Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-50 of 209
- Luke Thompson grew up in France from the age of 2, but was born in Southampton, UK. He speaks French and English. His father was an engineer and his mother a teacher , and he is one of three children. He attended a French school in Fontainebleau with an Anglophone Section from 1997 to 2005. Arriving in the UK in 2006, Thompson spent a year with the Year Out Drama Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. He studied English and Drama at the University of Bristol and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, graduating in 2013.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Laura Carmichael was born on 16 July 1986 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Downton Abbey (2019), Downton Abbey (2010) and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022).- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
James Lance was born on 29 September 1975 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Northern Soul (2014), Bronson (2008) and Marie Antoinette (2006). He has been married to Kate Quilton since 2016. They have one child.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Ken Russell tried several professions before choosing to become a film director; he was a still photographer and a dancer and he even served in the Army, but film was his destiny. He began by making several short films which paved the way for his brilliant television films of the 1960s that are acclaimed for his attention to detail and opulent visuals. His third feature film Women in Love (1969) was a triumph that made him known internationally. In the 1970s, his talent truly blossomed. Over the next two decades he would direct a succession of remarkable films, most containing the trademark flamboyance that critics generally dismiss but many find engrossing. He will forever be remembered as a controversial, visionary artist with something of a third eye for oddball dramas with captivating images and themes.- Writer
- Actor
- Music Department
He was born Alfred Hawthorn Hill. It was his grandfather who introduced him to Burlesque Shows and the theatre from where the young Benny Hill was to draw much of his comic inspiration. After his national service with the army during WW2, Benny came to London, adopted the stage name Benny Hill (in homage to his all time favourite comedian Jack Benny) and began appearing in variety shows. He briefly formed a double act with Reg Varney and did radio shows. But it was his talent for impressions and comic timing that were to give him his first big break on TV with the show "Hi There" in 1949. The Benny Hill Show (1955) began in 1955. Its pioneering combination of cheeky humour, songs and impressions were to make it a hit for the next 40 years.
Benny also broadened his career with cameo appearances in films such as The Italian Job (1969), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) and Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes (1965). He also had a hit record in 1971 with "Ernie The Fastest Milkman In The West". In 1979 The Benny Hill Show (1955) was shown in America for the first time and Benny went on to become one of the biggest stars on US TV. The show itself has been seen in 109 countries and won a BAFTA as well as Golden Rose Of Montreaux Award. Benny Hill's TV career came to an end in 1989, when his show was dropped, but his popularity continued and he completed a US TV special, Benny Hill's World Tour: New York! (1991) shortly before his death in 1992.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Adam Karst is best known for his role as the bad guy in The Equalizer 2 (2018) opposite Denzel Washington, Bill Pullman and Melissa Leo for director Antoine Fuqua. Recently Karst co-starred in the film Tehran (2024) opposite Bollywood super-star John Abraham and the stunning Manushi Chhillar in the action thriller Tehran (2024) for Maddock Films. Filming was in Scotland, India and Abu Dabi. Karst was also the lead villain, Soli, in the Jean-Claude Van Damme film, The Eagle Path (2010). Karst guest starred on The Rookie (2018) and NCIS: Hawai'i (2021) for CBS Network. His first TV appearance was on Body Language and then recurred on Entourage (2004). Some other notable TV credits is a recurring role on the hit series Snowfall (2017) for the late John Singleton on FX and Transparent (2014) on Amazon. Prior he filmed 3 seasons on Fauda (2015) the Netflix series about the human stories on both sides of the Isreal - Palestine conflict filmed throughout Israel.- Actor
- Music Department
- Sound Department
Garry Chalk was born on 17 February 1952 in Southampton, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Cold Squad (1998), Beast Wars: Transformers (1996) and Freddy vs. Jason (2003). He has been married to Colleen Nystedt since August 2013.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Catherine Corcoran made genre film history with her starring roles in Netflix's, 'Terrifier' and Starz/ Troma Entertainment's, award-winning, 'Return to Nuke 'Em High' franchise. Her career also includes starring roles in Amazon Studios feature, 'Long Lost' by Emmy Award-winning director, Erik Bloomquist, Hallmark Channel's 'Last Vermont Christmas' along with a supporting role in 'Chuck' alongside Elizabeth Moss, Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber.
