Profile of Rita HayworthRita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918 – May 14, 1987) was an American actress and dancer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined the term "The Love Goddess" to describe Hayworth after she had become the most glamorous screen idol of the 1940s. She was the top pin-up girl for GIs during World War II. Hayworth is perhaps best known for her performance in the 1946 film noir Gilda, opposite Glenn Ford, in which she played the femme fatale in her first major dramatic role. Fred Astaire, with whom she made two films, once called her his favorite dance partner. Her greatest success was in the Technicolor musical Cover Girl (1944), with Gene Kelly. She is listed as one of the top 25 female motion picture stars of all time in the American Film Institute's survey, AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars. In 1980, Hayworth was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, which contributed to her death at age 68. The public disclosure and discussion of her illness drew attention to Alzheimer's, which was largely unknown by most people at the time, and helped to increase public and private funding for Alzheimer's research. Biography of Rita HayworthHayworth was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1918 as Margarita Carmen Cansino into a family of dancers. Her father, Eduardo Cansino, was from Castilleja de la Cuesta, a little town near Seville, Spain and her paternal grandfather, Antonio Cansino, was renowned as a classical Spanish dancer who popularized the bolero, with a world-famous dancing school in Madrid. Her mother, Volga Hayworth, was an American of Irish and English descent who had performed with the Ziegfeld Follies. Margarita's father and mother married in 1917. As she grew up, her father wanted her to become a professional dancer, while her mother hoped she would become an actress. She attended dance classes every day for a few years in a Carnegie Hall complex, where she was taught by her uncle Angel Cansino. Before her fifth birthday she was one of the Four Cansinos featured in the Broadway production of The Greenwich Village Follies at the Winter Garden Theatre. In 1926 at the age of eight, she was featured in La Fiesta, a short film for Warner Bros. In 1927, her father took the family to Hollywood and established his own dance studio, where he taught such stars as James Cagney and Jean Harlow. In 1931, Eduardo Cansino partnered with his 12-year-old daughter to form an act called the Dancing Cansinos, and took her with him to work across the border in Tijuana, Mexico, a popular tourist spot for people from Los Angeles. While dancing with her father in the Caliente clubs. Winfield Sheehan, the head of the Fox Film Corporation, saw her and quickly arranged for Hayworth to do a screen test a week later. Impressed by her screen persona, Sheehan signed her for a short-term, six-month contract at Fox, under the name Rita Cansino, the first of two name changes during her film career. Rita took a bit part in the film Cruz Diablo (1934) at age 16, and another film In Caliente (1935) with the Mexican actress Dolores del Río. During her time at Fox, Hayworth was billed as Rita Cansino and appeared in unremarkable roles, often cast as the exotic foreigner. By the end of her six-month contract, Fox had merged into 20th Century Fox which did not renew her contract, and she was signed by Columbia Picture for a seven-year contract, but the studio head Harry Cohn thought her last name Cansino sounded too Spanish and Rita's then lover and later first husband Edward C. Judson suggested that she she adopt her mother's maiden name, thus Margarita Cansino became Rita Hayworth. She also changed her appearance: Her hair color became dark red, her hairline raised and her forehead broadened. For the next few years, Rita Hayworth appeared in some minor Columbia Pictures and success did not come to her until the 40s. In 1940, she was featured in Life Magazine story, and in 1941, she was cast opposite Fred Astaire in one of the highest-budgeted films Columbia had ever made, the musical You'll Never Get Rich, it was so successful that the studio produced and released another Astaire-Hayworth picture the following year in 1942, You Were Never Lovelier. And in 1943, Rita Hayworth married Orson Wells, the genius and golden boy of Hollywood at the time. Starting in 1944, for three consecutive years Hayworth was named one of the top movie box-office attractions in the world. She was adept in ballet, tap, ballroom, and Spanish routines. But it was in 1946, Rita Hayworth a cultural icon as a femme fatale after playing Gilda in Charles Vidor's film noir Gilda with Glenn Ford. In 1948, at the height of her fame, Hayworth traveled to Cannes and was introduced to Prince Aly Khan. They began a year-long courtship, and were married on May 27, 1949. Hayworth left Hollywood and sailed for France, breaking her contract with Columbia. Their wedding marked the first time a Hollywood actress became a princess. On December 28, 1949, Hayworth gave birth to the couple's only daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan. Though Hayworth