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Wladyslaw Szpilman was born in 1911 in Sosnowiec. On leaving school, he went to Warsaw to study music (piano) in the Chopin School of Music, under Professor Jozef Smidowicz, and later, under Professor Aleksander Michalowski (both scholars of Franz List). In 1931 he went to Berlin to the Academy of Music studying under Professor Leonid Kreutzer and Arthur Schnabel (piano) and Professor Franz Schreker (composition). At this time he wrote his Violin Concerto, Piano Suite "Zycie Maszyn" (The Life of Machines), Concertino for piano with Orchestra, many works for piano and violin and also some songs. In 1935 Szpilman entered the Polish Radio, where, except during the war, he worked until 1963. In 1946, he published his book "Death of a City" - memories from 1939 to 1945. Since 1945, Szpilman has appeared in concerts as a soloist and with chamber groups in Poland, throughout Europe and in America. He and Bronislav Gimpel formed a very successful piano duet in 1932, which grew in 1962 to the Warsaw Piano Quintet, that performed about 2,500 concerts until 1987 worldwide, with the exception of Australia. In 1936 he also started his career as a composer of songs (about 500). About 150 of them were in Poland's pop charts and they are "evergreens" of Polish pop music culture to this day. In the 50s he wrote also about 40 songs for children, for which he received in 1955 the award of the Polish Composers Union. He also wrote many orchestral pieces (ballet, Small Overture, etc.), musicals, music for children's theater and music for about 50 children's radio broadcasts, as well as film music: "Wrzos" (1937); "Dr. Murek" (1939); "Pokoj Zwyciezy Swiat" (1950); "Call My Wife" (1957), and others. In 1961, he initiated and organized the Sopot International Song Festival in Poland, and also founded the Polish Union of Authors of Popular Music. In 1964, he became a member of Presidium of Polish Composers Union, and ZAIKS (Polish ASCAP). In April 1998, his book "Death of the City" will be published by ECON Verlag, a leading German publisher, with commentary by a famous German writer and poet: Wolf Biermann.

Born in New York, teenage Shirley Ulmer came out to the movie capital for the first time in the early 1930s, after her banker-father was wiped out in the Crash. While her dad tried to make a new start in California, Shirley met picture people and began working as a script supervisor. She was married to independent producer Max Alexander when she met and instantly fell in love with director Edgar G. Ulmer, eventually divorcing Alexander--nephew of Universal president Carl Laemmle. Hollywood outcasts, Ulmer and his new missus Shirley were subsequently forced to work in the East, on Poverty Row and at other small indie studios, where the indomitable Ulmer forged a remarkable career as a master of minimalism. Shirley is also a writer of screenplays, teleplays (The Lone Ranger (1949), Batman (1966), S.W.A.T. (1975), CHiPs (1977), more) and the book "The Role of Script Supervision in Film and Television"; in recent years, she and daughter Arianne have maintained a high profile keeping alive the memory of Ulmer and his highly personal films. They are currently collaborating on the documentary "The Edgar G. Ulmer Story."

Gene Courtney was born on 25 March 1921 in Pennsylvania, USA. She was an actress, known for Wild Is My Love (1963), Four Star Revue (1950) and The George Jessel Show (1953). She died on 6 July 2000 in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, USA.

Composer, author, comedian, publisher. Educated at Santa Barbara State College. He was a TV entertainer, 1945-1955, and was also a record company executive. Joining ASCAP in 1961, he collaborated musically with Ernie Freeman. His songs include "Hold Back The Dawn", "Little Orphan Boy", and "Percolator".

Fred Royal was born on 26 August 1911 in Bristol, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Thread O' Scarlet (1938), Rehearsal for a Drama (1939) and Doctor 'My Book' (1938). He died on 6 July 2000 in Wilmington, Delaware, USA.

Fred Lane was born on 6 September 1975 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. He died on 6 July 2000 in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.

Lajos Rajter was born on 30 July 1906 in Bazin, Austria-Hungary [now Pezinok, Slovkia]. Lajos is known for Miböl élünk? (1939). Lajos died on 6 July 2000 in Bratislava, Slovakia.