Michael Madsen, an American actor, producer, director, writer, poet and photographer

Michael Søren Madsen (born September 25, 1957)^[1][2] is an American actor, producer, director, writer, poet and photographer. He has starred in many feature films and television series.

Madsen began working at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, where he served as an apprentice under John Malkovich and appeared in a production of Of Mice and Men.^[7]
In Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut film Reservoir Dogs, Madsen played Mr. Blonde, a villainous mobster. He did not get the role of Mr. Pink (which went to Steve Buscemi), which he wanted because it had more scenes with Harvey Keitel.^[7] For Pulp Fiction, Madsen declined the role of Vincent Vega, which went to John Travolta. Madsen starred in Mike Newell's gangster film Donnie Brasco (1997). He once said of these films: "Some of them I'm only in for 10 minutes, but they bought my name, and they bought my face to put on the DVD box with a gun. What people don't always understand is that I established a certain lifestyle for my family back in the days of Species and Mulholland Falls and The Getaway. I wasn't about to move my six kids into a trailer park. So when people offered me work, it wasn't always the best, but I had to buy groceries and I had to put gas in the car."^[7]

Madsen in 2006

In Kill Bill, Madsen played assassin Budd, the brother of Bill (David Carradine) The film was released in two parts, Vol. 1 and Vol.2.^[8] In 2004, Tarantino discussed an idea for the film to unite Madsen and Travolta, as The Vega Brothers.^[9] In 2007, Tarantino said the film (which he intended to call Double V Vega) was "kind of unlikely now", because of the age of the actors and the onscreen deaths of both characters.^[10]
Madsen appeared in Uwe Boll's BloodRayne, a film he described as "an abomination... It's a horrifying and preposterous movie".^[11] He won Best Actor awards at the Boston Film Festival and New York International Independent Film and Video Festival for his performance in Strength and Honour. He played himself in the mockumentary Being Michael Madsen. Madsen co-starred in Coma, a Web series on Crackle.^[12]
Madsen played Jim Ricker, the old friend of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), in the final season of 24.^[13] Madsen starred in the comedy film Let the Game Begin.^[14] On January 5, 2012, he entered the Celebrity Big Brother house, where he finished in 4th place in the final. In February 2014, he played Las Vegas casino mogul Ted Binion in Josh Evans' film Death in the Desert.^[15][16] The screenplay was written by John Steppling, based on the book Death in the Desert by crime writer Cathy Scott.^[17] In August 2014, he starred in the Kill Bill-themed music video for the song "Black Widow" by Iggy Azalea featuring Rita Ora.^[18]
Madsen starred in the ensemble western film The Hateful Eight (2015). He was among a number of people rumored to have leaked the film's script, before it was released causing Tarantino to almost not make the film and eventually rewrite it.^[19] In 2016, he played a dramatized role of former Texas Ranger Phil Ryan in Real Detective on the Investigation Discovery network.^[20] In 2017, Madsen signed on as executive producer of the under $5K budget feature crime-thriller The Dirty Kind, written and directed by Vilan Trub. After being screened some footage and the trailer for the film by producer Derek Zuzunaga, Madsen agreed to sign on as EP and make the film citing a need for more quality independent films in the genre.

Florin Piersic, un actor român de film, radio, televiziune, scenă și voce. A jucat dramă, comedie, tragedie, figuri istorice, haiduci

Florin Piersic (n. 27 ianuarie 1936, Cluj, Regatul României) este un actor român de film, radio, televiziune, scenă și voce. A jucat dramă, comedie, tragedie, figuri istorice, haiduci.

Născut din părinți originari din Bucovina (mama originară din Valea Seacă, tatăl, medic veterinar, originar din Corlata), Florin Piersic și-a petrecut copilăria în Corlata, Pojorâta și Cajvana,^[3] apoi în Cernăuți și, ulterior, la Cluj, unde a urmat Liceul de băieți nr. 3 (azi Colegiul Național Emil Racoviță). Florin Piersic a fost descoperit de catre actrita si regizoarea Elena Negreanu. ^[4][5]

