John Ford (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973)

Director John Ford was famous for his on location westerns starring John Wayne
such as Stagecoach (1939), The Searchers (1956), and The man Who Shot
Liberty Valance (1962). He also directed the 20th-century adaptation of the John Steinbeck novel The Grapes of Wrath (1940). In a successful career that spanned
more than 50 years, Ford directed more than 140 films and won four Academy
Awards for Best Director which is a record.

 
John Wayne with John Ford

Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore

Television legend Mary Tyler Moore was awarded the Life  Achievement  Award at
the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards ceremony held Sunday night in  Hollywood.

Dick Van Dyke who played her TV husband on the 1960s sitcom “The Dick Van
Dyke Show”, presented the award during a standing ovation. 

 
Mary Tyler Moore, 75 and Dick Van Dyke, 86 both had birthdays in December

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Clare Fischer, a Grammy-winning composer who wrote scores
for television and movies and worked with legendary musicians like Dizzy Gillespie,
had died. He was 83.

Fischer died Thursday at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank after suffering a heart attack two weeks ago, family spokeswoman Claris Sayadian-Dodge said.

An uncommonly versatile musician, Fischer worked as a composer, arranger, pianist 
and conductor for more than 60 years.

He is best known for his arrangements for Prince, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Branford Marsalis, Raphael Saadiq, Usher and Brandy.

Nominated for a Grammy 11 times in the Best Instrumental Arrangement category, Fischer won in 1986 for his album "Free Fall" and in 1981 for "Salsa Picante plus
2+2."

Born in Durand, Mich., Fischer got his start playing piano and writing jazz-inspired arrangements for the group The Hi-Lo’s, a popular quartet in the 1950s. He worked
as the arranger on Gillespie’s "Jazz Portrait of Duke Ellington”.

Fischer recorded 51 albums over his lifetime with his son Brent Fischer. The music ranges in style from jazz to salsa to symphonies.

(Fox) LOS ANGELES – Country singer Glen Campbell, who announced in June he’s been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, will be performing at the Grammy Awards this year.

Event organizers announced Thursday that Campbell, 75, will join fellow country
stars The Band Perry and Blake Shelton for a special performance during the
show on February 12. .

Campbell, a five-time Grammy winner, is currently traveling across the US on his "Goodbye Tour."

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) in Los Angles established
the Emmy Awards for television production as part of public relations. The first
Emmy Awards were presented on Tuesday, January 25, 1949 at the Hollywood
Athletic Club, originally to honor shows produced and aired locally in the Los
Angeles area. The first recipient of an Emmy during that ceremony was Shirley 
Dinsdale for Most Outstanding Television Personality. The ventriloquist had a 
15-minute show on KTLA five days per week. After her TV career declined in 
the 1950s, she became a cardiopulmonary therapist. She died of cancer at
age 72 in 1999.

 Ventriloquist Shirley Dinsdale with her puppet Judy Splinters.

 
Shirley Dinsdale receiving her Emmy