Anne Meara (born September 20, 1929) is an American actress and comedian. She and Jerry Stiller were a prominent 1960s comedy team, appearing as Stiller and Meara, and are the parents of actor/comedian Ben and actress Amy Stiller.

Personal life[link]

Meara was born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Irish immigrant parents, Mary (née Dempsey) and Edward Joseph Meara, a lawyer.^[1][2][3] Meara was raised Catholic in an Irish American family, and converted to Reform Judaism six years after marrying Stiller.^[4][5] She has long stressed that she did not convert at Stiller's request, but because "Catholicism was dead to me." She took the conversion seriously and studied the faith in such depth that her Jewish-born husband quipped, "Being married to Anne has made me more Jewish."^[6]

Meara has written about her mother's death and her childhood experiences at Catholic boarding school.^[7]

Career[link]

Meara has been married to Stiller since 1954. Both were members of the improvisational company The Compass Players (which later became The Second City), and the pair, as the comedy team Stiller and Meara, brought many of their real-life relationship foibles to bear on their often-improvised comedy routines. After some years honing the act, Stiller and Meara became regulars on The Ed Sullivan Show and other TV programs. Their career declined, however, as variety series gradually disappeared.

During the 1970s, Meara and Stiller wrote and performed many radio commercials together for Blue Nun Wine. She had a recurring role on the sitcom Rhoda as airline stewardess Sally Gallagher, one of the title character's best friends. She also had a small role opposite Laurence Olivier in The Boys from Brazil (1978).

Meara costarred with Carroll O'Connor and Martin Balsam in the early 1980s hit sitcom Archie Bunker's Place, which was a continuation of the influential 1970s sitcom All in the Family. She played the role of Veronica Rooney, the bar’s cook, for the show's first three seasons (1979–1982). She also appeared as the grandmother in the TV series ALF in the late 1980s. Her own 1986 TV sitcom, The Stiller and Meara Show, in which Stiller played the deputy mayor of New York City and Meara portrayed his wife, a TV commercial actress, was unsuccessful.

More recently, she has had recurring roles on the television shows Sex and the City (as Mary Brady) and The King of Queens (as Veronica). In the 2004-'05 season, she appeared in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

She is the consulting director of J.A.P. - The Jewish American Princesses of Comedy, a 2007 Off-Broadway production that features live stand-up routines by four female Jewish comics juxtaposed with the stories of legendary performers from the 1950s and 1960s: Totie Fields, Jean Carroll, Pearl Williams, Betty Walker and Belle Barth.

Starting in October 2010, Meara and her husband Jerry Stiller began starring in a Yahoo! web series called Stiller & Meara produced by Red Hour Digital, a production company owned by their son Ben Stiller.^[8][9] She accepted a role in the Off-Broadway play Love, Loss, and What I Wore for an April 27 through May 29, 2011 run with Conchata Ferrell, AnnaLynne McCord, Minka Kelly, and B. Smith.^[10]

Filmography[link]

• The Out-of-Towners (1970)
• Lovers and Other Strangers (1970)
• Irish Whiskey Rebellion (1972)
• Nasty Habits (1977)
• The Boys from Brazil (1978)
• Fame (1980)
• In Our Hands (1984) (documentary)
• The Longshot (1986)
• The Perils of P.K. (1986)
• My Little Girl (1987)
• That's Adequate (1989)
• Awakenings (1990)
• Through an Open Window (1992) (short subject)
• Highway to Hell (1992)
• So You Want to Be an Actor (1993) (short subject)
• Reality Bites (1994)
• The Search for One-Eye Jimmy (1994)
• Heavyweights (1995)
• Kiss of Death (1995)
• The Daytrippers (1996)
• The Thin Pink Line (1998)
• Southie (1998)
• The Diary of the Hurdy-Gurdy Man (1999)
• Judy Berlin (1999)
• Brooklyn Thrill Killers (1999) (short subject)
• A Fish in the Bathtub (1999)
• Amy Stiller's Breast (2000) (short subject)
• The Independent (2000)
• Zoolander (2001)
• Keeping It Real: The Adventures of Greg Walloch (2001) (documentary)
• Get Well Soon (2001)
• Like Mike (2002)
• The Yard Sale (2002) (short subject)
• Crooked Lines (2003)
• Chump Change (2004)
• Night at the Museum (2006)
• The Mirror (2007)
• Sex and the City: The Movie (2008)

Television work[link]

