Ben Affleck

Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist. His accolades include two Academy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. He began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educational series "The Voyage of the Mimi" (1984, 1988). He later appeared in the independent coming-of-age comedy "Dazed and Confused" (1993) and various Kevin Smith films, including "Mallrats" (1995), "Chasing Amy" (1997) and "Dogma" (1999). Affleck gained wider recognition when he and childhood friend Matt Damon won the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for writing "Good Will Hunting" (1997), which they also starred in. He then established himself as a leading man in studio films, including the disaster film "Armageddon" (1998), the war drama "Pearl Harbor" (2001), and the thrillers "The Sum of All Fears" and "Changing Lanes" (both 2002).
After a career downturn, during which he appeared in "Daredevil" and "Gigli" (both 2003), Affleck received a Golden Globe nomination for portraying George Reeves in the noir biopic "Hollywoodland" (2006). His directorial debut, "Gone Baby Gone" (2007), which he also co-wrote, was well received. He then directed, co-wrote and starred in the crime drama "The Town" (2010) and directed and starred in the political thriller "Argo" (2012); both were critical and commercial successes. For the latter, Affleck won the Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for Best Director, and the Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Academy Award for Best Picture. He starred in the psychological thriller "Gone Girl" (2014), in the superhero films "" (2016), "Justice League" (2017), "Zack Snyder's Justice League" (2021) and "The Flash" (2022) and in the action thrillers "The Accountant" (2016) and "Triple Frontier" (2019). He received praise for his performance as a basketball coach in the sports drama "The Way Back" (2020).
Affleck is the co-founder of the Eastern Congo Initiative, a grantmaking and advocacy-based nonprofit organization. He is also a stalwart supporter of the Democratic Party. Affleck and Damon are co-owners of the production company Pearl Street Films.
Early life.
Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt was born on August 15, 1972 in Berkeley, California. His family moved to Massachusetts when he was three, living in Falmouth, where his brother Casey was born, before settling in Cambridge. His mother, Christopher Anne "Chris" Boldt, was a Harvard-educated elementary school teacher. His father, Timothy Byers Affleck, was an aspiring playwright who was "mostly unemployed." He worked sporadically as a carpenter, auto mechanic, bookie, electrician, bartender, and janitor at Harvard. In the mid-1960s, he had been an actor and stage manager with the Theater Company of Boston. During Affleck's childhood, his father had a self-described "severe, chronic problem with alcoholism", and Affleck has recalled him drinking "all day ... every day". His father was "very difficult" to live with and he felt a sense of "relief" at the age of 11 when his parents divorced, and his father left the family home. His father continued to drink heavily and eventually became homeless, spending two years living on the streets of Cambridge. When Affleck was 16, his father entered a rehabilitation facility in Indio, California. He lived at the facility for twelve years to maintain his sobriety, and worked there as an addiction counselor.
Affleck was raised in a politically active, liberal household. He and his brother, Casey, were surrounded by people who worked in the arts, regularly attended theater performances with their mother, and were encouraged to make their own home movies. David Wheeler, a family friend, later remembered Affleck as a "very bright and intensely curious" child. The brothers auditioned for roles in local commercials and film productions because of their mother's friendship with a Cambridge-area casting director, and Affleck first acted professionally at the age of seven. His mother saved his wages in a college trust fund, and hoped her son would ultimately become a teacher, worrying that acting was an insecure and "frivolous" profession. When Affleck was 13, he filmed a children's television program in Mexico. He learned to speak Spanish during a year spent travelling around the country with his mother and brother.
As a Cambridge Rindge and Latin high school student, Affleck acted in theater productions and was inspired by drama teacher Gerry Speca. He became close friends with fellow student Matt Damon, whom he had known since the age of eight. Although Damon was two years older, the pair had "identical interests" and both wanted to pursue acting careers. They traveled to New York together for acting auditions and saved money for train and airline tickets in a joint bank account. While Affleck had high SAT scores, he was an unfocused student with poor attendance. He spent a few months studying Spanish at the University of Vermont, chosen because of its proximity to his then-girlfriend, but left after fracturing his hip while playing basketball. At 18, Affleck moved to Los Angeles, studying Middle Eastern affairs at Occidental College for a year and a half.
Career.
1981–1997: Child acting and "Good Will Hunting".
Affleck acted professionally throughout his childhood but, in his own words, "not in the sense that I had a mom that wanted to take me to Hollywood or a family that wanted to make money from me ... I kind of chanced into something." He first appeared, at the age of seven, in an independent film called "The Dark End of the Street" (1981), directed by Jan Egleson, a family friend. His biggest success as a child actor was as the star of the PBS children's series "The Voyage of the Mimi" (1984) and "The Second Voyage of the Mimi" (1988), produced for sixth-grade science classes. Affleck worked "sporadically" on "Mimi" from the age of eight to fifteen in both Massachusetts and Mexico. As a teenager, he appeared in the ABC after school special "Wanted: A Perfect Man" (1986), the television film "Hands of a Stranger" (1987), and a 1989 Burger King commercial.
After high school, Affleck moved briefly to New York in search of acting work. Later, while studying at Occidental College in Los Angeles, Affleck directed student films. As an actor, he had a series of "knock-around parts, one to the next". He played Patrick Duffy's son in the television film "Daddy" (1991), made an uncredited appearance as a basketball player in the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" film (1992), and had a supporting role as a prep school student in "School Ties" (1992). He played a high school quarterback in the NBC television series "Against the Grain" (1993), and a steroid-abusing high school football player in "" (1994). Affleck's most notable role during this period was as a high school bully in Richard Linklater's cult classic "Dazed and Confused" (1993). Linklater wanted a likeable actor for the villainous role and, while Affleck was "big and imposing," he was "so smart and full of life ... I just liked him." Affleck later said Linklater was instrumental in demystifying the filmmaking process for him.
Affleck's first starring film role was as an aimless art student in the college drama "Glory Daze" (1995), with Stephen Holden of "The New York Times" remarking that his "affably mopey performance finds just the right balance between obnoxious and sad sack". He then played a bully in filmmaker Kevin Smith's comedy "Mallrats" (1995), and became friends with Smith during the filming. Affleck had begun to worry that he would be relegated to a career of "throwing people into their lockers", but Smith wrote him a lead role in the romantic comedy "Chasing Amy" (1997). The film was Affleck's breakthrough. Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" praised Affleck's "wonderful ease" playing the role, combining "suave good looks with cool comic timing". Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly" described it as a "wholesome and quick-witted" performance. When Affleck starred as a recently returned Korean War veteran in the coming-of-age drama "Going All the Way" (1997), Todd McCarthy of "Variety" found him "excellent", while Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" noted that his "flair for comic self-doubt made a strong impression."
The success of 1997's "Good Will Hunting", which Affleck co-wrote and acted in, marked a turning point in his career. The screenplay originated in 1992 when Damon wrote a 40-page script for a playwriting class at Harvard University. He asked Affleck to act out the scenes with him in front of the class and, when Damon later moved into Affleck's Los Angeles apartment, they began working on the script in earnest. The film, which they wrote mainly during improvisation sessions, was set partly in their hometown of Cambridge, and drew from their own experiences. They sold the screenplay to Castle Rock in 1994 when Affleck was 22 years old. During the development process, they received notes from industry figures including Rob Reiner and William Goldman. Following a lengthy dispute with Castle Rock about a suitable director, Affleck and Damon persuaded Miramax to purchase the screenplay. The two friends moved back to Boston for a year before the film finally went into production, directed by Gus Van Sant, and co-starring Damon, Affleck, Minnie Driver, and Robin Williams. On its release, Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" praised the "smart and touching screenplay", while Emanuel Levy of "Variety" found it "funny, nonchalant, moving and angry". Jay Carr of "The Boston Globe" wrote that Affleck brought "a beautifully nuanced tenderness" to his role as the working-class friend of Damon's mathematical prodigy character. Affleck and Damon eventually won both the Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Affleck has described this period of his life as "dreamlike": "It was like one of those scenes in an old movie when a newspaper comes spinning out of the black on to the screen. You know, '$100 Million Box Office! Awards!' " He remains the youngest writer (at age 25) to ever win an Oscar for screenwriting.
1998–2002: Leading man status.
"Armageddon", released in 1998, established Affleck as a viable leading man for Hollywood studio films. "Good Will Hunting" had not yet been released during the casting process and, after Affleck's screen test, director Michael Bay dismissed him as "a geek". He was convinced by producer Jerry Bruckheimer that Affleck would be a star, but the actor was required to lose weight, become tanned, and get his teeth capped before filming began. The film, where he starred opposite Bruce Willis as a blue-collar driller tasked by NASA with stopping an asteroid from colliding with Earth, was a box office success. Daphne Merkin of "The New Yorker" remarked: "Affleck demonstrates a sexy Paul Newmanish charm and is clearly bound for stardom." Later in 1998, Affleck had a supporting role as an arrogant English actor in the period romantic comedy "Shakespeare in Love", starring his then-girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow. Lael Loewenstein of "Variety" remarked that Affleck "does some of his very best work, suggesting that comedy may be his true calling," while Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" found him "very funny". "Shakespeare in Love" won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, while the cast won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast. Affleck then appeared as a small-town sheriff in the supernatural horror film "Phantoms". Stephen Holden of "The New York Times" wondered why actors like Affleck and Peter O'Toole had agreed to appear in the "junky" film: "Affleck's thudding performance suggests he is reading his dialogue for the first time, directly from cue cards."
Affleck and Damon had an on-screen reunion in Kevin Smith's religious satire "Dogma" (after having appeared in Smith's previous films, "Mallrats" and "Chasing Amy"), which premiered at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" remarked that the pair, playing fallen angels, "bring great, understandable enthusiasm to Mr. Smith's smart talk and wild imaginings". Affleck starred opposite Sandra Bullock in the romantic comedy "Forces of Nature" (1999), playing a groom whose attempts to get to his wedding are complicated by his free-spirited traveling companion. Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly" remarked that Affleck "has the fast-break charm you want in a screwball hero," while Joe Leydon of "Variety" praised "his winning ability to play against his good looks in a self-effacing comic turn". Affleck then appeared opposite Courtney Love in the little-seen ensemble comedy "200 Cigarettes" (1999).
Interested in a directorial career, Affleck shadowed John Frankenheimer throughout pre-production of the action thriller "Reindeer Games" (2000). Frankenheimer, directing his last feature film, described Affleck as having "a very winning, likable quality about him. I've been doing this for a long time and he's really one of the nicest." He starred opposite Charlize Theron as a hardened criminal, with Elvis Mitchell of "The New York Times" enjoying the unexpected casting choice: "Affleck often suggests one of the Kennedys playing Clark Kent ... He looks as if he has never missed a party or a night's sleep. He's game, though, and his slight dislocation works to the advantage of "Reindeer Games"." He then had a supporting role as a ruthless stockbroker in the crime drama "Boiler Room" (2000). A.O. Scott of "The New York Times" felt Affleck had "traced over" Alec Baldwin's performance in "Glengarry Glen Ross", while Peter Rainer of "New York Magazine" said he "does a series of riffs on Baldwin's aria, and each one is funnier and crueler than the next". He then provided the voice of Joseph in the animated "". In his last film role of 2000, Affleck starred opposite his girlfriend Paltrow in the romantic drama "Bounce". Stephen Holden of "The New York Times" praised the "understated intensity and exquisite detail" of his performance: "His portrait of a young, sarcastically self-defined 'people person' who isn't half as confident as he would like to appear is close to definitive."
