Galveston Island Film Society
Panelists Bios
Jalene Mack
If you miss Jalene in the courtroom, you may catch her on a stage, TV or in a movie. In the midst of a 20 plus year law career, Jalene has been able to merge her many other talents.
Jalene’s most notable acting projects to date include roles in Nexus Entertainment's 5th Ward TV Series, AMC's Better Call Saul, Fortress Production Group’s Lucky Girl, Nexus Entertainment 's My B.F.F.,Warner Brother’s
Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Wayne Slaten’s Osprey,
Weinstein Company’s Hurricane Season, Maverick Entertainment’s A Gangland Love Story, KNWS Channel 51’s As for Me & My House, Warner Brothers DVD release of Mike Jones: The American Dream, WB’s film Treasure in Tha Hood,
The Madam’s Family: The Truth About Canal Street Brothel, The Great Divide currently running on Centric and Netflix; and as Jasmine in her 1st self-written/produced play, Off Hollywood: The Play, both performances earned her
a standing ovation. She has starred in ten theater productions in all including
the long-running national touring play, There’s One in Every Family starring Shirley Murdock. Let’s not forget the role that made her a Houston
spokesperson icon, The Fiesta Mart Lady.
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Andre' Hilton
The astounding principal interior designer on the rise, Andre’ Jordan Hilton is well known for his tailored curated style. Infusing each space he designs with heavy textures and quiet layers, he carefully marries each unique piece to the next, forming extraordinary fashionably elegant, bold and eclectic retreats.
With his background studies in Architecture, Hilton possesses a bold and creative eye for exploring the unknown. He creates rooms as he often refers
to as “cities”. “There are so many places you'd want to explore in whatever
city you are in. I want my clients to be eager to touch, sit, feel, see, and
enjoy everything around them, just as though they would in their city of choice.
His pension for fashion is a priority when tailoring rooms to fit the bodies that reside there. He believes being timeless is key when infusing fashion into his clients homes. Setting out to build rooms that showcase his clients in their brightest form, Andre carefully assesses each one of his clients. "I want the spaces to speak to who they are, show them off a bit, while at the same time, providing what they need just as much as what they want”.
Hilton was recently awarded as one of the TOP 20 African American Interior Designers in the country. He has worked as the design consultant for HGTV’s hit series “Flipping Virgins” helping the show transform numerous homes into show stopping investments. As one of Atlanta’s leading designers, his impeccable style and flair, bring a fresh new wind to the world of design.
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Jacqueline King-Howell
Jacqueline King-Howell is an actor/filmmaker originally hailing from Barbados, now based between Houston, Texas and NYC.
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As an actor, Jacqueline has appeared/starred in several films, tv series,
and stage plays including the Jim Carrey award winning film I Love You
Phillip Morris, HBO’s The Deuce, and the acclaimed play B-Boy Blues.
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As a filmmaker, Jacqueline’s first film Judy's Child, based on her personal journey with her mom's breast cancer fight, was selected for several film festivals and made the coveted top 20 HBO list for ABFF. That selection led
to being included on platforms such as Comcast, Unreel, Bid Slate, Amazon,
and others.
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Jacqueline followed that with her dark dramedy, White Pickett Fence, that takes
a look at the price one is willing to pay for the perfect life and image.
The award- winning film, which gives a nod to Jacqueline’s love of Hitchcock
and the Twilight Zone, has been the proud recipient of several awards including Houston MPAC’s Best Dark Comedy and LA Independent Shorts award for Best Narrative.
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Based on the reception of White Pickett Fence by the general audience and industry insiders alike, Jacqueline was hired to write, direct, and produce a segment for Sesame Street. That segment is now airing on HBO.
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Jacqueline has also been a guest speaker for Sesame Street during a pitch session workshop for the Color of Conversations series in D.C. And she was
also invited to be one of the speakers at the Toronto Black Film Festival
“Meet the Filmmakers” master-class panel.
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Currently, Jacqueline is working on additional projects for Sesame Street, pitching her features and series, in pre-production for her next films In Fear
For My Life and Hear Me (starring in the latter), and producing other works by
up and coming writers who have sought her expertise in the filmmaking arena.
