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Lynda Carter Biography

Posted by Vogt
at May 9, 2008

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Born in Phoenix, the youngest of three children, Lynda made her professional singing debut at fifteen in Tempe, Arizona. She attended Kenilworth School, then the Arcadia Titans High School and the Arizona State University. She studied classical dances for seven years in the School Ballet of Phoenix. She also studied chanting and piano, and had her dramatic training with Laura Zucker, Stella Adler, Charles Conrad, Milton Katselas, Lieux Dressler, and Greta and Sandra Seacat. In 1973, she won the Miss World-U.S.A. title and shortly thereafter outdistanced hundreds of other actresses for the part of “Wonder Woman,” a character she infused with such depth and humor that it has become one of the most indelible characters in TV history.

She is the only star who achieves top TV ratings in both musical and dramatic specials. Her fourth variety special, “Lynda Carter, Street Life,” with George Benson and Tony Orlando guesting, aired on CBS in March and won the rating derby. Her Emmy-winning CBS special, “Lynda Carter Celebration,” was one of the highest-rated musical variety offerings of 1981. In the field of dramatics, she again has consistently proved a ratings and review winner by tackling significant subject matter. “Born To Be Sold,” her most recent motion picture for television, not only was a major Nielsen winner for NBC, but did it against such formidable opposition as the season premieres of “M.A.S.H.,” “Lou Grant” and “House Calls” and one of the most attractive Monday night NFL games. It did so while tackling a subject of deep social significance, the plight of children sold illegally for adoption. Similar success was achieved by Lynda’s first television movie, “The Last Song,” a highly-suspenseful CBS film which candidly addressed the perils of uncontrolled chemical pollution and garnered a 37 share of the audience. The title song from the movie, as performed by Lynda, was produced by entertainer extraordinaire, Kenny Rogers.

Within the past two years, she hosted three other dynamic television variety specials, starred in two dramatic telefeatures, headlined London’s famed Palladium, and became the first entertainer to associate herself with a major women’s professional tennis tournament. Lynda Carter has proven a truly international star. In the world of sports, she is a premier attraction as well. Lynda hosts such premier professionals as Chris Evert Lloyd and Martina Navratilova in the annual $125,000 Lynda Carter/Maybelline Tennis Classic which has been held in Deer Creek, Florida. Appointed Beauty and Fashion Director of Maybelline Cosmetics, Lynda appears in advertising as well as serving as a consultant in the development and marketing of new products. Her achievement in this area startled even the flamboyant cosmetics industry. In the 18 months following her association with Maybelline products, the company’s sales tripled, skyrocketing from $70 million to over $200 million.

Lynda has been the recipient of an unprecedented number of honors, including, from the London-based International Academy of Beauty, the title of “The Most Beautiful Woman In The World.” She has, in addition, been named one of Mr. Blackwell’s “Ten Best Dressed Women In America,” Gallup poll’s “Ten Most Admired Women In America,” one of Helene Curtis’ “Ten Best Tressed Women In America,” and one of the International Bachelors Association’s “Ten Most Exciting Women In The World.” Her personality print, for which she received the coveted million-selling Gold Poster Award, continues to be one of the most popular posters in America. In addition to Mexico’s Ariel Award, she also received South America’s coveted Gold Two Award as most popular actress and performer.

Celebrity Biography
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Catherine Bach Biography

Posted by Vogt
at May 9, 2008

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This curvaceous brunette is best-known for her role as the feisty sister of “good ol’ boys” John Schneider and Tom Wopat on the popular CBS comedy-drama “The Dukes of Hazzard” (1979-85). Bach moved to California at 16 to study acting (at USC, and with coaches Milton Katselas and Anna Strasberg). She first came to the notice of TV viewers in the telefilms “Strange New World” and the “Matt Helm” pilot (both ABC, 1975). Her roles were small, and even smaller was her next billed part in “Murder in Peyton Place” (NBC, 1977).

But “The Dukes of Hazzard” came to her rescue, and from 1979-1985, Bach cavorted in cutoffs and tank-tops, the idol of male viewers in this mindless and popular rural comedy. The athletic and outgoing Bach also graced such ongoing TV specials as “The Battle of the Network Stars”, “Celebrity Challenge of the Sexes”, “Circus of the Stars” and “World’s Greatest Stunts”, as well as one-time shots on “The Nashville Palace” (ABC, 1980), “The Magic of David Copperfield” (CBS, 1981), and “Willie Nelson’s Picnic” (syndicated, 1987). She also provided the voice of Daisy in an animated version of the series, “The Dukes” (CBS, 1983).

