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Born into a wealthy and influential family from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Grace Kelly became interested in acting at a very young age, appearing in a local play when she was 10 years old. After her education in elite private schools, she moved to New York City and got accepted into the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts, whose famous alumni included Spencer Tracy, William Powell and Rosalind Russell. In November 1949, Grace made her Broadway debut opposite Raymond Massey in a revival of August Strindberg's play The Father . The following year, director Delbert Mann cast Grace as the title character in a television adaptation of the novel Bethel Merriday by Sinclair Lewis, which led to further work on the small screen. Grace's success on television soon brought her her first two motion picture assignments: Henry Hathway's Fourteen Hours (1951) and Fred Zinnemann's High Noon (1952).   LEFT: Grace with Raymond Massey in the play The Father . MIDDLE: Publi...

Recognized as one of the founding fathers of the American film industry, David Wark Griffith, known as D. W. Griffith, was born in Crestwood, Kentucky on January 22, 1875. He was the fourth son of Mary Perkins Oglesby, a devout Methodist who came from a prominent Southern family, and Jacob Wark Griffith, a Confederate States Army colonel who had fought in the American Civil War. When Jacob died suddenly in 1885, the Griffith family was left in debt-ridden poverty. Four years later, David moved with his mother and siblings to nearby Louisville, where they were forced to take in boarders to make ends meet. After school, David would help the family by working as a newspaper boy and selling vinegar on commission to local grocers.    D. W. Griffith (1875-1948), one of the most influential directors in motion picture history.   In 1890, he abandoned high school to seek full-employment. He briefly worked as a cash boy at the J. C. Lewis Dry Goods store, before his boss promoted...