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I believe humor unites us.
Bruce Vilanch (born Nov 23, 1948) is a portly, often bearded, gay, Jewish writer. Famous for the patter he writes for the Academy Awards telecast, Vilanch is the fountainhead of one-liners for many of Hollywood's stars.
Vilanch's career as a celebrity bon vivant began when he was writing entertainment features for The Chicago Tribune. One of his reviews of a Bette Midler concert led Midler to contact Vilanch for assistance writing material for her upcoming Broadway show Clams on the Half Shell (1974).
Fueled by this success, Vilanch moved to Los Angeles to write for The Brady Bunch Variety Hour. When that show ended, Vilanch wrote jokes for anyone who'd hire him, including Lily Tomlin, Billy Crystal, Roseanne Barr, Rosie O'Donnell, Paul Reiser, Elizabeth Taylor and Robin Williams (though Vilanch says it's more accurate to say he's written comedy "at" Williams rather than "for" him).
He was head writer and a panelist on Hollywood Squares for four years, writing gags for the other panelists while his pal and client Whoopi Goldberg ran the show. Vilanch has also toured as Edna Turnblad in stage productions of Hairspray, the role earlier played by Divine and Harvey Fierstein. A 1999 documentary, Get Bruce, chronicled Vilanch's career and day-to-day life.
Source: NNDB
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I believe I'm the sum of my parts.
Marlene Dietrich (December 27, 1901 – May 6, 1992) was a German-born American actress, singer and entertainer. She is considered to be the first German actress to flourish in Hollywood. Dietrich had a contralto singing range.
She remained popular by continually re-inventing herself through her long career. During the 1920s she began her work as a cabaret singer, chorus girl and film actress in Berlin. In the 1930s, she became a Hollywood actress, a World War II frontline entertainer, and lastly an international stage show performer from the 1950s to the 1970s. She remains one of the rare modern entertainers whose films, recordings and photographs transcend time. Marlene Dietrich is an icon of the 20th century.
Source: Wikipedia |
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I believe in the audience, dahling.
Tallulah Bankhead (born Jan. 31, 1902, Huntsville, Ala., U.S.-died Dec. 12, 1968, New York, N.Y.) was a U.S. film and stage actress. Born to a prestigious family (her father became a prominent congressman), she made her Broadway debut in 1918 and achieved fame on the London stage in The Dancer (1923). Her vivid presence and throaty voice contributed to her singular performances in the hit plays The Little Foxes (1939), The Skin of Our Teeth (1942), and Private Lives (1946). She made films such as A Woman's Law (1928) and Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat (1944) but remained primarily a stage performer. Her final stage appearance was in The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore (1964).
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica |
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I believe style can't be bought.
Edith Bouvier Beale (November 7, 1917 - ca. January 9, 2002) was an American socialite. She was a first cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill.
She is best known as "Little Edie," one of the subjects of the documentary film Grey Gardens by Albert and David Maysles. Arresting in her dress, and entertaining in her speech, Edie has become a cult star. She and her mother, Edith Ewing Bouvier referred to as "Big Edie," were very quotable.
Source: Wikipedia |
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I believe I am divine.
Harris Glenn Milstead (October 19, 1945 - March 7, 1988) was an actor and singer known by his drag persona Divine. He appeared in several of John Waters' films, including Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, Polyester, and Hairspray, as part of Waters' regular troupe of actors known as Dreamlanders. The New York Times said of Milstead's films in the 1980s, "Those who could get past the unremitting weirdness of Divine's performance discovered that the actor/actress had genuine talent, including a natural sense of comic timing and an uncanny gift for slapstick. Divine - Harris Glenn Milstead died in his sleep of heart failure, or an enlarged heart brought on by sleep apnea. He was 42 years old.
Source: Wikipedia |
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I believe I am an original.
Mae West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol.
Famous for her bawdy double entendres, West made a name for herself in vaudeville and on the stage in New York before moving to Hollywood to become a comedian, actress and writer in the motion picture industry.
One of the most controversial stars of her day, West encountered many problems including censorship.
