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1-27 of 27
- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Shawnee Smith has consistently put her versatile talents to use in the film, television, theatrical and musical arenas with much success. Her impressive career includes a co-starring role on an award-winning television show, which is now strong in syndication, and a variety of memorable roles in hit feature films. She also toured America and the U.K. fronting a rather extreme rock band called "Fydolla Ho". Smith was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina, to Patricia Ann (Smoak), an oncology nurse, and James H. "Jim" Smith, a financial planner and U.S. Air Force pilot. Shawnee's achievements began early in her career when she appeared in the movie Annie (1982). As a young actress, she was awarded the Youth in Film Award for Best Actress in a television film for her role in the CBS drama Crime of Innocence (1985). She was honored with the Dramalogue Critics Award for her performance in the theatrical production "To Gillian on her 37th Birthday". In the same year, she received rave reviews for her co-starring role with Richard Dreyfuss at the Huntington Hartford Theatre in "The Hands of its Enemy". Shawnee then starred in The Blob (1988) for Columbia Pictures, in the hit comedy Summer School (1987) for Paramount Pictures and in Who's Harry Crumb? (1989), also for Columbia Pictures. Those roles would be followed by appearances in such highly-acclaimed films as Leaving Las Vegas (1995), Armageddon (1998), Desperate Hours (1990) and Breakfast of Champions (1999). Shawnee's television credits are equally as impressive, with a list that includes a regular role on the hit CBS comedy Becker (1998) as well as series regular roles on The Tom Show (1997) and Arsenio (1997). She appeared in the CBS television movies Something Borrowed, Something Blue (1997), I Saw What You Did (1988) and Face of Evil (1996), as well as the miniseries The Stand (1994) and The Shining (1997). Her recent film projects include The Almost Guys (2004), Saw (2004), a gritty, taut and terrifying film and the sequel Saw II (2005). Satisfied with pushing the extremes in her critically-acclaimed punk/metal band "Fydolla Ho", Shawnee is working on her first solo record with Queens of the Stone Age producer Chris Goss.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Manish Dayal was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA. Manish is an actor and director, known for The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014), Viceroy's House (2017) and Halt and Catch Fire (2014). Manish is married to Snehal Patel.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Monique Coleman was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for High School Musical (2006), A Christmas Dance Reunion (2021) and Greed: A Seven Deadly Sins Story (2022). She was previously married to Walter Jordan.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Moving from Orangeburg, South Carolina to the states capital, Columbia at the age of 2, Angell Conwell began her journey in entertainment at a very young age. After winning numerous awards locally and in the surrounding states of Georgia and North Carolina, she signed with Wilhelmina's Kids Division in New York. Always one to challenge herself, Angell begged for her parents permission to audition for August Wilson's highly acclaimed, "Fences". After landing the role she realized, commitment to pursuing a career in entertainment was exactly what she would set out to do.
At age 11, Angell and her mother, with only enough funds to stretch a couple months, relocated to Los Angeles for pilot season. It was quite an eye opener for her. After a very trying season, on the exact day she was scheduled to move back to Columbia, she booked the CBS pilot "On Our Own". Although, the pilot wasn't picked up to series, the network noticed this vibrant young actress and soon flew her back to California to audition for the role of Meshach Taylor's daughter on the CBS show "Dave's World". She landed the role.
At 17, John Singleton cast Angell in her first silver screen role as Kim in "Baby Boy" sharing the screen with Tyrese, Taraji P. Hensen & Omar Gooding. Immediately after, Conwell began filming the Lions Gate comedic remake "The Wash", and MGM's wildly popular "Soul Plane" alongside Kevin Hart and Sofia Vergara. She's guest starred and recurred on dozens of hit shows.
Angell was presented with Columbia, South Carolina's Key To The City on February 5, 2019. This day was also deemed Angell Conwell Day by Mayor Steven Benjamin.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Harrison Knight was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina and moved shortly thereafter with his mother to Kingstree, South Carolina. He began performing at an early age in theatrical productions at his church. In elementary school, Karl Singletary, an artist-in-residence and former member of the Buffalo City Ballet, selected him to train as a ballet dancer. He added tap dancing to his repertoire at the age of eight and within two years had advanced to the senior tap company.
In 2002, Knight and his mother relocated to Atlanta to further hone his performance skills. He continued ballet and tap classes at Ballethnic Dance Company, where he performed in major productions including The Urban Nutcracker and The Leopard Tale. When Atlanta talent agent Joy Pervis signed him as a client, he began adding numerous voiceover and commercial jobs to his resume, which eventually led to another transition.
Knight and his mother moved to Los Angeles in 2005 where he was signed by the Osbrink Agency. Since that time he has worked steadily in both film and TV. His credits include guest starring spots in CBS' "CSI: Miami" and ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," co-starring stints in ABC's "Detroit 187," Fox's "Lie to Me" and TNT's "Dark Blue" and commercial and voiceover jobs for Verizon, Home Depot, Best Buy and McDonald's. Additionally, he has worked on looping projects for "Alvin and the Chipmunks," "The Rookie" and "Mean Girls II." Knight's first film was Mario Van Peebles' "We the Party."- Eugene Robinson was born on 12 March 1954 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA. He is married to Avis C. Robinson. They have two children.
