently died in 2009 at the age 64 due to Lung cancer
iii)Adopted son - Nat Kelly Cole, who was born in 1959 and he died at the age of 37 due to AIDS
iv & v)Twin girls - Casey and Timolin, were born in 1961
Cole's Success
He gave a great hit album “The Christmas Song” in 1946 and it was Cole's recording of singer Mel Tormw.But Cole had a great success better than this album in th year 1948 “Nature Boy,” and it was a massive hit. More than a million copies of this album was sold, soon after its release.
Apart from these two massive hits he also produced other hit albums which includes
i)“Route 66” in the year 1946
ii)“Unforgettable” in 1950 and
iii)“Mona Lisa” in 1950,
The album "Mona Lisa" was also added as s the theme song for the movie Captain Carey, U.S.A and it evenyually won an Academy Award in 1950
During his entire carrier, Cole received tremendous popularity as a singer,but he received only little recognition for his innovations as a pianist.During the early 1940's, he regularly employed advanced chord voicings and harmonic substitutions which the “bebop” innovators such as saxophonist Charlie Parker were starting to discover.
Apart from this, Cole's melodic style is considered as and important link between swing and bebop and his creative abilities as a jazz pianist was known to others with the help of his album After Midnight in 1956
Cole connection with Politics
Apart from these albums Cole also sang at the Republican National Convention in the Cow Palace, San Francisco, California, on August 23, 1956. In 1961 Cole was given th eopputuniy among the dozens of entertainers who were recruited by Frank Sinatra sp to perform at the Kennedy Inaugural gala.He was not only a Pianist but also he used to discuss on the matters of civil right with President Kennedy and later with President Johnson.
Death of Cole
Cole's last album was, L-O-V-E,and it was recorded in early December 1964 andit was just a few days before he wa hospitalised as he wasnted to take treatment for lung cancer and was released few days prior to his death.
Cole was a chain smoker and he believed that this amoking will keep his voice low.Cole had a very young carrier and he died at the age of 45 on February 15, 1965 due to Lung cancer
Fame after Death
Cole was a famous man and eventhough he died at the age of 45 he inducted into both the "Alabama Music Hall of Fame" and the "Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame", after his death.He also won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990.
Mosaic Records released "The Complete Capitol Recordings of the Nat King Cole Trio," in 1991, which is an 18-compact-disc set and it consists of 349 songs
He was also inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame during the year 1997.Recently in 2007, he was also inducted into the "Hit Parade Hall of Fame".
Hi friends in this article let us see about Naveen Andrews and the reason why I chose this article is that, his acting was extremely good in a TV serial called "Lost", as I managed to see all the 5 season of Lost so far and waiting for the sixth season
Introduction
Naveen William Sidney Andrews, also popularly known as Naveen Andrews,is an Emmy and Golden globe award nominated actor.
He was born on the 17th of January, 1969, in Lambeth, London, England to Stanley Andrews,who was a businessman, and Nirmala,who was a psychologist specialist.Naveen Andrews has a strong Indian connection, because both his parents are immigrants from Kerala, India.
Early Life and Interests
Naveen was raised in Wandsworth(beside the River Thames), South London and he has described as a "very repressive" upbringing.
Naveen Andrews was raised in the Methodist denomination.He is the elder of two brothers, and from his early age he had an interest in acting.Some of the Naveen's interests includes
#)Naveen Andrews is a great fan of Chelsea FC, football club
#)Naveen Andrews also plays guitar and sings.
Acting Career
The turning point was at the age of 5,when his school teacher mentioned to Naveen's parents that the young boy, Naveen, had talked of being an actor and also very much interested in acting field.As an impact of this, Naveen attended London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama, at the age of 16 with Ewan McGregor and David Thewlis (of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Naveen's first role was in ,"London Kills Me", which is a Hanif Kureshi's film.It was in 1993,Naveed achieved his first success as Naveen was nominated by the Evening Standard Drama Awards as Most promising Newcomer for his part in "Wild West".