was anxious to start a new life abroad, away from Hollywood, Aly Khan's flamboyant lifestyle and duties proved too difficult for Hayworth. She struggled to fit in with his friends, and found it difficult to learn French. In 1951, Hayworth set sail with her two daughters for New York. Although the couple did reconcile for a short time, they divorced in 1953. After the collapse of her marriage to Khan, Rita Hayworth was forced to return to Hollywood to star in her "comeback" picture, Affair in Trinidad (1952) which ended up grossing $1 million more than her previous blockbuster, Gilda, and she continued to star in a string of successful pictures. By 1957, however, Kim Novak had become Columbia's top female star and Hayworth left Columbia for good but continued to act in films until the early 1970s and her last film was The Wrath of God (1972), a western. In 1980, Rita Hayworth was diagnosed as having Alzheimer's. In July 1981, Hayworth's health had deteriorated to the point that a judge in Los Angeles Superior Court ruled that she should be placed under the care of her daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan who arranged for her mother's care during her final years. In February 1987 Rita Hayworth lapsed into a semicoma and she died three months later on May 14, 1987 at her home in Manhattan from complications associated with Alzheimer's disease.
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Profile of Roger MooreSir Roger George Moore KBE (14 October 1927 – 23 May 2017) was an English actor best known for playing British secret agent James Bond in seven feature films from 1973 to 1985, beginning with Live and Let Die. He also played the main character, Simon Templar, in the British television series The Saint from 1962-1969 and had significant roles in some American television shows and films in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including replacing James Garner and portraying Beau Maverick in the Maverick series in 1960-61. Moore starred with Tony Curtis in The Persuaders television series in 1971-1972, and had roles in numerous theatrical films in the 1970s and 1980s. He was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1991 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003 for services to charity. In 2007, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in television and film. In 2008, the French government appointed him a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Biography of Roger MooreRoger Moore was born on 14 October 1927 in Stockwell, London, the only child of a policeman of Scottish descent. When his father investigated a robbery at the home of film director Brian Desmond Hurst, Moore was introduced to the director and hired as an extra for the 1945 film Caesar and Cleopatra, and Hurst would pay for Moore to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. During this time there, he developed the Mid-Atlantic accent and relaxed demeanour that became his screen persona. At 18, shortly after the end of the Second World War, Moore was conscripted for national service. On 21 September 1946, he was commissioned into the Royal Army Service Corps as a second lieutenant and eventually becoming a captain commanding a small depot in West Germany where he looked after entertainers for the armed forces passing through Hamburg. 1950s-1970s Early Career In the early 1950s Moore worked as a model, appearing in print advertisements for knitwear (earning him the nickname "The Big Knit") and a wide range of other products such as toothpaste—work that many critics have used to underscore his lightweight credentials as an actor. In his book Last Man Standing: Tales from Tinseltown, Moore states that his first television appearance was on 27 March 1949 in The Governess by Patrick Hamilton, a live broadcast (as usual in that era), in which he played the minor part of Bob Drew. 1973-1985: James Bond In 1971, Sean Connery played in his last James Bond movie Diamond is forever, and the next year Roger Moore was approached to play for the next Bond movie Live and let die. For the next decade, Roger Moore appeared in another 6 Bond movies including The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moon Raker (1979), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Octopussy (1983), A View to a Kill (1985). 1991 onwards charity and humantiarian work In 1991, Roger Moore became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador inspired by his friend Audrey Hepburn, and continued working closely with the organization as a special ambassador until his death. In 1999, Roger Moore was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the New Year Honours and was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 2003 Birthday Honours for charitable services, especially UNICEF and latterly Kiwanis International, which had dominated his public life for more than a decade. In the same year, He was also Honored with the Humanitarian of the Year Award for his services to UNICEF. Roger Moore married altogether 4 times. “I’ve been married four times and caused a great deal of hurt and upset around me,” as he himself said to The Guardian in 2012.
