Richard Theodore Otcasek, known as Ric Ocasek, was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He was the primary co-lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, songwriter, and frontman for the rock band the Cars. In addition to his work with the Cars, Ocasek recorded seven solo albums, and his song "Emotion in Motion" was a top 20 hit in the United States in 1986. Ocasek also worked as a record producer for artists such as Motion City Soundtrack, Suicide, Bad Brains, Weezer, Nada Surf, Guided by Voices, and No Doubt. In 2018, Ocasek was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Cars.
Dermot Mulroney is an American actor. He is known for his roles in romantic comedy, western, and drama films. Appearing on screen since 1986, he is known for his work in various films such as Young Guns (1988), Staying Together (1989), Where the Day Takes You (1992), Point of No Return (1993), Angels in the Outfield (1994), My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), About Schmidt (2002), The Wedding Date (2005), Zodiac (2007), August: Osage County (2013), Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015), and the HBO films The Last Outlaw (1993) and Long Gone (1987). Mulroney played the main antagonist Francis Gibson in NBC's Crisis (2014), Dr. Walter Wallace in Pure Genius (2016–2017), Sean Pierce in Showtime's Shameless (2015–2017) and Bobby Sheridan in USA's The Purge (2018–2019).
The Jordan Rules were a successful defensive basketball strategy employed by the Detroit Pistons against Michael Jordan in order to limit his effectiveness in any game. Devised by Isiah Thomas in 1988, the Pistons' strategy was "to play him tough, to physically challenge him and to vary its defenses so as to try to throw him off balance." Sometimes the Pistons would overplay Jordan to keep the ball from him. "I don't think Chuck Daly wanted to hurt him, he was just looking to wear him out." Sometimes they would play him straight up, more often they would run a double-team at him as soon as he got the ball to force him to go left, which he was less successful in doing. He never wanted opponents to think they were good enough to affect him or his play. Winning the psychological battle was as important to Jordan as the physical one. Additionally, whoever Jordan was guarding on defense, Detroit would force that player to pass the basketball in order to make Jordan work extremely hard on both ends of the court, thus increasing his fatigue level and rendering him less effective.
The Cops is a British television police procedural drama series created by Jimmy Gardner, Robert Jones, and Anita J. Pandolfo, that first broadcast on BBC Two on 19 October 1998. Produced by World Productions, the series follows the lives of one shift of uniform officers based at Christie Road Police Station in the fictional town of Stanton, Greater Manchester. Billed as another attempt by the BBC to rival The Bill, the series was notable for its documentary-style camerawork and uncompromising portrayal of the police force. Although the series featured a number of notable actors across three series, Katy Cavanagh, Rob Dixon, and John Henshaw remained as the principal cast throughout.
Sugar is a 2004 independent Canadian romantic drama film co-written and directed by John Palmer, and starring Andre Noble, Brendan Fehr, Marnie McPhail, Maury Chaykin, and Sarah Polley. Its plot follows a young gay man who falls in love with street hustler in Toronto. It is based on short stories by Bruce LaBruce. Noble, who received strong reviews for his performance in Sugar, died just a few weeks after the film's debut.
Universal Soldier is the sixth solo studio album by American rapper Pastor Troy. It was released in 2002 through Universal Records. Recording sessions took place at Madd House Studios, at the Village Recorder. at PatchWerk Recording Studios, at Sound Lab, at Audio Vision Studios, at Flamingo Studios, at Off The Top Studios, and at 1210 Studios. Production was handled by Lil' Jon, Timbaland, Tony "T-Cap" Sims, Jazze Pha, Benny "DaDa" Tillman, Big Floaty, Carlos "Los Vagez" Thornton, Church Boi, Carl Mo, and Pastor Troy himself, with Dino Delvaille serving as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Bun B, Ms. Jade, Pastor Troy Sr., Timbaland, and fellow D.S.G.B. members. The album peaked at number 13 on the Billboard 200 and number 2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States. Its lead single, "Are We Cuttin'", reached number 96 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was used on the soundtrack to Rob Cohen's film xXx.