A absolvit Institutul de Artă Teatrală și Cinematografică din București (IATC, astăzi UNATC), promoția 1957. La doi ani după absolvire, Florin Piersic a debutat pe scena Teatrului Național din București obținând rolul titular în Discipolul diavolului. Au urmat Tragedia optimistă, Oameni și șoareci și Orfeu în Infern, piese care au scos în evidență geniul, naturalețea și prospețimea actorului. Are o bogată activitate teatrală la Teatrul Național din București).^[6]
În anii '60, Florin Piersic se căsătorește cu actrița Tatiana Iekel^[7], care i-a dăruit și primul copil, pe Florin Jr.^[7] A doua soție a fost tot o actriță, Anna Széles^[7], alături de care a devenit tată pentru a doua oară. În 1985 Anna Széles a cerut și a obținut divorțul și s-a mutat în Ungaria, luându-l cu ea și pe fiul lor, Daniel. În 1993, după o relație de 7 ani, Florin Piersic s-a căsătorit cu Anna Török, de asemenea originară din Cluj.^[7]
În 26 ianuarie 2011 cinematograful „Republica” din Cluj-Napoca a fost redenumit în cinematograful „Florin Piersic”.^[8]
De-a lungul timpului Florin Piersic a primit titlul de „cetățean de onoare” al mai multor orașe precum: Bacău, Cluj-Napoca, Caracal, Sighet, Suceava, Baia Mare, Oradea, București, Galați și Iași.

La 10 decembrie 2012, prin decretul președintelui Republicii Moldova, Nicolae Timofti, actorului i s-a acordat cetățenia Republicii Moldova. Florin Piersic a adresat o scrisoare președintelui moldovean motivând solicitarea prin faptul că acolo este primit foarte bine de oameni și se simte iubit, iar tatăl lui a activat, în calitate de medic veterinar, atât în Bucovina cât și în Basarabia (la Cernăuți, respectiv Soroca).^[9]
În anul 2009 Florin Piersic înregistrează un disc de autor la casa de discuri OVO MUSIC: „Florin Piersic - Hoinărind printre amintiri în lumea muzicii lui Dan Iagnov”. Toate cele 10 melodii sunt compuse de Dan Iagnov: „O poveste de o zi”, „Latino lasciv”, „Anemone mii”, „Femeia e secretul”, „Și ploua...”, „Pe cărările vieții”, „Poveste cu un saxofon”, „Viața este o poveste”, „Cînd ninge” și „Un pas pe zăpadă”. Versurile cântecelor „Latino lasciv” și „Anemone mii” sunt scrise de Dan Iagnov. Versurile celorlalte cântece sunt scrise de Andreea Andrei.


A fost distins cu Ordinul Meritul Cultural clasa a V-a (1967) „pentru merite deosebite în domeniul artei dramatice”.^[10]
Actorul Florin Piersic a fost decorat la 30 mai 2002 cu Ordinul național Steaua României în grad de Cavaler, alături de alți actori, „pentru prestigioasa cariera artistică și talentul deosebit prin care au dat viață personajelor interpretate în filme, dar și pe scenă, cu prilejul celebrării unui veac de film românesc”.[

Elisabeta Lipă, a retired romanian rower. She is the most decorated rower in the history of the Olympics, winning five gold, two silver and one bronze medals

Elisabeta Lipă (Romanian pronunciation: [elisaˈbeta ˈlipə]; née Oleniuc on 26 October 1964) is a retired rower and government official from Romania. She is the most decorated rower in the history of the Olympics, winning five gold, two silver and one bronze medals.^[1] She holds the record amongst rowers for the most years between gold medals, at 20 years.


Since 2004, Lipă has served in various government positions including Minister of Youth and Sport in the current cabinet under Prime Minister Dacian Cioloș. Since 2009, she has also served as the President of the Romanian Rowing Federation and the Dinamo București Sports Club.

Lipă debuted at the age of 19 at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, where she won her first gold medal in the double sculls event. She won her most recent gold medal in the eight at the Athens Summer Olympics in 2004.


She is the only person to win a gold medal in the two premiere rowing events: the single scull and the eight. She is also one of very few women to win a gold medal in both a sculling (two oars per person) and a sweep (one oar per person) event. (Canada's Kathleen Heddle and Marnie McBean accomplished the same, sculling and sweep gold medals, in 1992 and 1996.)
In 2004, she became the first female rower to compete at six Olympics. This was first done by Czech rower Jiří Pták (cox) in 1992 and equalled in 2008 by Canadian Lesley Thompson (cox), Estonian Jüri Jaanson, and Australian James Tomkins.

In 2008 she was awarded the Thomas Keller Medal at the Rowing World Cup in Lucerne^[4] and became an honorary citizen of her native town Siret. As of November 2015, she is the Romanian Minister of Youth and Sport in Cioloș Cabinet.[

Meg Ryan, one of the most successful actresses in the 1990s and early 2000s, particularly in romantic comedy films such as Sleepless in Seattle (1993), French Kiss (1995), You've Got Mail (1998), and Kate & Leopold (2001)

Meg Ryan (born Margaret Mary Emily Hyra; November 19, 1961)^[1] is an American actress and producer. Ryan began her acting career in 1981 in minor roles before joining the cast of the CBS soap opera As the World Turns in 1982.