• The Greatest Gift (1954–1955)
• Ninotchka (1960)
• Dames at Sea (1971)
• The Paul Lynde Show (1972–1973)
• The Corner Bar (cast member in 1973)
• Kate McShane (1975) (canceled after 10 episodes)
• Rhoda (cast member from 1976–1977)
• Take Five with Stiller & Meara (1977–1978)
• Archie Bunker's Place (cast member from 1979–1982)
• HBO Sneak Previews (costarred with Jerry Stiller 1979-1982)
• The Other Woman (1983, writer and cast member)
• The Stiller and Meara Show (1986) (canceled after a few weeks, cast member and co-writer)
• ALF (appeared in 7 episodes from 1987–1989, wrote one episode in 1989)
• The Day They Came to Arrest the Book (1987)
• Murder, She Wrote (1988) (guest appearance)
• Avenue Z Afternoon (1991)
• The Sunset Gang (1991)
• All My Children (cast member from 1992–1999)
• Love off Limits (1993)
• "In the Heat of the Night" (1994) (1 episode)
• Great Performances (The Mother) (1994)
• Jitters (1997)
• After Play (1999, writer and cast member)
• What Makes a Family (2001)
• The Yard Sale (2002)
• Sex and the City (2002–2004)
• The King of Queens (1998, 2003–2007)
• Oz (appeared in 2 episodes in 1999 & 2002)
• Crooked Lines (2003)
• Good Morning, Miami (2003, 1 episode)
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2004, 1 episode)
• Four Kings (2006, 1 episode)
• The Shallow End of the Ocean (2007)
• Mercy (2009, 1 episode)
• Wonder Pets (2009–2010, 2 episodes)

Theatre[link]

• Down the Garden Paths (2000, playwright)
• After-Play (1995, playwright, lead)
• Anna Christie (1993, Tony Award nominee)
• Eastern Standard (1988)

Radio[link]

• I'd Rather Eat Pants, National Public Radio, 2002
• Dining Alone (Blue Nun wine ad with Jerry Stiller, winner Clio Award, 1975)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Stiller & Meara Yahoo podcast
• "Old Nuns" by Anne Meara
• AOL Video interview
• Anne Meara at the Internet Movie Database
• Anne Meara at the Internet Broadway Database
• Anne Meara at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Works by or about Anne Meara in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• The Stiller and Meara Show at Internet Movie Database
• Production: Anna Christie - Working in the Theatre Seminar video at American Theatre Wing.org, January 1993
• The Jewish American Princesses of Comedy
• Stiller and Meara article at talkingcomedy.com
• New York Observer interview
• NY Times review of 2000 play by Meara: "Down the Garden Paths"
• After-play by Meara, 1995 at Google Books

Jerry Stiller
Stiller in New York City in November 2005
Born	Gerald Isaac Stiller (1927-06-08) June 8, 1927 (age 85) New York City, New York, U.S.
Residence	New York City, New York
Nationality	American
Education	Seward Park High School
Alma mater	Syracuse University
Years active	1956–present
Home town	New York City, New York
Height	5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Spouse	Anne Meara (1954–present)
Children	Ben Stiller, Amy Stiller

Gerald Isaac "Jerry" Stiller (born June 8, 1927) is an American comedian and actor.

He spent many years in the comedy team Stiller and Meara with his wife Anne Meara. Stiller and Meara are the parents of actor Ben Stiller (with whom he co-starred in the movies Zoolander, Heavyweights, Hot Pursuit and The Heartbreak Kid) and actress Amy Stiller.

He is best known for his recurring role as Frank Costanza on the television series Seinfeld and his supporting role as Arthur Spooner on the television series The King of Queens.

Personal life[link]

The eldest of four children,^[1] Stiller was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Bella (née Citrin) and William Stiller, a bus driver.^[2] He attended Seward Park High School.^[3] A drama major at Syracuse University, he gained a Bachelor's degree in Speech and Drama in 1950.

In the 1953 Phoenix Theater production of Coriolanus (produced by John Houseman) Jerry Stiller (along with Gene Saks and Jack Klugman) formed "the best trio of Shakespearian clowns that [he] had ever seen on any stage."^[4]

Stiller has two children, actor/comedian Ben Stiller and actress Amy Stiller.

Stiller is a member of the National Fraternity Tau Delta Phi.

Stiller and Meara[link]

The comedy team Stiller and Meara, composed of Stiller and wife Anne Meara, was successful in the 1960s and 1970s, with numerous appearances on television variety programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show. Their career declined as variety series gradually disappeared, but they subsequently forged a career in radio commercials, notably the campaign for Blue Nun wine. They also starred in their own syndicated five-minute sketch comedy show Take Five with Stiller and Meara, in 1977–78. From 1979 to 1982 Stiller and Meara hosted HBO Sneak Previews, a half-hour show produced monthly on which they described the movies and programs to be featured in the coming month.^[5] They would also do a few brief comedy sketches between show discussions. The duo's own 1986 TV sitcom, The Stiller and Meara Show, in which Stiller played the deputy mayor of New York City and Meara portrayed his wife, a TV commercial actress, was unsuccessful.

