1.
David Kirkpatrick (producer)
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David Paul Kirkpatrick is an American film producer, studio executive and writer. Kirkpatrick was chief of production at two studios at the time, Walt Disney Pictures and Touchstone Pictures. Kirkpatrick was raised as a Catholic in the state of Ohio and he graduated from Hudson High School in Hudson Ohio in 1969. Kirkpatricks screenplay Dynamite Woman was produced in 1976 and distributed by New World Pictures, shortly after, he took a position in the story department at Paramount Pictures. Kirkpatrick worked his way up the ranks at Paramount making his name by overseeing Paramounts exclusive development deal with Eddie Murphy, both Kirkpatrick and Katzenberg were involved in the development of Coming to America and the subsequent Buchwald v. Paramount breach of contract lawsuit. The case was the subject of the 1992 book Fatal Subtraction, Kirkpatrick was also instrumental in replacing Hunt for Red October star Alec Baldwin with Harrison Ford in the Jack Ryan franchise. Baldwin revealed this in a March 2011 column on The Huffington Post, in which he accused Kirkpatrick of back-handed dealings in the matter, during that period, he oversaw The Little Mermaid, Pretty Woman and Dead Poets Society among other films, before returning to Paramount. Kirkpatrick left his post at Paramount after finding his office furniture on the lawn after an altercation with fellow executive Stanley R. Jaffe. Afterward, he entered into a deal with the company and then produced The Brady Bunch Movie, and The Evening Star. He then formed his own production company Original Voices concentrating on smaller projects, producing the independent hits Big Night and The Opposite of Sex. In 2006, Kirkpatrick co-founded Good New Holdings, an entertainment company that produced spiritainment. The company and Kirkpatrick were featured in a The New York Times profile, the title of the profile refers to the battle outlined in Ephesians 6,12 regarding the struggle over souls. After leaving Good News Holdings, Kirkpatrick co-founded Plymouth Rock Studios, in November 2009, the Studio had announced that it had secured $500 million in financing. Kirkpatrick and Plymouth Rock Studios parted ways in June 2010, Kirkpatrick took a position in 2011 with the Rock Organization. It is a Christian worldview foundation based in the Midwestern United States and he is working on a transmedia event on the life of Jesus Christ. David Kirkpatrick produced the 1996 HBO film Rasputin that won the Golden Globe for Best Mini-Series of Motion Picture Made for Television, alan Rickman won both the Emmy and the Golden Globe for his title performance role in the mini-series. Kirkpatrick also produced The Opposite of Sex, which received the 1999 Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, in 2007, he became the first recipient of the David Award the lifetime achievement award from Regent University, a Christian college, for redemptive work in the entertainment field. The award derives its name from the David of the Old Testament, David Kirkpatrick at the Internet Movie Database
2.
Kevin Meyer
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Kevin Meyer is an award-winning filmmaker, director, and writer. He is known for such as A Smile Like Yours. Meyer attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts and co-directed a 30-minute film called Divided We Fall with Jeff Burr, the film went on to win fourteen film festival awards and is considered one of the most decorated films in the history of USC Cinema. In addition to the awards for Divided We Fall, Meyer was given a bronze Award from the World Fest Houston in 1990 and he also wrote, produced, and directed a series of short documentaries for the National Museum of the United States Army
3.
