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    Posted

    Bonnie Bedelia

    Date of Birth

    25 March 1948, New York City, New York, USA

    Birth Name

    Bonnie Bedelia Culkin

    Height

    5' 4" (1.63 m)

    Mini Biography

    A lovely and luminous leading lady with a natural talent and innate sensitivity who never quite got her due, Bonnie Bedelia is a petite, dewy-eyed brunette who always gives you the real deal whether on film or TV. A genuine, very likable performer, she can just as easily play with your heart, play with your mind, play hardball with the boys or play up her tears with maximum feminine effect -- sometimes all at once! In looks, style and appeal, she is quite reminiscent of another attractive actress of the 1970s who failed to fully garner the attention she deserved -- Belinda Montgomery.

    The native New Yorker was born Bonnie Bedelia Culkin on March 25, 1948, the daughter of Phillip Harley Culkin, a journalist, and Marian Ethel Wagner Culkin, a writer and editor. Trained in ballet, her parents guided all of the children at one time or another into acting (which included Christopher (Kit), Terry and Candace Culkin). Bonnie herself attended Quintano School for Young Professionals in New York at one point and Bonnie and Kit went on to appear on the local stage and TV. Brother Kit would later be known more for siring a handful of talented child actors and/or stars (Macaulay Culkin, Kieran Culkin, and the rest).

    It was Bonnie who was first spotted among the other acting siblings by a talent scout who happened to catch her in a school production of "Tom Sawyer", and encouraged her. She made her professional debut at age 9 in a 1957 North Jersey Playhouse production of "Dr. Praetorius" and then was handed a full scholarship to study at George Balanchine's New York City Ballet. But the acting bug had bitten and after dancing in only four productions (including playing the role of Clara in "The Nutcracker"), she decided to hang up her ballet slippers. She proceeded to study at both the HB Studio and Actors Studio in New York.

    Bonnie nabbed a five-year role as young teen "Sandy Porter" in the New York-based daytime soap "Love of Life" (1951) starting in 1961. During that time, she took her first Broadway bow in "Isle of Children", a show that lasted but a week in March of 1962. She was also a replacement in the established hit comedy "Enter Laughing", a year later. After appearing in the stage play "The Playroom" in 1965, she earned strong reviews for her touching performance in "My Sweet Charlie", for which she won the 1967 Theatre World Award for "promising new artist". In it, she played a pregnant young Southern girl on the lam with a black lawyer. Patty Duke recreated the role a few years later on TV and captured an Emmy.

    Films beckoned at this point and Bonnie made her debut lending topnotch support in The Gypsy Moths (1969) which reunited From Here to Eternity (1953) stars Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr. She earned even better marks in her next two films, one performance simply haunting and the other one hilarious. Once again playing pregnant and once again delivering a touching pathos, she played the dirt-poor marathon dancer who pitches songs for pennies and the almost-mother of Bruce Dern's child in the superb, award-winning, Depression-era drama They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969). On the other end of the acting spectrum, she played the lovable bride-to-be in the side-splitting comedy classic Lovers and Other Strangers (1970).

    By this time, Bonnie had started concentrating on family values. She married scriptwriter Ken Luber on April 24, 1969, and bore him a son, Yuri, the following year. The time off to focus on motherhood (she had second son, Jonah Luber, in 1976) proved detrimental to her rising star. The remaining decade was uneventful at best, despite some fine showings in a splattering of TV-movies. Her big comeback came again on the movie trail in the early 1980s when she absolutely nailed the role of race car driver Shirley Muldowney in Heart Like a Wheel (1983). She was surprisingly overlooked at Oscar time, however, despite the praise she received. Despite respected work in subsequent movies such as Violets Are Blue... (1986), The Prince of Pennsylvania (1988), Presumed Innocent (1990) and a running role as Bruce Willis's put-upon wife in Die Hard (1988) and its sequel, she found better and more frequent parts on TV. She found her niche in TV-movies with social themes and tugged at more hearts in Switched at Birth (1991) (TV), A Mother's Right: The Elizabeth Morgan Story (1992) (TV), Any Mother's Son (1997) (TV) and To Live Again (1998) (TV).

    In a change of pace, Bonnie joined the ensemble cast of the low-budget cult comedy Sordid Lives (2000), as "Latrelle", a homophobic woman dealing with her mother's death, the imprisonment of her gay brother and her own son's "coming out". The movie has recently evolved into a TV series, which is scheduled for some time in 2008 and reunites her with original cast members Leslie Jordan and Olivia Newton-John.

    Divorced from the father of her two children, she is presently married to third husband (or fourth, depending on your source of reference) actor Michael MacRae, whom she married in 1995.

    IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / [email protected]

    Spouse

    Michael MacRae (1995 - present)

    James Telfer (24 May 1975 - ?) (divorced)

    Ken Luber (15 April 1969 - 1980) (divorced) 2 children

    Trivia

    Her picture appears on the cover of the book "The Films of Don Shebib" by Piers Handling (Canadian Film Institute, Ottawa, 1978). Donald Shebib was her director for Between Friends (1973).

    Sister of Christopher Culkin, Candace Culkin and Terry Culkin.

    Aunt of Macaulay Culkin, Kieran Culkin, Dakota Culkin, Rory Culkin, Shane Culkin, Christian Culkin and Quinn Culkin.

    She appears in two films based on Stephen King books where there's an evil antique shop owner in the plot (Salem's Lot (1979) (TV) and Needful Things (1993)).

    She has two children with Ken Luber: Uri Luber (born 5 June 1970) and Jonah Luber (born 15 June 1976).

    Co-founded the Los Angeles Classic Theater Works.

    She studied drama at HB Studio in Greenwich Village in New York City.

    Posted

    Annette O'Toole

    Date of Birth

    1 April 1952, Houston, Texas, USA

    Birth Name

    Annette Toole

    Height

    5' 3" (1.60 m)

    Mini Biography

    Beautiful red-haired and beloved actress Annette was born in Houston, Texas on April 1, 1952. She is a film/stage actress, dancer, writer, singer, producer and composer. She started with acting at a very young age and during the 60s, she began a career in theater and television. Some of the TV shows that she acted in were "My Three Sons" (1960), "Gunsmoke" (1955) and

    "The Partridge Family" (1970). She also started dancing and singing.

    Her career on TV also began during the 60s, while work on films was smaller. At the end of the 70s, she made a first leading role in One on One (1977), as Robby Benson's mentor and girlfriend and a supporting role in King of the Gypsies (1978), opposite Eric Roberts and Susan Sarandon. She frequently played leading roles in TV films. At the beginning of the 80s, she played a leading role opposite Gary Busey in the comedy Foolin' Around (1980). From that point on larger parts in well-known motion pictures occurred. She appeared in the horror remake Cat People (1982) with Nastassja Kinski. Her most famous role of the 80s was in Superman III (1983), where she joined a well-known acting crew of "Superman" films, Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder and also with (also a new member of "Superman" films (a comic relief)) brilliant Richard Pryor.

    She continued to work on TV films, but none of them were famous as It (1990) (TV), based upon Stephen King's novel, opposite John Ritter, Richard Thomas, Tim Reid, Richard Masur and the unforgettable Tim Curry as Pennywise the Clown, aka It.

    Annette appeared in more films such as On Hope (1994) and Imaginary Crimes (1994) with Harvey Keitel, she still stood tight on TV. When it comes to TV series she is known for the role of Lisa Bridges in "Nash Bridges" (1996), but she is perhaps known to the wide audience as Martha Kent in "Smallville" (2001), a series about young Clark Kent/Superman. She also starred in the series "The Huntress" (2000).

    Annette has been married to Michael McKean since 1999 and they were both nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song in the film A Mighty Wind (2003). She has two daughters from her previous marriage with Bill Geisslinger.

    IMDb Mini Biography By: svedzin

    Spouse

    Michael McKean (20 March 1999 - present)

    Bill Geisslinger (8 April 1983 - 1993) (divorced) 2 children

    Trade Mark

    Red hair and red lips.

    Trivia

    Formerly lived in Ashland, Oregon.

    Played Clark Kent's teenage sweetheart, Lana Lang, in Superman III (1983), and his (adoptive) mother, Martha Kent, in "Smallville" (2001).

    Co-wrote Oscar-nominated song "A Kiss At The End Of The Rainbow" for A Mighty Wind (2003) with husband Michael McKean. The couple performed their version when they were presenters at the 8th Annual Art Directors Guild Awards in Beverly Hills in 2004, as well as during TV and radio appearances.

    In the comics, the two Superman characters she has played Martha Kent and Lana Lang are 5' 4". This is her height in real life.

    She has two daughters from her first marriage. Their names are Nell Geisslinger and Anna Geisslinger.

    Vickie Howell, the host of "Knitty Gritty" (2004), the cable TV show, named a scarf for Annette. It's called the Lana And Clark Ascot.

    Annette used her knack for knitting to raise funds for the Maryland chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. She designed an afghan blanket which was auctioned off on eBay. She and her fellow "Smallville" (2001) cast and crew members knitted the squares that made up the blanket. Also, she participated in a similar project with other celebrity knitters to raise funds for those affected by the 9/11 tragedy.

    Studied acting with Peggy Feury at the Loft Studio in California.