Catherine has guest and co-starred on television series 'Gossip Girl,' 'The Good Wife,' 'MTV Pranks,' and worked under the mentorship of Academy Award recognized directors Peter Jackson ('The Lovely Bones') and Josh Fox ('Gasland'). She has produced and written a variety of narrative and commercial content for organizations such as Emmy Award-winning Silver Sound Studios, Motown Records, Metro Esports, Zeldavision Media, Little Bear Studios and ReKT Global.
She was recognized as 'the first lesbian wedding in France,' by Le Figaro at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and approaches her work much in the vein of her mentors. Catherine has spoken at The Museum of Modern Art, The Film Society of Lincoln Center, The New York Academy of Dramatic Arts and The Museum of the Moving Image on topics such as Gender Equality, Independent Filmmaking and Shakespearean Satire. She has contributed as a writer for The Daily Beast and has been featured in a variety of publications including The New York Times, Interview Magazine, TIME Magazine, Paper Magazine, and The Los Angeles Times.- Jacqueline Lee Bouvier was born on July 28, 1929 in Southampton, New York, to Janet Norton (Lee) and John Vernou "Blackjack" Bouvier III, a stockbroker. Her sister Caroline Lee (aka Lee Radziwill) was born four years after her. Her mother was of Irish descent and her father had French, English, German, and Scottish ancestry.
Jackie lived in posh penthouse apartments in New York City until her parents divorced when she was about six. Several years later her mother married Hugh D. Auchincloss and Jackie became the stepsister of two brothers and a sister from Hugh's previous marriages. Soon there were another brother and sister as a result of the new marriage.
Jackie attended boarding schools and then Vassar. After two years, though, she got tired of schools and spent her junior year studying at the Sorbonne in Paris. When she got back to the US she did not want to go back to Vassar, so she enrolled in George Washington University in Washington, DC, graduating in 1951. She took a job at the CIA and in January of 1952 went to work at a Washington newspaper as a photographer. During an assignment, she met U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy, who was 12 years her senior. They were married on September 12, 1953. After having one stillborn daughter, Arabella Kennedy, along came Caroline Kennedy, on November 27, 1957. Their first son John Kennedy Jr., who was born on November 25, 1960. In 1961 John Kennedy became the 35th President of the US. Jackie spent the White House years doing her best to save the historical landmarks around Washington. In August of 1963 she went into labor with their fourth child, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, but sadly, he died shortly after birth. Jackie was not scheduled to go to Texas with her husband, but decided to go as a means of perhaps putting the death of Patrick behind them. She was sitting next to him in the open-air limousine on November 22, 1963, when JFK was assassinated.
In 1968 her brother-in-law, Robert F. Kennedy, was also assassinated. The combination of the death of two children and the murders of her husband and brother-in-law proved to be too much for her, and she came to the conclusion that she and her family could not live safely in the US any longer. On October 20, 1968, she married Greek shipping magnate, Aristotle Onassis. After he died in the mid-'70s she returned to New York and became a book editor. She dedicated the last 20 years of her life to her children, her grandchildren and her friend Maurice Tempelsman. In the early 1990s she found out she had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and died on May 19, 1994. Shortly after her death there was a sale of some of her prized possessions. Arnold Schwarzenegger spent more than a million dollars on some of the things to honor the aunt and uncle of his wife, Maria Shriver. - A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, Beckley appeared in BBC TV's "Romeo and Juliet", and later in "War and Peace" and "Julius Caesar." On stage, he appeared with Maggie Smith in "Snap" and Elaine Stritch in Tennessee Williams' "Small Craft Warnings." A veteran actor of over 1000 stage productions and television shows in England, Beckley's last film role was as the killer in When a Stranger Calls (1979).
- Actor
- Producer
- Music Department
Joseph trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. After graduating he has worked extensively in television, film, theatre, voice overs and video games on both sides of the Atlantic.
He received a Banff World Television Festival/CTV fellowship in 2007 for upcoming writers. He (2009) resides in London, England with his wife and two children.- Tony Caunter was born on 22 September 1937 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for The Big Spender (1965), The Legend of Robin Hood (1975) and Beryl's Lot (1973). He is married to Frances Wallace. They have four children.
- Daniel Bacon is an actor living in Vancouver, Canada. He didn't make the decision to pursue acting until well into his twenties and studied at Gastown Actors Studio in Vancouver, where the likes of Barry Pepper and Molly Parker had taken classes. After that he took classes at The Lyric School of acting where he studied alongside Grace Park and many other accomplished Vancouver actors. In 2015 he had the tremendous pleasure of working alongside Mark Rylance and Jemaine Clement under the direction of Steven Spielberg in the Disney film The BFG. Daniel played one of the not so friendly Giants named Bonecruncher.
