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1-50 of 189
- Actress
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Grace Lee Whitney was a versatile actress and vocalist born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Beginning as a "girl singer" on Detroit's WJR radio, she soon opened in nightclubs for Billie Holiday and Buddy Rich, and toured with the Spike Jones and Fred Waring Bands. Grace debuted on Broadway in "Top Banana", and subsequently appeared in the United Artists film Top Banana (1954). Grace is probably best known for her portrayal of Yeoman Janice Rand on the original Star Trek (1966) series. She later reprised her role for a string of successful Star Trek films: Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). Grace continued to delight fans in personal appearances at conventions and events throughout North America and Europe. In 1998, she appeared in an episode of Diagnosis Murder (1993) with her Star Trek castmates George Takei, Walter Koenig and Majel Barrett. Grace Lee Whitney died at age 85 of natural causes in her home in Coarsegold, California on May 1, 2015.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Austin Nichols was raised in Austin, Texas until the age of eighteen, when he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. He graduated from the University of Southern California in 2002 with a degree in creative writing. His role in Six Feet Under led to films like The Day After Tomorrow, Wimbledon, and Glory Road. Then after playing Morgan Earp on Deadwood, David Milch asked Austin to play the title role in his new series, John From Cincinnati. Nichols has been on a string of hit cable shows. Ray Donovan, Bates Motel and The Walking Dead.- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Laura Harrington was born on 29 April 1958 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Maximum Overdrive (1986), The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) and Paulie (1998).- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Brian Michael Smith was born in Ann Arbor, MI. He is an actor known for roles in 9-1-1 Lone Star, Queen Sugar and The L Word: Generation Q.
After appearances on TV shows such as NBC's Chicago P.D., HBO's Girls, and Showtime's Homeland, Smith rose to prominence for his ground-breaking performances on television and advocacy for better trans representation in media. His role as Toine Wilkins, a transgender police officer, in Ava DuVernay's Queen Sugar (2017) on OWN launched him into a series of high-profile roles including political strategist Pierce Williams in Showtime's The L Word: Generation Q (2019) and, most notably, firefighter Paul Strickland in Ryan Murphy's 9-1-1 Lone Star (2020). With Lone Star, Smith became the first out Black trans man in a series regular role.
Smith studied theatre and film production at Kent State University. Upon graduating, he began teaching and mentoring youth in filmmaking which he continued in New York through Tribeca Film Institute's Tribeca Teaches Program. He discovered the importance of community and visibility while he worked with queer youth at the Manhattan LGBT Center which led him to pursue his passion for acting, moving to Los Angeles.
Since Queen Sugar, Brian Michael has leveraged his visibility and platform to advocate for better trans representation in TV and film, empowering youth to create their own media and storytelling.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Elizabeth Anweis was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. Elizabeth is an actor and director, known for The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023), Sugar (2024) and Echo 3 (2022).- Actress
- Director
Alyssa Goss is a native of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Despite her early callings to acting, Alyssa pursed a career as a Pediatrician. She attended Spelman College, America's oldest historically black college for women. She worked toward a double B.S. degree in Environmental Science & Biology, before ultimately studying abroad in Munich, Germany.
Upon her to return to the United States she moved to Los Angeles, CA to pursue acting full-time. In 2018 she played Alicia Etheredge-Brown in the NAACP award winning BET Mini-series The Bobby Brown Story. Alyssa was hailed by critics for an ethereal yet complex portrayal of Alicia, Bobby Brown's current wife.
Alyssa followed this dramatic performance with the fun and irreverent comedy, How High 2. Alyssa's ability to provide a comedic yet grounded performance makes her a standout in the dramedy series, Tyler Perry's BRUH in which she has starred in for 4 seasons.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Iggy Pop was born on 21 April 1947 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is a music artist and actor, known for Cry-Baby (1990), Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) and Dead Man (1995). He has been married to Nina Alu since 22 November 2008. He was previously married to Suchi Asano and Wendy Weissberg.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Jack Falahee was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and graduated New York University's Tisch School of the Arts where he performed in the several stage productions. Since graduation, Falahee appeared in films and television shows, before his breakout role as Connor Walsh in the Shonda Rhimes-produced ABC series "How to Get Away with Murder".- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lovely, auburn-haired Martha Vickers (nee Martha MacVicar) was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on May 28, 1925, the daughter of James S. and Frances MacVicar. After attending schools in various states - Florida, Texas and California - she and her family settled on the West Coast. A raving beauty, she broke into the entertainment field as a model for still photographer William Mortenson. This attracted the interest of David O. Selznick and she signed a starlet contract with him, but nothing came of it. Universal took over her contract where she was groomed in inauspicious bit parts such as her corpse/victim in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), and in such low-level entries as Captive Wild Woman (1943) and The Mummy's Ghost (1944). In between assignments, Martha earned WWII pin-up exposure in such magazines as "Yank: The Army Weekly."