Resurgence[link]

Seinfeld[link]

Jerry Stiller played the irascible Frank Costanza, the father of George Costanza in the sitcom Seinfeld from 1993 to 1998. He was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 1997 and won the American Comedy Award for Funniest Male Guest Appearance in a TV Series for his portrayal of Frank Costanza.

The King of Queens[link]

After Seinfeld's run ended, Stiller had planned on retiring, but Kevin James requested him to join the cast of The King of Queens. Kevin James, who played the leading role of Doug Heffernan, had told Stiller that he needed him in order to have a successful show^{[citation needed]}. Stiller obliged, and played the role of Arthur Spooner, the always scheming (and again, irascible) father of Carrie Heffernan in the situation comedy from 1998 until 2007. Stiller has said this role tested his acting ability more than any others have and that, before being a part of King of Queens, he only saw himself as a "decent actor".

Other appearances[link]

Stiller played himself in filmed skits, opening and closing Canadian rock band Rush's 30th Anniversary Tour concerts in 2004. These appearances are seen on the band's DVD R30 Live In Frankfurt, released in 2005. Stiller later appeared in cameos in later in-concert films for the band's 2008 Snakes & Arrows Tour.

Stiller is a martial arts enthusiast and has hosted the Kumite three times. He also routinely attends UFC events and can be seen in many backstage segments.

In the late 1990s Stiller appeared in a series of Nike television commercials as the ghost of deceased Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi.

Stiller has appeared in various motion pictures, most notably Zoolander (2001) and Secret of the Andes (1999) with Nancy Allen.

On February 9, 2007, Stiller and his wife were honored with a joint star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

On October 28, 2010, Stiller and his wife appeared on an episode of The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.

Stiller voiced the announcer on the childrens' educational show Crashbox

Starting in October 2010, Stiller and his wife began starring in a Yahoo web series called Stiller & Meara from Red Hour Digital, in which they discuss current topics. Each episode lasts about two minutes.^[6]

As author[link]

Stiller wrote the foreword to the book Festivus: The Holiday for the Rest of Us (ISBN 0-446-69674-9) by Allen Salkin, released on October 26, 2005.

His memoir, Married to Laughter: A Love Story Featuring Anne Meara, was published in 2000.

Filmography[link]

• Lovers and Other Strangers (1970) as Jim (Carol's Father) (uncredited)
• The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) as Lt. Rico Patrone
• Airport 1975 (1974) as Sam
• The Ritz (1976) as Carmine Vespucci
• Nasty Habits (1977) as P.R. Priest
• Time Express (1979) (TV series)
• Those Lips, Those Eyes (1980) as Mr. Shoemaker
• Madame X (1981) (made for TV)
• Simon & Simon (1982) "The Uncivil Servant" as Harold Traxler
• The McGuffin (1985) as Marty
• Tales from the Darkside (November 10, 1985) in "The Devil's Advocate" (TV)
• Seize the Day (1986) as Dr. Tamkin
• Hot Pursuit (1987) as Victor Honeywell
• Nadine (1987) as Raymond Escobar
• Hairspray (1988) as Wilbur Turnblad
• That's Adequate (1989) as Sid Lane
• Little Vegas (1990) as Sam
• Sweet 15 (1990) as Mr. Waterman
• Freefall (1992) as Emily's Father
• Highway to Hell (1992) as The Desk Cop
• Seinfeld (1993–1998) as Frank Costanza (TV)
• The Pickle (1993) as Phil Hirsch
• Heavyweights (1995) as Harvey Bushkin
• Subway Stories (1997) as man in the subway
• Camp Stories (1997) as Schlomo
• Stag (1997) as Ted
• The Deli (1997) as Petey Cheesecake
• The King of Queens (1998–2007) as Arthur Spooner (TV)
• The Suburbans (1999) as Speedo Silverburg
• A Fish in the Bathtub (1999) as Sam
• Secret of the Andes (1999) as Dr. Golfisch
• The Independent (2000) as Monty Fineman
• My 5 Wives (2000) as Don Giovanni
• Chump Change (2001) as The Colonel
• Zoolander (2001) as Maury Ballstein
• On the Line (2001) as Nathan
• Serving Sara (2002) as Milton the Cop
• Teacher's Pet (2004) (voice) as Pretty Boy
• The Lion King 1½ (2004) (voice) (direct-to-DVD) as Uncle Max
• R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour (2005) as himself
• Hairspray (2007) as Mr. Pinky
• The Heartbreak Kid (2007) as Doc
• Snakes & Arrows Live (video) (2008) as "Heidi"
• Fish Hooks (2010) as Principal Strickler (voice)
• Ice Dreams (2010) as Skipper
• Excuse Me For Living (2012) as Morty^[7]

