Peter Finch - ©Theda Bara Awards

 

The name I highlight in this post is that of the British actor, television presenter, and poet Peter Finch, born in London. He emigrated to Australia at the age of ten and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in Vaudeville theatre and radio before becoming a film actor. Finch enlisted in the Australian Army on June 2, 1941, serving in the Middle East and acting as an anti-aircraft gunner during the bombing of Darwin. But even during his military service, Peter Finch was allowed to work in radio, theatre, and cinema.

 
Peter Finch won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1977 for the film “Network” (1976), playing “Howard Beale”, a television news anchor who suffers a nervous breakdown live on air after being fired due to low ratings. His character becomes a sensationalist “mad prophet”. Peter Finch was the first actor to win a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, as he died of a heart attack in January 1977, two months before the 49th Academy Awards Ceremony. He also won five BAFTA Awards: Best British Actor in 1957, 1961, and 1962; Best Actor in a Drama in 1972 and 1978; and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama Film in 1977.

 
Peter Finch was nominated for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1977, but the nomination was shelved after his death.

 
Peter Finch was born on September 28, 1916, in South Kensington, London, United Kingdom, and died on January 14, 1977, at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, United States, at the age of 60.

 

British actor Peter Finch married three times throughout his life and had several extramarital affairs. His first marriage was to the French ballerina and writer of Romanian origin, Tamara Yevsevievna Tchinarova (1919-2017), better known by her pseudonym Tamara Finch, from 1943 to 1959. The couple had a daughter, the British actress Anita Finch (1949-). They divorced in 1959 after Tamara discovered her husband’s affair with the British actress of Indian origin, Vivien Leigh (1913-1967); His second marriage was to South African actress Yolande Turner (1935-), born Yolande Eileen Turnbull, from 1959 to 1965. The couple had two children: British actress Samantha Finch (1961-) and British film editor Charles Finch (1962-), who is CEO of the brand development and investment company Finch + Partners and also editor-in-chief of the magazine A Rabbit’s Foot; On November 9, 1973, in Rome, Finch married his third and last wife, Jamaican singer Mavis “Eletha” Barrett (1956-), known as Eletha Finch, 40 years younger than her husband. She lived with him until she became a widow. The couple had a daughter named Diana (1974-).

Haiku: Multifaceted Butterfly - ©Theda Bara

Haiku and Art by ©Theda Bara — 2026

 Between sight, sound, and taste
I prefer to love
Because love is a multifaceted butterfly!

Jack Nicholson - ©Theda Bara Awards

The name I highlight in this post is Jack Nicholson, an American actor, filmmaker, producer, and screenwriter, widely considered one of the greatest actors in history. He was nominated for an Oscar twelve times and won the Best Actor award twice: in 1976 for the film “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”  (1975), playing “Randle Patrick McMurphy”, and in 1998 for “As Good as It Gets” (1997), playing “Melvin Udall”. He also won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1984 for “Terms of Endearment” (1983), playing Garrett Breedlove. Jack Nicholson also played the iconic Batman antagonist, the “Joker”, in the film “Batman” (1989), one of his best performances in cinema.

Jack Nicholson won numerous other awards: 7 Golden Globe Awards: Best Actor in a Drama Film: 1975, 1976, and 2003; Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical: 1986 and 1998; Best Supporting Actor in a Film: 1984; Cecil B. DeMille Award: 1999. 3 BAFTA Film Awards: Best Actor 1975 and 1977; Best Supporting Actor in 1983. 1 Grammy Award: Best Children’s Album in 1988, for “The Elephant’s Child”; 1 MTV Movie Award: Best Villain in 2007.

Jack Nicholson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard, in the Film category.

John Joseph “Jack” Nicholson was born on April 22, 1937, in Neptune, New Jersey, United States, and is 89 years old.

Jack Nicholson was officially married only once, in a six-year relationship with American actress Sandra D. Knight (1939-), from 1962 to 1968, with whom he had a daughter, American actress Jennifer Nicholson (1963-). Despite his uncommitted love life, Nicholson maintained a 17-year relationship (not officially recognized and without children) with American actress, director, producer, writer, voice actress and former model Anjelica Susan Huston (1951-), from 1973 to 1990. Other relationships include that of American actress and former model Rebecca Broussard (1963-), from 1989 to 1994, with whom he had two children: American actress Lorraine Broussard Nicholson (1990-) and American actor Raymond Nicholson (1992-), known as Ray Nicholson. Another relationship was with American actress Lara Flynn Boyle (1970-), from 1999 to 2004. With her, he had two more children: Caleb James Goddard (1970-), appointed a United States diplomat who joined the U.S. State Department as a Foreign Service officer in 2012; Caleb is the result of a casual relationship with American actress Susan Florence Anspach (1942-2018); and from another casual relationship with another American actress, Jennine Marie Gourin (1973-), came American actress and ceramicist Tessa Gourin (1994-). In a 2023 essay for Newsweek, Tessa stated that, despite being Nicholson’s daughter, they never had an affectionate father-daughter relationship and rarely speak via mobile phone app.

Haiku: Sulfur - ©Theda Bara

Haiku and Art by ©Theda Bara — 2026

 Beware those who hold power
Cynical leaders pretend to care about the world
But they have sulfur running through their veins!

Art Carney - ©Theda Bara

The name I’m highlighting in this post is Art Carney, an American actor and comedian who delivered brilliant performances in theater, radio (NBC), cinema, and television.

For his work in various fields, Art Carney received numerous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1975 for “Harry and Tonto” (1974), playing the character “Harry Coombes” In the film, Carney is a 70-year-old retired professor who is evicted from his New York apartment and embarks on a road trip across the United States with his pet cat, “Tonto”. The actor also won six Emmy Awards for his role as “Ed Norton” in “The Honeymooners” and a Golden Globe Award.

Art Carney has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6627 Hollywood Boulevard, in the Film category.

Arthur William Matthew Carney was born on November 4, 1918, in Mount Vernon, New York, United States, and died on November 9, 2003, in Chester, Connecticut, United States, at the age of 85.

Art Carney was married three times. Jean Myers (first and third marriages): Carney first married his high school sweetheart, Jean Myers Carney (1919-2012), on August 15, 1940. They had three children: twins Brian Carney (1946-) and Eileen Carney (1946-) and Paul Carney (1952-). The couple divorced in 1965. After his second marriage, he reconciled with Jean, marrying her again in 1979. Jean Myers remained with her husband until she became a widow in 2003; Barbara Isaac (second marriage): Carney married his fan Barbara Isaac (1938-2018) on December 21, 1966. Carney was 48 years old and already a grandfather, and Barbara was 20 years younger than him. The couple divorced in 1977.