Childhood
Dustin Lee Hoffman was born on August 8, 1937 in Los Angeles (California, USA). His parents, Lillian and Harry, were descendants of Jewish emigrants from Ukraine and Romania. The father of the Hoffman family worked as a set designer at Columbia Pictures, and enthusiastically recounted stories he heard from colleagues about filming in Hollywood at home. The Great Depression hit, and the elder Hoffman was forced to sell furniture in a store. The mother also left her job as a jazz pianist to raise her children.
When Dustin was 5 years old, he was already given piano lessons. At 12 he appeared on the stage of the school theater, but the debut was unsuccessful. The older brother Ronald was a classical excellent student, participated in the filming of a film, tried himself in dancing, and later became a professor of economics. As a child, against the backdrop of Ron’s brilliant talents, Dustin Hoffman constantly felt inferior, and his parents were worried about his poor grades, for which the boy was kicked out of school for the first time in the third grade.
Childhood
Dustin Hoffman was born on August 8, 1937 in Los Angeles, becoming the second son in a family of Jewish emigrants from Russia. Dustin's father worked as a furniture designer, and Lillian's mother, who dreamed of becoming an actress in her youth, was a jazz pianist. By the way, Hoffman received his name in honor of Lillian’s favorite actor, Dustin Farnum. As a child, the future famous actor planned to follow in the footsteps of his mother and connect his life with music. However, after studying for several years at the conservatory, he abandoned his plans and entered acting courses at the Pasadena Playhouse Theater, where he became friends with Gene Hackman, also a very successful actor in the future. In 1958, Dustin moved to New York, trying to continue to learn the basics of the profession there, but because of his unconventional appearance, Hoffman was rejected everywhere. The life of a young man during this period cannot be called easy: he vainly made his way, earning a living either as a waiter, or as a watchman, or as a toy seller, and even as an orderly in a psychiatric hospital. But Dustin did not despair, and in the end, the famous teacher Lee Strasberg nevertheless accepted the young man into his acting class. This is where Hoffman's star journey began.
Finding yourself
In 1952, Dustin moved to high school, where he continued to play music, joined the tennis team and sold newspapers on the streets.
Among his classmates, the young man generally kept himself apart due to his short stature and skin problems. The actor later recalled that at the age of 16-17 he had a collection of acne, one of the worst in Los Angeles. At this time, Dustin cherished the dream of becoming a jazz pianist. After graduating from school in 1955, the young man entered Santa Monica College, where he did not like it. He convinced his parents that it would be better for him to quit his studies and enter the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music (later the California Institute of the Arts). One of his friends noticed how easily Dustin Hoffman transforms into different images. The young man’s biography at that moment took another sharp turn. He goes to the theater school opened at the Pasadena Theater.
LifeDon't Go: How Philip Seymour Hoffman Taught Us to Love People
Text: Natalia Serebryakova
Tonight it became known that Philip Seymour Hoffman, one of the best actors of his generation, if not the best, who did not play many leading roles, has died. They knew about his problems with alcohol and drugs for a long time - and he clearly understood where they would lead him, but he never looked like an asshole. “Capote”, “Boogie Nights”, “Happiness”, “Synecdoche, New York” and, of course, “The Master” by Paul Thomas Anderson - in all these films he convincingly played people with complex characters or difficult fates, not without fear and not without reproach, lost intellectuals, awkward eccentrics, in many ways wrong and so real. “Hoffman lived for great art; it’s not as if he didn’t die because of it,” film critic Richard Brody wrote in his column tonight. The world was a little better with him, but without him it became worse - primarily because there were fewer people left who could expose human cracks on the screen. In memory of this brilliant actor, we recall the roles of Philip Seymour Hoffman, who showed us men without embellishment and taught us a little about life.
Boogie Nights
Boogie Nights, 1997
“Fucking idiot... I'm a fucking idiot,” cries a guy in a red suit in a new race car. He just tried to kiss his friend. In Boogie Nights, Hoffman played a down-on-his-luck closeted gay man named Scotty J. At the same time, in the frame we see not the hero’s orientation, but his unfortunate soul. This is exactly what the bitter experience of unrequited love looks like, regardless of the gender of the lover.
