4,520 1,532 15MB
Pages 483 Page size 516 x 720 pts Year 2009
Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2008
This page intentionally left blank
Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2008 Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture by
HARRIS M. LENTZ III
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Jefferson, North Carolina, and London
Front cover, clockwise from top left: George Carlin, Beverly Garland, Charlton Heston, Bernie Mac
ISSN 1087-9617
/
ISBN-13: 978-0-7864-3482-4
softcover : 50# alkaline paper
©2009 Harris M. Lentz, III. All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Manufactured in the United States of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640 www.mcfarlandpub.com
To the memory of those friends and family lost during 2008 — Forrest J Ackerman, Mitch Schaperkotter, Robert Stinnett, Rena Robilio, Steve White, Scout Alsup, Dr. Joseph Warren Kyle, J.P. Garbarini, James Manire, Dr. Joseph Parker, Brother Adrian Powers, Father Leonard Oglesby, Ruby Alsup, Kay Jones, Oscar Edmonds, Jr., and Kay Linaker, Teala Loring, Algis Budrys, Robert Jordan, Dorothy Green, Rita Quigley, Robert Asprin, Michael Pate, Beverly Garland
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I greatly appreciate the assistance of my mother, Helene Lentz, and my good friend Carla Clark. Special thanks also go to my sister, Nikki Walker, and to Bob King at Classic Images for granting permission to use information from my columns. Also, thanks to Rosa Burnett and the staff at State Technical Institute Library, Tom Weaver, Fred Davis, the late Forrest J Ackerman, John Beifuss, Ray Neilson, John Whyborn, Boyd Magers, Larry Tauber, Andrew “Captain Comics” Smith, Jimmy Walker, Tony Pruitt, Greg Bridges, Bobby Mathews, Kent Nelson, George and Leona Alsup, Betty Alsup, Toni Cerritto, Dale Warren, Andrew Clark, Aarin Prichard, Dr. Mark Heffington, Anne Taylor, Andy Branham, John Nelson, Richard Allynwood, Frank de Azpillaga, Irv Jacobs, Bill Warren, Bob Cuneo, Alun Jones, Marty Baumann, Joe Caviolo, John Hiestand, Rusty White of Entertainment Insiders, Russ Blatt of Life in Legacy, the folks at VoyForums: Celebrity Obits (especially Barbara, Peggy, Rocket, Loren, Greg, Chronicler, Rocket, Buckeye, Danny, Doc Rock, Darren, Francesca, Geazer, Teller, Ed Tracey, James, John, Kristian, Loretta, Micki, and Missy-Jo), Joy Martin, Denise Tansil, Blaine Lester, Louis and Carol Baird, Carlin and Renee Stuart, Melanie Pinson, Marlene Taylor, Greg Bridges,
Maggie Hernandez, Dia Barbee, “Doc,” Dave Ramsey, Ray and Judy Herring, Don and Elaine Kerley, Mark Webb, Wally Traylor, Jerry Van Hausen, Michael Roberts, Jennifer Eggleston, Lance Freemon, Darryl & Amy Wheeler, Grace Garcia, Daniel Dixon, Kevin Britt, Jordan Lacina, Brett Fleming, John Beck, Scotty Scheno, Pierre, Steve Tines, Josh Cleary, Katee Bengel, Ronnie McAfee, Mark Ledbetter, Dennis Traylor, Keith Thomas Price, Abby Jean Pafford, Becca, Gwen Beatley, John Anglin, Brian Theros, Jimmy Sowell, Reggie Johnson, Marvin Massey, Bob Baldwin, Kira Christensen, Shannon Carrico, Sean and Amber Hart, Heather Rich, Katie Brittney Peyton, Steve Montgomery, Keith Prince, Laura Crofcheck, Jim Fields, Michelle, Travis Williams, Jessica Housley, Timothy Cleary, Tracy Bonds, Tom Patrick, Mike Robillio, Phyllis Cline, Jason Millican, Jerry Warloh, Hayden Brown, the fine folks at J. Alexanders, Willy Moffitt’s, Sidecar, Hooters, T.J. Mulligans, Bubba’s, East End, the Memphis Film Festival, Ray Grier, Glinda Kelley and Suntae of the Ellendale Post Office, the gang at AOL’s Classic Horror Film Board, Tommy Gattas, James Gattas, Emma Brown, the University of Memphis Library and the Memphis, Shelby County, and Bartlett public libraries.
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments vi Introduction ix Reference Bibliography xiii The 2008 Obituaries
vii
1
This page intentionally left blank
INTRODUCTION The year 2008 saw the passing of another great number of celebrities from around the globe. From household names and faces to bit players and behindthe-scenes personnel, this book records the passings of those who made contributions large and small to the performing arts and popular culture. During the year we lost screen legend Paul Newman, the Oscarwinning star of The Hustler, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and many other films. Fellow Oscar winner Charlton Heston, who starred in such epics as The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, and The Planet of the Apes, also passed on, as did rising star Heath Ledger, who captivated audiences in Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight as the Joker. The world was a little less funny with the loss of veteran comedian George Carlin, who told us the “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television”; Bernie Mac, one of the Original Kings of Comedy; Dick Martin of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh In; and Harvey Korman of The Carol Burnett Show. Roy Scheider, who faced a killer shark in Jaws and Jessica Lange’s lovely embodiment of death in All That Jazz, finally succumbed to her charms. Leading actor Richard Widmark, who made his film debut gleefully shoving an elderly woman down a flight of stairs in Kiss of Death, and Paul Scofield, who lost his head and earned an Academy Award for his role as Sir Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons, are among filmdom’s losses. Leading lady Suzanne Pleshette, who went from a victim of The Birds to the television spouse of Bob Newhart, and Beverly Garland, the Roger Corman scream queen turned My Three Sons mom, are also found within these pages. The year also saw the passing of the Beatles’ favorite guru, Transcendental Meditation pioneer Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and my own personal guru
and mentor, editor, writer, and science fiction fan extraordinaire Forrest J Ackerman. We also lost the iconic pin-up girl of the 1950s, Bettie Page, and the decade’s more ghoulish femme fatale, pioneering horror hostess Maila “Vampira” Nurmi. Actress and entertainer Eartha Kitt, who made a purr-fect Catwoman on the Batman television series, and light leading man Van Johnson, who also starred as the bat-villain the Minstrel, also passed on, as did Neal Hefti, who composed the classic theme to the 1960s series. Isaac Hayes, who earned an Oscar for his rousing theme from Shaft and later voiced the Chef for the animated South Park, and Rudy Ray Moore, who created the ultimate blaxploitation hero Dolemite, passed on. We also lost leading actor Mel Ferrer, actress and dancer Cyd Charisse, comedienne and singer Edie Adams, actress Nina Foch, horror leading lady Hazel Court, film femme fatale Ann Savage, and troubled child actor Brad Renfro. Black Orpheus’ ill-fated lovers, Marpessa Dawn and Breno Mello, died weeks apart, and Never on Sunday director Jules Dassin and Oscar-winning screenwriter Abby Mann also passed on. Two of the last survivors from the 1939 film classic, Tarleton twin Fred Crane and Scarlett’s sister Suellen, Evelyn Keyes, are now Gone with the Wind. Arthur C. Clarke, the scientist and writer who helped put communications satellites in orbit and bring 2001: A Space Odyssey to the screen, left a major void. We also lost author Michael Crichton, who penned such novels as The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park, and special effects wizard Stan Winston, who brought to filmic life the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park and the extraterrestrial horrors of Aliens. Several leading voices were silenced, including rock and roll pioneer Bo Diddley, country music
ix
Obituaries • 2008 stars Eddy Arnold and Jerry Reed, Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright, Four Tops vocalist Levi Stubbs, folk singing legend Odetta, and African vocalist Miriam Makeba. The year also saw the passing of the literary luminaries British playwright Harold Pinter and Russian novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, both Nobel Prize laureates. A host of Oscar-winning directors also departed, including Sydney Pollack (Out of Africa), Anthony Minghella (The English Patient) and Robert Mulligan (To Kill a Mockingbird). The year’s deaths represent a myriad of diverse talents that include pianist, mystery writer, and presidential daughter Margaret Truman Daniel; Cambodian Killing Fields survivor Dith Pran; Bozo the Clown Larry Harmon; French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent; fashion maven Mr. Blackwell; the New Zealand mountaineer who conquered Mount Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary; Deep Throat director Gerard Damiano; sportscaster Jim McKay; composer Earle Hagen, who wrote and whistled The Andy Griffith Show theme; drama critic Clive Barnes; Dungeons & Dragons creator Gary Gygax; Hula Hoop inventor Richard Knerr; chess champion and eccentric Bobby Fischer; and the inspirational deliverer of “The Last Lecture,” Randy Pauch. The passings of numerous film and television personalities are also recorded, including John Phillip Law, the blind angel from Barbarella; Chinatown’s Lt. Escobar, Perry Lopez; Robocop’s Sgt. Reed, Robert DoQui; Grease’s Blanche Hodle, comedian Dody Goodman; silent screen star Anita Page; Al Jolson’s Sonny Boy, Davey Lee; Little Rascal Buddy McDonald; John Michael Hayes, the scripter for Hitchcock’s Rear Window; Dale Evans’ stunt double Alice Van-Springsteen; Casablanca actress Joy Page; Apocalypse Now actor Sam Bottoms; Disney animator Ollie Johnston; Charlie Chan leading lady and The Blob screenwriter Kay Linaker; child actor Delmar Watson; Charles Schram, the Cowardly Lion’s make-up artist from The Wizard of Oz; Munchkin Lewis Croft; film trailer voice-over artist Don LaFontaine, known as the “voice of God”; and character actors Don S. Davis, George Keymas, Robert Prosky, Christopher Allport, George Furth, Henry Beckman, John Furlong, Paul Sorensen, Robert Russell, House Peters, Jr., Richard Angarola, Wayne Heffley, and Peter Mamakos. The world of cult films took heavy losses with Michael Pate, the vampire gunslinger from Curse of the Undead; Indonesian horror film queen Suzzanna;
x German horror star Dieter Eppler; Death Race 2000’s Matilda the Hun, Roberta Collins; John Forbes-Robertson, who starred as Count Dracula in Hammer’s The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires; Hammer horror’s Scandanavian sex symbol Julie Ege; Frankenstein’s Daughter mad scientist Donald Murphy; television horror host Tommy “Dr. Shock” Reynolds; Filipino cult film director Cirio Santiago; Forbidden Planet’s electronic music composer Bebe Barron; Plan 9 from Outer Space Reverend Lynn Lemon; French makeup effects artist Benoit Lestang; Japanese special effects artists for Ultraman Koichi Takano; The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2’s Grandpa, Ken Evert; Creature from the Black Lagoon scripter Arthur Ross; and Ben Chapman, the man beneath the creature costume. A host of television performers made their final curtain call including Mr. Bentley from The Jeffersons, Paul Benedict; Golden Girls’ matriarch Sophia, Estelle Getty; Barry Morse, who trailed The Fugitive as Inspector Gerhard; Monk’s psychiatrist Dr. Kroger, Stanley Kamel; The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.’s Lord Bowler, Julius Carry; Hogan’s Heroes’ Sgt. Kinchloe, Ivan Dixon; Rawhide’s Clay Forrester, Charles H. Gray; Starsky and Hutch’s Captain Dobey, Bernie Hamilton; Rhoda’s husband Joe, David Groh; Kung Fu: The Legend Continues’ The Ancient, Kim Chan; Peter Gordeno, star of the cult sci-fi series UFO; All in the Family’s Barney Hefner and The Brady Bunch’s Sam the Butcher, Allan Melvin; Peter Kastner, the star of the legendary bomb The Ugliest Girl in Town; Hee Haw comic Jim Hager; and soap opera stars Beverlee McKinsey, Irene Dailey, Larry Haines, Eileen Herlie, and Shell Kepler. The world of Star Trek was hit hard over the past year with losses that include Majel Barrett Roddenberry, the creator’s widow, who appeared in all aspects of the franchise; Alexander Courage, who composed the opening theme for the original series; Joseph Pevney, a frequent director for the original series; and Star Trek fandom pioneer Joan Winston. Several familiar faces from reality television passed on including Amazing Race competitor Margaretta Groark; Blush: The Search for the Next Great Make-Up Artist finalist Todd Homme; A Double Shot of Love contestant Kandace Hutchinson; and Australian Idol finalist Levi Kereama. The world of political punditry was lessened with the loss of legendary conservative writer and spokesman William F. Buckley, Jr., White House press secretary and
xi political commentator Tony Snow, and Meet the Press host Tim Russert. We also lost several lovelies that graced the centerfolds of Playboy magazine over the decades including Diane Webber, Tiffany Sloan, Carol Vitale, and Debbie Boostrom. Other notable musical passings include big band singers Jo Stafford and Connie Haines; Marilyn Manson bandmate Gidget Gein; Sons of the Pioneers singer Dale Warren; Dave Clark Five lead singer Mike Smith; “Daytime Believer” songwriter John Stewart; Motown producer and songwriter Norman Whitfield; Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler; Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Norman Dello Joio; operatic soprano Gail Robinson; Jimi Hendrix band members Mitch Mitchell and Buddy Miles; tenor Giuseppe di Stefano; Lou Teicher of the piano duo Ferrante and Teicher; Dewey Bramlett of the pop group Delaney and Bonnie and Friends; and rappers MC Breed, KL, Johnny J. Jackson, and VL Mike. Musicians and singers throughout the world are also part of this year’s necrology including Peruvian multi-octave vocalist Yma Sumac; Australian Aboriginal didgeridoo player Alan Dargin; Hawaiian slack-key guitarist Ray Kane; Japanese taiko drummer Daihachi Oguchi; Swiss yodeler Ruedi Rymann; one-armed Mexican violinist Angel Tavira; blind blues guitarist Jeff Healey; Hawaiian singer Aunty Genoa Leilani Keawi; gospel singers Dottie Rambo and Ira Tucker of the Dixie Hummingbirds; Irish folk singer Ronnie Drew; and German singer Hannelore Jacob of the Hampster Dancing Jacob Sisters. The literary losses of the past year also include Pulitzer Prize–winning author Studs Terkel; mystery writer Donald E. Westlake; Harry Flashman creator George MacDonald Fraser; Fletch creator Gregory Mcdonald; detective novelist Tony Hillerman; and science fiction writers Robert Asprin, Thomas Disch, and Algis Budrys. Several leading comic figures passed on including Howard the Duck creator Steve Gerber; Little Annie Fanny cartoonist Will Elder; and the creators of The Rocketeer (Dave Stevens), Witchblade (Michael Turner), and Hazel (Ted Key). Professional wrestling, also known as sports entertainment, saw the passing of such legendary characters as Killer Kowalski, Elephant Boy, Chief White Owl, Oni Wiki Wiki, Roughhouse Fargo, Penny Banner, Judy Grable, Rudy Kay, and Special Delivery Jones. The rising sport of mixed martial arts also lost several young competitors under tragic
2008 • Obituaries circumstances including Evan Tanner, Justin Levens, and Justin Eilers. The numerous entries range from break dancer Frosty Freeze to prima ballerina Rosella Hightower; from Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann, who discovered LSD, to cult documentary director Robert Ground of The Weird World of LSD; and from Johnny Grant, the honorary mayor of Hollywood to Ali Oop, the kissing bear. This book provides a single source that notes the deaths of all major and many minor figures in the fields of film, television, cartoons, theatre, music and popular literature throughout the world. The obituaries contain pertinent details of deaths including date, place and cause, of more than 1330 celebrities. Biographical information and career highlights and achievements are also provided. I have also included a complete-as-possible filmography for film and television performers. I have discontinued the practice of including citations with individual entries, as more often than not I have utilized online sources for much of the information. Both print and online resources used are listed below and in the bibliography. A photograph has been included for the majority of the individuals. I have been writing obituaries of film personalities for more than 30 years, beginning with a column in Forry Ackerman’s Famous Monsters of Filmland in the late 1970s. Many of the film obituaries in this work are taken from my monthly column in Classic Images (P.O. Box 809, Muscatine, IA 52761), a newspaper devoted to classic films and their performers. Information on the passing of the individuals found has been gathered from a myriad of sources. Primary sources include the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Times (of London), the Washington Post, Variety, Time, People, TV Guide and Newsweek. Other sources include Boyd Mager’s Western Clippings, the Memphis Commercial Appeal, the Hollywood Reporter, the (Manchester) Guardian, the Comics Buyer’s Guide, Locus, Pro Wrestling Torch, Psychotronic Video, the Comics Journal and Facts on File. Several sources on the internet have also been helpful, including Voyager Forums Obits & Pieces (formerly Celebrity Obits) (http://www.voy.com/ 60649/), Life in Legacy (formerly Famous Deaths — Week in Review) (http://www.lifeinlegacy.com/), Entertainment Insiders (http://www.einsiders.com/ features/columns/2008obituaries), and the Internet Movie Database, Ltd. (http://www.us.imdb.com/).
This page intentionally left blank
REFERENCE BIBLIOGRAPHY Books
Finch, Yolande. Finchy. New York: Wyndham Books, 1981. Fisher, Dennis. Horror Films Directors, 1931–1990. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1991. Hunter, Allan, ed. Chambers Concise Encyclopedia of Film and Television. New York: W&R. Chambers, 1991. Katz, Ephraim. The Film Encyclopedia, 2d ed. New York: HarperPerennial, 1994. Malloy, Alex G., ed. Comic Book Artists. Radnor, PA: Wallace-Homestead, 1993. Maltin, Leonard, ed. Movie and Video Guide 1995. New York: Signet, 1994. Marill, Alvin H. Movies Made for Television. Westport, CT: Arlington House, 1980. Mathis, Jack. Republican Confidential, Vol. 2: The Players. Barrington, IL: Jack Mathis Advertising, 1992. McNeil, Alex. Total Television. New York: Penguin, 1996. Monaco, James. Who’s Who in American Film Now. New York: Zoetrope, 1988. Nash, Jay Robert, and Stanley Ralph Ross. The Motion Picture Guide. 10 vols. Chicago: Cinebooks, 1985. Nowlan, Robert A., and Gwendolyn Wright Nowlan. The Films of the Eighties. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1991. Oliviero, Jeffrey. Motion Picture Players’ Credits. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1991. Parrish, James Robert. Actors’ Television Credits 1950– 1972. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1973. _____. Film Actors Guide: Western Europe. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1977. Ragan, David. Who’s Who in Hollywood, 1900–1976. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House, 1976. Rovin, Jeff. The Fabulous Fantasy Films. South Brunswick, NJ: A.S. Barnes, 1977. Terrace, Vincent. Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials, 1937–1973. New York: Zoetrope, 1986.
The Academy Players Directory. Beverly Hills, CA : Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, 1978–2008. The American Film Institute Catalog: Feature Films, 1911–20. Patricia King Hansen, ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988. American Film Institute Catalog: Feature Films, 1921–30. Kenneth W. Munden, ed. New York : R.R. Bowker, 1971. The American Film Institute Catalog: Feature Films, 1931–40. Patricia King Hansen, ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993. American Film Institute Catalog: Feature Films, 1961–70. Richard P. Krafsur, ed. New York: R.R. Bowker, 1976. Brooks, Tim. The Complete Directory of Prime Time TV Stars. New York: Ballantine, 1987. Brown, Les. The New York Times Encyclopedia of Television. New York: Times, 1977. Bushnell, Brooks. Directors and Their Films. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1993. Chilton, John. Who’s Who of Jazz. Philadelphia, PA: Chilton, 1972. Contemporary Authors. Detroit: Gale Research, various editions. DeLong, Thomas A. Radio Stars. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1996. Dimmitt, Richard Bertrand. An Actors Guide to the Talkies. Two Volumes. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1967. Erickson, Hal. Television Cartoon Shows. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1995. Fetrow, Alan G. Feature Films, 1940–1949. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1994. _____. Feature Films, 1950–1959. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1999. _____. Sound Films, 1927–1939. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1992.
xiii
Obituaries • 2008 _____. Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials, 1974–1984. New York: Zoetrope, 1986. Walker, John, ed. Halliwell’s Filmgoer’s and Video Viewer’s Companion, 10th Edition. New York : HarperPerennial, 1993. Watson, Elena M. Television Horror Movie Hosts. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1991. Weaver, Tom. Attack of the Monster Movie Makers: Interviews with 20 Genre Giants. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1994. _____. Eye on Science Fiction. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2003. _____. I Was a Monster Movie Maker. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2001. _____. Interviews with B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1988. _____. It Came from Weaver Five: Interviews with 20 Zany, Glib and Earnest Moviemakers in the SF and Horror Traditions of the Thirties, Forties, Fifties and Sixties. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1994. _____. Monsters, Mutants and Heavenly Creatures. Baltimore, MD: Midnight Marquee, 1996. _____. Science Fiction and Fantasy Film Flashbacks. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1998. _____. Science Fiction Stars and Horror Heroes. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1991. _____. They Fought in the Creature Features: Interviews with 23 Classic Horror, Science Fiction and Serial Stars. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1994. Who’s Who in the World. Chicago: Marquis Who’s Who, various editions. Willis, John, ed. Screen World. New York: Crown Publishers, 1958–2001.
Internet References NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS Arizona Central — http://www.azcentral.com/ BBC News — http://news.bbc.co.uk/ Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee)— http:// www.commercialappeal.com/ Der Standard — http://derstandard.at/ Guardian Unlimited — http://www.guardian.co.uk/ Hollywood Reporter — http://www.hollywoodreporter. com/hr/index.jsp The Independent — http://news.independent.co.uk/ International Herald Tribune — http://www.iht.com/ La Repubblica — http://www.repubblica.it/ Los Angeles Times — http://www.latimes.com/ The Nation — http://www.nationmultimedia.com/ New York Times — http://www.nytimes.com/ Online Newspapers — http://www.onlinenewspapers. com/ Playbill — http://www.playbill.com/news/ RTE Entertainment — http://www.rte.ie/
xiv Seattle Post-Intelligencer — http://seattlepi.nwsource. com/ The Stage — http://www.thestage.co.uk/ Star Tribune (Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota)— http://www.startribune.com/ Telegraph — http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ Time — http://www.time.com/ Times of India — http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ TimesOnline — http://www.guardian.co.uk/ Variety — http://www.variety.com/ Xinhua — Chinan View — http://news.xinhuanet.com/ english/ Yonhap News — http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/Eng news/
OTHER SITES 1WrestlingLegends — http://www.1wrestlinglegends. com/ alt.obituaries — http://groups.google.com/group/alt. obituaries/ Bruisermania — http://bruisermania.com/ Caskets on Parade — http://www.msu.edu/~daggy/ cop/bkofdead/ Caratteristi e Protagonisti Della Commedia Italina Anni ’70 e ’80— http://www.caratteristi.it/ Cauliflower Alley Club — http://www.caulifloweralley club.org/ Celebrity Deathwatch — http://slick.org/deathwatch/ mailarchive/maillist.html Celebrity Obits — http://www.voy.com/60649/ Classic Horror Film Board — http://pub20.ezboard. com/bmonsterkidclassichorrorforum Dead People Server — http://dpsinfo.com/dps/ Dead Porn Stars — http://www.rame.net/faq/dead porn/ Dead Rock Stars Club — http://thedeadrockstarsclub. com/ Entertainment Insiders — http://www.einsiders.com/ Find a Grave — http://www.findagrave.com/ Gary Will: Deceased Pro Wrestlers — http://www.gary will.com/wrestling/decwres Internet Movie Database — http://www.imdb.com/ Last Link on the Left — http://lastlinkontheleft.com/ finalcredits.html Legacy.com — http://www.legacy.com/Obituaries Life in Legacy — http://www.lifeinlegacy.com/ Memphis Film Festival — http://www.memphisfilm festival.com/ Outpost Gallifrey — http://gallifreyone.com/ Social Security Death Index — http://ssdi.genealogy. rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi Toonopedia — http://www.toonopedia.com/index.htm Wikipedia — http://en.wikipedia.org/ Young Hollywood Hall of Fame — http://www.young hollywoodhof.com/
OBITUARIES IN THE PERFORMING ARTS, 2008 (1979), Can’t Change the Meeting Place (1979), Saturday and Sunday (1982), Look for a Woman (1982), Magicians (1982), The Kiss (1983), The House That Swift Built (1983), In Search for Captain Grant (1985), Naval Cadets, Charge! (1987), A Girl from Rouen Nicknamed Doughnut (1989), The Sukhovo-Kobylin Case (1991), and The Lost Expedition (1996). Abdulov starred as Lavr in the 2002 television series Next, and the 2003 sequel Next 2. He also starred as Blifford Linds in the series Fatalisty in 2003, and was seen in the television mini-series Master and Margaret (2005) and Anna Karenina (2007).
ABDULOV, ALEKSANDR Russian actor Aleksandr Abdulov died of cancer in Moscow on January 3, 2008. He was 54. Abdulov was born in Tobolsk, Russia, on May 29, 1953. He began performing as an actor in the early 1970s and was seen in the 1973 film About Vitya, about Masha and the Sea Force. He also performed on stage, and appeared in such films as Moscow, My Love (1974), The Lost Expedition (1975), Golden River (1976), 72 Gradusa Nizhe Nulya (1976), Front Beyond the Front Line (1977), The Scarlet Flower (1977), A Moment Decides Everything (1978), Don’t Leave Your Lovers (1979), The Sicilian Defence (1980), Carnival (1981), Facts of the Past Day (1981), The Woman in White (1982), Recipe of Her Youth (1983), The Most Charming and Attractive (1985), Secrets of Madame Wong (1986), Guard Me, My Talisman (1986), The Spy (1987), the 1987 Russian film adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians (aka Desyat Negrityat), To Kill a Dragon (1988), For the Beautiful Ladies! (1989), Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District (1989), Black Rose Is an Emblem of Love (1989), Sons of Bitches (1990), Anecdotes (1990), The Insulted and the Injured (1991), Genius (1991), House Under the Starry Skies (1991), The Siege of Venice (1991), Gold (1992), Tyuremnyy Romans (1993), Nastya (1993), Over the Dark Water
ACKERMAN, ANDREW Television producer Andrew Ackerman died of cancer in Los Angeles on July 27, 2008. He was 55. Ackerman was born on December 7, 1952. He began his career in television in 1977 at Lorimar Television serving as a production assistant on the mini-series The Blue Knight. He continued to work at Lorimar on such productions as Eight Is Enough, Kaz, Berengers, and Falcon Crest. He was named director of production at Lorimar in 1986, supervising production of such series as Max Headroom, Homefront, and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. He also produced the 1990 series Gabriel’s Fire. Ackerman was vice president of production when Lorimar merged with Warner in 1993, and retained his post with Warner Bros. Television. He oversaw production of such series as ER, Friends, Norm, The West Wing, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, The Drew Carey Show, and Third Watch. After leaving Warner he served as executive producer for the series Jack & Bobby, Everwood, Dirty Sexy Money, and Eli Stone. ACKERMAN, FORREST J Forrest J Ackerman, the foremost icon of science fiction fandom whose Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine inspired and informed generations of fellow fans, died of a heart attack after a long illness at his home in Los Angeles on December 4, 2008. He was 92. Ackerman was born in Los Angeles
Aleksandr Abdulov
(1993), Sin: A Story of Passion (1993), Candide (1994), Coffee with Lemon (1994), The First Love (1995), The Black Veil (1995), Woman’s Property (1999), The Christmas Miracle (2000), Shizofreniy (2001), O’key (2002), And in the Morning They Woke Up (2003), Park Sovetskogo Perioda (2006), The Funeral Party (2006), Artistka (2007), and Leningrad (2007). Abdulov also continued to perform, and occasionally direct, in stage productions, notably with the Lenkom Theatre. He also appeared frequently on Russian television in such productions as Twelve Chairs (1977), An Ordinary Miracle (1978), The Pretty Man (1978), That Munchhausen
Forrest J Ackerman (right, with Boris Karloff )
1
Obituaries • 2008 on November 24, 1916. He became a fan of science fiction and fantasy at an early age, seeing his first “imagimovie” (a term he coined), One Glorious Day, in 1922. He bought his first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories, four years later. He was a founder of one of the first group of fans, The Boys’ Science Fiction Club, in 1930. Ackerman was also a contributor to the pioneer fanzine The Time Traveler in 1932. He began correspondence with over 100 fans throughout the world, many of whom were, or would become, major figures in science fiction themselves. Ackerman attended the first World Science Fiction Convention in New York City in 1939, where he wore a futuristic costume that spawned a myriad of costume contests at subsequent cons. He was instrumental in founding the regional organization The Los Angeles Science Fiction Society. Ackerman was in the U.S. Army during World War II for over three years, where he was co-editor of the wartime newspaper at Fort MacArthur. After leaving the army he began a career as a literary agent with such clients as Harry Bates and Raymond F. Jones. He was also instrumental in nurturing the early careers of Ray Bradbury, Charles Beaumont, A.E. Van Vogt, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Ed Wood, and L. Ron Hubbard. He also authored over fifty short stories himself with such titles as “Nyusa, Nymph of Darkness,” “A Martian Oddity,” “Kiki,” “Dhactwhu!— Remember?,” “Death Rides the Spaceways,” “Great Gog’s Grave,” and “The Naughty Venusian.” Ackerman acquired an immense collection of books, magazines, and movie memorabilia that he allowed countless fans to visit and pursue over the decades. During the 1950s he coined the term “sci-fi” as an abbreviation for science fiction. He joined with publisher James Warren to create the landmark magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland in 1958, serving as editor and writer. Ackerman introduced such horror legends as Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Lon Chaney, Sr. and Jr., to a new generation of fans. Earning the name Uncle Forry, his contagious love of all things fantastic inspired such aspiring writers and filmmakers as Steven Spielberg, Stephen King, George Lucas, Rick Baker, John Landis, and Tim Burton. He also produced the English-language translations for the German Perry Rhodan space opera series, which was published paperback by Ace Books from 1969 through 1977. His wife, Wendayne (who died in 1990), supplied most of the translations. Famous Monsters also spawned several shortlived sister publications from Warren including Screen Thrills Illustrated, Spaceman, and Monster World in the 1960s. Famous Monsters continued publication through 1983, and Ackerman remained active editing such shortlived successors as Forrest J Ackerman’s Monsterland and Monsterama, and the one-shot Wonderama. Famous Monsters was resurrected with 1993, and Ackerman was asked to be the editor of the new version. When the new publisher defaulted on promised compensation, Ackerman abandoned his association with the publication. A war of words ensued that brought into question issues of trademark and libel, and Ackerman filed a civil suit against the publisher in 1997. The Los Angeles Superior Court rules in his favor in May of 2000, issuing a verdict of over $700,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. Though the verdict was upheld on appeal, Ackerman
2
Forrest J Ackerman (in 2006)
was unable to acquire financial satisfaction, as the defendant filed for bankruptcy. Failing health also forced Ackerman to sell off a large portion of his collection, after spending years trying to find a suitable museum to donate them to. He moved out of his large house, known as the Ackermansion, and continued to allow fans to visit and tour his reduced collection as the new “mini–Ackermansion” down the road from the House of Pies. Ackerman was also the creator of the name of the luscious female vampire Vampirella who starred in her own black and white comic magazine from Warren in the 1970s. He was credited as associate producer when Vampirella was adapted as a cable tele-film in 1996. His long personal association with films had begun in the 1940s, when he appeared in cameo roles in Hey Rookie (1944), The Farmer’s Daughter (1947), The Homestretch (1947), and The Winner’s Circle (1948). He assisted on the special effects for the Roger Corman sci-fi film The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955), pulling strings for the spaceship. He made memorable cameos as an assembly line worker creating square frames out of circles in the 1964 sci-fi The Time Travelers, and was Dr. Beaumont, who was pummeled to death by the Frankenstein Monster in 1971’s Dracula vs. Frankenstein. His numerous film credits also include The Power (1968), John Landis’ Schlock (1973), Hollywood Boulevard (1976), The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977), The Howling (1981), The Aftermath (1982), the Michael Jackson music video Thriller (1983), Scalps (1983), Amazon Women on the Moon (1987) as the U.S. President, Evil Spawn (1987), Curse of the Queerwolf (1988), Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988), The Laughing Dead (1989), The Wizard of Speed and Time (1989), My Mom’s a Werewolf (1989), Transylvania Twist (1990), My Lovely Monster (1990), Hard to Die (1990), Nudist Colony of the Dead (1991), Braindead (1992), Innocent Blood (1992), Ceremony (1994), That Little Monster (1994), Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfolds (1995), Bikini Drive-In (1995), Vampirella (1996), the short-film Letter to an Angel (1996), Dinosaur Valley Girls (1996), Future War (1997), SadoMannequin (2001), The Vampire Hunter’s Club (2001), The Double-D Avenger (2002), Skinned Deep (2004), The Naked Monster (2005), the tele-film The Scorned (2005), The Boneyard Collection (2006), Scarlet Moon (2006), and The Dead Undead (2007). Ackerman also partici-
3 pated in numerous documentaries including Lugosi: The Forgotten King (1985), Drive-In Madness! (1987), Hollywood Dinosaur Chronicles (1987), Mr. Science Fiction’s Fantastic Universe (1988), The Horror Hall of Fame (1990), Amazing Worlds of Science Fiction and Fantasy (1991), Flying Saucers Over Hollywood: The “Plan 9” Companion (1992), Heartstoppers: Horror at the Movies (1992), Dinosaur Movies (1993), Hollywood Goes Ape! (1994), Hollywood Rated R (1997), Secret Lives: L. Ron Hubbard (1997), Universal Horror (1998), Attack of the 50 Foot Monster Mania (1999), Keepers of the Frame (1999), Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces (2000), Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies (2001), My Life with Count Dracula (2003), The Sci-Fi Boys (2006), and Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman (2006). Ackerman received a special Hugo Award in 1953 as outstanding fan personality, and was given the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1997. He used many aliases and pseudonyms for many endeavors over the years, that included Dr. Acula, Weaver Wright, Spencer Strong, Walter Chinwell, Allis Villette, Alus Kerlay, Laurajean Ermayne, Alden Lorraine, J. Forrester Eckman, Fisher Trentworth, SF Balboa, Hubert G. Wells, Jacques De Forest Erman, Jone Lee Heard, and Sgt. Ack-Ack. He compiled many anthologies and books on science fiction and films. His numerous literary works include The Frankenscience Monster, Gosh! Wow! (Sense of Wonder) Science Fiction, Film Futures, Martiantholog y, Womantholog y, The Gernsback Awards, Expanded Science Fictions Worlds of Forrest J Ackerman and Friends, PLUS, Best Science Fiction for 1973, Rainbow Fantasia: 35 Spectrumatic Tales of Wonder, Worlds of Tomorrow: The Amazing Universe of Science Fiction Art, Mr. Monster’s Movie Gold, A Treasure-Trove of Imagi-Movies, Famous Forry Fotos: Over 70 Years of Ackermemories, Forrest J. Ackerman’s Worlds of Science Fiction, A Reference Guide to American Science Fiction Films, Reel Future, and Ackermantholog y! He was the subject of the 2007 documentary about his life and works entitled Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman. On a personal note, Forry Ackerman was my mentor and my friend for many years. I was inspired by him through the pages of his magazines when I was a youngster, and by him personally as I grew older. My first published work (an obituary, of course) appeared in Famous Monsters under Forry’s auspices. He was also instrumental in securing the publication of my first book (a reference work on horror and sci-fi films) that he also graciously supplied an introduction for. He was a wonderful man whose infectious love for the genre inspired countless “nephews.” Goodbye, Uncle Forry, we’ll never forget you.
ADALIA, KHRYSS Filipino film director and performer Khryss Adalia died of colon cancer in Manila, the Philippines, on October 13, 2008. She was 62. Adalia appeared frequently onscreen from the 1980s, with roles in such films as Soltero (1984), Wake Up Little Susie (1988), Macho Dancer (1988), Petrang Kabayo at ang Pilyang Kuting (1988), Fight for Us (1989), Separada (1994), Mula sa Puso (1999), Live Show (2000), Syotang Bayan (001), 9 Mornings (2002), La Visa Loca (2005),
2008 • Obituaries
Khryss Adalia
and Reyna (2006). Adalia was also noted as a director from the mid–1990s, helming episodes of such television episodes as F.L.A.M.E.S., Rio del Mar, Love 2 Love, Bakekang, Chuchay and the Magic Kamison, Mga Mata ni Anghelita, Ako si Kim Samson, and Sine Novela. Adalia made her final film appearance in the 2008 feature My Monster Mom.
ADAMS, BUCK Adult film actor and director Buck Adams died of complications of heart failure in a Northridge, California, hospital on October 28, 2008. He was 52. He was born Charles Stephen Allen in California on November 11, 1955. He was the brother of porn superstar Amber Lynn and followed her into the adult film industry in the early 1980s. He began his career as an actor before also becoming a director for the 1988 film Squirt. He was also noted for directing the 1993 feature Uninhibited, which was the first R rated film to come out of the adult film industry. His numerous film credits include Suzy’s Birthday Bang (1984), Mama’s Boy (1984), Hot Gypsy Love (1984), The Eyes of Eddie Mars (1984), Body Shop (1984), The Best Little Whorehouse in San Francisco (1984), Backdoor Romance (1984), Wild Things (1985), the Swedish Erotica series (1985), Starved for Affection (1985), She’s a Boy Toy (1985), Schoolgirl By Day (1985), One Night in Bangkok (1985), Marina Vice (1985), Lustfully Seeking Susan (1985), Looking for Mr. Goodsex (1985), Desperate Women (1985), Campus Cuties (1985), Bordello ... House of the Rising Sun
Buck Adams
Obituaries • 2008 (1985, Bootsie (1985), Beverly Hills Heat (1985), 2002: A Sex Odyssey (1985), Sexaholics (1986), Satania (1986), Sailing into Ecstasy (1986), Return of Johnny Wadd (1986), Pleasure Maze (1986), Pink ’n Pretty (1986), The Many Shades of Amber (1986), Lust with the Stranger (1986), Hotel California (1986), Hometown Honeys (1986), Down and Out in New York City (1986), Down and Dirty in Beverly Hills (1986), Crazy with the Heat (1986), Chastity Johnson (1986), Black Lava (1986), Rockey X (1986), Rio Heat (1987), Princess Charming (1987), Nightfire (1987), Mitzi’s Honor (1987), The Million Dollar Screw (1987), Lucky Charm (1987), Good Lust Charm (1987), Dangerous When Wet (1987), Blazing Bedrooms (1987), Three Men and a Barbi (1988), Tail for Sale (1988), Strange Curves (1988), Sophisticated Lady (1988), Port Holes (1988), Mammary Lane (1988), Good Morning Saigon (1988), Double Trouble (1988), Bustin’ Out (1988), Broadcast Nudes (1988), The Amorous Adventures of Janette Littledove (1988), Under the Law (1988), The Ultimate Climax (1989), This Bun’s for You (1989), Tomorrow’s Dreams (1989), The Scarlet Bride (1989), Porn Star’s Day Off (1989), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Breast (1989), Once Upon a Time (1989), Making the Grade (1989), Love on the Hershe Highway (1989), Legal Tender (1989), Great Balls on Fire (1989), Eye of the Tigress (1989), Date with the Devil (1989), China Girl (1989), The Chameleon (1989), Buck’s Excellent Transsexual Adventure (1989), Bimbo Bowlers from Buffalo (1989), Anal Attraction (1989), A Taste of Victoria (1990), Oh! You Beautiful Doll (1990), Knights in Black Satin (1990), Catalina 5-0: Undercover (1990), Breakfast with Tiffany (1990), Behind Closed Doors (1990), Zara’s Revenge (1991), X Factor: The Next Generation (1991), Wicked Fascination (1991), Virgin on the Run (1991), Valleys of the Moon (1991), Two of a Kind (1991), Twin Cheeks 3 (1991), Temptation Eyes (1991), Summer Heat (1991), Roxy (1991), Purely Sexual (1991), The Perfect Stranger (1991), The Midnight Hour (1991), Manbait (1991), Little Secrets (1991), A Little Christmas Tail (1991), Lingerie Busters (1991), Lethal Woman (1991), Hunchback of the Notre Dame (1991), Hard Core Cafe (1991), Ground Zero L.A. (1991), Genie in a Bikini (1991), Frankie and Joanie (1991), Edward Penishands 3 (1991), Debbie Does Wall Street (1991), Bush Wacked (1991), Bubbles (1991), Bite! (1991), Bigger (1991), Anal Fury (1991), Anal Blitz (1991), Blue Fire (1991), All the Way Down (1991), Alley Cat (1991), The All American Girl (1991), Step to the Rear (1992), Silver Elegance (1992), Mystery Date (1992), How to Love Your Lover (1992), The Eternal Idol (1992), Dirty Business (1992), Breast Wishes (1992), The Barlow Affair (1992), Whorelock (1993), Princess Orgasma and the Magic Bed (1993), Naked Goddess (1993), Super Hornio Brothers (1993), More Than a Handful (1993), The Hustlers (1993), Oh My God! I Married an Anal Queen (1993), Eclipse (1993), Colossal Org y (1993), The Butt Sisters Do L.A. (1993), Buttman’s Inferno (1993), Walking on the Wild Side (1994), Titty Bar 2 (1994), Supermodel (1994), Wilde Palms (1994), Stranger at the Back Door (1994), Skid Row (1994), The Secrets of Bonnie & Clyde (1994), Sexual Healing (1994), The Savage (1994), The Revenge of Bonnie & Clyde (1994), Red Light (1994), The Real Story of Tonya & Nancy (1994), The Price Was Right (1994), Paging Betty (1994), Let’s Play
4 Doctor (1994), Nightmare Visions (1994), Intercourse with the Vampire (1994), Gemini (1994), Buck Adams’ Frankenstein (1994), Climax 2000 (1994), The Bottom Dweller Part Deux (1994), Beached Blonde (1994), Babewatch (1994), Bare Ass Beach (1994), Anal Adventures of Suzy Super Slut (1994), De Sade (1994), All the President’s Women (1994), Alice in Analand (1994), The Adventures of Major Morehead (1994), Thunder Road (1995), No Tell Motel (1995), Hot Crotch Coochies (1995), Snow Bunnies (1995), Fantasies of Persia (1995), Little Girl Lost (1995), Hellriders (1995), Beaver & Buttface (1995), Sodomania Smokin’ Sextions (1996), Skin Dive (1996), Gutter Mouths (1996), Blade (1996), Another White Trash Whore (1996), Sleaze (1997), Philmore Butts Taking Care of Business (1997), Booby Trapped (1997), Taste of Evil (1998), Enter the Dragon Lady (1998), Ebony Ecstasy (1998), Born Bad (1998), Route 69 (1999), Major Rock (1999), American Bukkake 4 (1999), Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap 2 (1999), Liquid Blue (2001), Malibu Blue (2003), Boobs A Poppin’ 2 (2003), Layover (2004), Beach Patrol (2004), Reality Test (2005), and Pick-Up Girls (2005). Drug and alcohol problems led to health issue including several heart attacks in the 1990s. He recovered and married his longtime girlfriend, adult actress Aspen Brock, in 1999. In recent years, Adams created a studio where he planned to produce adult material for the internet.
ADAMS, EDIE Actress and comedienne Edie Adams died of complications from cancer and pneumonia at her home in Los Angeles on October 15, 2008. She was 81. She was born Elizabeth Edith Enky in Kingston, Pennsylvania, on April 16, 1927. She trained as a singer at Juilliard, and won the 1950 beauty pageant Miss U.S. Television. Her victory led to an appearance on Milton Berle’s television show. She also became a regular performer on The Ernie Kovacs Show in the early 1950s. She and Kovacs became partners off-screen as well, marrying in September of 1954. Adams made her Broadway debut, appearing in the Leonard Bernstein musical Wonderful Town in 1953. She earned a Tony Award for her role as Daisy Mae in the Broadway musical version of Li’l Abner in 1957. She was featured as the Fairy Godmother in the 1957 television musical Cinderella, and starred in the 1961 television drama The Spiral Staircase. She also appeared in numerous variety, drama, and quiz shows, including Suspense, Appointment with Adventure, The Colgate Comedy Hour, The NBC Comedy Hour, The Steve Allen Show, The Jack Paar Tonight Show, The Perry Como Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, Suspicion, General Electric Theater, The Chevy Show, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Red Skelton Show, The Bell Telephone Hour, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The United States Steel Hour, Take a Good Luck, The DuPont Show of the Week, The Dick Powell Show, What’s My Line?, I’ve Got a Secret, The Dean Martin Show, The Jackie Gleason Show, The Mike Douglas Show, The Hollywood Palace, The Carol Burnett Show, Playboy After Dark, The Bob Hope Show, Stand Up and Cheer, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and The Hollywood Squares. She also starred in her own series on ABC, Here’s Edie and The Edie Adams Show from 1963 to 1964, earning four Emmy nominations. She made her film debut
5
2008 • Obituaries
Edie Adams
Edwin M. Adams, Jr.
in the 1960 Billy Wilder comedy The Apartment, and appeared in the 1961 drama Lover Come Back. Adams was widowed when her comedian husband, Kovacs, was killed in an automobile accident in January of 1962. His death left her with an enormous debt in back taxes. She was eventually able to pay off the debt with her work in commercials and films. Two subsequent marriages, to photographer Marty Mills and jazz musician Pete Candoli, both ended in divorce. Her only child with Kovacs, daughter Mia, was killed in an automobile accident in 1982 while traveling on the same road of her father’s fatal crash. Adams became a familiar face for her long running role as the spokesperson for Muriel cigars, encouraging smokers to “pick one up and smoke it sometime.” She continued to appear in films and television, often spoofing her image as a sexy blonde. Her film credits include Call Me Bwana (1963) with Bob Hope, Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963), the comedy classic The Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) as Monica Crump, Love with the Proper Stranger (1963), Gore Vidal’s The Best Man (1964) as Mabel Cantwell, Made in Paris (1966), The Oscar (1966), The Honey Pot (1967) with Rex Harrison, Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke (1978), Racquet (1979), The Happy Hooker Goes to Hollywood (1980) as Rita Beater, and Boxoffice (1982). Adams was also seen in the tele-films Evil Roy Slade (1972), Superdome (1978), Fast Friends (1979), The Seekers (1979), Make Me an Offer (1980), Portrait of an Escort (1980), A Cry for Love (1980), The Haunting of Harrington House (1981), Shooting Stars (1983), Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter (1984) as Mae West, Adventures Beyond Belief (1987), Jake Spanner, Private Eye (1989), and Armistead Maupin’s mini-series Tales of the City (1993). Her other television credits include episodes of The Lucy Show, Love, American Style, McMillan and Wife, Joe Forrester, Harry O, The Blue Knight, Rosetti and Ryan, Police Woman, The Love Boat, The Eddie Capra Mysteries, Mrs. Columbo, Bosom Buddies, Vega$, Fantasy Island, the soap opera As the World Turns as Roseanne in 1982, Murder, She Wrote, Trapper John, M.D. It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, and Designing Women. ADAMS, EDWIN M., JR. Edwin M. Adams, Jr., a lawyer and diplomat turned actor, died of lymphoma in a retirement community in Potomac Falls, Virginia, on October 17, 2008. He was 94. Adams was born in Gridley, Illinois, on January 18, 1914. He considered
an acting career while attending the University of Illinois, but proceeded to earn a degree in law instead in 1939. He worked with the State Department’s World Trade Intelligence Division in the early years of World War II before enlisting in the U.S. Navy. After the war he served as legal attaché for the Allied Commission, searching out Nazi assets hidden in banks in Switzerland and other neutral nations. He subsequently was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Rome as a counselor, where he remained for six years. Adams then returned to Washington to work with the Bureau of African Affairs and the Foreign Service Institute. After retiring from government service he headed to Hollywood, where he appeared in television commercials and hosted a radio program. Adams also appeared in small roles in several films including The Last Detail (1973), Three Days of the Condor (1975), Airport ’75 (1975), The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979), First Monday in October (1981), The Man Who Wasn’t There (1983), Yuri Nosenko, KGB (1986), and Suspect (1987). He was also the author of the 2004 novel Pretty Destiny.
ADAMS, JILL British actress and model Jill Adams died of cancer in Portugal on May 13, 2008. She was 77. She was born Jill Siggins in London on July 22, 1930. She was a leading model in England in the 1950s and was featured in numerous films during the decade. The glamorous blonde’s film credits include The Black Knight (1954), One Jump Ahead (1954), Forbidden Cargo
Jill Adams
Obituaries • 2008
6
(1954), The Young Lovers (1954), The Love Match (1955), Count of Twelve (1955), Out of the Clouds (1955), The Constant Husband (1955), Doctor at Sea (1955), Value for Money (1955), One Way Out (1955), Private’s Progress (1956), The Green Man (1956), The Scamp (1957), Brothers in Law (1957), Death Over My Shoulder (1958), Dust in the Sun (1958), Carry on Constable (1960), Crosstrap (1962), Doctor in Distress (1963), The Yellow Teddybears (1963), The Comedy Man (1964), and Promise Her Anything (1965). Adams was also seen in the 1957 television production of Wideawake, and appeared in episodes of The Vise, White Hunter, My Pal Bob, The Flying Doctor, and No Hiding Place.
ADAMS, M. CLAY Film and television producer M. Clay Adams died in Sea Girt, New Jersey, on September 26, 2008. He was 99. Adams was born in The Bronx, New York, on May 17, 1909. He co-scripted the 1940 film noir Girl in 313, and produced, directed and wrote numerous theatrical shorts from the Picture Peo-
Bruce Adler
plays throughout the United States, including his own one-man show Song and Dance Man. He was also seen on television in an episode of Law and Order.
AEGIDIUS, HANS CHRISTIAN Danish actor Hans Christian Aegidius died in Denmark on March 27, 2008. He was 75. Aegidius was born in Odense, Denmark, on March 24, 1933. He was a popular film performer from the early 1960s, appearing in Hansens Typehus (1963), Me and You (1969), Oh, to Be on the Bandwagon! (1972), Dangerous Kisses (1972), Den Kyske Levernand (1974) which he also directed, Me, Too, in the
M. Clay Adams
ple series in the early 1940s including Stars in Defense (1941), Hollywood Sports (1941), Hobbies of the Stars (1941), Stars Day Off (1941), and Hollywood at Home (1942). He was active in television from the 1950s, directing episodes of the documentary series Victory at Sea, and serving as an associate producer and production manager for the comedy series The Phil Silvers Show. During the 1960s he also served as production manager for the drama series The Defenders, The Nurses, For the People, and Coronet Blue.
ADLER, BRUCE Broadway actor and singer Bruce Adler died of cancer in New York City on July 25, 2008. He was 63. Adler was born in New York City on November 27, 1944. He was a frequent performer on the Broadway stage from the 1970s, appearing in such productions as Sunday in the Park with George, Oh, Brother!, Rumors, and the 1979 revival of Oklahoma! He earned Tony Award nominations for performances in the musicals Those Were the Days in 1991 and Crazy for You in 1992. He reprised his Crazy for You role in a 1999 television version on Great Performances. He was also a voice performer for the Disney animated films Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1995). Adler starred with touring company in
Hans Christian Aegidius
Mafia (1974), Prince Piwi (1974), The Goldcabbage Family (1975), The Gangster’s Apprentice (1976), Ghost Train (1976), Havoc (1977), Denmark Closed Down (1980), Pigen Fra Havet (1980), Peter von Scholten (1987), and 300 Miles to Heaven (1989). Aegidius also directed the 1979 television series Jul i Gammelby.
AITMATOV, CHINGIZ Kirghiz-Russian author and statesman Chingiz Aitmatov died of lung and kidney failure in a hospital in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany, on June 10, 2008. He was 79. Aitmatov was born in the small village of Sheker, Kirghiz, Soviet Union (now Kyrgyzstan) on December 12, 1928. He began writing in the 1950s, producing the novels A Difficult Passage (1956) and Face to Face (1957). He gained acclaim from the publication of his 1958 novel Jamilya, which was
7
2008 • Obituaries anime series in 1966 and 1988, and Himitsu no Akkochan was adapted in 1969, 1988, and 1998. Akatsuka’s Hennako-chan was introduced as a web anime series April of 2008.
ALCAIDE, PERI Peri Alcaide, the widow of actor Chris Alcaide, died in California on March 15, 2008. She was 84. She was born Tayyibe Perizat in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 27, 1923. She was featured in a small role in the 1957 film Istanbul billed as Peri Hatman. She
Chingiz Aitmatov
filmed in 1969 with Aitmatov serving as the narrator. Another film version was released in 1994. His novels The First Teacher (1962), Tales of the Mountains and Steppes (1963), Farewell, Gulsary! (1966), The White Ship (1970), The Ascent of Mt. Fuji (1973), and The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years (1980) followed. Many of his novels, plays and stories were adapted for films including Heat (1963), The Skies of Our Childhood (1963), The First Teacher (1966), Farewell, Gulsary! (1966), The White Ship (1976), The Girl with the Red Scarf (1977), Rannie Zhuravli (1979), Voskhozhdeniye na Fudziyamu (1988), Whirlwind (1988), and Spotted Dog Running at the Edge of the Sea (1990). Aitmatov received international attention for his 1988 novel The Scaffold. He also served as a diplomat for the Soviet Union, and later Kyrgyzstan, to Belgium and Luxembourg.
Peri Alcaide (with the author, Harris Lentz)
was married to Alcaide from June of 1956 until his death in June of 2004. She was a leading dealer in Hollywood memorabilia; she became an naturalized United States citizen in 1999.
pioneers of Japanese comic manga, died in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, on August 2, 2008. He was 72. Akatsuka was born in Rehe, Manchuria, China, on September 14, 1935, and moved to Japan with his mother after World War II. He began creating comics in the mid–1950s with the humorous strip Arashi o Koete. His 1962 gag manga Osomatsu-kung became a hit in 1962. Akatsuka also created the comedy Moretsu Atarou, which was adapted for an anime television series in 1969 and 1980. His Tensai Bakabon also was adapted for television several times, in 1971, 1975, 1990, and 1999. Osomatsu-kun became an
ALEXANDER, SUE Children’s book author Sue Alexander died at her home in West Hills, California, on July 3, 2008. She was 74. She was born Sue Lynn Ratner in Tucson, Arizona, on August 30, 1933, and was largely raised in Chicago. She moved to California in the late 1950s, where she married Joel Alexander and raised three children. She submitted numerous stories to children’s magazines without success until her first book, Small Plays for You and a Friend, was published by Scholastic Books in 1973. She was best known for her 1983 book Nadia the Willful, about a Bedouin girl mourning the death of her brother. She also authored the books Nadir of the Streets (1975), Witch, Goblin and
Fujio Akatsuka
Sue Alexander
AKATSUKA, FUJIO Fujio Akatsuka, one of the
Obituaries • 2008
8
Sometimes Ghost (1976), Peacocks Are Very Special (1976), Marc the Magnificent (1978), Whatever Happened to Uncle Albert? (1980), World Famous Muriel (1984), World Famous Muriel and the Scary Dragon (1985), Lila on the Landing (1987), Who Goes Out on Halloween (1990), Sara’s City (1995), What’s Wrong Now, Millicent? (1996), One More Time, Mama (1999), and Behold the Trees (2001). She was a founder of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators in 1968.
ALEXANDRE DE PARIS French hairdresser Louis Alexandre Raimon, who was known as Alexandre de Paris, the hairdresser to the stars, died in Saint-Tropez, France, on January 12, 2008. He was 86. Alexandre was born in Saint Tropez on September 6, 1922. He began working as an apprentice at a salon in Cannes in the late 1930s. He became a leading hairstylist for the elite, and created the hairdo of Begum Aga Khan for her wedding ceremony to the Aga Khan III in 1946. He was soon working with such leading fashion designers as Pierre Balmain, Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, and Yves SaintLaurent to create coiffures for their models. He joined
Phyllis Alexion
ALI OOP Ali Oop, a brown bear who was featured in several films and was noted for his kissing abilities, died at the Discovery Wildlife Park in Innisfail, Calgary, Canada, on July 17, 2008. He was 27. Oop was raised from a cub by trainer Ruth LeBarge. The docile
Alexandre de Paris
with the Carita sisters to open a salon in 1952 and began his own in Paris in 1957. His celebrated customers included the Duchess of Windsor, Princess Grace of Monaco, Greta Garbo, Maria Callas, Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren, Jackie Kennedy, and Lauren Bacall. He created Elizabeth Taylor’s look for the 1963 film Cleopatra and continued to work with her on such films as The Taming of the Shrew (1967), Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), Secret Ceremony (1968), The Only Game in Town (1970), Hammersmith Is Out (1972), the tele-film Divorce His — Divorce Hers (1973), Ash Wednesday (1973), and The Mirror Crack’d (1980). He was a hair stylist for numerous other films including Therese Etienne (1958), Christine (1958), The Burning Court (1962), My Life to Live (1962), 55 Days at Peking (1963) for Ava Gardner, Marnie (1964) for Tippi Hedren, How to Steal a Million (1966), A Flea in Her Ear (1968), Cesar and Rosalie (1972), and The Original (1986).
ALEXION, PHYLLIS Character actress Phyllis Alexion died on April 20, 2008. She was 85. Alexion was born on February 28, 1923. She was featured on television in an episode of Superboy in 1991 and in the 1994 tele-film Summertime Switch. She also appeared in several films including Illegally Yours (1988), All That Remains (2006), and Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector (2006).
Ali Oop (kissing trainer Ruth LeBarge)
and friendly beast was featured in such films as Dr. Dolittle 2, Trueheart, The Last Trapper, and Wild America. He starred as Miz in the 1999 film Grizzly Falls.
ALKALAI, MOSKO Israeli actor Mosko Alkalai died of respiratory failure and complications from
Mosko Alkalai
9 surgery in a Tel Aviv, Israel, hospital on April 1, 2008. He was 77. Alkalai was born in Bucharest, Romania, on March 10, 1931. He was a leading stage and film star from the mid–1960s. He was featured in such film and television productions as Ervinka (1967), The Prodigal Son (1968), The Big Dig (1969), Madron (1970), The Hero (1971), Seven Times a Day (1971), Salomonico (1972), the television mini-series Moses the Lawgiver (1974) as Amram, Festival at the Poolroom (1975), Saint Cohen (1975), The Fox in the Chicken Coop (1978), Jesus (1979) as Matthew, Repeat Drive (1982), the tele-film A Woman Called Golda (1982), Forced Testimony (1984), Orphans of the Storm (1985), Goodbye, New York (1985), Nadia (1986), The Delta Force (1986), Meeting Venus (1991), The Mummy Lives (1993), The Revenge of Itzik Finkelstein (1993), Bogie and Alexis (1993), The Flying Camel (1994), The Life of Jesus: The Revolutionary (1995) as Simeon, No Names on the Doors (1997), the mini-series Line 300 (1997), the tele-films Lansky (1999), Voyages (1999), Yana’s Friends (1999), The Holy Land (2001), A Kite’s Tail (2001), The Rashevski Tango (2003), Alenbi Romance (2005), The Galilee Eskimos (2006), and King of Beggars (2007).
ALLEN, CLARK Musician, artist, and actor Clark Allen died in Los Angeles on January 20, 2008. He was 82. Allen was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on February 14, 1925. He and his former wife, actress and
2008 • Obituaries
Priscilla Allen (from Total Recall )
came a fixture on the local stage in San Diego over the next forty years. Allen also appeared on television in an episode of Happy Days, and was seen in the films Total Recall (1990) and The Naked Truth (1992). She was a teacher at several schools in the San Diego area, and made her final screen appearances in the 2007 film Let Others Suffer, directed by one of her former students.
ALLEN, ROD Rod Allen, the lead singer for the British band The Fortunes, died of cancer on January 10, 2008. He was 63. He was born Rodney Bainbridge in Leicester, England, on March 31, 1944. He began playing in bands while in his teens, forming the Clifftones. They evolved into the Fortunes Rhythm
Clark Allen (center, with bagpipes, from an episode of The Twilight Zone)
dancer Margarita Cordova, owned and operated the El Cid flamenco club for nearly two decades. Allen also toured with the poet Carl Sandburg in the theatrical production The World of Carl Sandburg. He was featured as the bagpiper in the 1961 Twilight Zone episode “Five Characters in Search of an Exit.” He continued to entertain audiences in local venues with his singing and artistic endeavors.
ALLEN, PRISCILLA Character actress Priscilla Allen, who was best known for her role as the oversized woman with the exploding head in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s film Total Recall, died in La Jolla, California, after a long illness on August 14, 2008. She was 70. She was born Priscilla Lawson in Buffalo, New York, on July 19, 1938, and moved to California with her parents as a child She studied drama at San Diego State university and be-
Rod Allen
Group, and earned a contract with Decca in 1963. They had a hit with “You’ve Got Your Troubles” in 1965, and recorded such songs as “Here It Comes Again,” “Caroline,” “Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again,” “Storm in a Teacup,” and “Freedom Come, Freedom Go.” The Fortunes was also noted for their recording of Coca-Cola advertisements, singing the themes “Things Go Better with Coke” and “It’s the Real Thing” in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Allen continued on as the only remaining founding member of the group, fronting an ever changing lineup. He toured and performed with the Fortunes until his death.
ALLEN, SANDY Sandy Allen, who was acknowledged as the tallest living woman by the Guinness
Obituaries • 2008
10 del Golden Rocet (1991), El Oro y el Barro (1992), Soy Gina (1992), Alta Comedia (1994), Montana Rusa (1994), Para Toda la Vida (1994), El Ultimo Verano (1996), La Nocturna (1998), Como vos & Yo (1998), La Mujer del Presidente (1999), Primicias (2000), Luna Salvaje (2000), 1000 Millones (2002), and Maximo Corazon (2002). Aller also appeared in several films during her career including Los Chantas (1975), Crazy Love (1979), Another Love Story (1986), Revancha de un Amigo (1987), Last Images of the Shipwreck (1989), and Historias Breves IV: Avant Premier (2004).
ALLER, ALICIA Argentine actress Alicia Aller died in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 9, 2008. She was 68. Aller was born in Buenos Aires on November 11, 1940. She was a popular performer on stage and television from the early 1970s. She was featured in such series as Novia de Vacaciones (1979), Profesion, Ama de Casa (1979), El Teatro de Irma Roy (1983), Nosotros y los Miedos (1982), Alquien como Usted (1984), Lucia Bonelli (1984), Marina de Noche (1985), Como la Hiedra (1987), Estrellita Mia (1987), Socorro: 5o Ano (1989), La Banda
ALLPORT, CHRISTOPHER Actor Christopher Allport was killed in an avalanche at the Mountain High ski resort in Wrightwood, California, on January 25, 2008. He was 60. Allport was born in Santa Monica, California, on June 17, 1947. He began appearing in films and television in the early 1970s, and was featured as Tim McGowan in the daytime soap opera Another World from 1973 to 1974. He was featured in numerous films during his career including Man on a Swing (1974), The Lincoln Conspiracy (1977), Savage Weekend (1979), Dead & Buried (1981), Circle of Power (1983), To Life and Die in L.A. (1985), the 1986 remake of the science fiction cult classic Invaders from Mars, Spiker (1986), Jack Frost (1996) and the 2000 sequel Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman in the role of Sam Tiler, The Sweeper (1996), Finding Kelly (2000), and Girl on a Bed (2005). Allport was also featured in such tele-film as The Connection (1973), And I Alone Survived (1978), The Chisholms (1979), And Baby Makes Six (1979), Love, Natalie (1980), Seizure: The Story of Kathy Morris (1980), City in Fear (1980), A Rumor of War (1980), A Girl’s Life (1981), Games Mother Never Taught You (1982), Who Will Love My Children? (1983), Special Bulletin (1983), Single Bars, Single Women (1984), The Atlanta Child Murders (1985), News at Eleven (1986), Deadly Deception (1987), David (1988), Silverfox (1991), Queen (1993), Danielle Steel’s Message from Nam (1993), and Though None Go with Me (2006). His other television credits include episodes of Harry O, M*A*S*H, Barnaby Jones, Mrs. Columbo, The Chisholms, Cagney & Lacey, Bare Essence, Trapper John, M.D., The Yellow Rose, St. Elsewhere, The Twilight Zone, Crazy Like a Fox, Hunter, Dynasty in the recurring role of Jesse Atkinson from 1987 to 1988, China
Alicia Allers
Christopher Allport
Sandy Allen (left, on a date)
World Records, died in a nursing home in Shelbyville, Indiana, on August 13, 2008. She was 53. Allen was born in Chicago, Illinois, on June 18, 1955. Her abnormal growth was caused by a tumor on her pituitary gland, and she was over 7 feet tall by the age of 16. The tumor was removed in 1977, when she had reached the height of 7'71 ⁄ 4". Her record breaking height had entered her into the Guinness annals several years earlier. The notoriety she received from the Guinness listing led to a role as Angelina the Giantess in Federico Fellini’s 1976 film Casanova. She also appeared as Goliatha in the 1981 telefilm Side Show, and was featured in the 1981 documentary Being Different. Allen was seen on television in episodes of Howard Stern, Sally Jesse Raphael, ... and Me, and Extraordinary People. Her size led to various physical difficulties throughout her life, and weak leg muscles had made her wheelchair bound in the years prior to her death.
11
2008 • Obituaries
Beach, Midnight Caller, In the Heat of the Night in the recurring role of D.A. Hutton, Christine Cromwell, Matlock, WIOU, Quantum Leap, Jake and the Fatman, Doogie Howser, M.D., Beverly Hills, 90210, The X-Files, Diagnosis Murder, Murder, She Wrote, Kindred: The Embraced, Picket Fences, Silk Stalkings, The Pretender, Walker, Texas Ranger, The Sentinel, Party of Five, Chicago Hope, JAG, The Invisible Man, The Practice, NYPD Blue, Judging Amy, Felicity in the recurring role of Dominic Webb from 2001 to 2002, For the People, ER, CSI: Miami, 7th Heaven, NCIS, Commander in Chief in the recurring role of Secretary Francis from 2005 to 2006, Shark, Without a Trace, and Mad Men. Allport’s final screen appearance was in the forthcoming film Garden Party.
ALTMAN, SOPHIE Sophie Altman, who created the long-running television quiz show It’s Academic, died in Washington, D.C., on May 24, 2008. She was 95. She was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on January 15, 1913. She worked as a lawyer in the administration of President Franklin Roosevelt where she met
Sophie Altman
Gina Alvarado
Leap. She also appeared in the tele-films Unwed Father (1974), The Runaways (1975), The Shaman’s Last Raid (1975), Women in White (1979), Terror Among Us (1981), and Missing Pieces (1983). As Virginia Paris she was featured in several films including Second Thoughts (1983) and Stand and Deliver (1988) as math teacher Raquel Ortega. ALVIN, JOHN Illustrator John Alvin, who designed the movie posters for over 100 films from the mid–1970s, died on February 6, 2008. He was 59. Alvin was born in Massachusetts on November 24, 1948. He studied at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles in the early 1970s. He broke into films designing the ad campaign for Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles in 1974. He also designed the posters for Brook’s films Young Frankenstein, Spaceballs, Silent Movie, and History of the World Part 1. Some of his better known art campaigns include the posters for Blade Runner, E.T.—The Extra-Terrestrial, The Phantom of the Paradise, The Twilight Zone, Batman Returns, Jurassic Park, and Star Trek VI: The
Norman Altman, another lawyer whom she married in 1937. She wrote the newspaper column Women at War during World War II. In the 1950s, Altman worked as an assistant to Lawrence Spivak, the producer and moderator of the news interview television program Meet the Press. She became the producer of the Washington talkshow Teen Talk in the late 1950s, and also produced other local programming. She created It’s Academic with her husband in 1961. The quiz show for high school students became the longest-running television quiz program, and Altman continued to contribute until shortly before her death.
ALVARADO, GINA Character actress Gina Alvarado, who also performed in films under the name Virginia Paris, died of a heart attack in Los Angeles on March 23, 2008. She was 73. She was born Virginia Acito in the Bronx, New York, on September 12, 1934. She moved to Hollywood in the early 1950s and appeared frequently on television from the early 1970s. She was featured in episodes of Cade’s County, Emergency!, Adam12, Ironside, Medical Center, Police Woman, Joe Forrester, CHiPs, Barnaby Jones, Quincy, Knots Landing, The Greatest American Hero, Santa Barbara (1984), and Quantum
John Alvin
Undiscovered Country. His other works include the Disney films Aladdin, Mulan, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Hercules, The Lion King, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He also designed posters for Ernest Scared Stupid, Hanover Street, Hook, Flatliners, The Verdict, Short Circuit, Rain Man, City Slickers, Fritz the Cat, Leviathan, Red Dawn, Solarbabies, The Princess Bride,
Obituaries • 2008
12
The Golden Child, The Turning Point, Project X, Rhinestone, Willow, Cocoon, Conrack, Legend, Melvin and Howard, Always, Cape Fear, Darkman, The Milagro Beanfield War, Empire of the Sun, My Favorite Year, S.O.B., Joe vs. the Volcano, Gremlins, Innerspace, Victor/Victoria, The Color Purple, 10, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Cobra, Innocent Blood, New Jack City, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, The Goonies, The Lost Boys, Under Siege, Royal Flash, Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother, Arthur II, and various Star Wars projects.
ANDERSON, BOB Former child actor Robert J. “Bob” Anderson, who was featured as the young George Bailey in the 1946 holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life, died of cancer at his home in Palm Springs, California, on June 6, 2008. He was 75. Anderson was born on March 6, 1933, and raised in Hollywood, where his father, Gene Anderson, worked as an assistant director and production manager. He was featured in the 1940 Shirley Temple film Young People at the age of 7. He was also seen in the films and shorts Maryland (1940), Youth Will Be Served (1940), Willie and the Mouse (1941), The Officer and the Lady (1941), Rover’s Big Chance (1942), Election Daze (1943), Mystery of the 13th Guest (1943), A
Bob Anderson
Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), Colorado Pioneers (1945), and Gentleman Joe Palooka (1946). He was featured as young George Bailey, the character James Stewart played as an adult, in Frank Capra’s classic It’s a Wonderful Life in 1946. He continued to appear in such films as The Bishop’s Wife (1947), Ruthless (1948), Silver River (1948), Just Suppose (1948), Let’s Cogitate (1948), Samson and Delilah (1949), A Place in the Sun (1951), and Born to the Saddle (1953). Anderson was also featured as Terry Moore in the television series The Further Adventures of Spin and Marty in 1946. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War as a photographer aboard aircraft carriers. After his discharge he returned to Hollywood to work behind the camera as a second assistant director and production manager for films and television productions before retiring in the 1990s.
ANDRE, BERT Dutch stage, film and television actor Bert Andre died of leukemia in Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium, on May 21, 2008. He was 66. Andre was born in Maastricht, Limburg, the Netherlands, on Au-
Bert Andre
gust 6, 1941. He was seen in numerous television productions in Europe from the mid–1960s including Mauritius (1967), Hebben (1968), De Fysici (1969), King Lear (1969), The Dumb Waiter (1969), Het Helleschip (1969), Twelfth Night (1970), A Quiet Game of Cards (1970), Poloitie (1970), Poetsoek (1972), Het Poppenhuis (1972), Het Levende Lijk (1972), Trouwfeest (1973), The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd (1974), Schapenborre (1974), De Herbert in het Misverstand (1976), Voorjaarsontwaken (1976), De Spoken van de Torenburcht (1977), Le Mur Italien (1977), Het Dievenbal (1977), Lanceloet van Denemarken (1977), Wierook en Tranen (1977), Le Miracle de SaintAntoine (1977), As Good As New (1978), De Nieuwe Mendoza (1980), Het Souper (1983), Xenon (1984), De Huisbewaarder (1984), De Vulgaire Geschiedenis van Charelke Dop (1985), Adriaen Brouwer (1986), Mik, Mak en Mon (1987), De Zoete Smaak van Goudlikeur (1988), and Het Paradis (1998). Andre also appeared in numerous films including La Pente Douce (1972), Louisa, Een Woord van Liefde (1972), Turkish Delight (1973), Clowns Minus I (1976), Pallieter (1976), The Arrival of Joachim Stiller (1976), De Spoken van de Torenburcht (1977), Doctor Vimmen (1977), Soldier of Orange (1977) as Gekke Dirk, The Enclosure (1978), Hedda Gabler (1978), Het Manetje in de Maan (1978), Paradise Lost (1978), Slachtvee (1979), Woman in a Twilight Garden (1979), Come-Back (1981), Hiver 60 (1982), Time to Be Happy (1982), Prima Service (1982), The Pencil Murders (1982), Wodka Orange (1982), Het Beest (1982), Benvenuta (1983), De Leeuw van Vlaanderen (1985), and Les Roses de Matmata (1986). Andre starred as Neighbor Neuteboom in the 1986 international hit film Flodder, and reprised the role in the sequels Flodder in America (1992) and Flodder Forever (1995), and the television series Flodder from 1993 to 1997. His other film credits include Skin (1987), Rituals (1989), Cambriole (1990), My Blue Heaven (1990), Boys (1991), Chevies and Cadies (1991), Chicken-Pot-Pie (1991), Check the Gate (1993), Ventimiglia (1995), The Flying Dutchman (1995), Grey (1996), Buenos Aires, Here We Come (1996), De Zeemeerman (1996), Kaas (1999), Devil in Disguise (1999), Nacht (1999), Snapshot (2002), Sea of Silence (2003), Een Beetje Liefde (2004), The Dark Diamond (2004), Mcdollars (2004), Too Fat Too Furious (2005), Broadcast (2005), Crusade in Jeans (2006), and Moordwijven (2007).
13
2008 • Obituaries
ANGAROLA, RICHARD Veteran character actor Richard Angarola died of complications from leukemia in Los Angeles on July 7, 2008. He was 88. Angarola was born in Michigan on September 1, 1920. He began his career on stage in the late 1940s. He also appeared in numerous films and television productions from the late 1950s, often cast as swarthy Europeans. His film credits include Moment to Moment (1965), Gambit (1966), Valley of the Dolls (1967), Yours, Mine and Ours (1968), Star! (1968), Hang ’Em High (1968), Don’t Just Stand There! (1968), Sweet Charity (1969), Che! (1969),
Barbara Angely
Richard Angarola
Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice? (1969), The Undefeated (1969), The Seven Minutes (1971), Jeremiah Johnson (1972) as Flathead Chief Two-Tongues Lebeaux, Papillon (1973), Three the Hard Way (1974), The Master Gunfighter (1975), Black Moon Rising (1986), Sunny Side Up (1994), and Raveling (2005). Angarola also appeared in the tele-films Travis Logan, D.A. (1971), In Tandem (1974), and A Home of Our Own (1975), and the miniseries How the West Was Won (1977) as Chief Claw and The Return of Captain Nemo (1978). His other television credits include One Step Beyond, Death Valley Days, The Man from Blackhawk, The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, The Gallant Men, Bonanza, The Twilight Zone, The Andy Griffith Show, The Richard Boone Show, Kraft Suspense Theatre, My Living Doll, Dr. Kildare, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Dick Van Dyke Show, Convoy, Honey West, Burke’s Law, Perry Mason, Mission: Impossible, Cimarron Strip, The High Chaparral, Get Smart, Daniel Boone, Wild Wild West, Gunsmoke, It Takes a Thief, Death Valley Days, Adam-12, Ironside, O’Hara, U.S. Treasury, Cannon, McCloud, Ghost Story, Hawaii Five-0, and Ark II.
ANGELY, BARBARA Austrian-American psychologist and triathlete Barbara Mueller Warren, who appeared in films in Mexico in the 1960s and 1970s under the name Barbara Angely, died on August 26, 2008, of injuries she received in a bicycle crash while competing in the Santa Barbara, California, triathlon. She had remained paralyzed in a Santa Barbara hospital for three days before she communicated through blinking that she wanted to be removed from the ventilator that was keeping her alive. She was 65. She was born Barbara Mueller in St. Johann, Tirol, Austria, on April 9, 1943. She and her twin sister, Angelika, studied art history in Florence, Italy, and began modeling. They moved to Mexico City
in 1965, where they worked as models and opened an agency. Barbara began appearing in films under the name Barbara Angely. She was featured in such films as Chanoc (1967), El Asesino se Embarca (1967), Los Amigos (1968), Amor en las Nubes (1968), Blue Demon Versus the Infernal Brains (1968), Con Licencia Para Matar (1968), Blue Demon Contra las Diabolicas (1968), Almohada Para Tres (1969), Munecas Peligrosas (1969), Minifaldas con Espuelas (1969), Peligro...! Mujeres en Accion (1969), Las Fieras (1969), El Mundo de los Aviones (1969), Tres Amigos (1970), Click, Fotografo de Modelos (1970), Fray Don Juan (1970), Chanoc en las Garas de las Fieras (1970), El Tunco Maclovio (1970), Junegos de Alcoba (1971), The Gates of Paradise (1971) The Night of a Thousand Cats (1972), and Dead Aim (1975). She also appeared on U.S. television in an episode of Mission: Impossible. Mueller abandoned her acting career in the mid–1970s to pursue her interests in psychology. She also began running recreationally in the early 1980s and soon rejoined with her sister to compete in triathlons as The Twin Team. The two competed in over a dozen Ironman Triathlon Championships, and Barbara married fellow triathlete Tom Warren in 1995. She also was the author of several self-help motivational books.
ARAGON, ART Boxer Art Aragon, who was known as “The Golden Boy” during his ring career in the 1940s and 1950s, died of complications from a stroke in a Los Angeles hospital on March 25, 2008. He was 80.
Art Aragon
Obituaries • 2008 Aragon was born in Belen, New Mexico, on November 13, 1927. He was raised in East Los Angeles, and began boxing in 1944. He was a leading lightweight fighter in the Los Angeles area and competed against such opponents as Don Jordan, Jimmy Carter, and Carmen Basilio. Though he never gained a championship, Aragon had a career record of 90–20–6. A popular and colorful competitor, he gained his nickname by entering the ring clad in gold robes and trunks. He was also romantically linked to several film starlets including actress Mamie Van Doren. His career was also beset by controversy with allegations of thrown fights and criminal connections, before his retirement in 1960. During and after his boxing career, he was featured in film and television productions. Aragon’s film credits include The Ring (1952), Off Limits (1953), Dragnet (1954), To Hell and Back (1955) with Audie Murphy, World in My Corner (1956), The Ladies Man (1961), Fat City (1972), and The Distance (2006). He appeared on television in episodes of December Bride, General Electric Theater, Dan August, Movin’ On, Baretta, Ellery Queen, Joe Forrester, Quincy, and Barnaby Jones, and the 1980 tele-film Angel on My Shoulder.
ARANSON, JACK Stage performer and theater founder Jack Aranson died of pneumonia while recovering from a broken hip in Sleepy Hollow, New York, on January 3, 2008. He was 83. Aranson was born in Los Angeles, California, on December 29, 1924, and was raised in Chicago, Illinois. He joined the Navy at age 17 by falsifying his age, and spent over 3 years at sea during World War II. After the war, he studied drama and literature at the University of California at Berkeley. He studied abroad at London’s Old Vic Theatre School before joining Ireland’s Anew McMaster Shakespeare Company. He was wed to the director’s daughter, Mary Rose
14 international career as a Shakespearian stage performer, and appeared in productions by such notable playwrights as Strindberg, Synge, Arthur Miller, and Tennessee Williams. He was best known for his one man production of Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick. A film adaptation of his production, directed by Paul Stanley, was released in 1978 and featured Aranson in the roles of Captain Ahab, Starbuck, Ishmael, and Father Mapple. His other film credits include Murder in Eden (1961), The Magic Snowman (1987), and Interstate 84 (2000). He was also seen in the television series Night Gallery and Gibbsville, and in the 1993 tele-film The Whole Shebang.
ARCHARD, BERNARD British character actor Bernard Archard, who best known for his role as World War II Allied counterspy Oreste Pinto in the television series Spycatcher, died at his home in Witham Ferry, Somerset, England, on May 1, 2008. He was 91. Archard was born in London on August 20, 1916. He trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and spent several decades performing on the repertory stage. He made his television debut in an episode of Kenilworth in 1957 and was featured in small roles in the films The Secret Man (1958) and Corridors of Blood (1958), with Boris Karloff. He appeared in the 1960 television production of The Night of the Big Heat and was the Vicar in the 1960 science fiction classic Village of the Damned. Archard starred as Col. Pinto in the BBC series Spycatcher from 1959 to 1961. His other television credits include episodes of Police Surgeon, The Pursuers, Danger Man, Top Secret, Sir Frances Drake, The Sunday Night Play, No Hiding Place, Man of the World, Scales of Justice, Zero One, Suspense, Dr. Finlay’s Casebook, The Midnight Men, The Children of the New Forest, The Hidden Truth, The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre, Hit and Run, R3, Out of the Unknown, Play of the Month, The Wednesday Play, The Avengers, The Jazz Age, ITV Playhouse, Callan, and Oh Brother! Archard also continued to appear in films, with roles in Two Letter Alibi (1962), The Password Is Courage (1962), The List of Adrian Messenger (1963), Silent Playground (1963), The Spy with the Cold Nose (1966), The Mini-Affair (1967), Play Dirty (1968), The File of the Golden Goose (1969), Farouk — Last of the Pharaohs (1970), Fragment of Fear (1970), Song
Jack Aranson
McMaster, in 1955, though the couple later divorced. Aranson returned to Los Angeles in 1962, working briefly with the Actor’s Workshop, before founding the Gate Theatre Company in Sausalito and the San Francisco City Theatre, which closed its doors in 1978. In 1973, he married opera singer Claudia Cummings, and the two moved to New York, where they co-founded the Festival Theatre. Aranson also had a long and accomplished
Bernard Archard
15 of Norway (1970), The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) as Professor Heiss, Dad’s Army (1971), The Tragedy of Macbeth (1971), The Day of the Jackal (1973), The Hiding Place (1975), Sister Dora (1977), The Sea Wolves (1980), Krull (1983), Clash of Loyalties (1983), King Solomon’s Mines (1985), God’s Outlaw (1986), and Hidden Agenda (1990). He was also featured in such television productions as Heiress of Garth (1965), Son of the Sahara (1966), Tower of London: The Innocent (1969), Run a Crooked Mile (1969), The Legend of Robin Hood (1975), Philby, Burgess, and MacLean (1977), Churchill and the Generals (1979) as Edward, Lord Halifax, ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore (1980), A Tale of Two Cities (1980), Inside the Third Reich (1982), Separate Tables (1983), and A Man Called Quinn (1983). His other television credits include episodes of Crime of Passion, Mystery and Imagination, Z Cars, Dixon of Dock Green, Man at the Top, Paul Temple, The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, Country Matters, Madigan, The Adventures of Black Beauty, Special Branch, Upstairs, Downstairs, Play for Today, and Sky. Archard was featured in two serials in the popular British science fiction series Doctor Who—“The Power of the Daleks” and “Pyramids of Mars.” He was also seen in such series as Wodehouse Playhouse, Crown Court in the recurring role of William Boyce, Dick Turpin, Rumpole of the Bailey, Charles Endell, Esq., Cribb, Number 10 as the Duke of Wellington, Lytton’s Diary in the recurring role of Ian the editor, Bergerac, and Keeping Up Appearances. Archard’s final role was on the popular television soap opera Emmerdale Farm. He was featured as Leonard Kempinski, the series matriarch’s second husband from 1992 until his character’s death in a plane crash the following year.
ARCHIBALD, CHERYL Model and actress Cheryl Archibald Osborne died of cancer in New York City on November 10, 2008. She was 71. Archibald was
Cheryl Archibald
born in New York City in 1937. She worked as a model and actress in the early 1940s and was featured in the 1944 film Cover Girl as the cover girl for Look magazine. She was also seen in the 1948 Broadway musical Love Life.
ARNO, ED Cartoonist Ed Arno, whose sketchily surreal panels appeared regularly in The New Yorker, died in Queens, New York, on May 27, 2008. He was 91.
2008 • Obituaries
Ed Arno
He was born Arnold Edelstein in Innsbruck, Austria, on July 17, 1916. He studied design at the Ecole Paul Colin in Paris and began his career working in film animation with Pathe Nathan in the 1930s. His career was interrupted when the Nazis took over Austria, and he and his family ended up in labor camps during World War II. He was liberated by the Soviets in 1944 and moved to Bucharest, Romania. He worked in cartoon animation and directed a children’s book publishing house. He also began drawing satirical cartoons for magazines in Romania and the Soviet Union. Arno came to the United States in 1965, where he supplied cartoons for such magazines as The Saturday Evening Post, Look, and Reader’s Digest. His work began appearing in The New Yorker in 1968 after the death of namesake but unrelated cartoonist Peter Arno. He continued working for the magazine for over thirty years, with his last cartoon appearing in October of 2001. Arno also wrote and illustrated the children’s book The Gingerbread Man, and illustrated The Magic Fish. A collection of his cartoons, Ed Arno’s Most Wanted, was published in 1998. ARNOLD, EDDY Legendary country music singer Eddy Arnold died in a health care facility near Nashville, Tennessee, on May 8, 2008. Arnold had fallen outside his home and suffered a hip injury 2 months earlier. He was 89. He was born on a farm near Henderson, Tennessee, on May 15, 1918. He began performing on radio stations throughout Tennessee in the 1940s, and was briefly managed by Col. Tom Parker early in his career. He hit the Billboard charts in 1947 with his first #1 hit “It’s a Sin.” He continued with a string of popular songs and was ranked as the most successful country singer of all time. Arnold’s singing style which mixed country pop became known as the “Nashville Sound.” His hits include the songs “Cattle Call,” “What Is Life Without Love?,” “Bouquet of Roses,” “Turn the World Around,” “Anytime,” “Will Santy Come to Shanty Town?,” “Lonely Again,” “I Want to Go with You,” “Here Comes My Baby,” and “What’s He Doing in My World?” Arnold made his national television debut in Milton Berle’s Texaco Star Theater in 1949. He was also featured in the western films Feudin’ Rhythm (1949) with Kirby Grant and Hoedown (1950) with Jock Mahoney. He also starred with Gogi Grant in the music short The Tennessee Plowboy in 1956. Arnold starred in his own tel-
Obituaries • 2008
Eddy Arnold
evision show, The Eddy Arnold Show, in the summers of 1952, 1953, and 1956. He also headlined the syndicated series Eddy Arnold Time from 1954 to 1956. He performed in such television variety series as The Spike Jones Show, The DuPont Show of the Month, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Bell Telephone Hour, The Andy Williams Show, The Dean Martin Show, The Mike Douglas Show, The Jackie Gleason Show, The David Frost Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Kraft Music Hall, and The Johnny Cash Show. Arnold revitalized his career in the 1960s by adding strings to his music, briefly alienating country purists. His 1965 rendition of “Make the World Go Away” hit both the country and pop charts. Arnold was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1966. He continued to record and perform for the next four decades. His wife of 66 years, Sally, died two months before Arnold.
ARPINO, GERALD Choreographer Gerald Arpino, who was co-founder of the Joffrey Ballet, died after a long illness at his home in Chicago, Illinois, on October 29, 2008. He was 85. Arpino was born on Staten Island, New York, on January 14, 1923. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, and began studying dance after the war. He was trained in ballet by Mary Ann Wells and May O’Donnell, and performed with the latter’s troupe during the 1950s. He joined with Robert Joffrey to form a small touring troupe in New York in 1956. Arpino’s career as a dancer ended in the
16 early 1960s after suffering a severe injury, but he had already began working as a choreographer. The Joffrey Ballet became an internationally renowned company, and Arpino took over as artistic director after Joffrey’s death in 1988. He moved the company to Chicago in 1995 and retired in 2007. Arpino choreographed numerous dance productions during his sometimes controversial career including Anton Webern’s Incubus (1962), Viva Vivaldi! (1965), Hershy Kay’s The Clowns (1968), Gioachino Rossini’s Confetti, Alan Raph’s Sacred Grove on Mount Tamalpais (1972), Drums, Dreams and Banjos (1975) celebrating the music of Stephen Foster, Orpheus Times Light (1976), Douglas Adams and Russ Gauthier’s Light Rain (1981), Gustav Mahler’s Round of Angels (1983), Charles Ives’ I/DNA (2003), and Tomaso Albonini’s Ruth: Ricordi Per Due (2004). Malcolm McDowell’s performance as the pompous artist director Mr. A in Robert Altman’s 2003 film about the Joffrey Ballet, The Company, was largely based on Arpino.
ARRICK, ROSE Actress Rose Arrick died of a heart attack on November 21, 2008. She was 80. She appeared frequently on stage from the early 1960s, with roles in such Broadway productions as The Heroine (1963), The Ninety Day Mistress (1967), Unlikely Heroes (1971), Bad Habits (1974), A View from the Bridge (1983), All My Sons (1987), What’s Wrong with This Picture (1994), and The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife (2000). Ar-
Rose Arrick
rick appeared in several films directed by Elaine May including A New Leaf (1971), Mikey and Nicky (1976), and Ishtar (1987). Her other film credits include Those Lips, Those Eyes (1980), Over the Brooklyn Bridge (1984), Rent Control (1984), Seize the Day (1986), Two Bits (1995), A Fish in the Bathtub (1999), and Being Claudine (2002). She was also seen in the tele-films A Matter of Life and Death (1981), The Gift of Life (1982), Life of the Party: The Story of Beatrice (1982), and The Ghost Writer (1984). Her other television credits include episodes of East Side/ West Side, Alice, Kate & Allie, Kay O’Brien, CBS Schoolbreak Special, Law & Order, Queens Supreme, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Love Monkey. Arrick also worked as a drama teacher at New York’s HB Studio. Gerald Arpino
ARRIOLA, GUS Mexican-American comic strip artist Gustavo “Gus” Arriola, who created the comic
17
Gus Arriola
Gordo, died of complications from Parkinson’s disease at his home in Carmel, California, on February 2, 2008. He was 90. Arriola was born in Florence, Arizona, on July 17, 1917. He began his career in animation while in his teens, working on Krazy Kat for Screen Gems and Tom and Jerry for MGM. He created the Gordo strip in 1941, which was one of the first comics to depict Hispanic culture in the United States. Arriola continued the strip during World War II while also making training films for the U.S. Army. He wrote and illustrated Gordo himself for 45 years, with the final episode seeing print in March of 1985.
ARTHUR, ROBERT Robert Arthur, a supporting actor in films in the 1940s and 1950s, died of congestive heart failure at his home in Aberdeen, Washington, on October 1, 2008. He was 83. He was born Robert Hall Arthaud in Aberdeen on June 18, 1925. He served in the Navy during World War II before heading to Hollywood for a career as an actor. Arthur’s youthful appearance led him to be cast as teens early in his career. His film credits include Roughly Speaking (1945), Mildred Pierce (1945), Danger Signal (1945), Too Young to Know (1945), Her Kind of Man (1946), Night and Day (1946), Nobody Lives Forever (1946), Sweetheart of Sigma Chi (1946), The Devil on Wheels (1947), Nora Prentiss (1947), Hollywood Wonderland (1947), Mother Wore Tights (1947), Green Grass of Wyoming (1948), Yellow Sky (1948), Mother Is a Freshman (1949), You’re My Everything (1949),
Robert Arthur
2008 • Obituaries Twelve O’Clock High (1949), September Affair (1950), Air Cadet (1951), Ace in the Hole (1951), On the Loose (1951), Belles on Their Toes (1952) as Frank Gilbreth, The Ring (1952), Just for You (1952), The System (1953), Young Bess (1953), Take the High Ground! (1953), Return from the Sea (1954), The First Hundred Days (1955), Top of the World (1955), The Desperados Are in Town (1956), Three Violent People (1956), Hellcats of the Navy (1957) with Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis, Young and Wild (1958), and Naked Youth (1961). Arthur also guest starred in episodes of such television series as Sky King, The Lone Ranger, The Public Defender, Four Star Playhouse, Screen Director’s Playhouse, Frontier, Crossroads, Telephone Time, Navy Log, Frontier Doctor, Switchblade, and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Arthur largely retired from acting to sell insurance in the 1960s, but returned to television in 1991 to guest star as a minister on an episode of Full House. He was also active in the gay rights movement for senior citizens.
ARTMANE, VIJA Latvian actress Vija Artmane died in Latvia of complications after suffering several strokes on October 11, 2008. She was 79. She was born Alida Franzevna Artmane in Tukums, Latvia, on July 21, 1929. She help support her family as a shepherd girl during World War II. After the war she move to Riga, where she studied acting. She joined the Daile Theatre there in 1949, where she performed for the next fifty years. She also became a popular film star with her role in the 1957
Vija Artmane
Soviet feature After the Storm. Her subsequent film credits include Chuzhaya v Posyolke (1959), Na Poroge Buri (1961), Introduction (1962), Verba Seraya Tsyetyot (1962), Blood Ties (1963) as the beautiful mother Sonya, Rakety ne Dolzny Vzletet (1964), Edgar i Kristina (1966), Nobody Wanted to Die (1966), Andromeda Nebula (1967) as Veda Kong, Strong with Spirit (1967), Podvig Farkhada (1968), Torynaya Proverka (1969), Gladiator (1969), The Ballad of Berind and His Friends (1970), I’m the Detective (1971), Gift for the Single Woman (1973), Pugachev (1978) as Catherine the Great, Theatre (1978) as Julia Lambert, Gosudarstvennaya Granitsa: My Nash, my Novyy... (1980), Emila Nedarbi (1985), The Secret of the Snow Queen (1986), Svesas Kaislibas (1986), Moonzund (1987), For the Saved: Paradise (1988), Katafalk (1990), Only for Crazy
Obituaries • 2008 (1990), Love (1991), and Kamenskaya: Igra na Chuzhorn Pole (2000). She also appeared in the 1980 documentary of her biography, Conversation with the Queen.
ASINOF, ELIOT Author and journalist Eliot Asinof, who was best known for his book Eight Men Out, an account of the 1919 White Sox baseball scandal, died of pneumonia in Hudson, New York, on June 10, 2008. He was 88. Asinof was born in Manhattan, New York, on July 13, 1919. He served in the Army Corps in the Aleutians during World War II. He began writing after the war, and his first novel, Man on Spikes, about a minor
18 an ailing George Harrison for camera rehearsals for the group’s first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. After the death of Beatles manager Brian Epstein in 1967, Aspinall’s duties increased, and he was put in charge of the newly formed production company, Apple Corps, the following year. He oversaw marketing of the Beatles’ music, videos, and merchandising, as well as Apple Records and Stanby Films. Over the years Aspinall was involved in small ways in several Beatles recordings, playing the harmonica on “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!,” the tamboura for “Within You Without You,” and being part of the chorus for “Yellow Submarine.” Aspinall retired from Apple in 2007.
ASPRIN, ROBERT Science fiction and fantasy author Robert Asprin, who was best known for his MythAdventures series, died at his home in New Orleans on May 22, 2008. He was 61. Asprin was born in St. Johns, Michigan, on June 28, 1946. He was an active member of the Society for Creative Anachronism in the late 1960s and began writing professionally in the 1970s. His first novel, The Cold Cash War, was published in 1977. He and his then-wife Lynn Abbey created and edited the shared world anthology series Thieves’ World in the 1980s. He also created the MythAdventures series, featuring the comic exploits of Skeeve and Aahz, in 1978’s Eliot Asinof
league baseball player, was published in 1955. He authored over a dozen books during his career and wrote for television in the 1950s. He scripted episodes of Television Playhouse, Climax!, The DuPont Show of the Month, and Cain’s Hundred. Eight Men Out was published in 1963, and Asinof worked with director John Sayles on a script for a film version in 1988. He appeared in the film in the small role of John Heydler. Another novel, Ten Second Jailbreak, was adapted for the 1975 film Breakout. Asinof also appeared on screen in the role Silent Sam in 2002’s Sunshine State. He was married to actress Jocelyn Brando, Marlon’s sister, from 1950 to 1955, and is survived by their son, Martin.
Robert Asprin
ASPINALL, NEIL
British record producer Neil Aspinall, who went from being the Beatles’ personal assistant to become chief executive of Apple Corps, died of lung cancer in New York City on March 24, 2008. He was 66. Aspinall was born in Prestatyn, North Wales, on October 13, 1941. He was a childhood friend of Paul McCartney and George Harrison, and became the Beatles’ road manager early in their career. He was later promoted to their personal assistant, and filled on stage for
Neil Aspinall (center, with The Beatles)
Another Fine Myth. The series, which was also adapted for graphic novels and comic books, included Asprin’s titles Myth Conception (1980), Myth Directions (1982), Hit or Myth (1983), Myth-ing Persons (1984), Little Myth Marker (1985), M.Y.T.H. inc. Link (1986), Myth-Nomers and Im-Pervections (1987), M.Y.T.H. inc. in Action (1990), Sweet Myth-tery of Life (1993), Myth-Ion Improbable (2001), and Something M.Y.T.H. Inc. (2002). Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye were also co-authors of Mythtold Tales (2003), Myth Alliances (2003), Myth-taken Identity (2004), Class Dis-Mythed (2005), Myth-Gotten Gains (2006), Myth-Chief (2008), and Myth-Fortune (2008). He also created the adventures of the Space Legion and their leader Willard Phule with 1990’s Phule’s Company. Subsequent novels, most of which were coauthored with Peter Heck, include Phule’s Paradise (1992), A Phule and His Money (1999), Phule Me Twice (2000), No Phule Like an Old Phule (2004), and Phule’s
19 Errand (2006). Asprin and Mel White co-created the Duncan and Mallory series with the novel of the same name in 1986, and continued it with The Bar None Ranch (1987) and The Raiders (1987). Teaming with Linda Evans, he authored Time Scout in 1995. They continued the series with the novels Wagers of Sin (1995), Ripping Time (2000), and The House That Jack Built (2000). His most recent series, Wartorn, included the novels Resurrection (2004) and Obliteration (2006) with Eric Del Carlo. Asprin’s other works include the titles Tambu (1979), The Bug Wars (1979), the Star Trek novel Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe (1979) written with actor George Takei, Cold Cash Warrior (1989) with Bill Fawcett, Catwoman (1992) with Lynn Abbey, License Invoked (2001), For King and Country (2002), E.Godz (2005), and Dragons Wild (2008).
ATARI, SHOSH
Israeli radio broadcaster and actress Shosh Atari was found dead of complications from kidney disease at her home in Tel Aviv, Israel, on April 1, 2008. She was 58. She was born in Rehovot, Israel, on November 24, 1949, She began working in radio with the Israeli Broadcasting Authority after completing her military service. She hosted the “New and Improved” segment of IBA’s Reshet Gimmel program from
Shosh Atari
the mid–1970s through the mid–1990s. She also hosted the game show Pitsuchim for Israel Education Television for over a decade. Diagnosed with kidney disease, she underwent transplant surgery several years later. Atari continued to work in radio with the local station Radio Lev Hamedina, and starred in the 2007 television comedy series Hakol Dvash (Everything Is Peachy) with Poli Poliakov. Her survivors include her sisters, singer Gali Atari and actress Yona Atari.
ATKINS, DAVE British character actor Dave Atkins, who was featured as the oversized pub keeper Les in the television comedy Men Behaving Badly, died of a heart attack in England on April 23, 2008. He was 67. Atkins was born in Plymouth, England, on October 11, 1940. He began his career on stage in the mid–1960s performing in repertory theater. He was performing on the London stage, as well as appearing in films and on television by the 1970s. Atkins film credits include The Life Story of Baal (1978), The Odd Job (1978), Lindsay Ander-
2008 • Obituaries
Dave Atkins
son’s Britannia Hospital (1982), Laughter House (1984), Mr. Love (1985), Comrades (1986), Personal Services (1987), Prick Up Your Ears (1987), Clive Barker’s Hellraiser (1987), London Kills Me (1991), The Hour of the Pig (1993), Sidney’s Chair (1995), Drunk and Disorderly (1995), Plunkett & Macleane (1999), and The Last Seduction II (1999). Atkins was also featured in the television productions Bull Week (1980), Kipperbang (1982), Past Caring (1985), Hitler’s SS: Portrait in Evil (1985), The Sign of Four (1987), The Firm (1988), and Ball-Trap on the Kote Sauvage (1989). He starred as Les, the pub landlord, on Men Behaving Badly from 1992 through 1995. His other television credits include episodes of Happy Ever After, BBC2 Play of the Week, The Sweeney, The Little World of Don Camillo, Minder, Dramarama, Shine On Harvey Moon, Big Deal, Rockliffe’s Babies, The Comics Presents..., This Is David Lander, London’s Burning, Bergerac, Hannay, Forever Green, Boon, The New Statesman, Van der Valk, Jeeves and Wooster, Press Gang, Lovejoy, Ruth Rendell Mysteries, The Detectives, The Upper Hand, The Bill, Wycliffe, The Knock, Alias Smith & Jones, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Northern Lights, and Whitechapel.
AUDOLLENT, MARIE-FRANCOISE French actress Marie-Francoise Audollent died of complications from a fall in Lyon, France, on March 30, 2008. She was 64. Audollent was born in Clermont-Ferrand, France, on May 22, 1943. She was featured in such films as Moliere (1978), Women in Prison (1988), Milena (1991),
Marie-Francoise Audollent
Obituaries • 2008 My Woman Is Leaving Me (1996), Le Cri de la Soie (1996), Zonzon (1998), In Praise of Love (2001), and Les Seins de ma Prof d’Anglais (2004). Audollent was also seen in the television productions La Florentina (1991), The Count of Monte Cristo (1998) as the Mother Superior, Le Soldat Inconnu Vivant (2004), and Harkis (2006). She was best known in the United States for her role as Sister Sandrine in the 2006 film adaptation of The Da Vinci Code with Tom Hanks. Her final film credit was 2008’s The Maiden and the Wolves.
AURED, CARLOS Spanish film director Carlos Aured, who was best known for a handful of horror films he helmed with actor Paul Naschy in the early 1970s, died of a heart attack at his home near Denia, Spain, on February 3, 2008. He was 71. Aured was born in Los Alcazares, Murcia, Spain, on January 22, 1937. He began his career working in menial roles for a Spanish touring theatrical troupe and briefly worked on productions with Television Espanola. He moved into films with the 1963 spaghetti western Gringo, working as an assistant. He rose through the production ranks, becoming as assistant director by the end of the decade for 1968’s A Stranger in Paso Bravo. He continued to serve as an assistant director, often working with director Leon Klimovsky, for the next several years on such films as Long Live the Bride and Groom (1971), Los Hombres las Prefieren Viudas (1970), Picos de Europa (1971), Exorcism’s Daughter (1971), The Werewolf vs. Vampire Women (1971), and La Casa de las Chivas (1972). Aured made his directorial debut on the 1973 film Horror Rises from the Tomb starring Spanish horror icon Paul Naschy. He and Naschy worked together on several subsequent films made in rapid succession including The Return of Walpurgis (1973), House of Psychotic Women (1973), and The Vengeance of the Mummy (1973). Over the next decade Aured primarily directed and scripted erotic comedies, helming such features as La Noche de la Furia (1974), Los Frios Senderos del Crimen (1974), Susana Quiere Perder ... Eso! (1977), La Frigida y la Viciosa (1981), El Fonanero, su Mujer, y Otras, Cosas de Meter... (1981), and Apocalipsis Sexual (1982). He also scripted the films Belles, Blondes et Bronzees (1981) and Triumphs of a Man Called Horse (1982), and directed the 1983 horror thriller The Enigma of the Yacht. He also directed the film El Hombre del Pito Magico (1983), and
20 the 1985 slasher film Atrapados en el Miedo (1985). Aured served as a producer for the Spanish–U.S. co-productions Monster Dog (1984) and Alien Predator (1987). He worked as a buyer for Canal, a pay television channel, during the 1990s. He was reunited with Naschy in 2007, appearing as a taxi driver in the actor’s short film El Perdon. He worked briefly as a director on Naschy’s forthcoming film Empusa before poor health forced him from the project.
AXON, JOHN British actor John Axon died of a heart attack in Stockport, Cheshire, England, on October 25, 2008. He was 48. Axon was born on September 10, 1960. He trained as a graphic artist before becoming an actor in the 1990s. He best known for his role as Mr. Nigel Harper in the television series The Royal from 2003 to 2005. He also appeared in the series Dalziel
John Axon
and Pascoe, Expert Witness, Wycliffe, Heartbeat, The Lakes, Peak Practice, Casualty, Phoenix Nights, Oscar Charlie, The Afternoon Play, Emmerdale Farm, The Bill, Doctors, Life on Mars, New Street Law, The Chase, Lilies, and Bear Behaving Badly. Axon was also seen in the television productions Prime Suspect 3 (1993), The 10th Kingdom (2000), The King and Us (2002), Under the Greenwod Tree (2005), and Terry Pratchett’s Johnny and the Bomb (2006). He had recently completed filming a segment of the upcoming television series Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire at the time of his death.
AY, EVELYN Evelyn Ay Sempier, Miss America of 1954, died of colorectal cancer in Malvern, Pennsylvania, on October 18, 2008. She was 75. Ay was born in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, on March 8, 1933. She began competing in beauty pageants in the early 1950s, earning the titles Miss Ephrata Fair and Tobacco Queen and Miss National AMVET. She was crowned Miss Pennsylvania in 1952, on her road to become Miss America in September of 1953. Her competition was the last held before the pageant became televised. After her reign ended at the end of 1954, Ay married businessman Carl Sempier. The two remained wed until his death in 2007. She remained active with pageant events over the decades, serving as judge of many local competitions and the 1981 Miss America contest. Carlos Aured
21
2008 • Obituaries
Evelyn Ay
Rafael Azcona
AYERS, ROWAN British television producer Rowan Ayers, who produced the BBC’s Late Night LineUp in the 1960s, died on January 5, 2008. He was 85. Ayers was born in Essex, England, on June 16, 1922. He served in the Royal Navy during World War II, and began working as a journalist and advertising copywriter after the war. He was also the author of numerous shortstories and several radio plays broadcast by the BBC. He joined the BBC as an editorial assistant on the Radio Times in 1955, and soon became television editor of the
Logrono, Spain, on October 24, 1926. He began writing for films in the 1950s, and scripted over 100 features during his five decade career. His numerous film credits include El Pisito (1959), The Little Coach (1960), El Secreto de los Hombres Azules (1961), Placido (1961), Mafioso (1962), Three Fables of Love (1962), The Conjugal Bed (1963), Not on Your Life (1963), Un Rincon para Querernos (1964), Countersex (1964), The Ape Woman (1964), The Man with the Balloons (1965), Kiss the Other Sheik (1965), The Wedding March (1965), Run for Your Wife (1965), L’Estate (1966), Tuset Street (1967), The Harem (1967), Peppermint Frappe (1967), The Piranhas (1967), Honeycomb (1969), The Challenges (1969) which he also directed, Long Live the Bride and Groom (1970), Secret Intentions (1970), El Monumento (1970), The Garden of Delights (1970), Papal Audience (1971), In the Eye of the Hurricane (1971), Cross Current (1971), La Cera Virgen (1972), It Can Be Done Amigo (1972), A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die (1972), Autopsy (1973), La Grande Bouffe (1973), Anna and the Wolves (1973), The Marriage Revolution (1974), Don’t Touch the White Woman! (1974), Claretta and Ben (1974), Cousin Angelica (1974), Love Doll (1974), The Power of Desire (1975), Ready, Aim, Fire! (1975), The Anchorite (1976), The Last Woman (1976), My Daughter Hildegart (1977), A Man Called Autumn Flower (1978), Bye Bye Monkey (1978), The National Shotgun (1978), Honey (1979), The Family, Fine, Thanks (1979), El Divorcio que Viene (1990), National Heritage (1981), Besame, Tonta (1982), National III (1982), The Heifer (1985), The Court of the Pharaoh (1985), A Year of Enlightenment (1986), El Bosque Animado (1987), The Impeccable Sinner (1987), Moors and Christians (1987), How Good the Whites Are (1988), Pasodoble (1988), The Flight of the Dove (1989), Blood and Sand (1989) starring Sharon Stone, Ay, Carmela! (1990), Chechu y Familia (1992), Banderas, the Tyrant (1993), Suspiros de Espana y Portugal (1995), El Rey del Rio (1985), The Seductor (1995), Gran Slalom (1996), La Celestina (1996), Tramway to Malvarrosa (1997), In Praise of Older Woman (1997), Una Pareja Perfecta (1998), The Girl of Your Dreams (1998), Butterfly Tongues (1999), Goodbye from the Heart (2000), El Paraiso ya no es lo que Era (2001), Sound of the Sea (2001), The Green March (2002), Franky Banderas (2004), and Maria Querida (2004).
Rowan Ayers
magazine. He began working in television as assistant head of presentation at the BBC in 1961. He created the series Line-Up, which soon became Late Night Line-Up, in the early 1960s. The show was a live broadcasts of reviews of films, theatre, television, literature, and music, and featured a stellar array of guests from all fields of the arts. Late Night Line-Up continued through December of 1972, and Ayers next created the Open Door series for the Community Programmes Unit. He left the BBC in 1974 and moved to Australia, where he worked with the national Channel 9 network.
AZCONA, RAFAEL Spanish screenwriter Rafael Azcona, who was best known for scripting the 1992 Oscar-winning foreign film Belle Epoque (aka The Age of Beauty), died of lung cancer in Madrid, Spain, on March 24, 2008. He was 81. Azcona was born in
Obituaries • 2008 BABU, SHOBHAN Shobhan Babu, a leading Teluga-language Indian actor died of cardiac arrest in a private hospital in Chennai, India, on March 20, 2008. He was 71. He was born Uppu Sobhana Chalapathi Rao in Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, India, on January 14, 1937. He began his film career in the early 1960s, and was soon noted for his good looks and heroic style that made him popular with female fans. He performed opposite such leading ladies as Sarada, Vanisree, Jayasudha, and Sreedevi. His many film credits include
22 uary 12, 2008, when he drove his vehicle into the lane of opposing traffic and collided with a mini-van. He was 36. Bachinsky was born in Yarovoye, Russia, on September 1, 1971. He began his career in radio in St. Petersburg in the 1990s, co-hosting several shows with Sergei Stillavin. The two moved to Moscow in 2001 where they cohosted the leading morning talk show Two in One on Radio MAXIMUM. The duo became known as the “Howard Sterns of Russian Radio” with their discussions on sex and frequent off-color language. Bachinsky left MAXIMUM in 2007 to join Mayak, the state radio network, as co-host of another popular show.
BAER, RICHARD Veteran television writer Richard Baer died of a heart attack in Santa Monica, California, on February 22, 2008. He was 79. Baer was born in New York City on April 28, 1928. He began his career in television in the 1950s as an assistant scriptwriter for The Life of Riley, and was soon writing scripts on his own. He also scripted the 1958 Columbia film Life Begins at 17. Baer earned an Emmy nomina-
Sobhan Babu
Bhakta Shabari (1960), Sri Seetha Rama Kalyanam (1961), Lava Kusa (1963), Veerabhimanyu (1965), Poola Rangadu (1967), Aada Paduchu (1967), The Good Boy (1969), The Complete Ramayana (1971), Manavadu Danavudu (1972), Iddaru Ammayilu (1972), Sharada (1973), Jeevana Tarangalu (1973), Devudu Chesina Pelli (1974), Light of Life (1975), Kurukshetramu (1977), Mosagadu (1980), Krishnarajunulu (1982), The Next Step (1983), Mugguru Monagallu (1983), Mangalya Balam (1985), Jackie (1985), Temple (1985), Mr. Bharath (1986), The Betrothal (1986), Samsaram (1988), and Balarama Krishnulu (1992). He retired from the screen in 1997, and lived comfortably on his investments in real estate.
BACHINSKY, GENNADY Russian radio personality Gennady Bachinsky was killed in an automobile accident in the Tver Oblast region of Russia on Jan-
Gennady Bachinsky
Richard Baer
tion for his work writing episodes of the television comedy series Hennessey, and scripted episodes of such series as Leave It to Beaver, Have Gun —Will Travel, The Andy Griffith Show, Tallahassee 7000, Going My Way, Petticoat Junction, O.K. Crackerby!, Mister Roberts, The Munsters, Love on a Rooftop, F Troop, The Doris Day Show, That Girl, Bewitched, Getting Together, M*A*S*H, Adam’s Ribs, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, Barney Miller, Turnabout, Archie Bunker’s Place, Condo, The Four Seasons, and Who’s the Boss? Baer also wrote the tele-films Playmates (1972), Poor Devil (1973), and I Take These Men (1983). He also wrote the romantic comedy play Mixed Emotions in 1987, which played in Los Angeles and on Broadway.
BAERWITZ, JERRY A. Film producer Jerry A. Baerwitz, who produced and directed the 1962 U.S. version of the Japanese monster movie Varan the Unbelievable, died on January 10, 2008. He was 82. Baerwitz was born on June 17, 1925. He began working in television in the 1950s, serving as an assistant director for such series as Sheriff of Cochise, U.S. Marshal, and The Texan. He directed the 1962 film Wild Harvest, and added extensive footage starring Myron Healey to an existing Japanese film to create Varan the Unbelievable in 1962. Baerwitz
23
Jerry A. Baerwitz (director of the English-language version of Varan the Unbelievable)
served as a production manager for the 1965 film Nightmare in the Sun, and was unit production manager for Tex (1982), The Toy (1982), The Slugger’s Wife (1985), and Some Kind of Wonderful (1987). He was also credited as a producer for such films as Fright Night (1985), Armed and Dangerous (1986), Stewardess School (1986), Punchline (1988), Coupe de Ville (1990), 29th Street (1991), Mr. Jones (1993), Hideaway (1995), and The Nephew (1998).
BALLARD, CLINT, JR. Songwriter Clint Ballard, Jr., who penned such hits as “The Game of Love” and “You’re No Good,” died of complications from a stroke at his home in Denton, Texas, on December 23, 2008. He was 77. Ballard was born in El Paso, Texas, on
2008 • Obituaries
Chaim Banai
Yossi Banai and comic actor Gavri Banai. Chaim performed frequently on stage, film and television. His film credits include His Name Was Madron (1980), The House on Chelouche Street (1973), Kazabian (1974), Tzanani Family (1976), The Ambassador (1984), Goodbye, New York (1985), and American Citizen (1992). He was also featured in such tele-films as Moses the Lawgiver (1974), Steal the Sky (1988), and Held Hostage: The Sis and Jerry Levin Story (1991). Banai starred as Chaim Agrov in the television series Hafuch in 1996, and was Yehuda Bar’el in Shababot VeHagim in the early 2000s. He was best known in Israel for playing grocer Albert Perot in a series of public service broadcasts for the Fruit and Vegetable Council during the 1980s.
BANBURY, FRITH British stage director Frith Banbury died in London on May 14, 2008. He was 96. He was born Frederick Harold Banbury in Plymouth, Devon, England, on May 4, 1912. He became fascinated by the theatre at an early age. He left Oxford to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1931, and embarked on a career as an actor on stage two years later. He appeared in such productions as Goodness, How Sad! (1938), Let’s Face It (1939), and The Government Inspector (1945). He was also featured in small roles in the films The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) as Baby-Face Fitzroy and The Huggetts Abroad (1949). He turned to directing with a production of Wynyard Browne’s Dark Summer in 1947, and scored a hit directing Browne’s next Clint Ballard
May 24, 1931. He began working in the music industry in the 1950s as manager of the Kalin Twins. He went on to write such popular songs as “Gingerbread” for Frankie Avalon, “There’s Not a Minute” for Ricky Nelson, “Gotta Get a Hold of Myself ” for the Zombies, and “The Game of Love” for Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders. Ballard also wrote the song “You’re No Good,” which was a hit for Linda Ronstadt in 1974.
BANAI, CHAIM Israeli actor Chaim Banai died of cardiac arrest at his home in Jerusalem on August 9, 2008. He was 71. Banai was born in Jerusalem on May 14, 1937. He was the brother of the late actor and singer
Frith Banbury
Obituaries • 2008 play, the melancholy Christmas tale The Holly and the Ivy, in 1950. Banbury also championed the works of Rodney Ackland, directing a revival of his version of Hugh Walpole’s The Old Ladies. Their subsequent collaboration, Ackland’s original play The Pink Room, proved a critical failure in 1952. Banbury had more success with his productions of N.C. Hunter’s Waters of the Moon (1951), Terence Rattigan’s The Deep Blue Sea (1952), John Whiting’s Marching Song, and Robert Bolt’s Flowering Cherry (1957). He became the director of choice for theatrical revivals and literary adaptations in the 1960s. He helmed Christopher Taylor’s version of Henry James’ Wings of the Dove in 1963, and revivals of Captain Brassbound’s Conversion (1971) and The Aspern Papers (1984). His later works include the off-beat 1989 play Screamers and the 1999 revival of The Gin Game. His final directorial effort was a national tour revival of his earlier hit The Old Ladies. Banbury was working on his biography with actor Simon Callow at the time of his death.