Television[link]

• The Love Boat
• Fish Hooks as Principal Stickler
• The Paul Lynde Show as Barney Dickerson 1972-1973
• Archie Bunker's Place as Carmine – 1980
• Celebrity Ghost Stories, Season 3, Episode 3(bio.HD)
• Seinfeld as Frank Costanza - 1993-98
• King of Queens 1998-2007 As Arthur Spooner
• The Good Wife as Judge Felix Afterman - 2011

Short films[link]

• Shoeshine (1987)
• So You Want to Be an Actor (1993)
• Amy Stiller's Breast (2000)

See also[link]

• Stiller and Meara
• The Stiller and Meara Show
• Anne Meara
• Ben Stiller
• Amy Stiller
• Seinfeld
• The King of Queens

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jerry Stiller at the Internet Movie Database
• The Stiller and Meara Show at Internet Movie Database
• Jerry Stiller at the Internet Broadway Database
• Jerry Stiller at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Festivus: The website for the rest of us – Website for Festivus Book to which Stiller wrote foreword, includes Festivus movies, songs, forum and grievances
• Jerry Stiller – Internet Accuracy Project
• Exclusive Jerry Stiller Interview at TrulyHollywood.com (March 21, 2007)
• Stiller and Meara article at talkingcomedy.com

Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, doll designer, and a member of the show business family The Osmonds. Although she was never part of her family's singing group, she gained success as a solo country music artist in the 1970s and 1980s. Her best known song is a cover of the country pop ballad "Paper Roses." In 1976, she and her singer brother Donny Osmond began hosting the TV variety show Donny & Marie.

Early life[link]

Born Olive Marie Osmond in Ogden, Utah to Olive and George Osmond, Marie Osmond was raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The only daughter of nine children, her brothers are Virl, Tom, Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Donny, and Jimmy Osmond. From an early age, her brothers maintained a career in show business, singing and performing on national television. Osmond debuted as part of her brothers' act The Osmond Brothers on the The Andy Williams Show when she was three, but generally did not perform with her brothers in the group's television performances through the 1960s.

Music career[link]

1970s[link]

Aside from her two older brothers (who are deaf), Marie was soon the only family member not involved in the music business. After the initial success of The Osmonds in 1970, Marie's older brother Donny was gaining success as a solo artist on the Pop Music charts and was becoming a teen idol. The Osmonds' management convinced Marie to try her hand as well. She signed with the family's record label, MGM Records and began making concert appearances with The Osmonds. Her style was more directed towards country music, in contrast with her brothers' pop music.

In 1973, Osmond cut her first single as a solo artist, "Paper Roses". The recording became a #1 country hit, reached the Top 5 on the Billboard magazine pop chart, and achieved crossover success. The song earned a gold record as did the album of the same name. Osmond released another single, "In My Little Corner of the World", and a same-name album in 1974, with both entering the Billboard Top 40 in 1974. The title song on her next album Who's Sorry Now, released in 1975, went to #20 the month after its release. The title song from Osmond's final solo album of the seventies, This Is The Way That I Feel, reached #39 within two months of its 1977 release.

In 1974, Osmond had two pop music duet hits with brother Donny: "I'm Leaving It All Up to You" and "Morning Side of the Mountain." The former song was a Top 20 country hit.

1980s[link]

In the early 1980s, Osmond's music career went into a brief hiatus while she pursued a career in acting. She turned down the lead role as Sandy in Grease because she didn't approve of the script's moral content,^[1] and the role went to Olivia Newton-John. She appeared in some TV movies and did voice-over work for children's cartoons. Prior to the comeback success of her brother Donny in the late 1980s, Marie made a comeback in country music as a solo artist by signing a deal with Curb Records in Nashville. In 1985, Marie and Dan Seals sang a duet called "Meet Me in Montana" which became a #1 country hit that year.

