SHAQUILLE O'NEAL (John Henry Irons/Steel) is known as the "Shaq
Attack" to professional basketball fans all over the world. Having
only been with the NBA for five seasons, O'Neal has already enjoyed a celebrated
basketball career. Despite a knee injury that kept him out of the starting
lineup for 28 games this season, O'Neal lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a
56-26 record, a second-place finish in the Pacific Division and a remarkable
appearance in the Western Conference Semifinals. He has been honored with
the 1993 NBA Rookie of the Year Award, and been elected to the NBA All-Star
team in each of his first three professional seasons, as well as being voted
one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players of all time. Recently, O'Neal played
for the Gold Medal-winning United States "Dream Team II" at the
Olympic Games in Atlanta and was also voted "Favorite Male Athlete"
by kids across the country at the 1997 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.
Off the court, Shaquille O'Neal has successfully ventured into feature films,
music, television and the worldwide web. He made his motion picture debut
opposite Nick Nolte in "Blue Chips" and starred as the wish-granting
genie in "Kazaam." O'Neal has been featured in cutting-edge global
advertisements for Reebok, Pepsi and Taco Bell, among many others, and was
recently voted the "Most Wanted" personality for endorsements
by the Fortune 500 companies.
O'Neal launched his music career as a rap singer with his debut album, "Shaq
Diesel," which went platinum, followed by "Shaq Fu: Da Return,"
which reached gold status. "You Can't Stop the Reign," his current
album and the first to be released by O'Neal's own record label, T.W.Is.M.
(The World Is Mine), continues to climb the charts, propelled by his hit
single, "Strait Playin' (I Like Playin' on the West Side)." O'Neal
was also responsible for signing three new acts to the label: R&B sensations
"1 Accord" and "S.H.E." (Soul, Heart Energy); and rapper
Peter Gunz.
Despite his accomplishments in sports and entertainment and his worldwide
status as a celebrity icon, Shaquille O'Neal manages to maintain his philanthropic
activities by uplifting and helping those who are less fortunate. He became
the national spokesperson for RIF (Reading Is Fundamental), a national organization
that engages millions of people of all ages in literacy programs, and has
affiliated himself with organizations including the "Make-A-Wish Foundation,"
the "Boys and Girls Clubs of America" and "AEFK" (Athletes
and Entertainers for Kids), among others.
Last year, Shaq hosted the AEFK Summer Games, which teamed neglected children
with celebrity coaches in an afternoon of fun and challenging events, to
benefit the California Mentoring Initiative. This fall, Shaq will sponsor
a similar charity fundraiser with AEFK entitled "Shaqtacular,"
to further his ongoing commitment to the community and children everywhere.
ANNABETH GISH (Lieutenant Sparks) made a memorable feature-film debut
at the age of 13, starring opposite Jon Voight and Ellen Barkin in "Desert
Bloom." She gained widespread recognition for her performance in the
sleeper hit "Mystic Pizza," alongside Julia Roberts and Lili Taylor.
In 1989, Gish departed Hollywood for Duke University, where she spent
fours years working toward her degree in English, which she earned with
honors.
Upon graduation, she returned to Los Angeles and was cast opposite Kevin
Costner in "Wyatt Earp" and in a starring role in the mini-series
"Scarlett." She portrayed Julie Nixon Eisenhower in Oliver Stone's
"Nixon" and also recently starred in "Beautiful Girls"
and "The Last Supper." Gish's other feature-film credits include
"Coup De Ville," "Hiding Out" and "Shag."
Gish recently starred in the miniseries "True Women," the HBO
feature "Don't Look Back" and the movies-of-the-week "What
Loves Sees" and "Someone You Know."
RICHARD ROUNDTREE (Uncle Joe) earned feature-film immortality in
the title role of "Shaft," a role which he reprised in the sequels
"Shaft in Africa" and "Shaft's Big Score." He also
starred in the television series adapted from the films.
Roundtree went on to star in films that include "City Heat," "Diamonds,"
"Man Friday," "Game for Vultures" and "Inchon."
His more recent films include "George of the Jungle," "Seven"
and "Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored."
Roundtree's television highlights include "Roots," "Christmas
in Connecticut" and "Bonanza" He also starred as a series
regular on "Outlaws" and "Buddies," and will be seen
this fall in Fox's new series, "413 Hope Street."
JUDD NELSON (Nathaniel Burke) is best known to moviegoers from his
starring roles in the films "The Breakfast Club" and "St.
Elmo's Fire." Last fall, Nelson made his debut as a television series
regular, starring as Brooke Shields' boss in the new NBC hit comedy series
"Suddenly Susan."
Nelson's additional film credits include "New Jack City," "From
the Hip," "Blue City," "Entangled," "Making
the Grade," "Relentless," "Airheads" and "The
Dark Backward."
An accomplished stage actor, Nelson performed in the Off-Broadway production
of "Carnal Knowledge" among other stagings. He appeared in the
regional productions of Lyle Kessler's "Orphans"; "Wrestlers,"
opposite Sarah Jessica Parker; and the Los Angeles Theater Company production
of "The Seagull." Nelson has also had starring roles in the television
mini-series "The Billionaire Boys Club," the made-for-television
movie "Hiroshima" and the cable series "Tales from the Crypt."
IRMA P. HALL (Grandman Odessa) recently starred with Robert Duvall
and James Earl Jones in "A Family Thing." Hall is a former schoolteacher
who turned to acting full-time 12 years ago after working in film and television
part-time in Texas and Chicago for many years.
Hall parlayed an interview opportunity into her first feature-film role
in "Book of Numbers." Her recent credits include roles with Tim
Robbins and Martin Lawrence in "Nothing to Lose," opposite Renee
Russo and Robbie Coltrane in "Buddy" and with Vanessa Williams
in "Soul Food." Hall also just completed work on Clint Eastwood's
feature-film version of the bestseller "Midnight in the Garden of Good
and Evil" and is currently working for director Jonathan Demme on his
adaptation of Toni Morrison's acclaimed novel, "Beloved."
Her numerous television appearances include the made-for-television movies
"Crisis at Central High" and "The Long Hot Summer" and
the series "Brewster Place," "Gabriel's Fire" and "Dallas."
RAY J (Martin) is the 16-year-old brother of teen recording artist
and television star Brandy. Himself a performer on television and screen,
Ray J began his career doing commercials for such companies as McDonald's,
Denny's, Walt Disney and Nintendo, and performing small roles on television.
For two seasons, he appeared as Sinbad's son on the situation comedy "Sinbad"
and was featured in the cable film "The Enemy Within" for HBO.
His feature-film credits include the recent acclaimed drama "Once
Upon a Time When We Were Colored" and the science-fiction comedy "Mars
Attacks" among an all-star ensemble cast for director Tim Burton.
In addition to acting, Ray J is a singer-songwriter whose first album, "Everything
You Want," debuted to acclaim in January. He also toured with Brandy
on the 1995 Boyz II Men tour, played at the famed Apollo Theater and had
a featured role in the Off-Broadway musical "Twist."
CHARLES NAPIER (Colonel David) came to international attention for
his role in "Rambo," opposite Sylvester Stallone. Other recent
films featuring Napier include "The Cable Guy," "Jury Duty,"
"Philadelphia," "The Silence of the Lambs" and "The
Grifters," among others.
He has appeared as a television series regular on "The Critic"
(as the voice of Duke Phillips), "Outlaws," "Black Sheep
Squadron" and "B.J. and the Bear"; he also provided the growling
voice for "The Incredible Hulk." His mini-series and movies-of-the-week
include "War and Remembrance," "The Blue and the Gray"
and "The Cartier Affair."
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