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Beth Behrs was born on December 26, 1985 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA as Elizabeth Ann Behrs. Beth spent her early years on the East Coast, first in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, then in Lynchburg, Virginia, before moving with her family at the age of 15 to Marin County, just outside San Francisco. She studied drama both at high school and at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, appearing in a number of plays before enrolling to study drama at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in Los Angeles. A few one-off parts on high profile US TV shows led to her breakthrough role as Caroline Channing in 2 Broke Girls (2011).

Jonathan Drew Groff is an American actor and singer. Known for his performances on screen, stage and television, Groff is the recipient of such accolades as a Grammy Award and has been nominated for two Tony Awards, two Drama League Awards, a Drama Desk Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Taylor Kinney is an American actor and model. On TV, he is best known for his role as Kelly Severide on the hit series, Chicago Fire (2012), and its spin-off Chicago P.D. (2014) on NBC, also as Mason Lockwood on The Vampire Diaries (2009), on The CW; and as Glenn Morrison on Trauma (2009) on NBC. His film work includes The Other Woman (2014), Consumed (2015), and The Forest (2016).

Taylor was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to Pamela Heisler, a dental hygienist, and Daniel Kinney, a banker. He is of German, Swiss-German, and English ancestry. He and his three brothers were raised in Neffsville, Pennsylvania by their single mother. Kinney studied business management at West Virginia University, before developing an interest in acting.

Rya Kihlstedt was born on 5 August 1969 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA. She is an actress and director, known for Home Alone 3 (1997), Deep Impact (1998) and Dexter (2006). She has been married to Gil Bellows since 3 October 1994. They have two children.

David Graf was a Lancaster, Ohio native. He was a graduate of Lancaster High School in 1968. He went on to attend college at Otterbein University where he graduated in 1972 as a theater major. He attended Ohio State University grad school until 1975 when he dropped out to pursue an acting career in New York City. He broke into the movies with Four Friends (1981). David never forgot his roots. He always returned to Lancaster each year in October for the Fairfield County Fair. It was his way of keeping in touch. In a tragic coincidence, David passed away at the same age and condition that his father did. David is survived by his wife of 17 years, Kathryn Graf, two sons, Daniel and Sean; mother and brother who reside in Zanesville, Ohio.

Joanna David was born on 17 January 1947 in Lancaster, England, UK. She is an actress and producer, known for Pride and Prejudice (1995), You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010) and Rogue Trader (1999). She has been married to Edward Fox since 2004. They have two children.

Jules Willcox was born in Lancaster, Missouri, USA. She is an actress, known for The Night Agent (2023), Alone (2020) and Bloodline (2015).

Barry Pearl was born on March 29, 1950 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA as Barry Lee Pearl. Upon graduating from Carnegie -Mellon University (1973) he joined the cast of the first national tour of the stage play, Grease, which began his journey with that project to the very present. He is known for his work on the film, Grease (1978), My Favorite Martian (1999) and The Newest Pledge (2012) to name a few. To see a partial, yet rather extensive list of Barry's other theatrical credits, please view his resume.

Rebecca Harrell Tickell is an award winning filmmaker, author and environmental activist. Growing up in Hinesburg, Vermont. Her adopted father, a psychiatrist, and biological mother, an artist, recognized her talent at an early age. Having performed only in school plays that her mother directed, she went to NYC in hope of getting a voice-over agent. Her first audition ever was for the Christmas movie Prancer (1989). Raffaella De Laurentiis and 'John Hancock' showed up at her door in Vermont to tell her that she would be starring in the movie with Sam Elliot, Abe Vigoda, Cloris Leachman, and Michael Constantine. Her role garnered her a Young Artist Award nomination for "Best Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture." Prancer (1989) was a success and is regarded as a Christmas classic. Movie critic Roger Ebert highlighted Harrell's performance, saying "what really redeems the movie, taking it out of the category of kiddie picture and giving it a heart and gumption, is the performance by a young actress named Rebecca Harrell, as Jessica. She's something. She has a troublemaker's look in her eye, and a round, pixie face that's filled with mischief. And she's smart-a plucky schemer who figures out things for herself and isn't afraid to act on her convictions". She was then cast in a series on CBS called 'Room For Romance' with Dom Irrera. Her mother moved her to NYC to go to the Professional Performing Arts School where she studied music along with Alicia Keys and child celebrities.

