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Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2006
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Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2006 Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture by
HARRIS M. LENTZ III
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Jefferson, North Carolina, and London
On the front cover, clockwise from top left: Glenn Ford, Don Knotts, Shelley Winters, Lou Rawls
ISSN 1087-9617
/
ISBN-13: 978-0-7864-2933-2
softcover : 50# alkaline paper
©2007 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 2006 — Alice Moore Perry, Pete and Madelyn Sampietro, Mimi Loeb, Mical Holland, Mike Fitzgerald, Tom Walters, Dr. Darrell Richardson, Richard Vernon and Gary Gray, Frankie Thomas, Jr., Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, Mark Roberts, Kasey Rogers, Jeremy Slate, Wilson “Bob” Tucker and Sputnik Monroe
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Bridges, Michael and Maggie Hernandez, Dia Barbee, “Doc,” Dave Ramsey, Ray and Judy Herring, Don and Elaine Kerley, Mark Webb, Wally Traylor, Letsie Axmaker, Jerry Van Hausen, Michael Roberts, Jennifer Eggleston, Lance Freemon, Jim Fields, Gayden Michelle Fritz, Kevin Britt, Kim Conrad, Kelly Fleming, Darryl and Amy Wheeler, Steve Tines, Ronnie McAfee, Mark Ledbetter, Dennis Traylor, Gwen Beatley, John Anglin, Brian Theros, Jimmy Sowell, Marvin Massey, Bob Baldwin, Kira Christensen, Shannon Carrico, Heather Rich, Katie Brittney Peyton, Steve Montgomery, Keith Prince, Laura Crofcheck, Marlene Taylor, Catherine “Kat” Johnson, Bridgette Newman, Nikki Berg, Melanie Pinson, Jerry Warloh, Hayden, the fine folks at J. Alexanders, Willy Mo‡tt’s, Bob’s Sports Bar, the Memphis Film Festival, Glinda Kelley and Ray Grier of the Ellendale Post O‡ce, 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.
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, Forrest J Ackerman, the late Mike Fitzgerald, 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, Lois Donnelly, Tina Motroni, Dale Warren, Andrew Clark, Arrin Pritchard, Dr. Mark He‡ngton, Anne Taylor, Andy Branham, John Nelson, Richard Allynwood, Frank de Azpillaga, Irv Jacobs, Bill Warren, Bob Cuneo, Alun Jones, Marty Baumann, Joe Caviolo, Rusty White of Entertainment Insiders, Russ Blatt of Life in Legacy, the folks at VoyForums: Celebrity Obits (especially Barbara, Peggy, Rocket, Loren, Greg), Joy Martin, Denise Tansil, Blaine Lester, Louis and Carol Baird, Carlin and Renee Stuart, Greg
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments vi Introduction viii Reference Bibliography xii The 2006 Obituaries
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INTRODUCTION The year 2006 saw the passing of a myriad of individuals throughout the world who contributed to the performing arts. The obituaries of over 1300 people are included in the current book, along with pictures of the vast majority. The years losses ran the gamut from the Godfather of Soul James Brown to the Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, and from legendary film director Robert Altman to the former President of the United States, Gerald Ford. Other notables include Mike Hammer’s creator Mickey Spillane, Charlie’s Angels producer Aaron Spelling, Jaws writer Peter Benchley, 60 Minutes broadcast journalist Ed Bradley, legendary animator Joe Barbera, and Dark Shadows creator Dan Curtis. The Golden Age of Hollywood was particularly hard hit with the passing of such screen legends as Oscar-winning western bad guy Jack Palance, Academy Award–winning femme fatale turned character actress Shelley Winters, leading lady June Allyson, Tony, Emmy and Oscar-winning actress Maureen Stapleton, Academy Award–winning character comic Red Buttons, and versatile leading man Glenn Ford. Classic television was also deeply affected with the loss of Mayberry’s favorite deputy, Barney Fife (Don Knotts), and Gunsmoke’s deputy Chester Goode (Dennis Weaver). Other passings include Kolchak: The Night Stalker Darren McGavin, Grandpa Munster Al Lewis, Name of the Game star Anthony Franciosa, and talk show pioneer Mike Douglas. Peter Boyle, who went from Young Frankenstein monster to Everybody Loves Raymond patriarch, and Jane Wyatt, who was Father Knows Best’s better half and mother of Star Trek’s Mr. Spock, also passed on in 2006.
The music scene’s many losses also include R&B icons Lou Rawls, Billy Preston, Wilson Pickett, Gerald Levert, and Ruth Brown, Pointer Sister June, The Cowsills Billy, rap singers Proof and J Dilla, Mexican artist Freddy Fender, country music star Buck Owens, big band singers Georgia Gibbs and Martha Tilton, and reggae pioneer Desmond Dekker. Losses from the 1960s musical British invasion included Freddie Garrity of Freddie and the Dreamers, Freddie Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers, and Denis Payton of the Dave Clark Five. Other musicians included within are Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett, Sandy West of the Runaways, Alex St. Clair of Captain Beef heart, Boz Burrell of Bad Company, and Vince Welnick of the Grateful Dead. Other passings include jazz singer Anita O’Day, Danny Flores, who sang “Tequila!” under the name Chuck Rio, Gene Pitney, who had hits with “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” and “Town Without Pity,” bagpiping jazzman Rufus Hartley, and Li’l Wally Jagiello, the polka king. Classical music lost composer Gyorgy Ligeti, whose works were heard on the soundtrack of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Sir Malcolm Arnold, who earned an Oscar for scoring The Bridge on the River Kwai. Sarah Caldwell, the first woman to conduct the Metropolitan Opera orchestra, and opera stars Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Anna Moffo, Astrid Varney, and Richard Vernon have also been silenced. Red Shoes ballet star Moira Shearer, classical dancers Katherine Dunham and Melissa Hayden, and tap dancing legend Fayard Nicholas are found within these pages. Mike Evans, who starred on television as The
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ix Jeffersons son Lionel, and Franklin Cover, who was neighbor and father-in-law Tom Willis, also died. We also note the passing of such television notables as Mork and Mindy’s Exidor (Robert Donner), Murphy Brown’s bartender Phil (Pat Corley), Topper’s George Kerby (Robert Sterling), The Mothers-in-Law’s father-in-law (Herbert Rudley, The Patty Duke Show’s mom ( Jean Byron), the boss’s wife Mrs. Tate from Bewitched (Kasey Rogers), Terry and the Pirates’ Terry ( John Baer), Zorro’s villainous Captain Monastario (Britt Lomond), Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law (Arthur Hill), and Mr. Merlin himself (Barnard Hughes). Soap opera stars Benjamin Hendrickson and Don Stewart, and Gloria Monty, who brought Luke and Laura to soap opera fame in General Hospital also perished in 2006. Other film and television losses include Jack Palance’s City Slickers co-star Bruno Kirby, The Breakfast Club principal Paul Gleason, AsianAmerican star Mako, British leading men Tom Bell, Patrick Allen and Derek Bond, House of Wax heroine Phyllis Kirk, The Third Man leading lady Alida Valli, Oliver! ’s Artful Dodger and H.R. Pufnstuf’s Jimmy ( Jack Wild), Michael Corleone’s ill-fated first wife Apollonia from The Godfather (Simonetta Stefanelli), Cinema Paradiso star Philippe Noiret, James Bond’s You Only Live Twice Japanese ally Tiger Tanaka (Tetsuro Tamba), Shaft director Gordon Parks, comedian turned game show host Jan Murray, Battle of Algiers director Gillo Pontecorvo, child stars Billy Mauch from the 1930s and Gary Gray from the 1940s, character actor Sid Raymond who voiced cartoon’s Baby Huey, Svengali’s Trilby (Marian Marsh), Marlon Brando’s “mini-me” from Island of Dr. Moreau Nelson De La Rosa, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians producer and director Nicholas Webster, Don’t Look Now’s blind psychic Hilary Mason, Republic western leading lady Lois Hall, cult stars Candice Rialson of Hollywood Boulevard, Audrey Campbell of Olga’s Girls, and Tamara Dobson of Cleopatra Jones, and tragically slain independent actress and filmmaker Adrienne Shelly. Other leading actresses including Carrie Nye, Karen Mayo Chandler, Claude Jade, Kiyoko Kishida, Elizabeth Allen, Moira Redmond, Tina Aumont, Jennifer Jayne, and Osa Massen took their final bows. A host of character actors also passed including Jack Warden, Alan Caillou,
2006 • Obituaries Richard Stahl, Frank Campanella, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, Jeremy Slate, Henderson Forsythe, Byron Morrow, John Alderson, Milton Selzer, Gene Rutherford, Daniel Emilfork, Tony Jay, S. John Launer, Paul Carr, Russell Wade, and Kenneth Gri‡th. Behind the camera, leading directors Vincent Sherman and Walerian Borowczyk, film composers Basil Poledouris and Shirley Walker, Oscar-winning cinematographer Sven Nykvist, and Van Smith, who designed costumes and makeup for transvestite diva Divine in the films of John Waters, have also departed the set. Frankie Thomas, Jr., who starred as one of tv’s first spacemen Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, is found within these pages, as are Babylon 5’s alien ambassador G’Kar (Andreas Katsulas) and Dr. Benjamin Kyle ( Johnny Sekka), and Machiko Soga, the evil alien Rita Repulsa from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. J. Madison Wright, the child star of the 1994 series Earth II, died tragically young. Other familiar faces in science fiction who passed on include Luke Skywalker’s Uncle Owen Lars from Star Wars (Phil Brown), Atomic Submarine captain Arthur Franz, Roger Corman leading lady Betsy Jones-Moreland, television’s humorous super-hero Mr. Terrific (Stephen Strimpell), The Specials Mr. Smart ( Jim Zulevic), The Thing’s advocate Dr. Carrington (Robert Cornthwaite), and Plan 9 from Outer Space’s O‡cer Kelton (Paul Marco). Behind the camera, Quatermass Experiment director (Val Guest) and writer (Nigel Kneale), both passed on, as did 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Soylent Green helmer Richard Fleischer, This Island Earth director Joseph M. Newman, The Outer Limits producer and Psycho screenwriter Joseph Stefano, Godzilla composer Akira Ifukube, and cult directors Don Dohler, Gary Graver, William Allen Castleman, and Lindsay Shonteff. Comic book fans lost Green Lantern creator Mart Nodell and the father of the new X-Men Dave Cockrum, along with fellow artists Jack Burnley and Alex Toth. Ed Benedict, who designed cartoon icons Fred Flintsone and Yogi Bear, and Frank and Ernest comic strip creator Bob Thaves also died. The literary world lost Egyptian Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz, Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci, Sophie’s Choice author William Styron, playwright Wendy Wasserstein, and science fiction luminaries Stanislaw Lem, Jack Williamson,
Obituaries • 2006 Octavia Butler, Nelson S. Bond, and Wilson “Bob” Tucker. Muriel Sparks, who wrote the play The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and Jay Presson Allen, who adapted it for the screen, both died in 2006. Other literary passings include What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? author Henry Farrell, Seven Years in Tibet mountaineer Heinrich Harrer, Cheaper by the Dozen offspring and chronicler Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, and Edgar Rice Burroughs expert Darrell C. Richardson. Other passings include Amityville Horror house owner George Lutz, ghost hunter Ed Warren, big foot historian Vance Orchard, Jacqueline Kennedy’s fashion designer Oleg Cassini, anorexic fashion model Ana Carolina Reston, 1950s Playboy Playmates Pat Sheehan and Marilyn Waltz, World War II radio propagandist Iva “Tokyo Rose” Toguri D’Aquino, Hollywood Wax Museum founder Spoony Singh, Press Your Luck gameshow host Peter Tomarken, Broadway lyricist Betty Comden, Antique Roadshow appraiser Frank Boos, Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, James Bond’s Thunderball producer Kevin McClory, and CBS television pioneer and visionary Frank Stanton. Christopher Reeve’s courageous widow, Dana, joined him in death in 2006. Other celebrity relatives included within are muscleman Mickey Hargitay, the father of Mariska and exhusband of Jayne Mansfield, Sean Penn’s brother Chris, Candice Bergen’s mother Frances, Rock Hudson’s ex-wife Phyllis Gates, cult director Ed Wood’s widow Kathy, Anna Nicole Smith’s young son Daniel, and famous offsprings Tim Rooney, Edward Albert, Jr., and Johnny Weissmuller, Jr. Sportscaster Curt Gowdy and Olympic athlete turned Hollywood muscleman turned U.S. Congressman Bob Mathias passed on during the last year, as did boxing great Floyd Patterson and Buck O’Neil, the Negro Leagues baseball player who became a spokesman for an era. The realm of sports entertainment lost another batch of wrestling superstars including John “Earthquake” Tenta, Sputnik Monroe, Crazy Luke Graham, Bob Orton, Sr., Sam Steamboat, Bull Ramos, Rick Gibson, Karl Von Stroheim, and Public Enemy’s Johnny Grunge. Roller derby bad girl Anne Calvello also skated her last. The ranks of clowns were thinned with the passings of Howdy Doody’s pal Clarabell (Lew
x Anderson), Brazilian circus icon Carequinha, Cleveland’s own Flippo (Marvin Fishman), and second generation clown Emmett Kelly, Jr. Singing circus ringmaster Harold Ronk also died, as did magician Channing Pollock, and female human cannonball Duina Zacchini. During the year we also lost such notable puppeteers as Rickie Layne, George Latshaw, Gerhardt Behrendt, William Fosser, Mary Ritts, and Lettie Schubert. The animal kingdom’s losses include Moose, the Jack Russell terrier who starred as Eddie on tv’s Frasier, a stunt gator named Big Boy, a trained buffalo called Cody, and Ragtime, a miniature horse. 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. The obituaries within this volume contain pertinent details of deaths including date, place and cause, of 1345 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 on-line sources for much of the information. Both print and on-line resources used are listed below and in the bibliography. A photograph has been included for many of the individuals. I have been writing obituaries of film personalities for nearly thirty years, beginning with a column in Forry Ackerman’s Famous Monsters of Filmland in the late 1970s. Many of the film obituaries in the 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 in this volume has been gathered from a myriad of sources. Primary sources, as previously noted are listed in the individual bibliographies, including 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
xi Wrestling Torch, Psychotronic Video, The Comics Journal and Facts on File. Several sources on the internet have also been helpful, including Celebrity Obits (http://www/voy.com/60649/ ), Life in Legacy (formerlly Famous Deaths — Week in
2006 • Obituaries Review) (http://www.lifeinlegacy.com/ ), Entertainment Insiders (http://www.einsiders.com/ features/columns/2006obituaries), and the Internet Movie Database, Ltd. (http://us.imdb.com/ ).
REFERENCE BIBLIOGRAPHY Books
the Talkies. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1967. Two Volumes. 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. Finch, Yolande. Finchy. New York : Wyndham Books, 1981. Fisher, Dennis. Horror Film Directors, 1931–1990. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1991. Hunter, Allan, ed. Chambers Concise Encyclopedia of Film and Television. New York: W & R. Chambers Ltd., 1991. Katz, Ephraim. The Film Encyclopedia, 2d ed. New York: HarperPerennial, 1994. Malloy, Alex G., ed. Comic Book Artists. Radnor, Penn.: Wallace-Homestead, 1993. Maltin, Leonard, ed. Movie and Video Guide 1995. New York: Signet Books, 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 Books, 1996. Monaco, James. Who’s Who in American Film Now. New York: Zoetrope, 1988. Nash, Jay Robert, and Stanley Ralph Ross. The
The Academy Players Directory. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, 1978–2003. 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 Books, 1987. Brown, Les. The New York Times Encyclopedia of Television. New York: Times Books, 1977. Bushnell, Brooks. Directors and Their Films. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1993. Chilton, John. Who’s Who of Jazz. Philadelphia, PA: Chilton Book, 1972. Contemporary Authors. Detroit: Gale Research, various editions. DeLong, Thomas A. Radio Stars. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1996. Dimmitt, Richard Bertrand. An Actors Guide to
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xiii 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. _____. 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 Press, 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: In-
2006 • Obituaries terviews 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 Independent, The — 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/ Nation, The — http://www.nationmultimedia. com/ New York Times — http://www.nytimes.com/ Online Newspapers — http://www.onlinenews papers.com/ Playbill — http://www.playbill.com/news/ RTE Entertainment — http://www.rte.ie/ Seattle Post-Intelligence — http://seattlepi.nw source.com/ Stage, The — 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/Engnews/
Obituaries • 2006 OTHER SITES 1WrestlingLegends — http://www.1wrestling legends.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.cauliflower alleyclub.org/ Celebrity Deathwatch — http://slick.org/death watch/mailarchive/maillist.html Celebrity Obits — http://www.voy.com/60649/ Classic Horror Film Board — http://pub20.ez board.com/bmonsterkidclassichorrorforum Dead People Server — http://dpsinfo.com/dps/ Dead Porn Stars — http://www.rame.net/faq/ deadporn/ Dead Rock Stars Club — http://thedeadrock starsclub.com/
xiv Entertainment Insiders — http://www.einsiders. com/ Find a Grave — http://www.findagrave.com/ Gary Will: Deceased Pro Wrestlers — http://www. garywill.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.memphis filmfestival.com/ Outpost Gallifrey — http://gallifreyone.com/ Social Security Death Index — http://ssdi.gene alogy.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. younghollywoodhof.com/
OBITUARIES IN THE PERFORMING ARTS, 2006 wrote for television, scripting episodes of Dixon of Dock Green and Tales of the Unexpected, and writing the telefilms Madly in Love (1972), Love Song (1972), and A Killing on the Exchange (1987). He also wrote novelizations for such television series as Porridge and Dad’s Army, and numerous short plays.
AARONS, SLIM Photojournalist Slim Aarons died of complications from a heart attack and stroke in a Montrose, New York, veteran’s home on May 30, 2006. He was 89. He was born George Allen Aarons on October 29, 1916, and was raised in New Hampshire. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and was a combat photographer for Yank magazine. After the war he became a leading celebrity photographer in Hollywood, taking pictures for such magazines as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. During his career of over 50 years Aarons captured on film the faces of such celebrities and stars as Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, and Princess Diana. A selection of his photographs was published in 1974 as A Wonderful Time: An Intimate Portrait of the Good Life.
Paul Ableman
ACKERMAN, BETTYE Actress Bettye Ackerman, the widow of character actor Sam Jaffe, died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in Columbia, South Carolina, on November 1, 2006. She was 82. Ackerman was born in Cottageville, South Carolina, on February 28, 1924. She began her career on stage in the mid–1940s after graduating from Columbia College. Travelling to New York, she was given a role in a production of Moliere’s Tartuffe, where she met distinguished character actor Sam Jaffe. The two became close and were married in 1956. Though her husband was a victim of the Hollywood Blacklist in the 1950s, she appeared on television in episodes of Studio One and Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and the film Face of Fire (1959). When Jaffe was cast as Dr. Zorba in the television medical series Ben Casey in 1962, Ackerman joined him on the series as Dr. Maggie Graham. She also appeared regularly as Anne Frazer, Bracken’s secretary, on the drama series Bracken’s World in 1970, and was Constance MacKenzie in Return to Peyton Place in 1972. She remained a familiar face on television, appearing in episodes of such series as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Alcoa Premiere, Breaking Point, Perry Mason, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Bonanza, Mannix, The F.B.I., The Sixth Sense, Medical Center, Gunsmoke, Lucas Tanner, Ironside, The Rookies, The Streets of San Francisco, Harry O, Petrocelli, Police Story, Barnaby Jones, The Feather and Father Gang, Wonder Woman, CHiPs, Police Woman, 240-Robert, The Waltons, Falcon Crest, Dynasty, Double Trouble, Trapper John, M.D., Road Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected, and St. Else-
Slim Aarons
ABARBANEL, SAM X. Film producer and publicist Sam X. Abarbanel died in Los Angeles on August 9, 2006. He was 92. Abarbanel was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on March 17, 1914. He began his career in Chicago as a newspaperman before moving to New York to work as a publicist for Republic Studios. He served in the military during World War II and returned to show business as a film marketing specialist after the war. Abarbanel produced the 1948 film The Argyle Secrets, and wrote and produced the 1950 cult classic Prehistoric Women. He also produced the film The Golden Mistress (1954). Abarbanel moved to Spain in 1963, where he wrote the 1964 horror film about an invisible dinosaur, Sound of Horror. He also produced the films Gunfighters of Casa Grande (1964), Son of a Gunfighter (1965), The Last Day of the War (1970) which he also scripted, and The Narco Men (1970). He also wrote the 1972 thriller Summertime Killer. ABLEMAN, PAUL British writer Paul Ableman died in London on October 25, 2006. He was 79. Ableman was born in Leeds, England, on June 13, 1927. His first novel, I Heard Voices, was published in 1958, and his play, Green Julia, was produced in 1965. Green Julia was also adapted for television in 1969. Ableman also
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Obituaries • 2006 where. Ackerman also appeared in the film Rascal (1969), and the tele-films Companions in Nightmare (1968), Columbo: Blueprint for Murder (1972), Heat of Anger (1972), Murder or Mercy (1974). Her final screen credits include the films Ted and Venus (1991) and Prehysteria! 2 (1994).
Bettye Ackerman
2 ination, and his short The Legend of John Henry earned an Oscar nomination in 1973. Adam was also executive producer of the films Dinosaur (1980) and The Legend of Paul Bunyan (1983).
ADAMS, JOE Producer and director Joe Adams died on February 3, 2006. He was 38. Adams attended UCLA Film School and began his career as a casting assistant for Aaron Spelling Productions. He worked on the television series Melrose Place, Central Park West, and Malibu Shores. He also worked in casting for the telefilm Sweet Dreams (1996), and the films B*A*P*S (1997), Most Wanted (1997), Dark City (1998), The Legend of the Pianist on the Ocean (1998), American History X (1998), Detroit Rock City (1999), The Bachelor (1999), Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000), and Wish You Were Dead (2002). Adams was casting director for the 2002 horror film Cabin Fever and appeared in a small role in the film as a psycho killer in a bowling alley. He soon began producing films, including Superfag (2002), State’s Evidence (2004), The Surfer King (2005), and Neo Ned (2005). Adams was involved as producer, director, and writer for the horror films I Remember and Mary Worth at the time of his death.
ADAM, FRANCISCO Portuguese television actor Francisco Adam died of injuries he received in an automobile accident near Alcochete, Portugal, on April 16, 2006. He was 22. Adam was born in Lisbon, Portugal, on August 13, 1983. He began working as a model at the age of 18 with Elite Models and On Fashion, appearing in numerous advertising campaigns. He was best known for his role as Dino in the popular Portuguese television soap opera Morangos com Acucar, becoming a cult hero for numerous teenage girls.
Joe Adams
Francisco Adam
ADAMS, DAVID T. Film producer David T. Adams died of congestive heart failure in Henderson, Nevada, on October 8, 2006. He was 85. Adams was born in Wellington, Ontario, Canada, in 1921, and served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. He later moved to California, where he founded Pyramid Films Corporation. Adams produced such training films as Pulse of Life for CPR students. Adams 1972 short film Solo received and Academy Award nom-
ADAMSON, EVE Eve Adamson, the founder of the Jean Cocteau Repertory died at her apartment in Manhattan, New York, on October 9, 2006. She was 68. She was born in Beverly Hills, California, on October 30, 1937, the daughter of songwriter Harold Adamson. She began acting and directing in children’s theater in Los Angeles in the late 1950s before heading to New York. She began the Jean Cocteau Repertory in the early 1970s in honor of the French playwright, and the first season included productions of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Eugene Ionesco’s Lesson. Adamson remained artistic director of the company for 18 years until stepping down in 1989. She continued to direct plays nationally and in Europe, and occasionally returned to the Cocteau. (See photograph, page 3.) ADJEMIAN, MARTIN Argentine actor Martin Adjemian died of cancer in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on January 3, 2006. He was 73. Adjemian was born in Buenos Aires on December 12, 1932. He was seen in nu-
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2006 • Obituaries
Eve Adamson
Joop Admiraal
merous films from the late 1960s including Las Taitas (1968), Invasion (1969), Jewish Gauchos (1975), El Familiar (1975), Michael’s Death (1984), Facundo, the Tiger’s Shadow (1995), Lola Mora (1996), Sotto Voe (1996), Moebius (1996), Pizza, Beer, and Cigarettes (1998), Sleepwalker (1998), The Revenge (1999), Solo Gente (1999), El Inocente (2000), Adela (2000), Rich Kids (2000), The Swamp (2001), Gallito Ciego (2001), Inheritance (2001), Potestad (2002), Palermo Hollywood (2004), and La Perrera (2005). Adjemian also starred in such television productions as Primicias (2000), 30/30 (2001), Love Heritage (2002), and Sol Negro (2003).
AGARDI, GABOR Hungarian actor Gabor Agardi died in Budapest, Hungary, on January 19, 2006. He was 83. Agardi was born in Szeged, Hungary, on August 2, 1922. He appeared in numerous films from the early 1950s including Before Midnight (1957), The Smugglers (1958), Razzia (1958), A Few Steps to the Frontier (1959), Sleepless Years (1959), For Whom the Larks Sing (1959), Virrad (1960), Kalvaria (1960), Guns and Doves (1961), Germinal (1963), Evidence (1964), The Hopeless Ones (1965), The Corporal and Others (1965), Karpathy Zoltan (1966), Jaguar (1967), Three Nights of Love (1967), Stars of Eger (1968), The Girl (1968), Do You Know Sunday-Monday (1969), Husaren in Berlin (1971), Kakuk Marci (1973), A Dunai Hajos (1974), Volegeny (1982), Retur (1997), and The Last Blues (2002). Agardi was given a Liftime Achievement Award as Actor of the Hungarian Nation in 2000. ALATRISTE, GUSTAVO Mexican film producer Gustavo Alatriste died of pancreatic cancer in a Houston, Texas, hospital on July 22, 2006. He was 83. Alatriste was born in Mexico City on August 25, 1922. He began his film career in the early 1960s as producer for Luis Bunuel’s film Viridiana (1961), starring Alatriste’s then wife, actress Sonia Infante. He also produced Bunuel’s subsequent features The Exterminating Angel (1962) and Simon of the Desert (1965). He began writing and directing films as well in the early 1970s, helming
Martin Adjemian
ADMIRAAL, JOOP Dutch actor Joop Admiraal died of cardiac arrest in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on March 25, 2006. He was 68. Admiraal was born in Ophemert, the Netherlands, on September 26, 1937. He was a popular performer in Dutch films from the early 1960s, appearing in such features as Big City Blues (1962), A Gangstergirl (1966), To Grab the Ring (1968), Toestanden (1976), Camping (1978), The Demise of Herman Durer (1979), In for Treatment (1979), Kort Amerikaans (1979), Twice a Woman (1979), The Lucky Star (1980), The Mark of the Beast (1980), Behind Glass (1981), A Hot Summer Night (1982), The Taste of Water (1982), Mindshadows (1988), Eline Vere (1991), Traces of Smoke (1992), Oude Tongen (1994), and Duinzicht Boven (1999).
Gustavo Alatriste
Obituaries • 2006
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Quien Resulte Responsable (1971), Living on Credit (1972), Los Privilegiados (1973), Las Calles no se Siembran (1974), Entre Violetas (1974), Tecnologias Pesqueras (1975), Mexico, Mexico, Ra Ra Ra (1976), Human (1976), En la Cuerda del Hambre (1979), La Grilla (1980), La Casa de Bernarda Alba (1982), Aquel Famoso Remington (1982), and Historia de una Mujer Escandalosa (1984). Alatriste became vice-president Canacine, the Mexican film organization, in the 1980s.
ALBERT, ARNOLD Film director and producer Arnold Albert died in Santa Monica, California, after a long illness on January 8, 2006. He was 93. He began working at Warner Brothers in New York in the 1930s. He went to Hollywood for the studio in 1936, where he was soon producing trailers and shorts. Albert was producer on Sonny Dunham and His Orchestra (1944), Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (1944), Devil Boats (1944), Road to Victory (1944), Sonny Dunham and His Orchestra in Jive Busters (1944), and Coney Island Honeymoon (1945). He produced the feature film The Man I Love starring Ida Lupino and Robert Alda in 1947. Albert left films in 1949 to work with his wife, designer Ruth Matthews, in developing the fashion chain Matthews. ALBERT, EDWARD, JR. Actor Edward Albert, Jr., died of lung cancer at his home in Malibu, California, on September 22, 2006. He was 55. Albert was born in Los Angeles on February 20, 1951, the son of actors Eddie Albert and Margo. He made his film debut as a child, co-starring as George Mellish in The Fool Killers (1965) with Anthony Perkins. He earned a Golden Globe award for his performance opposite Goldie Hawn in 1972’s Butterflies Are Free. He continued a successful acting career in films and on television over the next three decades. Albert was seen in the features 40 Carat (1973), Midway (1976), The Purple Taxi (1977), The Domino Principle (1977), The Greek Tycoon (1978), and The Squeeze (1978), and the tele-films Killer Bees (1974), Death Cruise (1974), Roots of the Mafia (1976), Black Beauty (1978), The Millionaire (1978), Silent Victory: The Kitty O’Neal Story (1979), and The Last Convertible (1979). He also guest starred in episodes of Orson Welles’ Great Mysteries, Kung Fu, The Rookies, Medical Story, Ellery Queen, Police Story, Gibbsvile, and The Love Boat. He remained a familiar face over the next two decades appearing in such films as When Tine Ran Out (1980), Galaxy of Terror (1981), Butterfly (1982), A Time to Die (1982), The House Where Evil Dwells (1982), Heroes (1983), Ellie (1984), Terminal Entry (1986), Getting Even (1986), Distortions (1987), The Underachievers (1987), Accidents (1988), The Rescue (1988), Wild Zone (1989), Mind Games (1989), Fist Fighter (1989), Out of Sight, Out of Mind (1990), Exiled in America (1990), Shootfighter: Fight to the Death (1992), Fist Fighter 2 (1993), Broken Trust (1993), Red Sun Rising (1993), The Ice Runner (1993), Hard Drive (1994), Sexual Malice (1994), Guarding Tess (1994), The Royal Affair (1995), Sorceress (1995), Space Marines (1996), The Secret Agent Club (1996), Kid Cop (1996), The Man in the Iron Mask (1998), Unbowed (1999), Stageghost (2000), Night Class (2001), Mimic 2 (2001), Ablaze (2001), Extreme Honor (2001), A
Edward Albert
Light in the Forest (2002), No Regrets (2004), The Work and the Glory (2004), A-List (2005), Chinaman’s Chance (2005), Sea of Fear (2006), and Street Poet (2006). Albert was also seen in the tele-films Blood Feud (1983), Daddy Can’t Read (1988), The Girl from Mars (1991), Body Language (1992), Star Witness (1995), and USMA West Point (1998). Albert starred as Quisto Champion in the 1983 television series The Yellow Rose, and was Elliot Burch in the fantasy romance Beauty and the Beast from 1987 to 1990. He also starred as Bennet Devlin in the daytime soap opera Port Charles from 1997 to 1999. He was also featured as Mr. Collins in the juvenile science fiction series Power Rangers Time Force in 2001. His other television credits include episodes of Walking Tall, The Littlest Hobo, Today’s F.B.I., Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected, Murder, She Wrote, The Hitchhiker, Mike Hammer, Houston Knights, Falcon Crest, Midnight Caller, Paradise, Bodies of Evidence, Civil Wars, Silk Stalkings, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, FBI: The Untold Stories, L.A. Law, In the Heat of the Night, Time Trax, Dark Justice, Fortune Hunter, Hawkeye, Walker, Texas Ranger, California, Profiler, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman in the recurring role of Dr. William Burke, The Sentinel, High Tide, Conan, Mike Hammer, Private Eye, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Nash Bridges, Martial Law, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Resurrection Blvd, The Brothers Garcia, and She Spies. He also worked as a voice actor for such animated series as Spider-Man as Daredevil, Fantastic Four as the Silver Surfer, Extreme Ghostbusters, and Invasion America as Rafe.
ALDERSON, JOHN Character actor John Alderson died at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, on August 4, 2006. He was 90. Alderson was born in Horden, England, on April 10, 1916. He served in the British army during World War II, before coming to Hollywood in 1949. He became an experienced horse rider, appearing in many western film and television productions. Alderson’s numerous film credits include The Highwayman (1951), The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951), Against All Flags (1952), The Desert Rats (1953), South Sea Woman (1953), Casanova’s Big Night (1954), Knock on Wood (1954), Living It Up (1954), King Richard and the Crusaders (1954), Violent Saturday (1955), Moonfleet (1955), The Scarlet
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2006 • Obituaries by his father, Robert Aldrich. The younger Aldrich appeared in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), Hush ... Hush Sweet Charlotte (1964), The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), and The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968). He continued to work with his father as an assistant to the producer or associate producer on such films as The Killing of Sister George (1968), What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? (1969), To Late the Hero (1970), The Grissom Gang (1971), Hustle (1975), and The Choirboys (1977). Aldrich also served as producer for the films Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978), ...All the Marbles (1981), and The Sheltering Sky (1990). He was executive producer for the 1991 television remake of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and the 2004 feature remake of Flight of the Phoenix.
John Alderson
Coat (1955), To Catch a Thief (1955), Target Zero (1955), Spoilers of the Forest (1957), Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend (1957), Something of Value (1957), The Last Stagecoach West (1957), Don’t Go Near the Water (1957), The Young Lions (1958), Wolf Larsen (1958), No Name on the Bullet (1959), Rivak the Barbarian (1960), Romanoff and Juliet (1961), The Hook (1963), My Fair Lady (1964), Strange Bedfellows (1965), The War Lord (1965), I Deal in Danger (1966), Double Trouble (1967), Hellfighters (1968), The Molly Maguires (1970), You Can’t Win ’Em All (1970), The Devil’s Backbone (1971), Top of the Heap (1972), Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles, The Klansman, The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (1976), Valentino (1977), Candleshoe (1977), The Cat from Outer Space (1978), The Wild Geese (1978), Ragtime (1981), Evil Under the Sun (1982), Riders of the Storm (1986), and Young Guns II (1990). He was also seen in the tele-films The Log of the Black Pearl (1975), Banjo Hackett: Roamin’ Free (1976), Reunion at Fairborough (1985), and The Beiderbecke Tapes (1987). Alderson starred as Sgt. Bullock in the western series Boots and Saddles in 1957. His numerous television credits also include episodes of Cavalcade of America, Lux Video Theatre, Schiltz Playhouse of Stars, You Are There, Kings Row, Crusader, Gunsmoke, Studio 57, Cheyenne, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Screen Directors Playhouse, Zane Grey Theater, The Californians, Frontier Justice, Have Gun —Will Travel, Texas John Slaughter, The Swamp Fox, Hudson’s Bay, The Texan, Maverick, Colt .45, Black Saddle, Laramie, Play of the Week, Lawman, Adventures in Paradise, Bonanza, The Untouchables, Tales of Wells Fargo, Bronco, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Tarzan, Combat!, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Death Valley Days, The Rogues, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Twelve O’Clock High, I Spy, Blue Light, Doctor Who, The F.B.I., Time Tunnel, Daniel Boone, Green Acres, Wild Wild West, The Guns of Will Sonnett, Cowboy in Africa, Mannix, The Borderers, The Troubleshooters, Mission: Impossible, The Persuaders!, Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, Little House on the Prairie, Philip Marlowe, Private Eye, Automan, and Boon.
ALDRICH, WILLIAM M. Film producer William M. Aldrich died of cancer in Los Angeles on August 31, 2006. He was 62. Aldrich was born in Los Angeles on October 17, 1943. He began working in films as an actor, appearing in small roles in movies directed
ALEXANDER, BETTY Betty Alexander, a former Goldwyn Girl in the 1940s, died on June 21, 2006. She was 80. Alexander was born on May 4, 1926. She made her film debut in 1944 under contract to MGM. She appeared in a handful of films over the next several years including Up in Arms (1944), Hollywood Canteen (1944), The Princess and the Pirate (1944), The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945), Christmas in Connecticut (1945), Mildred Pierce (1945), Cinderella Jones (1946), The Kid from Brooklyn (1946), Blondie Knows Best (1946), Dangerous Venture (1947), and The Trespasser (1947). She subsequently worked as a spokeswoman on the television series The Milton Berle Show. Alexander abandoned her acting career to open a successful cosmetics business.
Betty Alexander
ALI, MOHAMMED Pakistani actor Mohammed Ali died of a heart attack at his home in Lahore, Pakistan, on March 19, 2006. Ali began his career in radio in the early 1960s and soon began appearing in films. He became known as the “King of Emotions” in Pakistani films for his dramatic performances. His film credits include Chiragh Jalta Raha (1962), Salam E Mohabat (1971), Shireen Farhad (1975), The Jewelled Lamp (1979), Haider Ali (1979), Hum Do Hamare Do (1984), Clerk (1989), and In Custody (1993). He retired from the screen in the early 1990s to serve in the government as a cultural advisor. (See photograph on page 6.)
Obituaries • 2006
6 produced and directed Love in Our Time in 1968. He also scripted an episode of Batman for U.S. television. He was instrumental in persuading British newspapers to carry television listing pages, and created the weekly television and film magazine Video Viewer in the early 1980s. Allen also wrote entertainment columns for The Independent, The Mail, and Variety, and authored several books including The Sunday Times Guide to Movies on Television (1973), The Virgin Video Guide (1983), and A Guide to World Cinema (1985).
Mohammad Ali
ALIAS, DON Drummer Don Alias died at his home in Manhattan, New York, on March 28, 2006. He was 66. Alias was born to Caribbean parents in Harlem in New York City on December 25, 1939. He began playing drums at an early age and first professional job as a drummer for Eartha Kitt at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1957. He later spent several years playing drums for Nina Simone and performed on Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew album in 1969. Alias also played frequently with Joni Mitchell, Chick Corea, Robert Flack, and Carla Bley. He also was involved in the formation of the electric fusion band Stone Alliance and the percussion ensemble Kebekwa.
Elkan Allan
ALLEN, ELIZABETH Stage, film, and television actress Elizabeth Allen died of kidney failure at a Fishkill, New York, nursing home on September 19, 2006. She was 77. Allen was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on January 25, 1929. She began her career as a fashion model with the Ford Agency before joining The Jackie Gleason Show as the “Away We Go” girl. She appeared frequently on the Broadway stage after her debut as Juliet in Romanoff and Juliet with Peter Ustinov. Allen earned a Tony nomination as Best Featured Actress for her role in The Gay Life, and was nominated for a Tony for Best Actress for her performance in Do I Hear a Waltz? Allen made her film debut in the early 1960s, and appeared in several features including From the Terrace (1960), Diamond Head (1963), John Ford’s Cheyenne Autumn (1964), Star Spangled Girl (1971), and The Carey
Don Alias
ALLAN, ELKAN British television journalist and producer Elkan Allen died in London, England, on June 25, 2006. He was 83. Allen was born in Cricklewood, London, on December 8, 1922. He began working in the newspaper industry in 1940, serving as a reporter for The Daily Express and Picture Post. Allen wrote for the radio quiz programs Quiz Time and Quiz Team in the 1940s. He hosted the BBC television series Armchair Traveller from 1953. He subsequently joined Associated-Redififusion, where he edited the current affairs program This Week. he also produced the music variety series Stars and Garters (1963), Ready, Steady, Go! (1963), and Hippodrome Show (1966). Allen also wrote and produced the 1961 film Freedom Road, and wrote,
Elizabeth Allen
7 Treatment (1972). She was also featured in the tele-films Mother of the Bride (1974) and No Other Love (1979). She starred as Laura Deane in the television drama series Bracken’s World from 1969 to 1970, and was Martha Simms in the comedy series The Paul Lynde Show in 1972. She also starred as Captain Quinlan in C.P.O. Sharkey with Don Rickles from 1976 to 1977. Allen appeared frequently on television, guest starring in such series as Tales of Wells Fargo, The Twilight Zone, Checkmate, Boris Karloff ’s Thriller, Alcoa Premiere, Ben Casey, Combat!, Stoney Burke, Naked City, Burke’s Law, Slattery’s People, The Reporter, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Dr. Kildare, The F.B.I., The Fugitive, The High Chaparral, The Young Lawyers, Mannix, Faraday and Company, Kojak, Cannon, and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. She was seen as Victoria Bellman in the daytime soap operas Another World in 1980 and Texas from 1980 to 1982 and was Dr. Gwen Harding in The Guiding Light in 1983.
2006 • Obituaries lice drama Prince of the City for film in 1981. She also wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of Ira Levin’s Broadway play Deathtrap in 1982. Allen also created the television series Family, which aired for four season. She was creator and executive producer for the 1988 television series Hothouse, and her play Tru was produced for television’s American Playhouse in 1992. She remained married to director Lewis Allen until his death in 2003.
ALLEN, JAY PRESSON Screenwriter and dramatist Jay Presson Allen died of a stroke at her Manhattan, New York, home on May 1, 2006. She was 84. Jay Presson was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 3, 1922. She moved to Hollywood in the early 1940s to pursue a career as an actress. She changed her plans soon afterwards and began writing. Her first novel, Spring Riot, was published in 1948, and she wrote for such television drama series as Philco Television Playhouse during the 1950s. She married director Lewis M. Allen, who produced her plays The Big Love and Tru. Her play, Wives and Lovers, was adapted to film in 1963. The following year she adapted Winston Graham’s novel Marnie for director Alfred Hitchcock. Allen adapted Muriel Sparks’ novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie for the stage in 1966, and scripted the 1969 film version. Allen earned an Academy Award nomination for her film adaptation of the musical Cabaret in 1972. She also wrote the English adaptation of the French play Forty Carats for the stage and screen in 1973. She also adapted Graham Greene’s novel Travels with My Aunt for a 1972 film. Allen also scripted the 1973 fantasy tele-film The Borrowers and scripted 1975’s Funny Lady, the sequel to Funny Girl. She adapted her own novel, Just Tell Me What You Want, for a film by Sidney Lumet in 1980, and adapted the po-
ALLEN, PATRICK British actor Patrick Allen died in London on July 28, 2006. He was 79. Allen was born in Nyasaland (now Malawi) on March 17, 1927, where his father was a tobacco farmer. His family returned to England in the 1930 and Allen was sent to Canada for schooling during World War II. He began working as an actor there, narrating programs for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He subsequently went to Hollywood, where he had a small role in the 1954 feature World for Ransom. Allen played a police detective in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 thriller Dial M for Murder. He returned to England later in the decade and continued his acting career. Allen’s other film credits include Confession (1955), Cross Channel (1955), Wicked as They Come (1956), George Orwell’s 1984 (1956), High Tide at Noon (1957), The Long Haul (1957), Tread Softly Stranger (1958), I Was Monty’s Double (1958), The Man Who Wouldn’t Talk (1958), Dunkirk (1958), High Hell (1958), Jet Storm (1959), Never Take Candy from a Stranger (1960), The Sinister Man (1961), Flight from Singapore (1963), Gorath (1962), Night Creatures (1962), The Traitors (1963), The Big Job (1965), the 1967 science fiction film Night of the Big Heat (aka Island of the Burning Damned ) with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, and The Night of the Generals (1967). Allen continued to work in films as a character actor and narrator on such features as The Devil Rides Out (aka The Devil’s Bride) (1968), Carry On ... Up the Khyber (1968), The Assassination Bureau (1969), The Body Stealers (aka Thin Air) (1969), The File on the Golden Goose (1969), Alistair Maclean’s Puppet on a Chain (1970), When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970), Erotic Fantasies (1971), Persecution (1974), The Wilby Conspiracy (1975), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), The Wild Geese (1978), Force 10 from Navarone (1978), Caligula (1979), The Sea Wolves (1980), Who Dares Wins (aka The Final Option) (1982), Bullet
Jay Presson Allen
Patrick Allen
Obituaries • 2006 to Beijing (1995), and RPM (1998). He was also seen in television productions of As You Like It (1963), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1964), The Snowball (1965), The Dark Number (1966), The Lower Largo Sequence (1968), Sign It Death (1974), Diamonds on Wheels (1974), Dangerous Knowledge (1976), Kidnapped (1978), Churchill and the Generals (1979), Hamlet (1980) as the Ghost of Hamlet’s Father, A Spy at Evening (1982), Agatha Christie’s Murder Is Easy (1982), East Lynne (1982), The Winds of War (1983), Threads (1984), Pericles, Prince of Tyre (1984), The Thirteenth Day of Christmas (1985), Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy (1986), Roman Holiday (1987), Fergie & Andrew: Behind the Palace Doors (1992), and Body and Soul (1993). Allen starred as Richard Crane in the television adventure series set in Casablanca, Crane, from 1963 to 1965, and starred as Brett in Brett in 1971. He also appeared as Thomas Gradgrind in the 1977 series Hard Times, and was Captain Star and the Narrator for the series Tugs from 1989 to 1990. He was also featured in episodes of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents, Errol Flynn Theater, Glencannon, Sir Francis Drake, Out of This World, The Sentimental Agent, Gideon’s Way, Undermind, The Saint, Dixon of Dock Green, The Avengers, Armchair Theatre, The Baron, Play of the Month, Thirty-Minute Theatre, Man in the Suitcase, The Champions, Journey to the Unknown, The Gold Robbers, Codename, The Troubleshooters, UFO, The Protectors, Van der Valk, Sutherland’s Law, The Black Adder, Bergerac, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, and Love After Lunch. He also provided voice-overs for Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer in the television comedy series The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer from 1993 to 1995. His survivors include his wife, actress Sarah Lawson.
ALLYSON, JUNE Leading actress June Allyson, who was noted for her husky voice in numerous girlnext-door roles in the 1940s, and as the perfect wife in the 1950s, died after a long illness of pulmonary respiratory failure and acute bronchitis at her home in Ojai, California, on July 8, 2006. She was 88. Allyson was born Ella Geisman in the Bronx, New York, on October 7, 1917. She began her career as a show girl on Broadway and appeared in several two-reel short films in the 1930s including Ups and Downs (1937), Pixilated (1937), Swing for Sale (1937), Dime a Dance (1937), Dates and Nuts
June Allyson
8 (1937), Not Now (1938), Sing for Sweetie (1938), The Prisoner of Swing (1938), The Knight Is Young (1938), and All Girl Revue (1940). Allyson was featured in the Broadway musical Best Foot Forward in 1941 and made her feature film debut in the film version in 1943. She also appeared in the films Girl Crazy (1943), Thousands Cheer (1943), Two Girls and a Sailor (1944), Meet the People (1944), Music for Millions (1945), Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945), The Sailor Takes a Wife (1946), Two Sisters from Boston (1946), Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), The Secret Heart (1946), High Barbaree (1947), Good News (1947), The Bride Goes Wild (1948), Words and Music (1948), The Three Musketeers (1948) as Constance, Little Women (1949) as Jo March, The Stratton Story (1949) with Jimmy Stewart, The Reformer and the Redhead (1950), Right Cross (1950), Too Young to Kiss (1951), The Girl in White (1952), Battle Circus (1953), Remains to Be Seen (1953), The Glenn Miller Story (1954), The McConnell Story (1955), The Shrike (1955) in a rare villainous role with Jose Ferrer, The Opposite Sex (1956), You Can’t Get Away from It (1956), Interlude (1957), My Man Godfrey (1957), and Stranger in My Arms (1959). She moved to television in the late 1950s where she hosted, and often starred in, the CBS anthology series DuPont Show with June Allyson from 1959 to 1961. She also appeared in episodes of Zane Grey Theater, The Dick Powell Show, Burke’s Law, and Name of the Game. Allyson was married to actor Dick Powell from 1945 until his death in January of 1963. She largely retired from show business after his death but would make occasional returns to show business. She was featured in the 1972 film They Only Kill Their Masters and appeared in Blackout (1978). She was also seen in the tele-films See the Man Run (1971), Letters from Three Lovers (1973), Curse of the Black Widow (1977), Three on a Date (1978), and The Kid with the Broken Halo (1982). Allyson also made occasional guest appearances in episodes of such series as The Sixth Sense, Vega$, The Incredible Hulk, House Calls, Simon & Simon, The Love Boat, Hart to Hart, Murder, She Wrote, Misfits of Science, Crazy Like a Fox, Airwolf, and Burke’s Law. During the 1990s Allyson returned to public notice as the spokeswoman for Depend adult undergarment commercials. She was featured in small roles in the film A Girl, Three Guys, and a Gun and the tele-film These Old Broads in 2001. She was the adoptive mother of Powell’s daughter, Pamela Allyson Powell, and the couple also had a son, Richard Powell, Jr. After Powell’s death she had a lengthy relationship with director and writer Dirk Summers and a brief marriage to Glenn Maxwell. She married dentist David Ashrow in 1976, and the two remained together until her death.
ALON, ROY British stuntman Roy Alon died of a heart attack at his home in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, on February 1, 2006. He was 63. Alon was born in Otley, West Yorkshire, England, in 1942. He made his debut performing stunts in the early 1970s and made his film debut in the 1977 war drama A Bridge Too Far. Alon performed stunts and appeared in small roles in numerous films and television productions over the next thirty years. His many film credits include The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Escape to Athena (1979), The Great
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2006 • Obituaries
Roy Alon
Margara Alonso
Gambler (1979), Firepower (1979), The Long Good Friday (1980), An American Werewolf in London (1981), Green Ice (1981), Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), Octopussy (1983), Superman III (1983), Space Raiders (1983), Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), Never Say Never Again (1983), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Cal (1984), Comfort and Joy (1984), Car Trouble (1985), Lifeforce (1985), The Bride (1985), Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1986), Whoops Apocalypse (1986), Biggles (1986), The Living Daylights (1987), It Couldn’t Happen Here (1987), Willow (1988), I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle (1990), Bullseye! (1990), Born to Ride (1991), Shining Through (1992), Blue Ice (1992), The Three Musketeers (1993), Shopping (1994), Go Now (1995), GoldenEye (1995), Jude (1996), 101 Dalmatians (1996), Daylight (1996), Pegg y Su! (1997), The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997), The Borrowers (1997), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The Sea Change (1998), Sliding Doors (1998), Entrapment (1999), Darkness Falls (1999), The World Is Not Enough (1999), Buffalo Soldiers (2001), Die Another Day (2002), Chaos and Cadavers (2003), and Troy (2004). Alon also worked on numerous television productions The Racing Game (1979), Voice of the Heart (1990), To Be the Best (1992), Tina Goes Shopping (1999), Happy Birthday Shakespeare (2000), Blind Ambition (2000), Band of Brothers (2001), and The Biographer (2002), and such series as Bergerac, Dempsey & Makepeace, Poirot, The Brittas Empire, The Darling Buds of May, Heartbeat, Pie in the Sky, A Touch of Frost, Dangerfield, Playing the Field, The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries, Midsomer Murders, Max & Paddy’s Road to Nowhere, No Angels, 55 Degrees North, Wycliffe, and New Tricks. Alon had recently completed work on the 2006 release The Da Vinci Code at the time of his death.
in such series as Love Letters in Cassette (1993), A Brother Is a Brother (1994), Wild Angel (1998), Champions of Life (1999), Final Minutes (2000), Pretenders (2002), and Femenino Masculino (2003).
ALONSO, MARGARA Argentine actress Margara Alonso died of emphysema in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on June 21, 2006. She was 78. She was featured in such as The Deal (1983), Los Enemigos (1983), Los Amores de Laurita (1986), I, the Worst of All (1990), Flop (1990), Vivir Mata (1991), Heartbreakers (1992), The Maria Soledad Case (1993), Of Love and Shadows (1994), The Eyes of the Scissors (1995), The Cloud (1998), Yepeto (1999), One Hundred Years of Forgiveness (2000), El Desperatar de L. (2001), Captive (2003), and Un Dia en el Paraiso (2003). She also appeared on Argentine television
ALPERSON, EDWARD L., JR. Film producer and composer Edward L. Alperson, Jr., died in an Encino, California, hospital on October 31, 2006. He was 81. Alperson was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on April 3, 1925, the son of film executive Edward Alperson, Sr. The younger Alperson began working with in films with his father in the early 1950s, serving as associate producer for such films as The Sword of Monte Cristo (1951), Fort Algiers (1953), Racing Blood (1954), and Outlaw’s Daughter (1954). He also composed songs and musical scores for several films including Rose of Cimarron (1952), The Magnificent Matador (1955), Mohawk (1956), Courage of Black Beauty (1957), The Restless Breed (1957), I Mobster (1958), September Storm (1960), and Rider of a Dead Horse (1962). He also served as associate producer for the 1986 remake of his father’s cult sci-fi classic Invaders from Mars. ALTMAN, ROBERT Legendary filmmaker Robert Altman died of complications of cancer in a Los Angeles hospital on November 20, 2006. He was 81. Altman was born in Kansas City, Missouri on February 20, 1925. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1945, copiloting B-24s for several years. After his discharge, he
Robert Altman
Obituaries • 2006 worked for a Kansas City film company, making industrial films and commercials. Altman helped script the 1948 detective film The Bodyguard before heading to Hollywood in the mid–1950s. He directed the 1957 film The James Dean Story, but primarily worked in television, helming episodes of such series as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Peter Gunn, Bronco, Troubleshooters, Whirlybirds, Hawaiian Eye, The Millionaire, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, U.S. Marshal, Sugarfoot, The Gale Storm Show, Maverick, Lawman, Surfside 6, The Roaring 20’s, Bonanza, Route 66, Bus Stop, Kraft Mystery Theater, The Gallant Men, Combat!, Kraft Suspense Theatre, The Long, Hot Summer, and Premiere. He also directed the 1964 tele-film Nightmare in Chicago, and the features The Katherine Reed Story (1965), Countdown (1968), and That Cold Day in the Park (1969). Altman earned an Academy Award nomination for directing the 1970 film adaptation of M*A*S*H, an off-beat comedy about a military field hospital during the Korean War that audiences related to the then on-going Vietnam War. He followed this success with the ambitious failure, Brewster McCloud (1970). Altman then directed the 1971 deconstructionist western, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, staring Warren Beatty and Julie Christie. He continued making such films as the psychological drama Images (1972), the non-traditional adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s detective thriller The Long Goodbye (1973), Thieves Like Us (1974) and California Split (1974). Critics considered his 1975 film Nashville to be his masterpiece, interweaving the lives of two dozen characters during a presidential primary with a country music setting as its backdrop. His career stalled in the aftermath with the ill-fated 1976 western Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson, staring Paul Newman. His subsequent films, Three Women (1971) with Sissy Spacek, and Quintet (1979) a futuristic thriller staring Paul Newman, were both critical and financial failures. His 1980 adaptation of the cartoon character Popeye, staring Robin Williams fared little better. Altman also crafted several low-budget films, whose modest ambitions rekindled his prestige. They included A Wedding (1978), A Perfect Couple (1979), HealtH (1980), Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean Jimmy Dean (1982), Streamers (1983), Secret Honor (1984), Fool for Love (1985), Beyond Therapy (1987), O.C. and Stiggs (1987), Aria (1987), and Vincent and Theo (1990). He also directed television productions of Rattlesnake in a Cooler (1982), Precious Blood (1982), The Laundromat (1985), Basements (1987), Tanner ’88 (1988), The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1988), McTeague (1992), Black and Blue (1993), and The Real McTeague (1993). His adaptation of Micheal Tolkin’s satirical novel The Player (1992), and his version of Raymond Carver’s short stories, Short Cuts (1993) both earned him Oscar nominations. Altman again hit a slump in his career with the films Pret-a-Porter (aka Ready to Wear) (1994), Jazz ’34 (1996), Kansas City (1996), The Gingerbread Man (1998), Cookie’s Fortune (1999), and Dr. T and the Women (2000), and the 1997 television series Gun. He returned to form with the 2001 murder mystery Gosford Park, which garnered him yet another Academy Award nomination. He directed The Company in 2003, and revisited his earlier television work, Tanner on Tanner, in 2004. His
10 final film, A Prairie Home Companion, based on the radio programs of Garrison Keillor and featuring an all-star cast including Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, and Lindsay Lohan, was released earlier in 2006. Altman was awarded an honorary Oscar for his career achievements at the Academy Awards Ceremony in 2006. He was in preproduction on another film at the time of his death.
ALVINA, ANICEE French actress and singer Anicee Alvina died in France on November 10, 2006. She was 53. Alvina was born Anicee Schahmaneche in Boulogne-sur-Sienne, France, on January 28, 1953. She began her career in films in the early 1970s while in her teens. Her film credits include Michel Audiard’s She Does Not Drink, Smoke or Flirt but ... She Talks (1970), Friends (1971), Rampart of Desire (1972), Big Sentiments Make for Good Sports (1973), Successive Slidings of Pleasure (1974), Paul and Michelle (1974), Isabelle and Lust (1975), Pauvre Sonia (1975), Femme Fatale (1975), Playing with Fire (1975), The Thruster (1976), The Red Poster (1976), The Groper (1976), The Forbidden Room (1977), The Barricade at Point Du Jour (1978), One, Two, Two (1978), Second Wind (1978), The Honorable Society (1980), Dream, After Dream (1981), Jusqu’au Bout de la Nuit (1995), Ainsi Soit-il (2000), and Charrell (2006). Alvina also appeared on French television in productions of Christa (1971), Sheherazade (1971), Les 400 Coups de Virginie (1979), and Diane Lanster (1983). She was also a popular singer and recording star in France from the 1980s.
Anicee Alvina
AMSLER, JOE Joe Amsler, one of the three men convicted of abducting Frank Sinatra, Jr., in 1963, died of liver failure in Salem, Virginia, on May 6, 2006. He was 65. Amsler was born on September 24, 1940. He and friends Barry Keenan and John Irwin kidnapped the then 19-year-old son of the legendary singer from a Lake Tahoe hotel on December 8, 1963. He was held for three days and released unharmed for a ransom of $240,000. The trio were soon arrested and convicted of the crime and sentenced to life imprisonment, though each served less than five years. After his release Amsler worked in Hollywood as a stuntman on the film M*A*S*H in 1970. He also served as bodyguard and stunt double for Ryan O’Neal on such films as What’s Up, Doc? (1972), The
11
Joe Amsler
2006 • Obituaries continued to perform in numerous radio productions in the Chicago area including Jack Armstrong and Little Orphan Annie. Andelin continued to work as a voice-over actor and coach for most of his life. During the 1950s he appeared in several educational films including Law and Social Controls (1949), School Rules: How They Help Us (1952), City That Never Sleeps (1953), and Mr. B Natural (1957). He later appeared in character roles on film and television. Andelin’s screen credits include the films On the Right Track (1981), Field of Dreams (1989), The Babe (1992), Folks! (1992), Rookie of the Year (1993), Grumpier Old Men (1995), and Madison (2001). He was also featured in the tele-films Will: The Autobiography of G. Gordon Liddy (1982) and The Woman Who Loved Elvis (1993), and appeared in episodes of Sable, Early Edition, and Turks.
Thief Who Came to Dinner (1973), Nickelodeon (1976), and The Main Event (1979). He left Hollywood in the early 1980s to work in the construction industry. The kidnapping incident resurfaced in the tabloids over the years and formed the basis of a 2004 cable film on Showtime, Stealing Sinatra, which featured Ryan Browning as Amsler and David Arquette and William H. Macy as his two cohorts.
AMUNDSEN, TOM Actor and writer Tom Amundsen died in Northridge, California, on January 21, 2006. He was 51. Amundsen was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on June 21, 1954. He was a voice actor for such films as Frances (1982), Runaway (1984), While You Were Sleeping (19985), Mulan (1998), Shrek (2001), Nausicaa on the Valley of the Winds (2004), and Chicken Little (2005). He also was heard in an episode of Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories on television. Amundsen was also a writer for such television series as Small Wonder, Perfect Strangers, Full House, Sister, Sister, and Two of a Kind, and scripted the tele-films A Carol Christmas (2003) and Back to You and Me (2005).
Tom Amundsen
ANDELIN, JAMES Veteran character actor James Andelin died of congestive heart failure and emphysema in a Chicago, Illinois, hospital on December 27, 2006. He was 89. Andelin began his career on radio at the age of 12 with a role on the Skippy program. He
James Andelin
ANDERSON, BRIAN Australian actor Brian Anderson died on February 5, 2006. He was 80. Anderson was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in 1925. He was active in films and television from the 1960s, appearing in the features Country Town (1971), Sidecar Racers (1975), Let the Balloon Go (1976), The Fourth Wish (1976), The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978), Newsfront (1978), Money Movers (1978), Little Boy Lost (1978), The Journalist (1979), The Odd Angry Shot (1979), Gallipoli (1981), The Killing of Angel Street (1981), Puberty Blues (1981), Phar Lap (1983), Silver City (1984), The Empty Beach (1985), Going Sane (1986), and Platypus Cove (1986). Anderson also starred as Les Davies in the 1982 television series Sons and Daughters, and was featured in the tele-films Deadline (1982), Who Killed Baby Azaria? (1983), Mail Order Bride (1984), Boy in the Bush (1984), and Archer (1985). He was also seen on television in episodes of Riptide, Division 4, Ryan, The Seven Ages of Man, Bluey, The Outsiders, Chopper Squad, Bellamy, and A Country Practice. ANDERSON, DICK Pioneer scuba diver Dick Anderson died of complications from Lou Gehrig’s disease in a West Hills, California, hospital on June 3, 2006. He was 73. Anderson was born in Portland, Oregon, on September 26, 1932. He began skin diving and spear fishing in the 1940s and worked on various commercial diving projects from the 1950s. He served as diving
Obituaries • 2006
Dick Anderson
equipment technician during the filming of the 1954 Disney feature film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in Nassau. He was editor of Dive magazine in the early 1960s and wrote numerous articles for diving publications. He also wrote the 1994 book Diving and Dredging for Gold. He made a handful of humorous underwater 16 mm films including the 1970 treasure-diving movie Gold from the Winfield Scott. He worked on other films during his career, serving as dive master for the 1987 film Jaws: The Revenge. He also performed underwater work for the Baywatch television series in the 1990s.
12 in Kirkman, Iowa, on May 8, 1922. He began his career as a musician and formed his own band while in his teens. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and resumed his musical career after his discharge. He toured with various bands as an arranger and composer and joined the Honey Dreamers group in the late 1940s. He performed with the group on radio and television, where he met Buffalo Bob Smith, Howdy Doody’s creator. The character of Clarabell the Clown, who wore a striped baggy costume and used a horn to honk answers to yes or no questions, was originally played by Bob Keeshan, who became better known as children’s television host Captain Kangaroo. Bobby Nicholson followed Keeshan in the role, but moved on to play J. Cornelius Cobb on Howdy Doody. Smith called upon Anderson to take over the part, and he continued in the role throughout the 1950s. In the final episode of The Howdy Doody Show on September 24, 1960, Clarabell spoke his first words, quietly saying “Goodbye, kids,” as the camera went for a closeup to close the show. Anderson continued his music career, writing songs and advertising jingles. He formed the All-American Big Band, and continued to perform with them until his death.
ANDERSON, JARED Jared Anderson, the bassist and singer for the metal band Hate Eternal died in his sleep on October 15, 2006. He was 30. Anderson was born on December 28, 1975. He played with the band Internecine in 2001, performing on their album The Book of Lambs. He also performed briefly with the band Morbid Angel from 2001 to 2002. Anderson played bass and supplied vocals for the Hate Eternal album King of All Kings before leaving the band in 2003 due to drug problems. Lew Anderson (as Clarabell the Clown, with Howdy Doody)
AOSHIMA, YUKIO Japanese actor Yukio Aoshima, who served as governor of Tokyo in the late
Jared Anderson
ANDERSON, LEW Lew Anderson, who appeared as Howdy Doody’s sidekick, Clarabell the Clown, in the popular 1950s children television show died of complications from prostate cancer in Hawthorne, New York, on May 14, 2006. He was 84. Anderson was born
Yukio Aoshima
13
2006 • Obituaries
1990s, died of myelodysplastic syndrome, a blood disorder, in a Tokyo hospital on December 20, 2006. He was 74. Aoshima was born in Tokyo on October 17, 1932. He began writing comedy scripts for television in the 1950s. He produced, directed, scripted, and starred in the films The Bell (1967) and Futari de Hitori (1970). He also appeared in such films as Otoko Girai (1964), We Will Remember (1965), Yakuza Vassal (1966), Operation Crazy (1966), Monsieur Zivaco (1967), Computer FreeFor-All (1969), and Kokuso Sezu (1975). Aoshima was a member of the Japanese Diet before being elected governor of Tokyo in 1995. He returned to the screen in the early 2000s, appearing in the films Free and Easy 12 Big Holiday Bonus Project (2001), There’s Always Tomorrow (2002), and Shinibana (2004).
ARAKON, ILHAN Turkish actor Ilhan Arakon died in Turkey on February 3, 2006. He was 89. Arakon was born in Edirne, Turkey, on July 22, 1916. He performed often on the Turkish stage and was a leading film actor from the 1940s. His many film credits include Seven ne Yapmaz (1947), The Swashbuckler’s Love (1948), The Magician (1949), The Cry (1949), Ayse’s Prayer (1949), A Stormy Night (1950), For the Motherland (1951), The Conquest of Istanbul (1951), The Bloody Farm (1952), The Red Plume (1952), Istanbul (1954), The Fugitive (1954), Garipler Adasi (1955) which he also wrote and directed, The Big Secret (1956), The Ambush (1957), The Emerald (1959), Hickirik (1965), Kezban (1968), Kezban Roma’da (1970), Vahsi Cicek (1971), and Severek Ayirlalim (1971). Arakon also produced, directed, and scripted the 1971 film Sahinler Diyari (1971).
Kathleen Arc
film credits include Vi Kunde ha’det saa Rart (1942), I Love Another (1946), Take What You Want (1947), Mani (1947), Mens Porten var Lukket (1948), Min Datter Nelly (1955), Me and My Family (1957), Think of a Number (1969), Threesome (1970), Ballade pa Christianshavn (1971), Tomorrow My Love (1971), The Olsen Gang on the Track (1975), Den Kroniske Uskyld (1985), Black Harvest (1993), Carlo & Ester (1994), Sunes Familie (1997), and After the Wedding (2006).
Erni Arneson
Ilhan Arakon
ARC, KATHLEEN Actress Kathleen Arc died on May 22, 2006. Arc was featured in the films Deadly Alliance (1978) and Working West (1992), and appeared in the tele-films Mary White (1977) and Chasing Destiny (2001). She was also soon in the pilot episode of tv’s Chicago Hope in 1994. ARNESON, ERNI Danish actress Erni Arneson died in Copenhagen, Denmark, on December 8, 2006. She was 89. Arneson was born in Arhus, Denmark, on September 12, 1917. She was a leading performer in stage and film productions from the 1940s. Her numerous
ARNETT, SETH Stuntman Seth Arnett died in Westlake Village, California, on November 25, 2006. He was 37. Arnett began working in films in the early 1990s, doing stunt work in such features as The Rocketeer (1991), Hook (1991), Basic Instinct (1992), Alive (1993), On Deadly Ground (1994), Casper (1995), Fluke (1995), Sudden Death (1995), Menno’s Mind (1996), Barb Wire (1996), The Sweeper (1996), Breakdown (1997), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), Out to Sea (1997), George of the Jungle (1997), Steel (1997), Switchback (1997), Amistad (1997), Twilight (1998), Deep Impact (1998), Small Soldiers (1998), Addams Family Reunion (1998), Soldier (1998), Wild Wild West (1999), Inspector Gadget (1999), Snow Falling on Cedars (1999), U-571 (2000), The 6th Day (2000), The Mexican (2001), Jurassic Park III (2001), Rat Race (2001), Big Fat Liar (2002), Showtime (2002), Murder by the Numbers (2002), The First
Obituaries • 2006 $20 Million Is Always the Hardest (2002), S.W.A.T. (2003), and Ladder 49 (2004).
ARNOLD, SIR MALCOLM British composer Sir Malcolm Arnold, who earned an Academy Award for scoring the 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai, of complications from a chest infection in a Norwich, Norfolk, England, hospital on September 23, 2006. He was 84. Arnold was born on October 21, 1921, in Northhampton, England. He became involved with music while in his teens. He eventually joined the London Philharmonic, rising to the position of principal trumpet. Arnold turned to composing by the late 1940s and was noted for his nine symphonies and numerous concertos. During his career he at times was conductor for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. He was noted for the numerous film scores he composed over a lengthy career beginning in the late 1940s with various documentaries. His many film credits include Avalanche Patrol (1947), Badger’s Green (1948), Drums for a Holiday (1949), Power for All (1951), Home to Danger (1951), It Started in Paradise (1952), The Island (1952), Home at Seven (1952), Wings of Danger (1952), Stolen Face (1952), Breaking Through the Sound Barrier (1952), The Ringer (1952), The Holly and the Ivy (1952), Man of Africa (1953), Curtain Up (1953), FourSided Triangle (1953), The Captain’s Paradise (1953), Albert R.N. (1953), Terror Street (1953), The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953), Devil on Horseback (1954), You Know What Sailors Are (1954), Beautiful Stranger (1954), Hobson’s Choice (1954), The Belles of St. Trinian’s (1954), The Sleeping Tiger (1954), The Sea Shall Not Have Them (1954), The Woman for Joe (1955), Value for Money (1955), The Night My Number Came Up (1955), A Prize of Gold (1955), Marriage a la Mode (1955), I Am a Camera (1955), The Deep Blue Sea (1955), Tiger in the Smoke (1956), Hell in Korea (1956), Wicked as They Come (1956), Trapeze (1956), Port Afrique (1956), 1984 (1956), Blue Murder at St. Trinian’s (1957), Island in the Sun (1957), the Oscar-winning The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Dunkirk (1958), The Key (1958), The Roots of Heaven (1958), The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958), The Boy and the Bridge (1959), Solomon and Sheba (1959), Suddenly, Last Summer (1959), Chance Meeting (1959), The Angry Silence (1960), Tunes of Glory (1960), The Pure Hell of St.
14 Trinian’s (1960), Operation Snafu (1961), No Love for Johnnie (1961), Whistle Down the Wind (1961), Lisa (1962), The Lion (1962), Nine Hours to Rama (1963), Tamahine (1963), The Chalk Garden (1964), The Thin Red Line (1964), The Heroes of Telemark (1965), Gypsy Girl (1966), The Great St. Trinian’s Train Robbery (1966), North Sea Strike (1967), Africa —Texas Style! (1967), A Matter of Honor (1969), David Copperfield (1969), Battle of Britain (1969), and The Wildcats of St. Trinian’s (1980). Arnold largely retired in the mid–1980s due to poor health. He was knighted for services to music in 1993. A ballet production of The Three Musketeers, which included many of his previous compositions, opened the day of his death.
ARREDONDO, ENRIC Spanish actor Enric Arredondo died in Spain on December 16, 2006. He was 66. Arredondo was born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1940. He was a leading performer on stage, films and television from the late 1960s, appearing in such features as Tinto con Amor (1968), Son o no Son (1978), The Man Who Knew Love (1978), Adelante, Robinson (1989), La Febre d’Or (1993), and Asunto Interno (1996). Arredondo also appeared in numerous television productions and series, with credits in such series as Teatre de Misterio, Hora Once, Ficciones, Novela, Estudio 1, La Comedia, Locos por la Tele, Poble Nou, Periodistas, El Comisario, and Hospital Central. He was also seen in television productions of Arnau (1994), Le Passagere Clandestin (1995), and L’Estrategia del Cucut (2001).
Enric Arrendondo
Sir Malcolm Arnold
ASKEGREN, PIERCE Writer Pierce Askegren, who crafted novels featuring such comic book characters as Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, was found dead at his home in Alexandria, Virginia, on November 29, 2006. He was 51. Askegren was born in Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania, in 1955. He worked as a technical writer before he began writing stories featuring comic book heroes for such anthologies as The Ultimate Silver Surfer (1995) and Untold Tales of Spider-Man (1997). Askegren soon became writing novels featuring Marvel Comics characters. His works include Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk: Rampage (1996), Spider-Man and Iron Man: Sabotage (1997), Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four: Wreckage (1997), Fantastic Four: Countdown to Chaos
15 (1998), and The Avengers and the Thunderbolts (1999). Askegren also wrote the 2005 Buffy the Vampire Slayer paperback After Image. He was also author of the Inconstant Moon trilogy of science fiction novels including Human Resource (2005), Fall Girl (2005), and Exit Strategy (2006).
ATTWELL, MICHAEL British actor Michael Attwell, who was best known for his numerous appearances in television productions, died in London on March 18, 2006. He was 63. Attwell was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, on January 16, 1943. He began his career on stage, performing in repertory theatre. He made his television debut in the 1969 mini-series The First Churchills, and was Razor Eddie Malone in the 1979 series Turtle’s Progress. He also appeared in episodes of the series Then Churchill Said to Me, Only Fools and Horses, Bergerac, Minder, Doctor Who, Are You Being Served?, and Roll Over Beethoven. He was featured as Bill Sikes in the 1985 television production of Oliver Twist, and was featured in the films Labyrinth (1986) as the voice of a Goblin. He was also seen in Gentry (1987), and Buster (1988). Attwell also appeared in the 1988 telefilm The Tenth Man, and was featured as Kenny Beale in the popular television soap opera EastEnders in 1988. He also appeared in episodes of Inspector Morse, Boon, Westbeach, Anna Lee, Bugs, Silent Witness, Pie in the Sky, Casualty, Hope & Glory, My Family, The Bill, Dinotopia, Seven Wonders of the Industrial World, The Last Detective, Doc Martin, Heartbeat, and Hotel Babylon in the recurring role of doorman Derek Crisp. Attwell was also featured in the films Tom & Viv (1994), Bodywork (1999), Circus (2000), New Year’s Day (2001), and High Heels and Low Lifes (2001), and television productions of Horse Opera (1993), The Scarlet and the Black (1993), Lie Down with Lions (1994), Wycliffe (1994), Joseph (1995), Poldark (1996), Hostile Waters (1997), Wycliffe: Dance of the Scorpions (1997), The Colour of Justice (1999), Monsignor Renard (2000), Border Cafe (2000), Daniel Deronda (2002), and Trial & Retribution VIII (2004). Attwell also was a political cartoonist for various newspapers including News of the World and The Sun, taunting British political figures under the pseudonym Zoke.
2006 • Obituaries on October 26, 2006. She was 60. She was born Maria Christina Aumont in Hollywood, California, on February 14, 1946, the daughter of actors Jean-Pierre Aumont and Maria Montez. She married director Christian Marquand in 1963 and made her film debut as Tina Marquand in Modesty Blaise in 1966. She continued to appear in numerous European films including The Game Is Over (1966), Texas Across the River (1966), Your Turn to Die (1967), Fellini’s Satyricon (1968), Pride and Vengeance (1968), Partner (1968), Le Lit de la Vierge (1969), Giacomo Casanova: Childhood and Adolescence (1969), Alibi (1969), Metello (1970), The Howl (1970), Corbari (1970), Necropolis (1970), Man of Legend (1971), Master of Love (1972), White Sister (1972), Arcana (1972), The Short and Happy Life of Brothers Blue (1973), Malice (1973), Torso (aka Bodies Bear Traces of Carnal Violence) (1973), Il Trafficone (1974), Lifespan (1974), Storia de Fratelli e de Cortelli (1974), Les Hautes Solitudes (1974), Drama of the Rich (1975), Giovannino (1976), The Nude Princess (1976), The Messiah (1976), Tinto Brass’s Madam Kitty (1976), Illustrious Corpses (1976), The Divine Nymph (1976), A Matter of Time (1976), Fellini’s Casanova (1976), Take Me to the Ritz (1977), A Simple Heart (1978), Holocaust 2 (1980), La Bande du Rex (1980), Rebelote (1983), Les Freres Petard (1986), Dinosaur from the Deep (1993), Le Marquis de Slime (1997), Two Orphan Vampires (1997), Giulia (1999), and The Mechanics of Women (2000).
Tina Aumont
AVIDON, SARAHJANE Actress and author Sarahjane Avidon died in Chicago after a lengthy battle with cancer on March 29, 2006. She was 64. Avidon was born on June 3, 1941. She was a popular performer on the local Chicago stage. She was also the author of several detective novels including Audition for Murder and Cruising for Murder. Avidon, who was also known as Sara Jane Donley, appeared in small roles in the tele-films Through Naked Eyes (1983) and The Impostor (1984), and the 1990 feature film Opportunity Knocks. (See photograph on page 16.) Michael Attwell
AUMONT, TINA French actress Tina Aumont died of a pulmonary embolism in Port-Vendres, France,
BAAS, BALDUIN German actor Balduin Baas died in Hamburg, Germany, on May 22, 2006. He was 83. Baas was born in Danzig, Germany, on June 9, 1922. He appeared in numerous films from the 1950s including Skandal um Dr. Vlimmen (1956), The Captain from
Obituaries • 2006
16 (1985), Tatort— Falsche Liebe (1992), Hunt for the Blue Diamond (1993), The Fourth King (1997), Die Friseuse und der Millionar (1998), The Seventh Scroll (1999), and Ein Fall fur den Fuchs: Gottergatte und Ganove (2004), and in episodes of Derrick, Der Fahnder, Wolff ’s Turf, Die Wache, and In the Name of the Law.
Sarahjane Avidon
Kopenick (1956), The Rest Is Silence (1959), Murder Party (1961), The Liar (1961), The Fountain of Love (1965), The Gentlemen (1965), The Daisy Chain (1965), Once a Greek (1966), I Am Looking for a Man (1966), The Devil’s Girls (1967), To Hell with School (1968) as Dr. Blaumeier, The Duck Rings at Half Past Seven (1968), Die Lummel von der Ersten Bank (1968), Slap in the Face (1970), We’ll Take Care of the Teachers (1970), Twenty Girls and the Teachers (1971), Willi Manages the Whole Thing (1972), Main Thing Holidays (1972), To the Bitter Ends (1975), Federico Fellini’s Orchestra Rehearsal (1978), The Magic Mountain (1982), Doctor Faustus (1982), Mischief (1984), La Femme Fardee (1990), Pappa ante Portas (1991), and Candy (1998). Baas also appeared frequently on German television in such productions as Das Erbe der Guldenburgs (1987), Willi and the Windsors (1996), Die Blauen und die Grauen Tage (2000), and Edgar Wallace — Das Schloss des Grauens (2002), and episodes of Derrick, Eurocops, Der Alte, and Doppelter Einsatz.
Wilfried Baasner
BAEN, JIM Science fiction publisher Jim Baen died of a massive stroke on June 28, 2006. He was 62. Baen was born on October 22, 1943. He began his career working at Ace Books before moving to Galaxy Science Fiction magazine, where he became editor in 1974. He subsequently returned to Ace as editor of the science fiction line under publisher Tim Doherty, and followed Doherty when he founded Tor Books. Baen began the independent publishing company Baen Books in 1983, publishing science fictions works by such authors as Larry Niven, Lois McMaster Bujold, and many others. He also edited several anthology series including Far Futures (1985–1986) and New Destinies (1989–1990). Baen was also a pioneer in web publishing, founding webscription.net and Baen Free Library to publish and distribute e-books.
Balduin Baas
BAASNER, WILFRIED German actor Wilfried Baasner died in Athens, Greece, on March 28, 2006. He was 65. Baasner was born in Mohrungen, Germany (now Poland) on May 28, 1940. He appeared frequently in German films and television productions from the early 1980s. Baasner’s film credits include Karambolage (1983), Coconuts (1985) and Four Junior Detectives (1992). He was also featured in television productions of Hautnah
Jim Baen
BAER, ART Television writer and producer Art Baer died of cancer at his home in Los Angeles on September 17, 2006. He was 81. Baer was born in New York
17 City on September 17, 1925. He began his career as a writer in radio, working for Robert Q. Lewis’ program. He soon teamed with fellow writer Ben Joelson, and the duo went on to write for numerous popular television comedy series. Baer and Joelson scripted episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, Car 54, Where Are You, Hogan’s Heroes, Get Smart, The Odd Couple, Temperature Rising, Chico and the Man, Happy Days, and Alice. He earned an Emmy Award for writing for The Carol Burnett Show in 1972, and also wrote specials for such artists as Perry Como, Flip Wilson, Jim Nabors, Jonathan Winters, and Victor Borge. Baer and Joelson wrote and produced the short-lived comedy series A Year at the Top in 1977, and served as writers and executive producers for Aaron Spelling’s popular series The Love Boat from 1977 to 1985.
BAER, JOHN
Actor John Baer who starred as
Art Baer
Terry Lee in the 1950s television series Terry and the Pirates died on January 7, 2006. He was 82. Baer was born in York, Pennsylvania, on June 6, 1923. He appeared frequently in films and television productions from the early 1950s. His film credits include The Flying Missile (1950), Operation Pacific (1951), Air Cadet (1951), Target Unknown (1951), Saturday’s Hero (1951), Arizona Manhunt (1951), Superman and the Mole Men (1951) as the young Dr. Reed, Indian Uprising (1952), The Battle at Apache Pass (1952), About Face (1952), Above and Beyond (1952),
2006 • Obituaries The Mississippi Gambler (1953), Down Among the Sheltering Palms (1953), Riding Shotgun (1954), The Miami Story (1954), City of Shadows (1955), We’re No Angels (1955), Huk! (1956), the 1958 cult classic sci-fi film Night of the Blood Beast, Tarawa Beachhead (1958), Guns, Girls, and Gangsters (1959), The Cat Burglar (1961), Fear No More (1961), The Chapman Report (1962), Bikini Paradise (1967), and The Late Liz (1971). Baer starred as Terry Lee in the television adventure series Terry and the Pirates, based on Milt Caniff ’s newspaper comic strip, in 1952. He also guest-starred in episodes of such series as Fireside Theatre, Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, You Are There, Superman, Ford Television Theatre, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Screen Directors Playhouse, Crossroads, Studio 57, Navy Log as John F. Kennedy in a production of P.T. 109, Trackdown, Man Without a Gun, Fury, Men into Space, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Hawaiian Eye, 77 Sunset Strip, Bronco, Leave It to Beaver, The Gallant Men, Dr. Kildare, The Greatest Show on Earth, Temple Houston, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Green Hornet, Felony Squad, The High Chaparral, The Smith Family, Mission: Impossible, and Gunsmoke. He largely retired from the screen in the mid– 1970s.
BAILEY, ANNE HOWARD Television writer Anne Howard Bailey died of congestive heart failure in a Rancho Mirage, hospital, on November 24, 2006. She was 82. Bailey was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on July 26, 1924. She began performing on stage while in her teens and moved to New York to write for television in the 1950s. She scripted episodes of several dramatic anthology series including Armstrong Circle Theatre, Star Tonight, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents. She wrote the libretto for the opera Deseret, with music by Leonard Kastle, which was performed on the NBC Opera Theatre in 1961. Bailey also scripted episodes of Bonanza, National Velvet, 87th Precinct, and Family. She earned an Emmy Award for writing the libretto for the opera Mary Lincoln with composer Thomas Pasatieri for PBS in 1972. She created the short-lived television soap opera How to Survive a Marriage in 1974, and served as head writer on the soaps General Hospital and Days of Our Lives in the 1980s. Bailey returned to opera in 1989, working with composer Kenton Coe on Rachel, a love story of Andrew Jackson and his wife, that premiered with the Knoxville Opera Company in 1989. She earned a second Emmy Award for her writing for the soap opera Santa Barbara the same year. BAILS, JERRY Jerry Bails, a pioneer comic book fan and historian, died of a heart attack in his sleep on November 23, 2006. He was 73. He was born on June 26, 1933. Bails was a fan of superhero comic books from the 1940s. He wrote and published the first comic fanzine, Alter Ego, in 1961. He was the first to catalog comic books of the Golden Age, with his publication The Collector’s Guide to the First Heroic Age of Comics. He also collaborated with Howard Keltner to compile The Authoritative Index to DC Comics. (See photograph on page 18.)
John Baer (from Night of the Blood Beast)
Obituaries • 2006
18 BALKAY, GEZA Hungarian actor Geza Balkay died in Hungary on April 3, 2006. He was 53. Balkay was born in Budapest, Hungary, on September 5, 1952. He appeared frequently in films and television productions in Hungary from the 1970s. His film credits include The Disciples (1985), A Hungarian Fairy Tale (1987), The Midas Touch (1988), Total Eclipse (1989), Good Evening Mr. Wallenberg (1990), Meteo (1990), The Prince of Absence (1991), The Lost Movie (1992), The Summer Guest (1992), Citizen X (1995), Werckmeister Harmonies (2000), Rose’s Songs (2003), Fateless (2005), and Taxidermia (2006).
Jerry Bails
BAIRD, SAM Singer and guitarist Sam Baird, who was known as Singing Sam, died in Collierville, Tennessee, on January 27, 2006. He was 85. Baird was born on April 17, 1920. He hosted a long-running radio program and played with such stars as Elvis Presley and Bill Black during his career. He was a member of the band The Country Rockers, and recorded the 1987 album Free Range Chicken with them. BAKER, ETTA Blues guitarist Etta Baker died in Fairfax, Virginia, on September 23, 2006. She was 93. Baker was born Ella Lucille Reid in Caldwell County, North Carolina, on March 31, 1913. Her versions of “Railroad Bill” and “One-Dime Blues” were recorded on the compilation album Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians in 1956. Not wishing to travel, she declined invitations to perform at numerous folk music festivals. She continued to work in a textile mill for over 25 years before quitting to pursue a career as a professional musician at the age of 60. She finally began touring in the 1980s, performing throughout the United States and Europe. She made her first studio album, One Dime Blues, in 1991. The album Railroad Bill was released in 1999, and she recorded an album with Taj Mahal in 2004. She was last heard on the album Carolina Breakdown in 2005.
Geza Balkay
BALL, BLAKE Hockey player Blake Ball died on January 20, 2006. Ball was born in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, on February 25, 1938. He was 67. He was a professional hockey player from 1964 to 1977, skating for such teams as the Barrie Flyers, the New Haven Blades, the Long Island Ducks, the Syracuse Blazers, the Orillia Terriers, the Macon Whoopees, and the Oklahoma City Blazers. He also starred as rough hockey goon Gilmore Tuttle in the 1977 film Slap Shot.
Blake Ball Etta Baker
BALL, JONATHAN Actor Jonathan Ball died in New York City on September 5, 2006. He was 60. Ball was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1946. He was an actor and singer who performed often on the New York
19 stage. He was also featured in a handful of films including Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills (1994), Art Deco Detective (1994), Precious Find (1996), Alone Together (2004), and The Zombie Diaries (2006).
2006 • Obituaries Jack Benny, Bob “Bazooka” Burns, and George Burns and Gracie Allen. He also co-wrote the 1945 Broadway musical Are You with It?, which was adapted for film in 1948. Balzer moved to television with Jack Benny, writing for The Jack Benny Show in the 1950s. He also scripted episodes of the 1965 television series O.K. Crackerby!
Jonathan Ball
BALLA, NICHOLAS Canadian documentary filmmaker Nicholas Balla died in Ottawa, Canada, on December 9, 2006. He was 88. Balla was born in Hungary in 1918, and immigrated to Canada as a child. He began working with the National Film Board of Canada as an editor in the 1940s, and was involved in editing the 1949 animated documentary about the redesign of Ottawa, A Capital Plan. He also produced numerous entires in the documentary short series Eye Witness. His other documentary credits include Voices from Acadia (1952), Singing Champions (1952), Canada’s Atom Goes to Work (1962), Citizen Varek (1953), Vigil in the North (1954), Man Is a Universe (1954), Needles and Pins (1955), The Lively Pond (1956), Wildlife of the Rocky Mountains (1957), They Called It White Man’s Burden (1957), Ten Days That Shook the Commonwealth (1957), The Sceptre and the Mace (1957), The Invisible Keystone (1957), Four Centuries of Growing Pains (1957), Colonialism: Ogre or Angel? (1957), Black and White in South Africa (1957), Songs of Nova Scotia (1958), The Man from Karachi (1958), The Queen’s Plate (1959), The St. Lawrence Seaway (1959), The Magic Mineral (1959), The Atom: Servant of Man (1959), Twilight of an Era: 1934–1939 (1960), Yukon Old, Yukon New (1961), The Test (1961), People by the Billions (1961), The Global Struggle for Foode (1961), The Discovery of Insulin (1961), and Angkor the Lost City (1961). Balla won the Silver Bear Award for his live-action short film Nahanni at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1962. He also produced the animated documentaries Age of the Buffalo (1964) and People of the Buffalo (1968). He was also executive producer of the multipart documentary series Struggle for a Border: Canada’s Relations with the United States in the late 1960s. BALZER, GEORGE Radio and television comedy writer George Balzer died at his home in Van Nuys, California, on September 28, 2006. He was 91. Balzer was born in Erin, Pennsylvania, on September 1, 1915, and moved to Los Angeles with his parents in 1920. He began writing for radio in the 1940s, providing comedy skits for
George Balzer
BANAI, YOSSI Israeli comic actor and musician Yossi Banai died at his home in Tel Aviv, Israel, on May 11, 2006. He was 74. He began his career on stage in the mid–1950s, performing with Tel Aviv’s Habima Theatre. He became a noted comic and satirist, and wrote numerous skits for the comedy trio Hagashash Hahiver. He recorded his first album Yossi Banai in the late 1970s, which included the hit song “Me, Simone and Little Mouiz.” He recorded nearly 20 albums and appeared in numerous plays over the next 25 years. He also narrated the 1979 television mini-series about Zionism, Pillar of Fire. Banai was awarded the Israel Prize, the country’s top civilian honor, in 1998.
Yossi Banai
BANICEVIC, PETAR Serbian actor Petar Banicevic died in Belgrade, Serbia, on September 4, 2006. He was 76. Banicevic was born in Niksic, Montenegro, Yugoslavia, on February 8, 1930. He was a leading actor on stage, film and television from the 1950s. Banicevic
Obituaries • 2006
20
was seen in the films Comrade President Center-Forward (1960), Man and Beast (1963), Bomb at 10:10 (1967), Witness Out of Hell (1967), It Rains in My Village (1968), The Twelve Chairs (1970), The Battle of Sutjeska (1973), Captain Mikula, the Kid (1974), Snovi, Zivot, smrt Filipa Filipovica (1980), Living Like the Rest of Us (1982), 13. Jul (1982), Dancing in Water (1986), and Najbolji (1989). Banicevic starred as Gen. Borivoje Mirkovic in the 1979 television mini-series Slom and was Winston Churchill in the 1983 tele-film Licem u Lice u Napulju. He also starred as Mitropolit Josif Rajacic in the 1987 series Vuk Karadzic, and was Doctor Vulovic in the 1993 series Srecni Ljudi and its sequel Srecni Ljudi 2 in 1995.
Joe Barbera (flanked by cartoon creations Yogi Bear and Fred Flintstone)
and Muttley in Their Flying Machine, Scooby-Doo, Josie and the Pussycats, The Harlem Globetrotters, Goober and the Ghost Chasers, Funky Phantom, The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels and many more. Barbera published his autobiography, My Life in Toons, in 1994. After Hanna’s death in 2001, Barbera continued to work as an executive producer with Warner Bros. Animation, with such credits as What’s New, Scooby Doo? and Tom and Jerry Tales. He also co-produced and directed the 2005 Tom and Jerry short, The Karateguard. Petar Banicevic
BANK, MARJI Actress Marji D. Bank died in Chicago, Illinois, on May 19, 2006. She was 82. She was born in Dallas, Texas, on September 22, 1923. She was a popular performer on the Chicago stage and was featured in the 1981 comedy film Continental Divide with John Belushi. She also appeared in the 1988 tele-film Open Admissions. BARBERA, JOE Cartoon pioneer Joe Barbera died at home in Los Angeles, California, on December 18, 2006. He was 95. Barbera was born in New York City, on March 24, 1911. He originally worked in the banking industry before he began selling cartoons to various magazines. His cartoon work led to a job as an animator at Van Beuren Studio in 1932, where he worked on the Cubby Bear and Rainbow Parades cartoons. He went to MGM in 1936, where he met William Hanna the following year. They created the Tom and Jerry cartoon series, earning an Academy Award nomination for their first, Puss Gets the Boot. The duo received seven Oscars for the series during its run. Hanna and Barbera left MGM when it closed its animation department and began working in television. They created the popular prime-time animated series The Flintstones in 1960. This was followed by such series as Top Cat, The Jetsons, Yogi Bear, Wally Gator, Magilla Gorilla, Huckleberry Hound and Friends, Peter Potamus, the animated adventure series The Adventures of Jonny Quest, Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossible, Space Ghost, Moby Dick and the Mighty Mightor, The Herculoids, The Fantastic Four, Wacky Races, The Cattanooga Cats, Perils of Penelope Pitstop, Dastardly
BARBERIO, PHILIP Special effects technician Philip Barberio died of multiple myeloma in Duarte, California, on May 8, 2006. He was 60. Barberio was born in Burbank, California, in 1945. He was active in films and television as a visual effects artist from the 1970s, garnering such films credits as Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), Blade Runner (1982), Return of the Jedi (1983), .Ghostbusters (1984), Big Business (1988), The Blob (1988), The Abyss (1989), and Waxwork II: Lost in Time (1992). He also worked on such television series as The Flash, Star Trek: Voyager, and The Sentinel. He was co-founder of the company BB&J Visual Effects in 1992. BARBETTI, CESARE Italian character actor Cesare Barbetti died in Lucca, Italy, on September 13, 2006. He was 75. Barbetti was born in Palermo, Sicily,
Cesare Barbetti
21 Italy, on September 29, 1930. He began his career as a child actor on stage and in films in the 1930s. Barbetti was featured in such films as Faust and the Devil (1948), La Grande Rinuncia (1951), The Affairs of Messalina (1951), War and Peace (1956), Augustine of Hippo (1971), The Assassination of Matteotti (1973), L’Affare Stavisky (1979), Zeder (aka Revenge of the Dead) (1983), A School Outing (1983), Impiegati (1983), D’Annunzio and I (1985), Graduation Party (1985), The Last Minute (1987), Everybody’s Fine (1990), The Flight of the Innocent (1993), and Pope John XXIII (2002). Barbetti was also noted for his work dubbing films for the Italian market. He provided voices in Italy for such performers as Robert Duvall, Warren Beatty, Jon Voight, and Robert Redford.
BARKWORTH, PETER British character actor Peter Barkworth died in England on October 21, 2006. He was 77. Barkworth was born in Margate, Kent, England, on January 14, 1929. He began interested in acting at an early age and made his stage debut in the late 1940s. He continued his stage career in the 1950s and also found work in films and television. Barkworth was featured in the films A Touch of Larceny (1959), Seven Keys (1961), No Love for Johnnie (1961), No My Darling Daughter (1961), Play It Cool (1962), Tiara Tahiti (1962), Downfall (1964), You Must Be Joking! (1965), Two a Penny (1967), Where Eagles Dare (1968), Patton (1970), The Love Ban (1973), The Littlest Horse Thieves (1976), Mr. Smith (1976), International Velvet (1978), and Wilde (1997). Barkworth performed frequently on British television, starring as Kenneth Bligh in the series The Power Game in 1965 and as Vincent in the 1969 series Manhunt. He was featured as Eustace Morrow in Melissa in 1974, and was bank manager Mark Telford in Telford’s Change in 1979. He also appeared in productions of Dr. Atkinson’s Daughter (1969), Special Project Air (1969), The Passengers (1971) as Detective Inspector Martin Denson, Professional Foul (1977), Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (1981) as Stanley Baldwin, Agatha Christie’s The Secret Adversary (1982), The Price (1985), Late Starter (1985), London Embassy (1987), and Maigret and the Minister (1993). He was also seen in such series as Maigret, Scales of Justice, The Protectors, Detective, Public Eye, Undermind, Half Hour Story, Hunted, Doctor Who, A Man of Our Times, The First Lady, The Avengers, W. Som-
2006 • Obituaries erset Maugham: P. and O., ITV Playhouse, Armchair Theatre, Thirty-Minute Theatre, Paul Temple, Out of the Unknown, The Guardians, The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, Dead of Night, Colditz, Play of the Month, Play for Today, Secret Army, Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, and Heartbeat. Though his roles in films and television declined from the 1980s, he continued to perform on stage, appearing in such West End productions as Hidden Laughter (1990) and The Winslow Boy (1994).
BARNES, PRENTISS Singer Prentiss Barnes, who performed with the vocal group the Moonglows, died of injuries he received in an automobile accident near Magnolia, Mississippi, on September 30, 2006. He was 81. Barnes was born in Magnolia on April 25, 1925. He moved to New Orleans in his early teens and began singing in church. He met fellow singers Harvey Fuqua, Bobby Lester, Pete Graves, and Billy Johnson in 1951 and they began a band called the Crazy Sounds. They subsequently changed their name to the Moonglows, recording such hits as “Sincerely,” “Most of All,” “We Go Together,” “Blue Velvet,” “Please Send Me Someone to Love,” “Ten Commandments of Love,” and “See Saw.” Barnes sang bass with the group and they toured together for over a decade before breaking up. Barnes’ plans to start a solo career were sidelined by an automobile accident when his car was struck by a train. He was hospitalized in Texas for two years and he underwent ten operations, including the amputations of his left arm, before he was well enough to return to Mississippi. He remained largely out of the limelight in the aftermath of the accident until March of 2000, when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Prentiss Barnes (left, with the Moonglows, Bobby Lester, Billy Johnson, Pete Graves and Harvey Fuqua)
Peter Barkworth
BARNES, ROY Film set designer Roy Lee Barnes died of lung and bone cancer in Sam Gabriel, California, on October 29, 2006. He was 70. Barnes was born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, on February 9, 1936. He moved to Los Angeles in the mid–1950s, where he worked on set design for numerous films and television productions. Barnes worked on the television series Father Murphy, Hardcastle and McCormick, Jake and the Fatman, Felicity, and Cupid, and the tele-films and mini-
Obituaries • 2006 series The Bastard (1978), Centennial (1978), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979), Evita Peron (1981), Masada (1981), Peter and Paul (1981), and Infidelity (1987). Barnes also worked on such films as Little Miss Marker (1980), Making Love (1982), Red Dawn (1984), Johnny Dangerously (1984), Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1985), Deadly Friend (1986), Project X (1987), The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Basic Instinct (1992), The Bodyguard (1992), Forget Paris (1995), Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000), Jurassic Park III (2001), The Scorpion King (2002), Hulk (2003), The Last Samurai (2003), Starsky & Hutch (2004), Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), War of the Worlds (2005), Sky High (2005), Serenity (2005), and Flightplan (2005). Barnes also served as art director for the 2003 film Big Fish.
BARQUET, XAVIER Film producer and actor Xavier Barquet died of respiratory failure in Miami, Florida, on February 15, 2006. He was 46. Barquet was born on May 14, 1959. He began working in films as a stuntman in the early 1980s, appearing in Running Scared (1980), The Toxic Avenger (1985), Fortress of Amerikkka (1989), Jungle Assault (1989), and I’m Dangerous Tonight (1990), and the television series Miami Vice. Barquet wrote, produced and appeared in the 1992 comedy Bikini Beach Race (aka The Sex Puppets). He also worked as producer on the independent films Wish Me Luck (1995), Desperate Obsession (1995), Dark Passage to Wan (1995), I Can’t Get to the Phone (1995), DV8 (1998), Paradise (1999), Drive In (2000), Closing the Deal (2000), Letter from Home (2000), Fish Don’t Blink (2002), and Sinners (2004), which he also scripted. BARRETT, JAMES
Radio actor James Barrett died of pneumonia in an Arlington, Virginia, hospital on June 4, 2006. He was 75. Barrett was born in Detroit, Michigan, on April 27, 1931. He began working in radio as a child, voicing the role of Dan Reid, the Lone Ranger’s nephew, in The Lone Ranger, and performing roles in The Green Hornet and Sergeant Preston of the Yukon. Barrett also performed on the New York stage and served as an entertainer with the 7th Army Repertory Company in Germany while serving in the military in 1953. He subsequently settled in New Jersey, where he worked in public relations. He came to Washington, D.C., in 1970 where he became the first public relations director of National Public Radio and was instrumental in launching the popular All Things Considered program the following year. Barrett remained with NPR until health problems led to his early retirement in 1979.
BARRETT, SYD Syd Barrett, the co-founder of the popular 1960s rock group Pink Floyd, died in London from complications of diabetes on July 7, 2006. He was 60. He was born Roger Barrett in Cambridge, England, on January 6, 1946. Barrett began performing with his first group Geoff Mott and The Mottoes in the early 1960s. He met Roger Waters in the band and they soon joined with drummer Nick Mason and keyboardist Rick Wright to form a new band, Pink Floyd in 1965.
22 Barrett played guitar and wrote most of the early songs for the group. Pink Floyd had a major hit with their 1967 album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Barrett’s growing mental instability and his frequent use of LSD led to erratic behavior at concerts and recording sessions and he left Pink Floyd in 1968. He subsequently recorded two solo albums, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett before abandoning the music industry. He returned to his home town of Cambridge, where he lived largely as a recluse. Pink Floyd went on to become an international sensation, with such albums as Dark Side of the Moon. The group recorded a tribute to their former bandmate with the 1975 album, Wish You Were Here, which included the song dedicated to Barrett “Shine on You Crazy Diamond.”
Syd Barrett
BARRETTO, RAY Jazz drummer Ray Barretto died of complications from heart bypass surgery and pneumonia in a Hackensack, New Jersey, hospital on February 17, 2006. He was 76. Barretto was born to a Puerto Rican family in Brooklyn, New York, on April 29, 1929. He began playing percussions while serving in the Army in Germany after World War II. He played in Eddie Bonnemere’s Latin Jazz Combo and Jose Curbelo’s band in the early 1950s before joining Tito Puente’s band later in the decade. He became a popular figure in New York’s jazz scene, recording with such artists as Dizzy
Ray Barretto
23
2006 • Obituaries
Gillespie, Cannonball Adderley, and Cal Tjader. He left Puente’s band in 1961 and began leading his own group. Barretto recorded the albums Pachanga and Latin soon afterwards. He had a hit song with the Latin-pop novelty dance song “El Watusi” in 1963. He recorded ten popular salsa albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and earned a Grammy nomination for the album Barretto in 1975. His album, Ricanstuction in 1979 was considered one of the foremost salsa recordings. Barretto won a Grammy for best Tropical Latin performance for the song “Ritmo en el Corazon” in 1989. He was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 1990. His final album, Time Was —Time Is, was released in 2005 and earned another Grammy nomination for best Latin jazz album.
BARRON, ZELDA Film producer and director Zelda Barron died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in England on August 14, 2006. She was 77. She was born Zelda Ruth Solomons in Cheetham, Manchester, England, on March 31, 1929. She began working in the theatre in London in the early 1950s. She met actor Ron Barron and the two were married in 1953. She and her husband went to Israel in 1960 where she worked with documentarian Lionel Rogosin on his film What Now My Little Man?. She returned to London where she gained her first credit as an assistant to director Karel Reisz on his 1966 film Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment. She worked in continuity on the 1967 featurette Les Bicyclettes de Belsize. Having divorced Barron, she met and married actor Anthony May on the set. She continued to work in continued on such films as Our Mother’s House (1967), Sebastian (1968), Isadora (1968), Cry of the Banshee (1970), Entertaining Mr. Sloane (1970), Melody (1971), Monty Python’s And Now for Something Completely Different (1971), Dad’s Army (1971), The Triple Echo (1972), Steptoe and Son (1972), Rentadick (1972), The Pied Piper (1972), Stardust (1974), Inserts (1974), Dead Cert (1974), Little Malcolm (1974), Flame (1975), Man Friday (1975), Valentino (1977), The Squeeze (1977), Agatha (1979), Yanks (1979), Reds (1981), Yentl (1983), Electric Dreams (1984), Love Affair (1994), Bulworth (1998). She also worked on Jim Henson’s television series The Storyteller in 1988. She made her debut as a director with the 1984 feature Secret Places, which she also scripted. Barron also directed the 1990 teen film Shag: The Movie, the feature Forbidden Sun, and several music videos for Boy George’s Culture Club. She retired in the late 1990s after experiencing early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. BARRY, IVOR Veteran character actor Ivor Barry died of heart failure in California on December 17, 2006. He was 87. Barry was born in Merthyr Tydifil, South Wales, on April 12, 1919. He served in the British Royal Artillery during World War II. After the war he completed his studies at the University of Wales, where he also began performing on stage. He went to London in the late 1940s, where he worked as an extra or stand-in for several films including Mine Own Executioner (1948) and Alfred Hitchcock’s Under Capricorn (1949). He continued his career after moving to Canada in 1953, where he wrote and adapted scripts for radio. He
Ivor Barry
was soon appearing on Canadian television and was featured in the short biographical films Robert Baldwin: Matter of Principal (1961), John Cabot: A Man of the Renaissance (1964), and David Thompson: The Great Mapmaker (1964). He also appeared in the 1963 television mini-series The Other Man, and starred as Dr. Russell Wingate in the 1964 Canadian soap opera Moment of Truth. He was featured in the 1964 film Nobody Waved Good-bye before heading to Hollywood. Barry continued to appear in such films as Don’t Forget to Wipe the Blood Off (1966), The King’s Pirate (1967), In Enemy Country (1968), The Lawyer (1970), The Andromeda Strain (1971), Lost in the Stars (1974), The Island at the Top of the World (1974), Herbie Rides Again (1974), The Dove (1974), The Absent-Minded Waiter (1977), To Be or Not to Be (1983), Weird Science (1985), and Action Jackson (1988). He was also seen in the tele-films Fear No Evil (1969), Daughter of the Mind (1969), Assault on the Wayne (1971), Do You Take This Stranger? (1971), Gidget Gets Married (1972), Call Holme (1972), The Six Million Dollar Man (1973), and Death Race (1973). Barry starred as George, the butler, on the comedy series Mr. Deeds Goes to Town from 1969 to 1970, and was another butler, Charles, on the series Bridget Loves Bernie from 1972 to 1973. He was also featured in the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives as Reginald Bradford in 1983. His other television credits include episodes of Hudson’s Bay, The Forest Rangers, Bonanza, Twelve O’Clock High, The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., The Partridge Family, Daniel Boone, Laredo, Mission: Impossible, Love on a Rooftop, The Flying Nun, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, That Girl, Maya, Judd for the Defense, Green Acres, Bewitched, Mannix, Here’s Lucy, McCloud, Ironside, Love, American Style, The Starlost, The Streets of San Francisco, Hawaii Five-O, King of Kensington, The Rockford Files, Fantasy Island, Barnaby Jones, Father Murphy, Fame, The A-Team, The Dukes of Hazzard, Crazy Like a Fox, Matt Houston, Highway to Heaven, Hotel, and Punky Brewster. He retired from the screen in the late 1980s.
BARTLETT, MARTINE Actress Martine Bartlett died of renal failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Tempe, Arizona, on April 5, 2006. She was 80. Bartlett was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 24, 1925. She began her career on stage and made
Obituaries • 2006
24
Martine Bartlett
Elio Bartolini
her Broadway debut in the early 1950s. She was featured in several Broadway productions including The Devil’s Disciple (1950), Saint Joan (1951), The Square Root of Wonderful (1957), and Sweet Bird of Youth (1959) as Aunt Nonnie. She also began appearing on television in the 1950s in episodes of such series as Robert Montgomery Presents, The United States Steel Hour, Dr. Kildare, Breaking Point, The Twilight Zone, The Lieutenant, The Fugitive, The Eleventh Hour, Profiles in Courage, The Big Valley, The Virginian, Mission: Impossible, Felony Squad, Then Came Bronson, Medical Center, The Immortal, The Mod Squad, The Sixth Sense, Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, Toma, The Manhunter, Kojak, Cannon, and Remington Steele. She starred as Lil Morrison in the short lived television series Ben Jerrod in 1963, and earned an Emmy Award nomination for her role in an episode of Arrest and Trial in 1963. She was also featured in several films including Splendor in the Grass (1961), The Prize (1963), Lord Love a Duck (1966), No Way to Treat a Lady (1968) as one of Rod Steiger’s victims, Fuzz (1972), Kansas City Bomber (1972), Aloha, Bobby and Rose (1975), and I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977). Bartlett also appeared in the tele-films Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night (1967), Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan (1975), Sybil (1976) as Sally Field’s mother Hattie, and Sizzle (1981). She retired from the screen in the early 1980s.
formers Benny and Elsie Barton. She made her stage debut with her parents while an infant, and performed on radio with Milton Berle under the name Joy Gillette as a child. She also sang in the 1937 film Show for Sale. Barton performed on Broadway in the early 1940s as Nancy Walker’s understudy in Best Foot Forward, and starred in the Broadway play Angel in the Wings. She was featured with Frank Sinatra on his radio program for two years, and headlined her own shows, Teen Timers and The Eileen Barton Show. She was best known for recording the 1950 hit song “If I Knew Your Were Comin’ I’d’ve Baked a Bake.” She continued to record and perform, appearing in the films College Capers (1954) and Promises! Promises! (1963). She was also featured on the variety series The Ed Sullivan Show and The Big Record, and was hostess of the game show Video Village in 1960.
BARTOLINI, ELIO Italian novelist and poet Elio Bartolini died in Santa Marizza di Varmo, Italy, on April 30, 2006. He was 83. Bartolini was born in Codroipo, Italy, in 1922. He was a leading novelist from the early 1950s, with such works as Icaro e Petronio (1950), Due Ponti a Caracas (1953), and La Bellezza d’Ippolita (1955). Bartolini also wrote several films from the late 1950s including The Cry (1957), The Adventure (1960), The Eclipse (1962), The Beautiful Ippolita (1962), Night Train to Milan (1963), The Warm Life (1963), A Very Handy Man (1964), Seasons of Our Love (1965), and L’Altro Dio (1975). His later published works include Amour e Dis di Vore (1985) and Poesiis Protestantis (1996). BARTON, EILEEN Singer and entertainer Eileen Barton died at her home in Los Angeles on June 27, 2006. She was 76. Barton was born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 24, 1929, to vaudeville per-
Eileen Barton
BASSER, FINA Mexican actress Fina Basser died in Mexico City, Mexico, on June 28, 2006. Basser, who was sometimes billed as Fina Wasserman early in her career, appeared in over a dozen films in the 1950s and 1960s including Feminnine Wiles (1951), Paraiso Robado (1952), The Count of Monte Cristo (1954), Vida Nocturna (1955), Los Hermanos Corsos (1955), El Dinero de Dios (1959), La Venenosa (1959), El Bote, el Rio y la Gente (1960), Canuto Canete y los 40 Ladrones (1964), El Renidero (1965), and Hotel Alojamiento (1966). She also
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2006 • Obituaries tion in the mid–1960s. He was also seen in cameo roles in the racing films The Fast Lady (1962) and Grand Prix (1966). Baxter was best known as the host of the BBC television science program Tomorrow’s World from its start in 1965 until his dismissal twelve years later.
Fina Basser
starred in the Mexican television series Un Grito en la Obscuridad (1965) and Ellas (1967.
BAUER, EVA-MARIA German actress EvaMaria Bauer died in Hamburg, Germany, on May 17, 2006. She was 82. Bauer was born in Hamburg on October 21, 1923. She performed frequently on the stage in Germany, and was featured in numerous television productions including Tatort —Das Madchen von Gegenuber (1977), Onkel Brasig (1978), Im Morgenwind (1981), Uta (1983), Der Landarzt (1987), Clara (1993), Am Liebstein Marlene (1998), Zwei Manner am Herd (1999), Der Blaue Vogel (2001), Die Affare Semmeling (2002), and Vera — Die Frau des Sizilaners (2005). She starred as Hildegar Zeisig in the television series Die Schwarzwaldklinik (aka The Black Forest Clinic) from 1985, and was featured in episodes of Derrick, Hallo Robbie!, and Der Alte.
BEAN, JACK Producer Jack Bean, who managed the career of his actress wife Mitzi Gaynor, died of pneumonia at his home in Beverly Hills, California, on December 4, 2006. He was 84. Bean began working as a booking agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota, while in his teens. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and worked in social services, assisting mentally ill war veterans, after the war. He returned to show business in the early 1950s as manager to singer Ella Fitzgerald. He soon met actress Mitzi Gaynor, who asked Bean to become her agent. A romance between to two also blossomed and the couple married. Bean secured Gaynor the lead role in the hit musical film South Pacific in 1958. He subsequently formed Bean/Rose Public Relations, managing the ad campaign for Wishbone Salad Dressing and becoming a pioneer in product placement in films and television. He continued to oversee his wife’s career and numerous television specials starring Gaynor in the late 1960s and 1970s. Bean was also executive producer of the 1980 supernatural comedy film Witches’ Brew, and produced the 1986 feature Very Close Quarters.
Jack Bean (with wife Mitzi Gaynor)
Eva-Maria Bauer
BAXTER, RAYMOND British television broadcaster Raymond Baxter died in Reading, Berkshire, England, on September 15, 2006. He was 84. Baxter was born in Ilford, Essex, England, on January 25, 1922. He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II, and began working in radio after the war. He became a broadcaster with the BBC, reporting on radio and television for the next two decades. He was noted for his commentary on motor racing events and briefly served as director of publicity for the British Motor Corpora-
BEBB, RICHARD British actor Richard Bebb died in London on April 12, 2006. He was 79. Bebb was born in London on January 12, 1927. He began his career on stage and was appearing in small roles in London’s West End by the late 1940s. He made his television debut in the role of Octavius in a 1951 production of Julius Caesar. He continued to appear in such television productions as Electrode 93 (1957), A Time of Day (1957), The House Under the Water (1961), Compact (1962) as Dr. Harvest, Anna Karenina (1977), Henry IV, Part II (1979), The Barchester Chronicles (1982), Miss Marple: A Murder Is Announced (1985), Act of Will (1989), The Tragedy of Flight 103: The Inside Story (1990), The Final Cut (1995), and Cold Comfort Farm (1995). He was also featured in episodes of The Count of Monte Cristo, O.S.S., The Gay Cavalier, Dial 999, Suspense, You Can’t Win, Danger Man, The Avengers, Softly Softly, Z Cars, Dixon
Obituaries • 2006 of Dock Green, Beasts, Blakes Seven, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, C.A.T.S. Eyes, Jeeves and Wooster, and Agatha Christie’s Poirot. Bebb also appeared in a handful of films during his career including The Final Test (1953), The Yellow Teddybears (1963), Pope Joan (1972), The Law Lord (1991), and King Ralph (1991) with John Goodman. Bebb was married to actress Gwen Watford until her death in 1994.
BEHRENDT, GERHARDT German puppet designer and animation director Gerhardt Behrendt died in Berlin on September 26, 2006. He was 77. Behrendt was born in Potsdam, Germany, on April 3, 1929. He began his career in theater in the early 1940s, working as a scenic painter and set designer. He became involved with creating puppets with the DEFA in 1953, and was a director of satirical animated films. Behrendt founded the Puppenstudio in 1958 and created the popular children’s character Sandmannchen the following year. Sandmannchen became one of Europe’s most successful children’s productions, with such characters as Professor Kopfchen, the Urvieh, and the Messemannchen also being introduced throughout the series. Behrendt retired when the East German Television disbanded following German reunification in the early 1990s.
Gerhardt Behrendt (with his Sandmannchen puppet)
BELCHER, JOE British actor and comedian Joe Belcher died in England on August 16, 2006. Belcher was featured in such films as 1979’s Dracula with Frank Langella, An American Werewolf in London (1981), The Dresser (1983), and Link (1986). Belcher also appeared frequently on television, performing in productions of Ready When You Are Mr. McGill (1976), Spend Spend Spend (1977), Blue Money (1982), Spyship (1983), and Threads (1984). His other television credits include episodes of Julie Bravo, Open All Hours, Only Fools and Horses, First of the Summer Wine, All Creatures Great and Small, Coronation Street, Heartbeat, Cardiac Arrest, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, and Dalziel and Pascoe. BELL, ALAN British sound editor Alan Bell died in Mevagissey, Cornwall, England, on August 5, 2006. He was 75. Bell was born in Lemington, Northumberland, England, on May 27, 1931. He began working in films in the early 1950s, serving as an assistant film editor for 1956’s Three Men in a Boat. He was also an assistant editor on the films The Flying Scot (1957), Pickup Alley (1957), The Key (1957), The Bandit of Zhobe (1959), Killers of Kilimanjaro (1959), Two Way Stretch (1960), The Boys (1962), and Modesty Blaise (1966). He began working as senior sound editor on Joseph Losey’s 1966 film Accident, and went on to work
26 with such leading directors as Peter Yates, Lindsay Anderson, and Nicholas Roeg. He worked on numerous films over the next three decades including The Naked Runner (1967), Robbery (1967), If... (1968), I Start Counting (1969), Entertaining Mr. Sloane (1970), The Triple Echo (1972), Straight on Till Morning (1972), O Lucky Man! (1973), The God King (1974), S*P*Y*S (1974), Children of Rage (1975), Overlord (1975), The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), Jabberwocky (1977), The Disappearance (1977), The Shout (1978), The Riddle of the Sands (1979), The Music Machine (1979), Lady Oscar (1979), Bad Timing (1980), Memoirs of a Survivor (1981), The Disappearance of Harry (1982), Moonlighting (1982), Brimstone & Treacle (1982), Beyond the Limit (aka The Honorary Consul) (1983), The Bounty (1984), The Company of Wolves (1984), Eureka (1984), Rustlers’ Rhapsody (1985), Insignificance (1985), Comrades (1987), The Whales of August (1987), The Last Emperor (1987), Housekeeping (1987), Paris by Night (1988), Shag: The Movie (1989), Strapless (1989), Erik the Viking (1989), We’re No Angels (1989), Stepping Out (1991), Hurricane Smith (1992), The Playboys (1992), Sirens (1994), Jacob (1994), and The Revengers’ Comedies (1998). Bello retired from films in 1999.
BELL, R.J. British character actor R.J. Bell died in England on November 5, 2006. He was 66. The large performer was featured as the dog-headed Garm in an episode of the science fiction television series Doctor Who in 1983. He was also featured in the films Superman III (1983), Insignificance (1985), Riders of the Storm (1986), Haunted Honeymoon (1986), Just Ask for Diamond (1988), Bullseye! (1990), The Runner (1992), The Punk (1993), Dirty Weekend (1993), Demonsoul (1995), and The Steal (1995). He also appeared in the 1990 television production of The Green Man and guest starred in an episode of Casualty.
R.J. Bell (as the Garm from Doctor Who)
BELL, TOM British actor Tom Bell died in a hospital in Brighton, East Sussex, England, after a short illness on October 4, 2006. He was 73. Bell was born in Liverpool, England, on August 2, 1933. He began performing on stage while in his teens and made his film debut in the early 1960s. Bell starred in such features as The Criminal (aka The Concrete Jungle) (1960), Payroll
27 (1961), Echo of Barbara (1961), The Kitchen (1961), Damn the Defiant! (1962), A Prize of Arms (1962), The L-Shaped Room (1962), Blues for Lovers (1964), He Who Rides a Tiger (1965), Sands of Beersheba (1966), The Violent Enemy (1968), The Long Day’s Dying (1968), In Enemy Country (1968), All the Right Noises (1969), Lock Up Your Daughters! (1969), the science fiction-romance Quest for Love (1971) with Joan Collins, The Spy’s Wife (1972), Straight on Till Morning (1972), Royal Flash (1975), The Sailor’s Return (1978), Summer Lightning (1984), The Innocent (1985), The Magic Toyshop (1987), Wish You Were Here (1987), Resurrected (1989), The Krays (1990) as small-time criminal Jack “The Hat” McVitie, Let Him Have It (1991), Prospero’s Books (1991) as Antonio, Angels (1992), Seconds Out (1993), Feast of July (1995), Preaching to the Perverted (1997), Swept from the Sea (1997), The Boxer (1997), Swing (1999), The Last Minute (2001), Long Time Dead (2002), Lava (2002), Try Seventeen (2002), Oh Marbella! (2003), Devil’s Gate (2003), and Dead Man’s Cards (2005). Bell was also a familiar face on television, starring in the recurring role of Bill Otley in the long-running Prime Suspect series starring Helen Mirren from 1991 through 2006. He appeared in such productions as Hedda Gabler (1972), Holocaust (1978) as Adolf Eichmann, Out (1978), Wellington (1980), Sweet Nothings (1980), Sons and Lovers (1981) as Walter Morel, King’s Royal (1982), Reilly: The Ace of Spies (1983) as Felix Dzerzhinsky, The Detective (1985), The Rainbow (1988), Words of Love (1989), Red King, White Knight (1989), Dark River (1990), Chancer (1990), Hope It Rains 1991) as Harry Hash, The Cinder Path (1994), The Great Kandinsky (1995), No Bananas (1996), Tube Tales (1999), Four Fathers (1999), My Kingdom (2001), and Pollyanna (2003). He was also featured in episodes of Dial 999, Armchair Theatre, the U.S. western series The Virginian, The Protectors, Play for Today, Unnatural Causes, Van der Valk, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Spender, Dangerfield, The Grand, Dalziel and Pascoe, Dr. Terrible’s House of Horrible, and Waking the Dead.
2006 • Obituaries the series Razzle Dazzle with the Forest Rangers from 1964 to 1966. He moved to Newfoundland later in the decade where he hosted the teen music program Now Sound. He was best known for playing the skipper on the CBC Television series Skipper and Company from 1974 to 1982. Bellew also worked as announcer with CBC Radio through the 1990s.
Ray Bellew (as the Skipper)
BELLUSO, JOHN Playwright John Belluso, whose life and works highlighted the rights and struggles of the disabled, was found dead in a Manhattan hotel room on February 10, 2006. He was 36. Belluso suffered from a debilitating bone disorder, Engleman-Camurdrie syndrome, which often caused him pain and left him confined to a wheelchair. Belluso was born on November 13, 1969. The Los Angeles–based writer was staying in New York while completing the play The Poor Itch for the New York Public Theater. Belluso was raised in Warwick, Rhode Island, and became interested in the theater while in high school. He studied theater courses at New York University, where he earned a master’s degree in 1996. His works, which usually depicted the trials and tribulations of individuals suffering from a physical disorder, include the plays Gretty Good Time (1998), Henry Flamethrowa (2001), The Body of Bourne (2001), and Pyretown (2003). He also wrote for television, scripting episodes of Ghost Whisperer, Deadwood, and Eyes.
Tom Bell
BELLEW, RAY Ray Bellew, who hosted the popular Canadian children’s television series Skipper and Company in the 1970s, died in Canada on October 10, 2006. He was 67. Bellew was born in Montreal, Canada, in 1939. He began his career on television as the host of
John Belluso
Obituaries • 2006 BELSON, JERRY Television comedy writer Jerry Belson died of prostate cancer at his home in Los Angeles on October 10, 2006. He was 68. Belson was born in El Centro, California, on July 8, 1938. He began writing for television in the early 1960s, selling his first script for The Danny Thomas Show. He began partnering with Garry Marshall in 1963, and the duo wrote for such television series as The Dick Van Dyke Show, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, I Spy, Hey, Landlord, Love, American Style, The Odd Couple, and Barefoot in the Park over the next decade. Belson earned 12 Emmy nominations for his writing during his career, and was awarded the Emmy three times. He also wrote the films How Sweet It Is! (1968), The Grasshopper (1970), Smile (1975), Fun with Dick and Jane (1977), The End (1978), Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), Jekyll and Hyde ... Together Again (1982), Surrender (1987), and Always (1989). Belson also scripted numerous tele-films including Sheriff Who (1967), The Murdocks and the McClays (1970), Evil Roy Slade (1972), Cops (1973), and Mixed Nuts (1977). Belson also began directing for films and television in the 1970s, helming episodes of The Odd Couple, Getting Together, Mary Tyler Moore, and Rhoda. He also directed the tele-films Cops (1973), Pete ’n’ Tillie (1974), and Mixed Nuts (1977), and the feature films Jekyll and Hyde ... Together Again (1982) and Surrender (1987). Belson also appeared in small roles in several films including Smile (1975), Semi-Tough (1977), Modern Romance (1981), and The Couch Trip (1988). He also wrote for The Tracey Ullman Show and Tracey Takes On in the 1990s, and was a consulting producer for The Norm Show and The Drew Carey Show.
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Remy Belvaux
of ideopathic pulmonary fibrosis, in Princeton, New Jersey, on February 11, 2006. He was 65. He was born in New York City on May 8, 1940, the son of writer Nathaniel Benchley and grandson of humorist Robert Benchley. He graduated from Harvard University in 1961, and worked as a journalist with the Washington Post and Newsweek. He also worked as a speechwriter for President Lyndon Johnson for two years in the mid–1960s. His novel Jaws, about a killer shark, was published in 1974. Benchley co-scripted Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster film version the following year, and Benchley appeared in a cameo role as a TV interviewer in the film. The hit film spawned several sequels and Benchley’s subsequent underwater novel, The Deep, was also adapted for film in 1977. He also scripted the 1976 tele-film The Great Houdini, about the master magician and escape artist. Benchley also scripted the 1970 adaptation of his novel The Island, and was involved in the short-lived 1989 television series Dolphin Cove. His novels also served as the basis of several tele-films including The Beast (1996) and Creature (1998). Benchley also wrote and served as executive producer for the 1999 television adventure series Peter Benchley’s Amazon. Benchley, who appeared in cameo roles in several films based on his own works, also appeared as Frank Crowninsheild in the 1994 film Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle.
Jerry Belson
BELVAUX, REMY Belgian filmmaker Remy Belvaux died in an apparent suicide in Orry-La-Ville, France on September 4, 2006. He was 38. Belvaux directed the short film No C4 for Daniel-Daniel in 1987. He was best known as writer, producer, director and star of the 1992 feature Man Bites Dog, a black comedy about a television documentary crew filming a serial killer. The low budget cult hit was Belvaux’s only feature as he spent the remainder of his career directing commercials. BENCHLEY, PETER
Peter Benchley, who wrote the best-selling shark adventure novel Jaws, died
Peter Benchley
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2006 • Obituaries
BENDECK, FOSI Honduran filmmaker Fosi Bendeck died of complications from diabetes and heart disease in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on September 2, 2006. He was 66. Bendeck was best known for helming the 1979 film El Reyecito o El Mero Mero (aka The Little King or The One). He directed several long and short films about Honduras in the 1980s and 1990s. Bendeck also appeared in a supporting role in the 2003 feature No Hay Tierra Sin Dueno (aka No Land Without an Owner). BENEDICT, ED Animator Ed Benedict, who designed many of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters including Yogi Bear and Fred Flintstone, died at his home in Auburn, California, on August 28, 2006. He was 94. Benedict was born in Ohio on August 23, 1912, and was raised in Los Angeles. He began working as an animator at Disney in the 1930s and worked there and at Universal over the next decade. He became lead designer and layout artist at MGM in the early 1950s, and directed several short by Tex Avery and Michael Lah in the Deputy Droopy series there. He began working at Hanna-Barbera later in the decade, and was responsible for the designs of such characters as Fred and Wilma Flintstone, Betty and Barney Rubble, Yogi Bear and Boo Boo, Huckleberry Hound, and Quick Draw McGraw.
Ed Benedict
John Lendale Bennett (as a Klingon from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
was a stunt performer for the films Set It Off (1996), Face/Off (1997), U.S. Marshals (1998), T.N.T. (1998), The Replacements (2000), Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000), and Minority Report (2002).
BENNETT, LOUISE Jamaican poet and folklorist Louise Bennett Coverly died in a Toronto, Canada, hospital on July 26, 2006. She was 86. Bennett was born in Kingston, Jamaica, on September 7, 1919. She began writing poetry, using the Jamaican dialect in her recitations, from the mid–1930s. She became a popular radio commentator, creating the character of Aunty Roachy to satirically comment on social and political matters. She began teaming on stage with Ranny Williams in the early 1940s, and the two wrote and performed such works as Anancy and Beeny Bud (1958), Jamaica Way (1959), and Carib Gold (1960). She also spent several years in England in the mid–1940s where she hosted the BBC radio programs Caribbean Carnival and West Indian Night. She was also a popular performer on Jamaican radio with such programs as Laugh with Louise, Miss Lou’s Views, and The Lou and Ranny Show, and she starred in the children’s television series Ring Ding in the 1970s. She was also featured in several films including A High Wind in Jamaica (1965), A Friend who Finds a Treasure (1981), and Club Paradise (1986).
BENNATI, GIUSEPPE Italian film director and writer Giuseppe Bennati died in Milan, Italy, on September 26, 2006. He was 85. Bennati was born in Pitigliano, Italy, in 1921. He began working in films in the early 1950s, directing and writing such features as The Hunt (1953), Night Operation (1954), Don’t Trifle with Women (1958), The Mine (1958), The Friend of the Jaguar (1959), Red Lips (1960), Eruption (1962), and The Killer Reserved Nine Seats (1974). He also wrote and directed the 1970 television mini-series Marcovaldo, based on the novel by Italo Calvino. BENNETT, JOHN LENDALE Actor and stuntman John Lendale Bennett died of a heart attack in Los Angeles on February 27, 2006. He was 54. Bennett was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 27, 1951. He was featured in several episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, appearing twice as a Klingon. He was also featured in episodes of Space: Above and Beyond and Seven Days, and
Louise Bennett
Obituaries • 2006 BERENGUER, ELSA Argentine stage and film actress Elsa Berenguer died of heart failure at her home in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on May 1, 2006. She was 74. She appeared in numerous stage productions in Buenos Aires and was also seen in the films Todo sol es Amargo (1966), Harvest, and So Ye Shall Reap (1970), Growing Up Suddenly (1977), There’s Some Guys Downstairs (1985), Insomniacs (1986), El Visitante (1999), Nine Queens (2000), Live-In Maid (2004), and Las Mantenidas sin Suenos (2005). Berenguer also appeared frequently on Argentine television, starring in productions of Dulce Anastasia (1977), Invitacio a Jamaica (1977), and Aventura’77 (1977), and such series as Una Promesa para Todos (1978), Un Angel en la Ciudad (1980), Extranos y Amantes (1985), Laura y Zoe (1998), Illusions (2000), and Bendita Vida (2006).
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Frances Bergen
also appeared in the tele-films Rich and Famous (1981), Bare Essence (1982), Hollywood Wives (1985), and Nutcracker: Money, Madness and Murder (1987), and guest starred in episodes of Barnaby Jones, MacGyver, Out of This World, and Murder, She Wrote. Her final role was in a 1998 episode of her daughter’s hit comedy series, Murphy Brown.
Elsa Berenguer
BERGEN, FRANCES Actress Frances Bergen, whose own career was overshadowed by that of her husband, ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, and daughter, actress Candice Bergen, died in Los Angeles after a long illness on October 2, 2006. She was 84. She was born Frances Westerman in Birmingham, Alabama, on September 14, 1922. She moved to Los Angeles with her mother after the death of her father in the early 1930s. She began her career in the mid–1940s as a model in New York City, working for the Powers agency. She was introduced to ventriloquist Edgar Bergen while attending his popular radio show, and the two married in 1945. Frances Bergen embarked on her own career as an entertainer in the 1950s, appearing as Madeleine Astor in the 1953 film Titanic. She also appeared in the films Her Twelve Men (1954) and Interlude (1957), and guest starred on television in episodes of Four Star Playhouse, Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre, The Millionaire, The Jack Benny Show, December Bride, Shirley Temple’s Storybook playing Glinda the Good Witch in an adaptation of The Land of Oz, and The Dick Powell Show. She also appeared in the recurring role of Madame Francine in the television series Yancy Derringer with Jock Mahoney in 1959. After her husband’s death in 1978 she resumed her acting career, appearing in such films as American Gigolo (1980), The Sting II (1983), The Star Chamber (1983), The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), The Morning After (1986), Eating (1980), and Made in America (1993). She
BERKMAN, TED Author and screenwriter Edward “Ted” Berkman died of cancer in Santa Barbara, California, on May 12, 2006. He was 92. Berkman was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 9, 1914. He began his career as a reporter for the New York Daily Mirror in 1933. He went to Hollywood in 1936 where he worked for United Artists Studio and scripted additional dialogue for the 1937 Fritz Lang film You Only Live Once. He subsequently wrote several films for London Films including The Squeaker (1937) and The Green Cockatoo (1937). He served with the U.S. Foreign Broadcast Intelligence Service in the Middle East during World War II, and was an ABC radio news reporter in the area after the war. He teamed with his brother-in-law, Raphael Blau, to write the story for the 1951 film comedy Bedtime for Bonzo starring Ronald Reagan. They also co-wrote the story for the 1957 film Fear Strikes Out about the mental breakdown of baseball star Jim Piersall. He and Blau also scripted the films Short Cut to Hell (1957), Edge of Fury (1958), and Girl of the Night (1960). Berkman
Ted Berkman
31 wrote the best-selling biography Cast a Giant Shadow: The Story of Mickey Marcus, Who Died to Save Jerusalem, about and American soldier who served as Israel’s military adviser during the 1948 War of Independence. The novel was filmed in 1966 starring Kirk Douglas as Marcus. He also wrote the book Sabra (1969), about Israeli soldiers during the 1967 Six Day War. His other books include The Lady and the Law, To Seize the Passing Dream, and My Prisoner about Patty Hearst’s jailer.
2006 • Obituaries Terror) (1958), Desert Patrol (1958), The Flesh and the Fiends (aka The Fiendish Ghouls, Mania) (1959), Jack the Ripper (1959), Home Is the Hero (1959), The Siege of Sidney Street (1960), Boyd’s Shop (1960), The Treasure of Monte Cristo (1961), and No Place Like Homicide! (aka What a Carve Up!) (1961). Berman and Baker moved into television in the 1960s, securing the rights to Leslie Charteris’ The Saint. The subsequent series starred Roger Moore, and remained a popular hit in England from 1962 to 1969. The duo also produced the series Gideon’s Way from 1964 to 1965, before splitting up. Berman continued to produce such series as The Baron starring Steve Forrest from 1966 to 1967 and the science fiction spy series The Champions from 1969 to 1971. His other television credits include the espionage series Department S in 1969 and Jason King from 1971 to 1972, both starring Peter Wyngarde, the supernatural mystery Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (aka My Partner, the Ghost) from 1969 to 1970, and The Adventurer in 1972.
BERMAN, MONTY British film producer and director Monty Berman died in London on June 14, 2006. He was 94. He was born Nestor Montague Berman in London in 1912 and began working in films as a camera assistant at Twickenham Studios in the late 1920s. He moved up to become a camera operator at Teddington in 1934, and subsequently worked at Easling Studios. He served as cinematographer on Michael Powell’s Some Day (1935) and The Edge of the World (1937). Berman served with the Eighth Army Film Unit during World War II, and resumed his film career after his discharge. He worked as a camera operator on the features Hue and Cry (1947), The End of the River (1937), The Small Voice (1948), Daughter of Darkness (1948), and The Third Man (1949). Berman joined with Robert S. Baker to form Tempean Films in 1948. The duo produced numerous films over the next two decades, with Berman often serving as director of photography and Baker sometimes directing. Their film credits include A Date with a Dream (1948), Melody Club (1949), No Trace (1950), Blackout (1950), The Quiet Woman (1951), 13 East Street (1952), The Frightened Man (1952), The Lost Hours (1952), The Voice of Merrill (1952), Love in Pawn (1953), Deadly Nightshade (1953), Recoil (1953), Black Orchid (1953), The Steel Key (1953), Three Steps to the Gallows (1953), Escape by Night (1953), Delayed Action (1954), Impulse (1954), The Embezzler (1954), Double Exposure (1954), Breakaway (1955), Windfall (1955), The Gilded Cage (1955), Reluctant Bride (1955), Tiger by the Tail (1955), No Smoking (1955), Bond of Fear (1956), Barbados Quest (1956), Passport to Treason (1956), High Terrace (19856), Professor Tim (1957), Hour of Decision (1957), Stranger in Town (1957), Sally’s Irish Rogue (1958), Blind Spot (1958), Blood of the Vampire (1958), Stormy Crossing (1958), The Crawling Eye (aka The Trollenberg
BERNARD, JOSEPH Character actor Joseph Bernard died in New York City’s Waldorf Astoria hotel on April 3, 2006. He was 82. Bernard was born on December 12, 1923. He was working with his friend, actor Jerry Lewis, preparing for a guest role on television’s Law & Order: SVU. Bernard was born in Brooklyn, New York, on December 12, 1923. He studied acting under Stella Adler at New York City’s New School in the early 1940s. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and resumed his studies at the New School after his discharge. Bernard began a lengthy career on the Broadway stage, appearing in over twenty productions. He made his film debut as gangster Mendy Weiss in the 1960 crime drama Murder, Inc, and was featured in the 1961 film Judgment at Nuremberg as Richard Widmark’s assistant. He was also seen in the films Don’t Just Stand There! (1968), Ice Station Zebra (1968), The Steagle (1971), The Baby (1973), The Laughing Policeman (1973), The Man Who Loved Women (1983), Fever Pitch (1985), Heat (1986), Mikey (1992), Warlock: The Armageddon (1993), and The Granny (1995). Bernard also appeared frequently on television, with roles in such tele-films as Lost Flight (1969), The Immortal (1969), The Challenge (1970), Quarantined (1970), A Tattered Web (1971), Gidget Gets Married (1972), The Police Story (1973), Death at Love
Monty Berman
Joseph Bernard
Obituaries • 2006
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House (1976), The Winds of Kitty Hawk (1978), and Pleasure Palace (1980). His other television credits include Playhouse 90’s 1959 production of For Whom the Bell Tolls, and episodes of Naked City, The Twilight Zone, Target: The Corruptors, The Untouchables, The Defenders, I Spy, Star Trek as Tark in the “Wolf in the Fold” episode, The Big Valley, It Takes a Thief, The Flying Nun, Here Come the Brides, Get Smart, Mission: Impossible, The Waltons, The Rookies, Kaz, and The Rockford Files. Bernard also worked as a teacher at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute in Hollywood from the late 1960s until 1979, when he moved to Las Vegas to open the Joseph Bernard Acting Studio.
BERNARDI, MARIA
Maria Bernardi, a leading female wrestler in the 1940s and 1950s who was known as the Tigress, died in a Los Angeles hospital of a cerebral hemorrhage on March 20, 2006. She was 80. She was born in Culver City, California, on June 3, 1925, the daughter of professional wrestler Nick Bernardi. She began competing in the ring professionally in her early teens. She worked for independent wrestling promoter D.W. Van Vleet in the South and Midwest under the name Maria Garibaldi. She captured the World Lightweight Women’s championship in a tournament in 1952, and continued to defend the belt until her retirement in 1963. She subsequently became involved with the Cauliflower Alley Club, a gathering of retired wrestlers, that was founded in the early 1960s by Mike Mazurki. She served as the organization’s secretary for over 35 years.
BERNSTEIN, JAY
Hollywood talent manager
mond Trap (1988), Final Notice (1989), and Double Jeopardy (1992). He was also executive producer of the television series Bring ’Em Back Alive and Houston Knights, and produced a series of tele-films featuring Mickey Spillane’s hard-boiled private detective Mike Hammer in the 1980s and 1990s. Bernstein was also featured in a small role in the 1983 Mike Hammer film More Than Murder. He also produced the video Playboy: Farrah Fawcett: All of Me, and various segments of The E! True Hollywood Story for cable, spotlighting such stars as Somers, Fawcett, Linda Blair, Carrie Fisher, Lynda Carter, and Sammy Davis, Jr.
BERNSTEIN, THELMA
Singer and actress
Jay Bernstein
Thelma Bernstein, who was the mother of actor and director Albert Brooks, comedian Bob Einstein (aka Super Dave Osborne), and advertising executive Clifford Einstein, died at her home in Beverly Hills, California, on May 27, 2006. She was 95. She was born Thelma Goodman in New York City on December 19, 1910. She began her career singing in New York nightclubs and on the radio in the early 1930s. She was brought to Hollywood in the mid–1930s where she signed a contract with RKO. She was renamed Thelma Leeds by the studio and had small roles in the films Follow the Fleet (1936), New Faces of 1937 (1937), and The Toast of New York (1937). She met comedian Harry Einstein, better known as the radio Maria Bernardi
and publicist Jay Bernstein, who was instrumental in advancing the careers of such stars as Farrah Fawcett and Suzanne Somers, died of complications from a stroke in a Los Angeles hospital on April 30, 2006. He was 68. Bernstein was born on June 7, 1937. He helped turn Fawcett, Somers and Kristy McNichol into household names and orchestrated such publicity stunts as insuring Entertainment Tonight star Mary Hart’s legs for a million dollars. He served as executive producer for several films and television productions from the late 1970s. Bernstein produced the features Sunburn (1979) and Nothing Personal (1980), and the tele-films The Wild Wild West Revisited (1979), More Wild Wild West (1980), The Dia-
Thelma Bernstein
33
2006 • Obituaries
and vaudeville comic Parkyakarkas, while filming New Faces of 1937. She and Einstein married in 1937 and she abandoned her career to raise a family. She and Einstein remained married until his death in 1958. She married Irving “Bernie” Bernstein two years later, and they were together until his death in 1983. She had small roles in several of Albert Brooks’ films including Real Life (1979) and Modern Romance (1981), with Brooks also casting his two brothers in the latter film. Bernstein also provided the inspiration for Brooks 1996 film Mother, starring Debbie Reynolds.
BESSON, BENNO Swiss theatrical director Benno Besson died in a Berlin, Germany, hospital after a long illness on February 23, 2006. He was 83. Besson was born in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, on November 4, 1922. He became involved with the theatre in the early 1940s, helping to found an amateur theatre group. He met playwright Bertolt Brecht in Zurich in 1947 and soon joined Brecht’s Berliner Ensemble in East Berlin as an actor and assistant director. He remained with the group through Brecht’s death in 1956, leaving the Berliner Ensemble in 1958. He worked as director of the Deutsches theater in Easter Berlin from 1962 to 1968, and headed the Volksbuehne during the 1970s. Besson also directed productions throughout Europe, and led the La Comedie Theater in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1982 to 1989. He was stage director for the 2000 television production of the opera The Enchanted Flute.
Francoise Bette
born in Cleveland, Ohio, on December 12, 1930. He began his career as a reporter on local Cleveland radio, before joining ABC television as a reporter in 1962. He joined the local anchor desk at New York’s WABC in 1970, and remained there for the next 31 years. Beutel was noted for his traditional sign-off “Good luck and be well,” which ended the newscasts. He was also the host of ABC’s AM America morning new show in 1975. He appeared in cameo roles as himself in several films including Hanky Panky (1982), Turk 182! (1985), and Spin (1996).
Bill Beutel Benno Besson
BETTE, FRANCOISE Belgian actress Francoise Bette died of cancer in Belgium on March 3, 2006. She was 58. She was a popular star of stage and screen from the early 1970s, appearing in such films as Where There’s Smoke (1973), The Cold Soup (1974), Verdict (1974), The Adolescent (1979), I as in Icarus (1979), What Makes David Run (1982), Bandits (1986), Family Business (1986), Toto the Hero (1991), It All Starts Today (1999), To Mathieu (2000), The Girl from Paris (2001), and Safe Conduct (2002). BEUTEL, BILL Veteran television news anchorman Bill Beutel died at his home in Pinehurst, North Carolina, on March 18, 2006. He was 75. Beutel was
BEYER, FRANK Leading East German film director Frank Beyer died in Berlin, Germany, after a long illness on October 1, 2006. He was 74. Beyer was born in Nobitz, Thuringia, Germany, on May 26, 1932. He began his career in films in the mid–1950s, serving as assistant director on such features as The Czar and the Carpenter (1956) and Polonia-Express (1957). He also directed several short films made his debut as a feature film director with 1957’s Two Mothers. Beyer also directed the films An Old Love (1959), Five Cartridges (1960), And Your Love Too (1962), Naked Among the Wolves (1963), Carbide and Sorrel (1963), and Traces of Stones (1966). The latter film, which provided a critical look at conditions in Communist East Germany was banned and Beyer lost his membership in the ruling party as a result. Beyer became best known to international audi-
Obituaries • 2006
Frank Beyer
ences with his 1975 film Jacob the Liar, which became the only East German film nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He also directed the films The Hiding Place (1977), Bockshorn (1983), The Turning Point (1983), Der Bruch (1989), and The Suspicion (1991). Beyer also directed numerous productions for German television including Rottenknechte (1971), Die Sieben Affaren der Dona Juanita (1973), Der Konig und Sein Narr (1980), Die Zweite Haut (1981), The Last U-Boat (1990), Ende der Unschuld (1991), Das Grosse Fest (1992), Sie und Er (1992), Nikolaikirche (1995), Der Haputmann von Kopenick (1997), and Abgehauen (1998). Beyer was awarded the German Film Prize for his life’s work in 1991, the year after the reunification of Germany.
BHATTACHARYYA, BHASKAR Indian television documentary producer Bhaskar Bhattacharyya drowned while swimming in the Bay of Bengal of the coast of India on February 10, 2006. He was 55. Bhattacharyya was born in Darjeeling, India, on June 4, 1950. He moved with his family to London while in his teens. After completing his studies in India, he again returned to England in 1976 where he began working in television. He became an adviser to various stations including the BBC, the National Geographic Channel and Channel 4, and began his own production company, Maya Vision. Bhattacharyya contributed the such television productions as The Jewel in the Crown (1984) and Great Railway Journeys of the World (1989).
Bhaskar Bhattacharyya
34 BIELICKA, HANKA Polish singer and actress Hanka Bielicka died in Warsaw, Poland, on March 9, 2006. She was 90. She was born Anna Weronika Bielicka in Knowka, Poland (now Ukraine), on November 9, 1915. She was a popular performer in Polish films from the 1940s, appearing in Forbidden Songs (1947), Bright Fields (1947), Two Brigades (1950), First Days (1952), Matter to Be Settled (1953), The Bus Leaves at 6.20 (1954), House of Cards (1954), Celullose (1954), Irene, Go Home! (1955), Two Hours (1957), Call My Wife (1958), Octopus Cafe (1959), The Impossible Goodbye (1962), Gangsters and Philanthropists (1963), Ping-Pong (1966), Hell and Heaven (1966), The Marriage of Convenience (1967), Rassenschande: When Love Was a Crime (1968), and Colonel Wolodyjowski (1969). She also appeared frequently on Polish television, starring in such series as Palce Iizac (1999) and Sukces (2000). Her final film appearance was in 2006’s Ja Wam Pokaze!.
Hanka Bielicka
BIELINSKY, FABIAN Argentine film director Fabian Bielinsky died of a heart attack while working on a commercial in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on June 28, 2006. He was 47. Bielinsky was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on February 3, 1959. He began working in films as an assistant director in the 1980s, working on such films as La Republica Perdida II (1986), Eversmile, New Jersey (1989), Fenced In (1991), Don’t Die Without Telling
Fabian Bielinsky
35
2006 • Obituaries
Me Where You’re Going (1995), Sotto Voce (1996), Cohen vs. Rosi (1998), and Secret of the Andes (1999). Bielinsky scripted the 1998 film Sleepwalker and wrote and directed the 2000 film Nine Queens, which won numerous awards at international film festivals. He also wrote the film Criminal in 2004, and wrote and directed The Aura in 2005.
was killed in 1998. After DJ Screw’s death in 2000, Big Hawk became the nominal leader of the group. He recorded the solo album Under Hawk’s Wings in 2000, and also recorded with the rap artists Lil’ Flip, Lil’ Keke, Big Moe, and Lil’ Troy. He also recorded the album H.A.W.K. in 2002, and had a popular regional hit with the single “U Already Know.”
BIG BOY Big Boy, an alligator who appeared in films and on television, died at Beaver Water World in Tatsfield, Kent, England, after a brief illness on September 4, 2006. He was 45. Big Boy was born in 1961 on a Louisiana alligator farm. He grew in size from 3 inches to nearly 10 feet. He achieved fame as a stunt gator in the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die. He also appeared in several television commercials and the comedy series The Young Ones. Big Boy retired to the Beaver Water World zoo where he was a popular attraction. He will likely remain so as he was to be stuffed and put on display following his death.
BIGLEY, ISABEL Broadway actress Isabel Bigley died in Los Angeles on September 30, 2006. She was 80. Bigley was born in The Bronx, New York, in 1928. She began training as a singer at an early age and studied at Juilliard and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Bigley made her Broadway debut in the chorus of Oklahoma! in 1946. She was soon transferred to the London production where she took over the starring role of Laurey, opposite Howard Keel. She performed in the London production for over three years. She also appeared in a production of the musical Gay Rosalinda on the BBC and starred in the television variety series Cafe Continental while in England. Bigley returned to the United States in 1950 to take the starring role in the Broadway production of Guys and Dolls and received the Tony Award for her performance as Sarah Brown in the musical. She continued with the play for over three years and also performed frequently on such television variety chows as Colgate Comedy Hour, The Ed Sullivan Show, and Goodyear Theater. She also starred in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Me and Juliet in 1953. Bigley married Lawrence Barnett, president of the talent agent Music Corporation of America, in 1953 and retired from the stage later in the decade to raise a family.
Big Boy
BIG HAWK John Edward Hawkins, a rapper who performed under the names Big Hawk and H.A.W.K., was shot to death outside his home in Houston, Texas, on May 1, 2006. He was 36. Hawkins was born on November 1, 1969. He was a founding member of the rap group the Screwed Up Click with the late DJ Screw. Big Hawk was the brother of rapper Fat Pat, who Isabel Bigley (with Bill Hays)
Big Hawk
BILLA, SALVATORE Burly Italian actor Salvatore Billa died in Rome on May 22, 2006. He was 63. Billa was born in Catania, Sicily, Italy, on March 31, 1943. He moved to Rome while in his teens, where he began a career in films. He appeared in small roles in such features as Cleopatra (1963), The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966), Grand Prix (1966), The Taming of the Shrew (1967), Beyond the Law (1968), and Romeo and Juliet (1968). He continued his film career in the 1970s, appearing in larger roles in Spaghetti Westerns and action thrillers. Billa’s film credits include Django Against Sartana (1970), Chuck Moll (1970), Adios, Sabata (1971),
Obituaries • 2006 Vengeance Trail (1971), Return of Sabata (1971), Blindman (1971), Sotto a Chi Tocca! (1972), Crime Boss (1972), Gunmen and the Holy Ghost (1972), Camorra (1972), Bread and Chocolate (1973), Blood Brothers (1973), Wipeout! (1973), The Black Hand (1973), Shoot First, Die Later (1974), L’Erotomane (1974), Sex in the Head (1974), Leaded Guns (1975), The Manhunt (1975), Kidnap Syndicate (1975), Go Gorilla Go (1976), The Legend of the Wolf Woman (1976), Young, Violent, Dangerous (1976), The Big Racket (1976), House of Pleasure for Women (1976), Free Hand for a Tough Cop (1976), A Matter of Time (1976), Mister Scarface (1976), The Dope Way (1977), Hit Squad (1977), The Iron Perfect (1977), Magnum Cop (1977), Blood and Diamonds (1977), Father of the Godfathers (1977), Destruction Force (1977), The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist (1977), A Man Called Magnum (1977), The Payoff (1978), Sniper (1978), The Persian Lamb Coat (1979), From Corleone to Brooklyn (1979), Luca the Smuggler (1980), The Hawk and the Dove (1981), Fear in the City (1981), Count Tacchia (1982), Ironmaster (1983), And the Ship Sails On (1983), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985), The Repenter (1985), Ginger and Fred (1986), Sicilian Connection (1987), Gli Invisibili (1988), Il Bambino e il Poliziotto (1989), Pummaro (1990), Fantozzi alla Riscossa (1990), The Voice of the Moon (1990), The Miser (1990), The King’s Whore (1990), The Godfather: Part III (1990), Year of the Gun (1991), Circle of Fear (1992), The Star Marker (1995), Brigands (1999), and Excellent Cadavers (1999). His final role was a small part in Martin Scorcese’s 2002 film Gangs of New York.
36 ing the 1990s Bishop also worked at Paramount Studios, reworking the scripts to such films as Clear and Present Danger, Sliver, Primal Fear, and Beverly Hills Cop 3.
BJONER, INGRID Norwegian opera singer Ingrid Bjoner died in Oslo, Norway, on September 4, 2006. She was 87. Bjoner was born in Krakstad, Norway, on November 8, 1918. She was a leading performer throughout Europe, noted for her interpretations of the operas of Wagner and Strauss. She performed with the Munich Opera for over 25 years, and also was a guest artist with La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, and the Paris Opera. She was also a leading teacher, serving as a professor at the Norwegian State Academy of Music for many years.
Ingrid Bjoner
BLACK, AUSTIN Gay adult actor Austin Black was found dead in his Long Beach, California, apartment on March 9, 2006. He was 43. Black was born in Austin, Texas, on September 19, 1962. He began working in the adult film industry in the early 1990s. Black was seen in such adult films as Dogs in Heat (1992), In the Mix (1996), Das Butt (1996), Palm Desires (1996), Bachelor Party (1997), Leatherboy Rebellion (1997), Big Guns 2 (1999), Circus of Torture (2000), F-Train to Castro (2002), and Aggressive Bottoms from Hell: Bareback VII (2005).
Salvatore Billa
BISHOP, JOHN Playwright and screenwriter John Bishop died of cancer in Bad Heilbrunn, Germany, on December 20, 2006. He was 77. Bishop was born in Mansfield, Ohio, on May 3, 1929. He began his career in the theatre as an actor on the local stage in Cleveland. He began directing productions in the 1960s. The first play he wrote, The Trip Back Down, was produced on Broadway in 1977. Bishop was the resident playwright at New York’s Circle Repertory Co., and wrote such plays as The Great, Great Grandson of Jedediah Kohler, Winter Signs, Borderlines, The Harvesting, and The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940. He also scripted several films including The Package (1989) and Drop Zone (1994). Dur-
Austin Black
37 BLAIR, BILL F. Film producer and distributor Bill F. Blair died in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 14, 2006. He was 75. Blair was born in Eufaula, Oklahoma, on September 23, 1930. He began working in films in the 1960s and was a pioneer in the home video business. Blair was the founder of VCI Entertainment, and produced such films as The Ripper (1985), Blood Cult (1995), Terror at Tenkiller (1986), Revenge (1986), The Last Slumber Party (1987), and Forever Evil (1987).
Bill F. Blair
BLAIR, JOYCE British actress Joyce Blair died of cancer at her home in California on August 19, 2006. She was 73. Blair was born in London on November 4, 1932. She began her performing as a child, entertaining people in air raid shelters in London during World War II. She made her film debut in the 1946 film The Trojan Brothers, and appeared in the films Oh ... Rosalinda!! (1955), Blonde Sinner (1956), Killers of Kilimanjaro (1959), and Jazz Boat (1960). She was also featured on television in an episode of The Adventures of Robin Hood, and starred in the variety talent showcase New Look in 1958. She was best known for her performances in light entertainment, often accompanying her brother, entertainer Lionel Blair. She was featured in the films Number Six (1962), Crooks Anonymous (1962), The Wild Affair (1963), Be My Guest (1965), Mister Ten Per Cent (1966), Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy
2006 • Obituaries Humppe and Find True Happiness? (1969) as the Oat-ORinos Girl, Journey to Murder, Intimate Games (1976), and California Casanova (1991). She was also seen in the tele-films Rumour (1970), The Last Days of Pompeii (1984) as Lucretia, Arch of Triumph (1985), and Lucy and Desi: Before the Laughter (1991). Her other television credits include episodes of The Benny Hill Show, Zero One, Ghost Squad, The Saint, Journey to the Unknown, and The Rag Trade.
BLAISDELL, JACKIE Jackie Blaisdell, the widow of special effects prop maker Paul Blaisdell who worked with him on many films in the 1950s, was found dead at her home in Topanga, California, on December 2, 2006. It appeared she had died on November 30, 2006. She was 76. She was born Jacqueline Mary Boyle in Avon, Massachusetts, in 1930. She met Paul Blaisdell while attending the New England School of Art and Design and they married shortly after graduation. She and her husband moved to Topanga in the early 1950s where Paul became involved in films as a prop maker on numerous low-budget American International Pictures science fiction and horror films. Jackie often worked with him creating masks, costumes, and other effects. She was credited for special designs on the films Attack of the Puppet People (1958) and Earth vs. the Spider (1958). She also worked with Paul on numerous other films including many directed by Roger Corman. Paul Blaisdell’s other credits include The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955), Day the World Ended (1955), The She-Creature (1956), It Conquered the World (1956), Not of This Earth (1957), From Hell It Came (1957), How to Make a Monster (1958), Teenage Caveman (1958), It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958), and Teenagers from Outer Space (1959). Paul Blaisdell died of cancer in 1983, and Jackie became increas-
Jackie Blaisdell (left, with husband Paul and their costume from Voodoo Woman)
ingly reclusive in her later years.
Joyce Blair
BLANCHARD, CLAUDE Canadian actor and singer Claude Blanchard died of heart attack in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on August 20, 2006. He was 74. Blanchard was born in Joliette, Quebec, Canada, on May 19, 1932. He was a leading entertainer in Canada from the 1970s. He was featured in several films including Mustang (1975), Gina (1975), Fantastica (1980), Trilog y
Obituaries • 2006 (1984), Jesus of Montreal (1989), Blizzard (1990), Nenette (1991), and the 1996 tele-film On Dangerous Ground. He also appeared frequently on Canadian television, starring in such series as Montreal P.Q. (1992) as Harry Smith, La Montagne du Hollandais (1992) as Slim Conway, Virginie (1996) as Pierre Boivin, Omerta, la Loi du Silence (1996) as Roger Perreault, and Music Hall (2002) as Jacques Marchand.
38 was born in New York City on April 19, 1942. He began his career in television directing at a local station in New York. He joined CBS News in 1966 and began directing 60 Minutes two years later. Bloom also directed coverage of the national presidential conventions and election night coverage from 1974 to 1990. He was also instrumental in training Dan Rather as Walter Cronkite’s successor as CBS news anchorman in 1981.
Claude Blanchard Arthur Bloom (left, with Dan Rather)
BLASCO, TERESA
Argentine actress Teresa Blasco died in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on August 11, 2006. She was 75. Blasco was a leading stage, film and television performer in South America. Her film credits include Le Mejor del Colegio (1953), El Hombre que Debia una Muerte (1955), Despues del Silencio (1956), La Morocha (1958), Dr. Candido Perez, Senoras (1962), La Fin del Mundo (1963), The Games Men Play (1964), La Pergola de las Flores (1965), Esta Noche Mejor No (1965), I Need a Mother (1966), Matrimonio a la Argentina (1968), Operacion San Antonio (1968), and La Mary (1974). Blasco also starred in the television series Cuatro Mujeres Para Adan (1966), El Extgerminador (1972), Las 24 Horas (1981), and Coraje Kamqa (1985).
BLUME, DAVID Record producer David Blume, who also wrote the 1966 song “Turn Down Day,” died of complications from a stroke at his home in Sylmar, California, on March 15, 2006. He was 74. Blume was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, on June 26, 1931. He began arranging and scoring music at an early age. He opened a jazz dance club in North Carolina after serving in the Army. He was best known for writing the song “Turn Down Day” with lyricist Jerry Keller, which was a hit for the pop group Cyrkle in 1966. Blume also wrote the themes to several films, including The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968) and What’s So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968). He moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s, where he worked with Hugo Montenegro, producing several albums. He also owned and managed the West Los Angeles folk dancing club Cafe Danssa until his death.
Teresa Blasco
BLOOM, ARTHUR Arthur Bloom, the CBS news director who was instrumental in the creation of the television newsmagazine 60 Minutes, died of cancer in New York City on January 28, 2006. He was 63. Bloom
David Blume
39 BOERO, ALEJANDRA Argentine theatrical director and actress Alejandra Boero died in Buenos Aires after a long illness on May 4, 2006. She was 88. She began her career on the Argentine stage in the early 1940s, appearing in numerous productions over the next 50 years. Boero was also a leading stage director in Buenos Aires and founded her own drama school and theater in the 1970s. Boero also appeared in several films during her career including Todo sol es Amargo (1966), Don Segundo Sombra (1969), and The Film (1975).
2006 • Obituaries ricane (1980), Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980), Theo Against the Rest of the World (1980), Eine Deutsche Revolution (1982), Betrogen (1985), Gambit (1987), Smaragd (1987), Lethal Obsession (1987), Three Women in Love (1989), 10 Minuten Berlin (1989), The Denunciation (1993), Das Geheimnis (1995), Cuba Libre (1996), Tatort—Tod Im All (1997), Just Married (1998), Dealer (1999), Heads You Win, Tails You Lose (1999), Paradiso: Seven Days with Seven Women (2000), Kaliber Deluxe (2000), and Love, Money, Love (2000).
BOHM, MARQUARD German actor Marquard Bohm died of heart failure in Wetter an der Ruhr, Germany, on February 3, 2006. He was 64. Bohm was born in Hamburg, Germany, on June 27, 1941. He directed, scripted, and starred in his first film, Na und, in 1967. Bohm became a leading film and television performer over the next four decades. His film credits include Detektive (1969), Red Son (1970), The American Soldier (1970), Deadlock (1970), Supergirl — Das Madchen von den Sternen (1971), A Big Grey-Blue Bird (1971), Beware of a Holy Whore (1971), Eight Hours Are Not a Day (1972), Chetan, Indian Boy (1973), Jail Bait (1973), Zahltag (1973), Karl May (1974), Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974), Output (1974), Fox and His Friends (1975), Kings of the Road (1976), North Sea Is Dead Sea (1976), Satan’s Brew (1976), Petty Thieves (1977), In the Heart of the Hur-
BOND, DEREK British actor Derek Bond died in England on October 15, 2006. He was 86. Bond was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on January 26, 1920. He began his acting career in the late 1930s, appearing as an automaton in a 1938 television adaptation of Karel Capek’s science fiction classic R.U.R. He continued his career on stage, appearing in light comedic roles, until the outbreak of World War II. Bond served with distinction in the Grenadiers during the war, suffering a serious leg wound and later being captured and imprisoned as a POW. After his discharge he made his film debut as a prisoner of war in the 1946 drama The Captive Heart. The following year he starred in the title role in Ealing Studios’ Nicholas Nickleby. He continued his career in leading roles in such films as The Loves of Joanna Godden (1947), Uncle Silas (aka The Inheritance) (1947), Broken Journey (1948), The Weaker Sex (1948), Scott of the Antarctic (1948) as Captain Oates, Marry Me (1949), Poet’s Pub (1949), Christopher Columbus (1949), Tony Draws a Horse (1950), The Quiet Woman (1951), Distant Trumpet (1952), The Caretaker’s Daughter (1952), The Hour of 13 (1952), Trouble in Stone (1953), Strange from Venus (aka Immediate Disaster) (1954), Tales of Three Women (1954), Present for a Bride (1954), Svengali (1954), Three Cornered Fate (1955), High Terrace (1956), Rogue’s Yarn (1957), Stormy Crossing (1958), Gideon’s Day (1956) with Jack Hawkins, The Hand (1960), Saturday Night Out (1964), Swingers’ Paradise (1964), Press for Time (1966), and Secrets of a Windmill Girl (1966). Bond also performed frequently on television from the 1950s, appearing in episodes of The Vise, London Playhouse, Errol Flynn Theater, The Adventures of Charlie Chan, William Tell, Invisible Man, Vacation Playhouse, The Saint, Dad’s Army, and Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. Bond also
Marquard Bohm
Derek Bond
Alejandra Boero
Obituaries • 2006 hosted Picture Parade in 1961, and was Lord Caister in the 1965 series 199 Park Lane. He was also featured as the chief of intelligence in the 1969 series Callan with Edward Woodward. Bond was also seen in television productions of The Passenger (1971) and The Next Scream You Hear (1974), and the films When Eight Bells Toll (1971), Intimate Reflections (1974), Hijack (1975), and Dangerous Davies—The Last Detective (1981). He was also an influential member of the British actor’s union, Equity, serving as a member of its council from the early 1970s. He was a leader of the faction that thwarted an attempt by the leftists led by Vanessa Redgrave. He became president of Equity until 1986 when a cultural boycott of South Africa during apartheid led to his resignation.
BOND, NELSON S. Science fiction and fantasy writer Nelson S. Bond died in Las Vegas on November 4, 2006. He was 97. Bond was born in Scranton, New Jersey, on November 23, 1908. He started his career in the mid–1930s as a non-fiction writer for several periodicals. He was noted for his 1937 short-story “Mr. Mergenthwirker’s Lobblies,” which was originally published in the mainstream magazine Scribner’s. Bond subsequently adapted the story for a play and a radio serial. He continued to write for both pulps and slick magazines, authoring the short-stories “The Man Who Walked Through Glass,” “The Voice from the Curious Cube,” “Take My Drum to England...,” and “The Unusual Romance of Ferdinand Pratt,” about a typewriter that falls in love with the author who pounds its keys. He also wrote the 1949 novel Exiles of Time, and a series of science fiction tales about a bumbling young spaceman, Lancelot Biggs, which were collected in the 1950 volume Lancelot Biggs, Spaceman. Bond also wrote for radio in the 1940s, scripting for such series as Hot Coffee, The Sheriff, and Dr. Christian. He also wrote episodes of such television series as Tales of Tomorrow, Lux Video Theatre, Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers, Kraft Television Theatre, and Boris Karloff ’s Thriller. Bond also scripted the Studio One tele-play The Night America Trembled, about Orson Welles’ famous radio broadcast of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. Many of his works were later collected into volumes by Arkham House including Nightmares and Daydreams (1968), The Far Side of Nowhere (2002), and Other Worlds Than Ours (2005).
Nelson S. Bond
40 BOORAEM, HANK Radio director Hendrik “Hank” Booraem died of cancer in Hendersonville, North Carolina, on June 9, 2006. He was 95. Booraem was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on March 26, 1911. He began his career as an actor, appearing on Broadway in productions of Reunion in Vienna and The Valley Forge. He wrote the 1935 Broadway play The Sky’s the Limit and was a stage manager for other productions. He soon began directing for radio, helming such series as The March of Time, The Burns and Allen Show, and The Screen Guild Theater. He served as chief of Operations of the Armed Forces Network during World War II. After the war he was instrumental in selling Bing Crosby’s recorded radio show to the ABC network. He was a leading executive at several radio stations from the 1950s until his retirement.
Hank Booraem
BOOS, FRANK Frank Boos, an appraiser on the PBS television series Antiques Roadshow noted for his trademark bow-ties, died of complications from vascular disease at his home in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, on May 9, 2006. He was 70. Boos was born on June 15, 1935. He was an auctioneer and appraiser for many years, and was an original member of the Antiques Roadshow cast. He specialized in silver antiques, and appraised thousands of items when the show toured cities throughout the United States.
Frank Boos
41 BOROWCZYK, WALERIAN Polish film director Walerian Borowczyk died of heart failure on February 3, 2006. He was 82. Borowczyk was born in Kwilicz, Poland, on September 2, 1923. He was trained as a painter an lithographer and began his film career as an animator. He created such films as Autumn (1955), Love Requited (1957), Once Upon a Time (1957), School (1958), Dom (1958), The Astronauts (1959), The Concert of Mr. and Mrs. Kabal (1962), Renaissance (1963), Holy Smoke (1963), Grandmother’s Encyclopaedia (1963), The Games of Angels (1964), Joachim’s Dictionary (1965), Rosalie (1966), and Mr. and Mrs. Kabal’s Theatre (1967). He began writing and directing live action films in the late 1960s. His works, often controversial and sexually themed, included the films Goto, Island of Love (1968), Blanche (1971), Immoral Tales (1974), Story of Sin (1975), The Beast (1975) an erotic version of Beauty and the Beast, Emmanuelle ’77 (1976), Within a Cloister (1977), Immoral Women (1979), Lulu (1980), Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne (1981), The Art of Love (1983), Emmanuelle 5 (1987), and Queen of the Night (1988).
2006 • Obituaries BOSKOVICH, JOHN S. Film director and writer John S. Boskovich was found dead at his home in Los Angeles on September 24, 2006. He was 49. Boskovich was born on December 8, 1956, and was raised in California’s San Fernando Valley. A conceptual artist, he worked with actress Sandra Bernhard on her off–Broadway one-woman show Without You I’m Nothing. He also co-wrote and directed the subsequent film version in 1990. Boskovich also scripted additional dialogue for the 1992 film Inside Monkey Zetterland, and appeared in the 1995 film Ding Dong. BOUGHN, PETE Character actor Pete Boughn died in Glenwood, Iowa, on July 22, 2006, after suffering several strokes. He was 79. Boughn was born in Walthill, Nebraska, on August 13, 1926. He began acting late in life after retiring as assistant to the chancellor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He performed on stage with the Lincoln Community Playhouse. Boughn became well known in the Midwest as the television spokesman for Woodhouse Auto Family for two decades. He also appeared in several films including The Indian Runner (1991) and The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004), and the tele-films Amerika (1987), Home at Last (1988), and O Pioneers! (1992).
Walerian Borowczyk
BORSTEN, ORIN Writer and publicist Orin Borsten died in Studio City, California, on November 18, 2006. He was 94. Borsten was born in Livonia, Georgia, on February 19, 1912. He began his career on stage as child in Atlanta, Georgia. He later moved to New York where he appeared on Broadway in The American Way. He went to Hollywood in 1944 where he worked as a publicist for such stars as Mario Lanza, Hattie McDaniel and Dorothy Dandridge. During the 1950s Borsten worked for Hollywood columnist Erskine Johnson and scripted episodes of such television series as The U.S. Steel Hour, The Naked City and The Eleventh Hour. He also wrote the 1961 film Angel Baby, starring George Hamilton, and scripted the “Corpus Earthing” episode of the cult sci-fi classic series The Outer Limits. Borsten worked for Universal Pictures Publicity Department from 1965 to 1976 where he handled campaigns for such films as Topaz and The War Wagon. He also wrote Universal’s in-house syndicated column, Hollywood Spotlight, where he interviewed many of the stars and directors working with the studio.
Pete Boughn
BOVA, JOSEPH Stage and film actor Joseph Bova died at the Actors’ Fund Retirement Home in Englewood, New Jersey, on March 12, 2006. He was 81. Bova was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 25, 1924. He began his career working in television in Cleveland in the late 1940s as program director for WNBK. He was chosen to host the new station’s local children’s show as banjo playing Uncle Joe. He left Cleveland for New York in the mid–1950s, where performed on stage in such productions as Stalag 17 and Best Foot Forward. Bova made his film debut in the 1961 drama The Young Doctors. He was also seen as Prince Dauntless on Broadway in 1959, and in the 1964 television production of Once Upon a Mattress with Carol Burnett, and was Kook in 1966’s Good Old Days. Bova also appeared in the films Up the Sandbox (1972) with Barbra Streisand, Serpico (1973), and the science fiction thriller Who? (1973) as the robotic Dr. Lucas Martino. He was also seen in episodes of Happy Days, Starsky and Hutch, Kojak, and
Obituaries • 2006
42
Tales from the Darkside. Bova was featured in the telefilms Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye (1977) and Back to Hannibal: The Return of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (1990), and the 1987 feature Morgan Stewart’s Coming Home. Bova earned a Tony Award nomination for his performance in the 1970 Broadway production of The Chinese and Dr. Fish. He also starred as Bert Berry in the Broadway revival of the musical 42nd Street during much of the 1980s.
Peter Boyle
Joseph Bova
BOWTELL, ALLISTER Sculptor Allister Bowtell died of cancer in England on September 20, 2006. He was 66. Bowtell was born in Sheen, Surrey, England on June 2, 1940. He studied at the Chelsea Art School in the early 1960s and often worked in film and television as a designer. His television work included creating the original Cybermen for Doctor Who and designing comic Rod Hull’s emu. He also created props for Monty Python and The Goodies and made Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum for Jonathan Miller’s production of Alice. He also served as production designer for Vivian Stanshall’s 1980 film Sir Henry at Rawlinson’s End.
Allister Bowtell
BOYLE, PETER Actor Peter Boyle, who was best known for his long-running role as patriarch Frank Barone in the television sit-com Everybody Loves Raymond, died of complications from multiple myeloma and
heart disease in a New York City hospital on December 12, 2006. He was 71. Boyle was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 18, 1935. He was educated at Roman Catholic schools and spent three years as a Christian Brothers monk before leaving the monastery to study acting. He went to New York, where he worked at various menial jobs while studying under Uta Hagen. After five years he gained a role in a road company version of The Odd Couple. He left the show in Chicago to work with the Second City improvisational comedy troupe before returning to New York in the early 1960s. He earned roles in several plays and television commercials and made his film debut in a small role in The Group in 1966. He was also featured in the films The Virgin President (1968), Medium Cool (1969), The Monitors (1969), and Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970). Boyle first attracted critical acclaim for his role in the hit film Joe (1970), starring as angry and violent bigot Joe Curran. He was next seen in the 1971 feature T.R. Baskin before starring as Robert Redford’s politically savvy campaign manager in 1972’s The Candidate. Boyle’s film career continued with the features Ghost in the Noonday Sun (1973), Steelyard Blues (1973), Slither (1973), The Friends of Eddie Coyle 1973), Kid Blue (1973), the tele-film The Man Who Could Talk to Kids (1973), and Crazy Joe (1974) as a violent Mafioso. He seen in his most iconic role as the Frankenstein Monster in Mel Brooks’ 1974 comedy Young Frankenstein, forever remembered for tapdancing with his creator, Gene Wilder, to the tune of “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” He also starred as Robert DeNiro’s mentor, Wizard, in Martin Scorcese’s Taxi Driver in 1976. He was the pirate captain Durant in the adventure comedy Swashbuckler (1976) with Robert Shaw and Genevieve Bujold, and starred as Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1977 television production of Tail Gunner Joe, earning his first Emmy nomination. He also starred in the labor drama F.I.S.T (1978), the crime thriller The Brink’s Job (1978), and the watery sequel Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979). Boyle was featured as seedy private eye Andy Mast in the 1979 look at the porn industry Hardcore, with George C. Scott, and was Fatso Judson in the 1979 television mini-series version of From Here to Eternity. His career continued in the 1980s, with roles in the Hunter S. Thompson–inspired Where the Buffalo Roam (1980) as Carl Lazlo, Esquire, the evangel-
43
2006 • Obituaries 2005. Boyle’s other television credits included guest roles in such series as Cagney & Lacey, Midnight Caller, Tribeca, Flying Blind, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman in the recurring role of Bill Church, Single Guy in the recurring role of Walter, Cosby, and the animated series Tripping the Rift. Boyle had several serious health problems over the past decade. A stroke in 1990 left him unable to talk for six months, and he suffered a heart attack on the set of Everyone Loves Raymond in 1999, but recovered quickly and returned to the series. Boyle’s survivors include his wife, Loraine Alterman, whom he first met on the set of Young Frankenstein when she was a journalist for Rolling Stone, and their two daughters.
Peter Boyle (as “Young Frankenstein”)
ical comedy In God We Tru$t (1980), the science fiction western Outland (1981) with Sean Connery, the mystery Hammett (1982), and the pirate comedy Yellowbeard (1983). He also appeared in the films Turk 182! (1985), Surrender (1967), Walker (1987), The In Crowd (1988), Red Heat (1988), The Dream Team (1989), and Speed Zone! (1989) as Police Chief Edsel. He starred in the title role in the short-lived television series Joe Bash in 1986, and was peace activist David Dellinger in the 1987 telefilm Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8 (1987). He also appeared in the tele-films Echoes in the Darkness (1987), Disaster at Silo 7 (1988), Guts and Glory: The Rise and Fall of Oliver North (1989) as Admiral John Poindexter, 27 Wagons Full of Cotton (1990), Challenger (1990), Poochinski (1990), and The Tragedy of Flight 103: The Inside Story (1990). He starred as Arnold Teague in the science fiction disaster film Solar Crisis in 1990, and appeared in the films Men of Respect (1991), Kickboxer 2: The Road Back (1991), Nervous Ticks (1992), Death and the Compass (1992), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Malcolm X (1992), The Shadow (1994) as Moe Shrevnitz, Killer (1994), The Santa Clause (1994) with Tim Allen, Exquisite Tenderness (1995), Born to Be Wild (1995), While You Were Sleeping (1995) with Sandra Bullock, Final Vendetta (1996), Milk & Money (1996), That Darn Cat (1997), the science fiction thriller Species II (1998), Doctor Dolittle (1998) with Eddie Murphy, Monster’s Ball (2001) as Buck Grotowski, The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002) with Eddie Murphy, Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004) as Old Man Wickles, and The Santa Clause 2 (2002) and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006) as Father Time. He also appeared in the tele-films In the Line of Duty: Street War (1992), Taking the Heat (1993), Royce (1994), In the Lake of the Woods (1996), A Deadly Vision (1997), and Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story (2002). He starred as Stanislas Kelly in the short-lived drama series Philly Heat in 1994, and appeared in the recurring role of Dan Breen in several episodes of NYPD Blue in 1994 and 1995. Boyle earned an Emmy Award for his role of trouble psychic Clyde Bruckman in the 1995 episode of The X Files titled “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose.” He earned several more Emmy nominations for his role of the curmudgeonly patriarch in the comedy series Everybody Loves Raymond, starring comic Ray Romano, from 1996 to
BOZIC, ZELJKO Serbian stuntman Zeljko Bozic died in Belgrade, Serbia, on June 7, 2006, of injuries he received performing a stunt promoting the Koloseum International Stunt Festival on April 27, 2006, when he drove a car off a bridge into a river from a fifty foot height. He was 31. Bozic was born in Belgrade, then part of Yugoslavia, on September 29, 1974. He trained in martial arts from the age of three and made his debut on stage in Marka Hrabrost in 1992. Bozic began working in films two years later, serving as a stunt coordinator and appearing in small roles in numerous Yugoslav and Russian features. His film credits include Treca Sreca (1995), Gypsy Magic (1997), Welcome to Sarajevo (1997), The Peacemaker (1997), Kupi mi Eliota (1998), The Theft of St. Peter’s Treasure (2000), Absolute Hundred (2001), Boomerang (2001), Labyrinth (2002), 1 na 1 (2002), Drzava Mrtvih (2002), The Cordon (2002), The Professional (2003), The Red Colored Grey Truck (2004), Kontakt (2005), Bal-Cam-Can (2005), South by Southeast (2005), All the Invisible Children (2005), Made in YU (2005), Poroka (2005), Nafaka (2006), The Border Post (2006), Sinovci (2006), Fade to Black (2006), and Promise Me (2007).
Zeljko Bozic
BRACH, GERARD French screenwriter Gerard Brach died after a long illness on September 9, 2006. He was 79. Brach was born in Montrouge, France, on July 23, 1927. He began writing for films in the early 1960s, and was best known for his collaborations with the directors Roman Polanski and Jean-Jacques Annaud. Brach’s writing credits include the films Do You Like
Obituaries • 2006 Women? (1964), The Beautiful Swindlers (1964), Polanski’s Repulsion (1965), Cul-de-Sac (1966), and The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967), The Old Man and the Boy, The Girl Across the Way (1968), Wonderwall (1968), and Secret World (1969). Brach wrote and directed several films in the early 1970s including The House (1970) and The Boat on the Grass (1971). He continued to write such features as Polanski’s What? (1972) and The Tenant (1976), Focal Point (1977), Bye Bye Monkey (1978), Tess (1979), I Sent a Letter to My Lover (1980), My Heart Is Upside Down (1980), Quest for Fire (1981), Identification of a Woman (1982), A Stone in the Mouth (1983), The African (1983), My Best Friend’s Girl (1983), Favorites of the Moon (1984), Good King Dagobert (1984), Maria’s Lovers (1984), Les Enrages (1985), A Suspended Life (1985), A Better Life (1985), Pirates (1986), Jean de Florette (1986), Annaud’s film version of The Name of the Rose (1986), Manon of the Spring (1986), Shy People (1987), Ou que tu Sois (1987), Sacrifice (1988), Frantic (1988), The Bear (1988), Domino (1988), The Lover (1992), The Amusements of Private Life (1992), Bitter Moon (1992), Un jour Comme un Autre (1993), Anna Oz (1996), Dario Argento’s The Phantom of the Opera (1998), La Nuit de Noces (2001), The War in Paris (2002), The Idol (2002), Pornography (2003), and Blueberry (aka Renegade) (2004). Brach was working with Annaud on his latest film Minor at the time of his death.
44 1992 to 1993. He was also the recipient of such prestigious awards as the Paul White Award from the Radio/Television News Directors Association, the Damon Runyon Award for career journalistic excellence, the Robert F. Kennedy Journalist Awards grand prize, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Black Journalists. Bradley made a cameo appearance in an episode of the sit-com Murphy Brown in 1993.
Ed Bradley
Gerard Brach
BRAGUINHA Brazilian composer Braguinha died of a generalized infection in a Rio de Janeiro hospital on December 24, 2006. He was 99. He was born Carlos Alberto Ferreira Braga in Rio de Janeiro on March 29, 1907. He began his career in the 1930s, becoming a noted composer of Carnival songs. Sometimes billed as Joao de Barro earlier in his career, Braguinha’s songs included the popular ditty “Yes, Nos Temos Bananas,” which became known in the United States as “Yes, We Have No Bananas.” He also wrote the songs “Twist no Carnaval,” “Chiquita Bacana,” “and “Touradoas em Madri” (“Bullfights in Madrid”). Braguinha also wrote and directed several films in the 1930s including Alo, Alo, Brasil (1935) and Anastacio (1939). He also wrote the films Estudantes (1935), Joao Ninguem (1937), Banana-da-Terra (1939), and Laranja-da-China (1940), His songs influenced the Bossa Nova and Tropicalista musical movements in the 1950s and 1960s.
BRADLEY, ED Veteran broadcast journalist Ed Bradley, who was a mainstay on the television news magazine 60 Minutes for 26 years, died of leukemia on November 9, 2006. He was 65. Bradley was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 22, 1941. He began working as a radio reporter in Philadelphia in 1963, and reported at the New York station WCBS from 1967 to 1971. He subsequently joined CBS News as a stringer at the Paris bureau. He was sent to the Saigon bureau the following year, and was transferred to Washington in 1974. He served as CBS News’ White House correspondent from 1976 to 1978, and was anchorman of the CBS Sunday Night News from 1976 to 1981. He was also a leading correspondent for CBS Reports from 1978 to 1981. Bradley then began his long career with 60 Minutes, earning 19 Emmy Awards during his tenure there. Bradley also hosted the CBS series Street Stories from
Braguinha
45 BRANKOV, SLAVKO Croatian actor Slavko Brankov died of lung cancer in Zagreb, Croatia, on August 8, 2006. He was 55. Brankov was born in Varazdin, Croatia, Yugoslavia, on May 19, 1951. Brankov was featured in the films Honor Bound (1988), Zagreb: Open City (1992), A Time for... (1993), Gospa (1995), Kap (1997), Lapitch the Little Shoemaker (1997), Transatlantic (1998), and Pusca Bistra (2005). He also appeared frequently on television in such productions as The Company (1991), Varalice (1999), Go, Yellow (2001), and Zabranjena Ljubav (2006) as Djuro Cvarkes.
2006 • Obituaries consultant on the 2000 film about his life, Men of Honor, directed by George Tillman, Jr., and starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., as Brashear and Robert De Niro as the man who trained him.
BRATTON, HEATHER Fashion model Heather Bratton was killed in a car crash on the New Jersey Turnpike en route to the Newark airport on July 22, 2006. She was 19. Bratton was born in Tampa, Florida, on June 25, 1987. She modeled for Prada, Gucci, Burberry, and Chanel, at shows in Milan and Paris during the 2006 season. She was also featured twice as the cover model for the Italian Vogue.
Slavko Brankov
BRASHEAR, CARL M.
Heather Bratton
Carl M. Brashear, the U.S. Navy’s first black diver who was portrayed by Cuba Gooding, Jr., in the 2000 film Men of Honor, died of respiratory and heart failure at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia, on July 25, 2006. He was 75. Brashear was born in Toneyville, Kentucky, on January 19, 1931. He joined the Navy in 1948 and, despite frequent battles with discrimination, graduated from the Navy’s diving program in 1954. Brashear lost part of his left leg in an accident while attempting to recover a hydrogen bomb that was lost in the waters off of Spain after the collision of two U.S. Air Force planes in 1966. He became the first Navy diver to be restored to active duty following an amputation. He became a master diver in 1970, and retired from the Navy in 1979. Brashear served as a
BRAUSEWETTER, RENATE German actress Renate Brausewetter, who was featured in silent films in the 1920s, died at a retirement home in Linz am Rhein, Germany, on August 20, 2006. She was 100. Brausewetter was born in Malaga, Spain, on October 1, 1905, and moved to Berlin in 1915. She made her film debut in the mid–1920s, appearing in such silent films as Sundenbabel (1925), Hanseaten (1925), Secrets of a Soul (1926), Adventures of a Ten Mark Note (1926), Der Kavalier vorn Wedding (1927), Die Lorelei (1927), The Old Fritz (1928), and Die Holle der Jungfrauen (1928). Brausewetter retired from films before the adventure of sound in the late 1920s. She briefly returned to the screen in 1950, appearing in Die Treppe.
Carl M. Brashear
Renate Brausewetter
Obituaries • 2006 BRAZIL, SCOTT Television producer and director Scott Brazil died of respiratory failure due to complications from Lou Gehrig’s disease and lyme disease in a Los Angeles hospital on April 17, 2006. He was 50. Brazil was born on May 12, 1955. He began working in television in the early 1980s, producing and directing episodes of the Emmy Award–winning drama series Hill Street Blues. Brazil also served as executive producer on such series as TV 101, WIOU, Space Rangers, Live Shot, Cracker, L.A. Doctors, and Gideon’s Crossing. He also produced the tele-films Lifepod (1993) and Like Mother Like Son: The Strange Story of Sante and Kenny Kimes (2001). Brazil directed episodes of numerous series including TV 101, Baywatch, Harts of the West, Live Shot, Strange Luck, The Commish, The Sentinel, The Burning Zone, Nash Bridges, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, L.A. Doctors, JAG, CSI: Miami, Playmakers, Nip/Tuck, LAX, and Grey’s Anatomy. Brazil had served as executive producer and frequent director for the popular FX Networks drama series The Shield since 2002. He had recently been involved in developing the series Kill Pit for Spike TV.
Scott Brazil
BREGONZI, ALEC British actor Alec Bregonzi died in England on June 4, 2006. He was 76. Bregonzi was born in London on April 21, 1930. He began his career on stage in the mid–1950s and soon became a famil-
46 iar face in the BBC series Hancock’s Half Hour later in the decade. Bregonzi also appeared in a handful of films during his career including Carry On Sergeant (1958), Ricochet (1963), Face of a Stranger (1964), Georgy Girl (1966), Cry Wolf (1968), School for Sex (1968), Cool It Carol! (1970), Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), and Queen of Hearts (1989). He was also seen in such television productions as The Days of Vengeance (1960), It’s a Square World (1960), Crossroads (1964) as Mr. Potter, Night Train to Surbiton (1965), The Recruiting Officer (1973), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1978), Edward and Mrs. Simpson (1978), The Barchester Chronicles (1982), and A Royal Scandal (1996). His other television credits include episodes of Steptoe and Son, Frankie Howerd, The Ugliest Girl in Town, The Famous Five, Keep It in the Family, Mapp and Lucia, Filthy Rich and Catflap, The Two Ronnies, Happiness, and Underworld.
BREWER, ROY Roy M.Brewer, an extreme anti-communist during the McCarthy era who headed the film industry’s stagehand union, died of complications from pneumonia in West Hills, California, on September 16, 2006. He was 97. Brewer was born in Cairo, Nebraska on August 9, 1909. He worked as a projectionist in Nebraska before becoming involved in the union. He rose through the ranks to become president of the Nebraska Federation of Labor in 1932. He came to Hollywood in the early 1940s to represent the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Motion Picture Machine Operators. Brewer’s arrival coincided with a bitter strike in the movie industry when set painters from the rival Conference of Studio Unions went on strike. Brewer claimed that communists were behind the strike that threatened to shut down Hollywood. A settlement was eventually reached but Brewer’s role as a foe of leftists in the entertainment industry was secured. In 1949 Brewer became co-chairman with Screen Actors Guild president Ronald Reagan of The American Federation of Labor Film Council which oversaw most of the movie industry’s unions. Brewer was able to make or break the careers of Hollywood’s elite with his influence on the blacklist. He remained an active union spokesperson and anti-communist gadfly throughout the remainder of his life.
Roy Brewer Alec Bregonzi
47 BRIDGEMAN, KEN British film art designer Ken Bridgeman died in Bath, Somerset, England, in January of 2006. He was 75. Bridgeman worked in films as a designer from the 1960s. He began working as a set dresser on such films as The Angry Silence (1960), Billy Liar (1963), The Beatles’ A Hard Days Night (1964), and the television series The Prisoner. He served as an art director or production designer for such films as Smashing Time (1967), Two Gentlemen Sharing (1969), A Nice Girl Like Me (1969), Straw Dogs (1971), Deadly Strangers (1974), Vampyres (1974), Symptoms (1974), Diagnosis: Murder (1975), The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones (1976), The Slipper and the Rose (1976), Pure As a Lily (1976), Love Trap (1977), and Ordeal by Innocence (1984). He also was designer for the television series Robin of Sherwood in the mid–1980s. BRIGHT, RICHARD Character actor Richard Bright, who was best known for his role as Corleone henchman Al Neri in The Godfather trilogy, died in Manhattan, New York, of injuries he received when he was struck by a tour bus on February 18, 2006. He was 68. Bright was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 28, 1937. He made his film debut in a small role in the 1959 feature Odds Against Tomorrow. Bright was seen in the films Lions Love (1969), The Panic in Needle Park (1971), and The Getaway (1972), before appearing in Francis Ford Coppola’s classic The Godfather in 1972. He was the mob killer who gunned down rival mob leader Barzini during the closing baptism scene. He continued to appear in films, often appearing in gangster roles. His credits include Sam Peckinpah’s Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974), The Godfather: Part II (1974) reprising his role as Neri killing weak-willed Fredo Corleone, played by John Cazale, in a memorable scene in the film, Rancho Deluxe (1975), Marathon Man (1977), Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Handle with Care (1977), On the Yard (1978), Hair (1979), The Idolmaker (1980), Vigilante (1983), Two of a Kind (1983), Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Girls Nite Out (1984), Cut and Run (1985), Crimewave (1985), Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986), The Verne Miller Story (1987), Time Out (1988), Red Heat (1988), Ghoul School (1990), The Ambulance (1990), The Godfather: Part III (1990) again as Al
Richard Bright
2006 • Obituaries Neri, Ballad of Tina Juarez (1992), Who Do I Gotta Kill? (1992), Who’s the Man? (1993), The Ref (1994), Pictures of Baby Jane Doe (1995), Blue Funk (1995), Jaded (1996), Beautiful Girls (1996), Sweet Nothing (1996), Night Falls on Manhattan (1997), The Hotel Manor Inn (1997), Anima (1998), O.K. Garage (1998), Joe the King (1999), Getting to Know You (1999), Dead Dog (2000), The Photographer (2000), Broke Even (2000), and Trigger Happy (2001). He also appeared in numerous tele-films including. A Death of Innocence (1971), The Connection (1973), The Gun (1974), Cops and Robin (1978), From Here to Eternity (1979), Sizzle (1981), Brass (1985), Penalty Phase (1986), There Must Be a Pony (1986), Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (1992), Calm at Sunset (1996), and Witness to the Mob (1998). Bright’s television credits also include episodes of Studio One, The Defenders, Future Cop, Skag, Hill Street Blues, Houston Knights, The Equalizer, Jake and the Fatman, Third Watch, Oz, 100 Centre Street, The Sopranos, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Jury, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
BRISCOE, DESMOND British sound engineer Desmond Briscoe, who managed the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop, an electronic music studio, died in England on December 7, 2006. He was 81. Briscoe was born in Birkenhead, England, on June 21, 1925. He began playing the drums as a teenager and was soon conducting his own group, Harry Desmond and His Band. He was briefly employed by the BBC as a junior program assistant before being called upon to serve in the Guards during World War II. He returned to the BBC in 1948, working as a sound technician and effects coordinator for radio dramas. He became interested in electronic music, which he utilized in the production of Samuel Beckett’s first radio play All That Fall in 1957. He also created the unearthly noises and music for the 1958 science fiction production of Quatermass and the Pit. He became the first manager of the Radiophonic Workshop, the BBC’s electronic music in 1960, a position he held until 1984. During his tenure he helped produce Delia Derbyshire’s theme for the Doctor Who series in 1963. Briscoe also created sound effects for the films Children of the Damned (1963), The Haunting (1963), The Ipcress File (1965), Phase IV (1974) and The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). BROCK, JEFFREY Actor Jeffrey Brock, who was also known as Jeff Alan Winkless, died of a malignant brain tumor in Evanston, Illinois, on June 26, 2006. He was 65. Brock was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1941. He was featured as Fleagle the Dog in the children’s series The Banana Splits Adventure Hour in the late 1960s. Brock was noted for his work as a voice actor, lending his talents to such imported anime series as Space Adventure Cobra, The Professional Golgo 13, The Wonderous Koala Blinky, Vampire Hunter D, Dirty Pair: Mystery of Norlandia, Neo-Tokyo, Crying Freeman, Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis, Dirty Pair, Silent Mobius, Zeram, 3x3 Eyes, Babel II: Perfect Collection, 8 Man After, Casshan: Robot Hunter, Crimson Wolf, Space Cobra, and DNA Sights 999.9. He was also the voice of the French Fries for many years in McDonald’s Happy Meal commercials.
