SEFAN Famous and infamous people

Humphrey Bogart biography Humphrey Bogart (Humphrey DeForest Bogart) was born on December 25, 1899, and was an American actor. No actor from Hollywood's heyday outshines Humphrey Bogart today, but his career started slowly. He played minor roles in the theater in the 1920s and came to Hollywood in 1930, where he got his breakthrough as the gangster in The Petrified Forest (1936), a role he had also played in the theater. After this, he had several gangster roles, but only when he got on the right side of the law in his roles did he become "the real Bogart": a cool individualist and romantic tough idealist on cleaning up a corrupt world. In The Maltese Falcon (1941), he founded the dark city's cotton-coat-clad private detective with sarcastic lines behind a snarling wolfish smile. The figure became a classic and a model for most of the genre's types since then. He varied the role with greater sensitivity in The Big Sleep (1946), where he continued the erotically su...

Holly Hunter biography Holly Hunter (Holly P. Hunter) was born on March 20, 1958, and is an American actress. Diminutive of physique, she specializes in types with delicate appearance and tremendous willpower. She had her film breakthrough in the Cohen brothers' Raising Arizona (1987) and Broadcast News (1987). She has also shown dramatic talent in Miss Firecracker (1989), Jane Campion's The Piano (1993), which earned her an Oscar, The Firm (1993), Copycat (1995), and Thirteen (2003). Since then, she has, among other things, helped provide a voice for the animated film The Incredibles (2004) and starred in the TV series Saving Grace 2007-10. last updated October 2022

Harry Langdon biography Harry Langdon (Harry Philmore Langdon) was born on June 15, 1884. He was an American film comedian. With his bemused baby face and figure of eternal naivety, Langdon achieved short-lived success in silent films. He made his debut in 1924, and after 15 short farces, he made seven feature films, of which Long Pants (1927) is the best known. The advent of tone films ended his career, which was already on the way back then. In the 1930s, he worked as a mastermind for, among others, Laurel and Hardy., and in 1939 he paired up, without much success, with Oliver Hardy in Zenobia. Died on December 22, 1944. last updated October 2022

Harold Lloyd biography Harold Lloyd (Harold Clayton Lloyd) was born on April 20, 1893. He was an American film comedian. Harold Lloyd debuted as an extra in 1912 and, from 1913, appeared alternately with Mack Sennett and Hal Roach in well over 100 short farces. His first success was the character Lonesome Luke, a Chaplin pastiche. In 1917 he invented the "glasses guy," a handsome, bespectacled young man, often shy and absent-minded but energetic and agile and embroiled in tragic events. Harold Lloyd stuck to this figure for the rest of his career, moving from 1921 to feature films; the best, e.g., Safety Last (1923) and For Heaven's Sake (1926), has retained classic status. After introducing the sound film, his career languished, but by then, he had become one of Hollywood's wealthiest men. Harold Lloyd received an Honorary Oscar in 1952. Died on March 8, 1971 last updated October 2022

Hugh Jackman biography Hugh Jackman was born in Sydney, Australia, on October 12, 1968. He is a big Hollywood star, but before that, he had an acting career in his native Australia, where he trained in communication and acting. He became world-famous after delivering the portrayal of the superhero Wolverine that fans of the comic book 'X-Men' could only hope for. He has played the fantastic and brutal mutant eight times in 17 years until he ended his superhero career in 2017 with the film Logan. After his breakthrough in 2000, he played the title role in the action flop 'Van Helsing' (2004). Then followed Darren Aronofsky's 'The Fountain' (2005), Woody Allen 's 'Scoop' (2006), and Christopher Nolan's The Prestige (2006). In 2008 he returned to his Australian roots when he starred opposite compatriot Nicole Kidman in 'Australia.' In 2012, he starred as Jean Valjean in the epic film adaptation of the musical 'Les Miserables, a role...

Heath Ledger biography Heath Ledger (Heath Andrew Ledger) was born on April 4, 1979, in Perth, Australia. He was an Australian actor, photographer, and director who had his big cinematic breakthrough in the mid-2000s.  His film work includes 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), The Patriot (2000), A Knight's Tale (2001), Monster's Ball (2001), Lords of Dogtown (2005), Brokeback Mountain (2005), Candy (2006), I'm Not There (2007), The Dark Knight (2008) and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009), the latter two being published posthumously. He also produced and directed music videos. For Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain, Ledger won "the New York Film Critics Circle Award in the Best Actor category and the Best International Actor Award from the Australian Film Institute; he became the first to receive the latter award posthumously. He was also nominated for a BAFTA Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, Golden Globe Award, and Academy Award in the Best Actor category, a...

