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Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2008

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Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2008 Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture by

HARRIS M. LENTZ III

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Jefferson, North Carolina, and London

Front cover, clockwise from top left: George Carlin, Beverly Garland, Charlton Heston, Bernie Mac

ISSN 1087-9617

/

ISBN-13: 978-0-7864-3482-4

softcover : 50# alkaline paper

©2009 Harris M. Lentz, III. All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Manufactured in the United States of America

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640 www.mcfarlandpub.com

To the memory of those friends and family lost during 2008 — Forrest J Ackerman, Mitch Schaperkotter, Robert Stinnett, Rena Robilio, Steve White, Scout Alsup, Dr. Joseph Warren Kyle, J.P. Garbarini, James Manire, Dr. Joseph Parker, Brother Adrian Powers, Father Leonard Oglesby, Ruby Alsup, Kay Jones, Oscar Edmonds, Jr., and Kay Linaker, Teala Loring, Algis Budrys, Robert Jordan, Dorothy Green, Rita Quigley, Robert Asprin, Michael Pate, Beverly Garland

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I greatly appreciate the assistance of my mother, Helene Lentz, and my good friend Carla Clark. Special thanks also go to my sister, Nikki Walker, and to Bob King at Classic Images for granting permission to use information from my columns. Also, thanks to Rosa Burnett and the staff at State Technical Institute Library, Tom Weaver, Fred Davis, the late Forrest J Ackerman, John Beifuss, Ray Neilson, John Whyborn, Boyd Magers, Larry Tauber, Andrew “Captain Comics” Smith, Jimmy Walker, Tony Pruitt, Greg Bridges, Bobby Mathews, Kent Nelson, George and Leona Alsup, Betty Alsup, Toni Cerritto, Dale Warren, Andrew Clark, Aarin Prichard, Dr. Mark Hefﬁngton, Anne Taylor, Andy Branham, John Nelson, Richard Allynwood, Frank de Azpillaga, Irv Jacobs, Bill Warren, Bob Cuneo, Alun Jones, Marty Baumann, Joe Caviolo, John Hiestand, Rusty White of Entertainment Insiders, Russ Blatt of Life in Legacy, the folks at VoyForums: Celebrity Obits (especially Barbara, Peggy, Rocket, Loren, Greg, Chronicler, Rocket, Buckeye, Danny, Doc Rock, Darren, Francesca, Geazer, Teller, Ed Tracey, James, John, Kristian, Loretta, Micki, and Missy-Jo), Joy Martin, Denise Tansil, Blaine Lester, Louis and Carol Baird, Carlin and Renee Stuart, Melanie Pinson, Marlene Taylor, Greg Bridges,

Maggie Hernandez, Dia Barbee, “Doc,” Dave Ramsey, Ray and Judy Herring, Don and Elaine Kerley, Mark Webb, Wally Traylor, Jerry Van Hausen, Michael Roberts, Jennifer Eggleston, Lance Freemon, Darryl & Amy Wheeler, Grace Garcia, Daniel Dixon, Kevin Britt, Jordan Lacina, Brett Fleming, John Beck, Scotty Scheno, Pierre, Steve Tines, Josh Cleary, Katee Bengel, Ronnie McAfee, Mark Ledbetter, Dennis Traylor, Keith Thomas Price, Abby Jean Pafford, Becca, Gwen Beatley, John Anglin, Brian Theros, Jimmy Sowell, Reggie Johnson, Marvin Massey, Bob Baldwin, Kira Christensen, Shannon Carrico, Sean and Amber Hart, Heather Rich, Katie Brittney Peyton, Steve Montgomery, Keith Prince, Laura Crofcheck, Jim Fields, Michelle, Travis Williams, Jessica Housley, Timothy Cleary, Tracy Bonds, Tom Patrick, Mike Robillio, Phyllis Cline, Jason Millican, Jerry Warloh, Hayden Brown, the ﬁne folks at J. Alexanders, Willy Mofﬁtt’s, Sidecar, Hooters, T.J. Mulligans, Bubba’s, East End, the Memphis Film Festival, Ray Grier, Glinda Kelley and Suntae of the Ellendale Post Ofﬁce, the gang at AOL’s Classic Horror Film Board, Tommy Gattas, James Gattas, Emma Brown, the University of Memphis Library and the Memphis, Shelby County, and Bartlett public libraries.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments vi Introduction ix Reference Bibliography xiii The 2008 Obituaries

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INTRODUCTION The year 2008 saw the passing of another great number of celebrities from around the globe. From household names and faces to bit players and behindthe-scenes personnel, this book records the passings of those who made contributions large and small to the performing arts and popular culture. During the year we lost screen legend Paul Newman, the Oscarwinning star of The Hustler, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and many other ﬁlms. Fellow Oscar winner Charlton Heston, who starred in such epics as The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, and The Planet of the Apes, also passed on, as did rising star Heath Ledger, who captivated audiences in Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight as the Joker. The world was a little less funny with the loss of veteran comedian George Carlin, who told us the “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television”; Bernie Mac, one of the Original Kings of Comedy; Dick Martin of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh In; and Harvey Korman of The Carol Burnett Show. Roy Scheider, who faced a killer shark in Jaws and Jessica Lange’s lovely embodiment of death in All That Jazz, ﬁnally succumbed to her charms. Leading actor Richard Widmark, who made his ﬁlm debut gleefully shoving an elderly woman down a ﬂight of stairs in Kiss of Death, and Paul Scoﬁeld, who lost his head and earned an Academy Award for his role as Sir Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons, are among ﬁlmdom’s losses. Leading lady Suzanne Pleshette, who went from a victim of The Birds to the television spouse of Bob Newhart, and Beverly Garland, the Roger Corman scream queen turned My Three Sons mom, are also found within these pages. The year also saw the passing of the Beatles’ favorite guru, Transcendental Meditation pioneer Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and my own personal guru

and mentor, editor, writer, and science ﬁction fan extraordinaire Forrest J Ackerman. We also lost the iconic pin-up girl of the 1950s, Bettie Page, and the decade’s more ghoulish femme fatale, pioneering horror hostess Maila “Vampira” Nurmi. Actress and entertainer Eartha Kitt, who made a purr-fect Catwoman on the Batman television series, and light leading man Van Johnson, who also starred as the bat-villain the Minstrel, also passed on, as did Neal Hefti, who composed the classic theme to the 1960s series. Isaac Hayes, who earned an Oscar for his rousing theme from Shaft and later voiced the Chef for the animated South Park, and Rudy Ray Moore, who created the ultimate blaxploitation hero Dolemite, passed on. We also lost leading actor Mel Ferrer, actress and dancer Cyd Charisse, comedienne and singer Edie Adams, actress Nina Foch, horror leading lady Hazel Court, ﬁlm femme fatale Ann Savage, and troubled child actor Brad Renfro. Black Orpheus’ ill-fated lovers, Marpessa Dawn and Breno Mello, died weeks apart, and Never on Sunday director Jules Dassin and Oscar-winning screenwriter Abby Mann also passed on. Two of the last survivors from the 1939 ﬁlm classic, Tarleton twin Fred Crane and Scarlett’s sister Suellen, Evelyn Keyes, are now Gone with the Wind. Arthur C. Clarke, the scientist and writer who helped put communications satellites in orbit and bring 2001: A Space Odyssey to the screen, left a major void. We also lost author Michael Crichton, who penned such novels as The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park, and special effects wizard Stan Winston, who brought to ﬁlmic life the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park and the extraterrestrial horrors of Aliens. Several leading voices were silenced, including rock and roll pioneer Bo Diddley, country music

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Obituaries • 2008 stars Eddy Arnold and Jerry Reed, Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright, Four Tops vocalist Levi Stubbs, folk singing legend Odetta, and African vocalist Miriam Makeba. The year also saw the passing of the literary luminaries British playwright Harold Pinter and Russian novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, both Nobel Prize laureates. A host of Oscar-winning directors also departed, including Sydney Pollack (Out of Africa), Anthony Minghella (The English Patient) and Robert Mulligan (To Kill a Mockingbird). The year’s deaths represent a myriad of diverse talents that include pianist, mystery writer, and presidential daughter Margaret Truman Daniel; Cambodian Killing Fields survivor Dith Pran; Bozo the Clown Larry Harmon; French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent; fashion maven Mr. Blackwell; the New Zealand mountaineer who conquered Mount Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary; Deep Throat director Gerard Damiano; sportscaster Jim McKay; composer Earle Hagen, who wrote and whistled The Andy Grifﬁth Show theme; drama critic Clive Barnes; Dungeons & Dragons creator Gary Gygax; Hula Hoop inventor Richard Knerr; chess champion and eccentric Bobby Fischer; and the inspirational deliverer of “The Last Lecture,” Randy Pauch. The passings of numerous ﬁlm and television personalities are also recorded, including John Phillip Law, the blind angel from Barbarella; Chinatown’s Lt. Escobar, Perry Lopez; Robocop’s Sgt. Reed, Robert DoQui; Grease’s Blanche Hodle, comedian Dody Goodman; silent screen star Anita Page; Al Jolson’s Sonny Boy, Davey Lee; Little Rascal Buddy McDonald; John Michael Hayes, the scripter for Hitchcock’s Rear Window; Dale Evans’ stunt double Alice Van-Springsteen; Casablanca actress Joy Page; Apocalypse Now actor Sam Bottoms; Disney animator Ollie Johnston; Charlie Chan leading lady and The Blob screenwriter Kay Linaker; child actor Delmar Watson; Charles Schram, the Cowardly Lion’s make-up artist from The Wizard of Oz; Munchkin Lewis Croft; ﬁlm trailer voice-over artist Don LaFontaine, known as the “voice of God”; and character actors Don S. Davis, George Keymas, Robert Prosky, Christopher Allport, George Furth, Henry Beckman, John Furlong, Paul Sorensen, Robert Russell, House Peters, Jr., Richard Angarola, Wayne Hefﬂey, and Peter Mamakos. The world of cult ﬁlms took heavy losses with Michael Pate, the vampire gunslinger from Curse of the Undead; Indonesian horror ﬁlm queen Suzzanna;

x German horror star Dieter Eppler; Death Race 2000’s Matilda the Hun, Roberta Collins; John Forbes-Robertson, who starred as Count Dracula in Hammer’s The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires; Hammer horror’s Scandanavian sex symbol Julie Ege; Frankenstein’s Daughter mad scientist Donald Murphy; television horror host Tommy “Dr. Shock” Reynolds; Filipino cult ﬁlm director Cirio Santiago; Forbidden Planet’s electronic music composer Bebe Barron; Plan 9 from Outer Space Reverend Lynn Lemon; French makeup effects artist Benoit Lestang; Japanese special effects artists for Ultraman Koichi Takano; The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2’s Grandpa, Ken Evert; Creature from the Black Lagoon scripter Arthur Ross; and Ben Chapman, the man beneath the creature costume. A host of television performers made their ﬁnal curtain call including Mr. Bentley from The Jeffersons, Paul Benedict; Golden Girls’ matriarch Sophia, Estelle Getty; Barry Morse, who trailed The Fugitive as Inspector Gerhard; Monk’s psychiatrist Dr. Kroger, Stanley Kamel; The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.’s Lord Bowler, Julius Carry; Hogan’s Heroes’ Sgt. Kinchloe, Ivan Dixon; Rawhide’s Clay Forrester, Charles H. Gray; Starsky and Hutch’s Captain Dobey, Bernie Hamilton; Rhoda’s husband Joe, David Groh; Kung Fu: The Legend Continues’ The Ancient, Kim Chan; Peter Gordeno, star of the cult sci-ﬁ series UFO; All in the Family’s Barney Hefner and The Brady Bunch’s Sam the Butcher, Allan Melvin; Peter Kastner, the star of the legendary bomb The Ugliest Girl in Town; Hee Haw comic Jim Hager; and soap opera stars Beverlee McKinsey, Irene Dailey, Larry Haines, Eileen Herlie, and Shell Kepler. The world of Star Trek was hit hard over the past year with losses that include Majel Barrett Roddenberry, the creator’s widow, who appeared in all aspects of the franchise; Alexander Courage, who composed the opening theme for the original series; Joseph Pevney, a frequent director for the original series; and Star Trek fandom pioneer Joan Winston. Several familiar faces from reality television passed on including Amazing Race competitor Margaretta Groark; Blush: The Search for the Next Great Make-Up Artist ﬁnalist Todd Homme; A Double Shot of Love contestant Kandace Hutchinson; and Australian Idol ﬁnalist Levi Kereama. The world of political punditry was lessened with the loss of legendary conservative writer and spokesman William F. Buckley, Jr., White House press secretary and

xi political commentator Tony Snow, and Meet the Press host Tim Russert. We also lost several lovelies that graced the centerfolds of Playboy magazine over the decades including Diane Webber, Tiffany Sloan, Carol Vitale, and Debbie Boostrom. Other notable musical passings include big band singers Jo Stafford and Connie Haines; Marilyn Manson bandmate Gidget Gein; Sons of the Pioneers singer Dale Warren; Dave Clark Five lead singer Mike Smith; “Daytime Believer” songwriter John Stewart; Motown producer and songwriter Norman Whitﬁeld; Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler; Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Norman Dello Joio; operatic soprano Gail Robinson; Jimi Hendrix band members Mitch Mitchell and Buddy Miles; tenor Giuseppe di Stefano; Lou Teicher of the piano duo Ferrante and Teicher; Dewey Bramlett of the pop group Delaney and Bonnie and Friends; and rappers MC Breed, KL, Johnny J. Jackson, and VL Mike. Musicians and singers throughout the world are also part of this year’s necrology including Peruvian multi-octave vocalist Yma Sumac; Australian Aboriginal didgeridoo player Alan Dargin; Hawaiian slack-key guitarist Ray Kane; Japanese taiko drummer Daihachi Oguchi; Swiss yodeler Ruedi Rymann; one-armed Mexican violinist Angel Tavira; blind blues guitarist Jeff Healey; Hawaiian singer Aunty Genoa Leilani Keawi; gospel singers Dottie Rambo and Ira Tucker of the Dixie Hummingbirds; Irish folk singer Ronnie Drew; and German singer Hannelore Jacob of the Hampster Dancing Jacob Sisters. The literary losses of the past year also include Pulitzer Prize–winning author Studs Terkel; mystery writer Donald E. Westlake; Harry Flashman creator George MacDonald Fraser; Fletch creator Gregory Mcdonald; detective novelist Tony Hillerman; and science ﬁction writers Robert Asprin, Thomas Disch, and Algis Budrys. Several leading comic ﬁgures passed on including Howard the Duck creator Steve Gerber; Little Annie Fanny cartoonist Will Elder; and the creators of The Rocketeer (Dave Stevens), Witchblade (Michael Turner), and Hazel (Ted Key). Professional wrestling, also known as sports entertainment, saw the passing of such legendary characters as Killer Kowalski, Elephant Boy, Chief White Owl, Oni Wiki Wiki, Roughhouse Fargo, Penny Banner, Judy Grable, Rudy Kay, and Special Delivery Jones. The rising sport of mixed martial arts also lost several young competitors under tragic

2008 • Obituaries circumstances including Evan Tanner, Justin Levens, and Justin Eilers. The numerous entries range from break dancer Frosty Freeze to prima ballerina Rosella Hightower; from Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann, who discovered LSD, to cult documentary director Robert Ground of The Weird World of LSD; and from Johnny Grant, the honorary mayor of Hollywood to Ali Oop, the kissing bear. This book provides a single source that notes the deaths of all major and many minor ﬁgures in the ﬁelds of ﬁlm, television, cartoons, theatre, music and popular literature throughout the world. The obituaries contain pertinent details of deaths including date, place and cause, of more than 1330 celebrities. Biographical information and career highlights and achievements are also provided. I have also included a complete-as-possible ﬁlmography for ﬁlm and television performers. I have discontinued the practice of including citations with individual entries, as more often than not I have utilized online sources for much of the information. Both print and online resources used are listed below and in the bibliography. A photograph has been included for the majority of the individuals. I have been writing obituaries of ﬁlm personalities for more than 30 years, beginning with a column in Forry Ackerman’s Famous Monsters of Filmland in the late 1970s. Many of the ﬁlm obituaries in this work are taken from my monthly column in Classic Images (P.O. Box 809, Muscatine, IA 52761), a newspaper devoted to classic ﬁlms and their performers. Information on the passing of the individuals found has been gathered from a myriad of sources. Primary sources include the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Times (of London), the Washington Post, Variety, Time, People, TV Guide and Newsweek. Other sources include Boyd Mager’s Western Clippings, the Memphis Commercial Appeal, the Hollywood Reporter, the (Manchester) Guardian, the Comics Buyer’s Guide, Locus, Pro Wrestling Torch, Psychotronic Video, the Comics Journal and Facts on File. Several sources on the internet have also been helpful, including Voyager Forums Obits & Pieces (formerly Celebrity Obits) (http://www.voy.com/ 60649/), Life in Legacy (formerly Famous Deaths — Week in Review) (http://www.lifeinlegacy.com/), Entertainment Insiders (http://www.einsiders.com/ features/columns/2008obituaries), and the Internet Movie Database, Ltd. (http://www.us.imdb.com/).

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REFERENCE BIBLIOGRAPHY Books

Finch, Yolande. Finchy. New York: Wyndham Books, 1981. Fisher, Dennis. Horror Films Directors, 1931–1990. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1991. Hunter, Allan, ed. Chambers Concise Encyclopedia of Film and Television. New York: W&R. Chambers, 1991. Katz, Ephraim. The Film Encyclopedia, 2d ed. New York: HarperPerennial, 1994. Malloy, Alex G., ed. Comic Book Artists. Radnor, PA: Wallace-Homestead, 1993. Maltin, Leonard, ed. Movie and Video Guide 1995. New York: Signet, 1994. Marill, Alvin H. Movies Made for Television. Westport, CT: Arlington House, 1980. Mathis, Jack. Republican Conﬁdential, Vol. 2: The Players. Barrington, IL: Jack Mathis Advertising, 1992. McNeil, Alex. Total Television. New York: Penguin, 1996. Monaco, James. Who’s Who in American Film Now. New York: Zoetrope, 1988. Nash, Jay Robert, and Stanley Ralph Ross. The Motion Picture Guide. 10 vols. Chicago: Cinebooks, 1985. Nowlan, Robert A., and Gwendolyn Wright Nowlan. The Films of the Eighties. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1991. Oliviero, Jeffrey. Motion Picture Players’ Credits. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1991. Parrish, James Robert. Actors’ Television Credits 1950– 1972. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1973. _____. Film Actors Guide: Western Europe. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1977. Ragan, David. Who’s Who in Hollywood, 1900–1976. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House, 1976. Rovin, Jeff. The Fabulous Fantasy Films. South Brunswick, NJ: A.S. Barnes, 1977. Terrace, Vincent. Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials, 1937–1973. New York: Zoetrope, 1986.

The Academy Players Directory. Beverly Hills, CA : Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, 1978–2008. The American Film Institute Catalog: Feature Films, 1911–20. Patricia King Hansen, ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988. American Film Institute Catalog: Feature Films, 1921–30. Kenneth W. Munden, ed. New York : R.R. Bowker, 1971. The American Film Institute Catalog: Feature Films, 1931–40. Patricia King Hansen, ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993. American Film Institute Catalog: Feature Films, 1961–70. Richard P. Krafsur, ed. New York: R.R. Bowker, 1976. Brooks, Tim. The Complete Directory of Prime Time TV Stars. New York: Ballantine, 1987. Brown, Les. The New York Times Encyclopedia of Television. New York: Times, 1977. Bushnell, Brooks. Directors and Their Films. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1993. Chilton, John. Who’s Who of Jazz. Philadelphia, PA: Chilton, 1972. Contemporary Authors. Detroit: Gale Research, various editions. DeLong, Thomas A. Radio Stars. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1996. Dimmitt, Richard Bertrand. An Actors Guide to the Talkies. Two Volumes. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1967. Erickson, Hal. Television Cartoon Shows. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1995. Fetrow, Alan G. Feature Films, 1940–1949. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1994. _____. Feature Films, 1950–1959. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1999. _____. Sound Films, 1927–1939. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1992.

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Obituaries • 2008 _____. Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials, 1974–1984. New York: Zoetrope, 1986. Walker, John, ed. Halliwell’s Filmgoer’s and Video Viewer’s Companion, 10th Edition. New York : HarperPerennial, 1993. Watson, Elena M. Television Horror Movie Hosts. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1991. Weaver, Tom. Attack of the Monster Movie Makers: Interviews with 20 Genre Giants. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1994. _____. Eye on Science Fiction. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2003. _____. I Was a Monster Movie Maker. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2001. _____. Interviews with B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1988. _____. It Came from Weaver Five: Interviews with 20 Zany, Glib and Earnest Moviemakers in the SF and Horror Traditions of the Thirties, Forties, Fifties and Sixties. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1994. _____. Monsters, Mutants and Heavenly Creatures. Baltimore, MD: Midnight Marquee, 1996. _____. Science Fiction and Fantasy Film Flashbacks. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1998. _____. Science Fiction Stars and Horror Heroes. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1991. _____. They Fought in the Creature Features: Interviews with 23 Classic Horror, Science Fiction and Serial Stars. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1994. Who’s Who in the World. Chicago: Marquis Who’s Who, various editions. Willis, John, ed. Screen World. New York: Crown Publishers, 1958–2001.

Internet References NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS Arizona Central — http://www.azcentral.com/ BBC News — http://news.bbc.co.uk/ Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee)— http:// www.commercialappeal.com/ Der Standard — http://derstandard.at/ Guardian Unlimited — http://www.guardian.co.uk/ Hollywood Reporter — http://www.hollywoodreporter. com/hr/index.jsp The Independent — http://news.independent.co.uk/ International Herald Tribune — http://www.iht.com/ La Repubblica — http://www.repubblica.it/ Los Angeles Times — http://www.latimes.com/ The Nation — http://www.nationmultimedia.com/ New York Times — http://www.nytimes.com/ Online Newspapers — http://www.onlinenewspapers. com/ Playbill — http://www.playbill.com/news/ RTE Entertainment — http://www.rte.ie/

xiv Seattle Post-Intelligencer — http://seattlepi.nwsource. com/ The Stage — http://www.thestage.co.uk/ Star Tribune (Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota)— http://www.startribune.com/ Telegraph — http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ Time — http://www.time.com/ Times of India — http://timesoﬁndia.indiatimes.com/ TimesOnline — http://www.guardian.co.uk/ Variety — http://www.variety.com/ Xinhua — Chinan View — http://news.xinhuanet.com/ english/ Yonhap News — http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/Eng news/

OTHER SITES 1WrestlingLegends — http://www.1wrestlinglegends. com/ alt.obituaries — http://groups.google.com/group/alt. obituaries/ Bruisermania — http://bruisermania.com/ Caskets on Parade — http://www.msu.edu/~daggy/ cop/bkofdead/ Caratteristi e Protagonisti Della Commedia Italina Anni ’70 e ’80— http://www.caratteristi.it/ Cauliﬂower Alley Club — http://www.cauliﬂoweralley club.org/ Celebrity Deathwatch — http://slick.org/deathwatch/ mailarchive/maillist.html Celebrity Obits — http://www.voy.com/60649/ Classic Horror Film Board — http://pub20.ezboard. com/bmonsterkidclassichorrorforum Dead People Server — http://dpsinfo.com/dps/ Dead Porn Stars — http://www.rame.net/faq/dead porn/ Dead Rock Stars Club — http://thedeadrockstarsclub. com/ Entertainment Insiders — http://www.einsiders.com/ Find a Grave — http://www.ﬁndagrave.com/ Gary Will: Deceased Pro Wrestlers — http://www.gary will.com/wrestling/decwres Internet Movie Database — http://www.imdb.com/ Last Link on the Left — http://lastlinkontheleft.com/ ﬁnalcredits.html Legacy.com — http://www.legacy.com/Obituaries Life in Legacy — http://www.lifeinlegacy.com/ Memphis Film Festival — http://www.memphisﬁlm festival.com/ Outpost Gallifrey — http://gallifreyone.com/ Social Security Death Index — http://ssdi.genealogy. rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi Toonopedia — http://www.toonopedia.com/index.htm Wikipedia — http://en.wikipedia.org/ Young Hollywood Hall of Fame — http://www.young hollywoodhof.com/

OBITUARIES IN THE PERFORMING ARTS, 2008 (1979), Can’t Change the Meeting Place (1979), Saturday and Sunday (1982), Look for a Woman (1982), Magicians (1982), The Kiss (1983), The House That Swift Built (1983), In Search for Captain Grant (1985), Naval Cadets, Charge! (1987), A Girl from Rouen Nicknamed Doughnut (1989), The Sukhovo-Kobylin Case (1991), and The Lost Expedition (1996). Abdulov starred as Lavr in the 2002 television series Next, and the 2003 sequel Next 2. He also starred as Blifford Linds in the series Fatalisty in 2003, and was seen in the television mini-series Master and Margaret (2005) and Anna Karenina (2007).

ABDULOV, ALEKSANDR Russian actor Aleksandr Abdulov died of cancer in Moscow on January 3, 2008. He was 54. Abdulov was born in Tobolsk, Russia, on May 29, 1953. He began performing as an actor in the early 1970s and was seen in the 1973 ﬁlm About Vitya, about Masha and the Sea Force. He also performed on stage, and appeared in such ﬁlms as Moscow, My Love (1974), The Lost Expedition (1975), Golden River (1976), 72 Gradusa Nizhe Nulya (1976), Front Beyond the Front Line (1977), The Scarlet Flower (1977), A Moment Decides Everything (1978), Don’t Leave Your Lovers (1979), The Sicilian Defence (1980), Carnival (1981), Facts of the Past Day (1981), The Woman in White (1982), Recipe of Her Youth (1983), The Most Charming and Attractive (1985), Secrets of Madame Wong (1986), Guard Me, My Talisman (1986), The Spy (1987), the 1987 Russian ﬁlm adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians (aka Desyat Negrityat), To Kill a Dragon (1988), For the Beautiful Ladies! (1989), Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District (1989), Black Rose Is an Emblem of Love (1989), Sons of Bitches (1990), Anecdotes (1990), The Insulted and the Injured (1991), Genius (1991), House Under the Starry Skies (1991), The Siege of Venice (1991), Gold (1992), Tyuremnyy Romans (1993), Nastya (1993), Over the Dark Water

ACKERMAN, ANDREW Television producer Andrew Ackerman died of cancer in Los Angeles on July 27, 2008. He was 55. Ackerman was born on December 7, 1952. He began his career in television in 1977 at Lorimar Television serving as a production assistant on the mini-series The Blue Knight. He continued to work at Lorimar on such productions as Eight Is Enough, Kaz, Berengers, and Falcon Crest. He was named director of production at Lorimar in 1986, supervising production of such series as Max Headroom, Homefront, and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. He also produced the 1990 series Gabriel’s Fire. Ackerman was vice president of production when Lorimar merged with Warner in 1993, and retained his post with Warner Bros. Television. He oversaw production of such series as ER, Friends, Norm, The West Wing, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, The Drew Carey Show, and Third Watch. After leaving Warner he served as executive producer for the series Jack & Bobby, Everwood, Dirty Sexy Money, and Eli Stone. ACKERMAN, FORREST J Forrest J Ackerman, the foremost icon of science ﬁction fandom whose Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine inspired and informed generations of fellow fans, died of a heart attack after a long illness at his home in Los Angeles on December 4, 2008. He was 92. Ackerman was born in Los Angeles

Aleksandr Abdulov

(1993), Sin: A Story of Passion (1993), Candide (1994), Coffee with Lemon (1994), The First Love (1995), The Black Veil (1995), Woman’s Property (1999), The Christmas Miracle (2000), Shizofreniy (2001), O’key (2002), And in the Morning They Woke Up (2003), Park Sovetskogo Perioda (2006), The Funeral Party (2006), Artistka (2007), and Leningrad (2007). Abdulov also continued to perform, and occasionally direct, in stage productions, notably with the Lenkom Theatre. He also appeared frequently on Russian television in such productions as Twelve Chairs (1977), An Ordinary Miracle (1978), The Pretty Man (1978), That Munchhausen

Forrest J Ackerman (right, with Boris Karloff )

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Obituaries • 2008 on November 24, 1916. He became a fan of science ﬁction and fantasy at an early age, seeing his ﬁrst “imagimovie” (a term he coined), One Glorious Day, in 1922. He bought his ﬁrst science ﬁction magazine, Amazing Stories, four years later. He was a founder of one of the ﬁrst group of fans, The Boys’ Science Fiction Club, in 1930. Ackerman was also a contributor to the pioneer fanzine The Time Traveler in 1932. He began correspondence with over 100 fans throughout the world, many of whom were, or would become, major ﬁgures in science ﬁction themselves. Ackerman attended the ﬁrst World Science Fiction Convention in New York City in 1939, where he wore a futuristic costume that spawned a myriad of costume contests at subsequent cons. He was instrumental in founding the regional organization The Los Angeles Science Fiction Society. Ackerman was in the U.S. Army during World War II for over three years, where he was co-editor of the wartime newspaper at Fort MacArthur. After leaving the army he began a career as a literary agent with such clients as Harry Bates and Raymond F. Jones. He was also instrumental in nurturing the early careers of Ray Bradbury, Charles Beaumont, A.E. Van Vogt, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Ed Wood, and L. Ron Hubbard. He also authored over ﬁfty short stories himself with such titles as “Nyusa, Nymph of Darkness,” “A Martian Oddity,” “Kiki,” “Dhactwhu!— Remember?,” “Death Rides the Spaceways,” “Great Gog’s Grave,” and “The Naughty Venusian.” Ackerman acquired an immense collection of books, magazines, and movie memorabilia that he allowed countless fans to visit and pursue over the decades. During the 1950s he coined the term “sci-ﬁ” as an abbreviation for science ﬁction. He joined with publisher James Warren to create the landmark magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland in 1958, serving as editor and writer. Ackerman introduced such horror legends as Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Lon Chaney, Sr. and Jr., to a new generation of fans. Earning the name Uncle Forry, his contagious love of all things fantastic inspired such aspiring writers and ﬁlmmakers as Steven Spielberg, Stephen King, George Lucas, Rick Baker, John Landis, and Tim Burton. He also produced the English-language translations for the German Perry Rhodan space opera series, which was published paperback by Ace Books from 1969 through 1977. His wife, Wendayne (who died in 1990), supplied most of the translations. Famous Monsters also spawned several shortlived sister publications from Warren including Screen Thrills Illustrated, Spaceman, and Monster World in the 1960s. Famous Monsters continued publication through 1983, and Ackerman remained active editing such shortlived successors as Forrest J Ackerman’s Monsterland and Monsterama, and the one-shot Wonderama. Famous Monsters was resurrected with 1993, and Ackerman was asked to be the editor of the new version. When the new publisher defaulted on promised compensation, Ackerman abandoned his association with the publication. A war of words ensued that brought into question issues of trademark and libel, and Ackerman ﬁled a civil suit against the publisher in 1997. The Los Angeles Superior Court rules in his favor in May of 2000, issuing a verdict of over $700,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. Though the verdict was upheld on appeal, Ackerman

2

Forrest J Ackerman (in 2006)

was unable to acquire ﬁnancial satisfaction, as the defendant ﬁled for bankruptcy. Failing health also forced Ackerman to sell off a large portion of his collection, after spending years trying to ﬁnd a suitable museum to donate them to. He moved out of his large house, known as the Ackermansion, and continued to allow fans to visit and tour his reduced collection as the new “mini–Ackermansion” down the road from the House of Pies. Ackerman was also the creator of the name of the luscious female vampire Vampirella who starred in her own black and white comic magazine from Warren in the 1970s. He was credited as associate producer when Vampirella was adapted as a cable tele-ﬁlm in 1996. His long personal association with ﬁlms had begun in the 1940s, when he appeared in cameo roles in Hey Rookie (1944), The Farmer’s Daughter (1947), The Homestretch (1947), and The Winner’s Circle (1948). He assisted on the special effects for the Roger Corman sci-ﬁ ﬁlm The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955), pulling strings for the spaceship. He made memorable cameos as an assembly line worker creating square frames out of circles in the 1964 sci-ﬁ The Time Travelers, and was Dr. Beaumont, who was pummeled to death by the Frankenstein Monster in 1971’s Dracula vs. Frankenstein. His numerous ﬁlm credits also include The Power (1968), John Landis’ Schlock (1973), Hollywood Boulevard (1976), The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977), The Howling (1981), The Aftermath (1982), the Michael Jackson music video Thriller (1983), Scalps (1983), Amazon Women on the Moon (1987) as the U.S. President, Evil Spawn (1987), Curse of the Queerwolf (1988), Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988), The Laughing Dead (1989), The Wizard of Speed and Time (1989), My Mom’s a Werewolf (1989), Transylvania Twist (1990), My Lovely Monster (1990), Hard to Die (1990), Nudist Colony of the Dead (1991), Braindead (1992), Innocent Blood (1992), Ceremony (1994), That Little Monster (1994), Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfolds (1995), Bikini Drive-In (1995), Vampirella (1996), the short-ﬁlm Letter to an Angel (1996), Dinosaur Valley Girls (1996), Future War (1997), SadoMannequin (2001), The Vampire Hunter’s Club (2001), The Double-D Avenger (2002), Skinned Deep (2004), The Naked Monster (2005), the tele-ﬁlm The Scorned (2005), The Boneyard Collection (2006), Scarlet Moon (2006), and The Dead Undead (2007). Ackerman also partici-

3 pated in numerous documentaries including Lugosi: The Forgotten King (1985), Drive-In Madness! (1987), Hollywood Dinosaur Chronicles (1987), Mr. Science Fiction’s Fantastic Universe (1988), The Horror Hall of Fame (1990), Amazing Worlds of Science Fiction and Fantasy (1991), Flying Saucers Over Hollywood: The “Plan 9” Companion (1992), Heartstoppers: Horror at the Movies (1992), Dinosaur Movies (1993), Hollywood Goes Ape! (1994), Hollywood Rated R (1997), Secret Lives: L. Ron Hubbard (1997), Universal Horror (1998), Attack of the 50 Foot Monster Mania (1999), Keepers of the Frame (1999), Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces (2000), Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies (2001), My Life with Count Dracula (2003), The Sci-Fi Boys (2006), and Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman (2006). Ackerman received a special Hugo Award in 1953 as outstanding fan personality, and was given the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1997. He used many aliases and pseudonyms for many endeavors over the years, that included Dr. Acula, Weaver Wright, Spencer Strong, Walter Chinwell, Allis Villette, Alus Kerlay, Laurajean Ermayne, Alden Lorraine, J. Forrester Eckman, Fisher Trentworth, SF Balboa, Hubert G. Wells, Jacques De Forest Erman, Jone Lee Heard, and Sgt. Ack-Ack. He compiled many anthologies and books on science ﬁction and ﬁlms. His numerous literary works include The Frankenscience Monster, Gosh! Wow! (Sense of Wonder) Science Fiction, Film Futures, Martiantholog y, Womantholog y, The Gernsback Awards, Expanded Science Fictions Worlds of Forrest J Ackerman and Friends, PLUS, Best Science Fiction for 1973, Rainbow Fantasia: 35 Spectrumatic Tales of Wonder, Worlds of Tomorrow: The Amazing Universe of Science Fiction Art, Mr. Monster’s Movie Gold, A Treasure-Trove of Imagi-Movies, Famous Forry Fotos: Over 70 Years of Ackermemories, Forrest J. Ackerman’s Worlds of Science Fiction, A Reference Guide to American Science Fiction Films, Reel Future, and Ackermantholog y! He was the subject of the 2007 documentary about his life and works entitled Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman. On a personal note, Forry Ackerman was my mentor and my friend for many years. I was inspired by him through the pages of his magazines when I was a youngster, and by him personally as I grew older. My ﬁrst published work (an obituary, of course) appeared in Famous Monsters under Forry’s auspices. He was also instrumental in securing the publication of my ﬁrst book (a reference work on horror and sci-ﬁ ﬁlms) that he also graciously supplied an introduction for. He was a wonderful man whose infectious love for the genre inspired countless “nephews.” Goodbye, Uncle Forry, we’ll never forget you.

ADALIA, KHRYSS Filipino ﬁlm director and performer Khryss Adalia died of colon cancer in Manila, the Philippines, on October 13, 2008. She was 62. Adalia appeared frequently onscreen from the 1980s, with roles in such ﬁlms as Soltero (1984), Wake Up Little Susie (1988), Macho Dancer (1988), Petrang Kabayo at ang Pilyang Kuting (1988), Fight for Us (1989), Separada (1994), Mula sa Puso (1999), Live Show (2000), Syotang Bayan (001), 9 Mornings (2002), La Visa Loca (2005),

2008 • Obituaries

Khryss Adalia

and Reyna (2006). Adalia was also noted as a director from the mid–1990s, helming episodes of such television episodes as F.L.A.M.E.S., Rio del Mar, Love 2 Love, Bakekang, Chuchay and the Magic Kamison, Mga Mata ni Anghelita, Ako si Kim Samson, and Sine Novela. Adalia made her ﬁnal ﬁlm appearance in the 2008 feature My Monster Mom.

ADAMS, BUCK Adult ﬁlm actor and director Buck Adams died of complications of heart failure in a Northridge, California, hospital on October 28, 2008. He was 52. He was born Charles Stephen Allen in California on November 11, 1955. He was the brother of porn superstar Amber Lynn and followed her into the adult ﬁlm industry in the early 1980s. He began his career as an actor before also becoming a director for the 1988 ﬁlm Squirt. He was also noted for directing the 1993 feature Uninhibited, which was the ﬁrst R rated ﬁlm to come out of the adult ﬁlm industry. His numerous ﬁlm credits include Suzy’s Birthday Bang (1984), Mama’s Boy (1984), Hot Gypsy Love (1984), The Eyes of Eddie Mars (1984), Body Shop (1984), The Best Little Whorehouse in San Francisco (1984), Backdoor Romance (1984), Wild Things (1985), the Swedish Erotica series (1985), Starved for Affection (1985), She’s a Boy Toy (1985), Schoolgirl By Day (1985), One Night in Bangkok (1985), Marina Vice (1985), Lustfully Seeking Susan (1985), Looking for Mr. Goodsex (1985), Desperate Women (1985), Campus Cuties (1985), Bordello ... House of the Rising Sun

Buck Adams

Obituaries • 2008 (1985, Bootsie (1985), Beverly Hills Heat (1985), 2002: A Sex Odyssey (1985), Sexaholics (1986), Satania (1986), Sailing into Ecstasy (1986), Return of Johnny Wadd (1986), Pleasure Maze (1986), Pink ’n Pretty (1986), The Many Shades of Amber (1986), Lust with the Stranger (1986), Hotel California (1986), Hometown Honeys (1986), Down and Out in New York City (1986), Down and Dirty in Beverly Hills (1986), Crazy with the Heat (1986), Chastity Johnson (1986), Black Lava (1986), Rockey X (1986), Rio Heat (1987), Princess Charming (1987), Nightﬁre (1987), Mitzi’s Honor (1987), The Million Dollar Screw (1987), Lucky Charm (1987), Good Lust Charm (1987), Dangerous When Wet (1987), Blazing Bedrooms (1987), Three Men and a Barbi (1988), Tail for Sale (1988), Strange Curves (1988), Sophisticated Lady (1988), Port Holes (1988), Mammary Lane (1988), Good Morning Saigon (1988), Double Trouble (1988), Bustin’ Out (1988), Broadcast Nudes (1988), The Amorous Adventures of Janette Littledove (1988), Under the Law (1988), The Ultimate Climax (1989), This Bun’s for You (1989), Tomorrow’s Dreams (1989), The Scarlet Bride (1989), Porn Star’s Day Off (1989), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Breast (1989), Once Upon a Time (1989), Making the Grade (1989), Love on the Hershe Highway (1989), Legal Tender (1989), Great Balls on Fire (1989), Eye of the Tigress (1989), Date with the Devil (1989), China Girl (1989), The Chameleon (1989), Buck’s Excellent Transsexual Adventure (1989), Bimbo Bowlers from Buffalo (1989), Anal Attraction (1989), A Taste of Victoria (1990), Oh! You Beautiful Doll (1990), Knights in Black Satin (1990), Catalina 5-0: Undercover (1990), Breakfast with Tiffany (1990), Behind Closed Doors (1990), Zara’s Revenge (1991), X Factor: The Next Generation (1991), Wicked Fascination (1991), Virgin on the Run (1991), Valleys of the Moon (1991), Two of a Kind (1991), Twin Cheeks 3 (1991), Temptation Eyes (1991), Summer Heat (1991), Roxy (1991), Purely Sexual (1991), The Perfect Stranger (1991), The Midnight Hour (1991), Manbait (1991), Little Secrets (1991), A Little Christmas Tail (1991), Lingerie Busters (1991), Lethal Woman (1991), Hunchback of the Notre Dame (1991), Hard Core Cafe (1991), Ground Zero L.A. (1991), Genie in a Bikini (1991), Frankie and Joanie (1991), Edward Penishands 3 (1991), Debbie Does Wall Street (1991), Bush Wacked (1991), Bubbles (1991), Bite! (1991), Bigger (1991), Anal Fury (1991), Anal Blitz (1991), Blue Fire (1991), All the Way Down (1991), Alley Cat (1991), The All American Girl (1991), Step to the Rear (1992), Silver Elegance (1992), Mystery Date (1992), How to Love Your Lover (1992), The Eternal Idol (1992), Dirty Business (1992), Breast Wishes (1992), The Barlow Affair (1992), Whorelock (1993), Princess Orgasma and the Magic Bed (1993), Naked Goddess (1993), Super Hornio Brothers (1993), More Than a Handful (1993), The Hustlers (1993), Oh My God! I Married an Anal Queen (1993), Eclipse (1993), Colossal Org y (1993), The Butt Sisters Do L.A. (1993), Buttman’s Inferno (1993), Walking on the Wild Side (1994), Titty Bar 2 (1994), Supermodel (1994), Wilde Palms (1994), Stranger at the Back Door (1994), Skid Row (1994), The Secrets of Bonnie & Clyde (1994), Sexual Healing (1994), The Savage (1994), The Revenge of Bonnie & Clyde (1994), Red Light (1994), The Real Story of Tonya & Nancy (1994), The Price Was Right (1994), Paging Betty (1994), Let’s Play

4 Doctor (1994), Nightmare Visions (1994), Intercourse with the Vampire (1994), Gemini (1994), Buck Adams’ Frankenstein (1994), Climax 2000 (1994), The Bottom Dweller Part Deux (1994), Beached Blonde (1994), Babewatch (1994), Bare Ass Beach (1994), Anal Adventures of Suzy Super Slut (1994), De Sade (1994), All the President’s Women (1994), Alice in Analand (1994), The Adventures of Major Morehead (1994), Thunder Road (1995), No Tell Motel (1995), Hot Crotch Coochies (1995), Snow Bunnies (1995), Fantasies of Persia (1995), Little Girl Lost (1995), Hellriders (1995), Beaver & Buttface (1995), Sodomania Smokin’ Sextions (1996), Skin Dive (1996), Gutter Mouths (1996), Blade (1996), Another White Trash Whore (1996), Sleaze (1997), Philmore Butts Taking Care of Business (1997), Booby Trapped (1997), Taste of Evil (1998), Enter the Dragon Lady (1998), Ebony Ecstasy (1998), Born Bad (1998), Route 69 (1999), Major Rock (1999), American Bukkake 4 (1999), Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap 2 (1999), Liquid Blue (2001), Malibu Blue (2003), Boobs A Poppin’ 2 (2003), Layover (2004), Beach Patrol (2004), Reality Test (2005), and Pick-Up Girls (2005). Drug and alcohol problems led to health issue including several heart attacks in the 1990s. He recovered and married his longtime girlfriend, adult actress Aspen Brock, in 1999. In recent years, Adams created a studio where he planned to produce adult material for the internet.

ADAMS, EDIE Actress and comedienne Edie Adams died of complications from cancer and pneumonia at her home in Los Angeles on October 15, 2008. She was 81. She was born Elizabeth Edith Enky in Kingston, Pennsylvania, on April 16, 1927. She trained as a singer at Juilliard, and won the 1950 beauty pageant Miss U.S. Television. Her victory led to an appearance on Milton Berle’s television show. She also became a regular performer on The Ernie Kovacs Show in the early 1950s. She and Kovacs became partners off-screen as well, marrying in September of 1954. Adams made her Broadway debut, appearing in the Leonard Bernstein musical Wonderful Town in 1953. She earned a Tony Award for her role as Daisy Mae in the Broadway musical version of Li’l Abner in 1957. She was featured as the Fairy Godmother in the 1957 television musical Cinderella, and starred in the 1961 television drama The Spiral Staircase. She also appeared in numerous variety, drama, and quiz shows, including Suspense, Appointment with Adventure, The Colgate Comedy Hour, The NBC Comedy Hour, The Steve Allen Show, The Jack Paar Tonight Show, The Perry Como Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, Suspicion, General Electric Theater, The Chevy Show, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Red Skelton Show, The Bell Telephone Hour, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The United States Steel Hour, Take a Good Luck, The DuPont Show of the Week, The Dick Powell Show, What’s My Line?, I’ve Got a Secret, The Dean Martin Show, The Jackie Gleason Show, The Mike Douglas Show, The Hollywood Palace, The Carol Burnett Show, Playboy After Dark, The Bob Hope Show, Stand Up and Cheer, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and The Hollywood Squares. She also starred in her own series on ABC, Here’s Edie and The Edie Adams Show from 1963 to 1964, earning four Emmy nominations. She made her ﬁlm debut

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2008 • Obituaries

Edie Adams

Edwin M. Adams, Jr.

in the 1960 Billy Wilder comedy The Apartment, and appeared in the 1961 drama Lover Come Back. Adams was widowed when her comedian husband, Kovacs, was killed in an automobile accident in January of 1962. His death left her with an enormous debt in back taxes. She was eventually able to pay off the debt with her work in commercials and ﬁlms. Two subsequent marriages, to photographer Marty Mills and jazz musician Pete Candoli, both ended in divorce. Her only child with Kovacs, daughter Mia, was killed in an automobile accident in 1982 while traveling on the same road of her father’s fatal crash. Adams became a familiar face for her long running role as the spokesperson for Muriel cigars, encouraging smokers to “pick one up and smoke it sometime.” She continued to appear in ﬁlms and television, often spooﬁng her image as a sexy blonde. Her ﬁlm credits include Call Me Bwana (1963) with Bob Hope, Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963), the comedy classic The Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) as Monica Crump, Love with the Proper Stranger (1963), Gore Vidal’s The Best Man (1964) as Mabel Cantwell, Made in Paris (1966), The Oscar (1966), The Honey Pot (1967) with Rex Harrison, Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke (1978), Racquet (1979), The Happy Hooker Goes to Hollywood (1980) as Rita Beater, and Boxofﬁce (1982). Adams was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms Evil Roy Slade (1972), Superdome (1978), Fast Friends (1979), The Seekers (1979), Make Me an Offer (1980), Portrait of an Escort (1980), A Cry for Love (1980), The Haunting of Harrington House (1981), Shooting Stars (1983), Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter (1984) as Mae West, Adventures Beyond Belief (1987), Jake Spanner, Private Eye (1989), and Armistead Maupin’s mini-series Tales of the City (1993). Her other television credits include episodes of The Lucy Show, Love, American Style, McMillan and Wife, Joe Forrester, Harry O, The Blue Knight, Rosetti and Ryan, Police Woman, The Love Boat, The Eddie Capra Mysteries, Mrs. Columbo, Bosom Buddies, Vega$, Fantasy Island, the soap opera As the World Turns as Roseanne in 1982, Murder, She Wrote, Trapper John, M.D. It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, and Designing Women. ADAMS, EDWIN M., JR. Edwin M. Adams, Jr., a lawyer and diplomat turned actor, died of lymphoma in a retirement community in Potomac Falls, Virginia, on October 17, 2008. He was 94. Adams was born in Gridley, Illinois, on January 18, 1914. He considered

an acting career while attending the University of Illinois, but proceeded to earn a degree in law instead in 1939. He worked with the State Department’s World Trade Intelligence Division in the early years of World War II before enlisting in the U.S. Navy. After the war he served as legal attaché for the Allied Commission, searching out Nazi assets hidden in banks in Switzerland and other neutral nations. He subsequently was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Rome as a counselor, where he remained for six years. Adams then returned to Washington to work with the Bureau of African Affairs and the Foreign Service Institute. After retiring from government service he headed to Hollywood, where he appeared in television commercials and hosted a radio program. Adams also appeared in small roles in several ﬁlms including The Last Detail (1973), Three Days of the Condor (1975), Airport ’75 (1975), The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979), First Monday in October (1981), The Man Who Wasn’t There (1983), Yuri Nosenko, KGB (1986), and Suspect (1987). He was also the author of the 2004 novel Pretty Destiny.

ADAMS, JILL British actress and model Jill Adams died of cancer in Portugal on May 13, 2008. She was 77. She was born Jill Siggins in London on July 22, 1930. She was a leading model in England in the 1950s and was featured in numerous ﬁlms during the decade. The glamorous blonde’s ﬁlm credits include The Black Knight (1954), One Jump Ahead (1954), Forbidden Cargo

Jill Adams

Obituaries • 2008

6

(1954), The Young Lovers (1954), The Love Match (1955), Count of Twelve (1955), Out of the Clouds (1955), The Constant Husband (1955), Doctor at Sea (1955), Value for Money (1955), One Way Out (1955), Private’s Progress (1956), The Green Man (1956), The Scamp (1957), Brothers in Law (1957), Death Over My Shoulder (1958), Dust in the Sun (1958), Carry on Constable (1960), Crosstrap (1962), Doctor in Distress (1963), The Yellow Teddybears (1963), The Comedy Man (1964), and Promise Her Anything (1965). Adams was also seen in the 1957 television production of Wideawake, and appeared in episodes of The Vise, White Hunter, My Pal Bob, The Flying Doctor, and No Hiding Place.

ADAMS, M. CLAY Film and television producer M. Clay Adams died in Sea Girt, New Jersey, on September 26, 2008. He was 99. Adams was born in The Bronx, New York, on May 17, 1909. He co-scripted the 1940 ﬁlm noir Girl in 313, and produced, directed and wrote numerous theatrical shorts from the Picture Peo-

Bruce Adler

plays throughout the United States, including his own one-man show Song and Dance Man. He was also seen on television in an episode of Law and Order.

AEGIDIUS, HANS CHRISTIAN Danish actor Hans Christian Aegidius died in Denmark on March 27, 2008. He was 75. Aegidius was born in Odense, Denmark, on March 24, 1933. He was a popular ﬁlm performer from the early 1960s, appearing in Hansens Typehus (1963), Me and You (1969), Oh, to Be on the Bandwagon! (1972), Dangerous Kisses (1972), Den Kyske Levernand (1974) which he also directed, Me, Too, in the

M. Clay Adams

ple series in the early 1940s including Stars in Defense (1941), Hollywood Sports (1941), Hobbies of the Stars (1941), Stars Day Off (1941), and Hollywood at Home (1942). He was active in television from the 1950s, directing episodes of the documentary series Victory at Sea, and serving as an associate producer and production manager for the comedy series The Phil Silvers Show. During the 1960s he also served as production manager for the drama series The Defenders, The Nurses, For the People, and Coronet Blue.

ADLER, BRUCE Broadway actor and singer Bruce Adler died of cancer in New York City on July 25, 2008. He was 63. Adler was born in New York City on November 27, 1944. He was a frequent performer on the Broadway stage from the 1970s, appearing in such productions as Sunday in the Park with George, Oh, Brother!, Rumors, and the 1979 revival of Oklahoma! He earned Tony Award nominations for performances in the musicals Those Were the Days in 1991 and Crazy for You in 1992. He reprised his Crazy for You role in a 1999 television version on Great Performances. He was also a voice performer for the Disney animated ﬁlms Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1995). Adler starred with touring company in

Hans Christian Aegidius

Maﬁa (1974), Prince Piwi (1974), The Goldcabbage Family (1975), The Gangster’s Apprentice (1976), Ghost Train (1976), Havoc (1977), Denmark Closed Down (1980), Pigen Fra Havet (1980), Peter von Scholten (1987), and 300 Miles to Heaven (1989). Aegidius also directed the 1979 television series Jul i Gammelby.

AITMATOV, CHINGIZ Kirghiz-Russian author and statesman Chingiz Aitmatov died of lung and kidney failure in a hospital in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany, on June 10, 2008. He was 79. Aitmatov was born in the small village of Sheker, Kirghiz, Soviet Union (now Kyrgyzstan) on December 12, 1928. He began writing in the 1950s, producing the novels A Difﬁcult Passage (1956) and Face to Face (1957). He gained acclaim from the publication of his 1958 novel Jamilya, which was

7

2008 • Obituaries anime series in 1966 and 1988, and Himitsu no Akkochan was adapted in 1969, 1988, and 1998. Akatsuka’s Hennako-chan was introduced as a web anime series April of 2008.

ALCAIDE, PERI Peri Alcaide, the widow of actor Chris Alcaide, died in California on March 15, 2008. She was 84. She was born Tayyibe Perizat in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 27, 1923. She was featured in a small role in the 1957 ﬁlm Istanbul billed as Peri Hatman. She

Chingiz Aitmatov

ﬁlmed in 1969 with Aitmatov serving as the narrator. Another ﬁlm version was released in 1994. His novels The First Teacher (1962), Tales of the Mountains and Steppes (1963), Farewell, Gulsary! (1966), The White Ship (1970), The Ascent of Mt. Fuji (1973), and The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years (1980) followed. Many of his novels, plays and stories were adapted for ﬁlms including Heat (1963), The Skies of Our Childhood (1963), The First Teacher (1966), Farewell, Gulsary! (1966), The White Ship (1976), The Girl with the Red Scarf (1977), Rannie Zhuravli (1979), Voskhozhdeniye na Fudziyamu (1988), Whirlwind (1988), and Spotted Dog Running at the Edge of the Sea (1990). Aitmatov received international attention for his 1988 novel The Scaffold. He also served as a diplomat for the Soviet Union, and later Kyrgyzstan, to Belgium and Luxembourg.

Peri Alcaide (with the author, Harris Lentz)

was married to Alcaide from June of 1956 until his death in June of 2004. She was a leading dealer in Hollywood memorabilia; she became an naturalized United States citizen in 1999.

pioneers of Japanese comic manga, died in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, on August 2, 2008. He was 72. Akatsuka was born in Rehe, Manchuria, China, on September 14, 1935, and moved to Japan with his mother after World War II. He began creating comics in the mid–1950s with the humorous strip Arashi o Koete. His 1962 gag manga Osomatsu-kung became a hit in 1962. Akatsuka also created the comedy Moretsu Atarou, which was adapted for an anime television series in 1969 and 1980. His Tensai Bakabon also was adapted for television several times, in 1971, 1975, 1990, and 1999. Osomatsu-kun became an

ALEXANDER, SUE Children’s book author Sue Alexander died at her home in West Hills, California, on July 3, 2008. She was 74. She was born Sue Lynn Ratner in Tucson, Arizona, on August 30, 1933, and was largely raised in Chicago. She moved to California in the late 1950s, where she married Joel Alexander and raised three children. She submitted numerous stories to children’s magazines without success until her ﬁrst book, Small Plays for You and a Friend, was published by Scholastic Books in 1973. She was best known for her 1983 book Nadia the Willful, about a Bedouin girl mourning the death of her brother. She also authored the books Nadir of the Streets (1975), Witch, Goblin and

Fujio Akatsuka

Sue Alexander

AKATSUKA, FUJIO Fujio Akatsuka, one of the

Obituaries • 2008

8

Sometimes Ghost (1976), Peacocks Are Very Special (1976), Marc the Magniﬁcent (1978), Whatever Happened to Uncle Albert? (1980), World Famous Muriel (1984), World Famous Muriel and the Scary Dragon (1985), Lila on the Landing (1987), Who Goes Out on Halloween (1990), Sara’s City (1995), What’s Wrong Now, Millicent? (1996), One More Time, Mama (1999), and Behold the Trees (2001). She was a founder of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators in 1968.

ALEXANDRE DE PARIS French hairdresser Louis Alexandre Raimon, who was known as Alexandre de Paris, the hairdresser to the stars, died in Saint-Tropez, France, on January 12, 2008. He was 86. Alexandre was born in Saint Tropez on September 6, 1922. He began working as an apprentice at a salon in Cannes in the late 1930s. He became a leading hairstylist for the elite, and created the hairdo of Begum Aga Khan for her wedding ceremony to the Aga Khan III in 1946. He was soon working with such leading fashion designers as Pierre Balmain, Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, and Yves SaintLaurent to create coiffures for their models. He joined

Phyllis Alexion

ALI OOP Ali Oop, a brown bear who was featured in several ﬁlms and was noted for his kissing abilities, died at the Discovery Wildlife Park in Innisfail, Calgary, Canada, on July 17, 2008. He was 27. Oop was raised from a cub by trainer Ruth LeBarge. The docile

Alexandre de Paris

with the Carita sisters to open a salon in 1952 and began his own in Paris in 1957. His celebrated customers included the Duchess of Windsor, Princess Grace of Monaco, Greta Garbo, Maria Callas, Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren, Jackie Kennedy, and Lauren Bacall. He created Elizabeth Taylor’s look for the 1963 ﬁlm Cleopatra and continued to work with her on such ﬁlms as The Taming of the Shrew (1967), Reﬂections in a Golden Eye (1967), Secret Ceremony (1968), The Only Game in Town (1970), Hammersmith Is Out (1972), the tele-ﬁlm Divorce His — Divorce Hers (1973), Ash Wednesday (1973), and The Mirror Crack’d (1980). He was a hair stylist for numerous other ﬁlms including Therese Etienne (1958), Christine (1958), The Burning Court (1962), My Life to Live (1962), 55 Days at Peking (1963) for Ava Gardner, Marnie (1964) for Tippi Hedren, How to Steal a Million (1966), A Flea in Her Ear (1968), Cesar and Rosalie (1972), and The Original (1986).

ALEXION, PHYLLIS Character actress Phyllis Alexion died on April 20, 2008. She was 85. Alexion was born on February 28, 1923. She was featured on television in an episode of Superboy in 1991 and in the 1994 tele-ﬁlm Summertime Switch. She also appeared in several ﬁlms including Illegally Yours (1988), All That Remains (2006), and Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector (2006).

Ali Oop (kissing trainer Ruth LeBarge)

and friendly beast was featured in such ﬁlms as Dr. Dolittle 2, Trueheart, The Last Trapper, and Wild America. He starred as Miz in the 1999 ﬁlm Grizzly Falls.

ALKALAI, MOSKO Israeli actor Mosko Alkalai died of respiratory failure and complications from

Mosko Alkalai

9 surgery in a Tel Aviv, Israel, hospital on April 1, 2008. He was 77. Alkalai was born in Bucharest, Romania, on March 10, 1931. He was a leading stage and ﬁlm star from the mid–1960s. He was featured in such ﬁlm and television productions as Ervinka (1967), The Prodigal Son (1968), The Big Dig (1969), Madron (1970), The Hero (1971), Seven Times a Day (1971), Salomonico (1972), the television mini-series Moses the Lawgiver (1974) as Amram, Festival at the Poolroom (1975), Saint Cohen (1975), The Fox in the Chicken Coop (1978), Jesus (1979) as Matthew, Repeat Drive (1982), the tele-ﬁlm A Woman Called Golda (1982), Forced Testimony (1984), Orphans of the Storm (1985), Goodbye, New York (1985), Nadia (1986), The Delta Force (1986), Meeting Venus (1991), The Mummy Lives (1993), The Revenge of Itzik Finkelstein (1993), Bogie and Alexis (1993), The Flying Camel (1994), The Life of Jesus: The Revolutionary (1995) as Simeon, No Names on the Doors (1997), the mini-series Line 300 (1997), the tele-ﬁlms Lansky (1999), Voyages (1999), Yana’s Friends (1999), The Holy Land (2001), A Kite’s Tail (2001), The Rashevski Tango (2003), Alenbi Romance (2005), The Galilee Eskimos (2006), and King of Beggars (2007).

ALLEN, CLARK Musician, artist, and actor Clark Allen died in Los Angeles on January 20, 2008. He was 82. Allen was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on February 14, 1925. He and his former wife, actress and

2008 • Obituaries

Priscilla Allen (from Total Recall )

came a ﬁxture on the local stage in San Diego over the next forty years. Allen also appeared on television in an episode of Happy Days, and was seen in the ﬁlms Total Recall (1990) and The Naked Truth (1992). She was a teacher at several schools in the San Diego area, and made her ﬁnal screen appearances in the 2007 ﬁlm Let Others Suffer, directed by one of her former students.

ALLEN, ROD Rod Allen, the lead singer for the British band The Fortunes, died of cancer on January 10, 2008. He was 63. He was born Rodney Bainbridge in Leicester, England, on March 31, 1944. He began playing in bands while in his teens, forming the Clifftones. They evolved into the Fortunes Rhythm

Clark Allen (center, with bagpipes, from an episode of The Twilight Zone)

dancer Margarita Cordova, owned and operated the El Cid ﬂamenco club for nearly two decades. Allen also toured with the poet Carl Sandburg in the theatrical production The World of Carl Sandburg. He was featured as the bagpiper in the 1961 Twilight Zone episode “Five Characters in Search of an Exit.” He continued to entertain audiences in local venues with his singing and artistic endeavors.

ALLEN, PRISCILLA Character actress Priscilla Allen, who was best known for her role as the oversized woman with the exploding head in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ﬁlm Total Recall, died in La Jolla, California, after a long illness on August 14, 2008. She was 70. She was born Priscilla Lawson in Buffalo, New York, on July 19, 1938, and moved to California with her parents as a child She studied drama at San Diego State university and be-

Rod Allen

Group, and earned a contract with Decca in 1963. They had a hit with “You’ve Got Your Troubles” in 1965, and recorded such songs as “Here It Comes Again,” “Caroline,” “Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again,” “Storm in a Teacup,” and “Freedom Come, Freedom Go.” The Fortunes was also noted for their recording of Coca-Cola advertisements, singing the themes “Things Go Better with Coke” and “It’s the Real Thing” in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Allen continued on as the only remaining founding member of the group, fronting an ever changing lineup. He toured and performed with the Fortunes until his death.

ALLEN, SANDY Sandy Allen, who was acknowledged as the tallest living woman by the Guinness

Obituaries • 2008

10 del Golden Rocet (1991), El Oro y el Barro (1992), Soy Gina (1992), Alta Comedia (1994), Montana Rusa (1994), Para Toda la Vida (1994), El Ultimo Verano (1996), La Nocturna (1998), Como vos & Yo (1998), La Mujer del Presidente (1999), Primicias (2000), Luna Salvaje (2000), 1000 Millones (2002), and Maximo Corazon (2002). Aller also appeared in several ﬁlms during her career including Los Chantas (1975), Crazy Love (1979), Another Love Story (1986), Revancha de un Amigo (1987), Last Images of the Shipwreck (1989), and Historias Breves IV: Avant Premier (2004).

ALLER, ALICIA Argentine actress Alicia Aller died in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 9, 2008. She was 68. Aller was born in Buenos Aires on November 11, 1940. She was a popular performer on stage and television from the early 1970s. She was featured in such series as Novia de Vacaciones (1979), Profesion, Ama de Casa (1979), El Teatro de Irma Roy (1983), Nosotros y los Miedos (1982), Alquien como Usted (1984), Lucia Bonelli (1984), Marina de Noche (1985), Como la Hiedra (1987), Estrellita Mia (1987), Socorro: 5o Ano (1989), La Banda

ALLPORT, CHRISTOPHER Actor Christopher Allport was killed in an avalanche at the Mountain High ski resort in Wrightwood, California, on January 25, 2008. He was 60. Allport was born in Santa Monica, California, on June 17, 1947. He began appearing in ﬁlms and television in the early 1970s, and was featured as Tim McGowan in the daytime soap opera Another World from 1973 to 1974. He was featured in numerous ﬁlms during his career including Man on a Swing (1974), The Lincoln Conspiracy (1977), Savage Weekend (1979), Dead & Buried (1981), Circle of Power (1983), To Life and Die in L.A. (1985), the 1986 remake of the science ﬁction cult classic Invaders from Mars, Spiker (1986), Jack Frost (1996) and the 2000 sequel Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman in the role of Sam Tiler, The Sweeper (1996), Finding Kelly (2000), and Girl on a Bed (2005). Allport was also featured in such tele-ﬁlm as The Connection (1973), And I Alone Survived (1978), The Chisholms (1979), And Baby Makes Six (1979), Love, Natalie (1980), Seizure: The Story of Kathy Morris (1980), City in Fear (1980), A Rumor of War (1980), A Girl’s Life (1981), Games Mother Never Taught You (1982), Who Will Love My Children? (1983), Special Bulletin (1983), Single Bars, Single Women (1984), The Atlanta Child Murders (1985), News at Eleven (1986), Deadly Deception (1987), David (1988), Silverfox (1991), Queen (1993), Danielle Steel’s Message from Nam (1993), and Though None Go with Me (2006). His other television credits include episodes of Harry O, M*A*S*H, Barnaby Jones, Mrs. Columbo, The Chisholms, Cagney & Lacey, Bare Essence, Trapper John, M.D., The Yellow Rose, St. Elsewhere, The Twilight Zone, Crazy Like a Fox, Hunter, Dynasty in the recurring role of Jesse Atkinson from 1987 to 1988, China

Alicia Allers

Christopher Allport

Sandy Allen (left, on a date)

World Records, died in a nursing home in Shelbyville, Indiana, on August 13, 2008. She was 53. Allen was born in Chicago, Illinois, on June 18, 1955. Her abnormal growth was caused by a tumor on her pituitary gland, and she was over 7 feet tall by the age of 16. The tumor was removed in 1977, when she had reached the height of 7'71 ⁄ 4". Her record breaking height had entered her into the Guinness annals several years earlier. The notoriety she received from the Guinness listing led to a role as Angelina the Giantess in Federico Fellini’s 1976 ﬁlm Casanova. She also appeared as Goliatha in the 1981 teleﬁlm Side Show, and was featured in the 1981 documentary Being Different. Allen was seen on television in episodes of Howard Stern, Sally Jesse Raphael, ... and Me, and Extraordinary People. Her size led to various physical difﬁculties throughout her life, and weak leg muscles had made her wheelchair bound in the years prior to her death.

11

2008 • Obituaries

Beach, Midnight Caller, In the Heat of the Night in the recurring role of D.A. Hutton, Christine Cromwell, Matlock, WIOU, Quantum Leap, Jake and the Fatman, Doogie Howser, M.D., Beverly Hills, 90210, The X-Files, Diagnosis Murder, Murder, She Wrote, Kindred: The Embraced, Picket Fences, Silk Stalkings, The Pretender, Walker, Texas Ranger, The Sentinel, Party of Five, Chicago Hope, JAG, The Invisible Man, The Practice, NYPD Blue, Judging Amy, Felicity in the recurring role of Dominic Webb from 2001 to 2002, For the People, ER, CSI: Miami, 7th Heaven, NCIS, Commander in Chief in the recurring role of Secretary Francis from 2005 to 2006, Shark, Without a Trace, and Mad Men. Allport’s ﬁnal screen appearance was in the forthcoming ﬁlm Garden Party.

ALTMAN, SOPHIE Sophie Altman, who created the long-running television quiz show It’s Academic, died in Washington, D.C., on May 24, 2008. She was 95. She was born in Springﬁeld, Massachusetts, on January 15, 1913. She worked as a lawyer in the administration of President Franklin Roosevelt where she met

Sophie Altman

Gina Alvarado

Leap. She also appeared in the tele-ﬁlms Unwed Father (1974), The Runaways (1975), The Shaman’s Last Raid (1975), Women in White (1979), Terror Among Us (1981), and Missing Pieces (1983). As Virginia Paris she was featured in several ﬁlms including Second Thoughts (1983) and Stand and Deliver (1988) as math teacher Raquel Ortega. ALVIN, JOHN Illustrator John Alvin, who designed the movie posters for over 100 ﬁlms from the mid–1970s, died on February 6, 2008. He was 59. Alvin was born in Massachusetts on November 24, 1948. He studied at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles in the early 1970s. He broke into ﬁlms designing the ad campaign for Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles in 1974. He also designed the posters for Brook’s ﬁlms Young Frankenstein, Spaceballs, Silent Movie, and History of the World Part 1. Some of his better known art campaigns include the posters for Blade Runner, E.T.—The Extra-Terrestrial, The Phantom of the Paradise, The Twilight Zone, Batman Returns, Jurassic Park, and Star Trek VI: The

Norman Altman, another lawyer whom she married in 1937. She wrote the newspaper column Women at War during World War II. In the 1950s, Altman worked as an assistant to Lawrence Spivak, the producer and moderator of the news interview television program Meet the Press. She became the producer of the Washington talkshow Teen Talk in the late 1950s, and also produced other local programming. She created It’s Academic with her husband in 1961. The quiz show for high school students became the longest-running television quiz program, and Altman continued to contribute until shortly before her death.

ALVARADO, GINA Character actress Gina Alvarado, who also performed in ﬁlms under the name Virginia Paris, died of a heart attack in Los Angeles on March 23, 2008. She was 73. She was born Virginia Acito in the Bronx, New York, on September 12, 1934. She moved to Hollywood in the early 1950s and appeared frequently on television from the early 1970s. She was featured in episodes of Cade’s County, Emergency!, Adam12, Ironside, Medical Center, Police Woman, Joe Forrester, CHiPs, Barnaby Jones, Quincy, Knots Landing, The Greatest American Hero, Santa Barbara (1984), and Quantum

John Alvin

Undiscovered Country. His other works include the Disney ﬁlms Aladdin, Mulan, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Hercules, The Lion King, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He also designed posters for Ernest Scared Stupid, Hanover Street, Hook, Flatliners, The Verdict, Short Circuit, Rain Man, City Slickers, Fritz the Cat, Leviathan, Red Dawn, Solarbabies, The Princess Bride,

Obituaries • 2008

12

The Golden Child, The Turning Point, Project X, Rhinestone, Willow, Cocoon, Conrack, Legend, Melvin and Howard, Always, Cape Fear, Darkman, The Milagro Beanﬁeld War, Empire of the Sun, My Favorite Year, S.O.B., Joe vs. the Volcano, Gremlins, Innerspace, Victor/Victoria, The Color Purple, 10, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Cobra, Innocent Blood, New Jack City, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, The Goonies, The Lost Boys, Under Siege, Royal Flash, Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother, Arthur II, and various Star Wars projects.

ANDERSON, BOB Former child actor Robert J. “Bob” Anderson, who was featured as the young George Bailey in the 1946 holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life, died of cancer at his home in Palm Springs, California, on June 6, 2008. He was 75. Anderson was born on March 6, 1933, and raised in Hollywood, where his father, Gene Anderson, worked as an assistant director and production manager. He was featured in the 1940 Shirley Temple ﬁlm Young People at the age of 7. He was also seen in the ﬁlms and shorts Maryland (1940), Youth Will Be Served (1940), Willie and the Mouse (1941), The Ofﬁcer and the Lady (1941), Rover’s Big Chance (1942), Election Daze (1943), Mystery of the 13th Guest (1943), A

Bob Anderson

Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), Colorado Pioneers (1945), and Gentleman Joe Palooka (1946). He was featured as young George Bailey, the character James Stewart played as an adult, in Frank Capra’s classic It’s a Wonderful Life in 1946. He continued to appear in such ﬁlms as The Bishop’s Wife (1947), Ruthless (1948), Silver River (1948), Just Suppose (1948), Let’s Cogitate (1948), Samson and Delilah (1949), A Place in the Sun (1951), and Born to the Saddle (1953). Anderson was also featured as Terry Moore in the television series The Further Adventures of Spin and Marty in 1946. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War as a photographer aboard aircraft carriers. After his discharge he returned to Hollywood to work behind the camera as a second assistant director and production manager for ﬁlms and television productions before retiring in the 1990s.

ANDRE, BERT Dutch stage, ﬁlm and television actor Bert Andre died of leukemia in Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium, on May 21, 2008. He was 66. Andre was born in Maastricht, Limburg, the Netherlands, on Au-

Bert Andre

gust 6, 1941. He was seen in numerous television productions in Europe from the mid–1960s including Mauritius (1967), Hebben (1968), De Fysici (1969), King Lear (1969), The Dumb Waiter (1969), Het Helleschip (1969), Twelfth Night (1970), A Quiet Game of Cards (1970), Poloitie (1970), Poetsoek (1972), Het Poppenhuis (1972), Het Levende Lijk (1972), Trouwfeest (1973), The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd (1974), Schapenborre (1974), De Herbert in het Misverstand (1976), Voorjaarsontwaken (1976), De Spoken van de Torenburcht (1977), Le Mur Italien (1977), Het Dievenbal (1977), Lanceloet van Denemarken (1977), Wierook en Tranen (1977), Le Miracle de SaintAntoine (1977), As Good As New (1978), De Nieuwe Mendoza (1980), Het Souper (1983), Xenon (1984), De Huisbewaarder (1984), De Vulgaire Geschiedenis van Charelke Dop (1985), Adriaen Brouwer (1986), Mik, Mak en Mon (1987), De Zoete Smaak van Goudlikeur (1988), and Het Paradis (1998). Andre also appeared in numerous ﬁlms including La Pente Douce (1972), Louisa, Een Woord van Liefde (1972), Turkish Delight (1973), Clowns Minus I (1976), Pallieter (1976), The Arrival of Joachim Stiller (1976), De Spoken van de Torenburcht (1977), Doctor Vimmen (1977), Soldier of Orange (1977) as Gekke Dirk, The Enclosure (1978), Hedda Gabler (1978), Het Manetje in de Maan (1978), Paradise Lost (1978), Slachtvee (1979), Woman in a Twilight Garden (1979), Come-Back (1981), Hiver 60 (1982), Time to Be Happy (1982), Prima Service (1982), The Pencil Murders (1982), Wodka Orange (1982), Het Beest (1982), Benvenuta (1983), De Leeuw van Vlaanderen (1985), and Les Roses de Matmata (1986). Andre starred as Neighbor Neuteboom in the 1986 international hit ﬁlm Flodder, and reprised the role in the sequels Flodder in America (1992) and Flodder Forever (1995), and the television series Flodder from 1993 to 1997. His other ﬁlm credits include Skin (1987), Rituals (1989), Cambriole (1990), My Blue Heaven (1990), Boys (1991), Chevies and Cadies (1991), Chicken-Pot-Pie (1991), Check the Gate (1993), Ventimiglia (1995), The Flying Dutchman (1995), Grey (1996), Buenos Aires, Here We Come (1996), De Zeemeerman (1996), Kaas (1999), Devil in Disguise (1999), Nacht (1999), Snapshot (2002), Sea of Silence (2003), Een Beetje Liefde (2004), The Dark Diamond (2004), Mcdollars (2004), Too Fat Too Furious (2005), Broadcast (2005), Crusade in Jeans (2006), and Moordwijven (2007).

13

2008 • Obituaries

ANGAROLA, RICHARD Veteran character actor Richard Angarola died of complications from leukemia in Los Angeles on July 7, 2008. He was 88. Angarola was born in Michigan on September 1, 1920. He began his career on stage in the late 1940s. He also appeared in numerous ﬁlms and television productions from the late 1950s, often cast as swarthy Europeans. His ﬁlm credits include Moment to Moment (1965), Gambit (1966), Valley of the Dolls (1967), Yours, Mine and Ours (1968), Star! (1968), Hang ’Em High (1968), Don’t Just Stand There! (1968), Sweet Charity (1969), Che! (1969),

Barbara Angely

Richard Angarola

Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice? (1969), The Undefeated (1969), The Seven Minutes (1971), Jeremiah Johnson (1972) as Flathead Chief Two-Tongues Lebeaux, Papillon (1973), Three the Hard Way (1974), The Master Gunﬁghter (1975), Black Moon Rising (1986), Sunny Side Up (1994), and Raveling (2005). Angarola also appeared in the tele-ﬁlms Travis Logan, D.A. (1971), In Tandem (1974), and A Home of Our Own (1975), and the miniseries How the West Was Won (1977) as Chief Claw and The Return of Captain Nemo (1978). His other television credits include One Step Beyond, Death Valley Days, The Man from Blackhawk, The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, The Gallant Men, Bonanza, The Twilight Zone, The Andy Grifﬁth Show, The Richard Boone Show, Kraft Suspense Theatre, My Living Doll, Dr. Kildare, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Dick Van Dyke Show, Convoy, Honey West, Burke’s Law, Perry Mason, Mission: Impossible, Cimarron Strip, The High Chaparral, Get Smart, Daniel Boone, Wild Wild West, Gunsmoke, It Takes a Thief, Death Valley Days, Adam-12, Ironside, O’Hara, U.S. Treasury, Cannon, McCloud, Ghost Story, Hawaii Five-0, and Ark II.

ANGELY, BARBARA Austrian-American psychologist and triathlete Barbara Mueller Warren, who appeared in ﬁlms in Mexico in the 1960s and 1970s under the name Barbara Angely, died on August 26, 2008, of injuries she received in a bicycle crash while competing in the Santa Barbara, California, triathlon. She had remained paralyzed in a Santa Barbara hospital for three days before she communicated through blinking that she wanted to be removed from the ventilator that was keeping her alive. She was 65. She was born Barbara Mueller in St. Johann, Tirol, Austria, on April 9, 1943. She and her twin sister, Angelika, studied art history in Florence, Italy, and began modeling. They moved to Mexico City

in 1965, where they worked as models and opened an agency. Barbara began appearing in ﬁlms under the name Barbara Angely. She was featured in such ﬁlms as Chanoc (1967), El Asesino se Embarca (1967), Los Amigos (1968), Amor en las Nubes (1968), Blue Demon Versus the Infernal Brains (1968), Con Licencia Para Matar (1968), Blue Demon Contra las Diabolicas (1968), Almohada Para Tres (1969), Munecas Peligrosas (1969), Minifaldas con Espuelas (1969), Peligro...! Mujeres en Accion (1969), Las Fieras (1969), El Mundo de los Aviones (1969), Tres Amigos (1970), Click, Fotografo de Modelos (1970), Fray Don Juan (1970), Chanoc en las Garas de las Fieras (1970), El Tunco Maclovio (1970), Junegos de Alcoba (1971), The Gates of Paradise (1971) The Night of a Thousand Cats (1972), and Dead Aim (1975). She also appeared on U.S. television in an episode of Mission: Impossible. Mueller abandoned her acting career in the mid–1970s to pursue her interests in psychology. She also began running recreationally in the early 1980s and soon rejoined with her sister to compete in triathlons as The Twin Team. The two competed in over a dozen Ironman Triathlon Championships, and Barbara married fellow triathlete Tom Warren in 1995. She also was the author of several self-help motivational books.

ARAGON, ART Boxer Art Aragon, who was known as “The Golden Boy” during his ring career in the 1940s and 1950s, died of complications from a stroke in a Los Angeles hospital on March 25, 2008. He was 80.

Art Aragon

Obituaries • 2008 Aragon was born in Belen, New Mexico, on November 13, 1927. He was raised in East Los Angeles, and began boxing in 1944. He was a leading lightweight ﬁghter in the Los Angeles area and competed against such opponents as Don Jordan, Jimmy Carter, and Carmen Basilio. Though he never gained a championship, Aragon had a career record of 90–20–6. A popular and colorful competitor, he gained his nickname by entering the ring clad in gold robes and trunks. He was also romantically linked to several ﬁlm starlets including actress Mamie Van Doren. His career was also beset by controversy with allegations of thrown ﬁghts and criminal connections, before his retirement in 1960. During and after his boxing career, he was featured in ﬁlm and television productions. Aragon’s ﬁlm credits include The Ring (1952), Off Limits (1953), Dragnet (1954), To Hell and Back (1955) with Audie Murphy, World in My Corner (1956), The Ladies Man (1961), Fat City (1972), and The Distance (2006). He appeared on television in episodes of December Bride, General Electric Theater, Dan August, Movin’ On, Baretta, Ellery Queen, Joe Forrester, Quincy, and Barnaby Jones, and the 1980 tele-ﬁlm Angel on My Shoulder.

ARANSON, JACK Stage performer and theater founder Jack Aranson died of pneumonia while recovering from a broken hip in Sleepy Hollow, New York, on January 3, 2008. He was 83. Aranson was born in Los Angeles, California, on December 29, 1924, and was raised in Chicago, Illinois. He joined the Navy at age 17 by falsifying his age, and spent over 3 years at sea during World War II. After the war, he studied drama and literature at the University of California at Berkeley. He studied abroad at London’s Old Vic Theatre School before joining Ireland’s Anew McMaster Shakespeare Company. He was wed to the director’s daughter, Mary Rose

14 international career as a Shakespearian stage performer, and appeared in productions by such notable playwrights as Strindberg, Synge, Arthur Miller, and Tennessee Williams. He was best known for his one man production of Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick. A ﬁlm adaptation of his production, directed by Paul Stanley, was released in 1978 and featured Aranson in the roles of Captain Ahab, Starbuck, Ishmael, and Father Mapple. His other ﬁlm credits include Murder in Eden (1961), The Magic Snowman (1987), and Interstate 84 (2000). He was also seen in the television series Night Gallery and Gibbsville, and in the 1993 tele-ﬁlm The Whole Shebang.

ARCHARD, BERNARD British character actor Bernard Archard, who best known for his role as World War II Allied counterspy Oreste Pinto in the television series Spycatcher, died at his home in Witham Ferry, Somerset, England, on May 1, 2008. He was 91. Archard was born in London on August 20, 1916. He trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and spent several decades performing on the repertory stage. He made his television debut in an episode of Kenilworth in 1957 and was featured in small roles in the ﬁlms The Secret Man (1958) and Corridors of Blood (1958), with Boris Karloff. He appeared in the 1960 television production of The Night of the Big Heat and was the Vicar in the 1960 science ﬁction classic Village of the Damned. Archard starred as Col. Pinto in the BBC series Spycatcher from 1959 to 1961. His other television credits include episodes of Police Surgeon, The Pursuers, Danger Man, Top Secret, Sir Frances Drake, The Sunday Night Play, No Hiding Place, Man of the World, Scales of Justice, Zero One, Suspense, Dr. Finlay’s Casebook, The Midnight Men, The Children of the New Forest, The Hidden Truth, The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre, Hit and Run, R3, Out of the Unknown, Play of the Month, The Wednesday Play, The Avengers, The Jazz Age, ITV Playhouse, Callan, and Oh Brother! Archard also continued to appear in ﬁlms, with roles in Two Letter Alibi (1962), The Password Is Courage (1962), The List of Adrian Messenger (1963), Silent Playground (1963), The Spy with the Cold Nose (1966), The Mini-Affair (1967), Play Dirty (1968), The File of the Golden Goose (1969), Farouk — Last of the Pharaohs (1970), Fragment of Fear (1970), Song

Jack Aranson

McMaster, in 1955, though the couple later divorced. Aranson returned to Los Angeles in 1962, working brieﬂy with the Actor’s Workshop, before founding the Gate Theatre Company in Sausalito and the San Francisco City Theatre, which closed its doors in 1978. In 1973, he married opera singer Claudia Cummings, and the two moved to New York, where they co-founded the Festival Theatre. Aranson also had a long and accomplished

Bernard Archard

15 of Norway (1970), The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) as Professor Heiss, Dad’s Army (1971), The Tragedy of Macbeth (1971), The Day of the Jackal (1973), The Hiding Place (1975), Sister Dora (1977), The Sea Wolves (1980), Krull (1983), Clash of Loyalties (1983), King Solomon’s Mines (1985), God’s Outlaw (1986), and Hidden Agenda (1990). He was also featured in such television productions as Heiress of Garth (1965), Son of the Sahara (1966), Tower of London: The Innocent (1969), Run a Crooked Mile (1969), The Legend of Robin Hood (1975), Philby, Burgess, and MacLean (1977), Churchill and the Generals (1979) as Edward, Lord Halifax, ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore (1980), A Tale of Two Cities (1980), Inside the Third Reich (1982), Separate Tables (1983), and A Man Called Quinn (1983). His other television credits include episodes of Crime of Passion, Mystery and Imagination, Z Cars, Dixon of Dock Green, Man at the Top, Paul Temple, The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, Country Matters, Madigan, The Adventures of Black Beauty, Special Branch, Upstairs, Downstairs, Play for Today, and Sky. Archard was featured in two serials in the popular British science ﬁction series Doctor Who—“The Power of the Daleks” and “Pyramids of Mars.” He was also seen in such series as Wodehouse Playhouse, Crown Court in the recurring role of William Boyce, Dick Turpin, Rumpole of the Bailey, Charles Endell, Esq., Cribb, Number 10 as the Duke of Wellington, Lytton’s Diary in the recurring role of Ian the editor, Bergerac, and Keeping Up Appearances. Archard’s ﬁnal role was on the popular television soap opera Emmerdale Farm. He was featured as Leonard Kempinski, the series matriarch’s second husband from 1992 until his character’s death in a plane crash the following year.

ARCHIBALD, CHERYL Model and actress Cheryl Archibald Osborne died of cancer in New York City on November 10, 2008. She was 71. Archibald was

Cheryl Archibald

born in New York City in 1937. She worked as a model and actress in the early 1940s and was featured in the 1944 ﬁlm Cover Girl as the cover girl for Look magazine. She was also seen in the 1948 Broadway musical Love Life.

ARNO, ED Cartoonist Ed Arno, whose sketchily surreal panels appeared regularly in The New Yorker, died in Queens, New York, on May 27, 2008. He was 91.

2008 • Obituaries

Ed Arno

He was born Arnold Edelstein in Innsbruck, Austria, on July 17, 1916. He studied design at the Ecole Paul Colin in Paris and began his career working in ﬁlm animation with Pathe Nathan in the 1930s. His career was interrupted when the Nazis took over Austria, and he and his family ended up in labor camps during World War II. He was liberated by the Soviets in 1944 and moved to Bucharest, Romania. He worked in cartoon animation and directed a children’s book publishing house. He also began drawing satirical cartoons for magazines in Romania and the Soviet Union. Arno came to the United States in 1965, where he supplied cartoons for such magazines as The Saturday Evening Post, Look, and Reader’s Digest. His work began appearing in The New Yorker in 1968 after the death of namesake but unrelated cartoonist Peter Arno. He continued working for the magazine for over thirty years, with his last cartoon appearing in October of 2001. Arno also wrote and illustrated the children’s book The Gingerbread Man, and illustrated The Magic Fish. A collection of his cartoons, Ed Arno’s Most Wanted, was published in 1998. ARNOLD, EDDY Legendary country music singer Eddy Arnold died in a health care facility near Nashville, Tennessee, on May 8, 2008. Arnold had fallen outside his home and suffered a hip injury 2 months earlier. He was 89. He was born on a farm near Henderson, Tennessee, on May 15, 1918. He began performing on radio stations throughout Tennessee in the 1940s, and was brieﬂy managed by Col. Tom Parker early in his career. He hit the Billboard charts in 1947 with his ﬁrst #1 hit “It’s a Sin.” He continued with a string of popular songs and was ranked as the most successful country singer of all time. Arnold’s singing style which mixed country pop became known as the “Nashville Sound.” His hits include the songs “Cattle Call,” “What Is Life Without Love?,” “Bouquet of Roses,” “Turn the World Around,” “Anytime,” “Will Santy Come to Shanty Town?,” “Lonely Again,” “I Want to Go with You,” “Here Comes My Baby,” and “What’s He Doing in My World?” Arnold made his national television debut in Milton Berle’s Texaco Star Theater in 1949. He was also featured in the western ﬁlms Feudin’ Rhythm (1949) with Kirby Grant and Hoedown (1950) with Jock Mahoney. He also starred with Gogi Grant in the music short The Tennessee Plowboy in 1956. Arnold starred in his own tel-

Obituaries • 2008

Eddy Arnold

evision show, The Eddy Arnold Show, in the summers of 1952, 1953, and 1956. He also headlined the syndicated series Eddy Arnold Time from 1954 to 1956. He performed in such television variety series as The Spike Jones Show, The DuPont Show of the Month, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Bell Telephone Hour, The Andy Williams Show, The Dean Martin Show, The Mike Douglas Show, The Jackie Gleason Show, The David Frost Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Kraft Music Hall, and The Johnny Cash Show. Arnold revitalized his career in the 1960s by adding strings to his music, brieﬂy alienating country purists. His 1965 rendition of “Make the World Go Away” hit both the country and pop charts. Arnold was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1966. He continued to record and perform for the next four decades. His wife of 66 years, Sally, died two months before Arnold.

ARPINO, GERALD Choreographer Gerald Arpino, who was co-founder of the Joffrey Ballet, died after a long illness at his home in Chicago, Illinois, on October 29, 2008. He was 85. Arpino was born on Staten Island, New York, on January 14, 1923. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, and began studying dance after the war. He was trained in ballet by Mary Ann Wells and May O’Donnell, and performed with the latter’s troupe during the 1950s. He joined with Robert Joffrey to form a small touring troupe in New York in 1956. Arpino’s career as a dancer ended in the

16 early 1960s after suffering a severe injury, but he had already began working as a choreographer. The Joffrey Ballet became an internationally renowned company, and Arpino took over as artistic director after Joffrey’s death in 1988. He moved the company to Chicago in 1995 and retired in 2007. Arpino choreographed numerous dance productions during his sometimes controversial career including Anton Webern’s Incubus (1962), Viva Vivaldi! (1965), Hershy Kay’s The Clowns (1968), Gioachino Rossini’s Confetti, Alan Raph’s Sacred Grove on Mount Tamalpais (1972), Drums, Dreams and Banjos (1975) celebrating the music of Stephen Foster, Orpheus Times Light (1976), Douglas Adams and Russ Gauthier’s Light Rain (1981), Gustav Mahler’s Round of Angels (1983), Charles Ives’ I/DNA (2003), and Tomaso Albonini’s Ruth: Ricordi Per Due (2004). Malcolm McDowell’s performance as the pompous artist director Mr. A in Robert Altman’s 2003 ﬁlm about the Joffrey Ballet, The Company, was largely based on Arpino.

ARRICK, ROSE Actress Rose Arrick died of a heart attack on November 21, 2008. She was 80. She appeared frequently on stage from the early 1960s, with roles in such Broadway productions as The Heroine (1963), The Ninety Day Mistress (1967), Unlikely Heroes (1971), Bad Habits (1974), A View from the Bridge (1983), All My Sons (1987), What’s Wrong with This Picture (1994), and The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife (2000). Ar-

Rose Arrick

rick appeared in several ﬁlms directed by Elaine May including A New Leaf (1971), Mikey and Nicky (1976), and Ishtar (1987). Her other ﬁlm credits include Those Lips, Those Eyes (1980), Over the Brooklyn Bridge (1984), Rent Control (1984), Seize the Day (1986), Two Bits (1995), A Fish in the Bathtub (1999), and Being Claudine (2002). She was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms A Matter of Life and Death (1981), The Gift of Life (1982), Life of the Party: The Story of Beatrice (1982), and The Ghost Writer (1984). Her other television credits include episodes of East Side/ West Side, Alice, Kate & Allie, Kay O’Brien, CBS Schoolbreak Special, Law & Order, Queens Supreme, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Love Monkey. Arrick also worked as a drama teacher at New York’s HB Studio. Gerald Arpino

ARRIOLA, GUS Mexican-American comic strip artist Gustavo “Gus” Arriola, who created the comic

17

Gus Arriola

Gordo, died of complications from Parkinson’s disease at his home in Carmel, California, on February 2, 2008. He was 90. Arriola was born in Florence, Arizona, on July 17, 1917. He began his career in animation while in his teens, working on Krazy Kat for Screen Gems and Tom and Jerry for MGM. He created the Gordo strip in 1941, which was one of the ﬁrst comics to depict Hispanic culture in the United States. Arriola continued the strip during World War II while also making training ﬁlms for the U.S. Army. He wrote and illustrated Gordo himself for 45 years, with the ﬁnal episode seeing print in March of 1985.

ARTHUR, ROBERT Robert Arthur, a supporting actor in ﬁlms in the 1940s and 1950s, died of congestive heart failure at his home in Aberdeen, Washington, on October 1, 2008. He was 83. He was born Robert Hall Arthaud in Aberdeen on June 18, 1925. He served in the Navy during World War II before heading to Hollywood for a career as an actor. Arthur’s youthful appearance led him to be cast as teens early in his career. His ﬁlm credits include Roughly Speaking (1945), Mildred Pierce (1945), Danger Signal (1945), Too Young to Know (1945), Her Kind of Man (1946), Night and Day (1946), Nobody Lives Forever (1946), Sweetheart of Sigma Chi (1946), The Devil on Wheels (1947), Nora Prentiss (1947), Hollywood Wonderland (1947), Mother Wore Tights (1947), Green Grass of Wyoming (1948), Yellow Sky (1948), Mother Is a Freshman (1949), You’re My Everything (1949),

Robert Arthur

2008 • Obituaries Twelve O’Clock High (1949), September Affair (1950), Air Cadet (1951), Ace in the Hole (1951), On the Loose (1951), Belles on Their Toes (1952) as Frank Gilbreth, The Ring (1952), Just for You (1952), The System (1953), Young Bess (1953), Take the High Ground! (1953), Return from the Sea (1954), The First Hundred Days (1955), Top of the World (1955), The Desperados Are in Town (1956), Three Violent People (1956), Hellcats of the Navy (1957) with Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis, Young and Wild (1958), and Naked Youth (1961). Arthur also guest starred in episodes of such television series as Sky King, The Lone Ranger, The Public Defender, Four Star Playhouse, Screen Director’s Playhouse, Frontier, Crossroads, Telephone Time, Navy Log, Frontier Doctor, Switchblade, and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Arthur largely retired from acting to sell insurance in the 1960s, but returned to television in 1991 to guest star as a minister on an episode of Full House. He was also active in the gay rights movement for senior citizens.

ARTMANE, VIJA Latvian actress Vija Artmane died in Latvia of complications after suffering several strokes on October 11, 2008. She was 79. She was born Alida Franzevna Artmane in Tukums, Latvia, on July 21, 1929. She help support her family as a shepherd girl during World War II. After the war she move to Riga, where she studied acting. She joined the Daile Theatre there in 1949, where she performed for the next ﬁfty years. She also became a popular ﬁlm star with her role in the 1957

Vija Artmane

Soviet feature After the Storm. Her subsequent ﬁlm credits include Chuzhaya v Posyolke (1959), Na Poroge Buri (1961), Introduction (1962), Verba Seraya Tsyetyot (1962), Blood Ties (1963) as the beautiful mother Sonya, Rakety ne Dolzny Vzletet (1964), Edgar i Kristina (1966), Nobody Wanted to Die (1966), Andromeda Nebula (1967) as Veda Kong, Strong with Spirit (1967), Podvig Farkhada (1968), Torynaya Proverka (1969), Gladiator (1969), The Ballad of Berind and His Friends (1970), I’m the Detective (1971), Gift for the Single Woman (1973), Pugachev (1978) as Catherine the Great, Theatre (1978) as Julia Lambert, Gosudarstvennaya Granitsa: My Nash, my Novyy... (1980), Emila Nedarbi (1985), The Secret of the Snow Queen (1986), Svesas Kaislibas (1986), Moonzund (1987), For the Saved: Paradise (1988), Katafalk (1990), Only for Crazy

Obituaries • 2008 (1990), Love (1991), and Kamenskaya: Igra na Chuzhorn Pole (2000). She also appeared in the 1980 documentary of her biography, Conversation with the Queen.

ASINOF, ELIOT Author and journalist Eliot Asinof, who was best known for his book Eight Men Out, an account of the 1919 White Sox baseball scandal, died of pneumonia in Hudson, New York, on June 10, 2008. He was 88. Asinof was born in Manhattan, New York, on July 13, 1919. He served in the Army Corps in the Aleutians during World War II. He began writing after the war, and his ﬁrst novel, Man on Spikes, about a minor

18 an ailing George Harrison for camera rehearsals for the group’s ﬁrst appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. After the death of Beatles manager Brian Epstein in 1967, Aspinall’s duties increased, and he was put in charge of the newly formed production company, Apple Corps, the following year. He oversaw marketing of the Beatles’ music, videos, and merchandising, as well as Apple Records and Stanby Films. Over the years Aspinall was involved in small ways in several Beatles recordings, playing the harmonica on “Being for the Beneﬁt of Mr. Kite!,” the tamboura for “Within You Without You,” and being part of the chorus for “Yellow Submarine.” Aspinall retired from Apple in 2007.

ASPRIN, ROBERT Science ﬁction and fantasy author Robert Asprin, who was best known for his MythAdventures series, died at his home in New Orleans on May 22, 2008. He was 61. Asprin was born in St. Johns, Michigan, on June 28, 1946. He was an active member of the Society for Creative Anachronism in the late 1960s and began writing professionally in the 1970s. His ﬁrst novel, The Cold Cash War, was published in 1977. He and his then-wife Lynn Abbey created and edited the shared world anthology series Thieves’ World in the 1980s. He also created the MythAdventures series, featuring the comic exploits of Skeeve and Aahz, in 1978’s Eliot Asinof

league baseball player, was published in 1955. He authored over a dozen books during his career and wrote for television in the 1950s. He scripted episodes of Television Playhouse, Climax!, The DuPont Show of the Month, and Cain’s Hundred. Eight Men Out was published in 1963, and Asinof worked with director John Sayles on a script for a ﬁlm version in 1988. He appeared in the ﬁlm in the small role of John Heydler. Another novel, Ten Second Jailbreak, was adapted for the 1975 ﬁlm Breakout. Asinof also appeared on screen in the role Silent Sam in 2002’s Sunshine State. He was married to actress Jocelyn Brando, Marlon’s sister, from 1950 to 1955, and is survived by their son, Martin.

