Showing titles in Actors

From the Ringo Kid in Stagecoach to "Rooster" Cogburn in True Grit, John Wayne was a screen legend whose stellar performances ensured that his legacy as an icon of the American West would live on forever. But what of the man away from the cameras? What drove him to succeed as an actor and win every major award in show business? Journey through this incredible life and learn how Wayne got his big break....

"Salut, je m'appelle Matthew, mais vous me connaissez peut-être sous un autre nom. Mes amis m'appellent Matty. Et je devrais être mort." Ainsi commence le captivant récit du célèbre Matthew Perry, acteur qui incarna le légendaire Chandler de Friends. Au fil de ses souvenirs, il évoque ses ambitions de jeunesse et son rapport à la célébrité, ses addictions et sa guérison après un grave problème de santé qui lui fit frôler la mort.

William Wallace is one of the most famous freedom fighters in history. Over 700 years after his death he is still remembered as Scotland's beloved hero. But while the movie Braveheart helped make him a household name, and he is commemorated across Scotland as a natural leader and a loyal son of his homeland, he is also "the most mysterious of the leaders of the Scottish resistance to Edward I".

Audrey Hepburn was not your usual movie star. She was the highest paid actress of her day, yet she never took a formal acting lesson. A child of war, and the daughter of a Fascist sympathizer, she spent her last years helping children of other wars. An Academy Award-winner for her first major film role (Roman Holiday), Hepburn continued her storybook career with such classic movies as Sabrina, Funny Face, The Nun's Story, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Charade, My Fair Lady and Wait until Dark. Her two marriages ended in divorce.

The iconic actor best known for his role as Jim McDonald in Coronation Street, Lawson unveils a life as dramatic off-screen as his on-screen roles. In his own words, he recounts his shenanigans at boarding school, his experience of the Troubles in his native Northern Ireland, his time at drama school and his first acting roles–as well many boisterous nights out and a short-lived attempt to run an illicit club night in 1980s East London.

Before Jet Li, Jacki Chan, Jean Claude Van Damme, and Steven Seagal, there was Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee's legend is considered one of the unique success tales in Hollywood. Just like any other man who thrived to succeed, Lee's journey was also full of ups and downs. But he justly did overcome the obstacles and all adversities to achieve stardom which at first was seemingly obscure to him.

While actors like Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant remain household names, and actresses like Greta Garbo are still widely remembered, few had careers that enjoyed the success of William Powell. In a career spanning several decades, Powell would receive three Oscar nominations for Best Actor for critically acclaimed movies, so it is somewhat ironic that he is mostly remembered today for his association with the more famous Myrna Loy. Together, they starred in 14 films, including the 1934 box office hit, The Thin Man.

Buckle up for the ride through the lesser known side of Hollywood. The side you don't see on the screen and have only heard about on the news. In this book we will take a deeper look into the lives and deaths of ten of Hollywood's most famous and infamous deaths. You already know their names and their movies - now learn what drove them to death's door and what finally pushed them through.

Despite the enormous esteem he has garnered from virtually every corner of the music world, Jerry Garcia has continued to elude both fans and music historians as they attempt to determine his origins and categorize his art and influence on American music. Part of their difficulty lies in the fact that his work as the frontman for the Grateful Dead, "one of the most prolific and iconic guitarists of the twentieth century", tended toward a blending of the traditional with the experimental.

Do you know him best as Capt. James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise? As the over-the-top pitchman for Priceline.com? As Denny Crane on Boston Legal, or perhaps T.J. Hooker in the eponymous '80s TV show? However you know him, you haven't really gotten to know William Shatner, one of the most recognizable and durable television actors of the last 50 years.

When the American Film Institute assembled its top 100 actors of all time at the close of the 20th century, Jimmy Stewart ranked third, behind only Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant. There is a certain inevitability to these three actors ranking at the top of the list; after all, they were the dominant faces of Hollywood during the height of the era known as classical Hollywood cinema, a time before the onset of television when the movies still enjoyed relatively uncontested supremacy over American entertainment.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “[This] absorbing, affectionate portrait manages to bring [Newman] back to us. . . . Paul Newman leaves readers with a surprisingly cheering message. If the rest of us can’t aspire to having Newman’s life, we can at least take inspiration from the way he lived...

In the wee hours of the morning on November 13, 1974, shots rang out in the upscale home at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York, a village within the town of Babylon. The house belonged to forty-three year old Ronald DeFeo, Sr. and his forty-two year old wife, Louise, who lived there with their five children, ranging in age for nine to twenty-three. The DeFeos and four of their children were shot to death, execution style, while in bed.

"We can live the stories or hear about them later from others. I choose the former." Charlie Sheen should not be alive to tell these stories. But in The Book of Sheen, the star who has defied all odds – decades of addiction (to drugs, alcohol, gambling, and more), an HIV diagnosis, three...

Dueling Banjos: The Deliverance of Drew is a collection of stories of the making of the iconic movie, Deliverance, told from the perspective of one of the four main actors in the film, Ronny Cox, who played the character of Drew. Based on the novel by James Dickey, the movie was filmed in the summer of 1971 and was released the following year in 1972. Forty years later, it remains one of the most recognized films in movie history for being raw, emotional, violent and shocking - yet it leaves a lasting impression of artistic excellence.

Virtually all famous actors are regaled by the public, but even still, Fred Astaire occupies a privileged position in American pop culture. The specific films in which Astaire acted may not be especially famous in their own right - most people likely cannot recall the title of Top Hat (1935), his most decorated film - but Astaire's dancing prowess invariably creates a lasting impact on viewers.

He had the face of a true villain, chiseled to perfection. Director Sergio Leone once described Van Cleef as having the face of a hawk; actor Eli Wallach called it “wonderfully alive” and full of wickedness. As an actor, Van Cleef portrayed some of the best movie villains of all time. Although more than thirty years have passed since his premature death in 1989, Lee Van Cleef remains a cinematic icon. Lee Van Cleef: Best of the Bad explores the life and career of this great actor, a man with unbounded talent and a heart of finely polished gold.

A poignant, heartfelt and funny memoir about how, in 1985, Michael J Fox brought two iconic roles to life simultaneously - Alex Keaton in Family Ties and Marty McFly in Back to the Future. Here is the amazing true story, as only Michael J Fox can tell it ... In early 1985, Michael J. Fox was one...

Although she came of age in an era when Hollywood studios were looking for blonde bombshells like Marilyn Monroe, and she followed that path to instant stardom, Jayne Mansfield had one of the most unique Hollywood careers in the 1950s and 1960s.

Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 - December 12, 1968) was an American actress, born in Huntsville, Alabama. Primarily a stage actress, Bankhead also appeared in several films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat (1944). She also had a brief but successful career on radio and made appearances on television. In all, Bankhead amassed nearly 300 film, stage, television and radio roles during her career. She was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1972. The following television interview is from 1953.