Naveen is also best known for his role as that "Sikh bloke" in The film "English Patient" which was released in the year 1996. In this film Naveen plays a character called Lt. Kip Singh the image below shows a scene from that film.This film won 9 Academy Awards
Naveen was nominated for Best Actor at the San Remo Film Festival, for the BBC's "The Buddha of Suburbia", Naveen had an expressive eyes and many of his fans were attracted by his eyes.In 2006, Naveen was voted in the "People's Magazine",Worlds Most Beautiful People.He was voted as Sexiest Survivalist in 2005 by People Magazine.
Naveen continued his good performance throughout his carrier and he was best knwon for the role of Sayid Jarrah in the popular television series called "Lost".
It was this character in "Lost" Naveen was nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his role in "Lost" and he was appreciated greatly by all for his character.
Naveen also acted in a film called Provoked along with Aishwarya Rai.The image belows is from the film Provoled released in 2007.
Controversy
#)It was at the age of sixteen, while Naveen was at Emanuel School, he fell in love with his mathematics teacher, Geraldine Feakins, and 7 years later in 1992, he had a son, called Jaisal with Geraldine Feakins
#)Naveen also had relationship with Barbara Hershey, who was 21 years older than Naveen Andrews. The picture below is Naveen Andrews and Barbara Hershey
#)Naveen Andrews has also spoken openly about his alcoholism and his two-year addiction to heroin, which he had during the mid-90s.
#)In an interview Naveen quoted that "(his) father would call (him) a prostitute" because of being famous at his school "for going out with a maths teacher."
#)Naveen Andrews also had another son, Naveen Joshua, with another woman, called Elena Eustache, but they were separated later an at present there is an on-going custody dispute with Eustache over Naveen Joshua and finally on 7 January 2009 Andrews was granted temporary sole legal and physical custody of the child.The image below shows naveen with his son Joshua
A star perhaps like no other. Britney spears as we know her today has shown considerable talent and sweeps the floor when it comes to pop music. but her personal life is about just as interesting . there have been scandals...and controversies...but britney has emerged ahead...victorious .
britney jean spears was born in rural louisiana on 2nd december, 1981 to jamie and leanne spears. as a child, Britney attended dance classes, and she was great at gymnastics, winning many competitions and the like.
she tried for mickey mouse club at the age of 8 but being too young was rejected.
but it was not all just achievements as she won laurels in school for her fabulous dancing and singing. she had what people would call a "very troubled childhood".
she had her grandmother commiting suicide over the grave of her young infant, spears' parents were not a happy couple.their fights often raged like storms through little britney....
but she still aquired great success in an early age.
in 1992 she landed a spot on the popular television show Star Search. though she won the first round but ultimately lost.
after that at the age of eleven she returned to mickey mouse club(disney channel) . she was featured there for a year 93-94 after which she returned home for high school.
in the year 1997 she recorded a demo solo which was signed by 'jive records'.
i have personally heard this song friends...its really old but britney's voice was still just as outstanding. it is called ' i love rock n roll'.
she had taken a kick start and now started featuring in many magazines and ultimately became an opening act for 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys.
soon britney was a familiar name in every household in america and her popularity was fast spreading.
her excellent singing was accompanied by a bout of controversies.while at one place she was nominated for two grammies in 1999 she started raising many eyebrows by her care free attitude as well. her first album video(baby one more time) showed her in a catholic school girl uniform ....with her midrif visible.this soon became atrademark of hers. in 2000 she launched her second album, oops!i did it again. but now she was being taken very critically by many... it seemed some people weren't too happy with the message she was sending their impressionable young children. On one hand, Britney was the perfect picture of innocence, declaring herself a virgin until marriage yet on the other hand, she was sexually charged and provocative, with performance such as the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000, when her costume made her appear scantily-clad. but britney would never care and moved ahead the way she wanted to.
the news of her running relationship with justin timberlake was soon a great shot with the media . not only this...her rivalry with christina aguilera(fellow singer) was also well publicised.
with her growing popularity and near perfection....she was soon given the titleof the,"pop princess" round the globe . now she was fast geting ready for her next album release in the year 2001. awards kept coming ahead as she moved on her career.
now she released "i'm a slave for you", in november......a very sexuallly charged album. her image got stronger andin mid 2002 she was given the status of the world's most powerful celebrity by forbes....but the trouble and the pains were yet to come...