Robert Asprin

ASPINALL, NEIL

British record producer Neil Aspinall, who went from being the Beatles’ personal assistant to become chief executive of Apple Corps, died of lung cancer in New York City on March 24, 2008. He was 66. Aspinall was born in Prestatyn, North Wales, on October 13, 1941. He was a childhood friend of Paul McCartney and George Harrison, and became the Beatles’ road manager early in their career. He was later promoted to their personal assistant, and ﬁlled on stage for

Neil Aspinall (center, with The Beatles)

Another Fine Myth. The series, which was also adapted for graphic novels and comic books, included Asprin’s titles Myth Conception (1980), Myth Directions (1982), Hit or Myth (1983), Myth-ing Persons (1984), Little Myth Marker (1985), M.Y.T.H. inc. Link (1986), Myth-Nomers and Im-Pervections (1987), M.Y.T.H. inc. in Action (1990), Sweet Myth-tery of Life (1993), Myth-Ion Improbable (2001), and Something M.Y.T.H. Inc. (2002). Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye were also co-authors of Mythtold Tales (2003), Myth Alliances (2003), Myth-taken Identity (2004), Class Dis-Mythed (2005), Myth-Gotten Gains (2006), Myth-Chief (2008), and Myth-Fortune (2008). He also created the adventures of the Space Legion and their leader Willard Phule with 1990’s Phule’s Company. Subsequent novels, most of which were coauthored with Peter Heck, include Phule’s Paradise (1992), A Phule and His Money (1999), Phule Me Twice (2000), No Phule Like an Old Phule (2004), and Phule’s

19 Errand (2006). Asprin and Mel White co-created the Duncan and Mallory series with the novel of the same name in 1986, and continued it with The Bar None Ranch (1987) and The Raiders (1987). Teaming with Linda Evans, he authored Time Scout in 1995. They continued the series with the novels Wagers of Sin (1995), Ripping Time (2000), and The House That Jack Built (2000). His most recent series, Wartorn, included the novels Resurrection (2004) and Obliteration (2006) with Eric Del Carlo. Asprin’s other works include the titles Tambu (1979), The Bug Wars (1979), the Star Trek novel Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe (1979) written with actor George Takei, Cold Cash Warrior (1989) with Bill Fawcett, Catwoman (1992) with Lynn Abbey, License Invoked (2001), For King and Country (2002), E.Godz (2005), and Dragons Wild (2008).

ATARI, SHOSH

Israeli radio broadcaster and actress Shosh Atari was found dead of complications from kidney disease at her home in Tel Aviv, Israel, on April 1, 2008. She was 58. She was born in Rehovot, Israel, on November 24, 1949, She began working in radio with the Israeli Broadcasting Authority after completing her military service. She hosted the “New and Improved” segment of IBA’s Reshet Gimmel program from

Shosh Atari

the mid–1970s through the mid–1990s. She also hosted the game show Pitsuchim for Israel Education Television for over a decade. Diagnosed with kidney disease, she underwent transplant surgery several years later. Atari continued to work in radio with the local station Radio Lev Hamedina, and starred in the 2007 television comedy series Hakol Dvash (Everything Is Peachy) with Poli Poliakov. Her survivors include her sisters, singer Gali Atari and actress Yona Atari.

ATKINS, DAVE British character actor Dave Atkins, who was featured as the oversized pub keeper Les in the television comedy Men Behaving Badly, died of a heart attack in England on April 23, 2008. He was 67. Atkins was born in Plymouth, England, on October 11, 1940. He began his career on stage in the mid–1960s performing in repertory theater. He was performing on the London stage, as well as appearing in ﬁlms and on television by the 1970s. Atkins ﬁlm credits include The Life Story of Baal (1978), The Odd Job (1978), Lindsay Ander-

2008 • Obituaries

Dave Atkins

son’s Britannia Hospital (1982), Laughter House (1984), Mr. Love (1985), Comrades (1986), Personal Services (1987), Prick Up Your Ears (1987), Clive Barker’s Hellraiser (1987), London Kills Me (1991), The Hour of the Pig (1993), Sidney’s Chair (1995), Drunk and Disorderly (1995), Plunkett & Macleane (1999), and The Last Seduction II (1999). Atkins was also featured in the television productions Bull Week (1980), Kipperbang (1982), Past Caring (1985), Hitler’s SS: Portrait in Evil (1985), The Sign of Four (1987), The Firm (1988), and Ball-Trap on the Kote Sauvage (1989). He starred as Les, the pub landlord, on Men Behaving Badly from 1992 through 1995. His other television credits include episodes of Happy Ever After, BBC2 Play of the Week, The Sweeney, The Little World of Don Camillo, Minder, Dramarama, Shine On Harvey Moon, Big Deal, Rockliffe’s Babies, The Comics Presents..., This Is David Lander, London’s Burning, Bergerac, Hannay, Forever Green, Boon, The New Statesman, Van der Valk, Jeeves and Wooster, Press Gang, Lovejoy, Ruth Rendell Mysteries, The Detectives, The Upper Hand, The Bill, Wycliffe, The Knock, Alias Smith & Jones, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Northern Lights, and Whitechapel.

AUDOLLENT, MARIE-FRANCOISE French actress Marie-Francoise Audollent died of complications from a fall in Lyon, France, on March 30, 2008. She was 64. Audollent was born in Clermont-Ferrand, France, on May 22, 1943. She was featured in such ﬁlms as Moliere (1978), Women in Prison (1988), Milena (1991),

Marie-Francoise Audollent

Obituaries • 2008 My Woman Is Leaving Me (1996), Le Cri de la Soie (1996), Zonzon (1998), In Praise of Love (2001), and Les Seins de ma Prof d’Anglais (2004). Audollent was also seen in the television productions La Florentina (1991), The Count of Monte Cristo (1998) as the Mother Superior, Le Soldat Inconnu Vivant (2004), and Harkis (2006). She was best known in the United States for her role as Sister Sandrine in the 2006 ﬁlm adaptation of The Da Vinci Code with Tom Hanks. Her ﬁnal ﬁlm credit was 2008’s The Maiden and the Wolves.

AURED, CARLOS Spanish ﬁlm director Carlos Aured, who was best known for a handful of horror ﬁlms he helmed with actor Paul Naschy in the early 1970s, died of a heart attack at his home near Denia, Spain, on February 3, 2008. He was 71. Aured was born in Los Alcazares, Murcia, Spain, on January 22, 1937. He began his career working in menial roles for a Spanish touring theatrical troupe and brieﬂy worked on productions with Television Espanola. He moved into ﬁlms with the 1963 spaghetti western Gringo, working as an assistant. He rose through the production ranks, becoming as assistant director by the end of the decade for 1968’s A Stranger in Paso Bravo. He continued to serve as an assistant director, often working with director Leon Klimovsky, for the next several years on such ﬁlms as Long Live the Bride and Groom (1971), Los Hombres las Preﬁeren Viudas (1970), Picos de Europa (1971), Exorcism’s Daughter (1971), The Werewolf vs. Vampire Women (1971), and La Casa de las Chivas (1972). Aured made his directorial debut on the 1973 ﬁlm Horror Rises from the Tomb starring Spanish horror icon Paul Naschy. He and Naschy worked together on several subsequent ﬁlms made in rapid succession including The Return of Walpurgis (1973), House of Psychotic Women (1973), and The Vengeance of the Mummy (1973). Over the next decade Aured primarily directed and scripted erotic comedies, helming such features as La Noche de la Furia (1974), Los Frios Senderos del Crimen (1974), Susana Quiere Perder ... Eso! (1977), La Frigida y la Viciosa (1981), El Fonanero, su Mujer, y Otras, Cosas de Meter... (1981), and Apocalipsis Sexual (1982). He also scripted the ﬁlms Belles, Blondes et Bronzees (1981) and Triumphs of a Man Called Horse (1982), and directed the 1983 horror thriller The Enigma of the Yacht. He also directed the ﬁlm El Hombre del Pito Magico (1983), and

20 the 1985 slasher ﬁlm Atrapados en el Miedo (1985). Aured served as a producer for the Spanish–U.S. co-productions Monster Dog (1984) and Alien Predator (1987). He worked as a buyer for Canal, a pay television channel, during the 1990s. He was reunited with Naschy in 2007, appearing as a taxi driver in the actor’s short ﬁlm El Perdon. He worked brieﬂy as a director on Naschy’s forthcoming ﬁlm Empusa before poor health forced him from the project.

AXON, JOHN British actor John Axon died of a heart attack in Stockport, Cheshire, England, on October 25, 2008. He was 48. Axon was born on September 10, 1960. He trained as a graphic artist before becoming an actor in the 1990s. He best known for his role as Mr. Nigel Harper in the television series The Royal from 2003 to 2005. He also appeared in the series Dalziel

John Axon

and Pascoe, Expert Witness, Wycliffe, Heartbeat, The Lakes, Peak Practice, Casualty, Phoenix Nights, Oscar Charlie, The Afternoon Play, Emmerdale Farm, The Bill, Doctors, Life on Mars, New Street Law, The Chase, Lilies, and Bear Behaving Badly. Axon was also seen in the television productions Prime Suspect 3 (1993), The 10th Kingdom (2000), The King and Us (2002), Under the Greenwod Tree (2005), and Terry Pratchett’s Johnny and the Bomb (2006). He had recently completed ﬁlming a segment of the upcoming television series Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire at the time of his death.

AY, EVELYN Evelyn Ay Sempier, Miss America of 1954, died of colorectal cancer in Malvern, Pennsylvania, on October 18, 2008. She was 75. Ay was born in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, on March 8, 1933. She began competing in beauty pageants in the early 1950s, earning the titles Miss Ephrata Fair and Tobacco Queen and Miss National AMVET. She was crowned Miss Pennsylvania in 1952, on her road to become Miss America in September of 1953. Her competition was the last held before the pageant became televised. After her reign ended at the end of 1954, Ay married businessman Carl Sempier. The two remained wed until his death in 2007. She remained active with pageant events over the decades, serving as judge of many local competitions and the 1981 Miss America contest. Carlos Aured

21

2008 • Obituaries

Evelyn Ay

Rafael Azcona

AYERS, ROWAN British television producer Rowan Ayers, who produced the BBC’s Late Night LineUp in the 1960s, died on January 5, 2008. He was 85. Ayers was born in Essex, England, on June 16, 1922. He served in the Royal Navy during World War II, and began working as a journalist and advertising copywriter after the war. He was also the author of numerous shortstories and several radio plays broadcast by the BBC. He joined the BBC as an editorial assistant on the Radio Times in 1955, and soon became television editor of the

Logrono, Spain, on October 24, 1926. He began writing for ﬁlms in the 1950s, and scripted over 100 features during his ﬁve decade career. His numerous ﬁlm credits include El Pisito (1959), The Little Coach (1960), El Secreto de los Hombres Azules (1961), Placido (1961), Maﬁoso (1962), Three Fables of Love (1962), The Conjugal Bed (1963), Not on Your Life (1963), Un Rincon para Querernos (1964), Countersex (1964), The Ape Woman (1964), The Man with the Balloons (1965), Kiss the Other Sheik (1965), The Wedding March (1965), Run for Your Wife (1965), L’Estate (1966), Tuset Street (1967), The Harem (1967), Peppermint Frappe (1967), The Piranhas (1967), Honeycomb (1969), The Challenges (1969) which he also directed, Long Live the Bride and Groom (1970), Secret Intentions (1970), El Monumento (1970), The Garden of Delights (1970), Papal Audience (1971), In the Eye of the Hurricane (1971), Cross Current (1971), La Cera Virgen (1972), It Can Be Done Amigo (1972), A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die (1972), Autopsy (1973), La Grande Bouffe (1973), Anna and the Wolves (1973), The Marriage Revolution (1974), Don’t Touch the White Woman! (1974), Claretta and Ben (1974), Cousin Angelica (1974), Love Doll (1974), The Power of Desire (1975), Ready, Aim, Fire! (1975), The Anchorite (1976), The Last Woman (1976), My Daughter Hildegart (1977), A Man Called Autumn Flower (1978), Bye Bye Monkey (1978), The National Shotgun (1978), Honey (1979), The Family, Fine, Thanks (1979), El Divorcio que Viene (1990), National Heritage (1981), Besame, Tonta (1982), National III (1982), The Heifer (1985), The Court of the Pharaoh (1985), A Year of Enlightenment (1986), El Bosque Animado (1987), The Impeccable Sinner (1987), Moors and Christians (1987), How Good the Whites Are (1988), Pasodoble (1988), The Flight of the Dove (1989), Blood and Sand (1989) starring Sharon Stone, Ay, Carmela! (1990), Chechu y Familia (1992), Banderas, the Tyrant (1993), Suspiros de Espana y Portugal (1995), El Rey del Rio (1985), The Seductor (1995), Gran Slalom (1996), La Celestina (1996), Tramway to Malvarrosa (1997), In Praise of Older Woman (1997), Una Pareja Perfecta (1998), The Girl of Your Dreams (1998), Butterﬂy Tongues (1999), Goodbye from the Heart (2000), El Paraiso ya no es lo que Era (2001), Sound of the Sea (2001), The Green March (2002), Franky Banderas (2004), and Maria Querida (2004).

Rowan Ayers

magazine. He began working in television as assistant head of presentation at the BBC in 1961. He created the series Line-Up, which soon became Late Night Line-Up, in the early 1960s. The show was a live broadcasts of reviews of ﬁlms, theatre, television, literature, and music, and featured a stellar array of guests from all ﬁelds of the arts. Late Night Line-Up continued through December of 1972, and Ayers next created the Open Door series for the Community Programmes Unit. He left the BBC in 1974 and moved to Australia, where he worked with the national Channel 9 network.

AZCONA, RAFAEL Spanish screenwriter Rafael Azcona, who was best known for scripting the 1992 Oscar-winning foreign ﬁlm Belle Epoque (aka The Age of Beauty), died of lung cancer in Madrid, Spain, on March 24, 2008. He was 81. Azcona was born in

Obituaries • 2008 BABU, SHOBHAN Shobhan Babu, a leading Teluga-language Indian actor died of cardiac arrest in a private hospital in Chennai, India, on March 20, 2008. He was 71. He was born Uppu Sobhana Chalapathi Rao in Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, India, on January 14, 1937. He began his ﬁlm career in the early 1960s, and was soon noted for his good looks and heroic style that made him popular with female fans. He performed opposite such leading ladies as Sarada, Vanisree, Jayasudha, and Sreedevi. His many ﬁlm credits include

22 uary 12, 2008, when he drove his vehicle into the lane of opposing trafﬁc and collided with a mini-van. He was 36. Bachinsky was born in Yarovoye, Russia, on September 1, 1971. He began his career in radio in St. Petersburg in the 1990s, co-hosting several shows with Sergei Stillavin. The two moved to Moscow in 2001 where they cohosted the leading morning talk show Two in One on Radio MAXIMUM. The duo became known as the “Howard Sterns of Russian Radio” with their discussions on sex and frequent off-color language. Bachinsky left MAXIMUM in 2007 to join Mayak, the state radio network, as co-host of another popular show.

BAER, RICHARD Veteran television writer Richard Baer died of a heart attack in Santa Monica, California, on February 22, 2008. He was 79. Baer was born in New York City on April 28, 1928. He began his career in television in the 1950s as an assistant scriptwriter for The Life of Riley, and was soon writing scripts on his own. He also scripted the 1958 Columbia ﬁlm Life Begins at 17. Baer earned an Emmy nomina-

Sobhan Babu

Bhakta Shabari (1960), Sri Seetha Rama Kalyanam (1961), Lava Kusa (1963), Veerabhimanyu (1965), Poola Rangadu (1967), Aada Paduchu (1967), The Good Boy (1969), The Complete Ramayana (1971), Manavadu Danavudu (1972), Iddaru Ammayilu (1972), Sharada (1973), Jeevana Tarangalu (1973), Devudu Chesina Pelli (1974), Light of Life (1975), Kurukshetramu (1977), Mosagadu (1980), Krishnarajunulu (1982), The Next Step (1983), Mugguru Monagallu (1983), Mangalya Balam (1985), Jackie (1985), Temple (1985), Mr. Bharath (1986), The Betrothal (1986), Samsaram (1988), and Balarama Krishnulu (1992). He retired from the screen in 1997, and lived comfortably on his investments in real estate.

BACHINSKY, GENNADY Russian radio personality Gennady Bachinsky was killed in an automobile accident in the Tver Oblast region of Russia on Jan-

Gennady Bachinsky

Richard Baer

tion for his work writing episodes of the television comedy series Hennessey, and scripted episodes of such series as Leave It to Beaver, Have Gun —Will Travel, The Andy Grifﬁth Show, Tallahassee 7000, Going My Way, Petticoat Junction, O.K. Crackerby!, Mister Roberts, The Munsters, Love on a Rooftop, F Troop, The Doris Day Show, That Girl, Bewitched, Getting Together, M*A*S*H, Adam’s Ribs, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, Barney Miller, Turnabout, Archie Bunker’s Place, Condo, The Four Seasons, and Who’s the Boss? Baer also wrote the tele-ﬁlms Playmates (1972), Poor Devil (1973), and I Take These Men (1983). He also wrote the romantic comedy play Mixed Emotions in 1987, which played in Los Angeles and on Broadway.

BAERWITZ, JERRY A. Film producer Jerry A. Baerwitz, who produced and directed the 1962 U.S. version of the Japanese monster movie Varan the Unbelievable, died on January 10, 2008. He was 82. Baerwitz was born on June 17, 1925. He began working in television in the 1950s, serving as an assistant director for such series as Sheriff of Cochise, U.S. Marshal, and The Texan. He directed the 1962 ﬁlm Wild Harvest, and added extensive footage starring Myron Healey to an existing Japanese ﬁlm to create Varan the Unbelievable in 1962. Baerwitz

23

Jerry A. Baerwitz (director of the English-language version of Varan the Unbelievable)

served as a production manager for the 1965 ﬁlm Nightmare in the Sun, and was unit production manager for Tex (1982), The Toy (1982), The Slugger’s Wife (1985), and Some Kind of Wonderful (1987). He was also credited as a producer for such ﬁlms as Fright Night (1985), Armed and Dangerous (1986), Stewardess School (1986), Punchline (1988), Coupe de Ville (1990), 29th Street (1991), Mr. Jones (1993), Hideaway (1995), and The Nephew (1998).

BALLARD, CLINT, JR. Songwriter Clint Ballard, Jr., who penned such hits as “The Game of Love” and “You’re No Good,” died of complications from a stroke at his home in Denton, Texas, on December 23, 2008. He was 77. Ballard was born in El Paso, Texas, on

2008 • Obituaries

Chaim Banai

Yossi Banai and comic actor Gavri Banai. Chaim performed frequently on stage, ﬁlm and television. His ﬁlm credits include His Name Was Madron (1980), The House on Chelouche Street (1973), Kazabian (1974), Tzanani Family (1976), The Ambassador (1984), Goodbye, New York (1985), and American Citizen (1992). He was also featured in such tele-ﬁlms as Moses the Lawgiver (1974), Steal the Sky (1988), and Held Hostage: The Sis and Jerry Levin Story (1991). Banai starred as Chaim Agrov in the television series Hafuch in 1996, and was Yehuda Bar’el in Shababot VeHagim in the early 2000s. He was best known in Israel for playing grocer Albert Perot in a series of public service broadcasts for the Fruit and Vegetable Council during the 1980s.

BANBURY, FRITH British stage director Frith Banbury died in London on May 14, 2008. He was 96. He was born Frederick Harold Banbury in Plymouth, Devon, England, on May 4, 1912. He became fascinated by the theatre at an early age. He left Oxford to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1931, and embarked on a career as an actor on stage two years later. He appeared in such productions as Goodness, How Sad! (1938), Let’s Face It (1939), and The Government Inspector (1945). He was also featured in small roles in the ﬁlms The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) as Baby-Face Fitzroy and The Huggetts Abroad (1949). He turned to directing with a production of Wynyard Browne’s Dark Summer in 1947, and scored a hit directing Browne’s next Clint Ballard

May 24, 1931. He began working in the music industry in the 1950s as manager of the Kalin Twins. He went on to write such popular songs as “Gingerbread” for Frankie Avalon, “There’s Not a Minute” for Ricky Nelson, “Gotta Get a Hold of Myself ” for the Zombies, and “The Game of Love” for Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders. Ballard also wrote the song “You’re No Good,” which was a hit for Linda Ronstadt in 1974.

BANAI, CHAIM Israeli actor Chaim Banai died of cardiac arrest at his home in Jerusalem on August 9, 2008. He was 71. Banai was born in Jerusalem on May 14, 1937. He was the brother of the late actor and singer

Frith Banbury

Obituaries • 2008 play, the melancholy Christmas tale The Holly and the Ivy, in 1950. Banbury also championed the works of Rodney Ackland, directing a revival of his version of Hugh Walpole’s The Old Ladies. Their subsequent collaboration, Ackland’s original play The Pink Room, proved a critical failure in 1952. Banbury had more success with his productions of N.C. Hunter’s Waters of the Moon (1951), Terence Rattigan’s The Deep Blue Sea (1952), John Whiting’s Marching Song, and Robert Bolt’s Flowering Cherry (1957). He became the director of choice for theatrical revivals and literary adaptations in the 1960s. He helmed Christopher Taylor’s version of Henry James’ Wings of the Dove in 1963, and revivals of Captain Brassbound’s Conversion (1971) and The Aspern Papers (1984). His later works include the off-beat 1989 play Screamers and the 1999 revival of The Gin Game. His ﬁnal directorial effort was a national tour revival of his earlier hit The Old Ladies. Banbury was working on his biography with actor Simon Callow at the time of his death.

BANDITH, SINGKHAM Actor Singkham Bandith died in a Bridgeport, Connecticut, hospital, on March 13, 2008. He was 35. Bandith was born in Laos on March 11, 1973. An actor and musician, he was featured in a small role in the 2004 ﬁlm Maria Full of Grace. He also appeared in the 2006 ﬁlm Blood Money, for which he also composed the score and served as assistant director. BANKS, IONA Welsh actress Iona Banks died after a long illness in Trelogan, Flintshire, Wales, on May 19, 2008. She was 87. Banks was born in Trelogan in 1920. She was best known for her role as barmaid Gwla-

24

Penny Banner

Kostecki in St. Louis, Missouri, on August 11, 1934. She began wrestling in 1954 and became one of the top female competitors in the 1950s and 1960s. She teamed with Lorraine Johnson to win the Ohio Women’s Tag Team Title in the mid–1950s, and held the Texas Women’s Title in 1961. She also became the ﬁrst American Wrestling Association (AWA) Women’s Champion in 1961. Banner feuded with such fellow wrestlers as June Byers and the Fabulous Moolah during her career before retiring from the ring in 1977. She was married to former wrestler Johnny Weaver from 1959 until their divorce in 1994. Banner was featured in the 2004 documentary ﬁlm Lipstick & Dynamite, Piss & Vinegar: The First Ladies of Wrestling, and published her biography, Banner Days, in 2005. BARCELLOS, DOUGLAS Brazilian actor Douglas Barcellos died in Cascais, Portugal, on December 24, 2008. He was 33. Barcellos was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 5, 1975. He began his career on stage at an early age and was featured in productions of David Mamet’s Red Bait and Franco Zefﬁrelli’s I Pagliaci.

Iona Banks

dys Lake in the Welsh language BBC soap opera Pobol y Cwm (aka People of the Valley) from 1974. She was also a stage actress and a founding member of Cwmni Theatr Cymru. Banks also appeared on British television in episodes of Play for Today, The Life and Times of David Lloyd George, Angels, One Summer, The Magniﬁcent Evans, and Campion.

BANNER, PENNY Leading female professional wrestler Penny Banner died after a long battle with cancer at her daughter’s home in Charlotte, North Carolina, on May 12, 2008. She was 73. She was born Mary Ann

Douglas Barcellos

He also worked as a model in New York and Paris, and was featured in a segment of the reality show America’s Next Top Model in 2004. He also appeared on television in episodes of Eve, Head Cases, Criminal Minds, and the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. He appeared in several ﬁlms including Traci Townsend (2005), Living

25 the Dream (2006), Tres (2007), and He’s Just Not That into You (2009).

BARCLAY, BARRY New Zealand ﬁlmmaker Barry Barclay died of a heart attack in New Zealand on February 17, 2008. He was 63. Barclay, a native Maori of Ngati Apa descent, was born in Wairarpa, New Zealand, in 1944. He began his career working in radio before becoming a cameraman for a ﬁlm company in Masterton. He was soon directing commercials and trade ﬁlms, and

Barry Barclay

2008 • Obituaries Barclay made her ﬁlm debut in 1948’s Sins of the Fathers. She was also seen in the ﬁlms The Headless Ghost (1959), Rasputin, the Mad Monk (1966), The Revolutionary (1970), Sex and the Other Woman (1972), and Touch of Class (1973). Barclay was also seen on television in the 1952 Hallmark Hall of Fame production of Florence Nightingale, and in such series as The Adventures of Clint and Mac, The Four Just Men, and Dixon of Dock Green. She starred as Stella Dane in Crossroads for over a year in the early 1960s before growing bored with the role and asking the producers to kill off her character. She continued to appear in such series as The Wednesday Play, Spy Trap, Steptoe and Son, Shades of Greene, Play for Today, Wodehouse Playhouse, and Secret Army in the recurring role of Sophie Chantal in the late 1970s.

BARNES, CAROL British television newscaster Carol Barnes died of a stroke in England on March 8, 2008. She was 63. Barnes was born in Norwich, England, on September 13, 1944. She began working at Independent Radio News as a writer in the early 1970s, where she made her debut as a newsreader when the one scheduled failed to arrive for work. Several years later she joined BBC Radio 4 as a broadcaster on The World at One. She joined ITN as a newscaster in 1982, where she was regular anchor of News at Ten. She remained at

created the Tangata Whenua documentary series about the Maori life and culture in 1974. He also wrote and directed the 1985 documentary feature The Neglected Miracle. He became the ﬁrst Maori to direct a feature drama with the 1987 ﬁlm Ngati. His later documentaries include Te Rua (1991) and The Feathers of Peace (2000).

BARCLAY, MARY British stage and ﬁlm actress Mary Barclay, who was featured as Stella Dane, the domineering mother-in-law in the popular soap opera Crossroads, died in a nursing home in Guernsey, England, of complications from a stroke on February 19, 2008. She was 91. She was born Mary Biddulph in Williton, Somerset, England, in 1917. She studied drama and music in the late 1930s, before marring Richard Barclay in 1940. She and her husband moved to Canada after World War II, where she appeared on stage. She also performed on Broadway in the early 1950s before returning to England.

Mary Barclay

Carol Barnes

ITN, except for a brief hiatus from 1989 to 1991, until 1998. She distinguished herself during her coverage of Princess Diana’s death in 1994, and was named Newscaster of the Year. Barnes hosted the ﬁnancial program Simply Money and the current affairs show Seven Days after leaving ITN. She was also a frequent guest on the series Countdown in the early 2000s, and made a cameo appearance as herself in the 2004 horror-comedy ﬁlm Shaun of the Dead.

BARNES, CLIVE Theatre and dance critic Clive Barnes died of complications from cancer in a Manhattan hospital on November 19, 2009. He was 81. Barnes was born in London, England, on May 13, 1927. He attended Oxford University, where he studied dance and began writing for Dance and Dancers. He joined The New Statesman in 1953, and authored the book Ballet in Britain Since the War the same year. Barnes was drama, music, and dance critic for the London Daily Express from

Obituaries • 2008

26 author and authoritative writer on the history of cinema in England. His massive ﬁve-volume work, The Beginnings of Cinema in England, 1894–1901, was published in 1976 and documented the pioneering days of cinematic ﬁlms, personalities, and equipment. Barnes spent the next two decades on the series that followed.

Clive Barnes

BARONOVA, IRINA Russian-born ballerina Irina Baronova died at her home in Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia, on June 28, 2008. She was 89. She was born in Petrograd (the once and future St. Petersburg), Russia, on March 13, 1919, and emigrated to Romania with her family the following year. They traveled to Paris in 1928, where Irina studied ballet under Olga Preobrajenska. She was cast by George Balanchine to dance in the ballet segment of the operetta Orpheus in the Underworld in 1931. She and the two other young

1956 to 1965, and was also a dance critic for the Times of London from 1961 to 1965. He joined the New York Times as dance critic in 1965, and also became drama critic in 1967. When the Times removed him from the drama beat, he left for The New York Post in 1978. He remained there for the next 30 years, and also contributed articles to Dance Magazine, Ballet 2000, and The Stage. Barnes was also the author of several books, including Frederick Ashton and His Ballets (1961), Dance Scene U.S.A. (1967), and Nureyev (1982).

BARNES, JOHN British ﬁlm historian and museum owner John Stuart Lloyd Barnes died of cancer in St. Ives, Cornwall, England, on June 1, 2008. He was 87. Barnes was born in London on June 28, 1920. He and his twin brother, William, became interested in ﬁlms and cinema from an early age, and were producing their own documentaries by their mid-teens. In the late 1930s they produced With the Gypsies and Garden of England, and had attempted several ﬁctional ﬁlms, including Kidnapped, which Barnes made at the age of 15. The brothers served in the Royal Army during World War II, and afterwards moved to St. Ives, where they staged an exhibition of cinema artifacts at the 1951 Festival of Britain. Having amassed a great collection of pre-cinema equipment, the brother’s opened the Barnes Museum of Cinematography in St. Ives, Cornwall, in 1963. The museum attracted scholars and historians worldwide until it shut its doors in 1986. John Barnes was also a proliﬁc

John Barnes

Irina Baronova

dancers with the Ballets Russes, Tamara Toumanova and Tatiana Riabouchinska, were dubbed the “baby ballerinas” by the press. Baronova created the role of Passion in the 1933 production of Leonide Massine’s ballet Les Presages, and continued to dance with the Ballets Russes throughout the 1930s. She married ballet manager German Sevastianov in 1936, and joined him at the Ballet Theater in 1941. She performed in venues throughout the world and was featured in the Hollywood ﬁlms Florian (1940) and Yolanda (1943). She also performed on Broadway in the revue Follow the Girls in 1944. Divorced from Sevatianov, she married British theatrical agent Cecil Tennant in the mid–1940s and retired from dancing to raise a family. She appeared in to subsequent ﬁlms Train of Events (1949) and Toast to Love (1951). Baronova was widowed when Tennant was killed in an automobile accident in 1967. She and Sevastianov resumed their relationship from 1971 until his death in 1974. Baronova retired to Australia in 2000. She is survived by her three children, including actress Victoria Tennant.

BARRETT RODDENBERRY, MAJEL Actress Majel Barrett Roddenberry, the widow of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry who appeared in various roles in all of the television and ﬁlm productions associated with the series, died of leukemia at her home in Bel-Air, California, on December 18, 2008. She was 76. Barrett was born Majel Lee Hudec in Columbus, Ohio, on Febru-

27

2008 • Obituaries 1990s. She was also the computer voice in various Star Trek incarnations on ﬁlm, television, and video games. Barrett’s later ﬁlm credits also include Teresa’s Tattoo (1994), Mommy (1995), and Mars and Beyond (2000). Her ﬁnal ﬁlm credit was voicing the Enterprise Computer for the 2009 “Star Trek” feature. Barrett was also a popular guest among fans at Star Trek conventions around the country.

Majel Barrett Roddenberry

ary 23, 1932. She was a familiar face in ﬁlms and television from the late 1950s. Barrett appeared in the ﬁlms Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957), The Black Orchid (1958), As Young as We Are (1958), The Buccaneer (1958), Love in a Goldﬁsh Bowl (1961), The Quick and the Dead (1963), Sylvia (1965), Country Boy (1966), A Guide for the Married Man (1967), and Track of Thunder (1968). She appeared in the recurring role of Gwen Rutherford, Lumpy’s mother, in the comedy series Leave It to Beaver, and was seen in episodes of Whirlybirds, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, The Untouchables, Bonanza, Cain’s Hundred, The Lieutenant, The Second Hundred Years, The Lucy Show, Love on a Rooftop, Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, and Here Come the Brides. Barrett was best known for her roles in the various Star Trek series and ﬁlms. She was the only member of the cast to have performed in some capacity in every incarnation of the franchise. She starred as Number One in the original Star Trek pilot, “The Cage,” and appeared in the subsequent series as Nurse Christine Chapel from 1966 to 1969. Barrett married Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry in December of 1969, and they had one child, Rod. Barrett returned to the Starship Enterprise in the recurring role of Ambassador Lwaxana Troi and the Federation computer voice in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993). She was the starship computer voice on Star Trek: Voyager (1995) and Enterprise (2001). She also appeared in many other of her husband’s productions. Barrett was seen in the tele-ﬁlms Genesis II (1973), The Questor Tapes (1974), Planet Earth (1974), Spectre (1977), The Suicide’s Wife (1979), and The Man in the Santa Claus Suit (1979). She also appeared in the ﬁlms Westworld (1973) and The Domino Principle (1977). She reprised her role as Christine Chapel, now a doctor, in the ﬁrst ﬁlm in the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), and in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986). She remained married to Roddenberry until his death in October of 1991. Barrett was executive producer for two Gene Roddenberry–inspired science ﬁction series, Earth: Final Conﬂict from 1997 to 2001, and Andromeda from 2000 to 2001. She also appeared in Earth: Final Conﬂict as Dr. Julianne Belman from 1997 to 1999. She also guest starred in an episode of the science ﬁction series Babylon 5, and was the voice of Anna Watson in the Spider-Man animated series in the late

BARRISTER, SUSAN Casting director Susan A. Brown, who also acted under the name Susan Barrister, died in Kirkland, Washington, on May 15, 2008. She was 65. She was born on December 19, 1942. She appeared on television in the early 1970s in episodes of Columbo and Griff, and was seen in small roles in the ﬁlms Night Moves (1975) and Brothers (1977). Barrister also appeared in stage productions of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Glass Menagerie, and Oh! Calcutta.

Susan Barrister

She began working as a casting assistant in the late 1980s, and was involved in the production of the ﬁlms Disaster at Silo 7 (1988), Dances with Wolves (1990), A River Runs Through It (1992), The Bodyguard (1992), The Temp (1993), Head Above Water (1996), The Saint (1997), Telling Lies in America (1997), the tele-ﬁlm The Pentagon Wars (1998), and Doctor Dolittle (1998). She also taught an acting workshop in Seattle, Washington, and was casting director for the 2008 crime drama Hold-Up.

BARRON, BEBE Avant-garde composer Bebe Barron, who created the electronic music featured in the 1956 science ﬁction ﬁlm classic Forbidden Planet with her husband, died in Los Angeles on April 20, 2008. She was 82. She was born Charlotte May Wind in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on June 16, 1925. She married Louis Barron in 1947 and the couple moved to New York. They soon began experimenting with a tape recorder they had received as a wedding present, creating unusual electronic sounds. They created the ﬁrst electronic music for magnetic tape through cutting and splicing with their ﬁrst composition, Heavenly Menagerie, being released in the early 1950s. They opened a studio in Greenwich Village in 1948, and attracted such notable visitors as Henry Miller, Aldous Huxley, and composer John Cage. The Barrons ﬁrst cinematic work was for the 1952 ﬁlm Bells of Atlantis, based on the works of Anais Nin. They were

Obituaries • 2008

28 Barrows and his wife also produced the Michael McClure play The Beard in the late 1960s. The controversial production led to frequent arrests on profanity charges and the burning of the theater. The Barrows eventually won a landmark free speech case as a result. Judith Barrow died in 1970.

chosen to provide the other-worldly soundtrack for the MGM feature Forbidden Planet in 1956, credited for electronic tonalities. They also produced the soundtrack for Maya Deren’s 1959 avant-garde ﬁlm The Very Eye of Night. The Barrons moved to Los Angeles in 1962, and though they divorced in 1970, she and Louis continued to compose together until his death in 1989. Bebe became the ﬁrst secretary of the Society of Electro-Acoustic Music (SEAMUS) in the United States in 1985, and received an award for her work from them in 1997. Her last composition, Mixed Emotions, was created for the University of California in 2000. Her survivors include her second husband, screenwriter Leonard Neubauer.

BARTHOLOMEW, SIDNEY J., JR. Production designer Sidney J. Bartholomew, Jr., died at his home in Los Angeles on June 15, 2008. He was 54. Bartholomew was born in Tarboro, North Carolina, on August 5, 1953. He studied art at Appalachian State University and earned a master’s degree at Memphis State University. He later worked as an assistant to conceptual artist Christo before entering the entertainment industry. Bartholomew served as art director on the quirky children’s show Peewee’s Playhouse. He earned an Emmy Award for designing the outsized and garishly hued anthropomorphic furniture for the show. He also designed sets for numerous music videos during the 1980s and 1990s, and worked on the 1987 ﬁlm Magic Sticks. Bartholomew began working with the Farrelly Brothers as production designer for their 1994 comedy ﬁlm Dumb and Dumber and remained involved with all of their subsequent productions. He served as production designer for the ﬁlms Kingpin (1996), Me, Myself & Irene (2000), Say It Isn’t So (2001), Osmosis Jones (2001), Shallow Hal (2001), Stuck on You (2003), and The Heartbreak Kid (2007). Bartholomew also wrote and directed the 2003 children’s soccer ﬁlm Just for Kicks.

BARROWS, ROBERT GUY Television writer Robert Guy Barrows died of complications from cancer surgery in Pueblo, Colorado, on January 31, 2008. He was 81. Barrows was born in Fort Collins, Colorado, on February 9, 1926. He served with the military during World War II. He worked as a drama teacher for several years and began writing for the theater in New York in the 1950s. He began scripting episodes for television series in the early 1960s, with his second wife, Judith Friedman Barrows, often serving as his writing partner. His television credits include episodes of Destry, Kraft Suspense Theatre, The Fugitive, Run for Your Life, The Big Valley, Ben Casey, Felony Squad, The Man Who Never Was, The Green Hornet, Mission: Impossible, Bonanza, The Virginian, Daniel Boone, and Alias Smith and Jones.

BATAILLE, NICOLAS French actor and stage director Nicolas Bataille, who was instrumental in championing the career of Absurdist playwright Eugene Ionesco, died in Paris on October 28, 2008. He was 82. He was born Roger de Bataille in Paris on March 14, 1926. He began performing on stage during World War II, and made his ﬁlm debut as an extra in Marcel Carne’s 1944 feature Les Enfants du Paradis. He gained a reputation in avant garde circles in the late 1940s by staging productions of Arthur Rimbaud’s poem Une Saison en Enfer and Dostoevsky’s The Possessed. He ﬁrst staged Ionesco’s The Bald Prima Donna in 1949 in an effort that proved to be a critical and popular failure. He continued to produce Ionesco’s works, with The Lesson (1951) and The Chairs (1952). Bataille restaged The Bald Prime

Robert Guy Barrows

Nicolas Bataille

Bebe Barron (with husband Louis)

29 Donna in 1957, appearing on stage in the role of Mr. Martin, at the small Theatre de la Huchette in Paris’ Latin Quarter. The play became a popular hit and earned the distinction of becoming the longest-running theatrical production at the same location over the next 51 years. Bataille also appeared in several ﬁlms during his career including a trio by director Louis Malle, Elevator to the Scaffold (1958), Zazie in the Underground (1960), and A Very Private Affair (1962). His other ﬁlm credits include Jacques Tati’s My Uncle, Mr. Hulot (1958), Normandie — Niemen (1960), Aurelia (1964), Contacts (1967), Kenju Giga (1970), and the television production Joyeux Chagrins (1972). He also continued to direct stage productions of works from such playwrights as Jean Cocteau, Jean Prevert, and Boris Vian.

BATES, JONATHAN British ﬁlm sound editor Jonathan Bates, who earned an Academy Award nomination for his work on Gandhi, died of complications from a brain tumor in England, on October 31, 2008. He was 68. Bates was born in Little Chart, Kent, England, on November 1, 1939. He was the son of novelist and screenwriter H.E. Bates, who was instrumental in helping his son secure a job with Ealing Studios in the mid–1950s. Jonathan worked for the studio until it closed in 1959, learning editing and other cinematic skills. He worked for several years as a freelance dubbing editor, and earned his ﬁrst credit as a sound editor for the 1961 ﬁlm Station Six-Sahara. He worked in numerous ﬁlms over the next four decades, assisting such directors as Otto Preminger, Sidney Lumet, Roman Polanski, and Richard Attenborough. His many ﬁlm credits include Walt Disney’s The Three Lives of Thomasina (1962), The Moon-Spinners (1964), Those Magniﬁcent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965), Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965), Life at the Top (1965), Hotel Paradiso (1966), Return of the Seven (1966), Maroc 7 (1967), The Comedians (1967), Fathom (1967), Where Eagles Dare (1968), The Adventurers (1970), Kelly’s Heroes (1970), Polanski’s Macbeth (1971), Danny Jones (1972), Young Winston (1972), Catholics (1973), 11 Harrowhouse (1974), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), 92 in the Shade (1975), The “Human” Factor (1975), Aces High (1976), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), The Medusa Touch (1976), International Velvet (1978), Magic (1978), Dracula (1979) starring

Jonathan Bates

2008 • Obituaries Frank Langella, Flash Gordon (1980), Attenborough’s Gandhi (1982) which earned him his Oscar nomination, A Chorus Line (1985), Mona Lisa (1986), Cry Freedom (1987), A Fish Called Wanda (1988), The Mighty Quinn (1989), Shirley Valentine (1989), City of Joy (1992), Chaplin (1992), The Man Without a Face (1993), Shadowlands (1993), Haunted (1995), In Love and War (1996), Lawn Dog (1997), Les Miserables (1998), Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), Grey Owl (1999), The Trench (1999), The Body (2001), Before You Go (2002), Nicholas Nickleby (2002), The Sleeping Dictionary (2002), and Closing the Ring (2007). Bates also worked in television on such productions as Red Monarch (1983), Sakharov (1984), Just Another Secret (1989), A Casualty of War (1989), A Little Piece of Sunshine (1990), The Price of the Bride (1990), Death Has a Bad Reputation (1990), Pride and Extreme Prejudice (1990), and Scarlett (1994).

BATTLEY, WADE Television art director Wade Battley died of cancer in Los Angeles on March 2, 2008. She was 52. Battley was born on August 19, 1955. She began her career as a theatrical designer in New York. She also designed sets for the television variety programs

Wade Battley

Showtime at the Apollo and Star Search before moving to Los Angeles in 1990. She worked as an art director for several soap operas including General Hospital and Port Charles, and earned a Daytime Emmy Award for her work on Days of Our Lives.

BAUGH, SAMMY Football star Sammy Baugh died in Rotan, Texas, on December 17, 2008. He was 94. Baugh was born in Temple, Texas, on March 17, 1914. He attended Texas Christian University on a baseball scholarship but also played basketball and football. After graduating in 1937, he signed with the NFL’s Washington Redskins where he played for the next 16 years. Known for his accurate throwing skills, he helped popularize the forward pass in professional football. Baugh brieﬂy pursued an acting career during the off season, starring as Ranger Tom King in the 1941 Republic Serial King of the Texas Rangers, billed as Slingin’ Sammy Baugh. He also appeared as a football player in 1948’s Triple Threat. He retired from playing football with the Redskins in 1952, though he later coached college and pro teams before leaving the sport in 1968. He was inducted

Obituaries • 2008

30

Veronika Bayer Sammy Baugh

into the ﬁrst College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 and was a charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.

BAYARD, LEO Actor Leo Bayard died in Northﬁeld, New Jersey, on October 23, 2008. He was 86. Bayard was born in 1922 and served in the US Army during World War II, where he often entertained the troops with comedy sketches and songs. After the war, he headed for New York to pursue an acting career. He

(1977), Augenblick Polen (1988), Die Lok (1993), Zwischen den Sternen (2002), Die Letzte Saison (2005) and Die Osterreichische Methode (2006).

BAYLEY, BARRINGTON J. British science ﬁction writer Barrington J. Bayley died of complications from bowel cancer in Shrewsbury, England, on October 14, 2008. He was 71. Bayley was born in Birmingham,

Barrington Bayley

Leo Bayard

was featured in a touring production of the Broadway play Detective Story, and was featured on television in episodes of Lux Video Theatre, Ford Theatre, Kraft Theatre, and Man Against Crime. He and his wife, actress Elizabeth Teichman, also operated a drama and dance school in Queens, New York, for over 20 years. The couple later moved to New Jersey, where Bayard remained active on the local stage.

BAYER, VERONIKA German actress Veronika Bayer died of cancer in Bochum, Germany, on January 31, 2008. She was 67. Bayer was born in Stuttgart, Germany, on June 4, 1940. She was a leading stage and ﬁlm performer in Germany, and was featured in the ﬁlms Liebe, Luft and Lauter Lugen (1959), Melody and Rhythms (1959), Twelve Girls and One Man (1959), The Dear Augusutin (1960), Wen die Heide Bluht (1960), Die Legende vom Heiligen Trinker (1983), Macbeth (1974), Ruckfalle

England, on April 9, 1937. He began writing science ﬁction stories in the mid–1950s, and began collaborating with fellow writer Michael Moorcock later in the decade. He began a frequent contributor to Moorcock’s New Worlds magazine in the 1960s. He was noted for crafting tales with intricate storylines with his early novels Star Virus (1964) and Empire of Two Worlds (1972). His increasingly complex stories made him somewhat inaccessible to some readers, but Bayley remained an inﬂuential ﬁgure in science ﬁction with such novels as Collision Course (1973), The Fall of Chronopolis (1974), The Soul of the Robot (1974) which introduced the character of Jasperodus the robot, The Garments of Caean (1976), The Grand Wheel (1977), Star Winds (1978), The Pillars of Eternity (1982), The Zen Gun (1983), The Forest of Peldain (1985), Sinners of Erspia (2002), The Great Hydration (2002), and Age of Adventure (2002). Much of his short ﬁction was collected in the volumes The Knights of the Limits (1971) and The Seed of Evil (1979).

BAYNES, PAULINE British artist Pauline Baynes, who illustrated books by J.R.R. Tolkien and

31

Pauline Baynes

C.S. Lewis, died in Dockenﬁeld, Surrey, England, on August 1, 2008. She was 85. Baynes was born in Brighton, England, on September 9, 1922. She studied art and began working as an illustrator in the mid–1940s for the Perry Colour Books series. He also wrote and illustrated the 1948 book Victoria and the Golden Bird. She ﬁrst worked with Tolkien in 1949, illustrating his work Farmer Giles of Ham. He recommended her to C.S. Lewis, and Baynes illustrated his classic fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia. She also created drawings for Tolkien’s The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, Smith of Wotton Major, and Poems and Stories. Baynes also create the cover for Richard Adams’ Watership Down, and illustrated editions of Henri Pourrat’s A Treasury of French Tales (1953), Grant Uden’s A Dictionary of Chivalry (1968), Mary Norton’s The Borrowers Avenged (1982), Anne Sewell’s Black Beauty (1984), and Beatrix Potter’s Wag-by-Wall (1987). Much of her later books were about religious subjects including All Things Bright and Beautiful (1986), Noah and the Ark (1988), and In the Beginning (1990). She was working on illustrations for passages from the Koran at the time of her death.

BEADLE, JEREMY British television personality Jeremy Beadle, who hosted the BBC’s version of Candid Camera, died of complications from leukemia and pneumonia on January 30, 2008. He was 59. Beadle was born in Hackney, London, England, on April 12, 1948. He suffered from Poland’s Syndrome from birth, which

Jeremy Beadle

2008 • Obituaries left him with a withered right hand. Beadle left home at 16 and worked at various odd jobs including writing for Time Out magazine and organizing music festivals. He began writing trivia tidbits for newspaper columns and the television series Celebrity Squares in the 1970s. He soon began appearing on camera, hosting the game show You Must Be Joking. He became host of the Saturday morning children’s program Fun Factory in 1980, and presented The Deceivers and Eureka the following year. He became one of the hosts of the hidden camera show Game for a Laugh in 1981, which evolved into Beadle’s About in 1987. He served as host of the home video series You’ve Been Framed from 1990 to 1997. He had less success with the series Beadle’s Box of Tricks and Born Lucky, but returned to form with the gameshow Win Beadle’s Money in 1999. He also guested on such series as Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, The Wright Stuff, and Countdown. Beadle’s television antics made him a target of media critics, who often lambasted his style of humor.

BEATTIE, SHELLEY Shelley Beattie, a female body-builder who was featured as Siren in the television series American Gladiators in the 1990s, died in Portland, Oregon, on February 17, 2008. She was 40. Beattie was born in Santa Ana, California, on August 24, 1967. She suffered a severe hearing loss as a child due to an aspirin

Shelley Beattie

overdose. She went on to become a competitive body builder in the early 1990s. She was featured as Siren on American Gladiators, a program that pitted contestants against the muscular gladiators in physical competitions, from 1992 to 1997. She also appeared with the Gladiators in the 1993 comedy ﬁlm Hot Shots! Part Deux.

BECHER, ALAN Australian actor and theatrical director Alan Becher died in Perth, Western Australia, on August 16, 2008. He was 61. Becher was born in Pakistan in 1947 and went to Australia in the 1970s. He worked as an actor in ﬁlms and television, appearing in episodes of such series as Boney, Case for the Defense, A Country Practice, and Mother and Son. He was also featured in the 1983 mini-series The Dismissal, and appeared in the ﬁlms The Best of Friends (1981), The City’s Edge (1983), and Razorback (1984). Becher moved to Western Australia in the mid–1980s, and was a co-founder

Obituaries • 2008

32 don’s Bloodline (1979), Serial (1980), Blood Beach (1981), Inchon (1981), A Stranger Is Watching (1982), The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984), Inside Out (1987), and Michael Cimino’s The Sicilian (1987).

Alan Becher

and artistic director of the Perth Theatre Company. He also adapted for the stage numerous works of Western Australian writers.

BECK, JOE Jazz guitarist Joe Beck died of lung cancer in a Danbury, Connecticut, hospice on July 22, 2008. He was 62. Beck was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 29, 1945. He began his career as a teenager in the early 1960s, playing with a jazz trio in New York. He was performing with such stars as Miles Davis by the end of the decade. He became a leading studio and

BECKMAN, HENRY Canadian character actor Henry Beckman died in Barcelona, Spain, on June 17, 2008. He was 86. Beckman was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on November 26, 1921. He joined the Canadian military in the late 1930s and served during World War II. He embarked upon an acting career in the early 1950s. He was featured in numerous ﬁlms over the next ﬁve decades, including Niagara (1953), The Glory Brigade (1953), The Wrong Man (1956), So Lovely ... So Deadly (1957), The Bramble Bush (1960), The Crimebusters (1961), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), 13 West Street (1962), The Man from the Diner’s Club (1963), Twilight of Honor (1963), Dead Ringer (1964) with Bette Davis, Alfred Hitchcock’s Marnie (1964), A House Is Not a Home (1964), Kiss Me, Stupid (1964), The Satan Bug (1965), The Glory Guys (1965), McHale’s Navy Joins the

Henry Beckman

Joe Beck

session musician and played and recorded with such artists as Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Richie Havens, James Brown, Buddy Rich, and Herbie Hancock. His 1975 collaboration with saxophonist David Sanborn, produced the hit recording Beck and Sanborn. He also scored the 1976 ﬁlm Goodbye, Norma Jean about Marilyn Monroe. He also recorded the albums Relaxin’ (1991), Alto (1997), and Polarity (2000) with Jimmy Bruno.

BECKERMAN, SIDNEY Film producer Sidney Beckerman died of cancer in Los Angeles on February 25, 2008. He was 87. Beckerman was born on November 26, 1920. He served as president of Allied Artists from the late 1960s and served as producer for such ﬁlms as Last Summer (1969), Marlowe (1969), Kelly’s Heroes (1970), Portnoy’s Complaint (1972), Joe Kidd (1972), The River Niger (1976), Marathon Man (1976), Sidney Shel-

Air Force (1965), The Caper of the Golden Bulls (1967), Madigan (1968), The Stalking Moon (1968), Sweet Charity (1969), The Undefeated (1969), The Merry Wives of Tobias Rouke (1972) as Tobias, Between Friends (1973), Devil Times Five (1974), Why Rock the Boat? (1974), Silver Streak (1976), Blood & Guts (1978), and David Cronenberg’s horror classic The Brood (1979) as Barton Kelly. Beckman appeared frequently in television from the early 1950s. He starred as Commander Paul Richards in the early Flash Gordon series in 1954, and was Major Barker in The Lieutenant from 1963 to 1964. He was featured as George Anderson in the prime-time soap opera Peyton Place from 1964 to 1965, and was Captain Roland Francis Clancy in Here Come the Brides from 1968 to 1969. He also guest-starred in episodes of The Philco Television Playhouse, Studio One, Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion, I Spy, Decoy, Police Station, Peter Gunn, The Ann Sothern Show, Black Saddle, Mr. Lucky, Two Faces West, The DuPont Show with June Allyson, The Asphalt Jungle, Cain’s Hundred, The New Breed, Dennis the Menace, Hennesey, Laramie, Father of the Bride, Target: The Corruptors, Route 66, Sam Benedict, Have Gun —Will Travel,

33 Dr. Kildare, The Twilight Zone, Arrest and Trial, The Great Adventure, My Favorite Martian, The Greatest Show on Earth, The Fugitive, My Living Doll, The Jack Benny Program, Combat!, Man from U.N.C.L.E., Honey West, The Munsters, Ben Casey, McHale’s Navy, Blue Light, Perry Mason, Run Buddy Run, Run for Your Life, The Wild Wild West, Tarzan, Rango, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Death Valley Days, The Flying Nun, The Second Hundred Years, The Andy Grifﬁth Show, The Virginian, Custer, The Iron Horse, Bewitched, The Monkees, I Dream of Jeannie, The Outsider, Adam-12, Insight, Nancy, The Interns, The Immortal, Night Gallery in the acclaimed episode “They’re Tearing Down Tim Riley’s Bar,” Bonanza, Love, American Style, Nichols, Funny Face, Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, The Sixth Sense, Mannix, Here’s Lucy, Shaft, The Starlost, Tenaﬂy, Gunsmoke, Marcus Welby, M.D., Cannon, Ironside, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Police Story, Barney Miller, Bronk, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Family Holvak, The Lost Saucer, King of Kensington, Happy Days, Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, Fantasy Island, The Great Detective, Welcome Back, Kotter, The Rockford Files, The Littlest Hobo, Quincy, Trapper John, M.D., Seeing Things, Matt Houston, Jessie, Check It Out, Fame, Simon & Simon, St. Elsewhere, Werewolf, The Beachcombers, Booker, MacGyver, Street Legal, Street Justice, The Ray Bradbury Theater, The Commish, The Outer Limits, The Marshal, The X Files in the recurring role of Detective Frank Briggs, The Sentinel, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Cold Squad, and The Chris Isaak Show. He was also seen in such tele-ﬁlms as The Harness (1971), Columbo: Etude in Black (1972), Bronk’s Last Case (1973), Indict and Convict (1974), The Canary (1975), Bronk (1975), Who Is the Black Dahlia? (1975), The Fighting Men (1977), Kane & Abel (1985), War and Remembrance (1988), Stuck with Each Other (1989), Blood River (1991), The Last P.O.W.? The Bobby Garwood Story (1992), The Man Upstairs (1992), While Justice Sleeps (1994), Jack Reed: One of Our Own (1995), Shadow of a Doubt (1995), My Husband’s Secret Life (1998), and Johnson County War (2002). Beckman also continued to appear in a handful of feature ﬁlms from the early 1980s including Death Hunt (1981), Family Reunion (1988), I Love You to Death (1990), and Epicenter (2000). He was also the voice of the Narrator in 2000’s The Lion of Oz.

BEGG, JAMES Character actor James Begg died in Los Angeles on February 15, 2008. He was 69. Begg was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, on March 2, 1938. He began his career as an actor on the New York stage, before moving to Los Angeles in the late 1950s. He made his ﬁlm debut in the 1961 western The Hired Gun, also serving as associate producer. He continued to appear in such ﬁlms as Village of the Giants (1965), The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966) with Don Knotts, The Cool Ones (1967), It’s a Bikini World (1967), Catalina Caper (1967), The Love God? (1969), Grand Theft Auto (1977), An Enemy of the People (1978), Disney’s The Cat from Outer Space (1978), and Death Wish II (1982). Begg was also featured in several tele-ﬁlms including My Dog, the Thief (1969), Inside O.U.T. (1971), and Scout’s Honor (1980). He also produced several tele-ﬁlms starring Gary Coleman including The Kid with the Broken Halo (1982), The Kid

2008 • Obituaries

Jim Begg

with the 200 I.Q. (1983), and The Fantastic World of D.C. Collins (1984), also appearing in them in small roles. His other television credits include episodes of such series as The Forest Rangers, Gunsmoke, Summer Fun, Occasional Wife, Bewitched, Love on a Rooftop, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, The Andy Grifﬁth Show, Insight, Mayberry R.F.D., Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., I Dream of Jeannie, Petticoat Junction, Love, American Style, Temperatures Rising, WKRP in Cincinnati, and Happy Days. Begg also performed as a voice actor in the cartoon series Cattanooga Cats, Bailey’s Comets, and Scooby-Doo and ScrappyDoo. He primarily worked behind the camera from the 1980s as a producer of the ﬁlms Leo and Loree (1980), On the Right Track (1981), Pin... (1988), Into the Sun (1992), Angel 4: Undercover (1993), Leprechaun (1993), and Children of the Corn III (1995). Begg was also a producer for the tele-ﬁlms Her Life As a Man (1984), Thompson’s Last Run (1986), Johnnie Mae Gibson: F.B.I. (1986), After the Promise (1987), and Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean (1990), and the television series Maximum Security.

BEKHTEREV, SERGEI Russian ﬁlm and stage actor Sergei Bekhterev died after a long illness in St. Petersburg, Russia, on November 13, 2008. He was 50. Bekhterev was born in Petropavlovsk, Soviet Union (now Russia), on May 19, 1958. He was a popular stage actor, performing with the Maly Drama Theatre in St. Petersburg. He staged and starred in a production of Vaslav

Sergei Bekhterev

Obituaries • 2008 Nijinsky, Wedded to God, based on the diaries of the ballet dancer. Bekhterev also appeared in numerous ﬁlms including White Dances (1981), The Voice (1982), Torpedo Bombers (1983), Believe It or Not (1983), The Blonde Around the Corner (1983), There Are No Strangers Here (1985), Petrogradskiye Gavroshi (1987), Gobseck (1987), Flight of the Bird (1988), Eti ... Tri Vernye Karty... (1988), The Art of Living in Odessa (1989), Intergirl (1989), Manya, Act! (1991), Arithmetic of a Murder (1991), Gadzho (1992), Chekhov’s Motifs (2002), Edelweiss Pirates (2004), The Tuner (2004), Fat Stupid Rabbit (2007), and At the River (2007). Bekhterev was also featured in television productions of Protivoyanie (1985), The Life of Klim Samgin (1986), Vaska (1989), Konchina (1989), Dym (1992), Mademoiselle O (1994), Lyubov Imperatora (2002), Legenda o Tampuke (2004), and Prestuplenie i Nakazanie (2007).

BELEW, BILL

Bill Belew, who designed Elvis Presley’s costumes and wardrobe during the last decade of his life, died in a Palm Springs, California, hospital of complications from diabetes on January 7, 2008. He was 76. Belew was born in Crocet, Virginia, on May 20, 1931. He began working as a designer for television in the late 1960s, providing costumes for a Petula Clark special. He was chosen to head the design team for Elvis’ 1968 comeback television special, creating the ﬂamboy-

34

Freddie Bell

the Bellboys, in the early 1950s. The played in the Midwest before hitting the Las Vegas Strip in 1953. Bell became one of the leading lounge acts of the decade, and worked frequently with the trio of Sam Butera, Louis Prima, and Keely Smith. His rendition of the song “Hound Dog,” inspired Elvis Presley to record a cover of it. He and his group performed on television on The Colgate Comedy Hour and The Ed Sullivan Show, and were featured in the ﬁlms Rumble on the Docks (1956) and Rock Around the Clock (1956), which included their song “Giddy-Up-A Ding Dong.” Bell also appeared in the 1964 feature Get Yourself a College Girl. He and the Bellboys had successful international tours but failed to record a hit record in the U.S. and disbanded. Bell remained a popular act in Las Vegas well into the 1990s. BELL, MIKE Professional wrestler “Mad Dog” Mike Bell died on December 14, 2008. He was 37. Bell was a Poughkeepsie, New York, native who played football in college at the University of Cincinnati. He wrestled with the WWE in the late 1990s, competing in matches against such stars as the Undertaker, Bret Hart,

Bill Belew (with statue of Elvis)

ant jumpsuits and capes that became the singer’s trademark. Belew continued to design outﬁts for Elvis over the next decade. He also worked on numerous plays, musicals, and operas, and designed costumes for such television productions as The Flip Wilson Show (1970), It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman (1975), The Captain & Tennille Special (1976), They Said It with Music: Yankee Doodle to Ragtime (1977), Dorothy Hamill Presents Winners (1978), The Captain and Tennille in Hawaii (1978), The Carpenters: Music, Music, Music (1980) which earned him an Emmy nomination, and Miracle Mile (1993). Belew was also a designer for the series Fridays, Santa Barbara, Mr. Belvedere, Sister Kate, Dangerous Women, and Your Big Break.

BELL, FREDDIE

Singer Freddie Bell died of complications from cancer in a Las Vegas, Nevada, hospital on February 10, 2008. He was 76. He was born Freddie Bello in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 29, 1931. He formed his own group, Freddie Bell and

Mike Bell

and Perry Saturn. He later wrestled with Extreme Championship Wrestling and several local and regional promotions. He was also featured in the 2008 documentary Bigger, Stronger, Faster, about athletes use of performance-enhancing drugs, which was directed by his younger brother, Chris.

35 BELL, MONNA Chilean singer Monna Bell died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Tijuana, Mexico, on April 21, 2008. She was 70. She was born Nora Escobar in Santiago, Chile, on January 23, 1938. She was in her early teens when she won a talent contest on Chile radio. She became a regular performer on the station and was soon touring the United States and Spain. She recorded such popular songs as “Un Telegrama,” “La Montana,” and “Silencio Corazon” in the late 1950s, and was featured in the ﬁlm April in Portugal (1959). Bell appeared in sev-

2008 • Obituaries BENDICK, ROBERT L. Documentary director and cameraman Robert L. Bendick died on June 22, 2008. He was 91. Bendick was born on February 8, 1917. He began working in photography in the 1930s, directing documentaries for the governments of Canada and Bermuda. He joined CBS television in 1940, but was soon serving in the U.S. Army as a combat cameraman with the Fist Motion Picture Unit in China, Burma, and

Robert Bendick Monna Bell

eral ﬁlms in Mexico in the early 1960s including Las Recien Casadas (1962), Los Secretos del Sexo Debil (1962), and Buenas Noches, Ano Nuevo (1964). She continued to perform and record throughout the 1960s and 1970s, though her career was on the decline. She was largely retired by the 1980s until Mexican singer and composer Juan Gabriel lured her from retirement to perform at some of his shows. Gabriel produced her 1993 comeback album Monna Bell Ahora, but it failed to make an impact and she returned to semi-retirement.

BEMISTER, WILLIAM

British documentary ﬁlmmaker William Bemister died of heart disease on November 13, 2008. He was 60. Bemister was born in Brighton, England, on June 28, 1948. He began his career working as a journalist in Rhodesia, New Zealand, and Australia. He joined the Australian Broadcasting Commission as special investigative producer in 1979. Bemister’s ﬁrst documentary ﬁlm was The Confessions of Ronald Biggs (1978), about the fugitive British train robber then living in Brazil. His documentary The Hunter and the Hunted, about Nazi war criminals and the Nazi hunters that sought them out, earned an Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalist in 1981. His other documentary credits include Psychic Visions of the Future (1980), The Hunter and the Hunted (1981), Warriors of the Deep (1982), Spytrap: The True Story of Petrov and Philby (1985), The Search for Mengele (1985), Philby (1988), The Seven Million Dollar Fugitive (1989), and Moscow’s Man (1994). For the past several years Bemister had been involved with forensic investigations of war crimes using experimental video-based technologies for the feature documentary Admissible Evidence.

India. He returned to CBS after the war, where he became head of the News and Special Events Department. He directed the ﬁrst national television broadcast of a baseball game, featuring the Brooklyn Dodgers, in 1946, various United Nations telecasts, the 1947 opening of Congress, and the Democratic and Republican National Conventions in 1948. He and his wife, Jeanne, were the authors of the books Television Works Like and Making the Movies. Bendick produced the 1952 ﬁlm This Is Cinerama, and was co-director for the 1955 follow-up Cinerama Holiday.

BENEDICT, PAUL Character actor Paul Benedict, who was best known for his role as Harry Bentley in the television sitcom The Jeffersons, was found dead at his home on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, on December 1, 2008. He was 70. Benedict was born in Silver City, New Mexico, on September 17, 1938, and was raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He became a versatile

Paul Benedict

Obituaries • 2008 on actor on stage and screen from the 1960s. He frequently played off beat character roles in such ﬁlms as The Double-Barrelled Detective Story (1965), The Virgin President (1968), Cold Turkey (1971), Taking Off (1971), They Might Be Giants (1971) with George C. Scott, The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight (1971) as Shots O’Toole, Deadhead Miles (1972), Jeremiah Johnson (1972) as the Rev. Lindquist, Up the Sandbox (1972), The Front Page (1974), Mandingo (1975) as Brownlee the slaver, Smile (1975), The Goodbye Girl (1977), Billy in the Lowlands (1979), Desperate Moves (1981), The Man with Two Brains (1983), The Lonely Guy (1984), This Is Spinal Tap (1984), The Chair (1988), Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988), Cocktail (1988), The Freshman (1990), Sibling Rivalry (1990), The Addams Family (1991) as Judge Womack, Guns and Lipstick (1995), Waiting for Guffman (1996), The Devil’s Advocate (1997), Who Was That Man (1998), A Fish in the Bathtub (1999), Isn’t She Great (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and After the Sunset (2004). He also appeared in the tele-ﬁlms Hustling (1975), Ray Bradbury’s The Electric Grandmother (1982), The Blue and the Gray (1982), Babycakes (1989), and Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman (1993) as Dr. Victor Loeb. Benedict was the Mad Painter in the PBS children’s series Sesame Street from 1969 to 1976. He was featured as Harry Bentley, the eccentric British next-door neighbor to George and Louise Jefferson, in the popular sit-com The Jeffersons from 1975 to 1985. His other television credits include episodes of Kojak, Harry O, Maude, All in the Family, Murder, She Wrote, The Twilight Zone, A Different World, Tales from the Crypt, Morton & Hayes, Pigsty, Seinfeld, The Guiding Light, and The Drew Carey Show. Benedict also appeared frequently on stage, including roles in many Broadway productions. He co-starred with Al Pacino in the two character play Hughie by Eugene O’Neill in 1996, and was Mayor Shinn in the 2000 revival of The Music Man.

BENTIVEGNA, WARNER Italian actor Warner Bentivegna died in a hospital in Rome, Italy, on December 6, 2008. He was 77. Bentivegna was born in Crotone, Italy, on July 18, 1931. He studied drama in Rome and began his career on stage in the 1950s. He was also featured in the television dramas L’Avaro (1957), Capitan Fracassa (1958), Umilati e Offesi (1958), and Ottocento (1959). He also appeared in a handful of ﬁlms early in his

Warner Bentivegna

36 career including I’l Padrone delle Ferriere (1959), The Trojan Horse (1961) as Paris, and The Shortest Day (1962). He spent most of his acting career performing on stage and television, with roles in such television productions as I Giacobini (1962), Ultima Boheme (1964), I Grandi Camaleonti (1964), Processi a Porte Aperte: Io Difendo Elvira Sharney (1968), I Demoni (1972), Sotto il Placido Don (1974), Marco Visconti (1975), Due Ragazzi Incorreggibili (1976), La Dama dei Veleni (1979), and I Sciori (1980). Bentivegna starred as Emilio Dupre in the television series Incantesimo in the early 2000s, and was featured as Sior Zamaria in the tele-ﬁlm Una Delle Ultime Sere di Carnovale in 2007. BERGE, COLETTE French dancer and actress Colette Berge died in France on March 8, 2008. She was 66. Berge was born in Neuilly Sur Seine, France, on April 24, 1941. She was a leading stage performer in France from the late 1950s, and appeared on television

Colette Berge

in productions of Les Jours Heureux (1961), Marie Tudor (1966), La Femme en Blanc (1970), Le Misanthrope (1971), La Provinciale (1973), Anne jour Apres Jour (1976), La Vie de Marianne (1976), and the 1991 series Riviera as Marguerite. She was also featured in several ﬁlms including Les Abysses (1953), Fred Zinnemann’s The Day of the Jackal (1973), and Le Zebre (aka The Oddball) (1992). BERHOFF, FRED German actor Fred Berhoff, who starred in the 1976 horror ﬁlm Mosquito the Rapist, died in Munich, Germany, on February 25, 2008. He was 71. Berhoff was born in Munich on August 23, 1936. Active in ﬁlms from the early 1960s, he was seen in such features as Barras Heute (1963), The Long Swift Sword of Siegfried (1971), Mosquito the Rapist (1976), Rosemaries Tochter (1976), and the tele-ﬁlm Gold of the Amazon Women (1979). He also appeared on television in episodes of Alarm in den Bergen, Colditz, Derrick, Der Alte, SOKO 5113, Verbotene Liebe as Max Orbis, Bei aller Liebe, Utta Danella, Wilder Kaiser, and Der Bulle von Tolz. His other television credits include productions of Der Tod is Kein Beweis (2002), Willkommen Daheim (2005), and Das Zweite Leben (2007). BERKEY, JOHN Artist and illustrator John Berkey, who was noted for artwork associated with the

37

2008 • Obituaries who found himself too busy to remain with the quartet. They became closely associated with composer Dmitri Shostakovich the following year and were noted for their performances of all 15 quartets in the Shostakovich quartet cycles at venues around the world. Despite defections and retirements, the quartet continued on with Berlinsky for over 60 years. They produced numerous recordings of works by various composers including Beethoven, Mieczyslaw Weinberg, and Nikolai Myaskovsky. Berlinsky retired from the Borodin Quartet in September of 2007, but the group continued on with a new generation of musicians.

John Berkey

original Star Wars trilogy, died at his home in Excelsior, Minnesota, on April 29, 2008. He was 75. Berkey was born in Edgeley, North Dakota, on August 13, 1932. He studied art in college and worked in advertising for nearly a decade. He became a freelance artist in the 1960s, and designed cover art for numerous science ﬁction novels. He also illustrated the cover for the original Star Wars novelization in 1976 and for the Star Wars: Death Star Battle video game. Berkey was also the artist for the older Elvis Presley postage stamp design that was rejected for the younger version in 1992. His designs were used for at least 15 other postage stamps including the 1991 Santa Claus stamps. His work also appeared on the covers of such magazines as National Geographic, Time and Life. BERLINSKY, VALENTIN Russian cellist Valentin Berlinsky, who was a long-standing member of the famed Borodin Quartet, died after a long illness in Moscow on December 15, 2008. He was 83. Berlinsky was born in Irkutsk, Siberia, on January 19, 1925. He studied music at an early age, and continued his education at

BERNAY, LYNN Actress turned ﬁlm costumer Lynn Bernay died of brain cancer in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on December 16, 2008. She was 77. Bernay was born in New York City in 1931. She began her career as a dancer while in her teens, performing with the Radio City Rockettes in the late 1940s. She also danced in the Broadway musical Can Can and in ﬁlm adaptations of Guys and Dolls (1955) and The Pajama Game (1957). She also was seen in a handful of cult ﬁlms, including Rock Around the Clock (1956), Roger Corman’s The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent (1957), I Bury the Living (1958), Ghost of the China Sea (1958), Valley of the Redwoods (1960), Pit and the Pendulum (1961), and Night of Evil (1962). Bernay also appeared frequently on television from the 1950s, with roles in such series as Highway Patrol, Flight, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Telephone Time, The Bob Cummings Show, 77 Sunset Strip, The Millionaire, The Rough Riders, Sea Hunt, Wagon Train, M Squad, COronado 9, and Burke’s Law. She worked as a location secretary and appeared in a small role in the 1971 feature Drive, He Said with Jack Nicholson, and was seen in 1973’s Steelyard Blues. Bernay began working behind the camera in the mid–1970s, serving as a casting assistant for the 1975 tele-ﬁlm Beyond the Bermuda Triangle. She worked in costuming as a designer and wardrobe supervisor over the next three decades. Her ﬁlm credits include Homebodies (1974), Act of Vengeance (1974), Hearts of the West (1975), The Promise (1979), The New Kids (1985), And God Created Woman (1988), Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988), Running on Empty (1988), Miami Blues (1990), Fires Within (1991), Bad Channels (1992), Un-

Valentin Berlinsky

the Moscow Conservatory. The Borodin Quartet, named after the famed Russian composer Alexander Borodin, was created in 1945, with Mstislav Rostropovich on cello, Rostislav Dubinsky and Nina Barshai on ﬁrst and second violins, and Rudolf Barshai on viola. Berlinsky was brought in several weeks later to replace Rostropovich,

Lynn Bernay (with Glen Vernon from I Bury the Living)

Obituaries • 2008 tamed Heart (1993), A Home of Our Own (1993), The Desperate Trail (1995), The Trigger Effect (1996), The Spanish Prisoner (1997), The Souler Opposite (1998), Analyze This (1999), Outside Providence (1999), The Last Marshal (1999), Sunshine State (2002), The Hours (2002), Just Like You Imagined (2002), Transporter 2 (2005), and The Far Side of Jericho (2006). She also worked in the costume department on the tele-ﬁlms The Lazarus Syndrome (1978), The Boy Who Drank Too Much (1980), Crime of Innocence (1985), High Desert Kill (1989), A Little Piece of Sunshine (1990), Into the Badlands (1991), Revenge on the Highway (1992), A Family Torn Apart (1993), Royce (1995), Deconstructing Sarah (1994), Tidal Wave: No Escape (1997), Assault on Devil’s Island (1997), and The Ransom of Red Chief (1998). Her other television credits include the series The White Shadow, Miami Vice, Crime Story, Undeclared, and Wildﬁre.

BERNIKER, MICHAEL Record producer Michael Berniker died of complications from kidney disease in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, on July 26, 2008. He was 73. Berniker was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 30, 1935. He attended Columbia University and began working for CBS Records in 1960. He was best known for producing Barbra Streisand’s ﬁrst three al-

38 better suited as a producer, overseeing various local plays. He joined the Jaffe Agency as a talent agent in the 1950s, working with such talent as actor Jim Hutton and director Arthur Hiller. Bernsen served as a producer on several ﬁlms in the 1970s including Fool’s Parade (1971), Something Big (1971), Three the Hard Way (1974), and Take a Hard Ride (1975). He also produced the 1976 ABC Afterschool Special production of Mighty Moose and the Quarterback Kid, and the 1978 mini-series The Awakening Land. Bernsen married actress Jeanne Cooper, who later starred as Katherine Chancellor on the daytime soap The Young and the Restless, in 1954. He is survived by his wife and their three children, performers Corbin, Collin and Caren Bernsen.

BERTHIER, JACQUES French actor Jacques Berthier died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, on April 6, 2008. He was 92. Berthier was born in Paris on February 10, 1916. He appeared frequently in ﬁlms from the early 1940s, with roles in such features as Mlle. Desiree (1942), Behold Beatrice (1944), As Long as I Live (1946), Goodbye Darling (1946), Le Bateau a Soupe (1947), Les Requins de Gibraltar (1947), Stolen Affections (1948), One Only Loves Once (1949), Maria of the End of the World (1951), Shadow and Light (1951), Les Deux Monsieur de Madame (1952), The Master of Ballantrae (1953) as Captain Arnaud, Royal Affairs in Versailles (1954), Raspoutine (1954) as Prince Felix Youssoupoff, La Bella Otero

Michael Berniker

bums — the Grammy Award–winning The Barbra Streisand Album (1963), The Second Barbra Streisand Album (1963), and The Third Album (1964). Berniker left CBS in 1968 and worked for several other record companies. He signed Juice Newton and Darryl Hall and John Oates at RCA, and began the Columbia Jazz Masterpieces series after returning to CBS in 1977. He earned nine Grammy Awards during his career working with such artists as Johnny Mathis, Perry Como, Steve Lawrence, and Eydie Gorme. He also produced several Broadway albums including Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (1985) and The Will Rogers Follies (1991).

BERNSEN, HARRY, JR. Talent agent and producer Harry Bernsen, Jr., died at the Motion Picture and Television Fund home in Woodland Hills, California, on May 31, 2008. He was 82. Bernsen was born in Chicago, Illinois, on June 14, 1925. He served in the U.S. Marines during World War II and brieﬂy studied acting in Los Angeles after the war. He soon decided he was

Jacques Berthier

(1954), Native Drums (1955), A Missionary (1955), Les Insoumises (1956), Too Many Lovers (1957), Wild Cats on the Beach (1959), Witness in the City (1959), Atomic Agent (1959), Who Are You, Mr. Sorge (1961), The Fighting Musketeers (1961) as Buckingham, The Destruction of Herculaneum (1962), The Old Testament (1962), Ladies Man (1962), La Pharmacienne (1965), Colorado Charlie (1965) as Sheriff Wild Bill Danders, Sheriff with the Gold (1966), Tiffany Memorandum (1967), Mayerling (1968) as Prince Salvator, Eagles Over London (1969), The White, the Yellow, and the Black (1975), Une Femme Fidele (1976), Victims of Vice (1978), and Vagabond (1985). Berthier was also featured in such television productions as Les Aventures de Michel Tanguay (aka The Aeronauts) (1967), Mauregard (1970), Une Brune aux Yeux Bleus (1972), L’Atlantide (1972), Le Masque aux Yeux d’Or (1973), Destins

39

2008 • Obituaries

(1973), Une Atroce Petite Musique (1973), Ton Amour et ma Jeunesse (1973), The Tiger Brigades (1974), Splendeurs et Miseres des Courtisanes (1975), Richelieu (1977), Allegra (1978), Les Grandes Conjurations: Le Connetable de Bourbon (1978), Carte Vermeil (1981), Ultimatum (1982), and Les Enfants du Mensonge (1996).

BERTRAND, CESAR Argentine comic actor Cesar Bertrand died in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on January 11, 2008. He was 74. Bertrand was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1934. He made his ﬁlm debut in the early 1960s, appearing in Alfredo Bettanin’s Libertad Bajo Palabra (1961). He was featured in the television series Natalia Bessmertnova

Cesar Bertrand

Operacion Ja-Ja in 1967 and Malevo in 1972, and appeared in such ﬁlms as Do What You Want (1973), Basta de Mujeres (1977), Fotografo de Senoras (1978), Expertos en Pinchazos (1979), El Rey de los Exhortos (1979), Las Munecas que Hacen Pum (1979), La Noche Viene Movida (1980), Unlikely Roommates (1980), TV or No TV (1981), Las Mujeres son Cosa de Guapos (1981), and El Manosanta esta Cargado (1987). Bertrand made his ﬁnal ﬁlm appearance in 1998’s The Inheritance of Uncle Pepe. He also hosted the television entertainment series Fax in the 1990s.

BERTRAND, JACQUELINE Actress Jacqueline Bertrand died of complications from knee replacement surgery in New York City on June 17, 2008. She was 83. Bertrand was born on June 1, 1925. She was a leading performer on the New York stage, appearing in such OffBroadway productions as Command Performance, Tug of War, Dancing for the Kaiser, Lulu, The Nest of the Wood Grouse, When She Danced, and Ambrosia. She was featured in a 1965 production of Eagle in a Cage on television’s Hallmark Hall of Fame and played a ghost in several episodes of the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows in 1966. She was also seen in episodes of Family Affair and Ryan’s Hope, and the 1972 tele-ﬁlm The Catcher. Bertrand appeared in several ﬁlm during her career, including The Hell with Heroes (1968), Straight for the Heart (1988), The Loves of Emma Bardac (1990), Six Degrees of Separation (1993), Anima (1998), and Marci X (2003). BESSMERTNOVA, NATALIA Russian ballerina Natalia Bessmertnova died of cancer in a Moscow

hospital on February 19, 2008. She was 66. Bessmertnova was born in Moscow on July 19, 1941. She trained with the Bolshoi Ballet School from 1953 to 1961, and joined the Bolshoi in 1963. She starred in a 1963 production of Giselle, and was the Bolshoi’s prima ballerina for the next three decades. Bessmertnova married the Bolshoi’s artistic director, Yuri Grigorovich, in 1968, and he created several roles for her. She starred in such ballets as Ivan the Terrible (1974), Romeo and Juliet (1979), The Golden Age (1982), Raymonda (1984), and Giselle (1991). She left the Bolshoi in 1995 after Grigorovich was forced from his position and they led a one-day strike that forced a cancellation of that evening’s production. She continued to work with her husband, assisting him with the annual Benois de la Danse Award and with his local ballet company in Southern Russia. BESTIA SALVAJE Mexican wrestler Juan Manuel Rodriguez, who competed in the ring as Bestia Salvaje, died of complications from liver disease in Mexico on March 20, 2008. He was 46. Rodriguez was born in Mexico in February of 1962. He made his wrestling debut as Freddy Rodriguez in June of 1983. He became

Bestia Salvaje

Bestia Salvaje in 1986, and was a leading lucha libre wrestler with CMLL and EMLL. He held the tag team championship for CMLL with Scorpio Jr. twice, and teamed with Sangre Chicana and Emilio Charles, Jr., to capture the Trios Titles. A top ring villain, he feuded

Obituaries • 2008 with such wrestlers as Hector Garza, Ringo Mendoza, and Mano Negra during his career. He continued to compete in the ring until shortly before his death.

BHARGAVI Indian Telugu actress Bhargavi was found stabbed to death in her apartment in Hyderabad, India, on December 16, 2008. She was 25. She was believed to have been murdered by her live-in partner, bandleader Praveen Kumar, who subsequently commit-

40 BLACK, JIMMY CARL Rock musician Jimmy Carl Black, who was the original drummer with Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention, died of cancer in Siegsdorf, Germany, on November 1, 2008. He was 70. He was born James Inkanish, Jr., in El Paso, Texas, on February 1, 1938, and raised in Anthony, New Mexico. He studied music from an early age, playing the piano and trumpet. He moved to the drums when he served in the U.S. Air Force in the late 1950s, Black moved to Los Angeles in 1964, and formed the Soul Giants with Roy Estrada and Ray Collins. The group became the Mothers of Invention soon after when they brought in Frank Zappa as

Bhargavi

ted suicide by drinking cyanide in a soft drink. Bhargavi was born in Guntur, India, in 1983. She began her career on stage singing with Praveen’s orchestra. She later became a television news anchor and was featured in the television serial Ammamma.Com. She made her ﬁlm debut in the 2008 Teluga feature Asta-Chemma. Bhargavi was shooting her second ﬁlm, Holidays, at the time of her death.

BIGELOW, BILL Actor and broadcaster Bill Bigelow died of liver cancer in Honolulu, Hawaii, on May 18, 2008. He was 69. Bigelow was born in Jamestown, New York, on August 18, 1938. He served in the

Bill Bigelow

U.S. Navy before settling in Hawaii in the 1960s. Bigelow worked in local radio and television as a reporter and news anchor. He was also seen in numerous episodes of the television series Hawaii Five-0 in the 1970s, and was featured in an episode of Magnum, P.I. in 1984.

Jimmy Carl Black

their guitarist. The Mothers were popular and controversial, recording such albums as Freak Out! (1965), Absolutely Free (1967), We’re Only in It for the Money (1968), and Uncle Meat (1969), before Zappa disbanded them in 1969. Black reunited with Zappa to appear in the 1971 cult ﬁlm 200 Motels as Lonesome Cowboy Burt. He also appeared in the ﬁlm Panama Red: A Perfect Smoke in 1976. He also continued a career in music, teaming with guitarist Ed Chadbourne in the Jack and Jim Show. He also played with guitarist Richard Farrell as the FarrellBlack Blues Band, and played with the Grandmothers with several other former members of Zappa’s band. Black moved to Germany in the early 1990s where he frequently played with the British Zappa tribute group The Mufﬁn Men.

MR. BLACKWELL Richard Blackwell, who was known as fashion designer and critic Mr. Blackwell, died of complications from a intestinal infection in Los Angeles on October 19, 2008. He was 86. He was born Richard Selzer in Brooklyn, New York on August 29, 1922. He had a difﬁcult childhood, and began performing in small roles on stage. He was also seen in the ﬁlms Little Tough Guy (1938) and Juvenile Court (1938). He headed to Los Angeles with his mother in the 1940s to continue to pursue a career in acting. He was signed to a ﬁlm contract by Howard Hughes, who changed his name to Blackwell. He was cast in the 1950 feature Vendetta, but his part ended up on the cutting-room ﬂoor. He slowly left acting to concentrate on designing clothes, opening the House of Blackwell in 1958. He was noted for designing outﬁts that emphasized a woman’s ﬁgure,

41

Mr. Blackwell

with Jayne Mansﬁeld and Jane Russell among his clients. Blackwell was also one of the ﬁrst designers to make clothes for plus-size women. The House of Blackwell was also among the ﬁrst to release a line of designer jeans. He became particularly well known for his annual list of the 10 worst dressed celebrities that he initiated in 1960. He savaged such celebrities as Elizabeth Taylor, Cher, Madonna, Julia Roberts, Queen Elizabeth, and Victoria Beckham with his scathing and sometimes bitchy critiques. Blackwell was credited for designing Jayne Mansﬁeld’s wardrobe for the 1963 ﬁlm Promises! Promises!, and was a fashion consultant for episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies. He hosted the 1968 television series Mr. Blackwell Presents and was a frequent guest on such talk shows as The Virginia Graham Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Merv Grifﬁn Show, and The Roseanne Show. He also appeared in cameo roles in several series including The Brady Brides, Matt Houston, Matlock, Blossom, and Civil Wars. Blackwell was also seen in the soap operas The Bold and the Beautiful and Port Charles, and the 1999 feature ﬁlm Foreign Correspondents. He was the author of the 1995 autobiography From Rags to Bitches. His survivors include Robert L. Spencer, his business and personal partner for over half a century.

BLAUSTEIN, MADDIE Madeleine Joan “Maddie” Blaustein, a transgender voice actress who was best known as the voice of Meowth in the animated Pokemon series, died in her sleep after a brief illness at her

Maddie Blaustein

2008 • Obituaries home on December 11, 2008. She was 48. Blaustein was born in Long Island, New York, on October 9, 1960, and worked in ﬁlms as a voice actor from the mid–1990s. Originally billed as Adam Blaustein, he later became known as Addie, and then Maddie, after undergoing a sex change operation. She was the voice of Meowth, the villainous Team Rocket mascot cat in the Pokemon television series and movies. She also voiced Solomon Moto in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series. Other voice credits include Dr. K in Cubix: Robots for Everyone (2001) and Fox Box Rocks (2003), Chef Kawasaki in Kirby: Right Back at Ya! (2002), the Grub Guru and Burnt Meatballs in Fighting Foodons (2002), Sister Jill in Cutie Honey (2004), E-123 Omega in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), and Sartorius in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (2007). Blaustein also voiced characters for numerous video games and worked as a comic book writer for DC’s Milestone line for the series Static, Hardware, and Deathwish.

BLISS, JOHN Character actor John Bliss died of an aortic aneurysm in Glendale, California, on February 28, 2008. He was 77. Bliss was born on October 8, 1930. He began appearing in ﬁlms in the late 1950s with a small role in 1957’s A Face in the Crowd with Andy Grifﬁth. He was also seen in such ﬁlms as The Miracle Worker (1962), Vengeance (1964), Angel’s Flight (1965), Invitation to Ruin (1968), The Thing with Two Heads

John Bliss

(1972), Dixie Dynamite (1976), Othello (1981), Revenge (1986), Mutilations (1986), Trade Day (2001), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), Big Time (2004), Imaginary Heroes (2004), Iowa (2005), and Art School Conﬁdential (2006). Bliss also guest-starred on television in episodes of Get Smart, Dallas, Father Murphy, and Joey. He starred as Mr. Pickering in the comedy series Andy Richter Controls the Universe from 2002 to 2004, and was Principal Irving Pal in Ned’s Declassiﬁed School Survival Guide from 2006 to 2007.

BOATRIGHT, BOB Bob Boatright, who was the ﬁddle player for Bob Wills Original Texas Playboys, died of cancer in Fort Worth, Texas, on December 28, 2008. He was 69. Boatright was born in Denison, Texas, on September 30, 1939. He attended Midwestern State University, and worked as a high school math teacher after graduation. He played the ﬁddle in the Fort Worth

Obituaries • 2008

42 Huey’s, and was also a partner in the restaurants Folk’s Folly, Tsunami, and The Half Shell. Boggs had served as president of the Memphis Restaurant Association, the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Memphis in May.

BOKONYI, LAURA Hungarian actress Laura Bokonyi died in Budapest, Hungary, on November 30, 2008. She was 53. Bokonyi was born in Budapest on September 21, 1955. She began her career as an actress in the late 1970s and was featured in the ﬁlms Allegro Barbaro: Magyar Rapszodia 2 (1978), Angi Vera (1979), Hun-

Bob Boatright

area on the side before joining the Texas Playboys in 1977. He played with the band under Leon McAuliffe from 1977 until the group disbanded in 1986. He was heard on many of their albums and on the soundtrack of the 1984 ﬁlm Places in the Heart. He was also featured with the group of the television show Austin City Limits. He later joined with other former bandmates to perform as Playboys II, and were featured on the television program Texas Connection. Boatright also performed with Dave Alexander and His Legends of Western Swing and at numerous Western Swing Festivals and cowboy events. BOGGS, THOMAS Rock musician turned restaurateur Thomas Boggs, who played drums with the 1960s group the Box Tops, died of cancer in Memphis, Tennessee, on May 5, 2008. He was 63. Boggs was born in Wynne, Arkansas, on July 16, 1944. He began playing drums for rock bands in the 1960s such as Flash and the Board of Directors and Tommy Burk and the Counts. He

Laura Bokonyi

garian Rhapsody (1979), Daniel Takes a Train (1983), The Revolt of Job (1983), Hanna’s War (1988), and The Sun Street Boys (2007). Bokonyi also appeared in the television productions Freytag Testverek (1989), A Tigriscsikos Kutya (2001), A Titkos Haboru (2002), and A Hortobag y Legendaja (2008), and guest-starred in episodes of Eretlenek, Hello Doki, Kemek eg y Kocsit, and Dinotopia.

BOLAND, NORA Nora Madeleine Webb Ullrich, who acted in ﬁlms and television under the name Nora Boland, died at her home in Los Angeles on January 15, 2008. She was 78. She was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, on December 14, 1929. She began her acting career later in life, making her ﬁlm debut in a small role in 1977’s The World’s Greatest Lover. She was also seen in such ﬁlms as Neil Simon’s California Suite

Thomas Boggs

replaced Danny Smythe as the Box Tops’ drummer in 1968 and played on their hit recording “Sweet Cream Ladies” and “I Shall Be Released.” He left the group shortly before they disbanded in 1970. Boggs had been involved in the restaurant business for many years and became bartender at Huey’s in 1975. He was co-owner within two years and transformed the small bar into a popular burger restaurant chain. He served as CEO of

Nora Boland

43

2008 • Obituaries

(1978), TAG: The Assassination Game (1982), Back to School (1986), and Mississippi Masala (1991). Boland appeared frequently on television from the late 1970s, with roles in the tele-ﬁlms Elvis (1979), And Baby Makes Six (1979), Power (1980), The Boy Who Drank Too Much (1980), The Jayne Mansﬁeld Story (1980), and Celebrity (1984). Her other television credits include episodes of The Incredible Hulk, Behind the Screen, The Fall Guy, WKRP in Cincinnati, Gimme a Break!, Bare Essence, Hill Street Blues, General Hospital, The Dukes of Hazzard, Highway to Heaven, 227, and Doogie Howser.

BONNER, TESSA Soprano Tessa Bonner, who sang with the Taverner Consort, died on December 31, 2008. She was 57. She was born Teresa Margaret Pollard in Hammersmith, West London, England, on February 28, 1951. She worked for the BBC in the early

Umberto Bonsignori

was found dead at her home in Florida, on July 29, 2008. She had been dead, reportedly of a suicide by gunshot,

Tessa Bonner

1970s as a production assistant on such programs as Face the Music and Blue Peter. She subsequently studied music at Leeds University and took singing lessons from Honor Sheppard. She began performing with vocal ensembles in the late 1970s and was featured on the Taverner Consort recording of Monteverdi’s “Vespers” in 1984. She was noted for her Renaissance repertoires, and performed with such groups as Musica Secreta, the Consort of Musicke, the Lute Group, the Academy of Ancient Music, and the Sixteen.

BONSIGNORI, UMBERTO Film director Umberto Bonsignori died in St. Petersburg, Florida, on December 4, 2008. He was 87. Bonsignori was born in Venice, Italy, on February 8, 1921. He attended the Paris Peace Conference after World War II as a journalist and became a United States citizen in 1947. He studied at the University of California in Los Angeles and worked at MGM as a junior writer. Bonsignori served as a technical advisor on the 1950 ﬁlm The Vicious Years. He later produced, directed and edited the 1961 ﬁlms Maeva, from a script by Maya Deren, about a girl from Tahiti looking for the man of her dreams. Bonsignori later served as chairman of the communications department at William Patterson College in New Jersey. BOOSTROM, DEBBIE Debbie Boostrom, who was Playboy’s Playmate of the Month in August of 1981,

Debbie Boostrom

for nearly two weeks when she was found. She was 53. Boostrom was born in Peoria, Illinois, on June 23, 1955. She was living in Florida at the time she posed for Playboy. She later worked as an actress in infomercials.

BOOTH, CALVIN Actor Calvin Booth, who appeared in several ﬁlms in the 1950s, died in Green Valley, Arizona, on May 25, 2008. He was 76. Booth was born on July 20, 1931. He was featured in the 1957 cult sci-ﬁ ﬁlm Invasion of the Saucer Men. He also appeared in small roles in the ﬁlms The Abductors (1957), Under Fire (1957), and Gun Girls (1957). He later worked as a law-enforcement ofﬁcer after leaving acting. BORTSOV, VIKTOR Russian ﬁlm and stage actor Viktor Bortsov died of intestinal cancer in Moscow on May 20, 2008. He was 73. Bortsov was born in Orenburg, Soviet Union, on June 14, 1934. He was a leading stage actor and made his ﬁlm debut in 1963’s The First Trolleybus. He also appeared in such ﬁlms and television productions as Daylight Train (1976), Aniskin Again (1978), A Railway Station for Two (1982), Pokrov Gates (1982), Alone and Unarmed (1984), My Elected (1984), Naval Cadets, Charge! (1987), The Visit (1989), Doping for Angela (1990), Vivat, Naval Cadets! (1991), God Khoroshego Rebyonka (1991), Great Idea (1991), and Chicha (1992).

Obituaries • 2008

44 salon (1962), Florence und der Zahnarzt (1962), Die Sanfte Tour (1963), Sweierlei Mass (1963), Die Zwolf Geschworenen (1963), Candida (1963), Mirandolina (1963), Der Mann Nebenan (1964), Gerechtigkeit in Worowogorsk (1964), Hotel Iphigenie (1964), Tired Theodore (1964), Gluck in Frankreich (1965), Die Tochter des Brunnenmachers (1965), Herzliches Beileid (1966), Flieger Ross (1966), Ein Riss im Eis (1967), Blut Floss auf Blendings Castle (1967), Biedermann und die Brandstifter (1967), Keine Angst vor der Holle (1968), Heim und Herd (1968), Jacques Offenbach—Ein Lebensbild (1969), Die 13 Monate (1970), My Friend Harvey (1970), Die Frau ohne Kuss

Viktor Bortsov

BOSSIS, HELENA French comedienne and actress Helena Bossis died in Hyeres, Var, France, on August 15, 2008. She was 89. She was born Henriette Berthe Blance Berriau in Rabat, Morocco, on February 23, 1919, the daughter of actress Simone Berriau. She trained as an actress at the French National Conservatory, and began her career on stage in the mid–1940s. She was also featured in several ﬁlms including Women of Evil (1947), Le Destin Execreable de Guillemette Babin (1948), La Louve (1949), and Flesh and Desire (1954). She was featured in Herbert Botticher

Helena Bossis

the television dramas Belphegor (1965) as Irene Nando and Jacquou le Croquant (1969) as La Mathive. She also appeared in the tele-ﬁlms Tango (1980) and Barbarina ou l’Oiselet Vert (19783), and in episodes of Au Theatre ce Soir and Les Enquetes du Commissaire Maigret. Bossis took over as director of the Theatre Antoine in 1984, working with her husband, Daniel Dares.