RKO gave her some higher-level billing chances with Marine Raiders (1944) and The Falcon in Mexico (1944), but it was Warner Bros. that put her officially on the map. The enticing Martha earned celebrity status and a new stage moniker when she generated some real heat as Lauren Bacall's wild, thumb-sucking sister Carmen in the film noir classic The Big Sleep (1946), which also starred Humphrey Bogart, playing the teenage nymphet "bad girl" for all it was worth. This major success quickly led to other "B" roles and not necessarily all "bad girl" parts. Highly appealing as the second femme lead in the pleasant musical The Time, the Place and the Girl (1946), Martha looked radiant but was overlooked for bigger things. She continued on and disrupted the proceedings again in the atmospheric film noir The Man I Love (1946) with Ida Lupino and finally earned leading lady status in That Way with Women (1947) opposite Dane Clark.
Very much a part of the Hollywood dating scene, which included actor James Stewart and director Frederick De Cordova, Martha finally married producer A.C. Lyles in March of 1948, but the marriage was over within a couple of months. Post-war films included Love and Learn (1947), another film noir piece Ruthless (1948), and the melodrama Bad Boy (1949), which was Audie Murphy's first starring role. She ended the decade top-lining the "Poverty-Row" drama Alimony (1949). Surprisingly, Martha's high-profiled second marriage in 1949 to film star Mickey Rooney (she was his third wife) did not advance her career. In fact, Martha was not seen in films at all during this period. Despite the couple having a son, Teddy Rooney, the next year (1950), Rooney had already hit the nadir of his career and had turned excessively to the bottle. Her marriage to Rooney would be short-lived as well.
Martha married a third time in 1954 to Chilean polo player-turned-actor Manuel Rojas, best known for his co-starring role in The Magnificent Matador (1955), and she finally returned to the screen in The Big Bluff (1955) co-starring with John Bromfield. The momentum, however, was gone and the movie did nothing to generate new interest. She did move, however, into TV and performed effectively in a number of dramatic showcases. She and Rojas had two children, Tina and Tessa. In 1960, Martha did her last filming with the western Four Fast Guns (1960) and after guesting on a couple of episodes of the TV series "The Rebel," ended her career. Not much was heard from this sultry beauty until her death from cancer in 1971 at age 46 in Hollywood, California.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
David S. Goyer was born on 22 December 1965 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Dark City (1998), The Dark Knight (2008) and Flashforward (2009). He is married to Marina Black. They have two children. He was previously married to Jessika Borsiczky.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Nicole Forester was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. She is an actress, known for Jack Reacher (2012), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Boss (2011). She has been married to Paul Brown since 11 October 2008. They have two children.- Writer
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Sabrina Wu was born on 13 September 1997 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. Sabrina is a writer and actor, known for Joy Ride (2023), Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. (2021) and Murderbot.- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Megan Ganz was born on 1 June 1984 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Modern Family (2009), Community (2009) and Mythic Quest (2020). She has been married to Humphrey Ker since 30 May 2015.- Lovely, buxom, and shapely blonde bombshell Judith Lee Bamber was born on October 13, 1936 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is of mixed German-English and American Indian descent. Her father was an engineer with the Ford Motor Company. Judy started modeling while in high school so she could lose weight and correct her posture. Following graduation from Dearborn High School in 1954, Bamber moved to Detroit to further pursue a modeling career. While in Detroit, Judy met television announcer Frank Robinson, whom she eventually married. In 1955, she moved to Los Angeles, California and worked as a carhop, a laundry clerk, a babysitter, and a dishwasher before her modeling career took off. Bamber briefly owned her own agency and modeled for the J.C. Penney catalog. She then began doing live commercials and was eventually discovered by Nils Thor Granlund, who set her up with drama coach Joe Graham. Judy attended Warner Brothers Acting School. Her personal manager Bryon Griffin got her contracts with both Warner Brothers and American International Pictures. (Both contracts were subsequently dropped when the two studios found out about this.)
Bamber acted in a handful of films and television series in the 1950s and 1960s; she was especially memorable as the snippy and obnoxious Alice in Roger Corman's hilarious horror black comedy cult gem A Bucket of Blood (1959). Moreover, Judy was a popular pin-up girl of the period: She graced the covers of and/or was featured in such men's magazines as "Modern Man", "Vue", "Glamor Parade", "Gaze", "Snappy", "Male Point of View", "Caper" and "Gala". In addition, Bamber also was featured as the cover model on various albums. She gave birth to son Louis I. on September 13, 1962. Judy quit acting and modeling in the mid-1960s so she could focus instead on raising her family. Bamber married Douglas W. McClary on November 11, 1967 and gave birth to son Brooks S. on November 18, 1971. McClary died at age 72 in 2004, and Judy remarried the following year. Bamber lives in Los Angeles, California. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Linda Lawson was born on 11 January 1936 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. She was an actress, known for Night Tide (1961), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) and Ben Casey (1961). She was married to John Foreman. She died on 18 May 2022 in Woodland Hills, California, USA.- Actress
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Nyima Funk was born on 22 March 1975 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Key and Peele (2012) and Teachers (2016). She has been married to Joshua Funk since 25 November 2000. They have two children.- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Tracie Savage was born on 7 November 1962 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Friday the 13th: Part 3 (1982), Little House on the Prairie (1974) and Friendly Persuasion (1975).- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Michael Kosta was born on 27 September 1979 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Pain Hustlers (2023), Best of Five (2008) and Worst Birthday (2016).- Elaine Edwards was born on 4 February 1928 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. She was an actress, known for The Bat (1959), Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1963) and Old Oklahoma Plains (1952). She was married to Ed Kemmer and Wilbur Louis Paul. She died on 26 April 2004.