Affleck reunited with director Michael Bay for the critically derided war drama "Pearl Harbor" (2001). A.O. Scott of "The New York Times" felt Affleck and Kate Beckinsale "do what they can with their lines, and glow with the satiny shine of real movie stars". However, Todd McCarthy of "Variety" wrote "the blandly handsome Affleck couldn't convince that he'd ever so much as been turned down for a date, much less lost the love of his life to his best friend". Affleck then parodied "Good Will Hunting" with Damon and Van Sant in Kevin Smith's "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" (2001), made a cameo in the comedy "Daddy and Them" (2001), and had a supporting role in the little-seen "The Third Wheel" (2002). He portrayed the CIA analyst Jack Ryan in the thriller "The Sum of All Fears" (2002). Stephen Holden of "The New York Times" felt he was miscast in a role previously played by both Harrison Ford and Alec Baldwin: "Although Mr. Affleck can be appealing when playing earnest young men groping toward maturity, he simply lacks the gravitas for the role." Affleck had an "amazing experience" making the thriller "Changing Lanes" (2002), and later cited Roger Michell as someone he learned from as a director. Robert Koehler of "Variety" described it as one of the actor's "most thoroughly wrought" performances: "The journey into a moral fog compels him to play more inwardly and thoughtfully than he ever has before."
Affleck became more involved with television and film production in the early 2000s. He and Damon had set up Pearl Street Films in 1998, named after the street that ran between their childhood homes. Their next production company LivePlanet, co-founded in 2000 with Sean Bailey and Chris Moore, sought to integrate the Internet into mainstream television and film production. LivePlanet's biggest success was the documentary series "Project Greenlight", aired on HBO and later Bravo, which focused on first-time filmmakers being given the chance to direct a feature film. "Project Greenlight" was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program in 2002, 2004 and 2005. "Push, Nevada" (2002), created, written and produced by Affleck and Bailey, was an ABC mystery drama series that placed a viewer-participation game within the frame of the show. Caryn James of "The New York Times" praised the show's "nerve, imagination and clever writing", but Robert Bianco of "USA Today" described it as a "knock-off" of "Twin Peaks". The show was cancelled by ABC after seven episodes due to low ratings. Over time, LivePlanet's focus shifted from multimedia projects to more traditional film production. Affleck and his partners signed a film production deal with Disney in 2002; it expired in 2007.
2003–2005: Career downturn and tabloid notoriety.
While Affleck had been a tabloid figure for much of his career, he was the subject of increased media attention in 2003 because of his relationship with Jennifer Lopez. By the end of the year, Affleck had become, in the words of "GQ", the "world's most over-exposed actor". His newfound tabloid notoriety coincided with a series of poorly received films.
The first of these was "Daredevil" (2003), in which Affleck starred as the blind superhero. Affleck was a longtime comic book fan, and, in 1999, had written a foreword for Kevin Smith's "Guardian Devil" about his love for the character of Daredevil. The film was a commercial success, but received a mixed response from critics. Elvis Mitchell of "The New York Times" said Affleck was "lost" in the role: "A big man, Mr. Affleck is shriveled by the one-dimensional role ... [Only his scenes with Jon Favreau have] a playful side that allows Mr. Affleck to show his generosity as an actor." In 2014, Affleck described "Daredevil" as the only film he regretted making. He next appeared as a low-ranking mobster in the romantic comedy "Gigli" (2003), co-starring Lopez. The film was almost uniformly panned, with Manohla Dargis of the "Los Angeles Times" remarking that "Affleck doesn't have the chops or the charm to maneuver around (or past) bad material." Yet Affleck has repeatedly defended director Marty Brest since the film's release, describing him as "one of the really great directors". In his last film role of 2003, Affleck starred as a reverse engineer in the sci-fi thriller "Paycheck" (2003). Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" remarked on Affleck's "self-deprecating charm" and wondered why he could not find better scripts. Manohla Dargis of the "Los Angeles Times" found it "almost unfair" to critique Affleck, given that he "had such a rough year".
Affleck's poor critical notices continued in 2004 when he starred as a bereaved husband in the romantic comedy "Jersey Girl", directed by longtime collaborator Smith. Stephen Holden of "The New York Times" described Affleck as an actor "whose talent has curdled as his tabloid notoriety has spread," while Joe Leydon of "Variety" found his onscreen role as a father "affecting". Later that year, he starred opposite James Gandolfini in the holiday comedy "Surviving Christmas". Holden noted in "The New York Times" that the film "found a clever way to use Ben Affleck's disagreeable qualities. The actor's shark-like grin, cocky petulance and bullying frat-boy swagger befit his character." At this point, the quality of scripts offered to Affleck "was just getting worse and worse" and he decided to take a career break. The "Los Angeles Times" published a piece on the downfall of Affleck's career in late 2004. The article noted that, unlike film critics and tabloid journalists, "few industry professionals seem to be gloating over Affleck's travails".
2006–2015: Emergence as a director.
After marrying actress Jennifer Garner in 2005, and welcoming their first child, Affleck began a career comeback in 2006. Following a starring role in the little-seen "Man About Town" and a minor role in the crime drama "Smokin' Aces", Affleck won acclaim for his performance as George Reeves in the noir biopic "Hollywoodland". Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" praised "an award-caliber performance ... This is feeling, nuanced work from an actor some of us had prematurely written off." Geoffrey Macnab of "The Guardian" said he "beautifully" captured "the character's curious mix of charm, vulnerability and fatalism". He was awarded the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. Also in 2006, he made a cameo in Smith's "Clerks II".
In 2007, Affleck made his feature film directorial debut with "Gone Baby Gone", a crime drama set in a working-class Boston neighborhood, starring his brother Casey as a private investigator searching for a young abductee. Affleck co‑wrote the screenplay, based on the book by Dennis Lehane, with childhood friend Aaron Stockard, having first mentioned his intention to adapt the story in 2003. It opened to enthusiastic reviews. Manohla Dargis of "The New York Times" praised the film's "sensitivity to real struggle", while Stephen Farber of "The Hollywood Reporter" described it as "thoughtful, deeply poignant, [and] splendidly executed".
While Affleck intended to "keep a primary emphasis on directing" going forward in his career, he acted in three films in 2009. In the ensemble romantic comedy "He's Just Not That Into You", the chemistry between Affleck and Jennifer Aniston was praised. Affleck played a congressman in the political thriller "State of Play". Wesley Morris of "The Boston Globe" found him "very good in the film's silliest role," but David Edelstein of "New York Magazine" remarked of Affleck: "He might be smart and thoughtful in life [but] as an actor his wheels turn too slowly." He had a supporting role as a bartender in the little-seen comedy film "Extract". Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" described his performance as "a goofball delight", while Manohla Dargis of "The New York Times" declared it "a real performance". In 2010, Affleck starred in "The Company Men" as a mid-level sales executive who is made redundant during the financial crisis of 2007–2008. David Denby of "The New Yorker" declared that Affleck "gives his best performance yet", while Richard Corliss of "Time" found he "nails Bobby's plunge from hubris to humiliation".
Following the modest commercial success of "Gone Baby Gone", Warner Bros. developed a close working relationship with Affleck and offered him his choice of the studio's scripts. He decided to direct the crime drama "The Town" (2010), an adaptation of Chuck Hogan's novel "Prince of Thieves". He also re-wrote the screenplay and starred in the film as a bank robber. The film became a surprise box office hit, and gained further critical acclaim for Affleck. A.O. Scott of "The New York Times" praised his "skill and self-confidence as a serious director," while Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" noted: "Affleck has the stuff of a real director. Everything is here. It's an effective thriller, he works closely with actors, he has a feel for pacing." Also in 2010, Affleck and Damon's production company, Pearl Street Films, signed a first-look producing deal at Warner Bros.
Affleck soon began work on his next directorial project, "Argo" (2012), for Warner Bros. Written by Chris Terrio and starring Affleck as a CIA operative, the film tells the story of the CIA plan to save six U.S. diplomats during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis by faking a production for a large-scale science fiction film. Anthony Lane of "The New Yorker" said the film offered "further proof that we were wrong about Ben Affleck". Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" remarked: "Affleck takes the next step in what looks like a major directing career ... He directs the hell out of it, nailing the quickening pace, the wayward humor, the nerve-frying suspense." A major critical and commercial success, "Argo" won the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and BAFTA Award for Best Picture. The cast won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast. Affleck himself won the Golden Globe Award, Directors Guild of America Award, and BAFTA Award for Best Director, becoming the first director to win these awards without a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director.
The following year Affleck played a romantic lead in Terrence Malick's experimental drama "To the Wonder". Malick, a close friend of Affleck's godfather, had first met with the actor in the 1990s to offer advice about the plot of "Good Will Hunting". Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" enjoyed "a performance of dignity and sensitivity," while "The New Yorker" 's Richard Brody described Affleck as "a solid and muscular performer" who "conveys a sense of thoughtful and willful individuality". Affleck's performance as a poker boss was considered a highlight of the poorly-reviewed thriller "Runner Runner" (2013). Betsy Sharkey of the "Los Angeles Times" remarked that it was "one killer of a character, and Affleck plays him like a Bach concerto – every note perfectly played." He then pushed back production on his own directorial project to star as a husband accused of murder in David Fincher's psychological thriller "Gone Girl" (2014). Fincher cast him partly because he understood what it felt like to be misrepresented by tabloid media: "What many people don't know is that he's crazy smart, but since he doesn't want that to get awkward, he downplays it. I think he learned how to skate on charm." David Edelstein of "New York Magazine" noted that Fincher's controlled style of directing had a "remarkable" effect on Affleck's acting: "I never thought I'd write these words, but he carries the movie. He's terrific." Justin Chang of "Variety" found Affleck "perfectly cast": "It's a tricky turn, requiring a measure of careful underplaying and emotional aloofness, and he nails it completely." In 2015, Affleck and Damon's "Project Greenlight" was resurrected by HBO for one season.
2016–present: Batman role and continued directing.
Given Affleck's growing reputation as a filmmaker, his decision to star as Batman in the 2016 superhero film "" was regarded by Dave Itzkoff of "The New York Times" as "a somewhat bewildering choice". Although the casting choice was met with intense fan backlash, Affleck's performance ultimately earned a positive reception. Andrew Barker of "Variety" found him "a winningly cranky, charismatic presence," while Brian Truitt of "USA Today" enjoyed his "strong" and "surprisingly emotional" take on the character. Affleck reprised his role as Batman twice, making a cameo appearance in "Suicide Squad" (2016) and starring in "Justice League" (2017). "Justice League" drew mixed opinions from critics; Todd McCarthy of "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote that Affleck "looks like he'd rather be almost anywhere else but here."
In addition to his various Batman commitments, Affleck appeared in two other films in 2016. He starred as an autistic accountant in the action thriller "The Accountant" (2016), which was an unexpected commercial success. Peter Debruge of "Variety" felt Affleck's "boy-next-door" demeanor – "so normal and non-actorly that most of his performances feel like watching one of your buddies up on screen" – was "a terrific fit" for the role. Stephen Holden of "The New York Times" wondered why Affleck, "looking appropriately dead-eyed and miserable," committed himself to the film. "Live by Night", which Affleck wrote, directed, co-produced, and starred in, was released in late 2016. Adapted from Dennis Lehane's novel of the same name, the Prohibition-era gangster drama received largely unenthusiastic reviews and failed to recoup its $65 million production budget. David Sims of "The Atlantic" described it as "a fascinating mess of a movie" and criticized Affleck's "stiff, uncomfortable" performance. He noted that one of the last action scenes "is so wonderfully staged, its action crisp and easy to follow, that it reminds you what skill Affleck has with the camera". In October 2016, Affleck and Damon made a one-off stage appearance for a live reading of the "Good Will Hunting" screenplay at New York's Skirball Theater.