BANDITH, SINGKHAM Actor Singkham Bandith died in a Bridgeport, Connecticut, hospital, on March 13, 2008. He was 35. Bandith was born in Laos on March 11, 1973. An actor and musician, he was featured in a small role in the 2004 film Maria Full of Grace. He also appeared in the 2006 film Blood Money, for which he also composed the score and served as assistant director. BANKS, IONA Welsh actress Iona Banks died after a long illness in Trelogan, Flintshire, Wales, on May 19, 2008. She was 87. Banks was born in Trelogan in 1920. She was best known for her role as barmaid Gwla-
24
Penny Banner
Kostecki in St. Louis, Missouri, on August 11, 1934. She began wrestling in 1954 and became one of the top female competitors in the 1950s and 1960s. She teamed with Lorraine Johnson to win the Ohio Women’s Tag Team Title in the mid–1950s, and held the Texas Women’s Title in 1961. She also became the first American Wrestling Association (AWA) Women’s Champion in 1961. Banner feuded with such fellow wrestlers as June Byers and the Fabulous Moolah during her career before retiring from the ring in 1977. She was married to former wrestler Johnny Weaver from 1959 until their divorce in 1994. Banner was featured in the 2004 documentary film Lipstick & Dynamite, Piss & Vinegar: The First Ladies of Wrestling, and published her biography, Banner Days, in 2005. BARCELLOS, DOUGLAS Brazilian actor Douglas Barcellos died in Cascais, Portugal, on December 24, 2008. He was 33. Barcellos was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 5, 1975. He began his career on stage at an early age and was featured in productions of David Mamet’s Red Bait and Franco Zeffirelli’s I Pagliaci.
Iona Banks
dys Lake in the Welsh language BBC soap opera Pobol y Cwm (aka People of the Valley) from 1974. She was also a stage actress and a founding member of Cwmni Theatr Cymru. Banks also appeared on British television in episodes of Play for Today, The Life and Times of David Lloyd George, Angels, One Summer, The Magnificent Evans, and Campion.
BANNER, PENNY Leading female professional wrestler Penny Banner died after a long battle with cancer at her daughter’s home in Charlotte, North Carolina, on May 12, 2008. She was 73. She was born Mary Ann
Douglas Barcellos
He also worked as a model in New York and Paris, and was featured in a segment of the reality show America’s Next Top Model in 2004. He also appeared on television in episodes of Eve, Head Cases, Criminal Minds, and the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. He appeared in several films including Traci Townsend (2005), Living
25 the Dream (2006), Tres (2007), and He’s Just Not That into You (2009).
BARCLAY, BARRY New Zealand filmmaker Barry Barclay died of a heart attack in New Zealand on February 17, 2008. He was 63. Barclay, a native Maori of Ngati Apa descent, was born in Wairarpa, New Zealand, in 1944. He began his career working in radio before becoming a cameraman for a film company in Masterton. He was soon directing commercials and trade films, and
Barry Barclay
2008 • Obituaries Barclay made her film debut in 1948’s Sins of the Fathers. She was also seen in the films The Headless Ghost (1959), Rasputin, the Mad Monk (1966), The Revolutionary (1970), Sex and the Other Woman (1972), and Touch of Class (1973). Barclay was also seen on television in the 1952 Hallmark Hall of Fame production of Florence Nightingale, and in such series as The Adventures of Clint and Mac, The Four Just Men, and Dixon of Dock Green. She starred as Stella Dane in Crossroads for over a year in the early 1960s before growing bored with the role and asking the producers to kill off her character. She continued to appear in such series as The Wednesday Play, Spy Trap, Steptoe and Son, Shades of Greene, Play for Today, Wodehouse Playhouse, and Secret Army in the recurring role of Sophie Chantal in the late 1970s.
BARNES, CAROL British television newscaster Carol Barnes died of a stroke in England on March 8, 2008. She was 63. Barnes was born in Norwich, England, on September 13, 1944. She began working at Independent Radio News as a writer in the early 1970s, where she made her debut as a newsreader when the one scheduled failed to arrive for work. Several years later she joined BBC Radio 4 as a broadcaster on The World at One. She joined ITN as a newscaster in 1982, where she was regular anchor of News at Ten. She remained at
created the Tangata Whenua documentary series about the Maori life and culture in 1974. He also wrote and directed the 1985 documentary feature The Neglected Miracle. He became the first Maori to direct a feature drama with the 1987 film Ngati. His later documentaries include Te Rua (1991) and The Feathers of Peace (2000).
BARCLAY, MARY British stage and film actress Mary Barclay, who was featured as Stella Dane, the domineering mother-in-law in the popular soap opera Crossroads, died in a nursing home in Guernsey, England, of complications from a stroke on February 19, 2008. She was 91. She was born Mary Biddulph in Williton, Somerset, England, in 1917. She studied drama and music in the late 1930s, before marring Richard Barclay in 1940. She and her husband moved to Canada after World War II, where she appeared on stage. She also performed on Broadway in the early 1950s before returning to England.
Mary Barclay
Carol Barnes
ITN, except for a brief hiatus from 1989 to 1991, until 1998. She distinguished herself during her coverage of Princess Diana’s death in 1994, and was named Newscaster of the Year. Barnes hosted the financial program Simply Money and the current affairs show Seven Days after leaving ITN. She was also a frequent guest on the series Countdown in the early 2000s, and made a cameo appearance as herself in the 2004 horror-comedy film Shaun of the Dead.
BARNES, CLIVE Theatre and dance critic Clive Barnes died of complications from cancer in a Manhattan hospital on November 19, 2009. He was 81. Barnes was born in London, England, on May 13, 1927. He attended Oxford University, where he studied dance and began writing for Dance and Dancers. He joined The New Statesman in 1953, and authored the book Ballet in Britain Since the War the same year. Barnes was drama, music, and dance critic for the London Daily Express from
Obituaries • 2008
26 author and authoritative writer on the history of cinema in England. His massive five-volume work, The Beginnings of Cinema in England, 1894–1901, was published in 1976 and documented the pioneering days of cinematic films, personalities, and equipment. Barnes spent the next two decades on the series that followed.
Clive Barnes
BARONOVA, IRINA Russian-born ballerina Irina Baronova died at her home in Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia, on June 28, 2008. She was 89. She was born in Petrograd (the once and future St. Petersburg), Russia, on March 13, 1919, and emigrated to Romania with her family the following year. They traveled to Paris in 1928, where Irina studied ballet under Olga Preobrajenska. She was cast by George Balanchine to dance in the ballet segment of the operetta Orpheus in the Underworld in 1931. She and the two other young
1956 to 1965, and was also a dance critic for the Times of London from 1961 to 1965. He joined the New York Times as dance critic in 1965, and also became drama critic in 1967. When the Times removed him from the drama beat, he left for The New York Post in 1978. He remained there for the next 30 years, and also contributed articles to Dance Magazine, Ballet 2000, and The Stage. Barnes was also the author of several books, including Frederick Ashton and His Ballets (1961), Dance Scene U.S.A. (1967), and Nureyev (1982).
BARNES, JOHN British film historian and museum owner John Stuart Lloyd Barnes died of cancer in St. Ives, Cornwall, England, on June 1, 2008. He was 87. Barnes was born in London on June 28, 1920. He and his twin brother, William, became interested in films and cinema from an early age, and were producing their own documentaries by their mid-teens. In the late 1930s they produced With the Gypsies and Garden of England, and had attempted several fictional films, including Kidnapped, which Barnes made at the age of 15. The brothers served in the Royal Army during World War II, and afterwards moved to St. Ives, where they staged an exhibition of cinema artifacts at the 1951 Festival of Britain. Having amassed a great collection of pre-cinema equipment, the brother’s opened the Barnes Museum of Cinematography in St. Ives, Cornwall, in 1963. The museum attracted scholars and historians worldwide until it shut its doors in 1986. John Barnes was also a prolific
John Barnes
Irina Baronova
dancers with the Ballets Russes, Tamara Toumanova and Tatiana Riabouchinska, were dubbed the “baby ballerinas” by the press. Baronova created the role of Passion in the 1933 production of Leonide Massine’s ballet Les Presages, and continued to dance with the Ballets Russes throughout the 1930s. She married ballet manager German Sevastianov in 1936, and joined him at the Ballet Theater in 1941. She performed in venues throughout the world and was featured in the Hollywood films Florian (1940) and Yolanda (1943). She also performed on Broadway in the revue Follow the Girls in 1944. Divorced from Sevatianov, she married British theatrical agent Cecil Tennant in the mid–1940s and retired from dancing to raise a family. She appeared in to subsequent films Train of Events (1949) and Toast to Love (1951). Baronova was widowed when Tennant was killed in an automobile accident in 1967. She and Sevastianov resumed their relationship from 1971 until his death in 1974. Baronova retired to Australia in 2000. She is survived by her three children, including actress Victoria Tennant.
BARRETT RODDENBERRY, MAJEL Actress Majel Barrett Roddenberry, the widow of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry who appeared in various roles in all of the television and film productions associated with the series, died of leukemia at her home in Bel-Air, California, on December 18, 2008. She was 76. Barrett was born Majel Lee Hudec in Columbus, Ohio, on Febru-
27
2008 • Obituaries 1990s. She was also the computer voice in various Star Trek incarnations on film, television, and video games. Barrett’s later film credits also include Teresa’s Tattoo (1994), Mommy (1995), and Mars and Beyond (2000). Her final film credit was voicing the Enterprise Computer for the 2009 “Star Trek” feature. Barrett was also a popular guest among fans at Star Trek conventions around the country.
Majel Barrett Roddenberry
ary 23, 1932. She was a familiar face in films and television from the late 1950s. Barrett appeared in the films Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957), The Black Orchid (1958), As Young as We Are (1958), The Buccaneer (1958), Love in a Goldfish Bowl (1961), The Quick and the Dead (1963), Sylvia (1965), Country Boy (1966), A Guide for the Married Man (1967), and Track of Thunder (1968). She appeared in the recurring role of Gwen Rutherford, Lumpy’s mother, in the comedy series Leave It to Beaver, and was seen in episodes of Whirlybirds, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, The Untouchables, Bonanza, Cain’s Hundred, The Lieutenant, The Second Hundred Years, The Lucy Show, Love on a Rooftop, Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, and Here Come the Brides. Barrett was best known for her roles in the various Star Trek series and films. She was the only member of the cast to have performed in some capacity in every incarnation of the franchise. She starred as Number One in the original Star Trek pilot, “The Cage,” and appeared in the subsequent series as Nurse Christine Chapel from 1966 to 1969. Barrett married Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry in December of 1969, and they had one child, Rod. Barrett returned to the Starship Enterprise in the recurring role of Ambassador Lwaxana Troi and the Federation computer voice in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993). She was the starship computer voice on Star Trek: Voyager (1995) and Enterprise (2001). She also appeared in many other of her husband’s productions. Barrett was seen in the tele-films Genesis II (1973), The Questor Tapes (1974), Planet Earth (1974), Spectre (1977), The Suicide’s Wife (1979), and The Man in the Santa Claus Suit (1979). She also appeared in the films Westworld (1973) and The Domino Principle (1977). She reprised her role as Christine Chapel, now a doctor, in the first film in the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), and in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986). She remained married to Roddenberry until his death in October of 1991. Barrett was executive producer for two Gene Roddenberry–inspired science fiction series, Earth: Final Conflict from 1997 to 2001, and Andromeda from 2000 to 2001. She also appeared in Earth: Final Conflict as Dr. Julianne Belman from 1997 to 1999. She also guest starred in an episode of the science fiction series Babylon 5, and was the voice of Anna Watson in the Spider-Man animated series in the late
BARRISTER, SUSAN Casting director Susan A. Brown, who also acted under the name Susan Barrister, died in Kirkland, Washington, on May 15, 2008. She was 65. She was born on December 19, 1942. She appeared on television in the early 1970s in episodes of Columbo and Griff, and was seen in small roles in the films Night Moves (1975) and Brothers (1977). Barrister also appeared in stage productions of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Glass Menagerie, and Oh! Calcutta.
Susan Barrister
She began working as a casting assistant in the late 1980s, and was involved in the production of the films Disaster at Silo 7 (1988), Dances with Wolves (1990), A River Runs Through It (1992), The Bodyguard (1992), The Temp (1993), Head Above Water (1996), The Saint (1997), Telling Lies in America (1997), the tele-film The Pentagon Wars (1998), and Doctor Dolittle (1998). She also taught an acting workshop in Seattle, Washington, and was casting director for the 2008 crime drama Hold-Up.
BARRON, BEBE Avant-garde composer Bebe Barron, who created the electronic music featured in the 1956 science fiction film classic Forbidden Planet with her husband, died in Los Angeles on April 20, 2008. She was 82. She was born Charlotte May Wind in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on June 16, 1925. She married Louis Barron in 1947 and the couple moved to New York. They soon began experimenting with a tape recorder they had received as a wedding present, creating unusual electronic sounds. They created the first electronic music for magnetic tape through cutting and splicing with their first composition, Heavenly Menagerie, being released in the early 1950s. They opened a studio in Greenwich Village in 1948, and attracted such notable visitors as Henry Miller, Aldous Huxley, and composer John Cage. The Barrons first cinematic work was for the 1952 film Bells of Atlantis, based on the works of Anais Nin. They were
Obituaries • 2008
28 Barrows and his wife also produced the Michael McClure play The Beard in the late 1960s. The controversial production led to frequent arrests on profanity charges and the burning of the theater. The Barrows eventually won a landmark free speech case as a result. Judith Barrow died in 1970.
chosen to provide the other-worldly soundtrack for the MGM feature Forbidden Planet in 1956, credited for electronic tonalities. They also produced the soundtrack for Maya Deren’s 1959 avant-garde film The Very Eye of Night. The Barrons moved to Los Angeles in 1962, and though they divorced in 1970, she and Louis continued to compose together until his death in 1989. Bebe became the first secretary of the Society of Electro-Acoustic Music (SEAMUS) in the United States in 1985, and received an award for her work from them in 1997. Her last composition, Mixed Emotions, was created for the University of California in 2000. Her survivors include her second husband, screenwriter Leonard Neubauer.
BARTHOLOMEW, SIDNEY J., JR. Production designer Sidney J. Bartholomew, Jr., died at his home in Los Angeles on June 15, 2008. He was 54. Bartholomew was born in Tarboro, North Carolina, on August 5, 1953. He studied art at Appalachian State University and earned a master’s degree at Memphis State University. He later worked as an assistant to conceptual artist Christo before entering the entertainment industry. Bartholomew served as art director on the quirky children’s show Peewee’s Playhouse. He earned an Emmy Award for designing the outsized and garishly hued anthropomorphic furniture for the show. He also designed sets for numerous music videos during the 1980s and 1990s, and worked on the 1987 film Magic Sticks. Bartholomew began working with the Farrelly Brothers as production designer for their 1994 comedy film Dumb and Dumber and remained involved with all of their subsequent productions. He served as production designer for the films Kingpin (1996), Me, Myself & Irene (2000), Say It Isn’t So (2001), Osmosis Jones (2001), Shallow Hal (2001), Stuck on You (2003), and The Heartbreak Kid (2007). Bartholomew also wrote and directed the 2003 children’s soccer film Just for Kicks.
BARROWS, ROBERT GUY Television writer Robert Guy Barrows died of complications from cancer surgery in Pueblo, Colorado, on January 31, 2008. He was 81. Barrows was born in Fort Collins, Colorado, on February 9, 1926. He served with the military during World War II. He worked as a drama teacher for several years and began writing for the theater in New York in the 1950s. He began scripting episodes for television series in the early 1960s, with his second wife, Judith Friedman Barrows, often serving as his writing partner. His television credits include episodes of Destry, Kraft Suspense Theatre, The Fugitive, Run for Your Life, The Big Valley, Ben Casey, Felony Squad, The Man Who Never Was, The Green Hornet, Mission: Impossible, Bonanza, The Virginian, Daniel Boone, and Alias Smith and Jones.
BATAILLE, NICOLAS French actor and stage director Nicolas Bataille, who was instrumental in championing the career of Absurdist playwright Eugene Ionesco, died in Paris on October 28, 2008. He was 82. He was born Roger de Bataille in Paris on March 14, 1926. He began performing on stage during World War II, and made his film debut as an extra in Marcel Carne’s 1944 feature Les Enfants du Paradis. He gained a reputation in avant garde circles in the late 1940s by staging productions of Arthur Rimbaud’s poem Une Saison en Enfer and Dostoevsky’s The Possessed. He first staged Ionesco’s The Bald Prima Donna in 1949 in an effort that proved to be a critical and popular failure. He continued to produce Ionesco’s works, with The Lesson (1951) and The Chairs (1952). Bataille restaged The Bald Prime
Robert Guy Barrows
Nicolas Bataille
Bebe Barron (with husband Louis)
29 Donna in 1957, appearing on stage in the role of Mr. Martin, at the small Theatre de la Huchette in Paris’ Latin Quarter. The play became a popular hit and earned the distinction of becoming the longest-running theatrical production at the same location over the next 51 years. Bataille also appeared in several films during his career including a trio by director Louis Malle, Elevator to the Scaffold (1958), Zazie in the Underground (1960), and A Very Private Affair (1962). His other film credits include Jacques Tati’s My Uncle, Mr. Hulot (1958), Normandie — Niemen (1960), Aurelia (1964), Contacts (1967), Kenju Giga (1970), and the television production Joyeux Chagrins (1972). He also continued to direct stage productions of works from such playwrights as Jean Cocteau, Jean Prevert, and Boris Vian.
BATES, JONATHAN British film sound editor Jonathan Bates, who earned an Academy Award nomination for his work on Gandhi, died of complications from a brain tumor in England, on October 31, 2008. He was 68. Bates was born in Little Chart, Kent, England, on November 1, 1939. He was the son of novelist and screenwriter H.E. Bates, who was instrumental in helping his son secure a job with Ealing Studios in the mid–1950s. Jonathan worked for the studio until it closed in 1959, learning editing and other cinematic skills. He worked for several years as a freelance dubbing editor, and earned his first credit as a sound editor for the 1961 film Station Six-Sahara. He worked in numerous films over the next four decades, assisting such directors as Otto Preminger, Sidney Lumet, Roman Polanski, and Richard Attenborough. His many film credits include Walt Disney’s The Three Lives of Thomasina (1962), The Moon-Spinners (1964), Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965), Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965), Life at the Top (1965), Hotel Paradiso (1966), Return of the Seven (1966), Maroc 7 (1967), The Comedians (1967), Fathom (1967), Where Eagles Dare (1968), The Adventurers (1970), Kelly’s Heroes (1970), Polanski’s Macbeth (1971), Danny Jones (1972), Young Winston (1972), Catholics (1973), 11 Harrowhouse (1974), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), 92 in the Shade (1975), The “Human” Factor (1975), Aces High (1976), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), The Medusa Touch (1976), International Velvet (1978), Magic (1978), Dracula (1979) starring
Jonathan Bates
2008 • Obituaries Frank Langella, Flash Gordon (1980), Attenborough’s Gandhi (1982) which earned him his Oscar nomination, A Chorus Line (1985), Mona Lisa (1986), Cry Freedom (1987), A Fish Called Wanda (1988), The Mighty Quinn (1989), Shirley Valentine (1989), City of Joy (1992), Chaplin (1992), The Man Without a Face (1993), Shadowlands (1993), Haunted (1995), In Love and War (1996), Lawn Dog (1997), Les Miserables (1998), Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), Grey Owl (1999), The Trench (1999), The Body (2001), Before You Go (2002), Nicholas Nickleby (2002), The Sleeping Dictionary (2002), and Closing the Ring (2007). Bates also worked in television on such productions as Red Monarch (1983), Sakharov (1984), Just Another Secret (1989), A Casualty of War (1989), A Little Piece of Sunshine (1990), The Price of the Bride (1990), Death Has a Bad Reputation (1990), Pride and Extreme Prejudice (1990), and Scarlett (1994).
BATTLEY, WADE Television art director Wade Battley died of cancer in Los Angeles on March 2, 2008. She was 52. Battley was born on August 19, 1955. She began her career as a theatrical designer in New York. She also designed sets for the television variety programs
Wade Battley
Showtime at the Apollo and Star Search before moving to Los Angeles in 1990. She worked as an art director for several soap operas including General Hospital and Port Charles, and earned a Daytime Emmy Award for her work on Days of Our Lives.
BAUGH, SAMMY Football star Sammy Baugh died in Rotan, Texas, on December 17, 2008. He was 94. Baugh was born in Temple, Texas, on March 17, 1914. He attended Texas Christian University on a baseball scholarship but also played basketball and football. After graduating in 1937, he signed with the NFL’s Washington Redskins where he played for the next 16 years. Known for his accurate throwing skills, he helped popularize the forward pass in professional football. Baugh briefly pursued an acting career during the off season, starring as Ranger Tom King in the 1941 Republic Serial King of the Texas Rangers, billed as Slingin’ Sammy Baugh. He also appeared as a football player in 1948’s Triple Threat. He retired from playing football with the Redskins in 1952, though he later coached college and pro teams before leaving the sport in 1968. He was inducted
Obituaries • 2008
30
Veronika Bayer Sammy Baugh
into the first College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 and was a charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
BAYARD, LEO Actor Leo Bayard died in Northfield, New Jersey, on October 23, 2008. He was 86. Bayard was born in 1922 and served in the US Army during World War II, where he often entertained the troops with comedy sketches and songs. After the war, he headed for New York to pursue an acting career. He
(1977), Augenblick Polen (1988), Die Lok (1993), Zwischen den Sternen (2002), Die Letzte Saison (2005) and Die Osterreichische Methode (2006).
BAYLEY, BARRINGTON J. British science fiction writer Barrington J. Bayley died of complications from bowel cancer in Shrewsbury, England, on October 14, 2008. He was 71. Bayley was born in Birmingham,
Barrington Bayley
Leo Bayard
was featured in a touring production of the Broadway play Detective Story, and was featured on television in episodes of Lux Video Theatre, Ford Theatre, Kraft Theatre, and Man Against Crime. He and his wife, actress Elizabeth Teichman, also operated a drama and dance school in Queens, New York, for over 20 years. The couple later moved to New Jersey, where Bayard remained active on the local stage.
BAYER, VERONIKA German actress Veronika Bayer died of cancer in Bochum, Germany, on January 31, 2008. She was 67. Bayer was born in Stuttgart, Germany, on June 4, 1940. She was a leading stage and film performer in Germany, and was featured in the films Liebe, Luft and Lauter Lugen (1959), Melody and Rhythms (1959), Twelve Girls and One Man (1959), The Dear Augusutin (1960), Wen die Heide Bluht (1960), Die Legende vom Heiligen Trinker (1983), Macbeth (1974), Ruckfalle
England, on April 9, 1937. He began writing science fiction stories in the mid–1950s, and began collaborating with fellow writer Michael Moorcock later in the decade. He began a frequent contributor to Moorcock’s New Worlds magazine in the 1960s. He was noted for crafting tales with intricate storylines with his early novels Star Virus (1964) and Empire of Two Worlds (1972). His increasingly complex stories made him somewhat inaccessible to some readers, but Bayley remained an influential figure in science fiction with such novels as Collision Course (1973), The Fall of Chronopolis (1974), The Soul of the Robot (1974) which introduced the character of Jasperodus the robot, The Garments of Caean (1976), The Grand Wheel (1977), Star Winds (1978), The Pillars of Eternity (1982), The Zen Gun (1983), The Forest of Peldain (1985), Sinners of Erspia (2002), The Great Hydration (2002), and Age of Adventure (2002). Much of his short fiction was collected in the volumes The Knights of the Limits (1971) and The Seed of Evil (1979).
BAYNES, PAULINE British artist Pauline Baynes, who illustrated books by J.R.R. Tolkien and
31
Pauline Baynes
C.S. Lewis, died in Dockenfield, Surrey, England, on August 1, 2008. She was 85. Baynes was born in Brighton, England, on September 9, 1922. She studied art and began working as an illustrator in the mid–1940s for the Perry Colour Books series. He also wrote and illustrated the 1948 book Victoria and the Golden Bird. She first worked with Tolkien in 1949, illustrating his work Farmer Giles of Ham. He recommended her to C.S. Lewis, and Baynes illustrated his classic fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia. She also created drawings for Tolkien’s The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, Smith of Wotton Major, and Poems and Stories. Baynes also create the cover for Richard Adams’ Watership Down, and illustrated editions of Henri Pourrat’s A Treasury of French Tales (1953), Grant Uden’s A Dictionary of Chivalry (1968), Mary Norton’s The Borrowers Avenged (1982), Anne Sewell’s Black Beauty (1984), and Beatrix Potter’s Wag-by-Wall (1987). Much of her later books were about religious subjects including All Things Bright and Beautiful (1986), Noah and the Ark (1988), and In the Beginning (1990). She was working on illustrations for passages from the Koran at the time of her death.
BEADLE, JEREMY British television personality Jeremy Beadle, who hosted the BBC’s version of Candid Camera, died of complications from leukemia and pneumonia on January 30, 2008. He was 59. Beadle was born in Hackney, London, England, on April 12, 1948. He suffered from Poland’s Syndrome from birth, which
Jeremy Beadle
2008 • Obituaries left him with a withered right hand. Beadle left home at 16 and worked at various odd jobs including writing for Time Out magazine and organizing music festivals. He began writing trivia tidbits for newspaper columns and the television series Celebrity Squares in the 1970s. He soon began appearing on camera, hosting the game show You Must Be Joking. He became host of the Saturday morning children’s program Fun Factory in 1980, and presented The Deceivers and Eureka the following year. He became one of the hosts of the hidden camera show Game for a Laugh in 1981, which evolved into Beadle’s About in 1987. He served as host of the home video series You’ve Been Framed from 1990 to 1997. He had less success with the series Beadle’s Box of Tricks and Born Lucky, but returned to form with the gameshow Win Beadle’s Money in 1999. He also guested on such series as Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, The Wright Stuff, and Countdown. Beadle’s television antics made him a target of media critics, who often lambasted his style of humor.
BEATTIE, SHELLEY Shelley Beattie, a female body-builder who was featured as Siren in the television series American Gladiators in the 1990s, died in Portland, Oregon, on February 17, 2008. She was 40. Beattie was born in Santa Ana, California, on August 24, 1967. She suffered a severe hearing loss as a child due to an aspirin
Shelley Beattie
overdose. She went on to become a competitive body builder in the early 1990s. She was featured as Siren on American Gladiators, a program that pitted contestants against the muscular gladiators in physical competitions, from 1992 to 1997. She also appeared with the Gladiators in the 1993 comedy film Hot Shots! Part Deux.
BECHER, ALAN Australian actor and theatrical director Alan Becher died in Perth, Western Australia, on August 16, 2008. He was 61. Becher was born in Pakistan in 1947 and went to Australia in the 1970s. He worked as an actor in films and television, appearing in episodes of such series as Boney, Case for the Defense, A Country Practice, and Mother and Son. He was also featured in the 1983 mini-series The Dismissal, and appeared in the films The Best of Friends (1981), The City’s Edge (1983), and Razorback (1984). Becher moved to Western Australia in the mid–1980s, and was a co-founder
Obituaries • 2008
32 don’s Bloodline (1979), Serial (1980), Blood Beach (1981), Inchon (1981), A Stranger Is Watching (1982), The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984), Inside Out (1987), and Michael Cimino’s The Sicilian (1987).
Alan Becher
and artistic director of the Perth Theatre Company. He also adapted for the stage numerous works of Western Australian writers.
BECK, JOE Jazz guitarist Joe Beck died of lung cancer in a Danbury, Connecticut, hospice on July 22, 2008. He was 62. Beck was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 29, 1945. He began his career as a teenager in the early 1960s, playing with a jazz trio in New York. He was performing with such stars as Miles Davis by the end of the decade. He became a leading studio and
BECKMAN, HENRY Canadian character actor Henry Beckman died in Barcelona, Spain, on June 17, 2008. He was 86. Beckman was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on November 26, 1921. He joined the Canadian military in the late 1930s and served during World War II. He embarked upon an acting career in the early 1950s. He was featured in numerous films over the next five decades, including Niagara (1953), The Glory Brigade (1953), The Wrong Man (1956), So Lovely ... So Deadly (1957), The Bramble Bush (1960), The Crimebusters (1961), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), 13 West Street (1962), The Man from the Diner’s Club (1963), Twilight of Honor (1963), Dead Ringer (1964) with Bette Davis, Alfred Hitchcock’s Marnie (1964), A House Is Not a Home (1964), Kiss Me, Stupid (1964), The Satan Bug (1965), The Glory Guys (1965), McHale’s Navy Joins the
Henry Beckman
Joe Beck
session musician and played and recorded with such artists as Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Richie Havens, James Brown, Buddy Rich, and Herbie Hancock. His 1975 collaboration with saxophonist David Sanborn, produced the hit recording Beck and Sanborn. He also scored the 1976 film Goodbye, Norma Jean about Marilyn Monroe. He also recorded the albums Relaxin’ (1991), Alto (1997), and Polarity (2000) with Jimmy Bruno.
BECKERMAN, SIDNEY Film producer Sidney Beckerman died of cancer in Los Angeles on February 25, 2008. He was 87. Beckerman was born on November 26, 1920. He served as president of Allied Artists from the late 1960s and served as producer for such films as Last Summer (1969), Marlowe (1969), Kelly’s Heroes (1970), Portnoy’s Complaint (1972), Joe Kidd (1972), The River Niger (1976), Marathon Man (1976), Sidney Shel-
Air Force (1965), The Caper of the Golden Bulls (1967), Madigan (1968), The Stalking Moon (1968), Sweet Charity (1969), The Undefeated (1969), The Merry Wives of Tobias Rouke (1972) as Tobias, Between Friends (1973), Devil Times Five (1974), Why Rock the Boat? (1974), Silver Streak (1976), Blood & Guts (1978), and David Cronenberg’s horror classic The Brood (1979) as Barton Kelly. Beckman appeared frequently in television from the early 1950s. He starred as Commander Paul Richards in the early Flash Gordon series in 1954, and was Major Barker in The Lieutenant from 1963 to 1964. He was featured as George Anderson in the prime-time soap opera Peyton Place from 1964 to 1965, and was Captain Roland Francis Clancy in Here Come the Brides from 1968 to 1969. He also guest-starred in episodes of The Philco Television Playhouse, Studio One, Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion, I Spy, Decoy, Police Station, Peter Gunn, The Ann Sothern Show, Black Saddle, Mr. Lucky, Two Faces West, The DuPont Show with June Allyson, The Asphalt Jungle, Cain’s Hundred, The New Breed, Dennis the Menace, Hennesey, Laramie, Father of the Bride, Target: The Corruptors, Route 66, Sam Benedict, Have Gun —Will Travel,
33 Dr. Kildare, The Twilight Zone, Arrest and Trial, The Great Adventure, My Favorite Martian, The Greatest Show on Earth, The Fugitive, My Living Doll, The Jack Benny Program, Combat!, Man from U.N.C.L.E., Honey West, The Munsters, Ben Casey, McHale’s Navy, Blue Light, Perry Mason, Run Buddy Run, Run for Your Life, The Wild Wild West, Tarzan, Rango, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Death Valley Days, The Flying Nun, The Second Hundred Years, The Andy Griffith Show, The Virginian, Custer, The Iron Horse, Bewitched, The Monkees, I Dream of Jeannie, The Outsider, Adam-12, Insight, Nancy, The Interns, The Immortal, Night Gallery in the acclaimed episode “They’re Tearing Down Tim Riley’s Bar,” Bonanza, Love, American Style, Nichols, Funny Face, Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, The Sixth Sense, Mannix, Here’s Lucy, Shaft, The Starlost, Tenafly, Gunsmoke, Marcus Welby, M.D., Cannon, Ironside, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Police Story, Barney Miller, Bronk, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Family Holvak, The Lost Saucer, King of Kensington, Happy Days, Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, Fantasy Island, The Great Detective, Welcome Back, Kotter, The Rockford Files, The Littlest Hobo, Quincy, Trapper John, M.D., Seeing Things, Matt Houston, Jessie, Check It Out, Fame, Simon & Simon, St. Elsewhere, Werewolf, The Beachcombers, Booker, MacGyver, Street Legal, Street Justice, The Ray Bradbury Theater, The Commish, The Outer Limits, The Marshal, The X Files in the recurring role of Detective Frank Briggs, The Sentinel, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Cold Squad, and The Chris Isaak Show. He was also seen in such tele-films as The Harness (1971), Columbo: Etude in Black (1972), Bronk’s Last Case (1973), Indict and Convict (1974), The Canary (1975), Bronk (1975), Who Is the Black Dahlia? (1975), The Fighting Men (1977), Kane & Abel (1985), War and Remembrance (1988), Stuck with Each Other (1989), Blood River (1991), The Last P.O.W.? The Bobby Garwood Story (1992), The Man Upstairs (1992), While Justice Sleeps (1994), Jack Reed: One of Our Own (1995), Shadow of a Doubt (1995), My Husband’s Secret Life (1998), and Johnson County War (2002). Beckman also continued to appear in a handful of feature films from the early 1980s including Death Hunt (1981), Family Reunion (1988), I Love You to Death (1990), and Epicenter (2000). He was also the voice of the Narrator in 2000’s The Lion of Oz.
BEGG, JAMES Character actor James Begg died in Los Angeles on February 15, 2008. He was 69. Begg was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, on March 2, 1938. He began his career as an actor on the New York stage, before moving to Los Angeles in the late 1950s. He made his film debut in the 1961 western The Hired Gun, also serving as associate producer. He continued to appear in such films as Village of the Giants (1965), The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966) with Don Knotts, The Cool Ones (1967), It’s a Bikini World (1967), Catalina Caper (1967), The Love God? (1969), Grand Theft Auto (1977), An Enemy of the People (1978), Disney’s The Cat from Outer Space (1978), and Death Wish II (1982). Begg was also featured in several tele-films including My Dog, the Thief (1969), Inside O.U.T. (1971), and Scout’s Honor (1980). He also produced several tele-films starring Gary Coleman including The Kid with the Broken Halo (1982), The Kid
2008 • Obituaries
Jim Begg
with the 200 I.Q. (1983), and The Fantastic World of D.C. Collins (1984), also appearing in them in small roles. His other television credits include episodes of such series as The Forest Rangers, Gunsmoke, Summer Fun, Occasional Wife, Bewitched, Love on a Rooftop, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, The Andy Griffith Show, Insight, Mayberry R.F.D., Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., I Dream of Jeannie, Petticoat Junction, Love, American Style, Temperatures Rising, WKRP in Cincinnati, and Happy Days. Begg also performed as a voice actor in the cartoon series Cattanooga Cats, Bailey’s Comets, and Scooby-Doo and ScrappyDoo. He primarily worked behind the camera from the 1980s as a producer of the films Leo and Loree (1980), On the Right Track (1981), Pin... (1988), Into the Sun (1992), Angel 4: Undercover (1993), Leprechaun (1993), and Children of the Corn III (1995). Begg was also a producer for the tele-films Her Life As a Man (1984), Thompson’s Last Run (1986), Johnnie Mae Gibson: F.B.I. (1986), After the Promise (1987), and Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean (1990), and the television series Maximum Security.
BEKHTEREV, SERGEI Russian film and stage actor Sergei Bekhterev died after a long illness in St. Petersburg, Russia, on November 13, 2008. He was 50. Bekhterev was born in Petropavlovsk, Soviet Union (now Russia), on May 19, 1958. He was a popular stage actor, performing with the Maly Drama Theatre in St. Petersburg. He staged and starred in a production of Vaslav
Sergei Bekhterev
Obituaries • 2008 Nijinsky, Wedded to God, based on the diaries of the ballet dancer. Bekhterev also appeared in numerous films including White Dances (1981), The Voice (1982), Torpedo Bombers (1983), Believe It or Not (1983), The Blonde Around the Corner (1983), There Are No Strangers Here (1985), Petrogradskiye Gavroshi (1987), Gobseck (1987), Flight of the Bird (1988), Eti ... Tri Vernye Karty... (1988), The Art of Living in Odessa (1989), Intergirl (1989), Manya, Act! (1991), Arithmetic of a Murder (1991), Gadzho (1992), Chekhov’s Motifs (2002), Edelweiss Pirates (2004), The Tuner (2004), Fat Stupid Rabbit (2007), and At the River (2007). Bekhterev was also featured in television productions of Protivoyanie (1985), The Life of Klim Samgin (1986), Vaska (1989), Konchina (1989), Dym (1992), Mademoiselle O (1994), Lyubov Imperatora (2002), Legenda o Tampuke (2004), and Prestuplenie i Nakazanie (2007).
BELEW, BILL
Bill Belew, who designed Elvis Presley’s costumes and wardrobe during the last decade of his life, died in a Palm Springs, California, hospital of complications from diabetes on January 7, 2008. He was 76. Belew was born in Crocet, Virginia, on May 20, 1931. He began working as a designer for television in the late 1960s, providing costumes for a Petula Clark special. He was chosen to head the design team for Elvis’ 1968 comeback television special, creating the flamboy-
34
Freddie Bell
the Bellboys, in the early 1950s. The played in the Midwest before hitting the Las Vegas Strip in 1953. Bell became one of the leading lounge acts of the decade, and worked frequently with the trio of Sam Butera, Louis Prima, and Keely Smith. His rendition of the song “Hound Dog,” inspired Elvis Presley to record a cover of it. He and his group performed on television on The Colgate Comedy Hour and The Ed Sullivan Show, and were featured in the films Rumble on the Docks (1956) and Rock Around the Clock (1956), which included their song “Giddy-Up-A Ding Dong.” Bell also appeared in the 1964 feature Get Yourself a College Girl. He and the Bellboys had successful international tours but failed to record a hit record in the U.S. and disbanded. Bell remained a popular act in Las Vegas well into the 1990s. BELL, MIKE Professional wrestler “Mad Dog” Mike Bell died on December 14, 2008. He was 37. Bell was a Poughkeepsie, New York, native who played football in college at the University of Cincinnati. He wrestled with the WWE in the late 1990s, competing in matches against such stars as the Undertaker, Bret Hart,
Bill Belew (with statue of Elvis)
ant jumpsuits and capes that became the singer’s trademark. Belew continued to design outfits for Elvis over the next decade. He also worked on numerous plays, musicals, and operas, and designed costumes for such television productions as The Flip Wilson Show (1970), It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman (1975), The Captain & Tennille Special (1976), They Said It with Music: Yankee Doodle to Ragtime (1977), Dorothy Hamill Presents Winners (1978), The Captain and Tennille in Hawaii (1978), The Carpenters: Music, Music, Music (1980) which earned him an Emmy nomination, and Miracle Mile (1993). Belew was also a designer for the series Fridays, Santa Barbara, Mr. Belvedere, Sister Kate, Dangerous Women, and Your Big Break.
BELL, FREDDIE
Singer Freddie Bell died of complications from cancer in a Las Vegas, Nevada, hospital on February 10, 2008. He was 76. He was born Freddie Bello in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 29, 1931. He formed his own group, Freddie Bell and
Mike Bell
and Perry Saturn. He later wrestled with Extreme Championship Wrestling and several local and regional promotions. He was also featured in the 2008 documentary Bigger, Stronger, Faster, about athletes use of performance-enhancing drugs, which was directed by his younger brother, Chris.
35 BELL, MONNA Chilean singer Monna Bell died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Tijuana, Mexico, on April 21, 2008. She was 70. She was born Nora Escobar in Santiago, Chile, on January 23, 1938. She was in her early teens when she won a talent contest on Chile radio. She became a regular performer on the station and was soon touring the United States and Spain. She recorded such popular songs as “Un Telegrama,” “La Montana,” and “Silencio Corazon” in the late 1950s, and was featured in the film April in Portugal (1959). Bell appeared in sev-
2008 • Obituaries BENDICK, ROBERT L. Documentary director and cameraman Robert L. Bendick died on June 22, 2008. He was 91. Bendick was born on February 8, 1917. He began working in photography in the 1930s, directing documentaries for the governments of Canada and Bermuda. He joined CBS television in 1940, but was soon serving in the U.S. Army as a combat cameraman with the Fist Motion Picture Unit in China, Burma, and
Robert Bendick Monna Bell
eral films in Mexico in the early 1960s including Las Recien Casadas (1962), Los Secretos del Sexo Debil (1962), and Buenas Noches, Ano Nuevo (1964). She continued to perform and record throughout the 1960s and 1970s, though her career was on the decline. She was largely retired by the 1980s until Mexican singer and composer Juan Gabriel lured her from retirement to perform at some of his shows. Gabriel produced her 1993 comeback album Monna Bell Ahora, but it failed to make an impact and she returned to semi-retirement.
BEMISTER, WILLIAM
British documentary filmmaker William Bemister died of heart disease on November 13, 2008. He was 60. Bemister was born in Brighton, England, on June 28, 1948. He began his career working as a journalist in Rhodesia, New Zealand, and Australia. He joined the Australian Broadcasting Commission as special investigative producer in 1979. Bemister’s first documentary film was The Confessions of Ronald Biggs (1978), about the fugitive British train robber then living in Brazil. His documentary The Hunter and the Hunted, about Nazi war criminals and the Nazi hunters that sought them out, earned an Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalist in 1981. His other documentary credits include Psychic Visions of the Future (1980), The Hunter and the Hunted (1981), Warriors of the Deep (1982), Spytrap: The True Story of Petrov and Philby (1985), The Search for Mengele (1985), Philby (1988), The Seven Million Dollar Fugitive (1989), and Moscow’s Man (1994). For the past several years Bemister had been involved with forensic investigations of war crimes using experimental video-based technologies for the feature documentary Admissible Evidence.
India. He returned to CBS after the war, where he became head of the News and Special Events Department. He directed the first national television broadcast of a baseball game, featuring the Brooklyn Dodgers, in 1946, various United Nations telecasts, the 1947 opening of Congress, and the Democratic and Republican National Conventions in 1948. He and his wife, Jeanne, were the authors of the books Television Works Like and Making the Movies. Bendick produced the 1952 film This Is Cinerama, and was co-director for the 1955 follow-up Cinerama Holiday.
BENEDICT, PAUL Character actor Paul Benedict, who was best known for his role as Harry Bentley in the television sitcom The Jeffersons, was found dead at his home on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, on December 1, 2008. He was 70. Benedict was born in Silver City, New Mexico, on September 17, 1938, and was raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He became a versatile
Paul Benedict
Obituaries • 2008 on actor on stage and screen from the 1960s. He frequently played off beat character roles in such films as The Double-Barrelled Detective Story (1965), The Virgin President (1968), Cold Turkey (1971), Taking Off (1971), They Might Be Giants (1971) with George C. Scott, The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight (1971) as Shots O’Toole, Deadhead Miles (1972), Jeremiah Johnson (1972) as the Rev. Lindquist, Up the Sandbox (1972), The Front Page (1974), Mandingo (1975) as Brownlee the slaver, Smile (1975), The Goodbye Girl (1977), Billy in the Lowlands (1979), Desperate Moves (1981), The Man with Two Brains (1983), The Lonely Guy (1984), This Is Spinal Tap (1984), The Chair (1988), Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988), Cocktail (1988), The Freshman (1990), Sibling Rivalry (1990), The Addams Family (1991) as Judge Womack, Guns and Lipstick (1995), Waiting for Guffman (1996), The Devil’s Advocate (1997), Who Was That Man (1998), A Fish in the Bathtub (1999), Isn’t She Great (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and After the Sunset (2004). He also appeared in the tele-films Hustling (1975), Ray Bradbury’s The Electric Grandmother (1982), The Blue and the Gray (1982), Babycakes (1989), and Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman (1993) as Dr. Victor Loeb. Benedict was the Mad Painter in the PBS children’s series Sesame Street from 1969 to 1976. He was featured as Harry Bentley, the eccentric British next-door neighbor to George and Louise Jefferson, in the popular sit-com The Jeffersons from 1975 to 1985. His other television credits include episodes of Kojak, Harry O, Maude, All in the Family, Murder, She Wrote, The Twilight Zone, A Different World, Tales from the Crypt, Morton & Hayes, Pigsty, Seinfeld, The Guiding Light, and The Drew Carey Show. Benedict also appeared frequently on stage, including roles in many Broadway productions. He co-starred with Al Pacino in the two character play Hughie by Eugene O’Neill in 1996, and was Mayor Shinn in the 2000 revival of The Music Man.
BENTIVEGNA, WARNER Italian actor Warner Bentivegna died in a hospital in Rome, Italy, on December 6, 2008. He was 77. Bentivegna was born in Crotone, Italy, on July 18, 1931. He studied drama in Rome and began his career on stage in the 1950s. He was also featured in the television dramas L’Avaro (1957), Capitan Fracassa (1958), Umilati e Offesi (1958), and Ottocento (1959). He also appeared in a handful of films early in his
Warner Bentivegna
36 career including I’l Padrone delle Ferriere (1959), The Trojan Horse (1961) as Paris, and The Shortest Day (1962). He spent most of his acting career performing on stage and television, with roles in such television productions as I Giacobini (1962), Ultima Boheme (1964), I Grandi Camaleonti (1964), Processi a Porte Aperte: Io Difendo Elvira Sharney (1968), I Demoni (1972), Sotto il Placido Don (1974), Marco Visconti (1975), Due Ragazzi Incorreggibili (1976), La Dama dei Veleni (1979), and I Sciori (1980). Bentivegna starred as Emilio Dupre in the television series Incantesimo in the early 2000s, and was featured as Sior Zamaria in the tele-film Una Delle Ultime Sere di Carnovale in 2007. BERGE, COLETTE French dancer and actress Colette Berge died in France on March 8, 2008. She was 66. Berge was born in Neuilly Sur Seine, France, on April 24, 1941. She was a leading stage performer in France from the late 1950s, and appeared on television
Colette Berge
in productions of Les Jours Heureux (1961), Marie Tudor (1966), La Femme en Blanc (1970), Le Misanthrope (1971), La Provinciale (1973), Anne jour Apres Jour (1976), La Vie de Marianne (1976), and the 1991 series Riviera as Marguerite. She was also featured in several films including Les Abysses (1953), Fred Zinnemann’s The Day of the Jackal (1973), and Le Zebre (aka The Oddball) (1992). BERHOFF, FRED German actor Fred Berhoff, who starred in the 1976 horror film Mosquito the Rapist, died in Munich, Germany, on February 25, 2008. He was 71. Berhoff was born in Munich on August 23, 1936. Active in films from the early 1960s, he was seen in such features as Barras Heute (1963), The Long Swift Sword of Siegfried (1971), Mosquito the Rapist (1976), Rosemaries Tochter (1976), and the tele-film Gold of the Amazon Women (1979). He also appeared on television in episodes of Alarm in den Bergen, Colditz, Derrick, Der Alte, SOKO 5113, Verbotene Liebe as Max Orbis, Bei aller Liebe, Utta Danella, Wilder Kaiser, and Der Bulle von Tolz. His other television credits include productions of Der Tod is Kein Beweis (2002), Willkommen Daheim (2005), and Das Zweite Leben (2007). BERKEY, JOHN Artist and illustrator John Berkey, who was noted for artwork associated with the
37
2008 • Obituaries who found himself too busy to remain with the quartet. They became closely associated with composer Dmitri Shostakovich the following year and were noted for their performances of all 15 quartets in the Shostakovich quartet cycles at venues around the world. Despite defections and retirements, the quartet continued on with Berlinsky for over 60 years. They produced numerous recordings of works by various composers including Beethoven, Mieczyslaw Weinberg, and Nikolai Myaskovsky. Berlinsky retired from the Borodin Quartet in September of 2007, but the group continued on with a new generation of musicians.
John Berkey
original Star Wars trilogy, died at his home in Excelsior, Minnesota, on April 29, 2008. He was 75. Berkey was born in Edgeley, North Dakota, on August 13, 1932. He studied art in college and worked in advertising for nearly a decade. He became a freelance artist in the 1960s, and designed cover art for numerous science fiction novels. He also illustrated the cover for the original Star Wars novelization in 1976 and for the Star Wars: Death Star Battle video game. Berkey was also the artist for the older Elvis Presley postage stamp design that was rejected for the younger version in 1992. His designs were used for at least 15 other postage stamps including the 1991 Santa Claus stamps. His work also appeared on the covers of such magazines as National Geographic, Time and Life. BERLINSKY, VALENTIN Russian cellist Valentin Berlinsky, who was a long-standing member of the famed Borodin Quartet, died after a long illness in Moscow on December 15, 2008. He was 83. Berlinsky was born in Irkutsk, Siberia, on January 19, 1925. He studied music at an early age, and continued his education at
BERNAY, LYNN Actress turned film costumer Lynn Bernay died of brain cancer in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on December 16, 2008. She was 77. Bernay was born in New York City in 1931. She began her career as a dancer while in her teens, performing with the Radio City Rockettes in the late 1940s. She also danced in the Broadway musical Can Can and in film adaptations of Guys and Dolls (1955) and The Pajama Game (1957). She also was seen in a handful of cult films, including Rock Around the Clock (1956), Roger Corman’s The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent (1957), I Bury the Living (1958), Ghost of the China Sea (1958), Valley of the Redwoods (1960), Pit and the Pendulum (1961), and Night of Evil (1962). Bernay also appeared frequently on television from the 1950s, with roles in such series as Highway Patrol, Flight, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Telephone Time, The Bob Cummings Show, 77 Sunset Strip, The Millionaire, The Rough Riders, Sea Hunt, Wagon Train, M Squad, COronado 9, and Burke’s Law. She worked as a location secretary and appeared in a small role in the 1971 feature Drive, He Said with Jack Nicholson, and was seen in 1973’s Steelyard Blues. Bernay began working behind the camera in the mid–1970s, serving as a casting assistant for the 1975 tele-film Beyond the Bermuda Triangle. She worked in costuming as a designer and wardrobe supervisor over the next three decades. Her film credits include Homebodies (1974), Act of Vengeance (1974), Hearts of the West (1975), The Promise (1979), The New Kids (1985), And God Created Woman (1988), Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988), Running on Empty (1988), Miami Blues (1990), Fires Within (1991), Bad Channels (1992), Un-
Valentin Berlinsky
the Moscow Conservatory. The Borodin Quartet, named after the famed Russian composer Alexander Borodin, was created in 1945, with Mstislav Rostropovich on cello, Rostislav Dubinsky and Nina Barshai on first and second violins, and Rudolf Barshai on viola. Berlinsky was brought in several weeks later to replace Rostropovich,
Lynn Bernay (with Glen Vernon from I Bury the Living)
Obituaries • 2008 tamed Heart (1993), A Home of Our Own (1993), The Desperate Trail (1995), The Trigger Effect (1996), The Spanish Prisoner (1997), The Souler Opposite (1998), Analyze This (1999), Outside Providence (1999), The Last Marshal (1999), Sunshine State (2002), The Hours (2002), Just Like You Imagined (2002), Transporter 2 (2005), and The Far Side of Jericho (2006). She also worked in the costume department on the tele-films The Lazarus Syndrome (1978), The Boy Who Drank Too Much (1980), Crime of Innocence (1985), High Desert Kill (1989), A Little Piece of Sunshine (1990), Into the Badlands (1991), Revenge on the Highway (1992), A Family Torn Apart (1993), Royce (1995), Deconstructing Sarah (1994), Tidal Wave: No Escape (1997), Assault on Devil’s Island (1997), and The Ransom of Red Chief (1998). Her other television credits include the series The White Shadow, Miami Vice, Crime Story, Undeclared, and Wildfire.
BERNIKER, MICHAEL Record producer Michael Berniker died of complications from kidney disease in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, on July 26, 2008. He was 73. Berniker was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 30, 1935. He attended Columbia University and began working for CBS Records in 1960. He was best known for producing Barbra Streisand’s first three al-
38 better suited as a producer, overseeing various local plays. He joined the Jaffe Agency as a talent agent in the 1950s, working with such talent as actor Jim Hutton and director Arthur Hiller. Bernsen served as a producer on several films in the 1970s including Fool’s Parade (1971), Something Big (1971), Three the Hard Way (1974), and Take a Hard Ride (1975). He also produced the 1976 ABC Afterschool Special production of Mighty Moose and the Quarterback Kid, and the 1978 mini-series The Awakening Land. Bernsen married actress Jeanne Cooper, who later starred as Katherine Chancellor on the daytime soap The Young and the Restless, in 1954. He is survived by his wife and their three children, performers Corbin, Collin and Caren Bernsen.
BERTHIER, JACQUES French actor Jacques Berthier died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, on April 6, 2008. He was 92. Berthier was born in Paris on February 10, 1916. He appeared frequently in films from the early 1940s, with roles in such features as Mlle. Desiree (1942), Behold Beatrice (1944), As Long as I Live (1946), Goodbye Darling (1946), Le Bateau a Soupe (1947), Les Requins de Gibraltar (1947), Stolen Affections (1948), One Only Loves Once (1949), Maria of the End of the World (1951), Shadow and Light (1951), Les Deux Monsieur de Madame (1952), The Master of Ballantrae (1953) as Captain Arnaud, Royal Affairs in Versailles (1954), Raspoutine (1954) as Prince Felix Youssoupoff, La Bella Otero
Michael Berniker
bums — the Grammy Award–winning The Barbra Streisand Album (1963), The Second Barbra Streisand Album (1963), and The Third Album (1964). Berniker left CBS in 1968 and worked for several other record companies. He signed Juice Newton and Darryl Hall and John Oates at RCA, and began the Columbia Jazz Masterpieces series after returning to CBS in 1977. He earned nine Grammy Awards during his career working with such artists as Johnny Mathis, Perry Como, Steve Lawrence, and Eydie Gorme. He also produced several Broadway albums including Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (1985) and The Will Rogers Follies (1991).
BERNSEN, HARRY, JR. Talent agent and producer Harry Bernsen, Jr., died at the Motion Picture and Television Fund home in Woodland Hills, California, on May 31, 2008. He was 82. Bernsen was born in Chicago, Illinois, on June 14, 1925. He served in the U.S. Marines during World War II and briefly studied acting in Los Angeles after the war. He soon decided he was
Jacques Berthier
(1954), Native Drums (1955), A Missionary (1955), Les Insoumises (1956), Too Many Lovers (1957), Wild Cats on the Beach (1959), Witness in the City (1959), Atomic Agent (1959), Who Are You, Mr. Sorge (1961), The Fighting Musketeers (1961) as Buckingham, The Destruction of Herculaneum (1962), The Old Testament (1962), Ladies Man (1962), La Pharmacienne (1965), Colorado Charlie (1965) as Sheriff Wild Bill Danders, Sheriff with the Gold (1966), Tiffany Memorandum (1967), Mayerling (1968) as Prince Salvator, Eagles Over London (1969), The White, the Yellow, and the Black (1975), Une Femme Fidele (1976), Victims of Vice (1978), and Vagabond (1985). Berthier was also featured in such television productions as Les Aventures de Michel Tanguay (aka The Aeronauts) (1967), Mauregard (1970), Une Brune aux Yeux Bleus (1972), L’Atlantide (1972), Le Masque aux Yeux d’Or (1973), Destins
39
2008 • Obituaries
(1973), Une Atroce Petite Musique (1973), Ton Amour et ma Jeunesse (1973), The Tiger Brigades (1974), Splendeurs et Miseres des Courtisanes (1975), Richelieu (1977), Allegra (1978), Les Grandes Conjurations: Le Connetable de Bourbon (1978), Carte Vermeil (1981), Ultimatum (1982), and Les Enfants du Mensonge (1996).
BERTRAND, CESAR Argentine comic actor Cesar Bertrand died in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on January 11, 2008. He was 74. Bertrand was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1934. He made his film debut in the early 1960s, appearing in Alfredo Bettanin’s Libertad Bajo Palabra (1961). He was featured in the television series Natalia Bessmertnova
Cesar Bertrand
Operacion Ja-Ja in 1967 and Malevo in 1972, and appeared in such films as Do What You Want (1973), Basta de Mujeres (1977), Fotografo de Senoras (1978), Expertos en Pinchazos (1979), El Rey de los Exhortos (1979), Las Munecas que Hacen Pum (1979), La Noche Viene Movida (1980), Unlikely Roommates (1980), TV or No TV (1981), Las Mujeres son Cosa de Guapos (1981), and El Manosanta esta Cargado (1987). Bertrand made his final film appearance in 1998’s The Inheritance of Uncle Pepe. He also hosted the television entertainment series Fax in the 1990s.
BERTRAND, JACQUELINE Actress Jacqueline Bertrand died of complications from knee replacement surgery in New York City on June 17, 2008. She was 83. Bertrand was born on June 1, 1925. She was a leading performer on the New York stage, appearing in such OffBroadway productions as Command Performance, Tug of War, Dancing for the Kaiser, Lulu, The Nest of the Wood Grouse, When She Danced, and Ambrosia. She was featured in a 1965 production of Eagle in a Cage on television’s Hallmark Hall of Fame and played a ghost in several episodes of the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows in 1966. She was also seen in episodes of Family Affair and Ryan’s Hope, and the 1972 tele-film The Catcher. Bertrand appeared in several film during her career, including The Hell with Heroes (1968), Straight for the Heart (1988), The Loves of Emma Bardac (1990), Six Degrees of Separation (1993), Anima (1998), and Marci X (2003). BESSMERTNOVA, NATALIA Russian ballerina Natalia Bessmertnova died of cancer in a Moscow
hospital on February 19, 2008. She was 66. Bessmertnova was born in Moscow on July 19, 1941. She trained with the Bolshoi Ballet School from 1953 to 1961, and joined the Bolshoi in 1963. She starred in a 1963 production of Giselle, and was the Bolshoi’s prima ballerina for the next three decades. Bessmertnova married the Bolshoi’s artistic director, Yuri Grigorovich, in 1968, and he created several roles for her. She starred in such ballets as Ivan the Terrible (1974), Romeo and Juliet (1979), The Golden Age (1982), Raymonda (1984), and Giselle (1991). She left the Bolshoi in 1995 after Grigorovich was forced from his position and they led a one-day strike that forced a cancellation of that evening’s production. She continued to work with her husband, assisting him with the annual Benois de la Danse Award and with his local ballet company in Southern Russia. BESTIA SALVAJE Mexican wrestler Juan Manuel Rodriguez, who competed in the ring as Bestia Salvaje, died of complications from liver disease in Mexico on March 20, 2008. He was 46. Rodriguez was born in Mexico in February of 1962. He made his wrestling debut as Freddy Rodriguez in June of 1983. He became
Bestia Salvaje
Bestia Salvaje in 1986, and was a leading lucha libre wrestler with CMLL and EMLL. He held the tag team championship for CMLL with Scorpio Jr. twice, and teamed with Sangre Chicana and Emilio Charles, Jr., to capture the Trios Titles. A top ring villain, he feuded
Obituaries • 2008 with such wrestlers as Hector Garza, Ringo Mendoza, and Mano Negra during his career. He continued to compete in the ring until shortly before his death.
BHARGAVI Indian Telugu actress Bhargavi was found stabbed to death in her apartment in Hyderabad, India, on December 16, 2008. She was 25. She was believed to have been murdered by her live-in partner, bandleader Praveen Kumar, who subsequently commit-
40 BLACK, JIMMY CARL Rock musician Jimmy Carl Black, who was the original drummer with Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention, died of cancer in Siegsdorf, Germany, on November 1, 2008. He was 70. He was born James Inkanish, Jr., in El Paso, Texas, on February 1, 1938, and raised in Anthony, New Mexico. He studied music from an early age, playing the piano and trumpet. He moved to the drums when he served in the U.S. Air Force in the late 1950s, Black moved to Los Angeles in 1964, and formed the Soul Giants with Roy Estrada and Ray Collins. The group became the Mothers of Invention soon after when they brought in Frank Zappa as
Bhargavi
ted suicide by drinking cyanide in a soft drink. Bhargavi was born in Guntur, India, in 1983. She began her career on stage singing with Praveen’s orchestra. She later became a television news anchor and was featured in the television serial Ammamma.Com. She made her film debut in the 2008 Teluga feature Asta-Chemma. Bhargavi was shooting her second film, Holidays, at the time of her death.
BIGELOW, BILL Actor and broadcaster Bill Bigelow died of liver cancer in Honolulu, Hawaii, on May 18, 2008. He was 69. Bigelow was born in Jamestown, New York, on August 18, 1938. He served in the
Bill Bigelow
U.S. Navy before settling in Hawaii in the 1960s. Bigelow worked in local radio and television as a reporter and news anchor. He was also seen in numerous episodes of the television series Hawaii Five-0 in the 1970s, and was featured in an episode of Magnum, P.I. in 1984.
Jimmy Carl Black
their guitarist. The Mothers were popular and controversial, recording such albums as Freak Out! (1965), Absolutely Free (1967), We’re Only in It for the Money (1968), and Uncle Meat (1969), before Zappa disbanded them in 1969. Black reunited with Zappa to appear in the 1971 cult film 200 Motels as Lonesome Cowboy Burt. He also appeared in the film Panama Red: A Perfect Smoke in 1976. He also continued a career in music, teaming with guitarist Ed Chadbourne in the Jack and Jim Show. He also played with guitarist Richard Farrell as the FarrellBlack Blues Band, and played with the Grandmothers with several other former members of Zappa’s band. Black moved to Germany in the early 1990s where he frequently played with the British Zappa tribute group The Muffin Men.
MR. BLACKWELL Richard Blackwell, who was known as fashion designer and critic Mr. Blackwell, died of complications from a intestinal infection in Los Angeles on October 19, 2008. He was 86. He was born Richard Selzer in Brooklyn, New York on August 29, 1922. He had a difficult childhood, and began performing in small roles on stage. He was also seen in the films Little Tough Guy (1938) and Juvenile Court (1938). He headed to Los Angeles with his mother in the 1940s to continue to pursue a career in acting. He was signed to a film contract by Howard Hughes, who changed his name to Blackwell. He was cast in the 1950 feature Vendetta, but his part ended up on the cutting-room floor. He slowly left acting to concentrate on designing clothes, opening the House of Blackwell in 1958. He was noted for designing outfits that emphasized a woman’s figure,
41
Mr. Blackwell
with Jayne Mansfield and Jane Russell among his clients. Blackwell was also one of the first designers to make clothes for plus-size women. The House of Blackwell was also among the first to release a line of designer jeans. He became particularly well known for his annual list of the 10 worst dressed celebrities that he initiated in 1960. He savaged such celebrities as Elizabeth Taylor, Cher, Madonna, Julia Roberts, Queen Elizabeth, and Victoria Beckham with his scathing and sometimes bitchy critiques. Blackwell was credited for designing Jayne Mansfield’s wardrobe for the 1963 film Promises! Promises!, and was a fashion consultant for episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies. He hosted the 1968 television series Mr. Blackwell Presents and was a frequent guest on such talk shows as The Virginia Graham Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Merv Griffin Show, and The Roseanne Show. He also appeared in cameo roles in several series including The Brady Brides, Matt Houston, Matlock, Blossom, and Civil Wars. Blackwell was also seen in the soap operas The Bold and the Beautiful and Port Charles, and the 1999 feature film Foreign Correspondents. He was the author of the 1995 autobiography From Rags to Bitches. His survivors include Robert L. Spencer, his business and personal partner for over half a century.
BLAUSTEIN, MADDIE Madeleine Joan “Maddie” Blaustein, a transgender voice actress who was best known as the voice of Meowth in the animated Pokemon series, died in her sleep after a brief illness at her
Maddie Blaustein
2008 • Obituaries home on December 11, 2008. She was 48. Blaustein was born in Long Island, New York, on October 9, 1960, and worked in films as a voice actor from the mid–1990s. Originally billed as Adam Blaustein, he later became known as Addie, and then Maddie, after undergoing a sex change operation. She was the voice of Meowth, the villainous Team Rocket mascot cat in the Pokemon television series and movies. She also voiced Solomon Moto in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series. Other voice credits include Dr. K in Cubix: Robots for Everyone (2001) and Fox Box Rocks (2003), Chef Kawasaki in Kirby: Right Back at Ya! (2002), the Grub Guru and Burnt Meatballs in Fighting Foodons (2002), Sister Jill in Cutie Honey (2004), E-123 Omega in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), and Sartorius in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (2007). Blaustein also voiced characters for numerous video games and worked as a comic book writer for DC’s Milestone line for the series Static, Hardware, and Deathwish.
BLISS, JOHN Character actor John Bliss died of an aortic aneurysm in Glendale, California, on February 28, 2008. He was 77. Bliss was born on October 8, 1930. He began appearing in films in the late 1950s with a small role in 1957’s A Face in the Crowd with Andy Griffith. He was also seen in such films as The Miracle Worker (1962), Vengeance (1964), Angel’s Flight (1965), Invitation to Ruin (1968), The Thing with Two Heads
John Bliss
(1972), Dixie Dynamite (1976), Othello (1981), Revenge (1986), Mutilations (1986), Trade Day (2001), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), Big Time (2004), Imaginary Heroes (2004), Iowa (2005), and Art School Confidential (2006). Bliss also guest-starred on television in episodes of Get Smart, Dallas, Father Murphy, and Joey. He starred as Mr. Pickering in the comedy series Andy Richter Controls the Universe from 2002 to 2004, and was Principal Irving Pal in Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide from 2006 to 2007.
BOATRIGHT, BOB Bob Boatright, who was the fiddle player for Bob Wills Original Texas Playboys, died of cancer in Fort Worth, Texas, on December 28, 2008. He was 69. Boatright was born in Denison, Texas, on September 30, 1939. He attended Midwestern State University, and worked as a high school math teacher after graduation. He played the fiddle in the Fort Worth
Obituaries • 2008
42 Huey’s, and was also a partner in the restaurants Folk’s Folly, Tsunami, and The Half Shell. Boggs had served as president of the Memphis Restaurant Association, the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Memphis in May.
BOKONYI, LAURA Hungarian actress Laura Bokonyi died in Budapest, Hungary, on November 30, 2008. She was 53. Bokonyi was born in Budapest on September 21, 1955. She began her career as an actress in the late 1970s and was featured in the films Allegro Barbaro: Magyar Rapszodia 2 (1978), Angi Vera (1979), Hun-
Bob Boatright
area on the side before joining the Texas Playboys in 1977. He played with the band under Leon McAuliffe from 1977 until the group disbanded in 1986. He was heard on many of their albums and on the soundtrack of the 1984 film Places in the Heart. He was also featured with the group of the television show Austin City Limits. He later joined with other former bandmates to perform as Playboys II, and were featured on the television program Texas Connection. Boatright also performed with Dave Alexander and His Legends of Western Swing and at numerous Western Swing Festivals and cowboy events. BOGGS, THOMAS Rock musician turned restaurateur Thomas Boggs, who played drums with the 1960s group the Box Tops, died of cancer in Memphis, Tennessee, on May 5, 2008. He was 63. Boggs was born in Wynne, Arkansas, on July 16, 1944. He began playing drums for rock bands in the 1960s such as Flash and the Board of Directors and Tommy Burk and the Counts. He
Laura Bokonyi
garian Rhapsody (1979), Daniel Takes a Train (1983), The Revolt of Job (1983), Hanna’s War (1988), and The Sun Street Boys (2007). Bokonyi also appeared in the television productions Freytag Testverek (1989), A Tigriscsikos Kutya (2001), A Titkos Haboru (2002), and A Hortobag y Legendaja (2008), and guest-starred in episodes of Eretlenek, Hello Doki, Kemek eg y Kocsit, and Dinotopia.
BOLAND, NORA Nora Madeleine Webb Ullrich, who acted in films and television under the name Nora Boland, died at her home in Los Angeles on January 15, 2008. She was 78. She was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, on December 14, 1929. She began her acting career later in life, making her film debut in a small role in 1977’s The World’s Greatest Lover. She was also seen in such films as Neil Simon’s California Suite
Thomas Boggs
replaced Danny Smythe as the Box Tops’ drummer in 1968 and played on their hit recording “Sweet Cream Ladies” and “I Shall Be Released.” He left the group shortly before they disbanded in 1970. Boggs had been involved in the restaurant business for many years and became bartender at Huey’s in 1975. He was co-owner within two years and transformed the small bar into a popular burger restaurant chain. He served as CEO of
Nora Boland
43
2008 • Obituaries
(1978), TAG: The Assassination Game (1982), Back to School (1986), and Mississippi Masala (1991). Boland appeared frequently on television from the late 1970s, with roles in the tele-films Elvis (1979), And Baby Makes Six (1979), Power (1980), The Boy Who Drank Too Much (1980), The Jayne Mansfield Story (1980), and Celebrity (1984). Her other television credits include episodes of The Incredible Hulk, Behind the Screen, The Fall Guy, WKRP in Cincinnati, Gimme a Break!, Bare Essence, Hill Street Blues, General Hospital, The Dukes of Hazzard, Highway to Heaven, 227, and Doogie Howser.
BONNER, TESSA Soprano Tessa Bonner, who sang with the Taverner Consort, died on December 31, 2008. She was 57. She was born Teresa Margaret Pollard in Hammersmith, West London, England, on February 28, 1951. She worked for the BBC in the early
Umberto Bonsignori
was found dead at her home in Florida, on July 29, 2008. She had been dead, reportedly of a suicide by gunshot,
Tessa Bonner
1970s as a production assistant on such programs as Face the Music and Blue Peter. She subsequently studied music at Leeds University and took singing lessons from Honor Sheppard. She began performing with vocal ensembles in the late 1970s and was featured on the Taverner Consort recording of Monteverdi’s “Vespers” in 1984. She was noted for her Renaissance repertoires, and performed with such groups as Musica Secreta, the Consort of Musicke, the Lute Group, the Academy of Ancient Music, and the Sixteen.
BONSIGNORI, UMBERTO Film director Umberto Bonsignori died in St. Petersburg, Florida, on December 4, 2008. He was 87. Bonsignori was born in Venice, Italy, on February 8, 1921. He attended the Paris Peace Conference after World War II as a journalist and became a United States citizen in 1947. He studied at the University of California in Los Angeles and worked at MGM as a junior writer. Bonsignori served as a technical advisor on the 1950 film The Vicious Years. He later produced, directed and edited the 1961 films Maeva, from a script by Maya Deren, about a girl from Tahiti looking for the man of her dreams. Bonsignori later served as chairman of the communications department at William Patterson College in New Jersey. BOOSTROM, DEBBIE Debbie Boostrom, who was Playboy’s Playmate of the Month in August of 1981,
Debbie Boostrom
for nearly two weeks when she was found. She was 53. Boostrom was born in Peoria, Illinois, on June 23, 1955. She was living in Florida at the time she posed for Playboy. She later worked as an actress in infomercials.
BOOTH, CALVIN Actor Calvin Booth, who appeared in several films in the 1950s, died in Green Valley, Arizona, on May 25, 2008. He was 76. Booth was born on July 20, 1931. He was featured in the 1957 cult sci-fi film Invasion of the Saucer Men. He also appeared in small roles in the films The Abductors (1957), Under Fire (1957), and Gun Girls (1957). He later worked as a law-enforcement officer after leaving acting. BORTSOV, VIKTOR Russian film and stage actor Viktor Bortsov died of intestinal cancer in Moscow on May 20, 2008. He was 73. Bortsov was born in Orenburg, Soviet Union, on June 14, 1934. He was a leading stage actor and made his film debut in 1963’s The First Trolleybus. He also appeared in such films and television productions as Daylight Train (1976), Aniskin Again (1978), A Railway Station for Two (1982), Pokrov Gates (1982), Alone and Unarmed (1984), My Elected (1984), Naval Cadets, Charge! (1987), The Visit (1989), Doping for Angela (1990), Vivat, Naval Cadets! (1991), God Khoroshego Rebyonka (1991), Great Idea (1991), and Chicha (1992).
Obituaries • 2008
44 salon (1962), Florence und der Zahnarzt (1962), Die Sanfte Tour (1963), Sweierlei Mass (1963), Die Zwolf Geschworenen (1963), Candida (1963), Mirandolina (1963), Der Mann Nebenan (1964), Gerechtigkeit in Worowogorsk (1964), Hotel Iphigenie (1964), Tired Theodore (1964), Gluck in Frankreich (1965), Die Tochter des Brunnenmachers (1965), Herzliches Beileid (1966), Flieger Ross (1966), Ein Riss im Eis (1967), Blut Floss auf Blendings Castle (1967), Biedermann und die Brandstifter (1967), Keine Angst vor der Holle (1968), Heim und Herd (1968), Jacques Offenbach—Ein Lebensbild (1969), Die 13 Monate (1970), My Friend Harvey (1970), Die Frau ohne Kuss
Viktor Bortsov
BOSSIS, HELENA French comedienne and actress Helena Bossis died in Hyeres, Var, France, on August 15, 2008. She was 89. She was born Henriette Berthe Blance Berriau in Rabat, Morocco, on February 23, 1919, the daughter of actress Simone Berriau. She trained as an actress at the French National Conservatory, and began her career on stage in the mid–1940s. She was also featured in several films including Women of Evil (1947), Le Destin Execreable de Guillemette Babin (1948), La Louve (1949), and Flesh and Desire (1954). She was featured in Herbert Botticher
Helena Bossis
the television dramas Belphegor (1965) as Irene Nando and Jacquou le Croquant (1969) as La Mathive. She also appeared in the tele-films Tango (1980) and Barbarina ou l’Oiselet Vert (19783), and in episodes of Au Theatre ce Soir and Les Enquetes du Commissaire Maigret. Bossis took over as director of the Theatre Antoine in 1984, working with her husband, Daniel Dares.
BOTTICHER, HERBERT German character actor Herbert Botticher was found dead in a Dusseldorf, Germany, hotel room of natural causes on October 8, 2008. He was 79. Botticher was born in Hanover, Germany, on December 19, 1928. He began his career on stage in the 1950s, performing throughout Germany before settling in Munich in 1958. He became a familiar face on German television from the early 1960s with roles in such productions as Hamlet (1961) as Guildenstern, Spiel-
(1971), The Business of Plueckhahn (1971), Gluckspilze (1971), Vom Hackepeter und der Kalten Mamsell (1973), Silverson (1974), Depressionen (1975), Oblomows Liebe (1976), Vier Gegen die Bank (1976), Ein Abend im Salon der Marie d’Agoult (1977), Ein Hut von Ganz Spezieller Art (1978), Liebling, Ich Bin Da (1978), ...von Herzen mit Schmerzen (1978), Zwei Mann um Einen Herd (1979), Scheidung auf Franzosisch (1980), Wer den Schaden Hat... (1981), Onkel & Co (1981), Behaltet Mut (1982), Heute und Damals (1984), Halbe Wahrheiten (1985), and Prinz und Paparazzi (2005). Botticher made his film debut in the 1968 feature In the Morning at Seven the World Is Still in Order, and appeared in such films as The Duck Rings at Half Past Seven (1968), 24-Hour Lover (1968), Dream City (1973), and Lina Braake (1975). He starred as Alfons Vonhoff in the television series Ich Heirate Eine Familie from 1983 to 1986. Botticher’s other television credits include episodes of Das Kriminalmuseum, Der Tod Lauft Hinterher, Der Vater und Sein Sohn, Zimmer 13, Der Kommissar, Hoopers Letzte Jagd, Tatort, Eine Ganz Gewohnliche Geschichte, Ein Verrucktes Parr, Wie Erziehe ich Meinen Vater?, Leute wie du und Ich, Schone Ferien, Detektivburo Roth, Derrick, SOKO 5113, Das Nest, Edgar, Huter der Moral, Liebesgeschichten, Pension Corona, Lilli Lottofee, Der Millionenerbe, Park Hotel Stern, Klinikum Berlin Mitte — Leben in Bereitschaft, and Hallo Robbie!
BOTTOMS, SAM Actor Sam Bottoms, who was featured as surfer-soldier Lance Johnson in the Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now, died of glioblastoma multiforme, a virulent type of brain cancer, at his home in Los Angeles on December 16, 2008. He was 53. Bot-
45
2008 • Obituaries
Sam Bottoms
Jean-Claude Bouillaud
toms was born in Santa Barbara, California, on October 17, 1955. He was the third brother in the quartet of acting Bottoms brothers that included Timothy, Joseph, and Ben. Sam made his acting debut in Peter Bogdanovich’s 1971 film The Last Picture Show. He was visiting his brother Timothy on the film set when Bogdanovich cast him in the role of Billy, the mute mentally handicapped boy. He went on to appear as Marty in the 1973 comingof-age film Class of ’44, and was seen in the films Zandy’s Bride (1974) and The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) with Clint Eastwood. Bottoms was also featured in the telefilms Savages (1974) and Cage Without a Key (1975), and episodes of Doc Elliot, Lucas Tanner, Marcus Welby, M.D., Greatest Heroes of the Bible, and The Eddie Capra Mysteries. He was cast as Lance Johnson in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 classic Apocalypse Now, with Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen, and starred as Greg Oliver in the 1979 Jaws rip-off Up from the Depths. His other film credits include Bronco Billy (1980), Prime Risk (1985), In ’n Out (1986), Hunter’s Blood (1987), Gardens of Stone (1987), After School (1988), Ragin’ Cajun (1991), Dolly Dearest (1992), North of Chiang Mai (1992), The Trust (1993), Sugar Hill (1994), Project Shadowchaser III (1995), Sticky Fingers (1997), Snide and Prejudice (1997), Joseph’s Gift (1998), The Unsaid (2001, Shadow Fury (2002), True Files (2002), Looking Through Lillian (2002), Seabiscuit (2003), Havoc (2005), Shopgirl (2005), Winter Passing (2005), Sherry Baby (2006), and Finishing the Game: The Search for a New Bruce Lee (2007). He was also seen in the tele-films East of Eden (1981) as Cal Trask, Desperate Lies (1982), Return to Eden (1983), No Earthly Reason (1984), The Witching of Ben Wagner (1987), Island Sons (1987), Zooman (1995), Mercenary II: Thick & Thin (1997), and My Neighbor’s Daughter (1998). His other television credits include episodes of the series 21 Jump Street, Murder, She Wrote, The X Files, and NYPD Blue. BOUILLAUD, JEAN-CLAUDE French actor Jean-Claude Bouillaud died in Angers, Maine-et-Loire, France, on June 20, 2008. He was 81. Bouillaud was born in Le Havre, Seine-Maritime, France, on June 7, 1927. He worked as a banker for over a decade before making his stage debut in local theater. He was first seen on screen in a small role in William Klein’s satire Mister Freedom in 1969. Bouillaud continued to appear in films by such directors as Claude Chabrol, Costa-Gavras,
Claude Sautet, and Jacques Demy, often in supporting roles. His numerous film credits include The Bar at the Crossing (1972), Beyond Fear (1975), Womanlight (1979), Laisse-moi Rever (1979), The Swindle (1980), The Horse of Pride (1980), A Bad Son (1980), The Party (1980), The Girl from Lorraine (1981), Choice of Arms (1981), Men Prefer Fat Girls (1981), The Professionals (1981), Tete a Claques (1982), The Hatter’s Ghost (1982), Le Pere Noel est une Ordure (1982), La Java des Ombres (1983), Waiter! (1983), Ronde de Nuit (1984), Le Joli Coeur (1984), Pinot Simple Flic (1984), Fire on Sight (1984), My New Partner (1984), The Twin (1984), La Baston (1985), Outlaws (1985), Pouet au Vinaigre (1985), Black Mic Mac (1986), Charlie Cingo (1987), To the Four Winds (1987), Eskorpionn (1988), Three Places for the 26th (1988), Le Vent de la Toussaint (1991), Madame Bovary (1991), A Heart of Stone (1992), Justinien Trouve, or God’s Bastard (1993), Letter for L... (1994), and Les Miserables (1995). He was also featured in television productions of Marie-Antoinette (1975), Les Rebelles (1977), Les Grands Proces Temoins de leur Temps: Le Pain et le Vin (1978), Le Mal Bleu (1979), La Dame aux Coquillages (1979), The Visitors (1980), Le Grand Fosse (1980), La Trague (1980), Blanc, Bleu, Roge (1981), Les Ecumeurs de Lille (1981), La Double vie de Theophraste Longuet (1981), La Chanbre des Dames (1983), Un Homme va etre Assassine (1984), L’Affaire Caillaux (1985), L’Affaire Caillaux (1985), L’Affaire Marie Besnard (1986), La Darne des Dunes (1986), La Chaine (1988), La Face de l’Ogre (1988), Les Bottes de Sept Lieues (1990), Le Vent de la Toussaint (1991), Les Hordes (1991), Picture Perfect (1993), La Corruptrice (1995), Le Parasite (1995), La Mere de nos Enfants (1997), La Course de l’Escargot (1998), L’Inventaire (1998), De Toute Urgence (2001), Le Don Fait a Catchaires (2003), Arzak Rhapsody (2003), and Clochemerle (2004). Bouillaud’s other television credits include episodes of L’Inspecteur Mene L’Enquete, Commissaire Moulin, Miss, La Mythomane, L’Heure Simonen, Mesaventures, Les Dossiers Secrets de l’Inspecteur Lavardin, Haute Tension, Les Enquetes du Commissaire Maigret, Renseignements Generaux, Mselissol, and Crimes en Serie. BOWMAN, CHRISTOPHER Figure skating champion Christopher Bowman, whose career was curtailed by a history of substance abuse, was found dead in a motel in North Hills, California, on January 10, 2008.
Obituaries • 2008
46 Drama Company when she was cast as Afghan dog breeder Mrs. Antrobus in an episode of The Archers in 1984. Her performance was so popular that she was brought on the show as a regular character, where she remained for the next 20 years.
BRADLEY, STEVE Professional wrestler Steve Bradley was found dead in a parking lot across the street from a wrestling school he once operated in Manchester, New Hampshire, on December 4, 2008. He was 32. He was born Steven Bisson in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 10, 1975. He made his professional wrestling debut at the age of 15 on the East Coast, and signed a deChristopher Bowman
He was 40. Bowman was born in Hollywood, California, on March 30, 1967. He began skating at the age of 5, and was trained by leading skating coach Frank Carroll. Bowman also performed as a child actor in the late 1970s, appearing in several episodes of Little House on the Prairie and Archie Bunker’s Place. He won the National Junior Championship for ice skating in 1983, and was the Men’s Singles Champion in 1989 and 1992. Bowman competed in the Winter Olympics in 1988 and 1992, placing seventh and fourth respectively. A colorful figure on the ice who was known as “Bowman the Showman,” he also developed an expensive cocaine habit while his career was in full swing. During the 1990s, he performed frequently with the Ice Capades and had several brushes with the law. BOYD, MARGOT British actress Margot Boyd, who starred as Mrs. Antrobus on the popular radio serial The Archers for two decades, died at the retired actors home Denville Hall in Northwood, Middle Sussex, England, on May 20, 2008. She was 94. She was born
Margot Boyd
Beryl Billings in Bath, Somerset, England on September 24, 1913. She appeared on television frequently from the late 1950s, with roles in such series as Our Miss Pemberton, Huntingtower, Dixon of Dock Green, Swizzlewick, Ways with Words, The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, Upstairs, Downstairs, The Kids from 47A, The Wilde Alliance, and Play for Today. Boyd was working with the BBC Radio
Steve Bradley
velopmental contract with the WWE in 1998. He competed with Memphis’ Power Pro Wrestling from 1999, defeating Kurt Angle for the championship in August of 1999. He exchanged the titles with Vic Grimes and Rico Constantino over the next year before losing the belt to Ali in January of 2000. Bradley defeated the Spellbinder for the Power Pro Belt, unifying the title with the Memphis Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Title in January of 2001. Bradley also competed with the East Coast Wrestling Association and the IWA in Puerto Rico. He was sent by the WWE to Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA), where he teamed with Lance Cade to hold the HWA tag belts. Bradley was dropped from the WWE developmental program in July of 2002. He later operated the Top Rope Wrestling Academy, where he trained young wrestlers.
BRAMLETT, DELANEY Singer and songwriter Delaney Bramlett, who was part of the 1960s band Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, died of complications from gallbladder surgery in a Los Angeles hospital on December 27, 2008. He was 69. Bramlett was born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, on July 1, 1939. He came to Los Angeles in the 1960s where he played guitar in the house band for the television music series Shindig. He married Bonnie O’Farrell in 1967 and formed the Southern bluesrock band Delaney & Bonnie & Friends with her. The group recorded several albums including Home (1969), Accept No Substitute (1969), On Tour with Eric Clapton (1980), To Bonnie from Delaney (1970), Motel Shot (1971), and D&B Together (1972). The were also featured as the J. Hovah’s Singers in the 1971 cult film classic Vanishing
47
2008 • Obituaries son with Drollet in 1995, committed suicide later that same year. Brando’s legal difficulties continued over the next decade. He was involved in the trial of actor Robert Blake, who was accused of the shooting death of his wife, the former Bonnie Lee Bakley, in 2001. Brando, who was a former lover of Bakley, refused to testify at Blake’s trial and denied any involvement in the killing. He was later accused of domestic violence from his wife, Deborah, in 2005 and pled guilty to two counts of spousal abuse.
Delaney Bramlett (with Bonnie)
Point and Patrick McGoohan’s 1974 adaptation of Othello, Catch My Soul. Delaney and Bonnie ended their marriage and the musical partnership in 1973. Bramlett co-wrote the songs “Superstar” with Leon Russell, and “Let It Rain” with Eric Clapton. He also worked with such artists as Janis Joplin, George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Billy Preston, Jerry Lee Lewis, and the Everly Brothers during his career. He recorded the solo album A New Kind of Blues shortly before his death.
BRANDO, CHRISTIAN Christian Brando, the eldest son of actor Marlon Brando, died of pneumonia in a Los Angeles hospital on January 26, 2008. He was 49. Brando was born on May 11, 1958. The younger Brando appeared in several films as a child including The Secret Life of an American Wife (1968) and I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! (1968). As an adult, he attempted to resume an acting career, appearing as Aaron in the 1980 tele-film The Day Christ Died. He also appeared in the films Yentl (1983), with Barbra Streisand, Unmasked Part 25 (1988), La Posta in Gioco (1988), and Wishful Thinking (1990). He also appeared in the 1985 television miniseries A.D. and the 1990 tele-film The Endless Game. Brando was accused of killing his sister’s boyfriend, Dag Drollet, and plead guilty to manslaughter in 1990. He claimed that the two had struggled over a gun during an argument over Drollet’s alleged abuse of Brando’s pregnant half-sister, Cheyenne. Christian spent five years in prison for the crime. Cheyenne, who lost custody of her
Christian Brando (right, with father Marlon)
BRANDY, HOWARD Entertainment publicist Howard Brandy died in Los Angeles after a long illness on June 23, 2008. He was 79. Brandy was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 20, 1929. He served in the Marines in the 1950s before moving to Los Angeles to work as a publicist in the music industry. He began his career working with such singers as Frankie Avalon and Fabian. He later became publicity director for such music industry giants as Motown and A + M Records, working with the artists Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Lionel Richie. He was involved in handling
Howard Brandy
the publicity campaigns for the Beatles’ films A Hard Day’s Night and Help! in the 1960s, and for 1967’s Privilege. He was also closely associated with animator Jay Ward, the creator of the cartoon series Rocky and Bullwinkle, and Brandy’s jut-jawed profile inspired the likeness of Ward’s cartoon creation Canadian Mountie Dudley Do-Right. Brandy continued to work in films, handling public relations for such features as Hammer’s Blood for the Mummy’s Tomb (1971), The Take (1974), Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein (1977), Things Are Tough All Over (1982), Gorky Park (1983), The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), Runaway Train (1985), After the Rain (1988), The Karate Kid, Part III (1989), Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991), and The Last Seduction (1994). He was also involved in the publicity campaigns for all of the Police Academy films.
BRANT, HENRY Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Henry Brant died at his home in Santa Barbara, California, on April 26, 2008. He was 94. Brant was born in Montreal, Canada, on September 15, 1913. His father was head of the violin department at McGill University, and Henry began composing music at the age of 8. He studied at McGill and at Juilliard in New York
Obituaries • 2008
Henry Brant
City. He worked as a conductor of radio orchestras and music arranger for ballet companies early in his career. He also served as orchestrator for several Depression Era documentaries including The Plow That Broke the Plains (1936), The River (1938), and The City (1939). His compositions became noted for their unorthodox use of such sound-producing devices as kitchen utensils and tin whistles. He was an innovator of spatial sound, positioning five parts of an orchestra throughout Carnegie Hall for in production of Antiphony I in 1953. His 1970 composition Kingdom Come called for two orchestras, one on stage producing dissonant sounds, and another in the balcony with whistles, buzzers, and air compressors. Brant frequently worked in Hollywood, serving as orchestrator for the 1963 film Cleopatra. He also orchestrated the features Cheyenne Autumn (1964), The Devil’s Brigade (1968), Carny (1980), and Good Morning, Vietnam (1987). His 1990 concert to inaugurate I.M. Pei’s Dallas Symphony Hall featured over 300 musicians scattered about the auditorium. Brant received the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2002 for his organ concerto composition Ice Field. He taught during much of his career, at Columbia University from 1945 to 1952, Juilliard from 1947 to 1954, and at Bennington College from 1957 to 1980. Brant completed his long term textbook project on orchestration, Textures and Timbres, in 2007.
BRASCHI, GIANLUIGI Italian film producer Gianluigi Braschi, who worked frequently with his brother-in-law, actor Roberto Benigni, died after a long illness in Milan, Italy, on October 23, 2008. He was 45. Braschi was born in Cesena, Italy, in 1963. He was the brother of actress Nicoletta Braschi, who married actor Roberto Benigni. Gianluigi Braschi began working in films as a production assistant on Benigni’s gangster comedy Johnny Stecchino in 1991. He joined with Benigni and his sister to form Melampo Cinematografic production house in 1994, and Braschi was associate producer on the 1994 comedy about a homicidal sex maniac, Il Mostro (aka The Monster). He also co-produced Benigni’s 1997 Oscar-nominated hit Life Is Beautiful with Elda Ferri. Braschi continued to work with Benigni as a producer on his films Pinocchio (2002) and The Tiger and the Snow (2005).
48 BRAUN, PINKAS German actor Pinkas Braun died in Munich, Germany, on June 24, 2008. He was 85. Braun was born in Zurich, Switzerland, on January 7, 1923. He was a leading performer on stage, film, and television from the 1950s, and was noted for his roles in Edgar Wallace mysteries. Braun’s numerous film credits include Sky Without Stars (1955), Aren’t We Wonderful? (1958), The Miracle of Father Malachia (1961), The Puzzle of the Red Orchid (1962), The Door with Seven Locks (1962), The Curse of the Yellow Snake (1963), The Lightship (1963), Piccadilly Zero Hour 12 (1963), Mark of the Tortoise (1964), Dog Eat Dog (1964), Das Haus auf dem Hugel (1964), Die Schwarzen Adler von Santa Fe (1965), City of Fear (1965), St. Pauli Herbertstrasse (1965), Secret Agent Super Dragon (1966), The Hunchback of Soho (1966), Clint the Stranger (1967), the 1967 Perry Rhodan science fiction film Mission Stardust, The Man Outside (1967), The Hand of Power (1968), The Last Escape (1970), Everyone Dies Alone (1976), Sidney Sheldon’s Bloodline (1979), L’Ombre Rouge (1981), All Fired Up (1982), Falosny Princ (1984), Les Cavaliers de l’Orage (1984), Anna Goldin, the Last Witch (1991), The Time After (1992), Mr. Bluesman (1993), K (1997), D’or et d’Oublis (1998), Comedian (2000), and Help, I’m a Boy! (2002). Braun was also featured in television productions of Der Verrater (1959), Kopfgeld (1959), Die Gerechten (1959), So Ist Es — Ist Es So? (1960), Die Falle (1961), Das Duell (1964), Die Ermittlung (1966), Der Tod Lauft Hinterher (1967), Der Fall Tuchatschewskij (1968), Jacques Offenbach — Ein Lebensbild (1969), Hotel Royal (1969), Ende der Vorstellug 24 Uhr (1970), Die Frau in Weiss (1971), Annemarie Lesser (1971), Moliere Pour Rire et Pour Pleurer (1973), Feinde (1976), Besellschattspiele (1976), Der Wiunter, der ein Sommer War (1976), Charlie Muffin (1979), Les Mysteres de Paris (1980), Praying Mantis (1982), Die Matrosen von Kronstadt (1983), Grenzenloses Himmelblau (1985), Vertrauen Gegen Vertrauen (1986), Im Schatten der Angst (1988), Sehnsuchte oder Es Ist Alles Unheimlich Leicht (1991), Tod auf Bali (1991), Geschafte (1995), Inseln Undter dem Wind (1995), Die Katze von Kensington (1996), Samson and Delilah (1996), Annas Fluch —Todliche Gedanken (1998), Edelweiss (2001), and Singapur-Express — Geheimnis Einer Liebe (2002). Braun starred as Jorg Preda in the 1966 television series Jorg Preda Berichtet, and was Gabrielli in Les Brigades du Tigre
Pinkas Braun
49
2008 • Obituaries
from 1982 to 1983. He also appeared in episodes of Derrick, Hello, Onkel Doc!, Zwei Alte Hasen, Zoff und Zartichkeit, Alle Meine Tochter, Stockinger, Unser Charly, SK Kolsch, Edel & Starck, and Adelheid und Ihre Morder.
BRECHER, IRVING Comedy writer Irving Brecher died of complications from a series of heart attacks in Los Angeles on November 17, 2008. He was 94. Brecher was born in the Bronx, New York, on January 17, 1914. He began writing gags for Milton Berle in the mid– 1930s. He moved to Hollywood in 1937, where he worked as a writer and script doctor for Mervyn LeRoy at MGM. He scripted the film New Faces of 1937 (1937) and wrote additional dialog for 1938’s Fools for Scandal. He also worked on the script, without credit, for the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz. Brecher wrote two films
MC Breed
Cube, and Tupac Shakur on the single “Gotta Get Mine.” Breed’s other albums include Funkafied (1994), Big Baller (1995), To Da Beat Ch’all (1996), Saucy (1997), Flatline (1998), It’s All Good (1999), The Thugz, Vol. 1 (2000), Rare Breed (2000), The Fharmacist (2001), and The New Prescription (2004).
BRIERLY, DAVID British character actor David Brierly died of cancer in England on June 10, 2008. He was 73. Brierly was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1935. He began his acting career in the 1950s
Irving Brecher
for the Marx Brothers, At the Circus (1939) and Go West (1940). He also wrote the films Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), Ship Ahoy (1942), Du Barry Was a Lady (1943) with Lucille Ball, Best Foot Forward (1943), the Judy Garland hit Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), which earned him an Academy Award nomination, Yolanda and the Thief (1945), Ziegfeld Follies (1946), and Summer Holiday (1948). He created the popular radio series The Life of Riley, which he adapted for a feature film starring William Bendix in 1949. Brecher was also involved in the subsequent television series that initially starred Jackie Gleason for a season in 1949. The Life of Riley returned to television with Bendix in the lead from 1953 until 1958. Brecher also wrote and directed the 1952 film Somebody Loves Me and helmed 1961’s Sail a Crooked Ship. He scripted an episode of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, and wrote the films Cry for Happy (1961) and Bye Bye Birdie (1963).
BREED, MC Rapper MC Breed died of kidney failure at a friend’s home in Ypsilanti, Michigan, on November 22, 2008, at age 37. He was born Eric Breed in Flint, Michigan, on June 12, 1971. He recorded his debut album, MC Breed & DFC with Da Flint Crew in 1991, becoming one of the first rappers to emerge from the Midwest. The album produced the hit single “Ain’t No Future in Yo Frontin’.” He subsequently moved to Atlanta, where he recorded the 1993 album The New Breed. He also collaborated with such stars as Too Short, Ice
David Brierley
and appeared in several films including Noddy in Toyland (1957), Calculated Risk (1963), Escort Girls (1974), On the Game (1974), and Adventures of a Taxi Driver (1976) as the narrator. Brierly was also seen in such television productions as The Younger Generation (1959), The Voodoo Factor (1959), Threads (1984), and Cover Her Face (1985). He replaced John Leeson as the Doctor’s robotic canine companion K-9 in Doctor Who from 1979 to 1980 before Leeson reclaimed the role. Brierly also appeared on television in episodes of Z Cars, The Big Pull, Arthur of the Britons, Blue Peter, Frankie Howerd Strikes Again, Juliet Bravo, Coronation Street, One By One, The Tripods, and Howard’s Way.
BRILLSTEIN, BERNIE Film producer and talent agent Bernie Brillstein died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a Los Angeles hospital on August 7,
Obituaries • 2008
50
Bernie Brillstein
Sherry Britton
2008. He was 77. Brillstein was born in New York City on April 26, 1931. He began his career working in the mail room at the William Morris Agency in the mid– 1950s. He became one of the most successful agents in Hollywood, adding the careers of such stars as John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Jim Henson. He and partner, Brad Grey, formed the production and management company Brillstein-Grey Entertainment in 1991. He frequently was credited as an executive producer for many of the film and television productions he delivered talent for. His film credits include Up the Academy (1980), The Blues Brothers (1980), Continental Divide (1981), Neighbors (1981), Doctor Detroit (1983), Ghostbusters (1984), Summer Rental (1985), Spies Like Us (1985), Dragnet (1987), Ghostbusters II (1989), Hexed (1993), The Celluloid Closet (1995), Happy Gilmore (1996), The Cable Guy (1996), Bulletproof (1996), The Replacement Killers (1998), What Planet Are You From? (2000), Run Ronnie Run (2002), Jimmy Glick in Lalawood (2004), and The Pity Card (2006). Brillstein also earned nine Emmy Award nominations for his work in television. He was a producer for such series as The Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour, Buffalo Bill, Comedy Factory, CBS Summer Playhouse, ALF, The Boys, Normal Life, It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, Good Sports, The Steve Harvey Show, The Dana Carvey Show, Mr. Show with Bob and David, The Naked Truth, Politically Incorrect, Just Shoot Me!, NewsRadio, The Martin Short Show, Primetime Glick, The Wayne Brady Show, The Lyon’s Den, and Heist. He also produced such television productions as The Muppets Valentine Show (1974), The Wickedest Witch (1979) which he also directed, Don’t Try This at Home! (1990), Mr. Show with Bob and David: Fantastic Newness (1996), For Hope (1996), Mr. Show and the Incredible, Fantastical News Report (1998), and Next! (2002). Brillstein was also the author of the 1999 memoir Where Did I Go Right?— You’re No One in Hollywood Unless Someone Wants You Dead. BRITTON, SHERRY Burlesque performer Sherry Britton died in Manhattan, New York, on April 1, 2008. She was 89. She was born Edith Zack in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on July 28, 1918. She came from an abusive home and spent much of her childhood in foster homes or with relatives. She began performing as a stripper while in her teens, and became one of the lead-
ing figures on New York’s burlesque stages in the 1930s and early 1940s. Noted for her long black hair and hourglass figure, she became a headliner at Minsky’s Burlesque. When the risqué entertainment was largely banned in New York City by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, Britton turned to acting and appeared in numerous stage productions throughout the country. She also entertained the troops during World War II and was named an honorary brigadier general by President Roosevelt in 1944 for her efforts. Britton was also featured on television in the drama series The Mask, and appeared as a belly dancer in the 1958 Broadway comedy Drink to Me Only. She continued to appear on stage and perform in cabarets through the 1960s. She married wealthy businessman Robert Gross in 1971, and he encouraged her to pursue an education. While she had never attended high school, she was accepted into Fordham University and graduated magna cum laude with a pre-law degree in 1982. Britton was widowed in 1990. BROADLEY, PHILIP British television writer Philip Broadley died in England on November 30, 2008. He was 86. Broadley was born in Baildon, Yorkshire, England, on October 21, 1922. He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II, and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art after the war. He spent several years performing on stage in repertory before abandoning acting for writing. His first scripted tele-play, Annabella, was produced for television in the late 1950s. He soon began writing frequently for ITV, where he was best known for working with producer Ralph Smart on the Patrick McGoohan spy series Danger Man. He penned the script that was instrumental in selling the series for a run on CBS in the United States, where it became known as Secret Agent. He also wrote for such series as Tales of Mystery, It Happened Like This, Out of the Unknown, The Saint, Man in the Suitcase, The Champions, Department S, Jason King, The Adventurer, Zodiac, Public Eye, Life and Death of Penelope, Van der Valk, The Wilde Alliance, Return of the Saint, Thundercloud, Bergerac, Storyboard, Mr. Palfrey of Westminster, and Lytton’s Diary. He also scripted the 1985 mini-series Goya, and adapted several Dorothy L Sayers mysteries for television including Strong Poison (1987) and Gaudy Night (1987). Broadley married actress, and later television producer, Margaret McCall in 1951. They remained together
51 until his death, and she died several weeks later on December 20, 2008.
BROWN, EARL Singer and songwriter Earl Brown, who wrote the Elvis Presley hit “If I Can Dream,” died at his home in Sherman Oaks, California, on January 10, 2008. He was 79. He was born Walter Earl Brown in Salt Lake City, Utah, on December 25, 1928. His father was a musician in a swing band and the family relocated frequently when Earl was a
2008 • Obituaries vania, on April 6, 2008. He was 63. Brown was born in Philadelphia on November 5, 1944. He began performing with the Blue Notes in the early 1970s, teaming with Harold Melvin, Teddy Pendergrass, Bernard Wilson, and Lloyd Parks. They signed with the Philadelphia International label in 1972 and recorded such hits as “If You Don’t Know Me by Now” (1972), “I Miss You” (1972), “Don’t Leave Me This Way” (1975), and “Bad Luck” (1975). Brown remained with the group’s everchanging roster, which included the loss of Pendergrass in 1976. The Blue Notes signed with ABC Records in 1977 and moved to MCA Records’ Source label in 1980. Harold Melvin continued to lead the group until suffering a stroke in 1996. He died the following year. Brown remained the Blue Notes’ second tenor until becoming ill while on tour in January of 2008.
BROWN, LYAL Canadian writer Lyal Brown died of complications from Parkinson’s disease in White Rock, British Columbia, Canada, on January 6, 2008. He was 78. Brown was born in Medicine Hat, Alberta,
Earl Brown
child. He soon became involved in music himself and was singer and arranger for the vocal group The Skylarks in the 1940s and 1950. He wrote Elvis Presley’s hit 1968 song “If I Can Dream,” and Dianne Reeves’ Grammy winner “Who’s Minding the Store?” He was also a vocal director for numerous television variety shows including The Danny Kaye Show, The Dinah Shore Show, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, The Andy Williams Show, The Osmond Brothers Show, and The Carol Burnett Show. He also composed music for the 1971 television production of Li’l Abner, The Goldie Hawn Special (1978), and All Commercials ... A Steve Martin Special (1980).
BROWN, LAWRENCE LLOYD, SR. Lawrence Lloyd Brown, Sr., an original member of the R&B group Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, died of complications from a respiratory condition in Philadelphia, Pennsyl-
Lawrence Lloyd Brown
Lyal Brown
Canada, on November 1, 1929. He created the television series Ritter’s Cove, which aired on CBC-TV from 1980 to 1981. He also worked on numerous other television productions including The Albertans (1979), Bordertown (1989), and Getting Married in Buffalo Jump (1990).
BROWNE, BUD Bud Browne, who was a pioneer in creating surf films, died at his home in San Luis Obispo, California, on July 25, 2008. He was 96. Browne was born in Newtonville, Massachusetts, on July 12, 1912. He moved to Los Angeles in 1931 to attend the University of Southern California, and served as captain of the swim team. He worked as a lifeguard at Venice Beach in the late 1930s and became an avid surfer. Browne served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and after the war he began filming surfing in California and Hawaii. He edited enough footage to create a 45-minute movie, Hawaiian Surfing Movie, which he debuted and narrated in 1953. Over the next decade he produced such surf films as Hawaiian Holiday (1954), Trek to Makaha (1956), The Big Surf (1957), Surf Down Under (1958), Cat on a Hot Foam Board (1959), Surf Happy (1960), Cavalcade of Surf (1962), Gun Ho! (1963), Locked In! (1964), and You’ll Dance in Tahiti (1967). He put down
Obituaries • 2008
52 helming over 180 telecasts during the next 30 years. He also directed numerous segments of Live at the Met and Great Performances, and televised productions of Broadway plays including Our Town (1989), The Grapes of Wrath (1991), O Pioneers! (1991), and Death of a Salesman (2000). His Live from Lincoln Center episodes won 10 Emmy Awards, and Browning received two Emmys for outstanding individual achievement for the PBS productions of Goya with Placido Domingo (1987) and the opera Turandot (1988). He was preparing to film a production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at the time of his death.
Bud Browne
his camera for several years before putting together Goin’ Surfin’ in 1973. He also shot footage for the 1972 film Five Summer Stories and John Milius’ 1978 feature Big Wednesday. He was inducted into the International Surfing Hall of Fame in 1991.
BROWNING, KIRK Television director Kirk Browning, who helmed numerous productions for PBS’s Live from Lincoln Center television series, died of a heart attack in Manhattan on February 10, 2008. He was 86. Browning was born in Manhattan on March 28, 1921. He served as an ambulance driver in Europe during World War II and bought a chicken farm in Connecticut after the war. He became involved with television in 1947 when one of his customers arranged for him to work at NBC’s music library. He was soon serving as a stage manager and director of telecasts for the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini. He directed the 1951 debut of Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitor, the first opera written for television. He also directed productions of Cyrano de Bergerac (1955) and Caesar and Cleopatra (1956) for Producers’ Showcase, Beauty and the Beast (1958) for Shirley Temple Storybook, and The Christmas Tree (1958) for Hallmark Hall of Fame. Browning also helmed such productions as The Labyrinth (1962), Damn Yankees! (1967), The Trial of Mary Lincoln (1972), The Daughter of the Regiment (1974), June Moon (1974), and A Touch of the Poet (1974). He began directing Live from Lincoln Center from its beginning in 1976,
BRUCE, LYDIA Actress Lydia Bruce Stevens died in Tucson, Arizona, on May 7, 2008. She was 77. She was born Lydia Slubowski in Detroit, Michigan, on January 8, 1931. She trained as a dancer and actress and began her career on the New York stage in the 1950s. She became best known for her role as Dr. Maggie Powers on the daytime soap opera The Doctors from the late 1960s through the early 1980s. She also temporarily filled in as Alexandra Spaulding on The Guiding Light in 1984. Bruce was also seen on television in episodes of Armstrong Circle Theatre, Hawaii Five-0, and Law & Order. BRUCE, MONA British character actress Mona Bruce died in Suffolk, England, on October 15, 2008. She was 83. Bruce was born in Birmingham, England, on December 3, 1924. She appeared frequently on television from the 1950s, with roles in such series as Nick of the River, Suspense, Z Cars, No Hiding Place, The Troubleshooters, King of the River as Alice King, Sanctuary, The Wednesday Play, ITV Playhouse, Dr. Finlay’s Casebook, Doctor in the House, Villette, Armchair Theatre, The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder as Mrs. Houchin, Public Eye,
Mona Bruce
Kirk Browning
Thirty-Minute Theatre, Sam, Within These Walls, Return of the Saint, The Famous Five, Agony, The Gentle Touch, Tenko, Dramarama, Taggart, Campion, Kevin and Co, Alleyn Mysteries, Doctor Finlay, Harry and the Wrinklies, Two Thousand Acres of Sky, Heartbeat, Doctors, and Brief Encounters. Bruce was also seen in television productions of The House of Bernardo Alba (1960), The Passenger (1971), The Swish of the Curtain (1980), Secrets (1982), The Galactic Garden (1985), Gems (1985) as Catherine Gardiner, Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple: 4:50 from Pad-
53
2008 • Obituaries
dington (1987), The Woman He Loved (1988), and Voice of the Heart (1990). She was also featured as Edie in the television series Hamish Macbeth from 1995 to 1997. Bruce also appeared in the films To Sir, with Love (1967), Crossplot (1969), and The Missing Reel (1989).
BRUNING, ROBERT Australian television actor and producer Robert Bruning died of a heart attack in New Zealand on March 4, 2008. He was 79. Bruning was born in Dongara, Western Australia, in 1928. He began his career on stage in the 1960s, appearing in a production of The Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. He was soon appearing on Australian television, with roles in such series as Skippy, Contrabandits, Rita and Wally, Pastures of the Blue Crane, Hunter, Riptide, and Delta. Bruning starred as Inspector Dallas Buchanan in the
Robert Bruning
1970 crime series The Long Arm, and was a regular performer and producer of The Godfathers in 1971. He also appeared in episodes of Division 4, Silent Number, Barrier Reef, Ryan, Matlock Police, The Last of the Australians, Shannon’s Mob, Homicide, The Outsiders, Bluey, A Country Practice, Soldier Soldier, Farscape, and Dossa and Joe. Bruning was also featured in such films as The Intruders (1969), Ned Kelly (1970) with Mick Jagger, Polly My Love (1975), Sunday Too Far Away (1975), The Lady from Peking (1975), Image of Death (1976), Gone to Ground (1978), Snapshot (aka The Day After Halloween) (1979), The Wild Duck (1983), Cool Change (1986), The Roly Poly Man (1994), Liquid Bridge (2003), and Hunt Angels (2006). Bruning was also a producer of films and television. He served as producer for the films The Newman Shame (1977), Plunge into Darkness (1977), and The Settlement (1983). He also produced the tele-films Crisis (1972), Jesus Christ Superstar (1972), Paradise (1975), Is There Anybody There? (1975), Mama’s Gone a-Hunting (1975), The Alternative (1976), Demolition (1978), The Death Train (1978), The Night Nurse (1978), Gone to Ground (1978), The Time Game (1992), Big Ideas (1992), The Territorians (1996), and 13 Gantry Row (1998), and the series The Spoiler, The People Next Door, and Rafferty’s Rules.
BRUNIOUS, JOHN Jazz trumpeter John Brunious died of a heart attack in Casselberry, Florida, on February 12, 2008. He was 67. Brunious was born in
John Brunious
New Orleans on October 12, 1940. His father was also a jazz musician, and John Jr. grew up in a musical family. He based his style on Dizzy Gillespie, and sometimes played in rhythm and blues bands. He joined the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in 1987 and performed with them for over twenty years. Brunious and his family were forced from their New Orleans apartment by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and eventually settled in Florida. He was involved in the 2007 boxed set release of Made in New Orleans, and contributed several songs including “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?” and “Last Chance to Dance.”
BRUNKERT, OLA Drummer Ola Brunkert, who performed with the Swedish pop band ABBA, was found dead outside his home in Arta, Majorca, Spain, on March 16, 2008, after accidentally breaking a glass door in his dining room with his head and cutting his neck with a glass shard. He was 61. Brunkert was born in Ore-
Ola Brunkert
bro, Sweden, on September 15, 1946. He began playing in bands in the 1960s including Slim’s Blues Gang, Science Poption, and Opus III. He played drums with ABBA from the early 1970s, and was heard on their first single “People Need Love,” their hits “Waterloo” and “Dancing Queen,” and all of their albums in the 1970s. He performed on stage with ABBA at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, and was seen in the film ABBA: The Movie in 1977. He also toured with them in Europe and Australia in 1977, North America and Europe in 1979, and Japan in 1980. ABBA ceased playing together in
Obituaries • 2008
54
1982, but remains one of the top selling bands. Brunkert continued to perform with other Swedish artists before retiring to Majorca later in the decade.
BRUNN, LOTTIE Leading juggler and circus performer Lottie Brunn Chirrick died at her home in Branson, Missouri, on August 5, 2008. She was 82. Brunn was born in Aschaffenburg, Germany, on October 12, 1925. She and her brother, Francis, were trained to be jugglers by their father when they were children. They began performing in the early 1940s, touring Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. Lottie usually assisted her brother and they were invited to join the RingBaird Bryant
Lottie Brunn
ling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus in the United States in 1948. Lottie began performing solo in the early 1950s, and sometimes appeared as a supporting act for bandleader Spike Jones, Harry James, and Tommy Dorsey. Noted for her juggling of eight rings, she was billed as the world’s leading lady juggler. She was featured on television in episodes of Captain Kangaroo and The Ed Sullivan Show, and performed at venues throughout the world. She later worked the cruise ship circuit before retiring. Her son, Michael Chirrick, also took up juggling, making his professional debut in 1970.
BRYANT, BAIRD Cinematographer and documentary filmmaker Baird Bryant died of complications from surgery in a Hemet, California, hospital on November 13, 2008. He was 80. Bryant was born in Columbus, Indiana, on December 12, 1927. He began working in films in the early 1960s as a cinematographer on The Seducers (1962), Greenwich Village Story (1963), and the 1964 depiction of juvenile delinquency in Harlem, The Cool World. He also photographed Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda’s LSD trip in a New Orleans cemetery for the counterculture classic Easy Rider (1969). Footage that Bryant shot of a fatal stabbing at the Rolling Stones’ concert in Altamont, California, was seen in the 1970 concert film Gimme Shelter. He directed the 1971 concert film Celebration at Big Sur, and was cinematographer for The Manipulator (1971) and Sunseed (1973). He was also a sound effects editor for the 1972 cult classic The Legend of Bogg y Creek. He was cinematographer for some of the segments of the 1978 Saturday Night Live special Things We Did Last Summer, and worked on the films
Deadly Force (1980), the Academy Award–winning documentary Broken Rainbow (1985), Eliminators (1986), The Delta Force (1986), Heart of Tibet: An Intimate Portrait of the 14th Dalai Lama (1991), Uninvited (1993), Jugular Wine: A Vampire Odyssey (1994), Taylor’s Campaign (1998), Rough Side of the Mountain (1999), and Fabulous Shiksa in Distress (2003). BRYANT, CHRIS Christopher Bryan Spencer Dobson, who scripted films under the name Chris Bryant, died at his home in Burford, England, on October 27, 2008. He was 72. Bryant was born in Bolton, Lancashire, England, on June 7, 1936. He began writing for films in the early 1970s, and was best known for scripting the 1973 horror thriller Don’t Look Now. Bryant
Chris Bryant
also wrote the films The Man Who Had Power Over Women (1970), The Girl from Petrovka (1974), The Spiral Staircase (1975), Joseph Andrews (1977), Golden Rendezvous (1977), The Awakening (1980), Martin’s Day (1984), Lady Jane (1986), and Stealing Heaven (1988). He also worked frequently for television, scripting episodes of the series Special Branch, and productions of Sword of Gideon (1986), Young Catherine (1991), One Against the Wind (1991), Foreign Affairs (1993), The House That Mary Bought (1995), and Miracle at Midnight (1998). Bryant also appeared in small roles in several of the films he wrote including Joseph Andrews (1977), Young Catherine (1991), and Only in Hollywood (2002).
55 BUCKLEY, WILLIAM F., JR. William F. Buckley, Jr., a leading spokesman of the political right who entertained and confundled several generations through his columns, books, and frequent television appearances, was found dead in the study of his home in Stanford, Connecticut, on February 27, 2008. He was 82. He suffered from emphysema and diabetes. Buckley was born to a wealthy, patrician family in Manhattan, New York, on November 24, 1925. He espoused his family’s conservative values and devotion to Roman Catholic dogma from an early age. He served in the U.S. Army from 1944 to 1946, rising to the rank of second lieutenant. Buckley subsequently entered Yale University, where he distinguished himself on campus as a debater and as editor of the Yale Daily News. His attacks on the university’s system of values often brought him into conflict with the administration, and resulted in his first publication, God and Man at Yale: The Superstitions of Academic Freedom in 1951. After leaving Yale, Buckley worked with Central Intelligence Agency for a year in Mexico City. He was soon writing freelance, and authored his second book, a defense of Sen. Joseph McCarthy entitled McCarthy and His Enemies in 1954. The following year, Buckley founded the conservative news magazine National Review, which became the guiding voice of the entire conservative movement. He became a familiar face, and voice, throughout the country as host of the television news debate program Firing Line from 1966 to 1999. His polysyllabic discourses and exaggerated mannerisms made him a frequent target for impressionists, but a slickly elegant foil for figures on the left who would challenge him in his own domain. Buckley entered the political arena himself in 1965 as the Conservative Party candidate for Mayor of New York. When asked what he would do if he won the election, he replied, “Demand a recount.” The recount was not necessary though he did earn over 13 percent of the vote, losing to Republican John Lindsay. His older brother, James Buckley, served one term as a U.S. Senator from New York in the early 1970s. He spoofed his own image as a guest on the television comedy series Laugh-In, and appeared in segments of The Mike Douglas Show, The David Frost Show, and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Buckley authored his first spy novel featuring the character Blackford Oakes with 1976’s Saving the Queen. Oakes was fea-
2008 • Obituaries tured in 10 subsequent novels including Stained Glass (1979), Who’s on First (1980), Marco Polo, if You Can (1982), The Story of Henri Tod (1984), See You Later, Alligator (1985), High Jinx (1986), Mongoose R.I.P. (1987), Tucker’s Last Stand (1990), A Very Private Plot (1994), and Last Call for Blackford Oakes (2005). He served as the host of the PBS adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited in 1982. He also engaged in stormy debates with the literary figures Gore Vidal and Norman Mailer that nearly devolved into fisticuffs. Buckley also appeared in numerous documentary films including Hugh Hefner: Once Upon a Time (1992), Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1992), The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg (1994), The Odyssey of John Dos Passos (1994), Dirty Pictures (2000), and New York in the 50s (2001). Buckley remained the intellectual guru of the literate wing of the conservative movement for over 40 years. His efforts for Goldwater in 1964 eventually led to the election of Ronald Reagan for President in 1980. Though he relinquished his voting stock in National Review in 2004, he continued to write for the magazine until his death. He was predeceased by his wife, the former Patricia Taylor, in 2007 and is survived by his son, author Christopher Buckley.