Reginald Ballard is an American character actor and comedian from Galveston, Texas, who is best known for his recurring roles as Bruh-Man in the sitcom Martin and W.B. on The Bernie Mac Show, which both aired on Fox. After graduation from Ball High School, where he was an all district linebacker, Ballard earned a full football scholarship to Southern Methodist University, where he was also a theatre major. Just before his senior year, Ballard transferred to the University of Missouri, where he continued to play football, while continuing to act, appearing in a university production of A Soldier's Story in the role of C.J. Memphis.
Sean Reynolds is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Stephen McGann. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 10 March 1999.
Soara-Joye Ross, previously known as Joy Ross, Joye Ross, Joy E. T. Ross, and also known as Soara-Joyce Ross is an American actress and singer.
"Funky President " is a funk song by James Brown. Released as a single in 1974, it charted No. 4 R&B. It also appeared on the album Reality. According to Brown the "funky president" of the song's title was meant to refer to U.S. President Gerald Ford, who had succeeded Richard Nixon in the White House shortly before it was recorded.
That's All! is a 1967 live album by Sammy Davis, Jr., recorded at the Sands Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.
Chris Woods was an American jazz alto saxophonist.
How I Spent My Summer Vacation is a 1997 romantic comedy film, directed by John Fisher. The film stars Deanna Davis and RonReaco Lee, and is Fisher's directorial debut film.
"I Ain't Got Nobody" is a popular song copyrighted in 1915. Roger A. Graham (1885–1938) wrote the lyrics, Spencer Williams composed it, and Roger Graham Music Publishing published it. It was first recorded by Marion Harris, and became a perennial standard, recorded many times over following generations, in styles ranging from pop to jazz to country music. The 2008 film Be Kind Rewind uses the version recorded by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, although two covers were recorded for the film as well: a piano solo version by Jean-Michel Bernard, and a Fats Waller-esque version by Mos Def.
The Darkest Hour is a 2011 science fiction action film directed by Chris Gorak from a screenplay by Jon Spaihts and produced by Timur Bekmambetov. It depicts an alien invasion. The film stars Emile Hirsch, Max Minghella, Olivia Thirlby, Rachael Taylor, and Joel Kinnaman as a group of people caught in the invasion. The film was released on December 25, 2011 in the United States. It grossed $65 million on a $35 million budget.
Tico Wells in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is an American actor, known for his role as Choir Boy in the 1991 film The Five Heartbeats. He has also appeared on The Cosby Show, 227, Hallmark movies and Beverly Hills, 90210. He was Tim in the movie The Wish List, and played Dexter Williams, the younger brother of Denzel Washington's character Demetrius Williams, in Mississippi Masala. He starred as Kirkland J. Ellis, III, in the independent film Big Ain't Bad, a romantic drama that won Auds honors at the Hollywood Black Film Festival. He made a cameo in the Martin Lawrence show, Martin as "Sweet Reggie."
Sean Blakemore is an American actor who is portraying Shawn Butler on the ABC daytime drama General Hospital, a role he began playing on January 21, 2011 on a recurring basis. Blakemore was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his role on General Hospital in 2012 and won the award in 2016. On April 6, 2011, he signed a contract with ABC to continue his role full-time.
Shawn Butler is a fictional character from the ABC soap opera General Hospital. The role is portrayed by actor Sean Blakemore and first appeared on January 24, 2011, on a recurring basis. On April 6, 2011, it was announced that Blakemore was put on contract with the series. On May 18, 2015, it was announced that Blakemore had taped his last scenes as Shawn and would be exiting the series. Butler returned for one day on November 19, 2015. Butler was visited by Sam and Jason Morgan in early April 2016.
TJ Ashford is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network. The role was originated in 2012 by Krys Meyer when TJ was introduced as the troubled teenage son of Shawn Butler 's deceased best friend, Tommy, whom Shawn had killed in combat.
Poe Dameron is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. Introduced in the 2015 film Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he is portrayed by Oscar Isaac. Poe is an X-wing fighter pilot for the Resistance who inadvertently brings renegade stormtrooper Finn and Jakku scavenger Rey into battle against the sinister First Order. The character is featured in The Force Awakens media and merchandising as well as an eponymous comic book series. He returns in the film's sequels The Last Jedi (2017) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019), the Disney XD animated series Star Wars Resistance (2018–2020) and the Disney+ television specials The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special (2020) and Terrifying Tales (2021).
