Tony Barrand

Professor of Anthropology

Dance & Culture

Prof. Barrand taught folklore and folklife through the University Professors Program and the Department of Anthropology at Boston University. His research and publications focus on the dance and song customs associated with the cycle of seasons. His extensive collection of fieldwork films and videos of celebratory dance performances was recently made available online and acquired by the Library of Congress. He is perhaps best known for his performances and recordings of English ballads, carols, and songs with his singing partner of forty years, John Roberts, whom he met while attending graduate school at Cornell.

Ty Burr

Boston Globe film critic

Robert Altman: Celebration of an American Icon

Burr is a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and the National Society of Film Critics and has authored three books—The Hundred Greatest Movies of All Time, The Hundred Greatest Stars of All Time and The Best Old Movies for Families: A Guide to Watching Together. His voice as a film expert extends beyond the Globe to publications such as the New York Times, Spin, and the Boston Phoenix, and to NECN, MSNBC, and various local and national radio programs.

ANDREW COHEN

Professor of Physics

Cinema Physica: King Kong

Prof. Cohen conducts research in theoretical high-energy physics. He is the president of the Aspen Center for Physics, a fellow of the American Physical Society, and a recipient of the Gitner award for distinguished teaching. Prof. Cohen holds degrees in music and physics from Stanford University and a doctoral degree in physics from Harvard University. He frequently teaches Cinema Physica, a course for non-scientists exploring the physical principles underlying the natural world by using popular films.

R. Curtis Ellison, MD

Professor of Medicine and Public Health

Taste the Benefits: Wine and Chocolate

Dr. Ellison is best known to the public for his research on what is known as the French Paradox, which refers to the fact that the French have a high-fat diet and other risk factors yet have very low rates of coronary heart disease, at least partly due to the regular consumption of wine. An award-winning researcher, educator, and speaker, Dr. Ellison established and became director of the Institute on Lifestyle & Health at Boston University School of Medicine in 1994. Dr. Ellison also serves as a senior investigator for the famed Framingham Study and has published more than 200 scientific papers.

LISA FALSO

Food Stylist

Cooking Up Culture: Lombardy Classics

Lisa Falso's work can be seen in the Wednesday food section and Short Orders column of the Boston Globe, as well as television productions for WGBH's Simply Ming and A Moveable Feast. Falso attended culinary school at Boston University, where she earned professional certification in culinary arts and cheese studies.

Sally Kellerman

Actress

Robert Altman: Celebration of an American Icon

An American actress and singer, Kellerman is best known for her role as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in the film M.A.S.H. (1970), for which she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Kellerman’s extensive film and television career spans over four decades and more than one hundred credits.

Michael Murphy

Actor

Robert Altman: Celebration of an American Icon

A celebrated character actor, Murphy has worked frequently with Robert Altman and gave his best-known performances for the director: as political operative John Triplette in Nashville, and as presidential candidate Jack Tanner in the acclaimed 1988 HBO miniseries Tanner ’88 (a role he reprised in the 2004 Sundance Channel miniseries Tanner on Tanner). Currently, he can be seen on the CBC series This is Wonderland, for which he won Gemini Awards in 2004 and 2005. His TV credits also include Law & Order and its spin-off Criminal Intent.

Christopher Nowinksi

Codirector, Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, BUSM

Solving the Concussion Crisis

Chris Nowinski is the founder and president of the Sports Legacy Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to solving the sports concussion crisis. A former Harvard football player and WWE professional wrestler, Nowinski was forced to retire a series of concussions forced him to retire in 2003. His challenging recovery from post-concussion syndrome led him to author the book Head Games: Football’s Concussion Crisis, published in 2006, in an effort to educate parents, coaches, and children about this health issue.

Paul Schneider

Chairman and Associate Professor, Department of Film and Television

Robert Altman: Celebration of an American Icon

A member of the Directors Guilds of both America and Canada, Prof. Schneider has directed more than 30 movies for television and numerous television episodes for series such as JAG, L.A. Law, and Beverly Hills 90210. His work has appeared on networks such as NBC, Fox, the Disney Channel, PBS, Animal Planet, and the Lifetime Network. His theater work includes productions for the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater, the Manhattan Theater Club, and Playwrights Horizons.

Mel White

Fitness Instructor

Zumba

Mel White has been teaching step aerobics, kickboxing, and cycling since 2004 and Zumba since 2007. She is a graduate student in the DPD/MS+DI program in nutrition at BU Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitative Sciences, focusing on prenatal and child nutrition. A Wisconsin native, White played POSITION for the SCHOOL basketball MASCOTS while an undergraduate.

Mitchell Zuckoff

Professor of Journalism

Robert Altman: Celebration of an American Icon

Professor Zuckoff is a former special projects reporter at the Boston Globe, where he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for investigative reporting. He is the author of Ponzi’s Scheme: the True Story of a Financial Legend (a New York Times Editors’ Choice) and Choosing Naia: A Family’s Journey, which received the Christopher Award and was named a Massachusetts Honor Book. He coauthored Judgment Ridge: the True Story Behind the Dartmouth Murders, a finalist for the Edgar Award. His latest book, Robert Altman: the Oral Biography, was published to great acclaim in fall 2009.