Her follow-up to "Meet Me in Montana" was a solo hit called "There's No Stopping Your Heart," which reached #1 in early 1986 for Marie. Her singles mainly focused on the more-popular Countrypolitan style. In late 1985, she released the "There's No Stopping Your Heart" album of the same name. In 1986, the single "Read My Lips" became a Top-20 country hit. She hit #1 again with a duet with Paul Davis with the song "You're Still New to Me." The Top-10 hit "I Only Wanted You," became her last major hit on the Country charts, to date. Osmond continued to release singles throughout much of the '80s, including "I'm In Love And He's In Dallas". In 1984, Marie had a single on RCA Records called, "Whos Counting." The single charted to only #82 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles. The single did receive a significant amount of airplay for a couple of weeks.

1990s[link]

The last charting single came in 1995 with "What Kind of Man (Walks On a Woman)".

Acting career[link]

In 1976, Osmond and brother Donny began to host their variety show Donny & Marie, which ran on ABC until 1979.

Osmond's first "made for TV" movie was The Gift of Love which originally aired on ABC December 5, 1978. The movie was loosely based on the O. Henry story "The Gift of the Magi." Her co-star in the movie was Timothy Bottoms and she received her first on-screen kiss in this movie.

In 1978, she and Donny released their film Goin' Coconuts, which was not a financial success. The following year, Marie starred in a sitcom pilot titled "Marie." which did not make the new season schedule and in 1980 she had her own variety show on NBC, also titled Marie, which only ran for half a season.

Osmond had a recurring role as co-host with Jack Palance on ABC's documentary series Ripley's Believe It or Not! for two seasons (1985–86), replacing Jack's daughter Holly Palance. She introduced and narrated segments based on the travels and discoveries of oddity-hunter Robert Ripley.

The singer played her mother, Olive, in the TV movie Side By Side: The True Story Of The Osmond Family. She also starred in the TV movie I Married Wyatt Earp.

She returned to television first in the short-lived 1995 ABC sitcom Maybe This Time and then with brother Donny in 1998 to co-host Donny And Marie, a talk/entertainment show that lasted two seasons.

She appeared as herself in the 2001 TV movie Inside The Osmonds, which showed how the brothers' egos, their father's fiscal mismanagement, and the family's quest to build a multimedia empire led to their downfall. The film was produced by her younger brother, Jimmy Osmond.

In 2006, she was a judge on the short-lived Fox celeb reality show competition Celebrity Duets.

Osmond had a radio show syndicated to adult contemporary radio stations, Marie And Friends that was canceled after 10 months.

It is reported by Entertainment Tonight that Marie will join the daytime cast of The Bold and the Beautiful, a long running CBS soap opera.^[2] A date has not been announced.

Broadway[link]

She appeared in the Broadway musicals The King and I (as Anna) and The Sound of Music (as Maria) in the mid-1990s. Marie and her brother Donny recently starred in a new holiday production called Donny & Marie – A Broadway Christmas, which was originally scheduled to play on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre from December 9– 19, 2010. The show was then extended till December 30, 2010 and again till January 2, 2011.^[3][4][5]

Other work[link]

Marie![link]

Osmond will be premiering "Marie!", a new sixty minute talk show on the Hallmark Channel in the fall season of 2012.

[edit] Donny & Marie in Las Vegas

The 750-seat showroom at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada is currently home to "Donny & Marie", a 90-minute variety show. The singing siblings are backed by eight dancers and a nine piece band. Donny and Marie sing together at the beginning and end of the show, and have solo segments in between. They recently extended their contract until October 2012.

[edit] The Marie Osmond Show

In 2008, Osmond had a new talk show in the works that was to have been taped in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, this project was canceled before airing.

[edit] Dancing with the Stars

On August 29, 2007, it was announced that Osmond would appear as a celebrity contestant on the fifth season of the ABC show, paired with Jonathan Roberts, 2004 US Rising Star Latin Champion. On November 27, 2007, Osmond came in third place on the fifth season of Dancing with the Stars.

Doll business[link]

In 1991, Osmond debuted her doll line on QVC. While QVC continues to be a primary source of distribution for her dolls, Osmond also carries her line in retail stores, through internet sales in the USA and worldwide, and direct response. In 2009, Osmond also debuted her dolls on The Shopping Channel in Canada.

Her first sculpture, a toddler doll she created and named after her mother, "Olive May," set a collectible record on QVC. Since then, Osmond has sculpted several dolls, including "Remember Me," "Baby Adora Belle," "Kissy and Huggs" and her hallmark doll, "Adora Belle."

In 2006, Osmond launched an embroidery machine line, a sewing machine line, and embroidery designs through Bernina. She has been featured on the cover of Designs in Machine Embroidery.