Amidst an alcoholism relapse, Affleck did not work in 2017. He stepped down as director and writer of "The Batman", saying he "couldn’t crack it." Years later, he said that he was no longer "passionate" about the story and that a friend had advised him to step down for the sake of his health. Filming of the drug-trafficking thriller "Triple Frontier" was postponed by six months in order to accommodate his treatment for "health issues". Upon "Triple Frontier"'s release in 2019, Rodrigo Perez of "The Playlist" remarked that director J.C. Chandor "gets a lot of mileage out of the Sad Affleck narrative and perhaps both director and actor lean into the idea." Later in 2019, Affleck made a cameo appearance in "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot", having had little contact with Kevin Smith since the making of "Clerks II" in 2006. Affleck played a supporting role as a diplomat in Dee Rees's political thriller "The Last Thing He Wanted" (2020). The Netflix movie, filmed in mid-2018, received negative reviews from critics, with Tomris Laffly of "Variety" describing Affleck's performance as "oddly removed".
Affleck's starring role as a recovering alcoholic in the sports drama "The Way Back" (2020) was widely praised. The themes of the movie were "close to home" for Affleck. He relapsed during pre-production in 2018 and the movie was shot in the days after he left rehab; Affleck agreed to put his salary in escrow and was accompanied to set by a sober coach. Richard Lawson of "Vanity Fair" said it was hard to avoid the movie's "meta angle": "Affleck handles his self-conscious task with a generous humility—giving a performance built not out of histrionics or big actor moments, but instead from the messy details of a man in a plateaued distress". David Sims of "The Atlantic" praised the "subtlety", "vulnerability" and "lumbering physicality" of his performance, describing it as "the rawest and most natural" work of his career. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cinemas closed in the second week of the movie's release and Warner Bros. made it available to view-on-demand earlier than scheduled. He received a Best Actor nomination at the 2021 Critics' Choice Awards.
In October 2021, Affleck will have a supporting role in the Ridley Scott-directed ""; he also co-wrote the movie's screenplay with Matt Damon and Nicole Holofcener. Affleck has filmed a supporting role in an adaptation of the memoir "The Tender Bar", directed by George Clooney. In 2022, Affleck will star opposite Ana de Armas in Adrian Lyne's thriller "Deep Water", an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel. In addition, both Affleck and Michael Keaton have agreed to reprise their roles as Batman in "The Flash" (2022).
Affleck has a number of potential directing projects in development, including an adaptation of "The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood", an adaptation of "King Leopold's Ghost", a World War II movie focusing on the Ghost Army, and a crime drama about the McDonald's Monopoly fraud case.
Humanitarian work.
Eastern Congo Initiative.
After travelling in the region between 2007 and early 2010, Affleck and Whitney Williams co-founded the nonprofit organization Eastern Congo Initiative in 2010. ECI acts as a grant maker for Congolese-led, community-based charities. It offers training and resources to cooperatives of Congolese farmers while leveraging partnerships with companies including Theo Chocolate and Starbucks. ECI also aims to raise public awareness and drive policy change in the United States.
Affleck has written op-eds about issues facing eastern Congo for the "Washington Post", "Politico", the "Huffington Post", "Time", "The New York Times" and the "Los Angeles Times". He has appeared as a discussion panelist at many events, including at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Global Philanthropy Forum, and the Clinton Global Initiative. During visits to Washington D.C., Affleck has testified before the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights, the House Armed Services Committee, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Projects.
Other charitable causes.
Affleck is a supporter of the A-T Children's Project. While filming "Forces of Nature" in 1998, Affleck befriended ten-year-old Joe Kindregan (1988–2015), who had the rare disease ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T), and his family. He became actively involved in fundraising for A-T, and he and Kindregan testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services, and Education in 2001, asking senators to support stem-cell research and to double the budget of the National Institutes of Health. In 2007, Affleck was the keynote speaker at Kindregan's high school graduation ceremony in Fairfax, Virginia. Kindregan appeared as an extra in "Argo" (2012). In 2013, in celebration of Kindregan's 25th birthday and "15 years of friendship with Joe and his family," Affleck and Garner matched donations made to the A-T Children's Project. Affleck appeared in "CinemAbility" (2013), a documentary film which explores Hollywood's portrayals of people with disabilities.
As part of USO-sponsored tours, Affleck visited marines stationed in the Persian Gulf in 2003, and troops at Germany's Ramstein Air Base in 2017. He is a supporter of Paralyzed Veterans of America. He filmed public service announcements for the organization in both 2009 and 2014. He has also volunteered on behalf of Operation Gratitude.
Affleck is a member of Feeding America's Entertainment Council. He made an appearance at the Greater Boston Food Bank in 2007, and at a Denver food bank in 2008. Affleck spoke at a Feeding America rally in Washington D.C. in 2009, and filmed a public service announcement for the charity in 2010. Affleck and Ellen DeGeneres launched Feeding America's Small Change Campaign in 2011. Also that year, he and Howard Graham Buffett co-wrote an article for "The Huffington Post", highlighting the "growing percentage of the food insecure population that is not eligible for federal nutrition programs". During the COVID-19 pandemic, Affleck organised an online celebrity poker tournament to benefit the charity, made a personal donation and urged others to support "our most vulnerable – children losing access to meals they rely on, friends and family who are facing job disruptions, the elderly, and low-income families."
Affleck is a vocal supporter of the Los Angeles-based homelessness charity Midnight Mission, describing it as a charity that "helps those in need with housing, training, development and recovery". He has volunteered at and donated to the charity. He has also volunteered at Atlanta Mission.
Politics.
Political views.
Affleck has described himself as "moderately liberal." He was raised in "a very strong union household". In 2000, he spoke at a rally at Harvard University in support of an increased living wage for all workers on campus; his father worked as a janitor at the university. He later narrated a documentary, "Occupation" (2002), about a sit-in organized by the Harvard Living Wage Campaign. Affleck and Senator Ted Kennedy held a press conference on Capitol Hill in 2004, pushing for an increase in the minimum wage. He spoke at a 2007 press conference at Boston's City Hall in support of SEIU's unionization efforts for the city's low-paid hospital workers. During the Writers' Strike in 2008, Affleck voiced support for the picketers.
Affleck is pro-choice. In a 2000 interview, he stated that he believes "very strongly in a woman's right to choose". In 2012, he supported the Draw the Line campaign, describing reproductive rights as "fundamental". Affleck was a longtime supporter of legalizing gay marriage, saying in 2004 that he hoped to look back on the marriage debate "with some degree of embarrassment for how antiquated it was". Also that year, he remarked that it was "outrageous and offensive" to suggest members of the transgender community were not entitled to equal rights. He appeared alongside his gay cousin in a 2005 Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays print advertising campaign.
Affleck appeared at a press conference with New York Senator Chuck Schumer in 2002, in support of a proposed Anti-Nuclear Terrorism Prevention Act. In 2003, he criticized the "questionable and aggressive" use of the Patriot Act and the resulting "encroachments on civil liberties". A reporter for "The Washington Post" overheard Affleck denouncing the Israeli invasion of Gaza at a Washington party in 2009. Steven Clemons, a participant in the conversation, said Affleck listened "to alternative takes ... What Affleck spoke about that night was reasoned, complex and made a lot of sense." Later that year, in a "New York Times" interview, Affleck remarked that his views were closer to those of the Israeli Labor Party than Likud.
Affleck criticized the Bush tax cuts on many occasions. In 2007, he filmed a public service announcement for Divided We Fail, a nonpartisan AARP campaign seeking affordable, quality healthcare for all Americans.
During the 2008 presidential campaign, Affleck expressed concern about conspiracy theories claiming Barack Obama was an Arab or a Muslim: "This prejudice that we have allowed to fester in this campaign ... the acceptance of both of those things as a legitimate slur is really a problem." In 2012, he praised Senator John McCain's leadership in defending Huma Abedin against anti-Muslim attacks. Affleck engaged in a discussion about the relationship between liberal principles and Islam during a 2014 appearance on "Real Time with Bill Maher". In a 2017 "Guardian" interview, he said: "I strongly believe that no one should be stereotyped on the basis of their race or religion. It's one of the most fundamental tenets of liberal thought."
Affleck supports the Second Amendment, and said in 2012 that he owned several guns, both for skeet shooting and for the protection of his family. In 2020, he said trips to gun ranges as a young adult made him "uncomfortable to remember ... given the subsequent tragedies with young people and guns."
Affleck appeared alongside then-Senator Barack Obama at a 2006 rally in support of Proposition 87, which sought to reduce petroleum consumption in favor of alternative energy. He appeared in a global warming awareness video produced by the Center for American Progress Action Fund in 2007. Also that year, Affleck admitted he was not "particularly good at being green" while, in 2014, he named "a 1966 Chevelle" as his guilty pleasure. In 2016, Affleck filmed an endorsement for Rezpect Our Water, an online petition to stop construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Democratic Party activism.
Affleck registered to vote as a Democrat in 1992, and has campaigned on behalf of several Democratic presidential nominees. He supported Al Gore in the final weeks of the 2000 presidential campaign, attending rallies in California, Pennsylvania, and Florida. However, Affleck was unable to vote due to a registration issue in New York, where he was residing at the time, and later joked, "I'm going to vote twice next time, in true Boston fashion."
Affleck was involved in the 2004 presidential campaign of John Kerry. During the Democratic National Convention in Boston, he spoke to many delegations, appeared on political discussion shows, and attended fundraising events. Affleck took part in a voter registration public service announcement, and traveled with Kerry during the opening weekend of his Believe in America Tour, making speeches at rallies in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio.
Affleck campaigned for President Barack Obama. He appeared alongside the then-Senator at a 2006 rally, introducing him as "the most galvanizing leader to come out of either party, in my opinion, in at least a decade". He donated to Obama's presidential campaign in 2007, and hosted two fundraisers for the candidate during the 2008 Democratic Primary. Affleck urged voters to "help make history" in a MoveOn.org campaign, and made several appearances during the 2008 Democratic National Convention. In the week of the presidential election, he appeared on "Saturday Night Live" to jokingly endorse Senator John McCain. Affleck did not actively campaign for Obama's reelection in 2012, though he still supported him.
Affleck supported Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential election campaign. He first met Clinton at Camp David in 1998 and, when she was a Senate candidate in 2000, he introduced her at a Cornell University rally and helped fundraise for her campaign. Affleck pointed to the First Lady's work with children, women and "working families". He supported Obama during the 2008 Democratic Primary, noting that Clinton had "moved toward the center" during the campaign. Affleck donated to Clinton's campaign fund during the 2016 Democratic Primary. During the 2016 presidential election, Affleck recorded a New Hampshire voter public service announcement, and was named by the Clinton campaign as a "Hillblazer" – one of 1,100 individuals who had contributed or raised at least $100,000. The Center for Responsive Politics reported that he raised $149,028.
During the latter stages of the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Affleck said during an interview conducted in Spanish: "I like Bernie, I like Biden, I like Warren but the thing is that most of all; I don't like Trump." When Biden became the Democratic candidate, he donated to his campaign fund.
