Actors

George E. Stone

George E. Stone

A minor prototype of the "Runyon-esque" character for more than three decades, Polish-born actor George E. Stone (né Gerschon Lichtenstein, on May 18, 1903) was, in actuality, a close friend of writer Damon Runyan and would play scores of colorful "dees, dem and dos" cronies throughout the 1920s, '30s, and '40s. With great names such as Johnnie the Shiek, Boots Burnett, Ice Box Hamilton, Wires Kagel, Ropes McGonigle, Society Max, and Toothpick Charlie, Stone delighted audiences in scores of crimers for decades. A vaudeville and Broadway hoofer in the interim, the runt-sized Stone (5'3") finally scored in his first "grownup" part as the Sewer Rat in the silent drama 7th Heaven (1927) starring the once-popular romantic pair Charles Farrell and (Academy Award winner) Janet Gaynor. As "Georgie" sounded too child-like, he began billing himself as "George E. Stone." From there he was featured in a number of "tough guy" potboilers, particularly for Warner Bros. So typed was he as a henchman or thug, that he found few films outside the genre. His gunsels often possessed a yellow streak and could be both broadly comic or threatening in nature, with more than a few of them ending up on a morgue slab before film's end, including his Earl Williams on The Front Page (1931) and Otero in the classic gangster flick Little Caesar (1931). Included in George's many films were a number of Oscar-quality pictures , including The Racket (1928), Cimarron (1931), Five Star Final (1931), 42nd Street (1933), Viva Villa! (1934), Anthony Adverse (1936), North West Mounted Police (1940), Pickup on South Street (1953), The Robe (1953), Broken Lance (1954), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), Guys and Dolls (1955), Some Came Running (1958), Some Like It Hot (1959), Pocketful of Miracles (1961). Arguably, Stone's most popular, if not prolific, role was when he replaced Charles Wagenheim as The Runt in the second of the "Boston Blackie" film series, Confessions of Boston Blackie (1941) that starred Chester Morris as the title detective. The series lasted eight years. Suffering from failing eyesight in later years, George was virtually blind by the late 1950s but, thanks to friends, managed to secure sporadic film and TV work. From 1958 on, Stone could be glimpsed in a recurring role on the popular courtroom series Perry Mason (1957) as a court clerk. Married to second wife Marjorie Ramey in 1946, 64-year-old George died following a stroke on May 26, 1967 in Woodland Hills, California, and was survived by two sisters.
George Edward Fernandez

George Edward Fernandez

George E. Fernandez was first a writer, having written several Plays for theater performance but it was the success of Vietnam Trilogy at the Veterans Theater in Los Angeles, California which won the Drama-logue award for Best Actor to Richard Chaves for his performance in the Play. George then went to the University of Miami, School of Film and learned to hone his craft by becoming a screenwriter, then a producer. In 1984 He had the opportunity to raise some money and turned his award-winning play into a feature film titled, Cease Fire with Don Johnson, who was about to become a major celebrity through his next acting gig, Miami Vice and future Academy Award winner, Lisa Blount. Cease Fire went on to become a critical success and it was more of a success for the families of Vietnam Veterans who came to embrace the film as their own. George then wrote and produced, Shallow Grave, a teen murder mystery that was well received throughout Europe. George then wrote, Spanish Rose starring Michael Pare, Barbara Carrera and Michael Ironside. Through the 1990s he started to make an entry into the Television world, by creating and producing the European TV Series Pilots, Night Screams. He also created the Reality TV Pilots, Dinner At Eight and Best Line as well as the Spanish Pilot, LA CENA. Realizing that the Entertainment Economy is the new direction and power structure that has been developed for the new century, George took time out to return to school and receive a Master's of International Business Administration. For two years George taught screen writing and production classes at Florida State University Film School and the School of Communication where he taught Documentary Production. and at Tallahassee Community College. George has published three books in his time at FSU and is now working on a Horror Screenwriting Book for the Fall of 2006. George continues to write screenplays and develop programming for Television.