At eighteen she starred in A Piece of Eden (2000) along with Tyne Daly and Frederic Forrest. She guest-starred in shows such as Third Watch (1999) and Dellaventura (1997) with Danny Aiello. In 2000 at age twenty, she moved from New York to Los Angeles. She worked again with director 'John Hancock' in a suspense thriller Suspended Animation (2001). Later that year she filmed a movie alongside John Ritter which was shot in one day and was completely improvised by the actors. In Saint Sinner (2002) she played a demon that sucks souls and blood of men.

In 2007 she starred in and another horror film, Sugar Creek (2007), after which quit acting to pursue her dream of environmental activism, filmmaking and movie production. She met and fell in love with director Joshua Tickell with whom she created the Sundance Award winning environmentally themed documentary Fuel (2008).

Her 2011 Official Cannes Selection documentary The Big Fix (2012) examines the BP Gulf Oil Spill and how America can get off of oil. She then directed and produced Pump (2014) and Good Fortune (2016) with her husband Josh. Together they directed and produced the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival Official Selection Kiss the Ground (2020) narrated by Woody Harrelson. Tickell resides in Ojai, California and was married to Tickell on New Years Day 2010. The Tickells were seen driving the worlds first algae gasoline powered car around Los Angeles.

She owns Big Picture Ranch with her husband Josh Tickell, and has dedicated her life to environmental activism through the medium of film.

Gretchen Egolf grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where she began acting in theater as a child. She trained at the Juilliard School and has since been living and working in New York, Los Angeles, and most recently London. Aside from her numerous Broadway, West End, and regional theater credits, Gretchen was a series regular on "Journeyman" (NBC) and "Martial Law" (CBS), and played the recurring characters of "Vanessa Whitaker," in "Roswell" (WB), and "ADA Kendra Gill" on "Law and Order SVU" (NBC). She has guest starred on numerous shows: "Doctor Who," "Law and Order," "Lie to Me," "CSI: Miami," "Criminal Minds," "The Good Wife," "Without a Trace," "NCIS," and "Medium," among others. Gretchen starred in the TV movies "Gleason" and "The Two Mr. Kissels" and also had series regular roles in the pilots "Leap of Faith," (NBC) "The Corsairs," (ABC) and "Eden" (USA). Film experience includes Mira Nair's "The Namesake," Anthony Minghella's "The Talented Mr. Ripley," and Robert Redford's "Quiz Show." She lives in the UK.

Billy Kametz was a Los Angeles-based actor originally from Hershey, PA. He came out to California to play Aladdin in the Aladdin Musical Spectacular in Disney's California Adventure for the final year of the show's 13-year run. Thereafter he was fortunate to lend his voice to cartoons, anime, video games, and commercials. Billy was most known for voicing characters such as Josuke in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Naofumi in The Rising of the Shield Hero, Galo in Promare, Ferdinand de Aegir in Fire Emblem 3 Houses, Takuto Maruki in Persona 5 Royal, White Blood Cell in Cells at Work, Osomatsu in Mr. Osomatsu, Anai in Aggretsuko, Blue in Pokemon Masters, Naoto Kurogane in BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle, Aoba in Neon Genesis Evangelion, Nishikata in Teasing Master Takagi-Sand, Kyouya in Konosuba, Hakuno in Fate Extra, and Phil Coulson, Iron Lad, The Collector and Thor Noir in Marvel Avengers Academy, But also, from the character Colt in the video game Brawl Stars.

Nina Mae McKinney is known as the seductress "Chick" from Hallelujah (1929), the first all-black, all-sound musical. Even though she was acknowledged as a great actress, singer and dancer by audiences in the U.S. and Europe, today she is mostly forgotten. She certainly had the looks, enthusiasm, and acting talent to succeed. But as she and other black women of her time learned, there wasn't much work for a black woman other than as a maid, "mammy" figure, or prostitute. Hollywood was scared to take a chance on an attractive black woman, to make her into a glamorous sex symbol as they would with an attractive white actress. There would be no true glamorous black female sex symbol until Lena Horne's arrival in 1942. Nina learned, as did other black actresses, that there was little success to be had after an initial big splash.

