JOHN STURGES (b. 1911) From The Magnificent Seven to Gunfight at the OK Corral, Sturges directed some of Hollywood's most thrilling Westerns and action films during the 1950s and '60s and helped make stars of big-screen tough guys Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, and Lee Marvin.

NANCY WALKER (b. 1922) ''I don't understand it myself,'' the actress said of her uproarious effect on Broadway audiences, ''but when I walk on stage, they start laughing.'' Beloved on television as the charmingly overbearing mother she played on Rhoda, Walker had so much character she made her pitch for Bounty paper towels a national refrain.

LAWRENCE WELK (b. 1903) As the cornball maestro of ''Champagne Music,'' Welk let the raucous rock of everyone from Presley to Costello roll by as he amassed fans and a fortune playing a straitlaced pabulum of pop, Dixieland, and polkas on TV's long-running (1955-82) Lawrence Welk Show. ''Now, ah-one an' ah-two...''

MARY WELLS (b. 1943) One of the first artists signed to Motown, she made My Guy a finger-snapping No. 1 hit in 1964. In her last years she fought financial crises as well as illness, and those in her musical debt (including Diana Ross, Rod Stewart, and the Temptations) pitched in to help pay the bills.

Originally posted Dec 25, 1992 Published in issue #150-151 Dec 25, 1992 Order article reprints
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