Happiness
Happiness, 1998
Todd Solondz had Hoffman play a man who calls a star writer's home looking for phone sex. According to the plot, his hero seems to be an unpleasant, sweaty pervert, but he himself becomes an eyewitness to an even stranger perversion. In the end, we even feel sorry for this harmless freak.
Almost Famous
ALMOST FAMOUS, 2000
A music critic (a real figure, by the way), who shares the most intimate truth of life: what it’s like to be a loser. Why being a loser is better than being a macho. And that love pretends to be sex, and sex pretends to be love.
Love that knocks you down
Punch-Drunk Love, 2002
Another memorable performance from Paul Thomas Anderson. This time, Hoffman is the boss who must stand up for his subordinate. In a telephone duel with Adam Sandler, we learn how to win conversational battles and defeat an invisible opponent. “Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut the fuck up,” Hoffman yells into the phone. And this moment is a real meme.
Capote
CAPOTE, 2005
One of Hoffman's key leading roles is a biopic of the New Journalism star Truman Capote: a talented, ambitious, unscrupulous, mannered and, in general, not very pleasant - but clearly ambiguous, reflective and deeply traumatized man. In addition to the striking resemblance between Hoffman and his hero, there is another creepy nuance - Capote was also killed prematurely by drugs.
Devil's Games
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, 2007
In Sidney Lumet, Hoffman played one of the brothers who planned the perfect heist. Robbery of his own parents' store. The film opens with an explicit sex scene performed by Philip Seymour. And this is the beginning of a dive into the world of cynicism and cruelty.
Charlie Wilson's War
Charlie Wilson's War, 2007
The scene where Hoffman argues with John Slattery. Here he plays a spy, and Slattery is his boss. The verbal skirmish will be followed by demonstrative breaking of office windows. Aggression of a man who is confident that he is right. Almost the entire film, a boring military-political drama, runs on Hoffman’s naked charisma alone.
New York, New York
Synecdoche, New York, 2008
Few people can pull off a role from Charlie Kaufman the screenwriter, let alone the director. Hoffman managed to make this film a masterpiece, thanks to his complete transformation into the role of theater director Caden Cotard. Philip Seymour readily lives the experiences of others as a brilliant director who has half lost his mind. It embraces everything - the pain of loneliness, an abandoned man, an unfulfilled father and artist.
Master
The Master, 2012
The most outstanding role, again from Paul Thomas Anderson. Hoffman plays the head of the sect - the authoritarian manipulator Lancaster Dodd, who is also no stranger to doubts. This is a person before whom everyone trembles and bows - both women and men. The animal psychologism of the role, played together with Joaquin Phoenix, is certainly the peak of Hoffman’s career.
God's pocket
God's Pocket, 2014
An image that we all have yet to see. This film premiered a couple of weeks ago at Sundance. In John Slattery's debut production, Hoffman plays a poor thief who grieves the death of his stepson and must come to terms with reality. In one of his last interviews, Hoffman says that this role resonated well with his current worldview because it is about a midlife crisis.
Learn the basics of acting in Pasadena
Dustin begins his studies in Pasadena and becomes close with another student, Gene Hackman. The paradox is that two of the greatest actors of American cinema at that time were considered to have little prospects in their educational institution. Another of Hoffman's classmates was Barbra Streisand.
In Pasadena, Dustin received his first serious role. Hoffman played a lawyer in the play based on A. Miller’s work “A View from the Bridge.” There was something that confused the director about the performer. He came up and said that only by the age of 30 would actor Dustin Hoffman be able to achieve success. After studying for 2 years in Pasadena, the 21-year-old young man goes to New York to Manhattan, following Jim Hackman.
Hoffman accident
The first weeks in the big city unsettled Dustin; he was a little scared.
For some time he huddled in the apartment of Hackman and his wife, then moved in with Robert Duvall. Dustin becomes more relaxed and begins to flirt with women. Robert Duvall recalled that at that time Hoffman had many girls, he grew long hair, and rode a motorcycle. The actor spent one of the evenings at his girlfriend’s house, preparing fondue. Suddenly, the pot of food exploded, hot oil splashed onto the floor and caught fire. Dustin Hoffman extinguished the flames, but suffered serious burns and was hospitalized. Doctors assumed that the young man would not survive. After extensive surgery, Dustin took several months to fully recover. The threat of death gave him strength and determination, he decided to return to the stage.
