Toukie Smith

Toukie A. Smith (born Doris Smith; April 25, 1955) is an American actress and model. Smith is best known for her role as Eva Rawley on the NBC sitcom 227 (1989–90). She is the sister of late fashion designer Willi Smith.

Biography

Smith started her career in 1970 as a model, working for such brands as Chanel, Versace, Geoffrey Beene, Issey Miyake, Norma Kamali, Thierry Mugler, and Patrick Kelly.

She also had a successful print career, including a photo campaign for Yves St. Laurent as well as appearances in Vogue, ELLE, Ebony, Cosmopolitan, Redbook, and Seventeen magazines. In 1978, Smith was named Bloomingdale's Model of the Year and became the first African–American model to have a mannequin designed in her likeness.

Besides 227, Her other credits include Talkin' Dirty After Dark (1991), Joe's Apartment (1994), and The Preacher's Wife (1996).

Personal

From 1988–1996, Smith long–term partner was actor Robert De Niro, with whom she has two twin sons (Aaron Kendrick De Niro and Julian Henry De Niro; born 1995)

Gilbert Gottfried

Gilbert Gottfried (born February 28, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and voice artist. His numerous roles in film and television include voicing the parrot Iago in Disney's Aladdin and Digit in the children's cartoon/educational math-based show Cyberchase. Gottfried was also the voice of the Aflac Duck until 2011.

Since 2014, Gottfried has hosted a podcast titled Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast, which airs new episodes each week featuring discussions of classic movies and celebrity interviews, most often with veteran comedians and comedy writers.

Early life

Gottfried was born on February 28, 1955 in Brooklyn, New York.

Career

Early career (1980–1998)

At age 15, Gottfried began doing amateur stand-up in New York City and, after a few years, became known around New York as "the comedian's comedian." In 1980, Saturday Night Live was being retooled with a new staff and new comedians; the producers noticed Gottfried and hired him as a cast member for season 6. Gottfried's persona in SNL sketches was very different from his later characterization: he rarely (if ever) spoke in his trademark screeching, obnoxious voice and never squinted. During his 12-episode stint, he was given very little airtime and seldom used in sketches. Gottfried recalls a low point was having to play a corpse in a sketch about a sports organist hired to play inappropriate music at a funeral. Despite this, he had one recurring character (Leo Waxman, husband to Denny Dillon's Pinky Waxman on the recurring talk show sketch, "What's It All About?") and two celebrity impersonations: David A. Stockman and controversial film director Roman Polanski.

Linda Dano

Linda Dano (born May 12, 1943) is an American actress, author and businesswoman.

Personal life

Dano was born Linda Rae Wildermuth in Long Beach, California, to Evelyn (Delgado) and Ted Wildermuth. Dano was married to advertising executive Frank Attardi for over 20 years until his death in 2004. She has two stepchildren, three step grandchildren, a niece and a nephew.

Career

Daytime series

After years of being on contract to 20th Century Fox alongside such actors as Tom Selleck, Dano joined the ABC soap opera One Life to Live in the role of Gretel Cummings from 1978 to 1980. From 1981 to 1982 she played Cynthia Haines on As the World Turns.

Dano next portrayed romance novelist Felicia Gallant on Another World from 1982 until the show's cancellation on June 25, 1999, her performance winning her the Daytime Emmy Award for Lead Actress in 1993. She was also nominated for Leading Actress Emmys in 1994 and 1996, and for Supporting Actress in 1992.

On June 28, 1999, Dano returned to One Life to Live as Gretel, now calling herself "Rae" Cummings. The character also appeared on the three other ABC soap operas at the time — All My Children, General Hospital, and Port Charles — in a crossover storyline which was the first time a daytime character had ever appeared on four series. In 2003 Dano was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Supporting Actress for the role, and left One Life to Live on March 13, 2004. In 2005, Dano appeared briefly as Lena Kendall on CBS's Guiding Light. Dano was also impersonated on NBC's Saturday Night Live in the late 1980s by Nora Dunn.

Surname

A surname or family name is a name added to a given name. In many cases, a surname is a family name and many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name". In the western hemisphere, it is commonly synonymous with last name because it is usually placed at the end of a person's given name.

In most Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking countries, two or more last names (or surnames) may be used. In China, Hungary, Japan, Korea, Madagascar, Taiwan, Vietnam, and parts of India, the family name is placed before a person's given name.

The style of having both a family name (surname) and a given name (forename) is far from universal. In many countries, it is common for ordinary people to have only one name or mononym.

The concept of a "surname" is a relatively recent historical development, evolving from a medieval naming practice called a "byname". Based on an individual's occupation or area of residence, a byname would be used in situations where more than one person had the same name.

Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro (/dəˈnɪroʊ/; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor and producer who has starred in over 90 films. His first major film roles were in the sports drama Bang the Drum Slowly (1973) and Martin Scorsese's crime film Mean Streets (1973). After being turned down for the role of Sonny Corleone in the crime film The Godfather (1972), he was cast as the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II (1974), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

De Niro's longtime collaboration with Scorsese later earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Jake LaMotta in the 1980 film Raging Bull. He also earned nominations for the psychological thrillers Taxi Driver (1976) and Cape Fear (1991), both directed by Scorsese. De Niro received additional Academy Award nominations for Michael Cimino's Vietnam war drama The Deer Hunter (1978), Penny Marshall's drama Awakenings (1990), and David O. Russell's romantic comedy-drama Silver Linings Playbook (2012). His portrayal of gangster Jimmy Conway in Scorsese's crime film Goodfellas (1990) earned him a BAFTA nomination in 1990. De Niro has earned four nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, for his work in the musical drama New York, New York (1977), opposite Liza Minnelli, the action comedy Midnight Run (1988), the gangster comedy Analyze This (1999), and the comedy Meet the Parents (2000). He has also simultaneously directed and starred in films such as the crime drama A Bronx Tale (1993) and the spy film The Good Shepherd (2006). De Niro has also received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2003 and the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2010.