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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...

Stern, Fritz Richard

(Encyclopedia)Stern, Fritz Richard, 1926–2016, American historian and educator, b. Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland), grad. Columbia (B.A., 1946; M.A., 1948; Ph.D., 1953). Although his family had converted ...

Streep, Meryl

(Encyclopedia)Streep, Meryl, 1949–, American actress, b. Summit, N.J., as Mary Louise Streep. She attended Yale Drama School and appeared in many Broadway and off-Broadway productions during the early 1970s. Movi...

Bassett, Angela Evelyn

(Encyclopedia) Bassett, Angela Evelyn 1958- , American actress, b. New York, N.Y., Yale Univ. (B.A., 1980; M.F.A., 1983; D.F.A. (2018, hon.). Bassett’s parents ...

Weir, Peter

(Encyclopedia)Weir, Peter wēr [key], 1944–, Australian film director, b. Sydney. His early work helped to bring Australian film to world attention; his later films, made in Hollywood, mingle American movie techn...

Bjørnson, Bjørnstjerne

(Encyclopedia)Bjørnson, Bjørnstjerne byörnˈstyĕrnə byörnˈsōn [key], 1832–1910, Norwegian writer and political leader, one of the major figures of Norwegian literature. He was an influential journalist, w...

directing

(Encyclopedia)directing, the art of leading dramatic performances on the stage or in films. The modern theatrical director is in complete charge of all the artistic aspects of a dramatic presentation. It is the dir...

Moreton Bay

(Encyclopedia)Moreton Bay môrˈtən [key], inlet of the Pacific Ocean, 65 mi (105 km) long and 20 mi (32 km) wide, Queensland, E Australia, nearly enclosed by Moreton and Stradbroke islands. Receiving the Brisbane...

Ladd, George Trumbull

(Encyclopedia)Ladd, George Trumbull, 1842–1921, American philosopher, b. Painesville, Ohio, grad. Western Reserve Univ., 1864, and Andover Theological Seminary, 1869. He taught at Yale from 1881 until his retirem...

Tetepare

(Encyclopedia)Tetepare, tāˈtəpäˌrā [key], raised coral island 46 sq mi (118 sq km), S Western prov., Solomon Islands, SW Pacific, separated from New Georgia by the Blanche Channel. It is the largest uninhabit...