Rip Torn was born Elmore Rual Torn Jr. on February 6, 1931 in Temple, Texas, the son of Thelma Mary (Spacek) and Elmore Rudolph Torn, who was an agriculturalist and economist, credited with popularizing the custom of eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. "Rip" is a family name, taken by generations of Torn men and bestowed on Elmore by his father, who was also called "Rip." He was of German, Austrian, Bohemian, and Moravian descent. His mother was an elder sister of actress Sissy Spacek's father, Edwin Spacek.

Torn attended Texas A&M and the University of Texas, where he joined Sigma Chi Fraternity. He majored in animal husbandry. Extremely naïve when he was young, Torn hitchhiked to Hollywood with the idea of becoming a movie star; he wanted to make enough money in order to buy a ranch. Success did not come overnight, as he had hoped, and Torn had to work many odd jobs while occasionally being cast in television roles. He made his feature film debut in Elia Kazan's Baby Doll (1956) in a small part.

Serious about learning his craft, he moved to New York City where he studied under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. Torn also studied dance with Martha Graham. His serious acting career began on the small screen, where he made a name for himself in the Golden Age of Television; between 1957 and 1960, he appeared regularly on such prestigious live shows as Omnibus (1952) and Playhouse 90 (1956).

Torn made his Broadway debut in Kazan's staging of Tennessee Williams' "Sweet Bird of Youth" on March 10, 1959, in support of Paul Newman, Sidney Blackmer and Geraldine Page, who would become his second wife. The play was a hit, closing on January 30, 1960 after 375 performances. He won a 1960 Tony Award nomination as Best Featured Actor in a Play and a Theater World award for his role as "Tom, Jr.", a role he recreated in the 1962 film. (Torn also starred as "Boss Finley" in a later television adaptation of the play).

Torn earned a reputation as an actor's actor on stage, both Broadway and off-Broadway, as well as on screen. He continued to work in the New York theater despite his demanding TV and movie schedule as both an actor and director. He won two Obie awards for his work off-Broadway, for Distinguished Performance in Norman Mailer's "The Deer Park" (for the 1966-67 season), and for Distinguished Direction for "The Beard" (1967-68). He had his own stage company, and directed his daughter Angelica Page (by Geraldine Page) in John Paul Alexander's "Strangers in the Land of Canaan" at the Actors Studio. Torn made his feature film directorial debut with The Telephone (1988).

He was constantly in demand as a character actor, in supporting, second lead and occasional lead roles. Arguably his best performance on film came in Payday (1973), and he was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for Cross Creek (1983). Most of Torn's roles were in drama, though he was adept at comedy. His role in Albert Brooks' comedy Defending Your Life (1991) led to his being cast in The Larry Sanders Show (1992), on which he played talk show producer "Artie." Torn won six consecutive Emmy nominations for the role, winning once for Best Supporting Actor in a comedy series in 1996.

Torn was married to actress Ann Wedgeworth from 1956-61, whom he divorced to marry Geraldine Page. They remained married until her death in 1987. He was married to Amy Wright until his death. Torn helped his first cousin, Oscar-winner Sissy Spacek, to make her way as an actress, seeing to it that she was accepted by the Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio and then the Lee Strasberg Institute.

Rip Torn died in on July 9, 2019 in Lakeville, Connecticut, aged 88.

It came as no surprise to film aficionados when, in 1999, Entertainment Weekly named Jill Clayburgh on its list of Hollywood's 25 Greatest Actresses. For decades, she delivered stellar performances in a wide variety of roles.

Jill Clayburgh was born in 1944 in New York City, into a wealthy family, the daughter of Julia Louise (Dorr), an actress and secretary, and Albert Henry Clayburgh, a manufacturing executive. Her father was from a Jewish family that has lived in the United States since the 1700s, and her mother had English ancestry, also with deep American roots. Jill was educated at the finest schools, including the Brearley School and Sarah Lawrence College. It was while at Sarah Lawrence that she decided on a career in acting, and joined the famous Charles Street Repetory Theater in Boston. She moved to New York in the late 1960s and had featured roles in a number of Broadway productions, including "The Rothschilds" and "Pippin". She began her career in films in 1970 and got her first major role in Portnoy's Complaint (1972) in 1972. In 1978, she rose to screen prominence with her performance in An Unmarried Woman (1978), for which she received an Oscar nomination. She was again nominated for the Academy Award in 1979 for her role in Starting Over (1979). But after giving a riveting portrayal as a Valium addict in I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can (1982), her career went into a rapid decline, mainly because of her poor choices of scripts. She seemed destined for a comeback after appearing in Where Are the Children? (1985), with multi-talented child actress Elisabeth Harnois, but her excellent performance was largely ignored by critics, who opted to give the credit for the thriller's success to the performance of the precocious, six year old Harnois.

After the late 1980s, Jill worked mainly in television and low-budget films, and also had a leading role in the drama Never Again (2001), with Jeffrey Tambor.

Jill was married to playwright David Rabe, with whom she had two children, including actress Lily Rabe.

Jill Clayburgh died of chronic lymphocytic leukemia on November 5, 2010, in Salisbury, Connecticut.

Wayne Shumaker was born on 17 September 1941 in Bremen, Indiana, USA. He died on 14 September 2000 in Lakeville, Indiana, USA.

Wanda Landowska was born on 5 July 1879 in Warsaw, Poland, Russian Empire [now Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland]. She is known for Blacktop: A Story of the Washing of a School Play Yard (1952), 3rd Ave. El (1955) and Monitor (1958). She was married to Henry Lew. She died on 16 August 1959 in Lakeville, Connecticut, USA.

Etienne Delessert was born on 4 January 1941 in Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland. Etienne is known for Sesame Street (1969). Etienne was married to Rita Marshall. Etienne died on 21 April 2024 in Lakeville, Connecticut, USA.

Corby Myers was born on 2 March 1970 in Bremen, Indiana, USA. He died on 14 September 2000 in Lakeville, Indiana, USA.

Mick Tingelhoff was born on 22 May 1940 in Lexington, Nebraska, USA. He was married to Phyllis Kent. He died on 11 September 2021 in Lakeville, Minnesota, USA.

Julian Street was born on 12 April 1879 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a writer, known for So's Your Old Man (1926), Don't Call It Love (1923) and You're Telling Me! (1934). He died on 19 February 1947 in Lakeville, Connecticut, USA.

Lynn Granger was born on 23 January 1946. He died on 14 September 2000 in Lakeville, Indiana, USA.

Wally Hilgenberg was born on 19 September 1942 in Marshalltown, Iowa, USA. He died on 23 September 2008 in Lakeville, Minnesota, USA.