''Valley of the Kings'' is a 1954 Eastmancolor adventure film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was written and directed by Robert Pirosh from a screenplay by Robert Pirosh and Karl Tunberg, "suggested by historical data" in the book ''Gods, Graves, and Scholars'' by C. W. Ceram. The music was by Miklós Rózsa and the cinematography by Robert Surtees.

Cast

Background

MGM bought the rights to the archaeology text ''Gods, Graves and Scholars'' for "protection purposes," as it contained a chapter titled "Robbers in the Valley of the Kings" which might have been seen as having influenced the film's script.

The film was shot on location in Cairo, Luxor, Faiyûm, Suez, the Libyan desert and at the Pyramids of Giza Egypt. Additional filming took place in El Segundo, CA.

The role of Mark Brandon, played in the film by Robert Taylor was originally given to Vittorio Gassman.

The film's world premiere took place simultaneously on 21 July 1954 in Cairo and Alexandria (as well as New York City) and marked the first time an American film had a world premiere in Egypt.

The film shows the antic place of Abou Simbel temples as they were since 3000 years, just before Aswan High Dam needs its move higher on the new bank.

External links

Category:1954 films Category:American films Category:1950s adventure films Category:English-language films Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Category:Films set in Egypt Category:Films based on non-fiction books Category:Films shot in Technicolor

The Kings are a Canadian band formed in the 1970s, best known for their 1980 North American hit "This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide".

Recording history

In early 1980 the band went into Nimbus 9 Studio in Toronto to record their first album. While recording, renowned producer Bob Ezrin visited the studio, listened to the band, and liked what he heard. Together they created the album ''The Kings Are Here'' featuring the hit "This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide". Two other singles followed and the band began touring extensively with Bob Seger, Jeff Beck, The Beach Boys and Eric Clapton. During 1980, their rising commercial fortunes culminated in an appearance on Dick Clark's ''American Bandstand'', and the closing spot at the major Heatwave festival in August.

''Amazon Beach'', the 1981 follow-up to ''The Kings Are Here'', produced little in the way of sales, and the band was soon dropped from their label Elektra Records. The Kings soldiered on and released the EP "R.S.V.P" and the live album ''Party Live '85'' on their own Dizzy label, while continuing to tour Canada and the US throughout the remainder of the 1980s. Max Styles left the band in approximately 1982.

Comebacks

The single "Parting Of The Ways" appeared on Bullseye Records compilation ''Unsigned, Sealed and Delivered'' in 1991. This comeback prompted The Kings to return to the studio to record ''Unstoppable'' produced by John Punter, David Diamond and Mister Zero in 1993. ''Unstoppable'' produced several hits in Canada including "Lesson To Learn", "Shoulda Been Me", "Tonight I Got You", "Parting Of The Ways", and the title track "Unstoppable". A phone call in 1999 from Mister Zero to Alan Fletcher at Warner Canada led to the green light needed for Warner to re-issue ''The Kings Are Here..and More'' which allowed fans to get their hit "This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide" on CD, which was fully remastered from the original 2 track tapes by Zero . ''...and More'' also contained a few re-mixed tracks from Unstoppable and two previously unreleased tracks -"If The Stars Come Out Tonight" and "Right To The Top". A remixed and more mature version of "If The Stars Come Out Tonight" appeared on ''Because Of You'' released in 2003. Combined original sales and cd sales have passed the platinum mark in Canada but no certification is allowed because of the bonus tracks on the cd, which are the only way the band makes money from that project.

Throughout the remainder of the 1990s, The Kings continued to tour and play live shows around Toronto, but Sonny Keyes' role with The Kings diminished and only Mister Zero and David Diamond remain as permanent members from the original lineup. Sonny Keyes continued to contribute when called upon by Zero and Diamond.

Drummer Atilla Turi and keyboard players Peter Nunn and Rich Roxborough joined Mister Zero and David Diamond on the 2003 Bullseye Records release "Because Of You" (Josh Broadbent - Diamond's son - was also recruited into The Kings to contribute his vocals). "Because Of You" would be The Kings' strongest effort to date with Harry Hess recording alongside producers Zero and Diamond. A video was made for the title track, "It's Up To You" and "The Fools Are In Love" was re-mixed from the ''Amazon Beach'' release. Sonny Keyes co-wrote "A Way You'll Never Be" with Mister Zero.

