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Born: 20 February 1967
Birthplace: Aberdeen, Washington
Died: 5 April 1994 (suicide)
Best Known As: Lead singer of the group Nirvana
Kurt Cobain was the lead singer and guitarist for the band Nirvana, whose melodic rock songs bridged punk with pop and sold millions of records in the early 1990s. The stripped-down, amped-up anthem "Smells Like Teen Spirit" made it to the top of the charts in 1991 and helped "grunge" rock unseat Michael Jackson-style pop. (It also helped put Seattle on the musical map -- Cobain was from the sort-of nearby logging town of Aberdeen, Washington.) The band's albums included Bleach (1989), Nevermind (1991) and In Utero (1993). Nirvana was briefly the hottest band in the world, but Cobain's discomfort with fame, personal demons and battles with drugs quickly caused problems. His status as rock legend was cemented when he committed suicide in 1994, apparently by shooting himself in the mouth with a shotgun.
Cobain married rocker/actress Courtney Love in 1992... The couple had one daughter, Frances Bean, born in 1992... Some fans continue to believe that Cobain was murdered. Though a suicide note was found near Cobain's body, and though the coroner ruled that Cobain's wounds were self-inflicted, these fans feel the suicide was staged, and some also accuse Courtney Love of being involved. This theory has been widely publicized but has never been proved... A 1998 documentary film, Kurt and Courtney, examined their relationship and Cobain's death.
RIP Kurt Cobain 1967-1994
Nirvana
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John Edward Thaw CBE (3 January 1942 Γ’ΒΒ 21 February 2002) was a British actor who achieved his first starring role in the military police television drama Redcap (1964 Γ’ΒΒ 1966), and subsequently appeared in a range of television, stage and cinema roles.
Thaw came from a working class background, having been born in Longsight, Manchester to parents John and Dorothy. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where he was a contemporary of Tom Courtenay.
On leaving RADA, Thaw was awarded a contract with the Liverpool Playhouse. His first film role was a bit part in the 1962 adaptation of The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner starring Tom Courtenay; and he also guested in an early episode of The Avengers.
Thaw will perhaps be best remembered for two roles: the hard-bitten Flying Squad detective Jack Regan in the television series (and two films) The Sweeney (1975 Γ’ΒΒ 1978), which established him as a major star in the United Kingdom, and as the quietly-spoken, introspective and bitter detective Inspector Morse (1987 Γ’ΒΒ 2001), with specials in 1995 Γ’ΒΒ 1998 and 2000.
He won two BAFTA awards for Inspector Morse.
He subsequently played liberal barrister James Kavanagh in Kavanagh QC (1995 Γ’ΒΒ 1999), with a special in 2001. Thaw also tried his hand at comedy with his own sitcom called Home to Roost (1985 Γ’ΒΒ 1988).
His only screen projects not considered a popular success were the BBC series A Year in Provence and the LWT series Mitch, in which he played a journalist..
Thaw appeared in a number of films, including Cry Freedom, for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and Chaplin for director Richard Attenborough.
In 1964 Thaw married Sally Alexander, but they divorced four years later. He married actress Sheila Hancock in 1973 and remained with her until his death from cancer in 2002, aged 60.
Thaw had two daughters: Abigail Thaw from his first marriage, and Joanna Thaw from his second.
In her 2004 autobiography Sheila Hancock revealed the extent of Thaw's alcoholism that had started in the late 1970s and caused problems in their marriage and the gaps in Thaw's career in the early 1980s and later 1990s. Thaw was eventually able to get his alcoholism under control a year before his death.
Thaw was awarded the CBE in 1994.
RIP John Thaw 1942-2002
Inspector Morse
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Lee Van Cleef (January 9, 1925 - December 16, 1989) was a movie actor, who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures. His sharp features and piercing eyes made him an ideal "bad guy," though he was occasionally cast in a hero's role.