Obituaries • 2006 Brock was also featured in the films Soylent Green (1973) as the clerk who escorts Edward G. Robinson to his suicide, Free Ride (1986), The Nest (1988), Saturday the 14th Strikes Back (1988), Spaced Invaders (1990) as the voice of Captain Bipto, Corporate Affairs (1990), Rage and Honor (1992), Look Who’s Talking Now (1993) as a voice actor, and Ladykiller (1996). He was also a composer, who co-wrote the Snap, Crackle and Pop commercial jingle with his father, and scored several films including Corporate Affairs (1990), Not of This Earth (1995), and Ladykiller (1996).
48 president of MCA Television in London in the early 1960s where he worked on such film and television productions as A Countess from Hong Kong (1964), The Jokers (1966), Isadora (1968), Richard Chamberlain’s Hamlet (1970), Mary Queen of Scots (1971), Don Quixote (1972), and the BBC television drama Colditz (1972). Brolly worked with Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice on the production of their musical Jesus Christ Superstar, which made its Broadway debut in 1971. He worked with Paul and Linda McCartney as managing director of MPL Communications from 1973 to 1978. He produced many of the albums of the McCartney’s musical group, Wings. He again worked with Lloyd Weber on the musicals Cats (1981), Starlight Express (1984), and Phantom of the Opera (1987). Brolly began the British commercial radio station Classic FM in 1992 and produced several musicals on Broadway and London’s West End in the 1990s and 2000s.
Jeffrey Brock (as Fleegle from the Banana Splits)
BROGLE, PETER Swiss actor Peter Brogle died in Zurich, Switzerland, on March 27, 2006. He was 72. Brogle was born in Basel, Switzerland, on June 22, 1933. He was a leading actor in the Swiss stage and screen from the 1950s. His film credits include Polizischt Wackerli (1955), Backerei Zurrer (1957), Jakobi and Meyeli (1962), Ground Floor to the Left (1963), Signs of Life (1968), and The Elixirs of the Devil (1976).
Brian Brolly
BROOKS, NORMAN Singer and actor Norman Brooks died in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on September 14, 2006. He was 78. Brooks was born in Montreal on August 19, 1928. He was best known his impressions of Al Jolson, appearing as him in the 1956 film The Best Things in Life Are Free. Brooks recorded several albums of Jolson’s songs. He was also seen in small roles in the films Meet Danny Wilson (1952), Ocean’s Eleven (1960), and The Block (1964).
Peter Brogle
BROLLY, BRIAN British entertainment executive Brian Brolly died of a heart attack in England, on October 28, 2006. He was 70. Brolly was born in London, on October 21, 1936. He became interested in show business at an early age and became a production assistant in television in the late 1950s. Brolly became vice
Norman Brooks
49 BROOKS, RAY Ray Brooks, one of the first black make-up artists in Hollywood, died in Orange, California, on November 20, 2006. He was 77. Brooks was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on August 14, 1929. He began working as a hair stylist and salon owner in Los Angeles after service in the United States Air Force during the Korean War. He began working in Hollywood as a make-up artist in the late 1960s. His film credits include the features Melinda (1972), Coffy (1973), and The River Niger (1976). He also served as make-up artist for the television series The Dukes of Hazzard from 1979 to 1983.
2006 • Obituaries Night Court, Hunter, Good Grief, Anything But Love, Step by Step, Martin, Living Single, Full House, The Wayans Bros., The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Friends, Dave’s World, Frasier, The Drew Carey Show, Smart Guy, The Jamie Foxx Show, ER, 18 Wheels of Justice, The Parkers, and My Wife and Kids.
BROWN, ANDRE ROSEY Burly character actor Andre Rosey Brown died in Los Angeles on July 18, 2006. He was 50. Brown was born in Rockford, Illinois, on February 7, 1956. He was featured in numerous films and television shows from the mid–1980s. His film credits include Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon (1985), Student Confidential (1987), Who’s That Girl? (1987), Off the Mark (1987), Throw Momma from the Train (1987), Caddyshack (1988), Judgment (1989), Warm Summer Rain (1989), Tango and Cash (1989), The Bronx War (1990), Taking Care of Business (1990), Carnal Crimes (1991), Night of the Warrior (1991), The Finishing Touch (1992), Bloodfist III: Forced to Fight (1992), In the Heat of Passion (1992), Mirror Images (1992), Class Act (1992), Naked Gun 33Ω: The Final Insult (1994), The Silence of the Hams (1994), The Demolitionist (1995), The Stranger (1995), Fist of the North Star (1995), Forget Paris (1995), One Good Turn (1996), Barb Wire (1996) as Big Fatso, Kingpin (1996), Pure Danger (1996), Space Jam (1996), Meet Wally Sparks (1997), Back in Business (1997), Money Talks (1997), Moonbase (1998), Pros & Cons (1999), Perfect Fit (1999), Catfish in Black Bean Sauce (1999), Devious Beings (2002), and Big Fat Liar (2002). Brown was also featured in the tele-films The Return of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer (1986), Peter Gunn (1989), Hi Honey — I’m Dead (1991), The Story Lady (1991), Amanda and the Alien (1995), If Looks Could Kill: The John Hawkins Story (1996), and American Tragedy (2000). He starred as Morgan Washington in the television series 413 Hope St. from 1997 to 1998. His other television credits include episodes of Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Designing Women, What’s Happening Now!, The Golden Girls,
BROWN, JAMES Singer James Brown, a consummate entertainer who earned such nicknames as the Godfather of Soul and the Hardest Working Man in Show Business, died of complications from pneumonia in an Atlanta, Georgia, hospital on December 25, 2006. He was 73. Brown was born in Barnwell, South Carolina, on May 3, 1933. Prone to juvenile delinquency while in his teens, he began singing with a gospel group while serving time in a youth detention facility in Georgia. He made his professional debut with Bobby Byrd’s Gospel Starlighters in the early 1950s. The group later became known as The Famous Flames and recorded their hit “Please Please Please” in 1955. Brown’s 1962 release “Night Train” solidified his reputation as a rising music star. The 1963 concert album Live at the Apollo, Vol. 1 was hailed by the critics as Brown’s stage persona and raucous dance style came to the forefront. Numerous hit recordings followed including “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” (1965), “I Got You” (1965), “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” (1966), “Cold Sweat” (1967), the black power anthem “Say It Loud — I’m Black and I’m Proud” (1968), “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine” (1970), “Make It Funky” (1971), “Papa Don’t Take No Mess” (1974), “The Payback” (1974), “Get Up Offa That Thing” (1976), “Living in America” which was the highlight of the 1985 film Rocky VI, and the rap collaboration “Static, Pts. 1 & 2” (1988). James Brown also performed often on film and television, making cameo appearances in such films as Ski Party (1965), The Phynx (1970), The Blues Brothers (1980) as Rev. Cleophus James, Doctor Detroit (1983), Rocky VI (1985), When We Were Kings (1996), Blues Brothers 2000 (1998), Holy Man (1998), The Tuxedo (2002), Undercover Brother (2002), and Glastonbury (2006). Brown also performed on television in episodes of The Ed Sullivan Show, The Hollywood Palace, Shindig!, Playboy After Dark, Soul Train, The Tonight Show, Amen, In Living Color and Saturday Night Live. He was a voice artist in the animated series The Simpsons and Duckman,
Andre Rosey Brown
James Brown
Obituaries • 2006 and made a rare dramatic appearance as Lou De Long in a 1987 episode of Miami Vice. He earned several Grammy Awards during his career, including one for lifetime achievement in 1992, and was one of the first inductees in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. Brown’s personal life was often chaotic, culminating with an arrest for aggravated assault and failure to stop for a police officer that resulted in a five year prison sentence in South Carolina, of which he served two years. Brown was also beset with numerous other legal difficulties, including drug and alcohol abuse and assaulting his third wife, Adrienne. She died of an apparent drug overdose in 1996. Brown had recently married back-up singer Tomi Raye Hynie, though the status of their union appeared in doubt following his death.
BROWN, PHIL Character actor Phil Brown died after a long illness on February 10, 2006. He was 89. Brown was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on April 30, 1916. He studied drama at Stanford University before heading to New York, where he performed on stage with the Group Theatre from 1938. He made his Broadway debut as a dancer in Everywhere I Roam. He then went to Hollywood in 1941 where he was a founder of the Actors’ Laboratory. Brown also played supporting roles in a number of films in the 1940s including I Wanted Wings (1941), H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), Hello, Annapolis (1942), Calling Dr. Gillespie (1942), Pierre of the Plains (1942), Weird Woman (1944), The Impatient Years (1944), The Jungle Captive (1945), Over 21 (1945), State Fair (1945), Without Reservations (1946), The Killers (1946), Johnny O’Clock (1947), If You Knew Suzie (1948), The Luck of the Irish (1948), Moonrise (1948), and Obsession (1949). Brown went to London in 1948, where he appeared with Helen Hayes in Sir John Gielgud’s production of Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie. He remained there for over a year, appearing in a production of Obsession, and working as an assistant to the director for the film Give Us This Day. Upon his return to the United States, he directed the 1951 film The Harlem Globetrotters starring Dorothy Dandridge. He soon became a victim of the Hollywood Blacklist when his association with liberal and humanitarian causes were investigated as pro–Communist by the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1952. Brown and his family re-
Phil Brown (as Uncle Owen from Star Wars)
50 located to Great Britain the following year, where he resumed his acting career. He was featured in such films as The Green Scarf (1954), A King in New York (1957), Print of Death (1958), The Camp on Blood Island (1958), John Paul Jones (1959), The Counterfeit Traitor (1972), The Bedford Incident (1965), The Boy Cried Murder (1966), Bomb at 10:10 (1967), Operation Cross Eagles (1968), Land Raiders (1969), The Adding Machine (1969), Togetherness (1970), Tropic of Cancer (1970), Valdez Is Coming (1971), Get Charlie Tully (1972), Scalaway (1973), The Romantic Englishwoman (1975), The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976), and Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977). Brown was best known to a younger generation for his role as Owen Lars, uncle to Luke Skywalker, in the original installment of George Lucas’s Star Was epic in 1977. Brown continued to appear in such films as Silver Bears (1978), Superman (1978), and Chaplin (1992). He was also seen in the tele-film Maneaters Are Loose! (1978), and the mini-series Oppenheimer (1980), Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles (1980), Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (1981) as Lord Beaverbrook, and Mario Puzo’s The Fortunate Pilgrim (1988). Brown was also seen on television in episodes of Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Presents, Colonel March of Scotland Yard which he also directed, The Vise, Sailor of Fortune, The Scarlet Pimpernel, White Hunter, Dial 999, Interpol Calling, The Four Just Men, The Troubleshooters, Journey to the Unknown, Bonanza, The Protectors, Tales of the Unexpected, and The Professionals. In his later years Brown was a popular guest at numerous Star Wars conventions, signing autographs and posing for pictures with his fans.
BROWN, RUTH Ruth Brown, a leading rhythm and blues singer in the 1950s, died of complications from a stroke and heart attack in a Las Vegas, Nevada, hospital on November 17, 2006. She was 78. Brown was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, on January 30, 1928. She was a leading singer in the 1950s, recording such hits as “Teardrops in My Eyes,” “5–10–15 Hours,” “(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean,” and “So Long.” She largely retired to raise a family in the 1960s, but made a comeback in the mid–1970s as a blues and jazz artist. Brown starred in the hit musical Staggerlee and was awarded a Tony for best actress for her work in the Broadway musical revue Black and Blue. She
Ruth Brown
51 earned a Grammy Award for best jazz vocal performance for the album Blues on Broadway in 1989. Brown was also noted for her role as Motormouth Maybelle, the fiesty disc jockey, in John Water’s cult film Hairspray (1988) with Divine and Ricki Lake. She was also featured in the films Under the Rainbow (1981) and True Identity (1991), and the tele-films Black and Blue (1993) and Shake, Rattle and Rock! (1994). Her other television credits include episodes of Hello, Larry, The Jeffersons, and American Playhouse.
BROWNE, ARTHUR, JR. Television writer Arthur Browne, Jr., died on January 3, 2006. He was 82. Browne was born on February 20, 1923. He worked in television from the 1950s, scripting episodes of numerous western series including The Rifleman, Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans, Fury, Wagon Train, Law of the Plainsman, The Rebel, The Virginian, The Big Valley, My Friend Flicka, and Gunsmoke. Browne also wrote episodes of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, Flight, The Incredible Hulk, and Planet of the Apes. Browne also wrote the 1967 feature film Clambake starring Elvis Presley.
2006 • Obituaries Quinns (1977). She was also featured in several feature films during her career including The World According to Garp (1982), The Money Pit (1986), Sister Act (1992) and Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993) as a nun in the choir, and 1995’s Sabrina.
Susan Browning
BRUCE, TOMMY British singer Tommy Bruce died in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, on July 10, 2006. He was 68. Bruce was born in London on July 16, 1937. He began singing professionally in the early 1960s, scoring a hit with his gravel-voiced rendition of the song “Ain’t Misbehavin’” in 1960. He became a popular pop singer, also making the charts with the songs “Broken Doll” and “Babette.” He was also a regular performer on the ITV television variety show Stars and Garters. Bruce also recorded a popular version of the blues song “Boom Boom” in 1965, and appeared in the 1966 film The Yellow Hat. He continued to record throughout the 1960s and remained a popular cabaret performer for the rest of his life. His biography, Have Gravel, Will Travel, was published shortly before his death. Arthur Browne, Jr.
BROWNING, SUSAN Stage and screen actress Susan Browning died after a brief illness on April 23, 2006. She was 65. Browning was born in Baldwin, New York, on February 25, 1941. She earned a Tony Award nomination in 1971 for her role as April, the stewardess, in the hit Broadway musical Company. She earned another Tony nomination for her role as Agnes in the musical Goodtime Charley. Browning’s other Broadway credits include Big River, Love and Kisses, Thieves, and Chapter Two. Browning also appeared frequently on television, starring as Nancy Garrison in the television soap opera Love Is a Many Splendored Thing from 1968 to 1969, and was Pat Gimble in the comedy series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman from 1976 to 1977. She was also featured as Sister Amelia in the soap opera One Life to Live From 1989 to 1990. Her other television credits include episodes of such series as Wild Wild West, The Iron Horse, Occasional Wife, Felony Squad, The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., The Monkees, and Law & Order. Browning was also seen in the tele-films First Ladies Diaries: Martha Washington (1975) as Martha Washington, and The
Tommy Bruce
BRUMBERGER, TOM Special makeup and effects artist Tom Brumberger died of complications from coronary bypass surgery on July 20, 2006. He was 58. He began his career in films in the early 1970s, working on such features as Thumbelina (1970), Jack and the
Obituaries • 2006 Beanstalk (1970), Seizure (1974), Death Promise (1977), Shalimar (1978), You Better Watch Out (1980), Don’t Go in the House (1980) in which he also appeared in a small role, Alone in the Dark (1982), Girls Nite Out (1984), Mo’ Better Blues (1990), The Cemetery Club (1993), Mother (1996), Milk & Money (1996), Never Too Late (1997), Jane Austen’s Mafia! (1998), A Murder of Crows (1999), and The Event (2003). Brumberger also worked on the telefilms Fire in the Dark (1991), Tales of the City (1993), In Search of Dr. Seuss (1994), A Match Made in Heaven (1997), and Ladies and the Champ (2001).
52 transferred from radio to television in 1967, where he began working on Doctor Who as a script editor. He soon became producer of the series, overseeing production of many the later Patrick Troughton episodes from 1967 to 1969. He also produced the 1969 television series Paul Temple. Bryant later worked as a talent agent for writers and actors.
Peter Bryant
Tom Brumberger
BRUMMER, ANDRE Composer and conductor Andre Brummer died of pneumonia in California on May 6, 2006. He was 89. Brummer was born on July 14, 1916. He often worked under the pseudonym of Henri Price, composing the score to numerous B-movies from the 1950s for such directors as Ray Dennis Steckler and Russ Meyer. His credits include Roger Corman’s early production Monster from the Ocean Floor (1954), Air Strike (1955), Love Slaves of the Amazon (1957), The Rawhide Trail (1958), Moonwolf (1959), The Jailbreakers (1960), Eegah! (1964), The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? (1964), The Thrill Killers (1964), Day of the Nightmare (1965), Mudhoney (1965), Rat Pfink a Boo Boo (1966), Sinthia, the Devil’s Doll (1968), Sapho, Darling (1968), Body Fever (1969), Godmonster of Indian Flats (1973), and The Hollywood Strangler Meets the Skid Row Slasher (1979). BRYANT, PETER British television producer Peter Bryant, who was best known for producing the cult science fiction series Doctor Who in the late 1960s, died in England on May 19, 2006. He was 82. Bryant was born in London on October 27, 1923. He began his career as an actor, appearing in the 1953 television production of Wuthering Heights. He also starred as Jack Grove in the 1954 soap opera The Grove Family, and the 1955 feature film based on the series It’s a Great Day. Bryant was also seen in the film Man of the Moment (1955), and starred as Detective Sergeant Williams in the 1958 series Leave It to Todhunter. He subsequently worked as a radio announcer and script editor, and he became head of the Drama Script Unit at BBC Radio. He
BULLOCK, HARVEY Film and television comedy writer and producer Harvey Bullock died in Laguna Beach, California, on April 24, 2006. He was 84. Bullock was born in Oxford, North Carolina, on June 4, 1921. He began his career as a writer in radio in the late 1940s, working on Abe Burrows’ series Breakfast with Burrows. He met fellow writer Ray Allen, who would be his writing partner throughout much of his career. Bullock worked on such programs as The Today Show, The Robert Q Lewis Show, and The Walter Winchell Show before relocating to Los Angeles in the late 1950s. He scripted an episode The Real McCoys and spent five years writing for The Andy Griffith Show. Bullock also wrote for the animated series The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Top Cat, and Where’s Huddles?, and scripted episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., I Spy, Hogan’s Heroes, Mr. Terrific, My World and Welcome to It, Love, American Style, The Chicago Teddy Bears, Alice, Monster Squad, Big John, Little John, and The Love Boat.
Harvey Bullock
53 He also wrote several feature films including Honeymoon Hotel (1964), Girl Happy (1965), the animated The Man Called Flintstone (1966), Who’s Minding the Mint? (1967), With Six You Get Eggroll (1968), and Don’t Drink the Water (1969). Bullock also wrote the tele-films Man in the Middle (1972), Cyrano (1974), and Samson and Delilah (1985), and scripted the Andy Griffith reunion tele-film Return to Mayberry (1986).
BUMSTEAD, HENRY Film production designer Henry Bumstead, who earned Academy Awards for his work on the films To Kill a Mockingbird and The Sting, died of prostate cancer in Pasadena, California, on May 24, 2006. He was 91. Bumstead was born in Ontario, California, on March 17, 1915. He began his career in films working as a apprentice draftsman at RKO in the late 1930s. He moved to Paramount in 1937 where he worked under Hans Dreier, the head of the art department at the studio. He was trained by Dreier’s assistant, Roland Anderson, working with him for nearly a decade before earning his first credit as an art director in the late 1940s. He continued to work in films for over fifty more years, earning credits as art director or production designer for such films as Saigon (1948), The Sainted Sisters (1948), Big Sister Blues (1948), My Own True Love (1949), Streets of Laredo (1949), Top of the Morning (1949), My Friend Irma (1949), Song of Surrender (1949), No Man of Her Own (1950), My Friend Irma Goes West (1950), The Furies (1950), The Goldbergs (1950), The Redhead and the Cowboy (1951), Rhubarb (1951), Dear Brat (1951), Submarine Command (1951), Sailor Beware (1952), Aaron Slick from Pumkin Crick (1952), Jumping Jacks (1952), Come Back, Little Sheba (1952), The Stars Are Singing (1953), Little Boy Lost (1953), Money from Home (1953), Knock on Wood (1954), The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1955), Run for Cover (1955), Lucy Gallant (1955), That Certain Feeling (1956), The Leather Saint (1956), Hollywood or Bust (1956), and The Vagabond King (1956). He first worked for director Alfred Hitchcock on 1956’s The Man Who Knew Too Much. He also worked with Hitchcock on 1958’s Vertigo, earning his first Academy Award nomination, Topaz (1969), and Hitchcock’s final film, Family Plot (1976). He also worked on the films I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958), The Trap (1959), The Hangman (1959), The Bellboy (1960), Cinderfella (1960),
2006 • Obituaries The Great Impostor (1961), Come September (1961), The Spiral Road (1962), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) which garnered him the Oscar for his recreation of rural Alabama in the 1930s, A Gathering of Eagles (1963), The Brass Bottle (1964), Bullet for a Badman (1964), Father Goose (1964), The War Lord (1965), Blindford (1965), Gunpoint (1966), Beau Geste (1966), Tobruk (1967), Banning (1967), The Secret War of Harry Frigg (1968), What’s So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968), A Man Called Gannon (1969), Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969), Raid on Rommel (1971), and One More Train to Ride (1971). Bumstead also served as art director for the western series The Rebel in 1959, and the tele-films The Movie Murderer (1970), McCloud: Who Killed Miss U.S.A? (1970), The Birdmen (1971), Adventures of Nick Carter (1972), The Victim (1972), Honky Tonk (1974), Don’t Push, I’ll Charge When I’m Ready (1977), Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill (1979). He served as production designer and appeared in the small role of Eliot Rosewater in the 1972 film adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s SlaughterhouseFive. He first worked with Clint Eastwood on John Sturges’ 1972 western Joe Kidd, and continued a thirtyplus year association with the actor-director with the Eastwood-helmed High Plains Drifter in 1973. He received his second Academy Award for his work on 1973’s The Sting. Bumstead also worked on such films as Showdown (1973), The Front Page (1974), The Great Waldo Pepper (1975), Slap Shot (1977), Rollercoaster (1977), Same Time, Next Year (1978), House Calls (1978), A Little Romance (1979), The Concorde: Airport ’79 (1979), Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), The World According to Garp (1982), Harry & Son (1984), The Little Drummer Girl (1984), Warning Sign (1985), Psycho III (1986), A Time of Destiny (1988), Funny Farm (1988), Her Alibi (1989), Ghost Dad (1990), Almost an Angel (1990), Cape Fear (1991), Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven (1992) which earned him another Oscar nomination, A Perfect World (1993), The Stars Fell on Henrietta (1995), Absolute Power (1997), Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), Home Alone 3 (1997), True Crime (1999), Space Cowboys (2000), Blood Work (2002), and Mystic River (2003). Bumstead was diagnosed with prostate cancer while working on Eastwood’s 2004 Oscar-winning drama Million Dollar Baby. Eastwood supplied him with a car, driver, and wheelchair to that he could continue to work on the film. He had recently completed work on Eastwood’s companion films, Flags of Our Fathers and Red Sun, Black Sand, at the time of his death.
BURGER, ANTHONY Gospel music pianist Anthony Burger collapsed and died of a heart attack while performing on a Gaither Homecoming cruise out of Miami, Florida, on February 22, 2006. He was 44. Burger was born in Cleveland, Tennessee, on June 5, 1961. He began playing the piano at an early age, and recorded versions of such religious songs as “Old-Time Religion” and “Hallelujah Chorus.” He had recently joined the Gaither Homecoming concerts as a guest artist, and appeared on their albums Gaither Homecoming Tour: Live from Toronto and Canadian Homecoming. (See photograph on page 54.) Henry Bumstead
Obituaries • 2006
54 Burnley continued to work at DC, where he was assisted by his sister Betty as letterer and brother Ray as background inker. Jack Burnley drew numerous covers for DC, and illustrated Superman’s adventures in Action Comics. He also pencilled the Batman and Superman syndicated strips. Burnley was co-creator of Starman, who made his debut in Adventure Comics #61 in April of 1941. He drew most of Starman’s tales in Adventure Comics and All-Star Comics. Burnley left DC in 1947 to work as a sports cartoonist for the Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph and, later, The San Francisco News. He retired in 1976, settling in Virginia.
Anthony Burger
BURKHOLZ, HERBERT Mystery novelist Herbert Burkholz died of lung cancer in a Hagerstown, Maryland, hospital on April 30, 2006. He was 73. Burkholz was born on December 9, 1932. He began writing in the 1960s, with his first novel, Sister Bear, being published in 1969. He teamed with famed literary hoaxer Clifford Irving to write the non-fiction Spy: The Story of Modern Espionage (1969), and the spy thrillers The Death Freak (1978) and The Sleeping Spy (1983). He also wrote articles for such publications as Playboy, The New Republic, and Town & Country. His other novels including The Snow Gods (1985), The Sensitives (1987), Strange Bedfellows (1988), and Brain Damage (1992). Burkholz’s nonfiction The FDA Follies (1994), an attack on the Food and Drug Administration during the Reagan Administration, led to his being hired FDA commissioner David Kessler as a speechwriter.
Jack Burnley
BURRELL, BOZ Raymond “Boz” Burrell, the bass player for the rock band Bad Company, died of a heart attack at his home in Spain on September 21, 2006. He was 60. Burrell was born in Holbeach, Lincolnshire, England, on January 1, 1946. He made his professional debut with the band Lombard and The Tea Time Four in the early 1960s. He headed his own band, Boz People, by 1964 and they cut several records backing singer Kenny Lynch. He joined the rock band King Crimson in 1970, but only made one album with the group, Islands, in 1971. Burrell joined with singer Paul Rodgers and guitarist Mick Ralphs to form Bad Company in 1973. Their debut album was a hit and the lead single, “Can’t Get Enough,” topped the charts. They recorded the album, Straight Shooter, in 1975, which included the hit singles “Feel Like Makin’ Love” and “Good Lovin’ Gone Bad.” Subsequent albums that included Run with the Pack (1976), Burnin’ Sky (1977), Desolation Angels (1979), and
Herbert Burkholz
BURNLEY, JACK Hardin “Jack” Burnley, who was leading artist for Superman in the Golden Age of comics in the 1940s, died of complications from a broken hip at the Heritage Hall nursing facility in Albemarle County, Virginia, on December 19, 2006. He was 95. Burnley began working for King Features Syndicate in 1929. He began creating single page sports illustrations for DC Comics in 1938 and soon drew the cover for 1940’s New York World’s Fair, which featured Superman, Batman and Robin together for the first time.
Boz Burrell
55 Rough Diamond (1982) were all less successful. Bad Company disbanded soon after but were briefly reunited, without Rodgers, in 1986. Burrell played with several other groups during the 1990s, and again reunited with the original line-up of Bad Company for a successful reunion tour in 1999.
BURSON, POLLY Western stuntwoman Polly Burson died in Oxnard, California, after a brief illness on April 4, 2006. She was 86. Burson was born in Ontario, Oregon, on December 24, 1919. She learned to ride horses at the age of 10 and was soon embarking on a career as a trick-rider at rodeos and Wild West shows. She made her way to Hollywood in 1945, where she worked as a stuntwoman in films and serials. Burson was stunt double for some of Hollywood’s leading actresses including Barbara Stanwyck, Sophia Loren, Shelley Winters, Yvonne de Carlo, and Anne Baxter. Her many screen credits include The Purple Monster Strikes (1945), The Crimson Ghost (1946), The Perils of Pauline (1947), Unconquered (1947), Calamity Jane and Sam Bass (1949), Winchester ’73 (1950), Fancy Pants (1950), The Redhead and the Cowboy (1951), Westward the Women (1951), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), Bend of the River (1952), Rose of Cimarron (1952), Rodeo (1952), The Story of Will Rogers (1952), Gunsmoke (1953), The Man from the Alamo (1953), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) as Julie Adams’ stunt double, Destry (1954), The Rains of Ranchipur (1955), Escape to Burma (1955), The Ten Commandments (1956), Night Passage (1957), The Kettles on Old MacDonald’s Farm (1957), Vertigo (1958), Some Like It Hot (1959), The Jayhawkers! (1959), Hell Bent for Leather (1960), Spartacus (1960), How the West Was Won (1962), McLintock! (1963), El Dorado (1966), and True Grit (1969). She also worked on The High Chaparral television series in the 1960s. Burson retired from stunt work after suffering a serious injury while working on the film Earthquake in 1974. She was inducted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 2002, and was also included in the Hollywood Stuntmen’s Hall of Fame and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. Burson was also a recipient of The Golden Boot Award for her work in westerns.
Polly Burson
BURTON, JULIAN
Actor Julian Burton died in Palm Springs, California, on March 27, 2006. He was
2006 • Obituaries 73. Burton was born in Detroit, Michigan, on June 4, 1932. He came to Los Angeles as a child and attended UCLA. He began his acting career in the 1950s, appearing on television in episodes of Science Fiction Theater and Dragnet, and the films The Young Lions (1958) and Man or Gun (1958). Burton was featured as beat poet Maxwell H. Brock in Roger Corman’s cult classic horrorcomedy A Bucket of Blood in 1959. He also appeared in the 1964 film Man in the Middle and Roger Corman’s adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death (1964) as Senor Veronese. Burton’s other television credits include episodes of Sea Hunt, The Aquanauts, Boris Karloff ’s Thriller, Tales of Wells Fargo, Two Faces West, Rawhide, Harry’s Girls, The Outer Limits, Get Smart, Mission: Impossible, Dragnet 1967, Mannix, Here Come the Brides, Marcus Welby, M.D., Adam-12, Quincy, Simon & Simon and Hill Street Blues. He also appeared in the tele-films It’s Good to Be Alive (1974), James Dean (1976), and Intimate Strangers (1977), and the 1990 feature Down the Drain.
Julian Burton
BUSHNELL, SCOTT Scott Bushnell, who worked often as a producer on films by Robert Altman, died of heart failure in Burbank, California, on July 13, 2006. She was 67. Bushnell was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on July 18, 1938. She began working with Altman in 1975 as casting director for California Split. She was costume designer and associate producer on Nashville (1975), and served as a producer on the films Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson (1976), Welcome to L.A. (1976), 3 Women (1977), Remember My Name (1978), A Wedding (1978), A Perfect Couple (1979), HealtH (1980), Popeye (1980), Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982), Streamers (1983), Secret Honor (1984), The Laundromat (1985), Fool for Love (1985), Beyond Therapy (1987), O.C. and Stigs (1987), Aria (1987), the 1988 cable television mini-series Tanner ’88, The Player (1992), Short Cuts (1993), Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994), Pret-aPorter (1994), and Kansas City (1996). She was the sister of actress Debralee Scott, who died in 2005. BUSSUNDA Brazilian comedian Claudio Besserman Vianna, who was known by his stage name Bussunda, died of a heart attack while in Munich, Germany,
Obituaries • 2006 covering the World Cup for Brazilian television on June 17, 2006. He was 43. Bussunda was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 25, 1962. He began writing comedy routines for the TV Pirata television series in the late 1980s. He was featured in several films during his career including How to Be Single in Rio (1998), Zoando na TV (1999), and Casseta & Planeta: A Taca do Mundo E Nossa (2003).
56 her head on the pavement. She was 58. Butler was born in Pasadena, California on June 22, 1947. She began writing in the 1970s and her first novel Kindred was published in 1979. Butler used the science fiction genre to examine social issues including race, religion and political. She wrote several novels in the Patternist series including Patternmaster (1976), Mind of My Mind (1977), and Wild Seed (1980). She earned the Hugo and Nebula awards for her 1984 short story Bloodchild and won another Nebula for best novel in 2000 for Parable of the Talents. Her most recent work was the 2005 vampire novel Fledgling.
Bussunda
BUTLER, DAVID British film and television writer David Butler died in England on May 27, 2006. He was 78. Butler was born in Larkhall, Lanarkshire, England, on November 12, 1927. He began his career as an actor, appearing on stage in the 1950s. He starred as Dr. Nick Williams in the ITV television serial Emergency —Ward 10 from 1960 to 1962. Butler also began writing for the series, and was soon scripting the children’s series Orlando and The Adventures of Black Beauty. He also wrote episodes of the police crime dramas Special Branch and Van Der Valk. Butler also continued to appear in episodes of Softly Softly, Sherlock Holmes, The Regiment, and Paul Temple, and was featured as Christopher Mont in the 1970 production of The Six Wives of Henry VIII. He was also seen in the films The Set-Up (1963) and Crucible of Horror (1970). Butler created the 1974 prison drama Within These Walls, also appearing as the chaplain, Rev. Henry Prentice, in several episodes. He began concentrating primarily on his writing career in the early 1970s, scripting the television productions The Strauss Family (1972), Helen: A Woman of Today (1973), Edward the King (1975), The Duchess of Duke Street (1976), Betzi (1978), Lillie (1978), Disraeli (1978), The Further Adventures of Oliver Twist (1980), Marco Polo (1982), Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy (1985) which earned him an Emmy Award, The Scarlet and the Black (1983), Blood Royal: William the Conqueror (1990), and Blood and Dust (1992). Butler earned an Academy Award nomination for his screenplay for the 1976 film Voyage of the Damned. He also wrote the 1979 film adaptation of Alistair MacLean’s thriller Bear Island. BUTLER, OCTAVIA E. Octavia E. Butler, the first black woman to achieve fame as a science fiction writer, died on February 24, 2006, outside her home in Seattle, Washington, after suffering a fall and striking
Octavia E. Butler
BUTTONS, RED Academy Award–winning comic character actor Red Buttons died of vascular disease at his home in Los Angeles on July 13, 2006. He was 87. Buttons was born Aaron Chwatt in New York City on February 15, 1919. He began performing on stage while in his teens and soon took the name Red Buttons because of the color of his hair and because he wore a bellhop uniform while singing. He began performing in the Catskills in 1935, where he became a comedian. He worked the burlesque circuit and was scheduled to appearing in a Broadway comedy called The Admiral Takes a Wife in 1941. The bombing of Pearl Harbor prevented the show from opening. Buttons joined the Army in 1943, serving in the entertainment unit during World
Red Buttons
57 War II. He appeared in the 1944 hit show and movie Winged Victory. After his discharge he resumed his career on stage and in nightclubs. He was also featured in a small role in the 1947 film 13 Rue Madeleine and starred on television in episodes of Suspense and Studio One. He was given his own thirty minute comedy variety series on CBS, The Red Buttons Show, in 1952. The series was initially quite popular, but declined in the ratings during its second and third seasons until being cancelled in 1955. Buttons returned to performing in nightclubs and making occasional television appearances. He was cast by director Joshua Logan in the role of Airman Joe Kelly, a U.S serviceman stationed in Japan after World War II who marries a Japanese woman, in the 1957 film Sayonara. Buttons earned an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role. He subsequently appeared in the films Imitation General (1958) and The Big Circus (1959), and was Hansel in a 1958 television production of Hansel and Gretel. He also appeared on television in episodes of Ford Startime, Playhouse 90, Death Valley Days, The U.S. Steel Hour, General Electric Theater, Frontier Circus, Saints and Sinners, The Jimmy Dean Show, The Eleventh Hour, The Greatest Show on Earth, Ben Casey, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, The Danny Thomas Hour, and Love, American Style. Buttons also continued to appear in such films as One, Two Three (1961), Hatari! (1962) with John Wayne, Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962), The Longest Day (1962), the animated Gay Purr-ee (1962) as the voice of Robespierre, A Ticklish Affair (1963), Your Cheatin’ Heart (1964), Up from the Beach (1965), Harlow (1965), Stagecoach (1966), and They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969). Buttons starred as Henry Wadsworth Phyfe in the short-lived comedy spy series The Secret Life of Henry Phyfe in 1966. He was also seen in the films Who Killed Mary What’s ’Er Name? (1971), The Poseidon Adventure (1972) as survivor James Martin, Gable and Lombard (1976), Viva Knievel! (1977), Pete’s Dragon (1977), Movie Movie (1978), C.H.O.M.P.S. (1979), When Time Ran Out... (1980), 18 Again (1988), The Ambulance (1990), It Could Happen to You (1994), The Story of Us (1999), and Odessa or Bust (2001). Buttons also appeared in numerous tele-films including George M! (1970), Breakout (1970), Alexander, Alexander (1973), The New Original Wonder Woman (1975), Louis Armstrong — Chicago Style (1976), Telethon (1977), The Users (1978), Power (1980), The Dream Merchants (1980), Leave ’Em Laughing (1981), Side Show (1981), Off Your Rocker (1982), Reunion at Fairborough (1985), and Alice in Wonderland (1985) as the White Rabbit. Buttons other television credits include episodes of Little House on the Prairie, Vegas$, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, 227, Knots Landing in the recurring role of Al Baker, It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, The Cosby Show, Roseanne, Cosby, Early Edition, Family Law, Philly, Street Time in the recurring role of Sam Kahan, and Presidio Med. His final performance was as Mr. Rubadoux in several episodes of the television medical drama ER from 1995 through 2005.
BYRON, BROOK Actress Brook Byron died in a Leland Township, Kentucky, hospital on May 29, 2006. He was 92. Byron was born Sara Delma Bynum in Weakley County, Tennessee, on July 31, 1913. She
2006 • Obituaries worked as a fashion model in New York and was featured in the Shirley Temple film Dimples in 1936. She was also featured in the Temple film The Bowery Princess. Her other film credits include Southward Ho Ho! (1949) and Auntie Mame (1958) with Rosalind Russell. Byron starred as Althea Dennis in the daytime soap opera The Brighter Day from 1954 to 1955, and guest starred in episodes of Kraft Television Theatre, M Squad, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, and The Untouchables. Byron also appeared on Broadway in productions of Someone Waiting (1956) and Speaking of Murder (1956).
Brook Byron
BYRON, JEAN Actress Jean Byron died in a Mobile, Alabama, hospital on February 3, 2006. She was 80. Byron was born Imogene Burkhart in Paducah, Kentucky, on December 10, 1925. She began her career at the age of 16 as an entertainer and singer on radio in Kentucky. She and her family moved to California during World War II where she performed on stage and radio. She signed a contract with Columbia Pictures and took the stage name of Jean Byron. She was briefly married to actor Michael Ansara in the 1950s. She starred with Johnny Weismuller in the 1952 jungle adventure film Voodoo Tiger, and was leading lady in the 1953 science fiction film The Magnetic Monster. Byron also appeared in the films Serpent of the Nile (1953), Jungle Moon Men (1955) again with Weismuller, There’s Always To-
Jean Byron
Obituaries • 2006 morrow (1956), Johnny Concho (1956), Invisible Invaders (1959), and Wall of Noise (1963). Byron was Kit Aldrich in the 1960 television series Full Circle, and starred as Dr. Imogene Burkhart in the television comedy series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis from 1960 to 1963. She was best known for her role as Natalie Lane, Patty Duke’s mother, on the sit-com The Patty Duke Show in the mid–1960s. She also appeared on Pat Paulsen’s Half a Comedy Hour in 1970. Her other television credits include episodes Schiltz Playhouse of Stars, The Millionaire, You Are There, Stage 7, The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Fury, Celebrity Playhouse, Studio 57, TV Reader’s Digest, My Friend Flicka, Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers, Soldiers of Fortune, Science Fiction Theater, The 20th Century–Fox Hour, Code 3, Jefferson Drum, Yancy Derringer, Lux Playhouse, State Trooper, 77 Sunset Strip, Bourbon Street Beat, Hawaiian Eye, Tightrope, Bus Stop, The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, Cheyenne, Laramie, Batman as the Mayor’s wife, Marcus Welby, M.D., McCloud, Mannix, Maude, S.W.A.T., and Hotel. She also appeared in the 1971 telefilm Columbo: Ransom for a Dead Man. Byron largely retired from acting in the mid–1970s. She returned to the screen in the 1999 reunion tele-film The Patty Duke Show: Still Rockin’ in Brooklyn Heights, reprising her role as Natalie Lane.
CAILLOU, ALAN Actor and screenwriter Alan Caillou died in Sedona, Arizona, on October 1, 2006. He was 91. Caillou was born Alan Lyle-Smythe in England on November 9, 1914. He served in the British army during World War II, and used the name Caillou as a wartime alias. He adopted the name for his later professional career. After the war he worked in Africa, serving as a police chief in Ethiopia and a district officer in Somalia. He was also the founder of a theatrical company in Tanganyika before leaving the continent to settle in Canada. He performed on stage, radio, and television there before moving to Hollywood in the late 1950s. Caillou was a popular character actor in numerous films and television productions. He was seen in such television series as One Step Beyond, Maverick, The Californians, Sugarfoot, Have Gun—Will Travel, Five Fingers, Swamp Fox, Bronco, Cheyenne, Hong Kong, Surfside 6, Adventures in Paradise, The Dick Powell Show, Ben
Alan Caillou
58 Casey, Boris Karloff ’s Thriller, The Beachcomber, Ensign O’Toole, Death Valley Days, The Third Man, Combat!, Kraft Suspense Theatre, The Man from U.N.C.L.E, Burke’s Law, Tarzan in the recurring role of Jason Flood, Jericho, The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., The Rat Patrol, The Name of the Game, the Hallmark Hall of Fame productions of Elizabeth the Queen and The File on Devlin, Daniel Boone, Bonanza, The High Chaparral, Mannix, McMillan and Wife, Caribe, How the West Was Won, and Magnum, P.I. He was also featured in such films as Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959), Seven Thieves (1960), The Fiercest Heart (1961), Pirates of Tortuga (1961), It Happened in Athens (1962), Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962), The List of Adrian Messenger (1963), Strange Bedfellows (1965), Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion (1965), The Rare Breed (1966), The Devil’s Brigade (1968), Hellfighters (1968), Nam’s Angels (aka The Losers) (1970), Open Window (1972), Woody Allen’s Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972), Dixie Dynamite (1976), Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977), Beyond Evil (1980), The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982), and The Ice Pirates (1983). He was also featured regularly in the short-lived science fiction comedy series Quark in 1978, playing the Head. Caillou’s other television credits include such tele-films as Sole Survivor (1970), The Challengers (1970), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1972) as Inspector Lestrade, The Questor Tapes (1974), Centennial (1978), and Gauguin the Savage (1980). Caillou also wrote numerous scripts for films and television, working on such series as White Hunter, Behind Closed Doors, Thriller, Flipper, The Rogues, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Rat Patrol, It Takes a Thief, and The Six Million Dollar Man. His novel was adapted for the 1963 film Rampage, and he scripted the films Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion (1965), Village of the Giants (1965), Nam’s Angels (1970), the 1970 tele-film The Aquarian, Evel Knievel (1971), Assault on Agathon (1975), and the 1977 cult classic Kingdom of the Spiders.
CALDWELL, SARAH Orchestra conductor Sarah Caldwell, who was the founding director of the Opera Company of Boston, died of heart failure in a Portland, Maine, hospital on March 23, 2006. She was 82. Caldwell was born in Maryville, Missouri, on March 6, 1924. She began studying the violin at an early age
Sarah Caldwell
59 and was playing concerts by the age of six. She studied at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and joined the faculty of the Tanglewood Music Institute in the late 1940s. She became an assistant to conductor Boris Goldovsky at the New England Conservatory, and began conducting at Boston University in the early 1950s. She founded her own company, originally called the Opera Group, in Boston in 1958. It became the Opera Company of Boston in 1965. Over the next 25 years the company staged numerous 20th century operas, including the American debuts of Prokofiev’s War and Peace, Roger Sessions’ Montezuma, Schoenberg’s Moses und Aron, and Rodio Shchedrin’s Dead Souls. The Opera Company also hosted the world premieres of Gunther Schuller’s Fisherman and His Wife and Robrert Di Domenica’s Balcony. Caldwell served as director and conductor for most of the productions. She also conducted a performance by the New York Philharmonic in 1974, and became the first woman to conduct the Metropolitan Opera for a production of La Traviata in 1976. The Opera Company finally folded in 1990 after a long period of financial difficulties.
CALVELLO, ANNE
Anne Calvello, the leading bad girl on the roller derby circuit in the 1950s and 1960s, died of cancer in a Burlingame, California, hospital on March 14, 2006. She was 76. Calvello was born on AUgust 1, 1929. Known for her dominant skating style and her frighteningly outrageous hairstyles, she took the sport by storm, competing for over five decades. She primarily starred with San Francisco’s Bay Bombers, but also played with the Jersey Jolters, the Hollywood Ravens and the Red Devils during her lengthy career. Cavello had recently appeared on the current reality series Rollergirls.
2006 • Obituaries was best known as the moderator of the Canadian version of the popular syndicated television show To Tell the Truth, which he continued to host through the late 1960s. He subsequently returned to Toronto, where he remained a broadcaster of station CKFM until his retirement in 1991.
Don Cameron
CAMPANELLA, FRANK Character actor Frank Campanella, whose imposing size led to roles as tough guys in numerous films and television programs, died at his home in San Fernando Valley, California, on December 30, 2006. He was 87. Campanella was born in New York City on March 12, 1919. He studied drama at Manhattan College and assisted the U.S. war effort as a civilian interpreter during World War II. He embarked on an acting career after the war with one of his first roles being that of Mook the Moon Man in an episode of the children’s science fiction series Captain Video and His Video Rangers. Campanella was also seen in episodes of Inside Detective, The Man Behind the Badge, Danger, Playwrights ’56, Studio One, The Kaiser Aluminum Hour, The United States Steel Hour, Suspicion, and Naked City. He was also featured as Artie Corelli in the soap opera From These Roots from 1959 to 1960. Campanella was also in numerous films during his career including Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956), Four Boys and a Gun (1957), Stage Struck (1958), Parrish (1961), A View from
Anne Calvello
CAMERON, DON Don Cameron, who served as host of the Canadian version of the television quiz show To Tell the Truth, died of liver cancer in an Oakville, Ontario, Canada, hospital on April 7, 2006. He was 82. Cameron was born in Montreal, Canada, on September 19, 1923. He began working as an announcer in Montreal in the 1940s, and hosted the radio programs Latin Quarter, Make Believe Ballroom, and Recipe for Music. He moved to New York in 1956, where he began his own company, Don Cameron Productions Ltd. He
Frank Campanella
Obituaries • 2006 the Bridge (1962), Who Killed Teddy Bear (1965), Seconds (1966), The Producers (1968), What’s So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968), Out of It (1969), The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight (1971), The Stone Killer (1973), Capone (1975) as Big Jim Colosimo, Chesty Anderson, USN (1976), High Anxiety (1977), Heaven Can Wait (1978), The North Avenue Irregulars (1979), Death Wish II (1982), You Doctors in Love (1982), The Flamingo Kid (1984), Free Ride (1986), Nothing in Common (1986), Overboard (1987), Beaches (1988), Blood Red (1989), Pretty Woman (1990), Dick Tracy (1990), Frankie and Johnny (1991), Exit to Eden (1994), Love Affair (1994), The Other Sister (1999), and Raising Helen (2004). He also appeared in such tele-films as The Movie Murderer (1970), Murdock’s Gang (1973), The Turning Point of Jim Malloy (1975), Matt Helm (1975), Corey: For the People (1977), Nero Wolfe (1979), Angel on My Shoulder (1980), and High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane (1980). His numerous television credits also include episodes of Car 54, Where Are You?, Sunday Showcase in a production of The Sacco-Vanzetti Story, The Edge of Night, The DuPont Show of the Week, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Route 66, The Defenders, Brenner, The Nurses, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Mission: Impossible, Wild Wild West, N.Y.P.D., Room 222, Mannix in the recurring role of Lt. Dave Angstrom, Love, American Style, The Good Guys, The Virginian, Adam-12, The Name of the Game, The Bold Ones: The Senator, Dan August, The Bold Ones: The Lawyers, The Bill Cosby Show, Nanny and the Professor, The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, Medical Center, Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, Bridget Loves Bernie, The Corner Bar, Toma, The F.B.I., Hec Ramsey, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, Good Times, Ironside, Amy Prentiss, Rhoda, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Movin’ On, Chico and the Man, Kojak, All in the Family, S.W.A.T., The Rockford Files, Gibbsville, Police Story, Maude, Lucan, Switch, Sword of Justice, David Cassidy — Man Undercover, Barnaby Jones, Salvage 1, Skag, The Love Boat, Bosom Buddies, Quincy, St. Elsewhere, Hardcastle and McCormick, The Fall Guy, and Hunter. His survivors include his younger brother, actor Joseph Campanella.
60 mouth, England, on June 22, 2006. He was 86. Campbell was born Oladipupo Adekoya in Lagos, Nigeria, on August 19, 1919. He immigrated to London in 1940 and formed the West African Rhythm Brothers, who entertained Londoners during World War II. With Campbell’s singing, backed by African rhythms and percussions, the group remained popular for several decades. Campbell recorded the album, Highlife Today, in 1968 before moving to Los Angeles where he joined Leon Russell’s band. He played on the album, One for the Road, with Russell and Willie Nelson. He continued to tour with Russell until his retirement in the mid–1980s. Campbell, who had lived in Nashville since 1982, returned to England several years before his death.
CAMPBELL, AUDREY Actress Audrey Campbell, who starred as Madame Olga in the cult exploitation Olga film trilogy in the 1960s, died after a long illness from kidney and respiratory problems in a New York City hospital on June 8, 2006. She was 76. Campbell was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on October 26, 1929. She began her career in Cincinnati as a model and local television performer. She moved to New York in the early 1960s where she was featured in numerous exploitation films. Her film credits include Lash of Lust (1962), One Naked Night (1963), 50,000 B.C. (Before Clothing ) (1963), 1000 Shapes of a Female (1963), Sin in the Suburbs (1964), The Sexperts (1965), and A Woman in Love (1970). Campbell starred as the sadistic Madame Olga in the classic films White Slaves of Chinatown (1964), Olga’s House of Shame (1964), and Olga’s Girls (1964). She was also seen in small roles in several daytime television soap operas including The Guiding Light, As the World Turns, Ryan’s Hope, and Dark Shadows.
CAMPBELL, AMBROSE Ambrose Campbell, the Nigerian born musician who was a popular star in England in the 1940s and 1950s, died at his home in Ply-
Audrey Campbell
Ambrose Campbell
CAMPBELL, BEBE MOORE Novelist Bebe Campbell died of brain cancer at her home in Los Angeles on November 27, 2006. She was 56. She was born Elizabeth Bebe Moore in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on February 18, 1950. She worked as a teacher and freelance journalist in the 1970s. He first book, a non-fiction published in 1986, was Successful Women, Angry Men: Backlash in the Two-Career Marriage. Her first novel, loosely based on the lynching of Emmett Till, Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine, was published in 1992. Campbell’s other nov-
61 els, reflecting the trails and tribulations of upwardly mobile black people, include Brothers and Sisters (1994), Singing in the Comeback Choir (1996), and What You Owe Me (2001). She also wrote two children’s books, Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry (2003) and Stompin’ at the Savoy (2006). Campbell was also a popular guest on television talk shows and was an active spokeswoman on mental-health issues after the publication of her final novel, 72 Hour Hold (2005). She appeared in a cameo role in an episode of the television comedy series Girlfriends in 2003.
2006 • Obituaries (1979), Compromiso (1983), El Infiel (1986), La Cunada (1987), Amandote (1988), The Strange Lady (1988), Stress (1990), Soy Gina (1992), and Dr. Amor (2003).
CANDAL, NORMA Puerto Rican actress Norma Candal died of complications from injuries she received in a fall at her home in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on February 5, 2006. She was 77. Candal was born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, on April 10, 1928. She attended college in the United States, where she studied theater. She returned to Puerto Rico in 1965, where she hosted the television program En Alas de la Imaginacion (On the Wings of Imagination). She also starred in the television shows Aqui con Norma (Here with Norma) and El Show del Mediodia (The Midday Show). She starred in the comic role of Petunia in the popular series La Criada Malcriada (The Misbehaving Maid). She left television for a period in the 1970s after undergoing heart surgery. She appeared in several films during her career including ...And God Created Them (1979), The Violins Came with the Americans (1987), and Air Bus (1995). Her final role was a Josefina in ...And God Created Them 2 in 2004.
Bebe Moore Campbell
CAMPOY, ANA MARIA Argentine actress Ana Maria Campoy died of pneumonia in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 8, 2006. She was 81. Campoy was born in Bogota, Colombia, on June 25, 1925, the daughter of actress Anita Tormo. She made her acting debut as a child and appeared in films from the late 1930s. Campoy’s film credits include Aurora de Esperanza (1937), La Madre Guapa (1941), A Sight of Light (1943), Adam’s Fault (1944), Twelve Honeymoons (1944), The Viceroy’s Will (1944), Espronceda (1945), Five Faces of Woman (1947), The Man and the Beast (1951), Cubitos de Hielo (1956), Conjugal Pleasures (1964), The Piranhas (1967), Juan que Reia (1976), Las Lobas (1986). Campoy also performed frequently on television, appearing in such series as Teleteatro de Suspenso (1951), Como te Quiero Ana (1953), Topaze (1960), Alta Comedia (1970), Chau, Amor Mio
CANEPA, MARIA Chilean actress Maria Canepa Pesce died in Santiago, Chile, after a long illness on October 27, 2006. She was 84. Canepa was born in Alessandria, Italy, on November 1, 1921. She began her career on stage in Chile in the early 1940s. She was
Ana Maria Campoy
Maria Canepa
Norma Candal
Obituaries • 2006 also a familiar face on television from the 1980s, appearing in such series as Bienvenido Hermano Andes (1982), Angel Malo (1986), Semidios (1988), Volver a Empezar (1991), Trampas y Caretas (1992), Jaque Mate (1993), Juegos de Fuego (1995), and Santiago City (1997). She also starred as Elisa de Abalos in the 2000 film Coronacion.
CAOS, SILVIA Mexican film and television actress Silvia Caos died of cancer in Mexico City on April 16, 2006. Caos appeared frequently on Mexican television from the 1950s, starring in such series as Mi Esposa se Divorcia (1959), Culpas Ajenas (1961), El Ruisenor (1969), Matrimonio y Sexo (1970), Mama Campanitas (1978), Por Amor (1982), Juana Iris (1985), Muchachita (1986), Cuando Ilega el Amor (1990), Maria Mercedes (1992), Maria la del Barrio (1995), Nunca te Olvidare (1999), Mujer Bonita (2001), La Intrusa (2001), and Vivan los Ninos! (2002). She was also featured in several film including Presagio (1975) and El Mexicano (1977).
62 at the age of five, wearing a bald wig that gave him his name, Carequinha, which means Baldy in Portuguese. He became the first clown to perform on Brazilian television in 1951, and was a popular performer in several films including Sai de Baixo (1956), Com Agua na Boca (1956), Sherlock de Arqaque (1957), Com Jeito Vai (1957), E de Chua (1958), and O Palhaco O Que E? (1960). He became known as the “clown of presidents,” giving command performances for such Brazilian leaders as Getulio Vargas and Juscelino Kubitschek. He also travelled throughout the world, performing in Europe and the United States. He continued to perform throughout his life, claiming in a 2003 interview that he wanted “to die in circus paint, working.” Carequinha was buried in his clown costume and makeup.
CAPUANO, SAM Actor Sam Capuano died in Florida on June 14, 2006. He was 89. Capuano was born on March 28, 1917. He appeared in the films Pay or Die (1960), Hoodlum Priest (1961), and The Cross and the Switchblade (1970) as Mr. Gomez. He was also featured on television in episodes of Men into Space, Wagon Train, Naked City, Route 66, and The Defenders. CARDONA, LOLA Spanish actress Lola Cardona died of cancer in Madrid, Spain, on January 31, 2006. She was 69. Cardona was born in Valencia, Spain, in 1936. She was a leading stage performer in Spain and was also featured in numerous films and television productions from the 1960s. Her film credits include La Venganza de Don Mendo (1961), Benigno, Hermano Mio (1963), Cousin Angelica (1974), Blindfolded Eyes (1978), El Sur (1983), Futuro Imperfecto (1985), Pedro Almodovar’s Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990), The Black Moon (1990), Gypsy (2000), and Vanentin (2002).
Carequinha
CARLETON, RICHARD Australian television journalist Richard Carleton collapsed and died during a news conference in Beaconsfield, Australia, where he was reporting on a story of two gold miners trapped in a mine cave-in, on May 7, 2006. He was 63. Carleton was born in Bowral, New South Wales, Australia, on February 24, 1943. He began his career as the host of the Australian television news program This Day Tonight in 1965. He also hosted the program State of the Nation, and was a correspondent for 2GB Radio in the mid– 1970s. He went to London in 1977 to work for the BBC’s
Lola Cardona
CAREQUINHA George Savalla Gomes, who had entertained Brazilians for decades as the circus clown Carequinha, died of heart disease in Sao Goncalo, a suburb of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on April 5, 2005. He was 90. Gomes was born to trapeze artist Elisa Savalla in the circus on July 18, 1915. He began performing as a clown
Richard Carleton
63 Tonight program, but returned to Australia two years later. He became a correspondent with 60 Minutes in 1987, where he covered such stories as the Gulf War, the Middle East conflict, and the war in Bosnia. Carleton had a history of heart problems and had undergone two bypass surgeries in recent years.
CARLILE, DAVID Actor David Carlile died on April 1, 2006. Carlile was a supporting actor in several films from the late 1950s including The Naked and the Dead (1958), Ma Barker’s Killer Brood (1960), Ocean’s Eleven (1960), Macho Callahan (1970), The Psychopath (1975), Skateboard (1978), and Buddy Buddy (1981). He also appeared in the tele-films Blood Feud (1983), Long Gone (1987), and I’m Dangerous Tonight (1990). Carlile was featured as Deputy Bookright in the television drama series The Long, Hot Summer in 1965 and 1966. His other television credits include episodes of The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, G.E. True, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Dragnet, Police Woman, The Incredible Hulk, Little House on the Prairie, Hill Street Blues, Hotel, Newhart, Night Court, Murphy Brown, and Murder One.
2006 • Obituaries 1967 Spider-Man cartoon series, including the villainous Green Goblin. He was also heard in such series as Rocket Robin Hood, The Undersea Adventures of Captain Nemo, The Raccoons, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, Popples, Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theater, Dinosaucers, ALF: The Animated Series, Police Academy, C.O.P.S., Beetlejuice, Captain N: The Game Master, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, Katts and Dog, Swamp Thing, Hammerman, X-Men, Space Strikers, The NeverEnding Story, Donkey Kong Country, Birdz, Pippi Longstocking, Medabots, Beyblade, Cyberchase, Rolie Polie Olie, Atomic Betty, and Totally Spies! He also provided voices for many video games.
CARNEY, OTIS Television writer Otis Carney died of cancer at his southeastern Arizona ranch on January 1, 2006. He was 83. Carney was born in Chicago, Illinois, on February 15, 1922. He served in the Marine Corps as a pilot during World War II and co-authored his first book, Love at First Flight, in 1943. After the war he worked in advertising and wrote articles for several newspapers. He scripted the 1955 film Cinerama Holiday, and wrote for numerous television series including Zane Grey Theater, Adventure Showcase, G.E. True, The Great Adventure, and The Monroes. He also wrote the political film Choice for Barry Goldwater’s presidential campaign in 1964. Carney also wrote numerous other books during his career including When the Bough Breaks (1957), Good Friday (1963), New Lease on Life (1970), and Chihuahua, 1916 (1980).
David Carlile
CARLSON, LEN Canadian voice actor Len Carlson died of heart attack on January 26, 2006. He performed voice work for numerous animated productions from the 1960s. He performed various voices for the Otis Carney
Len Carlson
CARR, PAUL Veteran actor Paul Carr died of cancer in Los Angeles on February 17, 2006. He was 72. Carr was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 1, 1934. After appearing in several local productions, Carr went to New York, where he trained at the American Theatre Wing. He appeared in various productions on Broadway and Off-Broadway, and was featured in episodes of such live television series as Star Tonight, Kraft Television Theatre, and Studio One. He made his film debut in a small role in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Wrong Man in 1956. He appeared in numerous films during his career including Jamboree (1957), The Young Don’t Cry (1957), Posse from Hell (1961), Captain Newman, M.D. (1963) with Gregory Peck, Brute Corps (1972), Ben
Obituaries • 2006 (1972), The Dirt Gang (1972), The Severed Arm (1973), Executive Action (1973), The Bat People (1974), Truck Stop Women (1974), Sisters of Death (1977), Raise the Titanic (1980), Under the Boardwalk (1989), Eat a Bowl of Tea (1989), Night Eyes (1990), Solar Crisis (1990), and Scorned (1994). He was also seen in the tele-films Trial Run (1969), Columbo: Ransom for a Dead Man (1971), A Man for Hanging (1973), Adventures of the Queen (1975), The Lives of Jenny Dolan (1975), Hanging by a Thread (1979), the 1980 mini-series Scruples, The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch (1982), and Father & Son: Dangerous Relations (1993). Carr starred as Bill Horton on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives from 1965 to 1966, and was Dr. Peter Taylor in the soap General Hospital in 1969. He was featured as Lt. Devlin in the science fiction series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century during its final season in 1981, and was Alex Hawkins in the drama series Generations in 1989. He was Ben Cronn in the 1991 series Dangerous Women. His numerous television credits also include roles in episodes of Have Gun —Will Travel, Peter Gunn, The Rifleman, Trackdown, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Zane Grey Theater, Law of the Plainsman, The DuPont Show with June Allyson, The Man from Blackhawk, Zane Grey Theater, One Step Beyond, Black Saddle, Lock Up, Wichita Town, Johnny Ringo, Men into Space, Bonanza, The Wrangler, Surfside 6, Rawhide, The Tall Man, The Asphalt Jungle, Cain’s Hundred, Gunsmoke, Outlaws, 77 Sunset Strip, General Electric Theater, Alcoa Premiere, Straightaway, Dr. Kildare, Checkmate, Sam Benedict, Laramie, Saints and Sinners, The Gallant Men, The Virginian, The Fugitive, Arrest and Trial, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, Perry Mason, Twelve O’Clock High, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea in the recurring role of Casey Clark, Convoy, A Man Called Shenandoah, Burke’s Law, Combat!, Star Trek as Lt. Kelso in the episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” The Time Tunnel, Felony Squad, The Green Hornet, The Invaders, Cimarron Strip, Ironside, Land of the Giants, Lancer, Adam-12, The Mod Squad, Mission: Impossible, Get Smart, Mannix, The Silent Force, The Young Rebels, Hawaii Five-O, The F.B.I., Alias Smith and Jones, O’Hara, U.S. Treasury, Love, American Style, Ghost Story, The Rookies, The New Perry Mason, Cannon, Police Story, The Six Million Dollar Man, Medical Center, Petrocelli, Insight, The Rockford Files, The Bionic Woman, The Streets of San Francisco, S.W.A.T.,
64 Ellery Queen, Logan’s Run, Rafferty, The Rockford Files, The Amazing Spider-Man, Time Express, The Incredible Hulk, Hagen, Quincy, Airwolf, Hardcastle and McCormick, Highway to Heaven, Murphy Brown, and Murder, She Wrote.
CARRAS, NICHOLAS Film composer and conductor Nicholas Carras died in Sherman Oaks, California, on November 23, 2006. He was 84. Carras was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on January 31, 1922. He worked on numerous low-budget films from the 1950s including The Female Jungle (1954), Jungle Hell (1956), She Demons (1958), Drag Strip Riot (1958), Hell’s Five Hours (1958), Missile to the Moon (1958), Frankenstein’s Daughter (1958), High School Caesar (1960) and Date Bait (1960) for which he also served as associate producer, Honeymoon of Terror (1961), Mr. Peter’s Pets (1962), The Astro-Zombies (1968), Girl in Gold Boots (1969), The Yin and the Yang of Mr. Go (1970), Do Not Throw Cushions into the Ring (1970), The Doll Squad (1974), 10 Violent Women (1982), and Omega Syndrome (1987). CARRELL, RUDI Dutch actor Rudi Carrell, who was a popular gameshow host on German television for nearly 40 years, died of lung cancer in Bremen, Germany, on July 7, 2006. He was 71. Carrell was born Rudolf Wijbrabd Kesselaar in Alkmaar, the Netherlands, on December 19, 1934. He began performing on Dutch television in the 1960s, starring in humorous variety series The Rudi Carrell Show. He hosted the popular game show Am Laufenden Band from the 1970s. Carrell also appeared in several films including When the Mad Aunts Are Coming (1970), Tante Trude Aus Buxtehude (1971), Die Tollen Tanten Schlagen Zu (1971), Rudi, Benimm Dich (1971), Hochwurden Druckt ein Auge Zu (1971), Crazy — Total Verruckt (1973), and Himmel, Scheich und Wolkenbruch (1979).
Rudi Carrell
Paul Carr
CARRIER, ROBERT Television chef and cookery writer Robert Carrier died in Provence, France, on June 27, 2006. He was 82. Carrier was born Robert Macmahon in Tarrytown, New York, on November 10, 1923. He first went to England during World War II to work with the O.S.S. He remained in Europe after the war working in such positions as a journalist and per-
65 former in musical theatre before becoming recipe writer for Harper’s Bazaar in London in 1953. He wrote the best-selling cookery book Great Dishes of the World in 1963. Carrier also became a successful restaurateur as well as continuing to write cooking books and cards. He also appeared frequently on television and hosted Carrier’s Kitchen from 1975.
2006 • Obituaries albums To the East, Blackwards (1990) and Xodus (1992). Carson was noted for issuing such proclamations on their recordings as “Vainglorious! This is protected by the red, the black and the green with a key, sissy!” Carson recorded his first solo album, Years of the 9: On the Blackhand Side in 1991, and his second, Puss ’n’ Boots (The Struggle Continues) was released in 1993. He was noted for such politically themed songs as “Close the Crackhouse” and “Shalom.”
Robert Carrier
CARRIERE, ANNE-MARIE French singer and actress Anne-Marie Carriere died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, on December 29, 2006. She was 81. Carriere was born in Paris on January 16, 1925. She was a popular cabaret performer in France in the 1960s. She was also featured in several films including Baratin (1956), Good King Dagobert (1963), My Wife’s Husband (1963), and Three Disordered Children (1966). Carriere starred as Emily Gairaith in the 1971 French television series Aubrac-City, and was featured in the 1971 mini-series Le Voyageur des Siecles. She also appeared in several episodes of Au Theatre ce Soir.
Lumumba Carson
CARTER, JANETTE Janette Carter, the last survivor of the legendary country music Carter Family, died of complications from Parkinson’s disease in a Kingsport, Tennessee, hospital on January 22, 2006. She was 82. Carter was the daughter of A.P. and Sarah Carter, who teamed with her father’s sister-in-law Maybelle Carter to form a singing trio in 1927. Janette and other second generation Carters performed with the group throughout the decades. Following A.P’s. death in 1960 Janette was instrumental in preserving the music of the Carter Family and folk and country music of the Appalachian region. She was a founder of the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia, giving interviews and performing concerts there for most of her life. She was the last survivor of her generation of Carters, which included Maybelle’s daughter, June Carter Cash, following the death of her brother in 2005.
Anne-Marie Carriere
CARSON, LUMUMBA Lumumba Carson, a hip hop performer who played with the black nationalist rap group X-Clan as Professor X, died in Brooklyn, New York, on March 17, 2006. He was 49. He was the son of the late black nationalist activist Sonny Carson. He performed with the X-Clan in the early 1990s on their
Janette Carter
Obituaries • 2006 CASE, BRAD Animation director Brad Case died on March 19, 2006. He was 93. Case was born on June 24, 1912. He began his career as an animator at Disney, where he worked on the 1942 film Bambi. He earned his first animator credit with the 1946 Donald Duck cartoon The Plastics Inventor. Case also worked on the Disney features Song of the South (1946) and Make Mine Music (1946). He began directing cartoons for television in the early 1960s, helming such animated series as The Dick Tracy Show, The Pink Panther and Friends, Bagg y Pants and the Nitwits, What’s New, Mr. Magoo?, The All New Pink Panther Show, and 1978’s The Fantastic Four. His other television credits as a storyboard artist or sequence director include The Yogi Bear Show, The Atom Ant Show, Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles, Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space, Goober and the Ghost-Chasers, Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Jem and the Holograms. He also worked as an animator on several films including Shinbone Alley (1971), Daffy Duck’s Movie: Fantastic Island (1983), and Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines (1985). CASS, RONALD British composer Ronald Cass died in London, England, on June 2, 2006. He was 83. Cass was born in Llanelli, South Wales, on April 21, 1923. He began working as a music director for revues in the early 1950s. He worked with Peter Myers and Alec Grahame to write the revues 10.15 and High Spirits. Cass also scored such musicals as For Amusement Only (1956), Harmony Close (1957), Enrico (1963), Jack and the Beanstalk (1968), Kingdom Coming (1972), and Deja Revue (1974). Cass also wrote several films including The Young Ones (1961), Summer Holiday (1963), French Dressing (1964), and Swingers’ Paradise (1964). He wrote the television productions Home A’Plenty (1968), This Is Tom Jones (1968), The Special London Bridge Special (1972), and Bootsie and Snudge (1974), and wrote songs for the films The Virgin and the Gypsy (1970). CASSINI, OLEG Oleg Cassini, who designed the apparel for First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in the early 1960s that made her a fashion icon, died on Long Island, New York, on March 17, 2005. He was 92. He was born in Oleg Cassini Loiewski in Sevastapol, Russia (now Ukraine), on April 11, 1913. His family fled Russia during the Revolution and eventually settled in Italy. Cassini’s mother worked as a dressmaker and he became interested in fashion. He came to the United States in 1936, and worked as a designer in New York before going to Hollywood in the early 1940s. He worked in films as a costume designer, often designing costumes for his wife, actress Gene Tierney, whom he married in 1941. Cassini worked on such films as The Shanghai Gesture (1941), Tales of Manhattan (1942), The Razor’s Edge (1946), Born to Speed (1947), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), That Wonderful Urge (1948), Whirlpool (1949), Night and the City (1950), Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) which also featured him in a cameo role, Close to My Heart (1951), The Mating Season (1951), and On the Riviera (1951). He and Tierney divorced in 1952, and he was briefly engaged to actress Grace Kelly in 1954 before her marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco. Cassini
66
Oleg Cassini (with Grace Kelly)
was a friend of the Kennedy family, and became the First Lady’s leading designer when newly elected President John F. Kennedy persuaded Jacqueline to create her fashions. Cassini’s designs, often consisting of simple geometric dresses and pillbox hats, helped make Jacqueline Kennedy the epitome of style in the early 1960s. Cassini estimated that he created over 300 outfits for the First Lady before President Kennedy’s assassination in November of 1963, styling her look for whatever circumstances were required. Cassini designed costumes for several other films in the 1960s including Rampage (1963), The Daydreamer (1966), SOS Conspiracion Bikini (1967), and The Ambushers (1967). He remained a leading fashion couturier, heading Oleg Cassini Inc. His memoirs, A Thousand Days of Magic: Dressing Jacqueline Kennedy for the White House, was published in 1995. His younger brother, society gossip columnist Igor Cassini, died in 2002.
CASTELLI, PHILIPPE French actor Philippe Castelli died in Paris on April 16, 2006. He was 79. Castelli was born in Charleville-Mezieres, France, on June 8, 1926. He was seen in over 100 films from the early 1960s including The Good Time Girls (1960), Wise Guys (1961), Who Stole the Body? (1962), Swords of Blood (1962), The Vanishing Corporal (1962), Carom Shots (1963), Bluebeard (1963), The Bread Peddler (1963), Monsieur Gangster (1963), The Ravishing Idiot (aka Agent
Philippe Castelli
67 38–24–36) (1964), Salad by the Roots (1964), Do You Like Women? (1964), Hard Boiled Ones (1964), A Mouse with the Men (1964), The Big Score (1964), Fantomas (1964), The Great Spy Chase (1964), Male Companion (1965), Yo Yo (1965), How to Keep the Red Lamp Burning (1965), Fantomas Strikes Back (1965), Galia (1966), Monkey Money (1966), Let’s Not Get Angry (1966), Your Money or Your Life (1966), The Night of the Generals (1967), The Big Wash (1968), Borsalino (1970), Promise at Dawn (1970), Take It Easy Its a Waltz (1971), Easy Down There! (1971), Quentin Durward (1971), The Black Flag Waves Over the Scow (1971), The Annuity (1972), Chut! (1972), Some Too Quiet Gentlemen (1973), Closed Shutters (1973), The Four Charlots Musketeers (1974), Loving in the Rain (1974), Icy Breasts (1974), Borsalino & Co. (1974), Young Casanova (1974), Sadsacks Go to War (1974), Check My Oil, Baby (1975), Cher Victor (1975), It’s Tough for Everybody (1975), From Hong Kong with Love (1975), Man in a Hurry (1977), Black-Out (1977), Death of a Corrupt Man (1977), One Two Two (1978), One Can Say It Without Getting Angry (1978), These Sorcerers Are Mad (1978), Vice Squad (1978), Judith Therpauve (1978), Practice Makes Perfect (1979), Cop or Hood (1979), Le Guignolo (1980), Signe Furax (1981), For a Cop’s Hide (1981), Rebelote (1983), Ice (1983), How Did You Get In? We Didn’t See You Leave (1984), Hold Me Back or I’ll Have an Accident (1984), Ave Maria (1984), Banana’s Boulevard (1986), and A Deux Minutes Pres (1989). Castelli also appeared frequently on French television.
CASTLEMAN, WILLIAM ALLEN Producer and director William Allen Castleman died on February 5, 2006. He was 83. Castleman was born on June 7, 1922. He began working in films in the 1960s, composing the scores for numerous exploitation films including The Devil’s Mistress (1966), She Freak (1967), The Lustful Turk (1968), Brand of Shame (1968), Space Thing (1968), Trader Hornee (1970) which he also produced, The Adult Version of Jekyll and Hide (1972), The Big Bird Cage (1972), The Wrestler (1974), and The Swinging Cheerleaders (1974). He also directed several exploitation films for producer David F. Friedman in the 1970s including The Erotic Adventures of Zorro (1972), Bummer! (1973), and Johnny Firecloud (1975). Castleman produced 1969’s Starlet!, and appeared in the film as himself. He later produced the 1977 adult film Seven Into Snowy under the name Allen Williams. CAULDWELL, BRENDAN Irish actor Brendan Cauldwell died in Dublin, Ireland, on January 12, 2006. He was 83. Cauldwell was born in Fairfiew, Dublin, Ireland, in 1922. He began performing on stage from an early age, and also acted on radio, television, and films. Cauldwell was seen in such films as The Quare Fellow (1962), Playboy of the Western World (1962), Ulysses (1967), Flight of the Doves (1971), Italian Graffiti (1973), A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1977), Fire and Sword (1982), The Fantasist (1986), Far and Away (1992), Faith (1993), War of the Buttons (1994), Moll Flanders (1996), Angela’s Ashes (1999), The Miser (2000), and The Halo Effect (2004). Cauldwell starred as Toucher Hennessy in the 1980 television series Strumpet City, and was Pascal Mulvey in the drama series Fair City from 1996
2006 • Obituaries
Brendan Cauldwell
until his death. He also appeared in television productions of The Investigation: Inside a Terrorist Bombing (1990), Draiocht (1996), and Miracle at Midnight (1998). His other television credits include episodes of The Irish R.M., Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog, and Stew.
CHAMPEAUX, ANDREE French actress Andree Champeaux died in France on November 12, 2006. She was 100. Champeaux was born in Lyon, France, on December 1, 1905. She began her film career in the early 1930s, appearing in Le Roi du Cirage (1931), Affaire Classee (1932), American Love (1932), Dora Nelson (1935), Les Epoux Celibataires (1935), La Dame de Vittel (1936), Bach Detective (1936), Grand-Pere (1939), Le Valet Maitre (1941), Sins of Youth (1941), and Mam’zelle Bonaparte (1942). Champeaux gave up her on-screen career to become a casting director, and was instrumental in developing the careers of such stars as Isabelle Huppert, Michel Duchaussoy, and Victor Lanoux. She returned to the screen as a character actress in films and television in the 1960s. She was seen in television productions of Oliver Twist (1962), Le Fantome de Canterville (1962), La Case de l’Oncle Tom (1963), La Soeur de Gribouille (1964), Belphegor (1965), Le Sans Famille (1965), A Hostage (1970), Mauprat (1972), Les Chemins de Fer (1972), Plein Soleil (1973), La Derniere Carte (1974), Madame Baptiste (1974), Le Pere Amable (1975), Le Gentleman des Antipodes (1976), Le Chandelier (1977), Histoires Estranges (1980), La Fortune des Rougon (1980), Les Enquetes du Commissaire Maigret (1978), Histoire Contemporaine (1981), Toutes Griffes Dehors (1982), Une Femme Jalouse (1984), L’Annee Terrible (1985), Marriage Blanc (1986), and L’Ami Maupassant (1986). Champeaux was also seen in the films Elise, or Real Life (1970) and The Bar at the Crossing (1972). Her final role was in the 1993 film The Screw. CHARBY, JACQUES French comedian Jacques Charby died in Paris on January 1, 2006. He was 76. He began performing on stage in Paris in the early 1950s. His career was interrupted by the Algerian War, with Charby becoming a active member of the Reseau Jeanson in support of the Algerian revolutionary FLN. He was imprisoned in 1960 and committed to a psychiatric asylum. Charby escaped and lived in exile in North Africa until returning to France under an amnesty in 1966. He
Obituaries • 2006
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appeared in numerous French television productions including The Rise of Louis XIV (1966), Que Ferait Donc Faber? (1969), Les Six Hommes en Question (1972), Le Drakkar (1973), Heloise et Abelard (1973), Mamma Rosa ou La Farce du Destin (1978), and L’Appartement (1984). He also appeared in several films including The Question (1977), Un Balcon en Foret (1979), and Nobody’s Women (1984)).
1966. He directed several more 16 mm films including the popular comedy Paw Plalai before heading to the United States to study filmmaking at UCLA. He returned to Thailand to continue his film career, directing such features as Khwam Rak (1973), Pho Kai Chee (1975), The Scar (1979), The Two Worlds (1990), The Tree of Life (1992), Southern Winds (1993), and Muen and Rid (1994). His final film, Behind the Painting, was released in 2001.
Jacques Charby
Cherd Songsri
CHATMAN, DELLE ALOIA Film and television writer Delle Aloia Chatman died of ovarian cancer in Chicago, Illinois, on November 7, 2006. She was 54. Chatman was born on November 19, 1951. She wrote a segment of the 1987 television production American Film Institute Comedy Special and the 1996 film Whiskey, Riddles, and Dandelion Wine. She also wrote the 1999 cable tele-film Free of Eden, and scripted and episode of The Young Riders.
CHERRY, ZACK Television director and writer Stanley Z. “Zack” Cherry died of cancer in Studio City, California, on September 27, 2006. He was 74. Cherry was born in Los Angeles on February 2, 1932. He served in the Army Signal Corps after graduating from the University of California at Los Angeles, where he oversaw production of numerous training films. He began working in television in the 1950s, directing episodes of such series as The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Burke’s Law, Petticoat Junction, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Harry’s Girls, Peyton Place, The Addams Family, Flipper, Gilligan’s Island, and Mona McCluskey. He also scripted an episode of the television series The Monkees, and wrote the films Bunny O’Hare (1971) and The Washington Affair (1977). Cherry also produced and directed the 1976 tele-film The Kids from C.A.P.E.R., scripted the tele-film Cowboy (1983), and wrote and produced the tele-films Illusions (1983) and Carpool (1983). He served as director of the Dobie Gillis reunion tele-film Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis in 1988.
Delle Aloia Chatman
CHERD SONGSRI Thai film director Cherd Songsri died of prostate cancer in a Bangkok, Thailand, hospital on May 19, 2006. He was 74. He was born in Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Thailand, in 1931. He worked as a teacher before becoming an editor in the film and television department of a newspaper and magazine in Thailand. He soon began writing scripts for radio and television, and directed his first film, Nora, in 16mm in
CHILLCOTT, DORIS Canadian actress Doris Chillcott Peyman died of leukemia in Vancouver, Canada, on November 19, 2006. She was 75. Chillcott was born in Vancouver on December 29, 1930. She performed on stage, screen, television and radio in a career that spanned over five decades. Chillcott was featured in the films The Wolfpen Principle (1974) and Cats & Dogs (2001), and the tele-films Stranger in My Bed (1986), Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry (1986), Heart of a Child (1994), Abducted: A Father’s Love (1996), Essence of Life (1999), and A Little Thing Called Murder (2006). Her other television credits include episodes of such shows as First Wave, Millennium, Viper, The Outer Limits, Cold Squad, Monk, DaVinci’s Inquest, Century City, The Dead Zone, and Alice, I Think. (See photograph, page 69.)
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2006 • Obituaries its include Magnus, Robot Fighter, Uncle Scrooge, Porky Pig, Quick Draw McGraw, Scooby Doo, Woody Woodpecker, Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, and Donald Duck.
Doris Chillcott
CHILVERS, PHIL British television director Phil Chilvers was found dead in his hotel room in Manchester, England, on September 22, 2006, after failing to show up to direct the British version of the popular television game show The Price Is Right. He was 58. Chilvers began directing for television in the 1980s, helming episodes of such series as Pop Quiz, Absolutely, Jools Holland’s Happening, Terry Wogan’s Friday Night, Your Best Shot, Night Fever, The National Lottery Big Ticket, Room 101, Win Beadle’s Money, Country Cool, Live at Johnny’s, HeadJam, and Never Mind the Buzzcocks. Chilvers also produced and directed the 1989 musical video Jerry Lee Lewis and Friends, and television productions of The Great Wall Concert (2005) and Manchester Passion (2006).
CHRISTIAN, MICHAEL German actor Michael Christian died of cancer in Berlin, Germany, on June 12, 2006. He was 59. Christian was born in Lubmin, Germany, on May 9, 1947, the son of actress Myriam Sello-Christian and writer Norbert Christian. He appeared frequently in films and television from the 1970s. Christian’s film credits include Between Day and Night (1975), Eine Pyramide fur Miche (1975), Solo Sunny (1980), Die Zaubergrate (1983), The Blue One (1994), and Spy Sorge (2003). He was also featured in television productions of Das Geheimnis des Odipus (1974), Die Rote Meile (1999), Der Mustervater—Allein unter Kindern (2004), and Tatort—Teufelskreis (2004). CHU LIN, SAM Sam Chu Lin, a leading Asian American journalist, died suddenly in a Burbank, California, hospital on March 5, 2006. He was 67. He began working in television and radio as a reporter in the 1960s. He joined CBS News in the 1970s, becoming one of the first Asian Americans to work for a major network. Lin was seen as a newscaster in the 1976 psycho thriller The Witch Who Came from the Sea, and appeared in small roles on television in episodes of Adam: 12 and Marcus Welby, M.D. He had worked as a reporter for local station KTTV Fox 11 for the past decade.
Sam Chu Lin
Phil Chilvers
CHRISTENSEN, DON R. Animator and cartoonist Don R. Christensen died on October 18, 2006. He was 90. Christensen, who sometimes worked under the pseudonym Don Arr, worked as a sketch artist at Disney Studio from 1937 until 1941, drawing for such animated features as Pinocchio and Dumbo. He briefly worked as an animator at Warner Brothers as part of Bob Clampett’s animation unit in the early 1940s, where he wrote scripts for several Looney Tunes cartoon shorts. He subsequently became a writer and illustrator at Western Publishing, where he worked on numerous comic books published by Dell and Gold Key. His many comic cred-
CHUNG, DAVID Asian-American actor David Chung died in Topanga, Californias, on April 14, 2006. He was 59. Chung was born in Seoul, Korea, on September 6, 1946, and moved to Japan with his family as an infant. He relocated to the United States after high school, where he worked as a teacher for several years before going into films. He was featured in the films Repo Man (1984), Ninja III: The Domination (1984), Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985), Out of Bounds (1986), Criminal Act (1989), Samurai Salesman (1992), The Ballad of Little Joe (1993), Paradise Road (1997), Cold Night into Dawn (1997), Falling Like This (2000), and Rave (2000). Chung also appeared on television in episodes of 227, L.A. Law, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. (See photograph, page 70.)
Obituaries • 2006
70 World This Weekend from 1989. He became host of the lunchtime news program The World at One in 1994, until cancer resulted in the amputation of his left leg early in 2006. He returned to host The World at One in August and continued until his death. Clarke also authored the books Alistair Cooke: The Biography (1999), about the noted British broadcaster, and The Shadow of a Nation (2004), about politics in post-war England.
David Chung
CIEPIELEWSKA, ANNA Polish actress Anna Ciepielewska died in Poland on May 20, 2006. She was 70. Ciepielewska was born in Ostrog, Poland, on January 7, 1936. She appeared in numerous films from the 1950s including Three Women (1957), End of the Night (1957), Joan of the Angels (1961), Knife in the Water (196), The Passenger (1963), Three and the Forest (1963), New Year Eve Adventure (1963), Five (1954), Beata (1965), By the Truth (1965), Three Steps on Earth (1965), Maria and Napoleon (1966), Weekend with a Girl (1968), Shoot Paragon! (1970), The Moth (1980), The Haunted (1982), Upside Down (1983), The Last Ferry (1990), November (1992), Taranthriller (1993), and Spoona (1998). Ciepielewska also starred as Marta Lawinowa in the Polish television series Dom from 1980 until 1982, and from 1996 through 2000, and was Agnieszka Pasternik in the 1983 series Blisko, Coraz Blizxej. She was featured as Janina Kochanska in the series Klan from 1998.
Nick Clarke
COCCINELLE Transsexual entertainer Coccinelle died in Marseille, France, on October 9, 2006. She was 75. Coccinelle was born Jacques-Charles Dufresnoy in Paris on August 23, 1931, and became JaquelineCharlotte Dufresnoy after a sex change operation in Morocco in 1978. He had performed on the stage in Paris at Madame Arthur’s transvestite cabaret before his gender bending surgery that was the first of its kinds in France. Her new notoriety led to starring roles in stage acts throughout Europe and to roles several films including European Nights (1959), Beach Cassanova (1962), Mondo Inferno (1964) and Flash 11 (1967). Her stage career spanned several decades and she authored her biography Coccinelle par Coccinelle in 1987.
Anna Ciepielewska
CLARKE, NICK British newscaster Nick Clarke died of cancer in England on November 23, 2006. He was 58. Clarke was born in Godalming, Surrey, England, on June 9, 1948. He began his career in journalist with the Yorkshire Evening Post before joining the BBC in Manchester in 1973. He joined the BBC’s Money Programme in 1980, and was part of Newsnight from 1986. Clarke became the host of BBC Radio’s The
Coccinelle
COCKRUM, DAVE Comic artist Dave Cockrum, who was best known as the co-creator of the new X-Men including such characters as Storm, Night-
71 crawler, and Colossus, died of complications from diabetes on November 26, 2006. He was 63. Cockrum was born in Pembrokan, Oregon, on November 11, 1943. He began working in comics in the early 1970s as an artist on the Warren comic magazines Creepy and Eerie. He then was hired at DC, working as a background inker for Murphy Anderson. He soon began drawing Legion of Super-Heroes before going to Marvel, where he illustrated The Avengers, Iron Man, Daredevil, The Amazing SpiderMan, and Star Trek. He was co-creator of the new XMen with Len Wein in Giant Size X-Men #1, in 1975. He subsequently created The Futurians as a graphic novel at Marvel, with several other issues published by Lodestone. He also drew the covers for the Blackhawk revival at DC in 1982, and worked at Valiant, Defiant and Broadway comics.
Dave Cockrum
CODY Cody, the buffalo featured with Kevin Costner in the film Dances with Wolves, died of complications of kidney failure at his home on the Money Creek Buffalo Ranch near Houston, Minnesota, on January 26, 2006. He was 19. Cody was born near Cody, Wyoming, on July 4, 1987. He was owned by rancher Mike Fogel and became a popular attraction because of his great size and mellow personality. Cody appeared in Dances with Wolves as the charging buffalo shot by Costner before trampling an Indian boy. He was also seen in
Cody
2006 • Obituaries the film Radio Flyer and was a guest on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Cody was a guest at the U.S. Mint in Washington, D.C., in 2005 to commemorate the release of the new buffalo head nickel.
COELLO, VICENTE Spanish journalist screenwriter Vicente Coello died of a cerebral hemorrhage in a Madrid, Spain, hospital on December 27, 2006. He was 91. Coello was born in Valencia, Spain, on December 25, 1915. He wrote numerous films from the early 1940s including Valencia Antigua y Moderna (1943), Fallas en Valencia (1943), Trifles (1950), La Laguna Negra (1952), Recluta con Nino (1956), La Chica del Barrio (1956), Los Ladrones Somos Gente Honrada (1956), K.O. Miguel (1957), The War Starts in Cuba (1957), Crimen para Recien Casados (1960), Llama un tal Esteban (1960), Maribel and the Strange Family (1960), Fantasmas en la Casa (1961), Tres de la Cruz Roja (1961), El Secreto de Monica (1962), Accidente 703 (1962), Vuelve San Valentin (1962), Pacto de Silencio (1963), Operacio: Embajada (1963), Un Tiro por la Espalda (1964), Find That Girl (1965), Death Travels Too Much (1965), Historias de la Television (1965), The Family Plus One (1965), Una Senora Estupenda (1966), City Life Is Not for Me (1966), Nuevo en esta Plaza (1966), Operacion Plus Ultra (1966), Un Millon en la Basura (1967), The Naval Cadets (1967), El Turismo es un Gran Invento (1968), Old Man Made in Spain (1969), Las Leandras (1969), Tajamar (1970), Coqueluche (1970), Vente a Alemania, Pepe (1971), Death at the Deep End of the Swimming Pool (1971), El Padre de la Criatura (1972), No Firmes mas Letras, Cielo (1972), Manolo by Night (1973), El Calzonazos (1974), Watch Out, We’re Mad (1974), El Alegre Divorciado (1976), El Senor Esta Servido (1976), Estoy Hecho un Chaval (1977), La Tia de Carlos (1981), Todo es Posible en Granada (1982), and Loca por el Circo (1982). COHEN, BARBARA Casting director Barbara Cohen died of breast cancer in Los Angeles on May 27, 2006. She was 53. Cohen was born in Dallas, Texas, in 1953. She began working in films in the early 1980s, serving as a casting associate at Disney Studios from 1985 to 1988. She subsequently formed the Artz and Cohen Casting Agency with Mary Gail Artz. Her numerous film credits as casting director include Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken (1991), Straight Talk (1992), Captain Ron (1992), Hocus Pocus (1993), Needful Things (1993), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Little Big League (1994), Corrina, Corrina (1994), Beyond Rangoon (1995), The Baby-Sitter’s Club (1995), White Man’s Burden (1995), Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain (1995), Alaska (1996), Last Man Standing (1996), Almost Heroes (1998), The Mighty (1998), Simon Birch (1998), Rushmore (1998), Music from Another Room (1998), Love and Action in Chicago (1999), Snow Day (2000), Picking Up the Pieces (2000), The Replacements (2000), The Wedding Planner (2001), Town and Country (2001), Serendipity (2001), Frailty (2001), I Am Sam (2001), I Want to Remember (2002), Clockstoppers (2002), Tuck Everlasting (2002), Cradle 2 the Grave (2002), Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003), Sleepover (2004), House of Wax (2005), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), and The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005). She also worked on such television pro-
Obituaries • 2006 ductions as To the Moon, Alice (1990), Indecency (1992), Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman (1993), Dangerous Heart (1994), Letter to My Killer (1995), The Ripper (1997), and It Came from the Sky (1999), and the series The Big Easy.
COHEN, DEAN ROY Actor and writer Dean Roy Cohen died in Los Angeles of complications from Alzheimer’s disease on June 29, 2006. He was 66. Cohen was born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 2, 1939. He was a writer and film critic for such publications as Stars and Stripes, Los Angeles Free Press, and Playgirl. He was featured as a cop in the 1964 film The Cool World, and appeared on television in episodes of Cagney and Lacey, Knots Landing, and Hill Street Blues. COHEN, HAROLD D. Film producer and agent Harold D. Cohen died in Beverly Hills, California, on July 22, 2006. He was 80. Cohen was born in New York City on April 4, 1926. He produced several films including Hail, Hero! (1969) and I Walk the Line (1970) starring Gregory Peck and Tuesday Weld. He also produced the tele-films The Spy Killer (1969), Foreign Exchange (1970), Second Chance (1972), and Honor Thy Father (1973). Cohen was also involved in the production of such television series as The Johnny Cash Show, The Everly Brothers Show, and Jimmy Durante Presents the Lennon Sisters, and produced the Broadway production of Norman, Is That You? Cohen served as an agent and manager to such artists as Mel Brooks, Robert Blake, Rosanna Arquette, and Lynda Carter. COHN, HELEN BARBARA Helen Barbara Cohn, who assisted her husband, the flamboyant western costumer Nudie Cohn, died in a Valencia, California, hospital on April 7, 2006. She was 92. She was born Helen Kruger in Mankato, Minnesota, on July 29, 1913. She met and married Cohn and travelled with him to New York City, where they made costumes for burlesque shows. Nudie Cohn began designing outfits for western bands beginning with Tex Williams and his band in the late 1940s. He became a leading designer for country and western performers, creating flashy fashions in bright colors and trimmed with rhinestones and embroidery. He also tooled leatherwork accessories including belts, boots, and saddles from the family’s store, Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors Inc. His numerous clients included Hank Snow,
72 Porter Wagoner, Hank Williams Sr., Roy Rogers, Johnny Cash, and Buck Owens. Nudie also created Elvis Presley’s gold lame outfit in the 1950s, and created flamboyant costumes for such rockers as Gram Parsons, Elton John, and Keith Richards in the 1960s. Helen Cohn continued to operate the store after Nudie’s death in 1984, working with her daughter, Barbara, until she died of cancer in 1990, and granddaughter, Jaime, until closing the store in 1994.
COLARUSSO, CHARLES Television producer Charles Colarusso died of complications from a stroke on December 7, 2006. He was 72. Colarusso was born in Mount Vernon, New York, on December 7, 1934. He began his career as a graphics designer and worked in television as a logo designer. He was a long-time partner of writer and producer Art Baer, and was an associate producer for the television programs It’s Your Move, Fractured Phrases, and Picture This in the mid–1960s. He served as an associate producer for Dinah Shore’s talk show Dinah’s Place in the 1970s, and created the gameshows Dream House and Every Second Counts. He also produced syndicated talk shows for such stars as Jim Nabors, Chuck Woolery, and John Davidson. COLGAN, MICHAEL Actor turned film sound editor Michael Colgan died in Woodland Hills, California, on February 9, 2006. He was 95. Colgan was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on January 26, 1911. He began his career in Hollywood onscreen in the 1950s, appearing in the films The 49th Man (1953), Topeka (1953), Donovan’s Brain (1953) as Tom Donovan, Vigilante Terror (1953), and Battle Taxi (1955). He was also seen in several episodes of the juvenile television science fiction series Space Patrol. He began working as a sound editor in films and television in the 1960s. He served as sound editor for the series Mission: Impossible, and worked on such films as Macho Callahan (1970), Jeremiah Johnson (1972), The Getaway (1972), Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974), Hard Times (1975), Nickelodeon (1976), New York, New York (1977), Saturday Night Fever (1977), Comes a Horseman (1978), Time After Time (1979), Altered States (1980), and So Fine (1981). He subsequently retired to Ventura County, California.
Michael Colgan Helen Cohn (right, with singer Kay Starr)
73 COLICCHIO, MICHAEL Musician and composer Michael Colicchio died in a Westfall Township, Pennsylvania, senior care facility on December 15, 2006. He was 82. Colicchio composed music for several films in the 1960s and 1970s including The Confession (1964), Brown Eye, Evil Eye (1967), The Road Hustlers (1968), and Deep Throat Part II (1974). He also arranged music for the 1979 animated television production Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July. COLPI, HENRI French film director Henri Colpi died on January 14, 2006. He was 84. Colpi was born in Brig, Valais, Switzerland, on July 15, 1921. He worked as a film critic and journalist in the 1940s and 1950s. He began editing films in the 1950s, cutting Les Hommes de la Baleine (1956), Henri-George Clouzot’s documentary, The Mystery of Picasso (1956), La Premiere Nuit (1958), Alain Resnais’ Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959) and Last Year at Marienbad (1961), Singing During the Occupation (1976), Bilitis (1977), The Story of O Continued (1981), The Big Brother (1982), Le Fruite en Avant (1983), Le Sphinx (1986), The Sacrifice (1986), and Australia (1989). Colpi was also nominated for an Emmy Award for editing the 1977 television series The Cousteau Odyssey. He also wrote and directed several films including The Long Absence (1961), Codine (1962), Nameless Star (1965), Happy He Who Like Ulysses (1970), and The Mysterious Island of Captain Nemo (1973) starring Omar Sharif. Colpi also directed such television productions as Thibaud (1968), Fortune (1969), Noelle aux Quatre Vents (1970), Les Evasions Celebres (1972), Le Pelerinage (1975), and Bergeval, Father and Son (1977).
2006 • Obituaries ing in 1978. He also continued to sing at opera houses throughout Europe until his retirement in the late 1970s.
Anselmo Colzani
COMDEN, BETTY Leading Broadway lyricist Betty Comden died of heart failure on November 23, 2006, in Manhattan, New York. She was 89. Comden was born Elizabeth Cohen on May 3, 1917, in Brooklyn, New York. She began a career as an actress on stage with the Washington Square Players in the late 1930s. She met fellow aspiring performer Adolph Green with the group and began a partnership that would last for over half a century. She and Green formed a cabaret act with several other entertainers, including comedienne Judy Holliday called the Revuers. Comden and company briefly travelled to Hollywood with the group to appear in the 1944 movie Greenwich Village. Returning to New York, she and Green wrote the book and lyrics to the hit Broadway musical On The Town in 1944. They followed their success with the 1945 musical Billion Dollar Baby and returned to Hollywood in 1947 to script the June Allyson starrer Good News. They also wrote the 1949 film The Barkleys of Broadway, staring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and adapted On the Town for film in 1949. They scripted the hit Hollywood musical Singin’ in the Rain in 1952, and earned an Academy Award nomination for their screenplay for Vincente Minnelli’s The Band Wagon in 1953. She and Green also wrote the films
Henri Colpi
COLZANI, ANSELMO Italian operatic baritone Anselmo Colzani died after a long illness in a Milan, Italy, nursing home on March 19, 2006. He was 87. Colzani was born in Budrio, near Bologna, Italy, on March 28, 1918. He studied voice at the Bologna Conservatory after World War II, and made his operatic debut in the 1947 production of Lohengrin. He appeared in Cavalleria Rusticana at the prestigious La Scala Opera House in Milan in 1952. He made his U.S. debut in San Francisco in Il Trovatore in 1956, and first appeared with the Metropolitan Opera in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra in 1960. He performed with Met for sixteen seasons, end-
Betty Comden
Obituaries • 2006 It’s Always Fair Weather (1955) and Auntie Mame (1958). They wrote the Broadway musicals Two on the Aisle (1951), Wonderful Town (1953), and Bells Are Ringing (1956). The latter starred Judy Holliday in the theatrical version and the subsequent film, which was also scripted by Comden and Green in 1960. The duo also wrote song for the adaptation of Peter Pan which was produced on both stage and television several times in the 1950s and 1960s. Other Broadway works include Say, Darling (1958), Do Re Mi (1960), Subways Are for Sleeping (1961), Fade Out-Fade In (1964), and Hallelujah, Baby! (1967). They also scripted the 1964 comedy film What a Way to Go! They adapted the film All About Eve for the Broadway musical Applause, starring Lauren Bacall, in 1970. Their later works include Broadway productions of On the Century (1978), A Doll’s Life (1982), the revival of Singin’ in the Rain (1985), and The Will Rogers Follies (1991). Comden appeared on stage in a dramatic role in Wendy Wasserstein’s Isn’t It Romantic in 1983, and was featured in the cameo role of Greta Garbo in Sidney Lumet’s 1984 film Garbo Talks. She also made a brief appearance in the 1989 film Slaves of New York, and made a vocal cameo in an episode of Frazier. She and Green, whose memorable tunes included “The Party’s Over,” “New York, New York” and “Lonely Town,” were recipients of the 1991 Kennedy Center Honors. Their lengthy partnership ended with Green’s death in October of 2002. Comden made a moving appearance at his star-studded memorial celebration on Broadway several months later.
74 The Long Good Friday (1980), Superman II (1980), the television mini-series Wagner (1983), Sword of the Valiant (1984), The Holcroft Covenant (1985), Brazil (1985), Death Wish 3 (1985), Labyrinth (1986), Gentry (1987), Willow (1988), Hardware (1990), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Lethal Impact (1991), and In the Name of the Father (1993). He also worked on such television series as Out of the Unknown, Adam Adamant Lives!, Doctor Who, Space: 1999, Codename, Colditz, Arthur of the Britons, Jack of Diamonds, Strangers, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and Spender.
CONDREN, TIM British stuntman Tim Condren died in London, England, on July 19, 2006. Condren performed stunts and appeared in small roles in numerous film and television productions from the 1960s. His many film credits include the James Bond films Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), For Your Eyes Only (1981), and A View to a Kill (1985). His other films include Carry on Cowboy (1965), the Hammer horror film The Plague of the Zombies (1966), The Viking Queen (1967), Where Eagles Dare (1968), Alfred the Great (1969), Moon Zero Two (1969), George Lucas’ Star Wars (1977), the television productions of Treasure Island (1977), The Wild Geese (1978), Superman (1978),
CONTE, JOHN Actor turned television station owner John Conte died in a Rancho Mirage, California, hospital on September 4, 2006. He was 90. Conte was born in Palmer, Massachusetts, on September 15, 1915. He began his career in radio as a singer in the mid–1930s, and became an announcer on such programs as Screen Guild Theatre and Maxwell House Coffee Time. He also began performing in films in the 1930s, often as a radio announcer. His film credits include The Crowd Roars (1932), Campus Confessions (1938), Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939), Unmarried (1939), Indianapolis Speedway (1939), Each Dawn I Die (1939), Our Neighbors —The Carters (1939), Thousands Cheer (1943), Lost in a Harem (1944) with Abbott and Costello, and Nobody Lives Forever (1946). He also began performing in Broadway musicals following service in the military during World War II. Conte performed in Broadway productions of Allegro, Arms and the Girl, Windy City, Carousel, and The Pursuit of Happiness. He hosted the variety series Van Camp’s Little Show on television from 1950 to 1951, and The John Conte Show on radio from 1952 to 1953. Conte also hosted over 600 segments of the daytime anthology television series Matinee Theater from 1955 to 1958. His other television credits include episodes of The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre, Musical Comedy Time, Somerset Maugham TV Theatre, Studio One, Your Show of Shows, Danger, Tales of Tomorrow, Suspense, Woman with a Past, Star Tonight, Climax!, Target, The Best of the Post, The Untouchables, 77 Sunset Strip, Bonanza, and Perry Mason. Conte also performed in television productions of the musicals Naughty Marietta (1955), The Merry Widow (1955), and The Desert Song (1955), and hosted the musical series Mantovani in 1959. He was featured with
Tim Condren
John Conte
75 Frank Sinatra in Otto Preminger’s 1955 film The Man with the Golden Arm, and was also seen in the films Trauma (1962) and The Carpetbaggers (1964). Conte founded the local NBC television affiliate KMIR-TV in the Palm Springs–Rancho Mirage area in 1968. He ran the station until selling it in 1999.
CONTI, FRANK Actor Mario F. Conti, who performed on stage and film as Frank Conti, died on December 12, 2006. He was 82. Conti was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1924. He worked as a model and appeared in stage productions in New York. Conti also appeared on television in episodes of The Phil Silvers Show and Car 54, Where Are You?, and the soap operas All My Children and One Life to Live. He had small roles in the films West Side Story (1961), The Godfather (1972), A Bronx Tale (1993), The Best Movie Ever Made (1994), Without Warning (2001), and Turning the Corner (2004).
2006 • Obituaries nally only allowed to compete against other black competitors such as Dory Dixon and Willie Love. As desegregation took hold in the country, Conway able to wrestle against white grapplers including Don Leo Jonathan, Dick Steinborn, and Mad Dog Vachon. He retired from the ring in the 1970s after his son followed in his footsteps as Tiger Conway, Jr. The elder Conway became a successful businessman in the Texas area.
COOPERMAN, ALVIN Television executive Alvin Cooperman died of complication from the shingles in Manhattan, New York, on August 11, 2006. He was 83. Cooperman was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1923. He began working in theater as an office boy with the Shubert Organization at the age 16. He joined NBC as a production manager in 1951. During his decade long stay with the network he served as producer on such series as Shirley Temple’s Storybook, Producer’s Showcase, the short lived western series Tate, and the fourth session of the popular crime series The Untouchables. Cooperman returned to Shubert as their booker in 1963 and was instrumental in bringing numerous successful musicals and plays to the company’s 22 theaters. He returned to NBC as vice president of special programming in 1967, where he produced a version of the musical Damn Yankees! The following year, he became executive director of Madison Square Garden where he was instrumental in securing television coverage of Garden events. He returned to producing in the 1970s, with such television credits The Bolshoi Ballet: Romeo and Juliet (1976), The Fourth King (1977), Amahl and the Night Visitors (1978), A Tribute to Toscanini (1980), An Evening with Jerome Robbins (1980), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (1982), Pope John Paul II (1984), and Follow the River (1995).
CONWAY, TIGER, SR. Tiger Conway, Sr., a leading black wrestler in the 1950s and 1960s, died of complications from a stroke in a Houston, Texas, hospital on November 13, 2006. He was 74. He was born Plasse Dennis Bradford Conway in Shreveport, Louisiana, on August 4, 1932. He moved to Houston, Texas, in 1947 and began wrestling in the mid–1950s. Conway was billed as the Texas Negro champion. He was origi-
COPASS, JAKE William “Jake” Copass, who was a horse wrangler and bit actor in several films, died of complications from leukemia at his home in Santa Ynez, California, on June 8, 2006. He was 86. Copass was born in Dickens County, Texas, on April 18, 1920. He began training horses at an early age and served in the Army cavalry veterinary corps during World War II. After the war he moved to California and began working at the Alisal Guest Ranch as a wrangler in 1946. Known as a cowboy poet, Copass authored several books including the 1992 poetry collection It Don’t Hurt to
Tiger Conway, Sr.
Jake Copass
Frank Conti
Obituaries • 2006
76
Laugh and the 1997 memoir I’ll Be Satisfied. He was also seen in several films including the 1993 action feature Forced to Kill.
CORBETT, EDWARD Character actor Edward Corbett died on April 18, 2006. He was 71. Corbett was born on May 7, 1924. He was featured in small roles in such films as The Right Stuff (1983), Louis Malle’s Crackers (1984), Real Men (1987), Near Dark (1987), Party Line (1988), Fright Night Part 2 (1988), 976-EVIL (1989), The Runestone (1990), and John Carpenter’s Village of the Damned (1995). He was also featured in the tele-films Manhunt: Search for the Night Stalker (1989) and Fear (1990), and in episodes of Starman, Hunter, and L.A. Law. Pat Corney
Edward Corbett
CORLEY, PAT Character actor Pat Corley, who was best known for his role as Phil the bartender on the Murphy Brown television series, died of congestive heart failure in a Los Angeles hospital on September 11, 2006. He was 76. Corley was born in Dallas, Texas, on June 1, 1930. He began his career on stage, appearing in productions on and off Broadway. He was also a prolific film and television performer from the early 1970s, appearing in such features as The Super Cops (1974), Law and Disorder (1974), Audrey Rose (1977), The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (1977), Coming Home (1978), Nightwing (1979), The Onion Field (1979), The Rose (1979), The Black Marble (1980), The Last Word (1980), On the Nickel (1980), Loving Couples (1980), The Hand (1981), True Confessions (1991), Hanky Panky (1982), Night Shift (1982), Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), Against All Odds (1984), Mr. Destiny (1990), the animated feature All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (1996), Walking Across Egypt (1999), and Purgatory Flats (2002). Corley was also seen in the tele-films Roots (1977), Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn (1977), The Quinns (1977), The Night They Took Miss Beautiful (1977), A Death in Canaan (1978), And I Alone Survived (1978), The Best Place to Be (1979), Flesh & Blood (1979), The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan (1979), The Gift (1979), City in Fear (1980), Act of Love (1980), Mark, I Love You (1980), The Best Little Girl in the World (1981), Callie & Son (1981), Of Mice and Men (1981), The Executioner’s Song (1982), Starflight: The Plane That Couldn’t Land (1983), I Want to Live (1983), Calendar
Girl Murders (1984), Scorned and Swindled (1984), Robert Kennedy and His Times (1985), Stormin’ Home (1985), Stark (1985), Silent Witness (1985), A Year in the Life (1986), He’s the Mayor (1986), Stark: Mirror Image (1986), Fresno (1986), The Christmas Gift (1986), The Stepford Children (1987), Poker Alice (1987), In Defense of a Married Man (1990), Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas (1994), and When Time Expires (1997). He also starred as Ray Holtz in the 1983 television series Bay City Blues and was Chief Walter Padget in the 1986 comedy series He’s the Mayor. Corley also appeared in the recurring role of Chief Coroner Wally Nydorf in Hill Street Blues in the early 1980s. Corley also guest starred in such series as Get Christie Love, Kojak, The Blue Knight, Delvecchio, Starsky and Hutch, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Waltons, Barnaby Jones, Lou Grant, Mr. Merlin, Darkroom, Hart to Hart, Flamingo Road, McClain’s Law, House Calls, St. Elsewhere, The Fall Guy, Domestic Life, Hawaiian Heat, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Moonlighting, Hardcastle and McCormick, Murder, She Wrote, Magnum, P.I., Falcon Crest, L.A. Law, Simon & Simon, Mr. Belvedere, J.J. Starbuck, Night Court, Cagney & Lacey, and Coach. He was featured as Phil the bartender on the popular television sit-com Murphy Brown starring Candice Bergen from 1988 to 1996. Corley’s final film role was in Joey Lauren Adams’ 2006 drama Come Early Morning.
CORNFIELD, HUBERT Film director Hubert Cornfield died of heart failure in Los Angeles on June 18, 2006. He was 77. Cornfield was born in Istanbul, Turkey, on February 9, 1929, the son of 20th Century– Fox executive Albert Cornfield. He began working in films in the 1950s and directed his first feature, Sudden Danger, in 1955. He also directed the films Lure of the Swamp (1957), Plunder Road (1957), The 3rd Voice (1960), Pressure Point (1962) starring Bobby Darin, The Night of the Following Day (1968) starring Marlon Brando, and Short and Sweet (1975). Cornfield also directed the 1956 television production of Operation Cicero for The 20th Century–Fox Hour, and wrote and directed the television series Poker d’As in 1973. CORNTHWAITE, ROBERT Character actor Robert Cornthwaite died at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland
77 Hills, California, on July 20, 2006. He was 89. Cornthwaite was born in St. Helens, Oregon, on April 28, 1917. He began his career on stage in 1935, appearing in a production of Twelfth Night in Portland. He soon began working in radio in Southern California, until the early 1940s when he served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. After the war he resumed his working radio and was soon appearing as a character actor in films and on television. He was seen in such films as Union Station (1950), Gambling House (1951), Mark of the Renegade (1951), the science fiction classic The Thing (1951) as Dr. Carrington, His Kind of Woman (1951), Something to Live For (1952), Monkey Business (1952), George Pal’s The War of the Worlds (1953), Stranger on Horseback (1955), Mickey Spillane’s Kiss Me Deadly (1955), The Purple Mask (1955), On the Threshold of Space (1956), The Leather Saint (1956), The Spirit of St. Louis (1957), Hell on Devil Island (1957), Ten Seconds to Hell (1959), Day of the Outlaw (1959), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966), Ride to Hangman’s Tree (1967), Waterhole #3 (1967), The Forbin Project (1970), The Peace Killers (1971), Journey Through Rosebud (1972), Futureworld (1976), Doctor Detroit (1983), Deal of the Century (1983), Who’s That Girl? (1987), Time Trackers (1989), Frame Up (1991), and Matinee (1993). He was also seen in the tele-films Two on a Bench (1971), Killer by Night (1972), The Longest Night (1972), The Devil’s Daughter (1973), The Six Million Dollar Man (1973), Love’s Savage Fury (1979), The Day the Bubble Burst (1982), Dead Man’s Revenge (1994), and the 1995 science fiction White Dwarf as King Joist of the Dark Side. Cornthwaite starred in the western series The Adventures of Jim Bowie as John James Audubon from 1956 to 1958. He was featured as Howard Buss on the television drama series Picket Fences from 1992 to 1996. He also guest-starred in such series as You Are There, Cavalcade of America, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Four Star Playhouse, General Electric Theater, The Millionaire, Studio 57, Crusader, The Ford Television Theatre, Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre, On Trial, The Gale Storm Show, Broken Arrow, Wire Service, Zane Grey Theater, Perry Mason, Disneyland, Casey Jones, Gunsmoke, The Californians, Trackdown, Frontier Justice, Behind Closed Doors, Yancy Derringer, Men Into Space, Rawhide, Tales of Wells Fargo, The Rifleman, The Detectives Starring
Robert Cornthwaite
2006 • Obituaries Robert Taylor, COronado 9, Maverick, Hong Kong, The Untouchables, Lawman, Thriller, Wagon Train, General Electric Theater, Surfside 6, The Twilight Zone, Adventures in Paradise, Laramie, The Andy Griffith Show, 77 Sunset Strip, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, The Virginian, Destry, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Mr. Novak, Combat!, Dr. Kildare, The Fugitive, The Munsters, Burke’s Law, Get Smart in the recurring role of Professor Windish, Laredo, Death Valley Days, The Big Valley, Gidget, Batman as henchman Alan A. Dale to Art Carney’s bat-villain The Archer, The F.B.I., Jericho, Garrison’s Gorillas, The Monkees, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Dragnet 1967, Lancer, Ironside, Daniel Boone, The High Chaparral, The Name of the Game, Bonanza, The Young Lawyers, Mayberry R.F.D., Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Ellery Queen, Barbary Coast, Laverne & Shirley, Quincy, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Murder, She Wrote, Kate & Allie, Cagney & Lacey, Beauty and the Beast, Dynasty as Judge Edward P. Langdon, Perfect Strangers, Cheers, Chicago Hope, and The Pretender.
CORREA, GUILHERME Brazilian actor Guilherme Correa died of a heart attack in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on February 2, 2006. He was 75. Correa was born in Quarai, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on October 29, 1930. He began his career on stage in the early 1950s and made his film debut later in the decade. He was featured in such films as O Pao Que o Diabo Amassou (1957), Divorcio a Brasileira (1973), Quando Elas Querem ... e Eles Nao (1975), Pura Como Um Anjo, Sera ... Virgem? (1976), Act of Violence (1980), and Caricias Eroticas (1982). Correa also starred in numerous Brazilian television series including Cavalo Amarelo (1980), Dulcinea Vai a Guerra (1980), Vento do Mar Aberto (1981), Seu Queque (1982), Antonio Maria (1985), Dona Beija (1986), Bambole (1987), Desejo (1990), O Fantasma da Opera (1991), Tereza Batista (1992), Por Amor (1997), Suave Veneno (1999), Aquarela do Brasil (2000) as Padre Jose, Kubanancan (2003). CORTES, MAPITA Puerto Rican actress Mapita Cortes died of cancer in Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico, on January 1, 2006. She was 75. She was born Maria de Pilar Mercado in Puerto Rico on March 1, 1930. She was the niece of actress Mapy Cortes, who had a film career in Mexico. Mapita joined her aunt and became a
Mapira Cortes (with Luis Gatica)
Obituaries • 2006 leading film star in Mexico in the late 1950s. She starred in such films as Los Tres Vivales (1958), A Thousand and One Nights (1958), Senoirtas (1959), The Black Pit of Dr. M (aka Mysteries from Beyond the Grave (1959), Escuela de Verano (1959), Variedades de Medianoche (1960), Poker de Reinas (1960), and Vacations in Acapulco (1961). She married singer Lucho Gatica in the early 1960s and largely retired from films. She resumed her career as a character actress in Mexican television productions in the 1980s. She is survived by her son, actor Luis Gatica.
CORTEZ, RAUL Brazilian stage and screen actor Raul Cortez died of stomach cancer in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on July 18, 2006. He was 73. Cortez was born in Sao Paulo on August 18, 1932. He began his career on stage in the mid–1950s and was featured in such films as O Pao Que o Diabo Amassou (1957), The Obsessed of Catale (1964), Cristo de Lama (1966), Case of the Naves Brothers (1967), The Man Who Bought the World (1968), Desesperato (1968), Capitu (1968), Brazil Year 2000 (1969), Beto Rockfeller (1970), Janaina — A Virgem Proibida (1972), O Seminarista (1977), Os Trombadinhas (1979), Amor de Perversao (1982), Vera (1987), Exposure (1991), Cinema de Lagrimas (1995), Imminente Luna (2000), To the Left of the Father (2001), and The Other Side of the Street (2004). Cortez also performed frequently on Brazilian television, appearing in such productions as Vitoria Bonelli (1972), Xeque-Mate (1976), Tchan! A Grande Sacada (1976), Aqua Viva (1980), Baila Comigo (1981), Jogo da Vida (1981), Moinhos de Vento (1983), Partido Alto (1984), Brega & Chique (1987), Mandala (1987), Rainha da Sucata (1980), O Sorriso do Lagarto (1991), As Noivas de Copacabana (1992), Mulheres de Areia (1993), O Rei do Gado (1996), Terra Nostra (1999), Os Maias (2001), As Filhas da Mae (2001), Esperanca (2002), and Senhora do Destino (2004). His final performance was as Antonio Carlos Andrada in the 2006 television mini-series JK, about the life of former Brazilian president Juscelino Kubitschek.
78 credits include Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Fort Apache the Bronx (1981), Endless Love (1981), The Chosen (1981), Neighbors (1981), Tootsie (1982), Easy Money (1983), The Doctor’s Story (1984), The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), Threesome (1984), Double Take (1985), Turk 182! (1985), F/X (1986), Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986), Critical Condition (1987), The Secret of My Succe$$ (1987), Sweet Hearts Dance (1988), The Dream Team (1989), The Hard Way (1991), One Good Cop (1991), My Girl (1991), Batman Returns (1992), Scent of a Woman (1992), Life with Mikey (1993), My Life (1993), The Paper (1994), Trapped in Paradise (1994), Kiss of Death (1995), The Pallbearer (1996), Ransom (1996), Commandments (1997), Cop Land (1997), City of Angels (1998), Snake Eyes (1998), 8 MM (1999), Bringing Out the Dead (1999), Wonder Boys (2000), The Family Man (2000), Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (2001), Windtalkers (2002), and Adaptation (2002).
COUPLAND, DIANNE British actress Dianne Coupland died of complications from heart surgery in a Coventry, England, hospital on November 10, 2006. She was 74. Coupland was born in London on March 5, 1932. She began working in films in the 1950s, providing Lana Turner’s singing voice for the 1954 film Betrayed. She was also seen in the 1960 film The Millionairess, and dubbed Ursula Andress’ singing for the first James Bond film, Doctor No, in 1962. Coupland was best known for her roles on television, appearing as Mae Martin on Softly, Softly in the mid–1960s, and as Jean Abbott in the series Bless This House from 1971 to 1973. Her other television credits include such series as Maigret, A Little Big Business, Cluff, Redcap, Dixon of Dock Green, Play of the Month, The Wednesday Play, Thirty Minute Theatre, Half Hour Story, Rogues’ Gallery, Please Sir!, Z Cars, A Raging Calm, Dickens of London, The Wilde Alliance, Triangle, Juliet Bravo, High and Dry, One Foot in the Grave, Doctor’s Casualty, and Rose and Maloney. She was also featured as Auntie Maureen Carter in the EastEnders in 1985. Coupland also appeared in several films during her career including The Family Way (1966), Charlie Bubbles (1967), Spring and Port Wine (1970), The Twelve Chairs (1970), The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970), The Best Pair of Legs in the Business (1972), Operation Daybreak (1975), and Another Life (2001).
Raul Cortez
COSCIA, JOSEPH Joseph Coscia, who worked in films as a hair stylist for such stars as Nicholas Cage, Sylvester Stallone and Michael Keaton, died on April 15, 2006. He was 74. Coscia was born on January 16, 1932. He began working in films in the late 1970s. His many
Dianne Coupland
79 COURTNEY, DEL Band leader Del Courtney died of pneumonia in a Honolulu, Hawaii, hospital on February 11, 2006. He was 95. Courtney was born in Oakland, California, on September 24, 1910. He led big bands in San Francisco and Hawaii for over seventy years. He had a local television variety show in the Bay Area in the 1950s. He performed with such stars as Martha Raye, Bing Crosby and Phil Harris during his lengthy career. He and his band also performed at the inaugural balls of four presidents — Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon and Reagan. Courtney was also the leader of the original Oakland Raiders Band in the 1970s that performed during half-time shows for many years.
2006 • Obituaries ford Wives (1975). He also appeared in episodes of Naked City, The Honeymooners, and N.Y.P.D., and the tele-films Between Time and Timbuktu (1972), Short Walk to Daylight (1972), and Change at 125th Street (1974). He first appeared as Tom Willis, a white man married to a black woman, actress Roxie Roker, in a pilot episode of The Jeffersons aired on All on the Family. Cover continued to play George and Louise Jefferson’s neighbor and future in-law during the The Jeffersons’ ten year run from 1975 to 1985. Cover also appeared in the films Wall Street (1987), Zits (1988), Brain Donors (1992), and Almost Heroes (1998), and was featured in the tele-films The Day the Bubble Burst (1982) as Herbert Hoover, A Woman Called Golda (1982) as Hubert Humphrey, A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle (1994), and Columbo: A Trace of Murder (1997). His other television credits include episodes of The Love Boat, 227, Who’s the Boss?, In the Heat of the Night, ER, Coach, Too Something, Mad About You, and Will & Grace, and was a voice actor in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series.
COVER, FRANKLIN Actor Franklin Cover, who was best known for his role as neighbor Tom Willis on the hit television sit-com The Jeffersons, died of pneumonia in Englewood, New Jersey, on February 5, 2006. He was 77. He had been a resident at the Lillian Booth Actors’ Fund of America in Englewood since suffering a heart condition in December of 2005. Cover was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on November 20, 1928. He began his career on stage and appeared in several Broadway productions including Any Wednesday, Born Yesterday, and Wild Honey. He made his film debut in the early 1960s, appearing in such features as Mirage (1965), What’s So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968), and The Step-
COWL, DARRY French comic actor Darry Cowl died of lung cancer in the Paris suburb of Neuillysur-Seine, France, on February 14, 2006. He was 80. Cowl was born Andre Darricau in Vittel, France, on August 27, 1925. He studied at the Paris Drama Conservatory and performed in music halls and cabarets as a pianist and entertainer. He created the comic persona of a stuttering, frizzy-haired, bespectacled master of malapropisms. He made his film debut in the mid–1950s, and appeared in over 100 features over the next six decades. Cowl’s many film credits include Photo Finish (1956), Maid in Paris (1956), That Naughty Girl (1956), Plucking the Daisy (1956), Paris-Palace Hotel (1956), Three Make a Pair (1957), Lovers and Thieves (1957), Love in Jamaica (1957), A Friend of the Family (1957), On Foot, On Horse, and On Wheels (1957), This Pretty World (1957), Las Lavanderas de Portugal (1957), The Lady Doctor (1957), The Tricyclist (1957), Hardboiled Egg Time (1958), Be Beautiful but Shut Up (1958), Honey, Scare Me (1958), Honey, Scare Me (1958), School for Coquettes (1958), A Dog, a Mouse, and a Sputnik (1958), The Little Professor (1959), The Indestructible (1959), The Magnificent Tramp (1959), Les Affreux (1959), Les Fortiches (1960), Monsieur Robinson Crusoe (1960), Love and the
Franklin Cover
Darry Cowl
Del Courtney
Obituaries • 2006 Frenchwoman (1960), Paris Loves (1961), A Martian in Paris (1961), Panurge’s Sheep (1961), The Lions Are Loose (1961), People in Luck (1962), Who Stole the Body? (1962), Tales of Paris (1962), Hitch-Hike (1962), The Man from Chicago (1963), Sweet Skin (1963), Young Girls of Good Families (1963), Good King Dagobert (1963), Badmen of the West (1964), Salad by the Roots (1964), The Gorillas (1964), L’Esbrouffe (1965), The Real Bargain (1965), La Tete du Client (1965), How to Keep the Red Lamp Burning (1965), Chinese Adventures in China (1965), The Double Bed (1966), Your Money or Your Life (1966), Salut Berthe! (1968), She No Longer Talks She Shoots (1972), Don’t Touch the White Woman! (1974), Too Much Is Too Much (1975), The Day of Glory (1976), A Sea Urchin in the Pocket (1977), Les Borsalini (1980), Schools Falling Apart (1981), For 200 Grand, You Get Nothing Now (1982), Quarter to Two Before Jesus Christ (1982), The Telephone Always Rings Twice (1985), Follow My Gaze (1986), City for Sale (1992), Les Miserables (1995) as the bookseller, My Woman Is Leaving Me (1996), Augustin, King of Kung-Fu (1999) as Rene the Chinatown shopworker, La Puree (2002), Drugs! (2000), The New JeanClaude (2002), If I Were a Rich Man (2002), The Lost Seamen (2003), Alain Resnais’ Not on the Lips (2003), The Giraffe’s Neck (2004), and The Daltons (2004). Cowl wrote two memoirs, La Flambeur (1986) which recounted his penchant for engaging in games of chance, and Le Triporteur se Livre (1994), highlighting his work in Jacques Pinoteau’s popular Triporteur series.
COWSILL, BILL Bill Cowsill, who performed with his family in the popular singing group The Cowsills, died after a long illness with emphysema in Canada on February 17, 2006. He was 58. Cowsill was born in Newport, Rhode Island on January 9, 1948. He began singing with his brother Bob in 1965 and they were soon joined by brothers Barry, John, Paul, sister Susan and mother Barbara. They recorded their first hit, “The Rain, the Park and Other Things” in 1967. Other hit songs soon followed, including “We Can Fly,” “Indian Lake,” and “Hair.” The Cowsills’ success was instrumental in inspiring the popular television series The Partridge Family. The band disbanded in 1971 and Bill met with little success in a subsequent solo career. He later moved to Canada where he continued a career in music with mixed
Bill Cowsill
80 results. The Blue Shadows, a country rock band he began in the mid–1990s, recorded the album On the Floor of Heaven in 1993. They broke up after a second album, Lucky to Me, in 1996.
CRANE, AVIVA Actress Aviva Crane died in Chicago, Illinois, after a brief illness on December 12, 2006. She was 76. Crane was born in Chicago on July 22, 1930. She was a leading performer on the local stage in Chicago. She also was featured in the cult horror film Monster a Go-Go in 1965. CRANE, BEVERLY Beverly Crane, who with her twin sister, Bettymae Crane, appeared as the talking titles in many Hal Roach comedy shorts starring Laurel and Hardy and the Little Rascals, died in Columbus Ohio on December 9, 2006. She was 89. Crane was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1917. She and her sister appeared onscreen to speak the introductory credits for such shorts as Doctor’s Orders (1930), Dollar Dizzy (1930), Teacher’s Pet (1930), Bigger and Better (1930), Looser Than Loose (1930), School’s Out (1930), Another Fine Mess (1930), Blood and Thunder (1931), Love Business (1931), and Love Fever (1931). The Crane Sisters also appeared in the films The Beast of the City (1932), Moulin Rouge (1934) as Apache dancers, Girl o’ My Dreams (1934), and All Girl Revue (1940).
Beverly Crane (with twin sister Bettymae)
CRAWFORD, CHRIS Christopher Crawford, the second child adopted by actress Joan Crawford and
Christopher Crawford (with adoptive mother Joan Crawford)
81 her husband Phillip Terry, died of cancer in a Green Port, New York, hospital on September 22, 2006. He was 62. Crawford reportedly was born on October 15, 1943 and was adopted by the film star as an infant. He and his adoptive sister, Christina, were the focal point of much publicity with their famous mother. Christina’s later account of their childhood, Mommy Dearest, published after Joan’s death in 1979, painted a far less rosy picture of the family than that shown in the pages of the magazines of that time. Though Chris didn’t take part in the publicity for the book and subsequent film, he largely supported his sister’s account of their childhood.
CRILE, GEORGE, III George Crile, III, who produced numerous segments for the television news show 60 Minutes, died of pancreatic cancer at his home in New York City on May 14, 2006. He was 61. Crile was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1944. He began his career as a journalist, writing for the Gary Post-Tribune in Indiana. He later worked for political columnists Drew Pearson and Jack Anderson, and wrote articles for such publications as Washington Monthly, Harper’s Magazine, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. He began working for CBS News in 1976, producing such documentaries as The CIA’s Secret Army, about the spy agency’s long-running campaign against Cuba’s Fidel Castro. He also produced the award winning documentary The Battle for South Africa in 1978. He was best known for co-producing with Mike Wallace the 1982 documentary The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception, that accused the Pentagon and the government of distorting enemy troop strength during the Vietnam War. Gen. William Westmoreland, who commanded U.S. troops in South Vietnam during much of the war, sued CBS for $120 million in damages for libel, but withdrew his suit when the network issued a statement to acknowledge that Westmoreland had not been “unpatriotic or disloyal in performing his duties as he saw them.” Crile worked as a producer for 60 Minutes from the 1980s, and also produced segments for 60 Minutes II. He became involved with Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson while working on stories about the Soviet military action in Afghanistan during the 1980s, and Wilson’s tales of the CIA s secret financial support of the Afghan rebels, to the tune of billions of dollars, caught Crile’s in-
George Crile, III
2006 • Obituaries terest. Over the next two decades he continued to investigate the story, which culminated in the best-selling book Charlie Wilson’s War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History in 2003. The film rights to the book were purchased by Tom Hanks, and a movie with Hanks in the role as Wilson is in preproduction at Universal Studios.
CROUCH, JOSH Actor Josh Crouch was killed in a hit and run accident on New York’s West Side Highway on September 19, 2006. He was 24. Crouch was featured in the 2000 tele-film Darktales, and appeared in an episode of television’s Dawson’s Creek. He had performed as an emcee with the hiphop band Mindspray in recent years.
Josh Crouch
CROUCHER, MICHAEL British documentary filmmaker Michael Croucher died in England on May 26, 2006. He was 76. He was born on January 17, 1930. He began working with the BBC radio in the 1950s and moved to television in 1958. He teamed with John Boorman in the early 1960s to produce a revolutionary style of documentary. His first television documentary The Bashers aired in 1962, and was followed by Citizen 63 and The Newcomers. Croucher produced and directed the 1973 ghost story drama series Leap in the Dark and the 1979 telefilm Anne Hughes’ Diary. He also produced such series as The Curious Character of Britain, The Heal-
Michael Croucher
Obituaries • 2006 ing Arts, The French Way, The Italian Way, The Yugoslavian Way, Summer 67, and the martial arts series The Way of the Warrior.
CUNNINGHAM, GLENN D. Film editor Glenn D. Cunningham died in Clifton, New Jersey, on July 16, 2006. He was 56. Cunningham was an assistant editor on such films as Fame (1980), Honeysuckle Rose (1980), Four Friends (1981), The World According to Garp (1982), Angel Heart (1987), Frantic (1988), Mississippi Burning (1988), A Fine Romance (1991), Bitter Moon (1992), French Kiss (1995), Madeline (1998), The Bourne Identity (2002), and The Truth About Charlie (2002).
82 the memorable television horror film Trilog y of Terror starring Karen Black in 1975. He also produced, and often directed, such tele-films as The Norliss Tapes (1973), Nightmare at 43 Hillcrest (1974), Scream of the Wolf (1974), Melvin Purvis G-Man (1974), The Turn of the Screw (1974), The Kansas City Massacre (1975), The Great Ice Rip-Off (1976), Dead of Night (1977), Curse of the Black Widow (1977), When Every Day Was the Fourth of July (1978), Mrs. R’s Daughter (1979), and The Long Days of Summer (1980). Curtis produced and directed the 1976 supernatural feature film Burnt Offerings, and the shortlived television series Supertrain in 1979. He produced, directed, and co-scripted the 1983 television mini-series The Winds of War, starring Robert Mitchum and based on a novel by Herman Wouk. He made the Emmywinning sequel War and Remembrance in 1988. Curtis also produced the tele-film Johnny Ryan (1990), and produced and directed Intruders (1992) and The Love Letter (1998). He was director of the 1993 film Me and the Kid, and directed the tele-films Trilog y of Terror II (1996), Saving Milly (2005), and Our Fathers (2005). He served as a consulting producer on the short-lived television remake of Night Stalker in 2005. Curtis’ wife of 54 years, Norma Mae Klein, preceded him in death by several weeks, succumbing to heart failure on March 7, 2006.
Glenn D. Cunningham
CURTIS, DAN Television producer and director Dan Curtis, who created the daytime Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows in the 1960s, died of complications from a brain tumor at his Brentwood, California, home on March 27, 2006. He was 78. Curtis was born Daniel Mayer Cherkoss in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on August 12, 1927. He began working at NBC in sales in the early 1950s, then worked in syndicated sales at MCA. Curtis was an avid golfer and created the ABC television program Challenge Golf in 1962. The following year he formed his own production company and created The CBS Match Play Golf Classic, which aired for over a decade. He created the Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, starring Jonathan Frid as tragic vampire star Barnabas Collins. The series became a cult classic during its five year run, and Curtis directed two feature films based on the show, House of Dark Shadows (1970) and Night of Dark Shadows (1971). A revised version of the series starring Ben Cross as Barnabas Collins aired briefly in prime-time on NBC in 1991. Curtis also produced the 1968 television version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and 1973’s Shadow of Fear and The Invasion of Carol Enders. He produced and directed a 1973 tele-film of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and produced versions of Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray in 1973. Curtis produced the 1972 tele-film The Night Stalker starring Darren McGavin as reporter Carl Kolchak, on the trail of a vampire in Las Vegas. He also produced and directed the 1973 sequel The Night Strangler. A short-lived series, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, followed but Curtis was not involved with the production. Curtis also produced and directed
Dan Curtis
CUTLER, IVOR Scottish poet and humorist Ivor Cutler died in London on March 3, 2006. He was
Ivor Cutler
83 83. Cutler was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on January 15, 1923. He spent 30 years as a teacher at A.S. Neill’s experimental school Summerhill. He first became known to the general public as a regular contributor of idiosyncratic poems and stories to the BBC Radio. He drew a nearly equal number of avid fans and rabid detractors. Cutler produced various books and recordings with such off beat titles as Cockadoodle Don’t and Many Flies Have Feathers, Jammy Smears and Gruts. His first album, Who Tore Your Trousers?, was released in 1961 and a dozen followed ending with A Flat Man in 1998. Cutler’s fans included the Beatles, who gave him a cameo role as Buster Bloodvessel in their 1967 television production of Magical Mystery Tour. Cutler retired from teaching in 1980 and made his final performance, singing songs and reading poems, in London of February 2004.
DAHLEN, KLAUS German actor Klaus Dahlen died in Baden-Baden, Germany, on May 16, 2006. He was 67. Dahlen was born in Berlin on May 23, 1938. He began his career in the 1950s and was featured in such films as Liebe Verboten — Heiraten Erlaubt (1959), Stage Fright (1960), Sabine und die Hudert Manner (1960), Meine Frau, das Callgirl (1961), The Whole Truth (1961), Cafe Oriental (1962), Escape from East Berlin (1962), The Sheriff Was a Lady (1964), Duel at Sundown (1965), Tender Sharks (1967), Pension Clausewitz (1967), I Do It My Way (1970), Little Women (1970), Willi Manages the Whole Thing (1972), Situation (1973), I Wasn’t a Very Good Student Either (1974), Love Affair (1980), Otto—Der Film (1985), and Me Boss, You Sneakers! (1998). Dahlen also appeared in television productions of Madame Bovary (1968), So’n Theater (1973), Susi (1980), Kustenwache (1997), and Tatort— Strasstoss (1999).
2006 • Obituaries don Man (1943), The Last Metro (1945), La Figure de Proue (1948), L’Enfant des Neiges (1951), Don’t Tempt the Devil (1962), Love Is a Ball (1963), Mayerling (1968) as Baroness Vetsera, Faceless (1988), A Deux Minutes Pres (1989), The Swindle (1997), and Watani (1998). She was also a popular performer on French television, appearing in such productions as Joyeuses Commeres de Windsor (1984), Seuele a Paris (1965), Jean de la Tour Miracle (1967), Lews Aventures de Michel Vaillant (1967), Puce (1968), Malaventure (1974), Les Mohicans de Paris (1973), Josephine ou la Comedie des Ambitions (1979), Mon Pere Avait Raison (1980), Chere Olga (1980), Le Pendule (1984), and La Chanson du Macon (2002).
Mony Dalmes
DALY, MAUREEN Author Maureen Daly died in a Palm Desert, California hospice on September 25, 2006. She was 85. Daly wrote her first short story while in high school, earning the O. Henry Award for the work, Sixteen. Her best known novel Seventeenth Summer, published in 1942, sparked the trend for modern young adult literature. Daly later worked as a reporter and columnist for the Chicago Tribune, and was an editor for Ladies Home Journal and the Saturday Evening Post. She also wrote the novel The Ginger Horse, and co-wrote the book Mention My Name in Mombassa with her husband author William McGivern.
Klaus Dahlen
DALMES, MONY French actress Mony Dalmes died in Paris on May 11, 2006. She was 91. Dalmes was born Simone d’Etennemare in Le Kremlin-Bicetre, France, on July 24, 1914. She was a leading performer on stage with the Comedie Francaise from 1942 to 1957. She also performed in several productions in the United States, and was the first French actress to perform a play by Moliere on Broadway in English. Dalmes appeared in numerous films during her career including Les Demi Vierges (1936), L’ Inevitable M. Dubois (1943), The Lon-
Maureen Daly
Obituaries • 2006 DAMARI, SHOSHANA Israeli singer Shoshana Damari died of complications from pneumonia in a Tel Aviv, Israel, hospital on February 7, 2006. She was 83. She immigrated to Israel from Yemen as an infant, and began her career on radio in her early teens. She performed often for the Israeli military during her six decade career. She was best known for her recordings of music by Moshe Vilensky, including her most popular song, “Kalanoit” (“Anemones”). Damari made numerous recordings during her career and was honored with the Israel Prize, the nation’s top civilian award, in 1988.
Shoshana Damari
D’AMORE, HALLIE Hallie D’Amore, an Oscar nominated film make-up artist was found dead at her home in Venice, California, along with her husband, photographer Richard D’Amore on December 15, 2006. She was 64. It appeared the couple perished in murder-suicide when she shot her husband and then took her own life. Hallie D’Amore worked in films from the mid–1980s, serving as a make-up artist for over 50 films. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her work on Forrest Gump in 1995. She also appeared in that film, with a small role as a cafe waitress. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for the 1993 television production of Gypsy, and won the Emmy for Normal in 2003. Her many film credits also include Back to School (1986), Back to the Beach (1987), Three O’Clock High
84 (1987), Steel Magnolias (1989), Dick Tracy (1990), Defending Your Life (1991), Doc Hollywood (1991), The Indian Runner (1991), Bugsy (1991), Straight Talk (1992), Unlawful Entry (1992), Toys (1992), Fatal Instinct (1993), Josh and S.A.M. (1993), The Perez Family (1995), Apollo 13 (1995), The Crossing Guard (1995), The American President (1995), Primal Fear (1996), Phenomenon (1996), Chain Reaction (1997), Contact (1997), My Giant (1998), City of Angels (1998), Patch Adams (1998), A Civil Action (1998), Runaway Bride (1999), Autumn in New York (2000), Dr. T and the Women (2000), The Princess Diaries (2001), Who Is Cletis Tout? (2001), Joe Somebody (2001), We Were Soldiers (2002), xXx (2002), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), Stuck on You (2003), The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004), Christmas with the Kranks (2004), xXx: State of the Union (2005), Havoc (2005), and the forthcoming Wild Hogs (2007). She also worked on such television productions as This Child Is Mine (1985), Police Story: Burnout (1988), The Outside Woman (1989), Buffalo Girls (1995), and Women in Law (2006).
DANIEL, BILL Lawyer and politician Bill Daniel died in Liberty, Texas, on June 20, 2006. He was 90. Daniel was born in Dayton, Texas, on November 20, 1915. He was a lawyer for over sixty years and served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1949 until 1953. His older brother, Price Daniel, served as Governor of Texas and a U.S. Senator. Bill Daniel was appointed Governor of Guam by President John Kennedy in 1961, serving until 1963. Daniel was featured as Col. Neill in the 1960 film The Alamo with John Wayne. He also provided numerous longhorns, horses, and props from his Trinity River ranch for the film.
Bill Daniel (riding a caribou)
Hallie D’Amore
DANNIS, RAY Actor Ray Dannis, who starred as the Undertaker in the 1966 horror film The Undertaker and His Pals, died in Venice, California, on December 28, 2006. He was 85. Dannis also starred as Mr. Babcock in the 1972 cult classic The Corpse Grinders, which was frequently paired with The Undertaker and His Pals for drive-in double-bills in the 1970s. Dannis was also seen in the films Air Patrol (1962), The Chapman Report (1962), The Young Swingers (1963), 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt (1964), Agent for H.A.R.M (1966), The Black Klansman (1966), Coed Dorm (1971), and The Sev-
85 ered Arm (1973). He also appeared on television in several episodes of Perry Mason in the early 1960s.
Ray Dannis
DANTAS, NELSON Brazilian actor Nelson Dantas died of cancer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 18, 2006. He was 78. Dantas was born in Rio de Janeiro on November 17, 1927. He made his film debut in the late 1940s, appearing in such productions as A Mulher de Longe (1949), Almas Adversas (1949), Matar ou Correr (1954), Carnaval em Caxias (1954), Assault on the Pay Train (1962), Capitu (1968), The Alienist (1970), The Murdered House (1971), The Conspirators (1972), A Estrela Sobe (1974), Assuntina das Amerikas (1976), The Marriage (1976), Dona Flor and Her Two Hufssbands (1976), Insonia (1980), Miniero Cabaret (1980), Bar Esperanza (1983), Memoirs of Prison (1984), Chico Rei (1985), A Maldicao do Sanpaku (1991), Lamarca (1994), Four Days in September (1997), The Patriot (1998), The Nutty Boy 2 (1998), Midnight (1998), Love and Co. (1998), Tiradentes (1999), Retrato Pintado (2000), Sonhos Tropicais (2002), The Storytellers (2003), and Zuzu Angel (2006). Dantas also starred in the Brazilian television series Tropicaliente (1994), Forcas de Um Desejo (1999), and Desejos de Mulher (2002).
2006 • Obituaries II Japanese radio propagandist Tokyo Rose, died in Chicago, Illinois, on September 26, 2006. She was 90. D’Aquino was born in Los Angeles to Japanese immigrant parents on July 4, 1916. She was visiting relatives in Japan at the start of World War II and found herself trapped overseas. While attempting to find her way out of Japan D’Aquino took odd jobs and became involved with a radio program staffed by allied prisoners of war. She was billed as Orphan Ann on the Zero Hour and performed comedy routines and newscasts on the program. After the war, allied soldiers reported tales of female radio broadcasters that promoted Japanese propaganda during the war. Though likely there were several such individuals they were merged into the near mythical persona of The Tokyo Rose. D’Aquino became identified with the name after the war as she continued her attempts to return to the United States. Though originally cleared by the Army and the F.B.I. of any wrongdoing, she was later arrested and tried for treason. Upon her conviction in 1949, she become only the seventh person convicted of treason in the history of the United States. D’Aquino served six years in prison and was released early for good behavior. Doubts about her nefarious role during the war continued to surface, with allegations that prosecutors fabricated evidence and coerced witnesses. She was eventually granted a pardon by President Gerald Ford in 1977 and continued to live quietly in Chicago until her death.
Iva Toguri D’Aquino
DAT BOY O Omar Burleson, who performed as a rap star under the name Dat Boy O and D.B.O. was shot to death in Colorado Springs on December 15, 2006. He was 30. Burleson was an up and coming rapper, whose song “Don’t Blow Me Up” had been released with some success. He also released two mix tapes, Hustlaholics Part 1 and 2. (See photograph on page 86.)
Nelson Dantas
D’AQUINO, IVA TOGURI Iva Toguri D’Aquino, who was convicted of treason as World War
DAVERN, KENNY Jazz clarinetist Kenny Davern died of a heart attack at his home in Sandia Park, New Mexico, on December 12, 2006. He was 71. Davern was born in Huntington, New York, on January 7, 1935. He began playing the clarinet at an early age and began performing professionally at the age of 16. He joined Jack Teagarden’s Dixieland band in the early 1950s and recorded his first album, Gloryland, in 1958. He was
Obituaries • 2006
86 gart in 1993, and was featured as Peter Odell in the Scottish Television soap opera High Road in 1995. He returned to television as Any Morgan in the soap opera Hollyoaks from 1999 until 2002.
Dat Boy O
soon playing with such groups as Phil Napoleon’s Memphis Five and The Dukes of Dixieland. Davern was best known for his work with the Soprano Summit, which he formed with pianist Dick Wellstood and saxophonist Bob Wilber. They toured and recorded through the 1970s, and reunited in the 1990s.
Kenny Davern
DAVIDSON, ROSS British actor Ross Davidson, who was best known for his role as Andy O’Brien in the long-running British television soap opera EastEnders, died of cancer in England on October 16, 2006. He was 57. Davidson was born in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, Scotland, on August 25, 1949. He made his acting debut on television in a 1979 Play for Today production of A Degree of Uncertainty on BBC, and had small roles in television productions of Stanley Baxter on Television (1979), Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors (1983), and Widows 2 (1985). Davidson was featured as a pirate in the 1983 feature film The Pirates of Penzance and appeared in “The Crimson Permanent Assurance” segment of Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life in 1983. He was featured as good-hearted Andy O’Brien from EastEnders debut in 1985 until his character was killed off the following year. After leaving the series he performed often on stage, and was presenter for the BBC daytime magazine show Daytime Life from 1987 to 1988, and of the sports challenge show Run the Gauntlet from 1989 to 1990. He guest starred in an episode of the Scottish police series Tag-
Ross Davidson
DAVIES, WILLIAM British composer and musician William Davies died in Hastings, East Sussex, England, on March 2, 2006. He was 84. Davies was born in Bolton, Lancashire, England, on June 26, 1921. He learned to play the piano at an early age and worked as an organist at various Gaumont theatres in the 1940s. He worked with Jack Hylton’s organization as an organist, conductor, and music director from 1953 until joining the BBC’s London Studio Players in 1956. He also composed scores for numerous British films including Second Fiddle (1957), Model for Murder (1958), Life in Danger (1959), Cover Girl Killer (1959), Ticket to Paradise (1960), The Gentle Trap (1960), Dead Lucky (1960), The Piper’s Tune (1962), Dilemma (1962), and On the Run (1968), and scored the television series Noggin the Nog (1959) and The Seal of Neptune (1963). He left the BBC in the mid–1960s, but continued to perform on radio, hosting his own series, Just William, for several years. Davies also composed scores for Alistair Cooke’s television series America in 19712 and for Alan Bennett’s Sunset Across the Bay in 1975. Davies also continued to perform organ recitals throughout England until the mid–1990s. DAVILA, RAUL Puerto Rican actor Raul Davila died of a heart attack in a Belleville, New Jersey, hospital on January 2, 2005. He was 71. Davila was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 15, 1934. He began his career on stage in Puerto Rico, appearing in productions of such musicals as The Sound of Music and The King and I. He also appeared in several films including Counterplot (1959), Heroina (1965), and Our Regiment (1966). Davila moved to New York in the early 1960s, where he remained active on stage and appeared in television and radio commercials. He was also seen in such films as The Believers (1987), Fires Within (1991), Day of Atonement (1992), Linda Sara (1994), and Los Diaz de Doris (1999), and the tele-films A Doctor’s Story (1984), Private Sessions (1985), Florida Straits (1986), The Trial of Bernhard Goetz (1988), and The Old Man and the Sea
87 (1990). Davila was featured as Hector Santos on the daytime soap opera All My Children from 1994 to 1996, and guest starred in episodes of Law & Order and New York Undercover. He retired from acting in the early 2000s but continued to teach student actors in Manhattan’s Spanish Harlem.
2006 • Obituaries manager for Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman in Northern California. He was featured in a 1956 episode of the television series Conflict, “The People Against McQuade,” appearing as himself in the legal drama. Davis retired to Hawaii in the early 1980s.
DAVIS, JAYE MICHAEL Radio disc jockey Jaye Michael Davis was killed in a motorcycle accident near Tunica, Mississippi, on July 1, 2006. He was 62. He was born Preston Moore in Mississippi in 1943. Davis worked at Memphis radio station WDIA-AM from 1977. He hosted an afternoon show of oldies and rhythm and blues music and sometimes hosted talk shows. Davis was featured in the 2002 concert documentary film Only the Strong Survive, documenting the many musical stars of Stax Records.
Raul Davila
DAVINCI, ELENA Actress Elena DaVinci died in Sherman Oaks, California, on November 10, 2006. She was 81. DaVinci was born on April 23, 1925. She was a host of one of the first radio interview series, Magazine of the Air, in the 1950s. She also appeared in several films in the 1950s including Naked Gun (1956), The Girl in the Kremlin (1957) with Zsa Zsa Gabor, Badlands of Montana (1957), Hell on Devil’s Island (1957), Ghost Diver (1957), Escape from Red Rock (1957), and The Lone Texan (1959). She appeared in the 2005 television pilot Studio House with Ruta Lee. DAVIS, GEORGE T.
George T. Davis, a San Francisco lawyer who was involved in numerous highprofile cases during his career, died of heart failure on Hawaii’s Big Island on February 4, 2006. He was 98. Davis was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on May 29, 1907. He was involved in the Nuremberg war crime trials after World War II, and was Caryl Chessman’s attorney in his unsuccessful death penalty appeal in California in 1960. Davis was also politically active, serving as campaign
George T. Davis
Jaye Michael Davis
DAVIS, SID Educational filmmaker Sid Davis, who produced numerous shorts to steer youngsters of the 1950s and 1960s away from drugs, drunk driving and depravity, died of lung cancer at his home in Palm Desert, California, on October 16, 2006. He was 90. Davis was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 1, 1916, and moved to Los Angeles with his family at an early age. He began working in films as an extra and was stand-in for actor John Wayne from 1941 to 1952. His films with Wayne include the western classic Red River in 1958. He began making films in 1950 with money borrowed from Wayne. His first, a short about the dangers of children hitchhiking, The Dangerous Stranger, began his long career supplying schools with cautionary visual media. These films warned young people against such hazards as drug use, venereal disease, predatory homosexuals and bad hair. For the next two decades, these films left an indelible, if not altogether favorable, impression on countless students they were inflicted upon. The titles include The Terrible Truth (1951) about marijuana, Name Unknown (1951), Live and Learn (1951), Why Take Chances? (1952), Skipper Learns a Lesson (1952), Vandalism (1953), Gossip (1953), The Cool Hot Rod (1953), You Can’t Stop on a Dime (1954), Too Young to Burn (1954), Show ’Em the Road (1954), Gang Boy (1954), Age 13 (1955), You’re Growing Up (1956), Where There’s Smoke (1957), What Made Sammy Speed (1957), Say No to Strangers! (1957), Missing Witness (1958), The Bicycle
Obituaries • 2006 Clown (1958), ABC’s of Walking Wisely (1959), V.D. (aka Damaged Goods) (1961), Seduction of the Innocent (1961), On Your Own (1961), Moment of Decision! (1961), Girls Beware (1961), Boys Beware (1961), The Dropout (1962), Big Man on Campus (1963), Alcohol Is Dynamite (1967), The Bottle and the Throttle (1968), and Keep Off the Grass (1970). The films, made on an extremely low budget, were directed and photographed by Davis and often included family members and friends in the cast. Many of them have earned a cult status in the years since their original release.
DAVISON, MICHELLE Actress Michelle Davison died on April 2, 2006. Davison was featured in such films as Independence Day (1976), The Boss’ Son (1976), Endangered Species (1982), Heartbreakers (1984), Eddie Murphy Raw (1987), the animated Bebe’s Kids (1992), The Last Seduction (1994), Babe (1995) as the voice of the Sheep, The Chamber (1996), Thick as Thieves (1998), and Antwone Fisher (2002). Davison was also seen in the tele-films Take My Daughters, Please (1988), Louisa May Alcott’s The Inheritance (1997), and The Advanced Guard (1998). She starred as Ruthanne Owens in the daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful from 1991 to 1997, and also appeared as Isobel Ward on General Hospital in 1994. Her other television credits include episodes of Starsky and Hutch, Falcon Crest, Mr. Belvedere, Dynasty, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Cheers, Life Goes On, Knots Landing, Party of Five, Malcolm in the Middle, ER, The District, and All About the Andersons.
88 albums, Third, Fourth and Fifth, before leaving the group. During the 1970s Dean led several groups, including a small band, Just Us, a quartet, EDQ, and a larger group, Ninesense. Dean performed with numerous other bands in the 1980s and 1990s, including various permutations of Soft Machine. He was scheduled to appear in a London jazz club shortly before his death.
Elton Dean
DEAN, RICHARD Fashion photographer Richard Dean died of pancreatic cancer in a New York City hospital on December 27, 2006. He was 50. Dean began his career as a model in the early 1990s before moving behind the camera. He had a successful career, photographing for such clients as Giorgio Armani, Gianni Versace, Yves St. Laurent, and Reebok. His work was seen in the pages of such magazines as TV Guide, Playboy, Harper’s Bazaar, and Cosmopolitan. He became cohost of the TLC reality series Cover Shot, a makeover show that transformed supermoms into supermodels, culminating in a fashion photo shoot. Dean was also a guest celebrity judge for UPN’s America’s Next Top Model with Tyra Banks.
Michelle Davison
DEAN, ELTON Elton Dean, a jazz and blues saxophonist with the band Soft Machine, died in a London hospital of a heart and liver condition on February 7, 2006. He was 60. Dean was born in Nottingham, England, on October 28, 1945. He played several musical instruments in his youth before taking up the saxophone at the age of 18. He played with various groups before joining Long John Baldry’s band Bluesology in the 1960s. The group’s pianist, Reg Dwight, went on to fame as Elton John, taking the first names of Baldry and Dean for his professional moniker. Dean continued to play with various groups, notably the fusion group Soft Machine, from 1969 to 1972. He performed on the group’s
Richard Dean DE ANDRES, ANGEL Spanish actor Angel de Andres died in Madrid, Spain, on August 5, 2006. He was 88. De Andres was born in Madrid on May 25, 1918.
89 He appeared in numerous films from the early 1940s including Turbante Blanco (1943), Path Unknown (1946), The Prodigal Woman (1946), The Faith (1947), Don Quixote (1947), Confidencia (1947), Dulcinea (1947), Mare Nostrum (1948), Currito of the Cross (1949), Fuego! (1949), La Dama Torera (1950), Hipolito el de Santa (1950), Tercio de Quites (1951), I Want to Marry You (1952), Fantasia Espanola (1953), Radio Stories (1955), El Hincha (1958), Pasa la Tuna (1960), Las Estrellas (1962), The Rash One (1964), Weekend (1964), Suena el Clarin (1965), He Is My Man (1966), El Padre Manolo (1966), Another Man’s Wife (1967), Torero 68 (1968), Don Erre que Erre (1970), Casa Flora (1973), The Repressed Man (1975), Bienvenido, Mister Krif (1975), El Ultimo Tango en Madrid (1975), ...And the Third Year, He Resuscitated (1980), Brujas Magicas (1981), La Cancion de los Ninos (1982), Las Autonosuyas (1983), El Cid Cabreador (1983), Esquilache (1989), and Tahiti’s Girl (1990). De Andres was also active on the Spanish stage and television, appeared in the 1992 mini-series El Mundo de Celia.
2006 • Obituaries dare, The Eleventh Hour, Star Trek, The Invaders, Judd for the Defense, The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, Bracken’s World, Marcus Welby, M.D., Medical Center, Police Woman, The Family Holvak, The Quest, Quincy, Rafferty, and Hunter. He also wrote the 1974 film Portrait.
DEDINI, ELDON Cartoonist Eldon Dedini died of esophageal cancer at his home in Carmel, California, on January 12, 2006. He was 84. Dedini was born in King City, California, on June 29, 1921. He began drawing cartoons at an early age and sold his first cartoon to Esquire while in college. He began working at Universal Studios as an artist in the 1940s, then moved on to Disney. He worked on the animated film Fun and Fancy Free (1947) and the cartoon Mickey and the Beanstalk. Dedini joined Esquire’s staff in 1946, then began working at The New Yorker in 1950. He also began a long career drawing cartoons for Playboy from 1960, depicting a mythical world of nymphs and satyrs.
Eldon Dedini Angel de Andres
DE BONO, JERRY
Television writer Jerry De Bono died of lymphoma in Pacific Grove, California, on September 22, 2006. He was 75. De Bono was born in Stockton, California, on August 9, 1931. He began writing for television in the 1950s, scripting episodes of such series as Kraft Television Theatre, Lamp Unto My Feet, Look Up and Live, Kaiser Aluminum Hour, Dr. Kil-
DE GHOUY, DIANE Belgian actress Diane De Ghouy died in Gent, Flanders, Belgium, on January 28, 2006. She was 83. She was born in Gent on May 26, 1922. De Ghouy appeared frequently on Belgian television from the 1960s, starring in productions of The Heritage (1966), The China Boy (1970), The Beauty Operators (1971), Bomma (1973), Nature Morte (1976), Tabula Rasa (1979), Tango (1980), Cello en Contrabas (1982), Alfa Papa Tango (1991), and De Gouden Jaren (1992). DEKKER, DESMOND Jamaican singer and musician Desmond Dekker died of a heart attack at his home in England. He was 64. Dekker was born in Kingston, Jamaica on July 16, 1941. He was a pioneer in bringing Jamaican ska music to an international audience. His 1969 song “Israelites” was a major hit in the United States and Europe. Dekker’s other popular hits included “Rudie Got Soul” and “007 (Shanty Town)” which was featured on the soundtrack of the 1972 Jamaican film The Harder They Fall. (See photograph on page 90.)
Jerry De Bono
DE LA IGLESIA, ELOY Spanish film director Eloy de la Iglesia died in a Madrid, Spain, hospital of complications from surgery for renal cancer on March 23, 2006. He was 62. De la Iglesia was born in Zarauz,
Obituaries • 2006
Desmond Dekker
Spain, on January 1, 1944. He began his film career writing and directing the children’s feature Fantasia ... 3 in 1966. His other film credits include Glass Ceiling (1971), the graphic serial killer film Cannibal Man (1972), No One Heard the Scream (1973), and the futuristic Clockwork Terror (1973). The death of long-time Spanish dictator Francisco Franco led to a lessening of restrictions on Spanish films, and de la Iglesia took advantage of the new rules with such provocative features as Forbidden Love Game (1975), Hidden Pleasures (1977), The Creature (1977), The Deputy and the Congressman (1978), Navajeros (1980), Pals (1982), El Pico (1983), El Pico II (1984), Turn of the Screw (1985), and La Estanquera de Vallecas (1987). De la Iglesia wrote and directed the 2001 television production of Caligula, about the mad Roman emperor. His final film was 2003’s Bulgarian Lovers, about a homosexual relationship.
90 siree (1942), The Count of Monte Cristo (1943), La Valse Blanche (1943), Sowing the Wind (1944), Farandole (1945), Father Goriot (1945), Lunegarde (1946), Raboliot (1946), The Captain (1946), Monsieur Vincet (1947), A Certain Mister (1949), The King of the Bla Bla Bla (1951), The Grand Maneuver (1955), The Sins of Lola Montes (1955), Escapade (1957), The Foxiest Girl in Paris (1957), Bernadette of Lourdes (1960), Captain Blood (1960), Long Live Henry IV ... Long Live Love (1961), Demons at Midnight (1961), Clerambard (1969), Hail the Artist (1973), and Baxter (1989). She was also featured on French television in such productions as Les Boussardel (1972), Le Chateau Perdu (1973), L’Ange de la Riviere Morte (1974), Les Grandes Conjurations: Le Connetable de Bourbon (1978), La Folle de Chaillot (1980), Adieu ma Cherie (1981), and La Florentine (1991).
Lise Delamare
DELANOE, PIERRE French songwriter Pierre Delanoe died of heart failure in Fourqueux, France, on December 27, 2006. He was 88. Delanoe was born Pierre Leroyer in Paris on December 16, 1918. He was working as a tax inspector in the 1940s when he began writing song lyrics. He joined with his brother-in-law, Frank Gerald, who set the lyrics to music and the two formed a singing act. He soon teamed with musician and singer Francois Silly, who later became known as Gilbert Becaud, to write songs. The two scored a hit with “Mes
Eloy de la Iglesia
DELAMARE, LISE French actress Lise Delamare died in Paris on July 25, 2006. She was 93. Delamare was born in Colombes, France, on April 9, 1913. She began her career on stage in the early 1930s, performing with the Comedie Francaise. She performed with the troupe often over the next thirty years. Delamare also appeared frequently in films, with such credits as Pension Mimosas (1935), The Cheat (1937), La Marseillaise (1938), Sins of Youth (1941), Wicked Duchess (1942), The Fantastic Symphony (1942), Twisted Mistress (1942), Mlle. De-
Pierre Delanoe
91 Mains” in 1953, which was later covered as “Your Love” by Petula Clark. They also wrote “Le Jour Ou La Pluie Viendra,” which Jane Morgan sang as “The Day the Rains Came” in 1958. Delanoe and Becaud’s best known song was 1955’s “Je T’Appartiens,” which was recorded as “Let It Be Me” by such artists as Tom Jones, Nina Simone, Bob Dylan, Sonny & Cher, and the Everly Brothers. Their 1961 hit “El Maintenant,” became “What Now, My Love,” and was covered by Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, and Petula Clark. Delanoe wrote the lyrics to over 5,000 songs during his career and also translated many American and British hits into French. He served as president of France’s Sacem, the federation of artists and composers, from 1984 to 1994.
DE LA ROSA, NELSON Nelson De La Rosa, the diminutive actor who was best known for his role as Marlon Brando’s tiny mimic in 1997’s The Island of Dr. Moreau died of a heart attack in Providence, Rhode Island, on October 22, 2006. He was 38. De La Rosa was born in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic, in June of 1968. Standing at only 2'4" tall (or 2'9", depending on the source), he was billed as the world’s smallest man while appearing in such circuses as Hermanos Mazzini and Las Aguilas Humanas. De La Rosa was featured in several horror films in Italy in the late 1980s including Fuoco Incrociato (1987) and Ratman (1988) as the title creature. He became a popular television personality in South America with appearances on such shows as Sabado Sensacional and Don Francisco’s Sabado Gigante. His role in Island of Dr. Moreau became the inspiration for the Austin Powers character Mini-Me, played by Verne Troyer. De La Rosa’s friendship with fellow Dominican, Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez, led him to become an unofficial good luck mascot for the baseball team during their 2004 World Series victory.
2006 • Obituaries Delegall was also seen in the tele-films Dr. Strange (1978), Betrayal (1978), The Ordeal of Patty Hearst (1979), On Wings of Eagles (1986), Back to Back (1996), Murder Without Conviction (2004), and Jane Doe: Til Death Do Us Part (2005). His other television credits include episodes of Bonanza, Police Story, Marcus Welby, M.D., Caribe, Adam-12, Starsky and Hutch, Good Times, Project U.F.O., Benson, The White Shadow, The Jeffersons, Quincy, Knight Rider, Hill Street Blues, The Twilight Zone, Hunter, Matlock, Valerie, Family Matters, Knots Landing, The Good Life, Sister, Sister, The Drew Carey Show, Sparks, and The Agency. Delegall also served as a producer and director on the 1997 series The Gregory Hines Show, and directed episodes of Linc’s in 1998. He taught acting at East Los Angeles College, and was an acting coach for such performers as Gregory Hines, Malcolm Jamal Warner, and Tyra Banks.
Bob Delegall
DELEON, JACK Actor Jack DeLeon died in Los Angeles on October 16, 2006. He was 81. DeLeon was born on December 19, 1924. DeLeon was a frequent performer on television from the early 1960s. He was seen in episodes of such series as Miami Undercover, Everglades, Get Smart, The Governor & J.J., Emergency, The Lost Saucer, The Rookies, Starsky and Hutch, Sanford and Son, Switch, Tabitha, Too Close for Comfort, and Archie Bunker’s Place. He was also featured in the recurring role
Nelson de la Rosa (the diminutive star of Ratman)
DELEGALL, BOB Actor Bob Delegall died after a long illness with prostate cancer at his Venice, California, home on March 21, 2006. He was 60. Delegall was born on July 24, 1945. He appeared frequently in films and on television from the early 1970s. His film credits include Hangup (1974), Sparkle (1976), Honor Bound (1988), Total Exposure (1991), Pizza Man (1991), Saints and Sinners (1994), and Secret Games 3 (1995).
Jack De Leon
Obituaries • 2006
92
of Marty Morrison in the Barney Miller series from the mid–1970s. DeLeon also appeared in several films during his career including I Wonder Who’s Killing Her Now? (1975), The Carhops (1975), Linda Lovelace for President (1975), Train Ride to Hollywood (1975), The Choirboys (1977), and Little Miss Marker (1980). He was also a voice performer in such animated productions as Halloween Is Grinch Night (1977), The Hobbit (1977), Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (1979), The Kwicky Koala Show (1981), Spider-Man (1981), and Rubik, the Amazing Cube (1983). DE LEUR, SYLVIA Dutch actress Sylvia de Leur died of Lou Gehrig’s disease in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on April 20, 2006. She was 72. De Leur was born in Breslau, Germany, on May 30, 1933. She performed in films and on television from the 1960s. De Leur was seen in the films Diary of a Hooker (1971), Daniel (1971), The Burglar (1972), Pallieter (1976), De Mantel der Liefde (1978), Vroeger kon je Lachen (1983), and Evenings (1989). She also appeared in television productions of Joop ter Heul (1968), Mijn Tante Victoria (1972), Pommetje Horlepiep (1976), Dolly Dots (1983), Beppie (1989), Tatort— Medizinmanner (1990), and Baantjer (2004).
Mary Orr Denham
DENTON DE GRAY, TERRY British character actor Terry Denton de Gray died in England on March 6, 2006. He was 81. Denton de Gray was born in England on July 5, 1924. He began his career on stage, and soon found himself performing magic acts and escape tricks. He appeared on television in a small role in the 1955 BBC production of Quatermass II, and appeared in small roles in several films including The Battle of the River Plate (1956), The Heart Within (1957), The Crossroad Gallows (1958), and It Happened in Athens (1962). Denton de Gray was best known for his numerous appearances garbed as King Henry VIII. He began imitating King Henry at a theme restaurant in the 1960s and had formed Swansflight Productions World of Fantasy in the early 1980s to stage theme events throughout England. Though his company produced flights of fancy from cowboy towns to pirate ships, Denton de Gray continued to make appearances as Henry VIII throughout his life.
Sylvia de Leur
DENHAM, MARY ORR Author Mary Orr Denham died in New York City on September 22, 2006. She was 87. Denham was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 21, 1918. She began writing plays in the 1940s with such credits as the 1944 Broadway production of Wallflower. The play, which was co-written with her husband Reginald Denham, was adapted for film in 1948. Her best known work was the short story “The Wisdom of Eve” which first appeared in Cosmopolitan magazine in May of 1946. A film version, written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and starring Bette Davis and Anne Baxter, was released in 1950. The story was later turned into the Tony Award–winning musical Applause. Denham’s sequel to the original short-story titled “More About Eve” was published in Cosmopolitan in July of 1951. Denham also wrote for television in the 1950s, scripting episodes of Mr. and Mrs. North and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. She also appeared on Broadway in numerous plays including Three Men on a Horse, Jupiter Laughs, and The Desperate Hours.
Terry Denton de Gray (as King Henry VIII) DE PONFILLY, CHRISTOPHE French film director and writer Christophe de Ponfilly committed suicide in France on May 16, 2006. He was 55. De Ponfilly was an expert on Afghanistan and made several television documentaries about the country. He began directing documentaries in the mid–1980s, with such credits as Les Combattants de l’Insolence (1985), Autofolies (1990), With Heart and Soul (19991), Chronique des Hauts
93 Plateaud (1993), Do, re, mi, fa sol, la di, do, les Kummer (1994), Naitres, des Histoires Banales Mais Belles (1994), Les Derniers Pirates (1996), Mariages et Contes de Fee (1998), Et Vive l’Ecole! (1998), Massoud, the Afghan (1998), Monsieur le Rabbin (2000), A la Memoire de Massoud (2002), and Massoud et la Delegation de l’Espoir (2002). De Ponfilly’s first feature film, L’Etoile du Soldat, had completed filming shortly before his death.
2006 • Obituaries was born in Berlin, Germany, on May 9, 1946. He wrote and recorded many popular songs from the early 1960s including the albums Shake Hands! Keep Smiling! (1964), Marmor, Stein und Eisen Bricht (1965), Gute Tage & Schlechte Tage (1973), Drafi (1982), Lost in New York City (1989), Zukunfft (1998), and Wer war Schuld Daran (2002). He also wrote hit songs for such artists as Peggy March and Tina Rainford. Deutscher also performed frequently on German television and was featured as Giacomo Bertini in the 1989 mini-series Die Bertinis.
Christophe de Ponfilly
DE UTRERA, FERNANDA
Spanish flamenco singer Fernanda de Utrera died in Utrera, Spain, on August 24, 2006. She was 83. De Utrera was born in Utrera on February 9, 1923. She became a noted flamenco artist by the age of 10, performing in local venues, and made her film debut with her younger sister, Bernarda, in Duende and Mystery of Flamenco in 1952. She began singing professionally in Madrid in 1957, appearing at nightclubs throughout Spain despite the misgivings of her family. She and her sister performed throughout Spain, and made their debut in the United States at the New York World’s Fair in 1964. She made numerous recordings and appeared in the films La Casa de Bernarda Alba (1987), Flamenco (1995), and Am I Beautiful? (1998).
Drafi Deutscher
DEVAL, ANNE-SOPHIE French teen actress Anne-Sophie Deval died of cancer in Paris, France, on July 10, 2006. She was 16. Deval was born in France on December 5, 1989. A child actress, she was featured in the 1999 tele-film Parents a Mi-Temps: Chasses-Croises. She was also seen in the 2005 film Prozac Tango and an episode of Commissaire Cordier. She was diagnosed with cancer in October of 2005.
Anne-Sophie Deval
Fernanda de Utrera
DEUTSCHER, DRAFI German singer and composer Drafi Deutscher died of heart failure in Frankfurt, Germany, on June 9, 2006. He was 60. Deutscher
DEVARAJAN, G. Indian film composer G. Devarajan died of a heart attack in a Chennai, India, hospital on March 15, 2006. He was 78. Devarajan was born in Paravur, India, in 1927. He scored over 350 Malayalam language films from the early 1950s, often working with lyricist Vayalar Rama Varma. His numerous film credits include Kalam Marannu (1955), Bharya (1962),
Obituaries • 2006 Doctor (1963), Anna (1964), Kattu Pookkal (1965), Rowdy (1966), Jail (1966), Chitra Mela (1967), Awal (1967), Wild Monkey (1968), Susie (1969), Capital (1969), Adimagal (1969), Tara (1970), You Made Me a Communist (1970), Thettu (1971), Line Bus (1971), Devi (1972), Swarga Puthri (1973), Staircases (1973), Chaayam (1973), Pancha Thanthram (1974), Durga (1974), Guest (1974), When the Kabani River Turned Red (1975), Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1975), Romeo (1976), Missi (1976), Colonel and Collector (1976), Sreedevi (1977), Tolling of the Bell (1977), The Great Teacher Kesavan (1977), Red Seedling (1977), Green Room (1977), The Lamp and the Light (1978), Give Me Another Life (1978), Adolescent Desire (1978), Njan Njan Mathram (1978), Aana Paachan (1978), Chorus (1979), Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp (1979), Ivar (1980), Cashew Forest (1981), Sleep (1981), The Ash (1981), Villainpur Matha (1983), Himavahini (1983), Sree Narayana Guru (1985), The Balance of Yesterday (1988), and Thangachi Kalyanam (1989).
94 ternet videos for her fans. Devi’s closest approximation to mainstream media was a small role in the 2000 adult feature 3 Strikes.
DEVOS, RAYMOND Belgian comedian Raymond Devos died of complications from a cerebral hemorrhage in Saint-Remy-Les Chevreux, France, on June 15, 2006. He was 83. Devos was born in Mouscron, Belgium, on November 9, 1922, and was raised in northern France. He began his career as a performer in cabarets in Paris. The hulking comic with shaggy brown hair entertained audiences for over fifty years. Devos was featured in several films during his career including The Severed Head (1957), This Pretty World (1957), Le Sicilien (1958), Work and Freedom (1959), Tartarin de Tarascon (1962), Pierrot Goes Wild (1965), and The Right of the Maddest (1973) which he also wrote and directed.
Raymond Devos G. Devarajan
DEVI, ANGELA Internet adult model Angela Devi was found dead in her home in Scottsdale, Arizona, of an apparent suicide by asphyxiation on March 31, 2006. She was 30. Devi was born Angela Dhingra in New York City on July 30, 1975. A model of east Indian descent, Devi was best know for her modeling at Foxes.com and her own website. She also produced in-
Angela Devi
DIAZ, RUDY Character actor Rudy Diaz died on December 5, 2006. He was 88. Diaz served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper during World War II. After his discharge from the Army he joined the Los Angeles Police Department, and became a character actor in films and television after his retirement from the department in 1967. Diaz was often cast as an American Indian, and was seen in such films Bandolero! (1968), Coogan’s Bluff (1968), Hellfighters (1968), Mackenna’s Gold (1969), Che! (1969), The Undefeated (1969), Pieces of Dreams (1970),
Rudy Diaz
95 Flap (1970), One Little Indian (1973), Charley Varrick (1973), A Piece of the Action (1977), Windwalker (1980), Gorp (1980), and Painted Desert (1993). Diaz was also a familiar face on television, appearing in the tele-films Yuma (1971), The Macahans (1976), Donner Pass: The Road to Survival (1978), Desperate Women (1978), Steel Cowboy (1978), and The Legend of Walks Far Woman (1982). He also guest starred in episodes of Bonanza, The Bold Ones: The Lawyers, Alias Smith and Jones, Dusty’s Trail, Cannon, Hawaii Five-O, Kung Fu, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Baretta, Barbary Coast, Far Out Space Nuts, The Rockford Files, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Born to the Wind, and Matt Houston.
DICKINSON, MARTHA Singer Martha Dickinson died of congestive heart failure in Palmdale, California on March 22, 2006. She was 65. Dickinson was born in Grove City, Pennsylvania in 1940. She began her career in the early 1950s as part of the Kelly Sisters Trio. She and her sisters appeared on television on the Bob Crosby Show, the Dean Martin Show and Hullabaloo, before disbanding in 1965. Later in the decade, Martha sang with the Ed Winters jazz trio. For the past decade she reunited with her sisters as part of the Modernaires.
2006 • Obituaries in Georgia on December 4, 1924. He worked as a journalist before writing his first novel when he became bored while serving on a trial jury. The novel, Sharky’s Machine, was a best-seller in 1978 and was adapted to film, starring Burt Reynolds as vice cop Tom Sharky in 1981. Another of Diehl’s novels, Primal Fear (1993), was adapted to film in 1996 starring Richard Gere as attorney Martin Vail and Edward Norton as an altar boy accused of the brutal murder of an archbishop. The Vail character returned in two of Diehl’s subsequent novels, Show of Fear (1995) and Reign in Hell (1997). His other works include Hooligans and Thai Horse.
DIENER, JOAN Actress and singer Joan Diener died from complications of cancer in Manhattan, New York, on May 13, 2006. She was 76. Diener was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on February 24, 1930. She began her career on stage in a small role of a 1950 comedy Season in the Sun, which led to a feature role in the 1953 Broadway musical Kismet. After a decade long absence from Broadway, she returned to the stage to star as Dulcinea, the beloved of Don Quixote in the hit musical Man of La Mancha (1965). The production was directed by her husband, Albert Marre. She reprised her role in revivals over the next twenty-five years and returned to Broadway in 1992 to replace Sheena Easton as Dulcinea.
Martha Dickinson
DIEHL, WILLIAM Novelist William Diehl died of an aortic aneurysm in an Atlanta, Georgia, hospital on November 24, 2006. He was 81. Diehl was born
Joan Diener (from the Broadway production of Man of La Mancha)
DILL, ANDY Andy Dill, a leading adult gay film star, died of meningitis in a San Francisco, California, hospital on December 6, 2006. He was 39. Dill was born in Port Washington, New York, on October 12, 1967. He began working in the adult film industry in 2003, appearing in such movies as Eager to Sleaze (2003), There Goes the Neighborhood (2003), Toolbox Trilog y: Hammered (2004), Seedy (2004), Hunky Cuisine (2004), Tag! You’re It! (2004), and Team Players (2005). Dill also directed and starred in the 2004 film Bedrock, and was involved with online adult entertainment. (See photograph on page 96.)
William Diehl
DILLON, MICK Mick Dillon, a jockey turned movie stuntman and actor, died in England on July 23, 2006. He was 80. Dillon was born in Epsom, Surrey, England, on June 15, 1926, and began working with
Obituaries • 2006
96 featured in numerous Hungarian films and television productions from the early 1960s. Dobak was seen in the films Segesvar (1974), 141 Minutes from the Unfinished Sentence (1975), The Sword (1977), For Those I Loved (1983), 1989’s The Phantom of the Opera with Robert Englund, The Alchemist and the Virgin (1999), Werckmeister Harmonies (2000), and Blind Guys (2002).
Andy Dill
horses at an early age. He began riding professionally in 1941. After serving in the Royal Air Force during World War II, he resumed riding, competing in National Hunt races. He made his film debut as a jockey in a scene in the 1957 feature Just My Luck. He also shared the title role with two other stuntmen for the 1961 monster movie Gorgo, taking turns wearing the suit of the prehistoric beast that trampled London. Dillon was also one of the ambulatory plants in the sci-fi classic The Day of the Triffids (1963), and was a menacing Dalek in Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965). He also served as Buster Keaton’s stand-in in the 1966 comedy film A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Dillon also performed stunt work or appeared in small roles in the films Carry on Cowboy (1965), Help! (1965) doubling Beatle Ringo Starr, How I Won the War (1967), the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice, The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), Carry on Henry VIII (1971), Tales of Beatrix Potter (1974), Dead Cert (1974), and Champions (1984). Dillon also starred in the 1974 BBC racing drama Whip Hand, and starred as racehorse trainer Jack Harrup in the 1982 children’s miniseries Jockey School.
DOBBS, FRANK Q. Film and television director Frank Q. Dobbs died of cancer in Houston, Texas, on February 15, 2006. He was 66. Dobbs was born in Houston, Texas, on July 29, 1939. The Huntsville, Alabama, native began his career as a newspaper reporter before moving into television as a news cameraman and reporter. He produced over two dozen documentaries for the local Houston, Texas, station KPRC in the 1960s, and was co-creator of the popular syndicated series The Eyes of Texas. Dobbs also scripted episodes of the classic western television series Gunsmoke in the mid–1960s. He directed and scripted the 1972 supernatural horror film Enter the Devil, and scripted the 1978 action film Smokey and the Good Time Outlaws. He also wrote and directed the films Hotwire (1980) and Uphill All the Way (1986). Dobbs produced and scripted the tele-films Houston: The Legend of Texas (1986) and Rio Diablo (1993), and co-wrote the tele-play for 1994’s Gambler V: Playing for Keeps, which also saw him appear in a small role as a Pinkerton agent. He served as a producer on the tele-films The Legend of Billy the Kid (1994), Rough Riders (1997), and Everything That Rises (1998), and the Larry McMurtry mini-series Streets of Laredo (1995) and Dead Man’s Walk (1996). He also scripted episodes of the 1998 television series The Magnificent Seven and the 2003 film Hard Ground. Dobbs produced the 2001 film Texas Rangers, and the tele-films Johnson County War (2002) and The Last Cowboy (2003). He wrote and produced the 2004 tele-film A Place Called Home. Dobbs also served as cinematographer or second unit director on such films and television productions as Amargosa (2000), Night of the Wolf (2002), Santa, Jr. (2002), The Last Cowboy (2003), Straight from the Heart (2003), Love Comes Softly (2003), Arthur Hailey’s Detective (2005), and Mysterious Island (2005).
Mick Dillon (stuntman who wore the monster suit for Gorgo)
DOBAK, LAJOS Hungarian actor Lajos Dobak died in Hungary on April 19, 2006. He was 77. Dobak was born in Budapest, Hungary, on July 25, 1928. He was
Frank Q. Dobbs
97 DOBSON, TAMARA Actress Tamara Dobson, who starred as Blaxploitation screen icon Cleopatra Jones in films in the 1970s, died of complications from pneumonia and multiple sclerosis in a Baltimore, Maryland, rehabilitation facility on October 2, 2006. She was 59. Dobson was born in Baltimore on May 14, 1947. She began her career as a model, appearing in print for such magazines as Vogue, Mademoiselle, and Ebony. Noted for her huge Afro hairstyle and 6'2" height, she was also seen in ads and television commercials for Faberge, Chanel and Revlon’s Charlie perfume. She made her film debut as Yul Brynner’s girlfriend in the 1972 feature Fuzz, and appeared in a small role in Come Back, Charleston Blue (1972). The following year she introduced the character of kung fu fighting government agent Cleopatra Jones in the film of the same name. She reprised her role in the 1975 sequel Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold with Stella Stevens. Her other film credits include Norman, Is That You? (1976) with Redd Foxx and Chained Heat (1983) with Stella Stevens and Linda Blair, and the tele-films Murder at the World Series (1977) and Amazons (1984). She also starred as Samantha in the Saturday morning science fiction series Jason of Star Command from 1980 to 1981, and was featured in an episode of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. She left show business in the mid–1980s, and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2000.
2006 • Obituaries Dohler producing, writing, and photographing such titles as Harvesters (2001), Stakes (2002), Crawler (2004), and Vampire Sisters (2004).
Don Dohler
DOLL, CLARISSA Adult film actress Clarissa Doll was found dead at her home in Las Vegas on March 9, 2006, reportedly a suicide. She was 26. Doll was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on July 12, 1979. She worked as a model and Budweiser Girl before making her debut in adult films with 2004’s The Luv Generation. She also appeared in the adult films City of Flesh (2004), Manhattan Girls (2004), and Wild in the Streets (2005). Doll was also seen on television in the Playboy Channel’s Sexcetera and HBO’s Real Sex. Her other television credits include appearances on VH1’s Centerfold Babylon and E!’s Wild On.
Tamara Dobson (as Cleopatra Jones)
DOHLER, DON Filmmaker and film magazine publisher Don Dohler died of complications from lung and brain cancer in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 2, 2006. He was 60. Dohler was founder, editor, and publisher of the science fiction and horror film publication Cinemagic from 1972 to 1979. He also created several other film magazines including Amazing Cinema and Movie Club. Dohler was also a pioneer independent filmmaker who produced, directed, wrote, edited, and appeared in a small role in the 1978 science fiction feature The Alien Factor. He followed this success with the 1980 horror film Fiend, and a sci-fi horror Nightbeast in 1982. He also wrote and directed 1985’s The Galaxy Invader, and directed the 1987 horror film Blood Massacre. Dohler abandoned filmmaking for over a decade before returning as the producer, director, writer, and editor of Alien Factor 2: The Alien Rampage in 1999. He joined with Joe Ripple to for Timewarp Films in 2000, with
Clarissa Doll
DONNER, ROBERT Veteran actor Robert Donner, who was best known for playing such off beat characters as Yancy Tucker on The Waltons and Exidor on Mork and Mindy, died suddenly of a heart attack in Sherman Oaks, California, on June 8, 2006. He was 75. Donner was born in New York City on April 27, 1931. He served four years in the Navy and worked at various odd jobs on the West Coast before embarking on an acting career at the urging of neighbor and friend Clint Eastwood. Donner made his film debut in the late 1950s,
Obituaries • 2006 and was featured in such films as Rio Bravo (1959), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), Red Line 7000 (1965), Agent for H.A.R.M. (1966), El Dorado (1966), The Magnificent Stranger (1967), The Spirit Is Willing (1967), Cool Hand Luke (1967) as Boss Shorty, Catalina Caper (1967), The Private Navy of Sgt. O’Farrell (1968), Skidoo (1968), The Undefeated (1969), Chisum (1970), Zigzag (1970), Rio Lobo (1970), Something Big (1971), Vanishing Point (1971), One More Train to Rob (1971), Mrs. Pollifax — Spy (1971), Fools’ Parade (1971), Pickup on 1010 (1972), High Plains Drifter (1973) as the Preacher, The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973), Santee (1973), Bite the Bullet (1975), The Boy Who Talked to Badgers (1975), Take a Hard Ride (1975), The Last Hard Men (1976), Damnation Alley (1977), Five Days from Home (1979), Under the Rainbow (1981), Hysterical (1983), and Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1987). He was also seen in numerous tele-films including Lassie: Well of Love (1970), The Intruders (1970), Sarge (1971), No Place to Run (1972), The Horror at 37,000 Feet (1973), Columbo: Any Old Port in a Storm (1973), Mrs. Sundance (1974), Nakia (1974), Young Pioneers (1976), Captains and the Kings (1976), Young Pioneers’ Christmas (1976), Trail of Danger (1977), Standing Tall (1978), How the West Was Won (1978), The Rocket Boy (1989), Columbo: Caution! Murder Can Be Hazardous to Your Health (1991), The Hit Man (1991), With a Vengeance (1992), Columbo: Undercover (1994), and Alien Nation: Dark Horizon (1994). Donner was featured as Mr. Peters in the frontier series The Young Pioneers in 1978 and was Yancy Tucker on The Waltons from 1972 to 1979. He reprised his role as Yancy Tucker in the tele-films A Day for Thanks on Walton’s Mountain (1982) and A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion (1993). Donner also appeared as Exidor on the comedy series Mork and Mindy from 1978 to 1982. He also starred as Mayor Chamberlain Brown in the short-lived western fantasy series Legend in 1995. His numerous television credits also include episodes of Rawhide, Combat!, Laredo, Daniel Boone, Run for Your Life, Garrison’s Gorillas, I Spy, The Virginian, The Outsider, The Guns of Will Sonnett, The Big Valley, Bonanza, The High Chaparral, The Mod Squad, Longstreet, Alias Smith and Jones, Ghost Story, Kung Fu, McMillan and Wife, Mannix, The Rookies, Adam-12 in the recurring role of Tee Jay, Griff, McCloud, The Six Million Dollar
98 Man, Gunsmoke, Cannon, Get Christie Love, S.W.A.T., Sara, City of Angels, Charlie’s Angels, Code R, CHiPs, Eight Is Enough, The Incredible Hulk, Fame, Voyagers! as Buffalo Bill Cody, Little House on the Prairie, Blue Thunder, Simon & Simon, The A-Team, The Fall Guy, Starman, Rags to Riches, Matlock, Falcon Crest in the recurring role of Tucker Fixx, Good Morning, Miss Bliss, MacGyver, Murder, She Wrote, In the Heat of the Night, Hearts Afire, Married with Children, The Naked Truth, Pacific Blue, Early Edition, Center of the Universe, and Dharma and Greg. Donner’s final film appearance was in the 2006 feature Hoot.
DONOGHUE, ROGER Boxer Roger Donoghue, who taught Marlon Brando to box for the film On the Waterfront, died of complications of Alzheimer’s disease in Greenport, New York, on August 20, 2006. He was 75. Donoghue was born in Yonkers, New York, on November 20, 1930. He began boxing as a teenager in the back of pool halls and turned pro at the age of 18. He had a professional record of 25 wins in 27 matches when he made his debut in Madison Square Garden in August of 1951. Donoghue’s career took a sudden turn when his opponent, George Flores, died of injuries he received in a fight. He retired from the ring soon after. Though no longer in the fight game, he used his talents in Hollywood to train Brando in his role as a prize fighter in Elia Kazan’s 1954 film classic On the Waterfront. Donoghue also taught James Dean to fight in Nicholas Ray’s film Rebel Without a Cause. He and Ray planned a film based on Donoghue’s experiences starring Dean, but the young actor’s sudden death in an automobile accident ended the project.
Roger Donoghue
Robert Donner (as Exidor from Mork and Mindy)
DOST, DIETER German actor Dieter Dost died in Berlin, Germany, on April 8, 2006. He was 69. Dost was born in Berlin on September 12, 1936. He appeared frequently in German films and television productions from the 1980s including the films Otto—Der Neue Film (1987), Anita — Dances of Vice (1987), HelsinkiNaples All Night Long (1987), Superstau (1991), Otto — Der Liebesfilm (1992), No More Mr. Nice Guy (1993), Ruby Cairo (1993), Hosenlos (1994), Deathline (1996), Friedrich und der Verzauberte Einchbrecher (1997), Forklift Driver Klaus: The First Day on the Job (2000), The
99 Days Between (2001), What to Do in Case of Fire (2001), Oegeln (2004), and Sitzriesen an Stehimbissen (2005). He also appeared on television in productions of Tatort— Berliner Barchen (2001), The Perfect Child (2001), Tatort— Der Vierte Mann (2004), and Ein Hund, Zwei Koffer und die Ganz Grosse Liebe (2005).
2006 • Obituaries Shades of Blue (1992), The Erotic Adventures of the Three Musketeers (1992), Chameleons (1992), Beverly Hills 90269 (1992), The Poetry of the Flesh (1993), The Maddams Family (1993), Leena Meets Frankenstein (1993), Cheerleader Nurses (1993), The Bashful Blonde from Beautiful Bendover (1993), UFO Tracker (1994), Sex Lives of Clowns (1994), The Secrets of Bonnie and Clyde (1994), The Devil in Miss Jones 5: The Inferno (1994), Confessions of a Slutty Nurse (1994), Babewatch (1994), Luna Chick (1995), A Clockwork Org y (1995), Domination Nation (1997), Mission Erotica (1998), A Witch’s Tail (2000), Parental Advisory (2001), Spring Chickens (2002), and Xtreme Measures (2005). Dough also directed over 70 adult films from the 1990s. He is survived by his wife, fellow adult film star Monique DeMoan.
DOUGH, JON Adult actor Jon Dough was found dead of a reported suicide on August 27, 2006. He was 43. He was born Chet Anuszek in Pennsylvania on November 12, 1962. He began performing in the adult film industry in 1985 and was featured in over 1000 titles during the next two decades. Also using such stage names as Rock Taylor, Jan Sanders, Chet Sanders, Chad Sanders, Jon Doe, and Jon Doc, Dough’s numerous film credits include Educating Nina (1985), Young and Innocent (1987), The Godmother (1987), Who Reamed Rosie Rabbit? (1988), Surfside Sex (1988), Scent of Samantha (1988), Moonstroked (1988), Mad Love (1988), Fireball (1988), Debbie Does Dallas 4 (1988), The Days of Our Wives (1988), Batteries Included (1988), Who Framed Ginger Grant? (1989), Mystic Pieces (1989), Last Rumba in Paris (1989), Earthquake Girls (1989), Beach Blanket Brat (1989), Rainwoman 2: After the Deluge (1990), Pyromaniac (1990), The New Barbarians (1990), Haunted Passions (1990), X Factor: The Next Generation (1991), Twin Peeks (1991), Sins of Tami Monroe (1991), City of Sin (1991),
DOUGLAS, MIKE Television talk show host Mike Douglas died in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, on August 11, 2006. He was 81. He was born Michael Delaney Dowd, Jr., in Chicago, Illinois, on August 11, 1925. He began performing as a singer while in his teens and went to California in the late 1940s, where he sang with Kay Kyser’s band. He also performed on the television musical quiz show Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge in 1949, and was the singing voice of Prince Charming in the Disney animated film Cinderella in 1950. He subsequently returned to Chicago, where he hosted the radio program Hi, Ladies. Douglas began his television talk show, The Mike Douglas Show, in Cleveland in 1961. The show soon became a syndicated hit for Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, and filming was moved to Philadelphia in 1965. It became the first syndicated television show to win an Emmy Award, featuring an array of newsworthy guests ranging from Richard Nixon, Ralph Nader, and Malcolm X, the entertainers Barbra Streisand, Richard Pryor, John Lennon, and KISS. The Mike Douglas Show was one of television’s most popular programs during its peak in the late 1960s, and continued for twenty years until 1981. Douglas was also featured in cameo roles in several films during his career including The Last Valley (1971), Gator (1976) as the Governor, Nasty Habits (1977), The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981), and Birds of Prey (1985). He was also a guest on such television series as The Ed Sullivan Show, What’s My Line?, The Hollywood Palace, The Jackie Glea-
Jon Dough
Mike Douglas
Dieter Dost
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son Show, The Andy Williams Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Hour, The Greatest American Hero, Love Boat, and Knots Landing. Douglas’ memoir, I’ll Be Right Back: Memories of TV’s Greatest Talk Show was published in 1999. His survivors include his wife of 62 years, Genevieve, and their three daughters.