A reunion of the original lineup of The Kings occurred in the winter of 2001 with Max Styles and Sonny Keyes joining their old mates for Alan Frew's (Glass Tiger) children benefit concert for Camp Trillium in Toronto. They played the benefit concert again in 2002.

In late 2005 The Kings had a full length reunion concert in Toronto which was filmed for inclusion in the DVD documentary being assembled by Mister Zero. The first part of this film to be seen is the incredible video for ''This Beat Goes On/Switchin' to Glide'', released October 2006, which gets thousands of plays on youtube.

Another focus for The Kings was to put as many songs as possible on iTunes, thus having the catalog available worldwide instantly. The album ''The Kings Anthology One'' is the latest addition, 12 songs from different eras including never before heard epic rockers from Whistleking.

In to 2008, The Kings continue to play live shows across southern Ontario and, from time to time, the northern United States. The Kings are also finishing new songs for their next studio album.

Lineups

The Kings 1982 - 1999 # David Diamond (vocals, bass) # Mister Zero (guitar) # Sonny Keyes (keyboards) #Peter Nunn (1994) (keyboards) #Marty Cordrey, Whitey Glan, Gary Craig, Randall Coryell, Greg Chritchley, Atilla Turi (drums) #Josh Broadbent (vocals) The Kings 1999 - 2005 # David Diamond (vocals, bass) # Mister Zero (guitar) # Atilla Turi (drums) # Peter Nunn (keyboards) # Rich Roxborough (keyboards) # Josh Broadbent (vocals)

The Kings 2005–present # David Diamond (vocals, bass) # Mister Zero (guitar) # Atilla Turi (drums) # Peter Nunn (keyboards) # Sonny Keyes (keyboards) # Peter Kadar (keyboards) #Josh Broadbent (vocals) #Todd Reynolds (Drums)

Discography

See also

References

External links

Eleanor Jean Parker (born June 26, 1922) is an American screen actress. Her versatility led to her being dubbed ''Woman of a Thousand Faces'', the title of her biography by Doug McClelland.

Early life

Career

In 1950, she received the first of three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for ''Caged'', in which she played a prison inmate. For this role, she won the 1950 Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival. She was also nominated for the Oscar in 1951 for her performance as Kirk Douglas's wife in ''Detective Story'' and again in 1955 for her portrayal of opera singer Marjorie Lawrence in the Oscar-winning biopic ''Interrupted Melody''. She followed ''Detective Story'' by playing a fiery actress in love with Stewart Granger's swashbuckling nobleman in ''Scaramouche''. Parker then performed with Charlton Heston as a 1900s mail-order bride in George Pal's ''The Naked Jungle''.

That same year, Parker appeared in Otto Preminger's film adaptation of the National Book Award-winner ''The Man With The Golden Arm'', in which she plays Zosh, the supposedly invalid wife of a morphine addicted, would-be jazz drummer Frankie Machine (Frank Sinatra). In 1956, she was billed above the title alongside Clark Gable for the Raoul Walsh-directed western comedy ''The King and Four Queens''. A year later, she starred in another W. Somerset Maugham novel, a remake of a ''The Painted Veil'' in the role originated by Greta Garbo, released as ''The Seventh Sin''. She also appeared in ''Home from the Hill'', ''A Hole in the Head'' and ''Return to Peyton Place''. Possibly her most famous screen role is as Baroness Elsa Schraeder, the second female lead in the 1965 Oscar-winning smash hit ''The Sound Of Music''.