McKinney was born in 1913 in the small town of Lancaster, South Carolina, eventually to become an international figure as an actress, singer and band leader. Her given name was Nannie Mayme McKinney. Her parents, Hal and Georgia McKinney, moved from Lancaster to New York City and left the child with her great-aunt, Carrie Sanders. "Aunt Carrie" lived in a small apartment in the backyard of Col. Leroy Springs, father of businessman and flying ace Elliott White Springs. Aunt Carrie worked as a cook and housekeeper for the Springs family. As soon as Nannie Mayme was old enough she ran errands for Lena Jones Springs, who gave her a bicycle to ride to the post office to pick up the mail. Nannie Mayme's first public performances were riding stunts, or "cutting capers", as amazed bystanders called it. She appeared in plays at the black Lancaster Industrial School (founded by Springs), where she quickly learned the lines of the entire cast.

At about age 13 she headed for New York to stay with her mother, Georgia Crawford McKinney. Choosing Nina Mae as her stage name, she managed to get a job as a chorus girl in the Broadway play "Blackbirds". Her lively performance caught the attention of MGM producer/director King Vidor, who gave her a starring role in Hallelujah (1929). It was the first all-black sound musical features, even though many theaters billed the film as "a story of murder and redemption in the Deep South." This melodrama was not widely acclaimed at the time, but movie historians now see it as an interesting introduction to black theater (one critic described it as having "a crude power").

Nina was signed by MGM to a five-year contract, but in that period she made only two films, Safe in Hell (1931) and Reckless (1935) (in which she didn't even appear on screen; she dubbed Jean Harlow's songs). Hollywood could accept black character actresses like Hattie McDaniel and Butterfly McQueen having a close relationship with white characters in a film, but would not allow a beautiful black actress the same natural role. However, her first film gave her the opportunity to appear in a number of all-black cast or black-themed films, including Sanders of the River (1935) with Paul Robeson, Dark Waters (1944) and Pinky (1949) (as Rozelia), which is considered her finest film.

She had much more success on stage. She played Jeanne Eagels' role in "Rain" at Harlem's famed Apollo Theatre. She proved that she could well have become one of America's enduring performers--she had the talent, the beauty, and the star power, but she realized that the doors to real success were permanently barred to her in Hollywood. She soon left the U.S. for Europe. She made film and stage appearances all over the Continent, from Paris and London to Dublin and Budapest, and became known as "The Black Garbo".

When war broke out in Europe she returned to New York, where she married jazz musician Jimmy Monroe and put together a band and toured the country. In the 1950s and 1960s she lived in Athens, Greece, where she was known as the "Queen of Night Life." In the late 1960s she came back to New York but did not perform, and died in New York City in 1967, at age 54, of a heart attack. Her death went virtually unnoticed; trade papers such as Variety and black publications such as Jet and Ebony didn't even print an obituary, and one newspaper that did only called her an "entertainer" and didn't name the church where the funeral would be held.

Not everyone forgot her, though; in her home town of Lancaster, South Carolina, on a wall across from the Courthouse, is a mural with portraits of famous people from Lancaster. Among them two faces stand out. One is former President Andrew Jackson. The other is Nina.

Jennifer is best known for her roles on The Bold & the Beautiful as Donna Logan & The Young & the Restless as Grace Turner. She has also worked with stars such as James Caan, Arnold Schwarzenegger & Sandra Bullock starring in many movies. Jennifer has won many titles including Miss New York USA, earned All-American status in swimming, graced magazine covers as a model & earned her MBA from Pepperdine University.

Meg Wynn Owen was born on 8 November 1939 in Lancaster, Lancashire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Gosford Park (2001), Pride & Prejudice (2005) and Scoop (2006). She was married to William Wright. She died on 16 July 2022 in Cardiff, Wales, UK.