- Visual Effects
- Additional Crew
- Actor
In 1986, John Knoll joined Industrial Light & Magic as a Technical Assistant and was soon promoted to Motion Control Camera Operator for Captain EO. After three years of operating, John was called upon to work on the ground breaking digital effects for The Abyss, a film that saw the first use of Photoshop, which he had co-developed with his brother, Thomas. Since that time, John has been promoted to Visual Effects Supervisor helming the visual effects on more than twenty feature films and commercials and most recently Chief Creative Officer of the studio. His film background coupled with an advanced understanding of digital technologies has made John a much sought-after supervisor having been honored with an Oscar and a BAFTA Award for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and six additional visual effects Academy Award nominations as well as five additional BAFTA nominations.
John's supervisory credits also include the Star Wars Prequels, Episodes I, II,and III, Mission to Mars, Deep Blue Sea, Star Trek: First Contact, Mission: Impossible, Ghost Protocol and the Academy Award(TM)-winning Rango among others. Prior to his promotion to Chief Creative Officer in May of 2013 he served as the Visual Effects Supervisor on Guillermo del Toro's science fiction epic, Pacific Rim for which he received a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects. In 2017, John was nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA, and a Visual Effects Society Award for Visual Effects for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the first film in the Star Wars stand-alone series and one for which John served as both an Executive Producer and Visual Effects Supervisor. The film is based on a concept John created.
John's interest in filmmaking began at an early age. Having a keen interest in visual effects, he was mesmerized by the original Star Wars film. During a visit to ILM in 1978 he was able to observe first-hand the world of visual effects. Inspired to learn more, John attended the USC School of Cinema and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Cinema Production, while freelancing as a modelmaker at a variety of Los Angeles-based production facilities.
During his last year at USC, John took an advanced animation class where he built a motion control system from an Oxberry animation stand, an Apple II computer, a CNC milling machine controller, and a bunch of industrial surplus stepper motors. Impressed by the student film that was generated from this class project, ILM hired John as a Technical Assistant for motion control photography.
Greatly impressed by visits to ILM's newly founded computer graphics department, John took up computer graphics as a hobby. Teaming up with his brother who was working on his Doctoral Thesis in computer vision at the University of Michigan, the Knoll brothers created Photoshop in 1987.
John is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and currently serves on the Board of Governors representing the Visual Effects Branch.- Actor
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
Actor that does Stunts in the entertainment industry. Acting in school plays since the second grade. Knew he wanted to act since he was 5 years old, seeing Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, Danny Kaye, and Red Skeleton.
When he was growing up Joe was performing as a star athlete in football and baseball. He was Captain of the football and baseball team in high school, and received 23 Letters of intent to Colleges all over the Country. He chose to attended Eastern Michigan University, majoring in TV Broadcasting and Dramatic Arts, moved to Los Angeles.
Studying with Acting coaches, Vincent Chase,Brian Reiss Also Second City Hollywood in comedy Improv. . Performing on tour for Landmark Ent. and Pace Theatrical, and Mattel toys stage production of Masters of the Universe. He performed multi-characters in 40 cities in the U.S. and Canada. Joe's performances in nightclub acts were legendary , From 1981 to 2002.
Joe has worked as a stuntman, thanks to his mentor Ron Althoff, whose mentor was Walter Scott. One time on the set of Baywatch Hulk Hogan and the late Macho Man Savage both said to him in Venice Beach , to "Stay away from them he made them look bad" Corbin Bernsen said "if he was Joe Davis he'd rule the world " Michael Bay told Kenny Bates, "Why don't you bring me some real men"? Kenny brought Joe to Michael the very next day. Joe started out as a Model , a Gold's Gym prodigy, Original Chippendales Man, worked as a script doctor on many pilots and screenplays, Producing cable shows and had his own cable talk show, to extend his knowledge of the business. Joe's only biological son Nick passed away June 22,2021 of Glioblastoma after 14 months, he was 29 years old.- Actor
- Writer
Brian Kimmet was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Feud (2017), Bunnicula (2016) and Flags of Our Fathers (2006).- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Sarah Adina was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. Sarah is an actor and writer, known for 9-1-1 (2018), Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015) and The Young and the Restless (1973).- Actor
- Producer
Jonathan Kells Phillips was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Condor (2018), Yellowstone (2018) and The Americans (2013).- Kristina Shannon was born on 2 October 1989 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. She is an actress, known for Somewhere (2010).
- Karissa Shannon was born on 2 October 1989 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. She is an actress, known for Somewhere (2010).
- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Actor
Stephen Mao was born on June 29, 1960 in Ann Arbor, Michigan and raised in Palo Alto, California. His mother's name is Petrina and she worked for Apple Computers. His father, James CT Mao, was a professor of business and finance at the University of British Columbia. He has a younger brother Jeffery who has Down's syndrome. Mao began a career as a photographer/photojournalist with the Associate Press while studying briefly at the University of Southern California (USC). Today Mao is President of Studio Mao and is involved with production and creative direction. In addition to the traditional film business Mao is actively engaged in supporting charities through the donation of archival museum quality photographs from his personal collection.- Hugo Stanger was born on 22 June 1900 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for Beetlejuice (1988), The Seventh Sign (1988) and Psycho III (1986). He died on 29 January 1990 in Los Angeles County, California, USA.
- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Colin Stetson was born in 1975 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for Hereditary (2018), Red Dead Redemption II (2018) and Color Out of Space (2019).- Actor
- Producer
Jed Sura was born on 4 June 1970 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Criminal Minds (2005), Diamonds and Guns (2008) and Infinity (2011). He has been married to Renée O'Connor since April 2017. They have one child.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Bradford Jackson, real-name Herman Budlow, was born on December 23, 1928 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In his childhood during the 1930s he was billed as "The World's Youngest Magician". In 1953, after leaving the service, he signed a contract with Universal-International Studio. Brad Jackson's best-known roles are in the sci-fi classic, "It Came From Outer Space", and, Roger Corman's "The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent".- Mark Doerr was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is an actor, known for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991), Red Tails (2012) and Leverage (2008).
- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Best known as an actor, Rosalyn is the director of the award-winning short films Allergic To Nuts and Drawing Angel. Both films have been seen on several TV stations nationally and in film festivals in the US and around the world. Rosalyn was awarded "Emerging Filmmaker" at the Cine Noir Film Festival in the busy film production city of Wilmington, North Carolina. With over a dozen film directing credits, including The Last Piece, Twinkle, BFF, Moth To A Flame, and Driving Fish. Rosalyn is slated to direct the feature film "Pulpit Playaz". written by Titus Peoples and Yasha Jackson
Rosalyn is also prepped to direct the feature film "Unravel and Cut," written by Craig, with Viola Davis attached as Executive Producer.
A graduate of Howard University and an MFA from Yale School of Drama, Roz has a keen insight into the actor-director relationship. She is celebrated as an "actors director." She served as on-set acting coach for HBO's 2nd season of the hit series "In Treatment." Rosalyn was hired by the prestigious Cinereach Foundation to coach Sundance directors on their sophomore projects, most notably Terrance Nance, creator of HBO's Random Acts of Flyness.
As an actor, Rosalyn's professional experience includes Broadway, Film and TV. She has acted with Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, Halle Berry and Tom Cruise. She appeared nightly in the hit Broadway play "To Kill A Mockingbird," and Rosalyn can be seen in the feature film "Miss Virginia" starring Orange Is The New Black's Uzo Aduba.
A teacher for over 25 years, Roz has had the pleasure to teach students at NYU Tisch, SUNY Purchase, The Actors Center, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T. MFA program), Actor's Connection, Howard University and Duke Ellington School of the Arts and conducted acting workshops at film festivals around the country.
Broadway credits include: The Piano Lesson To Kill A Mockingbird, Travesties, The Mountaintop, Radio Golf, Seven Guitars, Mule Bone and The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant. Rosalyn's film credits include the recent Rob Peace, written and directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor, also Miss Virginia, The Immortal Jellyfish, Frankie and Alice, Brooklyn's Finest, Vanilla Sky, Our Song, Brown Sugar, and Music of the Heart. Television: Bull, Jessica Jones, The Black List, Blue Bloods, Madam Secretary, Kidnapped, DC, Oz, and Law and Order: SVU and Criminal Intent. Recent off-Broadway credits: The Wedding Band, Native Son and Breakfast with Mugabe.- Actress
- Music Department
- Composer
Amy Raasch is an actor, writer, media installation artist, award-winning filmmaker, and performing musician based in Los Angeles. Trained at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she has appeared in several productions for theater and feature film, including Sundance favorite "the four corners of nowhere" by Stephen Chbosky ("The Perks of Being A Wallflower," "Wonder"), and recently contributed music to Sony Classics release "The Diary Of A Teenage Girl." Winner of the GINA Songwriting Contest, Raasch released debut album, "Love or Inertia" and was named one of the Top Unsigned Artists in Los Angeles by Music Connection Magazine. She followed with "52 Songs in 52 Weeks," an episodic collection of live video performances of works-in-progress. Her animated short "Cat Bird Coyote" has been named an Official Selection of seventeen film festivals, winner of two, and has been distributed by Virgin America Airlines. A special selection of Son of Semele's Solo Creation Festival and Remix, her solo multimedia show "The Animal Monologues" received its NYC debut at United Solo Theatre Festival and enjoyed a full run at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles as part of Solo Queens Fest. Her latest album of quirky electronic pop, "Girls Get Cold," is now streaming everywhere.- Editor