DOWNIE, GARY Gary Downie, who served as production manager on the British sci-fi series Doctor Who, died after a long bout with cancer in Brighton, Sussex, England, on January 19, 2006. Downie was the partner of the late John Nathan-Turner, the producer of Doctor Who. He also worked on the television series All Creatures Great and Small and Star Cops.
(1984), Adieu Blaireau (1985), Twist Again in Moscow (1986), Club de Rencontres (1987), Chouans! (1988), and Sam’s Enough (1992). Doyen also appeared frequently on French television, performing in such productions as Cagliostro (1973), Les Mohicans de Paris (1973), L’Arc de Triomple (1975), Comme du Bon Pain (1976), Les 400 Coups de Virginie (1979), L’Enterrement de Monsieur Bouvet (1980), Jules et Juju (1982), Joulien Fontanes, Magistrat (1984), Vivement Lundi (1988), La Grande Cabriole (1989), and Les Enquetes du Commissaire Maigret (1989).
Jacqueline Doyen
Gary Downie
DOYEN, JACQUELINE French actress Jacqueline Doyen died at a hospital in Mantes-la-Jolie, France, on September 3, 2006. She was 76. Doyen was born in Paris on February 14, 1930. She trained as an actress from the late 1940s and began her film debut in the mid– 1950s. Doyen, who was noted for her roles in films by Michel Audiard, appeared in such features as The Wages of Sin (1956), Mr. Steve (1957), La Roue (1957), The Ostrich Has Two Eggs (1957), Asphalt (1958), Good Medicine (1958), Zazie in the Underground (1960), The Vendetta (1961), A Very Private Affair (1962), Paris, My Love (1962), We Will Go to Deauville (1962), Sorrel Flower (1968), A Golden Widow (1969), City of the Cormoran (1970), The One Man Band (1970), The Black Flag Waves Over the Scow (1971), Le Sex Shop (1972), Ursule and Grelu (1974), OK Patron (1974), Juliette and Juliette (1974), We Were Mistaken About a Love Story (1974), How to Make Good When One Is a Jerk and a Crybaby (1974), Young Casanova (1974), Hard Love (1975), No Time for Breakfast (1975), Cher Victor (1975), Perversions (1976), Run After Me Until I Catch You (1976), L’Essayeuse (1976), Mayor Fayard Called the Sheriff (1977), Dis Bonjour a la Dame (1977), Monsieur Papa (1977), Peppermint Soda (1977), Dear Detective (1978), Take It from the Top (1978), Hothead (1979), Le Coup de Sirocco (1979), We’ll Grow Thin Together (1979), Cocco Mio (1979), Heads or Tails (1980), Voulez-Vous un Bebe Nobel? (1980), La Vie Continue (1981), Better Late Than Never (1982), A Thousand Billion Dollars (1982), At First Sight (1983), The Frog Prince (1984), Charlots Connections (1984), Le Garde du Corps
DOYLE, PEGGY Character actress Margaret “Peggy” Doyle Amacker died in San Luis Obispo, California, on July 3, 2006. She was 85. Doyle was born in Berkeley, California, on February 2, 1921. She appeared frequently on the stage in California, and was seen often on television in episodes of such series as The Brady Bunch, The Odd Couple, Happy Days, Cannon, Laverne and Shirley, The Incredible Hulk, CHiPs, Highway to Heaven, Murder, She Wrote, Alien Nation, Growing Pains, Coach, General Hospital, ER, Everybody Loves Raymond, It’s Like, You Know..., The Trouble with Normal, and Dharma and Greg. Doyle also appeared in the films The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977) and Fletch (1985), and the tele-films Dominic’s Dream (1974), Laguna Heat (1987), The Knife and Gun Club (1990), For Their Own Good (1993), and Seduced by Madness: The Diane Borchardt Story (1996).
Peggy Doyle
101 DRAKE, CHARLIE British comedian Charlie Drake died in England on December 24, 2006. He was 81. Drake was born Charles Edward Springall in Elephant and Castle, South London, on June 19, 1925. He began performing on stage while in his teens. He served in the military during World War II and resumed his career after the war. Drake was featured in the 1954 film The Golden Link. He joined with fellow comedian Jack Edwardes to star in the children’s television show Mick and Montmorency in 1955. He left the show after several years to host his own series Drake’s Progress. He became a leading television comedian in England, and was also seen in several films including Sands of the Desert (1960), Petticoat Pirates (1961), The Cracksman (1963), and Mister Ten Per Cent (1967). He also appeared in the United States on The Ed Sullivan Show, and his novelty songs “Splish, Splash” and “My Boomerang Won’t Come Back” were hits in England and overseas. He starred as Charles Rameses in the 1967 television series Who Is Sylvia?, and starred in the series The Worker in 1970 and Slapstick and Old Lace in 1971. He was also featured in the 1974 film Professor Popper’s Problem and the 1976 series Meet Peters & Lee. Drake appeared in the 1980 comedy film Rhubarb Rhubarb and starred as Smallweed in the 1985 television production of Bleak House on Masterpiece Theatre. He also appeared in television productions of Mr. H Is Late (1988), Endgame by Samuel Beckett (1989) as Nagg, and Filipina Dreamgirls (1991). In recent years Drake was featured as Baron Hardon in the adult comedy films Sinderella Live (1995) and Sinderella Comes Again (2004). His memoirs, Drake’s Progress, was published in 1986, and he retired in 1995 after suffering a stroke.
2006 • Obituaries
Music in Manhattan (1944), The Falcon in Hollywood (1944), Delightfully Dangerous (1945), Having Wonderful Crime (1945), Two O’Clock Courage (1945), A Walk in the Sun (1945), Strangler of the Swamp (1946), Tokyo Rose (1946), Fear in the Night (1947), This Time for Keeps (1947), The Lost Moment (1947), Battleground (1946), Father of the Bride (1950), Three Secrets (1950), Halls of Montezuma (1950), All That I Have (1951), Operation Pacific (1951), Pier 23 (1951), As You Were (1951), Forever My Love (1952), For Men Only (1952), Gobs and Gals (1952), and An Annapolis Story (1955). Drake was featured as Trooper Ed Blackburn in the 1954 sci-fi classic Them! He co-starred as Bob Rayburn, the white hunter, in Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, filmed in Mexico in the mid–1950s. He was also featured in episodes of Racket Squad, The Public Defender, Lassie, Stories of the Century, The Lone Ranger, Navy Log, Tales of Wells Fargo, Have Gun —Will Travel, Code 3, Flight, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Dragnet, and Miami Undercover. Drake retired from acting to become a successful real estate broker until his retirement in 1990.
Christian Drake (from Them!)
DRAKE, MILTON Songwriter Milton Drake, who was best known for writing the lyrics to the nonsense song “Mairzy Doats,” died in Florida on November 13, 2006. He was 90. Drake was born in New York City on August 3, 1916. He began performing on the
Charlie Drake
DRAKE, CHRISTIAN Christian Drake, who co-starred with Irish McCalla in the 1950s television jungle adventure series Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, died in Williamsburg, Virginia, on July 9, 2006. He was 82. Drake was born in Elmont, Virginia, on December 11, 1923. He served in the Marines on Guadalcanal during World War II, where he was wounded in action. After his discharge he was signed to a contract at RKO and began a career in films and television. Drake was featured in small roles in such films as Bride by Mistake (1944), Youth Runs Wild (1944), My Pal Wolf (1944),
Milton Drake
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radio, telling stories and playing the ukulele, while in his teens. Drake moved to Hollywood in the 1930s, where he wrote songs for films. He wrote the song “Willie of the Valley” which was sung by Mae West in the 1940 film My Little Chickadee. He also wrote songs for such films as Champagne Waltz (1937), The Awful Truth (1937), Who Killed Gail Preton (1938), Start Cheering (1938), South of Arizona (1938), Ride ’Em Cowgirl (1939), Everything on Ice (1939), Water Rustlers (1939), Blondie Meets the Boss (1939), Li’l Abner (1940), Across the Sierras (1941), North from the Lone Star (1941), and The Big Store (1941). His popular tunes, many written with songwriters Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston, also include “Hotta Chocolotta,” “Four Letter Varsity Man,” “I’m a Big Girl Now,” “Kiss Me Sweet,” “Last Dance with You,” “Java Jive,” “Nina Never Knew,” “Magdalena,” “Puhleeze Mister Hemingway,” “Spellbound,” “Winter in Miami,” and “Young and in Love.”
DRISCOLL, EDDIE Television personality Eddie Driscoll died in Portland, Maine, of complications from Alzheimer’s disease on September 23, 2006. He was 81. Driscoll was born on June 13, 1925. He began working in television in Bangor, Maine, in 1954 where he hosted numerous live television shows for WTWO-TV, which later became WLBZ-TV. He often created eccentric characters to amuse his audience while hosting such shows as Dialing for Dollars, The Great Money Movie, and The Supper-Time Super Shows. He retired from television in 1987.
Driskill also scripted the 1979 action film Seven, and was executive producer for the 1984 series Partners in Crime.
DRYAK, VLASTA Croatian actress Vlasta Dryak Kankel, who made her debut at the age of 6 in the first film produced in Croatia, the silent Vragoljanka, in 1919, died in Santa Monica, California, on March 8, 2006. She was 94. Dryak was born in Zagreb, Croatia, in 1911. She appeared in numerous productions at the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb during her career before settling in the United States. DUDLEY, ERNEST British crime writer Ernest Dudley, who created the radio sleuth Dr. Morelle, died in London on February 1, 2006. He was 97. He was born Vivian Ernest Coltman-Allen in Dudley, near Worcestershire, England, on July 23, 1908. He began performing with a touring theatrical company in the 1920s. He began scripting dramas for BBC in the 1930s, creating the series Mr. Walker Wants to Know, which he adapted as his first book in 1939. He worked as a journalist during World War II and continued writing for BBC Radio. During the war he was called upon to create a crime series for the BBC and developed the character of Dr. Morelle. The detective made his debut in the radio play on Monday Night at Eight in July of 1942 with Cecil Parker as Morelle and Dudley’s actress wife, Jane Grahame, was featured as his assistant Miss Frayle. Dudley also began the weekly series The Armchair Detective, with the author reviewing new detective tales and dramatizing excerpts from them. A film based on the series was produced in 1951, with Dudley starring. He continued to write for both radio and television in the 1950s, creating the series Judge for Yourself. He wrote 14 novels featured Dr. Morelle from 1947’s Menace of Dr. Morelle through 1960’s Nightmare for Dr. Morelle. His novel The Harassed Hero was adapted for film in 1954, and his story Secrets of the Old Bailey was adapted as an episode of Schlitz Playhouse of the Stars in 1958. He also wrote several historical novels including The Scarlett Widow (1957), The Face of Death (1958), and The Whistling Sands (1959), which was adapted for television. Dudley began writing animal stories in the 1970s including Rangi — Highlands Rescue Dog (1970), Arthur (1970), Rufus: The Remarkable True Story of a
Milton Drake
DRISKILL, WILLIAM Film and television writer William Driskill died of lung cancer in La Quinta, California, on June 2, 2006. He was 76. Driskill was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on March 1, 1930. He began his career as a writer at MGM, and scripted several films including Rockabilly Baby (1957) and Ada (1961). He also wrote episodes of Highway Patrol, Maverick, The Alaskans, Tarzan, Chase, The Feather and Father Gang, The American Girls, and Columbo.
Ernest Dudley (up to his neck in paperwork)
103 Tamed Fox (1972), and Chance and the Fire Horses (1972). He continued to write throughout his life, authoring the autobiographical Run for Your Life in 1985. His most recent work was the novelette, The Beetle, which he completed shortly before his death.
DUFF , AMANDA Amanda Duff, who appeared in a handful of films in the late 1930s before her marriage to screenwriter Philip Dunne, died of cancer at her home in San Francisco, California, on April 6, 2006. She was 92. Duff was born in Fresno, California, on March 6, 1914. She began her career on stage and starred in Robert Sherwood’s Broadway production of Tovarich in 1936. She was subsequently signed to a contract with 20th Century–Fox. She was featured in such films as Just Around the Corner (1938), Mr. Moto in Danger Island (1939) with Peter Lorre, Hotel for Women (1939), The Escape (1939), City of Chance (1940), Star Dust (1940), and The Devil Commands (1941) with Boris Karloff. While working at Fox she met screenwriter Philip Dunne and the two married in 1939. Duff quit acting in the early 1940s and turned to photography, achieving acclaim for her photographs of children. She and Dunne remained married until his death in 1992.
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of Charlie Chan (aka Happiness Is a Warm Clue) (1973), The President’s Plane Is Missing (1973), I Heard the Owl Call My Name (1973), If I Had a Million (1973), Slither (1974), A Cry for Help (1975), They Only Come Out at Night (1975), Griffin and Phoenix: A Love Story (1976), Florence Nightingale (1985), When We Were Young (1989), Columbo: Columbo Cries Wolf (1990), Columbo: Caution — Murder Can Be Hazardous to Your Health (1991), and Fatal Memories: The Eileen Frankling Story (1992). Duke was best known for directing the 1983 television mini-series The Thorn Birds.
Daryl Duke
Amanda Duff
DUKE, DARYL Film and television director Daryl Duke died of pulmonary fibrosis at his home in West Vancouver, Canada, on October 21, 2006. He was 77. Duke was born on March 8, 1929. He began his career working as an editor with Canada’s National Film Board in the early 1950s. He soon began directing for television, working with Canada’s CBC station. He produced several episodes of the public affairs series This Hour Has Seven Days. He worked in Hollywood from the 1960s, helming episodes of such series as Wojeck, The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, The Bold Ones: The Protectors, The Bold Ones: The Senator, Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, Banacek, Cool Million, The Psychiatrist, Ghost Story, Harry O, and Jigsaw John. Duke also directed several feature films including Payday (1973), David and Bert (1975), Shadow of the Hawk (1976), The Silent Partner (1978), Hard Feelings (1982), and Tai-Pan (1986). He remained best known for his work on television, helming the tele-films The Return
DUMAT, PHILIPPE French actor Philippe Dumat died in Paris on January 11, 2006. He was 80. Dumat was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, on March 4, 1925. He was featured in numerous French films and television productions from the 1950s including the features The Schemer (1957), The Magnificent Tramp (1959), The Night Watch (1960), Unexpected (1961), Les Livreurs (1961), Double Verdict (1961), The American Beauty (1961), Who Stole the Body? (1962), La Salamandre d’Or (1963), The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), The Soft Skin (1964), The Gorillas (1964), The Mad Adventures of the Bouncing Beauty (1967), The American (1969), Celeste (1970), Sex Life in a Convent (1972), Line Up and Lay Down (1973), The Down-inthe-Hole Gang (1974), Prickly Problems (1974), L’Intre-
Philippe Dumat
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pide (1975), and Holy Year (1976). Dumat also appeared on television in such productions as L’Inspecteur Leclerc, Laure, Malaventure, Le Comedien, Banlieue Sud-Est (1977), Gaston Phoebus (1978), and Fantomas (1980). He also was a leading voice actor in the French versions of such animated productions of The Rescuers (1977), The Smurfs (1981), Asterix Versus Caesar (1985), Seabert (1985), DuckTales (1987), and Babar: King of the Elephants (1999).
DUNCAN, JOHNNY Country singer Johnny Duncan died of a heart attack in Forth Worth, Texas, on August 14, 2006. He was 67. Duncan was born in Dublin, Texas, on October 5, 1938. He began playing guitar in his uncle’s band at an early age. His bandmates, cousins Dan and Jimmy Seals, later went on to successful music careers with the groups England Dan & John Ford Coley and Seals & Crofts. Duncan continued his career, moving to Nashville in the early 1960s. He worked as a local radio DJ before getting his own recording contract. During the 1970s he had such country hits as “Baby’s Smile, Woman’s Kiss,” “Sweet Country Woman,” “It Couldn’t Been Any Better,” and “She Can Put Her Shoes Under My Bed Anytime.” Duncan released his final album, The Thing to Do, in 2004. He was preparing for a concert tour at the time of his death.
way plays as Tropical Revue (1943), Carib Song (1945), and Bal Negre (1946). She also began working in films in the early 1940s, appearing in Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) and Stormy Weather (1943), and serving as dance director for the 1942 Abbott and Costello comedy Pardon My Sarong. Dunham was also a choreographer and was featured in small roles in such films as Carnival of Rhythm (1941), Cuban Episode (1944), Casbah (1948), and Mambo (1954). She choreographed the 1959 feature Green Mansions, set in the Amazon jungle, and designed the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah for John Huston’s The Bible: In the Beginning... in 1966. She also designed dances for the Metropolitan Opera’s 1963 production of Aida. Dunham trained dancers at the performing arts school bearing her name from 1943 to 1967. One of her final works as choreographer was for the 1972 production of Scott Joplin’s opera Treemonisha. She received numerous awards during her career including a Kennedy Center Honor in 1983 and the National Medal of Arts in 1989.
Katherine Dunham
Johnny Duncan
DUNHAM, KATHERINE Dancer and choreographer Katherine Dunham died in an assisted living facility in Manhattan, New York, on May 21, 2006. She was 96. Dunham was born in Chicago, Illinois, on June 22, 1909. She began training for the ballet in the late 1920s, studying under Ludmilla Speranzeva. Dunham formed the early black ballet troupe Ballet Negre in Chicago in the early 1930s. Though short-lived, she followed this with the creation of the Negro Dance Group and the Katherine Dunham Dance Company. Dunham studied various styles of dance throughout the world and became particularly interested in the Caribbean. She graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in anthropology in 1936. Two years later she choreographed her first full ballet, L’Ag’Ya. Dunham appeared on the Broadway stage in Cabin in the Sky, and also choreographed such Broad-
DUNN, TOM Veteran television anchorman and reporter Tom Dunn died at his home in Stuart, Florida, after a long illness on July 2, 2006. He was 77. Dunn was born on May 1, 1929. He began working as a news reporter in Tallahassee, Florida, in the late 1940s, and was at station WCBS-TV from 1963 to 1968. He was news anchor and reporter at WABC-TV from 1968 to 1970, and at WOR-TV from 1970 to 1987. He was weekend evening anchor and reporter at
Tom Dunn
105 WPTV from 1988 until his retirement in May of 19908. Dunn was also appeared in a cameo role in the 1983 film Without a Trace.
DUNSER, SABINE Sabine Dunser, the lead singer with the Liechtenstein Gothic Metal band ELIS died of a cerebral hemorrhage on July 8, 2006, after collapsing during a rehearsal the previous day. She was 29. Dunser was born in St. Gallen, Switzerland, on June 27, 1977. She began singing with the group when they were known as Erben der Schopfung in 2001 and released their debut album, Twilight. Dunser and several members of the band became ELIS in 2003, and released the album Gold’s Silence, Devil’s Temptation. They toured and performed throughout Europe and recorded a second album, Dark Clouds in a Perfect Sky, in 2004. A new album, Griefshire, had been completed shortly before Dunser’s death.
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DUPRAT, ROGERIO Brazilian composer Rogerio Duprat died of kidney failure in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on October 26, 2006. He was 74. Duprat was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on February 7, 1932. He studied musical composition in Brazil and Europe and was a leading film composer in Brazil from the early 1960s. He scored numerous films including Eros ... the Bizarre (1964), The Burning Body (1966), As Cariocas (1966), Amor e Desamor (1966), O Mundo Alegre de Helo (1967), The Naked Man (1968), Anuska, Manequim e Mulher (1968), The Amorous Ones (1968), Trilog y of Terrur (1968), O Gigante, A Hora E A Vez do Cinegrafista (1969), Cu da Mae (1969), Uma Mulher Para Sabado (1970), The Palace of Angels (1970), Cleo e Daniel (1970), OSS 117 Takes a Vacation (1970), The Evil Angel (1971), Os Devassos (1971), Cordelia, Cordelia (1971), The Goddesses (1972), O Ultimo Extase (1973), O Anjo da Noite (1974), O Desejo (1975), Chao Bruto (1976), Ninfas Diabolicas (1977), O Prisioneiro do Sexo (1978), As Filhas do Fogo (1978), Convite ao Prazer (1980), Eros, O Deus do Amor (1981), Love Strange Love (1982), O Rei da Vela (1983), Amor Voraz (1984), and A Marvada Came (1985). Duprat was noted for his role in creating the tropicalia musical movement, which combined samba and bossa nova with elements of rock and roll. He recorded the popular solo album A Banda Tropicalista in the late 1960s. Duprat continued to work in Brazil in the years of the military dictatorship that stymied artistic expression, concentrating primarily on writing film soundtracks.
Sabine Dunser
DUPARC, HENRI French film director Henri Duparc died in Paris, France, on April 18, 2006. He was 64. Duparc was born in Forecariah, Guinea, on December 23, 1941. He began directing films in the late 1960s, helming such features as The Family (1972), Wild Grass (1977), I’ve Chosen Life (1987), Dancing in the Dust (1988), Le Sixieme Doigt (1990), Rue Princesse (1994), Une Couleur Cafe (1997), and Caramel (2004). Rogerio Duprat
Henri Duparc
DURAN, LILIANA Venezuelan film and television actress Liliana Duran died in Caracas, Venezuela, on August 23, 2006. Duran was a popular film actress from the early 1950s, appearing in such features as Where Poor People Are Born (1950), La Malcasada (1950), El Dinero no es la Vida (1952), El Mil Amores (1954), School for Tramps (1955), Papalepe (1957), The Reporter (1968), and Male and Female (1984). She starred in numerous television productions from the 1960s including El Altar a la Tumba (1969), Encrucijada (1970), Cristina (1970), La Usurpadora (1971), Los Corrompidos (1971), Raquel (1973), Valentina (1975), Estefania (1979), Que paso con Jacqueline? (1982), Amor de Abril (1988), and La Mujer Prohibida (1991).
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Liliana Duran
Margarethe Dux
DURCAL, ROCIO Spanish actress and singer Rocio Durcal died of cancer at her home in Madrid, Spain, on March 25, 2006. She was 61. Durcal was born Maria de los Angeles de las Heras Ortiz in Madrid on October 4, 1944. She began her career as a child, singing on Spanish radio. She also starred in over a dozen films from the early 1960s including Song of Youth (1962), Rocio de La Mancha (1963), La Chica del Trebol (1964), Acompaname (1966), Love in Flight (1967), Cristina Guzman (1968), Las Leandras (1969), La Novicia Rebelde (1971), Marianela (1972), Say It with Flowers (1974), and Me Siento Extrana (1977). She performed primarily as a singer from the 1980s, working with such stars as Julio Iglesias, Ricky Martin, and Luis Miguel. She was also featured in the Spanish television series Los Negocios de Mama in 1997 and Mujeres Enganadas in 1999.
Berlin, Germany, on January 31, 2006. She was 84. Ebner was born in Danzig (now Gdansk), Poland, on January 4, 1922. She began working in films in the 1950s as a script supervisor and production secretary before making her onscreen debut later in the decade. Ebner’s film credits include numerous Edgar Wallace crime mysteries. She was seen in Grand Hotel (1959), The Door with Seven Locks (1962), The Squeaker (1963), The Indian Scarf (1963), Long Legs, Long Fingers (1966), Hand of Power (1968), Perrak (1970), Tears of Blood (1972), Freak Orlando (1981), Line 1 (1988), The Passenger —Welcome to Germany (1988), Meeting Venus (1991), Ich Und Christine (1993), Anna — AnnA (1993), Oben — Unten (1994), Neurosia — Fifty Years of Perversion (1995), Solotalent (1996), Made in Moabit (1999), Der Wixxer (2004), Around the World in 80 Days (2004), and Solo (2005). She also appeared in an episode of the science fiction television series Lexx in 1998. She was also involved in the production of numerous films as an assistant director from the late 1950s including Maedchen in Uniform (1958), Tiger of Bengal (1959), The Indian Tomb (1959), And That on Monday Morning (1959), Grand Hotel (1959), Rebel Flight to Cuba (1959), The World in My Pocket (1961), The Puzzle of the Red Orchid (1962), The Door with Seven Locks (1962), The Inn on the River (1962), Wild Waters (1962), The Squeaker (1963), The Indian Scarf (1963), An Alibi for Death (1963), Mark of the Tortoise (1964), The Mysteri-
Rocio Durcal
DUX, MARGARETHE Austrian actress Margarethe Dux died on March 9, 2006. She was 92. Dux was a leading actress on the Viennese stage from the mid–1930s through the mid–1970s. She also appeared in several films during her career including Alles Luge (1948), Disney’s Miracle of the White Stallions (1963), and Der Alpenkonig und der Menschenfeind (1965). EBNER, EVA Eva Ebner, who worked in German films as an actress and assistant director, died in
Eva Ebner
107 ous Magician (1964), The Daisy Chain (1965), Flaming Frontier (1965), Long Legs, Long Fingers (1966), The Hunchback of Soho (1966), Creature with the Blue Hand (1967), The Monk with the Whip (1967), The Horror of Blackwood Castle (1968), Hand of Power (1968), The Man with the Glass Eye (1969), School of Fear (1969), Double Face (1969), The Yellow House in Pinnasburg (1970), Perrak (1970), Berlin Affair (1970), Hauser’s Memory (1970), And Jimmy Went to the Rainbow’s Foot (1971), Tears of Blood (1972), The Spy Who Never Was (1973), All People Will Be Brothers (1973), Freak Orlando (1981), The Snob (1984), The Image of Dorian Gray in the Yellow Press (1984), and Die Geduld der Rosa Luxemburg (1986). Ebner starred in director Lothar Lambert’s 2003 biographical documentary film Thank God I’m in the Film Business!
ECHERD, JAMES Costume designer James Echerd died in New York City following a long illness on January 7, 2006. He was 45. Echerd was born in Taylorsville, North Carolina, on December 26, 1960. He worked in the retail fashion business before he began designing in the early 1990s. He worked on various film and television productions including The Secret (1992), Sarah, Plain and Tall: Skylark (1993), The Fire Next Time (1993), There Was a Little Boy (1993), Silent Tongue (1994), Baby Brokers (1994), Shadows of Desire (1994), Lone Justice 2 (1995), A Mother’s Gift (1995), Robin Cook’s Virus (1995), Larry McMurtry’s Streets of Laredo (1995), and To Live Again (1998). He worked with director Joyce Chopra on several tele-films including My Very Best Friend (1996), L.A. Johns (1997), and Replacing Dad (1999). He also designed costumes and served as associated producer and location manager on Del Shores’ 2000 film Sordid Lives. EDGREN, DON
Engineer Don Edgren, who oversaw construction of many of the attractions at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, died of a hemorrhagic stroke in a Eugene, Oregon, hospital on December 28, 2006. He was 83. Edgren was born in Los Angeles on September 11, 1923. He was a pilot in the Army Air Force during World War II, and became a civil engineer after the war. He began working with Disney on the construction of Disneyland in 1954, when the engineering firm he was employed by took on the job of
Don Edgren
2006 • Obituaries
building the Matterhorn. Edgren’s work impressed Disney, who hired him in 1961. He headed up Disney’s Imagineering engineering department through the 1960s and 1970s. He was chief field engineer for the construction of Walt Disney World in Florida and led the team the created Space Mountain in 1975. He also directed engineering for the Disneyland in Tokyo.
EDWARDS, CRYBABY George Hill, who worked as a wrestling manager in the 1970s under the name of Crybaby Dale Edwards, was found dead in his home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on October 5, 2006. He was 58. He was born in Tampa, Florida, on March 31, 1948. He was a wrestling photographer and writer who began his in-ring career as manager of Ron Starr in Paducah, Kentucky, in the early 1970s. He also worked in the ICW in Lexington, Kentucky, and briefly managed Midwest Championship Wrestling in Clinton, Iowa.
Crybaby Edwards
EDWARDS, NORMA Canadian character actress Norma Edwards died on October 16, 2006. She was 79. She appeared often in films and on television from the 1980s. Edwards was seen in the films That’s My Baby! (1984), The Circle Game (1994), Henry & Verlin (1994), and Bless the Child (2000). She was also featured in the tele-films Mafia Princess (1986), The Private Capital (1989), Hush Little Baby (1993), Where’s the Money, Noreen? (1995), My Father’s Shadow: The Sam Sheppard Story (1998), Stephen King’s Storm of the Century (1999), and Midwives (2001). Edwards other television credits include episodes of The Great Detective, Friday the 13th, Street Legal, Beyond Reality, Side Effects, Due South, and Ready or Not. EILER, BARBARA Actress Barbara Eiler died of complications from hip surgery in a Sherman Oaks, California, hospital, on July 16, 2006. She was 83. Eiler was born in Los Angeles on July 27, 1922. She began her career as a teenager, acting on radio in such programs as The Life of Riley, The Fabulous Dr. Tweedy, Glamor Manor, and A Day in the Life of Dennis Day. She began appearing on television in the early 1950s, guest-starring in episodes of Studio 57, The Millionaire, The Lone Ranger, Dragnet, Cavalcade of America, The Loretta Young Show, Cheyenne, Screen Directors Play-
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house, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Zane Grey Theater, Crossroads, Tales of Wells Fargo, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Alcoa Theatre, Goodyear Theatre, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Trackdown, One Step Beyond, Boris Karloff ’s Thriller, Swamp Fox, The Case of the Dangerous Robin, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Wagon Train, The Rifleman, Alcoa Premiere, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, The Virginian, and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. . Eiler was also featured in the Walt Disney television productions For the Love of Willadean (1964) and Bristle Face (1964). She appeared in the 1958 film The Deep Six, and Arch Oboler’s 1966 science fiction feature The Bubble (aka The Fantastic Invasion of Planet Earth).
Desert (1997). He was a professor of ethnomusicology at several universities in the United States over the past two decades.
ELLIS, PETER British television director Peter Ellis died in Los Feliz, California, on April 24, 2006. The London-born director began working at Thames Television as a floor assistant. He subsequently moved to Granada TV, where he took part in their Director’s Course. He directed such productions as The Rose Medallion (1981), One Chance in Four (1982), and Feelifax (1982), and episodes of The Optimist, Prospects, Call Me Mister, Bergerac, and Top of the Hill for British television. Ellis subsequently relocated to the United States where he continued to direct for television. He helmed episodes of such series as Knots Landing, Falcon Crest, Against the Law, DEA, Jake and the Fatman, Matlock, The Secrets of Lake Success, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Diagnosis Murder, The Big Easy, Highlander, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Highlander: The Raven, Mortal Kombat: Conquest, Pensacola: Wings of Gold, Sliders, Queen of Swords, Presidio Med, Third Watch, Tarzan, Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, JAG, The Mountain, Eyes, Inconceivable, Criminal Minds, Smallville, Supernatural, and Numb3rs.
Barbara Eiler
EL DIN, HAMZA North African musician and composer Hamza El Din died of complications from surgery in Berkeley, California, on May 22, 2006. He was 76. El Din was born in Toshka, Egypt, in 1929. He was noted for his playing of the oud, a six-string lute, and singing traditional North African folk songs. El Din performed at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964 and recorded several albums. He accompanied the Grateful Dead on their concert at the Great Pyramids in Giza, Egypt, in 1978. The Dead’s drummer, Mickey Hart, also produced his album Eclipse, and El Din composed music for several films including The Black Stallion, You Are What You Eat, and The Passion in the
Hamza El Din
Peter Ellis
EMILFORK, DANIEL French character actor Daniel Emilfork died in Paris on October 17, 2006. He was 82. Emilfork was born in San Felipe, Chile, of Russian Jewish descent on April 7, 1924. Gaunt with stark features, Emilfork became a popular character in European films from the 1950s, often specializing in villainous roles. His numerous film credits include School for Love (1955), Girl on the Third Floor (1955), The Toy Wife (1955), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1956) with Anthony Quinn, No Sun in Venice (1957), The Spies (1957), La Parisienne (1957), Inspector Maigret (1958), Hardboiled Egg Time (1958), Goha (1958), The Adventures of Remi (1958), The Motorcycle Cops (1959), Riff Raff Girls (1959), Danger in the Middle East (1960), Rendezvous at Midnight (1961), The Triumph of Michael Strogoff (1961), Who Stole the Body? (1962), The Doll (1962), OSS 117 (1963), Jeff Gordon, Secret Agent (1963), Ballad for a Hoodlum (1963), Seul ... a Corps
109 Perdu (1963), Nutty, Naughty Chateau (1963), Mission to Venice (1964), Tell Me Whom to Kill (1965), What’s New, Pussycat (1965), L’Or du Duc (1965), The Liquidator (1965), Lady L (1965), Trans-Europ-Express (1966), A Lotus for Miss Quon (1967), The Unknown Man of Shandigor (1967), Moon and Midnight (1970), The Devil’s Nightmare (1971) as Satan, Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! (1971), Travels with My Aunt (1972), Fellini’s Casanova (1976), Someone Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe (1978), The Thief of Baghdad (1978) as the Genie, Subversion (1979), Porporino (1980), Square X (1981), Quarter to Two Before Jesus Christ (1982), Meurtres a Domicile (1982), The Beautiful Prisoner (1983), Pirates (1986), The Passage (1986), The Tribulations of Balthazar Kober (1988), The First Circle (1991), Taxandria (1994), The Flying Dutchman (1995), The City of Lost Children (1995) as the mysterious Krank, Babel (1999), The Sister Brothers (2000), and the 2005 television mini-series Les Rois Maudits.
Daniel Emilfork
EMMETT, BELINDA Australian actress Belinda Emmett died in a Sydney, Australia, hospital after a long battle with cancer on November 11, 2006. She was 32. Emmett was born in Australia on April 12, 1974. She began her career on Australian television, appearing as Tracy in the comedy series Hey Dad...! in 1994. She was best known for her role as Rebecca Fisher
Belinda Emmett
2006 • Obituaries
Nash in the popular soap opera Home and Away from 1996 to 1999. She also starred as Jodi Horner in the series All Saints from 2000 to 2001, and was featured in the 2002 film The Nugget. She was married to Australian television host Rove McManus, and she made her final television appearance with him in the Spicks and Specks Christmas Special in December of 2005. Emmett was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998 and underwent successful surgery and radiotherapy. She was diagnosed with secondary bone cancer in 2001.
ENDLER, GERALD Special effects technician Gerald Endler died on March 27, 2006. He was 94. Endler was born on January 1, 1912. He designed mechanical effects for numerous films from the 1950s including My Blue Heaven (1950), Run Silent Run Deep (1958), Pork Chop Hill (1959), The Mouse That Roared (1959), The Mountain Road (1960), Return to Peyton Place (1961), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961), Soldier in the Rain (1963), Love with the Proper Stranger (1963), Mail Order Bride (1964), King Rat (1965), The Sand Pebbles (1966), Stagecoach (1966), Valley of the Dolls (1967), Star! (1968), Hello, Dolly! (1969), Silent Running (1972), Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973), Woody Allen’s Sleeper (1973), The Towering Inferno (1974), Hard Times (1975), Breakheart Pass (1975), Apocalypse Now (1979), and Burning Train (1980). Endler also worked in television on effects for such series as Lassie, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, and Irwin Allen’s science fiction productions Lost in Space, Land of the Giants, and Time Tunnel. ENGEL, ANDI German film distributor and writer Andi Engel died in Lubeck, Germany, after a long illness on December 26, 2006. He was 64. Engel was born in Wolfsburg, Germany, on November 11, 1942. He came to London in the late 1960s and became involved in film distribution when his friends JeanMarie Straub and Daniele Huillet requested he distribute their 1968 film Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach. The original distribution company Engel and his wife, Pamela Balfry, set up was called Politkino. They subsequently founded Artificial Eye to distribute foreign films in England in 1976. Engel also produced, directed and scripted the 1988 film Melancholia. He continued to operate Artificial Eye until his retirement in the summer of 2006. ERTEGUN , AHMET Ahmet Ertegun, who was the founder of Atlantic Records, died in Manhattan on December 14, 2006, of a brain injury he received when he fell backstage at a Rolling Stones concert on October 29, 2006. He had been in a coma since the accident. He was 83. Ertegun was born in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 31, 1923. His father, Mehmet Munir Ertegun, was a leading Turkish diplomat who served as ambassador to the United States in the 1930s and 1940s. Ahmet’s interest in music, particularly rhythm and blues, led him to form Atlantic Records with partner Herb Abramson in 1947. Ertegun signed many musicians from the R&B circuit, and occasionally, under the name Nugetre (a backwards spelling of his name) would write such popular songs as “Chains of Love”
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and “Sweet Sixteen.” Atlantic signed Ray Charles early in his career and released his hit “I Got a Woman” in 1954. Joe Turner’s “Shake, Rattle and Roll” was also released in 1954, with Ertegun performing as a backup singer on the recording. He was joined by his brother, Nesuhi, in 1956 and Atlantic began signing such jazz artists as Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, and the Modern Jazz Quartet. Atlantic also promoted soul and rock performers in the 1960s, releasing hits by Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, the Rolling Stones, Yes, Led Zeppelin, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. He and his partners sold the Atlantic to Warner in 1967, though he continued to produce music for the label. Ertegun was also instrumental in the formation of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987. He was semi-retired from 1996, but still continued to attend clubs and musical events looking for new talent. Actor Curtis Armstrong portrayed Ertegun in the Ray Charles bio-film Ray.
Ahmet Ertegun
ESCHE, EBERHARD German actor Eberhard Esche died of cancer in Berlin, Germany, on May 15, 2006. He was 72. Esche was born in Leipzig, Germany, on October 25, 1933. He began his career on stage in the 1950s and made his film debut in the early 1960s. Esche was seen in the films For Eyes Only (1961), Nebel
(1963), The Divided Heaven (1964), The Trace of Stones (1966), Mord am Montag (1968), KLK Calling PTZ: The Red Orchestra (1971), Reife Kirschen (1972), Life with Uwe (1974), Beethoven — Days in a Life (1976), The Incorrigible Barbara (1977), Fleur Lafontaine (1978), Der Spiegel des Grossen Magus (1980), Markische Forschungen (1981), and Novalis — Die Blaue Blume (1995). He also appeared in German television productions of Die Perser (1966), Anlauf (1970), Scharnhorst (1978), Einzug in Paradies (1987), Der Trinker (1995), Mama ist Unmoglich (1997), and Das Haus der Schwestern (2002).
EVANS, MIKE Mike Evans, who starred as Lionel Jefferson on the popular television sit-coms All in the Family and The Jeffersons, died of throat cancer at the home of his mother in Twentynine Palms, California, on December 14, 2006. He was 57. Evans was born in Salisbury, North California, on November 3, 1949. He moved to Los Angeles with his family as a child and studied acting at Los Angeles City College, He created the role of Lionel Jefferson, the young black man who was the neighbor of bigoted Archie Bunker, in Normal Lear’s hit comedy series All in the Family in 1971. He appeared frequently in the series for the next four years before his character joined his parents, George and Louise Jefferson, on the spin-off series The Jeffersons in 1975. Evans was also co-creator with Eric Monte of the sit-com Good Times in 1974. He left The Jeffersons for several seasons and was replaced by actor Damon Evans in the role of Lionel until his return in 1979. The Jeffersons continued on the air for ten seasons until ending in 1985. Evans was also featured in the tele-films Killer by Night (1972), Call Her Mom (1972), The Voyage of the Yes (1973), and Rich Man, Poor Man (1976). He guest-starred in episodes of such series as Love, American Style, The Streets of San Francisco, and The Practice. Evans also starred in the films Now You See Him, Now You Don’t (1972) and The House on Skull Mountain (1974). He made his final appearance in an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger in 2000.
Mike Evans
Eberhard Esche
EVEIN, BERNARD French film production designer and art director Bernard Evein died in Noirmoutier, France, on August 8, 2006. He was 77. Evein
111 was born in Saint-Nazaire, France, on January 5, 1929. He worked on numerous films from the late 1950s, garnering such credits as The Lovers (1958), The Wretches (1959), The Verdict (1959), The Cousins (1959), Web of Passion (1959), The Games of Love (1960), Zazie dans le Metro (1960), Five Day Lover (1961), Lola (1961), Last Year at Marienbad (1961), Cleo from 5 to 7 (1961), A Very Private Affair (1962), The Seven Deadly Sins (1962) which also featured him onscreen in a small role, Bay of Angels (1963), Do You Like Women? (1964), Paris in the Month of August (1965), Who Are You, Polly Magoo? (1966), Woman Times Seven (1967), Sweet Hunters (1969), The Confession (1970), A Slightly Pregnant Man (1973), The Big Store (1973), Chance and Violence (1974), Hunter Will Get You (1976), The Toy (1976), Young Emmanuelle (1976), Madame Rosa (1977), Lady Oscar (1979), I Sent a Letter to My Love (1980), A Room in Town (1982), Separate Rooms (1984), Therese (1986), La Rumba (1987), and Three Places for the 26th (1988).
2006 • Obituaries
the Hunter (1964), 36 Hours (1965), If He Hollers Let Him Go! (1968), Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989), and Diggin’ Up Business (1990). He also appeared in the tele-films Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter (1991) and Fire in the Dark (1991). Falkenberg was featured as Cadet Farren in the early 1950s juvenile science fiction series Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, and was seen in episodes of Dragnet, TV Reader’s Digest, The Silent Service, Navy Log, Alcoa Theatre, Lock Up, Men into Space, One Step Beyond, Perry Mason, This Is the Life, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Combat!, Quantum Leap, Newhart, Married ... with Children, Step by Step, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., The Nanny, and Coach.
Kort Falkenberg
Bernard Evein
FABRE , PIERRE French actor and screenwriter Pierre Fabre died in Paris on March 23, 2006. He was 72. Fabre was born in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, on October 14, 1933. He was featured in films from the early 1960s including The Army Game (1960), Jules and Jim (1962), Love at Sea (1963), Chance at Love (1964), The 317th Platoon (1965), The Wild Child (1970), Bead and Board (1970), Five Leaf Clover (1972), The Garden That Tilts (1974), and A Captain’s Honor (1982). Fabre was best known for his role as 18th century criminal Louis Mandrin in the 1972 television mini-series Mandrin. He also wrote numerous films and television productions including Bonnot’s Gang (1969), The Night of Saint Germain des Pres (1977), The Bit Between the Teeth (1979), It All Depends on Girls (1980) which he also directed, Birgit Haas Must Be Killed (1981), Nestor Burma, Shock Detective (1982), Stella (1983), and La Garce (1984). FALKENBERG, KORT Character actor Kort Falkenberg died in Woodland Hills, California, on March 13, 2006. He was 88. Falkenberg was born on October 8, 1917. He was active in films and on television from the early 1950s. Falkenberg’s film credits include Grubstake (1952), Portland Expose (1957), Fate Is
FALLACI, ORIANA Italian author and journalist Oriana Fallaci died of cancer in a Florence, Italy, hospital on September 15, 2006. She was 76. Fallaci was born in Florence on July 19, 1929. She began working for a local newspaper after World War II and became a correspondent for such leading Italian magazines as Epoca and L’Europeo by the mid–1950s. Her first book, a study of the dark side of Hollywood, was published in 1958. She was best known for her interviews with such international figures as Henry Kissinger, the Ayatollah Khomeini, and Yasser Arafat. Fallaci also wrote two popular novels, Letters to a Child
Oriana Fallaci
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Never Born (1975) and A Man (1979), both of which were inspired by what she considered the most important romantic relationship of her life. Her affair with the leftist Greek activist Alekos Panagoulis, who spent years in prison for an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Greece’s president, ended with his own death in an automobile accident, which many considered a political murder. Her most recent work, The Rage and the Pride (2002), stemmed from a series of hostile articles she wrote criticizing radical Islamic ambitions in the wake of the terrorist attack upon America on September 11, 2001. Her defense of the Christian West brought her into concert with the views of Pope Benedict XVI, despite her own history as a committed atheist.
FARRELL , HENRY Author Henry Farrell, who was best known for his 1960 novel What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? which was adapted to film two years later starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, died at his home in Pacific Palisades, California, on March 29, 2006. He was 85. Farrell was born Charles Henry Myers in California on September 27, 1920. His first novel, 1959’s The Hostage, was adapted for film in 1967. Director Robert Aldrich cast the two aging leading ladies, Davis and Crawford, in the film adaptation of Farrell’s psychological thriller. The film earned five Oscar nominations including one for Davis for Best Actress. Farrell’s novel, Whatever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?, became the basis of Aldrich’s next film, Hush ... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964). They had hoped to again unite Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, but Crawford declined and Olivia De Havilland was cast instead in the Southern Gothic psychological horror film. Farrell also scripted the film, which earned seven Academy Award nominations. Farrell also wrote the novel and screenplay for the 1970 tele-film How Awful About Allan starring Anthony Perkins. He also wrote and scripted the 1971 thriller What’s the Matter with Helen? starring Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters, and the tele-films The House That Would Not Die (1970) and The Eyes of Charles Sand (1972). His 1967 novel Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me was adapted by Francois Truffaut for the 1972 French film Une Belle Fille Comme Moi.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? was remade as a telefilm starring Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave in 1991, and Farrell was involved in writing a musical stage version of the thriller in 2002. He had recently completed a new novel, A Piece of Clarisse. Farrell was married to actress Molly Dodd until her death in 1981.
FARRELL, MARTY Television writer Marty Farrell died of colon cancer in Los Angeles on July 19, 2006. He was 78. Farrell was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on January 3, 1928. He began his career writing for The Jack Paar Show in the early 1960s. He also wrote for Art Linkletter’s Hollywood Talent Scouts, and received an Emmy Award for his work on the musical special Singer Presents Burt Bacharach in 1971. He was also nominated for Emmys for his writing for The Kraft Music Hall in 1971 and Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center starring Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett in 1972. Farrell worked as a writer for numerous television specials in the 1970s and 1980s including Oscar, Emmy, and Grammy presentations. His other credits include The Andy Williams Christmas Show (1971), Love Is ... Barbara Eden (1972), Burt Bacharach in Shangri-La (1973), Ed Sullivan Presents: The TV Comedy Years (1973), Sammy! The Sammy Davis, Jr. Special (1973), Herb Albert and the TJB (1974), John Wayne and Glen Campbell & the Musical West (1974), Funny Girl to Funny Lady (1975), Ann-Margret Olsson (1975), Steve and Eydie: Our Love Is Here to Stay (1975), The John Denver Special (1976), Doug Henning’s World of Magic (1976), America Salutes the Queen (1977), A Tribute to Mr. Television Milton Berle (1978), Cinderella at the Palace (1978), Danny Thomas: Young & Foolish (1978), Woodstock Re-Visited (1979), Uptown: A Tribute to the Apollo Theatre (1980), The Bob Hope Anniversary Show (1981), The Way They Were (1981), Sisters in the Name of Love (1986), Happy Birthday, Bugs! 50 Looney Years (1990), AFI’s 100 Years ... 1000 Movies (1998), AFI’s 1000 Years ... 1000 Stars (1999), AFI’s 1000 Years, 100 Laughs: America’s Funniest Movies (2000), and I Love Lucy’s 50th Anniversary Special (2001). He also wrote for the television series The Jeffersons, The Diahann Carroll Show, What’s Happening!!, 9 to 5, and Three’s a Crowd. FARRINGTON, DAVID Character actor David Farrington died in London of cancer on Janu-
Henry Farrell (author of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?)
David Farrington
113 ary 20, 2006. He was 57. Farrington was born in London on December 2, 1948. He appeared in several films during his career including Skallagrigg (1994), Asylum Night (2004), Time of Her Life (2005), and Crush (2005). Farrington also appeared on British television in episodes of The Comic Strip Presents and Casualty.
FEINSTEIN, MARTIN Impresario Martin Feinstein, who served as the first executive director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Potomac, Maryland, on February 5, 2006. He was 84. Feinstein was born in Brooklyn, New York, on April 12, 1921. He worked as an assistant to leading impresario Sol Hurok for 25 years in New York before joining the Kennedy Center as deputy to the chairman in 1971. He oversaw performances by such international performers as the Bolshoi Ballet, the Berlin Opera, and the Vienna State Opera. Feinstein left the Kennedy Center to become general manager of the Washington National Opera in 1980. He remained with the opera until his retirement in 1996.
2006 • Obituaries
Writer in 1996. Feintuch was best known as the author of The Seafort Saga, that began with 1994’s Midshipman’s Hope. Other novels in the series include Challenger’s Hope (1995), Prisoner’s Hope (1995), Fisherman’s Hope (1996), Voices of Hope (1996), Patriarch’s Hope (1999), and Children of Hope (2001). He also wrote the novels The Still (1997) and The King (2002).
FEJER , TAMAS Hungarian film director Tamas Fejer died in Hungary on September 4, 2006. He was 85. Fejer was born in Pecs, Hungary, on December 29, 1920. He taught himself the fundamentals of filmmaking while producing amateur short subjects in the late 1930s, and authored a book of film theory, A Film, in 1943. He worked as an assistant editor from the late 1940s, and directed his first feature film, Bogancs, in 1959. He also helmed such films as Az Arc Neikuli Varos (1960), A Cozy Cottage (1962), Why Hungarian Films Are Bad (1964), Windows of Time (1969), Talking Caftan (1969), Hekus Letern (1972), Ballago Ido (1976), Kneeler Peak (1976), Vieszelyes Jatekok (1980), and Csere Rudi (1988). Fejer also directed numerous television productions for children from the 1970s.
FEINTUCH, DAVID Science fiction writer David Feintuch died of a heart attack on March 16, 2006. He was 61. Feintuch was born in Yonkers New York, on July 21, 1944. He was the recipient of the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Science Fiction
FELBA, DRAGOMIR Serbian actor Dragomir Felba died in Belgrade, Serbia, on July 14, 2006. He was 85. Felba was born in Skoplje, Yugoslavia, on July 7, 1921. He was a leading performer on the Yugoslav stage and screen from the late 1940s. Felba was featured in such films as Sof ka (1948), Majka Katina (1949), Uncle Zvane (1949), The Lake (1950), The Red Flower (1950), The Boy Mita (1951), Volca Nok (1955), Tempest (1958), Kapo (1959), The Wind Stops Blowing (1959), Dubrowsky (1959), The Fourteen Days (1960), Square of Violence (1961), Boom Town (1961), Kozara (1963), Destination Death (1964), Marco the Magnificent (1965), Winnetou: The Desperado Trail (1965), Before and After the Victory (1966), Bloodshed at the Wedding (1967), The Feast (1967), Wolf of Prokletija (1968), Before the Truth (1968), The Tough Ones (1968), The Girl in the Park (1968), The Ambush (1969), The Battle of the River Neretva (1969), Bloody Tale (1969), I’m Poor but Angry (1970), Price of a Town (1970), The Bet (1971), Istrel (1972), Girl from the Mountains (1972), The Stars Are the Eyes of the Warriors (1972), Traces of a Black Haired Girl (1972), Hajduk (1974), Written Off (1974), Hell
David Feintuch
Dragomir Felba
Martin Feinstein
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River (1974), The Dervish and Death (1974), Naivko (1975), Red Earth (1975), Backbone (1975), Four Days to Death (1976), Jagosh and Bleki (1976), Beach Guard in Winter (1976), Manhunt (1977), The Verdict (1977), Butterfly Cloud (1977), The Tiger (1978), Battle of the Eagles (1979), National Class Category Up to 785 ccm (1979), Vreme, Vodi (1980), Dorotej (1981), Heroes (1983), Wild Wind (1986), Ortaci (1988), Najbolji (1989), Time of Miracles (1989), Bunker Palace Hotel (1989), Boris Godunov (1989), Puh (1993), My Country (1997), and Shadows of Memories (2000).
FELDMAN , GENE Writer and filmmaker Gene Feldman died of complications from lymphoma in New York City on August 25, 2006. He was 86. Feldman began his career as an editor at Ace Books, where he co-edited the anthology The Beat Generation and the Angry Young Men with Max Gartenberg. He also wrote the play Go Show Me a Dragon, which was performed off–Broadway. He began working in television in the early 1960s, where he produced and directed numerous documentary programs for the ABC children’s series Discovery. He began writing and directing a series of primetime biographies of film personalities for the series The Hollywood Collection in the early 1980s. The series included Hollywood’s Children (1982), The Horror of It All (1983), Ingrid (1984), Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend (1987), Gregory Peck: His Own Man (1988), Cary Grant: A Celebration of a Leading Man (1988), Vivien Leigh: Scarlett & Beyond (1990), Steve McQueen: Man on the Edge (1990), Anthony Quinn: An Original (1990), Michael Caine: Breaking the Mold (1991), Grace Kelly: The American Princess (1991), Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star (1991), Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso (1994), Audrey Hepburn Remembered (1993), Shirley Temple: America’s Little Darling (1993), Mae West and the Men Who Knew Her (1993), Roger Moore: A Matter of Class (1995), Jack Lemmon: America’s Everyman (1996), Ingrid Bergman Remembered (1996), Shirley MacLaine: Kicking Up Her Heels (1996), Joan Crawford: Always the Star (1996), Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line (1987), Gary Cooper: The Face of a Hero (1997), Fred MacMurray: The Guy Next Door (1997), Burt Lancaster: Daring to Reach (1997), and Alan Ladd: The True Quiet Man (1999). FELLER, SID Sid Feller, who arranged music for Ray Charles for over a 30 year period, died in Beachwood, Ohio, on February 15, 2006. He was 89. Feller was born in New York City, on December 24, 1916. He began playing with small orchestras in New York by the late 1930s. After serving in the Army during World War II, he worked with such bandleaders as Jack Teagarden and Carmen Cavallero. He joined Capitol Records as an arranger in 1951, where he worked with singers Peggy Lee and Mel Torme, and comedian Jackie Gleason. Feller went over to ABC Records in 1955, where he worked with Woody Herman and Charlie Byrd. He began arranging music for Ray Charles in 1959, helping him make such hits as “Georgia on My Mind” and “Eleanor Rigby.” He continued working with Charles through the late 1980s. He also worked on albums with Steve Lawrence and
Doris Day, and wrote “You Can’t Say No Acapulco” for Elvis Presley’s 1963 film Fun in Acapulco. He also arranged music for The Flip Wilson Show in the early 1970s, the Osmonds’ Christmas Album (1976), and The Magic of David Copperfield III: Levitating Ferrari (1980). Feller retired in the late 1990s after suffering a heart attack.
Sid Feller (left, with Ray Charles)
FELTON, RAY Stage and television actor Ray Felton died of complications from endocarditis at his home in Leesburg, Virginia, on June 29, 2006. He was 59. Felton was born on February 18, 1947. He began his career on the local stage, where he performed in productions of Bravo Caruso, The Man Who Came to Dinner, and The Crucible. Felton also appeared on television in episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street and America’s Most Wanted, and was featured in John Waters 2000 film Cecil B. DeMented.
Ray Felton
FENDER, FREDDY Mexican-American singing star Freddy Fender died of lung cancer at this home in Corpus Christi, Texas on October 14, 2006. He was 69. Fender was born Baldemar Huerta in San Benito, Texas in 1937. He began singing on the radio as a young boy and achieved success in the late 1950s with Spanish-language renditions of Elvis Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel” and Harry Belafonte’s “Jamaica
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Farewell.” Fender signed with Imperial Records in 1959 and first recorded “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights” the following year. His career was side tracked by a three year prison sentence for possession of marijuana. He resumed recording in 1974 singing the hit “Before the Next Teardrop Falls.” The following year the rerelease of his song “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights” became a number one hit on the country charts. The twangy tenor also appeared in several films including Short Eyes (1977), She Came to the Valley (1979) as Pancho Villa, Robert Redford’s The Milagro Beanfield War (1988) as Mayor Sammy Cantu, Always Roses (1990) and Who Will Sing the Songs? (1990). His television credits include a guest starring turn in an episode of the Dukes of Hazzard in 1981. Fender and the Texas Tornados won a Grammy Award in 1990 for Best Mexican — American Performance with their hit song “Soy de San Luis.” He received a second Grammy with Los Super Seven in 1998. Fender’s album La Musica de Baldemar won the Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album in 2002. Fender suffered from numerous health problems through the years, many of which were aggravated by drug and alcohol abuse. He had undergone a kidney transplant in 2002 and a liver transplant in 2004.
Fenner was born on October 18, 1931. He began his career working in television news and served as a public relations official with NASA. After his retirement he took up acting, appearing in several regional productions in Florida. Fenner was also seen in several films including Rosewood (1997), All Shook Up (1999), and Alligator Alley (2000), and the 1998 HBO television mini-series From the Earth to the Moon.
Freddy Fender
Maynard Ferguson
FENNER, LOWELL Actor Lowell Fenner died in Kissimmee, Florida, on April 7, 2006. He was 74.
FERNANDEZ, ANGEL Mexican sportscaster Angel Fernandez died in Mexico City after a long illness on May 23, 2006. He was 80. Fernandez was born in Mexico City on August 2, 1925. He was one of the best known voices on Mexican radio and television, calling baseball games and boxing matches. He was most noted for his broadcasts of soccer matches, being one of the first to yell “Gooooooal!!” when teams would score during the game. Fernandez also appeared in cameo roles in several films including El Chanfle (1979), The Ages of Lulu (1990), The Legend of the Mask (1991), and Between the Teeth (1994).
Lowell Fenner
FERGUSON , MAYNARD Trumpeter and bandleader Maynard Ferguson died of kidney and liver failure in Ventura, California, on August 23, 2006. He was 78. Ferguson was born in Verdun, Canada, on May 4, 1928. He began performing in nightclubs while in his teens, and was performing with Stan Kenton’s big band by the early 1950s. After leaving Kenton he did studio work for several years before founding his own band in 1956. He led the group until taking a break from music in 1967 to move to India. He started up a new band in London in 1969, incorporating pop and rock sounds in the band’s repertory. Ferguson’s popularity increased and his version of the Rocky movie theme “Gonna Fly Now” earned a Grammy nomination in 1977. The group continued to perform and record until shortly before his death.
FERNANDEZ, ROSITA Leading Tejano singer and actress Rosita Fernandez died of complications from heart surgery in San Antonio, Texas, on May 2, 2006. She was 88. Fernandez was born in Monterrey, Mexico, on January 10, 1918, and moved with her family to Texas at an early age. She began singing at the age of nine, and became a popular recording star in the
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1930s and 1940s. She performed for decades at the Ameson River Theater in San Antonio. Fernandez was also seen in several films including The Alamo (1960) and the 1981 tele-film Three Hundred Miles for Stephanie.
Rosita Fernandez
FERRARI, TED Filmmaker Ted Ferrari died of leukemia in Colorado on January 28, 2006. He was 57. Ferrari was born on January 4, 1949. He and his wife, Denise, operated Ferrari Films, Inc., making numerous industrial films and documentaries. He also served as a production assistant for the 1991 western tele-film Conagher, and was first assistant director for the 1998 feature 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain.
FEUER, CY Leading Broadway producer, director and composer Cy Feuer died at his home in Manhattan on May 17, 2006. He was 95. Feuer was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 15, 1911. He began his career in music, playing trumpet at Radio City Music Hall and other venues. He began working for Republic Pictures as a composer and head of the studio’s music department in the late 1930s. He composed songs and scores for numerous films and serials over the next two decades including Fighting Devil Dogs (1938), The Higgins Family (1938), Heroes of the Hills (1938), Billy the Kid Returns (1938), Overland Stage Raiders (1938), Down in Arkansas (1938), I Stand Accused (1938), Rhythm of the Saddle (1938), Storm Over Bengal (1938), Come On, Rangers (1938), Western Jamboree (1938), Hawk of the Wilderness (1938), Fighting Thoroughbreds (1939), The Mysterious Miss X (1939), Woman Doctor (1939), Rough Riders’ Round-Up (1939), Mexicali Rose (1939), Frontier Pony Express (1939), Forged Passport (1939), Blue Montana Skies (1939), My Wife’s Relatives (1939), S.O.S. Tidal Wave (1939), Daredevils of the Red Circle (1939), Mountain Rhythm (1939), Mickey the Kid (1939), Should Husbands Work? (1939), She Married a Cop (1939), New Frontier (1939), Smuggled Cargo (1939), Calling All Marines (1939), The Arizona Kid (1939), The Kansas Terrors (1939), Main Street Lawyer (1939), The Cowboys from Texas (1939), Zorro’s Fighting Legion (1939), The Covered Trailer (1939), Heroes of the Saddle (1940), Drums of Fu Manchu (1940), Pioneers of the West (1940), Ghost Valley Raiders (1940), Two Gun Sheriff (1940), Young Buffalo Bill (1940), In Old Missouri (1940), Covered Wagon Days (1940), Gangs of Chicago (1940), Rocky Mountain Rangers (1940), Adventures of Red Ryder (1940), The Carson City Kid (1940), Women in War (1940), Sing, Dance, Plenty Hot (1940), The Tulsa Kid (1940), Earl of Puddlestone (1940), Under Texas Skies (1940), Hit Parade of 1941 (1940), King of the Royal Mounted (1940), Who Killed Aunt Maggie? (1940), The Trail Blazers (1940), Texas Terrors (1940), Mysterious Doctor Satan (1940), Bowery Boy (1940), Petticoat Politics (1941), Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case (1941), Sis Hopkins (1941), Robin Hood of the Pecos (1941), Prairie Pioneers (1941), The Great Train Robbery (1941), Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941), The Gay Vagabond (1941), Country Fair (1941),
Ted Ferrari
FERRER , SASHA Television director and writer Sasha Ferrer died of complications from breast cancer in Los Angeles on April 6, 2006. She was 65. Ferrer was born in New York City on May 24, 1940, and began her career working with the Disney Channel. She directed the 1982 television production of Smarkus and Company. She was writer and co-producer for the NBC television special Destined to Live about breast cancer survivors in 1989. She also scripted the 1990 tele-film In Defense of a Married Man, and served as producer for the television reality series Big Brother.
Cy Feuer
117 Saddlemates (1941), Desert Bandits (1941), Nevada City (1941), Gangs of Sonora (1941), Rags to Riches (1941), The Pittsburgh Kid (1941), Bad Man of Deadwood (1941), The Apache Kid (1941), Death Valley Outlaws (1941), King of the Texas Rangers (1941), Mercy Island (1941), Jesse James at Bay (1941), The Devil Pays Off (1941), Tuxedo Junction (1941), Red River Valley (1941), West of Cimarron (1941), Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. (1941), Stagecoach Express (1942), Raiders of the Range (1942), Jesse James, Jr. (1942), Shepherd of the Ozarks (1942), Spy Smasher (1942), Westward Ho (1942), Ice-Capades Revue (1942), The Girl from Alaska (1942), Remember Pearl Harbor (1942), The Cyclone Kid (1942), The Phantom Plainsman (1942), Moonlight Masquerade (1942), Sons of the Pioneers (1942), Joan of Ozark (1942), Hi, Neighbor (1942), The Sombrero Kid (1942), The Old Homestead (1942), Youth on Parade (1942), and The Fighting Devil Dogs (1943). Feuer served in the U.S. Air Force as a captain during World War II. After the war he returned to Republic, serving as musical director for the films Daughter of Don Q (1946), Rendezvous with Annie (1946), Earl Carroll Sketchbook (1946), The Crimson Ghost (1946), The Brennan Girl (1946), Plainsman and the Lady (1946), Calendar Girl (1947), Angel and the Badman (1947), Hit Parade of 1947 (1947), Winter Wonderland (1947), That’s My Man (1947), Wyoming (1947), Driftwood (1947), Jesse James Rides Again (1947), The Black Widow (1947), and The Flame (1947). He returned to New York in 1947 where he began his fifty year career as a stage producer. Often working with his partner, Ernest H. Martin, he produced such hit Broadway musicals as Where’s Charley, The Boy Friend, Can-Can, Silk Stockings, and The Goodbye People. He also produced and directed such productions as Skyscraper, Whoop-Up, Little Me, I Remember Mama, and Walking Happy. Feuer earned nine Tony Award nominations during his career and won three — one for Guys and Dolls and two for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He was also the recipient of a special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre in 2003. He also produced several films including Where’s Charley (1952), Cabaret (1972) which earned eight Academy Awards, Piaf (1974), and A Chorus Line (1985). Feuer served as chairman of the League of American Theaters and Producers, Inc. from 1989 through 2003. His memoir, I Got the Show Right Here: The Amazing True Story of How an Obscure Brooklyn Horn Player Became the Last Great Broadway Showman, was published in 2003.
FINEGAN, KAY Singer Kay Finegan died at the home of her niece in Lincroft, New Jersey, after a long illness on April 22, 2006. She was 95. Finegan was born Vivian Blessing in San Francisco, California, on March 1, 1911. She began performing under the name Kay Ray in the 1920s. After her marriage to Bill Finegan in 1936 she began performing with many of the big bands of the era, working with such stars as Ted Fio Rito, Benny Goodman, and the Dorsey Brothers. She also was a singer and music arranger for the SauterFinegan Orchestra which was co-founded by her husband. After her divorce from Finegan in the early 1960s
2006 • Obituaries
she embarked on a new career as a caterer, founding the popular Call Cuisine gourmet catering service.
Kay Finegan
FIRTH, CHRISTINE British actress Christine Firth died in a Barnsley, Great Britain, hospital on April 26, 2006. She was 66. Firth was born in Leith, Scotland, on December 24, 1939. She began her career on stage, and teamed with her female impersonator brother, Brian, as The Barlow Sisters during the 1960s. She was also featured on television in such series as The Bill, Only Fools and Horses, and Emmerdale Farm. She also appeared in the 1988 tele-film Across the Lake with Anthony Hopkins. FISHER, CRAIG B. Television producer, director, and writer Craig B. Fisher died of complications from a heart condition in White Plains, New York, on September 18, 2006. He was 74. Fisher was born in the Philippines on January 19, 1932, while his father was stationed there. He served in the Air Force during the 1950s as a public relations officer before joining the staff of NBC’s Today show as an associate producer. Fisher was responsible for hiring Barbara Walters for her first job as a writer for the program, and later promoted her to an on-air position. He also produced such series as the weekly magazine show Sunday, the children’s series Exploring, and the mini-series Testing. Fisher served as director of the NBC Science Unit, where he earned an Emmy for The Everglades. He also oversaw the specials The Ice People, The Prairie, The Great Barrier Reef, Man, Beast and the Land, and The First Americans. Fisher later moved to PBS where he created and produced the children’s dramatic series Outerscope, and the series Alphabet Soup. He later worked freelance to produce segments for Walter Cronkite’s Universe. FISHER, SETH Comic artist Seth Fisher died of injuries he received in a fall near his home in Nagoya, Japan, on January 30, 2006. He was 33. Fisher was born on July 22, 1972. He began working as an illustrator in Japan in the mid–1990s. His first comic work was the 2001 DC graphic novel Green Lantern: Willworld. In 2003 he was nominated for an Eisner Award for his work on Flash: Time Flies and Vertigo Pop: Tokyo.
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He also did design work on several video games, notably Myst III. His most recent work was in the 2006 Marvel comic Fantastic Four/Iron Man.
Seth Fisher
FISHMAN, MARVIN Marvin Fishman, who played Flippo, the King of Clowns, on Columbus, Ohio, television in the 1950s, died on June 10, 2006. He was 79. Fishman was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on January 6, 1927. He made his television debut in the early 1950s, singing and performing comedy sketches. He first donned a clown suit in 1952 to host a children’s show on WBNS. He continued his role as Flippo, entertaining children and adults for decades. Fishman appeared in this role on several stations before his retirement in 1983.
umn Western Ladies for Magers’ Western Clippings publication for nearly a dozen years. He also wrote numerous other articles for such publications as Classic Images and Filmfax. Fitzgerald, who worked as a utility company accountant in Shreveport, Louisiana, until his retirement several years ago, was co-founder of the Universal reunion party “Jivin’ Jacks and Jills” in Hollywood. He co-hosted the event for over the past twenty years. He was also active with the Memphis Film Festival. Festival chairman Ray Neilson stated, “Michael became actively involved in the Memphis festival about four years ago. He had attended it for several years prior to that. He helped with the recruiting of guest stars, moderated panels, and provided films and tapes for screening. His contributions were significant and will be greatly missed. His devotion to movie history and his memory for film facts were unparalleled. He left us much too soon, but our memory of him will endure.” Michael had also been helpful to me on numerous occasions while gathering information for this series of books. It is with sadness that I now include him in this one.
Michael Fitzgerald
FLANIGAN, SARA Novelist and screenwriter Sara Flanigan died of complications from a stroke in Georgia on August 1, 2006. She was 75. Flanigan began her career as a writer while in her mid–50s with the
Marvin Fishman (as Flippo the Clown)
FITZGERALD, MICHAEL Film historian and author Michael G. Fitzgerald died in an El Dorado, Arkansas, hospital after a brief illness on February 12, 2006. He was 53. Fitzgerald was born on September 29, 1952. He authored the landmark history of Universal Studio with 1977’s Universal Pictures. He was also co-author with Boyd Magers of two books published by McFarland —Westerns Women (1999) and Ladies of the Western (2002). The two volumes contained interviews with dozens of actresses who appeared in western films and serials. Fitzgerald also authored the col-
Sara Flanigan
119 novel Sudie in 1986. She adapted her novel as the 1990 tele-film Sudie and Simpson for the Lifetime Channel. She also adapted her 1988 novel Alice for television as the 1991 tele-film Wildflower, starring Patricia Arquette. Flanigan also scripted the 1995 film Other Voices, Other Rooms (1995), and the tele-films Dare to Love (1995) and Sophie and the Moonhanger (1996).
FLEISCHER, RICHARD Film director Richard Fleischer, who helmed such epics as Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and the World War II saga Tora! Tora! Tora!, died of complications from an upper respiratory infection in the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Los Angeles on March 25, 2006. He was 89. Fleischer was born in Brooklyn, New York, on December 8, 1916, the son of legendary animator Max Fleischer. He graduated from Brown University and attended the Yale School of Drama, where he began directing stage productions. He began working for RKO in the mid–1940s, writing newsreels and producing and directing many of the Flicker Flashback shorts. He began directing features later in the decade, helming Follow Me Quietly (1949), The Clay Pigeon (1949), Make Mine Laughs (1949), Trapped (1949), Armored Car Robbery (1950), His Kind of Woman (1951), the 1952 thriller The Narrow Margin, The Happy Time (1952), and Arena (1953). Fleischer was chosen by Walt Disney to direct the epic adaptation of Jules Verne’s novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, starring James Mason as Captain Nemo and Kirk Douglas as seaman Ned Leeds. He subsequently directed the crime drama Violent Saturday (1955), and the dramatization of the life and loves of showgirl Evelyn Nesbit Shaw, The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (1955). Fleischer also directed Bandido (1956), Between Heaven and Hell (1956), The Vikings (1958) starring Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis, and These Thousand Hills (1959). He also directed the film dramatization of the notorious Leopold and Loeb murder case with 1959’s Compulsion. He helmed the dramas Crack in the Mirror (1960 and The Big Gamble (1961), and the biblical epic Barabbas (1962) starring Anthony Quinn as the thief who was pardoned from crucifixion instead of Jesus. Fleischer also directed the science fiction classic, Fantastic Voyage, in 1966, sending miniaturized scien-
2006 • Obituaries
tist Raquel Welch and company through a patient’s bloodstream to perform an intricate medical procedure. He met with mixed reviews for his 1967 musical fantasy Doctor Dolittle, starring Rex Harrison as the doctor who could talk to the animals. Another true-life crime drama, The Boston Strangler, followed in 1968, and Che!, a bio-film of revolutionary leader Che Guevara star Omar Shariff, was released in 1969. Fleischer directed the U.S. sequences for the World War II epic about Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor, Tora! Tora! Tora! in 1970. His other film credits include 10 Rillington Place (1971), The Last Run (1971), See No Evil (1971), The New Centurions (1972), and The Don Is Dead (1973). He returned to science fiction with 1973’s Soylent Green, starring Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson in his final role. He also directed The Spikes Gang (1974), Mr. Majestyk (1974), the cult classic Mandingo (1974), The Incredible Sarah (1976), Crossed Swords (1977), Ashanti (1979), The Jazz Singer (1980) starring Barbra Streisand, Tough Enough (1983), Amityville 3-D (1983), Conan the Destroyer (1984) starring Arnold Schwarzeneggar, Red Sonja (1985), Million Dollar Mystery (1987), and Call from Space (1989).
FLEMING, KATE Actress Kate Fleming, who was best known for her work as an audio book narrator, perished when she was trapped in her basement studio during a flash flood in Seattle, Washington, on December 14, 2006. She was 41. Fleming was born on October 6, 1965. She studied at the Actors Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky, and began her career on stage in the late 1980s. She began working in the field of audio books in the mid–1990s, creating the audio production company Cedar House Audio and recording over 200 titles. Fleming, who often used the pseudonym of Anna Fields, read the works of such authors as Joyce Carol Oates, Louise Erdrich, and Ann Patchett. She earned an Audie Award for Unabridged Fiction for her work on Ruth Ozeki’s All Over Creation in 2004.
Kate Fleming
Richard Fleischer
FLORES , DANNY Daniel Flores, who was best known for his one word vocal on the hit 1958 tune “Tequila” released under the name Chuck Rio, died from complications of Parkinson’s disease in Westminster, California, on September 19, 2006. He was 77.
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Flores was born to Mexican parents in Rankin, Texas, on July 25, 1929. He moved to California with his parents at an early age and he soon began performing on the guitar at family gatherings. He moved on to the saxophone while in his teens, performing with his own group at local clubs. He signed with Modern and released several records under that label in the late 1950s. He subsequently teamed with Dave Burgess who was signed with Gene Autry’s Challenge recording label. The two musicians were joined by several other artists who called themselves the Champs to record the Latin flavored instrumental “Tequila” with Flores playing the sax and shouting the one word vocal “tequila!” Modern claimed that his contract as a vocalist with him prohibited the release of the song under his own so he took the alias of Chuck Rio. “Tequila,” which was on the flip side of Burgess’s “Train to Nowhere” became the breakout hit and rose through the charts to number 1 in 1958. Flores continued to record and perform under both names though never reaching the heights of his only major hit. His recording of “Tequila” became known to a new generation in the 1980s with his gravelly vocals being a memorable part of the 1985 film Pee Wee’s Big Adventure and 1990’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle: The Movie.
was 93. Florin was born in Dusseldorf, Germany, on March 26, 1912. She was featured in a dozen films in the 1950s and 1960s including Sommerliebe (1955), Bold Adventure (1956), Zwei Mutter (1957), Les Miserables (1958) as La Thenardier, Der Moorhund (1960), Mother Holly (1963), and The Best Years (1965).
FLOWERS, JEWEL Model and pin-up girl Jewel Flowers Evans died of complications from surgery in South Carolina on February 6, 2006. She was 83. Evans was born in Lumberton, North Carolina, in 1922. She went to New York after high school, where she met pin-up artist Rolf Armstrong. She posed for Armstrong’s illustrations for the next twenty years, appearing in numerous calendars and illustrations. Known as the Yankee Doodle Girl, her silhouette was featured on bombers during World War II. She retired from modeling after Armstrong’s death in 1960, and moved to South Carolina.
Jewel Flowers
FLORIN, ELFRIEDE German actress Elfriede Florin died in Berlin, Germany, on March 7, 2006. She
FLOYD, KING, III Soul singer and songwriter King Floyd, III, died of complications from a stroke and diabetes in New Orleans, Louisiana, on March 6, 2006. He was 61. Floyd was born in New Orleans on February 13, 1945. He headed to the west coast in the mid–1960s, where his first album A Man in Love proved unsuccessful. He returned to his hometown later in the decade where he scored his first hit,
Elfriede Florin (left, with Gerard Philipe)
King Floyd, III
Danny Flores (his Tequila album as Chuck Rio)
121 “Groove Me,” in 1970. Two other modest hits followed: “Baby Let me Kiss You” and “Woman, Don’t Go Astray.” Floyd attempted a comeback in 2000 with the CD Old School Funk.
FONG PAO Chinese actor and director Fong Pao died in Hong Kong on September 22, 2006. He was 83. Fong Pao was born in Nanchang, China, on November 13, 1922. He began his film career in the 1940s, appearing in such features as The Soul of China (1948), Sorrows of the Forbidden City (1948), The Sins of Our Father (1949), The Affair of Diana (1951), A Bachelor Is Born (1952), Woman’s Heart (1952), Portrait of a Lady (1952), Beauty in Disguise (1953), A Songstress Called Hong Ling yan (1953), New West Chamber (1953), Singing Under the Moon (1953), Wife and Husband (1953), Wayward Love (1955), Year In, Year Out (1955), Survivors of Love (1956), The Foolish Heart (1956), Three Loves (1956), A Widow’s Tears (1956), Ming Feng (1957), Whither Spring (1957), Those Bewitching Eyes (1958), The Culprit (1958), Wild Rose (1959), A Well-to-Do Family (1959), Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1960), Seventeen (1960), and The Eternal Love (1960). Fong Pao also began directing and writing films in the early 1960s with A Teenage Girl (1960), Double Twins (1962), The Reluctant Bridegroom (1964), The Cricket and the King (1966), We Are Not Married (1966), I Have Come (1966), The Painted Skin (1966), I Have Come Again (1968), The Battle of Sha Chia Bund (1968), and Destiny of Love (1969). He also continued working as an actor in such films as For Life or for Death (1961), Thunderstorm (1961), Romance Across the Window (1962) which he also directed, Three Men and a Girl (1963), Dong Xiaowan (1963), Adventures of the Talents (1964), A Happy Reunion (1964), Garden of Repose (1964), A Pink Dream (1965), Wife of Trial (1966), and Collegian (1970) which he also wrote and directed. Fong Pao also directed the films The Stranger (1979), The Warrant of Assassination (1980), and Love with a Ghost in Lushan (1985). He worked frequently in television from the 1980s, often appearing in character roles in such productions as Yesterday’s Glitter (1980), The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain (1985), The New Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre (1986), The Final Verdict (1988), Final Combat (1989), Cold Blood Warm Heart (1996), The
Pao Fong
2006 • Obituaries
Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils (1997), and The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain (1999). His later film credits include Point of Return (1990), Blood Stained Tradewinds (1990), Dragon in Jail (1990), The Sting (1992), Awakening (1992), Fist of the Red Dragon (1993), The Black Panther Warriors (1993), The Bride with White Hair (1993), Summer Snow (1994), Legend of the Drunken Master (1994) as the Cook, Long and Winding Road (1994), Because of Lies (1995), and The Phantom Lover (1995).
FORD , FRITZ Fred “Fritz” Apking, who worked in films as a stuntman under the name Fritz Ford, died at his home in Amberley Village, Cincinnati, Ohio, on August 25, 2006. He was 78. Ford was born on November 12, 1927. A high school and collegiate athlete, Ford went to Hollywood in the early 1950s where he began working in films as a stuntman. His film credits include Gun Fury (1953), Bad for Each Other (1953), The Desert Rats (1953), Dangerous Mission (1954), Sabrina (1954), The Long Gray Line (1955), Mister Roberts (1955), Tomahawk Trail (1957), Hell Is for Heroes (1962), Tobruk (1967), Planet of the Apes (1968), The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968), The Bridge at Remagen (1969), Captain Nemo and the Underwater City (1969), The Last Movie (1971), Embassy (1972), Soylent Green (1973), The Mack (1973), 99 & 44⁄100% Dead (1974), The Legend of Sea Wolf (1975), Challenge to Be Free (1975), the tele-film Exo-Man (1977), Damien: Omen II (1978), and National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983). Ford also worked often on television, serving as one of Chuck Connors’ stunt doubles on the popular western series The Rifleman from the late 1950s to early 1960s. His other television credits include Highway Patrol, Annie Oakley, Arrest and Trial, Hondo, Branded, The Rockford Files, The Blue Knight, Dallas, Walking Tall, and V. FORD, GERALD R., JR. Gerald R. Ford, Jr., the 38th President of the United States, died after a lengthy illness at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, on December 26, 2006. He was 93. He was born Leslie King in Omaha, Nebraska, on July 14, 1913. His parents were divorced when he was an infant, and his mother moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. She married Gerald R. Ford, Sr., who adopted her son and gave him his name. Ford attended the University of Michigan and the Yale University School of Law. He opened a law firm in Michigan before enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1942. He served in the navy throughout World War II. Ford returned to Grand Rapids to reestablish his law practice and married Elizabeth “Betty” Bloomer in 1948. He became the Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives after defeating incumbent Representative Bartel Jonkman in the primary in 1948. He was victorious and took office the following January. Ford retained his seat in Congress in subsequent elections and rose in power and influence. He was appointed to the Warren Commission by President Lyndon Johnson in 1963 to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Ford was elected minority leader of the House in 1965 by the Republican membership. He retained that position until
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his nomination by President Richard Nixon to succeed to the vice presidency following the resignation of Spiro T. Agnew. Ford was confirmed by the Congress and took office on December 6, 1973. He succeeded to the office of president on August 9, 1974, after Nixon resigned during the Watergate scandal. Ford pardoned Nixon the following month for any crimes the former president might have committed while in office. He chose former New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller to serve as his vice president in December of 1974. The United States was faced with rampant inflation followed by the worst economic recession since World War II. He also president over the final withdrawal of American forces from Vietnam. Ford was the target of two unsuccessful assassination attempts in September of 1975. Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, a follower of mass murderer Charles Manson, assaulted the president with a handgun but the weapon was wrestled away from the woman by a Secret Service agent before a shot could be fired. Several weeks later, on September 22, 1975, another attempt was made on the life of President Ford when Sara Jane Moore, a civil rights activist, fired a pistol shot at the president as he left his hotel in San Francisco. The bullet missed its target, and the president was again uninjured in the assassination attempt. Ford announced his candidacy to retain the office of president and defeated Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination in August of 1976. He selected Kansas senator Robert Dole as his running mate. Ford was defeated in November of 1976 in a close election by Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter and left office on January 20, 1977. He was considered as a possible vice presidential running mate when Ronald Reagan gained the Republican nomination in 1980, but George Bush was chosen instead. Ford retired from active politics to participate on boards of various businesses and industries. He also devoted much of his time to his favorite recreational activity, golf. Ford was a close friend of comedian Bob Hope, and appeared on several television specials honoring hope including 1980’s Bob Hope for President, Bob Hope: The First 90 Years in 1993, and Bob Hope at 1000 in 2003. He also appeared in various documentaries including The Men Who Killed Kennedy (1988), 11–22–63: The Day the Nation Cried (1989), Watergate (1994), The American President (2000), In-
FORD, GLENN Glenn Ford, a leading actor from Hollywood’s Golden Age of the 1940s, was found dead at his Beverly Hills, California, home on August 30, 2006. He was 90. He had suffered from a series of strokes for the past decade. He was born Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford in Sainte-Christine, Quebec, Canada, on May 1, 1916. He accompanied his family when they moved to California when he was seven. He became interested in acting while in his teens and performed with small theatrical groups. He began working in films in the late 1930s, appearing in the Paramount short Night in Manhattan in 1937 and making his feature debut in 1939’s Heaven with a Barbed-Wire Fence. Ford continued to appear largely in featured roles in b-films including My Son Is Guilty (1939), Convicted Woman (1940), Men Without Souls (1940), Babies for Sale (1940), The Lady in Question (1940), Blondie Plays Cupid (1940), So Ends Our Night (1941), Texas (1941), Go West, Young Lady (1941), The Adventures of Martin Eden (1942), Flight Lieutenant (1942), and The Desperadoes (1943). Ford joined the Marines in 1943 and served during World War II. He met dancer and actress Eleanor Powell while serving, and they were married later in the year. After his discharge he returned to Hollywood, where he scored a hit as Johnny Farrell in the film noir classic Gilda (1946) opposite Rita Hayworth. More film roles followed, with such credits as A Stolen Life (1946) with Bette Davis, Gallant Journey (1946), Framed (1947), The Mating of Millie (1948), The Man from Colorado (1948), The Loves of Carmen (1948), The Return of October (1948), The Undercover Man (1949), Lust for Gold (1949), Mr. Soft Touch (1949), The Doctor and the Girl (1949), The White Tower (1950), Convicted (1950), The Flying Missile (1950), The Redhead and the Cowboy (1951), Follow the Sun (1951), The Secret of Convict Lake (1951), The Green Glove (1952), Young Man with Ideas (1952), Affair in Trinidad (1952),
Gerald R. Ford
Glenn Ford
side the U.S. Secret Service (2004), and The Presidents (2005). He and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger also made a cameo appearance on an episode of the evening soap opera Dynasty in 1983. Ford, who had suffered from poor health in recent years, became the longest-lived president, surpassing Ronald Reagan in November of 2006.
123 Time Bomb (1953), The Man from the Alamo (1953), Plunder of the Sun (1953), Fritz Lang’s The Big Heat (1953), Appointment in Honduras (1953), City Story (1954), Human Desire (1954), The Americano (1955), The Violent Men (1955), Trial (1955), and Interrupted Melody (1955). He earned acclaim for his role as idealistic New York City school teacher Richard Dadier in the 1955 film Blackboard Jungle, featuring Vic Morrow and Sidney Poitier among his difficult pupils. Ford remained a leading actor, starring in the films Ransom! (1956), Jubal (1956), The Fastest Gun Alive (1956), The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956), 3:10 to Yuma (1957), Don’t Go Near the Water (1957), Cowboy (1958), The Sheepman (1958), Imitation General (1958), Torpedo Run (1958), It Started with a Kiss (1959), The Gazebo (1959), Cimarron (1960), Cry for Happy (1961), Frank Capra’s Pocketful of Miracles (1961) as Dave “the Dude” Conway, Vincente Minelli’s Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962), Experiment in Terror (1962), The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (1963), Love Is a Ball (1963), Advance to the Rear (1964), Fate Is the Hunter (1964), Dear Heart (1964), The Rounders (1965), The Money Trap (1965), Is Paris Burning? (1966) as Lt. Gen. Omar Bradley, Rage (1966), A Time for Killing (1967), The Last Challenge (1967), Day of the Evil Gun (1968), Smith! (1969), Heaven with a Gun (1969), and Santee (1973). Ford began working often in television in the 1970s, starring as Sheriff Sam Cade in the contemporary western series Cade’s County from 1971 to 1972. He also starred in such tele-films as The Brotherhood of the Bell (1970), Jarrett (1973), The Disappearance of Flight 412 (1974), and Punch and Jody (1974). Ford starred as the Reverend Tom Holvak in the 1974 tele-film The Greatest Gift, and reprised his role as the southern minister during the Great Depression in the subsequent 1975 series The Family Holvak. He also starred as George Caldwell in the 1976 television mini-series and was Rear Admiral Raymond Spruance in the 1976 feature film Midway. He guest starred in an episode of Police Story in 1978, and was featured in such tele-films as The 3,000 Mile Chase (1977), No Margin for Error (1978), Evening in Byzantium (1978), The Sacketts (1979), Beggarman, Thief (1979), The Gift (1979), My Town (1986), Law at Randado (1989), and Final Verdict (1991). Ford starred as Jonathan Kent, the adoptive Earth parent of the Kryptonian man of steel in 1978’s Superman with Christopher Reeve. He also starred in the horror films The Visitor (1979) and Happy Birthday to Me (1981), and the Japanese science fiction feature Virus (1980) as the President of the United States. His final film credits include Casablanca Express (1989), Border Shootout (1990), and Raw Nerve (1991). Ford was married to actress Eleanor Powell from 1943 to 1959, and he is survived by their son, actor Peter Ford. He was briefly married to actress Kathryn Hays in 1966, and to actress Cynthia Hayward from 1977 to 1984. Ford married Jeanne Baus in 1993.
FORD, JOHN M.
Science fiction writer John M. Ford was found dead at his home in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on September 25, 2006, after a long illness with diabetes and kidney disease. He was 49. Ford was
2006 • Obituaries
born near Chicago, Illinois, on April 10, 1957. His first novel, Web of Angels, was published in 1980. He earned a World Fantasy Award for his historical fantasy The Dragon Waiting in 1983. Ford was best known for writing a pair of Star Trek novels, The Final Reflection (1984) and How Much for Just the Planet? (1987). His other works include the thriller The Scholars of Night (1988), Growing Up Weightless (1993), and the fantasy The Last Hot Time (2000). His final publication was a short story collection, Heat of Fusion and Other Stories (2004). Ford also worked as a role playing game writer and designer.
John M. Ford
FORD, MILTON Q. Milton Q. Ford, a television personality from the industry’s early years, died in a Memphis, Tennessee, hospital of complications from a stroke on March 7, 2006. He was 83. Ford was born on February 21, 1923. He began his career on radio in Memphis in 1946, but soon moved Washington, D.C. In the late 1940s he switched to television, where he hosted late-night interview programs on the DuMont Television Network. Ford remained an on-air personality in Washington and later New York for over thirty years. He returned to Memphis in the 1970s, where he worked as a media broker for radio and television.
Milton Q. Ford
FORSYTHE, HENDERSON Veteran character actor Henderson Forsythe, who was best known for his
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long-running role as Dr. David Stewart in the daytime soap opera As the World Turns, died in Williamsburg Landing on April 17, 2006. He was 88. Forsythe was born in Macon, Missouri, on September 11, 1917. He studied theater at the University of Iowa and served in the army during World War II, rising to the rank of captain. He appeared frequently on the New York stage from the 1950s, starring in productions of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ?, The Birthday Party, and A Delicate Balance. He earned the 1979 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role as Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd in the Broadway production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Forsythe was also a familiar face on television from the 1950s, guest starring in episodes of The Alcoa Hour, Studio One, The Witness, Play of the Week, Dr. Kildare, The United States Steel Hour, The Defenders, East Side/West Side, Mr. Broadway, The Corner Bar, and Eight Is Enough. He starred as Martin Sprode in the soap opera The Edge of Night in 1958 and was Jim Benson on From These Roots from 1958 to 1960. Forsythe starred as Dr. David Stewart on As the World Turns for over thirty years from 1960 through 1990. Forsythe also appeared in several feature films during his career including the 1974 horror classic Dead of Night (aka Deathdream), The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover (1977), The Greek Tycoon (1978), Interiors (1978), Silkwood (1983), End of the Line (1988), Chances Are (1989), The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez (1991), and Species II (1998). He was also seen in the tele-films Word of Honor (1981), Crisis at Central High (1981), Sessions (1983), Concealed Enemies (1984) as Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, Separate but Equal (1991), In the Line of Duty: Manhunt in the Dakotas (1991), Carolina Skeletons (1991), Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (1992), and Danielle Steel’s Zoya (1995). Forsythe starred as Big Bud Lutz in the 1988 television series Eisenhower & Lutz and was Grampa in the 1989 sit-com Nearly Departed. He was also featured in episodes of I’ll Fly Away and Law & Order.
former. He also appeared in films and on television in France. His film credits include Doux Amer (1988), Bonjour l’Angoisse (1988), Roundabout (1989), Summer Interlude (1989), Le Trou de la Corneille (1991), Le Brasier (1991), A Beating Heart (1991), The Man of My Life (1992), The Girl in the Air (1992), and Gabrielle (2005). Fortineau was also featured in television productions of Les Mysteres de Loudun (1976), L’Argent (1988), Front Woman (1989), Condercet (1989), Un Destin Cannibale (1990), La Porte du Ciel (1993), Le Feu Follet (1994), Les Amants de Riviere Rouge (1996), Le Prince des Imposteurs (1998), Entre l’Arbre et l’Ecorce (2000), and Maigret et la Demoiselle de Compagnie (2004).
Thierry Fortineau
FOSSER, WILLIAM Puppeteer and set designer William Fosser died on February 22, 2006. He was 77. Fosser produced the long-running Opera in Focus, featuring articulated rod puppets in operatic productions, from the late 1950s. He worked as a set decorator in the 1978 horror film Damien: Omen II, and also appeared in the film in the small role of the minister. He worked as a set designer or art director on such films as T.R. Baskin (1971), Ordinary People (1980), On the Right Track (1981), Class (1983), The Naked Face (1984), Flowers in the Attic (1987), The Package (1989), Home Alone (1990), Backdraft (1991), Curly Sue (1991), and Folks! (1992). He also worked on the tele-films One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story (1978), American Dream (1981), First Steps (1985), Vital Signs (1986), and
Henderson Forsythe
FORTINEAU, THIERRY French actor Thierry Fortineau died of cancer in Paris, France, on February 8, 2006. He was 52. Fortineau was born in Nantes, France, on February 9, 1953. He began his career on stage in the 1970s, and became a leading theatrical per-
William Fosser (with his many puppets)
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Open Admissions (1988). Fosser was inducted into the National Puppeteer’s Hall of Fame in 2005.
FOY, PATRICIA British television producer and director Patricia Foy died in Salisbury, England, on July 26, 2006. She was 83. Foy was born in London on November 25, 1922. She began her career working at Sadler’s Wells theatre as a stage manager before joining the BBC in the late 1950s. She was involved in the production of many musical programs including the monthly series Music for You. Her 1975 television special, Profile in Music: Beverly Sills Festival, earned an Emmy Award. She also produced the BBC series The Magic of Dancer (1980), and produced and directed the 1989 television biography The Margot Fonteyn Story. She also produced and directed the 1991 documentary film Rudolf Nureyev. FRANCIOSA, ANTHONY Leading actor Anthony Franciosa died of a stroke in Los Angeles on January 19, 2006. He was 77. Franciosa was born Anthony Papaleo in New York City on October 25, 1928. He began his career on stage in the mid–1940s, and studied Method acting at the Actors Studio. He began getting roles in television productions, appearing in episodes of Studio One, Kraft Television Theatre, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Ford Star Jubilee, and Goodyear Television Playhouse. He starred as Polo Pope, the younger brother of a drug addict, in the Broadway production of A Hatful of Rain, earning a Tony Award nomination for his role in 1956. He reprised his performance in the film version the following year and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Franciosa continued his film career in such features as This Could Be the Night (1957), A Face in the Crowd (1957) with Andy Griffith, Wild Is the Wind (1957), The Long, Hot Summer (1958), The Naked Maja (1958), Career (1959), and The Story on Page One (1959). His sometimes combative personality, which included a 10 day stay in the Los Angeles County jail for punching a news photographer in 1957, damaged his career in Hollywood, though he continued to appear in such films as Go Naked in the World (1961), Careless (1962), Period of Adjustment (1962), Rio Conchos (1964), The Pleasure Seekers (1964), A Man Could Get Killed (1966), Assault on a Queen (1966), The Swinger (1966), Fathom (1967), The Sweet Ride (1968), In Enemy Country (1968), and A Man Called Gannon (1969). Franciosa starred as New York publishing executive Valentine Farrow in the 1964 television series Valentine’s Day. He was featured as reporter Jeff Dillon in the 1966 tele-film Fame Is the Name of the Game, and the subsequent series The Name of the Game from 1968 to 1971, rotating in the lead role with Gene Barry and Robert Stack. He starred as Nick Bianco in the adventure series Search in 1972, and was secret agent Matt Helm in the short-lived series in 1975. He also starred as Cary Maxwell in the romance drama Finder of Lost Loves in 1984. He also appeared in the films In the Grip of the Spider (1971), Across 110th Street (1972), Ghost in the Noonday Sun (1973), The Drowning Pool (1975), Firepower (1979), The Cricket (1980), Help Me Dream (1981), Kiss My Grits (1982), Death Wish II (1982), Tenebrae (1982), Julie Darling (1983),
Anthony Franciosa
Zombie Death House (1987), Fashion Crimes (1989), Backstreet Dreams (1990), Double Threat (1993), El Cacador Furtiu (1993), and City Hall (1996). Franciosa also starred in numerous tele-films including The Deadly Hunt (1971), Earth II (1971), The Catcher (1972), This Is the West That Was (1974), Curse of the Black Widow (1977), Aspen (1977), Arthur Hailey’s Wheels (1978), Side Show (1981), Stagecoach (1986), Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife (1987), and Ghost Writer (1989). He was married to actress Shelley Winters, who died the previous week, from 1957 to 1960. Franciosa also married and divorced writer Beatrice Bakalyar and real estate agent Judy Balaban Kanter. Survivors include his fourth wife, German fashion model Rita Thiel, whom he married in 1970.
FRANK, REUVEN Television news producer Reuven Frank died of complications from pneumonia in an Englewood, New Jersey, hospital on February 5, 2006. He was 85. Frank was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on December 7, 1920. He came to the United States in the early 1940s and worked as a reporter before joining NBC News in 1950. He became an executive producer there and was instrumental in teaming Chet Huntley with David Brinkley for the evening news program, The Huntley-Brinkley Report. He served as president of NBC News from 1968 to 1973, and again from 1982 to 1984. During his second
Reuven Frank
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term he installed Tom Brokaw as the network’s solo anchor on NBC Nightly News. Frank authored his memoirs, Out of Thin Air: The Brief Wonderful Life of Network News, in 1991.
FRANKLYN , WILLIAM British character actor William Franklyn died of prostate cancer in England on October 31, 2006. He was 81. Franklyn was born in Kensington, London, England, on September 22, 1925, the son of musical comedy star Leo Franklyn. He began his career as an actor on stage during World War II while in his teens. He later served in the armed forces as a paratrooper during the war. Franklyn made his film debut in the early 1950s, appearing in such movies as The Secret People (1952), Time Is My Enemy (1954), The Love Match (1955), Out of the Clouds (1955), Above Us the Waves (1955), That Woman Opposite (1957), Enemy from Space (aka Quatermass 2) (1957), The Flesh Is Weak (1957), The Snorkel (1958), Danger Within (1959), The Big Day (1960), Pit of Darkness (1961), Fury at Smugglers’ Bay (1961), The Intelligence Men (1965), Cul-de-sac (1966), Ooh, You Are Awful (1972), The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1974), Nutcracker (1982), Splitting Heirs (1993), and Robert Rylands’ Last Journey (1996). He also appeared frequently on British television from the 1950s guest-starring in episodes of TV Playhouse, The Count of Monte Cristo, Lili Palmer Theatre, The Scarlet Pimpernel in the recurring role of Jacques Fleury, The New Adventures of Charlie Chan, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents, The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, Dick and the Duchess, The Flying Doctor, Interpol Calling, No Hiding Place, International Detective, Top Secret, Maigret, Public Eye, The Troubleshooters, The Baron, Thirty-Minute Theatre, The Avengers, The Champions, Doctor in Charge, What’s On Next?, The New Avengers, Lovejoy, French and Saunders, Doctors, and The Courtroom. He also appeared in television productions of No Wreath for the General (1960), No Cloak — No Dagger (1963), Curtain of Fear (1964), The Legend of Young Dick Turpin (1966), Something to Hide (1968), Paradise Island (1977), G.B.H. (1991), Diana: Her True Story (1993), and London Suite (1996). Franklyn was also noted as a voice-over artist on radio and commercials, working on the long-running advertising campaign for Schweppes with the tag line “Schh ... you know who.”
William Franklyn
FRANZ, ARTHUR Actor Arthur Franz died of heart failure and emphysema in an Oxnard, California, hospital on June 17, 2006. He was 86. Franz was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, on February 29, 1920. He was active on stage from the early 1940s, and appeared on Broadway in productions of Hope for a Harvest (1941) and Command Decision (1947). Franz served in the Army Air Force as navigator during World War II. After the war he continued to perform on radio and made his film debut in the late 1940s. He often played leading or supporting roles in action films. His credits include Jungle Patrol (1948), The Price of Freedom (1949), Red Stallion in the Rockies (1949), The Doctor and the Girl (1949), Red Light (1949), Roseanna McCoy (1949), Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), Tarnished (1950), Three Secrets (1950), Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951), Strictly Dishonorable (1951), Submarine Command (1952), The Sniper (1952) as a deranged killer, Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder (1952), The Member of the Wedding (1952), Eight Iron Men (1952), Bad for Each Other (1953), The Steel Cage (1954), Flight Nurse (1954), and The Caine Mutiny (1954). Franz was perhaps best known for his roles in a handful of science fiction films he starred in during the 1950s including Flight to Mars (1951), Invaders from Mars (1953), The Flame Barrier (1958), Monster on the Campus (1958), and The Atomic Submarine (1959) as Cmdr. Reef Holloway. His other film credits include New Orleans Uncensored (1955), Bobby Ware Is Missing (1955), Battle Taxi (1955), Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956), Running Target (1956), The Wild Party (1956), Hellcats of the Navy (1957), The Unholy Wife (1957), Back from the Dead (1957), The Devil’s Hairpin (1957), The Young Lions (1958), and Woman Obsessed (1959). Franz starred as Bill Winters in the television science fiction series World of Giants in 1959. He also guest-starred in episodes of The Lone Ranger, The Ford Television Theatre, Cavalcade of America, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Danger, Studio One, Robert Montgomery Presents, Kraft Television Theatre, The Web, Armstrong Circle Theatre, The Ford Television Theatre, The Millionaire, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Appointment with Adventure, TV Reader’s Digest, Justice, Fireside Theatre, The Philco Television Playhouse, Science Fiction Theater, The 20th Century– Fox Hour, Four Star Playhouse, Crossroads, Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre, Cavalcade of America, The George Sanders Mystery Theater, Studio 57, Zane Grey Theater, Target, Perry Mason, Frontier Justice, Men Into Space, Wanted: Dead or Alive, One Step Beyond, Rawhide, Bourbon Street Beat, The Alaskans, Gunsmoke, The Chevy Mystery Show, Assignment Underwater, Checkmate, Death Valley Days, The Deputy, Hawaiian Eye, 77 Sunset Strip, Ichabod and Me, Ripcord, Tales of Wells Fargo, Bonanza, Wagon Train, Saints and Sinners, The Virginian, Mr. Novak, Slattery’s People, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Profiles in Courage, The F.B.I., Custer, The Invaders, The Outcasts, The Mod Squad, Land of the Giants, Lancer, Mission: Impossible, Mannix, Cannon, McCloud, Police Story, The Rookies, Medical Story, The Quest, and The Waltons. He also starred as Hugh McLeod in the soap opera The Nurses from 1965 to 1967. Franz was seen less often in films from the early 1960s,
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appearing in character roles in The Carpetbaggers (1964), Alvarez Kelly (1966), The Sweet Ride (1968), Anzio (1968), Dream No Evil (1970), So Long, Blue Boy (1973), The Human Factor (1975), Jaws of Death (1977), Sisters of Death (1977), and That Championship Season (1982). He was also seen in the tele-films Murder or Mercy (1974), The Missiles of October (1974), F. Scott Fitzgerald in Hollywood (1976), The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977), The Last Hurrah (1977), Jennifer: A Woman’s Story (1979), and Bogie (1980). He retired in the early 1980s. Franz was married to actress Doreen Lang from 1947 until her death in April of 1999.
FRAZZI, ANDREA Italian film director Andrea Frazzi died in Florence, Italy, on May 3, 2006. He was 61. He was born in Florence in 1944. Frazzi and his brother Antonio began directing theatrical productions in Milan in the early 1970s. They also began directing for television in the 1980s, helming such productions as La Biondina (1981), La Storia Spezzata (1990), L’Avvocato delle Donne (1996), Herzen im Sturm (1996), Dopo la Tempesta (1996), Almost America (2001), Inferno Below (2003), and Angela (2005). They directed their first feature film, The Sky Will Fall, in 1999, and 2004’s A Children’s Story followed.
Arthur Franz
Andrea Frazzi
FRASER , JILL British theatre manager Jill Fraser died of cancer and complications from pneumonia in a Redding, England, hospital on February 10, 2006. She was 59. Fraser was born in London on April 15, 1946. The daughter of two stage actors, Jill preferred working backstage and began her career with the Liverpool Everyman Theatre in the 1960s. She went on to work with such groups as The Royal Shakepeare Company, The Welsh National Opera and The Cambridge Theatre Company. She married James Sargant in 1980 and the couple soon opened the Watermill Theatre in Newbury, England. With the help many friends the theatre prospered, with Fraser serving as artistic director. Many aspiring actors and writers began their careers in productions at the Watermill.
FREEMAN, ALAN British radio disc jockey and occasional actor Alan Freeman died in Twickenham, England, on November 27, 2006. He was 79. Freeman was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on July 6, 1927. He began his career on radio in Australia as an announcer before moving to England in 1957. Freeman joined the BBC as announcer for the radio program Housewives’ Choice in 1960. The following year he was chosen to host the live music show Pick of the Pops. Freeman became a leading figure in the rock revolution that was soon to take place in England and throughout the world. He remained with Pick of the Pops through 1972, then became host of Radio 1’s The Alan Freeman Show. He remained one of the leading radio disc jockeys in England throughout and ever-
Jill Fraser
Alan Freeman
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changing musical landscape for the next 25 years. Freeman appeared as a disc jockey in the 1963 film Just for Luck, and starred as Bill Rogers in the 1965 horror film Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors. His other films include Sebastian (1968), Absolute Beginners (1986) and Mad Dogs and Englishmen (1995). Freeman was also featured as God in several episodes of the television comedy The Young Ones in 1984. Failing health led to his retirement in the early 2000s.
FUJIOKA, TAKUYA Japanese actor Takuya Fujioka died of renal failure in Tokyo, Japan, on October 20, 2006. He was 76. Fujioka was born in Himeji, Japan, on September 4, 1930. He was featured in numerous Japanese films from the mid–1960s including BGS of Ginza (1965), Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman and the Chess Expert (1965), Hoodlum Soldier Deserts Again (1966), Operation Crazy Gold (1967), Zatoichi the Outlaw (1967), Imaginary Paradise (1968), Mexican Free-for-All (1968), The Blind Swordsman and the Druns (1968), Yosakoi Journey (1969), Freshman Young Guy (1969), The Young Guy in New Zealand (1969), Bravo, Young Guy (1970), The Golden Bat Shows Up (1972), The Gate of Youth (1975), Mount Hakkoda (1977), Village of Eight Gravestones (1977), Japanese Godfather: Ambition (1977), The Fall of Ako Castle (1978), Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer (1984), Ruten no Umi (1990), and Shinibana (2004).
Examiner’s sports editor from 1964 to 1974. He subsequently began doing a radio talk show, and was a leading sport broadcaster in the Los Angeles area until his retirement in 2000. Furillo was also featured in cameo roles in the 1971 tele-film Brian’s Song, and a 1972 episode of Banacek.
Bud Furillo
GALE, GORDON Actor Gordon Gale died at his home in California on March 17, 2006. Gale appeared in the films Sex and the Other Woman (1972), The Compleat Al (1985), and Cry Wilderness (1987).
FULLER, MARGARET Margaret Walbridge, who appeared in several films in the 1960s under the name Margaret Fuller, died in Carson City, Nevada, on November 28, 2006. She was 81. She was born in Lisbon, Portugal, on December 2, 1924. She appeared in small roles in several films in the 1960s including The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) and Circus World (1964), and was featured in the 1973 film Little Laura and Big John.
Gordon Gale
Margaret Fuller
FURILLO, BUD Sportscaster Bud Furillo died at an assisted living facility in Ojai, California, on July 17, 2006. He was 80. Furillo was born in Hubbard, Ohio, on August 19, 1925. He began working in the newspaper business as a copy boy at the Los Angeles Herald-Express in 1947, and rose to become the Herald
GALLA-RINI, ANTHONY Accordion player Anthony Galla-Rini died in Corona, California, on July 30, 2006. He was 102. Galla-Rini was born in Manchester, Connecticut, to a musical family from Verona, Italy, on January 18, 1904. He began performing in Vaudeville with his three sisters at an early age. He continued to work as a solo musician after the family act disbanded in 1932. He continued to tour the United States and Europe over the next several decades. His accordion playing was heard on the soundtracks of several films including Laura (1944) and High Noon (1952). (See photograph on page 129.) GAMAS, MARIA ESTHER Argentine actress Maria Esther Gamas died in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on September 21, 2006. She was 95. Gamas as born in
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David Silva, Pepe Romay, Freddy Fernandez and Marco Antonio Arzate in films. Garcia wrestled and performed as Huracan for three decades, capturing the Mexican Welterweight Title on several occasions in the 1960s. Garcia retired from the ring as Huracan in February of 1987 and unmasked and revealed his real identity in May of the following year.
Anthony Galla-Rini
Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, on April 21, 1911. She began her acting career on stage as a young girl and made her film debut in 1931’s Lucese Buenos Aires. She was a popular tango singer and entertainer who continued her film career in such features as Consejo de Tango (1932), Bajo la Santa Federafion (1934), Brook (1934), Los Locs del Cuarto Piso (1937), By the Light of a Star (1941), When the Heart Sings (1941), Pampa Barbara (1945), Adios Pampa Mia (1946), Inspiracion (1946), La Cigarra (1948), El Zorro Peirde el Pelo (1950), La Fuerza Ciega (1950), El Ladron Canta Boleros (1950), La Mujer del Leon (1951), Mi Noche Triste (1951), A La Habana Me Voy (1951), and Suegra Ultimo Modelo (1953). She continued her career as an entertainer over the next two decades, making her final film appearance in Enrique Carreras’ 1976 feature The Kids Grow Up.
Daniel Garcia (as Huracan Ramirez)
GARDINER, JOHN REYNOLDS John Reynolds Gardiner, the author of the popular children’s tale Stone Fox, died of complications from pancreatitis in a Los Angeles hospital on March 4, 2006. He was 61. Gardiner was born in Los Angeles on December 6, 1944. Though he often claimed to be deficient in writing skills, he penned a script about a boy and his dog competing in a dog sled race. A producer suggested he turn the script into a children’s book. Stone Fox was published in 1980 and became a classic in children’s literature. It was adapted into a tele-film for NBC in 1987 and starred Buddy Ebsen as the grandfather. Gardiner wrote two other novels for children, Top Secret (1985), and General Butterfingers (1986).
Maria Esther Gamas
GARCIA, DANIEL Mexican actor and wrestler Daniel Garcia Arteaga died of a heart attack in Mexico on October 31, 2006. He was 80. Garcia was born in Mexico on April 9, 1926. Wearing a blue and white mask, he took over the role of fictional wrestler Huracan Ramirez in films and in the wrestling wring in the late 1950s. Huracan Ramirez was created as a character for a film in 1952. Many people played Huracan behind the mask in the 1950s including Eduardo Bonada, Fernando Oses, Enrique Llanes, Jean Safont and Rogelio de la Pez. He was also played by actors
John Reynolds Gardiner (his book Stone Fox)
GARINEI, PIETRO Songwriter Pietro Garinei, who was best known for writing the hit song “Arrive Derci Roma,” died in a Rome hospital on May 9, 2006. He was 87. Garinei was born in Trieste, Italy, on February 25, 1919. He began writing humorous sketches in the early 1940s. He produced various mu-
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sical revues culminating in the 1948 hit Grand Hotel with his writing partner, Sandro Giovannini. The duo’s best known song “Arrive Derci Roma” was a hit for singer Perry Como and was featured in the 1968 musical film The Seven Hills of Rome. He and Giovannini also produced the 1962 musical Rugantino, which appeared on Broadway in 1964 and was adapted for film in 1973. Marcello Mastroianni starred in their 1966 production Ciao, Rudy, about film star Rudolph Valentino. Garinei continued to produced plays after Giovannini death in 1977, including a recent adaptation of the film Mrs. Doubtfire.
World (1963), Just for You (1964), Every Day’s a Holiday (1965), and Out of Sight (1966). The group disbanded in 1969, but reformed in 1976. They continued to tour and perform for the next 25 years.
GARY, BRUCE Rock musician Bruce Gary, who was the original drummer for the Knack, died in Los Angeles on August 22, 2006. He was 54. Gary was born in California, on April 7, 1952. He began his musical career at the age of 15, performing with bluesman Albert Collins. He also toured with such artists as Dr. John, Jack Bruce and John Lee Hooker. In 1978 he teamed with singer-songwriter Doug Fieger, guitarist Bertorn Averre, and bassist Prescott Niles to form the Knack. The group’s debut album, Get the Knack, included the hit single “My Sharona” in 1979. Two more albums followed and, as sales declined, Gary left the group. He continued to perform as a session musician and toured with numerous acts. He worked as a drum teacher for Oliver Stone’s 1990 film The Doors. Gary was a producer for a series of posthumous releases by Jimi Hendrix in recent years.
Pietro Garinei
GARRITY, FREDDIE British pop singer Freddie Garrity, who headed the popular 1960s group Freddie and the Dreamers, died of circulatory problems and complications from emphysema in a Bangor, Wales, hospital on May 19, 2006. He was 69. Garrity was born in Manchester, England, on November 14, 1936 (though given as 1940 to make him appear younger). A former milkman, he founded Freddie and the Dreamers in 1959. The group had several hits in the early 1960s and achieved popularity in the United States with the hit song “I’m Telling You Now” in 1965. They also recorded the popular tunes “You Were Made for Me” and “Do the Freddie” based on Garrity’s manic stage antics. He and the group were also featured in several films in the early 1960s including What a Crazy
GASKIN, KATHERINE Character actress Katherine Gaskin died in California on March 18, 2006. She was 74. Gaskin was born on October 27, 1931. She appeared in several films including Undercover Blues (1993) and The Godson (1999), and was fea-
Freddie Garrity
Katherine Gaskin
Bruce Gary
131 tured on television in an episode of Perversions of Science.
GATES, PHYLLIS Phyllis Gates, a former secretary at a talent agency who married Rock Hudson in the 1950s, died of complications from lung cancer at her home in Marina del Rey, California, on January 4, 2006. She was 80. Gates was born in Dawson, Minnesota, on December 7, 1925. She began working for Hudson’s talent agent, Henry Willson, in New York in the early 1950s. He introduced her to Hudson and the two became a romantic item for the Hollywood press. She soon moved in with the actor and accepted his marriage proposal. She and Hudson were married on November 9, 1955. The wedding did much to dispel rumors of Hudson’s homosexuality and preserve his image as a Hollywood leading man. The marriage was a turbulent one that ended in divorce in 1958. Gates didn’t expose Hudson’s sexual secrets after the divorce, which Hudson did not contest. Hudson died of AIDS in 1985, and two years later Gates wrote the book My Husband, Rock Hudson.
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novel Legend, featuring the aged warrior Druss the Axeman, was published in 1984. He produced over 30 novels over the next twenty years, many constituting such multi-part epics as the Drenai, Rigante, Macedon, and Hawk Queen series. The first volume of a trilogy about the siege of Troy, Lord of the Silver Bow was published in 2005. The second volume Shield of Thunder was released shortly after his death. He was working on a final volume at the time of his death.
GENDA, JOSIP Croatian actor Josip Genda died of cancer in Split, Croatia, on September 8, 2006. He was 63. Genda was born in Ekabrnja, Croatia, on March 5, 1943. He made his stage debut as a child with the Children’s Theatre in the mid–1950s. He was also featured in numerous films in Croatia and the former Yugoslavia including Mad Summer (1964), Covik od Svita (1965), The Return (1979), Od Petka do Petka (1985), Skoljka Sumi (1990), The Time of Warriors (1991), Seddma Kronika (1996), Transatlantic (1998), Kanjon Opashnih Igara (1998), Garcia (1999), and Madonna (1999). Genda also starred in such television productions as Velo Misto (1981), Ptice Nebeske (1989), Novo Doba (2002), and Treseta (2006).
Phyllis Gates (with husband Rock Hudson)
GEMMELL, DAVID Fantasy author David Gemmell died in London from complications of heart bypass surgery on July 28, 2006. He was 57. Gemmell was born in West London, on August 1, 1948. He began his career as a writer in the early 1980s and his first
David Gemmell
Josip Genda
GEORGE, J UDY Television writer Judy George died of lung cancer in New York City on December 31, 2006. George worked together with her husband George W. George to script episodes of such television series as Bonanza, Combat!, The Real McCoys, Peter Gunn, Alcoa Theatre, The Rifleman, and Adventures in Paradise. They also wrote the original story for the 1961 film The Two Little Bears. GEORGE, LOVETTE Actress Lovette George died in New York City of ovarian cancer on September 6, 2006. George was featured on Broadway in Uptown ... It’s Hot! (1986), Carousel (1994), and Marie Christine (1999), and appeared off–Broadway in 1998’s A New Brain, as understudy to Kristin Chenoweth, and 2003’s The Musical of Musicals —The Musical. She was also featured in the films Broadway Damage (1997) and Center Stage (2000), and guest starred on television in episodes of Sex and the City and Hope & Faith. (See photograph on page 132.)
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132 1950s, performing on episodes of The Ed Wynn Show, Kreisler Bandstand, Songs for Sale, Frankie Laine Time, The Steve Allen Show, and The Ed Sullivan Show. She largely retired in the early 1960s.
Lovette George
GIBBS , GEOFFREY Australian actor and teacher Geoffrey Gibbs died of cancer in Perth, Western Australia, on August 17, 2006. He was 65. Gibbs was born on November 25, 1940. Gibbs was featured in several films including Zombie Brigade (1986) and Love in Limbo (1993). He also appeared in the telefilms A Waltz Through the Hills (1988) and The Shark Net (2003). Gibbs was also a teacher and director at the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts.
Georgia Gibbs
GIBSON, RICK Professional wrestler Rick Gibson died at his home near Pensacola, Florida, on September 15, 2006. He began wrestling in the early 1970s and feuded with Jerry Lawler in the Mid-South area in 1974. Gibson held the NWA Central States Title in October of 1976. He teamed with his brother, Robert, from the late 1970s, and they captured the NWA Americas Tag Team Title in Los Angeles in June of 1979. They also held the Southern Tag Team Title several times in 1979 and 1980. Rick Gibson held the U.S. Junior Heavyweight Title in Alabama in September of 1983. He retired after being seriously injured in an automobile accident. His brother, Robert, went on to team with Ricky Morton as the popular tag team duo the Rock and Roll Express.
Geoffrey Gibbs
GIBBS , G EORGIA Singer Georgia Gibbs, who was noted for her recordings of such hits as “Kiss of Fire,” died of complications from leukemia in a New York City hospital on December 9, 2006. She was 87. Gibbs was born Freda Lipchitz in Worcester, Massachusetts, on August 17, 1919. She began singing professionally while in her teens, and performed with Tommy Dorsey and Artie Shaw’s big bands. She was noted for performing rhythm and blues tunes, and was billed as Her Nibs, Miss Georgia Gibbs, by radio host Garry Moore. She performed often on radio programs hosted by Moore, Danny Kaye, and Jimmy Durante. She recorded several hit tunes from Mercury Records including “Kiss of Fire” (1952), “Tweedle Dee” (1954), and “Dance with Me Henry” (1955). She also recorded the novelty hits “If I Knew You Were Coming, I’d’ve Baked a Cake” and “The Hula Hoop Song” in the 1950s. She appeared frequently on television in the
Ricky Gibson (left, with brother Robert)
GILBERT, JAMES Aviator and film stunt pilot James Gilbert died in England on February 14, 2006. He was 70. Gilbert was born in Croydon, England, on April 28, 1935. He learned to fly while in his teens, and became a top aerobatic flight competitor in the early 1960s. Gilbert also worked as a stunt pilot in several
133 films including Aces High (1976) and The Eagle Has Landed (1976). His interest in old aircrafts led to the publication of his first best-selling book, The Great Planes, in 1970. Two years later he took over publication of the monthly magazine, Pilot, which he helmed for five years. Gilbert also authored the 1975 account of aircraft mishaps, The World’s Worst Aircraft.
James Gilbert (flying upside down in his Tiger Moth)
GILBERT, MICHAEL British crime writer Michael Gilbert died in Luddesdown, Kent, England, on February 8, 2006. He was 93. Gilbert were born in Billinghay, Lincolnshire, England on July 17, 1912. He began writing in the late 1930s, with his first novel, Close Quarters, being written in 1938. Over the years Gilbert continued to write subsequent volumes. His early novels often featured as their main character Inspector Hazelrigg. These included They Never Looked Inside (1948), The Doors Open (1949), Smallbone Deceased (1950), Death Has Deep Roots (1951), and Fear to Tread (1953). He next introduced the character of Sergeant Petrella, who starred in his police procedural novels Blood and Judgment (1959) and Paint, Gold and Blood (1989). Death Has Deep Roots was adapted as the French film Guilty? in 1956. His stories The Crime of the Century (1956) and Wideawake (1957) were both adapted for British television, and he also wrote for the series Fair Game, The Men from Room 13, Zero One,
2006 • Obituaries
and The Third Man. Danger Within was adapted for film in 1959, and The Mind of the Enemy became a television mini-series in 1965. His novel, Office Party, became the 1988 film Hostile Takeover. Gilbert’s short story collection, Game Without Curious Conspiracy and Other Crimes, was published in 2002.
GILBRETH CAREY, ERNESTINE Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, who co-authored the story of her childhood with 11 brothers and sisters Cheaper by the Dozen, died in Fresno, California on November 4, 2006. She was 98. Carey was in New York City on April 4, 1908. Her father, Frank Gilbreth, was an innovator in time management theory for business and her mother, Lillian, was an industrial psychologist. Ernestine was the third child in the large Gilbreth clan, whose parents tried to utilized their management principals in their raising of the family. The often humorous results were chronicled in the popular book Cheaper by the Dozen, which she co-wrote with her brother Frank Gilbreth, Jr. The book was first adapted to film in 1950, starring Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy as the parents. The sibling duo also wrote a sequel in 1950, Belles on Their Toes, which was also filmed two years later. Ernestine also wrote several other books, including Jumping Jupiter, Rings Around Us and Giddy Moment. Her best known work was remade into film in 2003, starring Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt, in what proved to be a loose adaptation. A sequel, Cheaper by the Dozen 2, was released in 2005. Her only surviving siblings are her two brothers, Frederic and Robert.
Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
Michael Gilbert
GILDEN , MICHAEL Diminutive actor Michael Gilden, who was featured in two episodes of Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service earlier in the year, was found dead from suicide by hanging at his home in Los Angeles on December 5, 2006. He was 44. Gilden was born in Los Angeles on September 22, 1962. He made his film debut as an Ewok in the 1983 Star Wars film Return of the Jedi. He was also featured in the films Freaked (1993), Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994), Once Upon a Christmas (2000) as Dunder, Nudity Required (2003), and Southland Tales (2006). Gilden also performed stunt work in the films Last Action Hero (1993), My Giant (1998), and Unconditional Tales (2006). He was also seen in several tele-
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films including Twice Upon a Christmas (2001), Snow White (2001), and Against Type (2006). He was featured in the recurring role of Robert Silver in the television series Family Law in 2002, and was a leprechaun in several episodes of Charmed from 2003. He also appeared in episodes of such series as Aliens in the Family, Cybill, The Amanda Show, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He was featured as Marty Pearson on Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service earlier in 2006. He was married to Boston Legal actress Meredith Eaton from 2001 until his death.
GILL, JOE Prolific comic book writer Joe Gill died in December of 2006. He was 87. Gill began his career in comics writing for Timely (later known as Marvel) Comics in the early 1940s. After leaving Timely, he worked briefly at Funnies, Inc. before settling at Charlton Comics in the early 1950s. Gill wrote thousands of comic scripts at Charlton, working on westerns, romance, war, horror, super-heroes, and virtually every genre published. He was co-creator of such characters as Captain Atom, Peacemaker, the Fightin’ Five, and Judomaster. Gill retired from comics in the mid–1980s after Charlton discontinued publication.
Michael Gilden Joe Gill
GILKS , MARTIN British musician Martin Gilks, who was drummer for the 1980s band Wonder Stuff, was killed in a motorcycle accident on April 3, 2006. He was 41. Gilks was born on March 2, 1965. He began his professional career as a drummer with the Mighty Lemon Drops before joining with Miles Hunt, Malcolm Treece and Rob Jones to form the group Wonder Stuff in 1986. Their debut album, The Eight Legged Groove Machine, was released in 1988 and they also recorded several hit singles including “Welcome to the Cheap Seats” and “The Size of a Cow.” Their third album Never Loved Elvis spent six months on the charts in 1991. Rob Jones died of hear failure in 1993 and the band dissolved the following year. Gilks participated in a reunion tour in 2000.
Martin Gilks (left, with Paul Clifford, Ange Dolittle and Malcolm Treece)
GILLETTE , PRISCILLA Actress Priscilla Gillette died in a New York City hospital after a long illness on February 2, 2006. She was 80. She made her stage debut in the touring company of the hit musical Brigadoon in 1947, and went on to appear on Broadway in productions of 1949’s Regina, an adaptation of Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes, Cole Porter’s Out of This World, and John La Touche’s The Golden Apple. She appeared frequently on television’s Studio One in the early 1950s, starring in adaptations of The Willow Cabin with Charlton Heston, Trilby, The Legend of Jenny Lind, and The Night America Trembled. She also appeared as Sybil Gordon in the daytime soap opera The Edge of Night from 1957 to 1958.
Priscilla Gillette (with David Brooks from a production of Brigadoon)
135 GILMAN, LUCY Former child actress Lucy Gilman Scott died in Chicago, Illinois, on November 23, 2006. She was 81. Gilman was born on March 4, 1925. She performed on radio in Chicago as a child. She was also featured in the 1938 film Gangster’s Boy with Jackie Cooper.
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Greco (1966), The Nun of Monza (1969), Open Doors (1990), and Tomorrow (2001). Giovampietro also appeared on Italian television in productions of Sandokan (1976) and Madame Bovary (1978).
GILMAN, PAGE Radio actor Page Gilman died after a long illness on June 1, 2006. He was 88. Gilman was born on April 18, 1918. He began working on radio at the age of nine, performing in the series Memory Lane and Penrod and Sam. He began playing the role of Jack Barbour, the youngest son, on the NBC radio series On Man’s Family in 1932. Gilman served in the U.S. Army during World War II and returned to radio and One Man’s Family after the war. He continued in the weekly series until it left the air in 1959. Gilman later worked in the newspaper business until his retirement in 1984. Renzo Giovampietro
Page Gilman
GINNES, ABRAM S. Television writer Abram S. Ginnes died in Los Angeles following a long illness on May 20, 2006. He was 91. Ginnes was born on December 24, 1914. He began his career writing for radio, writing for The Goldbergs, and television, where he scripted episodes of such series as Philco Television Playhouse, Big Story, Decoy, and Armstrong Circle Theatre. His career was interrupted in the 1950s when his radical politics led to his blacklisting. He continued to write and had success on Broadway with his show Drink to Me Only. He returned to writing for television later in the decade, scripting several notable episodes of the crime drama Naked City. He also scripted episodes of The Untouchables, The Asphalt Jungle, Hong Kong, Adventures in Paradise, Hawaii Five-O, Egan, Police Woman, and Jessie. Ginnes also scripted the screen adaptation of Ben Hecht’s memoirs, Gaily, Gaily, in 1969. GIOVAMPIETRO , RENZO Italian actor Renzo Giovampietro died in Italy on March 10, 2006. He was 81. Giovampietro was born in Velletri, Italy, on June 23, 1924. He was active on stage and films from the late 1940s. He was featured in such films as Duel Without Honor (1949), House of Ricordi (1954), Don Camillo’s Last Round (1955), The Queens (1966), El
GIRACI, MAE Silent screen child actress Mae Giraci died in Los Angeles on January 10, 2006. She was 95. Giraci was born in Los Angeles on January 22, 1910. The brunette child actress was reputedly discovered by Cecil B. DeMille, and appeared in several dozen films from the mid–1910s through the mid–1920s. Giraci’s screen credits include The Crest of Van Endheim (1915), The Fall of a Nation (1916), Casey at the Bat (1916), Children of the Feud (1916), A Daughter of the Poor (1917), A Strange Transgressor (1917), One More American (1918), The Man Above the Law (1918), His Enemy, the Law (1918), Till I Come Back to You (1918), Untamed (1918), The Lady of Red Butte (1919), The World and Its Woman (1919), Son of Tarzan (1920), The Cheater (1920), The Prince Chap (1920), Unseen Forces (1920), The Faith Healer (1921), Reputation (1921), The Infamous Miss Revell (1921), Miss Lulu Bett (1921), Lorna Doone (1922), and Secrets (1924). She made her final screen appearance in 1929’s The Godless Girl before retiring from the screen to attend nursing school. GIROD, FRANCIS French film director Francis Girod died of a heart attack at his hotel in Bordeaux, France, on November 19, 2006. He was 61. Girod was born in Semblancay, France, on February 9, 1945. He appeared in several films as an actor from the late 1960s including Horizon (1967), Les Gauloises Bleues (1968), The Idols (1968), Pierre and Paul (1969), Crime Thief (1969), Lea in Winter (1971), The Italian of the Roses (1973), Eric Minor (1974), Playing with Fire (1975), They’ve Killed Her! (1986), Saxon (1987), Zanzibar (1989), L. 627 (1992), Mensonge (1993), and Calino Maneige (1999). He made his debut as a director with the 1974 feature The Infernal Trio starring Michel Piccoli and Romy Schneider. He also directed, and often scripted, such films as Rene the Cane (1976), The Savage State (1978), The Woman Banker (1980) with Romy Schneider, The Big Brother (1982), Le Bon Plaisir (1984), Descent into Hell (1986), L’Enfance de l’Art (1988), The Elegant Criminal (1990), Against Oblivion
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(1991), Delit Mineur (1994), Lumiere and Company (1995), Death in Therapy (1996), Terminate (1998), Gender Bias (2001), and Un Ami Parfait (2006). He also directed productions of Le Misanthrope (2000) and Le Pays des Enfants Perdus (2004) for French television.
tria, on September 16, 1908, and began singing professionally in the early 1930s. She came to the United States in 1937, and made her debut with the Met in a production of Aida in 1942. She appeared in numerous productions with the Met over the next 14 seasons including Die Walkure, Der Rosenkavalier, and Gotterdamerung. She retired from performing in 1956 to teach voice at the Manhattan School of Music. She moved to Los Angeles in 1977, teaching at the University of Southern California and the Aspen Music School until her retirement in 1994.
Francis Girod
GISH, LOU British actress Lou Gish died of cancer in England on February 20, 2006. She was 35. Gish was born in England on May 27, 1970, the daughter of actors Roland Curram and Sheila Gish, and stepdaughter of actor-director Denis Lawson. She began her career on stage, appearing in such productions as Look Back in Anger, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs, and Design for Living. She was featured in the 1997 film Bent, and appeared in television productions of Holding the Baby (1997), Microsoap (1998), and Without Motive (2000). She was also seen in episodes of Hope & Glory, Where the Heart Is, The Vice, Coupling, Wire in the Blood, Doctors, Casualty, and New Tricks. Her final stage performance was in a 2005 production of King Lear as Goneril opposite David Warner.
Herta Glaz
GLAZER, JOE Joe Glazer, who wrote and sang songs in support of organized labor, died of non– Hodgkins lymphoma at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on September 19, 2006. He was 88. Glazer was born in Manhattan, New York, on June 19, 1918. He began working in support of labor unions in the 1940s, and used his guitar to rally workers. He sang and recorded an early version of the civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome.” He also wrote and recorded the 1947 labor song “The Mills Weren’t Made of Marble.” Glazer made a film supporting organization of workers, Unions at Work, in 1950, and recorded over thirty albums. He worked as a labor information officer for the United States Information Agency from 1961 until 1981. He later composed songs satirizing the administration of President Ronald Reagan, including “Jellybean Blues.”
Lou Gish
GLAZ, HERTA Mezzo-soprano Herta Glaz, who sang with the Metropolitan Opera in the 1940s and 1950s, died in Hamden, Connecticut, on January 28, 2006. She was 97. Glaz was born in Vienna, Aus-
Joe Glazer
137 GLEASON, PAUL Actor Paul Gleason, who was best known for his role as hostile high school principal Richard Vernon in the 1985 teen classic The Breakfast Club, died of lung cancer in a Burbank, California, hospital on May 27, 2006. He was 67. Gleason was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on May 4, 1939. He was raised in Miami, Florida, and played minor league baseball before turning to acting in the 1960s. He studied with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio and made his film debut in a small role in Winter A-Go-Go in 1965. He was also seen in the films C’Mon, Let’s Live a Little (1967), Banning (1967), Private Duty Nurses (1971), Where Does It Hurt? (1972), Hit Man (1972), Little Laura and Big John (1973), Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (1975) as one of Doc’s assistants, Maj. Thomas “Long Tom” Roberts, Vigilante Force (1976), The Great Santini (1979), He Knows You’re Alone (1980), Fort Apache the Bronx (1981), Arthur (1981), The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper (1981), Tender Mercies (1983), Trading Places (1983), Morgan Stewart’s Coming Home (1987), Forever, Lulu (1987), Ghost Chase (1987), Welcome to Spring Break (aka Nightmare Beach) (1988), Lifted (1988), She’s Having a Baby (1988), Johnny Be Good (1988), Die Hard (1988) as Deputy Police Chief Dwayne Robinson, Night Game (1989), Miami Blues (1990), Wishman (1991), Rich Girl (1991), Running Cool (1993), The Waiter (1993), Loaded Weapon 1 (1993), Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (1993), Wild Cactus (1993), Boiling Point (1993), Nothing to Lose (1994), I Love Trouble (1994), There Goes My Baby (1994), Digital Man (1995), A Time to Revenge (1997), Shadow Conspiracy (1997), Money Talks (1997), Day at the Beach (1998), Best of the Best: Without Warning (1998), No Code of Conduct (1998), The Giving Tree (2000), Red Letters (2000), The Organization (2001), The Myersons (2001), Social Misfits (2001), Not Another Teen Movie (2001), Van Wilder (2002), The Passing (2005), and Abominable (2006). Gleason also appeared in the telefilms Women of West Point (1979), Ike (1979), Doubletake (1985), Challenge of a Lifetime (1985), the 1985 Star Wars spin-off Ewoks: The Battle for Endor as Jeremitt, Challenge of a Lifetime (1985), Supercarrier (1988), Spooner (1989), Starting Now (1989), Fourth Story (1991), False Arrest (1991), Majority Rule (1992), and Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love (1994). He was also
2006 • Obituaries
seen as Dr. David Thornton in the television soap opera All My Children from 1976 to 1978, and was Lee Carothers on Another Life from 1982 to 1983. He also starred as Captain Dave Herzog in the crime series One West Waikiki in 1994, and was George Greckin in the short-lived series Lost on Earth in 1997. His frequently television appearances on television also included guest-starring roles in episodes of The Green Hornet, The F.B.I., Then Came Bronson, Mission: Impossible, Banacek, Adam-12, Columbo, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Remington Steele, Cagney and Lacey, Call to Glory, Hardcastle and McCormick, Riptide, Hill Street Blues, Magnum, P.I., Dallas, Kate & Allie, The A-Team, Miami Vice, The Equalizer, Falcon Crest, Beauty and the Beast, Life Goes On, 21 Jump Street, B.L. Stryker, Father Dowling Mysteries, Hardball, L.A. Law, Tales from the Crypt, Murder, She Wrote, The Wonder Years, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Seinfeld, Dark Skies, Boy Meets World, NewsRadio, Walker, Texas Ranger, Grace Under Fire, Nash Bridges, Melrose Place, Chicago Hope, Veronica’s Closet, The Drew Carey Show, Diagnosis Murder, Friends, Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, The District, Cursed, Dead Last, Fastlane, The Guardian, Dragnet, Dawson’s Creek, Malcolm in the Middle, Cold Case, and George Lopez.
GLENN, CHRISTOPHER Veteran CBS News correspondent Christopher Glenn died of liver cancer in a Norwalk, Connecticut, hospital on October 17, 2006. He was 68. Glenn was born in Queens, New York, on March 23, 1938. He worked as a broadcaster in Korea and New York while serving in the U.S. Army during the 1960s. He joined CBS in 1971 as a producer, and soon advanced to correspondent. He served as narrator of the long-running In the News Saturday morning news program, which earned him an Emmy Award during its 13 year run through 1978. Glenn also worked at CBS Radio, anchoring the newscasts The World Tonight and CBS World News Roundup.
Christopher Glenn
Paul Gleason
GLENNON, JAMES M. Cinematographer James M. Glennon, who earned an Emmy Award for his work on the television western series Deadwood in 2004, died of cancer in Los Angeles on October 19, 2006. He was 64. Glennon was born in Los Angeles on
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August 29, 1942, the son of pioneer film cinematographer Bert Glennon. He began his career in television, working in the camera department for the 1960s television sitcom Gilligan’s Island. He worked as an assistant cameraman on the 1974 film The Conversation, and was a camera operator for the films American Raspberry (1977), Breaking Away (1979), The Electric Horseman (1979), Ordinary People (1980), Altered States (1980), True Confessions (1981), Absence of Malice (1981), Taps (1981), Don’t Cry, It’s Only Thunder (1982), and Let’s Spend the Night Together (1983). He was also a location director of photography for George Lucas’ 1983 Star Wars film Return of the Jedi. He was first credited as a cinematographer for the 1977 action thriller Jaws of Death. His other film credits include Prisoners (1981), El Norte (1983), Up the Creek (1984), The Wild Life (1984), Smooth Talk (1985), Flight of the Navigator (1986), One More Saturday Night (1986), A Time of Destiny (1988), December (1991), The Lounge People (1992), Judicial Consent (1994), Mrs. Munck (1995), Mojave Moon (1996), Invader (1996), Citizen Ruth (1996), Best Men (1997), The Runner (1999), Election (1999), Playing Mona Lisa (2000), South of Heaven, West of Hell (2000), Madison (2001), Viva Las Nowhere (2001), Life Without Dick (2002), Local Boys (2002), About Schmidt (2002), The United States of Leland (2003), Good Boy! (2003), and The Big White (2005). Glennon also served as director of photography for the television productions Last of the Great Survivors (1984), Second Sight: A Love Story (1984), My Wicked, Wicked Ways ... The Legend of Errol Flynn (1985), Lemon Sky (1988), Murder in New Hampshire: The Pamela Wojas Smart Story (1991), Baby Snatcher (1992), In the Deep Woods (1992), The Disappearance of Nora (1993), Laurel Avenue (1993), The Corpse Had a Familiar Face (1994), A Part of the Family (1994), Untamed Love (1994), Edgar Allan Poe: Terror of the Soul (1995), Co-Ed Call Girl (1996), Jake’s Women (1996), My Very Best Friend (1996), L.A. Johns (1997), Two Small Voices (1997), Get to the Heart: The Barbara Mandrell Story (1997), Selena (1997), Convictions (1997), When He Didn’t Come Home (1998), Blonde (2001), and Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt (2003). His other television credits include such series as Angel Falls, Bakersfield, P.D., West Wing, Carnivale, Big Love, and Deadwood.
Jim Glennon
GOBEIL, PIERRE Canadian actor Pierre Gobeil died of cancer in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, on May 21, 2006. He was 68. Gobeil was born in Canada on March 23, 1938. He appeared in numerous film and television productions in Canada from the 1970s. Gobeil’s film credits include Le Grand Voyage (1974), Dear Theo (1975), La Gammick (1975), Before the Time Comes (1975), Partis pour la Gloire (1975), J.A. Martin Photographer (1977), A Scream from Silence (1979), Cordelia (1980), The Lucky Star (1980), Beyond Forty (1982), Straight for the Heart (1988), and Five Minute Break (1988). He was also seen in television productions of Grand-Papa (1976), Duplessis (1977), Caroline (1979), Le Temps d’Une Paix (1980), and La Fuite (1986).
Pierre Gobeil
GODEY , JOHN Morton Freedgood, who wrote the popular detective novel The Taking of Pelham One Two Three under the pen name of John Godey, died at his home in West New York on April 16, 2006. He was 93. Freedgood was born on July 20, 1912. He began writing under his own name with his first novel, The Wall-to-Wall Trap, published in 1957. He published subsequent works under the name John Godey. He wrote such popular thrillers as A Thrill a Minute with Jack Albany, Never Put Off Till Tomorrow What You Can Kill Today, and Never a Dull Moment, which was adapted for film in 1968. He was best known for writing the best-selling novel The Taking of Pelham One Two Three in 1973. The book was adapted for a film starring Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw the following year. It was also revised as a tele-film in 1998. Another of his novels, The Three Worlds of Johnny Handsome, was adapted as the film Johnny Handsome starring Mickey Rorke in 1989. GOLDHARREH , POOPAK Iranian actress Poopak Goldharreh died in a Teheran, Iran, hospital on April 14, 2006, of injuries she received in an automobile accident eight months earlier. She had remained in a coma since the accident. She was 35. Goldharreh began her career in the mid–1990s, appearing in the television sit-com The Happy Times (1994). She was best known for starring in the 1999 television series The Sweet Dream of the Sea. She was also see in several films
139 including End of the Game (2000), The Dead Wave (2000), and Cinderella (2001), and was featured in the television series Narges and The Kind Spirit.
Poopak Goldharreh
GOLDIN, BRETT South African Brett Goldin was found dead in a field in South Africa on April 17, 2006, having been shot in the head. He and another man were believed to have been murdered after having been robbed by a gang of men. Goldin appeared in the handful of films over the past several years including Slash (2002), Adrenaline (2003), Citizen Verdict (2003), Proteus (2003), Blast! (2004), and Crazy Monkey Presents Straight Outta Benoni (2005). Goldin also starred as Terry Schachter in the 2005 television series Charlie Jade.
2006 • Obituaries
by John Wayne, who subsequently signed Gonzalez Gonzalez to a seven-year contract with his production company. He appeared in comic Latino roles in such films as Wings of the Hawk (1953), The High and the Mighty (1954), Ring of Fear (1954), Ricochet Romance (1954), Strange Lady in Town (1955), Bengazi (1955), I Died a Thousand Times (1955), The Bottom of the Bottle (1956), Man in the Vault (1956), The Sheepman (1958), Rio Bravo (1959), The Young Land (1959), McLintock! (1963), The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin (1967), Hostile Guns (1967), Hellfighters (1968), The Love Bug (1968), Hook, Line & Sinker (1969), Chisum (1970), Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971), Sixpack Annie (1975), Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976), Flush (1977), Dreamer (1979), There Goes the Bride (1980), Lust in the Dust (1985), Uphill All the Way (1986), Down the Drain (1990), and Ruby Cairo (1993). He also appeared in the tele-films Bates Motel (1987), Ghost Writer (1989), Donor (1990), and Judith Krantz’s Dazzle (1995). Gonzalez Gonzalez also appeared frequently on television, guest-starring in episodes of Telephone Time, Sheriff of Cochise, Hudson’s Bay, Frontier Doctor, The DuPont Show with June Allyson, The Texan, Wanted: Dead or Alive, National Velvet, The Dick Powell Show, Cheyenne, Alcoa Premiere, Gunsmoke, Perry Mason, Burke’s Law, Branded, I Spy, Laredo, The Monkees, Hondo, Tarzan, Mayberry R.F.D., I Dream of Jeannie, The Mod Squad, The High Chaparral, The Flying Nun, The Bill Cosby Show, Adam-12, The Fall Guy, and Land’s End. Gonzalez Gonzalez, who was comic sidekick to both cowboy stars Rex Allen and Rex Allen, Jr., during his career, entertained at state and county fairs with Allen Jr. from the 1980s. His survivors include his wife of 62 years, Leandra, a son, two daughters, and seven grandchildren, including actor Clifton Collins, Jr., who starred as one of the two killers in the 2005 film Capote.
Brett Goldin (with Shirley Kirchman in Pick Ups)
GONZALEZ GONZALEZ, PEDRO Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, the comic actor who appeared in supporting roles in many films with actor John Wayne, died at his home in Culver City, California, on February 6, 2006. He was 80. Gonzalez Gonzalez was born in Aguilares, Texas, on May 24, 1925, the son of a Mexican dancer and a Mexican-American trumpet player. He began working as an entertainer at an early age, and became nationally known after an appearance on Groucho Marx’s television variety show You Bet Your Life in 1953. His comic exchange with Marx was seen
Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez
GOODMAN, DEAN Actor Dean Goodman died of cancer at his home in San Francisco, California on July 4, 2006. He was 86. Goodman was born in Oregon on July 2, 1920. He began his career on stage with the Seattle Repertory Theater in the late 1930s. He married Maria Seiber, the daughter of Marlene Dietrich in 1943. Their brief relationship later served as the
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basis for his memoir Maria, Marlene and Me. He performed in venues through the United States and Canada before settling in San Francisco in 1955. He became a leading presence in the Bay City’s theatrical world, producing, directing and appearing in numerous productions over the next 50 years. Goodman appeared on screen as Robert Bennington in the 1988 film Tucker and was featured in 1990’s Fear. He also appeared on television as Judge Hardy in the daytime soap opera Santa Barbara in the 1980s and guest starred in an episode of The Midnight Caller.
with the Stratford Festival as a propmaker in the late 1950s and made his debut on stage several years later. He appeared in nearly 100 productions over the next 35 years, starring in such plays as Henry IV as Falstaff, The Taming of the Shrew, Pericles, and As You Like It. Gordon also appeared on television in productions of Chasing Rainbows (1988) and Romeo and Julie (1993), and guest-starred as an abbot in an episode of the television horror series Friday the 13th in 1987.
Lewis Gordon Dean Goodman
GORDON, ANTHONY Actor Anthony Gordon died on March 26, 2006. Gordon was featured in several films including Gone with the West (1975), Time After Time (1979), Under the Rainbow (1981), Say Yes (1986), Private Road: No Trespassing (1987), and Barton Fink (1991). Gordon also appeared in the tele-film Marilyn: The Untold Story (1980) as Laurence Olivier, and guest-starred in episodes of The Fall Guy, Matt Houston, Moonlighting, Hunter, Hotel, Ferris Bueller, and Murder, She Wrote.
GORDON, ZITA Hungarian actress Zita Gordon died in England on February 9, 2006. She was 94. She was born Elisabeth Clotilde Hedvige Maria Gabriella Gruszner in Gyongyos, Hungary, on December 2, 1911. She began her career on stage in Budapest, where she chose the stage name Zita Gordon. She appeared in several films in Hungary in the mid–1930s including Budapest Pastry Shop (1935), The New Landlord (1935) and Wedding Day (1936). She met and married Lewis Gielgud, a Red Cross executive and brother of renowned actor John Gielgud, in 1937. Zita gave radio broadcasts and wrote plays for the BBC during World War II. After the war, she and her husband moved in with the Inter-Allied Reparation Agency director Nigel Sutton. Her husband suggested that she divorce him and marry Sutton as Gielgud had become difficult to get along with. This she did in 1951 and the three re-
Anthony Gordon
GORDON , LEWIS Character actor Don Lewis, who performed on stage and screen under the name Lewis Gordon, died of a heart attack in Canada on February 9, 2006. He was 70. He began working
Zita Gordon
141 mained good friends until Gielgud’s death several years later. Zita was soon widowed in 1956. Her daughter by Gielgud, Maina, became a leading ballet dancer and director. Zita returned to the stage in 1985, when choreographer Maurice Bejart crafted a role for her in his ballet Le Concours. She toured with the production throughout the world, and when the ballet was restaged by the Paris Opera in 1999 she reprised her role, becoming the oldest guest performer for the company.
GORGIA, NERSI Veteran Iranian actor Nersi Gorgia died of heart failure on October 21, 2006. He was 68. Gorgia made his film debut in the 1962 feature Bitter Land. He remained a popular performer in such Iranian films as Mountain Tiger, Never Love, Diamond 33, and Angel’s Night. His career continued after the Islamic revolution that ousted the Shah in 1979. His later films include Tigh o Abrisham (1987), The Lead (1988), Hey Joe! (1988), Snake’s Fang (1990), Afi (1992), and E’adeye Amniat (1995). GOTH, JACK Actor Jack Goth died in Calgary, Canada, on February 20, 2006. He was 83. He was born in England in 1922, the son of a music hall performer, and made his stage debut as an infant. Goth came to Canada in 1951 where he worked as an actor, producer and director for numerous theatrical productions. He made his film debut in the early 1960s appearing in Deadline for Murder (1964), Rad (1986), Hyper Sapien: People from Another Star (1986) and Cool Runnings (1993). He also appeared on television in productions of Locusts (1974) and Amber Waves (1980).
2006 • Obituaries
son in Salzburg (1961), The Curse of the Yellow Snake (1963), The Black Abbot (1963), The Secret of the Black Widow (1963), The Phantom of Soho (1964), Curse of the Hidden Vault (1964), The Racetrack Murders (1964), The Wild Men of Kurdistan (1965), Attack of the Kurds (1965), Spy Today, Die Tomorrow (1967), and The Miracle of Love (1968). Gottlieb began directing primarily exploitation films from the late 1960s, with such films as Intimate Desires of Women (1968), Spanking at School (1969), Every Night of the Week (1969), The Erotic Adventures of Hansel and Gretel (1970), When the Mad Aunts Are Coming (1970), Girls and the Love Games (1972), Trubel um Trixie (1972), Bottoms Up (1974), The Joy of Flying (1977), Lady Dracula (1978), Popcorn and Ice Cream (1978), She’s 19 and Ready (1979), Gentle, but Sassy Like Oskar (1980), Death Stone (1987), and Three Crazy Jerks (1987). He worked mainly in television from the 1980s, helming such series as Medecins de Nuit, Nordichter, Der Landarzt, Lakeside Hotel, Stocker & Stein, Salto Postale, Hallo, Onkel Doc!, Unser Charly, and Salto Kommunale.
Franz Josef Gottlieb
GOWDY, CURT Veteran television sportscaster Curt Gowdy died of leukemia at his home in Boston, Massachusetts, on February 20, 2006. He was 86. Gowdy was born in Green River, Wyoming, on July 31, 1919. He began his career as the voice of the Red
Jack Goth
GOTTLIEB, FRANZ JOSEF Austrian film director Franz Josef Gottlieb died of a brain tumor in Verden an der Aller, Germany, on July 23, 2006. He was 75. Gottlieb was born in Semmering, Austria, on November 1, 1930. He worked in films as an assistant director from the mid–1950s with such credits as Where the Lark Sings (1956), Youth Comes Only Twice (1958), Trees Are Blooming in Vienna (1958), and Twelve Girls and One Man (1959). He made his directoral debut with 1959’s Mikosch im Geheimdienst. He continued to direct numerous films, including many Edgar Wallace mysteries. His directoral credits include My Niece Doesn’t Do That (1960), Musik ist Trumpf (1961), Sea-
Curt Gowdy
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Sox on radio in 1951, and remained with the team until 1965. He subsequently joined NBC Sports where he was lead sportscaster for baseball, calling play-by-play for all World Series and championship games through 1975. Gowdy was also the producer and host of the long running outdoors series The American Sportsman from the mid–1960s through the mid–1980s. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame’s broadcaster’s wing in 1984. Gowdy was also seen in cameo roles in several films including Heaven Can Wait (1978), The Naked Gun (1988), BASEketball (1998), and Summer Catch (2001).
in Tennessee in August of 1966, and held the Hawaiian Title in October of 1968. Crazy Luke teamed with Tarzan Tyler to capture the WWWF Tag Team Title in June of 1971 and they defeated the Mongols to unify the belt with the WWWF International Tag Team Title in November of 1971. They lost the belts the following month. He teamed with Gorgeous George, Jr., to hold the WWC North American Tag Team Title in Puerto Rico in 1980, and held the NWA Central States Title in April of 1984. Crazy Luke retired from the ring in the late 1980s, though he later managed a younger wrestler who used the name Crazy Luke Graham, Jr.
GOYANES, MARA Spanish actress Mara Goyanes died in Madrid, Spain, on November 7, 2006. She was 64. She appeared in numerous films from the late 1950s including Life Around Us (1959), Bombas Para la Paz (1959), Tiempo de Amor (1964), Muere una Munjer (1965), Eroe Vagabondo (1966), Las Panteras se Comen a los Ricos (1969), Autopsy (1973), Un Casto Varon Espanol (1973), Pim, Pam, Pum ... Fire! (1975), Cronicas del Bromuro (1980), and The House in the Outskirts (1980). Goyanes also appeared frequently on Spanish television, guest-starring in episodes of Novela, Sospecha, El Teatro, Un, Dos Tres ... Responda Otra Vez, Fantastico, Estudio 1, La Voz Humana, Querida Maestro, Petra Delicado, Periodistas, and El Comisario. Crazy Luke Graham
Mara Goyanes
GRAHAM , CRAZY LUKE Veteran professional wrestler Crazy Luke Graham died of heart failure after a long illness in a Macon, Georgia, hospital on June 23, 2006. He was 66. He was born James Grady Johnson in Union Point, Georgia, on February 5, 1940. He began his career in the ring in the early 1960s, competing under the name Pretty Boy Calhoun. Because of his resemblance to long-time mat villain Dr. Jerry Graham, he soon became part of the legendary Graham wrestling family. He usually competed as a villain, and often teamed with his in-ring “brothers” including Dr. Jerry Graham, Superstar Billy Graham, and Eddie Graham. Known as Crazy Luke for his wild ring persona, bleached blonde hair, and goatee, Graham captured the WWWF U.S. Tag Team Titles with Dr. Jerry in June of 1964. He teamed with Karl Von Brauner to briefly hold the World Tag Team Title
GRANDE, JOHNNY Johnny Grande, the original pianist with Bill Haley and His Comets, died at his home in Clarksville, Tennessee, on June 2, 2006. He was 76. Grande was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 14, 1930. He joined Haley’s group the Saddlemen in 1949, playing piano and arranging music. He was a founding member of the Comets three years later and played on some of their biggest hits including “Rock Around the Clock,” “See You Later, Alligator,” “Rockin’ Through the Rye,” and “Rockin’ Around the World.” He appeared with Bill Haley and the Comets in several films in the 1950s including Round Up of Rhythm (1954), Rock Around the Clock (1956), and Don’t Knock the Rock (1956), and performed in
Johnny Grande
143 episodes of The Ed Sullivan Show, Arthur Godfrey and His Friends, and American Bandstand. Grande left the group in 1962, but returned for a Comets reunion in 1987, and continued to perform and record with the band through the 1990s.
GRANT , CHARLES L. Horror novelist Charles L. Grant died of a heart attack at his home in New Jersey after a long illness on September 15, 2006. He was 64. Grant was born in Newark, New Jersey, on September 12, 1942. He was noted for his horror and dark fantasy stories, penning over 100 books during his career. Grant often employed pseudonyms in his writings, using such aliases as Geoffrey Marsh, Deborah Lewis, Simon Lake, Lionel Fenn, and Felicia Andrews. He was the recipient of a Nebula Award for his short story “A Crowd of Shadows” in 1976, and earned a second Nebula for his novella A Glow of Candles, a Unicorn’s Eye in 1978. He was given the British Fantasy Society’s Special Award for life achievement in 1987, and received three World Fantasy Awards for his writing and editing. His many books include his Parric Family trilogy, consisting of The Shadow of Alpha (1976), Ascension (1977), and Legion (1979). He also wrote the long-running Oxrun Station series including The Hour of the Oxrun Dead (1977), The Sound of Midnight (1978), The Last Call of Mourning (1979), The Grave (1981), Bloodwind (1982), Nightmare Seasons (1982), The Soft Whisper of the Dead (1982), The Long Night of the Grave (1986), The Orchard (1986), and Dialing the Wind (1988). He also authored the Millennium series, including Symphony (1997), In the Mood (1998), Chariot (1998), and Riders in the Sky (1999). Grant was also editor of the award-winning anthology series Shadows.
2006 • Obituaries
Tonight at Eight-Thirty. She also appeared on Broadway in Rockefeller and the Red Indians. She appeared on British television in productions of Simply Sheila (1968), W. Somerset Maugham’s The Closed Shop (1970), Pygmalion (1973), and The Dancing Years (1976). She was also featured in episodes of Gideon’s Way, Orlando, Detective, 6 Dates with Barker, Doctor at Large, Keep It in the Family, Pardon My Genie, The Liver Birds, Sykes, Hi-De-Hi!, The Professionals, and The Black Adder. She was also featured in the 1977 comedy film Sweeney!
Joyce Grant
GRAVER , GARY Film director and cinematographer Gary Graver died after a long battle with cancer at his home in Rancho Mirage, California on November 16, 2006. He was 68. Graver was born in Portland, Oregon on July 20, 1938. He learned camera technique while serving with the Navy Combat Camera Group in Vietnam in the 1960s. He began working in films in the mid–1960s, directing such low-budget films as The Embracers (1966), The Kill (1968) and The Hard Road (1970). He was also seen in small roles in the films The Girls from Thunder Strip (1966), The Embracers (1966), Wild, Free and Hungry (1969), The Mighty Gorga (1969), Horror of the Blood Monsters (1970), Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971), and Machismo: 40 Graves for 40 Guns (1971). He was better known for
Charles L. Grant
GRANT, JOYCE British comic actress Joyce Grant died of cancer in England on July 11, 2006. She was 82.Grant was born in Blomemfontein, South Africa, on January 23, 1924. She studied acting in London before returning to South Africa to begin her career on stage. She was featured there in performances of Come Back Little Sheba and The Glass Menagerie. She returned to London in the late 1950s, where she continued her stage career in such West End productions as The Happy Apple, Eine Kleine Nacht Musik, and
Gary Graver
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his work as director of photography, working with such directors as Orson Welles, Curtis Harrington, Al Adamson and Ron Howard. His credits as cinematographer include The Girls from Thunder Strip (1966), The Kill (1968), Wanda, the Sadistic Hypnotist (1969), The Mighty Gorga (1969), the cult biker flick Satan’s Sadists (1969), The Fabulous Bastard from Chicago (1969), Hell’s Bloody Devils (1970), The Hard Road (1970), The Golden Honeymoon (1970), Diamond Stud (1970), Horror of the Blood Monsters (1970), The Affairs of Aphrodite (1970), London (1971), Hard On the Trail (1971), Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971), Erika’s Hot Summer (1971), The Sadist (1973), Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973), California Country (1973), The Clones (1973), The Dirty Dolls (1974), Home Grown (1974), I Spit on Your Corpse! (1974), Naughty Stewardesses (1975), Jessi’s Girls (1975), The Student Body (1976), Black Heat (1976), Woman in the Rain (1976), Ms. Magnificent (1977), Moonshine County Express (1977), Grand Theft Auto (1977), The Toolbox Murders (1978), Doctor Dracula (1978), Sunset Cove (1978), Deathsport (1978), Death Dimension (1978), The One Man Jury (1978), Smokey and the Hot Wire Gang (1979), Sunnyside (1979), The Glove (1979), The Attic (1980), Texas Lightning (1981) which he also directed, Hollywood High, Part 2 (1981), Smokey Bites the Dust (1981), Trick or Treats (1982) which he also directed, Lost (1983), Mortuary (1983), The Spirit of Charles Lindbergh (1984), Chattanooga Choo Choo (1984), They’re Playing with Fire (1984), The Phantom Empire (1986), Twisted Nightmare (1987), Moon in Scorpio (1987) which he also directed, Deep Space (1987), Party Camp (1987), Commando Squad (1987), B.O.R.N. (1988), L.A. Bounty (1989), Jaded (1989), Alienator (1989), Real Bullets (1990), Children of the Night (1990), Evil Spirits (1990) which he also directed, Click: The Calendar Girl Killer (1990), Mob Boss (1990), Wizards of the Demon Sword (1991), Paid to Kill (1991), The Many Loves of Jennifer (1991), Bad Girls from Mars (1991) also playing the onscreen role of the camera guy in the film within a film, Spirits (1991), Haunting Fear (1991), Merlin (1992), Forever (1992), Evil Toons (1992), Roots of Evil (1992), Witch Academy (1992), Time Wars (1993), It’s All True (1993), Mind Twister (1994), Femme Fontaine: Killer Babe for the CIA (1994), Dinosaur Island (1994), Possessed by the Night (1994), Star Hunter (1995), Rebellious (1995), Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfolds (1995), Sorceress (1995), Bikini DriveIn (1995), Virtual Desire (1995), Within the Lines (1996), Time Under Fire (1996), Subliminal Seduction (1996), Sorceress 2: The Temptress (1996), Sexual Roulette (1996), Masseuse (1996), Midnight Eyes 4 (1996), Friends of the Family II (1996), Surface to Air (1997), Maximum Revenge (1997), Masseuse 2 (1997), Invisible Dad (1997), The Elf Who Didn’t Believe (1997), Bikini Traffic School (1997) which he also directed, Bikini Hoe-Down (1997), Strategic Command (1997), Scorned 2 (1997), The Escort (1997) which he also directed, The Shooter (1997), Alien Escape (1997), Masseuse 3 (1998), Hotel Erotica (1998), Femalien II (1998), The Boy Who Saved Christmas (1998), Black Widow Escort (1998) which he also directed, Illicit Dreams 2 (1998), Inferno (1998), Moby Dick (1999), Veronica 2030 (1999), Hidden Beauties
(1999), Angel in Training (1999), Timegate: Tales of the Saddle Tramps (1999), The Prophet (1999), Shandra: The Jungle Girl (1999), Zorrita: Passion’s Avenger (2000), Virgins of Sherwood Forest (2000), Love Her Madly (2000), A Lord Portrait (2000), Coo Coo Cafe (2000), Twice the Fun (2000), Vice Girls (2000), Scandal: Sweet Revenge (2001), Platinum Blonde (2001), Phantom Love (2001), Usher (2002), 13 Erotic Ghosts (2002), Quigley (2003), The Long Ride Home (2003), Leeches! (2003), Adam’s Apocalypse (2003), Bikini Airways (2003), Haunting Desires (2004), Wakan (2004), Tomb of the Werewolf (2004), Countess Dracula’s Org y of Blood (2004), Murder on the Yellow Brick Road (2005), Something Came Over Them (2005), Sargije (2006), Martyr (2006), and The Mummy’s Kiss: 2nd Dynasty (2006). Graver also photographed the tele-films Scout’s Honor (1980), Through the Magic Pyramid (1981), Child Bride of Short Creek (1981), The Kid with the Broken Halo (1982), The Kid with the 200 I.Q. (1983), Love Leads the Way: A True Story (1984), The Fantastic World of D.C. Collins (1984), Playing with Fire (1985), and the 1986 remake of the western classic Stagecoach. Graver began a fifteen year association with director Orson Welles in 1970 after calling the film legend and expressing a desire to work with him. Graver and Welles worked together on over a dozen projects including the documentaries F for Fake (1975), Filming Othello (1978), and It’s All True (1993). Welles’ final film as director, The Other Side of the Wind, had completed filming before Welles’ death in 1985, but remained unedited. Graver attempted to complete the movie about a director’s descent into mediocrity, despite the muddled legal rights. Graver also directed and photographed numerous adult films during his career, often using the pseudonym Robert McCallum for his work in this area. These films include Sandra, the Making of a Woman (1970), Erika’s Hot Summer (1971), And When She Was Bad (1973), 3 A.M. (1975), V: The Hot One (1977), Tangerine (1979), Hot Rackets (1979), The Ecstasy Girls (1979), Co-Ed Fever (1980), Indecent Exposure (1981), Amanda by Night (1981), Suzie Superstar (1982), Society Affairs (1982), Satisfactions (1982), Peaches and Cream (1982), Centerspread Girls (1982), Garage Girls (1982), Summer Camp Girls (1983), Private Teacher (1983), Private Moments (1983), Unthinkable (1984), Trinity Brown (1984), Sex Play (1984), I Want to Be Bad (1984), Dear Fanny (1984), Soaking Wet (1985), Showgirls (1985), Joanna Storm on Fire (1985), Beverly Hills Exposed (1985), Traci Lord’s Aroused (1985), Suzie Superstar II (1985), Tower of Power (1985), Secret Dreams (1986), Rated Sex (1986), Please Don’t Stop (1986), Peeping Tom (1986), Irresistible II (1986), Erotic City (1986), Ecstasy Girls II (1986), Two to Tango (1987), Surf, Sand and Sex (1987), Private Encounters (1987), Insatiable Hypatia Lee (1987), Good Vibrations (1987), Flesh for Fantasies (1987), Dollface (1987), Crazy with the Heat (1987), Charmed and Dangerous (1987), Barbara the Barbarian (1987), Barbara Dare’s Prime Choice (1987), Midnight Intruders (1987), Party Camp (1987), Taboo VI: The Obsession (1988), Suzie Superstar ... The Search Continues (1988), 10∂ Weeks (1988), Spies and Lovers (1989), Crossing the Line (1989), Nerds of a Feather (1990), Love
145 Ghost (1990), East L.A. Law (1990), Victoria’s Secret Life (1991), Three Men and a Hooker (1991), The Stranger Beside Me (1991), Purple Haze (1991), The Outlaw (1991), The Many Loves of Jennifer (1991), The Journey (1991), Home But Not Alone (1991), The Erotic Adventures of Anny Fannie (1991), Dream Lover (1991), Decadent (1991), Breathless (1991), The Back Doors (1991), Silence of the Bones (1992), Shoot to Thrill (1992), I Am Desire (1992), Faithless Companions (1992), Driving Miss Daisy Crazy Again (1992), The Dragon Lady: Tales from the Bed (1992), Dark Dreams (1992), Cape Rear (1992), Black & White in Living Color (1992), Roots of Evil (1992), So I Married a Lesbian (1993), Ring of Passion (1993), Ride the Pink Lady (1993), One Million Heels BC (1993), The Crimson Kiss (1993), Angel Eyes (1993), Samantha’s Private Fantasies (1994), Open Lips (1994), Erotika (1994), The Big Stick-Up (1994), Maverdick (1995), Exstasy (1995), Tight Spot (1996), Sexual Roulette (1996), Lust and Desire (1996), and Angel in Training (1999).
GRAVES, UNCLE JOSH Uncle Josh Graves, who played the dobro on numerous bluegrass and country recordings, died in Nashville, Tennessee, after a long illness on September 30, 2006. He was 78. Graves was born Burkett Howard Graves at Tellico Plains, Tennessee, on September 27, 1928. He began his career in the early 1940s playing with the Pierce Brothers. He began playing with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs’ Foggy Mountain Boys in 1955. Originally a bass player, he moved to the dobro soon after. He was heard on many of the group’s best known tunes including the theme song for the 1960s television sitcom Petticoat Junction. He performed with the Earl Scruggs Review from 1971, until embarking on a solo career in 1974. Graves performed on albums with such musicians as Kris Kristofferson, John Hyatt and The Nitty, Gritty Dirt Band. He had been plagued by poor health in recent years that resulted in the amputations of both his legs.
Uncle Josh Graves
GRAY, GARY Gary Gray, a leading child actor from the early 1940s, died after a long fight with cancer on April 4, 2006. He was 69. Gray was born in Los Angeles on December 18, 1936. His father was a busi-
2006 • Obituaries
ness manager to several Hollywood celebrities, and his family was encouraged by two of them, comics Jack Benny and Bert Wheeler, to pursue a film career for Gary. The Grays did, and Gary made his film debut as a young child, appearing in A Woman’s Face (1941) with Joan Crawford. He continued to appear in such films as Sun Valley Serenade (1941), The Meanest Man in the World (1943), It’s a Great Life (1943), Two Tickets to London (1943), Alaska Highway (1943), Heaven Can Wait (1943), Where Are Your Children? (1943), I Am an American (1944), Beautiful but Broke (1944), Address Unknown (1944), Gaslight (1944), Once Upon a Time (1944), The White Cliffs of Dover (1944), And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1944), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), I’ll Be Seeing You (1944), Youth for the Kingdom (1945), The Clock (1945), It Happened in Springfield (1945), The Adventures of Rusty (1945), Men in Her Diary (1945), Gay Bubbles (1946), The Wonderful Ears of Johnny McGoggin (1946), To Each His Own (1946), Rendezvous 24 (1946), Little Mister Jim (1946), Slightly Scandalous (1946), Three Little Girls in Blue (1946), Three Wise Fools (1946), My Brother Talks to Horses (1947), Backlash (1947), Too Many Winners (1947), The Millerson Case (1947), Living in a Big Way (1947), High Conquest (1947), Dark Delusion (1947), Swing the Western Way (1947), Heaven Only Knows (1947), Pal’s Return (1948), Best Man Wins (1948), Fighting Back (1948), Night Wind (1948), Whispering Smith (1948), and Tenth Avenue Angel (1948). He was featured as Young Johnny in the RKO western Return of the Bad Men (1948), and co-starred as Young Davey in Rachel and the Stranger (1948) with Robert Mitchum. He was also seen as Nancy Davis and James Whitmore’s son in the classic fantasy The Next Voice You Hear in 1950. He co-starred with Pal, the dog, in a series of films in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and appeared with another famous canine, Lassie, in the 1951 film The Painted Hills. His other film credits include Gun Smugglers (1949), It’s Your Health (1949), Henry, the Rainmaker (1949) as David Latham, I Found a Dog (1949) as Gary in the first in the Pal series, Streets of San Francisco (1949), Leave It to Henry (1949), The Girl from Jones Beach (1949), The Masked Raiders (1949), Dog of the Wild (1949), The Great Lover (1949), Spic and Span (1950), Father Is a Bachelor (1950), Father Makes Good (1950), Pal, Canine Detective (1950), Pal, Fugitive Dog (1950), Two Weeks with Love (1950), Father’s Wild Game (1950), Pal’s Gallant Journey (1951), Father Takes the Air (1951), Rodeo (1952), Crazylegs (1953), The First Hundred Days (1955), Teenage Rebel (1956), Emergency Hospital (1956), Wild Heritage (1958), and The Party Crashers (1958). Gray also appeared frequently on television from the 1950s, guest-starring in episodes of such series as Fireside Theatre, You Are There, Annie Oakley, Captain Midnight, Studio 57, The Lineup, Hey, Jeannie!, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, December Bride, Cavalcade of America, I Love Lucy, Man Without a Gun, Family Theatre, 26 Men, Trackdown, and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. He made his last film appearance in the 1962 western Terror at Black Falls. Gray began a swimming pool maintenance and repair business in the early 1960s, which he operated for nearly forty years until his
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retirement in 1999. In recent years he was a popular guest at various nostalgia and film festivals, particularly the Memphis Film Festival, where he had made numerous appearances. His survivors include his wife of 45 years, Jean, and their four daughters.
Gary Gray
GRAY, SALLY British actress Sally Gray, who starred in films in the 1930s and 1940s, died in London on September 24, 2006. She was 87. Gray was born Constance Vera Stevens in Holloway, North London, on February 14, 1919. She began her career performing in cabarets while studying at the Fay Compton Studio of Dramatic Art. She made her film debut in a small role in 1930’s School for Scandal. She continued her screen career in such features as Radio Pirates (1935), Cross Currents (1935), Loves of a Dictator (1935), Lucky Days (1935), Checkmate (1935), Cheer Up (1936), Calling the Tune (1936), Calling the Tune (1936), Saturday Night Revue (1937), Danger in Paris (1937), Sword of Honour (1938), Over She Goes (1938), Mystery of Room 13 (1938), Lightning Conductor (1938), Hold My Hand (1938), The Saint in London (1939) with George Sanders, The Lambeth Walk (aka Me and My Girl) (1940), A Window in London (aka Lady in Distress) (1940), Olympic Honeymoon (1940), The Saint’s Vacation (1941) with Hugh Sinclair, Dangerous Moonlight (aka Suicide Squadron) (1941), Green for Danger (1946),
Carnival (1946), The Mark of Cain (1947), They Made Me a Fugitive (1947), Silent Dust (1948), Edward Dmytryk’s Obsession (1949), and Escape Route (1952) with George Raft. Gray married the 4th Lord Oranmore and Browne in December of 1951, and subsequently retired from the screen. She and her husband settled at Castle Mac Garret, in County Mayo, Ireland, before moving to a flat in London in the early 1960s. She was widowed when her husband died at the age of 100 in 2002.
GREEN, GERALD Author Gerald Green, who was best known for his novel The Last Angry Man, died of pneumonia in a Norwalk, Connecticut, hospital on August 29, 2006. He was 84. He was born Gerald Greenberg in Brooklyn, New York on April 8, 1922. He served in the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II and began working as a journalist after the war. He worked for NBC News from the early 1950s and was a co-creator of the Today show. His first novel, coauthored with Lawrence Klingman, His Majesty O’Keefe, was published in 1950 and adapted for a film starring Burt Lancaster in 1954. He wrote the story of a cantankerous but selfless doctor working in a Brooklyn slum, The Last Angry Man, in 1956. Paul Muni starred in the film version in 1959, and Pat Hingle was the lead in a tele-film version in 1974. Green’s novel The Hostage Heart was adapted for television in 1977. He also wrote the tele-play and novelization of the 1978 mini-series Holocaust. Green also wrote the tele-films Tourist (1980), Kent State (1981), Wallenberg: A Hero’s Story (1985), and Fatal Judgment (1988).
Gerald Green
GREEN, WALLY British actor Wally Green died in London in December of 2006. He was 87. He spent most of his acting career working in New Zealand, where he performed frequently on stage with the Dolphin Theatre in Auckland. He was also featured in the television soap opera Shortland Street, and appeared in small roles in several episodes of Xena Warrior Princess.
Sally Gray
GREENWELL , PETER British pianist and composer Peter Greenwell died in Denia, Spain, on June 4, 2006. He was 76. Greenwell was born in Warwickshire, England, on August 29, 1929. He began
147 working in musical theatre, where he composed for such West shows as 1959’s The Crooked Mile. Greenwell also served as piano accompanist to Noel Coward from 1962 until Coward’s death in 1973. He also composed music for several films including The Virgin Soldiers (1969), Up the Front (1972), Our Miss Fred (1972), and Don’t Just Lie There, Say Something (1973). He shared an Oscar nomination with Peter Maxwell Davies for the music he contributed to Ken Russell’s 1971 film The Boy Friend.
Peter Greenwell
GREGOR, JOZSEF Hungarian operatic bassbaritone Jozsef Gregor died in Budapest, Hungary, after a long illness on October 27, 2006. He was 66. Gregor was born in Rakosliget, Hungary, on August 8, 1940. He studied at the Liszt Academy in Budapest and made his professional singing debut in 1958. He performed frequently in opera houses throughout Hungary and became opera director in Szeged in 1990. During the 1990s, he often graced the stage of opera houses in the United States and made his debut with the Metropolitan Opera in 1994 in Mozart’s Nozze Di Figaro.
Jozsef Gregor
GRIFFITH, KENNETH Welsh actor and documentary filmmaker Kenneth Griffith died at his home in London on June 25, 2006. He was 84. Griffith was born in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales, on October 12,
2006 • Obituaries
1921. He began his career on stage in the late 1930s and made his film debut several years later. Griffith was seen in numerous films over the next sixty years including The Farmer’s Wife (1941), Love on the Dole (1941), The Black Sheep of Whitehall (1942), Hard Steel (1942), The Forest Rangers (1942), The Great Mr. Handel (1942), Young and Willing (1943), Fame Is the Spur (1946), Bond Street (1947), Code of Scotland Yard (1947), Forbidden (1948), Blue Scar (1949), Helter Skelter (1949), Waterfront Women (1950), High Treason (1951), Terror Street (1953), Track the Man Down (1955), The Green Buddha (1955), The Prisoner (1955), Private’s Progress (1956), The Baby and the Battleship (1956), 1984 (1956), Tiger in the Smoke (1956), Blue Murder at St. Trinian’s (1957), Chain of Events (1957), The Naked Truth (1957), Lucky Jim (1957), Brothers in Law (1957), The TwoHeaded Spy (1958), Young, Willing and Eager (1958), The Man Upstairs (1958), A Night to Remember (1958), I’m All Right Jack (1959), Man in a Cocked Hat (1959), Tiger Bay (1959), Libel (1959), The Risk (1960), Snowball (1960), Expresso Bongo (1960), Circus of Horrors (1960), A French Mistress (1960), The Frightened City (1961), I Promised to Pay (1961), Only Two Can Play (1962), We Joined the Navy (1962), Murder Can Be Deadly (1962), Heavens Above! (1963), Rotten to the Core (1965), The Whisperers (1967), The Bobo (1967), Decline and Fall ... of a Birdwatcher (1968), The Lion in Winter (1968), Great Catherine (1968), The Assassination Bureau (1969), The Gamblers (1970), Revenge (aka Inn of Frightened People (1971), The House in Nightmare Park (1973), Callan (1974), S*P*Y*S (1974), Sky Riders (1976), Why Shoot the Teacher? (1977), The Wild Geese (1978), The Sea Wolves (1980), Remembrance (1982), Who Dares Wins (1982), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain (1995) as Rev. Robert Jones, and Very Annie Mary (2001). Griffith also appeared frequently on British television, performing in productions of One (1956), The School for Wives (1958), To Bury Caesar (1963), The Babysitter (1965), Buddenbrooks (1965), A Walk in the Sea (1966), Jane Eyre (1970), Some Matters of Little Consequence (1971), An Apple a Day (1971), Clochemerle (1972), The Perils of Pendragon (1974), Berlin Tunnel 21 (1981), The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood (1984), and Shaka Zulu (1987). Griffith was a friend of actor Patrick McGoohan and was featured in episodes of his series Danger Man and The Prisoner, playing the President in the series finale of the latter. His other television credits include episodes of The New Adventures of Martin Kane, International Detective, Armchair Theatre, Hancock, Thirty-Minute Theatre, Strange Report, Paul Temple, Spyder’s Web, Colditz, Minders, Lovejoy, and Holby City. Griffith also became noted as a documentary filmmaker from the mid–1960s, often tackling controversial subjects. His support of Irish Republican sentiments resulted in the 1973 documentary about Michael Collins, Hang Up Your Brightest Colours, which was withheld from screening by the BBC for over twenty years. His other documentaries include A Touch of Churchill, a Touch of Hitler (1971) about Cecil Rhodes, Soldiers of the Widow (1972) about the first Boer War, The Sun’s Bright Child
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(1975) about actor Edmund Keane, Black as Hell: Thick as Grass (1979), The Most Valuable Englishman Ever (1982) about Tom Paine, The Light (1986) about David Ben Gurion and the founding of the state of Israel, But I Have Promises to Keep (1989) about Nehru, and Roger Casement: Heart of Darkness (1992). Griffith authored his autobiography, The Fool’s Pardon, in 1994.
Kenneth Griffith
GROLLMANN, JENNY German actress Jenny Grollmann died of cancer in Berlin, Germany, on August 9, 2006. She was 59. Grollmann was born to a theatrical family in Hamburg, Germany, on February 5, 1947. She began appearing in stage productions while in her teens and became a member of the Maxim Gorki Theatre’s ensemble in East Berlin. She made her film debut as a young German refugee near the end of World War II in the 1968 film I Was Nineteen. She became a popular star in the East German cinema, with such credits as Kennen Sie Urban? (1971), The Flight (1977), Your Unknown Brother (1982), and Isabel au der Treppe (1984). After the reunification of Germany, Grollmann remained a popular actress in films and television. She was featured as Anwaltin Isenthal in the soap opera Lieblihng — Kreuzberg and was Fraulein Conradi in the series Unser Lehrer Doktor Specht. She also appeared in television productions of Mord im Schlachthof (1997), Tod Eines Callgirls (1997), Die Strassen von Berlin — CQ 371 (1999), Jagd auf den
Jenny Grollmann
Plastikuten-Morder (2001), and Das Blaue Wunder (2004). She starred as Katharina Kruger-Warschowski in the 2002 series In Visier der Zielfahnder and was Constanze von Weyers in Die Anstalt— Zurock ins Leben also in 2002. Her other television credits include episodes of SOKO 5113, Stahlnetz, Abschnitt 40, Polizeiruf 110, Sturm der Liebe, and Tatort. Grollman was embroiled in a controversy in recent years when her exhusband, actor Ulrich Muehe, accused her of having been an unofficial informer for the Stasi, the East German secret police, during their marriage.
GRONDONA , I VAN Argentine actor Ivan Grondona died of heart failure in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after a long illness on January 26, 2006. He was 83. He began his film career in the late 1940s and appeared in such features as The Drummer of Tacuari (1948), Immigrants (1948), Alma Liberada (1951), Su Seguro Servidor (1954), La Quintrala (1955), La Simuladora (1955), La Novia (1961), Pepper and Red Pepper (1970), Juan Manuel de Rosas (1972), El Picnic de los Campanelli (1972), La Mala Vida (1973), Veni Conmigo (1973), and La Virgen Gaucha (1987). Grondona also appeared frequently on Argentine television from the 1960s.
Ivan Grondona
GROUND, UTAH Choreographer and dance teacher Utah Ground died in Austin, Texas, on Febru-
Utah Ground
149 ary 9, 2006. She was 80. Ground was born in Bremerhaven, Germany, on March 21, 1925, and was raised in Manhattan, New York. She began her career as a child actress on stage, performing on Broadway. She studied dance with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and George Balanchine. She served as head of dance at Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas, from 1958 to 1970, where she trained such future performers as Sandy Duncan and Tommy Tune. Ground also served as choreographer for Paul Bartel’s film Not for Publication.
GROVES, SELI Seli Groves, author of the syndicated soap opera column Daytime Dial, died of complications from diabetes in New York City on April 2, 2006. She was 71. Groves was born in Brooklyn, New York, on May 18, 1934. She was instrumental in the development of the first magazine devoted to soap operas, Daytime TV. She also created the soap opera magazine Soap Opera Beat, and had a monthly column in Soap Opera Digest for over ten years. She also wrote articles about the soaps for numerous other magazines and authored the books Soaps, a Pictorial History of America’s Daytime Dramas (1983) and The Ultimate Soap Opera Guide: The Inside Scoop on Your Favorite Daytime Soaps (1995). Groves was also the author of several books on the environment and the young-adult science book What If: 50 Discoveries That Changed the World. She had written the Daytime Dial column since 1985, which was syndicated in 100 daily newspapers by North America Syndicate and to 1,300 weeklies by King Features Weekly Service.
2006 • Obituaries
tered World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in late 1995, and defeated Harlem Heat for the WCW World Tag Team Title in September of 1996. They lost the belts in a rematch the following month. After leaving the WCW they wrestled on the independent circuit and appeared briefly in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1999. The tag team officially ended with the death of Rocco Rock in September of 2002. Grunge had been largely inactive in the ring in recent years, making an appearance at Hardcore Homecoming in June of 2005.
Johnny Grunge
GUARNIERI , G IANFRANCESCO Italianborn actor Gianfrancesco Guarnieri, who was a popular performer in Brazil from the 1950s, died of renal failure in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on July 22, 2006. He was 71. Guarnieri was born in Milan, Italy, on August 6, 1934, and came to Brazil with his family at the age of three. A popular stage performer, he also wrote over thirty plays. Guarnieri was also seen in such films as The Grand Moment (1958), O Jogo da Vida (1977), Diario da Provincia (1978), Asa Branca (1980), Gaijin: Roads to Freedom (1980), They Don’t Wear Black Tie (1981), O Beijo (1990), O Quatrilho (1995), and Contos de Lygia (1998). He also starred in numerous Brazilian television productions and soap operas including A Hora Marcada (1967), A Muralha (1968), Os Estranhos
Seli Groves
GRUNGE , JOHNNY Mike Durham, who wrestled professionally as Johnny Grunge as part of the tag team Public Enemy with Flyboy Rocco Rock, died of complications from sleep apnea in an Atlanta, Georgia, hospital on February 16, 2006. He was 39. Durham was born in Compton, California, on July 10, 1966. He joined with Ted Petty, as Flyboy Rocco Rock, to form Public Enemy in 1993, and were soon an part of the legendary hardcore wrestling promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The held tag team titles in ECW several times over the next few years, competing against such teams as Cactus Jack and Mikey Whipwreck, The Gangstas, and The Pitbulls. The duo en-
Gianfrancesco Guarnieri
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(1969), Dez Vidas (1969), Nossa Filha Gabriela (1971), Mulheres de Areia (1973), Os Inocentes (1974), Roda de Fogo (1978), Sol de Verao (1982), Vereda Tropical (1984), Cambalacho (1986), Que Rei Sou Eu? (1989), Mundo de Lua (1991), Anos Rebeldes (1992), Incidente em Antares (1994), A Proxima Vitima (1995), Serras Azuis (1998), Terra Nostra (1999), Vidas Cruzadas (2000), Esperanca (2002), and Metamorphoses (2004).
GUEST, VAL British film director Val Guest, who was best known for helming the cult science fiction films The Creeping Unknown (1955) and The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961), died of prostate cancer in Palm Desert, California, on May 10, 2006. He was 94. He was born Valmond Masurice Guest in London on December 11, 1911. He began his career as an actor, appearing in small roles on stage and in such films as Old Spanish Customers (1932), The Maid of the Mountains (1932), The Innocents of Chicago (1932), and The Bermondsey Kid (1933). He soon turned to writing, working as the London correspondent for The Hollywood Reporter. He also began scripting such films as No Monkey Business (1935), All In (1936), A Star Fell from Heaven (1936), Public Nuisance No. 1 (1936), Okay for Sound (1937), Oh, Mr. Porter! (1937), Good Morning, Boys (1937), Alf ’s Button Afloat (1938), Old Bones of the River (1938), Hey! Hey! USA (1938), Convict 99 (1938), Ask a Policeman (1938), The Frozen Limits (1939), Goofer Trouble (1940), Where’s That Fire? (1940), Band Wagon (1940), Gasbags (1940), The Ghost Train (1941), Inspector Hornleigh Goes to It (1941), I Think You (1941), Hi Gang! (1941), Back-Room Boy (1942), King Arthur Was a Gentleman (1942), Walking on Air (1946), London Town (1946), Once Upon a Dream (1949), and Paper Orchid (1949). Guest made his directoral debut in the early 1940s, directing a World War II instructional films about the perils of sneezing during combat. He soon began writing and directing features, garnering such credits as Miss London Ltd. (1943), Bees in Paradise (1944), Give Us the Moon (1944), I’ll Be Your Sweetheart (1945), William at the Circus (1948), Just William’s Luck (1948), Murder at the Windmill (1949), Miss Pilgrim’s Progress (1950), The Body Said No! (1950), and Mr. Drake’s Duck (1951), which starred Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and actress Yolande Donlan. Guest and Donlan
Val Guest
married several years later in 1954. He continued to direct such films as Penny Princess (1952), The Men of Sherwood Forest (1954), The Runaway Bus (1954), Life with Lyons (1954), The Lyons in Paris (1955), Break in the Circle (1955), Dance Little Lady (1955), The Can’t Tame Me (1955), It’s a Wonderful World (1956), Carry on Admiral (1957), The Weapon (1957), Up the Creek (1958), Further Up the Creek (1958), Life Is a Circus (1958), The Camp on Blood Island (1958), Yesterday’s Enemy (1959), Hell Is a City (1960), Expresso Bongo (1960), and Full Treatment (aka Stop Me Before I Kill!) (1961). Guest was best known as the director of a handful of science fiction films from the mid–1950s. He adapted Nigel Kneale’s earlier tele-play The Quatermass Experiment for the screen in 1955. It released in the United States under the title The Creeping Unknown. He also directed the sequel, Quatermass II (aka Enemy from Space) in 1957, as well as Kneale’s tele-play The Creature as The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas in 1957. Guest helmed the end-of-the-world epic The Day the Earth Caught Fire starring Edward Judd and Janet Munro in 1961. He continued to direct such films as Jigsaw (1962), 80,000 Suspects (1963), and The Beauty Jungle (1964). He also helmed several espionage films in the mid–1960s including Where the Spies Are (1965), the James Bond spoof Casino Royale (1967), and Assignment K (1968). Reviews were less than grand for his next films, a prehistoric epic entitled When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970) starring Playboy Playmate Victoria Vetri, and the bizarre science fiction musical Toomorrow (1970) starring Olivia Newton-John. His film credits also include Au Pair Girls (1972), Confessions of a Window Cleaner (1974), Killer Force (1976), ...And the Band Played On (1980), Dangerous Davies — The Last Detective (1981), and The Boys in Blue (1982). Guest primarily worked in television for the remainder of his career, helming episodes of The Persuaders, The Adventurer, Space: 1999, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, and The Shillingbury Tales. Guest also directed several films as part of the television series The Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense, including Mark of the Devil (1984), In Possession (1986), and Child’s Play (1986). Guest subsequently retired to Palm Springs, California. He is survived by his wife, actress Yolande Donlan.
HAASE, JOHN Author John Haase, who was best known for his 1966 novel Petulia, died of complications from emphysema at his home in Montecito, California, on August 3, 2006. He was 82. Haase was born in Frankfort, Germany, on August 21, 1923. He fled Nazi Germany with his parents in 1936 and settled in San Francisco. He attended dental school and practiced dentistry from the late 1940s. His first book, The Young Who Sin, was published the following decade. His 1961 novel The Fun Couple was adapted for a short-lived Broadway play the following year. His comic novel Erasmus with Freckles was adapted for film as Dear Brigitte in 1965, starring Jimmy Stewart and Billy Mumy. He also wrote the 1966 comic novel Me and the Arch Kook Petulia, which was filmed as Petulia by director Richard Lester in 1967, and starred George
151 C. Scott and Julie Christie as the title character. His other works include the historical novel Big Red (1970) about the Hoover Dam, and 1983’s San Francisco.
HAGGERTY, CAPTAIN ARTHUR Captain Arthur Haggerty, a leading dog trainer and actor, died of adenocarcinoma on July 3, 2006. He was 74. Haggerty was born on December 3, 1931. He opened the Tri-State School for Dogs in New York in 1961, and became a dog trainer to the stars, often appearing on talk shows with Johnny Carson, Mike Douglas, and David Letterman. He also worked in films as an animal trainer and the large, bald Haggerty played character roles in numerous films, television productions, and commercials himself. He made a notable presence in commercials as television’s Mr. Clean. He also appeared in the films The Pawnbroker (1964), The Telephone Book (1971), Night of Dark Shadows (1971), Shamus (1973), The Great Gatsby (1974), Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), Last Embrace (1979), Zombie (1979), Brian DePalma’s Home Movies (1980), One Down, Two to Go (1982), Rent Control (1984), Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon (1985), Joey (1986), Slammer Girls (1987), Married to the Mob (1988), Forever (1992) as Fatty Arbuckle, Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), The Nutt House (1992), The Last Embrace (1997), and Shadow: Dead Riot (2006) as a Zombie. Haggerty also authored several books including 2002’s How to Teach Your Dog to Talk.
Captain Arthur Haggerty
HAHN -PETERSEN , JOHN Danish actor John Hahn-Petersen died of a heart attack in Copenhagen, Denmark, on January 4, 2006. He was 75. Hahn-Petersen was born in Copenhagen on November 4, 1930. He appeared in numerous films and television productions from the 1950s. His film credits include Lyssky Transport Gennem Danmark (1958), Faith, Hope and Witchcraft (1960), Dryden Gar Amok (1966), Guest Workers (1974), The Olsen Gang on the Track (1975), You Are Not Alone (1978), The Olsen Gang Never Surrenders (1979), The Parallel Corpse (1982), Thorvald og Linda (1982), Gauguin, the Wolf at the Door (1986), Street of My Childhood (1986), Baby Doll (1988), Hofeber (1991), The Naked Trees (1991), The Return (1992), Sophie (1992), Black Harvest (1993), Between Summers (1995), Southern Comfort (1997), Agnus Dei (1997), and
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The Man Who Couldn’t Say No (2002). He was also seen in many television productions including Gengangere (1967), Kommunisten (1971), Bagagerummet (1972), Den Sarede Filoktet (1974), Mr. President (1974), Anne og Paul (1975), Matador (1978), Morklaegning (1992), Frihetens Skugga (1994), and The Kingdom II (1997). He starred as Bak Nielsen in the television series The Village from 1995 to 1996, and was Verner Boye-Larsen in Taxa in 1997. He also stared as Jorgen Balslev in the series Forsvar in 2003, and was Director Berg in Better Times from 2004 to 2005.
John Hahn-Petersen
HALASZ, PETER Hungarian theatrical director and actor Peter Halasz died of liver cancer on March 10, 2006. He was 62. He was a leading figure in Hungarian theatre from the early 1960s. He also appeared in several films in Hungary including Agnus Dei (1970) and Dreaming Youth (1974). Halasz spend most of the 1980s in the United States, where he appeared as nuclear physicist George Kistiakowsky in the 1989 film about the creation of the atomic bomb, Fat Man and Little Boy. He returned to Hungary in the 1990s, where he was seen in the films On Tour, The Life of Marquis de Sade, which earned him the Best Actor Award from the Hungarian Film Critics, Parallel Lives (1993), Gulls and Gangsters (1997), Simon, the Magician (1999), Sunshine (1999), The Breed (2001), and A Mohacsi Vesz (2004).
Peter Halasz
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152
HALE, EMORY Professional wrestler Emory Hale died in Florida of complications from kidney failure on January 30, 2006. The 6'9", 360 lb. wrestler competed behind a mask as Lord Humongous in the Southern region. He wrestled with the WCW from the late 1990s until that promotion closed. He continued to work with Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart, and was being groomed to be a top competitor in the shortlived XWF promotion. Hale underwent a kidney transplant in 2003.