When her cinematic career ended, she continued to perform on stage, in Las Vegas, in the United Kingdom, on radio and television, and recorded Rock and Roll albums.
Source: Wikipedia
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I believe in the road less traveled.
Dorothy Gale is a fictional character, the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels. She also is the main character in the classic 1939 movie adaptation of the book. Most recognize Dorothy's iconic appearance, wearing a blue and white checked gingham dress and her hair in pigtails.
People who know the Land of Oz only from the 1939 film or from Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz often claim that the main message in Dorothy's experiences can be summed up in the popular sentiment "There's no place like home," but as Dorothy's adventures continue in later books Oz steadily becomes more familiar to her than her homeland of Kansas. Indeed, Dorothy eventually goes to live in an apartment in the Emerald City Palace, but only once Aunt Em and Uncle Henry have settled in a farmhouse on the outskirts of the Emerald City, unable to pay the mortgage on their house in Kansas. This would suggest that the main message is to get away from home without severing ties to one's family. Source: Wikipedia.
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922 – June 22, 1969) was an American Academy Award, Tony Award, Grammy Award, and Golden Globe-winning actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years, Garland attained international stardom as an actress in both musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage. She is most identified with her role as Dorothy Gale in the MGM production of The Wizard of Oz (1939).
Despite her professional triumphs, Garland battled personal problems throughout her life. Insecure about her appearance, her feelings were compounded by film executives who told her she was unattractive and overweight. She attempted suicide on a number of occasions. Garland died of an accidental drug overdose at the age of forty-seven, leaving children Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft and Joey Luft and a luminous record of her journey on the road less traveled. Source: Wikipedia.
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I believe classics never go out of style.
Papa Jack
Jack A.Weil, founder of Rockmount Ranch Wear, is to Western shirts what Henry Ford is to cars. He made the first shirts with snaps and helped popularize them worldwide.
Originally from Evansville, Indiana, he learned apparel manufacturing during World War I while working part-time in Bernstein Overall Factory after school. This had a profound impact on his future. Jack moved to Denver, Colorado with his new wife Bea in 1926. They were married sixty-four years until she passed away in 1990. They started a family and had two children: Jack B. and Jane, who in turn raised families – giving Jack and Bea five grandchildren and nine great-grand-children.
By the 1930s he became friends with Phil Miller and the two formed a partnership at Miller & Co. This was the first wholesale company that was exclusively Western wear. Jack was responsible for design and manufacturing. They prospered during the Great Depression because people responded to the romance of their product.
He went on to found Rockmount Ranch Wear in 1946. The company remains in the same historic landmark building where he first started business at 1626 Wazee in Lower Downtown Denver.
“Papa Jack” was described recently by the Times of London as the “oldest CEO in America.” At age 107 he comes to work daily, an integral part of company operations. He enjoys greeting people from all over the world who visit Rockmount’s historic landmark store. |
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I believe in show and tale.
William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody (February 26, 1846 - January 10, 1917) was an American soldier, bison hunter and showman. He was born in the Iowa Territory (now the American state of Iowa), near Le Claire. He was one of the most colorful figures of the Old West, and mostly famous for the shows he organized with cowboy themes. Buffalo Bill received the Medal of Honor.
William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody got his nickname after he undertook a contract to supply Kansas Pacific Railroad workers with buffalo meat. The nickname originally referred to Bill Comstock. Cody earned the nickname by killing 4,280 buffaloes in eighteen months (1867-68).
In addition to his documented service as a soldier during the Civil War and as Chief of Scouts for the Third Cavalry during the Plains Wars, Cody claimed to have worked many jobs, including as a trapper, bullwhacker, "Fifty-Niner" in Colorado, a Pony Express rider in 1860, wagonmaster, stagecoach driver, and even a hotel manager, but it's unclear which claims were factual and which were fabricated for purposes of publicity. He became world famous for his Wild West show.