BUDRYS, ALGIS Science fiction writer and editor Algis Budrys died in Evanston, Illinois, on June 9, 2008. He was 77. Budrys was born in Konigsberg, East Prussia, on January 9, 1931, the son of a Lithuanian diplomat stationed there. He came to the United States with his family as a child. He attended the University of Miami and Columbia University in New York. He began writing professionally in the early 1950s, and his first science fiction story, “The High Purpose,” was published in Astounding Science Fiction in 1952. He continued to work
Algis Budrys
William F. Buckley, Jr.
as an editor and writer for various science fiction publishers, sometimes under the pen names John A. Sentry, William Scarff, and Alger Rome. His first novel, The False Night, was published in 1954, and was revised as Some Will Not Die in 1961. He also wrote the 1956 novel Man of Earth and published Who? in 1958. Who? earned him a Hugo Award nomination and was later adapted for a science fiction film, starring Elliott Gould and Trevor Howard in 1973. The 1972 film thriller To Kill a Clown
Obituaries • 2008 was based on his novel Master of the Hounds. His other novels include The Falling Torch (1959), Rogue Moon (1960), The Amsirs and the Iron Thorn (1967), Michaelmas (1977), and the 1993 Nebula Award nominee Hard Landing. Budrys was editor of many of the Writers of the Future anthologies, which was sponsored by the Church of Scientology from the mid–1980s. He was also the editor of the magazine Tomorrow Speculative Fiction from 1993 to 1997. Budrys received the Pilgrim Award from the Science Fiction Research Association in 2007 for his lifetime contributions to the scholarship of fantasy and science fiction.
BUFFONG, CHARLES Antiguan professional wrestler Charles Buffong died of heart failure shortly after attending the funeral of his son in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on November 27, 2008. Buffong was born on
56 early 20s and appeared in a small role in the 1975 film Alfie Darling before embarking on a career in hotel management. She spent over 25 years as executive manager of the Athenaeum Hotel in Piccadilly, which became a regular stay for many Hollywood stars. She retired to South Africa in 2002 where she was active in local charities. Survivors include her brother, actor Jeremy Bulloch, who was best known for his role as bounty hunter Boba Fett in the Star Wars films.
BULLOCK, HIRAM American jazz funk guitarist Hiram Bullock died of complications from throat cancer in Manhattan, New York, on July 25, 2008. He was 52. Bullock was born in Osaka, Japan, on September 11, 1955, to parents serving in the U.S. military. He was raised primarily in Baltimore, Maryland, and studied music from an early age. He went to New York as an accompanist to soul singer Phyllis Hyman in the early 1970s and began working with David Sanborn several
Charles Buffong (throwing Mach Hayato over the top rope) Hiram Bullock
the Caribbean island of Antigua. He began his wrestling career with Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1980 under the name Otis Taylor, but soon moved to Stampede Wrestling in Calgary. He competed there over the next three years, sometimes teaming with Gerry Morrow and Rudy Kay, before retiring in 1983.
BULLOCH, SALLY British child actress Sally Bulloch died in Franschhoek, Johannesburg, South Africa, on April 10, 2008. She was 59. Bulloch was born in Chatham, Kent, England, on July 11, 1948. She made her film debut at the age of 10 in The Dawn Killer, and was featured as delinquent schoolgirl Maud Birdhanger in the 1960 comedy The Pure Hell of St. Trinian’s. She worked as a radio disc jockey and commentator in her
Sally Bulloch
years later. He performed on 10 albums with Sanborn, and was heard on such recordings as Steely Dan’s “Gaucho” (1980), Paul Simons “One Trick Pony” (1080), Sting’s “Nothing Like the Sun” (1987). He was a founding member of the 24th Street Band in the late 1970s, and they recorded several albums. Bullock remained with the band when Paul Shaffer brought them to Late Night with David Letterman at NBC in 1982. They became billed as The World’s Most Dangerous Band with Bullock known as the barefoot guitarist. He left the group after two years as a serious drug dependency made him unreliable. He occasionally returned as to perform with the band as a guest artist.
BURG, MONIKA Austrian-French actress Monika Burg, who also performed under the name Claude Farell, died in Macon, Bourgogne, France, on March 17, 2008. She was 93. She was born Paulette von Suchan in Vienna, Austria, on May 17, 1914. She began her career in films in Germany in 1941’s You Only You under the name Paulette Colar. She continued her career in Germany during the war, with roles in the films Two in the Big City (1942), Lache Bajazzo (1943), Titanic (1943), Die Schenke zur Ewigen Liebe (1945), Wir sehn uns Wieder (1945), and Meine Herren Sohne (1945). Burg fled Germany at the end of the war and settled in France.
57
2008 • Obituaries He was a reporter and columnist for the paper, often writing about Presley’s life and death, until the PressScimitar closed in 1983. Burk also co-hosted several sports shows on Memphis radio and appeared in a cameo role in an episode of the television series Route 66 in the 1960s. He published 13 books about Elvis, including the popular trilogy Early Elvis—The Tupelo Years, The Humes Years, and The Sun Years. He was editor of the long-running quarterly magazine Elvis World.
Monika Burg
She continued her career there under the name Claude Farell. Her film credits include Les Requins de Gibraltar (1947), Women of Antwerp (1948), La Nuit Blanche (1948), The Secret of Mayerling (1949), Drame au VelAime’d’Hiv’ (1949), Hocvhzeitsnacht im Paradies (1950), Mefiez-vous des Blondes (1950), Weisse Schatten (1951), The Woman’s Angle (1952), Palace Hotel (1952), Allo ... je t’Aime (1952), I Vitelloni (1953), Die Nacht ohne Moral (1953), Clivia (1954), Hotel Adlon (1955), Liebe ist ja nur ein Marchen (1955), Die Drei von der Tankstelle (1955), Spy for Germany (1956), Le Chemin du Paradis (1956), Der Schrage Otto (1957), Lilli — Ein Madchen aus der Grosstadt (1958), The Versailles Affair (1960), Le Cercle Vicieux (1960), Lovers Woods (1960), Der Hochtourist (1961), The Secret of the Black Widow (1963), Jack and Jenny (1963), The Hand of Power (1968), Hugo, the Woman Chaser (1969), and The Naughty Cheerleader (1970). She also appeared on television in episodes of Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion and Les Copagnons de Jehu, and starred as Mlle. Gamboule in the British television mini-series The Andromeda Breakthrough in 1962.
BURNS, HARRIET Harriet Burns, the first female designer to work for Walt Disney Imagineering, died of complications from a heart condition in a Santa Barbara, California, hospital on July 25, 2008. She was 79. She was born Harriet Tapp in San Antonio, Texas, on August 20, 1928. She moved to Los Angeles after her marriage to Williams Burns in 1953, and began working
Harriet Burns
BURK, BILL E. Journalist Bill E. Burk, who authored numerous works about his friend Elvis Presley, died of a heart attack in a Memphis, Tennessee, hospital on April 24, 2008. He was 75. Burk was born on November 11, 1932. He began working as a journalist in the late 1950s, joining the Memphis Press-Scimitar in 1957.
as a prop maker for television shows. She started working at Disney in 1955, painting props and sets for The Mickey Mouse Club. She also worked as a designer for Disneyland, painting figures and sets for the Sleeping Beauty Castle, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansions exhibits. She also painted many of the exotic birds seen in the Enchanted Tiki Room. Burns also appeared several times with Walt Disney on The Wonderful World of Color, when he took television viewers behind the scenes at the Disney workshops. She retired in 1986 and was designated as a Disney Legend in 2000.
Bill Burk
BURROUGHS, DANTON Danton Burroughs, the grandson of Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs and the caretaker of his literary estate, died of heart failure and complications from Parkinson’s disease at his home in Tarzana, California, on May 1, 2008. He was 63. His death occurred the day after a fire destroyed a room full of family memorabilia at his home. Burroughs was born in Los Angeles on June 21, 1944. His father, John Coleman Burroughs, was a photographer and illustrator who worked on many of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ works. The eldest Burroughs created the character of Tarzan in 1911 and also crafted such series as John Carter of Mars, Carson Napier of Venus, and the inner-earth tales of Pellucidar. He died in 1950, several years after his grandson’s birth. Danton became involved in the family business overseeing the merchandising of Tarzan related prod-
Obituaries • 2008
58 in recent years because of alcoholism. He was arrested at his home in May of 2004 when a SWAT team responded to reports of him being armed and holding hostages.
Danton Burroughs
BURTON, IRIS Dancer turned agent Iris Burton, who represented many of Hollywood’s younger stars, died of complications from pneumonia and Alzheimer’s disease at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, on April 5, 2008. She was 77. She was born Iris Burstein in New York City on September 4, 1930. She began her career as a dancer as a child and later performed on the Broadway stage. Burton moved to Hollywood in the early 1950s, where she danced in several films including Top Banana (1954) and The Ten Commandments (1956). She married director Sidney Miller
ucts, which included films, comics, stuffed animals, apparel, and vitamins. Danton became director of Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc. in 1972 and was to be named chairman of the business on the day of his death. BURSON, GREG Voice actor Greg Burson, whose credits included such animated legends as Bugs Bunny, Yogi Bear, and Mr. Magoo, died of complications from diabetes and arteriosclerosis in Los Angeles, on July 22, 2008. He was 59. Burson was born on June 29, 1949. He was trained by veteran voice actor Daws Butler and took over many of Butler’s characters including Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, and Quick Draw McGraw after his death in 1988. He also served as a replacement for Jim Backus on Mr. Magoo and for Iris Burton
Greg Burson
Mel Blank’s Bugs Bunny, Foghorn Leghorn, and Pepe LePew. He was the voice of Mr. D.N.A. in the animated segment of Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park in 1973. His numerous credits also include such animated productions as Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, Mother Goose & Grimm, Tom & Jerry: The Movie, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Batman, Scooby-Doo in Arabian Nights, Garfield and Friends, Carrotblanca, The Twisted Adventures of Felix the Cat, All-New Dennis the Menace as Mr. Wilson, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Bugs Bunny’s Funky Monkeys, Channel Umptee-3, From Hare to Eternity, and My Generation G... G... Gap. He was also an announcer for numerous commercials and movie trailers, and provided voices for such video games as Star Wars and Sheep Raider. Burson’s career had been damaged
later in the decade and largely abandoned her dancing career. She subsequently moved into casting side of show business, opening the Iris Burton Agency in the mid– 1970s. She specialized in representing child actors, with such clients as television stars Adam Rich from Eight Is Enough and Kirk Cameron from Growing Pains. She was also instrumental in securing Henry Thomas the lead role of Elliott in Steven Spielberg’s 1982 film E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, and discovered the talented Phoenix siblings: Joaquin, Summer, Rain, and the late River. Burton combined her agency with the Endeavor Agency in 2001, and continued to represent several clients until poor health forced her retirement.
BUSBY, JHERYL Jheryl Busby, the former president of Motown Records, was found dead from an accidental drowning in the hot tub at his home in Malibu, California, on November 4, 2008. He was 59. Busby was born in Los Angeles on May 5, 1949. He began working in the music industry in the 1970s, serving as head of West Coast promotion and marketing for the Memphis-based Stax Records. He worked for several other record companies before he was hired by MCA Records in 1984. Busby served as vice-president of the black music division where he promoted such acts as Patti LaBelle and New Edition. Berry Gordy sold Motown Records to Boston Ventures and Music Corporation of America in June of 1988, and stipulated the 20 percent interest be retained by African-American in-
59
2008 • Obituaries CACHAO Cuban mambo musician and composer Israel Lopez, who was known as Cachao, died of complications from kidney failure in Coral Gables, Florida, on March 22, 2008. He was 89. Lopez was born in Havana, Cuba, on September 14, 1918, and was raised in a musical family. He was playing bass in the orchestra pits of silent movie cinema houses in Havana at the age of 8. He joined the Havana Philharmonic Orchestra
Jheryl Busby
vestors. Busby purchased a stake in Motown and was brought in as the company’s President and CEO. He encouraged such new talent as Queen Latifah, Johnny Gil, and Boyz II Men, and retained older Motown stars Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, and Lionel Richie. He also re-signed Diana Ross, who had left the label in the early 1980s. He remained on as president when Polygram bought Motown in 1993, but left the company two years later. He headed the black music division at DreamWorks Records from 1998 to 2001, and became president of Def Soul Classics in 2004.
BYRNE, JOHNNY British television writer Johnny Byrne died in England on April 2, 2008. He was 72. Byrne was born in Dublin, Ireland, on November 27, 1935. He began his career writing short stories for science fiction magazines before working in television from the
Cachao
while in his teens. He often composed music with his brother, Orestes “Macho” Lopez, and they were credited with creating the mambo in the late 1930s. Cachao and friends began playing descarga, jam sessions which blended Afro-Cuban music with jazz, in the 1950s. He left Cuba in 1962, going to Spain, and eventually, New York. He performed with numerous Latin stars in the United States including Tito Puente, Machito, Chico O’Farrill, and Gloria Estefan. He played at casino nightclubs in Las Vegas during the 1970s before settling in Miami in the 1980s. He was the subject of Andy Garcia’s 1993 documentary Cachao ... Como Su Ritmo No Hay Dos (Like His Rhythm There Is No Other), which helped revive his career. He released several CDs and earned a Grammy Award for the album Ahora Si! in 2004.
CAFFREY, PETER Irish actor Peter Caffrey, who was best known for his role as Padraig O’Kelly in the BBC series Ballykissangel, died of a stroke in Manches-
Johnny Byrne
late 1960s. He scripted television productions of Groupie (1969) and The Season of the Witch (1970), and penned the films Adolf Hitler — My Part in His Downfall (1972) and Rosie Is My Relative (1976). He also wrote three episodes of the cult sci-fi series Doctor Who, and scripted episodes of Space: 1999, Tales of the Unexpected, Miracles Take Longer, Dodger, Bonzo and the Rest, One by One, All Creatures Great and Small, Love Hurts, and Noah’s Ark. He also created the television series Heartbeat in 1992, and served as main script writer through 2007.
Peter Caffrey
Obituaries • 2008 ter, England, on January 1, 2008. He was 58. Caffrey was born in Dublin, Ireland, on April 18, 1949. He began his career on stage with the Project Theatre in Dublin in the 1970s, and made his film debut in the 1978 feature On a Paving Stone Mounted. He was also seen in the films Criminal Conversation (1980), Angel (1982), The Woman Who Married Clark Gable (1985), Taffin (1988), and Venus Peter (1989). Caffrey was a frequent performer on British television as well, appearing in such series as I Woke Up One Morning, Boon, The Bill, The Paradise Club, Saracen, and Casualty. Caffrey was diagnosed with cancer of the mouth in 1992 and treatment for the condition left him unable to speak properly. Despite this impediment, he resumed his acting career, appearing in episodes of Between the Lines, Luv, The Hanging Gale, Father Ted, Relative Strangers, and Peak Practice. He was cast as garage owner Padraig O’Kelly in the comedydrama series Ballykissangel, and remained with the show from 1996 to 1998. He also appeared in television productions of Runaway One (1995) and Barbara Taylor Bradford’s Her Own Rules (1998). His later film credits include I Went Down (1997), Night Train (1998), Dogsbody (1999), A Love Divided (1999), To Catch a Crow (2000), and Rat (2000). Caffrey suffered a stroke in 2000 that left him partially paralyzed and further impaired his speech. But once more, he persevered and returned to the screen in the Irish comedy Sweet Dancer in 2005.
60 mid–1980s, where he won the Emmy Award in 1987. He produced The Guiding Light from 1989 to 1992, garnering two more Emmy nominations. Calhoun co-wrote Farley Granger’s 2007 memoir Include Me Out that officially acknowledged their longtime relationship.
CALLANDER, DONALD Science fiction writer Donald Bruce Callander died of complications from diabetes in a retirement community in Orange City, Florida, on July 26, 2008. He was 78. Callander was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on March 23, 1930. He worked for nearly thirty years with the American Automobile Association (AAA) as a travel writer, graphic
CALHOUN, ROBERT Emmy Award–winning daytime television producer Robert Calhoun died of lung cancer in New York City on May 24, 2008. He was 77. Calhoun was born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 23, 1930. He began working in the theatre after serving three years in the U.S. Navy. He served as a production supervisor for Eva Le Gallienne’s National Repertory, were he met actor Farley Granger during a production of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull in 1963. The two became life-long partners, living together in California, Italy, and New York. Calhoun was involved with the Mark Taper Forum in Southern California in the 1960s and again in the mid–1970s. He returned to New York later in the decade, where he worked in daytime television. He earned Emmy nominations for producing the soap opera Another World in 1979 and 1980. He was executive producer for As the World Turns from the
designer, and associate editor of the group’s magazine. He retired from AAA in 1991 and began actively pursuing his longtime interest in writing science fiction and fantasy tales. His first novel, Pyromancer, about the adventures of a young wizard in training named Douglas Brightglade, was published in 1992, and subsequent books in the series included Aquamancer (1993), Geomancer (1994), Aeromancer (1997), and Marbleheart (1998). He also wrote the trilogy Dragon Companion (1994), Dragon Rescue (1995), and Dragon Tempest (1998). He also wrote the 2000 novel Warlock’s Bar and Grille, and the completed but yet unpublished Teddybear, Teddybear.
Robert Calhoun
Ashley Callie
Donald Callander
CALLIE, ASHLEY South African television actress Ashley Callie died in Johannesburg, South Africa,
61
2008 • Obituaries
on February 15, 2008, of head injuries she received in an automobile accident in Johannesburg the previous week. She was driving alone when her car ran head-on with another vehicle. She was 31. Callie was born in Johannesburg, on December 30, 1976. She starred for nearly a decade as Lee Haines on the television soap opera Isidingo. She was also featured in the 2008 film Mafrika.
was featured on television in episodes of Flipper, Caribe, El Magnate, Corte Tropical, Aquamarina, Maria Celina, and El Amor no Tiene Precio. He also appeared in the films Daring Game (1968), Darker Than Amber (1970), Cuba Crossing (1980), Absence of Malice (1981), Last Plane Out (1983), Guaguasi (1983), Fires Within (1991), and the 2000 tele-film For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story.
CALLOWAY, CHRIS Singer and actress Chris Calloway, the daughter of bandleader Cab Calloway, died of breast cancer at her home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on August 7, 2008. She was 62. Calloway was born in Los Angeles on September 21, 1945. She sang with
CAMAN, HADI Turkish stage and film actor Hadi Caman died of heart and respiratory failure brought on by Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) at a nursing home in Istanbul, Turkey, on September 22, 2008. He was 65. Caman was born in Kastamonu, Turkey, on January 13, 1943. He studied law and drama
Chris Calloway Hadi Caman
her father’s Hi-De-Ho Orchestra from the 1970s until his death in 1994. She also performed on Broadway in David Merrick’s production of Hello Dolly with Pearl Bailey, and was featured in the comedy The Pajama Game. Calloway was also seen on television in the soap opera The Doctors, and performed on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
CALVO, OSWALDO Cuban actor Oswaldo Calvo died in Miami, Florida, on May 9, 2008. He was 76. Calvo was born in Havana, Cuba, on August 29, 1931. He began his career as an actor on the stage in Havana before going into exile in 1960. Calvo traveled to Mexico and Puerto Rico before settling in Miami. He
Oswaldo Calvo
in Istanbul and began his career on stage with the Dormen Theater and Kent Theater in the early 1960s. He starred in numerous theatrical productions with small companies throughout Turkey and founded his own group, the Nisantasi Yeditepe Theater, in 1982. Caman was also seen in such films as Adim kan Soyadim Silah (1970), The Cicada (1973), Topuz (1975), Sipsak Basarim (1975), Sev Doya (1975), Gungomusler (1976), Hizli Giden Yorulur (1977), and Aile Pansiyonu (1987).
CAMPBELL, KEN British actor and theatrical director Ken Campbell died in Epping Forest, Essex, England, on August 31, 2008. He was 66. Campbell was born in Ilford, Essex, England, on December 10, 1941. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, and began performing on stage in the early 1960s. He was soon appearing on television with roles in such series as Dr. Finlay’s Casebook, Redcap, ITV Playhouse, Mystery and Imagination, The Wednesday Play, The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder, Law and Order, The Professionals, Play for Today, Fawlty Towers, Private Schulz, The Gentle Touch, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Prospects, Home to Roost, Super Gran, Bulman, Rockliffe’s Babies, Colin Sandwich, Erasmus Microman, Minder, In Sickness and in Health, Lovejoy, Brookside, Middlemarch, Dooley Gardens in the recurring role of Professor Pickney, Casualty, Judge John Deed, Heartbeat, The Last Detective, The Bill, and Doctors. Campbell also appeared in television productions of Ligmalion: A Musical for the 80s (1985), Unfair Exchanges (1985) which he also wrote, The Secret State
Obituaries • 2008
62 1960s, appearing on television on episodes of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Leave It to Beaver, Hank, Honey West, The Time Tunnel as Mussolini in the 1967 episode “The Ghost of Nero,” The Mod Squad, and The Tony Randall Show. He also appeared in the films Hud (1963), the tele-film The Andersonville Trial (1970), The Peace Killers (1971), and Dark Angel (1990). Candido began working as a set decorator and prop master in the mid–1970s with such film credits as Smile (1975), Bull Durham (1988), Night Game (1989), Timescape (1992), Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994), and The Walking Dead (1995). He also worked on the tele-films Hunter (1984), Louis L’Amour’s Conagher (1991), Precious Victims (1993), and The Haunting of Seacliff Inn (1994), and the series The A-Team, Tucker, and My Name Is Earl.
Ken Campbell
(1985), The Madness Museums (1986), Look at It This Way (1992), You Me + It (1993), Alice in Wonderland (1999) as Mr. Duck, and Marple: A Pocketful of Rye (2008). He was also seen in over a dozen feature films during his career including Poor Cow (1967), The Tempest (1979), Phoelix (1980), Breaking Glass (1980), Towers of Babel (1981), Ulysses (1982), A Zed & Two Noughts (1985), Letter to Brezhnev (1985), Joshua Then and Now (1985), The Bride (1985), DreamChild (1985), A Fish Called Wanda (1988), Scandal (1989), Wings of Fame (1990), Crimestrike (1990), Secret Nation (1992), Extraordinary Visitor (1998), Saving Grace (2000), and Creep (2004). Campbell was also noted as a writer, penning the children’s play Old King Cole in 1967 and the tele-play One Night I Danced with Mr. Dalton for Armchair Theatre in 1968. His 1976 play Illuminatus! was an 8 hour epic, and his 1979 multiplay extravaganza The Warp was a 22 hour ordeal. He produced three monodramas in 1993, including Recollections of a Furtive Nudist, Jamais Vu, and Pigspurt. One of his later works was the 2005 stage production I’m Not Mad: I’ve Just Read Different Books! Campbell was married to actress Prunella Gee in 1978, though they later divorced.
CANDIDO, NINO Actor turned property master Nino Candido died in Laughlin, Nevada, on April 26, 2008. He was 65. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 21, 1943, the son of comedian Candy Candido. Nino began his career as an actor in the early
Nino Candido (as Benito Mussolini from Time Tunnel )
CANDOLI, PETE Trumpet player Pete Candoli, who played with most of the major big bands during his career, died in Studio City, California, on January 11, 2008. He was 84. Candoli was born in Mishawaka, Indiana, on June 28, 1923. He began performing with bands in the 1940s, and was featured in groups led by Glen Miller, Stan Kenton, Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie, and Tex Beneke. He was a member of
Pete Candoli
Woody Herman’s band, the First Herd, and became known as “Superman with a Horn.” He was a leading studio musician and was a composer and arranger for such artists as Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, and Ella Fitzgerald. He and his brother, Conte, who was also a trumpet player, co-led a combo that played frequently in venues from Chicago to the West Coast. Candoli was also seen in cameo roles in such films as The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), Kings Go Forth (1958), and Bell, Book and Candle (1958). He was also seen on television in episodes of The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, Peter Gunn, One Step Beyond, Johnny Staccato, The Untouchables, and Hotel. Candoli was married and divorced three times, to actresses Vicky Lane and Betty Hutton, and singer Edie Adams, whom he often toured with.
CANINENBERG, HANS German actor Hans Caninenberg died in Grafelfing, Germany, on June 29, 2008. He was 95. Caninenberg was born in Duisburg, Germany, on January 15, 1913. He began his career on the German stage in the mid–1930s, often portraying char-
63
2008 • Obituaries
Hans Caninenberg
Claudio Capone
acters of strength and substance. Caninenberg appeared in several films from the early 1950s including Oh, due Lieber Fridolin (1952), Oberarzt Dr. Solm (1955), Hotel Adlon (1955), A Man in His Best Age (1964), Liselotte von der Pfalz (1966) as King Ludwig XIV, Giordano Bruno (1973), The Odessa File (1974) as Dr. Ferdinand Schultz, and High Society Limited (1982). He appeared frequently on German television, with roles in such productions as Kolportage (1957), Hamlet (1961) as Claudius, Warten auf Dodo (1962), Zweierlei Mass (1963), Candida (1963), Stunden der Angst (1964), Der Seidene Schuh (1965), Oberst Wennerstrom (1965), Freiheit im Dezember (1966), Carolie (1966), Jeane oder Die Lerche (1966), Verrater (1967), The Snob (1968), Graf Oderland (1968), Der Zweite Schuss (1969), Bericht einer Offensive (1969), Emilia Galotti (1970), L’Inchiesta (1971), Betreten Verboten (1972), Victor oder Die Kinder an die Macht (1973), Revolte im Erziehungshaus (1975), Gesellschaftsspiele (1976), Sandokan (1976) as Lord Guillonk, Der Winter, der ein Sommer War (1976), Richelieu (1977) as Ferdinand II, Wallenstein (1978), Lady Audleys Geheimnis (1978), Gefangen in Frankreich: Theodor Fontaine im Krieg 1870/71 (1979), Ritter’s Cove (1980), Die Falle (1983), Kornelia (1984), The Gentle Hook (1987), and The Contract (1988). Caninenberg starred as Dr. Frank Senior in the television series Dr. Stefan Frank — Der Arzt dem die Frauen Vertrauen in 1995, and guest-starred in episodes of Der Kommissar, Die Schwarzwaldklinik, Diese Drombuschs, Derrick, Der Alte, and Rosamunde Pilcher. He authored a semi-autobiographical novel, Ein Unvergessener Traum, in 1988.
Braves, died of complications from heart disease, diabetes, and kidney and liver problems at his home outside of Atlanta, Georgia, on August 3, 2008. He was 68. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on August 12, 1939, the son of legendary baseball announcer Harry Caray. The younger Caray’s career as a sportscaster began in the 1960s, announcing for the minor league baseball teams the Tulsa Oilers and the Atlanta Crackers. He returned
CAPONE, CLAUDIO Italian voice actor Claudio Capone died in Perth, Scotland, on June 23, 2008. He was 55. Capone was born in Rome, Italy, on November 18, 1952. He was a leading voice actor and narrator for films and television, dubbing the voice of Luke Skywalker for the Italian release of the original Star Wars trilogy. He was also the Italian voice of Don Johnson for the television series Miami Vice, Stephen Collins for Seventh Heaven, and Ronn Moss’ Ridge for the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. He served as narrator for the scientific documentary Super Quark, and was heard on many advertising campaigns in Italy. CARAY, SKIP Sportscaster Harry “Skip” Caray, Jr., who was play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta
Skip Caray
to St. Louis in 1967 to broadcast for the NBA Hawks, and went with them to Atlanta the following year. He also became an announcer for the Atlanta Braves in 1976, and continued to work with the Hawks as well until 1983. Caray was also featured as a sportscaster in the 1985 Neil Simon film The Slugger’s Wife. He continued to be part of the Braves broadcast team until his death, though because of poor health he had only called home games during 2008 season. He was the father of fellow Braves broadcaster Chip Caray and the Rome Braves announcer Josh Caray. CARBO, CHUCK Hayward “Chuck” Carbo, the lead singer of the 1950s R&B quintet The Spiders, died in New Orleans after a long illness on July 11, 2008. He was 82. Carbo was born in New Orleans on January 11, 1926. He and his brother, Leonard “Chick” Carbo, began singing in their father’s New Orleans church choir as children. They later performed with the gospel group the Zion City Harmonizers before forming the Spiders.
Obituaries • 2008
64 Gras (1958) with Pat Boone, and A Private’s Affair (1959) with Sal Mineo. Carere also guest-starred in an episode of the television series Blue Light with Robert Goulet in 1966.
CARERE, CHRISTINE French actress and model Christine Carere died in Frejus, France, on December 13, 2008. She was 78. Carere was born in Dijon, France, on July 27, 1930. She appeared frequently in films in France during the 1950s including The Pit of Loneliness (1951), Folie Douce (1951), Le Passage de Venus (1952), Paris Still Sings! (1952), Caroline Cherie (1953), High School (1954), Anatole Cheri (1954), Love in a Hot Climate (1954), Cadet Rousselle (1954), A Free Woman (1954), Tout Chante Autout de Moi (1955), The Case of Poisons (1955), Don Juan (1956) with Fernandel, Le Chemin du Paradis (1956), Springtime in Paris (1957), L’Amour Descend du Ciel (1957), Dilencuentes (1957), The Twilight Girls (1957), Bonjour Jeunesse (1957), Quelle Sacree Soiree (1957), and La Nuit des Suspectes (1960). She was featured in several Hollywood films at the end of the decade including A Certain Smile (1958), Mardi
CARLIN, GEORGE Comedian and actor George Carlin, who revolutionized stand-up comedy in the 1970s, died of heart failure in a Santa Monica, California, hospital on June 22, 2008. He was 71. Carlin was born in New York City on May 12, 1937. He left high school in the mid–1950s to join the Air Force and worked as a radio disk jockey while stationed in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was discharged from the Air Force in 1957 and moved to Boston. He teamed with comic Jack Burns, forming a comedy duo. They were heard on radio stations and performed in nightclubs throughout the country. They also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jack Parr before Carlin embarked upon a solo career in 1960. He continued to perform on the comedy circuit and guested on The Merv Griffin Show in 1965. His comedy stylings were considered slightly edgier than many of his contemporaries, yet he was still mainstream enough to appear on television in such variety series as The Kraft Summer Music Hall, The Hollywood Palace, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Jackie Gleason Show, and The Ed Sullivan Show. He also appeared in an episode of Marlo Thomas’ sitcom That Girl in 1966, and was featured in the 1968 film With Six You Get Eggroll with Doris Day. Carlin’s first comedy album, Take: Offs and Put Ons, was a popular release in 1967. By 1970, Carlin had revamped his image into that of a counter-culture rebel. Now clad in jeans instead of a suit and sporting a beard and long hair, his routines often featured language not suitable for polite society. Continuing the legacy of Lenny Bruce, Carlin and his contemporary Richard Pryor, introduced religion, politics, and drug humor to a mainstream audience. His new image didn’t sit well with some and cost him a lucrative contract with a Las Vegas hotel. He soon changed his venues from staid nightclubs to hipper coffee houses and found his target audience with the younger generation. His 1972 album, FM & AM, earned Carlin a Grammy Award and his third album, Class Clown (1972) featured his classic routine “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television.” Apparently, you couldn’t say them on radio
Christine Carere
George Carlin
Chuck Carbo
They recorded the 1954 hit “I Didn’t Want to Do It,” and followed it with such popular singles as “You’re the One,” “I’m Slippin’ In,” “Tears Began to Flow,” “The Real Thing,” “21,” and “Witchcraft.” The group toured with such artists as Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, and the Drifters before disbanding later in the decade. Both brothers began solo careers, though Chuck was often unable to make a living as a musician. His 1989 recording of the song “Meet Me with Your Black Drawers On” led to a comeback CD, Drawers Trouble (1993) and its follow-up The Barber’s Blues (1996).
65
2008 • Obituaries
George Carlin
Carlos
either as a New York station was censured and fined by the FCC when broadcasting his routine. Carlin was also arrested on several occasions after reciting them on stage. He brought his brand of humor to network television in 1975 as the first host of the NBC late night comedy show Saturday Night Live. He also became an early émigré to cable television, where his act could proceed uncensored. His first cable comedy special, George Carlin at USC, aired on HBO in 1977. He returned to the big screen in the 1976 comedy Car Wash as a taxi driver and appeared on television in an episode of Welcome Back Kotter in 1977. He narrated the 1979 film Americathon, and was featured in 1987’s Outrageous Fortune. Carlin starred in the 1988 tele-film Justin Case and was featured in the 1990 television production Working Tra$h. He achieved popularity with a new generation with his role as Rufus, the cool time traveling guru, in the films Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) and Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991). He was also seen in a supporting role in Barbra Streisand’s 1991 drama The Prince of Tides. Carlin narrated the children’s series Thomas Tank Engine and Friends in the mid–1980s and was Mr. Conductor for Shining Time Station in the early 1990s. He starred as George O’Grady in the short-lived television sitcom The George Carlin Show in 1994. He appeared as Billy Williams in the 1995 western television mini-series Streets of Laredo, and voiced a role in The Simpsons in 1998. He began a successful association with director Kevin Smith with 1999’s Dogma, as Cardinal Ignatius Glich. He also appeared as the hitchhiker in Smith’s 2001 film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and was Ben Affleck’s dad in 2004’s Jersey Girl. He was featured in the 2003 comedy spoof Scary Movie 3, and was one of the comedians who appeared in 2005’s The Aristocrats. He was a voice actor for Tarzan II (2995), Cars (2006), and Happily N’Ever After (2006). Carlin was also the author of several bestselling books that expanded on his comedy routine, including Brain Droppings (1997) and When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? (2004). CARLOS Popular French singer and performer Carlos died of cancer in Paris on January 17, 2008. He was 64. He was born Yvan-Chrysostome Dolbto in Paris on February 20, 1943, the son of leading child psychiatrist Francoise Dolto. He began appearing in films in the early 1960s, with such credits as Friend of the Family (1964),
The Ponies (1967), Cry of the Cormoran (1970), La Grande Maffia... (1971), The Swinger (1972), Feminine — Feminine (1973), and I’ve Got You, You’ve Got Me by the Chin Hairs (1979). He was best known as a singer in the 1970s and 1980s, with such hit recordings as “Tout Nu, Tout Bronze” (1973), “Big Bisou” (1977), “Rosalie” (1978), “Papayou” (1983), and Le Tirelipimpon” (1989). He performed frequently on French television variety series from the 1970s, and appeared in productions of Faux Free (1991) and Saban’s Around the World in Eighty Dreams (1992) as a voice performer. He also starred as Boris Corton in the series Le JAP, Juge d’Application des Peines from 1992 to 1998.
CARLSON, JOYCE Designer and artist Joyce Carlson, who created the Walt Disney theme park exhibit It’s a Small World, died of cancer at her home in Orlando, Florida, on January 4, 2008. She was 84. Carlson was born in Racine, Wisconsin, on March 16, 1923. She moved to Southern California with her family while in her teens and began working at Walt Disney Productions in 1944 as an office clerk. She graduated to a position with the ink and paint department after showing her sketches to her supervisor. She worked on U.S. Army training film shorts during World War II before moving up to feature films. She worked on the Disney classics Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Sleeping Beauty, and was lead ink artist for Lady and the Tramp in 1955. Carlson began working as a designer for the Disney theme parks in 1960
Joyce Carlson
Obituaries • 2008
66
and helped create the It’s a Small World exhibit that made its debut at the New York World’s Fair in 1964. She designed many of the singing dolls the exhibit is famous for that later became part of Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Tokyo Disneyland. She continued to design attractions for the theme parks, and was based out of Disney World in Central Florida from 1982. She retired in 2000, and was declared a Disney Legend for her many years of service. Carlson continued to work part-time and trained out Disney Imagineers.
CAROLLO, SAL Veteran character actor Sal Carollo died in an Olney, Maryland, nursing home on March 14, 2008. He was 91. Carollo was born in Manhattan, New York, on September 20, 1916. He served in the Air Force during World War II and continued a career in the military after the war. Long interested in theater, he staged and acted in many productions during his years in the Air Force. He retired from the military
Sal Carollo
in 1967 and returned to New York, where he pursued a career as an actor. He appeared in numerous stage productions, and was featured in small roles in such films as Lovers and Other Strangers (1970), The Godfather (1972), Serpico (1973) as Al Pacino’s father, George Romero’s Knightriders (1981), New York Ripper (1982), Vigilante (1983), The Last Fight (1983), Moscow on the Hudson (1984), Splitz (1984), and Happy New Year (1987). He also appeared on television in numerous commercials and an episode of the series Miami Vice.
Betty Carr (with Tommy Rail)
CARRY, JULIUS J., III Julius J. Carry, III, who was featured as Sho’nuff, the Shogun of Harlem, in the 1985 film The Last Dragon and co-starred as Lord Bowler in the off-beat western television series The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., died of complications from pancreatic cancer at his home in Studio City, California, on August 19, 2008. He was 56. Carry was born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 12, 1952. He moved to Los Angeles to embark on a career in show business in the late 1970s, and made his film debut in 1979’s Disco Godfather. He was also featured in The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (1979), before being cast at the villainous martial artist Sho’nuff in Berry Gordy’s cult action-comedy The Last Dragon in 1985. Carry became a familiar face on television from the 1980s, guest-starring in episodes of such series as The White Shadow, Hill Street Blues, Benson, Newhart, Alice, Still the Beaver, The Jeffersons, Misfits of Science, The A-Team, Fame, Moonlighting, Tanner ’88, It’s a Living, 227, A Different World, Family Matters, Murder, She Wrote, Dinosaurs, Cutters, Tales from the Crypt, Grace Under Fire, Earth 2, Empty Nest, Misery Loves Company, Maybe This Time, Caroline in the City, Cosby, Moesha, Grown Ups, Spin City, Boy Meets World, Strong Medicine, Diagnosis Murder, Nikki, Men, Women & Dogs, The Hughleys, Half & Half, JAG, The 12th Man, and The Unit. He starred as Dr. Abe Butterfield in the sit-com Doctor from 1989 to 1991, and was the bounty hunter Lord Bowler in The Adventures of Brisco County
CARR, BETTY Elizabeth Burke, who appeared on stage and in films under the name Betty Carr, died in Eustis, Florida, on August 31, 2008. She was 79. She was born in Elizabeth Carr in Chicago, Illinois, on March 31, 1929. She appeared in the 1953 film All Ashore with Mickey Rooney, and was featured as Sarah Kine, one of the brides, in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in 1954. Carr also performed on Broadway in productions of Fanny (1954), Damn Yankees (1955), Happy Hunting (1956), and Mask and Gown (1957). She largely retired from acting after her marriage to tennis pro and businessman Edward Burke. She returned to the local stage in the mid–1970s, appearing in several productions in Eustis. Julius Carry (from The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.)
67 Jr. with Bruce Campbell from 1993 to 1994. He was featured in the recurring role as network executive Mitchell Baldwin in Murphy Brown with Candice Bergen from 1992 to 1996, and was Bill in several early episodes of the sit-com Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place. He was also seen in the recurring role of the Reverend Garvey in The District from 2001 to 2002, and was Principal Glen Rudd in the short-lived sit-com Do Over in 2002. He was also seen in the tele-films Goldie and the Bears (1984), Police Story: Monster Manor (1988), Jake Spanner, Private Eye (1989), Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star Assassin (1989), Schimmel (2000), and Columbo: Columbo Likes the Nightlife (2003). Carry’s other feature film credits include The Man with One Red Shoe (1985), Moving (1988), World Gone Wild (1988), and The New Guy (2002).
CARTIER, EDD
Science fiction and fantasy illustrator Edd Cartier died on December 25, 2008. He was 94. Edward Daniel Cartier was born in North Bergen, New Jersey, on August 1, 1914. He studied art at the Pratt Institute, graduating in 1936. He soon began drawing covers and illustrations for such pulp magazines as The Shadow, Planet Stories, Doc Savage Magazine, and Astounding Science Fiction. He also drew stories for the Street and Smith comics Red Dragon and Super-Magician. Cartier served in World War II and was badly injured
Edd Cartier
during the Battle of the Bulge. After the war he resumed his career as an illustrator for Astounding and other science fiction magazines, working often for editor John W. Campbell, Jr. His artwork graced tales written by L. Ron Hubbard, John D. MacDonald, Clifford D. Simak, Isaac Asimov, L. Sprague de Camp, and the Hoka stories by Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson. Cartier also provided illustrations for numerous books, including creating “The Interstellar Zoo” for the 1951 anthology Travelers of Space.
CARY, TRISTRAM British composer Tristram Cary, who was a pioneer in electronic music, died at his home in Adelaide, Australia, on April 23, 2008. He was 82. Cary was born in Oxford, England, on May 14, 1925. He served in the Royal Navy from 1943 to 1946 as a radar engineer, where he did early experimentation with sound and tape manipulation. Cary began to write and teach
2008 • Obituaries
Tristram Cary
music in the early 1950s, and was soon composing scores for films and television. Cary’s music was heard on the soundtracks of such films as The Ladykillers (1955), Time Without Pity (1957), The Flesh Is Weak (1957), Town on Trial (1957), She Didn’t Say No! (1958), The Little Island (1958), Tread Softly Stranger (1958), The Boy Who Stole a Million (1960), the Walt Disney television production of The Prince and the Pauper (1962), A Boy Ten Feet Tall (1963), Silent Playground (1963), Daylight Robbery (1964), Opus (1967), Five Million Years to Earth (aka Quatermass and the Pit) (1967), A Twist of Sand (1968), Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (1971), and The Fourth Wish (1976). He also composed incident music for several episodes of the cult science fiction series Doctor Who in the 1960s, and scored the 1971 television production of A Christmas Carol. In the early 1970s he was commissioned by the Olivetti company to create a piece of music utilizing the sounds of their office equipment. His Divertimento for 16 singers, jazz drummer and Olivetti machines was the result. Cary moved to Australia in 1972 where he remained as visiting composer and lecturer at Adelaide University until his retirement in 1986.
CASAGRANDE, VITTORIO Italian singer and actor Vittorio Casagrande, who spent most of his career performing in Germany, died at his home in Munich, Germany, on July 10, 2008. He was 74. Casagrande was born in Vittorio, Italy, on July 8, 1934. He settled in Germany in the 1960s, where he recorded such pop hits
Vittorio Casagrande
Obituaries • 2008
68
as “Volare” and “Tintarella di Luna.” He starred as Carlo in the television series Zimmer 13 in 1968, and was featured in episodes of Salto Mortale, Irgendwie und Sowieso, Der Alte, Ein Fall fur Zwei, and Forsthaus Falkenau. He also stared as Onkel Rosario in the series SK Babies in 1996. Casagrande was featured in several films during his career including Sexy Wifes (1978) and Rossini (1997).
CASEY, ANDREW Cameraman Andrew Casey died of injuries received in a motorcycle accident in Clinton Township, New Jersey, on August 16, 2008. He was 44. Casey was born in Elmhurst, Queens, New York, on October 14, 1963. He worked frequently in films from the late 1980s as a steadicam operator. His numerous film credits include Glory (1989), Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), True Colors (1991), F/X 2 (1991), Whispers in the Dark (1992), Philadelphia (1993), Forrest Gump (1994), The Next Karate Kid (1994), The Scout (1994), Richie Rich (1994), Eddie (1996), Basquiat (1996), That Old Feeling (1997), Picture Perfect (1997), The Ice Storm (1997), Addicted to Love (1997), A Simple Wish (1997), One Night Stand (1997), Kiss the Girls (1997), For Richer or Poorer
Andrew Casey
(1997), A Price Above Rubies (1998), My Giant (1998), One True Thing (1998), Analyze This (1999), Mickey Blue Eyes (1999), Random Hearts (1999), Center Stage (2000), Meet the Parents (2000), Summer Catch (2001), City by the Sea (2002), Brown Sugar (2002), Stateside (2004), The Stepford Wives (2004), The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Alfie (2004), The Interpreter (2005), Carlito’s Way: Rise to Power (2005), The Producers (2005), Running Scared (2006), 10th & Wolf (2006), Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006), Music and Lyrics (2007), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), The Invasion (2007), Anamorph (2007), and What Happens in Vegas (2008). He also served as a cameraman on the tele-films A Promise Kept: The Oksana Baiul Story (1994), No One Would Tell (1996), An Unexpected Family (1996), and Mary and Rhoda (2000), and the television series Spin City, Sex and the City, The $treet, The Sopranos, Hack, Kidnapped, and John Adams.
CASTELLI, BERTRAND French producer, artist and bon vivant Bertrand Castelli, who was executive producer of the original Broadway production of Hair, was killed when he was struck by a speed boat dur-
Bertrand Castelli
ing his daily swim off the Caribbean coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on August 1, 2008. He was 78. Castelli was born in Salon de Provence, Bouches de Rhone, France, on December 3, 1929, and was raised in Paris. He became captivated with the theatre and the arts during the German occupation in World War II. After the war he went on tour with a small circus, where he learned lighting and design techniques. Castelli later worked for ballet and theatrical companies, and produced the ballet Les Algues in the 1950s. He became an acquaintance and confidant of many of the leading artistic figures in Europe including Pablo Picasso, Marcel Marceau, and Jean-Paul Sartre. He came to the United States later in the decade, and was featured as Edmond Duquette in the 1959 western film Thunder in the Sun starring Susan Hayward. Castelli served as executive producer for the counterculture musical Hair in the late 1960s, working with lead producer Michael Butler. Castelli was instrumental in the hiring of director Tom O’Horgan for the play, and produced several European productions of the musical. He also co-wrote and produced with his then wife Lorees Yerby the 1972 satirical film Richard, about President Richard Nixon. Castelli remained an incorrigible bon vivant, and retired to the Yucatan in the early 1990s to pursue life, love, painting, and swimming.
CAVANAUGH, PAGE American pianist and singer Page Cavanaugh, who led a popular nightclub trio from the late 1940s, died of kidney failure in a nursing
Page Cavanaugh
69 home in Granada Hills, California, on December 19, 2008. He was 86. He was born Walter Page Cavanaugh in Cherokee, Kansas, on January 26, 1922. He learned to play the piano at an early age and moved to Los Angeles to join the Bobby Sherwood band in 1942. He served in the Army Signal Corps during World War II, where he joined with Al Viola on guitar and Lloyd Pratt on bass to form the Three Sergeants. The group entertained at officers’ club dances and they remained together as the Page Cavanaugh Trio after the war. They recorded several popular tunes including “The Three Bears” and “She Had to Go and Lose It at the Astor,” and were featured on The Jack Paar Show on the radio. They were also a popular attraction at numerous nightclubs and lounges. The group was also featured in several films including the Connie Haines musical short Record Party (1947), Romance on the High Seas (1948), Big City (1948), the short Jingle, Jangle, Jingle (1948), A Song Is Born (1948) with Danny Kaye, Lullaby of Broadway (1951) with Doris Day, the Disney animated short The Truth About Mother Goose (1957), and Frankenstein’s Daughter (1958). Cavanaugh formed a seven-piece group, The Page 7, in the early 1960s, that performed on The Ed Sullivan Show on television and recorded albums at RCA. He continued to perform throughout his life, becoming one of Southern California’s longest lasting jazz artists.
CAWLEY, CELINE Celine Cawley, who was featured in the James Bond film A View to a Kill, was murdered by an intruder at her home in the Howth Head area of north Dublin, Ireland, on December 15, 2008. She was 46. Cawley was found by her husband on the patio at the rear of her home, apparently having been bludg-
2008 • Obituaries
Olivia Cenizal
pines, on October 21, 1926. She began her film career in the mid–1950s with the assistance of director Cirio Santiago. She made her film debut in 1955’s Palahamak, and starred in such films as Pangako ng Puso (1955), Prinsipe Villarba (1956), Pitong Maria (1956), Margaritay (1956), Sword King (1956), Ha Cha Cha (1956), Desperado (1956), Prince Alejandre (1957), Pandanggo ni Neneng (1957), Minera (1957), Libre Comida (1957), Bicol Express (1957), Water Lily (1958), Obra Maestra (1958), Man on the Run (1958), and Ging (1964). She largely retired from the screen in the 1960s, but made several subsequent film appearances over the next several decades in Postcards from China (1975), Love Affair (1980), Nagbabagang Iuha (1988), On Borrowed Time (1989), and Kailan ka Magiging Akin (1991). She was married to musician Josefino Cenizal from 1945 until her death. CHAHAL SABAG, RANDA Lebanese film director Randa Chahal Sabag died of breast cancer in Paris, France, on August 25, 2008. She was 55. Chahal was born in Tripoli, Lebanon, in 1953. She began working in films in the late 1970s, directing the documentary Step by
Celine Cawley
eoned to death by a brick-wielding intruder. She was born in Howth in 1962. She had a small role as a party girl in the 1985 Bond film A View to a Kill starring Roger Moore. She later went into advertising, heading Toytown Films company, which worked with advertising agencies for such companies as Coca Cola, Heineken and the National Lottery.
CENIZAL, OLIVIA Filipino actress Olivia Cenizal died of complications from colon disease in the Philippines on April 14, 2008. She was 81. She was born Gloria Pagtakhan Maigue in Imus, Cavite, the Philip-
Randa Chahal Sabbag
Step in 1978. She also directed the short film Lebanon Long Ago (1980), and the documentaries Cheikh Imam (1984) and Nos Guerres Imprudentes (1995). She made her feature film debut helming the 1991 drama Screens of Sand. Chahal became one of the leading female filmmakers to emerge from the Middle East in the 1990s.
Obituaries • 2008 Her other film credits include The Infidels (1997), A Civilized People (1999), and the 2003 Venice Film Festival Silver Lion prize winner The Kite. She was preparing to direct the comedy film Too Bad for Them at the time of her death.
CHAHINE, YOUSSEF Leading Egyptian film director Youssef Chahine died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Cairo, Egypt, on July 27, 2008. He had been a coma for over a month. He was 82. Chahine was born in Alexandria, Egypt, on January 25, 1926. He attended Victoria College in Egypt before heading to California in the late 1940s, where he studied film at the Pasadena Playhouse. He returned to Egypt to embark on a film career, directing the 1950 feature Baba Amin. His subsequent film, Son of the Nile, was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1951. His 1954 film, The Blazing Sky, was credited with launching Omar Sharif ’s acting career, and Chahine achieved international acclaim direct-
70 CHAN, KIM Chinese character actor Kim Chan died in Brooklyn, New York, on October 5, 2008. He was 92. Chan was born in Canton, China, on December 28, 1915, and came to the United States in 1928. He began his career on stage after working at his family’s restaurant, The House of Chan. He made his film debut in a small role in 1957’s A Face in the Crowd. He was also featured in such films as The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), The Gang That Sold America (1979), Soup for One (1982), The King of Comedy (1982) as Jono, Jerry Lewis’ Oriental servant, Over the Brooklyn Bridge (1984), Moscow on the Hudson (1984), The Cotton Club (1984), Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Streetwalkin’ (1985), Nine 1 ⁄ 2 Weeks (1986), Gung Ho (1986), Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1986), No Mercy (1986), Cookie (1989), Second Sight (1989), Cadillac Man (1990), Alice (1990), American Shaolin (1991),
Kim Chan
Youssef Chahine
ing the 1958 feature Cairo Station. His numerous film credits also include The Great Clown (1952), Lady on the Train (1953), Women Without Men (1953), Devil of the Sahara (1954), Dark Waters (1956), Farewell My Love (1957), My One and Only Love (1957), Jamila, the Algerian (1958), Forever Yours (1959), In Your Hands (1960), A Man in My Life (1961), Lovers’ Complaint (1961), Saladin and the Great Crusades (1963), Dawn of a New Day (1964), Auliban, the Seller of Jokes (1965), The Feast of Mairun (1967), Those People of the Nile (1968), The Earth (1969), The Choice (1970), Golden Sands (1971), Salwa, the Girl Who Talked to Crows (1972), The Sparrow (1972), Forward We Go (1974), The Return of the Prodigal Son (1976), Alexandria ... Why? (1978), An Eg yptian Story (1982), Adieu Bonaparte (1985), The Sixth Day (1986), Alexandria Again and Forever (1990), Cairo as Seen by Chahine (1991), The Emigrant (1994), Lumiere and Company (1995), Destiny (1997), The Other (1999), Silence ... We’re Rolling (2001), September 11 (2002), Alexandria ... New York (2004), To Each His Cinema (2007), and Chaos (2007). Chahine’s liberal secularist philosophy often put him at odds with Islamic radicals and the authoritarian government of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, and he engaged in frequent battles with local censors.
Thousand Pieces of Gold (1991), Who’s the Man? (1993), Robot in the Family (1994), Breathing Room (1996), Howard Stern’s Private Parts (1997), The Fifth Element (1997), The Devil’s Advocate (1997), Kundun (1997), Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), Nathan Grimm (1998), On the Q.T. (1999), The Corruptor (1999), A Fish in the Bathtub (1999), A Zen Tale (2000), High Times Potluck (2002), Shanghai Knights (2003) as Jackie Chan’s father, Zen Noir (2004) for which he was also executive producer, The Honeymooners (2005), Ninja Bombs (2005), The Dig (2005), 16 Blocks (2006), and Oy Vey! (2007). Chan was best known for his role as Lo Si, the Ancient, on the television series Kung Fu: The Legend Continues with David Carradine from 1993 to 1997. His other television credits include episodes of Spenser: For Hire, CBS Summer Playhouse, Gideon Oliver, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, Law & Order, Vanishing Son, Mad About You, Now and Then as the villainous Eggman, The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Johnny Zero.
CHANDLER, ROBERT CBS television executive Robert Chandler, who was instrumental in creating the weekly news magazine 60 Minutes, died of heart failure at his home in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on December 11, 2008. He was 80. He was born Robert Zuckerkandle in Brooklyn, New York, on September 25, 1928. He worked as a music critic for Variety after com-
71
2008 • Obituaries tals in his securing the role of the scaly Universal monster. He played the role opposite stars Julie Adams and Richard Carlson in footage shot in Hollywood of the performers and creature on land. Underwater footage with Ricou Browning as the monster were filmed in Florida. Chapman also played the creature in a sketch with Abbott and Costello on an episode of The Colgate Comedy Hour shortly before the film’s release. He subsequently appeared in small roles in the films Jungle Moon Men (1955) and Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki (1955). He left acting for a successful career in real estate. In recent years, Chapman was a popular guest at nostalgia festivals throughout the country and appeared in several documentaries about his landmark film role.
Robert Chandler
pleting college in the early 1950s. He served several years in the U.S. Army in Germany, and returned to Variety to cover radio and television in 1953. Chandler was hired by MGM as television publicity director in 1961. He joined CBS two years later to work in the news division. He was a producer and director for the network’s election coverage from the late 1960s, and was involved in the production of such documentaries as The People of South Vietnam: How They Feel About the War (1967) and Under Surveillance (1971). He was a supporter of Don Hewitt’s concept of a weekly news magazine that evolved into 60 Minutes in 1968 and was instrumental in developing the program’s format. Chandler rose to become vice-president for administration and assistant to the president of CBS News in 1975. He retired from the network in 1985, but later served as executive producer of the PBS documentary Learning in America: Schools That Work in 1990.
CHAPMAN, BEN Ben Chapman, who starred in the title role in the 1954 classic horror film Creature from the Black Lagoon, died of congestive heart failure in Honolulu, Hawaii, on February 21, 2008. He was 82. Chapman was born in Oakland, California, on October 29, 1925. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War before embarking on a acting career. He appeared in a small role in the 1950 film Pagan Love Song before being cast as the Gill Man in 1954’s Creature from the Black Lagoon. Chapman’s 6'5" height was instrumen-
Ben Chapman (in Creature from the Black Lagoon costume)
CHAPMAN, VERNON Veteran Canadian actor Vernon Chapman died in Toronto, Canada, on February 12, 2008. He was 84. Chapman was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, in 1923. He began appearing on stage at the age of 12 in a production of Shakespeare’s King John. He continued acting in high school and at the University of Toronto. He was a co-founder of the first post-war Canadian professional theater, the New
Vernon Chapman
Play Society, in 1946. Chapman also performed on CBC radio and television, and was a regular on the variety series The Wayne and Shuster Show from 1957 to 1966. He also appeared in episodes of The Forest Rangers, Programme X, Street Legal, and Forever Knight. He was the voice of Dr. Octopus in the 1967 Spider-Man cartoons, and was Richard Cartwright in the 1974 mini-series The National Dream: Building the Impossible Railway. He was also featured in the tele-films The Possession of Michael D. (1995), Cagney & Lacey; True Convictions (1996), The Arrow (1997), and Elvis Meets Nixon (1997). He also appeared regularly as Mr. Deschesnes in the children’s series My Hometown in 1996. Chapman was also seen in a handful of films during his career including The Luck of Ginger Coffey (1964), The Shattered Silence (1966), Age of Innocence (1977), Billy Madison (1995), and A Day in the Life (2000).
CHARISSE, CYD Dancer and actress Cyd Charisse died of a heart attack in a Los Angeles, hospital on June 17, 2008. She was 86. She was born Tula Ellice Finklea in Amarillo, Texas, on March 8, 1922. She
Obituaries • 2008 suffered from polio as a child and studied dancing to regain her strength. She joined the Russian dance company, the Ballet Russe, at the age of 14 and was billed under the names Celia Siderova and Maria Istromena. She married fellow dancer Nico Charisse in 1939 while on a European tour, and the couple went to Hollywood after World War II began in the early 1940s. She made her film debut under the name Lily Norwood in the 1943 musical Something to Shout About. She was also seen as a dancer in the films Mission to Moscow (1943), Thousands Cheer (1943), and This Love of Mine (1944). Charisse signed a contract with MGM in 1945 and was featured in the 1946 musical Ziegfeld Follies. She was also featured in such films as The Harvey Girls (1946), Three Wise Fools (1946), Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), Fiesta (1947), The Unfinished Dance (1947), On an Island with You (1948), The Kissing Bandit (1948), Words and Music (1948), Tension (1949), East Side, West Side (1949), and Mark of the Renegade (1951). She made an impression dancing with Gene Kelly in the classic musical Singin’ in the Rain in 1952. She also danced with Kelly in Brigadoon (1954) and It’s Always Fair Weather (1955). Charisse continued to grace the screen as a dancer in the films The Wild North (1952), Sombrero (1953), The Band Wagon (1953), Easy to Love (1953), Deep in My Heart (1954), and Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956). She danced opposite Fred Astaire in 1957’s Silk Stockings, which largely marked the end of the Hollywood musical. Charisse continued her career, performing in night clubs and television, and moved on to dramatic roles in films. She entertained in such television variety series as The Milton Berle Show, Startime, The Ed Sullivan Show, Arthur Godfrey and His Friends, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Dean Martin Show, and The Hollywood Palace. She was also seen in the films Twilight for the Gods (1958), Party Girl (1958), Black Tights (1960), Five Golden Hours (1961), Something’s Got to Give (1962), Two Weeks in Another Town (1962), Assassination in Rome (1965), The Silencers (1966), Maroc 7 (1967), Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976), and Warlords of Atlantis (1978). Charisse’s television credits include episodes of such series as Checkmate, Medical Center, Hawaii Five0, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, The Fall Guy, Murder, She Wrote, Crazy Like a Fox, Burke’s Law, and Frasier. She also appeared in the tele-films Portrait of an Escort
Cyd Charisse
72 (1980), Glitter (1984), Sentimental Journey (1984), and Swimsuit (1989). She made her Broadway debut as a ballerina in the 1992 musical version of Grand Hotel. Charisse divorced her first husband in 1947 and married singer Tony Martin the following year. She and Martin frequently performed together in a musical act in Las Vegas.
CHARLES, KEITH Stage and television actor Keith Charles died of lung cancer at his home in New York City on July 1, 2008. He was 74. Charles was born in San Francisco, California, on March 4, 1934, and graduated from the University of Texas. After serving in the U.S. Army he headed to New York, where he made his debut on the Off-Broadway stage as a replacement for El Gallo in The Fantasticks in the late 1950s. He also appeared in Off-Broadway productions of The Death of a Well-Loved Boy (1967) and Kurt Vonnegut’s Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1970). He performed opposite Lauren Bacall in the Broadway production Applause, and was featured in the 1977 revival of The Threepenny Opera. Charles also appeared frequently in television soap op-
Keith Charles
eras from the mid–1960s, with roles as Rick Oliver in The Edge of Night in 1966, Nick Kane in The Secret Storm from 1968 to 1970, Ross Cavanaugh in Search for Tomorrow in 1971, Robert Jardin in Where the Heart Is in 1969, Dr. Brian Neeves in The Secret Storm from 1973 to 1974, Dr. Ted Chandler in Love of Life from 1974 to 1975, Alex McDaniels in The Guiding Light in 1976, Ralph Mitchell in As the World Turns from 1977 to 1979 and again from 1991 to 1993, Ted Clayton in One Life to Live from 1981 to 1981, and Homer Dowd in Ryan’s Hope from 1986 to 1989. His other television credits include episodes of such series as Cannon, Barnaby Jones, Hardcastle and McCormick, Remington Steele, Newhart, Dallas, Simon & Simon, Kate & Allie, and Law & Order. Charles was also seen in several films during his career including Key Exchange (1985), Longtime Companion (1990), Drop Dead Fred (1991), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), and Colorforms (2003).
CHAUVIN, LILYAN Actress and drama teacher Lilyan Chauvin died of complications from cancer and heart disease in Los Angeles on June 26, 2008. She was born in Paris on August 6, 1925. She was 82. She began
73
2008 • Obituaries Alias, ER, Malcolm in the Middle, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Ugly Betty. Chauvin was also seen in the tele-films Once Upon a Dead Man (1971), Medical Story (1975), Victory at Entebbe (1976), Child of Glass (1978), Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women (1978), Flying High (1978), Portrait of a Stripper (1979), Nutcracker: Money, Madness & Murder (1987), Right to Die (1987), For the Very First Time (1991), Stormy Weathers (1992), Tonya & Nancy: The Inside Story (1994), Attack of the 5 Ft. 2 Women (1994), Tyson (1995), The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy (1998), and Missing Pieces (2000). She had recently completed filming the 2008 feature The Passing shortly before her passing.
Lilyan Chauvin
her acting career on the stage in England in the late 1940s, before coming to the United States. For six decades she was an actress in film and television productions. Chauvin’s film credits include Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957), Silk Stockings (1957), Tip on a Dead Jockey (1957), Les Girls (1957), Lost, Lonely and Vicious (1958), King Creole (1958) with Elvis Presley, The Perfect Furlough (1958), The Wreck of Mary Deare (1959), Walk Like a Dragon (1960), North to Alaska (1960), Bloodlust! (1961) as Sandra Balleau, Back Street (1961), The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962), Two Weeks in Another Town (1962), Tickle Me (1965), Yours, Mine and Ours (1968), The Mephisto Waltz (1971), Machismo: 40 Graves for 40 Guns (1971), Funny Lady (1975), Beyond Reason (1977), The Other Side of Midnight (1977), Private Benjamin (1980), Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), Born in East L.A. (1987) with Cheech and Chong, Listen to Me (1989), Bad Influence (1990), Predator 2 (1990), True Identity (1991), Universal Soldier (1992), Round Trip to Heaven (1992), The Discoverers (1993), No Place to Hide (1993), Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings (1994) as Miss Osie, Five Aces (1999), Stanley’s Gig (2000), Skeleton Woman (2000), The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001), Duty Dating (2002), Catch Me If You Can (2002), Paradise (2003), and Sublime (2007). She was a frequent television performer from the early 1950s, with roles in such series as Kraft Television Theatre, Studio One, Crusaders, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Adventures of Superman, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, The Walter Winchell File, The Court of Last Resort, The Californians, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Panic!, Harbor Command, Maverick, Dragnet, One Step Beyond, The Law and Mr. Jones, Boris Karloff ’s Thriller, The Case of the Dangerous Robin, Combat, Adventures in Paradise, The Rogues, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Man from U.N.C.L.E., Perry Mason, Daniel Boone, Mission: Impossible, The Outcasts, McCloud, Matt Lincoln, To Rome with Love, Mannix, The Magician, The Bob Newhart Show, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Man from Atlantis, Fantasy Island, Darkroom, Magnum, P.I., Hart to Hart, Diff ’rent Strokes, One Day at a Time, The Facts of Life, Masquerade, Falcon Crest in the recurring role of Sister Jeannette, The Young and the Restless as Lil, Baywatch, Homefront, Murder, She Wrote, Earth 2, The X-Files, The Pretender, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, USA High, Friends, Shasta McNasty, Frasier, The Beast,
CHENERY-WICKENS, DIANE Film and television make-up artist Diane Chenery-Wickens disappeared on January 24, 2008, reportedly traveling by train from East Grinstead to London. Her decomposed body was found on May 15, 2008, in Little Horsted, Sussex, England, less than 8 miles from her home. Her husband,
Diane Chenery-Wickens
David Chenery-Wickens, was charged in connection with her murder. She was 48, born in 1959. She began working in the make-up department for the BBC in the early 1990s, with credits for such television productions as Pride and Prejudice (1995), Close Relations (1998), Frenchman’s Creek (1998), the 2000 adaptation of Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast, Arabian Nights (2000), Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings (2000), Murder (2002), and Top Ten Most Haunted Possessions (2006). Her other television credits include such series as The House Eliott, Coupling, Big Train, Dead Ringers, The League of Gentlemen, Tic, Lenny Henry in Pieces, It’s Adam and Shelley, and Benidorm. Chenery-Wickens also worked on the feature films Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1997) and Dog Eat Dog (2001).
CHESBRO, GEORGE C. Novelist George Clark Chesbro died of complications from congestive heart failure in a New Baltimore, Maryland, hospital on November 18, 2008. He was 68. Chesbro was born in Washington, D.C., on June 4, 1940. He worked as a special education teacher before he began writing, with his first novel, King’s Gambit, published in 1976. He was best known for creating the character of Dr. Robert Frederickson, a dwarf private detective known as Mongo
Obituaries • 2008
74 (1969), Chermeni (1970), Life (1971), Melodies of the Verijsky Quarter (1973), The Little Incident (1975), The Tree of Desire (1976), Come to Grape Valley (1976), Some Interviews on Personal Matters (1977), The Call (1979), The New Adventures of the Flea and the Ant (1980), Adventures of Ali-Baba and the Forty Thieves (1980), A Piece of Sky (1980), Look for a Woman (1982), Vacation of Petrov and Vasechkin, Usual and Incredible (1984), The Legend of the Suram Fortress (1984), A Million in a Wedding Basket (1986), Enclosure (1987), The Hoary Legends of the Caucasus (1988), The Confession (1990), Wandering Stars (1991), I Was Disgraceful, I Am Leaving (1992), School of Nutsa (2000), and Mayak (2006).
George Chesbro
the Magnificent, who made his debut in the 1977 novel Shadow of a Broken Man. Chesbro continued the offbeat series with City of Whispering Stone (1978), An Affair of Sorcerers (1979), The Beasts of Valhalla (1985), Two Songs This Archangel Sings (1987), The Cold Smell of Sacred Stone (1988), Second Horseman Out of Eden (1989), The Language of Cannibals (1990), In the House of Secret Enemies (1990), The Fear in Yesterday’s Rings (1991), Dark Chant in a Crimson Key (192), An Incident at Bloodtide (1993), Bleeding in the Eye of a Brainstorm (1995), and Dream of a Falling Eagle (1996). His other novels include Turn Loose the Dragon (1982), Chant (1986), Veil (1986), The Golden Child (1986), Chant: Silent Killer (1987), Chant: Code of Blood (1987), Jungle of Steel and Stone (1988), Bone (1989), The Keeper (2001), and Prism: A Memoir as Fiction (2001). He also wrote numerous short stories, with his latest book being the 2004 collection Strange Prey and Other Tales of the Hunt.
CHIAURELI, SOFIKO Georgian actress Sofiko Chiaureli died on March 2, 2008. She was 70. Chiaureli was born in Tbilisi, Georgia (then part of the Soviet Union) on May 21, 1937. She was a leading performer in Russian films from the 1950s, and worked often with director Sergei Parajanov. Her film credits include In Our Courtyard (1956), The Story of a Young Girl (1960), On the Side of Enguri (1961), You Cannot See What I Had Seen (1965), Khevsurian Ballad (1965), Frontiers (1968), Red Pomegranate (1968) in multiple roles, Don’t Grieve
Sofiko Chiaureli
CHOI JIN-SIL Leading South Korean actress Choi Jin-sil was found dead with an elastic band around her neck tied to a shower stall at her home in Seoul, South Korea, in an apparent suicide on September 30, 2008. She was 49. Choi was born in Seoul on December 24, 1968. She was a leading actress in films through-
Choi Jin-sil
out the 1990s, with roles in such features as The South Korean Army (1990), My Love, My Bride (1990), You Know What? It’s a Secret 2 (1991), Susanne Brink (1991), Mister Mama (1992), I Wish for What Is Forbidden to Me (1994), To Kill My Wife (1994), Mom Has a Lover (1995), Who Drives Me Mad? (1995), Ghost Mama (1996), Holiday in Seoul (1997), Beibi Seil (1997), The Letter (1997), Mayonnaise (1999), and Moyuru Tsuki: The Legend of Ginko (2000). She also starred in the television dramas Bad Woman, Good Woman, Jealousy, and My Rosy Life, and was set to appear in a second season of the popular drama series The Last Scandal of My Life.
CHOPEL, FARID French actor Farid Chopel died of cancer in Paris on April 20, 2008. He was 55. Chopel was born in Paris on December 4, 1952. He appeared frequently in films from the early 1980s, with roles in such features as My Best Friend’s Girl (1983), Les Princes (1983), The Caged Heart (1984), Les Fauves (1984), The Vengeance of the Winged Serpent (1984), All Mixed Up (1984), Le Torero Halucinogene (1986), Follow My Gaze (1986), Irena and the Shadows (1987), Jane B. by Agnes V. (1988), The Flesh (1991), A Vampire in Paradise (1992), Rainbow pour Rimbaud (1996), Mo’ (1996), It’s Gradiva Who Is Calling You (2006), and A City Is Beau-
75
2008 • Obituaries
Farid Chopel
on April 14, 1917. He studied art and illustration and his drawings were first published in the 1943 work Butterflies of Britain in 1943. He continued to provide illustrations and cover designs for various works before being selected by Fleming to design the cover of the fifth book in the James Bond series, From Russia with Love, in 1957. Created as a watercolor, the three-dimensional feel of his illustration of a gun and rose proved popular. He returned to the Bond series with 1959’s Goldfinger, featuring a skull clutching a rose between its teeth. He went on to design the covers for nine of Fleming’s titles. His final association with Bond was designing the dust jacket for John Gardner’s continuation of the series with 1981’s License Renewed. Chopping was also the author of several books including the grim and disturbing novels The Fly (1965) and The Ring (1967).
tiful at Night (2006). Chopel also appeared on French television in such productions as Le Banquet (1989), La Goutte d’Or (1990), L’Homme dans la Nuit (1993), Chanmbre Froide (1993), Avanti (1994), Alla Turca (1996), La Fine Equipe (1997), and Sands of Eden (1998).
CHOPRA, B.R. Veteran Indian film director B.R. Chopra died at his home in Mumbai, India, on November 5, 2008. He was 94. Baldev Raj Chopra was born in Lundhiana, Punjab, India, on April 22, 1914. He began his career as a film journalist for the Cine Herald,
CHOPPING, RICHARD British artist Richard Chopping, who was noted for designing the cover illustrations for many of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels, died in Wivenhoe, Essex, England, on April 17, 2008. He was 91. Chopping was born in Colchester, England,
B.R. Chopra
Richard Chopping
Richard Chopping’s cover illustration for the James Bond book Goldfinger
and turned to film production in the late 1940s. His 1948 production Karwat proved to be a financial failure, but he had a hit producing and directing the 1951 thriller Afsana. His success continued with his next films Shole (1953) and Chandni Chowk (1954), and Chopra founded his own production house, B.R. Films. He was committed to make socially relevant films and helmed such features as Ek-Hi-Rasta (1956), Naya Daur (1957), and Sadhna (1958). He produced the 1959 film Dhool ka Phool, which was directed by his brother Yash Chopra. The brothers worked frequently together over the next two decades until Yash founded Yash Raj Films in 1973. Chopra also continued to direct such features as Kanoon (1960), Gumrah (1963), Hamraaz (1967), Dastaan (1972), Dhund (19783), Karm (1977), Pati Patni Aur Woh (1978), Insaf Ka Tarazu (The Scales of Justice) (1980), Nikaah (1982), Tawaif (1985), Avam (1987), and Kal Ki Awaz (Tomorrow’s Voice) (1992). Chopra produced and directed, with his son Ravi, the Hindi epic poem Mahabharat for television in 1988 and produced the epic Ramayana in 1992. He also directed the television productions Bahadur Shah Zafar (1986) and Mahabharat
Obituaries • 2008
76
(1988). Chopra also produced his son’s 2003 hit Baghban.
CHURCH, TONY British actor Tony Church died in London on March 25, 2008. He was 77. Church was born in London on May 11, 1930. He was a leading stage actor in England from the early 1950s. He was a
Marky Cielo
Tony Church
founding member of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960 and starred in productions of King Lear, Henry IV, and many others. He also appeared on British television in such series as The Gentle Killers, Charlesworth, Invisible Man, The Devil’s Crown, The Professionals, The Sandbaggers, and Enemy at the Door. His other television credits include productions of The Voodoo Factor (1959), As You Like It (1963), Edward and Mrs. Simpson (1978), Lillie (1978), and Henry VIII (1979). He was featured in several films, including Work Is a 4-Letter Word (1968), Tess (1979), The Plague Dogs (1982) as a voice actor, and Krull (1983). Church subsequently relocated to Denver, Colorado, where he remained a popular stage performer.
CIAPPESSONI, PAUL British television director Paul Ciappessoni died in Valencia, Spain, on October 7, 2008. He was 79. Ciappessoni was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, on July 9, 1929. He directed for television with the BBC in the early 1960s. He helmed episodes of such series as The Troubleshooters, Dr. Finlay’s Casebook, The Spies, Adam Adamant Lives!, King of the River, The First Lady, The Expert, Paul Temple, Doomwatch, Brett, Thirty-Minute Theatre, Dead of Night, Sutherland’s Law, Bedtime Stories, Barlow at Large, Angels, Centre Play, When the Boat Comes In, The Onedin Line, An Englishman’s Castle, A Horseman Riding By, Breakaway, Shoestring, BBC2 Playhouse, Bergerac, The District Nurse, and Juliet Bravo. He also directed the television productions Street Party (1977), Our Kid (1977), and A Chance to Sit Down (1981). CIELO, MARKY Filipino singer and actor Marky Cielo, who was the winner of his country’s 2005 StarStruck competition, died during his sleep at his home in Antipolo, the Philippines, on December 7, 2008. He was 20. Cielo was born in Butuan, the Philippines, on May 12, 1988. He was persuaded by high school friends to enter the StarStruck competition in 2005, and became
the ultimate survivor on the show. He was featured in the 2006 film Till I Met You, and was soon appearing in such television series as Fantastikids, Encantadia: Love Until the End, Love to Love, Bubble Gang, Bakekang, Boys Next Door, Asian Treasures, Sine Novela, Kaputol ng Isang Awit, Obra, La: Lola, and Joaquin Bordato. He was best known for his role as Alexis Lorenzo, or Zaido Green, in the science fiction series Zaido: Pulis Pangkalawakan in 2007. Cielo also starred in the series Codename: Asero as Agent Troy in 2008.
CIMAROSA, TANO Italian actor Tano Cimarosa died in Messina, Sicily, Italy, on May 24, 2008. He was 86. Cimarosa was born in Messina on January 1, 1922. He was a popular character actor in films from the early 1960s with roles in such features as The Eye of the Needle (1963), Crazy Sea (1963), Due Mafiosi Contro Al Capone (1966), The Tall, the Short, the Cat (1967), May God Forgive You ... But I Won’t (1968), Be Sick ... It’s Free (1968), Damiano Damiani’s Il Giorno della Civetta (aka Mafia) (1968), Suicide Commandos (1968), Death on High Mountain (1969), Bootleggers (1969), The Tough and the Mighty (1969), Police Chief Pepe (1969), The Most Beautiful Wife (1970), Una Spada per Brando (1970), Why (1971), Between Miracles (1971), A Girl in Australia (1971), They Called Him Amen (1972), Death at the Villa (1972), Italian Graffiti (1971), Pasqualino Cammarata ... Capitano di Fregata (1973), Bread and Chocolate (1973), The Reincarnation of Isabel (1973), Gang War in Milan (1973),
Tano Cimarosa
77 They Still Call Him Amen (1973), L’Ammazzatina (1974), How to Kill a Judge (1974), Unbelievable Adventures of Italians in Russia (1974), Exorcist: Italian Style (1975), Vice Wears Black Hose (1975) which he also directed, Free Hand for a Tough Cop (1976), L’Italia in Pigiama (1977), Death Hunt (1977) which he also directed and wrote, A Man on His Knees (1978), Cafe Express (1980), Uomini di Parola (1981), Sfrattato Cerca Casa Equo Canone (1983), Sicilian Connection (1987), Faida (1988), Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso (1988), Boys on the Outside (1990), Man of Respect (1992), Acia’s Descent into Floristella (1992), Anni 90— Parte II (1993), Italian Village (1994), A Pure Formality (1994), The Star Maker (1995), Spot (1999), Una Milanese a Roma (2001), and Two Friends (2002). He was also featured in the 2000 television production Una Storia Qualunque, and gueststarred with Terence Hill in an episode of Don Matteo in 2006.
CIOBANU, ILARION Romanian film actor Ilarion Ciobanu died of cancer at his apartment in Bucharest, Romania, on September 7, 2008. He was 76. Ciobanu was born in Ciucur, Romania (now Moldova) on October 28, 1931. He was a leading actor in films from the early 1960s with roles in such features as Thirsts (1960), A Sentimental Story (1961), The Man Next to You (1961) which he also directed, Lupeni 29 (1962), The District of Gaiety (1964), Blazing Winter (1965), The Time of the Snowstorm (1966), The Lizard (1966), Golgotha (1966), Then Came the Legend (1968), Trajan’s Column (1968), The War of the Princesses (1969), Two Men for One Death (1969), The Axe (1969), Michael the Brave (1970), Fratii (1970), The Siege (1970), The Party (1971), The Lost Forest (1971), The Making of the World (1972), Drum in Penumbra (1972), With Clean Hands (1972), The Conspiracy (1972), The Last Bullet (1973), Dimitrie Cantemir (1973), It’s a Long Way to Tipperary (1973), The Immortals (1974), Single-Handed (1974), No Trespassing (1975), The City Seen from Above (1974), The Romanian Musketeer (1975), Full Sail (1976), Steps to the Sky (1977), The Prophet, the Gold and the Transylvanians (1978), Together Again (1978), Avaria (1978), The Man We Need (1979), Soldiers Never Cry (1979), Audienta (1979), The Actress, the Dollars, and the Transylvanians (1979), The Trident Doesn’t Answer (1980), The Stake and the Flame (1980),
Ilarion Ciobanu
2008 • Obituaries Iancu Jianu, the Tax Collector (1980), The Oil, the Baby and the Transylvanians (1981), A World Without Sky (1981), Iancu Jianu, the Outlaw (1981), Laugh Like Living (1983), An Item of News (1984), Home (1984), The Shadows of the Sun (1986), Battle of the Shadows (1986), Cetatea Ascunsa (1987), Crucea de Piatra (1993), The Tank (2003), and Bored (2004).
CIVIRANI, OSVALDO Italian film director Osvaldo Civirani died in Rome on February 20, 2008. He was 90. Civirani was born in Rome on May 19, 1917. He began working in films as a still photographer on Luchino Visconti’s 1943 film Ossessione. He also worked as a still photographer on such films as Alessandro Blasetti’s Fabiola (1949), Father’s Dilemma (1950), Federico Fellini’s Variety Lights (1950), The Flowers of St. Francis (1950), Love I Haven’t ... But ... But (1951), Fellini’s The White Sheik (1952), Chronicle of Poor Lovers (1954), Don Camillo’s Last Round (1955), I Pappagalli (1955), Where the Hot Wind Blows! (1959), Pensione Edelweiss (1959), I Tre Nemici (1962), and A Girl ... and a Million (1962). He began directing and scripting films in the early 1960s, helming such features as The Most Prohibited Sex (1963), Kindar the Invulnerable (1964), Hercules Against the Sons of the Sun (1964), Forbidden Temptations (1965) with Brigitte Bardot, Sheriff with the Gold (1966), Operation Poker (1966), The Beckett Affair (1966), Rick and John, Conquerors of the West (1967), Son of Django (1967), Lucrezia Borgia, l’Amante del Diavolo (1968), Trusting Is Good ... Shooting Is Better (1968), Quel Giorno Dio non c’Era (1969), Le Mans, Shortcut to Hell (1970), I Due della Formula uno alla Corsa piu Pazza Pazza del Mondo (1971), I Due Pezzi da Novanta (1971), The Devil Has Seven Faces (1971), Due Gattoni a Nove Code ... e Mezzo ad Amsterdam (1972), Two Sons of Trinity (1972), The Black Peacock (1974), and La Ragazza dalla Pelle di Corallo (1976). Civirani retired from making films in the mid–1970s. CLAIRETTE French Canadian singer and actress Clairette Oderra died in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on October 28, 2008. She was 89. Clairette was born in Marseille, France, on April 3, 1919. She began her career as an entertainer in France in the late 1930s, and appeared in several films including The Well-Digger’s Daughter (1940) with Fernandel and Raimu, Small Kidneys (1942), La Bone Etoile (1943), and Song of the Clouds
Clairette
Obituaries • 2008 (1946). Clairette settled in Quebec in 1949, where she remained a popular performer in cabarets and on radio. She was featured as Fanny in the 1970 television series Les Berger.
CLARKE, ARTHUR C. British science fiction writer and scientist Sir Arthur C. Clarke, who co-wrote the classic 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey with director Stanley Kubrick, died of respiratory problems in a Colombo, Sri Lanka, hospital on March 19, 2008. He was 90. Clarke was born in Minehead, Somerset, England, on December 16, 1917. He served as a radar specialist with the Royal Air Force during World War II. He rose to the rank of Flight Lieutenant by the time of his discharge, and earned degrees in physics and mathematics at King’s College London after the war. He also became an active member of the British Interplanetary Society, where he was instrumental in advancing the idea of geostationary satellites for telecommunications. Clarke’s professional writing career began in 1946 with the publication of the short-stories “Loophole” and “Rescue Party” in the pulp digest Astounding Science Fiction. He authored the short story “The Sentinel” in 1948, which later served as the inspiration for 2001. He was able to dedicate himself full-time as an author by the early 1950s, penning the novels Prelude to Space (1951), The Sands of Mars (1951), and Islands in the Sky (1952), and the non-fiction book The Exploration of Space (1951). His short story, “All the Time in the World,” was adapted for television as an episode for the early science fiction series Tales of Tomorrow in 1952. Clarke’s works became increasingly complex and cosmic in scope with such classic works as Against the Fall of Night and Childhood’s End in 1953. The science fiction novels Earthlight (1955), The City and the Stars (1956), The Deep Range (1957), A Fall of Moondust (1961), and Dolphin Island (1963) soon followed. He also wrote the non–science fiction novel Glide Path (1963), based on his experiences during World War II. He also remained a prolific short-story writer, whose works appeared in such collections as Expedition to Earth (1953), Reach for Tomorrow (1956), Tales from the White Hart (1957), The Other Side of the Sky (1958), Tales of Ten Worlds (1962), The Nine Billion Names of God (1967), The Wind from the Sun (1972), and Of Time and Stars (1972). In 1964 Clarke began his long collaboration with
Arthur C. Clarke
78 acclaimed film director Stanley Kubrick, that resulted in the release of the ground-breaking film 2001: A Space Odyssey four years later. Using his earlier short-story “The Sentinel” as a starting point, he and Kubrick crafted a cosmic tale of mankind’s evolution from apeman to star child. The two men shared an Academy Award nomination for the film’s script and Clarke penned a novelization of the film. He was also involved in mankind’s actual voyages into space as part of the CBS team covering the Apollo 12 and 15 space missions with Walter Cronkite and Wally Schirra. His subsequent novel, Rendezvous with Rama (1972), inspired several sequels Clarke co-authored with Gentry Lee including Rama II (1989), The Garden of Rama (1991), and Rama Revealed (1993). The novel Imperial Earth was published in 1975, and The Fountains of Paradise, which included Clarke’s concept of a space elevator, was released in 1979. His sequel to 2001, 2010: Odyssey Two was released in 1982, and was adapted to film by director Peter Hyams in 1984. Roy Scheider starred and Clarke himself appeared in a cameo role as a man feeding pigeons while sitting on a park bench. He continued the theme with 2061: Odyssey Three (1988) and 3001: The Final Odyssey (1997). His acclaimed short-story “The Star” was the basis of an episode of the new Twilight Zone television series in 1985. During the 1980s and 1990s he also hosted several television series documenting paranormal phenomena including Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World, Arthur C. Clarke’s World of Strange Powers, and Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious Universe. He continued to write or co-author such novels as A Meeting with Medusa (1988), Cradle (1988) with Gentry Lee, Beyond the Fall of Night (1990) with Gregory Benford, The Ghost from the Grand Banks (1990), The Hammer of God (1993), Richter 10 (1996) with Mike McQuay, and The Trigger (1999) with Michael P. Kube-McDowell. His later novels, co-written with Stephen Baxter, include The Light of Other Days (2000), Time’s Eye (2003), Sunstorm (2005), and Firstborn (2007). Clarke had moved to Sri Lanka, then called Ceylon, in 1956, and resided there for the remainder of his life. He was an accomplished scuba diver who enjoyed the year round access to the ocean despite suffering from post-polio syndrome, that largely confined him to a wheelchair on land from the late 1980s. Clarke’s early speculatory papers that predicated communications satellites resulted in the International Astronomical Union naming the geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometers above the Equator as The Clarke Orbit in his honor. He was also the recipient of numerous Hugo and Nebula awards for his science fiction works, and was awarded a knighthood for his service to literature in 2000. His final novel, The Last Theorem, co-written with Frederik Pohl, was published in 2008.
CLAUS, HUGO Belgian writer and artist Hugo Claus ended his life by euthanasia in an Antwerp, Belgium, hospital on March 19, 2008. He was 78 and had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Claus was born in Bruges, Belgium, on April 5, 1929. His first publication was a collection of poems, Short Series, published in 1947. He was considered one of the leading contemporary Flemish authors, producing hundreds of poems,
79
Hugo Claus
over 60 plays, 20 novels, and various film scripts, essays, and other pieces. He was best known for his 1983 semiautobiographical novel about social injustice, The Sorrow of Belgium. He directed several film versions of his works including Speelmeisje (1968), De Vijanden (1968), Vrijdag (1981), De Leeuw van Vlaanderen (1985), Het Sacrament (1990) based on his novel Omtrent Deedee, and De Verlossing (2001). Many of his other works were also adapted to film including Doctor in the Village (1958), The Knife (1961), The Dance of the Heron (1966), Mira (1971), Because of the Cats (1973), Cancer Rising (1975), Pallieter (1976), De Dans van de Reiger (1977), Minuet (1982), The Van Paemel Family (1986), Mascara (1987), and Diary of a Mad Old Man (1987). The Sorrow of Belgium was adapted for a television mini-series in 1995, and his novels Ongenade (1998) and Uitmarkt ’99 (1999) were adapted as tele-films.
2008 • Obituaries Too Much (1940), My Love Came Back (1940), Pony Express Days (1940), Those Were the Days! (1940), They Drive by Night (1940), Knute Rockne, All American (1940), The Flag of Humanity (1940), East of the River (1940), South of Suez (1940), Alice in Movieland (1940), Father Is a Prince (1940), Honeymoon for Three (1941), High Sierra (1941), The Strawberry Blonde (1941), Knockout (1941), The Great Lie (1941), A Very Young Lady (1941), The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941), Miss Polly (1941), and Fall In (1942). Clayton enlisted in the Navy at the start of World War II and received a Purple Heart for his service. He returned to Hollywood after the war, where he appeared in the films Mother Is a Freshman (1949) and My Friend Irma Goes West (1950). He was also seen on television in an episode of Sky King. Clayton met actor James Dean when they both appeared in the 1952 comedy Sailor Beware with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. He left acting to work as an agent at Famous Artist Agency, where he championed such talent as Dean, Jane Fonda, Tuesday Weld, Tab Hunter, Clint Walker, Angie Dickenson, Richard Chamberlain, and Harrison Ford. Clayton also served as Burt Reynolds’ personal manager for over 20 years.
COBE, SANDY Film producer and distributor Sandy Cobe died in Los Angeles, California, on February 20, 2008. He was 79. Cobe was born on November 30, 1928. He was a founder of the American Film Marketing Association and distributed films through Intercontinental Releasing Corporation. He served as a producer on several slasher films in the 1980s including To All a Good Night (1980), Terror on Tour (1980) which also saw him in the small role as the band’s sleazy manager, Terminal Entry (1986), and Open House (1987) starring Adrienne Barbeau.
CLAYTON, RICHARD Film actor turned agent Richard Clayton died of congestive heart failure at his home in Los Angeles on September 29, 2008. He was 93. Clayton was born in Montclair, New Jersey, on June 12, 1915. He began his career as an actor and model in New York before heading to Hollywood under contract with Warner Bros. He was featured in small roles in such films as Our Neighbors, the Carters (1939), Invisible Stripes (1939), Brother Rat and a Baby (1940), The Fighting 69th (1940), Castle on the Hudson (1940), An Angel from Texas (1940), Murder in the Air (1940), The Man Who Talked
COCEA, DINA Romanian actress Dina Cocea died of a heart attack in a Bucharest, Romania, hospital, on October 28, 2008. She was 95. Cocea was born in Bucharest on November 27, 1912. She studied theater in Paris in the early 1930s and made her stage debut there in 1934. She returned to Romania the following year where she appeared in over 100 roles in her fifty year career, becoming known as the “queen of the Romanian theater.” She also appeared in several films during her career including La Jeune fille d’Une Nuit (1934), The
Richard Clayton
Dina Cocea
Obituaries • 2008
80
Soimaresti Family (1965), Dimitrie Cantemir (1973), Stephen the Great (1974), The Daring Pilot Aurel Vlaicu (1977), Iancu Jianu, the Tax Collector (1980), Cintec Pentru Fiul Meu (1980), Iancu Jianu, the Outlaw (1981), and Atac in Biblioteca (1992).
der, She Wrote, Golden Girls, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and V.I.P. She appeared in the background in numerous episodes of Seinfeld in the 1990s, as the cashier at their favorite hang-out. She was also featured in the 1996 film Life Among the Cannibals.
COFFEY, ARLENE Film costume and wardrobe supervisor Arlene Coffey was found dead in her New York apartment on September 15, 2008. She was the victim in an apparent murder-suicide by her 52-
COHL, DUSTY Canadian film producer Murray “Dusty” Cohl, who was co-founder of the Toronto International Film Festival, died of liver cancer in a hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 11, 2008. He was 79. Cohl was born in Toronto on February 21, 1928. He earned a law degree and was practicing real estate law and development when a trip to Cannes, France, during the film festival in 1964 inspired him to bring one to Canada. He joined with Henk van der Kolk and Bill Marshall to inaugurate the Toronto International
Arlene Coffey
year-old mentally ill son, David, who shot her and then himself. She was 73. Arlene Coffey had been suffering from lymphoma. She worked frequently as a costumer and wardrobe supervisor from the early 1980s, with such film credits as Eyewitness (1981), the tele-film A Doctor’s Story (1984), The Last Dragon (1985), Legal Eagles (1986), Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988), The Dream Team (1989), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989), F/X2 (1991), and Deceived (1991). She was married to cinematographer Joseph Coffey until his death in 2000.
COHEN, RUTH Ruth Cohen, who was featured as the cashier in Monk’s Cafe on numerous episodes of the hit sit-com Seinfeld, died of a heart attack in Panorama City, California, on August 23, 2008. She was 78. Cohen was born in the Bronx, New York, on January 28, 1930. She began her acting career late in life in the 1980s, appearing as an extra in such shows as Mur-
Ruth Cohen
Dusty Cohl
Film Festival, originally called the Festival of Festivals, in 1976. He served as executive producer of several films over the years including Pinocchio’s Greatest Adventure and Birthday Party (1974), Rush: Grace Under Pressure Tour 1984 (1985), The Circle Game (1994), The Last Mogul (2006), and the tele-film Bowfire (2007). Cohl was also the founder of the Floating Film Festival in 1990, hosting filmmakers and critics aboard a cruise liner out of Los Angeles.
COKE, PETER British actor and playwright Peter Coke died in Sharrington, Norfolk, England, on July 30, 2008. He was 95. Coke was born in Southsea, Hampshire, England, on April 3, 1913. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and began appearing on stage and films in the late 1930s. His film credits include Missing, Believed Married (1937), The Return of Carol Deane (1938), Keep Smiling (1938), I Met a Murderer (1939), The Nursemaid Who Disappeared (1939), A Gentleman’s Gentleman (1939), and Cheer Boys Cheer (1939). He served in the British Royal Artillery during World War II and had difficulty resuming his film career after the war. He opened an antique business and returned to the stage. He also began writing plays with The Isle of Umbrellas in 1950. He became the voice of detective Paul Temple on British radio in 1954 and continued to perform the role through 1968. He was also featured in the films The Broken Horseshoe (1953), John and Julie (1955), The Extra Day (1956), Carry On Ad-
81
2008 • Obituaries 1960s including The Sonny and Cher Show, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, Hullabaloo, and Shindig! He toured with singers Andy Williams and Roger Miller and recorded the psychedelic album Animated Egg in 1966. Cole also performed on the Elvis Presley television special Aloha from Hawaii in 1973, and worked as a studio musician with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. He continued his career in music throughout his life, recording the surf album Back to the Boards in 2006.
Peter Coke
miral (1957), and Up the Creek (1958). He was seen on British television in episodes of The Teckman Biography, Gravelhanger, Colonel March of Scotland Yard, and The Adventures of Sir Lancelot. Coke was author of the play The Breath of Spring, which was produced on Broadway and London’s West End. It was adapted for the 1960 film Make Mine Mink and for a French television production in 1962. He also wrote the 1963 television production of Tin Pan Alice. His other plays include Gentle Guardsmen (1961), Sleepy Mermaid (1962), Fool’s Paradise (1963), In Confidence (1964), Face to Face (1965), Midsummer Mink (1965), The Man Who Wrote in Bed (1968), Taxpayers’ Waltz (1970), What Are Little Girls Made Of ? (1978), Autumn Manoeuvres (1983), and Winter Glory (1988).
COLE, JERRY Leading guitarist Jerry Cole died of a heart attack at his home in Corona, California, on May 28, 2008. He was 68. He was born Jerald Kolbrack in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on September 23, 1939. He joined The Champs in the late 1950s and recorded with them on the 1958 hit “Tequila.” He headed to Los Angeles where he teamed with other musicians as Jerry Cole and His Spacemen to record several space-age and surf albums including Outer Limits (1963). He was part of Phil Spector’s session band known as the Wrecking Crew and recorded with such top bands as the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and Paul Revere and the Raiders. Cole worked as a studio guitarist on numerous television shows in the
Jerry Cole
COLEMAN, RICHARD British actor Richard Coleman died in France on December 16, 2008. He was 78. Coleman was born in Peckham, South London, England, on January 20, 1930. He began appearing in amateur productions onstage and entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1951. He became a familiar face
Richard Coleman
on British television by the end of the decade. He was also seen in a handful of films during his career, including Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst (1957), Girls at Sea (1958), The Navy Lark (1959), Ben-Hur (1959) as Metellus, 80,000 Suspects (1963), Rotten to the Core (1965), Naked Evil (1966), Countdown to Danger (1967), 10 Rillington Place (1971), Hide and Seek (1972), The Comoedia (1981), Who Dares Wins (1982), and Down Rusty Down (1996). Coleman starred as Nick Allarydce in the 1958 television series The Adventures of Ben Gunn, and was Merry Man Alan-a-Dale in The Adventures of Robin Hood from 1959 to 1960. He starred as David Redway in the series And Mother Makes Three from 1972 to 1973, and And Mother Makes Five from 1974 to 1976. His other television credits include the series All Aboard, Plateau of Fear, Dimensions of Fear, Secret Beneath the Sea, Zero One, Dixon of Dock Green, No Hiding Place, The Man in Room 17, Theatre 625, The Avengers, Weavers Green, Redcap, Champion House, ITV Playhouse, Armchair Theatre, 1969 mini-series Letters from the Dead, Z Cars, the 1974 Thriller episode A Coffin for the Bride, George & Mildred, Wings, Robin’s Nest, Private Schulz, Freddie and Max, Surgical Spirit, and Virtual Murder.
COLLIER, IAN British character actor Ian Collier died in England on October 1, 2008. Collier made his film debut in a small role in the 1969 production of Hamlet. He was a familiar face on television from the 1970s, with roles in such series as The Pathfinders, Renta-
Obituaries • 2008
82 mobile. Over the next several years, Collins continued to suffer from ill effects from the crash and did occasional work in commercials.
Ian Collier
ghost, Target, The Duchess of Duke Street, The Sweeney, The Famous Five, Tycoon, Return of the Saint, Danger UXB, Minder, Fox, Cribb, Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years, Bognor, Hi-De-Hi!, Doctor Who, A Fine Romance, Bergerac, Play for Today, Juliet Bravo, Are You Being Served?, EastEnders, Howards’ Way, C.A.T.S. Eyes, Rockliffe’s Babies, Gentlemen and Players, Colin’s Sandwich, Boon, Agatha Christie: Poirot, All Creatures Great and Small, House of Cards, The Bill, Keeping Up Appearances, Jeeves and Wooster, and Paul Merton, the Series. He was also seen in television productions of Rebecca (1979), The Lady’s Maid’s Bell (1985), Hitler’s S.S.: Portrait in Evil (1985), Hold the Back Page (1985), The Detectives (1985), The Happy Valley (1987), The Charmer (1987), Thin Air (1988), and Rules of Engagement (1989). Collier also appeared in a handful of films during his career including The Next Man (1976) with Sean Connery, A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (1979), Tangiers (1982), and Heritage Africa (1989).
COLLINS, NATASHA British children’s television performer Natasha Collins was found dead of a likely accidental cocaine overdose in the bath of the penthouse she shared with her fiancé, television personality Mark Speight, on January 3, 2008. She was 31. Collins was born in England on July 7, 1976. She began her career on British television in the late 1990s, appearing as a jester named See in the children’s television series See It Saw It. Speight also starred in the series as the King. Collins also appeared in the 1999 tele-film Real Women II, and was Betty Peep in the 2000 mini-series The 10th Kingdom. Her career in television largely ended in 2000, when she was left in a coma after running into an auto-
Natasha Collins
COLLINS, ROBERT E. Cinematographer Robert E. Collins died after a long illness in WinstonSalem, North Carolina, on December 1, 2008. He was 73. Collins was born in Lubbock, Texas, in 1935. He moved to Hollywood while in his teens and was soon working as an editor at a local television station. He became a director of photography for films and television in the early 1970s, filming the movies On Any Sunday (1971), John Landis’ 1973 cult classic Schlock which also featured him in a small role as the bartender, You and Me (1975), Pacific Challenge (1975), Cannonball! (1976), Cracking Up (1977), The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977),
Robert E. Collins
Superman (1978), King of the Mountain (1981), Octopussy (1983), Americana (1983), 16 Days of Glory (1986), Michael Jackson: Moonwalker (1988), Double or Nothing: The Rise and Fall of Robert Campuis (1992), and To Sell a Child (1994). Collins worked frequently in television from the 1970s, and was the recipient to Emmy Awards for his photography on the 1970 special Pegg y Fleming at Sun Valley, and for the premiere episode of Miami Vice in 1984. He also won a Daytime Emmy Award for the 1972 ABC Afterschool Special episode “The Heartbreak Winner,” and received an Emmy nomination for his work on Airwolf in 1984. His other television credits in the television productions Dead Man on the Run (1975), Revenge for a Rape (1976), Danger in Paradise (1977), The Gathering, Part II (1979), The Scarlet Letter (1979), High Ice (1980), Swan Song (1980), The Return of Frank Cannon (1980), Deadly Encounter (1982), Packin’ It In (1983), The Hoboken Chicken Emergency (1984), Sins of the Father (1985), Generation (1985), The Making of “Captain Eo” (1986), Club Med (1986), A Fighting Choice (1986), Destination America (1987), and The Teachings of Jon (2006). His other television credits include episodes of Kojak, Hart to Hart, The Twilight Zone, The Bronx Zoo, and Dinosaurs.
COLLINS, ROBERTA Actress Roberta Collins, the busty blonde who livened up many cult films in the 1970s, died of an accidental overdose of drugs and alcohol on August 16, 2008. She was 63. Collins was born on
83
2008 • Obituaries also appeared in the 1972 French television production of The Adventures of Pinocchio and the 1974 film The Wonderful Crook. He was featured as Cavallo in the 1998 French film The Red Dwarf. He was a frequent performer in a small theater near Florence, Italy, in his later years. COLT, ALVIN Tony Award–winning Broadway costume designer Alvin Colt died in a New York City hospital on May 4, 2008. He was 92. Colt was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on July 5, 1915. He made his Broadway debut designing costumes for the 1944 musical On the Town. He earned a Tony Award for his work on the 1955 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Pipe Dream. He also designed for Top Banana on stage in 1951 and for film in 1954, and for both the stage (1956) and
Roberta Collins
November 17, 1944. She began her acting career in the late 1960s, appearing on television in episodes of Adam-12, Here Come the Brides, Cade’s County, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Rockford Files, and B.J. and the Bear. She became a fixture in cult films with 1971’s The Big Doll House as Alcott. She continued to grace the screen in such features as Unholy Rollers (1972), Sweet Kill (1973), The Roommates (1973), Wonder Women (1973), the tele-film Terror the Beach (1973), Three the Hard Way (1974), Caged Heat (1974), Death Race 2000 (1975) as Matilda the Hun, Train Ride to Hollywood (1975), The Witch Who Came from the Sea (1976), Eaten Alive (aka Starlight Slaughter) (1977), Whiskey Mountain (1977), the 1977 television mini-series Harold Robbins’ 79 Park Avenue, Speedtrap (1977), Matilda (1978), Saturday the 14th (1981), Death Wish II (1982) with Charles Bronson, Hardbodies (1984), the tele-film Anatomy of an Illness (1984), School Spirit (1985), Hardbodies 2 (1986), and Vendetta (1986).
COLOMBAIONI, CARLO Italian clown Carlo Colombaioni died in France on May 16, 2008. He was 75. Colombaioni was born in Ancona, Italy, in 1932, to a circus family and learned the art of clowning from his father. He performed in the circus as a clown, mime, juggler, and acrobat before taking to the stage. Colombaioni also worked with director Federico Fellini as an advisor and sometimes actor for such films as La Strada, I Clown, Amarcord, Roma, and Casanova. He also worked on theatrical projects with Nobel laureate Dario Fo. He
Carlo Colombaioni
Alvin Colt
film (1959) productions of Li’l Abner. His other Broadway credits include Guys and Dolls (1950), The Lark (1955), Destry Rides Again (1959), and Here’s Love (1963). Colt designed costumes for the television productions The Enchanted Nutcracker (1961) and Kiss Me Kate (1968), and the 1969 film Stiletto. He also worked on the 1976 television mini-series The Adams Chronicles. Colt’s later designs graced Forbidden Broadway, the long-running series of satirical revues, creating outlandish designs to spoof hit Broadway plays.
COMINOS, NICHOLAS H. Documentary filmmaker Nicholas H. Cominos died at his home in East Bay, California, on March 14, 2008. He was 84.
Nicholas Cominos
Obituaries • 2008 Cominos was born on May 14, 1923, to a family of Greek immigrants who settled in the Central Valley of California. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and was part of the Office of Strategic Services, working behind enemy lines. Cominos later became active in making documentary films for television. He produced and directed several National Geographic Specials in the early 1970s, and the documentaries Here Comes Tomorrow: The Fear Fighters (1972) and Strange Creatures of the Night (1973). He was also associate producer and editor for The Making of “Star Wars” (1977), and edited Roots: One Year Later (1978). He left filmmaking to teach at the University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Radio, Television, and Film where his students included Richard Linklater, Robert Rodriguez, and the Coen Brothers. He retired to Northern California in 2001.
COMMANDEUR, JACQUES
Dutch actor Jacques Commandeur died in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on December 29, 2008. He was 73. Commandeur was born in The Hague, the Netherlands, on February 26, 1935. He appeared frequently in Dutch film and television from the early 1960s. He was best known in the United States for his role as the Prison Commander in
Jacques Commandeur
1977’s Soldier of Orange. He was also seen in the films Mr. Slotter’s Jubilee (1979), One Could Laugh in Former Days (1983), De Anna (1983), Vincent & Theo (1990), The Northerners (1993), The Three Best Things in Life (1992), Old Tongues (1994), House Calls (1994), The Dress (1996), Dying to Go Home (1996), Somberman’s Action (2000), Oorlogsrust (2006), and Bride Flight (2008). He was also featured in television productions of Het Onderzoek (1966), Onder een Dak (1967), Koeboe de Koe (1970), Uilenspiegel (1973), Los Zand (1989), De Brug (1990), Werther Nieland (1991), Vreemde Levens—De Draden van Anansi (1996), and Baantjer, de Film: De Cock en de Wraak Zonder Einde (1999). Commandeur starred as Jacobus Spaargaren in the television series De Kleine Waarheid in 1971, and was Patient #4 in Wij Alexander in 1998. He was also featured in episodes of Opzoek naar Yolanda, Mus, Zwarte Sneeuw, Wet & Waan, and Grijpstra & de Gier.
CONNER, BRUCE Artist and experimental filmmaker Bruce Conner died in San Francisco, Cali-
84
Bruce Conner
fornia, after a long illness on July 7, 2008. He was 74. Conner was born in McPherson, Kansas, on November 18, 1933. He studied art in college and moved to San Francisco in 1957, where he became involved in the beat movement. He gained attention for his paintings, sculptures, and assemblages, that often included found objects. He also began making films in the late 1950s, beginning with 1958’s A MOVIE, a non-narrative short that incorporated footage from old films and newsreels. It was selected for inclusion by the United States National Film Registry at the Library of Congress in 1991. Conner continued to exhibit his unique artwork and create his films over the next five decades. His film output, consisting primarily of avant garde shorts that incorporated music from such artists as Terry Riley, Brian Eno, David Byrne, and DEVO, include Cosmic Ray (1962), Vivian (1964), Ten Second Film (1965), Easter Morning Raga (1966), Breakaway (1966), The White Rose (1967), Report (1967), Luke (1967), Looking for Mushrooms (1967), Antonia Christina Basilotta (1968), Permian Strata (1969), Marilyn Times Five (1973), Take the 5:10 to Dreamland (1976), Crossroads (1976), Valse Triste (1977), Mongoloid (1978), America Is Waiting (1982), Television Assassination (1995), a revised Looking for Mushrooms (1996), Eve-RayForever (2006), His Eye Is on the Sparrow (2006), and Easter Morning.
COOK, FRED Veteran radio personality Fred Cook died of complications from lung cancer and pneu-
Fred Cook
85 monia at a Memphis, Tennessee, hospital on December 5, 2008. He was 83. Cook began his radio career at the campus station of the University of Connecticut, and several years at a local station in Norwich, Connecticut, before coming to Memphis in 1950. He was hired by WREC and began teaming with John Powell in 1962. The two men entertained listeners with their witty banter for several decades on such shows as Zero Hour and The Cook and Powell Show. Cook also worked as a television announcer at WREG-TV and WPTY-TV and in later years did voiceover commercials.
COOPER, MARY Actress Mary Cooper died at her home in Manhattan, New York, on October 22, 2008. Cooper was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, and began her career on the New York stage in the early 1940s. She was featured in such Broadway productions as The Doughgirls (1942), Winged Victory (1943), Harvey (1944), The French Touch (1945), and Cloud 7 (1958). Cooper also appeared in the 1951 film Bright Victory. She was featured as Josette DuPres Collins in several episodes of the Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows in 1971 and was seen as Mrs. Timmons on the soap The Edge of Night in 1981. Cooper was married to British producer Victor Payne-Jennings from 1952 until his death in 1962. COPE, MYRON Sportscaster Myron Cope, who was color commentator for the Pittsburgh Steelers for 35 years, died of respiratory problems and heart fail-
2008 • Obituaries COPLEY, PETER British character actor Peter Copley died in Bristol, England, on October 7, 2008. He was 93. Copley was born in Bushey, Hertfordshire, England, on May 20, 1915. He began his career on stage in the early 1930s, and made his film debut in 1934’s Tell Me if It Hurts. He was also seen in the 1937 film Farewell Again and performed on stage over the next decade. He also trained as a lawyer, and occasionally handled cases in court. He became a familiar face in films and television from the 1950s. His numerous film credits include Golden Salamander (1950), The Elusive Pimpernel (1950), The Promoter (1952), The Hour of 13 (1952), The Sword and the Rose (1953), The Clue of the Missing Ape (1953), Saadia (1953), The Woman for Joe (1955), Foreign Intrigue (1956), Peril for the Guy (1956), The Man Without a Body (1957), Time Without Pity (1957), Just My Luck (1957), A Tale of Two Cities (1958), The Mystery in the Mine (1959), Follow That Horse! (1960), Victim (1961), The Third Secret (1964), King & Country (1964), The Knack ... and How to Get It (1965), Help! (1965) starring the Beatles, The Jokers (1967), Quatermass and the Pit (aka Five Million Years to Earth) (1967), The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968), Walk a Crooked Path (1969), Mosquito Squadron (1969), Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969), All at Sea (1970), The Engagement (1970), That’s Your Funeral (1972), What Became of Jack and Jill? (1972), Gawain and the Green Knight (1973), Hennessy (1975), Peer Gynt (1976), Shout at the Devil (1976), The Black Panther (1977), Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980), Empire of the Sun (1987), Second Best (1994), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), and Oliver Twist (2005). Copley also appeared in television productions of Arms and the Man (1952), Beau Brummell (1954), Ninety Sail (1954), Monteserrat (1954), The End Begins (1956), The Government Inspector (1958), The Last Chronicle of Barset (1959) as Mr. Thumble, The Small Black Room (1959), The Concert (1959), The Naked Lady (1959), Dimensions of Fear (1963), A Game of Murder (1966), The Devil’s Eggshell (1966), The Forsyte Saga (1967), Tower of London: The Innocent (1969), Jane Eyre (1970), The Hill of the Red Fox (1975), Bill Brand (1976), Anna Karenina (1977), Churchill and the Generals (1979) as Gen. Sir John Dill, Witness for the Prosecution (1982), Caught in a Free State (1984), The Prisoner of Zenda (1984), The Importance of Being Earnest (1986), Return to Treasure Island (1986),
Myron Cope
ure at a Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania, nursing home on February 27, 2008. He was 79. He was born Myron Sidney Kopelman in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on January 23, 1929. He began his career as a sports journalist, writing for such magazines as Sports Illustrated and Saturday Evening Post. He started doing some sports commentary on television in the late 1960s before being hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He became noted for his shrill, nasally voice and off beat speech pattern that made him an icon to fans and players alike. He was largely responsible for the ritual of Steelers fans waving yellow dish towels, which became known as the Terrible Towel, at the games. Cope remained the radio color analyst for the team from 1970 until his retirement 2004. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2005.
Peter Copley
Obituaries • 2008 Les Aventuriers du Nouveau-Monde (1986), Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple: Nemesis (1987), Never Say Die (1987), A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia (1990), The Paper Man (1990), Far from the Madding Crowd (1998), Janice Beard 45 wpm (1999), Strange (2002), Riot at the Rite (2005), and Terry Pratchett’s The Colour of Magic (2008). Copley’s other television credits include episodes of Sherlock Holmes, Fabian of Scotland Yard, The Other Man, No Hiding Place, Maigret, Suspense, The Plane Makers, Danger Man, Thorndyke as Dr. John Evelyn Thorndyke, The Saint, ITV Play of the Week, Redcap, Knock on Any Door, The Wednesday Play, Half Hour Story, Sanctuary, The Informer, Theatre 625, The Expert, The Avengers, The Troubleshooters, The Champions, The Prior Commitment, The Gold Robbers, Detective, Department S, Manhunt, Paul Temple, Doomwatch, Big Brother, Bless This House, Hadleigh, Out of the Unknown, Z Cars, You’re Only Young Twice, The Brothers, The Regiment, Callan, Softly Softly, The Long Chase, Justice, Follyfoot, Armchair Theatre, Arthur of the Britons, Vienna 1900, Fall of Eagles, Father Brown, The Venturers, Sky, Survivors, Doctor Who as Dr. Warlock in 1975 episode “Pyramids of Mars,” Sutherland’s Law, The Cedar Tree, The New Avengers, Three Piece Suite, The Foundation, The Famous Five, Crown Court, Flambards, Premiere, Tales of the Unexpected, Bless Me Father, Play for Today, Into the Labyrinth, The Chinese Detective, Nanny, The Gathering Seed, Hot Metal, One Foot in the Grave, Agatha Christie: Poirot, Josie, Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Grange Hill, Lovejoy, Cadfael, Jonathan Creek, The Bill, Where the Heart Is, Casualty, Wives and Daughters, Doctors, and The Last Detective.
86 tores Pintorescos (1967), and Lady of the Night (1993). He was also a popular television performer from the 1960s with roles in such series as Un Amor en la Sombra, Un Hijo Cayo del Cielo, La Duquessa, Atormentada, El Cuarto Mandamiento, Cuna Vacia, Estino la Gloria, Lo Que no Fue, Rosario, Cosa Juzgada, Aventura, La Constitucion, El Amor Tiene Cara de Mujer, Amaras a tu Projimo, Marcha Nupcial, Viviana, J.J. Jues, Un Solo Corazon, Los Anos Felices, Flor y Canela, Mas Alla del Puente, Pobre Nina Rica, La Usurpadora, Abrazame Muy Fuerte, Entre el Amor y el Odio, Peregrina, and Inocente de Ti. Corcega also became a leading director of television series and telenovelas in the 1970s, helming episodes of El Precio de un Hombre, La Maestra, Esperandote, Marionetas, Amor en Silencio, Como Duele Callar, Yo no Creo en los Hombres, Mi Segunda Madre, Cuando Ilega el Amor, Los Parientes Pobres, Entre la Vida y la Muerte, Mas Alla del Puente, Alondra, Te Sigo Amando, Lazos de Amor, Maria Isabel, El Privilegio de Amar, Mi Destino Eres Tu, Embrace Me Tightly, Sin Pecado Concebido, Entre el Amor y el Odio, Mariana de la Noche, Inocente de Ti, La Esposa Virgen, Peregrina, Estilando Amor, and Fuego en la Sangre. Corcega starred as Padre Anselmo in the tele-novela Cuidado con el Angel in 2008 until he was forced to retire due to poor health.
CORDOBA, IRMA Argentine actress Irma Cordoba died in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on May 18, 2008. She was 94. Cordoba was born in Buenos Aires on July 20, 1913. She began her career in films in the early 1930s with
CORCEGA, MIGUEL Mexican actor and television director Miguel Corcega died of complications from a stroke in Mexico City on September 29, 2008. He was 78. Corcega was born in Mexico City on October 24, 1929. He began his screen career as an actor in the late 1940s, with roles in such films as La Dama del Velo (1949), Las Dos Huerfanitas (1951), Carne de Presidio (1952), El Vendedor de Munecas (1955), Pura Vida (1956), El Medallon del Crimen (El 13 de Oro) (1956), Cada Hijo una Cruz (1957), El Zarco (1959), El Dolor de Pagar la Renta (1960), Y Dios la Llamo Tierra (1961), El Fusilamiento (1962), Our Hateful Husbands (1962), Dos PinIrma Cordoba
Miguel Corcega
roles in such features as Buenos Aires Nights (1935), The Favorite (1935), Internado (1935), El Forastero (1937), Los Muchachos de Antes no Usaban Gomina (1937), La Muchacha del Circo (1937), Outside the Law (1937), Three Argentines in Paris (1938), Atorrante (1939), Cuatro Corazones (1939), Last Refuge (1941), Locos de Verano (1942), The Wedding Night (1942), A Light in the Window (1942), Delirio (1944), Mirad los Lirios del Campo (1947), The Poor People’s Christmas (1947), Las Locas del Conventillo (1966), and Maternidad sin Hombres (1968). Cordoba continued to perform in films and television over the next three decades, appearing in the television series Esta Noche ... Miedo, Me Llaman Gorrion, Profesion, Ama de Casa, Fabian 2 Mariana 0, Yolanda Lujan, A, or Pro-
87
2008 • Obituaries
hibido, Stress, and El Precio del Poder. She also appeared in the 1974 television productions of Separate Tables. Her later film credits include La Sonrisa de Mama (1972), Me Gusta esa Chica (1973), Barbara (1980), Venido a Menos (1984), Eva Peron: The True Story (1996), and El Mundo Contra Mi (1997).