- Jane Wenham was born on 26 November 1927 in Southampton, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Teckman Mystery (1954), An Inspector Calls (1954) and Teletale (1963). She was married to Albert Finney. She died on 15 November 2018 in Denville Hall, Northwood, London, England, UK.
- Ramona Singer was born on 17 November 1956 in Southampton, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for Friendly Distractions, Blair's Lair - The Delivery Guy (2019) and Ultimate Entertainer Razor Rizzotti (2018). She was previously married to Mario Singer.
- Natasha Wightman was born in 1970 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for V for Vendetta (2005), Gosford Park (2001) and State of Play (2003). She has been married to George Duffield since 2002.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Gary Marshal was born on 15 July 1933 in Southampton, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Camelot (1967), That Girl (1966) and The Thousand Plane Raid (1969). He died on 15 June 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.- Rishi Sunak was born on 12 May 1980 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. He has been married to Akshata Murty Sunak since 30 August 2009. They have two children.
- Director
- Producer
- Actor
Angelo Abela was born on 9 January 1962 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. He is a director and producer, known for Free Rein (2017), Zero Chill (2021) and House of Anubis (2011).- Dorinda Stevens was born on 16 August 1932 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Avengers (1961), Jack the Ripper (1959) and Night Train to Paris (1964). She was married to Michael Boultbee. She died on 25 October 2012 in Winchester, Hampshire, England, UK.
- Born in England in 1891, Stanley Ridges would become a protégé of Beatrice Lillie, a star of musical comedies, and spent a great many years learning and honing his craft on the stage. He eventually would make his way over to America, and become a romantic leading man on Broadway. His first film appearance was in Success (1923), but his film career would not begin to take off until he was 43 in Crime Without Passion (1934) opposite Claude Rains. Stanley found himself cast in character roles, as his graying hair put his romantic leading man days at an end. Despite this he was well cast in the horror film Black Friday (1940) opposite Boris Karloff as a beloved professor who becomes the innocent victim of a shooting. To save him Karloff's character transplants part of the brain of the criminal who shot Stanley's character. Stanley goes on to steal the film, doing a Jekyll-and-Hyde act going from the beloved professor to the crass and uncouth criminal.
Ridges would be cast in other memorable films, including The Sea Wolf (1941), Sergeant York (1941), To Be or Not to Be (1942) and The Suspect (1944). His last film would be The Groom Wore Spurs (1951) with Ginger Rogers, before passing away in April of that year. - Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Craig David was born on 5 May 1981 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. He is a music artist and actor, known for About Time (2013), Osmosis Jones (2001) and Bridget Jones's Diary (2001).- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Tony Wharmby was born on 1 November 1940 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. He is a director and producer, known for Dempsey and Makepeace (1985), The X-Files (1993) and The Gentle Touch (1980).- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Jeremy Gilley, an English born director and founder of Peace One Day, known for documenting the extraordinary personal journey which resulted in the unanimous adoption by United Nations Member States of the first ever 'Peace Day' - an annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence with a fixed calendar date: 21 September. Gilley continues to document, through the power of film and writing, the ongoing efforts to institutionalise Peace Day across the globe.- Actor
- Writer
- Cinematographer
Chris Packham was born on 4 May 1961 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Inside Our Autistic Minds (2023), The Trials of Life (1990) and Holby City (1999).- Arthur Hewlett was born on 12 March 1907 in Southampton, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Avengers (1961), BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950) and Top Secret (1961). He was married to Margaret Denyer and Beryl Johnstone. He died on 16 February 1997 in Camden, London, England, UK.
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
David John Jeffery has traversed extensively throughout the UK, Europe, and Russia, accumulating a wealth of life experiences and a broad understanding of different nations, arts, and cultures.
From an early age, David displayed a passion for the arts, delving into music composition and photography, winning competitions as young as 13. His interests continued to flourish into his teenage years, where he explored dramatic arts, including dancing and acting, performing in various productions notably at the Hawth Theatre near London Gatwick Airport.
As a teenager, he ventured into writing, beginning with satirical plays and novels, eventually culminating in his bestselling novel "GOD Tech: Mark of the Beast." Always eager to expand his creative horizons, David dabbled in graphic design, stage production, and DJing, honing his skills in lighting and sound.
Throughout his journey, David also dedicated time to mentoring youth, collaborating on short films and music videos. In 2010, his novel was published to critical acclaim, propelling him to establish his own film production company, Invisible Sword Productions Ltd.