she started on "dream within a dream tour" and was getting all the more stronger as a figure when something made her come crashing down. her four year long relationship with justin timberlake was broken and britney spears was shattered.
after that she announced a 6 months off from work . even though she was taking a much needed break from her work..the media followed her everywhere....she addmitted that she had lost her sacrid verginity outside of marriage to timberlake ....and let her virgin girl image fall...then she was to be seen drinking and smoking excessively in parties and was soon caught by the camera in a couple of public meltdowns.....then as if all the pain was less ....she had her parents getting divorced....
now britney was to be seeing crying in public interviews about her parents' divorce and her own split with boyfriend timberlake. Britney was linked to men such as fred durst of limp bizkit and openly kissed colin farrell at a movie premiere.
then came another album...and more controversy
britney spears' life was falling apart but she somehow managed to pull herself together for her next album release, in the zone, 2003. then a second bout of controversies attacked her.. her "like a virgin" performance in the mtv awards caused an uproar with the media. it was greatly defamed. then her maddona kiss in the very same awards was also greatly publicised. her image from a pop princess was fast slipping from her hands...and she was aquiering the image of a start desperate for the spotlight.
her in the zone album too caused some amount of controversy...the two songs....breathe on me and touch of my hand were greatly defamed as they were based on masturbation.
Yet she sold plenty of records of that album. also ...in the zone album had a special significance for Spears...She finally got an opportunity to work with her idol, Madonna.
Britney's album topped the billboard charts that year and she was again very much in the spotlight . Now 22, it seemed Britney was in a lot more control over her career, yet her personal life still seemed to be slipping. In January 2004, Britney got "married" to childhood friend Jason Alexander in a Las Vegas ceremony. The incident shocked the world, especially when the marriage was annulled 55 hours later and was described as "a joke taken too far" by her management.
Though Britney refused to comment on this relationship...It was a near certainity that Britney had really entered into a marriage. But the most shocking part was her alleged divorce after just 55 hours of marriage. This was a controversy the papparazi could never let slip...They did not leave Britney alone and followed her everywhere...Ultimately with all the pressure of her personal life being expounded and critical comments coming from everywhere , Britney broke up. She got addicted to drugs. Now Britney Spears was a falling or rather shooting star....with her personal life shattered and her professional life affected...all just wondered how she would rise again...
But she did...but before talking about that i will like to draw your attention to her addiction problems and her marriage hype...
Now Britney Spears was going through a tough time in her life...she wanted some company..to drive away her loneliness...but she was all alone....so as is the usual outcome...she got an addiction to drugs...
Britney has been spotted a number of times using addictive drugs like cocaine very often. Even the sister of her first husband and many friends of hers say so...But we should not blame Britney for this...i don't know what others might have done in a situation like hers. In feb 2007, Britney voluntarily checked in to a rehabilitation centre(place to get rid of addiction to drugs)....she stayed there for 45 days...then came back out..
While she was in the rehab...her second husband ...Kevin Federline took care of her children and expressed his hope for her full recovery....
Britney in those 45 days however seemed to have gone out of her addiction problems to a great extent...
But her addiction''s main causes are pointed out to be related to her disturbed childhood and over spotlighted life...
As most of the big time stars she was also engulfed by the monster called'drugs' but we now hope she is back ...completely...
Not only this her first marriage hype was a big one...Jason Alexander, her first husband said that he loves Britney a lot and would love to have her. he also spoke ill of her second husband, Kevin Federaline saying that his priorities are wrong and that He is a man who is not only dishonest but also much less respectful than himself.
Even though the exact causes of the break up of Britney's first marriage in a mere 55 hours is unknown...It is a Surity that such an event did take place...
Possible reasons could be Britney's depression or maybe she was under the influence of drugs...
However that marriage was a failure Alexander was a childhood friend of Britney's....
The ceremony of their marriage was a quiet one in Las Vegas but before the divorce news had spread.....
But britney spears was unstoppable . Even though she had just witnessed a storm in her personal life ...She made a smashing comeback with her next super hit single, toxic. this is the song that won her her first grammy in the year 2005 for the best dance recording.