Emory Hale
Texas Dynamo (1950), Rogues of Sherwood Forest (1950), Pirates of the High Seas (1950), The Petty Girl (1950), My Blue Heaven (1950), Cherokee Uprising (1950), Joe Palooka in the Squared Circle (1950), Frontier Outpost (1950), Close to My Heart (1951), Colorado Ambush (1951), Blazing Bullets (1951), Secrets of Monte Carlo (1951), Slaughter Trail (1951), Texas City (1952), Night Raiders (1952), Carrie (1952), and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). She also appeared frequently on television in the 1950s, guest-starring in episodes of Dick Tracy, One Man’s Family, Fireside Theatre, Studio One, Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, The Range Rider, The Cisco Kid, The Adventures of Kit Carson, The Unexpected, The Lone Ranger, The Adventures of Superman, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Mr. & Mrs. North, and Annie Oakley. Hall married Maurice Willows in 1953 and retired from the screen to raise a family. She returned to acting in the 1970s, appearing in the films A Woman for All Men (1975), Prime Risk (1985), the thriller Dead Again (1991) with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson, Cuba Libre (1999), Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000), Bad Boy (2002), Lost (2004), and Flightplan (2004). She also appeared in the tele-films A Home Run for Love (1978), Rage! (1980), Schoolboy Father (1980), Where’s Rodney? (1990), and Letter to My Killer (1995). Her other television credits include episodes of Marcus Welby, M.D., Father Murphy, Little House on the Prairie, Star Trek: The Next Generation, California Dreams, Profiler, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Miracles, Cold Case, Six Feet Under, Nip/Tuck, Sons & Daughters, and The Unit. Hall, who was widowed in 1995, was also an active member of the Baha’i Faith in Los Angeles and a frequent guest at film festivals around the country.
HALL, LOIS Lois Hall, who was a leading lady in Republic Pictures western films from the late 1940s, died in Los Angeles on December 21, 2006. She was 80. Hall was born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, on August 22, 1926. She moved to Long Beach, California, with her family after World War II. Hall attended drama school at the Pasadena Playhouse and began her film career in a small role in the 1948 comedy film Every Girl Should Be Married with Cary Grant. She was soon playing leading roles in westerns opposite such stars as Charles Starrett, Whip Wilson, and Johnny Mack Brown. Hall’s many film credits include Family Honeymoon (1949), Daughter of the Jungle (1949), Duke of Chicago (1949), Roaring Westward (1949), Love Happy (1949), Horsemen of the Sierras (1949), the 1949 serial The Adventures of Sir Galahad as the Lady of the Lake, A Woman of Distinction (1950), Kill the Umpire (1950),
HALL, LYNDEN DAVID British singer Lynden David Hall died of complications from Hodgkin’s lymphoma in London on February 14, 2006. He was 31. Hall was born in Wandsworth, London, England, in 1975. He recorded his debut album, Medicine 4 My Pain, in 1998. He had a hit single with the song “Sexy Cinderella” and was nominated for best British male vocalist in the Brit Awards in 1999. Hall was featured as the wedding singer in the 2003 film Love Actually. His third album, Between Jobs, was released in 2005.
Lois Hall
Lynden David Hall
153 HALLAM, JOHN Veteran character actor John Hallam died in Clifton, Oxfordshire, England, on November 14, 2006. He was 65. Hallam was born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland on October 28, 1941. He began his career on stage in the early 1960s and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. He was soon appearing in roles in film and television, making his feature debut in 1968’s The Charge of the Light Brigade. His other film credits include Carry On ... Up the Khyber (1968), Where’s Jack (1969), A Walk with Love and Death (1969), Murphy’s War (1971) with Peter O’Toole, The Last Valley (1971), Villain (1971), Quest for Love (1971), Nicholas and Alexandria (1971), Antony and Cleopatra (1972) with Charlton Heston, The Offence (1972), Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973), the cult supernatural classic The Wicker Man (1973) as Edward Woodward’s superior officer PC McTaggart, Hennessy (1975), A Dirty Knight’s Work (1976), The People That Time Forgot (1977), The Saint and the Brave Goose (1979), Love and Bullets (1979), Flash Gordon (1980) as Luro, Dragonslayer (1981), King David (1985), Lifeforce (1985), Santa Claus (1985), When the Whales Came (1989), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Kull the Conqueror (1997), and The Incredible Adventures of Marco Polo (1998). Hallam starred as Lt. James Willoughby in the 1972 television series The Regiment, and was Peter Conway in the science fiction series Moonbase 3 in 1973. He starred as Harry Farmer in Wings from 1977 to 1978, and was best known for his role as the tyrannical patriarch Thomas Mallen in the 1979 series The Mallens. He was featured as Barnsey in the soap opera EastEnders from 1988 to 1990, and was Terry Prince in Emmerdale in 1990. He was also seen in television productions of Murder Must Advertise (1973), Murder Motel (1975), Dominic (1976), Arnhem: The Story of an Escape (1978), The Four Feathers (1977), The Last Giraffe (1979), Ivanhoe (1982), Under Capricorn (1983), The Master of Ballantrae (1984), Return to Treasure Island (1986), Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple: 4:50 from Paddington (1987), White Peak Farm (1988), Mario Puzo’s The Unfortunate Pilgrim (1988), Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989), A Season of Giants (1991), A Haunting Harmony (1993), Good King Wenceslas (1994), The 10th Kingdom (2000), and Arabian Nights (2000). His other television credits include
John Hallam
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episodes of Softly Softly, Department S, My Partner — The Ghost, Family at War, Jason King, The Pallisers, Public Eye, Raffles, The Mackinnons, The Devil’s Crown, Return of the Saint, Dick Turpin, Minder, Smuggler, The Professionals, The Black Adder, Knights of God, Casualty, Doctor Who, She-Wolf of London, Bergerac, Forever Green, Zorro, Lovejoy, 99–1, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Famous Five, Cadfael, Wycliffe, and All Quiet on the Preston Front.
HALLIWELL, DAVID British playwright David Halliwell died in England on March 16, 2006. He was 69. Halliwell was born in Brighouse, Yorkshire, England, on July 31, 1936. He wrote the play Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs in 1964. The play was produced in London in 1966 and was adapted for film under the abbreviated title Little Malcolm in 1974. Halliwell continued to write for the stage, films and television, and scripted the radio plays Spongehenge, Crossed Lines, Shares of the Pudding, There’s a Car Park in Witherton, and Was It Her? His play Cock, Hen and Courting Pit was aired on The Wednesday Play on television in 1966, and Steps Back and Trile Exposure were produced on Play for Today in the early 1970s. He also wrote the 1976 BBC2 Playhouse production Meriel, the Ghost Girl, and scripted an episode of The Bill in 1989.
David Halliwell
HAMBRO, LEONID Leonid Hambro, a pianist who played straight man to musical comic Victor Borge, died October 23, 2006, in a New York hospital of injuries he had suffered in a fall at a New York City post office six weeks weeks earlier. He was 86. Hambro was born in Chicago on June 26, 1920. The son of Russian immigrants, he learned to play the piano from his father who played for silent movies. He later studied at Juilliard and performed with the New York Philharmonic. Hambro worked at the New York classical radio station WQXR as a pianist from 1946 to 1962. He began working with Victor Borge in the early 1960s and spent a decade touring with the musical comedian throughout the world. He relocated to California in the early 1970s where he taught piano and performed on a weekly radio program. He formed The Hambro Quartet of Pianos in 1984 which he toured with until the turn of the century.
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154 taire, Frank Sinatra, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. He earned Emmy Award nominations for his work on The Red Skelton Show and Fabulous Fordies Special. He also choreographed the 1968 film Skidoo. Hansen was also involved in producing John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural gala in Washington, D.C., in 1961, and nightclub acts for such stars as Jim Nabors, Steve Allen, Shirley Jones, and Juliet Prowse.
Leonid Hambro (left, with Victor Borge)
HAMRICK, CRAIG Craig Hamrick, an author who documented the history of the Gothic television soap opera Dark Shadows, died after a lengthy bout with colon cancer on September 24, 2006. He was 39. Hamrick published his first book, The Dark Shadows Collectors’ Guide, in 1991. He also wrote various other works about the show and its cast including Big Lou (1994) the biography of actor Louis Edmonds, The Dark Shadows Collectibles Book (1998), and Barnabas & Company (2003). Hamrick also operated the tribute website DarkShadowsOnline.com, and was involved with creating websites for various members of the cast including Diana Millay, David Selby, Marie Wallace, Lara Parker, Nancy Barrett, and Denis Nickerson.
HANSON, RUSTY Stuntman Rusty Hanson died in a Los Angeles hospital on June 10, 2006. He was 39. Hanson was born in San Gabriel, California, on August 31, 1966. He worked in films as a stunt man from the early 1990s, with such credits as Jurassic Park (1993), Twin Sitters (1994), Blank Check (1994), The Little Rascals (1994), Milk Money (1994), The War (1994), Pontiac Moon (1994), Tin Soldier (1995), Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight (1995), The Cure (1995), Casper (1995), Tom and Huck (1995), Dunston Checks In (1996), James and the Giant Peach (1996), Matilda (1996), Sleepers (1996), Jingle All the Way (1996), Ghosts of Mississippi (1996), Prefontaine (1997), Star Kid (1997), Titanic (1997), and the tele-film Dangerous Waters (1999).
Rusty Hanson
Craig Hamrick
HANSEN, TOM Dancer and choreographer Tom Hansen died of prostate cancer in Fallbrook, California, on April 27, 2006. He was 80. Hansen was born in Modesto, California, on September 11, 1925. He moved to New York City where he studied dance. He appeared on Broadway in the original production of Kiss Me Kate in 1948 before moving to television. Hansen performed on the variety shows Stop the Music and Your Hit Parade, which he also choreographed during its final season. He continued as a choreographer for The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, and numerous television specials for Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Fred As-
HAPPY, DON Veteran stuntman Don Happy died at his Canyon Country, California, home after a long illness on April 27, 2006. He was 89. Happy was born in Lewiston, Idaho, on August 14, 1916. He worked in films as a stuntman, stand-in, and extra. Happy’s film credits include The Lion and the Horse (1951), Gunsmoke (1953), Column South (1953), Tumbleweed (1953), Walk the Proud Land (1956), Ride a Crooked Trail (1958), Westbound (1959), and Seven Ways from Sundown (1960). He also worked on such television series as Gunsmoke, Rawhide, Bonanza, The Big Valley, Roy Rogers, and Paradise. HARDIMAN, JAMES Film executive James Hardiman died in San Francisco on February 19, 2006. He was 86. Hardiman was born in England on July 10, 1919. He worked as a merchant seaman from the late 1930s until settling in Canada in 1941. He took a job with the Rank Organization where he became director of publicity. He moved to Hollywood in 1956 where
155 he joined Walt Disney Productions, becoming director of radio and television promotions. Hardiman also worked in the press departments at CBS, Columbia Pictures Television, and Screen Gems. He earned the title of Hollywood Showman of the Year from the Screen Publicist Guild in 1968. He also worked in Tokyo as a columnist for Daily Variety for several years. Hardiman was also the author of over a dozen books including the horror novel The House Where Evil Dwells which was adapted into a film in 1982.
James Hardiman
HARGITAY, MICKEY Mickey Hargitay, the Hungarian-born body builder turned actor who was married to Hollywood sex symbol Jayne Mansfield, died in Los Angeles of multiple myeloma on September 14, 2006. He was 80. Hargitay was born in Budapest, Hungary, on January 6, 1926. A leading body builder, he won the Mr. Universe title in 1955. Hargitay subsequently worked with Mae West’s stage revue in the mid–1950s, where he met blonde bombshell actress Jayne Mansfield. He appeared with Mansfield as Bobo Branigansky in the 1957 film Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, and the two were married in 1958. Hargitay also appeared in the films Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (1957) and The Loves of Hercules (aka Hercules vs. the Hydra) (1960) again co-starring with Mansfield. He and Mansfield had three children, Mariska, Zoltan,
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and Mickey Jr. before their divorce in the early 1960s. Mansfield was killed in an automobile accident in 1967 but the three children, who were passengers in the car, survived the crash. Hargitay continued his film career in Hollywood and in Europe in such features as Promises! Promises! (1963), Revenge of the Gladiators (1964), Primitive Love (1964), Stranger in Sacramento (1965), Sheriff Won’t Shoot (1965), Bloody Pit of Horror (1965), Sette Donne d’Oro Contro Due 07 (1966), Three Graves for a Winchester (1966), Cjamango (1967), Spree (1967), Ringo, It’s Massacre Time (1970), Lady Frankenstein (1971), Delirium (aka Death at the Villa) (1972), and The Reincarnation of Isabel (aka The Horrible Orgies of Count Dracula) (1973). Hargitay also guest starred in an episode of television’s Wild Wild West and was featured in the 1972 tele-film Cool Million. He retired from the screen in the early 1970s, but returned to television in a guest role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 2003, appearing with his daughter, actress Mariska Hargitay.
HARLEY, RUFUS Jazz bagpipe player Rufus Harley died of prostate cancer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 1, 2006. He was 70. Harley was born in Philadelphia on May 20, 1936. He began playing the bagpipes in the early 1960s, and his album Bagpipe Blues was released in 1965. Harley’s unusual musical instrument and his kilts made him an unmistakable presence at jazz concerts. He played in concert and recorded with such stars as John Coltrane, Sonny Stitt, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Mann, and Sonny Rollins. He also appeared frequently on television including appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
Rufus Harley
Mickey Hargitay (with wife Jayne Mansfield)
HARMON, RENEE Actress Renee Harmon died in Visalia, California, on November 26, 2006. Harmon produced and starred as Lil Stanhope in the 1975 horror film Frozen Scream. She was also featured in the films Cinderella 2000 (1977) as the Stepmother, Van Nuys Blvd. (1979), The Executioner, Part II (1984) which she also produced, Hell Riders (1984) which she also scripted and produced, Lady Streetfighter (1985), and Night of Terror (1986). (See photograph on page 156.)
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156 Young Pioneers’ Christmas (1976), Mad Bull (1977), and Kentucky Woman (1983). Harris also worked on the television series M*A*S*H, and earned an Emmy Award nomination for his work on L.A. Law in 1987. Harris’s career ended in 1988 after he suffered an accident while body surfing that left him a quadriplegic.
Renee Harmon
HARRER, HEINRICH Heinrich Harrer, the German mountaineer and author whose memoirs were the basis for the 1997 film Seven Years in Tibet starring Brad Pitt, died in Friesach, Austria, on January 7, 2006. He was 93. Harrer was born in Huttenberg, Austria, on July 6, 1912. A member of the Nazi Party, Harrer was captured by British troops during World War II while part of an expedition to climb Mount Naga Parbat in the Himalayas. He escaped from a POW camp and headed to Tibet. Harrer spent seven years there, where he became a friend and teacher to the young Dalai Lama. Harrer wrote the book Seven Years in Tibet about his experiences and starred in a 1956 documentary based on his exploits. Brad Pitt starred as Harrer in a 1997 feature film based on his story.
HART, BRUCE Bruce Hart, who wrote songs for Sesame Street, died of lung cancer at his home in New York City on February 21, 2006. He was 68. Hart was born in New York City on January 15, 1938. He and his wife, Carol Hart, began writing for Sesame Street soon after its debut in 1969. He joined with Joe Raposo and Jon Stone to write the theme lyrics and music for the show. He and his wife also wrote and produced a 1974 television special and album, Free to Be ... You and Me, starring Marlo Thomas, Michael Jackson, and Harry Belafonte. Hart also wrote for the Candid Camera television series, and wrote and directed the 1979 tele-film Sooner or Later. He and his wife also produced the NBC television series for adolescents, Hot Hero Sandwich, in the late 1970s, and wrote the 1988 telefilm Leap of Faith.
Bruce Hart (with wife, Carol)
Heinrich Harrer
HARRIS, JOHN Film music editor died in Woodland Hills, California, on February 26, 2006. He was 63. Harris was born on December 23, 1942. He worked in films and television as a music editor from the early 1970s. His film credits include High Anxiety (1977), The Driver (1978), The Changeling (1980), Nine to Five (1980), Mel Brooks’ History of the World: Part 1 (1981), Modern Problems (1981), Author! Author! (1982), The Buddy System (1984), Revenge of the Nerds (1984), Johnny Dangerously (1984), Lucas (1986), Mr. North (1988), and Memories of Me (1988). He also worked on the tele-films Nightmare in Badham County (1976),
HARTMAN, JAN Film and television writer Jan Hartman died in Wareside, Hertfordshire, England, on November 9, 2006. He was 66. Hartman wrote numerous television productions in England and the United States. He earned Emmy Awards for scripting the ABC tele-films Hewitt’s Just Different (1977) and The Late Great Me! Story of a Teenage Alcoholic (1979). He also wrote the tele-films Alexander, Alexander (1973), The Great Wallendas (1978), and Mother Teresa: In the Name of God’s Poor (1973). He also wrote the documentary W. Eugene Smith: Photography Made Difficult for the PBS American Masters series, and scripted an episode of Highlander. Hartman was also the author of several plays including A Winter Visitor, which was adapted for the tele-film One Special Night starring Julie Andrews and James Garner in 1999. HARVEY, BRYAN Bryan Harvey, who teamed with drummer Johnny Hott as singer and guitarist for the musical duo House of Freaks, was found brutally murdered, along with his family, at their home in Richmond, Virginia, on January 1, 2006. He was 49. The
157 bodies of Harvey, his wife Katheryn, and their two young daughters were found bound and gagged with their throats slashed in the basement of their home. Two suspects were arrested in connection with the murders, which were said to be random killings with robbery as the motive. Harvey was born in Richmond on April 27, 1956. He began performing locally in the late 1980s before House of Freaks gained a recording contract in Los Angeles in 1987. Their first album, Monkey on a Chain Gang, was released in 1987. Three albums followed, Tantilla, Cakewalk, and Invisible Jewel in 1994. Harvey and Hott also joined with other musicians from the bands Dream Syndicate and Long Ryders for the album Gutterball. The duo returned to Richmond in the mid–1990s and though House of Freaks officially disbanded Harvey continued to perform in local venues.
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her life. Her recordings include the complete cycles of Beethoven, Mozart and Prokofiev sonatas, the concertos of Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Brahms and Mendelssohn, and the complete works of Chopin.
HAVERCROFT , LORRAINE Stage actress and dancer Lorraine Havercroft died in Koslo, British Columbia, Canada, on September 15, 2006. She was 80. Havercroft was born on March 11, 1926. She performed on Broadway in the early 1950s, appearing in such productions as The King and I, Paint Your Wagon, and Me and Juliet. She subsequently founded the Lorraine School of Dance in Syracuse, New York, which she oversaw from 1955 to 1984.
HATTO, JOYCE Concert pianist Joyce Hatto died of cancer in England on June 30, 2006. She was 77. Hatto was born in England on September 5, 1928. She began her career as a concert pianist, making her London debut in 1952. She performed frequently throughout Europe over the next two decades, often playing the works of Chopin and Liszt. She was diagnosed with cancer in the late 1960s which largely ended her concerts. Instead, she began a prolific recording career, producing over 100 CDs during the remainder of
HAWKINS, PETER British actor and voiceover artist Peter Hawkins died in London on July 7, 2006. He was 82. Hawkins was born in London on April 3, 1924. He served with the Royal Navy during World War II. After the war he trained in acting and began his career on stage in a production of Sit Down a Minute, Adrian in 1948. He made his television debut in an adaptation of J.B. Priestley’s The Good Companions the following year. Hawkins subsequently joined the cast of the children’s program Whirligig, appearing on camera and also voicing the puppets Mr. Turnip and Porterhouse the parrot from 1950 to 1956. He also voiced the puppets Bill and Ben in the series The Flowerpot Men from 1952 to 1954, and was Billy Bean in the 1954 series Billy Bean and His Funny Machine. Hawkins also was a voice actor on The Woodentops in 1955, and portrayed multiple characters for the Captain Pugwash series from 1957 to 1966. Hawkins was featured onscreen in the 1951 British science fiction mini-series Stranger from Space, and narrated the 1957 television version of Treasure Island. He voiced the Englishlanguage version of the Belgian cartoon Adventure of Tintin in 1962, and was the narrator for Bleep and Booster in 1963. He and David Graham were the original voices for the Daleks, Doctor Who’s menacing robots who cries of “Ex-ter-min-ate! Ex-ter-min-ate!,” echoed through many episodes of Doctor Who, as well as the 1965 feature film Dr. Who and the Daleks. Hawkins also voiced the robotic Cybermen in their villainous debut in Doctor Who in 1966. He portrayed various characters in the Tomfoolery series in 1970 and
Joyce Hatto
Peter Hawkins
Bryan Harvey (with family)
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The Adventures of Sir Prancelot in 1972, and was the voice of Zippy in the 1972 series Rainbow. His other television credits include episodes of Doomwatch, The Wednesday Play, Softly Softly, Dial M for Murder, Father Brown, The Perishers, Super-Ted, The Family-Ness, Jimbo and the Jet Set, The Adventures of Spot, Windfalls, Jim Henson’s The Storyteller, and Penny Crayon. Hawkins also appeared in several films during his career including Assassin. (1973), Whose Child Am I? (1974), and The Four Corners of Nowhere (1995).
HAYDEN, MELISSA Ballerina Melissa Hayden died in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, after a brief illness on August 2, 2006. She was 83. She was born Mildred Herman in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on April 25, 1923. Hayden began her career with the Canadian Ballet and joined New York’s Ballet Theatre in 1945. She soon moved to the New York City Ballet where she was the principal dancer from 1955 until 1973. She was directed by ballet master George Balanchine in such productions as Agon, The Figure in the Carpet and La Source. She was the featured ballerina in Charlie Chaplin’s 1952 film Limelight, and appeared in television productions of Amahl and the Night Visitors (1951) and The Nutcracker (1964). She also appeared on television on episodes of The Bell Telephone Hour in the 1960s. She retired from performing in 1973 and subsequently taught at the North Carolina School of the Arts for over 20 years. She was the author of two books, Melissa Hayden — Offstage and On and Ballet Exercises.
Melissa Hayden
HAYES, JOSEPH Writer Joseph Hayes, who was best known for his novel The Desperate Hours, died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in a St. Augustine, Florida, nursing home on September 11, 2006. He was 88. Hayes was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on August 2, 1918. He began writing for radio in the 1940s, and his play, Leaf and Bough, had a short run on Broadway in 1949. He authored the 1954 best-selling novel The Desperate Hours about a family taken hostage in their suburban home by three escaped convicts. Hayes and producer Howard Erskine brought the novel to the Broadway stage the following year, earing the Tony Award for best play. Hayes also scripted the screenplay for the 1955 film version, starring Hum-
phrey Bogart and Fredric March. The film was later remade by Michael Cimino in 1990. He and Erskine also produced and directed the 1956 Broadway comedy The Happiest Millionaire, and he wrote the thriller Calculated Risk for Broadway in 1962. Hayes and his wife, Marrijane, co-wrote the novel Bon Voyage!, which became a Disney film starring Fred MacMurray in 1962. He also scripted the film The Young Doctors (1961), and several of his other novels including Yours After Midnight (1962) and The Third Day (1965) were also adapted for film. Hayes was widowed in 1991.
Joseph Hayes
HAYS, BILL British television director Bill Hays died in France on March 2, 2006. He was 67. Hays was born in Wingate, England, on March 15, 1938. He began his career in television with the BBC in the early 1960s, directing such productions as Moonstrike (1963), Catch Hand (1963), R3 (1964), Final Demand (1966), Make Me an Officer (1966), Boy Meets Girl (1967), W. Somerset Maugham’s The Three Fat Women of Antibes (1969), Codename: Portcullis (1969), Close the Coalhouse Door (1969), The Gondoliers (1972), The Magistrate (1972), Lady Killer (1973), File It Under Fear (1973), Warship (1973), Fall of Eagles (1974), Cakes and Ale (1974), Looking for Clancy (1975), When the Boat Comes In (1976), Orde Wingate (1976), Rock Follies of ’77 (1977), London Belongs to Me (1977), Rumpole of the Bailey (1978), Oresteia (1979), The Good Companions (1980), Honky Tonk Heroes (1981), The Tale of Beatrix Potter (1982), A Month in the Country (1984), Death Is Part of the Process (1986), Quartermaine’s Terms (1987), Wish Me Luck (1987), and A Sleeping Life (1989). Hays also directed the films The Quiz Kid (1979) and Time After Time (1985), and several episodes of Boon and Lovejoy for television in the 1990s. Hays was married to actress Catherine Schell from 1982 until his death. HAYS, REX Stage actor Rex Hays died of cancer in New York City on September 8, 2006. He was 60. Hays was born in Hollywood, California, on June 17, 1946. He performed with the New York City Opera and in productions on and off Broadway. He was featured in such Broadway productions as Onward Victoria (1980), Woman of the Year (1981), La Cage aux Folles
159 (1983), and Grand Hotel (1989). He was also featured in the 1990 film Stepmom. Hays’ survivors include his wife, actress Lisby Larson.
Rex Hays (with Eleanor Glockner from the stage production of Lizzie Borden)
HAYWARD, CHRIS Television comedy writer Chris Hayward died after a long illness on November 20, 2006. He was 81. Hayward was born in Bayonne, New Jersey on June 19, 1925. He began writing for television in the 1950s, scripting episodes of the animated series Crusader Rabbit and The Adventures of Bullwinkle and Rocky. He also created the cartoon character Dudley Do-Right. He and Allan Burns teamed together to create the comedy hit television show The Munsters, which aired for two seasons from 1964 to 1966. He also scripted episodes of the series My Mother the Car, Get Smart, The Governor & J. J., Barney Miller, and Alice. He was producer and writer of the 1974 series The Texas Wheelers and the 1974 tele-film Shakespeare Loves Rembrandt. HEATHCOTE, SOPHIE
Australian television actress Sophie Heathcote died of an aneurism in Connecticut on January 5, 2006. She was 33. Heathcote was born in Melbourne, Australia, on December 25, 1972. She was featured in numerous Australian television programs from the early 1990s. She appeared as Stephanie “Steve” Brennan in the series A Country Prac-
Sophie Heathcote
2006 • Obituaries
tice from 1990 to 1991, and was Constable Fiona Cassidy in Water Rats from 1996 to 1997. She also appeared as Sam Kezerko in Raw FM in 1997, and was Biddy Marchant in Grass Roots in 2000. She was also seen in the mini-series Bordertown (1995), Sun on the Stubble (1996), and Backlands (2001). Her other television credits include episodes of Bony, Soldier Soldier, G.P., State Coroner, Pigs Breakfast, and The Big Schmooze. Heathcote appeared in several films during her career including Reckless Kelly (1993) and Three Chords and a Wardrobe (1998). She largely retired from acting in 2001 to concentrate on marketing her natural skin care formula, Ki, which she founded several years earlier.
HELFORD, VIC Character actor Vic Helford died in Los Angeles of colon cancer on November 16, 2006. He was 77. Helford was born on January 13, 1929. He performed on stage and television, with appearances in such series as Seinfeld, Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane, The Drew Carey Show, and Friends.
Vic Helford
HELMICK, PAUL Film producer and director Paul Helmick died on May 23, 2006. He was 87. Helmick was born on January 24, 1919. He worked in films as an assistant director from the early 1950s with such credits as Fixed Bayonets! (1951), We’re Not Married! (1952), Howard Hawks’ Monkey Business (1952), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), River of No Return (1954), Marty (1955), Land of the Pharaohs (1955), Desert Sands (1955), The Proud Rebel (1958), The Defiant Ones (1958), Rio Bravo (1959), and Hatari! (1962) also serving as associate producer. Helmick wrote and directed the teenage hot rod features Teenage Thunder (1957) and Thunder in Carolina (1960). He was also an associate producer on the films Man’s Favorite Sport? (1964), El Dorado (1966), Rio Lobo (1970), The Culpepper Cattle Co. (1972), and the 1974 tele-film The Migrants. His other credits as assistant director include A Guide for the Married Man (1967), Hello, Dolly! (1969), The Cheyenne Social Club (1970), the 1978 tele-film Little Mo, Comes a Horseman (1978), and The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (1979). HEMPHILL, JESSIE MAE Blues singer and musician Jessie Mae Hemphill died of complications from an infection in Memphis, Tennessee, on July 22,
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2006. She was 82. Hemphill was born near Como, Mississippi, on October 18, 1923. She began playing the guitar at an early age and began performing at Memphis clubs on Beale Street in the early 1950s. She performed for two decades at local venues before gaining an international audience with her debut album She Wolf in 1981. She produced a second album, Feelin’ Good, in 1987, and received the W.C. Handy Award for best traditional female blues artist in 1987 and 1988. She retired from performing after suffering a paralytic stroke in 1993. Hemphill was the subject of Marc Oriol’s 2001 documentary film Me and My Guitar.
Jessie Mae Hemphill
HENDRICKSON, BENJAMIN Emmy Award– winning soap opera actor Benjamin Hendrickson, who played Police Chief Hal Munson on As the World Turns for over 20 years, died at his home in Huntington, New York, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on July 3, 2005. He was 55. Hendrickson was born in Huntington, New York, on August 26, 1950. He began his career on stage in the 1970s. He was David Bowie’s understudy for the Broadway production of The Elephant Man and replaced Bowie in the role in 1981. He also appeared in productions of Strider and Awake and Sing. Hendrickson was featured in several tele-films including The Time of Your Life (1976), Dreams Don’t Die (1982), The Demon Murder Case (1983), Adam’s Apple (1987), and
American Eyes (1991). He was also featured in several films including Manhunter (1986) as Hannibal Lecter’s psychiatrist Dr. Frederick Chilton, Russkies (1987), Regarding Henry (1991), Consenting Adults (1992), Spanking the Monkey (1994), and Mr. Smith Gets a Hustler (2002). He was Chris Shaw in the daytime soap opera Texas in 1981, and was Silas Crocker on The Guiding Light from 1981 to 1983. He was Sgt. Bartlett on Another World in 1983 and joined the cast of As the World Turns as Hal Munson in 1985. He left the series in 2004 but returned in 2005, continuing in his role until his death. His other television credits include episodes of Mann & Machine and Law & Order.
HENZELL, PERRY Jamaican filmmaker Perry Henzell, who created the classic reggae film The Harder They Come, died after a long battle with cancer at a relative’s home in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, on November 30, 2006. He was 70. Henzell was born Port Maria, Jamaica, on March 7, 1936. He worked in advertising before going into films in the early 1970s. He wrote, produced and directed the first Jamaican feature film, The Harder They Come, starring reggae performer Jimmy Cliff as outlaw Ivanhoe “Rhyghin” Martin. The film earned an award at the Venice Film Festival in 1973, and its soundtrack featuring songs from Cliff, Desmond Dekker, and Toots and The Maytals, introduced the reggae sound to an international audience. Henzell made a subsequent feature in the early 1970s, No Place Like Home, though difficulties with the production delayed its release for over three decades and was not premiered until the day after his death. He later turned to writing and his first novel, the political thriller Power Game, was published in 1982.
Perry Henzell
Benjamin Hendrickson
HEPPLE, PETER Veteran theatrical critic Peter Hepple, who served as editor of the theatre journal The Stage for over 20 years, died in England on October 12, 2006. He was 79. Hepple was born in Wood Green, North London, on January 2, 1927. He began writing for various publications in the late 1940s, and made his debut as a music hall critic with The Stage in 1950. Hepple succeeded Eric Johns as editor of The Stage in 1972, and held that position until stepping down in 1992. He continued to write reviews for the
161 publication through 2005, becoming the 20th century’s longest serving critic with his 55-year career.
2006 • Obituaries
Sonny Rollins, Freddie Hubbard, and Joe Henderson. In recent years Hicks performed often with his wife, flutist Elise Wood, and trumpeter Eddie Henderson.
Peter Hepple John Hicks
HESKIA, ZAKO Bulgarian film director Zako Heskia died in Bulgaria on June 3, 2006. He was 83. Heskia was born in Istanbul, Turkey, on September 21, 1922. He began his career in films in the 1950s, serving as an assistant director on Two Victories (1956), The Low of the Sea (1958), and Tobacco (1962). He made his directoral debut with 1966’s Torrid Noon. Heskia’s other film credits include The Start of the Summer Holidays (1966), The Eighth (1969), Three Reservists (1971), Dawn Over the Drava River (1974), Boy Posleden (1977), Yo Ho Ho (1981), Nights with the White Horses (1985), and Scar-Free (1989).
HILBERT, EDE Ede Hilbert, a leading child actor in Hungary in the 1930s, died of lung cancer in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 22, 2006. He was 78. Hilbert was born in Budapest, Hungary, on September 4, 1927. He was featured in several Hungarian films as a child including A Meseauto (1934) and The New Landlord (1935). Hilbert and his wife, Judy, escaped from the Communist regime during the Hungarian Revolution in 1956 and came to the United States. An artist, Hilbert kept a cartoon diary of his adventures during the escape, which served as a basis of the recent animated documentary Freedom Dance.
Zako Heskia Ede Hilbert
HICKS, JOHN Jazz pianist John Hicks died of internal bleeding in a New York City hospital on May 10, 2006. He was 64. Hicks was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 21, 1941. He became interested in music at an early age, singing in choir and serving as a church organist. He began playing professionally in 1958, touring with blues singer Little Milton. He joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in 1964, and began a long association with singer Betty Carter two years later. He also played in Woody Herman’s big band, and toured and recorded with such artists as Woody Shaw,
HILDEBRANDT , TIM Fantasy artist Tim Hildebrandt died of complications from diabetes in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on June 12, 2006. He was 67. Hildebrandt was born in Detroit, Michigan, on January 23, 1939. He and his twin brother, Greg, were leading figures in fantasy art for nearly fifty years. Known as the Brothers Hildebrandt, they worked together on such projects as the J.R.R. Tolkien calendars of the 1970s, the original Star Wars movie poster in 1977, Marvel Comics trading cards, and countless
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posters, cards, and illustrations. Tim Hildebrandt was an executive producer for the 1983 horror film Return of the Aliens: The Deadly Spawn. He also appeared in a small role in the film which starred his son, Charles George Hildebrandt.
Tim Hildebrandt
HILL, ARTHUR Veteran actor Arthur Hill, who earned a Tony Award for his starring role in the Broadway production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? and starred on television in Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at an assisted-living facility in Pacific Palisades, California, on October 22, 2006. He was 84. Hill was born in Melfort, Saskatchewan, Canada, on August 1, 1922. He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. He attended the University of British Columbia after the war, where he pursued a degree in law. He soon turned to acting, performing in radio plays for the Canadian Broadcasting Company. He relocated to England in the late 1940s where he continued to perform on radio with the BBC. He also found roles on stage, film, and television. Hill made his film debut in a small role in 1949’s I Was a Male War Bride. His other film credits include The Body Said No! (1950), Miss Pilgrim’s Progress (1950), The Scarlet Thread (1951), Mister Drake’s Duck (1951), Brighthaven Express (1952), Paul Temple Returns (1952), A Day to Remember (1953),
Arthur Hill
The Crowded Day (1954), Life with the Lyons (1954), Raising a Riot (1955), and The Deep Blue Sea (1955). His television appearances include productions of The Closing Door (1960) and The Stone Boy (1960), and episodes of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents, Colonel March of Scotland Yard, Studio One, The DuPont Show of the Month, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Great Ghost Tales, Lamp Unto My Feet, and Play of the Week. Hill made his New York stage debut in a 1955 production of The Matchmaker, but was best known on Broadway for his performance as George, the abused husband of Uta Hagen’s Martha, in Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? Hill earned a Tony Award for his performance in the play, which ran from October of 1962 until May of 1966. The following year he starred with Ingrid Bergman and Colleen Dewhurst in the first Englishlanguage production of More Stately Mansions. Hill also continued his work in films and television, appearing in such features as The Ugly American (1963), In the Cool of the Day (1963), Moment to Moment (1965), Harper (1965) with Paul Newman, Petulia (1968), The Chairman (1969), Don’t Let the Angels Fall (1969), Rabbit, Run (1970), The Pursuit of Happiness (1971), Michael Crichton’s science fiction classic about an extra-terrestrial virus The Andromeda Strain (1971), The Killer Elite (1975), Futureworld (1976), A Bridge Too Far (1977), The Champ (1979), and A Little Romance (1979). His television credits include guest-starring roles in Ben Casey, Armstrong Circle Theatre, The Untouchables, The United States Steel Hour, Route 66, The Nurses, Slattery’s People, The Defenders, The Reporter, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Mission: Impossible, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, The Invaders, Run for Your Life, The Wonderful World of Disney, The Fugitive, Judd for the Defense, Lancer, The F.B.I., Bracken’s World, The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, The Name of the Game, and Little House on the Prairie as Lansford Ingalls in a two-part episode. Hill starred as attorney Owen Marshall in the popular drama series Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law from 1971 until 1974. He also played the character in several crossovers with Robert Young’s medical series, Marcus Welby, M.D. He was also seen in the tele-films The Other Man (1970), Vanished (1971), Ordeal (1973), Death Be Not Proud (1975), The Rivalry (1975) as Abraham Lincoln, Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys (1976) as Judge James Edwin Horton, Tell Me My Name (1977), Churchill and the Generals (1979) as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Hagen (1979), Riel (1979), The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd (1980), Revenge of the Stepford Wives (1980), The Return of Frank Cannon (1980), Angel Dusted (1981), Tomorrow’s Child (1982), Miss Lonelyhearts (1983), Intimate Agony (1983), Prototype (1983), Love Leads the Way: A True Story (1984), The Murder of Sherlock Holmes (1984), The Guardian (1984), Murder in Space (1985), Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun (1986), and Christmas Eve (1986). He also appeared as Charles Hardwick in the 1984 tele-film Glitter and the subsequent short-lived series. Hill’s later film credits include Dirty Tricks (1981), The Amateur (1981), Making Love (1982), Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) as the narrator, One Magic Christmas
163 (1985), and A Fine Mess (1986). He retired later in the decade after appearing in the tele-film Columbo: Agenda for Murder and an episode of Murder, She Wrote in 1990. Hill was married to actress Peggy Hassard from 1942 until her death in 1998.
HILL, JOSEPH Jamaican reggae singer died suddenly while touring in Berlin, Germany, on August 19, 2006. He was 57. Hill was born in Linstead, St. Catherine’s parish, Jamaica, on January 22, 1949. He began his career in music as a percussionist in the late 1960s. He formed the reggae group Culture with his cousins Albert Walker and Roy ‘Kenneth’ Dayes in the 1970s, and was lead singer on over thirty of the group’s albums. Culture’s album Two Sevens Clash, based on the Rastafarian vision of apocalypse on July 7, 1977, was a major hit in Jamaica. Hill soon began recording with Virgin’s Front Line label with the 1978 album Harder Than the Rest. Culture disbanded in 1982, but reunited four years later and recorded several more albums. Hill’s solo album, Humble African, was released in 2001, and a final Culture album, World Peace, came out in 2003.
2006 • Obituaries
Heureux (1966), La Bonne Peinture (1967), Les Enquetes du Commissaire Maigret (1970), L’Homme des Rivages (1981), Aeroport: Le Ciel et le Feu (1984), Les Bargeot (1985), Chahut-Bahut (1987), Les Taupes-Niveaux (1992), A Year in Provence (1993), Belle Epoque (1995), Berjac: Coup de Theatre (1996), Le Cri du Silence (1997), Qui Mange Qui? (1998), and Passage Interdit (2000). Hily also appeared in several films during her career including Julie Gluepot (1977), Vice Squad (1978), La Boum 2 (1982), My New Partner (1984), American Dreamer (1984), Saxo (1987), See You Tomorrow (1992), Highway Melody (2000), My Wife’s Name Is Maurice (2002), The Butterfly (2002), and Petite Lecon de Savoir-Vivre (2003).
HINDE, JOHN Australian news commentator and television personality John Hinde died in a Sydney, Australia, nursing home on July 5, 2006. He was 92. Hinde began his career as a newsman with Australia’s ABC radio news department, and was a war correspondent in the Pacific during World War II. He also became a film critic on television and radio. Hinde also appeared in small roles in several films including Dead to the World (1991) and Dallas Doll (1994).
Joseph Hill
HILY, HELENE
French actress Helene Hily died of cancer in Herblay, France, on August 8, 2006. She was 69. Hily was born in Toulouse, France, on May 29, 1937. She appeared frequently on French television from the 1960s in such productions as L’Age
Helene Hily
John Hinde (as Superman, saving Lisbeth Gorr)
HINES, DOUGLAS Television editor Douglas Hines died in Los Angeles on January 16, 2006. He was 82. Hines was born on July 20, 1923. He worked as an editor in television from the 1960s, cutting such series as The Mothers-in-Law, Mister Ed, and The Pruitts of Southampton. He earned two Emmy Awards for his work on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and another two for editing The Tracey Ullman Show. He also worked on the series Rhoda, Taxi, Best of the West, 9 to 5, and Cheers, and the 1978 tele-film Little Mo. HINTON, CRAIG Craig Hinton, who was best known for writing the paperback adventures of Doctor Who, was found dead in his apartment on December 3, 2006. Hinton was an editor of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society’s journal The Celestial Toyroom, and worked as a reviewer at Doctor Who Magazine. His first Doctor Who novel, The Crystal Bucephalus, was published as part of Virgin Publishing’s Missing Adventures in 1994. Millennial Rites (1995) and GodEngine (1996) followed before the Doctor Who
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series left Virgin for BBC Books. Hinton wrote The Quantum Archangel (2001) and Synthespians (2004) for the new publishers. He also scripted the Doctor Who audio play Excelis Decays for Big Finish in 2002, and the Tomorrow People play The Lords of Forever in 2005.
Craig Hinton
HINTON, JAMES Documentary photographer James E. Hinton, Jr., died of prostate cancer in a Bronx, New York, hospital on February 20, 2006. He was 69. Hinton was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on November 21, 1936. He began taking photographs professionally in the early 1960s, working for newspapers, magazines and corporate clients. He also produced, directed and sometimes narrated nearly 70 documentary films over a three decade period. Hinton was most noted for his photographic chronicles of the Civil Rights Movement and social upheavals in the 1960s and 1970s. He also served as cinematographer for the off beat 1974 horror film Ganja and Hess. HIPP , PAUL Cinematographer Paul Hipp died in Poway, California, on April 10, 2006. He was 68. Hipp was born in Arkansas on January 1, 1938. He began working as a cinematographer on exploitation films for such directors as Williams Castleman and David F. Friedman in the 1960s. His film credits include The Farmer’s Other Daughter (1965), Fandango (1969), Thar She Blows! (1969), The Ribald Tales of Robin Hood (1969), Starlet! (1969), All the Lovin’ Kinfolk (1970), Dream No Evil (1970), Sweet Trash (1970), The Politicians (1970), Trader Hornee (1970), The Hang Up (1970), Wild Riders (1971), Blood and Lace (1971), The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant (1971), Chandar, the Black Leopard of Ceylon (1972), Sweet Jesus Preacher Man (1973), Superchick (1973), Garden of the Dead (1974), Inferno in Paradise (1974), Grave of the Vampire (1974), Devil Times Five (1974), and Psycho from Texas (1975). Hipp was also director of photography for the 1977 television series The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams. He worked on numerous Sunn Classic family films in the 1970s and 1980s including The Deerslayer (1978), In Search of Historic Jesus (1979), Hangar 18 (1980), The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1980), Earthbound (1981), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1981), The Nashville Grab (1981), The Boogens (1982), The Capture
of Grizzly Adams (1982), and The Fall of the House of Usher (1982).
HIVELY , GEORGE Film editor George B. Hively, who worked on several films for director Stanley Donen, died of complications from pneumonia in San Pedro, California, on February 7, 2006. He was 72. Hively was born in Los Angeles on April 28, 1933, the son of screenwriter and editor George C. Hively. The younger Hively began his career in television in the 1960s, editing episodes of such series as Perry Mason and Daktari. He also served as an editor on the films Deadhead Miles (1972), The Little Prince (1974), The Longest Yard (1974), Love and Death (1975), Lucky Lady (1975), Movie Movie (1978), Friday the 13th Part III (1982), Off the Wall (1983), Blame It on Rio (1984), Savage Dawn (1984), and Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon (1984). Hively also edited the television series Hart to Hart, Downtown, and Shades of LA, and the tele-films The Savage Bees (1976), Good Against Evil (1977), Ruby and Oswald (1978), Terror Out of the Sky (1979), High Ice (1980), Sophia Loren: Her Own Story (1980), The Wild and the Free (1980), Bill (1981), Cocaine and Blue Eyes (1983), What Is Brazil? (1985), Blind Justice (1986), Stark: Mirror Image (1986), and American Eyes (1991).
George Hively
HLADNIK, BOSTJAN Slovenian filmmaker Bostjan Hladnik died in Slovenia on May 30, 2006. He
Bostjan Hladnik
165 was 77. Hladnik was born in Kranj, Slovenia, on January 30, 1929. He attended the Academy of Dramatic Art in Ljubljan, graduating in 1957. He subsequently moved to Paris where he apprenticed to such French directors as Claude Chabrol and Phillipe de Broca. He returned to Yugoslavia in the early 1960s, where he directed his first feature films, Dancing in the Rain (1961). He made numerous films and shorts over the next thirty years including Maibritt, the Girl from the Islands (1964), Sunny Whirlpool (1968), Poljub (1969), Maskarada (1971), The Lion Is Coming (1972), Roolucija (1974), Puntar (1975), Vabilo (1978), Winter Tourism (1983), Za Vaso Sreco (1983), Portret Franceta Mihelica (1985), and P.S.— Post Scriptum (1988).
HODGE, CHARLIE Charlie Hodge, who was a guitarist and backup singer for Elvis Presley, died of lung cancer in Knoxville, Tennessee, on March 3, 2006. He was 71. Hodge was born in Decatur, Alabama, on December 14, 1934. He was lead singer with the gospel group The Foggy River Boys in the early 1950s. Hodge would stand on a wooden crate during his performances due to his diminutive stature. He first met Elvis while the two singers where serving in the U.S. Army in Germany. After their discharge he began performing often with Elvis on records and in concert. He appeared in small roles in several Elvis films including Clambake (1967), Speedway (1968), and Charro! (1969). He also performed with Elvis’ band in several concert films. Hodge appeared as himself in John Carpenter’s 1979 tele-film Elvis.
2006 • Obituaries
Suitcase, Detective, Doomwatch, Public Eye, The Ventures, Rumpole of the Bailey, The Sandbaggers, Maybury, A Fine Romance, The Agatha Christie Hour, and Inspector Morse. Hodgson was also featured on television in productions of House of Character (1968), Lord Peter Wimsey: Clouds of Witness (1972), The Dick Francis Thriller: The Racing Game (1979), The Cleopatras (1983), Charlie (1984), and Frankie and Johnnie (1985). He was also seen in several films during his career including Percy (1971) and On the Game (1974).
HOGAN, LOUANNE Singer Louanne Hogan, who dubbed the singing voice of numerous Hollywood stars in films, died on January 23, 2006. She was 87. Hogan was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on July 25, 1918. She performed with various big bands in the 1940s including Tommy Dorsey and Henry James. She worked on many films, providing the singing voices for Virginia Wiedler in Best Foot Forward (1943), Faye Emerson in The Mask of Dimitrios (1944), Virginia Mayo in The Princess and the Pirate (1944), Joan Leslie in Cinderella Jones (1946), Jeanne Crain in State Fair (1945), Margie (1946), and Apartment for Pegg y (1948), and Sophie Loren in Desire Under the Elm (1958).
Louanne Hogan
Charlie Hodge
HODGSON, CHARLES British actor Charles Hodgson died of heart failure in England on December 21, 2006. He was 78. Hodgson was born in London on December 31, 1927. He attended Lincoln College, Oxford, where he appeared in numerous stage productions including Nevill Coghill’s legendary 1949 staging of The Tempest as Ariel. He made his professional stage debut in the early 1950s and joined the BBC Drama Repertory, performing in many radio broadcasts. He also made his television debut in the early 1950s, appearing in productions of L’Aiglon (1953) and Heidi (1953). He was also seen in episodes of Suspense, William, The Avengers, Softly Softly, Man in a
HOHNE, KLAUS German actor Klaus Hohne died in a Munich, Germany, hospital on August 21, 2006. He was 79. Hohne was born in Hamburg, Germany, on June 13, 1927. He appeared in numerous films from the early 1960s including Agatha, Stop the Murdering! (1960), Adrian, the Tulip Thief (1966), Wild Rider Ltd. (1967), The Golden Pill (1968), The Damned (1969), Eintausend Millarden (1974), Lady Dracula (1978), The Roaring Fifties (1983), Man Under Suspicion (1984), and Is’ Was, Kanzler (1984). Hohne was also featured in television productions of Kai aus der Kiste (1960), Georges Dandin (1964), Der Nebbich (1965), Towarisch (1966), Der Witzbold (1966), Die Benachrichtigung (1968), Gezeiten (1970), Die Lieben Freunde (1970), Im Fahrwasser (1971), Kleiner Mann — was Nun? (1973), Ein Kapitel fur Sich (1979), Knobbes Knoten (1980), Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980), Exil (1981), Flucht aus Pommem (1982), Ein Abend mit Georg Thomalla (1982), Kornelia (1984), Radiofieber (1989), Kleiner Konig Erich (1990), Air of Hamburg (1991), Der
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Fotograf oder Das Auge Gottes (1992), and Arzte: Dr. Vogt— Freundschaften (1997). His other television credits include episodes of such series as Der Kommissar, Les Aventures du Capitaine Luckner, Tatort, Detektivburo Roth, Oh Gott, Herr Pfarrer, Harry & Sunny, SOKO 5113, Derrick, Siska, and Der Alte. Hohne also was a leading voice actor in Germany, dubbing such stars as Richard Harris in German versions of his films, and supplying the voice for Agatha Christie’s detective Hercule Poirot in numerous films.
Southern California. Holland wrote the play From the Mississippi Delta about her life. It debuted off–Broadway in 1991. She wrote several other plays and authored her memoirs, also titled From the Mississippi Delta, in 1997.
HOLLOMAN, BRIDGET Actress and dancer Bridget Holloman was found dead in her apartment in California on March 7, 2006. She was 47. Holloman was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1958, the daughter of choreographer Suzanne Moore Johnston. She moved to Los Angeles in 1975, and was featured in the teen comedy film Slumber Party ’57 in 1976. She also worked as a dancer on several Sid and Marty Krofft variety shows. Holloman was also featured in the films The Goodbye Girl (1977), Evils of the Night (1985), Stoogemania (1986), The Empty Mirror (1996), and Subway Cafe (2004). She also appeared in the daytime soap opera The Days of Our Lives, and the short-lived television comedy series Ace Crawford, Private Eye (1983) with Tim Conway.
Klaus Hohne
HOLLAND, ENDESHA IDA MAE Dramatist and educator Endesha Ida Mae Holland died of ataxia, a degenerative neurological condition, in a Santa Monica, California, nursing home on January 25, 2006. She was 61. Holland was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, on August 29, 1944. During her teen years she worked as a prostitute and was frequently arrested. Her life changed in the early 1960s when she became involved with the civil rights movement. She became an active worker and spokesman for the movement and eventually continued her education. She earned a bachelor’s degree in African-American studies at the University of Minnesota in 1979, and later earned her masters and Ph.D. She taught at the State University of New York at Buffalo from 1985 to 1993, and was subsequently professor of theater at the University of
HOLLOWAY, PATRICE Singer Patrice Holloway died of a heart attack in a Los Angeles hospital on October 2, 2006. She was 58. Holloway was born on March 23, 1948. She was best known as the singing voice for Valerie in the Hanna-Barbera cartoon Josie and the Pussycats in the early 1970s. She was the younger sister of Motown songstress Brenda Holloway, and she
Endesha Ida Mae Holland
Patrice Holloway (right, with Catherine Dougher and Cheryl Ladd)
Bridget Holloman
167 co-wrote her sister’s 1967 hit “You Made Me So Very Happy.” During the 1960s Patrice also recorded some popular singles at Capitol including “Ecstasy,” “Love and Desire,” and “Stolen Hours.”
HOLTON, NIGEL Composer Nigel Holton drowned in the ocean while visiting relatives in New Zealand on October 26, 2006. He was 54. Holton was born in Canterbury, England, in 1952. He was best known for his film scores, composing for numerous documentaries and features from the late 1980s. Holton’s film credits include South of Reno (1988), Bloodfist II (1990), Killer Instinct (1991), Kiss Me a Killer (1991), Bloodfist III: Forced to Fight (1992), Body Chemistry II: The Voice of a Stranger (1992), To Sleep with a Vampire (1993), Cries of Silence (1993), Carnosaur (1993), Aftershock (1993), Watchers III (1994), Twogether (1994), Starquest (1994), Night of the Archer (1994), The Mosaic Project (1994), Naked Souls (1995), Squanderers (1996), Hot Ticket (1996), Alien Terminator (1996), Overdrive (1997), The Haunted Sea (1997), Eruption (1997), Choke (2001), A Day in the Dirt (2002), The Pact (2004), Scarlet Momentum (2004), Indigo Hearts (2005), Haunted Boat (2005), Shattered Day (2005), and Chloe’s Prayer (2006). Holton also composed music for a series on silent film stars for Turner Classic Movies including Clara Bow: Discovering the It Girl (1999), Howard Hughes: His Women and His Movies (2000), and Captured on Film: The True Story of Marion Davies (2001).
2006 • Obituaries
government relations consultant for numerous films including Top Gun (1986), The Mission (1986), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), Gardens of Stone (1987), The Presidio (1988), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Shining Through (1992), A Few Good Men (1992), In the Line of Fire (1993), and the 1995 tele-film The Tuskegee Airmen.
John Horton
HOVEYDA, FEREYDOUN Iranian diplomat and writer Fereydoun Hoveyda died of cancer at his home in Clifton, Virginia, on November 3, 2006. He was 82. Hoveyda was born in Damascus, Syria, on September 21, 1924. He attended the Sorbonne in Paris, where he earned a doctorate in international law and economics. He worked with UNESCO’s mass communications department from 1952 to 1966. He was a founder and contributor to the French film magazine Cashiers du Cinema, and scripted Roberto Rossellini’s 1959 film India: Matri Bhumi. His brother, Amir Abbas Hoveyda, became Prime Minister of Iran in 1965 and the following year Fereydoun was named deputy foreign minister in charge of international organizations. He was appointed Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in 1971. He retained that position until the Islamic revolution deposed the Shah and executed his brother in 1979. Hoveyda remained in the United States, working with the National Committee on American Foreign
Nigel Holton
HORTON, JOHN E. John E. Horton, who worked as a liaison between the film and television industry and the United States government for over fifty years, died of liver failure at his home on Seabrook Island, South Carolina, on June 4, 2006. He was 87. Horton was born in Davenport, Iowa, in 1919. He began working in films in 1946, serving as a production executive with such studios as Warner Bros, Universal and Paramount. He was named chief of motion pictures for the department of Army public relations in 1948, and also worked in the public affairs department of the Defense Department. He was also a public relations consultant to various industries and foreign governments. Horton served as an advisor and
Fereydoun Hoveyda
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Policy. He was the author of several books including What Do the Arabs Want? (1991), The Broken Crescent: The Threat of Militant Islamic Fundamentalism (2002), and The Shah and the Ayatollah: Iranian Mytholog y and Islamic Revolution (2003).
HUBNER, KARIN German actress and singer Karin Hubner died in Munich, Germany, on July 25, 2006. She was 69. Hubner was born in Gera, Germany, on September 16, 1936. She was best known for her work on stage, playing Eliza Doolittle in the first German-language production of My Fair Lady in mid–1950s. She played the role on stage over 800 times throughout Germany. Hubner was also seen in the films Emilia Galotti (1958), Solang’ Noch Untern Linden (1958), Hoopla, Now Comes Eddie (1958), Headquarters State Secret (1960), Miracle of Malachias (1961), The Merry Widow (1962), The Endless Night (1963), The Man with the Glass Eye (1969), School of Fear (1969), and Viola and Sebastian (1972). She was also featured in television productions of Towarisch (1966), Abendkurs (1966), Liselotte von der Pfalz (1966), Flucht ohne Ausweg (1967), Hotel Royal (1969), Ring Round the Moon (1970), and Das Messer (1971).
Karin Hubner (with Wolfgang Lukschky from My Fair Lady)
HUEBING, CRAIG Actor Craig Huebing died after a long illness at his home on the outskirts of Eugene, Oregon, on March 10, 2006. He was 77. Huebing was born in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, on March 4, 1929. He began his career on stage in Chicago and New York in the early 1950s and made his television debut several years later. Huebing was featured as Tom Jennings in the daytime soap opera From These Roots from 1959 to 1961, and was Dr. Steve Lloyd on The Doctors from 1964 to 1965. He was also seen in episodes of True Story, Get Smart, Ironside, The F.B.I., Green Acres, The Name of the Game, The Debbie Reynolds Show, Love, American Style, and The Six Million Dollar Man. Huebing was best known for his role as Dr. Peter Taylor on the soap opera General Hospital from 1969 to 1979. He also guest-starred in a handful of episodes of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., and was featured in the films Marooned (1969) and The Comic (1969). He retired from acting in the early 1980s and settled in Oregon in 1985.
Craig Huebing
HUFFMAN, PHYLLIS Film casting director Phyllis Huffman, who worked on numerous films for director Clint Eastwood, died in New York City after a brief illness on March 2, 2006. She was 61. Huffman was born in the Bronx, New York, on June 23, 1944. She was married to actor David Huffman and accompanied him to Los Angeles in the mid–1970s. She soon began working as a casting director for films and television. She was widowed in 1985 when her husband was stabbed to death while chasing a burglary suspect. Huffman continued to work in films, later moving to New York and starting her own casting company. Her many films credits, which include over 15 directed by Eastwood, include Soup for One (1982), Honkytonk Man (1982), Independence Day (1983), National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), Tightrope (1984), Pale Rider (1985), Ratboy (1986), Heartbreak Ridge (1986), Bird (1988), The Dead Pool (1988), Pink Cadillac (1989), The Rookie (1990), White Hunter Black Heart (1990), Unforgiven (1992), A Perfect World (1993), The Stars Fell on Henrietta (1995), Haunted (1995), Minotaur (1997), Turbulence (1997), Absolute Power (1997), Howard Stern’s Private Parts (1997), The Blood Oranges (1997), Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), True Crime (1999), Superstar (1999), Space Cowboys (2000), Blood Work (2002), Mystic River (2003), Million Dollar Baby (2004), Brooklyn Lobster (2005) which also featured Huffman in a cameo role as Judge Williams, Lonely
Phyllis Huffman
169 Hearts (2006), and Flags of Our Fathers (2006). She also served as casting director for the tele-films and mini-series V (1983), Agatha Christie’s Sparkling Cyanide (1983), V: The Final Battle (1984), His Mistress (1984), North and South (1985), Agatha Christie’s Dead Man’s Folly (1996), The Betty Ford Story (1987), Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story (1987), A Woman Named Jackie (1991), Battle in the Erogenous Zone (1982), Sarah, Plain and Tall: Skylark (1993), Taking the Heat (1993), Breathing Lessons (1994), A Place for Annie (1994), The Gift of Love (1994), Is There Life Out There? (1994), Prince for a Day (1995), The Piano Lesson (1995), In Pursuit of Honor (1995), Redwood Curtain (1995), Secrets (1995), Johnny’s Girl (1995), When the Vows Break (1995), From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1995), Journey (1995), The Boys Next Door (1996), In the Lake of the Woods (1996), Harvest of Fire (1996), The Late Shift (1996), William Faulkner’s Old Man (1997), Ellen Foster (1997), The Echo of Thunder (1998), Ruby Bridges (1998), Only Love (1998), A Will of Their Own (1998), Night Ride Home (1999), Free of Eden (1999), Dash and Lilly (1999), The Hunley (1999), Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter’s End (1999), The Crossing (2000), Mary and Rhoda (2000), Cupid and Cate (2000), Cora Unashamed (2000), The Lost Child (2000), Enslavement: The True Story of Fanny Kemble (2000), Papa’s Angels (2000), The Runaway (2000), Almost a Woman (2000), Haven (2001), Second Honeymoon (2001), A Glimpse of Hell (2001), The Song of the Lark (2001), F. Scott Fitzgerald: Winter Dreams (2001), The Seventh Stream (2001), A Death in the Family (2002), Two Against Time (2002), Power and Beauty (2002), The Rats (2002), Martin and Lewis (2002), The Locket (2002), Evil Never Dies (2003), The Blackwater Lightship (2004), Helter Skelter (2004), The Brooke Ellison Story (2004), Ernest Hemingway: Rivers to the Sea (2005), Silver Bells (2005), and In from the Night (2006).
HUGG, DICK “HUGGY BOY” Los Angeles radio disc jockey Dick “Huggy Boy” Hugg died of cardiac arrest following a lengthy illness in a Long Beach, California, hospital on August 30, 2006. He was 78. Hugg was born in Canton, Ohio, on June 9, 1928. He began his career as a disc jockey at the Dol-
Dick Hugg
2006 • Obituaries
phin’s of Hollywood record store in the 1950s. Known as Huggy Boy, he soon became working at the local AM radio station KRLA and, later, KRTH, where he played R&B hits until his retirement in 2000. Hugg was also the host of a short-lived local television dance show in the 1970s.
HUGHES, BARNARD Tony Award–winning actor Barnard Hughes died in a New York City hospital after a brief illness on July 11, 2006. He was 90. Hughes was born in Bedford Hills, New York, on July 16, 1915. A veteran of the New York stage, he made his Broadway debut in a production of Herself Mrs. Patrick Crowley in 1935. He was featured in numerous other Broadway productions over the next 64 years including A Majority of One (1959), Advise and Consent (1960), Nobody Loves an Albatross (1963), Hamlet (1964) with Richard Burton, How Now, Dow Jones (1967), Abelard and Heloise (1971), The Good Doctor (1973), All Over Town (1974), Angels Fall (1983), and Prelude to a Kiss (1990). He was nominated for a featured-actor Tony nomination for his 1973 performance as Dogberry in the Much Ado About Nothing revival for the New York Shakespeare Festival, and won the Tony Award for his starring role in Hugh Leonard’s Da in 1978. He also played the curmudgeonly ghost in the 1988 film version of Da. Hughes final Broadway appearance was in 1999’s production of Noel Coward’s Waiting in the Wings. Though best known for his roles on stage, Hughes also appeared often in films and television. His film credits include Playgirl (1954), The Young Doctors (1961), Midnight Cowboy (1969), Cold Turkey (1971), The Pursuit of Happiness (1971), The Hospital (1971) as the avenging patient Edmund Drummond, Deadhead Miles (1972), Rage (1972), Sisters (1973), First Monday in October (1981) as the Chief Justice, Disney’s Tron (1982) as Dr. Walter Gibbs, Best Friends (1982), Maxie (1985), Where Are the Children? (1986), The Lost Boys (1987) as Grandpa, Doc Hollywood (1991), The Emperor’s New Clothes (1993), Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993) as Father Maurice, The Odd Couple II (1998), Cradle Will Rock (1999), and The Fantasticks (2000). He also appeared in numerous telefilms including The Borgia Stick (1967), Dr. Cook’s Garden (1971), All the Way Home (1971), Look Homeward, Angel (1972), Much Ado About Nothing (1973), Pueblo (1973), The Holiday Treasure (1973), The Borrowers (1973), Another April (1974), A Memory of Two Mondays (1974), The Two Lives of Sean Doolittle (1975), The UFO Incident (1975), Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case (1975), Ransom for Alice! (1977), Kill Me If You Can (1977), Oh, God! (1977), Tell Me My Name (1977), The World Beyond (1978), See How She Runs (1978), Sanctuary of Fear (1979) as Father Brown, Detective, Homeward Bound (1970), A Conflict of Interest (1982), Little Gloria ... Happy at Last (1982), Agatha Christie’s A Caribbean Mystery (1983), The Sky’s No Limit (1984), Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1985) as the King, Under the Biltmore Clock (1986), Night of Courage (1987), A Hobo’s Christmas (1987), Home Fires Burning (1989), Day One (1989), Guts and Glory: The Rise and Fall of Oliver North (1989) as CIA Director
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William Casey, The Incident (1990), Miracle Child (1993), Trick of the Eye (1994), and Past the Bleachers (1995). He was featured as Dr. Bruce Banning on the daytime soap opera The Guiding Light from 1961 to 1966 and was Stuart Bronson in the Gothic soap Dark Shadows in 1966. He was featured as Wilfred Hollister in The Secret Storm from 1968 to 1969, and was Mr. Barton on As the World Turns from 1969 to 1970. Hughes starred as Dr. Joe Bogert in the short-lived comedy series Doc from 1975 to 1976, and was Max Merlin in the supernatural comedy series Mr. Merlin from 1981 to 1982. He also appeared as Pop Cavanaugh in the 1986 series The Cavanaughs, and was Grandpa Buzz Richman on Blossom from 1991 to 1995. Hughes also guest starred in episodes of Kraft Television Theatre, Armstrong Circle Theatre, The United States Steel Hour, Way Out, The Defenders, Route 66, Naked City, The Nurses, The Trials of O’Brien, Cannon, Love Story, All in the Family in the recurring role of Father John Majeski, Hawaii Five-O, Lou Grant which earned him an Emmy Award in 1978, The Bob Newhart Show, Tales from the Darkside as a Halloween Scrooge in the pilot episode, Hotel, The Love Boat, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, The Marshal, Homicide: Life on the Street, and Deadline. Hughes’ survivors include his wife, actress Helen Stenborg, whom he married in 1950, and two children.
John Hughes
cer in the Loire Valley, France, on October 9, 2006. She was 70. Huillet was born in Paris on May 1, 1936. She met Straub in 1954 while attending film school, and married him. The couple left France for Germany in opposition to the Algerian War later in the decade. They made their first film, a short, Machorka-Muff in 1963. Their first feature, Not Reconciled, based on the works of Heinrich Boll followed in 1965. Their best known film, The Chronicle of Anna-Magdalena Bach , was released in 1967. The couple moved to Rome in the 1970s where they made several films based on the work of Italian writer Cesare Pavese. Other works include the 1975 filmed version of Arnold Schoenberg’s opera Aaron and Moses and Class Relations (1984) based on Franz Kaf ka’s unfinished novel America. Their final work, These Encounters with Them, earned a special award at the Venice Film Festival earlier in 2006.
Barnard Hughes
HUGHES, JOHN British actor John Hughes died in Brighton, England, on March 7, 2006. He was 72. Hughes was born in England in 1934. He began his career in variety shows as straight man to comic Vic Oliver. He made his television debut in the early 1960s and was featured as PC John Jones in the series Dixon of Dock Green from 1962 to 1964. He was also seen in episodes of Suspense, My Partner the Ghost, Z Cars, and Love Hurts. Hughes was featured in television productions of Elizabeth R (1971) and It’s Murder but Is It Art (1972), and appeared in the feature films That Sinking Feeling (1980) and Nineteen Eight-Four (1984) with John Hurt. HUILLET, DANIELE French filmmaker Daniele Huillet, who created numerous avante garde films with her husband Jean-Marie Straub, died of can-
Daniele Huillet
HUNT LEIBERSON, LORRAINE Operatic mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Leiberson died after a long illness at her home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on July 3, 2006. She was 52. She was born in San Francisco, California, on March 1, 1954. She began her musical career as a violist and did not began singing until age 26. She worked with musical director Peter Sellars from the mid–1980s, appearing in productions of Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Hunt married composer Peter Leiberson in 1999. She made
171 her debut with the Metropolitan Opera with the 1999 production of The Great Gatsby in the role of Myrtle. She also performed the role of Dido in Belioz’s Les Troyens with the Met in 2003. Hunt Leiberson was also featured in televised productions of the operas Julius Caesar in Eg ypt (1990), Don Giovanni (1990), Theodora (1996), and El Nino (2000). She also appeared in an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in 2001.
2006 • Obituaries
and North Africa. Hutch formed the acrobatic act the Seven Volants in the early 1950s, and later performed with the Herculeans and the Half-Wits in circuses and theatrical venues. During the 1980s he appeared frequently on The Benny Hill Show, and coached Robert Downey, Jr., in the art of physical comedy for his role in the 1992 film Chaplin. He was also involved in choreographing movement for the children’s television series Teletubbies. Hutch also arranged stunts for numerous theatrical productions and pantomime routines.
Lorraine Hunt Leiberson
HUNTER, HAROLD Leading black professional skateboarder Harold Hunter died of a heart attack at his home in New York City’s East Village housing project on February 17, 2006. He was 31. He was born in New York City on April 2, 1974, and began skateboarding as a child. He began entering competitions as a teen and toured with New York’s preeminent skateboarding team Zoo York. He was cast in Larry Clark’s 1995 film Kids and also appeared in Mind Games (1996), Hand on the Pump (1998), and Collage (2001).
Johnny Hutch
HUYDTS, FREDERIQUE Dutch actress Frederique Huydts died of colon cancer in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on April 3, 2006. She was 38. Huydts was born in Scheveningen, the Netherlands, on August 19, 1967. She was featured as Annette Dekker-van Thijn and Rebecca Duvalier in the Dutch television series Good Times, Bad Times in the early 1990s. She also appeared in the 1990 television mini-series De Brug, and in episodes of Diamant, Flodder, Wij Alexander, In de Clinch, Baantjer, and Meiden van de Wit.
Harold Hunter
HUTCH, JOHNNY
British acrobat and comic Johnny Hutch died in England on December 9, 2006. He was 93. He was born John Hutchinson in Middlesborough, England, on August 8, 1913. He trained with an acrobatic troupe while in his teens and became the headliner of the Seven Royal Hindustans. He served as a paratrooper during World War II, fighting in Italy
Frederique Huydts
HYATT, CHARLES Jamaican actor Charles Hyatt died of lung cancer at the home of his sister in Palm Bay, Florida, on December 25, 2006. He was 75. Hyatt began his career on the stage in Jamaica in the 1940s. He also worked as a radio broadcaster with the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation and the British
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Broadcasting Corporation. Hyatt was the Storyteller for several episodes of the children’s series Jackanory about African legends in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He also appeared in such films as A High Wind in Jamaica (1965), The Bushbaby (1969), Crossplot (1969), Freelance (1971), Love Thy Neighbour (1973), Club Paradise (1986), Milk and Honey (1988), The Mighty Quinn (1989), Cool Runnings (1993), and Almost Heaven (2005). Hyatt was also featured on television in episodes of The Wednesday Play, Public Eye, The Saint, Rainbow City, Theatre 625, The Troubleshooters, Trial, and Within These Walls.
Charles Hyatt
IFUKUBE, AKIRA Film composer Akira Ifukube, who was best known for his theme to the classic monster film Godzilla, died of multiple organ failure in a Tokyo hospital on February 8, 2006. He was 91. Ifukube was born in Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan, on May 31, 1914. He attended Hokkaido University and began composing scores for Japanese films in the late 1940s. He worked on numerous features during his career including To the End of the Silver Mountains (1947), Invitation to Happiness (1947), The Woman in the Typhoon Area (1948), The President and the Shopgirl (1948), A Silent Duel (1949), Jakoman and Tetsu (1949), The Rainbow Man (1949), Crazy Uproar (1950), I’m the Bodyguard (1950), The Motherland Far Far Away (1950),
Akira Ifukube
White Beast (1950), Les Miserables: Gods and Demons (1950), Stolen Love (1951), Reeds That Rustle in the Wind (1951), Beyond Love and Hate (1951), The Tale of Genji (1951), I Was a Prisoner in Siberia (1952), The Man Without a Nationality (1952), The Last Boss (1952), Avalanche (1952), Sisters of Nishijin (1952), Children of Hiroshima (1952), Life of a Horse-Trader Sequel (1952), Swift Current (1952), The Crab Canning Ship (1953), Konketuji (1953), Yokubo (1953), Before Dawn (1953), Dobu (1954), A Samurai’s Love (1954), Cape Ashizuri (1954), Ana-ta-Han (1954), and Midori no Nakama (1954). His haunting score for the Toho atomic classic Godzilla (1954) was heard in most of the subsequent films that featured Japan’s best known massive reptile. Ifukube’s work was also heard in the films The Beauty and the Dragon (1955), Maid and a Boy (1955), Wolf (1955), Three Faces (1955), Buruuba (1955), The Burmese Harp (1956), Rainy Night Duel (1956), Darkness at Midnight (1956), Onibi (1956), An Actress (1956), Rodan (1956), The Mysterians (1957), An Osaka Story (1957), Yag yu Secret Scrolls (1957), The Last Pursuit (1957), Downtown (1957), Chijo (1957), Secret Scrolls, Part II (1958), A Bridge for Us Alone (1958), The Precipice (1958), Night Drum (1958), Battle in Outer Space (1959), Boss of the Underworld (1959), Whistle in My Heart (1959), The Woman and the Pirate (1959), Life of an Expert Swordsman (1959), A Killed Stewardess: White or Black (1959), The Birth of Japan (1959), Shinran, Part II (1960), Daredevil in the Castle (1961), Zen and Sword (1961), Tough Guy (1961), Buddha (1961), Conspirator (1961), Different Sons (1961), The Tale of Zatoichi (1962), Carpenter and Children (1962), The Whale God (1962), The Great Wall (1962), 47 Samurai (1962), Varan the Unbelievable (1962), Kurobe Dam, Part II (1962), Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman’s Return (1963), Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon (1963), Zatoichi, Crazy Journey (1963), Bronze Magician (1963), Zatoichi’s Fighting Journey (1963), The Thirteen Assassins (1963), Atragon (1963), Whirlwind (1964), Godzilla vs. the Thing (1964), Dagora the Space Monster (1964), Ninja 4 (1964), The Last Woman of Shang (1964), Blind Swordsman: Fight, Zatoichi, Fight (1964), Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964), The Story of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1965), The Blind Swordsman’s Revenge (1965), Life of Matsu the Untamed (1965), A Country of Children (1965), Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965), Monster Zero (1965), Zatoichi’s Trip to Hell (1965), Eleven Samurai (1966), The War of the Gargantuas (1966), Sleepy Eyes of Death: The Mask of the Princess (1966), Majin, Monster of Terror (1966), Adventure of the Strange Stone Castle (1966), The Blind Swordsman’s Vengeance (1966), Wrath of Daimajin (1966), Sleepy Eyes of Death: Sword of Villainy (1966), Return of Majin (1966), King Kong Escapes (1967), To Live (1967), Zatoichi’s Spurting Blood Road (1967), Snow Ghost (1968), Destroy All Monsters (1968), Sky Scraper! (1969), Devil’s Temple (1969), Latitude Zero (1969), Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (1970), Yog, Monster from Space (1970), Will to Conquer (1970), A New Tale of Zatoichi: Blood Festival of Kasama (1973), The Human Revolution (1973), The Last Samurai (1974), Sandakan 8 (1974), Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975), Love and Faith of Ogin
173 (1978), Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth (1992), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993), Godzilla vs. Destroyer (1995), Godzilla 2000 (1999), Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000), Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001), and Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). Ifukube also composed the acclaimed Japanese Rhapsody, and served as president of the Tokyo College of Music from 1976 to 1987,
ILLES, GYORGY Hungarian cinematographer Gyorgy Illes died in Budapest, Hungary, on June 12, 2006. He was 91. Illes was born in Eger, AustriaHungary, on November 2, 1914. He served as director of photography for numerous films from the 1940s including Szabone (1949), The Storm (1951), Pentek 13 (1953), The Hospital No. 9 (1955), Danse Macabre (1957), St. Peter’s Umbrella (1958), Poor Rich (1959), Sleepless Years (1959), The House Under the Rocks (1959), Kalvaria (1960), The Obsessed Ones (1961), Probaut (1961), Dialogue (1963), Drama of the Lark (1963), Collision (1964), Twenty Hours (1965), Late Season (1966), The Golden Kite (1966), The Lost Generation (1968), The Boys of Paul Street (1969), The Impostors (1969), The Toth Family (1969), Trip Around My Cranium (1970), Ant-Hill (1971), Fallow Land (1973), One Day More, One Day Less (1973), A Pendragon Legenda (1974), 141 Minutes from the Unfinished Sentence (1975), The Black Diamond (1976), The Fifth Seal (1976), Hungarians (1978), Legato (1978), Balint Fabian Meets God (1980), Requiem (1981), Temporary Paradise (1981), Housewarming (1983), Titanic (1984), and Retur (1997).
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came a leading figure in Japan’s New Wave film movement. He helmed such features as Stolen Desire (1958), Nishi Ginza Station (1958), Ballad of Narayama (1958), Endless Desire (1958), My Second Brother (1959), The Flesh Is Hot (1961), The Insect Woman (1963), Unholy Desire (1964), The Pornographers (1966), A Man Vanishes (1967), The Profound Desire of the Gods (1968), History of Postwar Japan as Told by a Bar Hostess (1970), the documentary Karayuki-san, the Making of a Prostitute (1975), Vengeance Is Mine (1979), and Why Not? (1981). Imamura received the Palme d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival for his 1983 film, The Ballad of Narayama, about a man who continues his village’s tradition and leaves his mother to die upon a mountain top. He helmed the film Zegen in 1987, and directed Black Rain, about the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, in 1989. His 1997 film The Eel earned him a second Palme d’Or award. He also directed the films Dr. Akagi (1998) and Warm Water Under a Red Bridge (2001). His final work in film was the 2002 production of September 11, where he joined with 10 other directors who contributed short episodes for an omnibus film about the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
Shohei Imamura
INUMARU, RIN Japanese cartoonist Rin Inumaru died in Tokyo in a fall from her condominium onto the roof of an adjacent building in an apparent suicide on September 10, 2006. She was 48. Inumaru was the creator of the Ojaru Maru cartoon about a
Gyorgy Illes
IMAMURA, SHOHEI Japanese film director Shohei Imamura died of cancer in a hospital in Japan on May 30, 2006. He was 79. Imamura was born in Tokyo, Japan, on September 15, 1926. He began working in films in the early 1950s as an assistant director to Yasujiro Ozu. He served as assistant director on such films as Early Summer (1951), Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice (1952), Tokyo Story (1953), Black Tide (1954), The Moon Has Risen (1955), Burden of Love (1955), Suzaki Paradise Red Light (1956), and Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate (1957) which he also scripted. Imamura began directing films later in the decade and soon be-
Rin Inumaru (her cartoon character Ojaru Maru)
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youngster from the distant past who travels through time to live with a modern Japanese family. She also the author of several children’s books.
IRWIN , STEVE
Australian naturalist Steve Irwin who became an international celebrity as star of the cable television series The Crocodile Hunter on the Animal Planet network, died while filming underwater footage in a Great Barrier Reef lagoon off the coast of northeastern Australia when a stingray pierced his heart with a poisonous barb from its tail on September 4, 2006. He was 44. Irwin was born near Melbourne, Australia, on February 22, 1962. He was raised in an wildlife park founded by his parents on the Queensland coast and learned how to capture crocodiles at the age of nine. He became a crocodile trapper in 1980, removing the reptiles from populated areas and relocating them to his family’s park. He renamed the park the Australia Zoo when he took over management in 1991. Irwin also married Terri Raines in 1981 and the couple spent their honeymoon in the wild trapping crocodiles. Their adventures were filmed and made into several documentaries, which spawned Irwin’s The Crocodile Hunter series. His documentaries began airing on the Discovery Network in 1992, and his series became a staple for the Animal Planet from the cable channel’s start in 1996. He also starred in the subsequent series Croc Files from 1999. Irwin was featured in a cameo role in Eddie Murphy’s 2001 comedy film Dr. Dolittle 2. He starred in the 2002 adventure film The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, appearing as himself hunting a crocodile that had swallowed as U.S. spy satellite. He hosted numerous documentaries, and was featured as a guest on such series as The Rosie O’Donnell Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. His antics onscreen, such as shouting “Crikey!” while jumping on the backs of large crocodiles, led to parodies on such series as South Park and The Simpsons. He had encountered some criticism in 2004 when he was accused of endangering his infant son, who he was holding while hand-feeding a crocodile. Irwin largely dismissed the complaints, remaining a leading figure in conservation efforts. He was filming footage for a documentary called Ocean’s Deadliest, which was to be hosted by his
Steve Irwin
eight-year-old daughter, Bindi Sue, at the time of the freak incident that caused his death.
ISHIKAWA, KEN Japanese cartoonist and animator Kenichi Ishikawa died of a heart attack in Japan on November 15, 2006. He was 58. Ishikawa was born in Nasukarasuyama, Japan, on June 28, 1948. A protege of animator Go Nagai, Ishikawa was co-creator of the popular anime series Getta Robo in the 1970s. The series spawned several films including Great Mazinger vs. Getter Robo G: The Great Space Encounter (1975) and Shin Getter Robo vs Neo Getter Robo (2000). A new series, New Getter Robot, was aired in 2004. Ishikawa also worked on the anime series Beast Fighter —The Apocalypse, Cutey Honey, Dragon Slayer, and Maju Sensen.
Ken Ishikawa
IWAKI, HIROYUKI Japanese orchestra conductor Hiroyuki Iwaki died of heart failure in a Tokyo, Japan, hospital on June 13, 2006. He was 73. Iwaki was born in Tokyo on September 6, 1932. He made his debut as a conductor with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in 1956. He also conducted throughout Europe and the United States. He also conducted the score for the 1985 film Ran and for 1993’s Rising Sun. Iwaki had been seriously ill in recent years, having undergone nearly 30 surgeries for illnesses that included cancer of the lung and pharynx.
Kiroyuki Iwaki
175 IZZARD, BRYAN British television producer and director Bryan Izzard died in England on April 27, 2006. He was 74. Izzard was born in Dorking, England, in 1932. He began working in entertainment as a producer on BBC Radio before moving to television in the late 1960s. He served as producer of several current affairs programs before becoming a director of light entertainment. He served as producer of the popular comedy series On the Buses in 1969, and directed the 1973 feature film version of the series, Holiday on the Buses. He also produced the series Making Whoopee (1970), Ev (1970), The Reg Varney Revue (1972), and Not on Your Nellie (1974). Izzard directed episodes of such series as Jamie (1971), The Fenn Street Gang (1971), Crown Court (1972), Doctor in Charge (1972), New Scotland Yard (1972), Within These Walls (1974), Not on Your Nellie (1974), The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs (1974), Doctor on the Go (1975), and Rep (1982). He produced the 1979 production of Charles Endell Esq. for Scottish Television in 1979, and produced and directed the BBC sit-com An Actor’s Life for Me in 1991. His final work was directing the 1999 television drama Julie and the Cadillacs. J DILLA Rap and hip-hop record producer James Yancey, who was better known as J Dilla and Jay Dee, died of complications from lupus at his home in Los Angeles on February 10, 2006. He was 32. Yancey was born in Detroit on February 7, 1974. He worked on albums from such hip-hop groups as Erykah Badu, A Tribe Called Quest, and Common. He formed the trio Slum Village in the late 1990s, which recorded the popular album Fantastic, Vol. 2 in 2000. Yancey continued with a solo career, working with the Soulquarians, Busta Rhymes, Ms. Badu, and many others. He teamed with Madlib at Stones Throw Records to release the 2001 album Champion Sound under the dual name Jaylib. He also recorded the solo album Welcome 2 Detroit, in 2001, and Donuts, shortly before his death.
2006 • Obituaries
of the BBC Radio Repertory Company in the late 1960s. He was best known for his work on television, starring as annoying neighbor Trevor Lewis in the series Bless This House in 1971, and was the ghostly Fred Mumford in the children’s sit-com Rentaghost from 1976 to 1978. He was also seen in episodes of the series Softly Softly, Tales of Unease, You’re Only Young Twice, Three in a Bed, All Our Saturdays, Barlow at Large, and Mind Your Language. Jackson was the voice of the title character in the series A.D.A.M. in 1973, and was the voices of Dai Station, Evans the Song and Mr. Dinwiddy on the animated series Ivor the Engine in the mid–1970s. He also appeared in episodes of Citizen Smith, Only Fools and Horses, Lovejoy in the recurring role of Brian, Dynasty, Boon, The Governor, Backup, Casualty, The Bill, Footballers’ Wives, and Doctors. Jackson voiced the Four Guards and a Goblin in the 1986 fantasy film Labyrinth, and was the voice of Nug in the 1990 television series The Dreamstone. He voiced Puck in a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Shakespeare: The Animated Tales in 1992, and was the voice of Kehaar and Cowslip in the animated film version of Watership Down in 1999. He worked with the Godot Company, performing the plays of Samuel Beckett, from 2002.
Anthony Jackson
JACKSON , HOWARD Martial artists and actor Howard Jackson died of leukemia in Duarte, Cal-
J Dilla
JACKSON, ANTHONY British actor Anthony Jackson died in London on November 26, 2006. He was 62. Jackson was born in Birmingham, England, on February 18, 1944. He began his career on stage in Birmingham while in his teens, and became a member
Howard Jackson
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ifornia, on March 7, 2006. He was 54. Jackson was born on June 27, 1951. He began training with Chuck Norris Karate Studios in Torrance, California, in the early 1970s, and was a part of Norris’ fighting team. Nicknamed “California Flash,” he soon became one of the top ranked fighters in the United States. Jackson served as martial arts coordinator for the 1975 film Dolemite. He also performed stuntwork and appeared in small roles in a number of films, including several with Chuck Norris. Jackson’s film credits include The Human Tornado (1976), Disco Godfather (1980), Furious (1984), Code of Silence (1985), Invasion U.S.A. (1985), The Delta Force (1986), Deathrow Gameshow (1987), Braddock: Missing in Action II (1988), Delta Force 2; The Colombian Connection (1990), The Last of the Mohicans (1992), Full Contact (1993), Red Sun Rising (1993), Out for Blood (1993), Bloodfist VI: Ground Zero (1995), Bloodfist VII: Manhunt (1995). He also appeared on television in episodes of Raven and Norris’ popular series Walker, Texas Ranger, and served as a trainer and bodyguard for Norris.
JACKSON, JACK “JAXON” Pioneering, underground cartoonist Jack “Jaxon” Jackson died in Austin, Texas, on June 8, 2006. He was 65. Jackson was born on May 15, 1941 in Texas. He began illustrating for various underground publications in the early 1960s and is considered to be one of the first underground cartoonists. He began his own publication God Nose in 1964 and was co-founder of Rip-Off Press in 1969. Jackson’s art style underwent a major change in the late 1970s when he began illustrating the history of Texas in such graphic novels as Los Tejanos, Lost Cause, and Comanche Moon.
Jack “Jaxon” Jackson
JACKSON, JOHNNY Drummer Johnny Jackson, who performed with the Jackson 5, was founded stabbed to death in his home in Gary, Indiana, on March 1, 2006. He was 54. Jackson, who was not a blood relative of the famed Jackson family, was born on March 3, 1951. He joined the Jackson 5 band in 1967, replacing original drummer Milford Hite. He played with the Jacksons in numerous concerts and recording sessions. He was a member of Anthony Acoff ’s band White Dove in recent years.
Johnny Jackson
JACOBSON, JAKE Jake Jacobson, a unit production manager and assistant director on numerous films, died in Los Angeles of a pulmonary embolism on March 7, 2006. He was 58. Jacobson was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1947. He began his career on local television as a newscaster. He came to Los Angeles in 1976, where he worked as a television cameraman and editor for sporting events. He served as a production assistant on the 1984 film Preppie, and was a unit production manager for Easy Wheels in 1989. He also served as a production manager for the films A Cry in the Wild (1990), As Good as It Gets (1997), Senseless (1998), and Driven (2001) as race unit producer. He also served as first assistant director on the films The Giant of Thunder Mountain (1991) and It Came from Outer Space II (1996). Jacobson was line producer and production manager for the tele-films Aliens for Breakfast (1994), Danielle Steel’s No Greater Love (1996), The Late Shift (1996), My Very Best Friend (1996), and The ’60s (1999), and the television series Dead at 21, Providence, and The District. His most recent screen credit was as unit production manager for 2006’s Garfield’s A Tale of Two Kitties. JADE, CLAUDE French actress Claude Jade died of complications from eye cancer in a hospital in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt on December 1, 2006. She was 58. Jade was born Claude Jorre in Dijon, France, on October 8, 1948. She appeared on stage and television in productions of Shakespeare’s Henry IV in 1967 when she came to the attention of celebrated director Francois Truffaut. He cast her as Christine Darbon in his 1968 film Stolen Kisses opposite Jean-Pierre Leaud. She and Leaud reprised their roles as a couple going through romance, marriage, and divorce in the subsequent films Bed and Board (1970) and Love on the Run (1979). Jade also appeared in the films The Return of Monte Cristo (1968) and The Witness (1969), and starred as Helena in a 1969 television production of Midsummer Night’s Dream. She starred as Rosette in the 1968 television series La Prunelle, and was Sylvie Massonneau in the 1969 series Les Oiseaux Rares. Jade co-starred with Jacques Brel in the 1969 film My Uncle Benjamin, and starred as Michele Picard in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1969 thriller Topaz. She was also
177 seen in the films Nijinsky: Unfinished Project (1970), The Boat on the Grass (1971), Hearth Fires (1972), Number One (1973), Home Sweet Home (1973), Forbidden Priests (1973), Special Killers (1974), Evil Pleasure (1975), Too Much Is Too Much (1975), Maitre Pygmalion (1975), The Choice (1976), A Spiral of Mist (1978), The Pawn (1978), Lenin in Paris (1980), Schools Falling Apart (1981), Teheran 43: Spy Ring (1981), Rendezvous in Paris (1982), A Captain’s Honor (1982), The Man Who Wasn’t There (1987), Honor Roll (1992), Bonsoir (1994), The Raft of the Medusa (1994), Drugs! (2000), La Rampe (2000), and A San Remo (2004). Jade also continued to appear frequently on French television, starring in productions of Mauregard (1970), Sheherazade (1971), La Mandragore (1972), Le Chateau Perdu (1973), Les Oiseaux de la Lune (1974), Antenne a Francis Perrin (1976), Mamie Rose (1976), Le Collectionneur des Cerveaux (1976), Ulysse est Revenu (1978), Fou Comme Francois (1979), The Island of 30 Coffins (1979), La Grotte aux Loups (1980), L’Interrogatoire (1981), Treize (1981), Lise and Laura (1982), Voglia di Volare (1984), A Girl in the Sunflowers (1984), Regulus 93 (1998), Le Grand Secret (1989), L’Eternite Devant Soi (1990), The Window (1990), Fleur Bleue (1990), Eugenie Grandet (1994), Porte Disparu (1995), and Sans Familie (2000). She also starred as Anna Chantreuil in the series The Tide of Life from 1992 to 2000, and guest-starred in episodes of The Hitchhiker, Jules Lescaut, Navarro, Inspecteur Moretti, Une Femme d’Honneur, La Crim, and Groupe Flag. She made her final performance on stage in a production of Rampal’s Celimene and the Cardinal in Paris earlier in the year.
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Welk Show. Jagiello moved to Miami in the 1960s where he opened a small polka bar. His best known song was recorded in 1982, “God Bless Our Polish Pope,” a tribute to Pope John Paul II that he performed for the pontiff at the Vatican two years later.
Walter Jagiello
JAMES, ERIC Composer and pianist Eric James, who worked with comedian Charlie Chaplin for two decades, died in Whitby, Ontario, Canada, on March 28, 2006. He was 92. James was born Eric James Barker in London on August 11, 1913. He began playing the piano as a child and worked as an accompanist to silent films while in his teens. He performed with Larry Adler and Elsie Carlisle as an accompanist in the 1930s, and formed a piano duet with George Myddleton after serving in the Royal Air Force during World War II. He also worked in films as a vocal coach beginning with 1949’s Trottie True with Jean Kent. James began working with Charlie Chaplin in 1956 after recording a piano solo for the film A King in New York. Chaplin was impressed with James’ work and invited him to work on scores for the comedian’s silent films. Working with Chaplin’s ideas, James began a twenty year association with the comic genius, composing scores to such classic films as The Kid, The Pilgrim, A Woman of Paris, Shoulder Arms, and A Dog’s Life. James also conducted the West End production of Oliver! in 1960, and served as vocal coach on such films as Too Hot to Handle (1960) with Jayne Mansfield and Fiddler on the Roof (1971). He continued to work with Chaplin
Claude Jade
JAGIELLO, WALTER Polka musician Walter Jagiello, who was known as “Li’l Wally the Polka King,” died of heart failure in Miami Beach, Florida, on August 17, 2006. He was 76. Jagiello was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 1, 1930. He began playing in polka bands at the age of 10, and formed his own band in 1944. He recorded with several labels before starting his own, Jay Jay Records, in 1951. He had a hit single with 1954’s “I Wish I Was Single Again,” and other hits included “Polish Polka Twist” and the Chicago baseball team’s theme song, “Let’s Go Go Go White Sox.” He also made an appearance on television’s The Lawrence
Eric James (right, with Charles Chaplin)
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until the comic’s death in 1977. He subsequently created a stage production, A Tribute to Charlie Chaplin, that he performed with his second wife, singer Phyllis O’Reilly, throughout Great Britain. James moved to Canada in the late 1980s, where he continued his association with Chaplin’s legacy by providing piano accompaniment to many of his comedy shorts for TV Ontario in the early 1990s. His memoir, Making Music with Charlie Chaplin, was published in 2000.
August 8, 1928. He began his career on the New York stage as an actor, and also began writing and directing plays in the mid–1950s. James directed such productions as Sophisticated Ladies and James Baldwin’s The Amen Corner. As an actor, James appeared in the 1967 film Who’s Minding the Mint?, and was featured in an episode of television’s Dr. Kildare. He also wrote for such series as Bewitched, Julia, The Bill Cosby Show, Police Story, and The Courtship of Eddie’s Father.
JAMES, JERRY Actor Jerry James died in Palm Desert, California, on April 10, 2006. He was 95. James was born on November 27, 1910. He began his career in small supporting roles in the mid–1930s, appearing in such films as One in a Million (1936), Thin Ice (1937), Ship Ahoy (1942), Dixie (1943), Let’s Face It (1943), Here Come the Waves (1944), Practically Yours (1944), The Affairs of Susan (1945), Boogie Woogie (1945), You Came Along (1945), The Lost Weekend (1945), The Stork Club (1945), Miss Susie Slagle’s (1946), Naughty Nanette (1946), The Blue Dahlia (1946), College Queen (1946), O.S.S. (1946), Blue Skies (1946), Ladies’s Man (1947), Blaze of Noon (1947), Welcome Stranger (1947), The Trouble with Women (1947), The Perils of Pauline (1947), Variety Girl (1947), Unconquered (1947), The Big Clock (1948), The Emperor Waltz (1948), Hazard (1948), Dream Girl (1948), Gypsy Holiday (1948), A Foreign Affair (1948), Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948), Alias Nick Beal (1949), The Great Gatsby (1949), Chicago Deadline (1949), The File on Thelma Jordon (1950), Where Danger Lives (1950), Union Station (1950), Let’s Dance (1950), Branded (1950), Mr. Music (1950), Appointment with Danger (1951), His Kind of Woman (1951), Here Comes the Groom (1951), Submarine Command (1951), My Favorite Spy (1951), Sailor Beware (1952), Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick (1952), Carrie (1952), The Turning Point (1952), Off Limits (1953), Pony Express (1953), Houdini (1953), The Caddy (1953), The War of the Worlds (1953), The Flight That Disappeared (1961), A House Is Not a Home (1964), Roustabout (1964), Hello, Dolly! (1969), and Psychic Killer (1975).
J AMRY , Z OFIA Polish actress Zofia Jamry died in Warsaw, Poland, on December 29, 2006. She was 88. Jamry was born in Poland on February 27, 1918. She was a leading performer on stage and screen in Poland from the 1940s, appearing in such films as Forbidden Songs (1947), Matter to Be Settled (1953), The Bus Leaves at 6:20 (1954), Balthazar’s Feast (1954), A Generation (1955), Goodbye to the Past (1961), Samson (1961), The Art of Loving (1963), The Last Days of Peace (1963), The Marriage of Convenience (1967), Paris–Warsaw Without Visa (1967), From Nowhere to Nowhere (1975), Doctor Judym (1976), and Diabelskie Szczescie (1985). She was also featured in the 1979 television mini-series Strachy, and the 1998 television series Slawa i Chwala.
Zofia Jamry
JAMES, LUTHER Actor and television writer Luther James died in Los Angeles on February 5, 2006. He was 77. James was born in Harlem, New York, on
JANSON, GENE Actor Gene Janson collapsed on stage from a heart attack in Chicago performing in
Luther James
Gene Janson
179 a production of The Best Man on October 4, 2006. He was rushed to a hospital where he died several hours later. He was 72. Janson was born on September 20, 1934. He was a leading performer on the local Chicago stage for over forty years. He was also seen in several films during his career including The Blues Brothers (1980) as part of the redneck band The Good Ole Boys, The Kill Reflex (1989), Blink (1994), While You Were Sleeping (1995), My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997), Road to Perdition (2002), the 2003 tele-film Normal, and Oceans 12 (2005). His other television credits include episodes of Early Edition, The Untouchables, Lady Blue, Against the Mob, and Unsolved Mysteries.
JANUARY, LOIS Actress Lois January, who was featured as the Emerald City salon operator who sings to Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease on August 7, 2006. She was 93. January was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on October 5, 1912. She was featured in numerous films in the 1930s, advancing from minor roles to leading lady status in a handful of westerns. Her film credits include By Candlelight (1933), School for Romance (1934), Glamour (1934), Let’s Be Ritzy (1934), The Black Cat (1934), Stars in the Making (1934), Susie’s Affairs (1934), Let’s Talk It Over (1934), The Love Captive (1934), Tripping Through the Tropics (1934), The Human Side (1934), Embarrassing Moments (1934), the serial Tailspin Tommy (1934), Life Returns (1935), Arizona Bad Man (1935), Night Life of the Gods (1935), Stolen Harmony (1935), Do Your Stuff (1935), Society Fever (1935), The Affair of Susan (1935), Splendor (1935), Skull and Crown (1935), The Pace That Kills (aka Cocaine Fiends) (1935), Border Caballero (1936), Lightnin’ Bill Carson (1936), Rogue of the Range (1936), One Rainy Afternoon (1936), Easy to Take (1936), Flying Hostess (1936), The Roaming Cowboy (1937), Lightnin’ Crandall (1937), Bar-Z Bad Men (1937), The Trusted Outlaw (1937), Red Rope (1937), Moonlight on the Range (1937), Courage of the West (1937), and The Wizard of Oz (1939). January worked for NBC radio during World War II as the Revelry Girl, bringing GIs the morning news. Her acting credits were sparse after the war, appearing in the films Breakfast in Hollywood (1946) and The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (1961), and the
2006 • Obituaries
tele-film My Darling Daughters’ Anniversary (1973). She also guest-starred in episodes of My Three Sons, Marcus Welby, M.D., and Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Her final performance was in the 1987 tele-film Double Agent.
JARDINE, DON Professional wrestler Don Jardine, who often competed under a mask as the villainous Spoiler or Super Destroyer, died on December 16, 2006, after a long battle with leukemia. He was 66. Jardine was born in New Brunswick, Canada, in 1940. He began wrestling in the late 1950s, competing under the name Babyface Jardine. He was also known in the ring as Sonny Cooper. He wrestled in Los Angeles in 1964 with a beard and black glove under the monicker the Butcher Jardine. He first donned the mask of the Spoiler in 1967, and teamed with Gary Hart to hold the World Class American Tag Team Title in Texas in late 1967. He again held the tag belts, teaming with Smasher Sloan as the Spoilers and managed by Hart, in 1968. He also held the World Class Championship in Texas in April of 1968. He teamed with Buddy Wolfe as the Spoilers to hold the U.S. Tag Team Title in Oklahoma in 1971, and again held the World Class title in early 1972. He was unmasked in Texas by Billy “Red” Lyons and Red Bastein, but continued to wrestle under the mask as the Spoiler. Managed by Gary Hart, he held the NWA Georgia title several times in 1975 and 1976. Jardine competed as the masked Super Destroyer in the AWA from 1977 to 1978. He held the NWA Florida Title, and the NWA Florida Tag Team Title, teaming with Bobby Duncum as the Spoilers, in 1978. He returned to Texas to reclaim the World Class Title in mid–1979. The Spoiler captured the NWA National Title several times in 1984 before leaving for the WWF. He held the WWF National Title in 1984 prior to leaving the promotion and retiring from the ring. He was a promoter for several wrestling shows in the 1990s before retiring to Alberta, Canada.
Don Jardine (as the Masked Spoiler)
Lois January (from The Wizard of Oz)
JAY, TONY Veteran character actor and voice performer Tony Jay died in a Los Angeles hospital of complications following surgery to remove a noncancerous tumor from his lungs on August 13, 2006. He was 73. Jay was born on February 2, 1933. He per-
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formed frequently in films and television from the early 1970s. His many film credits include Lied in My Hart (1970), The Winners (1973), Woody Allen’s Love and Death (1975), The Greek Tycoon (1978), Time Bandits (1981) as the voice of the supreme being, Little Dorrit (1988), Twins (1988), My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988), Beasties (1991), and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) as the narrator. Jay was also featured in the tele-films Fall of Eagles (1974) as Czar Alexander III, Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens (1981), Circus (1988), Rainbow Drive (1990), Absolute Strangers (1991), Dynasty: The Reunion (1991), Fugitive Nights: Dangers in the Desert (1993), To Serve and Protect (1999), and The Gene Pool (2001). Jay starred as the villain Paracelcus in the television fantasy romance Beauty and the Beast from 1988 to 1989, and was Dougie Milford in David Lynch’s off-beat crime drama Twin Peaks in 1990 and 1991. He was featured in the recurring role of Nigel St. John in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman from 1993 to 1995. His other television credits include episodes of The Sweeney, The XYY Man, The Professionals, Escape, Whoops Apocalypse, The Agatha Christie Hour, Dempsey and Makepeace, The Golden Girls, Hunter, Mr. Belvedere, The New Lassie, Newhart, Christe Cromwell, Matlock, Murphy Brown, Eerie, Indiana, Night Court, Sisters, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., Picket Fences, The Burning Zone, and Providence, Jay was also well known for his voiceover work in numerous productions. He narrated the English language version of the 1984 Japanese animated film Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds in 2004, and was the voice of Alf in the 1990 animated series Peter Pan and the Pirates. He voiced Shere Khan in the TaleSpin cartoon series in the early 1990s, and was Monsieur D’Arque in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast in 1991. He was the voice of the Cow in the 1994 animated version of Thumbelina, and was the voice of Galactus in The Fantastic Four animated series in 1994 and 1995. He starred as the voice of the villain Frollo in Disney’s animated The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1996. He also voiced roles in such animated productions as Darkwing Duck (1991), Rugrats (1992), Tom and Jerry: The Movie (1992), Mighty Max (1993), 2 Stupid Dogs (1993), Skeleton Warriors (1994), Scooby-Doo in Arabian Nights (1994), The Tick (1994) as the villain Chairface Chippendale, Duckman (1994), Gargoyles (1995), The Savage Dragon (1996), Bruno the Kid (1996) as Jarlsburg, Siegfried & Roy: Masters of the Impossible (1996), All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (1996), Superman: The Last Son of Krypton (1996), Mighty Ducks (1996), Spider-Man (1996) as Baron Mordo, Mighty Ducks the Movie: The First Face-Off (1997), Extreme Ghostbusters (1997), ReBoot (1998) as Megabyte, An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island (1998), The Rugrats Movie (1998) as Dr. Lipschitz, Invasion America (1998) as the Dragit, Xbere 9: New Dawn (1999), Hey Arnold (1999), Mickey Mouse Works (1999), Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000) as Dr. Animus, House of Mouse (2001), Recess: School’s Out (2001), Lloyd in Space (2001), ReBoot: My Two Bobs (2001), Treasure Planet (2002), The Jungle Book 2 (2003), Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Kids (2003), Rugrats Go Wild (2003), Detroit Docona
(2004), and Teen Titans Go! (2004). Jay also narrated the television productions of Civil War Combat: The Wheatfield at Gettysburg (1999) and Civil War Combat: America’s Bloodiest Battles (1999), and was a voice performer for numerous video games.
Tony Jay
JAYNE, JENNIFER British leading actress Jennifer Jayne died in London on April 23, 2006. She was 74. Jayne was born in Yorkshire, England, on November 14, 1931. She began her film career in the late 1940s, appearing in such features as Once a Jolly Swagman (1948), The Blue Lamp (1950), There Is Another Sun (1951), The Black Widow (1951), It’s a Grand Life (1953), A Yank in Ermine (1955), A Woman of Mystery (1958), The Man Who Wouldn’t Talk (1958), Mark of the Phoenix (1958), the 1958 cult horror classic The Crawling Eye (aka The Trollenberg Terror), The End of the Line (1959), Raising the Wind (1961), Band of Thieves (1962), On the Beat (1962), Clash by Night (1964), The Liquidator (1965), the horror anthology classic Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965), Hysteria (1965), and the 1967 science fiction film They Came from Beyond Space. She also appeared frequently on television from the 1950s, guest-starring in episodes of The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, The New Adventures of Martin Kane, Sword of Freedom, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Ivanhoe, White Hunter, William Tell, Dial 999, The Scarf, The Vise,
Jennifer Jayne
181 The Invisible Man, Garry Halliday, Whiplash, Danger Man, Richard the Lionheart, Dixon of Dock Green, The Saint, Riviera Police, The Man in Room 17, Adam Adamant Lives!, The Wednesday Play, Man in a Suitcase, Detective, and Z Cars. Jayne also scripted several horror films under the name Jay Fairbank in the 1970s including Tales That Witness Madness (1973) and Son of Dracula (1974). She continued to make occasional character performances in such films as The Medusa Touch (1978), The Jigsaw Man (1983), and The Doctor and the Devils (1985) before retiring from the screen.
JENKINS, JOHNNY Rock guitarist and songwriter Johnny Jenkins died in a Macon, Georgia, hospital on June 26, 2006. He was 67. Jenkins was born in Macon on March 5, 1939. He became noted for his left handed, upside down guitar playing in the 1960s and had a regional hit, “Love Twist,” in 1962. He was soon performing with such acts as Booker T & The MGs and Otis Redding. Jenkins recorded the 1970s album Ton Ton Macoute!, which included the popular song “Walk on Gilded Splinters.” He left the music scene for over two decades, before recording the album Blessed Blues in 1996. His final album, All in Good Time, was released in 2003.
2006 • Obituaries
Jensen was born in Denmark on December 8, 1921. She was featured in several films including Uncle to Six (1966), Der var Engang (1966), and Elvira Madigan (1967). She also appeared frequently on Danish television, and was a regular performer on the series I Ret Og 2 Vrang from the late 1960s.
JENSEN , DICK Hawaiian performer Dick Jensen, who was known as “the Giant,” died of Lou Gehrig’s disease in Hawaii on June 21, 2006. He was 64. Jensen was born on April 19, 1942. He began his career as a singer billed as Lance Curtis. He recorded several albums in the 1970s, including such songs as “Going Up on the Mountain” and “Honolulu Girl.” Jensen later appeared on television in the tele-film The Islander (1978), and in several episodes of Magnum P.I. and Island Son.
Dick Jensen (right, with Don Ho)
JENSEN , CLEO Danish actress and entertainer Cleo Jensen died on March 7, 2006. She was 84.
JERINIC, BRANISLAV Serbian actor Branislav Jerinic died of cancer in Belgrade, Serbia, on June 27, 2006. He was 74. Jerinic was born in Kragujevac, Serbia (then Yugoslavia), on March 20, 1932. He was active in films in Yugoslavia from the late 1950s, appearing in SS Strike at Dawn (1958), Mars na Drinu (1964), Three (1965), Bokseri idu u Raj (1967), The Master and Margaret (1972), Savamala (1982), Lazar (1984), Sta Radis Veceras (1988), Seobe (1989), Bolje od Bekstva (1993), Natasha (2001), and 1 na 1 (2002). Jerinic also
Cleo Jensen
Branislav Jerinic
Johnny Jenkins
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appeared frequently on television in such productions as Gorski Car (1968), Zanati (1968), Podvala (1969), Deset Zapovesti (1970), Servant (1973), Potomak (1974), Zivotopis (1980), Banjica (1984), Quo Vadis? (1985), Vuk Karadzic (1987), Boljui Zivot (1987), Konak (1991), Znakovi (1995), Gore Dole (1996), and Majstor (2002).
JISSOJI , AKIO Japanese film and television director Akio Jissoji, who was best known for directing the science fiction Ultraman series from the 1960s, died of stomach cancer in Tokyo on November 29, 2006. He was 69. Jissoji was born in Tokyo on March 29, 1937. He began working at Tokyo Broadcasting System in the late 1950s, becoming director in 1961. He began his association with special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya in 1965, working on the Ultraman and Seven television series. He left Tokyo Broadcasting in 1969 to form an independent production company, where he directed the 1970 feature film This Transient Life. He continued to direct such films as Mandara (1971), Asaki Yumemishi (1974), and Utamaro’s World (1977). He directed the 1979 feature film version of Ultraman, and helmed Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis after nearly a decade away from films in 1988. He continued to work in the science fiction field, directing Ultra Q: The Movie in 1990. He began helming a series of erotic mysteries, many based on the work of writer Edogawa Rampo, including La Valuse (1990), A Watcher in the Attic (1994), Murder on D Street (1997), and Rampo Noir (2005). He also directed the 2005 mystery Summer of Ubume. His final film was a feature version of his 1971 science fiction series Silver Mask (aka Silver Kamen), set for release later in 2006.
les area. Johnson was also heard on soundtracks for films beginning with 1959’s Al Capone. He utilized his tuba to announce the shark’s arrival in John Williams’ score for Jaws and also played on numerous other soundtracks including The Godfather, The Star Trek film series, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Lion King, Titanic and The Thin Red Line.
Tommy Johnson
JOHNSTON, JUSTINE Actress Justine Johnston died of a stroke in a West Hollywood hospital on January 13, 2006. She was 84. Johnston was born in Evanston, Illinois, on June 13, 1921. She was a prolific stage actress in a career that lasted over sixty years. She appeared in numerous Broadway productions including Stephen Sondheim’s Follies, Molly, Me and My Girl, The Pajama Game, and Irene. She also performed in numerous touring productions including A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Lend Me a Tenor. Johnston also appeared in several films during her career including Arthur (1981) as Aunt Pearl, Nine ∂ Weeks (1986), Fatal Attraction (1987), Running on Empty (1988), Eye for an Eye (1996), Bogus (1996), The Duke (1999), and The New Guy (2002). She also appeared on television in episodes of Seinfeld and Mr. Rhodes.
Akio Jissoji
JOHNSON , TOMMY Tuba player Tommy Johnson, who was best known for the ominous opening notes for the shark’s theme in Steven Speilberg’s watery thriller Jaws, died of complications of cancer and kidney failure at a Los Angeles hospital on October 16, 2006. He was 71. Johnson was born in Los Angeles on January 7, 1935. He graduated from the University of Southern California in 1956 with a degree in music. He was a music teacher for many years and also performed with numerous ensembles in the Los Ange-
Justine Johnston
183 JONES , CHUCK Voice and acting coach Chuck Jones died of heart failure at his home in Kingston, New York, on August 14, 2006. He was 65. Jones was born in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, on June 17, 1941. He appeared in numerous stage productions from the early 1960s through the mid–1970s in London and New York. He worked with numerous actors as a voice coach including William Hurt, Holly Hunter, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Wesley Snipes, Parker Posey, Keanu Reeves, Marisa Tomei, Stanley Tucci, and Edie Falco. He was also the author of the book Make Your Voice Heard.
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Fancy Meeting You Again (1952), Mister Johnson (1956), The Moon Besieged (1962), More Stately Mansions (1967), All God’s Chillun Got Wings (1975), Death of a Salesman (1975), Unexpected Guests (1977), The Gospel at Colonus (1988), and Mule Bone (1991). Jones’ acting career was interrupted in the 1950s when his refusal to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee resulted in his being blacklisted. He resumed acting in films and television later in the decade. Jones’ other film credits include Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), Wild River (1960), Terror in the City (1964), One Potato, Two Potato (1964), Mississippi Summer (1971), The Sting (1973) as Luther Coleman, Cockfighter (1974), Proof of the Man (1977), Cold River (1982), Trading Places (1983), Sleepaway Camp (1983), Billions for Boris (1984), The Cotton Club (1984), Witness (1985), Starlight: A Musical Movie (1988), Maniac Cop 2 (1990), and Rain Without Thunder (1992). He was also featured in television productions of The Displaced Person (1977), The Sophisticated Gents (1981), and The Gospel at Colonus (1985), and guest starred in episodes of The Defenders, Kojak, and Lou Grant.
Chuck Jones
JONES, GLORIA Gloria Jones, the wife of acclaimed author James Jones, died of a heart attack at her home in Sagaponack, New York, on June 9, 2005. She was 78. She was born Gloria Mosolino in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, on June 6, 1928. A graduate of Syracuse University, she went to Hollywood in the 1950s where she was stand-in for Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch and Eva Marie Saint in On the Waterfront. Jones also danced with Arthur Murray on his television show before marrying James Jones, the author of the bestselling novel From Here to Eternity in 1957. She and her husband moved to Paris in 1959 where they were leading figures in the city’s social circuit until his death in 1974. Jones and her husband were central figures in an autobiographical novel written by their daughter, Kaylie Jones. The book was adapted to film in 1998 as A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries, starring Barbara Hershey as Gloria. JONES, ROBERT EARL Stage and film actor Robert Earl Jones, who was best known as the father of actor James Earl Jones, died at the Lillian Booth Actors’ Home in Englewood, New Jersey, on September 7, 2006. He was 96. Jones was born in Coldwater, Mississippi, on February 3, 1910. He worked as a sharecropper and boxer before embarking on a career as an actor in New York City. He began his stage career at Langston Hughes’ Harlem Suitcase Theatre. He was featured in several films including Lying Lips (1939) and The Notorious Elinor Lee (1940, and appeared on Broadway in such productions as The Hasty Heart (1945), Set My People Free (1948), Caesar and Cleopatra (1949),
Robert Earl Jones
JONES-MORELAND, BETSY Actress Betsy Jones-Moreland died of cancer in El Monte, California, after a long illness on May 1, 2006. She was 76. Jones-Moreland was born in Brooklyn, New York, on April 1, 1930. She began her acting career in New York, where she was featured in the Broadway production of The Solid Gold Cadillac. She subsequently went to Hollywood with the touring company, and appeared in small roles in several films including The Eddy Duchin Story (1956), The Garment Jungle (1957), The Brothers Rico (1957), Day of the Outlaw (1959), and Strangers When We Meet (1960). Jones-Moreland was best known for her roles in several cult films by director Roger Corman including The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent (1957), Last Woman on Earth (1960), and Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961). She was also seen on television in episodes of Studio One, Zane Grey Theater, M Squad, Perry Mason, Alcoa Theatre, General Electric Theater, Philip Marlowe, The Man from Blackhawk, Michael Shayne, Have Gun —Will Travel, Route 66 in the memorable episode “Lizard’s Leg and Owlet’s Wing” opposite hor-
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ror icons Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, Jr., and Peter Lorre, McHale’s Navy, Dr. Kildare, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, My Favorite Martian, The Outer Limits, The Greatest Show on Earth, My Three Sons, Profiles in Courage, Flipper, Ben Casey, The Donna Reed Show, Judd for the Defense, Ironside, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The Young Lawyers, The Bold Ones: The Lawyers, The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, Bridget Loves Bernie, Toma, and Gibbsville. Jones-Moreland was also seen in the films The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (1967), The Hindenburg (1975), Gable and Lombard (1976), The Last Tycoon (1976), and Joni (1980). Her final performances were as Judge Elinor Harrelson in several Perry Mason tele-films in the early 1990s including Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer (1990), Perry Mason: The Case of the Ruthless Reporter (1991), Perry Mason: The Case of the Maligned Mobster (1991), Perry Mason: The Case of the Glass Coffin (1991), Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Framing (1992), Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal (1993), and Perry Mason: The Case of the Telltale Talk Show Host (1993). Jones-Moreland was very active in animal rescue work in recent years.
as Dia de Muertos (1960), Dante no es Unicamente Severo (1967), Numax Presenta... (1979), El Encargo del Cazador (1990), A Body in the Woods (1996), Monkeys Like Becky (1999), De Nens (2004), and Veinte Anos no es Nada (2004). Jorda also appeared as an actor in such films as Sonatas (1959), Bahia de Palma (1962), The Happy Sixties (1963), Each Time That... (1968), Biotaxia (1968), the television mini-series Cristobal Colon (1968), Love and Other Solitudes (1969), and La Purificacion Excremental (2004). He was the writer of many other films including Liberxina 90 (1970), The People Who Own the Dark (1976), I Want to Be a Woman (1977), The Old Music (1985), The Way They Were (1987), Lute: Forge on or Die (1987), El Lute II (1988), Blanca Madison (1998), Pau and His Brother (2001), and Carmen (2003).
JORDAN, ALAN Actor and stuntman Alan Jordan died in Miami, Florida, on June 8, 2006. He was 57. Jordan was born on December 13, 1948. A black belt in karate, he performed stunt work in several films including Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back (1996), Fled (1996), and The Crew (2000). He also worked on the HBO television series Deadwood.
Betsy Jones-Moreland
JORDA, JOAQUIM Spanish actor, director and writer Joaquim Jorda died of liver and pancreatic cancer in Barcelona, Spain, on June 23, 2006. He was 70. Jorda was born in Santa Coloma de Farners, Spain, on August 9, 1935. He wrote and directed such films
JORDAN , ARMIN Swiss conductor Armin Jordan died in Geneva, Switzerland, on September 20,
Joaquim Jorda
Armin Jordan
Alan Jordan
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2006. He was 74. He had collapsed during a performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges there several days earlier. Jordan was born in Lucerne, Switzerland, on April 9, 1932. He began his career in music in 1961 as music director for the state theatre in Biel, Switzerland. He also conducted for the Zurich Opera before beginning a 20-year career at the Theater Basel as music director. He was also conductor of the Orchestra de la Suisse Romande and Geneva’s Grand Theatre, which he led in productions of Don Giovanni, Cosi Fan Tutte, and La Boheme. Jordan was also noted for conducting the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra in Hans-Jurgen Syberberg’s film version of Wagner’s opera Parsifal in 1981.
JORDAN, DUKE Jazz pianist Duke Jordan died in Valby, Denmark, on August 8, 2006. He was 84. He was born Irving Sidney Jordan in New York City on April 1, 1922. He began playing piano in big bands in the early 1940s. He was considered one of the great pioneer bepop pianists, and often teamed with saxophonist Charlie Parker in the 1940s. They made several recordings together including “Embraceable You” and “Crazeology.” He also worked with bands led by Coleman Hawkins, Sonny Stitt, and Stan Getz through the early 1950s. Jordan also composed such tunes as “Jor-du” and “No Problem.” His career suffered as a result of his addiction to heroin in the 1960s. He kicked the habit in the 1970s and moved to Denmark, where he resumed performing and leading bands.
Manohar Shyam Joshi
served as the inspiration for Evelyn Waugh’s novel Vile Bodies, died at Leixlip Castle, the Irish estate of her sister’s son-in-law, on February 18, 2006. She was 102. Jungman was born in England to Dutch artist Nico Jungman and his wife, Beatrice, on September 13, 1903. After her mother’s divorce from her father and remarriage to Richard Guinness, the family became host to various members of the English aristocracy and art scene. Zita and her younger sister, Teresa, who was known as Baby, became leading members of the their social set that included the likes of photographer Cecil Beaton, artist Ambrose McEvoy, author Evelyn Waugh, and Sacheverell Sitwell. They were noted for their madcap parties and antics, including elaborate scavenger hunts. The sisters’ flamboyant lifestyles in their youth were recorded in Waugh’s first novel, Vile Bodies, in 1930 which included many of their circle as characters. She was briefly married to wealthy landowner Arthur James from 1929 to 1932. During World War II, Zita served the war effort by driving a Polish ambulance in France. After the war she and her sister, who had also married and divorced, took up residence together, and lived quietly for the next sixty years.
Duke Jordan
JOSHI, MANOHAR SHYAM Indian writer and journalist Manohar Shyam Joshi died of acute respiratory failure and cardiac arrest in New Delhi, India, on March 30, 2006. He was 73. Joshi was a leading Hindi writer who was best known for creating India’s first television soap opera Hum Log (aka We the People) in 1982. Joshi also wrote the films Destination (1979), Bhrashtachar (1989), Limited Manuski (1995), and Hey Ram (2000), and the television drama’s Foundation (1987) and Mungeri Laql’s Beautiful Dreams (1995). JUNGMAN, ZITA British socialite and muse Zita Jungman, who, with her younger sister, was a leader of the original “Bright Young Things” who
Zita Jungman (right, with sister Teresa, in portrait by Cecil Beaton)
JUNKIN, JOHN British character actor and comedian John Junkin died of lung cancer in a British hospital on March 7, 2006. He was 76. Junkin was
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born in London, England, on January 29, 1930. He was a schoolteacher before he began writing comedy scripts for radio. He began acting in the early 1960s, appearing in roles on The Benny Hill Show, The Goodies, and Marty. Junkin’s film credits include Doctor in Love (1960), The Brain (1962), The Break (1963), The Wrong Arm of the Law (1963), Heavens Above! (1963), The Pumpkin Eater (1964), the 1964 Beatles film A Hard Day’s Night as Shakes, Agent 8∫ (1964), The Sandwich Man (1966), The Wrong Box (1966), Kaleidoscope (1966), Doctor in Clover (1966), The Plank (1967), How I Won the War (1967), Simon Simon (1970), Confessions of a Driving Instructor (1976), Wombling Free (1977), Confessions from a Holiday Camp (1977), Rosie Dixon — Night Nurse (1978), Brass Target (1978), The Summer (1979), Licensed to Love and Kill (1979), A Handful of Dust (1988), Jade (1988), Chicago Joe and the Showgirl (1990), The Girl from Rio (2001), and The Football Factory (2004). Junkin worked frequently in television as an actor and writer. He was seen in such productions as Ghost Squad, Suspense, Till Death Us Do Part, R3, Sykes and A..., Dixon of Dock Green, Redcap, Watch the Birdies, The Blackpool Show, Public Eye, The Troubleshooters, The Dark Number, Sam and Janet, Hooray for Laughter, The Avengers, George and the Dragon, Thingumybob, Thirty-Minute Theatre, Up Pompeii, Marty Amok, Catweazle, The Closed Shop, On the House, The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine, Jason King, Scoop, The View from Daniel Pike, The Adventures of Black Beauty, Five Red Herrings, Looking for Clancy, The Rough with the Smooth, Raffles, Softly Softly, Hello Cheeky, The Howerd Confessions, Z Cars, Out, The Sweeney, Only When I Laugh, The Ravelled Thread, Rushton’s Illustrated, Dick Turpin, Terry and June, Smuggler, Juliet Bravo, The Professionals, Sharon and Elsie, Blott on the Landscape, Sorry!, All Creatures Great and Small, Mr. Bean, Inspector Morse, Law and Disorder, The Bill, The Thing About Vince, The Sins, and Holby City. He starred as Bill Fielding in Coronation Street in 1981, and was the mysterious stranger Ernie in EastEnders from 2001 to 2002.
Maria del Rocio Trinidad Mohedano Jurado in Chipiona, Spain, on September 18, 1944. She began performing while in her teens, and became noted for her songs that blended such traditional Spanish music forms as flamenco, folk and romantic ballads. She also performed and recorded often in South America and the United States. Jurado was also featured in several films during her career including Los Guerrilleros (1963), Proceso a Una Estrella (1966), En Andalucia Nacio el Amor (1966), Lola the Coal Girl (1969), Una Chica casi Decente (1971), The Mistress (1976), and La Losa se va a los Puertos (1993). She recorded five platinum records and nearly 30 gold records during her career.
Rocio Jurado
KAA , WI KUKI Veteran Maori actor Wi Kuki Kaa died in Wellington, New Zealand, on February 19, 2006. He was 67. Kaa was born in New Zealand on December 16, 1938. He was active in films and television in Australia and New Zealand from the early 1970s, appearing in episodes of Homicide, Spyforce, and Silent Number. He was also featured in the films UTU (1983), The Bounty (1984) as King Tynah, Kingpin (1985), Ngati (1987), Linda’s Body (1990), Te Rua (1991), Turangawaewae (2002), and River Queen (2005). He also appeared in television productions of Worzel Gummidge Down Under (1986) and Louis
John Junkin
JURADO, ROCIO Spanish actress and singer Rocio Jurado died of pancreatic cancer in a Madrid hospital on June 1, 2006. She was 61. Jurado was born
Wi Kuki Kaa
187 L’Amour’s The Diamond of Jeru (2001), and an episode of The Strip.
KACHEL, ROGER Roger Kachel, who appeared in numerous performances of the hit Broadway musical Cats, died in Florida on April 5, 2006. He was 44. Kachel was born in Minnesota on May 29, 1961. He played many of the parts in Cats, but was primarily performed the role of Mungojerrie on Broadway and in touring productions. He also appeared on Broadway in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Starlight Express, and was featured in touring productions of Sesame Street Live and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, where he often performed as Leonardo. Kachel also appeared as a dancer in small roles in the films Tuff Turf (1985) and Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985).
Roger Kachel (right, from Cats)
KADISON, LUBA Yiddish actress Luba Kadison died at her home in Manhattan on May 4, 2006. She was 99. She was born in Kovno (now Kaunas), Lithuania, on December 14, 1906. She began her career on the Yiddish stage while a child. She went with her family to the capital of Vilnius during World War I, where her father, Leib Kadison, founded the Vilna Troupe. Luba played small roles in productions with the theater before taking over the lead role in the popular supernatural drama The Dybbuk. She accompanied the Vilna Troupe to Warsaw, Poland, where she
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met and married actor Joseph Buloff in 1923 after costarring in the folk tale Yoshke Muzicant. She and Buloff relocated to the United States in the late 1920s, where they joined the Yiddish Art Theater in New York. She appeared in numerous roles with the theater over the next three decades, notably Sholem Asch’s God of Vengeance and I.S. Singer’s Brothers Ashkenazi. She also starred in a Yiddish production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. She and Buloff remained married until the actor’s death in 1985.
KAISER, SISSI Swedish actress Sissi Kaiser died in Sweden on March 3, 2006. She was 81. Kaiser was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on September 10, 1924. She performed frequently on the Swedish stage and appeared in such films as To Kill a Child (1953), The Bread of Love (1953), Girls Without Rooms (1956), Sceningang (1956), Brink of Life (1958), The War Is Over (1966), Resan (1967), The Sinning Urge (1967), Inga: I, a Virgin (1968), The Office Party (1972), Sex in Sweden (1977), The Walls of Freedom (1978), Peas and Whiskers (1986), Kronvittnet (1989), Freud’s Leaving Home (1991), and Jenny (1996). KALO, FLORIAN Hungarian actor Florian Kalo died in Budapest, Hungary, on February 28, 2006. He was 73. Kalo was born in Budapest on June 15, 1932. He began his career on stage, appearing with the National Theatre in Szeged, Hungary. He joined the Attila Jozsef Theatre in Budapest in the early 1960s. Kalo also appeared in numerous Hungarian films during his career including Young Noszty and Mary Toth (1960), The Obsessed Ones (1961), Dialogue (1963), Balvany (1963), Lanyarcok Tukorben (1973), and Csalo az Uvegheg yen (1976). He also wrote plays for stage and radio including A Story of Our Times (1976), Four at Midnight (1976), and Indecent Stories (1980).
Florian Kalo
Luba Kadison
KAMMERMAN, ROY Television writer Roy Kammerman died in Los Angeles on February 21, 2006. He was 89. Kammerman was born on July 28, 1916. He wrote for radio and scripted comedy material for the game shows Two for the Money with Herb Shiner and Who Do You Trust with Johnny Carson. He scripted episodes of numerous sit-coms in the 1960s and 1970s including Gilligan’s Island, The Patty Duke Show, Fam-
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ily Affair, The Flying Nun, Temperatures Rising, Lots of Luck, Alice, Love American Style, A New Kind of Family, and Fish, which he also produced.
KANE, GEORGE Actor George Kane died on June 13, 2006. He was 79. Kane was born on June 26, 1926. He appeared frequently on television from the late 1950s in such series as Studio One, Naked City, Dr. Kildare, Thriller, Bus Stop, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Perry Mason, and Wagon Train. He was featured in a small role in the 1957 film The Burglar, and starred as Link Morrison in the daytime soap opera Love of Life from 1969 to 1970. KASBIAN, HOSSIEN Iranian actor Hossien Kasbian died in Teheran, Iran, on May 4, 2006. He was 72. He was a leading film star in Iran from the 1970s. Kasbian was featured in the films Prince Ehtejab (1974), Tall Shadows of the Wind (1979), Madar (1991), and Smell of Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine (2000).
2006. He was 96. Katims was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 24, 1909. He began his musical career as a violist, performing under Arturo Toscanini with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. He also performed as a guest artist with the Budapest String Quartet. He gave the debut performance of Morton Gould’s Viola Concerto in 1952. After a stint as assistant conductor with the NBC Orchestra, Katims became musical director of the Seattle Symphony in 1954. He served in that position for over two decades, leaving in a conflict with the orchestra board in 1976. He spent the next eight years as artist director of the University of Houston’s School of Music. He and his wife, cellist Virginia Peterson Katims, authored the memoir, The Pleasure Was Ours.
Milton Katims
Hossien Kasbian
KASHDAN , GEORGE Comic book writer and editor George Kashdan died in Los Angeles of complications from a stroke on June 3, 2006. He was 78. Kashdan was born on May 17, 1928. He began his career working at DC in 1946, where he scripted episodes of such series as Green Arrow, Congo Bill, Mysto Magician Detective, and Johnny Quick. Kashdan also wrote, and often edited, such titles as House of Mystery, House of Secrets, Secrets of Haunted House, Tales of the Unexpected, G.I. Combat, Aquaman, Teen Titans, Metamorpho, Ghosts, Bomba, the Jungle Boy, Weird War Tales, Hawkman, and Rip Hunter, Time Master. He also served as editor of Blackhawk, where he transformed the war heroes into superheroes in a short-lived experiment in the mid–1960s. Kashdan was also a writer for The Mighty Hercules animated series in 1963, and wrote episodes of the Filmation cartoons The New Adventures of Superman and The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure. He left DC in 1968, moving to Gold Key. He continued to work in comics, writing for such titles as Star Trek, Flash Gordon, Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery, Grimm’s Ghost Stories, and Twilight Zone. KATIMS, MILTON Conductor Milton Katims died in Shoreline, Washington, on February 27,
KATSULAS, ANDREAS Character actor Andreas Katsulas, who starred as the alien Narn ambassador, G’Kar, on the science fiction series Babylon 5, died of lung cancer in Los Angeles on February 13, 2006. He was 59. Katsulas was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on May 18, 1946. He studied theater at Indiana University and began his career on stage in local productions in St. Louis and Boston. He made his film debut in the late 1980s, appearing in such features as Milo-Milo (1979), Ragtime (1981), Nothing Lasts Forever (1984), Agent on Ice (1986), Ridley Scott’s Someone to Watch
Andreas Katsulas (as the alien G’Kar from Babylon 5)
189 Over Me (1987) as Joey Venza, The Sicilian (1987), Blake Edwards’ Sunset (1988), Next of Kin (1989), Communion (1989), Write to Kill (1990), True Identity (1991), Blame It on the Bellboy (1992), Painted Desert (1993), New York Cop (1993), Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993), The Fugitive (1993) as the one-armed killer Frederick Sykes, Executive Decision (1996), Jane Austen’s Mafia! (1998), and A Piece of Eden (2000). He was also seen in numerous tele-films including A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1982) as Snout, King of America (1982), A Very Delicate Matter (1982), Steal the Sky (1988), The Neon Empire (1989), The Death of the Incredible Hulk (1990), Murder Times Seven (1990), Seduction: Three Tales from the Inner Sanctum (1992), and Path to Paradise: The Untold Story of the World Trade Center Bombing (1997). Katsulas’ other television credits include guest roles in such series as Max Headroom in the recurring role of Mr. Bartlett, The Equalizer, Houston Knights, Father Dowling Mysteries, Alien Nation, Jake and the Fatman, Mancuso, FBI, Hunter, Murder, She Wrote, Diagnosis Murder, Millennium, and NYPD Blue. He starred as the reptilian alien G’Kar for five seasons on Babylon 5 beginning in 1993, and reprised his role in several subsequent tele-films including Babylon 5: In the Beginning (1998) and Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers: To Live and Die in Starlight (2002). He also appeared in several episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation as the Romulan Commander Tomalak from the late 1980s. Katsulas also appeared as a Vissian Captain in an episode of the most recent Star Trek series Enterprise in 2003.
KAYE , CAROL British actress and singer Carol Kaye died of cancer in Brighton, East Sussex, England, on August 22, 2006. She was 75. Kaye was born Carol Lindsey in Oldham, England, on December 4, 1930. She was part of the popular singing group The Kaye Sisters in the late 1950s, whose hit recordings included “Paper Roses” and “Gotta Have Something in the Bank Frank.” The Kaye Sisters continued to perform together through the late 1970s, appearing on such television programs as Morecambe and Wise. Carol Kaye began appearing on television as an actress in the early 1980s. She was featured as Maureen Slater in Coronation Street in 1983 and was Miriam Ransome
Carol Kaye
2006 • Obituaries
in Albion Market in 1985. She was also featured in episodes of The Bill and Heartbeat. She reunited with the Kaye Sisters in 1988 for a tour, and they continued to appear together regularly until 1999.
KAYE, MILTON Pianist and composer Milton Kaye died of pneumonia in a New York City hospital on August 14, 2006. He was 97. Kaye was born Milton Jay Katz in Brooklyn, New York, on June 22, 1909. He became interested in music at an early age and was playing concerts by the age of eight. He worked at New York radio stations WOR and WQXR as an announcer and piano player. He soon became a member of Arturo Toscanini’s NBC Symphony of the Air. He performed accompaniment to violinist Jascha Heifetz on a tour to entertain troops during World War II. Kaye began working frequently in television in the 1950s, playing music for the children’s programs Big Top and The Rootie Kazootie Show. He also wrote the theme and served as musical director for the television game show Concentration. His survivors include his wife, actress Shannon Bolin, who starred in the musical Damn Yankees on Broadway and film.
Milton Kaye
KELLEY, NORMAN Operatic tenor Norman Kelley died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in Rockland, Massachusetts on September 4, 2006. He was 95. Kelley was in Eddington, Maine on August 27,
Norman Kelley
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1911. He performed on the radio program Fort Bragg Salutes America while serving in the military during World War II. After the war, he continued his career in music appearing in New York with the San Carlo Opera in La Traviata. Kelley performed often with the New York City Opera in the 1950s and 1960s. He starred in the premiere of Good Soldier Schweik in 1958. He made his Broadway debut in Gian Carlo Menotti’s musical Maria Golovin and performed the role of the mime in Wagner’s Ring cycle trilogy at the Metropolitan Opera in 1957. He was best known for his performance in Hansel and Gretel in the 1960s and 1970s.
KELLY, EMMETT, JR. Emmett Kelly, Jr., who followed in the footsteps of his famous father to become a clown, died of complication from pneumonia in a hospital near his home in Tombstone, Arizona, on November 29, 2006. He was 83. Kelly was born in Dyersburg, Tennessee, on November 24, 1923, the son of Emmett and Eva Mae Kelly. He travelled often with the circus and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He tried several occupations before deciding to take up the family business, making his debut as a clown in 1960. He adopted makeup similar to his father’s famed Weary Willie character. He performed at circuses and fairs throughout the country, appeared in television commercials and magazine advertisements, and visited children at thousands of hospitals. Kelly settled in Tombstone in 1980, but continued to make appearances as a clown until poor health forced his retirement in 2005.
John Kelly (in drag as Joni Mitchell from Wigstock)
KENNEDY, CALUM Singer Calum Kennedy died of complications from a stroke in Aberdine, Scotland, on April 15, 2006. He was 77. Kennedy was born in Orosay, Isle of Lewis, on June 2, 1928. He began singing professionally in the 1950s and was noted for his Gaelic ballads. He won the World Ballad Championship in Moscow in 1957. He returned to Scotland to embark on a popular recording career, singing such tunes as “The Whistling Gypsy,” “Amazing Grace,” “Lovely Stornoway,” and “Donald Where’s Yer Troosers?” Kennedy also was a popular performer on Scottish television and was known as “The King of the Highlands.” The kilted singer hosted his own variety series Calum’s Celidh and Round at Calum’s. Poor health and the death of his wife in the early 1970s led to his semi-retirement. Though he occasionally continued to perform, his popularity never again reached its previous heights.
Emmett Kelly, Jr.
KELLY, JOHN Actor and photographer John Kelly was killed in a traffic accident in St. Petersburg, Florida, on February 9, 2006, when the taxi he was driving was struck by another car. He was 53. Kelly began working as a photographer in the late 1970s in New York. He later moved to Florida, where he appeared in roles in such independent features as Wigstock: The Movie (1995), Cater-Waiter (1996), Central Park (1997), The Plunge (2003), Fields of Mudan (2004), and Natalie and Leonard (2004). He also gueststarred in episodes of several television series including House and the Crumbs pilot.
Calum Kennedy
KENNEDY, KERRY Playwright and screenwriter Kerry Kennedy died of lung cancer in Little Rock, Arkansas, on February 6, 2006. He was 56. Kennedy was born in England, Arkansas, on January 3, 1950. She began her career as a dancer, performing on the stage in Arkansas and in Dallas, Texas. After appearing in the touring production of A Chorus Line, she settled in New York City to write plays. Her works include The Riding Club, War Play, Amnestia, and No
191 Time for Poets. Kennedy also scripted the 1997 tele-film Hope directed by Goldie Hawn, and 2000’s Baby starring Farrah Fawcett.
KENNEY, MART Canadian band leader Mart Kenney died of complications as Alzheimer’s disease in a retirement home in Mission, British Columbia, Canada, on February 8, 2006. He was 95. Kenney was born in Tweed, Ontario, Canada, on March 7, 1910. He began his career in 1931, leading the band Mart and the Western Gentlemen. They performed at venues throughout Canada and became the first Canadian band to record for RCA in 1938. He composed the patriotic song “We’re Proud of Canada” in 1946 and opened his own nightclub, The Ranch, in Woodbridge, Ontario, later in the year. Kenney attempted to retire in 1968 but was persuaded to return to the bandstand over the next 30 years. He was married to his band’s lead singer, Norma Locke, until her death in 1990.
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Lyons to record his first album in 1975. He formed his own band and led Willie Kent and the Gents from the 1980s, and continued to perform and record until his death.
KHAN, BISMILLAH Indian musician Bismillah Khan died of a heart attack in a Varanasi, India, hospital on August 21, 2006. He was 90. Khan was born in Bihar, India, on March 21, 1916. He learned to play the shehnai, an Indian woodwind instrument similar to the oboe, from his uncle. He came to prominence in 1937 when he gave a recital at the All-India Music Conference in Calcutta. He became one of India’s best known musicians and he performed at the ceremony celebrating the country’s independence in the late 1940s. He recorded often for EMI India, including a popular duet with sitar player Vilayat Khan. He also performed in several films including The Music Room (1958) and The Call of the Shehnai (1959). He overcame a fear of flying to perform at the Edinburgh Festival in Great Britain in 1965, and made his first tour of the United States in 1967. He became a leading international performer at venues throughout the world. In his later years, he retired to Varanasi where he trained students. He was granted the Indian Government’s highest award, the Bharat Ratna, in 2001.
Mart Kenney (with his band)
KENT, WILLIE
Bismillah Khan
Blues bassist Willie Kent died of cancer at his home in Chicago, Illinois, on March 2, 2006. He was 70. Kent was born in Inverness, Mississippi, on February 24, 1936. He moved to Chicago as a teen, where he began singing and playing music at local clubs in 1952. He was an accomplished bass player by the 1960s, playing in bands led by Jimmy Dawkins and Hip Linkchain. He teamed with Willie James
KHAN, TIGER Marlon Kalkai, who wrestled in independent promotions as Tiger Khan, was found dead in Los Angeles, where he apparently died in his sleep, on June 25, 2006. He was 33. Kalkai was born in New York City on October 22, 1972. He began his career in the ring at the age of 17 in New Jersey and was soon wrestling in the Northeast with the UCW. He
Willie Kent
Tiger Khan
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became Tiger Mahatma Khan while competing in Canada’s Stampede promotion. He wrestled in venues throughout the world and was training at the WCW Power Plant in 2001 when that promotion’s sale to the WWE ended his career.
KHATIB, MAGDA EL Egyptian actress Magda El Khatib died of kidney failure and acute lung infection in Cairo, Egypt, on November 17, 2006. She was 63. She was a leading figure in Egyptian films from the 1960s, appearing in such features as The Girls in Summer (1960), Kasr El Shawk (1967), Kandil om Hashem (1968), Adrift on the Nile (1971), The Delicious Killing (1997), Silence ... We’re Rolling (2001), and Alexandria ... New York (2004). She was also featured as Queen Nazli in the 1999 television mini-series Om Kulthumn.
the Little Dippers in 1960, “Open Up Your Heart” for Buck Owens in 1966, and Conway Twitty’s “I May Never Get to Heaven” in 1979. As a producer he was instrumental in launching the careers of such stars as Dolly Parton and Bill Anderson. Killen appeared as Rev. Disney in the 1985 film Alamo Bay, and was featured in a cameo role in the 1994 tele-film Following Her Heart. Killen sold Tree in 1989 and subsequently formed his own company, The Killen Music Group.
KIMBALL, NARVIN Jazz singer and banjo player Narvin Kimball died at his daughters’ home in Charleston, South Carolina, on March 17, 2006. He was 97. Kimball was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on March 2, 1909, the son of jazz bassist Henry Kimball. Narvin began performing as a child and played with the Fate Marable band on Mississippi riverboats in the 1920s. He also performed often with clarinettist Willie Humphrey and made his first recording with Columbia Records in 1928. Working as a postman during the day, Kimball played with his band, the Gentlemen of Jazz, at Preservation Hall in the evenings in New Orleans. He continued to perform and record until a series of strokes ended his banjo playing in 1999. Kimball left New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and moved in with his daughters in Charleston.
Magda El Khatib
KILLEN, BUDDY Songwriter and record producer Buddy Killen died of pancreatic cancer in Nashville, Tennessee, on November 1, 2006. He was 73. Killen was born in Florence, Alabama, on November 13, 1932. He began his career as a bass player with the Grand Ole Opry and toured with such country musicians as Eddy Arnold and Hank Williams, Sr. He joined with Jack Stapp to help create the music publishing firm Tree International in 1951. Killen wrote hundreds of songs including such hits as “Forever” for
Buddy Killen
Narvin Kimball
KIMBROUGH, JOHN Texas A&M football player and film star John Kimbrough died of complications from pneumonia in Haskell, Texas, on May 8, 2006. He was 87. Kimbrough was born in Haskell on June 14, 1918. Known as Jarrin’ John Kimbrough, the Haskell Hurricane, when he was fullback for Texas A&M in 1939 and 1940, he placed second in the balloting for the Heisman Trophy in 1940. He played professional football for several seasons before making his film debut, starring in two westerns, Sundown Jim (1942) and Lone Star Ranger (1942) as Buck Duane. Kimbrough served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He later served a term in the Texas Legislature from 1953 to 1955. (See photograph on page 193.) KIM IL Kim Il, one of South Korea’s leading wrestlers, died of heart failure in a Seoul, South Korea, hospital on October 26, 2006. He was 77. Kim was
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ter’s death in 1980. King also ran with Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, and appeared with them in several films including Sergeants 3 (1962) and Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964). He remained a Vegas performer for over fifty years until his death.
John Kimbrough
born in Jeollanam-do, South Korea, on February 24, 1929. He travelled to Japan in 1958, where he began training under Rikidozan. He wrestled his first match under the name Kintaro Ohki in November of 1959 and competed against such competitors as Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba. He returned to Korea after the death of Rikidozan in 1963, where he was instrumental in increasing the popularity of professional wrestling in his home country. He returned to Japan several years later where he continued to compete. Kim Il also wrestled in the United States, holding the WWA Title in Los Angeles in May of 1967. He teamed with Mr. Moto to hold the WWA Tag Team Title in 1967. He competed in Japan and South Korea throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, when he largely retired from the ring.
Sonny King
KIO, IGOR Russian magician Igor Kio died in a Moscow hospital after a brief illness on August 30, 2006. He was 62. Kio was born to a circus family and began performing at an early age. His father, magician Emil Kio, taught him many of his tricks. The younger Kio performed with the State Circus for many years. He was briefly married for nine days to Galina Brezhnev, the daughter of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Kio left the State Circus in the late 1980s but continued to perform throughout Russia. He also appeared frequently on Russian television, hosting the annual New Year’s Eve program during the 1980s.
Kim Il
KING, SONNY Comedian Sonny King died of throat cancer in Las Vegas on February 3, 2006. He was 83. King was born Luigi Antonio Schiavone in Brooklyn, New York, on April 1, 1922. He began his career as a singer and emcee in New Jersey while in his teens. He was a close friend to singer Dean Martin and introduced him to comedian Jerry Lewis in the 1940s. The three formed a trio called The Three Lads before Martin and Lewis went on to fame as a duo. King was also a long-time sidekick to comic Jimmy Durante, and was a fixture on the Vegas nightclub scene from the 1950s. He and Durante remained a team until the lat-
Igor Kio
KIRBY, BRUNO Character actor Bruno Kirby died of complications from leukemia in Los Angeles on August 14, 2006. He was 57. He was born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu, Jr., in New York City on April 28, 1949. His father was also an actor who was billed as Bruce Kirby. The younger Kirby trained as an actor in New York under Peggy Feury and Stella Adler. He made his film debut in the 1971 feature The Young
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Graduates, and appeared as Richard Castellano’s son in the short-lived comedy television series The Super in 1972. Kirby also appeared in the pilot episode of M*A*S*H in 1972, and guest starred in episodes of Room 222, Emergency!, Kojak, Delvecchio, and Detective School. He was also featured in the tele-films All My Darling Daughters (1972), Columbo: By Dawn’s Early Light (1974), and Some Kind of Miracle (1979). Kirby also became a familiar face in films, appearing in The Harrad Experiment (1973), Superdad (1973), and Cinderella Liberty (1973). He starred as the Young Clemenaza in The Godfather: Part II in 1974, a character that had been portrayed by Richard Castellano, Kirby’s television father, in the first Godfather film. Kirby’s subsequent film credits include Baby Blue Marine (1976), Between the Lines (1977), Almost Summer (1978), Cruising (1980), Where the Buffalo Roam (1980), Borderline (1980), Modern Romance (1981), Kiss My Grits (1982), This Is Spinal Tap (1984) as chauffeur Tommy Pischedda, Birdy (1984), Flesh & Blood (1985), Tin Men (1987), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Bert Rigby, You’re a Fool (1989), When Harry Met Sally... (1989) as Billy Crystal’s best friend Jess, We’re No Angels (1989), The Freshman (1990), City Slickers (1991) as dude rancher Ed Furillo, Hoffa (1992), Golden Gate (1994), The Basketball Diaries (1995), Heavenzapoppin’! (1996), Sleepers (1996), Donnie Brasco (1997), A Slipping-Down Life (1997), History Is Made at Night (1999), the animated Stuart Little (1999) as the villainous mouse Mr. Reggie Stout, One Eyed King (2001), Waiting for Ronald (2003), The Trailer (2003), and Played (2006). Kirby starred as Brad Brillnick in the television comedy series It’s Garry Shandling’s Show in the late 1980s, and appeared regularly in Shandling’s subsequent series The Larry Sanders Show in the 1990s. Kirby was also featured in the tele-films Million Dollar Infield (1982), Frank Nitti: The Enforcer (1988), Mastergate (1992), The Show Formerly Known as the Martin Short Show (1995), American Tragedy (2000), and Helter Skelter (2004) as Charles Manson’s prosecutor, Vincent Bugliosi. Kirby’s other television credits include episodes of Likely Stories, Fame, Hill Street Blues, Buchanan High, Tales from the Crypt, Fallen Angels, Frasier, Homicide: Life on the Street, Mad About You, The Jury, and Entourage.
KIRK, PHYLLIS
leading lady who was menaced by Vincent Price in the 1953 horror classic House of Wax, died of a post cerebral aneurysm at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, on October 19, 2006. She was 79. She was born Phyllis Kirkegaard in Plainfield, New Jersey, on September 18, 1927. She began her career on stage in New York while in her teens after shortening her last name to Kirk. She moved to Hollywood in the late 1940s, where she made her film debut. She was featured in such films as Our Very Own (1950), A Life of Her Own (1950), Two Weeks with Love (1950), Mrs. O’Malley and Mr. Malone (1950), Three Guys Named Mike (1951), Just This Once (1952), About Face (1952), The Iron Mistress (1952), Stop, You’re Killing Me (1952), House of Wax (1953), Thunder Over the Plains (1953), Crime Wave (1954), River Beat (1954), Canyon Crossroads (1955), Johnny Concho (1956) with Frank Sinatra, Back from Eternity (1956), The Woman Opposite (1957), and The Sad Sack (1957) with Jerry Lewis. Kirk also appeared frequently on television during the 1950s, performing regularly on the variety series The Red Buttons Show in 1955, and hosting the ABC talk show The Young Set. She also starred as Nora Charles in the television version of The Thin Man opposite Peter Lawford in the late 1950s. Kirk also gueststarred in such series as The Philco Television Playhouse, Tales of Tomorrow, Armstrong Circle Theater, The United States Steel Hour, Lux Video Theatre, Suspense, Justice, Your Show of Shows, Goodyear Playhouse, The Web, Appointment with Adventure, Playwrights ’56, The Loretta Young Show, Studio One, Schlitz Playhouse of the Stars, Celebrity Playhouse, Climax!, Playhouse 90, Errol Flynn Theater, Robert Montgomery Presents, The Ford Television Theatre, The 20th Century Fox Hour, Zane Grey Theater, and The Twilight Zone. Kirk largely retired from acting in the early 1960s, making her final television appearances in episodes of The Name of the Game and The F.B.I. later in the decade. She was active in social causes for most of her life and embarked on a career in public relations after abandoning acting.
Phyllis Kirk, the dark-haired
Phyllis Kirk
Bruno Kirby
KIRKLAND, DENNIS British television producer and director Dennis Kirkland, who was best known for his lengthy association with comic Benny
195 Hill, died in London after a long illness on February 16, 2006. He was 63. Kirkland was born in North Shields, Northumberland, England, on December 2, 1942. He began working in television as a prop man at Tyne Tees Television in the early 1960s. He worked at Thames TV as a floor manager from 1968s, and was soon directing such series as Rainbow, The Tomorrow People, and What’s on Next? He took over producing and directing The Benny Hill Show in the early 1980s after working on the show as a floor manager for nearly a decade. He became one of Hill’s closest friends and was a staunch defender of the erratic and sometimes controversial comedian. He remained with The Benny Hill Show until Thames TV cancelled the series in 1988. It was Kirkland who found Hill dead from a heart attack at his small flat in the spring of 1992. The eccentric comedian was sitting in a comfy chair in front of two television sets and surrounded by bags of uncashed checks and money. Kirkland wrote a biography of the comic the following year entitled The Strange and Saucy World of Benny Hill.
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Men and War, Part Two (1971), Catastrophe 1999: The Prophecies of Nostradamus (aka The Last Days of Planet Earth (1974) as the narrator of the Japanese version, The Clan of Dog-God Household (1976), Utamaro’s World (1977), Japanese Godfather: Ambition (1977), Hell (1979), Toward the Terra (1980), For My Daughter’s 7th Birthday (1982), Detective Story (1983), High Society of Meiji (1986), The Sea and Poison (1986), Actress (1987), Sure Death Revenge (1987), Princess from the Moon (1987), Crane (1988), Rikyu (1989), Heaven and Earth (1990), Zodiac Killers (1991), Noh Mask Murders (1991), Fusa (1993), The 8-Tomb Village (1996), To Love (1997), Alley Cat (2000), Chloe (2001), Vengeance for Sale (2001), Genji: A Thousand-Year Love (2001), Snowy Love Fall in Spring (2005), Under the Same Moon (2005), and Wool 100% (2006). Kishida was also a leading voice actress, providing voices and narration for such animated series as Lone Wolf and Cub and Princess Tutu.
Kyoko Kishida Dennis Kirkland
KISHIDA, KYOKO Japanese actress Kyoko Kishida died of respiratory failure as a result of a brain tumor in Japan on December 17, 2006. She was 76. She was born in Tokyo on April 29, 1930, the daughter of playwright and novelist Kunio Kishida. She was a popular performer in Japanese films from the late 1950s whose many credits include A Daring Man (1958), Season of the Witch (1958), Temptation on Glamour Island (1959), The Twilight Story (1960), Younger Brother (1960), Get ’Em All (1960), A Soldier’s Prayer (1961), Ten Dark Women (1961), The Diplomat’s Mission (1961), Challenge to Live (1961), The Outcast (1962), Tears on the Lion’s Mane (1962), Being Two Isn’t Easy (1962), An Autumn Afternoon (1962), Band of Assassins (1962), Bushido (1963), The Husband Witnessed (1964), Good Morning, My Baby (1964), Brand of Evil (1964), and All Mixed Up (1964). Kishida starred in the acclaimed 1964 film Woman of the Dunes in the title role of a young woman held captive by villagers in a pit who must harvest sand for them. She continued to appear in such films as School for Sex (1965), The Scoundrel (1965), I Have a Stranger’s Face (1966), The Time of Reckoning (1968), Vixen (1969), Men and War (1970),
KLOTZ, FLORENCE Costume designer Florence Klotz, who earned six Tony Awards during her lengthy career on Broadway, died of heart failure in her Manhattan, New York, home on November 1, 2006. She was 86. Klotz was born Kathrina Klotz on October 28, 1920. She began her career in 1951 as an assistant to designer Irene Sharaff on the original production of The King and I. She remained a costume assistant for over a decade before serving as designer for
Florence Klotz
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the 1961 Broadway play A Call of Kuprin. She designed for over sixty Broadway productions and received the Tony Award for her work on Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Grind, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and the 1995 revival of Show Boat. Klotz also designed costumes for the 1970 film Something for Everyone and received and Academy Award nomination for her work on the 1977 film version of A Little Night Music.
Associates, Soap, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Matlock, and Silk Stalkings.
KNAPP, DAVID Actor David Knapp died of renal failure in Los Angeles on February 10, 2006. He was 67. Knapp was born in San Diego, California, on September 25, 1938. He appeared in films from the early 1960s including Parrish (1961), The Pledgemasters (1971) which he also scripted, It’s My Party (1996), and Home the Horror Story (2000). He was also featured in the tele-films Something Evil (1972) and Terror on the Beach (1973), also serving as an associate producer. He also starred as Desmond Hamilton in the television soap opera Lovers and Friends (aka For Richer, for Poorer) from 1977 to 1978. His other television credits include the tele-films Who Is the Black Dahlia? (1975), Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway (1976), and Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women (1978), and episodes of Marcus Welby, M.D., The Bob Newhart Show, The Invisible Man, Matt Helm, Kojak, McMillan and Wife, Wonder Woman, The Love Boat, Starsky and Hutch, Taxi, The
KNEALE, NIGEL British television writer Nigel Kneale, who was best known for creating the science fiction hero Professor Bernard Quatermass in a series of tele-plays in the 1950s, died in London, England, on October 29, 2006. He was 84. Kneale was born in Barrow-in-Furness, England, on April 28, 1922. He began writing in the 1940s and his first collection, Tomato Cain and Other Stories, was published in 1949. He soon began working in television, where he scripted the science fiction thriller The Quatermass Experiment for the BBC in 1953. Kneale also wrote a 1953 television adaptation of Wuthering Heights, and adapted George Orwell’s futuristic novel 1984 in 1954. His other tele-plays include Number Three (1953), The Moment of Truth (1955), and The Creature (1955). The Quatermass Experiment was adapted for a feature film at Hammer Studios in 1955, starring Brian Donleavy as Professor Bernard Quatermass. It was released in the United States as The Creeping Unknown. A sequel written by Kneale, Quatermass II, was aired on the BBC in 1955, and also became the film known as Enemy from Space in 1957. Kneale’s earlier television tale The Creature also became the film The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas starring Peter Cushing and Forrest Tucker in 1957. A third tele-play in the Quatermass series, Quatermass and the Pit, aired on the BBC in 1958. Kneale scripted the subsequent film version, known as Five Million Years to Earth, in 1967, with Sir John Mills starring as Quatermass. He also wrote the television productions Mrs. Wickens in the Fall (1957), Wuthering Heights (1962), The Road (1963), The Crunch (1964), The Year of the Sex Olympics (1968), Wine of India (1970), The Chopper (1971), The Stone Tape (1972), Against the Crowd: Murrain (1975), and Kinvig (1981). Kneale also wrote several films, adapting John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger (1958), and scripting The Entertainer (1960), Damn the Defiant! (1962), First Men in the Moon (1964), and The Devil’s Own (aka The Witches) (1966). He returned to the character of Bernard Quatermass with the 1979 television production Quatermass starring Andrew Keir, which was edited into a feature film version, The Quatermass Con-
David Knapp
Nigel Kneale
KLURFELD, H ERMAN Herman Klurfeld, who worked for decades as a ghost writer for gossip columnist Walter Winchell, died of a heart arrhythmia at his home in Boca Raton, Florida, on December 18, 2006. He was 90. Klurfeld was born in the Bronx, New York, on August 30, 1916. He began his career writing gags for newspaper columnists. He began working with Winchell in August of 1936, creating one-liners for the powerful columnist. He also wrote copy for Winchell’s radio broadcast. He worked with Winchell until 1965 when the columnist dismissed him as newspaper business decreased. Klurfeld continued to write and authored his memoirs Winchell: His Life and Times in 1976. The book was made into a tele-film by HBO in 1998, and starred Stanley Tucci as Winchell and Paul Giamatti as Klurfeld.
197 clusion. Kneale scripted the 1982 horror film Halloween III: Season of the Witch for John Carpenter, but was unhappy with the final product and had his name removed from the credits. He also scripted the film Gentry (1987), and the television productions The Woman in Black (1989), Stanley and the Women (1991), and Sharpe’s Gold (1995). His other television credits include episodes of Unnatural Causes and Kavanagh QC.
KNIGHT , MALCOLM British child actor turned theatrical producer Malcolm Knight died in England of heart disease on November 15, 2006. He was 71. He was born Malcolm Zussman in London in 1935. He began his career as a child actor in such films as Passport to Pimlico (1949), The Woman’s Angle (1952), Devil on Horseback (1954), The Door in the Wall (1956), The Witness (1959), Too Young to Love (1960), Live Now — Pay Later (1962), The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962), The Rescue Squad (1963), and What a Crazy World (1963). He was also seen on British television in productions of George Orwell’s 1984 (1954) and Quatermass II (1955), and in episodes of The Scarlet Pimpernel, Dixon of Dock Green, Z Cars, and The Sweeney. He began Malcolm Knight Productions to produce touring theatrical productions in 1975. He produced, and sometimes directed, such musicals as Hair, Oh! What a Lovely War, Fings Ain’t Wot They Used t’Be, The Rocky Horror Show, West Side Story, and Grease. He retired from producing after a series of financial reversals in 1990. KNOTTS, DON Comic actor Don Knotts, who starred in the iconic role of bumbling Deputy Barney Fife on television’s The Andy Griffith Show, died of pulmonary and respiratory complications in a Winston-Salem, North Carolina, hospital on February 24, 2006. He was 81. Knotts was born in Morgantown, West Virginia, on July 21, 1924. He began his show business career while still in high school, performing as a ventriloquist at local venues. He studied speech at West Virginia University, then headed to New York City, where he took a job on the Western radio series Bobby Benson and the B-Bar-B Riders. He performed on the series for five years and also performed on the daytime soap opera Search for Tomorrow as Wilbur Peterson in the mid–1950s. Knotts became a popular television performer as a comic supporting actor on The Steve Allen Show in 1956, often appearing as the nervous Mr. Morrison. He made his film debut in the 1958 military comedy No Time for Sergeants, co-starring with Andy Griffith. He also appeared in episodes of The Bob Cummings Show and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis before gaining the role of Deputy Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show in 1960. His fumbling antics made him a focal point of the show, which became one of television’s most popular comedies and has remained a staple in reruns for decades. Knotts earned five Emmy Awards for his role as Fife, who was only allowed to carry a single bullet in his shirt pocket due to his ineptness. Knotts also appeared in small comic roles in several films in the early 1960s including Wake Me When It’s Over (1960), The Last Time I Saw Archie (1961), It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), and
2006 • Obituaries
Move Over, Darling (1963). He starred as meek sales clerk Henry Limpet who becomes an asset to the U.S. Navy after transforming into a fish in the partially animated 1964 film The Incredible Mr. Limpet. Knotts left The Andy Griffith Show after five seasons in 1965, but returned frequently as a guest star until the series left the air (as the nation’s Number One series) in 1968. He also returned for an episode of the follow-up series Mayberry R.F.D. entitled Andy and Helen Get Married in 1968. After leaving The Andy Griffith Show Knotts starred in a series of popular family comedy films, often playing incompetent characters who manage to make good in the end. His film credits include The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966), The Reluctant Astronaut (1967), The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968), The Love God? (1969), and How to Frame a Figg (1971). Knotts hosted the short-lived variety series The Don Knotts Show in 1970, and appeared in an episodes of The Bill Cosby Show and Here’s Lucy. He also was featured in the 1972 Hallmark Hall of Fame production of The Man Who Came to Dinner. He began a comic partnership with Tim Conway in the 1975 Disney western comedy The Apple Dumpling Gang, and reprised his role as Theodore Ogelvie in the 1979 sequel The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again. Knotts also appeared in the tele-film I Love a Mystery (1973), and the features No Deposit, No Return (1976), Gus (1976), Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977), Hot Lead and Cold Feet (1978), The Prize Fighter (1979), and The Private Eyes (1981). He joined the cast of the popular television comedy series Three’s Company as landlord Ralph Furley in 1979, and provided comic back-up to stars John Ritter, Joyce DeWitt, and Suzanne Somers over the next five years. He also appeared in the 1984 film Cannonball Run II, and guest-starred in episodes of Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, She’s the Sheriff, and Newhart. He returned to his roots as Barney Fife in the 1986 reunion film Return to Mayberry, and starred as Principal Bud McPherson in the short-lived comedy series What a Country in 1987. He was also a voice actor in the animated films The Little Troll Prince (1985), Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987), and Timmy’s Gift: Precious Moments Christmas (1991). He was reunited with Andy Griffith in the recurring role of Les Calhoun in Griffith’s mys-
Don Knotts (as Mayberry Deputy Barney Fife from The Andy Griffith Show)
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tery series Matlock in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was also seen in episodes of Step by Step, Burke’s Law, and the 1996 film Big Bully. Knotts starred as the magical television repairman who transforms life to a simpler time in the 1998 film Pleasantville, and was the Governor in the 2000 tele-film Quints. He was also a voice actor in productions of Jingle Bells (1999), Tom Sawyer (2000), and Hermie: A Common Caterpillar (2003) as Wormie. Knotts was also heard as the voice of Mayor Turkey Lurkey in the 2005 animated film Chicken Little.
KNOX-MAWER, JUNE British radio personality June Knox-Mawer died of cancer in England on April 19, 2006. She was 75. She was born June Ellis in Wresxham, England, on May 10, 1930. She worked for several years as a journalist before marrying Ronald Knox-Mawer in 1951. She accompanied him to Aden, where he served as Chief Magistrate, and wrote a travel diary of her experiences, The Sultans Came to Tea, in 1961. When he was transferred to Fiji, she recorded her impressions in the book A Gift of Islands in 1965. The Knox-Mawer returned to England in the early 1970s, and she became a popular broadcaster on the BBC. She hosted the program Woman’s Hour for many years, and presented many radio documentary programs. Her other literary endeavors include A South Sea Spell (1976), the romantic novel Sandstorm (1991) and 2004’s A Ram in the Well.
June Knox-Mawer
Harlan Knudson
He was 80. Knudson worked at Todd-AO during his forty year career. He earned three Academy Awards for Best Sound for his work on Cabaret (1972), The Exorcist (1973), and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1983). He was also nominated for Oscars for A Star Is Born (1976), Sorcerer (1977), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Hooper (1978), 1941 (1979), Empire of the Sun (1987), and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). His film credits also include A Separate Peace (1972), Electra Glide in Blue (1973), Save the Tiger (1973), Rhinoceros (1974), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Shampoo (1975), The Other Side of the Mountain (1975), The Return of a Man Called Horse (1976), Bound for Glory (1976), Airport ’77 (1977), Coming Home (1978), FM (1978), Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), Real Life (1979), Winter Kills (1979), Cruising (1980), Tom Horn (1980), Die Laughing (1980), The Blue Brothers (1980), Heaven’s Gate (1980), A Change of Seasons (1980), Thief (1981), Victory (1981), Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981), Barbarosa (1982), Partners (1982), The Escape Artist (1982), Young Doctors in Love (1982), An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Table for Five (1983), Blue Thunder (1983), Let’s Spend the Night Together (1983), Valley Girl (1983), Flashdance (1983), Trading Places (1983), The Lords of Discipline (1983), Deal of the Century (1983), Scarface (1983), Romancing the Stone (1984), The Karate Kid (1984), Falling in Love (1984), Witness (1985), Into the Night (1985), Twice in a Lifetime (1985), White Nights
KNUDSON, HARLAN Actor Harlan Knudson died in Scottsdale, Arizona, on January 27, 2006. He was 81. Knudson was born in Two Harbors, Minnesota, on October 29, 1924. He spent many years in Denver, Colorado, where he was featured in numerous theatrical productions. He also appeared in small roles in several films including The Brothers O’Toole (1973), The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (1976), and One on One (1977). Knudson was also seen in the tele-films I Want to Keep My Baby (1976) and The Disappearance of Aimee (1976), and in an episode of the western fantasy series Legend in 1995. KNUDSON , ROBERT “BUZZ ” Oscarwinning recording sound mixer Robert ‘Buzz’ Knudson died in Irmo, South Carolina, on January 21, 2006.
Robert “Buzz” Knudson
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(1985), Spies Like Us (1985), The Color Purple (1985), The Karate Kid, Part II (1986), Club Paradise (1986), Manhunter (1986), Three Amigos! (1986), Some Kind of Wonderful (1987), Roxanne (1987), Happy New Year (1987), Nuts (1987), She’s Having a Baby (1988), Beaches (1988), Major League (1989), Renegades (1989), The Karate Kid, Part III (1989), Sea of Love (1989), and Nonnie and Alex (1995).
KOBAYASHI, KYUZO Japanese film writer Kyuzo Kobayashi died of a cerebral infarction in Aoba, Japan, on September 1, 2006. He was 70. Kobayashi was born in Koga, Japan, on November 15, 1935. He was best known for scripting the Japanese horror films Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell (1968) and The Living Skeleton (1968). Kobayashi also appeared in a small role in the 1985 film Mishima A Life in Four Chapters. KOLBASIUK , KRZYSZTOF Polish actor Krzysztof Kolbasiuk died in Warsaw, Poland, on March 3, 2006. He was 53. Kolbasiuk was born in Szczecin, Poland, on September 17, 1952. He was active in Polish films and television productions from the mid– 1970s. Kolbasiuk was seen in the television series Daleko od Szosy (1976) and Dom, starring as Lukasz Zbozny from 1980 until 1982, and again from 1996 until 2000. He was also seen in the films Indebted to Death (1985), With Fire and Sword (1999), Pan Tadeusz: The Last Foray in Lithuania (1999), A Very Christmas Story (2000), Moja Angelika (2000), There and Back (2002), and Lowcy Skor (2003).
Dora Komar
was 49. Koutecky was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, on June 10, 1956. He attended Prague’s Academy of Performing Arts in the 1980s, and created numerous documentaries, short films, and animated films. He was best known for the 1994 award-winning animated short, The Sportsman. His other works include Drahy Mistre (1996), Az Na Veky (1998), and Hledaci Pevneho Bodu (2002).
Pavel Koutecky
KOVACS , BILL Academy Award–winning computer animation pioneer Bill Kovacs died of comKrzysztof Kolbasiuk
KOMAR, DORA Austrian opera singer and actress Dora Komar died in Lisbon, Portugal, on November 21, 2006. She was 92. Komar was born in Vienna, Austria, on April 18, 1914. She was a leading opera star in Vienna in the 1930s and 1940s. She also starred in several films including Operetta (1940), You Only You (1941), Carneval of Love (1943), Gluck Unterwegs (1944), and Young Girls of Vienna (1949). KOUTECKY, PAVEL Czech filmmaker Pavel Koutecky died in Prague, Czech Republic, on April 14, 2006, of injuries he suffered from a fall from a tall building in the Czech capital, where he was filming a documentary about a man who climbs building. He
Bill Kovacs
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plications of a stroke and cerebral hemorrhage at his home in Camarillo, California, on May 30, 2006. He was 56. Kovacs was born on October 25, 1949. In the late 1970s he joined the pioneer computer animation company Robert Abel and Associates, where he developed animation software. He and others utilized this software on Disney’s 1982 film Tron. He was cofounder of Wavefront Technologies in 1984, where he led the development of the Advanced Visualizer computer graphics system. This work earned him and Roy Hall the 1997 Academy Award for Scientific and Engineering.
KOZAKIEWICZ , JERZY Polish actor Jerzy Kozakiewicz died in Warsaw, Poland, on July 11, 2006. He was 77. Kozakiewicz was born in Poland on February 10, 1929. A stage and film actor from the 1950s, he was featured in such films as End of the Night (1957), Story of One Fighter (1958), The Eagle (1959), Knights of the Black Cross (1960), The Touch of the Night (1962), The First Day of Freedom (1964), Pingwin (1965), and The Manager (1986).
tions from the early 1980s. Krasko’s credits include The Useless Girl (1980), Breakthrough (1986), The Apostate (1987), Don Cesar de Bazan (1989), Gorod (1990), White Horse (1993), The Arrival of a Train (1995), Operation Happy New Year (1996), Brother (1997), Checkpoint (1998), American Bet (1998), Peculiarities of the National Fishing (1998), Sisters (2001), Chief of the Carousel (2002), The Kopeck (2002), Tycoon: A New Russian (2002), Sapiens (2004), 72 Meters (2004), Goddess: How I Felt in Love (2004), Turkish Gambit (2005), Brezhnev (2005), Blind Man’s Bluff (2005), The 9th Company (2005), Svolochi (2006), Piter FM (2006), and Leningrad (2006).
KRASNOFF, MARK Actor Mark Krasnoff was found dead in a New Orleans, Louisiana, park near the Mississippi River of an apparent suicide on September 17, 2006. He was 43. Krasnoff was born in New Orleans on March 21, 1963. He was a leading performer on the local stage from the early 1990s. Krasnoff also appeared in numerous films including Belizaire the Cajun (1986), Mutant Species (1995), Dirty Rice (1997), The P.A.C.K. (1997), The Countess of Baton Rouge (1998), The Badge (2002), Runaway Jury (2003), Acapulco Gold (2004), Les Etats-Unis d’Albert (2005), The Skeleton Key (2005), Shooting Gallery (2005), Little Chenier (2006), Glory Road (2006), Flakes (2006), and Solstice (2006). He was also seen in the tele-films Pop Rocks (2004), The Madam’s Family: The Truth About the Canal Street Brothel (2004), Search for David’s Heart (2004), Heartless (2005), and Oil Storm (2005). His other television credits include episodes of such series as The Big Easy, Orleans, Madame le Consul, and Thief.
Jerzy Kozakiewicz
KRASKO, ANDREI Russian actor Andrei Krasko died in Odessa, Ukraine, of heart failure on July 5, 2006. He was 48. Krasko was born in Leningrad, Soviet Union, on August 10, 1957. He was featured in numerous Russian films and television produc-
Mark Krasnoff
Andrei Krasko
KREUGER, KURT Swiss-German actor Kurt Kreuger, who was featured as Nazis in numerous World War II features in the 1940s, died of complications from a stroke in a Los Angeles hospital on July 12, 2006. He was 89. Kreuger was born in Michenberg, Germany, on July 23, 1916, and raised in St. Moritz, Switzerland. He was educated in London and at Columbia University, where he abandoned the study of medicine to take up acting. He began his career in films in 1940’s Mystery Sea Raider, billed as Knud Kreuger. The following year he made his Broadway debut in Maxwell Ander-
201 son’s Candle in the Wind, playing a German lieutenant. Often type-cast as a Nazi soldier during the war, Kreuger was also seen in the films Arise, My Love (1940), The Deadly Game (1941), A Yank in the R.A.F. (1941), The Purple V (1943), The Moon Is Down (1943), Edge of Darkness (1943), Hangmen Also Die (1943), Tonight We Raid Calais (1943), Action in the North Atlantic (1943), Background to Danger (1943), Secret Service in Darkest Africa (1943), The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler (1943), Sahara (1943), Mademoiselle Fifi (1944), None Shall Escape (1944), The Hitler Gang (1944), Hotel Berlin (1945), Escape in the Desert (1945), Christmas in Connecticut (1945), Paris Underground (1945), The Spider (1945), Sentimental Journey (1946), The Dark Corner (1946), Preston Sturges’ Unfaithfully Yours (1948) with Rex Harrison, and Spy Hunt (1950). He returned to Europe in the early 1950s where he appeared in several German films including Crown Jewels (1950), Herzen im Sturm (1951), Die Blaue Stunde (1953), and Roberto Rossellini’s Fear (1954) with Ingrid Bergman. He subsequently returned to Hollywood, where he resumed playing German officers on television and in occasional films. Kreuger’s films include The Enemy Below (1957), What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966), and The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (1967). He was also featured on television in episodes of Crusader, Navy Log, The Third Man, Five Fingers, Route 66, G.E. True, 77 Sunset Strip, Perry Mason, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Spy, Combat!, Twelve O’Clock High, Mission: Impossible, Wild Wild West, Get Smart, and Wonder Woman. He left acting in the early 1970s to concentrate on a career as a successful real estate investor.
2006 • Obituaries
cide (1964), Hit House (1965) which he also wrote and directed, Case of the 44’s (1965), Hunger (1966), Three Men in Search of a Troll (1967), The Dance of Death (1967), People Meet and Sweet Music Fills the Heart (1967), Jazz All Around (1969), The Only Way (1970), King Lear (1971), The Night Visitor (1971), Swedish Fly Girls (1971), The Missing Clerk (1971), The Woolen Stocking Peddler (1971), Oh, to Be on the Bandwagon! (1972), Danish Pastries (1973), Confessions of a Danish Cover Girl (1973), The Last Exploits of the Olsen Gang (1974), A Happy Divorce (1975), When Svante Disappeared (1975), The Goldcabbage Family (1975), That Brief Summer (1976), Ghost Train (1976), The Olsen Gang Sees Red (1976), The Goldcabbage Family Breaks the Bank (1976), and Did Somebody Laugh? Kristiansen also directed, wrote, and photographed the films Me and Charly (1978) and Charly & Steffen (1979). His later film credits and cinematographer include The Parallel Corpse (1982), Babette’s Feast (1987), A Day in October (1992), Royal Deceit (1994), Pan (1995), Karen Blixen — Storyteller (1995), and I Wonder Who’s Kissing You Now (1998).
Henning Kristiansen
KUMAR , RAJ Leading Indian actor Raj Kumar died of cardiac arrest in Bangalore, India, on April 12, 2006. He was 76. He was born Matturaju Singanlluru Puttaswamayya in Gajanur, India, on April 24, 1929. He made his film debut at the age of eight in
Kurt Kreuger
KRISTIANSEN, HENNING Danish cinematographer Henning Kristiansen died in Copenhagen, Denmark, on November 2, 2006. He was 79. Kristiansen was born in Denmark on July 2, 1927. He began working in films as an assistant cameraman in the mid–1940s. He moved up to director of photography soon after and worked on numerous films over the next four decades. Kristiansen served as cinematographer on such films as Hatten er Sat (1947), Lyn-Fotografen (1950), Adam and Eve (1953), The Musketeers (1961), A World of Strangers (1962), How About Us? (1963), The Girl and the Press Photographer (1963), School for Sui-
Raj Kumar (with his wife, Parvathamma)
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the late 1930s and became a leading actor in Kannadalanguage films, appearing in over 200 features. He made his film debut as an adult in 1954’s Hunter Kannappa under the name Rajkumar. His best known works include Sodari (1955), Bhukailasa (1956), Ranadheera Kanteerava (1960), Brave Person (1960), Sampoorna Ramayana (1961), The Stubborn Girl (1964), King Harishchandra: The Champion of Truth (1965), Shree Ram Bharat Milap (1965), Duty (1967), Amma (1968), Karulinakara (1970), Loafer (1973), Aasha (1980), Jeet Hamaari (1983), Wafadaar (1985), and Akasmika (1993). Kumar retired from the screen in the late 1990s, but made headlines in July of 2000 when he was kidnapped by the famous Indian criminal known as Veerappan. Kumar was held in captivity for several months in the dense forests of southern India before his release.
KUMARI, SANTHA Indian actress Santha Kumari died in Chennai, India, after a long illness on January 16, 2006. She was 85. Kumari was born in Prodduttur, Andhra Pradesh, India, on May 17, 1920. She was a popular actress and singer in Telugu and Tamil language films from the 1930s. Her film credits include Srikanta (1930), Heer Ranjha (1931), Drums of Love (1931), Shanta (1932), Haunted House (1932), Hatimtai (1933), Fairy of Punjab (1933), Comedy of Errors (1933), Easy Victim (1933), Saint Tulsidas (1934), Today or Tomorrow (1934), Sasirekha Parinayam (1936), Devout Jaidev (1938), Krishna Prema (1943), Sewa (1943), Neel Kamal (1947), Sankranti (1952), Ardhangi (1955), Jayabheri (1959), Siri Sampadalu (1962), Ramudu Bheemudu (1964), Prana Mithrulu (1967), Prem Nagar (1971), Koduku Kodalu (1972), and Secretary (1976). She was married to film director C. Pullaiah.
and was managing editor of Life when the magazine was revived in 1978, until his retirement in 1982. Kunhardt co-authored two books with his mother, Dorothy Kunhardt, Twenty Days (1965) about the Lincoln assassination and Matthew Brady and His World (1977). He also wrote two memoirs about his parents, My Father’s House (1970) and The Dreaming Game (2004). He joined with his sons, Peter and Philip III, to form Kunhardt Productions and made several television documentaries. They produced the 1995 biography P.T. Barnum for the Discovery Channel. They also produced the 10-hour PBS series The American President in 2000 and the eight-hour PBS series Freedom in 2003.
Philip B. Kunhardt, Jr.
KUROKI , KAZUO Japanese film director Kazuo Kuroki died of complications from a stroke in a Tokyo hospital on April 12, 2006. He was 75. Kuroki was born in Matsuzaka, Japan, on November 10, 1930. He began directing films in the late 1950s, helming such features as Kaiheki (1959), Silence Has No Wings (1966), The Assassination of Ryoma (1974), Preparation for the Festival (1975), Namidabashi (1983), Ronin-Gai (1990), and Pickpocket (2000). Kuroki was best known for his World War II trilogy, consisting of Tomorrow — Asu (1998), Utsukushii Natsu Kirishima (aka A Boy’s Summer in 1945), and Chichi to Kuraseba (2004).
Santha Kumari
KUNHARDT , PHILIP B., J R. Television documentary film writer and producer Philip B. Kunhardt, Jr., died of complications of pulmonary fibrosis at his home in Chappaqua, New York, on March 21, 2006. He was 78. Kunhardt was born in Manhattan, New York, on February 5, 1928. He began working with Life magazine as a reporter in the early 1950s. He was an assistant managing editor when Life ceased publication in 1972. He continued working with Time Inc.,
Kazuo Kuroki
203 KUZMANY, ELFRIEDE German actress Elfried Kuzmany died in Munich, Germany, on July 17, 2006. She was 90. Kuzmany was born in Rokitnitz, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary (now the Czech Republic), on September 29, 1915. She studied acting in Vienna, and was a popular performer on the stage in Vienna and Berlin from the late 1930s. She was also seen in such films as Hotel Sacher (1939), The Falling Star (1950), House of Life (1952), Black-White-Red Four Poster (1962), The River Line (1964), The Sternstein Manor (1976), and Success (1991). Kuzmany was also seen frequently on German television, appearing in productions of Bericht von den Inseln (1964), Der Schatz im Niemandsland (1988), Die Bertinis (1989), Family of Lies (1995), and Die Nach hat 17 Stunden (1996), and episodes of Der Kommissar, Polizeiinspektion 1, Derrick, Alte Gauner, Der Alte, and Tatort.
Elfriede Kuzmany
KWAN HOI-SHAN Hong Kong actor Kwan Hoi-Shan was found dead of natural causes at his home in Hong Kong on September 11, 2006. He was 82. Kwan began his career at the age of 11 performing with the Cantonese Opera. He later moved to acting and was featured in numerous film and television productions from the early 1960s. Nicknamed Uncle Shrimp, Kwan’s film credits include Man of 1,000 Fists (1965), The Ring of Spies (1965), An Eye for an Eye (1965), Who
Hoi-Shan Kwan
2006 • Obituaries
Should Be Commander-in-Chief ? (1967), The Dragon, the Odds (1977), House of the Lute (1979), The Curse (1980), Shaolin vs. Wu Tang (1981), Young Vagabond (1982), The Roving Swordsman (1983), Jackie Chan’s Project A (1983) as Captain Chi, The Siamese Twins (1984), Eight Diagram Cudget (1985), Working Class (1985), Blood Sorcery (1986), Reincarnation (1987), Jackie Chan’s Project A2 (1987), Devil Curse Country (1988), Ghost Hospital (1988), The Unmatchable Match (1989), My Heart Is That Eternal Rose (1989), Queen of Temple Street (1990), Witchcraft vs. Curse (1991), Transmigration Romance (1991), Party of a Wealthy Family (1991), Mission of Condor (1991), Lee Rock (1991), A Moment of Romance II (1992), Angel Delight (1992), Dragon Root (1992), Deadly Dream Woman (1992), All’s Well, Ends Well (1992), Devil of Rape (1992), Martial Arts Master Wong Fei Hung (1992), Casino Tycoon (1992), God of Guns (1992), Whore and Policeman (1993), Fist of the Red Dragon (1993), A Touch of Class (1993), The Perfect Exchange (1993), Shaolin Avengers (1994), Wonder Seven (1994), A Touch of Evil (1995), Exodus from Afar (1998), What Is a Good Teacher (2000), and Queen of Kowloon (2000). He was also featured on television in productions of Book and Sword (1976) as Luk Feiching, The Giants (1977), The Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre (1978), Chor Lauheung (1979), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1979), The Lonely Hunter (1981), Love and War (1981), Kung Fu Master of Fat Shan (1981), The Legend of the Condor Heroes (1982), The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils (1982), The Justice of Life (1983), Radio Tycoon (1983), The Duke of Mount Deer (1984), The Foundation (1984), The New Adventures of Chor Lauheung (1984), Six-Fingered Demon of Lyre (1985), The Feud of Two Brothers (1986), The New Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre (1986), The Final Verdict (1988), Looking Back in Anger (1989), Final Combat (1989), Lin Shing Kuet (1990), The Legendary Ranger (1993), and A Recipe for the Heart (1997).
LADEFOGED, PETER Linguist and phonetician Peter Ladefoged, who served as an advisor on the set of the 1964 film My Fair Lady, died of a stroke in London on January 24, 1925. He was 80. Ladefoged was born in Sutton, England, on September 17, 2006. He attended the University of Edinburgh, where he
Peter Ladefoged
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earned a doctorate in 1959. He joined the faculty of the University of California in Los Angeles in 1962, Soon after, My Fair Lady director George Cukor called upon him to teach Rex Harrison, the film’s phonetician Henry Higgins, how to properly conduct himself on screen. In a 2004 interview in The Express of London Ladefoged said of Harrison: “He had been playing the role of Professor Higgins on stage for awhile but nobody could see if he was pointing to the right phonetic symbols on charts, or using equipment correctly. But on screen he knew there was nowhere to hide and wanted to get it right.” Ladefoged was also the author of the textbook A Course in Phonetics and co-author of the 1996 work The Sounds of the World’s Languages.
LAINE, JO JO Notorious rock groupie of the 1970s Jo Jo Laine died on October 29, 2006, in a London hospital of complications from a fall at her home. She had been suffering from liver cancer for the past year. She was 53. Jo Jo was born Joanne LaPatrie, in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 13, 1953. She moved to Los Angeles while in her teens to work as professional model, appearing in print ads of Vogue and television commercials. She became involved with the rock scene at Woodstock in 1969, after a intimate encounter with Jimi Hendrix. She also had a brief encounter with Jim Morrison and a lengthy affair with Rod Stewart. Jo Jo met guitarist Denny Laine of The Moody Blues and Wings in 1972. They had a long term relationship, which culminated in marriage in 1978. The marriage ended several years later largely due to her drug and alcohol problem. An ill-fated subsequent affair with Black Sabbath guitarist Randy Rhodes ended with his death in airplane crash. Laine appeared on stage as a backup singer with several bands and recorded a version “I’m Into Something Good” in the 1980s. She also led her own band Jo Jo Laine and the Firm for several years.
Show (1964), and Sound of Music (1968). Lake also guest starred in episodes of The Rovers, Dynasty, Division 4, and Glenview High, and appeared in the films Squeeze a Flower (1970), Wake in Fight (1971), and Sunstruck (1972). She was featured as Mum in the 1976 series Alvin Purple before retiring from show business in the mid–1970s.
Dawn Lake
LANDGRAF , STANISLAV Russian actor Stanislav Landgraf died in Saint Peterburg, Russia, on December 27, 2006. He was 67. Landgraf was born in Leningrad, Russia, on September 15, 1939. He was a stage and film actor in Russia from the 1970s. Landgraf appeared in several films including Ubit pri Ispolnenii (1977), Whit Monday (1990), and Roman Imperatora (1993). He also appeared on Russian television in productions of Sofya Kovalevskaya (1985), Vaska (1989), Banditskiy Peterburg: Advokat (2000), Lyubov Imperatora (2002), and The Master and Margaret (2005).
Jo Jo Laine
LAKE, DAWN Australian television performer Dawn Lake Limb died in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on January 1, 2006. She was 78. Lake was born in Sydney on January 20, 1927. She began her career on radio as a singer, starring with Jack Davey on his popular radio program. She then began teaming with her husband, Bobby Limb, starring in the television variety series The Bobby Limb Show in the late 1950s. The duo also appeared in such series as The Private World of Miss Prim (1966), The Mavis Bramston
Stanislav Landgraf
LANG, OTTO Film and television director Otto Lang died of complications from heart disease at his home in West Seattle, Washington, on January 30, 2006. He was 98. Lang was born in Tesanta, AustriaHungary (now Tesanj, Bosnia-Herzegovina) on January 21, 1908. He was an avid skier in the Austrian Alps in his youth and came to the United States in the
205 mid–1930s, where he opened a ski school on Mount Rainier. He subsequently became an instructor at Averell Harriman’s Sun Valley resort, running the school there from 1939 to 1948. He met film producer Darryl F. Zanuck while working there, and Zanuck made him technical director for the skiing sequences for the 1941 20th Century–Fox film Sun Valley Serenade starring Sonja Henie. He continued working in films, serving as an assistant director on The Ox-Bow Incident (1953), and producing Call Northside 777 (1948), Five Fingers (1952), White Witch Doctor (1953), and Jet Carrier (1954). He produced and directed Vesuvius Express (1953) and The First Piano Quartette (1954). He also directed the films Search for Paradise (1957) and Fury River (1961). Lang worked primarily in television in the late 1950s and 1960s, directing episodes of Target, Northwest Passage, The Rifleman, Bat Masterson, This Man Dawson, World of Giants which he also produced, Men into Space, Lock Up, Sea Hunt, Zane Grey Theater, The Deputy, The Dick Powell Show, Surfside 6, Hawaiian Eye, Cheyenne, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Daktari, The Iron Horse, Felony Squad, and Lancer. Lang returned to Seattle in the late 1980s where he wrote his memoirs, Bird of Passage, and published a photo journal of his travels, Around the World in 90 Years.
Otto Lang
LANGE, JOHNNY Songwriter and musical director Johnny Lange died on January 6, 2006. He was 100. Lange was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 15, 1905. Lange wrote many popular songs including “Cactus Pete,” “Deacon Jones,” “Uncle Remus Said,” and the Oscar-nominated “Mule Train” from 1950’s Singing Guns. Lange composed songs and served as musical director for numerous films, including many Monogram westerns. His many film credits include Jaws of the Jungle (1936), Romance Rides the Range (1936), Pick a Star (1937), The Singing Buckaroo (1937), Stars Over Arizona (1937), Danger Valley (1937), Where the West Begins (1938), Song of the Buckaroo (1938), Lightning Carson Rides Again (1938), Midnight Shadow (1939), Law of the Wolf (1939), Fangs of the Wild (1939), Port of Hate (1939), Trigger Fingers (1939), The Pal from Texas (1939), That’s Right— You’re Wrong (1939), El Diablo Rides (1939), Code of the Fearless (1939), Trigger Pals (1939), In Old Montana (1939), Sundown on the Prairie
2006 • Obituaries
(1939), Six-Gun Rhythm (1939), One Dark Night (1939), Westbound Stage (1939), East Side Kids (1940), Yukon Flight (1940), Texas Renegades (1940), Pioneer Days (1940), Wild Horse Valley (1940), Pinto Canyon (1940), Frontier Crusader (1940), Wild Horse Range (1940), The Ghost Creeps (1940), Pride of the Bowery (1940), The Cheyenne Kid (1940), Murder on the Yukon (1940), Covered Wagon Trails (1940), Cowboy from Sundown (1940), Scatterbrain (1940), Take Me Back to Oklahoma (1940), Flying Wild (1941), Invisible Ghost (1941), Paper Bullets (1941), Bowery Blitzkrieg (1941), Spooks Run Wild (1941), The Lone Rider Rides On (1941), Ridin’ the Cherokee Trail (1941), The Lone Rider Ambushed (1941), Billy the Kid Wanted (1941), Zis Boom Bah (1941), The Lone Rider Fights Back (1941), I Killed That Man (1941), Lone Star Law Men (1941), Texas Manhunt (1942), The Lone Rider and the Bandit (1942), Raiders of the West (1942), Black Dragons (1942), Billy the Kid Trapped (1942), Rolling Down the Great Divide (1942), Tumbleweed Trail (1942), Jungle Siren (1942), Prairie Pals (1942), Along the Sundown Trail (1942), Outlaws of Boulder Pass (1942), Today I Hang (1942), Mr. Wise Guy (1942), Billy the Kid’s Smoking Guns (1942), The Corpse Vanishes (1942), Let’s Get Tough! (1942), Hi, Good Lookin’! (1944), Trail to Mexico (1946), Song of the South (1946), Melody Time (1948), The Big Sombrero (1949), Rim of the Canyon (1949), Mule Train (1950), Singing Guns (1950), and Blues Busters (1950).
LANGLAIS, JOSE MARIA Argentine actor Jose Maria Langlais died of cancer in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on February 3, 2006. He was 71. Langlais was born in Buenos Aires in 1935. He was a leading stage actor in Argentina for nearly fifty years. Langlais also starred as Raoul de Chagny in the 1960 film El Fantasma de la Opera. His other film credits include Violated Love (1963), Maria M. (1964), Los Guerrilleros (1965), Orden de Matar (1965), La Buena Vida (1966), Con Alma y Vidfa (1970), and Terce Mundo (1973). Langlais also appeared frequently on Argentine television from the 1960s, starring in such series as La Pulpera de Santa Lucia (1968), El Exterminador (1972), Piel Naranja (1975), Renato (1978), El Rafa (1981), Celos (1982), and Tal Como Somos (1984).
Jose Maria Langlais
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LANGMILER, JOSEF Czech actor Josef Langmiler died in Prague, Czech Republic, on August 8, 2006. He was 83. Langmiler was born in Zelec by Tabor, Czechoslovakia, on April 12, 1923. He appeared frequently in films from the late 1950s including Petikoruna (1959), Something Different (1963), Crime in a Music Hall (1968), Days of Betrayal (1973), Sokolovo (1974), Beauty and the Beast (1978), Sileny Kankan (1982), Kariera (1984), A Bitter Autumn with the Scent of Mangoes (1984), and Kral Kolonad (1990).
Colombes, France, on May 4, 1927. His first book, The Ice Is Broken, was published in 1954. He wrote many books and over 100 songs during his career. Lanzmann also wrote several films including Work and Freedom (1959), The Thousandth Window (1960), Rat Trap (1962) based on his novel, Nude, Calde e Pure (1965), Tumuc Humac (1970), Without Apparent Motive (1971), The Inheritor (1973), Chance and Violence (1974), Hunter Will Get You (1976), And Long Live Liberty (1978), and Children and the White Whale (1987).
