William Hague
William Jefferson Hague was born on 26 March 1961 in Rotherham, Yorkshire. He was educated at Wath-upon-Deane Comprehensive School and was regarded by many of his teachers as a model pupil - hard-working, well behaved and a credit to the school. It was during his youth that he developed his passion for Conservativism. Aged just 16, he addressed the 1977 Conservative Party Conference with a spirit, humour and conviction that led then Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher to describe him as the next William Pitt. His academic success made it possible for him to study at Magdalen College, Oxford. He went into politics, was elected Conservative Member for Richmond and served in John Major's cabinet as Welsh Secretary (during which time he met his future wife, Ffion). After the Conservatives' landslide defeat at the hands of New Labour in 1997, John Major resigned as Tory leader. In the resultant leadership election, William, aged just 36, was chosen to lead the party. As leader, William failed to dent Prime Minister Tony Blair's consistently high public ratings. He also became ridiculed for a series of misjudgments, such as his decision to wear a baseball cap to appeal to young voters, his boast that he had regularly drunk 14 pints of beer a day as a young man, his judo sessions and his wisecracking comments at Prime Minister's Questions. He fought the 2001 General Election on the issues of keeping the pound and rejecting the European Single Currency, locking up all asylum seekers and lowering the tax burden. His failure to make any clear commitments to better public services was regarded by many as severely damaging to his election chances. On June 7, the Conservatives were resoundingly beaten by the Labour Party for a second successive time. Although he was re-elected to his Richmond seat, Hague resigned as Tory leader the next day. He became only the second Conservative Party leader in the history of British politics never to serve as Prime Minister. His future is uncertain, although careers in either enterprise or broadcasting are realistic possibilities.
William Haines
Born in Staunton, Virginia, William Haines ran off to live life on his own terms while still in his teens, moving to New York City and becoming friends with such later Hollywood luminaries as designer Orry-Kelly and Cary Grant. His film career started slowly, but by the end of the silent era he was regularly named as the #1 male box-office draw. He also became fast friends with a number of contemporaries, such as Joan Crawford and Marion Davies, whose fame would eclipse his. His career faded rapidly in the early 1930s, and he was finally released allegedly due to a fight with MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer over Haines' refusal to end his relationship with his lover, Jimmie Shields. However, as his film career ended, his interior design career blossomed, resulting in major work for Jack L. Warner and the Bloomingdales, and culminating in the refurbishing of the American ambassador's residence in London, England. Although Haines was quite open about his homosexuality and entertained many of Hollywood's gay set - including George Cukor and Clifton Webb - his story is missing from many histories of the era. Haines and Shields remained a couple for 50 years; Crawford called them "the happiest married couple in Hollywood."
William Hale White
William Hale White is known for Boytalk (2020), Below the Waves and Caroline.
William Hall
William Hall was born on March 4, 1903 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Escape by Night (1937), The Spy Ring (1938) and Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993). He died on September 14, 1986 in Kerr County, Texas, USA.
William Hall Jr.
William Hall Jr. is an actor and producer, known for Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) and Darkdrive (1997).
William Halligan
William Halligan was born on March 29, 1883 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Great Mike (1944), Blonde Comet (1941) and Week-End at the Waldorf (1945). He died on January 28, 1957 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.
William Hamblin
William Hamblin is an actor, known for Interviewing Monsters and Bigfoot (2019) and Legion of the Scorned (2021).