Going Gracefully: On the Death of Philip Seymour Hoffman
People like Philip Seymour Hoffman should die differently. In the most lawless comedy of the last century, “The Naked Gun,” Lieutenant Frank Drebin (played by the also late Leslie Nielsen) talked about heroic death - they say, falling on the antlers of a Lapland deer, yes! Death from a drug overdose is not so exotic, but also not without the romantic aura of “live fast, die young.” This is how rock idols go. Ordinary people usually don't. So in the newest, completely mainstream comedy “That Awkward Moment,” Zac Efron’s hero fantasizes about ending his old age: getting into a restored Jaguar, throwing acid and crashing into a median at full speed. And he comes across a sober objection from his girlfriend: in your insanity, you will confuse acid with a laxative, drive into a pole, wet yourself and end your days in a nursing home.
Any fortune teller not prone to charlatanism would have prophesied that Philip Seymour Hoffman, a successful actor who played supporting roles in Hollywood and leading roles in independent films, an exemplary family man and father of three children, would have a peaceful and calm end to his days in some comfortable almshouse. However, it turned out differently - he died of a heroin overdose, slightly not fitting into the “fast live die young” canon: he reached forty-six and was not a rock idol. On the contrary, he was one of the ugliest, most blatantly anti-sexual actors of our day - short of breath and doughy, with a doughy body and pale, freckled skin.
At the same time, rock idols loved him to the envy of him - the Facebook feed of my comrades has been replete with photographs of Hoffman since yesterday. Because it was easy to love him - because he was not embarrassed to be natural, which means he was no longer so ugly. For the sharp and lively look from under whitish eyelashes. For his outstanding acting gift, which allowed him to be different while remaining recognizable. For the radicalism of the roles. Among them is the vicious owner of a comical falsetto, who almost fell in love with suicide killer Truman Capote in the film biography Capote, which brought Philip Seymour an Oscar. And either the founder of the Church of Scientology, or, according to the most inveterate fans of the film, the prince of darkness himself in “The Master.”
By the way, for Paul Thomas Anderson, Hoffman was almost a mascot - he played in almost all of his films (with the exception of There Will Be Blood). This director, attentive to American idols, felt the vibrant energy hidden under the shell of the most ordinary appearance. The energy that rock stars use to blow up stadiums. After his death, the new “Hunger Games” will be released, where Hoffman has a completely rock and roll role - the master of ceremonies of the revolution, who, until the very end of the second part of the franchise, pretended to be a kind of moon-faced brother of Konstantin Ernst - a television servant of the bloody regime. In the next episode, he will show a different side of his hero Plutarch Heavensbee: the actor managed to film most of his scenes, so the premiere of The Hunger Games is not in danger.
Hoffman also died a surprisingly unmodern death. In the psychedelic 1970s, no one would have been surprised, even in the 1990s everything would have looked OK - then the menu of the Moscow club “Paradise” included cocaine lines, and Moscow party-goers used them to pay taxi drivers (“Putin stopped everything,” - annoyedly recalled the other day one veteran of a private cab driver, passing by the sour Solyanka), and the marker of the American bohemian decade was the death of River Phoenix on the threshold of the Viper Room bar. Today, when in America you cannot find a single bar where you can smoke a regular nicotine cigarette, and in Russia there is not a single store selling alcohol after eleven in the evening, overdose is nonsense; as the typical representative of “decent society,” Ibsen’s assessor Brakk, said after Hedda Gabler’s shot, “they don’t do that!” Hoffman did this without caring about the opinions of well-behaved cliques. Great actor.
Hoffman's studies and theatrical career in New York
Dustin soon found a suitable theater school for himself - the famous Lee Strasberg Acting Studio in New York. He failed auditions with the most famous directors four times. After some time, he received a call and was informed that he had been accepted into the studio, where Marlon Brando and Marilyn Monroe once studied under the leadership of Lee Strasberg. Together with Hoffman, his friends Robert Duvall and Gene Hackman attended acting classes.
