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John Heard was a very talented actor who established himself as a respected thespian in the late 1970s and early '80s, though he is perhaps better known for his turn as Peter McCallister, Kevin McCallister's (Macaulay Culkin) father in the Home Alone (1990) movies.

John was born in Washington, D.C., to Helen (Sperling), who acted in community theatre, and John Heard, who worked for the U.S. government. John established himself with roles in the movies Between the Lines (1977), Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979) (a.k.a. "Head Over Heels"), and Heart Beat (1981) (in which he played Jack Kerouac to Nick Nolte's Neal Cassady and Sissy Spacek's Carolyn Cassady), before giving a tour de force performance as a hideously wounded (both physically and psychologically) Vietnam veteran in Cutter's Way (1981) (a.k.a. "Cutter and Bone") opposite Jeff Bridges. He also shined as Reverend Dimmesdale (one of America's first religious hypocrites) in the 1979 PBS version of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter (1979).

Both "Chilly Scenes of Winter" and "Cutter's Way" (originally released as "Head Over Heels" and "Cutter and Bone", respectively) had been re-released under new titles after failing in their first go-rounds, such was the quality of the films. The two re-releases helped redefine the practice by which major studios handled smaller, art house quality pictures by releasing them carefully to select theaters with bespoke marketing campaigns so they reached the proper audience. (Studios would later develop their own art film-independent film subsidiaries to handle such pictures, so they didn't "fall through the cracks" like the first releases of the two Heard films.)

By the early 1980s, Heard seemed on his way to establishing himself as a major American actor, if not on the path to movie stardom. At the time, there was a joke that involved confusing Heard with John Hurt and William Hurt because of the similarity of their last names. At the time these contemporaries were considered equal in terms of their star power.

In the early '80s, it would not have been unreasonable to predict that Heard would become an Oscar winner or a multiple nominee. He continued to work on A-List projects, playing the not-so-sympathetic son to Geraldine Page in The Trip to Bountiful (1985) (for which Page won her own Oscar) and Tom Hanks's adult rival in Big (1988), but by the latter part of the decade he had failed to establish himself as a leading man and was playing supporting roles. Also appearing on television, he was nominated for an Emmy for his turn as a corrupt police detective on The Sopranos (1999).

John Heard died on July 21, 2017, in Palo Alto, California.

Steven Paul Jobs was born on 24 February 1955 in San Francisco, California, to students Abdul Fattah Jandali and Joanne Carole Schieble who were unmarried at the time and gave him up for adoption. He was taken in by a working class couple, Paul and Clara Jobs, and grew up with them in Mountain View, California.

He attended Homestead High School in Cupertino California and went to Reed College in Portland Oregon in 1972 but dropped out after only one semester, staying on to "drop in" on courses that interested him.

He took a job with video game manufacturer Atari to raise enough money for a trip to India and returned from there a Buddhist.

Back in Cupertino he returned to Atari where his old friend Steve Wozniak was still working. Wozniak was building his own computer and in 1976 Jobs pre-sold 50 of the as-yet unmade computers to a local store and managed to buy the components on credit solely on the strength of the order, enabling them to build the Apple I without any funding at all.

The Apple II followed in 1977 and the company Apple Computer was formed shortly afterwards. The Apple II was credited with starting the personal computer boom, its popularity prompting IBM to hurriedly develop their own PC. By the time production of the Apple II ended in 1993 it had sold over 6 million units.

Inspired by a trip to Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), engineers from Apple began working on a commercial application for the graphical interface ideas they had seen there. The resulting machine, Lisa, was expensive and never achieved any level of commercial success, but in 1984 another Apple computer, using the same WIMP (Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointer) interface concept, was launched. An advert during the 1984 Super Bowl, directed by Ridley Scott introduced the Macintosh computer to the world (in fact, the advert had been shown on a local TV channel in Idaho on 31 December 1983 and in movie theaters during January 1984 before its famous "premiere" on 22 January during the Super Bowl).

