Cinematography - the seventh art

   An actor of unusual talent, Edward Norton attained almost instant stardom with his film debut 1996's Primal Fear. For his thoroughly chilling breakthrough performance as a Kentucky altar boy accused of murder, Norton was credited with saving an...

Born Juan Moreno on July 30, 1948 in Casablanca , Morocco to Spanish parents.   Juan Moreno eventually changed his name to Jean Reno.   Reno had fond memories of his childhood in Morocco .   He spent his early days with five of his good friends at the beach, escaping from the heat of the Moroccan day.   Reno...

Fritz Lang (Dec. 5, 1890 - Aug. 2, 1976), Austrian-American film director, was born in Vienna , the son of an architect, Anton Lang, and Paula Schlesinger Lang. Working first in Berlin during the silent-film era of the 1920's, and later in Hollywood , Lang used cinema to explore a personal fascination with, in his words, "cruelty,...

With his raspy voice, and staccato vocal inflections James Cagney was one of the brightest stars in American cinema history. The son of an Irish father and a Norwegian mother who lived and worked in New York's Lower Eastside, Cagney did a variety of odd jobs to help support his family, including working as a waiter, and a poolroom racker, and even...

     "The First Lady of the Silent Screen," Lillian Gish was the movie industry's first true actress. A pioneer of fundamental film performing techniques, she was the first star to recognize the many crucial differences between...

Giving new meaning to the term America's Sweetheart, Sandra Bullock won over scores of filmgoers and critics with her wholesome, exuberant portrayals of ordinary women in extraordinary circumstances. Since her breakthrough role as Speed's unwitting heroine, Bullock has enjoyed the type of popularity that was in the past reserved for...

Real Name: Alfredo Pacino Occupation: Actor, Director, Writer Date of Birth: April 25, 1940 Place of Birth: New York, NY, USA Sign: Sun in Taurus, Moon in Sagittarius Education: High School of the Performing Arts dropout; studiedacting at the Actors Studio and the Herbert Berghof Studio, both in New York City. Nickname: Sonny...

Philip Anthony Hopkins was born on New Year's Eve, 1937, at 77, Wern Road, Margam, near Port Talbot, South Wales. His mother was Muriel (nee Phillips, a relative of the poet William Butler Yeats) and his father Richard Arthur, a man of immense, sometimes violent energy, whose eyes would change colour when he was excited and who, Hopkins...

Born in New York City of legendary screen star Henry Fonda and New York socialite Frances Seymour Brokaw, Jane Seymour Fonda was destined early to an uncommon and influential life in the limelight. Although she initially showed little inclination in following her father's trade, she was prompted by Joshua Logan to appear with her...

On September 20, 1934, at Rome's Clinica Regina Margherita, Romilda Villani welcomed her daughter Sofia Scicolone into the world. Fourteen years later, Sofia would dominate beauty pageants, and begin working toward her dream of becoming an actress. She would eventually change the spelling of her name to Sophia, and experiment with the last...

She was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles, California, to Gladys Baker. As the identity of her father is undetermined, she was later baptized Norma Jeane Baker. Gladys had been a film cutter at RKO studios, but psychological problems prevented her from keeping the job and she was eventually committed to a mental institution....

Born in Canterbury, Kent, England on January 13, 1977, Orlando Bloom moved to London at 16 where he received an education in serious drama at the National Youth Theatre, later training at the British American Drama Academy before his final graduate studies at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Shortly after graduation, Bloom returned to the...

Born in Hollywood, California on November 11, 1974 of German and Italian descent, DiCaprio's first brush with fame came when as a child he was kicked off the set of Romper Room for unruly behavior. By 15 the fledgling actor already had his first agent, beginning a classic Hollywood battle against changing his style of clothes, his haircut and...

Born in Cleveland, Ohio on August 14, 1968, Berry's introduction to show business was as a winner of the Miss Teen All-American Pageant, which lead to a career in modeling. A TV acting career soon followed including appearances in Living Dolls, and Knots Landing before her debut film role in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever in 1991. Berry next...

MURRAY...

Bud Abbott (1895 - 1974) Bud Abbott was Born on October 2, 1895 in Asbury Park, New...