Actor James Hyde has had a busy 2022 comprised of appearances on Station 19, four independent features, and is soon to be seen recurring in The Young and the Restless. Additionally, he recurs on in the Telemundo series La Reina Del Sur, which will be premiering October 18th of 2022. This veteran of television and film boasts an impressive resume across the board on a multitude of iconic shows and films. James stars as Martin Ross in the hit Netflix series Monarca, produced by Salma Hayek's Ventanarosa, as well as the 2021 thriller "Dutch," directed by Preston A. Whitmore and based on the 2003 novel by Terri Woods. For 10 years, James starred on the NBC Daytime Drama Passions as Sam Bennett. After leaving Passions he went on to produce and star in his own reality series James Hyde Steals the Show, which streamed for two seasons on Crackle. We saw James travel the globe to discover the world's most intriguing entertainers and try his luck at their unusual skills. Hyde has also hosted and produced Live Events around the world as a brand ambassador, including Hornitos Tequila, Justin Timberlake's Sauza 901, and El Tesoro Tequila. Born and raised in Ohio, one of five children, James inherited his dedication and strong work ethic from his blue-collar father and his creative artistry from his talented country singer mother. After high school, James joined the military and was then discovered by a modeling agent in Hawaii. He embarked on a successful career that took him around the world, working for top designers, gracing magazine covers such as Bazaar Uomo, where he met his wife - model and artist Sue-Ling Garcia. James resides with his wife and model/actor son James Moses in Los Angeles, CA.

Jon Richardson was born on 26 September 1982 in Lancaster, Lancashire, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Drunk History: UK (2015), Meet the Richardsons (2020) and Walk on the Wild Side (2009).

Billy Bletcher, standing 5' 2", was known as the little guy with the big voice, who, ironically, started his film career during the silent era.

Billy's show business career began in 1913 at the age of 19 in vaudeville, and within a year, he went to work for Vitagraph Studios in Brooklyn where he both acted and directed. Two years later, he met his wife, Arline Harriett Roberts with whom he would stay married until the day he died in 1979.

In 1917, he took his wife westward to Hollywood where he started with smaller production companies, such as the Christie Film Company, writing and acting in shorts, and then moved on to larger and larger companies, such as the Fox Film Corporation where he did a few cowboy movies, one with Tom Mix, playing the comedic element. Then onto larger companies, such as Warner Brothers, RKO, Columbia, and Paramount where he had mostly bit parts, but got experience working with the likes of The Three Stooges and The Marx Brothers. But it was in Mack Sennett's comedy troupe where he started getting recognition doing two-reelers, and his biggest break came when Hal Roach studios pared him with Billy Gilbert and his career took off. Because pictures now had sound, directors and studios everywhere were clamoring for his deep, rich voice.

Mack Sennett and Hal Roach put Bletcher in shorts with W.C. Fields and Laurel and Hardy and he even played Spanky's father in the Little Rascals series, but it was Disney who made Bletcher a star.

Pinto Colvig, the original voice of Goofy and Pluto, told Bletcher that Disney needed a big, blustering voice to "huff and puff and blow your house in," so he tried out, got the job, and within a very short time, Disney had him doing a session a week in the sound booth, sometimes doing two and three voices. His voice got so famous that when he auditioned to do the voice of one of the seven dwarfs in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Walt Disney took him aside and told him, "Billy, your voice is heard so much in all of these singles that I make, I don't think I'd want to use you as one of the Seven Dwarfs." Bletcher admits that because his voice was so low and resonant, the characters he got to play were usually the "heavies" (bad guys). And as a heavy his voice became too recognizable for him to get a role in a feature length Disney production, with one exception: he did get a minor role in Dumbo as the voice of one of the clowns.

As a voice actor, he could go anywhere and soon found himself working for Leon Schlesinger at Warner Brothers, but never got credit for his work since Mel Blanc had it in his contract that he'd be the sole credit for voice characterizations. And at that time there were only a dozen or so actors doing voicework that the jobs were plentiful. He worked for Disney, Warner, and at MGM he did the voice of the Captain in the Captain and the Kids cartoons.

In the fifties, he did several characters on the Lone Ranger radio program, but before that he did what's known in the business as ADR (automated dialogue replacement) work, with his old pal Pinto Colvig. In The Wizard of Oz (1939), their voices were substituted for a few of the munchkins.

All in all, Bletcher worked on just over 450 films spanning nearly 60 years, his last film being a made-for-TV version of Li'l Abner (1971) in which he played Pappy Yokum. He passed away 13 years later at the age of 84.