BOTTICHER, HERBERT German character actor Herbert Botticher was found dead in a Dusseldorf, Germany, hotel room of natural causes on October 8, 2008. He was 79. Botticher was born in Hanover, Germany, on December 19, 1928. He began his career on stage in the 1950s, performing throughout Germany before settling in Munich in 1958. He became a familiar face on German television from the early 1960s with roles in such productions as Hamlet (1961) as Guildenstern, Spiel-

(1971), The Business of Plueckhahn (1971), Gluckspilze (1971), Vom Hackepeter und der Kalten Mamsell (1973), Silverson (1974), Depressionen (1975), Oblomows Liebe (1976), Vier Gegen die Bank (1976), Ein Abend im Salon der Marie d’Agoult (1977), Ein Hut von Ganz Spezieller Art (1978), Liebling, Ich Bin Da (1978), ...von Herzen mit Schmerzen (1978), Zwei Mann um Einen Herd (1979), Scheidung auf Franzosisch (1980), Wer den Schaden Hat... (1981), Onkel & Co (1981), Behaltet Mut (1982), Heute und Damals (1984), Halbe Wahrheiten (1985), and Prinz und Paparazzi (2005). Botticher made his ﬁlm debut in the 1968 feature In the Morning at Seven the World Is Still in Order, and appeared in such ﬁlms as The Duck Rings at Half Past Seven (1968), 24-Hour Lover (1968), Dream City (1973), and Lina Braake (1975). He starred as Alfons Vonhoff in the television series Ich Heirate Eine Familie from 1983 to 1986. Botticher’s other television credits include episodes of Das Kriminalmuseum, Der Tod Lauft Hinterher, Der Vater und Sein Sohn, Zimmer 13, Der Kommissar, Hoopers Letzte Jagd, Tatort, Eine Ganz Gewohnliche Geschichte, Ein Verrucktes Parr, Wie Erziehe ich Meinen Vater?, Leute wie du und Ich, Schone Ferien, Detektivburo Roth, Derrick, SOKO 5113, Das Nest, Edgar, Huter der Moral, Liebesgeschichten, Pension Corona, Lilli Lottofee, Der Millionenerbe, Park Hotel Stern, Klinikum Berlin Mitte — Leben in Bereitschaft, and Hallo Robbie!

BOTTOMS, SAM Actor Sam Bottoms, who was featured as surfer-soldier Lance Johnson in the Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now, died of glioblastoma multiforme, a virulent type of brain cancer, at his home in Los Angeles on December 16, 2008. He was 53. Bot-

45

2008 • Obituaries

Sam Bottoms

Jean-Claude Bouillaud

toms was born in Santa Barbara, California, on October 17, 1955. He was the third brother in the quartet of acting Bottoms brothers that included Timothy, Joseph, and Ben. Sam made his acting debut in Peter Bogdanovich’s 1971 ﬁlm The Last Picture Show. He was visiting his brother Timothy on the ﬁlm set when Bogdanovich cast him in the role of Billy, the mute mentally handicapped boy. He went on to appear as Marty in the 1973 comingof-age ﬁlm Class of ’44, and was seen in the ﬁlms Zandy’s Bride (1974) and The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) with Clint Eastwood. Bottoms was also featured in the teleﬁlms Savages (1974) and Cage Without a Key (1975), and episodes of Doc Elliot, Lucas Tanner, Marcus Welby, M.D., Greatest Heroes of the Bible, and The Eddie Capra Mysteries. He was cast as Lance Johnson in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 classic Apocalypse Now, with Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen, and starred as Greg Oliver in the 1979 Jaws rip-off Up from the Depths. His other ﬁlm credits include Bronco Billy (1980), Prime Risk (1985), In ’n Out (1986), Hunter’s Blood (1987), Gardens of Stone (1987), After School (1988), Ragin’ Cajun (1991), Dolly Dearest (1992), North of Chiang Mai (1992), The Trust (1993), Sugar Hill (1994), Project Shadowchaser III (1995), Sticky Fingers (1997), Snide and Prejudice (1997), Joseph’s Gift (1998), The Unsaid (2001, Shadow Fury (2002), True Files (2002), Looking Through Lillian (2002), Seabiscuit (2003), Havoc (2005), Shopgirl (2005), Winter Passing (2005), Sherry Baby (2006), and Finishing the Game: The Search for a New Bruce Lee (2007). He was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms East of Eden (1981) as Cal Trask, Desperate Lies (1982), Return to Eden (1983), No Earthly Reason (1984), The Witching of Ben Wagner (1987), Island Sons (1987), Zooman (1995), Mercenary II: Thick & Thin (1997), and My Neighbor’s Daughter (1998). His other television credits include episodes of the series 21 Jump Street, Murder, She Wrote, The X Files, and NYPD Blue. BOUILLAUD, JEAN-CLAUDE French actor Jean-Claude Bouillaud died in Angers, Maine-et-Loire, France, on June 20, 2008. He was 81. Bouillaud was born in Le Havre, Seine-Maritime, France, on June 7, 1927. He worked as a banker for over a decade before making his stage debut in local theater. He was ﬁrst seen on screen in a small role in William Klein’s satire Mister Freedom in 1969. Bouillaud continued to appear in ﬁlms by such directors as Claude Chabrol, Costa-Gavras,

Claude Sautet, and Jacques Demy, often in supporting roles. His numerous ﬁlm credits include The Bar at the Crossing (1972), Beyond Fear (1975), Womanlight (1979), Laisse-moi Rever (1979), The Swindle (1980), The Horse of Pride (1980), A Bad Son (1980), The Party (1980), The Girl from Lorraine (1981), Choice of Arms (1981), Men Prefer Fat Girls (1981), The Professionals (1981), Tete a Claques (1982), The Hatter’s Ghost (1982), Le Pere Noel est une Ordure (1982), La Java des Ombres (1983), Waiter! (1983), Ronde de Nuit (1984), Le Joli Coeur (1984), Pinot Simple Flic (1984), Fire on Sight (1984), My New Partner (1984), The Twin (1984), La Baston (1985), Outlaws (1985), Pouet au Vinaigre (1985), Black Mic Mac (1986), Charlie Cingo (1987), To the Four Winds (1987), Eskorpionn (1988), Three Places for the 26th (1988), Le Vent de la Toussaint (1991), Madame Bovary (1991), A Heart of Stone (1992), Justinien Trouve, or God’s Bastard (1993), Letter for L... (1994), and Les Miserables (1995). He was also featured in television productions of Marie-Antoinette (1975), Les Rebelles (1977), Les Grands Proces Temoins de leur Temps: Le Pain et le Vin (1978), Le Mal Bleu (1979), La Dame aux Coquillages (1979), The Visitors (1980), Le Grand Fosse (1980), La Trague (1980), Blanc, Bleu, Roge (1981), Les Ecumeurs de Lille (1981), La Double vie de Theophraste Longuet (1981), La Chanbre des Dames (1983), Un Homme va etre Assassine (1984), L’Affaire Caillaux (1985), L’Affaire Caillaux (1985), L’Affaire Marie Besnard (1986), La Darne des Dunes (1986), La Chaine (1988), La Face de l’Ogre (1988), Les Bottes de Sept Lieues (1990), Le Vent de la Toussaint (1991), Les Hordes (1991), Picture Perfect (1993), La Corruptrice (1995), Le Parasite (1995), La Mere de nos Enfants (1997), La Course de l’Escargot (1998), L’Inventaire (1998), De Toute Urgence (2001), Le Don Fait a Catchaires (2003), Arzak Rhapsody (2003), and Clochemerle (2004). Bouillaud’s other television credits include episodes of L’Inspecteur Mene L’Enquete, Commissaire Moulin, Miss, La Mythomane, L’Heure Simonen, Mesaventures, Les Dossiers Secrets de l’Inspecteur Lavardin, Haute Tension, Les Enquetes du Commissaire Maigret, Renseignements Generaux, Mselissol, and Crimes en Serie. BOWMAN, CHRISTOPHER Figure skating champion Christopher Bowman, whose career was curtailed by a history of substance abuse, was found dead in a motel in North Hills, California, on January 10, 2008.

Obituaries • 2008

46 Drama Company when she was cast as Afghan dog breeder Mrs. Antrobus in an episode of The Archers in 1984. Her performance was so popular that she was brought on the show as a regular character, where she remained for the next 20 years.

BRADLEY, STEVE Professional wrestler Steve Bradley was found dead in a parking lot across the street from a wrestling school he once operated in Manchester, New Hampshire, on December 4, 2008. He was 32. He was born Steven Bisson in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 10, 1975. He made his professional wrestling debut at the age of 15 on the East Coast, and signed a deChristopher Bowman

He was 40. Bowman was born in Hollywood, California, on March 30, 1967. He began skating at the age of 5, and was trained by leading skating coach Frank Carroll. Bowman also performed as a child actor in the late 1970s, appearing in several episodes of Little House on the Prairie and Archie Bunker’s Place. He won the National Junior Championship for ice skating in 1983, and was the Men’s Singles Champion in 1989 and 1992. Bowman competed in the Winter Olympics in 1988 and 1992, placing seventh and fourth respectively. A colorful ﬁgure on the ice who was known as “Bowman the Showman,” he also developed an expensive cocaine habit while his career was in full swing. During the 1990s, he performed frequently with the Ice Capades and had several brushes with the law. BOYD, MARGOT British actress Margot Boyd, who starred as Mrs. Antrobus on the popular radio serial The Archers for two decades, died at the retired actors home Denville Hall in Northwood, Middle Sussex, England, on May 20, 2008. She was 94. She was born

Margot Boyd

Beryl Billings in Bath, Somerset, England on September 24, 1913. She appeared on television frequently from the late 1950s, with roles in such series as Our Miss Pemberton, Huntingtower, Dixon of Dock Green, Swizzlewick, Ways with Words, The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, Upstairs, Downstairs, The Kids from 47A, The Wilde Alliance, and Play for Today. Boyd was working with the BBC Radio

Steve Bradley

velopmental contract with the WWE in 1998. He competed with Memphis’ Power Pro Wrestling from 1999, defeating Kurt Angle for the championship in August of 1999. He exchanged the titles with Vic Grimes and Rico Constantino over the next year before losing the belt to Ali in January of 2000. Bradley defeated the Spellbinder for the Power Pro Belt, unifying the title with the Memphis Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Title in January of 2001. Bradley also competed with the East Coast Wrestling Association and the IWA in Puerto Rico. He was sent by the WWE to Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA), where he teamed with Lance Cade to hold the HWA tag belts. Bradley was dropped from the WWE developmental program in July of 2002. He later operated the Top Rope Wrestling Academy, where he trained young wrestlers.

BRAMLETT, DELANEY Singer and songwriter Delaney Bramlett, who was part of the 1960s band Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, died of complications from gallbladder surgery in a Los Angeles hospital on December 27, 2008. He was 69. Bramlett was born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, on July 1, 1939. He came to Los Angeles in the 1960s where he played guitar in the house band for the television music series Shindig. He married Bonnie O’Farrell in 1967 and formed the Southern bluesrock band Delaney & Bonnie & Friends with her. The group recorded several albums including Home (1969), Accept No Substitute (1969), On Tour with Eric Clapton (1980), To Bonnie from Delaney (1970), Motel Shot (1971), and D&B Together (1972). The were also featured as the J. Hovah’s Singers in the 1971 cult ﬁlm classic Vanishing

47

2008 • Obituaries son with Drollet in 1995, committed suicide later that same year. Brando’s legal difﬁculties continued over the next decade. He was involved in the trial of actor Robert Blake, who was accused of the shooting death of his wife, the former Bonnie Lee Bakley, in 2001. Brando, who was a former lover of Bakley, refused to testify at Blake’s trial and denied any involvement in the killing. He was later accused of domestic violence from his wife, Deborah, in 2005 and pled guilty to two counts of spousal abuse.

Delaney Bramlett (with Bonnie)

Point and Patrick McGoohan’s 1974 adaptation of Othello, Catch My Soul. Delaney and Bonnie ended their marriage and the musical partnership in 1973. Bramlett co-wrote the songs “Superstar” with Leon Russell, and “Let It Rain” with Eric Clapton. He also worked with such artists as Janis Joplin, George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Billy Preston, Jerry Lee Lewis, and the Everly Brothers during his career. He recorded the solo album A New Kind of Blues shortly before his death.

BRANDO, CHRISTIAN Christian Brando, the eldest son of actor Marlon Brando, died of pneumonia in a Los Angeles hospital on January 26, 2008. He was 49. Brando was born on May 11, 1958. The younger Brando appeared in several ﬁlms as a child including The Secret Life of an American Wife (1968) and I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! (1968). As an adult, he attempted to resume an acting career, appearing as Aaron in the 1980 tele-ﬁlm The Day Christ Died. He also appeared in the ﬁlms Yentl (1983), with Barbra Streisand, Unmasked Part 25 (1988), La Posta in Gioco (1988), and Wishful Thinking (1990). He also appeared in the 1985 television miniseries A.D. and the 1990 tele-ﬁlm The Endless Game. Brando was accused of killing his sister’s boyfriend, Dag Drollet, and plead guilty to manslaughter in 1990. He claimed that the two had struggled over a gun during an argument over Drollet’s alleged abuse of Brando’s pregnant half-sister, Cheyenne. Christian spent ﬁve years in prison for the crime. Cheyenne, who lost custody of her

Christian Brando (right, with father Marlon)

BRANDY, HOWARD Entertainment publicist Howard Brandy died in Los Angeles after a long illness on June 23, 2008. He was 79. Brandy was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 20, 1929. He served in the Marines in the 1950s before moving to Los Angeles to work as a publicist in the music industry. He began his career working with such singers as Frankie Avalon and Fabian. He later became publicity director for such music industry giants as Motown and A + M Records, working with the artists Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Lionel Richie. He was involved in handling

Howard Brandy

the publicity campaigns for the Beatles’ ﬁlms A Hard Day’s Night and Help! in the 1960s, and for 1967’s Privilege. He was also closely associated with animator Jay Ward, the creator of the cartoon series Rocky and Bullwinkle, and Brandy’s jut-jawed proﬁle inspired the likeness of Ward’s cartoon creation Canadian Mountie Dudley Do-Right. Brandy continued to work in ﬁlms, handling public relations for such features as Hammer’s Blood for the Mummy’s Tomb (1971), The Take (1974), Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein (1977), Things Are Tough All Over (1982), Gorky Park (1983), The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), Runaway Train (1985), After the Rain (1988), The Karate Kid, Part III (1989), Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991), and The Last Seduction (1994). He was also involved in the publicity campaigns for all of the Police Academy ﬁlms.

BRANT, HENRY Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Henry Brant died at his home in Santa Barbara, California, on April 26, 2008. He was 94. Brant was born in Montreal, Canada, on September 15, 1913. His father was head of the violin department at McGill University, and Henry began composing music at the age of 8. He studied at McGill and at Juilliard in New York

Obituaries • 2008

Henry Brant

City. He worked as a conductor of radio orchestras and music arranger for ballet companies early in his career. He also served as orchestrator for several Depression Era documentaries including The Plow That Broke the Plains (1936), The River (1938), and The City (1939). His compositions became noted for their unorthodox use of such sound-producing devices as kitchen utensils and tin whistles. He was an innovator of spatial sound, positioning ﬁve parts of an orchestra throughout Carnegie Hall for in production of Antiphony I in 1953. His 1970 composition Kingdom Come called for two orchestras, one on stage producing dissonant sounds, and another in the balcony with whistles, buzzers, and air compressors. Brant frequently worked in Hollywood, serving as orchestrator for the 1963 ﬁlm Cleopatra. He also orchestrated the features Cheyenne Autumn (1964), The Devil’s Brigade (1968), Carny (1980), and Good Morning, Vietnam (1987). His 1990 concert to inaugurate I.M. Pei’s Dallas Symphony Hall featured over 300 musicians scattered about the auditorium. Brant received the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2002 for his organ concerto composition Ice Field. He taught during much of his career, at Columbia University from 1945 to 1952, Juilliard from 1947 to 1954, and at Bennington College from 1957 to 1980. Brant completed his long term textbook project on orchestration, Textures and Timbres, in 2007.

BRASCHI, GIANLUIGI Italian ﬁlm producer Gianluigi Braschi, who worked frequently with his brother-in-law, actor Roberto Benigni, died after a long illness in Milan, Italy, on October 23, 2008. He was 45. Braschi was born in Cesena, Italy, in 1963. He was the brother of actress Nicoletta Braschi, who married actor Roberto Benigni. Gianluigi Braschi began working in ﬁlms as a production assistant on Benigni’s gangster comedy Johnny Stecchino in 1991. He joined with Benigni and his sister to form Melampo Cinematograﬁc production house in 1994, and Braschi was associate producer on the 1994 comedy about a homicidal sex maniac, Il Mostro (aka The Monster). He also co-produced Benigni’s 1997 Oscar-nominated hit Life Is Beautiful with Elda Ferri. Braschi continued to work with Benigni as a producer on his ﬁlms Pinocchio (2002) and The Tiger and the Snow (2005).

48 BRAUN, PINKAS German actor Pinkas Braun died in Munich, Germany, on June 24, 2008. He was 85. Braun was born in Zurich, Switzerland, on January 7, 1923. He was a leading performer on stage, ﬁlm, and television from the 1950s, and was noted for his roles in Edgar Wallace mysteries. Braun’s numerous ﬁlm credits include Sky Without Stars (1955), Aren’t We Wonderful? (1958), The Miracle of Father Malachia (1961), The Puzzle of the Red Orchid (1962), The Door with Seven Locks (1962), The Curse of the Yellow Snake (1963), The Lightship (1963), Piccadilly Zero Hour 12 (1963), Mark of the Tortoise (1964), Dog Eat Dog (1964), Das Haus auf dem Hugel (1964), Die Schwarzen Adler von Santa Fe (1965), City of Fear (1965), St. Pauli Herbertstrasse (1965), Secret Agent Super Dragon (1966), The Hunchback of Soho (1966), Clint the Stranger (1967), the 1967 Perry Rhodan science ﬁction ﬁlm Mission Stardust, The Man Outside (1967), The Hand of Power (1968), The Last Escape (1970), Everyone Dies Alone (1976), Sidney Sheldon’s Bloodline (1979), L’Ombre Rouge (1981), All Fired Up (1982), Falosny Princ (1984), Les Cavaliers de l’Orage (1984), Anna Goldin, the Last Witch (1991), The Time After (1992), Mr. Bluesman (1993), K (1997), D’or et d’Oublis (1998), Comedian (2000), and Help, I’m a Boy! (2002). Braun was also featured in television productions of Der Verrater (1959), Kopfgeld (1959), Die Gerechten (1959), So Ist Es — Ist Es So? (1960), Die Falle (1961), Das Duell (1964), Die Ermittlung (1966), Der Tod Lauft Hinterher (1967), Der Fall Tuchatschewskij (1968), Jacques Offenbach — Ein Lebensbild (1969), Hotel Royal (1969), Ende der Vorstellug 24 Uhr (1970), Die Frau in Weiss (1971), Annemarie Lesser (1971), Moliere Pour Rire et Pour Pleurer (1973), Feinde (1976), Besellschattspiele (1976), Der Wiunter, der ein Sommer War (1976), Charlie Mufﬁn (1979), Les Mysteres de Paris (1980), Praying Mantis (1982), Die Matrosen von Kronstadt (1983), Grenzenloses Himmelblau (1985), Vertrauen Gegen Vertrauen (1986), Im Schatten der Angst (1988), Sehnsuchte oder Es Ist Alles Unheimlich Leicht (1991), Tod auf Bali (1991), Geschafte (1995), Inseln Undter dem Wind (1995), Die Katze von Kensington (1996), Samson and Delilah (1996), Annas Fluch —Todliche Gedanken (1998), Edelweiss (2001), and Singapur-Express — Geheimnis Einer Liebe (2002). Braun starred as Jorg Preda in the 1966 television series Jorg Preda Berichtet, and was Gabrielli in Les Brigades du Tigre

Pinkas Braun

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2008 • Obituaries

from 1982 to 1983. He also appeared in episodes of Derrick, Hello, Onkel Doc!, Zwei Alte Hasen, Zoff und Zartichkeit, Alle Meine Tochter, Stockinger, Unser Charly, SK Kolsch, Edel & Starck, and Adelheid und Ihre Morder.

BRECHER, IRVING Comedy writer Irving Brecher died of complications from a series of heart attacks in Los Angeles on November 17, 2008. He was 94. Brecher was born in the Bronx, New York, on January 17, 1914. He began writing gags for Milton Berle in the mid– 1930s. He moved to Hollywood in 1937, where he worked as a writer and script doctor for Mervyn LeRoy at MGM. He scripted the ﬁlm New Faces of 1937 (1937) and wrote additional dialog for 1938’s Fools for Scandal. He also worked on the script, without credit, for the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz. Brecher wrote two ﬁlms

MC Breed

Cube, and Tupac Shakur on the single “Gotta Get Mine.” Breed’s other albums include Funkaﬁed (1994), Big Baller (1995), To Da Beat Ch’all (1996), Saucy (1997), Flatline (1998), It’s All Good (1999), The Thugz, Vol. 1 (2000), Rare Breed (2000), The Fharmacist (2001), and The New Prescription (2004).

BRIERLY, DAVID British character actor David Brierly died of cancer in England on June 10, 2008. He was 73. Brierly was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1935. He began his acting career in the 1950s

Irving Brecher

for the Marx Brothers, At the Circus (1939) and Go West (1940). He also wrote the ﬁlms Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), Ship Ahoy (1942), Du Barry Was a Lady (1943) with Lucille Ball, Best Foot Forward (1943), the Judy Garland hit Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), which earned him an Academy Award nomination, Yolanda and the Thief (1945), Ziegfeld Follies (1946), and Summer Holiday (1948). He created the popular radio series The Life of Riley, which he adapted for a feature ﬁlm starring William Bendix in 1949. Brecher was also involved in the subsequent television series that initially starred Jackie Gleason for a season in 1949. The Life of Riley returned to television with Bendix in the lead from 1953 until 1958. Brecher also wrote and directed the 1952 ﬁlm Somebody Loves Me and helmed 1961’s Sail a Crooked Ship. He scripted an episode of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, and wrote the ﬁlms Cry for Happy (1961) and Bye Bye Birdie (1963).

BREED, MC Rapper MC Breed died of kidney failure at a friend’s home in Ypsilanti, Michigan, on November 22, 2008, at age 37. He was born Eric Breed in Flint, Michigan, on June 12, 1971. He recorded his debut album, MC Breed & DFC with Da Flint Crew in 1991, becoming one of the ﬁrst rappers to emerge from the Midwest. The album produced the hit single “Ain’t No Future in Yo Frontin’.” He subsequently moved to Atlanta, where he recorded the 1993 album The New Breed. He also collaborated with such stars as Too Short, Ice

David Brierley

and appeared in several ﬁlms including Noddy in Toyland (1957), Calculated Risk (1963), Escort Girls (1974), On the Game (1974), and Adventures of a Taxi Driver (1976) as the narrator. Brierly was also seen in such television productions as The Younger Generation (1959), The Voodoo Factor (1959), Threads (1984), and Cover Her Face (1985). He replaced John Leeson as the Doctor’s robotic canine companion K-9 in Doctor Who from 1979 to 1980 before Leeson reclaimed the role. Brierly also appeared on television in episodes of Z Cars, The Big Pull, Arthur of the Britons, Blue Peter, Frankie Howerd Strikes Again, Juliet Bravo, Coronation Street, One By One, The Tripods, and Howard’s Way.

BRILLSTEIN, BERNIE Film producer and talent agent Bernie Brillstein died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a Los Angeles hospital on August 7,

Obituaries • 2008

50

Bernie Brillstein

Sherry Britton

2008. He was 77. Brillstein was born in New York City on April 26, 1931. He began his career working in the mail room at the William Morris Agency in the mid– 1950s. He became one of the most successful agents in Hollywood, adding the careers of such stars as John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Jim Henson. He and partner, Brad Grey, formed the production and management company Brillstein-Grey Entertainment in 1991. He frequently was credited as an executive producer for many of the ﬁlm and television productions he delivered talent for. His ﬁlm credits include Up the Academy (1980), The Blues Brothers (1980), Continental Divide (1981), Neighbors (1981), Doctor Detroit (1983), Ghostbusters (1984), Summer Rental (1985), Spies Like Us (1985), Dragnet (1987), Ghostbusters II (1989), Hexed (1993), The Celluloid Closet (1995), Happy Gilmore (1996), The Cable Guy (1996), Bulletproof (1996), The Replacement Killers (1998), What Planet Are You From? (2000), Run Ronnie Run (2002), Jimmy Glick in Lalawood (2004), and The Pity Card (2006). Brillstein also earned nine Emmy Award nominations for his work in television. He was a producer for such series as The Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour, Buffalo Bill, Comedy Factory, CBS Summer Playhouse, ALF, The Boys, Normal Life, It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, Good Sports, The Steve Harvey Show, The Dana Carvey Show, Mr. Show with Bob and David, The Naked Truth, Politically Incorrect, Just Shoot Me!, NewsRadio, The Martin Short Show, Primetime Glick, The Wayne Brady Show, The Lyon’s Den, and Heist. He also produced such television productions as The Muppets Valentine Show (1974), The Wickedest Witch (1979) which he also directed, Don’t Try This at Home! (1990), Mr. Show with Bob and David: Fantastic Newness (1996), For Hope (1996), Mr. Show and the Incredible, Fantastical News Report (1998), and Next! (2002). Brillstein was also the author of the 1999 memoir Where Did I Go Right?— You’re No One in Hollywood Unless Someone Wants You Dead. BRITTON, SHERRY Burlesque performer Sherry Britton died in Manhattan, New York, on April 1, 2008. She was 89. She was born Edith Zack in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on July 28, 1918. She came from an abusive home and spent much of her childhood in foster homes or with relatives. She began performing as a stripper while in her teens, and became one of the lead-

ing ﬁgures on New York’s burlesque stages in the 1930s and early 1940s. Noted for her long black hair and hourglass ﬁgure, she became a headliner at Minsky’s Burlesque. When the risqué entertainment was largely banned in New York City by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, Britton turned to acting and appeared in numerous stage productions throughout the country. She also entertained the troops during World War II and was named an honorary brigadier general by President Roosevelt in 1944 for her efforts. Britton was also featured on television in the drama series The Mask, and appeared as a belly dancer in the 1958 Broadway comedy Drink to Me Only. She continued to appear on stage and perform in cabarets through the 1960s. She married wealthy businessman Robert Gross in 1971, and he encouraged her to pursue an education. While she had never attended high school, she was accepted into Fordham University and graduated magna cum laude with a pre-law degree in 1982. Britton was widowed in 1990. BROADLEY, PHILIP British television writer Philip Broadley died in England on November 30, 2008. He was 86. Broadley was born in Baildon, Yorkshire, England, on October 21, 1922. He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II, and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art after the war. He spent several years performing on stage in repertory before abandoning acting for writing. His ﬁrst scripted tele-play, Annabella, was produced for television in the late 1950s. He soon began writing frequently for ITV, where he was best known for working with producer Ralph Smart on the Patrick McGoohan spy series Danger Man. He penned the script that was instrumental in selling the series for a run on CBS in the United States, where it became known as Secret Agent. He also wrote for such series as Tales of Mystery, It Happened Like This, Out of the Unknown, The Saint, Man in the Suitcase, The Champions, Department S, Jason King, The Adventurer, Zodiac, Public Eye, Life and Death of Penelope, Van der Valk, The Wilde Alliance, Return of the Saint, Thundercloud, Bergerac, Storyboard, Mr. Palfrey of Westminster, and Lytton’s Diary. He also scripted the 1985 mini-series Goya, and adapted several Dorothy L Sayers mysteries for television including Strong Poison (1987) and Gaudy Night (1987). Broadley married actress, and later television producer, Margaret McCall in 1951. They remained together

51 until his death, and she died several weeks later on December 20, 2008.

BROWN, EARL Singer and songwriter Earl Brown, who wrote the Elvis Presley hit “If I Can Dream,” died at his home in Sherman Oaks, California, on January 10, 2008. He was 79. He was born Walter Earl Brown in Salt Lake City, Utah, on December 25, 1928. His father was a musician in a swing band and the family relocated frequently when Earl was a

2008 • Obituaries vania, on April 6, 2008. He was 63. Brown was born in Philadelphia on November 5, 1944. He began performing with the Blue Notes in the early 1970s, teaming with Harold Melvin, Teddy Pendergrass, Bernard Wilson, and Lloyd Parks. They signed with the Philadelphia International label in 1972 and recorded such hits as “If You Don’t Know Me by Now” (1972), “I Miss You” (1972), “Don’t Leave Me This Way” (1975), and “Bad Luck” (1975). Brown remained with the group’s everchanging roster, which included the loss of Pendergrass in 1976. The Blue Notes signed with ABC Records in 1977 and moved to MCA Records’ Source label in 1980. Harold Melvin continued to lead the group until suffering a stroke in 1996. He died the following year. Brown remained the Blue Notes’ second tenor until becoming ill while on tour in January of 2008.

BROWN, LYAL Canadian writer Lyal Brown died of complications from Parkinson’s disease in White Rock, British Columbia, Canada, on January 6, 2008. He was 78. Brown was born in Medicine Hat, Alberta,

Earl Brown

child. He soon became involved in music himself and was singer and arranger for the vocal group The Skylarks in the 1940s and 1950. He wrote Elvis Presley’s hit 1968 song “If I Can Dream,” and Dianne Reeves’ Grammy winner “Who’s Minding the Store?” He was also a vocal director for numerous television variety shows including The Danny Kaye Show, The Dinah Shore Show, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, The Andy Williams Show, The Osmond Brothers Show, and The Carol Burnett Show. He also composed music for the 1971 television production of Li’l Abner, The Goldie Hawn Special (1978), and All Commercials ... A Steve Martin Special (1980).

BROWN, LAWRENCE LLOYD, SR. Lawrence Lloyd Brown, Sr., an original member of the R&B group Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, died of complications from a respiratory condition in Philadelphia, Pennsyl-

Lawrence Lloyd Brown

Lyal Brown

Canada, on November 1, 1929. He created the television series Ritter’s Cove, which aired on CBC-TV from 1980 to 1981. He also worked on numerous other television productions including The Albertans (1979), Bordertown (1989), and Getting Married in Buffalo Jump (1990).

BROWNE, BUD Bud Browne, who was a pioneer in creating surf ﬁlms, died at his home in San Luis Obispo, California, on July 25, 2008. He was 96. Browne was born in Newtonville, Massachusetts, on July 12, 1912. He moved to Los Angeles in 1931 to attend the University of Southern California, and served as captain of the swim team. He worked as a lifeguard at Venice Beach in the late 1930s and became an avid surfer. Browne served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and after the war he began ﬁlming surﬁng in California and Hawaii. He edited enough footage to create a 45-minute movie, Hawaiian Surﬁng Movie, which he debuted and narrated in 1953. Over the next decade he produced such surf ﬁlms as Hawaiian Holiday (1954), Trek to Makaha (1956), The Big Surf (1957), Surf Down Under (1958), Cat on a Hot Foam Board (1959), Surf Happy (1960), Cavalcade of Surf (1962), Gun Ho! (1963), Locked In! (1964), and You’ll Dance in Tahiti (1967). He put down

Obituaries • 2008

52 helming over 180 telecasts during the next 30 years. He also directed numerous segments of Live at the Met and Great Performances, and televised productions of Broadway plays including Our Town (1989), The Grapes of Wrath (1991), O Pioneers! (1991), and Death of a Salesman (2000). His Live from Lincoln Center episodes won 10 Emmy Awards, and Browning received two Emmys for outstanding individual achievement for the PBS productions of Goya with Placido Domingo (1987) and the opera Turandot (1988). He was preparing to ﬁlm a production of Puccini’s Madama Butterﬂy at the time of his death.

Bud Browne

his camera for several years before putting together Goin’ Surﬁn’ in 1973. He also shot footage for the 1972 ﬁlm Five Summer Stories and John Milius’ 1978 feature Big Wednesday. He was inducted into the International Surﬁng Hall of Fame in 1991.

BROWNING, KIRK Television director Kirk Browning, who helmed numerous productions for PBS’s Live from Lincoln Center television series, died of a heart attack in Manhattan on February 10, 2008. He was 86. Browning was born in Manhattan on March 28, 1921. He served as an ambulance driver in Europe during World War II and bought a chicken farm in Connecticut after the war. He became involved with television in 1947 when one of his customers arranged for him to work at NBC’s music library. He was soon serving as a stage manager and director of telecasts for the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini. He directed the 1951 debut of Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitor, the ﬁrst opera written for television. He also directed productions of Cyrano de Bergerac (1955) and Caesar and Cleopatra (1956) for Producers’ Showcase, Beauty and the Beast (1958) for Shirley Temple Storybook, and The Christmas Tree (1958) for Hallmark Hall of Fame. Browning also helmed such productions as The Labyrinth (1962), Damn Yankees! (1967), The Trial of Mary Lincoln (1972), The Daughter of the Regiment (1974), June Moon (1974), and A Touch of the Poet (1974). He began directing Live from Lincoln Center from its beginning in 1976,

BRUCE, LYDIA Actress Lydia Bruce Stevens died in Tucson, Arizona, on May 7, 2008. She was 77. She was born Lydia Slubowski in Detroit, Michigan, on January 8, 1931. She trained as a dancer and actress and began her career on the New York stage in the 1950s. She became best known for her role as Dr. Maggie Powers on the daytime soap opera The Doctors from the late 1960s through the early 1980s. She also temporarily ﬁlled in as Alexandra Spaulding on The Guiding Light in 1984. Bruce was also seen on television in episodes of Armstrong Circle Theatre, Hawaii Five-0, and Law & Order. BRUCE, MONA British character actress Mona Bruce died in Suffolk, England, on October 15, 2008. She was 83. Bruce was born in Birmingham, England, on December 3, 1924. She appeared frequently on television from the 1950s, with roles in such series as Nick of the River, Suspense, Z Cars, No Hiding Place, The Troubleshooters, King of the River as Alice King, Sanctuary, The Wednesday Play, ITV Playhouse, Dr. Finlay’s Casebook, Doctor in the House, Villette, Armchair Theatre, The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder as Mrs. Houchin, Public Eye,

Mona Bruce

Kirk Browning

Thirty-Minute Theatre, Sam, Within These Walls, Return of the Saint, The Famous Five, Agony, The Gentle Touch, Tenko, Dramarama, Taggart, Campion, Kevin and Co, Alleyn Mysteries, Doctor Finlay, Harry and the Wrinklies, Two Thousand Acres of Sky, Heartbeat, Doctors, and Brief Encounters. Bruce was also seen in television productions of The House of Bernardo Alba (1960), The Passenger (1971), The Swish of the Curtain (1980), Secrets (1982), The Galactic Garden (1985), Gems (1985) as Catherine Gardiner, Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple: 4:50 from Pad-

53

2008 • Obituaries

dington (1987), The Woman He Loved (1988), and Voice of the Heart (1990). She was also featured as Edie in the television series Hamish Macbeth from 1995 to 1997. Bruce also appeared in the ﬁlms To Sir, with Love (1967), Crossplot (1969), and The Missing Reel (1989).

BRUNING, ROBERT Australian television actor and producer Robert Bruning died of a heart attack in New Zealand on March 4, 2008. He was 79. Bruning was born in Dongara, Western Australia, in 1928. He began his career on stage in the 1960s, appearing in a production of The Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. He was soon appearing on Australian television, with roles in such series as Skippy, Contrabandits, Rita and Wally, Pastures of the Blue Crane, Hunter, Riptide, and Delta. Bruning starred as Inspector Dallas Buchanan in the

Robert Bruning

1970 crime series The Long Arm, and was a regular performer and producer of The Godfathers in 1971. He also appeared in episodes of Division 4, Silent Number, Barrier Reef, Ryan, Matlock Police, The Last of the Australians, Shannon’s Mob, Homicide, The Outsiders, Bluey, A Country Practice, Soldier Soldier, Farscape, and Dossa and Joe. Bruning was also featured in such ﬁlms as The Intruders (1969), Ned Kelly (1970) with Mick Jagger, Polly My Love (1975), Sunday Too Far Away (1975), The Lady from Peking (1975), Image of Death (1976), Gone to Ground (1978), Snapshot (aka The Day After Halloween) (1979), The Wild Duck (1983), Cool Change (1986), The Roly Poly Man (1994), Liquid Bridge (2003), and Hunt Angels (2006). Bruning was also a producer of ﬁlms and television. He served as producer for the ﬁlms The Newman Shame (1977), Plunge into Darkness (1977), and The Settlement (1983). He also produced the tele-ﬁlms Crisis (1972), Jesus Christ Superstar (1972), Paradise (1975), Is There Anybody There? (1975), Mama’s Gone a-Hunting (1975), The Alternative (1976), Demolition (1978), The Death Train (1978), The Night Nurse (1978), Gone to Ground (1978), The Time Game (1992), Big Ideas (1992), The Territorians (1996), and 13 Gantry Row (1998), and the series The Spoiler, The People Next Door, and Rafferty’s Rules.

BRUNIOUS, JOHN Jazz trumpeter John Brunious died of a heart attack in Casselberry, Florida, on February 12, 2008. He was 67. Brunious was born in

John Brunious

New Orleans on October 12, 1940. His father was also a jazz musician, and John Jr. grew up in a musical family. He based his style on Dizzy Gillespie, and sometimes played in rhythm and blues bands. He joined the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in 1987 and performed with them for over twenty years. Brunious and his family were forced from their New Orleans apartment by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and eventually settled in Florida. He was involved in the 2007 boxed set release of Made in New Orleans, and contributed several songs including “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?” and “Last Chance to Dance.”

BRUNKERT, OLA Drummer Ola Brunkert, who performed with the Swedish pop band ABBA, was found dead outside his home in Arta, Majorca, Spain, on March 16, 2008, after accidentally breaking a glass door in his dining room with his head and cutting his neck with a glass shard. He was 61. Brunkert was born in Ore-

Ola Brunkert

bro, Sweden, on September 15, 1946. He began playing in bands in the 1960s including Slim’s Blues Gang, Science Poption, and Opus III. He played drums with ABBA from the early 1970s, and was heard on their ﬁrst single “People Need Love,” their hits “Waterloo” and “Dancing Queen,” and all of their albums in the 1970s. He performed on stage with ABBA at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, and was seen in the ﬁlm ABBA: The Movie in 1977. He also toured with them in Europe and Australia in 1977, North America and Europe in 1979, and Japan in 1980. ABBA ceased playing together in

Obituaries • 2008

54

1982, but remains one of the top selling bands. Brunkert continued to perform with other Swedish artists before retiring to Majorca later in the decade.

BRUNN, LOTTIE Leading juggler and circus performer Lottie Brunn Chirrick died at her home in Branson, Missouri, on August 5, 2008. She was 82. Brunn was born in Aschaffenburg, Germany, on October 12, 1925. She and her brother, Francis, were trained to be jugglers by their father when they were children. They began performing in the early 1940s, touring Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. Lottie usually assisted her brother and they were invited to join the RingBaird Bryant

Lottie Brunn

ling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus in the United States in 1948. Lottie began performing solo in the early 1950s, and sometimes appeared as a supporting act for bandleader Spike Jones, Harry James, and Tommy Dorsey. Noted for her juggling of eight rings, she was billed as the world’s leading lady juggler. She was featured on television in episodes of Captain Kangaroo and The Ed Sullivan Show, and performed at venues throughout the world. She later worked the cruise ship circuit before retiring. Her son, Michael Chirrick, also took up juggling, making his professional debut in 1970.

BRYANT, BAIRD Cinematographer and documentary ﬁlmmaker Baird Bryant died of complications from surgery in a Hemet, California, hospital on November 13, 2008. He was 80. Bryant was born in Columbus, Indiana, on December 12, 1927. He began working in ﬁlms in the early 1960s as a cinematographer on The Seducers (1962), Greenwich Village Story (1963), and the 1964 depiction of juvenile delinquency in Harlem, The Cool World. He also photographed Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda’s LSD trip in a New Orleans cemetery for the counterculture classic Easy Rider (1969). Footage that Bryant shot of a fatal stabbing at the Rolling Stones’ concert in Altamont, California, was seen in the 1970 concert ﬁlm Gimme Shelter. He directed the 1971 concert ﬁlm Celebration at Big Sur, and was cinematographer for The Manipulator (1971) and Sunseed (1973). He was also a sound effects editor for the 1972 cult classic The Legend of Bogg y Creek. He was cinematographer for some of the segments of the 1978 Saturday Night Live special Things We Did Last Summer, and worked on the ﬁlms

Deadly Force (1980), the Academy Award–winning documentary Broken Rainbow (1985), Eliminators (1986), The Delta Force (1986), Heart of Tibet: An Intimate Portrait of the 14th Dalai Lama (1991), Uninvited (1993), Jugular Wine: A Vampire Odyssey (1994), Taylor’s Campaign (1998), Rough Side of the Mountain (1999), and Fabulous Shiksa in Distress (2003). BRYANT, CHRIS Christopher Bryan Spencer Dobson, who scripted ﬁlms under the name Chris Bryant, died at his home in Burford, England, on October 27, 2008. He was 72. Bryant was born in Bolton, Lancashire, England, on June 7, 1936. He began writing for ﬁlms in the early 1970s, and was best known for scripting the 1973 horror thriller Don’t Look Now. Bryant

Chris Bryant

also wrote the ﬁlms The Man Who Had Power Over Women (1970), The Girl from Petrovka (1974), The Spiral Staircase (1975), Joseph Andrews (1977), Golden Rendezvous (1977), The Awakening (1980), Martin’s Day (1984), Lady Jane (1986), and Stealing Heaven (1988). He also worked frequently for television, scripting episodes of the series Special Branch, and productions of Sword of Gideon (1986), Young Catherine (1991), One Against the Wind (1991), Foreign Affairs (1993), The House That Mary Bought (1995), and Miracle at Midnight (1998). Bryant also appeared in small roles in several of the ﬁlms he wrote including Joseph Andrews (1977), Young Catherine (1991), and Only in Hollywood (2002).

55 BUCKLEY, WILLIAM F., JR. William F. Buckley, Jr., a leading spokesman of the political right who entertained and confundled several generations through his columns, books, and frequent television appearances, was found dead in the study of his home in Stanford, Connecticut, on February 27, 2008. He was 82. He suffered from emphysema and diabetes. Buckley was born to a wealthy, patrician family in Manhattan, New York, on November 24, 1925. He espoused his family’s conservative values and devotion to Roman Catholic dogma from an early age. He served in the U.S. Army from 1944 to 1946, rising to the rank of second lieutenant. Buckley subsequently entered Yale University, where he distinguished himself on campus as a debater and as editor of the Yale Daily News. His attacks on the university’s system of values often brought him into conﬂict with the administration, and resulted in his ﬁrst publication, God and Man at Yale: The Superstitions of Academic Freedom in 1951. After leaving Yale, Buckley worked with Central Intelligence Agency for a year in Mexico City. He was soon writing freelance, and authored his second book, a defense of Sen. Joseph McCarthy entitled McCarthy and His Enemies in 1954. The following year, Buckley founded the conservative news magazine National Review, which became the guiding voice of the entire conservative movement. He became a familiar face, and voice, throughout the country as host of the television news debate program Firing Line from 1966 to 1999. His polysyllabic discourses and exaggerated mannerisms made him a frequent target for impressionists, but a slickly elegant foil for ﬁgures on the left who would challenge him in his own domain. Buckley entered the political arena himself in 1965 as the Conservative Party candidate for Mayor of New York. When asked what he would do if he won the election, he replied, “Demand a recount.” The recount was not necessary though he did earn over 13 percent of the vote, losing to Republican John Lindsay. His older brother, James Buckley, served one term as a U.S. Senator from New York in the early 1970s. He spoofed his own image as a guest on the television comedy series Laugh-In, and appeared in segments of The Mike Douglas Show, The David Frost Show, and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Buckley authored his ﬁrst spy novel featuring the character Blackford Oakes with 1976’s Saving the Queen. Oakes was fea-

2008 • Obituaries tured in 10 subsequent novels including Stained Glass (1979), Who’s on First (1980), Marco Polo, if You Can (1982), The Story of Henri Tod (1984), See You Later, Alligator (1985), High Jinx (1986), Mongoose R.I.P. (1987), Tucker’s Last Stand (1990), A Very Private Plot (1994), and Last Call for Blackford Oakes (2005). He served as the host of the PBS adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited in 1982. He also engaged in stormy debates with the literary ﬁgures Gore Vidal and Norman Mailer that nearly devolved into ﬁsticuffs. Buckley also appeared in numerous documentary ﬁlms including Hugh Hefner: Once Upon a Time (1992), Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1992), The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg (1994), The Odyssey of John Dos Passos (1994), Dirty Pictures (2000), and New York in the 50s (2001). Buckley remained the intellectual guru of the literate wing of the conservative movement for over 40 years. His efforts for Goldwater in 1964 eventually led to the election of Ronald Reagan for President in 1980. Though he relinquished his voting stock in National Review in 2004, he continued to write for the magazine until his death. He was predeceased by his wife, the former Patricia Taylor, in 2007 and is survived by his son, author Christopher Buckley.

BUDRYS, ALGIS Science ﬁction writer and editor Algis Budrys died in Evanston, Illinois, on June 9, 2008. He was 77. Budrys was born in Konigsberg, East Prussia, on January 9, 1931, the son of a Lithuanian diplomat stationed there. He came to the United States with his family as a child. He attended the University of Miami and Columbia University in New York. He began writing professionally in the early 1950s, and his ﬁrst science ﬁction story, “The High Purpose,” was published in Astounding Science Fiction in 1952. He continued to work

Algis Budrys

William F. Buckley, Jr.

as an editor and writer for various science ﬁction publishers, sometimes under the pen names John A. Sentry, William Scarff, and Alger Rome. His ﬁrst novel, The False Night, was published in 1954, and was revised as Some Will Not Die in 1961. He also wrote the 1956 novel Man of Earth and published Who? in 1958. Who? earned him a Hugo Award nomination and was later adapted for a science ﬁction ﬁlm, starring Elliott Gould and Trevor Howard in 1973. The 1972 ﬁlm thriller To Kill a Clown

Obituaries • 2008 was based on his novel Master of the Hounds. His other novels include The Falling Torch (1959), Rogue Moon (1960), The Amsirs and the Iron Thorn (1967), Michaelmas (1977), and the 1993 Nebula Award nominee Hard Landing. Budrys was editor of many of the Writers of the Future anthologies, which was sponsored by the Church of Scientology from the mid–1980s. He was also the editor of the magazine Tomorrow Speculative Fiction from 1993 to 1997. Budrys received the Pilgrim Award from the Science Fiction Research Association in 2007 for his lifetime contributions to the scholarship of fantasy and science ﬁction.

BUFFONG, CHARLES Antiguan professional wrestler Charles Buffong died of heart failure shortly after attending the funeral of his son in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on November 27, 2008. Buffong was born on

56 early 20s and appeared in a small role in the 1975 ﬁlm Alﬁe Darling before embarking on a career in hotel management. She spent over 25 years as executive manager of the Athenaeum Hotel in Piccadilly, which became a regular stay for many Hollywood stars. She retired to South Africa in 2002 where she was active in local charities. Survivors include her brother, actor Jeremy Bulloch, who was best known for his role as bounty hunter Boba Fett in the Star Wars ﬁlms.

BULLOCK, HIRAM American jazz funk guitarist Hiram Bullock died of complications from throat cancer in Manhattan, New York, on July 25, 2008. He was 52. Bullock was born in Osaka, Japan, on September 11, 1955, to parents serving in the U.S. military. He was raised primarily in Baltimore, Maryland, and studied music from an early age. He went to New York as an accompanist to soul singer Phyllis Hyman in the early 1970s and began working with David Sanborn several

Charles Buffong (throwing Mach Hayato over the top rope) Hiram Bullock

the Caribbean island of Antigua. He began his wrestling career with Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1980 under the name Otis Taylor, but soon moved to Stampede Wrestling in Calgary. He competed there over the next three years, sometimes teaming with Gerry Morrow and Rudy Kay, before retiring in 1983.

BULLOCH, SALLY British child actress Sally Bulloch died in Franschhoek, Johannesburg, South Africa, on April 10, 2008. She was 59. Bulloch was born in Chatham, Kent, England, on July 11, 1948. She made her ﬁlm debut at the age of 10 in The Dawn Killer, and was featured as delinquent schoolgirl Maud Birdhanger in the 1960 comedy The Pure Hell of St. Trinian’s. She worked as a radio disc jockey and commentator in her

Sally Bulloch

years later. He performed on 10 albums with Sanborn, and was heard on such recordings as Steely Dan’s “Gaucho” (1980), Paul Simons “One Trick Pony” (1080), Sting’s “Nothing Like the Sun” (1987). He was a founding member of the 24th Street Band in the late 1970s, and they recorded several albums. Bullock remained with the band when Paul Shaffer brought them to Late Night with David Letterman at NBC in 1982. They became billed as The World’s Most Dangerous Band with Bullock known as the barefoot guitarist. He left the group after two years as a serious drug dependency made him unreliable. He occasionally returned as to perform with the band as a guest artist.

BURG, MONIKA Austrian-French actress Monika Burg, who also performed under the name Claude Farell, died in Macon, Bourgogne, France, on March 17, 2008. She was 93. She was born Paulette von Suchan in Vienna, Austria, on May 17, 1914. She began her career in ﬁlms in Germany in 1941’s You Only You under the name Paulette Colar. She continued her career in Germany during the war, with roles in the ﬁlms Two in the Big City (1942), Lache Bajazzo (1943), Titanic (1943), Die Schenke zur Ewigen Liebe (1945), Wir sehn uns Wieder (1945), and Meine Herren Sohne (1945). Burg ﬂed Germany at the end of the war and settled in France.

57

2008 • Obituaries He was a reporter and columnist for the paper, often writing about Presley’s life and death, until the PressScimitar closed in 1983. Burk also co-hosted several sports shows on Memphis radio and appeared in a cameo role in an episode of the television series Route 66 in the 1960s. He published 13 books about Elvis, including the popular trilogy Early Elvis—The Tupelo Years, The Humes Years, and The Sun Years. He was editor of the long-running quarterly magazine Elvis World.

Monika Burg

She continued her career there under the name Claude Farell. Her ﬁlm credits include Les Requins de Gibraltar (1947), Women of Antwerp (1948), La Nuit Blanche (1948), The Secret of Mayerling (1949), Drame au VelAime’d’Hiv’ (1949), Hocvhzeitsnacht im Paradies (1950), Meﬁez-vous des Blondes (1950), Weisse Schatten (1951), The Woman’s Angle (1952), Palace Hotel (1952), Allo ... je t’Aime (1952), I Vitelloni (1953), Die Nacht ohne Moral (1953), Clivia (1954), Hotel Adlon (1955), Liebe ist ja nur ein Marchen (1955), Die Drei von der Tankstelle (1955), Spy for Germany (1956), Le Chemin du Paradis (1956), Der Schrage Otto (1957), Lilli — Ein Madchen aus der Grosstadt (1958), The Versailles Affair (1960), Le Cercle Vicieux (1960), Lovers Woods (1960), Der Hochtourist (1961), The Secret of the Black Widow (1963), Jack and Jenny (1963), The Hand of Power (1968), Hugo, the Woman Chaser (1969), and The Naughty Cheerleader (1970). She also appeared on television in episodes of Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion and Les Copagnons de Jehu, and starred as Mlle. Gamboule in the British television mini-series The Andromeda Breakthrough in 1962.

BURNS, HARRIET Harriet Burns, the ﬁrst female designer to work for Walt Disney Imagineering, died of complications from a heart condition in a Santa Barbara, California, hospital on July 25, 2008. She was 79. She was born Harriet Tapp in San Antonio, Texas, on August 20, 1928. She moved to Los Angeles after her marriage to Williams Burns in 1953, and began working

Harriet Burns

BURK, BILL E. Journalist Bill E. Burk, who authored numerous works about his friend Elvis Presley, died of a heart attack in a Memphis, Tennessee, hospital on April 24, 2008. He was 75. Burk was born on November 11, 1932. He began working as a journalist in the late 1950s, joining the Memphis Press-Scimitar in 1957.

as a prop maker for television shows. She started working at Disney in 1955, painting props and sets for The Mickey Mouse Club. She also worked as a designer for Disneyland, painting ﬁgures and sets for the Sleeping Beauty Castle, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansions exhibits. She also painted many of the exotic birds seen in the Enchanted Tiki Room. Burns also appeared several times with Walt Disney on The Wonderful World of Color, when he took television viewers behind the scenes at the Disney workshops. She retired in 1986 and was designated as a Disney Legend in 2000.

Bill Burk

BURROUGHS, DANTON Danton Burroughs, the grandson of Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs and the caretaker of his literary estate, died of heart failure and complications from Parkinson’s disease at his home in Tarzana, California, on May 1, 2008. He was 63. His death occurred the day after a ﬁre destroyed a room full of family memorabilia at his home. Burroughs was born in Los Angeles on June 21, 1944. His father, John Coleman Burroughs, was a photographer and illustrator who worked on many of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ works. The eldest Burroughs created the character of Tarzan in 1911 and also crafted such series as John Carter of Mars, Carson Napier of Venus, and the inner-earth tales of Pellucidar. He died in 1950, several years after his grandson’s birth. Danton became involved in the family business overseeing the merchandising of Tarzan related prod-

Obituaries • 2008

58 in recent years because of alcoholism. He was arrested at his home in May of 2004 when a SWAT team responded to reports of him being armed and holding hostages.

Danton Burroughs

BURTON, IRIS Dancer turned agent Iris Burton, who represented many of Hollywood’s younger stars, died of complications from pneumonia and Alzheimer’s disease at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, on April 5, 2008. She was 77. She was born Iris Burstein in New York City on September 4, 1930. She began her career as a dancer as a child and later performed on the Broadway stage. Burton moved to Hollywood in the early 1950s, where she danced in several ﬁlms including Top Banana (1954) and The Ten Commandments (1956). She married director Sidney Miller

ucts, which included ﬁlms, comics, stuffed animals, apparel, and vitamins. Danton became director of Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc. in 1972 and was to be named chairman of the business on the day of his death. BURSON, GREG Voice actor Greg Burson, whose credits included such animated legends as Bugs Bunny, Yogi Bear, and Mr. Magoo, died of complications from diabetes and arteriosclerosis in Los Angeles, on July 22, 2008. He was 59. Burson was born on June 29, 1949. He was trained by veteran voice actor Daws Butler and took over many of Butler’s characters including Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, and Quick Draw McGraw after his death in 1988. He also served as a replacement for Jim Backus on Mr. Magoo and for Iris Burton

Greg Burson

Mel Blank’s Bugs Bunny, Foghorn Leghorn, and Pepe LePew. He was the voice of Mr. D.N.A. in the animated segment of Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park in 1973. His numerous credits also include such animated productions as Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, Mother Goose & Grimm, Tom & Jerry: The Movie, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Batman, Scooby-Doo in Arabian Nights, Garﬁeld and Friends, Carrotblanca, The Twisted Adventures of Felix the Cat, All-New Dennis the Menace as Mr. Wilson, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Bugs Bunny’s Funky Monkeys, Channel Umptee-3, From Hare to Eternity, and My Generation G... G... Gap. He was also an announcer for numerous commercials and movie trailers, and provided voices for such video games as Star Wars and Sheep Raider. Burson’s career had been damaged

later in the decade and largely abandoned her dancing career. She subsequently moved into casting side of show business, opening the Iris Burton Agency in the mid– 1970s. She specialized in representing child actors, with such clients as television stars Adam Rich from Eight Is Enough and Kirk Cameron from Growing Pains. She was also instrumental in securing Henry Thomas the lead role of Elliott in Steven Spielberg’s 1982 ﬁlm E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, and discovered the talented Phoenix siblings: Joaquin, Summer, Rain, and the late River. Burton combined her agency with the Endeavor Agency in 2001, and continued to represent several clients until poor health forced her retirement.

BUSBY, JHERYL Jheryl Busby, the former president of Motown Records, was found dead from an accidental drowning in the hot tub at his home in Malibu, California, on November 4, 2008. He was 59. Busby was born in Los Angeles on May 5, 1949. He began working in the music industry in the 1970s, serving as head of West Coast promotion and marketing for the Memphis-based Stax Records. He worked for several other record companies before he was hired by MCA Records in 1984. Busby served as vice-president of the black music division where he promoted such acts as Patti LaBelle and New Edition. Berry Gordy sold Motown Records to Boston Ventures and Music Corporation of America in June of 1988, and stipulated the 20 percent interest be retained by African-American in-

59

2008 • Obituaries CACHAO Cuban mambo musician and composer Israel Lopez, who was known as Cachao, died of complications from kidney failure in Coral Gables, Florida, on March 22, 2008. He was 89. Lopez was born in Havana, Cuba, on September 14, 1918, and was raised in a musical family. He was playing bass in the orchestra pits of silent movie cinema houses in Havana at the age of 8. He joined the Havana Philharmonic Orchestra

Jheryl Busby

vestors. Busby purchased a stake in Motown and was brought in as the company’s President and CEO. He encouraged such new talent as Queen Latifah, Johnny Gil, and Boyz II Men, and retained older Motown stars Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, and Lionel Richie. He also re-signed Diana Ross, who had left the label in the early 1980s. He remained on as president when Polygram bought Motown in 1993, but left the company two years later. He headed the black music division at DreamWorks Records from 1998 to 2001, and became president of Def Soul Classics in 2004.

BYRNE, JOHNNY British television writer Johnny Byrne died in England on April 2, 2008. He was 72. Byrne was born in Dublin, Ireland, on November 27, 1935. He began his career writing short stories for science ﬁction magazines before working in television from the

Cachao

while in his teens. He often composed music with his brother, Orestes “Macho” Lopez, and they were credited with creating the mambo in the late 1930s. Cachao and friends began playing descarga, jam sessions which blended Afro-Cuban music with jazz, in the 1950s. He left Cuba in 1962, going to Spain, and eventually, New York. He performed with numerous Latin stars in the United States including Tito Puente, Machito, Chico O’Farrill, and Gloria Estefan. He played at casino nightclubs in Las Vegas during the 1970s before settling in Miami in the 1980s. He was the subject of Andy Garcia’s 1993 documentary Cachao ... Como Su Ritmo No Hay Dos (Like His Rhythm There Is No Other), which helped revive his career. He released several CDs and earned a Grammy Award for the album Ahora Si! in 2004.

CAFFREY, PETER Irish actor Peter Caffrey, who was best known for his role as Padraig O’Kelly in the BBC series Ballykissangel, died of a stroke in Manches-

Johnny Byrne

late 1960s. He scripted television productions of Groupie (1969) and The Season of the Witch (1970), and penned the ﬁlms Adolf Hitler — My Part in His Downfall (1972) and Rosie Is My Relative (1976). He also wrote three episodes of the cult sci-ﬁ series Doctor Who, and scripted episodes of Space: 1999, Tales of the Unexpected, Miracles Take Longer, Dodger, Bonzo and the Rest, One by One, All Creatures Great and Small, Love Hurts, and Noah’s Ark. He also created the television series Heartbeat in 1992, and served as main script writer through 2007.

Peter Caffrey

Obituaries • 2008 ter, England, on January 1, 2008. He was 58. Caffrey was born in Dublin, Ireland, on April 18, 1949. He began his career on stage with the Project Theatre in Dublin in the 1970s, and made his ﬁlm debut in the 1978 feature On a Paving Stone Mounted. He was also seen in the ﬁlms Criminal Conversation (1980), Angel (1982), The Woman Who Married Clark Gable (1985), Tafﬁn (1988), and Venus Peter (1989). Caffrey was a frequent performer on British television as well, appearing in such series as I Woke Up One Morning, Boon, The Bill, The Paradise Club, Saracen, and Casualty. Caffrey was diagnosed with cancer of the mouth in 1992 and treatment for the condition left him unable to speak properly. Despite this impediment, he resumed his acting career, appearing in episodes of Between the Lines, Luv, The Hanging Gale, Father Ted, Relative Strangers, and Peak Practice. He was cast as garage owner Padraig O’Kelly in the comedydrama series Ballykissangel, and remained with the show from 1996 to 1998. He also appeared in television productions of Runaway One (1995) and Barbara Taylor Bradford’s Her Own Rules (1998). His later ﬁlm credits include I Went Down (1997), Night Train (1998), Dogsbody (1999), A Love Divided (1999), To Catch a Crow (2000), and Rat (2000). Caffrey suffered a stroke in 2000 that left him partially paralyzed and further impaired his speech. But once more, he persevered and returned to the screen in the Irish comedy Sweet Dancer in 2005.

60 mid–1980s, where he won the Emmy Award in 1987. He produced The Guiding Light from 1989 to 1992, garnering two more Emmy nominations. Calhoun co-wrote Farley Granger’s 2007 memoir Include Me Out that ofﬁcially acknowledged their longtime relationship.

CALLANDER, DONALD Science ﬁction writer Donald Bruce Callander died of complications from diabetes in a retirement community in Orange City, Florida, on July 26, 2008. He was 78. Callander was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on March 23, 1930. He worked for nearly thirty years with the American Automobile Association (AAA) as a travel writer, graphic

CALHOUN, ROBERT Emmy Award–winning daytime television producer Robert Calhoun died of lung cancer in New York City on May 24, 2008. He was 77. Calhoun was born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 23, 1930. He began working in the theatre after serving three years in the U.S. Navy. He served as a production supervisor for Eva Le Gallienne’s National Repertory, were he met actor Farley Granger during a production of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull in 1963. The two became life-long partners, living together in California, Italy, and New York. Calhoun was involved with the Mark Taper Forum in Southern California in the 1960s and again in the mid–1970s. He returned to New York later in the decade, where he worked in daytime television. He earned Emmy nominations for producing the soap opera Another World in 1979 and 1980. He was executive producer for As the World Turns from the

designer, and associate editor of the group’s magazine. He retired from AAA in 1991 and began actively pursuing his longtime interest in writing science ﬁction and fantasy tales. His ﬁrst novel, Pyromancer, about the adventures of a young wizard in training named Douglas Brightglade, was published in 1992, and subsequent books in the series included Aquamancer (1993), Geomancer (1994), Aeromancer (1997), and Marbleheart (1998). He also wrote the trilogy Dragon Companion (1994), Dragon Rescue (1995), and Dragon Tempest (1998). He also wrote the 2000 novel Warlock’s Bar and Grille, and the completed but yet unpublished Teddybear, Teddybear.

Robert Calhoun

Ashley Callie

Donald Callander

CALLIE, ASHLEY South African television actress Ashley Callie died in Johannesburg, South Africa,

61

2008 • Obituaries

on February 15, 2008, of head injuries she received in an automobile accident in Johannesburg the previous week. She was driving alone when her car ran head-on with another vehicle. She was 31. Callie was born in Johannesburg, on December 30, 1976. She starred for nearly a decade as Lee Haines on the television soap opera Isidingo. She was also featured in the 2008 ﬁlm Mafrika.

was featured on television in episodes of Flipper, Caribe, El Magnate, Corte Tropical, Aquamarina, Maria Celina, and El Amor no Tiene Precio. He also appeared in the ﬁlms Daring Game (1968), Darker Than Amber (1970), Cuba Crossing (1980), Absence of Malice (1981), Last Plane Out (1983), Guaguasi (1983), Fires Within (1991), and the 2000 tele-ﬁlm For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story.

CALLOWAY, CHRIS Singer and actress Chris Calloway, the daughter of bandleader Cab Calloway, died of breast cancer at her home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on August 7, 2008. She was 62. Calloway was born in Los Angeles on September 21, 1945. She sang with

CAMAN, HADI Turkish stage and ﬁlm actor Hadi Caman died of heart and respiratory failure brought on by Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) at a nursing home in Istanbul, Turkey, on September 22, 2008. He was 65. Caman was born in Kastamonu, Turkey, on January 13, 1943. He studied law and drama

Chris Calloway Hadi Caman

her father’s Hi-De-Ho Orchestra from the 1970s until his death in 1994. She also performed on Broadway in David Merrick’s production of Hello Dolly with Pearl Bailey, and was featured in the comedy The Pajama Game. Calloway was also seen on television in the soap opera The Doctors, and performed on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

CALVO, OSWALDO Cuban actor Oswaldo Calvo died in Miami, Florida, on May 9, 2008. He was 76. Calvo was born in Havana, Cuba, on August 29, 1931. He began his career as an actor on the stage in Havana before going into exile in 1960. Calvo traveled to Mexico and Puerto Rico before settling in Miami. He

Oswaldo Calvo

in Istanbul and began his career on stage with the Dormen Theater and Kent Theater in the early 1960s. He starred in numerous theatrical productions with small companies throughout Turkey and founded his own group, the Nisantasi Yeditepe Theater, in 1982. Caman was also seen in such ﬁlms as Adim kan Soyadim Silah (1970), The Cicada (1973), Topuz (1975), Sipsak Basarim (1975), Sev Doya (1975), Gungomusler (1976), Hizli Giden Yorulur (1977), and Aile Pansiyonu (1987).

CAMPBELL, KEN British actor and theatrical director Ken Campbell died in Epping Forest, Essex, England, on August 31, 2008. He was 66. Campbell was born in Ilford, Essex, England, on December 10, 1941. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, and began performing on stage in the early 1960s. He was soon appearing on television with roles in such series as Dr. Finlay’s Casebook, Redcap, ITV Playhouse, Mystery and Imagination, The Wednesday Play, The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder, Law and Order, The Professionals, Play for Today, Fawlty Towers, Private Schulz, The Gentle Touch, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Prospects, Home to Roost, Super Gran, Bulman, Rockliffe’s Babies, Colin Sandwich, Erasmus Microman, Minder, In Sickness and in Health, Lovejoy, Brookside, Middlemarch, Dooley Gardens in the recurring role of Professor Pickney, Casualty, Judge John Deed, Heartbeat, The Last Detective, The Bill, and Doctors. Campbell also appeared in television productions of Ligmalion: A Musical for the 80s (1985), Unfair Exchanges (1985) which he also wrote, The Secret State

Obituaries • 2008

62 1960s, appearing on television on episodes of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Leave It to Beaver, Hank, Honey West, The Time Tunnel as Mussolini in the 1967 episode “The Ghost of Nero,” The Mod Squad, and The Tony Randall Show. He also appeared in the ﬁlms Hud (1963), the tele-ﬁlm The Andersonville Trial (1970), The Peace Killers (1971), and Dark Angel (1990). Candido began working as a set decorator and prop master in the mid–1970s with such ﬁlm credits as Smile (1975), Bull Durham (1988), Night Game (1989), Timescape (1992), Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994), and The Walking Dead (1995). He also worked on the tele-ﬁlms Hunter (1984), Louis L’Amour’s Conagher (1991), Precious Victims (1993), and The Haunting of Seacliff Inn (1994), and the series The A-Team, Tucker, and My Name Is Earl.

Ken Campbell

(1985), The Madness Museums (1986), Look at It This Way (1992), You Me + It (1993), Alice in Wonderland (1999) as Mr. Duck, and Marple: A Pocketful of Rye (2008). He was also seen in over a dozen feature ﬁlms during his career including Poor Cow (1967), The Tempest (1979), Phoelix (1980), Breaking Glass (1980), Towers of Babel (1981), Ulysses (1982), A Zed & Two Noughts (1985), Letter to Brezhnev (1985), Joshua Then and Now (1985), The Bride (1985), DreamChild (1985), A Fish Called Wanda (1988), Scandal (1989), Wings of Fame (1990), Crimestrike (1990), Secret Nation (1992), Extraordinary Visitor (1998), Saving Grace (2000), and Creep (2004). Campbell was also noted as a writer, penning the children’s play Old King Cole in 1967 and the tele-play One Night I Danced with Mr. Dalton for Armchair Theatre in 1968. His 1976 play Illuminatus! was an 8 hour epic, and his 1979 multiplay extravaganza The Warp was a 22 hour ordeal. He produced three monodramas in 1993, including Recollections of a Furtive Nudist, Jamais Vu, and Pigspurt. One of his later works was the 2005 stage production I’m Not Mad: I’ve Just Read Different Books! Campbell was married to actress Prunella Gee in 1978, though they later divorced.

CANDIDO, NINO Actor turned property master Nino Candido died in Laughlin, Nevada, on April 26, 2008. He was 65. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 21, 1943, the son of comedian Candy Candido. Nino began his career as an actor in the early

Nino Candido (as Benito Mussolini from Time Tunnel )

CANDOLI, PETE Trumpet player Pete Candoli, who played with most of the major big bands during his career, died in Studio City, California, on January 11, 2008. He was 84. Candoli was born in Mishawaka, Indiana, on June 28, 1923. He began performing with bands in the 1940s, and was featured in groups led by Glen Miller, Stan Kenton, Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie, and Tex Beneke. He was a member of

Pete Candoli

Woody Herman’s band, the First Herd, and became known as “Superman with a Horn.” He was a leading studio musician and was a composer and arranger for such artists as Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, and Ella Fitzgerald. He and his brother, Conte, who was also a trumpet player, co-led a combo that played frequently in venues from Chicago to the West Coast. Candoli was also seen in cameo roles in such ﬁlms as The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), Kings Go Forth (1958), and Bell, Book and Candle (1958). He was also seen on television in episodes of The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, Peter Gunn, One Step Beyond, Johnny Staccato, The Untouchables, and Hotel. Candoli was married and divorced three times, to actresses Vicky Lane and Betty Hutton, and singer Edie Adams, whom he often toured with.

CANINENBERG, HANS German actor Hans Caninenberg died in Grafelﬁng, Germany, on June 29, 2008. He was 95. Caninenberg was born in Duisburg, Germany, on January 15, 1913. He began his career on the German stage in the mid–1930s, often portraying char-

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Hans Caninenberg

Claudio Capone

acters of strength and substance. Caninenberg appeared in several ﬁlms from the early 1950s including Oh, due Lieber Fridolin (1952), Oberarzt Dr. Solm (1955), Hotel Adlon (1955), A Man in His Best Age (1964), Liselotte von der Pfalz (1966) as King Ludwig XIV, Giordano Bruno (1973), The Odessa File (1974) as Dr. Ferdinand Schultz, and High Society Limited (1982). He appeared frequently on German television, with roles in such productions as Kolportage (1957), Hamlet (1961) as Claudius, Warten auf Dodo (1962), Zweierlei Mass (1963), Candida (1963), Stunden der Angst (1964), Der Seidene Schuh (1965), Oberst Wennerstrom (1965), Freiheit im Dezember (1966), Carolie (1966), Jeane oder Die Lerche (1966), Verrater (1967), The Snob (1968), Graf Oderland (1968), Der Zweite Schuss (1969), Bericht einer Offensive (1969), Emilia Galotti (1970), L’Inchiesta (1971), Betreten Verboten (1972), Victor oder Die Kinder an die Macht (1973), Revolte im Erziehungshaus (1975), Gesellschaftsspiele (1976), Sandokan (1976) as Lord Guillonk, Der Winter, der ein Sommer War (1976), Richelieu (1977) as Ferdinand II, Wallenstein (1978), Lady Audleys Geheimnis (1978), Gefangen in Frankreich: Theodor Fontaine im Krieg 1870/71 (1979), Ritter’s Cove (1980), Die Falle (1983), Kornelia (1984), The Gentle Hook (1987), and The Contract (1988). Caninenberg starred as Dr. Frank Senior in the television series Dr. Stefan Frank — Der Arzt dem die Frauen Vertrauen in 1995, and guest-starred in episodes of Der Kommissar, Die Schwarzwaldklinik, Diese Drombuschs, Derrick, Der Alte, and Rosamunde Pilcher. He authored a semi-autobiographical novel, Ein Unvergessener Traum, in 1988.

Braves, died of complications from heart disease, diabetes, and kidney and liver problems at his home outside of Atlanta, Georgia, on August 3, 2008. He was 68. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on August 12, 1939, the son of legendary baseball announcer Harry Caray. The younger Caray’s career as a sportscaster began in the 1960s, announcing for the minor league baseball teams the Tulsa Oilers and the Atlanta Crackers. He returned

CAPONE, CLAUDIO Italian voice actor Claudio Capone died in Perth, Scotland, on June 23, 2008. He was 55. Capone was born in Rome, Italy, on November 18, 1952. He was a leading voice actor and narrator for ﬁlms and television, dubbing the voice of Luke Skywalker for the Italian release of the original Star Wars trilogy. He was also the Italian voice of Don Johnson for the television series Miami Vice, Stephen Collins for Seventh Heaven, and Ronn Moss’ Ridge for the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. He served as narrator for the scientiﬁc documentary Super Quark, and was heard on many advertising campaigns in Italy. CARAY, SKIP Sportscaster Harry “Skip” Caray, Jr., who was play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta

Skip Caray

to St. Louis in 1967 to broadcast for the NBA Hawks, and went with them to Atlanta the following year. He also became an announcer for the Atlanta Braves in 1976, and continued to work with the Hawks as well until 1983. Caray was also featured as a sportscaster in the 1985 Neil Simon ﬁlm The Slugger’s Wife. He continued to be part of the Braves broadcast team until his death, though because of poor health he had only called home games during 2008 season. He was the father of fellow Braves broadcaster Chip Caray and the Rome Braves announcer Josh Caray. CARBO, CHUCK Hayward “Chuck” Carbo, the lead singer of the 1950s R&B quintet The Spiders, died in New Orleans after a long illness on July 11, 2008. He was 82. Carbo was born in New Orleans on January 11, 1926. He and his brother, Leonard “Chick” Carbo, began singing in their father’s New Orleans church choir as children. They later performed with the gospel group the Zion City Harmonizers before forming the Spiders.

Obituaries • 2008

64 Gras (1958) with Pat Boone, and A Private’s Affair (1959) with Sal Mineo. Carere also guest-starred in an episode of the television series Blue Light with Robert Goulet in 1966.

CARERE, CHRISTINE French actress and model Christine Carere died in Frejus, France, on December 13, 2008. She was 78. Carere was born in Dijon, France, on July 27, 1930. She appeared frequently in ﬁlms in France during the 1950s including The Pit of Loneliness (1951), Folie Douce (1951), Le Passage de Venus (1952), Paris Still Sings! (1952), Caroline Cherie (1953), High School (1954), Anatole Cheri (1954), Love in a Hot Climate (1954), Cadet Rousselle (1954), A Free Woman (1954), Tout Chante Autout de Moi (1955), The Case of Poisons (1955), Don Juan (1956) with Fernandel, Le Chemin du Paradis (1956), Springtime in Paris (1957), L’Amour Descend du Ciel (1957), Dilencuentes (1957), The Twilight Girls (1957), Bonjour Jeunesse (1957), Quelle Sacree Soiree (1957), and La Nuit des Suspectes (1960). She was featured in several Hollywood ﬁlms at the end of the decade including A Certain Smile (1958), Mardi

CARLIN, GEORGE Comedian and actor George Carlin, who revolutionized stand-up comedy in the 1970s, died of heart failure in a Santa Monica, California, hospital on June 22, 2008. He was 71. Carlin was born in New York City on May 12, 1937. He left high school in the mid–1950s to join the Air Force and worked as a radio disk jockey while stationed in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was discharged from the Air Force in 1957 and moved to Boston. He teamed with comic Jack Burns, forming a comedy duo. They were heard on radio stations and performed in nightclubs throughout the country. They also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jack Parr before Carlin embarked upon a solo career in 1960. He continued to perform on the comedy circuit and guested on The Merv Grifﬁn Show in 1965. His comedy stylings were considered slightly edgier than many of his contemporaries, yet he was still mainstream enough to appear on television in such variety series as The Kraft Summer Music Hall, The Hollywood Palace, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Jackie Gleason Show, and The Ed Sullivan Show. He also appeared in an episode of Marlo Thomas’ sitcom That Girl in 1966, and was featured in the 1968 ﬁlm With Six You Get Eggroll with Doris Day. Carlin’s ﬁrst comedy album, Take: Offs and Put Ons, was a popular release in 1967. By 1970, Carlin had revamped his image into that of a counter-culture rebel. Now clad in jeans instead of a suit and sporting a beard and long hair, his routines often featured language not suitable for polite society. Continuing the legacy of Lenny Bruce, Carlin and his contemporary Richard Pryor, introduced religion, politics, and drug humor to a mainstream audience. His new image didn’t sit well with some and cost him a lucrative contract with a Las Vegas hotel. He soon changed his venues from staid nightclubs to hipper coffee houses and found his target audience with the younger generation. His 1972 album, FM & AM, earned Carlin a Grammy Award and his third album, Class Clown (1972) featured his classic routine “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television.” Apparently, you couldn’t say them on radio

Christine Carere

George Carlin

Chuck Carbo

They recorded the 1954 hit “I Didn’t Want to Do It,” and followed it with such popular singles as “You’re the One,” “I’m Slippin’ In,” “Tears Began to Flow,” “The Real Thing,” “21,” and “Witchcraft.” The group toured with such artists as Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, and the Drifters before disbanding later in the decade. Both brothers began solo careers, though Chuck was often unable to make a living as a musician. His 1989 recording of the song “Meet Me with Your Black Drawers On” led to a comeback CD, Drawers Trouble (1993) and its follow-up The Barber’s Blues (1996).

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George Carlin

Carlos

either as a New York station was censured and ﬁned by the FCC when broadcasting his routine. Carlin was also arrested on several occasions after reciting them on stage. He brought his brand of humor to network television in 1975 as the ﬁrst host of the NBC late night comedy show Saturday Night Live. He also became an early émigré to cable television, where his act could proceed uncensored. His ﬁrst cable comedy special, George Carlin at USC, aired on HBO in 1977. He returned to the big screen in the 1976 comedy Car Wash as a taxi driver and appeared on television in an episode of Welcome Back Kotter in 1977. He narrated the 1979 ﬁlm Americathon, and was featured in 1987’s Outrageous Fortune. Carlin starred in the 1988 tele-ﬁlm Justin Case and was featured in the 1990 television production Working Tra$h. He achieved popularity with a new generation with his role as Rufus, the cool time traveling guru, in the ﬁlms Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) and Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991). He was also seen in a supporting role in Barbra Streisand’s 1991 drama The Prince of Tides. Carlin narrated the children’s series Thomas Tank Engine and Friends in the mid–1980s and was Mr. Conductor for Shining Time Station in the early 1990s. He starred as George O’Grady in the short-lived television sitcom The George Carlin Show in 1994. He appeared as Billy Williams in the 1995 western television mini-series Streets of Laredo, and voiced a role in The Simpsons in 1998. He began a successful association with director Kevin Smith with 1999’s Dogma, as Cardinal Ignatius Glich. He also appeared as the hitchhiker in Smith’s 2001 ﬁlm Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and was Ben Afﬂeck’s dad in 2004’s Jersey Girl. He was featured in the 2003 comedy spoof Scary Movie 3, and was one of the comedians who appeared in 2005’s The Aristocrats. He was a voice actor for Tarzan II (2995), Cars (2006), and Happily N’Ever After (2006). Carlin was also the author of several bestselling books that expanded on his comedy routine, including Brain Droppings (1997) and When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? (2004). CARLOS Popular French singer and performer Carlos died of cancer in Paris on January 17, 2008. He was 64. He was born Yvan-Chrysostome Dolbto in Paris on February 20, 1943, the son of leading child psychiatrist Francoise Dolto. He began appearing in ﬁlms in the early 1960s, with such credits as Friend of the Family (1964),

The Ponies (1967), Cry of the Cormoran (1970), La Grande Mafﬁa... (1971), The Swinger (1972), Feminine — Feminine (1973), and I’ve Got You, You’ve Got Me by the Chin Hairs (1979). He was best known as a singer in the 1970s and 1980s, with such hit recordings as “Tout Nu, Tout Bronze” (1973), “Big Bisou” (1977), “Rosalie” (1978), “Papayou” (1983), and Le Tirelipimpon” (1989). He performed frequently on French television variety series from the 1970s, and appeared in productions of Faux Free (1991) and Saban’s Around the World in Eighty Dreams (1992) as a voice performer. He also starred as Boris Corton in the series Le JAP, Juge d’Application des Peines from 1992 to 1998.

CARLSON, JOYCE Designer and artist Joyce Carlson, who created the Walt Disney theme park exhibit It’s a Small World, died of cancer at her home in Orlando, Florida, on January 4, 2008. She was 84. Carlson was born in Racine, Wisconsin, on March 16, 1923. She moved to Southern California with her family while in her teens and began working at Walt Disney Productions in 1944 as an ofﬁce clerk. She graduated to a position with the ink and paint department after showing her sketches to her supervisor. She worked on U.S. Army training ﬁlm shorts during World War II before moving up to feature ﬁlms. She worked on the Disney classics Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Sleeping Beauty, and was lead ink artist for Lady and the Tramp in 1955. Carlson began working as a designer for the Disney theme parks in 1960

Joyce Carlson

Obituaries • 2008

66

and helped create the It’s a Small World exhibit that made its debut at the New York World’s Fair in 1964. She designed many of the singing dolls the exhibit is famous for that later became part of Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Tokyo Disneyland. She continued to design attractions for the theme parks, and was based out of Disney World in Central Florida from 1982. She retired in 2000, and was declared a Disney Legend for her many years of service. Carlson continued to work part-time and trained out Disney Imagineers.

CAROLLO, SAL Veteran character actor Sal Carollo died in an Olney, Maryland, nursing home on March 14, 2008. He was 91. Carollo was born in Manhattan, New York, on September 20, 1916. He served in the Air Force during World War II and continued a career in the military after the war. Long interested in theater, he staged and acted in many productions during his years in the Air Force. He retired from the military

Sal Carollo

in 1967 and returned to New York, where he pursued a career as an actor. He appeared in numerous stage productions, and was featured in small roles in such ﬁlms as Lovers and Other Strangers (1970), The Godfather (1972), Serpico (1973) as Al Pacino’s father, George Romero’s Knightriders (1981), New York Ripper (1982), Vigilante (1983), The Last Fight (1983), Moscow on the Hudson (1984), Splitz (1984), and Happy New Year (1987). He also appeared on television in numerous commercials and an episode of the series Miami Vice.

Betty Carr (with Tommy Rail)

CARRY, JULIUS J., III Julius J. Carry, III, who was featured as Sho’nuff, the Shogun of Harlem, in the 1985 ﬁlm The Last Dragon and co-starred as Lord Bowler in the off-beat western television series The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., died of complications from pancreatic cancer at his home in Studio City, California, on August 19, 2008. He was 56. Carry was born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 12, 1952. He moved to Los Angeles to embark on a career in show business in the late 1970s, and made his ﬁlm debut in 1979’s Disco Godfather. He was also featured in The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (1979), before being cast at the villainous martial artist Sho’nuff in Berry Gordy’s cult action-comedy The Last Dragon in 1985. Carry became a familiar face on television from the 1980s, guest-starring in episodes of such series as The White Shadow, Hill Street Blues, Benson, Newhart, Alice, Still the Beaver, The Jeffersons, Misﬁts of Science, The A-Team, Fame, Moonlighting, Tanner ’88, It’s a Living, 227, A Different World, Family Matters, Murder, She Wrote, Dinosaurs, Cutters, Tales from the Crypt, Grace Under Fire, Earth 2, Empty Nest, Misery Loves Company, Maybe This Time, Caroline in the City, Cosby, Moesha, Grown Ups, Spin City, Boy Meets World, Strong Medicine, Diagnosis Murder, Nikki, Men, Women & Dogs, The Hughleys, Half & Half, JAG, The 12th Man, and The Unit. He starred as Dr. Abe Butterﬁeld in the sit-com Doctor from 1989 to 1991, and was the bounty hunter Lord Bowler in The Adventures of Brisco County

CARR, BETTY Elizabeth Burke, who appeared on stage and in ﬁlms under the name Betty Carr, died in Eustis, Florida, on August 31, 2008. She was 79. She was born in Elizabeth Carr in Chicago, Illinois, on March 31, 1929. She appeared in the 1953 ﬁlm All Ashore with Mickey Rooney, and was featured as Sarah Kine, one of the brides, in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in 1954. Carr also performed on Broadway in productions of Fanny (1954), Damn Yankees (1955), Happy Hunting (1956), and Mask and Gown (1957). She largely retired from acting after her marriage to tennis pro and businessman Edward Burke. She returned to the local stage in the mid–1970s, appearing in several productions in Eustis. Julius Carry (from The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.)

67 Jr. with Bruce Campbell from 1993 to 1994. He was featured in the recurring role as network executive Mitchell Baldwin in Murphy Brown with Candice Bergen from 1992 to 1996, and was Bill in several early episodes of the sit-com Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place. He was also seen in the recurring role of the Reverend Garvey in The District from 2001 to 2002, and was Principal Glen Rudd in the short-lived sit-com Do Over in 2002. He was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms Goldie and the Bears (1984), Police Story: Monster Manor (1988), Jake Spanner, Private Eye (1989), Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star Assassin (1989), Schimmel (2000), and Columbo: Columbo Likes the Nightlife (2003). Carry’s other feature ﬁlm credits include The Man with One Red Shoe (1985), Moving (1988), World Gone Wild (1988), and The New Guy (2002).

CARTIER, EDD

Science ﬁction and fantasy illustrator Edd Cartier died on December 25, 2008. He was 94. Edward Daniel Cartier was born in North Bergen, New Jersey, on August 1, 1914. He studied art at the Pratt Institute, graduating in 1936. He soon began drawing covers and illustrations for such pulp magazines as The Shadow, Planet Stories, Doc Savage Magazine, and Astounding Science Fiction. He also drew stories for the Street and Smith comics Red Dragon and Super-Magician. Cartier served in World War II and was badly injured

Edd Cartier

during the Battle of the Bulge. After the war he resumed his career as an illustrator for Astounding and other science ﬁction magazines, working often for editor John W. Campbell, Jr. His artwork graced tales written by L. Ron Hubbard, John D. MacDonald, Clifford D. Simak, Isaac Asimov, L. Sprague de Camp, and the Hoka stories by Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson. Cartier also provided illustrations for numerous books, including creating “The Interstellar Zoo” for the 1951 anthology Travelers of Space.

CARY, TRISTRAM British composer Tristram Cary, who was a pioneer in electronic music, died at his home in Adelaide, Australia, on April 23, 2008. He was 82. Cary was born in Oxford, England, on May 14, 1925. He served in the Royal Navy from 1943 to 1946 as a radar engineer, where he did early experimentation with sound and tape manipulation. Cary began to write and teach

2008 • Obituaries

Tristram Cary

music in the early 1950s, and was soon composing scores for ﬁlms and television. Cary’s music was heard on the soundtracks of such ﬁlms as The Ladykillers (1955), Time Without Pity (1957), The Flesh Is Weak (1957), Town on Trial (1957), She Didn’t Say No! (1958), The Little Island (1958), Tread Softly Stranger (1958), The Boy Who Stole a Million (1960), the Walt Disney television production of The Prince and the Pauper (1962), A Boy Ten Feet Tall (1963), Silent Playground (1963), Daylight Robbery (1964), Opus (1967), Five Million Years to Earth (aka Quatermass and the Pit) (1967), A Twist of Sand (1968), Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (1971), and The Fourth Wish (1976). He also composed incident music for several episodes of the cult science ﬁction series Doctor Who in the 1960s, and scored the 1971 television production of A Christmas Carol. In the early 1970s he was commissioned by the Olivetti company to create a piece of music utilizing the sounds of their ofﬁce equipment. His Divertimento for 16 singers, jazz drummer and Olivetti machines was the result. Cary moved to Australia in 1972 where he remained as visiting composer and lecturer at Adelaide University until his retirement in 1986.

CASAGRANDE, VITTORIO Italian singer and actor Vittorio Casagrande, who spent most of his career performing in Germany, died at his home in Munich, Germany, on July 10, 2008. He was 74. Casagrande was born in Vittorio, Italy, on July 8, 1934. He settled in Germany in the 1960s, where he recorded such pop hits

Vittorio Casagrande

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68

as “Volare” and “Tintarella di Luna.” He starred as Carlo in the television series Zimmer 13 in 1968, and was featured in episodes of Salto Mortale, Irgendwie und Sowieso, Der Alte, Ein Fall fur Zwei, and Forsthaus Falkenau. He also stared as Onkel Rosario in the series SK Babies in 1996. Casagrande was featured in several ﬁlms during his career including Sexy Wifes (1978) and Rossini (1997).

CASEY, ANDREW Cameraman Andrew Casey died of injuries received in a motorcycle accident in Clinton Township, New Jersey, on August 16, 2008. He was 44. Casey was born in Elmhurst, Queens, New York, on October 14, 1963. He worked frequently in ﬁlms from the late 1980s as a steadicam operator. His numerous ﬁlm credits include Glory (1989), Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), True Colors (1991), F/X 2 (1991), Whispers in the Dark (1992), Philadelphia (1993), Forrest Gump (1994), The Next Karate Kid (1994), The Scout (1994), Richie Rich (1994), Eddie (1996), Basquiat (1996), That Old Feeling (1997), Picture Perfect (1997), The Ice Storm (1997), Addicted to Love (1997), A Simple Wish (1997), One Night Stand (1997), Kiss the Girls (1997), For Richer or Poorer

Andrew Casey

(1997), A Price Above Rubies (1998), My Giant (1998), One True Thing (1998), Analyze This (1999), Mickey Blue Eyes (1999), Random Hearts (1999), Center Stage (2000), Meet the Parents (2000), Summer Catch (2001), City by the Sea (2002), Brown Sugar (2002), Stateside (2004), The Stepford Wives (2004), The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Alﬁe (2004), The Interpreter (2005), Carlito’s Way: Rise to Power (2005), The Producers (2005), Running Scared (2006), 10th & Wolf (2006), Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006), Music and Lyrics (2007), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), The Invasion (2007), Anamorph (2007), and What Happens in Vegas (2008). He also served as a cameraman on the tele-ﬁlms A Promise Kept: The Oksana Baiul Story (1994), No One Would Tell (1996), An Unexpected Family (1996), and Mary and Rhoda (2000), and the television series Spin City, Sex and the City, The $treet, The Sopranos, Hack, Kidnapped, and John Adams.

CASTELLI, BERTRAND French producer, artist and bon vivant Bertrand Castelli, who was executive producer of the original Broadway production of Hair, was killed when he was struck by a speed boat dur-

Bertrand Castelli

ing his daily swim off the Caribbean coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on August 1, 2008. He was 78. Castelli was born in Salon de Provence, Bouches de Rhone, France, on December 3, 1929, and was raised in Paris. He became captivated with the theatre and the arts during the German occupation in World War II. After the war he went on tour with a small circus, where he learned lighting and design techniques. Castelli later worked for ballet and theatrical companies, and produced the ballet Les Algues in the 1950s. He became an acquaintance and conﬁdant of many of the leading artistic ﬁgures in Europe including Pablo Picasso, Marcel Marceau, and Jean-Paul Sartre. He came to the United States later in the decade, and was featured as Edmond Duquette in the 1959 western ﬁlm Thunder in the Sun starring Susan Hayward. Castelli served as executive producer for the counterculture musical Hair in the late 1960s, working with lead producer Michael Butler. Castelli was instrumental in the hiring of director Tom O’Horgan for the play, and produced several European productions of the musical. He also co-wrote and produced with his then wife Lorees Yerby the 1972 satirical ﬁlm Richard, about President Richard Nixon. Castelli remained an incorrigible bon vivant, and retired to the Yucatan in the early 1990s to pursue life, love, painting, and swimming.

CAVANAUGH, PAGE American pianist and singer Page Cavanaugh, who led a popular nightclub trio from the late 1940s, died of kidney failure in a nursing

Page Cavanaugh

69 home in Granada Hills, California, on December 19, 2008. He was 86. He was born Walter Page Cavanaugh in Cherokee, Kansas, on January 26, 1922. He learned to play the piano at an early age and moved to Los Angeles to join the Bobby Sherwood band in 1942. He served in the Army Signal Corps during World War II, where he joined with Al Viola on guitar and Lloyd Pratt on bass to form the Three Sergeants. The group entertained at ofﬁcers’ club dances and they remained together as the Page Cavanaugh Trio after the war. They recorded several popular tunes including “The Three Bears” and “She Had to Go and Lose It at the Astor,” and were featured on The Jack Paar Show on the radio. They were also a popular attraction at numerous nightclubs and lounges. The group was also featured in several ﬁlms including the Connie Haines musical short Record Party (1947), Romance on the High Seas (1948), Big City (1948), the short Jingle, Jangle, Jingle (1948), A Song Is Born (1948) with Danny Kaye, Lullaby of Broadway (1951) with Doris Day, the Disney animated short The Truth About Mother Goose (1957), and Frankenstein’s Daughter (1958). Cavanaugh formed a seven-piece group, The Page 7, in the early 1960s, that performed on The Ed Sullivan Show on television and recorded albums at RCA. He continued to perform throughout his life, becoming one of Southern California’s longest lasting jazz artists.

CAWLEY, CELINE Celine Cawley, who was featured in the James Bond ﬁlm A View to a Kill, was murdered by an intruder at her home in the Howth Head area of north Dublin, Ireland, on December 15, 2008. She was 46. Cawley was found by her husband on the patio at the rear of her home, apparently having been bludg-

2008 • Obituaries

Olivia Cenizal

pines, on October 21, 1926. She began her ﬁlm career in the mid–1950s with the assistance of director Cirio Santiago. She made her ﬁlm debut in 1955’s Palahamak, and starred in such ﬁlms as Pangako ng Puso (1955), Prinsipe Villarba (1956), Pitong Maria (1956), Margaritay (1956), Sword King (1956), Ha Cha Cha (1956), Desperado (1956), Prince Alejandre (1957), Pandanggo ni Neneng (1957), Minera (1957), Libre Comida (1957), Bicol Express (1957), Water Lily (1958), Obra Maestra (1958), Man on the Run (1958), and Ging (1964). She largely retired from the screen in the 1960s, but made several subsequent ﬁlm appearances over the next several decades in Postcards from China (1975), Love Affair (1980), Nagbabagang Iuha (1988), On Borrowed Time (1989), and Kailan ka Magiging Akin (1991). She was married to musician Joseﬁno Cenizal from 1945 until her death. CHAHAL SABAG, RANDA Lebanese ﬁlm director Randa Chahal Sabag died of breast cancer in Paris, France, on August 25, 2008. She was 55. Chahal was born in Tripoli, Lebanon, in 1953. She began working in ﬁlms in the late 1970s, directing the documentary Step by

Celine Cawley

eoned to death by a brick-wielding intruder. She was born in Howth in 1962. She had a small role as a party girl in the 1985 Bond ﬁlm A View to a Kill starring Roger Moore. She later went into advertising, heading Toytown Films company, which worked with advertising agencies for such companies as Coca Cola, Heineken and the National Lottery.

CENIZAL, OLIVIA Filipino actress Olivia Cenizal died of complications from colon disease in the Philippines on April 14, 2008. She was 81. She was born Gloria Pagtakhan Maigue in Imus, Cavite, the Philip-

Randa Chahal Sabbag

Step in 1978. She also directed the short ﬁlm Lebanon Long Ago (1980), and the documentaries Cheikh Imam (1984) and Nos Guerres Imprudentes (1995). She made her feature ﬁlm debut helming the 1991 drama Screens of Sand. Chahal became one of the leading female ﬁlmmakers to emerge from the Middle East in the 1990s.

Obituaries • 2008 Her other ﬁlm credits include The Inﬁdels (1997), A Civilized People (1999), and the 2003 Venice Film Festival Silver Lion prize winner The Kite. She was preparing to direct the comedy ﬁlm Too Bad for Them at the time of her death.

CHAHINE, YOUSSEF Leading Egyptian ﬁlm director Youssef Chahine died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Cairo, Egypt, on July 27, 2008. He had been a coma for over a month. He was 82. Chahine was born in Alexandria, Egypt, on January 25, 1926. He attended Victoria College in Egypt before heading to California in the late 1940s, where he studied ﬁlm at the Pasadena Playhouse. He returned to Egypt to embark on a ﬁlm career, directing the 1950 feature Baba Amin. His subsequent ﬁlm, Son of the Nile, was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1951. His 1954 ﬁlm, The Blazing Sky, was credited with launching Omar Sharif ’s acting career, and Chahine achieved international acclaim direct-

70 CHAN, KIM Chinese character actor Kim Chan died in Brooklyn, New York, on October 5, 2008. He was 92. Chan was born in Canton, China, on December 28, 1915, and came to the United States in 1928. He began his career on stage after working at his family’s restaurant, The House of Chan. He made his ﬁlm debut in a small role in 1957’s A Face in the Crowd. He was also featured in such ﬁlms as The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), The Gang That Sold America (1979), Soup for One (1982), The King of Comedy (1982) as Jono, Jerry Lewis’ Oriental servant, Over the Brooklyn Bridge (1984), Moscow on the Hudson (1984), The Cotton Club (1984), Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Streetwalkin’ (1985), Nine 1 ⁄ 2 Weeks (1986), Gung Ho (1986), Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1986), No Mercy (1986), Cookie (1989), Second Sight (1989), Cadillac Man (1990), Alice (1990), American Shaolin (1991),

Kim Chan

Youssef Chahine

ing the 1958 feature Cairo Station. His numerous ﬁlm credits also include The Great Clown (1952), Lady on the Train (1953), Women Without Men (1953), Devil of the Sahara (1954), Dark Waters (1956), Farewell My Love (1957), My One and Only Love (1957), Jamila, the Algerian (1958), Forever Yours (1959), In Your Hands (1960), A Man in My Life (1961), Lovers’ Complaint (1961), Saladin and the Great Crusades (1963), Dawn of a New Day (1964), Auliban, the Seller of Jokes (1965), The Feast of Mairun (1967), Those People of the Nile (1968), The Earth (1969), The Choice (1970), Golden Sands (1971), Salwa, the Girl Who Talked to Crows (1972), The Sparrow (1972), Forward We Go (1974), The Return of the Prodigal Son (1976), Alexandria ... Why? (1978), An Eg yptian Story (1982), Adieu Bonaparte (1985), The Sixth Day (1986), Alexandria Again and Forever (1990), Cairo as Seen by Chahine (1991), The Emigrant (1994), Lumiere and Company (1995), Destiny (1997), The Other (1999), Silence ... We’re Rolling (2001), September 11 (2002), Alexandria ... New York (2004), To Each His Cinema (2007), and Chaos (2007). Chahine’s liberal secularist philosophy often put him at odds with Islamic radicals and the authoritarian government of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, and he engaged in frequent battles with local censors.