Greg Kinnear
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Gregory Buck Greg Kinnear is an American actor and television personality. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets, Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, to Suzanne, a homemaker, and Edward Kinnear, a career diplomat who worked for the US State Department. He has two brothers, James and Steven and he grew up a Foreign Service brat, having moved around frequently, from Beirut to Athens. While a student at the American Community Schools in Athens, Kinnear first ventured into the role of talk show host with his radio show School Daze With Greg Kinnear. Returning to the United States for an education, he attended the University of Arizona. While there, he was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, Kinnear hosted a short-lived game show, College Mad House, which was spun off from the kids show Fun House. He became the creator, co-executive producer and host of Best of the Worst, the show was canceled thanks to Rooster Teeths Burnie Burns. In 1991, Kinnear became the first host of Talk Soup, which he hosted until 1995, after his film debut, Blankman, Kinnear won the part of David Larrabee in Sydney Pollacks 1995 remake of Billy Wilders 1954 classic Sabrina. He played the role in the 1996 comedy Dear God. In 1997, he was cast in James L. Brooks comedy-drama, As Good as It Gets and he also starred in, A Smile Like Yours with Lauren Holly, as part of a couple trying to have a baby. His next film was the popular Youve Got Mail, as Kathleens significant other, other films are Mystery Men, Nurse Betty, Loser, The Gift and Someone Like You. Kinnear starred in Auto Focus about the life and murder of actor Bob Crane in 2002, in 2005, he starred in the black comedy The Matador with Pierce Brosnan and voiced Phineas T. Ratchet in the computer-animated film Robots. He also appeared in Fast Food Nation, playing a fast food executive who discovers secrets about his company, in 2008, he starred in Flash of Genius, a docudrama about Robert Kearns who invented the intermittent windshield wiper. His portrayal of then-Major Bruce P. Crandall in 2002s We Were Soldiers brought public attention to Crandalls heroism during the 1965 Battle of Ia Drang, in Baby Mama Kinnear played Rob, a local smoothie shop owner and the romantic interest of Kate. In 2010, he starred as the father of Miley Cyrus character in The Last Song. In 2011, Kinnear starred in the miniseries The Kennedys playing the role as John F. Kennedy. It was originally planned to air on the History Channel, however and it was subsequently picked up by ReelzChannel and then first aired on April 3,2011. Kinnear played a famous novelist in the Josh Boones directorial debut film, Stuck in Love, Kinnear married British glamour model Helen Labdon on May 1,1999
4.
Lauren Holly
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Lauren Michael Holly is a Canadian-American actress. Holly was born in Bristol, Pennsylvania and her father, Grant Holly, is a screenwriter and professor of literature at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. She has two brothers, Nick and Alexander Innes Holly. Holly was raised in Geneva, New York, and is a 1981 graduate of Geneva High School, in 1985, she earned an undergraduate degree in English from Sarah Lawrence College in New York. Hollys acting career began at the age of 20 when she appeared as Carla Walicki in two episodes of Hill Street Blues, at age 23, she joined the cast of the ABC television soap opera All My Children as Julie Rand Chandler. She portrayed the comic book character Betty Cooper in the TV movie Archie, To Riverdale and she appeared as Mary Swanson, Lloyd Christmass love interest, in the 1994 Jim Carrey comedy Dumb & Dumber. She starred in the movie Any Given Sunday, Holly appeared in the music video for Dixie Chicks single Goodbye Earl. She was a member of the cast of NCIS as Director Jenny Shepard from 2005 to 2008, reuniting with her former Chicago Hope co-stars Mark Harmon, Holly portrayed the worldly and stunning lead medical examiner Dr. Betty Rogers, a regular character on the CTV series Motive. In 2014, she was reunited with her Picket Fences co-star, Tom Skerritt, in the movie, in 2015, Holly starred in Oz Perkins horror film The Blackcoats Daughter. In February 2017, it was announced that Holly had joined Nicholas Gyeneys Seattle-based reality-drama, Ultra Low, Holly lives in Canada with her three children, Henry, George, and Azer Holly-Greco. Holly became a Canadian citizen in 2008, official website Lauren Holly at the Internet Movie Database Lauren Holly at TVGuide. com
5.