    Is immortalized in a song written and performed by a musical group called The Davenports.

    Has been mentioned in four "Jeopardy!" (1984) categories: Superman, Country Music, TV Shows By Cast and They All Played Country Singers.

    She plays the harp and the mandolin.

    Almost substituted for Parker Posey during a 2003 concert tour that was done in connection with A Mighty Wind (2003).

    Is one of a hundred celebrities featured in a cookbook of southern recipes that benefits a literacy center in Georgia.

    Personal Quotes

    I don't want this big stardom thing. I just want a good script.

    Where Are They Now

    (January 2008) Is in rehearsals for an Off-Broadway revival of Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull" at New York's Classic Stage Company. She plays the role of Paulina. The production begins sneak previews on February 20th. It opens March 13th. It closes March 30th.

    (February 2008) Her limited engagement as Paulina in the Classic Stage Company's Off-Broadway revival of "The Seagull" has been extended to close April 13th instead of March 30th in New York City.

    (June 2008) Is heading back to New York's Playwrights Horizons Theater Company to play the lead role in "Kindness," a new play by Adam Rapp. O'Toole's character is a mother from Illinois who heads to Manhattan with her teenage son. The mother is a victim of a bad marriage and poor health. Rapp will direct Annette in the production this fall.

    (February 2009) Is in rehearsals to play the character of Lily Forrest in "Magnolia," a new play by Regina Taylor. The play will run at Chicago's Goodman Theater from March 14th through April 19th.

    (April 2009) Will be singing "A Kiss At The End Of The Rainbow" with husband Michael McKean during several dates as part of the "Unwigged & Unplugged" tour. That event involves the members of Spinal Tap.

    (August 2009) Is in rehearsals to play a major role in a new play by Jane Anderson this fall.

    Posted

    Stefanie Powers

    Date of Birth

    2 November 1942, Hollywood, California, USA

    Birth Name

    Stefania Zofya Federkiewicz

    Height

    5' 7" (1.70 m)

    Mini Biography

    Stefanie Powers, a graduate of Hollywood High, is a veteran of over 200 television appearances as well as the star of ABC's '80s hit "Hart to Hart" (1979). At the early age of 15, Stefanie was signed to a movie deal with Columbia Pictures and labeled as one of the brightest up-and-coming stars in America. After a relatively short stint in films, Stefanie took a break from Hollywood for almost five years. When she returned, she focused her acting talents on television with over 100 guest appearances in a few years. In addition to her international fame as Jennifer Hart, Stefanie was also the star of such TV series as "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E." (1966), "The Feather and Father Gang" (1977), and "Maggie". Her marriage to actor Gary Lockwood (of 2001 fame) in 1966 ended in 1972. In 1974, Stefanie formed a friendship with actor William Holden. Through many similarities and interests, their relationship blossomed into one of romance that lasted until the sudden death of Holden in 1981.

    Stefanie is also President of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, Director of the Mount Kenya Game Ranch, an international speaker on wildlife preservation, and spokesperson for AVID Microchip Technology and works with both the Cincinnati Zoo and Zoo Atlanta. Stefanie finished in the off-Broadway play "Applause!" and was signed to be hostess of the new cable channel Romance Classics. As of November 1999, Stefanie was still heavily involved with her true passion, the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, as well as many other philanthropic causes. She has also lent her support to many internet projects, including Expedia's Mungo Park, A Doctor in Your House, and Interactive Travel. She has also worked on a series of PBS shows teaching women about finance called "Funding Your Dreams". Her latest movie project, "Someone is Watching," is in limited television release in Europe and the United States.

    IMDb Mini Biography By: R [email protected]

    Spouse

    Patrick De La Chenais (1 April 1993 - 1999) (divorced)

    Gary Lockwood (27 August 1966 - 1972) (divorced)

    Trivia

    Attended Hollywood High School with Linda Evans.

    Met Robert Wagner on the set of West Side Story (1961) prior to being let go from the cast (Jet girl) because she was too young (15).

    In same ballet class as a youngster with Natalie Wood and Jill St. John, the three women all had long term relationships with Robert Wagner.

    Deaths of companion William Holden and good friend Natalie Wood occurred within days of each other in November '81.

    Measurements: 36B-25-35 (during "Hart to Hart" (1979)) (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine).

    Took karate lessons for a time.

    Is fluent in six languages.

    Good friend of Brenda Vaccaro and Angie Dickinson.

    Has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

    Has an older brother, Jeff.

    She claims that John Ford directed her for a week when director Andrew V. McLaglen was out sick on McLintock! (1963). McLaglen disputes this and says he was there for the entire shoot.

    Was awarded the Peace One Earth medallion for her years of service to the USO.

    Companion of William Holden at the time of his death.