In 2009, a 16" vinyl Fashion Doll of Marie Osmond "Grand Finale Fashion" was debuted at Osmond's 50th Birthday party in Las Vegas in celebration of her 50th birthday.

Osmond's doll collection has garnered numerous award nominations, including "Trendsetter of the Year" and Dolls magazine's "Awards of Excellence."^[6]

Crafting[link]

In 2010, Osmond published a book of handcrafted project designs, Marie Osmond’s Heartfelt Giving: Sew and Quilt for Family and Friends^[7] (Martingale & Company,^[8]). The book contains step-by-step instructions for more than 20 projects, all designed by Osmond. Projects include her “Paper Roses” quilt, bags, aprons, and gifts for babies, teens, friends, and pets. The book also features several childhood photos.

Osmond has a line of sewing machines with Janome and a fabric line with Quilting Treasures.

Children's Miracle Network[link]

Along with actor John Schneider, Osmond co-founded the non-profit organization Children's Miracle Network in 1983. The CMN is dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by raising funds for children's hospitals across North America.

Nutrisystem spokesperson[link]

As part of the Slimsational Stars, Osmond is currently promoting the Nutrisystem brand of weight loss meals. She has starred in a number of commercials over the past five years.

Personal life[link]

Osmond has been married three times, to two different men. She remarried her first husband, Stephen Lyle Craig, in 2011, after splitting from her second husband.

Osmond first married Craig, a Brigham Young University basketball player, in 1982. Their only child, Stephen James Craig, was born on April 20, 1983, and they divorced in 1985. On September 24, 2011 Marie's son Stephen James married Claire Olds.^[9]

On October 28, 1986, Osmond married Brian Blosil. Osmond and Blosil had two biological children, Rachael Lauren (b. August 1989) and Matthew Richard (b. July 1999), and also adopted five children: Jessica Marie (b. December 1987), Michael Bryan (May 4, 1991– February 26, 2010), Brandon Warren (b. November 1996), Brianna Patricia (b. November 1997), and Abigail Michelle (b. September 2002). On March 30, 2007, Osmond and Blosil announced they were divorcing.^[10]

On May 4, 2011, Osmond remarried Craig in a small ceremony in the Las Vegas Nevada Temple wearing her dress from the 1982 wedding.^[11]

In 1999, Osmond revealed that she had suffered from severe postpartum depression.^[12] She co-authored a book called Behind the Smile with Marcia Wilkie and Dr. Judith Moore which chronicles her experiences with the illness. In August 2006, it was suggested by several U.S. tabloids that she had attempted suicide. These reports were denied by her publicity team, which claimed she had suffered an adverse reaction to a medication she was taking.^[13]

On April 29, 2009, Osmond revealed that her oldest daughter, Jessica, is a lesbian and had been living in Los Angeles with her girlfriend for the past three years. In interviews Osmond has expressed support for her daughter and for same sex marriage rights.^[14]

On February 26, 2010, Osmond's son Michael committed suicide by jumping from the eighth floor of his apartment building in Los Angeles.^[15] He had reportedly battled depression for most of his life and had been in rehabilitation at the age of 12.^[16] The autopsy released on April 21, 2010 revealed that no drugs were found in his system.^[17]

Marie Osmond is a Republican.^[18]

Discography[link]

• 1973: Paper Roses
• 1974: In My Little Corner of the World
• 1975: Who's Sorry Now
• 1977: This is the Way That I Feel
• 1985: There's No Stopping Your Heart
• 1986: I Only Wanted You
• 1988: All in Love
• 1989: Steppin' Stone
• 2010: I Can Do This^[19]

Filmography[link]

• Perry Como Sunshine Show (1974) – Guest
• Hugo the Hippo (1975) – Vocalist
• Donny and Marie (1976) – Herself
• Goin' Coconuts (1978) – Marie
• The Gift of Love (1978) – Beth Atherton
• "The Big Show" (1980) – Host
• "Marie" (1980) TV Series – Herself
• The Osmond Family Christmas Special (1980) – Herself
• Side by Side: The True Story of the Osmond Family (1982) – Olive Osmond
• Rooster (1982) – Sister Mae Davis
• "The Love Boat" (1982) – Maria Rosselli (2 episodes)
• I Married Wyatt Earp (1983) – Josephine 'Josie' Marcus
• Rose Petal Place (1984) – Rose Petal
• The Velveteen Rabbit (1984) – Fairy Princess and Velveteen Rabbit
• Ripley's Believe It or Not! (1985–86) – Co-Host
• Rose Petal Place: Real Friends (1985) – Rose Petal
• Marie Osmond's Merry Christmas (1986) – Herself
• Television's Christmas Classics (1994) – Host
• "Maybe This Time" (1995–96) – Julia Wallace
• Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night (1998) – Queen (voice)
• O' Christmas Tree (1999) – Star (voice)
• "Donny & Marie" (1998) – Host
• "Dancing With The Stars" (2007) – Third Place
• "Dr.Phil" (2007) – Guest
• "The Paul O'Grady Show" (2009) – Guest
• "The Oprah Winfrey Show" (2010) – Guest
• "The Rosie Show" (2011) – Guest