In 2002, Affleck donated to Dick Gephardt's Congressional campaign, and appeared in campaign literature for former classmate Marjorie Decker, running as a city councillor in Massachusetts. He made donations to the presidential campaigns of both Dennis Kucinich and Wesley Clark in 2003. In 2005, he donated to the campaign fund of Deval Patrick, a candidate for Governor of Massachusetts. In 2006, Affleck contributed to Cory Booker's Newark mayoral campaign, and introduced Congressmen Joe Courtney and Chris Murphy at rallies in Connecticut. He donated to the 2008 Congressional campaign of Pennsylvania's Patrick Murphy, and to the 2010 Senate campaign of Kirsten Gillibrand. Affleck hosted a 2012 fundraiser for Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, endorsed her in a Progressive Change Campaign Committee video, and made a campaign donation. In 2013, he hosted a fundraiser for Cory Booker, and made donations to the Senate campaigns of both Booker and Alison Lundergan Grimes. He donated to the campaign of Senate candidate Kamala Harris in 2015 and the Congressional campaign of Melissa Gilbert in 2016. In 2017, he donated to the Senate reelection campaigns of Elizabeth Warren and Chris Coons, and to Adam Schiff's Congressional campaign. In 2018, he made contributions to the Congressional campaigns of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sharice Davids and Leann Jacobsen, and to Michigan gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed. In 2019, Affleck donated to the presidential campaigns funds of both Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, and hosted a fundraiser for Booker. Also in 2019, he contributed to the congressional campaign funds of both Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. In 2020, he spoke at a virtual rally in support of Whitney Williams, a candidate in the 2020 Montana gubernatorial election.
In the early 2000s, Affleck often expressed an interest in running for political office one day, but since 2007, he has denied any political ambitions and spoken repeatedly about the need for campaign finance reform. In 2005, "The Washington Post" reported that Virginia Democrats were trying to persuade Affleck to run as a Senate candidate. His publicist dismissed the rumor. In 2012, political pundits and Democratic strategists including Bob Shrum and Tad Devine speculated that Affleck was considering running for a Massachusetts Senate seat. Affleck denied the rumor, and joked that he "also won't be throwing my hat in the ring to run the U.N."
Personal life.
Marriage and children.
Affleck was married to actress Jennifer Garner from 2005 to 2018, and they have three children together. They began dating in mid-2004, having established a friendship on the sets of "Pearl Harbor" (2001) and "Daredevil" (2003). They were married on June 29, 2005, in a private Turks and Caicos ceremony. Victor Garber, who officiated the ceremony, and his partner, Rainer Andreesen, were the only guests. They announced their separation in June 2015, with Affleck continuing to live in a guesthouse at the family home until mid-2017. They jointly filed for divorce in April 2017 and it was finalized in October 2018. In 2020, Affleck described the divorce as "the biggest regret of my life" and "a painful experience, even if you're on the best possible terms and you agree it's the best choice."
Affleck and Garner have three children together: daughters Violet Anne (born December 2005) and Seraphina Rose Elizabeth (born January 2009), and son Samuel Garner (born February 2012). In their divorce filings, Affleck and Garner sought joint physical and legal custody of their children. While Affleck believes paparazzi attention is "part of the deal" of stardom, he has spoken out against paparazzi interest in his children. He has called for legislation to require paparazzi to maintain a certain distance from children and to blur their faces in published photos.
Relationship with Jennifer Lopez.
Affleck had an 18-month relationship with Jennifer Lopez from 2002 to 2004. After meeting on the set of "Gigli" in late 2001, they began dating in July 2002 when Lopez filed for divorce from her second husband Cris Judd. They later worked together on the music video "Jenny from the Block" and the movie "Jersey Girl" (2004). Their relationship received widespread media coverage. Tabloids referred to the couple as "Bennifer", a portmanteau which "Vanity Fair" described as "the first of that sort of tabloid branding". They became engaged in November 2002 but their planned wedding on September 14, 2003 was postponed with four days' notice because of "excessive media attention". They ended their engagement in January 2004.
Months later, Affleck characterized some of the media commentary as rooted in racism, classism and sexism: "We were thought of as two different kinds of people." In subsequent years, he pushed back against the "curious notion" that he should view the relationship as a mistake, and reflected on the prevailing tabloid culture at the time: "These cultural, tectonic shifts happen where it’s about one person and everybody focuses on them ... What did Britney Spears do? Except get fucking hounded by people. But I guess that’s how we do it culturally. It’s tough." Affleck acknowledged that "there were ways I did contribute to it", citing the music video and joint promotional interviews for "Gigli". He said neither of them "anticipated" the degree of attention they would receive: "I think Jen and I made a mistake in that we fell in love, we were excited and maybe too accessible."
In 2010, Lopez said Affleck's discomfort with the media scrutiny was one reason for the split and, in 2020, recalled "some really high-profile relationships that meant a lot to me that really couldn't survive under the spotlight." In 2016, she described it as her "first real heartbreak": "I think different time, different thing, who knows what could’ve happened." Affleck and Lopez remained in contact in the years after they broke up and spoke positively of each other in the press. In April 2021, it was reported that the couple was dating again.
Other relationships.
Affleck began dating actress Gwyneth Paltrow in October 1997 after meeting at a Miramax dinner, and they later worked together on "Shakespeare in Love" (1998). Although they first broke up in January 1999, months later, Paltrow persuaded Affleck to co-star with her in "Bounce" (2000) and they soon resumed their relationship. They separated again in October 2000. In a 2015 interview, Paltrow said she and Affleck remain friends.
Affleck had a long-distance relationship with New York-based television producer Lindsay Shookus from mid-2017 to mid-2018; they briefly dated again in early 2019. Shookus is the head of "Saturday Night Live"s talent department, a show which Affleck has hosted five times since 2000. Affleck dated Cuban actress Ana de Armas, whom he met on the set of "Deep Water" in the fall of 2019, from early 2020 to early 2021.
Health.
There is a history of addiction and mental illness in Affleck's family. Two of his grandparents were alcoholics. His paternal grandmother, addicted to both alcohol and barbiturates, committed suicide at age 46. His paternal uncle was an addict who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His aunt was a heroin addict. Affleck attended Al-Anon support meetings as a child due to his father's addiction issues. His brother is a recovering alcoholic.
Affleck's own drinking became a concern when he was fifteen. His mother sent him to an Outward Bound wilderness camp for at-risk teenagers, having first considered a residential recovery program. Affleck became sober in his mid-twenties, stating in a 1998 interview that alcohol was "dangerous" for him. He received residential treatment for addiction in 2001 and maintained his sobriety for a "couple of years" afterwards. In subsequent years, he refused to discuss his alcoholism in detail and later described it as a period where he "drank relatively normally". "I thought, 'I want to just drink like a normal person. I want to have wine at dinner.' And I was able to for about eight years." Affleck gradually began to drink "more and more" and, eventually, was drinking until he "passed out" on a nightly basis. He returned to residential treatment in 2017 and, following a publicly documented relapse and intervention, again in 2018. In late 2019, TMZ filmed him stumbling on a Los Angeles street; he acknowledged the following day that he had a brief "slip" after over a year of sobriety. He later described the incident as "embarrassing": "I wish it didn't happen. I really wish it wasn't on the internet for my kids to see."
Affleck suffers from both anxiety and depression, and has taken antidepressants since age 26. He said he used alcohol to alleviate a constant feeling of "discomfort" and remarked that it "took me a long time to fundamentally, deeply, without a hint of doubt, admit to myself that I am an alcoholic." He follows a twelve-step program. During the press junket for "The Way Back" in 2020, Affleck opened up about his addiction but maintained that he felt "vulnerable" and did not intend to "go on talking about this issue forever", saying, "I think the value, if there is value in me talking about being a recovering alcoholic, is that that doesn't have to be who you are. That doesn't have to be the label on your head."
Professional gambling.
Affleck won the 2004 California State Poker Championship, taking home the first prize of $356,400 and qualifying for the 2004 World Poker Tour final tournament. He was one of many celebrities, along with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire, who took part in Molly Bloom's high-stake poker games in the mid-2000s. In 2014, Affleck was asked to refrain from playing blackjack at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, after a series of wins aroused suspicion that he was counting cards, which is a legal gambling strategy frowned upon by casinos. Affleck has repeatedly denied tabloid reports of a gambling addiction.
Religion.
Affleck came from Protestant stock, but his family were not religious. As infants, each of his three children were baptized as members of the United Methodist Church. In 2008, he listed the Gospel of Matthew as one of the books that made a difference in his life and, in 2012, he described himself as agnostic. In 2015, Affleck began attending weekly Methodist church services in Los Angeles with his family. When asked about his faith in 2020, Affleck said it "has been a struggle for me": "I don't have a sense of an anthropomorphised guy up there pushing buttons, that seems hard for me, but the twelve-step program is faith-based ... Faith has served me well in recovery as an alcoholic."
Ancestry.
Much of Affleck's ancestry is English, Irish, Scottish and German. Affleck appeared on the PBS genealogy series "Finding Your Roots" in 2014. When told that an ancestor had been a slave owner in Georgia, Affleck responded: "God. It gives me kind of a sagging feeling to see a biological relationship to that. But, you know, there it is, part of our history ... We tend to separate ourselves from these things by going like, 'It's just dry history, and it's all over now'." Leaked emails from the 2015 Sony email hacking scandal showed that, after filming, Affleck's representative emailed the documentary maker to say the actor felt "uncomfortable" about the segment, which was not included in the final broadcast. PBS denied censoring the show at Affleck's behest, and the show's host, professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., stated: "We focused on what we felt were the most interesting aspects of his ancestry".
Me Too allegations.
During the Me Too movement in 2017, Affleck was accused by two women of inappropriate behavior. Actress Hilarie Burton stated that, during an on-air appearance on "TRL Uncensored" in 2003, Affleck "wraps his arm around me, and comes over and tweaks my left boob". Affleck responded on Twitter: "I acted inappropriately toward Ms. Burton and I sincerely apologize." Annamarie Tendler, a makeup artist, said that Affleck "grabbed my ass at a Golden Globes party in 2014 ... He tried to play it like he was politely moving me out of the way."
In response to the Harvey Weinstein scandal, Affleck pledged to donate any future profits from his early Miramax films to charities supporting victims of sexual assault and said he had only been aware that Weinstein "was sleazy and a bully." In a tweet, actress Rose McGowan responded: "You lie." She said she met Affleck after being sexually assaulted by Weinstein during the Sundance Film Festival in 1997 and told him, while crying, that she had "just come from Harvey's and he said, 'Goddamnit, I told him to stop doing that.'" In a leaked email regarding McGowan's case, Affleck stated: "I never saw Rose at any hotel in Sundance. She never told me nor did I ever infer that she was attacked by anyone." In a 2019 interview, Affleck said: "I don't really want to get into other people's individual stories because I feel like those are their stories and they're entitled to tell as much or as little of those as they want. I believe Rose. I support her. I really like and admire her tenacity and I wish her the best." In 2020, McGowan clarified her comments: "It's not like I'm raging at Ben Affleck. I never said to him, 'I was just raped.' It's just more to illustrate the point of this continual thing of everybody knowing and everybody being part of it, unwittingly or proactively."
Filmography and awards.
Affleck has appeared in more than 50 films, and won many accolades throughout his career as an actor, writer, and director. He first gained recognition as a writer when he won the Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for "Good Will Hunting" (1997), which he co-wrote with Matt Damon. As an actor, he received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance in "Hollywoodland" (2006). The film "Argo" (2012), which he directed, co-produced, and starred in, won him the Golden Globe Award, BAFTA, and Directors Guild Award for Best Director, as well as the Golden Globe Award, BAFTA, the Producers Guild Award, and the Academy Award for Best Picture.