Thousand Pieces of Gold (1991), Who’s the Man? (1993), Robot in the Family (1994), Breathing Room (1996), Howard Stern’s Private Parts (1997), The Fifth Element (1997), The Devil’s Advocate (1997), Kundun (1997), Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), Nathan Grimm (1998), On the Q.T. (1999), The Corruptor (1999), A Fish in the Bathtub (1999), A Zen Tale (2000), High Times Potluck (2002), Shanghai Knights (2003) as Jackie Chan’s father, Zen Noir (2004) for which he was also executive producer, The Honeymooners (2005), Ninja Bombs (2005), The Dig (2005), 16 Blocks (2006), and Oy Vey! (2007). Chan was best known for his role as Lo Si, the Ancient, on the television series Kung Fu: The Legend Continues with David Carradine from 1993 to 1997. His other television credits include episodes of Spenser: For Hire, CBS Summer Playhouse, Gideon Oliver, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, Law & Order, Vanishing Son, Mad About You, Now and Then as the villainous Eggman, The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Johnny Zero.

CHANDLER, ROBERT CBS television executive Robert Chandler, who was instrumental in creating the weekly news magazine 60 Minutes, died of heart failure at his home in Pittsﬁeld, Massachusetts, on December 11, 2008. He was 80. He was born Robert Zuckerkandle in Brooklyn, New York, on September 25, 1928. He worked as a music critic for Variety after com-

71

2008 • Obituaries tals in his securing the role of the scaly Universal monster. He played the role opposite stars Julie Adams and Richard Carlson in footage shot in Hollywood of the performers and creature on land. Underwater footage with Ricou Browning as the monster were ﬁlmed in Florida. Chapman also played the creature in a sketch with Abbott and Costello on an episode of The Colgate Comedy Hour shortly before the ﬁlm’s release. He subsequently appeared in small roles in the ﬁlms Jungle Moon Men (1955) and Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki (1955). He left acting for a successful career in real estate. In recent years, Chapman was a popular guest at nostalgia festivals throughout the country and appeared in several documentaries about his landmark ﬁlm role.

Robert Chandler

pleting college in the early 1950s. He served several years in the U.S. Army in Germany, and returned to Variety to cover radio and television in 1953. Chandler was hired by MGM as television publicity director in 1961. He joined CBS two years later to work in the news division. He was a producer and director for the network’s election coverage from the late 1960s, and was involved in the production of such documentaries as The People of South Vietnam: How They Feel About the War (1967) and Under Surveillance (1971). He was a supporter of Don Hewitt’s concept of a weekly news magazine that evolved into 60 Minutes in 1968 and was instrumental in developing the program’s format. Chandler rose to become vice-president for administration and assistant to the president of CBS News in 1975. He retired from the network in 1985, but later served as executive producer of the PBS documentary Learning in America: Schools That Work in 1990.

CHAPMAN, BEN Ben Chapman, who starred in the title role in the 1954 classic horror ﬁlm Creature from the Black Lagoon, died of congestive heart failure in Honolulu, Hawaii, on February 21, 2008. He was 82. Chapman was born in Oakland, California, on October 29, 1925. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War before embarking on a acting career. He appeared in a small role in the 1950 ﬁlm Pagan Love Song before being cast as the Gill Man in 1954’s Creature from the Black Lagoon. Chapman’s 6'5" height was instrumen-

Ben Chapman (in Creature from the Black Lagoon costume)

CHAPMAN, VERNON Veteran Canadian actor Vernon Chapman died in Toronto, Canada, on February 12, 2008. He was 84. Chapman was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, in 1923. He began appearing on stage at the age of 12 in a production of Shakespeare’s King John. He continued acting in high school and at the University of Toronto. He was a co-founder of the ﬁrst post-war Canadian professional theater, the New

Vernon Chapman

Play Society, in 1946. Chapman also performed on CBC radio and television, and was a regular on the variety series The Wayne and Shuster Show from 1957 to 1966. He also appeared in episodes of The Forest Rangers, Programme X, Street Legal, and Forever Knight. He was the voice of Dr. Octopus in the 1967 Spider-Man cartoons, and was Richard Cartwright in the 1974 mini-series The National Dream: Building the Impossible Railway. He was also featured in the tele-ﬁlms The Possession of Michael D. (1995), Cagney & Lacey; True Convictions (1996), The Arrow (1997), and Elvis Meets Nixon (1997). He also appeared regularly as Mr. Deschesnes in the children’s series My Hometown in 1996. Chapman was also seen in a handful of ﬁlms during his career including The Luck of Ginger Coffey (1964), The Shattered Silence (1966), Age of Innocence (1977), Billy Madison (1995), and A Day in the Life (2000).

CHARISSE, CYD Dancer and actress Cyd Charisse died of a heart attack in a Los Angeles, hospital on June 17, 2008. She was 86. She was born Tula Ellice Finklea in Amarillo, Texas, on March 8, 1922. She

Obituaries • 2008 suffered from polio as a child and studied dancing to regain her strength. She joined the Russian dance company, the Ballet Russe, at the age of 14 and was billed under the names Celia Siderova and Maria Istromena. She married fellow dancer Nico Charisse in 1939 while on a European tour, and the couple went to Hollywood after World War II began in the early 1940s. She made her ﬁlm debut under the name Lily Norwood in the 1943 musical Something to Shout About. She was also seen as a dancer in the ﬁlms Mission to Moscow (1943), Thousands Cheer (1943), and This Love of Mine (1944). Charisse signed a contract with MGM in 1945 and was featured in the 1946 musical Ziegfeld Follies. She was also featured in such ﬁlms as The Harvey Girls (1946), Three Wise Fools (1946), Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), Fiesta (1947), The Unﬁnished Dance (1947), On an Island with You (1948), The Kissing Bandit (1948), Words and Music (1948), Tension (1949), East Side, West Side (1949), and Mark of the Renegade (1951). She made an impression dancing with Gene Kelly in the classic musical Singin’ in the Rain in 1952. She also danced with Kelly in Brigadoon (1954) and It’s Always Fair Weather (1955). Charisse continued to grace the screen as a dancer in the ﬁlms The Wild North (1952), Sombrero (1953), The Band Wagon (1953), Easy to Love (1953), Deep in My Heart (1954), and Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956). She danced opposite Fred Astaire in 1957’s Silk Stockings, which largely marked the end of the Hollywood musical. Charisse continued her career, performing in night clubs and television, and moved on to dramatic roles in ﬁlms. She entertained in such television variety series as The Milton Berle Show, Startime, The Ed Sullivan Show, Arthur Godfrey and His Friends, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Dean Martin Show, and The Hollywood Palace. She was also seen in the ﬁlms Twilight for the Gods (1958), Party Girl (1958), Black Tights (1960), Five Golden Hours (1961), Something’s Got to Give (1962), Two Weeks in Another Town (1962), Assassination in Rome (1965), The Silencers (1966), Maroc 7 (1967), Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976), and Warlords of Atlantis (1978). Charisse’s television credits include episodes of such series as Checkmate, Medical Center, Hawaii Five0, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, The Fall Guy, Murder, She Wrote, Crazy Like a Fox, Burke’s Law, and Frasier. She also appeared in the tele-ﬁlms Portrait of an Escort

Cyd Charisse

72 (1980), Glitter (1984), Sentimental Journey (1984), and Swimsuit (1989). She made her Broadway debut as a ballerina in the 1992 musical version of Grand Hotel. Charisse divorced her ﬁrst husband in 1947 and married singer Tony Martin the following year. She and Martin frequently performed together in a musical act in Las Vegas.

CHARLES, KEITH Stage and television actor Keith Charles died of lung cancer at his home in New York City on July 1, 2008. He was 74. Charles was born in San Francisco, California, on March 4, 1934, and graduated from the University of Texas. After serving in the U.S. Army he headed to New York, where he made his debut on the Off-Broadway stage as a replacement for El Gallo in The Fantasticks in the late 1950s. He also appeared in Off-Broadway productions of The Death of a Well-Loved Boy (1967) and Kurt Vonnegut’s Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1970). He performed opposite Lauren Bacall in the Broadway production Applause, and was featured in the 1977 revival of The Threepenny Opera. Charles also appeared frequently in television soap op-

Keith Charles

eras from the mid–1960s, with roles as Rick Oliver in The Edge of Night in 1966, Nick Kane in The Secret Storm from 1968 to 1970, Ross Cavanaugh in Search for Tomorrow in 1971, Robert Jardin in Where the Heart Is in 1969, Dr. Brian Neeves in The Secret Storm from 1973 to 1974, Dr. Ted Chandler in Love of Life from 1974 to 1975, Alex McDaniels in The Guiding Light in 1976, Ralph Mitchell in As the World Turns from 1977 to 1979 and again from 1991 to 1993, Ted Clayton in One Life to Live from 1981 to 1981, and Homer Dowd in Ryan’s Hope from 1986 to 1989. His other television credits include episodes of such series as Cannon, Barnaby Jones, Hardcastle and McCormick, Remington Steele, Newhart, Dallas, Simon & Simon, Kate & Allie, and Law & Order. Charles was also seen in several ﬁlms during his career including Key Exchange (1985), Longtime Companion (1990), Drop Dead Fred (1991), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), and Colorforms (2003).

CHAUVIN, LILYAN Actress and drama teacher Lilyan Chauvin died of complications from cancer and heart disease in Los Angeles on June 26, 2008. She was born in Paris on August 6, 1925. She was 82. She began

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2008 • Obituaries Alias, ER, Malcolm in the Middle, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Ugly Betty. Chauvin was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms Once Upon a Dead Man (1971), Medical Story (1975), Victory at Entebbe (1976), Child of Glass (1978), Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women (1978), Flying High (1978), Portrait of a Stripper (1979), Nutcracker: Money, Madness & Murder (1987), Right to Die (1987), For the Very First Time (1991), Stormy Weathers (1992), Tonya & Nancy: The Inside Story (1994), Attack of the 5 Ft. 2 Women (1994), Tyson (1995), The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy (1998), and Missing Pieces (2000). She had recently completed ﬁlming the 2008 feature The Passing shortly before her passing.

Lilyan Chauvin

her acting career on the stage in England in the late 1940s, before coming to the United States. For six decades she was an actress in ﬁlm and television productions. Chauvin’s ﬁlm credits include Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957), Silk Stockings (1957), Tip on a Dead Jockey (1957), Les Girls (1957), Lost, Lonely and Vicious (1958), King Creole (1958) with Elvis Presley, The Perfect Furlough (1958), The Wreck of Mary Deare (1959), Walk Like a Dragon (1960), North to Alaska (1960), Bloodlust! (1961) as Sandra Balleau, Back Street (1961), The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962), Two Weeks in Another Town (1962), Tickle Me (1965), Yours, Mine and Ours (1968), The Mephisto Waltz (1971), Machismo: 40 Graves for 40 Guns (1971), Funny Lady (1975), Beyond Reason (1977), The Other Side of Midnight (1977), Private Benjamin (1980), Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), Born in East L.A. (1987) with Cheech and Chong, Listen to Me (1989), Bad Inﬂuence (1990), Predator 2 (1990), True Identity (1991), Universal Soldier (1992), Round Trip to Heaven (1992), The Discoverers (1993), No Place to Hide (1993), Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings (1994) as Miss Osie, Five Aces (1999), Stanley’s Gig (2000), Skeleton Woman (2000), The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001), Duty Dating (2002), Catch Me If You Can (2002), Paradise (2003), and Sublime (2007). She was a frequent television performer from the early 1950s, with roles in such series as Kraft Television Theatre, Studio One, Crusaders, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Adventures of Superman, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, The Walter Winchell File, The Court of Last Resort, The Californians, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Panic!, Harbor Command, Maverick, Dragnet, One Step Beyond, The Law and Mr. Jones, Boris Karloff ’s Thriller, The Case of the Dangerous Robin, Combat, Adventures in Paradise, The Rogues, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Man from U.N.C.L.E., Perry Mason, Daniel Boone, Mission: Impossible, The Outcasts, McCloud, Matt Lincoln, To Rome with Love, Mannix, The Magician, The Bob Newhart Show, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Man from Atlantis, Fantasy Island, Darkroom, Magnum, P.I., Hart to Hart, Diff ’rent Strokes, One Day at a Time, The Facts of Life, Masquerade, Falcon Crest in the recurring role of Sister Jeannette, The Young and the Restless as Lil, Baywatch, Homefront, Murder, She Wrote, Earth 2, The X-Files, The Pretender, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, USA High, Friends, Shasta McNasty, Frasier, The Beast,

CHENERY-WICKENS, DIANE Film and television make-up artist Diane Chenery-Wickens disappeared on January 24, 2008, reportedly traveling by train from East Grinstead to London. Her decomposed body was found on May 15, 2008, in Little Horsted, Sussex, England, less than 8 miles from her home. Her husband,

Diane Chenery-Wickens

David Chenery-Wickens, was charged in connection with her murder. She was 48, born in 1959. She began working in the make-up department for the BBC in the early 1990s, with credits for such television productions as Pride and Prejudice (1995), Close Relations (1998), Frenchman’s Creek (1998), the 2000 adaptation of Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast, Arabian Nights (2000), Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings (2000), Murder (2002), and Top Ten Most Haunted Possessions (2006). Her other television credits include such series as The House Eliott, Coupling, Big Train, Dead Ringers, The League of Gentlemen, Tic, Lenny Henry in Pieces, It’s Adam and Shelley, and Benidorm. Chenery-Wickens also worked on the feature ﬁlms Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1997) and Dog Eat Dog (2001).

CHESBRO, GEORGE C. Novelist George Clark Chesbro died of complications from congestive heart failure in a New Baltimore, Maryland, hospital on November 18, 2008. He was 68. Chesbro was born in Washington, D.C., on June 4, 1940. He worked as a special education teacher before he began writing, with his ﬁrst novel, King’s Gambit, published in 1976. He was best known for creating the character of Dr. Robert Frederickson, a dwarf private detective known as Mongo

Obituaries • 2008

74 (1969), Chermeni (1970), Life (1971), Melodies of the Verijsky Quarter (1973), The Little Incident (1975), The Tree of Desire (1976), Come to Grape Valley (1976), Some Interviews on Personal Matters (1977), The Call (1979), The New Adventures of the Flea and the Ant (1980), Adventures of Ali-Baba and the Forty Thieves (1980), A Piece of Sky (1980), Look for a Woman (1982), Vacation of Petrov and Vasechkin, Usual and Incredible (1984), The Legend of the Suram Fortress (1984), A Million in a Wedding Basket (1986), Enclosure (1987), The Hoary Legends of the Caucasus (1988), The Confession (1990), Wandering Stars (1991), I Was Disgraceful, I Am Leaving (1992), School of Nutsa (2000), and Mayak (2006).

George Chesbro

the Magniﬁcent, who made his debut in the 1977 novel Shadow of a Broken Man. Chesbro continued the offbeat series with City of Whispering Stone (1978), An Affair of Sorcerers (1979), The Beasts of Valhalla (1985), Two Songs This Archangel Sings (1987), The Cold Smell of Sacred Stone (1988), Second Horseman Out of Eden (1989), The Language of Cannibals (1990), In the House of Secret Enemies (1990), The Fear in Yesterday’s Rings (1991), Dark Chant in a Crimson Key (192), An Incident at Bloodtide (1993), Bleeding in the Eye of a Brainstorm (1995), and Dream of a Falling Eagle (1996). His other novels include Turn Loose the Dragon (1982), Chant (1986), Veil (1986), The Golden Child (1986), Chant: Silent Killer (1987), Chant: Code of Blood (1987), Jungle of Steel and Stone (1988), Bone (1989), The Keeper (2001), and Prism: A Memoir as Fiction (2001). He also wrote numerous short stories, with his latest book being the 2004 collection Strange Prey and Other Tales of the Hunt.

CHIAURELI, SOFIKO Georgian actress Soﬁko Chiaureli died on March 2, 2008. She was 70. Chiaureli was born in Tbilisi, Georgia (then part of the Soviet Union) on May 21, 1937. She was a leading performer in Russian ﬁlms from the 1950s, and worked often with director Sergei Parajanov. Her ﬁlm credits include In Our Courtyard (1956), The Story of a Young Girl (1960), On the Side of Enguri (1961), You Cannot See What I Had Seen (1965), Khevsurian Ballad (1965), Frontiers (1968), Red Pomegranate (1968) in multiple roles, Don’t Grieve

Soﬁko Chiaureli

CHOI JIN-SIL Leading South Korean actress Choi Jin-sil was found dead with an elastic band around her neck tied to a shower stall at her home in Seoul, South Korea, in an apparent suicide on September 30, 2008. She was 49. Choi was born in Seoul on December 24, 1968. She was a leading actress in ﬁlms through-

Choi Jin-sil

out the 1990s, with roles in such features as The South Korean Army (1990), My Love, My Bride (1990), You Know What? It’s a Secret 2 (1991), Susanne Brink (1991), Mister Mama (1992), I Wish for What Is Forbidden to Me (1994), To Kill My Wife (1994), Mom Has a Lover (1995), Who Drives Me Mad? (1995), Ghost Mama (1996), Holiday in Seoul (1997), Beibi Seil (1997), The Letter (1997), Mayonnaise (1999), and Moyuru Tsuki: The Legend of Ginko (2000). She also starred in the television dramas Bad Woman, Good Woman, Jealousy, and My Rosy Life, and was set to appear in a second season of the popular drama series The Last Scandal of My Life.

CHOPEL, FARID French actor Farid Chopel died of cancer in Paris on April 20, 2008. He was 55. Chopel was born in Paris on December 4, 1952. He appeared frequently in ﬁlms from the early 1980s, with roles in such features as My Best Friend’s Girl (1983), Les Princes (1983), The Caged Heart (1984), Les Fauves (1984), The Vengeance of the Winged Serpent (1984), All Mixed Up (1984), Le Torero Halucinogene (1986), Follow My Gaze (1986), Irena and the Shadows (1987), Jane B. by Agnes V. (1988), The Flesh (1991), A Vampire in Paradise (1992), Rainbow pour Rimbaud (1996), Mo’ (1996), It’s Gradiva Who Is Calling You (2006), and A City Is Beau-

75

2008 • Obituaries

Farid Chopel

on April 14, 1917. He studied art and illustration and his drawings were ﬁrst published in the 1943 work Butterﬂies of Britain in 1943. He continued to provide illustrations and cover designs for various works before being selected by Fleming to design the cover of the ﬁfth book in the James Bond series, From Russia with Love, in 1957. Created as a watercolor, the three-dimensional feel of his illustration of a gun and rose proved popular. He returned to the Bond series with 1959’s Goldﬁnger, featuring a skull clutching a rose between its teeth. He went on to design the covers for nine of Fleming’s titles. His ﬁnal association with Bond was designing the dust jacket for John Gardner’s continuation of the series with 1981’s License Renewed. Chopping was also the author of several books including the grim and disturbing novels The Fly (1965) and The Ring (1967).

tiful at Night (2006). Chopel also appeared on French television in such productions as Le Banquet (1989), La Goutte d’Or (1990), L’Homme dans la Nuit (1993), Chanmbre Froide (1993), Avanti (1994), Alla Turca (1996), La Fine Equipe (1997), and Sands of Eden (1998).

CHOPRA, B.R. Veteran Indian ﬁlm director B.R. Chopra died at his home in Mumbai, India, on November 5, 2008. He was 94. Baldev Raj Chopra was born in Lundhiana, Punjab, India, on April 22, 1914. He began his career as a ﬁlm journalist for the Cine Herald,

CHOPPING, RICHARD British artist Richard Chopping, who was noted for designing the cover illustrations for many of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels, died in Wivenhoe, Essex, England, on April 17, 2008. He was 91. Chopping was born in Colchester, England,

B.R. Chopra

Richard Chopping

Richard Chopping’s cover illustration for the James Bond book Goldﬁnger

and turned to ﬁlm production in the late 1940s. His 1948 production Karwat proved to be a ﬁnancial failure, but he had a hit producing and directing the 1951 thriller Afsana. His success continued with his next ﬁlms Shole (1953) and Chandni Chowk (1954), and Chopra founded his own production house, B.R. Films. He was committed to make socially relevant ﬁlms and helmed such features as Ek-Hi-Rasta (1956), Naya Daur (1957), and Sadhna (1958). He produced the 1959 ﬁlm Dhool ka Phool, which was directed by his brother Yash Chopra. The brothers worked frequently together over the next two decades until Yash founded Yash Raj Films in 1973. Chopra also continued to direct such features as Kanoon (1960), Gumrah (1963), Hamraaz (1967), Dastaan (1972), Dhund (19783), Karm (1977), Pati Patni Aur Woh (1978), Insaf Ka Tarazu (The Scales of Justice) (1980), Nikaah (1982), Tawaif (1985), Avam (1987), and Kal Ki Awaz (Tomorrow’s Voice) (1992). Chopra produced and directed, with his son Ravi, the Hindi epic poem Mahabharat for television in 1988 and produced the epic Ramayana in 1992. He also directed the television productions Bahadur Shah Zafar (1986) and Mahabharat

Obituaries • 2008

76

(1988). Chopra also produced his son’s 2003 hit Baghban.

CHURCH, TONY British actor Tony Church died in London on March 25, 2008. He was 77. Church was born in London on May 11, 1930. He was a leading stage actor in England from the early 1950s. He was a

Marky Cielo

Tony Church

founding member of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960 and starred in productions of King Lear, Henry IV, and many others. He also appeared on British television in such series as The Gentle Killers, Charlesworth, Invisible Man, The Devil’s Crown, The Professionals, The Sandbaggers, and Enemy at the Door. His other television credits include productions of The Voodoo Factor (1959), As You Like It (1963), Edward and Mrs. Simpson (1978), Lillie (1978), and Henry VIII (1979). He was featured in several ﬁlms, including Work Is a 4-Letter Word (1968), Tess (1979), The Plague Dogs (1982) as a voice actor, and Krull (1983). Church subsequently relocated to Denver, Colorado, where he remained a popular stage performer.

CIAPPESSONI, PAUL British television director Paul Ciappessoni died in Valencia, Spain, on October 7, 2008. He was 79. Ciappessoni was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, on July 9, 1929. He directed for television with the BBC in the early 1960s. He helmed episodes of such series as The Troubleshooters, Dr. Finlay’s Casebook, The Spies, Adam Adamant Lives!, King of the River, The First Lady, The Expert, Paul Temple, Doomwatch, Brett, Thirty-Minute Theatre, Dead of Night, Sutherland’s Law, Bedtime Stories, Barlow at Large, Angels, Centre Play, When the Boat Comes In, The Onedin Line, An Englishman’s Castle, A Horseman Riding By, Breakaway, Shoestring, BBC2 Playhouse, Bergerac, The District Nurse, and Juliet Bravo. He also directed the television productions Street Party (1977), Our Kid (1977), and A Chance to Sit Down (1981). CIELO, MARKY Filipino singer and actor Marky Cielo, who was the winner of his country’s 2005 StarStruck competition, died during his sleep at his home in Antipolo, the Philippines, on December 7, 2008. He was 20. Cielo was born in Butuan, the Philippines, on May 12, 1988. He was persuaded by high school friends to enter the StarStruck competition in 2005, and became

the ultimate survivor on the show. He was featured in the 2006 ﬁlm Till I Met You, and was soon appearing in such television series as Fantastikids, Encantadia: Love Until the End, Love to Love, Bubble Gang, Bakekang, Boys Next Door, Asian Treasures, Sine Novela, Kaputol ng Isang Awit, Obra, La: Lola, and Joaquin Bordato. He was best known for his role as Alexis Lorenzo, or Zaido Green, in the science ﬁction series Zaido: Pulis Pangkalawakan in 2007. Cielo also starred in the series Codename: Asero as Agent Troy in 2008.

CIMAROSA, TANO Italian actor Tano Cimarosa died in Messina, Sicily, Italy, on May 24, 2008. He was 86. Cimarosa was born in Messina on January 1, 1922. He was a popular character actor in ﬁlms from the early 1960s with roles in such features as The Eye of the Needle (1963), Crazy Sea (1963), Due Maﬁosi Contro Al Capone (1966), The Tall, the Short, the Cat (1967), May God Forgive You ... But I Won’t (1968), Be Sick ... It’s Free (1968), Damiano Damiani’s Il Giorno della Civetta (aka Maﬁa) (1968), Suicide Commandos (1968), Death on High Mountain (1969), Bootleggers (1969), The Tough and the Mighty (1969), Police Chief Pepe (1969), The Most Beautiful Wife (1970), Una Spada per Brando (1970), Why (1971), Between Miracles (1971), A Girl in Australia (1971), They Called Him Amen (1972), Death at the Villa (1972), Italian Grafﬁti (1971), Pasqualino Cammarata ... Capitano di Fregata (1973), Bread and Chocolate (1973), The Reincarnation of Isabel (1973), Gang War in Milan (1973),

Tano Cimarosa

77 They Still Call Him Amen (1973), L’Ammazzatina (1974), How to Kill a Judge (1974), Unbelievable Adventures of Italians in Russia (1974), Exorcist: Italian Style (1975), Vice Wears Black Hose (1975) which he also directed, Free Hand for a Tough Cop (1976), L’Italia in Pigiama (1977), Death Hunt (1977) which he also directed and wrote, A Man on His Knees (1978), Cafe Express (1980), Uomini di Parola (1981), Sfrattato Cerca Casa Equo Canone (1983), Sicilian Connection (1987), Faida (1988), Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso (1988), Boys on the Outside (1990), Man of Respect (1992), Acia’s Descent into Floristella (1992), Anni 90— Parte II (1993), Italian Village (1994), A Pure Formality (1994), The Star Maker (1995), Spot (1999), Una Milanese a Roma (2001), and Two Friends (2002). He was also featured in the 2000 television production Una Storia Qualunque, and gueststarred with Terence Hill in an episode of Don Matteo in 2006.

CIOBANU, ILARION Romanian ﬁlm actor Ilarion Ciobanu died of cancer at his apartment in Bucharest, Romania, on September 7, 2008. He was 76. Ciobanu was born in Ciucur, Romania (now Moldova) on October 28, 1931. He was a leading actor in ﬁlms from the early 1960s with roles in such features as Thirsts (1960), A Sentimental Story (1961), The Man Next to You (1961) which he also directed, Lupeni 29 (1962), The District of Gaiety (1964), Blazing Winter (1965), The Time of the Snowstorm (1966), The Lizard (1966), Golgotha (1966), Then Came the Legend (1968), Trajan’s Column (1968), The War of the Princesses (1969), Two Men for One Death (1969), The Axe (1969), Michael the Brave (1970), Fratii (1970), The Siege (1970), The Party (1971), The Lost Forest (1971), The Making of the World (1972), Drum in Penumbra (1972), With Clean Hands (1972), The Conspiracy (1972), The Last Bullet (1973), Dimitrie Cantemir (1973), It’s a Long Way to Tipperary (1973), The Immortals (1974), Single-Handed (1974), No Trespassing (1975), The City Seen from Above (1974), The Romanian Musketeer (1975), Full Sail (1976), Steps to the Sky (1977), The Prophet, the Gold and the Transylvanians (1978), Together Again (1978), Avaria (1978), The Man We Need (1979), Soldiers Never Cry (1979), Audienta (1979), The Actress, the Dollars, and the Transylvanians (1979), The Trident Doesn’t Answer (1980), The Stake and the Flame (1980),

Ilarion Ciobanu

2008 • Obituaries Iancu Jianu, the Tax Collector (1980), The Oil, the Baby and the Transylvanians (1981), A World Without Sky (1981), Iancu Jianu, the Outlaw (1981), Laugh Like Living (1983), An Item of News (1984), Home (1984), The Shadows of the Sun (1986), Battle of the Shadows (1986), Cetatea Ascunsa (1987), Crucea de Piatra (1993), The Tank (2003), and Bored (2004).

CIVIRANI, OSVALDO Italian ﬁlm director Osvaldo Civirani died in Rome on February 20, 2008. He was 90. Civirani was born in Rome on May 19, 1917. He began working in ﬁlms as a still photographer on Luchino Visconti’s 1943 ﬁlm Ossessione. He also worked as a still photographer on such ﬁlms as Alessandro Blasetti’s Fabiola (1949), Father’s Dilemma (1950), Federico Fellini’s Variety Lights (1950), The Flowers of St. Francis (1950), Love I Haven’t ... But ... But (1951), Fellini’s The White Sheik (1952), Chronicle of Poor Lovers (1954), Don Camillo’s Last Round (1955), I Pappagalli (1955), Where the Hot Wind Blows! (1959), Pensione Edelweiss (1959), I Tre Nemici (1962), and A Girl ... and a Million (1962). He began directing and scripting ﬁlms in the early 1960s, helming such features as The Most Prohibited Sex (1963), Kindar the Invulnerable (1964), Hercules Against the Sons of the Sun (1964), Forbidden Temptations (1965) with Brigitte Bardot, Sheriff with the Gold (1966), Operation Poker (1966), The Beckett Affair (1966), Rick and John, Conquerors of the West (1967), Son of Django (1967), Lucrezia Borgia, l’Amante del Diavolo (1968), Trusting Is Good ... Shooting Is Better (1968), Quel Giorno Dio non c’Era (1969), Le Mans, Shortcut to Hell (1970), I Due della Formula uno alla Corsa piu Pazza Pazza del Mondo (1971), I Due Pezzi da Novanta (1971), The Devil Has Seven Faces (1971), Due Gattoni a Nove Code ... e Mezzo ad Amsterdam (1972), Two Sons of Trinity (1972), The Black Peacock (1974), and La Ragazza dalla Pelle di Corallo (1976). Civirani retired from making ﬁlms in the mid–1970s. CLAIRETTE French Canadian singer and actress Clairette Oderra died in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on October 28, 2008. She was 89. Clairette was born in Marseille, France, on April 3, 1919. She began her career as an entertainer in France in the late 1930s, and appeared in several ﬁlms including The Well-Digger’s Daughter (1940) with Fernandel and Raimu, Small Kidneys (1942), La Bone Etoile (1943), and Song of the Clouds

Clairette

Obituaries • 2008 (1946). Clairette settled in Quebec in 1949, where she remained a popular performer in cabarets and on radio. She was featured as Fanny in the 1970 television series Les Berger.

CLARKE, ARTHUR C. British science ﬁction writer and scientist Sir Arthur C. Clarke, who co-wrote the classic 1968 ﬁlm 2001: A Space Odyssey with director Stanley Kubrick, died of respiratory problems in a Colombo, Sri Lanka, hospital on March 19, 2008. He was 90. Clarke was born in Minehead, Somerset, England, on December 16, 1917. He served as a radar specialist with the Royal Air Force during World War II. He rose to the rank of Flight Lieutenant by the time of his discharge, and earned degrees in physics and mathematics at King’s College London after the war. He also became an active member of the British Interplanetary Society, where he was instrumental in advancing the idea of geostationary satellites for telecommunications. Clarke’s professional writing career began in 1946 with the publication of the short-stories “Loophole” and “Rescue Party” in the pulp digest Astounding Science Fiction. He authored the short story “The Sentinel” in 1948, which later served as the inspiration for 2001. He was able to dedicate himself full-time as an author by the early 1950s, penning the novels Prelude to Space (1951), The Sands of Mars (1951), and Islands in the Sky (1952), and the non-ﬁction book The Exploration of Space (1951). His short story, “All the Time in the World,” was adapted for television as an episode for the early science ﬁction series Tales of Tomorrow in 1952. Clarke’s works became increasingly complex and cosmic in scope with such classic works as Against the Fall of Night and Childhood’s End in 1953. The science ﬁction novels Earthlight (1955), The City and the Stars (1956), The Deep Range (1957), A Fall of Moondust (1961), and Dolphin Island (1963) soon followed. He also wrote the non–science ﬁction novel Glide Path (1963), based on his experiences during World War II. He also remained a proliﬁc short-story writer, whose works appeared in such collections as Expedition to Earth (1953), Reach for Tomorrow (1956), Tales from the White Hart (1957), The Other Side of the Sky (1958), Tales of Ten Worlds (1962), The Nine Billion Names of God (1967), The Wind from the Sun (1972), and Of Time and Stars (1972). In 1964 Clarke began his long collaboration with

Arthur C. Clarke

78 acclaimed ﬁlm director Stanley Kubrick, that resulted in the release of the ground-breaking ﬁlm 2001: A Space Odyssey four years later. Using his earlier short-story “The Sentinel” as a starting point, he and Kubrick crafted a cosmic tale of mankind’s evolution from apeman to star child. The two men shared an Academy Award nomination for the ﬁlm’s script and Clarke penned a novelization of the ﬁlm. He was also involved in mankind’s actual voyages into space as part of the CBS team covering the Apollo 12 and 15 space missions with Walter Cronkite and Wally Schirra. His subsequent novel, Rendezvous with Rama (1972), inspired several sequels Clarke co-authored with Gentry Lee including Rama II (1989), The Garden of Rama (1991), and Rama Revealed (1993). The novel Imperial Earth was published in 1975, and The Fountains of Paradise, which included Clarke’s concept of a space elevator, was released in 1979. His sequel to 2001, 2010: Odyssey Two was released in 1982, and was adapted to ﬁlm by director Peter Hyams in 1984. Roy Scheider starred and Clarke himself appeared in a cameo role as a man feeding pigeons while sitting on a park bench. He continued the theme with 2061: Odyssey Three (1988) and 3001: The Final Odyssey (1997). His acclaimed short-story “The Star” was the basis of an episode of the new Twilight Zone television series in 1985. During the 1980s and 1990s he also hosted several television series documenting paranormal phenomena including Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World, Arthur C. Clarke’s World of Strange Powers, and Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious Universe. He continued to write or co-author such novels as A Meeting with Medusa (1988), Cradle (1988) with Gentry Lee, Beyond the Fall of Night (1990) with Gregory Benford, The Ghost from the Grand Banks (1990), The Hammer of God (1993), Richter 10 (1996) with Mike McQuay, and The Trigger (1999) with Michael P. Kube-McDowell. His later novels, co-written with Stephen Baxter, include The Light of Other Days (2000), Time’s Eye (2003), Sunstorm (2005), and Firstborn (2007). Clarke had moved to Sri Lanka, then called Ceylon, in 1956, and resided there for the remainder of his life. He was an accomplished scuba diver who enjoyed the year round access to the ocean despite suffering from post-polio syndrome, that largely conﬁned him to a wheelchair on land from the late 1980s. Clarke’s early speculatory papers that predicated communications satellites resulted in the International Astronomical Union naming the geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometers above the Equator as The Clarke Orbit in his honor. He was also the recipient of numerous Hugo and Nebula awards for his science ﬁction works, and was awarded a knighthood for his service to literature in 2000. His ﬁnal novel, The Last Theorem, co-written with Frederik Pohl, was published in 2008.

CLAUS, HUGO Belgian writer and artist Hugo Claus ended his life by euthanasia in an Antwerp, Belgium, hospital on March 19, 2008. He was 78 and had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Claus was born in Bruges, Belgium, on April 5, 1929. His ﬁrst publication was a collection of poems, Short Series, published in 1947. He was considered one of the leading contemporary Flemish authors, producing hundreds of poems,

79

Hugo Claus

over 60 plays, 20 novels, and various ﬁlm scripts, essays, and other pieces. He was best known for his 1983 semiautobiographical novel about social injustice, The Sorrow of Belgium. He directed several ﬁlm versions of his works including Speelmeisje (1968), De Vijanden (1968), Vrijdag (1981), De Leeuw van Vlaanderen (1985), Het Sacrament (1990) based on his novel Omtrent Deedee, and De Verlossing (2001). Many of his other works were also adapted to ﬁlm including Doctor in the Village (1958), The Knife (1961), The Dance of the Heron (1966), Mira (1971), Because of the Cats (1973), Cancer Rising (1975), Pallieter (1976), De Dans van de Reiger (1977), Minuet (1982), The Van Paemel Family (1986), Mascara (1987), and Diary of a Mad Old Man (1987). The Sorrow of Belgium was adapted for a television mini-series in 1995, and his novels Ongenade (1998) and Uitmarkt ’99 (1999) were adapted as tele-ﬁlms.

2008 • Obituaries Too Much (1940), My Love Came Back (1940), Pony Express Days (1940), Those Were the Days! (1940), They Drive by Night (1940), Knute Rockne, All American (1940), The Flag of Humanity (1940), East of the River (1940), South of Suez (1940), Alice in Movieland (1940), Father Is a Prince (1940), Honeymoon for Three (1941), High Sierra (1941), The Strawberry Blonde (1941), Knockout (1941), The Great Lie (1941), A Very Young Lady (1941), The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941), Miss Polly (1941), and Fall In (1942). Clayton enlisted in the Navy at the start of World War II and received a Purple Heart for his service. He returned to Hollywood after the war, where he appeared in the ﬁlms Mother Is a Freshman (1949) and My Friend Irma Goes West (1950). He was also seen on television in an episode of Sky King. Clayton met actor James Dean when they both appeared in the 1952 comedy Sailor Beware with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. He left acting to work as an agent at Famous Artist Agency, where he championed such talent as Dean, Jane Fonda, Tuesday Weld, Tab Hunter, Clint Walker, Angie Dickenson, Richard Chamberlain, and Harrison Ford. Clayton also served as Burt Reynolds’ personal manager for over 20 years.

COBE, SANDY Film producer and distributor Sandy Cobe died in Los Angeles, California, on February 20, 2008. He was 79. Cobe was born on November 30, 1928. He was a founder of the American Film Marketing Association and distributed ﬁlms through Intercontinental Releasing Corporation. He served as a producer on several slasher ﬁlms in the 1980s including To All a Good Night (1980), Terror on Tour (1980) which also saw him in the small role as the band’s sleazy manager, Terminal Entry (1986), and Open House (1987) starring Adrienne Barbeau.

CLAYTON, RICHARD Film actor turned agent Richard Clayton died of congestive heart failure at his home in Los Angeles on September 29, 2008. He was 93. Clayton was born in Montclair, New Jersey, on June 12, 1915. He began his career as an actor and model in New York before heading to Hollywood under contract with Warner Bros. He was featured in small roles in such ﬁlms as Our Neighbors, the Carters (1939), Invisible Stripes (1939), Brother Rat and a Baby (1940), The Fighting 69th (1940), Castle on the Hudson (1940), An Angel from Texas (1940), Murder in the Air (1940), The Man Who Talked

COCEA, DINA Romanian actress Dina Cocea died of a heart attack in a Bucharest, Romania, hospital, on October 28, 2008. She was 95. Cocea was born in Bucharest on November 27, 1912. She studied theater in Paris in the early 1930s and made her stage debut there in 1934. She returned to Romania the following year where she appeared in over 100 roles in her ﬁfty year career, becoming known as the “queen of the Romanian theater.” She also appeared in several ﬁlms during her career including La Jeune ﬁlle d’Une Nuit (1934), The

Richard Clayton

Dina Cocea

Obituaries • 2008

80

Soimaresti Family (1965), Dimitrie Cantemir (1973), Stephen the Great (1974), The Daring Pilot Aurel Vlaicu (1977), Iancu Jianu, the Tax Collector (1980), Cintec Pentru Fiul Meu (1980), Iancu Jianu, the Outlaw (1981), and Atac in Biblioteca (1992).

der, She Wrote, Golden Girls, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and V.I.P. She appeared in the background in numerous episodes of Seinfeld in the 1990s, as the cashier at their favorite hang-out. She was also featured in the 1996 ﬁlm Life Among the Cannibals.

COFFEY, ARLENE Film costume and wardrobe supervisor Arlene Coffey was found dead in her New York apartment on September 15, 2008. She was the victim in an apparent murder-suicide by her 52-

COHL, DUSTY Canadian ﬁlm producer Murray “Dusty” Cohl, who was co-founder of the Toronto International Film Festival, died of liver cancer in a hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 11, 2008. He was 79. Cohl was born in Toronto on February 21, 1928. He earned a law degree and was practicing real estate law and development when a trip to Cannes, France, during the ﬁlm festival in 1964 inspired him to bring one to Canada. He joined with Henk van der Kolk and Bill Marshall to inaugurate the Toronto International

Arlene Coffey

year-old mentally ill son, David, who shot her and then himself. She was 73. Arlene Coffey had been suffering from lymphoma. She worked frequently as a costumer and wardrobe supervisor from the early 1980s, with such ﬁlm credits as Eyewitness (1981), the tele-ﬁlm A Doctor’s Story (1984), The Last Dragon (1985), Legal Eagles (1986), Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988), The Dream Team (1989), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989), F/X2 (1991), and Deceived (1991). She was married to cinematographer Joseph Coffey until his death in 2000.

COHEN, RUTH Ruth Cohen, who was featured as the cashier in Monk’s Cafe on numerous episodes of the hit sit-com Seinfeld, died of a heart attack in Panorama City, California, on August 23, 2008. She was 78. Cohen was born in the Bronx, New York, on January 28, 1930. She began her acting career late in life in the 1980s, appearing as an extra in such shows as Mur-

Ruth Cohen

Dusty Cohl

Film Festival, originally called the Festival of Festivals, in 1976. He served as executive producer of several ﬁlms over the years including Pinocchio’s Greatest Adventure and Birthday Party (1974), Rush: Grace Under Pressure Tour 1984 (1985), The Circle Game (1994), The Last Mogul (2006), and the tele-ﬁlm Bowﬁre (2007). Cohl was also the founder of the Floating Film Festival in 1990, hosting ﬁlmmakers and critics aboard a cruise liner out of Los Angeles.

COKE, PETER British actor and playwright Peter Coke died in Sharrington, Norfolk, England, on July 30, 2008. He was 95. Coke was born in Southsea, Hampshire, England, on April 3, 1913. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and began appearing on stage and ﬁlms in the late 1930s. His ﬁlm credits include Missing, Believed Married (1937), The Return of Carol Deane (1938), Keep Smiling (1938), I Met a Murderer (1939), The Nursemaid Who Disappeared (1939), A Gentleman’s Gentleman (1939), and Cheer Boys Cheer (1939). He served in the British Royal Artillery during World War II and had difﬁculty resuming his ﬁlm career after the war. He opened an antique business and returned to the stage. He also began writing plays with The Isle of Umbrellas in 1950. He became the voice of detective Paul Temple on British radio in 1954 and continued to perform the role through 1968. He was also featured in the ﬁlms The Broken Horseshoe (1953), John and Julie (1955), The Extra Day (1956), Carry On Ad-

81

2008 • Obituaries 1960s including The Sonny and Cher Show, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, Hullabaloo, and Shindig! He toured with singers Andy Williams and Roger Miller and recorded the psychedelic album Animated Egg in 1966. Cole also performed on the Elvis Presley television special Aloha from Hawaii in 1973, and worked as a studio musician with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. He continued his career in music throughout his life, recording the surf album Back to the Boards in 2006.

Peter Coke

miral (1957), and Up the Creek (1958). He was seen on British television in episodes of The Teckman Biography, Gravelhanger, Colonel March of Scotland Yard, and The Adventures of Sir Lancelot. Coke was author of the play The Breath of Spring, which was produced on Broadway and London’s West End. It was adapted for the 1960 ﬁlm Make Mine Mink and for a French television production in 1962. He also wrote the 1963 television production of Tin Pan Alice. His other plays include Gentle Guardsmen (1961), Sleepy Mermaid (1962), Fool’s Paradise (1963), In Conﬁdence (1964), Face to Face (1965), Midsummer Mink (1965), The Man Who Wrote in Bed (1968), Taxpayers’ Waltz (1970), What Are Little Girls Made Of ? (1978), Autumn Manoeuvres (1983), and Winter Glory (1988).

COLE, JERRY Leading guitarist Jerry Cole died of a heart attack at his home in Corona, California, on May 28, 2008. He was 68. He was born Jerald Kolbrack in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on September 23, 1939. He joined The Champs in the late 1950s and recorded with them on the 1958 hit “Tequila.” He headed to Los Angeles where he teamed with other musicians as Jerry Cole and His Spacemen to record several space-age and surf albums including Outer Limits (1963). He was part of Phil Spector’s session band known as the Wrecking Crew and recorded with such top bands as the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and Paul Revere and the Raiders. Cole worked as a studio guitarist on numerous television shows in the

Jerry Cole

COLEMAN, RICHARD British actor Richard Coleman died in France on December 16, 2008. He was 78. Coleman was born in Peckham, South London, England, on January 20, 1930. He began appearing in amateur productions onstage and entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1951. He became a familiar face

Richard Coleman

on British television by the end of the decade. He was also seen in a handful of ﬁlms during his career, including Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst (1957), Girls at Sea (1958), The Navy Lark (1959), Ben-Hur (1959) as Metellus, 80,000 Suspects (1963), Rotten to the Core (1965), Naked Evil (1966), Countdown to Danger (1967), 10 Rillington Place (1971), Hide and Seek (1972), The Comoedia (1981), Who Dares Wins (1982), and Down Rusty Down (1996). Coleman starred as Nick Allarydce in the 1958 television series The Adventures of Ben Gunn, and was Merry Man Alan-a-Dale in The Adventures of Robin Hood from 1959 to 1960. He starred as David Redway in the series And Mother Makes Three from 1972 to 1973, and And Mother Makes Five from 1974 to 1976. His other television credits include the series All Aboard, Plateau of Fear, Dimensions of Fear, Secret Beneath the Sea, Zero One, Dixon of Dock Green, No Hiding Place, The Man in Room 17, Theatre 625, The Avengers, Weavers Green, Redcap, Champion House, ITV Playhouse, Armchair Theatre, 1969 mini-series Letters from the Dead, Z Cars, the 1974 Thriller episode A Cofﬁn for the Bride, George & Mildred, Wings, Robin’s Nest, Private Schulz, Freddie and Max, Surgical Spirit, and Virtual Murder.

COLLIER, IAN British character actor Ian Collier died in England on October 1, 2008. Collier made his ﬁlm debut in a small role in the 1969 production of Hamlet. He was a familiar face on television from the 1970s, with roles in such series as The Pathﬁnders, Renta-

Obituaries • 2008

82 mobile. Over the next several years, Collins continued to suffer from ill effects from the crash and did occasional work in commercials.

Ian Collier

ghost, Target, The Duchess of Duke Street, The Sweeney, The Famous Five, Tycoon, Return of the Saint, Danger UXB, Minder, Fox, Cribb, Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years, Bognor, Hi-De-Hi!, Doctor Who, A Fine Romance, Bergerac, Play for Today, Juliet Bravo, Are You Being Served?, EastEnders, Howards’ Way, C.A.T.S. Eyes, Rockliffe’s Babies, Gentlemen and Players, Colin’s Sandwich, Boon, Agatha Christie: Poirot, All Creatures Great and Small, House of Cards, The Bill, Keeping Up Appearances, Jeeves and Wooster, and Paul Merton, the Series. He was also seen in television productions of Rebecca (1979), The Lady’s Maid’s Bell (1985), Hitler’s S.S.: Portrait in Evil (1985), Hold the Back Page (1985), The Detectives (1985), The Happy Valley (1987), The Charmer (1987), Thin Air (1988), and Rules of Engagement (1989). Collier also appeared in a handful of ﬁlms during his career including The Next Man (1976) with Sean Connery, A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (1979), Tangiers (1982), and Heritage Africa (1989).

COLLINS, NATASHA British children’s television performer Natasha Collins was found dead of a likely accidental cocaine overdose in the bath of the penthouse she shared with her ﬁancé, television personality Mark Speight, on January 3, 2008. She was 31. Collins was born in England on July 7, 1976. She began her career on British television in the late 1990s, appearing as a jester named See in the children’s television series See It Saw It. Speight also starred in the series as the King. Collins also appeared in the 1999 tele-ﬁlm Real Women II, and was Betty Peep in the 2000 mini-series The 10th Kingdom. Her career in television largely ended in 2000, when she was left in a coma after running into an auto-

Natasha Collins

COLLINS, ROBERT E. Cinematographer Robert E. Collins died after a long illness in WinstonSalem, North Carolina, on December 1, 2008. He was 73. Collins was born in Lubbock, Texas, in 1935. He moved to Hollywood while in his teens and was soon working as an editor at a local television station. He became a director of photography for ﬁlms and television in the early 1970s, ﬁlming the movies On Any Sunday (1971), John Landis’ 1973 cult classic Schlock which also featured him in a small role as the bartender, You and Me (1975), Paciﬁc Challenge (1975), Cannonball! (1976), Cracking Up (1977), The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977),

Robert E. Collins

Superman (1978), King of the Mountain (1981), Octopussy (1983), Americana (1983), 16 Days of Glory (1986), Michael Jackson: Moonwalker (1988), Double or Nothing: The Rise and Fall of Robert Campuis (1992), and To Sell a Child (1994). Collins worked frequently in television from the 1970s, and was the recipient to Emmy Awards for his photography on the 1970 special Pegg y Fleming at Sun Valley, and for the premiere episode of Miami Vice in 1984. He also won a Daytime Emmy Award for the 1972 ABC Afterschool Special episode “The Heartbreak Winner,” and received an Emmy nomination for his work on Airwolf in 1984. His other television credits in the television productions Dead Man on the Run (1975), Revenge for a Rape (1976), Danger in Paradise (1977), The Gathering, Part II (1979), The Scarlet Letter (1979), High Ice (1980), Swan Song (1980), The Return of Frank Cannon (1980), Deadly Encounter (1982), Packin’ It In (1983), The Hoboken Chicken Emergency (1984), Sins of the Father (1985), Generation (1985), The Making of “Captain Eo” (1986), Club Med (1986), A Fighting Choice (1986), Destination America (1987), and The Teachings of Jon (2006). His other television credits include episodes of Kojak, Hart to Hart, The Twilight Zone, The Bronx Zoo, and Dinosaurs.

COLLINS, ROBERTA Actress Roberta Collins, the busty blonde who livened up many cult ﬁlms in the 1970s, died of an accidental overdose of drugs and alcohol on August 16, 2008. She was 63. Collins was born on

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2008 • Obituaries also appeared in the 1972 French television production of The Adventures of Pinocchio and the 1974 ﬁlm The Wonderful Crook. He was featured as Cavallo in the 1998 French ﬁlm The Red Dwarf. He was a frequent performer in a small theater near Florence, Italy, in his later years. COLT, ALVIN Tony Award–winning Broadway costume designer Alvin Colt died in a New York City hospital on May 4, 2008. He was 92. Colt was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on July 5, 1915. He made his Broadway debut designing costumes for the 1944 musical On the Town. He earned a Tony Award for his work on the 1955 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Pipe Dream. He also designed for Top Banana on stage in 1951 and for ﬁlm in 1954, and for both the stage (1956) and

Roberta Collins

November 17, 1944. She began her acting career in the late 1960s, appearing on television in episodes of Adam-12, Here Come the Brides, Cade’s County, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Rockford Files, and B.J. and the Bear. She became a ﬁxture in cult ﬁlms with 1971’s The Big Doll House as Alcott. She continued to grace the screen in such features as Unholy Rollers (1972), Sweet Kill (1973), The Roommates (1973), Wonder Women (1973), the tele-ﬁlm Terror the Beach (1973), Three the Hard Way (1974), Caged Heat (1974), Death Race 2000 (1975) as Matilda the Hun, Train Ride to Hollywood (1975), The Witch Who Came from the Sea (1976), Eaten Alive (aka Starlight Slaughter) (1977), Whiskey Mountain (1977), the 1977 television mini-series Harold Robbins’ 79 Park Avenue, Speedtrap (1977), Matilda (1978), Saturday the 14th (1981), Death Wish II (1982) with Charles Bronson, Hardbodies (1984), the tele-ﬁlm Anatomy of an Illness (1984), School Spirit (1985), Hardbodies 2 (1986), and Vendetta (1986).

COLOMBAIONI, CARLO Italian clown Carlo Colombaioni died in France on May 16, 2008. He was 75. Colombaioni was born in Ancona, Italy, in 1932, to a circus family and learned the art of clowning from his father. He performed in the circus as a clown, mime, juggler, and acrobat before taking to the stage. Colombaioni also worked with director Federico Fellini as an advisor and sometimes actor for such ﬁlms as La Strada, I Clown, Amarcord, Roma, and Casanova. He also worked on theatrical projects with Nobel laureate Dario Fo. He

Carlo Colombaioni

Alvin Colt

ﬁlm (1959) productions of Li’l Abner. His other Broadway credits include Guys and Dolls (1950), The Lark (1955), Destry Rides Again (1959), and Here’s Love (1963). Colt designed costumes for the television productions The Enchanted Nutcracker (1961) and Kiss Me Kate (1968), and the 1969 ﬁlm Stiletto. He also worked on the 1976 television mini-series The Adams Chronicles. Colt’s later designs graced Forbidden Broadway, the long-running series of satirical revues, creating outlandish designs to spoof hit Broadway plays.

COMINOS, NICHOLAS H. Documentary ﬁlmmaker Nicholas H. Cominos died at his home in East Bay, California, on March 14, 2008. He was 84.

Nicholas Cominos

Obituaries • 2008 Cominos was born on May 14, 1923, to a family of Greek immigrants who settled in the Central Valley of California. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and was part of the Ofﬁce of Strategic Services, working behind enemy lines. Cominos later became active in making documentary ﬁlms for television. He produced and directed several National Geographic Specials in the early 1970s, and the documentaries Here Comes Tomorrow: The Fear Fighters (1972) and Strange Creatures of the Night (1973). He was also associate producer and editor for The Making of “Star Wars” (1977), and edited Roots: One Year Later (1978). He left ﬁlmmaking to teach at the University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Radio, Television, and Film where his students included Richard Linklater, Robert Rodriguez, and the Coen Brothers. He retired to Northern California in 2001.

COMMANDEUR, JACQUES

Dutch actor Jacques Commandeur died in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on December 29, 2008. He was 73. Commandeur was born in The Hague, the Netherlands, on February 26, 1935. He appeared frequently in Dutch ﬁlm and television from the early 1960s. He was best known in the United States for his role as the Prison Commander in

Jacques Commandeur

1977’s Soldier of Orange. He was also seen in the ﬁlms Mr. Slotter’s Jubilee (1979), One Could Laugh in Former Days (1983), De Anna (1983), Vincent & Theo (1990), The Northerners (1993), The Three Best Things in Life (1992), Old Tongues (1994), House Calls (1994), The Dress (1996), Dying to Go Home (1996), Somberman’s Action (2000), Oorlogsrust (2006), and Bride Flight (2008). He was also featured in television productions of Het Onderzoek (1966), Onder een Dak (1967), Koeboe de Koe (1970), Uilenspiegel (1973), Los Zand (1989), De Brug (1990), Werther Nieland (1991), Vreemde Levens—De Draden van Anansi (1996), and Baantjer, de Film: De Cock en de Wraak Zonder Einde (1999). Commandeur starred as Jacobus Spaargaren in the television series De Kleine Waarheid in 1971, and was Patient #4 in Wij Alexander in 1998. He was also featured in episodes of Opzoek naar Yolanda, Mus, Zwarte Sneeuw, Wet & Waan, and Grijpstra & de Gier.

CONNER, BRUCE Artist and experimental ﬁlmmaker Bruce Conner died in San Francisco, Cali-

84

Bruce Conner

fornia, after a long illness on July 7, 2008. He was 74. Conner was born in McPherson, Kansas, on November 18, 1933. He studied art in college and moved to San Francisco in 1957, where he became involved in the beat movement. He gained attention for his paintings, sculptures, and assemblages, that often included found objects. He also began making ﬁlms in the late 1950s, beginning with 1958’s A MOVIE, a non-narrative short that incorporated footage from old ﬁlms and newsreels. It was selected for inclusion by the United States National Film Registry at the Library of Congress in 1991. Conner continued to exhibit his unique artwork and create his ﬁlms over the next ﬁve decades. His ﬁlm output, consisting primarily of avant garde shorts that incorporated music from such artists as Terry Riley, Brian Eno, David Byrne, and DEVO, include Cosmic Ray (1962), Vivian (1964), Ten Second Film (1965), Easter Morning Raga (1966), Breakaway (1966), The White Rose (1967), Report (1967), Luke (1967), Looking for Mushrooms (1967), Antonia Christina Basilotta (1968), Permian Strata (1969), Marilyn Times Five (1973), Take the 5:10 to Dreamland (1976), Crossroads (1976), Valse Triste (1977), Mongoloid (1978), America Is Waiting (1982), Television Assassination (1995), a revised Looking for Mushrooms (1996), Eve-RayForever (2006), His Eye Is on the Sparrow (2006), and Easter Morning.

COOK, FRED Veteran radio personality Fred Cook died of complications from lung cancer and pneu-

Fred Cook

85 monia at a Memphis, Tennessee, hospital on December 5, 2008. He was 83. Cook began his radio career at the campus station of the University of Connecticut, and several years at a local station in Norwich, Connecticut, before coming to Memphis in 1950. He was hired by WREC and began teaming with John Powell in 1962. The two men entertained listeners with their witty banter for several decades on such shows as Zero Hour and The Cook and Powell Show. Cook also worked as a television announcer at WREG-TV and WPTY-TV and in later years did voiceover commercials.

COOPER, MARY Actress Mary Cooper died at her home in Manhattan, New York, on October 22, 2008. Cooper was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, and began her career on the New York stage in the early 1940s. She was featured in such Broadway productions as The Doughgirls (1942), Winged Victory (1943), Harvey (1944), The French Touch (1945), and Cloud 7 (1958). Cooper also appeared in the 1951 ﬁlm Bright Victory. She was featured as Josette DuPres Collins in several episodes of the Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows in 1971 and was seen as Mrs. Timmons on the soap The Edge of Night in 1981. Cooper was married to British producer Victor Payne-Jennings from 1952 until his death in 1962. COPE, MYRON Sportscaster Myron Cope, who was color commentator for the Pittsburgh Steelers for 35 years, died of respiratory problems and heart fail-

2008 • Obituaries COPLEY, PETER British character actor Peter Copley died in Bristol, England, on October 7, 2008. He was 93. Copley was born in Bushey, Hertfordshire, England, on May 20, 1915. He began his career on stage in the early 1930s, and made his ﬁlm debut in 1934’s Tell Me if It Hurts. He was also seen in the 1937 ﬁlm Farewell Again and performed on stage over the next decade. He also trained as a lawyer, and occasionally handled cases in court. He became a familiar face in ﬁlms and television from the 1950s. His numerous ﬁlm credits include Golden Salamander (1950), The Elusive Pimpernel (1950), The Promoter (1952), The Hour of 13 (1952), The Sword and the Rose (1953), The Clue of the Missing Ape (1953), Saadia (1953), The Woman for Joe (1955), Foreign Intrigue (1956), Peril for the Guy (1956), The Man Without a Body (1957), Time Without Pity (1957), Just My Luck (1957), A Tale of Two Cities (1958), The Mystery in the Mine (1959), Follow That Horse! (1960), Victim (1961), The Third Secret (1964), King & Country (1964), The Knack ... and How to Get It (1965), Help! (1965) starring the Beatles, The Jokers (1967), Quatermass and the Pit (aka Five Million Years to Earth) (1967), The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968), Walk a Crooked Path (1969), Mosquito Squadron (1969), Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969), All at Sea (1970), The Engagement (1970), That’s Your Funeral (1972), What Became of Jack and Jill? (1972), Gawain and the Green Knight (1973), Hennessy (1975), Peer Gynt (1976), Shout at the Devil (1976), The Black Panther (1977), Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980), Empire of the Sun (1987), Second Best (1994), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), and Oliver Twist (2005). Copley also appeared in television productions of Arms and the Man (1952), Beau Brummell (1954), Ninety Sail (1954), Monteserrat (1954), The End Begins (1956), The Government Inspector (1958), The Last Chronicle of Barset (1959) as Mr. Thumble, The Small Black Room (1959), The Concert (1959), The Naked Lady (1959), Dimensions of Fear (1963), A Game of Murder (1966), The Devil’s Eggshell (1966), The Forsyte Saga (1967), Tower of London: The Innocent (1969), Jane Eyre (1970), The Hill of the Red Fox (1975), Bill Brand (1976), Anna Karenina (1977), Churchill and the Generals (1979) as Gen. Sir John Dill, Witness for the Prosecution (1982), Caught in a Free State (1984), The Prisoner of Zenda (1984), The Importance of Being Earnest (1986), Return to Treasure Island (1986),

Myron Cope

ure at a Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania, nursing home on February 27, 2008. He was 79. He was born Myron Sidney Kopelman in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on January 23, 1929. He began his career as a sports journalist, writing for such magazines as Sports Illustrated and Saturday Evening Post. He started doing some sports commentary on television in the late 1960s before being hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He became noted for his shrill, nasally voice and off beat speech pattern that made him an icon to fans and players alike. He was largely responsible for the ritual of Steelers fans waving yellow dish towels, which became known as the Terrible Towel, at the games. Cope remained the radio color analyst for the team from 1970 until his retirement 2004. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2005.

Peter Copley

Obituaries • 2008 Les Aventuriers du Nouveau-Monde (1986), Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple: Nemesis (1987), Never Say Die (1987), A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia (1990), The Paper Man (1990), Far from the Madding Crowd (1998), Janice Beard 45 wpm (1999), Strange (2002), Riot at the Rite (2005), and Terry Pratchett’s The Colour of Magic (2008). Copley’s other television credits include episodes of Sherlock Holmes, Fabian of Scotland Yard, The Other Man, No Hiding Place, Maigret, Suspense, The Plane Makers, Danger Man, Thorndyke as Dr. John Evelyn Thorndyke, The Saint, ITV Play of the Week, Redcap, Knock on Any Door, The Wednesday Play, Half Hour Story, Sanctuary, The Informer, Theatre 625, The Expert, The Avengers, The Troubleshooters, The Champions, The Prior Commitment, The Gold Robbers, Detective, Department S, Manhunt, Paul Temple, Doomwatch, Big Brother, Bless This House, Hadleigh, Out of the Unknown, Z Cars, You’re Only Young Twice, The Brothers, The Regiment, Callan, Softly Softly, The Long Chase, Justice, Follyfoot, Armchair Theatre, Arthur of the Britons, Vienna 1900, Fall of Eagles, Father Brown, The Venturers, Sky, Survivors, Doctor Who as Dr. Warlock in 1975 episode “Pyramids of Mars,” Sutherland’s Law, The Cedar Tree, The New Avengers, Three Piece Suite, The Foundation, The Famous Five, Crown Court, Flambards, Premiere, Tales of the Unexpected, Bless Me Father, Play for Today, Into the Labyrinth, The Chinese Detective, Nanny, The Gathering Seed, Hot Metal, One Foot in the Grave, Agatha Christie: Poirot, Josie, Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Grange Hill, Lovejoy, Cadfael, Jonathan Creek, The Bill, Where the Heart Is, Casualty, Wives and Daughters, Doctors, and The Last Detective.

86 tores Pintorescos (1967), and Lady of the Night (1993). He was also a popular television performer from the 1960s with roles in such series as Un Amor en la Sombra, Un Hijo Cayo del Cielo, La Duquessa, Atormentada, El Cuarto Mandamiento, Cuna Vacia, Estino la Gloria, Lo Que no Fue, Rosario, Cosa Juzgada, Aventura, La Constitucion, El Amor Tiene Cara de Mujer, Amaras a tu Projimo, Marcha Nupcial, Viviana, J.J. Jues, Un Solo Corazon, Los Anos Felices, Flor y Canela, Mas Alla del Puente, Pobre Nina Rica, La Usurpadora, Abrazame Muy Fuerte, Entre el Amor y el Odio, Peregrina, and Inocente de Ti. Corcega also became a leading director of television series and telenovelas in the 1970s, helming episodes of El Precio de un Hombre, La Maestra, Esperandote, Marionetas, Amor en Silencio, Como Duele Callar, Yo no Creo en los Hombres, Mi Segunda Madre, Cuando Ilega el Amor, Los Parientes Pobres, Entre la Vida y la Muerte, Mas Alla del Puente, Alondra, Te Sigo Amando, Lazos de Amor, Maria Isabel, El Privilegio de Amar, Mi Destino Eres Tu, Embrace Me Tightly, Sin Pecado Concebido, Entre el Amor y el Odio, Mariana de la Noche, Inocente de Ti, La Esposa Virgen, Peregrina, Estilando Amor, and Fuego en la Sangre. Corcega starred as Padre Anselmo in the tele-novela Cuidado con el Angel in 2008 until he was forced to retire due to poor health.

CORDOBA, IRMA Argentine actress Irma Cordoba died in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on May 18, 2008. She was 94. Cordoba was born in Buenos Aires on July 20, 1913. She began her career in ﬁlms in the early 1930s with

CORCEGA, MIGUEL Mexican actor and television director Miguel Corcega died of complications from a stroke in Mexico City on September 29, 2008. He was 78. Corcega was born in Mexico City on October 24, 1929. He began his screen career as an actor in the late 1940s, with roles in such ﬁlms as La Dama del Velo (1949), Las Dos Huerfanitas (1951), Carne de Presidio (1952), El Vendedor de Munecas (1955), Pura Vida (1956), El Medallon del Crimen (El 13 de Oro) (1956), Cada Hijo una Cruz (1957), El Zarco (1959), El Dolor de Pagar la Renta (1960), Y Dios la Llamo Tierra (1961), El Fusilamiento (1962), Our Hateful Husbands (1962), Dos PinIrma Cordoba

Miguel Corcega

roles in such features as Buenos Aires Nights (1935), The Favorite (1935), Internado (1935), El Forastero (1937), Los Muchachos de Antes no Usaban Gomina (1937), La Muchacha del Circo (1937), Outside the Law (1937), Three Argentines in Paris (1938), Atorrante (1939), Cuatro Corazones (1939), Last Refuge (1941), Locos de Verano (1942), The Wedding Night (1942), A Light in the Window (1942), Delirio (1944), Mirad los Lirios del Campo (1947), The Poor People’s Christmas (1947), Las Locas del Conventillo (1966), and Maternidad sin Hombres (1968). Cordoba continued to perform in ﬁlms and television over the next three decades, appearing in the television series Esta Noche ... Miedo, Me Llaman Gorrion, Profesion, Ama de Casa, Fabian 2 Mariana 0, Yolanda Lujan, A, or Pro-

87

2008 • Obituaries

hibido, Stress, and El Precio del Poder. She also appeared in the 1974 television productions of Separate Tables. Her later ﬁlm credits include La Sonrisa de Mama (1972), Me Gusta esa Chica (1973), Barbara (1980), Venido a Menos (1984), Eva Peron: The True Story (1996), and El Mundo Contra Mi (1997).

CORRIERI, SERGIO Cuban actor Sergio Corrieri Hernandez died in Havana, Cuba, on February 29, 2008. He was 68. Corrieri was born in Havana on March 2, 1939. He began training as an actor while in his teens and performed frequently on stage during the 1960s. He was also seen in the ﬁlms Cuba 8 058 (1962), I Am Cuba (1964), Desarraigo (1965), Papeles son PapeAttilio Corsini

Madrid, Spain, while he was teaching a course in ﬁlm production on February 27, 2008. He was 73. Cortazar was born in Havana, Cuba, on January 19, 1935. He was noted for directing the 1967 documentary Por Primera Vez (For the First Time) and the 1977 feature ﬁlm El Brigadista (The Teacher). His other ﬁlm credits include Casablanca (1961), Hablando del Punto Cubano (1972),

Sergio Corrieri

les (1966), and La Ausencia (1968). He was best known for his role as Sergio Carmona Mendoyo in Manuel Perez’s ﬁlm Memories of Underdevelopment in 1968. His other ﬁlm credits include The Man from Maisinicu (1973) as Alberto Delgado, Mella (1976), Mina, Wind of Freedom (1977), Black River (1977), Baraqua (1985), and Como la Vida Misma (1987). He also starred in the Cuban television series En Silencio ha Tenido que Ser and El Regreso de David. Corrieri was also a leading theatrical director, and was a founder of Grupo Teatro Estudio and Teatro Escambray. He left acting in 1989 to serve as head of the Cuban Central Committee’s Culture Department and was vice president of the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television. He was also president of the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples from 1990.

CORSINI, ATTILIO Italian stage and ﬁlm actor Attilio Corsini died in a Rome hospital on August 6, 2008. He was 63. Corsini spent twenty years performing with the Teatro Vittoria di Testaccio. He also appeared in a handful of ﬁlms during his career including Black Tigress (1967), The Howl (1970), Vacation (1971), and Detective School Dropouts (1986). He was also featured in television productions of Oliver Cromwell: Ritratto di un Dittatore (1969), Nero Wolfe: La Casa Degli Attori (1970), Marty (1971), Nero Wolfe: La Bella Bugiarda (1971), Orestea (1975), Macbeth (1975), and La Riva di Charleston (1978). CORTAZAR, OCTAVIO Cuban ﬁlm director Octavio Cortazar died suddenly of a heart attack in

Octavio Cortazar

Guardafronteras (1980), The Last Rumba of Papa Montero (1992), Derecho de Asilo (1992), La Pequena Ache (2004), and Con la Memoria en el Futuro (2005). Cortazar was the founder of the International Film and Television School at San Antonio de Los Banos, Cuba, near Havana. He was also the director of the Huron Azul Documentary Development Center at the National Association of Cuban Writers and Artists. COSSERY, ALBERT Egyptian-French writer Albert Cossery died in Paris on June 21, 2008. He was 94. Cossery was born in Cairo, Egypt, on November 3, 1913. He was educated by the Christian Brothers in Egypt, where he developed a love for classical literature. He published a collection of poems, Morsures, in 1931, and his ﬁrst novel, Les Hommes Oublies de Dieu (Men Forgotten by God) was published in 1944. He relocated to Paris the following year where he took up residence at the Hotel Louisiane. Cossery’s literary output was slight, though signiﬁcant, reﬂecting his ideals of idleness and pleasure. Many of his works were adapted to ﬁlm in-

Obituaries • 2008

88

Albert Cossery

John Costelloe

cluding The Marriage Came Tumbling Down (1967), Beggars and Proud Ones (1971) and (1991), Black Thursday (1974), The Idlers of the Fertile Valley (1978), and La Maison de la Memoire (1983).

Kiss of Death (1995), Kazaam (1996), Celebrity (1998) Crooked Lines (2003), The Kings of Brooklyn (2004), and Doubt (2008). Costelloe portrayed gay short-order cook Jim “Johnny Cakes” Witowski, the lover of closeted mobster Vito Spatafore, played by Joseph Gannascoli, in the hit HBO series The Sopranos in 2006. His other television credits include episodes of Tribeca, Central Park West, and Law & Order. COTTON, SIR BILL British television producer Sir Bill Cotton, who headed the BBC’s light entertainment division in the 1970s, died in Bournemouth, Dorset, England, on August 11, 2008. He was 80. Cotton was born in London on April 23, 1928, the son of

COSTACOS, GEORGE Actor George Costacos died on November 17, 2008. He was 43. Costacos came to the United States while in his teens, and em-

George Costacos

barked on a career on stage. He was originally billed under the name George Best, but reverted to his family name Costacos later in his career. He was featured in numerous productions on the New York Stage including Balm in Gilead, Hair, The Conﬁdence Man, and Opa! He was featured in small roles in the ﬁlms To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995) and Trick (1999), and participated in the opening ceremonies of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

COSTELLOE, JOHN Actor John Costelloe, who was featured as Johnny Cakes on the television series The Sopranos, died of a self-inﬂicted gunshot wound at his home in Brooklyn, New York, on December 16, 2008. He was 47. Costelloe was a former New York City ﬁreﬁghter who appeared in ﬁlms from the late 1980s. He was seen in the ﬁlms Black Rain (1989), Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989), Die Hard 2 (1990), The Hard Way (1991), Billy Bathgate (1991), Joey Breaker (1993), Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993), Who Do I Gotta Kill? (1994),

Bill Cotton

bandleader Billy Cotton. The younger Cotton began working for the BBC in 1956 as a producer of light entertainment programs including Six-Five Special, Off the Record, and his father’s Billy Cotton’s Band Show. He was assistant head of the light entertainment division from 1962, and was promoted to lead the BBC Light Entertainment Group in 1970. He was instrumental in bringing The Morecambe and Wise Show to the BBC, creating the popular series The Generation Game, and pairing Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett together as The Two Ronnies. Cotton became Controller of BBC1 in 1977, and continued to promote such popular comedies as Only Fools and Horses, Yes Minister, and Yes, Prime Minister through the 1980s. He served as managing director of

89 BBC Television from 1984 to 1988. After his retirement he served as a director of the Noel Gay Organization, and produced Dave Allen’s ITV series. Cotton was knighted for his services to television in 2001.

COUGHLIN, DAVID Actor David Coughlin died in California on July 2, 2008. He was 47. Coughlin was born on August 22, 1960. He began his career

David Coughlin

on stage before moving to California in the late 1980s. He was featured in several ﬁlms, including Galactic Gigolo (1988), Inrapture (1989), Cemetery High (1989), The Marilyn Diaries (1990), the tele-ﬁlm Affairs of the Heart (1992), Beauty School (1993), and New York Nights (1994).

COURAGE, ALEXANDER Film and television composer Alexander Courage, whose fanfare for the Starship Enterprise served as the theme for the original Star Trek television series, died after a long illness in a nursing home in Paciﬁc Palisades, California, on May 15, 2008. He was 88. Courage was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 10, 1919. He studied music from an early age and served as a band leader while in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He joined CBS Radio after the war, composing and conducting for such shows as The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective, Screen Guild Theater, Hedda Hopper’s This Is Hollywood, and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. He began working in ﬁlms in

Alexander Courage

2008 • Obituaries the early 1950s, scoring such low budget classics as Pagan Love Song (1950), Hot Rod Girl (1956), Shake, Rattle and Rock! (1956), Sierra Stranger (1957), Hot Rod Rumble (1957), My Gun Is Quick (1957), Undersea Girl (1957), Handle with Care (1958), The Left Handed Gun (1958), Tokyo After Dark (1959), Day of the Outlaw (1959), and Follow the Boys (1963). Courage also served as an orchestrator and arranger at MGM, where he worked on such ﬁlms as Annie Get Your Gun (1950), Show Boat (1951), The Belle of New York (1952), Singin’ in the Rain (1952), Million Dollar Mermaid (1952), The Band Wagon (1953), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), Deep in My Heart (1954), Kismet (1955), Oklahoma! (1955), Guys and Dolls (1955), Crime in the Streets (1956), Funny Face (1957), The Sun Also Rises (1957), Les Girls (1957), Raintree Country (1957), Gigi (1958), The Big Country (1958), Porg y and Bess (1959), Bells Are Ringing (1960), The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), My Fair Lady (1964), The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965), Do Not Disturb (1965), Stagecoach (1966), Hello, Dolly! (1969), Fiddler on the Roof (1971), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), and The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977). He shared an Academy Award nomination with Lionel Newman for his adaptation score for The Pleasure Seekers (1964), and he and Newman were also nominated for their work on Doctor Dolittle in 1967. Courage began writing for television in the 1960s, with his most notable composition being the eight-note brass signature theme announcing the start of Star Trek in 1965. He scored several episodes of the series and his theme was passed down through all the various incarnations that followed over the next 40 years. He also composed the music for such television series as Riverboat, National Velvet, Bus Stop, Daniel Boone, The Loner, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Judd for the Defense, Lost in Space, Land of the Giants, Medical Center, Apple’s Way, Eight Is Enough, and The Waltons, scoring over 150 episodes of the series from 1972 to 1981. He earned an Emmy Award for his role as principal arranger for the 1987 television special Julie Andrews: The Sound of Christmas for ABC. Courage coordinated the music for the 1982 ﬁlm Yes, Giorgio starring Luciano Pavarotti, and appeared onscreen in the role of a conductor. He continued to work in ﬁlms as an orchestrator for such composers as John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith, with such credits as Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1987), Legend (1985), Extreme Prejudice (1987), Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), Lionheart (1987), The Bear (1988), Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), Sleeping with the Enemy (1991), The Last Butterﬂy (1991), Hook (1991), Basic Instinct (1992), Mom and Dad Save the World (1992), Mr. Baseball (1992), Love Field (1992), Matinee (1993), Jurassic Park (1993), Dennis the Menace (1993), Rudy (1993), Malice (1993), The Shadow (1994), The River Wild (1994), I.Q. (1994), First Knight (1995), Powder (1995), Executive Decision (1995), The Ghost and the Darkness (1996), L.A. Conﬁdential (1997), Air Force One (1997), The Edge (1997), Deep Rising (1998), U.S. Marshals (1998), Moulan (1998), Small Soldiers (1999), The Mummy (1999), The 13th Warrior (1999), The Haunting (1999), and Hollow Man (2000). Courage was a founding member of the Composers and Lyricists Guild of America in the 1950s.

Obituaries • 2008 COURT, HAZEL British leading lady Hazel Court, who was best known for her roles in horror ﬁlms in the late 1950s and early 1960s, died of a heart attack at her home near Lake Tahoe, Nevada, on April 15, 2008. She was 82. Court was born in Sutton Coldﬁeld, Birmingham, England, on February 10, 1926. She began performing on stage while in her teens and made her ﬁlm debut in a small role in 1944’s Champagne Charlie. The lovely redhead with piercing green eyes soon became a popular actress and model. Court was featured in such ﬁlms as Dreaming (1945), Gaiety George (1946), Carnival (1946), Root of All Evil (1947), Meet Me at Dawn (1947), Hungry Hill (1947), Dear Murderer (1947), Holiday Camp (1947), Forbidden (1948), Bond Street (1948), My Sister and I (1948), Ghost Ship (1952), Counterspy (1953), Tale of Three Women (1954), Present for a Bride (1954), Devil Girl from Mars (1954), Scarlet Web (1954), The Narrowing Circle (1956), Behind the Headlines (1956), and Hour of Decision (1957). She starred as Elizabeth in the 1957 Hammer Films horror classic The Curse of Frankenstein with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. She solidiﬁed her reputation as one of ﬁlmdom’s leading “Scream Queens” with roles in The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959) and Dr. Blood’s Cofﬁn (1961). Her other ﬁlm credits include A Woman of Mystery (1958), The Shakedown (1959), Model for Murder (1959), Breakout (1959), and Mary Had a Little (1961). Court was also a familiar face on British television, starring as Jane Starrett in the 1957 comedy series Dick and the Duchess with Patrick O’Neal. She also guest-starred in episodes of such series as The Buccaneers, The Gentle Killers, The Gay Cavalier, Playhouse 90, The Third Man, Invisible Man, Markham, Alcoa Theatre, Adventures in Paradise, Interpol Calling, General Electric Theater, The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre, Danger Man, Top Secret, and Ghost Squad. She largely relocated to Hollywood in the early 1960s where she starred in several of Roger Corman’s adaptations of tales of horror by Edgar Allan Poe. Court co-starred with Ray Milland in 1962’s Premature Burial, and was the beautiful yet evil Lenore Craven in 1963’s The Raven with horror legends Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, and Peter Lorre, and newcomer Jack Nicholson. She again starred with Price in 1964’s The Masque of the Red Death in the role of Juliana. Court was also seen on television in Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Boris Karloff ’s

Hazel Court

90 Thriller, Kraft Mystery Theater, Bonanza, Stagecoach West, The Dick Powell Show, Sam Benedict, Rawhide, Twilight Zone, The Farmer’s Daughter, 12 O’Clock High in the recurring role of Liz Woodruff, Burke’s Law, Dr. Kildare in the recurring role Norma Hobart, The Wackiest Ship in the Army, Gidget, The Wild Wild West, The Iron Horse, Mission: Impossible, Mannix, The Name of the Game, and McMillan and Wife. Married to director Don Taylor until his death in 1998, she retired from the screen in the early 1970s, though she made a brief cameo appearance in the 1981 horror ﬁlm The Final Conﬂict. Court was also a distinguished sculptor and painter, and had recently completed her autobiography, Hazel Court— Horror Queen.

COURTNEY, OPAL, JR. R&B singer Opal Courtney, Jr., who was a founding member of the early doo-wop band the Spaniels, died from a heart attack at his home in Gary, Indiana, on September 18, 2008. He was 71. Courtney was born on November 11, 1936, and

Opal Courtney, Jr.

began performing with Pookie Hudson & The Hudsonaires while attending high school in Gary, Indiana, in 1952. They soon changed their name to the Spaniels. Led by R&B singer James “Pookie” Hudson, the group became the ﬁrst band to feature a lead vocalist on one microphone, while the other members shared a second microphone backing him up on harmonies. They were one of the ﬁrst artists to sign on with the legendary black label Vee Jay Records, and released their debut album, Baby It’s You, in 1953. They also had a hit with their 1954 song, “Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite.” Courtney left the group soon after the release of the song due to ﬁnancial frustrations to pursue a career in the United States Air Force. In 1991, the Spaniels received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and Courtney appeared with the group in 1993 for a reunion show. James “Pookie” Hudson died after a long battle with cancer on January 16, 2007.

COVELL, WALTER Character actor Walter Covell died in Barrington, Rhode Island, on November 11, 2008. He was 91. Covell was born in Barrington on January 6, 1917. He graduated from Brown University in 1938, where was active with the drama department. He worked for several radio stations in the northeast after graduations and served in the Merchant Marine during

91

2008 • Obituaries organization that became known as Rogers & Cowan in 1950. He orchestrated publicity campaigns for various businesses and industries, but was primarily known for his work in the entertainment ﬁeld. He was a pioneer in managing campaigns for ﬁlms in the running for Academy Awards. He became president of Rogers & Cowan in 1964. He was press representative for such leading stars as Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Frank Sinatra, Kirk Douglas, and Elton John during his lengthy career.

COWGILL, BRYAN British television executive Bryan Cowgill died in Stratford-on-Avon, England, on July 15, 2008. He was 81. Cowgill was born in Clitheroe, Lancashire, England, on May 27, 1927. He worked as a reporter for the Lancashire Evening Post after Walter Covell

World War II. After the war he returned to Rhode Island, where he was narrator of the radio series New England Notebook. He moved into television in the early 1950s, acting in short theatrical pieces for the local series Backstage Stories, later called Solo Drama. He appeared in other series for stations WJAR and WSBE, and became a program manager until his retirement in 1978. Covell also continued to perform on stage in numerous local productions. He was featured as Colonel Mustard in the 1985 video version of the Clue mystery game, and reprised the role in the 1987 video Clue II: Murder in Disguise. He also appeared in the tele-ﬁlms Concealed Enemies (1984) and Robert Kennedy & His Times (1985), and an episode of the television series Spenser: For Hire. Covell was also featured in several ﬁlms including The Love Letters, I Rob Banks for the Money (2005), and Underdog (2007). COWAN, WARREN Leading Hollywood press agent Warren Cowan died from heart failure and complications of cancer in a Los Angeles hospital on May 14, 2008. He was 87. Cowan was born in New York City on March 13, 1921. He attended college at UCLA where

Warren Cowan

he majored in journalism. While still in his teens, he worked as an independent publicist for actress Linda Darnell. Cowan served in the Army Air Force during World War II, and joined Henry C. Rogers’ public relations ﬁrm after the war. He became a partner in the

Bryan Cowgill

military service with the Royal Marines during World War II. He also edited a local paper in Clitheroe before joining the BBC as a production assistant in 1955. He was instrumental in creating the popular sports program Grandstand. He was named BBC’s Head of Sport in 1963, and soon created the mid-week program Sportsnight. He was promoted to Controller of BBC One in 1973, where he oversaw the creation of such popular sitcoms as The Good Life and Porridge, and the dramas All Creatures Great and Small and When the Boat Comes In. He left the BBC to become managing director of Thames TV in 1977. Such drama series as Edward and Mrs. Simpson, Rumpole of the Bailey, and A Voyage Round Me Father emerged during his watch at Thames. He resigned from Thames in 1985 over a dispute regarding his attempted to outbid the BBC to the British rights to air the popular U.S. soap opera Dallas. Cowgill’s autobiography, Mr. Action Replay, was published in 2006.

CRANE, FRED Fred Crane, whose role as one of the Tarleton twins gave him the opening dialog in the 1939 ﬁlm classic Gone with the Wind, died of a blood clot in his lung following complications from diabetes and leg surgery in an Atlanta, Georgia, hospital on August 21, 2008. He was 90. Crane was born New Orleans, Louisiana, on March 22, 1918. He began his acting career on stage in the local theaters. He came to Hollywood in the late 1930s and was given a featured role in Gone with the Wind because of his southern accent. He was cast as Brent Tarleton, who with twin brother Stu-

Obituaries • 2008

92 The Rolling Stones. He had a brief acting career, appearing in episodes of Burke’s Law, Ironside, The Virginian, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, It Takes A Thief, and Love, American Style. He was also seen in the 1966 ﬁlm An American Dream, and starred as Jack Packard in the 1973 television adaptation of I Love a Mystery. Crane earned a Grammy Award in 1971 for his reading of “Desiderata,” which became a counterculture hit. He left show business in the 1970s and became involved in the early software industry. He was chairman of Software Toolworks, producing such computer games as Chessmaster 2000 and the PC versions of Pong.

Fred Crane (from Gone with the Wind )

art (played by future television Superman George Reeves), were among the suitors of Scarlett O’Hara. Crane and Reeves had their characters switched in the ﬁlm credits, and the studio decided it would cost too much to correct the error. Crane began working in radio in the 1940s as an announcer for the Los Angeles classical radio station KFAC. He was also featured as a henchman in the 1949 Cisco Kid ﬁlm The Gay Amigo. He continued to work at KAFC over the next three decades, becoming program director and hosting several shows. His acting career was limited to small roles in such television series as Surfside 6, 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, Lawman, The Twilight Zone, Peyton Place, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Lost in Space. Crane and his ﬁfth wife Terry bought an antebellum mansion in Barnesville, Georgia, near Atlanta, in 2000. They transformed it into a bed-and-breakfast called Tarleton Oaks, complete with a Gone with the Wind museum, in 2000.

CRANE, LES Actor and television talkshow host Les Crane died in a Marin County, California, hospital on July 13, 2008. He was 74. Crane was born in San Francisco, California, on December 3, 1933. An Air Force veteran, he began his career in radio in New Orleans in the 1950s. He later moved to San Francisco, where he was pioneer in talk radio at station KGO. As host of The Les Crane Show he moved to ABC Television in 1964, where he interviewed such notable guests as Malcom X, Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King, Jr., and

Les Crane

CRAWFORD, OLIVER KAUFMAN Film and television writer Oliver Kaufman Crawford died in Los Angeles on September 24, 2008. He was 91. Crawford was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 12, 1917. He began writing for television in the early 1950s, scripting episodes of the series The Stu Erwin Show, Terry and the Pirates, and Boston Blackie. He also wrote the story for the 1953 ﬁlm The Man from the Alamo. Crawford’s ﬁlm ca-

Oliver Kaufman Crawford

reer was sidetracked in 1953 when he refused to cooperate with the House UnAmerican Activities Committee about allegations of communist inﬂuence in the ﬁlm industry. He was blacklisted from the industry, and moved to New York where he worked in a variety of jobs over the next several years. Crawford was able to return to television in 1957, when actor Sam Levene assisted him in getting a job writing for Playhouse 90. He also scripted the 1958 ﬁlm Girl in the Woods, but primarily worked in television. He wrote episodes of numerous series, including Kraft Television Theatre, Lux Video Theatre, The Restless Gun, Climax!, U.S. Marshal, Armchair Theatre, The Grand Jury, The Third Man, Lawman, Startime, Rawhide, Man with a Camera, Perry Mason, Checkmate, The Riﬂeman, The Outer Limits, Gilligan’s Island, The Big Valley, Ben Casey, The Long, Hot Summer, Tarzan, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Fugitive, Bonanza, The Iron Horse, I Spy, Here Come the Brides, Star Trek scripting the popular episodes “The Galileo Seven” and “Let That Be Your Last Battleﬁeld,” The Wild Wild West, Land of the Giants, Love, American Style, Medical Center, Mannix, Petrocelli, Ironside, The Blue Knight, Swiss Family Robinson, Bronk, The Bionic Woman, Kojak, and Kaz.

93 Crawford adapted his novel, The Execution, for a 1985 tele-ﬁlm, which he also produced.

CRICHTON, MICHAEL Michael Crichton, a medical doctor turned writer who penned the best-selling novels The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park and co-created the television drama E.R., died of cancer in Los Angeles on November 4, 2008. He was 66. Crichton was born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 23, 1942, and was raised on Long Island, New York. He entered Harvard in 1960, where he earned a degree in anthropology in 1964. He continued his studies, and graduated with a degree from Harvard Medical School in 1969. He wrote several novels under the pseudonym John Lang to support his college tuition that included Odds On (1966), Scratch One (1967), and Easy Go (1968). His 1969 novel, A Case of Need, was written as Jeffery Hudson. Crichton’s subsequent novel, The Andromeda Strain, about deadly bacteria from space infecting Earth, was published in 1969. It was adapted for a popular ﬁlm from director Robert Wise in 1971, and was re-made for a television mini-series in 2008. He co-authored the book Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues with his brother Douglas Crichton under the name Michael Douglas. It was adapted for a ﬁlm in 1972. His earlier novel, A Case of Need, was adapted as Blake Edward’s 1972 ﬁlm The Carey Treatment. His next novel, The Terminal Man (1972), became a ﬁlm thriller starring George Segal two years later. He also penned Binary in 1972, and made his directorial debut on the teleﬁlm version the same year. Crichton wrote and directed the tale of a futuristic amusement park, Westworld, in 1973. A sequel, Futurworld, followed in 1976 though Crichton was uninvolved. He adapted writer Robin Cook’s medical thriller Coma for ﬁlm in 1978. He had written a novel about a 19th century heist, The Great Train Robbery, in 1975. The book was unsuccessful, but the 1979 ﬁlm version that he directed starring Sean Connery proved more so. He also directed the ﬁlm thrillers Looker (1981), Runaway (1984), and Physical Evidence (1989). Connery and Wesley Snipes starred in a 1993 adaptation of Crichton’s novel Rising Sun. His most successful endeavor was the 1990 novel Jurassic Park, a tale about the cloning of prehistoric creatures for an adventure park, and the disaster that ensues when scientiﬁc

2008 • Obituaries technology goes haywire. He co-scripted the screenplay for Steven Spielberg’s 1993 ﬁlm version. Crichton wrote a sequel novel, The Lost World, in 1995 that Spielberg brought to the screen as The Lost World: Jurassic Park in 1997. A third ﬁlm sequel followed without Crichton’s participation. He again joined with Spielberg to co-create the popular television medical drama E.R. in 1994 and was credited as an executive producer throughout its run. His novel Disclosure was made into a ﬁlm by director Barry Levinson in 1994. His earlier African adventure about diamonds and super intelligent apes, Congo (1980), was ﬁlmed in 1995. Crichton and his fourth wife, actress Anne-Marie Martin, co-scripted the 1996 feature Twister. His undersea science ﬁction novel Sphere was ﬁlmed in 1998, and his novel Eaters of the Dead (1976), a version of the Beowulf legend, was ﬁlmed as The 13th Warrior starring Antonio Banderas in 1999. His 1999 novel Timeline became a ﬁlm from director Richard Donner in 2003. His later novels include Airframe (1996), Prey (2002), State of Fear (2004), and Next (2006). Crichton also wrote several non-ﬁction works, including Five Patients (1970), Jasper Johns (1977) about the prominent artist, Electronic Life (1983), and the autobiographical Travels (1988).

CRIDDLE, TOM British actor and singer Tom Criddle, who began his career as a boy soprano in the 1940s, died in England on March 6, 2008. He was 79. Criddle was born in Edmonton, London, on March 9, 1928. He began singing as a child and won a talent contest in Edmonton at the age of 14. He was soon touring the country performing in variety shows and singing in cinemas before the feature. He was featured several times

Tom Criddle

Michael Crichton

on BBC’s Children’s Hour during his singing career and recorded ten popular songs with HMV’s Abbey Road Studios. He was called up for military service several years later and returned to the stage as an actor in the early 1950s. He performed on stage with Donald Wolﬁt’s touring Shakespeare company, and was featured in television productions of The End Begins (1956) and An Enemy of the People (1957). He was also seen in episodes of Suspense, Somerset Maugham Hour, The Plane Makers, R3, Dr. Finlay’s Casebook, Out of the Unknown, The Revenue Men, Man in a Suitcase, Theatre 625, Spy Trap, Menace,

Obituaries • 2008 Crown Court, and Victorian Scandals. Criddle’s other television credits include productions of Luther (1965), Murder: A Professional Job (1968), The Right Prospectus (1970), Rasputin (1971), Fall of Eagles (1974), Edward the Seventh (1975) as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Oil Strike North (1975) as Sir Norman Denison, Loyalties (1976), and Airport Chaplain (1980) as the Airport Manager.

CROFT, LEWIS

Lewis Croft, a 31 ⁄ 2 foot entertainer who earned immortality as one of the Munchkins in the 1939 fantasy ﬁlm classic The Wizard of Oz, died in Shelley, Idaho, on April 29, 2008. He was 88. Croft was born in Shelley on May 2, 1919. Diminutive of size

94 ary 23, 2008. She was 69. Cromwell was born on February 26, 1938. She was featured as Georgia Rothchild in the daytime soap opera Ryan’s Hope from 1975 to 1983. She was also seen in the ﬁlms Soup for One (1982), Say Anything (1989), and The War of the Roses (1989), and the tele-ﬁlms Stone Pillow (1985), Parent Trap II (1986), Amityville: The Evil Escapes (1989), and The Odd Couple: Together Again (1993). Her other television credits include episodes of such series as Kate & Allie, Hill Street Blues, Moonlighting, Designing Women, Coach, Murder, She Wrote, Hunter, Good Grief, Cop Rock, Golden Girls, Murphy Brown, L.A. Law, The City, One Life to Live, and Hope & Faith.

CRUM, TED Character actor Ted Crum died in Coleman, Texas, on October 25, 2008. He was 77. Crum was born in Roy, New Mexico, on December 31, 1930. After serving in the military during the Korean War, he worked in the radio and television business in

Lewis Croft

but not spirit, he left home at the age of 16 to work in circuses and fair sideshows under the stage name Idaho Lewis. He headed to Hollywood in the late 1930s where he was hired as one of the little people to play the Munchkin inhabitants of the Emerald City of Oz. After completing the ﬁlm Croft returned to touring and landed in Chicago, where he worked in a midget bar. He married and began raising a family in the late 1940s and returned to his home town in 1953. He worked for several businesses there and participated in various Munchkin reunion events in recent years. Croft’s death left eight surviving little people from The Wizard of Oz cast.

CROMWELL, GLORIA Veteran character actress Gloria Cromwell died in New York City on Febru-

Gloria Cromwell

Ted Crum

the Austin, Texas, area for many years. He was featured frequently in television commercials and appeared in small roles in several movies ﬁlmed in the area including Confessions of a Serial Killer (1985), Red Headed Stranger (1986), and The Ballad of Sad Cafe (1991). He also appeared in the tele-ﬁlms Shadows of Desire (1984), The Good Old Boys (1995), and Rough Riders (1997).

CRUMLEY, JAMES Crime novelist James Crumley died in a Missoula, Montana, hospital after a long illness on September 17, 2008. He was 68. Crumley was born in Texas on October 12, 1939. He earned a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of Iowa in 1966 and his thesis about the Vietnam War was published as the 1969 novel One to Count Cadence. He created the character of C.W. Sughrue, an ex–army ofﬁcer turned private detective in Montana, in the 1975 novel The Wrong Case. His subsequent novel featuring Sughrue, The Last Good Kiss (1978), was a best-seller, and the character reappeared in The Mexican Tree Duck (1993) which earned the Dashiell Hammett Award for best literary crime novel, and The Right Madness (2005). He also created the boozing down-and-out private eye Milo Milodragovitch, who starred in Crumley’s novels The Wrong Case (1975), Dancing Bear (1983), and The Final Country (2001). Sughrue and Milodragovitch

95

James Crumley

teamed for the 1996 novel Bordersnakes. Crumley was also the author of the short story collections Whores (1988) and Muddy Fork and Other Things (1991). He teamed with Ron Sullivan to write the screenplay for the 2006 ﬁlm The Far Side of Jericho.

CULKIN, DAKOTA Dakota Culkin, the sister of child star Macaulay Culkin, died in a Los Angeles hospital on December 10, 2008, of injuries she received when she was hit by a car when she stepped off a curb into

2008 • Obituaries

Robert Cunniff (with Barbara Walters on the set of the Today show)

Guide in the 1950s, and joined the writing staff of the Today show in 1963. He wrote for Today until 1969 and for The Dick Cavett Show from 1969 to 1972. He became a producer for Sesame Street in 1972, and shared an Emmy Award for his work on the series the following year. He left Sesame Street in 1975, and was a producer and editor for Good Morning, America in 1976. Cunniff was a creator of the Disney Channel series Mouseterpiece Theater in 1983.

CZARNECKI, FRANK Character actor Frank Czarnecki died in Reseda, California, on November 1, 2008. He was 62. Czarnecki was born in Peabody, Massachusetts, on March 22, 1946. He was featured in small

Dakota Culkin

the street and suffered massive head injuries. She was 29. Dakota was born in New York City in 1979. She was a year older than Macaulay, who was a major star as a child actor in the 1990s in such ﬁlms as Home Alone, My Girl, and Richie Rich. Dakota had ﬁve other siblings that also were involved in the movie industry, Shan, Kieran, Christian, Rory, and Quinn. She had recently worked as an art production assistant on the independent ﬁlm Lost Soul (2009).

CUNNIFF, ROBERT Television producer and writer Robert Cunniff died in a Brooklyn, New York, nursing facility after a long illness on January 20, 2008. He was 81. Cunniff was born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 13, 1926. He served in the U.S. Navy in the Paciﬁc during World War II, and graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in literature after the war. Cunniff wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times and TV

Frank Czarnecki

roles in several ﬁlms including Bert I. Gordon’s The Coming (1981), Road House (1989), The Last Boy Scout (1991), and X-Men (2000). He also appeared on television in episodes of Cheers, Hunter, Unsolved Mysteries, and Seinfeld.