She soon began her highly publicized and overtly sexual "Onyx Hotel Tour" which was canceled a few months later after Britney damaged her knee during a video shoot and had to receive medical treatment. Other singles off the album included the Gold Selling "Everytime", which topped the UK singles charts and like usual, also carried a fair amount of controversy for its video, which allegedly depicted the star committing suicide after a fight with her boyfriend, played by Stephen Dorff ; however, this was "changed" to an accident in which she drowns yet reincarnates.
By this time it was common knowledge that she was dating Kevin Federline a former back up dancer on her tour.
She married Federline in September , 2004 and once again showed that she was definitely back on her track of life.
Meanwhile the marriage was again a greatly publicised affair because kevin had had a former girlfriend shar jackson actress of the film moesha who hadf been pregnant at the time when kevin married britney.
Britney however said that she had had no wind of anything of the sort and had fond out abut this only after marriage . she compared her situation with the situation of julia roberts who too had found out of her husband's commitment after marriage.
The same month as her marriage ...britney released a single of her next coming album.
It looked like britney was back on the reigns of her life.
A reality TV Series "Britney & Kevin: Chaotic" (2005), which featured the pair getting to know each other the previous year, leading up to their wedding aired on UPN and eventually got a world wide audience, despite harsh criticism. Britney was now pregnant for the first time and on her way to be a devoted wife and mother.
Britney had her first child She gave birth to her first child, Sean Preston Federline, nearly one year later, on September 14, 2005 in Santa Monica, California by a scheduled caesarean section.In November 2005, Spears released her first remix album, B In The Mix: The Remixes. she was once again a rising star and with world wide powerful performances...she promised a startling return to her throne.In 2006, Spears guest-starred on the Will & Grace episode "Buy, Buy Baby" as a closeted lesbian. Spears announced her second pregnancy in May 2006 during an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman.She also appeared on Dateline the next month to discuss tabloid rumors about an impending divorce, and motherhood. She addressed an incident which occurred in February when photos revealed her driving with her son unrestrained in her lap, explaining, "I see a bunch of photographers and I’m scared and I want to get out of the situation... They’re coming up on the sides of the car which is a scary situation for me… so I get my baby out of the car and I go home."
st two days before Sean's first birthday, Spears gave birth to her second son, Jayden James Federline on September 12 in Los Angeles.
Spears's aunt Sandra Bridges Covington, with whom she had been very close, died of ovarian cancer on January 21, 2007. Spears then stayed in an off-shore drug rehabilitation facility in Antigua for less than 24 hours on February 16.the following night at a hair salon she shaved off her hair .
She was back in no time when federaline summoned her for the reason's of divorce and custody...now the rumuors were coming true...
Britney filed divorce from federaline on 7th november, 2006 citing irreconcilable differences and demanding the custody of her two children. she hired her lawyer and federaline responded asking for the custody of his children in turn. according to his lawyer , the divorce filing by Britney took him completely by surprise.The couple reached a global settlement agreement in March 2007 and their divorce was finalized in July.
now britney's behaviour again recieved a lot of media attention ...including incidents like the one in which she attacked a paparazzi vehicle with an umbrella. she now left the rehabilitation center fully cured on march 20th.
now she had to fight a legal battle for her children. but many were on her side. she got all the support from her fans and from many writers who sympathised with her and wrote of the injustices done to her ...about her lack of privacy.
In May 2007, she produced a mini-tour for the House of Blues just after she left a rehabilitation facility under the name The M+M's; with six shows altogether, she sang live during some lines of her songs.while she had now got to share the custody of her children with her ex-husband...now again she was in trouble...In September 2007, the official findings in Spears's custody battle were announced by the court. She was ordered to undergo random drug and alcohol testings and to attend parenting counseling. Spears and Federline continued to share joint custody of their two children on a conditional basis.[106] A few days later, she was officially charged with misdemeanor hit-and-run and driving without a license. If convicted, she could face a year in jail. Spears lost physical custody of her children to Federline on October 1, with the court ruling that Federline will keep full custody of the children. The charges for her alleged hit-and-run that occurred in August 2007 were officially laid, she was booked for the charges by the Los Angeles Police Department on October 15 but was not arrested
the release of her 5th album, blackout was on october 30th , 2007. It debuted at number 2 in the U.S. making Britney the only artist to have her first 5 albums at number 1 and number 2 spot.