Over the years, David's films garnered recognition at various festivals, including the Catford Film Festival and the London 48 Hour Film Project. In 2024, he embarked on new projects, including the development of "8v40," a sci-fi romance, and the pitch for his film "G.O.D.TECH" based on his bestselling novel, showcasing his relentless pursuit of artistic innovation.- Producer
- Actor
Cameron Winklevoss was born on 21 August 1981 in Southampton, New York, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for Dumb Money (2023), Ocean's Eight (2018) and Silicon Valley (2014).- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Adèle Anderson was born on 14 June 1952 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Company Business (1991), Hotel Babylon (2006) and Lady Jane (1986).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Rae Baker was born in 1974 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for London Road (2015), The Bill (1984) and Ice Planet (2001). She is married to Duncan Wisbey. They have one child.- Talent Agent
Niki Winterson was born on 9 March 1967 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. Niki is a talent agent. Niki has been married to Shaun Prendergast since 22 April 2005. They have two children.- Music Department
Gary Welch was born on 4 May 1974 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. Gary is known for Whitney (2018), Listen to Me Marlon (2015) and Northern Soul (2014).- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
- Additional Crew
N.J. Crisp was born on 11 December 1923 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. He was a writer, known for The Brothers (1972), R3 (1964) and With Love in Mind (1970). He was married to Marguerite Lowe. He died on 14 June 2005 in Southampton, England, UK.- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Brooks Elms is a screenwriter and independent filmmaker. His specialty is grounded personal characters and writing story tension so thick it knots up your stomach.
He's written 25+ screenplays, a dozen of them on assignment, and sold several scripts, including one this year with Brad Peyton as Executive Producer. Brooks was recently hired to rewrite a screenplay started by an Oscar-winning writer. Brooks began his career writing, directing, and producing two indie features (personal dramas) that he screened all over the world.
And Brooks also loves coaching fellow writers who have a burning ambition to deeply serve their audiences.
Brooks is repped by Greg Weiss of Wonder Street.- Cinematographer
- Director
- Editor
Carlos Cardona was born on 26 December 1987 in Southampton, New York, USA. He is a cinematographer and director, known for Chiqui (2022), Only You (2010) and Scenes from a Breakup (2018).- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Stephen Warbeck began studying piano and composing at the age of four. His parents were keen amateur musicians who encouraged Stephen to pursue his musical talents. By his mid-teens, Stephen developed an affinity for rock 'n' roll as well as for theatre. He studied Drama and French at Bristol University, and began his career at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, as a musician and actor. After eight years of working as a composer and performer for the stage, Stephen began writing music for film and television. Since the early 1980s, Stephen has built up a considerable filmography. As well as writing music for more than forty television projects, (for which he has received five BAFTA nominations, including one for the highly successful series Prime Suspect), he has scored many feature films including The Other Man (2008), Proof (2005), Two Brothers (2004), Mrs. Brown (1997), Mystery Men (1999), Quills (2000), Billy Elliot (2000), Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001), Birthday Girl (2002), and Shakespeare in Love (1998), for which he won an Academy Award. Some of Stephen's notable stage productions include the National Theatre's An Inspector Calls, John Madden's production of Proof , Sam Mendes' production of To The Green Fields Beyond, both at the Donmar, and The White Devil for the Royal Shakespeare Company. He has written for several shows at the Almeida, including The Triumph Of Love, Parlour Song and When The Rain Stops Falling. Stephen most recently collaborated with Ian Rickson on Jerusalem at the Royal Court. In addition to composing for film and television, Stephen has written music for numerous radio plays, and is a founder member of the anarchic pub band The hKippers, for whom he composes and performs. He has his own ensemble and another small band called The Metropolitan Water Board. Stephen has written several concert pieces, "Peter Pan" is his first ballet score.- Composer
- Actor
- Producer
Will Champion was born on 31 July 1978 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. He is a composer and actor, known for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), Unbroken (2014) and Crazy Rich Asians (2018). He has been married to Marianna Champion since 2003. They have three children.- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Howard Jones was born on 23 February 1955 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. He is an actor and composer, known for Better Off Dead (1985), Bumblebee (2018) and Waitress (2007).- John Allen also was part of Ozzy Osbourne's Diary of a Madman and Speak of the Devil tour in the USA and UK. He was featured in the gate-fold of Speak/Talk of the Devil with Ozzy. Onstage, he was nicknamed Ronnie (inside joke) and provided comic relief (and towels) and was hanged during the song "Goodbye to Romance".