Jules Brulatour

Pierre Ernest Jules Brulatour (April 7, 1870 – October 26, 1946) was a pioneering executive figure in American silent cinema. Beginning as American distribution representative for Lumiere Brothers raw film stock in 1907, he joined producer Carl Laemmle in forming the Motion Picture Distributing and Sales Company in 1909, effectively weakening the stronghold of the Motion Picture Patents Company, headed by Thomas Edison, a large trust company that was then monopolizing the American film industry through contracts with hand-picked, established studios. By 1911 Brulatour was president of the Sales Company. He was a founder of the Universal Film Manufacturing Company, later known as Universal Pictures.
Biography.
Origins.
Jules Brulatour was born in New Orleans on 7 April 1870 to Thomas and Marie Mossy Brulatour. His grandfather Pierre Ernest Brulatour was a wine importer from Bordeaux.
Early career.
Jules Brulatour moved to New York City in 1898 to work for the Manhattan Optical Co. based in Creskill as a sales representative of photographic paper, cameras and lenses. In 1907, he became sales chief for Lumiere North American Co.
Through the Sales Company, the growing number of independent filmmakers were able to obtain raw stock from Lumiere, for which Jules Brulatour remained sole US distributor, thereby cutting into profits for Kodak mogul George Eastman, whose film supply was exclusive to the Patents Company. Eastman soon realized he was on the losing side and approached Brulatour with a contract to sell his stock to the independents through the Sales Company. Brulatour accepted and his long association as head of distribution for Eastman Kodak began.
In addition to his position with Kodak and his presidency of the Sales Company, Jules Brulatour also launched the "Animated Weekly" newsreel series and co-founded Peerless Pictures. He was also an advisor and producer for the French-based Eclair Film Company, which opened in 1911 an extensive, state-of-the-art studio at Fort Lee, New Jersey, then the center of the burgeoning American movie industry. Eclair was a leader in technical and artistic advancements afoot in filmmaking at the time, and its American branch was hailed as a mecca for top talent, which Brulatour helped cultivate.
Dorothy Gibson.
In fact, its first leading lady, Dorothy Gibson, already well known as a model for leading illustrator Harrison Fisher, not only became a big star in Eclair vehicles but she landed the married Brulatour as a boyfriend.
His mistress proved herself a marketable screen personality, especially as a comedian in such popular one-reelers as "Miss Masquerader" (1911) and "Love Finds a Way" (1912). But her best-known role was that of herself in the drama "Saved From the Titanic" (1912), based on her real-life experiences as a survivor of the famous maritime disaster. The movie, produced by Brulatour, was the first of many cinematic and theatrical productions about the sinking. It was released May 16, 1912, just over a month after the "Titanic" went down. Brulatour also produced the first newsreel about the "Titanic" disaster ("Animated Weekly", issue No. 7, released April 22, 1912).
After the success of "Saved From the Titanic," Dorothy Gibson retired from Eclair, choosing to study opera which Brulatour encouraged and financed. In 1913 her new career was interrupted when she was involved in a car accident in which a pedestrian was killed. The resulting lawsuit revealed that the car driven by Dorothy was owned by Jules Brulatour and that she was his lover. Although he was already separated from his wife, Clara Isabelle Blouin Brulatour, the court scandal prompted her to initiate a divorce which was finalized in 1915. With Clara he had three children, Claude, Yvonne, and Ruth.
Film production and Universal Film.
Meantime, Brulatour had teamed up again with Carl Laemmle to form the Universal Film Manufacturing Company, later known as Universal Pictures. This corporation, begun in 1912, drew together competing studios in an unprecedented amalgamation of talent and resources. Serving as Universal's first president, Brulatour was accused of conflict of interest by George Eastman, and although he denied the charge, he resigned. Despite its unfortunate outcome for Brulatour personally, the consolidation of the leading independent filmmakers under the umbrella of Universal was a major turning point in the history of American motion pictures. The merger not only signaled the triumph of a free market in the industry but lead to the creation of the first major Hollywood studio –– Universal City, constructed in 1914–1915 in Los Angeles in an effort by Laemmle to centralize operations.
In 1914 Brulatour funded the construction of larger studios for Peerless Pictures at Fort Lee as well as the rebuilding of Eclair's processing laboratory, storage vault and offices, which had burned, destroying negatives for almost all the firm's films made over the last three years.
Throughout 1915–1916, while his girlfriend appeared with moderate success in Metropolitan Opera House productions, Brulatour was promoted to the presidency of the Eastman Kodak Company. He also helped form another studio at Fort Lee, Paragon Films, for which he built a large facility specifically for the on-site production of Eastman stock.
Political influence.
By 1917 Jules Brulatour was a very rich man, reportedly worth several million dollars, and he was increasingly powerful politically. That year he was appointed to the executive committee of the National Association of the Motion Picture Industry. Brulatour chiefly conferred with the group's War Cooperation Subcommittee, which networked with the US government for the promotion of public welfare and propaganda films.
It is believed that his sudden high profile in Washington, D.C. determined him to legitimize his relationship with Dorothy Gibson, whom he finally married on July 6, 1917, a week before his first conference with President Woodrow Wilson and United States Treasury Department Secretary McAdoo.
The next year Jules Brulatour was invited to join the film division of President Wilson's Committee on Public Information, but this appointment was less fruitful. Arguments and financial troubles arose almost immediately, and allegations flew of undue influence from media baron William Randolph Hearst and even of bribes from Brulatour; nothing was proven but he resigned under pressure.
Privately, Brulatour's life was also unraveling. His marriage to Dorothy infuriated his first wife, who started proceedings against him, claiming the union was illegal since he had obtained a divorce in Kentucky instead of New York, the state of his residency. This was a drawn-out, complicated affair, and the stress ruined his second marriage, which was finally dissolved as an invalid contract in 1919, a humiliated Dorothy Gibson leaving New York shortly thereafter to live in relative peace and anonymity in Paris. She was allotted alimony and permitted the use of the Brulatour name.
In 1926, after a three-year investigation of Kodak by the Federal Trade Commission, Brulatour was severely fined, along with George Eastman, for "conspiracy to hinder and restrain commercial competition."
Hope Hampton and declining career.
Jules Brulatour married a third time in 1923. His new wife was starlet Hope Hampton, a Texas-born beauty queen who was just beginning in movies. Though still head of Kodak, Brulatour was increasingly interested in his new bride's career, which he personally managed. Like Dorothy before her, Hope's film work was short-lived, and she took another page from her predecessor's book when she decided to go into opera, urged on and funded by Brulatour.
The last 20 years of his life were largely uneventful. He and Hope were opening night regulars on Broadway; she especially was a magnet for press attention. Giving up acting and singing by the early-1940s, Hope devoted herself to the high-life –– entertaining lavishly, dressing extravagantly and delighting in being dubbed "Duchess of Park Avenue" in the society columns.
But there were a few odd episodes, such as an unsolved shooting incident in 1939, in which Brulatour was wounded by a would-be assassin whom he refused to identify. And in 1941, he was chagrined to learn that the boozy flop of an opera singer in "Citizen Kane," the hit RKO film directed by and starring Orson Welles, was partly based on Hope and his ex-wife Dorothy.
Jules Brulatour died on 26 October 1946 in Mount Sinai Hospital after an illness that lasted several weeks.
Personal life.
With his first wife Clara Isabelle, he had a son and two daughters.