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Justin Bowers
Justin Bowers was born August 9, 1990, in Houston, Texas. As a kid his mom would buy a prodigious amount of movies from several out of business Blockbusters for him to enjoy-he watched all of them. This is where his love
for filmmaking started. He would also make homemade little movies with his cousins. When he played his movies for people to watch, he loved seeing their reactions. That made him continue down the path of creating more movies and letting his vivid imagination go wild. Justin went to ten different high schools in the greater Houston area, due to his mom being in the oil and gas business, where he picked up photography. After high school Justin bought a GoPro with some basic film equipment and started to make wedding videos. Word of mouth got around about his professionalism and high quality videos that quickly made him a highly sought after videographer. At the same time he was working on other videos for various organizations like: Chili Quest & Beer Fest, Galveston Island Wine Festival, Galveston Shrimp Festival, and taking pictures for Google
as a Google trusted photographer.
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While learning a lot on the job he felt he could learn even more by attending film school. He enrolled at the HCC Film Program where he did in fact learned a great deal. The knowledge he learned from school would later be applied in his work. It was at this time he started his first video production company with his cousins Sam Rossiello and Max Wingert. That company was SMJ Productions. They got glowing reviews from their wedding videos to commercials they filmed for small businesses all around Houston. The company began to expand and that’s when they decided it was time they moved from their humble garage to an office building. They concretely had a reputable reputation that brought them lavish work from such clients as: Tile, Jim Bean, Dish Society, Uber Eats, Grubhub, Academy Sport and Outdoors, and many more. As they acquired more and more clients it was time to move again to a bigger space to keep up with the demand. He also decided to rebrand the company now known as Captiv Creative.
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As his clientele grew so did his team. He has created numerous jobs for local filmmakers to aid him on his videos. He’s also opened his doors to students from Turner High School. They earn school credit as they are there for the entire process of filmmaking. Justin loves teaching and will continue with the school program. Justin just finished a mini doc series with a local fishing tycoon that can be found on YouTube, “The Monsta Catch.” He’s also working on various pilots as he hopes to get them off the ground soon. He is also currently working on adapting a World War II book based on a true story. When Justin isn’t filming he is in his backyard tending to his aquaponics garden where he is growing all types of produce. He also enjoys working with motion controlled robotics to create the impossible shot to be created over and over again for the perfect shot. Justin also spends quality time with his fiancé. They love to spend time in Croatia.
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Marvin Walters
Marvin Walters is a retired Professional Motion Picture 2nd Unit Action Director, Stunt Coordinator, Stuntman, and Consultant.
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Walters as the chair of the Galveston Island Film Festival and Conference
brings 32 years of knowledge about the Entertainment Industry.
As a 2nd Unit Action Director, Stunt Coordinator and Stuntman, with responsibilities varied from creating budgets ranging from $5,000 to as
high as $1.5 million per project, as well as supervised from 1 to as many
as 125 stuntmen and women at various times on motion picture and television productions. Coordinating with 1st and 2nd Directors, Cinematographer, shooting schedules and camera angles.
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Marvin is the founder of “The Black Stuntman’s Association” in 1967. This organization was formed to help open doors in the film and television industry for black stuntman to serve as stunt-doubles for the black actors.
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In 1972, Along with Jade David the “Coalition of Black Stuntmen and Women” was formed. By setting goals and timetables, Walters and David contribution impacted the entire motion picture industry.
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In 1976 Marvin was selected by MGM Studios as an Affirmative Action
Consultant to locate minority hiring employment areas.
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In 1984 he graduated from “Paramount Pictures Associate Producers Program”.
In 1994 Marvin and Jade Co-founded The Alliance of Stunt Performers of Color for the Screen Actors Guild.
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He was co-writer, co-creator of the first six story lines for FORTUNE DANE, A television series starring Carl Weathers in 1986 for ABC.
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An author and publisher of “AWAKENING GIANT”, and the author of “SO YOU WANNA BE A STUNT PERSON”, now on Amazon.
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Dan Braverman
Dan Braverman is a Galveston, Texas based actor with more than twenty years
of stage and screen experience. He has appeared in over thirty motion pictures, sharing the screen in supporting and co- starring roles with A-Listers including Antonio Banderas, Taye Diggs, Michael Madsen, Oscar nominees Meg Ryan and Charles Durning, and Oscar winner Nicolas Cage.
He has also appeared in guest starring roles in several TV series, including Friday Night Lights, Prison Break and Breakout Kings.
A versatile character actor, Dan has worked in every genre from drama, horror and science fiction to action and romantic comedy.
Dan plays co-starring roles in two upcoming Galveston-based projects;
Manny, a boxing drama, and The Bat, a Batman fan film. He is also currently writing a farcical western comedy, The Chifferobe Kid Rides Again!, which will largely be shot in Galveston, in 2020.
