I am very impressed by Newman’s munificent contributions to charity via his salad dressing sales. He was a fine actor, too. The Verdict and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid may have been his best work.
Branagh is the Olivier of our age. His Henry V was a veritable home run and his version of Hamlet includes all the lines of the play and featured many famous actors in cameos, even for the bit parts. If you haven’t seen his Macbeth, filmed in a UK church, then you haven’t seen one of his best Shakespeares.
Ustinov signed this to a tv hostess and added a rare caricature of himself. Ustinov, Peter Sellers, and Jonathan Winters are the funniest guys who were in the media many years.
Poitier has been a favorite of mine since Blackboard Jungle, Slender Thread, A Patch of Blue, A Raisin in the Sun, To Sir with Love, and In the Heat of the Night. I had the privilege with some other Edmontonians to spend an evening in his company at the Jubilee in the 2010s. A true class act.
I’ve long been a Caine fan: Sleuth (original with Olivier), The Quiet American, The Man Who Would Be King, X, Y, and Zee, The Cider House Rules, Educating Rita, on and on. A great character actor and a likable man.
Tony was quite the visual artist and won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor. Always remembered for his legendary role in Zorba the Greek. Friend of Brando’s from the Actor Studio days.
Claire is a classy actress. She was strong in movies like Charly, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and The Haunting of Hill House.
Julie was another unique actress from Actor Studio Days. Worked with James Dean in East of Eden. She nailed Emily Dickinson in her one-woman show.
A fan of his work in Bullitt and Columbo. He actually did a dinner theatre Hamlet and later migrated to coronation Street in the U.K. where he settled.
A funny fellow who nailed Wilde (Brian Gilbert was the director). His audio recording of Wilde’s bitchy De Profundis is right-on.
The above pic was signed to my daughter when I met him at the Agricom at a pop culture convention. A nice, quiet, friendly small guy who appreciates his fans.
A treasure for me. The movie developed out of his script.
Rare. Before it became a movie, this play opened at a dinner theatre with Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft also in the lead roles. Also signed by Patricia Neal and director Arthur Penn.
Redford, Hoffman, Jason Robards and Hal Holbrook were great in the movie version. This is the classic book cosigned by Woodward and Bernstein (rare) which led to the excellent Academy-Award-winning movie.
Robert Bloch wrote one of the great scripts of all time. He dedicated this edition to his niece in Winnipeg.
Beautiful film created largely by director Scorcese and writer Cocks.
Signed Robert Altman is hard to get. One of my favorite unconventional directors: Gosford Park, Nashville, Short Cuts, The Player.
He hired and influenced ‘everyone’ including Scorcese, Coppola, Howard, Nicholson and many more. His own schlock Poe film series is legendary. A nice guy.
Dog Day Afternoon, 12 Angry Men, Network, The Verdict. A major director.
Stoppard is a witty, intelligent playwright, screenplay writer, and director of the film version of his classic spoof of Hamlet.
In 1951, the Norwegian adventurer Heyerdahl’s film won the Academy Award documentary category. A classic black and white film tracing his trip.
The two famous movie critics from tv. Interesting, thoughtful guys who raised film consciousness in viewers everywhere. Both long gone now.
My favorite Canadian director. Many hits including Fiddler on the Roof and The Thomas Crown Affair. The letter was written after In the Heat of the Night‘s Oscar wins.
A Canadian animated film creator who was successful and popular way before this field opened up. He won an AA for “Neighbors”, his clever satire about two neighbors who kill each other!
Guy Maddin made the internationally-acclaimed film about Winnipeg. This scarce book also contains the DVD.
Aaron Sorenson is a teacher who became an Albertan filmmaker. When I worked at Alberta Film Classification, I got to know him from a preview he put on there.
A Canadian stay-at-home staple who was in Alice Munro’s/Sarah Polley’s excellent Away from Her with Julie Christie.