Anita Madden

Anita K. Madden (née Myers; February 3, 1933  – September 27, 2018) was an American sportswoman, socialite and activist.
Background.
Madden was born in Ashland, Kentucky. She grew up as a "tomboy" and played high school sports, such as basketball and cheerleading, while also being involved with the drama club. She later attended Western Kentucky University for two years before transferring to the University of Kentucky (UK) in 1952.
Personal life.
She met Preston West Madden (born July 24, 1934) of Lexington, heir and grandson of horse-breeder John Madden while both were students at UK. The two dated and then married in 1955. Nine years later, the Maddens' only child, Patrick Winchester Madden, was born. She was known for her extravagant Kentucky Derby Eve gala events, inviting as many as 5,000 people. For nearly 40 years, the Maddens hosted the fundraiser until it was cancelled due to the death of Anita's mother in 1999. Every year Kentuckians and the thoroughbred industry's international high society world looked forward to the themed party. One of the themes was "Rapture of the Deep,” complete with mermaids and mermen and a figure of an octopus surrounded by a dry-ice fog; The Ultimate Odyssey, with young people togged out as Greek gods and goddesses while the Trojan War was reenacted under the gaze of a sixteen foot statue of Zeus clutching a neon thunderbolt".
Madden invited movie stars, authors and politicians to her social events, and often hosting stars in her home. For example, actor Dennis Cole was counted among her longtime friends and it was said that Burt Bacharach composed a song for her. A pink and yellow cream flower with heavily ruffled gold edges, the "Anita Madden Daylily", was named after her.
Recipes.
The Visitor's Guide for the Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau highlights the legacy of the Kentucky mint julep with her recipe.
A reporter from the "Los Angeles Times" wrote: "One year, Anita Madden noticed some guests leaving and wondered why. 'I guess they didn't have a good time,' she said. It was 5 a.m. The Madden party has been highlighted by streakers, scantily clad women on overhead swings and a flying-carpet theme with (almost) real flying carpets." Proceeds from the events reached several hundreds of thousands of dollars which went to benefit a chosen charity such as the Bluegrass Boys Ranch Scholarship Program.
Businesswoman and community activist.
The Hamburg Place horse farm, nearly 2000 acres originally purchased by John E. Madden in 1898, had produced five Kentucky Derby and five Belmont Stakes winners – including the first Triple Crown winner Sir Barton; however, many great breed animals, including Shetland ponies, polo ponies and Standardbreds, came from this family farm. The last of their most notable horses came in 1987 with Derby winner Alysheba. Madden made much use of the grounds for furthering the horse industry, was known for her business skills and was always part of her family's Thoroughbred enterprise.
In 1977 Madden was appointed by Lexington-Fayette County Urban Government Mayor Foster Pettit to the Fayette County Planning and Zoning Commission, and she continued to be appointed to this Commission for a period of seventeen years. During this time Madden was able to formulate a plan for the development of her own family farm. As she told journalist and civic leader Ed Lane, "The family joke is that I'm the idea person, Preston is the detail person and Pat gets all the credit. Actually, Patrick is the person who's responsible for all the business details and decisions, and he's the attorney for the family. He keeps everyone involved in what's going on. You can't believe the paperwork that comes past all of us, and then we have regular meetings with all the family members. Preston is responsible for running all the rest of the farm and taking care of all the things he did when he was in the horse business. That's no small job."
She was appointed to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission by Governor John Y. Brown and served from 1980 to 1983. Her influence on the thoroughbred industry cannot be underestimated, though the scandals associated with her gala events often overshadowed her contributions. In an interview in 2000, she remembered an issue she supported regarding horse medication and was outvoted by the rest of the board. "'It's sad,' she said after the meeting. 'For all the good I did in there, I might just as well have stayed home and painted my toenails.'"
The Maddens started making plans in 1986 to subdivide approximately 100 acres of the farm into a large shopping center (named Hamburg Pavilion in 1995 when ground was first broken) and residential as well as commercial lots. The first residential development was named "The Shetlands" because that was the field where they kept their renowned ponies. "Our last stallion there was a beautiful white pony named Gunpowder and we are using his likeness on information materials concerning The Shetlands. Our next phase is named West Wind. This area was named for Preston and Uncle Pat's grandmother's residence in New York."
Madden became an important leader and contributor to Kentucky business and progress. Some of the events she organized were:
Madden explained why she felt business leaders should participate in the JustFund KY fundraiser: "Just like in sports, we should have a fair playing field; ... if it isn't fair, it's no fun!" When asked if she felt if Lexington discriminated against anyone, she replied with her characteristic forthrightness: "I think it's still not fair for women... and it's our responsibility to get the word out... that you will be more successful when you make it fair for everyone."
In 2008 the Lexington Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners honored her as recipient of their prestigious Winner's Circle Award. Madden continues to serve on several statewide and local boards, for example, the Foundation Board for the Kentucky Historical Society; the Advisory Board for the Kentucky Equine Humane Center, and the LexArts HorseMania Committee. Anita and Preston Madden spent their time living in Florida and New York – coming back to Kentucky during the "Derby Season."


Olivia Luccardi

Olivia Luccardi (born May 17, 1989) is an American actress and producer. She is best known for her roles as Alice Woods in Syfy's horror anthology series "Channel Zero: Butcher's Block" and as Yara Davis in the supernatural thriller film "It Follows".
Luccardi’s other notable roles include the american thriller film "Money Monster", the independent comedy drama film "Person to Person", Netflix's comedy-drama series "Orange Is the New Black", and HBO's period drama series "The Deuce".


Adam Barr

Adam Barr is a television screenwriter and producer best known for his comedy credits including the hit NBC series "Will & Grace".
In the early nineties he teamed up with best friend Peter Ocko, with whom he wrote 12 episodes of "Parker Lewis Can't Lose". Later in the decade the writing duo scripted ten episodes of "Weird Science", the series spun off the 1985 sci-fi comedy film of the same name.
Perhaps Barr's most notable work was on "Will & Grace", the long-running situation comedy about a gay man and his best friend, which first aired in the US from 1998 to 2006.
Barr wrote 18 episodes of the sitcom and had a hand in the production of 70 (variously as Consulting Producer, Supervising Producer or Co-Executive Producer).
Barr also guest-starred once in the show: he played the role of Guy in 'Last Of The Really Odd Lovers', episode 23 of season three.
Barr also wrote "and" directed a short film, "Mackenheim", which was produced by Billy Pollina in 2002.
Most recently, he was involved in the writing of a screenplay for the American adaptation of the Icelandic comedy series "Næturvaktin" ("The Night Shift").
He now lives in California with wife and daughter.


John Huard

John Roland "Big John" Huard (born March 9, 1944) is an American business executive and a former gridiron football player and coach.
After playing college football at the University of Maine, he played professionally as a linebacker with the Denver Broncos of the American Football League (AFL) from 1967 to 1969, with the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL) in 1971, with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 1973, and with the CFL's Toronto Argonauts from 1973 to 1975. Huard served as the head football coach at the Maine Maritime Academy from 1987 to 1993. He was the head coach of the CFL's Shreveport Pirates in 1994 and the Toronto Argonauts in 2000.
Playing career.
Huard played college football at the University of Maine for Black Bears from 1963 to 1966. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the fifth round of the 1967 American Football League Draft. He played three seasons for the Broncos before sitting out the 1970 NFL season. In 1971 he returned to the NFL for the New Orleans Saints. After missing all of the 1972 season, Huard signed a five-year contract with the CFL's Montreal Alouettes. He was waived during the 1973 CFL season and claimed by the Toronto Argonauts. He remained in Toronto until his retirement in 1975.
In 2003, Huard was the first player inducted into the "Ring of Honor" at Alfond Stadium and he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
Coaching career.
Huard began coaching in 1974 under Walter Abbott at Maine. He then became head coach of the Acadia Axemen, winning the Vanier Cup in 1979 and 1981.
Before the 1984 season he was hired by J. I. Albrecht to coach the Atlantic Schooners expansion franchise. However, the team never played a game and Huard remained at Acadia for one more season before becoming the special teams coach of the Chicago Blitz of the United States Football League (USFL). In 1987, Huard was hired as head football coach of the Maine Maritime Academy. Huard coached the Mariners until 1994 when he was hired by former boss J. I. Albrecht to coach the CFL's expansion Shreveport Pirates. That June he was fired by Pirates President Lonie Glieberman, citing "philosophical differences", and replaced by SMU Athletic Director Forrest Gregg before coaching a single game. Huard and Albrecht later sued the Pirates. Quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver and the City of Shreveport also brought legal action against the team in separate suits. He then served on the coaching staff at Maine's Kents Hill School.
In 2000 he was hired by Albrecht again, this time as head coach of the Toronto Argonauts. His tenure lasted eight games with a record of 1–6–1. He resigned after a 51–4 home loss to the British Columbia Lions.
Huard is now the CEO of Northeast Turf in South Portland, Maine and the northeast representative of FieldTurf. He has donated turf to Acadia University's Raymond Field and University of Maine's Mahaney Dome. He oversaw the installation of FieldTurf at Gillette Stadium during the 2006 NFL season.