CORRIERI, SERGIO Cuban actor Sergio Corrieri Hernandez died in Havana, Cuba, on February 29, 2008. He was 68. Corrieri was born in Havana on March 2, 1939. He began training as an actor while in his teens and performed frequently on stage during the 1960s. He was also seen in the films Cuba 8 058 (1962), I Am Cuba (1964), Desarraigo (1965), Papeles son PapeAttilio Corsini
Madrid, Spain, while he was teaching a course in film production on February 27, 2008. He was 73. Cortazar was born in Havana, Cuba, on January 19, 1935. He was noted for directing the 1967 documentary Por Primera Vez (For the First Time) and the 1977 feature film El Brigadista (The Teacher). His other film credits include Casablanca (1961), Hablando del Punto Cubano (1972),
Sergio Corrieri
les (1966), and La Ausencia (1968). He was best known for his role as Sergio Carmona Mendoyo in Manuel Perez’s film Memories of Underdevelopment in 1968. His other film credits include The Man from Maisinicu (1973) as Alberto Delgado, Mella (1976), Mina, Wind of Freedom (1977), Black River (1977), Baraqua (1985), and Como la Vida Misma (1987). He also starred in the Cuban television series En Silencio ha Tenido que Ser and El Regreso de David. Corrieri was also a leading theatrical director, and was a founder of Grupo Teatro Estudio and Teatro Escambray. He left acting in 1989 to serve as head of the Cuban Central Committee’s Culture Department and was vice president of the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television. He was also president of the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples from 1990.
CORSINI, ATTILIO Italian stage and film actor Attilio Corsini died in a Rome hospital on August 6, 2008. He was 63. Corsini spent twenty years performing with the Teatro Vittoria di Testaccio. He also appeared in a handful of films during his career including Black Tigress (1967), The Howl (1970), Vacation (1971), and Detective School Dropouts (1986). He was also featured in television productions of Oliver Cromwell: Ritratto di un Dittatore (1969), Nero Wolfe: La Casa Degli Attori (1970), Marty (1971), Nero Wolfe: La Bella Bugiarda (1971), Orestea (1975), Macbeth (1975), and La Riva di Charleston (1978). CORTAZAR, OCTAVIO Cuban film director Octavio Cortazar died suddenly of a heart attack in
Octavio Cortazar
Guardafronteras (1980), The Last Rumba of Papa Montero (1992), Derecho de Asilo (1992), La Pequena Ache (2004), and Con la Memoria en el Futuro (2005). Cortazar was the founder of the International Film and Television School at San Antonio de Los Banos, Cuba, near Havana. He was also the director of the Huron Azul Documentary Development Center at the National Association of Cuban Writers and Artists. COSSERY, ALBERT Egyptian-French writer Albert Cossery died in Paris on June 21, 2008. He was 94. Cossery was born in Cairo, Egypt, on November 3, 1913. He was educated by the Christian Brothers in Egypt, where he developed a love for classical literature. He published a collection of poems, Morsures, in 1931, and his first novel, Les Hommes Oublies de Dieu (Men Forgotten by God) was published in 1944. He relocated to Paris the following year where he took up residence at the Hotel Louisiane. Cossery’s literary output was slight, though significant, reflecting his ideals of idleness and pleasure. Many of his works were adapted to film in-
Obituaries • 2008
88
Albert Cossery
John Costelloe
cluding The Marriage Came Tumbling Down (1967), Beggars and Proud Ones (1971) and (1991), Black Thursday (1974), The Idlers of the Fertile Valley (1978), and La Maison de la Memoire (1983).
Kiss of Death (1995), Kazaam (1996), Celebrity (1998) Crooked Lines (2003), The Kings of Brooklyn (2004), and Doubt (2008). Costelloe portrayed gay short-order cook Jim “Johnny Cakes” Witowski, the lover of closeted mobster Vito Spatafore, played by Joseph Gannascoli, in the hit HBO series The Sopranos in 2006. His other television credits include episodes of Tribeca, Central Park West, and Law & Order. COTTON, SIR BILL British television producer Sir Bill Cotton, who headed the BBC’s light entertainment division in the 1970s, died in Bournemouth, Dorset, England, on August 11, 2008. He was 80. Cotton was born in London on April 23, 1928, the son of
COSTACOS, GEORGE Actor George Costacos died on November 17, 2008. He was 43. Costacos came to the United States while in his teens, and em-
George Costacos
barked on a career on stage. He was originally billed under the name George Best, but reverted to his family name Costacos later in his career. He was featured in numerous productions on the New York Stage including Balm in Gilead, Hair, The Confidence Man, and Opa! He was featured in small roles in the films To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995) and Trick (1999), and participated in the opening ceremonies of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
COSTELLOE, JOHN Actor John Costelloe, who was featured as Johnny Cakes on the television series The Sopranos, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Brooklyn, New York, on December 16, 2008. He was 47. Costelloe was a former New York City firefighter who appeared in films from the late 1980s. He was seen in the films Black Rain (1989), Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989), Die Hard 2 (1990), The Hard Way (1991), Billy Bathgate (1991), Joey Breaker (1993), Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993), Who Do I Gotta Kill? (1994),
Bill Cotton
bandleader Billy Cotton. The younger Cotton began working for the BBC in 1956 as a producer of light entertainment programs including Six-Five Special, Off the Record, and his father’s Billy Cotton’s Band Show. He was assistant head of the light entertainment division from 1962, and was promoted to lead the BBC Light Entertainment Group in 1970. He was instrumental in bringing The Morecambe and Wise Show to the BBC, creating the popular series The Generation Game, and pairing Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett together as The Two Ronnies. Cotton became Controller of BBC1 in 1977, and continued to promote such popular comedies as Only Fools and Horses, Yes Minister, and Yes, Prime Minister through the 1980s. He served as managing director of
89 BBC Television from 1984 to 1988. After his retirement he served as a director of the Noel Gay Organization, and produced Dave Allen’s ITV series. Cotton was knighted for his services to television in 2001.
COUGHLIN, DAVID Actor David Coughlin died in California on July 2, 2008. He was 47. Coughlin was born on August 22, 1960. He began his career
David Coughlin
on stage before moving to California in the late 1980s. He was featured in several films, including Galactic Gigolo (1988), Inrapture (1989), Cemetery High (1989), The Marilyn Diaries (1990), the tele-film Affairs of the Heart (1992), Beauty School (1993), and New York Nights (1994).
COURAGE, ALEXANDER Film and television composer Alexander Courage, whose fanfare for the Starship Enterprise served as the theme for the original Star Trek television series, died after a long illness in a nursing home in Pacific Palisades, California, on May 15, 2008. He was 88. Courage was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 10, 1919. He studied music from an early age and served as a band leader while in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He joined CBS Radio after the war, composing and conducting for such shows as The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective, Screen Guild Theater, Hedda Hopper’s This Is Hollywood, and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. He began working in films in
Alexander Courage
2008 • Obituaries the early 1950s, scoring such low budget classics as Pagan Love Song (1950), Hot Rod Girl (1956), Shake, Rattle and Rock! (1956), Sierra Stranger (1957), Hot Rod Rumble (1957), My Gun Is Quick (1957), Undersea Girl (1957), Handle with Care (1958), The Left Handed Gun (1958), Tokyo After Dark (1959), Day of the Outlaw (1959), and Follow the Boys (1963). Courage also served as an orchestrator and arranger at MGM, where he worked on such films as Annie Get Your Gun (1950), Show Boat (1951), The Belle of New York (1952), Singin’ in the Rain (1952), Million Dollar Mermaid (1952), The Band Wagon (1953), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), Deep in My Heart (1954), Kismet (1955), Oklahoma! (1955), Guys and Dolls (1955), Crime in the Streets (1956), Funny Face (1957), The Sun Also Rises (1957), Les Girls (1957), Raintree Country (1957), Gigi (1958), The Big Country (1958), Porg y and Bess (1959), Bells Are Ringing (1960), The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), My Fair Lady (1964), The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965), Do Not Disturb (1965), Stagecoach (1966), Hello, Dolly! (1969), Fiddler on the Roof (1971), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), and The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977). He shared an Academy Award nomination with Lionel Newman for his adaptation score for The Pleasure Seekers (1964), and he and Newman were also nominated for their work on Doctor Dolittle in 1967. Courage began writing for television in the 1960s, with his most notable composition being the eight-note brass signature theme announcing the start of Star Trek in 1965. He scored several episodes of the series and his theme was passed down through all the various incarnations that followed over the next 40 years. He also composed the music for such television series as Riverboat, National Velvet, Bus Stop, Daniel Boone, The Loner, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Judd for the Defense, Lost in Space, Land of the Giants, Medical Center, Apple’s Way, Eight Is Enough, and The Waltons, scoring over 150 episodes of the series from 1972 to 1981. He earned an Emmy Award for his role as principal arranger for the 1987 television special Julie Andrews: The Sound of Christmas for ABC. Courage coordinated the music for the 1982 film Yes, Giorgio starring Luciano Pavarotti, and appeared onscreen in the role of a conductor. He continued to work in films as an orchestrator for such composers as John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith, with such credits as Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1987), Legend (1985), Extreme Prejudice (1987), Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), Lionheart (1987), The Bear (1988), Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), Sleeping with the Enemy (1991), The Last Butterfly (1991), Hook (1991), Basic Instinct (1992), Mom and Dad Save the World (1992), Mr. Baseball (1992), Love Field (1992), Matinee (1993), Jurassic Park (1993), Dennis the Menace (1993), Rudy (1993), Malice (1993), The Shadow (1994), The River Wild (1994), I.Q. (1994), First Knight (1995), Powder (1995), Executive Decision (1995), The Ghost and the Darkness (1996), L.A. Confidential (1997), Air Force One (1997), The Edge (1997), Deep Rising (1998), U.S. Marshals (1998), Moulan (1998), Small Soldiers (1999), The Mummy (1999), The 13th Warrior (1999), The Haunting (1999), and Hollow Man (2000). Courage was a founding member of the Composers and Lyricists Guild of America in the 1950s.
Obituaries • 2008 COURT, HAZEL British leading lady Hazel Court, who was best known for her roles in horror films in the late 1950s and early 1960s, died of a heart attack at her home near Lake Tahoe, Nevada, on April 15, 2008. She was 82. Court was born in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England, on February 10, 1926. She began performing on stage while in her teens and made her film debut in a small role in 1944’s Champagne Charlie. The lovely redhead with piercing green eyes soon became a popular actress and model. Court was featured in such films as Dreaming (1945), Gaiety George (1946), Carnival (1946), Root of All Evil (1947), Meet Me at Dawn (1947), Hungry Hill (1947), Dear Murderer (1947), Holiday Camp (1947), Forbidden (1948), Bond Street (1948), My Sister and I (1948), Ghost Ship (1952), Counterspy (1953), Tale of Three Women (1954), Present for a Bride (1954), Devil Girl from Mars (1954), Scarlet Web (1954), The Narrowing Circle (1956), Behind the Headlines (1956), and Hour of Decision (1957). She starred as Elizabeth in the 1957 Hammer Films horror classic The Curse of Frankenstein with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. She solidified her reputation as one of filmdom’s leading “Scream Queens” with roles in The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959) and Dr. Blood’s Coffin (1961). Her other film credits include A Woman of Mystery (1958), The Shakedown (1959), Model for Murder (1959), Breakout (1959), and Mary Had a Little (1961). Court was also a familiar face on British television, starring as Jane Starrett in the 1957 comedy series Dick and the Duchess with Patrick O’Neal. She also guest-starred in episodes of such series as The Buccaneers, The Gentle Killers, The Gay Cavalier, Playhouse 90, The Third Man, Invisible Man, Markham, Alcoa Theatre, Adventures in Paradise, Interpol Calling, General Electric Theater, The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre, Danger Man, Top Secret, and Ghost Squad. She largely relocated to Hollywood in the early 1960s where she starred in several of Roger Corman’s adaptations of tales of horror by Edgar Allan Poe. Court co-starred with Ray Milland in 1962’s Premature Burial, and was the beautiful yet evil Lenore Craven in 1963’s The Raven with horror legends Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, and Peter Lorre, and newcomer Jack Nicholson. She again starred with Price in 1964’s The Masque of the Red Death in the role of Juliana. Court was also seen on television in Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Boris Karloff ’s
Hazel Court
90 Thriller, Kraft Mystery Theater, Bonanza, Stagecoach West, The Dick Powell Show, Sam Benedict, Rawhide, Twilight Zone, The Farmer’s Daughter, 12 O’Clock High in the recurring role of Liz Woodruff, Burke’s Law, Dr. Kildare in the recurring role Norma Hobart, The Wackiest Ship in the Army, Gidget, The Wild Wild West, The Iron Horse, Mission: Impossible, Mannix, The Name of the Game, and McMillan and Wife. Married to director Don Taylor until his death in 1998, she retired from the screen in the early 1970s, though she made a brief cameo appearance in the 1981 horror film The Final Conflict. Court was also a distinguished sculptor and painter, and had recently completed her autobiography, Hazel Court— Horror Queen.
COURTNEY, OPAL, JR. R&B singer Opal Courtney, Jr., who was a founding member of the early doo-wop band the Spaniels, died from a heart attack at his home in Gary, Indiana, on September 18, 2008. He was 71. Courtney was born on November 11, 1936, and
Opal Courtney, Jr.
began performing with Pookie Hudson & The Hudsonaires while attending high school in Gary, Indiana, in 1952. They soon changed their name to the Spaniels. Led by R&B singer James “Pookie” Hudson, the group became the first band to feature a lead vocalist on one microphone, while the other members shared a second microphone backing him up on harmonies. They were one of the first artists to sign on with the legendary black label Vee Jay Records, and released their debut album, Baby It’s You, in 1953. They also had a hit with their 1954 song, “Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite.” Courtney left the group soon after the release of the song due to financial frustrations to pursue a career in the United States Air Force. In 1991, the Spaniels received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and Courtney appeared with the group in 1993 for a reunion show. James “Pookie” Hudson died after a long battle with cancer on January 16, 2007.
COVELL, WALTER Character actor Walter Covell died in Barrington, Rhode Island, on November 11, 2008. He was 91. Covell was born in Barrington on January 6, 1917. He graduated from Brown University in 1938, where was active with the drama department. He worked for several radio stations in the northeast after graduations and served in the Merchant Marine during
91
2008 • Obituaries organization that became known as Rogers & Cowan in 1950. He orchestrated publicity campaigns for various businesses and industries, but was primarily known for his work in the entertainment field. He was a pioneer in managing campaigns for films in the running for Academy Awards. He became president of Rogers & Cowan in 1964. He was press representative for such leading stars as Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Frank Sinatra, Kirk Douglas, and Elton John during his lengthy career.
COWGILL, BRYAN British television executive Bryan Cowgill died in Stratford-on-Avon, England, on July 15, 2008. He was 81. Cowgill was born in Clitheroe, Lancashire, England, on May 27, 1927. He worked as a reporter for the Lancashire Evening Post after Walter Covell
World War II. After the war he returned to Rhode Island, where he was narrator of the radio series New England Notebook. He moved into television in the early 1950s, acting in short theatrical pieces for the local series Backstage Stories, later called Solo Drama. He appeared in other series for stations WJAR and WSBE, and became a program manager until his retirement in 1978. Covell also continued to perform on stage in numerous local productions. He was featured as Colonel Mustard in the 1985 video version of the Clue mystery game, and reprised the role in the 1987 video Clue II: Murder in Disguise. He also appeared in the tele-films Concealed Enemies (1984) and Robert Kennedy & His Times (1985), and an episode of the television series Spenser: For Hire. Covell was also featured in several films including The Love Letters, I Rob Banks for the Money (2005), and Underdog (2007). COWAN, WARREN Leading Hollywood press agent Warren Cowan died from heart failure and complications of cancer in a Los Angeles hospital on May 14, 2008. He was 87. Cowan was born in New York City on March 13, 1921. He attended college at UCLA where
Warren Cowan
he majored in journalism. While still in his teens, he worked as an independent publicist for actress Linda Darnell. Cowan served in the Army Air Force during World War II, and joined Henry C. Rogers’ public relations firm after the war. He became a partner in the
Bryan Cowgill
military service with the Royal Marines during World War II. He also edited a local paper in Clitheroe before joining the BBC as a production assistant in 1955. He was instrumental in creating the popular sports program Grandstand. He was named BBC’s Head of Sport in 1963, and soon created the mid-week program Sportsnight. He was promoted to Controller of BBC One in 1973, where he oversaw the creation of such popular sitcoms as The Good Life and Porridge, and the dramas All Creatures Great and Small and When the Boat Comes In. He left the BBC to become managing director of Thames TV in 1977. Such drama series as Edward and Mrs. Simpson, Rumpole of the Bailey, and A Voyage Round Me Father emerged during his watch at Thames. He resigned from Thames in 1985 over a dispute regarding his attempted to outbid the BBC to the British rights to air the popular U.S. soap opera Dallas. Cowgill’s autobiography, Mr. Action Replay, was published in 2006.
CRANE, FRED Fred Crane, whose role as one of the Tarleton twins gave him the opening dialog in the 1939 film classic Gone with the Wind, died of a blood clot in his lung following complications from diabetes and leg surgery in an Atlanta, Georgia, hospital on August 21, 2008. He was 90. Crane was born New Orleans, Louisiana, on March 22, 1918. He began his acting career on stage in the local theaters. He came to Hollywood in the late 1930s and was given a featured role in Gone with the Wind because of his southern accent. He was cast as Brent Tarleton, who with twin brother Stu-
Obituaries • 2008
92 The Rolling Stones. He had a brief acting career, appearing in episodes of Burke’s Law, Ironside, The Virginian, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, It Takes A Thief, and Love, American Style. He was also seen in the 1966 film An American Dream, and starred as Jack Packard in the 1973 television adaptation of I Love a Mystery. Crane earned a Grammy Award in 1971 for his reading of “Desiderata,” which became a counterculture hit. He left show business in the 1970s and became involved in the early software industry. He was chairman of Software Toolworks, producing such computer games as Chessmaster 2000 and the PC versions of Pong.
Fred Crane (from Gone with the Wind )
art (played by future television Superman George Reeves), were among the suitors of Scarlett O’Hara. Crane and Reeves had their characters switched in the film credits, and the studio decided it would cost too much to correct the error. Crane began working in radio in the 1940s as an announcer for the Los Angeles classical radio station KFAC. He was also featured as a henchman in the 1949 Cisco Kid film The Gay Amigo. He continued to work at KAFC over the next three decades, becoming program director and hosting several shows. His acting career was limited to small roles in such television series as Surfside 6, 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, Lawman, The Twilight Zone, Peyton Place, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Lost in Space. Crane and his fifth wife Terry bought an antebellum mansion in Barnesville, Georgia, near Atlanta, in 2000. They transformed it into a bed-and-breakfast called Tarleton Oaks, complete with a Gone with the Wind museum, in 2000.
CRANE, LES Actor and television talkshow host Les Crane died in a Marin County, California, hospital on July 13, 2008. He was 74. Crane was born in San Francisco, California, on December 3, 1933. An Air Force veteran, he began his career in radio in New Orleans in the 1950s. He later moved to San Francisco, where he was pioneer in talk radio at station KGO. As host of The Les Crane Show he moved to ABC Television in 1964, where he interviewed such notable guests as Malcom X, Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King, Jr., and
Les Crane
CRAWFORD, OLIVER KAUFMAN Film and television writer Oliver Kaufman Crawford died in Los Angeles on September 24, 2008. He was 91. Crawford was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 12, 1917. He began writing for television in the early 1950s, scripting episodes of the series The Stu Erwin Show, Terry and the Pirates, and Boston Blackie. He also wrote the story for the 1953 film The Man from the Alamo. Crawford’s film ca-
Oliver Kaufman Crawford
reer was sidetracked in 1953 when he refused to cooperate with the House UnAmerican Activities Committee about allegations of communist influence in the film industry. He was blacklisted from the industry, and moved to New York where he worked in a variety of jobs over the next several years. Crawford was able to return to television in 1957, when actor Sam Levene assisted him in getting a job writing for Playhouse 90. He also scripted the 1958 film Girl in the Woods, but primarily worked in television. He wrote episodes of numerous series, including Kraft Television Theatre, Lux Video Theatre, The Restless Gun, Climax!, U.S. Marshal, Armchair Theatre, The Grand Jury, The Third Man, Lawman, Startime, Rawhide, Man with a Camera, Perry Mason, Checkmate, The Rifleman, The Outer Limits, Gilligan’s Island, The Big Valley, Ben Casey, The Long, Hot Summer, Tarzan, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Fugitive, Bonanza, The Iron Horse, I Spy, Here Come the Brides, Star Trek scripting the popular episodes “The Galileo Seven” and “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield,” The Wild Wild West, Land of the Giants, Love, American Style, Medical Center, Mannix, Petrocelli, Ironside, The Blue Knight, Swiss Family Robinson, Bronk, The Bionic Woman, Kojak, and Kaz.
93 Crawford adapted his novel, The Execution, for a 1985 tele-film, which he also produced.
CRICHTON, MICHAEL Michael Crichton, a medical doctor turned writer who penned the best-selling novels The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park and co-created the television drama E.R., died of cancer in Los Angeles on November 4, 2008. He was 66. Crichton was born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 23, 1942, and was raised on Long Island, New York. He entered Harvard in 1960, where he earned a degree in anthropology in 1964. He continued his studies, and graduated with a degree from Harvard Medical School in 1969. He wrote several novels under the pseudonym John Lang to support his college tuition that included Odds On (1966), Scratch One (1967), and Easy Go (1968). His 1969 novel, A Case of Need, was written as Jeffery Hudson. Crichton’s subsequent novel, The Andromeda Strain, about deadly bacteria from space infecting Earth, was published in 1969. It was adapted for a popular film from director Robert Wise in 1971, and was re-made for a television mini-series in 2008. He co-authored the book Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues with his brother Douglas Crichton under the name Michael Douglas. It was adapted for a film in 1972. His earlier novel, A Case of Need, was adapted as Blake Edward’s 1972 film The Carey Treatment. His next novel, The Terminal Man (1972), became a film thriller starring George Segal two years later. He also penned Binary in 1972, and made his directorial debut on the telefilm version the same year. Crichton wrote and directed the tale of a futuristic amusement park, Westworld, in 1973. A sequel, Futurworld, followed in 1976 though Crichton was uninvolved. He adapted writer Robin Cook’s medical thriller Coma for film in 1978. He had written a novel about a 19th century heist, The Great Train Robbery, in 1975. The book was unsuccessful, but the 1979 film version that he directed starring Sean Connery proved more so. He also directed the film thrillers Looker (1981), Runaway (1984), and Physical Evidence (1989). Connery and Wesley Snipes starred in a 1993 adaptation of Crichton’s novel Rising Sun. His most successful endeavor was the 1990 novel Jurassic Park, a tale about the cloning of prehistoric creatures for an adventure park, and the disaster that ensues when scientific
2008 • Obituaries technology goes haywire. He co-scripted the screenplay for Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film version. Crichton wrote a sequel novel, The Lost World, in 1995 that Spielberg brought to the screen as The Lost World: Jurassic Park in 1997. A third film sequel followed without Crichton’s participation. He again joined with Spielberg to co-create the popular television medical drama E.R. in 1994 and was credited as an executive producer throughout its run. His novel Disclosure was made into a film by director Barry Levinson in 1994. His earlier African adventure about diamonds and super intelligent apes, Congo (1980), was filmed in 1995. Crichton and his fourth wife, actress Anne-Marie Martin, co-scripted the 1996 feature Twister. His undersea science fiction novel Sphere was filmed in 1998, and his novel Eaters of the Dead (1976), a version of the Beowulf legend, was filmed as The 13th Warrior starring Antonio Banderas in 1999. His 1999 novel Timeline became a film from director Richard Donner in 2003. His later novels include Airframe (1996), Prey (2002), State of Fear (2004), and Next (2006). Crichton also wrote several non-fiction works, including Five Patients (1970), Jasper Johns (1977) about the prominent artist, Electronic Life (1983), and the autobiographical Travels (1988).
CRIDDLE, TOM British actor and singer Tom Criddle, who began his career as a boy soprano in the 1940s, died in England on March 6, 2008. He was 79. Criddle was born in Edmonton, London, on March 9, 1928. He began singing as a child and won a talent contest in Edmonton at the age of 14. He was soon touring the country performing in variety shows and singing in cinemas before the feature. He was featured several times
Tom Criddle
Michael Crichton
on BBC’s Children’s Hour during his singing career and recorded ten popular songs with HMV’s Abbey Road Studios. He was called up for military service several years later and returned to the stage as an actor in the early 1950s. He performed on stage with Donald Wolfit’s touring Shakespeare company, and was featured in television productions of The End Begins (1956) and An Enemy of the People (1957). He was also seen in episodes of Suspense, Somerset Maugham Hour, The Plane Makers, R3, Dr. Finlay’s Casebook, Out of the Unknown, The Revenue Men, Man in a Suitcase, Theatre 625, Spy Trap, Menace,
Obituaries • 2008 Crown Court, and Victorian Scandals. Criddle’s other television credits include productions of Luther (1965), Murder: A Professional Job (1968), The Right Prospectus (1970), Rasputin (1971), Fall of Eagles (1974), Edward the Seventh (1975) as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Oil Strike North (1975) as Sir Norman Denison, Loyalties (1976), and Airport Chaplain (1980) as the Airport Manager.
CROFT, LEWIS
Lewis Croft, a 31 ⁄ 2 foot entertainer who earned immortality as one of the Munchkins in the 1939 fantasy film classic The Wizard of Oz, died in Shelley, Idaho, on April 29, 2008. He was 88. Croft was born in Shelley on May 2, 1919. Diminutive of size
94 ary 23, 2008. She was 69. Cromwell was born on February 26, 1938. She was featured as Georgia Rothchild in the daytime soap opera Ryan’s Hope from 1975 to 1983. She was also seen in the films Soup for One (1982), Say Anything (1989), and The War of the Roses (1989), and the tele-films Stone Pillow (1985), Parent Trap II (1986), Amityville: The Evil Escapes (1989), and The Odd Couple: Together Again (1993). Her other television credits include episodes of such series as Kate & Allie, Hill Street Blues, Moonlighting, Designing Women, Coach, Murder, She Wrote, Hunter, Good Grief, Cop Rock, Golden Girls, Murphy Brown, L.A. Law, The City, One Life to Live, and Hope & Faith.
CRUM, TED Character actor Ted Crum died in Coleman, Texas, on October 25, 2008. He was 77. Crum was born in Roy, New Mexico, on December 31, 1930. After serving in the military during the Korean War, he worked in the radio and television business in
Lewis Croft
but not spirit, he left home at the age of 16 to work in circuses and fair sideshows under the stage name Idaho Lewis. He headed to Hollywood in the late 1930s where he was hired as one of the little people to play the Munchkin inhabitants of the Emerald City of Oz. After completing the film Croft returned to touring and landed in Chicago, where he worked in a midget bar. He married and began raising a family in the late 1940s and returned to his home town in 1953. He worked for several businesses there and participated in various Munchkin reunion events in recent years. Croft’s death left eight surviving little people from The Wizard of Oz cast.
CROMWELL, GLORIA Veteran character actress Gloria Cromwell died in New York City on Febru-
Gloria Cromwell
Ted Crum
the Austin, Texas, area for many years. He was featured frequently in television commercials and appeared in small roles in several movies filmed in the area including Confessions of a Serial Killer (1985), Red Headed Stranger (1986), and The Ballad of Sad Cafe (1991). He also appeared in the tele-films Shadows of Desire (1984), The Good Old Boys (1995), and Rough Riders (1997).
CRUMLEY, JAMES Crime novelist James Crumley died in a Missoula, Montana, hospital after a long illness on September 17, 2008. He was 68. Crumley was born in Texas on October 12, 1939. He earned a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of Iowa in 1966 and his thesis about the Vietnam War was published as the 1969 novel One to Count Cadence. He created the character of C.W. Sughrue, an ex–army officer turned private detective in Montana, in the 1975 novel The Wrong Case. His subsequent novel featuring Sughrue, The Last Good Kiss (1978), was a best-seller, and the character reappeared in The Mexican Tree Duck (1993) which earned the Dashiell Hammett Award for best literary crime novel, and The Right Madness (2005). He also created the boozing down-and-out private eye Milo Milodragovitch, who starred in Crumley’s novels The Wrong Case (1975), Dancing Bear (1983), and The Final Country (2001). Sughrue and Milodragovitch
95
James Crumley
teamed for the 1996 novel Bordersnakes. Crumley was also the author of the short story collections Whores (1988) and Muddy Fork and Other Things (1991). He teamed with Ron Sullivan to write the screenplay for the 2006 film The Far Side of Jericho.
CULKIN, DAKOTA Dakota Culkin, the sister of child star Macaulay Culkin, died in a Los Angeles hospital on December 10, 2008, of injuries she received when she was hit by a car when she stepped off a curb into
2008 • Obituaries
Robert Cunniff (with Barbara Walters on the set of the Today show)
Guide in the 1950s, and joined the writing staff of the Today show in 1963. He wrote for Today until 1969 and for The Dick Cavett Show from 1969 to 1972. He became a producer for Sesame Street in 1972, and shared an Emmy Award for his work on the series the following year. He left Sesame Street in 1975, and was a producer and editor for Good Morning, America in 1976. Cunniff was a creator of the Disney Channel series Mouseterpiece Theater in 1983.
CZARNECKI, FRANK Character actor Frank Czarnecki died in Reseda, California, on November 1, 2008. He was 62. Czarnecki was born in Peabody, Massachusetts, on March 22, 1946. He was featured in small
Dakota Culkin
the street and suffered massive head injuries. She was 29. Dakota was born in New York City in 1979. She was a year older than Macaulay, who was a major star as a child actor in the 1990s in such films as Home Alone, My Girl, and Richie Rich. Dakota had five other siblings that also were involved in the movie industry, Shan, Kieran, Christian, Rory, and Quinn. She had recently worked as an art production assistant on the independent film Lost Soul (2009).
CUNNIFF, ROBERT Television producer and writer Robert Cunniff died in a Brooklyn, New York, nursing facility after a long illness on January 20, 2008. He was 81. Cunniff was born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 13, 1926. He served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific during World War II, and graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in literature after the war. Cunniff wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times and TV
Frank Czarnecki
roles in several films including Bert I. Gordon’s The Coming (1981), Road House (1989), The Last Boy Scout (1991), and X-Men (2000). He also appeared on television in episodes of Cheers, Hunter, Unsolved Mysteries, and Seinfeld.
DABNEY, AUGUSTA Character actress Augusta Dabney, who starred as Isabella Alden on the daytime soap opera Loving for over a decade, died after a long illness at her home in Dobbs Ferry, New York, on February 4, 2008. She was 89. Dabney was born in Berkeley, California, on October 23, 1918. She studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York in
Obituaries • 2008
96
Augusta Dabney
Sahar Daftary
the late 1930s, and made her Broadway debut in a production of Abe Lincoln in Illinois in 1938. She met actor Kevin McCarthy during the production and the two married in 1941. They had three children before divorcing in the early 1960s. She continued to appear on stage, and was featured in nine other Broadway shows. She also appeared frequently on television from the early 1950s, with roles in such series as NBC Presents, The Clock, The Trap, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Sure As Fate, Kraft Television Theatre, Starlight Theatre, Out There, Danger, Suspense, Studio One, You Are There, The Philco Television Playhouse, Matinee Theatre, Robert Montgomery Presents, Goodyear Television Playhouse, True Story, Modern Romances, The United States Steel Hour, Brenner, One Step Beyond, The Nurses, Police Woman, Lou Grant, Law & Order, and 100 Centre Street. Dabney was best known for her work on daytime television, starring as Isabella Alden in Loving largely from 1983 through 1995. She was featured as Tracey Malone in Young Dr. Malone from 1959 to 1963, and played Laura Baxter on Another World from 1964 to 1965. She was seen as Ann Holmes in As the World Turns in the late 1960s and early 1970s, played Carolyn Chandler Baldwin in General Hospital from 1975 to 1976, and was Theodora Van Allen on The Doctors from 1980 to 1981. Dabney also appeared in such soaps as Love Is a Splendored Thing, The Guiding Light, A World Apart, and One Life to Live. Her other television credits include roles in the tele-films FDR: The Last Year (1980) as Grace Tully, Hothouse (1988), Shannon’s Deal (1989), and The Portrait (1993). Dabney appeared in several feature films during her career including That Night! (1957), Plaza Suite (1971), The Heartbreak Kid (1972), Fire Sale (1977), Cold River (1982), Violets Are Blue... (1986), Shakedown (1988), Running on Empty (1988), and Bum Rap (1988). She met her second husband, William Prince, in 1964 when he played her husband on Young Doctor Malone. The two appeared in several other soaps together and were both featured as Michael Keaton’s parents in the 1994 film The Paper. She and Prince remained married until his death in 1996. Dabney made her final film appearance in 2000’s Fear of Fiction. DAFTARY, SAHAR Afghanistani-British model Sahar Daftary died of injuries received in a 150 ft. plunge from a Manchester, England, luxury apartment on December 20, 2008. She was 23. Daftary was moving out
of the apartment of Rashid Jamil, whom she had married in a Muslim ceremony the previous year before finding out he had another wife. Jamil was briefly held on suspicion in regard to the fall but was released for lack of evidence when police viewed Daftary’s death as either an accident or suicide. Daftary was born on December 25, 1984. She won the Face of Asia modeling competition in 2007. She was also featured as Dawn in an episode of the internet comedy series Christie earlier in the year. DAHLBECK, EVA Swedish leading actress Eva Dahlbeck, who starred in many of Ingmar Bergman’s film in the 1950s, died of complications from an infection and Alzheimer’s disease in Stockholm, Sweden, on February 8, 2008. She was 87. Dahlbeck was born in Saltsjo-Duvnas, near Stockholm, Sweden, on March 8, 1920. She attended acting school with the Royal Dramatic Theatre in the early 1940s and was soon appearing in small roles on films and on stage. Her many film credits include Bara en Kvinna (1941), Ride Tonight! (1942), Black Roses (1945), Love Goes Up and Down (1946), Meeting in the Night (1946), The People from Simlang’s Valley (1947), The Key and the Ring (1947), Two Women (1947), Lars Hard (1948), Girl from the Mountain Village (1948), Each to His Own (1948), Eva (1948), Woman in White (1949), Only a Mother (1949), Fiancee for Hire (1950), Helen of Troy (1951) in the title role, U-Boat 39 (1952), and Defiance (1952). She gained an in-
Eva Dahlbeck
97 ternational audience with her performances in several Ingmar Bergman comedy films, often opposite Gunnar Bjornstrand in the 1950s including Secrets of a Woman (1952), A Lesson in Love (1954), and Smiles of a Summer Night (1955). She was featured in several episodes of the television drama series Foreign Intrigue from 1953 through 1955. Dahlbeck was also seen in the films Skuggan (1953), The Village (1953), Barabbas (1953), Caged Women (1953), The Chief of Goeinge (1953), Paradise (1955), Dreams (1955), Tarps Elin (1956), Last Couple Out (1956), Summer Place Wanted (1957), Brink of Life (1958), A Matter of Morals (1961), Ticket to Paradise (1962), The Counterfeit Traitor (1962), All These Women (1964), Loving Couples (1964), The Cats (1965), Morianna (1965), The Creatures (1966), The Red Mantle (1967), People Meet and Sweet Music Fills the Heart (1967), and A Day at the Beach (1970). Dahlbeck made her final film appearance in 1970’s Tintomara, with actress Britt Ekland. She also appeared frequently on the Swedish stage and was the author of over a dozen novels.
DAILEY, IRENE Stage and television actress Irene Dailey died of colon cancer in Santa Rosa, California, on September 24, 2008. She was 88. Dailey was born in New York City on September 12, 1920. She began dancing in vaudeville at the age of 8 and was performing in Summer Stock while in her teens. She also appeared frequently on Broadway, usually in less than suc-
2008 • Obituaries Daring Game (1968), Five Easy Pieces (1970), The Grissom Gang (1971), the 1972 tele-film Jigsaw, The Amityville Horror (1979) as Aunt Helena, and Stacking (1987). She was the sister of singer and actor Dan Dailey, who died in 1978.
DALE, BOB Bob Dale, who was one of San Diego’s best known television personalities for over four decades, died at a San Diego, California, hospice on May 26, 2008. He was 83. He was born Bob Dale Bergmayr in Canton, Ohio, on March 26, 1925, and later dropped his surname. He began working in televi-
Bob Dale
sion as an announcer in Cleveland in 1947 and moved to San Diego in 1956. He worked for the local CBS affiliate there and became host of the popular series Zoorama that was filmed at the San Diego Zoo in the early 1960s. The series was distributed nationally in syndication. He also hosted various children’s programs, movies, and local events and served as the station’s weatherman. He moved to San Diego’s NBC affiliate in the late 1970s, where he remained until his retirement in the early 2000s.
DALLANSKY, BRUNO Austrian actor Bruno Dallansky, a leading star on stage, screen, and television, died in Vienna, Austria, on August 5, 2008. He was 79. Dallansky was born in Vienna on September 19, 1928. He began his career on stage in Vienna in the early 1950s, and was soon appearing in such films as Brutality (1953), Irene Dailey
cessful plays. She gained critical acclaim for her role in a British production of Tomorrow—With Pictures in 1960. She returned to Broadway to star with Jack Albertson in the Tony Award–winning drama The Subject Was Roses in 1964. Dailey also appeared frequently on television, starring as Pamela Stewart in the soap opera The Edge of Night in 1969. She also starred as Liz Matthews in the daytime soap Another World from 1974 to 1986 and from 1988 to 1994. She earned a Daytime Emmy Award for her role in 1979. Dailey’s other television credits include episodes of Decoy, Naked City, The Defenders, Sam Benedict, Twilight Zone, Dr. Kildare, The Eleventh Hour, Ben Casey, The Nurses, Hawk, and NET Playhouse. Dailey also appeared in a handful of films during her career including No Way to Treat a Lady (1968) with Rod Steiger,
Bruno Dallansky
Obituaries • 2008 Schicksal am Lenkrad (1954), Her Crime Was Love (1955), ...Und Fuhre uns Nicht in Versuchung (1957), Nachtschwester Ingeborg (1958), Das Dorf ohne Moral (1960), Walt Disney’s The Magnificent Rebel (1962), School of Fear (1969), and And Jimmy Went to the Rainbow’s Foot (1971). He was also seen frequently on television in such productions as Wie Eine Trane im Ozean (1970), Die Gartenlaube (1970), Menschen (1970), Die Marquise von B. (1970), Der Fall Jagerstatter (1971), Die Abreise (1971), Der Prokurator (1971), Die Heilige Johanna (1971), Der 21. Juli (1972), The Condemned (1975), Jakob der Letzte (1976), Ein Abend mit Labiche (1980), Der Lebenden Leichnam (1981), Streichquartett (1981), Der Stille Ozean (1983), Via Mala (1985), Ein Denkmal wird Erschossen (1988), Fremde, Liebe Fremde (1991), Radetzkymarsch (1995), and Liebesfeuer (1997). He was also seen in episodes of Der Alte, Derrick, Ein Fall fur Zwei, Der Schwarzewaldklinik, Tatort in the recurring role of Oberinspektor Pfeifer, SOKO 5113, and Kommissar Rex. Dallansky was also a teacher at the Max Reinhardt School of Drama from 1965 to 1990. He married actress Judith Holzmeister in 1955. The couple separated in 1961 but never divorced, and Holzmeister died several weeks before Dallansky in June of 2008.
98 (1986), River’s Edge (1986), Hoosiers (1986), Platoon (1986), Scenes from the Goldmine (1987), Best Seller (1987), The Last Emperor (1987), Love at Stake (1988), Miracle Mile (1988), War Party (1988), Criminal Law (1988), Buster (1988), The Boost (1988), Out Cold (1989), Shag (1989), Vampire’s Kiss (1989), Blood Red (1989), Staying Together (1989), Chattahoochee (1989), Hidden Agenda (1990), Don’t Tell Her It’s Me (1990), Bright Angel (1991), Alec to the Rescue (1990) which he also scripted, The Petersburg-Cannes Express (2003) and The Aryan Couple (2004) both of which he also directed and wrote, Waking Up Dead (2005), Moonpie (2006), Played (2006), Drifter (2007), Killer Weekend (2007) which he also scripted, Tournament of Dreams (2007), The Heavy (2008), and Boy of Pigs (2008). He also directed the 2008 film The Box Collector, and was in pre-production for A Private War at the time of his death.
DALY, JOHN British film producer John Daly, whose productions companies backed over a dozen films that won Oscars for Best Picture, died of cancer in a Los Angeles hospital on October 31, 2008. He was 71. Daly was born in London on July 16, 1937. He began his career in show business in 1966 when he formed the Hemdale Company with actor David Hemmings. Hemdale managed several rock bands including Black Sabbath and Yes, before venturing into films as a production company and distributor. Hemdale produced over 100 films that included 13 Oscar winners and 21 Oscar nominees for best pictures. Daly served as executive producer on such features as The Border (1979), The Passage (1979), Sunburn (1979) which he also scripted, Race for the Yankee Zephyr (1981), Going Ape! (1981), Cattle Annie and Little Britches (1981), High Risk (1981), Carbon Copy (1981), Strange Behavior (1981), Escape 2000 (1982), Yellowbeard (1983), A Breed Apart (1984), The Terminator (1984), The Falcon and the Snowman (1985), The Return of the Living Dead (1985), Salvador (1986), At Close Range
DAMIANO, GERARD Gerard Damiano, who directed the landmark adult films Deep Throat and The Devil in Miss Jones, died of complications from a stroke in Fort Myers, Florida, on October 25, 2008. He was 80. Damiano was born in The Bronx, New York, on August 4, 1928. He served in the U.S. Navy in the late 1940s. He became interested in making films while working as a hairdresser in New York City. Damiano began directing films in the late 1960s and cast Linda Lovelace in what became a ground-breaking adult feature, Deep Throat (1972). He was credited on the film as Jerry Gerard and also appeared in a small role in the film. Damiano directed nearly 50 other films during his career, sometimes appearing onscreen in cameo roles. His film credits include We All Go Down (1969), Teenie Tulip (1970), Marriage Manual (1970), Changes (1980), Sex USA (1971), The Magical Ring (1971), Meatball (1972), The Devil in Miss Jones (1973) with Georgina Spelvin, the horror film Legacy of Satan (1974), Memories Within Miss Aggie (1974), Portrait (1974), The Story of Joanna (1975), Let My Puppets Come (1976), Odyssey: The Ultimate Trip (1977), Joint Venture (1977), People (1978), Skin-Flicks (1978), For Richer, for Poorer (1979), Fantasy (1979), the sci-fi porn The Satisfiers of Alpha Blue (1980), Never So Deep (1981), Beyond Your Wildest Dreams (1981), Consenting Adults (1982), Night Hunger (1983), Throat: 12 Years After (1984), Return to Alpha Blue (1984), Flesh
John Daly
Gerard Damiano
99
2008 • Obituaries
and Fantasy (1985), Forbidden Bodies (1986), Ultrasex (1987), Slightly Used (1987), Lessons in Lust (1987), Future Sodom (1987), Cravings (1987), Ruthless Women (1988), Candy’s Little Sister, Sugar (1988), Young Girls in Tight Jeans (1989), Splendor in the Ass (1989), Perils of Paula (1989), Dirty Movies (1989), Manbait (1991), Manbait 2 (1991), Just for the Hell of It (1991), Buco Profondo (1991), Le Professoresse di Sessuologia Applicata (1992), Eccitazione Fatale (1992), Naked Goddess (1993), and Naked Goddess 2 (1994). He retired to Fort Myers in the mid– 1990s. Damiano was featured in a 2005 documentary about his most famous film, Inside Deep Throat.
D’AMICO, FRANK Comedian and character actor Frank D’Amico died of complications from diabetes at his home in California on June 1, 2008. He was 52. D’Amico was born in the Mount Vernon, New York,
Alfonso Dantes
Medico. His sons Apolo and Cesar followed him into the wrestling business, and he occasionally teamed with them before he retired.
DARGIN, ALAN Australian Aboriginal didgeridoo player Alan Dargin died of a stroke in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on February 24, 2008. He was 40. Dargin was born in Arnhem Land, in Australia’s Northern Territory, on July 13, 1967. He learned to play the didgeridoo, a wind instrument created by Aborigi-
Frank D’Amico
on December 20, 1955. He began his career as a standup comic in small clubs before appearing on Comedy Central and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He was also seen in comic and character roles in such films as Warm Gun (1996), The Definite Maybe (1997), the comic documentary Trekkies (1998), Shock Television (1998), The Grimm Cycle (2001), You Got Nothin’ (2002), Kiss the Bride (2002), and Hitters (2002). He also appeared in the 1996 tele-film Back to Back: American Yakuza 2, and was featured in episodes of such television series as Michael Hayes, Martial Law, Becker as Chuck the Drain King, Emeril, The Parkers, Deep Cover, Maybe It’s Me, In-Laws, Grounded for Life, and NYPD Blue. His final film credits include The Dukes (2007) and The Flyboys (2008).
DANTES, ALFONSO Mexican wrestler Alfonso Dantes died at his home in Manzanillo, Mexico, on July 30, 2008. He was 65. He was born Jose Luis Amezcua Diaz on April 13, 1943, the son of wrestler Al “Golden Terror” Amezcua. He began his career wrestling in Mexico in 1960 under the name Edmundo Dantes. He became a leading wrestling star in Mexico and Southern California in the 1960s and 1970s. He won numerous light heavyweight titles in Guadalajara, Mexico. He also held the NWA Americas Tag Team Title in Los Angeles several times in the late 1960s and early 1970s, teaming with Francisco Flores, Mil Mascaras and El
Alan Dargin
nal tribesmen, at an early age. He went from playing in the streets of Sydney to performing with leading orchestras throughout the world. He was also featured on recordings with such artists as Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and Tommy Emmanuel. Dargin also appeared onscreen in the tele-film Chase Through the Night (1983), and the features Stanley: Every Home Should Have One (1984), The Fringe Dwellers (1986), Howling III: The Marsupials (1987), The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), and Heaven’s Burning (1997).
DARLING, ERIK Folk singer and songwriter Erik Darling died of lymphoma in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on August 3, 2008. He was 74. Darling was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 25, 1933. He began playing the guitar and singing while in his teens and became inspired by the music of the Weavers. Darling and Bob Carey formed the folk band the Tunetellers
Obituaries • 2008
100
Erik Darling
in the early 1950s. The group evolved into the Tarriers after several years and included future actor Alan Arkin. They recorded a hit version of the “Banana Boat Song,” and they performed it in the 1957 film Calypso Heat Wave. They had several more minor hits with “Those Brown Eyes” and “Pretty Baby” before Darling left the Tarriers to take Pete Seeger’s position in the Weavers in 1958. He remained with them till 1962, when he founded the Rooftop Singers with Bill Svanoe and Lynne Taylor. They had a #1 hit song with “Walk Right In” in 1963. Darling also released the solo albums Train Time and True Religion. He made a comeback with the album The Possible Dream in 1975 before retiring to New Mexico to paint and teach the banjo. Darling continued to make occasional records in his later years, releasing the albums Child Child in 2000 and Revenge of the Christmas Tree in 2006. He published a memoir, I’d Give My Life!, shortly before his death.
DASSIN, JULES
Blacklisted American filmmaker Jules Dassin, who crafted the film noir classics The Naked City and Night and the City, died in an Athens, Greece, hospital on March 31, 2008. He was 96. Dassin was born in Middletown, Connecticut, to a family of Russian Jewish immigrants on December 18, 1911. He began his career on stage as an actor, performing in New York’s Yiddish theater in the mid–1930s. He soon began directing productions for the New York stage before moving to Hollywood in the early 1940s. He directed a
short film adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart in 1941, and helmed his first feature, Nazi Agent, for MGM in 1942. Such films as The Affairs of Martha (1942), Reunion in France (1942), Young Ideas (1943), The Canterville Ghost (1944), Two Smart People (1946), A Letter for Evie (1946), and Brute Force (1947) soon followed. Dassin crafted one of the first film police dramas with Naked City in 1948, and followed with a gritty melodrama Thieves’ Highway in 1949. He also directed the 1950 noir classic Night and the City, which starred Richard Widmark as a London hustler. His film career was rudely interrupted in the early 1950s when his earlier affiliation with the Communist Party earned him a spot on the Hollywood Blacklist. Unable to continue his career in the United States, Dassin moved to France in 1953. He directed his first European film, Rififi, about a gang of jewel thieves in 1955. He was also featured in the role of Cesar, one of the thieves, under the pseudonym Perlo Vita. He also directed the features He Who Must Die (1957) and Where the Hot Wind Blows! (1959). Dassin’s 1960 film Never On Sunday made an international star of his Greek leading lady Melina Mercouri. He played the role of photographer Homer Thrace in the film about a good-hearted prostitute. He and Mercouri soon formed a partnership off-screen as well and were married in the mid–1960s. Dassin also directed the films Phaedra (1962) which featured him in the role of Christo, Topkapi (1964) another heist film that starred Mercouri, 10:30 P.M. Summer (1966), Survival 1967 (1968), Up Tight (1968), Promise at Dawn (1970), The Rehearsal (1974), and A Dream of Passion (1978). His final film, Circle of Two (1980), starred Richard Burton and Tatum O’Neal as illmatched lovers, and performed badly at the box office.
DAVARFAR, ESMAEIL Iranian actor Esmaeil Davarfar died at his home in Tehran, Iran, after a long illness on May 4, 2008. He was 76. Davarfar studied drama at the University of Tehran and began his career
Esmaeil Davarfar
Jules Dassin (with wife Melina Mercouri)
on stage in the mid–1950s. He made his film debut in the 1969 feature The Cow, and was also seen in the films Sadegh Korde (1972), The Custodian (1976), My Uncle Napoleon (1976), Ghobar Neshinha (1978), Vakil-e Awal (1987), Under the Roofs of the City (1989), The Port (1989) Aghay-e Bakhshdar (1991), and Rooz-e Fereshte (1993).
101 DAVID, JEFF Actor Jeff David died of a heart attack in New York City on March 25, 2008. He was 67. David was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 16, 1940. He began his career onstage in the 1960s and performed frequently in New York. He made his film debut in 1971’s Some of My Best Friends Are. He was also seen in the films Telefon (1977) and The King of Comedy (1982). He appeared frequently on television in the 1970s, appearing in episodes of Hawaii Five-0, The Rookies, Harry O, Electra Woman and Dyna Girl as Side Man, Baa Baa Black Sheep, The Rockford Files, Switch, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, The Bionic Woman, and How the West Was Won. David was also seen in the tele-films Cops and Robin (1978) and My Husband Is Missing (1978). He was a voice performer in the animated series The Godzilla Power Hour and Spider-Man and was the voice of the acerbic robot Crichton in the science fiction series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century in 1981. DAVIES, JANICE Character actress Janice Davies died in Baroda, India, on January 15, 2008. She was 76. Davies was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 11, 1931. She began her acting career in the early 1980s with roles in such films as Wacko (1983), Super Jesus (1999), Eyeball Eddie (2000), Rancho Cucamonga
Janice Davies
(2002), In the Land of Milk and Money (2004), Guy in Row Five (2005), Neighborhood Watch (2005), Such Great Joy (2005), Ring Fingers (2005), and The Problem with Percival (2006). She also appeared in the telefilms Miss Lonelyhearts (1983) and Love Thy Neighbor (1984), and in episodes of Friends, Seinfeld, Becker, The Michael Richards Show, and Diagnosis Murder.
DAVIS, DANNY Singer and bandleader Danny Davis, who was the founder of the Nashville Brass, died of a heart attack in a Nashville, Tennessee, hospital on June 12, 2008. He was 83. He was born George Joseph Nowlan in Randolph, Massachusetts, on May 19, 1925. He began his career in the 1940s as a trumpeter with big bands led by Gene Krupa, Les Brown, Freddie Martin, Sammy Kaye, and others. During the 1950s he was also vocalist on several songs including “Crazy Heart” and “Object of My Affection.” Later in the decade he became a record producer with
2008 • Obituaries
Danny Davis
MGM in New York, where he worked with singer Connie Francis and the group Herman’s Hermits. He moved to Nashville in 1968 to take a job at RCA Records as a producer. Davis formed the band the Nashville Brass soon after, and they recorded the album The Nashville Brass featuring Danny Davis Play More Nashville Sounds (1969). They won a Grammy Award with the song “Kawliga” and for five consecutive years they earned the Country Music Association Awards for Best Instrumental Group. Davis and the group performed on television with appearances on The Johnny Cash Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Mike Douglas Show, The Merv Griffin Show, and The Red Skelton Show. Davis also played with the Million Dollar Band on Hee Haw in the 1980s. He continued to tour with the Nashville Brass until retiring in July of 2005.
DAVIS, DON S. Character actor Don S. Davis died of a heart attack in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on June 29, 2008. He was 65. Davis was born in Aurora, Missouri, on August 4, 1942. He served in the United States Army for three years in the late 1960s and earned a Master’s degree in theater in 1970. He taught theater at the University of British Columbia during the 1970s before embarking on an acting career in the early 1980s in an episode of Joanie Loves Chachi. Davis served as Dana Elcar’s stunt double in the MacGyver series from the mid–1980s. He was also featured in numerous films including The Journey
Don S. Davis
Obituaries • 2008
102
of Natty Gann (1985), Malone (1987), Stakeout (1987), Watchers (1988), Rescue Force (1989), Beyond the Stars (1989), Look Who’s Talking (1989) as Dr. Fleischer, Chaindance (1990), Waiting for the Light (1990), Cadence (1990), Look Who’s Talking Too (1990), Mystery Date (1991), Hook (1991), Kuffs (1992), A League of Their Own (1992) as Racine coach Charlie Collins, Hero (1992), Cliff hanger (1993), Stephen King’s Needful Things (1993), Max (1994), Hideaway (1995), Alaska (1996), The Fan (1996), The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue (1996), Con Air (1997), The Artist’s Circle (2000), Suspicious River (2000), Best in Show (2000), The 6th Day (2000), Deadly Little Secrets (2001), Hostage Negotiator (2001), Savage Island (2003), Miracle (2004), Passing Darkness (2005), Seed (2007), The Still Life (2007), and Beneath (2007). Davis also appeared in the tele-films I-Man (1986), Hero in the Family (1986), Spot Marks the X (1986), That Secret Sunday (1986), Deadly Deception (1987), Body of Evidence (1988), Top of the Hill (1989), Matinee (1989), The Lady Who Forgets (1989), Memories of Murder (1990), Blood River (1991), Omen IV: The Awakening (1991), Captive (1991), The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw (1991), I Posed for Playboy (1991), Calendar Girl, Cop, Killer? The Bambi Bembenek Story (1992), Columbo: A Bird in the Hand (1992), Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster (1992), The Diary of Evelyn Lau (1993), Miracle on Interstate 880 (1993), Without a Kiss Goodbye (1993), Final Appeal (1993), One More Mountain (1994), Avalanche (1994), Someone Else’s Child (1994), A Family Divided (1995), He Stood Alone: The Tailhook Scandal (1995), The Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky (1995), Black Fox (1995), Black Fox: The Price of Peace (1995), Beauty’s Revenge (1995), A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story (1995), Shadow of a Doubt (1995), Prisoner of Zenda, Inc. (1996), Brothers of the Frontier (1996), Kidz in the Wood (1996), The Limbic Region (1996), In Cold Blood (1996), The Escape (1997), Volcano: Fire on the Mountain (1997), Dad’s Week Off (1997), The Stepsister (1997), Tricks (1997), Atomic Train (1999), Meltdown (2004), Child of Mine (2005), Beyond Loch Ness (2007), Burn Up (2008), The Unquiet (2008), Vipers (2009) and Wyvern (2009). The bald and commanding Davis was a prolific television performer, often appearing in roles of authority figures. He starred as Chief Sterling in the 1990 television series Broken Badges and was Major Garland Briggs on David Lynch’s quirky drama series Twin Peaks from 1990 to 1991. He reprised that role in the 1992 feature Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. He played the recurring role of Captain William Scully, Dana Scully’s father, in The X Files in 1994 and was Mr. Winslow on Madison from 1994 to 1996. He was best known for starring as the base commander Major General George Hammond on Stargate SG-1 from 1997 until poor health forced him to curtail his career in 2003. He returned to the series on occasion through 2007 and also appeared on the spin-off series Stargate: Atlantis. Davis also voiced the role of Wild Bill in several animated G.I. Joe productions in the early 2000s. His numerous television credits also include roles in episodes of such series as The New Adventures of Beans Baxter, The Beach-
combers, Wiseguy, Border Town, Unsub, L.A. Law, Booker, 21 Jump Street, Nightmare Cafe, Knots Landing, Street Justice, Highlander, Birdland, Cobra, Northern Exposure, M.A.N.T.I.S., The Marshal, The Outer Limits, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Viper, The Sentinel, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Just Cause, The Chris Isaak Show, The Twilight Zone, Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda, Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, The West Wing, Stephen King’s The Dead Zone in the recurring role of Senator Harlan Ellis, Psych, Supernatural, Flash Gordon in the recurring role of Mr. Mitchell, and The Guard. Davis had completed filming several forthcoming films at the time of his death including Vipers (2008), Woodshop (2008), and Far Cry (2008).
DAVIS, LUTHER Playwright and screenwriter Luther Davis died in the Bronx, New York, on July 29, 2008. He was 91. Davis was born in New York City on August 29, 1916. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II, rising to the rank of major. After the war, he wrote the Broadway play Kiss Them for Me in 1945. Davis was also the writer of several films in the late 1940s, including The Hucksters (1947), B.F.’s Daughter (1948), Black Hand (1950), and A Lion Is in the Streets (1953). He won a Tony Award for writing the
Luther Davis
book for the 1954 hit Broadway musical Kismet. Kismet was adapted to film in 1955, with Davis supplying the screenplay. He also wrote for the screen New Faces (1954), Kiss Them for Me (1954) which was based on his play, The Gift of Love (1958), and Holiday for Lovers (1959). Davis also wrote frequently for television, penning episodes of Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Bourbon Street Beat, Startime, Bus Stop, Target: The Corruptors, 87th Precinct, Combat!, Kraft Suspense Theatre, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Ironside, The Name of the Game, The Silent Force, and Cade’s County. He scripted the English-language version of the 1961 film The Wonders of Aladdin, and wrote and produced the 1964 thriller Lady in a Cage starring Olivia de Havilland and James Caan. He also produced the 1971 film The Last Generation and scripted the 1972 crime thriller Across 110th Street. Davis also scripted the 1969 television adaptation of Arsenic and Old Lace and wrote the tele-films Daughter of the Mind (1969) and The Old
103
2008 • Obituaries
Man Who Cried Wolf (1970). Davis rewrote Kismet in a different setting for Broadway in 1978, transforming the tale of Baghdad to Africa under the new title Timbuktu! He earned a Tony nomination for the revival, which featured a new score based on African folk tunes. He wrote a musical adaptation of Vicki Baum’s novel Grand Hotel for the Broadway stage in 1989. His survivors include actress Jennifer Bassey, his longtime companion whom he married in 2005.
DAVIS, NATHAN Character actor Nathan Davis died in a Chicago, Illinois, hospital on October 15, 2008. He was 91. Davis was born in Chicago on May 22, 1917. He served in Europe during World War II and performed on the local stage and in radio productions after the war. Davis continued to act in occasional amateur production while working as a pharmaceutical sales representative. He began to pursue a career as an actor after being fired from his sales job in the late 1970s. He appeared frequently in films and tel-
Nathan Davis (as Rev. Henry Kane from Poltergeist III)
evision over the next three decades, with such film credits as A Steady Rain (1978), Stony Island (1978), On the Right Track (1981), Thief (1981), Risky Business (1983), Windy City (1984), Code of Silence (1985), One More Saturday Night (1986), Tough Guys (1986), Burglar (1987), Flowers in the Attic (1987) as Grandfather Foxworth, Poltergeist III (1988) as the Rev. Henry Kane, The Package (1989), Shaking the Tree (1991), Steal Big Steal Little (1995), Dunston Checks In (1996), Chain Reaction (1996), Almost Salinas (2001), Holes (2003) as Grandfather Stanley Yelnats, II, and Let’s Go to Prison (2006). Davis also appeared in the tele-films Dummy (1979), The Children Nobody Wanted (1981), Will: The Autobiography of G. Gordon Liddy (1982), and Murder Ordained (1987). His other television credits include episodes of Too Close for Comfort, Hill Street Blues, Crime Story, Sable, Father Dowling Mysteries, Cheers, Missing Persons, Frasier, ER, and Becker.
DAVIS, PAUL American singer and songwriter Paul Davis, who had a hit with 1977’s “I Go Crazy,” died of a heart attack in a Meridian, Mississippi, hospital on April 22, 2008. He was 60. Davis was born in Meridian on April 21, 1948. He performed with the local groups the Six Soul Survivors and Endless
Paul Davis
Chain before embarking on a solo career in 1970. He released his first album, A Little Bit of Paul Davis, and charted with the songs “A Little Bit of Soap,” “I Just Wanna Keep It Together,” “Boogie Woogie Man,” and “Ride ’Em Cowboy” over the next several years. He had his biggest hit with 1977’s “I Go Crazy” and continued over the next decade to record such popular songs as “Sweet Life,” “Cry Just a Little,” “Cool Night,” “65 Love Affair,” “Love or Let Me Be Lonely,” “You’re Still New to Me” with Marie Osmond, and “I Won’t Take Less Than Your Love” with Tanya Tucker. He continued to perform and record until his death.
DAVISON, BRIAN British drummer Brian Davison, who played with the 1960s group the Nice, died in Horn’s Cross, Devon, England, on April 15, 2008. He was 65. Davison was born in Leicester, England, on May 25, 1942. He began playing drums with local skiffle group around London in the late 1950s. He joined the Mark Leeman Five in 1962 and recorded the single “Portland Town” before Leeman was killed in a car crash in 1965 and the group disbanded. Davison also played with the groups The Habits, the Mike Cotton Sound, and The Attack. He joined the progressive rock band the Nice in 1967, playing on all the groups albums including The Thoughts of MerlistDavJack (1967), Ars Longa Vita Brevis (1968), Five Bridge (1970), and Eleg y (1979). The Nice disbanded in 1970 when keyboardist Keith Emerson formed Emerson, Lake &
Brian Davison
Obituaries • 2008
104
Palmer. Bassist and lead singer Lee Jackson began his own group as well, Jackson Heights, and Davison backed singer Graham Bell in the group Every Which Way. Davison rejoined with Jackson and Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz to form the band Refugee, and they released one album in 1973. Davison’s career was badly damaged from a period of alcoholism, but he eventually recovered and began teaching percussion at a local college in Devon. Davison, Emerson, and Jackson reunited for a tour and recorded the concert CD, Vivacitas, in 2002.
DAWN, MARPESSA Actress Marpessa Dawn, who starred as the lovely, doomed Eurydice in the Oscar-winning Brazilian film Black Orpheus, died of a heart attack at her home in Paris, France, on August 25, 2008. She was 74. She was born Gypsy Marpessa Dawn Menor near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on January 3, 1934. She moved to England in her teens where she
Marpessa Dawn
began her acting career. She appeared in small roles in such television series as Armchair Theatre, and the films Elisa (1957) and The Woman Eater (1958). She was cast as the beautiful and innocent country girl Eurydice pursued by her lover beyond death amidst the revelry of Rio’s Carnivale in Marcel Camus’ 1959 film Black Orpheus based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The film earned the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1959 and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1960. Dawn’s co-star in the film, Breno Mello, died shortly over a month before his leading lady. She continued to perform on stage, film, and television over the next two decades, appearing in the films El Secreto de los Hombres Azules (1961), The Ball of Count Orgel (1970), Lovely Swine (1973), and Sweet Movie (1974). She also appeared frequently on French television and toured Europe and North Africa in several plays including Cherie Noire.
DAWSON , SMOKEY Australian Western singer Smokey Dawson died in Sydney, Australia, on February 14, 2008. He was 94. He was born Herbert Henry Dawson in Melbourne, Australia, on March 19, 1913. His mother died when he was very young and his childhood was fraught with poverty and abuse. He eventually landed in an orphanage where he learned to
Smokey Dawson
sing and play musical instruments. He ran away to the bush while in his teens, where he gained expertise in horse-riding, whip-cracking, and knife-throwing. He met children’s radio host Dot Cheers in 1937 and they were married in 1944. They created the persona of Smokey Dawson, who was billed as Australia’s first cowboy. He formed several bands, touring the country and performed for a few years in the United States after World War II. He returned to Australia later in the decade, where he starred on the popular radio serial The Adventures of Jindawarrabell. The serial evolved into the Adventures of Smokey Dawson and he and his palomino, Flash, promoted the show in live appearances throughout the country. Dawson’s popularity had faded by the 1950s with the advent of television, though he continued to perform and record, and hosted an Australian country music radio program while in his 90s. His recording career, which commenced with “I’m a Happy Go Lucky Cowhand” in 1941, continued through 2005’s “Homestead of My Dreams.”
DAY, JAMES Public television executive James Day died of respiratory failure in New York City on April 24, 2008. He was 89. Day was born in Alameda, California, on December 22, 1918. He began his career working at NBC’s San Francisco station as director of public affairs. He also was a civilian radio specialist with the Allied Occupation of Japan after World War II and was deputy director of Radio Free Asia. He cre-
James Day
105 ated KQED, San Francisco’s PBS station, in 1954, and served as general manager until 1969. During his tenure at KQED he also hosted the weekly interview program Kaleidoscope. Day became president of National Education Television, which became WNET, in New York in 1969. He left to form his own production company, Publivision, in 1973, where he created the nightly interview program Day at Night. He taught radio and television at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York from 1976. Day was also the author of the book The Vanishing Vision: The Inside Story of Public Television, in 1995.
DE CONCINI, ENNIO Italian screenwriter and film director Ennio De Concini, who shared an Academy Award for scripting the 1961 film Divorce, Italian Style, died after a long illness in Rome on November 17, 2008. He was 84. De Concini was born in Rome on December 9, 1923. He scripted numerous films from the late 1940s including The Wandering Jew (1948), Outlaw Girl (1950), Vacation with a Gangster (1951), Revenge of Black Eagle (1951), Toto and the King of Rome (1951), See Naples and Die (1951), Double Cross (1951), Appointment for Murder (1951), Three Corsairs (1952), Jolanda, the Daughter of the Black Corsair (1952), The Eleven Musketeers (1952) which also marked his directorial debut, Tormento del Passato (1952), Barefoot Savage (1952), Angels of the District (1952), Brothers of Italy (1952), Sunday Heroes (1953), Vortice (1953), Hell Raiders of the Deep (1953), She Wolf (1953), The Ship of Condemned Women (1954), Submarine Attack (1954), Folgore Division (1954), Mambo (1954), Ulysses (1954), Attila (1954), Human Torpedoes (1954), Knights of the Queen (1954), Eighteen Year Olds (1955), The Miller’s Beautiful Wife (1955), Bella non Piangere! (1955), The Queen of Babylon (1955), Roland the Mighty (1956), London Calling North Pole (1956), The Three Musketeers (1956), The Railroad Man (1956), Guerra e Pace (1956), Rice Girl (1956), The Wide Blue Road (1957), Doctor and the Healer (1957), Dimentica il Miko Passato (1957), The Awakening (1957), The Cry (1957), Behind the Great Wall (1958), Hercules (1958), The Italians They Are Crazy (1958), Canon Serenade (1958), The Love Specialist (1958), The Warrior and the Slave Girl (1958), Soledad (1959), Hercules Unchained (1959), Eu-
Ennio De Concini (screenwriter of Black Sunday)
2008 • Obituaries
ropean Nights (1959), Le Secret du Chevalier d’Eon (1959), The Facts of Murder (1959), The Last Days of Pompeii (1959), Giant of Marathon (1959), The Story of Joseph and His Brethren (1960), The Warrior Empress (1960), Messalina (1960), The Long Night of ’43 (1960), Carthage in Flames (1960), Siege of Syracuse (1960), Legions of the Nile (1960), Mario Bava’s horror classic Black Sunday (1960), Assignment Outer Space (1960), Colossus and the Amazon Queen (1960), Silver Spoon Set (1960), Esther and the King (1960), Son of Samson (1960), Marco Polo (1961), Duel of the Titans (1961), Nude Odyssey (1961), Unexpected (1961), The Colossus of Rhodes (1961), Duel of the Champions (1961), Antonio Margheriti’s science fiction film Battle of the Worlds (1961) starring Claude Rains, Divorce — Italian Style (1961), The Last Charge (1962), The Witch’s Curse (1962), Jessica (1962), My Son, the Hero (1962), The Attic (1962), Madame San-Gene (1962), Pigeon Shoot (1962), Constantine and the Cross (1962), Beach Casanova (1962), The Tartars (1963), The Evil Eye (1963), Run with the Devil (1963), I Motorizzati (1964), Love and Marriage (1964), Attack and Retreat (1965), The Dirty Game (1965), Un Amore (1965), Weekend, Italian Style (1966), Z7 Operation Rembrandt (1966), How Do I Love You? (1966), The Battle of the Mods (1966), The Treasure of San Gennaro (1966), For Love ... for Magic (1967), A Rose for Everyone (1967), Kill Me Quick, I’m Cold (1967), Operation St. Peter’s (1967), The Black Sheep (1968), Guns of San Sebastian (1968), Better a Widow (1968), I Bastardi (1968), A Place for Lovers (1968), The Girl Who Couldn’t Say No (1969), It’s Your Move (1969), Coup D’Etat (1969), and Long Live Robin Hood (1970). De Concini also co-scripted the 1969 Soviet-Italian coproduction The Red Tent, about aeronaut Umberto Nobile’s ill-fated 1928 Arctic expedition starring Peter Finch and Sean Connery. He also co-scripted the 1972 feature Bluebeard starring Richard Burton, and wrote and directed the 1973 film Daniele and Maria. He directed and scripted the 1973 feature Hitler: The Last Ten Days, starring Alec Guinness in the title role. De Concini also wrote the films The Barons (1975), The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1975), Salon Kitty (1976), The Twist (1976), The Last Romantic Lover (1978), China 9, Liberty 37 (1978), Just a Gigolo (1978), I Love You, I Love You Not (1979), Savage Breed (1980), The Good Soldier (1982), Copkiller (1983), The Two Lives of Mattia Pascal (1985), Devil in the Flesh (1986), Don Bosco (1988), The Mask (1988), Young Toscanini (1988), Ben Webster: The Brute and the Beautiful (1989), There Was a Castle with Forty Dogs (1990), The Dark Sun (1990), Suffocating Heat (1991), The Bachelor (1991), Miracle of Marcellino (1991), Cartoni Aninati (1991), Operazione Apia Antica (2003). De Concini also wrote frequently for television from the 1980s, with such credits as Storia d’Amore e d’Amicizia (1982), Il Figlio Perduto (1983), The Octopus (1984), Quei 36 Gradini (1984), The Octopus 2 (1985), Quo Vadis? (1985), International Airport (1985), Rose (1985), The Octopus 3 (1987), Il Giudice Istruttore (1987), Little Roma (1988), Love for Life (1988), Fratelli (1988), Disperatemente Giulia (1989), Il Mago (1990), Vita coi Figli (1990), Pronto Soccorso (1990), Dagli Appennini alle Ande (1990), Il
Obituaries • 2008
106
Ricatto 2 (1991), A Family Matter (1991), Camilla (1992), Mission of Love (1992), Camilla, Parlami d’Amore (1992), Pronto Soccorso 2 (1992), Confession Secrete (1995), Fatima (1997), and La Quindicesima Espitola (1998).
DEEMS, EARLE J. Earle J. Deems, who produced highway safety films from the late 1950s, died at his home in Mansfield, Ohio, on January 9, 2008. He was 88. Deems was born near Mansfield on October 24, 1919. He served in the U.S. Army in the South
Earle Deems
Pacific during World War II. He became president of Highway Safety Films, producing such works as Signal 30 (1959), The Third Killer (1966), There’s a Message in Every Bottle (1977) about underage drinking and driving, and Options to Live (1979). He was featured as himself in the 2003 documentary film Hell’s Highway: The True Story of Highway Safety Films.
cadinha Depois dos Trinta (1966), Essa Gatinha e Minha (1966), The Man Who Bought the World (1968), Tempo de Violencia (1969), Believe It or Not (1969), Angels and Demons (1970), Uma Pantera em Minha Cama (1971), A Dificil Vida Facil (1972), Missao: Matar (1972), Cafe na Cama (1973), O Mau-Carater (1974), O Homem da Cabeca de Ouro (1975), O Sosia da Morte (1975), Nos, Os Canalhas (1975), Este Rio Multo Louco (1977), Coronel Delmiro Gouveia (1978), A Dama de Branco (1978), Os Foragidos da Violencia (1979), Pixote (1981), Male and Female (1984), A Successful Man (1985), La Hora Texaco (1985), The Monk and the Hangman’s Daughter (1995), and Sonhos Tropicais (2001). De Falco appeared frequently on television from the early 1960s with roles in such productions as A Muralha (1961), Maria Antonieta (1961), Conflicto (1963), O Rei dos Ciganos (1966), A Rainha Louca (1967), Demian, o Justiceiro (1968), Passo dos Ventos (1968), A Ultima Valsa (1969), Tempo de Viver (1972), Supermanoela (1974), Escalada (1975), Gabriela (1975), and O Grito (1975). He achieved international acclaim for his role as the villainous slave owner Leonicio Almeida in the 1976 tele-novela Escrava Isaura (The Slave Asaura), which became the first soap opera to be broadcast in China and the Soviet Union. He continued to appear in such television productions as Os Maias (1979), Gaivotas (1979), Os Imigrantes (1981), Campeao (1982), Padre Cicero (1984), Viver a Vida (1984), Grande Sertao: Veredas (1984), Plantation Owner’s Daughter (1986), Bambole (1987), Brasileiras e Brasileiros (1990), Memorial de Maria Moura (1994), Sangue do Meu Sangue (1995), Os Ossos do Barao (1997), and Brida (1998). De Falco was forced to retire after suffering a stroke in May of 2006.
DE FALCO, RUBENS Brazilian actor Rubens de Falco died of heart failure in a Sao Paulo, Brazil, retirement home on February 22, 2008. He was 76. De Falco was born in Sao Paulo on October 19, 1931. The mustachioed actor was a popular performer on stage, film, and television in Brazil from the early 1950s. His numerous film credits include Apassionata (1952), Esquina da Ilusao (1953), Floradas na Serra (1954), O Pao Que o Diabo Amassou (1957), Capanga (1958), Engra-
DE LARRABEITI, MICHAEL British novelist Michael de Larrabeiti, who was best known for creating the dark children’s series The Borrible Trilog y, died of cancer in Oxford, England, on April 18, 2008. He was 73. De Larrabeiti was born in Lambeth, South London, England, on August 18, 1934. He worked at various odd jobs including shepherding in the French Alps and writing travel pieces for the Sunday Times while completing his education. He wrote the 1972 western novel The Redwater Raid under the pseudonym Nathan Lestrange. He was best known for writing the
Rubens de Falco
Michael de Larrabeiti
107 1976 children’s book The Borribles, about feral childmen running amok in London. The satire was noted for its sometimes graphic violence as bad language, and spawned the sequels The Borribles Go for Broke (1981) and The Borribles; Across the Dark Metropolis (1986). De Larrabeiti also wrote A Rose Beyond the Thames (1978), a semi-fictional memoir of his childhood, and another memoir French Leave, in 2003. His most recent novel, Princess Diana’s Revenge, was published in 2006.
DELANNOY, JEAN French film director Jean Delannoy died at his home in Guainville, France, on June 17, 2008. He was 100. Delannoy was born in Noisy-le-Sec, a suburb of Paris, France, on January 12, 1908. He began working in silent films in the 1920s as an actor, appearing in Miss Helyett (1927), La Grande
2008 • Obituaries
Venus (1963), This Special Friendship (1964), The Majordomo (1965), The Double Bed (1965), The Sultans (1966), Action Man (1967), Only the Cool (1970), Nor Dumb, the Bird (1972), Bernadette (1988), and La Passion de Bernadette (1989). Delannoy also worked in television from the 1970s, directing productions of Hamlet (1978), Histoire du Chevalier Des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut (1978), Les Grandes Conjurations: Le Coup d’Etat du 2 Decembre (1979), L’Ete Indien (1980), Frere Martin (1981), Le Crime de Pierre Lacaze (1983), The Enigmatic Mister S. (1987), and Mary of Nazareth (1995).
DELLA NOCE, LUISA Italian actress Luisa Della Noce died in Rome on May 16, 2008. She was 85. Della Noce was born in San Giorgio di Nogaro, Italy, on April 28, 1923. She made her film debut in a small role in Mario Bonnard’s L’Ultima Sentenza in
Jean Delannoy
Passion (1928), and Casanova (1934). He was hired by Paramount Studios in Paris in the early 1930s, where rose to the position of head editor for such films as The King of the Champs Elysees (1934), Tovaritch (1935), Michel Strogoff (1935), Nitchevo (1936), and Feu! (1937). Delannoy made his directorial debut in 1934 with the films La Moule and Paris-eauville. He continued to direct, and often write, numerous films over the next six decades with such credits as Tamara la Complaisante (1937), Golden Venus (1937), The Black Diamond (1941), Fievres (1942), Mask of Korea (1942), L’Assassin a Peur la Nuit (1942), Pontcarral, Colonel d’Empire (1942), The Eternal Return (1943) with Jean Cocteau, Le Bossu (1944), Blind Desire (1945), La Symphonie Pastorale (1946) which was chosen as the grand prize winner at the Cannes Film Festival, The Chips Are Down (1947), Souvenir (1948), The Secret of Mayerling (1949), Isle of Sinners (1950), Savage Triangle (1951), The Moment of Truth (1952), Napoleon Road (1953), Daughters of Destiny (1954), The Bed (1954), Obsession (1954), The Little Rebels (1955), and Marie Antoinette Queen of France (1956). Delannoy directed Anthony Quinn and Gina Lollobrigida in the 1956 film adaptation of Victor Hugo’s classic The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He also helmed the films Inspector Maigret (1958), Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case (1959), Guinguette (1959), The Baron of the Locks (1960), Love and the Frenchwoman (1960), Princess of Cleves (1961), Rendezvous (1961), Imperial
Luisa Della Noce
1951. She was also featured in the films Wanda the Sinner (1952) and The Art of Getting Along (1955). She costarred with director Pietro Germi in the 1956 film The Railroad Man, and received the prize for best actress at the Festival di San Sebastian for her performance. She remained active in films over the next decade with roles in A Man of Straw (1958), Retiro Park (1959), Jacob: The Man Who Fought with God (1963), All the Other Girls Do! (1964), Juliet of the Spirits (1965), John the Bastard (1967), and Death Rides Along (1967). She made her final film appearance in Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1982 film Identification of a Woman.
DELLO JOIO, NORMAN Pulitzer Prize– winning composer Norman Dello Joio died at his home in East Hampton, New York, on July 24, 2008. He was 95. He was born Norman DeGioio in New York City on January 24, 1913. His father was a voice coach and taught Norman how to play the piano and organ at an early age, and he worked as a church organist while his teens. He studied music composition at Juilliard School and with Paul Hindemith at Yale. He was considered one of the leading composers in the U.S. by the late 1940s, creating over forty-five choral works, nearly thirty orchestral works, twenty-five pieces for solo voice, twenty chamber works, and numerous solo piano works, concertos for piano, flute, and harp. Dello
Obituaries • 2008
108
Norman Della Joio
Guillaume Depardieu
Joio wrote an opera about Joan of Arc, The Triumph of Joan, in 1950, and was revised as The Trial at Rouen for an NBC television production in 1956. He also scored the CBS television series Air Power in 1956. Dello Joio was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1957 for his orchestra composition Meditations on Ecclesiastes. He also received an Emmy Award for his music for the 1964 television special Scenes from the Louvre. He served as chairman of the Ford Foundations Contemporary Music Project from 1964 until 1972, and was Dean of the School of Fine Arts at Boston University from 1972 until his retirement in 1978.
April 7, 1971, and made his screen debut with his father at the age of three in The Wonderful Crook (1974). He had a difficult youth, with several arrests on charges of drugs and theft, before returning to the screen in 1991’s All the Mornings of the World. He played the composer Marin Marais as a young man, with his father in the role of the older Marais. Guillaume also appeared on French television in an episode of Le Lyonnais in 1990. He continued to appear onscreen in such films as Les Paroles Invisibles (1992), Wild Target (1993), The Story of a Boy Who Wanted to Be Kissed (1994), Les Apprentis (1996), Le Constat (1997), Sans Titre (1997), Alliance Cherche Doigt (1997), Marthe (1997), White Lies (1998), Pola X (1999), Elle et Lui au 14eme Etage (2000), The Sandmen (2000), The Aquarium (2001), Love, Curiosity, Prozac and Doubt (2001), Like an Airplane (2002), A Loving Father (2002) co-starring with Gerard as father and son, Once Upon an Angel (2002), The Pharmacist (2003), Process (2004), Celibataires (2006), The Duchess of Langeais (2007), Le France (2007), Les Yeux Bandes (2007), Fear(s) of the Dark (2007), On War (2008), Versailles (2008), Stella (2008), and Circuit Ferme (2008). He also appeared in television productions of Ricky (1996), The Count of Monte Cristo (1998) as the young Edmond Dantes, Le Detour (2000), Les Miserables (2000) as the young Jean Valjean, Zaide, un Petit Air de Vengeance (2001), Napoleon (2002), Milady (2004) as the Musketeer Athos, A Cursed Monarchy (2005) as Louis X, and Chateau en Suede (2008). He was also featured on television in episodes of L’Amour est a Reinventer. Depardieu was in a motorcycle accident in 1995 that severely injured his right leg and resulted in a viral infection in his knee. After 17 surgeries, the leg was amputated in 2003. Drug and alcohol problems and legal mishaps also continued to cloud his career, as did a rocky relationship with his father that he recounted in his 2004 autobiography Giving Everything. He was shooting the film The Childhood of Icarus in Romania when he contracted a severe case of pneumonia that resulted in his death. DEROY, RICHARD Television writer Richard DeRoy died in Los Angeles on March 8, 2008. He was 77. DeRoy was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on May 14, 1930. He primarily known as a television writer from the 1950s, scripting episodes of such series
DEMARCO, JOSEPH Film executive Joseph DeMarco died in a Los Angeles hospital while undergoing emergency surgery on June 19, 2008. He was 48. DeMarco was born on June 16, 1960. He was a mem-
Joseph DeMarco
ber of the law firm of Gold, Marks, Ring & Pepper before joining Fox Searchlight in 1990. He served as executive vice president of Searchlight and was instrumental in orchestrating the deals for such films as Little Miss Sunshine and Young@Heart.
DEPARDIEU , G UILLAUME French actor Guillaume Depardieu, the son of film star Gerard Depardieu, died of complications from pneumonia in a hospital in Gaches, near Paris, France, on October 13, 2008. He was 37. Depardieu was born in Paris on
109 as Studio One, Kraft Television Theatre, This Man Dawson, Surfside 6, Checkmate, 77 Sunset Strip, Alcoa Premiere, Mr. Novak, The Twilight Zone, Peyton Place, The Rogues, The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., The Rat Patrol, The Flying Nun, The Survivors, The Partridge Family, The Name of the Game, The ABC Afternoon Playbreak, Hawaii Five-0, Hart to Hart, Remington Steele, Father Dowling Mysteries, and Generations. DeRoy also scripted the tele-films A Howling in the Woods (1971), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1977), Murder in Peyton Place (1977), Harold Robbins’ 79 Park Avenue (1977), The Dream Merchants (1980), The Other Victim (1981), and Intimate Agony (1983). He also wrote several feature films during his career including The Baby and the Battleship (1956), Philbert (Three’s a Crowd) (1963), and Two People (1973) for director Robert Wise.
DERRIEN, MARCELLE
French actress Marcelle Derrien died in France on November 2, 2008. She was 92. Derrien was born in Saint-Leu-la-Foret,
Marcelle Derrien
France, on July 24, 1916. She appeared in several films in the late 1940s including The J3 (1946), Man About Town (1947) with Maurice Chevalier, Impeccable Henri (1948), The Secret of Monte-Cristo (1948), Gloomy Sunday (1948), L’Inconnue n 13 (1949), and Cheri (1950).
DESAILLY, JEAN French actor Jean Desailly died in France on June 10, 2008. He was 87. Desailly was born in Paris on August 24, 1920. He was a leading stage performer, appearing in productions with the Comedie-Francaise and Jean-Louis Barrault’s theatrical company. He teamed with his second wife, actress Simone Valere, to form their own company, ValereDesailly, and often appeared together on stage and in films. Desailly’s made his film debut in 1942’s Le Voyageur de la Toussaint. He was also seen in such films as Father Goriot (1945), The Last Judgment (1945), Sylvie and the Phantom (1946), La Symphonie Pastorale (1946), Patrie (1946), The Revenge of Roger (1946), Amours, Delices et Orgues (1947), Carre de Valets (1946), Just a Big Simple Girl (1948), L’Echafaud Peut Attendre (1949), The Mark of the Day (1949), La Veuve et l’Innocent (1949), Oh Amelia! (1949), Veronique (1950), Cheri (1950), Demain Nous Divorcons (1951), Chicago Digest (1952), Jocelyn (1952), Royal Affairs in Versailles (1954),
2008 • Obituaries
Jean Desailly
On ne Badine pas Avec l’Amour (1955) which he also directed, The Grand Maneuver (1955), Inspector Maigret (1958), The Possessor (1958), 125 rue Montmartre (1959), Secret of Chevalier D’Eon (1959) as Louis XV, The Dance of Death (1960), Premeditation (1960), The Baron of the Locks (1960), The Passion of Slow Fire (1961), Love, Freedom and Treachery (1961), One Night at the Beach (1961), Famous Love Affairs (1961), The Seven Deadly Sins (1962), Doulos: The Finger Man (1962), Graduation Year (1964), The Soft Skin (1964), The Two Orphans (1965), The Dance of the Heron (1966), The 25th Hour (1967), Franciscan of Bourges (1968), The Comeuppance (1970), Circle of Vengeance (1971), The Assassination of Trotsky (1972), Dirty Money (1972), The Inheritor (1973), The Irony of Chance (1974), The Skirt Chaser (1979), I’ve Got You, You’ve Got Me by the Chin Hairs (1979), The Black Sheep (1979), Heads or Tails (1980), The Professional (1981), Le Fou du Roi (1984) as Louis XIV, Equipe de Nuit (1990), The Raft of the Medusa (1994), and La Dilettante (1999). Desailly was also featured in such television productions as Le Chevalier de Maison Rouge (1963), La Double Inconstance (1964), Le Bonheur Conjugal (1965), Le Monde est Petit (1965), Le Cerisaie (1966), Tout Pour le Mieux (1969), Le Misanthrope (1971), Les Sous-locs (1972), Claudine a l’Ecole (1978), Un Ennemi du Peuple (1978), Claudine a Paris (1978), Claudine en Menage (1978), Orient-Express (1979), Le Pain de Fougere (1981), La Memoire Courte (1981), Les Invites (1982), Siegfried (1982), La Bavure (1984), Les Tisserands du Pouvoir (1988), L’Eterna Giovinezza (1988), Les Grandes Familles (1989), The Trap (1991), and L’Elixir d’Amour (1992). He also narrator for the series Les Enquetes du Commissaire Maigret during the 1970s and 1980s. He also lent his distinctive voice to numerous other film and television productions during his career including Bullfight (1951), Avec Andre Gide (1952), Chagall (1953), Les Alchimistes (1957), La Lozere (1959), Masters of the Congo Jungle (1959), Marcel Proust (1961), Misfortunes of War (1963), Le Nouvel Age de Pierre (1964), La Chapelle de Romchamp (1964), Mozart, le Rossignol et la Mort (1964), You Will Reap the Tempest (1969), Remembering Jean Gabin (1978), Ces Chers Disarus: Francoise Dorleac (1984), Across the Road (2000), Gabin, Gueule d’Amour (2001), and Le Delivrance de Tolstoi (2003).
Obituaries • 2008
110
DESNI, TAMARA European actress Tamara Desni died in Valence d’Agen, France, on February 7, 2008. She was 97. Desni was born in Berlin, Germany, on October 22, 1910, the daughter of German actress Xenia Desni. She began her career on the stage in England in the musical White Horse Inn in 1931. She remained a popular performer on London’s West End
Tamara Desni
through the 1950s. Desni also starred in nearly 20 films from the early 1930s including Terror of the Garrison (1931), In the Employee of the Secret Service (1931), Falling for You (1933), Forbidden Territory (1934), Jack Ahoy (1934), Bypass to Happiness (1934), The Diplomatic Lover (1934), Dark World (1935), Blue Smoke (1935), Hell’s Cargo (1935), Love in Exile (1936), Fire Over England (1937), the Edgar Wallace mystery The Squeaker (1937), The Traitor Spy (1939), His Brother’s Keeper (1940), Flight from Folly (1945), Send for Paul Temple (1946), The Hills of Donegal (1947), and Dick Barton at Bay (1950). Desni retired from acting in the mid–1950s and moved to France.
DEVOLDERE, BRUNO French actor Bruno Devoldere died in Paris on February 15, 2008. He was 59. Devoldere was born in Roubaix, France, on May 18, 1948. He performed on stage with the Comedie Francais from 1973 to 1976. He also appeared frequently in films and television from the early 1970s. Devoldere’s
Bruno Devoldere
film credits include Les Confidences Erotiques d’un lit Trop Accueillant (1973), The Others (1974), Nocturnal Uproar (1979), Jacques le Fataliste (1993), and La Bataille de Yavich (2003). He was also seen in such television productions as Ondine (1975), Le Chandelier (1977), La Corde au Cou (1978), Jean-Christophe (1978), Sacre Farceur (1978), Les Dames de la Cote (1979), Le Grand Poucet (1980), Les Fiancees de l’Empire (1981), La Randonnee (1981), Les Heroiques (1981), Des Grives aux Loups (1984), Les Dames de la Cote (1979), Le Grand Poucet (1980), Les Fiancees de l’Empire (1981), La Randonee (1981), Des Grives Aux Loups (1984), A Nous les Beaux Dimanches (1986), L’Ete de la Revolution (1989), Mon Dernier Reve Sera Pour Vous (1989), Le Front dans les Nuages (1989), La Cavaliere (1992), Honorin et l’Enfant Prodique (1994), Belle Comme Cresus (1997), and Arzak Rhapsody (2003). His other television credits include episodes of Les Brigades du Tigre, Les Amours Romantiques, Serie Rose, Les Cinq Dernieres Minutes, Cas de Divorce, Brigade Speciale, B.R.I.G.A.D., and Verite Oblige.
DIAL, BILL Television writer and producer Bill Dial died of a heart attack at his home in Beaufort, South Carolina, on June 2, 2008. He was 64. Dial was born on June 17, 1943. He worked in television
Bill Dial
from the late 1970s, scripting several episodes of the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati. He was best known for writing the popular turkey giveaway episode in 1978, and appeared onscreen in the recurring role of Bucky Dornster. Dial also appeared in the 1977 film The Lincoln Conspiracy. He wrote and frequently produced episodes of such series as Harper Valley P.T.A., Legmen, Simon & Simon, CBS Summer Playhouse, E.A.R.T.H. Force, Evening Shade, The New WKRP in Cincinnati, Time Trax, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyage, Sliders, Legend, Team Knight Rider, and 18 Wheels of Justice. He also scripted the tele-films Code Name: Foxfire (1985) and The Absent-Minded Professor (1988), and the 1989 feature The Elite.
DIAZ, EMILIO Emilio Diaz, the father of actress Cameron Diaz, died suddenly of complications from pneumonia in Seal Beach, California, on April 15, 2008. He was 58. Diaz was born on July 3, 1949. He
111
Emilio Diaz
appeared as a jailbird in his daughter’s 1998 comedy film There’s Something About Mary.
DIDDLEY, BO Bo Diddley, who was considered one of the founders of rock ’n’ roll, died of heart failure at his home in Archer, Florida, on June 2, 2008. He was 79. He was born Ellas Bates in McComb, Mississippi, on December 30, 1928, but took the name Ellis McDaniel when he was adopted by his mother’s cousin as a child. His family relocated to Chicago when he was 5 years of age, and he learned to play the guitar several years later. He played on street corners and small locales before taking a regular job in a popular Chicago nightclub. He adopted the stage name Bo Diddley and performed with such musicians as Billy Boy Arnold and Roosevelt Jackson. He released his first record, the self titled single “Bo Diddley” in 1955. It became a #1 R&B hit, and introduced his signature beat, “bomp ba — bomp bomp, bomp bomp” (or “shave and a haircut, two bits”). The single’s flip-side, “I’m a Man,” also became an early rock classic. Diddley continued to compose and record such popular, and often humorous, tunes as “Say Man,” “You Can’t Judge a Book by Its Cover,” “Uncle John,” “The Mule,” and “How Do You Love?” He made his network television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1955. Sullivan insisted that Diddley sing the song “Sixteen Tons,” but Bo made a switch and belted out his own rendition of “Bo Diddley.” Sullivan was furious and banned him
2008 • Obituaries
from any further appearances. Regardless, he still recorded popular hits throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and his songs were covered by such artists as the Yardbirds, the Who, and the Rolling Stones. He released numerous albums, often through Checker Records, and toured throughout the United States and England. Diddley was seen onscreen in such rockumentary films and television productions as The Legend of Bo Diddley (1966), The Big TNT Show (1966), Keep On ’Rockin (1969), Let the Good Times Roll (1973), Shake, Rock, and Roll (1973), Dick Clark’s Good Old Days (1977), Good Time Rock ’n’ Roll (1985), Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock ’n’ Roll (1987), and Big Bird’s Birthday or Let Me Eat Cake (1991). Berry was also featured on cameo rolls in such films as Crush Proof (1972), Hells Angels Forever (1983), Trading Places (1983), Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! (1989), Rockula (1990), and Blues Brothers 2000 (1998). He was also seen on television in episodes of So Weird and According to Jim and was a voice performer on The Simpsons. He was featured in the “Bo Knows” series of Nike commercials starring athlete Bo Jackson, which ended with his one-liner “Bo You Don’t Know Diddley!” He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998. He continued to perform until suffering a stroke during a concert in Iowa in 2007. He also suffered from diabetes and heart ailments and retired to recuperate at his home in Florida.
DILL, DANNY Danny Dill, who co-wrote the hit country song “Long Black Veil,” died in Davidson County, Tennessee, on October 23, 2008. He was 83.
Danny Dill
Bo Diddley
He was born Horace Eldred Dill in Huntingdon, Tennessee, on September 19, 1925. He began his career performing with his first wife, Annie Lou Stockard, in the duo Annie Lou and Danny. They sang on radio and played with the Grand Ole Opry during the 1940s and 1950s. After their divorce Dill began writing songs and teamed with Marijohn Wilkin to pen the 1959 gothic country hit “Long Black Veil.” The song was recorded by numerous artists including Lefty Frizzell, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Garcia. He also co-wrote “Detroit City” with Mel Tillis, which became a hit for
Obituaries • 2008
112
Bobby Bare in 1963. Dill was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975.
DI MARIO, RAFFAELE Italian actor Raffaele Di Mario died in Rome on June 1, 2008. He was 80. Di Mario was born in Collepardo, Italy, on June 11, 1927. He appeared frequently in Italian films from the late 1960s with such credits as Death Sentence (1968), Night Is Made for Stealing (1968), Dismissed on His Wedding Night (1968), Cloud of Dust ... Cry of Death ... Sar-
from 1975 to 1981, releasing the hit singles “Silver Cloud” and “Rheinita.” He later formed La! Neu? in 1996.
DISCH, THOMAS Thomas Disch, the iconoclastic science fiction writer who was perhaps best known for his children’s story The Brave Little Toaster, committed suicide at his New York apartment on July 4, 2008. He was 68. He had been suffering from depression and various physical ailments following the death of his long-time partner Charles Naylor several years earlier. Disch was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on February 2, 1940. He began writing in the early 1960s, penning such early notable stories as The Double-Timer (1962), Come to Venus Melancholy (1965), The Roaches (1965), and The Asian Shore (1970). His first novel, The Genocides, was published in 1965. Several novels followed in quick succession before the publication of his classic work Camp Concentration in 1968. The following year, he wrote a novelization of the classic television series The Prisoner. Disch was nominated for a
Raffaele Di Mario
tana Is Coming (1971), Mafia Killer (1973), Black Ribbon for Deborah (1974), Terror in Rome (1975), Violent Rome (1975), Nest of Vipers (1977), Could It Happen Here? (1977), I Am Afraid (1977), L’Albero della Maldicenza (1979), Fantozzi Against the Wind (1980), Fear in the City (1981), Briganti (1983), Nostalgia (1983), Merry Christmas ... Happy New Year (1989), Escurial (1991), and Io e il Re (1995). He was also featured on Italian television in productions of Il Furto della Gioconda (1978), Buio Nella Valle (1984), and La Storia (1986).
DINGER, KLAUS German musician and songwriter Klaus Dinger, who was co-founder of the band Neu!, died of heart failure in Germany on March 21, 2008. He was 61. Dinger was born in Germany on March 24, 1946. He began his career as a drummer for Kraftwerk in 1970, and was a founder of Neu! the following year. He left Neu! to play with La Dusseldorf
Klaus Dinger
Thomas Disch
Hugo Award for his 1978 story The Man Who Had No Idea, and earned a Nebula Award nomination for 1982’s Understanding Human Behavior. His classic children’s tale, The Brave Little Toaster, was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1980, and a sequel, The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars, was published in 1988. The fantasy tales were adapted for a series of animated films, The Brave Little Toaster (1987), The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue (1997), and The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars (1998). He was also an acclaimed poet under the name Tom Disch and authored the plays Ben Hur (1989) and The Cardinal Detoxes (1990). He and his partner, fellow poet Charles Naylor, collaborated on the anthologies New Constellations (1976) and Strangeness (1977), and the 1981 novel Neighboring Lives. His next several novels were contemporary horror tales including The Businessman: A Tale of Terror (1984), The M.D.: A Horror Story (1991), The Priest: A Gothic Romance (1994), and The Sub: A Study in Witchcraft (1999). His most recent works include the 2007 novella The Voyage of the Proteus, the 2008 short novel The Word of God, and the forthcoming anthology The Wall of America.
113
2008 • Obituaries
DI S TEFANO , G IUSEPPE Italian operatic tenor Giuseppe di Stefano died at his home in Santa Maria Hoe, Lombardy, Italy, on March 3, 2008. He was 86. He had been badly injured in November of 2004 when an assault at his villa in Kenya put him in a coma from which he never fully recovered. Di Stefano was born in Motta Santa Anastasia, Sicily, on July 24, 1921. He sang in the church choir as a child and aspired to the priesthood, but abandoned that vocation to pursue
Dith Pran
Giuseppe di Stefano
women and a professional singing career. He was drafted into the Italian army during World War II, and made his way to Switzerland in 1943. He began singing opera there on a classical radio station. Di Stefano made his professional debut in Italy after the war in 1946 in a production of Massenet’s Manon at the municipal theater in Reggio Emilia. He soon became a leading performer in Italy and made a major impression on American audiences with his debut with the Metropolitan Opera as the Duke in Rigoletto in 1948. He was a sensation the following year with his interpretation of the title role in Faust, and he performed on television in an episode of The Ed Sullivan Show. He also starred in film productions of Cantoperte (1953) and La Cobarde (1953). Di Stefano’s career was damaged by his sometimes erratic behavior and reckless lifestyle that caused him to miss performances and diminished his vocal abilities. He was banned from the Met for several years before returning in the mid–1950s with performances as Don Jose in Carmen and Cavaradossi in Tosca. His career was on the decline during the 1960s. A failed tour with his frequent leading lady and sometimes lover Maria Callas in the early 1970s largely marked the end of his career as a leading operatic figure.
DITH PRAN Cambodian photojournalist Dith Pran, whose survival from the genocidal practices of his nation’s fanatical Khmer Rouge leaders in the 1970s became the basis for the acclaimed film The Killing Fields, died of pancreatic cancer in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on March 30, 2008. He was 65. Dith Pran was born in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on September 23, 1942. He learned French and English and worked as a translator and hotel receptionist. When the rebel Khmer Rouge began their push to take control of the country
in the early 1970s, Dith teamed with New York Times correspondent Sydney Schanberg, serving as his interpreter and cameraman. As the situation in Cambodia deteriorated, Schanberg arranged for Dith’s family to be evacuated to the United States, but Dith remained in the country to assist the correspondent. He was ultimately responsible for saving Schanberg’s life, as well as the lives of other Western journalists, when they were accosted by gun-toting rebels. When the Khmer Rouge took control Dith was sent to a re-education camp in 1975. He survived four years under barbarous conditions under which an estimated two million Cambodians perished. Neighboring Vietnam invaded and ousted the Khmer Rouge in 1979, and Dith was able to escape across the border to Thailand that October. He was met there by Schanberg, who was instrumental in gaining him a job for The New York Times as a photographer. Schanberg’s article about Dith’s experiences, “The Death and Life of Dith Pran,” was published in The New York Times Magazine in 1980 and became a book in 1985. Roland Jaffe directed a film adaptation, The Killing Fields, starring Sam Waterston as Schanberg and Dr. Haing S. Ngor as Dith. Ngor, a physician turned actor who had also survived imprisonment under the Khmer Rouge, earned an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. Dith and Ngor both used their fame to work in support of human rights throughout the world until Ngor was murdered by a young gang member in Los Angeles in 1996. DIXON, IVAN Actor Ivan Dixon, who starred as POW Sgt. Kinchloe in the television sit-com Hogan’s Heroes, died of complication from kidney failure in a Charlotte, North Carolina, hospital on March 16, 2008. He was 76. Dixon was born in New York City on April 6, 1931. Active on the New York stage from the 1950s, Dixon made his film debut in the 1953 drama Something of Value. He was featured as Jim in the 1959 version of the musical Porg y and Bess, and was Asagai in the 1961 film production of A Raisin in the Sun. He was also seen in the films Battle at Bloody Beach (1961), Nothing but a Man (1964), A Patch of Blue (1965), and Where’s Jack? (1969). Dixon was best known for his frequent appearances on television, with roles in such series as Armstrong Circle Theatre, The DuPont Show of the
Obituaries • 2008
114 DJANIK, HENRY French actor and voice performer Henry Djanik died in France on August 18, 2008. He was 82. Djanik was born in France on March 21, 1926. Djanik was the French dubbing voice for most of Anthony Quinn’s performances. His deep voice also was heard for the French dubbing of such stars as Telly Savalas, Edward Asner, Ernest Borgnine, Mister T,
Ivan Dixon
Month, Have Gun —Will Travel, Follow the Sun, The New Breed, Cain’s Hundred, Target: The Corruptors, Laramie, The Lloyd Bridges Show, Going My Way, Stoney Burke, Perry Mason, The Great Adventure, The Twilight Zone, The Eleventh Hour, Dr. Kildare, The Defenders, Man from U.N.C.L.E., Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, The Outer Limits as Sgt. James Conover in the two-part episode “The Inheritors,” I Spy, CBS Playhouse, The Fugitive, Felony Squad, Ironside, It Takes a Thief, The Name of the Game, The Mod Squad, Insight, The F.B.I., and Love, American Style. Dixon starred as Sgt. James “Kinch” Kinchloe, the POWs communications officer, in the sit-com Hogan’s Heroes starring Bob Crane from 1965 until 1970. He made sporadic acting appearances over the next two decades, with roles in the films Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came? (1970), Clay Pigeon (1971), and Car Wash (1976) as Lonnie. He also appeared in the tele-films Fer-de-Lance (1974) and Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star (1986), and the 1987 mini-series Amerika as Dr. Alan Drummond. Dixon, who was working largely behind the cameras as a director by this time, made his final onscreen role in an episode of Father Dowling Mysteries in 1991. Dixon became one of the first blacks to direct for television and films in the early 1970s, helming episodes of The Bill Cosby Show, Monty Nash, and Nichols. He also directed the films Trouble Man (1972) and The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973) which he also produced. Dixon worked primarily in television, directing episodes of such series as Get Christie Love!, Apple’s Way, Khan!, The Rookies, The Waltons, Starsky and Hutch, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Quincy, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Richie Brockelman, Private Eye, The Bionic Woman, The Eddie Capra Mysteries, Wonder Woman, Harris and Company, The Rockford Files, Tenspeed and Brown Shoe, The Righteous Apples, Palmerstown, U.S.A., Bret Maverick, Counterattack: Crime in America, The Greatest American Hero, Tales of the Gold Monkey, The A-Team, Trapper John, M.D., Airwolf, Hawaiian Heat, Downtown, Magnum, P.I., Quantum Leap, and In the Heat of the Night. He also directed the tele-films Love Is Not Enough (1978) and Percy & Thunder (1993). Dixon later owned and operated a radio station in Maui until leaving the islands for health reasons in 2001.
Henry Djanik
James Earl Jones, and the animated adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Djanik was also featured onscreen in such films as The Girl in the Bikini (1952), This Man Is Dangerous (1953), La Soupe a la Grimace (1954), Pas de Coup dur Pour Johnny (1955), Three Make a Pair (1957), Living It Up (1966), Le Grand Bidule (1967), Binbi (1971), Q (1974), Fear Over the City (1975), Village Girls (1975), French Undressing (1976), Question of Love (1978), Memoirs of a French Whore (1979), I as in Icarus (1979), the animated Time Masters (1982), Rainbow Serpent (1983), and Mother (1992).
DMITRIYEV, IGOR Russian actor Igor Dmitriyev died in St. Petersburg, Russia, on January 26, 2008. He was 80. Dmitriyev was born in St. Petersburg (which was then Leningrad, Soviet Union) on May 29, 1927. He made his film debut as a child in the 1939 feature The Voice of Taras. He studied acting at the Moscow Art Theatre in the late 1940s and began his career on stage in Leningrad in 1949. He was acclaimed for
Igor Dmitriyev
115
2008 • Obituaries
his role of Yevgeni Listnitsky in the 1957 film And Quietly Flows the Don. He appeared in numerous films over the next forty years including Little Hare (1964), Hamlet (1964) as Rosencrantz, The Green Cab (1967), No Password Necessary (1967), Nikolay Bauman (1968), A Very Old Story (1969), The Loves of Liszt (1970) as Prince Wittgenstein, One of Us (1970), Lyubov Yarovaya (1970), Farewell to Saint Petersburg (1971), Dauria (1971), Poslednie dni Pompey (1972), The Captivating Star of Happiness (1975), How Ivanushka the Fool Travelled in Search of Wonder (1976), Doverie (1976), Golden Mine (1977), Yaroslavna, Queen of France (1978), Chest of Drawers Was Lead Through the Street... (1978), My Father Is an Idealist (1980), Vladivostok, god 1918 (1982), Krepysh (1982), Magistral (1983), Anna Pavlova (1983), Win of the Lonely Businessman (1984), Skazki Starogo Volshebrnika (1984), A Rogue’s Saga (1984), The Marvelous Season (1985), Primary Russia (1986), A Bright Person (1988), Stukach (1988), Pants (1988), Was There Karotin? (1989), The Battle of the Three Kings (1990), And to Hell with Us! (1991), A Beautiful Stranger (1992), Musketeers 20 Years Later (1992), Confessions of a Kept Woman (1992), The Wheel of Love (1994), The Return of the Battleship (1996), and The Romanovs: An Imperial Family (2000). Dmitriyev also appeared frequently on Russian television in such productions as Operation Trust (1967), The Strogovs (1975), The Dog in the Manger (1977), A Glass of Water (1979), The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: Bloody Signature (1979), The Adventures of Prince Florisel (1979), The Bat (1979), The Blue Carbuncle (1979), Only in the Music Hall (1980), Kopilka (1980), Silva (1981), Sold Laughter (1981), Pokrov Gates (1982), Engineer Barkasov’s Crazy Day (1983), Tsyganskiy Baron (1988), Do Sezar de Bazan (1989), Tartuffe (1992), Poor Anastasya (2003), Smeshariki (2004), and Zolotoy Telenok (2005). Dmitriyev also hosted radio broadcasts for over forty years and was involved with the Nikolay Akimov Theatre of Comedy from 1984.
film from the early 1960s, with roles in such films as The Lanfier Colony (1969), The Copper Tower (1970), The Mill (1971), Days of Betrayal (1973), Do Zbrane Kuruci! (1974), Dinner for Adele (1977) as detective Nick Carter, Viezny Iid (1977), An Epic About Conscience III (1978), Snow Underfoot (1978), The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians (1981), Plavcik a Vratko (1982), The Bee Millennium (1983), Cena Odvahy (1986), Die Pfauenfeder (1987), Pravo na Minulost (1989), Corpus Delicti (1991), Sukromne Zivoty (1991), and Pernikova Vez (2002). Docolomansky also appeared on television as Jano Kmac in the series Inzenyrska Odysea in 1979, and was Lt Col. Danko in Chlapci a Chlapi in 1988. His other television credits include productions of Husiarka a Kral (1983), Alzbetin Dvor (1986), Roky Prelomu (1989), and Un Coeur a Prendre (1991).
DOCOLOMANSKY, MICHAL Slovakian actor Michal Docolomansky died of lung cancer in Bratislava, Slovakia, on August 26, 2008. He was 66. Docolomansky was born in Niedzica, Poland, on March 25, 1942. He was a leading actor on stage and
Massachusetts, in 1957. She began her career as a standup comedian in the Boston area before moving to Los Angeles in the mid–1990s. She was featured onscreen in Sam Seder’s 1997 comedy film Who’s the Caboose?, and began writing for MADtv in 1997. She became a co–executive producer for the series three years later. She worked with MADtv for a decade before failing health ended her career.
Michal Docolomansky
DOMBROWSKI , LAUREN Comedian and writer Lauren Dombrowski, who was a producer for the television series MADtv, died following a long bout with cancer at her home in Los Angeles on October 8, 2008. She was 51. Dombrowski was born in Lynnfield,
Lauren Dombrowski
DONATH, AGI Agnes Anderson, who appeared in films in Austria and Hungary under the name Agi Donath in the 1930s, died in Palm Desert, California, on February 16, 2006. She was 89. She was born in Budapest, Hungary, on March 25, 1918. She was seen in films over a dozen films from the mid–1930s including There Are Expectations (1936), Sister Maria (1936), All for Veronica (1936), Three Spinsters (1936), 3 to 1 for Love (1937), Tales of Budapest (1937), Hotel Sunrise (1937), My Daughter Is Different (1937), Today’s Girls (1937), Tokay Rhapsody (1937), I Married for Love (1937), and I Defended a Woman (1938). Donath was married to acclaimed producer Emeric Pressburger. After their divorce she moved to the United States,
Obituaries • 2008
116
Agi Donath
where she had success in real estate and the cosmetics industry.
DOQUI , ROBERT Actor Robert DoQui, who starred as Sgt. Reed in the three RoboCop films, died in Los Angeles on February 9, 2008. He was 73. DoQui was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on April 20, 1934. He served in the U.S. Air Force before heading to Hollywood in the early 1960s. He was soon appearing frequently as a guest star in such television series as The Outer Limits, I Dream of Jeannie, The Fugitive, Daniel Boone, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Daktari, Family Affair, Tarzan in the recurring role of Metusa from 1966 to 1968, Cowboy in Africa, Get Smart, The Mod Squad, The Guns of Will Sonnett, The High Chaparral, Felony Squad, Gunsmoke, The Name of the Game, Ironside, Mission: Impossible, Longstreet, O’Hara, U.S. Treasury, Banacek, Happy Days, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Adam-12, Sanford and Son, The Blue Knight, The Streets of San Francisco, The Jeffersons, The Rockford Files, Maude, Quincy, The White Shadow, Knots Landing, Barnaby Jones, Up and Coming, Hill Street Blues, Concrete Cowboys, Matt Houston, ABC Afterschool Specials, Blue Thunder, Punky Brewster, Webster, The Fall Guy, Hotel, The Facts of Life, Cagney & Lacey, Frank’s Place, My Two Dads, Amen, Starman, Picket Fences, N.Y.P.D. Blue, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, High Tide, ER, The Practice, L.A. Heat, Cover Me, Party of Five, Dead Last, The Parkers, and Wanda at Large. DoQui
Robert DoQui
was also a voice actor in several animated series including The Harlem Globetrotters and Scooby Doo Meets the Harlem Globetrotters as the voice of Pablo Robertson in the early 1970s, and the Batman series in the 1980s. He was also featured in such tele-films as Visions... (1972), Lieutenant Schuster’s Wife (1972), A Dream for Christmas (1973), Heat Wave! (1974), Almos’ a Man (1976), Green Eyes (1977), Roger & Harry: The Mitera Target (1977), How the West Was Won (1978), Centennial (1978), The Child Stealer (1979), Making of a Male Model (1983), Dark Mirror (1984), Obsessive Love (1984), Between the Darkness and the Dawn (1985), The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson (1990), and A Case for Murder (1993). DoQui was also a frequent performer in films from the mid–1960s, with such credits as Taffy and the Jungle Hunter (1965), Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion (1965), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), The Fortune Cookie (1966), Up Tight! (1968), The Devil’s 8 (1969), The Red, White, and Black (1970), The Man (1972), Coffy (1973) as the pimp King George, Robert Altman’s Nashville (1975) as Wade Cooley, Walking Tall Part II (1975), Altman’s Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson (1976), Treasure of Matecumbe (1976), Guyana: Crime of the Century (1979), I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can (1982), Cloak & Dagger (1984), Fast Forward (1985), My Science Project (1985), and Good to Go (1986). DoQui starred as Police Sgt. Warren Reed in RoboCop in 1987, and reprised the role in the sequels RoboCop 2 (1990) and RoboCop 3 (1993). He continued to appear in such films as Mercenary Fighters (1988), Paramedics (1988), Miracle Miles (1988), Diplomatic Immunity (1991), Original Intent (1992), I Don’t Buy Kisses Any More (1992), Short Cuts (1993), Walking Thunder (1997), A Hollow Place (1998), and Glam (2001).
DORFSMAN, LOU Lou Dorfsman, who was the longtime chief of design at CBS, died of congestive heart failure in Roslyn, New York, on October 22, 2008. He was 90. Dorfsman was born in Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 1918. He studied art and design at Cooper Union, graduating in 1939. Dorfsman served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and joined CBS as art director for the radio network in 1946. He worked with CBS’s creative designer William Golden, who had created the network’s distinctive eye logo, and
Lou Dorfsman
117
2008 • Obituaries
became creative director of CBS television after Golden’s death in 1959. Dorfsman became design director for the entire Columbia Broadcasting System in 1954. He was instrumental in marketing the network’s entire line, creating advertisements for entertainment programming, designing public affairs sports, and promoting the news department. He designed the set for Walter Cronkite’s evening news program and The CBS Morning Show. He also oversaw the graphic designs for the company’s New York headquarters, known as Black Rock. Dorfsman left the network in the late 1980s during a cost-cutting effort. William Paley appointed him creative director of the Museum of Broadcasting, now known as the Paley Center for Media, in 1991.
DOUGLAS, JACK British comic actor Jack Douglas, who was best known in the Carry On series, died after a long illness on the Isle of Wight on December 18, 2008. He was 81. He was born Jack Roberton in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, on April 26, 1927. He came from a theatrical family and began appearing on stage in his teens. He became a popular comic in the 1950s on stage and television. He was featured in such television productions as I Search for Adventure, New
Jack Douglas
Look, The Bruce Forsyth Show, and The Des O’Connor Show. He was also featured in the 1961 film Nearly a Nasty Accident. Douglas made his debut in the Carry On series in the 1972 film Carry On Matron. He also appeared in the Christmas specials Carry On Christmas: Carry On Stuffing (1972) and Carry On Christmas (1973), and the 1975 series Carry On Laughing. He was also seen in the films Carry On Abroad (1972), Carry On Girls (1973), Carry On Dick (1974), Carry On Behind (1975), Carry On England (1976), Carry On Emmannuelle (1978), and Carry On Columbus (1992). His other film credits include What’s Up Nurse! (1977), Bloody Kids (1979), The Shillingbury Blowers (1980), and The Boys in Blue (1982). Douglas was also featured in episodes of The Edwardians, Sez Les, The Goodies, Not on Your Nellie, The Allan Stewart Tapes, Shillingbury Tales, and Cuffy, and the 1989 television production Norbert Smith, a Life.