Dustin simultaneously acted in Broadway productions. To pay the bills, the actor was forced to work as a teacher, an attendant in a psychiatric hospital, a waiter, and a toy salesman. Fees for filming commercials supplemented the meager income. Soon he found a position as a cloakroom attendant in the theater and for six months secretly watched outstanding actors play on stage.
In 1966, the time came for Lee Strasberg to graduate from the Actors Studio. Hoffman successfully completed his studies and received a diploma. During his 6 years in New York, he played several roles in Broadway productions and also made occasional appearances in television series. After graduation, Dustin was actively searching for “his” theater. The young actor heard about the upcoming premiere of director Larry Arrick and convinced him to take him to the main role in one of the productions. Critics considered the performance unsuccessful, but Hoffman's performance was highly praised in theater magazines. Dustin's work was recognized as the best male role of the year, and the performer was awarded the prestigious Obie Award.
Dustin Hoffman in the movie "Tootsie"
After the release of Kramer vs. Kramer, the actor did not act in films for several years. Upon returning, Hoffman took on an unusual role in the comedy Tootsie. The main theme of the film revolves around Michael Dorsey, an aspiring actor who has been unemployed for several years. Desperate, he decides to change his image and transforms himself into a female actress, Dorothy Michaels, who immediately gets a role in one of the television soap operas.
In this comedy, Dustin Hoffman played with Jessica Lange, who received her Oscar for her excellent supporting actress. Also starring opposite Hoffman was the aspiring comedian Bill Murray, almost all of whose lines in the film are improvised. To bring his character to life on screen, Hoffman had a hand in adjusting the original script to suit his character, which is why Dustin often clashed with director Sydney Pollack. In general, the title of the film “Tootsie” was suggested by Dustin Hoffman himself; at that time it was the name of his dog.
The film "Tootsie" became incredibly popular not only in the United States, but also abroad. Today, this comedy ranks second on the list of the funniest American films of all time (the first is Some Like It Hot).
Later in an interview, the actor said: “I liked Dorothy Michaels. I felt this image stronger than all the others previously played. She made me very emotional, very. I still don’t understand it completely.”
Symbols of New Hollywood
In the late 1960s, the theme of the American dream in films was replaced by dramatic collisions that showed the characters' characters in development.
The direction was called “New Hollywood”. Its representatives were Barbra Streisand, Jack Nicholson and Dustin Hoffman. The actor’s height by traditional Hollywood standards is not “starry” - 165 cm. But this did not stop Dustin from becoming a favorite of several generations of moviegoers.
In 1967, the actor appeared in a cameo role as hippie Hap in the black comedy Enter the Tiger. Canadian director Arthur Hillier filmed the film in New York. The next work was also the comedy film “Madigan’s Million”.
In the film “The Graduate” in 1967, a new Hollywood star, Dustin Hoffman, announced himself in full voice. The actor's filmography was just beginning, and the role of Ben Braddock in the comedy directed by M. Nichols brought him universal recognition from film critics. The young actor was very convincing in the role of a college graduate who rebelled against parental care.
Awards and nominations for Dustin Hoffman during the early years of filming
The film “The Graduate” by director M. Nichols is one of a series of successful works that marked the start of Dustin Hoffman’s film career. His filmography over the years includes more than 50 films. He constantly improved his technique, which over time became the actor’s calling card. Often he had to listen to accusations of perfectionism, which sometimes slowed down the filming process. The desire for the ideal embodiment of the director’s vision and his own aspirations allowed Dustin to gain worldwide recognition. Hoffman received his first film awards and nominations for his performance as Ben Braddock in the film “The Graduate”:
- BAFTA Award for Promising Debut in a Leading Role (1969);
- Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer in a Leading Role (1968);
- 1968 Oscar nomination for Best Actor;
- 1968 Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical category.
Films starring Dustin Hoffman
The actor's notable work in 1969 was the role of the crippled swindler Enrico Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy. Hoffman's co-star was Jon Voight. The film was awarded three Oscars and was later included in the list of the greatest films in history. The film became a striking example of how Hollywood was rethinking traditional ideas about screen heroism. The audience liked Hoffman's character, although critics assumed that the film would fail. In the seventies and eighties, successful films were released starring Dustin Hoffman. The best films during this period:
- "Straw Dogs" (1971).