Randy Nauert

Randy Nauert (pronounced "Nort") (January 1, 1945 – February 7, 2019) was an American surf music and culture entrepreneur. He started in the music business as a bass player who played with The Bel-Airs and took his experience to broader appeal with The Challengers who were in the forefront of the surf music explosion in southern California. He also worked as a composer, arranger, music manager, producer and music publisher. He is well known as being one of the first pioneers of surf music.
Overview.
Randy Nauert was a surf music pioneer. He enjoyed surfing and playing his bass guitar in bands during his school years. He taught Rick Griffin how to surf. In 1960, the first professional band he played in was named The Bel-Airs and in late 1962 he co-founded The Challengers. They produced a smash hit album titled “Surfbeat” released in January 1963. “Surfbeat” took the California Sound and surf music to new levels of acceptance. It remains the best selling surf album of all time. His band released 15 Challengers albums throughout the sixties as well as 12 others recorded under different names for the US and foreign markets. He appeared on TV shows during the peak of surf music's heyday such as Hollywood A Go-Go, The Lloyd Thaxton Show, American Bandstand and other local shows in the Los Angeles area. He also worked as a record producer through the rest of the 60's evolving with hot rod rock, folk rock, pop, rock and psychedelic rock music as they developed. Nauert continued in the music and film industry throughout the decades that followed.
Death and legacy.
Randy Nauert died on February 7, 2019, of a heart attack. He endured prolonged suffering from his fire recovery efforts in the area that he lived in for over two months prior to his death. Nauert helped many known and unknown artists and was connected in many aspects of the music business. Nauert is known as a caring person who helped others and cared for his family and friends. He was a living history book for the communities he lived in and the music he helped pioneer in the exploding pop culture scene in southern California. He adopted and raised many animals over his lifetime and educated others about their proper treatment.


William Alland

William Alland (March 4, 1916 – November 11, 1997) was an American actor, film producer and writer, mainly of Western and science-fiction/monster films, including "This Island Earth", "It Came From Outer Space", "Tarantula!", "The Deadly Mantis", "The Mole People", "The Colossus of New York", "The Space Children", and the three "Creature from the Black Lagoon" films. He worked frequently with director Jack Arnold. Alland is also remembered for his acting role as reporter Thompson, who investigates the meaning of "Rosebud" in Orson Welles's "Citizen Kane" (1941).
Biography.
Alland was born in Delmar, Delaware.
Alland entered films as an actor, perhaps best remembered as the reporter Jerry Thompson, who investigates the life of newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane in Orson Welles's "Citizen Kane" (1941). He also directed the film "Look in Any Window".
In his early 20s, Alland arrived in Manhattan and took courses at the Henry Street Settlement House, where he met Orson Welles. He lent his voice to Welles's "The War of the Worlds". Alland won a Peabody Award as producer of "Doorway to Life".
Alland's role as reporter Jerry Thompson in "Citizen Kane" (1941) is unusual because the camera never closes up on his face; in fact, for the majority of his scenes in the film, he shows his back to the camera, and whenever his face can be seen, it is always in long-shot and almost always clouded in shadow. As noted by film critic Roger Ebert on the DVD commentary of "Citizen Kane", Alland once reportedly told an audience that they would probably recognize him if he were to show his back to them. In addition to his role as Thompson in "Citizen Kane", Alland announces the "News on the March" newsreel segment, a spoof of the then-popular "March of Time" newsreels. In later years, Alland twice provided voiceovers for pastiches of this "News on the March" segment: once for the 1974 Orson Welles film "F for Fake" and again for a 1991 "Arena" documentary for the BBC titled "The Complete Citizen Kane".
In 1953, Alland appeared before a meeting of the House Un-American Activities Committee in Los Angeles, acknowledging that he had been a member of the Communist Party and naming other people who were involved with the party. The meeting was held behind closed doors, but Alland talked with reporters after his appearance. He said that he was a party member from 1946 to 1949. Alland was a decorated combat pilot in the Air Force, flying 56 missions in the Pacific.
Alland's greatest fame came from producing science-fiction films at Universal and Paramount in the 1950s. He is the subject of a 60-page interview in the 1996 book "Monsters, Mutants and Heavenly Creatures" by Tom Weaver.
On radio, Alland wrote for "Doorway to Life" and acted on "The Mercury Theatre on the Air".
He died of complications of heart disease.


Don Oriolo

Don Oriolo is an American artist, musician, and writer best known for his work in the music publishing industry and for overseeing the Felix the Cat cartoon franchise after his father, Felix co-creator Joe Oriolo, died in 1985. Don Oriolo also owns and operates the Oriolo Guitar Company, a guitar, bass, and ukulele manufacture company whose products often feature Felix and other Oriolo-designed artwork. Oriolo has also authored a number of books featuring his paintings of Felix the Cat, whom he describes as his creative muse. Some of his music publishing credentials include writing Jon Bon Jovi's first charted track, as well as signing Meat Loaf and Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam.
Early life.
Don Oriolo was born and raised in New Jersey. He is the son of the co-creator of cartoons Felix the Cat and Casper the Ghost, Joe Oriolo. He credits his parents with fostering his creative personality as a child. Growing up as one of three children, Oriolo and his siblings drew pictures and played various musical instruments. Don's main instruments were the guitar and the piano. In one interview, he remembers being six years old and sitting underneath his mother's ironing board while she ironed and listened to Frank Sinatra. He credits this memory of Sinatra's music as his first mind, body, and soul connection to music, even recalling every little detail of the memory, right down to the smell of the fresh laundry, the steam from the iron, and the rhythm of the spray bottle. In a 2015 interview with wsRadio, he recalls his first gig as a musician at a local VFW Hall in New Jersey at the age of 13, but goes on to say that he always thought of his time playing guitar during his mother's sewing circle meetings at the age of nine as the true first live performances of his musical career. Oriolo was also a huge fan of Elvis at this time, another artist he credits for his lifelong love of music.
In addition to playing music as a child, Oriolo was also an avid artist, and had a strong connection with the cartoon characters his father co-created. His infatuation with Felix the Cat started at a young age, and this did not escape his father's notice. Joe Oriolo encouraged Don's artistic and musical talents throughout his childhood and into his adult life, and eventually introduced the younger Oriolo to Winston Sharples, Joe's colleague in the animation world. Sharples, who Don refers to as "Win," became Don's mentor in the entertainment and music arrangement businesses.
When Joe Oriolo died in 1985, the Felix franchise was left to Don, who took the iconic cartoon and successfully shepherded it into the turn of the century with numerous licensing and merchandising business ventures in various international markets. Under Oriolo's watch, Felix was the number one licensed character in Japan in the late '80s and early '90s.
Music publishing.
Oriolo began his career in the music industry as a songwriter, session/studio musician, and music arranger, before stepping into what he calls the "executive turntable" of music publishing. When he was first starting out as an aspiring musician, Oriolo would cut high school and ride a bus from New Jersey into New York City, with his guitar. On these trips into New York, he would go to record and publishing companies to try to get meetings with any executives who would give him five minutes of their time. Eventually he started to turn heads and began to sell songs and work as a studio musician and music arranger. During his time as a studio musician, arranger, and composer, he worked with bands and musicians such as The Chimes, The Tokens, The Paragons, The Cupids, Doctor Hook, Gloria Gaynor, and many more.
Having already been in the recording business as a studio musician and writer, he was able to float his interest in professional management to some of the most successful record and publishing executives of the time, eventually landing a job with the Robert Stigwood -owned record company, RSO Records.
Oriolo went on to have a successful career in the music publishing business, discovering and signing musicians such as Meat Loaf, Jim Steinman, and Lisa Lisa. He also wrote music and arranged and produced records for musicians such as Lisa Lisa & the Cult Jam, Doctor Hook, Meco, Robert Gordon and many more. Oriolo is also credited with writing Jon Bon Jovi's first charted single, which was a Star Wars-themed track titled "R2 D2, We Wish You a Merry Christmas."
Oriolo was a head publishing executive at RSO Records, Twentieth Century Fox, April Blackwood Music - East Coast, CBS/Sony Records, Elvis Presely's Gladys Music and Hill and Range Music, and he worked as the Vice President of Chappell/Intersong Music. While at these companies, Oriolo published the works of the Bee Gees, Eric Clapton, Donna Summer, Casablanca Records, as well as Gamble and Huff's "Mighty Three" catalog. Other accomplishments as a music publishing executive include his contributions to the Broadway musical "The Wiz", being named Country Music Publisher of the Year for both 1978 and 1979, and publishing the hit songs "Funky Town" and "Deja Vu." Oriolo also owned and operated his own music publishing companies, for which he received numerous ASCAP and BMI awards, as well as many gold and platinum records. His publishing company also owns the hit songs "Supernatural Thing," "This Time I'll Be Sweeter," (both composed by songwriters Haras Fyre and Gwen Guthrie† February 3rd, 1999 ) and "Touch Me All Night Long".
In 1984, Oriolo started his own record label, Personal Records, which went on to amass 28 charted records in just three years. He continues to work in the music industry, working with musical heavy hitters like Gloria Gaynor, as well as fostering the careers of budding musicians such as Bronx-based Pop artist Qeuyl, and Nyah Jewel, also of the Bronx. He also continues to release albums of his own music, with the most recent being two solo albums titled "When You Gotta Go, You Go," and "Earthlings Unite," as well as an album from his band Felix and The Cats titled "The Cat is Back".
Felix the Cat.
Oriolo is widely known as "The Felix the Cat Guy." When his father Joe Oriolo, co-creator of the modern day Felix, died in 1985, Don took over as CEO of the iconic cartoon franchise. Upon taking control of the franchise, Oriolo immediately started to implement more modern licensing, merchandising, and marketing strategies for the cartoon, and sought to bring Felix into a global market. Oriolo particularly focused on the Asian cartoon market, where Felix is now "especially popular."
Some of these new marketing strategies included writing and producing a feature film, 1988's "", as well as the straight-to-video film "Felix the Cat Saves Christmas". Oriolo also has executive produced a series of cartoon television shows, including "The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat", and "Baby Felix", which was released in Japan in 2000. Additionally, Oriolo had a hand in producing a "Betty Boop and Felix" comic strip during the mid 1980s. Oriolo also worked out licensing deals with Dairy Queen, Carl's Jr., and Wendy's to include Felix toys in the respective fast food chains' Kids' Meals. He also struck a deal with Hudson Soft to produce a Felix video game for the NES and Nintendo Game Boy.
Don Oriolo is credited with writing and performing the theme song for "The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat", a successful TV series aired by major networks worldwide including CBS in the USA, and he holds an Executive Producer credit for the show along with Phil Roman.
He is created the brand for Baby Felix, including acting as a writer, style guide and overall character creation for the Baby Felix cartoon TV series.
For the Felix the Cat video game, Don Oriolo is credited with the concept, storyline, and character design. The game also won "Best New Nintendo Game of the Year" in 1988.Don Oriolo was the writer and producer for the greatly successful Felix the Cat and Hello Kitty musical production in association with Sanrio-Japan. The show played for a rare second season in Tokyo.He was the editor-in-chief, publisher, artist and contributing writer for Felix Comics, the publishing company behind the Felix the Cat comic books.
Oriolo also co-Created "Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island" TV Series for Warner Bros.
In 2014, Oriolo entered into an agreement with DreamWorks Animation for the Felix franchise.