Joan Cusack
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Joan Cusack is an American actress. She is also known as the voice of Jessie in the Toy Story franchise, Cusack was a cast member on the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1986. She starred on the Showtime hit drama/comedy Shameless as Sheila Gallagher and she is the sister of actors Ann and John Cusack. Cusack was born in New York City, New York on October 11,1962 and her mother, Ann Paula Nancy, is a former mathematics teacher and political activist. Her late father, Dick Cusack, as well as her siblings Ann and John, have also been or are actors and her family is Irish American and Catholic. Cusack is an alumna of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Cusack has twice been nominated for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for her work in Working Girl and In & Out. She appeared with her brother John in the movies Sixteen Candles, Grandview, Class, High Fidelity, Grosse Pointe Blank, Say Anything. Cradle Will Rock, Martian Child, and most recently, War, in the film Addams Family Values, she played serial divorcee and murderer Debbie Jellinsky. She also starred in the short-lived ABC sitcom What About Joan. in 2001–02, for many years, Cusack was also the commercial spokeswoman for U. S. Cellular. One of Cusacks most well-known roles was the head-teacher of Horace Green Elementary School, Rosalie Roz Mullins, in School of Rock. She also voiced Jessie in Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 and played Dr. Burton, Cusack was a cast member on the NBC sketch show Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1986. Her recurring characters on Saturday Night Live included Salena, a socially inept girl who tries to ask out her boyfriend, Biff, in addition, she did celebrity impersonations of Brooke Shields, Jane Fonda, and Queen Elizabeth II. She has also won the New York Film Critics Circle Award, in 2003, both Joan and her brother John signed the Not in My Name resolution opposing the invasion of Iraq. Cusack narrates the public TV animated series Peep and the Big Wide World, in September 2010, Cusack guest-starred on NBCs Law & Order, SVU. In 2010, Cusack joined the Showtime drama/comedy Shameless as Sheila Gallagher the mother of Karen Jackson, the first season premiered on January 9,2011, and had its first finale March 27,2011. She is the sister of actor John Cusack and they have appeared together in 10 productions, Class, Sixteen Candles, Grandview, U. S. A. Grosse Pointe Blank, Cradle Will Rock, High Fidelity, Martian Child and she is married to attorney Richard Burke, President and CEO of VISANOW Global Immigration since 1993. They have two sons, Dylan John and Miles, Cusack suffered a miscarriage while filming Addams Family Values but, after an extensive hospital stay, continued with filming
6.
Jay Thomas
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Jon Thomas Terrell, professionally known as Jay Thomas, is an American actor, comedian, and radio talk show host. He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 1990 and 1991 for portraying Gold, in 1997, he starred in the television film Killing Mr. Griffin, based on the novel of the same name. In film, he co-starred in Mr Hollands Opus and portrayed The Easter Bunny in The Santa Clause 2, since 2005, he has hosted The Jay Thomas Show on Sirius Satellite Radio, and is on every Friday afternoon on Howard 101. Jay Thomas was born in Kermit, Texas, to Katharine and he was raised in his Italian American mothers Catholic religion, his father was Protestant. Thomas was raised in New Orleans. He attended and graduated from Jesuit High School in New Orleans, Thomas made his annual Christmastime appearance with David Letterman for the first time in December 1998. Letterman and one of his guests that evening, then-New York Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde, took turns tossing footballs at the Christmas tree across the stage. As the two tried to knock off the meatball and failed repeatedly, Thomas came out and decided to join in the festivities and knocked the meatball off of the tree. When Letterman talked with Thomas later on, he decided to tell a story about when he was a disc jockey at a radio station in Charlotte. Thomas had been making an appearance at a local car dealership. This dealership had also booked Clayton Moore to make an appearance, when they returned to pack up their equipment, they discovered that Moore was still there, as the car that was supposed to drive him to the Red Roof Inn never arrived. Thomas offered Moore a ride in his old Volvo and he accepted, as they were sitting in traffic, an impatient middle-aged man driving a Buick, backed into the front end of Thomas car, broke a headlight and drove away. Thomas gave chase to the Buick through heavy traffic, finally caught up to the man, the indignant driver denied breaking the headlight and Thomas threatened to call the police. The man said nobody would believe their story because Thomas and his friend looked like two hippy freaks. At that moment, Thomas said that Moore, who was still in costume as the Lone Ranger, got out of the car and said to the man, Theyll believe me, citizen. For every year thereafter, with the exception of 2013, Thomas appeared to re-tell the Lone Ranger story, for the final appearance of the story in 2014, Thomas was again successful in knocking the meatball off the top of the tree. Thomas fathered J. T. in a relationship and the child was adopted by another family in Michigan. Jay Thomas and his son, known as John Harding, are reunited and have spoken about their reunion on the Dr. Phil Show, John Harding is the lead singer of the band JTX. Jay Thomas at the Internet Movie Database The Jay Thomas Show website TV. com entry Ten Questions with Jay Thomas
7.