Kelsey began her acting career at the age of 4. She appeared in commercials for Disney, Toys R Us, Mervyns, Merrill-Lynch, Organ Donors, Tropicana Orange Juice, and a few others. When she turned 7, she booked a music video for Pink that received a lot of recognition. (Thank you Pink!) At age of 9, she booked her first movie roll as Nellie in "Samantha, An American Girl Holiday."

Since then, she has booked guest appearances on the television shows "Curb Your Enthusiasm", "The Inside" and "Gilmore Girls", and appears in the made for TV movies entitled, "Love's Unfolding Dream" as Sally, and "Bert & Becca" as Heather.

In Kelsey's free time she enjoys hanging out with her friends, riding her motorcycle, karate, doing artwork and going to school.

Tom Lister was born on 21 June 1978 in Lancaster, Lancashire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Emmerdale Farm (1972), 42nd Street: The Musical (2019) and The Doll Maker (2020). He has been married to Jennifer Humpage since 2004. They have two children.

Jeremy Shouldis was born in 1973 in Lancaster, Ohio, but moved shortly thereafter to Houston, Texas, where he was raised. His education includes a BFA in acting and directing from Sam Houston State University, and an MFA in acting from the University of Arkansas. After graduating, Jeremy moved to Chicago where he did theatre for several years, but has since relocated to Los Angeles where he currently resides. He is a member of SAG/AFTRA and the AEA, and his body of work includes film, television, national commercials, and dozens of plays.

A very pretty blonde television actress of the 60s and 70s, usually seen in wholesome roles. The daughter of a marine engineer and a dance teacher, she graduated from Van Nuys High School and initially pursued a secretarial career. She came to acting by pure chance, 'discovered' by a talent scout while shopping at one of the (now long defunct) Joseph Hughes supermarkets in Los Angeles.

On screen from 1964, her film roles were largely inconsequential, with the sole exception of her scantily-clad seductress in the Matt Helm spoof The Ambushers (1967). The small screen saw her mostly cast as coeds, ingénues or assorted groovy chicks. Signed by Universal, Linda soon became dissatisfied with the roles on offer and asked to be released from her contract. She then turned freelance and was better served on TV, especially as co-star of Hank (1965), a short-lived sitcom on NBC, in which Linda played a university registrar's daughter and the titular character's romantic interest. After the show had run its course, she moved on to play the daughter of the town drunk in an episode of F Troop (1965) and enjoyed a rare pivotal guest role in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964), assisting Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin in coming to grips with 'The Thor Affair'. She made repeat appearances in Bonanza (1959) and My Three Sons (1960) before calling it quits in 1984.

Linda Foster was married to Vince Edwards (TV's Ben Casey (1961)) from 1967 to 1974. Her second husband was the actor Edward Winter, best remembered as the paranoid, inept Colonel Flagg in the hit TV series M*A*S*H (1972).

Allin was born Kevin Michael Allin at Weeks' Memorial Hospital, in Lancaster, New Hampshire and grew up in East St. Johnsbury, VT. He grew up with his older brother Merle Allin and his mother Arleta, with whom he seemed to have a love/hate relationship. His father, Merle Sr., was a "backwoods" man who, according to GG, wanted to kill the family in a murder/suicide pact. Shortly before Allin started school, his mother changed his legal name to Kevin Michael Allin (on March 2, 1962 by his birth certificate) in order to give Allin a chance at a normal, mockery-free childhood. To escape his family and small-town environment, Allin turned to punk rock. Influenced by Iggy Pop, the MC5, Alice Cooper , and the Ramones, Allin played simple but catchy music. Originally a drummer, Allin switched to lead vocals and began his career as one of the most notorious singers in punk rock history. Beginning with the Jabbers, Allin was an energetic singer who fought with the audience, cut himself up with glass, and routinely found himself banned from most clubs in New England. Allin also suffered through a failed marriage and also fathered a child in this time. Allin's thirst for notoriety, combined with his hatred for almost everyone, caused him to transform himself into the most vile, sickening and fear-spreading character in rock history. Along with the fights and self-mutilation came on-stage defecation and urination (as well as the eating/drinking of it), attempted sexual assault of female audience members, brutal fights with other members of the audience, drug/alcohol abuse, nudity, etc. His bands included the "Scumf*cs", the "Texas Nazis" and the "Murder Junkies". Allin was jailed over 60 times for his onstage antics, and spent over 4 years in prison for assault and subsequent parole violations. In 1993, after a final gig at the Gas Station in New York City, (which saw Allin deliver 2 songs - "I Am The Highest Power" and "Look Into My Eyes and Hate Me"), a near-riot broke out, and Allin escaped from the police officers who were called to the club. Allin apparently overdosed on heroin while staying with friend Johnny Puke and died in his sleep. Allin is buried in Littleton, New Hampshire.