Subsequently, she began to appear in supporting roles in films during the mid-1980s like a box office hit Top Gun, achieving recognition in independent films such as Promised Land (1987) before her performance in the Rob Reiner-directed romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally... (1989) brought her widespread attention and her first Golden Globe nomination.

Ryan subsequently established herself,^[2] as one of the most successful actresses in the 1990s and early 2000s, particularly in romantic comedy films such as Sleepless in Seattle (1993), French Kiss (1995), You've Got Mail (1998), and Kate & Leopold (2001). Her other films include The Doors (1991), When a Man Loves a Woman (1994), Courage Under Fire (1996), Addicted to Love (1997), City of Angels (1998), Proof of Life (2000), and The Women (2008). In 2015, she made her directorial debut with Ithaca, a film in which she also acted.
both nationally and internationally,

Sinéad O'Connor, an Irish singer-songwriter who rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra. O'Connor achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a new arrangement of Prince's song "Nothing Compares 2 U"

Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor (born 8 December 1966)^[3] is an Irish singer-songwriter who rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra. O'Connor achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a new arrangement of Prince's song "Nothing Compares 2 U".
Since then, while maintaining her singing career, she has occasionally encountered controversy, partly due to her statements and gestures. These include her ordination as a priest, despite being a woman with a Roman Catholic background, and strongly expressing views on organised religion, women's rights, war, and child abuse. In addition to her ten solo albums, her work includes many singles, songs for films, collaborations with many other artists, and appearances at charity fundraising concerts.
In 2017, O'Connor changed her name to Magda Davitt. On converting to Islam in 2018, she changed it to Shuhada' Sadaqat.^[4][3][5] However, she continues to record and perform under her original name.

1980s

One of the volunteers at Grianán was the sister of Paul Byrne, drummer for the band In Tua Nua, who heard O'Connor singing "Evergreen" by Barbra Streisand. She recorded a song with them called "Take My Hand" but they felt that at 15, she was too young to join the band.^[11] Through an ad she placed in Hot Press in mid-1984, she met Colm Farrelly. Together they recruited a few other members and formed a band called Ton Ton Macoute.^[7] The band moved to Waterford briefly while O'Connor attended Newtown School, but she soon dropped out of school and followed them to Dublin, where their performances received positive reviews. Their sound was inspired by Farrelly's interest in world music, though most observers thought O'Connor's singing and stage presence were the band's strongest features.^[7][12]
O'Connor's time as singer for Ton Ton Macoute brought her to the attention of the music industry, and she was eventually signed by Ensign Records. She also acquired an experienced manager, Fachtna O'Ceallaigh, former head of U2's Mother Records. Soon after she was signed, she embarked on her first major assignment, providing the vocals for the song "Heroine", which she co-wrote with U2's guitarist The Edge for the soundtrack to the film Captive. O'Ceallaigh, who had been fired by U2 for complaining about them in an interview, was outspoken with his views on music and politics, and O'Connor adopted the same habits; she defended the actions of the Provisional IRA and said U2's music was "bombastic".^[3] She later retracted her IRA comments saying they were based on nonsense, and that she was "too young to understand the tense situation in Northern Ireland properly".^[13]
Her first album The Lion and the Cobra was "a sensation" when it was released in 1987^[14] and it reached gold record status and earned a Best Female Rock Vocal Performance Grammy nomination. The single "Mandinka" was a big college radio hit in the United States, and "I Want Your (Hands on Me)" received both college and urban play in a remixed form that featured rapper MC Lyte. In her first US network television appearance, O'Connor sang "Mandinka" on Late Night with David Letterman in 1988.^[15] The single "Troy" was also released as a single in the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands, where it reached number 5 on the Dutch Top 40 chart.^[16]
O'Connor named Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Bob Marley, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Pretenders as the artists who influenced her on her debut album.^[17] In 1989 O'Connor joined The The frontman Matt Johnson as a guest vocalist on the band's album Mind Bomb, which spawned the duet "Kingdom of Rain".

Sven Hassel, the pen name of the Danish-born Børge Willy Redsted Pedersen, who wrote novels set during World War II. One of the most sold Danish authors, at most second to Hans Christian Andersen

Sven Hassel was the pen name of the Danish-born Børge Willy Redsted Pedersen (19 April 1917  – 21 September 2012) who wrote novels set during World War II. In Denmark he used the pen name Sven Hazel.