- Producer
- Director
Alex Durham, ACE is a five-time Emmy Award winning producer and editor of television and film. He has produced and edited documentary and scripted series and films for Apple TV, Netflix, Amazon, HBO, Showtime, Universal Pictures, Hulu, FX, AMC, IFC, Discovery, National Geographic, A&E, and The History Channel. He is best known for his work on Discovery's Deadliest Catch and the Netflix series Race: Bubba Wallace, Rise of Empires: Ottoman, and The Confession Tapes.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan and raised in San Diego, California. He attended Herbert Hoover High School under the music tutelage of John Duitsman and drama with Anne Archer Krill. (Who later transferred to Patrick Henry High to teach Annette Bening and Brian Stokes Mitchell. Dale attended California State University, Stanislaus in Turlock, California, majoring in Drama. DeeTee is the Executive Producer, writer, and title character of the award winning short film, My Name Is Lamar (2017) He has worked with many distinguished directors and producers including Ethan Coen, Joel Coen' ,George Clooney, Brian Grazer, Jay Roach, Katie Jacobs and Bryan Cranston. Two of Dale's TV guest roles landed him on the 2010 Primetime Emmy ballot for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy and Drama series. _"Modern Family" (2009)_qv and _"House M.D." (2010)_qv He is an established voiceover actor with narrations for audio books and video games. Dale began his professional theater career in 1978 at Starlight Musical Theatre in San Diego. Since then he's performed at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Cincinnati Playhouse, Virginia Stage Company, San Diego Rep, Sacramento Music Circus, Sledgehammer Theatre, The Human I Theatre and Lawrence Welk Dinner Theatre. Dale has over 60 National Commercials to his credit including one spot with the U.S. Army that earned him Advertising Age Magazine's Best Commercial Actor award in 2004. As a vocalist, Dale was lead singer and percussionist for the R&B band, Upside De Head. He has sang in recording sessions as well as in concerts with Chris Brown, Poison, Barry Manilow, Helen Reddy, gospel artists Tramaine Hawkins, Kurt Carr and was a member of the gospel group, The Rickey Grundy Chorale. As a screenwriter, he is a quarter finalist in both Final Draft's and Screen Craft's 2017 Screenwriting Contests with his romantic thriller, Chalkline. His other screenplays include Mr. Cotton, Nice Guys Finish Lonely and is adapting a Frank Capra holiday classic, Pocketful Of Miracles. For television, he has written Theme Park, a workplace situation comedy. Dale proudly serves as a member of the Television Academy, American Film Institute and The Paley Center for Media.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
David Manis is best known for his guest-star roles on The X-Files, Bull, and The Blacklist, as well as an extensive career in the theater. He has appeared in 12 Broadway shows, including To Kill A Mockingbird, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, War Horse, The Coast of Utopia, and Arcadia. As a playwright, his work includes "Romeo Rosaline Potpan Juliet," "Words Fail Me," and "Pretending To Be Danish." He was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan.- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Director
Matt Miller was born on 13 April 1982 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is a producer and assistant director, known for Werewolves Within (2021), Thunder Road (2016) and Beast Beast (2020).- Robert Henderson was born on 19 December 1904 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for Superman (1978), Superman III (1983) and Phase IV (1974). He died on 9 September 1985 in London, England, UK.
- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Philip LaZebnik was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; and raised in Columbia, Missouri, USA. He attended Harvard University and studied Ancient Greek language and classics. He was briefly a professional violinist for the Boston Ballet Orchestra, the Boston Pops, and the Tanglewood Festival Orchestra. Along with his brother he co-founded the Chicago Premiere Society. He wrote the book, music, and lyrics for over twenty musicals and plays. He contributed to the writing of Pocahontas (1995), and recently wrapped up work on Disney's Mulan (1998) and Dreamworks' The Prince of Egypt (1998). He is married and the father of three children.- Director
- Producer
- Animation Department
Darrell Van Citters was born on 29 October 1956 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is a director and producer, known for Recycle (2008), The Fox and the Hound (1981) and Oh Noah! (2011).- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Elisha has guest starred on Better Call Saul, The Newsroom, Mad Men, Southland, Up All Night, The New Normal and CSI:NY and voiced the character of Jimmy Olsen and B'dg on DC Nation Shorts's Tales of Metropolis and Super-Pets. He appeared in the Sundance feature Frank & Lola starring Michael Shannon and Imogen Poots.
He got his start writing web-series with his friends from Emerson College, including Downers Grove, which was picked up by Warner Brothers Studio 2.0. He has appeared in commercials for Mike's Hard Lemonade, Time Warner Cable, Samsung, Wendy's, McDonald's, Nintendo 3DS and Hanes.