DABNEY, AUGUSTA Character actress Augusta Dabney, who starred as Isabella Alden on the daytime soap opera Loving for over a decade, died after a long illness at her home in Dobbs Ferry, New York, on February 4, 2008. She was 89. Dabney was born in Berkeley, California, on October 23, 1918. She studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York in

Obituaries • 2008

96

Augusta Dabney

Sahar Daftary

the late 1930s, and made her Broadway debut in a production of Abe Lincoln in Illinois in 1938. She met actor Kevin McCarthy during the production and the two married in 1941. They had three children before divorcing in the early 1960s. She continued to appear on stage, and was featured in nine other Broadway shows. She also appeared frequently on television from the early 1950s, with roles in such series as NBC Presents, The Clock, The Trap, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Sure As Fate, Kraft Television Theatre, Starlight Theatre, Out There, Danger, Suspense, Studio One, You Are There, The Philco Television Playhouse, Matinee Theatre, Robert Montgomery Presents, Goodyear Television Playhouse, True Story, Modern Romances, The United States Steel Hour, Brenner, One Step Beyond, The Nurses, Police Woman, Lou Grant, Law & Order, and 100 Centre Street. Dabney was best known for her work on daytime television, starring as Isabella Alden in Loving largely from 1983 through 1995. She was featured as Tracey Malone in Young Dr. Malone from 1959 to 1963, and played Laura Baxter on Another World from 1964 to 1965. She was seen as Ann Holmes in As the World Turns in the late 1960s and early 1970s, played Carolyn Chandler Baldwin in General Hospital from 1975 to 1976, and was Theodora Van Allen on The Doctors from 1980 to 1981. Dabney also appeared in such soaps as Love Is a Splendored Thing, The Guiding Light, A World Apart, and One Life to Live. Her other television credits include roles in the tele-ﬁlms FDR: The Last Year (1980) as Grace Tully, Hothouse (1988), Shannon’s Deal (1989), and The Portrait (1993). Dabney appeared in several feature ﬁlms during her career including That Night! (1957), Plaza Suite (1971), The Heartbreak Kid (1972), Fire Sale (1977), Cold River (1982), Violets Are Blue... (1986), Shakedown (1988), Running on Empty (1988), and Bum Rap (1988). She met her second husband, William Prince, in 1964 when he played her husband on Young Doctor Malone. The two appeared in several other soaps together and were both featured as Michael Keaton’s parents in the 1994 ﬁlm The Paper. She and Prince remained married until his death in 1996. Dabney made her ﬁnal ﬁlm appearance in 2000’s Fear of Fiction. DAFTARY, SAHAR Afghanistani-British model Sahar Daftary died of injuries received in a 150 ft. plunge from a Manchester, England, luxury apartment on December 20, 2008. She was 23. Daftary was moving out

of the apartment of Rashid Jamil, whom she had married in a Muslim ceremony the previous year before ﬁnding out he had another wife. Jamil was brieﬂy held on suspicion in regard to the fall but was released for lack of evidence when police viewed Daftary’s death as either an accident or suicide. Daftary was born on December 25, 1984. She won the Face of Asia modeling competition in 2007. She was also featured as Dawn in an episode of the internet comedy series Christie earlier in the year. DAHLBECK, EVA Swedish leading actress Eva Dahlbeck, who starred in many of Ingmar Bergman’s ﬁlm in the 1950s, died of complications from an infection and Alzheimer’s disease in Stockholm, Sweden, on February 8, 2008. She was 87. Dahlbeck was born in Saltsjo-Duvnas, near Stockholm, Sweden, on March 8, 1920. She attended acting school with the Royal Dramatic Theatre in the early 1940s and was soon appearing in small roles on ﬁlms and on stage. Her many ﬁlm credits include Bara en Kvinna (1941), Ride Tonight! (1942), Black Roses (1945), Love Goes Up and Down (1946), Meeting in the Night (1946), The People from Simlang’s Valley (1947), The Key and the Ring (1947), Two Women (1947), Lars Hard (1948), Girl from the Mountain Village (1948), Each to His Own (1948), Eva (1948), Woman in White (1949), Only a Mother (1949), Fiancee for Hire (1950), Helen of Troy (1951) in the title role, U-Boat 39 (1952), and Deﬁance (1952). She gained an in-

Eva Dahlbeck

97 ternational audience with her performances in several Ingmar Bergman comedy ﬁlms, often opposite Gunnar Bjornstrand in the 1950s including Secrets of a Woman (1952), A Lesson in Love (1954), and Smiles of a Summer Night (1955). She was featured in several episodes of the television drama series Foreign Intrigue from 1953 through 1955. Dahlbeck was also seen in the ﬁlms Skuggan (1953), The Village (1953), Barabbas (1953), Caged Women (1953), The Chief of Goeinge (1953), Paradise (1955), Dreams (1955), Tarps Elin (1956), Last Couple Out (1956), Summer Place Wanted (1957), Brink of Life (1958), A Matter of Morals (1961), Ticket to Paradise (1962), The Counterfeit Traitor (1962), All These Women (1964), Loving Couples (1964), The Cats (1965), Morianna (1965), The Creatures (1966), The Red Mantle (1967), People Meet and Sweet Music Fills the Heart (1967), and A Day at the Beach (1970). Dahlbeck made her ﬁnal ﬁlm appearance in 1970’s Tintomara, with actress Britt Ekland. She also appeared frequently on the Swedish stage and was the author of over a dozen novels.

DAILEY, IRENE Stage and television actress Irene Dailey died of colon cancer in Santa Rosa, California, on September 24, 2008. She was 88. Dailey was born in New York City on September 12, 1920. She began dancing in vaudeville at the age of 8 and was performing in Summer Stock while in her teens. She also appeared frequently on Broadway, usually in less than suc-

2008 • Obituaries Daring Game (1968), Five Easy Pieces (1970), The Grissom Gang (1971), the 1972 tele-ﬁlm Jigsaw, The Amityville Horror (1979) as Aunt Helena, and Stacking (1987). She was the sister of singer and actor Dan Dailey, who died in 1978.

DALE, BOB Bob Dale, who was one of San Diego’s best known television personalities for over four decades, died at a San Diego, California, hospice on May 26, 2008. He was 83. He was born Bob Dale Bergmayr in Canton, Ohio, on March 26, 1925, and later dropped his surname. He began working in televi-

Bob Dale

sion as an announcer in Cleveland in 1947 and moved to San Diego in 1956. He worked for the local CBS afﬁliate there and became host of the popular series Zoorama that was ﬁlmed at the San Diego Zoo in the early 1960s. The series was distributed nationally in syndication. He also hosted various children’s programs, movies, and local events and served as the station’s weatherman. He moved to San Diego’s NBC afﬁliate in the late 1970s, where he remained until his retirement in the early 2000s.

DALLANSKY, BRUNO Austrian actor Bruno Dallansky, a leading star on stage, screen, and television, died in Vienna, Austria, on August 5, 2008. He was 79. Dallansky was born in Vienna on September 19, 1928. He began his career on stage in Vienna in the early 1950s, and was soon appearing in such ﬁlms as Brutality (1953), Irene Dailey

cessful plays. She gained critical acclaim for her role in a British production of Tomorrow—With Pictures in 1960. She returned to Broadway to star with Jack Albertson in the Tony Award–winning drama The Subject Was Roses in 1964. Dailey also appeared frequently on television, starring as Pamela Stewart in the soap opera The Edge of Night in 1969. She also starred as Liz Matthews in the daytime soap Another World from 1974 to 1986 and from 1988 to 1994. She earned a Daytime Emmy Award for her role in 1979. Dailey’s other television credits include episodes of Decoy, Naked City, The Defenders, Sam Benedict, Twilight Zone, Dr. Kildare, The Eleventh Hour, Ben Casey, The Nurses, Hawk, and NET Playhouse. Dailey also appeared in a handful of ﬁlms during her career including No Way to Treat a Lady (1968) with Rod Steiger,

Bruno Dallansky

Obituaries • 2008 Schicksal am Lenkrad (1954), Her Crime Was Love (1955), ...Und Fuhre uns Nicht in Versuchung (1957), Nachtschwester Ingeborg (1958), Das Dorf ohne Moral (1960), Walt Disney’s The Magniﬁcent Rebel (1962), School of Fear (1969), and And Jimmy Went to the Rainbow’s Foot (1971). He was also seen frequently on television in such productions as Wie Eine Trane im Ozean (1970), Die Gartenlaube (1970), Menschen (1970), Die Marquise von B. (1970), Der Fall Jagerstatter (1971), Die Abreise (1971), Der Prokurator (1971), Die Heilige Johanna (1971), Der 21. Juli (1972), The Condemned (1975), Jakob der Letzte (1976), Ein Abend mit Labiche (1980), Der Lebenden Leichnam (1981), Streichquartett (1981), Der Stille Ozean (1983), Via Mala (1985), Ein Denkmal wird Erschossen (1988), Fremde, Liebe Fremde (1991), Radetzkymarsch (1995), and Liebesfeuer (1997). He was also seen in episodes of Der Alte, Derrick, Ein Fall fur Zwei, Der Schwarzewaldklinik, Tatort in the recurring role of Oberinspektor Pfeifer, SOKO 5113, and Kommissar Rex. Dallansky was also a teacher at the Max Reinhardt School of Drama from 1965 to 1990. He married actress Judith Holzmeister in 1955. The couple separated in 1961 but never divorced, and Holzmeister died several weeks before Dallansky in June of 2008.

98 (1986), River’s Edge (1986), Hoosiers (1986), Platoon (1986), Scenes from the Goldmine (1987), Best Seller (1987), The Last Emperor (1987), Love at Stake (1988), Miracle Mile (1988), War Party (1988), Criminal Law (1988), Buster (1988), The Boost (1988), Out Cold (1989), Shag (1989), Vampire’s Kiss (1989), Blood Red (1989), Staying Together (1989), Chattahoochee (1989), Hidden Agenda (1990), Don’t Tell Her It’s Me (1990), Bright Angel (1991), Alec to the Rescue (1990) which he also scripted, The Petersburg-Cannes Express (2003) and The Aryan Couple (2004) both of which he also directed and wrote, Waking Up Dead (2005), Moonpie (2006), Played (2006), Drifter (2007), Killer Weekend (2007) which he also scripted, Tournament of Dreams (2007), The Heavy (2008), and Boy of Pigs (2008). He also directed the 2008 ﬁlm The Box Collector, and was in pre-production for A Private War at the time of his death.

DALY, JOHN British ﬁlm producer John Daly, whose productions companies backed over a dozen ﬁlms that won Oscars for Best Picture, died of cancer in a Los Angeles hospital on October 31, 2008. He was 71. Daly was born in London on July 16, 1937. He began his career in show business in 1966 when he formed the Hemdale Company with actor David Hemmings. Hemdale managed several rock bands including Black Sabbath and Yes, before venturing into ﬁlms as a production company and distributor. Hemdale produced over 100 ﬁlms that included 13 Oscar winners and 21 Oscar nominees for best pictures. Daly served as executive producer on such features as The Border (1979), The Passage (1979), Sunburn (1979) which he also scripted, Race for the Yankee Zephyr (1981), Going Ape! (1981), Cattle Annie and Little Britches (1981), High Risk (1981), Carbon Copy (1981), Strange Behavior (1981), Escape 2000 (1982), Yellowbeard (1983), A Breed Apart (1984), The Terminator (1984), The Falcon and the Snowman (1985), The Return of the Living Dead (1985), Salvador (1986), At Close Range

DAMIANO, GERARD Gerard Damiano, who directed the landmark adult ﬁlms Deep Throat and The Devil in Miss Jones, died of complications from a stroke in Fort Myers, Florida, on October 25, 2008. He was 80. Damiano was born in The Bronx, New York, on August 4, 1928. He served in the U.S. Navy in the late 1940s. He became interested in making ﬁlms while working as a hairdresser in New York City. Damiano began directing ﬁlms in the late 1960s and cast Linda Lovelace in what became a ground-breaking adult feature, Deep Throat (1972). He was credited on the ﬁlm as Jerry Gerard and also appeared in a small role in the ﬁlm. Damiano directed nearly 50 other ﬁlms during his career, sometimes appearing onscreen in cameo roles. His ﬁlm credits include We All Go Down (1969), Teenie Tulip (1970), Marriage Manual (1970), Changes (1980), Sex USA (1971), The Magical Ring (1971), Meatball (1972), The Devil in Miss Jones (1973) with Georgina Spelvin, the horror ﬁlm Legacy of Satan (1974), Memories Within Miss Aggie (1974), Portrait (1974), The Story of Joanna (1975), Let My Puppets Come (1976), Odyssey: The Ultimate Trip (1977), Joint Venture (1977), People (1978), Skin-Flicks (1978), For Richer, for Poorer (1979), Fantasy (1979), the sci-ﬁ porn The Satisﬁers of Alpha Blue (1980), Never So Deep (1981), Beyond Your Wildest Dreams (1981), Consenting Adults (1982), Night Hunger (1983), Throat: 12 Years After (1984), Return to Alpha Blue (1984), Flesh

John Daly

Gerard Damiano

99

2008 • Obituaries

and Fantasy (1985), Forbidden Bodies (1986), Ultrasex (1987), Slightly Used (1987), Lessons in Lust (1987), Future Sodom (1987), Cravings (1987), Ruthless Women (1988), Candy’s Little Sister, Sugar (1988), Young Girls in Tight Jeans (1989), Splendor in the Ass (1989), Perils of Paula (1989), Dirty Movies (1989), Manbait (1991), Manbait 2 (1991), Just for the Hell of It (1991), Buco Profondo (1991), Le Professoresse di Sessuologia Applicata (1992), Eccitazione Fatale (1992), Naked Goddess (1993), and Naked Goddess 2 (1994). He retired to Fort Myers in the mid– 1990s. Damiano was featured in a 2005 documentary about his most famous ﬁlm, Inside Deep Throat.

D’AMICO, FRANK Comedian and character actor Frank D’Amico died of complications from diabetes at his home in California on June 1, 2008. He was 52. D’Amico was born in the Mount Vernon, New York,

Alfonso Dantes

Medico. His sons Apolo and Cesar followed him into the wrestling business, and he occasionally teamed with them before he retired.

DARGIN, ALAN Australian Aboriginal didgeridoo player Alan Dargin died of a stroke in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on February 24, 2008. He was 40. Dargin was born in Arnhem Land, in Australia’s Northern Territory, on July 13, 1967. He learned to play the didgeridoo, a wind instrument created by Aborigi-

Frank D’Amico

on December 20, 1955. He began his career as a standup comic in small clubs before appearing on Comedy Central and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He was also seen in comic and character roles in such ﬁlms as Warm Gun (1996), The Deﬁnite Maybe (1997), the comic documentary Trekkies (1998), Shock Television (1998), The Grimm Cycle (2001), You Got Nothin’ (2002), Kiss the Bride (2002), and Hitters (2002). He also appeared in the 1996 tele-ﬁlm Back to Back: American Yakuza 2, and was featured in episodes of such television series as Michael Hayes, Martial Law, Becker as Chuck the Drain King, Emeril, The Parkers, Deep Cover, Maybe It’s Me, In-Laws, Grounded for Life, and NYPD Blue. His ﬁnal ﬁlm credits include The Dukes (2007) and The Flyboys (2008).

DANTES, ALFONSO Mexican wrestler Alfonso Dantes died at his home in Manzanillo, Mexico, on July 30, 2008. He was 65. He was born Jose Luis Amezcua Diaz on April 13, 1943, the son of wrestler Al “Golden Terror” Amezcua. He began his career wrestling in Mexico in 1960 under the name Edmundo Dantes. He became a leading wrestling star in Mexico and Southern California in the 1960s and 1970s. He won numerous light heavyweight titles in Guadalajara, Mexico. He also held the NWA Americas Tag Team Title in Los Angeles several times in the late 1960s and early 1970s, teaming with Francisco Flores, Mil Mascaras and El

Alan Dargin

nal tribesmen, at an early age. He went from playing in the streets of Sydney to performing with leading orchestras throughout the world. He was also featured on recordings with such artists as Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and Tommy Emmanuel. Dargin also appeared onscreen in the tele-ﬁlm Chase Through the Night (1983), and the features Stanley: Every Home Should Have One (1984), The Fringe Dwellers (1986), Howling III: The Marsupials (1987), The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), and Heaven’s Burning (1997).

DARLING, ERIK Folk singer and songwriter Erik Darling died of lymphoma in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on August 3, 2008. He was 74. Darling was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 25, 1933. He began playing the guitar and singing while in his teens and became inspired by the music of the Weavers. Darling and Bob Carey formed the folk band the Tunetellers

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Erik Darling

in the early 1950s. The group evolved into the Tarriers after several years and included future actor Alan Arkin. They recorded a hit version of the “Banana Boat Song,” and they performed it in the 1957 ﬁlm Calypso Heat Wave. They had several more minor hits with “Those Brown Eyes” and “Pretty Baby” before Darling left the Tarriers to take Pete Seeger’s position in the Weavers in 1958. He remained with them till 1962, when he founded the Rooftop Singers with Bill Svanoe and Lynne Taylor. They had a #1 hit song with “Walk Right In” in 1963. Darling also released the solo albums Train Time and True Religion. He made a comeback with the album The Possible Dream in 1975 before retiring to New Mexico to paint and teach the banjo. Darling continued to make occasional records in his later years, releasing the albums Child Child in 2000 and Revenge of the Christmas Tree in 2006. He published a memoir, I’d Give My Life!, shortly before his death.

DASSIN, JULES

Blacklisted American ﬁlmmaker Jules Dassin, who crafted the ﬁlm noir classics The Naked City and Night and the City, died in an Athens, Greece, hospital on March 31, 2008. He was 96. Dassin was born in Middletown, Connecticut, to a family of Russian Jewish immigrants on December 18, 1911. He began his career on stage as an actor, performing in New York’s Yiddish theater in the mid–1930s. He soon began directing productions for the New York stage before moving to Hollywood in the early 1940s. He directed a

short ﬁlm adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart in 1941, and helmed his ﬁrst feature, Nazi Agent, for MGM in 1942. Such ﬁlms as The Affairs of Martha (1942), Reunion in France (1942), Young Ideas (1943), The Canterville Ghost (1944), Two Smart People (1946), A Letter for Evie (1946), and Brute Force (1947) soon followed. Dassin crafted one of the ﬁrst ﬁlm police dramas with Naked City in 1948, and followed with a gritty melodrama Thieves’ Highway in 1949. He also directed the 1950 noir classic Night and the City, which starred Richard Widmark as a London hustler. His ﬁlm career was rudely interrupted in the early 1950s when his earlier afﬁliation with the Communist Party earned him a spot on the Hollywood Blacklist. Unable to continue his career in the United States, Dassin moved to France in 1953. He directed his ﬁrst European ﬁlm, Riﬁﬁ, about a gang of jewel thieves in 1955. He was also featured in the role of Cesar, one of the thieves, under the pseudonym Perlo Vita. He also directed the features He Who Must Die (1957) and Where the Hot Wind Blows! (1959). Dassin’s 1960 ﬁlm Never On Sunday made an international star of his Greek leading lady Melina Mercouri. He played the role of photographer Homer Thrace in the ﬁlm about a good-hearted prostitute. He and Mercouri soon formed a partnership off-screen as well and were married in the mid–1960s. Dassin also directed the ﬁlms Phaedra (1962) which featured him in the role of Christo, Topkapi (1964) another heist ﬁlm that starred Mercouri, 10:30 P.M. Summer (1966), Survival 1967 (1968), Up Tight (1968), Promise at Dawn (1970), The Rehearsal (1974), and A Dream of Passion (1978). His ﬁnal ﬁlm, Circle of Two (1980), starred Richard Burton and Tatum O’Neal as illmatched lovers, and performed badly at the box ofﬁce.

DAVARFAR, ESMAEIL Iranian actor Esmaeil Davarfar died at his home in Tehran, Iran, after a long illness on May 4, 2008. He was 76. Davarfar studied drama at the University of Tehran and began his career

Esmaeil Davarfar

Jules Dassin (with wife Melina Mercouri)

on stage in the mid–1950s. He made his ﬁlm debut in the 1969 feature The Cow, and was also seen in the ﬁlms Sadegh Korde (1972), The Custodian (1976), My Uncle Napoleon (1976), Ghobar Neshinha (1978), Vakil-e Awal (1987), Under the Roofs of the City (1989), The Port (1989) Aghay-e Bakhshdar (1991), and Rooz-e Fereshte (1993).

101 DAVID, JEFF Actor Jeff David died of a heart attack in New York City on March 25, 2008. He was 67. David was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 16, 1940. He began his career onstage in the 1960s and performed frequently in New York. He made his ﬁlm debut in 1971’s Some of My Best Friends Are. He was also seen in the ﬁlms Telefon (1977) and The King of Comedy (1982). He appeared frequently on television in the 1970s, appearing in episodes of Hawaii Five-0, The Rookies, Harry O, Electra Woman and Dyna Girl as Side Man, Baa Baa Black Sheep, The Rockford Files, Switch, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, The Bionic Woman, and How the West Was Won. David was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms Cops and Robin (1978) and My Husband Is Missing (1978). He was a voice performer in the animated series The Godzilla Power Hour and Spider-Man and was the voice of the acerbic robot Crichton in the science ﬁction series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century in 1981. DAVIES, JANICE Character actress Janice Davies died in Baroda, India, on January 15, 2008. She was 76. Davies was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 11, 1931. She began her acting career in the early 1980s with roles in such ﬁlms as Wacko (1983), Super Jesus (1999), Eyeball Eddie (2000), Rancho Cucamonga

Janice Davies

(2002), In the Land of Milk and Money (2004), Guy in Row Five (2005), Neighborhood Watch (2005), Such Great Joy (2005), Ring Fingers (2005), and The Problem with Percival (2006). She also appeared in the teleﬁlms Miss Lonelyhearts (1983) and Love Thy Neighbor (1984), and in episodes of Friends, Seinfeld, Becker, The Michael Richards Show, and Diagnosis Murder.

DAVIS, DANNY Singer and bandleader Danny Davis, who was the founder of the Nashville Brass, died of a heart attack in a Nashville, Tennessee, hospital on June 12, 2008. He was 83. He was born George Joseph Nowlan in Randolph, Massachusetts, on May 19, 1925. He began his career in the 1940s as a trumpeter with big bands led by Gene Krupa, Les Brown, Freddie Martin, Sammy Kaye, and others. During the 1950s he was also vocalist on several songs including “Crazy Heart” and “Object of My Affection.” Later in the decade he became a record producer with

2008 • Obituaries

Danny Davis

MGM in New York, where he worked with singer Connie Francis and the group Herman’s Hermits. He moved to Nashville in 1968 to take a job at RCA Records as a producer. Davis formed the band the Nashville Brass soon after, and they recorded the album The Nashville Brass featuring Danny Davis Play More Nashville Sounds (1969). They won a Grammy Award with the song “Kawliga” and for ﬁve consecutive years they earned the Country Music Association Awards for Best Instrumental Group. Davis and the group performed on television with appearances on The Johnny Cash Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Mike Douglas Show, The Merv Grifﬁn Show, and The Red Skelton Show. Davis also played with the Million Dollar Band on Hee Haw in the 1980s. He continued to tour with the Nashville Brass until retiring in July of 2005.

DAVIS, DON S. Character actor Don S. Davis died of a heart attack in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on June 29, 2008. He was 65. Davis was born in Aurora, Missouri, on August 4, 1942. He served in the United States Army for three years in the late 1960s and earned a Master’s degree in theater in 1970. He taught theater at the University of British Columbia during the 1970s before embarking on an acting career in the early 1980s in an episode of Joanie Loves Chachi. Davis served as Dana Elcar’s stunt double in the MacGyver series from the mid–1980s. He was also featured in numerous ﬁlms including The Journey

Don S. Davis

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102

of Natty Gann (1985), Malone (1987), Stakeout (1987), Watchers (1988), Rescue Force (1989), Beyond the Stars (1989), Look Who’s Talking (1989) as Dr. Fleischer, Chaindance (1990), Waiting for the Light (1990), Cadence (1990), Look Who’s Talking Too (1990), Mystery Date (1991), Hook (1991), Kuffs (1992), A League of Their Own (1992) as Racine coach Charlie Collins, Hero (1992), Cliff hanger (1993), Stephen King’s Needful Things (1993), Max (1994), Hideaway (1995), Alaska (1996), The Fan (1996), The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue (1996), Con Air (1997), The Artist’s Circle (2000), Suspicious River (2000), Best in Show (2000), The 6th Day (2000), Deadly Little Secrets (2001), Hostage Negotiator (2001), Savage Island (2003), Miracle (2004), Passing Darkness (2005), Seed (2007), The Still Life (2007), and Beneath (2007). Davis also appeared in the tele-ﬁlms I-Man (1986), Hero in the Family (1986), Spot Marks the X (1986), That Secret Sunday (1986), Deadly Deception (1987), Body of Evidence (1988), Top of the Hill (1989), Matinee (1989), The Lady Who Forgets (1989), Memories of Murder (1990), Blood River (1991), Omen IV: The Awakening (1991), Captive (1991), The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw (1991), I Posed for Playboy (1991), Calendar Girl, Cop, Killer? The Bambi Bembenek Story (1992), Columbo: A Bird in the Hand (1992), Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster (1992), The Diary of Evelyn Lau (1993), Miracle on Interstate 880 (1993), Without a Kiss Goodbye (1993), Final Appeal (1993), One More Mountain (1994), Avalanche (1994), Someone Else’s Child (1994), A Family Divided (1995), He Stood Alone: The Tailhook Scandal (1995), The Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky (1995), Black Fox (1995), Black Fox: The Price of Peace (1995), Beauty’s Revenge (1995), A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story (1995), Shadow of a Doubt (1995), Prisoner of Zenda, Inc. (1996), Brothers of the Frontier (1996), Kidz in the Wood (1996), The Limbic Region (1996), In Cold Blood (1996), The Escape (1997), Volcano: Fire on the Mountain (1997), Dad’s Week Off (1997), The Stepsister (1997), Tricks (1997), Atomic Train (1999), Meltdown (2004), Child of Mine (2005), Beyond Loch Ness (2007), Burn Up (2008), The Unquiet (2008), Vipers (2009) and Wyvern (2009). The bald and commanding Davis was a proliﬁc television performer, often appearing in roles of authority ﬁgures. He starred as Chief Sterling in the 1990 television series Broken Badges and was Major Garland Briggs on David Lynch’s quirky drama series Twin Peaks from 1990 to 1991. He reprised that role in the 1992 feature Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. He played the recurring role of Captain William Scully, Dana Scully’s father, in The X Files in 1994 and was Mr. Winslow on Madison from 1994 to 1996. He was best known for starring as the base commander Major General George Hammond on Stargate SG-1 from 1997 until poor health forced him to curtail his career in 2003. He returned to the series on occasion through 2007 and also appeared on the spin-off series Stargate: Atlantis. Davis also voiced the role of Wild Bill in several animated G.I. Joe productions in the early 2000s. His numerous television credits also include roles in episodes of such series as The New Adventures of Beans Baxter, The Beach-

combers, Wiseguy, Border Town, Unsub, L.A. Law, Booker, 21 Jump Street, Nightmare Cafe, Knots Landing, Street Justice, Highlander, Birdland, Cobra, Northern Exposure, M.A.N.T.I.S., The Marshal, The Outer Limits, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Viper, The Sentinel, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Just Cause, The Chris Isaak Show, The Twilight Zone, Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda, Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, The West Wing, Stephen King’s The Dead Zone in the recurring role of Senator Harlan Ellis, Psych, Supernatural, Flash Gordon in the recurring role of Mr. Mitchell, and The Guard. Davis had completed ﬁlming several forthcoming ﬁlms at the time of his death including Vipers (2008), Woodshop (2008), and Far Cry (2008).

DAVIS, LUTHER Playwright and screenwriter Luther Davis died in the Bronx, New York, on July 29, 2008. He was 91. Davis was born in New York City on August 29, 1916. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II, rising to the rank of major. After the war, he wrote the Broadway play Kiss Them for Me in 1945. Davis was also the writer of several ﬁlms in the late 1940s, including The Hucksters (1947), B.F.’s Daughter (1948), Black Hand (1950), and A Lion Is in the Streets (1953). He won a Tony Award for writing the

Luther Davis

book for the 1954 hit Broadway musical Kismet. Kismet was adapted to ﬁlm in 1955, with Davis supplying the screenplay. He also wrote for the screen New Faces (1954), Kiss Them for Me (1954) which was based on his play, The Gift of Love (1958), and Holiday for Lovers (1959). Davis also wrote frequently for television, penning episodes of Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Bourbon Street Beat, Startime, Bus Stop, Target: The Corruptors, 87th Precinct, Combat!, Kraft Suspense Theatre, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Ironside, The Name of the Game, The Silent Force, and Cade’s County. He scripted the English-language version of the 1961 ﬁlm The Wonders of Aladdin, and wrote and produced the 1964 thriller Lady in a Cage starring Olivia de Havilland and James Caan. He also produced the 1971 ﬁlm The Last Generation and scripted the 1972 crime thriller Across 110th Street. Davis also scripted the 1969 television adaptation of Arsenic and Old Lace and wrote the tele-ﬁlms Daughter of the Mind (1969) and The Old

103

2008 • Obituaries

Man Who Cried Wolf (1970). Davis rewrote Kismet in a different setting for Broadway in 1978, transforming the tale of Baghdad to Africa under the new title Timbuktu! He earned a Tony nomination for the revival, which featured a new score based on African folk tunes. He wrote a musical adaptation of Vicki Baum’s novel Grand Hotel for the Broadway stage in 1989. His survivors include actress Jennifer Bassey, his longtime companion whom he married in 2005.

DAVIS, NATHAN Character actor Nathan Davis died in a Chicago, Illinois, hospital on October 15, 2008. He was 91. Davis was born in Chicago on May 22, 1917. He served in Europe during World War II and performed on the local stage and in radio productions after the war. Davis continued to act in occasional amateur production while working as a pharmaceutical sales representative. He began to pursue a career as an actor after being ﬁred from his sales job in the late 1970s. He appeared frequently in ﬁlms and tel-

Nathan Davis (as Rev. Henry Kane from Poltergeist III)

evision over the next three decades, with such ﬁlm credits as A Steady Rain (1978), Stony Island (1978), On the Right Track (1981), Thief (1981), Risky Business (1983), Windy City (1984), Code of Silence (1985), One More Saturday Night (1986), Tough Guys (1986), Burglar (1987), Flowers in the Attic (1987) as Grandfather Foxworth, Poltergeist III (1988) as the Rev. Henry Kane, The Package (1989), Shaking the Tree (1991), Steal Big Steal Little (1995), Dunston Checks In (1996), Chain Reaction (1996), Almost Salinas (2001), Holes (2003) as Grandfather Stanley Yelnats, II, and Let’s Go to Prison (2006). Davis also appeared in the tele-ﬁlms Dummy (1979), The Children Nobody Wanted (1981), Will: The Autobiography of G. Gordon Liddy (1982), and Murder Ordained (1987). His other television credits include episodes of Too Close for Comfort, Hill Street Blues, Crime Story, Sable, Father Dowling Mysteries, Cheers, Missing Persons, Frasier, ER, and Becker.

DAVIS, PAUL American singer and songwriter Paul Davis, who had a hit with 1977’s “I Go Crazy,” died of a heart attack in a Meridian, Mississippi, hospital on April 22, 2008. He was 60. Davis was born in Meridian on April 21, 1948. He performed with the local groups the Six Soul Survivors and Endless

Paul Davis

Chain before embarking on a solo career in 1970. He released his ﬁrst album, A Little Bit of Paul Davis, and charted with the songs “A Little Bit of Soap,” “I Just Wanna Keep It Together,” “Boogie Woogie Man,” and “Ride ’Em Cowboy” over the next several years. He had his biggest hit with 1977’s “I Go Crazy” and continued over the next decade to record such popular songs as “Sweet Life,” “Cry Just a Little,” “Cool Night,” “65 Love Affair,” “Love or Let Me Be Lonely,” “You’re Still New to Me” with Marie Osmond, and “I Won’t Take Less Than Your Love” with Tanya Tucker. He continued to perform and record until his death.

DAVISON, BRIAN British drummer Brian Davison, who played with the 1960s group the Nice, died in Horn’s Cross, Devon, England, on April 15, 2008. He was 65. Davison was born in Leicester, England, on May 25, 1942. He began playing drums with local skifﬂe group around London in the late 1950s. He joined the Mark Leeman Five in 1962 and recorded the single “Portland Town” before Leeman was killed in a car crash in 1965 and the group disbanded. Davison also played with the groups The Habits, the Mike Cotton Sound, and The Attack. He joined the progressive rock band the Nice in 1967, playing on all the groups albums including The Thoughts of MerlistDavJack (1967), Ars Longa Vita Brevis (1968), Five Bridge (1970), and Eleg y (1979). The Nice disbanded in 1970 when keyboardist Keith Emerson formed Emerson, Lake &

Brian Davison

Obituaries • 2008

104

Palmer. Bassist and lead singer Lee Jackson began his own group as well, Jackson Heights, and Davison backed singer Graham Bell in the group Every Which Way. Davison rejoined with Jackson and Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz to form the band Refugee, and they released one album in 1973. Davison’s career was badly damaged from a period of alcoholism, but he eventually recovered and began teaching percussion at a local college in Devon. Davison, Emerson, and Jackson reunited for a tour and recorded the concert CD, Vivacitas, in 2002.

DAWN, MARPESSA Actress Marpessa Dawn, who starred as the lovely, doomed Eurydice in the Oscar-winning Brazilian ﬁlm Black Orpheus, died of a heart attack at her home in Paris, France, on August 25, 2008. She was 74. She was born Gypsy Marpessa Dawn Menor near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on January 3, 1934. She moved to England in her teens where she

Marpessa Dawn

began her acting career. She appeared in small roles in such television series as Armchair Theatre, and the ﬁlms Elisa (1957) and The Woman Eater (1958). She was cast as the beautiful and innocent country girl Eurydice pursued by her lover beyond death amidst the revelry of Rio’s Carnivale in Marcel Camus’ 1959 ﬁlm Black Orpheus based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The ﬁlm earned the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1959 and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1960. Dawn’s co-star in the ﬁlm, Breno Mello, died shortly over a month before his leading lady. She continued to perform on stage, ﬁlm, and television over the next two decades, appearing in the ﬁlms El Secreto de los Hombres Azules (1961), The Ball of Count Orgel (1970), Lovely Swine (1973), and Sweet Movie (1974). She also appeared frequently on French television and toured Europe and North Africa in several plays including Cherie Noire.

DAWSON , SMOKEY Australian Western singer Smokey Dawson died in Sydney, Australia, on February 14, 2008. He was 94. He was born Herbert Henry Dawson in Melbourne, Australia, on March 19, 1913. His mother died when he was very young and his childhood was fraught with poverty and abuse. He eventually landed in an orphanage where he learned to

Smokey Dawson

sing and play musical instruments. He ran away to the bush while in his teens, where he gained expertise in horse-riding, whip-cracking, and knife-throwing. He met children’s radio host Dot Cheers in 1937 and they were married in 1944. They created the persona of Smokey Dawson, who was billed as Australia’s ﬁrst cowboy. He formed several bands, touring the country and performed for a few years in the United States after World War II. He returned to Australia later in the decade, where he starred on the popular radio serial The Adventures of Jindawarrabell. The serial evolved into the Adventures of Smokey Dawson and he and his palomino, Flash, promoted the show in live appearances throughout the country. Dawson’s popularity had faded by the 1950s with the advent of television, though he continued to perform and record, and hosted an Australian country music radio program while in his 90s. His recording career, which commenced with “I’m a Happy Go Lucky Cowhand” in 1941, continued through 2005’s “Homestead of My Dreams.”

DAY, JAMES Public television executive James Day died of respiratory failure in New York City on April 24, 2008. He was 89. Day was born in Alameda, California, on December 22, 1918. He began his career working at NBC’s San Francisco station as director of public affairs. He also was a civilian radio specialist with the Allied Occupation of Japan after World War II and was deputy director of Radio Free Asia. He cre-

James Day

105 ated KQED, San Francisco’s PBS station, in 1954, and served as general manager until 1969. During his tenure at KQED he also hosted the weekly interview program Kaleidoscope. Day became president of National Education Television, which became WNET, in New York in 1969. He left to form his own production company, Publivision, in 1973, where he created the nightly interview program Day at Night. He taught radio and television at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York from 1976. Day was also the author of the book The Vanishing Vision: The Inside Story of Public Television, in 1995.

DE CONCINI, ENNIO Italian screenwriter and ﬁlm director Ennio De Concini, who shared an Academy Award for scripting the 1961 ﬁlm Divorce, Italian Style, died after a long illness in Rome on November 17, 2008. He was 84. De Concini was born in Rome on December 9, 1923. He scripted numerous ﬁlms from the late 1940s including The Wandering Jew (1948), Outlaw Girl (1950), Vacation with a Gangster (1951), Revenge of Black Eagle (1951), Toto and the King of Rome (1951), See Naples and Die (1951), Double Cross (1951), Appointment for Murder (1951), Three Corsairs (1952), Jolanda, the Daughter of the Black Corsair (1952), The Eleven Musketeers (1952) which also marked his directorial debut, Tormento del Passato (1952), Barefoot Savage (1952), Angels of the District (1952), Brothers of Italy (1952), Sunday Heroes (1953), Vortice (1953), Hell Raiders of the Deep (1953), She Wolf (1953), The Ship of Condemned Women (1954), Submarine Attack (1954), Folgore Division (1954), Mambo (1954), Ulysses (1954), Attila (1954), Human Torpedoes (1954), Knights of the Queen (1954), Eighteen Year Olds (1955), The Miller’s Beautiful Wife (1955), Bella non Piangere! (1955), The Queen of Babylon (1955), Roland the Mighty (1956), London Calling North Pole (1956), The Three Musketeers (1956), The Railroad Man (1956), Guerra e Pace (1956), Rice Girl (1956), The Wide Blue Road (1957), Doctor and the Healer (1957), Dimentica il Miko Passato (1957), The Awakening (1957), The Cry (1957), Behind the Great Wall (1958), Hercules (1958), The Italians They Are Crazy (1958), Canon Serenade (1958), The Love Specialist (1958), The Warrior and the Slave Girl (1958), Soledad (1959), Hercules Unchained (1959), Eu-

Ennio De Concini (screenwriter of Black Sunday)

2008 • Obituaries

ropean Nights (1959), Le Secret du Chevalier d’Eon (1959), The Facts of Murder (1959), The Last Days of Pompeii (1959), Giant of Marathon (1959), The Story of Joseph and His Brethren (1960), The Warrior Empress (1960), Messalina (1960), The Long Night of ’43 (1960), Carthage in Flames (1960), Siege of Syracuse (1960), Legions of the Nile (1960), Mario Bava’s horror classic Black Sunday (1960), Assignment Outer Space (1960), Colossus and the Amazon Queen (1960), Silver Spoon Set (1960), Esther and the King (1960), Son of Samson (1960), Marco Polo (1961), Duel of the Titans (1961), Nude Odyssey (1961), Unexpected (1961), The Colossus of Rhodes (1961), Duel of the Champions (1961), Antonio Margheriti’s science ﬁction ﬁlm Battle of the Worlds (1961) starring Claude Rains, Divorce — Italian Style (1961), The Last Charge (1962), The Witch’s Curse (1962), Jessica (1962), My Son, the Hero (1962), The Attic (1962), Madame San-Gene (1962), Pigeon Shoot (1962), Constantine and the Cross (1962), Beach Casanova (1962), The Tartars (1963), The Evil Eye (1963), Run with the Devil (1963), I Motorizzati (1964), Love and Marriage (1964), Attack and Retreat (1965), The Dirty Game (1965), Un Amore (1965), Weekend, Italian Style (1966), Z7 Operation Rembrandt (1966), How Do I Love You? (1966), The Battle of the Mods (1966), The Treasure of San Gennaro (1966), For Love ... for Magic (1967), A Rose for Everyone (1967), Kill Me Quick, I’m Cold (1967), Operation St. Peter’s (1967), The Black Sheep (1968), Guns of San Sebastian (1968), Better a Widow (1968), I Bastardi (1968), A Place for Lovers (1968), The Girl Who Couldn’t Say No (1969), It’s Your Move (1969), Coup D’Etat (1969), and Long Live Robin Hood (1970). De Concini also co-scripted the 1969 Soviet-Italian coproduction The Red Tent, about aeronaut Umberto Nobile’s ill-fated 1928 Arctic expedition starring Peter Finch and Sean Connery. He also co-scripted the 1972 feature Bluebeard starring Richard Burton, and wrote and directed the 1973 ﬁlm Daniele and Maria. He directed and scripted the 1973 feature Hitler: The Last Ten Days, starring Alec Guinness in the title role. De Concini also wrote the ﬁlms The Barons (1975), The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1975), Salon Kitty (1976), The Twist (1976), The Last Romantic Lover (1978), China 9, Liberty 37 (1978), Just a Gigolo (1978), I Love You, I Love You Not (1979), Savage Breed (1980), The Good Soldier (1982), Copkiller (1983), The Two Lives of Mattia Pascal (1985), Devil in the Flesh (1986), Don Bosco (1988), The Mask (1988), Young Toscanini (1988), Ben Webster: The Brute and the Beautiful (1989), There Was a Castle with Forty Dogs (1990), The Dark Sun (1990), Suffocating Heat (1991), The Bachelor (1991), Miracle of Marcellino (1991), Cartoni Aninati (1991), Operazione Apia Antica (2003). De Concini also wrote frequently for television from the 1980s, with such credits as Storia d’Amore e d’Amicizia (1982), Il Figlio Perduto (1983), The Octopus (1984), Quei 36 Gradini (1984), The Octopus 2 (1985), Quo Vadis? (1985), International Airport (1985), Rose (1985), The Octopus 3 (1987), Il Giudice Istruttore (1987), Little Roma (1988), Love for Life (1988), Fratelli (1988), Disperatemente Giulia (1989), Il Mago (1990), Vita coi Figli (1990), Pronto Soccorso (1990), Dagli Appennini alle Ande (1990), Il

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106

Ricatto 2 (1991), A Family Matter (1991), Camilla (1992), Mission of Love (1992), Camilla, Parlami d’Amore (1992), Pronto Soccorso 2 (1992), Confession Secrete (1995), Fatima (1997), and La Quindicesima Espitola (1998).

DEEMS, EARLE J. Earle J. Deems, who produced highway safety ﬁlms from the late 1950s, died at his home in Mansﬁeld, Ohio, on January 9, 2008. He was 88. Deems was born near Mansﬁeld on October 24, 1919. He served in the U.S. Army in the South

Earle Deems

Paciﬁc during World War II. He became president of Highway Safety Films, producing such works as Signal 30 (1959), The Third Killer (1966), There’s a Message in Every Bottle (1977) about underage drinking and driving, and Options to Live (1979). He was featured as himself in the 2003 documentary ﬁlm Hell’s Highway: The True Story of Highway Safety Films.

cadinha Depois dos Trinta (1966), Essa Gatinha e Minha (1966), The Man Who Bought the World (1968), Tempo de Violencia (1969), Believe It or Not (1969), Angels and Demons (1970), Uma Pantera em Minha Cama (1971), A Diﬁcil Vida Facil (1972), Missao: Matar (1972), Cafe na Cama (1973), O Mau-Carater (1974), O Homem da Cabeca de Ouro (1975), O Sosia da Morte (1975), Nos, Os Canalhas (1975), Este Rio Multo Louco (1977), Coronel Delmiro Gouveia (1978), A Dama de Branco (1978), Os Foragidos da Violencia (1979), Pixote (1981), Male and Female (1984), A Successful Man (1985), La Hora Texaco (1985), The Monk and the Hangman’s Daughter (1995), and Sonhos Tropicais (2001). De Falco appeared frequently on television from the early 1960s with roles in such productions as A Muralha (1961), Maria Antonieta (1961), Conﬂicto (1963), O Rei dos Ciganos (1966), A Rainha Louca (1967), Demian, o Justiceiro (1968), Passo dos Ventos (1968), A Ultima Valsa (1969), Tempo de Viver (1972), Supermanoela (1974), Escalada (1975), Gabriela (1975), and O Grito (1975). He achieved international acclaim for his role as the villainous slave owner Leonicio Almeida in the 1976 tele-novela Escrava Isaura (The Slave Asaura), which became the ﬁrst soap opera to be broadcast in China and the Soviet Union. He continued to appear in such television productions as Os Maias (1979), Gaivotas (1979), Os Imigrantes (1981), Campeao (1982), Padre Cicero (1984), Viver a Vida (1984), Grande Sertao: Veredas (1984), Plantation Owner’s Daughter (1986), Bambole (1987), Brasileiras e Brasileiros (1990), Memorial de Maria Moura (1994), Sangue do Meu Sangue (1995), Os Ossos do Barao (1997), and Brida (1998). De Falco was forced to retire after suffering a stroke in May of 2006.

DE FALCO, RUBENS Brazilian actor Rubens de Falco died of heart failure in a Sao Paulo, Brazil, retirement home on February 22, 2008. He was 76. De Falco was born in Sao Paulo on October 19, 1931. The mustachioed actor was a popular performer on stage, ﬁlm, and television in Brazil from the early 1950s. His numerous ﬁlm credits include Apassionata (1952), Esquina da Ilusao (1953), Floradas na Serra (1954), O Pao Que o Diabo Amassou (1957), Capanga (1958), Engra-

DE LARRABEITI, MICHAEL British novelist Michael de Larrabeiti, who was best known for creating the dark children’s series The Borrible Trilog y, died of cancer in Oxford, England, on April 18, 2008. He was 73. De Larrabeiti was born in Lambeth, South London, England, on August 18, 1934. He worked at various odd jobs including shepherding in the French Alps and writing travel pieces for the Sunday Times while completing his education. He wrote the 1972 western novel The Redwater Raid under the pseudonym Nathan Lestrange. He was best known for writing the

Rubens de Falco

Michael de Larrabeiti

107 1976 children’s book The Borribles, about feral childmen running amok in London. The satire was noted for its sometimes graphic violence as bad language, and spawned the sequels The Borribles Go for Broke (1981) and The Borribles; Across the Dark Metropolis (1986). De Larrabeiti also wrote A Rose Beyond the Thames (1978), a semi-ﬁctional memoir of his childhood, and another memoir French Leave, in 2003. His most recent novel, Princess Diana’s Revenge, was published in 2006.

DELANNOY, JEAN French ﬁlm director Jean Delannoy died at his home in Guainville, France, on June 17, 2008. He was 100. Delannoy was born in Noisy-le-Sec, a suburb of Paris, France, on January 12, 1908. He began working in silent ﬁlms in the 1920s as an actor, appearing in Miss Helyett (1927), La Grande

2008 • Obituaries

Venus (1963), This Special Friendship (1964), The Majordomo (1965), The Double Bed (1965), The Sultans (1966), Action Man (1967), Only the Cool (1970), Nor Dumb, the Bird (1972), Bernadette (1988), and La Passion de Bernadette (1989). Delannoy also worked in television from the 1970s, directing productions of Hamlet (1978), Histoire du Chevalier Des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut (1978), Les Grandes Conjurations: Le Coup d’Etat du 2 Decembre (1979), L’Ete Indien (1980), Frere Martin (1981), Le Crime de Pierre Lacaze (1983), The Enigmatic Mister S. (1987), and Mary of Nazareth (1995).

DELLA NOCE, LUISA Italian actress Luisa Della Noce died in Rome on May 16, 2008. She was 85. Della Noce was born in San Giorgio di Nogaro, Italy, on April 28, 1923. She made her ﬁlm debut in a small role in Mario Bonnard’s L’Ultima Sentenza in

Jean Delannoy

Passion (1928), and Casanova (1934). He was hired by Paramount Studios in Paris in the early 1930s, where rose to the position of head editor for such ﬁlms as The King of the Champs Elysees (1934), Tovaritch (1935), Michel Strogoff (1935), Nitchevo (1936), and Feu! (1937). Delannoy made his directorial debut in 1934 with the ﬁlms La Moule and Paris-eauville. He continued to direct, and often write, numerous ﬁlms over the next six decades with such credits as Tamara la Complaisante (1937), Golden Venus (1937), The Black Diamond (1941), Fievres (1942), Mask of Korea (1942), L’Assassin a Peur la Nuit (1942), Pontcarral, Colonel d’Empire (1942), The Eternal Return (1943) with Jean Cocteau, Le Bossu (1944), Blind Desire (1945), La Symphonie Pastorale (1946) which was chosen as the grand prize winner at the Cannes Film Festival, The Chips Are Down (1947), Souvenir (1948), The Secret of Mayerling (1949), Isle of Sinners (1950), Savage Triangle (1951), The Moment of Truth (1952), Napoleon Road (1953), Daughters of Destiny (1954), The Bed (1954), Obsession (1954), The Little Rebels (1955), and Marie Antoinette Queen of France (1956). Delannoy directed Anthony Quinn and Gina Lollobrigida in the 1956 ﬁlm adaptation of Victor Hugo’s classic The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He also helmed the ﬁlms Inspector Maigret (1958), Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case (1959), Guinguette (1959), The Baron of the Locks (1960), Love and the Frenchwoman (1960), Princess of Cleves (1961), Rendezvous (1961), Imperial

Luisa Della Noce

1951. She was also featured in the ﬁlms Wanda the Sinner (1952) and The Art of Getting Along (1955). She costarred with director Pietro Germi in the 1956 ﬁlm The Railroad Man, and received the prize for best actress at the Festival di San Sebastian for her performance. She remained active in ﬁlms over the next decade with roles in A Man of Straw (1958), Retiro Park (1959), Jacob: The Man Who Fought with God (1963), All the Other Girls Do! (1964), Juliet of the Spirits (1965), John the Bastard (1967), and Death Rides Along (1967). She made her ﬁnal ﬁlm appearance in Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1982 ﬁlm Identiﬁcation of a Woman.

DELLO JOIO, NORMAN Pulitzer Prize– winning composer Norman Dello Joio died at his home in East Hampton, New York, on July 24, 2008. He was 95. He was born Norman DeGioio in New York City on January 24, 1913. His father was a voice coach and taught Norman how to play the piano and organ at an early age, and he worked as a church organist while his teens. He studied music composition at Juilliard School and with Paul Hindemith at Yale. He was considered one of the leading composers in the U.S. by the late 1940s, creating over forty-ﬁve choral works, nearly thirty orchestral works, twenty-ﬁve pieces for solo voice, twenty chamber works, and numerous solo piano works, concertos for piano, ﬂute, and harp. Dello

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Norman Della Joio

Guillaume Depardieu

Joio wrote an opera about Joan of Arc, The Triumph of Joan, in 1950, and was revised as The Trial at Rouen for an NBC television production in 1956. He also scored the CBS television series Air Power in 1956. Dello Joio was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1957 for his orchestra composition Meditations on Ecclesiastes. He also received an Emmy Award for his music for the 1964 television special Scenes from the Louvre. He served as chairman of the Ford Foundations Contemporary Music Project from 1964 until 1972, and was Dean of the School of Fine Arts at Boston University from 1972 until his retirement in 1978.

April 7, 1971, and made his screen debut with his father at the age of three in The Wonderful Crook (1974). He had a difﬁcult youth, with several arrests on charges of drugs and theft, before returning to the screen in 1991’s All the Mornings of the World. He played the composer Marin Marais as a young man, with his father in the role of the older Marais. Guillaume also appeared on French television in an episode of Le Lyonnais in 1990. He continued to appear onscreen in such ﬁlms as Les Paroles Invisibles (1992), Wild Target (1993), The Story of a Boy Who Wanted to Be Kissed (1994), Les Apprentis (1996), Le Constat (1997), Sans Titre (1997), Alliance Cherche Doigt (1997), Marthe (1997), White Lies (1998), Pola X (1999), Elle et Lui au 14eme Etage (2000), The Sandmen (2000), The Aquarium (2001), Love, Curiosity, Prozac and Doubt (2001), Like an Airplane (2002), A Loving Father (2002) co-starring with Gerard as father and son, Once Upon an Angel (2002), The Pharmacist (2003), Process (2004), Celibataires (2006), The Duchess of Langeais (2007), Le France (2007), Les Yeux Bandes (2007), Fear(s) of the Dark (2007), On War (2008), Versailles (2008), Stella (2008), and Circuit Ferme (2008). He also appeared in television productions of Ricky (1996), The Count of Monte Cristo (1998) as the young Edmond Dantes, Le Detour (2000), Les Miserables (2000) as the young Jean Valjean, Zaide, un Petit Air de Vengeance (2001), Napoleon (2002), Milady (2004) as the Musketeer Athos, A Cursed Monarchy (2005) as Louis X, and Chateau en Suede (2008). He was also featured on television in episodes of L’Amour est a Reinventer. Depardieu was in a motorcycle accident in 1995 that severely injured his right leg and resulted in a viral infection in his knee. After 17 surgeries, the leg was amputated in 2003. Drug and alcohol problems and legal mishaps also continued to cloud his career, as did a rocky relationship with his father that he recounted in his 2004 autobiography Giving Everything. He was shooting the ﬁlm The Childhood of Icarus in Romania when he contracted a severe case of pneumonia that resulted in his death. DEROY, RICHARD Television writer Richard DeRoy died in Los Angeles on March 8, 2008. He was 77. DeRoy was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on May 14, 1930. He primarily known as a television writer from the 1950s, scripting episodes of such series

DEMARCO, JOSEPH Film executive Joseph DeMarco died in a Los Angeles hospital while undergoing emergency surgery on June 19, 2008. He was 48. DeMarco was born on June 16, 1960. He was a mem-

Joseph DeMarco

ber of the law ﬁrm of Gold, Marks, Ring & Pepper before joining Fox Searchlight in 1990. He served as executive vice president of Searchlight and was instrumental in orchestrating the deals for such ﬁlms as Little Miss Sunshine and Young@Heart.

DEPARDIEU , G UILLAUME French actor Guillaume Depardieu, the son of ﬁlm star Gerard Depardieu, died of complications from pneumonia in a hospital in Gaches, near Paris, France, on October 13, 2008. He was 37. Depardieu was born in Paris on

109 as Studio One, Kraft Television Theatre, This Man Dawson, Surfside 6, Checkmate, 77 Sunset Strip, Alcoa Premiere, Mr. Novak, The Twilight Zone, Peyton Place, The Rogues, The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., The Rat Patrol, The Flying Nun, The Survivors, The Partridge Family, The Name of the Game, The ABC Afternoon Playbreak, Hawaii Five-0, Hart to Hart, Remington Steele, Father Dowling Mysteries, and Generations. DeRoy also scripted the tele-ﬁlms A Howling in the Woods (1971), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1977), Murder in Peyton Place (1977), Harold Robbins’ 79 Park Avenue (1977), The Dream Merchants (1980), The Other Victim (1981), and Intimate Agony (1983). He also wrote several feature ﬁlms during his career including The Baby and the Battleship (1956), Philbert (Three’s a Crowd) (1963), and Two People (1973) for director Robert Wise.

DERRIEN, MARCELLE

French actress Marcelle Derrien died in France on November 2, 2008. She was 92. Derrien was born in Saint-Leu-la-Foret,

Marcelle Derrien

France, on July 24, 1916. She appeared in several ﬁlms in the late 1940s including The J3 (1946), Man About Town (1947) with Maurice Chevalier, Impeccable Henri (1948), The Secret of Monte-Cristo (1948), Gloomy Sunday (1948), L’Inconnue n 13 (1949), and Cheri (1950).

DESAILLY, JEAN French actor Jean Desailly died in France on June 10, 2008. He was 87. Desailly was born in Paris on August 24, 1920. He was a leading stage performer, appearing in productions with the Comedie-Francaise and Jean-Louis Barrault’s theatrical company. He teamed with his second wife, actress Simone Valere, to form their own company, ValereDesailly, and often appeared together on stage and in ﬁlms. Desailly’s made his ﬁlm debut in 1942’s Le Voyageur de la Toussaint. He was also seen in such ﬁlms as Father Goriot (1945), The Last Judgment (1945), Sylvie and the Phantom (1946), La Symphonie Pastorale (1946), Patrie (1946), The Revenge of Roger (1946), Amours, Delices et Orgues (1947), Carre de Valets (1946), Just a Big Simple Girl (1948), L’Echafaud Peut Attendre (1949), The Mark of the Day (1949), La Veuve et l’Innocent (1949), Oh Amelia! (1949), Veronique (1950), Cheri (1950), Demain Nous Divorcons (1951), Chicago Digest (1952), Jocelyn (1952), Royal Affairs in Versailles (1954),

2008 • Obituaries

Jean Desailly

On ne Badine pas Avec l’Amour (1955) which he also directed, The Grand Maneuver (1955), Inspector Maigret (1958), The Possessor (1958), 125 rue Montmartre (1959), Secret of Chevalier D’Eon (1959) as Louis XV, The Dance of Death (1960), Premeditation (1960), The Baron of the Locks (1960), The Passion of Slow Fire (1961), Love, Freedom and Treachery (1961), One Night at the Beach (1961), Famous Love Affairs (1961), The Seven Deadly Sins (1962), Doulos: The Finger Man (1962), Graduation Year (1964), The Soft Skin (1964), The Two Orphans (1965), The Dance of the Heron (1966), The 25th Hour (1967), Franciscan of Bourges (1968), The Comeuppance (1970), Circle of Vengeance (1971), The Assassination of Trotsky (1972), Dirty Money (1972), The Inheritor (1973), The Irony of Chance (1974), The Skirt Chaser (1979), I’ve Got You, You’ve Got Me by the Chin Hairs (1979), The Black Sheep (1979), Heads or Tails (1980), The Professional (1981), Le Fou du Roi (1984) as Louis XIV, Equipe de Nuit (1990), The Raft of the Medusa (1994), and La Dilettante (1999). Desailly was also featured in such television productions as Le Chevalier de Maison Rouge (1963), La Double Inconstance (1964), Le Bonheur Conjugal (1965), Le Monde est Petit (1965), Le Cerisaie (1966), Tout Pour le Mieux (1969), Le Misanthrope (1971), Les Sous-locs (1972), Claudine a l’Ecole (1978), Un Ennemi du Peuple (1978), Claudine a Paris (1978), Claudine en Menage (1978), Orient-Express (1979), Le Pain de Fougere (1981), La Memoire Courte (1981), Les Invites (1982), Siegfried (1982), La Bavure (1984), Les Tisserands du Pouvoir (1988), L’Eterna Giovinezza (1988), Les Grandes Familles (1989), The Trap (1991), and L’Elixir d’Amour (1992). He also narrator for the series Les Enquetes du Commissaire Maigret during the 1970s and 1980s. He also lent his distinctive voice to numerous other ﬁlm and television productions during his career including Bullﬁght (1951), Avec Andre Gide (1952), Chagall (1953), Les Alchimistes (1957), La Lozere (1959), Masters of the Congo Jungle (1959), Marcel Proust (1961), Misfortunes of War (1963), Le Nouvel Age de Pierre (1964), La Chapelle de Romchamp (1964), Mozart, le Rossignol et la Mort (1964), You Will Reap the Tempest (1969), Remembering Jean Gabin (1978), Ces Chers Disarus: Francoise Dorleac (1984), Across the Road (2000), Gabin, Gueule d’Amour (2001), and Le Delivrance de Tolstoi (2003).

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DESNI, TAMARA European actress Tamara Desni died in Valence d’Agen, France, on February 7, 2008. She was 97. Desni was born in Berlin, Germany, on October 22, 1910, the daughter of German actress Xenia Desni. She began her career on the stage in England in the musical White Horse Inn in 1931. She remained a popular performer on London’s West End

Tamara Desni

through the 1950s. Desni also starred in nearly 20 ﬁlms from the early 1930s including Terror of the Garrison (1931), In the Employee of the Secret Service (1931), Falling for You (1933), Forbidden Territory (1934), Jack Ahoy (1934), Bypass to Happiness (1934), The Diplomatic Lover (1934), Dark World (1935), Blue Smoke (1935), Hell’s Cargo (1935), Love in Exile (1936), Fire Over England (1937), the Edgar Wallace mystery The Squeaker (1937), The Traitor Spy (1939), His Brother’s Keeper (1940), Flight from Folly (1945), Send for Paul Temple (1946), The Hills of Donegal (1947), and Dick Barton at Bay (1950). Desni retired from acting in the mid–1950s and moved to France.

DEVOLDERE, BRUNO French actor Bruno Devoldere died in Paris on February 15, 2008. He was 59. Devoldere was born in Roubaix, France, on May 18, 1948. He performed on stage with the Comedie Francais from 1973 to 1976. He also appeared frequently in ﬁlms and television from the early 1970s. Devoldere’s

Bruno Devoldere

ﬁlm credits include Les Conﬁdences Erotiques d’un lit Trop Accueillant (1973), The Others (1974), Nocturnal Uproar (1979), Jacques le Fataliste (1993), and La Bataille de Yavich (2003). He was also seen in such television productions as Ondine (1975), Le Chandelier (1977), La Corde au Cou (1978), Jean-Christophe (1978), Sacre Farceur (1978), Les Dames de la Cote (1979), Le Grand Poucet (1980), Les Fiancees de l’Empire (1981), La Randonnee (1981), Les Heroiques (1981), Des Grives aux Loups (1984), Les Dames de la Cote (1979), Le Grand Poucet (1980), Les Fiancees de l’Empire (1981), La Randonee (1981), Des Grives Aux Loups (1984), A Nous les Beaux Dimanches (1986), L’Ete de la Revolution (1989), Mon Dernier Reve Sera Pour Vous (1989), Le Front dans les Nuages (1989), La Cavaliere (1992), Honorin et l’Enfant Prodique (1994), Belle Comme Cresus (1997), and Arzak Rhapsody (2003). His other television credits include episodes of Les Brigades du Tigre, Les Amours Romantiques, Serie Rose, Les Cinq Dernieres Minutes, Cas de Divorce, Brigade Speciale, B.R.I.G.A.D., and Verite Oblige.

DIAL, BILL Television writer and producer Bill Dial died of a heart attack at his home in Beaufort, South Carolina, on June 2, 2008. He was 64. Dial was born on June 17, 1943. He worked in television

Bill Dial

from the late 1970s, scripting several episodes of the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati. He was best known for writing the popular turkey giveaway episode in 1978, and appeared onscreen in the recurring role of Bucky Dornster. Dial also appeared in the 1977 ﬁlm The Lincoln Conspiracy. He wrote and frequently produced episodes of such series as Harper Valley P.T.A., Legmen, Simon & Simon, CBS Summer Playhouse, E.A.R.T.H. Force, Evening Shade, The New WKRP in Cincinnati, Time Trax, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyage, Sliders, Legend, Team Knight Rider, and 18 Wheels of Justice. He also scripted the tele-ﬁlms Code Name: Foxﬁre (1985) and The Absent-Minded Professor (1988), and the 1989 feature The Elite.

DIAZ, EMILIO Emilio Diaz, the father of actress Cameron Diaz, died suddenly of complications from pneumonia in Seal Beach, California, on April 15, 2008. He was 58. Diaz was born on July 3, 1949. He

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Emilio Diaz

appeared as a jailbird in his daughter’s 1998 comedy ﬁlm There’s Something About Mary.

DIDDLEY, BO Bo Diddley, who was considered one of the founders of rock ’n’ roll, died of heart failure at his home in Archer, Florida, on June 2, 2008. He was 79. He was born Ellas Bates in McComb, Mississippi, on December 30, 1928, but took the name Ellis McDaniel when he was adopted by his mother’s cousin as a child. His family relocated to Chicago when he was 5 years of age, and he learned to play the guitar several years later. He played on street corners and small locales before taking a regular job in a popular Chicago nightclub. He adopted the stage name Bo Diddley and performed with such musicians as Billy Boy Arnold and Roosevelt Jackson. He released his ﬁrst record, the self titled single “Bo Diddley” in 1955. It became a #1 R&B hit, and introduced his signature beat, “bomp ba — bomp bomp, bomp bomp” (or “shave and a haircut, two bits”). The single’s ﬂip-side, “I’m a Man,” also became an early rock classic. Diddley continued to compose and record such popular, and often humorous, tunes as “Say Man,” “You Can’t Judge a Book by Its Cover,” “Uncle John,” “The Mule,” and “How Do You Love?” He made his network television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1955. Sullivan insisted that Diddley sing the song “Sixteen Tons,” but Bo made a switch and belted out his own rendition of “Bo Diddley.” Sullivan was furious and banned him

2008 • Obituaries

from any further appearances. Regardless, he still recorded popular hits throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and his songs were covered by such artists as the Yardbirds, the Who, and the Rolling Stones. He released numerous albums, often through Checker Records, and toured throughout the United States and England. Diddley was seen onscreen in such rockumentary ﬁlms and television productions as The Legend of Bo Diddley (1966), The Big TNT Show (1966), Keep On ’Rockin (1969), Let the Good Times Roll (1973), Shake, Rock, and Roll (1973), Dick Clark’s Good Old Days (1977), Good Time Rock ’n’ Roll (1985), Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock ’n’ Roll (1987), and Big Bird’s Birthday or Let Me Eat Cake (1991). Berry was also featured on cameo rolls in such ﬁlms as Crush Proof (1972), Hells Angels Forever (1983), Trading Places (1983), Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! (1989), Rockula (1990), and Blues Brothers 2000 (1998). He was also seen on television in episodes of So Weird and According to Jim and was a voice performer on The Simpsons. He was featured in the “Bo Knows” series of Nike commercials starring athlete Bo Jackson, which ended with his one-liner “Bo You Don’t Know Diddley!” He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998. He continued to perform until suffering a stroke during a concert in Iowa in 2007. He also suffered from diabetes and heart ailments and retired to recuperate at his home in Florida.

DILL, DANNY Danny Dill, who co-wrote the hit country song “Long Black Veil,” died in Davidson County, Tennessee, on October 23, 2008. He was 83.

Danny Dill

Bo Diddley

He was born Horace Eldred Dill in Huntingdon, Tennessee, on September 19, 1925. He began his career performing with his ﬁrst wife, Annie Lou Stockard, in the duo Annie Lou and Danny. They sang on radio and played with the Grand Ole Opry during the 1940s and 1950s. After their divorce Dill began writing songs and teamed with Marijohn Wilkin to pen the 1959 gothic country hit “Long Black Veil.” The song was recorded by numerous artists including Lefty Frizzell, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Garcia. He also co-wrote “Detroit City” with Mel Tillis, which became a hit for

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Bobby Bare in 1963. Dill was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975.

DI MARIO, RAFFAELE Italian actor Raffaele Di Mario died in Rome on June 1, 2008. He was 80. Di Mario was born in Collepardo, Italy, on June 11, 1927. He appeared frequently in Italian ﬁlms from the late 1960s with such credits as Death Sentence (1968), Night Is Made for Stealing (1968), Dismissed on His Wedding Night (1968), Cloud of Dust ... Cry of Death ... Sar-

from 1975 to 1981, releasing the hit singles “Silver Cloud” and “Rheinita.” He later formed La! Neu? in 1996.

DISCH, THOMAS Thomas Disch, the iconoclastic science ﬁction writer who was perhaps best known for his children’s story The Brave Little Toaster, committed suicide at his New York apartment on July 4, 2008. He was 68. He had been suffering from depression and various physical ailments following the death of his long-time partner Charles Naylor several years earlier. Disch was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on February 2, 1940. He began writing in the early 1960s, penning such early notable stories as The Double-Timer (1962), Come to Venus Melancholy (1965), The Roaches (1965), and The Asian Shore (1970). His ﬁrst novel, The Genocides, was published in 1965. Several novels followed in quick succession before the publication of his classic work Camp Concentration in 1968. The following year, he wrote a novelization of the classic television series The Prisoner. Disch was nominated for a

Raffaele Di Mario

tana Is Coming (1971), Maﬁa Killer (1973), Black Ribbon for Deborah (1974), Terror in Rome (1975), Violent Rome (1975), Nest of Vipers (1977), Could It Happen Here? (1977), I Am Afraid (1977), L’Albero della Maldicenza (1979), Fantozzi Against the Wind (1980), Fear in the City (1981), Briganti (1983), Nostalgia (1983), Merry Christmas ... Happy New Year (1989), Escurial (1991), and Io e il Re (1995). He was also featured on Italian television in productions of Il Furto della Gioconda (1978), Buio Nella Valle (1984), and La Storia (1986).

DINGER, KLAUS German musician and songwriter Klaus Dinger, who was co-founder of the band Neu!, died of heart failure in Germany on March 21, 2008. He was 61. Dinger was born in Germany on March 24, 1946. He began his career as a drummer for Kraftwerk in 1970, and was a founder of Neu! the following year. He left Neu! to play with La Dusseldorf

Klaus Dinger

Thomas Disch

Hugo Award for his 1978 story The Man Who Had No Idea, and earned a Nebula Award nomination for 1982’s Understanding Human Behavior. His classic children’s tale, The Brave Little Toaster, was ﬁrst published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1980, and a sequel, The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars, was published in 1988. The fantasy tales were adapted for a series of animated ﬁlms, The Brave Little Toaster (1987), The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue (1997), and The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars (1998). He was also an acclaimed poet under the name Tom Disch and authored the plays Ben Hur (1989) and The Cardinal Detoxes (1990). He and his partner, fellow poet Charles Naylor, collaborated on the anthologies New Constellations (1976) and Strangeness (1977), and the 1981 novel Neighboring Lives. His next several novels were contemporary horror tales including The Businessman: A Tale of Terror (1984), The M.D.: A Horror Story (1991), The Priest: A Gothic Romance (1994), and The Sub: A Study in Witchcraft (1999). His most recent works include the 2007 novella The Voyage of the Proteus, the 2008 short novel The Word of God, and the forthcoming anthology The Wall of America.

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DI S TEFANO , G IUSEPPE Italian operatic tenor Giuseppe di Stefano died at his home in Santa Maria Hoe, Lombardy, Italy, on March 3, 2008. He was 86. He had been badly injured in November of 2004 when an assault at his villa in Kenya put him in a coma from which he never fully recovered. Di Stefano was born in Motta Santa Anastasia, Sicily, on July 24, 1921. He sang in the church choir as a child and aspired to the priesthood, but abandoned that vocation to pursue

Dith Pran

Giuseppe di Stefano

women and a professional singing career. He was drafted into the Italian army during World War II, and made his way to Switzerland in 1943. He began singing opera there on a classical radio station. Di Stefano made his professional debut in Italy after the war in 1946 in a production of Massenet’s Manon at the municipal theater in Reggio Emilia. He soon became a leading performer in Italy and made a major impression on American audiences with his debut with the Metropolitan Opera as the Duke in Rigoletto in 1948. He was a sensation the following year with his interpretation of the title role in Faust, and he performed on television in an episode of The Ed Sullivan Show. He also starred in ﬁlm productions of Cantoperte (1953) and La Cobarde (1953). Di Stefano’s career was damaged by his sometimes erratic behavior and reckless lifestyle that caused him to miss performances and diminished his vocal abilities. He was banned from the Met for several years before returning in the mid–1950s with performances as Don Jose in Carmen and Cavaradossi in Tosca. His career was on the decline during the 1960s. A failed tour with his frequent leading lady and sometimes lover Maria Callas in the early 1970s largely marked the end of his career as a leading operatic ﬁgure.

DITH PRAN Cambodian photojournalist Dith Pran, whose survival from the genocidal practices of his nation’s fanatical Khmer Rouge leaders in the 1970s became the basis for the acclaimed ﬁlm The Killing Fields, died of pancreatic cancer in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on March 30, 2008. He was 65. Dith Pran was born in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on September 23, 1942. He learned French and English and worked as a translator and hotel receptionist. When the rebel Khmer Rouge began their push to take control of the country

in the early 1970s, Dith teamed with New York Times correspondent Sydney Schanberg, serving as his interpreter and cameraman. As the situation in Cambodia deteriorated, Schanberg arranged for Dith’s family to be evacuated to the United States, but Dith remained in the country to assist the correspondent. He was ultimately responsible for saving Schanberg’s life, as well as the lives of other Western journalists, when they were accosted by gun-toting rebels. When the Khmer Rouge took control Dith was sent to a re-education camp in 1975. He survived four years under barbarous conditions under which an estimated two million Cambodians perished. Neighboring Vietnam invaded and ousted the Khmer Rouge in 1979, and Dith was able to escape across the border to Thailand that October. He was met there by Schanberg, who was instrumental in gaining him a job for The New York Times as a photographer. Schanberg’s article about Dith’s experiences, “The Death and Life of Dith Pran,” was published in The New York Times Magazine in 1980 and became a book in 1985. Roland Jaffe directed a ﬁlm adaptation, The Killing Fields, starring Sam Waterston as Schanberg and Dr. Haing S. Ngor as Dith. Ngor, a physician turned actor who had also survived imprisonment under the Khmer Rouge, earned an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. Dith and Ngor both used their fame to work in support of human rights throughout the world until Ngor was murdered by a young gang member in Los Angeles in 1996. DIXON, IVAN Actor Ivan Dixon, who starred as POW Sgt. Kinchloe in the television sit-com Hogan’s Heroes, died of complication from kidney failure in a Charlotte, North Carolina, hospital on March 16, 2008. He was 76. Dixon was born in New York City on April 6, 1931. Active on the New York stage from the 1950s, Dixon made his ﬁlm debut in the 1953 drama Something of Value. He was featured as Jim in the 1959 version of the musical Porg y and Bess, and was Asagai in the 1961 ﬁlm production of A Raisin in the Sun. He was also seen in the ﬁlms Battle at Bloody Beach (1961), Nothing but a Man (1964), A Patch of Blue (1965), and Where’s Jack? (1969). Dixon was best known for his frequent appearances on television, with roles in such series as Armstrong Circle Theatre, The DuPont Show of the

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114 DJANIK, HENRY French actor and voice performer Henry Djanik died in France on August 18, 2008. He was 82. Djanik was born in France on March 21, 1926. Djanik was the French dubbing voice for most of Anthony Quinn’s performances. His deep voice also was heard for the French dubbing of such stars as Telly Savalas, Edward Asner, Ernest Borgnine, Mister T,

Ivan Dixon

Month, Have Gun —Will Travel, Follow the Sun, The New Breed, Cain’s Hundred, Target: The Corruptors, Laramie, The Lloyd Bridges Show, Going My Way, Stoney Burke, Perry Mason, The Great Adventure, The Twilight Zone, The Eleventh Hour, Dr. Kildare, The Defenders, Man from U.N.C.L.E., Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, The Outer Limits as Sgt. James Conover in the two-part episode “The Inheritors,” I Spy, CBS Playhouse, The Fugitive, Felony Squad, Ironside, It Takes a Thief, The Name of the Game, The Mod Squad, Insight, The F.B.I., and Love, American Style. Dixon starred as Sgt. James “Kinch” Kinchloe, the POWs communications ofﬁcer, in the sit-com Hogan’s Heroes starring Bob Crane from 1965 until 1970. He made sporadic acting appearances over the next two decades, with roles in the ﬁlms Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came? (1970), Clay Pigeon (1971), and Car Wash (1976) as Lonnie. He also appeared in the tele-ﬁlms Fer-de-Lance (1974) and Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star (1986), and the 1987 mini-series Amerika as Dr. Alan Drummond. Dixon, who was working largely behind the cameras as a director by this time, made his ﬁnal onscreen role in an episode of Father Dowling Mysteries in 1991. Dixon became one of the ﬁrst blacks to direct for television and ﬁlms in the early 1970s, helming episodes of The Bill Cosby Show, Monty Nash, and Nichols. He also directed the ﬁlms Trouble Man (1972) and The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973) which he also produced. Dixon worked primarily in television, directing episodes of such series as Get Christie Love!, Apple’s Way, Khan!, The Rookies, The Waltons, Starsky and Hutch, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Quincy, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Richie Brockelman, Private Eye, The Bionic Woman, The Eddie Capra Mysteries, Wonder Woman, Harris and Company, The Rockford Files, Tenspeed and Brown Shoe, The Righteous Apples, Palmerstown, U.S.A., Bret Maverick, Counterattack: Crime in America, The Greatest American Hero, Tales of the Gold Monkey, The A-Team, Trapper John, M.D., Airwolf, Hawaiian Heat, Downtown, Magnum, P.I., Quantum Leap, and In the Heat of the Night. He also directed the tele-ﬁlms Love Is Not Enough (1978) and Percy & Thunder (1993). Dixon later owned and operated a radio station in Maui until leaving the islands for health reasons in 2001.

Henry Djanik

James Earl Jones, and the animated adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Djanik was also featured onscreen in such ﬁlms as The Girl in the Bikini (1952), This Man Is Dangerous (1953), La Soupe a la Grimace (1954), Pas de Coup dur Pour Johnny (1955), Three Make a Pair (1957), Living It Up (1966), Le Grand Bidule (1967), Binbi (1971), Q (1974), Fear Over the City (1975), Village Girls (1975), French Undressing (1976), Question of Love (1978), Memoirs of a French Whore (1979), I as in Icarus (1979), the animated Time Masters (1982), Rainbow Serpent (1983), and Mother (1992).

DMITRIYEV, IGOR Russian actor Igor Dmitriyev died in St. Petersburg, Russia, on January 26, 2008. He was 80. Dmitriyev was born in St. Petersburg (which was then Leningrad, Soviet Union) on May 29, 1927. He made his ﬁlm debut as a child in the 1939 feature The Voice of Taras. He studied acting at the Moscow Art Theatre in the late 1940s and began his career on stage in Leningrad in 1949. He was acclaimed for

Igor Dmitriyev

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his role of Yevgeni Listnitsky in the 1957 ﬁlm And Quietly Flows the Don. He appeared in numerous ﬁlms over the next forty years including Little Hare (1964), Hamlet (1964) as Rosencrantz, The Green Cab (1967), No Password Necessary (1967), Nikolay Bauman (1968), A Very Old Story (1969), The Loves of Liszt (1970) as Prince Wittgenstein, One of Us (1970), Lyubov Yarovaya (1970), Farewell to Saint Petersburg (1971), Dauria (1971), Poslednie dni Pompey (1972), The Captivating Star of Happiness (1975), How Ivanushka the Fool Travelled in Search of Wonder (1976), Doverie (1976), Golden Mine (1977), Yaroslavna, Queen of France (1978), Chest of Drawers Was Lead Through the Street... (1978), My Father Is an Idealist (1980), Vladivostok, god 1918 (1982), Krepysh (1982), Magistral (1983), Anna Pavlova (1983), Win of the Lonely Businessman (1984), Skazki Starogo Volshebrnika (1984), A Rogue’s Saga (1984), The Marvelous Season (1985), Primary Russia (1986), A Bright Person (1988), Stukach (1988), Pants (1988), Was There Karotin? (1989), The Battle of the Three Kings (1990), And to Hell with Us! (1991), A Beautiful Stranger (1992), Musketeers 20 Years Later (1992), Confessions of a Kept Woman (1992), The Wheel of Love (1994), The Return of the Battleship (1996), and The Romanovs: An Imperial Family (2000). Dmitriyev also appeared frequently on Russian television in such productions as Operation Trust (1967), The Strogovs (1975), The Dog in the Manger (1977), A Glass of Water (1979), The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: Bloody Signature (1979), The Adventures of Prince Florisel (1979), The Bat (1979), The Blue Carbuncle (1979), Only in the Music Hall (1980), Kopilka (1980), Silva (1981), Sold Laughter (1981), Pokrov Gates (1982), Engineer Barkasov’s Crazy Day (1983), Tsyganskiy Baron (1988), Do Sezar de Bazan (1989), Tartuffe (1992), Poor Anastasya (2003), Smeshariki (2004), and Zolotoy Telenok (2005). Dmitriyev also hosted radio broadcasts for over forty years and was involved with the Nikolay Akimov Theatre of Comedy from 1984.

ﬁlm from the early 1960s, with roles in such ﬁlms as The Lanﬁer Colony (1969), The Copper Tower (1970), The Mill (1971), Days of Betrayal (1973), Do Zbrane Kuruci! (1974), Dinner for Adele (1977) as detective Nick Carter, Viezny Iid (1977), An Epic About Conscience III (1978), Snow Underfoot (1978), The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians (1981), Plavcik a Vratko (1982), The Bee Millennium (1983), Cena Odvahy (1986), Die Pfauenfeder (1987), Pravo na Minulost (1989), Corpus Delicti (1991), Sukromne Zivoty (1991), and Pernikova Vez (2002). Docolomansky also appeared on television as Jano Kmac in the series Inzenyrska Odysea in 1979, and was Lt Col. Danko in Chlapci a Chlapi in 1988. His other television credits include productions of Husiarka a Kral (1983), Alzbetin Dvor (1986), Roky Prelomu (1989), and Un Coeur a Prendre (1991).

DOCOLOMANSKY, MICHAL Slovakian actor Michal Docolomansky died of lung cancer in Bratislava, Slovakia, on August 26, 2008. He was 66. Docolomansky was born in Niedzica, Poland, on March 25, 1942. He was a leading actor on stage and

Massachusetts, in 1957. She began her career as a standup comedian in the Boston area before moving to Los Angeles in the mid–1990s. She was featured onscreen in Sam Seder’s 1997 comedy ﬁlm Who’s the Caboose?, and began writing for MADtv in 1997. She became a co–executive producer for the series three years later. She worked with MADtv for a decade before failing health ended her career.

Michal Docolomansky

DOMBROWSKI , LAUREN Comedian and writer Lauren Dombrowski, who was a producer for the television series MADtv, died following a long bout with cancer at her home in Los Angeles on October 8, 2008. She was 51. Dombrowski was born in Lynnﬁeld,

Lauren Dombrowski

DONATH, AGI Agnes Anderson, who appeared in ﬁlms in Austria and Hungary under the name Agi Donath in the 1930s, died in Palm Desert, California, on February 16, 2006. She was 89. She was born in Budapest, Hungary, on March 25, 1918. She was seen in ﬁlms over a dozen ﬁlms from the mid–1930s including There Are Expectations (1936), Sister Maria (1936), All for Veronica (1936), Three Spinsters (1936), 3 to 1 for Love (1937), Tales of Budapest (1937), Hotel Sunrise (1937), My Daughter Is Different (1937), Today’s Girls (1937), Tokay Rhapsody (1937), I Married for Love (1937), and I Defended a Woman (1938). Donath was married to acclaimed producer Emeric Pressburger. After their divorce she moved to the United States,

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Agi Donath

where she had success in real estate and the cosmetics industry.

DOQUI , ROBERT Actor Robert DoQui, who starred as Sgt. Reed in the three RoboCop ﬁlms, died in Los Angeles on February 9, 2008. He was 73. DoQui was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on April 20, 1934. He served in the U.S. Air Force before heading to Hollywood in the early 1960s. He was soon appearing frequently as a guest star in such television series as The Outer Limits, I Dream of Jeannie, The Fugitive, Daniel Boone, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Daktari, Family Affair, Tarzan in the recurring role of Metusa from 1966 to 1968, Cowboy in Africa, Get Smart, The Mod Squad, The Guns of Will Sonnett, The High Chaparral, Felony Squad, Gunsmoke, The Name of the Game, Ironside, Mission: Impossible, Longstreet, O’Hara, U.S. Treasury, Banacek, Happy Days, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Adam-12, Sanford and Son, The Blue Knight, The Streets of San Francisco, The Jeffersons, The Rockford Files, Maude, Quincy, The White Shadow, Knots Landing, Barnaby Jones, Up and Coming, Hill Street Blues, Concrete Cowboys, Matt Houston, ABC Afterschool Specials, Blue Thunder, Punky Brewster, Webster, The Fall Guy, Hotel, The Facts of Life, Cagney & Lacey, Frank’s Place, My Two Dads, Amen, Starman, Picket Fences, N.Y.P.D. Blue, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, High Tide, ER, The Practice, L.A. Heat, Cover Me, Party of Five, Dead Last, The Parkers, and Wanda at Large. DoQui

Robert DoQui

was also a voice actor in several animated series including The Harlem Globetrotters and Scooby Doo Meets the Harlem Globetrotters as the voice of Pablo Robertson in the early 1970s, and the Batman series in the 1980s. He was also featured in such tele-ﬁlms as Visions... (1972), Lieutenant Schuster’s Wife (1972), A Dream for Christmas (1973), Heat Wave! (1974), Almos’ a Man (1976), Green Eyes (1977), Roger & Harry: The Mitera Target (1977), How the West Was Won (1978), Centennial (1978), The Child Stealer (1979), Making of a Male Model (1983), Dark Mirror (1984), Obsessive Love (1984), Between the Darkness and the Dawn (1985), The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson (1990), and A Case for Murder (1993). DoQui was also a frequent performer in ﬁlms from the mid–1960s, with such credits as Taffy and the Jungle Hunter (1965), Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion (1965), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), The Fortune Cookie (1966), Up Tight! (1968), The Devil’s 8 (1969), The Red, White, and Black (1970), The Man (1972), Coffy (1973) as the pimp King George, Robert Altman’s Nashville (1975) as Wade Cooley, Walking Tall Part II (1975), Altman’s Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson (1976), Treasure of Matecumbe (1976), Guyana: Crime of the Century (1979), I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can (1982), Cloak & Dagger (1984), Fast Forward (1985), My Science Project (1985), and Good to Go (1986). DoQui starred as Police Sgt. Warren Reed in RoboCop in 1987, and reprised the role in the sequels RoboCop 2 (1990) and RoboCop 3 (1993). He continued to appear in such ﬁlms as Mercenary Fighters (1988), Paramedics (1988), Miracle Miles (1988), Diplomatic Immunity (1991), Original Intent (1992), I Don’t Buy Kisses Any More (1992), Short Cuts (1993), Walking Thunder (1997), A Hollow Place (1998), and Glam (2001).

DORFSMAN, LOU Lou Dorfsman, who was the longtime chief of design at CBS, died of congestive heart failure in Roslyn, New York, on October 22, 2008. He was 90. Dorfsman was born in Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 1918. He studied art and design at Cooper Union, graduating in 1939. Dorfsman served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and joined CBS as art director for the radio network in 1946. He worked with CBS’s creative designer William Golden, who had created the network’s distinctive eye logo, and

Lou Dorfsman

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became creative director of CBS television after Golden’s death in 1959. Dorfsman became design director for the entire Columbia Broadcasting System in 1954. He was instrumental in marketing the network’s entire line, creating advertisements for entertainment programming, designing public affairs sports, and promoting the news department. He designed the set for Walter Cronkite’s evening news program and The CBS Morning Show. He also oversaw the graphic designs for the company’s New York headquarters, known as Black Rock. Dorfsman left the network in the late 1980s during a cost-cutting effort. William Paley appointed him creative director of the Museum of Broadcasting, now known as the Paley Center for Media, in 1991.

DOUGLAS, JACK British comic actor Jack Douglas, who was best known in the Carry On series, died after a long illness on the Isle of Wight on December 18, 2008. He was 81. He was born Jack Roberton in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, on April 26, 1927. He came from a theatrical family and began appearing on stage in his teens. He became a popular comic in the 1950s on stage and television. He was featured in such television productions as I Search for Adventure, New

Jack Douglas

Look, The Bruce Forsyth Show, and The Des O’Connor Show. He was also featured in the 1961 ﬁlm Nearly a Nasty Accident. Douglas made his debut in the Carry On series in the 1972 ﬁlm Carry On Matron. He also appeared in the Christmas specials Carry On Christmas: Carry On Stufﬁng (1972) and Carry On Christmas (1973), and the 1975 series Carry On Laughing. He was also seen in the ﬁlms Carry On Abroad (1972), Carry On Girls (1973), Carry On Dick (1974), Carry On Behind (1975), Carry On England (1976), Carry On Emmannuelle (1978), and Carry On Columbus (1992). His other ﬁlm credits include What’s Up Nurse! (1977), Bloody Kids (1979), The Shillingbury Blowers (1980), and The Boys in Blue (1982). Douglas was also featured in episodes of The Edwardians, Sez Les, The Goodies, Not on Your Nellie, The Allan Stewart Tapes, Shillingbury Tales, and Cuffy, and the 1989 television production Norbert Smith, a Life.

DRAKE, BILL Radio programmer Bill Drake, who revolutionized radio broadcasts in the 1960s, died

Bill Drake

of lung cancer in Los Angeles on November 29, 2008. He was 71. He was born Philip Taylor Yarbrough in Donalsonville, Georgia, on January 14, 1937. He began working at a local radio station while in his teens, and was the late night DJ at WWNS while attending South Georgia Teachers College in Statesboro, Georgia. He changed his name to Bill Drake after joining Atlanta station WAKE in 1959. He soon rose from DJ to program director, and his success at the station resulted in a relocation to San Francisco. Drake soon joined forces with Lester Eugene Chenault, the owner of a Fresno radio station. The two men formed Drake-Chenault Enterprises to create a standardized format for radio. They decreased commercial time and DJ chatter, and increased the number of songs played per hour. While their concept diminished the inﬂuence of such radio personalities as Wolfman Jack and Murray the K, the new faster-paced DJs, known as Boss Jocks, also became popular ﬁgures. The new system proved a major success in radio markets around the country, though critics claimed it homogenized radio at the expense of its local charm. Drake and Chenault also created such automated radio packages including “Hit Parade,” “Solid Gold” and “Great American Country” for syndication, hosted by leading Boss Jocks. Drake left Drake-Chenault in 1983 and the company dissolved several years later. He later developed the syndicated music program Top 40 Time Clock, containing over 1,800 popular tunes aimed at a baby boomer audience. DRAKE , THOMAS Y. Television writer Thomas Y. Drake, who was story editor for the 1969 television series Then Came Bronson, died of cancer on August 8, 2008. He was 72. Drake was born in Vancouver, Canada, on June 28, 1936. He was a songwriter in the late 1950s, and teamed with Bob Shane to write several Kingston Trio hits. He also wrote the song “Olly Olly Oxen Free” with Rod McKuen. Drake subsequently formed the folk group The Good Time Singers, and performed for several years on The Andy Williams Show. They also released several albums from Columbia Records. Drake began writing for television in the late 1960s, and was story editor and scripter for Then Came Bronson starring Michael Parks. He also wrote an episode of the 1971 drama series The Psychiatrist. He wrote and directed the 1976 horror ﬁlm The Keeper

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starring Christopher Lee. Drake also wrote the 1980 horror ﬁlm Terror Train starring Jamie Lee Curtis.

DREAD, MIKEY Jamaican singer Mikey Dread died of complications from a brain tumor at his sister’s home in Stamford, Connecticut, on March 15, 2008. He was 53. He was born Michael George Campbell in Port Antionio, Jamaica, on June 4, 1954. He began working at the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation as an engineer in 1976. He soon began hosting his own radio show, Dread at the Controls, which played only reggae songs. He left the station over a clash with

Ronnie Drew

liners joined forces with the Irish band the Pogues to record a hit version of “The Irish Rover” in 1987. From the mid–1990s Drew concentrated on a solo career, and recorded with such artists as Christy Moore, Antonio Breschi, Eleanor Shanley, and the Droppkick Murphys. He suffered from throat cancer for the last several years of his life but made occasional appearances on The Late Late Show to discuss his career and health problems.

DUBOWSKI , CHET Character actor Chet Dubowski died in Illinois on June 11, 2008. He was 82. Mikey Dread

management and began recording his own albums including Dread at the Controls, Evolutionary Rockers, and World War III. He went to England in the late 1970s where he produced and performed with the punk rock band The Clash. He produced the hit single “Bankrobber” and played on the albums Black Market Clash and Sandinista! Dread also recorded the songs “The Source (Of Your Divorce),” “Proﬁle,” and “African Anthem.” He narrated several reggae documentaries including the six-part Deep Roots Music (1982) and the series Rockers Roadshow (1983). He relocated to Florida in the late 1980s where he studied electronics and video production. He continued to perform through the 1990s with such artists as The Clash, UB40, Bob Dylan, and Carlos Santana. He produced works by Rod Taylor, Edi Fitzroy, Sunshine, and Jah Grundy, and was featured artists on Seal’s “Lip’s Like Sugar” for the 2004 ﬁlm 50 First Dates.

DREW , RONNIE Irish folk singer Ronnie Drew, who led the group the Dubliners, died of throat cancer in a Dublin, Ireland, hospital on August 16, 2008. He was 73. Drew was born in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, on September 16, 1934. He teamed with musicians Luke Kelly, Ciaran Bourke and Barney McKenna to form the Ronnie Drew Group in 1962. They soon became known as the Dubliners, and became popular for performing and recording Irish folk songs in Europe and the United States. They had hit songs with “Black Velt Band” and “Seven Drunken Nights,” and performed on television’s The Ed Sullivan Show. Drew remained with the Dubliners until 1974 and rejoined the group from 1979 to 1995. He and the Dub-

Chet Dubowski

Dubowski was born on March 13, 1926. He was featured as Felix, the bank guard, in the 1993 comedy ﬁlm Groundhog Day. He also had a small part in the 2006 ﬁlm Stranger Than Fiction with Will Farrell.

DUCKWORTH, KEVIN Basketball player Kevin Duckworth, who was a 2-time NBA All-Star, died of congestive heart failure in a Gleneden Beach, Oregon, hotel room on August 25, 2008. He was 44. Duckworth was born in Harvey, Illinois, on April 1, 1964. He played basketball at Eastern Illinois University and was picked by the San Antonio Spurs in the second round of the NBA Draft in 1986. He was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers the following year. He earned the NBA Most Improved Player Award in 1988 and was an NBA All-Star in 1988 and 1991. His career declined in the early 1990s and he was traded to the

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Kevin Duckworth

Georges Dufaux

Washington Bullets in 1993. He went to the Milwaukee Bucks in 1995 and the Los Angeles Clippers in 1996 before retiring the following year. Duckworth was featured as a bouncer in the 1993 tele-ﬁlm Fade to Black. He was traveling with a Trail Blazers group hosting free kids’ basketball clinics at the time of his death.

Agriculteur (1959), Marius Barbeau et l’Art Totemique (1959), The Little Sisters (1959), Il Etait une Querre (1959), Henri Gagnon, Organiste (1959), Germaine Guevremont Romanciere (1959), End of the Line (1959), City Out of Time (1959), The Promised Land (1959), and La Battaison (1959). Dufaux made his directorial debut as co-director of the 1960 documentary short I Was a Ninety-Pound Weakling. He also directed Les Dieux (1961), Pour Quelques Arpents de Neige (1962), Rencontres a Mitzic (1963), C’est pas la Faute a Jacques Cartier (1968), Multiple Man (1969), Two Years or More (1970), Cries from Within (1972), A Votre Sante (1974), At the End of My Days (1976), Les Jardins d’Hiver (1976), Games of the XXI Olympiad Montreal 1976 (1977), and Nelli Kim (1978). Dufaux also remained a proliﬁc cinematographer, working on such projects as Walk Down Any Street (1960), Nomades (1960), La France sur un Caillou (1960), Colleges Classiques in Quebec (1960), Le Chanoin Lionel Groulx, Historien (1961), Louis-Joseph Papineau: The Demi-God (1961), Dubois et Fils (1961), Credit for Proﬁt (1961), Rallyte des Neiges (1962), The Rink (1962), Kindergarten (1962), Congres (1962), A Saint-Henri le Cinq Septembre (1962), Rose et Landry (1963), France Revisited (1963), Winter Rally (1964), Springboard to the Sun (1964), Paralleles et Grand Soleil (1964), Genevieve (1964), Corps Agiles (1964), Appuis et Suspensions (1964), That Tender Age (1964), The Shape of Things (1965), Mission of Fear (1965), Montreal Flight 87 (1966), Ride for Your Life (1967), Isabel (1968), Tiger Child (1970), Fortune and Men’s Eyes (1971), Stop (1971), A Cris Perdus (1972), Des Armes et les Hommes (1973), Taureau (1973), Soap Box Derby (1974), They Called Us “Les Filles du Roy” (1974), Partis pour la Gloire (1975), The Invasion “1775–1975” (1976), Ethnocide (1977), Going the Distance (1979), and In the Labyrinth (1979). He directed a series of documentaries in China in the early 1980s consisting of Gui Dao — O the Way: Round Trip to Beijing (1980), Gui Dao — On the Way: A Station on the Yangzi (1980), and Gui Dao — On the Way — Some Chinese Women Told Us (1981). He also directed the ﬁlms Les Enfants des Normes Post Scriptum (1983), Voyage Illusoire (1998), and De l’Art et la Maniere Chez Denys Arcand (2000). Dufaux was also cinematographer for In the Labyrinth (1979), Going the Distance (1979), Happy Memories (1981), A Woman in Transit

DUDELSON, STANLEY American ﬁlm executive Stanley Dudelson died of lung disease in Laguna Beach, California, on April 26, 2008. He was 83. Dudelson was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 12, 1924. He began working in ﬁlms in the Detroit area as a sales manager for Allied Artists and also worked in sales for RKO Pictures, United Artists, and Screen Gems. He was the founder of the television division of American International Pictures (AIP) in 1964, serving as ﬁrst vice president. He left AIP for New Line Cinema in 1971, serving as president of distribution and leading the company’s international division. He was credited as executive producer for the classic horror ﬁlms A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985) while at New Line. He left New Line to serve as president of Artists Entertainment Group in 1985, and later founded Taurus Entertainment, serving as chairman. Dudelson was an associate producer for the 1997 ﬁlm Morella, and was an executive producer for Horror 101 (2000), Chick Street Fighter (2001), and Museum of the Dead (2004). DUFAUX, GEORGES French cinematographer and documentary ﬁlmmaker Georges Dufaux, who spent much of his career working in Canada, died in Switzerland on November 8, 2008. He was 81. Dufaux was born in Lille, France, on March 17, 1927. He studied photography in Paris in the early 1950s before heading to Brazil to work in a ﬁlm laboratory for several years. He went to Canada in 1956, where he joined the National Film Board as an assistant cameraman. Dufaux was soon serving as cinematographer on numerous documentaries, shorts, and feature ﬁlms, with such credits as Man of America (1956), Le Cas Lebrecque (1956), The Suspects (1957), Les Nouveaux Venus (1957), The World on Show (1958), Memory of Summer (1958), The Days Before Christmas (1958), Country Threshing (1958), Canadian Infantrymen (1958), Pierre Beaulieu

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(1984), Bayo (1985), An Imaginary Tale (1990), Hotel Chronicles (1990), The Savage Woman (1991), Wind from Wyoming (1994), 2 Rue de la Memoirie (1995), Le Sphinx (1995), Voyage Illusoire (1998), Gabriele Roy (1998), Big Bear (1998), Touched (1999), and The Universal Clock: The Resistance of Peter Watkins (2001).