Hassel claimed that at the age of 14 he joined the merchant navy as a cabin boy and worked on ships until his military service in 1936. However, while his two-years-younger brother Tommy Redsted Pedersen^[11] was entered in the army levy roll for Copenhagen in 1937 when he turned 18^[16] and his four-years-younger brother Uffe Redsted Pedersen^[11] was entered in the same roll in 1939 when he turned 18,^[17] Pedersen was not entered in the roll from 1934 through 1940.^[18] Rather, in 1935 he entered the social welfare system of Copenhagen as Arbejdsmand (laborer) Børge Villy Redsted Petersen.

In 1937, to escape the Great Depression, the unemployed Hassel moved to Germany to join the army. In an interview in 1990, he said, "Germany happened to be closer than England, I went to a Wehrmacht recruiting office to enlist, but it wasn't as easy as I had thought. Only German citizens could serve. After six months of trying to join up, the Seventh Cavalry Regiment finally accepted me on the condition that I became a naturalized German."

Hassel served with the 2nd Panzer Division stationed at Eisenach and in 1939 was a tank driver during the invasion of Poland.^{[citation needed]} A year later he attempted to escape. He served with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment and later the 11th and 27th Panzer Regiments (6th Panzer Division) on all fronts except North Africa and was wounded several times. Eventually he reached the rank of lieutenant and received the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class.

On 23 August 1942 the resistance newspaper De Frie Danske reported that on 13 August a Cadillac registered to leader of DNSAP Frits Clausen had crashed in Copenhagen. A Børge Petersen involved in the crash first disappeared but was later apprehended and awaited trial. DNSAP subsequently issued a statement that due to his prior convictions Børge Petersen was not and could never be a member of DNSAP. De Frie Danske opined that if this statement were true there would hardly be any members at all in DNSAP. The author Erik Haaest claimed that the criminal record of Børge Willy Redsted Pedersen shows that he was the aforementioned Børge Petersen and that he in connection with the car crash impersonated a police officer and that he was living at Høffdingsvej 21^[21] with his parents. Haaest's implication is that Pedersen's claim that he was a naturalized German citizen fighting with the German armed forces is contradicted by his arrest in Copenhagen as a civilian with several prior convictions.

He claimed to have surrendered to Soviet troops in Berlin in 1945 and to have spent the following years in prisoner-of-war camps in various countries^[15] but in reality he was arrested in Denmark in 1945 after the liberation and was held in prison there, first as a suspect and then as a convicted criminal.
He began to write his first book, Legion of the Damned while he was interned.
Hassel was released from prison in 1949 after having served four years out of his ten-year prison sentence.^[8]

Piero Ferrari, an Italian billionaire businessman and sport personality

 Piero Lardi Ferrari (born 22 May 1945) is an Italian billionaire businessman and sport personality. He is the second and only living son of Enzo Ferrari, and a 10.23% owner of the Ferrari automotive company, of which he is the vice chairman. He owns 13.2% of the Ferretti Group. As of August 2022, his net worth was estimated at US$4.6 billion.

In 1998, Ferrari teamed up with José Di Mase and purchased Piaggio Aero Engineering with the idea of bringing Piaggio back to its roots as a designer and producer of business aircraft. Ferrari was nominated president. He resigned in 2015 when he sold the final 1.95% of his shares to Mubadala Development Company. The connection proved fruitful as Ferrari was then able to persuade Mubadala to become a title sponsor of the Ferrari Formula One Team the following year. Ferrari is also the chairman of HPE COXA, a company he founded in 1998 with the aim of providing high end engineering services in the mechanical field. In 2009 HPE acquired COXA, a manufacturing firm founded in 1985 and specialized in the high precision manufacturing of niche volumes and prototypes.

Following Ferrari's IPO on 21 October 2015, his 10% stake was valued at US$1.1 billion. On 28 April 2016, he entered into the Ferretti Group with 13.2% of shares. In May 2019, he was ranked by Forbes at number 838 in the world's billionaires list with a net worth of $3.1 billion.  Also in 2019, he acquired the first mega yacht built by Riva that launched the new superyacht division of the Ferretti Group. In April 2020, he was ranked by Forbes at number 680 in the world's billionaires list with a net worth of $3.4 billion.In December 2020, his stake increased in Ferrari up to 10.23%. In June 2021, he was ranked by Forbes at number 705 in the world's billionaires list with a net worth of $4.7 billion.

