George William Peppard was an American actor. He secured a major role as struggling writer Paul Varjak when he starred alongside Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), and later portrayed a character based on Howard Hughes in The Carpetbaggers (1964). On television, he played the title role of millionaire insurance investigator and sleuth Thomas Banacek in the early-1970s mystery series Banacek. He played Col. John "Hannibal" Smith, the cigar-smoking leader of a renegade commando squad in the 1980s action television series The A-Team.
The Bad and the Beautiful is a 1952 American melodrama that tells the story of a film producer who alienates everyone around him. The film was directed by Vincente Minnelli, written by George Bradshaw and Charles Schnee, and stars Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas, Walter Pidgeon, Dick Powell, Barry Sullivan, Gloria Grahame and Gilbert Roland. The Bad and the Beautiful won five Academy Awards out of six nominations in 1952, a record for the most awards for a movie that was not nominated for Best Picture or for Best Director.
George Roy Hill was an American film director. His films include Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and The Sting (1973), both starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford.
Curtis Lee Hanson was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Reno, Nevada, Hanson grew up in Los Angeles. After dropping out of high school, Hanson worked as photographer and editor for Cinema magazine. In the 1970s, Hanson got involved in filmmaking starting with participating in the writing of the horror film The Dunwich Horror (1970) and his directorial debut Sweet Kill (1973), where he lacked creative control to fulfill his vision. While Hanson continued directing, he rose to prominence by being involved in the writing of several critically-acclaimed films. This included Daryl Duke's The Silent Partner (1978), Samuel Fuller's White Dog (1982), and Carroll Ballard's Never Cry Wolf (1983).
Peter Hess Stone was an American screenwriter and playwright. Stone is perhaps best remembered by the general public for the screenplays he wrote or co-wrote in the mid-1960s, Charade (1963), Father Goose (1964), and Mirage (1965).
Steven Robert Guttenberg is an American actor, author, businessman, producer, and director. His lead roles in Hollywood films of the 1980s and 1990s include Cocoon, Police Academy, Three Men and a Baby, Diner, The Bedroom Window, Three Men and a Little Lady, The Big Green, and Short Circuit.
Rollercoaster is a 1977 American disaster-suspense film directed by James Goldstone and starring George Segal, Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda and Timothy Bottoms. It was one of the few films to be shown in Sensurround, which used extended-range bass frequencies to give a sense of vibration to the viewers during the coaster rides.
Mark Rydell is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has directed several Academy Award-nominated films including The Fox (1967), The Reivers (1969), Cinderella Liberty (1973), The Rose (1979), and The River (1984). He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for On Golden Pond (1981).
Thomas Frank Mankiewicz was an American screenwriter, director, and producer of motion pictures and television whose credits included James Bond films and his contributions to Superman: The Movie (1978) and the television series Hart to Hart. He was the son of Joseph Mankiewicz and nephew of Herman Mankiewicz. He is not related to the similarly named Wolf Mankowitz who worked on the first James Bond film, uncredited.
Rough Cut is a 1980 American heist film written by Larry Gelbart, directed by Don Siegel, and starring Burt Reynolds, Lesley-Anne Down and David Niven. It was based on the novel Touch the Lion's Paw (1975) by Derek Lambert.
Stroker Ace is a 1983 American action comedy sport film directed by Hal Needham and starring Burt Reynolds as the eponymous Stroker Ace, a NASCAR driver.
Good Guys Wear Black is a 1978 American martial arts action film starring Chuck Norris and directed by Ted Post. This was the second film to feature Norris as the star, following Breaker! Breaker! (1977). However, this is the one that Norris considers his "breakthrough".
The Choirboys is a 1977 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Aldrich, written by Christopher Knopf and Joseph Wambaugh based on Wambaugh's 1975 novel of the same name. It features an ensemble cast including Charles Durning, Louis Gossett Jr., Randy Quaid, and James Woods. The film was released to theaters by Universal Pictures on December 23, 1977.
Ray Danton was a radio, film, stage, and television actor, director, and producer whose most famous roles were in the screen biographies The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960) and The George Raft Story (1962). He was married to actress Julie Adams from 1954 to 1981.
Shamus is a 1973 American comedy thriller film directed by Buzz Kulik, and starring Burt Reynolds and Dyan Cannon. The word "shamus" means "detective" in American slang.
Saturday Island is a 1952 British south seas adventure romance film directed by Stuart Heisler and starring Linda Darnell, Tab Hunter, and Donald Gray. The film was produced by independent company Coronado Productions with the financial backing of RKO Pictures who distributed it in Britain. It was released in America by United Artists under the alternative title Island of Desire.
Hearts of the West, released in Europe as Hollywood Cowboy, is a 1975 American comedy film directed by Howard Zieff, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Jeff Bridges, Andy Griffith, Blythe Danner, and Alan Arkin. A remake of 1932’s Make Me a Star, its story revolves around a wannabe Western writer who finds himself cast as a leading man in several 1930s Hollywood B-movie Westerns.
Dragstrip Girl is a 1957 film starring John Ashley in his first lead role. American International Pictures released the film as a double feature with Rock All Night and it proved an early success for the studio.
Players is a 1979 American romance drama film directed by Anthony Harvey and starring Ali MacGraw and Dean Paul Martin about a young tennis player who has an affair with an older woman.
Melvin Simon Productions was a short-lived film production company of the 1970s and 1980s. It was founded by real estate magnate Melvin Simon.