After 3 marriages that ended in unhappy divorce, Roger Moore married Swedish-born Danish socialite, Kristina "Kiki" Tholstrup in 2002, who would be his last wife. Moore said that he loved Tholstrup as she was "organised", "serene", "loving", and "calm", saying, "I have a difficult life. I rely on Kristina totally. When we are travelling for my job, she is the one who packs. Kristina takes care of all that".Moore also said that his marriage to Tholstrup was "a tranquil relationship, there are no arguments". On 11 October 2007, three days before he turned 80, Moore was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work on television and in film. On 28 October 2008, the French government appointed Moore a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. On 21 November 2012, Moore was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Hertfordshire for his outstanding contributions to the UK film and television industry for over 50 years, in particular film and television productions in Hertfordshire. In 2015, Moore was named one of GQ´s 50 best-dressed British men. On 23 May 2017, Roger Moore died of Prostate cancer in his chalet in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.After his final Bond movie in 1985, Roger Moore stopped acting for 5 years, and although he resumed acting in 1990, he would never play anything as important as his James Bond role, and dedicated himself increasingly to charity and humanitarian work. Yulia Vyacheslavovna Lipnitskaya ( born 5 June 1998) is a Russian former competitive figure skater. She was part of the Russian team to win the 2014 Winter Olympics team trophy. Individually, Lipnitskaya is the 2014 World silver medalist, the 2014 European champion, the 2013–14 Grand Prix Final silver medalist, and a two-time Russian national silver medalist (2012 & 2014). Competing as a junior, Lipnitskaya won the 2012 World Junior Championships, 2011–12 JGP Final, and 2012 Russian Junior Championships. She retired from the professional sport in 9 september 2017 due to complications with ligaments of the legs and hip joints. Lipnitskaya is the youngest Russian athlete to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics.Within the ladies' singles category, she is the youngest gold medalist at the European Championships. She is also the youngest women figure skater to win a gold medal at the Olympics under modern rules. Lipnitskaya was 15 years, 249 days old when Russia won the team trophy. Yulia Lipnitskaya was born on 5 June 1998 in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Lipnitskaya was raised by a single mother, Daniela Leonidovna Lipnitskaya, who gave her own surname to Yulia. Lipnitskaya's father, Vyacheslav, was drafted into the Russian army while her mother was pregnant, and he chose not to return to the family afterwards. Lipnitskaya's grandmother, Evgenia Koklova, engaged in acrobatics, skating, and sailing in her youth. Lipnitskaya began training at age four, when her mother convinced the experienced skating coach Elena Levkovets to accept her as a student. She skated in Yekaterinburg until 2009, and moved to Moscow with her mother where Lipnitskaya joined Eteri Tutberidze's group in March 2009. Lipnitskaya became age-eligible for junior international competition in the 2011–12 season. She debuted on the Junior Grand Prix series at the JGP Baltic Cup in Gdańsk, Poland, winning both programs to take the gold medal. Lipnitskaya became age-eligible for some senior events but not the World or European Championships. She made her senior debut at the 2012 Finlandia Trophy where she won the gold medal. In the 2013–14 season, Lipnitskaya became age-eligible for all senior ISU events. She began her season by winning the gold medal at the 2013 Finlandia Trophy. Her first 2013–14 Grand Prix event was the 2013 Skate Canada International.
Lipnitskaya was selected for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and she became the youngest Olympic gold medalist under modern rules, being six days younger than American Tara Lipinski was when she won the 1998 Winter Olympics at 15 in Nagano, Japan. Lipnitskaya selected all the music for her programs by herself. For the 2013–14 season, she chose Mark Minkov's You Don't Give Up On Love (Russian: Не отрекаются, любя) for her short program, because she loves the song. She chose the theme from Schindler's List for her free skate after she had watched the film many times. On 28 August 2017, Lipnitskaya's mother, Daniela, told TASS that her daughter had decided to retire in April, and had informed the Russian Figure Skating Federation of her decision following a return home from continental Europe, where she underwent three months of medical treatment. Lipnitskaya has suffered from anorexia, for which she had been treated for a long time in an Israeli clinic. |
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