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Hanks, Tom

(Encyclopedia)Hanks, Tom, 1956–, American film actor, b. Concord, Calif., as Thomas Jeffrey Hanks. In 1980 he acted in his first film, and in 1980–82 he co-starred in a television sitcom. Hanks subsequently app...

Ephron, Nora Louise

(Encyclopedia)Ephron, Nora Louise, 1941–2012, American writer and film director, grad. Wellesley College (B.A., 1962). Witty, tough, self-deprecating, and ironic in all her guises, she was a reporter for the New ...

May, Elaine

(Encyclopedia) May, Elaine, 1932-, American actress, film director, and writer, b. Philadelphia, Pa., as Elaine Iva Berlin. May’s parents were both actors; her fat...

Lubin, David

(Encyclopedia)Lubin, David lo͞oˈbĭn [key], 1849–1919, American agriculturist, b. Poland. After prospering as a merchant in California, he devoted himself to helping farmers with their problems. Through his eff...

Burns, Ken

(Encyclopedia)Burns, Ken (Kenneth Lauren Burns), 1953–, American documentary filmmaker, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., grad. Hampshire College (1975). Acting as producer, director, and cinematographer, Burns typically explor...

Penn, Arthur Hiller

(Encyclopedia)Penn, Arthur Hiller, 1922–2010, American director, brother of Irving Penn, b. Philadelphia; studied Black Mountain College and the Actors' Studio, Los Angeles. Penn, who often dealt with themes of a...

Horney, Karen

(Encyclopedia)Horney, Karen, 1885–1952, American psychiatrist, b. Germany, M.D. Univ. of Berlin, 1913. She married Oscar Horney in 1909. Prior to her arrival (1932) in the United States, she was secretary of the ...

Dietrich, Marlene

(Encyclopedia)Dietrich, Marlene märlāˈnə dēˈtrĭkh [key], 1901–92, German-American film actress and singer, b. Berlin. Dietrich began her career as a violinist. She then studied drama, appearing on the stag...

Hawks, Howard

(Encyclopedia)Hawks, Howard (Howard Winchester Hawks), 1896–1977, American film director, b. Goshen, Ind. Although not as well known as such contemporaries as John Ford and Alfred Hitchcock, he has been criticall...

Mazursky, Paul

(Encyclopedia) Mazursky, Paul (Irwin Lawrence Mazursky), 1939-2014, American film director, screenwriter, and actor, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., Brooklyn College (B.A., 1951)...