Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands was an American actress, whose career in film, stage, and television spanned nearly seven decades. A four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner, she collaborated with her actor-director husband John Cassavetes in ten films, including A Woman Under the Influence (1974) and Gloria (1980), both of which earned her nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She also won the Silver Bear for Best Actress for Opening Night (1977). She appeared in Woody Allen's Another Woman (1988), and her son Nick Cassavetes's film, The Notebook (2004). In 2021, Richard Brody of The New Yorker said, "The most important and original movie actor of the past half century-plus is Gena Rowlands." In November 2015, Rowlands received an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of her unique screen performances.
Frances Louise McDormand is an American actress and producer. In a career spanning over four decades, she has gained acclaim for her roles in small-budget independent films. McDormand has received numerous accolades, including four Academy Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and one Tony Award, making her one of the few performers to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting". Additionally, she has received three BAFTA Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. McDormand's worldwide box office gross exceeds $2.2 billion.
Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. was an American actor. He made his stage debut at the age of 17. Shortly thereafter, he successfully auditioned for the Broadway play Take a Giant Step. Gossett continued acting onstage in critically acclaimed plays including A Raisin in the Sun (1959), The Blacks (1961), Tambourines to Glory (1963), and The Zulu and the Zayda (1965). In 1977, Gossett appeared in the popular miniseries Roots, for which he won Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series at the Emmy Awards.
Penny Fuller is an American actress. She received two Tony Award nominations for her performances on Broadway stage: for Applause (1970), and The Dinner Party (2001). For her television performances, Fuller received six Emmy Award nominations, winning once, in 1982 for playing Madge Kendal in The Elephant Man.
An Early Frost is a 1985 American made-for-television drama film. It was the first major film with major motion picture stars, Aidan Quinn, Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara, and Sylvia Sidney, broadcast on a major television network, NBC, to deal with the topic of AIDS. It was viewed by 34 million households in its initial airing, the highest rated show of the night, even beating Monday Night Football. It received 14 Emmy nominations, winning 3 including Best Original Teleplay, a Peabody Award, as well as multiple Golden Globe nominations, including one for Sylvia Sidney who won for Best Supporting Actress. It was a major breakthrough into mass culture, as it was the first time an American audience of that size saw a film about a gay man who had AIDS, which up until then was considered a gay disease.
Stella Mae Parton is an American country singer and songwriter widely known for a series of country singles that charted during the mid-to-late-1970s, her biggest hit being "I Want to Hold You in My Dreams Tonight" in 1975. She is a younger sister of singer-songwriter Dolly Parton and an older sister of the late Randy Parton and former actress Rachel Parton George.
The Color of Friendship is a 2000 biographical drama television film based on actual events about the friendship between two girls, one from the United States and the other from apartheid South Africa, who learn about tolerance and racism. The film was directed by Kevin Hooks, based on a script by Paris Qualles, and stars Lindsey Haun and Shadia Simmons.
Wild Iris is a 2001 drama television film directed by Daniel Petrie and starring Laura Linney, Gena Rowlands, Emile Hirsch, and Fred Ward, with Miguel Sandoval, Scott Gibson, and Lee Tergesen in supporting roles. The screenplay was by Kent Broadhurst. It was presented on Showtime.
Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter is a 1979 American made-for-television drama film directed by Milton Katselas and starring Bette Davis and Gena Rowlands. It was broadcast May 13, 1979 on CBS.
Clement Virgo is a Canadian film and television writer, producer and director who runs the production company, Conquering Lion Pictures, with producer Damon D'Oliveira. Virgo is best known for co-writing and directing an adaptation of the novel by Canadian writer Lawrence Hill, The Book of Negroes (2015), a six-part miniseries that aired on CBC Television in Canada and BET in the United States.
The Two Mrs. Grenvilles is a 1987 television miniseries based on Dominick Dunne's 1985 novel of the same name and dramatizing the sensational killing of William Woodward, Jr. by his wife, Ann Woodward in 1955. Directed by John Erman, the miniseries stars Ann-Margret, Elizabeth Ashley, Stephen Collins and Claudette Colbert in her final television role.
The 5th Golden Satellite Awards, given by the International Press Academy, were awarded on January 14, 2001.
Janet Dulin Jones is an American screenwriter, playwright and producer.
What If God Were the Sun? is a 2007 American television film directed by Stephen Tolkin and starring Lacey Chabert and Gena Rowlands. Written by Janet Dulin Jones and Jamie Pachino, based in part on a novel by John Edward, the film is about a dedicated nurse whose life is disrupted by her father's death. After losing her job, she finds comfort and inspiration in caring for a terminally ill woman with a quick wit and strong faith. What If God Were the Sun? was originally broadcast by Lifetime Television on May 14, 2007.
The Betty Ford Story is a 1987 television film directed by David Greene and written by Karen Hall. This biographical film was based on the book The Times of My Life written by Chris Chase and Betty Ford. The film originally aired on ABC.
Thursday's Child is a 1983 American made-for-television drama film starring Rob Lowe, Gena Rowlands and Don Murray, directed by David Lowell Rich and based on the book by Victoria Poole.
The Josephine Baker Story is an American television film that first aired on HBO on March 16, 1991. It stars Lynn Whitfield as Josephine Baker, who was an international African-American star, who was especially successful in Europe. The film was generally well received by critics and has become a success on home video and DVD. The original music score was composed by Georges Delerue.
Stephen Tolkin is an American television writer, director and composer. He worked on a number of American television series including Brothers & Sisters, Perception, Legend of the Seeker and Switched at Birth. He has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Television) for A Day Late and a Dollar Short.