- "Lenny" (1974).
- "Marathon Man" (1976).
- "All the President's Men" (1976).
- "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979).
- "Tootsie" (1982).
- "Rain Man" (1988).
Movies
Dustin had the opportunity to act in films for the first time in the first half of the 60s. He appeared in television series, but considers the drama “The Graduate” to be his full-fledged debut, in which he got the main role. According to the script, the character was a tall blond man who drives women crazy from the first minute, and Hoffman is only 167 cm tall. But with the help of exaggerated awkwardness in his movements and languidness in his gaze, the actor created an even more impressive image.
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Dustin Hoffman in the film “Tootsie”
The next success turned out to be unpredictable. Critics considered “Midnight Cowboy” a failure of the year, but in the end the film collected a collection of awards and was included in the list of the best films of the 20th century. A buzz arose around Dustin, which was reinforced by new projects - the western “Little Big Man”, the biographical drama “Lenny”, the crime thriller “Straw Dogs”.
The pinnacle of the first half of the artist’s career can be considered the family tragedy “Kramer vs. Kramer”, which brought him his first Oscar, the story of reincarnation as a woman “Tootsie”, and the psychological picture “Rain Man”. The latter presented Hoffman with a second Oscar statuette.
In 1996, viewers saw Dustin in the crime drama Sleepers. The film features a truly stellar cast: Robert De Niro, Kevin Bacon, Brad Pitt and Jason Patric starred in the film.
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Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise
Together with Al Pacino and Madonna, the actor worked in the film adaptation of the comic book "Dick Tracy", with Nicole Kidman - in the gangster action film "Billy Bathgate", with Morgan Freeman - in the disaster film "Outbreak". Dustin has bright roles in the comedy “Meet the Fockers,” the thriller “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer” and the melodrama “Harvey’s Last Chance.”
In addition, as a producer, he released Correctional Term, The Devil's Arithmetic, and A Walk on the Moon. His directorial project, the tragicomedy “Quarter” with the participation of Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, was nominated for a Golden Globe and awarded the Hollywood Film Awards.
In May 2020, the premiere of the film “Stories of the Mayrowitz Family” took place, where Dustin played one of the main roles. The film was included in the longlist of the Cannes Film Festival.
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Dustin Hoffman and Johnny Depp
The artist’s creative biography brought him many awards. In addition to prizes for specific films, Dustin Hoffman was awarded by the jury of the German Berlinale, the French Cesar Festival and the Golden Lion in Venice for his contribution to world cinema.
Dustin Hoffman's career triumph
The British Film Academy recognized Dustin Hoffman as the best actor of the year in 1970.
The actor who played Enrico Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy was nominated for an Oscar in the United States for Best Performance by a Male Lead. The image of Lenny in the film of the same name brought Hoffman a third nomination for a gold statuette. The main role in the film “Kramer vs. Kramer” brought Hoffman the long-awaited award from American film academics.
He was also awarded a Golden Globe award for his portrayal of a father who builds a relationship with his young son after his wife (Meryl Streep) leaves.
The film was nominated for numerous film awards more than 50 times and was awarded in 35 nominations.
Dustin Hoffman. Filmography in the eighties and nineties
In the 1982 film Tootsie, Hoffman portrayed the desperation of unemployed actor Michael Dorsey. He disguises himself as actress Dorothy Michaels and appears in a television soap opera. In this image, Michael unwittingly becomes a role model. The film “Tootsie,” directed by Sydney Pollack, brought Hoffman worldwide popularity and was a great commercial success at the box office. Working side by side with Jessica Lange, Hoffman in 1982:
- received his fifth Oscar nomination;
- became the best actor according to the National Society of Film Critics;
- awarded the Golden Globe Award;
- won Best Actor according to BAFTA (1983).