Born in Somerville, New Jersey, Van Cleef served in the United States Navy during World War II and became an actor after a brief career as an accountant. His first film was the classic Western High Noon, in which he played a villain. He also had a bit part as the sharpshooter in the climax of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms around the same time.
Van Cleef played one of Lee Marvin's villainous henchmen in the 1962 John Ford classic The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, with James Stewart and John Wayne.
He lost the tip of his middle finger on his right hand at some point: this can be seen in the close-up shots of his hand during the gunfights in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
He appeared in several Spaghetti westerns, including in For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (both co-starring Clint Eastwood), as well as The Big Gundown and The Sabata Trilogy. Van Cleef also had a supporting role in John Carpenter's cult hit Escape from New York. He also appeared as a villainous swindler in the Bonanza episode, The Bloodline (December 31, 1960), along with 90 movie roles and 109 other television appearances over a 38-year span.
In the early 1980s he played John Peter McCallister, the "first Occidental to become a ninja" in NBC's The Master. The show was later featured on two episodes of the cult hit Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Lee Van Cleef died in Oxnard, California and was interred in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. His gravestone says "Lee Van Cleef Jan 9, 1925 - Dec 16, 1989 'Best of the Bad' Love and Light".
Van Cleef was listed as one of the dedicatees at the end of Quentin Tarantino's 2004 film Kill Bill Vol. 2.
RIP Lee Van Cleef 1925-1989
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A Brilliant TV Series Cancelled by UPN in the USA in 2002, Network Ten in Australia bought rights to Haunted and broadcast the program in 2005. Starred Matthew Fox as Private Eye Frank Taylor.
Haunted
2002
Matthew Fox
UPN, USA
Network Ten, Australia
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Martin Sacks born 16th October 1959, Sydney) is a well-known Australian actor, chiefly known for his 11-year role on Blue Heelers from 1994 to 2005.
Sacks first got into acting after a bit part in an episode of The Love Boat when it was filming in the Pacific. His first role came about in the series The Restless Years in the late 1970s, which started him on the television circuit in Australia. He emigrated to Hollywood in the 1980s, guest starring in series such as thirtysomething, but preferred Australia, and so he returned there after a few years. Also had guest appearances in;Love in Limbo, Encounters, Irresistible Force, Fields of Fire III, All the Way, Touch the Sun: Princess Kate, Slate, Wyn & Me, Tricheuse, La, Emoh Ruo, Stock Squad and The City's Edge.
Against his first instinct, Sacks took the role of Detective P.J. Hasham in the 1994 series Blue Heelers. The show rocketed him to fame, most notably his 7-year "will-they-or-won't-they" relationship with Constable Maggie Doyle (Lisa McCune) which ended with her death in a seventh-season episode.
During the time he starred on the show, Sacks married Kate and had two children, Jack and Ned and had leading roles in two major Australian miniseries: Do or Die and My Husband My Killer (both 2001).
After playing P.J. for eleven years, and being one of only three original cast still on the show in the twelfth season, Sacks left Blue Heelers to spend time with his growing family. His last episode aired on August 10, 2005. Sacks expressly asked the producers not to kill his character, so that he could return for a guest spot in the future. He did not get the chance, however: the show was cancelled in early 2006.
Sacks is also a director, having directed episodes of Blue Heelers, and a short film called Crushed.
Martin Sacks
Blue Heelers
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Rachel Gordon (born 1976) is an Australian actress.
She is a 1996 graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney, Australia. Since her graduation, she has combined stage acting with various roles in Australian television, and is best known for her role as Detective Senior Constable Amy Fox in the long running Australian television show Blue Heelers.
In late 2004 she married her partner of 11 years, Scott Johnson (who is also an actor). The two met at NIDA.
Rachel Gordon
Blue Heelers
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A warm woolen hood covering the head and neck, leaving a slot for parts of the face, they are comfortable in winter and sometimes act as face protection.
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