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Gary Foster
Gary Foster’s is a veteran film and video professional whose career spans over 40 years. In 1974, while still in high school, Gary began working as a studio camera operator and before he left for college was directing newscasts.
His college years were spent at Abilene Christian University, paying for his education by working at local radio and tv stations as a country music &
top 40 disc jockey, sports & news photographer as well as a news reporter
for both radio and television.
After graduation, Gary’s film & video camera work was noticed by the producer of several nationally syndicated TV shows. Relocating from Texas to Washington D.C. and then Atlanta, Gary shot and produced 2-3 stories weekly while traveling internationally to Europe and other continents.
After two years, Gary, now 25, accepted the opportunity todevelop and produce
a new afternoon talk show in Minneapolis, MN. The show on KSTP-TV became
an indisputable hit, consistently winning its time slot up against The Oprah Winfrey show. Even though the show was a huge success, Gary allowed his
love life to intervene and in 1984, followed his fiancé, Stephanie, to Los Angeles.
Arriving in Hollywood with solid experience, great contacts and a bit of talent, Gary began to find work as a director, cameraman and editor.Establishing his own production business his clients soon included Showtime, CCN, BBC as well as all the major television networks.
While working in Hollywood, Gary’s work was multi-faceted. He was DP for training films for Kinkos; partnered with Mary Hart of Entertainment Tonight
and Deidre Hall from Days of Our Livesin creating video resumes for actors
and was recruited by Academy winning producer, Arthur Shapiro to edit on
a series of documentaries starring Whoopie Goldberg and Tom Selleck.
During this time, Gary was also editing movie trailers for major feature films including Pretty Women, Little Mermaidand Dick Tracy.
The biggest influence on Gary’s Hollywood career was his professional relationship with Laugh Inand Real Peopleproducer, George Schlatter.
While working for George, Gary was nominated for five National Emmy Awards
(3 for editing and 2 for camerawork). “There were many projects where I would write, direct, shoot and edit a segment. George was one of the few producers
in Hollywood who was willing to utilize allof my skills.” The most memorable experience was while working on a concert tour simply entitled: The Ultimate Event with Frank, Sammy and Liza. “Riding around in a limo with Frank Sinatra
is an experience you never forget.”
As the 1990’s began, Gary and Stephanie (who was now his wife)made plans
to leave Los Angeles and return to Texas to be closer to family. During that transition, Gary broadened his client base to work for corporations with household names like Miller Brewing, Johnson Wax, and Bank One. He was also the editor for President George H. Bush’s (unsuccessful) re-election campaign.
In 1994, Gary moved to Texas to work for Bill Young Productions (BYP). In that role, he edited literally 100-150 music videos. In 1995, BYP swept the Music Video category at the Houston International Film Festival, taking Gold, Silver, Bronze and Honorable Mention… all with videos lisintg Gary as the editor.
Throughout the last two decades Gary has worked with numerous clients as the editor of national commercials, corporate presentations for many of Houston’s Fortune 500 companies and large charity galas and dinners. During the Horizon oil spill incident, Gary was sent to Louisiana for 9 months to document the cleanup efforts for BP.
After 35 years of constant employment in the film and video industry, Gary began thinking about a change of career. With a strong family connection to higher education, Gary started teaching part-time at the Art Institute of Houston and in 2017, Gary “retired” and began teaching Digital Film Production at MediaTech Institute’s Houston campus.
After more than 40 years in video production, he continues his own education by working on becoming certified as a Texas State Teacher. In 2018, Gary became Houston’s Director of Education for MediaTech Institute.
Greg Carter
Greg Carter is a native of Houston, Texas, a graduate of Texas A&M University and has produced over thirty feature films. After studying under Pulitzer
Prize-winning playwright Charles Gordone, Greg Studied film at Rice's prestigious School of Visual and Dramatic Arts under Professor Brian Huberman with producer Elizabeth Avellan (Robert Rodriguez's partner at Troublemaker Studios). Recognized along with director Richard Linklater with a Institutional grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for programs at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. He served on board of directors of the Southwest Alternate Media Project (SWAMP) and is a respected SXSW Film Festival
alumni. Gregory also studied screen-writing with Academy Award winning writer/producer Pamela Wallace as well as writer/directors John Lee Hancock,
Bill Witliff and Tim McCanlies. His most recent films include Monica aka Lap Dance, Lucky Girl, My B.F.F. and One Crazy Christmas.
