Tag Archives: American actor

Robert De Niro: One Great Actor

Born on August 17, 1943, in Greenwich Village, New York, Robert de Niro is the child of two artists; Robert De Niro, Sr, an abstract expressionist, and Virginia Admiral, a painter. His Irish mother, despite her strict Catholic upbringing, was a practicing Jew for most of Robert’s childhood. His father came out of the closet as a homosexual after Robert was born, and eventually divorced his mother. As a child, Robert was an avid reader of playwrights, and he discovered his love of acting at the age of ten when he portrayed the Cowardly Lion in a local production of … Continue reading →

Kurt Russell: Rugged Child Star

Kurt Vogel Russell was born on March 17, 1951, in Springfield, Massachusetts. His father, Bing Russell, is a former baseball player, who played the deputy sheriff on the television series, “Bonanza” for six years. Kurt was a child star, landing a ten-year contract with Walt Disney in 1960 and in 1963, a part in an Elvis Presley movie, “It Happened at the World’s Fair.” He graduated from Thousand Oaks High School along with Michael Richards of “Seinfeld” fame. Richards was said to have voted Kurt the “best looking in the class.” Although he was well on his way to establishing … Continue reading →

Mel Gibson: International Star

Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson was born on January 3, 1956, in Peekskill, New York. He was the sixth of eleven children born to Hutton Gibson, a railroad brakeman and Ann Gibson who died in 1990. The father moved the family to New South Wales, Australia, in 1968 after winning as a contestant on the television show, “Jeopardy.” His ancestors really came from Ireland and Scotland and he was named after the Church of St. Mel in Tipperary, Ireland, where his mother’s family was from. After graduation from high school, Mel studied at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, … Continue reading →

Ving Rhames: Big Heart, Big Talent

Irving Rhames was born in New York City on May 12, 1959. He grew up in Harlem, New York, and was a very good student. This fact gained him entry into the New York High School of Performing Arts where the acting bug bit him and wouldn’t let go. He also studied at Juilliard and, after graduation, he went on to perform in Shakespeare in the Park productions. He appeared in front of the camera for the first time in the 1984 television movie “Go Tell it on The Mountain.” That same year he made his Broadway debut in the … Continue reading →