Josef Lagmiler
Jacques Lanzmann
LANNER, SUSI Austrian actress Susi Lanner died in Dobbs Ferry, New York, on March 16, 2006. She was 94. Lanner was born in Vienna, Austria, on August 27, 1911. She was a popular stage and film star in Austria in the 1930s. Lanner was featured in such films as Three on a Honeymoon (1932), Abenteuer am Lido (1933), My Darling Is a Hunter (1933), Love Conquers (1934), Der Kuhne Schwimmer (1934), Heinz im Mond (1934), The Last Waltz (1934), Fall Maneuvers (1935), Artisten (1935), Das Schonheitsfleckchen (1936), Moscow Shanghai (1936), Spiel an Bord (1936), Die Erbschleicher (1937), and Hahn im Korb (1937).
Susi Lanner
LANZMANN, JACQUES French writer and journalist Jacques Lanzmann died in Paris on June 21, 2006. He was 79. Lanzmann was born in Bois-
LARSON, CHARLES Veteran television writer and producer Charles Larson died in Portland, Oregon, on September 21, 2006. He was 83. Larson was born on October 23, 1922. He began his career in Hollywood as a messenger at MGM before becoming a screenwriter of theatrical shorts. He also scripted the 1948 film Angel in Exile. Larson worked frequently for television from the early 1950s, writing episodes of such series as Studio One, Climax!, Sky King, The Lone Ranger, One Step Beyond, Lock Up, The Lawless Years, Rawhide, The Virginian, Twelve O’Clock High, Hawaii Five-O, Centennial, Hagen, and Trapper John, M.D. Larson also wrote and produced such series as The F.B.I., The Interns, and Cade’s County. He wrote several novels including Muir’s Blood and Matthew’s Hand for the popular Crime Club mystery series. Larson also scripted and produced the 1973 Crime Club tele-film. LATIMER, H UGH British character actor Hugh Latimer died in England on June 11, 2006. He was 93. Latimer was born in Haslemere, Surrey, England, on May 12, 1913. He began his career on stage in the mid–1930s and made his West End debut in a production of Pride and Prejudice in 1937. Latimer served in the British military in the Middle East and India during World War II. He resumed his theatrical career after the war. He made his film debut in 1948’s Corridor of Mirrors. Latimer was also seen in the films The Case of the Guardian Angel (1949), Someone at the Door (1950), Ghost Ship (1952), Man with a Million (1953), Undercover Agent (1953), Tim Driscoll’s Donkey (1955), The Narrowing Circle (1956), The Last Man to Hang? (1956), Rogue’s Yarn (1957), The Cosmic Monster (1958), The Gentle Trap (1960), Girl in the Headlines
207 (1963), Night Train to Paris (1964), Talk of the Devil (1968), and School for Sex (1968). He was also featured in such television productions as Doomsday for Dyson (1958), The Crucible (1959), 199 Park Lane (1965), Jane Eyre (1970), and Scoop (1972). Latimer’s other television credits include episodes of The Adventures of Robin Hood, Stryker of the Yard, Dixon of Dock Green, The Vise, Invisible Man, Silent Evidence, Undermind, Two in Clover, New Scotland Yard, Warship, Hunter’s Walk, Juliet Bravo, and Nanny. He retired from acting in the 1980s.
2006 • Obituaries
LATSHAW, GEORGE Puppeteer George Latshaw died in Temple Terrace, Florida, after a long illness on December 19, 2006. He was 83. Latshaw was born in Eau Clair, Wisconsin, on October 14, 1923. He began designing puppets at an early age. He worked in Hollywood on the 1953 film Lili, creating the puppet Carrot Top used by Mel Ferrer in his on-screen role as a puppeteer. Latshaw created a puppet version of Aaron Copland’s ballet Billy the Kid for the Detroit Symphony in 1958. He also staged a puppet adaptation of James Thurber’s story Quillow and the Giant for NBC’s Children’s Theater on television in 1963. Latshaw was also the author of the landmark 1978 book Puppetry: The Ultimate Disguise.
Hugh Latimer
LATIMER, MAX British actor Max Latimer died in England on December 28, 2006. Latimer appeared in small roles in numerous theatrical and television productions from the 1950s. He was featured as PC Tiny Bush on the television series Dixon from Dock Green from 1958 to 1962. He also appeared in television in productions of Crying Down the Lane (1962), Crossroads (1964), Night Train to Surbiton (1965), The Friendly Persuaders (1969), The Strauss Family (1972), and The Old Curiosity Shop (1979). He was Charles Gray’s stunt double in the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. His other television credits include episodes of You Can’t Win, Suspense, Z Cars, Menace, The Goodies, The Adventurer, Wessex Tales, Lovejoy, and The Bill.
George Latshaw (with actress Leslie Caron and the puppet Carrot Top on the set of Lili)
LATTIMORE, MATT Actor Matt Lattimore died on June 4, 2006. He was 45. Lattimore was born in Long Beach, California, on March 24, 1961. He had appeared in several films in the early 2000s including Firestorm Rising (2001), In Your Face (2002), and Hunter’s Moon (2006). He was also seen in the telefilms Portrait of a Suspect (2000) and Sasquatch Hunters (2005).
Matt Lattimore
Max Latimer
LAUNER, S. JOHN Character actor S. John Launer died in Los Angeles on September 8, 2006. He was 86. Launer was born on November 5, 1919. He
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began his career in films in the 1950s, often playing judges or other authority figures. He was featured in over two dozen movies including Creature with the Atom Brain (1955), Uranium Boom (1946), The Werewolf (1956), Crime of Passion (1957), I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957), Jailhouse Rock (1957) featured as the Judge in the Elvis Presley musical hit, Zero Hour! (1957), I Want to Live! (1958), Sing Boy Sing (1958), Alfred Hitchcock’s Marnie (1964), Speedway (1968), Pendulum (1968), Gable and Lombard (1976), and Mommie Dearest (1981) as the chairman of Pepsi. He was also seen in the tele-films Trapped Beneath the Sea (1974), The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977), The Girl Called Hatter Fox (1977), A Question of Love (1978), All God’s Children (1978), The Last Song (1980), M.A.D.D.: Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (1983), Dempsey (1983), and Billionaire Boys Club (1987). Launer also played a judge in the Perry Mason television series on a semiregular basis from 1958 to 1966. His other television credits include episodes of Gunsmoke, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Ford Television Theatre, The George Sanders Mystery Theater, Science Fiction Theater, Zane Grey Theater, M Squad, State Trooper, The Court of Last Resort, Have Gun —Will Travel, The Texan, Frontier Doctor, The Restless Gun, Bonanza, Tightrope, The Man Dawson, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, Hawaiian Eye, Target: The Corruptors, The Twilight Zone, Casey Jones, The Man from Blackhawk, Kraft Mystery Theater, Alcoa Premiere, 87th Precinct, The Eleventh Hour, Slattery’s People, Kraft Suspense Theatre, Stoney Burke, Honey West, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Dr. Kildare, Ben Casey, The F.B.I., Wild Wild West, Batman, Felony Squad, Dragnet 1967, The Big Valley, The Bold Ones: The Protectors, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Rookies, The Sixth Sense, Cade’s County, Petrocelli, and Harry O. Launer retired from acting in the late 1980s. His survivors include his son, Dale Launer, who wrote and produced such films as Ruthless People and My Cousin Vinny.
“Ritornerai” (1967), “Amore Caro Amore Bello” (1972), “Onda su Onda” (1974), “Genova per Noi” (1975), and the children’s song “La Tartaruga” (The Tortoise”) (1976). He also wrote songs for such artists as Mia Martini and Georges Moustaki. Lauzi appeared in a small role in the 1968 film Better a Widow, and in the 1974 television mini-series Nel Mondo di Alice.
Bruno Lauzi
LAYNE, RICKIE Comedian and ventriloquist Rickie Layne died of heart failure in a Tarzana, California, hospital on February 11, 2006. He was 81. He was born Richard Cohen in Brooklyn, New York, on October 30, 1924. The son of Russian immigrants, he began performing at an early age and achieved success after adding the dummy Willie Gladstone to his act. Layne changed Willie’s name to Velvel while performing in the Catskills in the 1940s. He and the Yiddishaccented Velvel appeared often in television in the 1950s, making frequent appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show. Layne also made guest appearances on such series as The Thin Man, The Jimmy Stewart Show and Night Court. He also made cameo appearances in several films, including The Shagg y D.A. (1976) and The North Avenue Irregulars (1979).
S. John Launer
LAUZI, BRUNO Italian singer and songwriter Bruno Lauzi died of liver cancer in Milan, Italy, on October 24, 2006. He was 69. Lauzi was born in Asmara, Eritrea (then part of Italian Eastern Africa), on August 8, 1937. He was a leading performer and songwriter in the 1960s and 1970s, recording such hits as
Rickie Layne (with Velvel)
LAZARUS, ERNA Film and television writer Erna Lazarus died in Woodland Hills, California, on
209 February 19, 2006. She was 102. Lazarus was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 16, 1903. She began writing for radio in New York before moving to Hollywood in 1935. She became one of the first female screenwriters in Hollywood, writing such films as Atlantic Flight (1937), He Married His Wife (1940), Margie (1940), I’m Nobody’s Sweetheart Now (1940), Double Date (1941), Cracked Nuts (1941), Moonlight in Hawaii (1941), The Body Disappears (1941), Let’s Go Steady (1945), Dancing in Manhattan (1945), The Blonde from Brooklyn (1945), The Girl of the Limberlost (1945), Junior Prom (1946), Slightly Scandalous (1946), Little Miss Big (1946), Michael O’Halloran (1948), Black Midnight (1949), Meet Me After the Show (1951), and Hollywood or Bust (1956). Lazarus also wrote for television in the 1950s, scripting episodes of such series as Racket Squad and Mr. & Mrs. North.
LAZOVIC, DANILO Serbian actor Danilo Lazovic died on March 25, 2006. He was 54. Lazovic was born in Brodarevo, Montenegro, Yugoslavia, on November 25, 1951. He began his film career in the early 1970s, appearing in such features as Kosava (1974), The Peaks of Zelengore (1976), Manhunt (1977), Battle for the Railway (1978), The Pals (1979), Special Treatment (1980), Savamala (1982), Sest Dana Juna (1985), Cubok (1990), The Little One (1991), Heaven (1993), Virtual Reality (2001), and Strawberries in the Supermarket (2003). Lazovic also appeared frequently on Serbian television, most recently starring as Laka Jovanovic Guster in the series Stizu Dolari in 2004 and 2005.
Danilo Lazovic
LEE, ARTHUR Singer and songwriter Arthur Lee, who was a member of the psychedelic band Love in the 1960s, died of leukemia in a Memphis, Tennessee, hospital on August 3, 2006. He was 61. Lee was born in Memphis on March 7, 1945, and moved to Los Angeles with his family at an early age. He began performing with bands in the early 1960s, forming the LAGs and the Ninth Wave, and singing lead for Ronnie and the Pamona Casuals. He founded Love in 1965, which became a popular group in Los Angeles and signed a recording contract with Elektra in 1966. The self-titled first album was largely written by Lee, and a second album, Da Capo, followed in 1967. Lee broke
2006 • Obituaries
up the band after recording a subsequent album, Forever Changes, which had disappointing sales. He recorded several more albums with session musicians before taking two years off from music. He returned in 1972 with a solo album Vindicator, and reformed Love with new members without success. Lee wrote and performed the theme song for the 1974 film Thomasine and Bushrod. He continued to tour over the next two decades until legal problems arose in the mid–1990s. Lee was arrested several times and was sentenced to prison on drug charges in 1996. He served five years before his release in 2001. Lee’s music had attracted a new audience in his absence and he resumed touring and recording until poor health forced his retirement.
Arthur Lee
LEE, GEORGE Actor and radio personality George Lee died of pancreatic cancer in WinstonSalem, North Carolina, on September 29, 2006. He was 67. He was born George Lee Bowermaster in Wheeling, West Virginia, on March 12, 1939. He began his career on radio, serving as a program director and sometimes newscaster. He left his full-time position in the early 1980s, but continued to do voice-over work and appeared on stage in local productions. He also began appearing in character roles in film and television productions, sometimes billed as George Lee Masters. Lee’s film credits include Traxx (1988), Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992), The Program (1993), Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), Getting In (1994), Patch Adams (1998), and The Dog Days of Summer (2006). He was also featured in the 1983 television mini-series Chiefs, and in the tele-films Stolen Memories: Secrets from the Rose Garden (1996), Love-Struck (1997), and My Stepson, My Lover (1997). His other television credits include episodes of Matlock, Legacy, and Dawson’s Creek. LEGRAS, JACQUES French actor Jacques Legras died in Paris on March 15, 2006. He was 82. Legras was born in Nantes, France, on October 25, 1923. He performed on the French stage and in films from the late 1940s. Noted for his grandiose moustache, he was also featured in character and supporting roles. His numerous film credits include Crazy Show (1949), Bernard and the Lion (1951), Men Think
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Only of That (1954), Peek-A-Boo (1954), Service Entrance (1954), The American Beauty (1961), A Mouse with the Men (1964), The Counterfeit Constable (1964), The Big Swag (1965), Public School (1965), How to Keep the Red Lamp Burning (1965), Lady I. (1965), Your Money or Your Life (1966), Three Disordered Children (1966), What’s Cooking in Paris (1966), O.S.S. 117 —Terror in Tokyo (1966), The Mad Adventures of the Bouncing Beauty (1967), The Comeuppance (1969), Hibernatus (1969), The Stud (1970), The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun (1970), One Is Always Too Good to Women (1971), Scoundrel (1971), Law Breakers (1971), The Sex Shop (1972), Charlots Go to Spain (1972), A Slightly Pregnant Man (1973), The Suburbs Are Everywhere (1973), The Down-in-the-Hole Gang (1974), The Four Charlots Musketeers (1974), Shut Up, Gulli (1974), Catherine & Co. (1975), The Groper (1976), Take Me to the Ritz (1977), Parisian Life (1977), The New Beaujolais Wine Has Arrived (1978), Heroes Are Not Wet Behind the Ears (1979), The Associate (1979), The Other One’s Mug (1979), What Did I Ever Do to the Good Lord to Deserve a Wife Who Drinks in Cafes with Men? (1980), Hold Me Back or I’ll Have an Accident (1984), The Gypsy (1986), How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired (1989), Robin des Mers (1998), and Vidange (1998). Legras also appeared in numerous made for television productions from the 1980s.
baran (1959), The Investigation (1959), Eden (1959), Memoirs Found in a Bathtub (1961), The Invincible (1964), The Cyberiad (1967), His Master’s Voice (1968), The Star Diaries/Memoirs of a Space Traveller (1971), The Futurological Congress (1971), Tales of Pirx the Pilot (1973), Imaginary Magnitude (1973), Highcastle: A Remembrance (1975), The Chain of Chance (1975), Mortal Engines (1977), Microworlds (1986), Fiasko (1986), Peace on Earth (1987), The Megabit Bomb (1999), Eyeblink (2000), and The World at the Edge (2000). Lem was best known for his 1961 novel Solaris, which was adapted to film by Soviet director Andrei Tarkovsky in 1972. A later U.S. version starred George Clooney in 2002. Lem’s Test Pilot Pirx stories were also filmed in 1979, and his early novel Hospital of the Transfiguartion was adapted to film in 1979. His works also served as the basis for the films Victim of the Brain (1988) and Marianengraben (1994).
Stanislaw Lem
Jacques Legras
LEM , STANISLAW Polish science fiction writer Stanislaw Lem, who was best known for his twice-filmed novel Solaris, died in Krakow, Poland, on March 27, 2006. He was 84. Lem was born in Lviv, Poland (now Ukraine) on September 12, 1921. He was active with the Polish resistance during World War II and studied medicine at Jagiellonian University. He completed his studies but decided not to pursue his medical degree, opting to work as a research assistant and writer instead. His early works include The Man from Mars (1946), Hospital of the Transfiguration (1948), and Astronauts (1951), which served as the basis for the 1960 East German film that was released in the United States as First Spaceship on Venus. His works were also adapted for television with 1962’s Professor Zazul and 1968’s Roly Poly. He also wrote The Invasion from Alde-
LEONARD, HERBERT B. Television producer Herbert B. Leonard, whose best known programs included The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin and Route 66, died of cancer in Los Angeles on October 14, 2006. He was 84. Leonard was born in New York City on October 8, 1922. He began working in films as a production manager in the late 1940s, working on such features and serials as The Vigilante (1947), Sweet Genevieve (1947), Two Blondes and a Redhead (1947), The Prince of Thieves (1948), Glamour Girl (1948), Mary Lou (1948), Bruce Gentry (1949), Batman and Robin (1949), Barbary Pirates (1949), Chinatown at Midnight (1949), The Adventures of Sir Galahad (1949), Mark of the Gorilla (1950), Tyrant of the Sea (1950), Cody of the Pony Express (1950), Captive Girl (1950), State Penitentiary (1950), Pirates of the High Seas (1950), Atom Man vs. Superman (1950), Chain Gang (1950), Last of the Buccaneers (1950), Pygmy Island (1950), Revenue Agent (1950), A Yank in Korea (1951), Fury of the Congo (1951), Roar of the Iron Horse (1951), When the Redskins Rode (1951), Mysterious Island (1951), The Magic Carpet (1951), Captain Video (1951), King of the Congo (1952), Brave Warrior (1952), California Conquest (1952), Blackhawk (1952), The Golden Hawk (1952), Son of Geronimo (1952), The Pathfinder (1952), Savage Mutiny (1953), Jack McCall Desperado (1953),
211 Fort Ti (1953), Serpent of the Nile (1953), Flame of Calcutta (1953), Sky Commando (1953), Killer Ape (1953), The Battle of Rogue River (1954), Gunfighters of the Northwest (1954), Drums of Tahiti (1954), The Iron Glove (1954), The Miami Story (1954), Jungle Man-Eaters (1954), The Law vs. Billy the Kid (1954), Riding with Buffalo Bill (1954), Adventures of Captain Africa (1955), Perils of the Wilderness (1956), and Blazing the Overland Trail (1956). He began working in television in the 1950s, where he produced the popular series The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin. Leonard also produced such series as Circus Boy, Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers, Rescue 8, Route 66, and Naked City. He also produced and directed the films The Perils of Pauline (1967) and Going Home (1971). Leonard was also producer of the film Popi (1969) and the tele-films The Catcher (1972), Nightside (1973), Friendly Persuasion (1975), and Sparrow (1978). He served as executive producer of the 1980 series Ladies’ Man and was given a producer’s credit for the series Katts and Dog, loosely based on Rin Tin Tin, in 1988.
2006 • Obituaries
LEVIN, ALAN Documentary filmmaker Alan M. Levin died at his home in Maplewood, New Jersey, on February 13, 2006. He was 79. Levin was born in New York City on February 28, 1926. He began working in television with PBS in the 1970s, producing the news at the New York affiliate, WNET. He also produced the 1979 Emmy Award–winning series The New Immigrants and the 1982 film Portrait of an American Zealot about the rise of the religious right. Levin worked with Bill Moyers on the 1988 documentary about covert CIA operations, The Secret Government: The Constitution in Crisis. His other works include Gang War: Bangin’ in Little Rock (1994), Prisoners of the War on Drugs (1996), CIA: America’s Secret Warriors (1997), Thug Life (1999), and Gladiator Days: Anatomy of a Prison Murder (2002).
LEVERT, GERALD R&B singer Gerald Levert died of a heart attack at his home in Cleveland, Ohio, on November 10, 2006. He was 40. Levert was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 1966, the son of O’Jays singer Eddie Levert. He was raised in Cleveland and began his singing career as a member of the R&B trio LeVert with his brother Sean and Marc Gordon. The group recorded such hits as “Casanova,” “(Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop) Goes My Mind,” and “Baby I’m Ready.” Levert made his solo debut in 1991 with the album Private Line, which included a duet with his father, “Baby Hold on to Me.” He had numerous hits over his two decade career including “For the Love of Money,” “Addicted to Love,” “Where Would I Be,” “Dream with No Love,” “Mercedes Benz,” “Shotgun,” and “Reach Out, I’ll Be There.” Levert also made a cameo appearance as a singer in the 1991 film New Jack City, and appeared as Charles Young in two episodes of The Jamie Foxx Show on television. He also appeared in an episode of The Parkers in 2003. Levert teamed with fellow R&B singers Johnny Gill and Keith Sweat to form the supergroup LSG in 1997, recording such hits as “My Body.” Levert’s most recent album was Voices in 2005.
LEWIS, AL Veteran character actor Al Lewis, who was best known for his role as Grandpa in the 1960s television sit-com The Munsters, died in New York City on February 3, 2006. He was 95. Lewis was born Alexander Meister in New York City on April 30, 1910. He began his career as a circus performer, and toured the vaudeville circuit. He became a well known personality on television from the late 1950s, appearing in episodes Decoy, The United States Steel Hour, The
Gerald Levert
Al Lewis (as Grandpa from The Munsters)
Alan Levin
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Phil Silvers Show, Naked City, and Route 66. He starred as Officer Leo Schnauser in the sit-com Car 54, Where are You? from 1961 to 1963, and was Grandpa in The Munsters from 1964 to 1966. Lewis also starred as Machine Gun Manny in the 1960 film Pretty Boy Floyd, and appeared in The World of Henry Orient in 1964. He reprised his role as Grandpa in the 1966 feature film, Munster, Go Home. He was also seen in the films They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969), The Boatniks (1970), They Might Be Giants (1971), Black Starlet (1974), Coonskin (1975), Used Cars (1980), Comic Cabby (1987), Fright House (1988), Married to the Mob (1988), Bum Rap (1988), My Grandfather Is a Vampire (1991), The Garden (1993), Car 54, Where Are You? (1994) reprising his role as Leo Schnauzer, Fast Money (1995), South Beach Academy (1996). and Night Terror (2002). He was also seen in the tele-films The Night Strangler (1973), Ring of Passion (1978), The Munsters’ Revenge (1981) again starring as Grandpa, Save the Dog! (1988), and Here Come the Munsters (1995) in a cameo role. His other television credits include episodes of Lost in Space, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Night Gallery, Green Acres, Love, American Style, Taxi, Best of the West, Mathnet, and Hi Honey, I’m Home. Lewis also operated Grandpa’s, a popular restaurant in New York’s Greenwich Village where he often mingled with the customers, posing for pictures and signing autographs. At the age of 88 Lewis was the Green Party candidate for governor of New York against incumbent George Pataki. He received over 50,000 votes in his unsuccessful bid. Lewis had suffered from poor health for the past two years, having emergency heart bypass surgery in 2003. Complications from surgery also let to the amputation of his right leg and left him in a coma for over a month.
LEWIS, ARTHUR Stage and film producer Arthur Lewis died in Dana Point, California, on June 30, 2006. He was 89. Lewis was born in New York City on September 15, 1916, the son of producer Albert Lewis. He began working in films in the late 1940s, cowriting Oh, You Beautiful Doll (1949) and Golden Girl (1951) with his father. He also scripted the 1953 film Conquest of Cochise. He and his father produced the 1952 Broadway musical Three Wishes for Jamie together. The following year the younger Lewis produced the
Arthur Lewis
London version of Cy Feuer and Ernie Martin’s hit musical Guys and Dolls. He continued to work with Feuer and Martin, serving as an associate producer for their Broadway productions of Can-Can, The Boy Friend, and Silk Stockings. Lewis then moved into television, where he produced the series Brenner, The Asphalt Jungle, and The Nurses. He subsequently returned to the stage, producing the London production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and numerous other plays and musicals. He also produced several films including Loot! (1970), Baxter (1973), The Killer Elite (1975), and Brass Target (1978). Lewis’ other credits include the tele-film versions of The Diary of Anne Frank (1980) and Splendor in the Grass (1981).
LEYVA, PIO Cuban singer and musician Pio Leyva, who joined with other aging musicians to form the Buena Vista Social Club in the late 1990s, died on March 22, 2006. He was 88. Leyva was born in Moron, Cuba, on May 5, 1917. He began his career in music at an early age, and worked on over 25 albums during his lengthy career. Leyva worked with fellow Buena Vista Social Club member Compay Segundo from the early 1950s. He appeared with the group in the 1999 film The Buena Vista Social Club.
Pio Leyva
LIBOTT , ROBERT Films and television writer Robert Yale Libott died in California on December 26, 2006. He was 84. Libott was born in Beverly Hills, California, on December 20, 1922. He began his career working in radio as a script writer. He also wrote such films as The Strange Mrs. Crane (1948), Law of the Barbary Coast (1949), Air Hostess (1949), Barbary Pirate (1949), Flame of Youth (1949), Chinatown at Midnight (1949), Tyrant of the Sea (1950), Fortunes of Captain Blood (1950), State Penitentiary (1950), Stage to Tucson (1950), The Groom Wore Spurs (1951), The Lady and the Bandit (1951), Captain Pirate (1952), Last Train from Bombay (1952), and All American (1953). He also adapted Alan Paton’s novel Too Late the Phalarope for a Broadway play in 1956. Libott worked frequently for television in the 1950s and early 1960s, scripting episodes of Casablanca, White Hunter, Zane Grey Theater, The Third Man, Wagon Train, Checkmate, The Untouchables, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. He changed
213 careers in the early 1960s, earning a law degree from the University of California at Los Angeles Law School, specializing in entertainment law and intellectual property law.
LICKERT, MARTIN Martin Lickert, Ringo Starr’s chauffeur who was recruited to play a key role in Frank Zappa’s 1971 film 200 Motels, died in England on March 13, 2006. He was 57. Lickert was hired by the Beatles as an office boy at Apple Records in the late 1960s. He was working as Ringo Starr’s chauffeur when Zappa was having difficulty finding a replacement for bassist Jeff Simmons, who had recently left the band, the Mothers of Invention. In desperation he said he would give the role to the next person who walked in the room, when Lickert returned from buying cigarettes for his boss. He performed in the film and on the album, but reportedly turned down an offer to tour with the Mothers of Invention in the United States. Lickert later became involved with horse racing as a bookie and later race horse owner. He attended law school in the 1980s and was called to the bar in 1986.
Martin Lickert
LIGETI, GYORGY Hungarian composer Gyorgy Ligeti died in Vienna, Austria, after a long illness on June 12, 2006. He was 83. Ligeti was born in Diciosanmartin, Transylvania, Romania, to Hungarian parents on May 28, 1923. He studied music under Ferenc Farkas at the Budapest Music Academy in the 1940s. He fled Hungary after the 1956 revolution against the Communist government and settled in Austria. He taught music at universities in Europe and the United States and became a noted composer. Ligeti’s compositions were included on the sound track of Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 science fiction classic 2001: A Space Odyssey, including “Lux Aeterna,” “Atmospheres,” and “Requiem for Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Two Mixed Choirs, and Orchestra.” Ligeti’s compositions were also used on the soundtracks for Kubrick’s films The Shining (1980) and Eyes Wide Shut (1999). His compositions were also heard in the films La Ira (1989), Thank You, Life (1991), Heat (1995), Reflections of Evil (2002), The Future Is Not What It Used to Be (2002), After the Day Before (2004), Compartment (2005), and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). Ligeti was also noted
2006 • Obituaries
for his composition of the opera La Grand Macabre in 1978.
Gyorgy Ligeti
LINDBERG, SVEN Swedish actor Sven Lindberg died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Stockholm, Sweden, on December 24, 2006. He was 88. Lindberg was born in Stockholm on November 20, 1918. He began his career on stage in the early 1940s. He was also seen in numerous films in his sixty year career including Flickan ar ett Fynd (1943), Elvira Madigan (1943), Trotte Teodor (1945), The Gay Party (1946), Barbacka (1946), One Swallow Does Not Make a Summer (1947), Music Is My Future (1948), A Swedish Tiger (1948), Banketten (1948), The Girl from the Third Row (1949), The Girl from Jungfrusund (1949), Tva Trappor over Garden (1950), Kiss on the Cruise (1950), The Quartet That Split Up (1950), Min van Oscar (1951), Memory of Love (1952), Karlek (1952), Hidden in the Fog (1953), Fartfeber (1953), The Yellow Squadron (1954), Mannen i Morker (1955), Dreams (1955), Hoppsan! (1955), Spielbank-Affare (1957), The Lady in Black (1958), Musik Ombord (1958), Lend Me Your Wife (1959), Kara Leken, Den (1959), Kurragomma (1963), Swedish Portraits (1964), Nightmare (1965), Miss and Mrs. Sweden (1969), Jerry Lewis’ cult film The Day the Clown Cried (1972), The Lion and the Virgin (1975), Face to Face (1976), En Och En (1978), The Adventures of Picasso (1978) as Albert Schweitzer, Chez Nous (1978), Flourishing Times (1980), SOPOR (1981), Spring of Joy (1993), Autumn in Paradise (1995), Nowhere Man (1996), Run for Your Life (1997), Where the Rainbow Ends (1999), The Birthday (2000), and Asta Nilssons Sallskap (2006). Lindberg also appeared in an episode of the U.S. television series Foreign Intrigue in 1952, and was featured in such European television productions as A Doll’s House (1970), Katter (1972), Gustav III (1974), Broderna (1974), Babels Hus (1981), Vern ar Radd for Virginia Woolf ? (1985), Sommarens Tolv Manader (1988), Den Inbillade Sjuke (1989), and Fackloma (1991). LINDE, DENNIS Songwriter Dennis Linde, who was best known as the writer of Elvis Presley’s 1972 hit song “Burning Love,” died of lung disease in a Nashville, Tennessee, hospital on December 22, 2006. He was 63. Linde was born in Abilene, Texas, on March
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18, 1943. He had his first success as a songwriter in 1970, penning Roger Miller’s hit “Tom Green Country Fair.” Linde also wrote the songs “Goodbye Marie,” recorded by Bobby Goldsboro in 1981 and Kenny Rogers in 1986, “Bubba Shot the Jukebox” and “It Sure Is Monday” for Mark Chesnutt, “Callin’ Baton Rouge” which was a hit for Garth Brooks in 1993, and “Queen of My Double Wide Trailer,” recorded by Sammy Kershaw in 1993. His most recent hit was The Dixie Chicks’ recording of “Goodbye Earl” in 2000. Linde was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001.
Dennis Linde
Name: Emerald (1985), Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), Tin Men (1987), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Rain Man (1988) which earned him another Oscar nomination, Avalon (1990), Bugsy (1991), Toys (1992), Quiz Show (1994), Disclosure (1994), Sleepers (1996), Wag the Dog (1997), Sphere (1998), Liberty Heights (1999), An Everlasting Piece (2000), Bandits (2001), and Envy (2004).
LING, PETER British television writer Peter Ling died in England on September 14, 2006. He was 80. Ling was born in Croydon, Surrey, England on May 27, 1926. He began writing at an early age and published his first novel in 1944. He worked in radio after World War II, and moved to television in the early 1950s. Ling wrote the children’s show Whirligig from 1950, and married an actress from the show, Sheilah Ward, in 1954. He also worked for Rediffusion as a script editor for many of their detective series and as a songwriter had a modest hit when Matt Monro recorded his song “Why Not Now” in 1961. He teamed with Hazel Adair to create the BBC television soap opera Compact in 1962. Ling was best known for cocreating the long running soap Crossroads with Adair that aired on ITV from 1964 to 1988. During his career he also scripted episodes of such series as Dixon of Dock Green, The Little Round House, Crime Sheet, Jango, The Avengers, Champion House, Sexton Blake, The Pathfinders, and Doctor Who. Ling returned to radio in the 1990s, where he wrote adaptations of Sherlock Holmes’ mysteries.
LINDER, STU Film editor Stu Linder died of a heart attack while on location filming Barry Levinson’s Man of the Year in Ridgefield, Connecticut, on January 12, 2006. He was 74. Linder was born in Geneva, Illinois, on November 8, 1931, and was raised in Hermosa Beach, California. He began working in films at Paramount in the mid–1950s. Linder served as an assistant editor on such films as The Misfits, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Seconds (1966), Catch 22 (1970), Carnal Knowledge (1971), and The Day of the Dolphin (1973). He shared an Academy Award for editing John Frankenheimer’s 1966 film Grand Prix. Linder also edited the films Blue (1968), The Fortune (1975), My Bodyguard (1980), First Family (1980), Diner (1982), Six Weeks (1982), The Natural (1984), Code
LINNEBANK, GEES Dutch actor Gees Linnebank died of complications from Kahler’s disease in Utrecht, the Netherlands, on June 15, 2006. He was 61. Linnebank was born in Utrecht on April 29, 1945. He was a leading stage and film actor in the Netherlands from the early 1970s. Linnebank was featured in the films De Blinde Fotograaf (1973), The Family (1973), Vandaag of Morgen (1976), Adelbert (1977), Mr. Slotter’s Jubilee (1979), Spetters (1980), Rigor Mortis (1981), Trouble in Paradise (1989), Way Upstream (1991), For a Lost Soldier (1992), The Little Blonde Dead (1993), Flodder Forever (1995), and Weg (1996). He was also the voice of Jafar in the Dutch version of the Disney animated films Aladdin, The Return of Jafar, and Aladdin and the
Stu Linder
Gees Linnebank (front, with John Kraaykamp)
215 King of Thieves. Linnebank also appeared in television productions of Vader en Zoon (1974), Amsterdam 700 (1975), Oorlogswinter (1975), De Watergeus (1976), Prettig Weekend, Meneer Meijer (1978), Armoede (1982), Tatort— Medizinmanner (1990), De Zomer van ’45 (1991), Coverstory (1993), Het Laatste Glas Melk (1995), De Winkel (1996), Ben zo Terug (1999), and Dat is Nooit Minj Naam Geweest (1999).
LIPPMAN, IRVING Cinematographer Irving Lippman died at the Motion Picture and Television Fund Home in Woodland Hills, California, on November 15, 2006. He was 100. Lippman was born in Edendale, California, on November 8, 1906. He began working in films while in his teens, serving as an assistant cameraman on a Fatty Arbuckle comedy in 1922. He soon became a photographer, taking still pictures on movie sets and photographing numerous celebrities. Lippman was still photographer for such films as Svengali (1931), The Big Stampede (1932), The Song of Songs (1933), 20th Century (1934), Black Moon (1934), Broadway Bill (1934), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Lost Horizon (1937), You Can’t Take It with You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Arizona (1940), Meet John Doe (1941), You Were Never Lovelier (1942), It Had to Be You (1947), Phantom Valley (1948), Relentless (1948), My Dog Rusty (1948), Whirlwind Raiders (1948), Coroner’s Creek (1948), Blazing Across the Pecos (1948), The Untamed Breed (1948), Ladies of the Chorus (1948), Shockproof (1949), The Undercover Man (1949), The Doolins of Oklahoma (1949), Lust for Gold (1949), Anna Lucasta (1949), Barbary Pirate (1949), Mr. Soft Touch (1949), All the King’s Men (1949), Tell It to the Judge (1949), And Baby Makes Three (1949), Girl’s School (1950), A Woman of Distinction (1950), In a Lonely Place (1950), The Petty Girl (1950), Convicted (1950), Rookie Fireman (1950), Salome (1953), and From Here to Eternity (1953). Lippman worked primarily as a cinematographer for films and television from the 1950s. He served as director of photography for such features and shorts as Flagpole Jitters (1956), For Crimin’ Out Loud (1956), Hot Stuff (1956), Muscle Up a Little Closer (1957), A Merry Mix-Up (1957), Hellcats of the Navy (1957), 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957), Domino Kid (1957), Quiz Whiz (1958), Pies and Guys (1958), Apache Territory (1958), Sweet and Hot (1958), Oil’s Well That Ends Well (1958), Gunmen from Laredo (1959), Sappy Bullfighters (1959), Safe at Home! (1962), The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze (1963), The Outlaws Is Coming (1965), The Great Sioux Massacre (1965), Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1966), Tarzan and the Great River (1967), Angels Unchained (1970), and The Loners (1972). He also photographed the tele-films The Catcher (1972), Jarrett (1973), Columbo: Old Fashioned Murder (1979), and Sparrow (1978), and such series as Tales of the Texas Rangers, Jungle Jim, Circus Boy, Casey Jones, Shotgun Slade, Behind Closed Doors, Johnny Staccato, Route 66, I Dream of Jeannie, The Monkees, The Wild Wild West, Partridge Family, Bridget Loves Bernie, Petrocelli, Fantastic Journey, The Love Boat, and Fantasy Island. LIPTON, MARTHA Opera singer Martha Lipton died in Bloomington, Indiana, on November
2006 • Obituaries
28, 2006. She was 93. Lipton was born in New York City on April 6, 1913, and attended Juilliard. She made her professional debut in a production of Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades with Manhattan’s New Opera Company. She also performed with the New York City Opera and made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera in Gounod’s Faust during the 1944 season. She continued to perform regularly with the Met for the next 17 years, appearing in productions of Peter Grimes (1948), The Rake’s Progress (1948) as Mother Goose, Eugene Onegin (1957), and Boris Godunov (1961). She joined the faculty of Indiana University’s School of Medicine in 1960.
Martha Lipton
LOBEL, BRUNI German actress Bruni Lobel died in Muhldorf am Inn, Germany, on September 27, 2006. She was 85. Lobel was born in Chemnitz, Germany, on December 20, 1920. She was a leading star in Germany films from the late 1930s. Her many film credits include Homeland (1939), Jungens (1941), Fronttheater (1942), Liebesbriefe (1944), Der Grosse Preis (1944), No Place for Love (1947), Quax in Afrika (1947), You Don’t Play Around with Love (1949), The Big Lift (1950), Nacht ohne Sunde (1950), Engel im Abendkleid (1951), Wirbel um Irene (1953), Secrets of the City (1954), Geliebte Feindin (1955), Special Delivery (1955), The Crammer (1958), Beautiful Adventure (1959), and Born to Sing (1962). Lobel appeared primarily on German
Bruni Lobel
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television from the 1960s, starring in such productions as Tag fur Tag (1965), Boing-Boing (1965), Portrat eines Helden (1966), Caroline (1966), Nathan der Weise (1967), Kurzer Proseff (1969), Ach so eine nette Person (1970), Tristan (1975), Spannagl & Sohn (1795), Das Fraulein von Scuderi (1976), Krimistunde (1983), Wie es Geschah (1983), Gretchens Faust (1985), Mallorca — Liebe Inbegriffen (1992), and Das Grosse Fest des Jahres — Weihnachten bei Unseren Fernsehfamilien (1995). She starred as Schwester Agatha in the 1979 series The Legend of Tim Tyler, and was also featured in episodes of Der Kommissar, Derrick, Der Alte, Die Schwarzwaldklinik, Polizeiinspektion 1 in the recurring role of Frau Schoninger, SOKO 5113, and Um Himmels Willen. Lobel starred as Herta Bieler in the series Forsthaus Falkenau from 1989 to 2006, and was Oma Charlotte in the series Jenny & Co. in 2002.
LOHREY, SHERWOOD
Sherwood Lohrey, who was a leading figure in local theatre in Memphis, Tennessee, died of a heart attack in Oceanside, California, on May 18, 2006. He was 77. Lohrey was born in Springville, New York, on December 8, 1928. He studied theater at the University of Wisconsin and came to Memphis in 1962 to serve as director for a production of the play Under the Yum-Yum Tree for the Memphis Little Theatre. He soon became resident director of the company, a position he retained for the next three decades. Lohrey presided over the company’s move to a new building in 1975 that also brought a new name, Theatre Memphis. He continued his role as director until his retirement in 1995.
Aleksei Loktev
LOMOND, BRITT Britt Lomond, the actor and fencing expert who was best known for his role as the villainous Captain Monastario in the Disney television series Zorro in the late 1950s, died following a long illness in Huntington Beach, California, on March 22, 2006. He was 80. Lomond was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 12, 1925, and was raised in New York City. He served in the military during World War II, earing three Purple Hearts. He attended New York University after the war, where he became active on the fencing team. His expertise with the sword earned him a spot on the 1952 U.S. Olympics team, but he turned professional when he began fencing in stage and film productions. Lomond guest starred on television in episodes of The Count of Monte Cristo, Navy Log, Annie Oakley, Cheyenne, 26 Men, and Disney’s The Saga of Andy Burnett. He was originally considered for the role of Zorro in the popular Disney television series in 1957, but director Norman Foster thought him better suited as Captain Monastario, the pompous commander of Spanish-ruled Los Angeles, and unrelenting foil for the masked Zorro, played by Guy Williams. Lomond also appeared as General George Armstrong Custer in the 1958 film Tonka, and was featured on television in episodes of Death Valley Days, Colt .45, Men into Space, Tombstone Territory, Tales of Wells Fargo, The Brothers Brannagan, Klondike, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp in the recurring role of Johnny Ringo, Lock
Sherwood Lohrey
LOKTEV, ALEKSEI Russian actor Aleksei Loktev was killed in an automobile accident in Tambovka, Russia, on September 17, 2006. He was 66. Loktev was born in Orsk, Russia, on December 30, 1939. He was active in films from the early 1960s, appearing in Farewell, Doves (1961), Walking Through the Streets of Moscow (1963), Goodbye, Boys (1964), Our House (1965), The Tunnel (1967), Po Rusi (1968), Semya Kotsyubinskikh (1970), Menya Zhdut na Zemle (1976), The Life of Klim Samgin (1986), and To Award (Posthumously) (1986). Britt Lomond
217 Up, Zane Grey Theater, Boris Karloff ’s Thriller, The Case of the Dangerous Robin, Peter Gunn, Perry Mason, Rawhide, The Virginian, I Spy, and Mission: Impossible. He also made occasional film appearances in such features as Young Jesse James (1960) and Live a Little, Love a Little (1968). Lomond subsequently moved behind the camera, working as a production manager and assistant director on various television and film projects including Purple Rain, Somewhere in Time, and Midnight Run. He made his final onscreen appearance as a guest star in a 1983 episode of Simon & Simon. Lomond’s memoir about his acting character, Chasing After Zorro, was published in 2004. His survivors include his wife of nearly 50 years, former casting agent Diane Lomond.
LOOMIS, BERNARD Toy marketeer Bernard Loomis, who was instrumental in changing the face of Saturday morning children’s programming on television, died of heart disease at his home in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, on June 2, 1906. He was 82. Loomis was born in the Bronx, New York, on July 4, 1923. He began working for the Mattel toy company in the 1950s, and was instrumental in expanding the company’s market through television advertising. He introduced the matchbox-sized cards known as Hot Wheels, utilizing a 30-minute Saturday morning program designed around the toy. Loomis subsequently moved to Kenner Toys where he was involved in the company’s decision to produce a toy line based on George Lucas’s 1977 science fiction film Star Wars. He also served as executive producer for several animated television productions including Strawberry Shortcake: Housewarming Surprise (1983), The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings (1983), and The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine (1984). Loomis was the subject of David Owen’s 1988 book The Man Who Invented Saturday Morning, and Other Adventures in American Enterprise.
2006 • Obituaries
of wrestlers Bob and Paul Lortie, and Donald began competing in the ring while in his teens. He wrestled throughout Canada, sometimes under the name Pierre DeGlane. He began teaming with Tony Gonzales as the Masked Medics in Texas in 1962. They held the Southern Tag Team Title several times in 1962 and 1963, and were leading ring villains in the Gulf Coast, Texas, and Tennessee territories in the early 1960s. Lortie retired from the ring later in the decade and settled in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he worked as a longshoreman.
Donald Lortie
LOUKI , PIERRE French actor and Pierre Louki died in France on December 21, 2006. He was 80. Louki was born in Yonne, France, on June 25, 1926. He was a stage performer from the 1950s and wrote and sang numerous songs. He was featured in a production of Midsummer Night’s Dream on French television in 1969, and appeared in the 1972 films Le Sex Shop. Louki also appeared on television in productions of Alice au Pays des Merveilles (1970), La Vie Revee de Vincent Scotto (1973), Le Mariage de Figaro (1981), Ubu Cocu ou l’Archeopteryz (1981), and La Vengeance d’Une Orpheline Russe (1987).
Bernard Loomis
LORTIE, DONALD Professional wrestler Donald Lortie, who often competed in the ring as one of the masked Medics, died of congestive heart failure and complications from Alzheimer’s disease on August 5, 2006. He was 75. Lortie was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on August 25, 1930. He was the nephew
Pierre Louki
LOWE, MIGNON Guyanese actress Mignon Lowe died of a heart ailment in Georgetown, Guyana,
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on April 11, 2006. She was 45. She was a leading stage performer in Guyana and performed in numerous productions in Jamaica. She was also seen as the voodoo priestess in the 1984 horror film Zombie Island Massacre with Rita Jenrette.
Mignon Lowe
LUISI, JEAN Veteran French actor Jean Luisi died of cancer in Paris on July 18, 2006. He was 79. Luisi was born in Corse, France, on September 8, 1926. He was featured in numerous films from the late 1950s including The Hole (1960), Boulevard (1960), The Long Absence (1961), The Devil and the Ten Commandments (1962), The Eye of the Monocle (1962), The Murderer Knows the Score (1963), Operation Leontine (1968), Sorrel Flower (1968), Pasha (1968), Ho! (1968), Delphine (1969), Potatoes (1969), There Was Once a Cop (1971), Take It Easy It’s a Waltz (1971), The Lion’s Share (1971), The French Connection (1971), Man in the Trunk (1973), Some Too Quiet Gentlemen (1973), Without Warning (1973), Killing in the Sun (1973), Profession: Adventurers (1973), Body Games (1974), Gunfight at OQ Corral (1974), Erotic Diary (1974), OK Patron (1974), Icy Breasts (1974), Naked and Lustful (1975), Raging Fists (1975), No Problem! (1975), The Gypsy (1975), Porn’s Girl (1976), The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1976), The Bottom Line (1976), Maxim’s Porter (1976), The Man from Chicago (1977), At Night All Cats Are Crazy (1977), Traveling Companions (1978), The Sewers of Par-
adise (1979), The Bit Between the Teeth (1979), The Black Sheep (1979), Les Charlots en Delire (1979), His Master’s Eye (1980), Le Guignole (1980), Emanuele 3 (1980), Les Brigades Roses (1981), Devil’s Advocates (1981), Bankers Also Have Souls (1982), My Other Husband (1983), Le Cowboy (1984), The Debauched Life of Gerard Floque (1987), My Friend the Traitor (1988), Daudet’s Windmill (1992), The Two of Us (1992), Little Nothings (1992), Les Victimes (1996), Luis et Margot (1997), Innocent (1999), The Car Keys (2003), Elena’s Gift (2004), and Lili et le Baobab (2006). Luisi also appeared frequently on French television.
LUSHER, DON Trombonist and bandleader Don Lusher died in Cheam, Surrey, England, on July 5, 2006. He was 82. Lusher was born in Peterborough, England, on November 5, 1923. He learned to play the trombone at an early age. He served in the army during World War II and joined the band Joe Daniels and His Hotshots after the war. He played with several other groups until joining Ted Heath’s band in 1952. He toured with Heath in England and the United States for a decade. He also performed with Heath’s band in the 1956 film It’s a Wonderful World. He also played in recording sessions with such stars as Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Ella Fitzgerald. He began performing with Jack Parnell at Elstree in the early 1960s, and was heard on numerous film soundtracks including the James Bond and Pink Panther series. He starred in a BBC television variety special, The Musical World of Don Lusher, in 1979. After Heath’s death in the mid–1970s, Lusher led the Heath band for 25 years until December of 2000. He also led his own Don Lusher Big Band until his retirement in December of 2005.
Don Lusher
Jean Luisi
LUSSON, ALFONSO Spanish stage, film, and television actor Alfonso Lusson y Codeso died of cancer in Madrid, Spain, on May 27, 2006. He was 65. Lusson was born in Vitoria, Spain, in 1941. He was best known for his comic roles, appearing in such films as Celos, Amor y Mercado Comun (1973), Eva, Limpia Como los Chorros del Oro (1977), National Adultery (1982), Cancion Triwste de... (1989), Disparate Nacional (1990), Whistle Stop (1992), Ecstasy (1996), Dying of Laughter (1999), and Isi/Disi — Amor a lo Bestia (2004). Lusson also starred in such television series as Querida
219 Concha (1992), Villarriba y Villabajo (1994), La Banda de Perez (1997), Jacinto Durante, Representante (2000), and Cruz y Raya Com (2000).
Alfonso Lusson
LUTER, CLAUDE French jazz musician Claude Luter died in a Yvelines, France, hospital on October 6, 2006. He was 83. Luter was born in Paris on July 23, 1923. He gained a following as a jazz trumpeter during World War II and led the band Lorientaise after the war. Luter began accompanying Sidney Bechet in 1949 and played throughout the world with him until Bechet’s death in 1959. He then began playing the saxophone, and continued to bring New Orleans style jazz to his Paris audience. Luter kept playing a regular schedule at Paris jazz clubs until shortly before his death.
2006 • Obituaries
family. Lutz, his wife, and her three children from a previous marriage, reportedly were beset by numerous bizarre occurrences including green slime covering the walls and ceiling, levitations, odd smells and chills, and glowing eyes appearing at the windows. The family moved out after 28 days. The Lutzes collaborated with author Jay Anson on a book of their experiences, which became the best selling The Amityville Horror in 1977. A film of the same name followed in 1979 with James Brolin and Margot Kidder as the Lutzes. Numerous sequels, most bearing only a vague connection to the first, were also produced including Amityville II: The Possession (1982), Amityville 3-D (1983), Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes (1989), The Amityville Curse (1990), Amityville 1992 — It’s About Time (1992), Amityville — A New Generation (1993), and Amityville Dollhouse — Evil Never Dies (1997). A remake of the original film, The Amityville Horror, was released in 2005 with Ryan Reynolds as George Lutz. Lutz himself participated in several documentaries about his experiences, though many debunkers expressed doubts about most of the family’s claims. The Lutzes were divorced in the late 1980s and Kathy reportedly died in 2004.
George Lutz
LUZ, AIDA Argentine actress Aida Luz died in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on May 25, 2006. She was 89. Luz was born in Buenos Aires on February 10, 1917. She was featured in numerous films and stage produc-
Claude Luter
LUTZ, GEORGE George Lutz, whose claims that his home was possessed by evil spirits became the basis of the book and movies The Amityville Horror, died of heart disease in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 8, 2006. He was 59. Lutz was born on January 1, 1947. He and his then wife, Kathy, purchased a home on 112 Ocean Avenue, in the Village of Amityville on Long Island, New York, in December of 1975. The house had been the scene of a mass murder the previous year when Ronald DeFeo had shot to death six members of his
Aida Luz
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tions from the 1930s. Her film credits include Palermo (1937), From the Hills to the Valley (1938), Una Prueba de Carino (1938), Amor (1940), Papa Has a Fiancee (1941), Mother Gloria (1941), When the Heart Sings (1941), The Journey (1942), La Piel de Zapa (1943), El Deseo (1944), El Ultimo Payador (1950), Dishonor (1952), The Sacred Call (1954), El Hombre Virgen (1956), Marta Ferrari (1956), Simiente Humana (1959), El Crack (1960), El Rufian (1960), Las Furias (1960), My First Girl Friend (1965), Would You Marry Me? (1967), Vila Varino (1967), Asalto a la Cuidad (1968), Let’s Play in the World (1971), and Gallito Ciego (2001). She also appeared frequently on Argentine television from the 1970s in such series as Somos Nosotros (1979), Un Angel en la Cuidad (1980), Los Libonatti (1991), and La Flaca Escopeta (1993).
LYCAN , G EORGES French actor Georges Lycan died in Paris on February 5, 2006. He was 78. Lycan was born in Francueil, France, on May 8, 1927. He appeared in numerous films from the early 1950s. His film credits include Judgment of God (1952), Girl Merchants (1957), Inspector Maigret (1958), The Gambler (1958), Dangerous Games (1958), The Motorcycle Cops (1959), The Magnificent Tramp (1959), The Baron of the Locks (1960), The Triumph of Michael Strogoff (1961), Skin and Bones (1961), The Miracle of the Wolves (1961), Princess of Cleves (1961), Destination Fury (1961), Dynamite Jack (1961), Il Paladino della Corte di Francia (1962), Oro per i Cesari (1963), Good King Dagobert (1963), The Girl Can’t Stop (1965), The Tramplers (1966), Terence Young’s Triple Cross (1966), Action Man (1967), Beru and These Women (1968), Only the Cool (1970), Red Sun (1971), The Marseille Contract (1974), La Gueule du Loup (1981), Les Miserables (1982), Edith and Marcel (1983), The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak (1984), Flag (1987), and Radio Corbeau (1989). Lycan also appeared on television in productions of The Treasure of the Castle with No Name (1970), Tang (1971), La Poupee Sanglante (1976), Le Mutant (1978), Les Incorrigibles (1980), Samantha (1981), La Sorciere (1982), L’Homme de la Nuit (1983), and Le Gorille (1990).
home in Opp, Alabama, on October 5, 2006. He was 78. Lynch was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on November 13, 1927. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and began his acting career on stage in the 1950s. Lynch was featured in the Broadway production of Spoon River Antholog y in 1963. He soon began working in films and television. His film credits include Stagecoach (1966), The Way West (1966), Rosie! (1967), Wild Rovers (1971), and the 1975 tele-film Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan. He gueststarred in episodes of numerous television series including Burke’s Law, The Loner, Hogan’s Heroes, Perry Mason, Wild Wild West, The Fugitive, Star Trek, Shane, Gunsmoke, Dragnet 1967, Custer, Bonanza, The Big Valley, The Mod Squad, The F.B.I., Mayberry R.F.D., Dan August, The Interns, Mannix, Emergency!, Cannon, and Shazam! He was also involved with the operation of Theatre West in Los Angeles, which was a training ground for actors. He retired to Alabama, where he was involved in writing a historical column for the local newspaper.
Hal Lynch
MABRY, MOSS Moss Mabry, an Oscarnominated film costume designer, died of heart and respiratory problems in an Oceanside, California, hospital on January 25, 2006. He was 87. Mabry was born on July 5, 1918. He began working as a wardrober in films in the early 1950s on such features as Phantom of
Georges Lycan
LYNCH, HAL Character actor James Harold Tilton “Hal” Lynch died of an apparent suicide at his
Moss Mabry
221 the Rue Morgue (1954), Dial M for Murder (1954), Them! (1954), The Bounty Hunter (1954), and Tall Man Riding (1955). He soon began designing costumes for such films as South Sea Woman (1953), Three Sailors and a Girl (1953), The Command (1954), Lucky Me (1954), Hell on Frisco Bay (1955), The Sea Chase (1955), Mister Roberts (1955), Jump Into Hell (1955), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Illegal (1955), I Died a Thousand Times (1955), Target Zero (1955), Santiago (1956), A Cry in the Night (1956), The Bad Seed (1956), Toward the Unknown (1956), Giant (1956), The Girl He Left Behind (1956), Stage Struck (1958), The Subterraneans (1960), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Mutiny on the Bounty (1962), The Ceremony (1963), Move Over, Darling (1963), Shock Treatment (1964), Fate Is the Hunter (1964), Dear Brigitte (1965), How to Murder Your Wife (1965), Morituri (1965), The Reward (1965), The Silencers (1966), Three on a Couch (1966), Way ... Way Out (1966), Murderers’ Row (1966), The Big Mouth (1967), Tony Rome (1967), How to Save a Marriage (And Ruin Your Life) (1968), Sol Madrid (1968), Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows (1968), The Detective (1968), Lady in Cement (1968), The Wrecking Crew (1969), The Mad Room (1969), The Maltese Bippy (1969), The Great Bank Robbery (1969), Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), Cactus Flower (1969), The Christine Jorgensen Story (1970), R.P.M. (1970), How Do I Love Thee? (1970), Alex in Wonderland (1970) in which he was also featured in a small role, Doctors’ Wife (1971), The Mephisto Waltz (1971), The Love Machine (1971), Stand Up and Be Counted (1972), Portnoy’s Complaint (1972), Butterflies Are Free (1972), The Way We Were (1973) starring Barbra Streisand, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (1973), The Trial of Billy Jack (1974), Jacqueline Susann’s Once Is Not Enough (1975), Embryo (1976), the tele-film Woman of the Year (1976), The Shootist (1976), From Noon Till Three (1976), King Kong (1976), Beyond Reason (1977), The One and Only (1978), Casey’s Shadow (1978), Sunburn (1979), Touched by Love (1980), Continental Divide (1981), Carbon Copy (1981), Blood Tide (1982), The Toy (1982), Rent-a-Cop (1987), and Yellow Pages (1988).
MACKAY, GEORDIE The Rev. George M. Twigg-Porter, who appeared in films as a child under the name Geordie MacKay, died of respiratory complications in Los Gatos, California, on September 8, 2006. He was 85. He was born in Ealing, England, on April 20, 1921, and came to Hollywood with his mother as a child. He appeared in small roles in a handful of films as a child in the 1930s including Oliver Twist (1933), Of Human Bondage (1934), David Copperfield (1935), A Feather in Her Hat (1935), and Parnell (1936). He subsequently entered the seminary and became a Jesuit novitiate. He was ordained a priest in 1953 and spent most of his ministerial life in the San Francisco area until poor health led to his retirement in Los Gatos in 2005. MACKIN , JOHN Canadian actor John Mackin died on January 10, 2006. He was 84. Mackin began his career on radio in 1945. He also appeared in the 1954 film The Far Country, and was featured as Mr.
2006 • Obituaries
Johnson in the television series The Forest Rangers in 1964. His other television credits include episodes of Wojeck and Front Page Challenge.
MACKINTOSH , KENNETH British actor Kenneth Mackintosh died in London on October 29, 2006. He was 86. Mackintosh was born in Dorset, England, on November 19, 1919. He began performing in amateur stage productions before joining the Royal Air Force during World War II. While a prisoner of war, he and a group of fellow POWs designed and built their own theatre and produced plays during their captivity. He continued to perform on stage after the war and was featured as Little John in the Robin Hood television series in 1953. Mackintosh joined Laurence Olivier’s National Theatre in 1964, and soon became one of Olivier’s closest associates. He served as a staff director with the theatre, and was senior staff director until his retirement in 1993. He remained with the theatre as a consultant. Mackintosh appeared in several films during his career including A Prize of Arms (1962), Othello (1965) as Ludovico, and Three Sisters (1970). He also appeared in television productions of The Monsters (1962) and The Merchant of Venice (1973), and appeared in episodes of Suspense, The Saint, and Barlow at Large.
Kenneth Mackintosh
MADBOULY, ABDEL MONEIM Egyptian comedian and playwright Abdel Moneim Madbouly
Abdel Moneim Madbouly
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died of a heart attack in a Cairo, Egypt, hospital on July 9, 2006. He was 84. Madbouly was born in Cairo on December 28, 1921. He began performing on stage at the age of seven, acting with troupes run by actress Fatma Rushdi and, later, stage director George Abyadh. He wrote, directed and starred in numerous plays, and was a popular television performer. He also appeared in such films as Between Heaven and Earth (1960), The Bachelor Husband (1966), Chatei el Marah (1967), AlMillionaire al-Mouzasyyaf (1968), Ashgaa Ragel fil Alam (1968), and Me, My Daughter and Love (1974).
MADDIN, JIMMIE Musician Jimmie Maddin, noted for his rock ’n’ roll saxophone style of playing known as honking, died in Boulder City, Nevada, on September 1, 2006. He was 78. Maddin was born on February 27, 1928. He began performing in the 1950s and was heard on Bennie Carter’s early rock tune “Boogie Boo.” Maddin hosted The Nighthawk Bandstand radio program and was music coordinator on the American International Pictures’ musical horror comedy The Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow in 1959. He also appeared onscreen in the film as a singer. He continued to work with AIP’s music division, and also owned and operated several nightclubs in Hollywood. Maddin also co-wrote the song “I Love the Dodgers” when the baseball team relocated to Los Angeles. He continued to perform the saxophone for many years at his Glendale nightclub, The Capri Lounge.
(1973), The Last Bullet (1973), Beyond the Sands (1973), A Certain Kind of Happiness (1973), It’s a Long Way to Tipperary (1973), Stephen the Great (1974), Lust for Gold (1974), Through the Ashes of the Empire (1975), Mastodontul (1975), The Punishment (1976), Red Apples (1976), Accident (1976), Fair Play (1977), The Green Grass of Home (1978), Uncertain Roads (1978), The Last Night of Love (1979), Michael, the Dog That Sang (1979), Cumpana (1979), The Enchanted Grove (1980), Burebista, the Iron and the Gold (1980), Convoiul (1981), Ciresarii (1984), Repeated Wedding (1985), The Golddiggers (1986), Crumul Cainilor (1991), Betrayal (1993), Train of Life (1998), Chinese Defense (1999), Modigliani (2004), and Pacala se Intoarce (2006).
Ernest Maftei
MAGGS, JOEY Joseph Magliano, who wrestled professionally as Joey Maggs, died on October 15, 2006. He was 37. He began his career in the ring in 1987 and teamed with Rex King to win the USWA Tag Team Titles in 1990. He entered WCW the following year and remained with the promotion through the end of the decade. His lone pay-per-view appearance was in the 1991’s Halloween Havoc when he and Johnny Rich competed as the much maligned tag team known as The Creatures.
Jimmie Maddin
MAFTEI, ERNEST Romanian actor Ernest Maftei died in Bucharest, Romania, of pulmonary cancer on October 19, 2005. He was 86. Maftei was born in Bacau, Romania, on March 6, 1920. He was featured in numerous films from the 1950s including The Bugler’s Grandsons (1953), Development in a Village (1954), The Danube Waves (1959), The Man Next to You (1961), Tudor (1962), The Wild Appletrees (1964), Blazing Winter (1965), The Soimaresti Family (1965), Meanders (1966), Reconstruction (1968), The Revenge of the Outlaws (1968), Too Small for Such a Great War (1969), Warmth (1969), The Axe (1969), Dogs to the Rescue (1969), Asteptarea (1970), The Power and the Truth (1971), The Lost Forest (1971), Then I Sentenced Them All to Death (1971), The Conspiracy (1972), The Snowstorm
Joey Maggs
MAHFOUZ, NAGUIB Nobel Prize–winning Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz died on August 30,
223 2006, in a Cairo hospital of complications from pneumonia, kidney ailments and a head injury received in a fall at his home the previous month. He was 94. Mahfouz was born in Cairo on December 11, 1911. He attended the University of Cairo where he graduated with degrees in philosophy and literature in 1934. He wrote several historical novels before embarking on his most famous work Cairo Trilog y, consisting of Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street, in 1946. With these works about a modern Cairo family Mahfouz became the first Arab writer to achieve international recognition. He also held various jobs with the Egyptian government, serving as director of the national film agency in the 1960s. His controversial novel The Children of Gebelawi sparked national protests until Egyptian President Nasser allowed the religious allegory to be published in serial form in 1959. Mahfouz produced over 50 books including novels, plays, short stories and essays before he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1988, becoming the first Arabic writer to be so honored. He remained a controversial figure in the Islamic world, where his support of the Egypt and Israeli peace accord in 1979 and his renunciation of the Ayatollah Khomeini’s fatwa, or death sentence, on novelist Salman Rushdie in 1989 caused consternation amongst radical Islamicists. Mahfouz was the target of several extremist attacks and was nearly killed by a knife welding militant who stabbed him in the neck in October of 1994. His injuries curtailed his ability to write though with physical therapy he eventually regained the use of his right arm. His final work, a collection of short stories, The Seventh Heaven, was published in December of 2005. Many of his works were adapted to film, with him often providing the screenplays, including The Adventures of Antar and Abla (1948), The Monster (1954), I Have Been Made a Murderer (1955), Madmen’s Meeting Place (1955), The Bad Tempered Man (1956), The Tough (1957), The Barred Road (1958), Dead Among the Living (1960), Between Heaven and Earth (1960), Chased by the Dogs (1962), Saladin (1963), The Road (1964), El Saman wal Karif (1967), Kasr El Shawk (1967), The Beginning and the End (1993), and Miracle Alley (1995).
Maguib Mahfouz
2006 • Obituaries
MA JI Chinese comedian Ma Ji died in a Beijing, China, hospital on December 20, 2006. He was 72. Ma Ji was born Ma Shuhuai in Beijing in 1934. He studied the Chinese form of comedy known as crosstalk, or xiangsheng, which involves one or two actors conversing in humorous tones on a single topic, in the early 1950s. He performed crosstalk with the Ballad Troupe and the Central Broadcasting Recitation. He was noted for such crosstalk skits as The UniversalBrand Cigarette, Ode to Friendship, and Multistory Restaurant. The chubby comic was known as a master of puns and satire in his skits.
Ma Ji
MAKO Asian-American actor Mako, who earned an Academy Award nomination for his role in the 1966 film The Sand Pebbles, died of esophageal cancer at his home in Somis, California, on July 21, 2006. He was 72. He was born Makoto Iwamatsu in Kobe, Japan, on December 10, 1933. He joined his parents in the United States when he was 15. He served two years in the U.S. military, and was stationed in Korea and Japan. Upon his return he studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse. He made his television debut in the early 1960s, appearing in episodes of The Lloyd Bridges Show, The Gallant Men, 77 Sunset Strip, McHale’s Navy, I Dream of Jeannie, Burke’s Law, Gidget, I Spy, The Green Hornet, F Troop, Time Tunnel, Vacation Playhouse, The Big Valley, The F.B.I., Kung Fu, The Streets of San Francisco, Love, American Style, Mannix, Hawaii 5-O, and Visions. Mako was cast as Po-han, a Chinese engine-room worker aboard a U.S. gunboat patrolling China’s Yangtze River in the mid–1920s, in Robert Wise’s The Sand Pebbles in 1966, starring Steve McQueen. Mako’s dignified interpretation of the role earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. He continued to appear in such films as The Ugly Dachshund (1966), The Private Navy of Sgt. O’Farrell (1968), The Great Bank Robbery (1969), Fools (1970), The Hawaiians (1970), Silence (1971), The Island at the Top of the World (1974), Prisoners (1975), The Killer Elite (1975), The Big Brawl (1980), Under the Rainbow (1981), An Eye for an Eye (1981), and The Bushido Blade (1981). He was featured as Akiro the Wizard in the film Conan the Barbarian (1982) and the 1984 sequel Conan the Destroyer
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with Arnold Schwarzenegger. His other film credits include Testament (1983), Behind Enemy Lines (1986), Armed Response (1986), Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988), The Wash (1988), Silent Assassins (1988), An Unremarkable Life (1989), Fatal Mission (1990), Taking Care of Business (1990), Pacific Heights (1990), The Perfect Weapon (1991), Strawberry Road (1991), My Samurai (1992), Sidekicks (1992), RoboCop 3 (1993), Rising Sun (1993), Red Sun Rising (1993), Cultivating Charlie (1994), Highlander III: The Final Dimension (1994), A Dangerous Place (1995), Crying Freeman (1995), Blood for Blood (1995), Sworn to Justice (1996), Balance of Power (1996), Seven Years in Tibet (1997), Alegria (1998), The Bird People in China (1998), The Accomplice (1999), Owls’ Castle (1999), Talk to Taka (2000), Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000) as the voice of Mr. Yamaguchi, She Said I Love You (2001), Pearl Harbor (2001) as Admiral Yamamoto, Bulletproof Monk (2003), Cages (2005), Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), and Rise (2006). Mako also appeared in numerous tele-films including The Challenge (1970), If Tomorrow Comes (1971), Judge Dee and the Monastery Murders (1974), Farewell to Manzanar (1976), Columbo: Murder Under Glass (1978), When Hell Was in Session (1979), The Last Ninja (1983), Girls of the White Orchid (1983), Kung Fu: The Movie (1986), Murder in Paradise (1990), Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes (1990), Riot (1997), and Sokoku (2005). Mako starred as Major Taro Oshira in the 1984 television action series Hawaiian Heat. His other television credits include episodes of Wonder Woman, Supertrain, The Incredible Hulk, A Man Called Sloane, M*A*S*H, Fantasy Island, The Facts of Life, Flamingo Road, Bring ‘Em Back Alive, Voyagers!, Quincy, Magnum, P.I., The Greatest American Hero, The ATeam, Spenser: For Hire, Tour of Duty, The Equalizer, Paradise, Lovejoy, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Frasier, Platypus Man, JAG, Martial Law, 7th Heaven, Walker, Texas Ranger, The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, Diagnosis Murder, Lost at Home, Black Sash in the recurring role of Master Li, Charmed, Monk, and The West Wing. Mako was also a voice actor for several video games and for such animated series as Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack, What’s New, Scooby-Doo?, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Duck Dodgers, Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go, and Avatar: The Last
Mako
Airbinder. Mako was also co-founder of East West Players, the first Asian-American theatrical company, in 1965, and was artistic director of the group for many years. He was instrumental in furthering the careers of numerous Asian-American actors, writers and directors. Mako was featured on Broadway in the Stephen Sondheim musical Pacific Overtures in 1976, and earned a Tony Award nomination for his multiple roles. He remained active with the East West Players until breaking with them in 1989 over creative differences. Mako is survived by his wife, dancer and actress Shizuko Hoshi, and their daughters, Sala and Mimosa.
MAKOUL, RUDY Radio announcer and film dialogue coach Rudy Makoul died in a Santa Monica, California, hospital on February 22, 2006. He was 85. Makoul was born on July 2, 1920. He began his career as a radio announcer before becoming a dialogue coach in films in the early 1950s. Sometimes billed as Rudy McKool, he worked on the films That’s My Boy (1951), Joe Palooka in Triple Cross (1951), Chicago Calling (1952), Living It Up (1954), 3 Ring Circus (1954), Artists and Models (1955), The Girl Can’t Help It (1956), Hollywood or Bust (1956), and Rock-a-Bye Baby (1958). Makoul also wrote the 1957 film Teenage Thunder and an episode of television’s Wagon Train. His story was also adapted for the 1958 Jerry Lewis comedy film The Geisha Boy.
Rudy Makoul (with Jayne Mansfield)
MALLE, ANNA Adult film actress Anna Malle died of injuries she received in the crash of the automobile she was a passenger in on January 25, 2006, in Las Vegas, Nevada. She was 38. Malle was born in Iowa on September 9, 1967. The dark-haired actress began her career in 1994 and starred in over 100 adult films. Her numerous credits include Sex Trek 4: The Next Orgasm (1994), Sex Academy 5: The Art of Pulp Fiction (1994), Natural Born Thrillers (1994), Buck Adams’ Frankenstein (1994), Desert Moon (1994), Southern Comfort (1995), On Her Back (1995), The Many Faces of P.J. Sparxx (1995), Heidi’s Girls (1995), Cynthia and the Pocket Rocket (1995), Caught in the Act (1995), Bizarre’s Dracula (1995), Witches Are Bitches (1996), Independence Night (1996), Cybersex (1996), Beauty’s Punishment (1996), Beauty’s Revenge (1996), Creatures of the
225 Night (1997), Chasing Asia (1997), A Witch’s Tail (2000), Diego’s Girls (2000), Lara Crotch, Tomb Raider (2001), Dairy Made (2004), and Wicked Fourg y of Whorror (2005).
Anna Malle
MALONEY, DAVID British television director David Maloney died of cancer in Hampstead, London, England, on July 18, 2006. He was 72. Maloney was born in Alvechurch, Worcestershire, England, on December 14, 1933. He began working with the Doctor Who series in 1965 as a production assistant, but rose to serve as director for numerous episodes in the popular British science fiction series from 1968 through the 1970s. Maloney also directed such television miniseries as Ivanhoe (1970), Sentimental Education (1970), The Last of the Mohicans (1971), The Witch’s Daughter (1971), Woodstock (1973), Hawkeye, the Pathfinder (1973), Aftermath (1980), and Maelstrom (1985). He also helmed episodes of Paul Temple, Bedtime Stories, Angels, Juliet Bravo, Play for Today, and Strike It Rich! Maloney produced the science fiction series Blakes 7 in the early 1980s and oversaw production for the 1981 television adaptation of John Wyndham’s science fiction classic The Day of the Triffids.
2006 • Obituaries
was born in New York City on July 7, 1922. He began singing professionally while a teenager and joined the Claude Thornhill Orchestra in 1942. He performed with Glenn Miller’s Orchestra during World war II and remained with the group under Tex Beneke after the war. Malvin also became noted as a lyricist and composer, earning an Emmy Award for his work on a Frank Sinatra television special in 1968. He shared a second Emmy with Stan Freeman for writing the Carol Burnett Show in 1978. Malvin worked with Burnett’s variety program for eleven years. He was also nominated for a Tony Award for co-writing the hit Broadway musical Sugar Babies in 1980.
MANCINI, RIC Actor Ric Mancini died in Woodland Hills, California, on May 26, 2006. He was 73. Mancini was born in New York on April 16, 1933. He was active in film and television from the early 1970s. His film credits include Across 110th Street (1972), Shamus (1973), Badge 373 (1973), The Gambler (1974), Teenage Hitch-hikers (1975), Nickelodeon (1976), The Formula (1980), Below the Belt (1980), They Call Me Bruce? (1982), Ghost Busters (1984), Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985), Penitentiary III (1987), Aloha Summer (1988), Deep Cover (1992), Ed Wood (1994), Livers Ain’t Cheap (1997), Nowhere Land (1998), True Friends (1998), My Brother Jack (1998), Submitted for Your Approval (2000), Ready to Rumble (2000), Two Shades of Blue (2000), Kiss the Bride (2002), and The 4th Tenor (2002). He was also featured in the tele-films Paradise Lost (1974), Thursday’s Game (1974), Nick and Nora (1975), Green Eyes (1977), To Kill a Cop (1978), The Ordeal of Patty Hearst (1979), Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer: Murder Me, Murder You (1983), A Streetcar Named Desire (1984), Outrage! (1986), Triplecross (1986), High Mountain Rangers (1987), Man Against the Mob: The Chinatown Murders (1989), Jury Duty: The Comedy (1990), and Father and Son: Dangerous Relations (1993). Mancini’s other television credits include episodes of Cannon, McCloud, The Rookies, Police Story, Rhoda, Charlie’s Angels, M*A*S*H, Starsky and Hutch, Most Wanted, The Rockford Files, Baretta, Delvecchio, CHiPs, The Bob Newhart Show, What’s Happening!!, Kaz, Archie Bunker’s Place, Laverne and Shirley, Remington Steele, Fame, Misfits of Science, The
David Maloney
MALVIN, ARTHUR Composer Arthur Malvin died after a long illness at his home in Century City, California, on June 16, 2006. He was 83. Malvin
Ric Mancini
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A-Team, Starman, One Big Family, Mathnet, Square One TV, Quantum Leap, Mancuso, FBI, General Hospital, Miller and Mueller, Mike Hammer, Private Eye, NYPD Blue, Power Rangers Time Force, and ER.
and The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood Jr. (1996), and episodes of The Incredibly Strange Film Show and E! Mysteries & Scandals.
MANNING, GORDON Television news executive Gordon Manning died on September 6, 2006. He was 89. Manning was born on May 28, 1917. He began his career in Boston working with United Press International. He later served as editor of Colliers magazine and Newsweek before becoming involved in television news in the 1960s. Manning served as vice president with CBS news where he worked closely with Walter Cronkite on such important stories as the Apollo moon landing, Nixon’s visit to China, the Vietnam war and the Watergate scandal. He moved to NBC in 1975 where he remained for the next two decades. He earned the George Polk Award in journalism in 1988 for his career in the news. Paul Marco (from Plan 9 from Outer Space)
MARDIN , ARIF Grammy Award–winning music producer Arif Mardin died of pancreatic cancer in New York City on June 25, 2006. He was 74. Mardin was born in Istanbul, Turkey, on March 15, 1932. He went to America in 1958 where he studied music. Mardin became an assistant to Nesuhi Ertegun at Atlantic Records in 1963. He became a leading producer at the label, working with such stars as Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, the Bee Gees, Chaka Khan, Norah Jones, and Jewel. Mardin was the recipient of numerous Grammy Awards and was named producer of the year in 1975 and in 2002. Gordon Manning
MARCO, PAUL Paul Marco, whose main claim to fame rested in his role as Kelton the Cop in several of Edward D. Wood, Jr.’s, cult films of the 1950s, died in Hollywood on May 14, 2006. He was 80. Marco was born in Los Angeles and began his career as a child performer as part of the acting troupe of Meglin Kiddies. Marco served in the Navy during World War II and made his film debut in the 1944 feature Sweet and Low-Down. He also appeared in a small role in 1952’s Hiawatha. He began his association with Ed Wood with 1955’s Bride of the Monster, starring Bela Lugosi. He reprised his role as Kelton the Cop in Wood’s Night of the Ghouls (1959) and the cult classic Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959). Marco also appeared in small roles in the films The Young Savages (1961) and Rat Fink (1965), and in an episode of television’s 77 Sunset Strip. He also worked at Paramount Studios as a property master on commercials such series as One Day at a Time. Marco began appearing as a guest as film festivals and autograph conventions after Wood became a cult figure in the 1980s. He was portrayed in Tim Burton’s 1994 bio-film about the director Ed Wood by Max Casella. He was also featured in several documentaries about Wood and his work including Flying Saucers Over Hollywood: The Plan 9 Companion (1992)
Arif Mardin
MARHOLM, ALF German character actor Alf Marholm died in Waldbreitbach, Germany, on February 24, 2006. He was 87. Marholm was born in Oberhausen, Germany, on May 31, 1918. He appeared in numerous films from the early 1950s, including No Way Back (1953), The Golden Plague (1954), Many Passed By (1955), Indecent (1958), Ship of the Dead (1959), Edgar Wallace’s The Red Circle (1960), The Terrible People (1960), Knights of Terror (1963), Kiss Kiss, Kill Kill (1966), The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of (1972), Tears of Blood (1972), All People Will Be Brothers (1973), Only the Wind Knows the Answer (1974), Jet-Set-Girl
227 and the Spies (1976), Hitler’s Son (1978), Kolping (1986), Zurivy Reporter (1987), and Lovec Senzaci (1988). Marholm also appeared frequently on German television in such productions as Die Frau in Weiss (1971), Die Powenzbande (1973), Tatort— Kassensturz (1976), Parole Chicago (1979), Abenteuer Bundesrepublik (1983), and The Black Forest Clinic (1984) as Administrative Director Alfred Muhlmann. He also appeared in episodes of Errick and Der Alte, and was Dr. Paul Tauber in Freunde fur Leben in 1994 and 1995.
2006 • Obituaries
MARKS, DENNIS Animated television writer and producer Dennis Marks died of pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles on January 10, 2006. He was 73. Marks was born in New York City on August 2, 1932. He wrote for numerous animated television series from the 1960s, scripting episodes of Batfink, Josie and the Pussycats, The Barkleys, The Incredible Hulk, Transformers, Tom and Jerry, and Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. He also provided the voice of the Green Goblin in the Spider-Man series. Marks also scripted the animated features Jetsons: The Movie (1990) and Tom and Jerry: The Movie (1992), and produced the children’s television series Wonderama in the 1970s.
Alf Marholm
MARIA, RAQUEL Portuguese actress Raquel Maria died of cancer in Lisbon, Portugal, on July 26, 2006. She was 60. Maria was born in Castro Verde, Portugal, on May 18, 1946. She appeared frequently in films and television from the early 1980s. Her film credits include Life Is Beautiful (1982), Silvestre (1982), Ols Abismos da Meia-Noite (1984), The Jester (1987), A Maldicao do Marialva (1990), O Rapaz do Tambor (1990), Rosa Negra (1992), Cold Land (1992), In the Shadow of the Vultures (1998), Golpe de Asa (1999), Mal (1999), and Um Tiro no Escuro (2005). She also starred in such television series as Marina, Marina (1990), Ora Bolas Marina (1993), Os Malucos do Riso (1995), As Aventuras do Camilo (1997), Companhia do Riso (1999), Alves dos Reis (2000), Bacalhau com Todos (2000), Fabrica de Anedotas (2001), and Nao Ha Pai (2002).
Dennis Marks
MARLOWE, ALONA Alona Cortese, who appeared in a handful of films in the late 1920s and early 1930s as Alona Marlowe, died in Los Angeles on March 24, 2006. She was 97. She was born in St. Cloud, Minnesota, on July 21, 1908. She moved with her family to Southern California in the 1920s, where she began working at MGM as a starlet. She appeared in small roles in the films Our Dancing Daughters (1928), The Arg yle Case (1929), and The Way of All Men (1930) with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Her sister, June Marlowe, also went into films, starring as the teacher, Mrs. Crabtree, in the Our Gang comedy shorts, and her brother Louis Marlowe, directed for film and television. She left films to work in real estate and married fellow realtor Ross
Raquel Maria Alona Marlowe
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Cortese. The couple developed numerous projects including the Leisure World communities. Ross Cortese died in 1991.
MARLY, ANNA French singer Anna Marly, whose broadcasts from Britain during World War II inspired the French Resistance, died in Lazy Mountain, Alaska, on February 15, 2006. She was 88. Marly was born Anna Betoulinsky in St. Petersburg, Russia, during the Revolution on October 30, 1917. Her father, a Russian aristocrat, was slain by a Bolshevik firing squad, and Anna escaped with the remainder of her family to settle in France. She studied music and became a singer and songwriter. She married a Dutch diplomat in 1938 and the two fled during the Nazi invasion to England in 1941. She performed for Allied troops and her composition, “Song of the Partisans,” became the anthem of the French Resistance during the later years of the war. Another of her melodies, “The Partisan,” achieved international notice in 1969 when Leonard Cohen recorded an alternative version of her song. Her broadcasts from England brought hope to occupied France throughout the war. Marly remained a popular singer after the war, eventually settling in New York. She became a U.S. citizen in 1965 and retired to Alaska in 2003. Marly’s autobiography, Troubadour de la Resistance, was published in 2000.
Anna Marly
MARSDEN, FREDDIE Freddie Marsden, the drummer for the 1960s rock group Gerry and the Pacemakers, died in Southport, Lancashire, England, on December 9, 2006. He was 66. Marsden was born in Liverpool, England, on October 23, 1940. He and his younger brother, Gerry, formed their first band, Mars Bars, in the late 1950s, and soon changed the name to Gerry and the Pacemakers. Freddie played drums and Gerry was the lead singer in a group that would soon come to include Les Chadwick on bass and Les Maguire on the piano. They followed the Beatles as the second band signed by manager Brian Epstein in 1962, and recorded their first hit song “How Do You Do It” the following year. Other hits followed including “I Like It,” “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” and “I’m the One.” Freddie co-wrote several of their popular tunes including “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying,”
“Why Oh Why,” and “You’ve Got What I Like.” He also starred with the group in the 1965 film Ferry Cross the Mersey, and the title song from the film became another hit. When Gerry Marsden embarked on a solo career in 1968, the group disbanded and Freddie retired from music.
Freddie Marsden (right, with John Chadwock, Gerry Marsden, and Les Maguire of Gerry and the Pacemakers)
MARSH, MARIAN Leading lady Marian Marsh, who starred opposite John Barrymore in the 1931 film Svengali, died at her Palm Desert, California, home on November 9, 2006. She was 93. She was born Violet Ethelred Krauth in Trinidad, West Indies, on October 17, 1913, where her parents operated a chocolate factory. She accompanied her family to Boston as a child and went to California in the 1920s where her sister acted in silent films as Jean Morgan and Jean Fenwick. Marian began her film career in the late 1920s, appearing in several films under the name Marilyn Morgan. She was featured in small roles in several films and shorts including The Sophomore (1929), Don’t Believe It (1930), Howard Hughes’ Hell’s Angels (1930), Whoopee! (1930), and The Naughty Flirt (1931). The petite blonde was selected by John Barrymore to appear opposite him as Trilby, the young singer who falls under the spell of her maestro, in 1931’s Svengali. She continued to appear in films over the next two decades, with
Marian Marsh
229 such credits as Five Star Final (1931), The Road to Singapore (1931), The Mad Genius (1931), Under Eighteen (1932), Alias the Doctor (1932), Beauty and the Boss (1932), Strange Justice (1932), The Sport Parade (1932), The Eleventh Commandment (1933), Daring Daughters (1933), Notorious but Nice (1933), A Man of Sentiment (1933), Love at Second Sight (1934), I Like It That Way (1934), Over the Garden Wall (1934), The Prodigal Son (1934), A Girl of the Limberlost (1934), In Spite of Danger (1935), Unknown Woman (1935), The Black Room (1935), Crime and Punishment (1935), Lady of Secrets (1936), Counterfeit (1936), The Man Who Lived Twice (1936), Come Closer, Folks (1936), When’s Your Birthday? (1937), The Great Gambini (1937), Youth on Patrol (1937), Saturday’s Heroes (1937), Prison Nurse (1938), A Desperate Adventure (1938), Missing Daughters (1939), Fugitive from a Prison Camp (1940), Murder By Invitation (1941), Gentleman from Dixie (1941), and House of Errors (1942). Marsh retired from the screen soon after her marriage to stockbroker Albert Scott in 1938. After the marriage ended she briefly returned to acting in the late 1950s, appearing with John Forsythe in a episode of Schlitz Playhouse of Stars. She wed wealthy aviation pioneer Clifford Henderson in 1960, and moved to Palm Desert, California. Marsh remained in Palm Desert after Henderson’s death in 1984, where she was active with charitable endeavors including the conservation project which she founded, Desert Beautiful.
MARSHALL , CHERRY British model and television personality Cherry Marshall died in Frintonon-Sea, Essex, England, on January 31, 2006. She was 82. She was born Irene Maude Pearson in Christchurch, England, on July 25, 1923. She met and married poet Emmanuelle Litvinoff during World War II, and she soon began working as a model in London under the name Cherry Marshall. She specialized in evening wear and became known as Miss Susan Small, model for the famed ready-to-wear Susan Small fashion house. She eventually quit modeling to work as public relations manager for Susan Small, and became a leading modeling talent agent by the mid–1950s. She represented several leading models of the period including Pattie Boyd and Brenda Walker. Marshall be-
2006 • Obituaries
came one of the four regulars on the afternoon television show House Party in 1971, discussing women’s issues on the popular series until 1984. She also authored her memoirs, Catwalk, which was published in 1978. She remained a glamorous figure and a local celebrity in Frinton throughout her later years.
MARSHALL, CONNIE Actress Connie Marshall, who starred with Gene Autry in the 1953 film Saginaw Trail, died in Santa Rosa, California, on May 22, 2001. She was 68. She was born in New York City on April 28, 1938. Marshall was a child model from the age of five, and made her film debut in 1944’s Sunday Dinner for a Soldier. She appeared in a handful of films over the next decade before retiring from the screen in the early 1950s. Her screen credits include Sentimental Journey (1946), Dragonwyck (1946), Home, Sweet Homicide (1946), Wake Up and Dream (1946), Mother Wore Tights (1947), Daisy Kenyon (1947), Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), The Green Promise (1949), Kill the Umpire (1950), The Twonky (1953), Saginaw Trail (1953), and Rogue Cop (1954). She also appeared on television in episodes of Sky King and Doc Corkle. MARTIN, BARRY Dancer and choreographer Barry Martin died of heart failure at his home in Manhattan on February 6, 2006. He was 44. Martin was born in New York City on November 5, 1961. He trained as a dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. He performed with the British dance company Hot Gossip in the early 1980s. His stage career ended when he was seriously injured in an automobile accident while performing in South Africa in 1983. His spinal cord was severed when his treatment was delayed when he was refused admittance to a whites only hospital. Martin began choreographing from a wheelchair in 1985, and formed the Deja Vu Dance Theater.
Barry Martin (right, with Alvin Ailey)
Cherry Marshall
MASON , BOBBY JOE Basketball player Bobby Joe Mason, who played with the Harlem Globetrotters, died of a heart attack in Springfield, Missouri, on July 4, 2006. He was 70. Mason was born on April 23, 1936. He was a basketball star from high school and began a fifteen season career with the
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Harlem Globetrotters in 1962. Mason appeared with the Globetrotters in the 1974 television series The Harlem Globetrotters Popcorn Machine, and in the 1981 tele-film The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island.
(1988), Shalom Joan Collins (1989), Great Expectations (1989) as Mrs. Fagge, and The Healer (1992). His other television credits include episodes of You Can’t Win, Suspense, Detective, Cluff, Dixon of Dock Green, Public Eye, Boy Meets Girl, Counterstrike, Paul Temple, Ryan International, Z Cars, Out of the Unknown, Saturday Night Theatre, Thirty-Minute Theatre, Within These Walls, Rooms, The Duchess of Duke Street, Ripping Yarns, The Wilde Alliance, Minder, Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected, The Young Ones, Angels, In Loving Memory, Juliet Bravo, Casualty, The Bill, Bergerac, Campion, Poirot, Love Hurts in the recurring role of Mrs. Piggott, The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, Lovejoy, Health and Efficiency, ChuckleVision, Pie in the Sky, Wycliffe, One Foot in the Grave, Coogan’s Run, Where the Heart Is, and Aguila.
Bobby Joe Mason
MASON, HILARY British character actress Hilary Mason, who was best known for her role as the blind psychic in Nicholas Roeg’s 1973 horror classic Don’t Look Now, died in England on September 5, 2006. She was 89. Mason was born in London on September 4, 1917. She began her career on the British stage, performing with repertory company’s throughout the country. She also became a frequent performer on British television in the 1950s, starring as Mrs. Medlock in the 1960 adaptation of The Secret Garden and as the Bride’s Mother in 1961’s A Wedding. Mason made her feature film debut in 1960’s Rockets in the Dunes. Her other film credits include The Yellow Teddybears (1963) and She’ll Follow You Anywhere (1971). After her performance in Don’t Look Now, she was featured in sinister roles in several other horror and suspense films including I Don’t Want to Be Born (1975), Absolution (1978), The Return of the Soldier (1982), Bullshot Command (1983), Dolls (1987), Robot Jox (1990), Meridian (1990), Afraid of the Dark (1991), and Haunted (1995). Mason starred as Amy Wilton in the popular British television series Coronation Street in 1976, and was Mrs. Nickleby in the 1977 adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby. She was also featured as Gladys in comedy series Maid Marian and Her Merry Men in 1993 and 1994. She was also featured in television productions of Swizzlewick (1964) as Mrs. Yapp, Lady of the Camellias (1964), United (1965), The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970) as Lady Boleyn, Morning Story (1970), Macbeth (1970), The Deep Blue Sea (1974), Edward the King (1975) as Mrs. Roberts, My Brother’s Keeper (1975), Poldark (1975) as Mrs. Carne, Early Struggles (1976), The House of Bernarda Alba (1975), The Phoenix and the Carpet (1976), The Three Hostages (1977), An Honourable Retirement (1979), Brendon Chase (1981) as Beatrix Holcome, Ghost in the Water (1982), Goodbye Mr. Chips (1984) as Mrs. Fuller, Moonfleet (1984), Anne of the Five Towns (1985), Miss Marple: The Moving Finger (1985), Hideaway (1986), David Copperfield (1986) as Mrs. Gummidge, All Passion Spent (1986), An Affair in Mind
Hilary Mason (in multiple reflections from Don’t Look Now with Julie Christie)
MASSEN, OSA Osa Massen, a Danish-born leading actress in the 1940s, died of complications from surgery in a Santa Monica, California, convalescent home on January 2, 2006. She was 91. She was born Aase Madsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, on January 13, 1914. She worked as a newspaper photographer and aspired to work in films as an editor when she was cast by director Alice O’Fredericks in the 1935 film Kidnapped. She appeared in the subsequent Danish film Bag Kobenhauns Kulisser (1935) before going to Hollywood, where she co-starred with Fred MacMurray and Madeleine Carroll in Honeymoon in Bali (1939). Massen continued to appear in such films as Honeymoon for Three (1941), George Cukor’s A Woman’s Face (1941), Accent on Love (1941), You’ll Never Get Rich (1941), The Devil Pays Off (1941), Iceland (1942), What We Are Fighting For (1943), Background to Danger (1943), Jack London (1943), The Black Parachute (1944), Cry of the Werewolf (1944), The Master Race (1944), Tokyo Rose (1946), The Gentleman Misbehaves (1946), Deadline at Dawn (1946), Strange Journey (1946), and Night Unto Night (1949). She starred in the 1948 film Million Dollar Weekend under the name Stephanie Paull, but was again billed as Osa Massen when she starred in the 1950 science fiction classic Rocketship XM. She appeared primarily on television during the 1950s, guest-starring in episodes of such series as Robert Montgomery Presents, Meet Mr. McNulty, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Science Fiction Theater, The Ford Television Theatre, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Code 3,
231 Wagon Train, Behind Closed Doors, and Perry Mason. She subsequently retired from show business.
2006 • Obituaries
dent’s Council on Physical Fitness and was the first director of the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs from 1977 to 1983. Mathias was selected for the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1983.
MATHIASON, THORA Singer Thora Mathiason died on January 5, 2006. She was 91. Mathiason was born in Seattle, Washington, on January 7, 1914. She was a leading soprano on the stage and radio from the 1930s. She also performed in several films including Kathleen (1941) and Meet the People (1944), and was Jeanette MacDonald’s vocal stand-in for 1942’s I Married an Angel.
Osa Massen
MATHIAS, BOB Bob Mathias, the Olympic decathlon champion who became an actor and Congressman, died of cancer at his home in Fresno, California, on September 2, 2006. He was 75. Mathias was born in Tulare, California, on November 17, 1930. He began competing in track and field in high school before winning the national championship for the decathlon in 1948. He qualified for the U.S. Olympic team and became the youngest gold medalist for track and field at the Olympics in London later in the year. Mathias became the first Olympic decathlon to repeat as champion, winning another gold medal at the Helsinki Olympics in 1952. He was one of the most popular athletes in the country in the early 1950s and starred as himself in the 1954 film version of his life, The Bob Mathias Story. He continued as an actor in several films including China Doll (1958), The Minotaur (1961) as Prince Theseus, and It Happened in Athens (1962). Mathias also starred as Frank Dugan in the television adventure series Troubleshooters with Keenan Wynn from 1959 to 1960 and guest starred in an episode of Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse. Mathias later entered politics, serving as a Republican Member of Congress for four terms from 1967 to 1975. He subsequently served as a full-time consultant to the Presi-
Bob Mathias
MATHOSA, LEBO South African singing star Lebo Mathosa was killed in a car crash in Germiston, near Johannesburg, South Africa on October 23, 2006. She was 29. Mathosa was born in Daveyton, South Africa, on July 16, 1977. She began her career as a member of the South African musical group Boom Shaka in the early 1990s. She embarked on a solo career in the year 2000 with the release of her album Dream. Her powerful voice and often daring costumes made her a superstar in her native country and also brought her international acclaim. She was also featured in the 2003 dramatic film Soldiers of the Rock.
Lebo Mathosa
MATSUMOTO, RYUSUKE Japanese comedian Ryusuke Matsumoto died of a brain hemorrhage
Ryusuke Matsumoto
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in Japan on April 1, 2006. He was 49. He was born Minoru Matsumoto in Tokushima Prefecture in 1956. He teamed with Shimada Shinsuke to form a comedy duo in 1975. The two were popular on Japanese television, and Matsumoto appeared in several films including Empire of Kids (1981) and Nidaime wa Christian (1985). He and Shimada split up in 1985, and Matsumoto formed the Unazuki Trio with comics Beat Kiyoshi and Yohachi Shimada for the Oretachi Hyokinzoku television program.
MATTHEWS , BENJAMIN Operatic bassbaritone Benjamin Matthews died of complications from a stroke in a Manhattan hospital on February 14, 2006. He was 72. Matthews was born in Mobile, Alabama, on June 20, 1933. He began studying at the Chicago Conservatory after serving in the army. He performed in operas and concerts, and frequently sang with the Collegiate Chorale. He was a founder of Opera Ebony, which championed black artists, in 1973. He made his debut with the City Opera in New York in 1977 in Leon Kirchner’s Lily.
(1951). Mauch began working as a sound editor for Warner Bros. in 1950s, where he created sounds effects for numerous films. He worked on the 1954 science fiction classic Them!, creating the bizarre sounds made by the giant ants. He was a dialogue editor at Warner from 1967 until 1976, when he joined Universal as a dialogue loop editor. His film credits include The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975), St. Ives (1976), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979), The Four Seasons (1981), and Zoot Suit (1981). He also worked on numerous television series including Murder, She Wrote before his retirement in 1986.
Billy Mauch
Benjamin Matthews
MAUCH, BILLY William J. “Billy” Mauch, a former child actor turned leading Hollywood sound editor, died of respiratory failure in Illinois on September 29, 2006. He was 85. Mauch was born in Peoria, Illinois, on July 6, 1921. He and his twin brother, Robert, began their career in show business as singers on local radio in Peoria. They soon were performing on CBS and NBC radio in New York on such shows as March of Time and Let’s Pretend. The brothers made their film debuts in the mid–1930s, with Billy appearing in such features as The White Angel (1936), Anthony Adverse (1936), Penrod and Sam (1937) as Penrod, The Prince and the Pauper (1937), Penrod and His Twin Brother (1938), Sons of the Plains (1938), Penrod’s Double Trouble (1938), and I’ll Tell the World (1939). He appeared on Broadway in the musical Winged Victory and served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in the Pacific during World War II. He resumed his film career as a young adult after the war in such films as That Hagen Girl (1948), The Street with No Name (1948), He Walked by Night (1948), The Accused (1949), Roseanna McCoy (1949), Bedtime for Bonzo (1951), and People Will Talk
MAUER, RAYMOND Raymond Mauer, who scripted the 1951 civil defense film Duck and Cover, died in a Bridgeport, Connecticut, hospital on February 15, 2006. He was 89. Mauer was born on January 2, 1917. He was an advertising copywriter when he began working with producer Leo Langlois of Archer Productions Inc. He worked with Langlois to create Duck and Cover, which was designed to inform school children of what to do in case of nuclear attack. Mauer created the animated character of Bert the Turtle to illustrate the concept of Duck and Cover. The film has become something of a cult classic over the years, and was prominently featured in the documentary film Atomic Cafe. Mauer also wrote the 1951 civil defense film Our Cities Must Fight.
Raymond Maurer (right, with Leo Langlois)
233 MAURIAT, PAUL French conductor Paul Mauriat, who was best known for his 1968 recording of “Love Is Blue,” died in Perpignan, France, on November 3, 2006. He was 81. Mauriat was born in Marseille, France, on March 4, 1925. He began his career in music during World War II, leading his own band. During the 1950s he was musical director to the French performers Charles Aznavour and Maurice Chevalier. He began recording in the late 1950s, at times adding an international appeal by assuming such pseudonyms as Richard Audrey, Eduardo Ruo, Niko Papadopoulos and Willy Twist. In the early 1960s he composed music for several French films, including Taxi for Tobruk (1960), Horace 62 (1962), Rob the Bank (1964), The Gorillas (1964) and The Gendarme in New York (1965). Mauriat’s first international hit was the song “Chariot,” recorded under the name Del Roma. Peggy March brought the song to #1 on the charts under the title “I Will Follow Him” in the early 1960s. He also wrote many song for French singer Mireille Mathieu and formed the Paul Mauriat Orchestra in 1965. He recorded numerous popular tunes over the next three decades, notably the 1968 hit “Love Is Blue.” Mauriat gave his final performance in Osaka, Japan, in 1998.
Paul Mauriat
MAYBACH, CHRISTIANE German actress Christiane Maybach died of cancer in Cologne, Germany, on April 12, 2006. She was 74. Maybach was born in Berlin, Germany, on March 14, 1932. She began her acting career in German films and stage productions in the early 1950s. Maybach starred in numerous features including Fanfares of Love (1951), Fireworks (1954), Homeland (1955), A Man Doesn’t Always Need to Be Handsome (1956), Der Lachende Vagabund (1958), Yearning Led Me Astray (1958), Stefanie (1958), Hoopla, Now Comes Eddie (1958), the 1959 horror film The Head as a disembodied head, The High Life (1960), The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1960), Story of San Michele (1962), Escape from East Berlin (1962), Das Haus auf Dem Hugel (1964), That Man in Istanbul (1965), A Study in Terror (1965) as Jack the Ripper victim Polly Nichols, Der Marquis (1965), Top Crack (1966), Z7 Operation Rembrandt (1966), The Bordello (1971), $ (1971), The Naughty Nymphs (1972), All People Will Be Brothers (1973), World on a Wire (1973), Fox
2006 • Obituaries
and His Friends (1975), Satan’s Brew (1976), Spiel der Verlierer (1978), Just a Gigolo (1979), Die Story (1984), and The Venus Trap (1988). Maybach also became a familiar face on German television from the 1980s, appeared in productions of Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) and Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten (1992). She was best known for her role as Margot Weigel in the RTL daytime soap opera Unters Uns from 1994.
Christiane Maybach
MAYES, RICHARD British character actor Richard Mayes died in England on October 22, 2006. He was 83. Mayes was born in London in 1923. He began his career on stage in the early 1960s. He also appeared often on British television, with roles in such productions as A for Andromeda (1961), Oliver Twist (1962), A Bunch of Fives (1977), and Criminal (1994). He was featured as Tom Wyner in several episodes of the 1978 series Tycoon, and made guest appearances in episodes of Doctor Who, The Crezz, Wings, Escape, Juliet Bravo, Van der Valk, Heratbeat, Emmerdale Farm, The Bill, Doctors, Waking the Dead and Casualty. Mayes also appeared in several films during his career including Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi (1982), Top Secret (1984), The Changeling (1998), The Great Indoors (2000), and Another Life (2001).
Richard Mayes
MAYO-CHANDLER, KAREN Actress Karen Mayo-Chandler died of complications from breast can-
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cer in Long Beach, California, on July 11, 2006. She was 48. Mayo-Chandler was born in Sutton, Surrey, England, on April 18, 1958. She began her career in Europe as a model before coming to the United States. She was featured in numerous films in the 1980s and 1990s including Beyond the Doors (aka Down on Us) (1984), Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Explorers (1985), Hamburger ... The Motion Picture (1986), Nightmare Weekend (1986), Savage Harbor (1987), Take Two (1988), Party Line (1988), Africa Express (1989), Stripped to Kill II: Live Girls (1989), Out of the Dark (1989), Hard to Die (1990), 976-EVIL 2: The Astral Factor (1991), Dark Planet (1996), ’Til There Was You (1997), Prince Valiant (1997), and Public Enemy (1998). She also appeared in the tele-film Columbo: Strange Bedfellow, and in episodes of Strangers and Bring ’Em Back Alive.
McCabe was born in England on February 10, 1911. He began working as an animator on Warner Brothers cartoons in the mid–1930s, bringing to life numerous Porky Pig cartoons. He also began directing Warner black and white cartoons in the early 1940s, overseeing Robinson Crusoe, Jr. (1941), Daffy’s Southern Exposure (1942), The Ducktators (1942), The Daff y Duckaroo (1942), Confusions of a Nutzy Spy (1943), and Tokio Jokio (1943). McCabe served in the military during World War II. After the war he worked on commercials and educational films and didn’t return to cartoons until the 1960s. He worked on numerous cartoon series including The Pink Panther, The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, The Batman/Superman Hour, The Houndcats, The Barkleys, The Hooper-Bloop Highway, What’s New, Mr. Magoo?, The Super 6, Bagg y Pants and the Nitwits, The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show, Transformers, and G.I. Joe. He was also an animator on such animated films and specials as Ralph Bakshi’s Fritz the Cat (1972), Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You? (1980), The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat (1982), Bugs Bunny’s 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales (1982), Daff y Duck’s Movie: Fantastic Island (1983), Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines (1985), The Transformers: The Movie (1986), The Duxorcist (1987), The Night of the Living Duck (1988), Daffy Duck’s Quackbusters (1988), and Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation (1992). McCabe was honored with the Winsor McCay Award for his many years in animation in 2000.
Karen Mayo-Chandler
MCALLISTER , VINCENT Rock guitarist Vincent McAllister, a founding member of the heavy metal band Pentagram, died of cancer on May 26, 2006. He was 51. McAllister was born on May 8, 1955. He began playing bass with Pentagram from its beginning in 1971. He also played guitar with the band until several of the members departed in 1977.
Norm McCabe
Vincent McAllister
MCCABE, NORM Animator Norm McCabe died in Los Angeles on January 17, 2006. He was 94.
MCCARREN, FRED Actor Fred McCarren died in a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, hospital on July 2, 2006. He was 55. McCarren was born in Butler, Pennsylvania, on April 12, 1951. He made his film debut in the 1970s, appearing in such features as The Goodbye Girl (1977), Xanadu (1980), The Boogen (1982), National Lampoon’s Class Reunion (1982), The Star Chamber (1983), and The Boost (1988). He also appeared in the tele-films Stick Around (1977), How to Pick Up Girls! (1978), The Last Convertible (1979), Marriage Is Alive and Well (1970), and Red Flag: The Ultimate Game (1981). McCarren starred as Sidney Gewertzman in the short-lived television series Free Country in 1978, and was Marty Cartwright in Amanda’s in 1983. His other television credits include episodes of Tabitha, Alice, The
235 Dukes of Hazzard, Remington Steele, Hill Street Blues in the recurring role of Stuart Casey, Lottery!, Hardcastle and McCormick, It’s a Living, Shell Game, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, and The Golden Girls.
Fred McCarren
MCCLEARY, GUDRUN Actress and ballet dancer Gudrun McCleary died of complications from surgery on October 12, 2006. She was 80. She was born in Sweden on May 17, 1926. A champion swimmer and classical ballet dancer, she was featured in the 1974 action thriller Open Season as the wife of William Holden.
2006 • Obituaries
subsequently served as an assistant director and producer on Mike Todd’s all-star epic Around the World in 80 Days (1956). McClory produced, directed and wrote his own film, The Boy and the Bridge (1959), He became acquainted with Ian Fleming, the author of the bestselling James Bond spy novels, and collaborated on a screenplay, Thunderball, which was shelved when McClory’s previous film failed at the box office. Fleming used much of their collaborative effort as the basis for the Bond novel Thunderball several years later. McClory, who was denied a credit on this work, sued Fleming and eventually reached a settlement that awarded him cash and the screen rights to Thunderball. Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman were producing a successful series of films based on the Bond novels, and Thunderball was filmed in 1965, with McClory being billed as producer and co-author of the story. McClory’s involvement with the Bond franchise resumed in 1983 when he produced another version of the story, under the title Never Say Never Again, returning Sean Connery to the role of the British secret agent. McClory envisioned yet another adaptation of Thunderball, Warhead 2000, in the 1990s, but these plans failed to materialize.
Kevin McClory
Gudrun McCleary
MCCOMB, BILLY British magician Billy McComb died on April 30, 2006. He was 84. McComb was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on April
MCCLORY , KEVIN Kevin McClory, who wrote and produced the 1965 James Bond thriller Thunderball, died in London on November 20, 2006. He was 80. He was born in Dublin, Ireland on June 8, 1926, to a family of stage actors. McClory served in the Merchant Navy during World War II and survived a harrowing experience when his ship was torpedoed and he floated in a life boat for 14 days before being rescued as one of the few survivors. After the war, he began working at Shepperton Studios as boom operator. He became friends with director John Huston and served as an assistant on several of his films including The African Queen (1951) and Moulin Rouge (1952). He moved up to position of assistant director on Huston’s 1956 adaptation of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. He
Billy McComb
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22, 1922. He earned a doctorate in medicine before turning to a career in entertainment in the late 1940s. He became a popular performer in London nightclubs in the 1950s, where he was billed as the world’s largest leprechaun. He also made frequent appearances on television and performed on such cruise ships as the Queen Elizabeth 2. McComb co-starred with Arthur Mullard in the ITV television sit-com On the Rocks in 1969. He moved to Hollywood in the 1970s, where he appeared frequently at the Magic Castle. McComb also on television in the tele-film Young Harry Houdini in 1987, and an episode of Matlock in 1988. He was featured as magician Walter Wilder in the 1995 Clive Barker horror film, Lord of Illusion.
MCDOWALL, VIRGINIA Virginia McDowall, the sister of actor Roddy McDowall, who also had a brief career in films in the 1940s, died in Woodland Hills, California, on December 8, 2006. She was 79. McDowall was born in London, England, on September 23, 1927. She appeared in a handful of films from the early 1940s including Man Hunt (1941), This Above All (1942), National Velvet (1944), If Winter Comes (1947), The Fan (1949), and Anything Goes (1956). She also appeared in the television production of Doctor Serocold on Hallmark Hall of Fame in 1952.
also featured in the 1982 horror film Crazed and the 1994 drama Intersection with Richard Gere and Sharon Stone.
Barney McFadden
MCFADDEN, GENE R&B singer and songwriter Gene McFadden died of cancer at his home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 27, 2006. He was 56. McFadden was born in Philadelphia in 1949. He and John Whitehead formed the singing group, The Epsilons, and toured with Otis Redding in the 1960s. Their career hit a slump after Redding’s death in a plane crash in 1967. They became better known for their song writing abilities, penning the O’Jays 1972 hit, “Back Stabbers.” They were best known for writing and recording the 1979 hit “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now.” They wrote numerous other popular tunes, including “For the Love of Money” for the O’Jays, “Wake Up Everybody” for Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, and “Don’t Let Love Get You Down” for Archie Bell and the Drells. The duo parted company in the early 1980s after writing their final hit, “Let’s Groove” for Earth, Wind & Fire. They reunited to perform on the nostalgia circuit in the 1990s until Whitehead was shot to death in an unsolved murder in 2004.
Virginia McDowall
MCFADDEN, BARNEY Actor Barney McFadden died of complications from a stroke in Los Angeles, California, on March 9, 2006. He was 59. McFadden was born in New York City on November 22, 1946. He was primarily known for his roles on television, appearing as Andy Norris in the daytime soap opera The Guiding Light in 1975. He also guest starred in episodes of Kojak, Police Woman, CHiPs, Logan’s Run, Barnaby Jones, The Rockford Files, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Simon & Simon, The A-Team, The Colbys, Mancuso, F.B.I., Dallas, Santa Barbara, Hardball, The Young Riders, Street Justice, The Commish, Beverly Hills, 90210, Spy Game in the recurring role of Jack Hendricks, and JAG. McFadden also appeared in the tele-films and mini-series The Awakening Land (1978), Sergeant Matlovich vs. the U.S. Air Force (1978), Centennial (1978), the 1979 adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot as Ned Tebbets, Judgment Day: The John List Story (1993), and A Mother’s Prayer (1995). He was
Gene McFadden (right, with John Whitehead)
MCFERRIN, ROBERT, SR. Opera singer Robert McFerrin, Sr., who was the first black man to sing solo at the Metropolitan Opera, died of a heart at-
237 tack in a St. Louis, Missouri, hospital on November 24, 2006. He was 85. McFerrin was born in Marianna, Arkansas, on March 19, 1921. He began singing gospel music as a youth and was performing on stage in St. Louis in the late 1930s. He was performing on Broadway the following decade and made his debut with the Metropolitan opera in a production of Aida in 1955. McFerrin remained with the Met for ten seasons. He also provided Sidney Poitier’s singing voice as Porgy in the 1959 musical film Porg y and Bess. McFerrin moved to St. Louis in 1973 where he continued to perform in local venues. He was the father of singer Bobby McFerrin, who recorded the 1980s hit “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” His daughter, Brenda McFerrin, is also a recording artist.
Robert McFerrin, Sr.
MCGAHERN, JOHN Irish author John McGahern died of cancer in a Dublin, Ireland, hospital on March 30, 2006. He was 71. McGahern was born in Dublin on November 12, 1934. He worked as a school teacher before he began writing full time in the early 1960s. His first novel, The Barracks, was published in 1963. He followed this with The Dark, a controversial novel that was banned in his native Ireland. He also wrote the novels The Leavetaking (1975), The Pornographer (1980), Amongst Women (1990), and That They May Face the Rising Sun (2001). He also authored several short story collections, and wrote the tele-plays
John McGahern
2006 • Obituaries
Swallows (1975) and The Rockingham Shoot. (1987). His short story Korea was adapted for film in 1995 by director Cathal Black, and his novel, Amongst Women, was adapted as a television mini-series in 1998. McGahern’s Memoir was released in 2005.
MCGAVIN , DARREN Darren McGavin, who starred on television as Mike Hammer and Kolchak: The Night Stalker and was the curmudgeonly father in the contemporary classic A Christmas Story, died in a Los Angeles hospital on February 25, 2006. He was 83. McGavin was born in San Jauquin, California, (or possibly Spokane, Washington, as McGavin once claimed in an interview) on May 7, 1922. He was working as a film set painter when he was cast in his film debut in a small role in 1945’s A Song to Remember. He also appeared in the features Counter-Attack (1945), Kiss and Tell (1945), She Wouldn’t Say Yes (1945), and Fear (1946). McGavin subsequently went to New York, where he spent a decade performing on stage and television. He studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse and the Actors Studio, and appeared in several Broadway productions. He starred as Casey in the television series Crime Photographer from 1951 to 1952, and was featured in the 1951 film Queen for a Day. He also appeared in episodes of Tales of Tomorrow, Goodyear Television Playhouse, Short Short Dramas, Danger, The Revlon Mirror Theater, The Philco Television Playhouse, Suspense, Campbell Playhouse, Mama, Kraft Television Theatre, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Armstrong Circle Theatre, It’s Always Jan, Climax!, Robert Montgomery Presents, The Alcoa Hour, Studio One, and Decision. McGavin also appeared in a handful of films in the 1950s, appearing in David Lean’s Summertime (1955), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) as Frank Sinatra’s drug dealer, The Delicate Delinquent (1957) as Jerry Lewis’ straight man, and Beau James (1957). McGavin made his biggest impact in television, starring in the Mike Hammer detective series in 1958, and as Captain Holden in Riverboat from 1959 to 1961. He also guest starred in episodes of The Islanders, Stagecoach West, Death Valley Days, Route 66, Rawhide, The United States Steel Hour, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Nurses, The Defenders, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Ben Casey, The Rogues, Dr. Kildare, Court Martial, Felony Squad, Gunsmoke, Cimarron Strip, The Virginian, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mission: Impossible, and Custer. McGavin also maintained a presence in films during the 1960s, appearing in Bullet for a Badman (1964), The Great Sioux Massacre (1965), African Gold (1966), the science fiction feature Mission Mars (1968), Anatomy of a Crime (1969), and Mrs. Polifax — Spy (1971). He starred as unorthodox private detective David Ross in the 1967 tele-film The Outsiders, and remained in the role in the subsequent series. He also appeared in the tele-films The Forty-Eight Hour Mile (1970), The Challenge (1970), The Challengers (1970), Berlin Affair (1970), Tribes (1970), Banyon (1971), The Death of Me Yet (1971), Something Evil (1972), The Rookies (1972), Here Comes the Judge (1972), Say Goodbye, Maggie Cole (1972), and The Six Million Dollar Man (1973). His other television credits include episodes of Love, Amer-
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ican Style, Mannix, The Name of the Game, Bracken’s World, Matt Lincoln, Cade’s County, The Bold Ones: The Lawyers, Shaft, Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, Police Story, and The Evil Touch. McGavin made his debut as the cynical newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak in the highly-rated 1972 tele-film The Night Stalker where he faced off with a modern-day vampire in Las Vegas. He reprised the role the following year in the tele-film The Night Strangler, and continued to investigate the supernatural in the subsequent series Kolchak: The Night Stalker from 1974 to 1975. McGavin produced, directed, and appeared in the 1973 psychological thriller Happy Mother’s Day, Love George (aka Run, Stranger, Run) starring Ron Howard. He was featured as Lee Petty in the 1974 film 43: The Richard Petty Story, and was seen in the films B Must Die (1975), No Deposit, No Return (1976), Airport ’77 (1977), Hot Lead and Cold Feet (1978), Zero to Sixty (1978), Hangar 18 (1980), Firebird 2015 A.D. (1981), the contemporary holiday classic A Christmas Story (1983), The Natural (1984), Turk 182! (1985), Flag (1986), Raw Deal (1986), From the Hip (1987), Dead Heat (1988), In the Name of Blood (1990), Captain America (1991), Blood and Concrete (1991), Happy Hell Night (1992), Billy Madison (1995), Still Waters Burn (1996), Small Time (1996), and Pros and Cons (1999). He also remained a fixture on television, with appearances in the tele-films and mini-series Brinks: The Great Robbery (1976), Law and Order (1976), The Users (1978), A Bond of Iron (1979), Donovan’s Kid (1979), Not Until Today (1979), Love for Rent (1979), Ike (1979) as Gen. George Patton, Waikiki (1980), Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles (1980) as Sam Parkhill, Freedom to Speak (1982), The Baron and the Kid (1984), The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D. (1984), My Wicked, Wicked Ways ... The Legend of Errol Flynn (1985), Tales from the Hollywood Hills: A Table at Ciro’s (1987) and Tales from the Hollywood Hills Natica Jackson (1987) as A.D. Nathan, The Diamond Trap (1988), Around the World in 80 Days (1989) as Benjamin Mudge, Child in the Night (1990), By Dawn’s Early Light (1990), Clara (1991), Perfect Harmony (1991), Arthur Miller’s The American Clock (1993), Danielle Steel’s A Perfect Stranger (1994), Fudge-A-Mania (1995) and Derby (1995). He also starred as detective Nick Small in the short-lived comedy series Small & Frye in
Darren McGavin
1983, and was Bill Brown, Murphy’s father, in episodes of Murphy Brown from the late 1980s, earning an Emmy Award for his performance in 1990. He also guest starred in episodes of The Love Boat, Magnum P.I., Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected, The Hitchhiker, The Hitchhiker, Tales from the Darkside, Worlds Beyond, Highway to Heaven, Monsters, Sibs, Civil Wars, Murder, She Wrote, Sisters, Burke’s Law, The Commish, Grace Under Fire, Touched by an Angel, and Millennium. He also starred as Agent Arthur Dales, an earlier version of David Duchovny’s Fox Mulder, in several episodes of The X Files in the late 1990s. Plans for him to continue in the role in another episode where scuttled after he suffered a stroke. McGavin was married to Melanie York from 1944 until they separated in 1966. He subsequently married actress Kathie Browne in 1969. They remained married until her death in 2003.
MCGEE, HENRY British comedian and actor Henry McGee died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in England on January 28, 2006. He was 77. McGee was born in Kensington, London, England, on May 14, 1928. He began acting in the 1950s, appearing in the films Seven Days to Noon (1950), Sailor Beware (1956), Die! Die! My Darling (1965), Payment in Kind (1967), The Cherry Picker (1972), Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World (1973), Holiday on the Buses (1973), Adventures of a Taxi Driver (1976), Come Play with Me (1977), Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), and Carry on Emmannuelle (1978). McGee appeared often on British television, starring in productions of Tell It to the Marines (1959), The Worker (1965), Take a Pair of Private Eyes (1966), No, That’s Me Over Here! (1967), Slapstick and Old Lace (1971), Up the Workers (1973), Let There Be Love (1982) as Dennis Newberry, and Mr. H Is Late (1988). He was best known for his long-running affiliation with comic Benny Hill, appearing in his comedy sketch show from 1969 to 1989. He also guest starred in such series as The Odd Man, Suspense, Gideon’s Way, Public Eye, Z Cars, Wednesday Play, The Saint, Softly Softly, The Avengers, Detective, The Goodies, Reg Varney, Doctor in Charge, Cilla’s Comedy Six, Rising Damp, The Galton and Simpson Playhouse, Sykes, It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, Q.E.D., and Last of the Summer Wine.
Henry McGee
239 MCGINNIS, CHARLOTTE Comedian and actress Charlotte McGinnis died of cancer in Los Angeles on May 24, 2006. She was 53. McGinnis was born in Lorain, Ohio, on October 23, 1952. She was Paul Reubens’ comedy partner, appearing with the future Pee-wee Herman on several episodes of The Gong Show in the 1970s. She was also seen in the films Billy Jack Goes to Washington (1977), Hardcore (1979), and Reform School Girls (1986).
Charlotte McGinnis
MCKAY, BRUCE Television producer Bruce McKay died of cancer in New York City on February 6, 2006. He was 56. McKay was born on April 22, 1949. He worked in television from the 1970s after graduating from Syracuse University. He served as an executive producer on such series as Judge Mathis, Rolanda, Peoples’ Court, The Tomorrow Show, The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers, and specials with Kelsey Grammer and Katie Couric. He served as executive producer of the syndicated series Living It Up with Ali & Jack from 2003.
2006 • Obituaries
Southern California, where he was an All-American defensive end. He was drafted to the NFL by the Los Angeles Rams in 1961 and spend 13 years as a professional football player with the Rams, the Minnesota Vikings, the Washington Redskins, and the Philadelphia Eagles. McKeever was also seen in the films The Absent Minded Professor (1961) and Love in a Goldfish Bowl (1961), and appeared on television in episodes of Perry Mason and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. He and his twin brother, Mike, were featured as Ajax and Argo, the Siamese Cyclops, in the 1962 comedy film The Three Stooges Meet Hercules. Mike died in 1967 of injuries he received in an automobile accident. Marlin McKeever worked as a stockbroker and insurance executive following the end of his football career.
MCLAIN , CHUCK Television producer Chuck McLain died of a heart attack in Los Angeles on November 15, 2006. He was 63. McLain was born on December 8, 1942. He began working for CBS television in New York in the 1970s, where he supervised the development of the tele-film The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, and the anthology program G.E. Theater. He served as a producer of many tele-films and miniseries including His Mistress (1984), North and South (1985), Dream West (1986), Nutcracker: Money, Madness & Murder (1987), People Like Us (1990), Child of Rage (1992), Overkill: The Aileen Wuornos Story (1992), Judgment Day: The John List Story (1993), In the Name of Love: A Texas Tragedy (1995), The Care and Handling of Roses (1996), Lying Eyes (1996), Hit and Run (1999), Another Woman’s Husband (2000), and The Deadly Look of Love (2000).
MCKEEVER, MARLIN Professional football player and actor Marlin McKeever died in a Long Beach, California, hospital, of complications from injuries he received at his home on October 27, 2006. He was 66. McKeever was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on January 1, 1940. He attended the University of
MCLEAN, JACKIE Jazz saxophonist Jackie McLean died at his home in Hartford, Connecticut, on March 31, 2006. He was 74. McLean was born in Harlem, New York, on May 17, 1931. He began playing the saxophone while in his teens and played with Miles Davis’ band on his first recording in 1951. He began recording his own albums in the mid–1950s but he later disowned his work of this period, claiming that they were produced while addicted to heroin to finance his habit. A short prison sentence in the early 1960s spurred McLean to kick his drug habit and he later became an outspoken advocate of drug abstinence for
Marlin McKeever
Jackie McLean
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young people. McLean had a brief acting career, appearing in Jack Gelber’s play about drug addiction, The Connection, off–Broadway in 1959. He was also featured in the 1961 film version, directed by Shirley Clarke. Musically, McLean embraced the free jazz movement of the 1960s, recording a series of albums for Blue Note, including One Step Beyond and Destination Out. He continued to record with other labels after his contract ended later in the decade. He became a music teacher at the University of Hartford in 1970 and was an inspiration to students over the next three decades. A documentary about his life and teaching career, Jackie McLean on Mars, was produced in the late 1980s.
MCLEAN, STEWART British actor Stewart McLean died at his home in Glasgow, Scotland, a year after heart bypass surgery on August 6, 2006. He was 65. McLean was born in England on March 7, 1941. He was a pantomime manager at Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre. He also appeared on stage and television. He was featured in the 1995 television production of Jolly: A Life (1995), and appeared in episodes of Doctor Finlay, Monarch of the Glen, Taggart, High Road, and Rab C Nesbitt.
nan was born in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia, on February 12, 1958. He teamed with Robert Forster to form the pop-rock band, the Go Betweens, in 1977. They recorded their first album, Send Me a Lullaby, in 1981. Several other albums followed, with a minor hit song in 1987, “Streets of Your Town.” McLennan recorded a series of solo albums in the 1990s and the Go Betweens reunited in 1997. The duo recorded and toured for the next several years. Their final album, Oceans Apart, was released in 2005.
MCSHANN, JAY Jazz pianist Jay McShann died in a Kansas City, Missouri, hospital on December 7, 2006. He was 90. McShann was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, on January 12, 1916. He began performing in the 1930s, settling in Kansas City in 1936. He formed his own group in 1938, and gave an early break to Charlie Parker when the innovative bebob saxophonist was starting out as a teen. Parker made his first recordings with McShann’s band in 1941. The group had its first hit with the song “Confessing the Blues” with Walter Brown on vocals. His career was interrupted when he was drafted into the military in 1943. After the war he returned to music, and was an early rhythm and blues performer. He primarily remained in Kansas City for the next two decades until his career was resurrected by a European tour in 1969. McShann continued to perform and record either as a solo act or with various groups for the remainder of his life. He was featured in the 1980 documentary film about Kansas City jazz, The Last of the Blue Devils, and seen in the television documentary mini-series Jazz (2001) and The Blues (2003).
Stewart McLean
MCLENNAN, GRANT Australian singer and songwriter Grant McLennan died at his home in Brisbane, Australia, on May 6, 2006. He was 48. McLen-
Jay McShann
Grand McLennan
MEACHAM , ANNE Stage and film actress Anne Meacham died at her home in Canaan, New York, on January 12, 2006. She was 80. Meacham was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July 21, 1925. She began her career on stage in Chicago and made her New York debut in the 1952 comedy The Long Watch. She was noted for her performances in plays by Tennessee Williams, earning an Obie Award for her starring role in the 1958 Off Broadway production of Suddenly, Last Summer. She also appeared in Williams’ plays The Gnadiges Fraulein (1966) and In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel
241 (1969). She earned a second Obie Award for her role in the 1961 revival of Hedda Gabler. Meacham also appeared on Broadway in productions of Jean Giraudoux’s Ondine (1954), Eugenia (1957), The Legend of Lizzie (1959), Moonbirds (1959), A Passage to India (1962), and Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1968). She made her film debut in 1964’s Lilith, and was seen in several horror films including Dear Dead Delilah (1972), Seizure (1974), and Seeds of Evil (aka The Gardener) (1975). She also appeared in the tele-film The Unvanquished (1967). Meacham starred as Althea Dennis in the daytime soap opera The Brighter Day, and was Louise Goddard Brooks on Another World from 1972 to 1982. Her other television credits include episodes of Robert Montgomery Presents, Suspicion, Playhouse 90, The Catholic Hour, Way Out, The United States Steel Hour, The Defenders, The Virginian, Dr. Kildare, The Nurses, and The Road West.
2006 • Obituaries
evision credits include episodes of The Ray Bradbury Theater, Lonesome Dove: The Series, The Commish, The Outer Limits, Seven Days, Mysterious Ways, Just Cause, Dead Like Me, The Mountain, and Battlestar Galactica.
Bill Meilen
Anne Meacham
MEILEN, BILL Actor Bill Meilen died of cancer in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on September 4, 2006. He was 74. Meilen was born in Cardiff, Wales, in 1932. He began performing on stage at an early age and was featured in numerous British television productions from the 1950s including episodes of Doctor Who, Sergeant Cork, Z-Cars, Softly Softly, Vendetta, Move on a Round Moon, The Cable, Moulded in Earth, Front Page Story, The Borderers, The Troubleshooters, and Up for the Weekend. He was featured in the 1963 Academy Award nominated short film The Six-Sided Triangle, playing six different roles, each of a different nationality. Meilen subsequently relocated to Canada, where he continued his acting career. He was seen in the films The Grey Fox (1982), Chautaugua Girl (1983), B*I*N*G*O (1991), Heart of the Sun (1998), Speaking of Sex (2001), the short Mr. Reubens Goes to Mars (2001), The Burial Society (2002), Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), and Ill Fated (2004). He also appeared in television productions of The Gunfighters (1987), Last Train Home (1990), Double, Double, Toil and Trouble (1993), Living with the Dead (2002), Stephen King’s Kingdom Hospital (2004) as Dr. Egas Gottreich, The Book of Ruth (2004), and A Little Thing Called Murder (2006). Meilen’s other tel-
MEJIA, MIGUEL ACEVES Mexican singer and actor Miguel Aceves Mejia died of respiratory failure in Mexico City, Mexico, on November 6, 2006. He was 90. Mejia was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, on November 15, 1915. He began his career as a touring stage performer and began recording with the trio Los Portenos in the late 1930s. Mejia was noted for his ranchero style of music and became known as “the king of the falsetto.” He recorded over 1000 songs during his career. Mejia also appeared in numerous films from the 1940s including Rancho Alegre (1941), Pecadora (1947), Where Poor People Are Born (1950), Nosotras las Sirvientas (1951), La Mentira (1952), Camelia (1954), To the Four Winds (1955), Historia de un Amor (1956), Que me Toquen las Golondrinas (1957), El Gallo Colorado (1957), Cuatro Copas (1958), La Feria de San Marcos (1958), Musica en la Noche (1958), Beneath the Sky of Mexico (1958), El Arinoso (1959), El Ciclon (1959), Me Importa Poco (1960), Stray Bullet (1960), The Braggarts (1960), Brave Pigeon (1961), El Buena Suerte (1961), Where Are You Heart? (1961), Viva Chihuahua (1961), Martin Santos el Llanero (1962), Asesinos de la Lucha Libre (1962), El Rey de la Pistola (1962), If I Were a Mil-
Miguel Aceves Mejia
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lionaire (1962), Camino de la Horca (1962), The Brave Don’t Die (1962), and Los Apuros de dos Gallos (1963).
MEJOVSEK, DAMIR Croatian actor Damir Mejovsek died of lung cancer in Zagreb, Croatia, on June 23, 2006. He was 73. Mejovsek was born in Metkovic, Croatia, on May 7, 1933. He was leading performer with the Croatian National Theatre, starring in such productions as Fiddler on the Roof. He also was a writer of such radio dramas as The Death of Dzim Caster. Mejovsek was seen in films produced both regionally, as well as internationally. His film credits included Abeceda Straha (1961), The Bandit and the Princess (1962), Journalist (1979), The War Boy (1985), The Girl (1986), Death of a Schoolboy (1990), Fatal Sky (1990), Born to Ride (1991), The Pope Must Die (1991), A Time for... (1993), Gospa (1995), The Transatlantic (1998), and Slucajna Suputnica (2004). He was also seen in the tele-films The Winds of War (1984), Intrigue (1988), The Sands of Time (1992), and Go, Yellow (2001).
Damnation of Harvey McHugh, Wedlocked, Driven Crazy, Introducing Gary Petty, Stingers, SeaChange, Eugenie Sandler P.I., The Secret Life of Us, Short Cuts, Neighbours, Legacy of the Silver Shadow, and various episodes of Blue Heelers.
Esme Melville
Damir Mejovsek
MELVILLE, ESME Australian character actress Esme Melville died in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on September 14, 2006. She was 88. She performed frequently in Australian films and television from the 1960s. Melville’s film credits include Alvin Purple Rides Again (1974), Dimboola (1979), Squizzy Taylor (1982), Annie’s Coming Out (1984), Niel Lynne (1985), Mull (1989), Spottswood (1992), Say a Little Prayer (1993), The Heartbreak Kid (1993), Angel Baby (1995), Dead End (1999), Siam Sunset (1999), A Telephone Call for Genevieve Snow (2000), Dalkeith (2001), Crackerjack (2002), and Forbidden (2003). Melville starred as Mrs. Blake in the 1982 television series Sons and Daughters, and was Mrs. Keen in 1996’s Mercury. She was also featured in the tele-films Power Without Glory (1976), I Can Jump Puddles (1981), The Four Minute (1988), Chameleon 3: Dark Angel (2000), Bootleg (2002), and After the Deluge (2003), and such television series as Consider Your Verdict, Division 4, Matlock Police, Ryan, Homicide, Bluey, Young Ramsay, Special Squad, Prisoner in various roles including the recurring character Granny Wilkinson, The Flying Doctors, Phoenix, Snowy River: The McGregor Saga, The
MERCER, MARILYN Television casting director Marilyn Howard, who appeared in several films from the late 1940s under the name Marilyn Mercer, died of lymphoma in Van Nuys, California, on April 13, 2006. She was 77. Mercer was born in St. Petersburg, Florida, on May 1, 1928. She was under contract at RKO Pictures in the late 1940s, where she appeared in such films as The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), Guns of Hate (1948), They Live by Night (1948), The Milkman (1950), and Hard, Fast and Beautiful (1951). She began working at CBS Television as a receptionist in 1956, and advanced at the network to become a casting director. She was involved in the productions of such series as Playhouse 90, The Danny Kaye Show, The Red Skelton Show, Dirty Sally, and The Carol Burnett Show. She remained with CBS until her retirement in the late 1970s. MEREDITH, GWEN Australian playwright and author Gwen Meredith died at her home in Bowral, New South Wales, Australia, on October 3, 2006. She was 98. Meredith was born in Orange, New South Wales on November 18, 1907. She began working as a freelance writer in the late 1930s and began working for the Australian Broadcast Corporation in 1943. She scripted numerous radio plays and serials, writing for such shows as The Lawsons and Autumn Affair. She was
Gwen Meredith
243 best known as the writer of all 5,795 episodes of the radio series Blue Hills over a 27 year span. Meredith was also the author of several books including Wives Have Their Uses (1944), Great Inheritance (1946), and Inns and Outs (1955) with her husband Ainsworth Harrison.
MERI, LENNART Lennart Meri, a writer and filmmaker who became the first president of independent Estonia in 1992, died after a long illness in a Tallinn, Estonia, hospital on March 14, 2006. He was 76. Meri was born in Tallinn on March 29, 1929. The Soviet Union invaded Estonia during World War II and Meri and his family were exiled to Siberia. He survived the war and returned to Estonia where he studied history and worked as a playwright. He scripted plays for radio and television and served as a script editor for several films in the 1960’s including Supernova (1965), Libahunt (1968), and The Last Relic (1969). He also produced the award-winning 1977 documentary The Winds of the Milky Way. He was active in Estonia’s independent movement and became the country’s first president after breaking free from the Soviet Union in October of 1992. He served two terms in office, stepping down in 2001.
2006 • Obituaries
on April 6, 1934. He became a popular singer of traditional Neapolitan songs in the 1960s, often mixing dialogue with his songs in his performances on stage and screen. Merola was also seen in such films as L’ultimo Guappo (1978), The New Godfathers (1979), Lo Scugnizzo (1979), Big Mamma (1979), From Corleone to Brooklyn (1979), Hunted City (1979), Zappatore (1980), Carcerato (1981), The Mafia Triangle (1981), Tradimento (1982), Torna (1984), Guapparia (1984), and South Side Story (2000). Merola was also a voice performer in the 2003 animated film Toto Sapore e la Magica Storia Della Pizza.
MESHACK, CHARLES Actor Charles Meshack died in Los Angeles on October 5, 2006. He was 61. Meshack was born in Dallas, Texas, on January 27, 1945. He began his acting career in the early 1980s, appearing on television in episodes of Hunter, The Bob Newhart Show, They Came from Outer Space, and 1st and Ten. He was featured as Henriques, a villain who was brutally dispatched by Arnold Schwarzeneggar in the 1985 film Commando. He was also seen in such films as Fear (1988), Action Jackson (1988), Lambada, the Forbidden Dance (1990), Child’s Play 2 (1990), and CIA Code Name: Alea (1993).
Lennart Meri
MEROLA, MARIO
Charles Meshack
Italian singer and actor Mario Merola died of a heart attack in a hospital in Castellamare Di Stabia, near Naples, Italy, on November 12, 2006. He was 72. Merola was born in Naples
MEZEY, LAJOS Hungarian actor Lajos Mezey died in Budapest, Hungary, on April 13, 2006. He was 87. Mezey was born in Komarom, Hungary, on August
Mario Merola
Lajos Mezey
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2, 1918. He began his career in the late 1930s and appeared in several films in the 1940s including Katyi (1942), Keso (1943), and Sarga Kaszino (1944). He resumed his film career with The Witness in 1969, and was seen in Breakout (1970), The Agony of Mr. Boroka (1972), One Day More, One Day Less (1973), Az Idok Kezdeten (1975), Cserepek (1980), Mephisto (1981), The Train Killer (1983), the 1983 television production of The Phantom of the Opera with Maximilian Schell, Mata Hari (1985), Eszterlanc (1985), Laura (1987), Whooping Cough (1987), Nobel (2001), and Le Dormeur (2003). Mezey also appeared on television in productions of Faustus Doktor Boldogsagos Pokoljarasa (1982), The Nightmare Years (1989), and Forgotten Prisoners: The Amnesty Files (1990), and episodes of Szomszedok, Maigret, and Cadfael.
MIA, ROSA Philippines actress Rosa Mia died in the Philippines on November 28, 2006. She was 81. She was born Rosita Quinto Stecza in the Philippines. She was seen in numerous films from the late 1940s including Sumpaan (1948), Roberta (1951), Rules of the World (1951), Recuerdo (1953), Sabungera (1954), Waldas (1955), Mariposa (1955), Pretty Boy (1957), Sandra (1959), Kamandag (1959), Salamat po Doktor (1960), No Man Is an Island (1962) as Primera Quintagua, Apat ang anak ni David (1963), Fighting Waray sa Llocos (1964), Iginuhit ng Tadhana: The Ferdinand E. Marcos Story (1965), Mama (1966), Junior Cursillo (1968), Double Wedding (1968), Heaven’s Fate (1969), Hindi Kita Malimot (1973), and Guerilla Strike Force (1985). MIDDLEMASS, FRANK British character actor Frank Middlemass died in England on September 8, 2006. He was 87. Middlemass was born in Eaglecliffe, England, on May 28, 1919. He served with distinction in the British army during World War II, and began his acting career on stage in the late 1940s. He became a leading performer on the British stage and also became a familiar face on television from the late 1950s. Middlemass guest starred in such series as Dixon of Dock Green, Ghost Squad, Quick Before They Catch Us, Z Cars, Softly Softly, The Troubleshooters, Champion House, Detective, The Avengers, Sherlock Holmes, Jackanory as the Colonel, Doctor at Large, Crown Court, Last of the Summer Wine, Upstairs, Downstairs, The Sweeney, Second Verdict, Cilla’s World of Comedy, Raffles, Ripping Yarns, Two’s Company, Yes Minister, Julie Bravo, Only When I Laugh, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Yes, Prime Minister, T-Bag Strikes Again, A Bit of a Do, Stuff, KYTV, Doctor Finlay, Soldier Soldier, Highlander, An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, Kavenagh QC, Peak Practice, Casualty, Doctors, and Midsomer Murders. He was also seen in television productions of The Edwardians (1972), War and Peace (1972), Arturo Ul (1972), Heil Caesar! (1973), Fall of Eagles (1974), King Lear (1975) as the Fool, Poldark (1975) as Charles Poldark, Anna Karenina (1977), Emmerdale Farm (1977) as Basil Arkroyd, Kean (1978), Me! I’m Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1978), Measure for Measure (1979), A Family Affair (1979), Crime and Punishment (1979), A Question of Guilt (1980) as Mr. Bartlett, To Serve Them All My Days (1980) as Algy Herries, Win-
ston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (1981), King Lear (1982), Henry VI, Part One (1983) and Henry VI, Part Two (1983) as Cardinal Beaufort, Atlantis (1983), Squaring the Circle (1984), Lace (1984), The Invisible Man (1984), Oliver Twist (1985) as Mr. Brownlow, The Bretts (1987), Knights of God (1987), All in Good Faith (1987–1988) as Desmond Frank, Great Expectations (1989), Miss Marple: A Caribbean Mystery (1989), Dark River (1990), The Lost Language of Cranes (1991), One Against the Wind (1991), Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady (1992), A Year in Provence (1993), The Whipping Boy (1995), A Dance to the Music of Time (1997), and The 10th Kingdom (2000). Middlemass also appeared in several films, appearing in character roles in Otley (1968), Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969), Say Hello to Yesterday (1971), Madame Sin (1972), Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon (1975), The Island (1980), A Swarm in May (1983), Dreamchild (1985) as the voice of the Caterpillar, and Mrs. Caldicot’s Cabbage War (2000). Middlemass took over the role of Dan Archer on the Radio 4 program The Archers in 1982, remaining with the program for four years. He also played Dr. Alex Ferrenby in the country police television series Heartbeat from 1992 to 1993, and was featured as Rocky Hardcastle on the series As Time Goes By from 1993 to 2005.
Frank Middlemass
MIER Y TERAN, ALFONSO Mexican actor Alfonso Mier y Teran died of liver disease in Ciudad Victoria, Mexico, on January 10, 2006. He was 38. Mier y Teran was born in Ciudad Victoria on December 25, 1967. He was best known for his roles in Mexican telenovelas, starring as Tobi in 1995’s El Premier Mayor and 1997’s Salud, Dinero y Amor. He also starred in the series Amigos X Siempre (2000) and Rumores (2001), and was featured in the 2000 film Back and Forth. MIGNOGNA, EDUARDO Argentine film director and writer Eduardo Mignogna died of cancer in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on October 6, 2006. He was 66. Mignogna was born in Buenos Aires on August 17, 1940. He began his career in films directing and writing the 1983 feature about the early years of former Argentine first lady Eva Duarte de Peron, Evita Quien
245 Quiera oir que Oiga (1983). He also directed and wrote the films Flop (1990), Autumn Sun (1996), The Lighthouse (1998), Adela (2000), The Fugitive (2001), Cleopatra (2003), and El Viento (2005). Mignogna was in preproduction for the film La Senal, based on his 2002 detective novel, at the time of his death.
Eduardo Mignogna
MIGRE, ALBERTO Argentine television writer Alberto Migre died of a heart attack at his home in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 10, 2006. He was 74. Migre was born Felipe Alberto Milletari in the barrio of Almagro in Buenos Aires on September 12, 1931. He began working in radio in the late 1940s, writing several children’s series. He soon moved to television, where he became a leading writer of Argentine telenovelas. He created such popular series as E Proibido Amar (1964), Rolando Rivas, Taxista (1972), Piel Naranja (1975), Amor Prohibido (1986), La Cunada (1987), and Pobre Diabla (1990). He also scripted the 1974 feature film version of Rolando Rivas, Taxista. Migre also served as president of Argentores, the Argentine screenwriter’s guild.
2006 • Obituaries
from the early 1970s including Valge Laev (1970), Soolo (1979), The Dead Mountaineer Hotel (1979), Karge Meri (1981), TASS Is Authorized to Declare... (1984), The Fight for Moscow (1985), The Thirteenth Apostle (1988), Curse of Snakes Valley (1988), Ystavat, Toverit (1990), Dance Macabre (1991), Peace Avenue (1991), The Kiss of Plutonium (1996), and Letter from the East (1996).
Mikk Mikiver
MILLO, ACHILLE Italian stage and film actor Achille Millo died in a Rome hospital on October 18, 2006. He was 84. Millo was born in Naples, Italy, in 1922. He came to Rome in 1945 and became noted for his performances in the comedies of Luigi Pirandello. Millo was also seen in such films as Le Modelle di via Margutta (1946), Cab Number 13 (1948), Il Fantasma della Morte (1948), Terra Senza Tempo (1950), Il Caimano del Piave (1951), Il Tenente Giorgio (1952), Carne Inquieta (1952), Half a Century of Song (1952), Immortal Melodies (1953), and Neapolitan Carousel (1954). Millo was also featured in television productions of Quando Amor Comanda (1960), Processo a Gesu (1963), Biblioteca di Studio Uno: Odissea (1964), Querta Sera Parla Mark Twain (1965), Il Conte di Montecristo (1966), Il Cappello del Prete (1970), and Il Marchese di Roccaverdina (1972). He made his final film appearance in 1982’s La Specialita Della Casa.
Alberto Migre
MIKIVER, MIKK Estonian actor Mikk Mikiver died in Estonia on January 9, 2006. He was 68. Mikiver was born on September 4, 1937. He was featured in numerous films and television productions
Achille Millo
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MILLS, BRIAN British television director Brian Mills died in Manchester, England, on June 3, 2006. He was 72. Mills was born in Manchester on October 25, 1933. He began working in television at Granada TV, where he rose to become head of the sound department. He subsequently became head of lighting before training as a director. He began directing in the early 1970s, helming episodes of Crown Court, Holly, The Cuckoo Waltz, Devenish, Strangers, The Mallens, The Spoils of War, Cribb, Bulman, Sam, and The Stars Look Down. He also directed the 1986 mini-series First Among Equals, and helmed the adaptations of Silver Blaze and The Hound of the Baskervilles for The Return of Sherlock Holmes in 1988. He also directed several episodes of the popular Coronation Street series. MILLS, KIM British television director Kim Mills died after a long illness on August 28, 2006. He was 75. Mills was born in London in 1931. He began his career on stage, appearing in small roles before moving into the production end. He became an assistant director for films in the late 1950s, working on The Giant Behemoth (1959) and Inn for Trouble (1960). He soon was directing dramas for television, helming the science fiction series Plateau of Fear (1961), City Beneath the Sea (1962), and Secret Beneath the Sea (1963). Mills joined England’s ABC-TV in 1962, where he directed numerous episodes of the cult spy series The Avengers. He also worked as a director or producer for such series as The Protectors, Public Eye, Mystery and Imagination, Intrigue, The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder, Armchair Theatre, The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, Zodiac, The Gentle Touch, and Life and Death of Penelope.
The Descent to Hell (1966), The Trace of Stones (1966), Nebelnacht (1969), Close to the Wind (1970), and Miraculi (1992). He was also featured in numerous television productions including Ich — Axel Casar Springer (1970), Das Geheimnis der Anden (1972), Martin Luther (1983), Schatten im Zenit (1989), and Ice Princess (1995).
MITCHELL, RON Film and television producer Ron Mitchell died of lymphoma in his Depoe Bay, Oregon, home on December 27, 2006. He was 69. Mitchell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 1, 1937. He began working as a production manager for films and television in the 1970s. He was supervising producer for the 1986 horror film Witchboard and 1990’s Pucker Up and Bark Like a Dog. He was also a producer for the tele-films Alien Nation: Dark Horizon (1994), If Looks Could Kill (1996), Alien Nation: The Enemy Within (1996), Quicksilver Highway (1997), Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy (1997), Halloweentown (1998), Smart House (1999), and Plainsong (2004). He also worked on the television series Falcon Crest, Doogie Howser, M.D., My So-Called Life, Alien Nation, Picket Fences, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and The Education of Max Bickford.
MINETTI, HANS -PETER German actor Hans-Peter Minetti died in the Czech Republic on November 10, 2006. He was 80. Minetti was born in Berlin, Germany, on April 21, 1926. He began his film career in the early 1950s, appearing in such movies as Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder (1955), Der Teufel vom Muhlenberg (1955), Ernst Thaelmann — Fuhrer Seiner Klasse (1955), Tinko (1957), Lissy (1957), PoloniaExpress (1957), Tatort Berlin (1958), An Old Love (1959), Kuttel (1961), Die Schwarze Galeere (1962), Carl von Ossietzky (1963), In Search of the Magical Bird (1964),
MIYAGAWA, HIROSHI Japanese film composer Hiroshi Miyagawa died of heart failure in Tokyo
Hans-Peter Minetti
Hiroshi Miyagawa
Ron Mitchell
247 on March 21, 2006. He was 75. Miyagawa was born in Romoe, Hokkaido, Japan, on March 18, 1931. He worked often in films from the early 1960s, scoring such features as Young Season (1962), Double Trouble (1963), The Sandal Keeper (1964), Ghidrah, the ThreeHeaded Monster (1964) supplying the song “Call Happiness,” The Boss of Pick-Pocket Bay (1966), Operation Crazy Gold (1967), Operation Crazy Gold (1967), Monsieur Zivaco (1967), and Mexican Free-for-All (1968). He also scored the Space Cruiser Yamato series in the 1970s, and the 1980s series Maeterlinck’s Blue Bird: Tyltyl and Mytyl’s Adventurous Journey.
MIZERAK, STEVE Champion pool player Steve Mizerak died of complications from gall bladder surgery in Miami, Florida, on May 29, 2006. He was 61. Mizerak was born in Perty Amboy, New Jersey, on October 12, 1944. One of the world’s leading pool players from the 1970s he won four U.S. Open Championships and numerous other billiards tournaments. Nicknamed “The Miz,” he achieved fame in the 1970s and 1980s in a series of Miller Lite television commercials with other sports celebrities. Mizerak also appeared as himself in the 1980 film The Baltimore Bullet, and was featured in the 1986 film The Color of Money with Paul Newman and Tom Cruise.
Steve Mizerak
2006 • Obituaries
writing partners with Franco Castellano. The duo moved on to radio in the 1950s, writing comedy sketches, and began working in films later in the decade. He and Castellano scripted numerous Italian films including Marinai, Donne e Guai (1958), Quel Tesoro di Papa (1959), My Wife’s Enemy (1959), Tiberius (1960), Toto, Fabrizi e i Giovani d’Oggi (1960), The Two Rivals (1960), Tototruffa ’62 (1961), Girl Under the Sheet (1961), The Fascist (1961), Crazy Desire (1962), Eighteen in the Sun (1962), I Tromboni di Fra Diavolo (1963), The Little Nuns (1963), The Thursday (1963), The Hours of Love (1963), The Swindlers (1963), Extraconjugal (1964), The Maniacs (1964), The Twelve-Handed Men of Mars (1964) which he also directed, Bullets Don’t Argue (1964), Two Public Enemies (1964), Snow Job (1965), Kiss the Other Sheik (1965), 16-Year Olds (1965), Two Marines and a General (1966), Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (1966) starring Vincent Price, How I Learned to Love Women (1966), The Crazy Kids of War (1967), How to Kill 400 Duponts (1967), Life Is Tough, Eh Providence? (1972), Il Colonnello Buttiglione Diventa Generale (1973), Here We Go Again, Eh Providence? (1973), Brigitte, Laura, Ursula, Monica, Raquel, Liz, Florinda, Barbara, Claudia, e Sofia le Chiamo Tutte ... Anima Mia (1974), Unbelievable Adventures of Italians in Russia (1974), Soldier of Fortune (1975), Sex for Sale (1976), Mr. Robinson (1976), Three Tigers Against Three Tigers (1977), The New Monsters (1977), Sabato, Domenica e Venerdi (1979), Velvet Hands (1979) which he also directed, and Dr. Jekyll Junior (1979). Moccia continued to script films through the 1980s and 1990s, and often directed them as well. His later credits include Sugar, Honey and Pepper (1980), The Taming of the Scoundrel (1980), Portrait of a Woman, Nude (1981), Asso (1981), Madly in Love (1981), Don’t Play with Tigers (1982), Grand Hotel Excelsior (1982), Attila (1982), Il Ragazzo di Campagna (1984), My Brother Has Come (1985), Department Store (1986), Il Burbero (1987), Watch Out for Perestroika (1990), Abbronzatissimi (1991), Saint Tropez, Saint Tropez (1992), and Panarea (1997). After Castellano’s death in 1999, Moccia worked primarily in television, directing such productions as Max e Tux (2002) and Ma il Portiere non c’e Mai? (2002).
MIZUMOTO, CLIVE Sound engineer Clive Mizumoto died of cancer in Woodland Hills, California, on May 17, 2006. He was 53. Mizumoto was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1952. He began working in films as a sound editor at Harmony Gold in the early 1980s. He subsequently moved to Saban Ent., where he served as executive vice president of post production. He was sound supervisor on such series as Power Rangers Zeo, Power Rangers in Space, Mad Jack the Pirate, The Super Mario Brothers Super Show, and The Incredible Hulk. MOCCIA, GIUSEPPE Italian film director and screenwriter Giuseppe Moccia, who was often billed as Pipolo, died of complications from a cerebral hemorrhage in a Rome hospital on August 20, 2006. He was 73. Moccia was born in Viterbo, Italy, on June 22, 1933. He began writing for the satirical magazine Marc’Aurelio after World War II, and soon became
Giuseppe Moccia
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MOE, JOSEFA Samoan fire knife dancer and entertainer Josefa Moe died at his home in Summerlin, Nevada, on November 3, 2006. He was 73. Moe was born in India on May 1, 1933, while his parents were touring with the Hawaiian Serenaders. Josefa followed his family into show business in the 1950s, playing the Tahitian drum with Puka Puka Otea’s band. He became one of the leading fire knife dancers in Hawaii and was a featured dancer in the 1959 film Forbidden Island. Moe was also seen on television as an extra in episodes of Hawaii Five-O and was a popular artist at craft fairs.
Josefa Moe
MOFFO, ANNA Operatic soprano Anna Moffo died of complications from a stroke in New York City on March 10, 2006. She was 71. Moffo was born in Wayne, Pennsylvania, on June 27, 1934. She studied music at Rome’s Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia and made her stage debut in Spoleto, Italy, in a production of Don Pasquale in 1955. She appeared in a televised production of Madame Butterfly the following year and also debuted at La Scala in 1956. She made her first appearance on an American stage, singing Mimi in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of La Boheme in 1957. She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1959 in La Traviata. She also performed in productions of Rigoletto, L’Elisir d’Amore, and Turandot at the Met in the early 1960s. Moffo hosted the popular Ital-
ian television series The Anna Moffo Show from 1960 to 1973, and appeared in several films including The Battle of Austerlitz (1960), La Serva Padrona (1962), Menage Italian Style (1965), La Traviata (1967), Love Me, Baby, Love Me! (1969), The Divorce (1970), The Adventurers (1970), A Girl Called Jules (1970), The Weekend Murders (1970), Lucia di Lammermoor (1971), The Csardas Princess (1971), and Die Schone Helena (1974). Moffo was married to Italian producer Mario Lanfranchi from 1957 until their divorce in 1972. She married RCA chairman Robert Sarnoff in 1974, and they remained wed until his death in 1997.
MOHANDES, FOUAD EL- Egyptian comedian and actor Fouad el-Mohandes died of complications from liver problems in Cairo, Egypt, on September 16, 2006. He was 82. Mohandes was born in Cairo on September 7, 1924. He began performing in films and on radio in the 1950s, and was the host of several long running radio programs including To House Wives and Just a Few Words. He became a popular comedian on stage an screen in the 1960s, often performing opposite his ex-wife, Shouweikar. Mohandes’ film credits include Among the Ruins (1959), Love and ... Love (1960), The Student (1962), The Black Candles (1962), The Rebel (1963), Meeting at the Tower (1963), His Majesty (1964), Love, Pleasure, and Youth (1964), The Bridegroom Arrives Tomorrow (1964), I, He and She (1964), A Husband’s Confession (1965), His Excellency the Ambassador (1966), El Ragol da hai Ganini (1967), Mabodet el Gamahir (1967), Agazet Gharam (1967), Moutarada Gharamia (1968), Merati Magnouna ... Magnouna... (1968), Ard el-Nefak (1968), and Aslam Modhek Geddan (1968).
Fouad el-Mohandes
MOHSIN HANAFI, HANI Malaysian actor Hani Mohsin Hanafi died of a heart attack at an airline terminal in Sepang, Malaysia, on July 25, 2006. He was 43. Mohsin was born in Kangar, Malaysia, on June 18, 1963. Mohsin was the host of the popular television game show Roda Impian. He was also featured in several films including Jimi Asmara (1995), Ringgit Kasorrga (1995), Beyond Rangoon (1995), Scoop (1996), Merah (1997), Spinning Gasing (2000), and Embun (2002). (See photograph on page 249.) Anna Moffo
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with breast cancer on March 29, 2006. She was 72. MonPere was born in Fresno, California, on October 13, 1933. She began her career as a script editor for the 1973 tele-film The Borrowers, and adapted the 1977 animated film The Mouse and His Child. She was also coproducer, director and writer of the PBS documentary The Battle of Westlands in 1980. She also wrote and directed the semi-autobiographical film Pink Lightening in 1991, and scripted the tele-films French Silk (1994) and Someone She Knows (1994).
Hani Mohsin Hanafi
MONAHAN, MIKE Actor Mike Monahan died of lung disease in California in December of 2006. He was 87. Monahan was born in San Jose, California, on July 26, 1929. He began his career on stage and was soon appearing in small roles in such television series as Father Knows Best, Sugarfoot, Starsky and Hutch, Happy Days, and Cannon. He was also active in local theatre, founding the Showboat Dinner Theatre in Woodland Hills, California, in 1980.
Mike Monahan
MONPERE, CAROL Writer Carol MonPere died in San Francisco, California, after a long battle
MONROE, SPUTNIK Professional wrestler Sputnik Monroe, a leading ring villain in the 1950s and 1960s, died in an Edgewater, Florida, nursing home after a long illness on November 3, 2006. He was 77. He was born Roscoe Monroe Brumbagh in Dodge City, Kansas, on December 18, 1928. He began his career working on the carnival circuit before entering the wrestling ring under such aliases as Pretty Boy Roque and Elvis “Rock” Monroe. He was best known for his appearances in the Memphis area from the late 1950s. He exchanged the Tennessee State Title several times in a long-running feud with Billy Wicks in 1959 and 1960. He teamed with Danny McShain to hold the NWA Texas Tag Team Title in late 1960. He again held the Texas tag belts in February of 1961, teaming with Maury High as Rocket Monroe. Sputnik held the NWA Texas Title in October of 1961 and defeated Dick the Bruiser for the NWA Georgia Title in 1964. He again teamed with Rocket Monroe to hold the NWA World Tag Team Title in Florida in April of 1967. They also held the NWA Southern Tag Team Title in Florida in Spring of 1967. He defeated Danny Hodge for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title in July of 1970 but lost the belt in a rematch soon afterwards. Monroe teamed with Norvell Austin, as part of the first integrated wrestling tag team in the South, to hold the Southern Tag Team Title in May of 1972, and the NWA Florida Tag Team Title in October of 1972. Monroe largely retired from wrestling, though he made occasional appearances, sometimes as a manager, over the next three decades. He was featured in the 2004 documentary about women in wrestling, Lipstick & Dynamite, Piss & Vinegar: The First Ladies of Wrestling.
Sputnik Monroe Carol MonPere
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MONTERDE, JULIO Mexican actor Julio Monterde died of complications from respiratory arrest in Mexico City on December 15, 2006. He was 60. Monterde appeared frequently in films from the early 1950s, with such credits as Angelica (1952), La Mujer X (1955), Una Movida Chueca (1956), Caras Nuevas (1956), Basket of Mexican Tales (1956), School for Mothers-in-Law (1958), Born to Love (1959), Island for Two (1959), Cuernavaca en Primavera (1966), The Fearmaker (1971), Tampico (1972), An Simon de los Magueyes (1973), Mina, Wind of Freedom (1977), La Casta Divina (1977), Rastro de Muerte (1981), La Combi Asesina (1982), A Real Man (1983), Gavilan o Paloma (1985), Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell (1988), Cita con la Muerte (1989), and Noche de Paz (1998). Monterde also performed often on television from the 1960s, appearing in such series as Marcela (1962), Fallaste Corazon (1968), Barata de Primavera (1975), No Temas al Amor (1980), Hora Marcada (1986), Senda de Gloria (1987), Corazon Salvaje (1993), Bendita Mentira (1996), Maria Isabel (1997), La Usurpadora (1998), El Privilegio de Amar (1998), Rosalinda (1999), Amigos X Siempre (2000), La Intrusa (2001), El Manantial (2001), Mujer, Casos de la Vida Real (1996), Les Vlas del Amor (2002), and Barrera de Amor (2005). He was also seen as the Manager in the 1986 television production of Agatha Christie’s Murder in Three Acts.
teen. He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1940s and began performing with baritone sax player Bob Gordon. The two played together often until Gordon was killed in an automobile accident in 1955. A problem with drugs damaged his career later in the decade, and he was forced to work in small venues and as a studio musician. He moved to Las Vegas in the 1970s where he worked as an accompanist for casino performers. He returned to recording jazz in the late 1980s, recording several albums with pianist Pete Jolly.
Julio Monterde
Jack Montrose (left, with Russ Freeman)
MONTINI, MARINA Brazilian model and actress Marina Montini died of liver failure in a Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, hospital on March 20, 2006. She was 58. Montini was a model and muse for Brazilian painter Emiliano Di Cavalcanti from 1969 through 1976. She was also seen in a handful of films during that period including The Girl Watchers (1969), Vinte Passos Para a Morte (1970), Parafernalia o Dia de Caca (1970), The Mortal Sin (1970), Jeronimo, O Heroi de Sertao (1972), Uma Negra Chamada Tereza (1973), and A Sombra da Violencia (1975). MONTROSE, JACK Jazz saxophonist and composer Jack Montrose died in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 7, 2006. He was 77. Montrose was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December 30, 1928. He began playing the sax and touring clubs in the South while a
Marina Montini (painting by Di Cavalcanti)
MONTY, GLORIA Gloria Monty, who revolutionized the soap opera genre as the innovative producer of the daytime drama General Hospital during the late 1970s and early 1980s, died of cancer at her home in Rancho Mirage, California, on March 29, 2006. She was 84. Monty was born Gloria Montemuro in Allenhurst, New Jersey, on August 12, 1921. She earned a master’s degree in drama from Columbia University before she began working in television in the early 1950s as a director for The First Hundred Years. She directed the pilot for the CBS daytime soap Secret Storm in 1954, and served as producer and director for the soap for the next 14 years. She also produced and directed the soap Bright Promise from 1969 until leaving for ABC in 1972. She directed several tele-films under the ABC Wide World of Mystery umbrella including Screaming Skull (1973), The House and the Brain (1973),
251 Sorority Kill (1974), and The Norming of Jack 243 (1975). She took over the faltering soap opera General Hospital as producer in 1978 and transformed it from a show on the verge of cancellation to one of the most popular television series in history. She hinged most of her success on a storyline about the unlikely and controversial romance between Luke and Laura, that began with rape and culminated in the couple’s marriage in 1981. Anthony Geary and Genie Francis, who portrayed the duo, were featured on the covers of major news magazines, and mega-star Elizabeth Taylor made a cameo appearance at the wedding. The wedding episode reached an estimated 30 million viewers, setting a daytime drama record. Monty continued to draw a huge audience to the show, introducing elements of science fiction and adventure, including mad scientists threatening to freeze the fiction Port Charles, to the usual soap opera conventions. Monty, who had also produced the tele-film Confessions of a Married Man (1983) and the prime time series The Hamptons (1983) in the interim, left General Hospital in 1987. She returned to the soap three years later, but her second effort was less successful. Her elimination of long-time characters and introduction of new storylines met with resistance from the soap’s fans, and she again left the series in 1992. She went on to serve as executive producer on several tele-films based on the books of Mary Higgins Clark including Remember Me (1995), While My Pretty One Sleeps (1997), Let Me Call You Sweetheart (1997), and Moonlight Becomes You (1998). Monty was married to theatrical producer Robert O’Byrne from the 1940s until his death in 1991.
2006 • Obituaries
Solvay’s Achtung! The Desert Tigers (1977), Erotic Fantasies (1978), Fireback (1978), Traveling Companions (1978), A Very Special Woman (1979), Sidney Sheldon’s Bloodline (1979), and Emmanuele 3 (1980). Monty relocated to the Philippines in the early 1980s, where he continued his film career in numerous action and adventure films. He was featured in Escape from Blood Plantation (1983), Tornado (1983), The Raiders of Atlantis (1983), Slash (1984), Blood Debts (1984), Ninja’s Force (1984), Ninja Warriors (1985), Emmanuelle Goes to Cannes (1985), Deadringer (1985), Captain Yankee (1985), Commando Leopard (1985), War Without End (1986), Wilk (1986), Forgotten Warrior (1986), Eye of the Eagle (1986), Phantom Soldiers (1987), No Dead Heroes (1987), Jungle Rats (1987), Double Target (1987), Strike Commando (1987), Tough Cops (1988), Just a Damned Soldier (1988), Dog Tags (1988), Desert Warrior (1988), The Black Cobra 2 (1988), Last Platoon (1988), The Commander (1988), Phantom Raiders (1988), Zombi 3 (1888), Whiteforce (1988), Mannigan’s Force (1988), Blood Chase (1989), Eye of the Eagle 2: Inside the Enemy (1989), Sudden Thunder (1990), Last Flight to Hell (1990), Black Cobra 3: The Manila Connection (1990), The Firing Line (1991), Blowback 2 (1991), Fighting Spirit (1992), Beyond the Call of Duty (1992), The 13th Mission (1992), Il Labirinto dei Sensi (1993), and Si Ayala at si Zobel (1994). The film industry in the Philippines fell on hard times in the mid–1990s, and Monty’s film career suffered as a result. He still appeared in a few Japanese and Italian exploitation films shot there including Bruno Mattei’s Cannibal World (2003), The Tomb (2004), and The Jail: A Women’s Hell (2006). He was in Rome working on post production for a film by Mattei at the time of his death.
Gloria Monty (right, with sister Norma)
MONTY, MIKE American actor Mike Monty, who spent several decades acting in exploitation films and Spaghetti Westerns in Europe and the Philippines, died of a heart attack in Rome, Italy, on August 4, 2006. He was 69. Monty was born Michael O’Donahue in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on October 23, 1936. He moved to Italy in the early 1960s, where he played supporting roles, often as army officers or policemen, in numerous European films. His many film credits include Thompson 1880 (1966), Five into Hell (1969), They Called Him Trinity (1972), French Sex Murders (1972), Dr. Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks (1974), Paolo
Mike Monty
MOORE , MAVOR Canadian actor Mavor Moore died in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, after a long illness on December 18, 2006. He was 87. Moore was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on March 8, 1919. He was active as a producer, director and actor on the Canadian stage. He also appeared in character roles in such films as City on Fire (1979), Fish Hawk (1979), A Choice of Two (1981), Scanners (1981), Dirty Tricks (1981), the animated Heavy Metal (1981) as a voice actor, Threshold (1981), Hot Money (1983), and
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Malone (1987). He also appeared on television in productions of The Insurance Man from Ingersoll (1975), The Fighting Men (1977), Freddy the Freeloader’s Christmas Dinner (1981), Shellgame (1985), Spot Marks the X (1986), Sworn to Silence (1987), And the Sea Will Tell (1991), Mortal Sins (1992), A Family Divided (1995), and Shadow of a Doubt (1995). His other television credits include episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Poltergeist: The Legacy, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, and Mentors.
ingham, England on July 29, 1923. Moray began her career as a singer, entertaining the British troops during World War II. She became a popular performer in musicals, performing in theaters and music halls throughout England. Moray starred as Mrs. Strakosh in a short lived production of Funny Girl, with Barbra Streisand in England in 1966. She also became a familiar face on British television, appearing in episodes of Crossroads, Z Cars, Paul Temple, Steptoe and Son, Alexander the Greatest, Bootsie and Snudge, The Benny Hill Show, George and Mildred, Play for Today, Robin’s Nest, Hot Metal, Backup, The Bill, Maisie Raine, Doctors, and The Last Detective. Her other television credits include productions of Flotsam and Jetsam (1970) and Girl (1974). She was also seen in several feature films including The Lovers! (1973) and Arthur’s Dyke (2001).
Mavor Moore
MOOSE Moose, the Jack Russell terrier who was Eddie on television’s Frasier, died at the Los Angeles home of his trainer, Mathilde Halberg, on June 22, 2006. He was 15. Moose was born in Florida on December 24, 1990. Moose played the canine foil to Kelsey Grammer’s Dr. Frasier Crane from 1993. He retired after eight years on the series and was replaced by his son, Enzo. Moose and Enzo also both appeared as the older and younger Skip in the 2000 film My Dog Skip with Frankie Muniz and Kevin Bacon. Moose was also the subject of an official calendar and an autobiography, My Life as a Dog.
Stella Moray
MORENO, ROSA MARIA Mexican actress Rosa Maria Moreno died in Mexico City on June 30, 2006. She was 78. Moreno was born in Mexico City on July 7, 1927. She was a popular performer on Mexican stage, film and television for over fifty years. Moreno’s film credits include Dio nos Manda Vivir (1954), Una Mujer en la Calle (1955), Amor en Cuatro Tiempos (1955), The Educated Lady (1957), A Media luz los Tres (1958), The Last Fight (1959), and El Tesoro de
Moose
MORAY, STELLA British character actress Stella Moray died in England on August 6, 2006. She was 83. She was born Stella Morris in Ladywood, Birm-
Rosa Maria Moreno
253 Clotilde (1994). She was also seen in such television series as Rina, Viviana, Yara, Juegos del Destino, El Padre Gallo, Simplemente Maria, Carrusel, Locura de Amor, and 2003’s Mujer Casos de la Vida Real.
MORGAN, RICHARD Australian actor Richard Morgan died of complications from motor neuron disease in Melbourne, Australia, on December 23, 2006. He was 48. Morgan was born in Hobart, Australia, on August 12, 1958. He began his career on television in the mid–1970s, appearing in small roles in such series as Homicide and Solo One before being cast as Terry Sullivan on the soap opera The Sullivans in 1976. His popularity in the series led to roles in several films including The Devil’s Playground (1976), Break of Day (1976), the horse racing film Phar Lap (1983) as Cashy Martin, Innocent Prey (1984), Silver City (1984), Outback Vampires (1987), and Farewell to the King (1989). Morgan was also featured in the tele-films Boy in the Bush (1984), Great Expectations, the Untold Story (1986), and The Charmers (1987). He starred Alan Brandon in the television series Sons and Daughters from 1984 to 1985, and guest-starred in episodes of A Country Practice and Home and Away. Morgan left acting to begin a computer business in 1990, but returned to the screen a decade later. He was featured in episodes of Blue Heelers, Something in the Air, and MDA, and the 2001 tele-film Blonde. Morgan had appeared in the recurring role of Detective Reg Masters in the police series Stingers in 2004. He retired from the screen after being diagnosed with motor neuron disease in 2005.
2006 • Obituaries
MORRIS, JEREMIAH Actor Jeremiah Morris died of colon cancer in a Culver City, California, hospital on March 5, 2006. He was 76. Morris was born in New York City on April 4, 1929. He began his career on stage in the early 1960s, appearing in Broadway productions of Daughter of Silence (1961) and Jennie (1963). Morris also appeared on television, gueststarring in episodes of The DuPont Show of the Month, Naked City, The Defenders, Car 54, Where Are You?, The Nurses, and The Honeymooners. He moved to Los Angeles and began directing for stage and television in the 1970s, helming episodes of Barney Miller, Quincy, Diff ’rent Strokes, A New Kind of Family, and House Calls. He also continued acting, appearing in episodes of WRKP in Cincinnati, Cheers, Mad About You, NewsRadio, Stark Raving Mad, Becker, and Frasier. Morris became artistic director of the Actors Alley theater in California in 1989, where he remained until retiring in 2000.
Jeremiah Morris
MORRISON, MICHAEL Adult film actor and director Milton Ingley, who performed in numerous films under the name Michael Morrison, died in Arizona on December 22, 2006. He was 54. Morrison began working in the adult industry as a favor to his then girlfriend. He stared in such films as V: The Hot One (1977), Island of Dr. Love (1977), Female Athletes Richard Morgan
MORONI, FABRIZIO Italian actor Fabrizio Moroni died in Rome, Italy, on August 6, 2006. He was 63. Moroni was born in Florence, Italy, in 1943. He was active in films from the early 1960s, appearing in such features as The House of Love (1963), La Chia del Trebol (1964), Me, Me, Me ... and the Others (1965), Perdono (1966), Kill or Be Killed (1967), Made in Italy (1967), Shoot, Gringo ... Shoot! (1968), Trumpet of the Apocalypse (1969), Desert Assault (1969), Dario Argento’s horror classic Four Flies on Grey Velvet (19871), Un Modo di Essedre Donna (1973), La Minorenne (1974), Frou-Frou del Tabarin (1976), La Liceale Seduce i Professori (1979), Deliriumn (1981), and Bits and Pieces (1995).
Michael Morrison
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(1977), The Other Side of Julie (1978), Tangerine (1979), Fantasy (1979), Deep Rub (1979), A Woman’s Dream (1980), Champagne for Breakfast (1980), Chained (1980), Beyond Shame (1980), Taboo (1980), Co-Ed Fever (1980), Trashi (1981), Skintight (1981), Sexual Heights (1981), Peach Fuz (1981), Beyond Your Wildest Dreams (1981), Beauty (1981), Memphis Cathouse Blues (1982), The Girl from S.E.X. (1982), Centerspread Girls (1982), Corruption (1983), Spitfire (1984), Raven (1984), Stud Hunters (1984), Las Vegas Hustle (1984), Too Naughty to Say No (1985), Nasty Habits (1986), Erotic Adventures of Bedman and Throbbin (1989), Crime Lords (1990), Good, the Bad, and the D-Cups (1992), Impolite (1992), Rocco Unleashed (1994), Backstage Pass (1994), Nylon (1995), and Ginger’s Island (1997). Morrison also began directing adult films in the mid–1980s, and was the owner of Chandler Studios for over a decade. He helmed such flicks as Traci Lords (1984), Backside to the Future (1986), Wrong Arm of the Law (1988), Twisted Sisters (1988), Lays of Our Lives (1988), 69 Pump Street (1988), The Golden Gals (1989), The Wonder Rears (1990), Wild Side (1990), Two of a Kind (1990), Transsexual 6900 (1990), Santa Comes Again (1990), Live Nude Girls (1990), Gillie’s Isle (1990), Digital Lust (1990), Designing Babes (1990), Wicked Wenches (1991), Where’s There’s Sparxx There’s Fire (1991), Truth and Bare (1991), Most Wanted (1991), L.A.D.P. (1991), Foxx Hunt (1991), Casey at the Bat (1991), The Breast Things in Life Are Free (1991), Women’s Penitentiary (1992), Will and Ed’s Bogus Gang Bang (1992), Nightmare on Dyke Street (1992), Moon Goddesses (1992), Miracle on 69th Street (1992), Maiden Heaven (1992), A Girl’s Affair (1992), Encino Woman (1992), Butt’s Up, Doc (1992), The Bare-Assed Naked Gun (1992), House of the Rising Sun (1993), The Dickheads (1993), Stewardesses Behind Bars (1994), The Joy Suck Club (1994), Deep Space 69 (1995), and Behind the Scenes (1995). He retired from the industry in the late 1990s.
MORROW, BYRON Veteran character actor Byron Morrow died at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, on May 11, 2006. He was 94. Morrow was born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 8, 1911. He worked on local radio as an announcer and was a puppeteer and semi-professional basketball player. Morrow served in the Army during World War II, seeing action in the Pacific. He subsequently moved to Hollywood, where he appeared in numerous films and television productions, often playing authority figures like generals and police inspectors. Morrow’s many film credits include The Mysterians (1957), Operation Dames (1959), But Not for Me (1959), Wake Me When It’s Over (1960), Atlantis, the Lost Continent (1961), The Right Approach (1961), Panic in the Year Zero! (1962), King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), Black Zoo (1963), Police Nurse (1963), Captain Newman, M.D. (1963), The Strangler (1964), The Best Man (1964), A Rage to Live (1965), Cyborg 2087 (1966), 40 Guns to Apache Pass (1967), Banning (1967), Maryjane (1968), The Wrecking Crew (1969), The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, Colossus: The
Forbin Project (1970), Johnny Got His Gun (1971), The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler (1971), The Stone Killer (1973), The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973), The Last Tycoon (1976), Sidewinder 1 (1977), Born Again (1978) as Archibald Cox, and How to Beat the High Co$t of Living (1980). He was also seen in numerous tele-films including Night Gallery (1969), The Challenge (1970), Man on a String (1972), Adventures of Nick Carter (1972), The President’s Plane Is Missing (1973), Columbo: A Friend in Deed (1974), Sin, American Style (1974), Panic on the 5:22 (1974), The Missiles of October (1974) as Senator J.W. Fulbright, The Turning Point of Jim Malloy (1975), Babe (1975) as sportscaster Grantland Rice, Murder on Flight 502 (1975), Baa Baa, Black Sheep (1976) as Admiral Nimitz, Little Ladies of the Night (1977), The Girl in the Empty Grave (1977), In the Matter of Karen Ann Quinlan (1977), Don’t Push, I’ll Charge When I’m Ready (1977), The Ghost of Flight 401 (1978), Evening in Byzantium (1978), The Immigrants (1978), Power (1980), Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of the Dolls (1981), Bare Essence (1982), The Winds of War (1983), Dark Mansions (1986), and War and Remembrance (1988) as Admiral William Leahy. Morrow was featured as Captain Keith Gregory in the 1961 television series The New Breed and was Pearce Newberry in the 1976 drama series Executive Suite. His other television credits include episodes of Peter Gunn, Shotgun Slade, The Man and the Challenge, Sea Hunt, Men into Space, Tombstone Territory, The Twilight Zone, The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, The Tab Hunter Show, The Law and Mr. Jones, The Loretta Young Show, COronado 9, The Untouchables, Gunslinger, Bat Masterson, Shannon, Rawhide, Checkmate, Hennesey, The Andy Griffith Show, The Virginian, Don’t Call Me Charlie, Empire, Redigo, Arrest and Trial, The Great Adventure, Wagon Train, The Eleventh Hour, Grindl, Burke’s Law, Lassie, Kraft Suspense Theatre, The Fugitive, Ben Casey, I Spy, Honey West, Perry Mason, A Man Called Shenandoah, Death Valley Days, Twelve O’Clock High, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Occasional Wife, I Dream of Jeannie, Captain Nice, Ironside, Get Smart, The Invaders, Lost in Space, Bewitched, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Star Trek, Dragnet 1967, Felony Squad, Wild Wild West, The F.B.I., The Big Valley, Lancer, Here Come the Brides, Mayberry R.F.D., The Mod Squad, Family Affair, Mission: Impos-
Byron Morrow
255 sible, The Bill Cosby Show, Here’s Lucy, Love, American Style, Bonanza, McMillan and Wife, Mannix, The Sandy Duncan Show, The Waltons, Search, Banacek, The Bob Newhart Show, Marcus Welby, M.D., Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, The Magician, The Streets of San Francisco, Apple’s Way, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Cannon, Lucas Tanner, S.W.A.T., Switch, The Bionic Woman, Hunter, Barnaby Jones, Fantasy Island, The Rockford Files, Trapper John, M.D, Quincy, Stone, The Love Boat, The Brady Brides, Dallas, Vega$, The Greatest American Hero, Bret Maverick, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Matt Houston, Finders of Lost Loves, Otherworld, Highway to Heaven, Crazy Like a Fox, Beauty and the Beast, and Father Dowling Mysteries.
MOSS, JENNIFER British actress Jennifer Moss, who starred as rebellious teen Lucille Hewitt in the soap opera Coronation Street from 1960 to 1974, died in Dunfermline, Scotland, on October 5, 2006. She was 61. Moss was born in Wigan, Lancashire, England, on January 10, 1945. She began her professional career on radio at the age of 12. She soon began appearing on television, where she guest starred in episodes of June Evening and Magnolia Street before joining the cast of Coronation Street. She appeared in the series for fourteen years and was seen in over 1,000 episodes before problems with drugs and alcohol led to her departure in 1974. She led a turbulent life over the next two decades, as her addictions led to romantic misadventures and encounters with the law. She eventually overcame her drinking problem with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous, though her health had been seriously impaired. She returned to television in 1997 to guest star in an episode of Hetty Wainthropp Investigates and was seen in the program After They Were Famous in 2000.
2006 • Obituaries
Hawaii. She traveled to New York City later in the decade, where she performed with Ray Kinney and his Royal Hawaiian Orchestra. She abandoned her career in 1939 after her marriage to Randolph Avon. The couple moved to Florida in 1951. Despite her retirement, she continued to promote Hawaiian culture and dance.
Pualani Mossman
MOUNT , DAVE Dave Mount, who was drummer for the British pop group Mud in the 1960s and 1970s, died in England on December 2, 2006. He was 59. Mount was born in Carshalton, Surrey, England, on March 3, 1947. He began his musical career at the age of seventeen, playing drums for the pop band The Remainders, with guitarist Rob Davis. They were later joined by Ray Stiles on bass and Les Gray as lead singer. They changed their name to Mud in 1966 and recorded their first single, “Flower Power,” the following year. They continued to record and perform over the next several years with little success until signing with the RAK label in 1973. They had several hits, with such tunes as “Crazy,” “Hypnosis,” and “Dyna-Mite.” Moving into glam-rock and disco they had their first number one hit with “Tiger Feet” in 1974, other hits followed with “The Cat Crept In,” and the rockabilly tune “Lonely This Christmas.” A reprise of The Crickets’ earlier hit “Oh Boy!” brought Mud back to the top of the charts for the final time in 1975. Though they
Jennifer Moss
MOSSMAN, PUALANI Hawaiian hula dancer Pualani Mossman died while visiting relatives in Melbourne, Florida, on May 8, 2006. She was 89. Mossman was born in Honolulu on May 16, 1916. An expert hula dancer in the 1930s, she became part of an ad campaign to promote Hawaii as a tourist destination. The image of her face, highlighted with a large red hibiscus in her hair, graced many magazines. She starred in a film travelogue, Song of the Islands, promoting
Dave Mount
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continued to record for the remainder of the decade, they disbanded as the 1970s came to a close. Mount briefly returned to the stage when Les Gray reformed Mud as a nostalgia group in the late 1980s, but largely abandoned music to work in insurance.
MUELLER, ELISABETH Swiss actress Elisabeth Mueller died in Sempach, Switzerland, on December 11, 2006. She was 80. Mueller was born in Basel, Switzerland, on July 18, 1926. She was a leading performer on stage and in films from the late 1940s. Her film credits include such features as Madness Rules (1947), Morgengraun (1954), Afraid to Love (1954), Andre and Ursula (1955), Corinna Darling (1956), Ballerina (1956), The Power and the Prize (1956), Taxi Driver Baenz (1957), Scandal in Bad Ischl (1957), El Hakim (1957), Dr. Crippen Lives (1958), Confess, Dr. Corda! (1958), Everyday’s Not Sunday (1959), Rommel Ruft Kairo (1959), and the 1959 Hollywood production The Angry Hills. Mueller also appeared in the 1960 television mini-series Am Grunen Strand der Spree.
1953 film Do Bigha Zamin (aka Two Acres of Land). He made his film debut as a director with 1957’s Musafir (aka Traveller). He continued to helm such Hindi features as Anari (1959), Anuradha (aka Love of Anuradha) (1960), Memdidi (1961), Chhaya (1961), Do Dil (1965), Biwi Aur Makaan (1966), Aashirwad (aka The Blessing) (1968), Anand (1970) which launched Amitabh Bachchan’s screen career, Guddi (aka Darling Child) (1971), Buddha Mil Gaya (1971), Abhimaan (1973), Namak Haraam (aka The Ungrateful) (1973), Chupke Chupke (1975), Arjun Pandit (1976), Hanky Panky (1979), Khubsoorat (aka Beautiful) (1980), Bemisal (1982), Sadma (1983), Rang Birangi (1983), Jhoothi (1985), Lathi (1988), and Namumkin (1988). Mukherjee also directed for television, helming such series as Hum Hindustani (1986) and Talaash (1992). He directed his final film, Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate, in 1998.
MULLER, CHRISTIANE French actress Christiane Muller died in France on May 11, 2006. She was 74. Muller was born in Argenteuill, France, on March 3, 1932. She was featured in several films from the late 1940s including Carre de Valets (1947), Scandals of Clochemerle (1948), Paris Music Hall (1957), The Tricyclist (1957), The Big Vacation (1967), Joe: The Busy Body (1971), Going Places (1974), Cool, Calm and Collected (1976), and Duos sur Canape (1979). She also appeared in such television productions as Les Enquetes du Commissaire Maigret (1971), Ton Amour et Ma Jeunesse (1973), Esprit de Suite (1977), Commissaire Moulin (1978), On Purge Bebe (1979), Feu la Mere de Madame (1979), Heloise (1991), Un Beau Petit Milliard (1992), P.J. (1998), L’Aine des Ferchaux (2001), La Parite (2003), and Une Deuxieme Chance (2003).
Elisabeth Mueller
MUKHERJEE , H RISHIKESH Leading Indian film director Hrishikesh Mukherjee died of renal failure in a Mumbai, India, hospital after a long illness on August 27, 2006. He was 83. Mukherjee was born in Calcutta, India, on September 30, 1922. He began working in films as an apprentice to director Bimal Roy, and scripted and served as assistant director for the
Christiane Muller
Hrishikesh Mukherjee
MUNGENAST, DAVE, SR. Stuntman Dave Mungenast, Sr., died of brain cancer in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 20, 2006. He was 71. Mungenast was born in St. Louis on October 1, 1934. His interest in motorcycles led to him open his own business in the mid–1960s. He developed a friendship with stuntman Stan Barret, who was instrumental in gaining Mungenast stunt work in such films as Airport ’77 (1977), Hooper (1978), Cannonball Run (1981), and Harry and Son (1984). (See photograph on page 257.)
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2006 • Obituaries
Folks (1986). Murray continued to perform until he was 83, when his asthma condition forced his retirement. Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Kathleen “Toni” Murray, and four children.
Dave Mungenast, Sr.
MURRAY, JAN Jan Murray, a comic turned television game show host, died at his home in Beverly Hills, California, on July 2, 2006. He was 89. He was born Murray Janofsky in New York on October 4, 1916. He began his career as a comedian, performing at Catskills resorts. Murray became a leading television game show host in the 1950s, emceeing such series as Go Lucky (1951), Sing It Again (1951), Blind Date (1953), Dollar a Second (1953), and the hit quiz show Treasure Hunt from 1956 to 1958. He also hosted the variety series Jan Murray Time in 1955. He also guest starred on various television series, making appearances on On Trial, Zane Grey Theater, Dr. Kildare, Burke’s Law, The Lucy Show, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Cowboy in Africa, The Name of the Game, Love, American Style, Mannix, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Ellery Queen, Fantasy Island, Legmen, Hardcastle and McCormick, The Fall Guy, Hunter, It’s a Living, and My Two Dads. He was also a frequent guest host on The Tonight Show. Murray also appeared in several films including Who Killed Teddy Bear (1965), A Man Called Dagger (1967), The Busy Body (1967), Thunder Alley (1967), Tarzan and the Great River (1967), The Angry Breed (1968), Which Way to the Front? (1970), Day of the Wolves (1973), Mel Brooks’ History of the World: Part 1 (1981), and Fear City (1984). He was also seen in the tele-films Roll, Freddy, Roll! (1974), Banjo Hackett: Roamin’ Free (1976), The Dream Merchants (1980), and But Seriously,
MURTON , LIONEL British actor Lionel Murton died in Hampshire, England, on September 26, 2006. He was 91. Murton was born in London on June 2, 1915. He began his film career in England in the mid–1940s, appearing in such features as Meet the Navy (1946), Brass Monkey (1948), Trouble in the Air (1948), The Girl Is Mine (1950), Dangerous Assignment (1950), Monte Carlo Baby (1951), The Long Dark Hall (1951), The Pickwick Papers (1952), Our Girl Friday (1953), The Runaway Buss (1954), Night People (1954), Raising a Riot (1955), The Battle of the River Plate (1956), Carry on Admiral (1957), Fire Down Below (1957), Interpol (1957), Up the Creek (1958), Further Up the Creek (1958), North West Frontier (1959), Mike Mine a Million (1959), The Captain’s Table (1959), The Mouse That Roared (1959), Surprise Package (1960), Petticoat Pirates (1961), On the Beat (1962), The Main Attraction (1962), Summer Holiday (1963), The Truth About Spring (1964), Man in the Middle (1964), Doctor in Clover (1966), Carry on Cowboy (1966), Nobody Runs Forever (1968), Zeta One (1969), The Last Shot You Hear (1969), Patton (1970) as the 3rd Army chaplain, The Revolutionary (1970), Cannon for Cordoba (1970), Welcome to the Club (1971), Confessions of a Window Clearer (1974), Seven Nights in Japan (1976), and Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977). He also appeared frequently on television, starring as the Chief in the 1957 espionage series O.S.S. He was also featured in episodes of such series as Colonel March of Scotland Yard, Television Playhouse, Rendezvous, Dial 999, The Invisible Man, The Four Just Men, Interpol Calling, International Detective, The Dickie Henderson Show, Danger Man in the recurring role of Colonel Keller, Harry’s Girls, The Wednesday Play, Compact, Man in a Suitcase, Journey to the Unknown, Strange Report, The Persuaders, The Adventurer, The Protectors, and George and Mildred. He also starred as Colonel Irving in the series Yanks Go Home from 1976 to 1977.
Lionel Murton Jan Murray
MUSE, MARGARET Character actress Margaret Muse died in Los Angeles, California, on March
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6, 2006. She was 91. Muse was born in Dallas, Texas, on January 6, 1915. She began her career performing on stage in local productions in Dallas, where she met Broadway actor Charles Meredith. She and Meredith were married in 1932. She appeared in many productions directed by her husband. They moved to California in the late 1940s, where she worked in stage, film, and television. Muse was featured in the films Teacher’s Pet (1958), For Pete’s Sake (1968), The War Between Men and Women (1972), Alligator (1980), and Twogether (1994), and the tele-films Something Evil (1972), Do You Remember Love (1985), and A Quiet Little Neighborhood, a Perfect Little Murder (1990). She performed frequently on television, guest-starring in such series as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Peter Gunn, Burke’s Law, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, Family Affair, Mayberry R.F.D., Night Gallery, Cannon, Simon & Simon, and Knott’s Landing. She also appeared on the daytime soap opera General Hospital.
Rembrandt (1936), The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1936), Farewell Again (1937), The Divorce of Lady X (1938), Break the News (1938), All Hands (1940), Blind Folly (1940), On the Night of the Fire (1940), A Window in London (1940), and You Will Remember (1941). Musgrove also appeared on the Broadway stage in productions of Heart of a City (1942), The Three Sisters (1942), and The Constant Wife (1951). Her survivors include her son, author Michael Korda.
MUSSOLINI, ROMANO Italian jazz pianist Romano Mussolini, the youngest child of Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, died in a Rome hospital after a long illness on February 3, 2006. He was 78. Romano was born in Carpena di Forli, Italy, on September 26, 1927. He began playing the piano at an early age. He did not begin his professional career until after his father’s brutal execution in 1945. He initially performed under the pseudonym Romano Full but became known under his own name by the mid–1950s. He formed his own trio, the Romano Mussolini All Stars, later in the decade. He became a leading jazz performer, often backing such American artists as Duke Ellington, Chet Baker, and Dizzy Gillespie. Mussolini’s fist wife was Maria Scicolone, sister of actress Sophia Loren, with whom he had two children. His eldest daughter Alessandra, became the leader of a neo-fascist political party, Alternativa Sociale. Though he seldom spoke about his family’s legacy, he wrote a fond memoir about his father, Il Duce, My Father, in 2004. Mussolini’s second wife was actress Carla Puccini, who survives him.
Margaret Muse
MUSGROVE , GERTRUDE British actress Gertrude Musgrove, who was the widow of acclaimed film production designer Vincent Korda, died in West Palm Beach, Florida, on November 3, 2006. She was 94. Musgrove was born in England on September 9, 1912. She was featured on stage and film in the 1930s and 1940s. Her film credits include the features The Girl from Maxim’s (1933), The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934), Romano Mussolini
Gertrude Musgrove
MYERS, SAM Blues musician and singer Sam Myers died of throat cancer at his home in Dallas, Texas, on July 17, 2006. He was 70. Myers was born in Laurel, Mississippi, on February 19, 1936. He studied music in Chicago, where he played drums and the harmonica in numerous blues bands. He wrote and recorded the popular blues single, “Sleeping in the Ground,” in 1956. He toured with Elmore James until his death in 1963. Myers returned to Mississippi, where he performed in local venues for the next two decades. He joined the band Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets in 1986 as lead singer and harmonica player. The
259 group recorded eight albums together over the next two decades and were the recipients of nine W.C. Handy Awards. Myer’s final album with the Rockets was Which Way Is Texas? was released in 2003. He recorded a solo album, Coming from the Old School, the following year.
Sam Myers
NADIRA Indian actress Nadira died after a long illness in a Bombay, India, hospital on February 9, 2006. She was 73. She was born Florence Ezekiel to a Jewish family in Baghdad on December 5, 1932, and came to India with her family as a child. She made her film debut under the stage name Nadira at the age of 12 in 1943. She became a leading film star from the early 1950s, often playing unsympathetic roles. Her numerous film credits include Savage Princess (1952), Heir (1954), Jalan (1955), Mr. 420 (1955), Corinna Darling (1956), Police (1958), Talash (1969), The Guru (1969), Safar (1970), Chetna (1970), Bombay Talkie (1970), Pure Heart (1971), Raja Jani (1972), Love, Love, Love (1974), The Distance (1974), The Holy Year (1975), Bhanwar (1976), Darling Darling (1977), Naukri (1978), Proud (1979), Swayamvar (1980), Terror (1981), Ashanti (1982), Saagar (1985), The Rod (1988), Laila (1991), Thief of Hearts (1991), Beloved (1992), Godfather (1992), Tamanna (1997), Cotton Mary (1999), and Josh (2000).