Born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, Lucky joined the Army at 18 and was selected to join the 1st Ranger Battalion (Black Berets), the elite anti-terrorist and anti-guerilla response team. In the Rangers he traveled extensively and was trained in many military skills including demolitions, scuba diving and low level parachuting. After completing his duty with the Rangers he attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. While vacationing in New York with a friend, Lucky was spotted by an agent for the prestigious Elite Modeling Agency, who signed him on the spot. His first assignment found him being shot for GQ MAGAZINE by internationally renowned photographer Francesco Scavullo. During the next five years he traveled and lived throughout Europe and Asia, hiked the Himalayas and made 12 remote excursions into Alaska. Lucky continued his studies at NYU and Fordham University, studying political science and history, but soon found his academic career put on hold when he landed a role as a construction worker in a Diet Coke commercial. The spot became one of Coca-Cola's most successful commercial campaigns, which led to appearances successfully promoting Diet Coke throughout the United States and Europe. Once he made the decision to pursue an acting career, Lucky sought out the best available training - Alan Savage in NY, Howard Fine (Advanced scene study), Groundlings and Jessica Drake (speech) in Los Angeles. He completed his first starring role in the feature film "Chapter Perfect" (Spring 1995), guest starred on the NBC comedy "WINGS" and with Carol Burnett on "ALL MY CHILDREN" anniversary special for ABC, and was selected to co-host part of the 1994 CLIO Awards with Kelsey Grammer. In 1997 Lucky starred in Aaron Spelling's "PACIFIC PALISADES", which aired on Fox and in 1998, starred in feature film, JACK OF HEARTS (1999 release) and guest starred on one episode of PENSACOLA WINGS OF GOLD (aired in January of 1999). In February of 1999 he was featured in HANGING UP, directed by Diane Keaton. He resides in Los Angeles.

Frank Birney was born on 10 September 1937 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Dave (1993), Mr. Mom (1983) and Critters 2: The Main Course (1988). He was married to Betty G. Birney. He died on 1 June 2021 in Studio City, California, USA.

Mary Murphy was born in Lancaster, Ohio, the only daughter in a family of four children. Her father worked as an elementary school teacher and her mother, originally from Ireland, remained at home, looking after the family. Life with three brothers led Mary to see herself not as the only daughter in the Murphy household, but as the fourth brother. Keeping up with her siblings left Mary with little affinity for typically feminine pastimes, and she spent most of her free time after school and on weekends participating in athletics such as track and field, basketball, volleyball, and football.

After high school, Mary went to Ohio University for the express purpose of graduating with a degree in Physical Education. In addition to her Bachelor's Degree in physical education, Mary, having developed a love of modern dance over the course of her college education, also minored in modern dance. With no idea she had a professional ballroom dance career ahead of her, Mary saw herself using the combined benefits of her degrees to pursue a career as a specialist in physical education for children with learning disabilities, helping them to connect the mind and the body through repetitive movement and creative dance.

Shortly after graduating, Mary moved to Washington, DC, where, looking for a summer job, she answered an ad in the newspaper; a local studio was recruiting trainees to become instructors. Although her background in modern dance allowed her to transition from trainee to instructor in only a week's time, the studio's limited resources and basic social dancing did not make a favorable first impression on Mary, leaving her feeling dispassionately about ballroom dancing and with no belief that her future would lie therein.