In 1985 Jobs was fired from Apple and immediately founded another computer company, NeXT. Its machines were not a commercial success but some of the technology was later used by Apple when Jobs eventually returned there.

In the meantime, in 1986, Jobs bought The Computer Graphics Group from Lucasfilm. The group was responsible for making high-end computer graphics hardware but under its new name, Pixar, it began to produce innovative computer animations. Their first title under the Pixar name, Luxo Jr. (1986) won critical and popular acclaim and in 1991 Pixar signed an agreement with Disney, with whom it already had a relationship, to produce a series of feature films, beginning with Toy Story (1995).

In 1996 Apple bought NeXT and Jobs returned to Apple, becoming its CEO. With the help of British-born industrial designer Jonathan Ive, Jobs brought his own aesthetic philosophy back to the ailing company and began to turn its fortunes around with the release of the iMac in 1998. The company's MP3 player, the iPod, followed in 2001, with the iPhone launching in 2007 and the iPad in 2010. The company's software music player, iTunes, evolved into an online music (and eventually also movie and software application) store, helping to popularize the idea of "legally" downloading entertainment content.

In 2003, Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and underwent surgery in 2004. Despite the success of this operation he became increasingly ill and received a liver transplant in 2009. He returned to work after a six month break but eventually resigned his position in August 2011 after another period of medical leave which began in January 2011. He died on 5 October 2011.

Leonard Freeman was born on 31 October 1920 in Sonoma County, California, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Hawaii Five-O (1968), Route 66 (1960) and Hang 'Em High (1968). He was married to Joan Taylor. He died on 20 January 1974 in Palo Alto, California, USA.

Edward Teller was born on 15 January 1908 in Budapest, Hungary, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]. He was married to Augusta Maria Harkanyi. He died on 9 September 2003 in Palo Alto, California, USA.

Jerrold Wexler was born on 27 June 1924 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a producer, known for Medium Cool (1969). He was married to Susan Jeanne Metzger and Lolly Lurie. He died on 10 November 1992 in Palo Alto, California, USA.

Willie Mays was born on 6 May 1931 in Westfield, Alabama, USA. He was an actor, known for About Last Night (2014), The Donna Reed Show (1958) and Bewitched (1964). He was married to Mae Louise Allen and Scarlett Marghuereta Wendelle. He died on 18 June 2024 in Palo Alto, California, USA.

Charles Stevenson was born on 13 October 1887 in Sacramento, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Grandma's Boy (1922), Hot Water (1924) and The Shriek of Araby (1923). He died on 4 July 1943 in Palo Alto, California, USA.

Glenn Morris was the fourth Olympic athlete to play Tarzan. He was the 1936 decathlon champion and won the Sullivan Award (outstanding amateur athlete of the year) over the more famous Olympian Jesse Owens. Sol Lesser cast Morris for an independent Tarzan, filmed on Twentieth Century-Fox back lots. The reviews were so thoroughly bad that Morris never made another movie. He went into the insurance business in Los Angeles. He enlisted in the Navy after Pearl Harbor, was wounded in combat from which he spent much time in San Francisco's Navy Hospital.

Richard Branden grew up in a tough neighborhood. His first hobby was to draw paintings. Not being very rich, he used the paintings to get free martial arts lessons.

He has over 25 years of martial arts experience beginning at the age of 10. He started training under Lou Hopkins, in Massachussets. The first black belt he achieved was for Tae Kwon Do. Later he started training with Yao Li and became a Kung Fu expert.

Branden reigned as the New England martial arts champion for 10 years, before focusing on the national martial arts circuit in 1987. In 1988 he gained his first fame after beating tough opponents as Keith H. Cooke, Ho-Sung Pak and Ho-Young Pak, in the Forms Divisions. Because of an accident in his childhood (a wounded eye) he never went to sparring. After 2 years and 2 national titles he gained a spot in the John Paul Mitchell Team.

Besides training Richard was also in various movies, series and shows as a stuntman or choreographer. He trained people for the Gulf Wars, and performed as 'Spider-man' in Universal Theme Parks; Marvel Comics ride.