It was a huge hit all over the world. the critics could not lay a finger on her.The song 'gimme more' from 'blackout' topped the billboard hot 100 charts making his number The most successful single of spears after baby 1 more time...which was her debut.
But problems were there as well. Brit's performance at the 2007 mtv music awards was the worst to grace the award show...it was said....
She was completely blank and kept making wrong moves and sometimes stopped singing altogether. This was justified as a situation of blind panic for her because she had not performed in such a long time....so she messed it up.
But despite the criticism on her performance ...the song achieved worldwide renown and Britney was yet again the pop princess.
The second single from the album, 'piece of me'...was certified as platinum in the U.S.
On Jan 3, 2008 after spending 4 sleepless nights...Britney refused to give the custody of her children Federaline's representatives.In response, police were called to her home. She was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after she "appeared to be under the influence of an unknown substance", though blood tests tested negative for any illicit substances. She was held for psychiatric evaluation for two days. Pending a February 19 hearing, commissioner Scott Gordon issued an order on Jan 14 stating that her visitation rights have been suspended indefinitely. On January 31, a court placed Britney under temporary co-conservatorship of her father James Spears and attorney Andrew Wallete, giving them complete control of her assets.[138] As a result of an order placed by her psychiatrist, she was taken to UCLA Medical Center to be put on a 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold for the second time that month.
Shirley Jane Temple was born in the year 1928(August 23) in Santa Monica, California,USA.She is a famous American motion-picture actor,and she is considered as one of the most successful child stars in the history of film.She later had a notable career as a United States diplomat.
Her ambitious mother was the reason for her growth, and this made Temple to make her motion-picture debut at the age of three, and at the age of five she was featured in "Stand Up and Cheer" in the year 1934 and the image below is th eposter from that film.
She was known for her blond ringlets and also for her appealing lisp, and she is recognized for her ability to sing and tap-dance and this Temple became a celebrity in 1934, when she starred in four films:
- Now and Forever
- Little Miss Marker
- Baby Take a Bow
- Bright Eyes
She was also given a special Academy Award for her outstanding contribution to film at the end of this year.Even during the Great Depression of the 1930s, Temple was celebrated by an adoring public. A sophisticated performer who often seemed more mature than the adults around her, and she didn't find any difficulty in performing with veteran performers as Lionel Barrymore, Adolph Menjou, Sidney Blackmer, Alice Faye, Robert Young, Cesar Romero, Jimmy Durante, and C. Aubrey Smith.
Those films which Temple made for 20th Century-Fox film studio in the 1930s were
1935:
- The Little Colonel
- Curly Top
- The Littlest Rebel
1936:
- Poor Little Rich Girl
- Dimples
- Stowaway
1937:
- Wee Willie Winkie
- Heidi
1938:
- Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
- Little Miss Broadway
1939:
- The Little Princess
- Susannah of the Mounties
From 1935 to 1938 , she was at the height of her popularity and Temple was considrerd as one of the biggest box-office attraction in Hollywood, and this large gross revenues from her films helped to make 20th Century-Fox a major film studio. She also made a number of films as a teenager and these includesMiss Annie Rooney (1942), I'll Be Seeing You (1944), Since You Went Away (1944), The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer (1947), and Fort Apache (1948),but her appeal had faded, and the films were not successful. She retire dform acting in 1949.
It was from 1957 to 1959, Temple narrated the television series called as “Shirley Temple's Storybook.” and her worst time was in 1967 ,where she ran, unsuccessfully, as a Republican candidate for the Congress of the United States. She was also a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations (1969-1970), was U.S. ambassador to Ghana (1974-1976), and during the administration of President Gerald R. Ford,she became the first woman in U.S. history to serve as chief of protocol (1976-1977), She also served as ambassador to Czechoslovakia (1989-1992), during the administration of President George Bush. In 1988, her autobiography, Child Star, was published
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