He wrote and starred in the short film "Time Travel Lover" which has won numerous awards and was given a Vimeo Staff Pick.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Brian Rosenthal was born on 7 July 1989 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for A Very Potter Musical (2009), Wayward Guide (2020) and A Very Potter Senior Year (2013).- Elisabeth Oas is an American Actress known mostly for her work in Independent films, and as "Diggy" in "Save the Last the Dance", with Kerry Washington and Julia Stiles. She grew up in a small town outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan, in a loving, blue collar family with one brother. She knew at the age of 10 she wanted to be an actress. She grew up in a musical family, but the only one who was a thespian. She worked very hard to get an acting scholarship to Western Michigan University, where she completed her B.F.A. She also was invited on a full ride to complete her masters degree in acting in Connecticut but instead followed her heart and moved to Chicago, where she had an agent waiting for her. She originated the role on stage of "Betty Page" in the play, "Betty Page Uncensored" at the Playground theater in Chicago. Elisabeth was seen in the film, "Into Temptation" with Jeremy Sisto (Law&Order / Suburbia) and Kristen Chenoweth ( Wicked/Glee), playing the role of "Maria." She says "It was an amazing experience for me. I knew I could cry night after night in character on stage, but this was the first time I ever had to do it on camera. The director had me crying all day...a lot of my stuff got cut, but at least I know I can do it (cry on cue) in character when acting in a film setting. They are very different." Elisabeth says her dream is to be in a period piece. She has a minor in English and British Literature. "I absolutely live for historical movies and plays."
- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Danny Mooney is a jack of all trades in the film world. As a multi-hyphenate storyteller, Mooney continuously pushes the boundaries of indie cinema as a director, producer, writer, actor and beyond. Originally entering the world of entertainment as a performer, Danny has gone on to act under several well-known directors including Nick Stoller, C. Thomas Howell, Arnaud Desplechin, Jon Amiel, Zack Snyder and George Clooney. Mooney has also played across from such acting talent as Drew Barrymore, Jason Segal, Elliot Page, Henry Cavill, Benecio Del Toro, Greta Gerwig, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ryan Gosling.
Born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Mooney grew up playing sports and partaking in the arts of all sorts. Mooney's first acting role was in a play rendition of Peter Pan while at Haisley Elementary School, where Mooney played the crocodile. He loved painting, drawing and playing the trombone in school while playing soccer, roller-blading and skateboarding after school. Forsythe Middle School chose Mooney as one of three students to paint a large-scale school mural of his choice at graduation, where he painted a flame-painted 1979 Camaro hot rod. Mooney then attended Pioneer High School, Michigan's largest high school at the time with just over 3,000 students, where he became more seriously interested in performance when Pioneer announced the start of a school improv troupe. Mooney made the seven-person troupe and began balancing his time between acting and playing both hockey and lacrosse - oftentimes having practice for all three in the same day. Mooney's first improv shows were on the same night as a home lacrosse game, so Mooney performed the first show, ran up to the lacrosse field to sit with the team in the locker room for half-time, then ran back to do the second improv show - which, after the game, the rest of the lacrosse team watched after sneaking into the back of the already-over-capacity theatre.
Mooney quickly fanned out from the improv comedy shows to hosting high school events and performing in sketch comedy and stand-up. While a high-school junior Mooney briefly went pro in roller hockey playing for Pepsi, winning the league's Most Valuable Goalie despite the team coming in as runner-up in the championship. Shortly after that, Mooney was recruited to play roller hockey as a goalie for the University of Michigan, where he then attended on an academic scholarship for Mechanical Engineering to focus on car design. While in college, Mooney still made a quick run at continuing stand-up comedy and opened for such talent as actor/comedian Dave Coulier (Uncle Joey, Full House) and Comedy Central's Dane Cook World Tour-opener J. Chris Newberg.
Mooney then snuck into a film class during freshman year and immediately found his passion for filmmaking. Mooney attended the class until the professor finally agreed to override Mooney into the class, despite Mooney still being an engineering student - and Mooney was hooked. So after finishing a year of Engineering, Mooney transferred to Michigan's Department of Screen Arts and Cultures to pursue a Bachelor's Degree in Film, concentrating in directing and cinematography. That same professor from that first film class, Robert Rayher, then guided Mooney throughout his college career all the way through overseeing and executive producing Mooney's senior thesis film. During his sophomore year, Mooney was spotted performing at an improv show by one of the head instructors at the University of Michigan Residential College Theatre Department, and despite not being in the Residential College, Mooney was invited to study theatre and continue his love for the stage. He went on to perform in regional theatre as well as professionally in Moscow, Russia, as part of the only U.S. theatre company in the International Chekhov Theatre Festival.
While in film school Mooney accumulated a full range of experience in all departments eventually becoming a director, producer, cinematographer, writer, and editor. While in college, Mooney's awards included "Best Silent Film," "Best Cinematography," "Best Editor," "Best Director," "Best in Festival" twice, "Best Screenplay" twice and "Best Actor" four times. In 2006, he was the cinematography consultant along with the lead role in the film Dylan, which won "Best in Festival" at the University of Michigan Entertainment Coalition Film Festival in LA. That same year, Mooney also acted in the short film Moon Cake, which was nominated for a Student Oscar in the 2006 Academy Awards. Also in 2006, Mooney was one of three students at the University of Michigan to win the prestigious "Trueblood Fellowship Award for Film Performance" (in both acting and directing), and one of three to win the award again in 2007. In the 2007 Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences chose Mooney's short Irish dance piece Do Fainne Sorcas as a Finalist in the Student Alternative Category, exhibiting the film with all Student Category Oscar Nominees at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago. Mooney ended that year by receiving praise from Academy Award-winning Hollywood writer/critic Kurt Luedtke (Out of Africa) for his directing accomplishments in the short comedy Step, My Boy.