She played an alcoholic widow in ''Warning Shot'' in 1966; a love-starved talent scout in the all-star but unsuccessful ''The Oscar''; and a rich, alcoholic estranged wife in ''An American Dream''. From then on, her big screen roles were fewer, and television would occupy more of her energies. In 1963, Parker appeared in the NBC medical drama about psychiatry ''The Eleventh Hour'' in the episode "Why Am I Grown So Cold?" for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award as Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. In 1964, she appeared in the episode "A Land More Cruel" on the ABC drama about psychiatry, ''Breaking Point''. In 1968, she portrayed a sultry spy in ''How to Steal the World'' -- a film originally shown as a two-part episode on NBC's ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.''. In 1969-70 she starred in the television series ''Bracken's World'', for which she was nominated for a 1970 Golden Globe Award as Best TV Actress - Drama. She also appeared in several made-for-television movies, including "Ghost Story: Half a Death," (1973) where she plays a wealthy matron who must reconcile the lives of her two daughters in a suspense-thriller.

Parker has also starred in a number of theatrical productions, including the Lauren Bacall role in musical ''Applause''. In 1976, she quit the Circle in the Square Theatre revival of ''Pal Joey'' during previews. She wrote the preface to the book "How Your Mind Can Keep You Well," a meditation technique developed by Roy Masters.

She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6340 Hollywood Boulevard.

Personal life

The following year, she married her current husband, Raymond Hirsch. Parker was raised a Protestant but converted to Judaism, telling ''New York Daily News'' columnist Kay Gardella in August 1969: "I think we're all Jews at heart... I wanted to convert for a long time."

Academy Award nominations

Filmography

References

External links

Category:1922 births Category:Living people Category:People from Greene County, Ohio Category:American film actors Category:American Jews Category:American television actors Category:Converts to Judaism Category:Jewish actors Category:Actors from Ohio

Samia Gamal (), born as Zaynab Ibrahim Mahfuz), (March 5, 1924 - December 1, 1994) was an Egyptian belly dancer and film actress.

Born in the small Egyptian town of Wana in 1924, Samia's family moved just months later to Cairo and settled near the Khan El-Khalili bazaar. It was many years later that Samia Gamal met Badia Masabni, the founder of modern Oriental dance. Badia offered Samia an invitation to join her dance company, which Samia accepted. Badia Masabni gave her the stage name Samia Gamal, and she began her dance career.

At first, she studied under Badia and Badia's star dancer at the time, Tahiya Karioka. However she soon became a respected soloist and brought forth her own style. Samia Gamal incorporated techniques from ballet and Latin dance into her solo performances. She was also the first to perform with high-heeled shoes on stage. She starred in dozens of Egyptian films next to the famous Farid Al Attrach. They could be easily thought of as the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers of the Middle East. They not only played each others' love interest on the silver screen but also in real life. However, their love was not meant to be. Because of Farid's social position, he refused to marry Samia. Farid believed that marriage kills artist talent, he never got married until he died. Some claim that Farid as a Druze prince, told her it would bring too much shame to his family for him to marry a belly dancer. But that claim is baseless. Farid helped placing Samia on the National Stage by risking all he owned, and managed to borrow to produce a movie (Habib al omr) co-starring with her in 1947. In 1949, Egypt's King Farouk proclaimed Samia Gamal "The National Dancer of Egypt", which brought US attention to the dancer.

In 1950, Samia came to the US and was photographed by Gjon Mili. She also performed in Latin Quarter (nightclub), New York's trendy nightclub. She later married so-called "Texas millionaire" Shepherd King III (who, it was later reported, actually only had about $50,000). All this brought her to star proportions in the US.

However, their marriage didn't last long. In 1958, Samia Gamal married Roshdy Abaza, one of the most famous Egyptian actors with whom Samia starred in a number of movies as well. Samia Gamal stopped dancing in 1972 when she was nearly in her 50s but began again after given advice by Samir Sabri. She then danced until the early 1980s.

Samia Gamal died on December 1, 1994, at 72 years of age in Cairo, Egypt. Samia's charismatic performances in Egyptian and international films gave Oriental Dance recognition and admiration in Egypt and worldwide. She was and still is deeply mourned by the dance community.

Filmography

References

External links

Category:1924 births Category:1994 deaths Category:Egyptian dancers Category:Belly dancers Category:Egyptian actors Category:Egyptian people