Harvey Weinstein biography Harvey Weinstein was born on March 19, 1952, in Flushing, New York City, New York, USA. He is a former American film producer and actor. He became seriously known outside the film industry when he was convicted of a long series of sexual assaults and rapes against women.  last updated October 2022

Helena Bonham Carter biography Helena Bonham Carter, born May 26, 1966, was a British actress. She made her film debut starring in the historical drama Lady Jane (1986). She established her name with young girl roles in several period films, e.g., James Ivory's A Room with a View (1986) and Howard's End (1992), as well as Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet (1990). She has since sought to show other types, e.g., in Woody Allen 's Mighty Aphrodite (1995) and most convincingly in David Fincher's raw Fight Club (1999). Helena Bonham Carter has been in a relationship with the director Tim Burton since 2001. She has appeared in several of his films, including Big Fish (2003), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), and Alice in Wonderland (2010). She has also appeared in several Harry Potter films, including Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009). She was nominated for an Oscar for her supporting role as Queen Elizabe...

Haley Joel Osment biography Haley Joel Osment, born in 1988, is an American actor who broke through as a talented child star in The Sixth Sense (1999), for which he was nominated for an Oscar. Since in the drama Pay It Forward (2000) and Steven Spielberg's A.I. (2001). last updated October 2022

Hugh Hefner biography Hefner (Hugh Marston Hefner) was born on April 9, 1926, in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Hugh Hefner was an American magazine publisher, founder, and owner of Playboy. He had long relationships with women, often several at the same time. The TV series The Girls Next Door is about the lives of several Hefner's ladies; in seasons 1-5, Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt, and Kendra Wilkinson.  Died: September 27, 2017, at Playboy Mansion, Los Angeles, California, USA. last updated October 2022

Holly Marie Combs biography Holly Marie Combs was born December 3, 1973, in San Diego, California, USA. She is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Kimberly Brock in the TV series Under the Surface and as Piper Halliwell, one of the 3 witches in The Witches of Warren Manor, which ran from 1998 to 2006.  last updated October 2022

Hugh Grant biography Hugh Grant, born September 9, 1960, was a British actor. Hugh Grant had a background as a theater actor when he made his debut in James Ivory's period film Maurice (1987) and then starred in Roman Polanski's Bitter Moon (1992). He cultivated an image as a noble but shy Briton, which in 1994 gave him a significant breakthrough in the comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral. Hugh Grant has since starred in, among other things, Sense and Sensibility (1995), Notting Hill (1999), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001, continued 2004), About a Boy (2002), and Love Actually (2003). last updated October 2022

Biography of Hilary Swank Hilary Swank (Hilary Ann Swank) was born July 30, 1974, in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. After several minor films and TV roles, i.a., in Beverly Hills 90210 1997-98, Hilary Swank had her breakthrough in Boys Don't Cry (1999) as a young woman who pretends to be a man. The role brought her an Oscar, and after several significant functions, e.g., Insomnia (2002) and The Core (2003), she won another Oscar for her performance as a female boxer in Clint Eastwood 's boxing drama Million Dollar Baby (2004). She has also played in, among other things, The Black Dahlia (2006), based on James Ellroy's novel, and portrayed aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart in Amelia (2009). last updated September 2022

Biography of Henry Fonda Henry Fonda was born on May 16, 1905. Grand Island, Nebraska, USA. Henry Fonda made his film debut in 1935 and, with his intense but low-key acting, quickly became a symbol of higher justice, especially as the hero in John Ford films such as Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and My Darling Clementine (1946). From 1948 to 1955, Henry Fonda appeared exclusively in the theater, with particular success in the play Mr. Roberts. When he returned to the film, it was, among other things, to produce the jury drama Twelve Angry Men (1957). Here he characteristically plays the juror who fights for the principle of "reasonable grounds for doubt." Since then, Henry Fonda often played the regular, liberal American but tried his hand a couple of times as a villain, for example, in Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) and Joseph L. Mankiewicz's There Was a Crooked Man ( 1970). Henry Fonda received an Oscar in 1981 for his over...