DRAKE, BILL Radio programmer Bill Drake, who revolutionized radio broadcasts in the 1960s, died
Bill Drake
of lung cancer in Los Angeles on November 29, 2008. He was 71. He was born Philip Taylor Yarbrough in Donalsonville, Georgia, on January 14, 1937. He began working at a local radio station while in his teens, and was the late night DJ at WWNS while attending South Georgia Teachers College in Statesboro, Georgia. He changed his name to Bill Drake after joining Atlanta station WAKE in 1959. He soon rose from DJ to program director, and his success at the station resulted in a relocation to San Francisco. Drake soon joined forces with Lester Eugene Chenault, the owner of a Fresno radio station. The two men formed Drake-Chenault Enterprises to create a standardized format for radio. They decreased commercial time and DJ chatter, and increased the number of songs played per hour. While their concept diminished the influence of such radio personalities as Wolfman Jack and Murray the K, the new faster-paced DJs, known as Boss Jocks, also became popular figures. The new system proved a major success in radio markets around the country, though critics claimed it homogenized radio at the expense of its local charm. Drake and Chenault also created such automated radio packages including “Hit Parade,” “Solid Gold” and “Great American Country” for syndication, hosted by leading Boss Jocks. Drake left Drake-Chenault in 1983 and the company dissolved several years later. He later developed the syndicated music program Top 40 Time Clock, containing over 1,800 popular tunes aimed at a baby boomer audience. DRAKE , THOMAS Y. Television writer Thomas Y. Drake, who was story editor for the 1969 television series Then Came Bronson, died of cancer on August 8, 2008. He was 72. Drake was born in Vancouver, Canada, on June 28, 1936. He was a songwriter in the late 1950s, and teamed with Bob Shane to write several Kingston Trio hits. He also wrote the song “Olly Olly Oxen Free” with Rod McKuen. Drake subsequently formed the folk group The Good Time Singers, and performed for several years on The Andy Williams Show. They also released several albums from Columbia Records. Drake began writing for television in the late 1960s, and was story editor and scripter for Then Came Bronson starring Michael Parks. He also wrote an episode of the 1971 drama series The Psychiatrist. He wrote and directed the 1976 horror film The Keeper
Obituaries • 2008
118
starring Christopher Lee. Drake also wrote the 1980 horror film Terror Train starring Jamie Lee Curtis.
DREAD, MIKEY Jamaican singer Mikey Dread died of complications from a brain tumor at his sister’s home in Stamford, Connecticut, on March 15, 2008. He was 53. He was born Michael George Campbell in Port Antionio, Jamaica, on June 4, 1954. He began working at the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation as an engineer in 1976. He soon began hosting his own radio show, Dread at the Controls, which played only reggae songs. He left the station over a clash with
Ronnie Drew
liners joined forces with the Irish band the Pogues to record a hit version of “The Irish Rover” in 1987. From the mid–1990s Drew concentrated on a solo career, and recorded with such artists as Christy Moore, Antonio Breschi, Eleanor Shanley, and the Droppkick Murphys. He suffered from throat cancer for the last several years of his life but made occasional appearances on The Late Late Show to discuss his career and health problems.
DUBOWSKI , CHET Character actor Chet Dubowski died in Illinois on June 11, 2008. He was 82. Mikey Dread
management and began recording his own albums including Dread at the Controls, Evolutionary Rockers, and World War III. He went to England in the late 1970s where he produced and performed with the punk rock band The Clash. He produced the hit single “Bankrobber” and played on the albums Black Market Clash and Sandinista! Dread also recorded the songs “The Source (Of Your Divorce),” “Profile,” and “African Anthem.” He narrated several reggae documentaries including the six-part Deep Roots Music (1982) and the series Rockers Roadshow (1983). He relocated to Florida in the late 1980s where he studied electronics and video production. He continued to perform through the 1990s with such artists as The Clash, UB40, Bob Dylan, and Carlos Santana. He produced works by Rod Taylor, Edi Fitzroy, Sunshine, and Jah Grundy, and was featured artists on Seal’s “Lip’s Like Sugar” for the 2004 film 50 First Dates.
DREW , RONNIE Irish folk singer Ronnie Drew, who led the group the Dubliners, died of throat cancer in a Dublin, Ireland, hospital on August 16, 2008. He was 73. Drew was born in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, on September 16, 1934. He teamed with musicians Luke Kelly, Ciaran Bourke and Barney McKenna to form the Ronnie Drew Group in 1962. They soon became known as the Dubliners, and became popular for performing and recording Irish folk songs in Europe and the United States. They had hit songs with “Black Velt Band” and “Seven Drunken Nights,” and performed on television’s The Ed Sullivan Show. Drew remained with the Dubliners until 1974 and rejoined the group from 1979 to 1995. He and the Dub-
Chet Dubowski
Dubowski was born on March 13, 1926. He was featured as Felix, the bank guard, in the 1993 comedy film Groundhog Day. He also had a small part in the 2006 film Stranger Than Fiction with Will Farrell.
DUCKWORTH, KEVIN Basketball player Kevin Duckworth, who was a 2-time NBA All-Star, died of congestive heart failure in a Gleneden Beach, Oregon, hotel room on August 25, 2008. He was 44. Duckworth was born in Harvey, Illinois, on April 1, 1964. He played basketball at Eastern Illinois University and was picked by the San Antonio Spurs in the second round of the NBA Draft in 1986. He was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers the following year. He earned the NBA Most Improved Player Award in 1988 and was an NBA All-Star in 1988 and 1991. His career declined in the early 1990s and he was traded to the
119
2008 • Obituaries
Kevin Duckworth
Georges Dufaux
Washington Bullets in 1993. He went to the Milwaukee Bucks in 1995 and the Los Angeles Clippers in 1996 before retiring the following year. Duckworth was featured as a bouncer in the 1993 tele-film Fade to Black. He was traveling with a Trail Blazers group hosting free kids’ basketball clinics at the time of his death.
Agriculteur (1959), Marius Barbeau et l’Art Totemique (1959), The Little Sisters (1959), Il Etait une Querre (1959), Henri Gagnon, Organiste (1959), Germaine Guevremont Romanciere (1959), End of the Line (1959), City Out of Time (1959), The Promised Land (1959), and La Battaison (1959). Dufaux made his directorial debut as co-director of the 1960 documentary short I Was a Ninety-Pound Weakling. He also directed Les Dieux (1961), Pour Quelques Arpents de Neige (1962), Rencontres a Mitzic (1963), C’est pas la Faute a Jacques Cartier (1968), Multiple Man (1969), Two Years or More (1970), Cries from Within (1972), A Votre Sante (1974), At the End of My Days (1976), Les Jardins d’Hiver (1976), Games of the XXI Olympiad Montreal 1976 (1977), and Nelli Kim (1978). Dufaux also remained a prolific cinematographer, working on such projects as Walk Down Any Street (1960), Nomades (1960), La France sur un Caillou (1960), Colleges Classiques in Quebec (1960), Le Chanoin Lionel Groulx, Historien (1961), Louis-Joseph Papineau: The Demi-God (1961), Dubois et Fils (1961), Credit for Profit (1961), Rallyte des Neiges (1962), The Rink (1962), Kindergarten (1962), Congres (1962), A Saint-Henri le Cinq Septembre (1962), Rose et Landry (1963), France Revisited (1963), Winter Rally (1964), Springboard to the Sun (1964), Paralleles et Grand Soleil (1964), Genevieve (1964), Corps Agiles (1964), Appuis et Suspensions (1964), That Tender Age (1964), The Shape of Things (1965), Mission of Fear (1965), Montreal Flight 87 (1966), Ride for Your Life (1967), Isabel (1968), Tiger Child (1970), Fortune and Men’s Eyes (1971), Stop (1971), A Cris Perdus (1972), Des Armes et les Hommes (1973), Taureau (1973), Soap Box Derby (1974), They Called Us “Les Filles du Roy” (1974), Partis pour la Gloire (1975), The Invasion “1775–1975” (1976), Ethnocide (1977), Going the Distance (1979), and In the Labyrinth (1979). He directed a series of documentaries in China in the early 1980s consisting of Gui Dao — O the Way: Round Trip to Beijing (1980), Gui Dao — On the Way: A Station on the Yangzi (1980), and Gui Dao — On the Way — Some Chinese Women Told Us (1981). He also directed the films Les Enfants des Normes Post Scriptum (1983), Voyage Illusoire (1998), and De l’Art et la Maniere Chez Denys Arcand (2000). Dufaux was also cinematographer for In the Labyrinth (1979), Going the Distance (1979), Happy Memories (1981), A Woman in Transit
DUDELSON, STANLEY American film executive Stanley Dudelson died of lung disease in Laguna Beach, California, on April 26, 2008. He was 83. Dudelson was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 12, 1924. He began working in films in the Detroit area as a sales manager for Allied Artists and also worked in sales for RKO Pictures, United Artists, and Screen Gems. He was the founder of the television division of American International Pictures (AIP) in 1964, serving as first vice president. He left AIP for New Line Cinema in 1971, serving as president of distribution and leading the company’s international division. He was credited as executive producer for the classic horror films A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985) while at New Line. He left New Line to serve as president of Artists Entertainment Group in 1985, and later founded Taurus Entertainment, serving as chairman. Dudelson was an associate producer for the 1997 film Morella, and was an executive producer for Horror 101 (2000), Chick Street Fighter (2001), and Museum of the Dead (2004). DUFAUX, GEORGES French cinematographer and documentary filmmaker Georges Dufaux, who spent much of his career working in Canada, died in Switzerland on November 8, 2008. He was 81. Dufaux was born in Lille, France, on March 17, 1927. He studied photography in Paris in the early 1950s before heading to Brazil to work in a film laboratory for several years. He went to Canada in 1956, where he joined the National Film Board as an assistant cameraman. Dufaux was soon serving as cinematographer on numerous documentaries, shorts, and feature films, with such credits as Man of America (1956), Le Cas Lebrecque (1956), The Suspects (1957), Les Nouveaux Venus (1957), The World on Show (1958), Memory of Summer (1958), The Days Before Christmas (1958), Country Threshing (1958), Canadian Infantrymen (1958), Pierre Beaulieu
Obituaries • 2008
120
(1984), Bayo (1985), An Imaginary Tale (1990), Hotel Chronicles (1990), The Savage Woman (1991), Wind from Wyoming (1994), 2 Rue de la Memoirie (1995), Le Sphinx (1995), Voyage Illusoire (1998), Gabriele Roy (1998), Big Bear (1998), Touched (1999), and The Universal Clock: The Resistance of Peter Watkins (2001).
DUFFY, JACK Canadian actor and singer Jack Duffy died in a Toronto, Canada, hospital on May 19, 2008. He was 81. Duffy was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on September 27, 1926. He began his career as a singer on CBC Radio in Toronto in the mid–1940s. He toured with the vocal group Bob-OLinks, and performed with Tommy Dorsey’s orchestra later in the decade. He was a regular performer in CBC variety shows in the 1950s, including The Barris Beat, The Wayne and Shuster Hour, Showtime, and Folio. Noted for his comic skills and singing voice, he hosted his own series Here’s Duffy from 1958 to 1959. He also performed on the United States variety series The Perry Como Kraft Music Hall from 1961 to 1963. He was one of the trio of charades players on the comedy series
Bums (2002), Death and the Maiden (2003), and The Altar Boy Gang (2007). He also appeared frequently in feature films with such credits as The Silent Partner (1978), Title Shot (1979), Killer Party (1986), Switching Channels (1988), The Dream Team (1989), Ordinary Magic (1993), Double Take (1997), Men with Guns (1997), Blackheart (1998), Strike! (1998), The Spreading Ground (2000), The Tuxedo (2002), The In-Laws (2003), and It’s a Boy Girl Thing (2006).
DUGAN, CHARLES Character actor Charles Dugan died in California on October 9, 2008. He was 95. Dugan was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on December 22, 1912. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II and worked in the insurance business in Chicago after the war. When he retired in the late
Charles Dugan
Jack Duffy
Party Game from 1970 to 1981. His other television credits include such series as In the Mood, Half the George Kirby Comedy Hour, And That’s the New, Goodnight, The Bobby Vinton Show, The Frankie Howerd Show, Bizarre, Curious George, SCTV Network 90, Seeing Things, the supernatural horror series Friday the 13th, Maniac Mansion, Street Legal, Road to Avalonea, Beyond Reality, The Hardy Boys, Forever Knight, Brimstone, Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science, Twice in a Lifetime, Doc, G-Spot, Corner Gas, and Queer as Folk. Duffy was also seen in such television productions as Freddy the Freeloader’s Christmas Dinner (1981) with Red Skelton, Spearfield’s Daughter (1986), Whodunit (1986), Doing Life (1986), Biographies: The Enigma of Bobby Bittman (1988), Once Upon a Giant (1988) as McDermet the Hermit, Dick Francis: In the Frame (1989), Ghost Mom (1993), David’s Mother (1994), Hostage for a Day (1994), Sodbusters (1994), The Defenders: Payback (1997), Universal Soldiers: Unfinished Business (1998), A Holiday Romance (1999), RoboCop: Prime Directives (2000) as Dr. Hill, Club Land (2001), My Horrible Year! (2001), A Killing Spring (2002), Bleacher
1980s, he and his wife moved to California, where they began working as actors. Dugan was seen in small character parts in the films When Harry Met Sally (1989), Brain Donors (1992), Jack the Bear (1993), the 1994 telefilm version of The Shagg y Dog, Beverly Hills Ninja (1997), The Benchwarmers (2006), and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007). He was also featured in episodes of such series as Wings, Quantum Leap, L.A. Law, and ER. Survivors include his son, actor Dennis Dugan.
DUGGAN, TERRY British comic actor Terry Duggan died in England on May 1, 2008. He was 76. Duggan was born in England on April 15, 1932. He was a popular comic and pantomime performer in British clubs and appeared frequently in films and television from the mid–1960s. He was featured in the 1967 film Poor Cow, and was the ape attacked by a leopard in the opening segment of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968. He also appeared in the films Clegg (1969), The Nine Ages of Nakedness (1969), A Nice Girl Like Me (1969), The Horror of Frankenstein (1970), On the Busses (1971), Family Life (1971), Schizo (1976), What’s Up Nurse! (1977), Murder by Decree (1979), RiffRaff (1991), Beautiful Things (1996), and Weak at Denise (2001). Duggan was also featured on television in such series as The Informer, The Wednesday Play, My Partner, the Ghost, Please Sir!, Manhunt, On the Busses, Dixon of Dock Green, A Place to Hide, Are You Being
121
2008 • Obituaries
over performer in numerous commercials including as the vampiric breakfast cereal mascot Count Chockula.
Terry Duggan
Served?, The Fosters, Return of the Saint, Mind Your Language, Only Fool and Horses, Just Good Friends, The Bill, Class Act, Poirot, and Bob Martin. Duggan is survived by his wife, actress Anna Karen.
DUKAS, JAMES Character actor James Dukas died of cancer at his home in New York City on December 14, 2008. He was 82. Dukas was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, on June 6, 1926. He was raised in Parkersburg, West Virginia, where he began working as a radio disc jockey at the age of 14. He embarked on an acting career and went to New York to perform on stage. He made his film debut as Willie the Driver in 1959’s The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery. He was also seen in the films Pretty Boy Floyd (1960), The Hustler (1961), No Way to Treat a Lady (1968), The Detective (1968), Coogan’s Bluff (1968), The Super Cops (1974), God Told Me To (1976), The Amityville Horror (1976), Simon (1980), Brubaker (1980), The Stuff (1985), Ironweed (1987), and Astora (2000). Dukas appeared on television in episodes of Car 54, Where Are You?, The Edge of Night, Naked City, and For the People, and the tele-films O’Malley (1980), See China and Die (1981), and Kennedy (1983). He was also featured on Broadway in productions of The Last Analysis (1964), Incident at Vichy (1964), Danton’s Death (1965), The Country Wife (1965), The Condemned of Altona (1966), The Caucasian Chalk Circle (1966), Don’t Drink the Water (1966), and A Patriot for Me (1969). He was also a popular voice-
James Dukas (as Dracula)
DUMONT, ULISES Argentine actor Ulises Dumont died of a heart ailment in a Buenos Aires, Argentina, hospital on November 29, 2008. He was 71. Dumont was born in Buenos Aires on April 7, 1937. He studied at Argentina’s School of Dramatic Art, and became a popular performer on stage, film and television in the early 1960s. He appeared in numerous films during his career including Dos Quijotes Sobre Ruedas (1966), The Big Highway (1971), Growing Up Suddenly (1977), The Lion’s Share (1978), Crazy Love (1979), Sentimental (1981), Los Crapulas (1981), Time for Revenge (1981), The Underground Man (1981), Last Days of the Victim (1982), La Invitacion (1982), Los Enemigos (1983), Funny Dirty Little War (1983), Los Chicos de la Guerra (1984), La Rosales (1984), Cuarteles de Invierno (1984), The Day You Love Me (1986), El Hombre que Gano la Razon (1986), Revelacion (1986), Te Amo
Ulises Dumont
(1986), A King and His Movie (1986), Rage of Honor (1987), Con la Misma Bronca (1988), The South (1988), Gracias por los Servicios (1988), Billetes ... Billetes... (1988), La Redada (1991) At the Edge of the Law (1992), No Options Left (1995), Pictures of the Soul (1995), The Eyes of the Scissors (1995), Juntos, in Any Way (1996), Stories of Love, Madness and Death (1996), El Condor de Oro (1996), Corrupt Police (1996), El Paseo de Maltecci (1997), El Che (1997), Tangos Are for Two (1997), Clandestine Stories in Havana (1997), Zapallares (1998), Dona Barbara (1998), Wind with the Gone (1998), the internationally acclaimed Yepeto (1999), Same Love, Same Rain (1999), El Mar de Lucas (1999), Solo Gente (1999), Una Historia de Tango (2000), Close to the Border (2000), Los Dias de la Vida (2000), El Astillero (2000), Gangs from Rosario (2001), Smoking Room (2002), Grimm (2003), Conversations with Mother (2004), A Less Bad World (2004), Proxima Salida (2004), Suenos Atomicos (2005), La Esperanza (2005), To Die in San Hilario (2005), Rosas Rojas ... Rojas (2005), Un Peso un Dolar (2006), The Chair (2006), Ese Mismo Loco Afan (2007), Yo la Recuerdo Ahora (2007), Tus Ojos Cuando Lleuven (2008), El Fin de la Espera (2008), and Negro Buenos Aires (2008). He was fea-
Obituaries • 2008
122
tured as Miguel Angel in the 1978 television series Un Mundo de Veinte Asientos, and appeared in such dramas and tele-novelas as Someday I’ll Return (1993), Alen, Light of the Moon (1996), Dracula (1999), End of Time (2000), On the Edge of the Law (2005), Murderous Women (2005), Criminal (2005), and Los Cuentos de Fontanarrosa (2007).
DUNCAN, LITTLE ARTHUR Blues harmonica player Little Arthur Duncan died after a long illness in a Northlake, Illinois, hospital on August 20, 2008. He was 74. Duncan was born in Indianola, Mississippi, on February 5, 1934. He moved to Chicago at age 16, where he began playing the harmonica. He became a popular performer at local clubs at night while
died at her home in Los Angeles on May 1, 2008. She was 86. She was born Elaine Brimberg in New York City on August 2, 1921. After graduating from Sweetbriar College in 1943, she studied acting in Washington, D.C., and New York City. She spent a year in Paris before heading to London to pursue an acting career. She was featured in the BBC Sunday Night Theatre television production of Dinner at Eight in 1951, and was seen in episodes of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents, Portrait of Alison, Fabian of the Yard, and Armchair Theatre. Her earlier adventures in Paris provided fodder for her first novel, The Dud Avocado, about a young woman’s adventures there. She had a stormy marriage with theatre critic Kenneth Tynan from the mid–1950s until their divorce in 1964. Dundy also wrote the novels The Old Man and Me (1964) and The Injured Party (1974), and penned a biography of actor Peter Finch, Finch, Bloody Finch, in 1980. She also wrote the nonfictions Ferriday, Louisiana and Elvis and Gladys, about Elvis Presley’s relationship with his mother.
DUNSTER, MAURICE British character actor Maurice Dunster, who also served as an assistant to actors Donald and Kiefer Sutherland, died in Los Angeles on September 12, 2008. He was 77. Dunster was born on September 23, 1930. He was featured in small roles in several films including Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965), Digby, the Biggest Dog
Little Arthur Duncan
working constructions jobs during the day during the 1950s and 1960s. He was working at Chicago’s top blues clubs by the 1980s and opened his own club, the Artesia Lounge. He also recorded his debut album, Bad Reputation, in 1989, but his career was sidetracked for several years with severe dental problems that affected his harmonica playing and singing. He released a second album, Singin’ with the Sun in 1999, and continued to record in the 2000s with Live in Chicago (2000) and Live at Rosa’s Blues Lounge (2007).
DUNDY, ELAINE Writer Elaine Dundy, who authored the 1958 best-selling novel The Dud Avocado,
Maurice Dunster
in the World (1973), Alien Thunder (1974), and Truth or Consequences, N.M. (1997). He was also featured on television in episodes of Fallen Angels and Keifer Sutherland’s action series 24. He had worked as an assistant to Donald Sutherland on such films as The Disappearance (1977), Nothing Personal (1980), and Eye of the Needle (1981), and was credited as Keifer Sutherland’s assistant on most of his films from the 1990s including Dark City (1998), After Alice (1999), Cowboy Up (2001), and Behind the Red Door (2003).
Elaine Dundy
DVORNIK, BORIS Croatian actor Boris Dvornik died of a stroke in Split, Croatia, on March 24, 2008. He was 68. Dvornik was born in Split on April 16, 1939. He began performing on the stage as a child and studied at Zagreb’s Theatre Academy. He made his film debut in The Ninth Circle in 1960, and
123 became a popular performer on stage, film, and television. Dvornik’s numerous film credits include Martin in the Clouds (1961), Sjenka Slave (1962), Prekobrojna (1962), Medaljon sa tri Srca (1962), Da li je Umro Dobar Covjek? (1962), Zemlijaci (1963), Double Circle (1963), Radopolje (1963), Face to Face (1963), Svanuce (1964), Mad Summer (1964), Frontier Hellcat (1964), Man Is Not a Bird (1965), Covik od Svita (1965), Sonjuh Planinom (1966), Winnetou: Thunder at the Border (1966), Kaya, I’ll Kill You (1967), When You Hear the Bells (1969), Savage Bridge (1969), An Event (1969), The Battle of the River Neretva (1969), Ljubav i Poneka Psovka (1969), Life Is a Mass Phenomenon (1970), Bablje Ieto (1970), Druzba Pere Kvrzice (1970), The Bet (1971), The Pine Tree in the Mountain (1971), Lov na Jelene (1972), Traces of a Black Haired Girl (1972), To Live on Love
2008 • Obituaries
DYKE, SYKE Robert Reed, who was keyboard player with the band Trouble Funk under the name Syke Dyke, died of pancreatic cancer in Arlington, Virginia, on April 13, 2008. He was 50. Reed was born in Newport New, Virginia, in 1957. He and his brother, trumpet player Taylor “Monster Baby” Reed, were founding members of Trouble Funk, a band that was
Syke Dyke
Boris Dvornik
(1973), The Battle of Sutjeska (1973), Noz (1974), The Dervish and Death (1974), Crveni Udar (1974), Hitler from Our Street (1975), Daredevil’s Time (1977), Fliers of the Open Skies (1977), Occupation in 26 Pictures (1978), The Return (1979), Vreme, Vodi (1980), Kiklop (1982), Moj Tata na Odredjeno Vreme (1982), Servantes iz Malog Mista (1982), Heads or Tails (1983), Tajna Starog Tavana (1984), Vucjak (1985), Od Petka de Petka (1985), Wartime (1987), Marjuca ili Smrt (1987), Tight Skin 2 (1987), Spiljun na Stiklama (1988), Karneval, Andjeo i Prah (1990), Tajna Starog Mlina (1991), Nausikaja (1996), Kanjon Opashnih Igara (1998), Transatlantic (1998), The Last Will (2001), Doktor Ludosti (2003), and Long Dark Night (2004). Dvornik also appeared frequently on television from the 1970s with roles in such productions as Trag (1974), Uzicka Republika (1976), Roko i Cicibela (1978), and Balada o Sarku (2005). He was also featured in episodes of Letovi Koji se Pamte, Nase Malo Misto, Obraz uz Obraz, Ca smo na Ovom Svitu, Kapelski Kresov, Covik i Po, Velo Misto as Mestar, Hokejasi, Putovanje u Vucjak, Zagrljaj, Neunistivi, and Viza za Buducnost. He was featured as Lujo Luksic in Bolji Zivot from 1987 to 1988 and in Bolji Zivot 2 in 1991, and was Branko Lorger in Ponos Ratkajevih from 2007 to 2008. Dvornik briefly entered politics in 1992, serving as a member of Parliament for the Croatian Democratic Union for several months before resigning.
known for performing go-go music in the 1970s and 1980s. Syke created flashy electronic sounds effects that sounded as if they were from a science fiction film. Trouble Funk recorded its first album, Drop the Bomb, in 1982, and followed with Saturday Night. Live! From Washington DC (1985) and Trouble Over Here Trouble Over There (1987). The group continued to perform through the 1990s, and remained popular in the Washington, D.C., area.
EAGLE, JACK Chubby comedian Jack Eagle, who was best known for his role as the cherubic medieval monk Brother Dominic in Xerox commercials from the late 1970s, died in New York City on January 10, 2008. He was 81. Eagle was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 15, 1926. He began performing as a stand-up comic in the Catskills in the 1940s and was a popular actor in television commercials from the 1960s. The short and rotund Eagle was also known for his appearances in Fleischmann’s margarine commercials as
Jack Eagle
Obituaries • 2008
124
Mr. Cholesterol. Eagle was featured in small roles in several films including Stepmom (1998) and Isn’t She Great (2000).
EBBINS, MILTON Talent manager Milton Ebbins died of heart failure at the Motion Picture and Television Fund retirement home in Woodland Hills, California, on March 4, 2008. He was 96. Ebbins was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on February 20, 1912. He began his career as a trumpet player and bandleader in the early 1930s. He left performing to work as road manager for Count Basie. He later became a leading talent manager, with such clients as Basie and other jazz greats including Sarah Vaughn and Billy Eckstine. He also represented comedian Mort Sahl and acLiz Edmiston
wood. Edmiston was married to actor Eric Carte from 1979 and appeared frequently with him on stage.
Milton Ebbins (left, with Peter Lawford)
tresses Elizabeth Montgomery and Patty Duke. He served as actor Peter Lawford’s manager for over thirty years. He was an associate producer on Lawford’s 1950s television series The Thin Man and for the 1960s sitcom The Patty Duke Show. His association with Lawford also brought him into contact with the Rat Pack and the Kennedy Administration. He was instrumental in setting up the Rat Pack films Ocean’s Eleven (1960) and Sergeants 3 (1962). Ebbins also helped to produced John Kennedy’s Inaugural Ball in 1961. He also escorted Marilyn Monroe to Madison Square Garden to famously sing “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” in 1962. He was also an associated producer for the 1963 film Johnny Cool, and produced the comedy films Salt and Pepper (1968) and One More Time (1970) starring Lawford and Sammy Davis, Jr.
EDMISTON, LIZ British comedy actress Liz Edmiston died while performing in a play on the cruise ship The Oriana on April 10, 2008. She was 62. Edmiston trained as a ballet dancer before embarking upon a career on stage. She was featured in such West End productions as Funny Girl, The Boyfriend, and Little Me. She was featured in the 1973 film The Little Wild Bunch, and appeared in television productions of Sentimental Education (1970) and Forgotten (1999). She was also seen in episodes of Now, Take My Wife as Sheila Hancock’s daughter, Rising Damp, Within These Walls, Juliet Bravo, Never the Twain, Lazarus & Dingwall, Keeping Up Appearances, Touched by an Angel, and Ever-
EGE , JULIE Norwegian beauty Julie Ege, whose Nordic charms were on display in British comedy and horror films in the 1960s, died of breast cancer in Norway on April 29, 2008. She was 64. She was born Julie Dzuli in Sandnes, Norway, on November 12, 1943. She began modeling at the age of 15 and became Miss Norway in 1962, representing her homeland in the Miss Universe competition. She moved to England in 1967 and gained some exposure by modeling for Penthouse magazine’s United Kingdom edition in May of 1967. She made her film debut in a small role in the Norwegian film The Sky and the Ocean (1967, and also appeared in the British film Robbery (1967). She was soon cast as one of the lovelies in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service with George Lazenby. She became a familiar face, and figure, in such British sex comedies as Every Home Should Have One (1970), Up Pompeii (1971) as the voluptuous Voluptua, The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins (1971), Rentadick (1972), Double Take (1972), Not Now Darling (1973), Percy’s Progress (1974), and The Amorous Milkman (1975). She also starred as the fur-clad cavegirl Nala in the Hammer prehistoric epic Creatures the World Forgot (1971) and was Miss Dazzle in the 1973 film adaptation of Michael Moorcock’s science fiction novel The Final Programme (aka The Last Days of Man on Earth).
Julie Ege
125
2008 • Obituaries
She was also memorable in several horror films including Craze (1974), The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (1974), and Mutations (1974) with Donald Pleasence. Ege subsequently returned to Norway, where she appeared in several films including Bortreist pa Ubestemt Tid (1974), Den Siste Fleksnes (1974), and Sherlock Jones (1975). She also appeared in several local theatrical productions before largely retiring from acting to become a nurse.
EILERS, JUSTIN Justin Eilers, a mixed martial arts fighter who competed with the UFC, was shot to death at the home of an acquaintance in an apparent domestic disturbance in Canyon County, Idaho, on December 26, 2008. He was 30. Eilers was born in Boise, Idaho, on June 28, 1978. He began competing
Justin Eilers
in small shows in the late 1990s and made his professional debut against Dan Severn in 2002. He signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 2004 and lost a heavyweight title bout against Andrei Arlovski the following year. He suffered numerous injuries in the fight and was released from the UFC in 2006 after a knock-out loss to Brandon Vera. He continued to participate in mixed martial arts events for various independent promotions. He lost a bout for the new EliteXC Heavyweight Championship against Antonio Silva in his final bout in July of 2008.
ELDER, WILL Veteran comic book artist Will Elder, who was best known for his work for Mad magazine in the 1950s, died of complications from Parkinson’s disease in a Rockleigh, New Jersey, nursing home on May 15, 2008. He was 85. Elder was born in the Bronx, New York, on September 22, 1922. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and began working in comics after his discharge in 1946. His first comic work was drawing the humor title Toy Town for Orbit. Elder joined with Harvey Kurtzman and Charles Stern in opening a studio in 1947. He began working at Bill Gaines’ EC Comics in 1951, illustrating such titles as Two-Fisted Tales, Frontline Combat, Tales from the Crypt, and Panic. He was instrumental in the original layout of Mad in 1952, and drew for the humor magazine until he and Kurtzman left the company in 1956. The two worked together on several subsequent humor
Will Elder (comic self portrait)
Will Elder
titles including Humbug, Trump, and Help! Elder also teamed with Kurtzman to create the Little Annie Fanny comic for Playboy that ran from 1962 through 1988. He and Kurtzman returned to work at Mad in the 1980s. A career retrospective, Will Elder: The Mad Playboy of Art, was published by Fantagraphics in 2003. He was also honored with the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2003.
ELEPHANT BOY Professional wrestler Tony Olivas, who was the bizarre ring villain Elephant Boy in the 1950s, died on February 6, 2008. He was 86. He
Elephant Boy
Obituaries • 2008
126
was born William Victor Olivas in Ventura County, California, on March 26, 1921. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and learned to wrestle while stationed in England. After the war he began wrestling professionally in California under the name Billy Olivas. He went to Chicago in 1951 where promoter Jack Pfeffer created the Elephant Boy persona. He dressed as an Indian Prince, with long, curly hair that often covered his eyes, and darkened skin. He was usually accompanied to the ring by Slave Girl Moolah (Lillian Ellison before she became the Fabulous Moolah). Elephant Boy usually wrestled as a villain and was known for his wild antics. He remained a popular performer through the early 1960s and also worked as a wrestling promoter. After retiring from the ring he and his wife managed a spa near Ojai, California. He became involved in the church and became a brother of the Order of St. Augustine several years after his wife’s death in 1988. He studied for the priesthood and was ordained an Augustinian priest in 1997 at the age of 76. He remained active at the parish church of St. Thomas Aquinas in Ojai despite suffering a heart attack in 2002.
ELLIS, RAY
Music arranger and composer Ray Ellis died of liver cancer in an assisted living facility in Encino, California, on October 27, 2008. He was 85. Ellis was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 28, 1923. He began playing the saxophone with dance bands while in his teens before being inducted into the U.S. Army in World War II. After the war he played with Paul Whiteman’s band. In the early 1950s Mitch Miller helped him get a job as an arranger at Columbia. He arranged the hit songs “Standing on the Corner” and “Moments to Remember” for the Four Lads and worked on Billie Holliday’s final two albums including Lady in Satin. Ellis joined MGM Records in 1959, where he worked with such stars as Connie Francis, Bobby Darin, and Frankie Laine. He recorded several easy-listening albums under his own name in the early 1960s, including Let’s Get Away from It All and Ellis in Wonderland. He also arranged for such artists as Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Johnny Mathis, Lena Horne, and Barbra Streisand. Ellis composed the score for one of Boris Karloff ’s final horror films, Cauldron of Blood (1971). He also began composing for the Fil-
mation cartoon studio in the late 1960s, where he scored or arranged numerous animated programs. He was sometimes credited as Spencer Raymond, George Blais, or under his wife’s name, Yvette Blais. Ellis worked on the animated and children series The Archie Show, Fantastic Voyage, Sabrina and the Groovie Goolies, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, The Brady Kids, SpiderMan, Lassie’s Rescue Rangers, My Favorite Martian, The New Adventures of Gilligan, Star Trek: The Animated Adventures, The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty, The Ghost Busters, Isis, Shazam!, Ark II, The New Adventures of Batman, Space Sentinels, Space Academy, Tarzan and the Super 7, The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle, The New Animated Adventures of Flash Gordon, The New Adventures of Tom and Jerry, The New Adventures of Zorro, Blackstar, and Gilligan’s Planet. He later worked with his son, Marc, to create music for the gameshows Sale of the Century, Catch Phrase, Scrabble, and Hot Streak. They also worked together to score Adam Sandler’s 2002 animated film Eight Crazy Nights.
ENGESSER, GEE GEE Circus animal trainer and performer Gee Gee Engesser, who was billed as “the Blond Bombshell of the Circus World,” died in Tampa, Florida, on July 15, 2008. She was 81. She was born Georgedda Zellmar Engesser on August 6, 1926, to a circus family. Her father operated his own circus and Gee Gee was part of the elephant act when she was a toddler. She joined the Cole Bros. Circus as an
Gee Gee Engesser
equestrienne in 1945 and would stand atop two galloping palominos as part of her act. She trained and worked with the team of “Gee Gee’s Alaskans” in the 1950s, which were half malamute sled dogs and half wolves. She toured with that act for two decades and was featured as a guest on the television quiz show What’s My Line? She married elephant trainer Bucky Steele in the mid–1960s and they toured their animal act with several circuses. Engesser also worked on the 1981 prehistoric film Quest for Fire, wrangling some of her elephants who were disguised as mastodons under yak hair. She retired in the mid–1980s to Tampa, Florida.
Ray Ellis
ENOKI, CHERRY Television editor Chihiro “Cherry” Enoki plummeted to her death when she slipped and fell 14,000 feet while climbing Mount Shasta’s icy Avalanche Gulch in California on Novem-
127
Cherry Enoki
ber 28, 2008. She was 33. Enoki was born in Japan in 1975 and raised in London and Los Angeles. She began working in television as an editor in the late 1990s, and was part of a team nominated for an Emmy Award for work on the Science Channel’s Discover Magazine in 1998. She also worked as an editor for segments of such television series as This Week in History, Extreme Engineering, Postcards from Buster, The American Experience, Fetch!, Design Squad, and Nova. She also served as editor for Rob Fitz’s low-budget horror film God of Vampires in 2000.
EPPLER, DIETER German actor Dieter Eppler, who was best known for his roles in Edgar Wallace mysteries and horror films in Europe in the 1960s, died in Stuttgart, Germany, on April 12, 2008. He was 81. He was born Heinz Dieter Eppler in Stuttgart on February 11, 1927. He began his acting career on stage in the late 1940s and made his film debut in the early 1950s. The burly actor starred in such films as Der Hexer (1956), Jonas (1957), Die Grunen Teufels von Monte Cassino (1958), U-47 Lt. Commander Prien (1958), the 1959 horror film The Head, Face of the Frog (1959), Under Ten Flags (1960), The Terrible People (1960), The Last Winter (1960), Der Orgelbauer von St. Marien (1962), Roberto Mauri’s Slaughter of the Vampires (aka Curse of the Blood Ghouls) (1962) as the vampire count, Venus fra Vesto (1962), The White Spider
Dieter Eppler (as the vampire count from Slaughter of the Vampires)
2008 • Obituaries
(1963), The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle (1963), Piccadilly Zero Hour 12 (1963), The Inn on Dartmoor (1964), Murder by Proxy (1964), The Secret of Dr. Mabuse (1964), Lana: Queen of the Amazons (1964), The Sinister Monk (1965), In the Shadow of the Eagles (1966), Harold Reinl’s Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy (aka Die Niebelungen) (1966), I Deal in Danger (1966), Massacre in the Black Forest (1967), Jess Franco’s Lucky, the Inscrutable (1967), Spy Today, Die Tomorrow (1967), Castle of the Walking Dead (aka The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism) (1967) with Christopher Lee, Death and Diamonds (1968), Without a Stitch (1968), The Last Roman (1968), Deadly Shots on Broadway (1969), Deep End (1971), Life Is Tough, Eh Providence? (1972) as Sheriff Pendleton, and Der Sprinter (1984). Eppler also appeared frequently on German television from the 1970s with roles in such productions as Theodor Kardinal Innitzer (1971), Die Pueblo-Affaire (1972), Mit dem Strom (1972), Goldene Zeiten (1981), Der Goldene Schnitt (1991), Three Days in April (1994), Kanadische Traume — Eine Familie Wandert Aus (1999), Das Verbotene Zimmer (1999), Jugendsunde (2000), and Stimme des Herzens (2000). His other television credits include episodes of such series as Der Kommissar, Hamburg Transit, Polizeiinspektion 1, Auf Achse, Schwarz Rot Gold, Ein Fall fur Zwei, Der Alte, Grosstadtrevier, Die Schwarzwaldklinik, Mit Leib und Seele, Der Landarzt as Hugo Cornelsen, Abenteuer Airport as Director Tiedemann, Derrick, Schloss Hohenstein — Irrwege zum Gluck, Tatort, Bella Block, Katrin Ist die Beste, Die Aubergers, Adelheid und ihre Morder. His final television appearance was in the recurring role of Josef in the series Alle Meine Tochter in 2001.
ERICKSON , BILL Stuntman Bill Erickson died of lung cancer on June 16, 2008. Erickson began working in films in the late 1970s as a stuntman and driver. He racked up such film credits as Herbie Goes Bananas (1980), Swamp Thing (1982), Hellhole (1985), Reform School Girls (1986), Armed Response (1986), Cyclone (1987), The Lost Boys (1997), Cold Steel (1987), Keaton’s Cop (1988), Big Business (1988), The Rescue (1988), Seven Hours to Judgment (1988), Beaches (1988), Action U.S.A. (1989), Survival Quest (1989), Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), Flatliners (1990), Cartel (1990), Defending Your Life (1991), Dying Young (1991), Grand Canyon (1991), Timescape (1992), Neon City (1992), Extreme Justice (1993), Tryst (1994), Bad Girls (1994), The Last Seduction (1994), 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up (1995), Chill Factor (1999), Wheelmen (2002), and Collateral Damage (2002). ESMONDE, JOHN British television comedy writer John Esmonde, who often partnered with Bob Larbey during a thirty year career, died in Spain on August 10, 2008. He was 71. Esmonde was born in Clapham, London, England, on March 21, 1937. He began writing with his childhood friend, Bob Larbey, in the early 1960s and after several years, they were scripting the radio comedy series Spare a Copper. They also wrote the popular radio series You’re Only Old Once and Just Perfick. The duo segued into television with Spare a Copper in 1965, and also wrote for such series
Obituaries • 2008
128 Dance to Thy Daddy, A Man Like That, and The Queen’s Own, and the 1973 television play Ishmael.
EVERETT, MARK Manuel Benitz, who was a child actor in the 1980s under the name Mark Everett, was shot to death by police officers while holding his six-year-old son hostage in El Monte, California, on December 23, 2008. He was 39. He had been on the run since June 20, 2004, when he allegedly bludgeoned his wife, Stephanie Spears, to death with a dumbbell.
John Esmonde
as Room at the Bottom, Please Sir!, The Fenn Street Gang, Bowler, Get Some In!, Three Piece Suite, The Good Life, Play for Today, Feet First, The Other One, Just Liz, Don’t Rock the Boat, Now and Then, Double First, Ever Decreasing Circles, Brush Strokes, Hope It Rains, Mulberry, and Down to Earth. The also scripted the 1971 film version of Please Sir!, and 1971’s The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins. He and Larbey also wrote the television productions Cosmo and Thing y (1972) and Football Crazy (1974). Esmonde retired to Spain in the mid– 1990s.
EVELING, STANLEY
British playwright Stanley Eveling died of cancer at his home in Edinburgh, Scotland, on December 24, 2008. He was 83. Eveling was born in Newscastle-upon-Tyne, England, on August 4, 1925. He served in the Far East in the later days of World War II. He taught philosophy at several Universities and became the television critic for The Scotsman in 1970. Eveling began writing plays in the early 1960s, with his first, The Balachites, being staged in Edinburgh in 1963. He became a leading exponent of the Theatre of the Absurd, where deep psychological and metaphysical issues where often dealt with in offbeat comic terms. His plays include The Strange Case of Martin Richter, The Lunatic, The Secret Sportsman, The Woman Next Door, Caravaggio, Mister, and The Dead of Night. His best known play, Dear Janet Rosenberg, Dear Mister Kooning, which was adapted for German television in 1977. He also wrote the radio plays
Stanley Eveling
Mark Everett
Benitz was born in California on September 28, 1969. He began working in films at the age of nine, and was featured as a Super Scout in several episodes of the television science fiction series Galactica 1980 in 1980. He also appeared in the television series Highway to Heaven and Trapper John, M.D., the tele-film Final Jeopardy (1985), and the 1987 production of Kung Fu: The Next Generation on CBS Summer Playhouse. Everett was featured in several films including Be Somebody, or Be Somebody’s Fool! (1984), Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), and Stand and Deliver (1988). After leaving acting, he became involved in drugs, dealing in marijuana. His involvement in drug trafficking led to his wife planning on leaving him, which resulted in her murder. The murder was featured on an episode of America’s Most Wanted in 2004.
EVERT, KEN Ken Evert, who played Grandpa in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 in 1986, died in
Ken Evert (as Grandpa from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2)
129
2008 • Obituaries
Austin, Texas, on April 1, 2008. He was 56. Evert was featured as the patriarch of the uber-dysfunctional family that included the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface in the sequel to Tobe Hooper’s horror classic. Dennis Hopper and Caroline Williams also starred, and Tom Savini applied Evert’s old-age makeup.
FABER , JULIETTE French actress Juliette Faber died on July 13, 2008. She was 89. Faber was born in Grevenmacher, Luxembourg, on March 19, 1919. She began her film career in the late 1930s, appearing in such features as The Foolish Virgin (1938), Les Jours Heureux (1941), Strangers in the House (1942), Love Marriage (1942), Picpus (1943), Shop Girls of Paris (1943), The Temptation of Barbizon (1946), Passion for Life (1949), Justice Is Done (1950), Monsieur Octave (1951), La Bagnard (1951), Trafic sur les Dunes (1951), Le Cas du Docteur Galloy (1951), Are We Murderers? (1952),
Elsa Fabregas
Smith, and Faye Dunaway. Fabregas was also featured on television in the 1989 comedy series Tot un Senyor.
FAJARDIE, FREDERIC French novelist and screenwriter Frederic Fajardie died of cancer in Paris on May 1, 2008. He was 60. Fajardie was born in Paris on August 29, 1947. He co-scripted the 1985 film Cop’s
Juliette Faber
The Truth About Bebe Donge (1952), Tides of Passion (1956), Par-Dessus le Mur (1961), Shadow of a Chance (1974), and The Lost Way (1980). She was also a leading stage actress and appeared frequently on French television from the 1970s with roles in such productions as Les Iles Nicobar (1974), Madame Bovary (1974), Les Anneaux de Bicetre (1977), La Foire (1977), Histoires de Voyous: Les Marloupins (1979), Le Cure de Tours (1980), L’Ete Indien (1980), Le Bouffon (1981), L’Amour s’Invente (1982), L’Esprit de Familie (1982), Les Mouettes sur la Saone (1983), and Un Ange Passe (1994). She was also featured in episodes of La Ligne de Demarcation, Marie Pervenche, and La Vie des Autres.
FABREGAS, ELSA Spanish dubbing actress Elsa Fabregas, who provided the Spanish language voice of Scarlett O’Hara and many others, died in Barcelona, Spain, on December 21, 2008. She was 87. Fabregas was born in Buenos, Aires, Argentina in 1921. She began working in films in the mid–1930s, and dubbed voices for over 800 movies during her career. She voiced Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz, Rita Hayworth in Gilda, Grace Kelly in Rear Window, Bette Davis in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, and Katharine Hepburn in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. She also did the Spanish dubbing for such stars as Anne Baxter, Rita Moreno, Glenda Jackson, Rita Moreno, Judi Dench, Maggie
Frederic Fajardie
Honor with director Jose Pinheiro and actor Alain Delon, and adapted his novel Clause de Style for Pinheiro’s 1988 film Let Sleeping Cops Lie (1988). The 1990 tele-film Sniper was based on his novel, and he coscripted the films La Femme Fardee (1990) and Robert Enrico’s East Wind (1993). He also wrote the television productions Marylin et ses Enfants (2003) and 3 Jours en Juin (2005).
FALLICO, FRANC Franc Fallico, the former state medical examiner of Alaska who was featured in Werner Herzog’s 2005 documentary film Grizzly Man, died of cancer in Alaska on June 14, 2008. He was 66. Fallico was born on March 5, 1942. He earned a medical degree in Italy before settling in Alaska in 1976. He worked as a hospital pathologist before becoming state medical examiner in 2001. He was noted for delivering detailed testimony in numerous gruesome murder cases in a plainspoken manner. His autopsy of naturalist Timothy Treadwell, the victim of a bear mauling, led to his appearance in Herzog’s documentary about the
Obituaries • 2008
130
Franc Fallico
incident in 2005. Fallico was forced to take an extended medical leave due to cancer in October of 2007, and officially resigned as medical examiner in April of 2008.
FARALDO, CLAUDE French actor and director Claude Faraldo died in Ales, Gard, France, on January 30, 2008. He was 71. Faraldo was born in Paris on March 23, 1936. He was a self-taught filmmaker who directed his first film, the unreleased La Jeune Morte, in 1965. He wrote and directed the 1971 comedy Bof ... Anatomie d’un Livreur and the 1973 bizarre satire Themroc starring Michel Piccoli. His other directorial
Claude Faraldo
Roughhouse Fargo (right, with brother Jackie Fargo)
wrestler in the Southern regions during the 1960s and 1970s, died at his home in China Grove, North Carolina, on August 20, 2008. He was 80. He was born Jack Lewis Faggart in Rowan County, North Carolina, on July 20, 1928. He began wrestling in the Carolinas, sometimes competing as the Masked Rebel, in the 1950s. He also served as an oxygen tank–bearing valet to the masked tag team the Assassins. Fargo became best known for teaming with his real-life brother, Jackie Fargo, and his ersatz brother Dan Kalt (who competed as Don Fargo) in Tennessee. Sonny’s wild and erratic behavior made him popular with the fans in the region when his brother would bring him to town to help out after allegedly checking him out of a mental institution. The duo held the tag team championship several times in the 1960s and 1970s. When not competing in the ring in Tennessee, Fargo often refereed bouts in the Mid-Atlantic area. He still made occasional ring appearances as late as the 1980s. Fargo had suffered from poor health, including bouts with diabetes that left him a double amputee, in recent years.
FARKAS, RAY Emmy Award–winning television producer Ray Farkas died of colon cancer in Washington, D.C., on January 4, 2008. He was 71. Farkas was born in Kingston, New York, on June 12, 1936. He began his career as a reporter with United Press International in the late 1950s before moving to NBC to write for the Huntley-Brinkley Report. He remained at
credits include Tabarnac (1975), The Honey Flowers (1976), Two Lions in the Sun (1980), Flagrant Desire (1986), and Thanks for the Gesture (2000). He also directed the television mini-series La Chaine (1988), and episodes of Les Jupons de la Revolution and V Comme Vengeance. He appeared onscreen in his 1976 film The Honey Flowers, and went on to act in such other features as Le Jardinier (1981), Mesrine (1984), Blanc de Chine (1988), and The Black Angel (1994). He was featured as Palmari in the tele-films Maigret on Trial (1993) and Maigret’s Patience (1994), and appeared in the television mini-series La Riviere Esperance (1995) and Mafiosa, le Clan (2006). Faraldo was featured as Alexian in the television series David Nolande in 2006.
FARGO, SONNY “ROUGHHOUSE” Sonny “Roughhouse” Fargo, who was a colorful professional
Ray Farkas
131 NBC for 24 years, producing new and documentary programs including the Today show. After leaving NBC he worked as an independent producer for various networks. He produced the Emmy Award–winning ABC News special about abortion, The New Civil War. He formed his own production company, Off Center Productions, in 1991 and produced the series pilots Ira’s People for Court TV and Interviews 50 Cents. He also created programs for local television and segments for Fox TV’s America’s Most Wanted. Farkas was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2004 and underwent a surgical procedure on his brain that involved drilling two holes in his skull and implanting microelectrodes to block some of the symptoms of the disease. He remained awake during the 8-hour surgery and directed and narrated a documentary about the procedure entitled It Ain’t Television, It’s Brain Surgery.
FAST, JULIUS
Author Julius Fast died of complications from a stroke in Kingston, New York, on December 16, 2008. He was 89. Fast was born in Manhattan in 1919. He was a pre-med student at New York University before spending three years in the U.S. Army working in a blood lab in Boston. He edited a collection of science fiction stories, Out of This World (1944), and wrote his first mystery novel, Watchful at
Julius Fast
Night (1945), while still in the service. Fast received the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for best first novel the following year. He also wrote the detective novels Walk in Shadow (1947) and A Model for Murder (1956). Fast also wrote an early book about the Beatles, The Beatles: The Real Story, published in 1968. He later began writing pop psychology and selfhelp books including The New Sexual Fulfillment (1972), The Body Language of Sex, Power and Aggression (1976), Talking Between the Lines, How We Mean More Than We Say (1979) co-authored by his wife Barbara Sher, Body Politics (1980), and The Body Book (1981).
FAWCETT, CHARLES Charles Fawcett, an American soldier and adventurer turned actor, died in London on February 3, 2008. He was 92. Fawcett was born in Waleska, Georgia, on December 2, 1915. Orphaned at an early age, he traveled the country as a youth and toured the world aboard a tramp steamer
2008 • Obituaries
Charles Fawcett
while in his teens. He went to Europe in the 1930s, and joined the Polish Army after the Nazi invasion in 1939. He was forced to flee by the advancing Germans, and was later rejected by the French Army. Throughout the rest of the war, he worked undercover in France, served in the ambulance corps, briefly served in the RAF, and eventually fought with the French Foreign Legion. After the war, Fawcett became involved in battling the Communists in the Greek civil war. In the late 1940s he began a long film career in Europe, appearing in such features as Wicked City (1949), The Big Meeting (1950), Three Feet in a Bed (1950), Lost Souvenirs (1950), Fugitive from Montreal (1950), Fugitive in Trieste (1951), Adventures of Captain Fabian (1951), Ha da Veni ... Don Calogero! (1952), When in Rome (1952), The Respectful Prostitute (1952), Three Forbidden Stories (1952), The Country of the Campanelli (1953), Hell Raiders of the Deep (1953), The Unfaithfuls (1953), Eg ypt by Three (1953), Appassionatamente (1954), The Two Orphans (1954), The Woman Who Came from the Sea (1954), An American in Rome (1954), The Golden Falcons (1955), Goodbye Naples! (1955), Andrea Chenier (1955), The Devil’s Commandment (aka I Vampiri) (1956), War and Peace (1956), Boy on a Dolphin (1957), Miss Lonelyheart (1958), La Violetera (1958), The Last Rebel (1958), The Love Specialist (1958), No Time to Kill (1959), and Face of Fire (1959). Fawcett was also featured on television in the syndicated adventure series Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion and the western The Rough Riders in the 1950s. He continued to appear in such films as Riff-Raff (1960), The Loves of Salammbo (1960), Heaven on Earth (1960), Come September (1961), Barabbas (1961), Slave Queen of Babylon (1962), Maciste in Hell (aka The Witch’s Curse) (1962), It Happened in Athens (1962), The 300 Spartans (1962), Captain Sinbad (1963), Dark Purpose (1964), Old Shatterhand (1964), The Secret of Dr. Mabuse (1964), Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1965), The Wild Men of Kurdistan (1965), Fury of the Sabers (1965), Savage Pampas (1966), Spy Today, Die Tomorrow (1967), Target Frankie (1967), King of Africa (1968), The Massacre of Glencoe (1971), Kaliman (1972), Down the Ancient Staircase (1975), and Annie (1976). Fawcett ended his film career in the mid–1970s and moved to Houston, Texas, where he recuperated from a bout of tuberculosis. In 1980 he went to Afghanistan after the So-
Obituaries • 2008
132
viet invasion where he trained local tribesman to fight the invaders. His film of the conflict was instrumental in gaining the United States support in funding for the rebels.
FECHNER , CHRISTIAN French film producer Christian Fechner, who produced numerous popular comedies from the early 1970s, died in Paris after a long illness on November 26, 2008. He was 64. Fechner was born in Agen, Lot-et-Garonne, France, on July 26, 1944. He began producing films in the early 1970s with such credits as Stadium Nuts (1972), Charlots Go to Spain (1972), The Big Store (1973), Lucky Pierre (1974), Sadsacks Go to War (1974), The Wild Goose Chase (1975), From Hong Kong with Love (1975) Danny Federici
Christian Fechner
which he scripted, Cool, Calm and Collected (1976), The Wing and the Thigh (1976), The Animal (1977), The Spat (1978), The Miser (1980), La Soupe aux Choux (1981), The Ruffian (1983), Circulez y a Rien a Voir! (1983), Papy Fait de la Resistance (1983), Marche a l’Ombre (1984), Les Freres Petard (1986), Camille Claudel (1988), La Gamine (1991), Lovers on the Ninth Bridge (1991), Elisa (1995), Tout Doit Disparaitre (1997), Witch Way Love (1997), Half a Chance (1998), The Children of the Marshland (1999), Girl on the Bridge (1999), A Crime in Paradise (2001), Don’t Die Too Hard! (2001), Chouchou (2003), L’Incruste (2004), L’Antidote (2005), Friends Forever (2006), L’Entente Cordiale (2006), La Voix (2006), and The Red Inn (2007). Fechner also produced the television productions Sueurs Froides (1988), Palae (1988), and Le Retour de Lemmy Caution (1989), and wrote and directed the 1993 film Justinien Trouve, or God’s Bastard.
FEDERICI, DANNY Musician Danny Federici, who played keyboard for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, died of melanoma in a Manhattan hospital on April 17, 2008. He was 58. Federici was born in Flemington, New Jersey, on January 23, 1950. He began playing the accordion at the age of 7, and later switched to the electric organ. He began playing in bands in the 1960s and joined with Vini Lopez to form the band Child late in the decade. They invited Bruce Springsteen to be lead singer, and the group was soon renamed Steel Mill. Federici also played in Springsteen’s subsequent group Dr. Zoom and the Sonic
Boom. He joined Springsteen’s E Street Band in 1973, and was often introduced on stage as Phantom Dan. He also occasionally played the accordion and a keyboardoperated glockenspiel for the group. He played and recorded with Springsteen in every subsequent lineup of the band until failing health forced his absence in 2007. He also performed as a studio musician for such artists as Graham Parker, Joan Armatrading, and Garland Jeffreys. He also led his own club band and released two jazz-pop albums, Flemington (1997) and Sweet (2004). FEENEY, JOE Singer Joe Feeney, who sang tenor on The Lawrence Welk Show, died of emphysema in a Carlsbad, California, hospital on April 16, 2008. He was 76. Feeney was born in Grand Island, Nebraska, on August 15, 1931. He began singing as a boy soprano in the church choir. He continued to sing through school and won several singing contests while attend-
Joe Feeney
ing the University of Nebraska. He was given a guest spot on The Lawrence Welk Show in 1956 and became the featured tenor on the program the following year. He was noted for his renditions of “Danny Boy,” “Galway Bay,” and “Be My Love.” He remained with the program until it ceased production in 1982. Feeney also performed at venues ranging from Disneyland to Carnegie Hall, and sang for five presidents in the White House and Pope John Paul VI at the Vatican. He con-
133
2008 • Obituaries
tinued to perform until poor health forced his retirement several months before his death.
FENADY, GEORG J. Veteran television director Georg J. Fenady died in Los Angeles on May 29, 2008. He was 77. Fenady was born in Toledo, Ohio, on July 29, 1930. He was the younger brother of director and screenwriter Andrew J. Fenady, and began his career as a casting consultant on his brother’s series The Rebel in the early 1960s. He also worked on his brother’s
J. Don Ferguson
George J. Fenady
series Combat! as an associate producer and assistant director, and made his directorial debut helming several episodes in the mid–1960s. He also directed episodes of Garrison’s Gorillas and Mission: Impossible. He was an assistant director on the 1970 film The Animals and helmed two horror films in the early 1970s, Terror in the Wax Museum (1973) and Arnold (1973). Fenady also directed episodes of such series as Chase, Code R, CHiPs, Emergency!, B.J. and the Bear, Quincy, Manimal, Simon & Simon, Lottery, Whiz Kids, T.J. Hooker, Airwolf, The Fall Guy, Knight Rider, Dragnet, Jake and the Fatman, Life Goes On, Baywatch Night, Beverly Hills, 90210, and Baywatch. He also helmed the tele-films Hanging by a Thread (1979), The Night the Bridge Fell Down (1983), and Cave-In! (1983).
FENADY, SHANNON Francis Shannon Fenady, the son of television producer-director Andrew J. Fenady, died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California, on March 29, 2008. He was 44. Fenady was born on December 9, 1963. He began working in television in the late 1980s as an associate producer at the production company Movietime. He was instrumental in creating the E! cable network program Talk Soup. He was also producer of segments for such reality television programs as What’s So Funny!, Extra!, TV’s Funniest Outtakes, and The Most Outrageous Live TV Moments. Fenady was working on an independent western film project, Brotherhood of the Gun, at the time of his death. FERGUSON, J. DON Character actor J. Don Ferguson died of complications from leukemia in a Savannah, Georgia, hospital on October 1, 2008. He was 74. Ferguson was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on No-
vember 21, 1933. He moved to Savannah in 1961 after serving in the U.S. Army. He worked as a manager of a radio station and appeared in numerous local theatrical productions. Ferguson also began appearing frequently in film and television productions in the early 1970s. He was seen in the films The Longest Yard (1974), The Lincoln Conspiracy (1977), Our Winning Season (1978), Norma Rae (1979), The Prize Fighter (1979), Little Darlings (1980), The Long Riders (1980), The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (1981), Sharky’s Machine (1981), Tennessee Stallion (1982), The Loveless (1982), Tank (1984), Kidco (1984), Running Mates (1985), Stephen King’s Maximum Overdrive (1986), Date with an Angel (1987), Final Cut (1988), Fast Food (1989), The Return of Swamp Thing (1989), Freejack (1992), My Cousin Vinnie (1992), The Program (1993), Radioland Murders (1994), The War (1994), Something to Talk About (1995), Eddie (1996), Fled (1996), I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), Major League: Back to the Minors (1998), Movievoyeur.com (2000), Remember the Titans (2000), The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000), The Substitute: Failure Is Not an Option (2001), Juwanna Mann (2002), and The Second Chance (2006). Ferguson was also seen in the tele-films F. Scott Fitzgerald and “The Last of the Belles” (1974), The Greatest Gift (1974), Summer of My German Soldier (1978), I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1979), When the Circus Came to Town (1981), Murder in Coweta County (1983), Sidney Sheldon’s Windmills of the Gods (1988), Unconquered (1989), Traveling Man (1989), Murder in Mississippi (1990), When Will I Be Loved? (1990), In the Line of Duty: Manhunt in the Dakotas (1991), Nightmare in Columbia County (1991), In the Line of Duty: Street War (1992), Linda (1993), A Kiss to Die For (1993), Big Dreams & Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story (1995), and From the Earth to the Moon (1998). His other television credits include episodes of Barnaby Jones, I’ll Fly Away, In the Heat of the Night, and Matlock. FERNANDEZ, RUDY Filipino actor Rudy Fernandez, who was a leading action star in the 1980s, died of complications from cancer at his home in Quezon City, the Philippines, on June 7, 2008. He was 56. Fernandez was born in Lubao, the Philippines, on March 3, 1952, the son of director Gregorio Fernandez. He made his film debut at the age of 3 in his father’s
Obituaries • 2008
134
Rudy Fernandez
feature Luksang Tagumpay (1956). He was also seen in his father’s 1960 film Emily. He began his film career in earnest in 1970 when he signed a contract with Sampaguita Pictures. He initially appeared in teen roles in such films as For Your Mama (1970) and Sweet Matutina (1976). He soon made a name for himself as an action hero in the films Bitayin si Baby Ama (1976) and Ang Leon, Ang Tiger at ang Alamid (1979). He continued to appear in such films as Usigin ang Maysala (1976), Makahiya at Talahib (1976), Valentin Labrador (1977), Hijack ’77 (1977), Alfredo Lim (1977), Salonga (1978), Maynila, 1970 (1979), Dakpin ... Killers for Hire (1979), Kasal-Kasalan, Bahay-Bahayan (1979), Puga (1980), Estibador (1980), Si Malakas, si Maganda, at si Mahinhin (1980), Pepeng Shotgun (1980), Bagong Boy Condenado (1982), Pambato, Mga (1982), Get My Son Dead or Alive (1982), Kumander Elpidio Paclibar (1982), Sumuko ka na Reonquillo (1983), Kumusta ka, Hudas? (1983), Alex San Diego: Wanted (1983), Kunim mo ang ulo ni Magtanggol (1983), Idol (1984), Sarge (1984), Somewhere (1984), Kriminal (1984), Batuigas ... Pasukuin si Waway (1984), Anak ng Tondo (1985), Revenge for Justice (1985), Baun Gang (1985), Riot 1950 (1985), Tatak ng Yakuza (1986), Deadly Target (1986), Vigilante (1987), Get Victor Corpus: The Rebel Soldier (1987), Vengeance Is Mine (1987), Lumuhod ka sa Lupa! (1987), The Day They Robbed America (1988), The Bobby Ortega Story (1991), Bingbong: The Vincent Crisologo Story (1991), Amang Capulong — Anak ng Tondo II (1992), Kahit Buhay Ko (1992), Daddy Goon (1992), Gwapings: The First Adventure (1992), Kung Kailangan mo Ako (1993), Nagkataon, Nagkatagpo (1994), Lagalag: The Eddie Fernandez Story (1994), Matimbang pa sa Dugo (1995), Kuratog Baleleng (1995), Ayos Lang, Pare Ko (1997), Onyok Tigasin (1997), Birador (1998), Ginto’t Pilak (1998), The Fighter (2000), Ping Lacson: Supercop (2000), Iligpit si Bobby Ortega, Markang Bungo 2 (2001), and Diskarte (2002). He appeared frequently in television in the 2000s, starring in the short-lived sit-com Da Boy, en da Girl. He was also seen in the series Twin Hearts, Now and Forever, and Atlantika. Fernandez was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Quezon City in 2001. FERRER, MEL Actor and director Mel Ferrer died at his ranch near Santa Barbara, California, on June 2, 2008. He was 90. He was born Melchior Gas-
ton Ferrer in Elberon, New Jersey, on August 25, 1917. He attended Princeton University but soon dropped out. He subsequently worked as a journalist at a Vermont newspaper, traveled to Mexico, and wrote the children’s book Tito’s Hats. He went to New York in the late 1930s, where he was a chorus dancer on Broadway in two musicals. After suffering from a bout of polio in the early 1940s he worked as a radio disc jockey in Texas and Arkansas. He worked at NBC television in New York as a director and began working in films as a dialogue coach on Louisiana Hayride (1944), They Live in Fear (1944), Sergeant Mike (1944), Together Again (1944), Meet Miss Bobby Socks (1944), Let’s Go Steady (1945), Ten Cents a Dance (1945), Boston Blackie’s Rendezvous (1945), and A Thousand and One Nights (1945). He made his directorial debut with the 1945 Columbia feature The Girl of the Limberlost. Ferrer also appeared on Broadway in the 1945 Lillian Smith play Strange Fruit, and directed Jose Ferrer in the 1946 production of Cyrano de Bergerac. He returned to Hollywood to serve as John Ford’s assistant director on The Fugitive in 1947, also appearing onscreen as Father Serra. Ferrer was featured in the film Lost Boundaries in 1949, and starred in such features as Born to Be Bad (1950), The Brave Bulls (1951), Rancho Notorious (1952), Scaramouche (1952), Knights of the Round Table (1953) as Arthur, Lili (1953) as the crippled puppeteer Paul Berthalet, Saadia (1953), Forbidden (1954), Oh ... Rosalinda!! (1955), War and Peace (1956) as Prince Andrei, Elena and Her Men (1956), The Vintage (1957), the 1957 film adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises (1957) as Robert Cohn, Fraulein (1958), and the end of the world drama The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959) with Inger Stevens and Harry Belafonte. He was also featured as Crown Prince Rudolph in the 1957 television production of Mayerling on Producers’ Showcase, and an episode of Zane Grey Theater. Ferrer married actress Audrey Hepburn in 1954, and starred with her on Broadway in the fantasy Ondine. He also directed her in the 1959 drama set in the jungles of South America, Green Mansions. Ferrer continued to appear onscreen, often working in Europe, in such films as Ladies Man (1960), the French vampire thriller Blood and Roses (1960), The Hands of Orlac (1960) with Christopher Lee, Law of War (1961), Charge of the Black
Mel Ferrer
135 Lancers (1962), The Devil and the Ten Commandments (1962), the all-star World War II drama The Longest Day (1962), El Senor de La Salle (1964), Paris —When It Sizzles (1964), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), and Sex and the Single Girl (1964). He was also featured on television in an episode of Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, and directed several episodes of the comedy series The Farmer’s Daughter in the early 1960s. Ferrer produced, directed, and scripted the 1965 film Cabriola (aka Every Day Is a Holiday, and produced and starred in the 1966 bio-film of the great Spanish artist El Greco. He also produced the 1967 thriller Wait Until Dark, starring his wife, Audrey Hepburn, as a blind woman terrorized by criminals. He and Hepburn divorced in 1968. Ferrer served as producer of the films A Time for Loving (1971) which he also starred in as Dr. Harrison, The Night Visitor (1971), Embassy (1972), and the thriller W (1974) starring the former fashion model Twiggy. His career as an actor also continued with such credits as The Girl from the Red Cabaret (1972), The Antichrist (aka The Tempter) (1973), Chopper Squad (1975), Suspected Death of a Minor (1975), Brannigan (1975) with John Wayne, The Net (1975), The Black Pirate (1976), Gangbuster (1977), The Girl in the Yellow Pajamas (1977), Eaten Alive (1977), Seagulls Fly Low (1978), L’Immoralita (1978), Hi-Riders (1978), The Norseman (1978), Yesterday’s Tomorrow (1978), The Fifth Floor (1978), Screamers (aka The Island of the Fishmen) (1979), The Visitor (1979), Guyana: Cult of the Damned (1979), The Great Alligator (1979), Buitres Sobre la Ciudad (1980), Doomed to Die (aka Eaten Alive!, The Emerald Jungle) (1980), City of the Walking Dead (1980), Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Lili Marleen (1981), A Thousand Billion Dollars (1982), Deadly Game (1982), Un Tenero Tramonto (1983), and Eye of the Widow (1989). Ferrer was also seen in the tele-films Columbo: Requiem for a Falling Star (1973), Tenafly (1973), Roots of the Mafia (1976), Sharon: Portrait of a Mistress (1977), Black Beauty (1978), How the West Was Won (1978) as Hale Burton, The Return of Captain Nemo (1978), Top of the Hill (1980), The Memory of Eva Ryker (1980), Fugitive Family (1980), One Shoe Makes It Murder (1982), Seduced (1985), Peter the Great (1986), Outrage! (1986), Dream West (1986), Wild Jack (1989), Catherine the Great (1995), and Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Stories from My Childhood: Pinocchio and the Golden Key (1998) as the voice of Geppetto. He starred in the prime-time soap opera Falcon Crest as the lawyer, and later husband, of Jane Wyman’s character from 1981 to 1984. His other television credits include episodes of Search, Police Story, Marcus Welby, M.D., Ellery Queen, Baretta, Hawaii Five-0, Fantastic Journey, Lanigan’s Rabbi, Wonder Woman, Logan’s Run, Return of the Saint, Eischied, Dallas, Fantasy Island, Finder of Los Loves, Glitter, Behind the Screen, Hotel, Murder, She Wrote, and Christine Cromwell as the Doctor. Ferrer was married to Frances Gunby Pilchard from 1937 until their divorce in 1939. He married Barbara Tripp in 1940, but divorced her several years later and remarried Pilchard in 1944. They again divorced before his marriage to Hepburn in 1954. After their divorce in 1968, Ferrer married Elizabeth Soukutin, who survives him. He was the
2008 • Obituaries
father of five children including a son with Hepburn, Sean Ferrer.
FERSEN, CHRISTINE French actress Christine Fersen died of complications of injuries she received in a fall in Paris on May 26, 2008. She was 64. Fersen was born in France on March 5, 1944. She was a leading stage performer with the Comedie-Francaise from the mid–1960s. She was also featured in several
Christine Fersen
films including Kiss (1971), The Third Cry (1974), The Big Brother (1982), Friends and Husbands (1983), L’Archipel des Amours (1983), Les Deux Fagonard (1989), Milena (1991), and Melody for a Hustler (1998). Fersen was also featured in such television productions as Horace (1973), Les Mescontents (1973), La Barque sans Pecheur (1973), La Limousine (1976), Le Roi se Meurt (1978), Le Destin Personnel (1979), Les Ritals (1991), and Little Girls (1997).
FEYDEAU, ALAIN French actor and comedian Alain Feydeau died in Paris on January 14, 2008. He was 73. Feydeau was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, on July 21, 1934. He performed with the Comedie-Francaise from 1958 to 1983. He was seen frequently on French television from the 1970s, appearing in productions of Ruy Blas (1972), Musidora (1973), La Poudre aux Yeux (1976), Les Folies Offenbach (1977), Le Mutant (1978), Louis XI ou Le Pouvoir Central
Alain Feydeau
Obituaries • 2008
136
(1979), Les Acteurs de Bonne Foi (1979), La Folle de Chaillot (1980), Marie-Marie (1981), Mistoire Contemporaine (1981), Emmenez-Moi au Theatre: La Baye (1983), Tribunal (1989), and La Dame aux Camelias (1998). He also appeared in the films Vincennes Neuilly (1992) and The Three Kings (2001). Feydeau also authored two books on French actress Edwige Feuillere.
FFOLKES, KAREN Actress Karen Ffolkes died of cancer in Glendale, California, on August 31, 2008. She was 40. Ffolkes was born on August 28, 1968. She began working as an actress in the early 1990s, appear-
phy of the Early Popular Stage Comedian, Tony Pastor, Father of Vaudeville, Maude Adams: Idols of American Theater, Sophie Tucker: First Lady of Show Business, Fred Stone: Circus Performer and Musical Comedy Star, James J. Corbett: A Biography of the Heavyweight Boxing Champion and Popular Theater Headliner, and Lillian Russell: A Biography of America’s Beauty. He also authored Le Chat Noir: A Montmartre Cabaret and Its Artists in Turn-of-the-Century Paris (1994) and Katharine Dexter McCormick: Pioneer for Women’s Rights (2003). Fields donated his archive of rare theatrical memorabilia to the USC Libraries’ Special Collections in 2002 to become the Armond Fields American Theatre Collection.
FIELDS , ARMOND Armond Fields, who penned numerous biographies of theatrical personalities, died at his home in Culver City, California, on August 17, 2008. He was 77. Fields was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 22, 1930. He wrote a book about his uncle, vaudeville star and producer Lew Fields, From the Bowery to Broadway: Lew Fields and the Roots of Popular Theatre, with L. Marc Fields in 1993. He continued to write numerous works about early figures of the American stage including Eddie Foy: A Biogra-
FINNEGAN, WILLIAM Film and television producer William Finnegan died of complications from Parkinson’s disease at his home in Sag Harbor, New York, on November 28, 2008. He was 80. Finnegan was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 29, 1928. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He began working as a newsman with the Hollywood Citizen News, the Associated Press and CBS in 1950. He began working in television in the mid–1960s, serving as an assistant director for the popular spy series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and the 1968 feature film Sol Madrid. He was a producer on the films Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) and Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971), and production manager for The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969), Monte Walsh (1970), and Bobby Deerfield (1977). He was also a producer of the tele-films Hec Ramsey (1972), Chelsea D.H.O. (1973), Dead Man on the Run (1975), Danger in Paradise (1977), King (1978), Maneaters Are Loose! (1978), Stranger in Our House (1978), The Ordeal of Patty Hearst (1979), A Vacation in Hell (1979), The $5.20 an Hour Dream (1980), Valentine Magic on Love Island (1980), Father Figure (1980), The Choice (1981), Inmates: A Love Story (1981), Calahan (1982), World War III (1982), Dangerous Company (1982), Between Two Brothers (1982), Your Place ... or Mine (1983), Summer Girl (1983), The Dollmaker (1984), Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac (1984), The Atlanta Child Murders (1985), Generation (1985), and This Child Is Mine (1985). He was also a producer for the television series Hawaii Five-0, Big Hawaii, The
Armond Fields
William Finnegan
Karen Ffolkes
ing frequently onstage and in commercials. She was also seen in several film during her career, including Desperate Measures (1993), Most Wanted (1997), My Brothers Jack (1998), Banana Moon (2003), Everyday Use (2003), and Runt (2005).
137 Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, She-Wolf of London, and Any Day Now. He joined with his wife, Patricia, and partner, Sheldon Pinchuk, to form the production company Finnegan-Pinchuk Co. in the late 1970s, which supplied made for television productions for the networks and cable. Finnegan’s producer credits included the tele-films News at Eleven (1986), Circle of Violence: A Family Drama (1986), Louis L’Amour’s Down the Long Hills (1986), Babes in Toyland (1986), American Harvest (1987), The Alamo: Thirteen Days of Glory (1987), Gore Vidal’s Lincoln (1988), She Knows to Much (1989), Dark Holiday (1989), Murder by Night (1989), Laker Girls (1990), Hell Hath No Fury (1991), and Hope (1997). He was also a producer of the feature films Night of the Creeps (1986), North Shore (1987), Going to the Chapel (1988), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), White Palace (1990), The Babe (1992), CrissCross (1992), Reality Bites (1994), Tis the Season (1994), and Ed (1996). Finnegan largely retired from active production in 2003.
FIONDELLA, JAY Actor and restaurateur Jay Fiondella, whose Santa Monica eatery Chez Jay was a popular spot for show business celebrities, died after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease, in Santa Monica, California, on November 6, 2008. He was 82. Fiondella was born in East Haven, Connecticut, in 1946. He studied at the University of Miami before heading to Hollywood in the hopes of becoming an actor in the early 1950s. He roomed with future Star Trek star Leonard Nimoy while both aspiring young actors were getting their start. Fiondella appeared frequently on television during the 1960s under the name Jay Della, with roles in episodes of Sea Hunt, Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Vacation Playhouse, Laredo, Batman as the Puzzler’s henchman Ramjet, Mission: Impossible, Nanny and the Professor, Fantasy Island, and CHiPs. He was also seen in the films This Is Not a Test (1962) and Simon, King of the Witches (1971). Fiondella opened Chez Jay in 1959 and his friendship with Hollywood celebrities made it a popular hangout. Though he largely abandoned his acting career in the early 1970s, he continued to appear in cameo roles in such films as Inside Moves (1980), Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), Bad Influence
Jay Fiondella
2008 • Obituaries
(1990), Delirious (1991), Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), the tele-film Nails (1992), Short Cuts (1993), Somebody to Love (1994), Bloodfist VII: Manhunt (1995), Conspiracy Theory (1997), Suicide Kings (1997), Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), Two Shades of Blue (2000), and Luck of the Draw (2000).
FISCHER, BOBBY Chess champion Bobby Fischer, whose 1972 match against Soviet Boris Spassky brought world attention to the game, died of kidney failure in a Reykjavik, Iceland, hospital on January 17, 2008. He was 64. Fischer was born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 9, 1943, and was raised by his mother in
Bobby Fischer
Brooklyn, New York. He first began playing chess at the age of six, and was challenging some of America’s strongest players by the time he was 12. Sometimes called “the boy robot” by his opponents, he won the U.S. Junior Championship in 1956 and became the youngest U.S. Champion at age 14 the following year. He earned the rank of grandmaster at age 15. As his skills increased and his wins mounted, Fischer’s behavior also became increasingly erratic. He made bizarre demands on tournament hosts, and alleged that opponents were conspiring against him or trying to poison his food. He authored the 1969 book My 60 Memorable Chess Games on his road to becoming the top contender to the world championship. Fischer continued his demanding behavior through the start of the 1972 contest against reigning champion Boris Spassky in Reykjavik, and threatened to call off the competition with complaints about whirring television cameras and lighting. Losing the first game and forfeiting the second, Fischer came back to trounce Spassky and became an international celebrity. The victory was viewed in the United States as a blow against Communism and Fischer was hailed as an unlikely hero. His erratic behavior grew even more intense after becoming world champion. He was stripped of the title by the International Chess Federation when he refused to defend against challenger Anatoly Karpov in 1975. Rumored to be near destitute over the next decade, his eccentricities remained undiminished. He reemerged in 1992 for a rematch against Spassky in the then Yugoslavian republic of Montenegro for a reported $5 million purse.
Obituaries • 2008
138
Fischer defended United Nations sanctions against Yugoslavia by participating. The U.S. Treasury Department obtained an arrest warrant against him after he spit on the order forbidding him to compete. Fischer vanquished Spassky in the match and vowed never to return to the United States. He spent the remainder of his life in exile, eventually settling in Reykjavik. He was imprisoned for nine months in Japan in 2004 when he was accused of trying to leave the country without a valid passport. The American chess player in the hit musical Chess, with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, was loosely based on Fischer. A 1993 film about young chess prodigy Joshua Waitzkin was entitled Searching for Bobby Fischer.
FISHER, DIANE Diane Fisher Murrell died in a Fairview, Oklahoma, hospital of complications from a stroke on July 29, 2008. She was 76. Fisher was born in Gilmer, Texas, on July 16, 1932. She was a child actress in a handful of films from the late 1930s includ-
was 36. Fisher was born in Houston, Texas, on April 18, 1972. She graduated from the University of Houston before heading to Los Angeles to embark on a career as an actress and model. She appeared on television in episodes of Walker Texas Ranger and Nash Bridges. She was featured in several films including Pomegranate (2005) and Cattle Call (2006), and appeared in a segment of Gene Simmons: Family Jewelry in 2008.
FLESSEL, CREIG Comic artist Creig Flessel died of complications from a stroke at his home in Mill Valley, California, on July 17, 2008. He was 96. Flessel was born in Huntington, Long Island, New York, on February 2, 1912. He began working in comics as an as-
Creig Flessel
Diane Fischer
ing Swanee River (1939) with Don Ameche as Stephen Foster, The Blue Bird (1940) as Shirley Temple’s little sister, Lillian Russell (1940), The Man I Married (1940), Young People (1940), and The Villain Still Pursued Her (1940).
FISHER , RANA Actress and model Rana Fisher died in Los Angeles on August 10, 2008. She
Rana Risher
sistant to John H. Striebel on the Dixie Dugan newspaper strip. He also worked in advertising at the Johnstone and Cushing Agency in the 1930s. He began drawing for some of the earliest issues of DC Comics in 1936, illustrating strips for More Fun Comics and New Comics. He was a creator of the series “Speed Saunders,” “Hank the Cowhand,” “Pep Morgan,” and “The Bradley Boys.” He also drew strips for many of the early issues of Detective Comics before Batman made his first appearance and often illustrated the covers. He drew the “Sandman” and “The Shining Knight” features for Adventure Comics in the 1940s. He also worked at Columbia Comics and Magazine Enterprises in the early 1940s, and drew illustrations for several pulp magazines. He returned to DC to ink Superboy related titles in the 1950s. Flessel also worked often in advertising and graphic art for magazines. He sometimes assisted Al Capp on the Li’l Abner comic strip and illustrated the David Crane strip from 1960 to 1971. He worked with Joe Simon on the DC comic Prez in the 1970s and drew the Tales of Baron Von Furstinbed comic for Playboy in the 1980s. In recent years Flessel was a popular guest at comic fan conventions around the country.
FLORENCE, BOB Bob Florence, an Emmy and Grammy Award–winning pianist and composer, died of pneumonia in a Los Angeles hospital on May 15, 2008. He was 75. Florence was born in Los Angeles on May 19, 1932. He began working as an arranger in the
139
2008 • Obituaries
worked as a conductor and composer. Flynn scored several films there including Sunday Too Far Away (1975), Caddie (1975), and Mad Dog Morgan (1976). He also composed the rock opera Ned Kelly about the notorious Australian outlaw. He also conducted frequently for the Australian Opera in Sydney and for touring Broadway productions. Flynn relocated to New York City in the late 1970s, where he spent several years as a conductor for the American Ballet Theatre. He also orchestrated such productions as Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Don Quixote and was a guest conductor at orchestras throughout the world. Flynn was named music director of the Riverside County Philharmonic in California in 1989, where he remained until his death. Bob Florence
later days of the big band era in the 1950s. Florence provided arrangements for such bandleaders as Harry James, Les Brown, Louis Belson, and Sy Zentner. His arrangement for Zentner’s “Up a Lazy River” won a Grammy Award in 1961. He worked frequently in television from the 1960s, serving as a musical director, composer and piano accompanist on specials starring Julie Andrews, Vicki Carr, and Jack Jones. He also worked on television variety shows starring Dean Martin, Red Skelton, and Andy Williams, earning two Emmy Awards for his efforts. He was music arranger for the 1968 film Sebastian and was orchestrator for the 1978 musical The Wiz. Florence also supplied additional music for Burt Reynolds’ 1981 film Sharky’s Machine. From the late 1970s, he toured frequently with his own big band, Bob Florence Limited Edition. The group earned a Grammy Award in 1999 and continued to tour until shortly before Florence’s death.
FOCH, NINA Leading actress Nina Foch died of long-term myelodysplasia, a blood disorder, in a Los Angeles hospital on December 5, 2008. She was 84. She was born Nina Fock in Leiden, the Netherlands, on April 20, 1924, the daughter of American actress Consuela Flowerton and Dutch conductor Dirk Fock. Her parents divorced when she was a child, and Nina was raised in New York City. She became interested in acting at an early age and trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She appeared onstage in regional theater before signing a contract with Columbia in 1943. She appeared frequently in films during the 1940s, though failed to become a leading movie star. Her film credits include Wagon Wheels West (1943), The Return of the Vampire (1944) with Bela Lugosi, Nine
FLYNN , PATRICK Film composer Patrick Flynn, who served as music director for the Riverside County Philharmonic, died of a pulmonary embolism in a Los Angeles hospital on September 10, 2008. He was 72. Flynn was born in Birmingham, England, on May 18, 1936. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied piano and conducting. He continued his studies under conductor Sir John Barbirolli for nearly a decade from the mid–1950s. He moved to Australia in the late 1960s, where he Nina Foch
Patrick Flynn
Girls (1944), She’s a Soldier Too (1944), Shadows in the Night (1944), Cry of the Werewolf (1944), Strange Affair (1944), She’s a Sweetheart (1944), A Song to Remember (1945), I Love a Mystery (1945), Escape in the Fog (1945), Boston Blackie’s Rendezvous (1945), A Thousand and One Nights (1945), My Name Is Julia Ross (1945), Prison Ship (1945), Johnny O’Clock (1947), The Guilt of Janet Ames (1947), The Dark Past (1948), The Undercover Man (1949), and Johnny Allegro (1949). Foch returned to the stage in the late 1940s, starring in the hit Broadway play John Loves Mary (1947). She also appeared in productions of The Respectful Prostitute and Twelfth Night. She began appearing on television in the late 1940s, with roles in such series as The Philco Television Play-
Obituaries • 2008
140
house, The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre, Two Girls Named Smith, Nash Airflyte Theatre, Faith Baldwin Romance Theatre, Cameo Theatre, Somerset Maugham TV Theatre, Lights Out, Chesterfield Presents, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Tales of Tomorrow, Pulitzer Prize Playhouse, The Gulf Playhouse, Lux Video Theatre, Hollywood Opening Night, Armstrong Circle Theatre, The Philip Morris Playhouse, Your Show of Shows, Justice, Suspense, Danger, Producers’ Showcase, The Colgate Comedy Hour, The 20th Century–Fox Hour, Playwrights ’56, The Alcoa Hour, Kraft Television Theatre, Climax!, Wagon Train, Matinee Theatre, Studio One, Pursuit, Playhouse 90, the 1959 television production of Ten Little Indians, The Thin Man, Rawhide, The Loretta Young Show, Play of the Week, Moment of Fear, United States Steel Hour, The Americans, Shirley Temple’s Storybook, Checkmate, Bus Stop, The Dick Powell Show, General Electric Theater, the 1962 television production of Rebecca, Naked City, The Virginian, Sam Benedict, Arrest and Trial, Kraft Suspense Theatre, The Greatest Show on Earth, The Outer Limits, Route 66, Burke’s Law, Mr. Broadway, Dr. Kildare, Combat!, A Man Called Shenandoah, The Long, Hot Summer, I Spy, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Bonanza, The Wild Wild West, Gunsmoke, Paris 7000, The F.B.I., To Rome with Love, McCloud, The Name of the Game, That Girl, Storefront Lawyers, The Mod Squad, Hawaii Five-0, Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, The Magician, The ABC Afternoon Playbreak, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Wide World Mystery, Barnaby Jones, McMillan & Wife, Lou Grant, Trapper John, M.D., the 1984 supernatural series Shadow Chasers in the regular role of Dr. Julianna Moorhouse, Comedy Factory, Room for Romance, L.A. Law, Hunter, Reasonable Doubts, Missing Persons, Murder, She Wrote, Dharma & Greg, Just Shoot Me!, Bull in the recurring role of Madeline, Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and The Closer. Foch also appeared in numerous tele-films including Prescription: Murder (1968), as the murder victim in the pilot for the Columbo series, Gidget Grows Up (1969), The Scarecrow (1972), Female Artillery (1973), The Great Houdini (1976), Child of Glass (1978), Ebony, Ivory and Jade (1979), Outback Bound (1988), War and Remembrance (1988), In the Arms of a Killer (1992), The Sands of Time (1992), Tales of the City (1993), Morning Glory (1993), Alien Nation: Dark Horizon (1994), Family Blessings (1999) which she also directed, and Back When We Were Grownups (2004). Foch continued to appear onscreen throughout her career, with roles in such features as St. Benny the Dip (1951), An American in Paris (1951) with Gene Kelly, Young Man with Ideas (1952), Scaramouche (1952) as Marie Antoinette, Sombrero (1953), Fast Company (1953), Executive Suite (1954) earning an Oscar nomination for her role as Erica Martin, Four Guns to the Border (1954), You’re Never Too Young (1955), Illegal (1955), The Ten Commandments (1956) as Moses’ adoptive mother Bithiah, Three Brave Men (1956), Cash McCall (1960), Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus (1960) as Helena Glaberus, Such Good Friends (1971), Salty (1973), Mahogany (1975), the horror film Jennifer (1978), Rich and Famous (1981), Nomads (1986), Dixie Lanes (1988), Skin Deep (1989), Sliver (1993), It’s My
Party (1996), ’Til There Was You (1997), Hush (1998), Shadow of Doubt (1998), Pumpkin (2002), and How to Deal (2003). Foch also taught “Directing the Actor” classes at the USC School of Cinematic Arts from the 1960s until her death.
FOLKE, GOSTA Swedish film director Gosta Folke died in Stockholm, Sweden, on April 14, 2008. He was 94. Folke was born in Stockholm on December 10, 1913. He began working in films as an assistant director in the early 1940s, with such credits as The Heavenly Play (1942), Jag ar Eld Och Luft (1944), and Rosen pa Tistelon (1945). He made his directorial debut
Gosta Folke
soon after, helming such features as The Country Priest (1946), Kvinnor i Vantrum (1946), Neglected by His Wife (1947) which starred his future wife actress Agneta Prytz, Maria (1947), On These Shoulders (1948), Realm of Man (1949), Stora Hoparegrand och Himmelriket (1949), Seger i Morker (1954), Bock I Ortagard (1958), and Lejon pa Stan (1959). He worked frequently in television from the 1960s, directing productions of Mollusken (1964), Jungfruleken (1966), Monsieur Barnett (1968), Syndabocken (1980), and Flower of Hawaii (1983).
FONDATO, MARCELLO Italian screenwriter and director Marcello Fondato died of a cerebral hemorrhage in San Felice Circeo, Italy, on November 13, 2008. He was 84. Fondato was born in Rome on January 8, 1924. He worked as a journalist before he began writing films in the late 1950s. Fondato scripted such films as Surprise of Love (1959), The Friend of the Jaguar (1959), The Beautiful Legs of Sabrina (1959), My Uncle the Vampire (1959), Everybody Go Home (1960), Musketeers of the Sea (1960), I Piaceri dello Scapolo (1960), La Ragazza di Mille Mesi (1961), Mariti in Pericolo (1961), The Two Marshals (1961), Totot Diabolicus (1962), The Black Invaders (1962), Gunfight at High Noon (1963), Bebo’s Girl (1963), The Warm Life (1963), Mario Bava’s 1963 horror trilogy Black Sabbath starring Boris Karloff, The Scapegoat (1963), Three Nights of Love (1964), Bava’s slasher classic Blood and Black Lace (1964), the early spaghetti western Two Violent Men (1964), My Wife (1964), Six Days a Week (1964), Death Travels Too Much (1965), Son of Jesse James (1965), Complexes (1965), The Relentless Four (1965), Top Crack (1966), Grant Slan (1967), and Night Is Made for Steal-
141 ing (1968). Fondato made his directorial debut helming the 1968 crime drama The Protagonists based on his own story and script. He also wrote and directed the films Nini Tirabuscio (1970), Cause of Divorce (1972), Watch Out, We’re Mad (1974), The Immortal Bachelor (1975), and Charleston (1977). He also scripted the Bud Spencer starrers They Call Him Bulldozer (1978), The Sheriff and the Satellite Kid (1979), Everything Happens to Me (1980), Bomber (1982), and Aladdin (1982). He wrote and directed the television productions Domani (1986) and Love Conquers All (1994), and helmed Affari di Famiglia (1986) and Ma tu mi Vuoi Bene? (1991). He also scripted the 1988 mini-series Cerco l’Amore. Fondato subsequently retired to San Felice Circeo, where he served as artistic director for a local theatrical group.
2008 • Obituaries
Blood (1993), An Eye for An Eye (1993), Angel Mission (1993), The Buddhist Spell (1993), Combat at Heaven Gate (1993), Her Judgment Day (1993), Hong Kong Adam’s Family (1994), Gambling Baron (1994), The Vengeance (1995), A Touch of Evil (1995), How to Meet the Lucky Stars (1996), Dark Flowers (1998), Brother Forever (1999), Century of the Dragon (1999), and Fist Power (2000).
FOPEANO, PETER Actor Peter Fopeano was found shot to death in a car on a street in Kansas City, Kansas, on November 25, 2008. He was 43. Fopeano was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 31,
FONG LUNG Chinese character actor Fong Lung died of lung cancer in a Xi’an, Shaanxi, China, hospital on November 14, 2008. He was 54. Fong appeared frequently in films in Hong Kong from the early 1970s, often playing villains in action features. He was sometimes credited under the names Jimmy Lee Fong and Li Chien Min. His film credits include Kung Fu Powerhouse (1973), A Girl Called Tigress (1973), Seven
Peter Fopeano
1965. He frequently performed on stage in community theaters and with the local companies the American Heartland Theatre and the Heart of American Shakespeare Festival. Fopeano was also featured in the 2008 film All Roads Lead Home.
Fong Lung
to One (1973), The Imprudent Iron Phoenix (1973), Lady Whirlwind Against the Ranger (1974), Fatal Strike (1974), Master of the Flying Guillotine (1975), A Cookbook of Birth Control (1975), The Savage Killers (1976), The Best of Shaolin Kung Fu (1976), Along Comes a Tiger (1977), Kung Fu Killers (1977), The Greatest Plot (1977), The Dragon, the Lizard and the Boxer (1977), Any Which Way You Punch (1978), Fatal Needles vs. Fatal Fists (1978), Shaolin Red Master (1978), Edge of Fury (1978), Eagle’s Claws (1978), Mantis in the Monkey’s Shadow (1979), Shaolin Invincible Sticks (1979), The Rebellious Reign (1980), The Green Jade Statuette (1981), Casino Raiders (1989), Crocodile Hunter (1989), The Fortune Code (1989), God of Gamblers (1989) as Chow Yun Fat’s nemesis, Legend of the Dragon (1990), The Big Score (1990), Dragon in Jail (1990), Godfathers of Hong Kong (1991), Angel Force (1991), God of Gamblers III: Back to Shanghai (1991), Lee Rock (1991), Kickboxer’s Tears (1992), Invincible (1992), The Sword Stained with Royal
FORBES-ROBERTSON, JOHN British actor John Forbes-Robertson, who played Count Dracula in several Hammer horror films of the 1970s, died in England on May 14, 2008. He was 80. Forbes-Robertson began his film career in the early 1950s with roles in such features as Brighthaven Express (1952), The Baby and the Battleship (1956), The Battle of the River Plate (1956), Girl in the Headlines (1963), Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965), The Fighting Prince of Donegal (1966), and
John Forbes-Robertson
Obituaries • 2008
142
The Spy with a Cold Nose (1966). Forbes-Robertson also appeared frequently on television from the late 1950s, with roles in such series as Dixon of Dock Green, The Men from Room 13, Maigret, Suspense, The Dark Island, The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre, Dr. Finlay’s Casebook, No Hiding Place, Redcap, and The Saint. He was featured as Colonel Harrison in the 1970 historical drama Cromwell, and portrayed the vampiric Man in Black in the lesbian-themed 1970 Hammer horror The Vampire Lovers. He also played Count Dracula in the 1974 horror–kung fu mish-mash The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires. His other films include Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), The Vault of Horror (1973), Venom (1981), and The Island of Adventure (1982). His other television credits include such productions as QB VII (1974), The Next Voice You See (1974), The Naked Civil Servant (1975), Nicholas Nickleby (1977), I Remember Nelson (1982), The Far Pavilions (1984), Paradise Postponed (1986), and Samson and Delilah (1996). He was also seen in episodes of The New Avengers, Just William, Number 10, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Jonny Briggs, and Crime Traveler.
FORD, VINCENT Jamaican songwriter Vincent Ford died of complications from diabetes in a Kingston, Jamaica, hospital on December 28, 2008. He was 68. Ford was a close friend of reggae legend Bob Marley, whom he grew up with in the Kingston ghetto
Vincent Ford
of Trench Town in the 1960s. Ford was credited with writing Marley’s hit song “No Woman, No Cry,” which was featured on the 1974 album Natty Dread. Some critics believe that Marley wrote the song himself but gave Ford the credit so he would receive financial support from the royalties. Ford was also credited with writing three songs on Marley’s album Rastaman Vibration in 1976. Marley died of cancer in 1981. Ford ran a soup kitchen in Kingston until losing both of his legs from diabetes.
FOX, WILLIAM British character actor William Fox died in England on September 20, 2008. Fox was born in Manila, the Philippines, on January 26, 1911. He was 97. His father was a successful trader and adventurer based in the Philippines where both he and his wife were killed by the Japanese during World
William Fox
War II. Fox was educated in England in the 1930s, and soon began performing on stage. He staged a successful production of the thriller Rope in the West Country, before heading to London to appear in Dangerous Corner in 1932. He continued to perform on stage and was featured in television productions of Under Suspicion (1939), Someone at the Door (1939), and Rake’s Progress (1939). Fox served with the London Rifles during World War II and was a founder of the Reunion Theatre to assist actors to resume their stage careers after military service. He remained a popular performer on the stage in the West End and on Broadway. He was featured in the 1947 television production of The Two Mrs. Carrolls, and appeared in several films including No Place for Jennifer (1950), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955), Serenade (1956), The Secret Partner (1961), The Queen’s Guards (1961), She Always Gets Their Man (1962), Ransom (1975), The Final Conflict (1981), and Mata Hari (1985). Fox continued to appear frequently on television from the 1950s, with roles in such series and productions as Parent-Craft, The Apple Cart, Knight Errant Limited, The Escape of R.D. 7, The Cheaters, Epitaph for a Spy, Richard the Lionheart, A Slight Case of..., Buddenbrooks, The Wednesday Play, The Avengers, Armchair Theatre, Z Cars, Softly Softly, Coronation Street, Doomwatch, Callan, Hadleigh, Justice, The Chinese Puzzle as the Wing Commander, The Main Chance, Doctor on the Go, Sutherland’s Law, Second Verdict, The Duchess of Duke Street, When the Boat Comes In as the Duke of Bedlington, Leave It to Charlie, Malice Aforethought, Escape, BBC 2 Playhouse, Yes Minister, Spyship, Crown Court as Justice Crowther-Smith, Yes, Prime Minister, and All Creatures Great and Small. Fox was briefly married to actress Carol Rees in the early 1930s. Later in the decade, he turned down a chance for a Hollywood film contract because of his infatuation with actress Patricia Hilliard. She became his second wife in 1938 and the two remained together until her death in 2001. FRANKOWSKI, LEO Science fiction writer Leo Frankowski, who was best known for writing the Cross-Time Engineer series, died in Lake Elsinore, California, on December 25, 2008. He was 65. Frankowski was born in Detroit, Michigan, on February 13, 1943.
143
2008 • Obituaries
Leo Frankowski
George MacDonald Fraser
He created the character Conrad Stargard, a 20th century engineer who travels back in time to 13th century Poland. The series included The Cross-Time Engineer (1986), The High Tech Knight (1989), The Radiant Warrior (1989), The Flying Warlord (1989), Lord Conrad’s Lady (1990), Conrad’s Quest for Rubber (1998), Conrad’s Time Machine (2002), and Lord Conrad’s Crusade (2005). He also authored the New Kashubia series in collaboration with David Grossman that included A Boy and His Tank (1999), The War with Earth (2003), and Kren of the Mitchegai (2004). He and Grossman also wrote The Two-Space War (2004) and the forthcoming The Guns of Two Space together. Frankowski’s other novels include Copernick’s Rebellion (1987) and The Fata Morgana (1999).
from Thomas Hughes’ classic novel Tom Brown’s School Days. Fraser brought the young rogue to adulthood in his first novel, Flashman, in 1969. He claimed to have written the entire novel in 90 hours, without an outline or revisions, while sitting at his kitchen table. Harry Flashman, a noted drunk, liar, womanizer, and all around scoundrel of the 19th century, returned in Fraser’s 1970 novel Royal Flash, which was adapted by the author for a 1975 film, starring Michael McDowell. Other volumes ensued, including Flashman in the Great Game (1975) and Flashman on the March (2005). Fraser also wrote the screenplays for Richard Lester’s The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974). He scripted the 1977 film adaptation of The Prince and the Pauper entitled Crossed Swords and the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy. Fraser also wrote the 1985 film Red Sonja, the 1987 tele-film Casanova, and the 1989 sequel The Return of the Musketeers. He was also the author of several novels that did not feature Flashman, including Mr. American (1980), The Pyrates (1984), and Black Ajax (1997). He wrote a memoir of his wartime experiences in Burma, Quartered Safe Out Here, in 1993. His final novel, The Reavers, was published in 2008. FRIEDKIN , JOHNNY Film executive and publicist Johnny Friedkin died of respiratory failure in a Los Angeles hospital on May 11, 2008. He was 81. Friedkin was born in New York City on December 9, 1926. He graduated from Columbia University and began his career with the Young & Rubicam advertising agency. He soon left the firm to open a public relations agency, Sumner & Friedkin Associates, which specialized in the field of entertainment. They handled publicity for such television series as Studio One and Playhouse 90, and represented many of the young writers that worked on the programs including Horton Foote and Paddy Chayefsky. Friedkin’s clients also included singer Tony Bennett, comedians Joey Bishop and Buddy Hackett, and Broadway composers Rodgers and Hammerstein. Friedkin became head of the New York office of Rogers and Cowan in the mid–1960s, and became vice president for advertising and publicity at 20th Century–Fox in 1967. Relocating to Hollywood in 1972, he was instrumental in handling publicity for such films as Young Frankenstein, The Turning
FRANZEN , CHARLES College professor turned character actor Charles Franzen died in Georgia on January 30, 2008. He was 82. Franzen was born on January 7, 1926. He served in the Army Air Force during World War II and was a professor at the University of Georgia. He made his screen debut in the late 1970s, appearing in small roles in the Tim Conway vehicles They Went That-A-Way & That-A-Way (1978) and The Prize Fighter (1979). Franzen also appeared in the films The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (1981), Night Shadows (1984), Mississippi Burning (1988), and The Neon Bible (1995). He was seen in the tele-films Guyana Tragedy: The Story Jim Jones (1980), Case Closed (1988), In the Line of Duty: Manhunt in the Dakotas (1991), and Flash (1997). His other television credits include the 1983 mini-series Chiefs and an episode of In the Heat of the Night in 1988. FRASER, GEORGE MACDONALD British novelist George MacDonald Fraser, creator of the swashbuckling antihero Harry Flashman, died of cancer at his home on the Isle of Man on January 2, 2008. He was 82. Fraser was born in Carlisle, Cumberland, England, on April 2, 1925. He served in the military during World War II and was stationed in India and Burma. After the war, he worked as a journalist for newspapers in England and Canada. He came an assistant editor for Scotland’s Glasgow Harold in the 1960s. He decided to write a novel later in the decade, choosing as his lead character a bully named Flashman
Obituaries • 2008
144
Point, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Star Wars, and Alien. He left Fox for Warner Bros. in 1979 and was involved in the promotions for Blade Runner, Mad Max, Altered States, Chariots of Fire, and The Right Stuff. Friedkin became an independent consultant in 1987, and served as an associate producer for the 1992 film Lorenzo’s Oil. He was also a publicity director for the popular films Babe (1995) and Babe: Pig in the City (1998).
FRIEND, BOB British news correspondent Bob Friend died of cancer in England on October 8, 2008. He was 70. Friend was born in England on January 20, 1938. He began working as a reporter with the West Kent News Agency in the late 1950s. He moved Renata Fronzi
Bob Friend
to the BBC a decade later and was a reporter and foreign correspondent for the Today program. He continued as a reporter and correspondent for the BBC through the late 1980s. He was hired to launch the 24hour Sky News for Europe in 1989, where he remained until his retirement in 2003. Friend was also seen in cameo roles in the films Independence Day (1996), Mission: Impossible (1996), and Quicksand (2003), and the television productions The Fourcourt Pimpernel (2001) and Othello (2001).
FRONZI, RENATA Argentine-Brazilian actress Renata Fronzi died of complications from diabetes in a Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, hospital on April 15, 2008. She was 82. Fronzi was born in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, on August 1, 1925, the daughter of actors Cesar and Yolanda Fronzi. She moved with her family to Brazil as a child. She began her career on stage with the Theatro Municipal in Sao Paulo in 1940. She was also featured in numerous Brazilian films during her career including Fantasma Por Acaso (1946), Toda a Vida em Quinze Minutos (1953), Carnaval em La Maior (1955), Guerra ao Samba (1956), De Pernas Pro Ar (1956), Garotas e Samba (1957), Treze Cadeiras (1957), Pe na Tabua (1957), Espirito de Porco (1957), Hoje o Galo Sou Eu (1958), Massagista de Madame (1958), E de Chua (1958), Garota Enxuta (1959), Pistoleiro Bossa Nova (1959), Briga, Mulher e Samba (1960), Vai Que E Mole (1960), O Homem Que Roubou a Copa do Mundo (1961), Quero Essa Mulher Assim Mesmo (1963), Papai Trapal-
hao (1968), As Aventuras de Chico Valente (1968), Salario Minimo (1970), Como Ganhar na Loteria sem Perder a Esortiva (1971), Um Soutien Para Papai (1975), Este Rio Muito Louco (1977), Como Matar Uma Sogra (1978), Mulher de Programa (1981), The Barber of Rio (1996), Copacabana (2001), Dead in the Water (2002), and Coisa de Mulher (2005). Fronzi starred as Helena on the popular Brazilian television series A Familia Trapo from 1967 to 1971. She also appeared in such television series as O Rei dos Ciganos, Minha Doce Namorada, Bicho do Mato, A Patota, Satiricom, O Semideus, Corrida do Ouro, Planeta dos Homens, Chega Mais, Dulcinea Vai a Guerra, Jogo da Vida, Pao Pao, Beijo Beijo, Transas e Caretas, Corpo a Corpo, Mico Preto, A Historia de Ana Raio E Ze Trovao, Memorial de Maria Moura, A Idade a Loba, and Voce Decide. She also starred as Jasmin in the tele-novela Malhacao from 1996 to 1997. FROSTY FREEZE Break dancing pioneer Wayne Frost, who was known as Frosty Freeze with the Rocky Steady Crew, died in a New York City hospital on April 3, 2008. He was 44. Frost was born on December 4, 1963. Noted for his energetic and acrobatic dance style, he began his career with the Rock
Frosty Freeze
City Crew in 1978, and joined the Rocky Steady Crew in 1981. He appeared with the group in the 1983 film Flashdance and was featured in several documentaries about the emerging hip-hop and break dancing phe-
145 nomena including Style Wars (1983), Wild Style (1983), The Freshest Kid (2002), and 5 Sides of a Coin (2003). He and the Rock Steady Crew also performed throughout the world with such leading hip-hop artists as Lady Blue and Futura 2000.
FRYDTBERG, WERA German actress Wera Frydtberg died in Munich, Germany, on June 16, 2008. She was 81. Frydtberg was born in Freiburg, Germany, on August 11, 1926. She began her career on stage in Vienna, Austria, in 1949. She also appeared frequently in films and television from the 1950s. Frydtberg’s film credits include The Story of a Sinner (1951), Vater Braucht eine Frau (1952), Einmal Keine Sorgen Haben (1953), Unter den Sternen von Capril (1953), Die Tolle Lola (1954), Sie (1954), Das Kreuz am Jagersteig (1954),
2008 • Obituaries
FUKAURA, KANAKO Japanese actress Kanako Fukaura died of colon cancer in a Tokyo hospital on August 25, 2008. She was 48. Fukaura was born in Tokyo on April 4, 1960. She studied theater while in college and was a founder of the acting troupe Gekidan Daisan Erotica in 1980. She performed with the
Kanako Fukaura
Wera Frydtberg
Her First Rendezvous (1955), Das Forsthaus in Tirol (1955), I Often Think of Piroschka (1955), Holiday am Worthersee (1956), Hurra — Die Firma Hat ein Kind (1956), It All Started So Gaily (1957), Der Etappenhase (1957), The Big Chance (1957), Wenn die Bombe Platzt (1958), The Crammer (1958), Aren’t We Wonderful? (1958), Die Feuerrote Baronesse (1959), Als Geheilt Entlassen (1960), Musik ist Trumpf (1961), The Phony American (1961), Sing, Aber Spiel Nicht Mit Nir (1963), Mit Besten Empfehlungen (1963), Das Gluck Lauft Hinterher (1963), and Bite Me, Darling (1970). Frydtberg was featured in an episode of the Flash Gordon television series in 1954, and the 1956 television production Der Untergang des Fort Charivari. She worked primarily in television from the 1960s, with roles in such productions as Terror in der Waage (1960), Die Falle (1960), Die Falle (1960), Der Vogelhandler (1960), Das Land des Lachelns (1961), Nur eine Karaffe (1962), Im Schatten des Krieges (1963), Liebe auf den Zweiten Blick (1964), Sechs Stunden Angst (1964), Ich Fahre Patschold (1964), Schicken Sie mir Einen Dollar! (1965), Der Zug der Zeit (1967), Der Tag, an dem die Kinder Verschwanden (1967), Die Lieben Freunde (1970), Das Geheimnis der Mary Celeste (1972), Aus der Chronik der Familile Sawatzki — Prussenkorso Nr. 17 (1974), Der Bierkonig (1988), and Neptun und Isolde (1992). She was also featured in episodes of Der Kommissar, Hamburg Transit, Eurogang, Ein Fall fur Zwei, and Munchen 7.
troupe over the next decade until she began appearing regularly in films and television. Fukaura was seen in the films So What (1988), Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? (1993), School of Mystery (1995), Battle Royale (2000), Inugami (2001), Transparent: Tribute to a Sad Genius (2001), Hush! (2001), Dog Star (2002), Asakusa Kid (2002), Border Line (2002), The Twilight Samurai (2002), Ameyori (2005), Yakuza Wives: Burning Desire (2005), LoveDeath (2006), Shiawase no Suitchi (2006), and Hideo Sakaki’s Boku no Obaachan (2008). She was also seen on Japanese television in the series Sweet Home and Hideyosi, and the tele-films Dark Tales of Japan (2004) and Nobuta wo Produce (2005).
FURLONG, JOHN T. Actor John T. Furlong died in Centerville, Tennessee, on June 23, 2008. He was 75. Furlong was born in Albany, New York, on April 14, 1933. He graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He served in the United States Navy before embarking upon a career in acting. He
John T. Furlong
Obituaries • 2008
146
began his film career in the mid–1960s as a narrator for Russ Meyer’s sexploitation classics Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) and Mondo Topless (1966). Furlong was also seen in the films Mudhoney (1965), Common Law Cabin (1967), Finders Keepers, Lovers Weepers! (1968), Vixen! (1968), Mel Brooks’ comedy classic Blazing Saddles (1974), Busting (1974), The Front Page (1974), Supervixens (1975), Hustle (1975), Doc Hooker’s Bunch (1976), W.C. Fields and Me (1976), All the President’s Men (1976), The Gumball Rally (1976), One on One (1977), The Swarm (1978), Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens (1979), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), Jagged Edge (1985), Odd Jobs (1986), The Trouble with Spies (1987), Suburban Commando (1991) with Hulk Hogan, Wyatt Earp (1994), The Desperate Trail (1995), The Man Next Door (1997), John Carpenter’s Vampires (1998), The Theory of the Leisure Class (2001), and Maniacts (2001). He was also seen in numerous tele-films including Double Indemnity (1973), The Blue Knight (1973), Rich Man, Poor Man (1976), Helter Skelter (1976), The Last of Mrs. Lincoln (1976), Studs Lonnigan (1979), Flamingo Road (1980), More Wild Wild West (1980), The Violation of Sarah McDavid (1981), Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (1981), The Steel Collar Man (1985), The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory (1987), Once Upon a Texas Train (1988), Scandal in a Small Town (1988), and Louis L’Amour’s Connagher (1991). Furlong was a prolific television performer with roles in episodes of such series as The High Chaparral, The Corner Bar, Lotsa Luck, Adam-12, The ABC Afternoon Playbreak, Ironside, The Invisible Man, Ellery Queen, McCloud, The Rockford Files, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons, Fantasy Island, Flamingo Road, Hart to Hart, Father Murphy, T.J. Hooker, The Fall Guy, Quincy, Whiz Kids, Dallas, Jessie, Highway to Heaven, Airwolf, St. Elsewhere, Remington Steele, Simon & Simon, Cagney & Lacey, Murder, She Wrote, Homefront, Lucky Luke, and Legend. Furlong retired to Centerville, Tennessee, in the early 2000s.
FURTH , GEORGE Actor and playwright George Furth died in a Santa Monica hospital on August 11, 2008. He was 75. Furth was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 14, 1932. He began his career as an actor and appeared on Broadway in such produc-
George Furth
tions as A Cook for Mr. General (1961) and Hot Spot (1963). He also appeared frequently in films and television from the early 1960s. Furth was seen in the films The Best Man (1964), The New Interns (1964), A Very Special Favor (1965), A Rage to Live (1965), The Cool Ones (1967), Tammy and the Millionaire (1967), Games (1967), Nobody’s Perfect (1968), How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life (1968), P.J. (1968), What’s So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968), The Boston Strangler (1968), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Myra Breckinridge (1970), Woody’s Allen Sleeper (1973), Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles (1974), Shampoo (1975), Norman ... Is That You? (1976), American Raspberry (1977), Airport ’77 (1977), Oh, God! (1977) with George Burns, Hooper (1978), The Cannonball Run (1981), Megaforce (1982), Young Doctors in Love (1982), Doctor Detroit (1983), The Man with Two Brains (1983), Bulworth (1998), and Goodbye Lover (1998). Furth was also seen in the tele-films Fame Is the Name of the Game (1966), Sam Hill: Who Killed Mr. Foster? (1971), The Third Girl from the Left (1973), What Are Best Friends For? (1973), For the Use of the Hall (1975), Let’s Switch! (1975), Charlie Cobb: Nice Night for a Hanging (1977), and The Scarlett O’Hara War (1980) as George Cukor. His numerous television credits also include episodes of such series as Going My Way, Alcoa Premiere, Arrest and Trial, The Defenders, The Farmer’s Daughter, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, McHale’s Navy, Broadside, Profiles in Courage, Honey West, The Road West, Run for Your Life, Batman, F Troop, The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., Laredo, Felony Squad, The Monkees, Ironside, The Good Guys, I Dream of Jeannie, The Debbie Reynolds Show, The Governor & J.J., Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, That Girl, Adam-12, Green Acres, Bonanza, Love, American Style, The Odd Couple, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, Archer, Happy Days, Ellery Queen, All in the Family, Little House on the Prairie, The Dumplings, Salvage-1, Life Goes On, The Trials of Rosie O’Neill, Wings, Murphy Brown, L.A. Law, Murder, She Wrote, Sisters, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, The Nanny, and You Wish. Furth was also a playwright who collaborated frequently with Stephen Sondheim. They were best known for the musical Company, which earned Furth a Tony Award for his book of the show. Company was revived on Broadway in 1995 and in 2006. The duo also collaborated on the 1981 musical Merrily We Roll Along, and the 1996 comedythriller Getting Away with Murder. Furth also wrote the Broadway productions Twigs (1971), The Act (1977), The Supporting Cast (1981), and Precious Sons (1986).
GABOR, SASHA Adult film actor Sasha Gabor died of heart complications in Thailand on June 27, 2008. He was 63. He was born Samuel Guttman in Hungary on June 6, 1945. He emigrated to Norway in 1957 and came to the Unites States in the early 1980s. He bore a resemblance to actors Burt Reynolds and Sean Connery, which he used to his advantage when he embarked upon a career in adult films in the early 1980s. He was featured on television in two episodes of Harper Valley P.T.A. His numerous adult film credits spanned a twenty-year period and included Battling Beauties (1983), Cagney & Stacey (1984), Up Up and
147
2008 • Obituaries
Sasha Gabor
Jayshree Gadkar
Away (1984), Every Woman Has a Fantasy (1984), Prescription for Passion (1984), Rebecca’s (1984), Pleasure Hunt Part II (1985), Gang Bang (1985), Heart Throbs (1985), Electric Blue: Beverly Hills Wives (1985), Ginger (1985), Vas-o-line Alley (1985), Amber Aroused (1985), Peek a Boo Gang (1985), Sky Pies (1985), Night Prowlers (1985), One Hot Night of Passion (1985), Sounds of Sex (1985), The Lusty Adventurer (1985), Dirty Pictures (1985), The Year of the Sex Dragon (1986), Body Games (1986), In Search of the Golden Bone (1986), Street Heat (1986), Dressed to Thrill (1986), Love on the Borderline (1986), Anal Angels (1986), Jane Bond Meets Thunderballs (1986), Born for Love (1987), Raising Hell (1987), Oriental Jade (1987), Hard to Handle (1987), Tasty (1987), Tracey and the Bandit (1987) as Turd Wrenolds, Party Animals (1987), Sweet Nothings (1987), Deep Inside Rachel Ashley (1987), Born for Love 2 (1987), Caught from Behind 8 (1988), Soul Games (1988), Sex Sluts in the Slammer (1988), Angel’s Back! (1988), Best of Caught from Behind 2 (1988), Backdoor to Hollywood 4 (1988), Dreams in the Forbidden Zone (1988), Kascha & Friends (1988), Get Me While I’m Hot (1988), Dangerous (1989), Tamara’s Dreams (1989), Naturally Sweet (1989), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Breast (1989), Asspiring Actresses (1989), For Your Lips Only (1989), One for the Road (1989), Party in the Rear (1989), Slumber Party (1989), Who Reamed Rosie Rabbit? (1989), Behind the Back Door 3 (1989), The Big Gun (1989), Making the Grade (1989), No Man’s Land 3 (1989), Once Upon a Time (1989), Assuming the Position (1989), Jungle Beaver (1990), Playing the Field (1990), Night Watch (1990), As Cute as They Cum (1990), Camera Shy (1990), Heartless (1990), Sex and the Single Girl (1990), Ladies’ Man (1990), Making It Big (1990), Money Honey (1990), The Honeymoon: The Bride’s Running Behind (1990), Secret Obsession (1990), Ticket to Ride (1990), The Buttnicks (1990), Space Virgins (1990), Blue Heaven (1990), Deep Throat 5 (1991), 40 the Hard Way (1991), Good the Bad and the D-Cups (1992), The Hollywood Starlet Search (1995), Boogie Knights (1998), American Bukkake (1999), Marilyn Chamber’s Still Insatiable (1999), and The Gangbang 2000 (2000). Gabor subsequently retired to Norway. GADKAR, JAYSHREE Jayshree Gadkar, a leading Indian Marathi actress, died in Mumbai, India, after a brief illness on August 29, 2008. She was 66.