Nadira
2006 • Obituaries
NAKAYA, NOBORU Japanese actor Noboru Nakaya died of pulmonary emphysema in a Tokyo hospital on November 16, 2006. He was 77. Nakaya was born in Tokyo on May 4, 1929. He trained as an actor at the Bungakuza Theatre school and made his film debut in Tadashi Imai’s 1953 feature Nigorie. Nakaya was also seen in the films The Secret of That Night (1957), Times of Joy and Sorrow (1957), Anyakoro (1959), Her Brother (1960), Get ’Em All (1960), Whirlpool (1961), A Wanderer’s Notebook (1962), Miren (1963), Whirlpool of Women (1964), Plants from the Dunes (1964), The Hunter’s Diary (1964), the classic ghost tale Kwaidan (1964), Tenchu! (1969), The Restoration of Meiji (1970), Lady Snowblood (1973), Cockroach Cop (1973), Farewell, O Summer’s Light (1976), Utamaro: Dreams and Knowledge (1977), The Adventures of Kosuke Kindaichi (1979), The Last Game (1979), Time Slip (1979), The Woman (1980), Love Letter (1981), Lake of Illusions (1982), Suspicion (1982), Cursed Village in Yudono Mountains (1984), W’s Tragedy (1984), Caribe: Symphony of Love (1985), Time of the Apes (1987), and Haikinige Family (1992). He was also featured as Junichiro Watanuki in the 1997 television series Aoi Tori. His final role was in the 2004 television productions of Kaseifu Ha Mita! 22.
Noboru Nakaya
NATHAN , JARED Jared Nathan, a young actor who was featured in the children’s television se-
Jared Nathan
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ries Zoom in 1999, was killed in an automobile accident in Hollis, New Hampshire, on December 28, 2006. He was 21. He was the passenger in a car that left the road and hit a tree in the early morning. The 19-yearold driver of the car was charged with aggravated drunken driving. Nathan had performed in numerous local stage productions and was a student at Julliard School in New York City.
NAULT , F ERNAND Canadian dancer and choreographer Fernand Nault died of complications from Parkinson’s disease in Montreal, Canada, on December 26, 2006. He was 85. Nault was born Fernand Noel Boissonneault in Montreal on December 27, 1920. He studied ballet and modern dance and joined the Ballet Theater in New York in 1944. He also taught and choreographed for the company. Nault was artistic director of the Louisville Civic Ballet from 1959 to 1964. He returned to Canada to joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens’ founder Ludmilla Chiriaeff as coartistic director and resident choreographer in 1965. He stepped down as co-director in 1974, but remained resident choreographer. Nault was also artistic director for the Colorado Ballet from 1981 to 1982. He choreographed the 1983 film Narcissus and the was ballet master for the 1995 tele-film Danielle Steel’s Zoya.
(1995). His final film work was for the 2005 epic Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story.
Naushad
NAVA, PINUCCIA Italian actress Pinnucia Nava died in Milan, Italy, on June 22, 2006. She was 86. Nava was born in Rome, Italy, on January 4, 1920. She was as popular entertainer in Italy, singing and performing on stage for over fifty years. She often performed with her sisters, Diana Nava and Lisetta Nava. She was seen in several films during her career including Professor My Son (1946) and His Women (1961).
Fernand Nault
NAUSHAD Indian film composer Naushad Ali died of a heart attack at a Bombay, India, hospital on May 5, 2006. He was 86. He was born in northern Lucknow, India, in 1919, and went to Bombay to pursue a music career in the 1930s. He soon found work as a pianist for film orchestras. He made his debut as a film composer with 1940’s Prem Nagar (aka City of Love). Naushad was considered one of the first composers to incorporate traditional Indian classical music into film scores. He scored numerous films during his 55 year career including Station Master (1952), The Law (1943), Prestige (1944), The Song (1944), Precious Time (1946), Mischief (1949), A Matter of Style (1949), Meeting (1951), Baiju the Poet (1952), Savage Princess (1952), The Flying Bed (1955), Community (1955), Be Careful (1959), The Great Mughal Monarch (1960), The Confluence (1961), Leader (1964), Sunghursh (1968), The Man (1968), Pure Heart (1971), She Is a Serial Story (1977), Dharam Kanta (1982), Love and God (1986), and Guddu
Pinuccia Nava
NAVARRO, ANNA Actress Anna Navarro died on December 27, 2006. Navarro was born on August 18, 1933. She was 73. She appeared frequently on television from the 1950s, guest-starring in episodes of The Adventures of Kit Carson, The Cisco Kid, Climax!, Death Valley Days, The Walter Winchell Files, Trackdown, Flight, Perry Mason, Wanted: Dead or Alive, U.S. Marshal, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Californians, COronado 9, Bat Masterson, Outlaws, Sea Hunt, Tales of Wells Fargo, Hawaiian Eye, Temple Houston, The Monroes, Gunsmoke, The High Chaparral, Family Affair, The Virginian, The Mod Squad, The Name of the Game, Dan August, Bonanza, Ironside, Marcus Welby, CHiPs, Barnaby Jones, Quincy, Galactica 1980, Hunter, Baywatch Nights, and Walker, Texas Ranger. Navarro was also fea-
261 tured in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1969 film Topaz and the 1980 thriller The First Deadly Sin. She also appeared in several tele-films including The Impatient Heart (1971), Cutter (1972), Female Artillery (1973), and The Keegans (1976).
Anna Navarro
NECMIOGLU, TUNCER Turkish actor Tuncer Necmioglu died in Turkey on August 20, 2006. He was 69. Necmioglu was born in Diyarbakir, Turkey, on December 17, 1936. He was a prolific performer in Turkish films from the early 1960s, with such credits as Two Ships Side by Side (1963), Cici Can (1963), Kardes Belasi (1965), The Man with White Horse (1965), I Live as Long as I Die (1965), Blood of the Earth (1966), Border Law (1966), The Cruel Ones (1966), Gypsy (1966), Red River, Black Sheep (1967), The Ugly King Doesn’t Forgive (1967), My Name Is Kerim (1967), The Hopeless Ones (1971), The Vagabond (1972), Cerno (1972), Platonic Love (1973), Kuma (1974), The Sacrifice (1979), Fotograffar (1989), Paracalanma (1998), and The Dervish (2001). Necmioglu was also featured in such television productions as Seed and Earth (1982), Saygilar Bizden (1992), Berivan (2002), Sehere Vakti (2005), Yanik Koza (2005), and Haci (2006).
2006 • Obituaries
performer on the local stage from the early 1980s. She also began making appearances in films and television later in the decade. She was best known for her role of Martha Thompson on the television series Everwood from 2002 to 2005. Nelligan also appeared in the films Neon City (1992), The Goodbye Bird (1993), A Home of Our Own (1993), Windrunner (1995), Just in Time (1997), Address Unknown (1997), SLC Punk! (1998), Little Secrets (2001), Just a Dream (2002), Baptists at Our Barbecue (2004), and Unaccompanied Minors (2006). She was featured in the tele-films Blind Witness (1989), Incident at Dark River (1989), In the Line of Duty: Siege at Marion (1992), Deliver Them from Evil: The Taking of Alta View (1992), The Man with Three Wives (1993), In the Blink of an Eye (1996), Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: JonBenet and the City of Boulder (2000), Hounded (2001), Firestarter 2: Rekindled (2002), and The Maldonado Miracle (2003). Nelligan’s other television credits include episodes of Teen Angel Returns, Promised Land, The Huntress, and Touched by an Angel.
Micaela Nelligan
NELSON, ALBERTA Actress Alberta Nelson, who was featured as a blonde biker chick in a handful of Beach Party films in the early 1960s, died of cancer in Pennsylvania on April 29, 2006. She was 68. Nelson was born on August 14, 1937. She began her career on stage and made her television debut in the early 1960s,
Tuncer Necmioglu
NELLIGAN, MICAELA Actress Micaela Nelligan died at her home in Salt Lake City, Utah, on December 11, 2006. She was 47. Nelligan was a popular
Alberta Nelson
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guest-starring in episodes of Boris Karloff ’s Thriller, The New Breed, and Dr. Kildare. She soon began appearing as the leather clad “rat pack” girlfriend of Harvey Lembeck’s Eric Von Zipper in such AIP features as Beach Party (1963), Muscle Beach Party (1964), Bikini Beach (1964), Beach Blanket Bingo (1965), How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965), Sergeant Deadhead (1965), Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965), and The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966). She also appeared in an episode of the comedy series The Dick Van Dyke Show, and was featured as girl-next-door Flora Malherbe in several episodes of The Andy Griffith Show from 1966 to 1968. She was also featured in an episode of Mayberry R.F.D. and Love, American Style. She retired from the screen after her performance as psychiatrist Dr. Virginia Grant in the 1970 exploitation film The Wild Scene.
NEMESCU, CRISTIAN Romanian film director Cristian Nemescu was killed in a car crash in Bucharest, Romania, when the taxi he was a passenger in was struck at an intersection on August 25, 2006. He was 27. Sound engineer Andre Toncu, who was also riding in the cab, also died in the accident. Nemescu was born in Bucharest on March 31, 1979. He attended the Academy for Theater and Film in Romania and wrote and directed such short films as In Apartment Buildings People Are Crazy About Music (2000), Mihai and Cristina (2001), C Block Story (2003), and Marilena from Block P7 (2006). He was involved in preproduction on his first feature film, California Dreaming, at the time of his death.
Cristian Nemescu
NEUTZE, HORST MICHAEL German actor Horst Michael Neutze died in Hamburg, Germany, on November 19, 2006. He was 83. Neutze was born in Hannover, Germany, on November 17, 1923. He was a popular star on German television from the 1960s, appearing in such series as Hafenpolizei, Stahlnetz, Das Kriminalmuseum, Ein Fall fur Titus Bunge, Dem Tater auf der Spur, Der Kommissar, Gemeinderatin Schumann, Hamburg Transit, Den Lieben Langen Tag, MS Franziska, St. Pauli Landungsbrucken, Achtung Zoll!, Derrick, Ein Fall fur TKKG, Der Landarzt, Ein Fall fur Zwei, and Faust. Neutze was also featured
as Commissioner Hans Schreitle in the series Tatort during the 1980s. He was also seen in television productions of Die Chinesische Mauer (1965) as Pontius Pilate, Ein Vogel bin ich Nicht (1971), Jeans (1981), Die Stunde des Lowen (1982), Solo Run (1983), Der Fehler des Piloten (1985), and Evelyn und die Manner oder Wie Hund und Katz (1987). Neutze appeared in several films during his career including Vier Schlussel (1966), Murderers Club of Brooklyn (1967), and Familientag (1981).
Horst Michael Neutze
NEVENS, PAUL Canadian actor Paul Nevens died on June 21, 2006. Nevens was featured as the Demon of the Mask in the 1961 cult horror film The Mask. He also appeared in the films Shaft (1971), The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975), and Woody Allen’s Zelig (1983).
Paul Nevens
NEWBY , ERIC British travel writer Eric Newby, who was best known for his 1958 narrative about his trek through Afghanistan A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, died near Guiildford, Surrey, England, on October 20, 2006. He was 86. Newby was born in London on December 6, 1919. His first work about a voyage to Australia aboard a Finnish grain ship entitled The Last Grain Race was published in 1956. His 1971 book Love and War in the Apennines about his experiences during World War II and his romance and eventual marriage to a woman who helped him escape from a POW camp in northern Italy, was adapted for the
263 2001 tele-film In Love and War. His other works include Slowly Down the Ganges (1966) and Round Ireland in Low Gear (1987).
Eric Newby
NEWKIRK, BRETT Film special effects technician Brett Newkirk died in Palmdale, California, on July 25, 2006. He was 44. Newkirk was born on January 19, 1962. He began working in television in the late 1970s, assisting on special effects for the tele-films And I Alone Survived (1978), Orphan Train (1979), Waikiki (1980), Fugitive X: Innocent Target (1996), Assault on Dome 4 (1996), and Riot (1997). He also helped create special effects for such films as Plughead Rewired: Circuitry Man II (1994), The Takeover (1995), Girl in the Cadillac (1995), Firestorm (1995), Open Fire (1995), Open Fire (1995), Scanner Cop II (1995), White Man’s Burden (1995), Beneath the Bermuda Triangle (1996), Sworn to Justice (1996), Blood Money (1996), The Secret Agent Club (1996), To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday (1996), Prey of the Jaguar (1996), Levitation (1997), Strategic Command (1997), Crash Dive (1997), and Johnny Skidmarks (1998). He also worked on the television series Hull High, Mad TV, and Women: Stories of Passion. NEWLIN , DIKA Classical composer and teacher turned punk rock performer and actress Dika Newlin died at a nursing facility in Richmond, Virginia, on July 22, 2006. She was 82. Newlin was born in Portland, Oregon, on November 23, 1923. She was a student of German composer Arnold Schoenberg,
Dika Newlin
2006 • Obituaries
and wrote several scholarly works about him. She composed three operas, a symphony, a piano concerto, and other works, and taught at several universities before coming to Virginia Commonwealth University in 1978. Newlin became involved with rock music in the 1980s. A colorful personality, she was noted for her outlandishly dyed hair and bizarre wardrobe. She began performing with the alternative rock band Apocowlypso as a singer and keyboardist. She wrote and performed in the 1995 music video Dika: Murder City, and composed music for the horror film Mark of the Devil 666: The Moralist (1995). She also appeared as the baby food killer in the cult horror film Creep in 1995.
NEWMAN, JOSEPH M. Director Joseph M. Newman, who helmed the 1955 science fiction classic This Island Earth, died in Simi Valley, California, on January 23, 2006. He was 96. Newman was born in Logan, Utah, on August 7, 1909. He began working in films as an assistant director in the early 1930s on such films as Gabriel Over the White House (1933), The Nuisance (1933), Another Language (1933), Dinner at Eight (1933), Going Hollywood (1933), Stage Mother (1933), Riptide (1934), The Merry Widow (1934), David Copperfield (1935), China Seas (1935), I Live My Life (1935), Rose-Marie (1936), San Francisco (1936), His Brother’s Wife (1936), Maytime (1937), The Firefly (1937), Too Hot to Handle (1938), Tarzan’s Secret Treasure (1941), and The Bugle Sounds (1942). He began directing short films later in the decade, helming Man’s Greatest Friend (1938), The Story of Alfred Nobel (1939), Money to Loan (1939), The Story That Couldn’t Be Printed (1939), Maintain the Right (1940), Cat College (1940), Triumph Without Drums (1941), and Vendetta (1942). He also directed several shorts in the Crime Does Not Pay series including Know Your Money (1940), Women in Hiding (1940), Buyer Beware (1940), Respect the Law (1941), Coffins on Wheels (1941), and Don’t Talk (1942). He made his feature film debut with the 1942 western Northwest Rangers. Newman also directed the films The Luckiest Guy in the World (1947), The Amazing Mr. Nordill (1947), Jungle Patrol (1948), Abandoned (1949), The Great Dan Patch (1949), I’ll Get You for This (1950), 711 Ocean Drive (1950), The Guy Who Came Back (1951), Love Nest (1951), Red Skies of Montana (1952),
Joseph M. Newman
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The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1952), Pony Soldier (1952), Dangerous Crossing (1953), The Human Jungle (1954), This Island Earth (1955), Kiss of Fire (1955), Flight to Hong Kong (1956), Death in Small Doses (1957), Fort Massacre (1958), The Gunfight at Dodge City (1959), The Big Circus (1959), Tarzan, the Ape Man (1959) starring Denny Miller, The Lawbreakers (1960), King of the Roaring 20’s —The Story of Arnold Rothstein (1961), Twenty Plus Two (1961), A Thunder of Drums (1961), and The George Raft Story. Newman was also active in television, directing episodes of Twilight Zone, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, The Asphalt Jungle, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and The Big Valley.
NEWTON, RICHARD LEE Actor Richard Lee Newton died in DeSoto, Texas, on January 13, 2006. He was 94. Newton was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on July 5, 1911. He began his film career in the 1950s, appearing in such features as Dangerous Mission (1954), Plunder Road (1957), Crash Landing (1958), and Gidget (1959). Newton also appeared frequently on television from the 1950s, guest starring in episodes of Academy Theatre, Kraft Television Theatre, The Ford Theatre Hour, The Philco Television Playhouse, Hallmark Hall of Fame, You Are There, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Silent Service, Zane Grey Theater, Tales of the Texas Rangers, Frontier Justice, Johnny Ringo, M Squad, and Johnny Ringo. Newton worked primarily as a producer in the 1960s and 1970s, working on such television series as Burke’s Law, Honey West, Felony Squad, and Hawaii Five-O. He also produced the tele-films Seven in Darkness (1969), Run, Simon, Run (1970), If Tomorrow Comes (1971), and The Concrete Cowboys (1979), and directed episodes of Emergency! and The Rookies. Newton returned to the screen in the 1986 tele-film Assassin, and guest starred in episodes of Scarecrow and Mrs. King and The A-Team. He also appeared in the recurring role of Judge Richard Cooksey on Andy Griffith’s Matlock series from 1986 to 1991.
uary 24, 2006. He was 91. Nicholas was born in Mobile, Alabama, on October 20, 1914. He and his younger brother began performing as children and made their vaudeville debut in 1928. The made their film debut in the 1932 short Pie, Pie Blackbird and became headliners at the famed Cotton Club in Harlem. They performed in the 1934 musical Kid Millions with Eddie Cantor. They were also seen in the shorts and films The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1935), The Black Network (1936), Calling All Stars (1937), My Son Is Guilty (1939), Down Argentine Way (1940), Tin Pan Alley (1940), The Great American Broadcast (1941), Sun Valley Serenade (1941), Orchestra Wives (1942), Stormy Weather (1943), and The Pirate (1948) with Gene Kelly. The brothers remained close even though they went on to solo careers in later years. Fayard was seen in the films The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1980), Night at the Golden Eagle (2002), and Hard Four (2005). He also earned a Tony Award for his choreography for Black and Blue in 1989. He and his brother were awarded the Kennedy Center Honors in 1991. Harold died in 2000, and Fayard continued to perform until suffering a stroke in November of 2005.
Fayard Nicholas (right, with brother Harold)
NICKENS, DARYL G. Screenwriter Daryl G. Nickens died of prostate cancer in Los Angeles on July 10, 2006. He was 57. Nickens was born in Washing-
Richard Lee Newton
NICHOLAS, FAYARD Fayard Nicholas, who performed with his brother Harold as the tap dancing sensations the Nicholas Brothers, died of pneumonia and complications from a stroke in Los Angeles on Jan-
Daryl G. Nickens
265 ton, D.C., on January 21, 1949. He began writing for television in the early 1980s, scripting episodes of Webster, Benson, What’s Happening Now!, 227, A Different World, Harry and the Hendersons, Viper, The Famous Jett Jackson, and The Parkers. He also scripted the 1991 film House Party 2, and the Emmy-nominated Wonderworks production of You Must Remember This in 1992. He wrote several episodes of the HBO animated series Happily Ever After and wrote for the cartoon series Timon and Pumbaa. Nickens also produced the Emmywinning PBS series Life 360.
NIELSEN , LYKKE Danish actress Lykke Nielsen died of breast cancer in Copenhagen, Denmark, on August 30, 2006. She was 60. Nielsen was born in Denmark on June 22, 1946. She was active in Danish films from the late 1950s, appearing in Andre Folks Born (1958), Flemming og Kvik (1960), Dangerous Summer (1969), The Song of the Red Ruby (1970), Let’s Play Hide and Seek (1970), Tomorrow My Love (1971), Gold for the Tough Guys of the Prairie (1971), Skipper & Co. (1974), Terror (1977), and Kaptain Klyde og Hans Venner Vender Tilbage (1980). She also appeared on Danish television in productions of Kommunisten (1971), Hjemme hos William (1971), and To Najt (1977).
Lykke Nielsen
NIEMCZYK , LEON Leading Polish actor Leon Niemczyk, who starred in Roman Polanski’s first film, Knife in the Water, in 1962, died in Warsaw, Poland, on November 29, 2006. He was 82. Niemczyk was born in Warsaw on December 15, 1923. He was a leading performer on stage and screen in Poland from the early 1950s. Niemczyk’s numerous film credits include Celullose (1954), Magical Bicycle (1955), The Hours of Hope (1955), The Case of Pilot Maresz (1956), Nikodem Dyzma (1956), Man on the Tracks (1957), Heroism (1958), King Matthew I (1958), The Eighth Day of the Week (1958), Call My Wife (1958), Signals (1959), Baltic Express (1959), The Glass Mountain (1960), Aleksander Ford’s Knights of the Teutonic Order (1960), Visit of a President (1961), Lucky Anthony (1961), Tonight a City Will Die (1961), The Artillery Sergeant Kalen (1961), Mandrin (1962), Their Everyday Life (1963), On the White Trails (1963), The Last Days of Peace (1963), Agnes
2006 • Obituaries
(1946), Wojciech Has’ The Saragossa Manuscript (1965), The Descent to Hell (1966), Catastrophe (1966), A Frame of Mind (1966), Mexico Tomorrow (1966), Don Gabriel (1966), The Nutcracker (1967), Skinny and Others (1967), Return to Earth (1967), Frozen Flashes (1967), Full Ahead (1967), God’s Whip (1967), Countess Cosel (1968), The Neighbours (1969), Heaven on Earth (1970), Signs on the Road (1971), Five and Half of Pale Joe (1971), Face of an Angel (1971), The Strange Duel (1971), Tecumseh (1972), Kill the Black Sheep (1972), The Trip with the Wind (1972), Copernicus (1973), Apachen (1973), Untern Birnbaum (1973), The Deluge (1974), Remember Your Name (1974), In the Dust of the Stars (1976), Trini (1976), Casimir the Great (1976), Beethoven — Days in a Life (1986), Palace Hotel (1977), Millionaire (1978), Severino (1978), Anton the Magician (1978), At Your Own Request (1980), The Death Sentence (1980), The Big Race (1981), Crab and Joanna (1981), Hit the Bank (1981), Freelancer (1981), Damned Earth (1982), Der Lange Ritt zur Schule (1982), The Wolf (1983), Der Prinz Hinter den Sieben Meeren (1983), Big Shar (1983), The Planet “Tailor” (1983), Mistere Blot’s Academy (1984), Ultimatum (1984), Women Doctors (1984), Stone Tablets (1984), Fort XIII (1984), Indebted to Death (1985), OBi, O-Ba —The End of Civilization (1985), Follies of Miss Eva (1985), Fucha (1985), Fetish (1985), Smazalnia Story (1985), Child’s Scenes of Provincial Life (1986), Travels of Mr. Kleks (1986), The Godson (1986), Der Barenhauter (1986), Episode in West Berlin (1986), The Manager (1986), Cupid’s Bow (1987), The Deserters (1987), Curse of Snakes Valley (1987), The Ring and the Rose (1987), The Golden Mahmudia (1987), Between (1987), Special Mission (1987), Marymont Rhapsody (1988), Swan Song (1988), Prariejager in Mexiko: Benito Juarez (1988), The End of the Ice Cream Season (1988), Solawna jak Sarajewo (1988), Mr. Samochodzik and the Secrets of Prague (1989), Konsul (1989), Alchemik (1989), The Last Ferry (1989), To Kill at the End (1990), Return of the Wolf (1990), Bitter Love (1990), Controlled Conversations (1991), Polish Cousine (1991), Warsaw — Year 5703 (1992), The Terrible Dream of Babyface Gorkiewicz (1993), Priest Daens (1993), In a Moment of Passion (1993), Conversation with a Cupboard Man (1993), Colossus (1993), Frog’s Leap (1994), Trees (1995), Beyond Forgiveness (1995), The Book of Great Wishes
Leon Niemczyk
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(1997), Sztos (1997), The Island on Bird Street (1997), Pulapka (1997), To My (2000), Zakochani (2000), Boys Don’t Cry (2000), E=mc2 (2000), King Ubu (2003), Insatiability (2003), Po Sezonie (2005), Inland Empire (2006), and The Devil from Seventh Grade (2006). Niemczyk also performed often on Polish television. He starred as Engineer Malkiewicz in the series Czterdziestolatek from 1976 to 1977, and appeared in productions of The Password (1977) and Des Drachens Grauer Atern (1979). He was Janek in the series Archiv des Todes in 1980, and appeared as a Polish peasant in the U.S. mini-series War and Remembrance in 1988. He was also seen in the tele-films Gdansk ’39 (1989), Kuchnia Polska (1993), Stella Stellaris (1994), Zlotopolscy (1998), and I’m Looking at You, Mary (2000), and starred as Michal Kalita in the series Na Dobre i na Zle from 1999 to 2003.
NIEVES-CONDE, JOSE ANTONIO Spanish film director Jose Antonio Nieves-Conde died in Madrid, Spain, on September 13, 2006. He was 90. Nieves-Conde was born in Segovia, Spain, on December 22, 1915. He began his career as a film critic before becoming an assistant director to Rafael Gil in the early 1940s. He worked on such films as A Sight of Light (1943), Eloisa Is Underneath an Almond Tree (1943), The Nail (1944), and El Fantasma y Dona Juanita (1945). He made his directoral debut with 1946’s Path Unknown, and continued his career in the cinema with Anguistia (1947), Llegada de Noche (1949), Captain Blackjack (1950), Reckless (1951), the internationally acclaimed Furrows (1951), El Cerco del Diablo (1952), Rebeldia (1954), Red Fish (1955), La Legion del Silencio (1956), Todos Somos Necessarios (1956), and Between Time and Eternity (1956). His 1957 film The Tenant, a harsh critique of Spain’s housing problems, became heavily censored by the ruling Franco government. Nieves-Conde became disillusioned over making films with social content because of the controversy. His subsequent films including Don Lucio y el Hermano Pio (1960), Prohibido Enamorarse (1961), Por Tierras de las Siete Villas (1963), Sound of Horror (1964), El Diablo Tambien Ilora (1965), Cotolay (1966), Dopo di Che, Uccide il Maschio e lo Divora (1971), Historia de Una Traicion (1972), The Marriage Revolution (1974),
Jose Antonio Nieves-Conde
Volvoreta (1976), Mas Alla del Deseo (1976), and Impossible Love (1977).
NIEVO, S TANIS Italian filmmaker Stanis Nievo died in Rome, Italy on July 12, 2006. He was 78. Nievo was born in Milan, Italy on June 30, 1928. He attended Rome University where he earned a degree as a marine biologist. He entered filmmaking in the early 1960s where he was part of the team that produced the controversial semi-documentary Mondo Cane (1962). An environmental activist Nievo was instrumental in bringing attention to the havoc wreaked on the African continent by colonialism and de-colonialism in the 1960s. He was involved in the production of the 1966 film Africa Addio and directed his own documentary expose Mal d’Africa (aka The Final Prey) (1967). He continued his environmental activism as a founder of the Italian branch of the World Wildlife Fund. In later years he was best known as a fiction writer, authoring such works as La Foresta di Tarvisio (1986) and Le Isole del Paradiso (1987).
Stanis Nievo
NIKKARI, ESKO Finnish actor Esko Nikkari died in Seinajoki, Finland, on December 17, 2006. He was 68. Nikkari was born in Lapua, Finland, on November 23, 1938. He was featured in numerous film and television productions from the 1970s. Nikkari’s film credits include Karvet (1974), Syoksykierre (1981), The Worthless (1982), Crime and Punishment (1983),
Esko Nikkari
267 The Clan Tale of the Frogs (1984), The Wrestler (1984), Shadows in Paradise (1986), Goodbye, Mr. President (1987), Macbeth (1987), The Final Arrangement (1987), Hamlet Gets Business (1987), Plainlands (1988), Ariel (1988), Cha Cha Cha (1989), The Winter War (1989), The Match Factory Girl (1990), Rampe & Naukkis (1990), Goodbye, Trainment (1992), Sergeant Kormy and the South Pacific (1992), Papukaijamies (1992), Play It All (1994), Aapo (1994), The Last Wedding (1995), Drifting Clouds (1996), Maigret in Finland (1996), The Minister of State (1997), The Quiet Village (1997), A Summer by the River (1998), Juha (1999), The Rose of the Rascal (2001), The Man Without a Past (2002), Umur (2002), Sibelius (2003), Land of Love (2003), and Shadow of the Eagle (2005). He was also featured as Patologi in the Finnish television series Sincerely Yours in Cold Blood from 2000 to 2002.
NIKOLOVA , PEPA Bulgarian actress Pepa Nikolova died in Bulgaria after a long illness on September 22, 2006. She was 59. Nikolova was born in Hermanli, Bulgaria, on December 23, 1946. She was a popular performer in stage, film, and television in Bulgaria from the mid–1960s. Nikolova was best known for her role as the Gypsy Dzhlama in the television series At Each Kilometer in 1969. She was also featured in the films Jesse James vs. Lokum Shekerov (1966), There Is Nothing Finer Than Bad Weather (1972), Osceola (1971), Third Planet in the Solar System (1973) as the female monkey, The Great Victory (1973), The White Odyssey (1973), Maverick (1973), The Kindest Person I Know (1973), Katina (1976), Fairy Dance (1976), Daughter-in-Law (1976), Surgeons (1977), A Roof (1978), The Hedgehogs’ War (1979), Fists in the Soil (1980), The Golden River (1983), Wanted (1984), Eve on the Third Floor (1987), Monday Morning (1988), The Carnival (1990), Material Evidence (1991), Piyontek (1991), Vampires, Spooks (1992), and Dunav Most (1992). Her most recent performance was in the 2003 television production of Forgive Us.
2006 • Obituaries
debut in the early 1940s. Britt appeared in such films as Varat Gang (1942), Alf Sjoberg’s Resan Bort (1945), Affairs of a Model (1946), Maria (1947), The Street (1949), The Girl from the Third Row (1949), To Joy (1950), Illicit Interlude (1951), Secrets of Women (1952), For the Sake of My Intemperate Youth (1952), We Three Debutantes (1953), Wild Birds (1955), Swedish Girl (1955), Girl in Tails (1956), Jazz Boy (1958), Duel with Death (1959), Heritage of Bjorndal (1960), A Matter of Morals (1961), A Simple Melody (1974), and Bluff Stop (1977). Nilsson also appeared in two episodes of the television series Foreign Intrigue in 1953. She married theatrical director Per Gerhard in 1951 and appeared on stage at his Vasa Theatre until her retirement in 1985.
Maj-Britt Nilsson
NINJA, WILLI Dancer Willi Ninja, who was instrumental in creating the dance form known as “voguing,” died of complications from AIDS in a New York City Hospital on September 2, 2006. He was 45. Ninja was born William Leake in New York City on April 12, 1961. He was a familiar presence at gay Harlem ballrooms in New York from the 1980s. He was an innovator of the stylized dance that consisted of a combination of model-like poses that was popularized by Madonna in her Vogue music video. Ninja was featured in the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning about the Harlem drag ball competitions. He was also choreog-
Pepa Nikolova
NILSSON, MAJ-BRITT Swedish actress MajBritt Nilsson died in Cannes, France, on December 19, 2006. She was 82. Nilsson was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on December 11, 1924. A student at the Royal Dramatic Theatre drama school, she made her film
Willi Ninja
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268
rapher who trained models how to walk on the catwalk and socialites how to pose for the paparazzi.
NOBLE, KAY Kay Noble, a leading female wrestler from the 1950s through the early 1980s, died of stomach cancer in Amarillo, Texas, on April 27, 2006. She was 66. Noble was born Kay Bell in St. Joseph, Missouri, in 1940. She began wrestling in 1957 and held the Texas Women’s Championship and Central State’s Women’s Championship during her career. She competed throughout the United States and Japan. Sometimes she teamed with her husband, Doug Lindzy, who wrestled under the name Doug Gilbert in the 1960s. She remained a leading female ring competitor through the 1980s, competing in her final match against Marie Laverne in 1987.
Timely Comics, which later became Marvel, where he drew such characters as Captain America, the SubMariner, and the Human Torch, Nodell left comics in 1950 to work as an advertising artist. He was involved in the development of the commercial character the Pillsbury Doughboy. Nodell retired in 1976, but returned to comics as an occasional artist for DC in 1987. He was also a popular guest at comic conventions throughout the country, drawing sketches and signing autographs for fans as one of the last of the great artists from the Golden Age of comics. Nodell was usually accompanied by his wife of 63 years, Carrie, until her death in April of 2004.
Mart Nodell’s creation, Green Lantern
NODELL, MART Mart Nodell, the comic artist who was co-creator of the original Green Lantern comic super hero in 1940, died in West Palm Beach, Florida, on December 9, 2006. He was 91. Nodell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 15, 1915. He began his career as an illustrator in 1938 and soon began working at DC Comics. He teamed with comic writer Bill Finger to create the character of Alan Scott, who became the power-ring wielding super hero Green Lantern, in All-American Comics #16 in 1940. Nodell, often using the pseudonym of Mart Dellon, remained at DC until 1947. He subsequently worked at
NODTVEIDT, JON Jon Nodtveidt, the singer and lead guitarist for the Swedish death metal band Dissection, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his apartment in Hasselby, Sweden, on August 16, 2006. He was 31. Nodtveidt was born in Sweden on June 28, 1975. An avowed Satanist, he founded the band Dissection in 1989. They released several albums including The Somberlain (1993), Storm of the Light’s Bane (1995), and Where Dead Angels Lie (1996). Nodtveidt was convicted of participating in the murder of an Algerian man in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1997. He served seven years in prison and reformed Dissection after his release. They toured Europe and released the album Reinkaos in 2006.
Mart Nodell
Jon Nodtveidt
Kay Noble
269 NOEL, MICHAEL LEE Stage and television actor Michael Lee Noel died of complications from pneumonia and sepsis in a Boulder, Colorado, hospital on October 12, 2006. He was 52. Noel was a resident of Alexandria, Virginia, and was vacationing in Colorado when he died. He was born in Clifton Forge, Virginia, on May 13, 1954. He began appearing on stage in the Washington, D.C., area after attending college. He also appeared in small roles in several films including Dave (1993) and John Waters’ Cecil B. DeMented, and in the tele-films Separate but Equal (1991) and The Day Lincoln Was Shot (1998). Noel’s television credits also include episodes of the series Homicide: Life in the Street and The Wire.
Michael Lee Noel
NOIRET, PHILIPPE Philippe Noiret, a leading French actor who received international acclaim for his roles in such films as Cinema Paradiso and Il Postino, died of cancer in France on November 23, 2006. He was 76. Noiret was born in Lille, France, on October 1, 1930. He began his career on stage and toured with the Theatre Nationale Populaire of Paris. He was soon appearing in films, beginning with a small role in 1949’s Gigi. Noiret was seen in over 100 films during the next 55 years. His numerous credits include Olivia (aka The Pit of Loneliness) (1951), Matrimonial Agency (1952), La Pointe-Courte (1956), Louis Malle’s Zazie in the Metro
Philippe Noiret
2006 • Obituaries
(1960), Ravishing (1960), Captain Fracasse (1961), All the Gold in the World (1961), Famous Love Affairs (1961), Rendezvous (1961), Therese (1961), Crime Does Not Pay (1962), The Masseuses (1962), Ballad for a Hoodlum (1963), Summer Frenzy (1963), The Bread Peddler (1963), Death Where Is Your Victory? (1964), Monsieur (1964), The Lovers of France (1964), Cyrano and d’Artagnan (1964) as King Louis XIII, The Buddies (1965), Lady L (1965), Who Are You, Polly Magoo? (1966), A Matter of Resistance (1966), The Sultans (1966), Father’s Trip (1966), Tender Scoundrel (1966), Tank Force (1967), Woman Times Seven (1967), Night of the Generals (1967), The Other One (1967), The Tender Age (1968), Very Happy Alexander (1968), Mr. Freedom (1969) as Moujik Man, Clerambard (1969), The Assassination Bureau (1969), Justine (1969), Alfred Hitchcock’s Topaz (1969), Give Her the Moon (1970), A Time for Loving (1971), Murphy’s War (1971), The Most Gentle Confession (1971), We Are All in Temporary Liberty (1971), La Mandarine (1972), Poil de Carotte (1972), The Old Maid (1972), Five Leaf Clover (1972), The French Conspiracy (1972), The Serpent (1973), Marco Ferreri’s The Grande Bouffe (1973), The Clockmaker of St. Paul (1974), the Western parody Don’t Touch the White Woman! (1974), The Holes (aka The Down-in-the-Hole Gang) (1974), A Cloud in the Teeth (1974), The Secret (1974), Let Joy Reign Supreme (1975), Playing with Fire (1975), Mr. Friends (1975), The Old Gun (1975) which earned him a Cesar Award, the French version of the Oscar, A Common Sense of Modesty (1976), The Judge and the Assassin (1976), Monsieur Albert (1976), The Desert of the Tartars (1976), A Woman at Her Window (1976), The Purple Taxi (1977), The Barricade at Point Du Jour (1978), Dear Detective (1978), Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978), The Witness (1978), Happy Hobos (1979), Street of the Crane’s Foot (1979), Jupiter’s Thigh (1980), A Week’s Vacation (1980), Heads or Tails (1980), Three Brothers (1981), Birgit Haas Must Be Killed (1981), Clean Slate (1981), All My Friends Part 2 (1982), The North Star (1982), The African (1983), A Friend of Vincent (1983), The Big Carnival (1983), Aurora by Night (1984), Fort Saganne (1984), My New Partner (1984), Memories, Memories (1984), Next Summer (1985), The Fourth Power (1985), Let’s Hope It’s a Girl (1986), ’Round Midnight (1986), La Femme Secrete (1986), Twist Again in Moscow (1986), The Man Who Planted Trees (1987), Widow’s Walk (1987), The Family (1987), Masks (1987), The Gold Rimmed Glasses (1987), The Sparrow’s Fluttering (1988), Chouans! (1988), Young Toscanini (1988), Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso (1988) as Alfredo, The Return of the Musketeers (1989), Life and Nothing Else (1989) which earned him a second Cesar, My New Partner at the Races (1990), The Palermo Connection (1990), Forgery and the Use of Forgeries (1990), Uranus (1990), Rossini! Rossini! (1991), Especially on Sunday (1991), I Don’t Kiss (1991), The Two of Us (1992), Max and Jeremy (1992), Tango (1993), Fish Soup (1994), Dead Tired (1994), The Daughter of D’Artagnan (1994) as D’Artagnan, Il Postino (aka The Postman) (1994) as poet Pablo Neruda, Looking for Paradise (1995), The King of Paris (1995), Les Milles (1995), Two Loud a Solitude (1996), The Grand Dukes (1996),
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Ghost with Driver (1996), Les Palmes de M. Schutz (1997), Soleil (1997), Marianna Ucria (1997), Le Bossu (1997), Lulu Kreutz’s Picnic (2000), Honest Dealer (2002), The Dog, the General and the Birds (2003) as the Narrator, Father and Sons (2003), Les Cotelettes (2003), Part-Time Cops (2003), and Edy (2005). He made his final appearance in Michel Boujenah’s 2006 film Trois Amis (aka Three Friends). Noiret married French comedienne Monique Chaumette in 1962 and the couple appeared in nearly a dozen films together.
Taurel in the mid–1980s. She was featured in a 1996 documentary about sexual fetishes, Whipped, in 1996, and her life and career in erotic role-playing was the subject of the 1997 documentary Didn’t Do It for Love. She also appeared in the 1999 film Tops & Bottoms, and a 2002 television documentary by Radovan Tadic. Her survivors include her daughter, Mexican actress Naqilea Norvind.
NORMAN, BOBBIE Jazz singer and actress Bobbie Norman died of cancer in Los Angeles on May 18, 2006. She was 69. Norman was born on July 15, 1936. A singer and performer for many years, Norman was also featured on television in episodes of such series of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Shield, The West Wing, Century City, and Boston Legal.
Eva Norvind
Bobbie Norman
NORVIND , EVA Norwegian actress Eva Norvind drowned off shore of Zipolite, Oaxaca, Mexico, on May 14, 2006, when she was dragged under by a wave and dashed against the rocks. She was 62. Norvind was born Eva Johanne Chegodayeva Sakonskaya in Trondheim, Norway, on May 7, 1944. She accompanied her family to France at the age of 15, where she began her career in films in a small role in 1961’s Saint Tropez Blues. She continued to perform in France at the Comedie Francaise and with the Folies Bergere before relocating to New York City in the early 1960s. She worked as a dancer and showgirl before being chosen to appear in a television variety show in while traveling in Mexico. She became a popular performer and sex symbol in Mexico during the 1960s, appearing in such films as Pacto de Sangre (1966), Esta Noche No (1966), Juan Pistolas (1966), Nuestros Buenos Vecinos de Yucatan (1967), Santo Versus the Martian Invasion (1967), Don Juan 67 (1967), Un Yucateco Honoris Causa (1967), and Baname mi Amor (1968). Controversy over a statement she made about birth control largely ended her onscreen career in Mexico in the late 1960s. She remained in Mexico to work as a journalist and film distributor. She returned to New York in 1980, where she studied film production. She began producing short films and developed the persona of dominatrix Ava
NUMATA , YOICHI Japanese actor Yoichi Numata died of heart failure in Tokorozawa, Japan, on April 29, 2006. He was 81. Numata was born in Osaka, Japan, on July 19, 1924. He appeared in numerous Japanese films from the late 1940s including Gokumon-to (1949), Man in the Storm (1950), Vacuum Zone (1952), Asa no Hamon (1952), Shukuzu (1953), Night School (1956), Where Is Heaven (1956), Ghost of Hanging in Utusunomiya (1956), The Yellow Crow (1957), Girl Diver of Spook Mansion (1959), The Ghost Cat of Otamag-Ike (1960), The Sinners of Hell (1960), Happiness of Us Alone (1961), Red Peony Gambles Her Life (1970), Karei-Naru Tsuiseki (1975), Ocean to Cross (1980), and Deep River (1995). Numata was also featured as Takashi Yamamura in the 1998 Japanese horror film Ringu (aka Ring), and the 1999 sequel Ringu 2. His final role was in 2001’s The Princess Blade.
Yoichi Numata
271 NYE, CARRIE Actress Carrie Nye died of lung cancer in her home in Manhattan, New York, on July 14, 2006. She was 69. She was born Carolyn Nye McGeoy in Greenwood, Mississippi, on October 14, 1936. She began her career on stage after attending the Yale Drama School. She performed often with the Williamstown Theater Festival from the 1950s through the 1970s, appearing in productions of A Streetcar Named Desire, The Skin of Our Teeth, and Nude with Violin. She made her Broadway debut in the 1960 adaptation of Colette’s novel A Second String. She earned a Tony Award for her performance in the musical Half a Sixpence in 1965. She also appeared on Broadway in productions of Ruth Gordon’s A Very Rich Woman and the 1980 revival of The Man Who Came to Dinner. She made her film debut in 1966’s The Group as Norine. She was also featured in the tele-films Ten Blocks on the Camino Real (1966), Screaming Skull (1973), Divorce His — Divorce Hers (1973), Enemies (1974), A Touch of the Poet (1974), The Users (1978), and The Scarlett O’Hara War (1980) as Tallulah Bankhead. She was also featured in a 1968 Hallmark Hall of Fame production of The Admirable Crichton, and guest-starred in episodes of Hart to Hart and St. Elsewhere. Nye appeared in the “Father’s Day” segment of Stephen King’s horror anthology Creepshow in 1982, and was featured in the films Too Scared to Scream (1985) and Hello Again (1987). She appeared as Susan Piper in the daytime soap opera The Guiding Light in 1984, until her character perished in a pit of quicksand. She returned to The Guiding Light years later, playing Carrie Carruthers from 2003 to 2004. Nye met future television host Dick Cavett while attending Yale and the two were married in 1964.
2006 • Obituaries
(1945), Gay Old Time (1946), Lazy Lena and Blue Eyed Per (1947), Sjosalavar (1949), Ragens Rike (1950), Barabbas (1953), and The Road to Kolckrike (1953). He began working with Ingmar Bergman on the 1953 film Sawdust and Tinsel (aka The Naked Night) (1953) and soon became Bergman’s favorite cinematographer, filming many of his subsequent features. Nykvist’s other film credits include Storm Over Tjuro (1954), Karin Mansdotter (1954), The True and the False (1955), Sista Ringen (1955), Laughing in the Sunshine (1956), Nattbarn (1956), Gorilla (1956), Girl in Tails (1956), Guest at One’s Own Home (1957), The Lady in Black (1958), Make Way for Lila (1958), Lend Me Your Wife (1959), The Virgin Spring (1960), Lmp Fever (1960), the Judge (1960), A Matter of Morals (1961), The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi (1961), Through a Glass Darkly (1961), Murder Party (1961), Winter Light (1962), Snow White and the Seven Jugglers (1962), The Silence (1963), All These Women (1964), To Love (1964), The Dress (1964), Loving Couples (1964), Lianbron (1965), Persona (1966), The Sinning Urge (1967), Roseanna (1967), Hour of the Wolf (1968), Shame (1988), An-Magritt (1969), The Rite (1969), The Passion of Anna (1969), Faro Document 1969 (1970), First Love (1970), One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1970), The Last Run (1971), The Touch (1971), The Decoy (1971), Siddhartha (1972), and A Free Woman (1972). Nykvist earned an Academy Award for Best Cinematographer for photographing Bergman’s 1972 film Cries and Whispers. He won a second Oscar in 1982 for his work on Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander. Nykvist was also nominated for an Academy Award for photographing 1988’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and his 1991 film The Ox was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Nykvist’s other film credits include Scenes from a Marriage (1973), The Dove (1974), The Magic Flute (1975), Ransom (1975), Black Moon (1975), Face to Face (1976), Roman Polanski’s The Tenant (1976), The Serpent’s Egg (1977), One and One (1978), Louis Malle’s Pretty Baby (1978), Autumn Sonata (1978), King of the Gypsies (1978), Hurricane (1979), Starting Over (1979), Marmalade Revolution (1980), Willie and Phil (1980), From the Life of the Marionettes (1980), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), Cannery Row (1982), The Tragedy of Carmen (1983), Star 80 (1983), Swann in Love (1984), After the Rehearsal (1984),
Carrie Nye
NYKVIST, SVEN Oscar-winning Swedish cinematographer Sven Nykvist, who was best known for his work with director Ingmar Bergman, died in a Swedish nursing home after a long illness on September 20, 2006. He was 83. Nykvist was born in Moheda, Sweden, on December 3, 1922. He began working in films as an assistant cameraman in the early 1940s, and soon was serving as principal cinematographer for Swedish films. He photographed such films as Gomorron Bill! (1944), The Children (1945), Thirteen Chairs
Sven Nykvist
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Agnes of God (1985), Dream Lover (1986), Nobody’s Child (1986), Offret (aka The Sacrifice (1986), Ved Vejen (1988), Another Woman (1988), New York Stories (1989), Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Buster’s Bedroom (1991), Chaplin (1992), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), With Honor (1994), Only You (1994), Mixed Nuts (1994), Something to Talk About (1995), Kristin Lavransdotter (1995), Private Confessions (1996), Celebrity (1998), and Curtain Call (1999).
OATES , CHUBBY Jovial British comedian Chubby Oates died of complications from a stroke in Deal, Kent, England, on November 10, 2006. He was 63. He was born Arthur Oates in Bermondsey, London, on December 23, 1942. He began performing as a comic professionally in the early 1960s, appearing in revues and pantomimes. He also wrote articles for such entertainment publications as The Stage and The Call Boy, and compiled the book The Pictorial History of Female Impersonation in 1968. Oates was also a popular character in the 1970s, appearing on television in episodes of Doctor Who, Dixon of Dock Green, The Devil’s Crown, The Famous Five, and Cribb. He also appeared in the 1978 horror film Killer’s Moon. He continued to perform on stage, despite suffering a stroke in 1997.
Trailus Boot Whip” and “How High the Moon.” The first in a long series of drug related legal problems arose in 1947 when she was arrested for possession of marijuana. She resumed her career after a 90 day jail sentence and went on to record 17 albums with Verve Records over the next two decades. Two subsequent drug related arrests in the early 1950s did not diminish her popularity, though her growing addiction to heroin nearly cost her her life until her rehabilitation in the late 1960s. In the interim O’Day performed with such stars as Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk and Oscar Peterson. She also performed at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival, which was filmed in the documentary Jazz on a Summer’s Day. She appeared as herself in the 1959 bio-film The Gene Krupa Story singing “Memories of You.” Her continued dependence of drugs damaged her career during the 1960s, though she made a comeback in the early 1970s after kicking the habit. She resumed recording albums and appeared in several films including Zig Zag (1970) and The Outfit (1974). O’Day also wrote a revealing memoir in 1981, High Times, Hard Time. Her most recent album Indestructible! was released in 2006, and a documentary feature Anita O’Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer was scheduled for release in early 2007.
Anita O’Day Chubby Oates
O’DAY , ANITA Leading jazz singer Anita O’Day died of complications from pneumonia in Los Angeles on November 23, 2006. She was 87. O’Day was born Anita Belle Colton on October 18, 1919, in Kansas City, Missouri. She began her career as a teen performing on the dance marathon circuit in the mid– 1930s. An aspiring singer, O’Day performed at local clubs in Chicago before getting her big break with Gene Krupa’s band in 1941. Her recording of “Let Me Off Uptown” became her first hit. She also appeared in two short musical films with Krupa’s band singing “Thanks For The Boogie Ride.” After leaving Krupa in 1943 she performed briefly with Woody Herman and Stan Kenton, recording such novelty tunes as “I’m Going Mad for Pad” and “Tabby the Cat.” She reunited with Krupa briefly in 1945 before embarking on a solo career. She recorded such hits as “Key Largo,” “Hi Ho
O’DUILL, BREANDON Irish actor Breandon O’Duill died in Dublin on May 12, 2006. He was 70. O’Duill was best known for his role has Mickey Mac on the Irish television series The Riordans from 1965. He was also featured in the Irish radio drama series Harbour Hotel, and was a popular singer and announcer on numerous radio programs. O’Duill appeared in small roles in several films including The MacKintosh Man (1973), Into the West (1992), and The Angelic Organ (2000), and guest-starred in an episode of Remington Steele on television. O’FARRILL NAUDE, ROMULO Mexican television executive Romulo O’Farrill Naude died in Mexico City after a long illness on May 18, 2006. He was 88. O’Farrill was born in Puebla, Mexico, on December 15, 1917. He worked with his father, Romulo O’Farrill Silva, to begin the first commercial television station in Mexico in 1950. Romulo O’Farrill served as manager of the company, Telesisterna Mexicano, which
273 later became known as Televisa. He eventually succeeded his father as chairman of the board. The O’Farrills also owned and operated a leading newspaper chain in Mexico.
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Never Waits (1974), A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness (1977), Bye Bye Jupiter (1983), Kagi (1983), The Sea and Poison (1986), Commercial Film Girl (1989), Jingi (1991), Getting Any? (1995), The Hunted (1995), To Love (1997), Hakuchi (1999), and Izo (2004). Okada starred as Atsushi in the Space Avenger television series in 1966 and was Ito Mura in Space Giants in 1967. He also appeared as Brother Michael in the 1980 television mini-series adaptation of James Clavell’s Shogun, and was Masateru Hamazaki in the 1998 series A Sleeping Forest.
Romulo O’Farrill Naude
OGORODNIKOV, VALERI Russian film director Valeri Ogorodnikov died of cancer in St. Petersburg, Russia, on July 2, 2006. He was 54. Ogorodnikov was born in Nizhny Tagil, Soviet Union, on November 1, 1951. He directed several Russian films from the mid–1980s including The Burglar (1986), Prishvin’s Paper Eyes (1989), and Experiment in the Delirium of Love’s Fascination (1991). He also produced, directed, and scripted 1999’s The Barracks, which earned the Silver Leopard Award at the Locarno International Film Festival.
Masumi Okada
O’NEIL, BUCK Buck O’Neil, a baseball player with the Negro Leagues who became a spokesman for his era in modern times, died in a Kansas City, Missouri, hospital on October 6, 2006. He was 94. He was born John Jordan O’Neil in Carrabelle, Florida, on November 13, 1911. He began playing baseball at an early age and after college he began playing with professional traveling teams before joining the Kansas City Monarchs in 1938. A first baseman and proficient hitter, O’Neil led his team to four consecutive championships in the Negro League. He became the playermanager of the Monarch in 1948 and continued in that capacity throughout the 1950s. He broke an important racial barrier in 1962 when he became the first black coach in Major League baseball with the Chicago Cubs. O’Neil became a national celebrity in 1994 when he provided commentary for the Ken Burns’ PBS televi-
Valeri Ogorodnikov
OKADA, MASUMI Japanese actor Masumi Okada died of throat cancer in Tokyo on May 29, 2006. He was 70. Okada was born in Nice, France, on September 22, 1935. He began performing on stage as a young man and appeared in numerous films and television productions from the 1950s. Okada’s screen credits include Season of the Sun (1956), Crazed Fruit (1956), Man Who Causes a Storm (1957), Red Quay (1958), Evening Stream (1960), Anything Goes Three Dolls’ Way (1960), Toshigoro (1968), The Living Skeleton (1968), The Blazing Continent (1968), Latitude Zero (1969), Marco (1973), Hurry, Young Ones! Tomorrow
Buck O’Neil
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sion documentary Baseball. He remained a leading spokesman and goodwill ambassador for the Negro League, appearing on talk shows and making personal appearances throughout the country. O’Neil surprisingly fell one vote short of entry into the Baseball Hall Fame earlier in 2006.
ORCHARD, VANCE Vance Orchard, a historian and writer who’s noted for his writings about the Big Foot legends, died of cancer in Walla Walla, Washington, on March 7, 2006. He was 88. Orchard was born in Orin, Washington, on December 26, 1917. He worked as a journalist for the Union-Bulletin in Washington for over thirty years before retiring in 1983. During his years with the newspaper he became fascinated with the many reported sightings of the ever elusive legendary creature known as Big Foot. He authored two books on the subject, Big Foot of the Blues (1993) and The Walla Walla Big Foot (2001).
ORENSTEIN, LARRY Musician and composer Larry Orenstein died from complications from pneumonia in California on February 22, 2006. He was 87. Orenstein was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on August 30, 1918. He played the trumpet for numerous big bands under the name Larry Neill from the 1940s. He also wrote songs for the 1949 film C-Man and an episode of I Love Lucy in the 1950s, and was featured as the Mayor of Kildoonan in the “Lucy Goes to Scotland” episode. Orenstein worked in advertising for many years and created the early Big Mac jingles for McDonald’s. He composed the score for the 1979 telefilm But Mother!
Larry Orenstein
Vance Orchard (holding casts of Bigfoot prints)
ORECK, DON Actor Don Oreck died in Los Angeles of a degenerative brain disease on March 5, 2006. He was 75. Oreck was born in Los Angeles on August 31, 1930. He began acting in the mid–1950s, appearing in the film Target Zero (1955). He was also seen on television in episodes of Studio 57, West Point, State Trooper, Frontier Doctor, Sea Hunt, Men into Space, M Squad, Checkmate, and Bonanza. Oreck retired from the screen in the early 1960s to operate a small business.
ORMOND, JUNE CARR June Carr Ormond, who produced numerous cult films with her husband Ron in the 1960s and 1970s, died of complications from a stroke in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 14, 2006. She was 94. She was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, on June 17, 1912. She began performing on stage at the age of 12, working in vaudeville as a comedian. She married Ron Ormond in 1935 and the couple began making films in California in the 1940s. The produced a number of westerns starring Lash LaRue and Fuzzy St. John. The Ormonds’ film credits include Dead Man’s Gold (1948), Frontier Revenge (1948), Outlaw Country (1949), Hollywood Varieties (1949), The Dalton Gang (1949), Square Dance Jubilee (1949), Red Desert (1949),
June Ormond (as the Witch of Endor) Don Oreck
275 Son of Billy the Kid (1949) which also featured June Ormond in the role of Betty Raines, Kentucky Jubilee (1951), Yes Sir, Mr. Bones (1951), Varieties on Parade (1951), Outlaw Women (1952), Mesa of Lost Women (1953), and Untamed Mistress (1956). The Ormonds began making teen and exploitation films in the 1960s including Please Don’t Touch Me (1963), the cult country music film Forty Acre Feud (1965), White Lightnin’ Road (1965), Girl from Tobacco Row (1966), and The Monster and the Stripper (aka The Exotic Ones) (1968). Surviving an airplane crash in 1967, the Ormonds began producing Christian films, with June often working as script supervisor, make-up artist, and distributor. These films include The Burning Hell (1974), Grim Reaper (1976) which also featured Ms. Ormond as the Witch of Endor, and 39 Stripes (1979). Her husband died in 1981 and she and her son, Tim, continued to produced such Christian films as The Second Coming and The Sacred Symbol over the next several years.
ORTON , BOB , SR. Veteran professional wrestler Bob Orton, Sr., died of a heart attack in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 16, 2006. He was 76. Orton was born in Muncie, Kansas, on July 21, 1929. He began wrestling professionally in the late 1940s. He competed in matches throughout the country and wrestled with most of the major promotions during his career. He held numerous tag team and singles titles, including runs as the AWA MidWest Tag Team champion with Mike DiBiase and Mad Dog Vachon, and holding the NWA World Tag Team belts with Eddie Graham. His sons Randall and Bob both followed him into the wrestling business with Randall competing as Barry O, and Bob Jr. gaining fame in the WWE as Cowboy Bob Orton. Bob Sr. teamed with Bob Jr. in April of 1976 to capture the Florida tag team titles before retiring to Las Vegas. His grandson, Randy Orton, has been a major performer with the WWE for the past several years.
2006 • Obituaries
he began producing political documentaries and advertisements. He also worked in films as an assistant director on the features Visa USA (1986) and Miracle in Rome. He produced and directed the film Confession to Laura in 1991, and oversaw production for the television drama Nazca (1991). Osorio co-produced and appeared in the films Our Lady of the Assassins (2000) and Maria Full of Grace (2004). He also produced, directed, and scripted the film Without Amparo (2005). His production company, Proyecto Tucan, was in post production on the film Satanas at the time of his death.
Jaime Osorio
OSTERHOLM, JENS Danish actor Jens Osterholm died in Denmark on November 13, 2006. He was 78. Osterholm was born in Denmark on April 25, 1928. He was a popular stage, film, and television performer from the late 1950s. He was featured in such films as Ullabella (1961), The Musketeers (1961), The Counterfeit Traitor (1962), Weekend (1962), To (1964), Kisses Right and Left (1969), My Sisters Children Go Astray (1971), Dangerous Kisses (1972), and Me, Too, in the Mafia (1974). Osterholm also starred in such Danish television productions as Operation Argus (1966), Pyromanema (1966), Woyzeck (1966), Henrik IV (1968), Til Lykke Hansen (1971), Fru Geesches Frihed (1973), Apollon fra Bellac (1973), Jul pa Torvet (1981), and Mein Kampf (1994).
Bob Orton, Sr.
OSORIO, JAIME Colombian film producer, director, and actor Jaime Osorio Gomez died of a heart attack near Bogota, Colombia, on September 3, 2006. He was 59. Osorio was born in Viterbo, Colombia, in 1947. He attended the University of Colombia before
Jens Osterholm
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O’SULLIVAN, TERRY Television soap opera star Terry O’Sullivan died of pancreatic cancer in a St. Paul, Minnesota, hospice on September 14, 2006. He was 91. O’Sullivan was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on July 7, 1915. He began his career performing in tent shows in the 1930s before moving into radio. He was an announcer for many years and played small roles in several films including Men on Her Mind (1944) and White Head (1949). O’Sullivan began appearing on television in the 1950s, guest starring in episodes of Lux Video Theatre, Robert Montgomery Presents, and The Defenders. He was best known for his work on daytime soap operas, starring as Elliot Norris in the series Valiant Lady in 1955, and starring as Arthur Tate on Search for Tomorrow in the 1950s and 1960s. O’Sullivan also appeared as Richard Hunter on Days of Our Lives from 1966 to 1968, and was Judge Sam Stevens on The Secret Storm from 1968 to 1969. He retired to Minnesota in the early 1970s where he continued to perform in local theatre.
Terry O’Sullivan
OURY, GERARD French film director Gerard Oury died in Saint-Tropez, France, on July 19, 2006. He was 87. Oury was born in Paris on April 29, 1919. He began his career as an actor in the early 1940s, appearing in numerous films including Small Kidneys (1942), Antoine and Antoinette (1947), Du Guesclin (1949), Here Is the Beauty (1950), Le Passe-Muraille (1951), The Night Is My Kingdom (1951), Sea Devils
Gerard Oury
(1953), The Sword and the Rose (1953), The Heart of the Matter (1953), Loves of Three Queens (1954), L’Eterna Femmina (1954), They Who Dare (1954), Father Brown (1954), Heroes and Sinners (1955), The River Girl (1955), The Best Part (1956), House of Secrets (1956), Young Girls Beware (1957), Seventh Heaven (1958), Back to the Wall (1958), The Mirror Has Two Faces (1958), The Journey (1959), The Menace (1960), The Itchy Palm (1960), The Prize (1963), and Daggers Drawn (1965). He also began writing films in the late 1950s, scripting The Mirror Has Two Faces (1958), Witness in the City (1959), Babette Goes to War (1959), and Come Dance with Me! (1959). He made his directoral debut in the early 1960s, often directing and scripting popular comedy films. His credits include The Menace (1960), The Itchy Palm (1960), Crime Does Not Pay (1962), The Sucker (1965), Don’t Look Now —We’re Being Shot At (1966), The Brain (1969), Delusions of Grandeur (1971), The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob (1973), Out of It (1978), Umbrella Coup (1980), Ace of Aces (1982), The Vengeance of the Winged Serpent (1984), Levy and Goliath (1987), The Thirst for Gold (1993), Fantome avec Chaffeur (1996), and Le Schpountz (1999). His survivors include his longtime companion, actress Michele Morgan, and a daughter, Daniele Thompson, whom he collaborated with on several screenplays.
OWENS , BONNIE Country singer Bonnie Owens, the ex-wife of country music superstars Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in Bakersfield, California, on April 24, 2006. She was 76. She was born Bonnie Campbell in Blanchard, Oklahoma, on October 1, 1929. She met Buck Owens in the mid–1940s and he helped her get started in the music business. The two married in 1948 and had two sons before separating in the early 1950s. During the 1950s Bonnie continued her career, performing at local clubs and recording the songs “Why Don’t Daddy Live Here Anymore?” and “Don’t Take Advantage of Me.” She met singer Merle Haggard in the early 1960s, and recorded the hit country duet “Just Between the Two of Us” with him in 1964. She and Haggard married the following year. Owens was named best female vocalist by the Academy of Country Music in 1967. She also appeared in small roles in several films
Bonnie Owens
277 including Killers Three (1968) and From Nashville with Music (1969). Her marriage to Haggard ended in 1978, but they remained friends and continued to tour together over the next two decades. She had also remained close to Buck Owens, who preceded her in death the previous month.
OWENS, BUCK Country music legend Buck Owens died at his home in Bakersfield, California, on March 25, 2006. He was 76. He was born Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr., to a family of sharecroppers near Sherman, Texas, on August 12, 1929. He began playing music in taverns while in his teens and moved to Bakersfield in 1951. He began recording several years later, but first achieved success with his 1963 recording of “Act Naturally.” Owens had other hits with recordings of “Together Again,” “Love’s Gonna Live Here,” “My Heart Skips a Beat,” “I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail,” and “Waitin’ in Your Welfare Line.” He performed with his band, the Buckaroos, all attired in flashy rhinestone outfits. They were seen on television on such variety shows as The Jackie Gleason Show and The Dean Martin Show. Owens was best known as co-host, with guitarist Roy Clark, of the country music and comedy series Hee Haw from 1969 to 1986. He was also featured as the Sheriff in the 1980 tele-film Murder Can Hurt You and appeared in a cameo role in an episode of The Dukes of Hazzard. Owens also owned and operated radio and television stations in Bakersfield and Phoenix. He returned to the recording scene in 1988 with another hit song, “Streets of Bakersfield,” with Dwight Yoakam.
2006 • Obituaries
Lou Grant, Little House on the Prairie, Tenspeed and Brown Shoe, Hill Street Blues, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, General Hospital, Falcon Crest, Married ... with Children, and Law & Order. Owens was also featured as Mayor Sweet in the 1997 film Hudson River Blues.
Edwin C. Owens
PADMINI Indian actress and dancer Padmini Ramachandran died of a heart attack in Chennai, India, on September 24, 2006. She was 74. Padmini was born in Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, on June 12, 1932. She, along with Lalitha and Ragini, comprised the popular Travancore Sisters, and she began performing as a dancer at an early age. She began her film career in the late 1940s, appearing in over 200 features in Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada. She was often featured opposite leading actors Sivaji Ganeshan and M.G. Ramachandran. Her numerous film credits include Laila Majnu (1949), Bahar (1951), Mr. Sampat (1952), Kanchana (1952), Dharmadevata (1952), N.S. Krishnan’s Marumagal (1953), Gateway to Heaven (1954), Mangayar Thilakam (1955), Qaidi (1957), Journey Beyond Three Seas (1957), Raj Tilak (1958), Criminal (1958), Amar Deep (1958), Maragatham (1959), Singapore (1960), Inheritance (1960), The Country Where the Ganges Flows (1960), Bindya (1960), Apsara (1961), Kaajal (1965), Eulog y of Love (1966), Every Dog Has His Day (1967), Woman (1967), Vaasna (1968), Chanda and Bijli (1969), Brother
Buck Owens
OWENS, EDWIN C. Actor Edwin C. Owens died of heart failure in Fort Worth, Texas, on September 16, 2006, while touring with a production of On Golden Pond. He was 64. Owens was a leading stage actor who appeared on Broadway in such productions as The Changing Room (1973), The Championship Season (1977), Caesar and Cleopatra (1977), and Conduct Unbecoming (1970). He also appeared in numerous Off-Broadway and touring productions. Owens appeared on television in the tele-films Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo (1977), Between Two Brothers (1982), and Cocaine: One Man’s Seduction (1983), and guest-starred in episodes of such series as Rafferty, Soap, The Waltons,
Padmini
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and Sister (1969), Vietnam Veedu (1970), Penn Daivam (1970), My Name Is Joker (1970), Mastana (1970), Aaansoo Aur Muskan (1970), Annai Velankanni (1971), Poovae Poo Chooda Vaa (1985), and The Dispossessed (1991). She largely retired from the screen in 1970 and moved with her husband to New Jersey where she founded a dance academy, the Padmini Institute of Fine Arts.
PAGE, BUCK Singer and musician Buck Page, who was the founder of the original western band Riders of the Purple Sage, died at his apartment in Burbank, California, on August 21, 2006. He was 84. Page was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 18, 1922. He began playing guitar on the radio at the age of 11 with a western band, The Valley Ranch Boys. He formed the Riders of the Purple Sage, based on the title of a Zane Grey novel, in 1936, and the band became a staple on Pittsburgh radio for several years. Page played guitar, banjo, and fiddle, and was originally accompanied by Bob Parker on guitar, Ken Cooper on accordion, and Hal McCoy on string bass. The band later moved to New York where they performed on radio and at nightclubs. Page served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Another western group led by Foy Willing under the name Riders of the Purple Sage was formed in the early 1940s, and that group produced numerous hit records and appeared in many films. After the war Page moved to the West Coast, where he played with various bands and worked as a studio musician on such television series as Wagon Train, Laramie, and Bonanza. Page reformed his Riders of the Purple Sage in the early 1960s. They toured and recorded several CDs until disbanding several years earlier.
PBS in the early 1970s, serving as director of science and natural history programming at the New York affiliate Channel 13. He was host and narrator of the popular Nature series from its inception in 1982 until his retirement in 1998. He also supervised and narrated the series The Brain (1983), and was involved in the production of Travels and Medicine at the Crossroads. Page also served as producer of such specials as Fred Astaire: Puttin’ On His Top Hat (1980), Fred Astaire: Change Partners and Dance (1980), Picasso: A Painter’s Diary (1980), Starring Katharine Hepburn (1981), and The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn (1986).
George Page
PAJER, IVICA Croatian actor Ivica Pajer, who starred as David in Orson Welles’ 1960 film David and Goliath, died in Gornja Jelenska, Croatia, on August 17, 2006. He was 71. Pajer was born in Uljanik kraj Daruvara, Croatia, then part of Yugoslavia, on September 9, 1934. He made his film debut in the late 1950s, appearing in such films as The Year Long Road (1958), Train Without a Timetable (1959), and Le Notti dei Teddy Boys (1959). Billed as Ivo Payer, he starred as the young giant slayer in David and Goliath in 1960. He continued to appear in such films as Caesar the Conqueror (1962), Treasure of the Petrified Forest (1965), The Adventures of Ulysses (1968), Little Mother (1973), Private Vices, Public Pleasures (1975), Fliers of the Open Skies (1977), Cross
Buck Page
PAGE, GEORGE George Page, the creator and narrator of the PBS series Nature, died of cancer at his home in Equinunk, Pennsylvania, on June 28, 2006. He was 71. Page was born in Hartwell, Georgia, on March 31, 1935. He began his career as a reporter for the NBC affiliate in Atlanta, Georgia, in the late 1950s where he covered the civil rights movement. In the 1960s he was promoted to NBC News foreign correspondent, reporting on the Vietnam War. He directed and narrated the 1968 news special We Won’t Go, about the draft resistance movement. He began working at
Ivica Pajer (from David and Goliath)
279 of Iron (1977), The Last Mission of Demolitions Man Cloud (1978), Occupation in 26 Pictures (1978), The Man to Kill (1979), Sophie’s Choice (1982) as Sophie’s Father, Obecana Zemlja (1986), Donator (1989), Migrations (1989), Gavre Princip — Death of a Schoolboy (1990), Story from Croatia (1991), Queen of Hearts (1991), and Sedma Kronika (1996).
PALANCE , JACK Actor Jack Palance, who played memorable screen villains in such films as Sudden Fear and Shane in the 1950s, and earned an Academy Award for parodying himself in 1991’s City Slickers, died at his home in Montecito, California, on November 10, 2006. He was 87. Palance was born Valdimir Palahniuk, Jr., in Lattimer Mines, Pennsylvania, on February 18, 1919, the son of Ukrainian immigrants. He worked as a coal miner as a young man and served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. After military service, he attended the University of North Carolina and Stanford University, earning a degree in drama in 1947. Palance soon turned to acting professionally. His imposing size and stark and unique features generally led to his being cast in villainous roles. He appeared on Broadway in productions of The Big Two (1947), Temporary Island (1947) and The Vigil (1948). Palance made his film debut as the evil plague carrier Blackie in the 1950 film Panic in the Streets. He continued in films for over fifty years, garnering such credits as Halls of Montezuma (1950), Sudden Fear (1952) as Joan Crawford’s homicidal husband, Shane (1953) as black-hearted villain Jack Wilson, Second Chance (1953), Arrowhead (1953), Flight to Tangier (1953), Man in the Attic (1954) as Jack the Ripper, Sign of the Pagan (1954) as Attila the Hun, The Silver Chalice (1954) as Simon the Magician, Kiss of Fire (1955), The Big Knife (1955), I Died a Thousand Times (1955), Attack (1956), The Lonely Man (1957), House of Numbers (1957), The Man Inside (1958), Ten Seconds to Hell (1959), Beyond All Limits (1959), Austerlitz (1960), Rivak the Barbarian (1960), The Mongols (1961), The Last Judgment (1961), Sword of the Conqueror (1962), Barabbas (1962), Warriors Five (1962), Night Train to Milan (1963), Contempt (1963), Once a Thief (1965), The Professionals (1966), the 1967 horror anthology film Torture Garden, Kill a Dragon (1967), Revenge of a Gun-
Jack Palance
2006 • Obituaries
fighter (1968), They Came to Rob Las Vegas (1968), A Bullet for Rommel (1969), Deadly Sanctuary (aka Justine) (1969), The Desperados (1969), Che! (1969) as Fidel Castro, and Legion of the Damned (1969). Palance was also a familiar face on television from the early 1950s, appearing in such series as Lights Out, Curtain Call, Your Show of Shows, The Colgate Comedy Hour, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Steve Allen Show, What’s My Line?, Studio One, The Gulf Playhouse, Danger, The Web, The Motorola Television Hour, Suspense, Zane Grey Theater, Playhouse 90 starring as the down-on-his-luck boxer turned wrestler Harlan “Mountain” McClintock in Rod Serling’s acclaimed 1956 production of Requiem for a Heavyweight, The Red Skelton Show, Frontier Justice, Convoy, Run for Your Life, Man from U.N.C.L.E., NET Playhouse, The Carol Burnett Show, The Pat Boone Show, The Porter Wagoner Show, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Palance starred as Johnny Slate in the circus series The Greatest Show on Earth from 1964 to 1964, and was the Jabberwock in the 1966 television production of Alice Through the Looking Glass. He also starred in the title roles in the 1968 version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and was the vampire count in the 1973 television version of Dracula. He also appeared in the tele-film The Godchild (1974) and The Hatfields and the McCoys (1975), and starred as Detective Lieutenant Alex “Bronk” Bronkov in the crime series Bronk from 1975 to 1976. He also continued his career in films, often traveling to Europe to lend a marquee name to overseas productions. He was seen The McMasters (1970), Monte Walsh (1970), Companeros (1970), The Horsemen (1971), And So Ends (1972), Father Jackleg (1972), The Big and the Bad (1972), Chato’s Land (1972), Craze (1973), Brothers Blue (1973), Oklahoma Crude (1973), Africa Express (1975), The Great Adventure (1975), The Sensuous Nurse (1975), Safari Express (1976), The Four Deuces (1976), God’s Gun (1976), For a Silver Dollar (1976), The Cop in Blue Jeans (1976), Black Cobra (1976), Blood and Bullets (1976), Portrait of a Hitman (1977), Welcome to Blood City (1977), One Man Jury (1978), Angel’s Brigade (1979), The Shape of Things to Come (1979), Cocaine Cowboys (1979), Hawk the Slayer, Without Warning (1980), Alone in the Dark (1982), Bagdad Cafe (1987), the science fiction action film Gor (1988) and the sequel Outlaw of Gor (1989) as the warlord Xenos, Young Guns (1988), Tango & Cash (1989), Batman (1989) as crime boss Carl Grissom, and Solar Crisis (1990). He hosted the occult documentary series Unknown Powers in 1978, and hosted Ripley’s Believe It or Not from 1981 through 1986. He was also seen on television in the tele-films The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang (1979), The Ivory Ape (1980), The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story (1980), Tales of the Haunted: Evil Stalks This House (1981), Keep the Change (1992), Twilight Zone: Rod Serling’s Lost Classics (1994), Buffalo Girls (1995), Ebenezer (1997) as Scrooge, I’ll Be Home for Christmas (1997), Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter’s End (1999), and Living with the Dead (2002). Palance starred as Curly Washburn in the 1991 comedy film City Slickers with Billy Crystal, earning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. He returned in City
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Slickers 2: The Legend of Curly’s Gold as twin brother Duke Washburn in the 1994 sequel. His later film credits include Eli’s Lesson (1992), Cyborg 2 (1993), Cops and Robbersons (1994), the 1994 animated feature The Swan Princess as the voice of Lord Rothbart, The Incredible Adventures of Marco Polo (1998) as Beelzebub, and Treasure Island (1999) as Long John Silver. He appeared in an episode of Night Visions and the video feature Prancer Returns in 2001. He made his final appearance in the 2004 tele-film Back When We Were Grownups as Paul “Poppy” Davitch. Palance married Virginia Baker in 1949. They had three children, Holly, Brooke and Cody (who died in 1998), all of whom became performers. He and Baker divorced in 1966. He married Elaine Rodgers in 1987, which also ended in divorce.
PALLO , JACKIE British wrestling villain Jackie Pallo, who was known as Mr. TV during his ring career in the 1960s and 1970s, died in England on February 11, 2006. He was 79. He was born Jack Gutteridge in England on June 12, 1926. He began working as a professional wrestler in the early 1950s and became a star the following decade when ITV began broadcasting wrestling bouts on television’s World of Sport. He also appeared in small roles in the films The Reckoning (1969), Not Now Darling (1973), and Porridege (1979), and was featured on television in episodes of The Avengers, Return of the Saint, and Are You Being Served. Pallo also trained numerous other wrestlers and was fight director for several theatrical productions including 1989’s As You Like It at the Old Vic. He authored an autobiography in 1985 entitled You Grunt, I’ll Groan.
ation (2006), and Flags of Our Fathers (2006). He was working as an assistant propmaster on The Kingdom, a 2007 release starring Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner.
PAPENBROOK, BOB Bob Papenbrook, a leading voice character actor, died of complications from a chronic lung condition in Van Nuys, California, on March 17, 2006. He was 50. Papenbrook was born in San Diego, California, in 1955. He performed as a voice actor in over 200 films, and was heard on numerous television productions, video games, and radio and television commercials. He was best known for his voice work on the English-language version of animated and live-action Japanese imported productions. He voiced the villainous Rito Revolto on the popular Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Power Rangers Zeo series in the 1990s. He was also heard, sometimes under the name John Smallberries, in such television and film productions as Mobile Suit Gundam, Iron Virgin Jun, V.R. Troopers, Big Bad Beetleborgs, Masked Rider, Reign: The Conqueror, Power Rangers Turbo, Flint: The Time Detective, Trigun, Power Rangers in Space, If I See You in My Dreams, Tenchi Forever, Street Fighter Alpha, The Big O, Power Rangers Lost Galaxy as the voice of Deviot, Brigadoon, Ah! My Goddess!: The Movie, Shinzo, Vandread: The Second Stage, DinoZaurs, Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue, Digimon: The Movie (2000) as Red Greymon, Kikaider, Black Heaven, Cosmo Warrior Zero (2001), Power Rangers Rime Force, Samurai Girl: Real Bout High School, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001), Transformers: Robots in Disguise, Onmyoji: The Yin Yang Master (2001), Cyborg 009, The Twelve Kingdoms, Daigunder, Power Rangers Wild Force, Heat Guy J, Space Pirate Captain Herlock: The Endless Odyssey, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, .hack//Legend of the Twilight, Last Exile (2003), Scrapped Princess (2003), Digimon: Digital Monsters, Gungrave, Appleseed, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004), Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), New Getter Robo, Samurai Champloo, Rave Master, and Viewtiful Joe. Papenbrook also appeared in the 2003 horror film Jeepers Creepers II, and on television in episodes of Providence, The Invisible Man, The Chronicle, Birds of Prey, She Spies, Strong Medicine, JAG, and Cold Case.
Jackie Pallo
PAPAC, NICK Nick Papac, who worked as a property master and armorer on several films, suffered severe head injuries on the set of the film The Kingdom in Mesa, Arizona, on August 12, 2006, when the allterrain vehicle he was driving crashed into an SUV carrying the film’s director, Peter Berg. Papac died of his injuries in a hospital several hours later. He was 25. No one else was injured in the collision. Papac had worked on such films as S.W.A.T. (2003), Hostage (2005), xXx: State of the Union (2005), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Domino (2005), Miami Vice (2006), The Gene Gener-
Bob Papenbrook
281 PAQUET, LUCINA Actress Lucina Paquet died of lung cancer in Houston, Texas, on May 23, 2006. She was 84. Paquet was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1922. She married theatrical director and teacher Glendon Gabbard in 1942, and appeared in several plays before retiring from the stage to raise a family. After her children were raised she returned to school, earning a doctorate in English from the University of Illinois in 1975. She taught and authored two books, The Dream Structure of Pinter’s Plays (1976) and The Stoppard Plays (1982). She moved to Chicago in 1986 after retiring from teaching, where she appeared in small roles in such films as Prelude to a Kiss (1992), Groundhog Day (1993), Blink (1994), My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997), The Redemption (2000), Novocaine (2001), Children on Their Birthdays (2002), and Sin City (2005). She also appeared on stage in the Broadway production of The Grapes of Wrath as Grandma Joad in 1990.
2006 • Obituaries
appeared in numerous films from the early 1930s including La Maison du Mystere (1933), L’Assommoir (1933), The Life and Loves of Beethoven (1936), Maman Colibri (1937), The Mayor’s Dilemma (1938), Mother Love (1938), La Maison des Sept Jeunes Filles (1942), Les Roquevillard (1943), La Vie de Plaisir (1944), Girl with Grey Eyes (1945), Les Cadets de l’Ocean (1945), Le Capitan (1946), Vendetta en Camnargue (1949), Here Is the Beauty (1950), L’Enfant des Neiges (1951), Dakota 308 (1951), Caroline Cherie (1953), La Bella Otero (1954), The Rebels of Lomanach (1954), Napoleon (1955), If Paris Were Told to Us (1956), and Serenade of Texas (1958).
PARIS, JOHNNY John M. Pocisk, who was known as Johnny Paris when he fronted the rock group Johnny and the Hurricanes in the 1950s and 1960s, died after a long illness in an Ann Arbor, Michigan, hospital on May 1, 2006. He was 65. He was born in Walbridge, Ohio, on August 29, 1940. Paris began his career as a saxophone player and formed the group The Orbits in 1957. After signing a recording contract, the band was renamed Johnny and the Hurricanes. They had several hit recording in the early 1960s, including “Red River Rock,” “Beatnik Fly,” “Reveille Rock,” and “Down Yonder (Way Down Yonder in New Orleans).” Though their string of hits had ended in the early 1960s, Paris continued to perform throughout Europe and the United States for the remainder of his life.
Lucina Paquet
PAQUI, JEAN French actor Jean Paqui was killed in an automobile accident in Toucy, Yonne, France, on July 4, 2006. He was 85. He was born JeanFrancois de Thonel, 5th Marquis d’ Orgeix in Cap d’Ail, France, on April 15, 1921. He was a leading horseman in France, competing in numerous international competitions. He earned the bronze medal in the 1948 Olympics for the individual jumping event. Paqui also
Johnny Paris
Jean Paqui
PARK, WOO-SANG South Korean director Woo-sang Park died in Seoul, South Korea, on April 11, 2006. Park began directing films in the early 1970s, helming such features as The Blind Swordsman (1972), Mortal Battle (1975), The Potter (1976), Wild Rose Under Trial (1976), Don’t Ask Where I’m Going (1976), Great Cause (1976), The Left-Footed Fighter (1977), Mortal Enemies (1977), Fighting in Hong Kong (1981), My Name Is Twin Bridges (1982), The Owner of Shaolin Restaurant (1982), Duel of Ultimate Weapons (1983), and Shaolin: The Blood Mission (1984). He was credited under the Anglicized name of Richard W. Park for his subsequent films including Kill the Ninja (1984), Los Angeles Streetfighter (1985), Miami Connection (1986) which also featured him in the role of Uncle Song, Gang Justice (1991), Chinatown 2 (1993), Amer-
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ican Chinatown (1996), and Korean Killer Family List (1997).
other landmark blaxploitation film Superfly, died in 1979.
PARLEE, LORENA Documentary filmmaker Lorena Parlee died after a long illness on August 18, 2006. She was 60. Parlee was born on December 18, 1945. She was a Professor of Mexican History at the University of California before she began working in films. Parlee produced, directed and scripted the 1986 video The Wrath of Grapes for the United Farm Workers of America. She also produced the 1992 3-D film Concerto for the Earth and produced, directed and scripted the award winning IMAX feature film Mexico. She was working on a film about migrant worker leader Cesar Chavez at the time of her death.
Woo-sang Park
PARKS, GORDON Gordon Parks, the pioneering black photographer and film director, died in New York City on March 7, 2006. He was 93. Parks was born in Fort Scott, Kansas, on November 30, 1912. He worked in various odd jobs before becoming interested in photography in the 1930s. He worked with the Farm Security Administration and became a staff photographer for Life magazine in the late 1940s. He covered politics, sports, and fashion for the magazine, but was best known for his photographs of poverty and the civil rights movement. His photographs in Life of a poor and sick Brazilian child in 1961 led to Parks directing a documentary film about the youth, Flavio, in 1964. He directed several other documentaries including The World of Piri Thomas and Diary of a Harlem Family. His first feature film, The Learning Tree (1969), was based on his own documentary novel published in 1963. Parks helmed the popular detective film Shaft in 1971, starring Richard Roundtree. He also directed the 1972 sequel Shaft’s Big Score! Parks also directed the films The Super Cops (1974) and Leadbelly (1976), and the 1984 tele-film Solomon Northrup’s Odyssey. He appeared in cameo roles in both of the Shaft films he directed, as well as the 2000 Shaft remake. Parks’ son, Gordon Parks, Jr., who was the director of an-
PARRISH, GIGI Actress Gigi Parrish, who was featured in a handful of films in the 1930s, died in Dana Point, California, on February 8, 2006. She was 93. She was born Katherine Gertrude McElray to a wealthy family in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on August 30, 1912. She and her husband, the author Dillwyn Parrish, moved to California in 1929, and Parrish was signed to a film contract by Samuel Goldwyn several years later. She became one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars and made her film debut in 1933’s Roman Scandals. She was also seen in supporting roles in the films Twentieth Century (1934), The Love Captive (1934), Kiss and Make Up (1934), Down to Their Last Yacht (1934), A Girl of the Limberlost (1934), Girl o’ My Dreams (1934), Symphony of Living (1935), and August Weekend (1936). She abandoned films after marrying her second husband, screenwriter John Weld, in 1937. She and Weld owned the Laguna Beach Post newspaper from 1949 to 1965. They remained married until Weld’s death in 2003.
Gigi Parrish
Gordon Parks
PARTINGTON, REX Stage actor Rex Partington died in Apalachicola, Florida, on March 17, 2006. He was 82. Partington was born on March 15, 1924. He began his career on stage at the Barter Theater in Abingdon, Virginia, in the early 1950s. He served as production manager for the Tyrone Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the early 1960s. He also performed with various regional theaters throughout the country including Cleveland Playhouse and the
283 Memphis Arena Theatre. He returned to the Barter Theater as producing artistic director in 1972, and remained there until 1992. He subsequently retired to Florida where he and his wife restored the Dixie Theater in Apalachicola.
Rex Partington (with Cleo Holladay from Love Letters)
PATTERSON, FLOYD Boxer Floyd Patterson, who was the world heavyweight champion in the late 1950s, died of prostate cancer and complications from Alzheimer’s disease at his home in New Paltz, New York, on May 11, 2006. He was 71. Patterson was born in Waco, North Carolina, on January 4, 1935. He began boxing as an amateur in New York in 1950 and won the New York Golden Gloves middleweight title the following year. Patterson competed in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, where he won the middleweight boxing gold medal. He turned pro after his Olympics success, and rose through the ranks to become a leading contender. When Rocky Marciano vacated the heavyweight title, Patterson defeated Archie Moore to win the championship in November of 1956. He defended the title successfully until his defeat by Ingemar Johansson in June of 1959. He again regained the championship in a rematch against Johansson in March of 1961. Patterson was again dethroned in September of 1962 when he was knocked out by Sonny Liston in the first round. A rematch the following year ended the same way. Patterson continued to box for another decade, losing two bouts to Muhammad Ali, before retiring in 1972. He remained involved in boxing, serv-
Floyd Patterson
2006 • Obituaries
ing as a member of the New York State Athletic Commission from 1977 to 1984, and as commission chairman from 1995 to 1998. Patterson appeared on television in episodes of The Steve Allen Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, and What’s My Line? while he was champion. In the 1960s, he had a brief acting career, gueststarring in episodes of Daniel Boone and Wild Wild West. Patterson also appeared as himself in the 1969 film Muhammad Ali, the Greatest, and the tele-films Terrible Joe Moran (1984), Sonny Liston: The Mysterious Life and Death of a Champion (1995), and Muhammad Ali: The Whole Story (1996).
PAUKEN, ADAM “CHIP” Veteran television editor and music supervisor Adam “Chip” Pauken died in Los Angeles after a long illness on February 2, 2006. He was 48. Pauken was born on August 16, 1957. He edited such television specials as World’s Scariest Ghosts: Caught on Tape (2000), I Love Lucy’s 50th Anniversary Special (2001), The Three Stooges 75th Anniversary Special (2003), AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Robert De Niro (2003) which earned him an Emmy nomination, AFI Tribute to Meryl Streep (2004), and AFI Tribute to George Lucas (2005). PAVLOV, VIKTOR Russian actor Viktor Pavlov died of heart failure and complications from a stroke in Moscow on August 24, 2006. He was 65. Pavlov was born in Moscow on October 6, 1940. He began his career on stage in the early 1960s and performed with the Sovremennik Theatre in Moscow from 1962 to 1965. He made his film debut in Lev Kulidzhanov’s 1961 film When the Trees Were Tall. His numerous film credits also include Four Winds of Heaven (1962), Time, Forward! (1965), The Bridge Is Built (1965), Operation Y and Other Shurik’s Adventures (1965), Mayor Vikhr (1967), At War as at War (1968), Tell Me About Yourself (1971), Check-Up on the Roads (1971), A Train to a Distant August (1971), Twelve Chairs (1971), Dauriya (1971), Hello and Goodbye (1972), Almanzor’s Rings (1972), Deti Vanyushina (1973), Diary of a School Director (1975), Crane in the Sky (1977), The Fight in the Blizzard (1977), Guarantee Life (1977), Cranks from Zavyalovo (1978), Pugachev (1978), While the Dream Is Raving (1978), The Last Escape (1980), Naked Kurentsov (1980), Personal Safety Not Guaranteed (1980), Storm Warning (1981), White Dance (1981), Parol “Otel Regina” (1983), Shans (1984), First Cavalry (1984), Hero of Her Romance (1984), Do Not Marry, Girls (1985), Kontrudar (1985), The Wedding Is Accused (1986), Joys of the Youth (1987), Through the Grass Barefoot (1987), Dodgers (1987), The Purple Ball (1987), What? You Don’t Like Our Authorities? (1988), A Bright Person (1988), Operation Wonderland (1989), Prince Udacha Andreyevich (1989), The Gambler (1989), Vladimir Dubrovsky, the Noble Robber (1989), The Royal Hunt (1990), Gambrinus (1990), Cynics (1991), Russian Brothers (1991), Caravan of Death (1991), And to Hell with Us! (1991), Glukhoman (1991), Rats Corner (1992), The Code of Silence (1992), Is It OK to Sleep with Other Man’s Wife? (1992), Then Justice Will Be Mine (1993), Over the Dark Water (1993), Enchanted (1994), The Wizard of the City of Emeralds (1994), Master and Mar-
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gareth (1994), Crusader (1995), Fatal Eggs (1996), At the Dawn of Our Youthful Years (1997), Sympathy Seeker (1997), DMB (2000), and The Envy of Gods (2000). Pavlov also appeared frequently on Russian television, starring in productions of Aide of His Excellence (1969), The Strogovs (1975), Hamlet of Shchigrov County (1975), Ordinary Arctics (1976), Can’t Change the Meeting Place (1979), Say a Word for the Poor Hussar (1980), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (1981), Where Did Fomenko Disappear? (1981), Mirgorod and Its Inhabitants (1983), Naval Cadets, Charge! (1987), Lapta (1988), Murder at Cloisters Ponds (1990), Track of Black Fish (1994), Anecdotiade, or Odessa History in Anecdotes (1994), The Thief (1995), and Brigada (2002). Pavlov was also a member of the Academic Maly Theatre troupe in Moscow from 1975 until his death, appearing in numerous stage productions.
Viktor Pavlov
PAYTON, DENIS Musician and singer Denis Payton, who was a member of the 1960s British rock group The Dave Clark Five, died of cancer in Bournemouth, Dorset, England, on December 18, 2006. He was 63. Payton was born in London on August 8, 1943. He was a founding member of the band that originated in North London in the early 1960s and introduced the Tottenham Sound. Payton played saxophone, harmonica and guitar in the band that was led by drummer
Dave Clark, and included Mike Smith as lead singer and keyboardist, Lenny Davidson on lead guitar, and Rick Huxley on bass guitar. They were the second band after the Beatles to have a hit record in the United States in the British Invasion with “Glad All Over” in 1964. They had numerous other hit recordings including “Bits and Pieces” (1964), “Can’t You See That She’s Mine” (1965), “Because” (1965), “Catch Us if You Can” (1965), “Over and Over” (1965), and “You Got What It Takes” (1967). They also starred in the 1965 film Catch Us if You Can (aka Having a Wild Weekend ), and appeared on television on The Ed Sullivan Show, Top of the Pops, Beat-Club, and the 1966 special Lucy in London. The Dave Clark Five disbanded in 1970.
PAZZAGLIA, RICCARDO Italian film director and writer Riccardo Pazzaglia died in Rome, Italy, on October 4, 2006. He was 80. Pazzaglia was born in Naples, Italy, on September 12, 1926. He began his career in films in the 1950s, serving as assistant director on such features as Carne de Horca (1953), Siempre Carmen (1954), Lazzarella (1957), and An Angel Over Brooklyn (aka The Man Who Wagged His Tail) (1957). He also began writing films in the 1950s, with such credits as Canas y Barro (1954), The Red Cloak (1955), Lazzarella (1957), Pirate of the Half Moon (1957), Io, Mammeta e Tu (1958), and Caporale di Giornata (1958). He also directed several films during his career including L’Onorata Societa (1961), Les Combinards (1966), Farfallon (1974) starring the Italian comedy duo of Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia, and Separati in Casa (1986). Pazzaglia also performed on Italian radio and television as a host, and appeared in small roles in such films as Il Mistero di Bellavista (1984), Cosi Parlo Bellavista (1984), Separati in Casa (1986), 32 Dicembre (1988), and Croce e Delizia (1995).
Riccardo Pazzaglia
Dennis Payton (second from right, with Mike Smith, Dave Clark, Lenny Davidson, and Rick Huxley)
PEACH, KENNETH D., JR. Cinematographer Kenneth D. Peach, Jr., died at his home in Santa Monica, California, on March 22, 2006. He was 75. Peach was born in Hollywood, California, on June 29, 1930. He worked in films and television for over fifty years. Peach worked as a camera operator on the films Hickey & Boggs (1972), Emperor of the North Pole (1973), Black Eye (1974), The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (1976), The Choirboys (1977), and Beyond the Poseidon
285 Adventure (1979). He began working as a cinematographer for television productions in the late 1970s. He worked on such series as Taxi, Mrs. Columbo, Cheers, Remington Steele, Falcon Crest, Sydney, Good Sports, Roc, The Jackie Thomas Show, The Boys Are Back, Ned and Stacey, The Steve Harvey Show, So Little Time, and Cedric the Entertainer Presents. Peach also was director of photography for the tele-films A Wedding on Walton’s Mountain (1982), Mother’s Day on Walton’s Mountain (1982), A Day for Thanks on Walton’s Mountain (1982), Games Mother Never Taught You (1982), and Aaron’s Way: The Harvest (1988). Peach retired from films and television in 2002.
PEARCE, PHILIPPA British children’s author Philippa Pearce died in Durham, England, on December 21, 2006. She was 86. Pearce was born in Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire, England, on January 23, 1920. She worked as a civil servant before writings scripts and producing programs for the BBC Radio Schools Broadcasting in the mid–1940s. She left the BBC in 1958 to become children’s editor at Oxford University Press and Andre Deutsch. She wrote her first children’s novel, The Minnow on the Say, with illustrations by Edward Ardizzone, in 1955. She was best known for her second novel, Tom’s Midnight Garden, which was published in 1958, and soon became a classic in children’s literature. The fantasy tale was adapted for television in 1974 and was made into a film in 1999. Her novel Treasure Over the Water was adapted for television in 1972. Many of her other stories were adapted for television on the Jackanory anthology series, including The Elm Street Lot (1969), Mrs. Cockle’s Cat (1970), A Dog So Small (1978), and The Way to Sattin Shore (1991). Her final novel, The Little Gentleman, a fantasy about a lonely young girl and her friendship with an ancient mole, was published in 2004.
2006 • Obituaries
Hardball, and was executive producer and writer for the Touched by an Angel series until 2003.
Burt Pearl
PECKINPAH , DAVID Film and television producer, director and writer David Peckinpah died of a heart attack in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on April 23, 2006. He was 54. Peckinpah, the nephew of acclaimed film director Sam Peckinpah, began writing for television in the late 1970s. He scripted such tele-films as The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story (1980), Hotline (1982), Chase (1985), Stillwatch (1987), In Self Defense (1987), The Diamond Trap (1988), Wolf (1989), Obsessed (1992), and Hijacked: Flight 285 (1996). He also wrote the feature films The Paper Boy (1994) and Man of the House (1995). Peckinpah directed the 1997 feature film When Danger Follows You Home, and produced and directed episodes of the science fiction series Sliders in the late 1990s. He was also a producer for the television series Silk Stalkings and Turks, and scripted episodes of Beauty and the Beast and Farscape.
Philippa Pearce
PEARL, BURT
Television writer and producer Burt Pearl died of lymphoma in Los Angeles on April 6, 2006. He was 48. Pearl was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 3, 1957. He began writing for television in the early 1980s, scripting episodes of such Stephen J. Cannell productions as The A-Team, Riptide, Stingray, J.J. Starbuck, The Highwayman, and Jesse Hawkes. He also wrote episodes of Something Is Out There and
David Peckinpah
PEGE, ALADAR Hungarian classical bassist Aladar Pege died in a Budapest, Hungary, hospital after a brief illness on September 23, 2006. He was 66. Pege was born into a family of Gypsy musicians in Budapest on October 8, 1939. He studied music at the Lizt Ferenc Music Academy in the 1960s and later taught music there. Pege gained international acclaim with his jazz
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ensemble in the early 1960s. He performed throughout the world and recorded with such fellow artists as Herbie Hancock, Dexter Gordon and Walter Norris. He was equally at home performing jazz numbers as he was performing classical works and received Hungary’s highest artist honor, the Kossuth Prize, in 1982.
Aladar Pege
PENA, ANTONIO Antonio Pena, who was the founder of the Mexican wrestling promotion A A A, died of a massive heart attack on October 5, 2006. He was 53. Pena began AAA in 1993, bringing Mexico’s lucha-style wrestling to the United States. He was instrumental in giving early recognition to such future stars as Rey Mysterio, Jr., Eddie Guerrero, Juventud Guerrera, and La Parka.
as Nice Guy Eddie Cabot, Leather Jackets (1992), Best of the Best 2 (1993), The Pickle (1993), The Music of Chance (1993), True Romance (1993), Short Cuts (1993), Josh and S.A.M. (1993), Beethoven’s 2nd (1993), Imaginary Crimes (1994), Sacred Cargo (1995), Fist of the North Star (1995), To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995) as Sheriff Dollard, Under the Hula Moon (1995), Cannes Man (1996), Mulholland Falls (1996), The Funeral (1996), Papertrail (1997), The Boys Club (1997), Deceiver (1997), Family Attraction (1998), Rush Hour (1998), One Tough Cop (1998), Cement (1999), The Florentine (1999), Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang ) (2000), Corky Romano (2001), Murder by Numbers (2002), Redemption (2002), Stealing Harvard (2002), Masked and Anonymous (2003), Shelter Island (2003), Starsky and Hutch (2004), After the Sunset (2004), Holly (2005), and The Darwin Awards (2005). He was also featured in the 2006 productions Aftermath and King of Sorrow. Penn also appeared on television in such telefilms as North Beach and Rawhide (1985) and Larry McMurtry’s Dead Man’s Walk (1996). He starred as Waylon Shaw in the short-lived television series The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire in 2003. His other television credits include episodes of Magnum, P.I., the Faerie Tale Theatre production of Rip Van Winkle, The Young Riders, Seinfeld, Chicago Hope, CSI: Miami, Will & Grace, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Everwood.
Chris Penn
Antonio Pena
PENN, CHRIS Actor Chris Penn, the brother of Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn, was found dead at his condominium near the Santa Monica, California, beach on January 24, 2006. He was 43. He was born in Los Angeles on October 10, 1962, the son of director Leo Penn and actress Eileen Ryan. He began his film career in 1979 as Pete in the movie Charlie and the Talking Buzzard. He was also seen in the films Rumble Fish (1983), All the Right Moves (1983), Footloose (1984), The Wild Life (1984), Pale Rider (1985), At Close Range (1986), Made in USA (1987), Return from the River Kwai (1989), Best of the Best (1989), Mobsters (1991), Future Kick (1991), Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs (1992)
PERERA, ASOKA Sri Lankan film production manager Asoka Perera died of a heart attack on Colombo, Sri Lanka, on June 6, 2006. He was 55. He worked as a production manager and supervisor for numerous films shot on location in Southeast Asia. His many film credits include Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Spies Inc. (1988), Indochine (1992), The Promise (1993), The Father and the Son (1993), Beyond Rangoon (1995), Bloodsport 2 (1996), and The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli and Baloo (1997). (See photograph on page 287.) PEREZ, ARICLE Brazilian actress Aricle Perez died in Brazil on March 26, 2006. She was 62. Perez was born in Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on September 7, 1943. She appeared frequently on Brazilian television from the 1970s, starring in such series as Cancao
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Asoka Perera
Radomir Perica
Para Isabel (1976), Cortina de Vidro (1989), Meu Bern, Meu Mal (1990), Felicidade (1991), and Anjo Mau (1997). She also appeared in television productions of Sampa (1988), Memorial de Maria Moura (1994), Decadencia (1995), Os Maias (2001), A Casa das Sete Mulheres (2003), and JK (2006) as Dona Julia Kubitschek. Perez was also featured in several films including Paixao Na Praia (1971), Pixote (1981) as the teacher, and Quanto Vale Ou E Por Quilo? (2005).
1962 to 1974, when he founded the Fieldstones. They recorded the albums Memphis Blues Today and Mud Island Blues, and such dance songs as “The Squeeze,” “Let’s Do It,” and “The Thing.”
Wordie Perkins
Aricle Perez
PERICA, RADOMIR Yugoslavian artist and illustrator Radomir Perica died of congestive heart failure on December 23, 2006. He was 82. Perica worked as a comic artist and cartoonist in Yugoslavia for many years. He also designed title sequences for numerous Yugoslavian films before moving to the United States. Perica continued to work as an artist and illustrator. He also was instrumental in designing the cover and logo for the film publication Video Watchdog in 1990. Perica was also designed the illustrations for the 2000 PBS documentary film Tesla: Master of Lightning. PERKINS, WORDIE Blues guitar player Wordie Perkins died of heart failure on November 24, 2006. He was 69. Perkins was born on March 26, 1937, and was raised in Senatobia, Mississippi. He began playing the guitar as a child. He moved to Memphis in 1950 and joined the group the Thrillers in 1960. He played with Leroy Hodges, Sr.’s, the Funky Four from
PERRIE, LYNNE British actress Lynne Perrie, who starred as Ivy Tilsley Brennan on the British soap opera Coronation Street for over two decades, died of complications from a stroke at her home in England on March 24, 2006. She was 74. Perrie was born in Rotherham, Yorkshire, England, on April 7, 1931. She began her career as a singer on the cabaret circuit in
Lynne Perrie
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north England. She made her film debut as Mrs. Casper in the 1969 feature Kes. She was also seen on television in the series Queenie’s Castle, Follyfoot, and Play for Today. She began playing Ivy Tilsley, later Brennan, on Coronation Street in 1971, and remained with the popular soap until 1994. Perrie, who had suffered from problems with alcohol during much of her life, had been in poor health with heart problems for several years before her death.
PERRY, ALICE MOORE Gospel singer and songwriter Alice Moore Perry died after a long illness in a Memphis, Tennessee, hospital on May 2, 2006. She was 80. She was born on August 3, 1925. Perry was a popular singer who was best known for writing such leading gospel songs as “Sitting at the Feet of Jesus,” “When My Papa Prayed,” “I’ve Got a Round Trip Ticket to Heaven,” “Footsteps of Jesus,” and “I’m Walking in the Valley with My Lord.”
(1975), Ante Up (1975), Giovannino (1976), Trauma (1978), Molly O (1986), Devil in the Flesh (1986), Widow’s Walk (1987), The Gold Rimmed Glasses (1987), Christian (1989), Time to Kill (1990), The Battle of the Three Kings (1990), Towards Evening (1991), On My Own (1992), A Time for ... (1993), The Great Pumpkin (1993), With Closed Eyes (1994), The Killer Wore Yellow Shoes (1995), The Truce (1997), Artemisia (1997), Pleasure (And Its Little Inconveniences (1998), Shooting the Moon (1998), Time Regained (1999), A Time to Love (1999), The Luzhin Defense (2000), and Angel of Death (2002).
Leo Pescarolo
Alice Moore Perry
PERRY, WILLIAM H., JR. Former actor William H. Perry died in Killingworth, Connecticut on November 14, 2006. He was 70. He was born in Bakersfield, California on October 1, 1936. His mother was actress Patricia Wing, the sister of MGM star Toby Wing. Perry began performing on stage, touring in productions of My Fair Lady and Take Me Along. He also performed as half of the comedy team of Joanie and Bill, partnering with the future Joan Rivers in a successful duo. He was featured in a small role in television’s The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and appeared in the 1961 comedy film Love in a Goldfish Bowl. Perry left show business to become a successful real estate agent. PESCAROLO, LEO Italian film producer Leo Pescarolo died of respiratory failure due to asthma in Rabat, Morocco, on May 24, 2006. He was 70. Pescarolo was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1935, the son of silent screen actress Vera Vergani. He began working in films as an assistant director in the late 1950s, earning credits for such films as Sweet Deceptions (1960) and Gli Ultimi (1963). Pescarolo produced Liliana Cavani’s controversial 1969 film Galileo. He produced over thirty films over the next 35 years including What Have You Done to Solange? (1972), Revolt of the City (1973), La Banca di Monate (1975), the horror film Autopsy
PETERSEN, TALIEP South African theatrical impresario Taliep Petersen was shot to death in his Cape Town home during an armed robbery on December 16, 2006. He was 56. Petersen and folk singer Kramer began working together in 1986 to write and produce musicals in South Africa. Their productions included District Six, Kat and the Kings, Fairyland, Poison, and Klop Klop. Many of their works were performed on international stages, including their most recent Ghoema, which opened in London earlier in the year.
Taliep Petersen
PETITCLERC, DENNE BART Screenwriter Denne Bart Petitclerc died in Los Angeles on February 3, 2006. He was 76. Petitclerc was born on May 15, 1929. He wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle as a cor-
289 respondent during the Korean War. He subsequently became a friend of writer Ernest Hemingway after writing him a fan letter. Petitclerc began writing for television in the 1960s, scripting episodes of the western series Bonanza and The High Chapparal. He also created the 1969 series Then Came Bronson, and scripted the tele-films Key West (1973), Men of the Dragon (1974), The Cowboy and the Ballerina (1984), The Woman Who Sinned (1991), and Bonanza: Under Attack (1995). Petitclerc also wrote the 1971 film Red Sun, and adapted Hemingway’s novel Islands in the Stream in 1977. He also scripted the film The Vivero Letter in 1998. He had also written a screenplay about his relationship with Hemingway, Papa, which he was producing at the time of his death.
2006 • Obituaries
(1993), Ballerina (1993), The Prediction (1993), The Mysteries of Sankt Petersburg (1995), Czarevitch Alexei (1996), Hello, Fools! (1996), Khrustalyov, My Car! (1998), and Old Hags (2000). Petrov was also noted for his ballet The Creation of the World, which was first performed by Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1971.
Andrei Petrov
Denne Bart Petitclerc
PETROV, ANDREI Russian film composer Andrei Petrov died of a brain hemorrhage in St. Petersburg, Russia, on February 15, 2006. He was 75. Petrov was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia, on September 2, 1930. He studied classical music and composition at the State Conservatory. Petrov composed numerous operas, ballets, and symphonies. He was best known for his scoring of numerous Russian films from the early 1960s. His many film credits include The Last Game (1962), The Road to Berth (1962), The Amphibian Man (1962), I Step Through Moscow (1963), Little Hare (1964), 33 (1965), The Light of a Distant Star (1965), Watch Out for the Automobile (1966), We Called Him Robert (1967), Zigzag of Luck (1968), Attention, Turtle! (1970), White Bim Black Ear (1970), A Very Old Story (1970), Old Men: Robbers (1971), Taming of the Fire (1972), Here Is Our House (1973), A Funny Dream, or Laughter and Tears (1976), The Blue Bird (1976), Office Romance (1977), A Sad Comedy (1979), Say a Word for Poor Cavalrymen (1980), A Railway Station for Two (1982), European Story (1984), Ruthless Romance (1984), We Will Meet in the Metro (1985), Battalions Ask for Fire (1985), Testament (1986), The Last Road (1986), Enclosure (1987), Forgotten Melody for a Lonely Flute (1988), From the Life of Fyodor Kuzkin (1989), Nomad Bus (1989), Vladimir Dubrovsky, the Noble Robber (1989), Dogs’ Feast (1990), Skin (1991), The Promised Land (1991), The SukhovoKobylin Case (1991), The Gray Wolves (1993), Nastja
PHELPS, STUART Television producer and director Stuart W. Phelps died in Los Angeles on February 8, 2006. He was 84. Phelps was born on May 8, 1921. He began working as a director while serving in the Army during World War II where he edited training films. After the war he worked in local television in Los Angeles before joining ABC. He was producer and director of various televised events from the West coast, including the opening day of Disneyland and several Rose parades and NFL football games. Phelps also directed numerous gameshows in the 1950s and 1960s including Truth or Consequences, Beat the Clock, I’ve Got a Secret, Queen for a Day, This is Your Life, Showdown, and Password. PHILOMINA Indian character actress Philomina died in Chennai, India, of complications from diabetes and a stroke on January 2, 2006. She was 80. She appeared in over 700 Malayalam language films during her career, often performing in comic roles. Her film credits include The Shrimp (1965), Ollavum Theeravum (1969), Lisa (1978), Aa Rathri (1983), Whisper
Philomina
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(1985), Dream of One Evening (1989), Ardham (1989), Sasneham (1990), Parallel College (1991), Mimics Parade (1991), Godfather (1991), My Dear Muthachan (1992), Vietnam Colony (1993), Mr. Butler (200), and Meerayude Dukhavum Muthuvinte Swapnavum (2003).
PICK, HELMUT German actor Helmut Pick died in Munich, Germany, on September 24, 2006. He was 77. He was a leading performer on the German stage for many years. Pick was also featured in the 1971 The Cell and performed frequently on television. He was seen in productions of Schwarz-Rot-Gold — Unser Land (1982), Pizza-Express (1988), Der Lange Sommer (1989), Regina auf den Stufen (1990), King Lear (1992), Widerspenstige Viktoria (1992), Der Grosste Fest des Jahres —Weihnachten bei Unseren Fernsehfamilien (1995), and ... und im Keller Gart es (1988). Pick also starred as Ole Olsen in the series Der Landarzt in 1992 and was August Stolz in So Ein Zirkus in 1998. He was featured regularly as Alfons Specht in the series Unser Lehrer Doktor Specht in the late 1990s and also appeared in episodes of such series as Der Kommissar, Elbflorenz, Derrick, and Aus Heiterem Himmel.
Helmut Pick (with Beatrix Doderer in the stage production Herzog Theodor von Gothland )
PICKETT, WILSON Soul singer Wilson Pickett died of a heart attack in Reston, Virginia, on January 19, 2006. He had been in poor health for over a year. He was 64. Pickett was born in Prattville, Alabama, on March 18, 1941. He moved to Detroit in the mid–1950s, and began performing with the singing group the Falcons in the early 1960s. He began recording solo in 1963 and soon signed with Atlantic Records. He teamed with guitarist Steve Cropper to write Pickett’s 1965 hit “In the Midnight Hour.” The following year he had successive hits with the songs “634–5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.),” “Land of 1000 Dances,” and “Mustang Sally.” He had another major hit with “Funky Broadway” in 1967. Later in the decade Pickett recorded his own version of such rock hits as “Hey Jude.” He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. The 1991 film The Commitments revolved around a Dublin soul band’s attempt to meet Pickett. Though he didn’t appear in the film, he performed with the band at the premiere in New York and Los Angeles. He was seen in the films Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely
Hearts Club Band (1978) and Blues Brothers 2000 (1998). Pickett served a year in jail after being convicted in a drunken driving incident that resulted in an injury to a pedestrian in 1991. His 1999 album It’s Harder Now earned him three W.C. Handy Awards.
Wilson Pickett
PIEPLU , CLAUDE French actor Claude Pieplu died in a Paris hospital on May 25, 2006. He was 83. Pieplu was born in Paris on May 9, 1923. He worked as a bank clerk before making his stage debut in 1945. He appeared in his first film, Man to Men, three years later. He became known for his portrayal of an average Frenchman in a film career that continued over the next five decades. His numerous films include Adorables Demons (1957), The Boss (1960), It Happened All Night (1960), Love and the Frenchwoman (1960), The American Beauty (1961), A Man Named Rocca (1961), The Burning Court (1962), The Devil and the Ten Commandments (1962), How to Succeed in Love (1962), Rob the Bank (1963), The Chase (1963), The Sword and the Balance (1963), The Gendarme of St. Tropez (1964), The Buddies (1964), A Mouse with the Men (1964), If I Were a Spy (1967), The Man in the Buick (1968), Diabolically Yours (1968), and Hibernatus (1969). He was also a voice actor for the popular French cartoon Shadoks, about a race of extraterrestrial bird-like creatures, from the late 1960s. Pieplu continued to appear in such films as The Man with Connec-
Claude Pieplu
291 tions (1970), The Fighting Cock (1971), The Black Flag Waves Over the Scow (1971), Luis Bunuel’s The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), The Sex Shop (1972), The Suburbs Are Everywhere (1973), Wedding in Blood (1973), Forbidden to Know (1973), The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob (1973), Forbidden Priests (1973), By the Blood of Others (1973), Going Places (1974), Gross Paris (1974), La Gueule de l’Emploi (1974), A Cloud in the Teeth (1974), The Phantom of Liberty (1974), Lucky Pierre (1974), Special Section (1975), It’s Tough for Everybody (1975), Cookies (1975), Cool, Calm and Collected (1976), The Best Way (1976), The Probability Factor (1976), Roman Polanski’s The Tenant (1976), The Apprentice Heel (1977), This Sweet Sickness (1977), And Long Live Liberty (1978), Surprise Sock (1978), Take It from the Top (1978), The Pawn (1978), The Sugar (1978), These Kids Are Grown-Ups (1979), The King and the Mockingbird (1980), Le Paltoquet (1986), Good Weather, but Stormy Late This Afternoon (1986), Suivez cet Avion (1989), D 14 (1993), Blue Helmet (1994), The Impostors (1994), Fallait Pas! ... (1996), Chapeau Bas (1998), and Claude Zidi’s Asterix and Obelix Against Caesar (1999). Pieplu also appeared frequently on French television in such productions as Les Folies Offenbach (1977), Le Rabat-Joie (1978), Chere Olga (1980), Histoire Contemporaine (1981), Un Coupable (1988), Le Silence de Coeur (1994), Maigret and the Sinister (1994), Un Amour Impossible (1996), Le Voyage de Penelope (1996), and Entre Terre et Mer (1997).
PINSON, ALLEN Actor and stuntman Allen Pinson died on January 22, 2006. He was 89. Pinson worked in films from the early 1940s, appearing frequently in small roles and performing stunts in such features as Frenchman’s Creek (1944), Practically Yours (1944), Bring on the Girls (1945), Wonder Man (1945), Masquerade in Mexico (1945), Joan of Arc (1948), In a Lonely Place (1950), Lorna Doone (1951), The Texas Rangers (1951), Singin’ in the Rain (1952), Thunder Bay (1953), Tumbleweed (1953), From Here to Eternity (1953), Ride Clear of Diablo (1954), Lady Godiva of Coventry (1955), The Last Frontier (1955), The Burning Hills (1956), Around the World in Eighty Days (1956), Man of a Thousand Faces (1957), Hell on Devil’s Island (1957), Gunman’s Walk (1958), Timbuktu (1959), The Crimson Kimono (1959), Advance to the Rear (1964), Rampage at Apache Wells (1965), Once Before I Die (1965), Manhattan Night of Murder (1965), Who Killed Johnny R.? (1966), Killer’s Carnival (1966), Target for Killing (1966), Coogan’s Bluff (1968), The Wrecking Crew (1969), The Great Bank Robbery (1969), The Comic (1969), The Mad Room (1969), What’s the Matter with Helen? (1971), Melinda (1972), Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973), Live and Let Die (1973), and Mr. Majestyk (1974). He also appeared in the tele-films The Over-the-Hill Gang (1969), The Pigeon (1969), The Desperate Mission (1969), and Deliver Us from Evil (1973), and worked on such television series as The Lone Ranger, City Detective, The Cisco Kid, The Count of Monte Cristo, Mike Hammer, Zane Grey Theater, M Squad, State Trooper, Yancy Derringer, The
2006 • Obituaries
Man from Blackhawk, COronado 9, Laramie, Checkmate, Tales of Wells Fargo, I Spy, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, Bearcats!, and McMillan and Wife.
PINTADO, JESSE Jesse Pintado, the lead guitarist for the hard core bands Napalm Death and Terrorizer, died of liver failure in a hospital in the Netherlands on August 27, 2006. He was 37. Pintado was born in Mexico on July 12, 1969. He was a founding member of Terrorizer in 1986 and performed on their debut album World Downfall in 1989. He joined the death metal band Napalm Death as their lead guitarist in 1989 and worked on their 1990 album Harmony Corruption. He left Napalm Death in early 2004. He rejoined Terrorizer when they regrouped in 2006 to record the album Darker Days Ahead, and died the week of the album’s release.
Jesse Pintado
PITNEY, G ENE Singer Gene Pitney was found dead in his hotel room in Cardiff, Wales, on April 5, 2006. He was 66. Pitney was born in Hartford, Connecticut on February 17, 1940. He achieved success as a singer and songwriter in the early 1960s. He wrote Bobby Vee’s 1961 hit “Rubber Ball” and Ricky Nelson scored a hit with Pitney’s tune “Hello Mary Lou.” Pitney himself had a hit in 1961 singing “(I Wanna) Love My Life Away.” He also recorded the hit “Town Without Pity,” which he sang in the 1961 film by the same name, and wrote The Crystals’ “He’s a Rebel.” He was
Gene Pitney
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best known for his rendition of several Burt Bacharach and Hal David songs, notably the theme song for the 1962 western film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance starring John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart, “Only Love Can Break a Heart,” and “Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa.” Pitney also teamed with George Jones to record the country hits “Louisiana Man” and “I’ve Got Five Dollars and It’s Saturday Night.” He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. In his later years, he remained a popular performer particularly in England and had completed a performance in Wales shortly before his death.
PLOWRIGHT, DAVID British television executive David Plowright died in England on August 24, 2006. He was 75. He was born in Yorkshire, England, on December 11, 1930. Plowright began his career as a journalist working for his father’s newspaper, The Scunthorpe Star. He moved into television in 1957, becoming a local news editor for Granada. He became a current affairs producer with the ITV network in the early 1960s. Plowright rose through the ranks at ITV, becoming a managing director in 1975 and the sole managing director six years later. During his tenure he oversaw production of numerous programs, including an acclaimed series of plays produced by Laurence Olivier, who was married to his sister, actress Joan Plowright. He became chairman of Granada Television in 1987 and was instrumental in retaining the networks broadcasting license in 1991. His demands for quality productions over mediocre programming led to his dismissal the following year. Plowright remained in the industry, serving as deputy chairman of Channel 4 from 1992 to 1997. He subsequently became chairman of the European News Service.
David Plowright
POINTER, JUNE Singer June Pointer, the youngest member of the singing group the Pointer Sisters, died of cancer in a Santa Monica, California, hospital on April 23, 2006. She was 52. Pointer was born in Oakland, California, on November 30, 1953. She and her siblings began singing with her father’s church choir, before she and sister Bonnie formed a duo to perform at local clubs in the San Francisco Bay area. She began performing with her sisters Ruth, Anita, and Bonnie as The Pointer Sisters in the early 1970s, but the
group soon became a trio when Bonnie left to embark on a solo career. The Pointer Sisters’ first album, 1973’s Yes We Can Can, became a hit. They recorded numerous hit tunes throughout the 1970s and 1980s including “I’m So Excited,” “Slow Hand,” “Fire,” “Fairytale,” “Automatic,” “Jump (For My Love”), and “Neutron Dance,” which was heard in Eddie Murphy’s 1984 film Beverly Hills Coop. The Pointer Sisters also performed on numerous television programs including The Carol Burnett Show, The Flip Wilson Show, The Mac Davis Show, and American Bandstand. The were also seen in the films Car Wash (1976) and French Exit (1995), and in episodes of The Love Boat and Gimme a Break! June Pointer had been arrested for possession of cocaine two years before her death and had been sentenced to a rehabilitation center. The Pointer Sisters continued as a group, with Anita, Ruth, and Ruth’s daughter, Issa, making up the current trio.
June Pointer
POLEDOURIS, BASIL Film composer Basil Poledouris, who was best known for his scores for the Conan action fantasy films, died of cancer in Los Angeles on November 8, 2006. He was 61. Poledouris was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on August 21, 1945. He began composing scores for film and television productions in the late 1960s. His many film credits include By Map and Compass (1972), Hollywood 90028 (1973), Extreme Close-Up (1973), The Magic Rolling Board (1976), Tintorera (1977), Big Wednesday (1978), Dolphin (1979), The Blue Lagoon (1980), Conan the Barbarian (1982), Summer Lovers (1982), Flyers (1983), The House of God (1984), Making the Grade (1984), Conan the Destroyer (1984), American Journeys (1984), Red Dawn (1984), Protocol (1984), Flesh & Blood (1985), Iron Eagle (1986), RoboCop (1987), No Man’s Land (1987), Cherry 2000 (1987), Spellbinder (1988), Split Decisions (1988), Farewell to the King (1989), Wired (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Quigley Down Under (1990), White Fang (1991), Flight of the Intruder (1991), Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991), Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991), Wind (1992), Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993), RoboCop 3 (1993), Free Willy (1993), On Deadly Ground (1994), Serial Mom (1994), Lassie (1994), The Jungle Book (1994), Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995), Free Willy 2: The Adventure
293 Home (1995), It’s My Party (1996), Celtic Pride (1996), The War at Home (1996), Amanda (1996), Breakdown (1997), Switchback (1997), Starship Troopers (1997), Les Miserables (1998), Mickey Blue Eyes (1999), Kimberly (1999), For Love of the Game (1999), Cecil B. DeMented (2000), Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001), Know Your Foe (2002), The Touch (2002), and the forthcoming Bunyan and Babe. Poledouris earned an Emmy Award for his score for the 1989 western mini-series Lonesome Dove. He also worked on such television productions as The Interview (1970), Congratulations, It’s a Boy! (1971), Three for the Road (1974), A Whale for the Killing (1981), Fire on the Mountain (1981), Single Bars, Single Women (1984), Amazons (1984), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985), Amerika (1987), Prison for Children (1987), Island Sons (1987), Intrigue (1988), Ned Blessing: The True Story of My Life (1992), Return to Lonesome Dove (1993), Danielle Steel’s Zoya (1995), If These Walls Could Talks 2 (2000), Love and Treason (2002), and The Legend of Butch and Sundance (2004). Poledouris also contributed scores to several television series including The Andros Targets, the 1985 Twilight Zone, Misfits of Science, and Nasty Boys.
2006 • Obituaries
(1989), Somebody Was Here ... (1990), Senit Zon (1990), Daddy and Mam (1990), My Seawoman (1990), Ladies’ Man (1990), Recruiter (1991), The Terrorist (1991), A Puppy from the Constellation of the Dog (1991), Family Man (1991), Honeymoon (1991), The Price of Head (1992), New Odeon (1992), Ladies’ Man 2 (1992), Your Fingers Smell of Incense (1993), Istanbul Transit (1993), The Scandal in Our Cloche City (1993), Daphnis and Chloe (1993), Third Not Too Many (1994), What a Mess! (1995), Game of Imagination (1995), Pages of Theater Parody (1996), The Hero of Her Romance (2001), Impotent (2001), Moya Prekrasnaya Nyanya (2004), and Zvezda Epokhi (2005).
Lyubov Polishchuk
Basil Poledouris
POLISHCHUK, LYUBOV Russian actress Lyubov Polishchuk died of spinal disease in Moscow on November 28, 2006. She was 57. Polishchuk was born in Omsk, Soviet Union, on October 21, 1949. She appeared in numerous films and television productions from the early 1970s including Golden Mine (1977), Zatespin Family (1977), Twelve Chairs (1977), Duena (1978), 31st of June (1978), Please Accuse Klava K. of My Death (1979), Babylon XX (1979), The Munchhausen (1979), The Adventures of Prince Florisel (1979), Only in the Music Hall (1980), Big Little War (1980), Unpaid Vacation (1981), The Incomparable Nakonechnikov (1981), At Another People’s Holiday (1981), The White Crow (1981), The Theft (1982), Esop (1982), I’m Ready to Take a Challenge (1983), Secret of the Blackbirds (1983), Win of the Lonely Businessman (1984), Snake Catcher (1985), Necessary People (1986), Wild Wind (1986), The Christians (1987), The Utinoozyorsk Accident (1988), Presumption of Innocence (1988), Kites Don’t Share Their Prey (1988), I’m Alright (1989), Initiated (1989), Love and Privileges (1989), Intergirl (1989), Junk
POLLOCK, CHANNING Magician Channing Pollock died of cancer on March 19, 2006. He was 79. Pollock was born in Sacramento, California, on August 16, 1926. A leading magician from the 1950s, he was considered the innovator of the dove magic act. Pollock was also seen in several films in Europe and the United States including Europe by Night (1959), Musketeers of the Sea (1960), Rocambole (1962), The Red Sheik (1962), and Judex (1963), starring as the French master thief. He also appeared on television in episodes of The Ed Sullivan Show, The Andy Williams Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Great Adventure, The Rogues, Daniel Boone, and Bonanza.
Channing Pollock
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POLSELLI, RENATO Italian film director and writer Renato Polselli died in Italy on October 1, 2006. He was 84. Polselli was born in Arce, Italy, on February 26, 1922. He began directing films in the early 1950s, and was often credits as Ralph Browne for the U.S. releases of his films. He was best known for writing and directing the 1960 horror film The Vampire and the Ballerina. His other film credits include Solitudine (1961), The Vampire of the Opera (1964), Sheriff Won’t Shoot (1965), The Truth According to Satan (1972), Delirium (aka Death at the Villa (1972), The Reincarnation of Isabel (1973), Revelations of a Psychiatrist in a World of Perverse Sex (1973), Mania (1974), Turin, Headquarter of Vice (1979), Oscenita (1980), and Teresa Altri Desideri (1983).
Franco. Though Pontecorvo’s film output was slight, he remained a major fixture in international cinema and served as director of the Venice Film Festival from 1992 to 1994. He also worked on several documentaries and shorts including L’Addio a Enrico Berlinguer (1984), Nostalgia di Protezione (1997), Another World Is Possible (2001), and Firenze, il Nostro Domani (2003).
Gillo Pontecorvo
Renato Polselli
PONTECORVO, GILLO Italian filmmaker Gillo Pontecorvo died in a Rome hospital of complications from a heart attack on October 12, 2006. He was 86. Pontecorvo was born in Pisa, Tuscany, Italy, on November 19, 1919. He was an active anti–Fascist from the late 1930s and was active in the Italian Resistance movement in Milan during World War II. Pontecorvo worked as a journalist before turning to films, serving as assistant director for the films Miracles Only Happen Once (1951), The Unfaithfuls (1953), Love in the City (1953), and Toto and Carolina (1955). He also made such documentaries as Missione Timiriazev (1953), Porta Portese (1954), Festa a Castelluccio (1954), Giovanna (1955), and Cani Dietro le Sbarre (1955). He made his feature film debut with 1957’s The Wide Blue Road, starring Yves Montand and Alida Valli in a drama set in a fishing community. He often infused his strong political leanings into his film works which included Pane e Zolfo (1959), Kapo (1959), and Paras (1963). Pontecorvo was best known for his 1966 classic, The Battle of Algiers, filmed in black and white in a documentary style. The feature concerned the Algerian revolution against French colonial rule in the 1950s, and earned an Oscar nomination for best director, best screenplay, and best foreign film. It was also banned in France for several years. His next film was 1969’s Burn!, starring Marlon Brando in another assault on the evils of colonialism. His final feature film, Ogro (1980), was set in Spain during the dictatorship of Francisco
POOLE, KENNY Jazz musician Kenny Poole died of cancer on May 25, 2006. He was 58. Poole was born on October 5, 1947. He began playing the guitar in his early teens and was working as a professional musician by the mid–1960s. Poole performed with numerous jazz greats during his career including Jerry Mulligan, Sonny Stitt, Chuck Mangione, and Tal Farlow. He recorded several CDs including the duo with Gene Bertoncini East Meets West, and the duo with Cal Collins, Su’s Four.
Kenny Poole
PORCEL, JORGE Argentine comedian Jorge Porcel died of complications from gall-bladder surgery in a Miami, Florida, hospital on May 16, 2006. He was 69. Porcel was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on September 7, 1936. He began his career as a comic and impressionist on the stage in Buenos Aires and began a long career in films in the early 1960s with Zaniness in Mar del Plata (1962). The portly comic was featured in over fifty films during his career including El Gordo Villanueva (1964), Villa Carino (1967), Desnuda en la
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Arena (1969), Flor de Piolas (1969), El Bulin (1969), Newcomers to Love (1969), Pasion Dominguera (1970), Los Caballeros de la Cama Redonda (1973), Los Doctores las Prefieren Desnudas (1973), La Casa del Amor (1973), Routine Has to Be Broken (1974), My Fiancee the Transvestite (1975), Husbands Vacationing (1975), America’s Fat (1976), Desnudas (1977), Basta de Mujeres (1977), Los Turistas Quieren Guerra (1977), El Gordo Catastrofe (1977), Custidio de Senoras (1979), Expertos en Pinchazos (1979), Unlikely Roommates (1980), TV or No TV (1981), Un Terceto Peculiar (1982), Los Fierecillos Indomables (1982), Los Extraterrestres (1983), Los Reyes del Sablazo (1984), Mirame la Palomita (1985), Los Colimbas se Divierten (1986), Galeria del Terror (1987), Atraccion Peculiar (1988), and El Professor Punk (1988). Porcel’s ribald humor which often found the comic surrounded by scantily clad young women, also was popular on television in such Argentine series as Operation Ja-Ja, Don Mateo’s Barbershop, and Porcel’s Kittens. He created the Spanish-language television series To Bed with Porcel in Miami in 1991, which became a popular show, and he opened a restaurant, To Pasta with Porcel soon afterwards. Porcel’s final film performance was in a small role as a nightclub owner in 1993’s Carlito’s Way with Al Pacino. He became a born-again Christian in 1995 and abandoned show business. His autobiography, Laughs, Applause and Tears was published in 1998.
tal on June 2, 2006. He was 63. Pownall was born in Wales in 1943, and emigrated to Canada in 1957. He began performing on stage with the Stratford Festival in 1964 and appeared frequently in Shakespearean productions there through 2002. Pownall also appeared in several films during his career including A Great Big Thing (1968), Twelve and a Half Cents (1977), Termini Station (1989), Dead Poets Society (1989), Bye Bye Blues (1989), Angel Square (1990), Sleeping Dogs Lie (1998), The Sleep Room (1998), and Dinner at Fred’s (1999). Pownall was also seen on television in the tele-films Love and Hate: The Story of Colin and Joanne Thatcher (1989), Conspiracy of Silence (1991), Iran: Days of Crisis (1991), How the West Was Fun (1994), Million Dollar Babies (1994) as William Randolph Hearst, Spenser: The Judas Goat (1994), Hiroshima (1995), Handel’s Last Chance (1996), Hostile Advances: The Kerry Ellison Story (1996), Leonardo: A Dream of Flight (1998), Evidence of Blood (1998), Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke (1999), Dirty Pictures (2000), The Day Reagan Was Shot (2001) as Ed Meese, Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion (2003), and Four Minutes (2005). His other television credits include episodes of Wiseguy, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Beyond Reality, Street Legal, Side Effects, Road to Avonlea, Forever Knight, PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, Wind at My Back, and Black Harbour.
Jorge Porcel
Leon Pownall
POTTS, WALLACE Wallace Potts, the film archivist for the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation, died of lymphoma in Los Angeles on June 29, 2006. He was 59. Potts was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on February 4, 1947. He worked with Nureyev on the 1972 ballet film Don Quixote, serving as assistant director to him and Robert Helpmann. He subsequently directed, produced and scripted the films More, More, More (1976) and Le Beau Mec (1979). He also wrote and directed the 1988 horror film Psycho Cop. Potts’ work for the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation put him in charge of assembling a collection of all known appearances by Nureyev on film or video, which were primarily housed at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at the Lincoln Center. POWNALL, LEON Canadian actor Leon Pownall died of cancer in a Stratford, Canada, hospi-
PRADO, LILIA Mexican actress Lilia Prado died in Mexico of multiple organ failure on May 22, 2006. She was 78. Prado was born in Sahuayo, Michoacan, Mexico, on March 30, 1928. She was featured in numerous films from the late 1940s including Angel o Demonio (1947), La Malaguena (1947), Pecadora (1947), Nocturne of Love (1948), El Reino de los Gangsters (1948), The Perez Family (1949), Cita con la Muerte (1949), Una Gallega en Mexico (1949), Love for Love (1950), Pobre Corazon (1950), El Desalmado (1950), Crime and Punishment (1951), Mexican Bus Ride (1952), Rumba Caliente (1952), Illusion Travels by Streetcar (1954), Wuthering Heights (1954), After the Storm (1955), Los Gavilanes (1956), Talpa (1956), Las Locuras del Rock ’n’ Roll (1957), Ladrones de Ninos (1958), My Wife Understands Me (1959), My Private Secretaries (1959), La Reina del Cielo (1959), The Illiterate One
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(1961), What Is Your Child Worth? (1962), Asesinos de la Lucha Libre (1962), Little Village (1962), El Rey de la Pistola (1962), El Asesino Enmascarado (1962), Los Dos Cuatreros (1965), Rancho Solo (1967), Mexico de Noche (1968), A Wedding Night Essay (1968), Duelo en El Dorado (1969), Las Cadenas del Mal (1970), El Medio Pelo (1972), Nest of Virgins (1972), Los Valientes de Guerrero (1974), La India (1975), Ratero (1979), El Cara Parchada (1980), Oficio de Tinieblas (1981), Adios Lagunilla, Adios (1984), Emanuelo (1984), Lovers of the Lord of the Night (1986), Cinco Nacos Asaltan Las Vegas (1987), La Puerta Negra (1988), Dos Tipas de Cuidado (1989), Desafiando a la Muerte (Agentes Federales) (1990), and Hembras de Tierra Caliente (1991).
writers. Preminger brought the book M*A*S*H to the attention of 20th Century–Fox production head Richard Zanuck and served as producer for the subsequent film by Robert Altman in 1970. Preminger also served as producer for the 1972 thriller The Salzburg Connection. He retired as an agent in the late 1970s.
PREMINGER, INGO Literary agent and film producer Ingo Preminger, who was the brother of film director Otto Preminger, died at his home in Pacific Palisades, California, on June 7, 2006. He was 95. Preminger was born in Czernowitz, Austria-Hungary, on February 25, 1911. He worked as a lawyer in Vienna, Austria, before fleeing to the United States in 1938 following the rise of Naziism. He settled in Los Angeles in the late 1940s where he opened a talent agency. Preminger represented many of the Hollywood writers who were blacklisted during the McCarthy era and was instrumental in establishing “fronts” for them by getting their works produced under the name of other
PRESTON, BILLY Singer, musician and songwriter Billy Preston died of complications from a heart infection and kidney failure in a Scottsdale, Arizona, hospital on June 6, 2006. He was 59. He had been in a coma since November of 2005. Preston was born in Houston, Texas, on September 2, 1946. He was raised in Los Angeles and began playing the piano at an early age. He was a keyboard player for gospel singer Mahalia Jackson at the age of 10, and played the young W.C. Handy in the 1958 film St. Louis Blues in 1958. Preston toured with Little Richard, Sam Cooke, and Ray Charles in the early 1960s. He began working with Beatle George Harrison in the late 1960s and recorded the album and single That’s the Way God Planned It on the Beatles’ Apple label in 1969. He also performed on the Beatles’ 1970 album and film Let It Be, which led him to sometimes be referred to as “the Fifth Beatle.” He continued to work with Harrison after the Beatles split up, performing in the charity event The Concert for Bangladesh. He scored Sidney Poitier’s film They Call Me Mr. Tibbs with Quincy Jones in 1970. Preston also performed with the Rolling Stones in the 1970s, playing on their albums Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street. He also became a popular solo artist, earning a Grammy for best instrumental for 1973’s Outta Space, and having hit records with “Will It Go ’Round in Circles” and “Nothing from Nothing.” He also wrote Joe Cocker’s hit song “You Are So Beautiful,” and recorded the duet “With You I’m Born Again” with Syreeta Wright. Preston was the first musical guest on the premiere of television’s Saturday Night Live in 1975. He also performed on such variety series as Shindig!, Playboy After Dark, The Ed Sullivan Show, and Soul Train. He also appeared in the films Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978) as Sergeant Pepper, Blame It on the Night (1984), Wired (1989), Blue Brothers 2000 (1998) as one of the Louisiana Gator Boys, Ticker (2001), and The Derby Stallion (2005). Preston had a series of legal
Ingo Preminger
Billy Preston
Lilia Prado
297 problems from the 1980s, including arrests for possession of cocaine and assault. He also pleaded guilty to insurance fraud involving a fire at his home in Los Angeles in 1998. He was also treated for drug and alcohol addiction. Preston suffered from chronic kidney failure and had received a kidney transplant in 2002. He had been on dialysis since the kidney had failed soon afterwards. Despite his illness he performed on American Idol in 2005, and was heard on tracks for new albums from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Neil Diamond released in 2006.
PREVILLE , GISELE French actress Gisele Preville died in Villiers-le-Bel, France, on November 26, 2006. She was 87. Preville was born in Paris on December 11, 1918. She was a leading performer on the French stage and films from the 1930s, appearing in such features as The Life and Loves of Beethoven (1936), Adventure in Paris (1936), Traffic in Souls (1937), Mother Love (1938), Prison Sans Barreaud (1938), Cocoanut (1939), Nightclub Hostess (1940), Paris–New York (1940), Two Shy Ones (1943), Vautrin the Thief (1944), Loves of Casanova (1947), Counter Investigation (1947), Anna (1947), Criminal Brigade (1947), The Dancing Years (1948), Against the Wind (1948), Return to Life (1949), The Turkey (1951), It Happened All Night (1960), The President (1961), and Five Miles to Midnight (1962). She also appeared on television in episodes of Foreign Intrigue and Nouvelles de Henry James, and appeared in character roles in the films The Witness (1978), Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne (1981), and Nuit Docile (1987). Preville was also featured as the Comtesse in the 1984 U.S. television mini-series Mistral’s Daughter.
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Street, Coronation Street, Moonstrike, Sergeant Cork, Espionage, Detective, Thorndyke, Softly Softly, Armchair Theatre, The Borderers, The Gold Robbers, The Onedin Line, Crown Court, Barlow at Large, Sutherland’s Law, Warship, The Camforth Practice, The Sweeney, Secret Army, Blakes 7, Escape, Juliet Bravo, and Howard’s Way. Prior also wrote television productions of The Beckoning Shadow (1966), Hawkeye, the Pathfinder (1973), Stookie (1985), The Charmer (1987), and A Perfect Hero (1991). He also continued to write numerous novels and published a study of Adolf Hitler, Fuhrer, in 1991. His later novels include the fictional autobiographies The Old Man and Me (1994) and The Old Man and Me Again (1996).
Allan Prior
PROFFITT, NICHOLAS Novelist and Vietnam War correspondent Nicholas Proffitt died of kidney cancer at his home in Naples, Florida, on November 10, 2006. He was 63. Proffitt was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Wisconsin, on February 23, 1943. He studied journalism at the University of Arizona and was hired by Newsweek as a journalist in 1969. He went to Vietnam as a war correspondent the following year and became Newsweek bureau chief in Saigon in 1971. He also covered the civil war in Lebanon in the early 1970s. Proffitt wrote his first novel, Gardens of Stone, in 1983, about an army sergeant’s frustration at serving with the honor guard at Arlington National Cemetery and bury-
Gisele Preville
PRIOR, ALLAN British novelist and television scriptwriter Allan Prior died in England on June 1, 2006. He was 84. Prior was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, on January 13, 1922. He began writing while serving in the Royal Air Force during World War II. He started writing for radio in 1948, scripting numerous radio plays for the BBC. His first novel, A Flame in the Air, was published in 1951. He also began writing for television, scripting the BBC serial Starr and Company, and episodes of ITV’s Deadline Midnight. Prior scripted over 80 episodes of Z Cars in the early 1960s. He also wrote for such series as Magnolia
Nicholas Proffitt
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ing dead soldiers rather than serving in Vietnam. The novel, which was based on Proffitt’s own experiences, was adapted for a film directed by Francis Ford Coppola in 1987. Proffitt’s subsequent novels include Embassy House (1986) about the CIA’s role in Vietnam, and Edge of Eden (1990), about animal poaching in Africa.
PROFUMO, JOHN John Profumo, the British cabinet minister whose affair with prostitute Christine Keeler in the early 1960s, nearly brought down Prime Minister Harold Macmillan’s government, died of complications of a stroke in a London hospital on March 9, 2006. He was 91. Profumo was born to a wealthy British family. He was elected to Parliament in 1940, and served with the British army during World War II. Profumo rose in the Conservative Party ranks to become Britain’s secretary of state for war in the early 1960s. The scandal surrounding his involvement with prostitute Keeler was amplified by the fact that she was concurrently involved with Soviet military agent Yevgeny Ivanov. Profumo resigned in disgrace once the relationship became public in 1963, and Prime Minister Macmillan resigned for reasons of health soon afterwards. He had married actress Valerie Hobson, the star of the film The Bride of Frankenstein, in 1954. She stood by him throughout the scandal and Profumo sought to rehabilitate himself by performing charity work for the poor in London’s East End for most of the remainder of his life. He was made a Commander of the Order of British Empire for his charity work by Queen Elizabeth II in 1975. The affair was the subject of a 1989 film, Scandal, featuring Ian McClellan, as Profumo. He and Hobson remained married until her death in 1998.
remained close and recorded the hit albums Devil’s Night (2001) and D12 World (2004) with D12. Proof was involved in the making of the 2002 Curtis Hanson film 8 Mile based on Eminem’s life. Proof was featured in the film in the small role of Lil’ Tic, and Mekhi Phifer’s character Future, was largely based on Proof ’s real life association with Eminem. Proof released his only solo album, Searching for Jerry Garcia, in 2005. He was also seen as a basketball playing convict in Adam Sandler’s 2005 film The Longest Yard.
Proof
PUGH, MAVIS British character actress Mavis Pugh died in Chichester, West Sussex, England, on December 6, 2006. She was 92. Pugh was born in Croydon, Surrey, England, on June 25, 1914. She began her career on stage in the late 1930s. Pugh was frequently cast as eccentric aristocrats on television. She starred as Lady Lavender in the British television comedy series You Rang, M’Lord? from 1988 to 1993, and appeared in the recurring role of Mrs. Barrable in Sorry! from 1987 to 1988. She also appeared in episodes of such series as Dad’s Army, It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, Fawlty Towers, Hi-De-Hi!, Alas Smith & Jones, and Boon. Pugh was also seen in the films The Class of Miss MacMichael (1978) and Brothers and Sisters (1980).
John Profumo
PROOF Rap artist DeShaun Holton, who performed under the name Proof, who shot to death outside of a Detroit, Michigan, nightclub in a gun battle with another man on April 11, 2006. He was 30. Holton was born in Detroit on October 2, 1975. He became a close friend to future rap superstar Marshall Mathers, better known as Eminem, in the mid–1990s. Holton, Mathers, and four other rappers formed the rap sextet D12 in 1995. Mathers’ career as Eminem took off after his 1999 album The Slim Shady LP. Eminem and Proof
Mavis Pugh
PUGH, RICHARD WARREN Stage actor Richard Warren Pugh, who was a member of the original Broadway cast of The Phantom of the Opera, died
299 of complications from diabetes on June 9, 2006. He was 55. Pugh was born in New York on October 20, 1950. He began his career on stage in the late 1970s and appeared on Broadway in productions of The Music Man (1980), Copperfield (1981), and Zorba (1983). Pugh began appearing in Andrew Lloyd Weber’s hit musical Phantom of the Opera as the auctioneer in 1988. He also sang as part of the chorus in the 1995 Disney animated film Pocohontas. He remained a member of the cast of The Phantom until the time of his death.
2006 • Obituaries
e-Mohabbat, Des Hoya Pardes, and Waris Shah Ishq Da Waris. He also directed the Hindi language film Zindagi Khub sorrat Hai. He also directed the 2004 film Des Hoyaa Pardes (aka Political Asylum), and was about to start filming another feature at the time of his death.
QUAN, STUART Martial artist and film stuntman Stuart Quan died on January 8, 2006, after losing consciousness while riding in a car returning to his home in Fresno, California, after a snowboarding trip in the Sierra. He was 43. Quan was born on October 17, 1962. He was a martial arts champion who managed a karate studio in Fresno. He also performed stunts and appeared in small roles in numerous films including John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Dragnet (1987), Dragon Kickboxer (1989), the 1989 James Bond film Licence to Kill as a ninja, Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects (1989), Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991), Rapid Fire (1992), The Shadow (1994), Fist of the North Star (1995), Escape from L.A. (1996), City of Industry (1997), P.U.N.K.S. (1999), The Master of Disguise (2002), We Were Soldiers (2002), Windtalkers (2002), Hulk (2003), 18 Fingers of Death! (2004, Collateral (2004), Fist of Iron Chef (2004), and Rent (2005). He was also seen on television in episodes of Home Improvement, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., and Seinfeld.
Richard Warren Pugh
PULLINS, PRINCE Professional wrestler Calvin “Prince” Pullins died in Indianapolis, Indiana, on June 1, 2006. He was 72. Pullins was born in Lancaster, Kentucky, on June 3, 1933. He competed in the ring in the 1960s and 1970s. He was Bobby Heenan’s opponent when Heenan made his ring debut in 1965. Pullins wrestled in the Gulf Coast area in a tag team with Mike “the Hippie” Boyette, holding the U.S. Tag Team Titles several times. He also wrestled in single matches against Donnie Fargo, capturing the Gulf Coast Title. He was also a leading black ring star in Dick the Bruiser’s promotion in Indianapolis. PUNJ, MANOJ Indian film director Manoj Punj died of cardiac arrest in Mumbai, India, on October 22, 2006. He was 36. Punj was a leading director of Punjabi language films in India, helming such popular features starring actress Divya Dutta as Shaheed-
Manoj Punj
Stuart Quan
QUARTIN , GLICINIA Portuguese actress Glicinia Quartin died in Lisbon, Portugal, on April 27, 2006. She was 81. Quartin was born in Portugal on December 20, 1924. She appeared often on stage, films, and television from the early 1960s. Her film credits include Dom Roberto (1962), O Crime da Aldeia Velha (1964), Antes do Adeus (1977), Wild Stories (1978), Nem Passaro Nem Peixe (1978), Passagem ou a Mejo Caminho (1980), August (1987), The Jester (1987), Um Passo, Outro Passo e Depos... (1989), O Misterio da Boca do Inferno (1989), Maximum Exposure (1990), Viuvez Secreta (1992), Poor Jorge (1993), Longe Daqui (1994), Blind Man’s Bluff (1994), God’s Comedy (1995), Sinais de Fogo (1995), A Fachada (1996), Morte Macaca (1997), How Do I Love Thee (1998), Antonio Rapaz de Lisboa (1999), and Devolucao (2002). Quartin also starred as Amalia in the 2001 television series Segredo de Justica, and was Nini in the 2004 series O Jogo. (See photograph on page 300.)
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300 McMahon’s WWE, and was a booker for AAA in Mexico and Paul Heyman’s ECW. Quinones owned and managed IWA in Puerto Rico, and had attended a wrestling event the evening before his death.
Clicinia Quartin
QUINN, PATRICK Stage actor Patrick Quinn who had just been appointed executive director of the Actors’ Equity Association died of a sudden heart attack at his country home on September 24, 2006. He was 56. Quinn was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 12, 1950. He began his career on stage in the early 1970s, and he made his Broadway debut in the 1976 production of Fiddler on the Roof. His other Broadway credits include Oh, Coward! (1986) and Beauty and the Beast (1994). Quinn performed in the chorus in the Disney animated productions of Pocahontas (1995) and Anastasia (1997) and was featured in a small role in an episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent (2003). He also appeared in numerous off–Broadway and regional productions. Quinn became active with the governing body of Equity with his election to their council in 1977. He became president of the Association in 2000. Quinn was selected to succeed Alan Eisenberg as the union’s executive director shortly before his death.
Victor Quinones
QUINTERNO, ANGIOLINA Italian actress Angiolina Quinterno died from leukemia in Rome, Italy and February 4, 2006. She was born in Turin, Italy, and began her career on radio as a child. Quinterno was best known for her work as a dubbing actress providing the Italian voice to such stars as Shirley MacLaine, Diane Keaton and Faye Dunaway. She was the long time Italian voice of soap opera matriarch Stephanie Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful. Quinterno also appeared in the 1976 film The Boss Is Served, and in television productions of The Biassoli Embers (1975) and Ricomincio da Me (2005).
Angiolina Quinterno
Patrick Quinn
QUINONES, VICTOR Victor Quinones, the owner of the IWA Puerto Rico wrestling promotion, died in his sleep in Puerto Rico on April 2, 2006. He was 46. Quinones was active with independent wrestling promotions in Japan in the early 1990s, working as a booker with W*ING, IWA–Japan, and FMW. He was also involved as an international agent for Vince
RADAGE, EDDIE British animator Eddie Radage died in England in June of 2006. He was 86. Radage was trained by Disney animator David Hand and worked on the Halas and Batchelor animated feature Animal Farm in 1954, creating the character of Napoleon. He formed Edric Radage Productions in 1955, where he worked on many animated advertisements for television. He worked on The Beatles television cartoon in 1967 and was an animator and sequence director for the 1968 animated film Yellow Submarine. He also worked on the 1978 film Watership Down and
301 the animated television production of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in 1979. His other television credits include work on such productions as The Snowman (1982), Peanuts (1983), and Alison de Vere’s The Black Dog (1987). Radage retired in the early 1990s.
Eddie Radage (sketching pigs for the animated Animal Farm)
RADITSCHNIG, HERBERT Alpine cameraman Herbert Raditschnig, who shot scenes for several James Bond films, died of complications from a stroke in Salzburg, Austria, on May 6, 2006. He was 72. Raditschnig was noted for his pioneering camerawork in the Alpine regions of Austria. He served as cinematographer for the 1973 tele-film The 500 Pound Jerk, and was a cameraman for the 1977 film White Rock. He was involved in shooting the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only starring Roger Moore, and was also camera operator for the alpine unit for the 1995 Bond film GoldenEye starring Pierce Brosnan. Raditschnig also was a camera operator for the films Five Days One Summer (1982) and Scream of Stone (1991), and was cinematographer for the 1987 horror film The Outing. RAE, JACKIE Canadian entertainer Jackie Rae died in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on October 5, 2006. He was 84. Rae was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, on May 14, 1922. He began performing as a child, appearing with his brother and sister as the singing “Three Little Rays of Sunshine.” He served in
2006 • Obituaries
the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II and produced a popular radio series for the Canadian Broadcasting Company after the war. Rae starred in a popular television variety series The Jackie Rae Show in 1956. He moved to London two years later where he hosted the musical television quiz show Spot the Tune. He recorded several popular singles including “More than Ever (1958) and “Theme from a Summer Place” (1960). He subsequently began writing songs, penning such hits as Andy William’s “Happy Heart” and Tony Bennett’s “Dream Just a Dream.” He returned to television as host of the game show The Golden Shot (1967).
RAE, ZOE Silent screen child star Zoe Rae died in California on May 20, 2006. She was 95. She was born on July 13, 1910, and began her career billed as Zoe Bech in 1915. She appeared in numerous silent films as a child including Packer Jim’s Guardianship (1915), Their Hour (1915), The Canceled Mortgage (1915), Bobby’s Bargain (1915), The Stranger in the Valley (1915), Dora (1915), The Ace of Diamonds (1915), The Law of Love (1915), A Letter to Daddy (1915), The Little Runaways (1915), The Divided Locket (1915), The Candidate’s Past (1915), And by These Deeds (1915), Her Soul Revealed (1915), The Inevitable (1915), Harvest (1915), Love’s Enduring Flame (1915), The Desperado (1916), Love Laughs at Dyspepsia (1916), Lonesome House (1916), The Beloved Liar (1916), Naked Hearts (1916), The Attic Princess (1916), Betty’s Hobo (1916), and The Grip of Crime (1916). She began being billed as Zoe Rae during 1916, and continued to appear in such films as A Mountain Tragedy (1916), Through Baby’s Voice (1916), Bettina Loved a Soldier (1916), Gloriana (1916), The Bugler of Algiers (1916), Polly Put the Kettle On (1917), Heart Strings (1917), The Grudge (1917), The War Waif (1917), Chubby Takes a Hand (1917), By Speshul Delivery (1917), The Circus of Life (1917), Heart of Gold (1917), A Kentucky Cinderella (1917), Golden Heart (1917), The Little Pirate (1917), The Cricket (1917), The Silent Lady (1917), My Little Boy (1917), The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin (1918), The Magic Eye (1918), Danger Within (1918), The Star Prince (1918), The Weaker Vessel (1919), Ace of the Saddle (1919), and Rings and Things (1920).
Zoe Rae Jackie Rae (with actress Janette Scott)
RAGTIME Ragtime, the miniature horse who appeared in films and television, died in Thousands
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Oaks, California, on January 3, 2006. He was 19. The black and white dapple pinto was owned and trained by Patty Fairchild, who won a legal battle when neighbors sued to have the house horse removed from the community because it was livestock. The Fairchilds won the court case and Ragtime was allowed to stay. Ragtime starred in the 1998 film The Adventures of Ragtime, and was seen on television on Family Channel’s Lassie, The Today Show, Hollywood Square, Good Morning America, Animal Planets Funniest Animals, and many more. Ragtime’s special skills included nodding his head yes and no, kissing, smiling, untying shoe laces, and drinking soft drinks and beer (when allowed).
Ragtime
RAIMANDO , TONI Actress and ice skater Toni Raimando died in Avon, Ohio, on May 1, 2006. She was 85. She was born in Los Angeles on August 8, 1920. She began her career as a skater with the Ice Capades in 1939. She appeared in small roles in several films in the 1940s including Red Dragon (1945) and Slave Girl (1947).
Theatre (1936), and Roxy und das Wunderteam (1937). Her career was interrupted by her opposition to the Nazi regime, and she left the country for Switzerland in the late 1930s. She returned to Austria after the war where she remained a leading stage actress.
RAMATI, ALEXANDER Polish film writer and director Alexander Ramati died at his home in Montreux, Switzerland, on February 18, 2006. He was 85. Ramati was born in Brest Litovsk, Poland, in 1920, but was forced to flee during World War II. He eventually settled in Los Angeles and worked as a reporter for Life and Time magazine before embarking on a career in films. He produced, directed and scripted the 1966 film Sands of Beersheba, and wrote and directed The Desperate Ones in 1968. He also scripted the films Trunk to Cairo (1966) and The Martyr (1975). Ramati wrote and directed the 1985 thriller The Assisi Underground, and directed the 1988 film adaptation of his novel And the Violins Stopped Playing. RAMOS, BULL Bull Ramos, one of the most notable American Indian wrestler villains, died in Houston, Texas, after a long illness on May 27, 2006. He was 71. Ramos began wrestling in the mid–1960s. He wrestled throughout the United States and the world, holding various single and tag team championships. Ramos feuded with such stars as Bruno Sammartino, Terry Funk, and Mil Mascaras. He held the Pacific Northwest tag team titles several times in the 1970s, teaming with such stars as Jesse Ventura and the Iron Sheik. He also held the World Class Texas Tag Team belts with Big John Studd later in the decade. Ramos largely retired from the ring in the early 1980s. He had suffered from a variety of illnesses including diabetes in recent years.
RAKY, HORTENSE Austrian actress Hortense Raky died in Vienna, Austria, on September 25, 2006. She was 88. Raky was born in Berlin, Germany, on August 27, 1918. She began her career on stage in Vienna as a teenager. Raky was also seen in several films in the mid–1930s including Women’s Paradise (1936), Burg
Bull Ramos
Hortense Raky
RAMOS, RICHARD Veteran actor Richard Ramos died in Sarasota, Florida, on October 31, 2006. He was 65. Ramos was born on August 23, 1941. He began his career on stage and spent over a decade performing with the Guthrie Theatre in Minnesota. He also appeared on the New York stage, and was seen in several films including Psycho A Go-Go (1965), Klute (1971) and A Good Dissonance Like a Man (1977). Ramos also appeared on television in episodes of The
303 Monkees, Barney Miller, and M*A*S*H, and the telefilm Night Chase (1970). He was preparing to appear in a stage production of Amadeus in Sarasota at the time of his death.
2006 • Obituaries
8, 1908, to a wealthy family. A devout Hindi, Rao completed his first novel, Kanthapura, in 1938. Rao, along with fellow writers Mulk Raj Anand and R.K. Narayan, comprised a trio of Indian novelists to achieve international acclaim for their works. His second novel, The Serpent and the Rope (1960), was semi-autobiographical. He moved to the United States early in the 1960s and taught Indian Philosophy at the University of Texas in Austin from 1966 to 1983. His final novel, Daughter of the Mountain, was published after his death.
Richard Ramos
RANDALL, CHARLES Actor Charles Randall died in New York City on February 25, 2006. He was 82. Randall was born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 15, 1923. He performed on television from the early 1960s, appearing in episodes of Naked City, The Nurses, Coronet Blue, The F.B.I., and Kojak. Randall also appeared in several films during his career including The Next Man (1976), Natural Enemies (1979), Enemy Territory (1987), and Anna (1987). RANDHAWA, KULJEET Indian television actress Kuljeet Randhawa was found dead in her apartment in Juhu, India, having committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling, on February 8, 2006. She was 25. Randhawa appeared in several Indian television series including Hip Hip Hurray, Cats, and Special Squad. She was working on a feature film at the time of her death. Randhawa had reportedly been depressed after quarrelling with her boyfriend.
Raja Rao
RAPP , BERNARD French journalist and screenwriter Bernard Rapp died of lung cancer in Paris on August 17, 2006. He was 61. Rapp was born in Paris on February 17, 1945. Rapp was foreign correspondent and prime time newscaster of France’s Channel 2, and was host of a series of literary-themed cultural programs. He was also the co-author of the reference book Larousse Encyclopedia of Cinema. His interests in film led him to write and direct his first feature, a revenge tale starring Terence Stamp, Limited Edition, in 1996. He also wrote and directed the films A Matter of Taste (2000), No Big Deal (2003), and An Innocent Little Game (2004).
Kuljeet Randhawa
RAO, RAJA
Raja Rao, a leading Indian novelist of the 20th century, died of heart failure at his home in Austin, Texas, on July 8, 2006. He was 97. Rao was born in the Indian state of Mysore on November
Gretchen Rau
RAU, GRETCHEN Film set decorator Gretchen Rau, who was co-recipient of an Academy Award for Art Direction for her work on Memoirs of a Geisha ear-
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304
lier in the year, died of a brain tumor in Northport, New York, on March 29, 2006. She was 66. Rau was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on July 6, 1939. She began working in films as a set decorator in the early 1980s. She was involved with over 30 films including Atlantic City (1980), Fighting Back (1982), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Year of the Dragon (1985), Death Wish 3 (1985), Crocodile Dundee (1986), No Mercy (1986), Tough Guys Don’t Dance (1987), 84 Charing Cross Road (1987), Mississippi Burning (1988), Rooftops (1989), Come See the Paradise (1990), The Long Walk Home (1990), Once Around (1991), The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez (1991), A River Runs Through It (1992), Consenting Adults (1992), Leap of Faith (1992), Six Degrees of Separation (1993), What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993), Nobody’s Fool (1994), I.Q. (1994), The Indian in the Cupboard (1995), Before and After (1996), The Crucible (1996), City of Angels (1998), The Horse Whisperer (1998), The Siege (1998), The Story of Us (1999), In Dreams (1999), Unbreakable (2000), The Shipping News (2001), The Human Stain (2003), The Last Samurai (2003) which also earned her an Oscar nomination, and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004). Rau had worked on the 2006 film The Good Shepherd until shortly before her death.
first No. 1 hit with “Love Is a Hurtin’ Thing” in 1966, and earned his first Grammy Award for “Dead End Street” the following year. His biggest hit, “You’ll Never Find (Another Love Like Mine)” was recorded in 1976. During his lengthy career he recorded many other popular songs including “Tobacco Road,” “Natural Man,” “Lady Love,” and “Fine Brown Frame.” Rawls also appeared frequently on television from the 1960s, guest starring in episodes of 77 Sunset Strip, The Big Valley, Mannix, The Fall Guy, Fantasy Island, and Early Edition. He also performed on the variety series The Ed Sullivan Show, The Steve Allen Comedy Hour, Playboy After Dark, The Hollywood Palace, The Merv Griffin Show, The Muppet Show, Solid Gold, The New Hollywood Squares, Soul Train, The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson, Roc, Martin, The Good News, The Norm Show, My Wife and Kids, and The Proud Family. Rawls was featured in the 1969 psychological horror film Angel, Angel, Down We Go (aka Cult of the Damned, and appeared in the tele-film Saturday’s (1991). He was also seen in the films Malevolence (1995), Leaving Las Vegas (1995), Driven (1996), Morella (1997), After the Game (1997), The Price of Kissing (1997), Livers Ain’t Cheap (1997), Still Breathing (1997), Blues Brothers 2000 (1968), Lookin’ Italian (1998), Watchers Reborn (1998), Wildly Available (1999), Motel Blue (1999), Bel Air (2000), Everything’s Jake (2000), A Man Is Mostly Water (2000), The Code Conspiracy (2001), Betaville (2001), and Uh Oh (2003). He appeared regularly as Lou Raymond in the television series Baywatch Nights from 1995 to 1996, and was the voice of Harvey in the cartoon series Hey Arnold! from 1996 to 1999. He also appeared in an episode of Early Edition, and was a voice actor in The Rugrats Movie in 1998. Rawls was also the founder of the Lou Rawls Parade of Stars Telethon, which raised money for the United Negro College Fund from its inception in 1980. His final albums, Rawls Sings Sinatra and How Great Thou Art, were recorded in 2003. He was diagnosed with lung cancer the following year.
Gretchen Rau
RAWLS, LOU Singer Lou Rawls died of brain and lung cancer in a Los Angeles hospital on January 5, 2006. He was 72. Rawls was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 1, 1933. He began singing in his grandmother’s church choir at the age of seven. He joined Sam Cooke in the singing group the Teenage Kings of Harmony in his teen years. He also performed with the Chicago gospel group, the Holy Wonders. He joined the Chosen Gospel Singers in 1953, and recorded with that group. Rawls served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper in the mid–1950s. After his discharge he sang with the Pilgrim Travelers. While touring with Sam Cooke, the two singers were injured in an auto accident that killed Cooke’s driver, Eddie Cunningham. Rawls spent several days in a coma before recovering from his injuries. He began recording more secular music later in the decade and was signed by Capitol Records in 1959. He recorded the popular song “I’d Rather Drink Muddy Water” in 1962. He had his
Lou Rawls
RAYE, SOL Guyanese singer and actor Sol Raye died on March 31, 2006. He was 60. Raye was born Neville Marshall-Corbin in Guyana in 1946. He moved to England in the 1960s where he studied acting. He appeared in several productions with the En-
305 glish Stage Company before embarking on a singing career. His singing styled was often compared with Nat King Cole’s, and he was a nine-time winner of the British television talent contest Opportunity Knocks on ITV. He recorded several popular songs including Mona Lisa, How Sweet It Is, and Come Home Love. Raye performed in cabaret tributes to Nat King Cole at venues throughout the world. He also appeared in an episode of the British television series The Fosters in 1977. He produced and directed the 1985 Nat King Cole television tribute A Nightingale Sang, and appeared in the 1991 television production of The King of Jazz. He also appeared in the 1993 tele-film Great Moments in Aviation, and the sit-com Desmond’s.
2006 • Obituaries
performers who voiced the cartoon magpies Heckle and Jeckle for the Terrytoons cartoon series. Raymond also performed often on television from the 1950s, appearing as a regular on the early variety series The Paul Winchell–Jerry Mahoney Show early in the decade. He also guest-starred in episodes of The Man Behind the Badge, Man Against Crime, The Honeymooners, Goodyear Television Playhouse, The United States Steel Hour, Alcoa Theatre, Johnny Staccato, COronado 9, Naked City, and The Corner Bar. Raymond also appeared in character roles in a handful of films during his career including Fright (1956), The Hustler (1961), The Prize (1963), Hot Stuff (1979), The Funhouse (1981), Easy Money (1983), Making Mr. Right (1987), Let It Ride (1989), the tele-films Red Wind (1991), Folks! (1992), My Father the Hero (1994), Two Much (1995), and Big Trouble (2002). His final role was in an episode of the television series The O.C. in 2005.
REBELLA, JUAN PABLO Uruguayan film director Juan Pablo Rebella was found dead at his apartment in Montevideo, Uruguay, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head on July 6, 2006. He was 32. Rebella teamed with colleague Pablo Stoll to co-direct the films 25 Watts (2001) and Whisky (2004). Both films earned the directors several international prizes, and Rebella was considered one of Latin America’s outstanding film talents. He and Stoll had recently completed the film The Dog Pound. Sol Raye
RAYMOND , S ID Actor and comedian Sid Raymond, who was best known as the voice of cartoon characters Baby Huey and Katnip, died in Aventura, Florida, of complications from a stroke on December 3, 2006. He was 97. Raymond wqas born in New York City on January 21, 1909. He began his 70 year career as a comic, working the Catskill Mountains resorts. He began working as a voice actor for animated cartoons at Famous Studios after serving in the military during World War II. He voiced the characters Baby Huey and Katnip in numerous cartoons during the 1940s and 1940s, and also played various characters in several Popeye cartoons. During the 1950s he was one of several
Juan Pablo Rebella
RECIO, LITA French actress Lita Recio died in Paris on January 13, 2006. She was 99. Recio was born in Paris on October 30, 1906. She was featured in numerous films from the 1940s including Panic (1947), The Patron (1949), Hans the Sailor (1949), Rififi (1955), Aladdin and His Magic Lamp (1970) as a voice performer, A Loser (1971), Line Up and Lay Down (1973), Bloody Murder (1974), Comme une Femme (1980), La Java des Ombres (1983), Maman (1990), and Letter for L ... (1994). (See photograph on page 306.)
Sid Raymond
REDDY, PATTABHI RAMA Indian Kannada film director Pattabhi Rama Reddy died in Bangalore, India, after a long illness on May 6, 2006. He was 87. Reddy was born in Nellore, India, in 1919. He began his career in films in the late 1950s, producing several
Obituaries • 2006
306 serving in the Army. Redman moved to San Francisco in the early 1960s, where he began playing professionally with other jazz musicians. He joined Ornette Coleman’s band in 1967 and performed on such albums as New York Is Now!, Science Fiction, and Love Call. Redman also recorded with Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra and Keith Jarrett’s American Quartet. He formed the quartet Old and New Dreams in 1976 with several of his old bandmates from his days with Coleman. They continued to perform and record together through the early 1990s.
Lita Recio
Telugu language films including Sri Krishnarjuna Yuddam and Pelli Naati Pramaanalu. He began directing Kannada language films in the 1970s, with such credits as Funeral Rites (1970), The Outsiders (1977), Wild Wind (1977), Sringara Masa (1984), and Devara Kaadu (1993).
Pattabhi Rama Reddy
REDMAN , DEWEY Jazz saxophonist and bandleader Dewey Redman died of liver failure in Brooklyn, New York, on September 2, 2006. He was 75. He was born Walter Redman in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 17, 1931. He began playing the saxophone while still in high school and taught for several years after
Dewey Redman
REDMOND, MOIRA British actress Moira Redmond died of a heart attack on England on March 16, 2006. She was 77. Redmond was born in Bognor Regis, Sussex, England, on July 14, 1928. She was the daughter of actress Molly Redmond. She began her career on stage and relocated to Australia after marrying in the early 1950s. She returned to England after her divorce in 1957, and returned to the stage, understudying Vivien Leigh in Laurence Olivier’s production of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus. She made her film debut in 1958’s Violent Moment, and appeared on television in episodes of Interpol Calling, International Detective, No Hiding Place, The Avengers, Danger Man, Man of the World, Ghost Squad, The Third Man, Corrigan Blake, Crane, R3, Zero One, The Baron, and The Jazz Age. She starred as Becky in Herbert Wise’s stage production of Vanity Fair in 1962, and she and Wise married the following year. She was also seen in the films Doctor in Love (1960), Marriage of Convenience (1960), Pit of Darkness (1961), Partners in Crime (1961), Jigsaw (1962), The Share Out (1962), Kill or Cure (1962), Freud (1962), Nightmare (1964), A Shot in the Dark (1964), The Winter’s Tale (1968), and The Limbo Line (1968). She starred as Dee Smith in the 1961 television series Jango and was seen in television productions of The Terrorists (1961), A Suitable Case for Treatment (1962), Pere Goriot (1968), and The First Churchills (1969). She and Wise divorced in 1970, though he continued to direct her in various television productions. She was featured in episodes of Menace, Paul Temple, The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, No Exit, Dixon of Dock Green, The Sweeney, The Wilde Alliance, Return of the Saint, The Gentle Touch, Nanny, and Ngaio Marsh’s Al-
Moira Redmond
307 leyn Mysteries. Her other television credits include productions of The Italian Table (1970), Sign It Death (1974), Melissa (1974), Edward the King (1975), Prometheus: The Life of Balzac (1975), I, Claudius (1976) as Domitia, Suddenly, Last Summer (1993), and Catherine Cookson’s The Wingless Bird (1997).
REEVE, DANA Dana Reeve, the widow of actor Christopher Reeve who was his primary caregiver after he was paralyzed in a horse-riding accident in 1995, died of lung cancer in New York on March 6, 2006. She was 44. She was born Dana Morosini in Scarsdale, New York, on March 17, 1961. She performed on stage, appearing in productions Off-Broadway and on Broadway. She met Christopher Reeve, the actor best known for starring in four Superman films, while serving on the board of the Williamstown Theater Festival in Massachusetts in 1987. They soon began dating and were married in April of 1992. Her husband was paralyzed from the neck down after breaking his neck in a horse-riding mishap in May of 1995. Dana Reeve showed unwavering support for her husband and became a leading spokeswoman for better treatments and cures for paralysis. She served as chairwoman of the Christopher Reeve Foundation and was founder of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center. She continued working for these causes after her husband’s death in August of 2004, and she was diagnosed with lung cancer the following year. Dana Reeve also appeared in the 1995 film Above Suspicion, and the 2004 tele-film The Brooke Ellison Story. She also gueststarred on episodes of Law & Order, Feds, Oz, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
2006 • Obituaries
Candra (1981), The Choice (1981), A Long Way Home (1981), The Renegades (1982), Adam (1983) and Adam: His Song Continues (1986) as Joe Walsh, Bay City Story (1992), and Sharon’s Secret (1995). He starred as Joe Pizo in the short-lived comedy series Joe and Valerie in 1978 and was Don Carlos de Vega, Zorro Junior, in the 1983 series Zorro and Son. He was best known for his role as Cliff Waters, the gay sibling, in the series Brothers from 1984 to 1989. Regina starred as gangster Frank Nitti in the 1993 television crime series The Untouchables. His other television credits include episodes of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Police Woman, Gimme a Break!, Voyagers!, T.J. Hooker, Hunter, L.A. Law, Herman’s Head, Mann & Machine, Law & Order, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Paul Regina
RENNICK, NANCY Actress Nancy Rennick died on April 5, 2006. Rennick began her career on television in the 1950s, starring as Patty Johnson in the adventure series Rescue 8 in 1958. She was also featured as Sandra Talbot Dennis in the soap opera The Brighter Day from 1961 to 1962, and appeared in episodes of The Big Story, Playhouse 90, Gunsmoke, The Chevy Mystery Show, The Twilight Zone, Michael Shayne, Lock Up, Bringing Up Buddy, Everglades, The Investigators, 77 Sunset Strip, Ensign O’Toole, Alcoa Premiere, The Outer Limits, Bonanza, My Favorite Martian, The Lieutenant, Kentucky Jones, Ben Casey, Wendy and Me, Death Val-
Dana Reeve (with husband Christopher)
REGINA, PAUL Actor Paul Regina died of liver cancer in a Smithtown, New York, hospital on January 31, 2006. He was 49. Regina was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 25, 1956. He began his career on stage and appeared as Kenickie in the national touring company of Grease in 1976. He subsequently moved to Los Angeles, where he appeared often in films and television. Regina was seen in the films A Change of Seasons (1980), Bounty Tracker (1993), It’s My Party (1996), Prey of the Jaguar (1996), Marie (2001) which he also scripted, and The Blue Lizard (2002). He also appeared in the tele-films The Awakening of
Nancy Rennick
Obituaries • 2006
308
ley Days, Wagon Train, Rawhide, and The Fugitive. Rennick was also featured in the 1964 film The Young Lovers.
RESTIVO, JOE Joe Restivo, a comedian turned restaurant owner, died of lung cancer at his home in West Hills, California, on June 6, 2006. He was 54. Restivo was born in a small town in Sicily, Italy, on March 14, 1952. He began performing as a standup comedian in Chicago in the mid–1970s and subsequently moved to Los Angeles, where he continued his act. Restivo also appeared in small roles in several films including Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988), UFH (1989), Kickboxer 2: The Road Back (1991), Fighting Words (2003), and Intellectual Property (2006). He was also seen on television in the tele-films Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story (1981) and She’ll Take Romance (1990), and in episodes of Hardcastle and McCormick, Hill Street Blues, Hooperman, Santa Barbara, Tales from the Crypt, and Seinfeld. He and his brother Steve opened the restaurant Vitello’s in Studio City in the 1970s, which became a popular eatery for show business people. The restaurant gained national fame on May 4, 2001, when Bonnie Bakley, the wife of actor Robert Blake, was shot to death while parked in a car near the establishment. She and Blake had dined there before her murder. Blake was charged with the killing but was acquitted of murder charges in 2005. Restivo and his brother sold Vitello’s in 2005.
Ana Carolina Reston
ber 14, 1923. He was best known for his cynical postwar novel De Avonden (aka Evenings), which was first published in 1947. It was adapted for film in 1989. Reve, whose works often reflected his homosexuality and religious beliefs, also wrote the novels Approaching the End and Nearer to Thee. Several of his other novels were adapted to film including Dear Boys (1980) and The Fourth Man (1983).
Gerard Reve
Joe Restivo
REY, JOHNNY Adult film actor Johnny Rey died of complications from AIDS in Pomona, California, on January 18, 2006. He was 42. Rey was born in
RESTON, ANA CAROLINA Brazilian fashion model Ana Carolina Reston died in a Brazilian hospital of kidney problems brought on by anorexia nervosa and bulimia on November 15, 2006. She was 21. Reston was born in Jundiai, Brazil, on June 4, 1985. She won a local beauty contest at the age of 13 and embarked on a career as a model. She was represented by several international modeling agencies, and worked fashion shows in Mexico, Japan, and China. She also worked on print campaigns for such brands as Giorgio Armani. REVE, GERARD Dutch author Gerard Reve died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in Zulte, Belgium, on April 8, 2006. He was 82. Reve was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Decem-
Johnny Rey
309 California on November 16, 1963. He began working in the gay adult film industry in the early 1990s, directing and starring in numerous films. Rey was best known for the Gayvn Award–winning porn musical film Romeo and Jullian: A Love Story in 1994. His other film credits include Midnight Run (1993), Toilet Tramps (1994), While I Was Sleeping (1995), Score of Sex (1995), The Island of Dr. Porneaux (1996), Nude Science (1999), and Peters (2000).
RHINE, GARY Documentary filmmaker Gary Rhine was killed in the crash of his single engine plane near Lancaster, California, on January 9, 2006. He was 54. Rhine was born in San Francisco, California, on June 26, 1951. He produced, directed and wrote numerous documentary films about the problems of Native Americans. His works include Wiping the Tears of Seven Generations (1992), The Peyote Road (1994), The Red Road to Sobriety (1995), Your Humble Serpent (1996), Follow Me Home (1996), and Running on Indian Time (2002). Rhine was also a founder of the country’s oldest working commune, The Farm, in Summertown, Tennessee, where he lived for over a decade. He was also a flight instructor and was killed along with his student in the crash.
2006 • Obituaries
appeared in a handful of films from the 1980s including Zone Red (1986), The Grand Highway (1987), Frequent Death (1988), Baxter (1989), Cherokee (1991), Omnibus (1992), and Requiem(s) (2001). Rialet also appeared frequently on French television, appearing as Inspector Joseph Blomet in the drama series Navarro from 1989, and as Jean-Pierre in the series Les Monos from 1999 to 2001. He was also seen in television productions of Une Femme en Blanc (1997), La Belle Vie (1997), Pere et Maire (2002), L’Aubaine (2003), and La Maison des Enfants (2003).
RIALSON , CANDICE Candice Rialson, a leading actress in cult films of the 1970s, died of complications from liver disease in Palmdale, California, on March 31, 2006. She was 54. Rialson was born in Santa Monica, California, on December 18, 1951. The lovely blonde starlet made her debut as scenery in the 1969 film The Gay Deceivers. She starred as Bonnie in the bizarre psychological horror film Pets in 1974, and was featured in such exploitation films as Candy Stripe Nurses (1974), Summer School Teacher (1974), and Mama’s Dirty Girls (1974). She had a small role opposite Clint Eastwood in the action thriller The Eiger Sanction (1975), and bit parts in Silent Movie (1976) and Logan’s Run (1976). Rialson was best known for her role as aspiring starlet Candy Hope in the cult classic Hollywood Boulevard (1976). She also starred as the girl with the talking vagina in 1977’s Chatterbox. She was also seen in the films Moonshine County Express (1977), Stunts (1977), and Winter Kills (1979). Rialson gueststarred on television in episodes of Adam’s Rib, Shaft, Maude, Switch, and Fantasy Island, and appeared in the tele-films The Girl on the Late, Late Show (1974), and Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case (1975). She retired from acting at the end of the decade.
Gary Rhine
RIALET, DANIEL French actor Daniel Rialet died of a heart attack in Paris on April 11, 2006. He was 45. Rialet was born in Malestroit, France, in 1960. He
Candice Rialson
Daniel Rialet
RICE, BILL Actor and director Bill Rice, who appeared in numerous experimental stage productions and films, died of lung cancer in Manhattan on January 23, 2006. He was 74. Rice was born in Vermont on October 17, 1931, and moved to New York in the early 1950s. He was an artist and sculptor and began acting in the 1970s. He made his film debut in Scot and Beth B’s 1978 underground film G-Man. His other film credits include The Offenders (1980), The Trap Door
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310
(1980), Subway Riders (1981), Vortex (1982), Doomed Love (1983), It Don’t Pay to Be an Honest Citizen (1984), Decoder (1984), Thunder Warrior II (1985), Stray Dogs (1985), The Big Blues (1988), Kamillions (1989), Last Supper (1992), The Deflowering (1994), Modern Young Man (1999), Del Fuego (2000), and Coffee and Cigarettes (2003). Rice also appeared in an episode of Chicago Hope on television. He also co-wrote several books on author Gertrude Stein, and did extensive research on Picasso’s Desmoiselles d’Avignon.
was seen in several documentaries including The Last Party (1993), The War Room (1993), and the television production Vote for Me: Politics in America (1996). Richards also appeared on television in episodes of Murphy Brown and Dennis Miller Live, and voiced herself in the animated series King of the Hill. She was also featured as the voice of Annie in the 2004 animated film Home on the Range.
RICHARDS, ANN Ann Richards, the former Governor of the State of Texas, died of esophageal cancer at her home in Austin, Texas, on September 13, 2006. She was 73. Richards was born in Lakeview, Texas, on September 1, 1933. She achieved national fame when she gave the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 1988 while serving as Texas Treasurer. She delivered a scathing assault on the Republican presidential nominee, fellow Texan George H.W. Bush, intoning “Poor George, he can’t help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.” She went on to win the Texas governorship two years later, defeating millionaire cowboy Clayton Williams in a bitter contest. During her tenure she was noted for her appointment of more women and minorities to state positions than any of her predecessors. Richards was defeated for reelection in 1994 by George W. Bush. She
RICHARDS, LLOYD Theatrical director Lloyd Richards died of heart failure in New York City on June 29, 2006. He was 87. Richards was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on June 29, 1919, and came to the United States with his family as a child. He became interested in theatre while attending Wayne State University and moved to New York in 1947. He studied at Paul Mann’s actors’ workshop and eventually began teaching there. He became friends with aspiring actor Sidney Poitier, who was later instrumental in securing Richards’ role as director for the hit Broadway play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry in 1957. The success of play, with a black director, writer, and cast, was a landmark event on Broadway and secured Richards’ place in theatrical history. He next directed the Broadway musical I Had a Ball starring Buddy Hackett in 1964 and helmed a musical version of The Yearling in 1965. He became artistic director of the Playwrights Conference at the O’Neill Center in 1968. He brought South African playwright Athol Fugard’s Lesson from Aloes to the Broadway stage in 1979. Richards also directed an episode of the television miniseries Roots: The Next Generations in 1979, and helmed television productions of Freeman (1977), Paul Robeson (1979), Medal of Honor Rag (1982), and The Piano Lesson (1995). He was also involved in bringing the works of playwright August Wilson to the stage, collaborating with him on the plays’ Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fences, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, The Piano Lesson, Two Trains Running, and Seven Guitars in the 1980s. Richards earned a Tony Award as best director for Fences in 1987. As head of the Playwrights Conference, he was also instrumental in developing the careers of such writers as Christopher Durang, Wendy Wasserstein, and David Henry Hwang before his retirement in 1999.
Ann Richards
Lloyd Richards
Bill Rice
311 RICHARDS, LOU “BOULDER” Lou “Boulder” Richards, who was the former guitarist of the punk rock band Hatebreed, died on September 13, 2006. He was 35. Richards was born on October 12, 1970. He played with the New Haven, Connecticut, based band on the albums Satisfaction (1997) and Perseverance (2002) before leaving the group. RICHARDS, SHIRLEY ANN Australian actress Shirley Ann Richards died in Torrance, California, on August 24, 2006. She was 88. Richards was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on December 13, 1917. She began working in films in Australia in the mid–1930s, appearing in the features It Isn’t Done (1936), Lovers and Luggers (1937), The Farmer Goes to Town (1938), Tall Timbers (1940), Ants in His Pants (1940), and 100,000 Cobbers (1942). She came to Hollywood in 1942, where she was featured in Dr. Gillespie’s New Assistant (1942), The Woman in the House (1942), Random Harvest (1942) with Ronald Colman and Greer Garson, Three Hearts for Julia (1943), An American Romance (1944), Love Letters (1945), Badman’s Territory (1946), The Searching Wind (1946), Lost Honeymoon (1947), Love from a Stranger (1947), Sorry, Wrong Number (1948), and Breakdown (1952). Richards married film director Edmund Angelo in 1949 and retired from the screen in the early 1950s to raise a family. She made a few later film appearances in Hideout in the Sun (1960) and Angel’s Flight (1965), and guest starred in an episode of The Courtship of Eddie’s Father on television. She and Angelo were married until his death in 1983.
2006 • Obituaries
collector of the works of Burroughs and other pulp authors and artists. He served as an Army chaplain during the Korean War in the 1950s, and came to Memphis in the late 1960s to serve as editor for the Brotherhood Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. Richardson continued to maintain his interests in science fiction, fantasy and western literature, amassing one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of this material in the world. His most prized items included a number of original paintings by legendary pulp cover artist J. Allen St. John, whom he had befriended in his later years. Richardson was a founder and charter member of the Memphis Science Fiction and Fantasy Association(MSFFA) in 1970. He compiled an extensively illustrated volume The Life and Work of J. Allen St. John in 1991, recounting his own personal experiences with the artist and providing numerous artistic works from his own collection. In the 1990s Richardson was honored by the MSFFA with the naming of the awards given to regional authors being dubbed The Darrell Award, in recognition of his many accomplishments. Despite being diagnosed with leukemia in the early 1970s and given only three months to live, Richardson defied doctors expectations when he recovered from the disease. Over the next three decades he continued his success as a chronicler of the pulps and their premier writers: Burroughs, Max Brand, Zane Grey and others. He penned countless magazine and fanzine articles and produced the lavishly illustrated volume Those Macabre Pulps in 2004. Working with his youngest son, Don Richardson, and friend, Dennis McHaney, he also produced High Adventures Westerns, Northerns, and Other Lands: J. Allen St. John, continuing his scholarship on his favorite artist. Richardson was a larger than life figure to all who knew him, regaling friends and strangers alike with tales of high adventure from both magazines and his own well-traveled life.
Shirley Ann Richards
RICHARDSON, DARRELL C. Writer, adventurer, pulp fiction scholar, and raconteur Dr. Darrell C. Richardson died after a long illness in Memphis, Tennessee, on September 19, 2006. He was 88. Richardson was born in Baxter Springs, Kansas, on May 17, 1918, and was raised in Flat River, Missouri. He became enamored with the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, particularly his Tarzan series, at an early age and began corresponding with the author as a teenager. Richardson graduated from Furman College in South Carolina where he was a star football player and athlete. After his graduation he became a Baptist minister, serving in Kentucky. He also became a serious
Darrell C. Richardson
RICHMOND, KEN British wrestler turned actor Ken Richmond, who was the bare-chested strongman who appeared to strike the massive gong for J. Arthur Rank film productions from the mid–1950s, died in England on August 3, 2006. He was 89. Richmond was born in London on July 10, 1926. He was in-
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terested in films from an early age and appeared as an extra in several films including Henry V (1944) and Blithe Spirit (1945). A committed pacifist, Richmond spent several months in prison as a conscientious objector towards the end of World War II. He subsequently worked for nearly a year as a hand on a whaling ship to Antarctica before returning to England. He began competing in amateur wrestling in the late 1940s, earning medals in various competitions. He earned the bronze medal for freestyle heavyweight competition at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. He also continued to appear in films, with his most notable role being as the wrestler Nikolas in the 1950 film noir classic Night and the City. He was also featured in the 1954 comedy Mad About Men. He became Rank’s fourth gong model in the mid–1950s, though the gong he appeared to strike was actually made of cardboard, and a percussionist with a cymbal produced the noise. He continued to wrestle and appear in bit film parts until becoming involved with the Jehovah’s Witnesses in the late 1960s, serving as a missionary and spokesman for the group. He also became a champion windsurfer until suffering serious injuries in an automobile accident in the early 2000s.
Ken Richmond (banging the Rank gong)
RIFAI, KHALIL
AL -
Iraqi comedian and actor Khalil al-Rifai died of kidney failure in a hospital in the northern Kurdish city of Irbil, Iraq, on October 9, 2006. He was 79. Al-Rifai was born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1927. He began performing on stage in the 1940s and became a popular star on a radio soap opera
Khalil al-Rifai
in the 1950s. He was best known for his role as comic vendor Abu Faris in the 1960s television comedy series Under the Razor of the Barber. Al-Rifai also appeared in numerous other plays and television productions.
RIMITTI , CHEIKHA Algerian pop-singer Cheikha Rimitti died in Paris, France, of a heart attack on May 15, 2006. She was 83. Rimmitti was born in the small village of Tessala, in Western Algeria, on May 8, 1923. Orphaned as a child, she began singing with a troupe of musicians at an early age. She soon began writing her own lyrics, which brought her fame throughout her country during World War II. Rimitti’s husky voice and her songs about the pleasures of sex and alcohol was shunned by the Muslim clerics in Algeria but was embraced by the general populace. She moved to France in 1978, where she continued to sing and record. Her 1994 album, Cidi Mansour, brought her music to a new generation. She made her United States debut in a concert in New York’s Central Park in 2001.
Cheikha Rimitti
RITTS, MARY Puppeteer Mary Ritts died in a Pasadena, California, retirement home on May 14, 2006. She was 95. She was born Mary Donnelly in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 16, 1910. She began her career as a fashion illustrator before her marriage to radio announcer Paul Ritts. She and her husband became involved in puppetry in the early 1950s when he carved a puppet named Albert the Chipmunk and she painted it. They went on to create and perform with other puppets including Geoffrey Giraffe and Calvin Crow, voiced by Paul, and Magnolia the Ostrich, who was voiced by Mary. They became popular performers on such variety programs as The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show, and they recorded an album for Columbia of original children’s songs. They also created puppet scenes featuring Bobo the Clown and Magnolia the Ostrich with Jerry Lewis for the 1961 film The Errand Boy. The puppets also performed often on the children’s science series Exploring, and the Ritts cohosted the local New York celebrity interview series Family in the early 1960s. The Ritts Puppets also served as host of the NBC Saturday morning series The Pink Panther Show in the early 1970s, and the preschoolers program The Watch Your Child/The Me Too Show. Mary
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Ritts largely retired from puppetry following the death of her husband in 1980.
Mary Lee Robb Mary Ritts (with Magnolia the Ostrich and husband Paul Ritts with Geoffrey the Giraffe)
ROBA, JEAN Belgian comic artist and writer Jean Roba died in Brussels, Belgium, on June 14, 2006. He was 75. Roba was born in Schaarbeek, Belgium, on July 28, 1930. He began his career as an illustrator in the 1950s, and was drawing for Spirou by 1957. He was best known for creating the series Boule et Bill in 1959, about a little boy and his dog. He also created the series La Ribambelle, about a children’s gang, in 1962. Roba retired from illustrating Boule et Bill in 2003, turning the series over to Laurent Verron.
84. Roberts was born in Denver, Colorado, on June 9, 1921. He began his career on stage, appearing in stock and regional productions. He was also seen on Broadway in the plays Stalag 17, Dial M for Murder, and the revival of Sacred Flame. He began appearing in films as Robert Scott in the late 1930s. His film credits include Brother Rat (1938), Those Were the Days! (1940), Remember Pearl Harbor (1942), The Girl in the Case (1944), Black Arrow (1944), One Mysterious Night (1944), The Crime Doctor’s Courage (1945), Ten Cents a Dance (1945), Prison Ship (1945), Out of the Depths (1945), A Close Call for Boston Blackie (1946), The Notorious Lone Wolf (1946), Gilda (1946), The Bandit of Sherwood Forest (1946), Talk About a Lady (1946), The Unknown (1946), Cowboy Blues (1946), Shadowed (1946), Dead Reckoning (1947), Prairie Raiders (1947), Exposed (1947), The Bride Goes Wild (1948), Shed No Tears (1948), Rusty Saves a Life (1949), Call Me Mister (1951), Cyclone Fury (1951), The Unknown Man (1951), and Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation (1953). He continued acting in films and television as Mark Roberts from the 1950s, appearing in Taxi (1953), Onionhead (1958), The Money Jungle (1968), The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1969), Jacqueline Susann’s Once Is Not Enough (1975), and Posse (1975). He also appeared in several tele-films including Double Jeopardy (1970), Welcome Home, Johnny Bristol (1972), The Affair (1973), Tell Me Where It Hurts (1974), The F.B.I. Story: The FBI Versus Alvin
Jean Roba
ROBB, MARY LEE Radio actress Mary Lee Robb died of heart failure in a Palm Springs, California, hospital on August 28, 2006. She was 80. Robb was born in Streator, Illinois, on February 15, 1926. She began her career in radio in 1947 on the Lum and Abner program. She was best known for her role as Marjorie, the niece of The Great Gildersleeve, on radio from 1948 to 1954. She also performed on other programs including The Penny Singleton Radio Show before her retirement to raise a family. ROBERTS, MARK Actor Mark Roberts, who also performed under the name Robert Scott, died at his home in Los Angeles on January 5, 2006. He was
Mark Roberts
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Karpis, Public Enemy Number One (1974), The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case (1976), and Return to Earth (1976). Roberts was featured as Hildy Johnson in the television series The Front Page in 1949, and was Bill Carter in the series Miss Susan in 1951. He also starred as Bill Morgan in the series Three Steps to Heaven in 1953, and was Bob Brannagan in The Brothers Brannagan in 1960. He was also featured as Charles Sutton in the daytime soap opera General Hospital in 1982. His numerous television credits also include episodes of such series as Kraft Television Theatre, Academy Theatre, Believe It or Not, Starlight Theatre, Suspense, Short Short Dramas, The Philco Television Playhouse, The Web, Studio One, Robert Montgomery Presents, The Alcoa Hour, Letter to Loretta, Playhouse 90, Cheyenne, Gunsmoke, Boots and Saddles, Perry Mason, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, World of Giants, M Squad, State Trooper, 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, Philip Marlowe, One Step Beyond, Adventures in Paradise, Surfside 6, Follow the Sun, The Outer Limits, The F.B.I., Twelve O’Clock High, The Invaders, Ironside, Cannon, Barnaby Jones, The Rockford Files, Dynasty, Dark Justice, and Monty.
television in the 1960s and 1970s, guest-starring in episodes of such series as 77 Sunset Strip, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, 87th Precinct, General Electric Theater, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Laramie, The Wide Country, Going My Way, Stoney Burke, Wagon Train, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, The Greatest Show on Earth, Breaking Point, Ben Casey, The Munsters, Gunsmoke, The High Chaparral, Mannix, The Virginian, The F.B.I., Adam-12, Cade’s County, O’Hara, U.S. Treasury, Griff, Emergency!, Cannon, Switch, Simon & Simon, Airwolf, Finder of Lost Loves, Wildside, and Scarecrow and Mrs. King. Robinson also performed frequently on the local stage in Palm Springs. His final film credits were in the features Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987) and The Cable Guy (1996) with Jim Carrey.