Jill Hennessy
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Jillian Noel Jill Hennessy is a Canadian actress and musician. She has also acted in such as RoboCop 3 and Most Wanted, and the independent films Chutney Popcorn and The Acting Class. Hennessy was born in Edmonton, Alberta and her father, John Hennessy, was a meat salesman and sales/marketing executive, a job that required considerable travel and resulted in frequent moves for the family. Her mother, Maxine, a secretary, left the family in 1982, leaving her daughter to be raised by her paternal grandmother, Eleanor, in Kitchener. She has a brother, John Paul J. P. Hennessy, Jr. and an identical twin sister, Jacqueline. Hennessy has Irish, French, Swedish and Italian ancestry on her fathers side and she attended Stanley Park Senior Public School, then graduated from Grand River Collegiate Institute in Kitchener, Ontario and used to busk in the Toronto subway. Hennessy and her sister played twin call girls in 1988s Dead Ringers and she was short listed for the role of Dana Scully on The X-Files according to Gillian Anderson, the actress who eventually got the role. She appeared on Broadway in the musical Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story in 1990, in 1993, she appeared as Dr. Marie Lazarus in RoboCop 3. In 1993, Richard Dick Wolf signed Hennessy as assistant district attorney Claire Kincaid in the NBC crime drama Law & Order. She played the role for three seasons, ultimately leaving the show in 1996, her last installment being one in which Kincaid was killed in a car crash, in 1999, she appeared as Lisa in Chutney Popcorn. In 2000, Hennessy wrote, produced, and jointly directed an independent film mockumentary titled The Acting Class, the film co-starred her identical twin sister Jacqueline, and included cameo appearances from a number of Hennessys former Law & Order co-stars. She also starred in the film Nuremberg, as Elsie Douglas, in 2001, she portrayed Jackie Kennedy in the film Jackie, Ethel, Joan, The Women of Camelot, and, in 2003, made a cameo appearance in the film Abby Singer. From 2001 to 2007, she starred on the TV show Crossing Jordan as title character Jordan Cavanaugh and she also played the wife of Tim Allens character in the 2007 film Wild Hogs. On June 9,2007, she received a star on Canadas Walk of Fame, during sessions in Austin, Texas, Hennessy recorded the album Ghost in My Head, which was released in June 2009. She performed as a guest of the Indigo Girls on a November 2009 show of Mountain Stage and was the focus of a show for later that same month. She performed on the Village Stage of the 2010 edition of Lilith Fair, Hennessy starred in the independent crime thriller, Small Town Murder Songs, in 2010. She also appeared as a veterinarian in the HBO series Luck and her second album, I Do, was released in October 2015. Hennessy is multi-lingual, speaking English, Italian, French, Spanish, Hennessy plays the guitar and sings, and enjoys riding motorcycles with her husband, Paolo Mastropietro, to whom she has been married since 2000
8.
Christopher McDonald
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Christopher McDonald is an American actor. McDonald was born in New York City, the son of Patricia, a professor and real estate agent, and James R. McDonald. He was raised in Romulus, New York, and is a graduate of Hobart College in Geneva, New York where he played football and his younger brother, actor Daniel McDonald, died of brain cancer in February 2007. McDonald has numerous film and television roles, often as a supporting actor and he was featured as Ward Cleaver in the movie version of Leave It to Beaver and famous baseball broadcaster Mel Allen in 61*. In 1994, he starred in the film Terminal Velocity as an aggressive Russian mafia villain, richard Castillo in the season three episode Yesterdays Enterprise. McDonalds voice work includes the government agent Kent Mansley in the animated film The Iron Giant. He also voiced Jor-El in Superman, The Animated Series and subsequently an older version of Superman in Batman Beyond and he subbed for Burt Reynolds as Boss Hogg in The Dukes of Hazzard, The Beginning. In 2009, McDonald also lent his talents in the Thomas Nelson audio Bible production known as The Word of Promise. In this dramatized audio, McDonald played the role of Luke, McDonald played the eponymous lead in Peter Gabriels music video for the song The Barry Williams Show. He also replaced Robert De Niro in the Midnight Run movie franchise and he portrayed baseball player Joe DiMaggio in the ESPN original series The Bronx Is Burning. In October 2013, McDonald started filming for A Conspiracy on Jekyll Island, the film is set to release in 2017. McDonald appears in the Broadway show The Front Page at the Broadhurst Theater, Christopher McDonald at the Internet Movie Database Christopher McDonald at the Internet Broadway Database
