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Manhattan-born thespian William Redfield was influenced early on into an acting career as the son of an orchestra conductor and a former Ziegfeld Follies girl. Born on January 26, 1927, young "Billy Redfield" made his Broadway debut in "Swing Your Lady" in 1936 at the age of 9. Within a few years, the young boy was also heard on radio and appeared in his first movie, the crime drama Back Door to Heaven (1939). As a juvenile, he continued on Broadway with such productions as "Our Town" (1938) and "Junior Miss" (1941). In subsequent years, Redfield would become one of the original founders of the famed Actor's Studio.

Gainfully employed on stage and TV throughout the 50s, he starred in a short-lived series as Jimmy Hughes, Rookie Cop (1953) (which appeared on the early Dumont Network) in 1953 and followed it up the next year with the one-season show The Marriage (1954), which has the distinction of being the first live network series to be regularly broadcast in color. An exceptionally talented writer and speaker, he co-created the Mister Peepers (1952) sitcom in the 50s, wrote the theater play "A View with Alarm" and later published his memoir, "Letters From an Actor", which recalled his experiences playing Guildenstern in the 1964 theater production of "Hamlet" starring Richard Burton and directed by John Gielgud. Other Broadway fare included "Misalliance" (1953), "Midgie Purvis" (1961) which starred Tallulah Bankhead, and "A Man for All Seasons" (1961) with Paul Scofield. In 1968, he replaced George Grizzard in the popular "You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running".

Redfield also stretched his visibility with audiences as a highly candid, warmly-received raconteur on the talk show circuit. He certainly didn't mince words as he described the ups and downs of the acting profession. It wasn't until the late 60s that Redfield started making a dent in film with roles in such popular screen fare as Morituri (1965), Fantastic Voyage (1966), A New Leaf (1971), Such Good Friends (1971), The Hot Rock (1972), and For Pete's Sake (1974), usually playing intense, unsympathetic parts.

Redfield finally hit the big time in the third-billed role of "Harding", the tense, logical, but high-strung mental patient opposite Jack Nicholson's "Randall McMurphy" in the Oscar-winning One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). What should have been the start of an enviable film support career and making a name for himself turned out to be nearly his swan song. Redfield died of leukemia the following year at the age of 49. His son, Adam Redfield, also became an actor on stage and TV.

Born Marvin Wesley Vye, Jr., this Massachusetts-born, Yale-trained character actor was associated for a time with the Theatre Guild in the 1940s. Equipped with a tough-looking countenance and sturdy baritone, he was hired to originate the role of Jigger Craigin in the Guild's 1945 mounting of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Carousel," which also starred John Raitt and Jan Clayton. A spectacular success, this led to Hollywood offers and in 1947 he made an auspicious film debut (third billed) in Golden Earrings (1947) starring Marlene Dietrich and Ray Milland, playing Zoltan, a gypsy who sings the title tune. Playing next a baddie in the Alan Ladd starrer Whispering Smith (1948) and Merlin in the Bing Crosby remake of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949), Vye returned to Broadway to co-star as the Kralahome in the musical "The King and I." The musical, of course, went on to become a smash but without Vye for he quit the production during tryouts after his only song was cut. Unfortunately he would not recreate his Jigger role in the movie version of "Carousel" either. Cameron Mitchell took the honors.

Back in Hollywood, Vye became a standard fixture in mobster pics including Al Capone (1959) as Bugs Moran, King of the Roaring 20's: The Story of Arnold Rothstein (1961) and The George Raft Story (1961). With a homely, imposing mug made for adventure tales, he played everything from warrior chiefs to Blackbeard the Pirate. On TV he portrayed a number of corrupt characters on such shows as "The Untouchables" and "77 Sunset Strip" and sometimes even played his tough guys for laughs. In between he appeared in musical productions of "Oklahoma!" and "South Pacific," among others. Vye died in 1976 at age 63.

Ione Bright was born on 11 May 1887 in California, USA. She was an actress, known for Mixed Nuts (1917). She died on 17 August 1976 in Whittier, California, USA.

Alice Skoglund was born on 23 December 1907 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden. She was an actress, known for Adolf Armstarke (1937), Skipper Jansson (1945) and Hemsöborna (1944). She was married to Gösta Sandin. She died on 17 August 1976.