Gadkar was born in Karwar District, Karnatka, India, on February 21, 1942. She made her film debut as a dancer in the 1955 film Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje, and soon became a leading lady of the Marathi cinema. Her many film credits include Sungte Aika (1959), The New World (1959), Madari (1959), Bindya (1960), Sasura (1961), Manini (1961), Private Secretary (1962), Mere Arman Mere Sapne (1967), Sadhi Manse (1965), LavKush (1967), Baharon Ke Sapne (1967), Har Har Gange (1968), Balram and Lord Krishna (1968), Bhagwan Parshuram (1970), The Marriage of Tulsi (1971), Har Darshan (1972), Pious Savitir (1973), Kisan Aur Bhagwan (1974), Hail Lord Shiva (1974), Dawat (1974), Hail Lord Hanuman (1976), The Greatness of Gayatri (1977), Adventures of Aladdin (1978), Har Har Gange (1979), Kadaklakshmi (1980), Sansani: The Sensation (1981), Jiyo To Aise Jiyo (1981), Sati Naag Kanya (1983), Shravan Kumar (1984), Maya Bazaar (1984), Naya Kadam (1984), Veer Bhisen (1986), Patton Ki Baazi (1986), Krishna-Krishna (1986), Sher Shivaji (1987), Nazrana (1987), Mar Mitenge (1988), Maalmasala (1989), Kanoon Apna Apna (1989), Eeshwar (1989), Amiri Garibi (1990), Bombay to Mauritius (1991), and Lav Kush (1997). She also starred as Kaushalya in the television epic Ramayan from 1986 to 1988.
GALLEY , MEL Rock guitarist Mel Galley, who played with the band Whitesnake in the early 1980s, died of esophageal cancer in Cannock, Stafford-
Mel Galley
Obituaries • 2008
148
shire, England, on July 1, 2008. He was 60. Galley was born in Cannock on March 8, 1948. He began playing with singer and bassist Glenn Hughes and drummer Dave Holland as the group Finders Keepers, and later Trapeze, in the 1960s. He took over as lead singer in Trapeze when Hughes went to Deep Purple in 1973, and they recorded several popular albums. He joined Whitesnake in 1982 and played on the classic albums Saints & Sinners (1982) and Slide It In (1984), and on the hit songs “Give Me More Time” and “Love Ain’t No Stranger.” Galley’s musical career was interrupted when he broke his arm while touring in Germany in 1984. He suffered nerve damage during surgery and had to have a brace fitted for his arm to play the guitar. He became known as “the Claw” when he returned to the stage. He helped his brother Tom write songs for the band Phenomena, and he briefly reformed Trapeze later in the 1980s. He also formed the band MGM with several former Whitesnake members.
GALLO, NUNZIO Italian singer and actor Nunzio Gallo died of complications from a brain hemorrhage on February 22, 2008. He was 79. Gallo was born in Naples, Italy, on March 28, 1928. A popular singer known as the voice of Napoli, he represented Italy in the 1957 Eurovision Song Contest, earning sixth place with his rendition of “Corde della mia Chitarra.”
gust 20, 1941. He began his career as a disk jockey on local radio in the 1960s. He worked frequently in radio and television as an announcer for commercials and documentaries from the 1970s. He was a narrator for episodes of Nova, Frontline, National Geographic Explorer, and Masterpiece Theatre. He also narrated such documentaries as War and Peace in the Nuclear Age (1989), The Rockefeller Family and Colonial Williamsburg (1992), and A Haunting in Connecticut (2002). Galusha worked on a episode of The West Wing in 2004, and was featured in the 2006 film Stephanie Daley. He was the narrator for the Discovery Channel’s The New Detectives: Case Studies in Forensic Science from 1996 to 2006.
GALVAN, MIGUEL Mexican comedian Miguel Galvan died of complications from diabetes in Mexico City, Mexico, on April 14, 2008. He was 50. Galvan was born in Juan Aldama, Mexico, on October 13, 1957. He began his career in the 1980s and was
Miguel Galvan
Nunzio Gallo
He was also an actor, with roles in such films as Tarantella Napoletana (1953), Suor Maria (1955), La Rossa (1955), Non Cantare, Baciami (1957), Malafemmena (1957), A Vent’anni e Sempre Festa (1957), Non Sono piu Guaglione (1958), Arriva la Banda (1959), Devil’s Cavaliers (1959), The Two Rivals (1960), Urlo Contro Melodia nel Cantagiro ’63 (1963), Il Figlioccio del Padrino (1973), L’Ultimo Guappo (1978), Napoli Serenate Calibro 9 (1978), Lo Scugnizzo (1979), Napoli Storia d’Amore e di Vendetta (1979), Big Mamma (1979), The New Godfathers (1979), Desire (1983), Cosi Parlo Bellavista (1984), The Motorcycle Murders (1984), L’Ombra nera del Vesuvio (1987), Package, Double Package and Counterpackage (1993), and Mario’s War (2005).
GALUSHA, GENE Radio and television narrator and announcer Gene Galusha died in a Catskills, New York, hospital on August 6, 2008. He was 66. Galusha was born in Schenectady, New York, on Au-
noted for playing a comic prison inmate in a Mexican television commercial. He became a popular comedian and impressionist and starred in the comedy series La Hora Pico in the 2000s. Galvan was featured in several films including Ni de Aqui, Ni de Alla (1988), Deque Color son tus Ojos Verdez? (1991), El Amor de tu Vida S.A. (1996), Dance with the Dead (1997), Sex, Shame and Tears (1999), One Long Night (2007), and Mejor que la Vida (2008). He was also seen in such television series as Serafin, Mi Destino eres Tu, Vivan los Ninos!, Destilando Amor, and Sexo y Otros Secretos. He also starred as Malaleche in the series La Energia de Sonric’slandia in 2005.
GAMPEL , C.M. “C HRIS ” Actor C.M. “Chris” Gampel died in New York City on May 11, 2008. He was 87. Gampel was born in Montreal, Canada, on February 19, 1921, and came to New York at the age of 17 to pursue a career as an actor. He was active on the New York stage and on television from the 1950s. He was featured in a small role in the 1953 television production of Shakespeare’s King Lear. He appeared frequently on the Broadway stage from the early 1950s, with roles in such productions as Captain Brassbound’s Conversion (1950), The Royal Family (1951),
149
2008 • Obituaries
artists as Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, and Stan Getz. He was also the house drummer at Ronnie Scott’s Club. He led a big band during the 1970s and played with various other groups including the BBC Big Band. He also backed such performers as Blossom Dearie, Peggy Lee, Cleo Laine, and Marian Montgomery. Ganley was also a popular studio musician on numerous recordings.
Chris Gampel
King Richard II (1951), Flight into Eg ypt (1952), Saint Joan (1956), Compulsion (1957), The First Born (1958), and The Girl Who Came to Supper (1963). Gampel was also seen in numerous television series including episodes of The Philco Television Playhouse, Playwrights ’56, Studio One, United States Steel Hour, Decoy, Brenner, the Hallmark Hall of Fame productions of ShangriLa, Captain Brassbound’s Conversion, and The Tempest, Omnibus, Route 66, Patty Duke Show, Quincy, Ed, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Gampel was also seen in the films The Wrong Man (1956), Dirtymouth (1970), Desperate Characters (1971), the tele-film Nicky’s World (1974), Death Wish (1974), Woody Allen’s Annie Hall (1977), and Looping (1991). GANLEY, ALLAN British jazz drummer Allan Ganley died of complications from heart surgery in Slough, Berkshire, England, on March 29, 2008. He was 77. Ganley was born in Tolworth, Surrey, England, on March 11, 1931. He began his career in the early
GANNAWAY , ALBERT C. Film producer and director Albert C. Gannaway died in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 27, 2008. He was 88. Gannaway was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, on April 3, 1920. He was active in films from the mid–1950s, and produced, directed, and scripted the 1956 western Hidden Guns. He also produced and directed the films Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer (1956), The Badge of Marshal Brennan (1957), Raiders of Old California (1957), Man or Gun (1958), No Place to Land (1958), Plunderers of Painted Flats (1959), Rebellion in Cuba (1961), and Buffalo Gun (1961). Gannaway also produced the weekly television series Stars of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also a songwriter, who penned tunes for Bob Hope, Frankie Laine, and Nat King Cole. He also produced the 1980 documentary film Country Diary about country performer Little Jimmy Dickens. GARCIA, SCARLET Filipino male-magazine model Scarlet Garcia was found shot to death along with her live-in partner and two others at their town-
Scarlet Garcia
Allen Ganley
1950s playing with Bert Ambrose’s dance band. He joined Johnny Dankworth’s band in 1953 and was coleader of the Jazzmakers with Ronnie Ross later in the decade. He was featured in several films including the off beat jazz version of Othello, All Night Long (1961), and the 1964 horror anthology Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors. He played often with Tubby Hayes in the early 1960s and accompanied such visiting American jazz
house in Olongapo City, the Philippines, on March 13, 2008. The four had gunshot wounds to their heads and had been stabbed. Garcia and another victim were found bound in the bathroom, and the apartment was set on fire after the murders. Garcia was 23. Sometimes known as Scarlet Bouffard, she starred in the 2006 video Pinoy Kama Sutra. She was a member of the sexy song and dance group, the Viva Hot Babes, and was the covergirl for FHM (For Him Magazine) Philippines in November of 2007.
GARI , ROBERTO Actor and artist Robert Gari died of a heart attack in New York City on January 22, 2008. He was 87. Gari was born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 13, 1920. He began his career
Obituaries • 2008
150
Robert Gari
as a child in vaudeville under the name Jackie Hayes. Gari performed on Broadway, dancing with Vera-Ellen in the 1943 revival of A Connecticut Yankee and appearing in Sadie Thompson in 1944. He was featured on The Eddie Cantor Colgate Comedy Hour and The Danny Thomas Four Star Revue in the 1950s. He was also noted as an artist with numerous exhibitions, and spent much of the 1960s and 1970s concentrating on his family and on his art. He resumed acting in the late 1980s, appearing in the soap opera Guiding Light as Maurice the bartender and in Another World as Alistair the butler from 1992 to 1995. He was also seen in small roles in the films She Devil (1989), Scent of a Woman (1992), I.Q (1994), The Associate (1996), One Fine Day (1996), A (Brief Inquiry Into) The Origins of War (2000), The Believer (2001), Jersey Guy (2003), and Building Girl (2005). He starred as Guy Blank, Amy Sedaris’ father, in numerous episodes of the Comedy Central television series Strangers with Candy from 1999 to 2000. GARLAND, BEVERLY Leading actress Beverly Garland, who starred in such notable 1950s Bmovies as It Conquered the World and The Alligator People, died after a long illness at her home in Hollywood Hills, California, on December 5, 2008. She was 82. She was born Beverly Fessenden in Santa Cruz, California, on October 17, 1926. She trained as an actress and performed onstage in local theaters in California and Arizona. She also worked in radio, and was featured in risqué short films during the late 1940s. She made her feature debut under the name Beverly Campbell in the 1950 drama D.O.A. She also appeared in the films A Life of Her Own (1950) and Strictly Dishonorable (1951), and was featured on television in episodes of Mama Rosa and The Lone Ranger. She married fellow actor Richard Garland in 1951 and continued her career under his name despite their divorce two years later. She continued her career in such films as Fearless Fagan (1952), Problem Girls (1953), The Neanderthal Man (1953), The Glass Web (1953), Bitter Creek (1954), The Rocket Man (1954), The Miami Story (1954), The Desperado (1954), Killer Leopard (1954), Two Guns and a Badge (1954), New Orleans Uncensored (1955), The Desperate Hours (1955), Sudden Danger (1955), The GoGetter (1956), and The Steel Jungle (1956). Garland became noted for her starring roles in a batch of cult clas-
sics, many helmed by Roger Corman. She was not your average scream queen, in that she usually gave as good as she got when facing down a western outlaw or an alien monster in such films as Swamp Women (1955), Gunslinger (1956), It Conquered the World (1956), Curucu, Beast of the Amazon (1956), Not of This Earth (1957), and The Alligator People (1959). She was also a familiar face on television throughout the 1950s, and earned an Emmy nomination for her role as a leukemia patient in the pilot episode of Medic in 1955. Garland also guest-starred in episodes of such series as The Lone Wolf, City Detective, Damon Runyan Theater, Lux Video Theater, Soldiers of Fortune, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Studio 57, Navy Log, Frontier, The Star and the Story, Star Stage, Science Fiction Theatre, Front Row Center, Crusader, Four Star Playhouse, The Ford Television Theatre, Wire Service, Climax!, Goodyear Theatre, State Trooper, Telephone Time, Playhouse 90, Trackdown, Yancy Derringer, The Millionaire, The Man from Blackhawk, and Hawaiian Eye. She starred as television’s first policewoman, Casey Jones, in the crime series Decoy from 1957 to 1959. Garland also continued her film career in such features as Naked Paradise (1957), Badlands of Montana (1957), Chicago Confidential (1957), The Joker Is Wild (1957) with Frank Sinatra, The Saga of Hemp Brown (1958), Gundown at Sandoval (1959), Stark Fear (1962), Twice Told Tales (1963), Salome ’73 (1965), the psycho-thriller Pretty Poison (1968) with Anthony Perkins, and The Mad Room (1969). She worked primarily in television from the 1960s, appearing in the series Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, The Twilight Zone, Perry Mason, Riverboat, Laramie, Tales of Wells Fargo, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Hong Kong, COronado 9, Boris Karloff ’s Thriller, Stagecoach West, Michael Shayne, Checkmate, Danger Man, Zane Grey Theater, The Asphalt Jungle, 87th Precinct, Bus Stop, The Dick Powell Show, Cain’s Hundred, Kraft Mystery Theater, The Nurses, Dr. Kildare, Going My Way, Rawhide, Sam Benedict, The Dakotas, The Fugitive, The Farmer’s Daughter, The Eleventh Hour, Kraft Suspense Theatre, The Bing Crosby Show, A Man Called Shenandoah, Laredo, The Loner, Pistols ’n’ Petticoats, Texas John Slaughter, Elfego Baca, Gallegher Goes West, Judd for the Defense, The Mothers-in-Law, The Wild Wild West, Lancer, Here’s Lucy, and Gunsmoke. Garland starred as
Beverly Garland
151 Barbara Harper, who became the wife of Fred MacMurray’s character on My Three Sons, from 1969 to 1972. Her other television credits include the series Then Came Bronson, The Mod Squad, Temperatures Rising, Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, The Rookies, Cannon, The New Perry Mason, Mannix, Love, American Style, Doc Elliot, Planet of the Apes, Ironside, Wide World Mystery, Kung Fu, Medical Center, Marcus Welby, M.D., Mary Tyler Moore, Switch, the quirky sitcom Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman in the recurring role of Cookie LaRue, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Lannigan’s Rabbi, The Tony Randall Show, Greatest Heroes of the Bible, How the West Was Won, Charlie’s Angels, Trapper John, M.D., Hart to Hart, Flamingo Road, Magnum, P.I., Matt Houston, Remington Steele as Stephanie Zimbalist’s mom, Abigail Holt, Insight, Hotel, Finder of Lost Loves, Crazy Like a Fox, Scarecrow and Mrs. King in the regular role of Dottie West, Kate Jackson’s mother, from 1983 to 1987, P.S.I. Luv U, Friends, Ellen, Diagnosis Murder, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman as Lois’ mom, Ellen Lane, Teen Angel, The Simple Life, the soap opera Port Charles as Estelle Reese, The Guardian, and 7th Heaven in the recurring role of Ginger. Garland also was a voice performer in the animated series Spider-Man and The Angry Beavers. She was also seen in the tele-films Cutter’s Trail (1970), Goodbye, Maggie Cole (1972), The Weekend Nun (1972), The Voyage of the Yes (1973), Unwed Father (1974), The Healers (1974), The Day the Earth Moved (1974), This Girl for Hire (1983), Beanpole (1990), The World’s Oldest Living Bridesmaid (1990), Finding the Way Home (1991), To the Moon, Alice (1991), Roger Corman’s Hellfire (1995), and Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie’s Island Adventure (2003). Garland’s film credits also include Where the Red Fern Grows (1974), Airport 1975 (1974), Sixth and Main (1977), Roller Boogie (1979), It’s My Turn (1980), Death Falls (1991), and If (2003). She married real estate developer Phillmore Crank in 1960 and the couple built a hotel in 1972 that is now known as Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn. She remained active in running the hotel after her husband’s death in 1999. Garland was also a popular guest at the Memphis Film Festival from the 1990s.
GARNEAU, AMULETTE Canadian actress Amulette Garneau died in Montreal, Canada, on November 7, 2008. She was 80. She was born Huguette Laurendeau in Montreal on August 11, 1928. She trained as an actress under Uta Hagen and was noted for her stage performances of the works of Michel Tremblay. She also starred as Jacqueline Sevigny in the television series La Famille Plouffe, and was Jeannette Bilodeau in Les Enquetes Jobidon. She was also seen in the series Cre Basile, La P’tite Semaine, House of Pride, Grand-Papa, L’Amour avec un Grand A., L’Heritage, Montreal ville Ouverte, La Petite Vie, Blanche, Jamais Deux Sans Toi, Le Retour, and Mon Meilleur Ennemi. She also appeared in numerous films including Francoise Durocher, Waitress (1972), The Time of a Hunt (1972), Trois Fois Passera (1973), Taureau (1973), Les Allees de la Terre (1973), Les Ordres (1974), The Vultures (1974), Parlez-nous d’Amour (1976), Les Plouffe (1981), Marie Chapdelaine (1983),
2008 • Obituaries
Amulette Garneau
The Years of Dreams and Revolt (1984), Night Zoo (1987), Angelo, Fredo et Romeo (1996), L’Embellie (1999), Life After Love (2000), and Nuts (2003).
GARRETT, GEORGE Acclaimed novelist and poet George Garrett, who created the cult classic film Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster, died of bladder cancer at his home in Charlottesville, Virginia, on May 26, 2008. He was 78. Garrett was born in Orlando, Florida, on June 11, 1929. He began writing poems and
George Garrett
short stories while attending Princeton University. After graduating in 1952, he served several years in the U.S. Army in Italy. His 1961 novel Which Ones Are the Enemy? was based on his experiences there. He was best known for his Elizabethan trilogy that included Death of the Fox (1971), The Succession (1983), and Entered from the Sun (1990). Garrett wrote the 1965 grade Z science fiction epic Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster. He also wrote the films The Young Lovers (1964) and The Playground (1965). He taught creative writing at the University of Virginia until his retirement in 2000. Garrett served as the state of Virginia’s poet laureate from 2002 to 2004. His final novel, Double Vision, was published in 2004.
GARRETT , STEPHEN “STATIC MAJOR ” Stephen “Static Major” Garrett, a member of the R&B trio Playa, died of complications from surgery in a
Obituaries • 2008
152 son composed several film scores from the 1970s including Beware! The Blob (1972), Black Eye (1974), Death Is Not the End (1976), Killers of the Wild (1977), Vultures (1983), Didn’t You Hear... (1983), To Kill a Stranger (1985), and The Treasure of the Amazon (1985). He also composed music for the 1967 television documentary series Untamed World, and scored the 1983 London musical Marilyn! The Musical. Garson also composed themes for the television gameshows Amateur’s Guide to Love, Gambit, Runaround, Baffle, Battlestars, and The Magnificent Marble Machine.
Stephen “Static” Garrett
Louisville, Kentucky, hospital on February 25, 2008. He was 33. Garrett was born in Louisville on November 11, 1974. He joined with Smoke E. Digglera and Digital Black to form Playa in the 1990s. They were best known for their 1998 album Cheers 2 U, produced by Timbaland. Garrett was also a successful songwriter, penning hits for such stars as Aaliyah, Brandy, Ginuwine, and Lil Wayne.
GARSON, MORT Composer and musician Mort Garson died of renal failure in San Francisco, California, on January 4, 2008. He was 83. Garson was born in St. John, New Brunswick, Canada, on July 20, 1924. He studied music at Juilliard and began his career as a arranger and pianist. He served in the U.S. Army in the later days of World War II. He resumed his career after the war, working as a composer, arranger, and orchestrator on numerous projects. He was noted for his work with the Moog synthesizer in the 1960s, recording the cult albums The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds, Electronic Hair Pieces, The Sensuous Woman, The Wizard of Iz, Plantasia, and Black Mass under the pseudonym Lucifer. He teamed with lyricist Bob Hilliard to write the classic song “Our Day Will Come” in 1963. He also composed the popular songs “Your Wings Can Fly,” “Baby Come Home,” “Left Right Out of Your Heart,” “Starry-Eyed,” and “The World of Lonely People.” He accompanied such artists as Doris Day, Mel Torme, and Glen Campbell on albums. Gar-
Mort Garson
GATES, JIM Television producer and director Jim Gates died of cancer in Woodland Hills, California, on June 12, 2008. He was 81. Gates was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on March 8, 1927. He studied at the Pasadena Playhouse in the late 1940s and began working at the CBS affiliate in Hollywood as an associate director after graduating. He worked on such classic comedies as The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, The Alan Young Show, and I Love Lucy. He also directed 175 episodes of the original Divorce Court for KTTV in Hollywood, and helmed numerous specials and commercials for the station. He became executive vice president of programming for the station, where he was instrumental in the success of the syndicated talkshow The Merv Griffin Show, before leaving in the late 1970s. He subsequently formed Jim Gates Productions to produce commercials and public service announcements. He directed an ABC Afterschool Special in 1973, and helmed the film Hey, Abbott! in 1978. Gates also produced and directed the 1988 video How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way. The educational production featured Marvel legends Stan Lee and John Buscema giving tips to aspiring cartoonists. He also served as director of the annual Vision Awards to combat Retinitis Pigmentosa and adapted film scripts for blind audiences. GAVIN, JAMES Stuntman and actor James Gavin died in Reseda, California, on September 18, 2008. He was 88. Gavin was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 21, 1919. He worked on numerous films and television productions from the 1950s. He was seen in the films The Werewolf (1956), Face of a Fugitive (1959), The Gazebo (1959), Rampage (1963), Coogan’s Bluff (1968), A Man Called Gannon (1969), Wild Rovers (1971), Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974), Airport (1974), The Domino Principle (1977), Heroes (1977), Dog Soldiers (1978), The Day the World Ended (1979), The Nude Bomb (1980), The Border (1981), and Blue Thunder (1983). He was also featured in the tele-films The Other Man (1970), Nightmare (1975), Fire! (1975), Hanging by a Thread (1979), The Return of Frank Cannon (1980), and Disaster on the Coastliner (1981). Gavin’s other television credits include episodes of Front Row Center, Frontier, You Are There, Cheyenne, Zane Grey Theater, Perry Mason, Suspicion, Tales of the Texas Rangers, Casey Jones, Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre, Trackdown, Have Gun —Will Travel, Fury, George Sanders Mystery Theater, Dragnet, Gunsmoke, 26 Men, Frontier Justice, Frances Farmer Presents, Colgate Theatre, M Squad, Rawhide, Maverick, Bonanza, Playhouse 90, Two
153
2008 • Obituaries
Faces West, The Rifleman, The Twilight Zone, Cain’s Hundred, Wagon Train, The Big Valley, Man from U.N.C.L.E., A Man Called Shenandoah, The F.B.I., Mission: Impossible, Cimarron Strip, Wild Wild West, It Takes a Thief, The High Chaparral, Daniel Boone, The Interns, Ironside, McCloud, Three for the Road, and Apple’s Way.
GEBHARD, OLGA German character actress Olga Gebhard died in Zurich, Switzerland, on May 4, 2008. Gebhard was featured in the 1959 film Model Husband. She was seen as Frau Kuhn in 1973’s Fraulein Without a Uniform and appeared as Mrs. Baxter, the landlady, in Jess Franco’s 1976 version of Jack the Ripper starring Klaus Kinski. GEC, NICOLA Croatian character actor Nicola Gec died on June 6, 2008. He was 74. Gec was born in Zagreb, Croatia (then Yugoslavia) in 1934. He appeared in several European western films in the 1960s including Flaming Frontier (aka Old Surehand) (1965),
Nicola Gec
Winnetou: Thunder at the Border (1966), and Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death (1968). His other film credits include Osveta (1968), One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away (1970), Vila Orhideja (1988), and A Time of Destiny (1988). He was also seen on television in such productions as Mandrin (1972), The Great Escape II: The Untold Story (1988), Sidney Sheldon’s The Sands of Time (1992), and Tuzni Bogatas (2008). He was featured as Klosa in the television series Stipe u Gostima in 2008.
GEIN, GIDGET Musician Bradley Stewart, who performed with the metal band Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids under the name Gidget Gein, died of a heroin overdose at his home in Burbank, California, on October 9, 2008. He was 39. He was born in Hollywood, Florida, on September 11, 1969. He began performing with local bands in the mid–1980s in the south Florida area. His off-beat style and reputation brought him to the attention of a young Brian Warner, who invited Stewart to join his band. Warner, who was better known as Marilyn Manson, and Stewart, who adopted the name Gidget Gein, performed and recorded several albums together in the early 1990s.
Gidget Gein
Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids albums include After School Special (1991) and Lunchbox (1992), before Gein’s drug use led to his ouster from the group the following year. Gein moved to New York in 1996 and eventually formed his own group, the Dali Gaggers. They recorded one album, Confessions of a Spooky Kid, which was released in 2000. He subsequently returned to Florida, where he hoped to kick his ever-growing drug habit. He worked for several years retrieving dead bodies for the Florida Medical Examiner, which influenced his creativity. He became active with the UNPOP art movement, and relocated to Hollywood, California, where he produced art and fashion shows. Gein also appeared in small parts in the films The Three Trials (2006) and The Devil’s Muse (2007). He also returned to the recording studio, and was recording an album at the time of his death.
GENCER, LEYLA Turkish operatic soprano Leyla Gencer died of heart failure and respiratory problems at her home in Milan, Italy, on May 10, 2008. She was 79. She was born Leyla Ceyrekgil in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 10, 1928 (some sources indicate 1924). She studied under Italian soprano Giannina Arangi-Lombardi and baritone Apollo Granforte. She married Turkish banker Ibrahim Gencer in 1946, and made her operatic debut in Ankara, Turkey, in a production of Cavalleria Rusticana in 1950. Over the next four decades she performed with operas throughout
Leyla Gencer
Obituaries • 2008
154
Europe and the United States. She first appeared in the United States with the San Francisco Opera in Francesca da Rimini in 1956 and starred in Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites in her La Scala debut the following year. She was noted for her roles as Leonora in Verdi’s Il Trovatore and Aida and Violetta in his La Traviata. She also sang the title roles in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Bellini’s Norma, and Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. Though she never appeared with the Metropolitan Opera, she made her New York debut in a production of Donizetti’s Caterina Comaro at Carnegie Hall in 1973. She retired from her operatic career in 1985, though she continued to perform concerts through the early 1990s. She was also featured in Jan Schmidt-Garre’s 1996 film Opera Fanatic. Gencer continued to teach, and served as the director of La Scala’s School for Young Artists in the late 1990s.
GENELLE, RICHARD
Character actor Richard Genelle, who was featured as Ernie on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series, died of a heart attack in a Corona, California, hospital on December 30, 2008. He was 47. Genelle was born in New York City on Oc-
Steve Gerber
improbably involved with the gorgeous red-head Beverly. He ran afoul of such menaces as Doctor Bong, Bessie the Hellcow, and Phelch the Space Turnip. He also made an unsuccessful run for the presidency as the candidate of the All-Night Party in 1976, losing to Jimmy Carter. Gerber also co-created the series Omega the Unknown before being fired by Marvel in the late 1970s. He sued the company over the rights to Howard, with the case being settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. Marvel retained the rights to Howard, who became the star of a disastrous 1986 film Howard the Duck. A film version of Gerber’s Man-Thing was re-
Richard Genelle
tober 12, 1961. He was featured in a small role in the 1991 film The Death Merchant. He appeared regularly on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as Ernie, the oversized owner of the Angel Grove Youth Center, from 1993 to 1997. He also appeared in the 1997 feature film version Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie.
GERBER, STEVE Comic book writer Steve Gerber, who was best known as the creator of Howard the Duck, died of complications from pulmonary fibrosis in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 10, 2008. He was 60. Gerber was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 20, 1947. He graduated from St. Louis University and worked in advertising before joining Marvel in the early 1970s as an associate editor. He wrote such Marvel titles as Daredevil, The Defenders, and Man-Thing. Howard the Duck made his debut as a supporting character to Man-Thing in a 1973 issue of Adventure into Fear and earned his own title several years later. The cantankerous waterfowl came from a parallel Earth where intelligent life evolved from ducks. Trapped on our own planet, the cigar-chomping Howard became
Steve Gerber’s creation, Howard the Duck
leased in 2005, with Gerber taking a creator credit under the pseudonym F.A. Schist. He also worked in television in the 1980s and 1990s scripting episodes of such animated series as Thundarr the Barbarian, Goldie Gold and Action Jack, Mister T, Dungeons & Dragons, G.I. Joe, Superman: The Animated Series, Yu-Gi-Oh!, The Batman/Superman Movie, and The New Batman Adventures. Gerber also scripted an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1989. GERTZ, IRVING Film composer Irving Gertz died at his home in Los Angeles on November 14, 2008. He was 93. Gertz was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 19, 1915. He began working as a composer and musical director in film in the mid–1940s, garnering over 200 credits during his 20 year career. His many
155
Irving Gertz
film credits include The Devil’s Mask (1946), The Phantom Thief (1946), Blind Spot (1947), The Lone Wolf in Mexico (1947), Cigarette Girl (1947), The Millerson Case (1947), Sport of Kings (1947), Key Witness (1947), Crime Doctor’s Gamble (1947), Over the Santa Fe Trail (1947), Last of the Redmen (1947), The Son of Rusty (1947), Dragnet (1947), Smoky River Serenade (1947), Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back (1947), Adventures of Gallant Bess (1948), The Counterfeiters (1948), Blonde Ice (1948), Phantom Valley (1948), My Dog Rusty (1948), Whirlwind Raiders (1948), Thunderhoof (1948), Jungle Goddess (1948), Rusty Saves a Life (1949), Prejudice (1949), Daughter of the West (1949), South of Death Valley (1949), Riders in the Sky (1949), Destination Murder (1950), Again ... Pioneers (1950), Experiment Alcatraz (1950), Mark of the Gorilla (1950), Mule Train (1950), Captive Girl (1950), Last of the Buccaneers (1950), Jungle Jim in Pygmy Island (1950), Fury of the Congo (1951), When the Redskins Rode (1951), China Corsair (1951), Silver Canyon (1951), Hurricane Island (1951), Two Dollar Bettor (1951), The Hills of Utah (1951), Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land (1952), Brave Warrior (1952), Voodoo Tiger (1952), The Pathfinder (1952), White Goddess (1953), Siren of Bagdad (1953), Valley of the Headhunters (1953), The Nebraskan (1953), The Bandits of Corsica (1953), Target Hong Kong (1953), It Came from Outer Space (1953), Gun Belt (1953), The Golden Blade (1953), East of Sumatra (1953), Conquest of Cochise (1953), Gun Fury (1953), Shark River (1953), Overland Pacific (1954), The Lone Gun (1954), Massacre Canyon (1954), Francis Joins the WACS (1954), Khyber Patrol (1954), The Long Wait (1954), Cannibal Attack (1954), Top Gun (1955), Smoke Signal (1955), Jungle Moon Men (1955), Seminole Uprising (1955), Cult of the Cobra (1955), Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955), To Hell and Back (1955), Blackjack Ketchum, Desperado (1956), Kentucky Rifle (1956), The White Squaw (1956), The Creature Walks Among Us (1956), The First Traveling Saleslady (1956), Gun Brothers (1956), Everything but the Truth (1956), Reprisal! (1956), 7th Cavalry (1956), The Phantom Stagecoach (1957), Badlands of Montana (1957), The Kettles on Old MacDonald’s Farm (1957), Hell on Devil’s Island (1957), Hell Canyon Outlaws (1957), Four Girls in Town (1957), Gun for a Coward (1957), The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), Joe
2008 • Obituaries
Butterfly (1957), The Deadly Mantis (1957), Plunder Road (1957), The Monolith Monsters (1957), Love Slaves of the Amazons (1957), Thundering Jets (1958), Return to Warbow (1958), The True Story of Lynn Stuart (1958), Crash Landing (1958), The Fearmakers (1958), Monster on the Campus (1958), The Thing That Couldn’t Die (1958), Badman’s Country (1958), Wild Heritage (1958), Money, Women and Guns (1959), Curse of the Undead (1959), The Alligator People (1959), Hell Bent for Leather (1960), 13 Fighting Men (1960), The Leech Woman (1960), Seven Ways from Sundown (1960), Flaming Star (1960), The Wizard of Baghdad (1960), Posse from Hell (1961), The Fiercest Heart (1961), Marines, Let’s Go (1961), Brushfire (1962), Bullet for a Badman (1964), He Rides Tall (1964), Fluffy (1965), Ride to Hangman’s Tree (1967), and Nobody’s Perfect (1968). Gertz also worked in television from the 1950s, composing for such series as The Adventures of Falcon, M Squad, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Daniel Boone, The Invaders, Peyton Place, and Land of the Giants. He also composed such concert works as Boutade for Orchestra, Leaves of Grass, Liberty! Liberte!, and Salute to All Nations.
GESCHONNECK, ERWIN Erwin Geschonneck, a leading actor in stage and films in post-war East Germany, died in Germany on March 12, 2008. He was 101. Geschonneck was born in Bartenstein, Germany (now Bartoszyce, Poland) on December 27, 1906. He joined the German Communist Party in the 1920s and was forced to emigrate to Poland and, later, Czechoslovakia, after the rise of the Nazi Party. He was arrested in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1938, and was sent to a concentration camp. Geschonneck survived the concentration camps and the sinking of a ship he was being transferred on in 1945. After the war he began performing on stage in Hamburg, and was featured in the 1947 film In Those Days. He soon settled in East Germany, where he worked with Berthold Brecht. He became a leading performer there, with roles in such films as Finale (1948), Hafenmelodie (1949), Die Letzte Nacht (1949), Love ’47 (1949), The Beaver Coat (1949), The Heart of Stone (1950), The Axe of Wandsbek (1951), Schatten uber den Inseln (1952), Die Unbesiegbaren (1953), Senora Carrar’s Rifles (1953), Alarm im Zirkus (1954), Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder (1955), Das Stacheltier: Das Haushaltswunder (1955), Das Stacheltier: Das Es Geht um die Wurst
Erwin Geschonneck
Obituaries • 2008
156
(1955), Bold Adventure (1956), The Captain from Cologne (1956), Katzgraben (1957), Schlosser und Katen (1957), Der Lotterieschwede (1958), Musterknaben (1959), Leute mit Flugeln (1960), Five Cartridges (1960), Ach, du Frohliche (1962), Naked Among the Wolves (1963), Carbide and Sorrer (1963), Berlin um die Ecke (1965), Ein Lord am Alexanderplatz (1967), Geschichten jener Nacht (1967), The Flag of Krivoy Rog (1967), Wir Kaufen eine Feuerwehr (1970), Sun Seekers (1972), Der Untergang der Emma (1974), Looping (1975), Jacob the Liar (1975) as Kowalski, Bankett for Achilles (1975), The Light on the Gallows (1976), Tambari (1977), Die Entdeckung (1978), Anton the Magician (1978), Das Ding im Schloss (1979), Asta, Mein Engelchen (1980), Circus Maximus (1980), Levins Muhle (1980), Looping (1981), Wie die Alten Sungen... (1986), and Mensch, Mein Papa...! (1988). Geschonneck was also featured frequently on German television, appearing in such productions as Gewissen in Aufruhr (1961), Der Andere Neben Dir (1963), Asphalt-Story (1964), Die Ermittlung — Oratorium in 11 Gesangen (1966), Rendezvous mit Unbekant (1969), Jeder Stirbt fur sich Allein (1970), Das Geheimnis der Anden (1972), In Schlaraffenland (1975), Ein Wigwam fur die Storche (1976), Ein Altes Model (1976), Island of the Silver Herons (1976), Das Kleinen Lokfuhrers Grosse Fahrt (1978), Plantagenstrasse 19 (1979), Verlobung in Hullerbusch (1979), Herbstzeit (1979), Friedhelms Geburstag und Andere Geschichten (1980), Meschas Enkel (1981), Bennon Macht Geschichten (1982), Der Mann von der Cap Arcona (1982), Das Graupenschloss (1982), and Matulla and Busch (1995).
GETTY, ESTELLE Character actress Estelle Getty, who starred as Sophia Petrillo, the feisty matriarch of television’s The Golden Girls, died at her home in Hollywood, California, on July 22, 2008. She was 84. She was born Estelle Scher to Polish immigrant parents in New York City on July 25, 1923. She became fascinated by the theater at an early age and made a failed attempt at stand-up comedy at a Catskills hotel while in her teens. She married businessman Arthur Gettleman in 1947 and raised two sons. She maintained her show business aspirations while working in low level clerical and office jobs to help support her family. She appeared in small roles on stage, film and televi-
sion while awaiting her big break. Getty was seen in the films Team-Mates (1978), Tootsie (1982), and Deadly Force (1983), and the tele-films No Man’s Land (1984) and Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story (1984). She was also featured in episodes of Cagney & Lacey, Hotel, and Newhart. She starred as Harvey Fierstein’s overbearing mother in Torch Song Trilog y on the New York Stage and in touring productions from the early 1980s. She was a virtual unknown when she was cast in The Golden Girls, completing the quartet of actresses that included Bea Arthur, Betty White, and Rue McClanahan. The four were retirees sharing a Miami home, with Arthur starring as Getty’s daughter. Originally planned as a minor character in the series, Sophia Petrillo’s popularity led to an ever increasing role for Getty. She was also cast in other productions, appearing as Cher’s mom in the 1985 film Mask, Barry Manilow’s mother in the 1985 tele-film Copacabana, and Sylvester Stallone’s mom in Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992). She also appeared in the films Mannequin (1987) and Stuart Little (1999) as Grandma Estelle Little, and the tele-film A Match Made in Heaven (1997). She continued her role as Sophia on The Golden Girls until the series came to a close in 1992. Getty reprised the role in the subsequent spin-off The Golden Palace, and was also featured as Sophia in crossovers with the series Blossom, Empty Nest, and Nurses. Her other television credits include episodes of City, Touched by an Angel, Brotherly Love, Mad About You, The Nanny, It’s Like, You Know..., and Ladies Man. She was featured as Sister Rosanne in The Million Dollar Kid (2000) before declining heath forced her retirement.
GIBBS, HARRY Harry Gibbs, who starred in the local children’s television series Texas Bruce and the Wrangler Club in St. Louis, Missouri, during the 1950s, died of complications from a brain infection in Ches-
Harry Gibbs
Estelle Getty
terfield, Missouri, on July 18, 2008. He was 91. Gibbs was born in Wagon Mound, New Mexico, on March 21, 1917. He began appearing on KSD-TV in St. Louis as Texas Bruce in 1950. For the next thirteen years he, his horse Trusty, and his sidekick Dry Gultch entertained children and hosted clips of western films. He became a major local celebrity before the show ended in 1963. He continued to work in radio and television, and later
157
2008 • Obituaries
was a character actor in several films. Gibbs was featured in the films Surrender in Paradise (1976), Play Dead (1986), Ride with the Devil (1999), and The Truth About Tully (2000), and the tele-films Back to Hannibal: The Return of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (1990), She Stood Alone (1991), Truman (1995), and Gone in the Night (1996).
GIBSON, WILLIAM Playwright William Gibson, who was best known as the author of the hit play based on the life of Helen Keller, The Miracle Worker, died in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, on November 25, 2008. He was 94. Gibson was born in New York City on November 13, 1914. He graduated from New York’s City College in 1938. His novel, The Cobweb, about a psychiatric clinic, was published in 1954 and adapted for the screen the following year. The Miracle Worker was originally written for television and aired as an episode of Playhouse 90 in 1957. It was
William Gibson
adapted for Broadway in 1959 and earned the Tony Award for best play the following year. He earned an Oscar nomination for adapting the play for the 1962 film starring Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft. His Tonynominated play, Two for the Seesaw, was staged on Broadway in 1948, and adapted for film in 1962. He also wrote the book for the 1964 musical version of Clifford Odets’ Golden Boy, which earned him another Tony nomination. Gibson also wrote the plays A Mass for the Dead (1968), A Cry of Players (1968), and Goodly Creatures (1980). The Miracle Worker was produced for television several times, with airings in 1979 and 2000. He penned a sequel, Monday After the Miracle, which had a brief run on Broadway in 1982 and was adapted for television in 1998. He also wrote the 1977 play Golda, about Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. It was revised as Golda’s Balcony for a Broadway run starring Tovah Feldshuh from 2003 to 2005, and a tele-film starring Valerie Harper in 2007.
GIGNOUX, HUBERT French actor Hubert Gignoux died in Paris on February 26, 2008. He was 93. Gignoux was born in Lyon, France, on February 13, 1915. He began performing on the stage in the 1930s and entertained fellow prisoners with plays and puppet performances while a captive of the Germans dur-
Hubert Gignoux
ing World War II. After the war he continued to direct theatrical productions, becoming a leader in the decentralization theatre to bring the arts to regions throughout France. He was instrumental in forming what became the National Theater in Strasbourg in 1968. Gignoux abandoned directing for acting in the early 1970s, appearing in stage, film, and television productions. He was featured in the films The French Calvinists (1972), The Son (1973), Special Section (1975), Cousin, Cousine (1975), Little Marcel (1976), State Reasons (1978), Moliere (1978), Perceval (1978), A Captain’s Honor (1982), Grain of Sand (1983), Melo (1986), and L’Enfance de l’Art (1988). He also appeared in such television productions as Jeppe des Collines (1973), Julie Charles (1974), L’Attentat de Damiens (1975) as King Louis XV, Les Compagnons d’Eleusis (1975), La Mort d’un Touriste (1975), Mourir Pour Copernic (1975), Adios (1976), Oh Archibald (1977), La Vierge Folle (1978), Aurelien (1978), Le Cheval dans le Beton (1980), La Faute (1980), Nana (1981), Maltre Daniel Rock (1981), Devil’s Advocates (1981), Aide-toi... (1981), Delit de Fuite (1982), and Pour Elisa (1983). Gignoux also appeared as the advocate general in the television series Messieurs les Jures in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
GIL, GUILLERMO Mexican actor Guillermo Gil died of respiratory failure in Mexico City on May 29, 2008. He was 65. He was born Juan Guillermo Sanchez Bolanos in Tehuacan, Puebla, Mexico, in 1943. He was
Guillermo Gil
Obituaries • 2008
158
a leading performer on the Mexican stage, film and television from the 1960s and the founder of the theatrical company San-Gil. He was featured in such films as Esa mi Irene (1975), Simon Blanco (1975), Canoa (1976), Letters from Marusia (1976), The Heist (1976), Chin Chin the Drunken Bum (1976), The Bricklayers (1976), Nuevo Mundo (1978), Naufragio (1978), Pedro Paramo (1981), Oficio de Tinieblas (1981), Beach Hotel (1992), Gertruds Bocanegra (1992), La Senorita (1994), Dias de Combate (1994), The Queen of the Night (1994), A Trickle of Blood (1995), Nobody Will Speak of Us When We’re Dead (1995), Viva San Isidro (1995), Kissing Cousin (1995), Jonah and the Pink Whale (1995), Return to Sender (1995), Tres Minutos en la Oscuridad (1996), La Cena (1997), Night Trails (1998), Under a Spell (1998), Herod’s Law (1999), Los Maravillosos Olores de la Vida (2000), Dark Cities (2002), Zurdo (2003), El Misterio del Trinidad (2003), Mezcal (2004), Espinas (2005), A Wonderful World (2006), and La Piedad (2007). He was featured as Ramon in the 1986 television series El Padre Gallo, and was Genaro in La Gloria y el Infierno in 1986. He starred as Pancho Villa in Senda de Gloria in 1987. His other television credits include La Fuerza del Amor (1990), Nada Personal (1996), El Candidato (1999), La Calle de las Novias (2000), Uroboros (2001), and Un Nuevo Amor (2003).
GILFORD, MADELINE LEE Actress Madeline Lee Gilford died in New York City on April 14, 2008. She was 84. She was born Madeline Lederman in the Bronx, New York, on May 30, 1923, and began performing as a child. She was featured on radio and appeared on stage in the 1944 play Embezzled Heaven with Ethel Barrymore. She was a voice actor in the English language version of the 1943 film No Greater Love and appeared in a television production of Little Women in 1946. She married fellow actor Jack Gilford in 1949. She and her husband were both involved in left-wing causes and their activism led to them being blacklisted during the McCarthy era. She resumed her acting career in films in the early 1970s, appearing in Parades (1972), Save the Tiger (1973), Roseland (1977), A Secret Space (1977), Lianna (1983), Cocoon: The Return (1988), That Old Feeling (1997), Big City Blues (1999), Raw Footage (2005), The Savages (2007), and Uncertainty
Madeleine Lee Gilford
(2008). She was also seen in the tele-films Fear on Trial (1975), Day to Day Affairs (1985), and And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself (2003), and in episodes of Law & Order, Mad About You, and The Beat. She and her husband co-authored a joint memoir with Zero Mostel and his wife, Kate, entitled 170 Years of Show Business in 1978. She produced several plays on Broadway in the 1980s including The World of Sholom Aleichem (1982) starring her husband and the musical Rags (1986). She and Gilford remained married until his death in 1990.
GINDY , J UDITH Talent agent and Queen Elizabeth II impersonator Judith Gindy died of liver cancer in Coral Gables, Florida, on September 15, 2008. She was 79. She was born Judith Youngerman in New Haven, Connecticut, on March 23, 1929. She began her career as a modern dancer and later turned
Judith Gindy (posing as Queen Elizabeth Too)
to painting and sculpting. She also sang with the Miami Opera Guild, and operated a party planning agency, Party Magic. She began impersonating Queen Elizabeth after winning a look-alike contest in 1991 and billed herself as Queen Elizabeth Too. Gindy soon opened the talent agency Celebrity-Look-Alikes Inc., specializing in ersatz versions of Barbra Streisand, Madonna, Bill Clinton, Hannah Montana, and other celebrities for various events. She also operated the Judith Gindy Talent Agency.
GINNAVEN, BOB Actor Bob Ginnaven died in a Little Rock hospital on February 17, 2008. He was 71. Ginnaven was born on January 1, 1937. He was a leading advertising executive in the Little Rock area from the 1960s. He was also featured as an actor, appearing in small roles in such films as Encounter with the Unknown (1973), White Lightning (1973), The Great Lester Boggs (1975), So Sad About Gloria (1975), The Day It Came to Earth (1979), The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), Stay Tuned for Murder (1986), Three for the Road (1987), End of the Line (1987), Pass the Ammo (1988), Steel Magnolias (1989) as Mayor Van Meter, and One False Move (1992). He was also featured the tele-films The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald (1977), Crisis at Central High (1981) as General Thomas Woods, Adam (1983), Time Bomb (1984), Right to Kill? (1985),
159
2008 • Obituaries
He also toured and recorded with a new version of the Jimmy Giuffre 3, and worked as a duo with French saxophonist Andre Jaume.
GLAZKOV , YURI Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Glazkov died in Russia on December 9, 2008. He was 69. Glazkov was born in Moscow on October 2, 1939. He served in the Soviet Air Force as a flight engineer before being selected for cosmonaut training in 1965. He flew on the Soyuz 24 mission on February 7, 1977,
Bob Ginnaven
and Under Siege (1986). His other television credits include episodes of Dallas and Dangerous Curves. GIUFFRE, JIMMY Jazz composer and musician Jimmy Giuffre died of pneumonia and complications from Parkinson’s disease in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on April 24, 2008. He was 86. Giuffre was born in Dallas, Texas, on April 26, 1921. He began playing the clarinet at the age of 9, and earned a music degree from North Texas State Teachers College in 1942. He spent the next four years in the U.S. Army, then moved to Los Angeles. He began working as an arranger, and sometimes saxophone and clarinet player, for groups
Yuri Glazkov
an 18-day flight to the Salyut 5 space station to purge and replace the on-board atmosphere there. He later trained other cosmonaut crews and served as first deputy chief of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City from 1989 until his retirement in 2000. Glazkov was also the author of several technical books including Outside Orbiting Spacecraft (1977) and The World Around Us (1986). He also wrote the science fiction novel The Black Silence (1987), which was illustrated by his fellow cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov.
GLINKA, MARIAN Polish actor and bodybuilder Marian Glinka died in Warsaw, Poland, on June 23, 2008. He was 64. Glinka was born in Warsaw on July 1, 1943. He appeared frequently in Polish films from the mid–1960s, with such credits as Love the Mermaids (1967), Westerplatte (1967), I Hate Mondays (1971), A Jungle Book of Regulations (1974), The Promised Jimmy Giuffre
led by such artists as Shorty Rogers, Shelly Manne, and Howard Rumsey in the late 1940s. He also began writing music, composing the hit “Four Brothers” for Woody Herman in 1947. He recorded the album Tangents in Jazz in 1955, and formed the Jimmy Giuffre 3 in the 1950s. They performed their popular song “The Train and the River” in the 1960 music documentary film Jazz on a Summer Day set at the Newport Jazz Festival. Giuffre’s trio, with Paul Bley on piano and Steve Swallow on bass, recorded the albums 1961 and Free Fall in the early 1960s that were later considered classics. He mainly taught at the New School and New York University over the next decade. He joined the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music in 1978, where he continued to teach until the early 1990s.
Marian Glinka
Obituaries • 2008
160
Land (1975), Endangerment (1976), A Round Week (1977), Camouflage (1977), Spiral (1978), Hello, Fred the Beard (1978), General Boldyn (1981), Thursdays for the Poor (1981), Filip z Konopi (1982), Lucky Edge (1983), The Twenties, the Thirties (1984), Travels of Mr. Kleks (1986), Rykowisko (1987), Special Mission (1987), Czarodziej z Harlemu (1988), Mr. Kleks in Space (1989), Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List (1993) as an SS Officer, The Tale of Mrs. Doughnut (1996), Billboard (1998), Quo Vadis? (2001), Haker (2002), Jak to Sie Robi z Dziewczynami (2002), Superprodukcja (2002), and Rys (2007). He was also featured in such television productions as Behind the Wall (1971) and Czame Chmury (1973) and starred as Skibinski in the television series Pan na Zulawach from 1985 to 1986. He was also seen in the television mini-series Bao-Bab, Czyli Zielono Mi (2003) and Wiedzmy (2995).
GLOSSOP , PETER
British baritone Peter Glossop died in London on September 7, 2008. He was 80. Glossop was born in Wadsley, Sheffield, England, on July 6, 1928. He began singing with the Sheffield Operatic Society and made his stage debut as Coppelius and Dr. Miracle in Les Contes d’Hoffmann
Peter Glossop (as Rigoletto)
in 1949. He joined the chorus of Sadler’s Wells Opera in 1952 and was featured in a small role in Carmen the following year. He was a principal baritone with the company by 1955, performing such roles as Silvio in Pagliacci, Di Luna in Il Trovatore, and the title role in Rigoletto. He joined the Royal Opera House in 1961 and made his Covent Garden debut as Demetrius in Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He also performed as a guest artist with La Scala, the Paris Opera, and the San Francisco Opera in the early 1960s. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Scarpia in Tosca in 1971. He also performed at the Met in productions of Billy Budd, Peter Grimes, Falstaff, and Wozzeck. Glossop also performed in a 1968 television version of Pagliacci, and in film version of La Trouvere (1972) and Otello (1973) as Iago. He retired from the stage in the mid–1980s and his autobiography, The Story of a Yorkshire Baritone, was published in 2004.
GODDARD, WILLOUGHBY British character actor Willoughby Goddard died in England on
Willoughby Goddard (from an episode of Doctor Who)
April 11, 2008. He was 81. Goddard was born in Bicester, Oxfordshire, England, on July 4, 1926. He began his career on stage with the Oxford Playhouse in 1943 in a production of George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan. He continued to perform in repertory and made his London debut in James Bridie’s Gog and Magog in 1948. The over-sized actor was also a familiar face in films and television from the early 1950s. Goddard’s film credits include Bait (1950), The Green Man (1956), A Touch of the Sun (1956), Heart of a Child (1958), In the Wake of a Stranger (1959), Inn for Trouble (1960), The Millionairess (1960), The Golden Rabbit (1961), The Long Shadow (1961), The Secret Partner (1961), Double Bunk (1961), and Carry on Cruising (1962). He was featured as Prof. Mark Harrison in the 1955 television production of The Voices and was Mr. Brocklehurst in Jane Eyre in 1956. Goddard also starred as the main villain Gessler in the television series William Tell from 1958 to 1959 and was Mr. Bumble in a 1962 production of Oliver Twist. He was also seen in such series as Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents, Lilli Palmer Theatre, The Buccaneers, Drake’s Progress, The Gay Cavalier, Charlesworth, Invisible Man, Armchair Theatre, International Detective, Danger Man, Richard the Lionheart, Zero One, Ghost Squad, Public Eye, The Man in Room 17, Out of the Unknown, The Baron, The Wednesday Play, Nearest and Dearest, The Saint, The Avengers, The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reder, The Main Chance, ITV Saturday Night Theatre, The Onedin Line, and Orson Welles’ Great Mysteries. Goddard also continued to perform on stage, starring as Cardinal Wolsey in Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons in 1960, and again played Mr. Bumble in the hit Broadway musical Oliver! in 1963. He was also seen in the films The Wrong Box (1965), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968), Laughter in the Dark (1969), The Juggler of Notre Dame (1970), The Canterbury Tales (1972), Gawain and the Green Knight (1973), Joseph Andrews (1977), Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), and God’s Outlaw (1986). He was featured as Lord Charley in the 1970 television series Charley’s Grants and was Dr. Potage in the 1970 mini-series Smith. His other television credits episodes of such series as Space: 1999, The Sweeney, The Ghosts of Motley Hall, The Famous Five, Not the Nine O’Clock News, The Incredible Mr. Tanner, Crown Court, The Black Adder, and T-Bag
161
2008 • Obituaries
Bounces Back. Goddard also appeared in television productions of Daphne Laureola (1978), The Last Days of Pompeii (1984), Return to Treasure Island (1986), and Porterhouse Blue (1987) as Professor Siblington.
GODWIN, RANDALL Actor Randall Godwin died in Milford, Michigan, on December 20, 2008. He was 50. Godwin was born in Detroit, Michigan, on April 27, 1958. He performed often on the local stage and wrote the play Hope for Corky. He was also featured
Dercy Goncalves
Randall Godwin
in the films Stardust (1998), Polish Wedding (1998), The Lost Treasure of Sawtooth Island (2000), Postmark Paradise (2000), Escanaba in da Moonlight (2001), the telefilm 61 (2001), Super Sucker (2002), The Ugly One (2003), An Ordinary Killer (2003), Barn Red (2004), Frozen Stupid (2006), Ghost Town: The Movie (2007), and Cut, Print (2008).
GOLDSTONE, RAYMOND Television writer Raymond Goldstone died of a heart attack in Van Nuys, California, on March 13, 2008. He was 88. Goldstone was born in Little Falls, New York, on July 23, 1919. He began his career as a journalist and served in the U.S. Army during World War II writing scripts for training films. He worked as book editor after the war before moving to Los Angeles. He worked at Warner Bros as a story analyst and taught English Literature at the University of California at Santa Barbara. He began writing for daytime television in 1970, scripting the soap opera Love Is a Many Splendored Thing. He wrote for Search for Tomorrow from 1973 to 1976, and for Days of Our Lives later in the decade. He scripted segments of the soap opera General Hospital in the early 1980s and co-scripted the 1983 Irwin Allen tele-film The Night the Bridge Fell Down. During the 1980s he also wrote for the prime-time soaps Falcon Crest and Knots Landing and was head writer of the daytime series Rituals. GONCALVES, DERCY Brazilian comedienne and actress Dercy Goncalves died of pneumonia in a Rio de Janeiro hospital on July 19, 2008. She was 101. She was born Dolores Goncalves Costa in Santa Maria Madelena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 23, 1907. She began her career on stage in 1929 and became a
leading Brazilian stage performer over the next decade. She was featured in such productions as Goose Step (1942), The Carnival King at War (1943), and Sing Brazil (1943). She made her film debut in 1943’s Samba em Berlim and remained a popular performer over the next sixty years. Her film credits include Abacaxl Azul (1944), Romance Probido (1944), Caldos do Ceu (1946), Folias Cariocas (1948), Naked Amazon (1954), Depois Eu Conto (1956), A Baronesa Transviada (1957), Absolutamente Certo (1957), Uma Certa Lucrecia (1957), A Grande Vedete (1958), Entrei de Gaiato (1959), Com Minha Sogra em Pagueta (1960), Cala a Boca, Etelvina (1960) A Viuva Valentina (1960), So Naguela Base (1960), Minervina Vem Ai (1960), Dona Violante Miranda (1960), Sonhando com Milhoes (1963), Se Meu Dolar Falasse (1970), Bububu no Bobobo (1980), O Minino Arco-Iris (1983), and Oceano Atlantis (1993). Dercy was also seen on Brazilian television in such series as Cavalo Amarelo, Dulcinea Vai a Guerra, Humor Livre, Que Rei Sou Eu?, La Mamma, Deus Nos Acuda, and Sai de Baixo. Noted for her often vulgar wit and uninhibited personality, she caused a stir at the age of 84 by parading topless on a float during Brazil’s Carnival in 1991.
GONZALEZ, ANA Chilean stage and film actress Ana Gonzalez Olea, who was known as La Desideria, died of liver and kidney failure and complications from Alzheimer’s disease at her apartment in Santiago,
Ana Gonzalez
Obituaries • 2008
162
Chile, on February 21, 2009. She was 92. Gonzalez was born in Chile on May 4, 1915. She appeared in several films in the 1940s including Entre Gallos y Medianoche (1940), P’a Otro Lado (1942), El Relegado de Pichintun (1943), Dos Caldos de la Lune (1945), and The Lady of the Camelias (1947). She worked frequently in television from the 1970s, starring in such series as J.J. Juez (1975), La Noche del Cobarde (1983), Los Titeres (1984), La Trampa (1985), Secreto de Familia (1986), Matilde Dedos Verces (1988), Villa Napoli (1991), Marron Glace (1993), Champana (1994), and Marron Glace, el Regreso (1996).
GONZALEZ HERNANDEZ, SERVANDO Mexican film director Servando Gonzalez Hernandez died of complications from cancer in Mexico City on October 5, 2008. He was 85. Gonzalez was born in Vera Cruz, Mexico, on May 15, 1923. He began work-
Servando Gonzalez Hernandez
ing in the film industry at the age of 13, apprenticing with Estudios Clasa. He rose to become the head of the leading film lab, Studios Churubusco, before he began making his own films and documentaries. He made the films Sinfonia de Luz y Color (1960) and Yanco (1961) in Mexico. Gonzalez was best known in the United States for directing the 1965 feature The Fool Killer starring Anthony Perkins. His other film credits include Black Wind (1965), Los Mediocres (1966), El Escapulario (1968), El Hijo Prodigo (1969), Gira Presidencial a Chile (1972), De que Color es el Viento (1973), The Chosen One (1977), Los de Abajo (1978), Las Grandes Aguas (1980), and El Ultimo Tunel (1987).
GOODMAN, DODY Comedian Dody Goodman died in an Englewood, New Jersey, hospital on June 22, 2008. She was 93. She was born Dolores Goodman in Columbus, Ohio, on October 28, 1914. She went to New York in the late 1930s, where she studied dance. She performed on the Broadway stage in musicals during the 1940s and early 1950s. She was featured the chorus for such productions as One Touch of Venus, Call Me Madam, and Miss Liberty, and originated the role of Violet the streetwalker in Wonderful Town. Her slightly daffy sense of humor led to success as a comedian in nightclub revues. She gained national exposure with her appearances on The Tonight Show
Dody Goodman
with Jack Parr in the late 1950s. She soon became a popular guest on other variety and talk shows including The Steve Allen Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, Mike Douglas Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Dinah!, The Merv Griffin Show, and Late Night with David Letterman. She also guest starred on episodes of such television series as The Phil Silvers Show, The Defenders, the soap operas Search for Tomorrow as Althea Franklin and One Life to Live as Molly McDermott, Flying High, CHiPs, The Mary Tyler Moore Hour, The CBS Children’s Mystery Theatre, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Texas, Just Our Luck, St. Elsewhere, Punky Brewster, Crazy Like a Fox, Bustin’ Loose, Murder, She Wrote, Here and Now, and Boston Common. Goodman starred as Martha Shumway, the mother of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman in the popular sit-com in 1976, and reprised the role in the spin-off series Forever Fernwood the following year. She was featured in the recurring role of Aunt Sophia Drummond in the sit-com Diff ’rent Strokes from 1981 to 1984, and was the voice of Miss Rebecca Miller in the animated series Alvin & the Chipmunks during the 1980s. Goodman also appeared in several tele-films including Valentine Magic on Love Island (1980), I Dream of Jeannie: 15 Years Later (1985), Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis (1988), Splash, Too (1988), and Family Reunion: A Relative Nightmare (1995). She also appeared on the silver screen in the comedy films Bedtime Story (1965) and Mel Brooks’ Silent Movie (1976). She was perhaps best known for her role as Blanche Hodel in the hit movie musical Grease in 1978, and the 1982 sequel Grease 2. Goodman’s other film credits include Max Dugan Returns (1983), Splash (1984), Private Resort (1985), Cool As Ice (1991), Frozen Assets (1992), Samantha (1992), Cops n Roberts (1995), and Black Ribbon (2007). GOODMAN, JONATHAN British true crime writer Jonathan Goodman died of complications from diabetes and a heart condition in England on January 10, 2008. He was 76. Goodman was born in Wimbledon, London, England, on January 17, 1931. He began working in repertory theatre as a stage manager and producer in the 1950s. Goodman worked as a television director for the ITV police drama No Hiding Place in the early 1960s. He also wrote several novels including Instead of Murder (1961), Criminal Tenden-
163
Jonathan Goodman
cies (1964), and Hello Cruel World, Goodbye (1964). He became noted as a crime historian with the 1969 publication of The Killing of Julia Wallace, about an unsolved murder in Liverpool in 1931. His 1971 book, Bloody Versicles: Rhymes of Crime, collected popular verse that were inspired by crimes. His other works include the novel The Last Sentence (1978), and the true crime books The Burning of Evelyn Foster (1977), The Stabbing of George Harry Storrs (1983), The Crippen File (1985), The Slaying of Joseph Bowne Elwell (1987), The Passing of Starr Faithfull (1990), and Murder on Several Occasions (2007). He also produced a series of anthologies of classic murder cases including The Railway Murders (1984), The Seaside Murders (1984), The Christmas Murders (1986), The Country House Murders (1988), and The Vintage Car Murders (19880.
2008 • Obituaries
Death: A Flashback (1983), A Bird’s Nest in the Wind (1983), Ente Marnattikkuttiyammakku (1983), Asthram (1983), Adam’s Rib (1983), Eettillam (1983), Dusk (1984), Panchavadi Palam (1984), Appunni (1984), The Other Shore (1984), Aarorumariyathe (1984), Midsummer Sun (1985), Eaiyum Thalayum Purathidaruthu (1985), Ente Ammu Ninte Thulasi Avarude Chakki (1985), Chidambaram (1985), Anguish (1985), Karimpin Poovinakkare (1985), Revathikkoru Pavakkutty (1986), and Irakal (1986). He also directed the films Dheivatheyorthu (1985) and Ulsavapittennu (1989). Gopi suffered a stroke in 1986 and was left partially paralyzed. He recovered to direct the acclaimed 1991 film Yamanam, about a handicapped man. Gopi also resumed his career in front of the cameras in such films as Padheyam (1993), My Own (1994), Vishnu (1994), Agni Devan (1995), Memories and Desires (1995), Samantharangal (1998), Elavamkodu Desam (1998), Dubai (2001), Varum Varunnu Vannu (2003), Sethurama Iyer CBI (2004), Wanted (2004), Rasathanthram (2006), Nivedhyam (2007), Nasrani (2007), and Akasha Gopuram (2008).
GORDENO, PETER British actor and entertainer Peter Gordeno, who starred in the cult science fiction television series UFO in the early 1970s, died in London on October 18, 2008. He was 69. He was born Peter Godenho in Rangoon, Burma, on June 20, 1939, to an Italian-American father and Scottish-Burmese
GOPI, BHARAT Indian Malayalam language actor Bharat Gopi died of complications from a heart condition in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, on January 29, 2008. He was 70. He was born V. Gopinathan Nair in Chirayankil, India, on November 8, 1937. He was a noted stage actor before he made his film debut in 1972’s Swayamvaram and starred in Kodiyettam in 1977. He became a leading Malayalam star in such films as Thammpu (1978), Peruvazhiyampalam (1979), Arising from the Surface (1980), Rails (1981), Kallan Pavithran (1981), The Curtain Falls (1982), Alolam (1982), Writing (1983), Rumbling (1983), Lekha’s Peter Gordeno (from UFO)
Bharat Gopi
mother. His father was killed during World War II and he was raised in Calcutta, India, where he began performing as a dancer. He went to England in the late 1950s to further his career, eventually dancing in West End revues. He also performed in West End productions of West Side Story and Do Re Mi in the early 1960s, and was a regular on the television variety series The Kathy Kirby Show from 1964 to 1965. Gordeno formed his own dance troupe and was featured in such variety shows as Boxing Night Out, Cilla at the Savoy, The Blackpool Show, The Saturday Crowd, A Royal Club Night, It’s Tarbuck, and Leslie Crowther’s Scrapbook. He was also featured in several films including Secrets of a Windmill Girl (1966) and The Touchables (1968). He was featured as Capt. Peter Carlin, commander of the
Obituaries • 2008
164
submarine SkyDiver and pilot of the interceptor aircraft Sky One, in Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s live-action science fiction television series about alien abductions, UFO, from 1970 to 1971. He continued to perform and choreograph for the stage, and was later seen in the films Urged to Kill (1988) and Carry on Columbus (1992) as the Shaman.
GORDON, ALAN Songwriter Alan Gordon, who co-wrote the hit 1960s song “Happy Together” for the Turtles, died of cancer at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona, on November 22, 2008. He was 64. Gordon was born in Natick, Massachusetts, on April 22, 1944. He began performing in New York with the band the Magicians in the mid–1960s. He soon teamed with bandmate Garry Bonner to write songs. The duo penned “Happy Together,” “You Know What I Mean,” “She’s My Girl,” and “She’d Rather Be with Me” for the Turtles, and “Celebrate” for Three Dog Night. Gordon also wrote the song “My Heart Belongs to Me” for Barbra Streisand, who recorded it in 1977. GORDON , EDWIN Edwin Gordon, who scripted the 1981 film adaptation of Chaim Potok’s novel The Chosen, died in a residential care facility in Canoga Park, California, after suffering a series of strokes on June 23, 2008. He was 83. Gordon was born in New York City on January 20, 1925. A playwright and journalist, he served as a correspondent for the Voice of America for 25 years. He adapted Potok’s novel about Orthodox American Jews for a film version starring Robby Benson in 1981. GORI, FEDERICA Italian adult film actress Federica Gori, who was often known by the stage name Lollipop, was found dead at her mother’s home in
Barry Gosney
was 82. Gosney was born in Guildford, Surrey, England, in 1925. He began his film career in the early 1960s, appearing in such films as Carry on Jack (1963), A Home of Your Own (1964), Three Hats for Lisa (1965), Futtocks End (1970), Up the Chastity Belt (1971), Up Pompeii (1971), Our Miss Fred (1972), Up the Front (1972), Raising the Roof (1972), Don’t Just Lie There, Say Something! (1973), and the film version of Are You Being Served? (1977). Gosney also appeared frequently on British television, with roles in such series as No Hiding Place, Beryl Reid Says Good Evening, Dixon of Dock Green, Doctor in the House, Please, Sir!, Menace, Z Cars, Play for Today, Kelly Monteith, Never the Twain, Don’t Wait Up, After Henry, Casualty, Keeping Up Appearances, Frank Stubbs Promotes, The Bill, and Last of the Summer Wine. He was also seen in the 1978 mini-series Out. Gosney appeared regularly in the variety series Harry Hill in the 1990s, and was Uncle Barrie in the comedy series Time Gentlemen Please from 2000 to 2002.
GOULET , NICOLETTE Actress Nicolette Goulet, the daughter of singer Robert Goulet, died of breast cancer in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 17, 2008. She was 51. She was born in Toronto, Canada, the daughter of Goulet and his first wife, Louise Longmore. Nicolette starred as Mary Ryan Fenelli in the daytime soap opera Ryan’s Hope in 1979 and was Kathy Parker in Search for Tomorrow in the early 1980s. She
Federica Gori
Rome on February 7, 2008. She was 35. She was a popular adult star over the past decade, appearing in such productions as Blue Angel (2002) and Tutta la Vita Davanti (2008). In recent years, she also served as a mascot and spokesperson for the Italian football team Fiorentina.
GOSNEY, BARRY British actor and comedian Barry Gosney died of complications from injuries he received in a fall in London on January 24, 2008. He
Nicolette Goulet
165 was also seen in Casey Reynolds in As the World Turns in 1985 and as Meredith Reade Bauer in The Guiding Light from 1987 to 1989. Goulet was also seen in the 1993 independent film A Walk with Death.
GRABLE, JUDY Judy Grable, a leading professional wrestler in the 1940s and 1950s, died on May 9, 2008. She was 82. She was born Nelly Burres in Bremerton, Washington, on August 21, 1925. She
2008 • Obituaries
(1988), The Return of Swamp Thing (1989), Dick Tracy (1990), The Godfather: Part III (1990), China Moon (1994), Homage (1995), Mariette in Ecstasy (1996), Booty Call (1997), Half Baked (1998), Stolen Heart (1998), Three to Tango (1999), Focus (2001), The Skulls III (2003), Welcome to Mooseport (2004), Assault on Precinct 13 (2005), 16 Blocks (2006), The Stone Angel (2007), and War, Inc. (2008). Graef also worked in television on such tele-films as After the Shock (1990), Everybody’s Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure (1989), Blind Side (1993), Sketch Artist III: Hands That See (1995), Balls Up (1997), North Shore Fish (1997), Face Down (1997), The Last Don II (1998), Love Letters (1999), Spenser: Small Vices (1999), Thin Air (2000), Boss of Bosses (2001), We Were the Mulvaneys (2002), Reversible Errors (2004), The Twelve Days of Christmas Eve (2004), Naughty or Nice (2004), Vinegar Hill (2005), and Candles on Bay Street (2006). She also designed costumes for the series Baywatch, Gilmore Girls, Witchblade, 1–800–Missing, and Final 24.
GRAFF , JERRY Singer and musician Jerry Graff died of cancer in Encino, California, on February 14, 2008. He was 87. Graff was born in New York City on November 17, 1920. He began his career as a Judy Grable
began wrestling professionally at the age of 13 in 1938 under the name Judy Grable. She usually competed as a ring villain and became the AWW Women’s Champion in May of 1947. Grable battled against the top women wrestlers of the day including Mildred Burke and the Fabulous Moolah. She made it to the tournament finals for the NWA World Women’s Championship, losing the bout to Moolah in 1956. Grable retired from the ring soon after.
GRAEF, VICKI Canadian costume designer Vicki Graef died of complications from cancer on October 15, 2008. She was 58. Graef began working in films in the mid–1950s as a costumer on the 1985 drama Marie with Sissy Spacek. She also served as a wardrober for the horror cult classic Evil Dead II in 1987. Her other film credits include Kandyland (1987), Programmed to Kill (1987), Big Bad Mama II (1987), Invasion Earth: The Aliens Are Here (1988), Sapphire Man
Vicki Graef
Jerry Graff
performer in the late 1940s and was lead singer with the vocal group The Beachcombers. He also worked as an arranger for Nat King Cole’s television variety show and was vocal supervisor for Woody Allen’s 1971 sci-fi comedy film Bananas. Graff later appeared in small roles in several films including Things Change (1988), The Spanish Prisoner (1997), and State and Main (2000).
GRAHAM, DAVY British guitarist Davy Graham, who was a leading figure in the folk music revival of the 1960s, died of a seizure after a long illness with lung cancer at his home in London on December 15, 2008. He was 68. Graham was born in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England, on November 22, 1940. He began playing the guitar at an early age and was noted for his dexterity on the acoustic guitar. He was best known for his 1962 song “Anji,” which became a classic in folk music. He recorded numerous albums and was considered an influence on such fellow musicians as Paul
Obituaries • 2008
166 ried actress Anjelica Huston in 1992 and appeared with her in the small role of a Venezuelan General in the 2004 film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
GRANT, ALLAN Allan Grant, a leading photojournalist for Life magazine, died of complications from Parkinson’s disease at his home in Brentwood, California, on February 1, 2008. He was 88. Grant was born in New York City on October 23, 1919. He became interested in photography as a teenager and
Davy Graham
Simon, Laurence Juber, and John Renbourn. He was featured as a guitarist in the 1963 film The Servant and appeared and performed in the 1969 short Cain’s Film. His albums include Folk, Blues & Beyond... (1963), The Holly Kaleidoscope (1970), Godington Boundry (1970), All That Moody (1976), Dance for Two People (1979), Playing in Traffic (1993), and Broken Biscuits (2007). He was also featured on the PBC television series The Blues.
GRAHAM, ROBERT Sculptor Robert Graham, who was best known for creating the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C., died in a Los Angeles hospital on December 27, 2008. He was 70. Graham was born in Mexico City, Mexico, on August 19, 1938, and came to the United States with his family in the late 1940s, settling in San Jose, California. He studied at the San Francisco Art Institute. After spending several years in England, he moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s. He soon became a respected sculptor who was noted for his small wax scenes in Plexiglas boxes that frequently included nude figures. Graham created the Joe Louis Memorial in 1986 that featured a huge, bronze fist and forearm. He created the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial in Washington in 1997. Graham’s other works includes the Duke Ellington Monument in New York City, the Charlie “Bird” Parker Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, and the Great Bronze Doors and Statue of Mary at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles. He mar-
Robert Graham
Allan Grant
worked in a photographic laboratory as a young man. He began working for Life in 1945. He took photographs of Howard Hughes’ mammoth Spruce Goose’s maiden flight in 1947, and of the atomic bomb tests in the 1950s. He also captured on film Oscar nominees Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly waiting backstage at the 1955 Academy Awards ceremony. Grant also took some of the last photographs of Marilyn Monroe before her death in 1962 and photographed the family of Lee Harvey Oswald after he assassinated President John Kennedy in 1963. Grant left Life in the late 1960s and produced education documentaries. His television documentary What Color Is the Wind? earned three Emmy Award nominations.
GRANT , ELIZABETH Actress Elizabeth “Libba” Grant died in Woodland Hills, California, on October 13, 2008. She was 81. Grant was born in Geor-
Elizabeth Grant
167
2008 • Obituaries
gia on August 1, 1927. She was a political activist who campaigned for civil rights and equal rights for women. She was featured in the 1996 tele-film The Summer of Ben Tyler, and appeared in the 2005 feature RedMeansGo. Grant was also seen in various television commercials. Her survivors include her daughter, actress Beth Grant.
GRANT, JOHNNY Johnny Grant, who was known as the honorary mayor of Hollywood, was found dead in his bed at his suite in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on January 9, 2008. He was 84. Grant was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina, on May 9, 1923. He began working as a radio reporter in the early 1940s before joining the Army during World War II. He moved to Hollywood after the war, where he appeared
Johnny Grant
in a small role in the 1948 bio-film The Babe Ruth Story. He continued to work in radio doing celebrity interviews in the 1940s and 1950s and appeared onscreen in the films Mask of the Dragon (1951), White Christmas (1954), The Girl Can’t Help It (1956), The Great Man (1956), Rock, Pretty Baby (1956), Beau James (1957), and The Oscar (1966). Grant was also seen on television in episodes of The Loretta Young Show, 77 Sunset Strip, and The Lucy Show. Grant became one of Hollywood’s most exuberant supporters, working with the Chamber of Commerce to preserve the landmark Hollywood sign and the Walk of Fame. He was named Hollywood’s honorary mayor by the Chamber in 1980, and hosted the induction of over 500 celebrities onto the Walk of Fame. He also produced the annual Hollywood Christmas Parade and greeted red carpet arrivals at the Oscars and other film ceremonies. Grant was also seen in cameo role on television’s China Beach, Buddy Faro, and Action, and the films The Young and the Dead (2000), Hollywood Homicide (2003), and Christmas in Tinseltown (2004).
GRAY, CHARLES H. Actor Charles H. Gray, who was best known for his role as Clay Forrester in the television western series Rawhide, died in San Bernardino, California, on August 2, 2008. He was 86. Gray was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on November 27, 1921. He appeared frequently in films and television from the mid–1950s. His film credits include One De-
Charles H. Gray
sire (1955), The Houston Story (1956), Tension at Table Rock (1956), The Black Whip (1956), Trooper Hook (1957), God Is My Partner (1957), The Unknown Terror (1957), Ride a Violent Mile (1957), Cattle Empire (1958), Desert Hell (1958), Charro! (1969) with Elvis Presley, Wild Rovers (1971), Bless the Beasts & Children (1971), The Organization (1971), Junior Bonner (1972), The New Centurions (1972), and the 1979 horror film Prophecy as the Sheriff. The mustachioed Gray frequently played villains in television westerns, but took a turn as cattle driver Clay Forrester in the final three seasons of Rawhide from 1961 to 1964. He was also featured in episodes of Highway Patrol, Whirlybird, Adventures of Superman, The Silent Service, Leave It to Beaver, Meet McGraw, Black Saddle, The Ann Sothern Show, The Texan, State Trooper, Yancy Derringer, Zane Grey Theater, Have Gun —Will Travel, Riverboat, One Step Beyond, Gunslinger, Death Valley Days, Gunsmoke, Perry Mason, Laredo, The Road West, The Iron Horse, Hallmark Hall of Fame, The High Chaparral, McCloud, Storefront Lawyers, The Virginian, Bonanza, Alias Smith and Jones, Emergency!, The Rookies, Banacek, the soap opera The Young and the Restless as Bill Foster, and Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law. Gray was also featured in the telefilms The Savage Land (1969), Drive Hard, Drive Fast (1973), Captains and the Kings (1976), A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story (1978), Sergeant Matlovich vs. the U.S. Air Force (1978), And I Alone Survived (1978), and Ike (1979). GRAY , S IMON British playwright Simon Gray, who was best known for penning the comedy Butley, died in London on August 6, 2008. He had suffered from prostate and lung cancer in recent years. He was 71. Gray was born in Hayling Island, Hampshire, England, on August 21, 1936. He began teaching in the mid–1950s and was soon writing short stories. He adapted his own story, The Caramel Crisis, for television’s Thirty-Minute Theatre in 1966. His first play, Wise Child, premiered in London in 1967 and starred Alec Guinness. A Broadway production five years later met with failure. His works were also seen frequently on television in the 1960s in such series as The Wednesday Play, The Jazz Age, ITV Saturday Night Theatre, ITV Playhouse, and Play for Today. He was best known for writing the 1971 play Butley. The play was directed
Obituaries • 2008
168 (1996), Love Is All There Is (1996), The Cable Guy (1996), To Die Quietly (1997), Henry Fool (1997), and The Miracle of Bern (2003).
GREEN, CHERRY Ermine Cherry DemseyBarker, who sang with Bob Marley and the Wailers as Cherry Green, died in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, on September 24, 2008. She was 65. She was born Ermine Ortense Bramwell in Trench Town, Jamaica, on August 22, 1943. She began singing with Marley and
Simon Gray
by Harold Pinter and starred Alan Bates, who earned a Tony Award after its Broadway debut in 1972. Bates reprised his role in a 1974 film version, scripted by Gray, and Nathan Lane played the role on Broadway in a 2006 revival. Gray had success on Broadway with Otherwise Engaged in 1977, which was adapted for German television the following year. Many of his subsequent plays were also adapted for film or television, including The Rear Column (1980), After Pilkington (1987), Quartermaine’s Terms (1987), A Month in the Country (1987), They Never Slept (1990), Old Flames (1990), Unnatural Pursuits (1991), Running Late (1992), Common Pursuit (1992), and Femme Fatale (1993). In recent years, Gray wrote several self-deprecating memoirs, including The Smoking Diaries (2004), The Year of the Jouncer (2006), and The Last Cigarette (2008). He was working on a stage adaptation of The Last Cigarette at the time of his death.
GRECO, PAUL Actor Paul Greco died in Red Hook, New York, on December 17, 2008. He was 53. Greco was born in Newark, New Jersey, on October 21, 1955. He made his film debut as the leader of the Orphan gang in the 1979 cult classic The Warriors. He was also seen on television in an episode of Miami Vice, and in the films Four Friends (1981), Woody Allen’s Broadway Danny Rose (1984), Crocodile Dundee (1986), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Elvis Stories (1989), Next of Kin (1989), Oscar (1991), If Lucy Fell
Paul Greco (from The Warriors)
Cherry Green
his band when she was a teenager and became an original member of the Wailers with Beverly Kelson, Junior Braithwaite, Bunny Livingston, and Peter Tosh. Also known as Cherry Smith, she sang backup vocals from 1963 to 1966 on such songs as “Simmer Down,” “I Need Your Love,” and “Lonesome Feeling.” She left the group because of family obligations before they achieved success and came to the United States in 1969. She settled in Florida, where she seldom reflected on her days with the Wailers.
GREEN, DOROTHY Veteran television actress Dorothy Green died of a heart attack at her home in Los Angeles on May 8, 2008. She was 88. She was born Dorothy Huffard in Los Angeles on January 12, 1920. She began her career as an actress performing on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse. She moved into films and television in the early 1950s and appeared in over 100 television episodes during her career. Her numerous credits include Hopalong Cassidy, The Whistler, My Little Margie, The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse, Cavalcade of America, The Man Behind the Badge, Studio 57, City Detective, Treasury Men in Action, The Great Gildersleeve, TV Reader’s Digest, Four Star Playhouse, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, State Trooper, Crossroads, The George Sanders Mystery Theater, Whirlybirds, Code 3, Studio One, Navy Log, The Californians, Casey Jones, The Real McCoys, Sugarfoot, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Panic!, Suspicion, The David Niven Show, The Swamp Fox and Moochie of the Little League on Disneyland, Philip Marlowe, Boris Karloff ’s Thriller, Surfside 6, The Case of the Dangerous Robin, The Brothers Brannigan, COronado 9, The Best of the Post, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Gunslinger, 77 Sunset Strip, Cheyenne, Laramie, The Investigators, Perry Mason, General Elec-
169
Dorothy Green
tric Theater, Rawhide, Wagon Train, Hawaiian Eye, Checkmate, Alcoa Premiere, Going My Way, The Wide Country, Arrest and Trial, Gunsmoke, This Is the Life, Tom, Dick and Mary, The Outer Limits, The Baileys of Balboa, Bonanza, Tammy, The Munsters, Pistols ’n’ Petticoats, The Virginian, The F.B.I., Mannix, Daniel Boone, The Outsider, Ironside, My Three Sons, Hawaii Five-0, Adam-12, O’Hara, U.S. Treasury, Marcus Welby, M.D., Emergency!, The Young and the Restless as Jennifer Elizabeth Brooks, The Love Boat, Fish, Hello, Larry, and Benson. Green also appeared in the tele-films Anatomy of a Crime (1969), The Six Million Dollar Man (1973), and Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus (1974). She also appeared onscreen in numerous films throughout her career from the early 1950s including The Big Heat (1953), Bad for Each Other (1953), Them! (1954), Finger Man (1955), Trial (1955), No Time to Be Young (1957), The Helen Morgan Story (1957), The Restless Years (1958), Face of a Fugitive (1959), Man-Trap (1961), It Happened at the World’s Fair (1963) with Elvis Presley, Critic’s Choice (1963), Palm Springs Weekend (1963), Zebra in the Kitchen (1965), Tammy and the Millionaire (1967), Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came? (1970), and Help Me ... I’m Possessed (1976).
GREEN, PAUL S. Paul S. Green, who served as a publicity agent for Hollywood in Washington, D.C., died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in a Bethesda, Maryland, retirement home on Febru-
2008 • Obituaries
ary 6, 2008. He was 90. He was born Saul Greenblatt in the Bronx, New York, on June 20, 1917. He attended the University of Missouri, where he earned a master’s degree in journalism in 1940. He served as a combat reporter for the armed forces newspaper Stars and Stripes during World War II. After the war, he settled in Washington, D.C., where he soon became an aide on Capitol Hill. His wartime contacts also gave him an entry into Hollywood, where he became filmdom’s unofficial liaison to the Capitol. Green was able to persuade former vice president Alben Barkley to don a coonskin hat and buckskin jacket to promote the 1955 film about Davy Crockett, The Kentuckian. He was also instrumental in promoting films to foreign embassies for overseas sales. Green was working for Sen. Estes Kefauver of Tennessee when Otto Preminger came to town to film the 1962 political drama Advise and Consent. He arranged through Kefauver to give the film crew nearly total access during filming. Preminger rewarded Green with a small role in a trolley scene with star Walter Pidgeon. He continued to work at the Capitol until retiring as a Transportation Department congressional liaison in the 1960s.
GREENBURG, EARL Earl Greenburg, who served as head of NBC Daytime in the early 1980s, died of melanoma in Rancho Mirage, California, on February 1, 2008. He was 61. Greenburg was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 27, 1946. A
Earl Greenburg
lawyer, he moved to Los Angeles to serve as vice president of compliance and practices in the late 1970s. He was chosen by Brandon Tartikoff to head the networks daytime programming in 1981. He later worked as an independent television producer on such series as The Regis Philbin Show, The World’s Wildest Police Videos, and The World’s Scariest Police Chases. He also served as president of the Home Shopping Network and became a leading agent for infomercials as head of the Electronic Retailing Association and Total Marketing Partners. He was also chairman of the Palm Springs International Film Festival from 2004.
Paul Green
GREGORY, CELIA British actress Celia Gregory died at her home in England on September 8, 2008. She was 58. Gregory was born in London on Septem-
Obituaries • 2008
170 the University of North Carolina and served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He later earned a master’s degree in wildlife management from Louisiana State University. Gresham, who became a familiar figure with his bushy white sideburns and cowboy hat, was field host for ABC’s American Sportsman from 1966 to 1979, going on hunting expeditions with such stars as Andy Griffith, Bing Crosby, and Burt Reynolds. He was also the author of numerous popular books on hunting, fishing, and the outdoors including The Complete Book of Bass Fishing (1966), The Complete Wild Fowler (1973), and Grits on Guns (1987). He hosted videos on duck, goose, and pheasant hunting, and was featured in commercials for Miller Lite beer. Gresham was also a leading voice for wetlands conservation.
Celia Gregory
ber 23, 1949, and was raised in Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands. She began her career on stage in the early 1970s and was featured in such West End productions as Saturday, Sunday, Monday (1973) with Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright and A Family (1978) with Paul Scofield. She was featured as Nancy Neele in the 1979 film Agatha with Dustin Hoffman and Vanessa Redgrave, and appeared with Dennis Hopper in The Inside Man in 1984. She was also seen in television productions of The Dancing Years (1976), Children of the Full Moon (1980) on Hammer House of Horror, and Lace (1984) and Lace II (1985) as Queen Serah. Gregory starred as Ruth Anderson in the post–Apocalyptical British television series Survivors in 1976, She was also seen in episodes of Thirty-Minute Theatre, Quiller, Hazell, The Professionals, Play for Today, Reilly: Ace of Spies as Nadia Massino, Bergerac, Tales of the Unexpected, Casualty, Ruth Rendell Mysteries, and The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes. She made her final film appearance in Peter Greenaway’s 1993 feature The Baby of Macon before retiring from acting to devote more time to her family.
GREVILLE -BELL , ANTHONY Anthony Greville-Bell, a British war hero who later penned the Vincent Price horror film Theater of Blood, died on March 4, 2008. He was 87. Greville-Bell was born on March 7, 1920. He joined the Royal engineers at the outbreak of World War II, and served with distinction with the 2nd Special Air Service Regiment in Italy. He returned to the military in the early 1950s to serve in Malaya. Greville-Bell began writing screenplays in the 1960s, penning Perfect Friday (1970), The Strange Vengeance of Rosalie (1972), and The God King (1974). His best known film was the Shakespearean slasher film Theater of Blood (1973), starring Vincent Price and Diana Rigg, and a host of aging British stars as ill-fated drama critics. He also scripted several episodes of the television series Marked Personal. Greville-Bell was also noted as a sculptor and as leader of an amateur orchestra.
GRESHAM, GRITS Grits Gresham, the colorful outdoorsman who hosted the ABC television hunting show American Sportsman, died in Natchitoches, Louisiana, on February 18, 2008. He was 85. He was born Claude Hamilton Gresham, Jr., in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on June 21, 1922. He graduated from
GRIFFIN, JOHNNY Jazz saxophonist Johnny Griffin died at his home in southwest France on July 25, 2008. He was 80. Griffin was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 24, 1928. He was raised in a musical family and learned to play the piano and steel guitar as a child. He added the clarinet, oboe, and alto saxophone to his repertoire while in high school. He began playing with Lionel Hampton’s band after graduation in 1945 and soon chose the tenor sax as his instrument. Griffin moved to New York in the 1950s and served for several years in the Army band during the Korean War.
Grits Gresham
Johnny Griffin
171 After military service he performed with such artists as Art Blakey, Theolonious Monk, and John Coltrane. He also recorded several albums including Introducing Johnny Griffin (1956), A Blowin’ Session (1957) with Hank Mobley and Coltrane, and Change of Pace (1961). He teamed with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis to form a quintet in the early 1960s, and released the album Tough Tenor Favorites before leaving the United States for Europe. He eventually settled in France and remained a major figure on the European jazz scene. Griffin began to return regularly to the United States for concerts in the late 1970s. His final album, Smokin’ Sax, was released shortly before his death.
GROARK, MARGARETTA Margaretta Groark, who competed with her husband David on the first season of The Amazing Race television reality show in 2001, died of complications from cancer and pulmo-
2008 • Obituaries
Frack, died of complications from a broken leg in a nursing home near Zurich, Switzerland, on April 14, 2008. He was 92. Groebli was born in Basel, Switzerland, on April 21, 1915. He began teaming with fellow skater Hansruedi Mauch at local rinks in Basel in 1936. The duo, taking the stage name of Frick and Frack, were soon performing throughout Europe. They came to the United States with the St. Moritz Express ice revue in 1938. They were hired by the original Ice Follies the following year and brought their comedy skating routines to film with Silver Skates (1943) and Lady, Let’s Dance (1944). He continued to team with Mauch until the latter’s retirement in 1953. Groebli carried on the act as Mr. Frick with a succession of junior partners. He was forced to retire from the ice following an injury in an accident in 1980.
GROH, DAVID Actor David Groh, who starred as the title character’s husband in the 1970s sitcom Rhoda, died of kidney cancer in a Los Angeles hospital on February 12, 2008. He was 68. Groh was born in New York City on May 21, 1939. He served in the U.S. Army before embarking on a career in acting. Groh studied at the Actors Studio and appeared on stage in New York in the 1960s. He appeared in small roles in several episodes of the Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows in the late 1960s and was Simon Ventnor in the soap Love is a Many Splendored Thing from 1972 to 1973. He was also seen in the films Red Hot Shot (1969), Irish Whiskey Rebellion (1972), and The Ringer (1972). He was cast as Joe Gerard in the 1974 sitcom Rhoda, a spinoff of Mary Tyler Moore. Groh’s character married
Margaretta Groark (with husband David)
nary fibrosis at her home in Rockwall, Texas, on October 26, 2008. She was 67. She was born Margaretta Bisson in Newport, Rhode Island, on January 12, 1941, and married David Groark in 1960. She was a 59-yearold grandmother when she competed in the premiere season of The Amazing Race. She and her husband were eliminated in the fourth episode.
GROEBLI, WERNER Werner Groebli, who was Frick in the acclaimed ice skating duo Frick and
David Groh
Werner Groebli
Valerie Harper’s Rhoda Morgenstern. The couple were divorced by the third season and Groh was off the show. He later starred as wealthy D.L. Brock on the soap opera General Hospital from 1983 to 1985. Groh also guest starred in episodes of such series as Police Story, The Love Boat, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Trapper John, M.D., Fantasy Island, CBS Children’s Mystery Theatre, Today’s F.B.I., Matt Houston, Whiz Kids, Finder of Lost Loves, Hotel, Simon & Simon, Kate & Allie, Tales from the Darkside, Spenser: For Hire, Hunter, L.A. Law, Jake and the Fatman, Murder, She Wrote, Room for Two, Dark Justice, Sisters, M.A.N.T.I.S., Renegade, Court-
Obituaries • 2008
172
house, Melrose Place in the recurring of Vince Parezi, Baywatch, JAG, The X-Files, Mike Hammer, Private Eye, Walker, Texas Ranger, The Huntress, V.I.P. in the recurring role of Don Franco, Law & Order, and Girlfriends. Groh also starred as Lt. Walker in the cable action series Black Scorpion in 2001. He was also seen in the tele-films Smash-Up on Interstate 5 (1976), Victory at Entebbe (1976), Murder at the Mardi Gras (1978), The Child Stealer (1979), Power (1980), The Dream Merchants (1980), Tourist (1981), This Is Kate Bennett (1982), Broken Vows (1987), Menu for Murder (1990), Last Exit to Earth (1996), The Cowboy and the Movie Star (1998), Take My Advice: The Ann and Abby Story (1999), and Jane Doe: The Harder They Fall (2006). Groh also appeared in numerous films including Two-Minute Warning (1976), A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ but a Sandwich (1978), Hotshot (1987), The Return of Superfly (1990), The Stoned Age (1994), Illegal in Blue (1995), Get Shorty (1995), The Confidence Man (1996), White Cargo (1996), Every Dog Has Its Day (1997), Swimsuit: The Movie (1997), Most Wanted (1997), Acts of Betrayal (1997), Spoiler (1998), Blowback (2000), Black Leather Soles (2005), Crazylove (2005), Late Night Girls (2006), and Expecting Love (2008). Survivors include his wife, actress Kristin Andersen.
GROUND , ROBERT Film director Robert Ground died of cancer on March 28, 2008, in Phoenix, Arizona. He was 86. Ground was born in Dawson, Georgia, on April 28, 1921. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. After the war, he joined the fam-
Rob Guest
the role of Jean Valjean in the Australian production of Les Miserables later in the decade. He starred in the title role in The Phantom of the Opera from 1991 to 1998, appearing in over 2000 performances. Guest also starred in Australian productions of Jolson, The Sound of Music, Jekyll & Hyde, Sweeney Todd, The Music Man, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Footloose. He was appearing as the Wizard of Oz in the musical Wicked at the time of his death.
GUINES, TATA Cuban conga drummer Tata Guines, who helped popularize the Afro-Cuban sound, died of a kidney infection outside of Havana, Cuba, on February 4, 2008. He was 77. He was born Federico Aristides Soto in Guines, Cuba, on June 30, 1930. He moved to Havana in 1946, where he performed with such major Cuban bandleaders as Chico O’Farrill, Jose Fajardo, and Peruchin. He teamed with pianist Frank Emilio Flynn to form the band Quinteto Instrumental de Musica Moderna, which later became Los Amigos. Guines went to the United States in 1957, where he performed with such artists as Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, and Frank Sinatra. He returned to Cuba two years later when Fidel Castro ousted the dictator Fulgencio Batista. Guines continued to perform in Cuba and South America over the next several decades. He played with the group Cubanismo! in the 1990s, but declined an invitation to appear on Ry Cooder’s hit recording of other older Cuban musicians, The Buena
Robert Ground (director of The Weird World of LSD)
ily retail business and also pursued interests as an exotic spice merchant, photographer, writer, and advertising executive. He began dabbling in films in the 1960s, and wrote and directed the bizarre docu-drama The Weird World of LSD in 1967.
GUEST, ROB Australian actor and singer Rob Guest died of a stroke in a Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, hospital on October 2, 2008. He was 58. Guest was born in Birmingham, England, on July 17, 1950. He began his career as a pop singer in New Zealand in the late 1970s. He relocated to the United States in the 1980s, where he performed in nightclubs in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and Los Angeles. He toured Australia in
Tata Guines
173
2008 • Obituaries
Vista Social Club, due to a previous tour commitment. He won a Latin Grammy Award for the 2003 album Lagrimas Negras with Bebo Valdes and Diego El Chigala. Guines was given Cuba’s highest music award, the Premio Nacional de Musica, in 2006.
GUINZBURG, JORGE Argentine comedian Jorge Guinzburg died of a lung infection in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 12, 2008. He was 59. Guinzburg was born in Buenos Aires on February 3, 1949. He was a popular performer on radio and televi-
Orhan Gunsiray
He also produced many of his films from the 1960s, joining with director Atif Yilmaz to form the Yerli Film company. Gunsiray continued to appear on screen with roles in such films as Su (1981), Holy Sword (1982), and the schlock action classic Olum Savascisi (aka Death Warrior) (1984).
Jorge Guinzburg
GUREL, AYSEL Turkish poet, lyricist and actress Aysel Gurel died of cancer in an Istanbul, Turkey, hospital on February 17, 2008. She was 79. Gurel was born in Denizli, Turkey, on February 7, 1929. She wrote
sion, noted for his bushy moustache and sharp wit. He starred in such television variety series as La Noticia Rebelde (aka Rebel News) and El Legado (The Legacy). He also hosted the morning magazine show Mananas Informales (Informal Mornings). He produced and starred in the children’s variety series Guinzburg and Kids from 2003, and was the voice of Farfan in the 2007 animated film The Ark. He also wrote the daily comic strip Diogenes y el Linyera, about a vagabond and his dog.
GUNSIRAY, ORHAN Turkish actor Orhan Gunsiray, who starred in numerous Turkish action films during the 1960s, died of lung cancer in an Istanbul, Turkey, hospital on August 28, 2008. He was 80. Gunsiray was born in Istanbul on July 3, 1928. He began his film career in the late 1950s with such credits as The Grievous Years (1958), The Istanbul Adventure (1958), Hell in the Life (1958), Fosforlu Cevriye (1959), and Binnaz (1959). He was soon starring as action heroes and secret agents with roles in The Death Curtain (1960), My Pretty Secretary (1960), The Sweet Calamity (1961), The Black Angel (1961), Those Were the Days We Loved (1961), King of the Swindlers (1961), The Thorny Rose (1961), Capkinlar (1961), Love and Fist (1961), The Bride Came to the Quarter (1961), Leyla (1962), Woman and Pistol (1962), A World for You and Me (1962), Treasures of Genghis Khan (1962), The False Marriage (1962), Two Ships, Side by Side (1963), The Messenger of Death (1963), Devil’s Servants (1964), Ten Beautiful Legs (1964), The Maniacs’ Villa (1964), Dag Basini Duman Almis (1964), Sehrazat (1964), The Bloody Square (1965), The Secret Command (1965), Beles Osman (1965), The Sirat Bridge (1966), Gariban (1966), Kara Gunes (1968), Seytan Kayalari (1970), and Ibret (1972).
Aysel Gurel
the lyrics for numerous popular songs in Turkey. Gurel also appeared on screen in a handful of films during her long career including Yurda Donus (1952), Tek Kollu Canavar (1954), Meyhane Koseleri (1954), The Stepmother (1971), The Heart Queen (1986), Cholera Street (1997), and Sarkici (2001). Her survivors include her daughter, actress Mujde Ar.
GUSS, LOUIS Veteran character actor Louis Guss died in New York City on September 29, 2008. He was 90. Guss was born in New York on January 4, 1918. He appeared frequently on stage, film and television from the 1950s. Guss’ numerous television credits include episodes of Decoy, Naked City, I Spy, The Outsider, Love Thy Neighbor, Sanford and Son, Shaft, Mannix, Harry O, The Odd Couple, Ellery Queen, Rhoda, Maude, Baretta, Holmes and Yo-Yo, Switch, Mary Tyler
Obituaries • 2008
174
Louis Guss
Phil Guy
Moore, Quincy, Charlie’s Angels, Kojak, CHiPs, Tabitha, All in the Family, One Day at a Time, Sugar Time!, Chico and the Man, Barnaby Jones, Taxi, Silver Spoons, Hart to Hart, Trapper John, M.D., Gimme a Break!, Cagney & Lacey, Tales from the Darkside, CBS Summer Playhouse, Knightwatch, Father Dowling Mysteries, Quantum Leap, Who’s the Boss?, The Man in the Family, The Golden Girls, Sisters, Civil Wars, The Nanny, Mad About You, Chicago Hope, The Commish, The Single Guy, Silk Stalkings, Law & Order, and 100 Centre Street. Guss was featured in such films as Love with the Proper Stranger (1963), The Godfather (1972) as Don Zaluchi, The Laughing Policeman (1973), Crazy Joe (1974), Harry and Tonto (1974), Lepke (1975), Lucky Lady (1975), No Deposit, No Return (1976), Nickelodeon (1976), Fun with Dick and Jane (1977), New York, New York (1977), H.O.T.S. (1979), Willie & Phil (1980), Highlander (1986), Sno-Line (1986), Seize the Day (1986), Vasectomy: A Delicate Matter (1986), Moonstruck (1987) as Raymond Cappomaggi, American Blue Note (1991), Used People (1992), The Cemetery Club (1993), Night Falls on Manhattan (1996), A Wake in Providence (1999), Two Family House (2000), Girlfight (2000), The Yards (2000), Pedestrian (2000), The Crew (2000), A Tale of Two Pizzas (2003), and Find Me Guilty (2006). He also appeared in numerous tele-films including The Third Girl from the Left (1973), Terror on the 40th Floor (1974), The Art of Crime (1975), Beggarman, Thief (1979), The Treasure of Alpheus T. Winterborn (1980), Nick and the Dobermans (1980), Brass (1985), I’ll Take Manhattan (1987), Frank Nitti: The Enforcer (1988), Original Sin (1989), and The Counterfeit Contessa (1994). GUY, PHIL Blues guitarist Phil Guy died of prostate cancer in Chicago, Illinois, on August 20, 2008. He was 68. Guy was born in Lettsworth, Louisiana, on April 28, 1940, the younger brother of bluesman Buddy Guy. Phil joined Raful Neal’s blues band in Baton Rouge in 1957 on the recommendation of his brother. He played with Neal until 1969, when he went to Chicago to join Buddy’s band. The brothers played together for the next two decades and toured throughout Europe and Africa. Phil also backed such other artists as Memphis Slim, John Lee Hooker, Big Mama Thornton, and Albert Collins. He recorded the solo
album Bad Luck Boy in 1963. He formed his own band, Phil Guy and the Chicago Machine, in the 1990s and they recorded several albums. His final album, He’s My Blues Brother, was released in 2006 and featured Buddy on several tracks.
GUZMAN , CLAUDIO Television producer and director Claudio Guzman died of pneumonia in a Los Angeles hospital on July 12, 2008. He was 80. Guzman was born in Rancagua, Chile, on August 2, 1927, and came to the United States in 1951. He broke into show business later in the decade when he was introduced to television star Desi Arnaz while working as an orderly in a Los Angeles hospital. He worked as an art director for episodes of such television series as Make Room for Daddy, Where’s Raymond?, Treasury Men in Action, December Bride, Sheriff of Cochise, The Real McCoys, Date with the Angels, and The Lucy Show. He earned an Emmy Award for art director for the 1958 television production of Song of Bernadette on the Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse that starred Arnaz. Guzman was also art director for several films including DaddyO (1958) and The Caretakers (1963). He also began directing for television, helming several episodes of Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, including A Diamond for Carla in 1959. The episode starred actress and opera singer Anna Maria Alberghetti, who was later Guzman’s wife from 1964 to 1972. He continued to work in television, directing episodes of Guestward Ho!, The
Claudio Guzman
175
2008 • Obituaries
Dick Van Dyke Show, The Fugitive, The Patty Duke Show, O.K. Crackerby!, Vacation Playhouse, Love on a Rooftop, The Iron Horse, The Second Hundred Years, The Flying Nun, I Dream of Jeannie, The Partridge Family, The Good Life, Far Out Space Nuts, California Fever, Here’s Boomer, Harper Valley P.T.A., and Starman. He also directed the films Antonio (1973) and Linda Lovelace for President (1975), and the tele-films Willa (1979), The Hostage Tower (1980), and For Lovers Only (1982). He created the first Spanish-English education television program for children, Villa Alegre in the early 1970s. The popular program aired on PBS until the end of the decade.
GYGAX, GARY Gary Gygax, the co-creator of the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, died of complications from an abdominal aneurysm at his home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin on March 4, 2008. He was 69. Gygax was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July 27, 1938. He and his collaborator, Dave Ameson, introduced Dungeons & Dragons under the banner of his company, Tactical Studies Rules (TSR), in 1974.
Gary Gygax
The game’s initial audience was primarily college students, who enjoyed the ability to create their own fantasy characters and realms to compete in. Dungeons & Dragons became a cultural phenomena that sold over $1 billion dollars in books, multi-sided dice, and other equipment. It spawned an animated television series in 1983, with Gygax serving as producer and writer. A live action film version of Dungeons & Dragons was released in 2000. Gygax’s company was sold in 1997 and eventually was acquired by Hasbro, which continues to publish the game. Gygax was a voice actor in episodes of the animated series Futurama and Code Monkeys, and was featured in the documentaries Let the Games Begin (2001), Uber Goober (2004), and Life with the Dice Bag (2004).
HAGEN , EARLE Composer Earle Hagen, who was best known for creating and whistling the theme for television’s The Andy Griffith Show, died after a long illness at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, on May 27, 2008. He was 88. Hagen was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July 9, 1919, and moved to Los Angeles as a child. He learned to play the trombone
Earle Hagen
while in high school and was touring with big bands led by Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and Ray Noble while still in his teens. He and fellow composer Lionel Newman crafted the popular jazz classic “Harlem Nocturne” for Noble in 1939. Hagen joined CBS as a staff musician in 1941 but left for military service the following year. After his discharge, he worked at 20th Century–Fox as a composer and orchestrator with such film credits as Kiss of Death (1947), Nightmare Alley (1947), Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! (1948), Road House (1948), Cry of the City (1948), When My Baby Smiles at Me (1948), Apartment for Pegg y (1948), You’re My Everything (1949), Thieves’ Highway (1949), Oh, You Beautiful Doll (1949), Dancing in the Dark (1949), Mother Didn’t Tell Me (1950), Under My Skin (1950), Wabash Avenue (1950), A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950), Love That Brute (1950), My Blue Heaven (1950), Two Flags West (1950), The Jackpot (1950), Call Me Mister (1951), I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1951), On the Riviera (1951), The Frogmen (1951), Meet Me After the Show (1951), Golden Girl (1951), With a Song in My Heart (1952), Down Among the Sheltering Palms (1952), Don’t Bother to Knock (1952), Monkey Business (1952), The I Don’t Care Girl (1953), Call Me Madam (1953), The Girl Next Door (1953), Man on a Tightrope (1953), The Farmer Takes a Wife (1953), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954), Daddy Long Legs (1955), Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (1955), Carousel (1956), The Best Things in Life Are Free (1956), Spring Reunion (1957), The Gift of Love (1958), Compulsion (1959), Woman Obsessed (1959), Holiday for Lovers (1959), A Private’s Affair (1959), The Blue Angel (1959), The Man Who Understood Women (1959), The Best of Everything (1959), The New Interns (1964). Hagen and Lionel Newman earned an Academy Award nomination for their musical score for the 1960 Marilyn Monroe film Let’s Make Love. During the 1950s, Hagen frequently teamed with Herbert Spencer to write music for television and later worked as music director for producer Sheldon Leonard. He composed for such series as Make Room for Daddy, Where’s Raymond?, It’s Always Jan, Hey, Jeannie!, Love and Marriage, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Barbara Stanwyck Show, My Sister Eileen, Guestward Ho!, It’s a Man’s World, The Bill Dana Show, The Dick
Obituaries • 2008
176
Van Dyke Show, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Rango, The Danny Thomas Hour, The Guns of Will Sonnett, That Girl, I Spy, The Mod Squad, The Don Rickles Show, The New Perry Mason, Planet of the Apes, Big Eddie, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, and Eight Is Enough. Hagen’s whistling theme for The Andy Griffith Show achieved television immortality, being heard continuously on countless syndicated reruns from its inception in 1960. He also scored the tele-films The Monk (1969), Aces Up (1974), The Runaways (1975), The Cheerleaders (1976), Having Babies (1976), Killer on Board (1977), True Grit (1978), Featherstone’s Nest (1979), Ebony, Ivory and Jade (1979), Alex and the Doberman Gang (1979), Murder in Music City (1979), The Concrete Cowboys (1979), The Hustler of Muscle Beach (1980), Stand by Your Man (1971), Muggable Mary: Street Cop (1982), I Take These Men (1983), Murder Me, Murder You (1983), More Than Murder (1984), North Beach and Rawhide (1985), and Return to Mayberry (1986). Hagen’s earlier composition of “Harlem Nocturne” was also heard as the theme for the 1984 detective series Make Hammer. After retiring in 1986, Hagen taught film and television scoring. He was also the author of one of the first books on the subject, Scoring for Films, in 1971. His autobiography, Memoirs of a Famous Composer — Nobody Ever Heard Of, was published in 2002.
HAGER, JIM Comedian Jim Hager, who performed with his brother Jon as the Hager Twins on the television country music showcase Hee Haw, died of a heart attack he suffered in a Nashville, Tennessee, coffee shop on May 1, 2008. He was 66. Hager was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 30, 1941. He and his brother began performing a comedy act in Chicago as teenagers, with regular appearances on a local Saturday morning television program. After serving in the U.S. Army the brothers moved to California, where they performed at Disneyland and local clubs. Jon moved to Nashville in the 1960s and Jim followed several years later, where they worked with country star Buck Owens. They were part of the original cast when Hee Haw debuted in 1969 with Owens and Roy Clark as hosts. The Hager Twins were noted for delivering a barrage of often corny one-liners that became a staple of the show. They also starred in the 1976 tele-film,
Jim Hager (left, with brother Jon)
Twin Detectives, and were featured in an episode of The Bionic Woman in 1978. They continued to appear on Hee Haw until 1986 and remained popular performers on the country circuit.
HAINES, CONNIE Singer Connie Haines, who performed with Frank Sinatra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, died of the neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis at her home in Clearwater Beach, Florida, on September 22, 2008. She was 87. Haines was born Yvonne Marie Antoinette JaMais in Savannah, Georgia, on January 20, 1921. She began performing as a child and was featured regularly on a Jacksonville, Florida, radio station as Baby Yvonne Marie, the Little Princess of the Air, at the age of 9. She also won the Major Bowes talent contest and sang on Fred Allen’s radio show. She was hired by Harry James to sing with
Connie Haines
his orchestra in 1937, and he changed her name to Connie Haines. She subsequently joined Tommy Dorsey’s orchestra and frequently performed with Frank Sinatra in duets. Haines made over 200 recordings during her career including the popular hits “What Is This Thing Called Love?,” “Will You Still Be Mine?,” “You Might Have Belonged to Another,” “Oh! Look at Me Now,” and “Snootie Little Cutie.” She was also seen in such films as Las Vegas Nights (1941), Idaho (1942), Ship Ahoy (1942), Moon Over Las Vegas (1944), Twilight on the Prairie (1944), A Wave, a WAC and a Marine (1944), the western Duchess of Idaho (1950) with Van Johnson, and Birth of a Band (1954). Haines also performed regularly on radio with Abbott and Costello, Bob Hope, and Jack Benny, and appeared on television variety shows with Frankie Laine, Eddie Cantor, and Milton Berle. Her other television credits include episodes of The Jack Carter Show, Songs for Sale, Four Star Revue, The Colgate Comedy Hour, Shower of Stars, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, and The Ed Sullivan Show. Haines wrote her autobiography, For Once in My Life, in 1976.
HAINES, FRED Screenwriter Fred Haines, who earned an Oscar nomination for transforming James Joyce’s novel Ulysses into a film script, died of lung cancer in Venice, California, on May 4, 2008. He was 72. Haines was born in Los Angeles on Febru-
177
2008 • Obituaries
Fred Haines
Larry Haines
ary 27, 1936, and was raised in Tucson, Arizona. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he earned a degree at the University of California at Berkeley. He began working as a producer at Pacifica Radio in 1960. Several years later an acquaintanceship with director Joseph Strick led to a job as story analyst with Columbia Pictures. Strick acquired the film rights to Joyce’s Ulysses in the mid– 1960s, and invited Haines to work with him on the screenplay. The complex novel had largely been considered unfilmable, but the two men were able to succeed in doing justice to Joyce’s masterpiece. The 1967 release earned critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination for both men. He next worked with Strick on a film version of Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer in 1970 but declined screen credit over artistic differences. Haines’ next feat was to adapt Herman Hesse’s metaphysical masterpiece Steppenwolf for the screen in 1974. He both wrote and directed the film which was largely deemed an ambitious failure. He spent much of the next decade in Ireland working as a stage director before returning to Los Angeles in the mid–1980s. He again teamed with Strick on the 1992 tele-film Survive the Savage Sea. For the past decade, Haines was a cowriter with Vincent Bugliosi on the 2007 book Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. HAINES, LARRY Character actor Larry Haines, who starred as Stu Bergman on the daytime soap opera Search for Tomorrow for 35 years, died in Delray Beach, Florida, on July 17, 2008. He was 89. He was born Larry Hecht in Mount Vernon, New York, on August 3, 1918. He began his acting career on radio in the 1930s, with roles in such series as Gangbusters, Inner Sanctum, The Shadow, Suspense, X Minus One, and The Amazing Mr. Malone. He also starred as Mickey Spillane’s private detective, Mike Hammer, in the shortlived radio series That Hammer Guy in 1953. He began playing neighbor Stu Bergman in Search for Tomorrow soon after the soap’s debut in 1951, and remained with the series until it ended in 1986. He earned Daytime Emmy Awards for his performances in 1976 and 1981. Haines also appeared frequently on stage, with roles in such Broadway productions as Tribute with Jack Lemmon, Twigs, A Thousand Clowns, No Hard Feelings, and Last of the Red Hot Lovers. He earned Tony Award nom-
inations for his supporting roles in the play Generations in 1966 and for the musical Promises, Promises in 1969. He was also featured as one of the card players in the hit film comedy The Odd Couple (1968) with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Haines’ other television credits include episodes of such series as The First Hundred Years, Eye Witness, The Man Behind the Badge, Deadline as crusading labor reporter Victor Reisel, The Nurses, Mr. Broadway, The Defenders, For the People, Hawk, Maude, Doc, Kojak, CBS Summer Playhouse, and Starting from Scratch. He returned to his radio roots with roles in numerous segments of The CBS Radio Mystery Theater from 1974 to 1982. He was also featured in the tele-films The Country Girl (1974) and Miss Jones (1991), and the films The Seven-Ups (1973) and Tank (1984). He starred as Max Wilson in the television sitcom Phyl & Mikhy in 1980. Haines also briefly returned to soap operas as Sidney “Sharky” Sugarman in Another World in 1989 and as Neil Warren in Loving from 1994 to 1995.
HALDANE , DON Canadian film director Don Haldane died in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on September 21, 2008. He was 93. Haldane was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on December 3, 1914. He became interested in theater while in high school and studied at the Banff School of Fine Arts after graduation. He was accepted into the Yale Drama School in 1938 and spent three years there before returning to
Don Haldane (director of Nikki, Wild Dog of the North)
Obituaries • 2008
178
Canada. He worked in local theaters as an actor and stage manager and, after a fortuitous visit to a tailor, he became the founder and director of The Negro Theatre Guild in Montreal. Haldane joined the Canadian Army during World War II and later transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force but was never posted overseas. After the war he moved to New York to work in the film business. He was hired to direct a series of industrial films for the chamber of commerce of over 100 cities across the country. He returned to Canada, where he made a documentary about the Montreal Fire Department for the National Film Board in 1954. He continued to work with the NFB over the next several years, directing many of the films in the On the Spot and Perspective series including Alcoholism (1955), Railroad Town (1956), Canadians Abroad (1956), Is It a Woman’s World? (1956), Ship in Harbour (1956), Saskatchewan Traveller (1956), The Ghost That Talked (1957), Mystery in the Kitchen (1958), Eternal Children (1959), and The Gifted Ones (1959). He also began directing for Canadian television in the late 1950s, helming episodes of R.C.M.P., The Forest Rangers, The Beachcombers, The Edison Twins, and The Campbells. He directed his first feature film, the Disney adventure Nikki, Wild Dog of the North, in 1961. He also helmed the National Film Board’s first English-language feature, Drylanders, a saga of the Canadian West, in 1963. Haldane directed the horror film The Reincarnate in 1971, and the television productions Swiss Family Robinson (1976) and Someday Soon (1977).