In early 2008, Mooney won the "Leo Burnett Award for Film Marketing and Business" for his marketing during pre- production on the Academy Recognized narrative short Fingers, which was declared "subtle and mesmerizing... already a winner" by The New York Film Review. As his senior thesis at Michigan, Mooney wrote, produced, directed, edited and acted in the short. At the 2008 Hamptons International Film Festival, the film's premiere was one of five films in the Academy Recognized category up against Natalie Portman's directorial debut, Academy Award Nominee Don Hertzfeldt's most recent film, the 2008 Cannes winner and the 2008 South By Southwest winner by multiple Academy Award Nominee Benh Zeitlin. Among these five films, Fingers got the top vote by the festival's audience and Hertzfeldt took the Jury. The thesis film lived a long life on the international festival circuit, including playing at the 2010 Cannes Independent Film Festival and at the first annual Edgemar Film Festival in Los Angeles, where Steven Spielberg sits on the board. At Edgemar, the celebrity judging panel nominated Fingers for "Best Short Film," "Best Director," "Best Cinematography," "Best Actor," "Best Ensemble Cast," "Best Screenplay" and "Best Editing."
During his entire run at the University of Michigan, Mooney juggled being a film student, being a board-member of the student-run film production organization M-agination Films, being a theatre student along with still being the goalie for Michigan's varsity roller hockey team, where he helped lead the team to nationals every year. The University of Michigan eventually created "The Danny Mooney Award," which is awarded to whomever acts in the most student films each semester.
Mooney has had consistent festival play across the globe including opening the L.A. International Shorts Festival with a piece titled Little Joy, where he was a Director and Cinematographer, and world-premiering the feature film Bilal's Stand in the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, where Mooney - in true independent filmmaking fashion - was an actor, a 1st Assistant Director and an additional Director of Photography.
Mooney joined forces with producer Eddie Rubin and formed Deep Blue Pictures while still in college. Deep Blue has numerous features under the company's belt since Mooney graduated from college in the spring of 2008, with both Mooney and Rubin also producing a myriad of additional feature films independently. The film Mooz-lum, co-produced by Mooney and Rubin, won "Best Narrative Feature" at the 2010 Urbanworld Film Festival and was the third film to sell out at the 2010 Chicago International Film Festival. Mooz-lum, starring Evan Ross, Nia Long and Danny Glover, took its limited release in theaters across the U.S. and Canada in mid-February 2011. Although on a limited number of screens, the film grossed more per screen than any other film in America for its opening weekend. RogerAndEbert.com declared "I suspect the Muslim narratives of 9/11 will soon grow into its own genre, and this film is a very good start."
In between features over the years, Mooney directed a short series for Disney as well as numerous music videos, including one for Kanye West's Def Jam artist Big Sean, featuring GLC. The video, titled Million Dollars, became the second most viral music video in the world upon its release, right behind Lady Gaga's Bad Romance. Mooney also acted in and directed several national spot commercials for companies such as Best Buy, Southwest Airlines and Coke Zero. Most notably, he helped develop and played the comedic lead in a performance-driven viral spec commercial for Mountain Dew, winning the Grand Prize from the annual MOFILM international commercial competition in London. Mooney and Director Marty Stano were presented the award by the U.K.'s Jonathan Ross at the 2011 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
2013 marked Mooney's feature directorial debut with the film Love and Honor (originally known as AWOL, the film's shooting title). The cast is led by The Hunger Games star Liam Hemsworth along with Teresa Palmer (Warm Bodies, Hacksaw Ridge), Austin Stowell (Spielberg's Bridge of Spies, Colossal) and Aimee Teegarden (Friday Night Lights). Based on a true story from the Vietnam War, Love and Honor was penned by Jim Burnstein (who was also Mooney's screenwriting professor at UofM) and Garrett K. Schiff, and was executive produced by Deep Blue's Eddie Rubin and produced by Patrick Olson and Chip Diggins (a former senior executive at both Disney and Paramount, and Barry Levinson's former producing partner at Baltimore Pictures). Distributed domestically by IFC Films, Love and Honor was released in 30 cities on March 22nd, 2013, where it ran for the next 8 weeks. The film came out on a much larger scale in theaters overseas to rave reviews in late 2012 and early 2013, with one Russian critic writing "Young director Danny Mooney has created an astounding film" and Helium in Australia proclaiming, "Love and Honor is one of the most underrated films of 2012." The film was then released on DVD and digital, climbing high on all the iTunes charts and hitting #1 on the iTunes romance movie chart during its second week out, and remaining on the Netflix "Trending Now" chart for nearly a year.
Mooney then jumped straight back into acting when French auteur Arnaud Desplechin chose him to play Benecio Del Toro's insane asylum roommate in the post-World War II drama, Jimmy P: Psychotherapy Of A Plains Indian. The film premiered in Competition at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival to international critical acclaim and a Palme d'Or nomination. Jimmy P. was nominated in the 2014 César Awards (France's Oscars) for "Best Picture," "Best Director" and "Best Adapted Screenplay."