William Hanna
William Hanna was an animator, film director, and television producer. He was the co-founder of the company Hanna-Barbera, with his longtime partner Joseph Barbera. Hanna was born in an Irish-American family, son of William John Hanna (1873-1949) and his wife Avice Joyce Denby. He was born in Melrose, New Mexico Territory, though the family never set root there. His father worked as a construction superintendent for railroads, water systems, and sewer systems. He was often re-assigned, requiring his family to move with him to new locations. Hanna attended Compton High School in Compton California from 1925 to 1928. During his high school years, Hanna played the saxophone in a dance band. He developed a passion for music that would lead to him personally working on several theme songs for his animated work. Hanna briefly attended Compton City College, studying both journalism and structural engineering. The Great Depression affected his family's financial situation, forcing him to drop out of college and seek work. He worked first as a construction engineer, then as a car wash employee. A family friend convinced him to seek a job for Leon Schlesinger's company "Pacific Title & Art Studio", which designed title cards for films. Though he lacked formal training, he displayed a talent for drawing. This helped him get hired at an upstart animation studio connected to Schlesinger, the Harman and Ising animation studio, which was producing the "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" series. Hanna was promoted to head of their ink and paint department. In 1933, the studio's heads (Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising) dissolved their business relationship with Schlesinger. Schesinger retained the rights to the "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies", while Harman and Ising kept the rights to their popular character Bosko. Hanna followed them into their subsequent projects. By 1936, he was promoted to film director and directed a few short films in their "Happy Harmonies" film series. In 1937, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer stopped distributing animated films by Harman and Ising, and created their own animation subsidiary: the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio (1937-1957). They hired away most of the staff of the Harman and Ising studio, including Hanna. In 1938, Hanna became a senior director for the "Captain and the Kids" film series, an adaptation of the popular comic strip "The Katzenjammer Kids". The series failed to find an audience, and was terminated in 1939. Hanna was demoted from director to story-man. During this period, Hanna started co-working with fellow animator Joseph Barbera on the idea of a film series featuring a cat-and-mouse duo. The two were allowed to co-direct the film "Puss Gets the Boot" (1940), introducing the characters of Tom and Jerry. The film was popular with critics and the audience, but studio head Fred Quimby was not initially interested in a full series with the characters. However, the commercial failure of other products of the studio convinced Quimby to try reusing Tom and Jerry. Hanna and Barbera were assigned their own production unit to work on the new series. From 1940 to 1957, Hanna and Barbera co-directed 114 short films starring Tom and Jerry. The series was a critical and popular success, winning 7 Academy Awards and being nominated for other 7. In 1955, Fred Quimby retired, and Hanna and Barbera replaced him as studio heads. But by this time production costs for the films were high, while they were less profitable than before. MGM shut down the studio in 1957. Hanna briefly partnered with animator Jay Ward in creating their own animation studio, called "Shield Productions". They parted ways before producing anything notable. Hanna next partnered with Barbera again, creating the company Hanna-Barbera Productions. Since the market for theatrical animated shorts was in decline, the duo intended to produce animation for television. They received partial funding from Screen Gems, in return for a distribution deal. The studio's first television series was the moderately popular "The Ruff & Reddy Show". It was followed by the more successful "The Huckleberry Hound Show" and "The Yogi Bear Show", which introduced popular characters and managed to attract an adult audience. Realising that there was a market for adult-oriented cartoons, Hanna and Barbera next developed the animated sitcom "The Flintstones", a parody of "The Honeymooners" with a Stone Age setting. It found success with both adult and juvenile audiences, helping the studio become the leader in television animation for most of the 1960s. In 1966, Hanna-Barbera Productions was sold to Taft Broadcasting for 12 million dollars. Hanna and Barbera continued serving as studio heads until 1991. In 1991, the studio was sold to Turner Broadcasting System, with Hanna and Barbera reduced to an advisory position. In 1996, the studio was sold to Time Warner, with Hanna remaining an advisor until his death in 2001. In March 2001, Hanna died of esophageal cancer at his home in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, He was 90-years-old. He was buried at Ascension Cemetery in Lake Forest, California. His legacy includes more than 100 animated series, multiple films and television specials, and a large number of enduring characters.
William Hardy
William Hardy was born on January 19, 1933 in Houston, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for The Tree of Life (2011), Hellfighters (1968) and The Man with the Perfect Swing (1995). He was married to Susan Shofner. He died on October 14, 2008 in Houston.
William Harper
William Harper is known for Battlefish (2018).