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Murnau, Friedrich W.

(Encyclopedia)Murnau, Friedrich W. frēˈdrĭkh mo͝orˈnou [key], 1889–1931, German film director, b. as Friedrich W. Plumpe. He began directing films in Germany in 1919 and went to Hollywood in 1927. Murnau's f...

Ball, Lucille

(Encyclopedia)Ball, Lucille, 1911–89, American actress and producer, b. Celoron, N.Y. At first promoted by Hollywood as another glamorous movie star, Ball was often cast as a spunky sidekick in second features. I...

Garbo, Greta

(Encyclopedia)Garbo, Greta, 1905–90, American film actress, b. Stockholm, Sweden, as Greta Gustafsson. Garbo's success in the Swedish film The Atonement of Gösta Berling (1923) brought her to Hollywood. Possessi...

Bernstein, Walter

(Encyclopedia)Bernstein, Walter, 1919-2021, American screenwriter, b. Brooklyn, NY, Dartmouth College (BA, 1940). After attending high school, Bernstein enrolled at ...

Adrian, Gilbert

(Encyclopedia)Adrian, Gilbert, 1903–59, popularly known simply as Adrian, fashion designer, b. Naugatuk, Conn. Educated in New York City, he created designs for Broadway shows until 1925, when he moved to Hollywo...

Herzog, Werner

(Encyclopedia)Herzog, Werner, 1942–, German director, screenwriter, and producer; originally named Werner Stipetic. A leading contemporary German filmmaker, Herzog is known for his vivid and poetic films. He made...

Vidal, Gore

(Encyclopedia)Vidal, Gore (Eugene Luther Gore Vidal, Jr.), 1925–2012, American writer, b. West Point, N.Y. He grew up in Washington, D.C., where a formative influence was his witty and scholarly grandfather, Sena...

Thomas, Michael Tilson

(Encyclopedia)Thomas, Michael Tilson, 1944–, American conductor, composer, and pianist, b. Hollywood, Calif. A musical prodigy, he won Tanglewood's Koussevitsky Prize at 24 and shortly thereafter (1969) made his ...

Nicholson, Jack

(Encyclopedia)Nicholson, Jack, 1937–, American film actor, b. Neptune, N.J. After appearing in a series of low-budget movies for some 10 years, he scored his first success with Easy Rider (1969). One of Hollywood...

Robinson, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Robinson, Bill, 1878–1949, African-American tap dancer popularly known as “Bojangles,” b. Richmond, Va., as Luther Robinson. An influential virtuoso tap dancer, he was a tap innovator and repute...