DUFFY, JACK Canadian actor and singer Jack Duffy died in a Toronto, Canada, hospital on May 19, 2008. He was 81. Duffy was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on September 27, 1926. He began his career as a singer on CBC Radio in Toronto in the mid–1940s. He toured with the vocal group Bob-OLinks, and performed with Tommy Dorsey’s orchestra later in the decade. He was a regular performer in CBC variety shows in the 1950s, including The Barris Beat, The Wayne and Shuster Hour, Showtime, and Folio. Noted for his comic skills and singing voice, he hosted his own series Here’s Duffy from 1958 to 1959. He also performed on the United States variety series The Perry Como Kraft Music Hall from 1961 to 1963. He was one of the trio of charades players on the comedy series

Bums (2002), Death and the Maiden (2003), and The Altar Boy Gang (2007). He also appeared frequently in feature ﬁlms with such credits as The Silent Partner (1978), Title Shot (1979), Killer Party (1986), Switching Channels (1988), The Dream Team (1989), Ordinary Magic (1993), Double Take (1997), Men with Guns (1997), Blackheart (1998), Strike! (1998), The Spreading Ground (2000), The Tuxedo (2002), The In-Laws (2003), and It’s a Boy Girl Thing (2006).

DUGAN, CHARLES Character actor Charles Dugan died in California on October 9, 2008. He was 95. Dugan was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on December 22, 1912. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II and worked in the insurance business in Chicago after the war. When he retired in the late

Charles Dugan

Jack Duffy

Party Game from 1970 to 1981. His other television credits include such series as In the Mood, Half the George Kirby Comedy Hour, And That’s the New, Goodnight, The Bobby Vinton Show, The Frankie Howerd Show, Bizarre, Curious George, SCTV Network 90, Seeing Things, the supernatural horror series Friday the 13th, Maniac Mansion, Street Legal, Road to Avalonea, Beyond Reality, The Hardy Boys, Forever Knight, Brimstone, Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science, Twice in a Lifetime, Doc, G-Spot, Corner Gas, and Queer as Folk. Duffy was also seen in such television productions as Freddy the Freeloader’s Christmas Dinner (1981) with Red Skelton, Spearﬁeld’s Daughter (1986), Whodunit (1986), Doing Life (1986), Biographies: The Enigma of Bobby Bittman (1988), Once Upon a Giant (1988) as McDermet the Hermit, Dick Francis: In the Frame (1989), Ghost Mom (1993), David’s Mother (1994), Hostage for a Day (1994), Sodbusters (1994), The Defenders: Payback (1997), Universal Soldiers: Unﬁnished Business (1998), A Holiday Romance (1999), RoboCop: Prime Directives (2000) as Dr. Hill, Club Land (2001), My Horrible Year! (2001), A Killing Spring (2002), Bleacher

1980s, he and his wife moved to California, where they began working as actors. Dugan was seen in small character parts in the ﬁlms When Harry Met Sally (1989), Brain Donors (1992), Jack the Bear (1993), the 1994 teleﬁlm version of The Shagg y Dog, Beverly Hills Ninja (1997), The Benchwarmers (2006), and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007). He was also featured in episodes of such series as Wings, Quantum Leap, L.A. Law, and ER. Survivors include his son, actor Dennis Dugan.

DUGGAN, TERRY British comic actor Terry Duggan died in England on May 1, 2008. He was 76. Duggan was born in England on April 15, 1932. He was a popular comic and pantomime performer in British clubs and appeared frequently in ﬁlms and television from the mid–1960s. He was featured in the 1967 ﬁlm Poor Cow, and was the ape attacked by a leopard in the opening segment of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968. He also appeared in the ﬁlms Clegg (1969), The Nine Ages of Nakedness (1969), A Nice Girl Like Me (1969), The Horror of Frankenstein (1970), On the Busses (1971), Family Life (1971), Schizo (1976), What’s Up Nurse! (1977), Murder by Decree (1979), RiffRaff (1991), Beautiful Things (1996), and Weak at Denise (2001). Duggan was also featured on television in such series as The Informer, The Wednesday Play, My Partner, the Ghost, Please Sir!, Manhunt, On the Busses, Dixon of Dock Green, A Place to Hide, Are You Being

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over performer in numerous commercials including as the vampiric breakfast cereal mascot Count Chockula.

Terry Duggan

Served?, The Fosters, Return of the Saint, Mind Your Language, Only Fool and Horses, Just Good Friends, The Bill, Class Act, Poirot, and Bob Martin. Duggan is survived by his wife, actress Anna Karen.

DUKAS, JAMES Character actor James Dukas died of cancer at his home in New York City on December 14, 2008. He was 82. Dukas was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, on June 6, 1926. He was raised in Parkersburg, West Virginia, where he began working as a radio disc jockey at the age of 14. He embarked on an acting career and went to New York to perform on stage. He made his ﬁlm debut as Willie the Driver in 1959’s The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery. He was also seen in the ﬁlms Pretty Boy Floyd (1960), The Hustler (1961), No Way to Treat a Lady (1968), The Detective (1968), Coogan’s Bluff (1968), The Super Cops (1974), God Told Me To (1976), The Amityville Horror (1976), Simon (1980), Brubaker (1980), The Stuff (1985), Ironweed (1987), and Astora (2000). Dukas appeared on television in episodes of Car 54, Where Are You?, The Edge of Night, Naked City, and For the People, and the tele-ﬁlms O’Malley (1980), See China and Die (1981), and Kennedy (1983). He was also featured on Broadway in productions of The Last Analysis (1964), Incident at Vichy (1964), Danton’s Death (1965), The Country Wife (1965), The Condemned of Altona (1966), The Caucasian Chalk Circle (1966), Don’t Drink the Water (1966), and A Patriot for Me (1969). He was also a popular voice-

James Dukas (as Dracula)

DUMONT, ULISES Argentine actor Ulises Dumont died of a heart ailment in a Buenos Aires, Argentina, hospital on November 29, 2008. He was 71. Dumont was born in Buenos Aires on April 7, 1937. He studied at Argentina’s School of Dramatic Art, and became a popular performer on stage, ﬁlm and television in the early 1960s. He appeared in numerous ﬁlms during his career including Dos Quijotes Sobre Ruedas (1966), The Big Highway (1971), Growing Up Suddenly (1977), The Lion’s Share (1978), Crazy Love (1979), Sentimental (1981), Los Crapulas (1981), Time for Revenge (1981), The Underground Man (1981), Last Days of the Victim (1982), La Invitacion (1982), Los Enemigos (1983), Funny Dirty Little War (1983), Los Chicos de la Guerra (1984), La Rosales (1984), Cuarteles de Invierno (1984), The Day You Love Me (1986), El Hombre que Gano la Razon (1986), Revelacion (1986), Te Amo

Ulises Dumont

(1986), A King and His Movie (1986), Rage of Honor (1987), Con la Misma Bronca (1988), The South (1988), Gracias por los Servicios (1988), Billetes ... Billetes... (1988), La Redada (1991) At the Edge of the Law (1992), No Options Left (1995), Pictures of the Soul (1995), The Eyes of the Scissors (1995), Juntos, in Any Way (1996), Stories of Love, Madness and Death (1996), El Condor de Oro (1996), Corrupt Police (1996), El Paseo de Maltecci (1997), El Che (1997), Tangos Are for Two (1997), Clandestine Stories in Havana (1997), Zapallares (1998), Dona Barbara (1998), Wind with the Gone (1998), the internationally acclaimed Yepeto (1999), Same Love, Same Rain (1999), El Mar de Lucas (1999), Solo Gente (1999), Una Historia de Tango (2000), Close to the Border (2000), Los Dias de la Vida (2000), El Astillero (2000), Gangs from Rosario (2001), Smoking Room (2002), Grimm (2003), Conversations with Mother (2004), A Less Bad World (2004), Proxima Salida (2004), Suenos Atomicos (2005), La Esperanza (2005), To Die in San Hilario (2005), Rosas Rojas ... Rojas (2005), Un Peso un Dolar (2006), The Chair (2006), Ese Mismo Loco Afan (2007), Yo la Recuerdo Ahora (2007), Tus Ojos Cuando Lleuven (2008), El Fin de la Espera (2008), and Negro Buenos Aires (2008). He was fea-

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tured as Miguel Angel in the 1978 television series Un Mundo de Veinte Asientos, and appeared in such dramas and tele-novelas as Someday I’ll Return (1993), Alen, Light of the Moon (1996), Dracula (1999), End of Time (2000), On the Edge of the Law (2005), Murderous Women (2005), Criminal (2005), and Los Cuentos de Fontanarrosa (2007).

DUNCAN, LITTLE ARTHUR Blues harmonica player Little Arthur Duncan died after a long illness in a Northlake, Illinois, hospital on August 20, 2008. He was 74. Duncan was born in Indianola, Mississippi, on February 5, 1934. He moved to Chicago at age 16, where he began playing the harmonica. He became a popular performer at local clubs at night while

died at her home in Los Angeles on May 1, 2008. She was 86. She was born Elaine Brimberg in New York City on August 2, 1921. After graduating from Sweetbriar College in 1943, she studied acting in Washington, D.C., and New York City. She spent a year in Paris before heading to London to pursue an acting career. She was featured in the BBC Sunday Night Theatre television production of Dinner at Eight in 1951, and was seen in episodes of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents, Portrait of Alison, Fabian of the Yard, and Armchair Theatre. Her earlier adventures in Paris provided fodder for her ﬁrst novel, The Dud Avocado, about a young woman’s adventures there. She had a stormy marriage with theatre critic Kenneth Tynan from the mid–1950s until their divorce in 1964. Dundy also wrote the novels The Old Man and Me (1964) and The Injured Party (1974), and penned a biography of actor Peter Finch, Finch, Bloody Finch, in 1980. She also wrote the nonﬁctions Ferriday, Louisiana and Elvis and Gladys, about Elvis Presley’s relationship with his mother.

DUNSTER, MAURICE British character actor Maurice Dunster, who also served as an assistant to actors Donald and Kiefer Sutherland, died in Los Angeles on September 12, 2008. He was 77. Dunster was born on September 23, 1930. He was featured in small roles in several ﬁlms including Those Magniﬁcent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965), Digby, the Biggest Dog

Little Arthur Duncan

working constructions jobs during the day during the 1950s and 1960s. He was working at Chicago’s top blues clubs by the 1980s and opened his own club, the Artesia Lounge. He also recorded his debut album, Bad Reputation, in 1989, but his career was sidetracked for several years with severe dental problems that affected his harmonica playing and singing. He released a second album, Singin’ with the Sun in 1999, and continued to record in the 2000s with Live in Chicago (2000) and Live at Rosa’s Blues Lounge (2007).

DUNDY, ELAINE Writer Elaine Dundy, who authored the 1958 best-selling novel The Dud Avocado,

Maurice Dunster

in the World (1973), Alien Thunder (1974), and Truth or Consequences, N.M. (1997). He was also featured on television in episodes of Fallen Angels and Keifer Sutherland’s action series 24. He had worked as an assistant to Donald Sutherland on such ﬁlms as The Disappearance (1977), Nothing Personal (1980), and Eye of the Needle (1981), and was credited as Keifer Sutherland’s assistant on most of his ﬁlms from the 1990s including Dark City (1998), After Alice (1999), Cowboy Up (2001), and Behind the Red Door (2003).

Elaine Dundy

DVORNIK, BORIS Croatian actor Boris Dvornik died of a stroke in Split, Croatia, on March 24, 2008. He was 68. Dvornik was born in Split on April 16, 1939. He began performing on the stage as a child and studied at Zagreb’s Theatre Academy. He made his ﬁlm debut in The Ninth Circle in 1960, and

123 became a popular performer on stage, ﬁlm, and television. Dvornik’s numerous ﬁlm credits include Martin in the Clouds (1961), Sjenka Slave (1962), Prekobrojna (1962), Medaljon sa tri Srca (1962), Da li je Umro Dobar Covjek? (1962), Zemlijaci (1963), Double Circle (1963), Radopolje (1963), Face to Face (1963), Svanuce (1964), Mad Summer (1964), Frontier Hellcat (1964), Man Is Not a Bird (1965), Covik od Svita (1965), Sonjuh Planinom (1966), Winnetou: Thunder at the Border (1966), Kaya, I’ll Kill You (1967), When You Hear the Bells (1969), Savage Bridge (1969), An Event (1969), The Battle of the River Neretva (1969), Ljubav i Poneka Psovka (1969), Life Is a Mass Phenomenon (1970), Bablje Ieto (1970), Druzba Pere Kvrzice (1970), The Bet (1971), The Pine Tree in the Mountain (1971), Lov na Jelene (1972), Traces of a Black Haired Girl (1972), To Live on Love

2008 • Obituaries

DYKE, SYKE Robert Reed, who was keyboard player with the band Trouble Funk under the name Syke Dyke, died of pancreatic cancer in Arlington, Virginia, on April 13, 2008. He was 50. Reed was born in Newport New, Virginia, in 1957. He and his brother, trumpet player Taylor “Monster Baby” Reed, were founding members of Trouble Funk, a band that was

Syke Dyke

Boris Dvornik

(1973), The Battle of Sutjeska (1973), Noz (1974), The Dervish and Death (1974), Crveni Udar (1974), Hitler from Our Street (1975), Daredevil’s Time (1977), Fliers of the Open Skies (1977), Occupation in 26 Pictures (1978), The Return (1979), Vreme, Vodi (1980), Kiklop (1982), Moj Tata na Odredjeno Vreme (1982), Servantes iz Malog Mista (1982), Heads or Tails (1983), Tajna Starog Tavana (1984), Vucjak (1985), Od Petka de Petka (1985), Wartime (1987), Marjuca ili Smrt (1987), Tight Skin 2 (1987), Spiljun na Stiklama (1988), Karneval, Andjeo i Prah (1990), Tajna Starog Mlina (1991), Nausikaja (1996), Kanjon Opashnih Igara (1998), Transatlantic (1998), The Last Will (2001), Doktor Ludosti (2003), and Long Dark Night (2004). Dvornik also appeared frequently on television from the 1970s with roles in such productions as Trag (1974), Uzicka Republika (1976), Roko i Cicibela (1978), and Balada o Sarku (2005). He was also featured in episodes of Letovi Koji se Pamte, Nase Malo Misto, Obraz uz Obraz, Ca smo na Ovom Svitu, Kapelski Kresov, Covik i Po, Velo Misto as Mestar, Hokejasi, Putovanje u Vucjak, Zagrljaj, Neunistivi, and Viza za Buducnost. He was featured as Lujo Luksic in Bolji Zivot from 1987 to 1988 and in Bolji Zivot 2 in 1991, and was Branko Lorger in Ponos Ratkajevih from 2007 to 2008. Dvornik brieﬂy entered politics in 1992, serving as a member of Parliament for the Croatian Democratic Union for several months before resigning.

known for performing go-go music in the 1970s and 1980s. Syke created ﬂashy electronic sounds effects that sounded as if they were from a science ﬁction ﬁlm. Trouble Funk recorded its ﬁrst album, Drop the Bomb, in 1982, and followed with Saturday Night. Live! From Washington DC (1985) and Trouble Over Here Trouble Over There (1987). The group continued to perform through the 1990s, and remained popular in the Washington, D.C., area.

EAGLE, JACK Chubby comedian Jack Eagle, who was best known for his role as the cherubic medieval monk Brother Dominic in Xerox commercials from the late 1970s, died in New York City on January 10, 2008. He was 81. Eagle was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 15, 1926. He began performing as a stand-up comic in the Catskills in the 1940s and was a popular actor in television commercials from the 1960s. The short and rotund Eagle was also known for his appearances in Fleischmann’s margarine commercials as

Jack Eagle

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Mr. Cholesterol. Eagle was featured in small roles in several ﬁlms including Stepmom (1998) and Isn’t She Great (2000).

EBBINS, MILTON Talent manager Milton Ebbins died of heart failure at the Motion Picture and Television Fund retirement home in Woodland Hills, California, on March 4, 2008. He was 96. Ebbins was born in Springﬁeld, Massachusetts, on February 20, 1912. He began his career as a trumpet player and bandleader in the early 1930s. He left performing to work as road manager for Count Basie. He later became a leading talent manager, with such clients as Basie and other jazz greats including Sarah Vaughn and Billy Eckstine. He also represented comedian Mort Sahl and acLiz Edmiston

wood. Edmiston was married to actor Eric Carte from 1979 and appeared frequently with him on stage.

Milton Ebbins (left, with Peter Lawford)

tresses Elizabeth Montgomery and Patty Duke. He served as actor Peter Lawford’s manager for over thirty years. He was an associate producer on Lawford’s 1950s television series The Thin Man and for the 1960s sitcom The Patty Duke Show. His association with Lawford also brought him into contact with the Rat Pack and the Kennedy Administration. He was instrumental in setting up the Rat Pack ﬁlms Ocean’s Eleven (1960) and Sergeants 3 (1962). Ebbins also helped to produced John Kennedy’s Inaugural Ball in 1961. He also escorted Marilyn Monroe to Madison Square Garden to famously sing “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” in 1962. He was also an associated producer for the 1963 ﬁlm Johnny Cool, and produced the comedy ﬁlms Salt and Pepper (1968) and One More Time (1970) starring Lawford and Sammy Davis, Jr.

EDMISTON, LIZ British comedy actress Liz Edmiston died while performing in a play on the cruise ship The Oriana on April 10, 2008. She was 62. Edmiston trained as a ballet dancer before embarking upon a career on stage. She was featured in such West End productions as Funny Girl, The Boyfriend, and Little Me. She was featured in the 1973 ﬁlm The Little Wild Bunch, and appeared in television productions of Sentimental Education (1970) and Forgotten (1999). She was also seen in episodes of Now, Take My Wife as Sheila Hancock’s daughter, Rising Damp, Within These Walls, Juliet Bravo, Never the Twain, Lazarus & Dingwall, Keeping Up Appearances, Touched by an Angel, and Ever-

EGE , JULIE Norwegian beauty Julie Ege, whose Nordic charms were on display in British comedy and horror ﬁlms in the 1960s, died of breast cancer in Norway on April 29, 2008. She was 64. She was born Julie Dzuli in Sandnes, Norway, on November 12, 1943. She began modeling at the age of 15 and became Miss Norway in 1962, representing her homeland in the Miss Universe competition. She moved to England in 1967 and gained some exposure by modeling for Penthouse magazine’s United Kingdom edition in May of 1967. She made her ﬁlm debut in a small role in the Norwegian ﬁlm The Sky and the Ocean (1967, and also appeared in the British ﬁlm Robbery (1967). She was soon cast as one of the lovelies in the 1969 James Bond ﬁlm On Her Majesty’s Secret Service with George Lazenby. She became a familiar face, and ﬁgure, in such British sex comedies as Every Home Should Have One (1970), Up Pompeii (1971) as the voluptuous Voluptua, The Magniﬁcent Seven Deadly Sins (1971), Rentadick (1972), Double Take (1972), Not Now Darling (1973), Percy’s Progress (1974), and The Amorous Milkman (1975). She also starred as the fur-clad cavegirl Nala in the Hammer prehistoric epic Creatures the World Forgot (1971) and was Miss Dazzle in the 1973 ﬁlm adaptation of Michael Moorcock’s science ﬁction novel The Final Programme (aka The Last Days of Man on Earth).

Julie Ege

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She was also memorable in several horror ﬁlms including Craze (1974), The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (1974), and Mutations (1974) with Donald Pleasence. Ege subsequently returned to Norway, where she appeared in several ﬁlms including Bortreist pa Ubestemt Tid (1974), Den Siste Fleksnes (1974), and Sherlock Jones (1975). She also appeared in several local theatrical productions before largely retiring from acting to become a nurse.

EILERS, JUSTIN Justin Eilers, a mixed martial arts ﬁghter who competed with the UFC, was shot to death at the home of an acquaintance in an apparent domestic disturbance in Canyon County, Idaho, on December 26, 2008. He was 30. Eilers was born in Boise, Idaho, on June 28, 1978. He began competing

Justin Eilers

in small shows in the late 1990s and made his professional debut against Dan Severn in 2002. He signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 2004 and lost a heavyweight title bout against Andrei Arlovski the following year. He suffered numerous injuries in the ﬁght and was released from the UFC in 2006 after a knock-out loss to Brandon Vera. He continued to participate in mixed martial arts events for various independent promotions. He lost a bout for the new EliteXC Heavyweight Championship against Antonio Silva in his ﬁnal bout in July of 2008.

ELDER, WILL Veteran comic book artist Will Elder, who was best known for his work for Mad magazine in the 1950s, died of complications from Parkinson’s disease in a Rockleigh, New Jersey, nursing home on May 15, 2008. He was 85. Elder was born in the Bronx, New York, on September 22, 1922. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and began working in comics after his discharge in 1946. His ﬁrst comic work was drawing the humor title Toy Town for Orbit. Elder joined with Harvey Kurtzman and Charles Stern in opening a studio in 1947. He began working at Bill Gaines’ EC Comics in 1951, illustrating such titles as Two-Fisted Tales, Frontline Combat, Tales from the Crypt, and Panic. He was instrumental in the original layout of Mad in 1952, and drew for the humor magazine until he and Kurtzman left the company in 1956. The two worked together on several subsequent humor

Will Elder (comic self portrait)

Will Elder

titles including Humbug, Trump, and Help! Elder also teamed with Kurtzman to create the Little Annie Fanny comic for Playboy that ran from 1962 through 1988. He and Kurtzman returned to work at Mad in the 1980s. A career retrospective, Will Elder: The Mad Playboy of Art, was published by Fantagraphics in 2003. He was also honored with the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2003.

ELEPHANT BOY Professional wrestler Tony Olivas, who was the bizarre ring villain Elephant Boy in the 1950s, died on February 6, 2008. He was 86. He

Elephant Boy

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was born William Victor Olivas in Ventura County, California, on March 26, 1921. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and learned to wrestle while stationed in England. After the war he began wrestling professionally in California under the name Billy Olivas. He went to Chicago in 1951 where promoter Jack Pfeffer created the Elephant Boy persona. He dressed as an Indian Prince, with long, curly hair that often covered his eyes, and darkened skin. He was usually accompanied to the ring by Slave Girl Moolah (Lillian Ellison before she became the Fabulous Moolah). Elephant Boy usually wrestled as a villain and was known for his wild antics. He remained a popular performer through the early 1960s and also worked as a wrestling promoter. After retiring from the ring he and his wife managed a spa near Ojai, California. He became involved in the church and became a brother of the Order of St. Augustine several years after his wife’s death in 1988. He studied for the priesthood and was ordained an Augustinian priest in 1997 at the age of 76. He remained active at the parish church of St. Thomas Aquinas in Ojai despite suffering a heart attack in 2002.

ELLIS, RAY

Music arranger and composer Ray Ellis died of liver cancer in an assisted living facility in Encino, California, on October 27, 2008. He was 85. Ellis was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 28, 1923. He began playing the saxophone with dance bands while in his teens before being inducted into the U.S. Army in World War II. After the war he played with Paul Whiteman’s band. In the early 1950s Mitch Miller helped him get a job as an arranger at Columbia. He arranged the hit songs “Standing on the Corner” and “Moments to Remember” for the Four Lads and worked on Billie Holliday’s ﬁnal two albums including Lady in Satin. Ellis joined MGM Records in 1959, where he worked with such stars as Connie Francis, Bobby Darin, and Frankie Laine. He recorded several easy-listening albums under his own name in the early 1960s, including Let’s Get Away from It All and Ellis in Wonderland. He also arranged for such artists as Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Johnny Mathis, Lena Horne, and Barbra Streisand. Ellis composed the score for one of Boris Karloff ’s ﬁnal horror ﬁlms, Cauldron of Blood (1971). He also began composing for the Fil-

mation cartoon studio in the late 1960s, where he scored or arranged numerous animated programs. He was sometimes credited as Spencer Raymond, George Blais, or under his wife’s name, Yvette Blais. Ellis worked on the animated and children series The Archie Show, Fantastic Voyage, Sabrina and the Groovie Goolies, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, The Brady Kids, SpiderMan, Lassie’s Rescue Rangers, My Favorite Martian, The New Adventures of Gilligan, Star Trek: The Animated Adventures, The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty, The Ghost Busters, Isis, Shazam!, Ark II, The New Adventures of Batman, Space Sentinels, Space Academy, Tarzan and the Super 7, The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle, The New Animated Adventures of Flash Gordon, The New Adventures of Tom and Jerry, The New Adventures of Zorro, Blackstar, and Gilligan’s Planet. He later worked with his son, Marc, to create music for the gameshows Sale of the Century, Catch Phrase, Scrabble, and Hot Streak. They also worked together to score Adam Sandler’s 2002 animated ﬁlm Eight Crazy Nights.

ENGESSER, GEE GEE Circus animal trainer and performer Gee Gee Engesser, who was billed as “the Blond Bombshell of the Circus World,” died in Tampa, Florida, on July 15, 2008. She was 81. She was born Georgedda Zellmar Engesser on August 6, 1926, to a circus family. Her father operated his own circus and Gee Gee was part of the elephant act when she was a toddler. She joined the Cole Bros. Circus as an

Gee Gee Engesser

equestrienne in 1945 and would stand atop two galloping palominos as part of her act. She trained and worked with the team of “Gee Gee’s Alaskans” in the 1950s, which were half malamute sled dogs and half wolves. She toured with that act for two decades and was featured as a guest on the television quiz show What’s My Line? She married elephant trainer Bucky Steele in the mid–1960s and they toured their animal act with several circuses. Engesser also worked on the 1981 prehistoric ﬁlm Quest for Fire, wrangling some of her elephants who were disguised as mastodons under yak hair. She retired in the mid–1980s to Tampa, Florida.

Ray Ellis

ENOKI, CHERRY Television editor Chihiro “Cherry” Enoki plummeted to her death when she slipped and fell 14,000 feet while climbing Mount Shasta’s icy Avalanche Gulch in California on Novem-

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Cherry Enoki

ber 28, 2008. She was 33. Enoki was born in Japan in 1975 and raised in London and Los Angeles. She began working in television as an editor in the late 1990s, and was part of a team nominated for an Emmy Award for work on the Science Channel’s Discover Magazine in 1998. She also worked as an editor for segments of such television series as This Week in History, Extreme Engineering, Postcards from Buster, The American Experience, Fetch!, Design Squad, and Nova. She also served as editor for Rob Fitz’s low-budget horror ﬁlm God of Vampires in 2000.

EPPLER, DIETER German actor Dieter Eppler, who was best known for his roles in Edgar Wallace mysteries and horror ﬁlms in Europe in the 1960s, died in Stuttgart, Germany, on April 12, 2008. He was 81. He was born Heinz Dieter Eppler in Stuttgart on February 11, 1927. He began his acting career on stage in the late 1940s and made his ﬁlm debut in the early 1950s. The burly actor starred in such ﬁlms as Der Hexer (1956), Jonas (1957), Die Grunen Teufels von Monte Cassino (1958), U-47 Lt. Commander Prien (1958), the 1959 horror ﬁlm The Head, Face of the Frog (1959), Under Ten Flags (1960), The Terrible People (1960), The Last Winter (1960), Der Orgelbauer von St. Marien (1962), Roberto Mauri’s Slaughter of the Vampires (aka Curse of the Blood Ghouls) (1962) as the vampire count, Venus fra Vesto (1962), The White Spider

Dieter Eppler (as the vampire count from Slaughter of the Vampires)

2008 • Obituaries

(1963), The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle (1963), Piccadilly Zero Hour 12 (1963), The Inn on Dartmoor (1964), Murder by Proxy (1964), The Secret of Dr. Mabuse (1964), Lana: Queen of the Amazons (1964), The Sinister Monk (1965), In the Shadow of the Eagles (1966), Harold Reinl’s Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy (aka Die Niebelungen) (1966), I Deal in Danger (1966), Massacre in the Black Forest (1967), Jess Franco’s Lucky, the Inscrutable (1967), Spy Today, Die Tomorrow (1967), Castle of the Walking Dead (aka The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism) (1967) with Christopher Lee, Death and Diamonds (1968), Without a Stitch (1968), The Last Roman (1968), Deadly Shots on Broadway (1969), Deep End (1971), Life Is Tough, Eh Providence? (1972) as Sheriff Pendleton, and Der Sprinter (1984). Eppler also appeared frequently on German television from the 1970s with roles in such productions as Theodor Kardinal Innitzer (1971), Die Pueblo-Affaire (1972), Mit dem Strom (1972), Goldene Zeiten (1981), Der Goldene Schnitt (1991), Three Days in April (1994), Kanadische Traume — Eine Familie Wandert Aus (1999), Das Verbotene Zimmer (1999), Jugendsunde (2000), and Stimme des Herzens (2000). His other television credits include episodes of such series as Der Kommissar, Hamburg Transit, Polizeiinspektion 1, Auf Achse, Schwarz Rot Gold, Ein Fall fur Zwei, Der Alte, Grosstadtrevier, Die Schwarzwaldklinik, Mit Leib und Seele, Der Landarzt as Hugo Cornelsen, Abenteuer Airport as Director Tiedemann, Derrick, Schloss Hohenstein — Irrwege zum Gluck, Tatort, Bella Block, Katrin Ist die Beste, Die Aubergers, Adelheid und ihre Morder. His ﬁnal television appearance was in the recurring role of Josef in the series Alle Meine Tochter in 2001.

ERICKSON , BILL Stuntman Bill Erickson died of lung cancer on June 16, 2008. Erickson began working in ﬁlms in the late 1970s as a stuntman and driver. He racked up such ﬁlm credits as Herbie Goes Bananas (1980), Swamp Thing (1982), Hellhole (1985), Reform School Girls (1986), Armed Response (1986), Cyclone (1987), The Lost Boys (1997), Cold Steel (1987), Keaton’s Cop (1988), Big Business (1988), The Rescue (1988), Seven Hours to Judgment (1988), Beaches (1988), Action U.S.A. (1989), Survival Quest (1989), Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), Flatliners (1990), Cartel (1990), Defending Your Life (1991), Dying Young (1991), Grand Canyon (1991), Timescape (1992), Neon City (1992), Extreme Justice (1993), Tryst (1994), Bad Girls (1994), The Last Seduction (1994), 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up (1995), Chill Factor (1999), Wheelmen (2002), and Collateral Damage (2002). ESMONDE, JOHN British television comedy writer John Esmonde, who often partnered with Bob Larbey during a thirty year career, died in Spain on August 10, 2008. He was 71. Esmonde was born in Clapham, London, England, on March 21, 1937. He began writing with his childhood friend, Bob Larbey, in the early 1960s and after several years, they were scripting the radio comedy series Spare a Copper. They also wrote the popular radio series You’re Only Old Once and Just Perﬁck. The duo segued into television with Spare a Copper in 1965, and also wrote for such series

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128 Dance to Thy Daddy, A Man Like That, and The Queen’s Own, and the 1973 television play Ishmael.

EVERETT, MARK Manuel Benitz, who was a child actor in the 1980s under the name Mark Everett, was shot to death by police ofﬁcers while holding his six-year-old son hostage in El Monte, California, on December 23, 2008. He was 39. He had been on the run since June 20, 2004, when he allegedly bludgeoned his wife, Stephanie Spears, to death with a dumbbell.

John Esmonde

as Room at the Bottom, Please Sir!, The Fenn Street Gang, Bowler, Get Some In!, Three Piece Suite, The Good Life, Play for Today, Feet First, The Other One, Just Liz, Don’t Rock the Boat, Now and Then, Double First, Ever Decreasing Circles, Brush Strokes, Hope It Rains, Mulberry, and Down to Earth. The also scripted the 1971 ﬁlm version of Please Sir!, and 1971’s The Magniﬁcent Seven Deadly Sins. He and Larbey also wrote the television productions Cosmo and Thing y (1972) and Football Crazy (1974). Esmonde retired to Spain in the mid– 1990s.

EVELING, STANLEY

British playwright Stanley Eveling died of cancer at his home in Edinburgh, Scotland, on December 24, 2008. He was 83. Eveling was born in Newscastle-upon-Tyne, England, on August 4, 1925. He served in the Far East in the later days of World War II. He taught philosophy at several Universities and became the television critic for The Scotsman in 1970. Eveling began writing plays in the early 1960s, with his ﬁrst, The Balachites, being staged in Edinburgh in 1963. He became a leading exponent of the Theatre of the Absurd, where deep psychological and metaphysical issues where often dealt with in offbeat comic terms. His plays include The Strange Case of Martin Richter, The Lunatic, The Secret Sportsman, The Woman Next Door, Caravaggio, Mister, and The Dead of Night. His best known play, Dear Janet Rosenberg, Dear Mister Kooning, which was adapted for German television in 1977. He also wrote the radio plays

Stanley Eveling

Mark Everett

Benitz was born in California on September 28, 1969. He began working in ﬁlms at the age of nine, and was featured as a Super Scout in several episodes of the television science ﬁction series Galactica 1980 in 1980. He also appeared in the television series Highway to Heaven and Trapper John, M.D., the tele-ﬁlm Final Jeopardy (1985), and the 1987 production of Kung Fu: The Next Generation on CBS Summer Playhouse. Everett was featured in several ﬁlms including Be Somebody, or Be Somebody’s Fool! (1984), Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), and Stand and Deliver (1988). After leaving acting, he became involved in drugs, dealing in marijuana. His involvement in drug trafﬁcking led to his wife planning on leaving him, which resulted in her murder. The murder was featured on an episode of America’s Most Wanted in 2004.

EVERT, KEN Ken Evert, who played Grandpa in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 in 1986, died in

Ken Evert (as Grandpa from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2)

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Austin, Texas, on April 1, 2008. He was 56. Evert was featured as the patriarch of the uber-dysfunctional family that included the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface in the sequel to Tobe Hooper’s horror classic. Dennis Hopper and Caroline Williams also starred, and Tom Savini applied Evert’s old-age makeup.

FABER , JULIETTE French actress Juliette Faber died on July 13, 2008. She was 89. Faber was born in Grevenmacher, Luxembourg, on March 19, 1919. She began her ﬁlm career in the late 1930s, appearing in such features as The Foolish Virgin (1938), Les Jours Heureux (1941), Strangers in the House (1942), Love Marriage (1942), Picpus (1943), Shop Girls of Paris (1943), The Temptation of Barbizon (1946), Passion for Life (1949), Justice Is Done (1950), Monsieur Octave (1951), La Bagnard (1951), Traﬁc sur les Dunes (1951), Le Cas du Docteur Galloy (1951), Are We Murderers? (1952),

Elsa Fabregas

Smith, and Faye Dunaway. Fabregas was also featured on television in the 1989 comedy series Tot un Senyor.

FAJARDIE, FREDERIC French novelist and screenwriter Frederic Fajardie died of cancer in Paris on May 1, 2008. He was 60. Fajardie was born in Paris on August 29, 1947. He co-scripted the 1985 ﬁlm Cop’s

Juliette Faber

The Truth About Bebe Donge (1952), Tides of Passion (1956), Par-Dessus le Mur (1961), Shadow of a Chance (1974), and The Lost Way (1980). She was also a leading stage actress and appeared frequently on French television from the 1970s with roles in such productions as Les Iles Nicobar (1974), Madame Bovary (1974), Les Anneaux de Bicetre (1977), La Foire (1977), Histoires de Voyous: Les Marloupins (1979), Le Cure de Tours (1980), L’Ete Indien (1980), Le Bouffon (1981), L’Amour s’Invente (1982), L’Esprit de Familie (1982), Les Mouettes sur la Saone (1983), and Un Ange Passe (1994). She was also featured in episodes of La Ligne de Demarcation, Marie Pervenche, and La Vie des Autres.

FABREGAS, ELSA Spanish dubbing actress Elsa Fabregas, who provided the Spanish language voice of Scarlett O’Hara and many others, died in Barcelona, Spain, on December 21, 2008. She was 87. Fabregas was born in Buenos, Aires, Argentina in 1921. She began working in ﬁlms in the mid–1930s, and dubbed voices for over 800 movies during her career. She voiced Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz, Rita Hayworth in Gilda, Grace Kelly in Rear Window, Bette Davis in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, and Katharine Hepburn in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. She also did the Spanish dubbing for such stars as Anne Baxter, Rita Moreno, Glenda Jackson, Rita Moreno, Judi Dench, Maggie

Frederic Fajardie

Honor with director Jose Pinheiro and actor Alain Delon, and adapted his novel Clause de Style for Pinheiro’s 1988 ﬁlm Let Sleeping Cops Lie (1988). The 1990 tele-ﬁlm Sniper was based on his novel, and he coscripted the ﬁlms La Femme Fardee (1990) and Robert Enrico’s East Wind (1993). He also wrote the television productions Marylin et ses Enfants (2003) and 3 Jours en Juin (2005).

FALLICO, FRANC Franc Fallico, the former state medical examiner of Alaska who was featured in Werner Herzog’s 2005 documentary ﬁlm Grizzly Man, died of cancer in Alaska on June 14, 2008. He was 66. Fallico was born on March 5, 1942. He earned a medical degree in Italy before settling in Alaska in 1976. He worked as a hospital pathologist before becoming state medical examiner in 2001. He was noted for delivering detailed testimony in numerous gruesome murder cases in a plainspoken manner. His autopsy of naturalist Timothy Treadwell, the victim of a bear mauling, led to his appearance in Herzog’s documentary about the

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130

Franc Fallico

incident in 2005. Fallico was forced to take an extended medical leave due to cancer in October of 2007, and ofﬁcially resigned as medical examiner in April of 2008.

FARALDO, CLAUDE French actor and director Claude Faraldo died in Ales, Gard, France, on January 30, 2008. He was 71. Faraldo was born in Paris on March 23, 1936. He was a self-taught ﬁlmmaker who directed his ﬁrst ﬁlm, the unreleased La Jeune Morte, in 1965. He wrote and directed the 1971 comedy Bof ... Anatomie d’un Livreur and the 1973 bizarre satire Themroc starring Michel Piccoli. His other directorial

Claude Faraldo

Roughhouse Fargo (right, with brother Jackie Fargo)

wrestler in the Southern regions during the 1960s and 1970s, died at his home in China Grove, North Carolina, on August 20, 2008. He was 80. He was born Jack Lewis Faggart in Rowan County, North Carolina, on July 20, 1928. He began wrestling in the Carolinas, sometimes competing as the Masked Rebel, in the 1950s. He also served as an oxygen tank–bearing valet to the masked tag team the Assassins. Fargo became best known for teaming with his real-life brother, Jackie Fargo, and his ersatz brother Dan Kalt (who competed as Don Fargo) in Tennessee. Sonny’s wild and erratic behavior made him popular with the fans in the region when his brother would bring him to town to help out after allegedly checking him out of a mental institution. The duo held the tag team championship several times in the 1960s and 1970s. When not competing in the ring in Tennessee, Fargo often refereed bouts in the Mid-Atlantic area. He still made occasional ring appearances as late as the 1980s. Fargo had suffered from poor health, including bouts with diabetes that left him a double amputee, in recent years.

FARKAS, RAY Emmy Award–winning television producer Ray Farkas died of colon cancer in Washington, D.C., on January 4, 2008. He was 71. Farkas was born in Kingston, New York, on June 12, 1936. He began his career as a reporter with United Press International in the late 1950s before moving to NBC to write for the Huntley-Brinkley Report. He remained at

credits include Tabarnac (1975), The Honey Flowers (1976), Two Lions in the Sun (1980), Flagrant Desire (1986), and Thanks for the Gesture (2000). He also directed the television mini-series La Chaine (1988), and episodes of Les Jupons de la Revolution and V Comme Vengeance. He appeared onscreen in his 1976 ﬁlm The Honey Flowers, and went on to act in such other features as Le Jardinier (1981), Mesrine (1984), Blanc de Chine (1988), and The Black Angel (1994). He was featured as Palmari in the tele-ﬁlms Maigret on Trial (1993) and Maigret’s Patience (1994), and appeared in the television mini-series La Riviere Esperance (1995) and Maﬁosa, le Clan (2006). Faraldo was featured as Alexian in the television series David Nolande in 2006.

FARGO, SONNY “ROUGHHOUSE” Sonny “Roughhouse” Fargo, who was a colorful professional

Ray Farkas

131 NBC for 24 years, producing new and documentary programs including the Today show. After leaving NBC he worked as an independent producer for various networks. He produced the Emmy Award–winning ABC News special about abortion, The New Civil War. He formed his own production company, Off Center Productions, in 1991 and produced the series pilots Ira’s People for Court TV and Interviews 50 Cents. He also created programs for local television and segments for Fox TV’s America’s Most Wanted. Farkas was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2004 and underwent a surgical procedure on his brain that involved drilling two holes in his skull and implanting microelectrodes to block some of the symptoms of the disease. He remained awake during the 8-hour surgery and directed and narrated a documentary about the procedure entitled It Ain’t Television, It’s Brain Surgery.

FAST, JULIUS

Author Julius Fast died of complications from a stroke in Kingston, New York, on December 16, 2008. He was 89. Fast was born in Manhattan in 1919. He was a pre-med student at New York University before spending three years in the U.S. Army working in a blood lab in Boston. He edited a collection of science ﬁction stories, Out of This World (1944), and wrote his ﬁrst mystery novel, Watchful at

Julius Fast

Night (1945), while still in the service. Fast received the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for best ﬁrst novel the following year. He also wrote the detective novels Walk in Shadow (1947) and A Model for Murder (1956). Fast also wrote an early book about the Beatles, The Beatles: The Real Story, published in 1968. He later began writing pop psychology and selfhelp books including The New Sexual Fulﬁllment (1972), The Body Language of Sex, Power and Aggression (1976), Talking Between the Lines, How We Mean More Than We Say (1979) co-authored by his wife Barbara Sher, Body Politics (1980), and The Body Book (1981).

FAWCETT, CHARLES Charles Fawcett, an American soldier and adventurer turned actor, died in London on February 3, 2008. He was 92. Fawcett was born in Waleska, Georgia, on December 2, 1915. Orphaned at an early age, he traveled the country as a youth and toured the world aboard a tramp steamer

2008 • Obituaries

Charles Fawcett

while in his teens. He went to Europe in the 1930s, and joined the Polish Army after the Nazi invasion in 1939. He was forced to ﬂee by the advancing Germans, and was later rejected by the French Army. Throughout the rest of the war, he worked undercover in France, served in the ambulance corps, brieﬂy served in the RAF, and eventually fought with the French Foreign Legion. After the war, Fawcett became involved in battling the Communists in the Greek civil war. In the late 1940s he began a long ﬁlm career in Europe, appearing in such features as Wicked City (1949), The Big Meeting (1950), Three Feet in a Bed (1950), Lost Souvenirs (1950), Fugitive from Montreal (1950), Fugitive in Trieste (1951), Adventures of Captain Fabian (1951), Ha da Veni ... Don Calogero! (1952), When in Rome (1952), The Respectful Prostitute (1952), Three Forbidden Stories (1952), The Country of the Campanelli (1953), Hell Raiders of the Deep (1953), The Unfaithfuls (1953), Eg ypt by Three (1953), Appassionatamente (1954), The Two Orphans (1954), The Woman Who Came from the Sea (1954), An American in Rome (1954), The Golden Falcons (1955), Goodbye Naples! (1955), Andrea Chenier (1955), The Devil’s Commandment (aka I Vampiri) (1956), War and Peace (1956), Boy on a Dolphin (1957), Miss Lonelyheart (1958), La Violetera (1958), The Last Rebel (1958), The Love Specialist (1958), No Time to Kill (1959), and Face of Fire (1959). Fawcett was also featured on television in the syndicated adventure series Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion and the western The Rough Riders in the 1950s. He continued to appear in such ﬁlms as Riff-Raff (1960), The Loves of Salammbo (1960), Heaven on Earth (1960), Come September (1961), Barabbas (1961), Slave Queen of Babylon (1962), Maciste in Hell (aka The Witch’s Curse) (1962), It Happened in Athens (1962), The 300 Spartans (1962), Captain Sinbad (1963), Dark Purpose (1964), Old Shatterhand (1964), The Secret of Dr. Mabuse (1964), Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1965), The Wild Men of Kurdistan (1965), Fury of the Sabers (1965), Savage Pampas (1966), Spy Today, Die Tomorrow (1967), Target Frankie (1967), King of Africa (1968), The Massacre of Glencoe (1971), Kaliman (1972), Down the Ancient Staircase (1975), and Annie (1976). Fawcett ended his ﬁlm career in the mid–1970s and moved to Houston, Texas, where he recuperated from a bout of tuberculosis. In 1980 he went to Afghanistan after the So-

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132

viet invasion where he trained local tribesman to ﬁght the invaders. His ﬁlm of the conﬂict was instrumental in gaining the United States support in funding for the rebels.

FECHNER , CHRISTIAN French ﬁlm producer Christian Fechner, who produced numerous popular comedies from the early 1970s, died in Paris after a long illness on November 26, 2008. He was 64. Fechner was born in Agen, Lot-et-Garonne, France, on July 26, 1944. He began producing ﬁlms in the early 1970s with such credits as Stadium Nuts (1972), Charlots Go to Spain (1972), The Big Store (1973), Lucky Pierre (1974), Sadsacks Go to War (1974), The Wild Goose Chase (1975), From Hong Kong with Love (1975) Danny Federici

Christian Fechner

which he scripted, Cool, Calm and Collected (1976), The Wing and the Thigh (1976), The Animal (1977), The Spat (1978), The Miser (1980), La Soupe aux Choux (1981), The Rufﬁan (1983), Circulez y a Rien a Voir! (1983), Papy Fait de la Resistance (1983), Marche a l’Ombre (1984), Les Freres Petard (1986), Camille Claudel (1988), La Gamine (1991), Lovers on the Ninth Bridge (1991), Elisa (1995), Tout Doit Disparaitre (1997), Witch Way Love (1997), Half a Chance (1998), The Children of the Marshland (1999), Girl on the Bridge (1999), A Crime in Paradise (2001), Don’t Die Too Hard! (2001), Chouchou (2003), L’Incruste (2004), L’Antidote (2005), Friends Forever (2006), L’Entente Cordiale (2006), La Voix (2006), and The Red Inn (2007). Fechner also produced the television productions Sueurs Froides (1988), Palae (1988), and Le Retour de Lemmy Caution (1989), and wrote and directed the 1993 ﬁlm Justinien Trouve, or God’s Bastard.

FEDERICI, DANNY Musician Danny Federici, who played keyboard for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, died of melanoma in a Manhattan hospital on April 17, 2008. He was 58. Federici was born in Flemington, New Jersey, on January 23, 1950. He began playing the accordion at the age of 7, and later switched to the electric organ. He began playing in bands in the 1960s and joined with Vini Lopez to form the band Child late in the decade. They invited Bruce Springsteen to be lead singer, and the group was soon renamed Steel Mill. Federici also played in Springsteen’s subsequent group Dr. Zoom and the Sonic

Boom. He joined Springsteen’s E Street Band in 1973, and was often introduced on stage as Phantom Dan. He also occasionally played the accordion and a keyboardoperated glockenspiel for the group. He played and recorded with Springsteen in every subsequent lineup of the band until failing health forced his absence in 2007. He also performed as a studio musician for such artists as Graham Parker, Joan Armatrading, and Garland Jeffreys. He also led his own club band and released two jazz-pop albums, Flemington (1997) and Sweet (2004). FEENEY, JOE Singer Joe Feeney, who sang tenor on The Lawrence Welk Show, died of emphysema in a Carlsbad, California, hospital on April 16, 2008. He was 76. Feeney was born in Grand Island, Nebraska, on August 15, 1931. He began singing as a boy soprano in the church choir. He continued to sing through school and won several singing contests while attend-

Joe Feeney

ing the University of Nebraska. He was given a guest spot on The Lawrence Welk Show in 1956 and became the featured tenor on the program the following year. He was noted for his renditions of “Danny Boy,” “Galway Bay,” and “Be My Love.” He remained with the program until it ceased production in 1982. Feeney also performed at venues ranging from Disneyland to Carnegie Hall, and sang for ﬁve presidents in the White House and Pope John Paul VI at the Vatican. He con-

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tinued to perform until poor health forced his retirement several months before his death.

FENADY, GEORG J. Veteran television director Georg J. Fenady died in Los Angeles on May 29, 2008. He was 77. Fenady was born in Toledo, Ohio, on July 29, 1930. He was the younger brother of director and screenwriter Andrew J. Fenady, and began his career as a casting consultant on his brother’s series The Rebel in the early 1960s. He also worked on his brother’s

J. Don Ferguson

George J. Fenady

series Combat! as an associate producer and assistant director, and made his directorial debut helming several episodes in the mid–1960s. He also directed episodes of Garrison’s Gorillas and Mission: Impossible. He was an assistant director on the 1970 ﬁlm The Animals and helmed two horror ﬁlms in the early 1970s, Terror in the Wax Museum (1973) and Arnold (1973). Fenady also directed episodes of such series as Chase, Code R, CHiPs, Emergency!, B.J. and the Bear, Quincy, Manimal, Simon & Simon, Lottery, Whiz Kids, T.J. Hooker, Airwolf, The Fall Guy, Knight Rider, Dragnet, Jake and the Fatman, Life Goes On, Baywatch Night, Beverly Hills, 90210, and Baywatch. He also helmed the tele-ﬁlms Hanging by a Thread (1979), The Night the Bridge Fell Down (1983), and Cave-In! (1983).

FENADY, SHANNON Francis Shannon Fenady, the son of television producer-director Andrew J. Fenady, died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California, on March 29, 2008. He was 44. Fenady was born on December 9, 1963. He began working in television in the late 1980s as an associate producer at the production company Movietime. He was instrumental in creating the E! cable network program Talk Soup. He was also producer of segments for such reality television programs as What’s So Funny!, Extra!, TV’s Funniest Outtakes, and The Most Outrageous Live TV Moments. Fenady was working on an independent western ﬁlm project, Brotherhood of the Gun, at the time of his death. FERGUSON, J. DON Character actor J. Don Ferguson died of complications from leukemia in a Savannah, Georgia, hospital on October 1, 2008. He was 74. Ferguson was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on No-

vember 21, 1933. He moved to Savannah in 1961 after serving in the U.S. Army. He worked as a manager of a radio station and appeared in numerous local theatrical productions. Ferguson also began appearing frequently in ﬁlm and television productions in the early 1970s. He was seen in the ﬁlms The Longest Yard (1974), The Lincoln Conspiracy (1977), Our Winning Season (1978), Norma Rae (1979), The Prize Fighter (1979), Little Darlings (1980), The Long Riders (1980), The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (1981), Sharky’s Machine (1981), Tennessee Stallion (1982), The Loveless (1982), Tank (1984), Kidco (1984), Running Mates (1985), Stephen King’s Maximum Overdrive (1986), Date with an Angel (1987), Final Cut (1988), Fast Food (1989), The Return of Swamp Thing (1989), Freejack (1992), My Cousin Vinnie (1992), The Program (1993), Radioland Murders (1994), The War (1994), Something to Talk About (1995), Eddie (1996), Fled (1996), I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), Major League: Back to the Minors (1998), Movievoyeur.com (2000), Remember the Titans (2000), The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000), The Substitute: Failure Is Not an Option (2001), Juwanna Mann (2002), and The Second Chance (2006). Ferguson was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms F. Scott Fitzgerald and “The Last of the Belles” (1974), The Greatest Gift (1974), Summer of My German Soldier (1978), I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1979), When the Circus Came to Town (1981), Murder in Coweta County (1983), Sidney Sheldon’s Windmills of the Gods (1988), Unconquered (1989), Traveling Man (1989), Murder in Mississippi (1990), When Will I Be Loved? (1990), In the Line of Duty: Manhunt in the Dakotas (1991), Nightmare in Columbia County (1991), In the Line of Duty: Street War (1992), Linda (1993), A Kiss to Die For (1993), Big Dreams & Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story (1995), and From the Earth to the Moon (1998). His other television credits include episodes of Barnaby Jones, I’ll Fly Away, In the Heat of the Night, and Matlock. FERNANDEZ, RUDY Filipino actor Rudy Fernandez, who was a leading action star in the 1980s, died of complications from cancer at his home in Quezon City, the Philippines, on June 7, 2008. He was 56. Fernandez was born in Lubao, the Philippines, on March 3, 1952, the son of director Gregorio Fernandez. He made his ﬁlm debut at the age of 3 in his father’s

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134

Rudy Fernandez

feature Luksang Tagumpay (1956). He was also seen in his father’s 1960 ﬁlm Emily. He began his ﬁlm career in earnest in 1970 when he signed a contract with Sampaguita Pictures. He initially appeared in teen roles in such ﬁlms as For Your Mama (1970) and Sweet Matutina (1976). He soon made a name for himself as an action hero in the ﬁlms Bitayin si Baby Ama (1976) and Ang Leon, Ang Tiger at ang Alamid (1979). He continued to appear in such ﬁlms as Usigin ang Maysala (1976), Makahiya at Talahib (1976), Valentin Labrador (1977), Hijack ’77 (1977), Alfredo Lim (1977), Salonga (1978), Maynila, 1970 (1979), Dakpin ... Killers for Hire (1979), Kasal-Kasalan, Bahay-Bahayan (1979), Puga (1980), Estibador (1980), Si Malakas, si Maganda, at si Mahinhin (1980), Pepeng Shotgun (1980), Bagong Boy Condenado (1982), Pambato, Mga (1982), Get My Son Dead or Alive (1982), Kumander Elpidio Paclibar (1982), Sumuko ka na Reonquillo (1983), Kumusta ka, Hudas? (1983), Alex San Diego: Wanted (1983), Kunim mo ang ulo ni Magtanggol (1983), Idol (1984), Sarge (1984), Somewhere (1984), Kriminal (1984), Batuigas ... Pasukuin si Waway (1984), Anak ng Tondo (1985), Revenge for Justice (1985), Baun Gang (1985), Riot 1950 (1985), Tatak ng Yakuza (1986), Deadly Target (1986), Vigilante (1987), Get Victor Corpus: The Rebel Soldier (1987), Vengeance Is Mine (1987), Lumuhod ka sa Lupa! (1987), The Day They Robbed America (1988), The Bobby Ortega Story (1991), Bingbong: The Vincent Crisologo Story (1991), Amang Capulong — Anak ng Tondo II (1992), Kahit Buhay Ko (1992), Daddy Goon (1992), Gwapings: The First Adventure (1992), Kung Kailangan mo Ako (1993), Nagkataon, Nagkatagpo (1994), Lagalag: The Eddie Fernandez Story (1994), Matimbang pa sa Dugo (1995), Kuratog Baleleng (1995), Ayos Lang, Pare Ko (1997), Onyok Tigasin (1997), Birador (1998), Ginto’t Pilak (1998), The Fighter (2000), Ping Lacson: Supercop (2000), Iligpit si Bobby Ortega, Markang Bungo 2 (2001), and Diskarte (2002). He appeared frequently in television in the 2000s, starring in the short-lived sit-com Da Boy, en da Girl. He was also seen in the series Twin Hearts, Now and Forever, and Atlantika. Fernandez was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Quezon City in 2001. FERRER, MEL Actor and director Mel Ferrer died at his ranch near Santa Barbara, California, on June 2, 2008. He was 90. He was born Melchior Gas-

ton Ferrer in Elberon, New Jersey, on August 25, 1917. He attended Princeton University but soon dropped out. He subsequently worked as a journalist at a Vermont newspaper, traveled to Mexico, and wrote the children’s book Tito’s Hats. He went to New York in the late 1930s, where he was a chorus dancer on Broadway in two musicals. After suffering from a bout of polio in the early 1940s he worked as a radio disc jockey in Texas and Arkansas. He worked at NBC television in New York as a director and began working in ﬁlms as a dialogue coach on Louisiana Hayride (1944), They Live in Fear (1944), Sergeant Mike (1944), Together Again (1944), Meet Miss Bobby Socks (1944), Let’s Go Steady (1945), Ten Cents a Dance (1945), Boston Blackie’s Rendezvous (1945), and A Thousand and One Nights (1945). He made his directorial debut with the 1945 Columbia feature The Girl of the Limberlost. Ferrer also appeared on Broadway in the 1945 Lillian Smith play Strange Fruit, and directed Jose Ferrer in the 1946 production of Cyrano de Bergerac. He returned to Hollywood to serve as John Ford’s assistant director on The Fugitive in 1947, also appearing onscreen as Father Serra. Ferrer was featured in the ﬁlm Lost Boundaries in 1949, and starred in such features as Born to Be Bad (1950), The Brave Bulls (1951), Rancho Notorious (1952), Scaramouche (1952), Knights of the Round Table (1953) as Arthur, Lili (1953) as the crippled puppeteer Paul Berthalet, Saadia (1953), Forbidden (1954), Oh ... Rosalinda!! (1955), War and Peace (1956) as Prince Andrei, Elena and Her Men (1956), The Vintage (1957), the 1957 ﬁlm adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises (1957) as Robert Cohn, Fraulein (1958), and the end of the world drama The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959) with Inger Stevens and Harry Belafonte. He was also featured as Crown Prince Rudolph in the 1957 television production of Mayerling on Producers’ Showcase, and an episode of Zane Grey Theater. Ferrer married actress Audrey Hepburn in 1954, and starred with her on Broadway in the fantasy Ondine. He also directed her in the 1959 drama set in the jungles of South America, Green Mansions. Ferrer continued to appear onscreen, often working in Europe, in such ﬁlms as Ladies Man (1960), the French vampire thriller Blood and Roses (1960), The Hands of Orlac (1960) with Christopher Lee, Law of War (1961), Charge of the Black

Mel Ferrer

135 Lancers (1962), The Devil and the Ten Commandments (1962), the all-star World War II drama The Longest Day (1962), El Senor de La Salle (1964), Paris —When It Sizzles (1964), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), and Sex and the Single Girl (1964). He was also featured on television in an episode of Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, and directed several episodes of the comedy series The Farmer’s Daughter in the early 1960s. Ferrer produced, directed, and scripted the 1965 ﬁlm Cabriola (aka Every Day Is a Holiday, and produced and starred in the 1966 bio-ﬁlm of the great Spanish artist El Greco. He also produced the 1967 thriller Wait Until Dark, starring his wife, Audrey Hepburn, as a blind woman terrorized by criminals. He and Hepburn divorced in 1968. Ferrer served as producer of the ﬁlms A Time for Loving (1971) which he also starred in as Dr. Harrison, The Night Visitor (1971), Embassy (1972), and the thriller W (1974) starring the former fashion model Twiggy. His career as an actor also continued with such credits as The Girl from the Red Cabaret (1972), The Antichrist (aka The Tempter) (1973), Chopper Squad (1975), Suspected Death of a Minor (1975), Brannigan (1975) with John Wayne, The Net (1975), The Black Pirate (1976), Gangbuster (1977), The Girl in the Yellow Pajamas (1977), Eaten Alive (1977), Seagulls Fly Low (1978), L’Immoralita (1978), Hi-Riders (1978), The Norseman (1978), Yesterday’s Tomorrow (1978), The Fifth Floor (1978), Screamers (aka The Island of the Fishmen) (1979), The Visitor (1979), Guyana: Cult of the Damned (1979), The Great Alligator (1979), Buitres Sobre la Ciudad (1980), Doomed to Die (aka Eaten Alive!, The Emerald Jungle) (1980), City of the Walking Dead (1980), Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Lili Marleen (1981), A Thousand Billion Dollars (1982), Deadly Game (1982), Un Tenero Tramonto (1983), and Eye of the Widow (1989). Ferrer was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms Columbo: Requiem for a Falling Star (1973), Tenaﬂy (1973), Roots of the Maﬁa (1976), Sharon: Portrait of a Mistress (1977), Black Beauty (1978), How the West Was Won (1978) as Hale Burton, The Return of Captain Nemo (1978), Top of the Hill (1980), The Memory of Eva Ryker (1980), Fugitive Family (1980), One Shoe Makes It Murder (1982), Seduced (1985), Peter the Great (1986), Outrage! (1986), Dream West (1986), Wild Jack (1989), Catherine the Great (1995), and Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Stories from My Childhood: Pinocchio and the Golden Key (1998) as the voice of Geppetto. He starred in the prime-time soap opera Falcon Crest as the lawyer, and later husband, of Jane Wyman’s character from 1981 to 1984. His other television credits include episodes of Search, Police Story, Marcus Welby, M.D., Ellery Queen, Baretta, Hawaii Five-0, Fantastic Journey, Lanigan’s Rabbi, Wonder Woman, Logan’s Run, Return of the Saint, Eischied, Dallas, Fantasy Island, Finder of Los Loves, Glitter, Behind the Screen, Hotel, Murder, She Wrote, and Christine Cromwell as the Doctor. Ferrer was married to Frances Gunby Pilchard from 1937 until their divorce in 1939. He married Barbara Tripp in 1940, but divorced her several years later and remarried Pilchard in 1944. They again divorced before his marriage to Hepburn in 1954. After their divorce in 1968, Ferrer married Elizabeth Soukutin, who survives him. He was the

2008 • Obituaries

father of ﬁve children including a son with Hepburn, Sean Ferrer.

FERSEN, CHRISTINE French actress Christine Fersen died of complications of injuries she received in a fall in Paris on May 26, 2008. She was 64. Fersen was born in France on March 5, 1944. She was a leading stage performer with the Comedie-Francaise from the mid–1960s. She was also featured in several

Christine Fersen

ﬁlms including Kiss (1971), The Third Cry (1974), The Big Brother (1982), Friends and Husbands (1983), L’Archipel des Amours (1983), Les Deux Fagonard (1989), Milena (1991), and Melody for a Hustler (1998). Fersen was also featured in such television productions as Horace (1973), Les Mescontents (1973), La Barque sans Pecheur (1973), La Limousine (1976), Le Roi se Meurt (1978), Le Destin Personnel (1979), Les Ritals (1991), and Little Girls (1997).

FEYDEAU, ALAIN French actor and comedian Alain Feydeau died in Paris on January 14, 2008. He was 73. Feydeau was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, on July 21, 1934. He performed with the Comedie-Francaise from 1958 to 1983. He was seen frequently on French television from the 1970s, appearing in productions of Ruy Blas (1972), Musidora (1973), La Poudre aux Yeux (1976), Les Folies Offenbach (1977), Le Mutant (1978), Louis XI ou Le Pouvoir Central

Alain Feydeau

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(1979), Les Acteurs de Bonne Foi (1979), La Folle de Chaillot (1980), Marie-Marie (1981), Mistoire Contemporaine (1981), Emmenez-Moi au Theatre: La Baye (1983), Tribunal (1989), and La Dame aux Camelias (1998). He also appeared in the ﬁlms Vincennes Neuilly (1992) and The Three Kings (2001). Feydeau also authored two books on French actress Edwige Feuillere.

FFOLKES, KAREN Actress Karen Ffolkes died of cancer in Glendale, California, on August 31, 2008. She was 40. Ffolkes was born on August 28, 1968. She began working as an actress in the early 1990s, appear-

phy of the Early Popular Stage Comedian, Tony Pastor, Father of Vaudeville, Maude Adams: Idols of American Theater, Sophie Tucker: First Lady of Show Business, Fred Stone: Circus Performer and Musical Comedy Star, James J. Corbett: A Biography of the Heavyweight Boxing Champion and Popular Theater Headliner, and Lillian Russell: A Biography of America’s Beauty. He also authored Le Chat Noir: A Montmartre Cabaret and Its Artists in Turn-of-the-Century Paris (1994) and Katharine Dexter McCormick: Pioneer for Women’s Rights (2003). Fields donated his archive of rare theatrical memorabilia to the USC Libraries’ Special Collections in 2002 to become the Armond Fields American Theatre Collection.

FIELDS , ARMOND Armond Fields, who penned numerous biographies of theatrical personalities, died at his home in Culver City, California, on August 17, 2008. He was 77. Fields was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 22, 1930. He wrote a book about his uncle, vaudeville star and producer Lew Fields, From the Bowery to Broadway: Lew Fields and the Roots of Popular Theatre, with L. Marc Fields in 1993. He continued to write numerous works about early ﬁgures of the American stage including Eddie Foy: A Biogra-

FINNEGAN, WILLIAM Film and television producer William Finnegan died of complications from Parkinson’s disease at his home in Sag Harbor, New York, on November 28, 2008. He was 80. Finnegan was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 29, 1928. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He began working as a newsman with the Hollywood Citizen News, the Associated Press and CBS in 1950. He began working in television in the mid–1960s, serving as an assistant director for the popular spy series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and the 1968 feature ﬁlm Sol Madrid. He was a producer on the ﬁlms Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) and Support Your Local Gunﬁghter (1971), and production manager for The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969), Monte Walsh (1970), and Bobby Deerﬁeld (1977). He was also a producer of the tele-ﬁlms Hec Ramsey (1972), Chelsea D.H.O. (1973), Dead Man on the Run (1975), Danger in Paradise (1977), King (1978), Maneaters Are Loose! (1978), Stranger in Our House (1978), The Ordeal of Patty Hearst (1979), A Vacation in Hell (1979), The $5.20 an Hour Dream (1980), Valentine Magic on Love Island (1980), Father Figure (1980), The Choice (1981), Inmates: A Love Story (1981), Calahan (1982), World War III (1982), Dangerous Company (1982), Between Two Brothers (1982), Your Place ... or Mine (1983), Summer Girl (1983), The Dollmaker (1984), Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac (1984), The Atlanta Child Murders (1985), Generation (1985), and This Child Is Mine (1985). He was also a producer for the television series Hawaii Five-0, Big Hawaii, The

Armond Fields

William Finnegan

Karen Ffolkes

ing frequently onstage and in commercials. She was also seen in several ﬁlm during her career, including Desperate Measures (1993), Most Wanted (1997), My Brothers Jack (1998), Banana Moon (2003), Everyday Use (2003), and Runt (2005).

137 Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, She-Wolf of London, and Any Day Now. He joined with his wife, Patricia, and partner, Sheldon Pinchuk, to form the production company Finnegan-Pinchuk Co. in the late 1970s, which supplied made for television productions for the networks and cable. Finnegan’s producer credits included the tele-ﬁlms News at Eleven (1986), Circle of Violence: A Family Drama (1986), Louis L’Amour’s Down the Long Hills (1986), Babes in Toyland (1986), American Harvest (1987), The Alamo: Thirteen Days of Glory (1987), Gore Vidal’s Lincoln (1988), She Knows to Much (1989), Dark Holiday (1989), Murder by Night (1989), Laker Girls (1990), Hell Hath No Fury (1991), and Hope (1997). He was also a producer of the feature ﬁlms Night of the Creeps (1986), North Shore (1987), Going to the Chapel (1988), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), White Palace (1990), The Babe (1992), CrissCross (1992), Reality Bites (1994), Tis the Season (1994), and Ed (1996). Finnegan largely retired from active production in 2003.

FIONDELLA, JAY Actor and restaurateur Jay Fiondella, whose Santa Monica eatery Chez Jay was a popular spot for show business celebrities, died after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease, in Santa Monica, California, on November 6, 2008. He was 82. Fiondella was born in East Haven, Connecticut, in 1946. He studied at the University of Miami before heading to Hollywood in the hopes of becoming an actor in the early 1950s. He roomed with future Star Trek star Leonard Nimoy while both aspiring young actors were getting their start. Fiondella appeared frequently on television during the 1960s under the name Jay Della, with roles in episodes of Sea Hunt, Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Vacation Playhouse, Laredo, Batman as the Puzzler’s henchman Ramjet, Mission: Impossible, Nanny and the Professor, Fantasy Island, and CHiPs. He was also seen in the ﬁlms This Is Not a Test (1962) and Simon, King of the Witches (1971). Fiondella opened Chez Jay in 1959 and his friendship with Hollywood celebrities made it a popular hangout. Though he largely abandoned his acting career in the early 1970s, he continued to appear in cameo roles in such ﬁlms as Inside Moves (1980), Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), Bad Inﬂuence

Jay Fiondella

2008 • Obituaries

(1990), Delirious (1991), Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), the tele-ﬁlm Nails (1992), Short Cuts (1993), Somebody to Love (1994), Bloodﬁst VII: Manhunt (1995), Conspiracy Theory (1997), Suicide Kings (1997), Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), Two Shades of Blue (2000), and Luck of the Draw (2000).

FISCHER, BOBBY Chess champion Bobby Fischer, whose 1972 match against Soviet Boris Spassky brought world attention to the game, died of kidney failure in a Reykjavik, Iceland, hospital on January 17, 2008. He was 64. Fischer was born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 9, 1943, and was raised by his mother in

Bobby Fischer

Brooklyn, New York. He ﬁrst began playing chess at the age of six, and was challenging some of America’s strongest players by the time he was 12. Sometimes called “the boy robot” by his opponents, he won the U.S. Junior Championship in 1956 and became the youngest U.S. Champion at age 14 the following year. He earned the rank of grandmaster at age 15. As his skills increased and his wins mounted, Fischer’s behavior also became increasingly erratic. He made bizarre demands on tournament hosts, and alleged that opponents were conspiring against him or trying to poison his food. He authored the 1969 book My 60 Memorable Chess Games on his road to becoming the top contender to the world championship. Fischer continued his demanding behavior through the start of the 1972 contest against reigning champion Boris Spassky in Reykjavik, and threatened to call off the competition with complaints about whirring television cameras and lighting. Losing the ﬁrst game and forfeiting the second, Fischer came back to trounce Spassky and became an international celebrity. The victory was viewed in the United States as a blow against Communism and Fischer was hailed as an unlikely hero. His erratic behavior grew even more intense after becoming world champion. He was stripped of the title by the International Chess Federation when he refused to defend against challenger Anatoly Karpov in 1975. Rumored to be near destitute over the next decade, his eccentricities remained undiminished. He reemerged in 1992 for a rematch against Spassky in the then Yugoslavian republic of Montenegro for a reported $5 million purse.

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Fischer defended United Nations sanctions against Yugoslavia by participating. The U.S. Treasury Department obtained an arrest warrant against him after he spit on the order forbidding him to compete. Fischer vanquished Spassky in the match and vowed never to return to the United States. He spent the remainder of his life in exile, eventually settling in Reykjavik. He was imprisoned for nine months in Japan in 2004 when he was accused of trying to leave the country without a valid passport. The American chess player in the hit musical Chess, with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, was loosely based on Fischer. A 1993 ﬁlm about young chess prodigy Joshua Waitzkin was entitled Searching for Bobby Fischer.

FISHER, DIANE Diane Fisher Murrell died in a Fairview, Oklahoma, hospital of complications from a stroke on July 29, 2008. She was 76. Fisher was born in Gilmer, Texas, on July 16, 1932. She was a child actress in a handful of ﬁlms from the late 1930s includ-

was 36. Fisher was born in Houston, Texas, on April 18, 1972. She graduated from the University of Houston before heading to Los Angeles to embark on a career as an actress and model. She appeared on television in episodes of Walker Texas Ranger and Nash Bridges. She was featured in several ﬁlms including Pomegranate (2005) and Cattle Call (2006), and appeared in a segment of Gene Simmons: Family Jewelry in 2008.

FLESSEL, CREIG Comic artist Creig Flessel died of complications from a stroke at his home in Mill Valley, California, on July 17, 2008. He was 96. Flessel was born in Huntington, Long Island, New York, on February 2, 1912. He began working in comics as an as-

Creig Flessel

Diane Fischer

ing Swanee River (1939) with Don Ameche as Stephen Foster, The Blue Bird (1940) as Shirley Temple’s little sister, Lillian Russell (1940), The Man I Married (1940), Young People (1940), and The Villain Still Pursued Her (1940).

FISHER , RANA Actress and model Rana Fisher died in Los Angeles on August 10, 2008. She

Rana Risher

sistant to John H. Striebel on the Dixie Dugan newspaper strip. He also worked in advertising at the Johnstone and Cushing Agency in the 1930s. He began drawing for some of the earliest issues of DC Comics in 1936, illustrating strips for More Fun Comics and New Comics. He was a creator of the series “Speed Saunders,” “Hank the Cowhand,” “Pep Morgan,” and “The Bradley Boys.” He also drew strips for many of the early issues of Detective Comics before Batman made his ﬁrst appearance and often illustrated the covers. He drew the “Sandman” and “The Shining Knight” features for Adventure Comics in the 1940s. He also worked at Columbia Comics and Magazine Enterprises in the early 1940s, and drew illustrations for several pulp magazines. He returned to DC to ink Superboy related titles in the 1950s. Flessel also worked often in advertising and graphic art for magazines. He sometimes assisted Al Capp on the Li’l Abner comic strip and illustrated the David Crane strip from 1960 to 1971. He worked with Joe Simon on the DC comic Prez in the 1970s and drew the Tales of Baron Von Furstinbed comic for Playboy in the 1980s. In recent years Flessel was a popular guest at comic fan conventions around the country.

FLORENCE, BOB Bob Florence, an Emmy and Grammy Award–winning pianist and composer, died of pneumonia in a Los Angeles hospital on May 15, 2008. He was 75. Florence was born in Los Angeles on May 19, 1932. He began working as an arranger in the

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worked as a conductor and composer. Flynn scored several ﬁlms there including Sunday Too Far Away (1975), Caddie (1975), and Mad Dog Morgan (1976). He also composed the rock opera Ned Kelly about the notorious Australian outlaw. He also conducted frequently for the Australian Opera in Sydney and for touring Broadway productions. Flynn relocated to New York City in the late 1970s, where he spent several years as a conductor for the American Ballet Theatre. He also orchestrated such productions as Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Don Quixote and was a guest conductor at orchestras throughout the world. Flynn was named music director of the Riverside County Philharmonic in California in 1989, where he remained until his death. Bob Florence

later days of the big band era in the 1950s. Florence provided arrangements for such bandleaders as Harry James, Les Brown, Louis Belson, and Sy Zentner. His arrangement for Zentner’s “Up a Lazy River” won a Grammy Award in 1961. He worked frequently in television from the 1960s, serving as a musical director, composer and piano accompanist on specials starring Julie Andrews, Vicki Carr, and Jack Jones. He also worked on television variety shows starring Dean Martin, Red Skelton, and Andy Williams, earning two Emmy Awards for his efforts. He was music arranger for the 1968 ﬁlm Sebastian and was orchestrator for the 1978 musical The Wiz. Florence also supplied additional music for Burt Reynolds’ 1981 ﬁlm Sharky’s Machine. From the late 1970s, he toured frequently with his own big band, Bob Florence Limited Edition. The group earned a Grammy Award in 1999 and continued to tour until shortly before Florence’s death.

FOCH, NINA Leading actress Nina Foch died of long-term myelodysplasia, a blood disorder, in a Los Angeles hospital on December 5, 2008. She was 84. She was born Nina Fock in Leiden, the Netherlands, on April 20, 1924, the daughter of American actress Consuela Flowerton and Dutch conductor Dirk Fock. Her parents divorced when she was a child, and Nina was raised in New York City. She became interested in acting at an early age and trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She appeared onstage in regional theater before signing a contract with Columbia in 1943. She appeared frequently in ﬁlms during the 1940s, though failed to become a leading movie star. Her ﬁlm credits include Wagon Wheels West (1943), The Return of the Vampire (1944) with Bela Lugosi, Nine

FLYNN , PATRICK Film composer Patrick Flynn, who served as music director for the Riverside County Philharmonic, died of a pulmonary embolism in a Los Angeles hospital on September 10, 2008. He was 72. Flynn was born in Birmingham, England, on May 18, 1936. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied piano and conducting. He continued his studies under conductor Sir John Barbirolli for nearly a decade from the mid–1950s. He moved to Australia in the late 1960s, where he Nina Foch

Patrick Flynn

Girls (1944), She’s a Soldier Too (1944), Shadows in the Night (1944), Cry of the Werewolf (1944), Strange Affair (1944), She’s a Sweetheart (1944), A Song to Remember (1945), I Love a Mystery (1945), Escape in the Fog (1945), Boston Blackie’s Rendezvous (1945), A Thousand and One Nights (1945), My Name Is Julia Ross (1945), Prison Ship (1945), Johnny O’Clock (1947), The Guilt of Janet Ames (1947), The Dark Past (1948), The Undercover Man (1949), and Johnny Allegro (1949). Foch returned to the stage in the late 1940s, starring in the hit Broadway play John Loves Mary (1947). She also appeared in productions of The Respectful Prostitute and Twelfth Night. She began appearing on television in the late 1940s, with roles in such series as The Philco Television Play-

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house, The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre, Two Girls Named Smith, Nash Airﬂyte Theatre, Faith Baldwin Romance Theatre, Cameo Theatre, Somerset Maugham TV Theatre, Lights Out, Chesterﬁeld Presents, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Tales of Tomorrow, Pulitzer Prize Playhouse, The Gulf Playhouse, Lux Video Theatre, Hollywood Opening Night, Armstrong Circle Theatre, The Philip Morris Playhouse, Your Show of Shows, Justice, Suspense, Danger, Producers’ Showcase, The Colgate Comedy Hour, The 20th Century–Fox Hour, Playwrights ’56, The Alcoa Hour, Kraft Television Theatre, Climax!, Wagon Train, Matinee Theatre, Studio One, Pursuit, Playhouse 90, the 1959 television production of Ten Little Indians, The Thin Man, Rawhide, The Loretta Young Show, Play of the Week, Moment of Fear, United States Steel Hour, The Americans, Shirley Temple’s Storybook, Checkmate, Bus Stop, The Dick Powell Show, General Electric Theater, the 1962 television production of Rebecca, Naked City, The Virginian, Sam Benedict, Arrest and Trial, Kraft Suspense Theatre, The Greatest Show on Earth, The Outer Limits, Route 66, Burke’s Law, Mr. Broadway, Dr. Kildare, Combat!, A Man Called Shenandoah, The Long, Hot Summer, I Spy, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Bonanza, The Wild Wild West, Gunsmoke, Paris 7000, The F.B.I., To Rome with Love, McCloud, The Name of the Game, That Girl, Storefront Lawyers, The Mod Squad, Hawaii Five-0, Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, The Magician, The ABC Afternoon Playbreak, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Wide World Mystery, Barnaby Jones, McMillan & Wife, Lou Grant, Trapper John, M.D., the 1984 supernatural series Shadow Chasers in the regular role of Dr. Julianna Moorhouse, Comedy Factory, Room for Romance, L.A. Law, Hunter, Reasonable Doubts, Missing Persons, Murder, She Wrote, Dharma & Greg, Just Shoot Me!, Bull in the recurring role of Madeline, Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and The Closer. Foch also appeared in numerous tele-ﬁlms including Prescription: Murder (1968), as the murder victim in the pilot for the Columbo series, Gidget Grows Up (1969), The Scarecrow (1972), Female Artillery (1973), The Great Houdini (1976), Child of Glass (1978), Ebony, Ivory and Jade (1979), Outback Bound (1988), War and Remembrance (1988), In the Arms of a Killer (1992), The Sands of Time (1992), Tales of the City (1993), Morning Glory (1993), Alien Nation: Dark Horizon (1994), Family Blessings (1999) which she also directed, and Back When We Were Grownups (2004). Foch continued to appear onscreen throughout her career, with roles in such features as St. Benny the Dip (1951), An American in Paris (1951) with Gene Kelly, Young Man with Ideas (1952), Scaramouche (1952) as Marie Antoinette, Sombrero (1953), Fast Company (1953), Executive Suite (1954) earning an Oscar nomination for her role as Erica Martin, Four Guns to the Border (1954), You’re Never Too Young (1955), Illegal (1955), The Ten Commandments (1956) as Moses’ adoptive mother Bithiah, Three Brave Men (1956), Cash McCall (1960), Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus (1960) as Helena Glaberus, Such Good Friends (1971), Salty (1973), Mahogany (1975), the horror ﬁlm Jennifer (1978), Rich and Famous (1981), Nomads (1986), Dixie Lanes (1988), Skin Deep (1989), Sliver (1993), It’s My

Party (1996), ’Til There Was You (1997), Hush (1998), Shadow of Doubt (1998), Pumpkin (2002), and How to Deal (2003). Foch also taught “Directing the Actor” classes at the USC School of Cinematic Arts from the 1960s until her death.

FOLKE, GOSTA Swedish ﬁlm director Gosta Folke died in Stockholm, Sweden, on April 14, 2008. He was 94. Folke was born in Stockholm on December 10, 1913. He began working in ﬁlms as an assistant director in the early 1940s, with such credits as The Heavenly Play (1942), Jag ar Eld Och Luft (1944), and Rosen pa Tistelon (1945). He made his directorial debut

Gosta Folke

soon after, helming such features as The Country Priest (1946), Kvinnor i Vantrum (1946), Neglected by His Wife (1947) which starred his future wife actress Agneta Prytz, Maria (1947), On These Shoulders (1948), Realm of Man (1949), Stora Hoparegrand och Himmelriket (1949), Seger i Morker (1954), Bock I Ortagard (1958), and Lejon pa Stan (1959). He worked frequently in television from the 1960s, directing productions of Mollusken (1964), Jungfruleken (1966), Monsieur Barnett (1968), Syndabocken (1980), and Flower of Hawaii (1983).

FONDATO, MARCELLO Italian screenwriter and director Marcello Fondato died of a cerebral hemorrhage in San Felice Circeo, Italy, on November 13, 2008. He was 84. Fondato was born in Rome on January 8, 1924. He worked as a journalist before he began writing ﬁlms in the late 1950s. Fondato scripted such ﬁlms as Surprise of Love (1959), The Friend of the Jaguar (1959), The Beautiful Legs of Sabrina (1959), My Uncle the Vampire (1959), Everybody Go Home (1960), Musketeers of the Sea (1960), I Piaceri dello Scapolo (1960), La Ragazza di Mille Mesi (1961), Mariti in Pericolo (1961), The Two Marshals (1961), Totot Diabolicus (1962), The Black Invaders (1962), Gunﬁght at High Noon (1963), Bebo’s Girl (1963), The Warm Life (1963), Mario Bava’s 1963 horror trilogy Black Sabbath starring Boris Karloff, The Scapegoat (1963), Three Nights of Love (1964), Bava’s slasher classic Blood and Black Lace (1964), the early spaghetti western Two Violent Men (1964), My Wife (1964), Six Days a Week (1964), Death Travels Too Much (1965), Son of Jesse James (1965), Complexes (1965), The Relentless Four (1965), Top Crack (1966), Grant Slan (1967), and Night Is Made for Steal-

141 ing (1968). Fondato made his directorial debut helming the 1968 crime drama The Protagonists based on his own story and script. He also wrote and directed the ﬁlms Nini Tirabuscio (1970), Cause of Divorce (1972), Watch Out, We’re Mad (1974), The Immortal Bachelor (1975), and Charleston (1977). He also scripted the Bud Spencer starrers They Call Him Bulldozer (1978), The Sheriff and the Satellite Kid (1979), Everything Happens to Me (1980), Bomber (1982), and Aladdin (1982). He wrote and directed the television productions Domani (1986) and Love Conquers All (1994), and helmed Affari di Famiglia (1986) and Ma tu mi Vuoi Bene? (1991). He also scripted the 1988 mini-series Cerco l’Amore. Fondato subsequently retired to San Felice Circeo, where he served as artistic director for a local theatrical group.

2008 • Obituaries

Blood (1993), An Eye for An Eye (1993), Angel Mission (1993), The Buddhist Spell (1993), Combat at Heaven Gate (1993), Her Judgment Day (1993), Hong Kong Adam’s Family (1994), Gambling Baron (1994), The Vengeance (1995), A Touch of Evil (1995), How to Meet the Lucky Stars (1996), Dark Flowers (1998), Brother Forever (1999), Century of the Dragon (1999), and Fist Power (2000).

FOPEANO, PETER Actor Peter Fopeano was found shot to death in a car on a street in Kansas City, Kansas, on November 25, 2008. He was 43. Fopeano was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 31,

FONG LUNG Chinese character actor Fong Lung died of lung cancer in a Xi’an, Shaanxi, China, hospital on November 14, 2008. He was 54. Fong appeared frequently in ﬁlms in Hong Kong from the early 1970s, often playing villains in action features. He was sometimes credited under the names Jimmy Lee Fong and Li Chien Min. His ﬁlm credits include Kung Fu Powerhouse (1973), A Girl Called Tigress (1973), Seven

Peter Fopeano

1965. He frequently performed on stage in community theaters and with the local companies the American Heartland Theatre and the Heart of American Shakespeare Festival. Fopeano was also featured in the 2008 ﬁlm All Roads Lead Home.

Fong Lung

to One (1973), The Imprudent Iron Phoenix (1973), Lady Whirlwind Against the Ranger (1974), Fatal Strike (1974), Master of the Flying Guillotine (1975), A Cookbook of Birth Control (1975), The Savage Killers (1976), The Best of Shaolin Kung Fu (1976), Along Comes a Tiger (1977), Kung Fu Killers (1977), The Greatest Plot (1977), The Dragon, the Lizard and the Boxer (1977), Any Which Way You Punch (1978), Fatal Needles vs. Fatal Fists (1978), Shaolin Red Master (1978), Edge of Fury (1978), Eagle’s Claws (1978), Mantis in the Monkey’s Shadow (1979), Shaolin Invincible Sticks (1979), The Rebellious Reign (1980), The Green Jade Statuette (1981), Casino Raiders (1989), Crocodile Hunter (1989), The Fortune Code (1989), God of Gamblers (1989) as Chow Yun Fat’s nemesis, Legend of the Dragon (1990), The Big Score (1990), Dragon in Jail (1990), Godfathers of Hong Kong (1991), Angel Force (1991), God of Gamblers III: Back to Shanghai (1991), Lee Rock (1991), Kickboxer’s Tears (1992), Invincible (1992), The Sword Stained with Royal

FORBES-ROBERTSON, JOHN British actor John Forbes-Robertson, who played Count Dracula in several Hammer horror ﬁlms of the 1970s, died in England on May 14, 2008. He was 80. Forbes-Robertson began his ﬁlm career in the early 1950s with roles in such features as Brighthaven Express (1952), The Baby and the Battleship (1956), The Battle of the River Plate (1956), Girl in the Headlines (1963), Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965), The Fighting Prince of Donegal (1966), and

John Forbes-Robertson

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The Spy with a Cold Nose (1966). Forbes-Robertson also appeared frequently on television from the late 1950s, with roles in such series as Dixon of Dock Green, The Men from Room 13, Maigret, Suspense, The Dark Island, The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre, Dr. Finlay’s Casebook, No Hiding Place, Redcap, and The Saint. He was featured as Colonel Harrison in the 1970 historical drama Cromwell, and portrayed the vampiric Man in Black in the lesbian-themed 1970 Hammer horror The Vampire Lovers. He also played Count Dracula in the 1974 horror–kung fu mish-mash The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires. His other ﬁlms include Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), The Vault of Horror (1973), Venom (1981), and The Island of Adventure (1982). His other television credits include such productions as QB VII (1974), The Next Voice You See (1974), The Naked Civil Servant (1975), Nicholas Nickleby (1977), I Remember Nelson (1982), The Far Pavilions (1984), Paradise Postponed (1986), and Samson and Delilah (1996). He was also seen in episodes of The New Avengers, Just William, Number 10, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Jonny Briggs, and Crime Traveler.

FORD, VINCENT Jamaican songwriter Vincent Ford died of complications from diabetes in a Kingston, Jamaica, hospital on December 28, 2008. He was 68. Ford was a close friend of reggae legend Bob Marley, whom he grew up with in the Kingston ghetto

Vincent Ford

of Trench Town in the 1960s. Ford was credited with writing Marley’s hit song “No Woman, No Cry,” which was featured on the 1974 album Natty Dread. Some critics believe that Marley wrote the song himself but gave Ford the credit so he would receive ﬁnancial support from the royalties. Ford was also credited with writing three songs on Marley’s album Rastaman Vibration in 1976. Marley died of cancer in 1981. Ford ran a soup kitchen in Kingston until losing both of his legs from diabetes.

FOX, WILLIAM British character actor William Fox died in England on September 20, 2008. Fox was born in Manila, the Philippines, on January 26, 1911. He was 97. His father was a successful trader and adventurer based in the Philippines where both he and his wife were killed by the Japanese during World

William Fox

War II. Fox was educated in England in the 1930s, and soon began performing on stage. He staged a successful production of the thriller Rope in the West Country, before heading to London to appear in Dangerous Corner in 1932. He continued to perform on stage and was featured in television productions of Under Suspicion (1939), Someone at the Door (1939), and Rake’s Progress (1939). Fox served with the London Riﬂes during World War II and was a founder of the Reunion Theatre to assist actors to resume their stage careers after military service. He remained a popular performer on the stage in the West End and on Broadway. He was featured in the 1947 television production of The Two Mrs. Carrolls, and appeared in several ﬁlms including No Place for Jennifer (1950), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955), Serenade (1956), The Secret Partner (1961), The Queen’s Guards (1961), She Always Gets Their Man (1962), Ransom (1975), The Final Conﬂict (1981), and Mata Hari (1985). Fox continued to appear frequently on television from the 1950s, with roles in such series and productions as Parent-Craft, The Apple Cart, Knight Errant Limited, The Escape of R.D. 7, The Cheaters, Epitaph for a Spy, Richard the Lionheart, A Slight Case of..., Buddenbrooks, The Wednesday Play, The Avengers, Armchair Theatre, Z Cars, Softly Softly, Coronation Street, Doomwatch, Callan, Hadleigh, Justice, The Chinese Puzzle as the Wing Commander, The Main Chance, Doctor on the Go, Sutherland’s Law, Second Verdict, The Duchess of Duke Street, When the Boat Comes In as the Duke of Bedlington, Leave It to Charlie, Malice Aforethought, Escape, BBC 2 Playhouse, Yes Minister, Spyship, Crown Court as Justice Crowther-Smith, Yes, Prime Minister, and All Creatures Great and Small. Fox was brieﬂy married to actress Carol Rees in the early 1930s. Later in the decade, he turned down a chance for a Hollywood ﬁlm contract because of his infatuation with actress Patricia Hilliard. She became his second wife in 1938 and the two remained together until her death in 2001. FRANKOWSKI, LEO Science ﬁction writer Leo Frankowski, who was best known for writing the Cross-Time Engineer series, died in Lake Elsinore, California, on December 25, 2008. He was 65. Frankowski was born in Detroit, Michigan, on February 13, 1943.

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Leo Frankowski

George MacDonald Fraser

He created the character Conrad Stargard, a 20th century engineer who travels back in time to 13th century Poland. The series included The Cross-Time Engineer (1986), The High Tech Knight (1989), The Radiant Warrior (1989), The Flying Warlord (1989), Lord Conrad’s Lady (1990), Conrad’s Quest for Rubber (1998), Conrad’s Time Machine (2002), and Lord Conrad’s Crusade (2005). He also authored the New Kashubia series in collaboration with David Grossman that included A Boy and His Tank (1999), The War with Earth (2003), and Kren of the Mitchegai (2004). He and Grossman also wrote The Two-Space War (2004) and the forthcoming The Guns of Two Space together. Frankowski’s other novels include Copernick’s Rebellion (1987) and The Fata Morgana (1999).

from Thomas Hughes’ classic novel Tom Brown’s School Days. Fraser brought the young rogue to adulthood in his ﬁrst novel, Flashman, in 1969. He claimed to have written the entire novel in 90 hours, without an outline or revisions, while sitting at his kitchen table. Harry Flashman, a noted drunk, liar, womanizer, and all around scoundrel of the 19th century, returned in Fraser’s 1970 novel Royal Flash, which was adapted by the author for a 1975 ﬁlm, starring Michael McDowell. Other volumes ensued, including Flashman in the Great Game (1975) and Flashman on the March (2005). Fraser also wrote the screenplays for Richard Lester’s The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974). He scripted the 1977 ﬁlm adaptation of The Prince and the Pauper entitled Crossed Swords and the 1983 James Bond ﬁlm Octopussy. Fraser also wrote the 1985 ﬁlm Red Sonja, the 1987 tele-ﬁlm Casanova, and the 1989 sequel The Return of the Musketeers. He was also the author of several novels that did not feature Flashman, including Mr. American (1980), The Pyrates (1984), and Black Ajax (1997). He wrote a memoir of his wartime experiences in Burma, Quartered Safe Out Here, in 1993. His ﬁnal novel, The Reavers, was published in 2008. FRIEDKIN , JOHNNY Film executive and publicist Johnny Friedkin died of respiratory failure in a Los Angeles hospital on May 11, 2008. He was 81. Friedkin was born in New York City on December 9, 1926. He graduated from Columbia University and began his career with the Young & Rubicam advertising agency. He soon left the ﬁrm to open a public relations agency, Sumner & Friedkin Associates, which specialized in the ﬁeld of entertainment. They handled publicity for such television series as Studio One and Playhouse 90, and represented many of the young writers that worked on the programs including Horton Foote and Paddy Chayefsky. Friedkin’s clients also included singer Tony Bennett, comedians Joey Bishop and Buddy Hackett, and Broadway composers Rodgers and Hammerstein. Friedkin became head of the New York ofﬁce of Rogers and Cowan in the mid–1960s, and became vice president for advertising and publicity at 20th Century–Fox in 1967. Relocating to Hollywood in 1972, he was instrumental in handling publicity for such ﬁlms as Young Frankenstein, The Turning

FRANZEN , CHARLES College professor turned character actor Charles Franzen died in Georgia on January 30, 2008. He was 82. Franzen was born on January 7, 1926. He served in the Army Air Force during World War II and was a professor at the University of Georgia. He made his screen debut in the late 1970s, appearing in small roles in the Tim Conway vehicles They Went That-A-Way & That-A-Way (1978) and The Prize Fighter (1979). Franzen also appeared in the ﬁlms The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (1981), Night Shadows (1984), Mississippi Burning (1988), and The Neon Bible (1995). He was seen in the tele-ﬁlms Guyana Tragedy: The Story Jim Jones (1980), Case Closed (1988), In the Line of Duty: Manhunt in the Dakotas (1991), and Flash (1997). His other television credits include the 1983 mini-series Chiefs and an episode of In the Heat of the Night in 1988. FRASER, GEORGE MACDONALD British novelist George MacDonald Fraser, creator of the swashbuckling antihero Harry Flashman, died of cancer at his home on the Isle of Man on January 2, 2008. He was 82. Fraser was born in Carlisle, Cumberland, England, on April 2, 1925. He served in the military during World War II and was stationed in India and Burma. After the war, he worked as a journalist for newspapers in England and Canada. He came an assistant editor for Scotland’s Glasgow Harold in the 1960s. He decided to write a novel later in the decade, choosing as his lead character a bully named Flashman

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Point, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Star Wars, and Alien. He left Fox for Warner Bros. in 1979 and was involved in the promotions for Blade Runner, Mad Max, Altered States, Chariots of Fire, and The Right Stuff. Friedkin became an independent consultant in 1987, and served as an associate producer for the 1992 ﬁlm Lorenzo’s Oil. He was also a publicity director for the popular ﬁlms Babe (1995) and Babe: Pig in the City (1998).

FRIEND, BOB British news correspondent Bob Friend died of cancer in England on October 8, 2008. He was 70. Friend was born in England on January 20, 1938. He began working as a reporter with the West Kent News Agency in the late 1950s. He moved Renata Fronzi

Bob Friend

to the BBC a decade later and was a reporter and foreign correspondent for the Today program. He continued as a reporter and correspondent for the BBC through the late 1980s. He was hired to launch the 24hour Sky News for Europe in 1989, where he remained until his retirement in 2003. Friend was also seen in cameo roles in the ﬁlms Independence Day (1996), Mission: Impossible (1996), and Quicksand (2003), and the television productions The Fourcourt Pimpernel (2001) and Othello (2001).

FRONZI, RENATA Argentine-Brazilian actress Renata Fronzi died of complications from diabetes in a Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, hospital on April 15, 2008. She was 82. Fronzi was born in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, on August 1, 1925, the daughter of actors Cesar and Yolanda Fronzi. She moved with her family to Brazil as a child. She began her career on stage with the Theatro Municipal in Sao Paulo in 1940. She was also featured in numerous Brazilian ﬁlms during her career including Fantasma Por Acaso (1946), Toda a Vida em Quinze Minutos (1953), Carnaval em La Maior (1955), Guerra ao Samba (1956), De Pernas Pro Ar (1956), Garotas e Samba (1957), Treze Cadeiras (1957), Pe na Tabua (1957), Espirito de Porco (1957), Hoje o Galo Sou Eu (1958), Massagista de Madame (1958), E de Chua (1958), Garota Enxuta (1959), Pistoleiro Bossa Nova (1959), Briga, Mulher e Samba (1960), Vai Que E Mole (1960), O Homem Que Roubou a Copa do Mundo (1961), Quero Essa Mulher Assim Mesmo (1963), Papai Trapal-

hao (1968), As Aventuras de Chico Valente (1968), Salario Minimo (1970), Como Ganhar na Loteria sem Perder a Esortiva (1971), Um Soutien Para Papai (1975), Este Rio Muito Louco (1977), Como Matar Uma Sogra (1978), Mulher de Programa (1981), The Barber of Rio (1996), Copacabana (2001), Dead in the Water (2002), and Coisa de Mulher (2005). Fronzi starred as Helena on the popular Brazilian television series A Familia Trapo from 1967 to 1971. She also appeared in such television series as O Rei dos Ciganos, Minha Doce Namorada, Bicho do Mato, A Patota, Satiricom, O Semideus, Corrida do Ouro, Planeta dos Homens, Chega Mais, Dulcinea Vai a Guerra, Jogo da Vida, Pao Pao, Beijo Beijo, Transas e Caretas, Corpo a Corpo, Mico Preto, A Historia de Ana Raio E Ze Trovao, Memorial de Maria Moura, A Idade a Loba, and Voce Decide. She also starred as Jasmin in the tele-novela Malhacao from 1996 to 1997. FROSTY FREEZE Break dancing pioneer Wayne Frost, who was known as Frosty Freeze with the Rocky Steady Crew, died in a New York City hospital on April 3, 2008. He was 44. Frost was born on December 4, 1963. Noted for his energetic and acrobatic dance style, he began his career with the Rock

Frosty Freeze

City Crew in 1978, and joined the Rocky Steady Crew in 1981. He appeared with the group in the 1983 ﬁlm Flashdance and was featured in several documentaries about the emerging hip-hop and break dancing phe-

145 nomena including Style Wars (1983), Wild Style (1983), The Freshest Kid (2002), and 5 Sides of a Coin (2003). He and the Rock Steady Crew also performed throughout the world with such leading hip-hop artists as Lady Blue and Futura 2000.

