James Coburn-Career

 

 

 

 

Coburn's film debut was as the sidekick of bad guy Pernell Roberts in the Randolph Scott western Ride Lonesome.

 

Coburn appeared in dozens of television roles including , several episodes of Bonanza. He appeared at least twice on John Payne's NBC western “The Restless Gun” in episodes entitled "The Pawn" and "The Way Back".    Coburn and Ralph Taeger co-starred with Joi Lansing in “Klondike” on NBC in the 1960–1961 season. When “Klondike”, set in the Alaskan gold rush town of Skagway, was cancelled, Taeger and Coburn were regrouped as detectives in Mexico in NBC's equally short-lived “Acapulco”.

 

Coburn became well known in the 1960s and the 1970s for his roles in several action and western films. First primarily with Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson in two John Sturges films: “The Magnificent Seven” and “The Great Escape”.

 

Coburn played the part of a villainous Texan in the hugely successful “Charade”. He Played a glib naval officer in “The Americanization of Emily” and a one-armed Indian tracker in “Major Dundee” gained him much notice.

 

In 1966, Coburn became a bona fide star with the release of Our Man Flint, a James Bond spoof released by 20th Century-Fox. In 1971, he starred in the spaghetti western “Duck, You Sucker!”, directed by Sergio Leone, as an Irish explosives expert and revolutionary who has fled to Mexico during the time of the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century.

 

Coburn teamed with director Sam Peckinpah for the 1973 film “Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid”.  Jerry Bresler, took editing responsibilities away from Peckinpah during post-production, resulting in Peckinpah's becoming furious over what he claimed was the producer's deliberate sabotage of his film, and he threatened the studio with a lawsuit. Columbia relented--mainly because of a promise made to them by star Charlton Heston that he would never work for the studio again if they didn't let Peckinpah edit the film the way he wanted--and acceded to some of Peckinpah's demands, but the finished product was still not satisfactory to him and he disowned it).

 

Peckinpah and Coburn were greatly disappointed and turned next to “Cross of Iron”, a critically acclaimed war epic that performed poorly in the U.S. but was a huge hit in Europe. They remained close friends until Peckinpah's death on December 28, 1984. In 1973 Coburn was one of the featured celebrities dressed in prison gear on the cover of the album “Band On The Run” made by Paul McCartney and his band Wings.

 

Coburn returned to television in 1978 to star in a three-part mini-series version of a Dashiell Hammett detective novel, “The Dain Curse”, tailoring his character to bear a physical resemblance to the author. Due to severe rheumatoid arthritis, Coburn appeared in very few films in the 1980s. Although his hands were visibly gnarled in film appearances within the final two decades of his career, Coburn continued working. He spent much of his time writing songs with British singer-songwriter Lynsey De Paul and doing television series as his work on Darkroom. He claimed to have healed himself with pills containing a sulfur-based compound. Coburn returned to film in the 1990s, and appeared in supporting roles in “Young Guns II”, “Hudson Hawk”, “Sister Act 2”, “Maverick”, “Eraser”, “The Nutty Professor”, “Affliction”, and “Payback”. Coburn's performance in ‘Affliction” earned him an Academy Award, and he was also nominated for the Screen Actors Guild and the Independent Spirit Awards.

Anthony Quinn-Career

 

 

 

 

After a short time performing on the stage, Quinn launched his film career performing character roles in the 1936 films “Parole” (his debut) and “The Milky Way”. He played "ethnic" villains in Paramount films such as “Dangerous to Know” and “Road to Morocco” .  Quinn played a more sympathetic Crazy Horse in “They Died with Their Boots On”. By 1947, he had appeared in over 50 films and had played Indians, Mafia dons, Hawaiian chiefs, Filipino freedom-fighters, Chinese guerrillas, and Arab sheiks, but was still not a major star.

 

Quinn returned to the theater, playing Stanley Kowalski in “A Streetcar Named Desire” on Broadway.

 

In 1947, Quinn became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He came back to Hollywood in the early 1950s, specializing in tough roles. He was cast in a series of B-adventures such as “Mask of the Avenger”. His big break came from playing opposite Marlon Brando in “Viva Zapata!”. Quinn wanted to play the lead role of Zapata but Brando coming off his recent success in the film “Streetcar Named Desire” was Kazan's first choice. However his supporting role as Zapata's brother won Quinn an Oscar while Brando lost the Oscar for Best Actor to Gary Cooper in “High Noon”. He was the first Mexican-American to win any Academy Award.

 

Quinn appeared in several Italian films starting, turning in one of his best performances as a dim-witted, thuggish and volatile strongman in Federico Fellini's “La strada” opposite Giulietta Masina.

 

Quinn won his second Oscar for Best Supporting Actor by portraying the painter Paul Gauguin in Vincente Minnelli's van Gogh biopic, “Lust for Life”. The award was remarkable as he was on screen for only 8 minutes.

 

The following year, he received an Oscar nomination for his part in George Cukor's “Wild Is the Wind”. In “The River's Edge”, he played the husband of the former girlfriend (Debra Paget) of a killer (Ray Milland), who turns up with a stolen fortune and forces Quinn and Paget at gunpoint to guide him safely to Mexico. Quinn starred in “The Savage Innocents” (film) as Inuk, an Eskimo who finds himself caught between two clashing cultures.

 

As the decade ended, Quinn allowed his age to show and began his transformation into a major character actor. His physique filled out, his hair grayed, and his once smooth, swarthy face weathered and became more rugged. He played a Greek resistance fighter in “The Guns of Navarone”. He played an ideal ex-boxer in “Requiem for a Heavyweight”, and a natural for the role of Auda abu Tayi in “Lawrence of Arabia”.

