Blazing Saddles is a 1974 American satirical postmodernist Western black comedy film directed by Mel Brooks, who co-wrote the screenplay with Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg and Alan Uger, based on a story treatment by Bergman. The film stars Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences, was nominated for three Academy Awards and is ranked number six on the American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Laughs list.
Arthur Hiller, was a Canadian television and film director with over 33 films to his credit during a 50-year career. He began his career directing television in Canada and later in the U.S. By the late 1950s he began directing films, most often comedies. He also directed dramas and romantic subjects, such as Love Story (1970), which was nominated for seven Oscars.
The Frisco Kid is a 1979 American Western comedy film directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Gene Wilder as Avram Belinski, a Polish rabbi who is traveling to San Francisco, and Harrison Ford as a bank robber who befriends him.
Jerome Silberman, known professionally as Gene Wilder, was an American actor, comedian, writer and filmmaker. He was known mainly for his comedic roles, but also for his portrayal of Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971). He collaborated with Mel Brooks on the films The Producers (1967), Blazing Saddles (1974) and Young Frankenstein (1974), and with Richard Pryor in the films Silver Streak (1976), Stir Crazy (1980), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) and Another You (1991).
Young Frankenstein is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor Frankenstein. Peter Boyle portrayed the monster. The film co-stars Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, Richard Haydn, and Gene Hackman.
Margaret Ruth Kidder, known professionally as Margot Kidder, was a Canadian-American actress whose career spanned five decades. Her accolades include three Canadian Screen Awards and one Daytime Emmy Award. Though she appeared in an array of film and television roles, Kidder is most widely known for her performance as Lois Lane in the Superman film series, appearing in all four original films.
The Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake was a lottery established in the Irish Free State in 1930 as the Irish Free State Hospitals' Sweepstake to finance hospitals. It is generally referred to as the Irish Sweepstake or Irish Sweepstakes, frequently abbreviated to Irish Sweep or Irish Sweeps. The Public Charitable Hospitals Act, 1930 was the act that established the lottery; as this act expired in 1934, in accordance with its terms, the Public Hospitals Acts were the legislative basis for the scheme thereafter.
David Kelly was an Irish actor who had regular roles in several film and television works from the 1950s onwards. One of the most recognisable voices and faces of Irish stage and screen, Kelly was known for his roles as Rashers Tierney in Strumpet City, Cousin Enda in Me Mammy, the builder Mr O'Reilly in Fawlty Towers, Albert Riddle in Robin's Nest, and Grandpa Joe in the film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). Another notable role was as Michael O'Sullivan in Waking Ned.
The Main Event is a 1979 American sports romantic comedy film starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal, written by Gail Parent, directed by Howard Zieff, and produced by Jon Peters and Streisand.
The Irish community is one of New York City's major and important ethnic groups, and has been a significant proportion of the city's population since the waves of immigration in the late 19th century.
The Front Page is a 1974 American black comedy-drama film directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. The screenplay by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond is based on Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's 1928 play of the same name, which inspired several other films and televised movies and series episodes.
Oreste Lionello was an Italian actor and voice actor.
Martin Crosbie was an Irish tenor and older brother to Paddy Crosbie of The School Around the Corner. Martin, who was affectionately known as "The Miller's daughter", a song he made his own, started in show business in his early 1930s.
My Irish Molly is a 1938 British musical film, directed by Alex Bryce and starring Binkie Stuart, Tom Burke and Maureen O'Hara shot at Welwyn Studios with footage of Ireland. The screenplay concerns a young orphan who runs away from her mean-spirited guardian to live with her aunt. O'Hara appeared in the film under her real name of Maureen FitzSimmons. The film was released in the US in 1940 under the title My Little Molly with scenes of Binkie Stuart removed due to Maureen O'Hara being given top billing due to her American popularity.
The Gravy Train, also commonly known as The Dion Brothers, is a 1974 American crime-comedy film directed by Jack Starrett, written by Terrence Malick and Bill Kerby, and starring Stacy Keach and Frederic Forrest.
Gabriel Walsh, born in Dublin, is a writer, publishing books and producing scripts for TV shows and movies.
Eileen Colgan Simpson was an Irish theatre, television and film actress. She was best known for her recurring role as Esther Roche on the RTÉ One soap opera, Fair City. She also appeared in the RTÉ television drama, Glenroe, as Mynah, the housekeeper of the priest. Her other television credits included Ballykissangel, The Hanging Gale and Strumpet City.
Aaron Heffernan is an Irish actor known for his roles in Love/Hate, Brassic, Obsession: Dark Desires and War of the Worlds.