- Producer
- Director
- Actor
Azel James was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA. He is known for Confessions of a Prodigal Son (2015), Disney Get Connected (2008) and The Originals (2013).- Composer
- Actor
- Music Department
Mario Winans was born on 27 August 1974 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for Training Day (2001), I Spy (2002) and Bad Boys II (2003).- Shelton Benjamin was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina on July 9, 1976. A powerful athelete from an early age, Shelton was the South Carolina state heavyweight champion in high school wrestling in both his junior and senior years at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School. In addition to his wrestling career, he was also the state champion for the 100-meter dash in Track, and was a two-time All-State selection in football. After graduating from O-W, he went on to Lassen Community College in Susanville, California, where he again starred in wrestling (1996 NJCAA Champion) and track (100 meter junior college champion), before transferring to the University of Minnesota. After graduation, he spent two seasons at Minnesota as an assistant coach for the wrestling team, where he trained future WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, among others. Shelton then spent time in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where for a time he and Lesnar held tag-team gold as a team known as the Minnesota Stretching Crew. Both members of the MSC would soon win WWE contracts. Benjamin officially debuted in the WWE in December 2002 as part of the heel clique Team Angle with Charlie Haas and Kurt Angle. Haas & Benjamin captured the WWE Tag Team Championship twice in 2003, and after parting ways with Kurt Angle during his short-lived face turn, dubbed themselves The World's Greatest Tag Team.
Shelton was traded to WWE Monday Night Raw in March 2004 as part of a "draft lottery," swiftly putting an end to the Haas/Benjamin tag team. In his first match on Raw, March 29, 2004, Shelton ran afoul of the dominant heel clique of Raw, Evolution. This resulted in a match between Shelton Benjamin and veteran Triple-H and a dramatic upset victory by Benjamin, which secured his place as a fan-favorite. A rematch the following week resulted in another victory for Benjamin via count-out, but the members of Evolution exacted a punishment on the young wrestler after the match.
Shelton Benjamin has an extensive background in amateur wrestling and a speed advantage thanks to his background in track. He is a charismatic, powerful and skillful wrestler who has limitless potential to become a key player in the pro-wrestling world. - Terry Jackson was born and raised in Orangeburg County, South Carolina. The father of two was bitten by the acting bug while working with his son, Trey, as a background actor on a popular Netflix series.
His most notable TV roles include an obnoxious prison guard on Hightown and a seasoned detective on the popular show Fatal Attraction.
Terry has worked in the transportation industry for 25 years. He also coached semi-pro football for 6 years. - Additional Crew
- Producer
- Writer
Adam D. Wright was born on 24 June 1965 in Orangeburg, New York, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Fire with Fire (2012), Ava (2020) and Wind River (2017).- Actor
- Producer
Israel Hicks was born on 23 August 1943 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Striker (1976), On Being Black (1968) and Christ Is Risen (1976). He was married to Catherine and Renée Harriston. He died on 3 July 2010 in Sleepy Hollow, New York, USA.- Dwayne Harper was born on 29 March 1966 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA. He is an actor, known for Holler (2020), The NFL on CBS (1956) and The NFL on NBC (1965).
- W.W.E. Gladden was a minister in the Baptist Church, as well as having served as Chaplain, with the rank of Captain, U.S. Army for the 24th United States Infantry Regiment from 1906 until retired in 1917. Born in South Carolina, he moved to Kansas as a young boy and worked in a flour mill before receiving the call to preach. He serviced the St. John's Baptist Church in Colorado Springs until he joined the Army in 1906. Captain Gladden served the 24th Infantry in the Philippines until 1915, when the 24th was deployed to Mexico as part of the American Expeditionary Force under General John J. Pershing in the attempt to capture Pancho Villa. Injuries sustained during this time led to Rev. Gladden's retirement in 1917. He lived in Los Angeles.
- Mikki Moore was born on 4 November 1975 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA.
- Tim Jennings was born on 24 December 1983 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA.
- Additional Crew
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Holly Metts was born on 4 March 1985 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA. Holly is an assistant director, known for Days of Our Lives (1965), The Four Children of Tander Welch (2008) and Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem (2021).- Arturo Freeman was born on 27 October 1976 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA.
- Bill Spiers was born on 5 June 1966 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA.
- Benjamin Payton was born on 27 December 1932 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA. He was married to Thelma Plane. He died on 28 September 2016 in Estero, Florida, USA.
- Archie Spigner was born on 27 August 1928 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA. He was married to Leslie Spigner and Christine Townsend. He died on 29 October 2020 in Queens, New York City, New York, USA.
- H. Marion Williams was born on 8 August 1896 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA. He was an actor, known for Eleven P.M. (1928). He was married to Mabel (McClelland) Crossland and Bessie Minnis. He died on 16 August 1949 in Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA.
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Don Covay was born on 24 March 1938 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA. He was a composer, known for Frequency (2000), Sneakers (1992) and Rat Race (2001). He was married to Yvonne Darby. He died on 31 January 2015 in Franklin Square, New York, USA.- Jim McCabe was born on 8 June 1950 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA. He has been married to Jane McCabe since 20 August 1982. They have two children.
- Bob Gillespie, a native of Orangeburg, S.C., landed his first newspaper job in 1976 at the Orangeburg Times & Democrat, and that fall as sports editor covered the Willie Jeffries 10-1 South Caroline State team that won the Black National Championship. A 1973 graduate in journalism at the University of South Carolina, he earned a masters degree in mass communications from USC in 1979. He left the Times & Democrat in 1978 for the Charleston News & Courier and Evening Post, and joined the now-defunct Columbia Record in 1979, moving to The State in 1988. He has worked as a sports reporter, columnist and enterprise writer, and has won writing awards from the S.C. Press Association, Associated Press Sports Editors, National Association of Black Journalists and others. Gillespie and his wife, Jane, live in Columbia.