ROBERTS, THOMAS “PIG CHAMPION ” Hardcore rock guitarist and songwriter Thomas Roberts, who was known as Pig Champion because he weighed over 450 pounds, was found dead at his home in Portland, Oregon, on January 31, 2006. He was 47. Roberts was born on November 4, 1958. He began playing with the band Poison Idea in 1980 and though he officially left the group in 1993, he often continued to accompany them on tour. Charles Knox Robinson
ROBLEDO , LORENZO Spanish actor Lorenzo Robledo, who appeared in small roles in numerous European horror films and Spaghetti Westerns, died in Madrid, Spain in September of 2006. He was 85. Robledo began his film career in the late 1950s and appeared in numerous features including Maria de la O (1959), King of the Vikings (1960), Culpables (1960), Queen of the Tabarin Club (1960), Tombola (1962), The Carpet of Horror (1962), Medusa Against the Son of Hercules (1963), Casablanca, Nest of Spies (1963), FX 18, Secret Agent (1964), Billy the Kid (1964), Sergio Leone’s Thomas “Pig Champion” Roberts
ROBINSON, CHARLES KNOX Actor Charles Knox Robinson died of Parkinson’s disease at his home in Palm Springs, California, on July 22, 2006. He was 74. Robinson was born in Orange, New Jersey, on April 13, 1932. He served in the U.S. Army from 1954 to 1962 and made his film debut in Splendor in the Grass (1961). Robinson was also seen in the films The Interns (1962), Take Her, She’s Mine (1963), Dear Brigitte (1965), Shenandoah (1965), The Singing Nun (1966), The Sand Pebbles (1966), For Singles Only (1968), A Time to Sing (1968), Triangle (1970), The Brotherhood of Satan (1971), and the tele-film Set This Town on Fire (1973). Robinson appeared frequently on
Lorenzo Robledo
315 A Fistful of Dollars (1964) with Clint Eastwood, Hour of Death (1964), Tomb of the Pistolero (1964), The Relentless Four (1965), Hands of Gunman (1965), Gringos Do Not Forgive (1965), Seven Hours of Gunfire (1965), Texas Jim (1965), Five Thousand Dollars on One Ace (1965), Code Name: Jaguar (1965), Agent 077 Fury in the Orient (1965), Fall of the Mohicans (1965), For a Few Dollars More (1965) with Eastwood, Navajo Joe (1966), Z7 Operation Rembrandt (1966), Jess Franco’s Attack of the Robots (1966), Zampo and Me (1966), Taste for Killing (1966), The Big Gundown (1966), The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966), Train for Durango (1967), For a Few Extra Dollars (1967), Face to Face (1967), Three Silver Dollars (1968), The Mercenary (1968), A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (1968), To the Last Drops of Blood (1968), They Who Play the Piano (1968), One Against One ... No Mercy (1968), Christopher Columbus (1968), I Bastardi (1968), They Came to Rob Las Vegas (1968), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), The Rope and the Colt (1969), Legion of the Damned (1969), Garringo (1969), Taste of Vengeance (1969), The Price of Power (1969), Awkward Hands (1970), Campaneros (1970), Kill Django ... Kill First (1971), Sartana Kills Them All (1971), One Way Ticket (1971), Raise Your Hands, Dead Man, You’re Under Arrest (1971), Don’t Turn the Other Cheek (1971), Fast Hand Is Still My Name (1972), Cut-Throats Nine (1972), Silent Horror (1972), Santo vs. Dr. Death (1973), The Artist Is a Gunfighter (1973), The Scarlet Letter (1973), Ricco (1973), What Am I Doing in the Middle of the Revolution (1974), Shoot First ... Ask Questions Later (1975), Four Gunmen of the Apocalypse (1975), Guerreras Verdes (1976), Night of the Walking Dead (1977), El Espiritista (1977), Cabo de Vara (1978), and Onofre el Virgio (1982). He largely retired from the screen in the early 1980s.
RODGERS, MARK Film and television producer and writer Mark Rodgers died in California of complications from Parkinson’s disease on November 5, 2006. He began writing for television in the late 1950s, scripting, and sometimes producing, episodes for such series as Alcoa Theatre, Tallahassee 7000, Checkmate, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Arrest and Trial, Court Martial, The Long, Hot Summer, The Interns, Hawaii Five-0, The FBI, Longstreet, Ironside, Jigsaw, Assignment Vienna, Kojak, Joe Forrester, Police Woman, Wonder Woman, Police Story, David Cassidy — Man Undercover, Eischied, McClain’s Law, T.J. Hooker, Lady Blue, Dirty Dozen: The Series, In the Heat of the Night, MacGyver, and Baywatch Nights. He also wrote the 1966 film thriller Let’s Kill Uncle, and Flareup in 1969. His other credits include the tele-films The Forgotten Man (1971), Savage (1973), The Girl on the Late, Late Show (1974), Cop on the Beat (1975), The Quest (1976), Cover Girls (1977), Detour to Terror (1980), Police Story: Confessions of a Lady Cop (1980), Uncommon Valor (1983), Women of San Quentin (1983), Police Story: The Freeway Killings (1987), Alone in the Neon Jungle (1988), Police Story: The Watch Commander (1988), Police Story: Burnout (1988), and Johnny Ryan (1990). RODRIGUES, GUARA Brazilian actor Guara Rodrigues was found dead in the home of a friend in
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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on February 21, 2006. He was 63. He was active in films from the mid–1960s, serving as assistant director for 1965’s The Hour and Turn of Augusto Matraga. Rodrigues also appeared in the films The Outsiders (1968), The Naked Man (1968), Killed the Family and Went to the Movies (1969), Jungle Freaks (1969), Copacabana Mon Amour (1970), Piranhas do Asfalto (1971), Crazy Love (1971), The Night Cats (1972), I Love You (1981), Tabu (1982), Rio Babilonia (1982), Noite (1985), Bras Cubas (1985), Moon Over Parador (1988), Perigo Negro (1992), Scent of Gardenias (1992), The Mandarin (1995), Razor in the Flesh (1997), Um Lobisomem na Amazonia (2005), and O Signo do Caos (2005).
Guara Rodrigues
ROGERS, KASEY Actress Kasey Rogers, who was featured as Louise Tate, the wife of Darren’s boss, on the popular sit-com Bewitched, died of complications from a stroke in Los Angeles, California, on July 6, 2006. She was 79. She was born Imogene Rogers in Morehouse, Missouri, on December 15, 1926. She began her career in films at Paramount in the late 1940s, originally billed as Laura Elliot. She was seen in such films as Special Agent (1949), Chicago Deadline (1949), Samson and Delilah (1949), The File on Thelma Jordon (1950), Girls’ School (1950), Paid in Full (1950), No Man of Her Own (1950), Union Station (1950), Dark City (1950), Two Lost Worlds (1951), The Mating Season (1951), Alfred Hitchcock’s suspense thriller Strangers on a Train (1951) as Farley Granger’s ill-fated spouse Miriam Haines, A Place in the Sun (1951), When Worlds Collide (1951), Here Comes the Groom (1951), Silver City (1951), My Favorite Spy (1951), Something to Live For (1952), Denver and Rio Grande (1952), Jamaica Run (1953), The French Line (1954), About Mrs. Leslie (1954), Ask Any Girl (1959), The Gunfight at Dodge City (1959), Naked Flame (1964), and the 1969 tele-film Lost Flight. Rogers starred as Julie Anderson on the primetime soap opera Peyton Place from 1964 to 1969, and was a semi-regular on the Bewitched sit-com, appearing as Larry Tate’s wife, Louise, on numerous episodes from 1966 to 1972. She also appeared in episodes of The Lone Wolf, Stage 7, The Lone Ranger, Frontier, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, The Millionaire, Sergeant Preston of the Yukon,
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Panic!, Goodyear Theatre, Maverick, Colt .45, Trackdown, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Alcoa Theatre, State Trooper, Frontier Doctor, Yancy Derringer, Bat Masterson, The Rough Riders, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Perry Mason, The David Niven Show, The Restless Gun, M Squad, Lawman, Cheyenne, Lock Up, Hawaiian Eye, Sugarfoot, Hennesey, 77 Sunset Strip, The Case of the Dangerous Robin, The Brothers Brannagan, Boris Karloff ’s Thriller, The Lucy Show, Mission: Impossible, The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, Adam-12, Longstreet, Lucas Tanner, Marcus Welby, M.D., and The Invisible Man. She largely retired from acting in the 1970s and wrote several books about crafts and interior design.
“Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven, but Nobody Wants to Die.” He also appeared on television from the 1950s, starring in the variety series Sugar Hill Times and The Melba Moore–Clifton Davis Show, and guest starring in segments of The Ed Sullivan Show and The Jackie Gleason Show. Rogers appeared in several films including Sparkle (1976) and The Five Heartbeats (1991). His other television credits include such series as Sanford and Son, Baby, I’m Back, Good Times, Frank’s Place, 227, and Martin.
Timmie Rogers Kasey Rogers
ROGERS, PIETER British television producer Pieter Rogers died in England on June 25, 2006. He was 78. Rogers was born in England on January 25, 1928. He began his career in films as an assistant to film director Joseph Losey in the early 1950s. He was instrumental in bringing actor Dirk Bogarde to Losey’s attention for the film The Sleeping Tiger (1954). He continued to work with Losey for five years before becoming general manager of the English Stage Company in 1958. He became a close association of Laurence Olivier, who selected him to manage the new Chichester Festival Theatre in 1961. He and Olivier remained close friends throughout the actor’s life. Rogers left Chichester in 1965 to work in television as a producer and casting agent. He produced such series as Emergency-Ward 10, Crossroads, Front Page Story, Kate, East Lynne, Supernatural, and Lady Killers. He also produced the television productions Young Sherlock: The Mystery of the Manor House (1982), Poor Little Rich Girls (1984), This Lightning Always Strikes Twice (1985), and The Murders at Lynch Cross (1985). ROGERS, TIMMIE Black comedian Timmie Rogers died in Los Angeles on December 17, 2006. He was 91. Rogers was born in Detroit, Michigan, on July 4, 1915. He began his career on the vaudeville stage as part of the acrobatic dance team Timmie and Freddie. He had become a successful black comedian by the mid–1940s, specializing in a sophisticated comedy routine while attired in a tuxedo. Rogers was also a song writer, crafting such popular tunes as “If You Can’t Smile and Say Yes, Please Don’t Cry and Say No” and
ROLAND, DUANE Guitarist Duane Roland, who was an original member of the Southern rock band Molly Hatchet, died at his home in St. Augustine, Florida, on June 19, 2006. He was 53. Roland was born in Jeffersonville, Indiana, on December 3, 1952. He was a founding member of Molly Hatchet, playing with the group from 1976 through 1990. He was heard on the band’s albums Molly Hatchet (1978), Flirtin’ with Disaster (1979), Beatin’ the Odds (1980), Take No Prisoners (1981), No Guts ... No Glory (1983), The Deed Is Done (1984), Double Trouble Live (1985), and Lightning Strikes Twice (1989). He is also credited as a cowriter on some of the band’s biggest hits including “Boogie No More” and “Bloody Reunion.” Roland left Molly Hatchet in 1990. He later performed with the Southern Rock Allstars, playing on the albun Trouble’s Comin’ Live! in 2004.
Duane Roland
317 ROMERO, RICKY Veteran professional wrestler Ricky Romero, the father of wrestlers Chris, Mark and Jay Youngblood, died in Texas of complications from diabetes on January 15, 2006. He was 74. He was born Enrique Gregory Romero in San Bernardino, California, in May of 1931. He began wrestling professionally in the 1950s, competing in Texas and California. He was best known for his ring work in Amarillo, Texas, in the 1960s and 1970s, where he competed often against Dory Funk, Sr. He and Funk held the Southwestern States tag team titles in 1965, and Romero teamed with Pedro Morales to hold the WWA Tag Team Title in Los Angeles in February of 1967. He later teamed with Eddie Gilbert to hold the NWA Central States Tag Team Title in January of 1982. Three of Romero’s sons followed him into wrestling, competing as Jay (who died in 1985), Mark and Chris Youngblood. Romero had suffered from diabetes for many years, and lost both of his legs to the disease.
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master in 1951. He spent the next thirty years announcing acts and entertaining crowds. He was also noted for presiding over the pretend wedding of the troupe’s midgets, Muchu and Juliana, despite the tiny duo’s disdain for each other.
ROONEY, TIM Tim Rooney, the actor son of Hollywood legend Mickey Rooney, died after a long battle with dermatomyositis at his ranch in Hernet, California, on September 23, 2006. He was 59. He was born Timothy Hayes Rooney, the son of Mickey Rooney and singer Betty Jane Rase, who performed as B.J. Baker, in Birmingham, Alabama, on January 4, 1947. He was selected to be one of the original Mouseketeers with Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club in 1955, but was fired before the show aired after getting into mischief at the Disney studio paint shop. He appeared in films and television productions from the early 1960s, guest starring in episodes of Surfside 6, Room for One More, Maverick, Summer Playhouse, Dr. Kildare, My Three Sons, Petticoat Junction, Gidget, Bewitched, and Adam 12. He was also featured as Timmy Grady in his father’s short-lived comedy series Mickey in 1964. Rooney also appeared in several films including King of the Roaring 20s —The Story of Arnold Rothstein (1961), the sci-fi cult classic Village of the Giants (1965), Riot on Sunset Strip (1967), The Loners (1972), and Storyville (1974). He also worked as voice actor in commercials and for such animated series as The Jetsons and Mister T.
Ricky Romero
RONK , H AROLD Harold Ronk, who was ringmaster for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for three decades, died on August 2, 2006. He was 85. Ronk was born in Peoria, Illinois, on January 31, 1921. He served in the Navy during World War II and began his career as a singer after his discharge. While auditioning for a Broadway musical, Ronk was chosen by the circus to become the first singing ringTim Rooney (with Joy Harmon from Village of the Giants)
ROOT, GLORIA Gloria Root, a model who was Playboy magazine’s December 1969 Playmate of the Month, died of cancer in San Francisco, California, on January 8, 2006. She was 58. Root was born in Chicago, Illinois, on May 28, 1948. After posing for Playboy she was arrested with her boyfriend in Greece for possession of hashish. She spent over a year in jail before being released. Root later worked as an urban planner in San Francisco. (See photograph on page 318.) Harold Ronk
ROOT , JOAN Wildlife documentary filmmaker Joan Root was shot and killed at her farmhouse
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Gloria Root
Boris Rosner
in Naivasha, Kenya, on January 12, 2006. She was 69. She was born Joan Thorpe to an English coffee farmer in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1937. She married filmmaker Alan Root in 1961, and the two collaborated on such documentaries as Mzima: Portrait of a Spring (1972), Baobab: Portrait of a Tree (1973), The Year of the Wildebeest (1975), Balloon Safari (1975), Mysterious Castles of Clay (1978), an Oscar nominated documentary about a termite mound, Lights, Action, Africa (1980), and Kobjes: A Rock for All Seasons (1980). After her divorce from Root in 1981, she remained an active conservationist who transformed much of her lakefront estate into a refuge for wildlife.
ROSS, KIMBERLY Actress Kimberly Ann Ross, who starred in the 1989 horror film Pumpkinhead, died in Raritan, New Jersey, on December 19, 2006. She was 47. Ross was born in Missouri on October 8, 1959. She began working as a model and actress in the early 1980s, appearing in the films The Last Starfighter (1984), Nightmare at Noon (1988), and Pumpkinhead (1989). She starred as Amy Burke in the daytime soap opera Capitol in 1983, and guest-starred in episodes of Dallas, The A-Team, and Charles in Charge. She moved to New Jersey in the early 1990s where she operated a photography studio.
Kimberly Ross Joan Root
ROSNER, BORIS
Czech actor Boris Rosner died in the Czech Republic on May 31, 2006. He was 55. Rosner was born in Opava, Czechoslovakia, on January 25, 1951. He appeared frequently in films and television productions from the late 1970s. His film credits include Good-for-Nothing (1978), Calamity (1981), Komediant (1984), The Reckless Fellows (1987), Wolfgang A. Mozart (1991) as Salieri, The Black Barons (1992), Seven Ravens (1992), and Stav bez Tize (1999). Rosner was also seen on television in such productions as The Bronze Screw (1988), Adventure of Criminalistics (1989), Lorna a Ted (1991), Milacek (2002), and Hodina Tance a Lasky (2003).
ROSSI, REX Stuntman Rex Rossi, who doubled for cowboy star Bob Steele, died in Florida on December 12, 2006. He was 87. Rossi was a stunt rider for a traveling circus owned by Tom Mix. He began his career in Hollywood in the late 1930s, performing stunts in features for over fifty years. His many film credits include The Three Musketeers (1939), The Mark of Zorro (1940), Death Valley Rangers (1943), Trigger Law (1944), Utah (1945), The Navajo Kid (1945), Six Gun Man (1946), Black Beauty (1946), Bells of San Angelo (1947), The Three Musketeers (1948), Nadine (1987), No Way Out (1987), The Dead Pool (1988), Pink Cadillac (1989), and Gunfighter’s Moon (1995). He also worked on the western television series Bonanza. (See photograph on page 319.)
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Night 3: Better Watch Out! (1989), and A Hero’s Heart (2002). His editing credits also include the tele-films Tales from the Hollywood Hills: Natica Jackson (1987), Tales from the Hollywood Hills: A Table at Ciro’s (1987), Sunstroke (1992), and Justice League of America (1997). He also worked on such series as The Young Riders, Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, Relativity, Nothing Sacred, Cupid, Temptation Island, Big Apple, Going to California, Everwood, and The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire.
Rex Rossi
ROTH, LEON Film producer and publicist Leon Roth died of pneumonia in Los Angeles on November 24, 2006. He was 87. Roth was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 21, 1919. He began writing for newspapers in the late 1940s before joining Untied Artists as a publicity coordinator. He rose to vicepresident and head of publicity with the company in Hollywood, and served in the same capacity with the Mirisch Company. He orchestrated publicity campaigns for such films as West Side Story, Some Like It Hot and The Apartment. Roth also produced the 1964 independent feature film The Luck of Ginger Coffey, and the 1974 cult horror film I Dismember Momma. He was featured in the 2003 documentary Funny Old Guys about the weekly lunch meetings of a group of Hollywood characters.
ROTHWELL, ROBERT Character actor Robert Rothwell died in Woodland Hills, California, on July 22, 2006. He was 75. Rothwell was born on November 20, 1930. He began his career in films and television in the late 1950s. His many film credits include Thundering Jets (1958), El Dorado (1966), Banning (1967), Fools (1970), Rio Lobo (1970), The Last Movie (1971), Now You See Him, Now You Don’t (1972), How Come Nobody’s on My Side (1975), Breakheart Pass (1975), The End (1978), Hot Lead and Cold Feet (1978), Sweet Dreams (1985), Just Between Friends (1986), Catchfire (1990), and The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) as Mr. Simmons. He was also seen in the tele-films Night Chase (1970), Columbo: Double Shock (1973), You Lie So Deep, My Love (1975), Helter Skelter (1976), In the Glitter Palace (1977), His Mistress (1984), Thanksgiving Day (1990), Fire in the Dark (1991), and Columbo: Death Hits the Jackpot (1991). His other television credits includes roles in such series as Temple Houston, Perry Mason, Kraft Suspense Theatre, Bonanza, The Virginian, Adam-12, Gunsmoke, Mary Tyler Moore Show, Banacek, Rhoda, Lou Grant, Matt Houston, Dynasty, Riptide, St. Elsewhere, Remington Steele, V, The Golden Girls, Eisenhower and Lutz, Life Goes On, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and Murder, She Wrote.
Leon Roth
ROTHKOWITZ, EDWARD S. Film editor and producer Edward S. Rothkowitz died at his home in Playa Del Rey, California, on April 1, 2006. He was 64. Rothkowitz was born in The Bronx, New York, on January 8, 1942. He began working in films in the 1960s, and served as an assistant editor for 1969’s Midnight Cowboy. Rothkowitz was best known as coproducer and editor of the rock ’n’ roll documentary film about The Who, The Kids Are Alright, in 1979. He also edited the films Never on Tuesday (1988), Cool Blue (1988), Warm Summer Rain (1989), Silent Night, Deadly
Robert Rothwell
ROUFFAER, SENNE Belgian character actor Senne Rouffaer died in Belgium of complications from Alzheimer’s disease on July 15, 2006. He was 80. Rouffaer was born in Kapellen, Belgium, on December 19, 1925. He was a popular performer in Belgian film and television productions, starring as Phileas Fogg in a 1957 television adaptation of Around the World in Eighty Days. He also starred in such television productions as Manko Kapak (1959), Tijl Uilenspiegel (1961),
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Zanzibar (1962), Kapitein Zeppos (1964), Hendrickje Stoffels (1965), Axel Nort (1966), The Three Musketeers (1968) as Dartagnan, Storm Over Firenze (1968) as Machiavelli, Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder (1969), Othello (1969) as Iago, Keromar (1971), Moeder Hanna (1973), Een Boerin in Frankrijk (1973), Centraal Station (1974), Caligula (1975), De Brusselse Straatzanger (1978), Dirk van Haveskerke(1979), Maria Speermalie (1979), Bruges la Morte (1980), Hedda Gabler (1984), Hard Labeur (1985), Buiten de Zone (1994), Wittekerke (1996), Plankenkoorts: Het Verhoor (1999), and Saint Amour (2001). Rouffaer was also seen in such films as The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short (1965), Farewells (1966), One Night ... a Train (1968), The Erasers (1969), Monsieur Hawarden (1969), Jonny en Jessy (1972), Rubens, Schilder en Diplomaat (1977), Woman Between Wolf and Dog (1979), Wodka Orange (1982), Brussels by Night (1983), The Scorpion (1984), Istanbul (1985), The Van Paemel Family (1986), The Abyss (1988), Less Dead Than the Others (1992), Ad Fundurn (1993), Seventh Heaven (1993), The Flying Dutchman (1995), Hadewijch (1996), Vacance (1996), Kurrel & Co. (1999), and I Know I’ll See Your Face Again (2002).
on April 21, 1927. He was a prominent dentist in the Atlanta, Georgia, area who performed often on the local stage. He also wrote and directed productions in Atlanta, including a dental based puppet show, The Wanda Wonder Smile Show. Rousso was seen as Slick, Jessica Tandy’s nephew, in the 1989 film Driving Miss Daisy.
RUBIN, SHAILA Shaila Rubin, a leading casting director for films in Europe, died in Rome, Italy, on December 15, 2006. She was 71. Rubin was born in New Jersey on March 6, 1935. She worked as an editor for CBS News in New York in the mid–1950s before working in the editorial department for Esquire magazine. She also worked as a freelance photographer, with her work seen in numerous European magazines. Rubin was active in European cinema as a location manager and assistant director and became a leading casting director in the 1990s. She received an Emmy Award nomination for casting the 1995 tele-film The Bible: Joseph. Rubin was casting director for the films The Truce (1997), Life Is Beautiful (1997), Titus (1999), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), The Omega Code (1999), Nora (2000), Up the Villa (2000), Hannibal (2001), Swept Away (2002), Heaven (2002), The Passion of the Christ (2004), The Shadow Dancer (2005), The Nativity Story (2006), and The Inquiry (2006). Rubin also appeared in small roles in several films including The Legend of the Pianist on the Ocean (1998), Heaven (2002), I Am David (2003), and Windows (2004).
Senne Ruffaer
ROUSSO, JACK Jack Rousso, who was featured in a small role in the film Driving Miss Daisy, died of complications from heart surgery in Marietta, Georgia, on August 5, 2006. He was 79. Rousso was born Shaila Rubin
Jack Rousso
RUDISILL, MARIE Marie Rudisill, who was featured on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on the “Ask the Fruitcake Lady” segments, died in Hudson, Florida, on November 3, 2006. She was 95. Rudisill was born in Monroeville, Alabama, on March 13, 1911. She was the aunt of novelist Truman Capote, who lived with her on occasion during his youth. She was the author of several books including Truman Capote: The Story of His Bizarre and Exotic Childhood, Critter Cakes and Frog Tea, and Sook’s Cookbook. Her 2000 book, Fruitcake: Memories of Truman Capote and Sook, led to an appearance on The Tonight Show, where she gave a demonstration in fruitcake making to Jay Leno and Mel Gibson. She began appearing as part of a regular
321 segment on the show in 2002, where she would answer questions from viewers about everything from fruitcakes to sex.
2006 • Obituaries
Presents the Fireside Theatre, Have Gun, Will Travel, Mike Hammer, The Texan, Texas John Slaughter, The Bob Cummings Show, Border Patrol, General Electric Theater, Lawman, Men into Space, Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, The Rifleman, Mr. Lucky, Bronco, Hawaiian Eye, Peter Gunn, M Squad, Michael Shayne, Boris Karloff ’s Thriller, Laramie, Perry Mason, Ben Casey, The Virginian, The Beverly Hillbillies as psychiatrist Dr. Twombly, Leave It to Beaver, Temple Houston, The Jack Benny Program, My Favorite Martian, Rawhide, My Living Doll, The Munsters, Mona McCluskey, Green Acres, The Debbie Reynolds Show, I Dream of Jeannie, Barefoot in the Park, The Partridge Family, Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, Love, American Style, Temperatures Rising, Griff, Project U.F.O., and House Calls.
Marie Rudisill
RUDLEY, HERBERT Veteran character actor Herbert Rudley, who starred with Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney, Jr., in the 1956 horror film The Black Sleep and was Eve Arden’s husband in the television sit-com The Mothers-in-Law in the 1960s, died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California, on September 9, 2006. He was 95. Rudley was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 22, 1911. He began his career on stage in the late 1920s and was featured in numerous theatrical productions including Macbeth with Maurice Evans and Judith Anderson. He made his film debut in 1940, reprising his Broadway role of Seth Gale in the film version of Abe Lincoln in Illinois. Rudley continued to appear on screen in such films as The Seventh Cross (1944), Marriage Is a Private (1944), The Master Race (1944), Brewster’s Millions (1945), Rhapsody in Blue (1945) as Ira Gershwin, A Walk in the Sun (1945), Decoy (1946), Casbah (1948), Hollow Triumph (1948), Joan of Arc (1948), The Silver Chalice (1954), Artists and Models (1955), The Court Jester (1956), Raw Edge (1956), That Certain Feeling (1956), The Black Sleep (1956), The Young Lions (1958), The Bravados (1958), Tonka (1958), The Big Fisherman (1959) as the Emperor Tiberius, The Jayhawkers! (1959), Beloved Infidel (1959), Hell Bent for Leather (1960), The Great Impostor (1961), Follow That Dream (1962) with Elvis Presley, the tele-film Call Her Mom (1972), Falling in Love Again (1980), and Forever and Beyond (1981). Rudley also appeared frequently on television from the early 1950s, starring as Sam Brennan in the frontier series The Californians from 1957 to 1958. He was Herb Hubbard in comedy series The Mothers-in-Law from 1967 to 1969, and was featured in the recurring role of Howard Barker on Dallas in 1981. He also guest-starred in episodes of Lux Video Theatre, Lights Out, The Web, Studio One, Kraft Television Theatre, You Are There, Robert Montgomery Presents, Science Fiction Theater, Hallmark Hall of Fame, My Friend Flicka, Matinee Theatre, The Loretta Young Show, Playhouse 90, Cavalcade of America, Telephone Time, Navy Log, Gunsmoke, Boots and Saddles, Casey Jones, Flight, Suspicion, Jane Wyman
Herbert Rudley
RUIZ, HILTON Pianist Hilton Ruiz died in a New Orleans, Louisiana, hospital on June 6, 2006. He had been in a coma since suffering severe head injuries in a fall on Bourbon Street on May 19, 2006, while in New Orleans promoting a CD benefit for Hurricane Katrina victims. He was 54. Ruiz was born in New York City on May 29, 1952. He began playing the piano at an early age and was performing at Carnegie Hall at the age of eight. He became interested in Latin music and worked with several bands in New York while in his teens. His work with saxophonist Rahsaan Roland Kirk gained him fame in the early
Hilton Ruiz
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1970s. He also worked with such artists as George Coleman, Chico Freeman, Abbey Lincoln, and Clark Terry, and led several groups. Ruiz was also heard on the soundtracks of several films including Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors, A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994), and American Beauty (1999).
RUKEYSER, LOUIS Economist Louis Rukeyser, who hosted the PBS television series Wall $treet Week with Louis Rukeyser for over 30 years, died of multiple myeloma, a rare bone marrow cancer, at his home in Greenwich, Connecticut, on May 2, 2006. He was 73. Rukeyser was born in New York City on January 30, 1933. He began his career as a journalist, working as a political correspondent for the Baltimore Evening Sun. He also worked as a correspondent with ABC News. He became host of the popular PBS financial program Wall $treet Week with Louis Rukeyser in 1970. He hosted the program until 2002, when he left PBS in a dispute with executives who wanted to bring in a younger host. Shortly afterwards he began hosting Louis Rukeyser’s Wall Street on CNBC. He left the show the following year for reasons of health. Rukeyser also made cameo roles in several films including Big Business (1988) and Gordy (1995), and on such television series as Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and Northern Exposure.
ber 18, 2006. She was 94. Russell was born in London on December 27, 1911. She made her debut on BBC radio in 1931, and moved to Canada in 1940. She soon began a popular series of one woman shows parodying famous operas. She was best known for her concerts and recordings of her parody of Richard Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelungs and How to Write Your Own Gilbert and Sullivan Opera. Russell appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and was the voice of the witch in the 1954 film version of Hansel and Gretel. She also appeared in the 1962 film Kill or Cure and was seen in episodes of The Rovers, Rush and Matlock Police. She was also the author of the 1955 book The Power of Being a Positive Stinker.
RUTHERFORD, GENE Actor Gene Rutherford, who was featured as Rufus Quint in the 1968 western film Will Penny, died at the Memphis, Tennessee, Healthcare on September 24, 2006. He was 67. Rutherford began his career in Hollywood in the late 1960s, appearing on television in episodes of such series as The Andy Griffith Show, The Monkees, Gunsmoke, Mannix, Bonanza, The High Chaparral in the recurring role of Bart Kellogg, The Big Valley, Adam-12, Here Come the Brides, Matt Houston, and The Fall Guy. He was also seen in the 1978 tele-film Cops and Robin and the 1980 mini-series Beulah Land. He was featured in several films besides Will Penny including Hurry Sundown (1967), Candy Tangerine Man (1975), The Witch Who Came from the Sea (1977), and Love and Money (1982). Rutherford retired from show business in the early 1980s and settled in Memphis. He had been a guest at the Memphis Film Festival several times in the past decade.
Louis Rukeyser
RUSSELL, ANNA British singer and comedienne Anna Russell died in eastern Australia on Octo-
Gene Rutherford
Anna Russell
RUTTEN, JOSEPH Canadian actor Joseph Rutten died in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on June 22, 2006. He was 75. Rutten was born in the Netherlands in 1930 and came to Canada in the 1950s. He was best known for his stage performances, appearing with the Stratford Festival for eight seasons. Rutten was also featured in the films Buried on Sunday (1992), Eb and Flo (1998), The Real Howard Spitz (1998), The Weight of Water (2000), Behind the Red Door (2002), Marion Bridge (2002), Touch & Go (2003), The Drawing (2004), and Recollection (2004). He also appeared fre-
323 quently on television, performing in such productions as Life with Billy (1994), Pit Pony (1997), The Pilot’s Wife (2002), Blessings (2003), and Stone Cold (2005), and guest starring in episodes of Lexx and Trailer Park Boys.
2006 • Obituaries
Meyer’s affairs when his mental and physical health deteriorated in the late 1990s. Meyer died in 2004.
RYDER, MARK Mark Ryder, a leading dancer with Martha Graham’s company, died in Columbia, Maryland, on July 13, 2006. He was 85. Ryder was born Sasha Liebich in Chicago, Illinois, on May 30, 1921. He studied dance as a child under Martha Graham and joined her dance troupe in 1940. He returned the troupe after serving in the Army during World War II and starred opposite Graham, as the Minotaur, in her ballet Errand into the Maze. He formed his own company, The Dance Drama Duo, in the early 1950s. The popular touring group later evolved into The Dance Drama Company. Ryder also taught dance at the University of Maryland from the 1970s until his retirement in 1988.
Joseph Rutten
RYAN, ANTHONY JAMES Anthony James Ryan, who worked with exploitation director Russ Meyer on numerous films, died of pneumonia in Burbank, California, on April 15, 2006. He was 84. Ryan was born in Washington, D.C., on June 17, 1921. He met Russ Meyer in 1943 when the two served together as U.S. Army combat photographers during World War II. Ryan starred with Meyer’s second wife, Eve Meyer, in the 1961 nudie-cutie film Eve and the Handyman, and was also seen in Meyer’s films Wild Gals of the Naked West (1962) and Finders Keepers, Lovers Weepers! (1968). Ryan worked on many of Meyer’s other films, concocting the stories for Vixen! (1968), Black Snake (1973), and Up! (1976), and serving as production manager for 1970’s Cherry, Harry & Raquel! He also served as a producer on several of Meyer’s films including Finders Keepers, Lovers Weepers! (1968), Vixen! (1968), Cherry, Harry & Raquel! (1970), Black Snake (1973), and Supervixens (1975). He remained close to Meyer throughout the director’s life, attempting to help him edit the uncompleted anthology The Breast of Russ Meyer. He also served as one of the trustees appointed to oversee
SACHAROW, LAWRENCE Theatrical director Lawrence Sacharow died of leukemia in Manhattan, New York, on August 15, 2006. He was 68. Sacharow was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 10, 1937. He began working in theater in the 1960s and developed the play, The Concept, while teaching at a Staten Island drug rehabilitation center. The play was based on the experiences of eight residents of the center and ran for three years off–Broadway. He received an Obie Award for directing Len Jenkin’s play Five of Us, and won the Lucille Lortel Award for his direction
Anthony James Ryan
Lawrence Sacharow
Mark Ryder (right, with first wife Emily Frankel)
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of Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women in 1994. He also directed Beckett/Albee in 2004, consisting of one-acts of Albee and Samuel Beckett.
ST. CLAIR, ALEX Guitarist Alex St. Clair, who was a founding member of the 1960s rock group Captain Beef heart’s Magic Band, was found dead at his apartment in Lancaster, California, on January 5, 2006. He was 64. St. Clair was born Alexis Clair Snouffer in Lancaster on September 14, 1941. He formed Captain Beef heart with guitarist Doug Moon, Jerry Handley, drummer Paul Blakely, and singer Don Van Vleit. They recorded their debut single, “Do Wah Diddy,” in 1966. They were joined by Ry Cooder on slide guitar for the 1967 album Safe as Milk. St. Clair remained with Captain Beef heart through their next album, Strictly Personal, before leaving the group in 1968. He briefly returned to the band in the early 1970s, playing on the album Unconditionally Guaranteed before leaving again in 1974.
SALACKA, EWA Polish actress Ewa Salacka died in Poland of an allergic reaction to a wasp sting on July 23, 2006. She was 49. Salacka was born in Warsaw, Poland, on May 3, 1957. She was featured in such films as Oh, Charles! (1985), Other Island (1987), Curse of Snakes Valley (1987), Five Women Against the Sea (1987), Oszolomienie (1989), Art of Living (1989), Belief in the White Wind (1990), The Birthday Trip (1990), Femina (1991), Odlotowe Wakacje (1999), and Fuks (1999). She also starred as Elwira Koziol in the 1999 television series Tygrysy Europy, and was Urszula Paprocka in the 2004 series Pierwsza Milosc.
Ewa Salacka
Alex St. Clair (right, with Don Van Vliet, Jerry Handley, Richard Hepner, and Doug Moon from Captain Beef heart)
ST. JOHNS, RICHARD Film producer and executive Richard St. Johns died on October 28, 2006. He was 77. St. Johns was born in Los Angeles in 1929, the son of writer Adela Rogers St. Johns. He graduated from the Stanford Law School and practiced law until 1968, when he became president of Filmways in 1968. He left Filmways in 1972 and founded the Film Financing Group in 1975. He became an independent producer at MGM in the early 1980s and teamed with writer and producer Eric Bercovici with Bercovici/St. Johns Productions. He subsequently worked at New World Pictures from 1986 to 1989,and was a founder of SBS Broadcasting in 1990. He served as president of SBS until his retirement in 1994. During his career St. Johns was credited as executive producer for such films The People That Time Forgot (1977), The Uncanny (1977), Matilda (1978), Circle of Iron (1978), Nightwing (1979), The Wanderers (1979), The Mountain Men (1980), The Final Countdown (1980), A Change of Season (1980), Dead and Buried (1981), Venom (1981), and the animated Fire and Ice (1983). He was also executive producer of the tele-films Revenge for a Rape (1976) and Cowboy (1983), and the 1981 television series McClain’s Law.
SALLOKER, ANGELA Austrian actress Angela Salloker died on January 3, 2006. She was 92. Salloker was born in Moschganzen, Austria-Hungary (now Slovenia), on March 5, 1913. She began her career on stage in the late 1920s and made her film debut in 1934’s The Black Whale and The Secret of Cavelli. The following year she starred in the film Joan of Arc. She was featured in several more films in the 1930s including Prinzessin Dagmar (1936), The Broken Jug (1937), and The Wedding Journey (1939). She retired from the screen during World War II, concentrating on stage roles. She briefly returned to the screen after the war, appearing in the 1949 feature Angela. She appeared in several television productions from the 1960s including Gespenster (1966), Der Fussganger (1973), Das
Angela Salloker
325 Fraulein von Scuderi (1976), and Der Lebende Leichnam (1981). She was also seen in episodes of Der Kommissar and Derrick.
2006 • Obituaries
SALMINEN, VILLE-VEIKKO Finnish actor Ville-Veikko Salminen died of cancer in Helsinki, Finland, on January 16, 2006. He was 68. Salminen was born in Turku, Finland, on August 23, 1937. He began his career as a child actor in the late 1940s. He appeared in such films as Irmeli, Seitsentoistavuotias (1948), Evakko (1956), Just an Ordinary Finn (1959), Nina ja Erik (1960), Jengi (1963), Pohjan Tahteet (1969), Telefon (1977), Tup-akka-lakko (1980), Liian iso Keikka (1986), The Moonlight Sonata (1988), The Last Medals (2000), Debt of Honor (2002), and Uuno Turhapuro — This Is My Life (2004).
zhenko’s 1939 feature Shchors, playing a Ukrainian Civil War hero. He was also seen in the films In Search of Happiness (1939), Tanya (1940), Four Hearts (1941), Invisible Jan (1942), Six O’Clock in the Evening After the War (1944), David Bek (1944), Admiral Nakhimov (1946), Tom Sawyer (1947), Taras Shevchenko (1951), The Unforgettable Year 1919 (1952), Adventure in Odessa (1953), Unfinished Story (1955), Heroes of Shipka (1955), Aleksa Dundic (1958), Rings of Glory (1962), The Alive and the Dead (1963), The Enchanted Desna (1963), Waterloo (1970), They Fought for Their Country (1975), Boris Godunov (1986), and The Siege of Venice (1991). Samoilov also continued to perform on stage at Moscow’s Mayakovsky Theater from 1940 to 1967 and at the Maly Theater from 1968 until shortly before his death.
Ville-Veikko Salminen
Yevgeny Samoilov
SAMETH, JACK Television director Jack Sameth died of a heart attack at his home in Northport, New York, on July 4, 2006. He was 79. Sameth was born on September 16, 1926. He began working in television as a page at DuMont Television in the 1940s. He was a producer at director at ABC in the 1950s, where he worked with Mike Wallace and Howard K. Smith. He also directed such programs as The United States Steel Hour, Beat the Clock, The Walter Winchell Show, and Stop the Music. He also directed several presidential debates during his career including the Kennedy-Nixon debate in 1960. He became a network executive with ABC in the 1960s, where he supervised such programs as The Hollywood Palace. He directed the Great American Dream Machine for PBS in 1970. He was director of The ABC Evening News with Barbara Walters and Harry Reasoner in the late 1970s. He worked often with PBS from the late 1970s, serving as producer of such series as The Brain, Television, and The Mind. SAMOILOV, YEVGENY Russian actor Yevgeny Samoilov, who was best known his heroic roles in Soviet films during World War I, died in Moscow on February 17, 2006. He was 93. Samoilov was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, on April 16, 1912. He began his career on the Russian stage in 1930, and became a protege of experimental stage director Vsevolod Meyerhold. He made his film debut in Alexander Dov-
SANDON’S, FLO Italian singer Mammola Sandon, who performed under the name Flo Sandon’s, died in Rome on November 17, 2006. She was 82. Sandon’s was born in Vicenza, Italy, on June 30, 1924. She began her career as a singer performing with a Red Cross charity show in 1944. She recorded the popular songs “El Negro Zumbon” and “T’ho Voluto Ben,” which were featured on the soundtrack for the 1952 film Anna. She appeared in several films including The Ship of Condemned Women (1954) and L’Ultimo Amante (1955). Sandon’s married fellow singer Natalino Otto
Flo Sandon’s
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in 1955, and the two toured and performed together. Her other popular songs include “I Love Paris,” “Que Sera Sera,” “Verde Luna,” and “Passa il Tempo.”
SANDOVAL, ESTHER Puerto Rican actress Esther Sandoval died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on February 6, 2006. She was 78. Sandoval was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on December 28, 1927. She was active in films from the early 1960s, appearing in Roger Corman’s cult classic Creature from the Haunted Sea in 1961. She also appeared in the films Thunder Island (1963), Traitors of San Angel (1967), and Las Pasiones Infernales (1969). Sandoval starred in the Puerto Rican television soap opera Before the Law, and appeared as the old prostitute in the 1979 film Dios los Cria.... She also starred as Rosaura Alsina in the 1978 television series Cristina Bazan.
Erotica (1970). He moved to California in 1967, and earned a Grammy nomination for his 1972 album The Maestro. A two-CD set, Ouro Negro, was released in 2001, and brought Santos’ music to a new generation of fans.
SANTOS, PABLO Mexican actor Pablo Santos, who starred as David Tiant in the television series Greetings from Tucson, died when the private plane he was a passenger in crashed while making its approach to the Toluca, Mexico, airport on September 15, 2006. He was 19. Santos was born in Monterrey, Mexico, on January 9, 1987. He was a popular teen film and television actor from the early 2000s. Santos was seen in the films The Weeping Woman of the River (2001), Cojones (2002), Party Animalz (2004), Shackles (2005), Sea of Dreams (2005), Walkout (2006), and Gettin’ Some Jail Time (2006). He was also featured on television in episodes of Resurrection Blvd., Alias, The Shield, American Family, Jeremiah, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Proud Family, and Boston Public.
Esther Sandoval
SANTOS, MOACIR Brazilian composer Moacir Santos died of complications from a stroke in Pasadena, California, on August 6, 2006. He was 82. Santos was born in Vila Bela, Brazil, on April 8, 1924. He began playing various musical instruments at an early age and was composing for Brazil’s Radio Nacional by the 1940s. Santos composed the scores from numerous Brazilian films in the 1950s and 1960s including Ganga Zumba (1963), Seara Vermelha (1964), O Santo Modico (1964), The Guns (1964), The Kiss (1965), and African
SAO PAULO, IRVING Brazilian actor Irving Sao Paulo died of pancreatitis in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 10, 2006. He was 41. Sao Paulo was born in Deira de Santana, Brazil, on October 26, 1964, the son of director Olney Sao Paulo. He began his film career in the late 1970s, appearing in A Noiva da Cidade (1978), Muito Prazer (1979), and Luz del Fuego (1982).
Moacir Santos
Irving Sao Paulo
Pablo Santos
327 He was a popular television performer from the 1980s, starring in such series as Final Feliz (1982), Champagne (1983), Bebe a Bordon (1988), Vida Nova (1988), O Sexo dos Anjos (1989), A Historia de Ana Raio E Ze Trovao (1990), Ilha das Bruxas (1991), Perigosas Peruas (1992), Mulheres de Areia (1993), A Viagem (1994), Torre de Babel (1998), A Muralha (2000), and Um Soi Coracao (2004). Sao Paulo’s recent film credits include O Veneno da Madrugada (2004) and Cascalho (2004).
SAROJA , E.V. Indian Tamil actress E.V. Saroja died of cardiac arrest in a Chennai, India, hospital on November 3, 2006. She was 71. She starred in over seventy films during her career, often opposite such leading actors as M.G. Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan. Her film credits include Penki Pellam (1956), Bhale Ramudu (1956), Bhag ya Rekha (1957), Suvarna Sundari (1957), Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu (1958), Iddaru Mitrulu (1961), Chaduvukunna Ammayilu (1963), and Velugu Needalu (1964). She was married to film director T.R. Ramanna until his death several years earlier.
2006 • Obituaries
(1970), The Third (1972), Januskopf (1972), Elective Affinities (1974), The Naked Man in the Stadium (1974), Kit & Co (1974), Ulzana (1974), Am Ende der Welt (1975), Blood Brothers (1975), Between Night and Dawn (1975), The Light on the Gallows (1976), Sabine Wulff (1978), Nicki (1979), Code for the Boss: Sorty No. 5 (1979), Der Baulowe (1980), Die Stunde der Tochter (1981), Der Scout (1983), Isabel auf der Treppe (1984), Odyssea (1986), Vorspiel (1987), Erster Verlust (1990), Der Hut (1991), and The Einstein of Sex: Life and Work of Dr. M. Hirschfeld (1999). He also worked frequently on German television during the 1970s and 1980s.
Karl-Ernst Sasse
E.V. Saroja (right, from Iddaru Mitrulu)
SASAKI, MAMORU Japanese film and television writer Mamoru Sasaki died of pancreatic cancer in Tokyo, Japan, on February 24, 2006. He was 69. Sasaki was born in Ishikawa, Japan, on September 13, 1936. He was best known as the writer of the anime series Heidi, Girl of the Alps. He also wrote for the television series Ultraman, Operation: Mystery!, and Iron King. Sasaki also scripted such films as Tales of the Ninja (1967), Japanese Summer: Double Suicide (1967), A Treatise on Japanese Bawdy Songs (1967), Diary of a Shinjuku Burglar (1968), Death by Hanging (1968), Three Resurrected Drunkards (1968), Boy (1969), He Died After the War (1970), The Ceremony (1971), Dear Summer Sister (1972), Technopolice (1982), Ultar Q the Movie: Legend from the Stars (1990), and The Visas That Saved Lives (1992). SASSE , KARL-ERNST Karl-Ernst Sasse, a leading German composer who scored numerous films from the 1960s, died of cancer in Potsdam, Germany, on November 12, 2006. He was 82. Sasse was born in Bremen, Germany, on December 5, 1923. His numerous credits include such German films as Karla (1965), Trial of the Falcon (1968), Signals: A Space Adventure
SAUNDERS , NICHOLAS Character actor Nicholas Saunders died of lung cancer at his home in Los Angeles on August 26, 2006. He was 93. Saunders was born Nikita Soussanin in Kiev, Russia (now the Ukraine), on June 2, 1913. He was raised in Hollywood where his father, Nicholas Soussanin, and stepmother, Olga Baclonova, were both actors. He began his career on stage and was featured on Broadway in productions of The Magnificent Yankee and Lady in the Dark in the 1940s. He also began working for Voice of America as a Russian-language radio announcer in 1947. Saunders appeared as Sgt. Ross in the television mystery series Martin Kane, Private Eye from 1950 to 1952, and was Captain Barker on The Phil Silvers Show in 1959. He also appeared in episodes of Car 54, Where Are You?,
Nicholas Saunders
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The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre, Naked City, The Defenders, The Honeymooners, and Hallmark Hall of Fame. Saunders was featured in several films during his career including Woody Allen’s Bananas (1971), Deadly Hero (1976), Daniel (1983), and C.O.D. (1983). He was also seen in the 1978 tele-film The Defection of Simas Kudirka, and was Chief Bradley in the daytime soap opera All My Children in 1980.
SCANLAN, GREGORY Film producer Gregory Scanlan died at his home in Sherman Oaks, California, on January 6, 2006. He was 53. Scanlan was born in Olney, Illinois, on February 20, 1952. He wrote and directed the 1994 film Shelter from the Storm, and produced the 1997 television series Damian Cromwell’s Postcards from America. He was a founder of Filmworks Laboratory, Inc., in Santa Monica, California, and was a producer of several independent films including Lone Star Struck (2000), Role of a Lifetime (2001), March (2001), Going Greek (2001), Intoxicating (2003), and Jimmy and Judy (2005). SCHAEFER, ROBERT Television writer Robert Schaefer died of emphysema at his home in Laguna Woods, California, on December 14, 2006. He was 80. Schaefer was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 17, 1926, and was raised in Hollywood. He served with the U.S. Navy in the Seabees during World War II. After the war he took courses in professional writing, where he met his long-time collaborator, Eric Freiwald. They began writing scripts for numerous television programs in the 1950s including The Gene Autry Show, The Adventures of Kit Carson, Science Fiction Theater, Buffalo Bill, Jr., Tales of the Texas Rangers, Annie Oakley, The Lone Ranger, Maverick, Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, Wichita Town, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Lassie. He also scripted the 1958 feature film The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold. He retired after writing an episode of Highway to Heaven in the 1980s.
gmar Bergman’s The Magician (1958), Night Games (1966), and 1995’s Happy Days as the voice of God.
Harry Schein
SCHLOTZHAUER, ROLAND Cinematographer Roland Schlotzhauer was killed in a helicopter crash near Walford, Iowa, while filming a parade for the film “The Final Season” on June 20, 2006. He was 50. The Bell Jet Ranger III helicopter he was a passenger in crashed after hitting power lines. The pilot, Dick Green, and film producer Tony Wilson were both seriously injured in the crash. Schlotzhauer was born in Lenexa, Kansas, on June 10, 1956, and had worked in film photography from the 1980s. He had worked on the IMAX productions Celebrate Detroit and Kansas City Presents. He had also worked on Spike Lee’s 2005 film CSA: The Confederate States of America and Raising Jeffrey Dahmer (2006).
Roland Schlotzhauer
Robert Schaefer
SCHEIN, HARRY Swedish actor Harry Schein died in Djursholm, Sweden, on February 11, 2006. He was 81. Schein was born in Vienna, Austria, on October 13, 1924. He was active in stage productions in Sweden, and was also featured in several films including In-
SCHLUBACH, JAN German film production designer Jan Schlubach died in Berlin, Germany, on February 4, 2006. He was 85. Schlubach was born in Den Haag, the Netherlands, in 1920. He was active as an art director for German television from the early 1960s. He also worked on Stanley Kubrick’s 1975 feature Barry Lyndon, and was a location researcher for Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining. Schlubach also served as art director or production designer for such films as Inside Out (1975), Salon Kitty (1976), Fabian (1980), Charlotte (1981), Mashenka
329 (1987), Destination Berlin (1988), Judgment in Berlin (1988), The Rose Garden (1989), Becoming Colette (1991), and Green Henry (1994).
Jan Schlubach
SCHMID, DANIEL Swiss film director Daniel Schmid died of cancer in Flims, Switzerland, on August 5, 2006. He was 64. Schmid was born in Flims on December 26, 1941. He studied filmmaking at the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin and began directing films for television in the early 1970s. He helmed his first theatrical feature, Tonight or Never, in 1972. Schmid also directed the films La Paloma (1974), Shadow of Angels (1976), Violanta (1977), Hecate (1982), the documentary Tosca’s Kiss (1984), Jenatsch (1987), Les Amateurs (1990), Off Season (1992), The Written Face (1995), and The Last Days of Switzerland (1999). He also directed television productions of Imitation of Life (1983) and Guglielmo Tell (1988), and many operas at the Grand Theatre in Geneva and the Opernhaus in Zurich. Schmid was also featured as an actor in several films including The Merchant of Four Seasons (1972), Ludwig — Requiem for a Virgin King (1972), Wim Wenders’ The American Friend (1977), Judith Therpauve (1978), Roberte (1979), and Lili Marleen (1981).
2006 • Obituaries
Mexico City on July 24, 1910. A pioneering female film editor, she began her career in the early 1940s. Her numerous credits include I Dance with Don Porfirio (1942), Another Dawn (1943), Portrait of Maria (1944), War of the Pastries (1944), The Intruder (1944), Adam, Eve and the Devil (1945), Bugambilia (1945), Pepita Jimenez (1946), Gran Casino (1947), The Pearl (1947), Hidden River (1948), Song of the Siren (1948), Mama Lolita (1948), Maclovia (1948), Lola Casanova (1949), Opio (1949), La Posesion (1950), Islas Marias (1951), Radio Patrulla (1951), Two Faces Have the Destiny (1952), The Straying Rooster (1952), El Genial Detective Peter Perez (1952), Esos de Panjamo (1953), Two Careful Fellows (1953), The Boy and the Fog (1953), The Rebellion of the Hanged (1954), Untouched (1954), El Asesino X (1955), The Immortal Charro (1955), Arm in Arm Down the Street (1956), Circle of Death (1956), Amor y Pecado (1956), Lovers (1956), Basket of Mexican Tales (1956), The Headless Rider (1957), Cry of the Bewitched (1957), The Head of Pancho Villa (1957), My Wife Needs a Husband (1959), Beyond All Limits (1959), I, Sinner (1959), Desert Tigers (1960), Macario (1960), The Phantom of the Operetta (1960), El Duende y Yo (1961), Jalisco Gals Are Beautiful (1961), A Mother’s Son (1962), Our Hateful Husbands (1962), Little Village (1962), The Bloody Vampire (1962), The Invasion of the Vampires (1963), My Memories of Mexico (1963), El Gallo de Oro (1964), Panico (1966), Juan Pistolas (1966), The Two Rivals (1966), Pedro Parqamo (1967), A Faithful Soldier of Pancho Villa (1967), The Bandits (1967), El Zangano (1968), A Stranger in the House (1968), The Sin of Adam and Eve (1969), Blue Demon Contra las Invasoras (1969), Gregario and the Littlest Angel (1970), Jovenes de la zona Rosa (1970), Agony to Be a Mother (1970), The Professor (1971), Capulina Contra los Vampiros (1972), El Metiche (1972), Chanoc en las Tarantulas (1973), Hermanos de Sangre (1974), The Minister and Me (1976), El Mar (1977), Mexico of My Loves (1979), Fuego en el Mar (1981), and El Barrendero (1982).
Gloria Schoemann Daniel Schmid
SCHOEMANN, GLORIA
Mexican film editor Gloria Schoemann died in Mexico City on September 1, 2006. She was 96. Schoemann was born in
SCHOENAERTS , JULIEN Leading Belgian stage and film actor Julien Schoenaerts died in Eigenbilzen, Belgium, of complications from Alzheimer’s disease on September 7, 2006. He was 81. Schoenaerts was
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born in Belgium on August 3, 1925. He began performing on stage in the Flemish theatre at the KNS Playhouse in Antwerp. After spending a dozen years there, he relocated to the Netherlands in the early 1960s, where he continued his career. He eventually returned to Belgium, where he was regarded as one of the finest of all Flemish actors. Schoenaerts also performed in films and on television. His film credits include Seagulls Die in the Harbour (1955), The Manneken Pis Case (1960), Jillali (1965), De Graftbewaker (1965), The Birthday Party (1966), Lucifer (1966), Farewells (1966), Adieu Richard (1967), Lieutenant Tenant (1968), A Man Dies (1969), A Far Country (1971), The Happy Family (1972), Wondership (1974), Flanagan (1975), Tiro (1979), De Dame en de Marskramer (1981), Alleen (1982), De Stille Oceaan (1984), De Huisbewaarder (1984), Boran — Zeit zum Zielen (1986), Priest Daens (1993), Twee Zusters (1994), Taxandria (1994), Hey Stranger (1994), It Will Never Be Spring (1994), Beauville (1995), Sancta Mortale (1997), Hot Dogs (1997), The Ball (1999), and Ellektra (2004).
Julien Schoenaerts
and made her film debut the following year. Her numerous film credits include The Song of Love (1946), Saint Hans’ Celebration (1947), Kranes Konditori (1951), Kasserer Jensen (1954), Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime (1955), Peter van Heeren (1957), Surrounded (1960), Hans Nielsen Hauge (1961), Elskere (1963), Climax (1965), Hurra for Andersens (1966), Olsen-Banden (1969), Olsenbanden og Dynamitt-Harry (1970), Lukket Avdeling (1972), Den Siste Fleksnes (1974), Olsenbanden for Full Musikk (1976), Olsenbanden og Dynamitt-Harry Mot Nye Hoyder (1979), Olsenbandens Aller Siste Kupp (1982), and Bloody Angels (1998). She also starred as Magnhild Fieksnes in the television series Fleksnes Fataliteter from 1972 to 2002. Schoenemann was married to actor Jan Pande-Rolfsen from 1948 until his death in 2002.
SCHOENHUT, ROBERT Cinematographer Robert Schoenhut died in Portland, Oregon, on June 12, 2006. He was 65. Schoenhut was born on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota on December 27, 1940. He produced, directed, and photographed a documentary about his place of birth, Standing Rock: A Vision, in 1970. He also produced and directed Fanfare for the Common Man in 1974. Schoenhut worked as a camera operator on the films The Exorcist (1973), The Drought (1975), Let It Ride (1989), Dances with Wolves (1990), Follow Me Home (1996), and Mystery Men (1999). He was also a camera operator for such television series as The Waltons, Dallas, Knots Landing, The A-Team, Airwolf, Quantum Leap, Dinosaurs, and Ellen. Schoenhut was also cinematographer for the films Mysto the Great (1975), Angel City (1976), Island Holiday (1979), and Click (2001), and the television productions Ann of the Wolf Clan (1977), The White Man’s Gift (1980), Suddenly Single (1981), I’d Rather be Powwowing (1983), Olympic Arts Festival (1984), Mount St. Helens (1984), Los Angeles Profile (1984), and The Trial of Standing Bear (1988).
SCHOENEMANN, AUD Norwegian actress Aud Schoenemann died in an Oslo, Norway, nursing home after a long illness on October 31, 2006. She was 83. Schoenemann was born in Oslo on November 13, 1922, the daughter of actor August and dancer Dagmar Schoenemann. She began her career on stage in 1945,
Robert Schoenhut
Aud Schoenemann
SCHOENSTEIN , RALPH Humorist Ralph Schoenstein, who was Bill Cosby’s ghostwriter for the best-seller Fatherhood, died of complications from heart surgery in Trenton, New Jersey, on August 24, 2006. He was 73. Schoenstein was born on May 29, 1933. He began writing in the early 1960s with the book The
331 Block, about his childhood in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Schoenstein was best known for ghostwriting Cosby’s humorous look at being a parent, Fatherhood. He also was ghostwriter for the Joan Rivers book Bouncing Back: I’ve Survived Everything ... and I Mean Everything ... and You Can Too! His other books include Yes, My Darling Daughters: Adventures in Fathering (¡976), The I-Hate-Preppies Handbook (¡98¡), and Toilet Trained for Yale: Adventures in 2¡st Century Parenting (2002). Schoenstein also wrote articles for such publications as Saturday Evening Post, Playboy, and The New York Times.
2006 • Obituaries
Love Is Only a Word (¡97¡), Kinderarzt Dr. Frohlich (¡972), and Meine Tochter — Deine Tochter (¡972). She also appeared frequently on German television from the ¡960s, in such productions as Das Alte Hotel (¡963), Das Marchen (¡966), Die Fee (¡969), and Das Feuerwerk (¡97¡), and episodes of Unser Pauker, Der Kommissar, and Derrick.
SCHRADER, LEONARD Screenwriter Leonard Schrader, who earned an Oscar nomination for his screenplay for ¡985’s Kiss of the Spider Woman, died of heart failure in Los Angeles on November 2, 2006. He was 62. Schrader was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in ¡944. He began writing films in the mid–¡970s, working with his younger brother Paul Schrader on such features as The Yakuza (¡974), Blue Collar (¡978), Old Boyfriends (¡979), and Mishima (¡985). He taught at the Doshisha and Kyoto Universities in Japan, where he wrote the Japanese-language films The Man Who Stole the Sun (¡979), Tora-san’s Dream of Spring (¡979), and Shonben Rider (¡983). He also wrote and directed the ¡982 documentary film The Killing of America, and the ¡99¡ feature set in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Naked Tango. His most recent credit was the upcoming biopic of Andy Warhol starlet, Edie Sedgwick, Edie: Girl on Fire.
Ralph Schoenstein
SCHORG , G RETL Austrian actress Gretl Schorg died in Vienna, Austria, on January 4, 2006. She was 9¡. Schorg was born in Vienna on January ¡7, ¡9¡4. She was seen in numerous films from the early ¡940s including Kollege Kommt Gleich (¡943), The Heavenly Waltz (¡948), Kiss Me Casanova (¡949), Hochzeitsnacht im Paradies (¡950), Verlobte Leute (¡950), The Black Forest Girl (¡950), Woe to Him Who Loves (¡95¡), Season in Saltzburg (¡952), Secretly Still and Quiet (¡953), Lavendel (¡953), Der Feldhermhugel (¡953), His Daughter Is Peter (¡955), I’ll See You at Lake Constance (¡956), Bel Ami (¡957), Hippodrome (¡959), Jacqueline (¡959), Im Schwarzen Rossl (¡96¡), Street of Temptation (¡962), A Scoundrel’s Honour (¡966), Donnerwetter! Donnerwetter! Bonifatius Kiesewetter (¡969),
Gretl Schorg
Leonard Schrader
SCHUBERT, LETTIE Puppeteer Lettie Schubert died of cancer and liver failure at her home in Mill Valley, California, on March 2¡, 2006. She was 77. She was born Frances Electa Orton Connell in San Francisco, California on March 6, ¡929. She began working in puppetry with the Oakland Recreation Department’s Vagabond Puppet Theater in ¡954. She also worked with puppeteer Ralph Chesse on the San Francisco television show Brother Buzz in the ¡950s and ¡960s, and contributed to such live local series as Willy and the Baron and The Looking Glass Lady. She also performed hand puppet performances in the display window of the Happy Things portrait studio in San Francisco in the ¡960s, where she often incorporated her puppet friends George the dog and Twinkle the fairy into her acts. Schubert’s puppet troupes also served as a training ground for several individuals who would go on to become important elements with Jim Henson’s Muppets, including voice actor and director
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Frank Oz and writer Jerry Juhl. Schubert authored the landmark puppetry booklet Manual of Hand Puppet Manipulation in ¡974. She and her husband subsequently operated a toy store in San Francisco before Schubert retired from performing to raise a family.
Lettie Schubert
SCHWARZKOPF, ELISABETH Austrian operatic soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf died at her home in Schruns, Austria, on August 3, 2006. She was 90. Schwarzkopf was born in Jarotschin, Germany (now Jarocin, Poland), on December 9, ¡9¡5. She studied singing in Berlin and made her professional debut as a chorus member in a ¡937 recording of Mozart’s The Magic Flute under conductor Sir Thomas Beecham. She was featured in Richard Wagner’s Parsifal at the Berlin Municipal Opera the following year, and performed in several films including Three Non-Coms (¡939), Das Madchen von St. Coeur (¡940), Nacht ohne Abschied (¡943), The Eternal Tone (¡943), and Der Verteidiger hat das Wort (¡944). She became a leading singer throughout Europe after World War II. Schwarzkopf starred in the world premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress in Venice in ¡95¡, and was a singing voice in the ¡954 film Svengali. She made her U.S. debut in a recital at New York’s Town Hall in ¡953, and performed in a San Francisco Opera production of Der Rosenkavalier in ¡955. She also starred in Der Rosenkavalier in her debut with the Metropolitan Opera in ¡964. She continued to perform through the ¡970s,
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
making her farewell recital in Zurich, Switzerland, in March of ¡979. Schwarzkopf was married to English recording executive Walter Legge from ¡953 until his death in ¡979. She was the aunt of General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who led American troops during the first Gulf War in ¡99¡.
SCOTT, DEREK British entertainer and musical director Derek Scott died in Southwold, Su›olk, England, on May 27, 2006. He was 84. Scott was born in Biggleswade, England, on December 25, ¡92¡. He embarked on a musical career at an early age. He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II, and entertained troops as part of Ralph Readers Gang Show during the war. He worked on stage with such comics as Sid Field and Terry-Thomas after the war and formed a comedic duo with Tony Hancock in ¡948. Known as Hank and Scott, they performed on stage and television before Hancock received his own television show. Scott later wrote the theme music for his expartner’s series Hancock in ¡963. Scott also wrote music for the ¡963 film The Punch and Judy Man. He worked frequently on television, scoring such shows as The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine, Spyder’s Web, and Hunter’s Walk. He also composed many songs for The Muppet Show and was the voice of Rolfe, the pianoplaying dog, on the show. He retired from television in ¡982, becoming musical director and organist at St. Edmund’s Church in Su›olk.
Derek Scott
SCOTT, GARRETT Documentary filmmaker Garrett Scott died of a heart attack while swimming in a municipal pool in San Diego, California, on March 2, 2006. He was 37. Scott was born to a military family in Munich, Germany, on November ¡9, ¡968, and was raised in Coronado, California. He teamed with co-director Ian Olds to created the 2002 documentary Cul de Sac: A Suburban War Story, about a police chase of a stolen army tank. He and Olds subsequently made the 2005 documentary Occupation: Dreamland, which recounted their experiences while embedded with a U.S. military division in the Iraqi town of Falluja in 2004. The documentary was awarded the Independent Spirit Award two days after Scott’s death. (See photograph on page 333.)
333
2006 • Obituaries
two Silver Stars and five Air Medals during the war. He authored God Is My Co-Pilot about his exploits and the book was adapted into a film in ¡945 with Dennis Morgan in the role of Scott. He also served as technical advisor on the film. He retired from the Air Force with the rank of brigadier general. In the mid–¡980s Scott became a‡liated with the Museum of Aviation in Georgia, where he served as fundraising chairman.
Garrett Scott
SCOTT, HAROLD Theatrical actor, producer and director Harold Scott died in Newark, New Jersey, on July ¡6, 2006. He was 70. Scott was born in Morristown, New Jersey, on September 6, ¡935. He began his career on stage in the late ¡950s and earned an Obie Award for his performance in Jean Genet’s Deathwatch in ¡958. He also appeared in the O›Broadway production of Genet’s The Blacks in the early ¡960s. He made his Broadway debut in the short-lived production of The Cool World in ¡960. He was a member of Elia Kazan’s Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center, performing in Arthur Miller’s After the Fall and Eugene O’Neill’s Marco Millions. He became a producer in ¡969 with Lanford Wilson’s The Gingham Dog, and made his directoral debut on Broadway in ¡978 with the play The Mighty Gents. In the late ¡980s he directed a production of Paul Robeson starring Avery Brooks.
Robert L. Scott
SCOTT, THELMA Australian actress Thelma Scott died of a heart attack in a Sydney, Australia, hospital on November 23, 2006. She was 93. Scott was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on June ¡7, ¡9¡3. She began her career in films in the early ¡930s, appearing in such pioneering Australian features as Harmony Row (¡933), Diggers in Blighty (¡933), and A Ticket in Tatts (¡934). She also performed frequently on stage and was seen in the ¡949 film Sons of Matthew (aka The Rugged O’Riordans). Scott moved to television in the early ¡960s, starring in such series as The Story of Peter Grey and Bellbird, and guest-starring in episodes of Skippy and Delta. She was best known for her role as socialite Claire Houghton in the Australian soap opera Number 96 throughout the ¡970s. She was also featured in the ¡974 feature film version of the series. Scott also appeared as Isabel Phelps in The Young Doctors in ¡980 and was Mrs. Jennings in the soap opera Richmond Hill in ¡988.
Harold Scott (left, with Vic Morrow)
SCOTT, ROBERT L. Brig. Gen. Robert L. Scott, a World War II fighter pilot who recounted his wartime experiences in the best seller God Is My CoPilot, died in Warner Robins, Georgia, on February 27, 2006. He was 97. Scott was born in Waynesboro, Georgia, on April ¡2, ¡908. Interested in aviation from an early age, he flew with Gen. Claire Chennault’s legendary Flying Tigers unit in China during World War II. Scott earned three Distinguished Flying Crosses,
Thelma Scott
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SEIGAL, BUDDY Guitarist and singer Buddy Seigal died of a heart attack at his home in La Mesa, California, on April 3, 2006. He was 48. Seigal was born in Syracuse, New York, on December 30, ¡957. He was a founding member of the San Diego–based rock band Beat Farmers, performing under the stage name Buddy Blue. Seigal also had a successful solo career, and played with the Buddy Blue Band, the Jacks and Raney Blue, and the Rockin’ Roulettes. He was also a music reviewer and essayist for the OC Weekly from the mid–¡990s.
(¡965), Once a Greek (¡966), I Am Looking for a Man (¡966), Young Torless (¡966), Stella (¡966), Der Kommandant (¡967), Escape from the KGB (¡967), Pepe: His Teacher’s Fright (¡969), Ludwig on the Lookout for a Wife (¡969), Hurrah, the School Is Burning (¡969), We’ll Take Care of the Teachers (¡970), The Captain (¡97¡), When Mother Went on Strike (¡974), Abelard (¡975), and Disorder and Early Torment (¡977). He teamed with director Volker Schloendor› to produce the ¡979 Oscarwinning German film The Tin Drum. He continued to make films through the early ¡990s including The Magic Mountain (¡982), Doctor Faustus (¡982), Big Mac (¡985), Sukkubus (¡989), and Success (¡99¡).
SEKI, KEIROKU Japanese comic actor Keiroku Seki died of pneumonia in a Tokyo hospital on August 23, 2006. He was 78. Seki was born Keiji Sekiya in Tochigi, Japan, on March 25, ¡928. He began performing with Kenichi Enomoto’s Enoken Troupe in ¡952 and later formed a comedy trio with Kiyoshi Atsumi and Kanichi Tani. He played Ponshu, Atsumi’s sidekick, in the popular film series Otoko wa Tsurai yo (It’s Tough Being a Man).
SEITZ, FRANZ German film producer Franz Seitz died in Germany after a long illness on January ¡9, 2006. He was 84. Seitz was born in Munich, Germany, on October 22, ¡92¡, the son of producerdirector Franz Seitz, Sr., and actress Anni Terofal. He began working in films as a set designer before becoming a producer in the early ¡950s. He produced Der Letzte Schusss (The Last Shot), which was directed by his father, in ¡95¡. He joined with Jochen Genzow to form the production company Allegro, later Ariston, and produced and wrote numerous films. His credits include Der Meineidbauer (¡956), Little Man on Top (¡957), The Scarlet Baroness (¡959), The Angry Young Men (¡960), Silberfish (¡96¡), Isola Bella (¡96¡), Moral 63 (¡963), The River Line (¡964), Tales of a Young Scamp (¡964), When the Grapevines Bloom on the Danube
SEKKA, JOHNNY British actor Johnny Sekka died of lung cancer in Agua Dulce, California, on September ¡4, 2006. He was 72. Sekka was born in Dakar, Senegal, on July ¡2, ¡934. He left Senegal and eventually settled in England, where he began working on stage. He was encouraged by actor Earl Cameron to pursue a career as an actor and worked as a stagehand before appearing in small roles. Sekka went on to star in such productions as Mr. Johnson and Flame in the Streets. Sekka made his film debut in the ¡96¡ film adaptation of Flame in the Streets. His numerous film credits also include The Wild and the Willing (¡962), Woman of Straw (¡964), East of Sudan (¡964), Khartoum (¡966), The Last Safari (¡967) with Stewart Granger, The Southern Star (¡969), Things Fall Apart (¡97¡), and Incense for the Damned (aka Bloodsuckers) (¡97¡). He also appeared frequently on British television, gueststarring in such series as Studio Four, Z Cars, Gideon’s Way, The Man in Room ¡7, Danger Man, Dixon of Dock Green, The Avengers, and Paul Temple. Sekka came Hollywood in the early ¡970s where he continued his acting career in such films as Charley One-Eye (¡973), A
Franz Seitz
Johnny Sekka
Buddy Seigal
335 Warm December (¡973), Visit to a Chief ’s Son (¡974), Uptown Saturday Night (¡974), the controversial Mohammed, Messenger of God (¡976), Ashanti (¡979), Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (¡98¡), Hanky Panky (¡982), and Fever Pitch (¡985). He was also seen in such tele-films and mini-series as Roots: The Next Generations (¡979), Maybury (¡98¡), Master of the Game (¡984), and Passion and Paradise (¡989). His other television credits include episodes of Good Times, Kingston: Confidential, Tales of the Gold Monkey, and Frank’s Place. His final role was as Dr. Benjamin Kyle in the ¡993 pilot tele-film for the science fiction series Babylon 5.
SELLAND, MARIE Marie Selland, actress and former wife of acclaimed director Sam Peckinpah, died of complications from heart surgery at the Providence St. Vincent Medical Center on October 28, 2006. She was 79. Selland was born in Happy Valley, California, on October 22, ¡927. She married Peckinpah in ¡946 and the couple raised four children before their divorce in ¡960. Selland was featured as Martha Lomax in the ¡956 science fiction classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers (¡956), and appeared on television in several episodes of The Westerner and The Rebel. She later appeared frequently on stage in various repertory theaters in southern California. She wrote and performed in productions of Cecilia’s Daughter and The Wendy and Marie Show with Wendy Westerwelle. Selland also appeared in small roles in the films Dream On! (¡98¡) and Without Evidence (¡995). SELLERS, MICHAEL Michael Sellers, the son of British comic Peter Sellers, died of complications during heart surgery in Oxford, England, on July 24, 2006. He was 52. He was born on April 2, ¡954, the son of Sellers and his first wife, actress Anne Howe. The younger Sellers appeared in a small role as Gaston in his father’s film Mr. Topaze in ¡96¡, the same year his parents were divorced. He had a di‡cult relationship with his father during his childhood, as the older Sellers remarried several times, including marriages to actresses Britt Ekland and Lynne Frederick. His father had su›ered a near fatal heart attack at the age of 39 and died in ¡980 at the age of 54. Michael Sellers au-
Michael Sellers (as a child, on the shoulders of his father, Peter Sellers)
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thored a book about his father, P.S. I Love You: An Intimate Portrait of Peter Sellers, in 2000.
SELZER, MILTON Veteran character actor Milton Selzer died of pulmonary complications in an Oxnard, California, hospital on October 2¡, 2006. He was 87. Selzer was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on October 25, ¡9¡8, and was raised in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and began his career on stage in New York after the war. He was featured in small roles in Broadway productions of Richard III, Julius Caesar, and Arms and the Man in the late ¡940s. He became a familiar face in films and television in the ¡950s, where his bald head and distinctive features led often to roles as unsympathetically glum mobsters and crooks. Selzer was a prolific television performer from the ¡950s, appearing in hundreds of episodes of such series as You Are There, The Alcoa Hour, Studio One, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Playhouse 90, Decoy, Brenner, Sunday Showcase, Play of the Week, Michael Shayne, The Aquanauts, The Asphalt Jungle, Way Out, The Investigators, General Electric Theater, The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, Cain’s Hundred, Have Gun —Will Travel, The Dick Powell Show, Checkmate, The New Breed, Route 66, The Untouchables, Sam Benedict, Stoney Burke, Alcoa Premiere, The DuPont Show of the Week, Combat!, Ben Casey, The Twilight Zone, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, The Defenders, Slattery’s People, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Perry Mason, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Rogues, Profiles in Courage, Mr. Novak, Man Called Shenandoah, The Fugitive, Convoy, The Wackiest Ship in the Army, Daniel Boone, Get Smart in the recurring role of Parker, The Virginian, The Iron Horse, Felony Squad, Jericho, The Invaders, The Rat Patrol, Judd for the Defense, Wild, Wild West, The F.B.I., Hogan’s Heroes, The Bold Ones: The Protectors, The High Chaparral, Gunsmoke, The Mod Squad, Dan August, Matt Lincoln, Green Acres, Room 222, Bewitched, The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, McCloud, O’Hara, U.S. Treasury, The Bold Ones: The Lawyers, Ironside, Search, Mission: Impossible, Mannix, Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, Needles and Pins, Marcus Welby, M.D., Temperatures Rising, Barnaby Jones, The Magician, The Bob Newhart Show, Kojak, Police Woman, Cannon, The Je›ersons, Lucas Tanner, Archer, Barney Miller, Bronk, McMillan and Wife, The Streets of San Francisco, Jigsaw John, All in the Family, Sanford and Son, Hunter, The Feather and Father Gang, Police Story, Ra›erty, The Rockford Files, Hawaii 5-O, Quincy, Fantasy Island, The Harvey Korman Show, Sword of Justice, Vega$, Wonder Woman, Little House on the Prairie, Lou Grant, Cagney and Lacey, Dynasty, Hill Street Blues, Trapper John, M.D., Fame, Berringer’s, St. Elsewhere, L.A. Law, MacGyver, The Famous Teddy Z, and Walker, Texas Ranger. He was also featured as Pop Snyder in the daytime soap opera General Hospital in ¡979. Selzer was seen in a handful of films during his career including The Last Mile (¡959), The Young Savages (¡96¡), The Yellow Canary (¡963), Alfred Hitchcock’s Marnie (¡964), A Big Hand for the Little Lady (¡966), In Enemy Country (¡968), The Legend of Lylah Clare (¡968), Blood and Lace (¡97¡), Lady Sings
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the Blues (¡972) with Diana Ross, Another Man, Another Chance (¡977), Blue Collar (¡978), The Evil (¡978), Capricorn One (¡978), The Buddy System (¡984), Sid and Nancy (¡986), Walker (¡987), Shoot to Kill (¡988), Tapeheads (¡988), and National Lampoon’s Last Resort (¡994). He was featured in numerous tele-films including Along Came a Spider (¡970), Crowhaven Farm (¡970), Sam Hill: Who Killed the Mysterious Mr. Foster (¡97¡), Jigsaw (¡972), Keep the Faith (¡972), Awake and Sing! (¡972), Murdock’s Gang (¡973), Rx for the Defense (¡973), Key West (¡973), The Sex Symbol (¡974), This Is the West That Was (¡974), The Abduction of St. Anne (¡975), Hey, I’m Alive (¡975), Mr. and Ms. and the Magic Studio Mystery (¡975), Mr. and Mrs. and the Bandstand Mystery (¡975), One of My Wives Is Missing (¡976), P.J. and the President’s Son (¡976), To Kill a Cop (¡978), The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal (¡979), Scruples (¡980), No Place to Hide (¡98¡), The Million Dollar Face (¡98¡), The People vs. Jean Harris (¡98¡), The Adventures of Nellie Bly (¡98¡), Why Me? (¡984), Mirrors (¡985), Miss Rose White (¡992), Valley of the Dolls (¡994), and Cagney and Lacy: Together Again (¡995).
family in ¡935. The family settled in Hollywood where she and her siblings, Ray, Ernest, Cli›ord, Christopher, Winston and William, all appeared in films. Yvonne was seen in such features as Lloyds of London (¡936), Tower of London (¡939), The Earl of Chicago (¡940), The Amazing Mrs. Holliday (¡943), A Guy Named Joe (¡943), and Maisie Goes to Reno (¡944). Leaving films, she met and married businessman Roy Shelley in ¡950. They remained married until Shelley’s death in ¡999.
SHABALALA, JOCKEY Jockey Shabalala, a member of the South African cappella choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, died in South Africa of heart disease on February ¡¡, 2006, at age 62. Shabalala was born on a farm in Ladysmith, South Africa, on November 4, ¡943. His brother, Joseph Shabalala, formed the singing group Ladysmith Black Mambazo in the early ¡960s, with Jockey as a member. They won various local singing competitions and received a recording contract in ¡970. They became leading stars in their home country over the next decade and gained an international audience when they performed on Paul Simon’s ¡985 album Graceland. The following year Simon produced their album Shaka Zulu, which was awarded a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Recording. They subsequently collaborated with such artists as Dolly Parton, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and George Clinton. Jockey retired from touring with the group due to poor health in 2005.
Milton Selzer
SENNETT, TED Ted Sennett, a prolific author of books on film and the performing arts, died in a car accident on September 2¡, 2006, in Closter, New Jersey. He was 78. Sennett was born on March 20, ¡928. His numerous books include Warner Brothers Presents, Lunatics and Lovers, Your Show of Shows, Masters of Menace: Greenstreet and Lorre, The Movie Bu›’s Book, The Old-Time Radio Book, Comedy on Tape, Murder on Tape, Laughing in the Dark: Movie Comedy from Groucho to Woody, Great Hollywood Westerns, Great Hollywood Movies, Great Movie Directors, Hollywood Musicals, The Art of Hanna-Barbera, Ted Sennett’s OnScreen, O›-Screen Movie Guide, and Hollywood’s Golden Year: ¡939. He was also the general editor for the 58volume paperback series, Pyramid Illustrated History of the Movies. SEVERN, YVONNE Vonne Shelley, who appeared in a handful of films under the name Yvonne Severn while her teens, died at her home in Thousand Oaks, California on November 22, 2006. She was 79. She was born in Johannesburg, South Africa on April ¡¡, ¡929, and immigrated to the United States with her
Jockey Shabalala
SHALET, DIANE Actress Diane Shalet died in Palm Springs, California, on February 23, 2006 at age 62. She was born on February 23, ¡934. Shalet began her career on stage and made her Broadway debut with the Lincoln Center Repertory Theatre’s production of Arthur Miller’s After the Fall in ¡964. She was also seen in stage productions of But for Whom Charlie, The Changeling, and Moliere’s Tartu›e. She appeared frequently on television from the ¡960s, guest-starring in episodes of The Monkees, Ironside, The Bold Ones: The Lawyers, Bonanza, The Waltons, Harry O, Mannix, The Manhunter, Gunsmoke, The Family Holvak, All in the Family, Mrs. Columbo, Stone, Little House on the Prairie, The Incredible Hulk, Nero Wolfe, and Cagney & Lacey. Shalet appeared in several films
337 during her career including The Reivers (¡969), Deadhead Miles (¡972), and The Last Tycoon (¡976). She was also featured in the tele-films Do Not Fold, Spindle, or Mutilate (¡97¡), The Night Strangler (¡973), Two Brothers (¡976), Backstairs at the White House (¡979), First A›air (¡983), and Perry Mason: The Case of the Poisoned Pen (¡990). Shalet appeared in the recurring role of Mrs. Hawkins in Andy Gri‡th’s television series Matlock in ¡989 and ¡990.
2006 • Obituaries
widow to bring Curious George to television, and wrote and directed many of the episodes. He also co-wrote with Margret Rey two dozen books that featured the character until her death in ¡996. A feature film version of Curious George was released several days after Shalleck’s murder.
SHANKAR, KUNNESSERI Indian film director Kunnesseri Shankar died a heart attack in Chennai, India, on March 5, 2006. He was 79. Shankar was born in Malabar, India, on July ¡5, ¡926. He began working in films as an editor and made his directoral debut in the ¡950s with the Sinhalese-langauge feature Doctor. He began directing Tamil-language films with One Night in ¡956. He also directed such popular films as Bhookailas (¡958), Swing (¡962), Faith (¡963), Raaj Kumar (¡964), Gowri Kalyanam (¡966), Truth (¡969), Adimaipen (¡969), Riksha Driver (¡973), and the religious film Thai Mookambigai (¡982). His final directoral credit with the ¡998 Malayalam-language Star’s Lullaby.
Diane Shalet
SHALLECK, ALLEN Allen Shalleck, who was instrumental in bringing the Curious George children’s stories to television and films, was found dead outside his home in Boynton Beach, Florida, on February 7, 2006. Shalleck had been beaten to death and his body left under garbage bags near the driveway of his mobile home. He was 76. Shalleck was born in New York City on November ¡4, ¡929. He attended Syracuse University and began working in television at the CBS mailroom in ¡950. He advanced to become an associate producer for the first interactive children’s television series, Winky Dink and You, several years later. He subsequently formed his own production company to produce children’s films. He became involved with Curious George in the late ¡970s. The mischievous monkey was created by the husband and wife team of H.A. and Margret Rey, and first saw publication in ¡94¡. After H.A. Rey’s death in ¡977 Shalleck collaborated with his
Alan Shalleck
Kunnesseri Shankar
SHAW, FRANK Comedian and writer Frank Shaw died in Wilmington, North Carolina, on October 25, 2006. He was 73. Shaw was born in New York City on December 8, ¡932. He began his career on stage, performing in the hit Broadway play The Producers. As a standup comic, he made over ten appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He was also a regular on the comedy series The New Bill Cosby Show in ¡972 and worked on television specials for such stars as Cosby, Dinah Shore, Glen Campbell, and Dick Van Dyke. Shaw produced and scripted the ¡975 television western parody Black Bart and scripted the ¡979 feature film The Frisco Kid starring Gene Wilder and Harrison Ford. SHEARER, MOIRA British ballet dancer and actress Moira Shearer died in Oxford, England, on January 3¡, 2005. She was 80. She was born Moira Shearer King in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, on January ¡7, ¡926, the daughter of actor Harold King. She trained as a dancer and made her professional debut with the International Ballet in ¡94¡. She began performing with Sadler’s Wells the following year and received acclaim for her performance as Pride in Frederick Ashton’s bal-
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let The Quest in ¡943. She became one of the best known ballet performers to the general public after her appearance as Victoria Page in the ballet-inspired film The Red Shoes (¡948), directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, with her red hair matching her character’s dancing shoes. She continued to dance with Sadler’s Wells, appearing in productions of Asthon’s Cinderella (¡948), and also starred in several more films including The Tales of Ho›mann (¡95¡), The Story of Three Loves (¡953), and The Man Who Loved Redheads (¡955). She married Sir Ludovic Kennedy in ¡953 and retired from dancing in ¡953. She remained an actress, appearing as Titania in a ¡954 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Edinburgh Festival, and starring as Vivian in Michael Powell’s disturbing psycho-drama Peeping Tom (¡960). She also appeared in the film Black Tights in ¡960. Shearer hosted the BBC’s Eurovision Song Contest in Edinburgh in ¡972. During the ¡980s she wrote two books including Balletmaster: A Dancer’s View of George Balanchine in ¡986. She briefly returned to ballet, appearing the mother in the ¡987 BBC production of A Simple Man.
roles in several films in the ¡950s including The French Line (¡954), The Adventures of Hajii Baba (¡954), Kismet (¡955), and Gigi (¡958). She also guest-starred in an episode of television’s Blondie. Sheehan was married to Dennis Crosby, son of Bing, from ¡956 to ¡964. She shared the Playboy Playmate of the Month honors in October of ¡958 with actress Mara Corday.
SHELDON, LINN Linn Sheldon, who starred as local Cleveland, Ohio, children’s television host Barnaby, died of congestive heart failure at his home in Lakewood, Ohio in April 23, 2006. He was 86. He was born in Norwalk, Ohio on September 20, ¡9¡9. Sheldon aspired to be an actor through the ¡930s but achieved fame as a children’s television host in ¡956. He created the elfin Barnaby, clad in a candy striped jacket, with a straw hat and wax ears for WEWS-TV and WKYC-TV. Hosting cartoons, Sheldon also voiced the inhabitants of his enchanted forest, notably the invisible parrot named Longjohn. He remained a fixture on Cleveland television until his retirement in ¡990.
Linn Sheldon Moira Shearer
SHEEHAN, PAT Pat Sheehan, who was Playboy Playmate of the Month in October of ¡958, died in Beverly Hills, California, on January ¡4, 2006. She was 74. Sheehan was born in San Francisco, California, on September 7, ¡93¡. She appeared in decorative
Pat Sheehan
SHELLY, ADRIENNE Actress Adrienne Shelly was found dead by her husband, Andy Ostroy, at the New York City apartment she used for an o‡ce on November ¡, 2006. She was 40. She was found hanging by a bedsheet from a shower rod in the bathroom. Construction worker Diego Pillco was arrested several days later and charged with second-degree murder in connection with Shelly’s death. Shelly was born Adrienne Levine in Queens, New York, on June ¡6, ¡966. She began her career in the late ¡980s and was best known for her work in several independent films by Hal Hartley including The Unbelievable Truth (¡989) and Trust (¡990). She was also featured in the films Lonely in America (¡99¡), Bad Girls Don’t Cry ... They Get Even (¡992), Hexed (¡993), Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me (¡993), Sleeping with Strangers (¡994), Teresa’s Tattoo (¡994), Opera No. ¡ (¡994), The Road Killers (¡994), Sleep with Me (¡994), Kalamazoo (¡995), The Regulars (¡997), Sudden Manhattan (¡997), Grind (¡997), Wrestling with Alligators (¡998), I’ll Take You There (¡999), Dead Dog (2000), Rock the Boat (2000), The Shadows of Bob and Zelda (2000), Revolution #9 (200¡), Tiger: His Fall & Rise (2004), and Factotum (2005) with Matt Dillon. She also appeared on television in
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episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street, Early Edition, Oz, and Law & Order. Shelly also wrote and directed several films including the ¡994 horror feature Urban Legend, Lois Lives a Little (¡997), Sudden Manhattan (¡997), I’ll Take You There (¡999), and The Shadows of Bob and Zelda (2000). She was working on her most recent film Waitress, starring Keri Russell and Nathan Fillion, at the time of her death.
Abigail Shelton
Adrienne Shelly
SHELLY, NORMAN Actor Norman Shelly died in New York City on January ¡¡, 2006. He was 84. Shelly was born in Denver, Colorado, on May 3, ¡92¡. Shelly began his career on stage and appeared in numerous Broadway productions. He originated the roles of Nana and the Crocodile in the ¡954 Broadway production of Peter Pan with Mary Martin, and reprised his role in several television versions during the ¡950s. His other Broadway credits include roles in SemiDetached (¡960), Once for the Asking (¡963), The Ninety Day Mistress (¡967), and Promises, Promises (¡968). Shelly also appeared on television in productions of Producers’ Showcase, The United States Steel Hour, Have Gun — Will Travel, The Odd Couple, and Mannix. He was also seen in the ¡97¡ film Made for Each Other, and the ¡980 television mini-series To Serve Them All My Days. SHELTON, ABIGAIL Actress Abigail Shelton died in Los Angeles on December ¡¡, 2006. She was 74. Shelton was active in films and television productions from the late ¡950s. The blonde actress appeared in episodes of such series as Peter Gunn, State Trooper, Bourbon Street Beat, The Millionaire, U.S. Marshal, Johnny Ringo, The Tab Hunter Show, Lock Up, Checkmate, Surfside 6, The Fugitive, Bonanza, Perry Mason, Emergency!, The Bold Ones, The New Doctors, Chase, and The Manhunter. Her other television credits include the tele-films Columbo: The Most Dangerous Match (¡973), The Greatest Things That Almost Happened (¡977), The President’s Mistress (¡978), and Human Feelings (¡978). Shelton was also featured in several film including Why Must I Die? (¡960), Mail Order Bride (¡964), Zigzag (¡970), Friday the ¡3th: The Final Chapter (¡984), and 8 Million Ways to Die (¡986). She also performed often on stage and sang in a cabaret act at dinner theaters, accompanied by her husband, pianist and composer William S. Baker.
SHERIDAN, BEATRIZ Mexican actress and director Beatriz Sheridan died of a heart attack at her home in Mexico City on April 30, 2006. She was 7¡. Sheridan was born in Mexico City on June 25, ¡934. She was a pioneer in television soap operas in Latin America, making her debut in the ¡958 series Senda Prohibida. She also appeared in the series Secreto de Confesion (¡965), Puente de Cristal (¡965), Velo de Novia (¡97¡), Las Mascaras (¡97¡), Lucia Sombra (¡97¡), La Venganza (¡977), Muneca Rota (¡978), Nosotras las Mujeres (¡98¡), Gabriel y Gabriela (¡982), Un Solo Corazon (¡983), La Pobre Senorita Limantour (¡983), Vivir un Poco (¡985), Alondra (¡995), Carita de Angel (2000), Vivan los Ninos! (2002), Real Love (2003), and Contra Viento y Marea (2005). She also began directing for television in the ¡980s, helming segments of Rosa Salvaje (¡987), La Indomable (¡987), Simplemente Maria (¡989), Maria Mercedes (¡992), Marimar (¡994), Maria la del Barrio (¡995), Rosalinda (¡999), and Contra Viento y Marea (2005). Sheridan also appeared in several films during her career including Las Troyanas (¡963), Tajimara (¡965), La Otra Ciudad (¡967), Pedro Paramo (¡967), Memories of the Future (¡969), Narda or the Summer (¡970), La Mentira (¡970), La Gererala (¡97¡), Victoria (¡972), Cananea (¡978), Misterio (¡980), Secrets (¡982), Historia de una Mujer Escandalosa (¡984), and Gaby: A True Story (¡987).
Beatriz Sheridan
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SHERMAN, VINCENT Veteran film director Vincent Sherman died at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, on June ¡8, 2006. He was 99. Sherman was born Abram Orovitz in Vienna, Georgia, on July ¡6, ¡906. He began his career as an actor on stage, appearing in several Broadway productions and in such films as Counsellor at Law (¡933), Speed Wings (¡934), Crime of Helen Stanley (¡934), Hell Bent for Love (¡934), Midnight Alibi (¡934), and Girl in Danger (¡934). He soon began writing films and working as a dialogue director on such features as Crime School (¡938), My Bill (¡938), Heart of the North (¡938), King of the Underworld (¡939), The Adventures of Jane Arden (¡939), and Pride of the Blue Grass (¡939). Sherman made his directoral debut with the ¡939 horror film The Return of Doctor X starring Humphrey Bogart. Sherman helmed numerous features over the next three decades including Saturday’s Children (¡940), The Man Who Talked Too Much (¡940), Flight from Destiny (¡94¡), Underground (¡94¡), All Through the Night (¡942), Across the Pacific (¡942), The Hard Way (¡943), Old Acquaintance (¡943) with Bette Davis, In Our Time (¡944), Mr. Ske‡ngton (¡944), Pillow to Post (¡945), Janie Gets Married (¡946), Nora Prentiss (¡947), The Unfaithful (¡947), Adventures of Don Juan (¡948) with Errol Flynn, The Hasty Heart (¡949), Backfire (¡950), The Damned Don’t Cry (¡950), Harriet Craig (¡950), Goodbye, My Fancy (¡95¡), Lone Star (¡952), and A›air in Trinidad (¡952) with Rita Hayworth. Sherman’s career was damaged in the early ¡950s when Warner Bros. dropped his contract after it was alleged he was suspected of Communist ties. He was able to resume his career later in the decade, directing the films The Garment Jungle (¡957), The Naked Earth (¡958), The Young Philadelphians (¡959), Ice Palace (¡960), A Fever in the Blood (¡96¡), The Second Time Around (¡96¡), and Young Rebel (¡967). Sherman worked primarily in television from the ¡960s, directing episodes of such series as 77 Sunset Strip, The Long, Hot Summer, Vacation Playhouse, Medical Center, Alias Smith and Jones, The Waltons, Baretta, The Family Holvak, Doctors’ Hospital, Executive Suite, Hagen, and Trapper John, M.D. He also directed the tele-films The Last Hurrah (¡977), Lady of the House (¡978), Women at West Point (¡979), Bogie (¡980), The Dream Mer-
chants (¡980), Trouble in High Timber Country (¡980), and Savage in the Orient (¡983). He retired from directing in the early ¡980s. Sherman wrote his autobiography, Studio A›airs in ¡996, detailing his numerous a›airs with his leading ladies. He was married to Hedda Comorau from ¡93¡ until her death in ¡984. He was survived by a son, producer Eric Sherman, a daughter, and his long-time companion, actress Francine York.
SHILLING, ERIC British opera singer and actor Eric Shilling died in England on February ¡5, 2006. He was 85. Shilling was born in London on October ¡2, ¡920. He made his operatic debut in a ¡945 production of Rigoletto by Sadler’s Wells, then toured with regional repertory companies before rejoining the esteemed company in ¡959 that would later become the English National Opera. He performed with Sadler’s Wells for nearly three decades, performing in such productions as Don Giovannni, The Flying Dutchman, and War and Peace. He was best known for his comic roles in such operas as Orpheus in the Underworld, Beatrice and Benedict, and Patience. Shilling also performed on British television in productions of Hands Across the Sky (¡960) as Professor Neutron, Orpheus in the Underworld (¡96¡) as Jupiter, Trial by Jury, and The Gondoliers.
Eric Shilling (right, with Mark Richardson and Richard Suart from The Mikado)
SHILTON, PABLO Argentine television actor Pablo Shilton was killed in an automobile accident on the highway between Rosario and Buenos Aires on November ¡6, 2006, when the Honda Civic that he and three other actors were traveling in was crushed by an oil truck. He was 35. Pablo Lombardo, Klauz Cegretin, and Juan Francisco Botto, who were appearing with Shilton in the play The Apprentice also perished in the crash. Shilton was best known for his role in the ¡996 television drama Truth/Consequence. He also appeared in the ¡997 film The Fury and the 2005 television crime drama Women Killers. (See photograph on page 34¡.)
Vincent Sherman
SHIN SANG-OK South Korean film director Shin Sang-Ok died in Seoul, South Korea, on April ¡¡, 2006, of complications from a liver transplant he had received two years earlier. He was 79. Shin began his
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Mayumi: Virgin Terrorist (¡990) and Vanished (¡994). He also directed the ¡995 U.S. film 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up under the name Simon S. Sheen.
Pablo Shilton
film career in the early ¡950s, helming numerous features in South Korea including The Evil Night (¡952), Dream (¡950), The Youth (¡955), Pagoda of No Shadows (¡957), Flower in Hell (¡958), Confessions of a College Student (¡958), It’s Not Her Sin (¡959), Chun-hie (¡959), Sister’s Garden (¡959), Lee Seung-Man and the Independence Movement (¡959), Romance Papa (¡960), To the Last Day (¡960), Madam White Snake (¡960), Shunhyang (¡96¡), Evergreen Tree (¡96¡), My Mother and Her Guest (¡96¡), The Red Gate (¡962), Romance Gray (¡963), Cheol-jong and Bok-nyeo (¡963), Torchlight (¡963), Rice (¡963), Red Scarf (¡964), Deaf Sam-ryong (¡964), The Goddess of Mercy (¡967), The Mountain (¡967), A Tender Heart (¡967), Dream (¡967), Mounted Bandits (¡967), Traces (¡967), Monarch (¡968), Homeless (¡968), Homeless (¡968), The Golden Bat (¡968), A Woman’s Life (¡968), The Eunuch (¡968), The Snake Woman (¡969), A Thousand Year-Old Fox (¡969), Women of the Chosun Dynasty (¡969), Day Dream (¡969), Private Kim (¡969), Women Above Men (¡969), The Eunuch 2 (¡969), The Evening Bell (¡970), Ghosts of Chosun (¡970), War and Humanity (¡97¡), Thieves in Love (¡97¡), Last Battle in Pyeong yang (¡972), Lady of the Court (¡972), Shim Cheong (¡972), The Three-Day Reign (¡973), The Principal Visits Seoul (¡973), Farewell (¡973), Woman with Half a Soul (¡973), Han River (¡974), At ¡3 Years Old (¡974), Chun-hie (¡975), I Love Mama (¡975), Prisoner 407 (¡976), The Rose and the Wild Dog (¡976), and Prisoner 407 2 (¡976). Shin’s wife, actress Choi Eun-hee, was abducted by agents of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in January of ¡978, and Shin was also captured by the North Koreans several weeks later. They were brought to North Korea where they were held in captivity for the next decade to help develop North Korea’s film industry. Shin directed nearly a dozen films there including Oh My Love (¡984) and Salt (¡985). He also directed ¡985’s Bulgasari, a Communist version of Godzilla, who protects farmers by eating cannons and other weapons of war. Shin and his wife escaped from captivity in ¡986, seeking asylum in the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, Austria, while on route to a Berlin film festival. He returned to South Korea, where he was able to provide to the West first hand evidence of the mental state of North Korea’s leader. Shin resumed his film career in South Korea, helming,
Shin Sang-Ok (with wife Choi Eun-Hui)
SHONTEFF, LINDSAY British film director Lindsay Shonte› died in England on March ¡¡, 2006. He was 70. Shonte› was born in Toronto, Canada, on November 5, ¡935. He produced, directed, and scripted the low-budget western film The Hired Gun in Canada in ¡96¡ before relocating to England. He continued his career there, where he directed the cult horror films Devil Doll (¡964) and Curse of the Voodoo (¡965). He also directed the James Bond spoof The Second Best Secret Agent in the Whole Wide World (aka Licensed to Kill) (¡965). His other film credits include Run with the Wind (¡966), the female Fu Manchu adventure film The Million Eyes of Sumuru (¡967), the early slasher film Night After Night After Night (¡969) under the name Lewis J. Force, Clegg (¡969), Permissive (¡970), The Yes Girls (¡97¡), The Fast Kill (¡972), Big Zapper (¡973), The Swordsman (¡974), Harry and the Hookers (¡975), Spy Story (¡976), No. ¡ of the Secret Service (¡977), Licensed to Love and Kill (¡979), How Sleep the Brave (¡98¡), Lipstick and Blood (¡984), The Killing Edge (¡984), Number One Gun (¡990), The Running Gun (¡992), and Ice Cold in Phoenix (2004). He also appeared in a small role in the final film he produced and directed, 2006’s Angels, Devils and Men.
Lindsay Shonte›
SHORE, SIG Filmmaker Sig Shore, who was best known for producing the ¡972 feature Superfly, died of complications of pneumonia in a Stamford,
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Connecticut, hospital on August ¡7, 2006. He was 87. Shore was born in the Bronx, New York, on May ¡3, ¡9¡9. He served in the Army Air Forces during World War II as a navigator on a bomber in the Pacific. After the war he entered advertising, with o‡ces in New York and San Francisco. During the ¡950s he also began importing foreign films, including the Soviet heroic fantasy Ilya Muromets (¡956), which became known as The Sword and the Dragon for release in the U.S. Shore directed the ¡965 television series Ski with Stein, and the subsequent film Ski Run in ¡966. He also directed and wrote the ¡967 series Outdoor World. He produced the ¡972 feature Super Fly, which was directed by Gordon Parks, Jr., and starred Ron O’Neal as a Harlem drug dealer. The low-budget film was a major success, and Shore produced the sequel Super Fly T.N.T. in ¡973. He also produced and directed the ¡975 film That’s the Way of the World and ¡984’s The Act. He directed the action features Sudden Death (¡985) which he also scripted, and The Survivalist (¡987). Shore’s final film credit was as producer and director for the less successful sequel to his biggest hit, The Return of Superfly, in ¡990.
SHORT, JONATHAN Film set designer Jonathan Short died of lung cancer in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 2, 2006. He was 46. Short was born in Evanston, Illinois, on December 3¡, ¡959. He began working in films as a set designer and art director in the early ¡990s. His film credits include Hard Promises (¡99¡), Freejack (¡992), My Boyfriend’s Back (¡993), The Real McCoy (¡993), A Simple Twist of Fate (¡994), Shadow Conspiracy (¡997), Black Dog (¡998), Forces of Nature (¡999), Ride with the Devil (¡999), Remember the Titans (2000), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), Gods and Generals (2003), Big Fish (2003), and ATL (2006).
Matthew and had the small role of an orchestra conductor in ¡979’s Luna. Siciliano wrote several novels and short-story collections. He adapted his story La Coppia (aka The Couple) for a film that he directed in ¡973. He also wrote a book about his friend, film director Pier Paolo Pasolini, entitled Who Killed Pasolini?, which was adapted for film in ¡995. He worked for the state broadcaster RAI (Radio Television Italiana) as a reporter for many years, serving as its president from ¡996 to ¡998.
Enzo Siciliano
SIELMANN, HEINZ German zoologist and documentary filmmaker died in Munich, Germany, on October 6, 2006. He was 89. Sielmann was born in Rheydt, Germany, on June 2, ¡9¡7. He filmed his first documentary on birds in ¡938. He became noted for such feature documentaries as Woodpecker (¡955), Lords of the Forest (¡959), Galapagos: Dream Island in the Pacific (¡962), The Mystery of Animal Behavior (¡969), and Vanishing Wilderness (¡974). Sielmann also provided footage for the films The Hellstrom Chronicle (¡97¡) and Birds Do It, Bees Do It (¡974). He also worked frequently with the BBC and the National Geographic Society during his long career, and hosted the German television program Expeditions into the Animal Kingdom from ¡965 to ¡99¡.
Jonathan Short
SICILIANO, ENZO Italian author Enzo Siciliano died in Rome of a cerebral hemorrhage on June 9, 2006. He was 72. Siciliano was born in Rome on May 27, ¡934. He was a leading journalist in Italy, writing for many magazines and newspapers and serving as film critic for L’Espresso. His first book, Racconti Ambigui, was published in ¡963. He appeared in the role of Simon in the ¡964 film The Gospel According to St.
Heinz Sielmann
SILAYAN, CHAT Philippine actress Chat Silayan died of colon cancer in a Quezon City, the Philip-
343 pines, hospital on April 23, 2006. She was 46. She was born in the Philippines in ¡960, the daughter of actor Vic Silayan. Chat was Miss Philippines in ¡980 and placed third in the Miss Universe competition that year. She went on to a career in films and television, appearing in the features Kamakalawa (¡98¡), Five and the Skin (¡982), Four Women (¡986), The Commander (¡988), Dyesebel (¡990), Ipaglaban Mo: The Movie Part 2 (¡997), Kung ako na Lang Sana (2003), and My First Romance (2003). She also stared as Ester in the popular Philippine television series Esperanza in the late ¡990s, and was Elvira Montesilverio in 2002’s Bituin. Silayan was also an occasional co-host of the religious program The 700 Club Asia.
2006 • Obituaries
SIMOES, CLEA Brazilian actress Clea Simoes died in a Rio de Janeiro hospital on February 24, 2006. She was 79. Simoes was born in Para, Brazil, on January 4, ¡927. She was featured as Symanthemum in the ¡960 voodoo film Macumba Love. She appeared in over a dozen films over the next forty years including Em Compasso de Espera (¡969), Como E Boa Nossa Empregada (¡973), Odio (¡977), Sweet Thieves (¡977), Black Goddess (¡978), The Colonel and the Werewolf (¡979), Solidao, Uma Linda Historia de Amor (¡989), Black Demons (¡99¡), and Woman on Top (2000). She also appeared frequently in Brazilian television productions including Senhora (¡975), Os Gigantes (¡979), Desejo (¡990), Deus Nos Acuda (¡992), and Coracao de Estundate (2002).
Chat Silayan
SIMMONS , JUMPIN ’ G ENE
Rockabilly singer and songwriter Jumpin’ Gene Simmons, best known for the ¡964 hit song “Haunted House,” died in a Tupelo, Mississippi, hospital after a long illness on August 29, 2006. He was 69. He began his career as a singer in the ¡950s and worked with such artists as Elvis Presley, Sam Phillips, and the Bill Black Combo. Simmons appeared in a small role as a diver in Presley’s ¡963 film Fun in Acapulco. Simmons had his greatest success with the novelty song “Haunted House” in ¡964. He also wrote such tunes as “Peroxide Blonde in a Hopped Up Model Ford” and “Indian Outlaw,” which became a hit for singer Tim McGraw in ¡994.
Jumpin’ Gene Simmons
Clea Simoes
SIMONEAU, LEOPOLD Canadian operatic tenor Leopold Simoneau died at his home in Victoria, Canada, on August 24, 2006. He was 90. Simoneau was born near Quebec City, Canada, on May 3, ¡9¡6. He studied music in Montreal from an early age and performed in such operas as The Barber of Seville and La Traviate with the Varietes Lyriques. He began performing internationally from the late ¡940s, working in Paris with composer Igor Stravinsky. Simoneau was noted for his interpretations of the works of Mozart, which he performed with major orchestras throughout the world including New York’s Metropolitan Opera
Leopold Simoneau
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and Chicago’s Lyric Opera. Simoneau made his final public appearance in ¡970, singing Handel’s Messiah with the Montreal Symphony.
SINCLAIR, LISTER Canadian playwright and television personality Lister Sinclair died of a pulmonary embolism in Toronto, Canada, on October ¡6, 2006. He was 85. Sinclair was born in Bombay, India, to Scottish parents on January 9, ¡92¡. He began working at the Canadian public broadcasting station CBC in ¡944. He wrote the television play Hilda Morgan in ¡949, and wrote the films The Man in the Peace Tower (¡95¡), Opera School (¡952), Point Pelee: Nature Sanctuary (¡953), and A Thousand Million Years (¡954). He also served as host of the CBC-TV series The Nature of Things, and appeared on such shows as Telescope, Festival, Horizon, Front Page Challenge, Court of Opinion, Wayne and Shuster, and Morningside. He hosted the radio program Ideas from ¡983 until his retirement in ¡999, and continued as guest host on occasion in recent years.
raised in Victoria, Canada. He operated an amusement camp in Canada before coming to Hollywood. Believing that tourists would welcome the opportunity to mingle with celebrities, even if they were made of wax, Singh’s exhibits included hundreds of notables from Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, and Elvis Presley, to Mohandas K. Gandhi, John Kennedy, and Neil Armstrong. The Hollywood Wax Museum opened in February of ¡965 and led to a guest appearance by Singh on the television quiz show What’s My Line? A companion attraction, the Hollywood Guinness World Records Museum, was established in ¡99¡, and Sing opened another wax museum of celebrities in Branson, Missouri, several years later.
SIPPY, N.N. Leading Indian film producer N.N. Sippy died of heart disease in a Mumbai, India, hospital on November 7, 2006. He was 75. He began working in the film industry in the ¡950s, and made his debut as a producer in ¡959 with the fantasy drama Kaatil. Sippy continued to produce such films as the supernatural thriller Who Was She? (¡964), Nameless (¡965), Paras (¡97¡), Kalicharan (¡976), Fakira (¡976), Devata (¡978), Home (¡978), Musical Scale (¡979), Ghazab (¡982), Meri Jung (¡985), Aaj Ka Goonda Raaj (¡992), and Silsila Hai Pyar Ka (¡999).
Lister Sinclair
SINGH, SPOONY Spoony Singh, the Indian entrepreneur who founded the Hollywood Wax Museum in ¡965, died of congestive heart failure at his home in Malibu, California, on October ¡8, 2006. He was 83. Singh was born Spoony Singh Sundher in the Punjab region of India on October 20, ¡922, and was
Spoony Singh (right, with Louis Armstrong and his wax replica)
N.N. Sippy
SIRO, FERNANDO Argentine actor and director Fernando Siro died of a heart attack in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on September 4, 2006. He was 74. Siro was born Francisco Luksich in Argentina in ¡932. He began his career on stage and made his film debut in the early ¡950s. He appeared in numerous films including El Otro yo de Marcela (¡950), Juan Mondiola (¡950), Suburbio (¡95¡), It Happened in Buenos Aires (¡954), Los Problemas de Papa (¡954), La Calle del Pecado (¡954), Barrio Gris (¡954), Canario Rojo (¡955), Del Cuple al Tango (¡958), Under the Same Skin (¡962), El Club del Clan (¡964), Maria M. (¡964), Cuidado con las Colas (¡964), Nadie oyo Gritar a Cecilio Fuentes (¡965), and Los Hipocritas (¡965). Siro began directing films as well in the mid–¡960s, helming and starring in such features as I Need a Mother (¡966), Forbidden Things Are in Fashion (¡968), Amor Libre (¡969), El Salame (¡969), Autocine mon Amour (¡972), El Mundo que Inventamos (¡973), Este Loco, Loco, Buenos Aires
345 (¡973), Siempre Fuimos Companeros (¡973), En el Gran Circo (¡974), Contigo y Aqui (¡974), Where the Wind Dies (¡976), La Nueva Digarra (¡977), Los Exitos del Amor (¡979), La Cancion de Buenos Aires (¡980), Las Vacaciones del Amor (¡98¡), Six Tickets to Hell (¡98¡), Esto es Vida (¡982), Happy Highschool (¡986), and Sapucay, mi Pueblo (¡997). Siro was also seen in many Argentine television series including La Familia Colon (¡967), Fabian 2 Mariana 0 (¡980), Los Angeles no Lloran (¡996), and El Humor de Cafe Fashion (¡999). His final film appearances were in the features Apariencias (2000) and Buenos Aires Plateada (2000).
2006 • Obituaries
2006. She was 77. Sivori-Asp was born in Viipuri, Finland, on July 3, ¡928. She was a founder of the Finnish professional puppet theatre Vihrea Omena in the early ¡970s and remained the group’s artistic director until the ¡990s. Sivori-Asp subsequently served as president of the Union Internationale de la Marionnette (UNIMA). She also performed on stage, films, and television, and was featured in the Finnish films Sissit (¡963), Make Like a Thief (¡964), and Manrape (¡978). She also produced and directed the Joulukalenteri television series in the ¡970s.
Sirpa Sivori-Asp Fernando Siro
SISTI, SIBBY
Baseball player Sibby Sisti in Amherst, New York, on April 24, 2006. He was 85. He was born Sebastian Sisti in Bu›alo, New York, on July 26, ¡920. He began his baseball career in ¡939 and played with the Boston (later Milwaukee) Braves for his entire ¡5 year career. Sisti was on the Braves team when they won the ¡948 National League pennant before losing to Cleveland in the World Series. Sisti was seen in the ¡949 film set during the competition, The Kid from Cleveland. After his retirement Sisti remained in baseball as a manager and coach. Years later Sisti appeared in the ¡984 baseball film The Natural as the manager of the Pirates. He also served as an advisor on the film.
SIVUCA Brazilian accordionist and composer Severino Dias de Oliveira, who was known as Sivuca, died of throat cancer in a Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, hospital on December ¡4, 2006. He was 76. Sivuca was born in Itabaiana, Brazil, on March 26, ¡930. He began playing the accordion at local fairs as a child and was performing on the radio in his teens. He recorded his first record, “Adeus Maria Fulo,” in ¡950. He appeared often on television in Rio de Janeiro from the mid–¡950s. He toured Europe later in the decade and settled in New York in ¡964. Sivuca worked with such artists as Harry Belafonte and Miriam Makeba while there, and arranged Makeba’s recording of the song “Pata Pata.” He also recorded with Scandanivian artists Putte Wickman, Ulf Wakenius, and Sylvia Vrethammar during his long career.
Sibby Sisti
SIVORI-ASP, SIRPA Finnish puppeteer Sirpa Sivori-Asp died in Helsinki, Finland, on March 20,
Sivuca
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SJOMAN, VILGOT Swedish film director and writer Vilgot Sjoman died of complications from a brain hemorrhage in a Stockholm, Sweden, hospital on April 9, 2006. He was 8¡. Sjoman was born in Stockholm on December 2, ¡924. He began working in films in the ¡950s, writing the features Defiance (¡952) and Playing on the Rainbow (¡958). He worked with director Ingmar Bergman on the ¡962 film Winter Light, and made his directorial debut with The Swedish Mistress (¡962). He was best known for directing and writing the sexually explicit film I Am Curious (Yellow) (¡967), and the sequel I Am Curious (Blue) (¡968), which were banned for several years in the United States. Sjoman’s other film credits include 49¡ (¡964), The Dress (¡964), My Sister My Love (¡966), Journey with Father (¡968), You’re Lying (¡969), Blushing Charlie (¡970), Till Sex Do Us Part (¡97¡), A Handful of Love (¡974), The Garage (¡975), Taboo (¡977), Linus and the Mysterious Red Brick House (¡979), I Am Blushing (¡98¡), Malacca (¡987), and The Pitfall (¡989). Sjoman directed his final film, Alfred, a biography of dynamite inventor and Nobel Prize originator Alfred Nobel, in ¡995.
away to the Moon (¡975), Stranger in Our House (¡978), Mr. Horn (¡979), A Whisper Kills (¡988), Trenchcoat in Paradise (¡989), and Stolen: One Husband (¡990). He was featured as Larry Lahr in the underwater adventure series The Aquanauts in ¡960. Slate also guest-starred in episodes of Bat Masterson, Lock Up, The Deputy, Mr. Lucky, M Squad, Men into Space, One Step Beyond, Have Gun —Will Travel, Naked City, Perry Mason, Dr. Kildare, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Route 66, The Defenders, Empire, The Untouchables, The Great Adventure, The Greatest Show on Earth, The Farmer’s Daughter, Man from U.N.C.L.E., Seaway, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Bewitched, Convoy, Combat!, Run for Your Life, The Virginian, Tarzan, Bonanza, Ironside, Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, Mannix, Bearcats!, Longstreet, Ghost Story, The Magician, Petrocelli, Police Story, The Rookies, Wonder Woman, and Starman. Slate starred as Chuck Wilson in the daytime soap opera One Life to Live from ¡979 to ¡987, and was Locke Walls in The Guiding Light in ¡985. He made his last television appearance in an episode of My Name is Earl in 2006.
Jeremy Slate Vilgot Sjoman
SLATE, JEREMY Veteran actor Jeremy Slate died in a Los Angeles hospital of complications from surgery for esophageal cancer on November ¡9, 2006. He was 80. Slate was born on February ¡7, ¡926. Slate appeared in numerous film and television productions from the late ¡950s. His film credits include Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (¡959), G.I. Blues (¡960) with Elvis Presley, Girls! Girls! Girls! (¡962) again with Presley, Wives and Lovers (¡963), I’ll Take Sweden (¡965), The Sons of Katie Elder (¡965), The Born Losers (¡967), The Devil’s Brigade (¡968), The Mini-Skirt Mob (¡968), The Hooked Generation (¡968), True Grit (¡969) with John Wayne, Hell’s Angels ’69 (¡969) which he also scripted, Hell’s Belles (¡970), Drag Racers (¡97¡), Curse of the Moon Child (¡972), The Centerfold Girls (¡974), Deadlock (¡988), Goodnight, Sweet Marilyn (¡989), The Dead Pit (¡989), The Dream Machine (¡990), Voyage of the Heart (¡99¡), and The Lawnmower Man (¡992). Slate also starred in such tele-films as Wings of Fire (¡967), Crosscurrent (¡97¡), The Man Who Died Twice (¡973), Return of the Big Cat (¡974), Stow-
SLETTO, EVA Norwegian character actress Eva Sletto died in Oslo, Norway, on March 7, 2006. She was 93. Sletto was born in Asker, Norway, on September 6, ¡9¡2. She became a leading actress of the stage, starring in productions with The Norwegian Theater in Oslo for nearly fifty years from the late ¡930s. She was also seen in several films including Norge for Folket (¡936), Ungen (aka The Baby) (¡938) in the role of Milja, Hu Dagmar (¡939), Godvakker-Maren (¡940), Gullfjellet (¡94¡), Trysil-Knut (¡942), and Vigdis (¡943). She made her final film appearance in ¡95¡’s The Black Horses, but continued to perform on stage until her retirement in ¡983. SLOMAN, SUSAN British actress Susan Sloman died in Green Lane, Hendon, England, on September ¡4, 2006. She was 62. Sloman was born Susan Owen in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England, in ¡944. She began her career performing on stage and radio, and was featured as a peasant girl in the ¡97¡ film version of Fiddler on the Roof. Sloman also appeared on British television in the mini-series The Lost Tribe (¡980) and The Witch.
347 SMAHA , JENDA Circus performer Jan Vinicky, who performed an elephant act under the name Jenda Smaha, died of heart failure in his sleep while on a photo safari in Botswana on October 27, 2006. He was 74. Vinicky was born in Germany on January ¡8, ¡932. A fifth-generation circus performer, he assisted family members with various acts throughout Europe before immigrating to the United States in ¡956. As trainer of Bertha the Elephant, he entertained at the Nugget Hotel and Casino in Sparks, Nevada, and made guest appearances on television’s The Steve Allen Show and The Hollywood Palace. He acquired Tanya the Elephant in ¡965, and they began a decade long career in Las Vegas in the late ¡960s. He and Tanya also appeared on The Merv Gri‡n Show and The Mike Douglas Show, and Tanya performed her trick of pulling a slot machine handle in the ¡97¡ James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. Smaha and his family moved to Botswana, where he continued his elephant act with Tanya at the casino and hotel there until his retirement to Sarasota, Florida, in ¡989.
2006 • Obituaries
other 48 Hrs. (¡980). He also appeared in the tele-films Shannon’s Deal (¡989), Chance of a Lifetime (¡99¡), Somebody’s Daughter (¡992), Running Mates (¡992), From the Files of Joseph Wambaugh: A Jury of One (¡992), and Father & Son: Dangerous Relations (¡993). His other television credits include episodes of Tales from the Crypt and Seinfield in the recurring role of Sid Luckman. Small was also the author of a memoir, From Agent to Actor: An Unsentimental Education.
Edgar Small
Jenda Smaha
SMALL, EDGAR Film producer, actor and agent Edgar Small died of lung cancer in Los Angeles on December 23, 2006. He was 83. He was born Stuart Edgar Waldman in ¡923. He began his career on stage, appearing on Broadway. He made his film debut in the ¡948 feature The Window, and was soon began producing and directing radio programs in New York. He moved to Los Angeles in the early ¡950s, where he worked as an assistant to Paramount producer Don Hartman. He joined MGM as an assistant to producer Edwin Knopf in ¡954, working on such films as The Glass Slipper and Diane. He joined his mother in running his stepfather’s talent agency after Paul Small’s death in ¡956, handling such clients as Ginger Rogers and Barbara Stanwyck. He continued to work with several other talent agencies throughout the ¡960s and ¡970s. Small was a producer for the ¡970 tele-film God Bless the Children, which served as the pilot for the subsequent series The Psychiatrist. He retired from working as an agent in ¡985 and returned to acting. Small was a character actor in such films as The Kindred (¡987), Action Jackson (¡988), Alien Nation (¡988), Torch Song Trilog y (¡988), Blood Red (¡989), and An-
SMEDLEY-ASTON, MICHAEL British film producer Michael Smedley-Aston died in England on January 23, 2006. He was 93. He was born in Edgbaston, England on August 25, ¡9¡2, the son of photography pioneer William Smedley-Aston. He began his career in films at Elstreet Studios in ¡93¡, serving as a production manager or assistant director on such films as Once in a Million (¡935), Drake of England (¡935), The Ticket of Leave Man (¡937), Riding High (¡937), You’re in the Army Now (¡937), It’s Never to Late to Mend (¡937), Double Exposures (¡937), Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror (¡938), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (¡939), The Chinese Bungalow (¡940), Captain Boycott (¡947), The Spider and the Fly (¡949), Fools Rush In (¡949), The Blue Lagoon (¡949), and The Galloping Major (¡95¡). Smedley-Aston was called upon by various Hollywood studios to rescue their productions in England in the ¡950s. He soon became an independent producer for films and television. He was a producer on such films as The Happiest Days of Your Life (¡950), The Million Pound Note (¡953), The Constant Husband (¡955), The Extra Day (¡956), Stranger’s Meeting (¡957), Life Is a Circus (¡958), Another Time, Another Place (¡958), Two Way Stretch (¡960), O›beat (¡96¡), Two Letter Alibi (¡962), Strictly for the Birds (¡963), The Wrong Arm of the Law (¡963), Theatre of Death (¡966), Ooh, You Are Awful (¡973), The Wildcats of St. Trinian’s (¡980). He also produced the ¡957 adventure series Assignment Foreign Legion, and the ¡959 series The Third Man, based on Graham Greene’s novel. Though he retired from actively producing films in ¡980, he remained involved in the film process as a financier. His survivors include his son, film editor Brian Smedley-Aston. SMIALOWSKI, IGOR Polish actor Igor Smialowski died in Warsaw, Poland, on June ¡6, 2006. He
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was 88. Smialowski was born in Moscow, Russia, on June 20, ¡9¡7. He appeared in numerous stage and film productions from the ¡940s. His film credits include Forbidden Songs (¡947), Unvanquished City (¡950), Young Chopin (¡952), Soldier of Victory (¡953), Not Far from Warsaw (¡954), Mermaid of Warsaw (¡956), Story of One Fighter (¡958), Don Gabriel (¡966), Paris–Warsaw Without Visa (¡967), I’m a Butterfly (¡976), Issa Valley (¡982), The Stranger (¡986), and Awantura o Basie (¡995). Smialowski also appeared in television productions of The Peasants (¡973) and Honor Thy Father and They Mother (¡988), and was featured as Alfred Bizanc in the television series Dom from ¡996 to 2000.
San Diego, California, on April 2¡, 2006. He was 46. Smith was born in Seattle, Washington, in ¡960. Smith wrote several unproduced screenplays in the ¡980s and began o›ering courses in screenwriting in South Los Angeles after the ¡992 riots there. One of his first students was Antwone Fisher, whose life story about an abused childhood in orphanages and foster homes that culminated with a stint in the Navy where a psychiatrist helped him put his past behind him, led Smith to introduce the young man to a producer friend. After nearly a decade Fisher’s story was told in the 2002 film Antwone Fisher, scripted by Fisher and directed by Denzel Washington, who also appeared in the film as the psychiatrist. Smith served as a co-producer of the film. Smith was also instrumental in nurturing the career of writer Nnegest Likke, who wrote and directed the 2006 film Phat Girlz.
Igor Smialowski
SMITH , BENNIE Blues musician Bennie Smith died of a heart attack in St. Louis, Missouri, on September ¡0, 2006. He was 72. Smith was born in St. Louis on October 6, ¡933. He began playing the ukulele at an early age and was later trained on the guitar by blind blues musician Ace Wallace. He became a leading figure on the St. Louis music scene and played in sessions recordings with such stars as Aretha Franklin, Rufus Thomas and Albert King. A live CD, The Bennie Smith All Star Session, was released shortly before his death.
Chris Smith
SMITH , DANIEL WAYNE Daniel Wayne Smith, the son of former Playboy Playmate of the Year Anna Nicole Smith, died suddenly in the Bahamas on September ¡0, 2006. He was 20. Smith was born in Limestone County, Texas, on January 22, ¡986, the son of the former Vicki Lynn Hogan and her first husband, Billy Smith. He appeared in several of his mother’s films as a child including To the Limit (¡995) and Skyscraper (¡997). Anna Nicole has been engaged in a lengthy court battle over the estate of her second hus-
Bennie Smith
SMITH, CHRIS Writer and producer Chris Smith died of complications from cancer surgery in
Daniel Smith (with his mother, Anna Nicole Smith)
349 band, oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall, who died in August of ¡995 at the age of 90 after ¡4 months of marriage. Daniel Smith also appeared with his mother on her E! cable channel reality television series The Anna Nicole Show from 2002.
SMITH , JACK Singer Jack Smith died of leukemia at his home in Westlake Village, California, on July 3, 2006. He was 92. Smith was born on Bainbridge Island, Washington, on November ¡6, ¡9¡3. He began performing as a singer in the early ¡930s as one of the Three Ambassadors. They appeared at the Cocoanut Grove with the Gus Arnheim Orchestra and with Jimmie Grier’s band. They also sang as part of the Hit Paraders on the Your Hit Parade radio program, and as part of The Kate Smith Hour chorus. Smith went solo in ¡939, and recorded such popular songs as “Civilization,” “I’ll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time,” and “Jack, Jack, Jack.” He performed regularly on Cli› Arquette’s radio show Glamor Manor in the early ¡940s and became known as Smilin’ Jack Smith as a solo performer on The Prudential Hour radio musical program. He began headlining his own CBS program The Jack Smith Show in ¡945. He also appeared in several films including Make Believe Ballroom (¡949) and On Moonlight Bay (¡95¡). He replaced Art Baker as host of the ABC television series You Asked for It for its final season in ¡958. He also appeared in the ¡97¡ film The Barefoot Executive, and in episodes of The Ed Sullivan Show, Leave It to Beaver, The Andy Gri‡th Show, I Dream of Jeannie, Police Story, Happy Days, and Charlie’s Angels.
2006 • Obituaries
the Week, and Back in the Day. Smith was selected as president of the British Humanist Association in July of 2004.
Linda Smith
SMITH , VAN Film costume designer Van Smith, who created the trashy costumes and make-up worn by Divine for John Waters’ films, died of a heart attack at his family home in Marianna, Florida, on December 5, 2006. He was 6¡. He was born Walter Avant Smith, Jr., in Marianna in ¡945. He moved to Baltimore as a student in the ¡960s, where he studied fashion and art. He met Waters in the early ¡970s and they collaborated on the ¡972 film Pink Flamingos. He designed the look for the films star, the celebrated drag queen Divine. He continued to work with Waters and Divine on the subsequent films Female Trouble (¡974) and Desperate Living (¡977). Smith invented what was called trash aesthetics for the film trilogy. He also worked on the films Polyester (¡98¡) and Hairspray (¡988), continuing his association with Waters and Divine. His other film credits include Cry-baby (¡990), Serial Mom (¡994), Pecker (¡998), Cecil B. DeMented (2000) and A Dirty Shame (2004), all of which were directed by Waters. Smith also worked on several episodes of the television series Homicide: Live on the Street in ¡993.
Jack Smith
SMITH , LINDA British comedian Linda Smith died of ovarian cancer in London on February 27, 2006. She was 48. Smith was born in Erith, England, on January 25, ¡958. She performed on stage in touring companies before becoming a stand-up comic in London in the ¡980s. Her comedy routines often found humor in the foibles and frustrations of everyday living. She became a popular performer on such British radio programs in the mid–¡990s as a frequent guest on such series as Just a Minute, I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue, and The News Quiz. She also appeared on such television programs as Countdown, Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time, Have I Got News for You, QI, Mock of
Van Smith
SNELL, DON Actor Don Snell died in Beverly Hills, California, after a long illness on December
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2, 2006. He was 57. Snell was born on May 30, ¡949. He was featured in small roles such films as Alice (¡990), Operation Splitsville (¡999), Never Been Kissed (¡999), Erin Brockovich (2000), and Tra‡c (2000). He also appeared in the tele-films The Webbers (¡993), My Last Love (¡999), and Murder, She Wrote: A Story to Die For (2000), and guest-starred in episodes of Martial Law, Strong Medicine, Robbery Homicide Division, and The West Wing.
SNELL, RICHARD Film makeup artist and special e›ect designer Richard Snell was found dead in Freeport, Bahamas, on February 2¡, 2006. He was 50. Snell was born on December ¡9, ¡955. He worked in films from the early ¡980s, providing makeup e›ects for such features as Poltergeist II: The Other Side (¡986), House (¡986), Nutcracker: The Motion Picture (¡986), The Running Man (¡987), Friday the ¡3th Part VII: The New Blood (¡987), Fright Night Part 2 (¡988), The Sleeping Car (¡989), Hudson Hawk (¡99¡), Demonic Toys (¡992), Lethal Weapon 3 (¡992), Last Action Hero (¡993), Demolition Man (¡993), The River Wild (¡994), Vampire in Brooklyn (¡995), James and the Giant Peach (¡996), The Fan (¡996), Dante’s Peak (¡997), Amistad (¡997), Species II (¡998), Brother (2000), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (200¡), The Time Machine (2002), Clockstoppers (2002), Tears of the Sun (2003), Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004), The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005), and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006). Snell also worked on the Alien Nation television series and the tele-films Alien Nation: Dark Horizon (¡994), Alien Nation: Body and Soul (¡995), Alien Nation: The Enemy Within (¡996), and Hard Time: Hostage Hotel (¡999).
ter (¡966), Anna Karenina (¡977), Invasion (¡980), Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? (¡980), Oliver Twist (¡985), and Memento Mori (¡992). He was also seen in episodes of Dixon of Dock Green, Pathfinders in Space, Z Cars, The Avengers, The Wednesday Play, Sergeant Cork, Porridge, and Ra·es. Soall also appeared in several films during his career including Theatre of Death (aka Blood Fiend) (¡966), Georg y Girl (¡966), Venom (aka The Legend of Spider Forest) (¡97¡), and Orlando (¡992).
Terence Soall
SOB Javier Carpio, who was known as SOB and was a founding member of the heavy metal band Merauder, died on April 29, 2006. He was 33. Carpio played on the band’s three albums, Master Killer (¡996), 5 Deadly Venoms (¡999), and Bluetality (2003).
SOB Richard Snell
SOALL , TERENCE British character actor Terence Soall died in England on August ¡0, 2006. He was 86. Soall was born in London in ¡920. He began performing on stage during World War II as he served in the Royal Air Force on Gibralter. He began acting professionally after the war, making his West End debut in a production of The Linden Tree in ¡948. He also began appearing on British television from the ¡950s, performing in productions of The Secret Kingdom (¡960), Stand Up, Nigel Barton (¡965), The Mas-
SOGA, MACHIKO Japanese actress Machiko Soga, who was best known in the U.S. for her role as the evil alien leader, Rita Repulsa, in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in the early ¡990s, was found dead at her home in Japan on May 7, 2006. She was 63. Soga was born in Tokyo, Japan, on March ¡8, ¡943. She began her career as a voice actress on Japanese radio, starring in the ¡96¡ drama Chorinmura to Kurumi no Ki, and playing the friendly ghost Q-taro in Obake no Q-tar from ¡965 to ¡968. She was featured in the ¡968 film Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman Samaritan. She also appeared in such Japanese television series as We Love You!! Witch Teacher, Rainbowman as God-Iguana,
351 Kamen Rider Stronger as Dr. Kate, Electronic Task Force Denziman and Solar Task Force Sunvulcan as Cyborg Queen Hedrian, Space Sheri› Gavan, Dimensional Warrior Spielban as Pandora, World Ninja War Jiraiya as Aracnin Morgana, Dinosaur Task Force Beast Rangers as Bandora, V.R. Troopers, and Mermaid Forest as the voice of Mrs. Fuha.
Machiko Soga (as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers villain Rita Repulsa)
SOGABE, KAZUYUKI Veteran Japanese voice actor Kazuyuki Sogabe died of esophageal cancer in Japan on September ¡7, 2006. He was 58. Sogabe was born in Chiba, Japan, on April ¡6, ¡948. He voiced numerous characters in Japanese anime productions from the mid–¡970s. Sogabe’s better known roles were as Benn Beckman in On Piece, South Kaioshin in Dragon Ball Z, Commander Wakkein and Jean in Mobile Suit Gundam, Largo in Bubblegum Crisis, Hyui in Fist of the North Star, Kunzite in Sailor Moon, Kyoushirou Yuuzuki in Tosshou Daimos, and Akira Yamamoto and Razela in Space Battleship Yamato. SOLTAN, HODA Egyptian actress and singer Hoda Soltan died in Cairo, Egypt, on June 5, 2006. She was 80. Soltan was born in Tanta, Egypt, on August ¡5, ¡925. She was a popular performer in Egyptian cinema from the early ¡950s, appearing in The Law of the Jungle (¡950), Foreman Hassna (¡952), Women
Hoda Soltan (pictured in the Egyptian poster from her film Manhunter)
2006 • Obituaries
Without Men (¡953), Written on the Forehead (¡953), The Scandalmonger (¡954), The Cheat (¡954), Hamida (¡954), The Marital Dwelling (¡954), It Happened One Night (¡955), I Have Been Made a Murderer (¡955), Abu Dahab (¡955), Platform No. 5 (¡956), The Bad Tempered Man (¡956), Port Said (¡957), The Tough (¡957), The Midnight Driver (¡958), A Woman on the Road (¡958), Kahramana (¡959), Manhunter (¡960), The Arms Market (¡960), Life Is Like That (¡96¡), Slaves of the Body (¡962), and The Circus (¡968). Soltan was featured in character roles in several films from the ¡970s including The Return of the Prodigal Son (¡976), Adieu Bonaparte (¡985), Alexandria Again and Forever (¡990), The Woman from Cairo (¡992), and By a Glimpse of an Eye (2003).
SORAYA Colombian-American singer and songwriter Soraya died of breast cancer in Miami, Florida, on May 9, 2006. She was 37. She was born Soraya Lamilla to Colombian parents in New Jersey on March ¡¡, ¡969, and went back to Colombia with her parents when she was an infant. She returned to the United States at the age of nine. She recorded the hit songs “Solo por Ti” and “Casi” for the 2003 album Soraya, which earned her a Grammy the following year. She was nominated for a Latin Grammy for best female pop vocal album for El Otro Lado De Mi in 2005.
Soraya
SOUGLAKOS, APOSTOLOS Greek wrestler and actor Apostolos Souglakos died in Greece of com-
Apostolos Souglakos
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plications from a stroke on September 5, 2006. He was 56. He was a leading professional wrestler in Greece from the ¡970s, and became a cult film star with his performance in The Bastards in ¡984. Souglakos was also seen in such exploitation films as The Scumbags (¡984), Athens’ Scumbag (¡985), Blown Sky High (¡985), O Protathlitis (¡987), Matomena Oneira (¡989), Radio Moscow (¡995), Black Milk (2000), and Return of the Bastards (2003).
SOUTH , LEONARD J. Cinematographer Leonard J. South died of pneumonia and complications from Alzheimer’s disease in a Northridge, California, care facility on January 6, 2006. He was 92. South was born in Long Island, New York, on October ¡7, ¡9¡3. He moved to Los Angeles in the ¡930s where he began his career as a camera loader at Warner Bros. South served in the Army Air Force during World War II, where he made training films. He began a thirty year association with director Alfred Hitchcock in ¡95¡, when he served as a camera assistant to cinematographer Robert Burks on the ¡95¡ Strangers on a Train. South remained a camera operator on the films The Desert Song (¡953), Dial M for Murder (¡954), Rear Window (¡954), To Catch a Thief (¡955), The Trouble with Harry (¡955), The Man Who Knew Too Much (¡956), Vertigo (¡958), North by Northwest (¡959), Psycho (¡960), The Birds (¡964), Marnie (¡964), and Torn Curtain (¡966). He also worked as a cinematographer on films and television from the ¡960s, photographing the features I Sailed to Tahiti with an All Girl Crew (¡968), Hang ’Em High (¡968), Hitchcock’s final film Family Plot (¡976), Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (¡977), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (¡979), The North Avenue Irregulars (¡979), and Amy (¡98¡). South also worked often in television, serving as director of photography on the tele-films Night Gallery (¡970), Home for the Holidays (¡972), A Cold Night’s Death (¡973), Snatched (¡973), The Letters (¡973), Linda (¡973), Scream, Pretty Pegg y (¡973), Hitchhike! (¡974), Satan’s Triangle (¡975), Death Stalk (¡975), You Lie So Deep, My Love (¡975), Terraces (¡977), The Jordan Chance (¡978), and The Ghosts of Buxley Hall (¡980), and the series Me and the Chimp, The Rockford Files, The Associates, 9 to 5, Foley Square, Designing Women, and Coach.
Leonard J. South
SPARK, MURIEL Dame Muriel Spark, a leading British writer best known for her ¡96¡ novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, died in a Florence, Italy, hospital on April ¡3, 2006. She was 88. Spark was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on February ¡, ¡9¡8. She began writing in the ¡940s, authoring several volumes of poetry and biographies of such literary figures as the Bronte sisters and Mary Shelley. She wrote over twenty novels, with her best known work being her ¡96¡ novel about a domineering girl’s school teacher, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. The novel was adapted into a successful play and a film version starring Maggie Smith was released in ¡969. Her novel Identikit was adapted to film in ¡974 and The Girls of Slender Means was made into a tele-film in ¡975. Her novel The Abbess of Crewe, a satire about Watergate, was adapted for the ¡977 film Nasty Habits, and her novel Memento Mori became a tele-film in ¡992. Spark was created a dame in ¡993 and earned the David Cohen Literature Prize for lifetime achievement in ¡997.
Muriel Spark
SPELLING, AARON Aaron Spelling, one of the most successful producers in the history of American television whose numerous hit shows include Charlie’s Angels, Dynasty, The Love Boat, Beverly Hills, 902¡0, and many others, died of complications from a stroke at his home in Los Angeles on June 23, 2006. He was 83. Spelling was born in Dallas, Texas, on April 22, ¡923. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II, where he entertained on a troop ship and wrote for Stars and Stripes. After the war Spelling began performing as a comic and wrote several plays. He appeared in films and television as an actor from the early ¡950s. Spelling was seen in the films Vicki (¡953), Three Young Texans (¡954), Alaska Seas (¡954), Wyoming Renegades (¡954), Black Widow (¡954), Mad at the World (¡955), Kismet (¡955), Target Zero (¡955), and The Spirit of St. Louis (¡957). He also appeared in episodes of Treasury Men in Action, I Love Lucy, Soldiers of Fortune, Dragnet, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, TV Reader’s Digest, Crusader, Gunsmoke, The Millionaire, Studio 57, and Burke’s Law. Spelling also began writing scripts for such series as Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre, Wagon Train, Playhouse 90, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, Johnny Ringo, Dante, The Dick Powell Show, and
353 Zane Grey Theater. He also wrote the ¡960 western film One Foot in Hell, and produced and scripted Guns of the Timberland (¡960). He also began producing television series in the late ¡950s with such credits as Johnny Ringo, Burke’s Law, Daniel Boone, Honey West, The Guns of Will Sonnett, The Mod Squad, The New People, The Young Rebels, The Most Deadly Game, Chopper One, Firehouse, S.W.A.T., Starsky and Hutch, The Rookies, Family, Charlie’s Angels, The Love Boat, Vega$, The San Pedro Beach Bums, Hart to Hart, B.A.D. Cats, Dynasty, Strike Force, T.J. Hooker, At Ease, Hotel, Glitter, Finder of Lost Loves, The Colbys, Crossings, Life with Lucy, Nightingales, Melrose Place, 2000 Malibu Road, The Heights, The Round Table, Burke’s Law, Models Inc, Robin’s Hoods, University Hospital, Beverly Hills, 902¡0, Savannah, Kindred: The Embraced, 7th Heaven, Malibu Shores, Sunset Beach, Pacific Palisades, The Love Boat: The Next Wave, Buddy Faro, Rescue 77, Safe Harbor, Titans, All Souls, Deep Cover, Queens Supreme, ¡0–8: O‡cers on Duty, Summerland, Clubhouse, and Charmed. Spelling also produced numerous tele-films including The Over-the-Hill Gang (¡969), Wake Me When the War Is Over (¡969), The Monk (¡969), The Pigeon (¡969), The Ballad of Andy Crocker (¡969), Carter’s Army (¡970), The Love War (¡970), How Awful About Allan (¡970), But I Don’t Want to Get Married! (¡970), The Old Man Who Cried Wolf (¡970), Wild Women (¡970), The House That Would Not Die (¡970), The Over-theHill Gang Rides Again (¡970), Crowhaven Farm (¡970), Run, Simon, Run (¡970), Love Hate Love (¡97¡), Yuma (¡97¡), River of Gold (¡97¡), Congratulations, It’s a Boy! (¡97¡), Five Desperate Women (¡97¡), The Last Child (¡97¡), A Taste of Evil (¡97¡), In Broad Daylight (¡97¡), The Death of Me Yet (¡97¡), The Reluctant Heroes (¡97¡), If Tomorrow Comes (¡97¡), The Trackers (¡97¡), Two for the Money (¡972), The Rookies (¡972), The Daughters of Joshua Cabe (¡972), No Place to Run (¡972), Say Goodbye, Maggie Cole (¡972), Rolling Man (¡972), The Bounty Man (¡972), Home for the Holidays (¡972), Every Man Needs One (¡972), The Chill Factor (¡973), Snatched (¡973), The Great American Beauty Contest (¡973), The Letters (¡973), The Bait (¡973), Satan’s School for Girls (¡973), Hijack (¡973), Letters from Three Lovers (¡973), The A›air (¡973), The Death Squad (¡974), The Girl Who Came Gift-Wrapped (¡974), Cry Panic (¡974), Savages (¡974), Death Sentence (¡974), Hit Lady (¡974), Death Cruise (¡974), Only with Married Men (¡974), The Daughters of Joshua Cabe Return (¡975), The Fireman’s Ball (¡975), Murder on Flight 502 (¡975), The Legend of Valentino (¡975), One of My Wives Is Missing (¡976), The New Daughters of Joshua Cabe (¡976), Death at Love House (¡976), The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (¡976), Fantasy Island (¡977), Little Ladies of the Night (¡977), The Love Boat II (¡977), The San Pedro Bums (¡977), Return to Fantasy Island (¡978), Cruise into Terror (¡978), Wild and Wooly (¡978), Kate Bliss and the Ticker Tape Kid (¡978), The Users (¡978), Beach Patrol (¡979), The Power Within (¡979), Return of the Mod Squad (¡979), Love’s Savage Fury (¡979), Hart to Hart (¡979), The French Atlantic A›air (¡979), Waikiki (¡980), Murder Can Hurt You (¡980), Casino (¡980), The Best Little Girl in the World (¡98¡), Sizzle (¡98¡),
2006 • Obituaries
Aaron Spelling
T.J. Hooker (¡982), Massarati and the Brain (¡982), The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch (¡982), Don’t Go to Sleep (¡982), Shooting Stars (¡983), Making of a Male Model (¡983), Dark Mirror (¡984), Velvet (¡984), Glitter (¡984), Hollywood Wives (¡985), International Airport (¡985), Mr. and Mrs. Ryan (¡986), T.J. Hooker: Blood Sport (¡986), Dark Mansions (¡986), ’Night, Mother (¡986), Cracked Up (¡987), Divided We Stand (¡988), Day One (¡989), Rich Men, Single Women (¡990), The Love Boat: A Valentine Voyage (¡990), Jailbirds (¡99¡), Back to the Streets of San Francisco (¡992), Grass Roots (¡992), Gulf City (¡993), And the Band Played On (¡993), A Stranger in the Mirror (¡993), Hart to Hart Returns (¡993), Jane’s House (¡994), Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is (¡994), Love on the Run (¡994), Hart to Hart: Crimes of the Hart (¡994), Hart to Hart: Old Friends Never Die (¡994), Cross Town Tra‡c (¡995), Hart to Hart: Secrets of the Hart (¡995), Hart to Hart: Two Harts in Three-Quarters Times (¡995), Hart to Hart: Harts in High Season (¡996), A Season in Purgatory (¡996), Hart to Hart: Till Death Do Us Hart (¡996), After Jimmy (¡996), Odd Jobs (¡997), Satan’s School for Girls (2000), Titans (2000), Stop at Nothing (200¡), Home of the Brave (2002), Hotel (2003), The Law and Mr. Lee (2003), Silver Lake (2004), Bounty Hunters (2005), Wanted (2005), and Split Decision (2006). Spelling was also executive producer of the feature films California Split (¡974), Baby Blue Marine (¡976), Mr. Mom (¡983), Surrender (¡987), Three O’Clock High (¡987), Cross My Heart (¡987), Satisfaction (¡988), Loose Cannons (¡990), Soapdish (¡99¡), The Mod Squad (¡999), and Charlie’s Angels (2000). Spelling was married to actress Carolyn Jones from the ¡950s until their divorce in ¡964. He married model Candy Marer in ¡968 and they had two children, actress Tori Spelling and actor Randy Spelling, both of whom appeared on several of their father’s shows.
SPELSON, PETER G. Peter G. Spelson, who produced, scripted and starred in the ¡980 independent horror film The Psychotronic Man, died in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, on December 2¡, 2006. He was 75. Spelson was born on August 3¡, ¡93¡. He was active on the local stage in Oak Brook, Illinois. He formed his own production company in the late ¡970s and produced
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and starred in the first independent feature film made in Chicago. Spelson starred as Rocky Foscoe, a man who could kill with the power of his mind, in ¡980’s The Psychotronic Man.
tan Opera in ¡97¡ in Il Trovatore. He was forced to retire from singing in the mid–¡970s due to damage to his vocal chords. He served in the Romanian cabinet as minister of culture from ¡99¡ to ¡992, and was chief administrator of the Romanian National Opera from 200¡ to 2005.
Peter G. Spelson
SPENCER, NORRIS Film production designer Norris Spencer died of pneumonia in London on January ¡2, 2006. He was 62. He attended the Royal College of Art in London, and began working in films as a designer of commercials for directors Tony and Ridley Scott. He began working in films in the late ¡970s, serving as production designer for the films The Golden Lady (¡979), Lindsay Anderson’s Britannia Hospital (¡982), Black Rain (¡989), Thelma and Louise (¡99¡), ¡492: Conquest of Paradise (¡992), Plunkett and Macleane (¡999), Hannibal (200¡), Spy Game (200¡), National Treasure (2004), and the tele-film Iron Jawed Angels (2004).
Norris Spencer
SPIESS, LUDOVIC Romanian operatic tenor Ludovic Spiess, who served as his country’s minister of culture, died of a heart attack while on a hunting trip in southern Romania on January 28, 2006. He was 67. Spiess was born in Cluj, Transylvania, Romania, on May ¡3, ¡938. He began singing in the early ¡960s, performing in operettas in Bucharest. He made his operatic debut in a production of Tosca in Bucharest, and also performed in Salzburg, the Vienna State Opera, and La Scala. He made his debut with the Metropoli-
Ludovic Spiess
SPILLANE, MICKEY Writer Mickey Spillane, the creator of hard-boiled private eye Mike Hammer, died of cancer at his home in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, on July ¡7, 2006. He was 88. He was born Frank Morrison Spillane in Brooklyn, New York, on March 9, ¡9¡8. He began his career writing stories for comic books at Funnies Inc. in ¡940. He joined the U.S. Army Air Force after the attack on Pearl Harbor and became a fighter pilot, though he spent most of the war stateside training other pilots. After the war he returned to writing comics, claiming to script stories for such characters as Superman Batman, Captain Marvel, Captain America, and the Human Torch. He soon ventured on to writing novels, introducing Mike Hammer in his first, I, the Jury, published in ¡947. This was followed by such subsequent Mike Hammer tales as My Gun Is Quick (¡950), Vengeance Is Mine! (¡950), The Big Kill (¡95¡), One Lonely Night (¡95¡), Kiss Me Deadly (¡952), The Girl Hunters (¡962), The Snake (¡954), The Twisted Thing (¡966), The Body Lovers (¡967), Survival Zero (¡970), The Killing Man (¡989), Black Alley (¡996), and his final novel Something Down There (2003). His tales, usually heavy on violence and sex, were castigated by the critics but proved popular with the reading public. Spillane also created such tough-guy characters as globe-trotting secret agent Tiger Mann, featured in the novels Day of the Guns (¡964), Bloody Sunrise (¡965), The Death Dealers (¡965), and The ByPass Control (¡966), and Dogeron Kelly, featured in ¡972’s The Erection Set. His other novels include The Long Wait (¡95¡), The Deep (¡96¡), The Delta Factor (¡967), and The Last Cop Out (¡973). He also wrote two children’s books, The Day the Sea Rolled Back (¡979) and The Ship That Never Was (¡982). The first screen adaptation of the often-filmed Mike Hammer was ¡953’s I, the Jury, directed and scripted by Harry Essex and starring Bi› Elliot as Hammer. Robert Aldrich directed the most famous of the Spillane films, Kiss Me,
355
2006 • Obituaries
Deadly (¡954), starring Ralph Meeker as the detective hero. My Gun Is Quick, starring Robert Bray as Mike Hammer, was released in ¡957. Spillane himself starred as Hammer in the ¡963 adaptation of The Girl Hunters, which he co-scripted with director Roy Rowland and Robert Fellows. A film adaptation of the non–Mike Hammer thriller The Delta Factor, starring Christopher George and Yvette Mimieux, was released in ¡970, and I, the Jury was remade by Larry Cohen in ¡982 with Armand Assante as Hammer. On television, Brian Keith starred in an unsuccessful pilot for a Mike Hammer series in ¡954. Darren McGavin had better luck, starring in Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer from ¡958 to ¡960. A ¡98¡ tele-film Mickey Spillane’s Margin for Murder, featured Kevin Dobson as Hammer. Stacy Keach began his long association with the hero in the ¡983 tele-film Mickey Spillane’s Murder Me, Murder You, and starred in the subsequent Mike Hammer series on CBS from ¡984 to ¡987. Rob Estes starred as Mike Hammer and Pamela Anderson was his loyal and lovely secretary Velda in the ¡994 tele-film Come Die with Me. Stacy Keach reprised the role of Hammer in the television series Mike Hammer, Private Eye from ¡997 to ¡998. Spillane had also appeared as himself in the ¡954 mystery thriller set in Clyde Beatty’s circus. He again appeared on screen in ¡974, guest-starring as murder victim Alan Mallory in the tele-film Columbo: Publish or Perish. He was also featured as Attorney Neal Ekhardt in the horror films Mommy (¡995) and Mommy II: Mommy’s Day (¡997) by fellow crime writer Max Allan Collins. He also parodied himself in numerous Miller Lite beer commercials in the ¡970s.
long illness in a hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, India, on October ¡9, 2006. She was 53. Srividya was the daughter of singer M.L. Vasanthakumari and began her career in film at the age of ¡3. She reportedly appeared in nearly 900 films during her career. Her many credits include Rare Melodies (¡975), Arjun Pandit (¡976), Alley Cat, Silent Cat (¡979), Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp (¡979), Theekkadal (¡980), Attimari (¡98¡), Writing (¡983), Prathigna (¡983), A Bird’s Nest in the Wind (¡983), Adam’s Rib (¡983), Smiling Prince (¡986), Vicky Dada (¡989), Thief of Kondaveedu (¡990), Thalapathi (¡99¡), Gandeevam (¡994), The Prince (¡996), Sidhartha (¡998), With Fire As Witness (¡999), I Have Found It (2000), and Mullavalliyum Thenmavum (2003).
Mickey Spillane
Srividya
SPOON, MARK German radio disc jockey and recording artist Mark Spoon was found dead at his apartment in Berlin, Germany, on January ¡¡, 2006. He was 39. He was born Markus Lo›el in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on November 27, ¡966. He teamed with Rolf Ellmer (aka Jam El Mar) to record dance music under such names as Jam & Spoon, Tokyo Ghetto Pussy, and Storm. Spoon was also a leading dance DJ, producing remixes for such artists as Moby, Pet Shop Boys, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. SRIVIDYA Leading South Indian actress Srividya died of internal bleeding and cardiac arrest after a
Mark Spoon
STAHL, RICHARD Character actor Richard Stahl died of complications from Parkinson’s disease on June ¡8, 2006, at the Motion Picture and Television Fund’s Woodland Hills, California, medical facility. He was 74. Stahl was born in Detroit, Michigan, on January 4, ¡932. He moved to California in the late ¡940s to work as an entertainer. After serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, Stahl attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. He performed on the Broadway stage in the late ¡950s, where he met actress Kathryn Ish. The two were married in ¡959 and moved to San Francisco in the early
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¡960s. They joined the comedy improv group The Committee. Stahl also began a long career in film and television as a character actor. He was featured in such films as Funnyman (¡967), Five Easy Pieces (¡970), The Student Nurses (¡970), Billy Jack (¡97¡), Summertree (¡97¡), Slaughterhouse-Five (¡972), Beware! The Blob (¡972), Fuzz (¡972), Dirty Little Billy (¡972), Terminal Island (¡973), The Daring Dobermans (¡973), Hearts of the West (¡975), High Anxiety (¡977), Nine to Five (¡980), All Night Long (¡98¡), Under the Rainbow (¡98¡), Tin Man (¡983), Private School (¡983), The Flamingo Kid (¡984), Overboard (¡987), L.A. Story (¡99¡), The American President (¡995), Ghosts of Mississippi (¡996), and The Other Sister (¡999). Stahl also appeared in the tele-films Sheri› Who (¡967), Thief (¡97¡), Columbo: The Most Crucial Game (¡972), Savage (¡973), Columbo: Lovely but Lethal (¡973), The President’s Plane Is Missing (¡973), Lisa, Bright and Dark (¡973), Columbo: Double Exposure (¡973), Nightmare at 43 Hillcrest (¡974), Honky Tonk (¡974), The Boys (¡974), The Death of Richie (¡977), Rosetti and Ryan: Men Who Love Women (¡977), Good Against Evil (¡977), Cindy (¡978), and Hi Honey — I’m Dead (¡99¡). Stahl starred as Jack Overmeyer in the short-lived comedy series Turnabout in ¡979, and was Walt Calvin in the series Struck by Lightning in ¡979. He starred as Howard Miller in the television comedy It’s a Living in ¡985. His other television credits include episodes of Hey, Landlord, The Jim Sta›ord Show, That Girl, The Partridge Family, Love, American Style, Bonanza, Search, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Shaft, All in the Family, Good Times, The Odd Couple, Maude, That’s My Mama, On the Rocks, The Rookies, Happy Days, Harry O, The Love Boat, McMillan and Wife, The Bob Newhart Show, James at ¡5, WKRP in Cincinnati, Soap, What’s Happening!!, Benson, House Calls, Love, Sidney, Barney Miller, Laverne and Shirley, Archie Bunker’s Place, Hill Street Blues, The Facts of Life, Family Ties, Who’s the Boss?, Highway to Heaven, Newhart, You Again?, Murder, She Wrote, Night Court, Good Grief, The Golden Girls, Living Single, Empty Nest, Married with Children, Diagnosis Murder, Platypus Man, Hudson Street, and The Tom Show.
in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 24, 2006. He was 98. Stanton was born in Dayton, Ohio, on March 20, ¡908. He earned a Ph.D. from Ohio State University in ¡935 and was a pioneering educator in the field of communications. He was recruited by CBS to join the radio network’s research department after his graduation and became CBS’s research director by ¡938. He was responsible for co-inventing the program analyzer, which allowed the network to track the likes and dislikes of batches of radio listeners. He rose to become vice president and general manager of CBS in ¡945 and was selected by the network’s founder, William S. Paley, to become president of CBS in ¡946. Stanton was instrumental in supporting the network’s news division and organized the first televised presidential debate in ¡960. He was also very involved with the advent of color television. Stanton also oversaw the network’s choice of the CBS Eye, designed by William Golden, as its symbol, and chose architect Eero Saarinen to construct the network’s skyscraper headquarters in Manhattan, known as Black Rock. He earned three Peabody Awards during his tenure as president of CBS, which ended in ¡97¡. He stayed on for two years as vicechairman before leaving the network all together. He subsequently served as chairman of the American Red Cross for six years, and sat on the boards of numerous foundations.
Frank Stanton
Richard Stahl
STANTON, FRANK Frank Stanton, the long time president of the CBS network, died at his home
STAPLETON, MAUREEN Oscar-winning character actress Maureen Stapleton died from chronic pulmonary disease in Lennox, Massachusetts, on March ¡3, 2006. She was 80. Stapleton, who had earned acting’s Triple Crown with Tony, Emmy, and Academy Awards during her career, was born in Troy, New York, on June 2¡, ¡925. She went to New York after graduating from high school and attended the Herbert Berghof Acting School and the Acting Studio. She made her debut on Broadway in the ¡946 production of The Playboy of the Western World. Several years later she earned her first Tony Award for her role as Serafina Delle Rose in Tennessee Williams’ hit play The Rose Tattoo. She also appeared on stage in productions of Williams’ Orpheus Descending, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Laurence Olivier and Lillian Hellman’s Toys in the Attic. She received a second Tony Award for her ¡97¡ performance
357 in Neil Simon’s The Gingerbread Lady. She also appeared frequently on television from the ¡950s, starring in episodes of Curtain Call, Goodyear Television Playhouse, Star Tonight, The Philco Television Playhouse, Justice, Armstrong Circle Theatre, The Alcoa Hour, Studio One, Kraft Television Theatre, Playhouse 90, Play of the Week, Car 54, Where Are You?, Naked City, The DuPont Show of the Week, and East Side/West Side. Stapleton earned an Emmy nomination for her role as Sadie Burke in a ¡958 production of All the King’s Men. She won the Emmy for her performance in Among the Paths to Eden in ¡967, and received subsequent nominations for Queen of the Stardust Ballroom in ¡975, The Gathering in ¡977, an episode of B.L. Stryker in ¡989, Miss Rose White in ¡992, and an episode of Road to Avonlea in ¡996. Stapleton earned her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her film debut in ¡958’s Lonelyhearts. She was also nominated for her role as the worried wife of mad bomber Van Heflin in ¡970’s Airport, and as Pearl in Woody Allen’s Interiors (¡978). She received the Academy Award for appearing as anarchist Emma Goldman in Warren Beatty’s epic Reds in ¡98¡. She also appeared in the films The Fugitive Kind (¡959), A View from the Bridge (¡96¡), Bye Bye Birdie (¡963) as Mama Mae Peterson, Truman Capote’s Trilog y (¡969), Plaza Suite (¡97¡), Dig (¡972), The Runner Stumbles (¡979), Lost and Found (¡979), On the Right Track (¡98¡), The Fan (¡98¡), Johnny Dangerously (¡984), Cocoon (¡985), Heartburn (¡986), The Money Pit (¡986), The Cosmic Eye (¡986) as the voice of Mother Earth, Sweet Lorraine (¡987), Made in Heaven (¡987), Nuts (¡987), Doin’ Time on Planet Earth (¡988), Cocoon: The Return (¡988), Liberace: Behind the Music (¡988), Passed Away (¡992), The Last Good Time (¡994), Trading Mom (¡994), Addicted to Love (¡997), Wilbur Falls (¡998), and Living and Dining (2003). Stapleton was also featured in television productions of Mirror, Mirror O› the Wall (¡969), Tell Me Where It Hurts (¡974), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (¡976), Letters from Frank (¡979), The Gathering, Part II (¡979), The Electric Grandmother (¡982), Little Gloria ... Happy at Last (¡982), Alice in Wonderland (¡983) as the White Queen, Family Secrets (¡984), Sentimental Journey (¡984), Private Sessions (¡985), The Thorns (¡988), and Last Wish (¡992). She also guest starred in a ¡989 episode of The Equalizer.
Maureen Stapleton
2006 • Obituaries
Stapleton’s autobiography, Hell of a Life, was published in ¡995 and candidly dealt with her problems with alcohol and phobias the a›ected her career. She was married to Broadway stage manager Max Allentuck from ¡949 until their divorce in ¡959 and to screenwriter David Rayfiel from ¡963 until they divorced in ¡966. She was involved in a decade long relationship with veteran Broadway playwright George Abbott from the late ¡960s through the late ¡970s.
STASY, OKSANA Actress and dancer Oksana Stasy died in New York on December 4, 2006. She was 6¡. Stasy made her film debut as a hooker in the ¡980 thriller Night of the Juggler. She was romantically involved with actor Peter Lawford prior to his death in ¡984.
Oksana Stasy
STEAMBOAT, SAM Hawaiian professional wrestler Sam Steamboat died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in Hawaii on May 3, 2006. He was 7¡. He was born Sam Mokuahi, which translates to Steamboat, in Hawaii on May 4, ¡934. He began training as a wrestler in the ¡950s under Lord Blears, Gene Kiniski, Lou Thesz, and other grapplers who competed in Hawaii. He turned pro and teamed with Billy Varga to hold the Hawaiian Tag Team Title in August of ¡956. He was soon wrestling throughout the United States and Canada. He teamed with Eddie Graham to hold the NWA World Tag Team Title in Florida several
Sam Steamboat
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times in ¡964. He and Graham also held the World Tag Team Title in Tennessee in ¡965. He also briefly held the tag belts with Ron Etchison in October of ¡965 and with Jose Lothario in November of ¡966. He teamed with Ciclon Negro to hold the NWA Florida Tag Team Title in September of ¡969. Steamboat returned to Hawaii in the early ¡970s, where he again held the Hawaiian Title. He teamed with Bearcat Wright to hold the Hawaiian tag belts in ¡97¡. He also held the North American Title in Honolulu several times in the early ¡970s. Steamboat left the ring later in the decade and became involved in the sport of canoe paddling. He served as coach for several local canoe clubs in Hawaii.
STEFANELLI, SIMONETTA Italian actress Simonetta Stefanelli, who played Michael Corleone’s illfated first wife Apollonia in The Godfather, died of cancer in Rome, Italy, on July 23, 2005. She was 5¡. Stefanelli was born in Rome on November 30, ¡954. She began her film career in the late ¡960s, appearing primarily in Italian features. Her film credits include La Moglie Giapponese (¡968), In the Name of the Italian People (¡97¡), Homo Eroticus (¡97¡), The Big Family (¡973), La Profanazione (¡974), Young Lucrezia Borgia (¡974), La Nuora Giovane (¡975), Moses the Lawgiver (¡975), Scandal in the Family (¡975), The Hawk and the Dove (¡98¡), Three Brothers (¡98¡), The Art of Love (¡983), Department Store (¡986), and Close Friends (¡992).
adapt Robert Bloch’s novel Psycho for film. Stefano was instrumental in giving life to the characters of demented hotelier Norman Bates, played by Anthony Perkins, and his shower victim, embezzler Marion Crane, played by Janet Leigh. The screenplay earned Stefano an award from the Mystery Writers of America. He also scripted the films The Naked Edge (¡96¡) and The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre (¡964) which he also produced and directed. Leith Stevens, the creator of The Outer Limits, called upon Stefano to serve as writer and producer for the hour-long ABC science fiction anthology series. He produced The Outer Limits from ¡963 to ¡964, and scripted some of the more notable episodes including “Feasibility Study” and “Don’t Open Till Doomsday.” Later in the decade he scripted the horror film Eye of the Cat (¡969) and the odd menage a troi about a man, a woman, and a pig, Futz! (¡969). He also continued to write for television, scripting the tele-films Revenge (¡97¡), A Death of Innocence (¡97¡), Home for the Holidays (¡972), The Magician (¡973), Live Again, Die Again (¡974), Aloha Means Goodbye (¡974), and Snowbeast (¡977). He also wrote and served as executive producer for the ¡990 Swamp Thing television series, and scripted an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Stefano scripted the ¡987 horror film The Kindred, and wrote and produced ¡988’s Blackout. He scripted the ¡990 tele-film Psycho IV: The Beginning for cable television, devising a prequel to his best known work. He also scripted the ¡995 Two Bits starring Al Pacino. Stefano served as a consultant on Gus Van Sant’s ¡998 remake of Psycho.
Simonetta Stefanelli
STEFANO, JOSEPH Screenwriter Joseph Stefano, who scripted Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film Psycho and produced the landmark ¡960s television science fiction series The Outer Limits, died of a heart attack in a Thousand Oaks, California, hospital on August 24, 2006. He was 84. Stefano was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 5, ¡922. He began his career as a stage performer in New York’s Greenwich Village under the name Jerry Stevens. He also was a songwriter for Las Vegas entertainer Donn Arden before he began writing for films and television in the late ¡950s. Stefano scripted the films The Black Orchid (¡958) which starred Sophia Loren, and Anna of Brooklyn (¡958), and wrote for the television anthology series Playhouse 90 and Ford Startime. Hitchcock brought him in to help
Joseph Stefano
STEFFENS, FRANZ JOSEF German actor Franz Josef Ste›ens died in Hamburg, Germany, on May 5, 2006. He was 82. Ste›ens was born in Beckum, Germany, on December 27, ¡923. He appeared frequently on German television from the early ¡960s, appearing in productions of Freunde wie Wolfe (¡963), Der Kirschgarten (¡966), The Brutalisation of Franz Blum (¡974), Turandot oder Der Kongress der Weisswascher (¡975), Chamaleon (¡983), Ein Kriegsende (¡984), Finkenwerder Geschichten (¡986), Tante Tilly (¡986), Das Erbe der Guldenburgs (¡987), Unsere Hagenbecks (¡99¡) as Felix Junklers, Das Grosste Fest des Jahres —Weihnachten bei Unseren Femsehfamilien (¡995),
359 Die Unschuld der Krahen (¡998), Code of the Templars (2004), and Othello (2005). He was also featured in episodes of Tatort, Gesucht wird..., and Vater Braucht eine Frau.
Franz Josef Ste›ens
STERLING, ROBERT Actor Robert Sterling, who was best known for co-starring with his wife, Anne Je›reys, as the fun-loving ghosts George and Marion Kerby, in the ¡950s television comedy series Topper, died of natural causes at his home in Brentwood, California, after a decade long battle with shingles, on May 30, 2006. He was 88. He was born William Sterling Hart on November ¡3, ¡9¡7, in New Castle, Pennsylvania. He attended the University of Pittsburgh before signing a contract with Columbia Pictures in ¡939. The studio changed his name to Robert Sterling to avoid confusion with the silent western star William S. Hart. He remained at Columbia for two years before moving to RKO. Sterling was seen in numerous films during the early years of his career including Blondie Meet the Boss (¡939), First O›enders (¡939), Outside These Walls (¡939), Sorority House (¡939), Mandrake the Magician (¡939), Only Angels Have Wings (¡939), Missing Daughters (¡939), Golden Boy (¡939), Those High Grey Walls (¡939), Scandal Sheet (¡939), Beware Spooks! (¡939), A Woman Is the Judge (¡939), Blondie Brings Up Baby (¡939), The Amazing Mr. Williams (¡939), Glove Singers (¡939), My Son Is Guilty (¡939), The Heckler (¡940), Nothing but Pleasure (¡940), Manhattan Heartbeat (¡940), Yesterday’s Heroes (¡940), The Gay Caballero (¡940), The Penalty (¡94¡), I’ll Wait for You (¡94¡), The Get-Away (¡94¡), Ringside Maisie (¡94¡), Two-Faced Woman (¡94¡), Personalities (¡942), Johnny Eager (¡942), This Time for Keeps (¡942), Somewhere I’ll Find You (¡942), and Dr. Kildare’s Victory (¡942). Sterling met actress Ann Sothern while filming Ringside Maisie in ¡94¡, and they were married two years later. They had a daughter, actress Tisha Sterling, before their divorce in ¡949. Sterling interrupted his film career in ¡942 to serve in the Army Air Forces as a flight instructor in London during World War II. He returned to the screen after his discharge, appearing in The Secret Heart (¡946), Roughshod (¡949), The Sundowners (¡950), Bunco Squad (¡950), Show Boat (¡95¡), and Column South (¡953). Sterling also appeared on Broadway in the
2006 • Obituaries
play Gramercy Ghost in ¡95¡. He met actress Anne Je›reys during the run of the play and the two were married later in the year. He and Je›reys were cast as George and Marion Kerby, a newlywed couple killed on their honeymoon by an avalanche who returned to the land of the living as fun-loving, but meddlesome, ghosts in the comedy series Topper. They were accompanied by the ghostly St. Bernard, Neil, while haunting banker Cosmo Topper, played by Leo G. Carroll. Sterling and Je›reys also starred in the short-lived comedy series Love That Jill in ¡958, with Sterling playing model agency head Jack Gibson. He also starred as newspaper editor Bob Major in the ¡96¡ series Ichabod and Me. His numerous television credits also include episodes of The Ford Theater Hour, The Clock, Faith Baldwin Romance Theatre, Celanese Theatre, Lights Out, Suspense, The Gulf Playhouse, Robert Montgomery Presents, Studio One, Climax!, Letter to Loretta, Lux Video Theatre, The 20th Century Fox Hour, The Ford Television Theatre, Cavalcade of America, Wagon Train, General Electric Theater, The United States Steel Hour, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Twilight Zone, Naked City, Nanny and the Professor, The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, and Love, American Style. Sterling was featured as high school principal Mike Rossi in the ¡96¡ film Return to Peyton Place, and was Captain Lee Crane in ¡96¡’s Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. His other credits include the film A Global A›air (¡964), and the telefilms Letters from Three Lovers (¡973) and Beggarman, Thief (¡979). Sterling’s screen appearances became infrequent from the ¡980s, guest-starring in episodes of Fantasy Island, Simon & Simon, Hotel, and Murder, She Wrote. Sterling had become a vice president and spokesman for an early computer company that was instrumental in popularizing barcoding for supermarkets. His survivors include his wife, Je›reys, and their three sons.
Robert Sterling (with his wife, Anne Je›reys)
STERNBERG, JACQUES French science fiction writer Jacques Sternberg died of lung cancer in Paris on October ¡¡, 2006. He was 83. Sternberg was born in Antwerp, Belgium, on April ¡7, ¡923. He began writing science fiction in the early ¡950s, producing such novels and collections as The Impossible Geometry (¡953), The Infraction (¡954), The Exit Lies at the End
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of Space (¡956), Between Two Uncertain Worlds (¡957), The Terror Geometry (¡958), The Employee (¡958), Handbook of the Perfect Commercial Secretary (¡960), The Suburbs (¡96¡), A Working Day (¡96¡), You, My Night (¡965), It’s War, Mr. Gruber (¡968), Beware, Inhabited Planet (¡969), I Love You, I Love You (¡968), Universe Zero (¡970), The Cold Heart (¡97¡), Devil’s Dictionary (¡973), Future Without Future (¡974), Icy Tales (¡974), Open Letter to the Earthmen (¡974), Sophie, the Sea, the Night (¡976), To Live as a Survivor (¡977), The Navigator (¡977), Mai 86 (¡978), Kriss the Packer (¡979), Suite for Evelyne Sweet Evelyne (¡980), The Torture of Week-Ends (¡98¡), The Anonymous (¡982), Dictionary of Reviewed Ideas (¡985), ¡88 Tales on Account (¡988), Stories to Sleep Without You (¡990), Story to Die of You (¡99¡), Clawed Tales (¡993), and God, I and Others (¡995). Several of Sternberg’s stories were adapted to film including Les Temps Morte (¡964), I Love You, I Love You (¡968), and Maree Basse (¡986). He was also featured as the author in the ¡969 film A Matter of Days, and played Marc in ¡973’s Fall of a Body.
Jacques Sternberg
STEVENS, RONNIE British comic character actor Ronnie Stevens died in England on November ¡¡, 2006. He was 8¡. Stevens was born in London on September 2, ¡925. He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II and began his career on stage after the war. He appeared in various comedy revues before making his West End debut in High Spirits in ¡953. He also began appearing in films with a small role in ¡952’s Made in Heaven. He continued to perform frequently on stage, film and television over the next 45 years. His film credits include Made in Heaven (¡952), Top Secret (¡952), Love in Pawn (¡953), The Embezzler (¡954), For Better, for Worse (¡954), Scarlet Web (¡954), As Long As They’re Happy (¡955), The Hornet’s Nest (¡955), Value for Money (¡955), No Smoking (¡955), An Alligator Named Daisy (¡955), The Narrowing Circle (¡956), Doctor at Large (¡957) with Dirk Bogarde, I Was Monty’s Double (¡958), Bachelor of Hearts (¡958), I’m All Right Jack (¡959) with Peter Sellers, Danger Within (¡959), Doctor in Love (¡960), Dentist in the Chair (¡960), Nearly a Nasty Accident (¡96¡), Dentist on the Job (¡96¡), Very Important Person (¡96¡), On the Beat (¡962), It’s
Trad, Dad! (¡962), A Pair of Briefs (¡962), Carry on Cruising (¡963), Doctor in Distress (¡963), A Home of Your Own (¡964), Give a Dog a Bone (¡965), Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (¡965), San Ferry Ann (¡965), The Sandwich Man (¡966), Doctor in Clover (¡966), Smashing Time (¡967), Some Girls Do (¡969), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (¡969) with Peter O’Toole, and All I Want Is You ... and You ... and You (¡974). Stevens starred as Rodney in the ¡957 television series Dick and the Duchess, and was a voice performer in Noggin the Nog in ¡959, Sara and Hoppity in ¡962, and Space Patrol in ¡963. He also appeared in television productions of The Days of Vengeance (¡960) and Tea at the Ritz (¡963), and guest-starred in episodes of The Avengers, The Mavis Bramston Show, Orlando, and The Goodies. Stevens also remained a frequent performer on the British stage, appearing in such productions as Twelfth Night (¡968), King Lear (¡97¡) as the Fool, Love’s Labour’s Lost (¡97¡), and Royal Hunt of the Sun (¡973). He was also seen in television productions of Twelfth Night (¡980), A.J. Wentworth, BA (¡982) as Rawlinson, Cover Her Face (¡985), Marjorie and Men (¡985) as Sid Parkin, Countdown to War (¡989), Secret Weapon (¡990), and For the Greater Good (¡99¡). His other television credits include episodes of Only When I Laugh, Minder, The Bounder, Ever Decreasing Circles, Chance in a Million, Roll Over Beethoven, Hi-De-Hi!, Yes, Prime Minister, Fresh Fields, Terry and June, Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected, Van der Valk, Rumpole of the Bailey in the recurring role of Lord Justice Parsloe, May to December as Zoe’s Father, As Time Goes By, Goodnight Sweetheart as Sidney Wiz, and Hetty Wainthropp Investigates. Stevens later film credits include Morons from Outer Space (¡985), Killing Dad or How to Love Your Mother (¡989), Blame It on the Bellboy (¡992), and Brassed O› (¡996). His final role was as Grandpa Charles James in the ¡998 remake of Disney’s The Parent Trap.
Ronnie Stevens
STEVENSON, AL Character actor Al Stevenson died in Los Angeles, California, on July ¡0, 2006. He was 73. Stevenson was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on October 5, ¡932. He began his career working in radio in St. Louis before relocating to Los Angeles. Stevenson began appearing in films and television in
361 the early ¡970s. His film credits include Mister Brown (¡973), Cornbread, Earl and Me (¡975), and Critters 2: The Main Course (¡988). He was also seen in the ¡983 tele-film Women of San Quentin, and in episodes of Rhoda, Kojak, Baretta, Sanford and Son, The Rockford Files, and Hill Street Blues.
Al Stevenson
STEWART, BILL British character actor Bill Stewart died of complications from motor neuron disease in England on August 29, 2006. He was 63. Stewart was born in Liverpool, England, on December 7, ¡942. He attended the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in the early ¡960s. He appeared in numerous theatrical productions over the next several decades. He also became a familiar face on British television, appearing in productions of The Edwardians (¡972), Three Men in a Boat (¡975), Rock Follies (¡976), The Muscle Market (¡98¡), Made in Britain (¡982), Baal (¡982), Jack of Diamonds (¡983), Edge of Darkness (¡985), Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story (¡987), Wipe Out (¡988), Countdown to War (¡989), G.B.H. (¡99¡), The Men’s Room (¡99¡), Once Upon a Time in the North (¡994), The Wimbledon Poisoner (¡994), Blackhearts in Battersea (¡996), The Scarlet Pimpernel (¡999), Richard II (2003) as the Duke of York, and The Government Inspector (2005). He appeared as news reporter Sandy Longford in the series A Touch of Frost from ¡992 to ¡999. He was also featured in episodes of The Onedin Line, The Pro-
2006 • Obituaries
tectors, The Regiment, Z Cars, No. 73, MacGyver, Bergerac, Waiting for God, Lovejoy, Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge, Heartbeat, and Midsomer Murders. Stewart was also seen in several films during his career including Morons from Outer Space (¡985), Hostage (¡993), Splitting Heirs (¡993), Black Beauty (¡994), When Saturday Comes (¡996), ¡0¡ Dalmatians (¡996), FairyTale: A True Story (¡997), Anna and the King (¡999), Fear with Me (2000), Tom & Thomas (2002), and Copying Beethoven (2006).
STEWART, DON Actor Don Stewart, who starred as Mike Bauer on the daytime soap opera The Guiding Light, died of complications from aplastic anemia and lung cancer in a Santa Barbara, California, hospital on January 9, 2006. He was 70. Stewart was born on Staten Island, New York, on November ¡4, ¡935. He served in the U.S. Air Force, where he became an aircraft commander with the Strategic Air Command. After leaving the service he began a career as a singer and actor. He appeared on television often from the mid–¡960s, guest starring in episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Laredo, The Virginian, Dragnet ¡967, and Adam-¡2. He also appeared in the tele-films The Doomsday Flight (¡966), Valley of Mystery (¡967), and Columbo: Prescription Murder (¡968). Stewart began a sixteen year run as Mike Bauer on The Guiding Light in ¡968. After leaving the show in ¡985, he relocated to California where he appeared in episodes of Remington Steele, Knots Landing, Our House, L.A. Law, Highway to Heaven, Hardball, Life Goes On, Beverly Hills, 902¡0, The X Files, Two, Profiler, and JAG. He also appeared in the tele-films The Betty Ford Story (¡987) and War and Remembrance (¡988), and was Eric Appleton in The Young and Restless soap opera in ¡998. Stewart also was featured in several films during his career including Carnival Magic (¡98¡), Lost (¡983), American Ninja (¡985), Future Zone (¡990), and Listen (¡996). He was also featured as the voice of Clem in the ¡99¡ animated feature Rover Dangerfield.
Don Stewart
Bill Stewart
STEWART, THOMAS Operatic baritone Thomas Stewart died in Rockville, Maryland, on September 24, 2006. He was 78. Stewart was born in San Saba, Texas, on August 29, ¡928. He studied at Juilliard in New York City and made his operatic debut there
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362
in the American premiere of Strauss’s Capriccio in ¡954. He married soprano Evelyn Lear the following year and the two moved to Germany several years later. He began performing with the Berlin Opera, appearing in Fidelio in ¡957. He performed throughout Europe before returning to New York to make his Metropolitan Opera debut in Falsta› in ¡966. He received acclaim for his performances as Wotan in Wagner’s Ring cycle and as Don Giovanni. He also appeared in productions at the Santa Fe Opera and the San Francisco Opera, and made his last performance at the Met in ¡993.
first children’s novel, To Tell You Love, was published in ¡950. Other of her books for young readers include The Leftover Elf (¡952), Ready or Not (¡953), And Love Replied (¡958), Some Merry-Go-Round (¡959), Emmett’s Pig (¡959), A Dog on Barkham Street (¡960), Belling the Tiger (¡96¡), The Bully of Barkham Street (¡963), The Noonday Friends (¡965), and Leap Before You Look. Her story The Baby-Blue Expression was adapted for television as an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents in ¡960. Her later books include Cider Days (¡978), Ivy Larkin (¡986), A Ballad of the Civil War (¡997), and Casebook of a Private (Cat’s) Eye (¡999).
Thomas Stewart
STITH, GWEN
Gwen Econn Phillips, who appeared in several musical films in the ¡940s under the name Gwen Stith, died in a Boise, Idaho, hospital on December ¡8, 2006. She was 85. She was born in San Pedro, California, on May ¡6, ¡92¡. She worked in Hollywood as a dancer in several musicals for Paramount and MGM. Stith doubled Judy Garland as a drum majorette in the ¡94¡ film Ziegfeld Girl and was featured as a majorette in ¡946’s The Dark Horse. She left Hollywood to open a dance studio in San Pedro, California, where she taught for twenty years.
Mary Stolz
STORM, ROBERTA Actress Roberta Storm died at her home in Los Angeles on February 28, 2006. She was 7¡. She was born Roberta McElroy in Los Angeles on June 28, ¡934. She worked in films and television for over 40 years. She was featured in the television mini-series Captain and the Kings (¡976) and The French Atlantic A›air (¡979), and the films Seems Like Old Times (¡980) and Color of Night (¡994). STORY, RALPH Veteran Southern California radio and television personality Ralph Story died at home in Santa Ynez after a long battle with emphysema on September 26, 2006. He was 86. He born Ralph Snyder in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on August ¡9, ¡920. He served in the Army Air force during World War II and began working as a radio announcer in Bu›alo,
Gwen Stith (center, with Betty Atkinson and Maxine Conrad from Colorado Sunset)
STOLZ, MARY Children’s author Mary Stolz died at her home in Longboat Key, Florida, on December ¡5, 2006. She was 86. She was born Mary Slattery in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 24, ¡920. Her
Ralph Story
363 New York, after the war. He relocated to Los Angeles in ¡948 to produce and host the KNX-AM early morning radio show. Story achieved national fame in ¡956 as host of the CBS television game show The $64,000 Challenge. The quiz show scandals of the ¡950s spelled an end to the series in ¡958, though Story himself was not implicated. He subsequently returned to Los Angeles where he rejoined KNX radio to host their fourhour news broadcast, Storyline. He became involved with the KNXT television program The Big News in ¡96¡ and hosted the television magazine series Ralph Story’s Los Angeles from ¡964 to ¡070. Story was the narrator for the western television series Alias Smith and Jones from ¡972 to ¡973. He also made cameo appearances in episodes of Bewitched, McCloud, and The Name of the Game, and the films The Seven Minutes (¡97¡) and Five Days from Home (¡979). He retired from broadcasting in the early ¡980s.
STRATIGOS, STEPHANOS Greek actor Stephanos Stratigos died of a respiratory infection in an Athens, Greece, hospital on April 6, 2006. He was 83. He began his career on the Greek stage in the ¡940s after attending the Royal Theatre Drama School. He appeared in numerous productions with Vasilis Logothetidis’ company. Stratigos was also seen in many films including The Germans Strike Again (¡948), Santa Chikita (¡953), Mademoiselle: Age 39 (¡954), To Fidanaki (¡955), The Girl from Corfu (¡956), A Girl in Black (¡956), Aunt from Chicago (¡957), Trouble for Fathers (¡957), Horse and Carriage (¡957), Krystallo (¡959), O Atsidas (¡962), To Katharma (¡963), Apagogi (¡964), O Katatregmenos (¡966), O Prodotis (¡967), The Hot Month of August (¡969), O Agios Nektarios (¡969), Hell in the Aegan (¡97¡), Souliotes (¡972), Teleftaioi tou Ruppel (¡973), The Man with the Carnation (¡980), I Anametrisi (¡982), and Johnny Keln, Madam (¡992). Stratigos also formed his own theatrical company in the early ¡960s, where he directed and starred in numerous productions. STRICKLAND, AMZIE Veteran character actress Amzie Strickland died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in Spokane, Washington, on July 5, 2006. He was 87. Strickland was born on January ¡0, ¡9¡9. She was a familiar face in films and television from the ¡950s. Strickland was seen in the films Man with the Gun (¡955), Behind the High Wall (¡956), Drango (¡957), Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (¡957), House of Numbers (¡957), the vampire western Curse of the Undead (¡959), Captain Newman, M.D. (¡963), Penelope (¡966), Kotch (¡97¡), Jeremiah of Jacob’s Neck (¡975), The One and Only (¡978), Harper Valley P.T.A. (¡978), Pretty Woman (¡990), Doc Hollywood (¡99¡), Shiloh (¡996), Krippendorf ’s Tribe (¡998), I’ll Be Home for Christmas (¡998), and Wanderlust (200¡). Strickland also appeared in the television production of The Pied Piper of Hamelin (¡957), and in the tele-films Silent Night, Lonely Night (¡969), The Story of Pretty Boy Floyd (¡974), Death Cruise (¡974), The Legend of Lizzie Borden (¡975), Widow (¡976), Brinks: The Great Robbery (¡976), The New Adventures of Heidi (¡978), A Matter of Life and Death (¡98¡), A Few Days in Weasel Creek
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(¡98¡), Fire in the Dark (¡99¡), Spring Awakening (¡994), An Element of Truth (¡995), Tower of Terror (¡997), Inherit the Wind (¡999), and Another Woman’s Husband (2000). She also starred as Julia Mobey in the sit-com Carter Country from ¡978 to ¡979. Her many television appearances also include episodes of Treasury Men in Action, I Love Lucy, Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre, Matinee Theatre, Letter to Loretta, The Millionaire, State Trooper, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Flight, M Squad, The Restless Gun, Make Room for Daddy, Trackdown, Dragnet, Zane Grey Theater, Black Saddle, Rawhide, The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, The Twilight Zone, Full Circle, One Step Beyond, Leave It to Beaver, Perry Mason, Bonanza, The Dick Powell Show, The Untouchables, The Virginian, Burke’s Law, Wagon Train, Wendy and Me, My Favorite Martian, The Farmer’s Daughter, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Fugitive, The Andy Gri‡th Show, The F.B.I., The Donna Reed Show, Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C., Death Valley Days, The Big Valley, F Troop, The Road West, Cimarron Strip, It Takes a Thief, Petticoat Junction, Dragnet ¡967, The Doris Day Show, The Mod Squad, Then Came Bronson, Ironside, Gunsmoke, Nancy, The Bold Ones: The Lawyers, Dan August, Alias Smith and Jones, The Rookies, Mission: Impossible, Apple’s Way, Happy Days, Lucas Tanner, Adam-¡2, The Streets of San Francisco, Barnaby Jones, Insight, The Bob Newhart Show, The Waltons, Project U.F.O., Flo, Three’s Company, Father Murphy, The Facts of Life, Falcon Crest, The Je›ersons, Knight Rider, Finder of Lost Loves, the new Twilight Zone, The Golden Girls, St. Elsewhere, Murphy Brown, ALF, Father Dowling Mysteries, Doctor Doctor, Empty Nest, Matlock, Models Inc., Full House, Sister, Sister, The Client, Mad About You, Roseanne, Ned and Stacey, Wings, Chicago Hope, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Ellen, 7th Heaven, and ER.
Amzie Strickland
STRIMPELL , S TEPHEN Actor Stephen Strimpell, who was best known for starring in the short-lived ¡967 super-hero sit-com Mr. Terrific, died on April ¡6, 2006. He was 69. Strimpell was born in New York City on January ¡7, ¡937. He began his career on television in the early ¡960s, appearing in episodes of Westinghouse Presents and Run Buddy Run. He starred as gas station operator Stanley Beamish, who
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became the super-powered Mr. Terrific after taking a special pill produced by the U.S. government in ¡967 spoof. Strimpell also appeared in such films as Fitzwilly (¡967), Jenny (¡970), The Angel Levine (¡970), Hester Street (¡975), Death Play (¡976), All That Jazz (¡979), A Stranger Is Watching (¡982), Almost You (¡985), Hot Resort (¡985), and Seize the Day (¡986), He was also a popular acting teacher at HB Studios in New York.
Stephen Strimpell
STRONGIN, DOROTHY Character actress Dorothy Strongin died on May 25, 2006. She was 86. Strongin was born on October ¡8, ¡9¡9. She was featured as Josephine in Frank Henenlotter’s ¡982 horror film Basket Case.
(¡967), Around the World with Fanny Hill (¡974), The Choirboys (¡977), All Night Long (¡98¡), Josh Kirby ... Time Warrior: Chapter 5, Journey to the Magic Cavern (¡995), A Little Princess (¡995), Out to Sea (¡997), The Duke (¡999), and MVP: Most Valuable Primate (2000). Study was also seen in the tele-films Goodnight, My Love (¡972), Wonder Woman (¡974), and Grace Kelly (¡983) as Alfred Hitchcock. His other television credits include episodes of Bi› Baker, U.S.A., The Loretta Young Show, Crusader, Studio 57, Navy Log, You Are There, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Panic!, Sky King, Dennis the Menace, Riverboat, The Case of the Dangerous Robin, The Twilight Zone as Leveque in the classic “To Serve Man” episode, Combat!, The Jimmy Stewart Show, The Love Boat, The Fall Guy, Falcon Crest, Remington Steele, Moonlighting, Civil Wars, and Sisters.
STUMPF , RICHARD J. Academy Award– winning film technical engineer Richard J. Stumpf died in Los Angeles on February 2, 2006. He was 79. Stumpf was born on October ¡5, ¡926. He worked as an aerospace engineer with NASA’s Project Mercury mission in the ¡960s. He began working in television engineering with NBC and RCA. He spent nearly thirty years at Universal Studios, serving as director of sound and electronics before becoming senior vicepresident of engineering and development. Stumpf earned two Oscars for technical contributions and was awarded the Academy Medal of Commendation in ¡992.