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Lap Dance on which Greg served as Writer, Director and Co-Producer stars Mariel Hemingway, James Remar, Carmen Electra, Lynn Whitfield, Briana Evigan and Stacey Dash. "Lap Dance" is being distributed by e-One Entertainment and
is currently available for streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime. The movie
was released to theaters in NYC, Chicago, L.A. and Houston in December of 2014. Lucky Girl, on which Greg served as Producer and Director, was released theatrically in 2015 by eOne Entertainment and is currently airing on BET.
"Lucky Girl" his 11th feature which stars: LeToya Luckett, Columbus Short, Serayah, Malik Yoba, Ella Joyce, Shanti Lowry, Parker Mckenna Posey,
Billy Sorrells, Gary Sturgis, Jalene Mack, Ameer Baraka, Camille Bright,
Junie Hoang, Hawthorne James, And more.
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My B.F.F., screened at the Urbanworld Film Festival in 2016 and the Pan African Film Festival and HBFF in Los Angeles in 2017. The movie stars newcomers Ainsley Bailey (Disney’s Shake it Up); Khail Bryant(The Perfect Holiday) as well
as veteran actors: Malik Yoba, Meta Golding, C. Thomas Howell, Sean Patrick Thomas and Golden Brooks. My B.F.F. is currently airing on the Aspire Network.
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Greg’s latest directorial effort, the BET original comedy, One Crazy Christmas, recently premiered on BET her Network on November of 2018.
The movie stars Tammy Townsend, Sean Blakemore, Terri Vaughn,
Carl Anthony Payne II, Terri Abney and introducing Anton Peeples.
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Mr. Carter’s latest endeavor is in the capacity of Creator and Showrunner for the dramatic television series, 5th Ward, for the AMC Networks latest SVOD service, UMC.tv (Urban Movie Channel). 5th Wardis slated to begin production of
season 2 and 3 in Houston, Texas on May of 2019. The show will also be broadcast on AMC’s WE tv. UMC is also available nationwide on
Comcast’s Xfinity on Demand.
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Greg was presented the Independent Spirit Award and inducted into the Texas Filmmakers Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the 2006 Spindletop Film Festival at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. Greg is represented by Stuart Manashil of the William Morris Agency.
Melody "Rusty" Moss
Melody Moss is an American actor, chorographer and producer. She is known for her versatile portrayal of characters, for her creative vision in dance and for her production integrity.
Melody has had the opportunity to play hundreds of diversified roles, for stage, television and film. Her love affair began with formal training in dance and drama which led her to regional comedy theatre productions and national touring companies on Broadway and Off-Broadway. Always working consistently in the Houston theater scene with Houston Community College, Skyline Theater, The Ensemble, Actors Theatre of Houston, and Main Street Theater. Her tenure
in the theatre included a three-year run with Whatever Happened to Black Love?and Before Time Runs Out, with Thomas Meloncon. Film and Television roles include Is it Me?, The Kangaroo, Sinners, The Rising Son , The Darq, Joy Comes in the Morning, 7 Kilos, Ella and the Sun, Anna Nicole & Starlight, The Preacher’s Daughter, Life with the Meadows,Suspect to Superstar and Divorce Texas Style.
Coming up in the business, Melody has worked behind the scenes as a location scout, production accountant, choreographer, casting director, script supervisor, production coordinator, an UPM and as a producer. She has worked as the production accountant for MGM, the assistant to the director for New Line Cinema and as an associate producer for United Paramount Network.
One of Melody’s projects, an independent feature film calledCook Countywon the 2008 Hollywood Film Festival’s “Best Feature Film.”
In 2006, Melody along with Yankie Grant formed RUSTY YANKIE PRODUCTIONS. Two filmmakers put their experience and knowledge together to produce high quality and challenging media content. Since their creation they have delivered countless features, shorts, TV series,
and Web series.
For the past 30 years, she has trained, and coached artists to achieve their authentic goals.
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Melody is the Founding President and past Board of Directors of Women in Film & Television/Houston, an international organization.
Yankie Grant
Yankie Grant is from Dallas Texas with deep Southern roots. She is a producer, and a proud member of the Screen Actors Guild- AFTRA – Houston-Austin Chapter. She has had versatile characters, which she brings heart and soul to each role.
