In case you’ve been living under a rock for more than 30years, one of the busiest and most famous movie stars of the new millennium is Liam
Neeson.
Beginning with his first big starring role as Oskar Schindler in “Schindler’s List,”
his acting stock has risen to box office heights with such major films as “Michael Collins,” “Les Misérables,” “Star Wars,” “Batman,” “Taken,” “The Grey,” “Silence,” “The Chronicles of Narnia,” and “A Monster Calls.”
At 58 years young, she’s one of the most respected and multi-faceted performers in the entertainment industry today. She’s sold millions of records worldwide, appealing to every musical taste, from pop to jazz, from Latin to gospel. Her honors include Emmys, Grammys, Tony’s, Golden Globes, and others.
Of course, I’m talking about Vanessa L. Williams whose road to celebrity status began
when she became the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title in
1983.
It seems inconceivable to me and, if you talk to others in the movie industry they will agree, Kevin Bacon is one of the best actors never to have received an Oscar nomination.
The Academy Award judges missed the mark and should have given one of the most famous American actors the industry’s highest honor for Bacon’s leading or supporting roles in such high-profile films as “Footloose,” “JFK,” “A Few Good Men,” “Apollo 13,” “Mystic River,” “The River Wild,” “Hollow Man,” and so many others.
In case you haven’t heard, one of our all-time favorite TV judges, Judge Judy, is taking her show to a different courtroom.
The jury is still out on whether the new digital streaming
version, “Judy Justice”, will reach the award-winning success levels of the 25-year-long run of her iconic show, but Amazon’s IMDb-TV is betting
We – and I am referring to most of our “Senior Reporter” readers – will always associate Angela Lansbury with her iconic TV mystery series, “Murder, She Wrote,” and
her role as the fictional writer and whodunit sleuth Jessica Fletcher.
However, how many of us know the vibrant, highly successful 95-year-old actress
whose professional career was as complicated as her life away from stage and screen?
It’s true: anybody who has lived long enough to remember the TV sitcom about the
quaint neighborhood bar in Boston where “everyone knows your name” will forever equate Ted Danson with the quippy bartender in “Cheers,” one of the most iconic shows
ever produced in the history of television.
And Danson admits as the above quote illustrates, the multi-Emmy-winning, 11-
year running series was the springboard to stardom for the 73-year-old actor.
The word “breakthrough” is reserved for people and things that change the status quo forever. For instance, the Internet was a breakthrough for how
we communicate and conduct research. Electric cars changed the way we transport
ourselves without relying on oil and gas. Barack Obama made history by becoming the first African-American President of the United States.
Similarly, in the entertainment world, Viola Davis has broken the glass ceiling and ethnic boundaries by becoming the first black woman to achieve the “Triple Crown of Acting” – winning Academy Awards for film, Tony Awards for the stage, and Emmy Awards for TV
In the history of Hollywood, you can count on one hand how many child actors managed to weather the transition to becoming a full-grown movie star.
Take Kurt Russell, for instance. Maybe it’s the luck of the Irish since he was born on St. Patrick’s Day in 1951 in Springfield, Mass. And it so happens that both of his parents were in show business – his father was actor Neil “Bing” Russell and his mother is dancer, Louise Julia Russell. His father and sister had a lot to do with his childhood.
For most of us who grew up in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, the memories of flower children, hippies, Woodstock, and tiedye remain like tattoos. The same goes for the music of the era, including the unmistakable harmonic voice of one of the most colorful and talented singers of then and now — Carly Simon.
Known as “The Boss” to his fans, fellow musicians, and just about everyone around the world, Bruce Springsteen continues to bring his indelible style of rock music to the universe with passion and energy most singers at age 71 wish they still had.