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marie Osmond

• Marie Osmond at the Internet Movie Database
• Marie Osmond at the Internet Broadway Database
• Marie Osmond – Official Website
• Marie Osmond Dolls – Marie Osmond Dolls News
• Marie Osmond Getting Divorced – People Magazine, March 30, 2007

Conchata Galen Ferrell (born March 28, 1943) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Berta the housekeeper in the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men, for which she received two Emmy Award nominations in 2005 and 2007.

Personal life[link]

Ferrell was born in Charleston, West Virginia, the daughter of Mescal Loraine (née George) and Luther Martin Ferrell.^[1][2] She attended West Virginia University, and graduated from Marshall University with a degree in social studies in education. She is married to Arnie Anderson and has one daughter, Samantha.^[3]

Career[link]

Ferrell began her career on the stage as a member of the Circle Repertory Company, appearing in the original Broadway cast of Lanford Wilson's The Hot L Baltimore and winning both the Drama Desk and Obie Awards for the off-Broadway The Sea Horse. A successful character actress, her career has spanned four decades and includes supporting roles in such films as Network, Mystic Pizza, Edward Scissorhands, Erin Brockovich, Crime and Punishment in Suburbia, Mr. Deeds and K-PAX as well as a small part in True Romance. Her other television credits include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hot L Baltimore, Teen Angel, B.J. and the Bear, Good Times, Hearts Afire, Townies, Night Court, and Push, Nevada. She played Mrs. Werner in the episode of Quincy M.E. titled "Into the Murdering Mind" (1982). She has also made memorable appearances portraying blunt, authoritative judges (The "Jagged Sledge" episode of Sledge Hammer! in 1987, and on "The One With Joey's Porsche" episode of Friends in 1999). Conchata Ferrell portrayed the owner of Mystic Pizza alongside Lili Taylor, Annabeth Gish, and Julia Roberts, who portrayed pizza waitresses.

She accepted a role in the Off Broadway play Love, Loss, and What I Wore for an April 27 through May 29, 2011 run with Minka Kelly, AnnaLynne McCord, Anne Meara, and B. Smith.^[4]

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Conchata Ferrell at the Internet Movie Database
• Conchata Ferrell at the Internet Broadway Database
• Biography at CBS.com

Julius "Nipsey" Russell (September 15, 1925 – October 2, 2005)^[2][3] was an American comedian, best known today for his appearances as a guest panelist on game shows from the 1960s through the 1990s, especially Match Game, Password, Hollywood Squares, To Tell the Truth and Pyramid. His appearances were distinguished in part by the short, humorous poems he would recite during the broadcast. These lyrics became so closely associated with Russell that Dick Clark, Bill Cullen, Betty White, and others regularly referred to him as "the poet laureate of television." He also had a leading role in the film version of The Wiz as the Tin Man. Russell was also a frequent guest on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts.

Early life[link]

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Russell went to Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta and attended the University of Cincinnati for one semester in 1943.^[4] He served as a medic in the United States Army during World War II, enlisting as a private on June 27, 1941, and returning from Europe in 1945 as a second lieutenant.^[5][6] He got his start in the 1940s as a carhop at the Atlanta drive-in The Varsity, where he increased the tips he earned by making customers laugh. He was discovered after he began performing in nightclubs in the 1950s. He subsequently made many "party albums," which were essentially compilations of his stand-up routines.

Early career[link]

In the mid-1950s Russell joined forces with the popular movie comedian Mantan Moreland for a stage act, replacing Ben Carter as Moreland's dapper straight man. One of their bits was an old routine that Moreland and Ben Carter had preformed in vaudeville and in Charlie Chan films. In the "interruption routine" (or "incomplete sentences") Moreland would engage Russell in conversation, only to be interrupted by Russell, who in turn was interrupted by Moreland:

Moreland: Guess who I saw? I saw old —

Russell: Is he back again? I thought he was —

Moreland: He was, but he got out.

Russell: Is that so?

Moreland: Yeah, he was over —

Russell: Is that so?