Biography of Helen Hunt Helen Hunt was born on June 15, 1963. Culver City, California, USA. Helen Hunt was first a television child star, showed her comedic talent in Francis Ford Coppola's Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) and Only You (1992), and became known for her participation in the series Mad About You (1992 -99). Her real film breakthrough came with the disaster film Twister (1996), and she won an Oscar for her performance in As Good As It Gets (1997) opposite Jack Nicholson . Helen Hunt's later films include What Women Want (2000), The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001), and the romantic drama Then She Found Me (2007). last updated October 2022

Harvey Keitel biography Harvey Keitel was born May 13, 1939, in New York City, New York, USA. Harvey Keitel is an American actor and producer. Some of his most prominent starring roles were in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, Ridley Scott's The Duellists, and Thelma & Louise. Protégé of Martin Scorsese, Harvey Keitel had several significant supporting roles in the 1970s, often as a gangster as in Mean Streets (1973), but also got leading roles in, for example, Ridley Scott's historical drama The Duellists (1977). Later, because of his star status, he promoted young directors, e.g., Quentin Tarantino, in whose Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994) he starred. Among Harvey Keitel's many other roles is Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), Fingers (1978), Ridley Scott's Thelma and Louise (1991), and Jane Campion's The Piano (1993). and Holy Smoke (1999) and Theo Angelopoulos's Odysseus's Look (1995), the latter three allowed...

Heather Graham biography Heather Graham was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, on January 29, 1970. Soon after, Heather was joined by her little sister, Aimee, and they attended their very first elementary school in Virginia because her father worked for the FBI, and they were forced to move quite often. After being shuffled around again, Heather and her little sister attended Sumac Elementary. Soon after, they participated in a school called Lindero Canyon Middle School. When Heather entered Agoura High School, she had difficulty making friends as she permanently moved before she had a chance to develop profound friendships. While studying at Agoura, she was teased for being a quiet girl and for not being fully developed physically. She was even considered a theater geek by her peers. Not only was Heather Graham considered un-cool at school, but her family life became increasingly uncomfortable as she began to follow her dream of becoming an actress. Although her mother would drive he...

Halle Berry biography Halle Berry was born on August 14, 1966, in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Halle Maria Berry was raised by her mother, Judith, a psychiatric ward nurse, with her older sister Heidi. Judith's husband walked out on the family when Halle was only four years old. Although living in a single-parent household was a little harsh, Halle's mother managed to move the family out of the inner-city neighborhood and into the suburbs of Cleveland. Because the area was predominantly white, Halle and her sister were oppressed because of their dark skin. Determined not to let the color of her skin get the better, Halle Berry made it a point to make friends while her dream of becoming an actress was already beginning to emerge. By the time Halle Berry reached high school, she was a cheerleader, honor society member, editor of the school newspaper, and class president. Not surprisingly, she has been crowned the high school prom queen. In 1983, when Halle was only 17 years old, Halle...

Holly Valance biography Holly Valance was born in New Zealand on May 11, 1983, and moved to Brighton, Australia, when she was still a teenager. Holly never thought about the entertainment industry, but her mother, Rachel - one of Australia's top models (by the way, Holly's father, Ryko is also a model) - encouraged her to pursue it. So, using her mother's booking and agent connections, Holly soon found herself posing for Kmart catalogs and strutting down runways in lingerie at the tender age of 14. In 1999, the then 17-year-old Holly had her first big break. Her agent heard about a casting call for a role on the long-running Australian soap opera Neighbours. Believing that Valance would be perfect for the part, he sent her to audition, and after several callbacks, Valance was cast as Felicity "Flick" Scully. Along with the role came a considerable sacrifice; unable to handle work and her studies, Valance decided to drop out of school in the 11th grade. And while s...

Henry Lee Lucas biography Henry Lee Lucas was Born on August 23, 1936, in Blacksburg, Virginia, USA. Henry was a convicted "serial killer." Lucas was convicted of murdering his mother in 1960 and two others in 1983. He rose to infamy while incarcerated for these crimes when he falsely confessed to approximately 600 other murders to Texas Rangers and other law enforcement officials. Lucas' case damaged the reputation of the Texas Rangers, caused a re-evaluation in police techniques, and created greater awareness of the possibility of false confessions.  Died March 12, 2001 (aged 64), Huntsville, Texas, USA. last updated October 2022