He has gained the following titles: 1992 Black Belt's Kung Fu Artist of the Year, 1991 NASKA National Championships in Chinese Weapons and American Open Forms Champion, 1990 NASKA National Championships in both Chinese Forms and Weapons, 10 Times NASKA National Champion, 6 Times WAKO World Champion, USA, London and Poland.

Richard had the privilege of training with Liu Yu, a former Shaolin Temple instructor, which made him even better.

Regina Fischer was born on 31 March 1913 in Switzerland. She died on 27 June 1997 in Palo Alto, California, USA.

Aurania Rouverol was born on 13 August 1886 in Utah, USA. Aurania was a writer, known for Dance, Fools, Dance (1931), Andy Hardy's Private Secretary (1941) and The Courtship of Andy Hardy (1942). Aurania was married to William W. Fleetwood and Rouverol. Aurania died on 23 June 1955 in Palo Alto, California, USA.

Joe Strauch Jr. was born on 18 May 1930 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Under Fiesta Stars (1941), Beneath Western Skies (1944) and Call of the Canyon (1942). He died on 31 May 1986 in Palo Alto, California, USA.

Jay Anson was born on 4 November 1921 in New York, USA. He was a writer and director, known for The Amityville Horror (1979), The Amityville Horror (2005) and The Moviemakers (1969). He died on 12 March 1980 in Palo Alto, California, USA.

Clarence Cassell was born in April 1920. He was an actor, known for Dragnet (1951). He died on 17 April 2012 in Palo Alto, California, USA.

Elaine Naish was born on 24 January 1931 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress. She was married to Jack Rockwell Sheridan. She died on 15 February 1987 in Palo Alto, California, USA.

Doreen Foo Croft was born on 28 June 1927 in Marysville, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Patch Adams (1998), Sweet November (2001) and Nash Bridges (1996). She died on 19 May 2009 in Palo Alto, California, USA.

American novelist and short-story writer Kathleen Norris was born Kathleen Thompson into a wealthy family in San Francisco, CA, in 1880. Her father was a bank executive and was twice president of the famous (or infamous) Bohemian Club of San Francisco. Kathleen and her siblings were educated at the family estate in Mill Valley, CA, called "Treehaven" (later the name and setting for one of her novels) by tutors and governesses. The family's fortunes took a turn for the worse when Kathleen became a teenager, however, when her mother suddenly died of pneumonia and her father died less than a month later; the family was left almost destitute. She took a variety of jobs, including bookkeeper, schoolteacher and sales clerk. She would invent stories to tell her siblings in order to occupy their time, and to make some spare money she submitted one of them to the local newspaper, the San Francisco Argonaut, and it was accepted and published. It wasn't long before she became the society reporter for the Evening Bulletin newspaper, and spent two years as a reporter on the San Francisco Call.

In 1909 she married novelist Charles Norris, the brother of famed novelist Frank Norris. They moved to New York City, where he was art editor of the "American Magazine". She submitted a story to the "Atlantic Monthly" magazine and it was accepted. It wasn't long before she was getting stories published in a variety of different magazines, and she became a prolific writer. She and her family eventually moved back to California, settling in the town of Saratoga, in the Santa Cruz Mountains. She died in 1966 at age 85.