Abraham Klein, former Israeli international football referee

Abraham Klein is an Israeli former international football referee. He refereed international matches between 1965 and 1982, including the 1968 and 1976 Olympics and important matches at the Mexico 1970, Argentina 1978 and Spain 1982 World Cup Finals. He was also a linesman (now assistant referee) for the 1982 World Cup Final in Spain.

Klein was also given the Brazil v Italy fixture in the 1982 World Cup, the game in which Paolo Rossi scored a hat-trick. He ran the line in the final to the Brazilian referee Arnaldo Coelho and was, reputedly, offered the chance to officiate in the event of that final being replayed.

Mihai Leu aka Michael Loewe, a former professional boxer that held the WBO welterweight title in 1997

Mihai Leu also known as Michael Loewe (born 13 February 1969, in Hunedoara) is a Romanian former professional boxer who competed between 1991 and 1997. He held the WBO welterweight title in 1997.

Leu retired after one title defense, against Michael Carruth, becoming the third European boxer to retire as an undefeated world champion, after Jack McAuliffe and Terry Marsh. Due to an injury, he was forced to abandon boxing but unwilling to give up the world of sports, he turned to be a rally driver. He later became a national rally champion.

In 1998 he started his new career at the wheel of a Ford Ka and after only three years, he managed to become Romania's rally vice-champion. He had already participated in rallying before, having made his debut in 1994, at the Banat Rally, in a Volkswagen Golf GTI.

Abraham Klein, former international football referee between 1965 and 1982

Abraham Klein is an Israeli former international football referee. He refereed international matches between 1965 and 1982, including the 1968 and 1976 Olympics and important matches at the Mexico 1970, Argentina 1978 and Spain 1982 World Cup Finals. He was also a linesman (now assistant referee) for the 1982 World Cup Final in Spain.

Klein was also given the Brazil v Italy fixture in the 1982 World Cup, the game in which Paolo Rossi scored a hat-trick. He ran the line in the final to the Brazilian referee Arnaldo Coelho and was, reputedly, offered the chance to officiate in the event of that final being replayed.

Garry Kimovich Kasparov, a World Champion chess grandmaster

Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by Magnus Carlsen in 2013. From 1984 until his retirement from regular competitive chess in 2005, Kasparov was ranked world no. 1 for a record 255 months overall. Kasparov also holds records for the most consecutive professional tournament victories  and Chess Oscars 

Helmuth Duckadam, retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was dubbed "the Hero of Seville" due to his display in the 1986 European Cup Final, won by his main club Steaua Bucureşti, where he saved all four penalties against Barcelona in the penalty shootout, for the first time in football history

Helmuth Robert Duckadam (born 1 April 1959) is a Romanian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper and the current president of FC FCSB.
He was dubbed "the Hero of Seville" due to his display in the 1986 European Cup Final, won by his main club Steaua Bucureşti, where he saved all four penalties against Barcelona in the penalty shootout, for the first time in football history. He represented three other teams in a 14-year senior career.
Duckadam regularly appears as a studio guest on Digi Sport's "Fotbal Club" programme.

Born in Semlac, Arad County of Banat Swabian descent, Duckadam started playing in his regional leagues, before moving to FC UTA Arad in 1978 to become professional. He earned two full caps for Romania in 1982 and, subsequently, was signed by country giants FC Steaua Bucureşti.
capital side to two consecutive Liga I titles, was also between the posts for the 1986 European Cup final against FC Barcelona, which was played in Seville, on 7 May 1986. He saved four consecutive penalty shots in the shootout, from José Ramón Alexanko, Ángel Pedraza, Pichi Alonso and Marcos, being the first one to do so in an official European competition. Steaua won the shootout 2–0 and Europe's most important club trophy for the first time, and much of the credit for the surprise victory was given to him; he scored one goal for his main club, through a penalty kick against AFC Progresul Bucureşti in the domestic cup.^[1]

 

In 1986, Duckadam suffered a rare blood disorder only few weeks after the Seville performance,^[2] and would only resume his career three years later, finishing it with lowly Vagonul Arad in the second division. According to a personal interview given in 1999, he had become a major with the Romanian Border Police (Poliția de Frontieră) in his hometown; additionally, he opened a football school in the city, named after himself.^[3]
 
On 25 March 2008, Duckadam was decorated by the President of Romania, Traian Băsescu, with Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" – ("The Sportive Merit" Order – class II), for his part in winning the 1986 European Cup. Two years later, on 11 August, he was named Steaua's president.