James Flavin

James William Flavin, Jr. (May 14, 1906 – April 23, 1976) was an American character actor whose career lasted for nearly half a century.

Life and career

Flavin was the son of a hotel waiter of Canadian-English extraction and a mother, Katherine, whose father was an Anglo-Irish immigrant. Thus, Flavin, well known in Hollywood as an "Irish" type, was—ironically—only one-quarter Irish. He was born and reared in Portland, Maine, a fact that may have enriched his later working relationship with director John Ford, also a Portland native.

He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point but, contrary to some sources, did not graduate. Instead he dropped out and returned to Portland and drove a taxi. Then as now, summer stock companies flocked to Maine each year, and in 1929 Flavin was asked to fill in for an actor. He did well with the part and the company manager offered him $150 per week to accompany the troupe back to New York. Flavin accepted and by the spring of 1930 was living in a rooming house at 108 W. 87th Street in Manhattan. Flavin didn't manage to crack Broadway at this time; his Broadway debut would not occur for another 39 years, in the 1971 revival of The Front Page, in which he played Murphy and briefly took over the lead role of Walter Burns from Robert Ryan.

The Fighter

The Fighter is a 2010 American biographical sports drama film directed by David O. Russell, and starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo. The film centers on the lives of professional boxer Micky Ward (Wahlberg) and his older half-brother Dicky Eklund (Bale). The film also stars Amy Adams as Micky's girlfriend Charlene Fleming, and Melissa Leo as Micky and Dicky's mother, Alice Eklund-Ward. The Fighter is Russell and Wahlberg's third film collaboration, following Three Kings and I Heart Huckabees.

The film was released in select North American theaters on December 17, 2010 and was released in the United Kingdom on February 4, 2011. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, winning the awards for Best Supporting Actor (Christian Bale) and Best Supporting Actress (Melissa Leo). It was the first film to win both awards since Hannah and Her Sisters in 1986.

Plot

Micky Ward is an American welterweight boxer from Lowell, Massachusetts. Managed by his mother, Alice Ward, and trained by his older half-brother, Dicky Eklund, Micky has not had a particularly successful career: He's become a "stepping stone" for other boxers to defeat on their way up. Complicating matters, Dicky, a former boxer whose peak of success was going the distance with Sugar Ray Leonard in 1978 (before Leonard became a world champion), has fallen apart since then, becoming addicted to crack cocaine. He is now being filmed for an HBO documentary he believes to be about his "comeback".

Scars & Stories

Scars & Stories is the third studio album by American alternative rock band The Fray. It was released on February 7, 2012.

Background

Scars & Stories was recorded beginning in March 2011, and concluded in July 2011. Unlike their debut album How to Save a Life and their self-titled second album, which were both produced by Aaron Johnson and Mike Flynn, their third album was produced by Brendan O'Brien. During a performance at the Hard Rock cafe in Boston, Massachusetts, Isaac Slade stated that the album Scars & Stories was named after a B-side that did not make it onto the third record. He went on to explain that each of the band members have been through a lot of hardships, but collectively they were able to pull through.

The album artwork was revealed on November 16, 2011; following the video premiere of the first single, Heartbeat.

The album was made available to pre-order on October 18, 2011 on the band's website. On December 20, 2011 the deluxe edition of the album became available for pre-order on iTunes, featuring 5 bonus tracks; all covers. In addition, the band made the single "The Fighter" available for download.

The Fighter (1952 film)

The Fighter is a 1952 American boxing film based on the short story "The Mexican" by Jack London. The film is directed by Herbert Kline and produced by Alex Gottlieb. Kline and Aben Kandel wrote the adapted screenplay. The film was released by United Artists in the United States on May 23, 1952.

Plot

A boxer, in Mexico, sets out to avenge the murder of his family by using the money from his winnings to purchase weapons.

Cast

Further reading

External links