Jewison’s masterpiece, probably, is “Moonstruck,” written by John Patrick Shanley. Shanley, now 73, is Bronx-born Vietnam veteran who got a degree in Educational Theater from New York University after the war. He ended up writing 23 plays, including Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, Italian American Reconciliation, Doubt: A Parable, and Brooklyn Laundry, which opens … Read more
Born in Elgin, Illinois, Shales worked as an editor at The Washington Examiner before getting hired as a writer for The Washington Post‘s Style desk in 1972. Five years later, he was named TV critic. His default voice was that of a skeptical midwestern curmudgeon who could be roused to righteous ire when confronted with a program he found … Read more
TERENCE DAVIES Terence Davies was once called “the keeper of British cinema.” He kept it well. It felt like watching a film by Terence Davies was to spend time with Terence Davies. More than most filmmakers, he poured himself into his work, using his craft to reflect his memories and dreams. His films are often … Read more
A child of Leeds, Thomas Wilkinson grew up on a farm before briefly moving to British Columbia at the age of 11, returning to the U.K. only five years later. He graduated from the University of Kent at Canterbury, where his love of acting was born, carried to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in … Read more
That year marked the debut of “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” which followed “Ed Sullivan” and despite the clean cut and unassuming appearance of its hosts, was as new school as you can get. TV, in fact, had never seen anything like it. The pointed political satire, counterculture humor and anti-war sentiments earned the ire … Read more
He was born Myron G. Nussbaum on December 29, 1923 and grew up in the Albany Park section of Chicago’s Northwest Side. He served in the armed forces during World War II at the Allied Expeditionary Force under the command of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and in that capacity became the one charged with cabling … Read more
It helped Andre Braugher’s sense of gravity that he was a Chicagoan through and through, able to capture both a deep intellectualism and a street-smart savvy that carried life experience in his bones. He was the youngest of four children to two parents who worked tough jobs for a living—a postal worker mom and an … Read more
In 1964, he had his first big break when he landed the role of Rodney Harrington on “Peyton Place,” a soap opera that was an adaptation of the once-scandalous novel by Grace Metalious that exposed the hypocrisies and scandals barely hidden beneath the well-manicured surfaces of a seemingly ordinary American small town. Although a broadcast … Read more
CBS was so nervous about the first episode of “All in the Family,” it ran what today we might call a trigger warning, saying that the show “seeks to throw a humorous spotlight on our frailties, prejudices, and concerns. By making them a source of laughter, we hope to show—in a mature fashion—just how absurd … Read more
Raised mostly in Ottawa, Ontario by his mother Suzanne and his father Keith Morrison (yes, the one from “Dateline NBC”), Perry moved to Los Angeles with his father in the ‘80s, popping up in guest roles on some of the staples of the era like “Charles in Charge,” “Silver Spoons,” “Growing Pains,” and “Who’s the … Read more