W. Lee Wilder

William Lee Wilder (August 22, 1904, Sucha, Galicia, Austria-Hungary – February 14, 1982, Los Angeles, California) was an Austrian-born American screenwriter, film producer and director. He was the brother of the film director Billy Wilder.

Biography

Wilder started his own film production company and produced his first film The Great Flamarion in 1945 and directed his first film The Glass Alibi the following year.

From 1949 to 1950, Wilder directed, wrote and produced 16 musical short subjects featuring traditional spirituals and folk-music.

During the 1950s Wilder formed a film production company called Planet Filmplays where he produced and directed several low budget science fiction films with screenplays cowritten by his son Miles.

Selected filmography

John Bromfield

John Bromfield (born Farron Bromfield; June 11, 1922 – September 19, 2005) was an American film and television actor.

Biography

Farron Bromfield was born in South Bend, Indiana. He played football and was a boxing champion in college. He served in the United States Navy in World War II. In 1948, he twice harpooned a whale in the documentary film Harpoon. In 1948, he was cast as a detective in the film Sorry, Wrong Number, starring Burt Lancaster and Barbara Stanwyck for Paramount Pictures. In 1953, Bromfield appeared with Esther Williams, Van Johnson and Tony Martin in the film Easy to Love. In the middle 1950s, he appeared in westerns, such as NBC's Frontier anthology series in the role of a sheriff in the episode "The Hanging at Thunder Butte Creek". He also starred in horror films, including the 1955 3D production Revenge of the Creature, one of the Creature from the Black Lagoon sequels.

In 1956, Bromfield was cast as law enforcement officer Frank Morgan in the syndicated western-themed crime drama series, Sheriff of Cochise, later retitled by studio boss Desi Arnaz, Sr., as U.S. Marshal. The real sheriff of Cochise County at the time, Jack Howard, visited the set when the program began and made Bromfield an honorary deputy. Bromfield once told The Los Angeles Times: "About 40 million see 'Sheriff of Cochise' or 'U.S. Marshal' every week. I'd have to do about twenty-five pictures, major pictures, over a span of eight or nine years for enough people to see me in the theater who see me in one week on 'U.S. Marshal'. ... The show is seen all over the world. Television is a fabulous medium." The series was actually created by his co-star Stan Jones, who appeared in twenty-four segments as Deputy Harry Olson.

Lon Chaney

Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American stage and film actor, director and screenwriter. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and afflicted characters, and his groundbreaking artistry with makeup. Chaney is known for his starring roles in such silent horror films as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925). His ability to transform himself using makeup techniques he developed earned him the nickname "The Man of a Thousand Faces."

Early life

Leonidas Frank Chaney was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado to Frank H. Chaney and Emma Alice Kennedy. His father was of English and French ancestry, and his mother was of Scottish, English, and Irish descent. Chaney's maternal grandfather, Jonathan Ralston Kennedy, founded the "Colorado School for the Education of Mutes" (now, Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind) in 1874, and Chaney's parents met there. Both of Chaney's parents were deaf, and as a child of deaf adults Chaney became skilled in pantomime. He entered a stage career in 1902, and began traveling with popular Vaudeville and theater acts. In 1905, Chaney, then 22, met and married 16-year-old singer Cleva Creighton (Frances Cleveland Creighton) and in 1906, their only child, a son, Creighton Tull Chaney (later known as Lon Chaney, Jr.) was born. The Chaneys continued touring, settling in California in 1910.

Wilder

Wilder may refer to:

People

The Arts

Business

Victor Jory

Victor Jory (November 23, 1902 – February 12, 1982) was a Canadian-born American actor of stage, film, and television. He initially played romantic leads, but later was mostly cast in villainous or sinister roles, like Jonas Wilkerson in Gone with the Wind and Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Later he had a lead role in the 78-episode television police drama Manhunt

Biography

Born in Dawson City, Yukon, of American parents, he was the boxing and wrestling champion of the United States Coast Guard during his military service, and he kept his burly physique. He toured with theater troupes and appeared on Broadway, before making his Hollywood debut in 1930. He initially played romantic leads, but later was mostly cast as the villain, likely due to his distinctive seemingly coal-black eyes that might be perceived as 'threatening'. He made over 150 films and dozens of TV episodes, as well as writing two plays. His long career in radio included starring in the series Dangerously Yours.