Mooney then dug back into his humor-based roots and shot the ridiculous-yet-heartfelt comedy Saugatuck Cures, where Mooney played the lead role with co-star Max Adler (of Glee) as two childhood best friends on a road trip of exuberant high jinks. The film started hitting the festival circuit in the fall of 2014 with an instant buzz about the performances as well as how the film deals with several hot-button topics in today's society, with The Huffington Post stating "Is Saugatuck Cures controversial? Definitely. Fun to watch? Yes." and Condé Nast writer, Philip Wayne, calling Mooney's role in the film a "jaw dropping performance... such an amazing work of artistry." The film got a domestic limited theatrical run starting June 26th, 2015.
2016 marked the first season of Outsiders for Sony Pictures Television, where Mooney plays a recurring role. Created by award-winning playwright Peter Mattei and Executive Produced by Paul Giamatti and Peter Tolan, Outsiders set the record as the most-watched piece of original programming ever for the WGN network. Outsiders went two seasons before being cancelled, much to the chagrin of the fans all over the world.
Then came one of the most unorthodox projects from Mooney yet. The short film Injustice for All was released in the form of an independent, dark and twisted new take on Batman comic book legends The Joker and Harley Quinn. In his usual multi-hat-wearing fashion, Mooney was the director, a producer, the cinematographer and one of the actors in the film. The film was immediately embraced by the comic book community, with Horror Geek Life proclaiming "Danny Mooney's direction is tight and focused... With complex characters, great performances, and a unique take on a story we all know, Injustice for All shines through its thick layer of darkness." Along with Fansided stating "Director Danny Mooney, who also plays a very convincing Jimmy Olsen, skillfully brings to life Detroit's backdrop as the decrepit, rotting Gotham City... This is a can't miss short for all DC fans out there." Injustice for All toured the Comic Con circuit for all of 2017, ultimately winning The Stan Lee Cup at Stan Lee's L.A. Comic Con, which is the award given for the best piece of independent comic book content on the Comic Con circuit for that year. Mooney and producer/writer, Donavan Darius, were awarded this grand prize at the closing ceremony of Stan Lee's L.A. Comic Con by hip-hop legend RUN DMC. Injustice for All was then invited back onto the Comic Con circuit and was showcased at many Comic Cons throughout all of 2018.
Foster Boy, starring Matthew Modine, Shane Paul McGhie and Louis Gossett Jr., was one of the few films to receive a theatrical release in 2020. Based on true events that took place in the American foster care system, Mooney executive produced the film along with Shaquille O'Neal with the hopes of raising awareness to the atrocities plaguing the current foster care infrastructure. In a similar socially-minded and conversation-starting mindset, Mooney produced the film Disfluency, which took the Jury award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2021 Austin Film Festival and continues its journey on the festival circuit into 2022.
With several films in post and always in development on numerous film and television projects, as well as always being active in the music video space, Mooney continues to be a Swiss Army knife in the world of storytelling.
Danny Mooney received his Bachelor's Degree from the University of Michigan with a major in Film Production from the Department of Screen Arts and Cultures, concentrating in directing, producing and cinematography. He also received a minor in Acting, Drama and Text-to-Performance from the Michigan RC Theatre Department.- Bryan Barter was born on 18 March 1976 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is an actor, known for The Social Network (2010), Arn: The Knight Templar (2007) and Duke (2019).
- Norman Hartweg was born on 27 March 1935 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for Five Minutes to Love (1963), The Farmer's Other Daughter (1965) and A Different Approach (1978). He was married to Rue McClanahan. He died on 14 September 1994 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
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Devin Lytle was born on 23 December 1988 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for A Very Potter Musical (2009), Me and My Dick (2009) and Post Grad. (2013).- Producer
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Ron King was born on 26 September 1958 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is a producer and director, known for The Millionaires' Unit (2015), Rose is a Rose is a Rose (2018) and Visitor (2019).- Actress
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Before Amber Dawn rose to fame she studied acting under the influence of Milton Katselas at the Beverly Hills Playhouse.
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Amber Dawn Lee was featured in Creative Screenwriting magazine as a writer whose screenplay works are "raw and full of heart." Greg Brooker (Stuart Little writer) said "Amber Lee has an innate instinct to understand drama and she puts it on the page beautifully."
Two of her screenplays Mockstar and Children of the West were quarter finalists in the AAA screenwriting competition. Amber created her own production company Abovo Films in 2010.
After roles in short and feature indie films in Texas she realized her career could only happen if she moved to Los Angeles
At the encouragement of friends, she packed up her car in the middle of the night and drove straight to California. She checked into the Sportsmen's Lodge, and started acting classes at the world famous Beverly Hills Playhouse.
Amber Dawn Lee is a humanitarian and speaks on panels around the United States on issues of animal rights. She has saved several dogs from shelters, and found them homes.
She has been featured in several magazines as a model including the cover of Met Magazine, and Miami fashion shows for Versace. She appeared on Good Morning America with Dianne Sawyer.
In 2012 she filmed a documentary (The Rise and Fall of Zion) in Colorado City, Arizona, and Utah where the rapist Warren Jeffs leads a polygamist commune.