The turning point came when the owner of the dance studio invited her to attend the United States Ballroom Championships in New York City. Upon entering the ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria, Mary's senses were overwhelmed. As she watched the couples whirling across the floor, their bodies seamlessly executing complicated patterns in perfect synchronization, their elegant movements in harmony with the music, it dawned on her that ballroom dancing was much more than what she had been exposed to in the small studio in Washington, DC, more than the blinding glitter and glamor of the fancy dresses and tail suits -- this was a sport in the truest sense of the word, and the athleticism, the sheer artistry of the dancers was astounding. At that moment Mary realized that ballroom dancing was more than just job for her -- she no longer felt the desire to spend the rest of her life as a modern dancer, performing alone.

Mary returned to Washington, DC, determined to become part of the magic she had witnessed, and immediately launched herself into the world of competitive ballroom dance, never looking back. While continuing to teach for the studio, she sought out the best instructors in the area and began her competitive dance training.

After only a year in Washington, familial circumstances demanded that Mary move back to Ohio, and she found herself in a small town with no dance studio an hour and a half outside of Columbus. Mary made the drive to Columbus daily, where she intensified her training in the American Rhythm, American Smooth, and International Latin styles of dance.

As Mary's dancing improved, she focused more on the International Standard style of dance and began searching for a partner with which she would be able to compete. Her search for a suitable dance partner lead her across the country to Southern California. Although the partnership ultimately did not prove to be viable, she decided to make California her home.

Mary resumed work as a dance instructor in San Diego, but remained dedicated to finding a competitive dance partner who would help her realize her goals -- to make the national final in any given category.

That year Mary went to Blackpool, England for the UK Open Championships, where she met Manfred Siglitz and her search for a partner finally reached its end. After a precursory tryout the pair agreed that, though separated by a not inconsiderable distance, Mary living in California and Manfred in England, they would immediately form a partnership and compete in International Ten Dance. Mary and Manfred spent the next two years commuting between Manfred's home in England and Mary's home in California, and touring the world in competition. The couple became Austrian National Champions in 1990 and 1991 and enjoyed considerable success, representing Austria in the World Championships, and making the World Cup final.

In April of 1990, Mary opened the doors to Champion Ballroom Academy in the heart of downtown San Diego. Her vision, partly driven by her own needs as a competitor in training, was to provide the very best facility for competitive dance education, while at the same time creating a school where students and teachers alike would feel a sense of comfort and community as they sought to improve their dancing skills.

Over the course of time, the strains of commuting took their toll, and Mary was put under pressure to leave her studio and life in California behind and move to England. Ultimately, the distance proved too great an obstacle for the partnership to overcome, and despite the promise of placing in the top six in the world, they were forced to part ways.

Although the partnership with Manfred was at an end, Mary's competitive career was long from over. During the five years following the breakup, she went on to build an impressive list of accomplishments with various partners including the Southwest Regional Dance Tournament, the Saint Louis Star Ball, and the International Grand Ball. With partner Bill Milner Mary made the U.S. Open Standard final in an unprecedented six months' time. Finally, in 1996, Mary Murphy and partner Jim Desmond made the final of the U.S. Open American Smooth and won the U.S. Open American Nine Dance.

Her competitive goals realized many times over, Mary immediately retired from competition and shifted her focus toward her ballroom, devoting herself to bringing the joys of dance to all of her students and to those in the community who have not yet discovered the intoxicating, liberating feeling one gets when one steps out onto the dance floor. Mary feels comfortable with her decision to retire, and feels extremely fulfilled managing her business and watching her studio blossom.

Not one to lose herself entirely to the necessary details of managing a ballroom, Mary's desire to share her love for the art and sport of dance with others has led her to remain active as an instructor, coaching and choreographing for many U.S. Amateur and Junior Champions.

Mary has also done her share in bringing ballroom to the screen, acting as a dance double for Julia Roberts in the movie Something to Talk About (1995), appearing in Dance with Me (1998), starring Vanessa Williams, and most recently was part of the Fox television series, So You Think You Can Dance (2005), as a judge and choreographer.

Also, Mary is a partner in and organizer one of the largest U.S. dance competitions, The Holiday Dance Classic, held in Las Vegas each December. She frequently serves as a judge in some of ballroom's most reputable competitions, including the U.S. National Ballroom Championships, and can still be found on Champion Ballroom Academy's expansive floor passing on her infectious enthusiasm and unsurpassable love of dance to her students.