FRYDTBERG, WERA German actress Wera Frydtberg died in Munich, Germany, on June 16, 2008. She was 81. Frydtberg was born in Freiburg, Germany, on August 11, 1926. She began her career on stage in Vienna, Austria, in 1949. She also appeared frequently in ﬁlms and television from the 1950s. Frydtberg’s ﬁlm credits include The Story of a Sinner (1951), Vater Braucht eine Frau (1952), Einmal Keine Sorgen Haben (1953), Unter den Sternen von Capril (1953), Die Tolle Lola (1954), Sie (1954), Das Kreuz am Jagersteig (1954),

2008 • Obituaries

FUKAURA, KANAKO Japanese actress Kanako Fukaura died of colon cancer in a Tokyo hospital on August 25, 2008. She was 48. Fukaura was born in Tokyo on April 4, 1960. She studied theater while in college and was a founder of the acting troupe Gekidan Daisan Erotica in 1980. She performed with the

Kanako Fukaura

Wera Frydtberg

Her First Rendezvous (1955), Das Forsthaus in Tirol (1955), I Often Think of Piroschka (1955), Holiday am Worthersee (1956), Hurra — Die Firma Hat ein Kind (1956), It All Started So Gaily (1957), Der Etappenhase (1957), The Big Chance (1957), Wenn die Bombe Platzt (1958), The Crammer (1958), Aren’t We Wonderful? (1958), Die Feuerrote Baronesse (1959), Als Geheilt Entlassen (1960), Musik ist Trumpf (1961), The Phony American (1961), Sing, Aber Spiel Nicht Mit Nir (1963), Mit Besten Empfehlungen (1963), Das Gluck Lauft Hinterher (1963), and Bite Me, Darling (1970). Frydtberg was featured in an episode of the Flash Gordon television series in 1954, and the 1956 television production Der Untergang des Fort Charivari. She worked primarily in television from the 1960s, with roles in such productions as Terror in der Waage (1960), Die Falle (1960), Die Falle (1960), Der Vogelhandler (1960), Das Land des Lachelns (1961), Nur eine Karaffe (1962), Im Schatten des Krieges (1963), Liebe auf den Zweiten Blick (1964), Sechs Stunden Angst (1964), Ich Fahre Patschold (1964), Schicken Sie mir Einen Dollar! (1965), Der Zug der Zeit (1967), Der Tag, an dem die Kinder Verschwanden (1967), Die Lieben Freunde (1970), Das Geheimnis der Mary Celeste (1972), Aus der Chronik der Familile Sawatzki — Prussenkorso Nr. 17 (1974), Der Bierkonig (1988), and Neptun und Isolde (1992). She was also featured in episodes of Der Kommissar, Hamburg Transit, Eurogang, Ein Fall fur Zwei, and Munchen 7.

troupe over the next decade until she began appearing regularly in ﬁlms and television. Fukaura was seen in the ﬁlms So What (1988), Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? (1993), School of Mystery (1995), Battle Royale (2000), Inugami (2001), Transparent: Tribute to a Sad Genius (2001), Hush! (2001), Dog Star (2002), Asakusa Kid (2002), Border Line (2002), The Twilight Samurai (2002), Ameyori (2005), Yakuza Wives: Burning Desire (2005), LoveDeath (2006), Shiawase no Suitchi (2006), and Hideo Sakaki’s Boku no Obaachan (2008). She was also seen on Japanese television in the series Sweet Home and Hideyosi, and the tele-ﬁlms Dark Tales of Japan (2004) and Nobuta wo Produce (2005).

FURLONG, JOHN T. Actor John T. Furlong died in Centerville, Tennessee, on June 23, 2008. He was 75. Furlong was born in Albany, New York, on April 14, 1933. He graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He served in the United States Navy before embarking upon a career in acting. He

John T. Furlong

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began his ﬁlm career in the mid–1960s as a narrator for Russ Meyer’s sexploitation classics Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) and Mondo Topless (1966). Furlong was also seen in the ﬁlms Mudhoney (1965), Common Law Cabin (1967), Finders Keepers, Lovers Weepers! (1968), Vixen! (1968), Mel Brooks’ comedy classic Blazing Saddles (1974), Busting (1974), The Front Page (1974), Supervixens (1975), Hustle (1975), Doc Hooker’s Bunch (1976), W.C. Fields and Me (1976), All the President’s Men (1976), The Gumball Rally (1976), One on One (1977), The Swarm (1978), Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens (1979), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), Jagged Edge (1985), Odd Jobs (1986), The Trouble with Spies (1987), Suburban Commando (1991) with Hulk Hogan, Wyatt Earp (1994), The Desperate Trail (1995), The Man Next Door (1997), John Carpenter’s Vampires (1998), The Theory of the Leisure Class (2001), and Maniacts (2001). He was also seen in numerous tele-ﬁlms including Double Indemnity (1973), The Blue Knight (1973), Rich Man, Poor Man (1976), Helter Skelter (1976), The Last of Mrs. Lincoln (1976), Studs Lonnigan (1979), Flamingo Road (1980), More Wild Wild West (1980), The Violation of Sarah McDavid (1981), Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (1981), The Steel Collar Man (1985), The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory (1987), Once Upon a Texas Train (1988), Scandal in a Small Town (1988), and Louis L’Amour’s Connagher (1991). Furlong was a proliﬁc television performer with roles in episodes of such series as The High Chaparral, The Corner Bar, Lotsa Luck, Adam-12, The ABC Afternoon Playbreak, Ironside, The Invisible Man, Ellery Queen, McCloud, The Rockford Files, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons, Fantasy Island, Flamingo Road, Hart to Hart, Father Murphy, T.J. Hooker, The Fall Guy, Quincy, Whiz Kids, Dallas, Jessie, Highway to Heaven, Airwolf, St. Elsewhere, Remington Steele, Simon & Simon, Cagney & Lacey, Murder, She Wrote, Homefront, Lucky Luke, and Legend. Furlong retired to Centerville, Tennessee, in the early 2000s.

FURTH , GEORGE Actor and playwright George Furth died in a Santa Monica hospital on August 11, 2008. He was 75. Furth was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 14, 1932. He began his career as an actor and appeared on Broadway in such produc-

George Furth

tions as A Cook for Mr. General (1961) and Hot Spot (1963). He also appeared frequently in ﬁlms and television from the early 1960s. Furth was seen in the ﬁlms The Best Man (1964), The New Interns (1964), A Very Special Favor (1965), A Rage to Live (1965), The Cool Ones (1967), Tammy and the Millionaire (1967), Games (1967), Nobody’s Perfect (1968), How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life (1968), P.J. (1968), What’s So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968), The Boston Strangler (1968), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Myra Breckinridge (1970), Woody’s Allen Sleeper (1973), Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles (1974), Shampoo (1975), Norman ... Is That You? (1976), American Raspberry (1977), Airport ’77 (1977), Oh, God! (1977) with George Burns, Hooper (1978), The Cannonball Run (1981), Megaforce (1982), Young Doctors in Love (1982), Doctor Detroit (1983), The Man with Two Brains (1983), Bulworth (1998), and Goodbye Lover (1998). Furth was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms Fame Is the Name of the Game (1966), Sam Hill: Who Killed Mr. Foster? (1971), The Third Girl from the Left (1973), What Are Best Friends For? (1973), For the Use of the Hall (1975), Let’s Switch! (1975), Charlie Cobb: Nice Night for a Hanging (1977), and The Scarlett O’Hara War (1980) as George Cukor. His numerous television credits also include episodes of such series as Going My Way, Alcoa Premiere, Arrest and Trial, The Defenders, The Farmer’s Daughter, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, McHale’s Navy, Broadside, Proﬁles in Courage, Honey West, The Road West, Run for Your Life, Batman, F Troop, The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., Laredo, Felony Squad, The Monkees, Ironside, The Good Guys, I Dream of Jeannie, The Debbie Reynolds Show, The Governor & J.J., Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, That Girl, Adam-12, Green Acres, Bonanza, Love, American Style, The Odd Couple, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, Archer, Happy Days, Ellery Queen, All in the Family, Little House on the Prairie, The Dumplings, Salvage-1, Life Goes On, The Trials of Rosie O’Neill, Wings, Murphy Brown, L.A. Law, Murder, She Wrote, Sisters, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, The Nanny, and You Wish. Furth was also a playwright who collaborated frequently with Stephen Sondheim. They were best known for the musical Company, which earned Furth a Tony Award for his book of the show. Company was revived on Broadway in 1995 and in 2006. The duo also collaborated on the 1981 musical Merrily We Roll Along, and the 1996 comedythriller Getting Away with Murder. Furth also wrote the Broadway productions Twigs (1971), The Act (1977), The Supporting Cast (1981), and Precious Sons (1986).

GABOR, SASHA Adult ﬁlm actor Sasha Gabor died of heart complications in Thailand on June 27, 2008. He was 63. He was born Samuel Guttman in Hungary on June 6, 1945. He emigrated to Norway in 1957 and came to the Unites States in the early 1980s. He bore a resemblance to actors Burt Reynolds and Sean Connery, which he used to his advantage when he embarked upon a career in adult ﬁlms in the early 1980s. He was featured on television in two episodes of Harper Valley P.T.A. His numerous adult ﬁlm credits spanned a twenty-year period and included Battling Beauties (1983), Cagney & Stacey (1984), Up Up and

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Sasha Gabor

Jayshree Gadkar

Away (1984), Every Woman Has a Fantasy (1984), Prescription for Passion (1984), Rebecca’s (1984), Pleasure Hunt Part II (1985), Gang Bang (1985), Heart Throbs (1985), Electric Blue: Beverly Hills Wives (1985), Ginger (1985), Vas-o-line Alley (1985), Amber Aroused (1985), Peek a Boo Gang (1985), Sky Pies (1985), Night Prowlers (1985), One Hot Night of Passion (1985), Sounds of Sex (1985), The Lusty Adventurer (1985), Dirty Pictures (1985), The Year of the Sex Dragon (1986), Body Games (1986), In Search of the Golden Bone (1986), Street Heat (1986), Dressed to Thrill (1986), Love on the Borderline (1986), Anal Angels (1986), Jane Bond Meets Thunderballs (1986), Born for Love (1987), Raising Hell (1987), Oriental Jade (1987), Hard to Handle (1987), Tasty (1987), Tracey and the Bandit (1987) as Turd Wrenolds, Party Animals (1987), Sweet Nothings (1987), Deep Inside Rachel Ashley (1987), Born for Love 2 (1987), Caught from Behind 8 (1988), Soul Games (1988), Sex Sluts in the Slammer (1988), Angel’s Back! (1988), Best of Caught from Behind 2 (1988), Backdoor to Hollywood 4 (1988), Dreams in the Forbidden Zone (1988), Kascha & Friends (1988), Get Me While I’m Hot (1988), Dangerous (1989), Tamara’s Dreams (1989), Naturally Sweet (1989), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Breast (1989), Asspiring Actresses (1989), For Your Lips Only (1989), One for the Road (1989), Party in the Rear (1989), Slumber Party (1989), Who Reamed Rosie Rabbit? (1989), Behind the Back Door 3 (1989), The Big Gun (1989), Making the Grade (1989), No Man’s Land 3 (1989), Once Upon a Time (1989), Assuming the Position (1989), Jungle Beaver (1990), Playing the Field (1990), Night Watch (1990), As Cute as They Cum (1990), Camera Shy (1990), Heartless (1990), Sex and the Single Girl (1990), Ladies’ Man (1990), Making It Big (1990), Money Honey (1990), The Honeymoon: The Bride’s Running Behind (1990), Secret Obsession (1990), Ticket to Ride (1990), The Buttnicks (1990), Space Virgins (1990), Blue Heaven (1990), Deep Throat 5 (1991), 40 the Hard Way (1991), Good the Bad and the D-Cups (1992), The Hollywood Starlet Search (1995), Boogie Knights (1998), American Bukkake (1999), Marilyn Chamber’s Still Insatiable (1999), and The Gangbang 2000 (2000). Gabor subsequently retired to Norway. GADKAR, JAYSHREE Jayshree Gadkar, a leading Indian Marathi actress, died in Mumbai, India, after a brief illness on August 29, 2008. She was 66.

Gadkar was born in Karwar District, Karnatka, India, on February 21, 1942. She made her ﬁlm debut as a dancer in the 1955 ﬁlm Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje, and soon became a leading lady of the Marathi cinema. Her many ﬁlm credits include Sungte Aika (1959), The New World (1959), Madari (1959), Bindya (1960), Sasura (1961), Manini (1961), Private Secretary (1962), Mere Arman Mere Sapne (1967), Sadhi Manse (1965), LavKush (1967), Baharon Ke Sapne (1967), Har Har Gange (1968), Balram and Lord Krishna (1968), Bhagwan Parshuram (1970), The Marriage of Tulsi (1971), Har Darshan (1972), Pious Savitir (1973), Kisan Aur Bhagwan (1974), Hail Lord Shiva (1974), Dawat (1974), Hail Lord Hanuman (1976), The Greatness of Gayatri (1977), Adventures of Aladdin (1978), Har Har Gange (1979), Kadaklakshmi (1980), Sansani: The Sensation (1981), Jiyo To Aise Jiyo (1981), Sati Naag Kanya (1983), Shravan Kumar (1984), Maya Bazaar (1984), Naya Kadam (1984), Veer Bhisen (1986), Patton Ki Baazi (1986), Krishna-Krishna (1986), Sher Shivaji (1987), Nazrana (1987), Mar Mitenge (1988), Maalmasala (1989), Kanoon Apna Apna (1989), Eeshwar (1989), Amiri Garibi (1990), Bombay to Mauritius (1991), and Lav Kush (1997). She also starred as Kaushalya in the television epic Ramayan from 1986 to 1988.

GALLEY , MEL Rock guitarist Mel Galley, who played with the band Whitesnake in the early 1980s, died of esophageal cancer in Cannock, Stafford-

Mel Galley

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shire, England, on July 1, 2008. He was 60. Galley was born in Cannock on March 8, 1948. He began playing with singer and bassist Glenn Hughes and drummer Dave Holland as the group Finders Keepers, and later Trapeze, in the 1960s. He took over as lead singer in Trapeze when Hughes went to Deep Purple in 1973, and they recorded several popular albums. He joined Whitesnake in 1982 and played on the classic albums Saints & Sinners (1982) and Slide It In (1984), and on the hit songs “Give Me More Time” and “Love Ain’t No Stranger.” Galley’s musical career was interrupted when he broke his arm while touring in Germany in 1984. He suffered nerve damage during surgery and had to have a brace ﬁtted for his arm to play the guitar. He became known as “the Claw” when he returned to the stage. He helped his brother Tom write songs for the band Phenomena, and he brieﬂy reformed Trapeze later in the 1980s. He also formed the band MGM with several former Whitesnake members.

GALLO, NUNZIO Italian singer and actor Nunzio Gallo died of complications from a brain hemorrhage on February 22, 2008. He was 79. Gallo was born in Naples, Italy, on March 28, 1928. A popular singer known as the voice of Napoli, he represented Italy in the 1957 Eurovision Song Contest, earning sixth place with his rendition of “Corde della mia Chitarra.”

gust 20, 1941. He began his career as a disk jockey on local radio in the 1960s. He worked frequently in radio and television as an announcer for commercials and documentaries from the 1970s. He was a narrator for episodes of Nova, Frontline, National Geographic Explorer, and Masterpiece Theatre. He also narrated such documentaries as War and Peace in the Nuclear Age (1989), The Rockefeller Family and Colonial Williamsburg (1992), and A Haunting in Connecticut (2002). Galusha worked on a episode of The West Wing in 2004, and was featured in the 2006 ﬁlm Stephanie Daley. He was the narrator for the Discovery Channel’s The New Detectives: Case Studies in Forensic Science from 1996 to 2006.

GALVAN, MIGUEL Mexican comedian Miguel Galvan died of complications from diabetes in Mexico City, Mexico, on April 14, 2008. He was 50. Galvan was born in Juan Aldama, Mexico, on October 13, 1957. He began his career in the 1980s and was

Miguel Galvan

Nunzio Gallo

He was also an actor, with roles in such ﬁlms as Tarantella Napoletana (1953), Suor Maria (1955), La Rossa (1955), Non Cantare, Baciami (1957), Malafemmena (1957), A Vent’anni e Sempre Festa (1957), Non Sono piu Guaglione (1958), Arriva la Banda (1959), Devil’s Cavaliers (1959), The Two Rivals (1960), Urlo Contro Melodia nel Cantagiro ’63 (1963), Il Figlioccio del Padrino (1973), L’Ultimo Guappo (1978), Napoli Serenate Calibro 9 (1978), Lo Scugnizzo (1979), Napoli Storia d’Amore e di Vendetta (1979), Big Mamma (1979), The New Godfathers (1979), Desire (1983), Cosi Parlo Bellavista (1984), The Motorcycle Murders (1984), L’Ombra nera del Vesuvio (1987), Package, Double Package and Counterpackage (1993), and Mario’s War (2005).

GALUSHA, GENE Radio and television narrator and announcer Gene Galusha died in a Catskills, New York, hospital on August 6, 2008. He was 66. Galusha was born in Schenectady, New York, on Au-

noted for playing a comic prison inmate in a Mexican television commercial. He became a popular comedian and impressionist and starred in the comedy series La Hora Pico in the 2000s. Galvan was featured in several ﬁlms including Ni de Aqui, Ni de Alla (1988), Deque Color son tus Ojos Verdez? (1991), El Amor de tu Vida S.A. (1996), Dance with the Dead (1997), Sex, Shame and Tears (1999), One Long Night (2007), and Mejor que la Vida (2008). He was also seen in such television series as Seraﬁn, Mi Destino eres Tu, Vivan los Ninos!, Destilando Amor, and Sexo y Otros Secretos. He also starred as Malaleche in the series La Energia de Sonric’slandia in 2005.

GAMPEL , C.M. “C HRIS ” Actor C.M. “Chris” Gampel died in New York City on May 11, 2008. He was 87. Gampel was born in Montreal, Canada, on February 19, 1921, and came to New York at the age of 17 to pursue a career as an actor. He was active on the New York stage and on television from the 1950s. He was featured in a small role in the 1953 television production of Shakespeare’s King Lear. He appeared frequently on the Broadway stage from the early 1950s, with roles in such productions as Captain Brassbound’s Conversion (1950), The Royal Family (1951),

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artists as Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, and Stan Getz. He was also the house drummer at Ronnie Scott’s Club. He led a big band during the 1970s and played with various other groups including the BBC Big Band. He also backed such performers as Blossom Dearie, Peggy Lee, Cleo Laine, and Marian Montgomery. Ganley was also a popular studio musician on numerous recordings.

Chris Gampel

King Richard II (1951), Flight into Eg ypt (1952), Saint Joan (1956), Compulsion (1957), The First Born (1958), and The Girl Who Came to Supper (1963). Gampel was also seen in numerous television series including episodes of The Philco Television Playhouse, Playwrights ’56, Studio One, United States Steel Hour, Decoy, Brenner, the Hallmark Hall of Fame productions of ShangriLa, Captain Brassbound’s Conversion, and The Tempest, Omnibus, Route 66, Patty Duke Show, Quincy, Ed, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Gampel was also seen in the ﬁlms The Wrong Man (1956), Dirtymouth (1970), Desperate Characters (1971), the tele-ﬁlm Nicky’s World (1974), Death Wish (1974), Woody Allen’s Annie Hall (1977), and Looping (1991). GANLEY, ALLAN British jazz drummer Allan Ganley died of complications from heart surgery in Slough, Berkshire, England, on March 29, 2008. He was 77. Ganley was born in Tolworth, Surrey, England, on March 11, 1931. He began his career in the early

GANNAWAY , ALBERT C. Film producer and director Albert C. Gannaway died in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 27, 2008. He was 88. Gannaway was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, on April 3, 1920. He was active in ﬁlms from the mid–1950s, and produced, directed, and scripted the 1956 western Hidden Guns. He also produced and directed the ﬁlms Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer (1956), The Badge of Marshal Brennan (1957), Raiders of Old California (1957), Man or Gun (1958), No Place to Land (1958), Plunderers of Painted Flats (1959), Rebellion in Cuba (1961), and Buffalo Gun (1961). Gannaway also produced the weekly television series Stars of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also a songwriter, who penned tunes for Bob Hope, Frankie Laine, and Nat King Cole. He also produced the 1980 documentary ﬁlm Country Diary about country performer Little Jimmy Dickens. GARCIA, SCARLET Filipino male-magazine model Scarlet Garcia was found shot to death along with her live-in partner and two others at their town-

Scarlet Garcia

Allen Ganley

1950s playing with Bert Ambrose’s dance band. He joined Johnny Dankworth’s band in 1953 and was coleader of the Jazzmakers with Ronnie Ross later in the decade. He was featured in several ﬁlms including the off beat jazz version of Othello, All Night Long (1961), and the 1964 horror anthology Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors. He played often with Tubby Hayes in the early 1960s and accompanied such visiting American jazz

house in Olongapo City, the Philippines, on March 13, 2008. The four had gunshot wounds to their heads and had been stabbed. Garcia and another victim were found bound in the bathroom, and the apartment was set on ﬁre after the murders. Garcia was 23. Sometimes known as Scarlet Bouffard, she starred in the 2006 video Pinoy Kama Sutra. She was a member of the sexy song and dance group, the Viva Hot Babes, and was the covergirl for FHM (For Him Magazine) Philippines in November of 2007.

GARI , ROBERTO Actor and artist Robert Gari died of a heart attack in New York City on January 22, 2008. He was 87. Gari was born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 13, 1920. He began his career

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150

Robert Gari

as a child in vaudeville under the name Jackie Hayes. Gari performed on Broadway, dancing with Vera-Ellen in the 1943 revival of A Connecticut Yankee and appearing in Sadie Thompson in 1944. He was featured on The Eddie Cantor Colgate Comedy Hour and The Danny Thomas Four Star Revue in the 1950s. He was also noted as an artist with numerous exhibitions, and spent much of the 1960s and 1970s concentrating on his family and on his art. He resumed acting in the late 1980s, appearing in the soap opera Guiding Light as Maurice the bartender and in Another World as Alistair the butler from 1992 to 1995. He was also seen in small roles in the ﬁlms She Devil (1989), Scent of a Woman (1992), I.Q (1994), The Associate (1996), One Fine Day (1996), A (Brief Inquiry Into) The Origins of War (2000), The Believer (2001), Jersey Guy (2003), and Building Girl (2005). He starred as Guy Blank, Amy Sedaris’ father, in numerous episodes of the Comedy Central television series Strangers with Candy from 1999 to 2000. GARLAND, BEVERLY Leading actress Beverly Garland, who starred in such notable 1950s Bmovies as It Conquered the World and The Alligator People, died after a long illness at her home in Hollywood Hills, California, on December 5, 2008. She was 82. She was born Beverly Fessenden in Santa Cruz, California, on October 17, 1926. She trained as an actress and performed onstage in local theaters in California and Arizona. She also worked in radio, and was featured in risqué short ﬁlms during the late 1940s. She made her feature debut under the name Beverly Campbell in the 1950 drama D.O.A. She also appeared in the ﬁlms A Life of Her Own (1950) and Strictly Dishonorable (1951), and was featured on television in episodes of Mama Rosa and The Lone Ranger. She married fellow actor Richard Garland in 1951 and continued her career under his name despite their divorce two years later. She continued her career in such ﬁlms as Fearless Fagan (1952), Problem Girls (1953), The Neanderthal Man (1953), The Glass Web (1953), Bitter Creek (1954), The Rocket Man (1954), The Miami Story (1954), The Desperado (1954), Killer Leopard (1954), Two Guns and a Badge (1954), New Orleans Uncensored (1955), The Desperate Hours (1955), Sudden Danger (1955), The GoGetter (1956), and The Steel Jungle (1956). Garland became noted for her starring roles in a batch of cult clas-

sics, many helmed by Roger Corman. She was not your average scream queen, in that she usually gave as good as she got when facing down a western outlaw or an alien monster in such ﬁlms as Swamp Women (1955), Gunslinger (1956), It Conquered the World (1956), Curucu, Beast of the Amazon (1956), Not of This Earth (1957), and The Alligator People (1959). She was also a familiar face on television throughout the 1950s, and earned an Emmy nomination for her role as a leukemia patient in the pilot episode of Medic in 1955. Garland also guest-starred in episodes of such series as The Lone Wolf, City Detective, Damon Runyan Theater, Lux Video Theater, Soldiers of Fortune, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Studio 57, Navy Log, Frontier, The Star and the Story, Star Stage, Science Fiction Theatre, Front Row Center, Crusader, Four Star Playhouse, The Ford Television Theatre, Wire Service, Climax!, Goodyear Theatre, State Trooper, Telephone Time, Playhouse 90, Trackdown, Yancy Derringer, The Millionaire, The Man from Blackhawk, and Hawaiian Eye. She starred as television’s ﬁrst policewoman, Casey Jones, in the crime series Decoy from 1957 to 1959. Garland also continued her ﬁlm career in such features as Naked Paradise (1957), Badlands of Montana (1957), Chicago Conﬁdential (1957), The Joker Is Wild (1957) with Frank Sinatra, The Saga of Hemp Brown (1958), Gundown at Sandoval (1959), Stark Fear (1962), Twice Told Tales (1963), Salome ’73 (1965), the psycho-thriller Pretty Poison (1968) with Anthony Perkins, and The Mad Room (1969). She worked primarily in television from the 1960s, appearing in the series Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, The Twilight Zone, Perry Mason, Riverboat, Laramie, Tales of Wells Fargo, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Hong Kong, COronado 9, Boris Karloff ’s Thriller, Stagecoach West, Michael Shayne, Checkmate, Danger Man, Zane Grey Theater, The Asphalt Jungle, 87th Precinct, Bus Stop, The Dick Powell Show, Cain’s Hundred, Kraft Mystery Theater, The Nurses, Dr. Kildare, Going My Way, Rawhide, Sam Benedict, The Dakotas, The Fugitive, The Farmer’s Daughter, The Eleventh Hour, Kraft Suspense Theatre, The Bing Crosby Show, A Man Called Shenandoah, Laredo, The Loner, Pistols ’n’ Petticoats, Texas John Slaughter, Elfego Baca, Gallegher Goes West, Judd for the Defense, The Mothers-in-Law, The Wild Wild West, Lancer, Here’s Lucy, and Gunsmoke. Garland starred as

Beverly Garland

151 Barbara Harper, who became the wife of Fred MacMurray’s character on My Three Sons, from 1969 to 1972. Her other television credits include the series Then Came Bronson, The Mod Squad, Temperatures Rising, Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, The Rookies, Cannon, The New Perry Mason, Mannix, Love, American Style, Doc Elliot, Planet of the Apes, Ironside, Wide World Mystery, Kung Fu, Medical Center, Marcus Welby, M.D., Mary Tyler Moore, Switch, the quirky sitcom Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman in the recurring role of Cookie LaRue, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Lannigan’s Rabbi, The Tony Randall Show, Greatest Heroes of the Bible, How the West Was Won, Charlie’s Angels, Trapper John, M.D., Hart to Hart, Flamingo Road, Magnum, P.I., Matt Houston, Remington Steele as Stephanie Zimbalist’s mom, Abigail Holt, Insight, Hotel, Finder of Lost Loves, Crazy Like a Fox, Scarecrow and Mrs. King in the regular role of Dottie West, Kate Jackson’s mother, from 1983 to 1987, P.S.I. Luv U, Friends, Ellen, Diagnosis Murder, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman as Lois’ mom, Ellen Lane, Teen Angel, The Simple Life, the soap opera Port Charles as Estelle Reese, The Guardian, and 7th Heaven in the recurring role of Ginger. Garland also was a voice performer in the animated series Spider-Man and The Angry Beavers. She was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms Cutter’s Trail (1970), Goodbye, Maggie Cole (1972), The Weekend Nun (1972), The Voyage of the Yes (1973), Unwed Father (1974), The Healers (1974), The Day the Earth Moved (1974), This Girl for Hire (1983), Beanpole (1990), The World’s Oldest Living Bridesmaid (1990), Finding the Way Home (1991), To the Moon, Alice (1991), Roger Corman’s Hellﬁre (1995), and Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie’s Island Adventure (2003). Garland’s ﬁlm credits also include Where the Red Fern Grows (1974), Airport 1975 (1974), Sixth and Main (1977), Roller Boogie (1979), It’s My Turn (1980), Death Falls (1991), and If (2003). She married real estate developer Phillmore Crank in 1960 and the couple built a hotel in 1972 that is now known as Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn. She remained active in running the hotel after her husband’s death in 1999. Garland was also a popular guest at the Memphis Film Festival from the 1990s.

GARNEAU, AMULETTE Canadian actress Amulette Garneau died in Montreal, Canada, on November 7, 2008. She was 80. She was born Huguette Laurendeau in Montreal on August 11, 1928. She trained as an actress under Uta Hagen and was noted for her stage performances of the works of Michel Tremblay. She also starred as Jacqueline Sevigny in the television series La Famille Plouffe, and was Jeannette Bilodeau in Les Enquetes Jobidon. She was also seen in the series Cre Basile, La P’tite Semaine, House of Pride, Grand-Papa, L’Amour avec un Grand A., L’Heritage, Montreal ville Ouverte, La Petite Vie, Blanche, Jamais Deux Sans Toi, Le Retour, and Mon Meilleur Ennemi. She also appeared in numerous ﬁlms including Francoise Durocher, Waitress (1972), The Time of a Hunt (1972), Trois Fois Passera (1973), Taureau (1973), Les Allees de la Terre (1973), Les Ordres (1974), The Vultures (1974), Parlez-nous d’Amour (1976), Les Plouffe (1981), Marie Chapdelaine (1983),

2008 • Obituaries

Amulette Garneau

The Years of Dreams and Revolt (1984), Night Zoo (1987), Angelo, Fredo et Romeo (1996), L’Embellie (1999), Life After Love (2000), and Nuts (2003).

GARRETT, GEORGE Acclaimed novelist and poet George Garrett, who created the cult classic ﬁlm Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster, died of bladder cancer at his home in Charlottesville, Virginia, on May 26, 2008. He was 78. Garrett was born in Orlando, Florida, on June 11, 1929. He began writing poems and

George Garrett

short stories while attending Princeton University. After graduating in 1952, he served several years in the U.S. Army in Italy. His 1961 novel Which Ones Are the Enemy? was based on his experiences there. He was best known for his Elizabethan trilogy that included Death of the Fox (1971), The Succession (1983), and Entered from the Sun (1990). Garrett wrote the 1965 grade Z science ﬁction epic Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster. He also wrote the ﬁlms The Young Lovers (1964) and The Playground (1965). He taught creative writing at the University of Virginia until his retirement in 2000. Garrett served as the state of Virginia’s poet laureate from 2002 to 2004. His ﬁnal novel, Double Vision, was published in 2004.

GARRETT , STEPHEN “STATIC MAJOR ” Stephen “Static Major” Garrett, a member of the R&B trio Playa, died of complications from surgery in a

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152 son composed several ﬁlm scores from the 1970s including Beware! The Blob (1972), Black Eye (1974), Death Is Not the End (1976), Killers of the Wild (1977), Vultures (1983), Didn’t You Hear... (1983), To Kill a Stranger (1985), and The Treasure of the Amazon (1985). He also composed music for the 1967 television documentary series Untamed World, and scored the 1983 London musical Marilyn! The Musical. Garson also composed themes for the television gameshows Amateur’s Guide to Love, Gambit, Runaround, Bafﬂe, Battlestars, and The Magniﬁcent Marble Machine.

Stephen “Static” Garrett

Louisville, Kentucky, hospital on February 25, 2008. He was 33. Garrett was born in Louisville on November 11, 1974. He joined with Smoke E. Digglera and Digital Black to form Playa in the 1990s. They were best known for their 1998 album Cheers 2 U, produced by Timbaland. Garrett was also a successful songwriter, penning hits for such stars as Aaliyah, Brandy, Ginuwine, and Lil Wayne.

GARSON, MORT Composer and musician Mort Garson died of renal failure in San Francisco, California, on January 4, 2008. He was 83. Garson was born in St. John, New Brunswick, Canada, on July 20, 1924. He studied music at Juilliard and began his career as a arranger and pianist. He served in the U.S. Army in the later days of World War II. He resumed his career after the war, working as a composer, arranger, and orchestrator on numerous projects. He was noted for his work with the Moog synthesizer in the 1960s, recording the cult albums The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds, Electronic Hair Pieces, The Sensuous Woman, The Wizard of Iz, Plantasia, and Black Mass under the pseudonym Lucifer. He teamed with lyricist Bob Hilliard to write the classic song “Our Day Will Come” in 1963. He also composed the popular songs “Your Wings Can Fly,” “Baby Come Home,” “Left Right Out of Your Heart,” “Starry-Eyed,” and “The World of Lonely People.” He accompanied such artists as Doris Day, Mel Torme, and Glen Campbell on albums. Gar-

Mort Garson

GATES, JIM Television producer and director Jim Gates died of cancer in Woodland Hills, California, on June 12, 2008. He was 81. Gates was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on March 8, 1927. He studied at the Pasadena Playhouse in the late 1940s and began working at the CBS afﬁliate in Hollywood as an associate director after graduating. He worked on such classic comedies as The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, The Alan Young Show, and I Love Lucy. He also directed 175 episodes of the original Divorce Court for KTTV in Hollywood, and helmed numerous specials and commercials for the station. He became executive vice president of programming for the station, where he was instrumental in the success of the syndicated talkshow The Merv Grifﬁn Show, before leaving in the late 1970s. He subsequently formed Jim Gates Productions to produce commercials and public service announcements. He directed an ABC Afterschool Special in 1973, and helmed the ﬁlm Hey, Abbott! in 1978. Gates also produced and directed the 1988 video How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way. The educational production featured Marvel legends Stan Lee and John Buscema giving tips to aspiring cartoonists. He also served as director of the annual Vision Awards to combat Retinitis Pigmentosa and adapted ﬁlm scripts for blind audiences. GAVIN, JAMES Stuntman and actor James Gavin died in Reseda, California, on September 18, 2008. He was 88. Gavin was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 21, 1919. He worked on numerous ﬁlms and television productions from the 1950s. He was seen in the ﬁlms The Werewolf (1956), Face of a Fugitive (1959), The Gazebo (1959), Rampage (1963), Coogan’s Bluff (1968), A Man Called Gannon (1969), Wild Rovers (1971), Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974), Airport (1974), The Domino Principle (1977), Heroes (1977), Dog Soldiers (1978), The Day the World Ended (1979), The Nude Bomb (1980), The Border (1981), and Blue Thunder (1983). He was also featured in the tele-ﬁlms The Other Man (1970), Nightmare (1975), Fire! (1975), Hanging by a Thread (1979), The Return of Frank Cannon (1980), and Disaster on the Coastliner (1981). Gavin’s other television credits include episodes of Front Row Center, Frontier, You Are There, Cheyenne, Zane Grey Theater, Perry Mason, Suspicion, Tales of the Texas Rangers, Casey Jones, Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre, Trackdown, Have Gun —Will Travel, Fury, George Sanders Mystery Theater, Dragnet, Gunsmoke, 26 Men, Frontier Justice, Frances Farmer Presents, Colgate Theatre, M Squad, Rawhide, Maverick, Bonanza, Playhouse 90, Two

153

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Faces West, The Riﬂeman, The Twilight Zone, Cain’s Hundred, Wagon Train, The Big Valley, Man from U.N.C.L.E., A Man Called Shenandoah, The F.B.I., Mission: Impossible, Cimarron Strip, Wild Wild West, It Takes a Thief, The High Chaparral, Daniel Boone, The Interns, Ironside, McCloud, Three for the Road, and Apple’s Way.

GEBHARD, OLGA German character actress Olga Gebhard died in Zurich, Switzerland, on May 4, 2008. Gebhard was featured in the 1959 ﬁlm Model Husband. She was seen as Frau Kuhn in 1973’s Fraulein Without a Uniform and appeared as Mrs. Baxter, the landlady, in Jess Franco’s 1976 version of Jack the Ripper starring Klaus Kinski. GEC, NICOLA Croatian character actor Nicola Gec died on June 6, 2008. He was 74. Gec was born in Zagreb, Croatia (then Yugoslavia) in 1934. He appeared in several European western ﬁlms in the 1960s including Flaming Frontier (aka Old Surehand) (1965),

Nicola Gec

Winnetou: Thunder at the Border (1966), and Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death (1968). His other ﬁlm credits include Osveta (1968), One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away (1970), Vila Orhideja (1988), and A Time of Destiny (1988). He was also seen on television in such productions as Mandrin (1972), The Great Escape II: The Untold Story (1988), Sidney Sheldon’s The Sands of Time (1992), and Tuzni Bogatas (2008). He was featured as Klosa in the television series Stipe u Gostima in 2008.

GEIN, GIDGET Musician Bradley Stewart, who performed with the metal band Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids under the name Gidget Gein, died of a heroin overdose at his home in Burbank, California, on October 9, 2008. He was 39. He was born in Hollywood, Florida, on September 11, 1969. He began performing with local bands in the mid–1980s in the south Florida area. His off-beat style and reputation brought him to the attention of a young Brian Warner, who invited Stewart to join his band. Warner, who was better known as Marilyn Manson, and Stewart, who adopted the name Gidget Gein, performed and recorded several albums together in the early 1990s.

Gidget Gein

Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids albums include After School Special (1991) and Lunchbox (1992), before Gein’s drug use led to his ouster from the group the following year. Gein moved to New York in 1996 and eventually formed his own group, the Dali Gaggers. They recorded one album, Confessions of a Spooky Kid, which was released in 2000. He subsequently returned to Florida, where he hoped to kick his ever-growing drug habit. He worked for several years retrieving dead bodies for the Florida Medical Examiner, which inﬂuenced his creativity. He became active with the UNPOP art movement, and relocated to Hollywood, California, where he produced art and fashion shows. Gein also appeared in small parts in the ﬁlms The Three Trials (2006) and The Devil’s Muse (2007). He also returned to the recording studio, and was recording an album at the time of his death.

GENCER, LEYLA Turkish operatic soprano Leyla Gencer died of heart failure and respiratory problems at her home in Milan, Italy, on May 10, 2008. She was 79. She was born Leyla Ceyrekgil in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 10, 1928 (some sources indicate 1924). She studied under Italian soprano Giannina Arangi-Lombardi and baritone Apollo Granforte. She married Turkish banker Ibrahim Gencer in 1946, and made her operatic debut in Ankara, Turkey, in a production of Cavalleria Rusticana in 1950. Over the next four decades she performed with operas throughout

Leyla Gencer

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Europe and the United States. She ﬁrst appeared in the United States with the San Francisco Opera in Francesca da Rimini in 1956 and starred in Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites in her La Scala debut the following year. She was noted for her roles as Leonora in Verdi’s Il Trovatore and Aida and Violetta in his La Traviata. She also sang the title roles in Puccini’s Madama Butterﬂy, Bellini’s Norma, and Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. Though she never appeared with the Metropolitan Opera, she made her New York debut in a production of Donizetti’s Caterina Comaro at Carnegie Hall in 1973. She retired from her operatic career in 1985, though she continued to perform concerts through the early 1990s. She was also featured in Jan Schmidt-Garre’s 1996 ﬁlm Opera Fanatic. Gencer continued to teach, and served as the director of La Scala’s School for Young Artists in the late 1990s.

GENELLE, RICHARD

Character actor Richard Genelle, who was featured as Ernie on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series, died of a heart attack in a Corona, California, hospital on December 30, 2008. He was 47. Genelle was born in New York City on Oc-

Steve Gerber

improbably involved with the gorgeous red-head Beverly. He ran afoul of such menaces as Doctor Bong, Bessie the Hellcow, and Phelch the Space Turnip. He also made an unsuccessful run for the presidency as the candidate of the All-Night Party in 1976, losing to Jimmy Carter. Gerber also co-created the series Omega the Unknown before being ﬁred by Marvel in the late 1970s. He sued the company over the rights to Howard, with the case being settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. Marvel retained the rights to Howard, who became the star of a disastrous 1986 ﬁlm Howard the Duck. A ﬁlm version of Gerber’s Man-Thing was re-

Richard Genelle

tober 12, 1961. He was featured in a small role in the 1991 ﬁlm The Death Merchant. He appeared regularly on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as Ernie, the oversized owner of the Angel Grove Youth Center, from 1993 to 1997. He also appeared in the 1997 feature ﬁlm version Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie.

GERBER, STEVE Comic book writer Steve Gerber, who was best known as the creator of Howard the Duck, died of complications from pulmonary ﬁbrosis in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 10, 2008. He was 60. Gerber was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 20, 1947. He graduated from St. Louis University and worked in advertising before joining Marvel in the early 1970s as an associate editor. He wrote such Marvel titles as Daredevil, The Defenders, and Man-Thing. Howard the Duck made his debut as a supporting character to Man-Thing in a 1973 issue of Adventure into Fear and earned his own title several years later. The cantankerous waterfowl came from a parallel Earth where intelligent life evolved from ducks. Trapped on our own planet, the cigar-chomping Howard became

Steve Gerber’s creation, Howard the Duck

leased in 2005, with Gerber taking a creator credit under the pseudonym F.A. Schist. He also worked in television in the 1980s and 1990s scripting episodes of such animated series as Thundarr the Barbarian, Goldie Gold and Action Jack, Mister T, Dungeons & Dragons, G.I. Joe, Superman: The Animated Series, Yu-Gi-Oh!, The Batman/Superman Movie, and The New Batman Adventures. Gerber also scripted an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1989. GERTZ, IRVING Film composer Irving Gertz died at his home in Los Angeles on November 14, 2008. He was 93. Gertz was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 19, 1915. He began working as a composer and musical director in ﬁlm in the mid–1940s, garnering over 200 credits during his 20 year career. His many

155

Irving Gertz

ﬁlm credits include The Devil’s Mask (1946), The Phantom Thief (1946), Blind Spot (1947), The Lone Wolf in Mexico (1947), Cigarette Girl (1947), The Millerson Case (1947), Sport of Kings (1947), Key Witness (1947), Crime Doctor’s Gamble (1947), Over the Santa Fe Trail (1947), Last of the Redmen (1947), The Son of Rusty (1947), Dragnet (1947), Smoky River Serenade (1947), Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back (1947), Adventures of Gallant Bess (1948), The Counterfeiters (1948), Blonde Ice (1948), Phantom Valley (1948), My Dog Rusty (1948), Whirlwind Raiders (1948), Thunderhoof (1948), Jungle Goddess (1948), Rusty Saves a Life (1949), Prejudice (1949), Daughter of the West (1949), South of Death Valley (1949), Riders in the Sky (1949), Destination Murder (1950), Again ... Pioneers (1950), Experiment Alcatraz (1950), Mark of the Gorilla (1950), Mule Train (1950), Captive Girl (1950), Last of the Buccaneers (1950), Jungle Jim in Pygmy Island (1950), Fury of the Congo (1951), When the Redskins Rode (1951), China Corsair (1951), Silver Canyon (1951), Hurricane Island (1951), Two Dollar Bettor (1951), The Hills of Utah (1951), Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land (1952), Brave Warrior (1952), Voodoo Tiger (1952), The Pathﬁnder (1952), White Goddess (1953), Siren of Bagdad (1953), Valley of the Headhunters (1953), The Nebraskan (1953), The Bandits of Corsica (1953), Target Hong Kong (1953), It Came from Outer Space (1953), Gun Belt (1953), The Golden Blade (1953), East of Sumatra (1953), Conquest of Cochise (1953), Gun Fury (1953), Shark River (1953), Overland Paciﬁc (1954), The Lone Gun (1954), Massacre Canyon (1954), Francis Joins the WACS (1954), Khyber Patrol (1954), The Long Wait (1954), Cannibal Attack (1954), Top Gun (1955), Smoke Signal (1955), Jungle Moon Men (1955), Seminole Uprising (1955), Cult of the Cobra (1955), Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955), To Hell and Back (1955), Blackjack Ketchum, Desperado (1956), Kentucky Riﬂe (1956), The White Squaw (1956), The Creature Walks Among Us (1956), The First Traveling Saleslady (1956), Gun Brothers (1956), Everything but the Truth (1956), Reprisal! (1956), 7th Cavalry (1956), The Phantom Stagecoach (1957), Badlands of Montana (1957), The Kettles on Old MacDonald’s Farm (1957), Hell on Devil’s Island (1957), Hell Canyon Outlaws (1957), Four Girls in Town (1957), Gun for a Coward (1957), The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), Joe

2008 • Obituaries

Butterﬂy (1957), The Deadly Mantis (1957), Plunder Road (1957), The Monolith Monsters (1957), Love Slaves of the Amazons (1957), Thundering Jets (1958), Return to Warbow (1958), The True Story of Lynn Stuart (1958), Crash Landing (1958), The Fearmakers (1958), Monster on the Campus (1958), The Thing That Couldn’t Die (1958), Badman’s Country (1958), Wild Heritage (1958), Money, Women and Guns (1959), Curse of the Undead (1959), The Alligator People (1959), Hell Bent for Leather (1960), 13 Fighting Men (1960), The Leech Woman (1960), Seven Ways from Sundown (1960), Flaming Star (1960), The Wizard of Baghdad (1960), Posse from Hell (1961), The Fiercest Heart (1961), Marines, Let’s Go (1961), Brushﬁre (1962), Bullet for a Badman (1964), He Rides Tall (1964), Fluffy (1965), Ride to Hangman’s Tree (1967), and Nobody’s Perfect (1968). Gertz also worked in television from the 1950s, composing for such series as The Adventures of Falcon, M Squad, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Daniel Boone, The Invaders, Peyton Place, and Land of the Giants. He also composed such concert works as Boutade for Orchestra, Leaves of Grass, Liberty! Liberte!, and Salute to All Nations.

GESCHONNECK, ERWIN Erwin Geschonneck, a leading actor in stage and ﬁlms in post-war East Germany, died in Germany on March 12, 2008. He was 101. Geschonneck was born in Bartenstein, Germany (now Bartoszyce, Poland) on December 27, 1906. He joined the German Communist Party in the 1920s and was forced to emigrate to Poland and, later, Czechoslovakia, after the rise of the Nazi Party. He was arrested in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1938, and was sent to a concentration camp. Geschonneck survived the concentration camps and the sinking of a ship he was being transferred on in 1945. After the war he began performing on stage in Hamburg, and was featured in the 1947 ﬁlm In Those Days. He soon settled in East Germany, where he worked with Berthold Brecht. He became a leading performer there, with roles in such ﬁlms as Finale (1948), Hafenmelodie (1949), Die Letzte Nacht (1949), Love ’47 (1949), The Beaver Coat (1949), The Heart of Stone (1950), The Axe of Wandsbek (1951), Schatten uber den Inseln (1952), Die Unbesiegbaren (1953), Senora Carrar’s Riﬂes (1953), Alarm im Zirkus (1954), Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder (1955), Das Stacheltier: Das Haushaltswunder (1955), Das Stacheltier: Das Es Geht um die Wurst

Erwin Geschonneck

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(1955), Bold Adventure (1956), The Captain from Cologne (1956), Katzgraben (1957), Schlosser und Katen (1957), Der Lotterieschwede (1958), Musterknaben (1959), Leute mit Flugeln (1960), Five Cartridges (1960), Ach, du Frohliche (1962), Naked Among the Wolves (1963), Carbide and Sorrer (1963), Berlin um die Ecke (1965), Ein Lord am Alexanderplatz (1967), Geschichten jener Nacht (1967), The Flag of Krivoy Rog (1967), Wir Kaufen eine Feuerwehr (1970), Sun Seekers (1972), Der Untergang der Emma (1974), Looping (1975), Jacob the Liar (1975) as Kowalski, Bankett for Achilles (1975), The Light on the Gallows (1976), Tambari (1977), Die Entdeckung (1978), Anton the Magician (1978), Das Ding im Schloss (1979), Asta, Mein Engelchen (1980), Circus Maximus (1980), Levins Muhle (1980), Looping (1981), Wie die Alten Sungen... (1986), and Mensch, Mein Papa...! (1988). Geschonneck was also featured frequently on German television, appearing in such productions as Gewissen in Aufruhr (1961), Der Andere Neben Dir (1963), Asphalt-Story (1964), Die Ermittlung — Oratorium in 11 Gesangen (1966), Rendezvous mit Unbekant (1969), Jeder Stirbt fur sich Allein (1970), Das Geheimnis der Anden (1972), In Schlaraffenland (1975), Ein Wigwam fur die Storche (1976), Ein Altes Model (1976), Island of the Silver Herons (1976), Das Kleinen Lokfuhrers Grosse Fahrt (1978), Plantagenstrasse 19 (1979), Verlobung in Hullerbusch (1979), Herbstzeit (1979), Friedhelms Geburstag und Andere Geschichten (1980), Meschas Enkel (1981), Bennon Macht Geschichten (1982), Der Mann von der Cap Arcona (1982), Das Graupenschloss (1982), and Matulla and Busch (1995).

GETTY, ESTELLE Character actress Estelle Getty, who starred as Sophia Petrillo, the feisty matriarch of television’s The Golden Girls, died at her home in Hollywood, California, on July 22, 2008. She was 84. She was born Estelle Scher to Polish immigrant parents in New York City on July 25, 1923. She became fascinated by the theater at an early age and made a failed attempt at stand-up comedy at a Catskills hotel while in her teens. She married businessman Arthur Gettleman in 1947 and raised two sons. She maintained her show business aspirations while working in low level clerical and ofﬁce jobs to help support her family. She appeared in small roles on stage, ﬁlm and televi-

sion while awaiting her big break. Getty was seen in the ﬁlms Team-Mates (1978), Tootsie (1982), and Deadly Force (1983), and the tele-ﬁlms No Man’s Land (1984) and Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story (1984). She was also featured in episodes of Cagney & Lacey, Hotel, and Newhart. She starred as Harvey Fierstein’s overbearing mother in Torch Song Trilog y on the New York Stage and in touring productions from the early 1980s. She was a virtual unknown when she was cast in The Golden Girls, completing the quartet of actresses that included Bea Arthur, Betty White, and Rue McClanahan. The four were retirees sharing a Miami home, with Arthur starring as Getty’s daughter. Originally planned as a minor character in the series, Sophia Petrillo’s popularity led to an ever increasing role for Getty. She was also cast in other productions, appearing as Cher’s mom in the 1985 ﬁlm Mask, Barry Manilow’s mother in the 1985 tele-ﬁlm Copacabana, and Sylvester Stallone’s mom in Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992). She also appeared in the ﬁlms Mannequin (1987) and Stuart Little (1999) as Grandma Estelle Little, and the tele-ﬁlm A Match Made in Heaven (1997). She continued her role as Sophia on The Golden Girls until the series came to a close in 1992. Getty reprised the role in the subsequent spin-off The Golden Palace, and was also featured as Sophia in crossovers with the series Blossom, Empty Nest, and Nurses. Her other television credits include episodes of City, Touched by an Angel, Brotherly Love, Mad About You, The Nanny, It’s Like, You Know..., and Ladies Man. She was featured as Sister Rosanne in The Million Dollar Kid (2000) before declining heath forced her retirement.

GIBBS, HARRY Harry Gibbs, who starred in the local children’s television series Texas Bruce and the Wrangler Club in St. Louis, Missouri, during the 1950s, died of complications from a brain infection in Ches-

Harry Gibbs

Estelle Getty

terﬁeld, Missouri, on July 18, 2008. He was 91. Gibbs was born in Wagon Mound, New Mexico, on March 21, 1917. He began appearing on KSD-TV in St. Louis as Texas Bruce in 1950. For the next thirteen years he, his horse Trusty, and his sidekick Dry Gultch entertained children and hosted clips of western ﬁlms. He became a major local celebrity before the show ended in 1963. He continued to work in radio and television, and later

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was a character actor in several ﬁlms. Gibbs was featured in the ﬁlms Surrender in Paradise (1976), Play Dead (1986), Ride with the Devil (1999), and The Truth About Tully (2000), and the tele-ﬁlms Back to Hannibal: The Return of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (1990), She Stood Alone (1991), Truman (1995), and Gone in the Night (1996).

GIBSON, WILLIAM Playwright William Gibson, who was best known as the author of the hit play based on the life of Helen Keller, The Miracle Worker, died in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, on November 25, 2008. He was 94. Gibson was born in New York City on November 13, 1914. He graduated from New York’s City College in 1938. His novel, The Cobweb, about a psychiatric clinic, was published in 1954 and adapted for the screen the following year. The Miracle Worker was originally written for television and aired as an episode of Playhouse 90 in 1957. It was

William Gibson

adapted for Broadway in 1959 and earned the Tony Award for best play the following year. He earned an Oscar nomination for adapting the play for the 1962 ﬁlm starring Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft. His Tonynominated play, Two for the Seesaw, was staged on Broadway in 1948, and adapted for ﬁlm in 1962. He also wrote the book for the 1964 musical version of Clifford Odets’ Golden Boy, which earned him another Tony nomination. Gibson also wrote the plays A Mass for the Dead (1968), A Cry of Players (1968), and Goodly Creatures (1980). The Miracle Worker was produced for television several times, with airings in 1979 and 2000. He penned a sequel, Monday After the Miracle, which had a brief run on Broadway in 1982 and was adapted for television in 1998. He also wrote the 1977 play Golda, about Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. It was revised as Golda’s Balcony for a Broadway run starring Tovah Feldshuh from 2003 to 2005, and a tele-ﬁlm starring Valerie Harper in 2007.

GIGNOUX, HUBERT French actor Hubert Gignoux died in Paris on February 26, 2008. He was 93. Gignoux was born in Lyon, France, on February 13, 1915. He began performing on the stage in the 1930s and entertained fellow prisoners with plays and puppet performances while a captive of the Germans dur-

Hubert Gignoux

ing World War II. After the war he continued to direct theatrical productions, becoming a leader in the decentralization theatre to bring the arts to regions throughout France. He was instrumental in forming what became the National Theater in Strasbourg in 1968. Gignoux abandoned directing for acting in the early 1970s, appearing in stage, ﬁlm, and television productions. He was featured in the ﬁlms The French Calvinists (1972), The Son (1973), Special Section (1975), Cousin, Cousine (1975), Little Marcel (1976), State Reasons (1978), Moliere (1978), Perceval (1978), A Captain’s Honor (1982), Grain of Sand (1983), Melo (1986), and L’Enfance de l’Art (1988). He also appeared in such television productions as Jeppe des Collines (1973), Julie Charles (1974), L’Attentat de Damiens (1975) as King Louis XV, Les Compagnons d’Eleusis (1975), La Mort d’un Touriste (1975), Mourir Pour Copernic (1975), Adios (1976), Oh Archibald (1977), La Vierge Folle (1978), Aurelien (1978), Le Cheval dans le Beton (1980), La Faute (1980), Nana (1981), Maltre Daniel Rock (1981), Devil’s Advocates (1981), Aide-toi... (1981), Delit de Fuite (1982), and Pour Elisa (1983). Gignoux also appeared as the advocate general in the television series Messieurs les Jures in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

GIL, GUILLERMO Mexican actor Guillermo Gil died of respiratory failure in Mexico City on May 29, 2008. He was 65. He was born Juan Guillermo Sanchez Bolanos in Tehuacan, Puebla, Mexico, in 1943. He was

Guillermo Gil

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a leading performer on the Mexican stage, ﬁlm and television from the 1960s and the founder of the theatrical company San-Gil. He was featured in such ﬁlms as Esa mi Irene (1975), Simon Blanco (1975), Canoa (1976), Letters from Marusia (1976), The Heist (1976), Chin Chin the Drunken Bum (1976), The Bricklayers (1976), Nuevo Mundo (1978), Naufragio (1978), Pedro Paramo (1981), Oﬁcio de Tinieblas (1981), Beach Hotel (1992), Gertruds Bocanegra (1992), La Senorita (1994), Dias de Combate (1994), The Queen of the Night (1994), A Trickle of Blood (1995), Nobody Will Speak of Us When We’re Dead (1995), Viva San Isidro (1995), Kissing Cousin (1995), Jonah and the Pink Whale (1995), Return to Sender (1995), Tres Minutos en la Oscuridad (1996), La Cena (1997), Night Trails (1998), Under a Spell (1998), Herod’s Law (1999), Los Maravillosos Olores de la Vida (2000), Dark Cities (2002), Zurdo (2003), El Misterio del Trinidad (2003), Mezcal (2004), Espinas (2005), A Wonderful World (2006), and La Piedad (2007). He was featured as Ramon in the 1986 television series El Padre Gallo, and was Genaro in La Gloria y el Inﬁerno in 1986. He starred as Pancho Villa in Senda de Gloria in 1987. His other television credits include La Fuerza del Amor (1990), Nada Personal (1996), El Candidato (1999), La Calle de las Novias (2000), Uroboros (2001), and Un Nuevo Amor (2003).

GILFORD, MADELINE LEE Actress Madeline Lee Gilford died in New York City on April 14, 2008. She was 84. She was born Madeline Lederman in the Bronx, New York, on May 30, 1923, and began performing as a child. She was featured on radio and appeared on stage in the 1944 play Embezzled Heaven with Ethel Barrymore. She was a voice actor in the English language version of the 1943 ﬁlm No Greater Love and appeared in a television production of Little Women in 1946. She married fellow actor Jack Gilford in 1949. She and her husband were both involved in left-wing causes and their activism led to them being blacklisted during the McCarthy era. She resumed her acting career in ﬁlms in the early 1970s, appearing in Parades (1972), Save the Tiger (1973), Roseland (1977), A Secret Space (1977), Lianna (1983), Cocoon: The Return (1988), That Old Feeling (1997), Big City Blues (1999), Raw Footage (2005), The Savages (2007), and Uncertainty

Madeleine Lee Gilford

(2008). She was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms Fear on Trial (1975), Day to Day Affairs (1985), and And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself (2003), and in episodes of Law & Order, Mad About You, and The Beat. She and her husband co-authored a joint memoir with Zero Mostel and his wife, Kate, entitled 170 Years of Show Business in 1978. She produced several plays on Broadway in the 1980s including The World of Sholom Aleichem (1982) starring her husband and the musical Rags (1986). She and Gilford remained married until his death in 1990.

GINDY , J UDITH Talent agent and Queen Elizabeth II impersonator Judith Gindy died of liver cancer in Coral Gables, Florida, on September 15, 2008. She was 79. She was born Judith Youngerman in New Haven, Connecticut, on March 23, 1929. She began her career as a modern dancer and later turned

Judith Gindy (posing as Queen Elizabeth Too)

to painting and sculpting. She also sang with the Miami Opera Guild, and operated a party planning agency, Party Magic. She began impersonating Queen Elizabeth after winning a look-alike contest in 1991 and billed herself as Queen Elizabeth Too. Gindy soon opened the talent agency Celebrity-Look-Alikes Inc., specializing in ersatz versions of Barbra Streisand, Madonna, Bill Clinton, Hannah Montana, and other celebrities for various events. She also operated the Judith Gindy Talent Agency.

GINNAVEN, BOB Actor Bob Ginnaven died in a Little Rock hospital on February 17, 2008. He was 71. Ginnaven was born on January 1, 1937. He was a leading advertising executive in the Little Rock area from the 1960s. He was also featured as an actor, appearing in small roles in such ﬁlms as Encounter with the Unknown (1973), White Lightning (1973), The Great Lester Boggs (1975), So Sad About Gloria (1975), The Day It Came to Earth (1979), The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), Stay Tuned for Murder (1986), Three for the Road (1987), End of the Line (1987), Pass the Ammo (1988), Steel Magnolias (1989) as Mayor Van Meter, and One False Move (1992). He was also featured the tele-ﬁlms The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald (1977), Crisis at Central High (1981) as General Thomas Woods, Adam (1983), Time Bomb (1984), Right to Kill? (1985),

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He also toured and recorded with a new version of the Jimmy Giuffre 3, and worked as a duo with French saxophonist Andre Jaume.

GLAZKOV , YURI Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Glazkov died in Russia on December 9, 2008. He was 69. Glazkov was born in Moscow on October 2, 1939. He served in the Soviet Air Force as a ﬂight engineer before being selected for cosmonaut training in 1965. He ﬂew on the Soyuz 24 mission on February 7, 1977,

Bob Ginnaven

and Under Siege (1986). His other television credits include episodes of Dallas and Dangerous Curves. GIUFFRE, JIMMY Jazz composer and musician Jimmy Giuffre died of pneumonia and complications from Parkinson’s disease in Pittsﬁeld, Massachusetts, on April 24, 2008. He was 86. Giuffre was born in Dallas, Texas, on April 26, 1921. He began playing the clarinet at the age of 9, and earned a music degree from North Texas State Teachers College in 1942. He spent the next four years in the U.S. Army, then moved to Los Angeles. He began working as an arranger, and sometimes saxophone and clarinet player, for groups

Yuri Glazkov

an 18-day ﬂight to the Salyut 5 space station to purge and replace the on-board atmosphere there. He later trained other cosmonaut crews and served as ﬁrst deputy chief of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City from 1989 until his retirement in 2000. Glazkov was also the author of several technical books including Outside Orbiting Spacecraft (1977) and The World Around Us (1986). He also wrote the science ﬁction novel The Black Silence (1987), which was illustrated by his fellow cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov.

GLINKA, MARIAN Polish actor and bodybuilder Marian Glinka died in Warsaw, Poland, on June 23, 2008. He was 64. Glinka was born in Warsaw on July 1, 1943. He appeared frequently in Polish ﬁlms from the mid–1960s, with such credits as Love the Mermaids (1967), Westerplatte (1967), I Hate Mondays (1971), A Jungle Book of Regulations (1974), The Promised Jimmy Giuffre

led by such artists as Shorty Rogers, Shelly Manne, and Howard Rumsey in the late 1940s. He also began writing music, composing the hit “Four Brothers” for Woody Herman in 1947. He recorded the album Tangents in Jazz in 1955, and formed the Jimmy Giuffre 3 in the 1950s. They performed their popular song “The Train and the River” in the 1960 music documentary ﬁlm Jazz on a Summer Day set at the Newport Jazz Festival. Giuffre’s trio, with Paul Bley on piano and Steve Swallow on bass, recorded the albums 1961 and Free Fall in the early 1960s that were later considered classics. He mainly taught at the New School and New York University over the next decade. He joined the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music in 1978, where he continued to teach until the early 1990s.

Marian Glinka

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160

Land (1975), Endangerment (1976), A Round Week (1977), Camouﬂage (1977), Spiral (1978), Hello, Fred the Beard (1978), General Boldyn (1981), Thursdays for the Poor (1981), Filip z Konopi (1982), Lucky Edge (1983), The Twenties, the Thirties (1984), Travels of Mr. Kleks (1986), Rykowisko (1987), Special Mission (1987), Czarodziej z Harlemu (1988), Mr. Kleks in Space (1989), Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List (1993) as an SS Ofﬁcer, The Tale of Mrs. Doughnut (1996), Billboard (1998), Quo Vadis? (2001), Haker (2002), Jak to Sie Robi z Dziewczynami (2002), Superprodukcja (2002), and Rys (2007). He was also featured in such television productions as Behind the Wall (1971) and Czame Chmury (1973) and starred as Skibinski in the television series Pan na Zulawach from 1985 to 1986. He was also seen in the television mini-series Bao-Bab, Czyli Zielono Mi (2003) and Wiedzmy (2995).

GLOSSOP , PETER

British baritone Peter Glossop died in London on September 7, 2008. He was 80. Glossop was born in Wadsley, Shefﬁeld, England, on July 6, 1928. He began singing with the Shefﬁeld Operatic Society and made his stage debut as Coppelius and Dr. Miracle in Les Contes d’Hoffmann

Peter Glossop (as Rigoletto)

in 1949. He joined the chorus of Sadler’s Wells Opera in 1952 and was featured in a small role in Carmen the following year. He was a principal baritone with the company by 1955, performing such roles as Silvio in Pagliacci, Di Luna in Il Trovatore, and the title role in Rigoletto. He joined the Royal Opera House in 1961 and made his Covent Garden debut as Demetrius in Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He also performed as a guest artist with La Scala, the Paris Opera, and the San Francisco Opera in the early 1960s. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Scarpia in Tosca in 1971. He also performed at the Met in productions of Billy Budd, Peter Grimes, Falstaff, and Wozzeck. Glossop also performed in a 1968 television version of Pagliacci, and in ﬁlm version of La Trouvere (1972) and Otello (1973) as Iago. He retired from the stage in the mid–1980s and his autobiography, The Story of a Yorkshire Baritone, was published in 2004.

GODDARD, WILLOUGHBY British character actor Willoughby Goddard died in England on

Willoughby Goddard (from an episode of Doctor Who)

April 11, 2008. He was 81. Goddard was born in Bicester, Oxfordshire, England, on July 4, 1926. He began his career on stage with the Oxford Playhouse in 1943 in a production of George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan. He continued to perform in repertory and made his London debut in James Bridie’s Gog and Magog in 1948. The over-sized actor was also a familiar face in ﬁlms and television from the early 1950s. Goddard’s ﬁlm credits include Bait (1950), The Green Man (1956), A Touch of the Sun (1956), Heart of a Child (1958), In the Wake of a Stranger (1959), Inn for Trouble (1960), The Millionairess (1960), The Golden Rabbit (1961), The Long Shadow (1961), The Secret Partner (1961), Double Bunk (1961), and Carry on Cruising (1962). He was featured as Prof. Mark Harrison in the 1955 television production of The Voices and was Mr. Brocklehurst in Jane Eyre in 1956. Goddard also starred as the main villain Gessler in the television series William Tell from 1958 to 1959 and was Mr. Bumble in a 1962 production of Oliver Twist. He was also seen in such series as Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents, Lilli Palmer Theatre, The Buccaneers, Drake’s Progress, The Gay Cavalier, Charlesworth, Invisible Man, Armchair Theatre, International Detective, Danger Man, Richard the Lionheart, Zero One, Ghost Squad, Public Eye, The Man in Room 17, Out of the Unknown, The Baron, The Wednesday Play, Nearest and Dearest, The Saint, The Avengers, The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reder, The Main Chance, ITV Saturday Night Theatre, The Onedin Line, and Orson Welles’ Great Mysteries. Goddard also continued to perform on stage, starring as Cardinal Wolsey in Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons in 1960, and again played Mr. Bumble in the hit Broadway musical Oliver! in 1963. He was also seen in the ﬁlms The Wrong Box (1965), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968), Laughter in the Dark (1969), The Juggler of Notre Dame (1970), The Canterbury Tales (1972), Gawain and the Green Knight (1973), Joseph Andrews (1977), Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), and God’s Outlaw (1986). He was featured as Lord Charley in the 1970 television series Charley’s Grants and was Dr. Potage in the 1970 mini-series Smith. His other television credits episodes of such series as Space: 1999, The Sweeney, The Ghosts of Motley Hall, The Famous Five, Not the Nine O’Clock News, The Incredible Mr. Tanner, Crown Court, The Black Adder, and T-Bag

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Bounces Back. Goddard also appeared in television productions of Daphne Laureola (1978), The Last Days of Pompeii (1984), Return to Treasure Island (1986), and Porterhouse Blue (1987) as Professor Siblington.

GODWIN, RANDALL Actor Randall Godwin died in Milford, Michigan, on December 20, 2008. He was 50. Godwin was born in Detroit, Michigan, on April 27, 1958. He performed often on the local stage and wrote the play Hope for Corky. He was also featured

Dercy Goncalves

Randall Godwin

in the ﬁlms Stardust (1998), Polish Wedding (1998), The Lost Treasure of Sawtooth Island (2000), Postmark Paradise (2000), Escanaba in da Moonlight (2001), the teleﬁlm 61 (2001), Super Sucker (2002), The Ugly One (2003), An Ordinary Killer (2003), Barn Red (2004), Frozen Stupid (2006), Ghost Town: The Movie (2007), and Cut, Print (2008).

GOLDSTONE, RAYMOND Television writer Raymond Goldstone died of a heart attack in Van Nuys, California, on March 13, 2008. He was 88. Goldstone was born in Little Falls, New York, on July 23, 1919. He began his career as a journalist and served in the U.S. Army during World War II writing scripts for training ﬁlms. He worked as book editor after the war before moving to Los Angeles. He worked at Warner Bros as a story analyst and taught English Literature at the University of California at Santa Barbara. He began writing for daytime television in 1970, scripting the soap opera Love Is a Many Splendored Thing. He wrote for Search for Tomorrow from 1973 to 1976, and for Days of Our Lives later in the decade. He scripted segments of the soap opera General Hospital in the early 1980s and co-scripted the 1983 Irwin Allen tele-ﬁlm The Night the Bridge Fell Down. During the 1980s he also wrote for the prime-time soaps Falcon Crest and Knots Landing and was head writer of the daytime series Rituals. GONCALVES, DERCY Brazilian comedienne and actress Dercy Goncalves died of pneumonia in a Rio de Janeiro hospital on July 19, 2008. She was 101. She was born Dolores Goncalves Costa in Santa Maria Madelena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 23, 1907. She began her career on stage in 1929 and became a

leading Brazilian stage performer over the next decade. She was featured in such productions as Goose Step (1942), The Carnival King at War (1943), and Sing Brazil (1943). She made her ﬁlm debut in 1943’s Samba em Berlim and remained a popular performer over the next sixty years. Her ﬁlm credits include Abacaxl Azul (1944), Romance Probido (1944), Caldos do Ceu (1946), Folias Cariocas (1948), Naked Amazon (1954), Depois Eu Conto (1956), A Baronesa Transviada (1957), Absolutamente Certo (1957), Uma Certa Lucrecia (1957), A Grande Vedete (1958), Entrei de Gaiato (1959), Com Minha Sogra em Pagueta (1960), Cala a Boca, Etelvina (1960) A Viuva Valentina (1960), So Naguela Base (1960), Minervina Vem Ai (1960), Dona Violante Miranda (1960), Sonhando com Milhoes (1963), Se Meu Dolar Falasse (1970), Bububu no Bobobo (1980), O Minino Arco-Iris (1983), and Oceano Atlantis (1993). Dercy was also seen on Brazilian television in such series as Cavalo Amarelo, Dulcinea Vai a Guerra, Humor Livre, Que Rei Sou Eu?, La Mamma, Deus Nos Acuda, and Sai de Baixo. Noted for her often vulgar wit and uninhibited personality, she caused a stir at the age of 84 by parading topless on a ﬂoat during Brazil’s Carnival in 1991.

GONZALEZ, ANA Chilean stage and ﬁlm actress Ana Gonzalez Olea, who was known as La Desideria, died of liver and kidney failure and complications from Alzheimer’s disease at her apartment in Santiago,

Ana Gonzalez

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162

Chile, on February 21, 2009. She was 92. Gonzalez was born in Chile on May 4, 1915. She appeared in several ﬁlms in the 1940s including Entre Gallos y Medianoche (1940), P’a Otro Lado (1942), El Relegado de Pichintun (1943), Dos Caldos de la Lune (1945), and The Lady of the Camelias (1947). She worked frequently in television from the 1970s, starring in such series as J.J. Juez (1975), La Noche del Cobarde (1983), Los Titeres (1984), La Trampa (1985), Secreto de Familia (1986), Matilde Dedos Verces (1988), Villa Napoli (1991), Marron Glace (1993), Champana (1994), and Marron Glace, el Regreso (1996).

GONZALEZ HERNANDEZ, SERVANDO Mexican ﬁlm director Servando Gonzalez Hernandez died of complications from cancer in Mexico City on October 5, 2008. He was 85. Gonzalez was born in Vera Cruz, Mexico, on May 15, 1923. He began work-

Servando Gonzalez Hernandez

ing in the ﬁlm industry at the age of 13, apprenticing with Estudios Clasa. He rose to become the head of the leading ﬁlm lab, Studios Churubusco, before he began making his own ﬁlms and documentaries. He made the ﬁlms Sinfonia de Luz y Color (1960) and Yanco (1961) in Mexico. Gonzalez was best known in the United States for directing the 1965 feature The Fool Killer starring Anthony Perkins. His other ﬁlm credits include Black Wind (1965), Los Mediocres (1966), El Escapulario (1968), El Hijo Prodigo (1969), Gira Presidencial a Chile (1972), De que Color es el Viento (1973), The Chosen One (1977), Los de Abajo (1978), Las Grandes Aguas (1980), and El Ultimo Tunel (1987).

GOODMAN, DODY Comedian Dody Goodman died in an Englewood, New Jersey, hospital on June 22, 2008. She was 93. She was born Dolores Goodman in Columbus, Ohio, on October 28, 1914. She went to New York in the late 1930s, where she studied dance. She performed on the Broadway stage in musicals during the 1940s and early 1950s. She was featured the chorus for such productions as One Touch of Venus, Call Me Madam, and Miss Liberty, and originated the role of Violet the streetwalker in Wonderful Town. Her slightly daffy sense of humor led to success as a comedian in nightclub revues. She gained national exposure with her appearances on The Tonight Show

Dody Goodman

with Jack Parr in the late 1950s. She soon became a popular guest on other variety and talk shows including The Steve Allen Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, Mike Douglas Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Dinah!, The Merv Grifﬁn Show, and Late Night with David Letterman. She also guest starred on episodes of such television series as The Phil Silvers Show, The Defenders, the soap operas Search for Tomorrow as Althea Franklin and One Life to Live as Molly McDermott, Flying High, CHiPs, The Mary Tyler Moore Hour, The CBS Children’s Mystery Theatre, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Texas, Just Our Luck, St. Elsewhere, Punky Brewster, Crazy Like a Fox, Bustin’ Loose, Murder, She Wrote, Here and Now, and Boston Common. Goodman starred as Martha Shumway, the mother of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman in the popular sit-com in 1976, and reprised the role in the spin-off series Forever Fernwood the following year. She was featured in the recurring role of Aunt Sophia Drummond in the sit-com Diff ’rent Strokes from 1981 to 1984, and was the voice of Miss Rebecca Miller in the animated series Alvin & the Chipmunks during the 1980s. Goodman also appeared in several tele-ﬁlms including Valentine Magic on Love Island (1980), I Dream of Jeannie: 15 Years Later (1985), Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis (1988), Splash, Too (1988), and Family Reunion: A Relative Nightmare (1995). She also appeared on the silver screen in the comedy ﬁlms Bedtime Story (1965) and Mel Brooks’ Silent Movie (1976). She was perhaps best known for her role as Blanche Hodel in the hit movie musical Grease in 1978, and the 1982 sequel Grease 2. Goodman’s other ﬁlm credits include Max Dugan Returns (1983), Splash (1984), Private Resort (1985), Cool As Ice (1991), Frozen Assets (1992), Samantha (1992), Cops n Roberts (1995), and Black Ribbon (2007). GOODMAN, JONATHAN British true crime writer Jonathan Goodman died of complications from diabetes and a heart condition in England on January 10, 2008. He was 76. Goodman was born in Wimbledon, London, England, on January 17, 1931. He began working in repertory theatre as a stage manager and producer in the 1950s. Goodman worked as a television director for the ITV police drama No Hiding Place in the early 1960s. He also wrote several novels including Instead of Murder (1961), Criminal Tenden-

163

Jonathan Goodman

cies (1964), and Hello Cruel World, Goodbye (1964). He became noted as a crime historian with the 1969 publication of The Killing of Julia Wallace, about an unsolved murder in Liverpool in 1931. His 1971 book, Bloody Versicles: Rhymes of Crime, collected popular verse that were inspired by crimes. His other works include the novel The Last Sentence (1978), and the true crime books The Burning of Evelyn Foster (1977), The Stabbing of George Harry Storrs (1983), The Crippen File (1985), The Slaying of Joseph Bowne Elwell (1987), The Passing of Starr Faithfull (1990), and Murder on Several Occasions (2007). He also produced a series of anthologies of classic murder cases including The Railway Murders (1984), The Seaside Murders (1984), The Christmas Murders (1986), The Country House Murders (1988), and The Vintage Car Murders (19880.

2008 • Obituaries

Death: A Flashback (1983), A Bird’s Nest in the Wind (1983), Ente Marnattikkuttiyammakku (1983), Asthram (1983), Adam’s Rib (1983), Eettillam (1983), Dusk (1984), Panchavadi Palam (1984), Appunni (1984), The Other Shore (1984), Aarorumariyathe (1984), Midsummer Sun (1985), Eaiyum Thalayum Purathidaruthu (1985), Ente Ammu Ninte Thulasi Avarude Chakki (1985), Chidambaram (1985), Anguish (1985), Karimpin Poovinakkare (1985), Revathikkoru Pavakkutty (1986), and Irakal (1986). He also directed the ﬁlms Dheivatheyorthu (1985) and Ulsavapittennu (1989). Gopi suffered a stroke in 1986 and was left partially paralyzed. He recovered to direct the acclaimed 1991 ﬁlm Yamanam, about a handicapped man. Gopi also resumed his career in front of the cameras in such ﬁlms as Padheyam (1993), My Own (1994), Vishnu (1994), Agni Devan (1995), Memories and Desires (1995), Samantharangal (1998), Elavamkodu Desam (1998), Dubai (2001), Varum Varunnu Vannu (2003), Sethurama Iyer CBI (2004), Wanted (2004), Rasathanthram (2006), Nivedhyam (2007), Nasrani (2007), and Akasha Gopuram (2008).

GORDENO, PETER British actor and entertainer Peter Gordeno, who starred in the cult science ﬁction television series UFO in the early 1970s, died in London on October 18, 2008. He was 69. He was born Peter Godenho in Rangoon, Burma, on June 20, 1939, to an Italian-American father and Scottish-Burmese

GOPI, BHARAT Indian Malayalam language actor Bharat Gopi died of complications from a heart condition in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, on January 29, 2008. He was 70. He was born V. Gopinathan Nair in Chirayankil, India, on November 8, 1937. He was a noted stage actor before he made his ﬁlm debut in 1972’s Swayamvaram and starred in Kodiyettam in 1977. He became a leading Malayalam star in such ﬁlms as Thammpu (1978), Peruvazhiyampalam (1979), Arising from the Surface (1980), Rails (1981), Kallan Pavithran (1981), The Curtain Falls (1982), Alolam (1982), Writing (1983), Rumbling (1983), Lekha’s Peter Gordeno (from UFO)

Bharat Gopi

mother. His father was killed during World War II and he was raised in Calcutta, India, where he began performing as a dancer. He went to England in the late 1950s to further his career, eventually dancing in West End revues. He also performed in West End productions of West Side Story and Do Re Mi in the early 1960s, and was a regular on the television variety series The Kathy Kirby Show from 1964 to 1965. Gordeno formed his own dance troupe and was featured in such variety shows as Boxing Night Out, Cilla at the Savoy, The Blackpool Show, The Saturday Crowd, A Royal Club Night, It’s Tarbuck, and Leslie Crowther’s Scrapbook. He was also featured in several ﬁlms including Secrets of a Windmill Girl (1966) and The Touchables (1968). He was featured as Capt. Peter Carlin, commander of the

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164

submarine SkyDiver and pilot of the interceptor aircraft Sky One, in Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s live-action science ﬁction television series about alien abductions, UFO, from 1970 to 1971. He continued to perform and choreograph for the stage, and was later seen in the ﬁlms Urged to Kill (1988) and Carry on Columbus (1992) as the Shaman.

GORDON, ALAN Songwriter Alan Gordon, who co-wrote the hit 1960s song “Happy Together” for the Turtles, died of cancer at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona, on November 22, 2008. He was 64. Gordon was born in Natick, Massachusetts, on April 22, 1944. He began performing in New York with the band the Magicians in the mid–1960s. He soon teamed with bandmate Garry Bonner to write songs. The duo penned “Happy Together,” “You Know What I Mean,” “She’s My Girl,” and “She’d Rather Be with Me” for the Turtles, and “Celebrate” for Three Dog Night. Gordon also wrote the song “My Heart Belongs to Me” for Barbra Streisand, who recorded it in 1977. GORDON , EDWIN Edwin Gordon, who scripted the 1981 ﬁlm adaptation of Chaim Potok’s novel The Chosen, died in a residential care facility in Canoga Park, California, after suffering a series of strokes on June 23, 2008. He was 83. Gordon was born in New York City on January 20, 1925. A playwright and journalist, he served as a correspondent for the Voice of America for 25 years. He adapted Potok’s novel about Orthodox American Jews for a ﬁlm version starring Robby Benson in 1981. GORI, FEDERICA Italian adult ﬁlm actress Federica Gori, who was often known by the stage name Lollipop, was found dead at her mother’s home in

Barry Gosney

was 82. Gosney was born in Guildford, Surrey, England, in 1925. He began his ﬁlm career in the early 1960s, appearing in such ﬁlms as Carry on Jack (1963), A Home of Your Own (1964), Three Hats for Lisa (1965), Futtocks End (1970), Up the Chastity Belt (1971), Up Pompeii (1971), Our Miss Fred (1972), Up the Front (1972), Raising the Roof (1972), Don’t Just Lie There, Say Something! (1973), and the ﬁlm version of Are You Being Served? (1977). Gosney also appeared frequently on British television, with roles in such series as No Hiding Place, Beryl Reid Says Good Evening, Dixon of Dock Green, Doctor in the House, Please, Sir!, Menace, Z Cars, Play for Today, Kelly Monteith, Never the Twain, Don’t Wait Up, After Henry, Casualty, Keeping Up Appearances, Frank Stubbs Promotes, The Bill, and Last of the Summer Wine. He was also seen in the 1978 mini-series Out. Gosney appeared regularly in the variety series Harry Hill in the 1990s, and was Uncle Barrie in the comedy series Time Gentlemen Please from 2000 to 2002.

GOULET , NICOLETTE Actress Nicolette Goulet, the daughter of singer Robert Goulet, died of breast cancer in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 17, 2008. She was 51. She was born in Toronto, Canada, the daughter of Goulet and his ﬁrst wife, Louise Longmore. Nicolette starred as Mary Ryan Fenelli in the daytime soap opera Ryan’s Hope in 1979 and was Kathy Parker in Search for Tomorrow in the early 1980s. She

Federica Gori

Rome on February 7, 2008. She was 35. She was a popular adult star over the past decade, appearing in such productions as Blue Angel (2002) and Tutta la Vita Davanti (2008). In recent years, she also served as a mascot and spokesperson for the Italian football team Fiorentina.

GOSNEY, BARRY British actor and comedian Barry Gosney died of complications from injuries he received in a fall in London on January 24, 2008. He

Nicolette Goulet

165 was also seen in Casey Reynolds in As the World Turns in 1985 and as Meredith Reade Bauer in The Guiding Light from 1987 to 1989. Goulet was also seen in the 1993 independent ﬁlm A Walk with Death.

GRABLE, JUDY Judy Grable, a leading professional wrestler in the 1940s and 1950s, died on May 9, 2008. She was 82. She was born Nelly Burres in Bremerton, Washington, on August 21, 1925. She

2008 • Obituaries

(1988), The Return of Swamp Thing (1989), Dick Tracy (1990), The Godfather: Part III (1990), China Moon (1994), Homage (1995), Mariette in Ecstasy (1996), Booty Call (1997), Half Baked (1998), Stolen Heart (1998), Three to Tango (1999), Focus (2001), The Skulls III (2003), Welcome to Mooseport (2004), Assault on Precinct 13 (2005), 16 Blocks (2006), The Stone Angel (2007), and War, Inc. (2008). Graef also worked in television on such tele-ﬁlms as After the Shock (1990), Everybody’s Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure (1989), Blind Side (1993), Sketch Artist III: Hands That See (1995), Balls Up (1997), North Shore Fish (1997), Face Down (1997), The Last Don II (1998), Love Letters (1999), Spenser: Small Vices (1999), Thin Air (2000), Boss of Bosses (2001), We Were the Mulvaneys (2002), Reversible Errors (2004), The Twelve Days of Christmas Eve (2004), Naughty or Nice (2004), Vinegar Hill (2005), and Candles on Bay Street (2006). She also designed costumes for the series Baywatch, Gilmore Girls, Witchblade, 1–800–Missing, and Final 24.

GRAFF , JERRY Singer and musician Jerry Graff died of cancer in Encino, California, on February 14, 2008. He was 87. Graff was born in New York City on November 17, 1920. He began his career as a Judy Grable

began wrestling professionally at the age of 13 in 1938 under the name Judy Grable. She usually competed as a ring villain and became the AWW Women’s Champion in May of 1947. Grable battled against the top women wrestlers of the day including Mildred Burke and the Fabulous Moolah. She made it to the tournament ﬁnals for the NWA World Women’s Championship, losing the bout to Moolah in 1956. Grable retired from the ring soon after.

GRAEF, VICKI Canadian costume designer Vicki Graef died of complications from cancer on October 15, 2008. She was 58. Graef began working in ﬁlms in the mid–1950s as a costumer on the 1985 drama Marie with Sissy Spacek. She also served as a wardrober for the horror cult classic Evil Dead II in 1987. Her other ﬁlm credits include Kandyland (1987), Programmed to Kill (1987), Big Bad Mama II (1987), Invasion Earth: The Aliens Are Here (1988), Sapphire Man

Vicki Graef

Jerry Graff

performer in the late 1940s and was lead singer with the vocal group The Beachcombers. He also worked as an arranger for Nat King Cole’s television variety show and was vocal supervisor for Woody Allen’s 1971 sci-ﬁ comedy ﬁlm Bananas. Graff later appeared in small roles in several ﬁlms including Things Change (1988), The Spanish Prisoner (1997), and State and Main (2000).

GRAHAM, DAVY British guitarist Davy Graham, who was a leading ﬁgure in the folk music revival of the 1960s, died of a seizure after a long illness with lung cancer at his home in London on December 15, 2008. He was 68. Graham was born in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England, on November 22, 1940. He began playing the guitar at an early age and was noted for his dexterity on the acoustic guitar. He was best known for his 1962 song “Anji,” which became a classic in folk music. He recorded numerous albums and was considered an inﬂuence on such fellow musicians as Paul

Obituaries • 2008

166 ried actress Anjelica Huston in 1992 and appeared with her in the small role of a Venezuelan General in the 2004 ﬁlm The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

GRANT, ALLAN Allan Grant, a leading photojournalist for Life magazine, died of complications from Parkinson’s disease at his home in Brentwood, California, on February 1, 2008. He was 88. Grant was born in New York City on October 23, 1919. He became interested in photography as a teenager and

Davy Graham

Simon, Laurence Juber, and John Renbourn. He was featured as a guitarist in the 1963 ﬁlm The Servant and appeared and performed in the 1969 short Cain’s Film. His albums include Folk, Blues & Beyond... (1963), The Holly Kaleidoscope (1970), Godington Boundry (1970), All That Moody (1976), Dance for Two People (1979), Playing in Trafﬁc (1993), and Broken Biscuits (2007). He was also featured on the PBC television series The Blues.

GRAHAM, ROBERT Sculptor Robert Graham, who was best known for creating the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C., died in a Los Angeles hospital on December 27, 2008. He was 70. Graham was born in Mexico City, Mexico, on August 19, 1938, and came to the United States with his family in the late 1940s, settling in San Jose, California. He studied at the San Francisco Art Institute. After spending several years in England, he moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s. He soon became a respected sculptor who was noted for his small wax scenes in Plexiglas boxes that frequently included nude ﬁgures. Graham created the Joe Louis Memorial in 1986 that featured a huge, bronze ﬁst and forearm. He created the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial in Washington in 1997. Graham’s other works includes the Duke Ellington Monument in New York City, the Charlie “Bird” Parker Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, and the Great Bronze Doors and Statue of Mary at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles. He mar-

Robert Graham

Allan Grant

worked in a photographic laboratory as a young man. He began working for Life in 1945. He took photographs of Howard Hughes’ mammoth Spruce Goose’s maiden ﬂight in 1947, and of the atomic bomb tests in the 1950s. He also captured on ﬁlm Oscar nominees Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly waiting backstage at the 1955 Academy Awards ceremony. Grant also took some of the last photographs of Marilyn Monroe before her death in 1962 and photographed the family of Lee Harvey Oswald after he assassinated President John Kennedy in 1963. Grant left Life in the late 1960s and produced education documentaries. His television documentary What Color Is the Wind? earned three Emmy Award nominations.

GRANT , ELIZABETH Actress Elizabeth “Libba” Grant died in Woodland Hills, California, on October 13, 2008. She was 81. Grant was born in Geor-

Elizabeth Grant

167

2008 • Obituaries

gia on August 1, 1927. She was a political activist who campaigned for civil rights and equal rights for women. She was featured in the 1996 tele-ﬁlm The Summer of Ben Tyler, and appeared in the 2005 feature RedMeansGo. Grant was also seen in various television commercials. Her survivors include her daughter, actress Beth Grant.

GRANT, JOHNNY Johnny Grant, who was known as the honorary mayor of Hollywood, was found dead in his bed at his suite in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on January 9, 2008. He was 84. Grant was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina, on May 9, 1923. He began working as a radio reporter in the early 1940s before joining the Army during World War II. He moved to Hollywood after the war, where he appeared

Johnny Grant

in a small role in the 1948 bio-ﬁlm The Babe Ruth Story. He continued to work in radio doing celebrity interviews in the 1940s and 1950s and appeared onscreen in the ﬁlms Mask of the Dragon (1951), White Christmas (1954), The Girl Can’t Help It (1956), The Great Man (1956), Rock, Pretty Baby (1956), Beau James (1957), and The Oscar (1966). Grant was also seen on television in episodes of The Loretta Young Show, 77 Sunset Strip, and The Lucy Show. Grant became one of Hollywood’s most exuberant supporters, working with the Chamber of Commerce to preserve the landmark Hollywood sign and the Walk of Fame. He was named Hollywood’s honorary mayor by the Chamber in 1980, and hosted the induction of over 500 celebrities onto the Walk of Fame. He also produced the annual Hollywood Christmas Parade and greeted red carpet arrivals at the Oscars and other ﬁlm ceremonies. Grant was also seen in cameo role on television’s China Beach, Buddy Faro, and Action, and the ﬁlms The Young and the Dead (2000), Hollywood Homicide (2003), and Christmas in Tinseltown (2004).

GRAY, CHARLES H. Actor Charles H. Gray, who was best known for his role as Clay Forrester in the television western series Rawhide, died in San Bernardino, California, on August 2, 2008. He was 86. Gray was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on November 27, 1921. He appeared frequently in ﬁlms and television from the mid–1950s. His ﬁlm credits include One De-

Charles H. Gray

sire (1955), The Houston Story (1956), Tension at Table Rock (1956), The Black Whip (1956), Trooper Hook (1957), God Is My Partner (1957), The Unknown Terror (1957), Ride a Violent Mile (1957), Cattle Empire (1958), Desert Hell (1958), Charro! (1969) with Elvis Presley, Wild Rovers (1971), Bless the Beasts & Children (1971), The Organization (1971), Junior Bonner (1972), The New Centurions (1972), and the 1979 horror ﬁlm Prophecy as the Sheriff. The mustachioed Gray frequently played villains in television westerns, but took a turn as cattle driver Clay Forrester in the ﬁnal three seasons of Rawhide from 1961 to 1964. He was also featured in episodes of Highway Patrol, Whirlybird, Adventures of Superman, The Silent Service, Leave It to Beaver, Meet McGraw, Black Saddle, The Ann Sothern Show, The Texan, State Trooper, Yancy Derringer, Zane Grey Theater, Have Gun —Will Travel, Riverboat, One Step Beyond, Gunslinger, Death Valley Days, Gunsmoke, Perry Mason, Laredo, The Road West, The Iron Horse, Hallmark Hall of Fame, The High Chaparral, McCloud, Storefront Lawyers, The Virginian, Bonanza, Alias Smith and Jones, Emergency!, The Rookies, Banacek, the soap opera The Young and the Restless as Bill Foster, and Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law. Gray was also featured in the teleﬁlms The Savage Land (1969), Drive Hard, Drive Fast (1973), Captains and the Kings (1976), A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story (1978), Sergeant Matlovich vs. the U.S. Air Force (1978), And I Alone Survived (1978), and Ike (1979). GRAY , S IMON British playwright Simon Gray, who was best known for penning the comedy Butley, died in London on August 6, 2008. He had suffered from prostate and lung cancer in recent years. He was 71. Gray was born in Hayling Island, Hampshire, England, on August 21, 1936. He began teaching in the mid–1950s and was soon writing short stories. He adapted his own story, The Caramel Crisis, for television’s Thirty-Minute Theatre in 1966. His ﬁrst play, Wise Child, premiered in London in 1967 and starred Alec Guinness. A Broadway production ﬁve years later met with failure. His works were also seen frequently on television in the 1960s in such series as The Wednesday Play, The Jazz Age, ITV Saturday Night Theatre, ITV Playhouse, and Play for Today. He was best known for writing the 1971 play Butley. The play was directed

Obituaries • 2008

168 (1996), Love Is All There Is (1996), The Cable Guy (1996), To Die Quietly (1997), Henry Fool (1997), and The Miracle of Bern (2003).

GREEN, CHERRY Ermine Cherry DemseyBarker, who sang with Bob Marley and the Wailers as Cherry Green, died in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, on September 24, 2008. She was 65. She was born Ermine Ortense Bramwell in Trench Town, Jamaica, on August 22, 1943. She began singing with Marley and

Simon Gray

by Harold Pinter and starred Alan Bates, who earned a Tony Award after its Broadway debut in 1972. Bates reprised his role in a 1974 ﬁlm version, scripted by Gray, and Nathan Lane played the role on Broadway in a 2006 revival. Gray had success on Broadway with Otherwise Engaged in 1977, which was adapted for German television the following year. Many of his subsequent plays were also adapted for ﬁlm or television, including The Rear Column (1980), After Pilkington (1987), Quartermaine’s Terms (1987), A Month in the Country (1987), They Never Slept (1990), Old Flames (1990), Unnatural Pursuits (1991), Running Late (1992), Common Pursuit (1992), and Femme Fatale (1993). In recent years, Gray wrote several self-deprecating memoirs, including The Smoking Diaries (2004), The Year of the Jouncer (2006), and The Last Cigarette (2008). He was working on a stage adaptation of The Last Cigarette at the time of his death.

GRECO, PAUL Actor Paul Greco died in Red Hook, New York, on December 17, 2008. He was 53. Greco was born in Newark, New Jersey, on October 21, 1955. He made his ﬁlm debut as the leader of the Orphan gang in the 1979 cult classic The Warriors. He was also seen on television in an episode of Miami Vice, and in the ﬁlms Four Friends (1981), Woody Allen’s Broadway Danny Rose (1984), Crocodile Dundee (1986), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Elvis Stories (1989), Next of Kin (1989), Oscar (1991), If Lucy Fell

Paul Greco (from The Warriors)

Cherry Green

his band when she was a teenager and became an original member of the Wailers with Beverly Kelson, Junior Braithwaite, Bunny Livingston, and Peter Tosh. Also known as Cherry Smith, she sang backup vocals from 1963 to 1966 on such songs as “Simmer Down,” “I Need Your Love,” and “Lonesome Feeling.” She left the group because of family obligations before they achieved success and came to the United States in 1969. She settled in Florida, where she seldom reﬂected on her days with the Wailers.

GREEN, DOROTHY Veteran television actress Dorothy Green died of a heart attack at her home in Los Angeles on May 8, 2008. She was 88. She was born Dorothy Huffard in Los Angeles on January 12, 1920. She began her career as an actress performing on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse. She moved into ﬁlms and television in the early 1950s and appeared in over 100 television episodes during her career. Her numerous credits include Hopalong Cassidy, The Whistler, My Little Margie, The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse, Cavalcade of America, The Man Behind the Badge, Studio 57, City Detective, Treasury Men in Action, The Great Gildersleeve, TV Reader’s Digest, Four Star Playhouse, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, State Trooper, Crossroads, The George Sanders Mystery Theater, Whirlybirds, Code 3, Studio One, Navy Log, The Californians, Casey Jones, The Real McCoys, Sugarfoot, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Panic!, Suspicion, The David Niven Show, The Swamp Fox and Moochie of the Little League on Disneyland, Philip Marlowe, Boris Karloff ’s Thriller, Surfside 6, The Case of the Dangerous Robin, The Brothers Brannigan, COronado 9, The Best of the Post, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Gunslinger, 77 Sunset Strip, Cheyenne, Laramie, The Investigators, Perry Mason, General Elec-

169

Dorothy Green

tric Theater, Rawhide, Wagon Train, Hawaiian Eye, Checkmate, Alcoa Premiere, Going My Way, The Wide Country, Arrest and Trial, Gunsmoke, This Is the Life, Tom, Dick and Mary, The Outer Limits, The Baileys of Balboa, Bonanza, Tammy, The Munsters, Pistols ’n’ Petticoats, The Virginian, The F.B.I., Mannix, Daniel Boone, The Outsider, Ironside, My Three Sons, Hawaii Five-0, Adam-12, O’Hara, U.S. Treasury, Marcus Welby, M.D., Emergency!, The Young and the Restless as Jennifer Elizabeth Brooks, The Love Boat, Fish, Hello, Larry, and Benson. Green also appeared in the tele-ﬁlms Anatomy of a Crime (1969), The Six Million Dollar Man (1973), and Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus (1974). She also appeared onscreen in numerous ﬁlms throughout her career from the early 1950s including The Big Heat (1953), Bad for Each Other (1953), Them! (1954), Finger Man (1955), Trial (1955), No Time to Be Young (1957), The Helen Morgan Story (1957), The Restless Years (1958), Face of a Fugitive (1959), Man-Trap (1961), It Happened at the World’s Fair (1963) with Elvis Presley, Critic’s Choice (1963), Palm Springs Weekend (1963), Zebra in the Kitchen (1965), Tammy and the Millionaire (1967), Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came? (1970), and Help Me ... I’m Possessed (1976).