Major success came to the actor after the release of the film Rain Man, directed by Barry Levinson in 1988. He played the role of Raymond Babbitt, who suffers from autism, for which he received an Oscar for the second time and a Golden Globe for the fifth time. Hoffman managed to return to the theater, playing on Broadway in London's West End. In the nineties, Hoffman starred in the film adaptation of the Dick Tracy comic strip, the gangster film Billy Bathgate, and the fairy tale Captain Hook. Many viewers remember the films with Dustin Hoffman: “Outbreak”, “Sleepers”, “Cunning”, “Sphere”. The new century is marked by such highlights in the actor’s career as filming in the films “Heart Burglars,” “Meet the Fockers,” and “Harvey’s Last Chance.” In recent years, Hoffman has been voicing popular cartoon characters, working on television and directing films.
Star Trek
It is generally accepted that Dustin Hoffman's first cinematic experience was the film "The Graduate", but this is not entirely true. A year before the filming of the film, in 1966, Dustin had already starred in the film Madigan's Million, which was released, however, only in 1968. “The Graduate,” which appeared on screens in 1967, was a huge success, and Hoffman’s film debut immediately made the young actor famous. Already for his first role, Dustin was nominated for the most prestigious cinema awards - Golden Globe and Oscar. Hoffman's next films ("Midnight Cowboy", "John and Mary", "Little Big Man", "Straw Dogs" and others) continued to bring undeniable success to the actor.
The real breakthrough came in 1979, when Dustin received his first Oscar in his life for his role in the film “Kramer vs. Kramer” and rightfully earned the status of one of the most talented actors in Hollywood. In 1982, the film “Tootsie” was released, where Hoffman played a woman. The film was a huge success all over the world, and Dustin received several honorary awards for his role as Dorothy. 1988 was also a stellar year for Hoffman. The film “Rain Man,” where Dustin played an autistic patient, not only gave the actor the second Oscar in his career, but also awarded him the status of the best master of impersonation in modern cinema. And in the future, the performance of this talented actor in such films as “Sleepers”, “Cunning”, “Joan of Arc” only confirmed this, undoubtedly, well-deserved title. Currently, Dustin does not intend to stop there: he continues to act in films and work on television. Of the latest films with his participation, the most successful were “Meet the Fockers”, “Perfume”, “The Shop of Miracles”.
Personal life of Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman married ballerina Ann Bjorn on May 4, 1969.
The family had two children: Jenna and Karina. In 1975, the actor’s wife decided to resume performing on stage. Hoffman had to take care of the children and the household. Because of this, in the late seventies, the actor had problems with Ann Bjorn, which ended in divorce in 1980. Soon after the breakup, the family arranged for a new marriage to take place. This time the actor’s chosen one was the daughter of an old family friend, lawyer Lisa Gottsegen. Dustin Hoffman, whose photo with his wife was reprinted in all the magazines, was happy. In this marriage, the actor had children: Jacob, Rebecca, Max and Alexandra. Throughout his creative career, Hoffman maintained good relationships with his youth friends Robert Duvall and Gene Hackman. Dustin recently underwent successful surgery after doctors diagnosed he had cancer.
Over half a century of Hoffman's work in cinema, many legends have arisen about him. He collaborates with the best directors in Hollywood, who call him “the irrepressible little guy” for his perfectionism on the set. Hoffman's endless remarks led to another nickname: "the bore." The actor likes to repeat that when filming, it is important to take into account all the nuances so that any little thing does not spoil the result. There are rumors about Dustin's desire to count every dollar of his royalties. But he also shows examples of virtue, donating to repair the burnt church and providing first aid to the victim. In many ways, Hoffman resembles his on-screen character from the movie Hero. It makes people empathize, sympathize with those who are often ignored. This talent is why viewers fell in love with Dustin Hoffman.
[edit] Family
On May 4, 1969, he married ballerina Ann Björn, who after the wedding left the stage for the sake of her family. She was previously married and had a child, Karina (in 1966), who was subsequently adopted by Hoffman. The marriage produced a second daughter, Jenna (born in 1970). In 1975, as soon as Hoffman finished filming All the President's Men, Björn resumed her performances. During this time, Hoffman had to take on all the household chores. Because of this, he even turned down a role in Ingmar Bergman's film The Serpent's Egg. On October 6, 1980, the marriage broke up.
On October 12, 1980, he married lawyer Lisa Gottsegen, with whom he has four children: Jacob Edward (1981), Rebecca (1983), Maxwell Jeffrey (1984) and Alexandra Lydia (1987).
