This was a cousin of mine - also born in Durham, North Carolina - who was in "show biz" and died way too young (at the age of 51 and still looking marvelous!). Anita trained at the American Mime Theatre, and with her long-legs and red hair she learned how to use "body language" for utmost effect. After appearing as a singer/dancer/actress in such Broadway musicals as Jesus Christ Superstar, Seesaw, The Magic Show, Sugar Babies and Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Morris brought down the house in Nine, the 1982 stage musical version of Fellini's 8 1/2. Her bawdy portrayal of the hero's mistress earned her a Tony Award and secured her stardom. Morris' TV-series credits include the roles of Babs Berrenger in Berrenger's (1985) and Barbara Whiteman in Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1987); her films include The Happy Hooker (1975), Ruthless People (1985), Bloodhounds of Broadway (1990) and Radioland Murders (1994). The last-named film was released posthumously; Anita Morris died of cancer in 1994, survived by her husband, director Grover Dale and a young son.

Anita was actually a very shy girl and when Grover first saw her, Dale was taken with her red hair, red shoes, red leotard, and red tights - and look of sheer terror... but Dale thought, "You may be scared, but you sure are cute." Also, he said, "Not only could she dance, but boy, could she sing! I was delirious when I heard those pipes." They were eventually married - typically between gigs. They were together for twenty years and had a son, James ("Badgett") Dale. Morris was a career woman who was also a great wife and mother, an excellent cook, gardener, and homemaker. When they lived in New York, she was dedicated to the care of a miniscule lawn which she told Johnny Carson she cut with a pair of scissors.

Morris had a cozy, sweet innocence for all her redheaded vampiness. She always referred to herself as "just an old-fashioned girl," and "always a very serious actress." Still, when she came to New York, she "showed them that sex on a stage can be fun. I've been a sex symbol all my life, but it doesn't bother me. I can sing, dance, and act. What do I have to worry about?"

Nick Cage is one of the most versatile actors I have ever seen and I've been a fan since 'Moonstruck' and 'Raising Arizona'. 'Leaving Los Vegas' was one of the most painfully wonderful films ever, and hurts to remember (what a great job!) Born Nicholas Coppola on January 7, 1964, in Long Beach, California, to choreographer Joy Vogelsang and literature professor August Coppola. He is the nephew of film director Francis Ford Coppola and, as a youth, visited his uncle often at his San Francisco home. At age fifteen, Cage fell in love with acting during a summer class at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. He dropped out of Beverly Hills High School to pursue an acting career, making his debut on television in 1981. He changed his name to Nicolas Cage as a way to separate his identity from that of his famous uncle. He chose the name “Cage” as a tribute to comic-book superhero Luke Cage. Cage is known for his edgy, intense personality both on and off-screen, as well as for his passion for method acting. He is said to have had two teeth pulled for his role in Birdy (1984), slashed his arm for Racing With the Moon (1984) and swallowed a live cockroach for Vampire's Kiss (1992). He is also alleged to have destroyed a street vendor's remote-controlled car in a fit of rage while preparing for his role as a mobster in The Cotton Club (1984). Cage got his start in teenage comedies, with his debut in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982; also featuring Sean Penn), followed by a leading role as a punk rocker in Valley Girl (1983). Francis Ford Coppola gave him a small role in his critically acclaimed Rumble Fish (1983). His first serious dramatic role was opposite Matthew Modine in Birdy (1984). This was followed by Coppola's Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), the Coen Brothers' comedy Raising Arizona (1987), Moonstruck (1987, starring Cher), David Lynch's bizarre Wild at Heart (1990), Vampire's Kiss (1992) and the comedy Honeymoon in Vegas (1992). By 1994, Cage was valued at about $4 million per picture, but agreed to star in Mike Figgis' Leaving Las Vegas (1995) for only $240,000 because of the strength of the role. It paid off; his portrayal of the alcoholic screenwriter earned him a Best Actor Academy Award and a Best Actor Golden Globe Award. Since 1995, Cage has made a series of action thrillers, including The Rock (1996), Con Air (1997), John Woo's Face/Off (1997, opposite John Travolta), and Brian De Palma's Snake Eyes (1998). In 1998 he starred in the romantic film City of Angels with Meg Ryan. 1999 films include 8MM and Martin Scorsese's Bringing Out the Dead. In 2000, he is slated to appear in another De Palma film, Mr. Hughes, and he reportedly received $20 million for the action drama Gone in 60 Seconds, co-starring Angelina Jolie. A relationship with Kristina Fulton, a model, lasted several years, producing a son, Weston Coppola Cage, born in 1992. Cage married the actress Patricia Arquette in 1995. The couple separated in the fall of 2000 after five years of marriage, during which they spent most of their time living apart. In 2001 he starred in the highly successful Captain Corelli's Mandolin, a love story set against the back drop of the German occupation of the Greek island of Kefalonia, and 'Windtalkers' about the Navajo Code Talkers in World War II.

Biography borrowed from The Internet Movie Database