Mick Hale

Mick Hale is an American musician, songwriter, producer, remixer, DJ, and graphic artist. Credited on over three dozen commercial releases, his body of work spans 30 years from 1984 onwards.
DJ, writer, and graphic artist.
Hale began his DJ career in the mid-1980s as a guest on the College radio stations WPRB, Princeton and WRSU, New Brunswick. His focus ran from Motown/Stax soul and Trojan dub reggae sounds to 1960s British psychedelic pop and various indie alternative of the day. Subsequently, he found himself invited to spin at clubs such as Maxwell's in Hoboken and other NYC-area Dives. By the early 1990s Hale's musical focus had grown to encompass House, Electro, Tribal House, New Beat, Jungle, and Techno. From 1991 to 1998 Hale found himself employed 3-nites a week at New Brunswick's The Roxy as the head resident DJ. Hale then moved on to residencies at both "The Melody" and "Ground Zero" in the late 1990s into the early 2000s. During this same period, Hale was invited to contribute a column to "Jersey Beat" Magazine called "Danse Assembly" (reviewing electronic & alternative dance music.) "Danse Assembly" (aka "DAMn!") also eventually became the title of a fanzine he published until 2002, acting as both writer and editor/graphic designer. From there, he went on to design many CD covers for the Philadelphia-based record labels "Metropolis" and "Pendragon," as well as designing for NJ's "Tinman." Hale interviewed many electronic artists during this period and also contributed many dance music reviews to other fanzines such as "Fusion" and "The Splatter Effect."
Private events and guest DJ gigs in the Tri-state area between 2002-2010 allowed Hale to keep his foot in the dance music field until 2010 when he finally landed a new residency with Asbury Park's "Swell" niteclub. Many Asbury nite-club engagements followed, which eventually led to a 13-month residency beginning in 2012 at Shep Pettibone's "Paradise" nite-club. Hale continued doing occasional remix and film soundtrack work and also contributed articles to the local "arts weekly" publication the "TriCity News." Both NYC's Odyssey Magazine and The Beacon Lite's People's Choice Award named Hale "Best NJ DJ" in 2015; and an article in the Asbury Park Press proclaimed Hale one (of just three,) "DJ's to catch in Asbury!" In June 2016, Hale was hired as a resident DJ at "The Asbury" the newest hotel in Asbury Park, which was just named by USA Today "Best New Hotel, 2017." He currently spins Tea Dance monthly there as well as his weekly residency at Georgie's Bar’s popular "Tempted Tuesday," which has been running 8 years now. He has also spun the Rainbow Mountain Resort (in the Poconos, PA) many times, as well as the Circuit party events "SandBlast," "Ascension," "Bear Weekend" and with the "RSVP Cruise line."
Band history.
Hale got his start as the guitarist/singer and songwriter/producer with New Jersey/New York City garage band Mod Fun. From 1983 to 1987 he guided the band through a musical evolution from mod/punk to a more polished, energetic pop sound. In the process, Hale (who used the moniker "London" at the time,) contributed to 5 releases as Mod Fun, and appeared on many compilations in the US and UK. After two American and one European tour with Mod Fun in 1987, Mick and drummer (future Rolling Stone editor,) Jim DeRogatis were invited by the legendary 1970s British Art-punks Wire to have their Wire cover-band "The Ex-Lion Tamers" tour the US and Canada as the support-act. While the members of Wire were performing new "alternative dance" material from "The Ideal Copy" Mick and company would open the show by playing the entire classic "Pink Flag" album, in order.
In 1987 Mick and former Mod Fun bandmate Bobby "Werner" Strete teamed with the psychedelic act Lord John's drummer and formed a new outfit known as Crocodile Shop. Drawing on heavier and dark-pop influences such as The Jesus and Mary Chain and Skinny Puppy, this new band was a definite departure from the jangly, guitar-driven sound that Hale had produced earlier. Their first release is the hard to find EP entitled "Head," (which MTV's 120 Minutes labeled "Sickly Psychedelic.") This original trio then worked closely with producer Dave Fielding of The Chameleons UK on their follow-up LP "Lullaby," released on a Twin Cities based label in 1988. As with Mod Fun Hale also saw to it that Crocodile Shop evolved as a musical unit with each new release. After a brief reunion with drummer Chris Collins, the group opted to use samples and drum machines for their subsequent work. Original member Bobby "Werner" Strete continued working with Hale thru many lineup changes until 1997, at which point they had combined forces with keyboardist/programmer v.Markus. By 2004 the group had toured all over the US, Canada & Germany and released some 15 CD's on American, German and Italian labels which explored styles ranging from electro-industrial to techno-electronica and synth-pop which still permeates the group's sound to this day (now known simply as Croc Shop).
The 2004 release of Croc Shop's double CD retrospective "S.E.A. (Self-Extracting Archive)" coincided with a re-release by Pittsburgh's Get Hip Records of the Mod Fun retrospective CD called "Past... Forward." Many of the original members of both bands reunited for a release party for these discs. The positive vibe among Hale, Strete and Collins coupled with the timliness of the Mod Fun CD re-release ultimately led to the reformation of that band for another 6-year run. Mod Fun went on to perform in Nashville, Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia, DC and all over their NYC/NJ home-base. In addition, the reunited Mod Fun released a double CD in June 2007. Entitled "Now...and Again,", which contained 10 new tracks and 10 re-recordings of Mod Fun classics from their 1980s vinyl catalogue. In 2010 Mod Fun released another CD entitled "Futurepresent" with 15 new tracks.
Side projects and remixes.
In the mid 90's Hale began producing electronic 'solo' projects such as D!v!s!on No. 9 (with 2 critically acclaimed CDs of techno-house-dub,) proGREX.iv (a drum N bass, east-coast meets west-coast collaboration,) and "Hand Of God" (electro-goth,) all 3 with full-length CDs released on DC and New Brunswick based labels. Hale and Croc Shop cohort v.Markus also worked together on a drum 'N bass project "Genetik, " which never saw light of day; tho many of the duo's remixes of other EDM artists were released (credited to Crocodile Shop.) To this day, Hale continues to remix other artists and has a SoundCloud page with many mixes available as free downloads.
In March 2019, Hale recorded a 4-song EP of electronic/vocal/house music, which is the first to be released under his own name (titled “Hale Haus.”) He composed and produced the material with all the vocals contributed by local Asbury Park singer, Laraé. The EP is available on Apple iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, among other online outlets. As of August 2020 Hale has released 3 more Dance Music singles: a house cover of Bobby Caldwell's 70's Pop hit "What You Wont Do," and originals "A: Groovy Manifesto" and "Music On My Mind." Also released in early 2020 was a 9-song album "Maus Steckt Im Haus," recorded during the height of the Coronavirus "C19" lockdown.


Sammy Chand

Sammy Chand is a record producer, soundtrack composer, artist, and entrepreneur. He is also the founder of Rukus Avenue, a South Asian record label based in Los Angeles, CA.
Career.
Sammy has transformed both the musical landscape and the South Asian community with a storied career spanning over two decades. In 1996, he laid the foundation for Rukus Avenue, as an independent record label and platform for an emerging scene of South Asian musicians in North America. This seminal company was at the forefront of a community-driven movement to establish a new identity for South-Asian Americans, that were charged with the task of reconciling traditional cultural values with American ones. Chand had made a name for himself in the world of film and television through a lengthy list of placements. Under his leadership, the label gained an international presence, beginning with a landmark distribution deal with Sony Music in India and a more recent global agreement with The Orchard.
Early releases such as Passage to India (Various, 2001) and The Movement (Karmacy, 2005), helped to cement Chand's status as dynamic music producer and cultural ambassador. His solo debut, Tale of a Crown (2010) further demonstrates his ability to pair original musical elements found in South Asian music with a variety of other genres - a Chand signature.
Throughout his career, Chand and his music have built a formidable bond with the film and television community. His notable placements include CBS News, PBS, The Oprah Winfrey Show, America's Most Wanted, Leela, So You Think You Can Dance?, Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations and the Weather Channel's Storm Riders. In 2008, he partnered with the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles to bring a live musical component to the festival that would properly articulate the intimate relationship between music and film in Indian Cinema. The IFFLA Rhythm Village and IFFLA Rhythm Village Unplugged under his direction, have become highly popular additions to the annual festival.
Today, Chand is further advancing this movement and his sound with the third generation of Rukus Avenue artists. He is currently producing the debut from Elephants With Guns, an eclectic band that, “collects music, sounds and noises from different parts of the world, wraps them in twine, and presents them to you.” He is also currently writing and recording material for Blood and Treasure, the follow-up to Tale of a Crown. Chand currently resides in Los Angeles.


Arthur Alexander (producer)

Arthur Alexander (1909–1989) was an American independent film producer. He worked with his brother Max and produced.films through.various studios including their own Beacon Productions, Colony Pictures, and Max Alexander Productions.
Biography.
Alexander was born in Germany. He began his Hollywood career in 1934 and produced about 50 films through 1949, many westerns, all with low budgets and with no connection to the established Hollywood studios (other than the fact that his uncle was Carl Laemmle, long-time head of Universal Pictures).
With his brother Max, Alexander founded Beacon Productions, Colony Pictures, and Max Alexander Productions. He was active as producer at the short-lived Grand National Pictures from 1936 through 1939, and released through Producers Releasing Corporation afterward. Much of his work is in public domain today and accessible online.