- Actress
- Producer
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Karla Cavalli is an Emmy Nominated actress, host, writer and producer. Most recently she traveled the globe as the energetic host of Travel Channel's Emmy nominated hit show 'Planet Primetime'. Karla has also worked with E! Entertainment, Outside TV, Style, RSN, AOL, the HUffPo and many others. She has an extensive background in celebrity fashion styling and TV wardrobe design. Born in Southampton, England to a British mother and an Italian father, Karla was raised in Queens and Long Island, New York. Karlita, as her closest friends and family call her is a Journalism graduate of the prestigious Fordham University. She considers herself a New Yorker through and through but is an intrepid world explorer. Ms. Cavalli started her career as a dancer touring with International Pop stars, performing for millions as an NBADancer, NHL and XFL Cheerleader and holds the title of Miss New York USA 2002 (Top 10 Finalist at Miss USA). Karla's irreverent nature has people describing her as sassy, sexy and a gal with moxie.- Sarah E. Wiseman was born in Southampton, England, UK. Sarah E. is an actor, known for Summer Boys and Jenga.
- Doreen Lawrence was born on 13 July 1919 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The British Greats (1980), This Is Your Life (1955) and Hollywood Greats (1977). She was married to Jack Hawkins and Patrick Harry Grantham Atkinson. She died on 15 June 2013 in Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Chelsea, London, England, UK.
- Simon Biagi was born on 18 September 1961 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Waking the Dead (2000), Children in Need 2001 (2001) and The Lily Savage Show (1997).
- Actress
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Foxes was born on 29 April 1989 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. She is an actress and composer, known for Doctor Who (2005), The Last Summer (2019) and Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (2016).- Producer
- Actor
Tyler Winklevoss was born on 21 August 1981 in Southampton, New York, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for Dumb Money (2023), Ocean's Eight (2018) and Silicon Valley (2014).- Producer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Olivia Annacone was born on 13 February 1993 in Southampton, New York, USA. She is a producer, known for Symon's Dinners Cooking Out (2020). She has been married to Daniel Cisic since 7 May 2022.- Roberta Kerr was born in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. She is known for Coronation Street (1960), Emmerdale Farm (1972) and Downton Abbey (2010). She is married to Graeme Kirk.
- Michael Fisher was born on 29 March 1983 in Southampton, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for A Haunting (2005), Psychic Witness (2005) and Almost History: The USS Cole (2006).
- Music Department
- Composer
- Director
Mike Batt was born on 2 February 1950 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. He is a composer and director, known for Miss Potter (2006), The Phantom of the Opera (2004) and Just Like Heaven (2005). He has been married to Julianne White since 2 January 1985. They have two children.- Carl Yastrzemski, the greatest career-long Red Sox player not named Ted Williams, grew up a Yankees fan on Long Island, where he was born in Southhampton, on August 22, 1939, a week before the outbreak of the Second World War. His father, Carl Sr., a potato farmer back in the days when Long Island real estate was very cheap and supported many farms, loved to play baseball and was good enough to play semi-pro ball. (In his Hall of Fame acceptance speech, Carl Jr. would pay tribute to his father, saying he had the talent to be a major leaguer, but had to defer his dream during the Great Depression in order to support his family. He also mentioned his mother, the former Hattie Skonieczny, for all her love and support and sacrifice that had helped him realize his dream.)
Young Carl grew up in Bridgehampton, Long Island, graduating from Bridgehampton High School (Class of 1957), where he set records in multiple sports. He was a career .512 hitter for Bridgehampton High and set the conference record for most points scored by a basketball player, performances that won him an athletic scholarship in both baseball and basketball to Notre Dame University. While a freshman at Notre Dame, he signed a professional baseball contract.
In the pre-draft days of major league baseball, in which a team could sign as many prospects as it could afford, young Carl -- who had played semi-pro ball along with his father -- was offered a Yankees contract. The idea of signing with the perpetual World Champions (the Yankees won the pennant, then an immediate pass to the World Series, all but three times from 1947 through 1964, a span in which they won the series 10 times) did not appeal to Carl Sr., as the Yankees had a deep farm system, abetted by the then-current scouting system which allowed them to stock up on the best prospects. (During the late 1950s, before the team was acquired by Charles O. Finley, the Yankees also used the Kansas City Athletics as a kind of ancillary farm team, siphoning off their best players.) Carl's father preferred a contract offered by Tom Yawkey's Boston Red Sox that would allow his son the time to earn his college degree.