On June 3, 1917, Cody was buried on Colorado's Lookout Mountain, in Golden, Colorado, west of the city of Denver, located on the edge of the Rocky Mountains and overlooking the Great Plains. His exact burial site was selected by his sister, Mrs. Mary Decker, while looking over the area accompanied by W.F.R. Mills, manager of the Denver Mountain Parks. |
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I believe in the power of one.
Oscar Wilde
Irish Wit, Playwright and Author
October 16, 1854 - November 29, 1900
Oscar Wilde's plays are still being performed and his books, essays, poems and fairy tales are still being read - each new generation finds reasons to embrace Wilde. One of Wilde's main literary themes is the individual, masked and revealed, reflecting his own secret life as a homosexual. Oscar Wilde is considered a founding father of gay literature and a symbol for gay rights; Wilde was imprisoned for his homosexuality in 1895 and died impoverished and infamous in 1900 at the age of 46. Today Wilde is celebrated for his wit, bon mots, effervescent writing style and his personal grace in the face of tragedy. |
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Yo creo en la causa.
César Chávez (March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993), born in Yuma, Arizona, was an American farm worker of Mexican descent, labor leader, and civil rights activist who with Dolores Huerta co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers. Supporters say his work led to numerous improvements for union laborers. He is hailed as one of the greatest American civil rights leaders. His birthday has become a holiday in eight U.S. states. Many parks, cultural centers, libraries, schools and streets have been named in his honor in cities across the United States.
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Source: Wikipedia. |
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I believe in taking a stand.
Sitting Bull (Sioux: Tatanka Iyotake, Tatanka Iyotanka or Ta-Tanka I-Yotank, also nicknamed Slon-he or "Slow"; ca. 1831 - December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux holy man, born near the Grand River in South Dakota and killed by police on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation during an attempt to arrest him and prevent him from supporting the Ghost Dance movement.
He is notable in American and Native American history for his role in the major victory at the Battle of the Little Bighorn against Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment on June 25, 1876, where Sitting Bull's premonition of defeating the cavalry became reality. In the months after the battle, Sitting Bull fled the United States to Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan, Canada, where he remained until 1881, at which time he surrendered to American forces. A small remnant of his band under Chief Wambligi decided to stay at Wood Mountain. After his return to the United States, he briefly toured as a performer in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.
After working as a performer, Sitting Bull returned to the Standing Rock Agency in South Dakota. Because of fears that he would use his influence to support the Ghost Dance movement, Indian Affairs authorities ordered his arrest. During an ensuing struggle between Sitting Bull's followers and the police, Sitting Bull was shot in the side and head by police after they were fired upon by his supporters. His body was taken to nearby Fort Yates for burial.
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Source: Wikipedia. |
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I believe in second chances.
Baby Doe Tabor
Born Elizabeth McCourt in 1854, she was nicknamed Baby Doe while helping her first husband mine for silver in Central City in the late 1870s. After divorcing her first husband, she set her sights on already married silver king Horace Tabor. In doing so, she became a part of the country’s most famous love triangles.
Horace Tabor eventually divorced his wife Augusta and married Baby Doe. They became Denver's wealthiest and most ostracized citizens during the ten years (1882-1892) before the silver market collapsed. Broke and homeless, Baby Doe remained Horace's greatest champion and when he died, she continued to protect his legacy by working tirelessly in Leadville CO to revive their long played out Matchless Mine. Baby Doe Tabor died in the winter of 1935 in a shack on the grounds of the Matchless Mine - never having given up her love for Horace and her belief that better days were ahead. |
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I believe I am a camera.
Mark Borchardt (born 1966) is an American independent filmmaker. He is best known as the subject of American Movie: The Making of Northwestern (1999), a film that documented two of the three and a half years he spent writing, shooting and editing his horror short, Coven (1997).
Borchardt was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He started making films at the age of fourteen with a super-8 camera that he bought from a garage sale for $40. After serving three years in the military he continued his cinematic endeavors at the local university. In the mid-nineties he wrote and produced Halloween radio dramas which were broadcast annually and won a fellowship from the Milwaukee Art Futures Board.
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Source: Wikipedia. |