Soon the entire conversation was conducted in incomplete sentences, with each man anticipating or contradicting the other. Moreland and Russell's act can be seen in two all-black-cast compilation films, Rhythm and Blues Review and Rock and Roll Revue; another variation of the "interruption routine" performed by Tommy Davidson and Savion Glover, was featured in Spike Lee's 2000 film Bamboozled.

In the late 1950s, Russell appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, which led to a supporting part as a New York policeman in the sitcom Car 54, Where Are You? in 1961. In 1965 he became a co-host of ABC's Les Crane Show. During the 1970s, he was a co-star in the ABC sitcom Barefoot in the Park and appeared regularly on The Dean Martin Show and The Dean Martin Comedy World. Scattered appearances on television series followed, as well as occasional guest-host stints on The Tonight Show during the Johnny Carson era. Russell also appeared frequently in Las Vegas; including a series of appearances with Sergio Franchi at the Frontier Hotel in 1978 and 1979,^[7][8][9] and with Franchi in 1979 at the Sands Hotel Copa Room.^[10]

Game show career[link]

Russell became the first black performer to become a regular panelist on a weekly network game show when he joined ABC's Missing Links in 1964. Another ABC show, Rhyme and Reason, had poetry for a premise, making Russell's participation a necessity:

Host: Conny Van Dyke looks like a girl I once dated...

Russell: And now, all my dreams are strictly X-rated!

Host: Jack said to Jill as they went up the hill...

Russell: We're not going for water — I hope you're on the pill!

In 1971 he started as a featured panelist on To Tell the Truth, which led to his being hired for The Match Game when Goodson-Todman Productions revived it two years later. He also served as panelist on the 1968 revival of What's My Line? Producer Bob Stewart featured him regularly as a panelist on Pyramid throughout its 1970s and 1980s runs. Russell would also host the short-lived 1985 game show Your Number's Up as well as the early-'80s revival of Juvenile Jury.

During his appearances on game shows, at some point in the broadcast the host would give the floor to Russell, who would recite a self-penned poem from memory, looking straight into the camera. These poems from 1980s episodes of The $25,000 Pyramid and The $100,000 Pyramid and even one from the 2004 Hollywood Squares are typical of his style and wit:

The girl who would make my life complete

need not be young and fair;

Just be a nymphomaniac

and a multimillionaire.

(To which Betty White replied, "I'm not a multimillionaire but one out of two ain't bad.")

What is the secret of eternal youth?

The answer is easily told;

All you gotta do if you wanna look young

Is hang out with people who are old.

If you ever go out with a schoolteacher,

You're in for a sensational night;

She'll make you do it over and over again

Until you do it right.

The young people are very different today;

And there's one sure way to know;

Kids used to ask where they came from;

Now they'll tell you where you can go!

I got a new girlfriend,

No guy could ask for more,

She’s deaf, dumb, oversexed

And owns a liquor store!

Those who think of women as the weaker sex

Just can't see the trees for the woods

Cause no matter how loudly a rooster may crow

It's the hen who delivers the goods.

Before we lose our autonomy

And our economy crumbles into dust

We should attack Japan, lose the war

And let Japan take care of us.

The opposite of 'pro' is 'con'

This fact is clearly seen

But if 'progress' means move forward

What does 'Congress' mean?

Hurricanes are named after women

Because they start on the very same plan

Start up over nothin', make a whole lotta noise,

And can't be controlled by man!

Washington threw a silver dollar

Across the Potomac one day

Since then politicians in Washington

Have been throwing our money away.

I am a bachelor, and I will not marry

Until the right girl comes along

But while I'm waiting, I don't mind dating

Girls that I know are wrong.

Pyramid is the best show on TV.

Dick Clark is surely the best emcee.

They won the Emmy, they pay a high fee

How 'bout a few bucks for the audience and me?

Show business should really change its style from the vulgar and the crude.

People on stage should be properly dressed. The audience should be nude.

More people are killed on the roads than they are on the battlefield.

It's not the tiger in the tank, it's the jackass behind the wheel.

When Russell appeared on Family Feud during a special game show emcee week, he had two poems to give:

Playing Family Feud today

Are some talented women and men;

Lost their jobs giving money away,

So now, they're trying to win!

Each day we turn another page.

You know you're reaching middle age

When your pimples and your rashes

Turn to wrinkles and hot flashes.

He was a trained dancer, influenced in his youth by legendary performer Jack Wiggins. Russell put these talents to use in the 1978 musical The Wiz as the Tin Man. He also appeared on the big screen in 1994's adaptation of Car 54, Where Are You?, reprising his role as Anderson, who had now been promoted from sergeant to captain.

Later career and death[link]