Buoyed by her popularity but tied to the backwoods image, Bach appeared in two TV-movies: as a photojournalist up against “White Water Rebels” (CBS, 1983), and as “the other woman” in the PBS comedy “Drive, She Said” (1987). From 1992-1994, Bach returned to series TV as a businesswoman who moves to Africa with her teenaged son in “African Skies” (Family Channel). She agreed to reprise Daisy in “Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion” (CBS, 1997).

Bach’s forays into theatrical releases have not been as high-profile. She had small roles in Michael Cimino’s action comedy “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot” and the drama “The Midnight Man” (both 1974) as well as Robert Aldrich’s thriller “Hustle” (1975), co-starring Burt Reynolds. She reteamed with Reynolds for “Cannonball Run II” (1983) and had her first starring role in the low-budget actioner “Driving Force” (1989). Since then it’s been large roles in small films: another actioner, “Street Justice” and the horror flick “Criminal Act” (both 1989); the biker road comedy “Masters of Menace” (1991); and the martial arts film “Rage & Honor” (1992). Former co-star Burt Reynolds gave Bach a theatrical showcase in the drama “Extremities” (1986), at his Florida dinner theater.

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Patricia Arquette Biography

Posted by Vogt
at May 9, 2008

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The youngest daughter of a performing family, the vivacious and vulnerable Patricia Arquette quickly rose from the world of horror sequels and genre fare to become a leading player working with topnotch directors and co-stars. Since beginning her career as a teenager in the late 1980s, she has alternated between television and features, although by the late 90s, she primarily concentrated on films. After studying acting with Milton Katselas, Arquette landed roles as a teenaged mother in the ABC TV-movie “Daddy” (1987) and made guest appearances on such series as “thirtysomething” and “The Outsiders”. She has the distinction of starring in two small screen projects directed by Diane Keaton: a “CBS Schoolbreak Special” entitled “The Boy With the Crazy Brother” (1990) and the longform “Wildflower” (Lifetime, 1991). In the latter, the actress had the demanding role of a young girl with epilepsy whose stepfather keeps her locked up believing she is possessed by demons. Arquette earned a CableACE award for her touching performance.

Bringing much of the same vulnerability to the big screen, Arquette was cast as the tender girlfriend of Viggo Mortensen in Sean Penn’s directorial debut “The Indian Runner” (1991). She also earned critically praise for her portrayal of Mattie Silver, the life force in the otherwise bleak, wintry tale of “Ethan Frome” (1993). Later that year, she gave a breakout performance alongside heavy-hitters Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper in the Quentin Tarantino-scripted “True Romance”. Tim Burton tapped her as the tolerant wife of eccentric filmmaker “Ed Wood” (1994) and Arquette displayed a compelling presence as an American doctor caught up in the political turmoil of Burma in “Beyond Rangoon” (1995). Switching to lighter fare, she was the moody spouse of an adopted man seeking his birth parents in “Flirting With Disaster” (1996). While she earned some praise from reviewers for her dual turn as the murdered wife of a jazz musician and a bottle blonde femme fatale in David Lynch’s “Lost Highway” (1997), most dismissed the film as confusing and pretentious. Arquette undertook a similar type of role as the unhappily married wife of a ranch hand who embarks on an affair with a rival cattle rancher in “The Hi-Lo Country” (1998). Next Arquette starred in the horror film “Stigmata” (1999) and opposite her ex-husband Nicolas Cage in the Martin Scorsese film “Bringing Out the Dead” (1999).

Arquette returned to comedy in 2000, cast opposite Adam Sandler in “Little Nicky” (2000) and in Charlie Kaufman’s “Human Nature” (2001), where she played a woman involved in a love triangle with an ape-like man. In 2002, Arquette starred with Billy Bob Thorton in the crime thriller “The Badge,” which premiered on the Starz network. After appearing as the school teacher-turned-outlaw Kissin’ Kate Barlow in the offbeat Disney drama, “Holes” (2003), Arquette signed on for the lead role in the new supernatural mystery series, “Medium” (NBC, 2004- ). Based on the real-life psychic and criminal profiler Allison DuBois, the series depicted Arquette as a wife and mother who struggles to balance tending to her family and solving murders. The series proved popular out of the gate, and in 2005 Arquette won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series following the debut season.

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