After several silent films in her native Mexico, Lupita Tovar signed with Universal Pictures. She starred in 1930’s La Voluntad del Muerto, a Spanish-language version of The Cat Creeps. The atmospheric horror film was shot at the same time as its English counterpart, using the same sets.

Luptia was then cast as “Eva” in a Spanish-language version of Universal’s Dracula. Playing the counterpart to Helen Chandler‘s “Mina,” this version was shot at night using the same sets as the version starring Bela Lugosi. After the success of both films, Lupita married the producer Paul Kohner. In 1936, Lupita gave birth to a daughter, Susan. Lupita retired from show business in 1945.

Daughter Susan, however, carried on the family tradition, starring in many films and television shows. In 1959, Susan was nominated for an Oscar for her role in the film Imitation of Life. She retired from acting to devote time to her family. Her sons, Lupita’s grandchildren, are producer-directors Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz, best known for the American Pie film series and the film About a Boy.

Lupita passed away in 2016, at the age of 106, one day after Susan Kohner’s 80th birthday.

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Upon his graduation from college, Gunpei Yokoi was hired as a maintenance man at the Nintendo Corporation. His job was to maintain the machinery on the assembly line that produced the company’s main product, Hanafuda cards, a deck of playing cards used for various games. In 1966, after a year in his position, Hiroshi Yamauchi, the president of Nintendo noticed Gunpei tinkering with an automated robot hand that he created in his spare time. Yamauchi loved the device and ordered Gunpei to develop it as a toy. Gunpei’s invention, dubbed the Ultra hand was a huge success for the Christmas rush. Gunpei pioneered Nintendo’s new toy division and created a series of popular products.

In 1974, Nintendo began making video games. On a business trip, Gunpei observed a bored traveler playing with a pocket calculator. Inspired, he developed a small watch that played video games. It became the Game & Watch and Nintendo marketed the piece to great success in 1980. The next year, Gunpei was appointed supervisor of the Donkey Kong video game development. Base on its success, he worked on the Mario Bros. game and introduced the “multi-player” concept.

Gunpei’s next project for Nintendo was Game Boy. It became an international success.

In 1985, Massachusetts-based Reflection Technology, Inc. presented its 3D video game technology to rival game developer Sega. Sega declined the offer, but Nintendo expressed interest. They put Gunpei in charge of development and production. The result of Gunpei’s efforts was Virtual Boy. Virtual Boy was rolled out in 1995 and discontinued less than six months later. High sales predictions were never met and consumer interest was nearly non-existent. Concern was expressed that extended use of Virtual Boy could lead to vision problems. Instead, Nintendo turned its focus to the N64 console in Virtual Boy’s wake. Gunpei was disappointed, but soldiered on. He developed the Game Boy Pocket, a smaller and lighter version of the original Game Boy. Then, after 31 years with Nintendo, Gunpei left to pursue his own company.

In 1997, just a year after leaving Nintendo, Gunpei was involved in a traffic accident. He rear-ended a truck with his car. When he and the other driver got out of their vehicles to assess the damage, Gunpei was struck and killed by two passing cars. He was 56 years old.

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Twenty-year-old photographer’s model Susan Hayward headed to Hollywood in 1937. Her goal was to land the coveted role of “Scarlett O’Hara” in the big-screen adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s epic novel Gone with the Wind. She lost the role to Vivien Leigh, but was cast in bit parts until her breakout role opposite Gary Cooper in Beau Geste in 1939.

Susan blossomed into a well-respected actress, garnering five Academy Award nominations and winning in 1958 for her portrayal of California murderer Barbara Graham in I Want to Live! 

In 1955, Susan appeared alongside John Wayne in Howard Hughes‘ The Conqueror, an ill-conceived tale of Genghis Khan. The picture was partly filmed in the Utah desert amid fallout from nearby atomic bomb testing. Ninety-one members of the cast and crew of the film, including stars Wayne, Agnes Moorehead, Pedro Armendáriz, and director Dick Powell all contracted some form of cancer. Forty-six of them, including Susan Hayward, died of the disease. (Armendáriz took his own life upon receiving the diagnosis.)’

Susan’s last public appearance was on the 1974 televised Academy Awards presentation. Aided by Charlton Heston, she awarded the Best Actress Oscar to Glenda Jackson. Susan Hayward passed away eleven months later at age 57.

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Brooklyn-born Carmine Tilelli grew up in the close-knit, predominately Italian neighborhood of East Passyunk in Philadelphia. Just after his 18th birthday, tough Carmine turned to boxing. He made his professional debut in Atlantic City, New Jersey using the name “Joey Giardello,” supposedly a cousin’s name he used in an attempt to join the army before he was of legal age. Joey won the bout with a knock-out. He went on to rack up an 18-1 record in his first 19 fights.

His career continued with ups and downs in the ring, including brushes with organized crime, which ran the sport in those days. Joey battled famed fighter Billy Graham to a decision declaring Graham the victor. Later, the decision was reversed in favor of Giardello, then reversed again, some time later, in favor of Graham. This fight is known in boxing lore as “The Reversed Reversal.”

In 1963, Joey upset boxing legend Sugar Ray Robinson, and at the age of 33, was named as the Number 1 challenger for the world middleweight title. Joey then defeated champion Dick Tiger and became World Middleweight Champion at the end of 1963.

In 1964, Joey famously fought controversial Rubin “Hurricane” Carter. Joey overwhelmed Carter, winning every round but one and eventually maintained his title. However, in later years, Joey filed a federal lawsuit against Universal Pictures over his depiction in the 1999 film Hurricane. The film shows a punch-drunk, blood-spattered Joey being clearly beaten by Carter but winning a racially-tinged decision. Witnesses to the actual bout, however, say that Joey was the rightful and clear winner over a listless Rubin Carter. The case was settled out-of-court for an undisclosed sum and director Norman Jewison made a statement on the DVD version of the film that Joey was a great fighter.

After retiring from the ring, Joey became an insurance salesman and worked extensively with the Special Olympics and physically and mentally-challenged children. he passed away in 2008 at the age of 78. In 2011, a statue of Joey was installed in his East Passyunk neighborhood.

 

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