Donna Adrian Gaines, known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music gained a global following.
Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label currently focuses on dance and electronic music under the direction of Brett Alperowitz.
Neil E. Bogart was an American record executive. He was the founder of Casablanca Records, which later became Casablanca Record and Filmworks.
Euphemia LatiQue"Tika" Sumpter is an American actress and producer. Sumpter began her career as the host of Best Friend's Date. From 2005 to 2010, she appeared in the daytime soap opera One Life to Live. In 2010, she made her film debut in Stomp the Yard: Homecoming and later featured in supporting roles for What's Your Number? (2011), Sparkle (2012), and A Madea Christmas (2013).
Love to Love You Baby is the second studio album by American singer Donna Summer, released on August 27, 1975, and her first to be released internationally and in the United States. Her previous album Lady of the Night (1974) was released only in the Netherlands. The album was commercially successful, mainly because of the success of its title track, which reached number 2 on the US Pop charts despite some radio stations choosing not to play the song due to its sexually explicit nature.
Doron Bell Jr. is a Canadian actor, musician, and singer. He is known for his music, acting and voice work; he voiced the character Waldo in the Netflix animated series Dinotrux as well as many other animation projects. He once released an indie-reggae music single "Lightning" that featured Jamaican singer and Grammy winner Beenie Man. Bell also starred in the Lifetime original movie Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart as Scott Rhodes, the R&B star's manager. In spring 2019, Bell was cast as one of The Isley Brothers alongside R&B superstar Jason Derulo as Ron Isley in the film Spinning Gold starring Wiz Khalifa, Richard Dreyfuss, Peyton List and Neil Patrick Harris. He is also the older brother of fellow actor Dexter Bell.
Brooklyn Dreams were an American singing group of the late 1970s, mixing R&B harmonies with contemporary dance/disco music and best known for a number of collaborations with singer Donna Summer. The band consisted of Joe "Bean" Esposito, Eddie Hokenson and Bruce Sudano. Esposito provided lead vocals for the band and played guitar, while Sudano played keyboards and Hokenson played drums and occasionally sang lead vocals.
"Love to Love You Baby" is a song by American singer Donna Summer from her second studio album, Love to Love You Baby (1975). Produced by Pete Bellotte, and written by Italian musician Giorgio Moroder, Summer, and Bellotte, the song was first released as a single in the Netherlands in June 1975 as "Love to Love You" and then released worldwide in November 1975 as "Love to Love You Baby". It became one of the first disco hits to be released in an extended form.
Lyndsy Marie Fonseca is an American actress. She began her career by appearing as Colleen Carlton on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless, on which she starred between 2001 and 2005. Thereafter, she had a series of other recurring roles, including Penny Mosby on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, Donna on HBO's Big Love, and Dylan Mayfair on the fourth season of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives.
Evan Bogart, better known as E. Kidd Bogart, is an American songwriter, music publisher, record executive and film & television producer. He is the son of Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart and former music manager Joyce Bogart Trabulus (KISS). Bogart's music has been nominated for three Grammy Awards, winning one, and he currently serves as National Trustee for The Recording Academy and Chair of their Songwriters & Composers Wing.
Sebastian Maniscalco is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Best known for his physical comedy, Maniscalco has released six comedy specials. He has also had supporting acting roles in the films Green Book (2018) and The Irishman (2019), playing mobster Joe Gallo in the latter. He also played Frank Russo in the 2022 film Somewhere in Queens, and later voice acted in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) and IF (2024). Maniscalco co-wrote and co-starred in the 2023 film About My Father with Robert De Niro playing the role of his father. Maniscalco starred in the 2023 TV series Bookie.
Cecil Holmes is an American record executive who was a co-founder of Casablanca Records and a founder of Chocolate City Records. Born in New York, New York, Holmes began his career in the music businesses as member of a Brooklyn "doo-wop" group in the early 1950s before transitioning to record promotion with Colpix Records, a division of Columbia Pictures. Holmes began a long-term relationship with Neil Bogart while working together at Cameo-Parkway Records, Kama Sutra Records, and Buddah Records before co-founding Casablanca. After the sales of Casablanca, Holmes moved to Columbia/CBS Records as Vice President of East Coast A&R and Executive Producer.
Larry Alan Harris was executive vice president and co-founder of Casablanca Records, with his cousin Neil Bogart, Cecil Holmes, and Buck Reingold.
Cruise is an American romantic comedy film, written and directed by Robert D. Siegel. It stars Spencer Boldman, Emily Ratajkowski, Lucas Salvagno, Noah Robbins, Gino Cafarelli, Kathrine Narducci and Sebastian Maniscalco. Filmed in 2015, it was eventually released direct-to-video in September 2018, by Vertical Entertainment.
The Politician is an American comedy-drama television series created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan and released on Netflix. The trio also serves as executive producers with Alexis Martin Woodall, Ben Platt, and Gwyneth Paltrow. The series centers on the story of Payton Hobart (Platt), a wealthy Santa Barbaran, and each season revolves around a different political race his character is involved in.
The Dirt is a 2019 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Jeff Tremaine from a screenplay by Rich Wilkes and Amanda Adelson, about heavy metal/glam metal band Mötley Crüe. The film stars Douglas Booth, Colson Baker, Daniel Webber and Iwan Rheon.
Fool's Paradise is a 2023 American satirical comedy film written and directed by Charlie Day in his directorial debut. The film stars Charlie Day, Ken Jeong, Kate Beckinsale, Adrien Brody, Jason Sudeikis, Edie Falco, Jason Bateman, Common, Ray Liotta, and John Malkovich.
Palmer is a 2021 American drama film directed by Fisher Stevens and written by Cheryl Guerriero. The film stars Justin Timberlake, Juno Temple, Alisha Wainwright, June Squibb, and Ryder Allen. Palmer was digitally released by Apple TV+ on January 29, 2021. The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances and themes though noted its familiarity.
About My Father is a 2023 American comedy film directed by Laura Terruso from a screenplay by Sebastian Maniscalco and Austen Earl. The film stars Maniscalco and is loosely based on his life and his relationship with his father, played by Robert De Niro. Leslie Bibb, Anders Holm, David Rasche, and Kim Cattrall co-star in supporting roles.
Bookie is an American comedy television series created by Chuck Lorre and Nick Bakay starring Sebastian Maniscalco, Omar Dorsey, Andrea Anders, Vanessa Ferlito, Jorge Garcia, Maxim Swinton, and Charlie Sheen. It premiered on Max on November 30, 2023. In January 2024, the series was renewed for a second season.
