Images Dated 18th November 2008

Emil Jannings (1884-1950), Swiss actor, 20th century

Emil Jannings (1884-1950), Swiss actor, 20th century. Jannings was the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor, which he won for his performances in The Way of All Flesh and the Last Command (1928). His Hollywood career suffered with the onset of talking pictures due to his heavy German accent, prompting him to return to Europe

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Janet Gaynor (1906-1984), American actress, 20th century

Janet Gaynor (1906-1984), American actress, 20th century. One of the most popular actresses of the silent film era, in 1928 Gaynor became the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in the films Sunrise (1927), Seventh Heaven (1927) and Street Angel (1928). Her career continued with the advent of sound film, and she achieved a notable success in the original version of A Star Is Born (1937). She worked only sporadically after the late 1930s. Severely injured in a 1982 vehicle collision, her injuries contributed to her death two years later

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Joe E. Brown (1892-1973), American actor and comedian, 20th century

Joe E. Brown (1892-1973), American actor and comedian, 20th century. In 1902, at the age of 10, Brown joined a troupe of circus tumblers known as the Five Marvellous Astons which toured the country on both the circus and vaudeville circuits. He gradually added comedy into his act and transformed himself into a comedian. He moved to Broadway in the 1920s, first appearing in the musical comedy Jim Jam Jems

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