As a five year old boy, the story goes, Ernest Torres Chavez would scale a fence next to the family's first home in North 11th Street in San Jose, California, and quietly enter the house next door. The neighbors then would be surprised to hear the boy making noise on the guitars stored in the back room. The music stayed with him. He left San Jose High School at the age of 17 to join the National Guard, where he played tenor sax at his base in Tacoma, Washington. Released from active duty in 1947, Ernie joined the San Jose jazz combo called Three Bees and a Queen. He played around the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. The group, which also featured pianist Jose Castro and singer Treasure Ford, reached its high point in the early 1950's when it was given second billing at the London Palladium. In the 1950's he settled in Los Angeles, where he played for several years with Cuban-American composer Rene Touzet and his Latin jazz orchestra. He also worked as a member of the house band at the Band Box, a well-known comedy nightclub. It was there that Don Rickles often used Mr. Chavez as a straight man, hurling racial slurs at him while Mr. Chavez chuckled and the audience roared. One night Mr. Chavez came back with a swipe of his own, recalled Rita Chavez-Law who married Mr. Chavez in 1950. "Some day I want to be just like you, Mr. Rickles" he said. "How's that?" Rickles asked. "Vicious." said Mr. Chavez. The audience roared. Rickles never asked him back on the stage after that. Other LA stints included music arrangements for Nancy Wilson and filling in for recording sessions with band leader Harry James. He also had a one-time speaking role in "The Ring". Other bit parts included Musician roles in "strangers When We Meet" and a spot on the TV series "Bourbon Street Beat." After his divorce in early 1960's Mr. Chavez returned to San Jose. He played sax and flute for lounge combos around the Bay Area for 30 years. A working musician until health problems took him off the stage, Mr. Chavez developed a brain tumor and died in 1992.

Joseph L. McEveety was born on 27 June 1926 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He was an assistant director and writer, known for Mary Poppins (1964), The Magical World of Disney (1954) and The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969). He was married to Rosemary T Schallert. He died on 15 October 1976 in Palo Alto, California, USA.

Ralph Rose Jr. was born on 9 June 1911 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Hawaiian Eye (1959), The Unforeseen (1958) and Matinee Theatre (1955). He died on 27 March 1984 in Palo Alto, California, USA.

Ernie Sheldon was born on 24 January 1930 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was a composer, known for Licorice Pizza (2021), A Dandy in Aspic (1968) and Brother John (1971). He died on 27 August 2023 in Palo Alto, California, USA.

Ken Marr was born on 10 June 1885 in Oakland, California, USA. He was an assistant director, known for Legionnaires in Paris (1927), Sally of the Scandals (1928) and Clancy's Kosher Wedding (1927). He was married to Alice Ward. He died on 28 December 1963 in Palo Alto, California, USA.

Harvey Shadle Haislip was a retired naval officer who authored a number of U. S. Navy sea adventure stories. He was born on 12 July, 1889 in Fredericksburg, Virginia, the second son of Silas E. and Edna A. Haislip. His father worked as a salesman for a firm that manufactured safes.

On 13 January, 1917, Haislip was one of 429 crewmen rescued after the cruiser Milwaukee ran ashore near Eureka, California. At the time of the accident, the Milwaukee and two other vessels were attempting to salvage the H-3, an American submarine that had floundered off the California coast.

Examples of Haislip's works would include "Thunder Afloat" (with Ralph Wheelwright 1939) "The Long Watch" (play 1952), "Sailor Named Jones;: A novel of America's greatest captain" (1957), "The Prize Master" (1959), "Sea Road to Yorktown" (1960) and "Escape from Java" (1962).

Glenn 'Pop' Warner is an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his innovations are the single and double wing formations (precursors of the modern spread and shotgun formations), the three point stance and the body blocking technique. Fellow pioneer coach Amos Alonzo Stagg called Warner "one of the excellent creators". Warner was inducted as a coach into the College Football Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class in 1951. He also contributed to a junior football program which became known as Pop Warner Little Scholars, a popular youth American football organization.

In the early 1900s, he created a premier football program at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School-a federally-funded, off-reservation Indian boarding school. He also coached teams to four national championships: Pittsburgh in 1915, 1916, and 1918 and Stanford in 1926. In all, he was head coach at the University of Georgia (1895-1896), Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm (1895-1899), Cornell University (1897-1898 and 1904-1906), Carlisle (1899-1903 and 1907-1914), Pittsburgh (1915-1923), Stanford (1924-1932) and Temple University (1933-1938), compiling a career college football record of 319-106-32.

Henry F. Ehrlich was born on 13 February 1912. He was a producer and production manager, known for The Rage (1962), Ten Days to Tulara (1958) and Robinson Crusoe (1954). He died on 12 June 1992 in Palo Alto, California, USA.