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Yankie Grant is a comedy/drama actress and charter member of WIFT/Houston. Her acting career began in a Dallas High School Drama class where she won the role of Goldie Hawn in her class spoof of the television series Laugh In. She fell in love with the laughter and applause and the rest, as they say, is history. Yankie has performed in several theaters around Houston, including Skyline Theater, Actors Workshop and the Country Playhouse Black Box. She has also been cast in many films around the Houston Area, i.e. Cook County, Return to Vengeance, E-mails to Heaven and many more. As Yankie moved through the ranks of the film process from pre-production to post production she has worked as wardrobe, script supervisor, production coordinator, Unit Production Manager and on to Casting for Television, Web Series, Films, Short Films and Commercials.
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Yankie is co-owner of Murder Mystery Madness, a Murder Mystery Party Company. Yankie has had the pleasure of working with many talented actors in the industry. She has also acted in several independent films; Cook County, (winning the 2008 Hollywood Film Festival’s “BestFeature Film” ), The Bracelet of Bordeaux, Mexican Gold/Return of the Outlaw, Backstabber, Ella and the Sun, (Official Selection at the Santa Fe Film Festival), ThePreacher’s Daughter (A LifeTime movie), Life with the Meadows, Divorce Texas Style, (Divorce Texas Style Short won a Remi winner at WorldFest – Houston), Border Cross, Burned Soul, and Rolling Road.
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In 2006, Yankie along with Melody Moss formed RUSTY YANKIE PRODUCTIONS. Two filmmakers put their experience and knowledge together to produce high quality and challenging media content. Since their creation they have delivered countless features, shorts, TV series,
and Web series.
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Yankie Grant is also a recent Board of Directors and charter member of Women in Film & Television/Houston, an international organization.
Todd Duplantis
With more than 30-years-experience in broadcasting, Todd Duplantis has spent most of his life in front of a TV camera and behind a microphone. Todd is best known in the broadcasting industry for his extensive coverage of Houston’s most notorious moments, including the Enron finance scandal and the tragic story of the Andrea Yates family.
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Todd was the first helicopter traffic reporter for KRIV in Houston, then quickly moved to full-time news reporter and fill-in anchor. Never one to shy away from the more rigorous elements of reporting, Todd has provided in depth coverage of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita for KRIV. Most recently, after posting several “Facebook live” reports that went viral during Hurricane Harvey, Todd was contacted by WFTS, Tampa Bay’s ABC affiliate to report for their evening newscast.
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In recent years, Todd has transitioned to the public sector, bringing his news savvy to organizations such as Gulf States Toyota and Houston Community College. In his leadership roles with these organizations, Todd implemented broadcast journalism principles that enables his teams to develop relevant public relations content delivered quickly and efficiently.
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Todd joined Houston Community College in 2012 as the director of public relations for the Southwest College. In June of 2015, he returned to broadcasting and television production as he was named director of HCCTV. During his time at HCCTV, Todd launched a weekly newscast, hosted a weekly travel/ entertainment show based on Houston cuisine and anchored several live broadcasts.
In August of 2016, in addition to his duties at HCCTV, Todd was appointed interim public information officer and spokesperson for Houston Community College.
Shelton Jolivette
Jolivette, as he is affectionately known, is a multi-award-winning actor among many other things. He is a man amongst men who lives by a code and four scriptures. Matthew 6:33 (But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you); Proverbs 18:16
(A man’s giftopens doors for him and brings him before great men);
Philippians 4:13 (I can do All things thru Christ who strengthens me);
James 2:26 (faith without works is dead).
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Jolivette believes that If there is something you truly want in this life and it lines up with God’s will foryou, you still must be active and do your part. Being the 5th child, Jolivette was infused with an appreciation to hard work, discipline and most of all sacrifice. Instead of attending college, Jolivette took the military route and joined the US Navy where he served for 4 years. He returned home as a Desert Storm Vet and eventually picked up right where he left off. He is now
an Ordained Minister, a thought- provoking Published Author, a professional photographer along with being an amazing award-winning Actor who loves life and lives it to the fullest.
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Jolivette IMDB credits will show you that he has shared the screen with
notables such as Ian Ziering Regina King and Irma P Hall just to name a few.
He has also shared the stage with the likes of Clifton Powell, Shirley Murdoc
and Thomas “Nephew Tommy” Miles.
Jolivette prides himself with having what it takes to do what it takes to be successful.
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Jolivette...his name says it all. A Renaissance Man indeed.