 

In 1962, he also played the title role in “Barabbas”, based on a novel by Pär Lagerkvist.

 

The success of “Zorba the Greek” in 1964 was the high water mark of his career and resulted in another Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Other films include “The 25th Hour”,  “The Magus”, “La Bataille de San Sebastian” (Guns for San Sebastian), and “The Shoes of the Fisherman”.   In 1969, he starred in “The Secret of Santa Vittoria” with Anna Magnani.

 

Quinn appeared on Broadway to great acclaim in “Becket”, as King Henry II. An erroneous story arose in later years that during the run, Quinn and Olivier switched roles. Quinn played Becket to Olivier's King. In fact, Quinn left the production for a film, never having played Becket, and director Peter Glenville suggested a road tour with Olivier as Henry. Olivier happily agreed and Arthur Kennedy took on the role of Becket for the tour and brief return to Broadway.

 

After the success of a TV movie named “The City”, where Quinn played Mayor Thomas Jefferson Alcala.  Quinn starred in the single-season ABC television series entitled “The Man and the City”. Though the program was filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the name of the city is not disclosed on the program. His subsequent television appearances were sporadic, among them “Jesus of Nazareth”.

 

In 1977, Quinn starred in the movie “Mohammad, Messenger of God”, as Hamzah. In 1980, he starred in the “Lion of the Desert”. with Irene Papas, Oliver Reed, Rod Steiger, and John Gielgud.

 

Quinn played the real-life Bedouin leader Omar Mukhtar, who fought Benito Mussolini's Italian troops in the deserts of Libya. The film, produced and directed by Moustapha Akkad. It is now critically acclaimed. It performed poorly at the box office because of negative publicity in the West at the time of its release, stemming from its having been partially funded by Libya.

 

In 1983, he reprised his most famous role, playing Zorba the Greek for 362 performances in a successful revival of the Kander and Ebb musical Zorba. Quinn performed in this musical both on Broadway in New York City and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

 

Quinn's film career slowed during the 1990s, but he nonetheless continued to work steadily, appearing in “Revenge”, “Jungle Fever”, “Last Action Hero”, “A Walk in the Clouds”, and “Seven Servants”.

 

In 1994, Quinn played Zeus in the five TV movies that led to the syndicated series “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”. (However, he did not continue in the actual series, and the role was eventually filled by several other actors).

 

Quinn made an appearance at the John Gotti trial. According to John H. Davis, author of Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Gambino Crime Family, Quinn told reporters he wanted to play Paul Castellano, the boss of the Gambino family after Carlo Gambino. Gotti had Castellano murdered, becoming the boss of the Gambino family thereafter. Gotti was on trial concerning a variety of felony charges when Quinn visited the court room. Although he tried to shake hands with Gotti, federal marshals prevented him from doing so, Davis says. The actor interpreted the testimony of Sammy ("The Bull") Gravano, Gotti's underboss, against Gotti as "a friend who betrays a friend." He hadn't come to "judge" Gotti, Quinn insisted, but because he wanted to portray Castellano, who inspired the actor because he had had a "thirty-year-old" mistress, which Quinn believed was "a beautiful thing." He would later portray Gambino family underboss Aniello Dellacroce in the 1996 HBO film Gotti. Armand Assante portrayed John Gotti and Richard C. Sarafian portrayed Paul Castellano. Quinn was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance as Dellacroce.

Lauren Bacall-Career

 

 

Bacall took lessons at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. During this time, she became a theatre usher and worked as a fashion model on the side. As Betty Bacall, she made her acting debut, at age 17, on Broadway as a walk-on in Johnny 2 X 4. According to her autobiography, she met her idol Bette Davis at Davis' hotel. Years later, Davis visited Bacall backstage to congratulate her on her performance in Applause, a musical based on Davis' turn in “All About Eve”.

 

Bacall became a part-time fashion model. Howard Hawks' wife Nancy spotted her on the March 1943 cover of Harper's Bazaar. Nancy urged Hawks to have Bacall take a screen test for “To Have and Have Not”. Hawks invited her to Hollywood for the audition. He signed Bacall up to a seven-year personal contract, brought her to Hollywood, gave her $100 a week, and began to manage her career. Hawks changed her name to Lauren Bacall.

 

Nancy Hawks took Bacall under her wing. She dressed Bacall stylishly, and guided her in matters of elegance, manners and taste. Bacall's voice was trained to be lower, more masculine and sexier.  In the movie, Bacall takes on Nancy's nickname “Slim."

 

During screen tests for “To Have and Have Not”, Bacall was nervous. To minimize her quivering, she pressed her chin against her chest and to face the camera, tilted her eyes upward. This effect became known as "The Look", Bacall's trademark.

 

Bacall and Bogart met on the set “Dark Passage” . It was Humphrey Bogart, who was married to Mayo Methot, initiated a relationship with Bacall some weeks into shooting and they began seeing each other.

 

On a visit to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Bacall's press agent Charlie Enfield, asked the 20-year-old Bacall to sit on the piano which was being played by Vice-President of the United States Harry S. Truman. The photos caused controversy and made worldwide headlines.

 

After “To Have and Have Not”, Bacall was seen opposite Charles Boyer in the critically panned “Confidential Agent”. Bacall would state in her autobiography that her career never fully recovered from this film, and that studio boss Jack Warner did not care about quality.

 

She then appeared with Bogart in the films noir “The Big Sleep” and “Dark Passage”. Bacall played John Huston's melodramatic suspense film “Key Largo”  with Bogart and Edward G. Robinson. She was cast with Gary Cooper in the period drama “Bright Leaf”.