Christopher Ferdinand Durang was an American playwright known for works of outrageous and often absurd comedy. His work was especially popular in the 1980s, though his career seemed to get a second wind in the late 1990s.
Gloria Rose "Barbara" Turner was an American screenwriter and actress. The actress Jennifer Jason Leigh is her daughter.
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American comedian, actress, and singer. Her comedy-variety show The Carol Burnett Show, which originally aired on CBS, was one of the first to be hosted by a woman. She has performed on Broadway, on television, and in film of varying genres, including dramatic and comedic roles. She has received numerous accolades, including seven Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, a Grammy Award, and seven Golden Globe Awards. Burnett was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2013, and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2015.
Uncle Buck is a 1989 American comedy-drama film written and directed by John Hughes. It stars John Candy and Amy Madigan with Jean Louisa Kelly, Laurie Metcalf, Jay Underwood, Macaulay Culkin, Gaby Hoffmann, Elaine Bromka, and Garrett M. Brown appearing in supporting roles. The film tells the story of a bachelor who babysits his brother's rebellious teenage daughter and her younger brother and sister while the parents are away. It was released in theatres by Universal Pictures on August 16, 1989, and has grossed $79.2 million since its release.
Marsha Norman is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. She received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play 'night, Mother. She wrote the book and lyrics for such Broadway musicals as The Secret Garden, for which she won a Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical, and The Red Shoes, as well as the libretto for the musical The Color Purple and the book for the musical The Bridges of Madison County. She was co-chair of the playwriting department at The Juilliard School until stepping down in 2020.
A Wedding is a 1978 American satirical comedy-drama film directed by Robert Altman, with an ensemble cast that includes Desi Arnaz, Jr., Carol Burnett, Paul Dooley, Vittorio Gassman, Mia Farrow, Lillian Gish, Geraldine Chaplin, Howard Duff, Nina Van Pallandt, Amy Stryker, and Pat McCormick. The story is told in typical Altman style, with multiple plots and overlapping humorous dialogue.
Ruby Dee was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and civil rights activist. Dee was married to Ossie Davis, with whom she frequently performed until his death in 2005. She received numerous accolades, including two Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, a Obie Award and a Drama Desk Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award. She was honored with the National Medal of Arts in 1995, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2000, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004.
Amy Jo Johnson is an American-Canadian actress, director, singer, and songwriter. As an actress, Johnson is best known for her roles as Kimberly Hart on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993–1995), Julie Emrick on Felicity (1998–2000), and Jules Callaghan on Flashpoint (2008–2012).
Judyann Elder is an American actress, director, and writer. Elder played Nadine Waters on the FOX sitcom Martin. She also played Harriette Winslow on CBS Family Matters for the remaining eight episodes of its ninth and final season after the departure of Jo Marie Payton. Elder is also a veteran of the stage who has appeared in scores of theatrical productions throughout the United States and Europe.
Amy Marie Madigan is an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1985 film Twice in a Lifetime. Her other film credits include Love Child (1982), Places in the Heart (1984), Field of Dreams (1989), Uncle Buck (1989), The Dark Half (1993), Pollock (2000), and Gone Baby Gone (2007).
Marsha P. Johnson was an American gay liberation activist and self-identified drag queen. Known as an outspoken advocate for gay rights, Johnson was one of the prominent figures in the Stonewall uprising of 1969.
Mae Marsh was an American film actress whose career spanned over 50 years.
The Flying Deuces, also known as Flying Aces, is a 1939 buddy comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy, in which the duo join the French Foreign Legion. It is a partial remake of their short film Beau Hunks (1931).
HealtH is a 1980 American ensemble comedy film, the fifteenth feature project from director Robert Altman. It stars Carol Burnett, Glenda Jackson, James Garner, Lauren Bacall, and Paul Dooley, and was written by Altman, Dooley and Frank Barhydt. The film's title is an acronym for "Happiness, Energy, and Longevity through Health".
Fool for Love is a 1985 American psychological drama film directed by Robert Altman, and starring Sam Shepard, Kim Basinger, Harry Dean Stanton, Randy Quaid, and Martha Crawford. It follows a woman awaiting the arrival of her boyfriend in a derelict motel in the Mojave Desert, where she is confronted by a previous lover who threatens to undermine her efforts. It is based on the 1983 stage play of the same name written by Shepard, who also adapted the screenplay.
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch is a 1934 American comedy drama film directed by Norman Taurog. It is based on the 1904 Broadway play by Anne Crawford Flexner, which was taken from the novel of the same name by Alice Hegan Rice. The film stars Broadway stage actress Pauline Lord, ZaSu Pitts and W. C. Fields.
Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean is a 1976 play by Ed Graczyk, originally performed at the Players Theatre Columbus in Columbus, Ohio. Despite the interpretation of the name in the title, it refers to the legendary "Rebel Without a Cause", James Dean, as opposed to Jimmy Dean, the country-western singer who had a hit in 1961 with "Big Bad John". The play revolves around a James Dean fan club that reunites at a Texas five-and-dime store.
Voices Within: The Lives of Truddi Chase is an ABC-Network miniseries based on When Rabbit Howls, the autobiography of Truddi Chase, a woman who was diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder who had 92 separate personalities. The four-hour miniseries, which was directed by Lamont Johnson stars Emmy winner Shelley Long as Truddi Chase. Tom Conti co-stars as her doctor. The miniseries aired on May 20 and 21, 1990 and Chase worked closely with screenwriter E. Jack Neuman to assure her autobiography was adapted accurately. Voices Within also exists as a 1-hour 46 minute version.
Dear Santa is a 2011 Canadian romantic drama television film directed by Jason Priestley and starring Amy Acker, David Haydn-Jones, and Emma Duke. Written by Barbara Kymlicka, the film is about a young woman struggling to get serious about her life who finds a letter to Santa from a seven-year-old girl asking for a new wife for her widowed father and decides to bring happiness to their lives. The film first aired on the Lifetime television network on November 26, 2011.
The Laundromat is a 2019 American comedy-drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh with a screenplay by Scott Z. Burns. It is based on the book Secrecy World about the Panama Papers scandal by author Jake Bernstein. The film stars Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman, Antonio Banderas, Robert Patrick, Jeffrey Wright, David Schwimmer, Matthias Schoenaerts, James Cromwell and Sharon Stone.
