director, producer, screenwriterBorn: 1946Birthplace: Paris, France A multitalented figure in contemporary French cinema, he made some of the most influential and popular French films of the 1980s…
(Encyclopedia) Surrey, Henry Howard, earl of, 1517?–1547, English poet; son of Thomas Howard, 3d duke of Norfolk. His irascibility and continuous vaunting of his descent from Edward I resulted in his…
(Encyclopedia) Larra, Mariano José deLarra, Mariano José demäryäˈnō hōsāˈ ᵺā läˈrä [key], 1809–37, Spanish satirist, b. Madrid. Using several pseudonyms, Larra wrote a series of satirical articles on…
(Encyclopedia) block book. Before and after the invention of printing from movable types in the mid-15th cent., some books were printed in Europe from engraved wooden blocks, with one block for each…
(Encyclopedia) Basie, Count (William Basie)Basie, Countbāˈsē [key], 1904–84, American jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer, b. Red Bank, N.J. After working in dance halls and vaudeville in New York…
(Encyclopedia) Trudeau, Garry BeekmanTrudeau, Garry Beekmantr&oomacr;ˈdō [key], 1948–, American political cartoonist, b. New York City. Since its debut in 1969, his comic strip “Doonesbury” has…
voice of cartoon charactersBorn: 9/13/1908Birthplace: New York City Questel began performing in vaudeville in her late teens. Her “boop-oop-a-doop ”routine won her the job of providing Betty Boop's…
(Encyclopedia) Farmer, Fannie Merritt, 1857–1915, American cookbook author and teacher and writer on cookery, b. Boston. A paralytic stroke prevented her from attending college, and she turned to…