STUDY, LOMAX Veteran character actor Lomax Study died of cancer in a Santa Monica, California, hospital on August 2¡, 2006. He was 9¡. Study was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on September ¡¡, ¡9¡4. He served in the Coast Guard during World War II and began his career as an actor after the war. He was featured in numerous films including Station West (¡948), The Saxon Charm (¡948), The French Line (¡954), The Purple Mask (¡955), The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (¡956), Designing Woman (¡957), The Wreck of the Mary Deare (¡959), Please Don’t Eat the Daisies (¡960), Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (¡962), Ring of Terror (¡962), A New Kind of Love (¡963), Boeing Boeing (¡965), Moment to Moment (¡965), The Caper of the Golden Bulls Richard J. Stumpf (left, with Sensurround co-inventor W.O. Watson)
Lomax Study
STYRON, WILLIAM William Styron, the Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist of The Confessions of Nat Turner and Sophie’s Choice, died of pneumonia after a long illness in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, on November ¡, 2006. He was 8¡. Styron was born in Newport News, Virginia, on June ¡¡, ¡925. He served in the Marines during World War II, though the war ended before he saw combat. He graduated from Duke University after the war and embarked on a career as a novelist. Moving to New York, Styron completed his first novel Lie Down in Darkness. His tale of the descent of a southern family drew critical acclaim. Moving to Paris, Styron was involved in the founding of the literary magazine The Paris Review in the early ¡950s. A
365 second work about his experiences training for the Marines, The Long March, soon followed as did his marriage to poet Rosa Burgunder in ¡953. His next novel, Set This House on Fire, was published in ¡960. During the next decade, Styron took on the subject of Nat Turner, who led a slave revolt in the early ¡830s. This culminated in the publication of his controversial novel The Confessions of Nat Turner in ¡967, which earned him the Pulitzer Prize the following year. His next work, Sophie’s Choice, told the tale of a Polish woman forced to choose between her children during the Holocaust. A best-seller, Sophie’s Choice won the American Book Award for fiction in ¡980 and was adapted as a popular film starring Meryl Streep in ¡982. Bouts with depression plagued Styron’s later years, though he was able to recover from the worst of it and detailed his experiences in the ¡990 book Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness. A collection of several of his stories about mortality were published in ¡993 under the title A Tidewater Morning: Three Tales From Youth. His short story Shadrach was adapted to film by his daughter, Susanna, in ¡998.
2006 • Obituaries
Soundtracks, founded Swell Maps in ¡972, and often worked together until Soundtracks’ death from unknown causes in ¡997. He also played with the groups The Flaming Stars, Voodoo Witch, and Sonic Youth. Sudden was also a leading solo artist whose most recent album, The Truth Doesn’t Matter, had been completed earlier in 2005. He was scheduled to perform with his band, the Jacobites, the evening of his death.
SUDDEN, NIKKI British rock musician Nikki Sudden died in New York City on March 26, 2006. He was 49. Sudden was born Adrian Godfrey in London in July ¡9, ¡956. He was the lead singer for the band Swell Maps in the ¡970s. He and his brother, Epic
SUMMERS, JERRY Stuntman and actor Jerry Summers died in San Luis Obispo, California, on January ¡, 2006. He was 74. Summers was born on February 3, ¡93¡. He worked in numerous film and television productions from the ¡950s, often serving as a stunt double for such stars as Tony Curtis and Sal Mineo. He performed stunts and appeared in small roles in such films as The Brothers Rico (¡957), Live Fast, Die Young (¡958), Lone Texan (¡959), Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus (¡960), The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (¡96¡), The Purple Hills (¡96¡), The Firebrand (¡962), The Young Swingers (¡963), Surf Party (¡964), Law of the Lawless (¡964), Young Fury (¡965), The Great Race (¡965), Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (¡965), Scalplock (¡966), Harper (¡966), First to Fight (¡967), The Green Berets (¡968), Coogan’s Blu› (¡968), Che! (¡969), The Great Bank Robbery (¡969), The Phynx (¡970), Darling Lili (¡970), Flap (¡970), The French Connection (¡97¡), Diamonds Are Forever (¡97¡), Big Jake (¡97¡), The Poseidon Adventure (¡972), What’s Up, Doc? (¡972), Hickey and Boggs (¡972), The Thief Who Came to Dinner (¡973), Dillinger (¡973), Cleopatra Jones (¡973), Charley Varrick (¡973), The Seven-Ups (¡973), Magnum Force (¡973), Blazing Saddles (¡974), The Front Page (¡974), Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (¡974), 99 & 44⁄¡00% Dead (¡974), Gone with the West (¡975), Rooster Cogburn (¡975), Marathon Man (¡976), The Gunball Rally (¡976), Avalanche (¡978), Zero to Sixty (¡978), The In-Laws (¡979), The Lady in Red (¡979), ¡0 (¡979), In God We Tru$t (¡980), Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (¡98¡), Chu Chu and the Philly Flash (¡98¡), Six Pack (¡982), Eddie Macon’s Run (¡983), Heart Like a Wheel (¡983), D.A.R.Y.L. (¡985), Raw Deal (¡986), The Monster Squad (¡987), Disorderlies (¡987), Throw Momma from the Train (¡987), Colors (¡988), License to Drive (¡988), Midnight Run
Nikki Sudden
Jerry Summers
William Styron
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(¡988), Alien Nation (¡988), Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker (¡988), One Man Force (¡989), Chances Are (¡989), Double Revenge (¡990), The Gumshoe Kid (¡990), Catchfire (¡990), Mobsters (¡99¡), Out on a Limb (¡992), Forced to Kill (¡993), and Separate Lives (¡995). Summers was featured as Tarmu in the television series The Beachcomber in ¡962, and was Ira in the western series The High Chaparral from ¡967 to ¡968. He also worked on such television series as Annie Oakley, Tales of Wells Fargo, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Gunsmoke, Bronco, The Man and the Challenge, The Tall Man, Have Gun —Will Travel, The Dick Powell Show, Ben Casey, Bonanza, Laramie, Cimarron Strip, The Virginian, The Legend of Jesse James, I Spy, Wild Wild West, Star Trek, Hawaii 5-O, The F.B.I., Mission: Impossible, Cimarron Strip, The High Chaparral, Emergency!, Barnaby Jones, Marcus Welby, M.D., Night Gallery, Cannon, Kojak, The Rockford Files, The Dukes of Hazzard, and Knight Rider.
SUNDGAARD , ARNOLD Playwright and lyricist Arnold Sundgaard died of congestive heart failure at his home in Dallas, Texas, on October 22, 2006. He was 96. Sundgaard was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on October 3¡, ¡909. He studied drama at the University of Wisconsin and the Yale Drama School. He wrote the play Spirochette: A History, about the war against syphilis, for the Federal Theater Project in ¡938. His play Of Love Remembered was produced on Broadway in ¡967. He wrote the libretto for Kurt Weill’s ¡948 folk opera Down in the Valley. He also wrote librettos for Alec Wilder’s The Lowland Sea and Douglas Moore’s Giants in the Earth. As a lyricist, Sundgaard wrote the song “How Lovely Is Christmas” with Wilder. He also wrote several children’s books including The Lamb and the Butterfly (¡988) with illustrator Eric Carle, and The Bear Who Loved Puccini (¡992) with illustrations by Dominic Catalano.
dam, Zuuboi in Devilman, Kenjrio Ota in Space Battleship Yamamoto, Lynn Kaifun and Riber Frurink in Robotech: The Macross Saga, Domson in Psycho Armor Govarian, Shingo Hojo in GoShogun: The Time Etranger, Starscream and Powerglide in Transformers: Scramble City Hatsudohen, Tenshinhan in Dragonball, Shiryu in Knight of the Zodiac, Domorhot in Wings of Honnearnise, Shachi in Fist of the North Star 2, Ivan Konev and Kessenlink for Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Nagumo Tatsuo for Legend of the Overfiend, Masaki Murakami in Guyver: Bio-Booster Armor, Act Two, Samojiro Aboshi in The Legend of the Dog Warriors: The Hakkenden, Sakaki in Pokemon, Hajime Saito in ¡997’s Samurai X: The Motion Picture, Dr. Ayanokoji in Steel Angel Kurumi, Junichi Ootaki in Millennium Actress, and Dextera in Kiddy Grade.
Hirotaka Suzuoki
SVENSSON, ELISABET Swedish stage, film and television actress Elisabet Svensson died in Stockholm, Sweden, on July ¡5, 2006. She was 57. Svensson was born in Vrigstad, Sweden, on June 9, ¡949. She was featured in several films in the past decade including Happy Days (¡995), Petri Tarar (¡995), Gone Fishing (¡995), Grynnan (¡996), and Kopps (2003). She was also seen in the 2004 television production of Always on a Tuesday.
Arnold Sundgaard
SUZUOKI, HIROTAKA Japanese voice actor Hirotaka Suzuoki died of lung cancer in Japan on August 6, 2006. He was 56. Suzuoki was born in Aichi, Japan, on March 6, ¡950. He was a leading voice performer in Japanese anime productions from the ¡970s. Suzuoki voiced such roles as Bright Noah, Misaka, Ramuji, Seki, Zeygan, and Akous in Mobile Suit Gun-
Elisabet Svensson
SWANN, ROBERT British actor Robert Swann died in England on April ¡7, 2006. He was 6¡.
367 Swann was born in England on March ¡8, ¡945. He began his career on stage and in films in the late ¡960s. Swann’s film credits include If... (¡968), Girly (¡969), The Creeping Flesh (¡973), The Law Lord (¡99¡), A Business A›air (¡994), The Soldier’s Leap (¡998), and Queen’s Messenger (2000). Swann was also a familiar face on television, appearing in productions of Anna Karenina (¡977), J.M. Barrie and the Lost Boys (¡978), The Dick Francis Thriller: The Racing Game (¡979), Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (¡980) as Horatio, Sense and Sensibility (¡98¡), Daemon (¡985), Shake Hands Forever (¡988), After the War (¡989), A Likely Lad (¡990), Specials (¡99¡), Circle of Deceit (¡993), Seaforth (¡994), The Way to Dusty Death (¡995), The Cater Street Hangman (¡998), Witness of Truth: The Railway Murders (200¡), Shackleton (2002), and The Lost Prince (2003). His other television credits include episodes of Jackanory, UFO, Van der Valk, Upstairs, Downstairs, The Sweeney, Two’s Company, Minder, The Professionals, Watching, Rumpole of the Bailey, Bergerac, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Alleyn Mysteries, Lovejoy, Inspector Morse, Faith in the Future, Midsomer Murders, The Bill, Happiness, People Like Us, Heartbeat, Holby City, Judge John Deed, Night & Day, Keen Eddie, and Wire in the Blood.
2006 • Obituaries
when his motorcycle was struck by a motorist. He was 23. Tadahisa had worked as an actor for the past year, appearing on the Sunday morning television series Kids’ Drama: Gog Sentai Boukengere.
TALIFERRO , MICHAEL Massive former football player turned actor Michael “Bear” Taliferro died of a stroke in Los Angeles on May 4, 2006. He was 45. Taliferro was born on August 23, ¡960. He played professional football with the Washington Redskins in the NFL, and later played with teams in the USFL and the Canadian Football League. He appeared in over a dozen films from the early ¡990s including Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (¡993), Witch Hunt (¡994), Bad Boys (¡995), A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (¡996), Armageddon (¡998), Life (¡999) with Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence, The Replacements (2000), Blue Hill Avenue (200¡), Half Past Dead (2002), Rude Boy: The Jamaican Don (2003), Ride or Die (2003), and You Got Served (2004). Taliferro was also seen frequently on television, guest starring in episodes of The Drew Carey Show, Martin, The Jamie Foxx Show in the recurring role of Wide Clyde, Arli$$, and The Parkers.
Michael Taliferro Robert Swann
TADAHISA, KIYOSUKE Japanese actor Kiyosuke Tadahisa died of injuries he received in an accident on a western Tokyo highway on May 20, 2006,
Kiyosuke Tadahisa
TAMBA, TETSURO Veteran Japanese actor Tetsuro Tamba, who was best known in the United States for his role as Tiger Tanaka in the ¡967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice, died of pneumonia in a Tokyo hospital on September 25, 2006. He was 84. Tamba was born in Tokyo on July ¡7, ¡922. He began his film career in the early ¡950s in roles ranging from detectives to crime kingpins. His numerous film credits include The Vassal’s Neck (¡955), Ghost of Hanging in Utusunomiya (¡956), The Ghost of Kasane (aka The Depths) (¡957), Poisonous Woman Takahashi O’Den (¡958), The Gambling Samurai (¡960), Get ’Em All (¡960), High Noon for Gangsters (¡96¡), Daredevil in the Castle (¡96¡), The Flesh Is Hot (¡96¡), The Diplomat’s Mansion (¡96¡), Bridge to the Sun (¡96¡), The Proud Challenge (¡962), Gyangu 3 (¡962), Harakiri (¡962), Tears on the Lion’s Mane (¡962), Hell’s Kitchen (¡962), Tokyo Untouchables (¡962), Gang vs. G-Men (¡962), Operation Diamond (¡962), Boss of the Underworld: Gang of ¡¡ (¡963), Gang Chushingura (¡963), The Thirteen Assassins (¡963), Tokyo Gang vs. Hong Kong Gang (¡964), Three Outlaw Samurai (¡964), Samurai from
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Nowhere (¡964), Jakoman and Tetsu (¡964), The 7th Dawn (¡964), The Assassin (¡964), the classic Japanese ghost tale Kwaidan (¡964), Samurai Spy (¡965), Blood of Revenge (¡965), Abashiri Prison (¡965), The Birth of Judo (¡965), Aiyoku (¡966), The Secret of the Urn (¡966), Kinokawa (¡966), Seven Beastly Men: Proclamation of Blood (¡967), The Private Police (¡967), Portrait of Chieko (¡967), Gyangu ¡¡ (¡967), Wolves of the City (¡968), Blackmail Is My Business (¡968), Black Lizard (¡968), Diamonds of the Andes (¡968), Yakuza Prison (¡969), O‡cial Gold (¡969), The Five Man Army (¡969), The Underground Syndicate (¡970), Crimson Bat— Oichi: Wanted, Dead or Alive (¡970), The Scandalous Adventures of Buraikan (¡970), Gangster Cop (¡970), Men and War (¡970), Silence (¡97¡), The Battle of Okinawa (¡97¡), The Wolves (¡97¡), Under the Flag of the Rising Sun (¡972), Seven Blows of the Dragon (¡972), Tidal Wave (¡973) as the Prime Minister of Japan, The Ando File (¡973), The Human Revolution (¡973), Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Proxy War (¡973), The Cockroach (¡973), Tattooed Hit Man (¡974), Zero Woman: Red Handcu›s (¡974), The Last Days of Planet Earth (aka Catastophe ¡999: The Prophecies of Nostradamus (¡974), The Castle of Sand (¡974), The Karate Inferno (¡974), Seven Kung Fu Assassins (¡975), The Bullet Train (¡975), Tokyo Gulf Burns (¡975), Between Women and Wives (¡976), Jitsuroku Gaiden: Osaka Dengeki Sakusen (¡976), Zero Pilot (¡976), Karate Bear Fighter (¡977), The Alaska Story (¡977), Mount Hakkoda (¡977), The Water Margin (¡977), Sugata Sanshiro (¡977), The Shogun’s Samurai (¡978), The Incident (¡978), High Seas Hijack (¡978), Bandit vs. Samurai Squad (¡978), Message from Space (¡978), The Fall of Ako Castle (¡978), Hunter in Darkness (¡979), The Shogun Assassins (¡979), Sand Boat (¡980), The Battle of Port Arthur (¡980), Shogun’s Ninja (¡980), Innocence (¡980), Flames of Blood (¡98¡), Samurai Reincarnation (¡98¡), The Wild Daisy (¡98¡), The Imperial Navy (¡98¡), The Bloody Bushido Blade (¡98¡), the ¡982 television miniseries Marco Polo, Suspicion (¡982), To Trap a Kidnapper (¡982), Conquest (¡982), The Brave Man Says Little (¡983), Battle Anthem (¡983), The Geisha (¡983), Loving (¡983), Station to Heaven (¡984), Zero Fighter Burns (¡984), Love: Take O› (¡985), The Sound of the Waves (¡985), Cabaret (¡986), April Fish (¡986), Yogisha
(¡987), Tokyo Blackout (¡987), Shinran: Path to Purity (¡987), A Taxing Woman’s Return (¡988), Tokyo Pop (¡988), Capital Great War (¡989), Geki Totsu: The Insanity of Emperor Iemitsu (¡989), Four Days of Snow and Blood (¡989), Aurora Borealis (¡990), Kagero (¡99¡), The Story of Ricky (¡99¡), The Great Shogunate Battle (¡99¡), Peking Man (¡997), Stupid Teacher (¡998), Screwed (¡998), Japanese Hell (¡999), Jubaku: Spellbound (¡999), Sakuya: Slayer of Demons (2000), A Class to Remember 4: Fifteen (2000), Blind Beast vs. Dwarf (200¡), The Happiness of the Katakuris (200¡), Graveyard of Horror (2002), The Cat Returns (2002), Eleven Minutes, Nine Seconds, One Image: September ¡¡ (2002), Deadly Outlaw: Rekka (2002), The Twilight Samurai (2002), T.R.Y. (2003), Yakuza Horror Theater: Gozu (2003), Yakuza Demon (2003), The Thousand Year Fire (2004), and Japan Sinks (2006).
TAMBURI, JENNY Italian actress Jenny Tamburi died in Rome after a long illness on March ¡, 2006. She was 53. Tamburi was born in Rome on November 27, ¡952. She began her film career in the early ¡970s and was noted for her roles in Italian erotic and horror films. Her credits include Splendori e Miserie di Madame Royale (¡970), Smile Before Death (¡972), Women in Cell Block 7 (¡973), Seduction (¡973), The Sinful Nuns of Saint Valentine (¡974), Sins Without Intentions (¡975), Suspected Death of a Minor (¡975), Scandal in the Family (¡975), Frankenstein: Italian Style (¡975), Knell, the Bloody Avenger (¡976), Giovannino (¡976), Camilla (¡976), Confessions of a Frustrated Housewife (¡976), Melodrammore (¡977), The Psychic (¡977), Il Tango della Gelosia (¡980), Lo Studente (¡983), and Midnight Gigolo (¡986). Tamburi continued to work in films from the ¡990s as a casting director for such films as Farfalle (¡997), Unfair Competition (200¡), and Household Accounts (2003), and the television series Tequila and Bonetti and Incantesimo 6.
Jenny Tamburi
Tetsuro Tamba
TAMURA, TAKAHIRO Japanese actor Takahiro Tamura died in Japan on May ¡7, 2006. He was 77. Tamura was born in Kyoto, Japan, on August 3¡, ¡928, the son of actor Tsumasaburo Bando. He began his film career in the early ¡950s, appearing in numerous features over the next fifty years. Tamura’s film credits include Woman’s World (¡954), Twenty-Four Eyes
369 (¡954), Distant Clouds (¡955), She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum (¡955), Five Patriots of Kyoto (¡956), Flaming Sunset (¡956), The Eye of Heaven (¡957), Flying in the Air (¡957), Samurai of Nippon (¡957), Years of Joy and Sorrow (¡957), Stakeout (¡958), The River Fuefuki (¡960), Glory on the Summit: Burning Youth (¡962), Mother Please Marry (¡962), The Bridge Between (¡962), A Full Life (¡962), Escape from Hell (¡963), The Scarlet Camellia (¡964), The Hoodlum Soldier (¡965), Hoodlum Soldier and the C.O. (¡965), The Story of Tokugawa Ieyasu (¡965), Forest of No Escape (¡965), Seisaku’s Wife (¡965), Duel at Ganrule Isle (¡965), Hoodlum Soldier Deserts Again (¡966), Ninja 7 (¡966), Kinokawa (¡966), The Ivory Tower (¡966), When the Cookie Crumbles (¡967), Hoodlum Soldier on the Attack (¡967), A Ronin Called Nemuri (¡968), The House of the Sleeping Virgins (¡968), Festival of Gion (¡968), Red Hair (¡969), Band of Assassins (¡969), Men and War (¡970), Tora! Tora! Tora! (¡970) as Lt. Cmdr. Fuchida, Will to Conquer (¡970), The Razor: Sword of Justice (¡972), Senile Person (¡973), The Last Samurai (¡974), Between Wife and Woman (¡976), Death at an Old Mansion (¡976), The Water Margin (¡977), Empire of Passion (¡978), My Son! My Son! (¡979), Hell Worms (¡979), Doran (¡980), Ocean to Cross (¡980), Muddy River (¡98¡), The Tower of Lilies (¡982), His Motorbike, Her Island (¡986), The Sea and Poison (¡986), Hachi-Ko (¡987), Forest of Little Bear (¡987), Magino Village: A Tale (¡987), The Silk Road (¡988), Four Days of Snow and Blood (¡989), The Distant Setting Sun (¡992), Summer of the Moonlight Sonata (¡993), Crest of Betrayal (¡994), Sanctuary (¡995), Sleeping Man (¡996), Hisai (¡998), I Love Friends (200¡), Letter from the Mountain (2002), The Soul Odyssey (2003), and I Love Peace (2003). He is survived by his younger brothers, actors Masakazu Tamura and Ryo Tamura.
2006 • Obituaries
(¡973), A Woman Called Sada Abe (¡975), Watcher in the Attic (¡976), Onna Kyoshi (¡977), Pink Salon: Koshoku Gonin Onna (¡978), Angel Guts: Nami (¡979), Hard Scandal: Sei no Hyoryu-Sha (¡980), Ushimitsu nop Mura (¡983), Tsubomi no Nagame (¡986), and Monster Woman ’88 (¡988).
TATARA, JUN Japanese actor Jun Tatara died of lung failure in a Tokyo hospital on September 30, 2006. He was 89. Tatara was born in Ishinomaki, Japan, on August 4, ¡9¡7. He appeared in character roles in numerous films from the early ¡950s including Today It’s Monday at Work (¡952), Carmen Falls in Love (¡952), Akira Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai (¡954), A Billionaire (¡954), It Happened in Tokyo (¡955), Policeman’s Diary (¡955), I’ll Buy You (¡956), Typhoon (¡956), Yellow Crow (¡957), Downtown (¡957), The Rickshaw Man (¡958), The Human Condition II (¡959), When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (¡960), The Poem of the Blue Star (¡96¡), Happiness of Us Alone (¡96¡), Bandits on the Wind (¡96¡), A Wanderer’s Notebook (¡962), The Life of a Horse-Trader (¡963), Three Outlaw Samurai (¡964), Modae (¡964), Crimson Bat, the Blind Swordswoman (¡969), Island of the Evil Spirits (¡98¡), The Yen Family (¡988), and Lucky Ears (2003). Tatara also appeared as Gosuke in the ¡982 television series Space Sheri› Gavan, and was Barza in the ¡992 series Dinosaur Task Force Beast Rangers.
Jun Tatara
Takahiro Tamura
TANAKA, NOBORU Japanese film director Noboru Tanaka died in Tokyo, Japan, on October 4, 2006. He was 69. Tanaka was born in Nagano, Japan, on August ¡5, ¡937. He became a leading director of Japanese films in the ¡970s, specializing in bizarre soft core adult features known as Nikku Roman Porno. Tanaka’s film credits include Yogisha no Onna (¡972), Kaben no Shizuku (¡972), The Hell-Fated Courtesan
TATSUNO , DAVE Dave Tatsuno, whose home movies within an internment camp for JapaneseAmericans during World War II became the acclaimed documentary Topaz, died of congestive heart failure at his home in San Jose, California, on January 26, 2006. He was 92. Tatsuno was born in San Francisco on August ¡8, ¡9¡3. He was a businessman and department store manager when he and his family were interned at the Topaz Relocation Center in the Utah desert in ¡942. During his three year stay at the camp Tatsuno secretly filmed family events and life at the camp in a series of home movies. After his release the footage was compiled for the 48-minute film Topaz in ¡945. That film was placed on the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in ¡996. (See photograph on page 370.)
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Dave Tatsuno (with his child)
TAYLOR , BARBI Australian film producer Barbi Taylor died in Perth, Western Australia, on March 24, 2006. She was 58. Taylor was born in Bunbury, Australia, on October ¡, ¡947. She began working in films with Hexagon Productions in Melbourne in the early ¡970s, serving as a production secretary and appearing in a small role in Tim Burstall’s ¡973 comedy Alvin Purple. She served as unit production manager for the films Alvin Purple Rides Again (¡974) and End Play (¡975). She soon began working with producer Antony I. Ginnane’s FG Film Productions, serving as production manager for Blue Fire Lady (¡977) and Patrick (¡978). She advanced to the position of associate producer for the horror films Snapshot (¡979), Thirst (¡979), and Road Games (¡98¡). Taylor also produced the ¡986 children’s fantasy film Frog Dreaming. She continued to work in films as a line producer on such products as Friday on My Mind (¡990), Beyond My Reach (¡990), Heaven Tonight (¡990), What the Moon Saw (¡990), Hunting (¡99¡), Flynn (¡996), Jackie Chan’s First Strike (¡996), No More Mr. Nice Guy (¡997), and Subterano (2003). Taylor also produced several Australian television series including Ship to Shore, Fast Tracks, and Chuck Finn.
and began her screen career as June Whitley in the late ¡940s. She was featured in such films as One Sunday Afternoon (¡948), Hollywood Story (¡95¡), Bright Victory (¡95¡), The Congregation (¡952), Confidentially Connie (¡953), and Easy to Love (¡953). Taylor also appeared frequently on television from the ¡950s, guest-starring in episodes of Cavalcade of America, The Lone Ranger, Dragnet, Mister Ed, The Donna Reed Show, The Monkees, The Flying Nun, Love, American Style, Here’s Lucy, Ironside, Mannix, Marcus Welby, M.D., Harry O, The Quest, The Rockford Files, Wonder Woman, The Rockford Files, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Little House on the Prairie, and Alice. Taylor was also seen in the telefilms Women in Chains (¡972), Captain and the Kings (¡976), Cover Girls (¡977), Delta County, U.S.A. (¡977), The 3,000 Mile Chase (¡977), The Incredible Hulk (¡977), Rescue from Gilligan’s Island (¡978), Women in White (¡979), Studs Lonigan (¡979), Son-Rise: A Miracle of Love (¡979), Survival of Dana (¡979), The Patricia Neal Story (¡98¡), Isabel’s Choice (¡98¡), and Bare Essence (¡982).
June Whitley Taylor
TAYLOR, THEODORE Novelist Theodore Taylor, who was best known for the popular young adult fiction The Cay, died of a heart attack at his home in Laguna Beach, California, on October 26, 2006. He was 85. Taylor was born in Statesville, North Carolina, on June 23, ¡92¡. He served in the U.S. Navy during
Barbi Taylor
TAYLOR, JUNE WHITLEY Character actress June Whitley Taylor died in Los Angeles on May 25, 2006. She was 84. She was born on August 26, ¡92¡,
Theodore Taylor
371 World War II and worked as a newspaper journalist and in public relations before returning to the Navy during the Korean War. Some of his earliest books were the nautical histories The Magnificent Mitscher and Fire on the Beaches. He began writing for young adults in ¡967 with his book People Who Make Movies. His best known work The Cay was published in ¡969 and dealt with the racial conflict between a bigoted American boy and a West Indian deckhand who become castaways after their ship is sunk during World War II. The book was adapted as a ¡974 tele-film starring James Earl Jones. Taylor later wrote a sequel, Timothy of the Cay. He also scripted the ¡973 western film Showdown and co-wrote the non-fiction The Cats of Shambala with actress Tippi Hedren. His novel Diplomatic Immunity was adapted for film in ¡99¡, and his ¡973 book The Maldonado Miracle was made into a tele-film for Showtime by Salma Hayek in 2003.
2006 • Obituaries
music and a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Terry was also seen in several films including Hidden Guns (¡956), Night Rider (¡962), The Girl from Tobacco Row (¡965), and Ron Ormond’s The Monster and the Stripper (aka The Exotic Ones) (¡968). He also appeared as one of the Texas Playboys musicians in Clint Eastwood’s ¡982 film Honkytonk Man.
TENTA, JOHN John Tenta, who wrestled in the WWE as Earthquake in the early ¡990s, died in Sanford, Florida, after a long battle with bladder cancer on June 7, 2006. He was 42. Tenta was born in Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada, on June 22, ¡963. He began his career competing in Japan as a Sumo wrestler known as Kokotenzan. He was trained by such Japanese stars as Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta, and competed in All Japan Pro Wrestling. He left Japan in ¡986 and wrestled in Canada as Big John Tenta the following year. He entered the WWE in ¡990 as Earthquake, where he headlined against Hulk Hogan at Summerslam ’90. He teamed with Typhoon as the Natural Disasters to hold the tag team titles for several months in ¡992. He left the WWE in ¡994 for WCW, where he wrestled as a member of Kevin Sullivan’s Dungeon of Doom under such names as Avalanche and Shark. He returned to the WWE in ¡998 under a mask as a member of Luna Vachon’s wrestling team the Oddities.
TEVIS, PETER Singer and songwriter Peter Tevis died of Parkinson’s disease on September ¡3, 2006. He was 69. Tevis was born in California on February ¡0, ¡937. He went to Italy in the early ¡960s, where he wrote songs and performed for Italian audiences. He sang several songs by composer Ennio Morricone in spaghetti western films including “A Gringo Like Me” for Gunfight at Red Sands (¡963) and “Lonesome Billy” for the film Pistols Don’t Argue (¡964). Tevis’ version of Woody Guthrie’s “Pastures of Plenty” served as an inspiration for Morricone’s main title theme for A Fistful of Dollars (¡964). Tevis also produced the music for the ¡974 adult science fiction film Flesh Gordon.
John “Earthquake” Tenta
Peter Tevis
TERRY, GORDON Country musician Gordon Terry died in Spring Hill, Tennessee, after a long illness on April 9, 2006. He was 74. Terry was born in Decatur, Alabama, on October 7, ¡93¡. He began his music career playing in Bill Monroe’s bluegrass band. He was one of the leading fiddle players in country
TEXANO, EL Juan Aguilar, who competed in the wrestling ring in Mexico and the United States as El Texano, died of respiratory failure in Guadalajara, Mexico, on January ¡5, 2006. He began wrestling in the ¡980s, teaming with El Signo and Negro Navarro as Los Misioneros de la Muerte in Mexican trio competition.
Gordon Terry
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He formed a tag team with Silver King in the ¡990s, and they were known as Los Cowboys. He appeared on the WCW Clash of Champions in June of ¡992 under the name Silver King II.
Colin Thiele
El Texano
THAVES, BOB Cartoonist Bob Thaves, who created the Frank and Ernest comic strip, died on August ¡, 2006. He was 8¡. Thaves was born on October 5, ¡924. He began drawing cartoons while in college, where he studied to become an industrial psychologist. He created the Frank and Ernest strip, which began publication in ¡972. The strip was distributed by the Newspaper Enterprise Association to over ¡,300 newspapers. Thaves also produced the comic strip King Baloo in the late ¡980s and early ¡990s. Thaves’ son, Tom, began assisting his father on the strip in ¡997, and will continue Frank and Ernest with his father’s passing.
Bob Thaves (his Frank and Ernest cartoon)
fiction series Tom Corbett, Space Cadet in the ¡950s, died of respiratory failure in a Sherman Oaks, California, hospital on May ¡¡, 2006. He was 85. Thomas was born in New York City on April 9, ¡92¡, the son of actors Frank M. Thomas and Mona Bruns. He began his acting career as a child, making his stage debut at the age of ¡¡. He starred in the Broadway play Wednesday’s Child in ¡934, and reprised his role as Bobby Phillips in the film version later that year. He continued his film career in the ¡935 feature A Dog of Flanders, and starred in the ¡2 chapter serial Tim Tyler’s Luck in ¡937. He was also seen in the films Boys Town (¡938), Little Tough Guys in Society (¡938), Code of the Streets (¡939), Angels Wash Their Faces (¡939), On Dress Parade (¡939), and Invisible Stripes (¡939). Thomas starred as Ted Nickerson opposite Bonita Granville in several films in the Nancy Drew mystery series including Nancy Drew — Detective (¡938), Nancy Drew ... Reporter (¡939), Nancy Drew ... Trouble Shooter (¡939), and Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (¡939). He continued his film career in such features as One Foot in Heaven (¡94¡), Flying Cadets (¡94¡), Always in My Heart (¡942), and The Major and the Minor (¡942) before serving in the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard during World War II. After his discharge he returned to New York where he performed in radio and television. Thomas was featured as Charley Anderson in the daytime soap opera A Woman to Remember and was Cli› Barbour in the soap One Man’s
THIELE, COLIN Australian children’s writer Colin Thiele died of heart disease in a Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, on September 4, 2006. He was 85. Thiele was born in Eudunda, South Australia on November ¡6, ¡920. He worked as an English teacher and wrote poetry but was best known for his novels written for young people. He began a series semiautobiographical stories set in the fictional town of Gonunda with ¡96¡’s The Sun on the Stubble. His most popular work was ¡963’s Storm Boy, which was adapted for film in ¡976. Several of his other works also became films including Blue Fin (¡978), The Fire in the Stone (¡984), and Gotcha (¡99¡). The Sun on the Stubble was adapted as a television mini-series in ¡996. THOMAS, FRANKIE, JR. Frankie Thomas, Jr., who starred in the pioneering television science
Frankie Thomas, Jr.
373 Family in ¡949. He achieved his greatest fame the following year when he was cast as Tom Corbett in the popular juvenile science fiction television series. The show — which aired on all four national networks, CBS, ABC, NBC, and DuMont, during its five year run — also spawned a radio series, comic books, and numerous toys. Thomas retired from acting after the series ended in ¡955. He subsequently became a leading bridge expert, teaching and writing articles about the game. He also wrote a series of novels featuring Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective hero, beginning with Sherlock Holmes, Bridge Detective (¡973). Thomas was a frequent guest at film festivals and nostalgia conventions from the ¡990s, sometimes appearing with his fellow Tom Corbett alumni Jan Merlin, who co-starred as Roger Manning, and Al Markim, who was featured as Astro.
THOMAS, JOHN John Thomas, a lightweight boxer turned referee, died of prostate cancer in a Los Angeles hospice on January 4, 2006. He was 83. Thomas was born on September 2¡, ¡922. He began boxing professionally in ¡940, and competed against many of the top lightweights of the period over the next eight years. Thomas became a referee in the early ¡950s, and oversaw nearly 2,000 matches before his retirement in ¡975. He also appeared in several films, usually playing a fight trainer or referee. His film credits include Christina (¡974), Matilda (¡978), Raging Bull (¡980), Split Decisions (¡988), and Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2000).
2006 • Obituaries
munde Pilcher — Eine Besondere Liebe (¡996), Der Konig von St. Pauli (¡998), Tierarzt Dr. Engel (¡998), Anwalt des Herzens (200¡), Wilder Kaiser — Der Meineid (2002), Liebe ohne Fahrschein (2002), and Die Geierwally (2005). He starred as Anton Pfei›er in Bulle von Tolz from ¡997 through 2005. He was also seen in episodes of Derrick, SOKO 5¡¡3, Unser Charly, Der Landarzt, Edel & Starck, Der Alte, and Siska. Thomer also appeared in several films including Rosamunde (¡990), The Nasty Girl (¡990), and Success (¡99¡).
Udo Thomer
THOMPSON , MALACHI Jazz trumpeter Malachi Thompson died of cancer at his home in Chicago, Illinois, on July ¡6, 2006. He was 56. Thompson was born in Kentucky on August 2¡, ¡949, and raised in Chicago. He formed the band Freebop in ¡978 and performed with such jazz greats as Jackie McLean, Lester Bowie, and Joe Enderson. He also led the band Brass Proud, which toured throughout Europe. After surviving what was thought to be terminal cancer in ¡988, Thompson began an exploration of the roots of black music. He created the stage play The Jazz Life in ¡99¡, and recorded such albums as Life Every Voice (¡993), Buddy Bolden’s Rag (¡995), 47th Street (¡997), and Blue Jazz (2003). He also led the ensemble Africa Brass in the ¡990s.
John Thomas
THOMER, UDO German actor Udo Thomer died of head injuries he received in a fall in Munich, Germany, on January ¡2, 2006. He was 6¡. Thomer was born in Regensburg, Germany, on January 3, ¡945. He was a prolific television performer in Germany from the ¡970s, appearing in productions of Minna von Barnheim (¡976), Der Millionenbauer (¡979) as Verwalter des Baron, Die Buddenbrooks (¡979), Francois Villon (¡98¡), Frankies Braut (¡982), Krimistunde (¡983), Engel auf Radem (¡983), Egmont (¡984), Die Wachter (¡986), Irgendwie und Sowieso (¡986), Waldhaus (¡987), Odipussi (¡988), Josef Filser (¡989), Die Schnelle Gerdi (¡989), Regina on the Ladder to Success (¡990), Forsthaus Falkenau (¡989), Tatort— Animals (¡99¡), Die Kartenlegerin (¡993), Alle Meine Tochter (¡995), Rosa-
Malachi Thompson
THRASHER, ED Art director Ed Thrasher, who created numerous album covers and movie posters,
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died of cancer in Big Bear City, California, on August 5, 2006. He was 74. Thrasher was born in Glendale, California, on March 7, ¡932. He began working in the art department at Capitol Records after serving in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. He became art director at Capitol before moving to Warner Bros Records in ¡964. He created the cover art for such albums as Frank Sinatra’s My Way, Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Are You Experienced?, the Grateful Dead’s Anthem of the Sun, Van Morrison’s Tupelo Honey, and many more. He was nominated for ¡2 Grammy Awards for his work as art director in the ¡960s and ¡970s. He received the Grammy for best album package in ¡974 for Mason Pro‡t’s Come and Gone. He left Warner in ¡979 to form his own company, Ed Thrasher and Associates. His firm created poster art for such films as Prince’s Purple Rain and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome.
II (¡989), High Highness Abdullah (¡990), Dhruvam (¡993), Aksharam (¡995), Gajaraja Manthram (¡997), Sundrapurushan (200¡), and Freedom (2004).
THRIPPUNITHURA, M.S. Indian Malayalam-language actor M.S. Thrippunithura died in a Palakkad hospital after collapsing while travelling by train from Chennai to Kochi. Thrippunithura began his career on the Indian stage and made his film debut in the early ¡980s. He appeared in comic and supporting roles in numerous films including And There Was a Village (¡986), Nineteen Twenty One (¡988), Naaduvazhikal (¡989), Dasharatham (¡989), CBI Diary Part
TIERI, AROLDO Italian stage and film actor Aroldo Tieri died in a Rome hospital on December 28, 2006. He was 89. Tieri was born in Corigliano Calabro, Italy, on August 28, ¡9¡7, the son of playwright Vincenzo Tieri. He began his career on stage in the ¡930s and made his film debut later in the decade. His numerous film credits include Mille Chilometri al Minuto (¡939), Manon Lescaut (¡940), Saint Maria (¡942), Turbamento (¡942), Documento Z-3 (¡942), Fuga a Due Voci (¡943), Il Nostro Prossimo (¡943), Redenzione (¡943), Non Sono Superstizioso ... Ma! (¡943), Il Fidanzato di Mia Moglie (¡943), La Signora in Nero (¡943), Who’s Seen Him? (¡945), Che Distinta Famiglia! (¡945), Come Back to Sorrento (¡945), The Voice of Love (¡946), When Love Calls (¡947), Ultimo Amore (¡947), Crossroads of Passion (¡948), Sicilian Uprising (¡949), Toto Looks for an Apartment (¡949), Signorinella (¡949), Streets of Sorrow (¡949), Mad About Opera (¡949), Toto Cerca Moglie (¡950), L’Ina›errabile ¡2 (¡950), Canzone di Primavera (¡950), Singing Taxi Driver (¡950), La Bisarca (¡950), Toto Sceicco (¡950), Toto the Third Man (¡95¡), Toto and the King of Rome (¡95¡), Tizio, Caio, Sempronio (¡95¡), Milano Miliardaria (¡95¡), Il Microfono e Vostro (¡95¡), Bellezze a Capri (¡95¡), Love I Haven’t ... but ... But (¡95¡), Accidents to the Taxes!! (¡95¡), Position Wanted (¡95¡), Il Tallone di Achille (¡952), Mademoiselle Gobete (¡952), I Morti non Pagano Tasse (¡952), Cavalcade of Song (¡953), Matrimonial Agency (¡953), Sins of Casanova (¡955), The Man Who Wagged His Tail (aka An Angel Over Brooklyn) (¡957), Toto, Peppino, and the Fanatics (¡958), E Permesso Maresciallo (¡958), Una Mujer Para Marcelo (¡958), La Cambiale (¡959), The Woman’s Confidant (¡959), Ciao, Ciao, Bambina (¡959), Messalina (¡960), Letto a tre Piazze (¡960), Un Dollaro di Fifa (¡960), Chi si Ferma e Perduto (¡960), Tiberious (¡960), Le Ambiziose (¡960), Juke Box Urli d’Amore (¡960), Dreams Die at Dawn (¡96¡), Mina ... Fuori la Guardia (¡96¡), I Magnifici Tre (¡96¡), Che Femmina ... e Che Dollari! (¡96¡), Cacciatori di Dote (¡96¡), The Joy of Living (¡96¡), Lo Smemorato di Collegno (¡962), The Shortest Day (¡962), No
M.S. Thrippunithura
Aroldo Tieri
Ed Thrasher
375 Man’s Land (¡962), Hunchback Italian Style (¡962), Terrible Sheri› (¡962), Gli Onorevoli (¡963), La Ballata dei Mariti (¡963), The Swindlers (¡963), La Vedovella (¡964), I Due Mafiosi (¡964), I Motorizzati (¡964), The Maniacs (¡964), Oh! Those Most Secret Agents (¡964), Spiaggia Libera (¡965), Questo Pazzo, Pazzo Mondo Della Canzone (¡965), Non Son Degno di Te (¡965), Salome ’73 (¡965), Two Gangsters in the Wild West (¡965), Two Sergeants of General Custer (¡966), and The Crazy Kids of the War (¡967). He also performed frequently on Italian radio and television, including roles in such television productions as Melissa (¡966), Giocando a Golf Una Mattina (¡969), and Nero Wolfe: Veleno in Sartoria (¡969). He returned to the stage in the late ¡960s, performing in numerous plays with his wife, actress Giuliana Lojodice, until his retirement in ¡999.
TILTON, MARTHA Martha Tilton, a leading singer from the big band era, died at her home in Los Angeles on December 8, 2006. She was 9¡. Tilton was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, on November ¡4, ¡9¡5. She moved to Los Angeles with her family in ¡922 and she began singing at a local radio station while in her early teens. She soon quit high school to join Hal Grayson’s band. She was performing in the vocal group Three Hits and a Miss when she was hired by Benny Goodman in ¡937. Billed as the Sweetheart of Swing, she was noted for her ¡939 recording of “And the Angels Sing,” and also sang with bands led by Artie Shaw and Billy Mills. Tilton also sang and appeared in small roles in several films and shorts including Sing While You’re Able (¡937), Topper (¡937), Broker’s Follies (¡937), Irene (¡940), Varsity Vanities (¡940), Sunny (¡94¡), You’ll Never Get Rich (¡94¡), Swing Hostess (¡944), Strictly in the Groove (¡942), Crime, Inc. (¡945), and Lili Marlene (¡945). She was also the singing voice for Barbara Stanwyck for the ¡94¡ film Ball of Fire and dubbed Martha O’Driscoll’s singing voice in Crazy House (¡943). Tilton also sang for Anne Gwynne in several films including South of Dixie (¡944) and Murder in the Blue Room (¡944). She entertained the troops with the U.S.O. tours in Europe and the South Pacific during World War II. She hosted her own radio show in the early ¡940s and recorded for Capitol Records throughout the decade. Tilton appeared as a character based on herself
Martha Tilton
2006 • Obituaries
in the ¡955 bio-film The Benny Goodman Story, and performed on television in the ¡950s in episodes of The Colgate Comedy Hour and The Jack Benny Program. She was also featured as a singer in the ¡975 tele-film Queen of the Stardust Ballroom.
TOBOLOWSKY, EDWIN S. Attorney Edwin S. Tobolowsky, who was executive producer for many of Larry Buchanan’s no-budget horror films in the ¡960s, died in Dallas, Texas, on July 29, 2006. He was 86. Tobolowsky was born on February ¡6, ¡920. He earned a law degree in ¡943 and specialized in business law. He was often involved in championing the rights of theater owners throughout the country. He became involved in the movie industry himself in the mid– ¡960s, becoming executive producer for Azalea Films. He served as an associate producer for a handful of horror and science fiction films directed by Larry Buchanan to fill out a television deal for AIP. Most were based on scripts previously filmed by Roger Corman in the ¡960s. They included The Eye Creatures (¡965), Zontar the Thing from Venus (¡966), Curse of the Swamp Creature (¡966), the cult classic Mars Needs Women (¡967), In the Year 2889 (¡967), Creature of Destruction (¡967), Hell Raider’s (¡968), and It’s Alive! (¡969).
Edwin S. Tobolowsky
TOELLE, TOM German film and television director Tom Toelle died in Munich, Germany, on March 25, 2006. He was 74. Toelle was born in Berlin,
Tom Toelle
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Germany, on May ¡9, ¡93¡. He began his career directing stage productions in Berlin and Hamburg. Toelle was best known for helming the ¡970 German television series Das Millionenspiel (aka The Million Game), a parody of television game shows. He directed numerous other productions for German television from the ¡960s including Das Apostelspiel (¡965), Ida Rogalski (¡968), Palace-Hotel (¡969), Der Fall von Nebenan (¡970), Tatort— Kressin und der Laster Nacdh Luttich (¡97¡), Kameliendame (¡978), Ein Mann von Gestern (¡980), Gin Romme (¡983), Via Mala (¡985), Crash (¡988), Bismarck (¡990), A King for Burning (¡993), Der Trinker (¡995), Lonny, der Aufsteiger (¡998), and Wenn die Liebe Verloren Geht (2002).
TOMARKEN, PETER Peter Tomarken, who hosted the popular television game show Press Your Luck, was killed when his small plane crashed o› the coast of Santa Monica, California, on March ¡3, 2006. He was 63. His wife, Kathleen Abigail Tomarken, 4¡, was also killed in the crash. Tomarken was born in Olean, New York, on December 7, ¡942. He worked in television from the early ¡970s, appearing in episodes of Medical Center, The Rockford Files, 240-Robert, Cli›hangers: The Secret Empire, Condo, and Ally McBeal. He also appeared in several films including Heaven Can Wait (¡978), Haunted (¡998), Divorce: The Musical (2002), and ¡9 at ¡¡ (2004), and the tele-films Secrets (¡977) and Running Mates (¡992). He was best known as the host of the popular Press Your Luck gameshow from ¡983 to ¡986, where he would encourage contestants to avoid the “Whammy” to win big bucks. Tomarken also hosted several other game shows including Hit Man (¡983), Wordplay (¡986), Bargain Hunters (¡987), Wipeout (¡988), Decades (¡994), and Paramoia (2000).
Races, Stagecoach, Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, and For Whom the Bell Tolls. He retired from films after appearing in ¡942’s Harrigan’s Kid. Tomei later worked in construction and as a rodeo judge.
TOMPKINS, ROSS Jazz pianist Ross Tompkins, who performed with Doc Severinsen’s Tonight show band, died of lung cancer at his home in St. Augustine, Florida, on June 30, 2006. He was 68. Tompkins was born in Detroit, Michigan, on May ¡3, ¡938. He began his career in music in New York in ¡960, working with such musicians as Benny Goodman, Eric Dolphy, and Wes Montgomery. He moved to Los Angeles in ¡97¡, where he joined Doc Severinsen’s big band. He performed with the Tonight show orchestra until Johnny Carson retired as host in ¡992.
Ross Tompkins
TORRES, BLANCA Mexican actress Blanca Torres died in Mexico City, Mexico, on July ¡0, 2006. She was 78. Torres was born in Monterrey, Mexico, on January ¡8, ¡928. She was a popular television actress from the ¡960s, appearing in such series as El Patio de Tiaquepague (¡966), Juventud Divino Tesoro (¡968), Mi Amor por Ti (¡969), Puente de Amor (¡969), La Cruz de Marisa Cruces (¡970), El Precio de un Hombre (¡973), El Juramento (¡974), Juventud (¡980), El Angel Caido (¡982), La Traicion (¡983), Bianca Vidal (¡985), Cuna de Lobos (¡986), La Gloria y el Infierno (¡986), El Pecado de Oyuki (¡988), Mi Segunda Madre (¡989), Alondra
Peter Tomarken
TOMEI , ED Stunt rider Ed Tomei died in Fallbrook, California, on February ¡¡, 2006. He was 9¡. Tomei was born in Port Angeles, Washington, on November 5, ¡9¡4, and came to Los Angeles with his family as a child. He began working in films as a horse wrangler in the late ¡920s. He worked on numerous films during the ¡930s as a wrangler and occasional stuntman and bit player. Tomei was involved in the production of such features as Cimarron, A Day at the
Blanca Torres
377 (¡995), Marisol (¡996), El Alma no Tiene Color (¡997), and Entre el Amor y el Odio (2002). Torres also appeared in several films including El Amor Tiene cara de Mujer (¡973), Lo Mejor de Teresa (¡976), The Passion of Berenice (¡976), Los Desarraigados (¡976), El Desayuno (¡977), La Casta Divina (¡977), Free Love (¡978), Hell Without Limits (¡978), La Hora del Jaguar (¡978), Mary My Dearest (¡979), Fragmento (¡984), Knock Out (¡984), Noche de Buitres (¡988), Fray Bartolome de las Casas (¡993), If I Never See You Again (¡997), and Ondas Hertzianas (¡999).
2006 • Obituaries
Warren, Archie, Charlton, and Marvel through the ¡980s.
TOURE, ALI FARKA African musician Ali Farka Toure, who combined American blues with indigenous music from his native Mali, died of bone cancer at his home in Mali on March 7, 2006. He was 66. Toure was born to a noble family in Mali. He began playing the single-string African guitar known as the gurkel in the early ¡950s. He taught himself to play the guitar later in the decade and combined his native music with the blues after hearing the songs of John Lee Hooker. Toure’s recordings were first heard in the United States in ¡988. Eleven of his albums were released here including the Grammy winning collaboration with Ry Cooder, Talking Timbuktu, and In the Heart of the Moon with Toumani Diabate. Toure was also the subject of two documentary films, Ali Farka Toure: Springing from the Roots (2000) and the Feel Like Going Home segment of Martin Scorsese’s television mini-series The Blues (2003).
TOTH, ALEX Leading comic book artist and animation designer Alex Toth died at his drawing board in his home in Burbank, California, on May 27, 2006. He was 77. Toth was born in New York City on June 25, ¡928. He began working in comics while in his teens, illustrating stories for Heroic Comics at Steve Douglas’ Famous Funnies shop in ¡945. He was hired by Shelly Mayer at DC Comics in ¡947, where he illustrated such series as Green Lantern, The Atom, and Dr. Mid-Nite. He also drew numerous tales for AllAmerican Western, All-Star Western, Jimmy Wakely, Danger Trail, Dale Evans Comics, and Big Town. Toth left DC and moved to California in ¡952. He illustrated war and crime comics for Standard and worked on the daily newspaper strip Casey Ruggles with Warren Tufts. Toth served in the military from ¡954 to ¡956 and joined Dell Comics after his discharge. He illustrated numerous comics adapted from films and television including Zorro, Sea Hunt, 77 Sunset Strip, and The Twilight Zone. He also worked as a storyboard artist for the ¡960 science fiction film Angry Red Planet, and was a sequence production designer for ¡968’s Project X. He began working in animation for Hanna-Barbera in the early ¡960s, creating character designs for such animated series as Space Angel, Captain Fathom, The Herculoids, Samson and Goliath, Shazzan, The Fantastic Four, Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, Jonny Quest, Space Ghost, Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space, Challenge of the Super Friends, Clue Club, and Battle of the Planets. Toth continued to contribute tales to various comic publishers, illustrating DC’s Hot Wheels and an Atom and the Flash team-up in Brave and the Bold, as well as stories for other publishers including Dell,
TRASK, KATHRYN Actress Kathryn Trask Swackhamer died in San Francisco, California, on December 27, 2006. She was 76. Trask was born in Taft, California, on June 4, ¡930. She studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and appeared in numerous theatrical productions in the San Francisco area. She also featured in the films Shoot the
Alex Toth
Kathryn Trask
Ali Farka Toure
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Moon (¡982) and Hard Traveling (¡986), and an episode of television’s Midnight Caller.
TREHEARNE, ANNE British fashion editor Anne Trehearne, who selected Diana Rigg’s mod fashions as secret agent Mrs. Emma Peel in the popular television series The Avengers in the ¡960s, died in England on July 2, 2005. She was 8¡. Trehearne was born in England on June 22, ¡925. She began working for the fashion magazine Queen in ¡948, rising to fashion editor by ¡957. She was instrumental in covering the early career of leading designer Mary Quant. She left Queen to join the Collett Dickenson Pearce advertising agency in ¡962, and soon became involved with television. She served as fashion coordinator for the popular British spy series The Avengers in ¡965, working with designer John Bates to orchestrate the mod fashions worn by secret agent Mrs. Peel. Trehearne returned to Queen in ¡966 and later worked as a hotel public relations director. TROW , GEORGE Media critic and writer George W.S. Trow was found dead in his apartment in Naples, Italy, on November 24, 2006. He was 63. Trow was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, on September 28, ¡943. He attended Harvard where he served as an editor of The Harvard Lampoon. He also contributed material in the early days of the National Lampoon and joined the sta› of The New Yorker in ¡966. Trow was also the author of several plays including Elizabeth Dead, Prairie Avenue, and The Tennis Game, and scripted the ¡972 film Savages. He was best known for his ¡980 essay and subsequent book, Within the Context of No Context, which lamented the seeming passing of America’s cultural soul. Trow blamed television as the leading element that brought about a celebrity driven decline. Trow’s other works include the short story collection Bullies(¡980) and the novel The City in the Mist (¡984). He also wrote several further volumes of criticism, and scripted the ¡996 film The Proprietor. He left The New Yorker in ¡994 and eventually settled in Italy.
born in Atotonilco, Jalisco, Mexico, on March 28, ¡95¡. He began his career in films as a child actor, appearing in Suerte te de Dios (¡96¡), Three Sad Tigers (¡96¡), The Extra (¡962), Behind the Clouds (¡962), Smiles of the City (¡963), Rage (¡966), and Mexico de Noche (¡968). Trujillo became noted for his roles as screen tough guys in numerous features. His credits include Hoy he Sonado con Dios (¡972), El Diablo en Persona (¡973), Simon Blanco (¡975), La Otra Virginidad (¡975), Mataron a Caamelia la Texana (¡976), La Virgen de Guadalupe (¡976), Los Dos Amigos (¡977), Camelia la Texana (¡977), El ultimo Escape (¡980), Hijos de Tigre (¡980), Street Warriors, Part 2 (¡98¡), Demon Hunter (¡983), Las Modelos de Desnudos (¡983), El Cafre (¡986), La Pandila Infernal (¡987), With Fire and Sword (¡988), and Breed of Snakes (¡988). Trujillo also became a producer and director, as well as actor, in the mid–¡980s, with such films as City Rats (¡986), Un Hombre Violento (¡986), Caceria Humana (¡987), Yo el Ejecutor (¡989), Atrapado (¡989), Violacion (¡989), Un Hombre Despiadado (¡99¡), Venganza (¡992), Secuestro de un Periodista (¡992), Hombres de Acero (¡993), Imposible de Matar (¡994), Amor que Mata (¡994), Violence in the Mountains (¡995), Violencia en la Oscuridad (¡995), Tiempo de Muerte 2 (¡995), Atrapados (¡995), Pesadilla Infernal (¡997), and Derrumbe Mortal (¡998).
Valentin Trujillo
TUCKER , GUY MARINER Guy Mariner Tucker, an author and leading expert on Japanese cin-
George Trow
TRUJILLO, VALENTIN Mexican film actor and director Valentin Trujillo died of a heart attack in Mexico City on May 4, 2006. He was 55. Trujillo was
Guy Mariner Tucker
379 ema, died of heart failure on November ¡7, 2006. He was 38. Tucker was born on September 2¡, ¡968. His interest in Japanese fantasy films led him to settle in Tokyo in the late ¡980s, where he came friends with such cinema luminaries as directors Ishiro Honda and Jun Fukuda, and composer Akira Ifukube. He authored articles for numerous magazines including G-Fan, Kaiju-Fan, Cult Movies, and Film Score Monthly. He also wrote the ¡996 book Age of the Gods: The History of the Japanese Fantasy Film.
TUCKER, WILSON “BOB” Science fiction writer Wilson “Bob” Tucker died on October 6, 2006. He was 9¡. Tucker was born on November 23, ¡9¡4. He was a pioneering member of science fiction fandom in the early ¡930s, publishing the fanzines The Planetoid and Le Zombie. His first professional sale was the short story Interstellar Way Station in ¡94¡. He wrote numerous short-stories and novels over the next five decades. He was best known for his ¡970 novel The Year of the Quiet Sun, which earned him the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. Tucker was also the publisher of the sci-fi fanzine Bloomington New Letter and was given the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in ¡970. He was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2003. His other science fiction novels include City in the Sea (¡95¡), The Long Loud Silence (¡952), Wild Talent (aka The Man from Tomorrow) (¡954), Tomorrow Plus X (aka Time Bomb) (¡957), The Lincoln Hunters (¡958), To the Tombaugh Station (¡960), Ice and Iron (¡974), and Resurrection Days (¡98¡). He was also the author of several mystery novels including Chinese Doll (¡946), To Keep or Kill (¡947), The Dove (¡948), Stalking Man (¡949), Red Herring (¡95¡), Man in My Grave (¡956), Hired Target (¡957), Last Stop (¡963), A Procession of the Damned (¡965), Warlock (¡967), and This Witch (¡97¡). His many short stories include “Interstellar WayStation,” “Prison Planet,” “The Princess of Detroit,” “Gentlemen — The Queen,” “Miraculous Fluid,” “The Other,” “Exit,” “The Visitors,” “The Wayfaring Strangers,” “Able to Zebra,” “Home Is Where the Wreck Is,” “Voices at Midnight,” “The Job Is Ended,” “MCMLV,” “The Mountaineer,” “My Brother’s Wife,” “MCMLIX,” “King of the Planet,” “To a Ripe Old Age,” “The Recon Man,” and “Near-Zero Crime Rate
Wilson “Bob” Tucker
2006 • Obituaries
on JJ Avenue.” Many of his short stories were collected in the ¡982 publication The Best of Wilson Tucker.
TULL, PATRICK British actor Patrick Tull died in New York City on September 23, 2006. He was 65. Tull was born in Sussex, England, on July 28, ¡94¡. He appeared on British television from the early ¡960s in such series as Z Cars, Crossroads, Softly Softly, Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Who, and Dad’s Army. He was also seen in television productions of Sentimental Education (¡970) and Murder Motel (¡975), and the films Mosquito Squadron (¡969), Parting Glances (¡986), and Sleepers (¡996). Tull moved to New York in the early ¡970s, where he performed frequently on stage. He also did much television voice-over work, narrating such documentaries as the Sea Tales series for A&E. Tull also narrated over ¡00 recorded books, including much of the work of author Patrick O’Brian.
Patrick Tull
TUNG, BILL Hong Kong character actor Bill Tung died of kidney failure in Hong Kong after a long illness on February 22, 2006. He was 72. Tung, a horse racing commentator who was known as Uncle Bill, appeared in numerous films with martial arts superstar Jackie Chan. His numerous film credits include Security Unlimited (¡98¡), Coolie Killer (¡982), My Darling, My Goddess (¡982), Espirit d’Amour (¡983), Fast Fingers (¡983), The Fung-shui Master (¡983), I Will Finally Knock You Down, Dad (¡984), Family Light A›air
Bill Tung
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(¡984), Jackie Chan’s Police Force (¡985), Happy Ding Dong (¡986), Devoted to You (¡986), Mr. Handsome (¡987), It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World (¡987), Happy Fat New Year (¡988), Mother Vs. Mother (¡988), Bless This House (¡988), Who Is Craftiest (¡988), Jackie Chan’s Police Story (¡988), It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World 2 (¡988), The Good, the Bad and the Beauty (¡988), Imaginary Suspense (¡988), Lady Enforcers (¡988), The Final Judgment (¡989), The Inspector Wears Skirts 2 (¡989), Mr. Canton and Lady Rose (¡989), It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World III (¡989), Just Heroes (¡989), Ghostly Vixen (¡990), Look Out, O‡cer! (¡990), Doctor’s Heart (¡990), Party of a Wealthy Family (¡99¡), Hong Kong Eva (¡992), It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World Too (¡992), Freedom Run Q (¡992), Supercop (¡992), Supercop 2 (¡993), The Legend of the Drunken Master (¡994), Rumble in the Bronx (¡996), and Jackie Chan’s First Strike (¡996).
TUOMINEN , MATTI Finnish actor Matti Tuominen died of a heart attack in Helsinki, Finland, on January 25, 2005. He was 65. Tuominen was born in Lappi, Finland, on March 9, ¡940. He was a popular film and television actor from the late ¡970s, appearing in the films Pretty Good for a Human (¡977), Pedon Merkki (¡98¡), Niskavuori (¡984), Lumberjacking (¡988), Kadunlakaisijat (¡99¡), and Ponterosa (200¡). He also starred in the television series Hyvat Herrat from ¡990 to ¡996 and was featured in numerous other television productions.
Matti Tuominen
TURNER, BILL Ice skater and actor Bill Turner died after a long illness of emphysema and congestive heart failure in Downey, California, on January 20, 2006. He was 7¡. Turner was born in Los Angeles in ¡934. As an ice skater, he performed with the Ice Capades, Holiday on Ice, and the Hollywood Ice Revue. Sometimes performing under the name Bill Ward, he appeared in several ¡960s films that later achieved cult status including Snow White and the Three Stooges (¡96¡) and The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? (¡964). He also produced the Canadian television production Stars on Ice in the ¡970s. He served as co-producer and performer in the Hawaiian production of the stage musical production of The Rocky Horror Show in the ¡980s.
TURNER, VICKERY British actress Vickery Turner died at her home in Los Angeles, California, on April 4, 2006. She was 6¡. Turner was born in London on April 3, ¡945. She began her career on stage and starred as Sandy in the original stage production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in ¡966. She also appeared on television in productions of Ken Loach’s adaptation of Up the Junction (¡965), Dennis Potter’s Stand Up, Nigel Barton (¡965), In Two Minds (¡967), The Year of the Sex Olympics (¡968), Hay Fever (¡968) with Ian McKellen, The Brontes of Haworth (¡973) as Charlotte Bronte, The Wood Demon (¡974), Ruby and Oswald (¡978), and The Good Soldier (¡98¡). She also appeared in several films including Prudence and the Pill (¡968), Crooks and Coronets (¡969), The Mind of Mr. Soames (¡970), Chandler (¡97¡), The Bermuda Triangle (¡979), and The Return of the Soldier (¡982). Turner was also seen on television in England and the United States in episodes of Softly Softly: Task Force, Love, American Style, The Waltons, The Professionals, and Saracen. She also wrote several television dramas including Keep on Running, Magnolia Summer, Kippers and Curtains, and The Children’s Teeth Are Set on Edge. Turner was also the author of several novels including The Testimony of Daniel Pagels, Delicate Matters, Lost Heir, and Lovers of Africa. Her survivors include her husband, actor Michael J. Shannon, and a daughter.
Vickery Turner (left, with Vanessa Redgrave from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie)
UHNAK, DOROTHY Dorothy Uhnak, a policewoman with the New York City Transit Authority who authored several crime thrillers, died of suicide from a drug overdose in Greenport, New York, on July 8, 2006. She was 76. Uhnak was born Dorothy Goldstein in the Bronx, New York, on April 24, ¡930. She began working for the Transit Authority in the early ¡950s and spent ¡4 years there before resigning in ¡964. Her first book, the semi-autobiographical Policewoman: A Young Woman’s Initiation into the Realities of Justice, was published the same year. Her first novel, The Bait (¡968) starred Detective Christie Opara as the lead character and earned Uhnak an Edgar Award. The Christie Opara character was also featured in the subsequent novels The Witness (¡969) and The Ledger (¡970), and the ¡974 television series Get Christie Love!
381 was loosely based on the novels. Her ¡973 best-seller Law and Order was adapted for a tele-film in ¡976, and her ¡977 novel The Investigation was adapted into the ¡987 tele-film Kojak: The Price of Justice. Another of her novels became the ¡989 tele-film False Witness.
2006 • Obituaries
continued in that position for the next 34 years. Urry was instrumental launching the career of cat cartoonist B. Kliban and many others.
Michelle Urry Dorothy Uhnak
UNNIKRISHNAN , ODUVIL Indian actor Oduvil Unnikrishnan died of renal failure in a hospital in Kozhikode, India, on May 27, 2006. He was 62. He was a popular performer in Malayalam language films from the ¡970s. His numerous film credits include Sarapanjaram (¡979), Sakthi (¡980), Lava (¡980), Appunni (¡984), Vicharana (¡988), Ardham (¡989), Kalikkalam (¡990), Kadinjool Kalyanam (¡99¡), My Dear Muthachan (¡992), Vadhu Cotoranu (¡994), The Prince (¡996), Indra Prastham (¡996), Kalyana Unikal (¡997), Chandamama (¡999), A Slender Smile (2000), Darling (2000), Meesha Madhavan (2002), Shadow Kill (2002), Choonda (2003), Anyar (2003), Runway (2004), Chandrolsavam (2005), and Rasathanthram (2006).
VAISHNAVI Indian actress Vaishnavi was found dead at her home in Anna Nagar, India. She was 20. She had committed suicide by hanging. Vaishnavi began her career as a child, appearing in several films from the ¡990s including The Rose (¡992), Subha Sankalpam (¡995), and Hanuman Junction (200¡). She also appeared frequently on Indian television in such series as Manaivi, Anni, Muhurtham, and Malargal.
Vaishnavi
Oduvil Unnikrishnan
URRY, MICHELLE Michelle Urry, the cartoon editor for Playboy magazine from the early ¡970s, died from ocular cancer at her home in New York City on October ¡5, 2006. She was 66. Urry was born Michelle Caplan in Winnipeg, Canada on December 28, ¡939. She began working at Playboy in ¡964 and by ¡97¡ was serving as assistant cartoon editor to Hugh Hefner. She became the cartoon editor in ¡972 and
VAL, JANE French actress Jane Val died in France on February 2¡, 2006. She was 76. Val was born on February 4, ¡930. She was a voice actress in the French version of the anime series UFO Robo Grendizer in the mid–¡970s, and was the voice of Anie Bouee in the animated film The Rescuers (¡977). Val also seen in television productions of Cing-Mars (¡98¡), Le Village sur la Colline (¡982), L’Attrapeur (¡983), Frank and I (¡984), and L’Ordre (¡9845), and was featured in the films Le Voleur de Feuilles (¡83), Low Profile (¡993), Tout est Calme (2000), and Toi et Moi (2006). (See photograph on page 382.) VALADAO, JECE Brazilian actor Jece Valadao died of respiratory failure in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on November 27, 2006. He was 76. Valadao was born in Ca-
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Jane Val
choeiro de Itapemirim, Brazil, on July 24, ¡930. He appeared in over ¡00 films from his debut in the late ¡940s, often portraying villainous rogues. His many film credits include Carnavel no Fogo (¡949), Tres Vagabundos (¡952), Barnabe Tu Es Meu (¡952), Rio ¡00 Degrees F. (¡955), Rio, Northern Zone (¡957), Garotas e Samba (¡957), Fiery Women (¡959), Tudo Legal (¡960), Women and Millions (¡96¡), The Unscrupulous Ones (¡962), Pretty but Wicked (¡963), The Bolden Mouth (¡963), Lollipop (¡964), A Lei do Cao (¡967), Os Raptores (¡969), Razor in the Flesh (¡969), Memoirs of a Gigolo (¡970), Tercer Mundo (¡973), O Hornem de Papel (¡976), O Gigante da America (¡978), The Age of Faith (¡980), O Torturador (¡98¡), Eagle at the Top (¡984), Tieta of Agreste (¡996), O Cangaceiro (¡997), and Garrincha: Lonely Star (2003). Valadao also appeared frequently on Brazilian television from the ¡980s in such productions as Anos Dourados (¡986), O Dono do Mundo (¡99¡), O Fantasma da Opera (¡99¡), Memorial de Maria Moura (¡994), and Filhos do Carnaval (2006).
Scandal (¡937), True Confession (¡937), The Buccaneer (¡938), The Big Broadcast of ¡938 (¡938), Her Jungle Love (¡938), Cocoanut Grove (¡938), King of Alcatraz (¡938), Disbarred (¡939), Ambush (¡939), Persons in Hiding (¡939), Unmarried (¡939), Three Sons (¡939), The Marshal of Mesa City (¡939), Legion of the Lawless (¡940), Bullet Code (¡940), You Can’t Fool Your Wife (¡940), Prairie Law (¡940), Corralling a Schoolmarm (¡940), Millionaires in Prison (¡940), Stage to Chino (¡940), Triple Justice (¡940), The Fired Man (¡940), Prairie Spooners (¡94¡), Repent at Leisure (¡94¡), Redskins and Redheads (¡94¡), Robbers of the Range (¡94¡), South of Panama (¡94¡), A Panic in the Parlor (¡94¡), The Musical Bandit (¡94¡), The Gay Falcon (¡94¡), California or Bust (¡94¡), Blonde Comet (¡94¡), Keep Shooting (¡942), Broadway Big Shot (¡942), Cactus Capers (¡942), Range Rhythm (¡942), and Crime, Inc. (¡945). Vale retired from the screen in the mid–¡940s.
Virginia Vale
VALENTINE, PAUL Actor and dancer Paul Valentine died on January 27, 2006. He was 86. He was born Val Valentino› in New York City on March 23, ¡9¡9. He began his career on stage as a dancer and appeared on Broadway in productions of Follow the Girls (¡944), Gypsy Lady (¡946), Wish You Were Here (¡952), Hit the Trail (¡954), and Oh Captain! (¡958). He also began appearing in films in the ¡940s, starring as Joe Stephanos in Jacques Tourneur’s film noir classic Out
Jece Valadao
VALE, VIRGINIA Actress Virginia Vale died in Los Angeles on September ¡4, 2006. She was 86. She was born Dorothy Howe in Dallas, Texas, on May 20, ¡920. She began her career in films after winning Jesse Lasky’s Gateway to Hollywood radio talent contest in the late ¡930s. She was featured in numerous films in the late ¡930s and early ¡940s including Night Club
Paul Valentine
383 of the Past (¡947). His other film credits include Special Agent (¡949), House of Strangers (¡949) as Pietro Monetti, Love Happy (¡949), Something to Live For (¡952), and Love Island (¡952). Valentine was also featured in episodes of Lights Out, Armstrong Circle Theatre, and Naked City. He resumed acting in the late ¡970s, appearing in an episode of Vega$. He was also featured in the films All Night Long (¡98¡), True Confessions (¡98¡), The Man Who Saw Tomorrow (¡98¡), Pennies from Heaven (¡98¡), Yes, Giorgio (¡982), Against All Odds (¡984), and Lovelines (¡984).
VALLI, ALIDA Italian actress Alida Valli, who starred with Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten in the post-war classic The Third Man, died in Rome on April 22, 2006. She was 84. Valli was born Baroness Alida Maria Laura Altenburger von Marckenstein Freunberg in Pula, Italy (now Croatia), on May 3¡, ¡92¡. The dark-haired beauty began her film career in Italy at the age of nine, appearing in ¡930’s Gypsy Land. She continued to play ingenue roles in such films as Three Cornered Hat (¡934), The Two Sergeants (¡936), It Was I (¡937), Il Saladino Feroce (¡937), The Last Enemy (¡937), Ball at the Castle (¡939), Absence Without Leave (¡939), Manon Lescaut (¡940), Oltre l’Amore (¡940), Old-Fashioned World (¡94¡), Schoolgirl Diary (¡94¡), L’Amante Segreta (¡94¡), Catene Invisibili (¡942), Two Orphans (¡942), Addio Kira! (¡942), We the Living (¡942), Laugh Pagliacci (¡943), Apparition (¡943), The Za-Bum Circus (¡944), Life Begins Anew (¡945), Il Canto della Vita (¡945), and Eugenie Grandet (¡947). She was brought to Hollywood by David O. Selznick after World War II, where she starred with Gregory Peck in Alfred Hitchcock’s ¡947 thriller The Paradine Case. The following year she starred opposite Frank Sinatra in The Miracle of the Bells. Her best known role was as Anna Schmidt, black marketeer Harry Lime’s girlfriend, in Carol Reed’s classic thriller The Third Man (¡949) with Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten. She appeared in several more films in Hollywood including The White Tower (¡950) and Walk Softly, Stranger (¡950) before returning to Italy. She continued her film career there, appearing in such films as Last Meeting (¡95¡), Miracles Only Happen Once (¡95¡), The Stranger’s Hand (¡952), Il Mondo le Condanna (¡952),
Alida Valli
2006 • Obituaries
The Lovers of Toledo (¡953), Luchino Visconti’s Senso (aka The Wanton Countess) (¡954), The Wide Blue Road (¡957), L’Amore pui Bello (¡957), The Outcry (¡957), The Angry Age (¡958), The Night Heaven Fell (¡958), Eyes Without a Face (aka The Horror Chamber of Dr. Faustus) (¡959), Signed, Arsene Lupin (¡959), Treno di Natale (¡960), The Carmelites (¡960), The Gigolo (¡960), Il Peccato Degli Ani Verdi (¡960), La Fille du Torrent (¡96¡), The Long Absence (¡96¡), Four Women for One Hero (¡962), The Happy Thieves (¡962), Disorder (¡962), The Other Woman (¡963), Ophelia (¡963), The Castilian (¡963), The Paper Man (¡963), Death Travels Too Much (¡965), and Oedipus Rex (¡967). Valli also appeared in episodes of several U.S. television series in the ¡960s including Combat! and Dr. Kildare. She remained a leading actress in Italy over the next four decades, appearing in such films as The Spider’s Stratagem (¡970), The Mushroom (¡970), The Professor (¡972), Eye in the Labyrinth (¡972), Diary of an Italian (¡973), Lisa and the Devil (¡973), L’Anticristo (aka The Tempter) (¡974), Lola (¡974), Tender Dracula (¡974), The House of Raoul (¡975), Flesh and the Orchid (¡975), Cher Victor (¡975), ¡900 (¡976), The Game of Solitaire (¡976), The Cassandra Crossing (¡976), Dario Argento’s Suspiria (¡977), Killer Nun (¡978), A Simple Heart (¡978), Porco Mondo (¡978), The Perfect Crime (¡978), The Baili› of Greifensee (¡979), Luna (¡979), Soo Sero (¡979), Argento’s Inferno (¡980), That House in the Outskirts (¡980), Peacetime in Paris (¡98¡), Secrets (¡985), The Aspern Papers (¡985), Ayn Rand’s We the Living (¡986), Manuela’s Loves (¡987), Silent Love (¡990), The Party’s Over (¡99¡), Private Crimes (¡992), The Final Scoop (¡993), The Long Silence (¡993), A Month by the Lake (¡995), Fatal Frames (¡996), Il Dolce Rumore della Vita (¡999), and Angel of Death (2002).
VANDERMEULEN , WILLY Belgian actor Willy Vandermeulen died in Antwerpen, Belgium, on June 8, 2006. He was 79. Vandermeulen began his career in films in the ¡950s, appearing in The Theft of Hop-Marianneke (¡954), Vrijgezel met 40 Kinderen (¡958), The Legend of Pepito (¡967), Haben (¡968), The Collection (¡969), Bravo, Billy Baron (¡97¡), In Celebration (¡974), The Arrival of Joachim Stiller (¡976), Stille Nacht (¡976), Whitey (¡980), Skin (¡987), Koko Flanel
Willy Vandermeulen
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(¡990), and The Flying Dutchman (¡995). He was also featured in television productions of Klein Londen, Klein Berlijn (¡988), Bunker (¡99¡), De Bossen van Vlaanderen (¡99¡), Caravans (¡992), Made in Vlaanderen: Willems 7 Co (¡992), Oog in Oog (¡99¡), Park, Het (¡993), Terug naar Oosterdonik (¡997), and Raf en Ronny II (¡999).
VAN DONGEN, HELEN Documentary film editor Helen van Dongen died in Brattleboro, Vermont, on September 28, 2006. She was 97. Van Dongen was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on January 5, ¡909. She met Dutch director Joris Ivens while in her teens and helped him establish the Dutch film society Filmliga. She worked with Ivens often over the next decade, editing many of his short films and documentaries including The Bridge (¡928), Rain (¡929), Borinage (¡933), New Earth (¡934), The Spanish Earth (¡937), The 400 Million (¡938) about the Japanese invasion of China, and Power and the Land (¡940). She subsequently began working with pioneer documnetarian Robert Flaherty, editing his films The Land (¡942) and Louisiana Story (¡948). Van Dongen also made several films on her own, producing and editing the documentary Spain in Flames about the civil war there in ¡936. She directed the compilation films Russians at War in ¡942 and New Review No 2 (¡945) composed of combat footage from several fronts. Van Dongen produced, directed, and edited her final film, Of Human Rights, in ¡950 for the United Nations. She left filmmaking following her marriage to Kenneth Durant in ¡950 and settled in Vermont, where she frequently wrote about editing and her work with Ivens and Flaherty.
Megan Van Peebles
2006. She was 80. Varalakshmi was born in Ongole, India, in ¡926. She was a leading actress in Telugu language films. She appeared in numerous films including Bhakta Prahlada, Kula Gotralu, Mangalya Bandham, Pelli Chesi Choodu (¡988), Prema Entha Madhuram (¡99¡), and Aame (¡994). She was also a supporter of leftist causes and worker’s rights in her native district.
VARDUND, INGERID Norwegian actress Ingerid Vardund died in Norway on December 25, 2006. She was 79. Vardund was born in Norway on April 24, ¡927. She made her debut on stage in ¡947 and performed with the National Theatre from ¡958 to ¡993. Vardund was also seen in numerous films from the early ¡950s including Adrine og Kjell (¡952), Heksenetter (¡954), Hete Septemberdager (¡959), Struggle for Eagle Peak (¡960), Elskeree (¡963), Lina’s Wedding (¡973) as Lina, Lady Inger of Ostrat (¡975), The Feldmann Case (¡987), and Shut Up and Listen! (¡995). She also starred in the ¡980 television sit-com Hjemme Hos Oss.
Helen Van Dongen (with Robert Flaherty)
VAN PEEBLES, MEGAN Megan Van Peebles, who appeared in several films by her father, Melvin Van Peebles, and brother, Mario Van Peebles, died suddenly at her home in California on March ¡3, 2006. She was 47. She was born on June ¡, ¡958, and made her film debut as a child in her father’s ¡97¡ production of Sweet Sweetback’s Baad Asssss Song (¡97¡). She later starred in her brother’s film South Bronx Heroes in ¡985. VARALAKSHMI, G. Indian actress G. Varalakshmi died in Chennai, India, on November 26,
Ingerid Vardund
VARNEY, ASTRID Swedish operatic soprano Astrid Varney died of a pericardial infection in a Munich, Germany, hospital on September 4, 2006. She was 88. She was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to Hungarian parents on April 25, ¡9¡8. Her father, Alexander Varney, was an operatic tenor and her mother, Maria Javor Varney, was also a prominent singer. She and her family came to the United States in ¡920. Var-
385 ney trained at the Metropolitan Opera and made her debut in a live radio broadcast in December of ¡94¡ when she replaced Lotte Lehmann in Wagner’s Die Walkuere. She originated the role of Telea in the premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Island of God at the Met in ¡942. Varney married the Metropolitan Opera’s sta› conductor Hermann Weigert in ¡944. She continued to sing for the Met for over 200 performances before a conflict with Rudolf Bing led to her departure in ¡956. She went to Europe where she performed in major venues throughout the continent. She returned to the Met in ¡974 to appear in a production of Jenufa. Varney also appeared in a ¡974 production of Salome, and was Clitamestra in the ¡98¡ operatic film Elektra. She retired from performing in ¡995.
2006 • Obituaries
He served as principal guest conductor at the Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp, Belgium, from the early ¡990s until his death.
VAUGHAN-HATCHER, HEULWEN Actress Heulwen Vaughan-Hatcher died in Portmeirion, Wales, after a long illness on January 7, 2006. She was 64. Vaughan-Hatcher appeared in small roles in several episodes of the cult television series The Prisoner starring Patrick McGoohan in the late ¡960s. She was cast as the girl in the bikini in the premiere “Arrival,” and was the Spanish dancer in the “Dance of the Dead” episode. She also appeared as an extra and doubled for actresses Mary Morris and Nadia Gray in several episodes. Vaughan-Hatcher returned to Portmeirion, where the series was filmed, in ¡999 and managed The Prisoner Shop there.
Astrid Varney
VARVISO, SILVIO
Heulwen Vaughan-Hatcher
Swiss orchestra conductor Silvio Varviso died after a brief illness in Antwerp, Belgium, on November ¡, 2006. He was 82. Varviso was born in Zurich, Switzerland, on February 26, ¡924. He studied at the Zurich Conservatory and in Vienna, and made his debut conducting Mozart’s The Magic Flute in ¡944. He served as music and artistic director in Basel, Switzerland, from ¡950 to ¡962. He also served as music director for the Royal Opera in Stockholm and the Stuttgart Opera in Germany. He also was guest conductor at the Metropolitan Opera on many occasions from his debut with Lucia di Lammermoor in ¡96¡.
VEALE, JOHN British composer John Veale died in Bromley, Kent, England, on November ¡6, 2006. He was 84. Veale was born in Shortlands, Kent on June ¡5, ¡922. He studied music under Egon Wellesz from the early ¡940s and began composing incidental music for films later in the decade. By the early 50s he had become a professional composer, writing scores for such films as The Purple Plain (¡954), Postmarked for Danger (¡955), No Road Back (¡957), The Spanish Gardener (¡957), High Tide at Noon (¡957), The Invisible Creature (¡960), Freedom to Die (¡96¡), Emergency
Silvio Varviso
John Veale
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(¡962), and Escape by Night (¡964). Veale’s first symphony was completed in ¡947 and he composed an Elegy on the occasion of the death of his daughter in ¡94¡. His choral composition set to the poem Kubla Khan debuted on the BBC in ¡959. Veale’s works were ignored by the BBC for over a decade following the appointment of Sir William Glock, a proponent of AvantGarde composition, as the BBC’s director of music. He returned to music in the early in the ¡980s after working as a journalist. His later works include the dramatic orchestral Apocalypse in ¡993 and a Third Symphony completed in ¡997.
VELASCO, RAUL Mexican television personality Raul Velasco died after a long illness at his home in Acapulco, Mexico, on November 26, 2006. He was 73. Velasco was born in Celaya, Mexico, on April 24, ¡933. He was the long-time host of the Mexican television variety show Siempre en Domingo (Always on Sunday) from ¡969 to ¡998. The series introduced numerous Mexican pop stars on their climb up the ladder of fame. Velasco also appeared in cameo roles in several films including Patsy, My Love (¡969), Trampa Para un Cadaver (¡969), and Sin Fortuna (¡980).
ian films from the early ¡950s with such credits as The Rising Sea (¡953), Pillar of Salt (¡958), Three Stars (¡960), Katonazene (¡96¡), Alba Regia (¡96¡), Two Half Times in Hell (¡962), The Man of Gold (¡962), Balvany (¡963), Masfel Millio (¡964), A Koszivu Ember Fiai (¡965), The Hopeless Ones (¡965), Nem (¡965), Mag yar Nabob, Eg y (¡966), The Sweet Sins of Sexy Susan (¡967), Tanulmany a Nokrol (¡967), Jaguar (¡967), Stars of Eger (¡968), The Lost Generation (¡968), The Witness (¡969), Talking Caftan (¡969), A Locsolokocsi (¡973), Kojak Budapesten (¡980), Oh, Bloody Life (¡983), Elso Ketszaz Evem (¡985), and Szeleburdi Vakacio (¡987). Velenczei also appeared often on Hungarian television in such productions as Rab Raby (¡964), Tuskevar (¡967), Villa a Lidon (¡97¡), A Lampas (¡973), Vivat, Benyovszky! (¡975), Petolfi (¡977), Az Elefant (¡978), and A Varazsio Alma (¡987).
VERES , MARISKA Dutch singer Mariska Veres, who was lead singer for the pop band Shocking Blue in the early ¡970s, died of cancer in The Hague, the Netherlands, on December 2, 2006. She was 59. Veres was born in The Hague on October ¡, ¡947. She began singing in the ¡960s and joined the Bumble Bees in ¡967. She replaced Fred de Wilde as lead singer for Shocking Blue in ¡968 and had an international hit with their recording of “Venus” the following year. Veres recorded ¡0 albums with Shocking Blue, which included such hit songs as “Long and Lonesome Road,” “Mighty Joe,” “Never Marry a Railroad Man,” “Hello Darkness,” “Blossom Lady,” and “Eve and the Apple.” The group broke up in the mid–¡970s, and Veres continued to perform as a solo singer and recorded several albums.
Raul Velasco
VELENCZEI, ISTVAN Hungarian actor Istvan Velenczei died in Hungary on April ¡9, 2006. He was 8¡. Velenczei was born in Budapest, Hungary, on March 7, ¡925. He was a leading performer in Hungar-
Mariska Veres
Istvan Velenczei
VERNON, RICHARD Opera singer Richard Vernon died suddenly at his home in Shohola, Pennsylvania, on December 2, 2006. He was 53. Vernon was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in ¡953. He began his career while in his teens, singing with the Memphis Opera Theater, the Southern Opera Theater, North Carolina Opera Theater, and the Houston Grand Opera. He won the Regional Metropolitan Opera auditions in ¡977 and made his debut with the Met in a ¡980 production of Satie’s Parade. Vernon, an operatic bass, sang nearly 800 performances in leading and sup-
387 porting roles with the Met. Vernon also appeared with the San Francisco Opera, the Washington Opera, San Diego Opera, Cincinnati Opera, and numerous other opera companies throughout the United States. He performed in such televised opera productions as Der Rosenkavalier (¡982), Ernani (¡983), La Forza del Destino (¡984), Tosca (¡985), and The Girl of the Golden West (¡992). He also voiced such diverse roles as Pimen in Boris Godunov, Colline in La Boheme, Banquo in Macbeth, Ferrando in Il Trovatore, and the Commendatory in Don Giovanni. His final performance was in a Metropolitan Opera production of Tosca the week before his death.
Richard Vernon
2006 • Obituaries
mant (¡997), and Chris & Co. (200¡). He also starred as Dre Van Goethern in the television series Thuis from ¡997 to 2005.
VINT, ALAN Character actor Alan Vint died of multiple organ failure at a Sherman Oaks, California, hospital after a long illness on August ¡6, 2006. He was 6¡. Vint was born in Tulsa Oklahoma, on November ¡¡, ¡944. He performed frequently in films and on television from the late ¡960s. His films credits include The McMasters (¡970), Two-Lane Blacktop (¡97¡), The Panic in Needle Park (¡97¡), Welcome Home, Soldier Boys (¡972), Unholy Rollers (¡972), Badlands (¡973), Macon County Line (¡974), Earthquake (¡974), Breakout (¡975), Checkered Flag or Crash (¡977), The Lady in Red (¡979) as Melvin Purvis, Family Prayers (¡993), and Malevolence (¡995). He was also seen in the tele-films Truman Capote’s The Glass House (¡972), The Family Rico (¡972), My Darling Daughters’ Anniversary (¡973), The Deadly Tower (¡975), Centennial (¡978), Belle Starr (¡980), The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (¡982), and The Wharf Rat (¡995). Vint’s numerous television credits also include episodes of Bonanza, Then Came Bronson, The High Chaparral, The Name of the Game, Room 222, Adam-¡2, The Young Lawyers, Cade’s County, Nichols, Hawaii Five-O, The Rookies, Police Story, Emergency!, Bronk, Petrocelli, Baretta, David Cassidy — Man Undercover, Lou Grant, and Spenser: For Hire. Survivors include his wife, Susan Mullen Vint, his daughter, actress Kelly Vint, and his brother, actor Jesse Vint.
VERSYP, NOLLE Belgian actor Nolle Versyp died in Belgium on October 5, 2006. He was 70. Versyp was born in Gent, Belgium, on May 3¡, ¡936. He was a popular performer on stage, film and television from the ¡970s. Versyp’s film credits include In All Intimacy (¡978), Paradise Lost (¡978), Gele Verf (¡994), and Max (¡994). He was also seen in television productions of De Jongste Dag (¡970), Desire Under the Elms (¡976), Dirk van Haveskerke (¡978), Feeling the Pinch (¡979), Robinson Crusoe (¡980), Chez Nous (¡980), De Pornofilm (¡98¡), Xenon (¡984), Jacobus en Corneel (¡984), John the Fearless (¡984), Anna Marie (¡986), De Vrek (¡989), De Wedeuwnaar (¡990), Jungleboek (¡992) as Baloo, Buiten de Zone (¡994), Kongo (¡997), DiaAlan Vint
VISHWANATH, SHRADDHA Indian actress Shraddha Vishwanath was found dead at her apartment in Chennai, India, on May ¡7, 2006, having committed suicide by hanging herself from her ceiling fan. She was 2¡. Vishwanath had starred in several Tamil language television soap operas and had been featured in a Tamil film. (See photograph on page 388.)
Nolle Versyp
VITALE, MILLY Italian actress Milly Vitale died in Rome after a long illness on November 2, 2006. She was 74. Vitale was born in Rome on May 6, ¡932, the daughter of orchestra conductor Riccardo Vitale and choreographer Natasha Shidlowski. She began her career on stage in the late ¡940s and made her film debut in Giacomo Gentilomo’s ¡947 version of The
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388 Vogel was born in Paris on May 27, ¡925. He was featured in numerous films and television productions from the ¡970s including Le Gitan (¡975), Mado (¡976), Cop or Hood (¡979), Une Sale A›aire (¡98¡), Strange A›air (¡98¡), Garcon! (¡983), and Les Miserables (¡995). Vogel was also featured in the tele-films and mini-series Les Douze Legionnaires (¡976), Les Amours Sous la Revolution: Quatre dans une Prison (¡978), Les Moyens du Bord (¡979), Alistair MacLean’s The Hostage Tower (¡980), Les Grands Ducs (¡982), Marcheloup (¡982), L’Irlandaise (¡99¡), For Better and for Worse (¡993), Le Milliardaire (¡994), Le Parasite (¡995), and Le Frere Irlandais (¡999). He was also seen in episodes of Miss, LeEnquetes du Commissaire Maigret, and Katts and Dog.
Shraddha Vishwanath
Brothers Karamazov. Vitale continue to appear in such films as Citta Dolente (¡948), Di‡cult Years (¡948), Nero and Messalina (¡949), La Figlia del Peccato (¡949), Black Magic (¡949), Buried Alive (¡949), The Lion of Amalfi (¡950), The Fighting Men (¡950), Hearts at Sea (¡950), Revenge of the Pirates (¡95¡), Position Wanted (¡95¡), Il Caimano del Piave (¡95¡), Il Tenente Giorgio (¡952), Prigionieri delle Tenebre (¡952), Son of the Hunchback (¡952), At Sword’s Edge (¡952), La Pattuglia Dell’Amba Alagi (¡953), Noi Cannibali (¡953), The Juggler (¡953), Prisoner in the Tower of Fire (¡953), Ripudiata (¡954), The Two Orphans (¡954), Loves of Three Queens (¡954), Water’s Love (¡954), Rasputin (¡954), Vendicata! (¡955), Mata Hari’s Daughter (¡955), The Seven Little Foys (¡955) opposite Bob Hope, La Canzone del Cuore (¡955), War and Peace (¡966), Porta un Bacione a Firenze (¡956), Gli Occhi Senza Luce (¡956), Il Giglio Infranto (¡956), The Black Devil (¡957), The Flesh Is Weak (¡957), The Song of Destiny (¡957), The Battle of the V.¡ (¡958), Ten Ready Rifles (¡959), Checkerboard (¡959), Hannibal (¡960), Rivak the Barbarian (¡960), A Breath of Scandal (¡960), Catherine of Russia (¡963), The Family Doctor (¡968), Gangster ’70 (¡968), Let’s Have a Riot (¡970), and La Grande Avventura di Scaramouche (¡972). She largely retired from films in the early ¡970s.
Nicolas Vogel
VOLKMANN, ELISABETH German actress Elisabeth Volkmann was found dead of natural causes at her home in Munich, Germany, on July 25, 2006. She was 70. Volkmann was born in Essen, Germany, on March ¡6, ¡936. She began her career as an operatic soprano but became a popular performer in films and television from the early ¡960s. Her numerous film credits include The Love Feast (¡96¡), Mission to Hell (¡964), Up the Establishment! (¡969), Naughty Knickers (¡970), A Bit of Everything (¡97¡), Fresh, Young and Sexy (¡97¡), Don’t Get Your Knickers in a Twist (¡97¡), Housewives Report (¡97¡), Freedom for Love (¡97¡), Swedish
Milly Vitale
VOGEL , NICOLAS French actor Nicolas Vogel died in Paris on September ¡7, 2006. He was 8¡.
Elisabeth Vollkmann
389 Love Games (¡97¡), Love Is Only a Word (¡97¡), Most Girls Will (¡97¡), Massage Parlour (¡972), Nurses Report (¡972), Sex Life in a Convent (¡972), Sex-Shop (¡972), Innocent Girls Abroad (¡972), Housewives on the Job (¡973), Love in 3D (¡973), All People Will Be Brothers (¡973), Hot Dogs and Bananeneis (¡973), Secrets of Sweet Sixteen (¡973), Love Bavarian Style (¡973), Beyond the Darkness (aka Magdalena, Possessed by the Devil) (¡974), Three Men in the Snow (¡974), Confessions of a Sexy Photographer (¡974), Wide Open Marriage (¡974), The Outsider (¡975), Scrounged Meals (¡977), Lili Marleen (¡98¡), Lola (¡98¡), Veronika Voss (¡982), Red Heat (¡985), Videopoly (¡986), Manuel (¡986), Geierwally (¡988), Trouble in Penthouse (¡988), Mrs. Harris Fahrt Nach Monte Carlo (¡989), Kein Pardon (¡993), and Planet B: The Antman (2002). She starred in the popular ¡973 comedy series Klimbin on German television and was the dubbed voice of Marge Simpson, and her sisters Patty and Selma, in the German language version of The Simpsons during the ¡990s. She also appeared in episodes of Derrick, Der Alte, Krimistunde, Lilli Lottofee, Drei zum Verlieben, Herbert und Schnipsi, Salto Postale, Corinna, Die Rote Meile, Die Rettungsflieger, Siska, and Bernds Hexe.
VON ARETIN, ANNETTE German television personality Annette von Aretin died in Munich, Germany, on March ¡, 2006. She was 85. Von Aretin was born in Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany, on May 23, ¡920. She was a leading television announcer in Bavaria from the early ¡950s. She was best known for being a member of the panel of the television quiz show Was bin Ich!?, Germany’s version of What’s My Line?, from the mid–¡950s.
Annette Von Aretin
VON STROHEIM, KARL Walter Nurnberg, who was a leading wrestling villain as Karl Von Stroheim in the ¡960s and ¡970s, died of a heart attack in Florida on August ¡3, 2006. He was 77. Nurnberg was born in Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, on October ¡5, ¡928. He began competing as Wally “The Skull” Nurnberg, and later simply Skull Nurnberg, in Canada and Detroit. It was there that he met Kurt Rutkowsky, who became his tag team partner for many years. Nurnberg became Karl Von Stroheim and Rutkowksy wrestled as his brother, Kurt. Competing as a pair of villainous
2006 • Obituaries
Germans, they were known as the Bullies from Berlin. They competed throughout the country, holding the Southern Tag Team Title in May of ¡963, and the WWA Tag Team Title in Los Angeles in early ¡965. They also captured the NWA World Tag Team Title in Florida in October of ¡965. Nurnberg wrestled in singles competition for Vince McMahon, Sr.’s, WWWF under the name Dynamite Joe Cox in ¡969. He teamed with Frank Martinez in Tennessee as Dr. Death #¡ and #2 in the early ¡970s, before reclaiming the name Karl Von Stroheim. Nurnberg worked as a promoter in the Florida area in the early ¡980s before retiring from wrestling in ¡985.
Karl Von Stroheim
WADE, RUSSELL Actor Russell Wade died in Palm Springs, California, on December 9, 2006. He was 89. Wade was born in Fairland, Oklahoma, on June 22, ¡9¡7. He moved to California in the late ¡920s where he performed in plays before embarking on a career in film. He had roles in over 60 features during the ¡930s and ¡940s, with such credits as Fighting Youth (¡935), The House of a Thousand Candles (¡936), We Went to College (¡936), Postal Inspector (¡936), Yellowstone (¡936), The Girl on the Front Page (¡936), Ace Drummond (¡936), Flying Hostess (¡936), Music for Madame (¡937), Hitting a New High (¡937), Vivacious Lady (¡938), It’s in the Stars (¡938), Fugitives for a Night (¡938), Spring Madness (¡938), You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man (¡939) with W.C. Fields, Three Smart Girls Grow Up (¡939), Sorority House (¡939), Million Dollar Legs (¡939), Indianapolis Speedway (¡939), These Glamour Girls (¡939), Broadway Melody of ¡940 (¡940), Flowing Gold (¡940), One Night in the Tropics (¡940), Mr. and Mrs. Smith (¡94¡), I’ll Wait for You (¡94¡), Moon Over Miami (¡94¡), Sun Valley Serenade (¡94¡), Weekend for Three (¡94¡), Keep ’Em Flying (¡94¡), A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen (¡942), The Big Street (¡942), Bandit Ranger (¡942), Highways by Night (¡942), Dear! Deer! (¡942), Army Surgeon (¡942), Rough on Rents (¡942), Pirates of the Prairie (¡942), Red River Robin Hood (¡942), Pretty Dolly (¡942), The Great Gildersleeve (¡942), Fighting Frontier (¡943), Gem Jams (¡943), Ladies’ Day (¡943), Sagebrush Law (¡943), The Leopard Man (¡943), Bombardier (¡943), Gildersleeve’s Bad Day (¡943), The Falcon in Danger (¡943), The Iron
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Major (¡943), The Ghost Ship (¡943), Higher and Higher (¡943), Prunes and Politics (¡944), Marine Raiders (¡944), Tall in the Saddle (¡944), Val Lewton’s film adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic horror tale The Body Snatcher (¡945) with Boris Karlo›, A Game of Death (¡945), The Bamboo Blonde (¡946), The Renegade Girl (¡946), Shoot to Kill (¡947), Sundown Riders (¡948), and Beyond Glory (¡948). Wade retired from the screen in the late ¡940s for a career in real estate. He developed the El Dorado Country Club in the mid–¡950s and was the longtime chairman of the Palm Springs Golf Classic tournament there.
remained married until his death in ¡97¡. She was subsequently introduced to former New York City Mayor Robert Wagner and they were married in ¡975. She accompanied him to the Vatican in the late ¡970s when he served as President Jimmy Carter’s diplomatic representative there. Following Wagner’s death in ¡99¡, she resumed her career in advertising, serving as a party hostess for the firm of Wells, Rich, Greene.
Phyllis Cerf Wagner
Russell Wade
WAGNER, PHYLLIS CERF Phyllis Cerf Wagner, the widow of editor and radio personality Bennett Cerf and former New York City Mayor Robert Wagner, who appeared in films in the ¡930s as Phyllis Fraser, died in a New York City hospital of complications from a fall on November 25, 2006. She was 90. She was born Helen Nichols in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on April ¡6, ¡9¡6. She was the cousin of actress Ginger Rogers, who invited her to Hollywood to try her hand at acting in the early ¡930s. She appeared in the films Thirteen Women (¡932), No Other Woman (¡933), Lucky Devils (¡933), Little Men (¡934), Father Knows Best (¡935), The Black Room (¡935), Fighting Youth (¡935), Every Saturday Night (¡936), The Harvester (¡936), Educating Father (¡936), Winds of the Wasteland (¡936) opposite John Wayne, Star for a Night (¡936), Tough to Handle (¡937), Vivacious Lady (¡938), Keep Smiling (¡938), Everybody’s Baby (¡939), and For Beauty’s Sake (¡94¡). Abandoning her acting career, she went to New York in ¡939 where she worked for an advertising agency and wrote radio plays. She married publisher and co-founder of Random House Bennett Cerf in ¡940. She continued to write, penning columns for such publications as Newsday and Good Housekeeping. She occasionally served as a guest panelist, filling in for her husband, on the game show What’s My Line? in the ¡950s and was a regular panelist on Down You Go in ¡955. She began working with long time friend Theodore Geisel, who was better known as Dr. Seuss, in ¡957. They collaborated on a series of books for the imprint, Beginner Books, including Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat in the Hat Comes Back. She and Cerf
WAHL, WOLFGANG German actor Wolfgang Wahl died in Germany on September ¡5, 2006. He was 80. Wahl was born in Munster, Germany, on December 3, ¡925. He appeared frequently in German films from the early ¡950s. His many film credits include 08/¡5 (¡954), A Girl from Paris (¡954), Verrat an Deutschland (¡955), Gestatten, Mein Name ist Cox (¡955), Ein Herz voll Musik (¡955), Bandits of the Highway (¡955), Rosel vom Schwarzwald (¡956), Die Wilde Auguste (¡956), Die Schone Meisterin (¡956), Sharks and Small Fish (¡957), Grabenplatz ¡7 (¡958), Scampolo (¡958), Die Grunen Teufels von Monte Cassino (¡958), The Trapp Family in America (¡958), Paradies der Matrosen (¡959), La Paloma (¡959), Grand Hotel (¡959), Roses for the Prosecutor (¡959), The Buddenbrooks (¡959), Brainwasher (¡960), Genosse Munchhausen (¡962), Street of Temptation (¡962), The Squeaker (¡963), And Jimmy Went to the Rainbow’s Foot (¡97¡), and Der Morder (¡979). Wahl worked mainly in German television from
Wolfgang Wahl
391 the ¡970s, appearing in productions of Tod in Astapowo (¡974), Frau Juliane Winkler (¡983), Der Glucksritter (¡984), Die Bombe (¡987), Der Deal (¡99¡), Gluckliche Reise (¡992), Der Grosse Bellheim (¡993), and Klefisch — Klefischs Schwerster Fall (¡995). He was also seen in episodes of Der Kommissar, The Black Forest Clinic, Derrick, Tatort, Der Alte, Ein Fall fur Zwei, Hotel Paradies, and SOKO 5¡¡3.
WALDEN, PHIL Record company executive Phil Walden died of cancer in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 23, 2006. He was 66. Walden was born on January ¡¡, ¡940. He was the founder of Capricorn Records and was instrumental in advancing the careers of singer-songwriter Otis Redding and the Southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band. Walden later served as manager of actor and comedian Jim Varney and produced several of his films including Ernest Goes to Jail (¡990) and Ernest Scared Stupid (¡99¡).
2006 • Obituaries
mained with the Fleischers when they moved to Miami in ¡938 and was instrumental in creating the Popeye and Superman cartoons. The studio was reorganized under Paramount as Famous Studios in the early ¡940s, where he was head animator for such cartoons as Casper the Friendly Ghost, Little Lulu, Baby Huey, and Herman and Katnip. He left Famous Studios in ¡957, but continued to work in animation for television including Milton the Monster and Batfink.
WALKER, BILLY Grand Ole Opry singer Billy Walker was killed near Montgomery, Alabama, when the bus he was traveling in crashed and overturned on Interstate 65 on a return trip to Nashville on May 2¡, 2006. He was 77. His wife, Betty Walker, and two members of his band, Charles Lilly, Jr., and Daniel Patton, Sr., were also killed in the crash. Walker was born in Ralls, Teas, on January ¡4, ¡929. He began his career performing as the Traveling Texan, the Masked Singer of Country Songs. Walker joined the Grand Ole Opry in ¡960, and was featured in the country music film Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar in ¡966. His hit songs include “Cross the Brazos at Waco” and “Charlie’s Shoes.”
Phil Walden
WALDMAN , MYRON Animator and cartoonist Myron Waldman died of congestive heart failure in a Bethpage, New York, hospital on February 4, 2006. He was 97. Waldman was born in Brooklyn on April 23, ¡908. He began his career as an inker and artist at Fleischer Studios in ¡930. The following year he became an animator at the studio on the ¡93¡ cartoon short By the Light of the Silvery Moon. He was soon working on the Fleischers’ Betty Boop cartoons. He re-
WALKER, CINDY Country songwriter Cindy Walker died in a Mexia, Texas, hospital on March 23, 2006. She was 87. Walker was born in Mart, Texas, on July 20, ¡9¡8. Walker wrote numerous popular hit songs
Myron Waldman
Cindy Walker
Billy Walker
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including “You Don’t Know Me,” “Dream Baby,” “It’s All Your Fault,” and Gene Autry’s “Silver Spurs.” Walker performed in a handful of films in the early ¡940s including Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride (¡940), Frontier Vengeance (¡940), Bearcat Mountain Gal (¡942), and Ti-Yi-Yippee-Aye (¡944). Walker was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville in ¡997. Willie Nelson released a album of her songs, You Don’t Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker, shortly before her death.
WALKER, SHIRLEY Shirley Walker, who composed scores for numerous film and television productions, died of a brain aneurism in California on November 29, 2006. She was 6¡. Walker was born in Napa, California, on April ¡0, ¡945. She began working in films in the late ¡970s, and composed the score to such features as The End of August (¡982), Touched (¡983), Violated (¡984), The Dungeonmaster (¡985), Ghoulies (¡985), Strike It Rich (¡990), Chicago Joe and the Showgirl (¡990), White Fang (¡99¡), Born to Ride (¡99¡), Memoirs of an Invisible Man (¡992), the animated Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (¡993), Prelude to Eden (¡995), John Carpenter’s Escape from L.A. (¡996), Turbulence (¡997), Pam Coronado: Intuitive Investigator (2000), Final Destination (2000), Ritual (200¡), Final Destination 2 (2003), Willard (2003), Final Destination 3 (2006), and the 2006 horror film Black Christmas. She also scored the tele-films Promise Not to Tell (¡992), Majority Rule (¡992), The Haunting of Seacli› Inn (¡994), The Adventures of Zoom in Outer Space (¡995), It Came from Outer Space 2 (¡996), The Crying Child (¡996), Asteroid (¡997), The Love Bug (¡997), Baby Monitor: Sound of Fear (¡998), The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia Phenomena (¡998), Mystery Men (¡999), and Disappearance (2002). Her other work included compositions for such television series as Falcon Crest, China Beach, The Others, and The Zeta Project, and the animated series Fluppy Dog, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Spawn, The New Batman Adventures, and Batman Beyond. Walker also worked as a conductor and orchestrator on many films including Children of a Lesser God (¡986), The Accused (¡988), Scrooged (¡988), Batman (¡989), Black Rain (¡989), Immediate Family
Shirley Walker
(¡989), National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (¡989), Strike It Rich (¡990), Nightbreed (¡990), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (¡990), Bird on a Wire (¡990), Dick Tracy (¡990), Days of Thunder (¡990), Arachnophobia (¡990), Pacific Heights (¡990), Child’s Play 2 (¡990), Edward Scissorhands (¡990), Defending Your Life (¡99¡), Backdraft (¡99¡), True Identity (¡99¡), The Butcher’s Wife (¡99¡), Gladiator (¡992), Article 99 (¡992), Straight Talk (¡992), A League of Their Own (¡992), Toys (¡992), The Real McCoy (¡993), Striking Distance (¡993), True Lies (¡994), Bad Company (¡995), Johnny Mnemonic (¡995), Batman Forever (¡995), Rasputin (¡996), and Fear (¡996).
WALTER, TOM Television journalist Tom Walter died of cancer in a Memphis, Tennessee, hospital on August ¡2, 2006. He was 57. Walter was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July ¡6, ¡949. He came to Memphis in ¡983, where he began working for The Commercial Appeal. Walter wrote about television for the next 2¡ years, covering both the local and national scene. He became an expert on the history of television and on its e›ects on the lives of the viewers. Walter also spent several years in the ¡990s as a participant in a local radio trivia program. He retired from The Commercial Appeal in the May of 2005.
Tom Walter
WALTERS, PAUL British radio and television producer Paul Walters died in Berkhamsted, Hertford-
Paul Walters
393 shire, England, on October 2¡, 2006. He was 59. Walters was born in Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, on June ¡5, ¡947. He began working in broadcasting with Associated Television and Rank Radio International before joining the BBC as a trainee in ¡973. He was soon producing such series as The John Duncan Show and You, the Night, and the Music for BBC Radio. He began working with radio personality Terry Wogan in ¡979, and produced his popular Radio 2 series Wake Up with Wogan from ¡993. Walters was also an on air personality with the program, being nicknamed Dr. Wallington P. De Wynter Courtney Claibourne Magillicuddy Walters, or Dr. Wally, for short. He remained with the show until poor health forced his retirement in late 2005.
WALTZ , MARILYN Marilyn Waltz, who posed as a Playboy centerfold three times in the ¡950s, died in Medford, Georgia, on December 23, 2006. She was 75. Waltz was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on November 5, ¡93¡. A singer and model, she made her first appearance in Playboy as Playmate of the Month for February of ¡954 under the name Margaret Scott. She was again Playboy Playmate in April of ¡954 and April of ¡955 under the name Marilyn Waltz. She continued to work as a model and commercial actress until her marriage to Breck Jordan in ¡958. She was a successful real estate agent in California and Georgia before her retirement in ¡996. It was long assumed that Margaret Scott and Marilyn Waltz were two di›erent models until Hugh Hefner noted the women’s similarity while preparing The Playmate Book in the mid–¡990s. Waltz subsequently contacted Playboy and revealed that they were indeed the same person, making her one of only two models that made three appearances as Playboy centerfolds.
Marilyn Waltz
WARD, WALTER Walter Ward, the original lead singer for the popular doo-wop group the Olympics, died on December ¡¡, 2006, after a long illness. He was 66. Ward was born in Jackson, Mississippi, on August 28, ¡940. He began performing with his father and three uncles as the Ward Brothers as a child. After moving to Los Angeles, he formed a group with fellow singers Eddie Lewis, Charles Fizer, Walter Hammond, and Melvin King in ¡957. Originally known as Walter
2006 • Obituaries
Ward and the Challengers, they soon changed their name to the Olympics. They recorded several popular songs in the late ¡950s and early ¡960s including “My Baby Loves the Western Movies,” “Private Eye,” “Hully Gully,” “Good Lovin’“, “Big Boy Pete,” “Shimmy Like Kate,” “The Bounce,” and “Dooley.” Ward continued to sing with the Olympics through the ¡970s.
Walter Ward
WARDEN, JACK Leading character actor Jack Warden died in Manhattan, New York, on July ¡9, 2006, after a long illness. He was 85. Warden was born John H. Lebzelter in Newark, New Jersey, on September ¡8, ¡920. Warden was raised in Louisville, Kentucky, where he fought as a welterweight boxer. He served as a paratrooper in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II. After the war he began performing on stage in New York, appearing on Broadway in productions of Golden Boy and A View from the Bridge. He made his film debut in the early ¡950s, and was seen in over ¡00 films during his career including You’re in the Navy Now (¡95¡), The Frogmen (¡95¡), Man with My Face (¡95¡), Red Ball Express (¡952), From Here to Eternity (¡953), Edge of the City (¡957), The Bachelor Party (¡957), Twelve Angry Men (¡957), Run Silent Run Deep (¡958), Darby’s Rangers (¡958), The Sound and the Fury (¡959), The Kind of Woman (¡959), Wake Me When It’s Over (¡960), The Lawbreakers (¡960), Escape from Zahrain (¡962), Donovan’s Reef (¡963), The Thin Red Line (¡964), Blindfold (¡965), Bye Bye Braverman (¡968), Summertree (¡97¡), Welcome to the Club (¡97¡), Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? (¡97¡) with Dustin Ho›man, The Sporting Club (¡97¡), Dig (¡972), The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (¡973), Billy Two Hats (¡973), The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (¡974), Shampoo (¡975) with Warren Beatty, earning an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Lester the businessman, All the President’s Men (¡976), The White Bu›alo (¡977), Heaven Can Wait (¡978) receiving a second Academy Award nomination for his performance as football trainer Max Corkle, Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile (¡978), Dreamer (¡979), The Champ (¡979), Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (¡979), ...And Justice for All (¡979), Being There (¡979) with Peter Sellers, Used Cars (¡980), The Great Muppet Caper (¡98¡), Carbon
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394
Copy (¡98¡), So Fine (¡98¡), Chu Chu and the Philly Flash (¡98¡), The Verdict (¡982), Crackers (¡984), The Aviator (¡985), September (¡987), The Presidio (¡988), Everybody Wins (¡990), Problem Child (¡990), Problem Child 2 (¡99¡), Passed Away (¡992), Night and the City (¡992), Toys (¡992), Guilty as Sin (¡993), Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway (¡994), While You Were Sleeping (¡995), Problem Child 3: Junior in Love (¡995), Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead (¡995), Mighty Aphrodite (¡995), Ed (¡996), The Island on Bird Street (¡997), Chairman of the Board (¡998), Bulworth (¡998), Dirty Work (¡998), A Dog of Flanders (¡999), and The Replacements (2000). Warden was also featured in numerous tele-films and mini-series including The Face of Fear (¡97¡), Brian’s Song (¡97¡) as Coach George Halas, What’s a Nice Girl Like You...? (¡97), Man on a String (¡972), Lieutenant Schuster’s Wife (¡972), Wheeler and Murdoch (¡973), Remember When (¡974), A Memory of Two Mondays (¡974), The Godchild (¡974), Journey from Darkness (¡975), They Only Come Out at Night (¡975), Raid on Entebbe (¡977), Topper (¡979) as Cosmo Topper, A Private Battle (¡980), Hobson’s Choice (¡983), Helen Keller: The Miracle Continues (¡984) as Mark Twain, Robert Kennedy & His Times (¡985) as Joseph Kennedy Sr., A.D. (¡985), Alice Through the Looking Glass (¡985), Three Wishes for Jamie (¡987), Still Crazy Like a Fox (¡987), Hoover vs. the Kennedys: The Second Civil War (¡987) as J. Edgar Hoover, The Three Kings (¡987), Police Story: The Watch Commander (¡988), Dead Solid Perfect (¡988), Judgment (¡990). He played the Coach in the Mr. Peepers television sit-com from ¡952 to ¡955, and was Bobo in the short-lived comedy series Norby in ¡955. Warden starred as Matt Gower in the drama series The Asphalt Jungle in ¡96¡, and was Major Simon Butcher in the comedy series The Wackiest Ship in the Army. He also starred as Lt. Mike Haines in ¡967’s N.Y.P.D., and was John St. John in the ¡976 detective series Jigsaw John. He starred as Coach Morris Buttermaker in the television series version of The Bad News Bears in ¡979, and was Harry Fox in the comedy detective series Crazy Like a Fox in ¡985. He also starred as Hank Knight in the short lived series Knight & Daye in ¡989. His other television credits include episodes of Tales of Tomorrow, Kraft Television Theatre, Studio One, The Philco Television Playhouse, Kaiser Alu-
minum Hour, The Alcoa Hour, The U.S. Steel Hour, Suspicion, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, Bonanza, Five Fingers, The Untouchables, Twilight Zone, Stagecoach West, Outlaws, Route 66, Bus Stop, Wagon Train, Naked City, Ben Casey, Tales of Wells Fargo, Target: The Corruptors, The Virginian, Ben Casey, The Adventures of Gallegher, The Great Adventure, Bewitched, Dr. Kildare, The Fugitive, The Invaders, Ink, and The Norm Show.
Jack Warden
Wendy Wasserstein
WARREN, ED Ghost hunter and author Ed Warren died at his home in Monroe, Connecticut, on August 23, 2006, of complications of a stroke that he had su›ered in March of 200¡. He was 79. Warren and his wife, Lorraine, worked together to investigate over ¡0,000 suspected hauntings throughout the world during their 6¡-year marriage. Their best known investigation was at the scene of a brutal murder in Amityville, New York. The Warrens served as consultants for a subsequent film based on the disturbances, Amityville II: The Possession (¡982). Warren was also an expert on demonology and satanic cults. He and his wife authored ¡0 books on the subject of the supernatural. The tele-films The Demon Murder Case (¡983) and The Haunted (¡992) were based on several of their books.
Ed Warren (with wife Lorraine and dog Gizmo)
WASSERSTEIN, WENDY Feminist playwright Wendy Wasserstein died of lymphoma in a New York City hospital on January 30, 2006. She was 55. She was born in Brooklyn, New York on October ¡8,
395 ¡950. Wasserstein had her first stage success in the late ¡970s with the play Uncommon Women ... and Others which was adapted as a telefilm in ¡979. She was best known for her play The Heidi Chronicles which earned her a Pulitzer Prize in Drama in ¡989 and earned the Tony Award for Best Broadway Play. Wasserstein adapted her play for television in ¡995. She also wrote the comedic feminist drama The Sisters Rosensweig. She adapted Stephen McCauley’s novel The Object of My A›ection for film in ¡998 and wrote and produced the 2000 telefilm The American Daughter. Wasserstein made a cameo appearance in the ¡993 film Life with Mikey and was a telephone voice on an episode of Fraiser in ¡996.
WATT, LEN Actor Len Watt died in Canada on October 25, 2006. He was 83. Watt was born in Scotland in ¡923. He began his acting career in Canada in the ¡960s, appearing in the television series Seaway in ¡965. Watt was also featured in the films Little White Crimes (¡966), Don’t Let the Angels Fall (¡969), The End of the Nancy J (¡970), The Huntsman (¡972), And I Love You Dearly (¡973), La Maitresse (¡973), Kamouraska (¡973), Blackout (¡978), Hog Wild (¡980), A Right to Refuse? (¡98¡), Happy Birthday to Me (¡98¡), Visiting Hours (¡982), Cross Country (¡983), The Painted Door (¡984), Eternal Evil (aka The Blue Man) (¡985), The Sight (¡985), Running Scared (¡985), The Dream and the Triumph (¡986), La Guepe (¡986), Charles and Francois (¡987), The King Chronicle, Part 3: Mackenzie King and the Zombie Army (¡988), and La Sarrasine (¡992). He was also seen in television productions of Spearfield’s Daughter (¡986), Choices (¡986), Lance et Compte (¡988) as John Aylmer, and Hiroshima (¡995). WEAVER, DENNIS Actor Dennis Weaver, who starred as Marshal Dillon’s first deputy, Chester Goode, in the legendary western series Gunsmoke and was a New Mexico lawman transplanted to New York City in McCloud, died of complications from cancer at his home in Ridgway, Colorado, on February 24, 2006. He was 8¡. Weaver was born in Joplin, Missouri, on June 4, ¡924. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and attended the University of Oklahoma, where he majored in drama, after the war. He joined the Actors Studio in New York in ¡949 and appeared in the national tour of the Broadway play Come Back, Little Sheba in ¡95¡. He went to Hollywood in the early ¡950s, where he appeared in small roles in such films as Horizons West (¡952), The Raiders (¡952), The Redhead from Wyoming (¡953), The Lawless Breed (¡953), The Mississippi Gambler (¡953), It Happens Every Thursday (¡953), Law and Order (¡953), Column South (¡953), The Golden Blade (¡953), The Man from the Alamo (¡953), The Nebraskan (¡953), War Arrow (¡953), Dangerous Mission (¡954), Dragnet (¡954), The Bridges of Toko-ri (¡955), Ten Wanted Men (¡955), Seven Angry Men (¡955), Chief Crazy Horse (¡955), Storm Fear (¡955), Navy Wife (¡956), and Touch of Evil (¡958). Weaver was cast as Chester Goode, the slow-witted Dodge City deputy with a limp, in Gunsmoke in ¡955. He remained with the series for nearly a decade until ¡964, earning an Emmy Award for his performance in
2006 • Obituaries
¡959. He subsequently starred in the short lived television drama Kentucky Jones in ¡964. Weaver starred as game warden Tom Wedloe, whose son befriend a grizzly bear named Ben, in the ¡967 film Gentle Giant. He reprised the role for two seasons in the subsequent television series Gentle Ben. Weaver was also seen on television in episodes of Schlitz Playhouse of the Stars, Dragnet, The Lone Ranger, Climax!, Playhouse 90, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, Dr. Kildare, Combat!, Disneyland’s Gallegher Goes West, Judd for the Defense, The Name of the Game, and The Virginian. He also appeared in occasional films including The Gallant Hours (¡960), Duel at Diablo (¡966), Way ... Way Out (¡966), Mission Batangas (¡968), A Man Called Sledge (¡970), and the ¡97¡ psychological thriller What’s the Matter with Helen? with Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters. Weaver created the character of New Mexico deputy Sam McCloud in the ¡970 tele-film McCloud: Who Killed Miss U.S.A.?, and lent his crime-fighting expertise to the big city of New York throughout the subsequent McCloud series. He also starred as the target of a demonic truck driver in Steven Spielberg’s ¡97¡ telefilm Duel, and was also seen in the tele-films The Forgotten Man (¡97¡), The Great Man’s Whiskers (¡972) as Abraham Lincoln, Rolling Man (¡972), Female Artillery (¡973), Terror on the Beach (¡973), Intimate Strangers (¡977), The Islanders (¡978), Ishi: The Last of His Tribe (¡978), The Ordeal of Patty Hearst (¡979), Amber Waves (¡980), The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd (¡980) as Samuel A. Mudd, The Day the Loving Stopped (¡98¡), Don’t Go to Sleep (¡982), and Cocaine: One Man’s Seduction (¡983). Weaver was also seen in the ¡977 feature film Cry for Justice, and the television mini-series Centennial (¡978) as R.J. Poteet, and Pearl (¡978) as Col. Jason Forrest. He starred as Detective Daniel Stone in the ¡979 telefilm Stone and the subsequently crime series of the same name in ¡980. He also starred as Rear Adm. Thomas Mallory in the military drama series Emerald Point N.A.S. in ¡983, and was Dr. Buck James in the ¡987 series Buck James. He also appeared in the tele-films Going for the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story (¡985), A Winner Never Quits (¡986), Headin’ Home for the Holidays (¡986), Blu‡ng It (¡987), Disaster at Silo 7 (¡988), The Return of Sam McCloud (¡989), Mastergate (¡992), Greyhounds (¡994), Seduction in a Small Town (¡997),
Dennis Weaver
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396
Stolen Women, Captured Hearts (¡997), The Virginian (2000), High Noon (2000), and The Beast (200¡). He starred as the recurring character Bu›alo Bill Cody in Lonesome Dove: The Series in ¡994. His other television credits include episodes of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Magnum, P.I., Family Law, and Touched by an Angel. He was also seen in the films Two Bits and Pepper (¡995), Escape from Wildcat Canyon (¡998), and Submerged (2000). He was a voice actor in several animated series including Captain Planet and the Planeteers and The Simpsons, and voiced Abner in the 2004 animated film Home on the Range. Weaver also starred as Henry Ritter in the television series Wildfire in 2005. He was active with the Screen Actors Guild, serving two terms as president of the union from ¡973 to ¡977. He was spokesman for the Great Western Savings and Loan Association from ¡982 through ¡996, and for the past decade he hosted films on the Encore Westerns cable channel. He was also active with environmental issues, serving on the board of the Earth Communications O‡ce, and co-founding the Institute of Ecolonomics with his wife, Gerry, in the early ¡990s. His autobiography, All the World’s a Stage, as published in 200¡.
WEBB , RUTH Actress turned talent agent Ruth Webb died of pulmonary illness in Burbank, California, on December 4, 2006. She was 88. Webb was born in New York City on March ¡7, ¡9¡8. She began her career as a teen, performing on stage in summer stock. She also worked as a model for several advertising campaigns. Webb appeared on Broadway in the ¡940s, performing in productions of Marinka, On the Town, and Early to Bed. She began working as a talent agent in ¡96¡ and opened the Ruth Webb Agency the following year. She had numerous Broadway stage stars as her clients and was the first agent for such future stars as Al Pacino and Ben Vereen. She expanded her clientele to Hollywood later in the decade where she booked engagements for such stars as Ginger Rogers, John Carradine, Martha Raye, Dorothy Lamour, Gloria Swanson, Yvonne De Carlos, and Gene Barry. She was also instrumental in securing Mickey Rooney his longstanding role in the Broadway hit musical Sugar Babies. She also represented such television stars as Milton
Berle, Don Knotts, Don Adams, Chuck Connors, Phyllis Diller, Patty Duke, and many others.
WEBSTER, NICHOLAS Film producer and director Nicholas Webster, who helmed the Christmas cult classic Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, died in Santa Monica, California, after a long illness on August ¡2, 2006. He was 94. Webster was born in Spokane, Washington, on July 24, ¡9¡2. He began working in movies as a film cutter at MGM and was a cinematographer for the U.S. Army during World War II. After the war he worked on documentaries for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and directed commercials in New York. He went to Hollywood in the early ¡960s, where he directed the ¡96¡ film Dead to the World. Webster produced and directed the ¡963 feature Gone Are the Days! (aka The Man from C.O.T.T.O.N.), based on the musical Purlie Victorious. He directed Santa Claus Conquers the Martians in ¡964, and worked in television directing episodes of Get Smart, The F.B.I., The Big Valley, The New People, Bracken’s World, Dan August, The Immortal, Appointment with Destiny which he also produced, Mannix, The Waltons, Bonanza, and The Chisholms. Webster also directed the ¡968 science fiction film Mission Mars, the ¡978 documentary feature Manbeast! Myth or Monster!, and the ¡979 film No Longer Alone. He also helmed many segments of documentary series In Search Of... hosted by Leonard Nimoy, and historical reenactments for Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Webster also produced and directed the docudramas The Last Days of John Dillinger, Showdown at O.K. Corral, and Johnny Cash Ridin’ the Rails: The Great American Train Story.
Nicholas Webster
Ruth Webb
WEINRIB, LENNIE Character actor and voice-over performer Lennie Weinrib, who was the voice of the title character in the popular children’s series H.R. Pufnstuf, died of complications from a stroke in a Santiago, Chile, hospital on June 28, 2006. He was 7¡. Weinrib was born in the Bronx, New York, on April 29, ¡935. He began his career as a comic and appeared on Broadway in the Billy Barnes Revue in ¡959. He also appeared on television in episodes of such series as Peter Gunn, The Rebel, The Spike Jones Show, Dennis the Menace, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Twilight Zone, 77 Sunset Strip, Grindl, My Favorite Martian, The Mun-
397 sters, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Burke’s Law, Laredo, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and Jericho. Weinrib also appeared in the films Tales of Terror (¡962), The Thrill of It All (¡963), and Good Times (¡967) with Sonny and Cher. He directed several teen flicks in the mid–¡960s including Beach Ball (¡965), Wild, Wild Winter (¡966), and Out of Sight (¡966). Weinrib voiced Roland and Rattfink in Rattfink cartoons from the late ¡960s. He was also a voice actor in such animated series and specials as The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! as the voice of Scrappy-Doo, Doctor Dolittle, The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, The Point (¡97¡), Help! It’s the Hair Bear Bunch (¡97¡), Disney’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks (¡97¡) as the voice of the Secretary Bird and King Leonidas, The Flintstones Comedy Hour, Yoki’s Ark Lark (¡972), The Adventures of Robin Hoodnik (¡972), Tabitha and Adam and the Clown Family (¡972), The New Scooby-Doo Movies, The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, the animated The Addams Family as the voice of Gomez Addams, Inch High, Private Eye, The Magical Mystery Trip Through Little Red’s Head (¡974), Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch, Hong Kong Phooey, Uncle Croc’s Block, The New Tom & Jerry Show, The Kids from C.A.P.E.R., The Pink Panther Laugh and the Half Hour and Half Show, Jabberjaw, Fred Flintstone and Friends, The New Adventures of Batman, The C.B. Bears, The Skatebirds, Dynomutt, Dog Wonder, Tarzan and the Super 7, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, SpaceStars, The Kwicky Koala Show, The Smurfs, Bugs Bunny’s ¡00¡ Rabbit Tales (¡982), Voltron: Defender of the Universe, Kissyfur, Rambo, Saber Rider and the Star Sheri›s, Wake, Rattle & Roll, and Yo Yogi as Secret Squirrel. Weinrib starred as H.R. Pufnstuf in the Sid and Marty Kro›t series in ¡969 and also worked on the series as a writer. He also appeared as Magic Mongo in the Magic Mongo segment of The Kro›t Supershow from ¡977 to ¡978. Weinrib also appeared in the Disney film The Strongest Man in the World (¡975), and guest-starred in episodes of Love, American Style, Adam-¡2, Happy Days, The Waltons, Emergency!, and CHiPs. He also voiced hundred of commercials during his career before retiring to Chile in the early ¡990s.
2006 • Obituaries
swimming champion Johnny Weissmuller, died of liver cancer in San Francisco, California, on July 27, 2006. He was 65. The younger Weissmuller was born on September 23, ¡940, in San Francisco, the son of Johnny Sr. and actress Beryl Scott. He became interested in acting while in his teens and was featured as Jimmy in the ¡958 film Andy Hardy Comes Home. He subsequently served in the U.S. Navy and was trained by the Underwater Demolition Team. After leaving the Navy he was co-founder of an underwater salvage business and worked as a longshoreman. Weissmuller was featured in George Lucas’s early films THX ¡¡38 (¡97¡) as a chrome robot, and American Gra‡ti (¡973). He was a voice for the French animated Tarzan spoof Shame of the Jungle in ¡975. He was also featured in the telefilms Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story (¡980), Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (¡985), Johnnie Mae Gibson: FBI (¡986), and Six Against the Rock (¡987), and two episodes of The Streets of San Francisco. Weissmuller also appeared in the films Massive Retaliation (¡984) and Wildfire (¡988), and performed on stage in San Francisco as the Chief in numerous productions of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. His father died in ¡984 and he wrote a memoir about him, Tarzan, My Father, which was published in 2002.
Johnny Weissmuller, Jr.
WELLS, PETE Guitarist Pete Wells, who was a founder of the Australian blues band Rose Tattoo,
Lennie Weinrib
WEISSMULLER, JOHNNY , JR. Johnny Weissmuller, Jr., the son of Tarzan star and Olympic
Pete Wells
Obituaries • 2006
398
died of cancer in a Sydney, Australia, hospital on March 27, 2006. He was 59. Wells began his career as a bass player with the blues band Head in Brisbane in ¡966. He began playing the slide guitar in the mid–¡970s, forming Rose Tattoo in ¡976 with lead singer Angry Anderson. Wells also played with such bands as Bu›alo, Scattered Aces, Romeo Dog, and Lucy DeSoto and the Handsome Devils.
WELNICK , VINCE Rock musician Vince Welnick died in an apparent suicide in Forestville, California, on June 2, 2006. He was 55. Welnick was born in Phoenix, Arizona, on February 2¡, ¡95¡. He began playing keyboards in a garage band called Beans while in his mid-teens with Bill “Sputnick” Spooner on guitar and Rick Anderson on bass. The three moved to San Francisco in the late ¡960s where they added Fee Waybill as singer, Roger Steen as a second guitarist, and Prairie Prince as a drummer to become the Tubes. They recorded their first album, The Tubes, in ¡975 which included the song “White Punks on Dope.” A second album, Young and Rich, released in ¡976 contained the minor hit “Don’t Touch Me There.” Welnick remained with the Tubes for ¡7 years, recording such albums as Remote Control (¡979), Completion Backwards Principle (¡98¡), Outside Inside (¡983), and Love Bomb (¡986). He also appeared with the Tubes in the films Cracking Up (¡977) and Xanadu (¡980), and the television specials Alice Cooper and Friends (¡977) and Cher ... Special (¡978). He and the band were also featured as the group Metal Corpses, with Welnick as Jerry Jervy, in the ¡98¡ film Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains. He subsequently played on Todd Rundgren’s solo albums Nearly Human (¡989) and Second Wind (¡99¡). He became keyboardist for the Grateful Dead in ¡990, replacing Brent Mydland, who had died of a drug overdose. The Dead’s original keyboardist, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan died of liver disease brought on by heavy drinking in ¡973, and his replacement, Keith Godchaux, died in an automobile accident in ¡980. Welnick played with the group for five years, and was heard on the albums Infrared Roses (¡99¡), Grayfolded: Transitive Axis (¡994), and Fall Out from the Phil Zone (¡997). The Grateful Dead folded after the death of the band’s leader Jerry Garcia in August of ¡995. Welnick formed a new
Vince Welnick
band, Missing Man Formation, which released one album in ¡998. He also performed with several other groups including Ratdog, Jack Straw, and Gent Treadly.
WENDL, ANNEMARIE German actress Annemarie Wendl died in Munich, Germany, on September 3, 2006. She was 9¡. Wendl was born in Trostberg, Germany, on December 26, ¡9¡4. She began her career on stage in the ¡940s, appearing in productions throughout Germany. She performed frequently in films and television from the ¡960s. Wendl’s screen credits include Zieh dich aus, Puppe (¡968), Come Now, My Dear Little Bird (¡968), Dr. Fummel und Seine Gespielinnen (¡969), Pudelnackt in Oberbayern (¡969), Graf Porno und die Liebesdurstigen Tochter (¡969), Mathias Kneissl (¡970), Butterflies Don’t Cry (¡970), Hay Country Swingers (¡97¡), How I Became a Negro (¡97¡), Sex in the O‡ce (¡97¡), Purgatory (¡97¡), The Erotic Adventures of Heidi (¡974) as Heidi’s mother, Ein Madchen aus Zweiter Hand (¡976), Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s I Only Want You to Love Me (¡976), and Povratak Katarine Kozul (¡989). Wendl was best known for her role as Else Kling on the popular German television soap opera Lindenstrasse. She played Else from the series start in ¡985 until poor health forced her retirement in May of 2006.
Annemarie Wendl
WEST, ROBERT “TIGER” Animator Robert “Tiger” West died on February ¡3, 2006. He was 8¡.
Robert “Tiger” West
399 West was born on July 4, ¡924. He began working in animation in the ¡940s, assisting animators Up Iwerks and Bob Carlson at Disney. He later worked at MGM, where he was an assistant on the Tom and Jerry cartoons. West subsequently headed up the Xerography department at Hanna-Barbera, where he was involved with such cartoon series as Wacky Races, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You, The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, Josie and the Pussycats, The Harlem Globetrotters, The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, Hong Kong Phooey, The New Tom & Jerry Show, The All New Pink Panther Show, The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show, Spider-Man, and Heathcli›.
WEST, SANDY Sandy West, the drummer with the all female ¡970s rock band The Runaways, died of lung cancer in a San Dimas, California, hospital on October 2¡, 2006. She was 47. West was born in ¡959 in Huntington Beach, California and began playing the drums at an early age. She was ¡6 when she teamed with Joan Jett, a singer and guitarist, to form the Runaways in ¡975. They were joined by Lita Ford and Cherie Currie going on to produced such hits as “Born to Be Bad” and “Cherry Bomb.” The band broke up in ¡979 and West continued her career as a solo artist and the leader of the short-lived Sandy West Band.
Sandy West
WHITE, SAM Veteran producer and director Sam White died at his home in Encino, California, on August 5, 2006. He was 99. White was born in Los Angeles on October ¡6, ¡906. He followed his brothers Jules and Jack into films, all becoming successful producers and directors. Sam White worked as an assistant director and stage musical numbers on the films Down to Their Last Yacht (¡934), Roberta (¡935), Old Man Rhythm (¡935), and To Beat the Band (¡935). He directed several training films for the U.S. armed forces during World War II. He directed several films in the early ¡950s including The O‡cer and the Lady (¡94¡) and I Live on Danger (¡942). He also produced the films Top of the Town (¡937), The Spirit of Stanford (¡942), Underground Agent (¡942), Reveille with Beverly (¡943), After Midnight with Boston Blackie (¡943), Swing Out the Blue (¡943), The Return of the Vampire (¡944), The Girl in the Case (¡944), Louisiana Hayride (¡944), The
2006 • Obituaries
Unwritten Code (¡944), Tahiti Nights (¡945), and People Are Funny (¡946) which he also directed. He began working in television in the ¡950s, where he was a producer on such series as My Friend Flicka, Perry Mason, and The Outer Limits, and produced and directed numerous television commercials. He also produced and directed the ¡969 western White Comanche starring William Shatner and Joseph Cotten.
Sam White
WICHMANN, RUDOLF German film producer Rudolf Wichmann died in Perugia, Italy, on June ¡7, 2006. He was 59. Wichmann was born in Hamm, Germany, on December ¡4, ¡946. He began his film career in the late ¡980s, establishing Nova Films in London in ¡988. He was involved in the production of such films as The King’s Whore (¡99¡), Rebecca’s Daughters (¡992), All Men Are Mortal (¡995), Snakes and Ladders (¡996), Tykho Moon (¡996), Love and Rage (¡998), and De Omweg (2000). His final film was the 2004 South African political drama Drum. WIDMER , J. A RTHUR Academy Award– winning special e›ects pioneer J. Arthur Widmer died in Hollywood on May 28, 2006. He was 9¡. Widmer was born in Washington, D.C., on July 25, ¡9¡4. He began working at Kodak as a researcher in the mid– ¡930s. During World War II Widmer was assigned to the Manhattan Project, which led to the construction of the first atomic bomb. After the war he worked on
J. Arthur Widmer
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the development of Kodak’s color motion picture film. He left Kodak in ¡950 and began working at Warner Bros. where he developed the Ultra Violet Travelling matte process. He also worked on such film processes as wide screen and 3-D. He went to Universal in ¡964 where he designed the optical department and began development of blue-screen technology and optical printing, and worked on the Color Di›erence System. Widmer received the special award of commendation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the 2005 Academy Awards for Scientific and Technical Achievement.
WIGERT, KNUT Norwegian actor Knut Wigert died in Oslo, Norway, on June ¡4, 2006. He was 89. Wigert was born in Norway on October 3, ¡9¡6. He made his debut on stage in the late ¡930s and made his film debut in ¡940’s Tante Pose. He was also seen in such films as Torres Snortevold (¡940), Englandsfarere (¡946), Trollfossen (¡948), The Summer Wind Blows (¡955), Bare et Liv — Historien om Fridtjof Nansen (¡968) as polar explorer Nansen, Ransom (¡975), and Autumn Sonata (¡978). Wigert was also featured in television productions of Rosmersholm (¡965), John Gabriel Borkman (¡978), Jenny (¡982), and Peer Gynt (¡993).
Knut Wigert
WIGGINS, TUDI Actress Mary “Tudi” Wiggins died of cancer in Gouverneur, New York, on July ¡9, 2006. She was 70. Wiggins was born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, on October ¡0, ¡935. She began performing on stage at the age of ten, and was featured on Broadway in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in the ¡960s. She was also seen in a handful of films including Once Upon a Prime Time (¡966), My Side of the Mountain (¡969), Hot Pants Holiday (¡972), Hot Resort (¡985), and Monkey Shines (¡988). She was also featured in the tele-films Freddy the Freeloader’s Christmas Dinner (¡98¡), He’s Fired, She’s Hired (¡984), and Brass (¡985). Wiggins was Martha Scott in the Canadian television series Yesterday and Today in ¡968, and appeared in episodes of The Unforeseen and The Mystery Maker. She was featured in the Gothic soap opera Strange Paradise as Erica Desmond in ¡969 and as Helena Raleigh in ¡970. She starred as Mrs. Howard in Paul Bernard, Psychiatrist in ¡97¡, and was Karen Martin on the day-
time soap opera The Guiding Light from ¡97¡ to ¡972. She was featured as Meg Dale on the soap opera Love of Life from ¡974 to ¡980, and was Sarah Kingsley on All My Children from ¡980 to ¡982. She also produced, directed and hosted her own local television talk show in the Hudson Valley, New York, area until her retirement in the ¡980s.
Tudi Wiggins
WILD, JACK Jack Wild, the British child star who earned an Oscar nomination for his role as the Artful Dodger in the ¡968 film musical Oliver!, died of oral cancer in London on March ¡, 2006. He was 53. Wild was born to working class parents in Royton, Lancashire, England, on September 30, ¡952. He was noticed by an agent after his family moved to London in the early ¡960s, and he subsequently attended the Barbara Speake Stage School. He began appearing on television in episodes of such series as Out of the Unknown, The Wednesday Play, Theatre 625, George and the Dragon, Z Cars, Knock Three Times, and ThirtyMinute Theatre. He also appeared in small roles in the films Poor Cow (¡967) and Danny the Dragon (¡967). Wild appeared on stage version of Lionel Bart’s hit musical Oliver! as Charlie Bates. He was promoted to Fagin’s top lieutenant, the Artful Dodger, when the play was adapted for film by director Carol Reed in ¡968. The film, which also starred Mark Lester as Oliver, Ron Moody as Fagin, and Oliver Reed as the notorious Bill Sykes, earned the Academy Award for Best Picture. Wild was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role, which saw him perform several songs including “You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two,” “I’d Do Anything,” and “Consider Yourself.” Wild became a leading teen idol of his day and was soon cast in the Sid and Marty Kro›t television fantasy series H.R. Pufnstuf as Jimmy, who was stranded on a magic island with a talking flute. He also starred in the ¡970 feature film version, Pufnstuf. Wild appeared in several other films including Melody (¡97¡), Flight of the Doves (¡97¡), The Pied Piper (¡972) with the pop star Donovan, The Wild Little Bunch (¡973), Keep It Up Downstairs (¡976), and the Polish version of Alice (¡982) as the Mock Turtle. He also appeared in the tele-films Our Mutual Friend (¡976) and The Ravelled Thread (¡980), and guest-starred in episodes of The Onedin Line and Sig-
401 mund and the Sea Monsters. Wild’s career su›ered as he became increasingly more dependent on alcohol. He attempted to revive his acting career in the ¡990s, appearing in the small role of Much, the Miller’s son, in ¡99¡’s Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. He also appeared in the ¡998 film Basil and several stage productions. Wild’s years of heavy drinking and smoking took its toll on him physically, and he developed mouth cancer 200¡. He was also involved in the support group for child actors, A Minor Consideration. Wild appeared in a small role in the 2005 film Moussaka and Chips with his Oliver! co-star Ron Moody, and was writing his autobiography at the time of his death. He had married his long-time companion, actress Claire Harding, in September of 2005.
2006 • Obituaries
recorded by Eddie Cochran in ¡960, “I Just Don’t Understand” recorded by Ann-Margret in ¡96¡, and the country hit “Fallen Angel” for Webb Pierce in ¡962. Another hit tune she penned was Jimmy Dean’s ¡962 recording of “PT ¡09” in honor of President John Kennedy. Wilkin formed her own company, Buckhorn Music, in ¡964 and was instrumental in launching the career of singer/songwriter Kris Kristo›erson.
WILKIN, MARIJOHN Songwriter Marijohn Wilkin died in Nashville, Tennessee, on October 28, 2006. She was 86. Wilkin was born Marijohn Melson in Kemp, Texas on July ¡4, ¡920. She began performing with Red Foley’s touring company in the mid– ¡950s and soon began writing songs. She teamed with John D. Loudermilk to write Stonewall Jackson’s hit novelty song “Waterloo” in ¡958. Her other popular tunes include the country hit “The Long Black Veil,” first recorded by Lefty Frizzell in ¡959 with later renditions by such artists as Johnny Cash, Joan Baez, The Kingston Trio and Mick Jagger, “Cut Across Shorty”
WILLIAMS, ADAM Veteran supporting actor Adam Williams died of lymphoma in California on December 4, 2006. He was 84. Williams was born Adam Berg in New York City on November 26, ¡922. Williams served in the U.S. Navy as a pilot during World War II, earning the Navy Cross. He made his film debut in the early ¡950s and appeared in numerous films and television productions over the next thirty years. His many film credits include Queen for a Day (¡95¡), Flying Leathernecks (¡95¡), the science fiction classic The Day the Earth Stood Still (¡95¡), Without Warning! (¡952) in a rare starring role, Vice Squad (¡953), The Big Heat (¡953), Dragonfly Squadron (¡954), The Yellow Tomahawk (¡954), Crashout (¡955), The Sea Chase (¡955), The Proud and Profane (¡956), The Rack (¡956), Fear Strikes Out (¡957), The Garment Jungle (¡957), The Oklahoman (¡957), The Lonely Man (¡957), Darby’s Rangers (¡958), The Space Children (¡958), The Badlanders (¡958), Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (¡959) as one of James Mason’s assassins, The Last Sunset (¡96¡), Convicts 4 (¡962), Gunfight at Comanche Creek (¡963), The New Interns (¡964), The Glory Guys (¡965), Follow Me, Boys! (¡966), and The House in the Gray Flannel Suit (¡968). His many television credits include roles in episodes of such series as Stage 7, Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre, Science Fiction Theater, Crusader, General Electric Theater, Wire Service, The George Sanders Mystery Theater, Perry Mason, Alcoa Theatre, Northwest Passage, The David Niven Show, The Texan, M Squad, The Millionaire, Hawaiian Eye, Zane Grey Theater, Black Sabbath, Have Gun —Will Travel, The Westerner, Outlaws, The Roaring 20s, The Twilight Zone, Guestward Ho, The Americans, The Islanders, Lawman, Boris Karlo› ’s Thriller, The Asphalt Jungle, Whispering Smith, Gunsmoke, Maverick, Surfside 6, The Detectives Starring
Marijohn Wilkin
Adam Williams
Jack Wild
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Robert Taylor, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Rawhide, The Law and Mr. Jones, Cheyenne, Combat!, 77 Sunset Strip, The Untouchables, The Gallant Men, The Rifleman, Dr. Kildare, Kraft Suspense Theatre, Temple Houston, Daniel Boone, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Virginian, A Man Called Shenandoah, The F.B.I., The Fugitive, Honey West, Felony Squad, I Spy, Bonanza, Custer, The High Chaparral, Mannix, Cannon, Switch, and Sword of Justice. Williams appeared in the tele-films Helter Skelter (¡976) and The Girl Called Hatter Fox (¡977) before largely retiring from show business in the late ¡970s.
WILLIAMS, CHARLIE British comedian Charlie Williams, who was a leading soccer player in the ¡950s before becoming the first well-known black comedian on British television, died of cardiac arrest on September 2, 2006, in a Barnsley, England, hospital after su›ering for several years from Parkinson’s Disease and dementia. He was 78. Williams was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, on December 23, ¡927. He began playing with the Belle Vue soccer club in the late ¡940s, playing in ¡7¡ games until his retirement in ¡959. He soon embarked on a career as a performer, becoming a popular comic. He was best known for his regular appearances on the hit television series The Comedians in the ¡970s. Williams also hosted the gameshow The Golden Shot in ¡973.
time soap opera Ryan’s Hope in ¡982, and was Franklin Mallard in All My Children in ¡986. He was also featured as Pete Simms in the ¡996 series Savannah, and guest starred in episodes of In the Heat of the Night and Matlock.
Jordan Williams
WILLIAMS, MILAN Musician Milan Williams, who was a founding member of the soul group the Commodores, died of cancer in Houston, Texas, on July 9, 2006. He was 58. Williams was born in Okolona, Mississippi, on March 28, ¡948. The Commodores were formed by a group of young musicians attending Tuskegee Institute in Alabama in ¡968. Williams was keyboardist for the group that included singer Lionel Richie. They became a popular Motown group, recording a series of hits in the ¡970s and ¡980s that included “Machine Gun,” which was written by Williams, “Brick House,” “Easy,” and “Three Times a Lady.” Richie left the group in ¡982 and was replaced as lead singer by J.D. Nicholas. The Commodores won a Grammy Award for “Nightshift” in ¡986. Williams continued to perform with the group until ¡989, when he left in protest against a tour of South Africa.
Charlie Williams
WILLIAMS, JORDAN Actor Jordan Williams died in Atlanta, Georgia, on March ¡3, 2006. He was 50. Williams was born in Detroit, Michigan, on October 7, ¡955. He began his career on stage in Chicago in the ¡970s and moved to Atlanta at the end of the decade. He made his film debut in a small role in the ¡978 horror film The Fury. Sometimes billed as Larry Jordan, he was also seen in the films Jaws of Satan (¡98¡), Tank (¡984), Final Cut (¡988), and My Dog Skip (2000). Williams also appeared in the tele-films Kent State (¡98¡), The Catlins (¡982), Maid in America (¡982), Elvis (¡988) as Sam Phillips, Grass Roots (¡992), Complex Fear (¡993), Class of ’6¡ (¡993), Separated by Murder (¡994), Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (¡994), Nightjohn (¡996), Rag and Bones (¡997), Steel Chariots (¡997), Mama Flora’s Family (¡998), and Sacrifice (2000). Williams starred as Glen in the day-
Milan Williams
WILLIAMS, RHODA Rhoda Williams, who was the voice of Drizella, one of the wicked stepsisters, in Disney’s animated classic Cinderella, died in Eugene, Oregon, on March 8, 2006. She was 75. Williams was born in Denver, Colorado, on July ¡9, ¡930. She came
403 to Hollywood with her family at the age of five and soon began a career in show business. She was heard on radio from the late ¡930s on such series as I Want a Divorce!, Dr. Christian, One Man’s Family, Life of Riley, and Lux Radio Theatre. She also appeared in small roles in such films as National Velvet (¡944), The Corn Is Green (¡945), Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (¡945), That Hagen Girl (¡947), and House of Strangers (¡949). She was featured as Betty, Robert Young’s oldest daughter, on the radio program Father Knows Best from ¡949 to ¡954. In ¡950 she was the model and voice for Cinderella’s stepsister. She was also seen in such films as A Woman of Distinction (¡950), The Persuader (¡957), The Heart Is a Rebel (¡958), Space Master X-7 (¡958), High School Hellcats (¡958), The Sergeant Was a Lady (¡96¡), Critic’s Choice (¡963), and Triangle (¡970). She also appeared frequently on television from the ¡950s in such series as Mixed Doubles, Dragnet, Tightrope, Zane Grey Theater, The Twilight Zone, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Laredo, Felony Squad, The Big Valley, Dragnet ¡967, The Jimmy Stewart Show, Search, and Marcus Welby, M.D. Williams also worked as a voice performer, dubbing Brigitte Bardot for the American release of The Night Heaven Fell, and providing voices for animatronic creations at Disneyland. She also provided alien voices for several films in the Star Trek series. She was married to David Ven Meter from ¡952 until her death.
2006 • Obituaries
his pet goat, was published in ¡93¡. Her interest in the Girl Guides led to her writing two handbooks, For Brownies: Stories and Games for the Pack and Everybody Else (¡932) and More for Brownies (¡934). She also wrote a book about her childhood with her twin sister Barbara, The Twins and Their Ponies, in ¡936. Some of her better known works include the children’s classics The Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse (¡938), Gobbolino the Witch’s Cat (¡943), and The Good Little Christmas Tree (¡942). Williams also created the popular character called the Woppit for the magazine The Robin in the ¡950s. Her other works include Golden Horse with a Silver Tail (¡957), The Nine Lives of Island Mackenzie (¡960), The Cruise of the Happy-Go-Gay (¡968), Bagwoppit (¡978), Je›y, the Burglar’s Cat (¡98¡), Bellabelinda and the No-Good Angel (¡982), Sid (¡985), The Further Adventures of Gobbolino and the Little Wooden Horse (¡984), and Paddy on the Island (¡987). Several of her stories were adapted for the children’s television anthology series Jackanory in the late ¡960s and early ¡970s.
Ursula Moray Williams
Rhoda Williams
WILLIAMS, TAYLOR Actor Taylor Williams died of complications from prostate cancer in St. Joseph, Michigan, on March 3¡, 2006. He was 7¡. Williams was born in Robertsonville, North Carolina, on August 26, ¡934. He settled in Chicago, Illinois, where he performed often on the local stage and operated a successful antique dealership. Williams also appeared in several films including Somewhere in Time (¡980), as the Grand Hotel maitre d’ in ¡972, Grandvie, U.S.A (¡984), and The Ballad of Sad Cafe (¡99¡). He was also seen in the ¡98¡ tele-film Skokie. WILLIAMS, URSULA MORAY British children’s writer Ursula Moray Williams died in Beckford, Gloucestershire, England, on October ¡7, 2006. She was 95. Williams was born in Petersfield, Hampshire, England, on April ¡9, ¡9¡¡. She began writing as a child and her first book, Jean Pierre, about a little boy and
WILLIAMSON , JACK Jack Williamson, a renowned science fiction writer for seven decades, died at his home in Portales, New Mexico, on November ¡0, 2006. He was 98. He was born in western Texas, on April 29, ¡908. Williamson became fascinated with science fiction as a young man and sold his first story, “The Metal Man,” to Amazing Stories in ¡928. He wrote numerous short stories and novels over his long career. He was best known for his Legion of Space series, which also included the novels The Cometeers, and One Against the Legion. The Queen of the Legion, the final book of the series, was published in ¡982. His many novels also include The Alien Intelligence (¡929), The Girl from Mars (¡930) written with Miles J. Breuer, The Green Girl (¡930), The Stone from the Green Star (¡93¡), Golden Blood (¡933), Xandulu (¡934), The Blue Spot (¡935), Islands of the Sun (¡935), The Fortress of Utopia (¡939), Realm of Wizardry (¡940), With Folded Hands (¡947), Darker Than You Think (¡948), Seetee Shock (¡949), The Humanoids (¡949), Seetee Ship (¡950), Dragon’s Island (¡95¡), Star Bridge (¡955) written with James E. Gunn, The Dome Around America (¡955), Wolves of Darkness (¡958), The Trial of Terra (¡962),
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The Reign of Wizardry (¡964), Bright New Universe (¡967), Trapped in Space (¡968), Jamboree (¡969), The Moon Children (¡972), The Power of Blackness (¡975), Brother to Demons, Brother to Gods (¡979), The Humanoid Touch (¡980), Manseed (¡982), Lifeburst (¡984), Firechild (¡986), Mazeway (¡990), Beachhead (¡992), Demon Moon (¡994), The Black Sun (¡997), The Silicon Dagger (¡999), and Terraforming Earth (200¡). Williamson began collaborating with fellow author Frederik Pohl with The Undersea Trilog y from ¡954. They teamed to write The Starchild Trilog y (¡964), Wall Around a Star (¡975), Farthest Star (¡983), Narabedla, Ltd. (¡988), Land’s End (¡988), and The Singers of Time (¡99¡). Williamson penned his autobiography, Wonder’s Child: My Life in Science Fiction in ¡984. His story The Ultimate Earth earned both the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 2000. His final book, The Stonehenge Gate, was published in 2005. Williamson taught English literature at Eastern New Mexico University from ¡957 until his retirement in ¡977, and was Professor Emeritus until his death. He was also a featured character in a DC Comics mini-series, JSA Strange Adventures, in 2005.
Pasadena Playhouse, where she performed on stage from the ¡950s. She appeared in numerous commercials during her career and was featured in several films including The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (¡982), Gremlins (¡984) as Mrs. Molinaro, and Black Magic Woman (¡99¡). She was also seen on television in episodes of The Wonder Years and Unsolved Mysteries.
WILSON, DREW Actor Drew Wilson died of a stroke in Sacramento, California, on January 5, 2006. He was 80. Wilson was born in Gary, Indiana, on March 4, ¡925. He was best known for his portrayals of Thomas Edison on stage and in films. He was sponsored by the Edison Company and his performances were designed to inspire young people to consider a career in science. Wilson also appeared in the films Hard Rock Zombies (¡985), Fragrance (¡99¡), and Black Sheep (¡996), and was seen in episodes of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch as Mark Twain and Soul Food.
Drew Wilson
Jack Williamson
WILLSON , G WEN Actress Gwen Willson died in Sun City West, Arizona, on June 25, 2006. She was 88. She was born Gwendolyn Mae Horn in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on June ¡0, ¡9¡8. She attended the
Gwen Willson
WILSON, JUDY British actress Judy Wilson died in England after a brief illness on April ¡, 2006. She was 67. Wilson was a leading performer on the English stage from the late ¡950s. She also appeared frequently on television from the mid–¡960s, gueststarring in episodes of such series as Dixon Dock Green, Within These Walls, Secret Army, Lady Killers, All Creatures Great and Small, Casualty, and Doctors. She was also seen in several films including Three Sisters (¡970), the Sherlock Holmes thriller Murder By Decree (¡979), The Pilot (¡98¡), and Dark Corners (2006). WINTER , JACK Television comedy writer Jack Winter died after a long illness in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, on December 29, 2006. He was 64. Winter was born in New York City on February 9, ¡942. He attended Harvard University where he became a writer for The Harvard Lampoon. He was soon writing for television, scripting episodes of such series as The Jackie Gleason Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Monkees, Love, American Style, Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Odd Couple, Getting Together, Happy Days, and Laverne and Shirley. Winter left Hollywood in the mid–¡970s but continued to write comedic essays including his self published memoir, The Answer to Everything. (Photograph on page 405.)
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Jack Winter
WINTERS, SHELLEY Leading lady Shelley Winters, who earned two Academy Awards in a sixtyyear career that saw her go from a blonde bombshell to a revered character actress, died of heart failure in a Beverly Hills hospital on January ¡4, 2006. She was 85. Winters was born Shirley Schrift in East St. Louis, Illinois, on August ¡8, ¡920, and was raised in Brooklyn, New York. She came from a poor family and became fascinated with acting as a glamorous escape from her own circumstances. She dropped out of high school to work as a model and study at the New Theater School. She spent two seasons working on stage in the Catskills before appearing in the national stage production of Meet the People in ¡94¡. She was subsequently cast in Max Reinhardt’s Rosalinda, an English-language version of the opera Die Fledermaus. She was cast in a small comic role, which grew larger as Reinhardt became more impressed by her performance. She was brought to Hollywood by Columbia Pictures president Harry Cohn, and made her film debut in ¡943’s What a Woman! She appeared in small roles in a handful of films including The Racket Man (¡944), Sailor’s Holiday (¡944), Knickerbocker Holiday (¡944), Cover Girl (¡944), She’s a Soldier Too (¡944), Together Again (¡944), Together Again (¡944), Tonight and Every Night (¡945), Dancing in Manhattan (¡945), Escape in the Fog (¡945), A Thousand and One Nights (¡945), The Fighting Guardsman (¡946), Two Smart People (¡946), New Orleans (¡947), Living in a Big Way (¡947), The Gangster (¡947), and Killer McCoy (¡947). After a series of bit parts, she gained notice for her role as Pat Kroll, the waitress strangled by Ronald Colman, in ¡947’s A Double Life. She gained a contract with Universal Pictures, and appeared in more substantial roles in such films as Larceny (¡948), Red River (¡948), Cry of the City (¡948), Take One False Step (¡949), The Great Gatsby (¡949), Johnny Stool Pigeon (¡949), Winchester ’73 (¡950) with Jimmy Stewart, South Sea Sinner (¡950), Frenchie (¡950), The Raging Tide (¡95¡), He Ran All the Way (¡95¡), and Behave Yourself! (¡95¡). Winters earned her first Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role as the ill-fated Alice Tripp in ¡95¡’s A Place in the Sun with Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor. She continued to star in such films as Phone Call from a Stranger (¡952), Meet Danny Wilson (¡952) with Frank Sinatra,
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Untamed Frontier (¡952), My Man and I (¡952), To Dorothy a Son (¡954), Tennessee Champ (¡954), Saskatchewan (¡954), Playgirl (¡954), Executive Suite (¡954), Mambo (¡954), I Am a Camera (¡955), The Big Knife (¡955), I Died a Thousand Times (¡955), and The Treasure of Pancho Villa (¡955). She continued to take acting classes at night from Charles Laughton, who cast her in his film The Night of the Hunter (¡955). She starred as waitress Willa Harper, who is murdered by Robert Mitchum. Winters subsequently returned to New York, where she joined the Actors Studio and appeared on Broadway in A Hatful of Rain. She also appeared frequently on television, guest starring in such series as The Ford Television Theatre, Producer’s Showcase, The Alcoa Hour, The United States Steel Hour, Climax!, Wagon Train, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, The DuPont Show of the Month, Alcoa Premiere, and Kraft Television Theatre. She resumed her film career as a respected character actress, earning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mrs. Van Daan, the middle aged Dutch Jew hiding from the Nazis in ¡959’s The Diary of Anne Frank. She also appeared in the films Odds Against Tomorrow (¡959), Let No Man Write My Epitaph (¡960), The Young Savages (¡96¡), Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita (¡962) as the mother and romantic rival of the title nymphette, The Chapman Report (¡962), The Balcony (¡963), Wives and Lovers (¡963), Time of Indi›erence (¡964), A House Is Not a Home (¡964), and The Greatest Story Ever Told (¡965). She earned a second Oscar for Best Supporting Actress as Rose-Ann D’Arcy, the bigoted mother of a blind girl, in ¡965’s A Patch of Blue. Her other film credits include The Three Sisters (¡966), Harper (¡966), Alfie (¡966) with Michael Caine, Enter Laughing (¡967), The Scalphunters (¡968), Wild in the Streets (¡968), Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell (¡968), Arthur! Arthur! (¡969), The Mad Room (¡969), Roger Corman’s Bloody Mama (¡970) as Ma Barker, How Do I Love Thee? (¡970), Flap (¡970), Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (¡97¡), What’s the Matter with Helen? (¡97¡) with Debbie Reynolds, and Something to Hide (¡972). She earned another Academy Award nomination as the spunky grandmother, Belle Rosen, in the ¡972 disaster film The Poseidon Adventure. She continued to appear in such films as Blume in Love (¡973), Cleopatra Jones
Shelley Winters
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(¡973), Poor Pretty Eddy (¡975), Journey into Fear (¡975), Diamonds (¡975), That Lucky Touch (¡975), Next Stop, Greenwich Village (¡976), Roman Polanski’s The Tenant (¡976) as the Concierge, Mimi Bluette ... Fiore del Mio Giardino (¡977), Black Journal (¡977), Tentacles (¡977), A Very Little Man (¡977), Pete’s Dragon (¡977), King of the Gypsies (¡978), The Visitor (¡979), City on Fire (¡979), The Magician of Lublin (¡979), S.O.B. (¡98¡), Looping (¡98¡), Fanny Hill (¡983), Ellie (¡984), Over the Brooklyn Bridge (¡984), Deja Vu (¡985), Very Close Quarters (¡986), Witchfire (¡986), The Delta Force (¡986), Purple People Eater (¡988), An Unremarkable Life (¡989), Touch of a Stranger (¡990), Stepping Out (¡99¡), The Pickle (¡993), The Silence of the Hams (¡994), Heavy (¡995), Backfire! (¡995), Jury Duty (¡995), Mrs. Munck (¡995), Raging Angels (¡995), Jane Campion’s The Portrait of a Lady (¡996) as Nicole Kidman’s aunt, Gideon (¡999), and La Bomba (¡999). Winters also appeared in several tele-films including Revenge (¡97¡), A Death of Innocence (¡97¡), Adventures of Nick Carter (¡972), The Devil’s Daughter (¡973), Big Rose: Double Trouble (¡974), The Sex Symbol (¡974), The Initiation of Sarah (¡978), Elvis (¡979) as Gladys Presley, The French Atlantic A›air (¡979), and Alice in Wonderland (¡985) as the Dodo Bird. Winters was also the voice of Crystal in the animated tele-films Frosty’s Winter Wonderland (¡976) and Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July (¡979). Her other television credits include Ben Casey, Batman as the villainous Ma Parker, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Here’s Lucy, McCloud, Chico and the Man, Kojak, Vega$, The Love Boat, Hotel, and Hawaiian Heat. She also starred in the recurring role of Roseanne’s grandmother, Nana Mary, in the television sit-com Roseanne from ¡994 to ¡996. Winters was married to Army Air Force captain Paul Mayer during World War II. They divorced after the war ended. Winters married Italian actor Vittorio Gassman in ¡952. They were divorced two years later after the birth of a daughter, Vittoria. Her subsequent marriage to actor Anthony Franciosa lasted from ¡957 to ¡960. She is survived by her long-time companion Jerry DeFord.
WOLF, BERNY Veteran animator Berny Wolf died in Los Angeles, California, on September 7, 2006. He was 95. Wolf was born in New York City on July ¡8, ¡9¡¡. He began working in animation in New York in the early ¡920s working on the silent Krazy Kat cartoons as an inker. He soon began drawing for Max Fleischer’s Inkwell Studios where he worked on such Koko Song Cartoons as Goodbye My Lady Love (¡924) and East Side, West Side (¡926). He worked frequently on Betty Boop cartoons in the early ¡930s including Minding the Baby (¡93¡), Betty Boop’s Bamboo Isle (¡932), Betty Boop’s Bizzy Bee (¡932), Minnie the Moocher (¡932) where he rotoscoped Cab Calloway as a ghostly walrus, and The Old Man of the Mountain (¡933). He subsequently worked at Ub Iwerks’ studio, animating the Willie Whopper series and ComiColor cartoons, including Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp (¡934) and Ali Baba (¡936). He frequently collaborated with Grim Natwick to design characters for such car-
toons as Viva Willie (¡934), The Valiant Tailor (¡934), and Summertime (¡935). Later in the decade he began working at Disney Studios, making his debut with the cartoon Donald’s Nephews (¡938). He was instrumental in animating Jiminy Cricket for the ¡940 feature Pinocchio, and was an animator on the Pastroal Symphony sequence for the ¡940 classic Fantasia. He left Disney after working on Dumbo (¡94¡) and did some layout art for Tex Avery before being drafted during World War II. He served as an animation director for the First Motion Picture Unit during the war. Wolf formed the independent company Animedia Productions after the war and was involved in commercial advertisements from the ¡950s. He continued to work frequently for television through the ¡980s, producing ¡985’s The Little Troll Prince, and several Scooby-Doo films including Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf (¡988) and Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (¡988).
Berny Wolf
WOLFBERG, LEE Producer Lee Wolf berg died of cancer in Beverly Hills, California, on July 8, 2006. He was 76. Wolf berg was born in Linden, New Jersey, on December 30, ¡929. He began working in show business in the mid–¡950s in New York. He moved to Los Angeles in ¡964 where he began a personal management and production company, representing such clients as Vic Damone, Pat Morita, and Jackie Gayle. Wolf berg produced the short-lived ¡97¡ comedy television series The Partners starring Don Adams and Rupert Crosse. He was also featured in a small role in the ¡976 film Harry and Walter Go to New York. WOLINSKY, JUDITH Film producer Judith Wolinsky died of cancer in Los Angeles on June ¡3, 2006. She was 56. Wolinsky was born on January 27, ¡950. She was often associated with filmmaker Henry Jaglom beginning with ¡983’s Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?, where she served as post-production supervisor. She served as producer of most of Jaglom’s subsequent films including Someone to Love (¡987), New Year’s Day (¡989), Babyfever (¡994), Last Summer in the Hamptons (¡995), Deja Vu (¡997), Festival in Cannes (200¡), and Going Shopping (2005). She also produced Victoria Foyt’s 2006 short film The Sweet Spot. (See photograph on page 407.)
407
Judith Wolinsky
WOOD, KATHY Kathleen O’Hara Wood, the widow of cult film director Ed Wood, died of cancer of the esophagus in a Hollywood, California, hospital on June 26, 2006. She was 84. She was born on May 27, ¡922. She and Wood were together for 27 years before the director’s death in December of ¡978. She also served as art director on Wood’s ¡959 film Night of the Ghouls. She was portrayed by Patricia Arquette in Tim Burton’s ¡994 bio-film Ed Wood starring Johnny Depp. She also appeared in the ¡994 documentary Ed Wood: Look Back in Angora, and had a small role in the ¡998 film I Woke Up Early the Day I Died, based on an Ed Wood script. WOODNUTT, JOHN British character actor John Woodnutt died at Denville Hall, Northwood, England, on January 3, 2006. He was 8¡. Woodvile was born in London on March 3, ¡924. He began his career on stage in the early ¡940s and became a prolific television actor in the ¡950s. He was featured as Mr. Quelch in the series Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School in ¡954, and was Slago in The Black Brigand in ¡956. He also appeared in television productions of One (¡956), Queen’s Champion (¡958), The Rebel Heiress (¡958), The River Flows East (¡962), Swizzlewick (¡964), Curtain of Fear (¡964), Rogues’ Gallery (¡968), The Six Wives of Henry VIII (¡970) as Henry VII, The Boy from Space (¡97¡), The Secret Garden (¡975) as Mr. Archibald
John Woodnutt
2006 • Obituaries
Craven, Bill Brand (¡976), Children of the Stones (¡977), The Doombolt Chase (¡978), Malice Aforethought (¡979), Sense and Sensibility (¡98¡), Stalky & Co. (¡982), Macbeth (¡983), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (¡983), Antigone (¡984), Oedipus the King (¡984), Mr. Stabs (¡984), The Pickwick Papers (¡985), Hitler’s S.S.: Portrait of Evil (¡985), The Importance of Being Earnest (¡986), Porterhouse Blue (¡987), After the War (¡989), and Never Come Back (¡990). He also appeared as Merlin in the Knightmare series from ¡987 to ¡990, and was Sir Watkyn Bassett in Jeeves and Wooster from ¡99¡ to ¡993. His other television credits include roles in episodes of Studio Four, Suspense, The Saint, No Hiding Place, Sherlock Holmes, Dixon of Dock Green, Softly Softly, The Avengers, The Troubleshooters, Adam Adamant Lives!, The Corridor People, Wednesday Play, Thirty-Minute Theatre, Out of the Unknown, Callan, Judge Dee, The First Lady, Special Branch, Codename, The Adventures of Don Quick, The Tomorrow People, Crown Court, Z Cars, Public Eye, The Sweeney, Shoestring, Lady Killers, Doctor Who in several episodes in the ¡970s, The Bill, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Terry and June, No Place Like Home, and Wycli›e. Woodnutt also appeared in several films during his career including Young Jacobites (¡959), Inn for Trouble (¡960), The Scarlet Blade (¡963), Man in the Middle (¡964), All Neat in Black Stockings (¡968), Oh! What a Lovely War (¡969), Connecting Rooms (¡970), Who Dares Wins (¡982), Champions (¡984), Lifeforce (¡985), Mack the Knife (¡990), Bullseye! (¡990), and Dragonheart: A New Beginning (2000).
WOODS, MICHAEL JEFFREY Michael Jeffrey Woods, the younger brother of actor James Woods, died of a heart attack in Warwick, Rhode Island, on July 26, 2006. He was 49. The younger Woods operated a video store in Warwick, Rhode Island, for fifteen years and was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor in Warwick in 2000 and 2004. He also ran a celebrity poker web site with his brother. Woods appeared in small roles in several films of his brother’s films, including The Hard Way (¡99¡), Straight Talk (¡992), Killer: A Journal of Murder (¡996), Another Day in Paradise (¡997), and Race to Space (200¡), and the tele-film Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story (2003).
Michael Je›rey Woods
Obituaries • 2006
408
WREFORD , EDGAR British actor Edgar Wreford died in England at Denville Hall, the actor’s retirement home, on January 20, 2006. He was 82. Wreford was born in England on December 29, ¡923. He began his career on stage in the late ¡940s after training at the Old Vic School. He earned good notices for his performance in Douglas Seale’s ¡95¡ revival of Henry VI Part 2. He appeared in numerous theatrical productions over the next three decades until Parkinson’s disease forced his retirement. He also appeared in the films Suspended Alibi (¡956) and The Knack ... and How to Get It (¡965), and television productions of Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill (¡974) and Lillie (¡978). His other television credits include roles in episodes of Top Secret, Studio Four, The Avengers, Crane, The Mask of Janus, Detective, Van der Valk, The Camforth Practice, and Blake’s 7.
as True Danziger in the science fiction television series Earth 2 in ¡994 and ¡995. She was also seen in the telefilms The Secretary (¡995), The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy (¡998), and Safety Patrol (¡998). She and her sister, Tori, were also featured in the ¡996 film Shiloh. She was diagnosed with restrictive cardiomyopathy after su›ering several bouts of pneumonia in the late ¡990s. She underwent a heart transplant in 2000. Wright had married her fiancé Brent Morris in London two weeks before her death. They had just completed their honeymoon in Hawaii and she had planned to teach high school English in the fall.
WRIGHT, REBECCA Ballet dancer Rebecca Wright died of cancer in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on January 29, 2006. She was 58. Wright was born in Springfield, Ohio, on December 5, ¡947. She began performing with the Jo›rey Ballet in ¡966, and was noted for her starring roles in Gerald Arpino’s ballets Trinity, Kettentanz, Confetti, and Valentine. She also starred in productions of John Cranko’s Pineapple Poll, Sir Frederick Ashton’s Facade and Dream as the fairy queen Titania, and Leonide Massine’s Beau Danube. She performed with the American Ballet Theater from ¡975 to ¡982, appearing in productions of Mary Skeaping’s Sleeping Beauty and Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Don Quixote. Wright also danced in a featured role in the ¡982 Broadway musical Merlin, and performed on television in productions of Harlequin (¡974), The Nutcracker (¡977), and The Merry Widow (¡983). She was also seen in several films including The Turning Point (¡977) and Woody Allen’s Stardust Memories (¡980).
Edgar Wreford
WRIGHT, J. MADISON Child model and actress J. Madison Wright died of a heart attack in Lexington, Kentucky, on July 2¡, 2006. She was 2¡. Wright was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on July 29, ¡984. She began her career as a child model at the age of five and was soon working with the Eileen Ford Modeling Agency. She and her family moved to Los Angeles in the early ¡990s so that she could pursue an acting career. She was featured in episodes of Grace Under Fire, The Nanny, ER, and The Burning Zone. Wright starred Rebecca Wright
J. Madison Wright
WYATT, JANE Actress Jane Wyatt, who portrayed the prototypical ¡950s television mom in the popular sitcom Father Knows Best and was later the Earthling mother of Star Trek’s half–Vulcan Mr. Spock, died at her home in Bel Air, California, on October 20, 2006. She was 95. Wyatt was born to a prominent New York family in Campgaw, New Jersey, on August ¡2, ¡9¡¡. She attended Barnard College for two years before embarking on an acting career, apprenticing at the Berkshire Playhouse in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. She made her Broadway debut in the ¡93¡ production of A.A. Milne’s Give Me Yesterday. Two years later she succeeded Margaret Sullavan in the hit comedy Din-
409 ner at Eight, and continued to star in the touring production of the show. She was given a contract from Universal and made her film debut in the ¡934 adaptation of John Galsworthy’s novel One More River. She remained in Hollywood, starring in such features as Great Expectations (¡934), We’re Only Human (¡935), and The Luckiest Girl in the World (¡936). Wyatt earned acclaim for her role as school teacher Sondra Bizet, who romanced Ronald Colman in the magical region of Tibet known as Shangri-La in Frank Capra’s ¡937 film version of Lost Horizon. She returned to Broadway for the ¡940 production of Cli›ord Odets’ Night Music, and also starred in the plays Hope for the Best (¡945) and Lillian Hellman’s Autumn Garden (¡95¡). She also remained a popular leading lady in films, starring in such features as Girl from God’s Country (¡940), Kisses for Breakfast (¡94¡), Hurricane Smith (¡94¡), Weekend for Three (¡94¡), Army Surgeon (¡942), The Navy Comes Through (¡942), Buckskin Frontier (¡943), The Kansan (¡943), None but the Lonely Heart (¡944) with Cary Grant, Strange Conquest (¡946), The Bachelor’s Daughters (¡946), Boomerang! (¡947) with Dana Andrews, Gentleman’s Agreement (¡947), Pitfall (¡948), No Minor Vices (¡948), Bad Boy (¡949), Canadian Pacific (¡949), Task Force (¡949) with Gary Cooper, House by the River (¡950), Our Very Own (¡950), My Blue Heaven (¡950), The Man Who Cheated Himself (¡950), and Criminal Lawyer (¡95¡). Wyatt also began a long-running career as a television star in the ¡950s, appearing in episodes of Nash Airflyte Theatre, Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows, Lights Out, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, The Ford Television Theatre, Robert Montgomery Presents, The Philip Morris Playhouse, The Motorola Television Hour, Playwrights ’56, Studio One, General Electric Theater, Play of the Week, The United States Steel Hour, and Wagon Train. She became a household name with her performance as Margaret Anderson, the television wife of Robert Young, in the family sitcom Father Knows Best from ¡954 to ¡960. Wyatt three Emmy Awards for her work on the series. She reprised her role as Margaret Anderson, now a grandmother, in the ¡977 telefilm Father Knows Best: Home for Christmas. She also continued to make occasional film appearances in such features as Interlude (¡957), The Two Little Bears, and Never Too Late (¡965). Wyatt remained active on television, guest-starring in episodes of Going My Way, Alcoa Premiere, The Bell Telephone Hour, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Insight, and Love, American Style. She made her mark in another iconic role in the ¡967 “Journey to Babel” episode of the science fiction series Star Trek, starring as Amanda, the Earth woman who married a Vulcan ambassador and became the mother of Mr. Spock. Wyatt reprised her role on the big screen twenty years later in ¡986’s Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. She was also featured in numerous tele-films including My Father and My Mother (¡968), Weekend of Terror (¡970), Neighbors (¡97¡), You’ll Never See Me Again (¡973), Tom Sawyer (¡973) as Aunt Polly, Katherine (¡975), Amelia Earhart (¡976), Treasure of Matecumbe (¡976), Superdome (¡978), A Love A›air: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story (¡978), The Nativity (¡978), The Millionaire
2006 • Obituaries
Jane Wyatt (as Amanda, with Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, from Star Trek)
(¡978), Missing Children: A Mother’s Story (¡982), Ladies of the Corridor (¡986), Amityville IV: The Evil Escapes (¡989), and Simisola (¡996). Her other television credits include episodes of Here Come the Brides, The Virginian, Alias Smith and Jones, Owen Marshall Counselor at Law, Marcus Welby, M.D., Medical Center, Gibbsville, Quincy, Happy Days, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Starman, Hotel, St. Elsewhere in the recurring role of Katherine Auschlander, and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Wyatt was married to Edgar Bethune Ward from ¡935 until his death in 2000. Her survivors include their sons Christopher Ward and Michael Ward.
WYPRACHTIGER, HANS German character actor Hans Wyprachtiger died of a stroke in Prien am Chiemsee, Germany, on May 6, 2006. He was 76. Wyprachtiger was born in Basel, Switzerland, on September 29, ¡929. He was featured in numerous film and television productions from the ¡960s. His film credits include Konig Drosselbart (¡97¡), The Odessa File (¡974), Son of Hitler (¡978), Fabian (¡980), Veronika Voss (¡982), Kamikaze ¡989 (¡982), Ace of Aces (¡982), The House of the Spirits (¡993), Lucie Aubrac (¡997), and Ade (2000). Wyprachtiger was also featured in television productions of Heidi (¡978), Kein Reihenhaus fur Robin Hood (¡98¡), Les Faucons (¡994), Inka Connection (¡995), Tatort— Am Ende der Welt (¡998), and Tauern-
Hans Wyprachtiger
Obituaries • 2006
410
gold (2003). His other television credits include episodes of Der Alte and Die Schwarzwaldklinik.
WYSOCKA, LIDIA Polish actress Lidia Wysocka died in Warsaw, Poland, on January 2, 2006. She was 89. Wysocka was born in Rogaczew, Poland, on June 24, ¡9¡6. She began her film career in the ¡930s in such features as Love Only Me (¡935), Daddy Gets Married (¡936), Mother’s Heart (¡938), Anguish (¡938), The Heather (¡938), and Doktor Murek (¡939). Wysocka resumed her career on stage and in films in the ¡950s, appearing in the films Irene, Go Home! (¡955), The Case of Pilot Maresz (¡956), Nikodern Dyzma (¡956), and Goodbye to the Past (¡956).
YEO , LESLIE Canadian actor and director Leslie Yeo died of a brain tumor in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on September ¡5, 2006. He was 9¡. Yeo was born in Swindon, England, on May 25, ¡9¡5. He began his career on stage with repertory companies in England. After serving in the Royal Air Force during World War II he returned to the stage and began touring regularly in Canada with the London Theatre Company. He moved to Ontario, Canada, in the late ¡950s where he continued to perform in theatrical productions. He also directed and produced shows with the Stratford Festival, the Royal Alexandra Theatre, the Manitoba Theatre Centre, and many other venues. Yeo also appeared in several films during his career including Robert Baldwin: A Matter of Principle (¡96¡), Arch Oboler’s ¡ + ¡ (¡96¡), The Luck of Ginger Co›ey (¡964), The First Time (¡969), The Discoverers (¡972), Improper Channels (¡98¡), Dreams Beyond Memory (¡987), Bye Bye Blues (¡989), L’Automne Sauvage (¡992), The Counterfeit Contessa (¡994), Sleeping Dogs Lie (¡998), and Milkman (¡998). Yeo was also seen on television in episodes of Hudson’s Bay, Seaway, The Forest Rangers, The Littlest Hobo, The Twilight Zone, Street Legal, TekWar, Side E›ects, Traders, Cold Squad, Code Name: Eternity, and Wind at My Back.
Lidia Wysocka
YATES, EDWARD J. Edward J. Yates, who directed the musical television series Bandstand for ¡7 years, died in Media, Pennsylvania, on June 2, 2006. He was 87. Yates was born on September ¡6, ¡9¡8. He began his career in television as a boom operator and cameraman at local Philadelphia stations. He began directing Bandstand for Philadelphia’s WFIL-TV in October of ¡952 with Bob Horn as host. Dick Clark took over for Horn in ¡956 and it became part of ABC’s afternoon schedule the following year as American Bandstand. Yates remained with the show when it moved to Los Angeles in ¡964. He retired from directing American Bandstand in ¡969.
Leslie Yeo
YILMAZ , ATIF Turkish film director and writer Atif Yilmaz died in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 5,
Edward J. Yates Atif Yilmaz
411 2006. He was 80. Yilmaz was born in Mersin, Turkey, on December 9, ¡925. He directed over ¡00 films in a career that began in the early ¡950s. His numerous film credits include The Bloody Cry (¡95¡), The Sob (¡953), The North Star (¡954), If a Woman Loves... (¡955), The First and the Last (¡955), The Girl Who Watched the Mountain (¡955), These Are Five Patients (¡956), This Land’s Children (¡958), The Fallow Deer (¡958), The Guilty One (¡960), The Death Curtain (¡960), Shame (¡972), Salako (¡974), The Su›ering Ones (¡975), Tuzak (¡976), The Girl with the Red Scarf (¡977), The Raid (¡977), The Little Sparrow (¡979), Heart of a Father (¡979), The Sacrifice (¡979), Mine (¡982), A Sip of Love (¡984), Her Name Is Vasfiye (¡985), The Windmill (¡986), Aaah Belinda (¡986), Devil, My Friend (¡988), Berdel (¡990), Walking After Midnight (¡992), and After the Fall (¡999). His final film, The Pseudo Bride, was released in 2005.
2006 • Obituaries
Souls (¡943), A Letter of Love (¡943), Peach Blossom (¡945), Soledad (¡947), La Voragine (¡949), El Dolor de los Hijos (¡949), Tierra Baja (¡95¡), La Marquesa del Barrio (¡95¡), Little Love of My Life (¡952), The Mad Woman (¡952), El Enamorado (¡952), La Alegre Casada (¡952), Anxiety (¡953), La Infame (¡954), Watch Out for Love (¡954), Music School (¡955), El Gran Espectaculo (¡958), The Guns of Juana Gallo (¡96¡), Los Astronautas (¡964), La Vida de Pedro Infante (¡966), Los Cuatro Juanes (¡966), Juan Colorado (¡966), The Two Rivals (¡966), Los Alegres Aguilares (¡967), The Sin of Adam and Eve (¡969), Estafa de Amor (¡970), Claudia y el Deseo (¡970), Jesus, Nuestro Senor (¡97¡), Jesus, Mary and Joseph (¡972), Lo que mas Queremos (¡972), 96 Horas de Amor (¡983), and The Life of Jesus Christ (¡986). Zacarias also served as executive producer for Alfredo Zacharias’ ¡980 horror film Demonoid. He was also the author of numerous novels and short stories.
YUMA , COWBOY BOB Frankie Vaughn, who wrestled in the Arizona area throughout the ¡970s as Cowboy Bob Yuma, died in Arizona after a long battle with lung disease on May 23, 2006. He was 55. Vaughn was born on August 22, ¡950. He was trained by Tito Montez and began his wrestling career in the Pacific Northwest in the early ¡970s. He soon moved to the Arizona area, where he often teamed with Montez. Yuma engaged in a vicious feud with ring villain Jimmy Kent. Known in the ring for his bulldog headlock and sleeper, he was a two-time holder of the Arizona State Championship. He and Montez also held the Western States Tag Team Title for nearly three years in the mid–¡970s. Miguel Zacarias Nogaim
ZACCHINI, DUINA Duina Zacchini, a member of the famed Zacchini family of circus performers, died in Nashville, Tennessee, on December ¡3, 2006. She was 87. She was the daughter of Edmond Zacchini, who is credited with developing the Human Cannonball act for circuses. The Zacchini family moved to American in the early ¡930s. When her brothers went into the armed forces during World War II, Duina and her sister Victoria were trained for the act. They toured
Cowboy Bob Yuma
ZACARIAS NOGAIM , MIGUEL Mexican film director Miguel Zacarias Nogaim died of a heart attack in Cuernavaca, Mexico, on April 20, 2006. He was ¡0¡. Zacarias was born in Mexico City on March ¡9, ¡905. He studied photography and drama in the United States before returning to Mexico in ¡932. He produced, directed and wrote numerous films in Mexico from the early ¡930s. His many film credits include Over the Waves (¡933), Tricks of Life (¡934), Rosario (¡935), The Macabre Trunk (¡936), The Empty Cradle (¡938), Papa’s Intrigues (¡939), Cantinflas y los Censos (¡940), Papa se Enreda Otra Vez (¡942), The Rock of
Duina Zacchini
Obituaries • 2006
412
with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus as the Zacchini Sisters. The sisters also made appearances on such television programs as The Ed Sullivan Show. They were also spokespersons for such products as Quaker Pu›ed Wheat. After her retirement, Duina Zacchini owned and operated an antique shop.
ZAKAREISHVILI, LEVAN Georgian film director Levan Zakareishvili died of a heart attack in Tbilisi, Georgia, on August 2¡, 2006. He was 53. Zakareishvili was born in Tbilisi, then part of the Soviet Union, in ¡953. He studied filmmaking in Moscow and directed the short film Father in ¡983. He returned to Tbilisi after Georgia gained independence in ¡99¡ and made his first feature film They the following year. Zakareishvili was an opponent of the regime of President Eduard Shevardnadze and it took nearly a decade for his next feature to be made. Tbilisi-Tbilisi was completed in 2005 after the ouster of Shevardnadze. Zakareishvili was working was a film professor in Tbilisi at the time of his death.
(¡958), Answer to Violence (¡959), Beware of Yeti! (¡96¡), Samson (¡96¡), Two Gentlemen ’N’ (¡962), The First Day of Freedom (¡964), The Saragossa Manuscript (¡965), The Ashes (¡965), The Doll (¡968), The Criminal Who Stole a Crime (¡969), How I Unleashed World War II (¡970), Blue as the Black Sea (¡973), The Gorgon Case (¡977), Passion (¡978), Quiet Is the Night (¡978), Death of a President (¡978), Full Moon (¡980), Fiasco of Operation Terror (¡980), The Birthday (¡980), Damned Earth (¡982), Dignity (¡984), Indebted to Death (¡985), The Golden Train (¡987), The Faithful River (¡987), The Birthday Trip (¡990), ¡968: Szczesliqego Nowego Roku (¡992), and Stara Basn. Kiedy Slonce Bylo Bogiem (2003). Zaliwski also appeared frequently on Polish television.
ZBONEK, EDWIN Austrian film director Edwin Zbonek died in Sankt Polten, Austria, on May 29, 2006. He was 78. Zbonek was born in Linz, Austria, on March 28, ¡928. He began working as a director for radio plays and also helmed numerous theatrical productions. He made his films debut in the early ¡960s, directing such features as Twenty Brave Men (¡960), Man and Beast (¡963), The Mad Executioners (¡963), The Monster of London City (¡964), and Third of November ¡9¡8 (¡965). He was a director of the Viannale Festival from ¡974 to ¡988.
Levan Zakareishvili
ZALIWSKI, TOMAWSZ Polish actor Tomawsz Zaliwski died in Poland on July ¡3, 2006. He was 76. Zaliwski was born in Rudzieniec, Poland, on December ¡5, ¡929. He appeared in numerous films from the early ¡950s including Three Stories (¡953), Magical Bicycle (¡955), Heroism (¡958), Two from the Big River
Tomawsz Zaliwski
Edwin Zbonek
ZENTHE, FERENC Hungarian actor Ferenc Zenthe died in Budapest, Hungary, after a long illness on July 30, 2006. He was 86. Zenthe was born in Salgotarjan, Hungary, on April 24, ¡920. He began his career on stage in ¡945 with the Pecs National Theater and performed with the Budapest Madach Theater from the early ¡950s until his death. Zenthe was also featured in numerous films including The Rising Sea (¡953), Gabor Diak (¡956), Kolyok (¡959), A Certain Major (¡960), I’ll Go to the Minister (¡962), Why Hungarian Films Are Bad (¡964), The Last Battalion (¡967), Stars of Eger (¡968), Talking Caftan (¡969), Haho, Ocsi! (¡97¡), Romanticism (¡972), Blindfold (¡975), Vuk: The Little Fox (¡98¡), The Revolt of Job (¡983), Death in Shallow Water (¡994), Europe Is Far Away (¡995), May Day Mayhem! (200¡), Sobri (2002), and Mag yar Vandor (2004). Zenthe also starred as Taki Takacs in the popular television series Szomszedok (Neighbors) in the
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2006 • Obituaries
¡990s, and appeared in television productions of Princ, a Katona (¡967), Rozsa Sandor (¡97¡), Vivat, Benyovszky! (¡975), Petofi (¡977), Komediasok (2000), and Zsaruver es Csigaver (200¡).
Eleonore Zetzsche
Ferenc Zenthe
ZERDA, JIMMY Actor and comedian Jimmy Zerda died in Texas of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Texas on February ¡7, 2006. He was 24. Zerda was born in Houston, Texas, on August 7, ¡98¡. He began performing in community theatre and spent his youth in England and Wales. He returned to the U.S. while in his teens and began working in films in the early 2000s. Zerda was featured in the films Windtalkers (2002), 976-Lars (2005), and Campaign Manager (2006). He also served as executive producer and star of the 2005 independent film Kissing Katie Holmes.
Jimmy Zerda
ZETZSCHE , ELEONORE German actress Eleonore Zetzsche died in Bochum, Germany, on June 7, 2006. She was 86. Zetzsche was born in Leipzig, Germany, in November of ¡9¡9. She was a leading stage star who performed in numerous theatrical productions of Bertold Brecht. She appeared in several films later in her career including Transatlantis (¡995) and Love Your Neighbour! (¡998). She was also featured in the ¡999 German tele-film Vor dem Ruhestand. ZINK, CHUCK Chuck Zink, who was a fixture on South Florida television for many years as Skip-
per Chuck, host of Popeye Playhouse, died in a Boca Raton, Florida, hospice on January 4, 2006. He was 80. Zink was born in South Bend, Indiana, on February 4, ¡925. He served in the U.S. Marines during World War II. After the war he began his career in radio in Pennsylvania working as a disc jockey and, later, program director. He later moved to television, where he was a newscaster. Zink relocated to Miami in ¡956 and a year later he began hosting and writing the children’s program that introduced him as Skipper Chuck. The program remained a fixture on Florida television for 23 years. Zink also hosted several Miss Universe pageants and was a longtime host of the King Orange parade in Florida. He also appeared in the ¡968 science fiction film Mission Mars.
Chuck Zinc
ZOBEL, JOSEPH Martinican author Joseph Zobel died in Ales, France, on June ¡7, 2006. He was 9¡. Zobel was born on the French island of Martinique in the town of Riviere-Salee on April 29, ¡9¡5. He began working with the local French government in the ¡930s and began writing during World War II when Martinique was ruled by the Vichy French. His first novel, Diab’la, was banned as subversive by the Vichy government and did not see publication until ¡947. Zobel subsequently moved to Paris where he wrote his best known work, the autobiographical Black Shack Alley in ¡950. He then spent much of the ¡960s in
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Africa where he worked for the state radio service in Senegal. He returned to France in ¡974 where he continued to write. Zobel achieved prominence late in life when Black Shack Alley was adapted for film in ¡983 by Euzhan Palcy and earned numerous international awards.
national touring company. The rubber-faced, heavy-set comedian also appeared on television in episodes of Early Edition, the final episode of Seinfeld, The Drew Carey Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Shield, and Prison Break. He also appeared in several films including Talent (¡998), The Bogus Witch Project (2000), The Specials (2000) as Mr. Smart, Matchstick Men (2003), and 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (2004). Zulevic also appeared in the tele-films Time Served in ¡999, and was featured as Virgil in the 2000 series The Near Future. He also wrote for the television series The Jamie Kennedy Experiment, and directed the 2005 film Baby Time Share.
Joseph Zobel
ZULEVIC, JIM Comedian Jim Zulevic died in a Chicago hospital after collapsing shortly before hosting the weekly Second City Radio Show on January 7, 2006. He was 40. Zulevic was born on February 20, ¡965. He began taking improv classes at Second City in the early ¡990s, and soon became part of the group’s
Jim Zulevic