HALL, CLIFF Jamaican musician Cliff Hall, who performed with the British folk group the Spinners, died in Adelaide, Australia, on June 26, 2008. He was 82. Hall was born in Oriente Province, Cuba, on September 11, 1925, to Jamaican parents. He moved to England to join the Royal Air Force in 1942 and served during World War II. He worked in Liverpool after the
Rag,” “Woman Sweeter Than Man,” and “Liverpool Girls.” They recorded over forty albums and were popular performers at the London Palladium and other concert venues. They appeared regularly on BBC One’s Barndance, and were frequent guests on children’s programs and variety shows including Morecambe and Wise. The were given their own series on BBC One from 1970 to 1977, and a radio show on BBC Radio 2. The Spinners retired in 1988, though they came together frequently for reunion shows before Hall moved to Australia.
HALL, IVAN South African film director Ivan Hall died in Cape Town, South Africa, on October 11, 2008. Hall began his film career in the late 1960s with Kavalier Film Productions, helming the musical war drama The Kruger Millions. He became Kavalier’s leading director, with such credits as Doctor Kalie (1968), Lied in My Heart (1970), Vicki (1970), Flying Squad (1971), Gold Squad (1971), Lokval in Venesie (1973), Karate Olympia (aka Kill or Be Killed) (1976), and Funeral for an Assassin (1977) starring Vic Morrow. Hall scored an international box-office hit with his 1981 action thriller Kill and Kill Again. His later films include Vengeance Cops (1987), Back to Freedom (1988), and The Riverman (1989) starring Michael Parks. Hall was also editor on the 1989 feature The Gods Must Be Crazy II. HALL, OAKLEY Novelist Oakley Hall died in Nevada City, Nevada, on May 12, 2008. He was 87. Hall was born in San Diego, California, on July 1, 1920. He attended the University of California at Berkeley and served in the Marines in the Pacific during World War II. After the war, he continued his education, earning a Master’s in creative writing. He was best known for his 1958 western novel Warlock, which was adapted for film the following year. He also wrote the novel The Downhill Racers in 1968, which was filmed in 1969. His other novels include Murder City (1949), So Many Doors (1950), Corpus of Joe Bailey (1953), Mardios Beach (1955), The Pleasure Garden (1966), A Game for Eagles (1970), The Adelita (1975), The Bad Lands (1978), Lullaby (1982), The Children of the Sun (1983), The Coming of the Kid (1985), Apaches (1986), and Separations (1997). He was also the author of a popular series featuring writer Ambrose Bierce as his hero, commencing
Cliff Hall
war and met fellow musician Tony Davis in the early 1950s. He and Davis teamed with Mick Groves and Hughie Jones to form the Spinners in 1958. They became a popular folk group in England and recorded their first album, Quayside Songs Old and New in 1962. Hall was lead singer on such popular songs as “Matty
Oakley Hall
179
2008 • Obituaries
with Ambrose Bierce and the Queen of Spades in 1998 and continuing through Ambrose Bierce and the Ace of Shoots in 2005. Hall was also an influential writing teacher and a founder of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers. His final novel, Love and War in California, was published in 2007.
HALL, WILLIAM British film critic William Hall died of cancer in England on May 19, 2008. He was 72. Hall was born in Highgate, North London, England, on November 2, 1935. He began writing for the local newspaper while still in his teens and became a cub reporter for the Fulham Chronicle in 1953. Hall Erwin Halletz
William Hall
became the paper’s film critic two years later, and moved on to the London Evening News in 1959. He remained with the paper until its closure in 1980, reviewing hundreds of films and interviewing such major stars as Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne, and Clint Eastwood. Hall’s column byline touted his Hollywood connections describing him as “the man the big stars talk to.” He also authored numerous film related books, including Raising Caine and 70 Not Out with Michael Caine, Me and My Big Mouth with Larry Adler, Ooh, You Are Awful! with Dick Emery, Titter Ye Not with Frankie Howerd, and Flash! Splash! Crash! with media mogul Robert Maxwell. He also wrote a biography of movie legend James Dean and was working on an autobiography at the time of his death.
HALLETZ, ERWIN Austrian composer and musician Erwin Halletz died in Vienna, Austria, on October 27, 2008. He was 85. Halletz was born in Vienna on July 12, 1923. He began working as a saxophonist and arranger for big bands after World War II. He began leading his own dance band in 1950 and toured throughout Europe. Halletz was also a prolific film composer from the early 1950s scoring numerous films including Ein Tolles Fruchtchen (1953), Afraid to Love (1954), Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1955), Request Concert (1955), Holiday am Worthersee (1956), Liane, Jungle Goddess (1956), Through the Forests and Through the Times (1956), Der Fremdenfuhrer von Lissabon (1956), Flucht in die Tropennacht (1957), Siebenmal in der Woche (1957), Bewildered Youth (1957), Der Kuhne Schwimmer (1957), Jungle Girl and the Slaver (1957),
Traume von der Sudsee (1957), Liebe Kann wie Gift Sein (1958), Der Stern von Santa Clara (1958), Kleine Leute mal Ganz Gross (1958), Everybody Loves Peter (1959), La Paloma (1959), Meet Peter Voss (1959), Kein Engel Ist so Rein (1960), Isola Bella (1961), Unsere Tollen Tanten (1961), Liane, die Tochter des Dschungels (1961), Unsere Tollen Nichten (1962), Drei Liebesbriefe aus Tirol (1962), Unsere Tollen Tanten in der Sudsee (1963), The Last Ride to Santa Cruz (1964), Fanny Hill (1964), Die Grosse Kur (1964), Legend of a Gunfighter (1964), Lana — Queen of the Amazons (1964), DM-Killer (1965), Der Schatz der Azteken (1965), Pyramid of the Sun God (1965), The Daisy Chain (1965), Enter Inspector Maigret (1966), Playgirls in Frankfurt (1966), The Devil’s Girls (1967), Mission Stardust (1967), When Night Falls on the Reeperbahn (1967), Whispering in the Hayloft (1967), The Doctor of St. Pauli (1970), Das Go-Go Girl vom Blow Up (1969), Shock Treatment (1969), The Priest of St. Pauli (1970), Hotel by the Hour (1970), Teenage Sex Report (1971), Twenty Girls and the Teachers (1971), Die Tollen Tanten Schlagen Zu (1971), Kompanie der Knallkope (1971), Shocking Asia (1974), Shocking Asia II: The Last Taboos (1985), Johann Strauss: The King Without a Crown (1987), and Die Kafeehaus-Clique (1990). Halletz also served as conductor and arranger for the Monte Carlo Light Symphony Orchestra from the early 1960s. HALLIGAN, MAUREEN Irish actress Maureen Halligan died in San Antonio, Texas, on October 19, 2008. She was 94. Halligan was born in Dublin, Ireland, on May 6, 1914. She attended University College there, where she trained as a musician and actress. She performed in several amateur productions before joining Lord Edward Longford’s company in 1937. She met fellow actor Ronald Ibbs there, and the two later married and formed their own production company in the late 1940s. They traveled through Ireland for over a decade with the Dublin Players and also performed on tour in the United States. Halligan appeared in several films from the late 1950s including She Didn’t Say No! (1958), Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959), Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960), and Dead Man’s Evidence (1962). She and her husband moved to San Antonio, Texas, in the early 1960s where they headed the theater department at the University of the Incarnate
Obituaries • 2008
180 svuodet Maaseudulla (1990), Uuno Turhapuro, Herra Helsingin Herra (1991), Uuno Turhapuro, Suomen Tasavallan Herra Presidentti (1992), Uuno Turhapuron Poika (1993), and Uuno Turhapurron Veli (1994). He also played Tuura in the 1996 Uuno Turhapuro television series and 2004’s Uuno Turhapuro —This Is My Life.
Maureen Halligan
Word. She continued to appear in occasional campus productions following Ibbs’ death in 1990. HAMALAINEN, TAPSA Finnish actor Eemil Tapio “Tapsa” Hamalainen died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in Helsinki, Finland, on January 28, 2008. He was 85. Hamalainen was born in Uukuniemi, Finland, on June 18, 1922. He began his film career in the mid–1950s with roles in such features as The Unknown Soldier (1955), Juha (1956), Sven Tuuva the Hero (1958), Red Line (1958), Pinsion Parooni (1962), The Boys (1962), Here Under the Northern Star (1968), The Brothers (1969), Takiaispallo (1970), Aatamin Puvussa ... ja Vahan Eevankin (1971), Autumn Is to Change It All (1978), The Test-Tube Adult and Smo’s Angels
HAMILTON, BERNIE Character actor Bernie Hamilton, who starred as Capt. Harold Dobey on the Starsky and Hutch television series, died of cardiac arrest in a Los Angeles hospital on December 30, 2008. He was 80. Hamilton was born in Los Angeles on June 12, 1928. He left home while in his teens and began acting on stage in the late 1940s. He made his film debut as a baseball player in the 1950 bio-film The Jackie Robinson Story. He appeared frequently in films and television over the next 35 years. His numerous film credits
Bernie Hamilton
Tapio Hamalainen
(1979), Tup-akka-lakko (1980), Lumberjacking (1988), and Return to Plainlands (2000). He was best known for his role as Councillor Tuura, Uuno Turhapuro’s father-in-law, in numerous Turharpuo comedy films from the 1970s including Lottovoittaja UKK Turhaparo (1976), Hapy Endko? Eli Kuinka Uuno Turhapuro sai Niin Kaunlin ja Rikkaan Vaimon (1977), Uuno Turhapuron Aviokriisi (1981), Uuno Turhapuro Menettaa Muistinsa (1982), Uuno Turhapuron Muisti Palailee Patkittain (1983), Uuno Turhapuro Armeijan Leivissa (1984), Uuno Espanjassa (1985), Uuno Turhapuro Muuttaa Maalle (1986), Uuno Turhapuro — Kaksoisagentti (1987), Tupla-Uuno (1988), Uunon Huikeat Poikamie-
include The Harlem Globetrotters (1951), Bright Victory (1951), the 1951 serial version of Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island as Neb, Jungle Man-Eaters (1954), Carmen Jones (1954), the musical Kismet (1955), Congo Crossing (1956), The Girl He Left Behind (1956), Up Periscope (1959), Cry Tough (1959), Take a Giant Step (1959), The Young One (1960), Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960), Underworld U.S.A. (1961), The Devil at 4 O’Clock (1961), 13 West Street (1962), Captain Sinbad (1963), One Potato, Two Potato (1964), Synanon (1965), The Swimmer (1968), The Lost Man (1969) with Sidney Poitier, Walk the Walk (1970), Nam’s Angels (1970), The Organization (1971), Hammer (1972), Scream Blacula Scream (1973), and Bucktown (1975). He was also featured in the tele-films Sullivan’s Empire (1967), Stranger on the Run (1967), and A Clear and Present Danger (1970). Hamilton was also featured in the unsuccessful 1967 pilot film Me and Benjy, and a revised version in 1970, Me and Benjie. His other television credits Ramar of the Jungle, General Electric Theater, Jungle Jim, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Law and Mr. Jones, The Twilight Zone, Cain’s Hundred, 87th Precinct, Ben Casey, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Greatest Show on Earth, The Great Adventure, Run for Your Life, Run Buddy Run, Ironside, Cimarron Strip, Tarzan, Judd for the Defense, The Virginian, The Name of the Game, The Bold Ones:
181
2008 • Obituaries
The Senator, Insight, All in the Family, Hec Ramsey, Sanford and Son, Police Story, That’s My Mama, The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, Galactica 1980, and The Love Boat. He starred as Capt. Harold Dobey, the no-nonsense police captain, in the Starsky and Hutch television series from 1975 to 1979. In the mid–1980s, Hamilton left acting to work in the music industry. He founded the record label Chocolate Snowman to produce R&B and gospel music.
HAMRICK, SAMUEL J. Samuel J. Hamrick, a former Foreign Service officer who penned spy novels under the pseudonym W.T. Tyler, died of colon cancer at his home in Boston, Virginia, on February 29, 2008. He was 78. Hamrick was born in Lubbock, Texas, on October 19, 1929. He served in the U.S. Army
Vernon Handley
Malcolm Arnold, and Charles Villiers Stanford. Handley was named principal director of the English Symphony Orchestra in 2007.
counterintelligence service, and was posted at embassies in Africa and the Middle East after joining the State Department. He began writing after leaving the Foreign Service in 1980. His first novel, The Man Who Lost the War, about the Berlin Wall crisis, was published in 1980. He wrote several novels about the East-West conflicts in Africa during the Cold War including The Ants of God (1981), Rogue’s March (1982), and The Lion and the Jackal (1988). He also wrote the novels The Shadow Cabinet (1984) and The Consul’s Wife (1998). Hamrick authored the 2004 non-fiction Deceiving the Deceivers under his own name.
HANRAHAN, JACK Television comedy writer Jack Hanrahan died in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 28, 2008. He was 75. Hanrahan was born in Cleveland on January 16, 1933, and began his career writing cartoons for the Cleveland Press. He moved to Hollywood in the 1960s, where he became a popular writer for television comedy series. He earned an Emmy Award for his work on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, and penned segments of such series as Get Smart, Insight, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, Bridget Loves Bernie, Temperatures Rising, Police Story, The Waltons, Little House on the Prairie, Police Woman, Gibbsville, and CHiPs. Hanrahan also wrote for numerous animated series including Frankenstein, Jr. and the Impossibles, Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, Fantastic 4, The AllNew Popeye Hour, The New Adventures of Tom and Jerry, Spider-Man, Heathcliff, Snorks, The Care Bears, Popples, Inspector Gadget, The New Archies, Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theater, Beverly Hills Teens, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, The Adventures of Dynamo Duck, Captain N and the New Super Mario World, The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, and Gadget Boy and Heather. He retired to Eureka, California, in the early 1990s, but a house fire and the death of his wife in 2004 left him largely homeless and roaming the streets. Friends
HANDLEY, VERNON British conductor Vernon “Tod” Handley died at his home in Monmouthshire, England, on September 10, 2008. He was 77. Handley was born to Welsh parents in Endfield, England, on November 11, 1930. He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, and the Guildhall School of Music, and trained as a conductor under Sir Adrian Boult. He became musical director of Guildford in 1962 and formed the Guildford Philharmonic. Handley became known as a champion of British composers, premiering the work of Granville, Bantock, Arnold Bax, and Robert Simpson. He worked frequently with the London Philharmonic, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He also conducted and recorded the symphonies of Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams,
Jack Hanrahan
Samuel Hamrick
Obituaries • 2008
182
purchased Hanrahan a bus ticket to return to his home town of Cleveland, but he remained homeless until his death.
HANSON, PRESTON Character actor Preston Hanson died in Van Nuys, California, on February 12, 2008. He was 87. Hanson was born on January 17, 1921. He served as a fighter pilot in Europe during World War II. He began his career on stage after the war, appearing on Broadway before heading to Hollywood. He appeared frequently in films and television from
Clement Harari
Preston Hanson
the early 1950s, with roles in such films as Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar (1953) as Claudius, Operation Petticoat (1959), Cage of Evil (1960), Goodbye, Norma Jean (1976), The Loch Ness Horror (1981), Action Jackson (1988), Goodnight, Sweet Marilyn (1989), and Cops and Robbersons (1994). Hanson also appeared in the telefilms Judith Krantz’s Till We Meet Again (1989) and Shattered Dreams (1990). His other television credits include episodes of such series as The Web, The Millionaire, State Trooper, General Electric Theater, Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre, Dragnet, Gunsmoke, Casey Jones, Harbor Command, The Rough Riders, Highway Patrol, Sea Hunt, One Step Beyond, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Men into Space, The Loretta Young Show, Lock Up, Slattery’s People, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, My Three Sons, Hill Street Blues, Dallas, Misfits of Science, The A-Team, Dynasty, Beauty and the Beast, Perfect Strangers, and L.A. Law.
HARARI, CLEMENT Egyptian actor Clement Harari, who appeared in numerous French films from the 1950s, died in Sevres, Hauts-de-Seine, France, on May 16, 2008. He was 89. Harari was born in Egypt on February 10, 1919. He was a leading character actor for over 50 years, with roles in such films as We Won’t Go to the Woods Anymore (1951), It Happened in Paris (1953), Give ’Em Hell (1955), Mon Cure Chez les Pauvres (1956), It Happened in Aden (19560, Four Bags Full (1956), Demoniac (1957), The Spies (1957), Girl Merchants (1957), Not Delivered (1958), Tamango (1958), Illegal Cargo (1958), Love Is My Profession (1958), Me and the Colonel (1958), Double Agents (1959), Arretez le Massacre (1959), The Dance of Death (1960), The Long Ab-
sence (1961), Fanny (1961), No Time for Ecstasy (1961), Keep Talking, Baby (1961), The Devil and the Ten Commandments (1962), Le Scorpion (1962), The Longest Day (1962), Five Miles to Midnight (1962), The Adventures of Saladin (1963), Who Stole the Body? (1963), Charade (1963), Jeff Gordon, Secret Agent (1964), The Gorillas (1964), Operation Diplomatic Passport (1965), X-Ray of a Killer (1965), Secret Agent Fireball (1965), The Sleeping Car Murders (1965), Killer Spy (1965), Trap for the Assassin (1966), Triple Cross (1966), Monkeys, Go Home! (1967), Faites Donc Plaisir aux Amis (1969), Vaparaiso, Valparaiso (1971), Macedoine (1971), Forbidden to Know (1973), Lucky Pierre (1974), Shadowman (1974), Vous ne l’Emporterez pas au Paradis (1975), March or Die (1977), Little Girl in Blue Velvet (1978), Once in Paris... (1978), The Sewers of Paradise (1979), When I Was a Kid, I Didn’t Dare (1979), Gros Calin (1979) The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu (1980) with Peter Sellers, Inspector Blunder (1980), Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne (1981), Tais-toi Quand tu Parles! (1981), The Flight of the Eagle (1982), Tout le Monde Peut se Tromper (1983), La Garce (1984), Saxo (1987), Radio Corbeau (1989), The Lover (1991), Blue Note (1991), The Keys of Paradise (1991), Isabelle Eberhardt (1991), Witch Way Love (1997), and The Train of Life (1998). Harari was also a familiar face on television with roles in such productions as Le Fils du Cirque (1960), Flore et Blancheflore (1961), Le Chernin de Darnas (1963), Monsieur Laplanche (1963), Alert a Orly (1964), David Copperfield (1965), Marie Curie — Une Certaine Jeune Fille (1965), Huckleberry Finn (1967), Mauprat (1972), L’Alphomega (1973), Les Roisenberg ne Doivent pas Mourir (1975), Rossel et la Commune de Paris (1977), Lulu (1978), Les Dosiers Eclates: Mort non Naturelle d’un Enfant Naturel (1979), MontOriol (1980), Par Ordre du Roy (1983), Louisiana (1984), Maestro (1986), Monte Carlo (1986), Palace (1988), L’Or du Diable (1989), Une Fille d’Eve (1989), La Goutte d’Or (1990), La Nuit des Fantomes (1990), Le Gang des Tractions (1991), and L’Afaire Seznec (1993). His other television credits include such series as Rouletabille, Graf Yoster Gibt Sich die Ehre, La Prunelle, Que Ferait Donc Faber?, Allo Police, La Malle de Hambourg, L’Homme sans Visage, Commissaire Moulin, Messieurs les Jures, Merci Sylvestre, Disparitions, Les Cinq Dernieres Minutes, Highlander, and Maigret. Harari made his
183 final film appearance in the 2004 feature The Great Role.
HARDY, WILLIAM Character actor William Hardy died of cancer at his home in Houston, Texas, on October 14, 2008. He was 75. Hardy was born in Houston on January 19, 1933. He studied drama at the University of Houston and spent 20 years as a member of the Alley Theater Company. He also served as artistic director for the Point Summer Theater in Ingram, Texas. He performed with the touring company
2008 • Obituaries
see, on August 21, 2008. He was 79. Harman was born Murrey Mizell Harman, Jr., in Nashville on December 23, 1928. He began drumming in the early 1950s and was a staff drummer for the Grand Ole Opry later in the decade. During his career he played on over 18,000 recordings including Elvis Presley’s “Little Sister,” Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” Tammy Wynette’s “Stand by Your Man,” and Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman.” Harman also backed such artists as Dolly Parton, Chet Atkins, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Barbara Mandrell, Kenny Rogers, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, and many more.
HARMON, LARRY Larry Harmon, who popularized the character of Bozo the Clown, died of congestive heart failure at his home in Los Angeles on July 3, 2008. He was 83. He was born Lawrence Weiss in Toledo, Ohio, on January 2, 1925. He majored in theater at the University of California, and appeared in several films in the early 1950s. He was seen in Too Young to Kiss (1951), Invitation (1952), and Because You’re Mine (1952), and was a voice actor of television’s The Loretta Young Show. Harmon became involved with the Bozo character in the early 1950s when he was hired to play the popular clown in promotional appearances. Bozo was originally created by Alan W. Livingston for William Hardy
of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas in the late 1970s. Hardy appeared in the films Lionman II: The Witchqueen (1979), Preppies (1984), Blood Red (1989), and The Man with the Perfect Swing (1995). He was featured in several tele-films, including Stark (1985), Separate but Equal (1991) as Supreme Court Justice Tom Clark, Sharon’s Secret (1995), Streets of Laredo (1995), and Muhammad Ali: King of the World (2000). Hardy also guest starred in an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger. He continued to perform frequently on the local stage in Houston and made his final screen appearance in the forthcoming Terence Malick film Tree of Life with Brad Pitt.
HARMAN, BUDDY Buddy Harman, who was a leading session drummer in Nashville, died of congestive heart failure at his home in Nashville, Tennes-
Buddy Harman
Larry Harmon (right, with another Bozo the Clown)
a series of story-telling children’s records at Capitol Records in 1946. Pinto Colvig originally voiced the character on the albums and was the star of the Los Angeles television program Bozo’s Circus in 1949. Harmon joined with a group of investors to purchase the licensing rights to Bozo in 1956, and he was instrumental in refining the character’s appearance, which consisted of a large red nose, out-sized shoes, bright orange hair, and a red, white and blue costume. Harmon produced a series of limited animation cartoons in the late 1950s that were syndicated to local television markets. He also licensed the local rights to the clown, with dozens of Bozos appearing on local stations throughout the country. The most popular local version was Chicago’s Bob Bell, who played Bozo for 40 years on WGN through 2001. During his career Harmon licensed and trained over 200 local Bozo aspirants. He also acquired the rights to the Laurel & Hardy names and likenesses in the mid–1960s, and produced cartoons featuring the characters as well as Popeye and Casper cartoons. Harmon was featured as a Stan Laurel character in an episode of Matt Houston in 1983. He also produced the
Obituaries • 2008
184
1999 film The All New Adventures of Laurel & Hardy in “For Love or Mummy.” He made his last public appearance as Bozo in the Pasadena Rose Parade on New Year’s Day 1996.
HARMON, STEVE Actor Steve Harmon died in Kailua, Hawaii, on July 14, 2008. He was 67. Harmon was born in Brooklyn, New York, on December 30, 1940. He began performing on Broadway as a child and sang and danced on television’s The Bell Telephone Hour, The Ed Sullivan Show, and The Perry Como
real estate and worked as a property manager. She penned the 1972 novel Who Is Julia?, about a beautiful woman who has her brain transplanted into the body of a plain-looking woman. The novel was adapted for a tele-film in 1986 starring Mare Winningham. Harris was also a founder of the Ross Minority Program in Real Estate at USC that helped train students in the redevelopment of minority communities.
HARRIS, MEL Television executive Mel Harris died of cancer in a Los Angeles hospital on September 6, 2008. He was 65. Harris was born in Arkansas City, Kansas, on October 9, 1942. He studied mass communications at Kansas State University, and earned a masters degree from Ohio University in 1965. He served in the Army Signal Corps as a combat photographer during the Vietnam War from 1969 to 1970, earning a Bronze Star. He began his career in television as a program manager at WKBF-TV in Cleveland, Ohio, and rose to vice president and general manager. He joined WKBS-TV in Philadelphia in 1974, and worked at Metromedia television as vice-president of sales development and research before joining Para-
Steve Harmon (with Mamie van Doren)
Show in the 1950s. He starred as Ensign Pulver in the television series Mister Roberts from 1965 to 1966. He was also featured in episodes of Occasional Wife, That Girl, and The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. He was also seen in the 1968 film The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band. He left acting to work in real estate in Los Angeles in the late 1960s and later retired to Hawaii.
HARRIS, BARBARA S. Barbara S. Harris, author of the science fiction novel Who Is Julia?, died of mesothelioma, a form of cancer related to exposure to asbestos particles, died at her home in Thousand Oaks, California, on August 26, 2008. She was 80. She was born Barbara Seger in Earlville, Iowa, on November 15, 1927. She studied acting in Chicago, where she met and married singer and actor Dale Harris in the late 1940s. Moving to Los Angeles, she became involved in
Barbara Harris
Mel Harris
mount in 1977. He became vice president of program marketing for Paramount Television Group. He was instrumental in guiding the cable USA Network and gave the go ahead to the syndicated Star Trek: The Next Generation. He became president of Paramount Video, and was named president of Paramount Television Group in 1985. Harris left Paramount in 1991 and served as president of Sony Pictures Entertainment Television Group from 1992 to 1995. He spent several years as a cable television consultant before returning to Sony as co-president and chief operating officer in 1999. He retired in 2002.
HARRYMAN, JOHN Veteran Swedish actor John Harryman died of pneumonia in Norrkoping, Sweden, on November 28, 2008. He was 82. Harryman was born in Katrinehlm, Sweden, on April 17, 1926. He made his theatrical debut at the age of 14, and studied at the Gosta Terserus theater school from 1943 to 1955. Harryman made his film debut in the 1946 feature Begar. He continued to appear in such films as The Gay Party (1946), Eva (1948), Restaurant Intim (1950),
185
2008 • Obituaries
John Harryman
Bill Hart
Ingmar Bergman’s Monika, the Story of a Bad Girl (1953), We Three Debutantes (1953), Ung Man Soker Sallskap (1954), Resa i Natten (1955), Alskling pa Vagen (1955), Wild Birds (1955), Flottans Muntergokar (1955), Alskling a Vift (1964), Fanny Hill (1968), You’re Lying (1969), Miss and Mrs. Sweden (1969), Dagmar’s Hot Pants, Inc. (1971), Swedish Wildcats (1972), Anderssonskans Kalle (1972), A Handful of Love (1974), Dante — Beware of the Shark (1978), Battle of Sweden (1980), Hojdhoppar’n (1981), Women Doctors (1984), and The Return of the Jonsson Gang (1986). He was also featured in television productions of Societetshuset (1963), En Fortrollad Natt (1966), Bla Gatan (1966), Markurells i Wadkoping (1988), Bombi Bitt and Me (1968), Gunghasten (1971), Nu Seglar Pip-Larssons (1971), Ankeman Jarl (1971), Skuggan av en Hjalte (1974), Gustav III (1974), Raskens (1976), Tjejerena gor Uppror (1977), Hedebyborna (1978), Pilsner & Piroger (1982), Spanarna (1983), Farmor och var Herre (1983), Manguden (1988), Slavhandlarna (1989), and Pip-Larssons (1998). Harryman was also a voice actor, performing the role of Uncle Scrooge in the Swedish version of DuckTales, and voicing Geppetto for Disney’s Pinocchio and Doc for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He was also the voice of the Swordmaker for the 1987 animated film Mio in the Land of Faraway and was Bert on Svenska Sesam, the Swedish version of Sesame Street. Survivors include his son, Peter Harryman, who voiced Ernie on Svenska Sesam. HART, BILL Theatrical director Bill Hart died of complications from pancreatic cancer in Manhattan, New York, on January 20, 2008. He was 70. Hart was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on October 17, 1937, and was raised in California. He moved to New York after graduating from Loyola University in the early 1960s. He became involved with Theater Genesis, part of the Off-Off-Broadway movement, and began working with playwright Sam Shepard. He directed Shepard’s early play Shaved Splits in 1971. He became involved with the graffiti-art movement in the 1970s and was director of the Razor Gallery in SoHo. He later served as literary manager of the Public Theater in the 1980s. Hart directed Robert DeNiro in the 1986 production of Cuba and His Teddy Beard, which began Off-Broadway but became his only Broadway
credit when it relocated. He also staged the premiere of Shepard’s anti-war drama States of Shock at an American Place in 1991, and a revival of The Tooth of Crime at Second Stage in 1996.
HARTFORD, HUNTINGTON, II Huntington Hartford, II, who squandered his A&P family fortune in pursuit of artistic endeavors and the occasional showgirl, died at Lyford Cay, the Bahamas, on May 19, 2008. He was 97. He was born in New York City on April 18, 1911, the grandson and namesake of the founder of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. The business became the multi-billion dollar A&P groceries corporation. The young Huntington began receiving an annual stipend of $1.5 million at the age of 6 after his grandfather’s death in 1917. He graduated from Harvard University in 1934 and largely enjoyed the lifestyle of the idle rich between unsuccessful employment opportunities. He served in the Coast Guard during World War II and moved to Los Angeles after his discharge. He began funding various artistic endeavors, including the 1949 comedy film Africa Screams with Abbott and Costello. He also produced the 1949 film Hello Out There and the 1952 feature anthology Face to Face, which starred his then-wife Marjorie Steele. He renovated Hollywood’s Vine Street Theatre in 1953, renaming it The Huntington Hartford Theater. He also bankrolled an unsuccessful Broadway adaptation of Jane Eyre in 1958. His ventures into the arts, most of
Huntington Hartford, II
Obituaries • 2008
186
which were spectacularly unsuccessful, also include the formation of an artist’s colony in Los Angeles, the publication of the art and culture journal Show, and the construction of the Gallery of Modern Art in New York City. He also lost millions in the construction of a resort in the Bahamas. Hartford was the author of a 1964 book decrying artistic modernism entitled Art or Anarchy? His fourth marriage in the 1970s brought both his finances and personal life into a downward spiral when Hartford, who had previously avoided alcohol, was introduced to cocaine and other drugs by his much younger wife. After the marriage ended, he returned to New York where he lived in near squalor until being taken in by his daughter in the Bahamas. Hartford was portrayed by John McMartin in the 2004 film Kinsey, starring Liam Neeson as the pioneering sexologist.
HARVEY, LYNNE
Radio producer Lynne Harvey, the wife of veteran broadcaster Paul Harvey, died of leukemia at their home in the Chicago suburb of River Forest, Illinois, on May 3, 2008. She was 92. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1915. She
Lynne Harvey
worked at a local radio station as a educational reporter where she met Harvey. The two married in 1940 and began working together on various projects. She was instrumental in developing some of her husband’s best known segments for his long-running radio program including The Rest of the Story. Lynne became the first producer to be inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1997.
Jon Hassler
HAUCKE, GERT German actor Gert Haucke, who starred as Bruno Hanusch in the television series Der Landarzt, died of a heart attack in Luneburg, Germany, on May 30, 2008. He was 79. Haucke was born in Berlin on March 13, 1929. He was a familiar face in films and television from the early 1960s, appearing in the films Rumpelstilzchen (1962), Lambs to the Slaughter (1963), Das Gluck Lauft Hinterher (1963), A Scoundrel’s Honour (1966), La Morte in Jaguar Rossa (1968), Prostitution Heute (1970), Ludwig — Requiem for a Virgin King (1972), The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of (1972), Krankensaal 6 (1974), The Brutalisation of Franz Blum (1974), Knife in the Back (1975), Assassination in Davos (1975), By Hook or by Crook (1976), A Lost Life (1976), Bananen-Paul (1982), Die Supernasen (1983), Is’ Was, Kanzler (1984), Nonstop Trouble with the Family (1985), Seitenstechen (1985), Didi auf Vollen Touren (1986), Fifty Fifty (1988), Non Stop Trouble with the Experts (1988), Adrian and the Romans (1989), The Man Inside (1990), Der Konig von Dulsberg (1994), Halali oder Der Schuss ins Brotchen (1995), and Women Robbers (1996). Haucke was also featured in such television productions as Michael Kramer (1965), One Day: A Report from a German Concentration Camp 1939 (1965), Hava, der Igel (1966), Ein Mann Namens Harry Brent (1968), Uber den Gehorsam (1968), Ein Jahr Ohne Sonntag (1969), Eine Grosse Familie (1970), Blaue Bluten (1970), Hoopers Letzte Jagd (1972), Farmers, Politics and
HASSLER, JON Author Jon Hassler died after a long battle with progressive supranuclear palsy in a St. Louis Park, Minnesota, hospital on March 20, 2008. He was 74. Hassler was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on March 30, 1933. He was an English teacher before beginning his writing career at the age of 37. His first novel, Staggerford, a semi-autobiographical tale of a high school teacher in a small town, wasn’t published until seven years later. His other novels include Simon’s Night (1979), The Love Hunter (1981), North of Hope (1990), and Dear James (1993). Hassler’s 1986 novel, A Green Journey, was adapted for the 1990 tele-film The Love She Sought. Gert Haucke
187 Bombs (1973), Black Coffee (1973), Zinngeschrei (1974), Tadelloser & Wolff (1975), Feinde (1976), Fairy (1977), Zwei Himmlische Tochter (1978), Geldsorgen (1979), Zwei Man um Einen Herd (1979), Der Konig und Sein Narr (1980), Und ab Geht die Post (1981), Wir (1981), Kennwort Schmetterling (1981), Die Barrikade (1982), Ab in den Suden (1982), Die Matrosen von Kronstadt (1983), Die Geschwister Oppermann (1983), Er (1984), Berliner Weisse mit Schuff (1984), Der Ausflug (1984), Kleine Stadt, Ich Liebe Dich (1985), Geschichten aus der Heimat— Gift, Schnaps und Meeresleuchten (1986), Die Bertinis (1988), Kollege Otto (1991), Magic (1991), Die Botschafterin (1993), Ein Bayer auf Rugen (1993), Liebe ist Privatsache (1993), Blutige Spur (1995), and Geschichten aus der Heimat— Affenliebe (1997). His other television credits include episodes of Der Kommissar, Okay S.I.R, Motiv Liebe, Der Kleine Doktor, Gesucht Wird, Der Alte, Alles Was Recht Ist, Die Montagsfamilie, Derrick, Heidi und Erni, Das Next, Das Traumschiff, Tatort, Ein Fall fur Zwei, Kurklinik Rosenau, Rosa Roth, Grossstadtrevier, Manner sind was Wunderbares, Schloss Orth, and Der Ermittler. Haucke starred as Bruno Hanusch on the television series Der Landarzt from 1989 to 2004.
HAWORTH , SPEEDY Country musician Herschel “Speedy” Haworth, Jr., who played guitar on the 1950s television show Ozark Jubilee, died of complications from Parkinson’s disease at his home in Springfield, Missouri, on February 26, 2008. He was 85. Haworth was born on May 16, 1922. He began his
Speedy Haworth
career on KWTO radio singing with his mother and uncle in the early 1930s. He played lead guitar on the nationally syndicated country music show Ozark Jubilee from 1955 to 1960. He later toured with the show’s host, Red Foley, and band. Haworth was also one of the original Porter Wagoner Trio, playing on the hit songs “Company’s Comin’“ and “A Satisfied Mind.”
HAYES, ISAAC Singer, songwriter and actor Isaac Hayes, who earned an Oscar for his hit theme song to the film Shaft and entertained a new generation as the voice of the wise Chef on the animated South Park, died of a stroke at his home in Memphis, Tennessee, on August 10, 2008. He was 65. Hayes was born
2008 • Obituaries
Isaac Hayes
in Covington, Tennessee, on August 20, 1942. He began his musical career playing in local bands and was working at Stax Records in Memphis as a backup musician by 1964. Hayes soon teamed with David Porter to write such hit songs as “Soul Man” and “Hold On, I’m Comin’“ for Sam and Dave, and “B-A-B-Y” for Carla Thomas. He and Porter wrote over 200 songs during the 1960s. Later in the decade he began recording and performing as a solo artist. His bass-baritone voice along with his shaved head, dark sunglasses, gold chains, and bare chest gave Hayes an ultra-masculine persona. He had a major hit with his 1969 album Hot Buttered Soul. His theme for the classic blaxploitation film Shaft earned Hayes the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and two Grammy Awards. His subsequent album, Black Moses, earned him another Grammy. He also starred as Mac “Truck” Turner in the 1974 blaxploitation film Truck Turner, and was featured in the films Tough Guys (1974) and It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time (1975). He was seen on numerous television variety shows including Soul Train and Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, and was featured in the 1973 concert film Wattstax. His music career hit a downward spiral by the mid–1970s, and he was forced into bankruptcy in 1976. Hayes had a recurring role as ex-con Gandolph Fitch in the television series The Rockford Files in 1976 and 1977, and was the villain The Duke in John Carpenter’s science fiction action film Escape from New York in 1981. He also appeared in the 1986 tele-film Betrayed by Innocence, and on episodes of The A-Team, Hunter, and Miami Vice during the 1980s. He also hosted his own radio show in New York in the 1990s. Hayes continued his film career with roles in such features as Dead Aim (1987), Medium Rare (1987), Counterforce (1988), I’m Gonna Git You Sucka (1988), Fire, Ice & Dynamite (1990), the tele-film Hammer, Slammer & Slade (1990), Guilty as Charged (1991), Prime Target (1991), Final Judgment (1992), Deadly Exposure (1993), CB4 (1993), the western Posse (1993), Mel Brooks’ Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), Oblivion (1994), It Could Happen to You (1994), Once Upon a Time ... When We Were Colored (1995), Oblivion 2: Backlash (1996), Flipper (1996), Illtown (1996), Uncle Sam (1997), Six Ways to Sunday (1997), Blues Brothers 2000 (1998), Ninth Street (1999), Dead Dog (2000),
Obituaries • 2008
188
Isaac Hayes (voice of South Park’s Chef )
Reindeer Games (2000), the 2000 remake of Shaft in a cameo role, Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) as the voice of the Possum, Chelsea Walls (2001), Dream Warrior (2003), Dodge City: A Spaghetto Western (2004), Hustle & Flow (2005), Kill Switch (2008), and Return to Sleepaway Camp (2008). Hayes also appeared in the tele-films Acting on Impulse (1993), Soul Survivors (1995), Book of Days (2003), and Anonymous Rex (2004). His other television credits include episodes of American Playhouse, Tales from the Crypt, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Sliders, Veronica’s Closet, The Hughleys, The Education of Max Bickford, Fastlane, Girlfriends, That 70s Show, The Bernie Mac Show, and Stargate SG-1 in the recurring role of Tolok. Hayes starred as Chef in the irreverent television animated series South Park from 1997 until leaving the show in 2006 over a disagreement with the producers about their treatment of Scientology. He had also voiced the Chef in the 1999 animated feature South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut and various specials. He had suffered from poor health in recent years but continued to tour and perform. Hayes had recently completed filming a small role in the 2008 comedy film Soul Men, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac.
Worcester, Massachusetts, on May 11, 1919. He began his career working as a newspaper journalist. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and headed to California after the war to write for such radio programs as Inner Sanctum and Sam Spade. He also began writing for films in the early 1950s, scripting Red Ball Express (1952), Thunder Bay (1953), Torch Song (1953), and War Arrow (1953). Hayes wrote the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock thriller Rear Window and was nominated for an Oscar for the screenplay. He worked with Hitchcock on three subsequent films, To Catch a Thief (1955), The Trouble with Harry (1955), and The Man Who Knew Too Much (1955). He also adapted the 1955 film It’s a Dog’s Life, which featured a talking dog as the narrator. Hayes garnered a second Oscar nomination for adapting Grace Metalious’ best-selling novel Peyton Place for the screen in 1957. He continued to write such films as The Matchmaker (1958), Separate Tables (1958), But Not for Me (1959), The Rat Race (1960), BUtterfield 8 (1960), The Children’s Hour (1961), The Carpetbaggers (1964), The Chalk Garden (1964), Where Love Has Gone (1964), Harlow (1965), Judith (1966), and Nevada Smith (1966). He worked uncredited on the script for the 1973 film Walking Tall about crusading sheriff Buford Pusser. Hayes also wrote the tele-film Winter Kill (1974), and scripted and produced the television adaptation of Nevada Smith in 1975. He also served as head writer for the short-lived television series Adams of Eagle Lake starring Andy Griffith in 1975. He also wrote the telefilm Pancho Barnes (1988) and the 1994 family adventure film Iron Will.
HAYWARD, BILL Bill Hayward, who served as associate producer on the 1969 counterculture film classic Easy Rider, died of a self inflicted gunshot wound to the heart at his trailer in Castaic, California, on March 9, 2008. He was 66. Hayward was born on
HAYES, JOHN MICHAEL Screenwriter John Michael Hayes, who earned an Academy Award nomination for his script for the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Rear Window, died in Hanover, New Hampshire, on November 19, 2008. He was 88. Hayes was born in
Bill Hayward
John Michael Hayes
March 27, 1941, the son of theatrical agent Leland Hayward and actress Margaret Sullavan. The younger Hayward worked on Easy Rider, which starred his sister Brooke’s ex-husband, Dennis Hopper. He was also a producer on the films The Hired Hand (1971), Idaho Transfer (1973), High-Ballin’ (1978), and Wanda Nevada (1979). The trials and tribulations of his fam-
189 ily, including the suicide of his mother, were recounted in his sister’s 1977 memoir Haywire. Bill Hayward produced a 1980 tele-film adaptation of the book. He produced the tele-film Mark, I Love You and the 1986 film Blue City, and also worked as an entertainment lawyer.
HAZARD, ROBERT Songwriter and musician Robert Hazard, who wrote Cyndi Lauper’s hit song “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” died of complications from surgery in a Boston, Massachusetts, hospital on August 5, 2008. He was 59. He was born Robert Ri-
2008 • Obituaries
throughout his career. He played in a school band while still in high school and formed his own group in 1985. The Jeff Healey Band performed numerous concerts and signed with Arista Records in 1988. Their first album, See the Light, included the hit single “Angel Eyes.” A second album, Hell to Pay, soon followed. He was featured as Cody, the bandleader, in the 1989 Patrick Swayze film Roadhouse. Considered one of the best blues guitarists in the industry, Healey opened his own self-named music club in Toronto in 2002. He also formed a jazz band, The Jazz Wizards, the following year.
HEARN, PAGE Actor Page Hearn, who was a familiar face on the local stage in Chicago, died of a heart attack while crossing a street in Jersey City, New Jersey, on May 17, 2008. He was 48. Hearn was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 2, 1959. He moved to Chicago in the mid–1980s, where he was active with the City Lit theatrical company. Hearn was noted for his numerous performances as the consum-
Robert Hazard
mato in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 21, 1948. He began performing with the rock band Robert Hazard and the Heroes in the early 1980s, and scored a minor hit with the song “Escalator of Life.” He had recorded a demo of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” in 1979 and the song was carried to the top of the charts by Cyndi Lauper in 1983. The song has been recorded by numerous other artists, most recently Miley Cyrus.
HEALEY, JEFF
Canadian singer and guitarist Jeff Healey died of lung cancer in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on March 2, 2008. He was 41. Healey was born in Toronto on March 25, 1966. He became blind at the age of one due to eye cancer but was trained to play the guitar at a school for the blind at the age of 3. Healey found it more comfortable to have the instrument lay flat on his lap and continued that technique
Jeff Healey
Page Hearn
mate English valet, Jeeves, in adaptations of P.G. Wodehouse’s works. He also wrote and performed Descent into the Maelstrom, a one-man tribute to Edgar Allan Poe, that was staged annually at Halloween. Hearn was also the voice of Fidgel for the animated children’s series 3–2–1 Penguins. He moved to New York in 2007 to further his acting career and was featured in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit that aired shortly before his death.
HECKERT, JAMES T. Film and television editor James T. Heckert died in Los Angeles on July 11, 2008. He was 81. Heckert was born in Los Angeles on November 18, 1926. He began working in films in the late 1950s, working as an assistant editor on the western Terror in a Texas Town in 1958. He also served as an editor for the television series Lock Up, Home Run Derby, and F Troop. Heckert’s other film credits include A Swingin’ Summer (1965), The Cool Ones (1967), Sweet November (1968), Generation (1969), Take the Money and Run (1969), Valdez Is Coming (1971), One Is a Lonely Number (1972), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972), Birds Do It, Bees Do It (1974), Train Ride to Hollywood
Obituaries • 2008
190
(1975), and Assassination (1987). He shared Emmy Award nominations for his work on the television productions Roots (1977) and Inside the Third Reich (1982). His other television credits include the tele-films and mini-series The 500 Pound Jerk (1973), Love from A to Z (1974), Sandburg’s Lincoln (1974), Death Stalk (1975), Brenda Starr (1976), Rosetti and Ryan: Men Who Love Women (1977), The Two-Five (1978), Arthur Hailey’s Wheels (1978), The Golden Gate Murders (1979), Brave New World (1980), Shogun (1980), Evita Peron (1981), I Was a Mail Order Bride (1982), Secrets of a Mother and Daughter (1983), The Thanksgiving Promise (1986), and Intrigue (1988).
HEDIN, MARGARET Actress Margaret Hedin died of lung cancer at her home in California on February 14, 2008. He was 90. She was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on February 7, 1918. She went to Hollywood after graduating in the mid–1930s, and performed on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse. She appeared on television in the 1950s in such series as The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Boston Blackie, and Mystery Theater. She was also featured in the 1953 film Dream Wife. Hedin was married to screenwriter George
Margaret Hedin
Van Marter from 1953 until his death in 1963. She worked with him on several scripts including the television series The Millionaire.
HEFFLEY, WAYNE Character actor Wayne Heffley, who starred as Vern Scofield on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives for 15 years, died of kidney failure in California on November 19, 2008. He was 81. Heffley was born in Bakersfield, California, on July 15, 1927. He was a familiar face on television from the early 1950s with roles in numerous episodes of such series as Racket Squad, Casey Jones, Tombstone Territory, The Adventures of Superman, Have Gun —Will Travel, Playhouse 90, Sky King, 77 Sunset Strip, Highway Patrol in the recurring role of Officer Dennis the dispatcher, The Rough Rider, Colt .45, Hawaiian Eye, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Bat Masterson, Not for Hire, Hotel de Paree, Assignment: Underwater, The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, Perry Mason, The Untouchables, The Virginian, Empire, Gunsmoke, Ben Casey, The Lieutenant, The Twilight Zone, The Great Adventure, The
Wayne Heffley
Fugitive, The Long, Hot Summer, My Three Sons, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Andy Griffith Show, The Wild Wild West, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Invaders, Judd for the Defense, Lancer, The F.B.I., The Mod Squad, Family Affair, Mannix, Ironside, Marcus Welby, M.D., Nichols, Cannon, The Smith Family, Ghost Story, Bonanza, Streets of San Francisco, The New Perry Mason, The Rookies, The Magician, Kung Fu, Kojak, Apple’s Way, Lucas Tanner, Little House on the Prairie in several episodes as Mr. Kennedy, Emergency!, Switch, The Waltons, Lou Grant, The White Shadow, Barnaby Jones, B.J. and the Bear, Galactica 1980, Dallas, Walking Tall, ABC Afterschool Special, Hill Street Blues, Hart to Hart, Manimal, The Mississippi, Blue Thunder, Airwolf, Santa Barbara, Matlock, Hunter, Simon & Simon, and Murder, She Wrote. Heffley also appeared onscreen in such films as Submarine Seahawk (1958), The Trap (1959), Battle Flame (1959), Crime & Punishment, USA (1959), The Outsider (1961), Gunn (1967), Maryjane (1968), Johnny Got His Gun (1971), King Kong (1976) as the Air Force General, Orca (1977), The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), and Testament (1983). He was also seen in the tele-films Bachelor-at-Law (1973), The Law (1974), Widow (1976), Roots (1977), The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977), Danger in Paradise (1977), Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn (1977), Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid (1977), Crisis in Sun Valley (1978), The Critical List (1978), Ishi: The Last of His Tribe (1978), Mind Over Murder (1979), Nightside (1980), Fly Away Home (1981), Victims (1982), Johnny Belinda (1982), Beyond the Next Mountain (1987), and Black Widow (1987). Heffley starred as Salem newspaperman Vern Scofield, stepfather of Matthew Ashford’s Jack Devereaux, on Days of Our Lives from 1988 until his retirement in 2003. HEFTI, NEAL Composer and arranger Neal Hefti, who was best known for his theme to the Batman television series, died of a heart attack in Los Angeles on October 11, 2008. He was 85. Hefti was born in Hastings, Nebraska, on October 29, 1922. He began his career as a trumpeter and arranger for dance bands led by Harry James, Charlie Spivak, and Woody Herman in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He was soon working in television, working for The Arthur Godfrey Show and The Kate Smith Show at ABC. He also formed his own orchestra and played at venues throughout the
191
Neal Hefti
country. Hefti also scored such films as Jamboree (1957), Sex and the Single Girl (1964), How to Murder Your Wife (1965), Synanon (1965), Harlow (1965), Boeing Boeing (1965), Lord Love a Duck (1966), Duel at Diablo (1966), Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama’s Hung You in the Closet and I’m Feeling So Sad (1967), Barefoot in the Park (1967), Charlie Bubble (1967), The Odd Couple (1968), A New Leaf (1971), Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1973), and Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976). He also wrote the scores for the tele-films The 500 Pound Jerk (1973) and Conspiracy of Terror (1975). Hefti was best known for the popular theme for the cult television series Batman in the 1960s. His other popular songs and compositions include “Oh What a Night for Love,” “Lake Placid,” “Buttercup,” “Plymouth Rock,” “Coral Reef,” “Cherry Point,” “Jump for Johnny,” “Girl Talk,” and “It’s Always Nice to Be with You.”
HEIDE-STEEN, HARALD, JR. Norwegian actor and comedian Harald Heide-Steen, Jr., who starred as Dynamite-Harry in the Norwegian versions of the Olsen Gang films, died in Norway on July 3, 2008. He was 68. Heide-Steen was born in Oslo, Norway, on August 18, 1939. He began appearing in films as a child in the early 1950s with roles in Kranes Konditori (1951), Storfolk og Smafolk (1951), Skoytekongen (1953), and The Master and His Servants (1959). He continued to appear frequently in films and television from the 1960s, appearing in television productions of
2008 • Obituaries
Kunden har Alltid Rett (1964), 22 November — Den Store Leiegarden (1969), Selma Broter (1970), Ukespeilet (1975), Fortun (1993), Bare nar Jeg Ler (1996), Karl & Co (1998), and Wesensteen (1998). Heide-Steen made his debut as Dynamite Harry in the 1970 film Olsenbanden og Dynamitt-Harry, and continued with the sequels Olsenbanden og Dynamitt-Harry gar Amok (1973), Olsenbanden & Dynamitt-Harry pa Sporet (1977), Olsenbanden & Data Harry Sprenger Verdensbanken (1978), Olsenbanden og Dynamitt-Harry mot Ny Hoyder (1979), Olsenbandens aller Siste Kupp (1982), Men Olsenbanden var Ikke Dod (1984), and Olsenbandens Siste Stikk (1999). His other film credits include Gutten Som Kappat Med Trollet (1967), Ballad of the Masterthief Ole Hoiland (1970), Fem Dogn I August (1973), Boer Boerson Jr. (1974), Knutsen & Ludvigsen (1974), Ungen (1974), Tot og Kjor (1975), Deilig er Fjorden! (1985), Bryllupsfesten (1989), Herman (1990), To a Stranger (1990), Fredrikssons Fabrikk (1994), Tusenarsfesten (1999), and Good Luck, Mr. Gorsky! (2002).
HEINZ, W.C. Journalist W.C. Heinz died of complications from a series of strokes at an assisted-living facility in Bennington, Vermont, on February 27, 2008. He was 93. Heinz was born in Mount Vernon, New York, on January 11, 1915. He began his career as a journalist in the 1930s, reporting for The New York Sun. He went overseas to cover World War II, and became a leading sports reporter and columnist after the
W.C. Heinz
war. Heinz became a free-lance writer after The Sun closed in 1950, writing about baseball players, jockeys, football players, and boxers. His first novel, The Professional, about a boxer and his trainer, was published in 1958. He also wrote the medical novels The Surgeon (1963) and Emergency (1974). His 1963 study of the Green Bay Packers’ championship season was a bestseller in 1963. Heinz best known work was a 1968 collaboration with Maine surgeon H. Richard Hornberger, written under the pseudonym Richard Hooker. The book, set at an Army Medical Unit during the Korean War, was the best-selling M*A*S*H that spawned a hit move and television series. Harald Heide-Steen
HELMS , DON Steel guitarist Don Helms, who played with Hank Williams’ band, died of com-
Obituaries • 2008
192
Don Helms
plications from diabetes and heart surgery in a Nashville, Tennessee, hospital on August 11, 2008. He was 81. Helms was born in New Brockton, Alabama, on February 28, 1927. He learned to play the steel guitar at the age of 15 and soon joined Williams’ backup band, the Drifting Cowboys. He served two years in the U.S. Army in the mid–1940s and returned to the band after his discharge. He was featured with Williams on the radio show Louisiana Hayride, and on the hit recordings “Cold, Cold Heart,” “I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love With You),” and “Your Cheatin’ Heart” in the early 1950s. He continued his career after Williams’ death in 1953, and was heard on such recordings as Patsy Cline’s “Walking After Midnight,” Lefty Frizzell’s “Long Black Veil,” and Loretta Lynn’s “Blue Kentucky Girl.” He also performed with Ray Price, Ferlin Husky, and Johnny Cash on his early albums. Helms joined the Wilburn Brothers’ band, the Nashville Tennesseans, in 1957 and toured with them for over a decade. He played with Hank Williams, Jr., and Ernest Tubbs in the late 1960s and early 1970s and reunited with the Drifting Cowboys in 1977. Helms toured with Jett Williams, Hank’s daughter, in 1989.
HEMION , DWIGHT Television director Dwight Hemion, who received a record 47 Emmy Award nominations during his career, died of renal failure at his home in Rectortown, Virginia, on January 28, 2008. He was 81. Hemion was born in New
Dwight Hemion
Haven, Connecticut, on March 14, 1926. He served in the Army Air Force in the Pacific during World War II and began working in television at ABC in New York after the war. He directed several episodes of Steve Allen’s Tonight Show in the mid–1950s. He teamed with producer Gary Smith in the mid–1960s and they put together numerous television musicals and specials over the next 35 years. Hemion earned 47 nominations for the Emmy Award, and won 18 during his long career. He helmed such productions as My Name Is Barbra (1965) with Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music (1965), Color Me Barbra (1966), Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music II (1966), Another Evening with Burt Bacharach (1970), Petula (1970), Barbra Streisand ... and Other Musical Instruments (1973), A Royal Gala Variety Performance (1973), Burt Bacharach in Shangri-La (1973), Burt Bacharach: Opus No. 3 (1973), Julie on Sesame Street (1973), Sammy! The Sammy Davis, Jr. Special (1973), Julie and Jackie: How Sweet It Is (1974), John Wayne and Glen Campbell & the Musical West (1974), Herb Alpert and the TJB (1974), Sandy Duncan Special (1974), Ann-Margret Olsson (1975), Steve and Eydie: Our Love Is Here to Stay (1975), The Bell Telephone Jubilee (1976), Dick Cavett’s Backlot USA (1976), The Dorothy Hamill Special (1976), America Salutes Richard Rodgers: The Sounds of His Music (1976), Peter Pan (1976), Neil Diamond: Love at the Greek (1977), Elvis in Concert (1977), America Salutes the Queen (1977), The Kraft 75th Anniversary Special (1978), The Sentry Collection Presents Ben Vereen: His Roots (1978), Steve & Eydie Celebrate Irving Berlin (1978), Lucy Comes to Nashville (1978), Rockette: A Holiday Tribute to Radio City Music Hall (1978), Shirley MacLaine at the Lido (1979), Baryshnikov on Broadway (1980), Shirley MacLaine ... Every Little Movement (1980), Linda in Wonderland (1980), Goldie and Kids: Listen to Us (1982), EPCOT Center: The Opening Celebration (1982), Sheena Easton ... Act One (1983), Andy Williams and the NBC Kids Search for Santa (1985), Neil Diamond ... Hello Again (1986), Liberty Weekend (1986), Amy Grant’s Old Fashioned Christmas (1986), One Voice (1986), Julie Andrews: The Sound of Christmas (1987), Jackie Mason: The World According to Me! (1988), Neil Diamond: Greatest Hits Live (1988), The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (1989, 1990), Ooh-La-La: It’s Bob Hope’s Fun Birthday Spectacular from Paris’ Bicentennial (1989), The People’s Choice Awards (1989, 1991), The Earth Day Special (1990), The Walt Disney Company Presents the American Teacher Awards (1991, 1994, 2000), Danny Kaye International Children for UNICEF (1992), Disney’s Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra (1993, 1994, 1999), The TV Academy Hall of Fame (1994, 1999), Barbra Streisand: The Concert (1994), Kennedy Center’s 25th Anniversary (1996), Snowden on Ice (1997), and The Snowden: Raggedy Ann and Andy Holiday Show (1998). Hemion also directed the television coverage of the inaugural events for Ronald Reagan in 1985 and Bill Clinton in 1993 and 1997, and oversaw television coverage of several Democratic National Conventions and the annual Christmas in Washington television specials.
193 HENDERSON, D.J. Radio personality Dee “D.J.” Henderson, who was known on the air as Cap’n Pete, was shot to death in the backyard of his home in Memphis, Tennessee, on July 16, 2008. His grandson was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
D.J. Henderson
Henderson was 72. Henderson was born on January 19, 1936, and was raised in Clarksdale, Mississippi, where he developed a love for the blues. He began hosting his own blues program, Cap’n Pete’s Blues Cruise, on WEVL-FM radio in Memphis in the early 1980s. He was a recipient of the Keeping the Blues Alive Award from the Blues Foundation in 1992.
HENRIKSEN, FINN Danish film director and writer Finn Henriksen died in Denmark on December 6, 2008. He was 75. Henriksen was born in Randers, Denmark, on January 29, 1933. He began working in films in the early 1950s as an assistant director on Karen, Maren og Mette (1954), Kispus (1956), The Girls Are Willing (1958), Seksdageslobet (1958), Helle for Helene (1959), Faith, Hope and Witchcraft (1960), Mine Tossede Drenge (1961), Circus Buster (1961), Tine (1964), and Naboeme (1966). He made his directorial debut with the 1960 romance Forelsket i Koberhavn. He continued to direct, and often script, such films as Prinsesse for en Dag (1962), Miss April (1963), Bussen (1963), Norden i Flammer (1965), It’s Nifty in the Navy (1965), Pigen og
Finn Henriksen
2008 • Obituaries
Greven (1966), Far Laver Sovsen (1967), I’ll Take Happiness (1969), The Girl and the Dream Castle (1974), Girls at Arms (1975), Girls at Arms 2 (1976), The Office Party (1976), Girls at Sea (1977), Faengslende Feriedage (1978), Jydekompagniet (1988), and Jydekompagniet 3 (1989). Henriksen also worked in Danish television, helming episodes of Det Drejer Sig Om, Jul pa Slottet, and Morten Korch — Ved Stillebaekkken.
HERLIE, EILEEN Stage and film actress Eileen Herlie, who starred as Myrtle Fargate on the daytime soap opera All My Children for over thirty years, died of complications from pneumonia on October 8, 2008. She was 90. Herlie was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on March 8, 1918. She trained as a stage actress and made her film debut in 1947’s Hungry Hill. She was cast as Queen Gertrude in Laurence Olivier’s Academy Award–winning film version of Hamlet in 1948, despite being 13 years younger than Olivier, who played her son. She was also seen in several other films during her career including The Angel with the Trumpet (1950), Isn’t Life Wonderful! (1953), The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953), For Better, for Worse (1954), She Didn’t Say No! (1958), Freud (1962), and The Sea Gull (1968). She also starred in a 1951 British television
Eileen Herlie
version of The Little Foxes. She also appeared frequently on stage, starring as Irene Molloy in the 1955 Broadway production of The Matchmaker. She earned a Tony nomination for her role in the 1960 musical Take Me Along opposite Jackie Gleason. She reprised her role as Queen Gertrude in the 1964 Broadway production of Hamlet with Richard Burton, which was also produced as a film. She was featured in the tele-films The Woman I Love (1972) and Lemonade (1975), and began her longrunning role as Myrtle Lum Fargate in All My Children in 1976. She earned Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 1984, 1985, and 1986. She was also seen as Myrtle in crossovers with the other ABC soaps Loving and One Life to Live. Herlie continued as Pine Valley’s colorful Myrtle, surrogate mother to Susan Lucci’s Erica Kane until her death.
HERTELENDY, HANNA Hungarian character actress Hanna Hertelendy died in Los Angeles on May 15, 2008. She was 88. Hertelendy was born in Bu-
Obituaries • 2008
194 HERTZ , BILL William “Bill” Hertz, who served as chairman of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, died of complications from heart surgery at his home in Tarzana, California, on August 19, 2008. He was 84. Hertz was born in Wishek, North Dakota, on December 5, 1923. He served in the army during World War II
Hanna Hertelendy
dapest, Hungary, on October 5, 1919. She began her career on the Hungarian stage, performing with the famed repertory theatre Vigszinhaz in Budapest. She also appeared in several films, including Idegen Utakon (1944) and This Was in Budapest (1944). She came to the United States in the late 1940s, where she worked as an announcer for Voice of America and for Radio Free Europe. She soon appearing in films and television under the name Hanna Landy, but returned to the Hertelendy name in the early 1970s. Her many film credits include Thunder Pass (1954), The Leather Saint (1956), Operation Eichmann (1961), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), The Explosive Generation (1961), Door-to-Door Maniac (1961) with Johnny Cash, Convict Stage (1965), Fort Courageous (1965), Harlow (1965), Git! (1965), In Like Flint (1967), Rosemary’s Baby (1968), Adam at Six A.M. (1970), The Girl from Petrovika (1974), Gus (1976), Two-Minute Warning (1976), Dark Echo (1977), Being There (1979) with Peter Sellers, Circle of Power (1983), and Micki + Maude (1984). Hertelendy also appeared in several tele-films including The Man Who Could Talk to Kids (1973), I Love You, Goodbye (1974), The Night That Panicked America (1975), Columbo: Last Salute to the Commodore (1976), Law of the Land (1976), Raid on Entebbe (1977), Frankie and Annette: The Second Time Around (1978), Christmas Lilies of the Field (1979), The Star Maker (1981), Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story (1981), Scandal Sheet (1985), Amerika (1987), and Never Forget (1991). Her television credits also include episodes of General Electric Theater, Kraft Television Theatre, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Fireside Theatre, The Ford Television Theatre, Lux Video Theatre, Navy Log, Robert Montgomery Presents, The Alcoa Hour, True Story, The United States Steel Hour, Peter Gunn, 26 Men, Sea Hunt, The Lawless Years, The Betty Hutton Show, Dennis the Menace, Margie, The Lloyd Bridges Show, G.E. True, Temple Houston, The Fugitive, Dr. Kildare, Perry Mason, The Rounders, Run, Buddy, Run, Judd, for the Defense, Marcus Welby, M.D., Barnaby Jones, It Takes a Thief, Cannon, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Wonder Woman, Magnum, P.I., Paper Dolls, St. Elsewhere, Family Ties, Remington Steele, Hill Street Blues, Matlock, Brooklyn Bridge, and Thunder Alley. Hertelendy was married to fellow Hungarian actor Stephan Bekassy, who died in 1995.
Bill Hertz
and moved to Los Angeles after his discharge. He worked as a manger for Fox West Coast Theaters and rose through the ranks. He became Pacific division manager when National General took over the chain in 1967. He was promoted to director of theater operations when Ted Mann bought them out. Hertz oversaw the hand and foot print ceremonies at Grauman’s (later Mann’s) Chinese Theater in Hollywood until his retirement in 1991. He became one of the few non-celebrities to have his prints immortalized there. He also presided over numerous dedication ceremonies for the Hollywood Walk of Fame. HERTZOG, LAWRENCE Television writer and producer Lawrence Hertzog died of cancer in a Los Angeles hospital on April 19, 2008. He was 56. Hertzog was born in New York City on June 25, 1951, and was raised in Teaneck, New Jersey. He moved to Los Angeles in 1977 and began working in television as a writer for the series Mrs. Columbo in 1979. He also wrote for the series Hart to Hart, and scripted and served as an executive producer for Hardcastle and Mc-
Lawrence Hertzog
195 Cormick and Stingray. Hertzog co-created the series J.J. Starbuck in 1987, and scripted the tele-film Project: Tin Men (1990) and the video feature Darkman II: The Return of Durant (1994). He also wrote for the series Walker, Texas Ranger, SeaQuest DSV, La Femme Nikita, Profiler, 24, Hunter, and 1–800–Missing. He was creator, writer, and executive producer for the 1995 UPN series Nowhere Man, and was producer and head writer for the Sci-Fi Channel series Painkiller Jane in 2007.
HESTON, CHARLTON Legendary film star Charlton Heston died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at his Beverly Hills, California, home on April 5, 2008. He was 84. He was born Charlton Carter in St. Helen, Michigan, on October 4, 1923. He moved to Winnetka, Illinois, with his mother and stepfather after his parents divorced in the 1930s, and subsequently adopted his stepfather’s surname. He studied theater at Northwestern University and made his film debut in David Bradley’s amateur production of Peer Gynt (1941) in the title role. He joined the Army Air Force in 1944 and served as a radio gunner in the Aleutian Islands for three years. Heston returned to acting, spending several seasons with a local theater in Asheville, North Carolina. He made his debut on the Broadway stage in New York in 1947, appearing in a small role in Antony and Cleopatra. He appeared in several other stage productions and was featured on television in episodes of The Clock, Suspense, Lux Video Theatre, Curtain Call, The Philco Television Playhouse, Medallion Theatre, Your Show of Shows, Danger, Robert Montgomery Presents, Omnibus, General Electric Theater, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Climax!, and Alcoa Premiere. He starred in Hal B. Wallis’ 1950 film thriller Dark City and portrayed Antony in a 1950 film production of Julius Caesar. He also appeared on television in productions of Macbeth and Wuthering Heights for Studio One. He first worked for director Cecil B. De Mille for the 1952 film The Greatest Show on Earth, playing circus boss Brad Braden. Heston continued to star in such films as The Savage (1952), Ruby Gentry (1952), The President’s Lady (1953) as President Andrew Jackson, Pony Express (1953) as Buffalo Bill Cody, Arrowhead (1953), The Naked Jungle (1954) as South American plantation owner Christopher Leiningen battling
Charlton Heston
2008 • Obituaries
a horde of all-consuming ants, Secrets of the Incas (1954), The Far Horizons (1955), The Private War of Major Benson (1955), Lucy Gallant (1955), and Three Violent People. He became a top box office star with his role as Moses in De Mille’s 1956 biblical epic The Ten Commandments. He portrayed a Mexican policeman in Orson Welles’ film noir classic Touch of Evil in 1958. He was also seen on television as the Beast in the Shirley Temple’s Storybook production of Beauty and the Beast, and in Forbidden Area and Point of No Return for Playhouse 90 in the late 1950s. He was again cast as Andrew Jackson in the 1958 film The Buccaneer and starred in the films The Big Country (1958) and The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959). He earned an Academy Award for best actor for his starring role in the 1959 biblical epic Ben-Hur, best remembered for a thrilling chariot race between Heston and co-star Stephen Boyd. He battled Moors in 11th century Spain in 1961’s El Cid, opposite Sophia Loren, and headed an all-star cast in the 1963 drama set during China’s Boxer Rebellion, 55 Days at Peking. He graduated to the New Testament in 1965’s The Greatest Story Ever Told as John the Baptist, starred as Michelangelo in 1965’s The Agony and the Ecstasy, and faced down Laurence Olivier’s Mahdi as Gen. Charles “Chinese” Gordon in 1966’s Khartoum. He was also seen in the films The Pigeon That Took Rome (1962), Diamond Head (1963), Major Dundee (1965), The War Lord (1965), Counterpoint (1967), and the western Will Penny (1968). He also starred on television as Thomas Jefferson in a 1963 production of The Patriots, and as the Earl of Essex in 1968’s Elizabeth the Queen for Hallmark Hall of Fame. Heston starred as an astronaut who crash lands on a very different Earth in the 1968 science fiction classic Planet of the Apes. He reprised his role with a cameo appearance in the 1970 sequel Beneath the Planet of the Apes. He starred in two subsequent science fiction films, The Omega Man (1971) as Robert Neville in the film adaptation of Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, and Soylent Green (1973). Heston scripted and directed the 1972 version of Antony and Cleopatra, also starring in the role Marc Antony. He starred as Cardinal Richelieu in Richard Lester’s adaptations of The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974), and was King Henry VIII in 1977’s Crossed Swords. His other films include Number One (1969), Julius Caesar (1970) again as Marc Antony, 1970 film adaptation of James Michener’s The Hawaiians as Whipple “Whip” Hoxworth, Skyjacked (1972), Jack London’s The Call of the Wild (1972), Airport 1975 (1974) as Alan Murdock, the Sensurround disaster epic Earthquake (1974), The Last Hard Men (1976), the World War II drama Midway (1976) as Captain Matthew Garth, Two-Minute Warning (1976), Gray Lady Down (1978), The Mountain Men (1980), The Awakening (1980) as archaeologist Matthew Corbeck in an updating of the Mummy legend, and Mother Lode (1982), which he also directed. Heston was also featured as banker Hugh Holmes in the 1983 television mini-series Chiefs, and starred in the 1984 tele-film Nairobi Affair. He starred as Jason Colby in the primetime soap opera The Colbys, spinning off from Dynasty and airing from 1985 to 1987. He was featured in a 1987 variety
Obituaries • 2008
196 an interview when questioned about his pro-gun stance in the wake of the 1999 Columbine High School shootings. Heston was a recipient of the Kennedy Center honors in 1997 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003. He had disclosed that he was diagnosed in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease in a moving address in August of 2002. He is survived by his widow, the former Lydia Clarke, whom he met and married while in drama school in 1944.
Charlton Heston (right, from Planet of the Apes)
special, Christmas Night with the Two Ronnies, and was twice host of Saturday Night Live. His other television credits include the tele-films Proud Men (1987), A Man for All Seasons (1988) which he directed and starred in as Sir Thomas More, Original Sins (1989), Treasure Island (1990) as Long John Silver, The Little Kidnappers (1990), The Crucifer of Blood (1991) as master detective Sherlock Holmes, Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232 (1992), the historical mini-series The Great Battles of the Civil War (1994) as the voice of Abraham Lincoln, The Avenging Angel (1995) as Mormon leader Brigham Young, and The Road to Santiago (1999). He also guest-starred in episodes of SeaQuest DSV and The Outer Limits. Heston’s distinctive voice was also heard as the narrator for such films and television productions as Cults: Saying No Under Pressure (1991), Noel (1992), James Michener’s Texas (1994), The Dark Mist (1996), Disney’s Hercules (1997), and Armageddon (1998). His other film credits include Solar Crisis (1990), Almost an Angel (1990) as God, Gengis Khan (1992), Wayne’s World 2 (1993), Tombstone (1993) as Henry Hooker, True Lies (1994) with Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Carpenter’s 1995 horror film In the Mouth of Madness, Alaska (1996), Hamlet (1996), Gideon (1999), Any Given Sunday (1999), Town & Country (2001), The Order (2001), and Cats & Dogs (2001) as the voice of the Mastiff. Heston revisited the Planet of the Apes in 2001, this time appearing under ape makeup in the cameo role of Zaius, Thade’s father, in Tim Burton’s remake. His final role was as Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele in the 2003 film My Father, Rua Alguem 5555. Heston was also a prominent figure in political arenas, serving as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1966 to 1971. Initially a Democrat and a strong supporter of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the civil rights movement, he later became a conservative Republican and supporter of his long-time friend Ronald Reagan. After Reagan became president in 1981, he named Heston as co-chairman of the President’s Task Force on the Arts and Humanities. An outspoken opponent of gun control, Heston was active with the National Rifle Association, becoming the organization’s President in 1998. He served an unprecedented three terms as the NRA’s leader. He appeared onscreen in Michael Moore’s 2002 documentary Bowling for Columbine, walking out of
HEVERLE, G USTAV Czech actor Gustav Heverle died in Prague, the Czech Republic, on January 22, 2008. He was 87. Heverle was born in Prague (then Czechoslovakia) on January 31, 1920. He began his career on the Czech stage in the 1940s and was featured in films from the early 1950s. His film credits include Chceme Zit (1950), Cesta ke Stesti (1951), Proud Princess (1952) as Vitek, Severni Pristav (1953), Unos (1953), Tankova Brigada (1955), From My Life (1955), Na Konci Mesta (1955), Punta and the Four-Leaf Clover (1955), The Unconquered (1956), Close Up, Please
Gustav Heverle
(1956), A Life at Stake (1956), Bomba (1957), Spur in die Nacht (1957), The Flood (1958), Konec Cesty (1959), Hlavni Vyhra (1959), Slecna od Vody (1959), Sedmy Kontinent (1960), Tereza (1961), Akce Kalimantan (1962), Atentat (1964), Strakati Andele (1965), Silene Smutna Princezna (1968), The Key (1971), Vysoka Modra Zed (1973), Motiv pro Vrazdu (1974), Pripad Mrtveho Muze (1974), and Akce y Istanbulu (1975). He was also featured in the television series 30 Cases of Major Zeman and Plechova Kavalene in the 1970s, and had a small role in the 2002 tele-film An Ideal Husband.
HEWER , JOHN British actor John Hewer died in Twickenham, London, England, on March 16, 2008. He was 86. Hewer was born Leyton, England, on January 13, 1922. He was a popular stage performer, appearing in numerous productions of London’s Players Theatre. He also starred on Broadway, opposite Julie Andrews, in a production of The Boyfriend in the 1950s. He was featured in several films during his career, including The Dark Man (1951), Assassin for Hire (1951), Law and Disorder (1958), Operation Stogie (1959), Striptease Murder (1961), Three Spare Wives (1962), Mister Ten Percent (1967), and Home Before Midnight
197
2008 • Obituaries
John Hewer
Richard Hickox
(1979). Hewer was also seen on television in episodes of The Great Detective, Colonel March of Scotland Yard, and Tales from Dickens. He also hosted the Canadian television series The Pig and Whistle in the late 1960s, and was featured as Edwin Cherrybel in the 1977 television production of Nicholas Nickleby. Hewer was best known for his role as Captain Birdseye in numerous British television commercials from 1967 to 1998.
Buckinghamshire, England, on March 5, 1948. He began studying music at an early age and attended the Royal Academy of Music and Queens’ College, Cambridge, in the late 1960s. He founded the City of London Sinfonia and the Richard Hickox Singers and Orchestra in 1971 and was music director for the Endellion Music Festival from 1972 to 2008. He also became director of the London Symphony Chorus in 1976 and the Bradford Festival Chorus in 1978. He was artistic director of the Northern Sinfonia from 1982 to 1990 and was a guest conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra from 1985. Hickox was music director for the Spoleto Festival in Italy from 1997 to 2002. He was principal conductor with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales from 2000 to 2006 and became music director of Opera Australia in 2005. He conducted television productions of Dido and Aeneas (1995), Ken Russell’s Classic Widows (2004), and Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten (2004). He made numerous recordings for Chandos Records including Elgar’s oratorios, the symphonic cycles of Beethoven, the complete masses of Haydn, and works by such British composers as Frank Bridge and Lennox Berkeley. Hickox earned a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording in 1997 for his rendition of Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes. HIGGINS, KEN British cinematographer Ken Higgins died on the Isle of Wight on January 22, 2008. He was 88. Higgins was born in London on December 26, 1919. He began working as a cameraman for the BBC in the 1950s, and was cinematographer for Ken Russell’s television production of Elgar for Monitor in 1962. Higgins continued to work with Russell on the 1964 feature film French Dressing. He also served as director of photography on such films as Swingers’ Paradise (1964), Up Jumped a Swagman (1965), Darling (1965), Georg y Girl (1966) which earned him an Academy Award nomination, The Idol (1966), The Spy with a Cold Nose (1966), Cop-Out (1967), Salt and Pepper (1968), Hot Millions (1968), Midas Run (1969), The Virgin Soldiers (1969), Lady Chatterly Versus Fanny Hill (1970), Julius Caesar (1970), Soldiers of Fortune (1970), Living at Thamesmead (1974), I’m Not Feeling Myself Tonight (1976), The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It (1977), and Golden Rendezvous
HEWITT, JOHN Northern Irish actor John Hewitt died after a short illness in a Coleraine, Northern Ireland, hospital on November 28, 2008. He was 58. Hewitt was featured as John Fletcher in several BBC productions of Graham Reid’s Billy plays on Play for
John Hewitt (right, with Mark Mulholland and Brid Brennan)
Today, including Too Late to Talk to Billy (1982), A Matter of Choice for Billy (1983), and A Coming to Terms for Billy (1984) starring Kenneth Branagh. He was also seen in television productions of Showcase: The Squad (1976), We’ll Support You Evermore (1985), Four Days in July (1985), Lorna (1987), God’s Frontiersmen (1988), Valentine Falls (1990), Henri (1994), and Life After Life (1995). Hewitt was also featured in the films The End of the World Man (1985) and Crossmaheart (1998).
HICKOX, RICHARD British orchestra conductor Richard Hickox died of a heart attack in Swansea, Wales, after a recording session there on November 23, 2008. He was 60. Hickox was born in Stokenchurch,
Obituaries • 2008
198
(1977). He was also cinematographer on the television series The Adventures of Black Beauty and Dick Turpin.
HIGGINS, MICHAEL Actor Michael Higgins died in New York City on November 5, 2008. He was 88. Higgins was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 20, 1920. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and embarked upon a career as an actor after the war. He became a leading stage performer in New York and appeared on Broadway in productions of Antigone (1946), Our Lan’ (1947), Rome and Juliet (1951), The Carefree Tree (1955), The Lark (1955), Uncle Vanya (1973), The Iceman Cometh (1973), Equus (1974) as Peter Firth’s father, and Mixed Couples (1980). Higgins also appeared frequently on television from the late 1940s, with roles in such series as Academy Theatre, One Man’s Family, CBS Television Workshop, Broadway Television Theatre, You Are There, Goodyear Television Playhouse, The United States Steel Hour, Studio One, Playhouse 90, Kraft Television Theatre, One Step Beyond, Play of the Week, The Best of the Post, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Hallmark Hall of Fame, The Outer Limits, Ben Casey, Gunsmoke, The Defenders, The Virginian, The Andy Griffith Show, The Guiding Light, The Hamptons, The Equalizer, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Law & Order, and 100 Centre Street. He was also featured in numerous films during his career including Edge of Fury (1958), Terror in the City (1964), The Arrangement
the Black (2006), The Savages (2007), The Favor (2007), Synecdoche, New York (2008), and An American Carol (2008). Higgins also appeared in the tele-films Paul’s Case (1980), A Time for Miracles (1980), Kent State (1981), Carl Sandburg: Echoes and Silences (1982), Born Beautiful (1982), The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story (1983), Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter (1984), Nobody’s Child (1986), and Barnum (1986).
HIGH , WALLY Musician and actor Wally High died of cancer in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, on January 2, 2008. He was 59. High was active in the local music scene in Kensington and was the organizer of the fundraising concert, The Joe Show. He became
Wally High
Dan Aykroyd’s bodyguard and assistant while the actor was in Kensington and appeared in small roles in the films Rainbow (1995) and Blues Brothers 2000 (1998). High and his band, The Non Prophets, recorded their first CD, I Dreamt I Had a Recurring Dream, shortly before his death.
Michael Higgins
HIGHTOWER, ROSELLA Ballerina Rosella Hightower died from complications following a series of strokes in Cannes, Frances, on November 3, 2008. She was 88. Hightower was born in Ardmore, Oklahoma, on January 10, 1920, and was of Choctaw descent. She studied dance when her family moved to Kansas City, Missouri, when she was a child. She joined
(1969), Wanda (1970), Desperate Characters (1971), The Conversation (1974), The Stepford Wives (1975), Death Play (1976), An Enemy of the People (1978), King of the Gypsies (1978), The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979), The Black Stallion (1979), Fort Apache the Bronx (1981), Woody Allen’s A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy (1981), Staying Alive (1983), Rumble Fish (1983), Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985), 1918 (1985), Seven Minutes in Heaven (1985), On Valentine’s Day (1986), Courtship (1987), Angel Heart (1987), Crusoe (1988), New York Stories (1989), Dead Bang (1989), An Empty Bed (1990), The Local Stigmatic (1990), Death Becomes Her (1992), Wind (1992), School Ties (1992), The Imposters (1998), Just the Ticket (1999), State and Main (2000), Buddy & Grace (2001), Mean People Suck (2002), Swimf@n (2002), Messengers (2004), Goodnight Bill (2005), Off
Rosella Hightower
199 Leonide Massine’s Ballet Russe of Monte Carlo in 1937, and came to New York City with the company after the outbreak of World War II. She soon joined the newly formed American Ballet Theater for several years before joining Col. W. de Basil’s Ballets Russes. She was acclaimed for her performance with de Basil’s company when she replaced an ailing Alicia Markova in Giselle at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1947. She worked with such choreographers as Massine, Agnes deMille, and Antony Tudor, but was especially associated with the works of Bronislava Nijinska. She joined the new ballet troupe formed by the Marquis George de Cuevas in 1947, where she performed in such works as Nijinska’s Rondo Capriccioso and John Taras’ Piege de Lumiere. She remained with the de Cuevas Ballet until his death in 1961, and largely retired from the stage soon after. Hightower opened the Centre de Danse Classique in Cannes in 1962, which soon became one of Europe’s premiere dance schools. She also served as director of several major companies including the Marseilles Ballet from 1969 to 1972, the Ballet of the Grand Theatre of Nancy from 1973 to 1974, the Paris Ballet from 1980 to 1983, and Milan’s La Scala from 1985 to 1986. She was the subject of choreographer Francois Verret’s documentary film Rosella Hightower in 1991.
HILARY, JENNIFER British actress Jennifer Hilary died in London on August 6, 2008. She was 65. Hilary was born in Frimley, Surrey, England, on December 14, 1942. She became interested in theater at an early age and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. She began her stage career in Liverpool and performed in repertory throughout the country. She made her Broadway debut in a 1963 production of Jean Anouilh’s The Rehearsal. The following year, she performed in Christopher Taylor’s The Wings of the Dove on West End. She remained a popular stage actress throughout her career, with roles in such productions as Relatively Speaking (1967), Dear Daddy (1976), and Dennis Potter’s Sufficient Carbohydrate (1983). Hilary also appeared frequently on film and television from the early 1960s. Her film credits include Becket (1964), The Heroes of Telemark (1965), The Idol (1966), One Brief Summer (1970), ffolkes (1979), Five Days One Summer (1982), and Slipstream (1989). Hilary was also featured in television productions of The Woman in White (1966), Dr. Atkinson’s Daughter (1969), The Sun Also
Jennifer Hilary
2008 • Obituaries
Rises (1984), Miss A & Miss M (1987), Zoya (1995), and Bliss (1995). Her other television credits include such series as Journey to the Unknown, The Gold Robbers, Department S, ITV Saturday Night Theatre, Out of the Unknown, A Family at War, Jason King, Sam, Z Cars, Crown Court, Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected, The Gentle Touch, Play for Today, BBC 2 Playhouse, Double First, Stay Lucky, Pie in the Sky, Midsommer Murders, and Doctors.
HILL, MIKE British television producer Mike Hill died in Deal, Kent, England, on March 16, 2008. He was 84. He was born Denys Michael RyshworthHill in Yorkshire, England, on June 17, 1923. He served in the British Fleet Air Arm during World War II. He lived in London after the war where he wrote for sev-
Mike Hill
eral small magazines and for the Amalgamated Press. He joined the BBC in the 1960s as an assistant to his friend Rowan Ayers. He worked with Ayers on the Late-Night Line-Up program and became executive producer for the discussion program Up Sunday in 1972. He was also executive producer for the musical satire program The End of the Pier Show in 1974. He was later involved in the productions of such programs as Looking Glass, Rutland Weekend Television, The Snow Queen, and The Light Princess. He also produced the tele-films Schoolgirl Chums (1982) and St. Ursula’s in Danger (1983) before retiring from the BBC. Hill later authored three books, including a fictionalized account of his years with the BBC, A Little Local Difficulty.
HILL, PHIL Race-car driver Phil Hill, who was the first U.S. driver to win the Formula One Championship, died of complications from Parkinson’s disease in a Monterey, California, hospital on August 28, 2008. He was 81. Hill was born in Miami, Florida, on April 20, 1927, and was raised in Santa Monica, California. He became fascinated with cars at an early age and dropped out of college to pursue a career as a race-car driver. He worked as a mechanic for other drivers from the early 1950s, and competed in races in Santa Ana, Pebble Beach, and Mexico. He was a technical advisor for the 1955 film The Racers. He joined the Ferrari team in Europe later in the decade and won the first of three Le Mans races in 1958. He also won
Obituaries • 2008
200
Phil Hill
the Sebring race three times and earned the Formula One title for Ferrari in 1961. He continued to compete until retiring from racing in 1967. Hill was an advisor for the 1966 John Frankenheimer film Grand Prix starring James Garner, and was featured on screen as racer Tim Randolph.
Commonwealth expedition led by Sir Vivian Fuchs in 1957 that crossed the Antarctic and reached the South Pole. He also led an expedition in the Himalayas to search for the Abominable Snowman, or Yeti, in 1960. Hillary continued his life of adventure, piloting a twinengine ski plane over the Arctic for a North Pole landing, accompanied by lunar astronaut Neil Armstrong. He made countless lectures and public appearances and served as New Zealand’s high commissioner to India, Bangladesh, and Nepal from 1985 to 1988. He also founded the Sir Edmund Hillary Himalayan Trust which raised money to build schools, medical clinics, and other facilities for Nepal’s Sherpa villages. He also served as president of New Zealand’s Peace Corps and was an advocate of conservation efforts. Hillary’s son, Peter, also became a mountaineer, and climbed Everest in 1990. Peter and the son of Tenzing Norkay, who died in 1986, climbed Everest together as part of a 50th anniversary celebration in 2003. Sir Edmund was the author of over a dozen books including High Adventure (1955), No Latitude for Error (1961), the autobiography Nothing Venture, Nothing Win (1975), Two Generations (1984) co-authored with his son, and View from the Summit: The Remarkable Memoir by the First Person to Conquer Everest (1999). Hillary was featured in the 1953 documentary film of his greatest achievement, The Conquest of Everest. He was a guest on the quiz show What’s My Line? twice in the 1960s, and appeared in several other documentaries including Return to Everest (1984), Hillary & Tenzing: Climbing to the Roof of World (1997), and A Life of My Choice (1999).
HILLARY, SIR EDMUND Sir Edmund Hillary, the New Zealand mountaineer who became the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953, died in Auckland, New Zealand, on January 11, 2008. He was 88. Hillary was born in Tuakau, near Auckland, on July 20, 1919. His father was a commercial beekeeper and Edmund worked the farm as a youth. He also began climbing at an early age. He attended Auckland University and served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force as a navigator during World War II. He began climbing mountains in earnest after the war, learning from top alpinists in the Swiss Alps. His growing reputation for climbing icy peaks in Nepal led to him being invited to participate in the 1953 Everest expedition of the Royal Geographical Society–Alpine Club led by Col. Henry John Hunt. Hillary and his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norkay, made the expedition’s second assault on the summit on May 29, 1953. The two men made the treacherous ascent to the 29,035 foot summit and became international heroes with their success. Hillary continued to climb mountains but never made another trek up Everest. He joined a British
HILLERMAN, TONY Detective novelist Tony Hillerman, who was noted for his books featuring the Navajo Tribal Police, died of pulmonary failure in an Albuquerque, New Mexico, hospital on October 26, 2008. He was 83. Hillerman was born in Sacred Heart, Oklahoma, on May 27, 1925. He was a highly decorated combat veteran during World War II and worked as a journalist from the late 1940s through the early 1960s. He subsequently taught journalism at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. His first novel, The Blessing Way, was published in 1970 and introduced Joe Leaphorn of the Navajo Tribal Police in a mystery set in the Four Corners area of New Mexico
Sir Edmund Hillary
Tony Hillerman
201 and Arizona. Leaphorn and his associate, Jim Chee, starred in Hillerman’s subsequent novel Dance Hall of the Dead, which won the Edgar Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America. Fred Ward starred as Leaphorn and Lou Diamond Phillips was Chee in the 1991 film adaptation of the 1982 novel The Dark Wind. Wes Studi and Adam Beach played Leaphorn and Chee in a series of tele-film adaptations on PBS including Skinwalkers (2002), Coyote Waits (2003), and A Thief of Time (2004). Other novels in the series include Listening Woman (1978), People of Darkness (1980), The Ghostway (1984), Talking God (1989), Sacred Clowns (1993), The Fallen Man (1996), The First Eagle (1998), Hunting Badger (1999), The Wailing Wind (2002), The Sinister Pig (2003), Skeleton Man (2004), and The Shape Shifter (2006). His other works include the novel The Fly on the Wall (1971), and the children’s books The Boy Who Made Dragonfly (1972) and Buster Mesquite’s Cowboy Band (1973). Hillerman was also the author of the 2001 memoir Seldom Disappointed. He was recipient of the Mystery Writers of America’s Grand Master Award in 1991.
HILLIER , S TELLA British radio producer Stella Hillier, who was instrumental in securing Dylan Thomas’ completion of Under Milk Wood, died in England on November 10, 2008. She was 93. Hillier was born in Weston-Super-Mare, England, on November 13, 1914. She joined the BBC as a junior secretary in Bristol in the late 1930s. She went to London in 1938, and
Stella Hillier
worked on the BBC’s Radio Newsreel during World War II. She became chief organizer for the new Radio Features department after the war, shepherding such literary talent as Dylan Thomas, Louis, Mac Neice, Douglas Cleverdon, and Christopher Sykes. She dragged Dylan Thomas from a local pub in the early 1950s to complete Under Milk Wood and get it on the air. She also oversaw the annual Christmas Day broadcasts that aired prior to the Queen’s speech. The Radio Features department was disbanded in the mid–1960s. Hillier married Australian journalist Roland Wilkes as moved to Australia later in the decade.
HINZ , MICHAEL German actor Michael Hinz died of complications from a stroke in a Munich,
2008 • Obituaries
Michael Hinz
Germany, hospital on November 6, 2008. He was 68. Hinz was born in Berlin, Germany, on December 28, 1939. He began his acting career on stage in Hamburg in the 1950s and made his film debut in Bernhard Wicki’s anti-war drama The Bridge (1959). He became a leading performer in films and television over the next five decades. His film credits include Gestandnis Einer Sechzehnjahrigen (1960), Stage Fright (1960), Heritage of Bjorndal (1960), Gustav Adolfs Page (1960), Und Sowas Nennt Sich Leben (1961), Love, Freedom and Treachery (1961), The Phony American (1961), The Longest Day (1962) as Manfred Rommel, Only a Woman (1962), The Lightship (1963), Jack and Jenny (1963), Lana; Queen of the Amazons (1964), Tante Frieda — Neue Lausbubengeschichten (1965), Onkel Filser — Allerneueste Lausbubengeschichten (1966), Cat and Mouse (1967), Born Black (1969), The Last Escape (1970), Four Times That Night (1972), Return of Halleluja (1972), The Spy Who Never Was (1973), Love Bavarian Style (1973), Beyond the Darkness (1974), Touch Me Not (1974), Champagner aus dem Knobelbecvher (1975), and The Death of Mario Ricci (1983). Hinz was also seen in television productions of Das Paradies (1960), Nach all der Zeit (1960), Geliebt in Rom (1963), Stadtpark (1963), Colombe (1965), Nun Singen sie Wieder (1965), Das Leben in Meiner Hand (1966), Geronimo und die Rauber (1966), Leben wie die Fursten (1966), Die Verschenkten Jahre (1966), Stille Winkel, Laute Kuste (1970), Besush auf Einem Kleinen Planeten (1971), Bluten der Gesellschaft (1972), Doppelspiel in Paris (1972), Mit dem Strom (1972), Merkwurdige Lebensgeschiche des Friedrich Freiherrn von der Trenck (1973), Ardechois-Coeur-Fidele (1974), LH 615 — Operation Munchen (1975), Oblomows Liebe (1976), Alexander Marz (1976), Die Traumfrau (1978), Die Geisterbehorde (1979), Die Gartenlaube (1982), Mamas Geburstag (1985), and Ausgetrickst (1991). He was featured as Gustav in the 1968 television series Hauptstrasse Gluck, and was Uncle Quentin Kikkin in The Famous Five from 1978 to 1979. He was also Reiner Muller in Forsthaus Falkenau in 1989, and was Domrose the Butler in Funf Sterne from 2005 to 2008. Hinz’s other television credits include episodes of Pater Brown, Das Kriminalmuseum, Butler Parker, Okay S.I.R., Der Kommissar, Die Kette, Ein Fall fur Zwei, Derrick, Die Gluckliche Fami-
Obituaries • 2008
202
lie, SOKO 5113, Der Millionenbauer in the recurring role of Bankdirektor Hollman, Heidi und Erni, Der Landarzt, Happy Holliday, Liebe ist Privatsache, Florida Lady, Lutz & Hardy, Der Konig, Wildbach, Rosamunde Pilcher, Aus Heiterem Himmel as Dr. Merlin, Bei aller Liebe as Hans Mullerschon, Unser Charly, Der Letzte Zeuge, In Aller Freudenschaft, and Der Bergdoktor.
HIROKAWA , TAICHIRO Japanese voice actor Taichiro Hirokawa died of cancer in a Shibuya, Tokyo, hospital on March 3, 2008. He was 68. He was born Shinjiro Hirokawa in Tokyo on February 15, 1940. He frequently dubbed such actors as Tony Curtis and Robert Redford for Japanese audiences. He was also Daphney Hlomuka
Taichiro Hirokawa
the voice of Roger Moore in several James Bond movies and for Eric Idle for Monty Python films. He also provided voices for numerous anime productions. He was the voice of Mamoru Kodai in the Space Battleship Yamato series and starred in Sherlock Hound. He was the voice of Arsene Lupin III in the 1969 television film and Snork for the animated feature Moomin in 1972. His other anime credits include The Adventures of Captain Future, Knight of the Zodiac, Cashan: Robot Hunter, and Mezzo Forte.
HIRSCHFIELD, LEONARD Cinematographer Leonard Hirschfield died in New York City after a long illness on August 15, 2008. He was 80. Hirschfield was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on January 30, 1928, and attended film school at the University of Southern California. He worked with director Frank Perry early in his career, serving as cinematographer for his acclaimed 1962 drama David and Lisa, and for the 1963 cautionary tale of nuclear war, Ladybug Ladybug. Hirschfield was producer, director, and writer for the 1966 drama Ta Skalopatia (The Steps) starring Irene Papas. He also served as director and cinematographer for numerous commercials, earning CLIO awards for his work for Sprite, Volkswagen, and other clients. Hirschfield was second unit cinematographer on several films including Tombstone (1993) and Shadow Conspiracy (1997). HLOMUKA, DAPHNEY South African actress Daphney Hlomuka-Ngubane died after a long
battle with cancer in a Johannesburg, South Africa, hospital on October 1, 2008. He was 59. She was born in Durban, South Africa, in 1949, and began her acting career on stage in the late 1960s. She appeared in numerous productions from playwright Welcome Msomi, and toured Europe in the musical Ipi Tombi in the 1970s. She also performed on radio and television and starred as Queen Ntombazi in the 1986 mini-series Shaka Zulu. She starred as MaMhlongo in the television drama series Hlala Kwabafileyo, and was Sis May in the popular comedy series S’gudi S’naysi (It’s Good, It’s Nice) in the 1980s. She was also featured in the film Soweto Green (1995), and an episode of the television series Tarzan: The Epic Adventures in 1997. HOARE, TONY British television writer Tony Hoare died of a heart attack in France on October 2, 2008. He was 70. Hoare was born in Oxford, England, on February 4, 1938. He left school to head to London, where he became part of a gang of bank robbers. He spent much of the 1960s in and out of prison. While serving time, Hoare worked in the prison library where he began writing. He penned the novel The Chaps while incarcerated, which was later produced for television.
Tony Hoare
After his release from prison, he began writing frequently for television. Hoare’s personal experiences made him a popular writer of crime and detective series. He penned episodes of such shows as Crown Court,
203 Within These Walls, New Scotland Yard, Hazell, Target, The Sweeney, The Gentle Touch, Bergerac, Up the Elephant and Round the Castle, Minder, and Mitch. Hoare also wrote and directed an episode of the series London’s Burning in 1989, and scripted the 1995 television drama The Turnaround. In recent years, he was working on a musical about his life of crime, entitled Blag.
HOCH, EDWARD D. Mystery writer Edward D. Hoch died in Rochester, New York, on January 17, 2008. He was 77. Hoch was born in Rochester on February 22, 1930. He began writing in the early 1950s while working for an advertising agency. His first story appeared in the pulp magazine Famous Detective Stories in 1955. Hoch had over 900 short stories published during his career, including contributions to The Saint Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. He first appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine in 1962, and contributed more than a story a month there for over thirty years. His 1967 short story “The Oblong Room” earned Hoch the Mystery Writ-
2008 • Obituaries
Computer Cops that included The Transvection Machine (1971), The Fellowship of HAND (1972), and The Frankenstein Factor (1975).
HOFMANN, ALBERT Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann, who first synthesized the hallucinogenic drug LSD in 1938, died at his home at Burg im Leimental, near Basel, Switzerland, on April 29, 2008. He was 102. Hofmann was born in Baden, Switzerland, on January 11, 1906. He became fascinated with the mys-
Albert Hofmann
Edward D. Hoch
ers of America’s Edgar Award. He received their highest honor, the Grand Master Award, in 2001. He published stories under numerous pseudonyms including Stephen Dentinger, Pat McMahon, Anthony Circus, R.L. Stevens, R.E. Porter, Irwin Booth, Mr. X, and the house name, Ellery Queen. His short story “Off Season” was adapted as an episode of television’s The Alfred Hitchcock Hour in 1965, and “The Ring with the Velvet Ropes” was adapted for Rod Serling’s Night Gallery in 1972. Two of his stories, “The Man at the Top” and “The Vorpal Blade” became episodes of Tales of the Unexpected in the early 1980s. His short-story “A Girl Like Cathy” was adapted for the 1969 film It Takes All Kinds. His character Nick Velvet, a professional thief for hire, was featured in the 1976 television miniseries Nick Verlaine ou Comment Voler la Tour Eiffel. His tales also featured such characters as Captain Leopold of the Violent Crimes Squad, small town doctor Sam Hawthorne who solves unusual crimes, code expert Jeffrey Rand of British Intelligence, the 2000 year old Coptic priest Simon Ark who is hunting for Satan, and Ben Snow, a detective of the Old West. He also wrote a trilogy of science fiction novels feature the
tical nature of life as a child. He studied chemistry at Zurich University, where he earned his doctorate in 1929. He stumbled upon lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) with studying ergot fungi on synthesized pharmacological compounds while working at Sandoz Laboratories in 1938. It was several years later that he discovered LSD’s psychotropic nature by accidentally ingesting a bit on his fingers. Hofmann became an avid proponent of the altered state the drug created, which gave him the sensation of oneness with the world. He took LSD many more times over the years and went on to study other psychotropics. He later synthesized psilocybin and psilocin from the hallucinogenic mushrooms considered sacred by the Mazatec shamans of Mexico. LSD became a popular drug with the counterculture movement of the 1960s, and Hofmann became friends with such adherents as Aldous Huxley, Timothy Leary, and Allen Ginsburg. He did object to the somewhat cavalier approach many took towards the drug, arguing that the near mystical nature of the substance should be respected. Hofmann continued to serve as head of the research department for natural medicine at Sandoz until his retirement in 1971. He was the author of an autobiographical account of his experiences with the drug, LSD: My Problem Child, in 1979, and co-wrote the 1998 book The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries. He was also featured in the 2002 Canadian documentary film, Hofmann’s Potion.
HOLMES , ERNIE Football player Ernie Holmes was killed in an automobile accident near Houston, Texas, on January 17, 2008, when his car left the road, flipped over several times, and ejected him from the vehicle. He was 59. Holmes was born in
Obituaries • 2008
204
Ernie Holmes
Jamestown, Texas, on July 11, 1948. He played college football at Texas Southern University and joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1972. He was part of the team’s defensive line known as the Steel Curtain and participated in two Super Bowl victories. He left the Steelers briefly for New England in 1977 before retiring from the field. Holmes was featured as a bouncer in the 1985 horror film Fright Night and guest-starred in an episode of television’s The A-Team in 1986. He also joined with other NFL stars to participate in a Battle Royal with WWE wrestlers at Wrestlemania 2 in 1986.
HOLOUBEK, GUSTAW Leading Polish actor Gustaw Holoubek died in Poland on March 6, 2008. He was 84. Holoubek was born in Krakow, Poland, on April 21, 1923. He fought against the Germans during the 1939 invasion of Poland and was imprisoned in a Nazi POW camp during the war. He began his career on stage in Krakow in 1947 and spent many years as an actor and director with the Dramatic Theatre in Warsaw. He also appeared frequently in films from the 1950s, with such credits as The Epopee of Warsaw (1953), Men of Blue Cross (1955), Mystery of a Mining Shaft (1956), The Noose (1958), Lydia Ate the Apple (1958), Polar Bear (1959), Erotique (1960), One Room Tenants (1960), Coloured Stockings (1960), Story of the Golden Boot (1961), Goodbye to the Past (1961), The Past (1961), Opening Tomorrow (1962), Son and Shadow (1962), Cafe from the Past (1962), Yesterday in Fact
(1963), Gangsters and Philanthropists (1963), The Law and the Fist (1964), Jump (1965), The Saragossa Manuscript (1965), The Moment of Peace (1965), Maria and Napoleon (1966), The Game (1968), Salt of the Black Earth (1970), Landscape with a Hero (1971), Goya — Oder Der Arge Weg der Erkenntnis (1971), How Far, How Near (1972), The Hour-Glass Sanatorium (1973), A Room with a View on the Sea (1978), Hospital of the Transfiguration (1979), In Broad Daylight (1981), Childish Questions (1981), Daimler-Benz Limousine (1982), An Uneventful Story (1983), Killing Auntie (1985), Write and Fight (1985), In an Old Manor House or The Independence of Triangles (1985), Lake of Constance (1986), Siegfried (1986), Verification (1987), A Tale of Adam Mickiewicz’s “Forefathers’ Eve” (1989), Blue Eyes (1994), Awantura o Basie (1995), The Book of Great Wishes (1997), With Fire and Sword (1999), and Listy Milosne (2001). Holoubek was a supporter of the Solidarity Union in Poland in the 1980s, and was elected to the Polish Senate. He also served on President Lech Walesa’s Council Culture. He was a drama professor at the Theatre Academy in Warsaw in his later years.
HOLZMEISTER, JUDITH Austrian stage and screen actress Judith Holzmeister died in Baden, Austria, on June 23, 2008. She was 88. Holzmeister was born in Innsbruck, Austria, on February 14, 1920. She made her acting debut with the Provincial Theater in Linz and joined the Burg Theater in 1947. She per-
Judith Holzmeister
Gustaw Holoubek
formed on stage there for decades, starring in numerous plays. She also appeared in films from the 1940s including Lysistrata (1947), Eroica (1949), Young Girls of Vienna (1949), Pramien auf den Tod (1950), House of Life (1952), April 1, 2000 (1952), Music by Night (1953), Gotz von Berlichingen (1955), Wilhelm Tell (1956), Kaiserjager (1956), Maria Stuart (1959), and Don Carlos (1961). Holzmeister was also featured in television productions of Fast ein Poet (1961), Kean (1963), Heinrich VI (1964), Die Sylvesternacht— Uberspannte Person (1966), Die Wilde (1968), Wie eine Trane im Ozean (1970), Die Jagdgesellschaft (1974), Memeto Mori (1975), Alpensaga, Teil 3 — Das Grosse Fest (1977), and Lovers (1995). She was married to actor Curt Jurgens from 1947 to 1955 and to Bruno Dallansky from 1959 until her death.
205 HOMME, TODD Todd Homme, a star of the reality television show Blush: The Search for the Next Great Make-Up Artist, was found dead at his home in Manhattan on December 13, 2008. He was 23. He was born Todd Robert Wallace in Tucson, Arizona, on
2008 • Obituaries
HORNE, JAMES, JR. Actor James Horne, Jr., died of cancer in New York City on December 29, 2008. He was 91. He was born in Glendale, California, on March 28, 1917, the son of film director James W. Horne and silent film star Cleo Ridgely. He was also the twin brother of actress June Horne. He began his film career in the late 1930s, appearing in a small role in his father’s 1937 Laurel and Hardy comedy Way Out West. He was also seen in Men of Boys Town (1941), Keep ’Em Flying (1941), and Swing Fever (1943). He served as a U.S. Army combat photographer in Europe during World War II and was awarded two Bronze Stars. Horne returned to Hollywood after the war and was featured in small roles in such films as San Quentin
Todd Homme
July 11, 1985, and raised in California. He was a contestant on the 2008 Lifetime Channel program that had professional make-up artists compete for a $100,000 prize, a Max Factor contract, and the chance to work on an InStyle photo shoot. Homme had made the final three on the show, with the finale scheduled to air several days after his death.
James Horne, Jr.
HORNBY, CLIVE
British actor Clive Hornby, who starred as Jack Sugden for over 28 years on the television soap opera Emmerdale Farm, died in En-
(1946), The Beginning or the End (1947), Living in a Big Way (1947), Unconquered (1947), Back Trail (1948), Good Sam (1948), Command Decision (1948), Samson and Delilah (1949), The Man with Thirty Sons (1950), A Life of Her Own (1950), The Glass Menagerie (1950), Royal Wedding (1951), A Place in the Sun (1951), and The Girl Who Had Everything (1953). Horne left acting in the early 1950s to become a leading male model in New York.
HORTON, LOUISA Actress Louisa Horton died in Englewood, New Jersey, on January 25, 2008. She was 83. Horton was born in Peking, China, on
Clive Hornby
gland on July 3, 2008. He was 63. Hornby was born in Liverpool, England, on October 20, 1944. He performed with the 1960s pop music group The Dennisons as a drummer before training as an actor and performing in repertory later in the decade. He was featured in a small role in the 1979 film Yanks, and appeared on television in episodes of Minder, Get Some In!, and Space: 1999. He made his debut in Emmerdale Farm in 1980 and continued his role as Sugden until his death.
Louisa Horton
Obituaries • 2008
206
September 10, 1924, and was raised in Haiti and Washington, D.C. She began her career on stage in the 1940s and was featured in several films including All My Sons (1948) and Walk East on Beacon! (1952). She was also seen frequently in such early television series as The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre, NBC Presents, The Philco Television Playhouse, Suspense, The Clock, The Ford Theatre Hour, Lights Out, Goodyear Television Playhouse, Armstrong Circle Theatre, The Philip Morris Playhouse, The United States Steel Hour, Justice, Inner Sanctum, Kraft Television Theatre, and The Defenders. Horton was married to the late director George Roy Hill from 1951 until their divorce in the 1970s. She returned to the screen in the 1976 film Swashbuckler, and was also seen in the horror film Alice, Sweet Alice (1976) with Brooke Shields. Her final performance was in the 1990 tele-film Everyday Heroes.
HOUSE , LUCILLE Stuntwoman Lucille House McCoy, who was stand-in and close friend to actress Maureen O’Hara, died on July 21, 2008. She was 98. House was born on April 3, 1910. She was featured as a dancer in the early science fiction–comedy film It’s Great to Be Alive (1933). She also performed horse-riding stunts in the films The Great Gatsby (1949), Westward the Women (1951), and Destry (1954). House became Maureen O’Hara’s stand-in and riding double for the films Tripoli (1950), Flame of Araby (1951), Spencer’s Mountain (1963), and McLintock! (1963). She and O’Hara remained close friends and House was credited as her assistant on the 1991 film Only the Lonely. HOWARD, PETER Peter Howard, who arranged dance music for numerous Broadway productions, died of pneumonia at the Lillian Booth Actors’ Home in Englewood, New Jersey, on April 18, 2008. He was 80. He was born Howard Weiss in Miami, Florida, on July 29, 1927. He studied at Juilliard and Columbia University and began working on Broadway in the late 1940s. He arranged dance music for such musicals as Say, Darling (1958), Carnival! (1961), Subways Are for Sleeping (1961), I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1962), Here’s Love (1963), Hello, Dolly! (1964), The Roar of the Greasepaint—The Smell of the Crowd (1965), Her First Roman (1968), 1776 (1969), La Strada (1969), The
Peter Howard
Grand Tour (1979), The Tap Dance Kid (1983), Crazy for You (1992), and Swinging on a Star (1995). He was also musical director for How Now, Dow Jones (1967), Barnum (1980), Dance a Little Closer (1983), Baby (1983), Harrigan ’n Hart (1985), Jerome Kern Goes to Hollywood (1986), Into the Light (1986), Stepping Out (1987), and Comedy Tonight (1994). He also composed incidental music and conducted the orchestra for many productions before retiring in 2000.
HOWARD, SANDY Film and television producer Sandy Howard died of complication from Alzheimer’s disease at the Motion Picture and Television Fund’s hospital in Woodland, California, on May 9, 2008. He was 80. Howard was born in the Bronx, New York, on August 1, 1927. He began his career in the late 1940s as a publicist for Broadway shows. He also directed television’s Howdy Doody Show and
Sandy Howard
produced Captain Kangaroo in the early 1950s. Howard served as executive producer for The Barry Gray Radio Show from 1951 to 1958. He moved to Hollywood in the late 1950s where he created the 1958 series Night Court U.S.A. He directed the 1958 film Tarzan and the Trappers and directed and produced 1964’s Diary of a Bachelor. Howard brought the Japanese science fiction film Gammera, about a huge flying turtle, to the United States in 1966, directing additional segments included in the domestic release. He also produced and scripted 1967’s Jack of Diamonds, and wrote, produced, and directed the 1968 film One Step to Hell. Howard also served as a producer for the films City of Fear (1965), A Man Called Horse (1970), Man in the Wilderness (1971), The Neptune Factor (1973), The Devil’s Rain (1975), Echoes of a Summer (1976), Sky Riders (1976), Embryo (1976), The Return of a Man Called Horse (1976), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977), the off-beat Circle of Iron (1978) starring David Carradine, City on Fire (1979), Jaguar Lives! (1979), the all-star disaster film Meteor (1979) with Sean Connery and Natalie Wood, Savage Harvest (1981), Triumphs of a Man Called Horse (1982), Vice Squad (1982) which he also scripted, Deadly Force (1983), What Waits Below (1984), Angel (1984), Hambone and Hillie (1984), Avenging Angel (1985), The Boys Next Door (1985), Kidnapped (1986),
207
2008 • Obituaries
Hollywood Vice Squad (1986), KGB: The Secret War (1986), the tele-film Nightstick (1987), Dark Tower (1987), Blue Monkey (1987), and Street Justice (1989).
HRABANEK, VLADIMIR Czech actor Vladimir Hrabanek died in Prague, Czech Republic, after a long illness on August 21, 2008. He was 70. Hrabanek was born in Prague, then part of Czechoslovakia, on January 22, 1938. He was a leading stage actor and director for over fifty years. He was also featured in numerous Czech films from the early 1960s including Transport from Paradise (1962), Every Young Man
Freddie Hubbard
States and Europe through the 1980s, leading his own jazz group. A serious lip injury in 1992 curtailed his career, though he did recover enough to make occasional performances and recordings.
Vladimir Hrabanek
(1965), A Well-Paid Walk (1966), Closely Watched Trains (1966), A Case for a Young Hangman (1970), Joachim, Put It in the Machine (1974), Pripad Mrtveho Muze (1974), Maracek, Pass Me the Pen! (1976), Adele Hasn’t Had Her Supper Yet (1977), Tomorrow I’ll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea (1977), The Apple Game (1978), Story from a Housing Estate (1979), Uteky Domu (1980), Just Whistle a Little (1981), Zelena Vina (1982), Fesak Hubert (1984), Three Veterans (1984), My Sweet Little Village (1985), Forbidden Dreams (1986), Vyzily Boudnik (1991), and The Last Butterfly (1991).
HUBBARD, FREDDIE Jazz musician Freddie Hubbard died of complications from a heart attack in a Los Angeles hospital on December 29, 2008. He was 70. Hubbard was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on April 7, 1938. He began playing the trumpet while in his school’s band and was working with Wes and Monk Montgomery in Indianapolis while still in his teens. He moved to New York in 1928, where he worked with such musicians as Sonny Rollins, J.J. Johnson, and Quincy Jones. He soon formed his own band and recorded Open Sesame in 1960. The albums Goin’ Up and Hub Cap soon followed, and Ready for Freddie was released in 1961. He joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers later in the year and remained with the group until 1966. He formed several small bands for the remainder of the decade and sometimes performed with Herbie Hancock and Max Roach. Hubbard’s popularity continued in the 1970s when he released the jazz albums Red Clay, First Light which earned a Grammy Award, Straight Life, and Sky Dive from CTI Records. He performed at concerts and festivals throughout the United
HUNTSMAN, J. PAUL Sound editor J. Paul Huntsman died of a brain tumor in Glendale, California, on February 21, 2008. He was 55. Huntsman was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, on February 4, 1953. He began working in films with Schick Sun Classic in Utah, where he was involved in the production of the television series Grizzly Adams. He moved to California in the late 1970s, where he worked in the sound department on numerous films, including Loving Couples (1980), Michael Mann’s Thief (1981), Personal Best (1982), Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983), Eddie and the Cruisers (1983), Deal of the Century (1983), The Hotel New Hampshire (1984), Racing with the Moon (1984), The Karate Kid (1984), Best Defense (1984), Falling in Love (1984), Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye (1985), St. Elmo’s Fire (1985), The Holcroft Covenant (1985), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Bring on the Night (1985), Blue City (1986), Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986), and Manhunter (1986). Huntsman joined Todd A-O Studios in 1986, where he often worked as a supervising sound editor on such projects as Johnny Be Good (1986), Major League (1989), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), The Wizard (1989), Pacific Heights (1990), White Palace (1990), Havana (1990), The Per-
J. Paul Huntsman
Obituaries • 2008
208
fect Weapon (1991), Necessary Roughness (1991), Man Trouble (1992), Pet Sematary II (1992), Scent of a Woman (1992), Benny & Joon (1993), The Firm (1993), Blue Chips (1994), The Cowboy Way (1994), Little Giants (1994), While You Were Sleeping (1995), To Die For (1995), Sabrina (1995), Grumpier Old Men (1995), Heaven’s Prisoners (1996), and The Rich Man’s Wife (1996). Huntsman was hired by Warner Bros Studios in 1996, where he was instrumental in converting the sound editing department from analog to a digitalbased system. He continued to work as a sound editor on such films as The Glimmer Man (1996), Murder at 1600 (1997), The Peacemaker (1997), Deep Impact (1998), The Thin Red Line (1998), Deep Blue Sea (1999), Keeping the Faith (2000), The Cell (2000), Pay It Forward (2000), Driven (2001), American Outlaws (2001), K-PAX (2001), Showtime (2002), The Big Bounce (2004), Starsky & Hutch (2004), Surviving Christmas (2004), Rize (2005), Racing Stripes (2005), and The Illusionist (2006). Huntsman also worked on several television productions including C.A.T. Squad: Python Wolf (1988), Travelling Man (1989), Jailbreaker (1994), Rasputin (1996), and Don King: Only in America (1997), which earned him an Emmy Award nomination.
HUTCHINSON, KANDICE Kandice Hutchinson, who was featured in the MTV reality show A Double Shot at Love, was killed in an automobile accident in Euless, Texas, on October 21, 2008. She was re-
Kandace Hutchinson
Joe Hyams
was the Tribune’s Hollywood columnist from 1951 to 1964. He was noted for his interviews with such stars as Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Frank Sinatra, and Spencer Tracy. Hyams was also seen on screen in cameo roles in several films, including The Lost Missile (1958), The Wild and the Innocent (1959), Pepe (1960), and Love in a Goldfish Bowl (1961). He left the Tribune in 1964, but continued to cover Hollywood for such magazines as the Saturday Evening Post, Redbook, and Ladies’ Home Journal. His 1966 biography, Bogie, was adapted for a tele-film in 1980. He also wrote the biographies Bogart & Bacall: A Love Story (1975) and James Dean: Little Boy Lost (1992). He was the author of the 1969 non-fiction Accomplices to the Crime: The Arkansas Prison Scandal, which served as the basis for Robert Redford’s 1980 film Brubaker. Hyams was also practitioner of martial arts and had studied under Bruce Lee. He wrote the 1979 book Zen in the Martial Arts and assisted Chuck Norris on his book The Secret of Inner Strength: My Story in the 1980s. Hyams was married to actress Elke Sommer from 1964 to 1981.
