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La Russa, Tony

(Encyclopedia)La Russa, Tony (Anthony La Russa, Jr.) lə ro͞oˈsə [key], 1944–, American baseball player and manager, b. Tampa, Fla. An infielder, he spent years in the minors but also played parts of six seaso...

Pendergast, Thomas Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Pendergast, Thomas Joseph, 1872–1945, American political boss, b. St. Joseph, Mo. After holding minor political offices (1899–1910) in Kansas City, Mo., he became the acknowledged Democratic leade...

Stapleton, Maureen

(Encyclopedia)Stapleton, Maureen, 1925–2006, American actress, b. Troy, N.Y., as Lois Maureen Stapleton. Stapleton's first major stage success was in The Rose Tattoo (1951; Tony Award, Best Featured Actress). Bes...

Caldwell, Zoe

(Encyclopedia)Caldwell, Zoe (Zoe Ada Caldwell) zō [key], 1933–2020, Australian theater actress. From the late 1950s she played many Shakespearean roles first with England's Royal Shakespeare Company and then at ...

Harris, Julie

(Encyclopedia)Harris, Julie, 1925–2013, American actress, b. Grosse Point, Mich. Harris made her New York debut in It's a Gift (1945). Her versatility and power won her enormous critical acclaim, and she appeared...

Simon, Neil

(Encyclopedia)Simon, Neil (Marvin Neil Simon), 1927–2018, American playwright, b. the Bronx, New York City. His plays, nearly all of them popular with audiences, if not always with critics, are comedies treating ...

Lewis, C. S.

(Encyclopedia)Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples Lewis), 1898–1963, English author, b. Belfast, Ireland. A fellow and tutor of English at Magdalen College, Oxford, from 1925 to 1954, C. S. Lewis was noted equally for hi...

Hamlisch, Marvin

(Encyclopedia)Hamlisch, Marvin, 1944–2012, American composer, conductor, and pianist, b. New York City, grad. Queens College (B.S., 1967). A versatile and prolific composer of melodies ranging from the soulfully ...

Davis, Viola

(Encyclopedia) Davis, Viola, 1965-, African-American actress and producer, b. St. Matthews, S.C., Rhode Island College (B.A., 1988), Juilliard (1993, acting; honorary...

Lloyd Webber, Andrew

(Encyclopedia)Lloyd Webber, Andrew, 1948–, British theatrical composer. A member of a successful musical family, he began composing musicals as a teenager; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1968) was ...