The Red Sox had not been in contention since the early 1950s, but a talented player like Carl could expect to be a starter far sooner with this franchise than he could with the Yankees, who might trade the talented youngster away to a perpetual doghouse dweller like the K.C. Athletics (from whom they acquired Roger Maris). Carl Sr. believed that his son would be better served by the Red Sox than the Yankees. Indeed, his father's hunch paid off: Carl would get to the big leagues by the time he was 21 years old, but he -- like Ted Williams -- would never win a World Series championship, something that eluded the franchise for 85 seasons (1919-2003).
As a member of Raleigh Capitals of the high A-level Carolina League during the 1959 season, Yaz lived up to his reputation as a premier baseball prospect by hitting .377, which lead the league by a whopping 64 points. He won Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player honors in the Carolina League, then moved on the following year to the Minneapolis Millers of the Triple A International League, the Red Sox's top farm team. As a Miller, he almost won a second batting title. (As a major leaguer, he would win three batting titles and finish second twice.)
The great Ted Williams, #9, retired in 1960, and the next year, the man New England would know and love -- and sometimes revile -- as "Yaz" made his major league baseball debut, taking over left field from the departed "Splendid Splinter", who left baseball with a career batting average of .344. Yaz wore #8, which Red Sox teammate Bill Lee ("The Spaceman") said contributed to his longevity (23 years in the major leagues with one team, a record matched only by Brooks Robinson) as, when lying down on the trainer's table, the "8" morphed into the symbol for infinity. But back at the start of his career, Yaz was criticized for not being a hitter of Ted Williams' caliber.
In fact, during the first three months of his major league career, Yaz was hitting a paltry .220. He asked that Ted Williams, then fishing in New Brunswick, be solicited for advice. Yaz's confidence had been undermined, and he did not think he could play in the major leagues. Williams responded by flying down to Boston and working with the rookie who had replaced him in left for for three days. In his Hall of Fame acceptance speech, Yaz thanked Ted Williams for his mentoring, recalling that #9 "Helped me mentally. Gave me confidence that I could play in the big leagues. I hit .300 for the rest of the season.... (applause) Ladies and gentlemen, no man is an island. He must have a support system which without he cannot function."
Yaz turned out to be an outstanding outfielder (something Ted Williams clearly was not, focusing purely on hitting), leading the American League in assists in his sophomore year and for an additional six years in his career, the last time in 1977, when he won a Gold Glove at the age of 38! As a hitter, he could not rival Williams (whose only rival, in terms of production, was another former Red Sox, the pitcher the Boston club dealt to the Yankees, Babe Ruth, which put the fabled "Curse of the Bambino" on the franchise for three-quarters of a century).
Yaz lead the league in hits and bases on balls in 1963, the year he won the first of his three American League batting titles. But it was not enough for Red Six fans. Williams, who had lost over five years to military service in World War II and the Korean War, won six batting titles, four home run titles, four RBI titles and six times led the league in total bases; in addition, Ted had won two "Triple Crowns" -- the batting average, home run and RBI trifecta. However, in 1967, Yaz would achieve redemption.
In what is widely considered one of the greatest single season performances by any player, Yaz made the Red Sox fans forget Ted Williams by winning his own Triple Crown and leading the Boston Red Sox into the seventh, last and deciding game of the World Series before losing to the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1966, the Red Sox had finished 9th in a 10-team league; in '67, they went almost all the way. It was dubbed "The Impossible Dream" pennant (after the song from Man of La Mancha (1972)), and Yaz was indisputably the cog that made the machine work. In addition to winning the American League Triple Crown (the last in major league baseball), he was named Most Valuable Player of the American League.
Yaz would play in one more World Series, the 1975 title match against the Cincinnatti Reds that many call the greatest World Series ever played (the team once again coming up short in the seventh, deciding game), and was the MVP of the 1970 All-Star Game (he was named to the A.L. All-Star time 18 times in his 23-year-long career). When he retired in 1983, Yaz held the American League record for most games played (3,308) and was the only A.L. player to amass 3,000 hits and 400 home runs, finishing up with 3,419 hits and 452 homers to go along with his 1,844 RBI. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 1989, his first year of eligibility, with a yes vote from 94% of the voters. He was ranked number 72 on "The Sporting News" List of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players in 1999.
Yaz now serves as a roving instructor for the Red Sox.