22 definitions by P. redeckis

Jack Wild
Born: 30 September 1952
Birthplace: Manchester, England
Died: 1 March 2006 (cancer)
Best Known As: Jimmie on H.R. Pufnstuf
Jack Wild was still a teenager when he was nominated for an Academy Award for playing the Artful Dodger in the 1968 film of the Charles Dickens tale Oliver. Wild went on to star in the oddly fantastical Saturday-morning series H.R. Pufnstuf and the movie Pufnstuf (1970, with Mama Cass Elliot). Wild lost many years of his later career to alcoholism, but he sobered up and returned to acting in the 1990s. In 2002 he had his larynx (voice box) and tongue surgically removed after being diagnosed with cancer of the mouth; the operation left him unable to speak.

Wild had a small role as one of Robin Hood's merry men in the 1991 Kevin Costner movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves... H.R. Pufnstuf was created by Sid and Marty Krofft, who also produced the Saturday-morning shows Land of the Lost and Lidsville... In a 2005 interview with the BBC, Wild said his cancer was caused by his previous habits: "What I learned very quickly was that my lifestyle had made me a walking time bomb. I was a heavy smoker and an even heavier drinker and apparently together they are a deadly mixture."

Jack Wild (30 September, 1952 – 2 March, 2006) was a British actor, born in Royton, Lancashire, England, who achieved fame for his roles in both stage and screen productions of the Lionel Bart musical Oliver!. For the latter performance (playing the Artful Dodger), he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the age of 16, but the Oscar went to Jack Albertson for his performance in The Subject was Roses.
It was at the premiere of the 1968 film version of Oliver! that he met brothers Sid and Marty Krofft, who thought Wild would make a good lead for a show they were developing called H.R. Pufnstuf. Wild starred in this American family TV series that launched in 1969, and also in the spin-off movie. He also embarked on a recording career, cutting one album for Capitol Records and two for Buddah Records in the early 1970s.
Excessive drinking at an early age derailed Wild's career. Sobering up in 1988, he returned to the big screen in a few minor roles, such as in the 1991 Kevin Costner film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. He was also reported to be developing a TV situation comedy with Suzi Quatro around the same time, but those plans never materialised in an actual series. For the most part, though, Wild spent the remainder of his career working in theatre.
Wild died in Tebworth, age 53, after a long battle with oral cancer. Diagnosed with the disease in 2000, he underwent surgery in July 2004 and had part of his tongue and both vocal cords removed. Because of this surgery, he had lost his speech1 and had to communicate through his wife.

A warm woolen hood covering the head and neck, leaving a slot for parts of the face, they are comfortable in winter and sometimes act as face protection.

Stock footage, also termed archive footage, library pictures and file footage is film or video footage either in the public domain or available for a set fee that can thus be put into any other film. Stock footage is of great use to filmmakers as it is generally far cheaper than actually filming a needed scene. Documentaries, as well as student films are noted for using large amounts of stock footage.

Stock footage can also be used to integrate news footage or notable figures into a film. For instance, the Academy Award-winning film Forrest Gump used stock footage extensively, to portray the lead character meeting historic figures such as John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and John Lennon.

One of the largest producers of public domain stock footage is the United States government. All videos produced by the United States military, NASA, and other agencies are available for use as stock footage. There are a number of companies that own the copyrights to large libraries of stock footage and charge film makers a fee for using it, but they rarely demand royalties. Stock footage comes from a myriad of sources, including governments, other movies, and often news outlets.

Television and movies series also often use stock footage taken from previous installments. For instance, all the Star Trek series kept a collection of shots of starships that would appear on a regular basis, being used most of the time a ship was seen.

News programs use film footage from their archives often when more recent images are not available.

Mel Gibson
Born: 3 January 1956
Birthplace: Peekskill, New York
Best Known As: Star of the Lethal Weapon movies
Mel Gibson got his start as an action hero in Mad Max (1979), a low-budget thriller which cast him as a grim, leather-clad ex-cop in a barren Australian future. When he reprised the Mad Max character in a bigger-budget sequel, The Road Warrior (1981), Gibson became an international star. His turn as a goofy rogue cop in 1987's Lethal Weapon cemented his status as Hollywood's leading young blue-eyed action hero. He made three more films in the Lethal Weapon series (1989, 1992 and 1998) and starred in other big-budget action flicks like Air America (1990, with Robert Downey, Jr.) and The Patriot (2000, with Heath Ledger). Gibson also showed a thoughtful side, taking the lead in Hamlet (1990) and directing and starring in the sentimental drama The Man Without a Face (1993). In 1995 he directed, produced and starred as historical hero William Wallace in the swords-and-Scotsmen epic Braveheart, for which Gibson took home Oscars for best director and best picture. His 2004 film about the last hours of Jesus, The Passion of the Christ (starring Jim Caviezel), was a surprise hit but stirred up controversy after critics accused it of anti-semitism. Gibson was born in New York and raised in Australia, which he has continued to make his home. He and his wife, the former Robyn Moore, have seven children.

A devout Catholic, Gibson directed, co-wrote, co-produced and self-financed the $25 million The Passion of the Christ... The Road Warrior was followed by Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome in 1985... Gibson played another historical figure, mutineer Fletcher Christian, in The Bounty (1984); Christian also has been played on-screen by Marlon Brando (Mutiny on the Bounty, 1962) and Clark Gable (Mutiny on the Bounty, 1935).

Rachel Gordon (born 1976) is an Australian actress.

She is a 1996 graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney, Australia. Since her graduation, she has combined stage acting with various roles in Australian television, and is best known for her role as Detective Senior Constable Amy Fox in the long running Australian television show Blue Heelers.

In late 2004 she married her partner of 11 years, Scott Johnson (who is also an actor). The two met at NIDA.

Blue Heelers is a long-running Australian police series set in the fictional small town Mt. Thomas in the state of Victoria. The show premiered in January 1994, and will end on June 4, 2006 with its 510th and last episode.

As of June 4, Blue Heelers will also equal the record for most episodes in an Australian primetime series, tying with Homicide.