IBANEZ, PACO Mexican comedian and actor Pedro “Paco” San Francisco Ibanez died of complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in a Mexico City clinic on October 9, 2008. He was 60. He was a popular film and television performer in Mexico from the late 1980s. Ibanez was featured in the films Places Divertidos (1989), Deliciosa Sinverguenza (1990),
portedly intoxicated and participating in a street racing competition when her car flipped over and she was thrown from the vehicle. She was 22. Hutchinson was one of 24 people attempting to win the affections of Rikki and Vikki, the series’ bisexual twin stars. The series premiered in December of 2008, after Hutchinson’s death.
HYAMS, JOE Hollywood columnist and author Joe Hyams died of coronary artery disease in a Denver, Colorado, hospital on November 8, 2008. He was 85. Hyams was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on June 6, 1923. He served with distinction in the U.S. Army and covered the war for the Stars and Stripes newspaper as a field correspondent. After the war, he began working for the New York Herald Tribune. He
Paco Ibanez
209
2008 • Obituaries
Holiday Laughs (1990), Amor y Venganza (1991), Verano Peligroso (1991), Cuando Calienta el Sol (2000), Atlantis al Rescate (2007), and Mexican Bloodbath (2008). Ibanez was also featured in such television series as Vivo por Elena, Infierno en el Paraiso, Embrace Me Tightly, Real Love, Vecinos, VidaTV, and Pasion.
ICHIKAWA, JUN Japanese film director Jun Ichikawa collapsed while having lunch and was pronounced dead at a Tokyo hospital on September 19, 2008. He was 59. Ichikawa was born in Tokyo on November 25, 1948. He began working as a director in the mid–1970s, producing numerous popular television commercials. He helmed his first feature, the teen drama Kon Ichikawa
Jun Ichikawa
Bu Su, in 1987. He continued to direct such films as Kaisha Monogatari: Memories of You (1988), No Life King (1989), Tugumi (1990), Dying at a Hospital (1993), Kurepu (1993), The Tokyo Siblings (1995), Tokiwa: The Manga Apartment (1996), Tokyo Lullaby (1997), Tadon to Chikuwa (1998), Osaka Story (1999), Zawa-Zawa Shimokita-Sawa (2000), Tokyo Marigold (2001), Ryoma’s Wife, Her Husband and Her Lover (2002), the internationally acclaimed Tony Takitani (2004), Haru, Barney’s de (2006), Aogeba Totoshi (2006), and How to Become Myself (2007). Ichikawa was in the process of editing his final film, Buy a Suit, at the time of his death.
ICHIKAWA, KON Japanese film director Kon Ichikawa, whose career spanned sixty years, died of pneumonia in Tokyo on February 13, 2008. He was 92. Ichikawa was born in Uji-Yamada, Japan, on November 20, 1915. He attended technical school and began his film career as an animator. He was soon working as an assistant director of live-action films and made his directorial debut with 1946’s A Girl at Dojo Temple. He married screenwriter Yumiko Mogi, known professionally as Natto Wada, who worked with him on many of his subsequent films before retiring in the mid–1960s. She died in 1983. Ichikawa’s numerous film credits include A Thousand and One Nights with Toho (1947), A Flower Blooms (1948), 365 Nights (1949), Human Patterns (1949), Passion Without End (1949), Heat and Mud (1950), A Ginza Veteran (1950), Police and Small Gangsters (1950), Stolen Love (1951), The Lover (1951), Nightshade Flower (1951), River Solo Flows (1951), Wedding
March (1951), The Man Without a Nationality (1952), Mr. Lucky (1952), Young People (1952), The Woman Who Touched the Legs (1952), This Way, That Way (1952), Mr. Pu (1953), The Blue Revolution (1953), Youth of Heiji Senigata (1953), The Lovers (1953), Twelve Chapters on Women (1954), All About Me (1954), A Billionaire (1954), The Heart (1955), Ghost Story of Youth (1955), Punishment Room (1956), and Bridge of Japan (1956). Ichikawa was best known for the two anti-war films he helmed in the 1950s. The Burmese Harp (1956) dealt with a Japanese soldier’s inability to convince his fellow soldiers that the war has ended, and Fires on the Plain (1959), a horrific look at the deprivations of war as Japanese soldiers retreat during World War II. He also directed the films The Crowded Streetcar (1957), The Men of Tohoku (1957), Hole in One (1957), Flame of Torment (1958), Goodbye, Hello (1959), Odd Obsession (1959), A Woman’s Testament (1960), Bonchi (1960), Younger Brother (1960), Ten Dark Women (1961), The Outcast (1962), Being Two Isn’t Easy (1962), The Monkey Dance (1963), Revenge of a Kubuki Actor (1963), Alone on the Pacific (1963), Tokyo Olympiad (1965), The Tale of Genji (1966), Topo Gigio and the Missile War (1967), Youth (1968), Kyoto (1969), Mt. Fuji (1970), To Love Again (1971), The Wanderers (1973), Visions of Eight (1973), I Am a Cat (1975) narrated by a suicidal cat, Between Women and Wives (1976), The Inugamis (1976), The Devil’s Ballad (1977), Guillotine Island (1977), Queen Bee (1978), The Phoenix (1978), The House of Hanging (1979), Koto the Ancient City (1980), Lonely Heart (1981), The Makikoka Sisters (1983), Ohan (1984), The Hall of the Crying Deer (1986), Actress (1987), Princess of the Moon (1987), Crane (1988), Noh Mask Murders (1991), Fusa (1993), 47 Ronin (1994), The 8-Tomb Village (1996), Alley Cat (2000), Big Mama (2001), Escape (2002), and Ten Nights of Dreams (2006). IDILBI , YOUSSEF French television actor Youssef Idilbi committed suicide in France on May 16, 2008. He was 32. Idilbi was born on May 7, 1976. He began his career on French television in the role of Abdel Yildirem in the series Westenwind from 1999 to 2001. He was also seen as Appie in Russen from 2001 to 2002 and was Sid Porter in Onderweg Naar Morgen from 2002 to 2003. Idilbi starred as Hassan in the drama series Dankert & Dankert in 2007.
Obituaries • 2008
210
Youssef Idilbi
Sally Insul
IIJIMA, AI Japanese television personality and adult actress Ai Iijima was found dead at her home in Tokyo on December 24, 2008. She was 36. Iijima was born Okubo Matsue in Tokyo on October 31, 1972. She had a difficult childhood and ran away from home as a teenager. She began her showbusiness career in the early 1990s, appearing on television in provocative clothing.
frequently with the Goodman Theater. She appeared in small roles in several television series, including Seinfeld, Wings, Beverly Hills 90210, Baywatch, The XFiles, Frazier, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Gilmore Girls, Life with Bonnie, and My Name Is Earl. She was also seen in several films, including L.A. Confidential (1990), Primary Colors (1998), The Wedding Singer (1998), The Wedding Planner (2001), Old School (2003), The Last Shot (2004), Boy-Next-Door (2004), and Click (2006) with Adam Sandler. IORDACHE, STEFAN Romanian actor Stefan Iordache died in a hospital in Vienna, Austria, on September 14, 2008. He was 67. Iordache was born in Calafat, Romania, on February 3, 1941. He began his career on stage in the early 1960s and became one of
Ai Iijima
She made her adult video debut with the Crystal Eizo AV company in 1992, appearing in over 100 films. She also became hostess of the nighttime television program Gilgamesh Night. She subsequently left the adult film industry and made the transition to mainstream entertainment. She released a popular single and appeared frequently on television talk shows. She also created the manga series, Time Traveler Ai. He semi-autobiographical book, Platonic Sex, was published in 2000 and was adapted for a television mini-series and feature film in 2001. She also appeared in several films including Noroi the Curse (2005) and The Rug Cop (2006). Iijima was a regular panelist on the television series Sunday Japon and KinSuma before retiring in 2007 after suffering bouts of poor health.
INSUL, SALLY Actress Sally Insul died of heart failure in Los Angeles on August 4, 2008. She was 91. She was born in Chicago on October, 3, 1916, and began her career on stage at an early age, performing
Stefan Iordache
the country’s leading performers. He was also seen in numerous films including The Stranger (1964), Gaudeamus Igitur (1965), A Charming Girl (1966), Adio, Draga Nela! (1972), The Owners (1973), Special Issue (1978), Doctor Poenaru (1978), Avaria (1978), Memories from an Old Chest of Drawers (1979), Good Evening, Irina (1980), The Oil, the Baby and the Transylvanians (1981), Turn Back and Look Again (1981), Why Are the Bells Ringing, Mitica? (1981), Contest (1982), Glissando (1985), Ciuleandra (1985), A Spare Moment (1986), The Last Ball in November (1989), Those Who Pay with Their Lives (1991), Luxury Hotel (1992), The Mirror (1993),
211 The Earth’s Most Beloved Son (1993), My Name Is Adam (1996), The Man of the Day (1997), Faraonul (2004), and Ticalosii (2007).
ISELIN , JOHN JAY John Jay Iselin, who headed New York’s WNET public television network, died of pneumonia in Manhattan on May 6, 2008. He was 74. Iselin was born in Greenville, South Carolina, on December 8, 1933. He was educated at Harvard and Cambridge, in England, and began working at Newsweek magazine in the early 1960s. He became general manager of WNET in 1971, and was instrumental
2008 • Obituaries
credits include Magical Bicycle (1955), Mountains in Flames (1956), The Saragossa Manuscript (1965), The Doll (1968), King Boleslaus the Bold (1972), The HourGlass Sanatorium (1973), The Line (1975), To Save the City (1976), Where the Water Is Pure and the Grass Is Green (1977), Top Dog (1978), Death of a President (1978), High Flights (1980), and Upstairs, Downstairs (1988). He also appeared in the 1998 television miniseries Slawa i Chwala.
JACKSON, JOHNNY Songwriter, rapper, and music producer Johnny Jackson, who was also known as Johnny J when he produced hit songs for Tupac Shakur, committed suicide by jumping from the second tier of Los Angeles’ Twin Tower Correctional Facility on October 3, 2008. He was awaiting sentencing for a felony DUI charge. It was Jackson’s fourth offence in seven years and he had plead no contest to the charges. He was 39. Jackson was born in Juarez, Mex-
John Jay Iselin
in the station becoming the leading supplier of programming for PBS stations around the country. WNET originated such programs as Bill Moyers Journal, The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, Great Performances, and Live from Lincoln Center during Iselin’s tenure. He stepped down from WNET in 1986 and became president of Cooper Union College two years later. Iselin retired after ten years and became president of the Columbia University Marconi International Fellowship Foundation in 2000.
JABCZYNSKI , JULIAN Polish actor Julian Jabczynski died in Krakow, Poland, on January 17, 2008. He was 84. Jabczynski was born in Stanislawow, Poland, on March 31, 1923. He was a leading stage actor in Poland and also starred in numerous films. His film
Julian Jabczynski
Johnny Jackson
ico, on August 28, 1969, and raised in Los Angeles. He broke into the music industry in 1990 when he produced the single “Knockin’ Boots” for rapper Candyman. He soon met Tupac Shakur, and produced many of his hit recordings including “Pour Out a Little Liquor,” “Death Around the Corner,” “How Do You Want It,” and “Never Had a Friend Like Me,” which he co-wrote. Jackson produced over 100 tracks with Tupac before the rapper was shot to death in 1996. He also produced songs for such rappers as Bizzy Bone, WC and Jon B. He teamed with Napoleon and Val Young to create a tribute song for Tupac, “Never Forget,” in 2004. He was working with actress and singer Tatyana Ali on her album The Light shortly before his death.
JACKSON, PERVIS Pervis Jackson, who sang bass with the hit 1970s R&B group The Spinners, died of brain and liver cancer in a Detroit, Michigan, hospital on August 18, 2008. He was 70. Jackson was born in New Orleans on May 17, 1938. He moved to Detroit with his family, where he formed the vocal group the Domingoes with four friends in 1954. They changed their name to The Spinners in 1961 and had minor hits with their recordings of “That’s What Girls Are Made For” and “Love (I’m So Glad) I Found You.” They be-
Obituaries • 2008
212 fore making their way to West Germany in 1959. They made their television debut in the early 1960s and were soon performing throughout Europe. They also appeared on stage in New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. The Jacob Sisters performed on such German television variety series as Musik aus Studio B, Die Drehscheibe, Die Rudi Carrell Show, Mitt Pauken und Plaketten, Zouberhafte Heimat, and Gluckspitze. They also appeared in the 1968 film Quartet in Bed. The sisters were noted for their blonde hair and white poodles that usually accompanied them. They had a major success late in their career when they created “The Hamster Dance” in 2001. Hannelore was also featured with her sisters in an episode of the Polly Adler television series shortly before her death.
Pervis Jackson
came part of Motown in 1963 but had limited success under that label until 1970, when Stevie Wonder produced their hit recordings of “It’s a Shame” and “We’ll Have It Made.” The Spinners had their greatest success after moving to Atlantic Records in 1972 and bringing in Philippe Wynne as their lead singer. Wynne’s falsetto provided a pleasing contrast with Jackson’s deep bass on such hits as “I’ll Be Around” and “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love.” They continued to churn out hit recordings over the next several years including “One of a Kind (Love Affair),” “Ghetto Child,” “Mighty Love,” “They Just Can’t Stop It (Games People Play),” “Rubber Band Man,” and “Then Came You” with Dionne Warwick. Wynne left The Spinners in 1977, but the group returned to the charts with “Working My Way Back to You” and “Cupid” in 1980. Jackson remained with the group over the next 25 years with a varying lineup on the nostalgia circuit. He and fellow surviving members Henry Farnbrough and Bobbie Smith, with two newer additions, made their final appearance together shortly before Jackson’s death.
JACOB, HANNELORE Hannelore Jacob, the youngest of the popular German singing quartet the Jacob Sisters, died suddenly of heart failure at her apartment in Gravenbruck, Germany, on May 17, 2008. She was 64. Hannelore was born in Schmannewitz, Germany, in 1944. She and her sisters Eva, Johanna, and Rosi began performing in Leipzig in the 1950s be-
Hannelore Jacob (right, with the Jacob Sisters)
JACOBS, JESSIE Australian actress Jessica Jacobs, who starred in the children’s television series Saddle Club, was killed when she fell in the path of an oncoming train at Cheltenham station in Victoria, Australia, on May 11, 2008. She was 17. Jacobs was born
Jessie Jacobs
in Melbourne, Australia, on November 14, 1990. An aspiring musician who played the violin and bass, she was known for her roles on such Australian television series as Holly’s Heroes, Fergus McPhail, and Worst Best Friends. Jacobs was also featured in a local theatrical version of The Sound of Music.
JACOBS, SEAMAN Television comedy writer Seaman Jacobs died of cardiac arrest in a Los Angeles hospital on April 8, 2008. He was 96. Jacobs was born on February 25, 1912. He began working in television in the late 1940s, penning episodes of such series as The Ed Wynn Show, The Red Skelton Show, How to Marry a Millionaire, The Dennis O’Keefe Show, Bachelor Father, My Three Sons, My Favorite Martian, Petticoat Junction, The Addams Family, F Troop, The Mothers-in-Law, The Lucy Show, I Dream of Jeannie, The Andy Griffith Show, The Doris Day Show, The Jimmy Stewart Show, Here’s Lucy, Temperatures Rising, Inch High, Private Eye, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, the cartoon series Hong Kong Phooey, Good Heavens, Alice, The Love Boat, and Diff ’rent Strokes. Jacobs also co-scripted the 1963 Elvis Presley film It Happened at the World’s Fair and the 1981 comedy film Oh, God! Book II (1980) starring George
213
2008 • Obituaries
Monstrum (1996), The Fortune Teller (1998), and Vadim (2000). He also wrote a pair of memoirs about his family’s struggles in London during World War II and the post-war era, World’s End (2005) and White City (2007).
JAMES, PEE WEE Pee Wee James, a leading midget wrestler in the 1950s and 1960s, died after a long illness in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on September 16, 2008. He was 75. He was born Raymond Sabourin in Montreal, Canada, in 1933, and began wrestling under his real name while in his teens. Work-
Seaman Jacobs
Burns. He also contributed to the long-running Bob Hope television comedy specials in the 1980s and 1990s and provided comedy material for such stars as George Burns, Lucille Ball, Red Skelton, Danny Thomas, and Johnny Carson.
JAMES, DONALD Screenwriter and novelist Donald James Wheal, who was often billed as Donald James, died suddenly at his home in London on April 28, 2008. He was 76. He was born in England on August 22, 1931. He began working in London in public relations before making his debut in television scripting several episodes of No Hiding Place in 1964. Over the next decade, he scripted episodes of numerous series including The Man Who Never Was, The Avengers, The Saint, The Champions, Joe 90, Department S, The Secret Service, Paul Temple, Mission: Impossible, My Partner, the Ghost, UFO, The Persuaders!, The Befrienders, Jason King, The Adventurer, The Protectors, and Space: 1999. James also scripted the films The Limbo Line (1968) and Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (1969). He began writing novels in the late 1970s with A Spy at Evening in 1977, which was adapted for a serial by the BBC. Shadow of the Wolf followed in 1978 and his prescient thriller The Fall of the Russian Empire was published in 1982. James also wrote a trilogy of thrillers set in a totalitarian Russia of the future where Inspector Constantin Vadim seeks to protect the people of his homeland from nefarious evils. The trilogy included
JANG CHAE-WON Jang Chae-won, a transsexual South Korean television personality, committed
Donald James
Jang Chae Won
Pee Wee James
ing with promoter Jack Britton, he became a popular mat star in Canada and was soon performing in venues throughout North America. He was known as Pee Wee James in the ring from the early 1950s and often tag teamed with Jean Jacques Girard, better known as Little Brutus. Pee Wee worked with, and against, most of the leading midget wrestlers of the era including Sky Low Low, Little Beaver, Fuzzy Cupid, Lord Littlebrook, and Prince Salie Halasie. Often an in-ring villain, he competed in rings in the United States, Mexico, and Japan before retiring in 1968. He and his wife had settled in Ottawa, and he had been confined to a wheelchair in recent years because of spinal problems.
Obituaries • 2008
214
suicide by hanging herself in the bathroom of her Seoul, South Korea, home on October 3, 2008. She was 26. Jang had become a celebrity in South Korea when she appeared on the television show Game of Truth in May of 2007 after having undergone a sex-change operation. She had appeared on the same program as a man, then known as Jeong-hwan, three years earlier.
JARRETT , HUGH Hugh Jarrett, who performed with Elvis Presley’s backup singers the Jordanaires, died in an Atlanta, Georgia, hospital on May 31, 2008, of injuries he received in a March automobile accident. He was 78. Jarrett was born in Nashville, Tennessee, on October 11, 1929. He worked as a radio disk jockey before joining the Jordanaires gospel quartet in 1954. The group performed on television with Arthur
Joli Jaszai
(2002). She was also featured in the 1997 television mini-series A Szorad-Haz.
JENSEG, BJORN Norwegian actor Bjorn Jenseg died in Oslo, Norway, on March 4, 2008. He was 75. Jenseg was born in Sarpsborg, Norway, on July 28, 1932. He performed on stage and film from the 1950s, with roles in such films as The Wayward Girl (1959), Bobby’s War (1974), Den Siste Fleksnes (1974), The Feldmann Case (1987), Svampe (1990), Lakki ... The Boy Who Could Fly (1992), Cross My Heart and Hugh Jarrett (left, with Elvis Presley)
Godfrey’s Talent Scouts and made live appearance with The Grand Ole Opry. They began singing backup to Elvis on tour in 1956. They were also heard on many of his recordings, including “Teddy Bear” and “Don’t Be Cruel.” Jarrett performed with the group on such television programs as The Ed Sullivan Show, The Milton Berle Show, and The Steve Allen Show and was seen onscreen in the 1957 Elvis feature Loving You. He left the Jordanaires in 1958 and formed the Hugh Jarrett Singers. He remained involved with Presley, singing backup for his 1970 tour. Jarrett also appeared in character roles in several film and television productions. He was seen in the films The Annihilators (1985) and What Comes Around (1986), and the tele-films Murder in Coweta County (1983), Chiefs (1983), Resting Place (1986), and The Nightman (1992). He was also featured in a 1989 episode of In the Heat of the Night. Jarrett also reunited with the Jordanaires, making several appearances with them in the 1990s.
JASZAI, JOLI Veteran Hungarian character actress Joli Jaszai died in Piliscsaba, Hungary, on September 29, 2008. He was 101. She was born in Hungary on May 21, 1907. She appeared frequently on stage and was seen in films and television later in her career, sometimes billed as Jaszai Jolan. Jaszai’s film credits include Mamiblu (1986), Love, Mother (1986), Szerelem elso Verig (1986), A Hungarian Fairy Tale (1987), Ismeretien Ismeros (1989), Diary for My Father and Mother (1990), Hearts in Love (1991), Dear Emma, Sweet Bobe (1992), Sztracsatella (1996), and Love Till Last Blood
Bjorn Jenseg
Hope to Die (1994), Two Green Feathers (1995), Kristin Lavransdatter (1995), Chasing the Kidneystone (1996), Down, Across (1997), Mendel (1997), Gurin with the Foxtail (1998), Only Clouds Move the Stars (1998), Ollie Alexander Tiddly-Om-Pom-Pom (1998), When I Got Jesus ... with a Slingshot (2000), Better Off (2002), I Am Dina (2002), Psalms from the Kitchen (2003), Love Never Dies (2003), Solitude (2004), The Bothersome Man (2006), and O’ Horten (2007). Jenseg was also seen in the television mini-series Sorgekapen (2007) and Ping-Pong (2008).
JESSER, EUGEN Eugen Jesser, the director of the Vienna Boys’ Choir, died of cancer in Vienna, Austria, on May 11, 2008. He was 62. Jesser was born in Austria on March 17, 1946. He sang with the Vienna Boys’ Choir in his youth. He later studied history at the
215
2008 • Obituaries
Your Son (1984), With Intent to Kill (1984), Poison Ivy (1985), Stormin’ Home (1985), Going for the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story (1985), Sin of Innocence (1986), Guilty of Innocence: The Lenell Geter Story (1987), The Return of Desperado (1988), Longarm (1988), and Desperado: Avalanche at Devil’s Ridge (1988). He also worked on the television series The Dukes of Hazzard and Dallas. Jessup reunited with Larry Buchanan for his final film credit, a biblical semi-documentary entitled The Copper Scroll of Mary Magdalene in 2004.
Eugen Jesser
University of Vienna and earned a doctorate in 1982. He served in the Austrian Ministry of Education from the 1970s. He became the president of the Vienna Boys’ Choir in 2001 and director in 2003. The history of the choir dated back to the 15th century when Emperor Maximilian I formed the Imperial Court Choristers. It included such illustrious names as Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, and Bruckner during its long history. The choir remained an internationally esteemed group consisting of 100 boys between the ages of 9 and 14 divided into four sections. Jesser was instrumental in initiating the construction of a new concert hall for the choir and renovating the Augarten School and boarding facilities. He also endeavored to promote the choir as cultural ambassadors for Austria. JESSUP, ROBERT Cinematographer Robert Jessup died in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on August 14, 2008. He was 78. Jessup was born in New Jersey on May 23, 1930, and served in the U.S. Air Force in Korea. He moved to Dallas in the 1960s, where he began working in films as a cinematographer. He worked with director Larry Buchanan on a handful of low-budget films that were released directly to television including Mars Needs Women (1967), Creature of Destruction (1967), Night Fright (1967), In the Year 2889 (1967), and Hell Raiders (1968). He continued to work in films and television over the next three decades, with such credits as Strawberries Need Rain (1970), Sugar Hill (1974), Race with the Devil (1975), Hollywood Man (1976), Ode to Billy Joe (1976), Futureworld (1977), Drive-In (1976), A Small Town in Texas (1976), Smokey and the Bandit (1977), The Seniors (1978), The Big Brawl (1980), The White Lions (1981), Deadly Blessing (1981), The Dream Chasers (1982), Silent Rage (1982), Split Image (1982), Porky’s Revenge (1985), SpaceCamp (1986), The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking (1988), and Under Suspicion (1991). Jessup was also cinematographer on the tele-films Fair Play (1972), Thaddeus Rose and Eddie (1978), Big Bob Johnson and His Fantastic Speed Circus (1978), Cotton Candy (1978), Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders II (1980), Skyward (1980), The Acorn People (1981), Broken Promise (1981), Skyward Christmas (1981), Miss All-American Beauty (1982), Kentucky Woman (1983), Dixie: Changing Habits (1983), Cowboy (1983), License to Kill (1984), He’s Not
JETT, JOE Rock drummer Joe Davis, who was known as Joe Jet when he played with the popular garage band The Guilloteens, died in Dallas, Texas, on April 22, 2008. He was 63. Davis was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 28, 1945. He began playing the drums in such local rock groups as the MarKeys, the Le Sabres, and his own Joe Davis Allstars
Joe Jett
while in his teens. He joined with Laddie Hutcherson and Louis Paul in the mid–1960s to form The Guilloteens, which became nationally known with the hit song “I Don’t Believe.” They performed on such television series as American Bandstand, Where the Action Is, Hullabaloo, and Shindig. The Guilloteens’ fame was fleeting and they had disbanded by 1968. Davis moved to Texas in the 1970s, where he worked with his father and brother in sales in the Davis Brothers Audio business.
JOB, ENRICO Italian film art director and costume designer Enrico Job, who worked frequently on films directed by his wife, Lina Wertmuller, died in a Rome hospital on March 4, 2008. He was 74. Job was born in Naples, Italy, on January 31, 1934. He began working as a costume designer for theatrical productions from the early 1960s. He soon moved into films, designing costumes for such features as Shoot Loud, Louder ... I Don’t Understand (1966), The Great Silence (1968), The Specialist (1969), The Seduction of Mimi (1972), When Women Lost Their Tails (1972), In the Name of the Father (1972), Love and Anarchy (1973), and Wertmuller’s Swept Away ... By an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August (1974). Job also served as production designer for the cult horror films Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein (aka Flesh for Frankenstein) (1973) and
Obituaries • 2008
216
Enrico Job
Andy Warhol’s Dracula (aka Blood for Dracula) (1974). He was also production designer for the films Seven Beauties (1975), Blood Feud (1978), A Joke of Destiny, Lying in Wait Around the Corner Like a Bandit (1983), Carmen (1984), Softly, Softly (1984), A Complex Plot About Women, Alleys and Crimes (1986), Summer Night, with Greek Profile, Almond Eyes and Scent of Basil (1986), The Tenth One in Hiding (1989), As Long as It’s Love (1989), Saturday, Sunday and Monday (1990), Ciao, Professore! (1992), The Blue Collar Worker and the Hairdresser in a Whirl of Sex and Politics (1996), The Nymph (1996), Ferdinando and Carolina (1999), and Francesca and Nunziata (2001).
JOFFE , CHARLES H. Charles H. Joffe, a leading comedy talent manager and film producer, died in a Los Angeles hospital after a long illness on July 9, 2008. He was 78. Joffe was born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 16, 1929. He began working as a talent manager by booking bands while a student at Syracuse University. After graduation, he briefly worked with the MCA Talent Agency before teaming with Jack Rollins in 1953. The duo specialized in comedy talent with such clients as Lenny Bruce, Mike Nichols, and Elaine May. Joffe was instrumental in securing Woody Allen’s first movie deal with the 1965 comedy What’s New Pussycat? He produced Allen’s directorial debut, Take the Money and Run, in 1969 and served as a producer on most of Allen’s subsequent films. His film
credits as producer include Don’t Drink the Water (1969), Bananas (1971), Play It Again, Sam (1972), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972), Sleeper (1973), Love and Death (1975), The Front (1976), Annie Hall (1977) which earned him an Academy Award, Interiors (1978), Manhattan (1979), Stardust Memories (1980), Arthur (1981) with Dudley Moore, A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy (1982), Zelig (1983), The House of God (1984), Broadway Danny Rose (1984), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Radio Days (1987), September (1987), Another Woman (1988), New York Stories (1989), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Alice (1990), Shadows and Fog (1992), Husbands and Wives (1992), Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993), Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Mighty Aphrodite (1995), Everyone Says I Love You (1996), Deconstructing Harry (1997), Celebrity (1998), Sweet and Lowdown (1999), Small Time Crooks (2000), The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001), Hollywood Ending (2002), Anything Else (2003), Melinda and Melinda (2004), Match Point (2005), Scoop (2006), Cassandra’s Dream (2007), and Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008). Joffe was also a producer of the television productions Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story (1971), The Ted Bessell Show (1973), Good Time Harry (1980), The Acorn People (1981), The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell (1982), Mastergate (1992), Rick Reynolds: Only the Truth Is Funny (1993), and Triplecross (1995). Joffe and Rollins remained partners through the late 1980s when they both decided to handle a single client. Rollins became David Letterman’s executive producer, while Joffe continued to work with Woody Allen.
JOHNSON, DONNA JEAN Donna StewartHardaway, who appeared as a child under the name Donna Jean Johnson as one of the Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz, died in West Virginia on December 4,
Donna Jean Johnson
Charles Joffe
2008. She was 75. Johnson won the Best Baby Contest in Los Angeles and trained as a child with the Meglin Kiddies. Her mother pushed to her auditions and talent contests from a very early age. She claimed to be one of the dozen children who supplemented the 124 Little People who were cast as the Munchkins for the
217 MGM fantasy classic. The children had smaller roles than the adults and were generally seen in the background of scenes. Johnson became involved in Wizard of Oz fandom in her later years, selling memorabilia and attending fan festivals.
JOHNSON, JOHN E. John E. Johnson, who served as executive director of the American Screenwriters Association, died in Cincinnati, Ohio, after a brief illness on November 2, 2008. He was 51. John-
John E. Johnson
son was born in Portland, Maine, on June 23, 1957. He began his career as an actor, appearing as a reporter in the 1993 production of Simple Justice on The American Experience. He also served as a casting assistant on the 2001 film The Train. Johnson also wrote plays for stage and radio before founding the American Screenwriters Association.
JOHNSON, VAN Actor Van Johnson, who was a light leading man from the 1940s, died at an assisted living center in Nyack, New York, on December 12, 2008. He was 92. He was born Charles Van Dell Johnson in Newport, Rhode Island, on August 25, 1916. He headed to New York in 1934 to embark upon a career as an actor. He had little success, appearing in nothing but chorus roles. He went to Hollywood to appear in a bit part in the film Too Many Girls in 1940. He was soon signed to a contract at Warner Bros. and was featured in the 1942 film Murder in the Big House. Warner subsequently dropped his contract but Lucille Ball helped him get signed by MGM. He was featured in several shorts, including Personalities (1942) and Crime Does Not Pay — For the Common Defense! (1942). He had small roles in the features The War Against Mrs. Hadley (1942) and Somewhere I’ll Find You (1942). Johnson starred as Dr. Randall “Red” Adams, successor to Lew Ayres’ Dr. Kildare, in the 1942 film Dr. Gillespie’s New Assistant, with Lionel Barrymore. He remained with the series for the sequels Dr. Gillespie’s Criminal Case (1943), Three Men in White (1944), and Between Two Women (1945). He was featured as Mickey Rooney’s friend in 1943’s The Human Comedy, and appeared in Pilot #5 (1943) and Madame Curie (1943). He was cast in a romantic triangle with Irene Dunne and Spencer Tracey in the wartime fantasy film A Guy
2008 • Obituaries
Named Joe (1943), though a near fatal automobile accident nearly ended his career and his life. He recovered from his injuries and the film went on to be a hit. His wholesome image, with features distinguished by his numerous freckles and red hair, cast him in leading roles as the boy-next-door type. Johnson starred in such films as Two Girls and a Sailor (1944), The White Cliffs of Dover (1944), Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944), Thrill of a Romance (1945), Week-End at the Waldorf (1945), American Creed (1946), Easy to Wed (1946), No Leave, No Love (1946), Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), High Barbaree (1947), The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947), The Bride Goes Wild (1948), State of the Union (1948), Command Decisions (1948), Mother Is a Freshman (1949), Scene of the Crime (1949), In the Good Old Summertime (1949), Battleground (1949), The Big Hangover (1950), Duchess of Idaho (1950), Grounds for Marriage (1951), Three Guys Named Mike (1951), Go for Broke (1951), It’s a Big Country (1951), Too Young to Kiss (1951), Invitation (1952), When in Rome (1952), Washington Story (1952), Plymouth Adventures (1952), Confidentially Connie (1953), Remains to Be Seen (1953), Easy to Love (1953), Siege at Red River (1954), Men of the Fighting Lady (1954), The Caine Mutiny (1954), the hit musical Brigadoon (1954) with Gene Kelly, The Last Time I Saw Paris (1955), The End of the Affair (1955), The Bottom of the Bottle (1956), Miracle in the Rain (1956), 3 Paces to Baker Street (1956), Slander (1956), Kelly and Me (1957), Action of the Tiger (1957), The Last Blitzkrieg (1959), Beyond This Place (1959), Subway in the Sky (1959), and The Enemy General (1960). Johnson was also seen frequently on television from the 1950s, appearing in variety series, comedies, and the occasional drama. His television credits include I Love Lucy, The Loretta Young Show, The Jack Benny Program, Shower of Stars, the 1957 musical production of The Pied Piper of Hamelin, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, Zane Grey Theater, What’s My Line?, The Ed Sullivan Show, General Electric Theater, The Ann Sothern Show, The DuPont Show with June Allyson, The Jack Paar Tonight Show, a 1964 production of American in Paris, Ben Casey, Batman as the musical Bat-villain The Minstrel, The Danny Thomas Hour, The Hollywood Palace, The Dean Martin Show, The Merv Griffin Show, Here’s Lucy, The Hollywood Squares, Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-
Van Johnson
Obituaries • 2008
218
In, The Mike Douglas Show, The Name of the Game, The Red Skelton Show, Nanny and the Professor, The Virginian, The Doris Day Show, Love, American Style, Maude, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, McMillan & Wife, Quincy, McCloud, Aloha Paradise, One Day at a Time, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Tales of the Unexpected, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Murder, She Wrote. His wholesome image in films did not translate as well in the 1960s, when the counterculture came to the forefront. He starred with Janet Leigh in 1963’s Wives and Lovers,\ and appeared in such features as Divorce American Style (1967), Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows! (1968), and Yours, Mine and Ours (1968). Though Johnson’s film career was on the decline, he parlayed his name and image into a stage career, becoming a popular performer on the dinner theater circuit. He also lent his star quality to several European features and also appeared in supporting roles in other films. His film credits include Battle Command (1969), Texas (1969) as President James Garfield, Eye of the Spider (1971), Concorde Affair ’79 (1979), From Corleone to Brooklyn (1979), The Kidnapping of the President (1980) as the Vice President, Murders in an Etruscan Cemetery (1982), Woody Allen’s The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Down There in the Jungle (1985), Taxi Killer (1988), Flight from Paradise (1989), Killer Crocodile (1989), Delta Force Commando II: Priority Red One (1990), and Clowning Around (1992). He also continued his television appearances in such tele-films as The Doomsday Flight (1966), Company of Killers (1970), San Francisco International (1970), Call Her Mom (1972), Man in the Middle (1972), Wheeler and Murdock (1973), The Girl on the Late, Late Show (1974), Rich Man, Poor Man (1976), Superdome (1978), Black Beauty (1978), Getting Married (1978), The Forgotten Story (1983), Glitter (1984), The President of Love (1984), 3 Days to a Kill (1991), and the special Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie (1993). Johnson was married in 1947 to Eve Wynn, the recently divorced wife of Keenan Wynn. The marriage ended in 1961 in a bitter divorce, with allegations of him being a homosexual.
JOHNSTON, OLLIE Disney animator Ollie Johnston, the last of the so-called “Nine Old Men” who created many of Walt Disney’s legendary films, died in a nursing home in Sequim, Washington, on April 14, 2008. He was 95. He was born Oliver Martin Johnston, Jr., in Palo Alto, California, on October 31, 1912. He studied art at Stanford University where his father was a professor. While at Stanford he met Frank Thomas, another aspiring animator who became his lifelong friend. He and Thomas were both hired by Disney in the mid–1930s, where they worked as in-between artists on Mickey Mouse cartoons. Disney was expanding his studio to produce animated feature films and Johnston was an assistant animator on the first of those, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Disney called his team of animators that included Johnston and Thomas “The Nine Old Men” despite the fact that most were only in their twenties. The name stuck throughout their careers. Johnston went on to work on Pinocchio (1940) and was supervising animator for “The
Ollie Johnston
Pastoral Symphony” segment of Fantasia (1940). He was also a supervising animator on Bambi (1942), bringing Thumper to life. He continued to work at Disney over the next four decades, serving as an animator on such films as The Three Caballeros (1944), Song of the South (1946), The Wind in the Willows (1949), The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949), Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty (1959), One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), The Sword in the Stone (1963), Mary Poppins (1964), The Jungle Book (1967), Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968), The AristoCats (1970), Robin Hood (1973), Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too! (1974), The Madcap Adventures of Mr. Toad (1975), The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977), and The Rescuers (1977). Johnston also worked on numerous animated segments of the Disney television productions under the banner of Disneyland and Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. His final animation work was done for the 1981 feature The Fox and the Hound. He and Thomas continued to work together after retiring from Disney in the late 1970s. They lectured at film festivals and schools throughout the world and were the authors of several books including Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, Bambi: The Story and the Film, and The Disney Villains. They were also the subject of the 1995 documentary Frank and Ollie, produced by Thomas’ son Ted. Johnston became the last survivor of “The Nine Old Men” following Thomas’ death in 2004. He became the first animator to receive the National Medal of Arts in a White House ceremony in 2005. JONES , CHARLIE Pioneering sportscaster Charlie Jones died of a heart attack at his home in La Jolla, California, on June 12, 2008. He was 77. Jones was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on November 9, 1930. After earning a law degree, he began his career as a play-by-play announcer at ABC in 1960. He joined NBC in 1965 and remained with them until 1997. Jones also announced events at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He appeared frequently on television in cameo appearances, with roles in episodes of Ironside, McCloud, Banacek, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, Almost Anything Goes, and McMillan & Wife. He was also seen in the television productions
219
2008 • Obituaries
(1994), Sophie & the Moonhanger (1996), For the Future: The Irvine Fertility Scandal (1996), An Unexpected Life (1998), A Christmas Carol (1999), and Custody of the Heart (2000). His other television credits include episodes of Chicago Hope, Picket Fences, Early Edition, The Practice, Fantasy Island, Now and Again, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The $treet, Big Apple, The Education of Max Bickford, Hack, Keen Eddie, 7th Heaven, Bones, and Ghost Whisperer.
Charlie Jones
JONES , G EORGE WYDELL Songwriter George Wydell Jones, who wrote and performed the popular doo-wop hit “Rama Lama Ding Dong,” died of cancer at his home in Youngstown, Ohio, on September 27, 2008. He was 71. Jones was born in Richmond, Virginia, on October 5, 1936, and moved to
Savage (1973), Columbo: Any Old Port in a Storm (1973), Superdome (1978), and The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story (1980). Jones’ feature film credits include Personal Best (1982), Return of the Killer Tomatoes! (1988), Killer Tomatoes Strike Back! (1990), and Without Limits (1998).
JONES, DAVID British stage and television director David Jones died from complications of emphysema in England on September 19, 2008. He was 74. Jones was born in Poole, Dorset, England, on February 19, 1934. He studied theater at Cambridge, and began working for the BBC in the early 1960s. He made his directorial debut with the news magazine series Monitor. He also began directing plays for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1962 and began working with the company full-time in 1964. He directed such television productions as Barbara of the House of Grebe (1973), The Beaux Stratagem (1978), Ice Age (1978), and Langrishe Go Down (1978). Jones came to the United States in 1980, and made his film debut with the 1980 adaptation of John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger. He also directed the films Betrayal (1983), 84 Charing Cross Road (1987), Jacknife (1989), The Trial (1993), Time to Say Goodbye? (1997), and The Confession (1999). Jones also helmed the television productions The Merry Wives of Windsor (1982), Pericles, Prince of Tyre (1984), The Christmas Wife (1988), Fire in the Dark (1991), And Then There Was One (1994), Is There Life Out There?
David Jones
George Wydell Jones (left, with The Edsels)
Youngstown as a child. After graduating from high school, he served in the United States Air Force, where he performed in a vocal band with other servicemen. He joined with Jimmy Reynolds, Harry Green, Marshall Sewell, and Larry Green to form the Edsels. Their song “Rama Lama Ding Dong,” which was originally released as “Lama Rama Ding Dong,” reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1961. The group performed at the Apollo Theater in New York and appeared on American Bandstand.
JONES, S.D. “SPECIAL DELIVERY” Conrad Efraim, who was a popular wrestler under the name S.D. “Special Delivery” Jones in the 1970s and 1980s, died of complications from a stroke in Antigua on October 26, 2008. He was 63. Efraim was born in Antigua, in the West Indies, on March 30, 1945. He worked in the United States for the telephone company before being trained as a wrestler by Johnny Rodz. He began his ring career in 1971 the NWA Mid-Atlantic area as Roosevelt Jones, billed as a cousin of his tagteam partner, Rufus R. Jones. He teamed with Porkchop Cash to hold the NWA Americas Title in Los Angeles in January of 1975. He teamed with Tom Jones to briefly reclaim the tag titles in 1977. He also wrestled in the WWF (now WWE), where he often teamed with Tony Atlas. They lost a tag team title match against Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito in 1981. Jones was also the tag team partner of Andre the Giant in the mid–
Obituaries • 2008
220
Special Delivery Jones
Fabio Junqueira
1980s. He retired from the ring in the early 1990s. Jones was featured at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony when Tony Atlas was inducting in 2006.
as A Marquesa de Santos (1984), As Noivas de Copacabana (1992), Sex Appeal (1993), Chiquinha Gonzaga (1999), and O Quinto dos Infernos (2002). His other television credits include numerous soap operas and series including Marina, Ciranda de Pedra, Terras do SemFim, O Homem Proibido, Vale Tudo, Pacto de Sangue, Riacho Doce, Salome, Olho no Olho, Historia de Amor, Malhacao, Quem E Voce?, Torre de Babel, Chiquinha Gonzaga, Voce Decide, O Clone, Mulheres Apaixonadas, and A Escrava Isaura. Junqueira also directed episodes of such television series as Anjo de Mim, Corpo Dourado, Roda da Vida, Essas Muilheres, Cidadao Brasileiro, and Luz do Sol. JUSTIN, GEORGE Film production executive George Justin died in Santa Monica, California, on March 9, 2008. He was 91. Justin was born in New York City in 1916. He began working in films in the late 1930s and served as a test reel director on the casting for Gone with the Wind. He served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps working on training films during World War II. After the war, he directed documentary and industrial films. He moved into television in the early 1950s as a producer and production supervisor for such series as Your Are There, The Defenders, and Espionage. He also served as an associate producer or production manager on such films as On the Waterfront (1954), A Face in the Crowd (1957), 12 Angry Men (1957), The Goddess (1958), Wind Across the Everglades (1958), Middle of the Night (1959), Happy Anniversary (1959), The Fugitive Kind (1959), Something Wild (1961), The Young Doctors (1961), Long Day’s Journey into Night (1962), Inside Daisy Clover (1965), Up the Down Staircase (1967), The Tiger Makes Out (1967), The Graduate (1967), and The Night They Raided Minsky’s (1968). Justin became a vice president for production management at Paramount in the early 1970s. He later worked in production at Orion and MGM through the 1980s. His other film credits include The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), The Anderson Tapes (1971), The Possession of Joel Delaney (1972), Chinatown (1974) which also featured him in the small role of Barney the barber, Shampoo (1975) again appearing onscreen as a producer, Marathon Man (1976), The Deep (1977), Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), Rollover (1981), No Small Affair (1984), and Murphy’s Romance (1985). Justin also served as a
JONGSMA, WIK Dutch actor Wik Jongsma, who starred as Govert Harmsen in the popular television soap opera Good Times, Bad Times, died of complications from prostate cancer at his home in The Hague, the Netherlands, on November 7, 2008. He was 65. Jongsma was born in Amsterdam, the Nether-
Wik Jongsma
lands, on April 4, 1943. He was featured in the 1972 film The Little Ark and An Bloem in 1983. He also appeared on television in episodes of Brainwave, De Beslagen Spiegel, Medisch Centrum West, Zonder Ernst, t Zonnetje in Huis, and Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden: De Reunie. Jongsma stared as Govert Harmsen on Good Times, Bad Times from 1991 until January of 2006.
JUNQUEIRA, FABIO Brazilian actor Fabio Junqueira died of cancer in a Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 20, 2008. He was 52. Junqueira was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on March 30, 1956. He began his acting career in the late 1970s, appearing in such films as The Good Bourgeois (1979), Bar Esperanza (1983), Happier Than Ever (1984), The Long Haul (1988), Kickboxer 3: The Art of War (1992), The Jew (1996), and Breaking Up (2002). Junqueira also appeared frequently on Brazilian television, with roles in such productions
221 unit production manager on the tele-films Dreams of Gold: The Mel Fisher Story (1986), The Incident (1990), and Star Struck (1994).
JUSTMAN, ROBERT H. Television producer Robert H. Justman, who worked on both the original Star Trek series and Star Trek: The Next Generation, died of complications from Parkinson’s disease at his home in Los Angeles on May 28, 2008. He was 81. Justman was born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 13, 1926. His father, Joseph Justman, was a successful grocer who moved to Los Angeles and formed the Motion Picture Center film studio. The younger Justman served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific during World War II. After the war, he attended UCLA before entering the film industry in 1950. He worked on numerous films in the 1950s as a production assistant or assistant director on such films as Joe Palooka in the Squared Circle (1950), Three Husbands (1951), The Groom Wore Spurs (1951), The Scarf (1951), New Mexico (1951), M (1951), He Ran All the Way (1951), Journey into the Light (1951), Slaughter Trail (1951), Chicago Calling (1952), The Fighter (1952), Japanese War Bride (1952), Red Planet Mars (1952), Actor’s and Sin (1952), Lady in the Iron Mask (1952), The Steel Trap (1952), Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952), The Moon Is Blue (1953), The Moonlighter (1953), Count the Hour (1953), Man Crazy (1953), The Diamond Queen (1953), Apache (1954), The Big Combo (1955), Jupiter’s Darling (1955), Kiss Me Deadly (1955), The Big Knife (1955), Blood Alley (1955), Nightmare (1956), While the City Sleeps (1956), Attack (1956), Running Target (1956), Gun the Man Down (1956), The Ride Back (1957), Affair in Havana (1957), Unwed Mother (1958), Mission of Danger (1959), Green Mansions (1959), The World, the Flesh, and the Devil (1959), Fury River (1961), Two Weeks in Another Town (1962), and Mutiny on the Bounty (1962). He also worked on numerous television episodes for such series as The Doctor, I Married Joan, The Life of Riley, The Loretta Young Show, The New Adventures of China Smith, Lassie, The Martha Raye Show, Adventures of Superman, The Man and the Moon for Disneyland, The Rosemary Clooney Show, My Friend Flicka, The Thin Man, One Step Beyond, Northwest Passage, The Lawless Years, National Velvet, The Islanders,
2008 • Obituaries
Philip Marlowe, The Tab Hunter Show, Outlaws, The Best of the Post, The Asphalt Jungle, Dr. Kildare, Father of the Bride, Cain’s Hundred, and Stoney Burke. Justman worked as an assistant director on numerous episodes of the classic science fiction series The Outer Limits from 1963 to 1965 and was featured as an alien in the 1964 episode “A Feasibility Study.” He produced the pilot episode of the Mission: Impossible series in 1966 before joining the crew of Star Trek. He served as an assistant director on the original pilot and worked with the creator, Gene Roddenberry, as a producer, script consultant, set and prop designer, and casting assistant over the landmark series’ three year run. After Star Trek was canceled, Justman continued to work in television as a producer for the series Then Came Bronson, Search, Man from Atlantis, McClain’s Law, and MacGruder and Loud. He was also a producer for the tele-films Assignment: Munich (1972), Roddenberry’s Planet Earth (1974), Gideon’s Trumpet (1980), Emergency Room (1983), and Dark Mansions (1986). When Roddenberry revived the Star Trek franchise in 1987 with Star Trek: The Next Generation Justman returned to the series as a supervising producer for the first several years. He retired in the late 1980s.
KAGAN, JANET Science fiction writer Janet Kagan died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on February 29, 2008. She was 61. Kagan was born on April 18, 1946. She was the author of numerous science
Janet Kagan (her Star Trek novel Uhura’s Song)
fiction novels and short stories. She was best known for writing the 1985 Star Trek novel Uhura’s Song. She also authored the 1988 novel Hellspark and the Momma Jason Stories which were collected in the 1991 book Mirabile. Kagan won the Hugo Award for her 1992 novelette The Nutcracker Coup.
Robert Justman
KAGEL, MAURICIO Argentine-German composer Mauricio Kagel died after a long illness in Cologne, Germany, on September 18, 2008. He was 76. Kagel was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 24, 1931. He was a self-taught composer and began working with the avant-garde musical group Agrupacion Nueca Musica in the late 1940s. Kagel became director of the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires in 1955. He moved to Germany in 1957 where he exper-
Obituaries • 2008
222
Mauricio Kagel
Kenneth Keith Kallenbach
imented with electronic and chamber music. He created the musical theatrical piece Sur Scene in 1960. Kagel was also involved in multi-media, making several films including Hallelujah (1967), which was composed on pieces of card and performed in variable order, and Match fur Drei Spieler (1967), which was a tennis game for cellists with a percussionist as the umpire. He also created Ludwig van (1970) to commemorate the Beethoven bicentenary. Kagel also taught music courses at various colleges and universities and was professor for new music theatre at the Cologne Conservatory from 1974 to 1997.
pneumonia in a Chester County, Pennsylvania, hospital on April 24, 2008. He fell ill in jail, where he was being held on charges of attempted child abduction. He was 39. Kallenbach was born on March 20, 1969. He began appearing on Stern’s radio show in 1990, contributing weird antics to the already weird program, including attempts to blow smoke from his eyes. He also appeared on episodes of the television incarnation of Stern’s program, and guested on segments of Geraldo, Real TV, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He was featured in several adult films and made cameo appearances in such mainstream features as Jerry Maguire (1996), The Stand-In (1999), Girl, Interrupted (1999), and Everything’s Jake (2000). He also had a small role in episodes of Sex in the City and Human Giant and appeared in various commercials. Kallenbach had several run-ins with the law, including drunken driving convictions and probation violation. He was reportedly was suffering from cystic fibrosis which contributed to his developing pneumonia.
KAHN, DAVID Composer David Kahn, who was best known for creating the theme song for the Leave It to Beaver television series, died in Woodland Hills, California, on July 3, 2008. He was 98. Kahn was born on October 14, 1909. He began his musical career in the 1930s, playing saxophone and singing with touring big bands. He served in the Army Air Force during World War II and headed to Hollywood after the war to work as a music arranger for Republic Studios and Filmways Television. He orchestrated or scored for such films as The Long Knight (1947), Vigilante Terror (1953), The Golden Mistress (1954), The Unknown Terror (1957), Back from the Dead (1957), Copper Sky (1957), Ride a Violent Mile (1957), The Cool and the Crazy (1958), Blood Arrow (1958), Desert Hell (1958), Island of Lost Women (1959), and Angel Baby (1961). He composed and orchestrated the theme for television’s Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Mister Ed, and Mike Hammer, and contributed incidental music for such series as Hopalong Cassidy, M Squad, The Restless Gun, Suspicion, 21 Beacon Street, Overland Trail, and Law of the Plainsman. He sang along with composer Vic Mizzy on the classic theme for The Addams Family, and was a music coordinator for that series and Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, and The Beverly Hillbillies. Kahn also worked as a music editor on the films Electra Glide in Blue (1973) and Animal House (1978), and the tele-film Memories Never Die (1982). His other television credits include the series Bearcats!, Whiz Kids, and Simon & Simon. KALLENBACH, KENNETH KEITH Comedian Kenneth Keith Kallenbach, a frequent member of Howard Stern’s Wack Pack, died of complications from
KAMEL, STANLEY Actor Stanley Kamel, who starred as psychiatrist Charles Kroger in the Monk television series, was found dead of a heart attack at his Hollywood Hills, California, home on April 8, 2008. He was 65. Kamel was born in South River, New Jersey, on January 1, 1943. He began his acting career on the New York stage, and appeared as Eric Peters in the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives from 1972 to
Stanley Kamel
223 1976. He was primarily known for his work in television, with roles in such series as Mission: Impossible, The Mod Squad, Mannix, The Rookies, The Sixth Sense, Emergency!, Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, Get Christie Love!, Switch, McMillan & Wife, Kojak, Charlie’s Angels, 240-Robert, The Incredible Hulk, Eight Is Enough, Eischied, House Calls, The Phoenix, Lou Grant, Mork and Mindy, Quincy, Barney Miller, Three’s Company, Goodnight, Beantown, Riptide, Knight Rider, Hill Street Blues in the recurring of Agent Ramsey, Hardcastle and McCormick, The Fall Guy, Rituals, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Mr. Belvedere, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Hunter in the recurring role of Brad Wilkes, Hooperman, Probe, The Highwayman, Cagney and Lacey in the recurring role of Mick Solomon, Paradise, Mancuso, F.B.I., Beauty and the Beast, Empty Nest, Murder, She Wrote, Valerie, Matlock, Father Dowling Mysteries, The Golden Girls, L.A. Law in the recurring role of Mark Gilliam, Reasonable Doubts, MacGyver, 2000 Malibu Road, Homefront, and Diagnosis Murder. He starred as Bruce Teller in the Aaron Spelling primetime soap opera Melrose Place in 1994, and was Tony Marchette in Beverly Hills 90210 in 1995. He was also featured as Dr. Graham Lester in the crime series Murder One from 1995 to 1996. Kamel also continued to guest-star in such series as Dark Skies, High Incident, ER, The Nanny, Total Security, C-16: FBI, Pensacola: Wings of Gold, Marshal Law, L.A. Doctors, Cracker, Seventh Heaven, NYPD Blue, Dark Angel, The Gena Davis Show, Six Feet Under, the political drama Mister Sterling in the recurring role of Arthur Peyton, The Guardian, General Hospital as Cody McCall, The D.A., The West Wing, and Reba. Kamel was also featured in numerous tele-films including Short Walk to Daylight (1972), Mallory: Circumstantial Evidence (1976), In the Glitter Palace (1977), Rainbow (1978), Captain America II (1979), The Gossip Columnist (1980), My Mother’s Secret Life (1984), Old Friends (1984), Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story (1984), A Bunny’s Tale (1985), The Rape of Richard Beck (1985), Columbo: Agenda for Murder (1990), We’ll Take Manhattan (1990), Bar Girls (1990), Honor Thy Father and Mother: The True Story of the Menendez Murders (1994), Dancing with Danger (1994), Ray Alexander: A Taste for Justice (1994), Like Father, Like Santa (1998), and An American Daughter (2000). He also appeared onscreen in many feature films including Corvette Summer (1978), Making Love (1982), Star 80 (1983), Murder by Numbers (1990), Come the Morning (1993), Automatic (1994), Ravager (1997), Affair to Remember (1998), Running Red (1999), Stonebrook (1999), Under Pressure (2000), Eat Your Heart Out (2000), The A-List (2001), Judge Koan (2003) in the title role, Domino (2005), Inland Empire (2006), Last Day (2006), Jane Doe: How to Fire Your Boss (2007), and The Urn (2008). He was featured as Dr. Charles Kroger, quirky detective Adrian Monk’s psychiatrist, in the television series Monk from 2002 until his death.
KAMERON, PETE Talent manager, publisher, and record and film producer Pete Kameron died of cancer at his home in Beverly Hills, California, on
2008 • Obituaries
June 29, 2008. He was 87. Kameron was born in New York City on March 18, 1921. He began working in the music industry in the 1950s, managing such artists as the Weavers and the Modern Jazz Quartet. He worked with The Who in the 1960s and was a founder of the Track Records label that recorded The Who, Jimi Hendrix, and others. Kameron was a co-founder and principal investor of the LA Weekly newspaper in the early 1980s. He also served as a producer for several independent films including You Better Watch Out (aka Christmas Evil) (1980) and Miss Right (1982).
KANBE , MIYUKI Japanese actress Miyuki Kanbe, who was best known as the voice of Sailor Moon, died of heart failure in a Kawasaki, Japan, hospital on June 18, 2008. She was 24. Kanbe was born in Kanagawa, Japan, on May 7, 1984. She starred as Usagi
Miyuki Kanbe
Tsukino and her magical alter-ego Sailor Moon in the musical stage adaptation in 2000 and 2001. She also performed in such anime productions as Battle Royale II: Requiem (2003) as Kyoko Kakei and Kamen Rider Hibiki as Hinaka Tachibana from 2005 to 2006. She was cast in the musical Les Miserables in 2007, but failing health forced her to drop out of the project.
KANE, RAY Ray Kane, who repopularized the Hawaiian slack-key guitar, died of respiratory failure in Honolulu on February 27, 2008. He was 82. He was
Ray Kane
Obituaries • 2008
224
born Raymond Kaleoalohapoinaoleohelemanu Kane on the island of Kauai on October 2, 1925. He learned to play the guitar and ukulele at an early age. He served in the Army Air Force during World War II and returned to Hawaii after the war. He worked as a welder and mainly performed for friends and family. He made his first recording in the early 1960s and soon brought renewed interest in the traditional slack-key style of guitar playing. He was named a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1987 and recorded several albums including Master of the Slack Key Guitar (1988), Punahele (1994), and Wa’ahila (1998).
KANN, STAN Organist and television personality Stan Kann died of complications from heart surgery in a St. Louis, Missouri, hospital, on September 29, 2008. He was 83. Kann was born in St. Louis on December 9, 1924. He began playing the organ at the age of four and studied classical organ in college. He was hired by the Fabulous Fox Theatre to play their Wurlitzer pipe organ in 1953, performing between movies and for special events. He remained at Fox for
Peter Kapetan
and The Wild Party. Kapetan was featured as a Ronald Reagan impersonator in the Broadway musical The Wedding Singer in 2006, and was featured in a small role in the 2008 film Farm Girl in New York.
KASS , PETER Stage actor, director and teacher Peter Kass died of heart failure in Manhattan, New York, on August 4, 2008. He was 85. Kass was born in Brooklyn on April 28, 1923. He began his theatrical career working with Clifford Odets on the drama The Country Girl in the late 1940s and appeared in a supporting role when the play debuted on Broadway in 1950. Kass also appeared on Broadway as the bellboy in the American premiere of Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit,
Stan Kann
over 20 years and was also heard frequently on the NBC Radio Network. Kann was seen on St. Louis television as a frequent performer on Charlotte Peter’s Show and was co-host of The Noon Show. He moved to Los Angeles in 1975, where he became a popular comic guest on television talk shows. He made over 70 appearances on The Tonight Starring Johnny Carson, and was seen in numerous episodes of The Mike Douglas Show, The Merv Griffin Show, The Allen Hamel Show, and Hee Haw. Kann returned to St. Louis in 1998 and resumed playing his Wurlitzer for groups at Fox. He was also the subject of a 2005 documentary Stan Kann: The Happiest Man in the World.
KAPETAN, PETER Broadway performer Peter Kapetan died in New York City on June 4, 2008. He was 51. Kapetan was born in Fairfield, Connecticut, on October 21, 1956. He studied dance and made his Broadway debut in the unsuccessful 1979 musical Got Tu Go Disco. He also appeared on Broadway in Sunset Boulevard and Titanic, and Off-Broadway and touring productions of Camelot, Aida, The Scarlet Pimpernel,
Peter Kass
directed by John Huston. He also directed several Broadway plays including Lorraine Hansberry’s The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window in 1964. He wrote and directed the film drama Time of the Heathen in 1962. Kass was noted as a drama teacher at Boston University in the 1950s and at New York University in the 1960s and 1970s, training such stars as Faye Dunaway, Maureen Stapleton, and Olympia Dukakis. He also appeared on television in two episodes of Law & Order in the early 1990s.
KASSELL, KENNY Kenny Kassell, who was a stage manager at numerous bodybuilding contests and a casting director for film, died of congestive heart fail-
225
Kenny Kassel
ure in Montreal, Canada, on December 22, 2008. He was 53. Kassell became involved in the fitness industry in the 1970s and opened his own gym in 1981. He specialized in training bodybuilder, particularly women, in the New York Area. He formed the Beuti-Fit Talent Agency in the 1980s to promote female fitness model Raye Hollitt, who became a star of the American Gladiators television show. Kassell became the business manager of World Kickboxing Champion Don “The Dragon” Wilson in the early 1990s. He served as a casting director for the films Nemesis 2: Nebula (1995), Nemesis III: Prey Harder (1996), Whatever It Takes (1998), Redemption (2002), and Sci-Fighter (2004). He also was a casting associate for 2006’s Soft Target, and appeared in a small role as a barroom patron. Kassell also worked backstage on numerous NPC (National Physique Committee) events throughout North America.
2008 • Obituaries
1966 Canadian film Footsteps in the Snow before starring as Bernard Chanticleer in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1966 comedy You’re a Big Boy Now. Kastner also appeared on television in an episode of the western series Cimarron Strip, and was Lonnie Winters in the soap opera Edge of Night in 1966. His promising career suffered a major setback when he starred as Timmie Blair in the short-lived sitcom The Ugliest Girl in Town in 1968. His role as a young man disguised as a girl was considered to be one of the most disastrous flops in television history. He returned to the big screen in the 1971 film B.S. I Love You. He also appeared in television productions of The Scarecrow (1972), Steambath (1973), and If I Had a Million (1973). Kastner’s other television credits include episodes of Medical Center, Love, American Style, Marcus Welby, M.D., and Emergency! He starred as Leo Strauss in the 1977 Canadian comedy series Custard Pie, and was Prof. Dave Jennings in the short-lived frat sitcom Delta House in 1979. Kastner was also seen in the films American Raspberry (1977), Frightmare (1983), and Unfinished Business (1984), and the tele-films Time Warp (1981) and The Perfect Woman (1981). His other television credits include episodes of King of Kensington, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and Simon & Simon. In recent years, Kastner returned to Toronto where he performed in comedy clubs. His act often mocked his own tumultuous career and included attacks on his late mother, which led to bitter relations with the rest of his family.
KATOUCHA African fashion model Katoucha Niane was found dead in the Seine River in Paris on February 29, 2008. She was 47. She had been missing
KASTNER, PETER Canadian actor Peter Kastner died of a heart attack while driving his car in downtown Toronto, Canada, on September 18, 2008. He was 64. Kastner was born in Canada on October 1, 1943. He began his career as a child actor on Canadian television and starred in a production of the children’s drama Emil and the Detectives. He also starred in the Canadian variety series Time of Your Life before making his film debut as a juvenile delinquent in 1964’s Nobody Waved Goodbye. He was also featured in the
Katoucha
Peter Kastner
since February 1, 2008, and was thought to have fallen in the river while returning to her houseboat after a party. She was born in Conakry, Guinea, in 1960, and was raised in Senegal. She ran away to Europe at the age of seventeen to pursue a career in modeling. She made her debut on the catwalk for Thierry Mugler in the early 1980s. She became one of the first supermodels of African descent, working with such top designers as Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Lacroix. She also appeared in the 1988 film How Good the Whites
Obituaries • 2008
226
Are. Known only as Katoucha, she began her own fashion label in 1994. She also became an outspoken opponent of female genital mutilation, which is still in practice in parts of her homeland. She recounted her own experiences as a child in her 2007 autobiography, Katoucha, in My Flesh. She had recently completed filming Ramata, a feature directed by Leandre-Alain Baker, scheduled for release later in the year. KATSELAS, MILTON Acting teacher and director Milton Katselas died of heart failure in a Los Angeles hospital on October 24, 2008. He was 74. Katselas was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 22, 1933. He studied at the Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg and became an acting teacher in the late 1950s. Over the next fifty years he trained such talent as Tyne Daly, Michelle Pfeiffer, Gene Hackman, George Clooney, Kim Cattral, Alec Baldwin, James Cromwell, Patrick Swayze, and Kate Hudson. He made
Milton Katselas
his directorial debut with an Off-Broadway production of Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story, and earned a Tony nomination for Butterflies Are Free in 1969. Katselas also directed the 1972 film version of Butterflies Are Free starring Goldie Hawn, and helmed the 1973 film 40 Carats, also with Hawn. He also directed the films Report to the Commissioner (1975) and When You Comin’ Back Red Ryder? (1979), and the Broadway productions Camino Real and The Rose Tattoo. His other credits include the tele-films Strangers: Story of a Mother and Daughter (1979) starring Bette Davis and The Rules of Marriage (1982). He was also the author of the books Dreams into Action: Getting What You Want and Acting Class: Take a Seat. Katselas founded the Beverly Hills Playhouse in 1978, where he continued to teach until his death. KAU, GARY Actor and teacher Gary Kau died in Honolulu, Hawaii, on November 6, 2008. He was 62. Kau was born in Honolulu on November 25, 1945. He was the longtime drama teacher at W.R. Farrington High School in Honolulu. He also appeared in small roles in nearly a dozen episodes of the television series Hawaii Five-0 from 1973 to 1979. KAWADA, AKO Japanese television personality Ako Kawada was found dead in her car in Tokyo’s
Ako Kawada
Minato-ku on the morning of May 26, 2008. She had apparently committed suicide by inhaling toxic carbon monoxide gas. She was 29. Kawada was born in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, in 1978. She began working with national television station TBS as an announcer and host in 2002, appearing on such programs as Goro’s Bar, J-Sports, Shinyanoshi, and Body. She left TBS and began working freelance in 2007. Kawada subsequently served as the host of TV Asahi’s Saturday Scramble.
KAWAUCHI, YASUNORI Japanese novelist and screenwriter Yasunori Kawauchi died of pneumonia in a Hachinohe, Japan, hospital on April 6, 2008. He was 88. Kawauchi was born in Hakodate, Japan, on February 26, 1920. He began working at Toho Films in 1941 as a scene shifter. He began writing films in the early 1950s but was best known for creating the super hero Gekko Kamen (Moonlight Mask) for the 1958 television series. He wrote several of the feature films and created a manga comic book starring the hero. He also created Rainbowman, who starred in a 1972 television series. Kawauchi scripted the films The Ghosts of Kasane Swamp (1957), The Man in the Moonlight Mask (1958), Moon Mask: The Claws of Satan (1958), Moon Mask: The Monster Gorilla (1959), Moon Mask: The Challenging Ghost (1959), Spectrum Mask (1959), Moon Mask: The Last Death of the Devil (1959), Jigoku ni Makkana Hana ga Kaku (1961), Dare-Yori mo Dare-Yori mo Kimi o Aisu (1961), Desperate to Love (1961) based on his
Yasunori Kawauchi
227 novel, Tokyo Drifter (1966), and Cherry Blossoms in the Air (1970). Moon Mask Rider returned as a feature film in 1981.
KAY, RUDY Jean-Louis Cormier, who wrestled professionally as Rudy Kay, died of complications from stomach surgery in a New Brunswick, Canada, hospital on May 26, 2008. He was 65. He was the second Cormier brother to enter the wrestling business, following his brother Yvon “the Beast” Cormier. Two other brothers also became ring competitors under the
Rudy Kay
names Bobby Kay and Leo Burke. He began wrestling under the name Young Rudy Kay in Indianapolis in the 1960s because of his resemblance to an older wrestler of that name. He and his brothers wrestled throughout Canada, the United States and Australia but were best known for competing with the Eastern Sports Association and International Wrestling promotions in the Maritimes from 1969 to 1976. He also worked as a promoter in the area before retiring from the ring in the late 1970s.
2008 • Obituaries
Doloma (1964), O Aniforos (1964), Treason (1964), Diogmos (1964), O Kleftis (1965), Make Me a Woman (1965), The Ruthless (1965), Artista (1966), Tzeni Tzeni (1966), Trouba ’67 (1967), Matomeni Gi (1967), Erotes sti Lesvo (1967), O Ahortagos (1967), Girls in the Sun (1968), The Cannon and the Nightingale (1968), Zavolies (1969), I Sklava (1970), Provocation (1970), Lust for Sex (1970), The Mutiny of Ten (1970), Ta Vimata tis Fotias (1971), Conflict of Emotions (1971), Sinister Relations (1972), Lysistrati (1972), Boom (1972), Days of 36 (1972), Fygi (1973), Metamorfoseis (1973), Get on Your Mark (1973), John the Violent (1973), The Colors of the Rainbow (1974), Agouri Sarka (1974), Weak Spot (1975), The Traveling Players (1975), The Cell Zero (1975), Mais (1976), The Hunters (1977), Closed Window (1977), Ypothesi Polk (1978), I Kangeloporta (1978), Oi Dadades (1979), The Man with the Carnation (1980) as Major Georgios Papadopoulos, To Pazari (1983), Landscape in the Mist (1988), The Crossing (1989), The Yard with the Garbage (1993), End of an Era (1994), Country House (1994), Ulysses’ Gaze (1995), and Paralavate Diorismon (1996).
KAZANSKAYA, ALLA Russian stage and film actress Alla Kazanskaya died in Moscow on June 25, 2008. She was 88. Kazanskaya was born in Russia on June 15, 1920. She studied acting at Moscow’s Shchukin Theatrical School of the Vakhtangov Theatre, where she made her stage debut in 1939. She continued to perform with the theatre for the next six decades, appearing in hundreds of productions. She was also seen
KAZAN , VANGELIS Greek actor Vangelis Kazan died in Athens, Greece, on March 10, 2008. He was 71. Kazan was born in Nafplio, Greece, in 1936. He was a leading actor in Greek films from the late 1950s with such credits as I Limni ton Stenagmon (1959), Katrakylisma. sto Vourko (1962), I Soferina (1964), To Alla Kazanskaya
in the 1950 film Bountiful Summer, and was featured in the 1971 television production There Are Enough Common People. Kazanskaya also appeared in the 1991 tele-film Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime and the 1992 television series Alphabet of Love. She was featured in the 1994 film The Iron Curtain and starred as Lidiya Stepanovna in Nikita Mikhalkov’s Oscar-winning foreign film Burnt by the Sun in 1994. She also appeared in a small role in the 1997 film The Saint starring Val Kilmer. Kazanskaya taught acting at the Vakhtangov Theatre from the 1960s and made her final stage performance there in a 2006 production of The Beauty Queen. Vangelis Kazan
Obituaries • 2008
228
KEANE, THELMA Thelma Keane, who provided the inspiration for the Mommy character in her husband’s Family Circus comic strip, died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in Paradise Valley, Arizona, on May 23, 2008. She was 82. She was born in Australia on March 15, 1926, and met her future husband, Bil Keane, when he was stationed there during World War II. They married in 1948 and raised five
recorded over 20 albums during her career and performed traditional Hawaiian music at concerts throughout the world. She continued to entertain at local nightspots with her four piece band until several days before her death.
KEENE, MIKE Character actor Mike Keene died on April 15, 2008. He was 98. Keene was born on August 19, 1909. He appeared frequently on television and in occasional films in the 1950s and 1960s. His film credits include Alfred Hitchcock’s The Wrong Man (1956), Satan in High Heels (1962), and Violent Mid-
Thelma Keane
children. Keane created the Family Circus comic strip in 1960 that reflected his family life. The popular comic, which Keane continues to produce with his youngest son Jeff, appears in nearly 1,500 newspapers. Thelma was also her husband’s business and financial manager and was instrumental in Keane becoming one of the first syndicated newspaper cartoonists to win back all rights to his comic.
KEAWI, GENOA LEILANI Genoa Leilani Keawi, a leading performer of Hawaiian music known as Aunt Genoa, died in Honolulu, Hawaii, on February 25, 2008. She was 89. She was born Genoa Leilani Adolpho on October 31, 1918. She began singing with the Mormon choir on the island of La’ie and made her professional debut in the late 1930s. She performed with George Hookano’s band prior to World War II and was a regular guest on the early television series Lucky Luck Show and Hawaii Calls. Aunt Genoa
Genoa Leilani Keawe
Mike Keene
night (1963). He was also seen on television in episodes of Men of Annapolis, Harbourmaster, Highway Patrol, The Gale Storm Show, The Californians, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Wagon Train, Lock Up, One Step Beyond, The Man and the Challenge, Men into Space, Sea Hunt, The Aquanauts, Bronco, Our Five Daughters, and Flipper.
KEHOE, VINCENT Make-up artist Vincent Kehoe, whose credits include the science fiction classic The Blob, died in Somis, California, on August 17, 2008. He was 86. Kehoe was born on September 12, 1921. He served in the U.S. Signal Corps during World War II and began working as a make-up artist later in the decade. He provided make-up for numerous television dramas in New York airing on Ford Theatre, Stu-
Vincent Kehoe
229 dio One, and Hallmark Hall of Fame. Kehoe also transformed Lon Chaney, Jr., into the Frankenstein Monster for an episode of Tales of Tomorrow in 1952. He also worked on such films as Catskill Honeymoon (1950), Carousel (1956), Giant (1956), The Blob (1959), The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), and Charly (1968). Kehoe was the author of over a dozen books on make-up including Special Make-Up Effects, The Technique of Film and Television Make-Up, Photographic Make-Up for Stills and Movies, and The Professional Make-Up Artist.
2008 • Obituaries
writer and played in a jazz band with actors Conrad Janis and George Segal.
KELLEY, ALTON Artist Alton Kelley, who was best known for his designs for rock concert posters of the 1960s, died of complications from osteoporosis at his home in Petaluma, California, on June 1, 2008. He was 67. Kelley was born in Houlton, Maine, on June 17, 1940. He studied art in New York and Philadelphia before heading to San Francisco in 1964. He be-
KELLER , SHELDON Television comedy writer Sheldon Keller died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at his home in Valencia, California, on September 1, 2008. He was 85. Keller was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 20, 1923. He headed to New York in the early 1950s, where he began writing comedy skits for television. He joined the staff that wrote the landmark comedy series Caesar’s Hour, collaborating with such fellow comics as Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, and Woody Allen. Keller received three Emmy nominations for his work on Caesar’s Hour Alton Kelley
Sheldon Keller
from 1956 to 1958 and also earned a nomination for writing The Danny Kaye Show in 1964. He won an Emmy for the 1966 television special An Evening with Carol Channing and received another nomination for 1966’s Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music Part II. He also wrote for such television series as The Bob Hope Show, Make Room for Daddy, Ensign O’Toole, The Jonathan Winters Show, Temperatures Rising, The Art Carney Show, Shirley Temple’s Storybook, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Vacation Playhouse, The Engelbert Humperdinck Show, The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine, M*A*S*H, and House Calls. Keller was also a writer on such television productions as With Love, Sophia (1967), Frank Sinatra: Sinatra (1969), Bing Crosby and Carol Burnett: Together Again for the First Time (1969), What Now, Catherine Curtis? (1976), The Beatles Forever (1977), Paul Lynde at the Movies (1979), and Side by Side (1988). He also worked on several films including Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell (1968), Cleopatra Jones (1973), and Mel Brooks’ Movie Movie (1978). Keller was also a composer and song-
came active in the music scene and was part of the Family Dog, a loose association of artists, musicians and others who were involved in the early psychedelic movement. Kelley teamed with fellow artist Stanley Miller, known as Mouse, to produce posters to promote concerts. They formed Mouse Studios, producing over 150 posters for such groups as Big Brother and the Holding Company, the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Moby Grape, and Quicksilver Messenger Served from 1966 to 1969. The Dead later adapted Kelley’s poster design of a skeleton with roses as its emblem. He and Mouse also designed covers for several of their albums. They later designed album art for Steve Miller and Journey and formed the Monster T-shirt company to make their art wearable.
KENNEDY, BOB Television gameshow host Bob Kennedy died in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on June 26, 2008. He was 86. Kennedy was born on January 23, 1922. He began his career on stage and was featured on Broadway as Curly in Oklahoma! in the
Bob Kennedy
Obituaries • 2008
230
1940s. Kennedy worked in television gameshows in the 1950s, hosting the quiz shows Wingo and Window Shopping. He also served as a substitute host on the shows Beat the Clock, Feather Your Nest, The Price Is Right, and Treasure Hunt, and was an announcer for Name That Tune. He later established a production company for trade shows to demonstrate the products of his many clients.
KENNEDY , KEITH Stage director and teacher Keith Kennedy died of congestive heart failure in Memphis, Tennessee, on December 17, 2008. He was 78. Kennedy was raised in a small town in West Texas and sent several years in the U.S. Air Force. He earned his Ph.D. in theater arts from the University of Florida in Gainesville and taught drama there in the early 1960s. He came to Memphis State University in
Herbert Kenwith
Keith Kennedy
Strange Paradise in the late 1960s and helmed the Star Trek episode “The Lights of Zetar” in 1969. He also directed the tele-films Tiger, Tiger (1969), Man in the Middle (1972), Home Cookin’ (1975), and Dear Teacher (1981), and the 1973 feature Shadow of Fear. Kenwith worked frequently with Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin’s Tandem Productions from the 1970s. He directed episodes of such series as Here’s Lucy, The Partridge Family, Mary Tyler Moore, the soap operas The Doctors and The Young and the Restless, Temperatures Rising, Sanford and Son, Good Times, All That Glitters, Grandpa Goes to Washington, Diff ’rent Strokes, A New Kind of Family, Joe’s World, Too Close for Comfort, Here’s Boomer, Me and Maxx, Bosom Buddies, Aloha Paradise, The Brady Brides, Private Benjamin, Mr. Merlin, Gimme a Break!, It’s Your Move, 9 to 5, and Amen. He largely retired by the late 1980s.
1965 to become director of the theater and chairman of the drama department there. He was best remembered for staging a controversial production of the antiwar musical Hair at Memphis State in 1970. It was the first time Hair had been produced outside of New York City. Kennedy also directed productions of Man of La Mancha, Stop the World, I Want to Get Off, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and The Who’s rock opera Tommy before retiring in 1985. He continued his involvement in theater, directing plays for local community theaters.
KEOGH , THEODORA Novelist Theodora Keogh died in North Carolina on January 5, 2008. She was 88. She was born Theodora Roosevelt in New York City on June 30, 1919, the daughter of Archibald Roosevelt and granddaughter of President Theodore Roosevelt. She performed as a dancer in Canada and South America in the early 1940s before marrying illustrator and film costume designer Tom Keogh in 1945. The couple moved to Paris. Theodora’s first novel, Meg, a dark drama about a young woman that touched on sexual themes unusual for its day, was published in 1950.
KENWITH , HERBERT Television director Herbert Kenwith died of complications from prostate cancer in Los Angeles on January 30, 2008. He was 90. Kenwith was born in New Jersey on July 14, 1917. He began his career on stage as an actor and appeared in a Broadway production of I Remember Mama with Marlon Brando. He later produced and directed Broadway productions of Night Must Fall and Me and Molly. Kenwith was affiliated with Princeton University’s McCarter Theater for six years, helming over 60 plays. He moved into television in the early 1950s, directing episodes of the daytime dramas Valiant Lady and Lamp Unto My Feet. He also worked on the drama series Suspicion and The Investigator and the variety shows The Polly Bergen Show and The Jonathan Winters Show. He directed segments of the off-beat Gothic soap opera
Theodora Keogh (dancing with Alexander Iolas)
231 He next novel The Double Door (1952) proved even more shocking. She continued writing over the next decade, creating novels with conflicted characters and frequent homosexual and lesbian themes. Her other books include Street Music (1952), The Fascinator (1954), The Tattooed Heart (1956), My Name Is Rose (1956), The Fetish (aka The Mistress) (1959), Gemini (1961), and The Other Girl (1962). She had divorced Tom Keogh in the 1950s and was briefly married to a tugboat captain after having bought one for herself. After their divorce she lived at the Chelsea Hotel in New York and kept a margay (a South American tiger cat) for company. One evening when Theodora had fallen asleep after overindulging in alcohol, the margay chewed off one of her ears. She remained self-conscious of the disfigurement and crafted her hairstyle to cover the missing appendage. She had abandoned writing in the early 1960s and moved to North Carolina in the 1970s. Keogh was shocked when her literary output was rediscovered and reissued by Olympia Press in 2002 and brought her to the attention of a new generation of readers after a forty year absence.
KEPLER, SHELL Actress Shell Kepler, who played nurse Amy Vining on the television soap opera General Hospital for over 20 years, died in Portland, Oregon, on February 1, 2008. She was 49. Kepler was born in Painesville, Ohio, on October 5, 1958. She moved to California with her family in the early 1970s and embarked upon an acting career later in the decade. She was featured in an episode of CHiPs and the 1979
2008 • Obituaries
Levi Kereama
Kereama was part of the band Lethbridge, and made the final 12 for Australian Idol after being chosen by the judges for a wildcard spot. The baby-faced singer was a popular performer but was eliminated in sixth place. Kereama achieved a recording contract and released the album Destiny in 2004, which included the singles “In My Room” and “Handcuffs Off.” He had performed at the Parklife Festival in Brisbane immediately prior to his death.
KEUNE, MARGOT Dutch model and actress Margot Keune, whose career ended in the early 1980s when she suffered a crippling stroke, died of euthanasia in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on August 8, 2008. She was 50. Keune was born in Amsterdam on August 14, 1957. She was a model in the 1970s and participated in the Miss Holland competition. The beautiful blonde was featured in several films in the early 1980s including Paul Verhoeven’s Spetters (1980) and A Flight of Rainbirds (1981). She also worked as a journalist for the magazines Viva and Avenue, interviewing such celebrities as Roman Polanski, Nastassja Kinski, and Brigitte Bardot. Her career was cut short in 1983 when, at the age of 26, she suffered a crippling stroke. It took over two years before she was able to talk again, and she remained largely paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. Despite her infirmities she persevered, posing in Playboy to show that disabled people could still be alluring. She also participated in a television documentary film
Shell Kepler
film The Great American Girl Robbery before landing the role of busybody nurse Amy Vining on General Hospital in 1979. She remained with the daytime soap through 2002 and also appeared in the role in the spinoff series Port Charles in the late 1990s. Kepler was also seen the films Getting Wasted (1980) and Homework (1982) and was featured in several episodes of Three’s Company.
KEREAMA, LEVI Levi Kereama, a finalist on the first season of Australian Idol in 2003, committed suicide by leaping to his death from a high-rise hotel room in Brisbane, Australia, on October 4, 2008. He was reportedly suffering from depression. He was 27.
Margot Keune
Obituaries • 2008
232
about her life made by actress Silvia Millecam. Keune became the muse and lover of photographer Geert de Bruin and also began painting. Their happiness together lasted a decade before de Bruin died of cancer in the late 1990s. Keune later wrote a book about their relationship, Landscapes of Desire: Goodbye to a Great Love.
KEY, TED Cartoonist Ted Key, who created the wise-cracking maid Hazel, died of complications from bladder cancer and a stroke at his home in Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania, on May 3, 2008. He was 95. Key was born in Fresno, California, on August 25, 1912. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1933 before heading for New York to draw cartoons freelance for magazines. Key was best known for creating Hazel for The Saturday Evening Post in 1943. The popular character soon became a regular
Ted Key
feature in the magazine, as well as a syndicated newspaper panel. Hazel came to life on the small screen when actress Shirley Booth starred in the role in a popular television series from 1961 through 1965, earning two Emmy Awards for her efforts. Key also joined with animator Jay Ward to create the time-traveling cartoon duo of Mr. Peabody and Sherman, who were a backup feature to Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons. Key’s other popular comic strip, Diz and Liz, ran in the Jack and Jill children’s magazine from 1961 to 1972. He also provided the stories to several films from Disney in the 1970s including The Million Dollar Duck (1971), Gus (1976), and The Cat from Outer Space (1978). Key retired in 1993, but the Hazel strip continued in syndication from King Features with his previously drawn material.
KEYES, EVELYN Actress Evelyn Keyes, who was featured as Scarlett O’Hara’s younger sister Suellen in the classic film Gone with the Wind, died of uterine cancer at her home in Montecito, California, on July 4, 2008. She was 91. She was born in Port Arthur, Texas, on November 20, 1916. She began her career dancing in nightclubs before heading to Hollywood at the age of 17. She was signed to a contract by Cecil B. DeMille, and was cast in the 1938 film The Buccaneer. The beautiful blonde actress continue to appear in small roles in
Evelyn Keyes
such films as Dangerous to Know (1938), Men with Wings (1938), Sons of the Legion (1938), Artists and Models Abroad (1938), Paris Honeymoon (1939), Sudden Money (1939), and Union Pacific (1939). She was cast as Suellen O’Hara in the 1939 film adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s novel Gone with the Wind. Her character saw her older sister, Scarlett, steal her husband to save their plantation. The role led to a contract with Columbia Pictures, where she starred in Lady in Question, directed by Charles Vidor. Keyes was married to Englishman Barton Bainbridge, and Vidor’s wife was actress Karen Morley. Keyes and Vidor became romantically involved. Bainbridge subsequently committed suicide, and the two wed after Vidor divorced Morley. Their marriage was short-lived when Keyes learned after several years that Vidor was also cheating on her. Her film career continued with supporting roles in A features and leads in B pictures. She was seen in such films as Slightly Honorable (1940), Before I Hang (1940) with Boris Karloff, Beyond the Sacramento (1940), The Face Behind the Mask (1941), Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), Ladies in Retirement (1941), The Adventures of Martin Eden (1942), Flight Lieutenant (1942), The Desperadoes (1943), Dangerous Blondes (1943), There’s Something About a Soldier (1943), Nine Girls (1944), Strange Affair (1944), A Thousand and One Nights (1945), Renegades (1945), The Thrill of Brazil (1946), The Jolson Story (1946), Johnny O’Clock (1947), The Mating of Millie (1948), Enchantment (1948), Mr. Soft Touch (1949), and Mrs. Mike (1949). Keyes had married director John Huston in 1946 and shared his adventurous lifestyle for the 4 years of their marriage. She lived with producer Mike Todd for several years in the early 1950s and was featured in a small role in his 1956 production of Around the World in Eighty Days. He left her soon after the premiere for Elizabeth Taylor. During the 1950s, Keyes was also seen in the films The Killer That Stalked New York (1950), Smuggler’s Island (1951), The Prowler (1951), Iron Man (1951), One Big Affair (1952), It Happened in Paris (1953), Rough Shoot (1953), 99 River Street (1953), Hell’s Half Acre (1954), Top of the World (1955), and The Seven Year Itch (1955) as Tom Ewell’s wife. She also appeared on television in episodes of Lux Video Theatre and Climax! She married bandleader Artie Shaw in 1957, and she largely gave up
233 her acting career to travel around the world with him. They separated after several years of marriage but did not divorce until 1985. Keyes returned to television in 1968, appearing in a production of A Matter of Diamonds on ITV Playhouse. She again resumed her acting career in the early 1980s, appearing in episodes of The Love Boat, Amazing Stories, and Murder, She Wrote, and the films A Return to Salem’s Lot (1987) and Wicked Stepmother (1989). She was also the author of the autobiographical novel I Am a Billboard, and the memoirs Scarlett O’Hara’s Younger Sister and I’ll Think About It Tomorrow
KEYES, TONY Actor Tony Guzman, who appeared in films and television under the name Tony Keyes, was killed when his car veered from California’s Interstate 5 and crashed into several trees near midnight on December 15, 2008. He was 48. He was born Robert Anthony Guzman in Sacramento, California, in 1960. He began acting on stage while a student at Sacra-
Tony Keyes
mento City College in the late 1970s, and became a popular actor in theatrical productions throughout California over the next decade. He was acclaimed for his roles in the plays P.S. Your Cat Is Dead (1988) and Strange Snow (1991). He made his film debut as an undercover cop in 1998’s Lethal Weapon 4. He also appeared on television in two episodes of Nash Bridges and was featured in the films Making Something Up (2001) and Cutting Room (2006). He starred in the short films Salome’s Kiss (2003), The Right Gift (2004), and Dies Irae (2005) and served as executive producer of the first two.
KEYMAS, GEORGE Veteran character actor George Keymas died of a heart attack in Lantana, Florida, on January 17, 2008. He was 82. Keymas was born in Springfield, Ohio, on November 18, 1925. He began his film career in the early 1950s. Due to his swarthy features and pockmarked face he was often cast as heavies in film and television production. Keymas was seen in such films as I Shot Billy the Kid (1950), Border Rangers (1950), Actors and Sin (1952), The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (1952), Salome: The Dance of the Seven Veils (1953), Siren of Bagdad (1953), Flame of Calcutta (1953), The Robe (1953), King of the Khyber Rifles
2008 • Obituaries
(1953), Bait (1954), Wyoming Renegades (1954), They Rode West (1954), Drums of Tahiti (1954), The Raid (1954), The Black Dakotas (1954), The Bamboo Prison (1954), Stranger on Horseback (1955), Santa Fe Passage (1955), Apache Ambush (1955), Kismet (1955), The Vanishing American (1955), Fury at Gunsight Pass (1956), The Maverick Queen (1956), Kentucky Rifles (1956), Thunder Over Arizona (1956), Walk the Proud Land (1956), The White Squaw (1956), Utah Blaine (1957), The Storm Rider (1957), Apache Warrior (1957), Plunder Road (1957), Gunfire at Indian Gap (1957), Cole Younger, Gunfighter (1958), Gunsmoke in Tucson (1958), Studs Lonigan (1960), Lonely Are the Brave (1962), Arizona Raiders (1965), Beau Geste (1966), the 1967 telefilm Winchester ’73, The Magnificent Stranger (1967), Journey to Shiloh (1968), and The Other Side of Midnight (1977). Keymas also appeared frequently on television from the 1950s, guest-starring in such series as Hopalong Cassidy, Stories of the Century, The Lone Wolf, Soldiers of Fortune, Frontier, Crusader, The Ford Television Theatre, Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers, Studio 57, Whirlybirds, Navy Log, Circus Boy, Cheyenne, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Zorro, Colt .45, The Restless Gun, Mike Hammer, General Electric Theater, Texas John Slaughter, Trackdown, Playhouse 90, Bronco, Behind Closed Doors, Yancy Derringer, Tales of the Texas Rangers, The Loretta Young Show, U.S. Marshal, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, 26 Men, Black Saddle, Zane Grey Theater, Man with a Camera, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Startime, M Squad, The Deputy, Peter Gunn, Overland Trail, The Texan, Law of the Plainsman, the 1960 television production of The Slowest Gun in the West, Johnny Ringo, Shotgun Slade, The Twilight Zone episode “The Eye of the Beholder” as the grotesque Leader, Maverick, The Brothers Brannigan, The Life of Legend of Wyatt Earp, Stagecoach West, The Tall Man, Hawaiian Eye, The Bob Cummings Show, Tales of Wells Fargo, Laramie, Have Gun —Will Travel, The Untouchables, Combat!, Death Valley Days, The Virginian, Wagon Train, Rawhide, Honey West, Burke’s Law, Bonanza, T.H.E. Cat, Shane, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Time Tunnel, Laredo, Pistols ’n’ Petticoats, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Cimarron Strip, The Invaders, Wild Wild West, The F.B.I., Hondo, Mannix, The High Chaparral, The Big Valley, Daniel Boone, Lancer, Ironside, Rod Ser-
George Keymas
Obituaries • 2008
234
ling’s Night Gallery, Alias Smith and Jones, The Six Million Dollar Man, Gunsmoke, Dirty Sally, and Barbary Coast.
KHABENSKAYA, ANASTASIA Russian actress Anastasia Khabenskaya died of a brain tumor in Los Angeles on December 3, 2008. She was 35. Khabenskaya was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1973. She
Anastasia Khabenskaya
was a radio journalist in Russia, and starred in Aleksandr Rogozhkin’s 2004 short science fiction film Sapiens. Survivors include her husband, actor Konstantin Khabensky.
KHMELNITSKY, BORIS Russian actor Boris Khmelnitsky died in Moscow after a long illness on February 16, 2008. He was 67. Khmelnitsky was born in Ussuruiisk, Primorsky Territory, Russia, on June 26, 1940. He began his career on stage with the Taganka Drama and Comedy Theatre in Moscow 1964 and performed in numerous productions over the next several decades. He made his film debut soon after and was often featured in adventurous roles. Khmelnitsky’s screen credits include Sofiya Perovskaya (1967), The Eve of Ivan Kupalo (1968), Kto Vernyotsa, Dolyubit (1968), the Russian-Italian co-production The Red Tent (1969), Prince Igor (1970) in the title role, Defying Everybody (1972), Robin Hood’s Arrows (1976) as Robin Hood, Savage Hunt of King Stakh (1979), At the Beginning of
Boris Khmelnitsky
Glorious Days (1981), A Story of the Forest: Mavka (1981), The Black Triangle (1981), Sultan Beybars (1982), Parol “Otel Regina” (1983), The Ballad of Valiant Knight Ivanhoe (1983), Comic Lover or Love Escapades of Sir John Falstaff (1983), In Search for Captain Grant (1985), The Black Arrow (1985), Interception (1986), Tragedy, Rock Style (1988), The Adventures of Quentin Durward, Marksman of the Royal Guard (1988), I Hope Without Hope (1989), Caravan of Death (1991), Ubiystvo v Sunshine Menor (1992), the Italian film Jonathan of the Bears (1993), Vesyolenkaya Poyezdka (1994), and Black Prince (2004).
KHORSAND, PHILIPPE French actor Philippe Khorsand died of an internal hemorrhage in Paris on January 29, 2008. He was 59. Khorsand was born in Paris on February 17, 1948. He was a leading performer in films and television in France from the early 1970s. Khorsand was featured in the films Take It Easy It’s a Waltz (1971), Lache-Moi les Valseuses!... (1977), The Bit Between the Teeth (1979), Out of Whack (1979), Inspector Blunder (1980), Casting (1982), Tempeches Tout le Monde de Mormir (1982), Claude Lelouch’s Edith and Marcel (1983), Zig Zag Story (1983), My Other Husband (1983), ComDads (1983), Petit Con (1984), The Vengeance of the Winged Serpent (1984), La Galette du
Philippe Khorsand
Roi (1986), Sauve-toi, Lola (1986), Les Frees Petard (1986), Septieme Ciel (1987), Les Oreilles entre les Dents (1987), Keep Your Right Up (1987), Les Annees Sandwiches (1988), Corps z’a Corps (1988), Mes Meilleurs Copains (1989), Extraordinary Adventure of an Ordinary Papa (1989), La Femme Fardee (1990), The Oddball (1992), List of Merite (1992), Part-Time Parents (1993), The Thirst for Gold (1993), Revenge of a Blonde (1994), Les Miserables (1995) as Javert, Men, Women: A User’s Manual (1996), The Best Job in the World (1996), Don Juan (1998), Beware of My Love (1998), First Christmas (1999) as Le Pere Noel, Total Western (2000), The Marcorelle Affair (2000), Ce Qui Compte Pour Mathilde (2001), Victoire (2004), A Year in My Life (2006), and Musee Haut, Musee Bas (2008). He was also featured as Richard Ribauton in the television series L’Appartement in 1984 and was Balthazar in M’as-tu-vu? in 1988. Khorsand also appeared in television productions of
235
2008 • Obituaries
Palace (1988), Il Banchetto di Platone (1989), Fantomes sur l’Oreiller (1989), Une Femme Explosive (1996), Mira la Magnifique (1997), L’Alne des Ferchaux (2001), Maigret et le Fou de Sainte Clotilde (2002), and Le Voyage de la Grande-Duchesse (2003). He was featured as Jacky Roche in the television series SoeurTherese.com, and was Richard Matisse in Une Famille Formidable in the early 2000s.
KIEFER, MARIANNE German actress Marianne Kiefer died of complications from diabetes in Kreischa, Saxony, Germany, on January 4, 2008. She was 79. Kiefer was born in Dresden, Germany, on September 3, 1928. She appeared frequently in television from the early 1970s, with roles in such productions as Kim Ji-Hoo
suffered when he acknowledged he was a homosexual earlier in the year, which was thought to have led to his depression and subsequent suicide.
Marianne Kiefer
Florentiner 73 (1972), Neues aus der Florentiner 73 (1974), Toggenburger Bock (1975), Heiraten/Weiblich (1975), Ein Altes Modell (1976), Iche bin Nicht Meinbe Tante (1980), Ein Engel im Taxi (1981), Maxe Baumann (1981) as Aunt Paula, Leute sind auh Menschen (1986), Maxe Baumann aus Berlin (1987), and Drei Reizende Schwestern (1991) as Olga Knopf. She was also featured in the films Bremsers Machen Urlaub (1973) and Mensch, Mein Papa...! (1988).
KIENITZ, DENNIS Dennis Kienitz, an avid collector of memorabilia relating to ice skater and actress Sonja Henie, died of complications from pancreatic cancer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on September 16, 2008. He was 59. Kienitz was born on March 19, 1949. He began his collection as a young man when he rescued a scrapbook about Henie that his mother was about to discard. He soon developed a life-long fascination with the Olympic skater, acquiring photos, move posters, dolls, ads, and films of the star. His collection also included eight colorful costumes worn by Henie during her career that adorned mannequins at his home. KIM JI-HOO South Korean actor and model Kim Ji-Hoo was found dead at his home in Jamsil, southern Seoul, South Korea, on October 6, 2008, after hanging himself in an apparent suicide. He was 23. Kim began working as a fashion model in 2007 and appeared in several television soap operas. His career had
KIMBALL, FREDERIC Actor, writer and director Frederic Kimball died in New York City on October 4, 2008. He was 75. Kimball was born in East Hampton, Long Island, New York, on July 29, 1933. He began writing while attending Harvard University and was a founder of the Poets Theater. After serving in the Special Forces in Korea he eventually settled in New York City. He wrote and directed plays and contributed dialogue to several of Al Pacino’s movies including ...And Justice for All (1979), Author! Author! (1982), Dick Tracy (1990). He teamed with Al Pacino to make the film Looking for Richard in 1996. Kimball was also seen in the films The Murderer (1976) and Author! Author! (1982) as Larry Kotzwinkle. He wrote the 1985 tele-film Blind Alleys and appeared in it the role of Woody. KINSELLA, BEN Ben Kinsella, the younger brother of British television star of Eastenders Brooke Kinsella, was stabbed to death by several other teenagers at a pub in Islington, London, England, on June 29, 2008. He was 16. Kinsella had followed his sister into acting, appearing on television in The Sewer King segment of Seven Wonders of the Industrial World in 2003 and as Tyrone Dooley in an episode of The Bill in 2004. His murder sparked outrage throughout England, and
Ben Kinsella
Obituaries • 2008
236
his friends and family embarked on a campaign to halt teen violence.
KITT, EARTHA Entertainer Eartha Kitt, who graced stage and screen and purred her way to a role as Catwoman in the 1960s Batman series, died of colon cancer in Weston, Connecticut, on December 25, 2008. She was 81. She was born Eartha Mae Keith in North, South Carolina, on January 17, 1927. Born out of wedlock to mixed race parentage, Kitt suffered through an abusive childhood working in the cotton fields with a black family in South Carolina. She was sent to Harlem at the age of 8 to live with an aunt, Mamie Kitt, who she came to believe was her biological mother. Eartha studied piano and dance, though her homelife was still abusive. She frequently ran away from home and was working in a factory and largely homeless by her teens. She began her show business career when she passed an audition with the Katherine Dunham Dance Company. She made her film debut with the troupe in 1948’s Casbah. She soon became a popular entertainer on the New York stage and in Paris cabarets, singing such songs as “Love for Sale” and “C’est Si Bon.” She was featured in the Broadway production New Faces of 1952, where she performed the hit number “Monotonous.” Soon after, she recorded her biggest hit, “Santa Baby.” She also performed on television in episodes of The Nat King Cole Show and Your Show of Shows, and starred in a production of Salome on Omnibus in 1955. She was also featured on British television in a production of Mrs. Patterson in 1956. Kitt co-starred with Sidney Poitier in the 1957 film The Mark of the Hawk and was featured as Gogo Germaine in 1958’s St. Louis Blues. She was the Queen in a 1958 production of Heart of Darkness on Playhouse 90, and starred in the films Anna Lucasta (1959) with Sammy Davis, Jr., and Saint of Devil’s Island (1961). She remained a popular stage performer throughout the 1960s and appeared on television in episodes of Burke’s Law, Ben Casey, Mission: Impossible, and I Spy, which earned her an Emmy nomination. She was also featured in the films Synanon (1965), a German version of Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1965), and All About People (1967) as the narrator. Kitt’s reputation as a sex kitten made her the logical choice to take over the role of Batman’s feline nemesis Catwoman from Julie Newmar for several episodes of the cult television series in 1967. Her career was damaged in 1968 when she was invited to a White House luncheon and confronted Lady Bird Johnson about the Vietnam War, reportedly reducing the First Lady to tears. She was largely blacklisted over the next decade and was forced to continue her career in Europe. She was featured as Scheherazade in the 1971 British comedy Up the Chastity Belt and appeared in the 1972 television production Lieutenant Schuster’s Wife. She also appeared in an episode of The Protectors and the 1975 blaxsploitation film Friday Foster starring Pam Grier. Kitt resumed her career in the United States in 1978 and was invited back to the White House by President Jimmy Carter. She also earned her first Tony Award nomination for the hit Broadway musical Timbuktu! She recorded the disco hit “Where Is My Man”
Eartha Kitt
and a new album, Love Men, in the early 1980s. She was also seen on television in episodes of Police Woman, Miami Vice, Matrix, New York Undercover, Living Single, Viva Variety, The Famous Jet Jackson, and Welcome to New York. She also appeared in the tele-films To Kill a Cop (1978), A Night on the Town (1983), and Anne Rice’s Feast of All Saints (2001), and the features The Serpent Warriors (1985), Dragonard (1987) as Naomi, The Pink Chiquitas (1987) as the voice of Betty the Meteor, Master of Dragonard (1989), Erik the Viking (1981) as Freya, Living Doll (1990), Ernest Scared Stupid (1991), Boomerang (1992) with Eddie Murphy, Fatal Instinct (1993), Harriet the Spy (1996), Ed Wood’s I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998), Holes (2003) as Madame Zeroni, On the One (2005), and And Then Came Love (2007). Kitt also became a frequent voice actor from the mid–1990s, working on such animated productions as The Magic Schoolbus (1995), Ill Gotten Gains (1997), The Wild Thornberrys (1998), Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (2000), Santa Baby (2001) as the voice of Emerald, My Life as a Teenage Robot (2003), and American Dad! (2007). She voiced Kaa the Python in a 1994 BBC Radio production of Kipling’s The Jungle Book, and was Bagheera the Panther in the 1998 animated film version, Jungle Book: Mowgli’s Story. Kitt was the voice of Yzma in the hit animated feature The Emperor’s New Groove (2000), and reprised the role in The Emperor’s New Groove 2: Kronk’s New Groove
Eartha Kitt (as Bat-Villain Catwoman)
237 (2005). She earned two Daytime Emmy Awards as Yzma for the subsequent cartoon series The Emperor’s New School from 2006 to 2007. She starred as the wicked witch in touring productions of The Wizard of Oz in the late 1990s and received her second Tony nomination for the short-lived Broadway musical The Wild Party in 2000. She remained a captivating figure onstage and continued her career despite the diagnosis of colon cancer in 2006. Kitt was married once to real estate developer Bill McDonald from 1960 to 1965 and is survived by their daughter, Kitt Shapiro. She was noted for a string of high profile romances with such celebrities as actor Orson Welles, cosmetics magnate Charles Revlon, and banker John Barry Ryan III. She authored three biographies during her storied life, Thursday’s Child (1956), Alone with Me (1976), and Still Here: Confessions of a Sex Kitten (1989).
KL
Rapper Kenny Lou, who performed as KL with the hip-hop group Screwball, died of complications from an asthma attack on March 28, 2008. Noted
KL
for his aggressive rhyming style, KL worked with such producers as Marley Marl and Pete Rock, and was featured on the song “Street Conflict” on Molemen’s album Killing Fields in 2006.
KLAUBER, GERTAN British character actor Gertan Klauber died in London after a long illness on August 1, 2008. He was 76. Klauber was born in Czechoslovakia on March 5, 1932. He appeared frequently in British films and television from the late 1950s. His many film credits include Missiles from Hell (1958), Don’t Panic Chaps! (1959), The Hands of Orlac (1960), The Breaking Point (1961), Three on a Spree (1961), The Kitchen (1961), Hot Enough for June (1964), Carry On Spying (1964), Carry On Cleo (1964), Operation Crossbow (1965), Dateline Diamonds (1965), The Big Job (1965), The Deadly Affair (1966), Follow That Camel (1967), Carry On Doctor (1967), Before Winter Comes (1969), Wuthering Heights (1970), Cry of the Banshee (1970), Venom (aka The Legend of Spider Forest) (1971), Carry On Henry (1971), Up the Front (1972), The Pied Piper (1972), Carry On Abroad (1972), Soft Beds, Hard Battles (1974), Percy’s Progress (1974), Operation: Daybreak (1975), The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976),
2008 • Obituaries
Gertan Klauber
Carry On Emmannuelle (1978), Bad Timing (1980), the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy as Bubi, Top Secret! (1984), The Living Daylights (1987), and Backbeat (1994). Klauber was also featured in such television productions as The Government Inspector (1958), The Adventures of Ben Gunn (1958) as Black Dog, The Picnic at Sakkara (1959), The Sleeper (1964), Vendetta for the Saint (1969), Crime and Punishment (1979), Me You and Him (1979), The Cold Room (1984), The First Olympics: Athens 1896 (1984), Fortunes of War (1987), Jack the Ripper (1988), Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady (1992), Springing Lenin (1992), Good King Wenceslas (1994), Young Indiana Jones and the Attack of the Hawkmen (1995), and Fugee Girl (2001). Klauber’s other television credits include episodes of Assignment Foreign Legion, One Step Beyond, The Big Pull, Zero One, Man of the World, Crane, Espionage, No Hiding Place, Smuggler’s Bay, HMS Paradise, Thorndyke, Dixon of Dock Green, Theatre 625, The Wednesday Play, Danger Man, The Informer, The Man Who Never Was, The Saint, Doctor Who, The Revenue Men, The Troubleshooters, The Prisoner, Sherlock Holmes, The Avengers, Hadleigh, Paul Temple, Department S, The Goodies, Play of the Month, Softly Softly, Spy Trap, No Exit, Whoops Baghdad!, The Protectors, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Colditz, Upstairs, Downstairs, The Sweeney, The Adventurers, Poldark, The Famous Five, A Horseman Riding By, Room Service, The Professionals, A Fine Romance, The Odd Job Man, Black Adder the Third as King George III, Crossbow, Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Inspector Morse, The Bill, House of Cards, and Red Cap. Klauber was married to actress Gwendolyn Watts from 1959 until her death in 2000. KLEINHEINZ, MICHAEL Voice actor Michael Kleinheinz died of a heart attack on July 11, 2008. He was 56. Kleinheinz was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 14, 1951. He provided the dubbing voice for numerous Japanese animated productions from the early 1990s. Kleinheinz’s voice credits include Ushio and Tora (1992), Those Who Hunt Elves (1996), Slayers Return (1996), Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 (1998), Gasaraki (1998), Spriggan (1998), Princess Nine (1998), Excel Saga (1999), Sin: The Movie(2000), Najica: Blitz Tactics (2001), Street Fighter 2, Victory (2001), Parasite Dolls (2002), Full Metal Panic! (2002), Kaleido Star
Obituaries • 2008
238 a Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease (2000), The Farewell (2000), Chopi: Desire for Love (2002), Geburtig (2002), The Supplement (2002), Superprodukcja (2003), Supertex — Eine Stunde im Paradies (2003), Tomorrow’s Weather (2003), Vinci (2004), Solidarnosc, Solidarnosc... (2005), Persona non Grata (2005), Fale. Wyjazd (2006), We’re All Christs (2006), and Love Comes Lately (2007). Klosinski also served as director of photography for numerous television productions from the early 1970s including The Pad (1971), Dead Class (1977), Patbergs Erbe (1987), The Decalogue (1990), Modrzejewska (1990), Der Grosse Bellheim (1993), Kuchnia Polska (1993), Der Schattenmann (1996), Little Faith (1996), Der Konig von St. Pauli (1998), Liebe Mich bis in den Tod (1998), and Mein Alter Freund Fritz (2007).
Michael Kleinhenz
(2003), Gantz (2004), Madlax (2004), Chrono Crusade (2004), Lady Death (2004), and New Century Evangelion (1995).
KLOSINSKI, EDWARD Polish cinematographer Edward Klosinski died of complications from lung cancer at his home in Milanowek, Poland, on January 5, 2008. He was 65. Klosinski was born in Warsaw, Poland, on January 2, 1943. He attended the Lodz Film School, graduating in 1967. He made his debut as a cinematographer working on Andrzej Wajda’s The Birch Wood in 1970. Klosinski worked on many of Wajda’s subsequent films including the award-winning 1981 feature Man of Iron. His numerous film credits also include Run Counter Run (1972), Kill the Black Sheep (1972) Illumination (1973), The Promised Land (1975), Camouflage (1977), Man of Marble (1977), Top Dog (1978), Spiral (1978), A Room with a View on the Sea (1978), Without Anesthesia (1978), The Young Ladies of Wilko (1979), Chance (1979), Childish Questions (1981), Mother of Kings (1983), Bella Donna (1983), The Cop and the Girl (1985), Chronicle of Amorous Accidents (1986), Magic Sticks (1987), And the Violins Stopped Playing (1988), Kill Cruise (1990), Life for Life: Maximilian Kolbe (1991), Europa (1991), Polish Cousine (1991), Three Colors: White (1994), A Woman’s Business (1996), Deceptive Charm (1996), The Pip (1996), An Air So Pure (1997), A Week in the Life of Man (1999), Gloomy Sunday (1999), Hidden Treasures (2000), Life as
Edward Klonsinski
KNEALE, PATRICIA British actress Patricia Kneale died in England on December 27, 2008. She was 83. Kneale was born in Torquay, Devon, England, on October 17, 1925, the daughter of strolling musicians. She studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began her career onstage in the late 1940s. She was noted for her performances in such Shakespearean productions as A Midsummer Nights Dream as Titania, The Tempest as Ariel, Henry IV, Part II as Doll Tearsheet, and The Comedy of Errors as Luciana. She also
Patricia Kneale
appeared in such plays as Mary Stuart in Scotland at the 1960 Edinburgh Festival, The Trojan Women at Frank Dunlap’s Pop Theatre Company in 1966, and Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days at the Welsh National Theatre in the late 1960s. Kneale also appeared on television in the role of Mrs. Parkin in the 1959 series The Budds of Paragon Row and was Judy Adamson in the BBC science fiction mini-series A for Andromeda in 1961. She appeared in television productions of Twelfth Night in 1950 and Berkeley Square in 1959. Her other television credits include The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, No Hiding Place, Crane, George & Mildred, and Rosie. She also appeared in the Spell of Evil episode of Thriller in 1973. She continued to perform onstage with repertory companies through the early 1980s
KNERR, RICHARD Richard Knerr, who cofounded the Wham-O toy company to produce the Frisbee and Hula Hoop, died of complications from a
239
2008 • Obituaries
mated film Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas and was animation director for Joseph: King of Dreams in 2000. He wrote and directed Plumber in 2003, and was animator for 2004’s Pinocchio 3000. Knight also directed episodes of the cartoon series Get Ed in 2005.
KNOX, MONA Actress Mona Knox died of heart failure in a West Hollywood, California, hospital on June 11, 2008. She was 79. Knox was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, on May 1, 1929. She came to California with her family as a child, where she won several contests as a child model. She embarked on an acting career after attending college and made her film Richard Knerr
stroke at an Arcadia, California, hospital on January 14, 2008. He was 82. Knerr was born in San Gabriel, California, on June 30, 1925. He went into business with his childhood friend Arthur “Spud” Melin in the late 1940s and had a huge success marketing the Frisbee, a flying plastic disc, in the 1950s. They created an even bigger craze in 1958 with the introduction of the Hula Hoop. They continued to produce inexpensive and simple toys like the Super Ball in 1965 and plastic shark teeth to capitalize on the film Jaws in 1975. They also published the Wham-O Giant Comic billed as the World’s Largest Comic book at 14" × 21" when closed. Knerr and Melin sold Wham-O to Kransco Group Companies in 1982 and Melin died in 2002. KNIGHT, ANDY Veteran Canadian animator Andy Knight died of a stroke on April 10, 2008. He was 46. Knight began his career in the early 1980s working as a storyboard artist and animator for such animated productions as Inspector Gadget (1983), Heathcliff & the Cadillac Cats (1984), Strawberry Shortcake and the Baby Without a Name (1984), The Get-Along Gang (1984),
Andy Knight
Asterix Versus Caesar (1984), Asterix in Britain (1986), A Pup Named Scooby-Doo (1988), The Teddy Bears’ Picnic (1989), Werner — Beinhart! (1990), Asterix in America (1994), and All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (1996). He was co-founder of the Toronto, Canada, based animation studio Red Rover in 1994. He directed the 1997 ani-
Mona Knox
debut in the early 1950s. Knox was seen in such films as A Woman of Distinction (1950), Tarzan and the Slave Girl (1950), The Petty Girl (1950), Sunny Side of the Street (1951), Reunion in Reno (1951), Two Tickets to Broadway (1951), The Las Vegas Story (1952), Cecil B. DeMille’s The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), Aladdin and His Lamp (1952), Hold That Line (1952), Kid Monk Baroni (1952), Thundering Caravans (1952), Army Bound (1952), Eight Iron Men (1952), Jalopy (1953), All Ashore (1953), The Girl Next Door (1953), Escape from Terror (1955), and Hold Back Tomorrow (1955). She also appeared on television in episodes of Space Patrol, Your Jeweler’s Showcase, The Donna Reed Show, and The Untouchables. Knox made her final film appearance as Mrs. Byron in the 1968 supernatural classic Rosemary’s Baby.
KNOX, ROBERT Young British actor Robert Knox, who was scheduled to appear in the forthcoming Harry Potter film, was stabbed to death in a pub near the Sidcup, England, train station late in the evening of May 23, 2008. He was pronounced dead at 12:07 A.M. the following morning. He was fatally stabbed by two men while trying to protect his younger brother in a pub brawl. He was 18. Knox was born in Kent, England, on August 21, 1989. He was featured as Josh in several episodes of the television series After You’ve Gone in 2007. Knox had worked in films as an extra for several years and had completed filming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) in the role of Marcus Belby.
Obituaries • 2008
240 South Africa, starring in such productions as Arms and the Man, Lesson in Blood and Roses, and Kennedy’s Children. He was also featured in the 1998 tele-film Diamond Girl. He had served as the dialogue coach for the South African television soap opera Egoli from 2003. He was also the author of the autobiography Blaise Koch: In, Around, Through and Out— An Actor’s Life, which detailed his career and his battle with HIV.
KOCZESKA, WANDA Polish leading actress Wanda Koczeska died in Warsaw, Poland, on December 15, 2008. She was 71. Koczeska was born in Warsaw on February 17, 1937. She began her film career in Robert Knox
KNUDSEN, BITTEN Danish fashion model Bitten Knudsen died in her sleep at her home in Denmark on March 22, 2008. She was 53. Knudsen was a leading model from the late 1970s and early 1980s, ap-
Wanda Koczeska
Bitten Knudsen
pearing in such magazines as Glamour, Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, and the French Vogue. She was a close friend of ill-fated model Gia Carangi and was often photographed by Helmut Newton. Knudsen was also featured in the 1986 action film Hollywood Vice Squad.
KOCH, BLAISE
South African actor Blaise Koch died after a long illness in South Africa on July 21, 2008. He was 55. Koch was a leading stage actor in
Blaise Koch
the late 1950s, with roles in Rancho Texas (1959), Innocent Sorcerers (1960), The Second Man (1961), Guests Are Coming (1962), Ping-Pong (1966), Verspielte Heimat (1971), Palace Hotel (1977), and The Manager (1986). She was also featured in television productions of Awatar Czyli Zamiana Dusz (1964) and Zmartwychwstanie Offlanda (1968), and in episodes of Stawka Wieksza niz Zycie, 07 Zglos Sie, Zycie na Goraco, 5 dni z Zycia Emeryta, Tulipan, and Determinator. Koczeska starred as Nina Rozalska in the series Klinika Samotnych Serc in 2005.
KOKKONEN, ERE Finnish film director Ere Kokkonen died in Helsinki, Finland, on October 16, 2008. He was 70. Kokkonen was born in Savonlinna,
Ere Kokkonen
241 Finland, on July 7, 1938. He began working as a writer and director for television in the early 1960s. He was best known for his work with producer Spede Pasanen, directing 15 films featuring the character Uuno Turhapuro (Numbskull Emptybrook). The popular comedy series ran from the 1970s through the 1990s. Kokkonen also directed the films The Marvellous Adventures of a TV Man (1969), Two Big Gig (1986), Little Boys (1986), Sergeant Kormy and the Marshall’s Stick (1990), Sergeant Kormy and the South Pacific (1992), A Charming Mass Suicide (2000), and The Ten Shrews (2002). He also directed segments of the television comedy