GREEN, PAUL S. Paul S. Green, who served as a publicity agent for Hollywood in Washington, D.C., died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in a Bethesda, Maryland, retirement home on Febru-

2008 • Obituaries

ary 6, 2008. He was 90. He was born Saul Greenblatt in the Bronx, New York, on June 20, 1917. He attended the University of Missouri, where he earned a master’s degree in journalism in 1940. He served as a combat reporter for the armed forces newspaper Stars and Stripes during World War II. After the war, he settled in Washington, D.C., where he soon became an aide on Capitol Hill. His wartime contacts also gave him an entry into Hollywood, where he became ﬁlmdom’s unofﬁcial liaison to the Capitol. Green was able to persuade former vice president Alben Barkley to don a coonskin hat and buckskin jacket to promote the 1955 ﬁlm about Davy Crockett, The Kentuckian. He was also instrumental in promoting ﬁlms to foreign embassies for overseas sales. Green was working for Sen. Estes Kefauver of Tennessee when Otto Preminger came to town to ﬁlm the 1962 political drama Advise and Consent. He arranged through Kefauver to give the ﬁlm crew nearly total access during ﬁlming. Preminger rewarded Green with a small role in a trolley scene with star Walter Pidgeon. He continued to work at the Capitol until retiring as a Transportation Department congressional liaison in the 1960s.

GREENBURG, EARL Earl Greenburg, who served as head of NBC Daytime in the early 1980s, died of melanoma in Rancho Mirage, California, on February 1, 2008. He was 61. Greenburg was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 27, 1946. A

Earl Greenburg

lawyer, he moved to Los Angeles to serve as vice president of compliance and practices in the late 1970s. He was chosen by Brandon Tartikoff to head the networks daytime programming in 1981. He later worked as an independent television producer on such series as The Regis Philbin Show, The World’s Wildest Police Videos, and The World’s Scariest Police Chases. He also served as president of the Home Shopping Network and became a leading agent for infomercials as head of the Electronic Retailing Association and Total Marketing Partners. He was also chairman of the Palm Springs International Film Festival from 2004.

Paul Green

GREGORY, CELIA British actress Celia Gregory died at her home in England on September 8, 2008. She was 58. Gregory was born in London on Septem-

Obituaries • 2008

170 the University of North Carolina and served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He later earned a master’s degree in wildlife management from Louisiana State University. Gresham, who became a familiar ﬁgure with his bushy white sideburns and cowboy hat, was ﬁeld host for ABC’s American Sportsman from 1966 to 1979, going on hunting expeditions with such stars as Andy Grifﬁth, Bing Crosby, and Burt Reynolds. He was also the author of numerous popular books on hunting, ﬁshing, and the outdoors including The Complete Book of Bass Fishing (1966), The Complete Wild Fowler (1973), and Grits on Guns (1987). He hosted videos on duck, goose, and pheasant hunting, and was featured in commercials for Miller Lite beer. Gresham was also a leading voice for wetlands conservation.

Celia Gregory

ber 23, 1949, and was raised in Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands. She began her career on stage in the early 1970s and was featured in such West End productions as Saturday, Sunday, Monday (1973) with Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright and A Family (1978) with Paul Scoﬁeld. She was featured as Nancy Neele in the 1979 ﬁlm Agatha with Dustin Hoffman and Vanessa Redgrave, and appeared with Dennis Hopper in The Inside Man in 1984. She was also seen in television productions of The Dancing Years (1976), Children of the Full Moon (1980) on Hammer House of Horror, and Lace (1984) and Lace II (1985) as Queen Serah. Gregory starred as Ruth Anderson in the post–Apocalyptical British television series Survivors in 1976, She was also seen in episodes of Thirty-Minute Theatre, Quiller, Hazell, The Professionals, Play for Today, Reilly: Ace of Spies as Nadia Massino, Bergerac, Tales of the Unexpected, Casualty, Ruth Rendell Mysteries, and The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes. She made her ﬁnal ﬁlm appearance in Peter Greenaway’s 1993 feature The Baby of Macon before retiring from acting to devote more time to her family.

GREVILLE -BELL , ANTHONY Anthony Greville-Bell, a British war hero who later penned the Vincent Price horror ﬁlm Theater of Blood, died on March 4, 2008. He was 87. Greville-Bell was born on March 7, 1920. He joined the Royal engineers at the outbreak of World War II, and served with distinction with the 2nd Special Air Service Regiment in Italy. He returned to the military in the early 1950s to serve in Malaya. Greville-Bell began writing screenplays in the 1960s, penning Perfect Friday (1970), The Strange Vengeance of Rosalie (1972), and The God King (1974). His best known ﬁlm was the Shakespearean slasher ﬁlm Theater of Blood (1973), starring Vincent Price and Diana Rigg, and a host of aging British stars as ill-fated drama critics. He also scripted several episodes of the television series Marked Personal. Greville-Bell was also noted as a sculptor and as leader of an amateur orchestra.

GRESHAM, GRITS Grits Gresham, the colorful outdoorsman who hosted the ABC television hunting show American Sportsman, died in Natchitoches, Louisiana, on February 18, 2008. He was 85. He was born Claude Hamilton Gresham, Jr., in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on June 21, 1922. He graduated from

GRIFFIN, JOHNNY Jazz saxophonist Johnny Grifﬁn died at his home in southwest France on July 25, 2008. He was 80. Grifﬁn was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 24, 1928. He was raised in a musical family and learned to play the piano and steel guitar as a child. He added the clarinet, oboe, and alto saxophone to his repertoire while in high school. He began playing with Lionel Hampton’s band after graduation in 1945 and soon chose the tenor sax as his instrument. Grifﬁn moved to New York in the 1950s and served for several years in the Army band during the Korean War.

Grits Gresham

Johnny Grifﬁn

171 After military service he performed with such artists as Art Blakey, Theolonious Monk, and John Coltrane. He also recorded several albums including Introducing Johnny Grifﬁn (1956), A Blowin’ Session (1957) with Hank Mobley and Coltrane, and Change of Pace (1961). He teamed with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis to form a quintet in the early 1960s, and released the album Tough Tenor Favorites before leaving the United States for Europe. He eventually settled in France and remained a major ﬁgure on the European jazz scene. Grifﬁn began to return regularly to the United States for concerts in the late 1970s. His ﬁnal album, Smokin’ Sax, was released shortly before his death.

GROARK, MARGARETTA Margaretta Groark, who competed with her husband David on the ﬁrst season of The Amazing Race television reality show in 2001, died of complications from cancer and pulmo-

2008 • Obituaries

Frack, died of complications from a broken leg in a nursing home near Zurich, Switzerland, on April 14, 2008. He was 92. Groebli was born in Basel, Switzerland, on April 21, 1915. He began teaming with fellow skater Hansruedi Mauch at local rinks in Basel in 1936. The duo, taking the stage name of Frick and Frack, were soon performing throughout Europe. They came to the United States with the St. Moritz Express ice revue in 1938. They were hired by the original Ice Follies the following year and brought their comedy skating routines to ﬁlm with Silver Skates (1943) and Lady, Let’s Dance (1944). He continued to team with Mauch until the latter’s retirement in 1953. Groebli carried on the act as Mr. Frick with a succession of junior partners. He was forced to retire from the ice following an injury in an accident in 1980.

GROH, DAVID Actor David Groh, who starred as the title character’s husband in the 1970s sitcom Rhoda, died of kidney cancer in a Los Angeles hospital on February 12, 2008. He was 68. Groh was born in New York City on May 21, 1939. He served in the U.S. Army before embarking on a career in acting. Groh studied at the Actors Studio and appeared on stage in New York in the 1960s. He appeared in small roles in several episodes of the Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows in the late 1960s and was Simon Ventnor in the soap Love is a Many Splendored Thing from 1972 to 1973. He was also seen in the ﬁlms Red Hot Shot (1969), Irish Whiskey Rebellion (1972), and The Ringer (1972). He was cast as Joe Gerard in the 1974 sitcom Rhoda, a spinoff of Mary Tyler Moore. Groh’s character married

Margaretta Groark (with husband David)

nary ﬁbrosis at her home in Rockwall, Texas, on October 26, 2008. She was 67. She was born Margaretta Bisson in Newport, Rhode Island, on January 12, 1941, and married David Groark in 1960. She was a 59-yearold grandmother when she competed in the premiere season of The Amazing Race. She and her husband were eliminated in the fourth episode.

GROEBLI, WERNER Werner Groebli, who was Frick in the acclaimed ice skating duo Frick and

David Groh

Werner Groebli

Valerie Harper’s Rhoda Morgenstern. The couple were divorced by the third season and Groh was off the show. He later starred as wealthy D.L. Brock on the soap opera General Hospital from 1983 to 1985. Groh also guest starred in episodes of such series as Police Story, The Love Boat, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Trapper John, M.D., Fantasy Island, CBS Children’s Mystery Theatre, Today’s F.B.I., Matt Houston, Whiz Kids, Finder of Lost Loves, Hotel, Simon & Simon, Kate & Allie, Tales from the Darkside, Spenser: For Hire, Hunter, L.A. Law, Jake and the Fatman, Murder, She Wrote, Room for Two, Dark Justice, Sisters, M.A.N.T.I.S., Renegade, Court-

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172

house, Melrose Place in the recurring of Vince Parezi, Baywatch, JAG, The X-Files, Mike Hammer, Private Eye, Walker, Texas Ranger, The Huntress, V.I.P. in the recurring role of Don Franco, Law & Order, and Girlfriends. Groh also starred as Lt. Walker in the cable action series Black Scorpion in 2001. He was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms Smash-Up on Interstate 5 (1976), Victory at Entebbe (1976), Murder at the Mardi Gras (1978), The Child Stealer (1979), Power (1980), The Dream Merchants (1980), Tourist (1981), This Is Kate Bennett (1982), Broken Vows (1987), Menu for Murder (1990), Last Exit to Earth (1996), The Cowboy and the Movie Star (1998), Take My Advice: The Ann and Abby Story (1999), and Jane Doe: The Harder They Fall (2006). Groh also appeared in numerous ﬁlms including Two-Minute Warning (1976), A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ but a Sandwich (1978), Hotshot (1987), The Return of Superﬂy (1990), The Stoned Age (1994), Illegal in Blue (1995), Get Shorty (1995), The Conﬁdence Man (1996), White Cargo (1996), Every Dog Has Its Day (1997), Swimsuit: The Movie (1997), Most Wanted (1997), Acts of Betrayal (1997), Spoiler (1998), Blowback (2000), Black Leather Soles (2005), Crazylove (2005), Late Night Girls (2006), and Expecting Love (2008). Survivors include his wife, actress Kristin Andersen.

GROUND , ROBERT Film director Robert Ground died of cancer on March 28, 2008, in Phoenix, Arizona. He was 86. Ground was born in Dawson, Georgia, on April 28, 1921. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. After the war, he joined the fam-

Rob Guest

the role of Jean Valjean in the Australian production of Les Miserables later in the decade. He starred in the title role in The Phantom of the Opera from 1991 to 1998, appearing in over 2000 performances. Guest also starred in Australian productions of Jolson, The Sound of Music, Jekyll & Hyde, Sweeney Todd, The Music Man, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Footloose. He was appearing as the Wizard of Oz in the musical Wicked at the time of his death.

GUINES, TATA Cuban conga drummer Tata Guines, who helped popularize the Afro-Cuban sound, died of a kidney infection outside of Havana, Cuba, on February 4, 2008. He was 77. He was born Federico Aristides Soto in Guines, Cuba, on June 30, 1930. He moved to Havana in 1946, where he performed with such major Cuban bandleaders as Chico O’Farrill, Jose Fajardo, and Peruchin. He teamed with pianist Frank Emilio Flynn to form the band Quinteto Instrumental de Musica Moderna, which later became Los Amigos. Guines went to the United States in 1957, where he performed with such artists as Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, and Frank Sinatra. He returned to Cuba two years later when Fidel Castro ousted the dictator Fulgencio Batista. Guines continued to perform in Cuba and South America over the next several decades. He played with the group Cubanismo! in the 1990s, but declined an invitation to appear on Ry Cooder’s hit recording of other older Cuban musicians, The Buena

Robert Ground (director of The Weird World of LSD)

ily retail business and also pursued interests as an exotic spice merchant, photographer, writer, and advertising executive. He began dabbling in ﬁlms in the 1960s, and wrote and directed the bizarre docu-drama The Weird World of LSD in 1967.

GUEST, ROB Australian actor and singer Rob Guest died of a stroke in a Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, hospital on October 2, 2008. He was 58. Guest was born in Birmingham, England, on July 17, 1950. He began his career as a pop singer in New Zealand in the late 1970s. He relocated to the United States in the 1980s, where he performed in nightclubs in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and Los Angeles. He toured Australia in

Tata Guines

173

2008 • Obituaries

Vista Social Club, due to a previous tour commitment. He won a Latin Grammy Award for the 2003 album Lagrimas Negras with Bebo Valdes and Diego El Chigala. Guines was given Cuba’s highest music award, the Premio Nacional de Musica, in 2006.

GUINZBURG, JORGE Argentine comedian Jorge Guinzburg died of a lung infection in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 12, 2008. He was 59. Guinzburg was born in Buenos Aires on February 3, 1949. He was a popular performer on radio and televi-

Orhan Gunsiray

He also produced many of his ﬁlms from the 1960s, joining with director Atif Yilmaz to form the Yerli Film company. Gunsiray continued to appear on screen with roles in such ﬁlms as Su (1981), Holy Sword (1982), and the schlock action classic Olum Savascisi (aka Death Warrior) (1984).

Jorge Guinzburg

GUREL, AYSEL Turkish poet, lyricist and actress Aysel Gurel died of cancer in an Istanbul, Turkey, hospital on February 17, 2008. She was 79. Gurel was born in Denizli, Turkey, on February 7, 1929. She wrote

sion, noted for his bushy moustache and sharp wit. He starred in such television variety series as La Noticia Rebelde (aka Rebel News) and El Legado (The Legacy). He also hosted the morning magazine show Mananas Informales (Informal Mornings). He produced and starred in the children’s variety series Guinzburg and Kids from 2003, and was the voice of Farfan in the 2007 animated ﬁlm The Ark. He also wrote the daily comic strip Diogenes y el Linyera, about a vagabond and his dog.

GUNSIRAY, ORHAN Turkish actor Orhan Gunsiray, who starred in numerous Turkish action ﬁlms during the 1960s, died of lung cancer in an Istanbul, Turkey, hospital on August 28, 2008. He was 80. Gunsiray was born in Istanbul on July 3, 1928. He began his ﬁlm career in the late 1950s with such credits as The Grievous Years (1958), The Istanbul Adventure (1958), Hell in the Life (1958), Fosforlu Cevriye (1959), and Binnaz (1959). He was soon starring as action heroes and secret agents with roles in The Death Curtain (1960), My Pretty Secretary (1960), The Sweet Calamity (1961), The Black Angel (1961), Those Were the Days We Loved (1961), King of the Swindlers (1961), The Thorny Rose (1961), Capkinlar (1961), Love and Fist (1961), The Bride Came to the Quarter (1961), Leyla (1962), Woman and Pistol (1962), A World for You and Me (1962), Treasures of Genghis Khan (1962), The False Marriage (1962), Two Ships, Side by Side (1963), The Messenger of Death (1963), Devil’s Servants (1964), Ten Beautiful Legs (1964), The Maniacs’ Villa (1964), Dag Basini Duman Almis (1964), Sehrazat (1964), The Bloody Square (1965), The Secret Command (1965), Beles Osman (1965), The Sirat Bridge (1966), Gariban (1966), Kara Gunes (1968), Seytan Kayalari (1970), and Ibret (1972).

Aysel Gurel

the lyrics for numerous popular songs in Turkey. Gurel also appeared on screen in a handful of ﬁlms during her long career including Yurda Donus (1952), Tek Kollu Canavar (1954), Meyhane Koseleri (1954), The Stepmother (1971), The Heart Queen (1986), Cholera Street (1997), and Sarkici (2001). Her survivors include her daughter, actress Mujde Ar.

GUSS, LOUIS Veteran character actor Louis Guss died in New York City on September 29, 2008. He was 90. Guss was born in New York on January 4, 1918. He appeared frequently on stage, ﬁlm and television from the 1950s. Guss’ numerous television credits include episodes of Decoy, Naked City, I Spy, The Outsider, Love Thy Neighbor, Sanford and Son, Shaft, Mannix, Harry O, The Odd Couple, Ellery Queen, Rhoda, Maude, Baretta, Holmes and Yo-Yo, Switch, Mary Tyler

Obituaries • 2008

174

Louis Guss

Phil Guy

Moore, Quincy, Charlie’s Angels, Kojak, CHiPs, Tabitha, All in the Family, One Day at a Time, Sugar Time!, Chico and the Man, Barnaby Jones, Taxi, Silver Spoons, Hart to Hart, Trapper John, M.D., Gimme a Break!, Cagney & Lacey, Tales from the Darkside, CBS Summer Playhouse, Knightwatch, Father Dowling Mysteries, Quantum Leap, Who’s the Boss?, The Man in the Family, The Golden Girls, Sisters, Civil Wars, The Nanny, Mad About You, Chicago Hope, The Commish, The Single Guy, Silk Stalkings, Law & Order, and 100 Centre Street. Guss was featured in such ﬁlms as Love with the Proper Stranger (1963), The Godfather (1972) as Don Zaluchi, The Laughing Policeman (1973), Crazy Joe (1974), Harry and Tonto (1974), Lepke (1975), Lucky Lady (1975), No Deposit, No Return (1976), Nickelodeon (1976), Fun with Dick and Jane (1977), New York, New York (1977), H.O.T.S. (1979), Willie & Phil (1980), Highlander (1986), Sno-Line (1986), Seize the Day (1986), Vasectomy: A Delicate Matter (1986), Moonstruck (1987) as Raymond Cappomaggi, American Blue Note (1991), Used People (1992), The Cemetery Club (1993), Night Falls on Manhattan (1996), A Wake in Providence (1999), Two Family House (2000), Girlﬁght (2000), The Yards (2000), Pedestrian (2000), The Crew (2000), A Tale of Two Pizzas (2003), and Find Me Guilty (2006). He also appeared in numerous tele-ﬁlms including The Third Girl from the Left (1973), Terror on the 40th Floor (1974), The Art of Crime (1975), Beggarman, Thief (1979), The Treasure of Alpheus T. Winterborn (1980), Nick and the Dobermans (1980), Brass (1985), I’ll Take Manhattan (1987), Frank Nitti: The Enforcer (1988), Original Sin (1989), and The Counterfeit Contessa (1994). GUY, PHIL Blues guitarist Phil Guy died of prostate cancer in Chicago, Illinois, on August 20, 2008. He was 68. Guy was born in Lettsworth, Louisiana, on April 28, 1940, the younger brother of bluesman Buddy Guy. Phil joined Raful Neal’s blues band in Baton Rouge in 1957 on the recommendation of his brother. He played with Neal until 1969, when he went to Chicago to join Buddy’s band. The brothers played together for the next two decades and toured throughout Europe and Africa. Phil also backed such other artists as Memphis Slim, John Lee Hooker, Big Mama Thornton, and Albert Collins. He recorded the solo

album Bad Luck Boy in 1963. He formed his own band, Phil Guy and the Chicago Machine, in the 1990s and they recorded several albums. His ﬁnal album, He’s My Blues Brother, was released in 2006 and featured Buddy on several tracks.

GUZMAN , CLAUDIO Television producer and director Claudio Guzman died of pneumonia in a Los Angeles hospital on July 12, 2008. He was 80. Guzman was born in Rancagua, Chile, on August 2, 1927, and came to the United States in 1951. He broke into show business later in the decade when he was introduced to television star Desi Arnaz while working as an orderly in a Los Angeles hospital. He worked as an art director for episodes of such television series as Make Room for Daddy, Where’s Raymond?, Treasury Men in Action, December Bride, Sheriff of Cochise, The Real McCoys, Date with the Angels, and The Lucy Show. He earned an Emmy Award for art director for the 1958 television production of Song of Bernadette on the Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse that starred Arnaz. Guzman was also art director for several ﬁlms including DaddyO (1958) and The Caretakers (1963). He also began directing for television, helming several episodes of Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, including A Diamond for Carla in 1959. The episode starred actress and opera singer Anna Maria Alberghetti, who was later Guzman’s wife from 1964 to 1972. He continued to work in television, directing episodes of Guestward Ho!, The

Claudio Guzman

175

2008 • Obituaries

Dick Van Dyke Show, The Fugitive, The Patty Duke Show, O.K. Crackerby!, Vacation Playhouse, Love on a Rooftop, The Iron Horse, The Second Hundred Years, The Flying Nun, I Dream of Jeannie, The Partridge Family, The Good Life, Far Out Space Nuts, California Fever, Here’s Boomer, Harper Valley P.T.A., and Starman. He also directed the ﬁlms Antonio (1973) and Linda Lovelace for President (1975), and the tele-ﬁlms Willa (1979), The Hostage Tower (1980), and For Lovers Only (1982). He created the ﬁrst Spanish-English education television program for children, Villa Alegre in the early 1970s. The popular program aired on PBS until the end of the decade.

GYGAX, GARY Gary Gygax, the co-creator of the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, died of complications from an abdominal aneurysm at his home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin on March 4, 2008. He was 69. Gygax was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July 27, 1938. He and his collaborator, Dave Ameson, introduced Dungeons & Dragons under the banner of his company, Tactical Studies Rules (TSR), in 1974.

Gary Gygax

The game’s initial audience was primarily college students, who enjoyed the ability to create their own fantasy characters and realms to compete in. Dungeons & Dragons became a cultural phenomena that sold over $1 billion dollars in books, multi-sided dice, and other equipment. It spawned an animated television series in 1983, with Gygax serving as producer and writer. A live action ﬁlm version of Dungeons & Dragons was released in 2000. Gygax’s company was sold in 1997 and eventually was acquired by Hasbro, which continues to publish the game. Gygax was a voice actor in episodes of the animated series Futurama and Code Monkeys, and was featured in the documentaries Let the Games Begin (2001), Uber Goober (2004), and Life with the Dice Bag (2004).

HAGEN , EARLE Composer Earle Hagen, who was best known for creating and whistling the theme for television’s The Andy Grifﬁth Show, died after a long illness at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, on May 27, 2008. He was 88. Hagen was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July 9, 1919, and moved to Los Angeles as a child. He learned to play the trombone

Earle Hagen

while in high school and was touring with big bands led by Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and Ray Noble while still in his teens. He and fellow composer Lionel Newman crafted the popular jazz classic “Harlem Nocturne” for Noble in 1939. Hagen joined CBS as a staff musician in 1941 but left for military service the following year. After his discharge, he worked at 20th Century–Fox as a composer and orchestrator with such ﬁlm credits as Kiss of Death (1947), Nightmare Alley (1947), Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! (1948), Road House (1948), Cry of the City (1948), When My Baby Smiles at Me (1948), Apartment for Pegg y (1948), You’re My Everything (1949), Thieves’ Highway (1949), Oh, You Beautiful Doll (1949), Dancing in the Dark (1949), Mother Didn’t Tell Me (1950), Under My Skin (1950), Wabash Avenue (1950), A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950), Love That Brute (1950), My Blue Heaven (1950), Two Flags West (1950), The Jackpot (1950), Call Me Mister (1951), I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1951), On the Riviera (1951), The Frogmen (1951), Meet Me After the Show (1951), Golden Girl (1951), With a Song in My Heart (1952), Down Among the Sheltering Palms (1952), Don’t Bother to Knock (1952), Monkey Business (1952), The I Don’t Care Girl (1953), Call Me Madam (1953), The Girl Next Door (1953), Man on a Tightrope (1953), The Farmer Takes a Wife (1953), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954), Daddy Long Legs (1955), Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (1955), Carousel (1956), The Best Things in Life Are Free (1956), Spring Reunion (1957), The Gift of Love (1958), Compulsion (1959), Woman Obsessed (1959), Holiday for Lovers (1959), A Private’s Affair (1959), The Blue Angel (1959), The Man Who Understood Women (1959), The Best of Everything (1959), The New Interns (1964). Hagen and Lionel Newman earned an Academy Award nomination for their musical score for the 1960 Marilyn Monroe ﬁlm Let’s Make Love. During the 1950s, Hagen frequently teamed with Herbert Spencer to write music for television and later worked as music director for producer Sheldon Leonard. He composed for such series as Make Room for Daddy, Where’s Raymond?, It’s Always Jan, Hey, Jeannie!, Love and Marriage, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Barbara Stanwyck Show, My Sister Eileen, Guestward Ho!, It’s a Man’s World, The Bill Dana Show, The Dick

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176

Van Dyke Show, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Rango, The Danny Thomas Hour, The Guns of Will Sonnett, That Girl, I Spy, The Mod Squad, The Don Rickles Show, The New Perry Mason, Planet of the Apes, Big Eddie, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, and Eight Is Enough. Hagen’s whistling theme for The Andy Grifﬁth Show achieved television immortality, being heard continuously on countless syndicated reruns from its inception in 1960. He also scored the tele-ﬁlms The Monk (1969), Aces Up (1974), The Runaways (1975), The Cheerleaders (1976), Having Babies (1976), Killer on Board (1977), True Grit (1978), Featherstone’s Nest (1979), Ebony, Ivory and Jade (1979), Alex and the Doberman Gang (1979), Murder in Music City (1979), The Concrete Cowboys (1979), The Hustler of Muscle Beach (1980), Stand by Your Man (1971), Muggable Mary: Street Cop (1982), I Take These Men (1983), Murder Me, Murder You (1983), More Than Murder (1984), North Beach and Rawhide (1985), and Return to Mayberry (1986). Hagen’s earlier composition of “Harlem Nocturne” was also heard as the theme for the 1984 detective series Make Hammer. After retiring in 1986, Hagen taught ﬁlm and television scoring. He was also the author of one of the ﬁrst books on the subject, Scoring for Films, in 1971. His autobiography, Memoirs of a Famous Composer — Nobody Ever Heard Of, was published in 2002.

HAGER, JIM Comedian Jim Hager, who performed with his brother Jon as the Hager Twins on the television country music showcase Hee Haw, died of a heart attack he suffered in a Nashville, Tennessee, coffee shop on May 1, 2008. He was 66. Hager was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 30, 1941. He and his brother began performing a comedy act in Chicago as teenagers, with regular appearances on a local Saturday morning television program. After serving in the U.S. Army the brothers moved to California, where they performed at Disneyland and local clubs. Jon moved to Nashville in the 1960s and Jim followed several years later, where they worked with country star Buck Owens. They were part of the original cast when Hee Haw debuted in 1969 with Owens and Roy Clark as hosts. The Hager Twins were noted for delivering a barrage of often corny one-liners that became a staple of the show. They also starred in the 1976 tele-ﬁlm,

Jim Hager (left, with brother Jon)

Twin Detectives, and were featured in an episode of The Bionic Woman in 1978. They continued to appear on Hee Haw until 1986 and remained popular performers on the country circuit.

HAINES, CONNIE Singer Connie Haines, who performed with Frank Sinatra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, died of the neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis at her home in Clearwater Beach, Florida, on September 22, 2008. She was 87. Haines was born Yvonne Marie Antoinette JaMais in Savannah, Georgia, on January 20, 1921. She began performing as a child and was featured regularly on a Jacksonville, Florida, radio station as Baby Yvonne Marie, the Little Princess of the Air, at the age of 9. She also won the Major Bowes talent contest and sang on Fred Allen’s radio show. She was hired by Harry James to sing with

Connie Haines

his orchestra in 1937, and he changed her name to Connie Haines. She subsequently joined Tommy Dorsey’s orchestra and frequently performed with Frank Sinatra in duets. Haines made over 200 recordings during her career including the popular hits “What Is This Thing Called Love?,” “Will You Still Be Mine?,” “You Might Have Belonged to Another,” “Oh! Look at Me Now,” and “Snootie Little Cutie.” She was also seen in such ﬁlms as Las Vegas Nights (1941), Idaho (1942), Ship Ahoy (1942), Moon Over Las Vegas (1944), Twilight on the Prairie (1944), A Wave, a WAC and a Marine (1944), the western Duchess of Idaho (1950) with Van Johnson, and Birth of a Band (1954). Haines also performed regularly on radio with Abbott and Costello, Bob Hope, and Jack Benny, and appeared on television variety shows with Frankie Laine, Eddie Cantor, and Milton Berle. Her other television credits include episodes of The Jack Carter Show, Songs for Sale, Four Star Revue, The Colgate Comedy Hour, Shower of Stars, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, and The Ed Sullivan Show. Haines wrote her autobiography, For Once in My Life, in 1976.

HAINES, FRED Screenwriter Fred Haines, who earned an Oscar nomination for transforming James Joyce’s novel Ulysses into a ﬁlm script, died of lung cancer in Venice, California, on May 4, 2008. He was 72. Haines was born in Los Angeles on Febru-

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Fred Haines

Larry Haines

ary 27, 1936, and was raised in Tucson, Arizona. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he earned a degree at the University of California at Berkeley. He began working as a producer at Paciﬁca Radio in 1960. Several years later an acquaintanceship with director Joseph Strick led to a job as story analyst with Columbia Pictures. Strick acquired the ﬁlm rights to Joyce’s Ulysses in the mid– 1960s, and invited Haines to work with him on the screenplay. The complex novel had largely been considered unﬁlmable, but the two men were able to succeed in doing justice to Joyce’s masterpiece. The 1967 release earned critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination for both men. He next worked with Strick on a ﬁlm version of Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer in 1970 but declined screen credit over artistic differences. Haines’ next feat was to adapt Herman Hesse’s metaphysical masterpiece Steppenwolf for the screen in 1974. He both wrote and directed the ﬁlm which was largely deemed an ambitious failure. He spent much of the next decade in Ireland working as a stage director before returning to Los Angeles in the mid–1980s. He again teamed with Strick on the 1992 tele-ﬁlm Survive the Savage Sea. For the past decade, Haines was a cowriter with Vincent Bugliosi on the 2007 book Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. HAINES, LARRY Character actor Larry Haines, who starred as Stu Bergman on the daytime soap opera Search for Tomorrow for 35 years, died in Delray Beach, Florida, on July 17, 2008. He was 89. He was born Larry Hecht in Mount Vernon, New York, on August 3, 1918. He began his acting career on radio in the 1930s, with roles in such series as Gangbusters, Inner Sanctum, The Shadow, Suspense, X Minus One, and The Amazing Mr. Malone. He also starred as Mickey Spillane’s private detective, Mike Hammer, in the shortlived radio series That Hammer Guy in 1953. He began playing neighbor Stu Bergman in Search for Tomorrow soon after the soap’s debut in 1951, and remained with the series until it ended in 1986. He earned Daytime Emmy Awards for his performances in 1976 and 1981. Haines also appeared frequently on stage, with roles in such Broadway productions as Tribute with Jack Lemmon, Twigs, A Thousand Clowns, No Hard Feelings, and Last of the Red Hot Lovers. He earned Tony Award nom-

inations for his supporting roles in the play Generations in 1966 and for the musical Promises, Promises in 1969. He was also featured as one of the card players in the hit ﬁlm comedy The Odd Couple (1968) with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Haines’ other television credits include episodes of such series as The First Hundred Years, Eye Witness, The Man Behind the Badge, Deadline as crusading labor reporter Victor Reisel, The Nurses, Mr. Broadway, The Defenders, For the People, Hawk, Maude, Doc, Kojak, CBS Summer Playhouse, and Starting from Scratch. He returned to his radio roots with roles in numerous segments of The CBS Radio Mystery Theater from 1974 to 1982. He was also featured in the tele-ﬁlms The Country Girl (1974) and Miss Jones (1991), and the ﬁlms The Seven-Ups (1973) and Tank (1984). He starred as Max Wilson in the television sitcom Phyl & Mikhy in 1980. Haines also brieﬂy returned to soap operas as Sidney “Sharky” Sugarman in Another World in 1989 and as Neil Warren in Loving from 1994 to 1995.

HALDANE , DON Canadian ﬁlm director Don Haldane died in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on September 21, 2008. He was 93. Haldane was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on December 3, 1914. He became interested in theater while in high school and studied at the Banff School of Fine Arts after graduation. He was accepted into the Yale Drama School in 1938 and spent three years there before returning to

Don Haldane (director of Nikki, Wild Dog of the North)

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Canada. He worked in local theaters as an actor and stage manager and, after a fortuitous visit to a tailor, he became the founder and director of The Negro Theatre Guild in Montreal. Haldane joined the Canadian Army during World War II and later transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force but was never posted overseas. After the war he moved to New York to work in the ﬁlm business. He was hired to direct a series of industrial ﬁlms for the chamber of commerce of over 100 cities across the country. He returned to Canada, where he made a documentary about the Montreal Fire Department for the National Film Board in 1954. He continued to work with the NFB over the next several years, directing many of the ﬁlms in the On the Spot and Perspective series including Alcoholism (1955), Railroad Town (1956), Canadians Abroad (1956), Is It a Woman’s World? (1956), Ship in Harbour (1956), Saskatchewan Traveller (1956), The Ghost That Talked (1957), Mystery in the Kitchen (1958), Eternal Children (1959), and The Gifted Ones (1959). He also began directing for Canadian television in the late 1950s, helming episodes of R.C.M.P., The Forest Rangers, The Beachcombers, The Edison Twins, and The Campbells. He directed his ﬁrst feature ﬁlm, the Disney adventure Nikki, Wild Dog of the North, in 1961. He also helmed the National Film Board’s ﬁrst English-language feature, Drylanders, a saga of the Canadian West, in 1963. Haldane directed the horror ﬁlm The Reincarnate in 1971, and the television productions Swiss Family Robinson (1976) and Someday Soon (1977).

HALL, CLIFF Jamaican musician Cliff Hall, who performed with the British folk group the Spinners, died in Adelaide, Australia, on June 26, 2008. He was 82. Hall was born in Oriente Province, Cuba, on September 11, 1925, to Jamaican parents. He moved to England to join the Royal Air Force in 1942 and served during World War II. He worked in Liverpool after the

Rag,” “Woman Sweeter Than Man,” and “Liverpool Girls.” They recorded over forty albums and were popular performers at the London Palladium and other concert venues. They appeared regularly on BBC One’s Barndance, and were frequent guests on children’s programs and variety shows including Morecambe and Wise. The were given their own series on BBC One from 1970 to 1977, and a radio show on BBC Radio 2. The Spinners retired in 1988, though they came together frequently for reunion shows before Hall moved to Australia.

HALL, IVAN South African ﬁlm director Ivan Hall died in Cape Town, South Africa, on October 11, 2008. Hall began his ﬁlm career in the late 1960s with Kavalier Film Productions, helming the musical war drama The Kruger Millions. He became Kavalier’s leading director, with such credits as Doctor Kalie (1968), Lied in My Heart (1970), Vicki (1970), Flying Squad (1971), Gold Squad (1971), Lokval in Venesie (1973), Karate Olympia (aka Kill or Be Killed) (1976), and Funeral for an Assassin (1977) starring Vic Morrow. Hall scored an international box-ofﬁce hit with his 1981 action thriller Kill and Kill Again. His later ﬁlms include Vengeance Cops (1987), Back to Freedom (1988), and The Riverman (1989) starring Michael Parks. Hall was also editor on the 1989 feature The Gods Must Be Crazy II. HALL, OAKLEY Novelist Oakley Hall died in Nevada City, Nevada, on May 12, 2008. He was 87. Hall was born in San Diego, California, on July 1, 1920. He attended the University of California at Berkeley and served in the Marines in the Paciﬁc during World War II. After the war, he continued his education, earning a Master’s in creative writing. He was best known for his 1958 western novel Warlock, which was adapted for ﬁlm the following year. He also wrote the novel The Downhill Racers in 1968, which was ﬁlmed in 1969. His other novels include Murder City (1949), So Many Doors (1950), Corpus of Joe Bailey (1953), Mardios Beach (1955), The Pleasure Garden (1966), A Game for Eagles (1970), The Adelita (1975), The Bad Lands (1978), Lullaby (1982), The Children of the Sun (1983), The Coming of the Kid (1985), Apaches (1986), and Separations (1997). He was also the author of a popular series featuring writer Ambrose Bierce as his hero, commencing

Cliff Hall

war and met fellow musician Tony Davis in the early 1950s. He and Davis teamed with Mick Groves and Hughie Jones to form the Spinners in 1958. They became a popular folk group in England and recorded their ﬁrst album, Quayside Songs Old and New in 1962. Hall was lead singer on such popular songs as “Matty

Oakley Hall

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with Ambrose Bierce and the Queen of Spades in 1998 and continuing through Ambrose Bierce and the Ace of Shoots in 2005. Hall was also an inﬂuential writing teacher and a founder of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers. His ﬁnal novel, Love and War in California, was published in 2007.

HALL, WILLIAM British ﬁlm critic William Hall died of cancer in England on May 19, 2008. He was 72. Hall was born in Highgate, North London, England, on November 2, 1935. He began writing for the local newspaper while still in his teens and became a cub reporter for the Fulham Chronicle in 1953. Hall Erwin Halletz

William Hall

became the paper’s ﬁlm critic two years later, and moved on to the London Evening News in 1959. He remained with the paper until its closure in 1980, reviewing hundreds of ﬁlms and interviewing such major stars as Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne, and Clint Eastwood. Hall’s column byline touted his Hollywood connections describing him as “the man the big stars talk to.” He also authored numerous ﬁlm related books, including Raising Caine and 70 Not Out with Michael Caine, Me and My Big Mouth with Larry Adler, Ooh, You Are Awful! with Dick Emery, Titter Ye Not with Frankie Howerd, and Flash! Splash! Crash! with media mogul Robert Maxwell. He also wrote a biography of movie legend James Dean and was working on an autobiography at the time of his death.

HALLETZ, ERWIN Austrian composer and musician Erwin Halletz died in Vienna, Austria, on October 27, 2008. He was 85. Halletz was born in Vienna on July 12, 1923. He began working as a saxophonist and arranger for big bands after World War II. He began leading his own dance band in 1950 and toured throughout Europe. Halletz was also a proliﬁc ﬁlm composer from the early 1950s scoring numerous ﬁlms including Ein Tolles Fruchtchen (1953), Afraid to Love (1954), Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1955), Request Concert (1955), Holiday am Worthersee (1956), Liane, Jungle Goddess (1956), Through the Forests and Through the Times (1956), Der Fremdenfuhrer von Lissabon (1956), Flucht in die Tropennacht (1957), Siebenmal in der Woche (1957), Bewildered Youth (1957), Der Kuhne Schwimmer (1957), Jungle Girl and the Slaver (1957),

Traume von der Sudsee (1957), Liebe Kann wie Gift Sein (1958), Der Stern von Santa Clara (1958), Kleine Leute mal Ganz Gross (1958), Everybody Loves Peter (1959), La Paloma (1959), Meet Peter Voss (1959), Kein Engel Ist so Rein (1960), Isola Bella (1961), Unsere Tollen Tanten (1961), Liane, die Tochter des Dschungels (1961), Unsere Tollen Nichten (1962), Drei Liebesbriefe aus Tirol (1962), Unsere Tollen Tanten in der Sudsee (1963), The Last Ride to Santa Cruz (1964), Fanny Hill (1964), Die Grosse Kur (1964), Legend of a Gunﬁghter (1964), Lana — Queen of the Amazons (1964), DM-Killer (1965), Der Schatz der Azteken (1965), Pyramid of the Sun God (1965), The Daisy Chain (1965), Enter Inspector Maigret (1966), Playgirls in Frankfurt (1966), The Devil’s Girls (1967), Mission Stardust (1967), When Night Falls on the Reeperbahn (1967), Whispering in the Hayloft (1967), The Doctor of St. Pauli (1970), Das Go-Go Girl vom Blow Up (1969), Shock Treatment (1969), The Priest of St. Pauli (1970), Hotel by the Hour (1970), Teenage Sex Report (1971), Twenty Girls and the Teachers (1971), Die Tollen Tanten Schlagen Zu (1971), Kompanie der Knallkope (1971), Shocking Asia (1974), Shocking Asia II: The Last Taboos (1985), Johann Strauss: The King Without a Crown (1987), and Die Kafeehaus-Clique (1990). Halletz also served as conductor and arranger for the Monte Carlo Light Symphony Orchestra from the early 1960s. HALLIGAN, MAUREEN Irish actress Maureen Halligan died in San Antonio, Texas, on October 19, 2008. She was 94. Halligan was born in Dublin, Ireland, on May 6, 1914. She attended University College there, where she trained as a musician and actress. She performed in several amateur productions before joining Lord Edward Longford’s company in 1937. She met fellow actor Ronald Ibbs there, and the two later married and formed their own production company in the late 1940s. They traveled through Ireland for over a decade with the Dublin Players and also performed on tour in the United States. Halligan appeared in several ﬁlms from the late 1950s including She Didn’t Say No! (1958), Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959), Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960), and Dead Man’s Evidence (1962). She and her husband moved to San Antonio, Texas, in the early 1960s where they headed the theater department at the University of the Incarnate

Obituaries • 2008

180 svuodet Maaseudulla (1990), Uuno Turhapuro, Herra Helsingin Herra (1991), Uuno Turhapuro, Suomen Tasavallan Herra Presidentti (1992), Uuno Turhapuron Poika (1993), and Uuno Turhapurron Veli (1994). He also played Tuura in the 1996 Uuno Turhapuro television series and 2004’s Uuno Turhapuro —This Is My Life.

Maureen Halligan

Word. She continued to appear in occasional campus productions following Ibbs’ death in 1990. HAMALAINEN, TAPSA Finnish actor Eemil Tapio “Tapsa” Hamalainen died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in Helsinki, Finland, on January 28, 2008. He was 85. Hamalainen was born in Uukuniemi, Finland, on June 18, 1922. He began his ﬁlm career in the mid–1950s with roles in such features as The Unknown Soldier (1955), Juha (1956), Sven Tuuva the Hero (1958), Red Line (1958), Pinsion Parooni (1962), The Boys (1962), Here Under the Northern Star (1968), The Brothers (1969), Takiaispallo (1970), Aatamin Puvussa ... ja Vahan Eevankin (1971), Autumn Is to Change It All (1978), The Test-Tube Adult and Smo’s Angels

HAMILTON, BERNIE Character actor Bernie Hamilton, who starred as Capt. Harold Dobey on the Starsky and Hutch television series, died of cardiac arrest in a Los Angeles hospital on December 30, 2008. He was 80. Hamilton was born in Los Angeles on June 12, 1928. He left home while in his teens and began acting on stage in the late 1940s. He made his ﬁlm debut as a baseball player in the 1950 bio-ﬁlm The Jackie Robinson Story. He appeared frequently in ﬁlms and television over the next 35 years. His numerous ﬁlm credits

Bernie Hamilton

Tapio Hamalainen

(1979), Tup-akka-lakko (1980), Lumberjacking (1988), and Return to Plainlands (2000). He was best known for his role as Councillor Tuura, Uuno Turhapuro’s father-in-law, in numerous Turharpuo comedy ﬁlms from the 1970s including Lottovoittaja UKK Turhaparo (1976), Hapy Endko? Eli Kuinka Uuno Turhapuro sai Niin Kaunlin ja Rikkaan Vaimon (1977), Uuno Turhapuron Aviokriisi (1981), Uuno Turhapuro Menettaa Muistinsa (1982), Uuno Turhapuron Muisti Palailee Patkittain (1983), Uuno Turhapuro Armeijan Leivissa (1984), Uuno Espanjassa (1985), Uuno Turhapuro Muuttaa Maalle (1986), Uuno Turhapuro — Kaksoisagentti (1987), Tupla-Uuno (1988), Uunon Huikeat Poikamie-

include The Harlem Globetrotters (1951), Bright Victory (1951), the 1951 serial version of Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island as Neb, Jungle Man-Eaters (1954), Carmen Jones (1954), the musical Kismet (1955), Congo Crossing (1956), The Girl He Left Behind (1956), Up Periscope (1959), Cry Tough (1959), Take a Giant Step (1959), The Young One (1960), Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960), Underworld U.S.A. (1961), The Devil at 4 O’Clock (1961), 13 West Street (1962), Captain Sinbad (1963), One Potato, Two Potato (1964), Synanon (1965), The Swimmer (1968), The Lost Man (1969) with Sidney Poitier, Walk the Walk (1970), Nam’s Angels (1970), The Organization (1971), Hammer (1972), Scream Blacula Scream (1973), and Bucktown (1975). He was also featured in the tele-ﬁlms Sullivan’s Empire (1967), Stranger on the Run (1967), and A Clear and Present Danger (1970). Hamilton was also featured in the unsuccessful 1967 pilot ﬁlm Me and Benjy, and a revised version in 1970, Me and Benjie. His other television credits Ramar of the Jungle, General Electric Theater, Jungle Jim, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Law and Mr. Jones, The Twilight Zone, Cain’s Hundred, 87th Precinct, Ben Casey, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Greatest Show on Earth, The Great Adventure, Run for Your Life, Run Buddy Run, Ironside, Cimarron Strip, Tarzan, Judd for the Defense, The Virginian, The Name of the Game, The Bold Ones:

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The Senator, Insight, All in the Family, Hec Ramsey, Sanford and Son, Police Story, That’s My Mama, The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, Galactica 1980, and The Love Boat. He starred as Capt. Harold Dobey, the no-nonsense police captain, in the Starsky and Hutch television series from 1975 to 1979. In the mid–1980s, Hamilton left acting to work in the music industry. He founded the record label Chocolate Snowman to produce R&B and gospel music.

HAMRICK, SAMUEL J. Samuel J. Hamrick, a former Foreign Service ofﬁcer who penned spy novels under the pseudonym W.T. Tyler, died of colon cancer at his home in Boston, Virginia, on February 29, 2008. He was 78. Hamrick was born in Lubbock, Texas, on October 19, 1929. He served in the U.S. Army

Vernon Handley

Malcolm Arnold, and Charles Villiers Stanford. Handley was named principal director of the English Symphony Orchestra in 2007.

counterintelligence service, and was posted at embassies in Africa and the Middle East after joining the State Department. He began writing after leaving the Foreign Service in 1980. His ﬁrst novel, The Man Who Lost the War, about the Berlin Wall crisis, was published in 1980. He wrote several novels about the East-West conﬂicts in Africa during the Cold War including The Ants of God (1981), Rogue’s March (1982), and The Lion and the Jackal (1988). He also wrote the novels The Shadow Cabinet (1984) and The Consul’s Wife (1998). Hamrick authored the 2004 non-ﬁction Deceiving the Deceivers under his own name.

HANRAHAN, JACK Television comedy writer Jack Hanrahan died in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 28, 2008. He was 75. Hanrahan was born in Cleveland on January 16, 1933, and began his career writing cartoons for the Cleveland Press. He moved to Hollywood in the 1960s, where he became a popular writer for television comedy series. He earned an Emmy Award for his work on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, and penned segments of such series as Get Smart, Insight, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, Bridget Loves Bernie, Temperatures Rising, Police Story, The Waltons, Little House on the Prairie, Police Woman, Gibbsville, and CHiPs. Hanrahan also wrote for numerous animated series including Frankenstein, Jr. and the Impossibles, Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, Fantastic 4, The AllNew Popeye Hour, The New Adventures of Tom and Jerry, Spider-Man, Heathcliff, Snorks, The Care Bears, Popples, Inspector Gadget, The New Archies, Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theater, Beverly Hills Teens, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, The Adventures of Dynamo Duck, Captain N and the New Super Mario World, The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, and Gadget Boy and Heather. He retired to Eureka, California, in the early 1990s, but a house ﬁre and the death of his wife in 2004 left him largely homeless and roaming the streets. Friends

HANDLEY, VERNON British conductor Vernon “Tod” Handley died at his home in Monmouthshire, England, on September 10, 2008. He was 77. Handley was born to Welsh parents in Endﬁeld, England, on November 11, 1930. He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, and the Guildhall School of Music, and trained as a conductor under Sir Adrian Boult. He became musical director of Guildford in 1962 and formed the Guildford Philharmonic. Handley became known as a champion of British composers, premiering the work of Granville, Bantock, Arnold Bax, and Robert Simpson. He worked frequently with the London Philharmonic, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He also conducted and recorded the symphonies of Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams,

Jack Hanrahan

Samuel Hamrick

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182

purchased Hanrahan a bus ticket to return to his home town of Cleveland, but he remained homeless until his death.

HANSON, PRESTON Character actor Preston Hanson died in Van Nuys, California, on February 12, 2008. He was 87. Hanson was born on January 17, 1921. He served as a ﬁghter pilot in Europe during World War II. He began his career on stage after the war, appearing on Broadway before heading to Hollywood. He appeared frequently in ﬁlms and television from

Clement Harari

Preston Hanson

the early 1950s, with roles in such ﬁlms as Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar (1953) as Claudius, Operation Petticoat (1959), Cage of Evil (1960), Goodbye, Norma Jean (1976), The Loch Ness Horror (1981), Action Jackson (1988), Goodnight, Sweet Marilyn (1989), and Cops and Robbersons (1994). Hanson also appeared in the teleﬁlms Judith Krantz’s Till We Meet Again (1989) and Shattered Dreams (1990). His other television credits include episodes of such series as The Web, The Millionaire, State Trooper, General Electric Theater, Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre, Dragnet, Gunsmoke, Casey Jones, Harbor Command, The Rough Riders, Highway Patrol, Sea Hunt, One Step Beyond, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Men into Space, The Loretta Young Show, Lock Up, Slattery’s People, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, My Three Sons, Hill Street Blues, Dallas, Misﬁts of Science, The A-Team, Dynasty, Beauty and the Beast, Perfect Strangers, and L.A. Law.

HARARI, CLEMENT Egyptian actor Clement Harari, who appeared in numerous French ﬁlms from the 1950s, died in Sevres, Hauts-de-Seine, France, on May 16, 2008. He was 89. Harari was born in Egypt on February 10, 1919. He was a leading character actor for over 50 years, with roles in such ﬁlms as We Won’t Go to the Woods Anymore (1951), It Happened in Paris (1953), Give ’Em Hell (1955), Mon Cure Chez les Pauvres (1956), It Happened in Aden (19560, Four Bags Full (1956), Demoniac (1957), The Spies (1957), Girl Merchants (1957), Not Delivered (1958), Tamango (1958), Illegal Cargo (1958), Love Is My Profession (1958), Me and the Colonel (1958), Double Agents (1959), Arretez le Massacre (1959), The Dance of Death (1960), The Long Ab-

sence (1961), Fanny (1961), No Time for Ecstasy (1961), Keep Talking, Baby (1961), The Devil and the Ten Commandments (1962), Le Scorpion (1962), The Longest Day (1962), Five Miles to Midnight (1962), The Adventures of Saladin (1963), Who Stole the Body? (1963), Charade (1963), Jeff Gordon, Secret Agent (1964), The Gorillas (1964), Operation Diplomatic Passport (1965), X-Ray of a Killer (1965), Secret Agent Fireball (1965), The Sleeping Car Murders (1965), Killer Spy (1965), Trap for the Assassin (1966), Triple Cross (1966), Monkeys, Go Home! (1967), Faites Donc Plaisir aux Amis (1969), Vaparaiso, Valparaiso (1971), Macedoine (1971), Forbidden to Know (1973), Lucky Pierre (1974), Shadowman (1974), Vous ne l’Emporterez pas au Paradis (1975), March or Die (1977), Little Girl in Blue Velvet (1978), Once in Paris... (1978), The Sewers of Paradise (1979), When I Was a Kid, I Didn’t Dare (1979), Gros Calin (1979) The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu (1980) with Peter Sellers, Inspector Blunder (1980), Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne (1981), Tais-toi Quand tu Parles! (1981), The Flight of the Eagle (1982), Tout le Monde Peut se Tromper (1983), La Garce (1984), Saxo (1987), Radio Corbeau (1989), The Lover (1991), Blue Note (1991), The Keys of Paradise (1991), Isabelle Eberhardt (1991), Witch Way Love (1997), and The Train of Life (1998). Harari was also a familiar face on television with roles in such productions as Le Fils du Cirque (1960), Flore et Blancheﬂore (1961), Le Chernin de Darnas (1963), Monsieur Laplanche (1963), Alert a Orly (1964), David Copperﬁeld (1965), Marie Curie — Une Certaine Jeune Fille (1965), Huckleberry Finn (1967), Mauprat (1972), L’Alphomega (1973), Les Roisenberg ne Doivent pas Mourir (1975), Rossel et la Commune de Paris (1977), Lulu (1978), Les Dosiers Eclates: Mort non Naturelle d’un Enfant Naturel (1979), MontOriol (1980), Par Ordre du Roy (1983), Louisiana (1984), Maestro (1986), Monte Carlo (1986), Palace (1988), L’Or du Diable (1989), Une Fille d’Eve (1989), La Goutte d’Or (1990), La Nuit des Fantomes (1990), Le Gang des Tractions (1991), and L’Afaire Seznec (1993). His other television credits include such series as Rouletabille, Graf Yoster Gibt Sich die Ehre, La Prunelle, Que Ferait Donc Faber?, Allo Police, La Malle de Hambourg, L’Homme sans Visage, Commissaire Moulin, Messieurs les Jures, Merci Sylvestre, Disparitions, Les Cinq Dernieres Minutes, Highlander, and Maigret. Harari made his

183 ﬁnal ﬁlm appearance in the 2004 feature The Great Role.

HARDY, WILLIAM Character actor William Hardy died of cancer at his home in Houston, Texas, on October 14, 2008. He was 75. Hardy was born in Houston on January 19, 1933. He studied drama at the University of Houston and spent 20 years as a member of the Alley Theater Company. He also served as artistic director for the Point Summer Theater in Ingram, Texas. He performed with the touring company

2008 • Obituaries

see, on August 21, 2008. He was 79. Harman was born Murrey Mizell Harman, Jr., in Nashville on December 23, 1928. He began drumming in the early 1950s and was a staff drummer for the Grand Ole Opry later in the decade. During his career he played on over 18,000 recordings including Elvis Presley’s “Little Sister,” Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” Tammy Wynette’s “Stand by Your Man,” and Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman.” Harman also backed such artists as Dolly Parton, Chet Atkins, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Barbara Mandrell, Kenny Rogers, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, and many more.

HARMON, LARRY Larry Harmon, who popularized the character of Bozo the Clown, died of congestive heart failure at his home in Los Angeles on July 3, 2008. He was 83. He was born Lawrence Weiss in Toledo, Ohio, on January 2, 1925. He majored in theater at the University of California, and appeared in several ﬁlms in the early 1950s. He was seen in Too Young to Kiss (1951), Invitation (1952), and Because You’re Mine (1952), and was a voice actor of television’s The Loretta Young Show. Harmon became involved with the Bozo character in the early 1950s when he was hired to play the popular clown in promotional appearances. Bozo was originally created by Alan W. Livingston for William Hardy

of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas in the late 1970s. Hardy appeared in the ﬁlms Lionman II: The Witchqueen (1979), Preppies (1984), Blood Red (1989), and The Man with the Perfect Swing (1995). He was featured in several tele-ﬁlms, including Stark (1985), Separate but Equal (1991) as Supreme Court Justice Tom Clark, Sharon’s Secret (1995), Streets of Laredo (1995), and Muhammad Ali: King of the World (2000). Hardy also guest starred in an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger. He continued to perform frequently on the local stage in Houston and made his ﬁnal screen appearance in the forthcoming Terence Malick ﬁlm Tree of Life with Brad Pitt.

HARMAN, BUDDY Buddy Harman, who was a leading session drummer in Nashville, died of congestive heart failure at his home in Nashville, Tennes-

Buddy Harman

Larry Harmon (right, with another Bozo the Clown)

a series of story-telling children’s records at Capitol Records in 1946. Pinto Colvig originally voiced the character on the albums and was the star of the Los Angeles television program Bozo’s Circus in 1949. Harmon joined with a group of investors to purchase the licensing rights to Bozo in 1956, and he was instrumental in reﬁning the character’s appearance, which consisted of a large red nose, out-sized shoes, bright orange hair, and a red, white and blue costume. Harmon produced a series of limited animation cartoons in the late 1950s that were syndicated to local television markets. He also licensed the local rights to the clown, with dozens of Bozos appearing on local stations throughout the country. The most popular local version was Chicago’s Bob Bell, who played Bozo for 40 years on WGN through 2001. During his career Harmon licensed and trained over 200 local Bozo aspirants. He also acquired the rights to the Laurel & Hardy names and likenesses in the mid–1960s, and produced cartoons featuring the characters as well as Popeye and Casper cartoons. Harmon was featured as a Stan Laurel character in an episode of Matt Houston in 1983. He also produced the

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1999 ﬁlm The All New Adventures of Laurel & Hardy in “For Love or Mummy.” He made his last public appearance as Bozo in the Pasadena Rose Parade on New Year’s Day 1996.

HARMON, STEVE Actor Steve Harmon died in Kailua, Hawaii, on July 14, 2008. He was 67. Harmon was born in Brooklyn, New York, on December 30, 1940. He began performing on Broadway as a child and sang and danced on television’s The Bell Telephone Hour, The Ed Sullivan Show, and The Perry Como

real estate and worked as a property manager. She penned the 1972 novel Who Is Julia?, about a beautiful woman who has her brain transplanted into the body of a plain-looking woman. The novel was adapted for a tele-ﬁlm in 1986 starring Mare Winningham. Harris was also a founder of the Ross Minority Program in Real Estate at USC that helped train students in the redevelopment of minority communities.

HARRIS, MEL Television executive Mel Harris died of cancer in a Los Angeles hospital on September 6, 2008. He was 65. Harris was born in Arkansas City, Kansas, on October 9, 1942. He studied mass communications at Kansas State University, and earned a masters degree from Ohio University in 1965. He served in the Army Signal Corps as a combat photographer during the Vietnam War from 1969 to 1970, earning a Bronze Star. He began his career in television as a program manager at WKBF-TV in Cleveland, Ohio, and rose to vice president and general manager. He joined WKBS-TV in Philadelphia in 1974, and worked at Metromedia television as vice-president of sales development and research before joining Para-

Steve Harmon (with Mamie van Doren)

Show in the 1950s. He starred as Ensign Pulver in the television series Mister Roberts from 1965 to 1966. He was also featured in episodes of Occasional Wife, That Girl, and The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. He was also seen in the 1968 ﬁlm The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band. He left acting to work in real estate in Los Angeles in the late 1960s and later retired to Hawaii.

HARRIS, BARBARA S. Barbara S. Harris, author of the science ﬁction novel Who Is Julia?, died of mesothelioma, a form of cancer related to exposure to asbestos particles, died at her home in Thousand Oaks, California, on August 26, 2008. She was 80. She was born Barbara Seger in Earlville, Iowa, on November 15, 1927. She studied acting in Chicago, where she met and married singer and actor Dale Harris in the late 1940s. Moving to Los Angeles, she became involved in

Barbara Harris

Mel Harris

mount in 1977. He became vice president of program marketing for Paramount Television Group. He was instrumental in guiding the cable USA Network and gave the go ahead to the syndicated Star Trek: The Next Generation. He became president of Paramount Video, and was named president of Paramount Television Group in 1985. Harris left Paramount in 1991 and served as president of Sony Pictures Entertainment Television Group from 1992 to 1995. He spent several years as a cable television consultant before returning to Sony as co-president and chief operating ofﬁcer in 1999. He retired in 2002.

HARRYMAN, JOHN Veteran Swedish actor John Harryman died of pneumonia in Norrkoping, Sweden, on November 28, 2008. He was 82. Harryman was born in Katrinehlm, Sweden, on April 17, 1926. He made his theatrical debut at the age of 14, and studied at the Gosta Terserus theater school from 1943 to 1955. Harryman made his ﬁlm debut in the 1946 feature Begar. He continued to appear in such ﬁlms as The Gay Party (1946), Eva (1948), Restaurant Intim (1950),

185

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John Harryman

Bill Hart

Ingmar Bergman’s Monika, the Story of a Bad Girl (1953), We Three Debutantes (1953), Ung Man Soker Sallskap (1954), Resa i Natten (1955), Alskling pa Vagen (1955), Wild Birds (1955), Flottans Muntergokar (1955), Alskling a Vift (1964), Fanny Hill (1968), You’re Lying (1969), Miss and Mrs. Sweden (1969), Dagmar’s Hot Pants, Inc. (1971), Swedish Wildcats (1972), Anderssonskans Kalle (1972), A Handful of Love (1974), Dante — Beware of the Shark (1978), Battle of Sweden (1980), Hojdhoppar’n (1981), Women Doctors (1984), and The Return of the Jonsson Gang (1986). He was also featured in television productions of Societetshuset (1963), En Fortrollad Natt (1966), Bla Gatan (1966), Markurells i Wadkoping (1988), Bombi Bitt and Me (1968), Gunghasten (1971), Nu Seglar Pip-Larssons (1971), Ankeman Jarl (1971), Skuggan av en Hjalte (1974), Gustav III (1974), Raskens (1976), Tjejerena gor Uppror (1977), Hedebyborna (1978), Pilsner & Piroger (1982), Spanarna (1983), Farmor och var Herre (1983), Manguden (1988), Slavhandlarna (1989), and Pip-Larssons (1998). Harryman was also a voice actor, performing the role of Uncle Scrooge in the Swedish version of DuckTales, and voicing Geppetto for Disney’s Pinocchio and Doc for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He was also the voice of the Swordmaker for the 1987 animated ﬁlm Mio in the Land of Faraway and was Bert on Svenska Sesam, the Swedish version of Sesame Street. Survivors include his son, Peter Harryman, who voiced Ernie on Svenska Sesam. HART, BILL Theatrical director Bill Hart died of complications from pancreatic cancer in Manhattan, New York, on January 20, 2008. He was 70. Hart was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on October 17, 1937, and was raised in California. He moved to New York after graduating from Loyola University in the early 1960s. He became involved with Theater Genesis, part of the Off-Off-Broadway movement, and began working with playwright Sam Shepard. He directed Shepard’s early play Shaved Splits in 1971. He became involved with the grafﬁti-art movement in the 1970s and was director of the Razor Gallery in SoHo. He later served as literary manager of the Public Theater in the 1980s. Hart directed Robert DeNiro in the 1986 production of Cuba and His Teddy Beard, which began Off-Broadway but became his only Broadway

credit when it relocated. He also staged the premiere of Shepard’s anti-war drama States of Shock at an American Place in 1991, and a revival of The Tooth of Crime at Second Stage in 1996.

HARTFORD, HUNTINGTON, II Huntington Hartford, II, who squandered his A&P family fortune in pursuit of artistic endeavors and the occasional showgirl, died at Lyford Cay, the Bahamas, on May 19, 2008. He was 97. He was born in New York City on April 18, 1911, the grandson and namesake of the founder of the Great Atlantic & Paciﬁc Tea Co. The business became the multi-billion dollar A&P groceries corporation. The young Huntington began receiving an annual stipend of $1.5 million at the age of 6 after his grandfather’s death in 1917. He graduated from Harvard University in 1934 and largely enjoyed the lifestyle of the idle rich between unsuccessful employment opportunities. He served in the Coast Guard during World War II and moved to Los Angeles after his discharge. He began funding various artistic endeavors, including the 1949 comedy ﬁlm Africa Screams with Abbott and Costello. He also produced the 1949 ﬁlm Hello Out There and the 1952 feature anthology Face to Face, which starred his then-wife Marjorie Steele. He renovated Hollywood’s Vine Street Theatre in 1953, renaming it The Huntington Hartford Theater. He also bankrolled an unsuccessful Broadway adaptation of Jane Eyre in 1958. His ventures into the arts, most of

Huntington Hartford, II

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which were spectacularly unsuccessful, also include the formation of an artist’s colony in Los Angeles, the publication of the art and culture journal Show, and the construction of the Gallery of Modern Art in New York City. He also lost millions in the construction of a resort in the Bahamas. Hartford was the author of a 1964 book decrying artistic modernism entitled Art or Anarchy? His fourth marriage in the 1970s brought both his ﬁnances and personal life into a downward spiral when Hartford, who had previously avoided alcohol, was introduced to cocaine and other drugs by his much younger wife. After the marriage ended, he returned to New York where he lived in near squalor until being taken in by his daughter in the Bahamas. Hartford was portrayed by John McMartin in the 2004 ﬁlm Kinsey, starring Liam Neeson as the pioneering sexologist.

HARVEY, LYNNE

Radio producer Lynne Harvey, the wife of veteran broadcaster Paul Harvey, died of leukemia at their home in the Chicago suburb of River Forest, Illinois, on May 3, 2008. She was 92. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1915. She

Lynne Harvey

worked at a local radio station as a educational reporter where she met Harvey. The two married in 1940 and began working together on various projects. She was instrumental in developing some of her husband’s best known segments for his long-running radio program including The Rest of the Story. Lynne became the ﬁrst producer to be inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1997.

Jon Hassler

HAUCKE, GERT German actor Gert Haucke, who starred as Bruno Hanusch in the television series Der Landarzt, died of a heart attack in Luneburg, Germany, on May 30, 2008. He was 79. Haucke was born in Berlin on March 13, 1929. He was a familiar face in ﬁlms and television from the early 1960s, appearing in the ﬁlms Rumpelstilzchen (1962), Lambs to the Slaughter (1963), Das Gluck Lauft Hinterher (1963), A Scoundrel’s Honour (1966), La Morte in Jaguar Rossa (1968), Prostitution Heute (1970), Ludwig — Requiem for a Virgin King (1972), The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of (1972), Krankensaal 6 (1974), The Brutalisation of Franz Blum (1974), Knife in the Back (1975), Assassination in Davos (1975), By Hook or by Crook (1976), A Lost Life (1976), Bananen-Paul (1982), Die Supernasen (1983), Is’ Was, Kanzler (1984), Nonstop Trouble with the Family (1985), Seitenstechen (1985), Didi auf Vollen Touren (1986), Fifty Fifty (1988), Non Stop Trouble with the Experts (1988), Adrian and the Romans (1989), The Man Inside (1990), Der Konig von Dulsberg (1994), Halali oder Der Schuss ins Brotchen (1995), and Women Robbers (1996). Haucke was also featured in such television productions as Michael Kramer (1965), One Day: A Report from a German Concentration Camp 1939 (1965), Hava, der Igel (1966), Ein Mann Namens Harry Brent (1968), Uber den Gehorsam (1968), Ein Jahr Ohne Sonntag (1969), Eine Grosse Familie (1970), Blaue Bluten (1970), Hoopers Letzte Jagd (1972), Farmers, Politics and

HASSLER, JON Author Jon Hassler died after a long battle with progressive supranuclear palsy in a St. Louis Park, Minnesota, hospital on March 20, 2008. He was 74. Hassler was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on March 30, 1933. He was an English teacher before beginning his writing career at the age of 37. His ﬁrst novel, Staggerford, a semi-autobiographical tale of a high school teacher in a small town, wasn’t published until seven years later. His other novels include Simon’s Night (1979), The Love Hunter (1981), North of Hope (1990), and Dear James (1993). Hassler’s 1986 novel, A Green Journey, was adapted for the 1990 tele-ﬁlm The Love She Sought. Gert Haucke

187 Bombs (1973), Black Coffee (1973), Zinngeschrei (1974), Tadelloser & Wolff (1975), Feinde (1976), Fairy (1977), Zwei Himmlische Tochter (1978), Geldsorgen (1979), Zwei Man um Einen Herd (1979), Der Konig und Sein Narr (1980), Und ab Geht die Post (1981), Wir (1981), Kennwort Schmetterling (1981), Die Barrikade (1982), Ab in den Suden (1982), Die Matrosen von Kronstadt (1983), Die Geschwister Oppermann (1983), Er (1984), Berliner Weisse mit Schuff (1984), Der Ausﬂug (1984), Kleine Stadt, Ich Liebe Dich (1985), Geschichten aus der Heimat— Gift, Schnaps und Meeresleuchten (1986), Die Bertinis (1988), Kollege Otto (1991), Magic (1991), Die Botschafterin (1993), Ein Bayer auf Rugen (1993), Liebe ist Privatsache (1993), Blutige Spur (1995), and Geschichten aus der Heimat— Affenliebe (1997). His other television credits include episodes of Der Kommissar, Okay S.I.R, Motiv Liebe, Der Kleine Doktor, Gesucht Wird, Der Alte, Alles Was Recht Ist, Die Montagsfamilie, Derrick, Heidi und Erni, Das Next, Das Traumschiff, Tatort, Ein Fall fur Zwei, Kurklinik Rosenau, Rosa Roth, Grossstadtrevier, Manner sind was Wunderbares, Schloss Orth, and Der Ermittler. Haucke starred as Bruno Hanusch on the television series Der Landarzt from 1989 to 2004.

HAWORTH , SPEEDY Country musician Herschel “Speedy” Haworth, Jr., who played guitar on the 1950s television show Ozark Jubilee, died of complications from Parkinson’s disease at his home in Springﬁeld, Missouri, on February 26, 2008. He was 85. Haworth was born on May 16, 1922. He began his

Speedy Haworth

career on KWTO radio singing with his mother and uncle in the early 1930s. He played lead guitar on the nationally syndicated country music show Ozark Jubilee from 1955 to 1960. He later toured with the show’s host, Red Foley, and band. Haworth was also one of the original Porter Wagoner Trio, playing on the hit songs “Company’s Comin’“ and “A Satisﬁed Mind.”

HAYES, ISAAC Singer, songwriter and actor Isaac Hayes, who earned an Oscar for his hit theme song to the ﬁlm Shaft and entertained a new generation as the voice of the wise Chef on the animated South Park, died of a stroke at his home in Memphis, Tennessee, on August 10, 2008. He was 65. Hayes was born

2008 • Obituaries

Isaac Hayes

in Covington, Tennessee, on August 20, 1942. He began his musical career playing in local bands and was working at Stax Records in Memphis as a backup musician by 1964. Hayes soon teamed with David Porter to write such hit songs as “Soul Man” and “Hold On, I’m Comin’“ for Sam and Dave, and “B-A-B-Y” for Carla Thomas. He and Porter wrote over 200 songs during the 1960s. Later in the decade he began recording and performing as a solo artist. His bass-baritone voice along with his shaved head, dark sunglasses, gold chains, and bare chest gave Hayes an ultra-masculine persona. He had a major hit with his 1969 album Hot Buttered Soul. His theme for the classic blaxploitation ﬁlm Shaft earned Hayes the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and two Grammy Awards. His subsequent album, Black Moses, earned him another Grammy. He also starred as Mac “Truck” Turner in the 1974 blaxploitation ﬁlm Truck Turner, and was featured in the ﬁlms Tough Guys (1974) and It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time (1975). He was seen on numerous television variety shows including Soul Train and Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, and was featured in the 1973 concert ﬁlm Wattstax. His music career hit a downward spiral by the mid–1970s, and he was forced into bankruptcy in 1976. Hayes had a recurring role as ex-con Gandolph Fitch in the television series The Rockford Files in 1976 and 1977, and was the villain The Duke in John Carpenter’s science ﬁction action ﬁlm Escape from New York in 1981. He also appeared in the 1986 tele-ﬁlm Betrayed by Innocence, and on episodes of The A-Team, Hunter, and Miami Vice during the 1980s. He also hosted his own radio show in New York in the 1990s. Hayes continued his ﬁlm career with roles in such features as Dead Aim (1987), Medium Rare (1987), Counterforce (1988), I’m Gonna Git You Sucka (1988), Fire, Ice & Dynamite (1990), the tele-ﬁlm Hammer, Slammer & Slade (1990), Guilty as Charged (1991), Prime Target (1991), Final Judgment (1992), Deadly Exposure (1993), CB4 (1993), the western Posse (1993), Mel Brooks’ Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), Oblivion (1994), It Could Happen to You (1994), Once Upon a Time ... When We Were Colored (1995), Oblivion 2: Backlash (1996), Flipper (1996), Illtown (1996), Uncle Sam (1997), Six Ways to Sunday (1997), Blues Brothers 2000 (1998), Ninth Street (1999), Dead Dog (2000),

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188

Isaac Hayes (voice of South Park’s Chef )

Reindeer Games (2000), the 2000 remake of Shaft in a cameo role, Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) as the voice of the Possum, Chelsea Walls (2001), Dream Warrior (2003), Dodge City: A Spaghetto Western (2004), Hustle & Flow (2005), Kill Switch (2008), and Return to Sleepaway Camp (2008). Hayes also appeared in the tele-ﬁlms Acting on Impulse (1993), Soul Survivors (1995), Book of Days (2003), and Anonymous Rex (2004). His other television credits include episodes of American Playhouse, Tales from the Crypt, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Sliders, Veronica’s Closet, The Hughleys, The Education of Max Bickford, Fastlane, Girlfriends, That 70s Show, The Bernie Mac Show, and Stargate SG-1 in the recurring role of Tolok. Hayes starred as Chef in the irreverent television animated series South Park from 1997 until leaving the show in 2006 over a disagreement with the producers about their treatment of Scientology. He had also voiced the Chef in the 1999 animated feature South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut and various specials. He had suffered from poor health in recent years but continued to tour and perform. Hayes had recently completed ﬁlming a small role in the 2008 comedy ﬁlm Soul Men, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac.

Worcester, Massachusetts, on May 11, 1919. He began his career working as a newspaper journalist. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and headed to California after the war to write for such radio programs as Inner Sanctum and Sam Spade. He also began writing for ﬁlms in the early 1950s, scripting Red Ball Express (1952), Thunder Bay (1953), Torch Song (1953), and War Arrow (1953). Hayes wrote the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock thriller Rear Window and was nominated for an Oscar for the screenplay. He worked with Hitchcock on three subsequent ﬁlms, To Catch a Thief (1955), The Trouble with Harry (1955), and The Man Who Knew Too Much (1955). He also adapted the 1955 ﬁlm It’s a Dog’s Life, which featured a talking dog as the narrator. Hayes garnered a second Oscar nomination for adapting Grace Metalious’ best-selling novel Peyton Place for the screen in 1957. He continued to write such ﬁlms as The Matchmaker (1958), Separate Tables (1958), But Not for Me (1959), The Rat Race (1960), BUtterﬁeld 8 (1960), The Children’s Hour (1961), The Carpetbaggers (1964), The Chalk Garden (1964), Where Love Has Gone (1964), Harlow (1965), Judith (1966), and Nevada Smith (1966). He worked uncredited on the script for the 1973 ﬁlm Walking Tall about crusading sheriff Buford Pusser. Hayes also wrote the tele-ﬁlm Winter Kill (1974), and scripted and produced the television adaptation of Nevada Smith in 1975. He also served as head writer for the short-lived television series Adams of Eagle Lake starring Andy Grifﬁth in 1975. He also wrote the teleﬁlm Pancho Barnes (1988) and the 1994 family adventure ﬁlm Iron Will.

HAYWARD, BILL Bill Hayward, who served as associate producer on the 1969 counterculture ﬁlm classic Easy Rider, died of a self inﬂicted gunshot wound to the heart at his trailer in Castaic, California, on March 9, 2008. He was 66. Hayward was born on

HAYES, JOHN MICHAEL Screenwriter John Michael Hayes, who earned an Academy Award nomination for his script for the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Rear Window, died in Hanover, New Hampshire, on November 19, 2008. He was 88. Hayes was born in

Bill Hayward

John Michael Hayes

March 27, 1941, the son of theatrical agent Leland Hayward and actress Margaret Sullavan. The younger Hayward worked on Easy Rider, which starred his sister Brooke’s ex-husband, Dennis Hopper. He was also a producer on the ﬁlms The Hired Hand (1971), Idaho Transfer (1973), High-Ballin’ (1978), and Wanda Nevada (1979). The trials and tribulations of his fam-

189 ily, including the suicide of his mother, were recounted in his sister’s 1977 memoir Haywire. Bill Hayward produced a 1980 tele-ﬁlm adaptation of the book. He produced the tele-ﬁlm Mark, I Love You and the 1986 ﬁlm Blue City, and also worked as an entertainment lawyer.

HAZARD, ROBERT Songwriter and musician Robert Hazard, who wrote Cyndi Lauper’s hit song “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” died of complications from surgery in a Boston, Massachusetts, hospital on August 5, 2008. He was 59. He was born Robert Ri-

2008 • Obituaries

throughout his career. He played in a school band while still in high school and formed his own group in 1985. The Jeff Healey Band performed numerous concerts and signed with Arista Records in 1988. Their ﬁrst album, See the Light, included the hit single “Angel Eyes.” A second album, Hell to Pay, soon followed. He was featured as Cody, the bandleader, in the 1989 Patrick Swayze ﬁlm Roadhouse. Considered one of the best blues guitarists in the industry, Healey opened his own self-named music club in Toronto in 2002. He also formed a jazz band, The Jazz Wizards, the following year.

HEARN, PAGE Actor Page Hearn, who was a familiar face on the local stage in Chicago, died of a heart attack while crossing a street in Jersey City, New Jersey, on May 17, 2008. He was 48. Hearn was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 2, 1959. He moved to Chicago in the mid–1980s, where he was active with the City Lit theatrical company. Hearn was noted for his numerous performances as the consum-

Robert Hazard

mato in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 21, 1948. He began performing with the rock band Robert Hazard and the Heroes in the early 1980s, and scored a minor hit with the song “Escalator of Life.” He had recorded a demo of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” in 1979 and the song was carried to the top of the charts by Cyndi Lauper in 1983. The song has been recorded by numerous other artists, most recently Miley Cyrus.

HEALEY, JEFF

Canadian singer and guitarist Jeff Healey died of lung cancer in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on March 2, 2008. He was 41. Healey was born in Toronto on March 25, 1966. He became blind at the age of one due to eye cancer but was trained to play the guitar at a school for the blind at the age of 3. Healey found it more comfortable to have the instrument lay ﬂat on his lap and continued that technique

Jeff Healey

Page Hearn

mate English valet, Jeeves, in adaptations of P.G. Wodehouse’s works. He also wrote and performed Descent into the Maelstrom, a one-man tribute to Edgar Allan Poe, that was staged annually at Halloween. Hearn was also the voice of Fidgel for the animated children’s series 3–2–1 Penguins. He moved to New York in 2007 to further his acting career and was featured in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit that aired shortly before his death.

HECKERT, JAMES T. Film and television editor James T. Heckert died in Los Angeles on July 11, 2008. He was 81. Heckert was born in Los Angeles on November 18, 1926. He began working in ﬁlms in the late 1950s, working as an assistant editor on the western Terror in a Texas Town in 1958. He also served as an editor for the television series Lock Up, Home Run Derby, and F Troop. Heckert’s other ﬁlm credits include A Swingin’ Summer (1965), The Cool Ones (1967), Sweet November (1968), Generation (1969), Take the Money and Run (1969), Valdez Is Coming (1971), One Is a Lonely Number (1972), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972), Birds Do It, Bees Do It (1974), Train Ride to Hollywood

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(1975), and Assassination (1987). He shared Emmy Award nominations for his work on the television productions Roots (1977) and Inside the Third Reich (1982). His other television credits include the tele-ﬁlms and mini-series The 500 Pound Jerk (1973), Love from A to Z (1974), Sandburg’s Lincoln (1974), Death Stalk (1975), Brenda Starr (1976), Rosetti and Ryan: Men Who Love Women (1977), The Two-Five (1978), Arthur Hailey’s Wheels (1978), The Golden Gate Murders (1979), Brave New World (1980), Shogun (1980), Evita Peron (1981), I Was a Mail Order Bride (1982), Secrets of a Mother and Daughter (1983), The Thanksgiving Promise (1986), and Intrigue (1988).

HEDIN, MARGARET Actress Margaret Hedin died of lung cancer at her home in California on February 14, 2008. He was 90. She was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on February 7, 1918. She went to Hollywood after graduating in the mid–1930s, and performed on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse. She appeared on television in the 1950s in such series as The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Boston Blackie, and Mystery Theater. She was also featured in the 1953 ﬁlm Dream Wife. Hedin was married to screenwriter George

Margaret Hedin

Van Marter from 1953 until his death in 1963. She worked with him on several scripts including the television series The Millionaire.

HEFFLEY, WAYNE Character actor Wayne Hefﬂey, who starred as Vern Scoﬁeld on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives for 15 years, died of kidney failure in California on November 19, 2008. He was 81. Hefﬂey was born in Bakersﬁeld, California, on July 15, 1927. He was a familiar face on television from the early 1950s with roles in numerous episodes of such series as Racket Squad, Casey Jones, Tombstone Territory, The Adventures of Superman, Have Gun —Will Travel, Playhouse 90, Sky King, 77 Sunset Strip, Highway Patrol in the recurring role of Ofﬁcer Dennis the dispatcher, The Rough Rider, Colt .45, Hawaiian Eye, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Bat Masterson, Not for Hire, Hotel de Paree, Assignment: Underwater, The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, Perry Mason, The Untouchables, The Virginian, Empire, Gunsmoke, Ben Casey, The Lieutenant, The Twilight Zone, The Great Adventure, The

Wayne Hefﬂey

Fugitive, The Long, Hot Summer, My Three Sons, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Andy Grifﬁth Show, The Wild Wild West, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Invaders, Judd for the Defense, Lancer, The F.B.I., The Mod Squad, Family Affair, Mannix, Ironside, Marcus Welby, M.D., Nichols, Cannon, The Smith Family, Ghost Story, Bonanza, Streets of San Francisco, The New Perry Mason, The Rookies, The Magician, Kung Fu, Kojak, Apple’s Way, Lucas Tanner, Little House on the Prairie in several episodes as Mr. Kennedy, Emergency!, Switch, The Waltons, Lou Grant, The White Shadow, Barnaby Jones, B.J. and the Bear, Galactica 1980, Dallas, Walking Tall, ABC Afterschool Special, Hill Street Blues, Hart to Hart, Manimal, The Mississippi, Blue Thunder, Airwolf, Santa Barbara, Matlock, Hunter, Simon & Simon, and Murder, She Wrote. Hefﬂey also appeared onscreen in such ﬁlms as Submarine Seahawk (1958), The Trap (1959), Battle Flame (1959), Crime & Punishment, USA (1959), The Outsider (1961), Gunn (1967), Maryjane (1968), Johnny Got His Gun (1971), King Kong (1976) as the Air Force General, Orca (1977), The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), and Testament (1983). He was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms Bachelor-at-Law (1973), The Law (1974), Widow (1976), Roots (1977), The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977), Danger in Paradise (1977), Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn (1977), Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid (1977), Crisis in Sun Valley (1978), The Critical List (1978), Ishi: The Last of His Tribe (1978), Mind Over Murder (1979), Nightside (1980), Fly Away Home (1981), Victims (1982), Johnny Belinda (1982), Beyond the Next Mountain (1987), and Black Widow (1987). Hefﬂey starred as Salem newspaperman Vern Scoﬁeld, stepfather of Matthew Ashford’s Jack Devereaux, on Days of Our Lives from 1988 until his retirement in 2003. HEFTI, NEAL Composer and arranger Neal Hefti, who was best known for his theme to the Batman television series, died of a heart attack in Los Angeles on October 11, 2008. He was 85. Hefti was born in Hastings, Nebraska, on October 29, 1922. He began his career as a trumpeter and arranger for dance bands led by Harry James, Charlie Spivak, and Woody Herman in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He was soon working in television, working for The Arthur Godfrey Show and The Kate Smith Show at ABC. He also formed his own orchestra and played at venues throughout the

191

Neal Hefti

country. Hefti also scored such ﬁlms as Jamboree (1957), Sex and the Single Girl (1964), How to Murder Your Wife (1965), Synanon (1965), Harlow (1965), Boeing Boeing (1965), Lord Love a Duck (1966), Duel at Diablo (1966), Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama’s Hung You in the Closet and I’m Feeling So Sad (1967), Barefoot in the Park (1967), Charlie Bubble (1967), The Odd Couple (1968), A New Leaf (1971), Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1973), and Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976). He also wrote the scores for the tele-ﬁlms The 500 Pound Jerk (1973) and Conspiracy of Terror (1975). Hefti was best known for the popular theme for the cult television series Batman in the 1960s. His other popular songs and compositions include “Oh What a Night for Love,” “Lake Placid,” “Buttercup,” “Plymouth Rock,” “Coral Reef,” “Cherry Point,” “Jump for Johnny,” “Girl Talk,” and “It’s Always Nice to Be with You.”

HEIDE-STEEN, HARALD, JR. Norwegian actor and comedian Harald Heide-Steen, Jr., who starred as Dynamite-Harry in the Norwegian versions of the Olsen Gang ﬁlms, died in Norway on July 3, 2008. He was 68. Heide-Steen was born in Oslo, Norway, on August 18, 1939. He began appearing in ﬁlms as a child in the early 1950s with roles in Kranes Konditori (1951), Storfolk og Smafolk (1951), Skoytekongen (1953), and The Master and His Servants (1959). He continued to appear frequently in ﬁlms and television from the 1960s, appearing in television productions of

2008 • Obituaries

Kunden har Alltid Rett (1964), 22 November — Den Store Leiegarden (1969), Selma Broter (1970), Ukespeilet (1975), Fortun (1993), Bare nar Jeg Ler (1996), Karl & Co (1998), and Wesensteen (1998). Heide-Steen made his debut as Dynamite Harry in the 1970 ﬁlm Olsenbanden og Dynamitt-Harry, and continued with the sequels Olsenbanden og Dynamitt-Harry gar Amok (1973), Olsenbanden & Dynamitt-Harry pa Sporet (1977), Olsenbanden & Data Harry Sprenger Verdensbanken (1978), Olsenbanden og Dynamitt-Harry mot Ny Hoyder (1979), Olsenbandens aller Siste Kupp (1982), Men Olsenbanden var Ikke Dod (1984), and Olsenbandens Siste Stikk (1999). His other ﬁlm credits include Gutten Som Kappat Med Trollet (1967), Ballad of the Masterthief Ole Hoiland (1970), Fem Dogn I August (1973), Boer Boerson Jr. (1974), Knutsen & Ludvigsen (1974), Ungen (1974), Tot og Kjor (1975), Deilig er Fjorden! (1985), Bryllupsfesten (1989), Herman (1990), To a Stranger (1990), Fredrikssons Fabrikk (1994), Tusenarsfesten (1999), and Good Luck, Mr. Gorsky! (2002).

HEINZ, W.C. Journalist W.C. Heinz died of complications from a series of strokes at an assisted-living facility in Bennington, Vermont, on February 27, 2008. He was 93. Heinz was born in Mount Vernon, New York, on January 11, 1915. He began his career as a journalist in the 1930s, reporting for The New York Sun. He went overseas to cover World War II, and became a leading sports reporter and columnist after the

W.C. Heinz

war. Heinz became a free-lance writer after The Sun closed in 1950, writing about baseball players, jockeys, football players, and boxers. His ﬁrst novel, The Professional, about a boxer and his trainer, was published in 1958. He also wrote the medical novels The Surgeon (1963) and Emergency (1974). His 1963 study of the Green Bay Packers’ championship season was a bestseller in 1963. Heinz best known work was a 1968 collaboration with Maine surgeon H. Richard Hornberger, written under the pseudonym Richard Hooker. The book, set at an Army Medical Unit during the Korean War, was the best-selling M*A*S*H that spawned a hit move and television series. Harald Heide-Steen

HELMS , DON Steel guitarist Don Helms, who played with Hank Williams’ band, died of com-

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192

Don Helms

plications from diabetes and heart surgery in a Nashville, Tennessee, hospital on August 11, 2008. He was 81. Helms was born in New Brockton, Alabama, on February 28, 1927. He learned to play the steel guitar at the age of 15 and soon joined Williams’ backup band, the Drifting Cowboys. He served two years in the U.S. Army in the mid–1940s and returned to the band after his discharge. He was featured with Williams on the radio show Louisiana Hayride, and on the hit recordings “Cold, Cold Heart,” “I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love With You),” and “Your Cheatin’ Heart” in the early 1950s. He continued his career after Williams’ death in 1953, and was heard on such recordings as Patsy Cline’s “Walking After Midnight,” Lefty Frizzell’s “Long Black Veil,” and Loretta Lynn’s “Blue Kentucky Girl.” He also performed with Ray Price, Ferlin Husky, and Johnny Cash on his early albums. Helms joined the Wilburn Brothers’ band, the Nashville Tennesseans, in 1957 and toured with them for over a decade. He played with Hank Williams, Jr., and Ernest Tubbs in the late 1960s and early 1970s and reunited with the Drifting Cowboys in 1977. Helms toured with Jett Williams, Hank’s daughter, in 1989.

HEMION , DWIGHT Television director Dwight Hemion, who received a record 47 Emmy Award nominations during his career, died of renal failure at his home in Rectortown, Virginia, on January 28, 2008. He was 81. Hemion was born in New

Dwight Hemion

Haven, Connecticut, on March 14, 1926. He served in the Army Air Force in the Paciﬁc during World War II and began working in television at ABC in New York after the war. He directed several episodes of Steve Allen’s Tonight Show in the mid–1950s. He teamed with producer Gary Smith in the mid–1960s and they put together numerous television musicals and specials over the next 35 years. Hemion earned 47 nominations for the Emmy Award, and won 18 during his long career. He helmed such productions as My Name Is Barbra (1965) with Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music (1965), Color Me Barbra (1966), Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music II (1966), Another Evening with Burt Bacharach (1970), Petula (1970), Barbra Streisand ... and Other Musical Instruments (1973), A Royal Gala Variety Performance (1973), Burt Bacharach in Shangri-La (1973), Burt Bacharach: Opus No. 3 (1973), Julie on Sesame Street (1973), Sammy! The Sammy Davis, Jr. Special (1973), Julie and Jackie: How Sweet It Is (1974), John Wayne and Glen Campbell & the Musical West (1974), Herb Alpert and the TJB (1974), Sandy Duncan Special (1974), Ann-Margret Olsson (1975), Steve and Eydie: Our Love Is Here to Stay (1975), The Bell Telephone Jubilee (1976), Dick Cavett’s Backlot USA (1976), The Dorothy Hamill Special (1976), America Salutes Richard Rodgers: The Sounds of His Music (1976), Peter Pan (1976), Neil Diamond: Love at the Greek (1977), Elvis in Concert (1977), America Salutes the Queen (1977), The Kraft 75th Anniversary Special (1978), The Sentry Collection Presents Ben Vereen: His Roots (1978), Steve & Eydie Celebrate Irving Berlin (1978), Lucy Comes to Nashville (1978), Rockette: A Holiday Tribute to Radio City Music Hall (1978), Shirley MacLaine at the Lido (1979), Baryshnikov on Broadway (1980), Shirley MacLaine ... Every Little Movement (1980), Linda in Wonderland (1980), Goldie and Kids: Listen to Us (1982), EPCOT Center: The Opening Celebration (1982), Sheena Easton ... Act One (1983), Andy Williams and the NBC Kids Search for Santa (1985), Neil Diamond ... Hello Again (1986), Liberty Weekend (1986), Amy Grant’s Old Fashioned Christmas (1986), One Voice (1986), Julie Andrews: The Sound of Christmas (1987), Jackie Mason: The World According to Me! (1988), Neil Diamond: Greatest Hits Live (1988), The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (1989, 1990), Ooh-La-La: It’s Bob Hope’s Fun Birthday Spectacular from Paris’ Bicentennial (1989), The People’s Choice Awards (1989, 1991), The Earth Day Special (1990), The Walt Disney Company Presents the American Teacher Awards (1991, 1994, 2000), Danny Kaye International Children for UNICEF (1992), Disney’s Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra (1993, 1994, 1999), The TV Academy Hall of Fame (1994, 1999), Barbra Streisand: The Concert (1994), Kennedy Center’s 25th Anniversary (1996), Snowden on Ice (1997), and The Snowden: Raggedy Ann and Andy Holiday Show (1998). Hemion also directed the television coverage of the inaugural events for Ronald Reagan in 1985 and Bill Clinton in 1993 and 1997, and oversaw television coverage of several Democratic National Conventions and the annual Christmas in Washington television specials.

193 HENDERSON, D.J. Radio personality Dee “D.J.” Henderson, who was known on the air as Cap’n Pete, was shot to death in the backyard of his home in Memphis, Tennessee, on July 16, 2008. His grandson was arrested and charged with ﬁrst-degree murder.

D.J. Henderson

Henderson was 72. Henderson was born on January 19, 1936, and was raised in Clarksdale, Mississippi, where he developed a love for the blues. He began hosting his own blues program, Cap’n Pete’s Blues Cruise, on WEVL-FM radio in Memphis in the early 1980s. He was a recipient of the Keeping the Blues Alive Award from the Blues Foundation in 1992.

HENRIKSEN, FINN Danish ﬁlm director and writer Finn Henriksen died in Denmark on December 6, 2008. He was 75. Henriksen was born in Randers, Denmark, on January 29, 1933. He began working in ﬁlms in the early 1950s as an assistant director on Karen, Maren og Mette (1954), Kispus (1956), The Girls Are Willing (1958), Seksdageslobet (1958), Helle for Helene (1959), Faith, Hope and Witchcraft (1960), Mine Tossede Drenge (1961), Circus Buster (1961), Tine (1964), and Naboeme (1966). He made his directorial debut with the 1960 romance Forelsket i Koberhavn. He continued to direct, and often script, such ﬁlms as Prinsesse for en Dag (1962), Miss April (1963), Bussen (1963), Norden i Flammer (1965), It’s Nifty in the Navy (1965), Pigen og

Finn Henriksen

2008 • Obituaries

Greven (1966), Far Laver Sovsen (1967), I’ll Take Happiness (1969), The Girl and the Dream Castle (1974), Girls at Arms (1975), Girls at Arms 2 (1976), The Ofﬁce Party (1976), Girls at Sea (1977), Faengslende Feriedage (1978), Jydekompagniet (1988), and Jydekompagniet 3 (1989). Henriksen also worked in Danish television, helming episodes of Det Drejer Sig Om, Jul pa Slottet, and Morten Korch — Ved Stillebaekkken.

HERLIE, EILEEN Stage and ﬁlm actress Eileen Herlie, who starred as Myrtle Fargate on the daytime soap opera All My Children for over thirty years, died of complications from pneumonia on October 8, 2008. She was 90. Herlie was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on March 8, 1918. She trained as a stage actress and made her ﬁlm debut in 1947’s Hungry Hill. She was cast as Queen Gertrude in Laurence Olivier’s Academy Award–winning ﬁlm version of Hamlet in 1948, despite being 13 years younger than Olivier, who played her son. She was also seen in several other ﬁlms during her career including The Angel with the Trumpet (1950), Isn’t Life Wonderful! (1953), The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953), For Better, for Worse (1954), She Didn’t Say No! (1958), Freud (1962), and The Sea Gull (1968). She also starred in a 1951 British television

Eileen Herlie

version of The Little Foxes. She also appeared frequently on stage, starring as Irene Molloy in the 1955 Broadway production of The Matchmaker. She earned a Tony nomination for her role in the 1960 musical Take Me Along opposite Jackie Gleason. She reprised her role as Queen Gertrude in the 1964 Broadway production of Hamlet with Richard Burton, which was also produced as a ﬁlm. She was featured in the tele-ﬁlms The Woman I Love (1972) and Lemonade (1975), and began her longrunning role as Myrtle Lum Fargate in All My Children in 1976. She earned Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 1984, 1985, and 1986. She was also seen as Myrtle in crossovers with the other ABC soaps Loving and One Life to Live. Herlie continued as Pine Valley’s colorful Myrtle, surrogate mother to Susan Lucci’s Erica Kane until her death.

HERTELENDY, HANNA Hungarian character actress Hanna Hertelendy died in Los Angeles on May 15, 2008. She was 88. Hertelendy was born in Bu-

Obituaries • 2008

194 HERTZ , BILL William “Bill” Hertz, who served as chairman of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, died of complications from heart surgery at his home in Tarzana, California, on August 19, 2008. He was 84. Hertz was born in Wishek, North Dakota, on December 5, 1923. He served in the army during World War II

Hanna Hertelendy

dapest, Hungary, on October 5, 1919. She began her career on the Hungarian stage, performing with the famed repertory theatre Vigszinhaz in Budapest. She also appeared in several ﬁlms, including Idegen Utakon (1944) and This Was in Budapest (1944). She came to the United States in the late 1940s, where she worked as an announcer for Voice of America and for Radio Free Europe. She soon appearing in ﬁlms and television under the name Hanna Landy, but returned to the Hertelendy name in the early 1970s. Her many ﬁlm credits include Thunder Pass (1954), The Leather Saint (1956), Operation Eichmann (1961), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), The Explosive Generation (1961), Door-to-Door Maniac (1961) with Johnny Cash, Convict Stage (1965), Fort Courageous (1965), Harlow (1965), Git! (1965), In Like Flint (1967), Rosemary’s Baby (1968), Adam at Six A.M. (1970), The Girl from Petrovika (1974), Gus (1976), Two-Minute Warning (1976), Dark Echo (1977), Being There (1979) with Peter Sellers, Circle of Power (1983), and Micki + Maude (1984). Hertelendy also appeared in several tele-ﬁlms including The Man Who Could Talk to Kids (1973), I Love You, Goodbye (1974), The Night That Panicked America (1975), Columbo: Last Salute to the Commodore (1976), Law of the Land (1976), Raid on Entebbe (1977), Frankie and Annette: The Second Time Around (1978), Christmas Lilies of the Field (1979), The Star Maker (1981), Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story (1981), Scandal Sheet (1985), Amerika (1987), and Never Forget (1991). Her television credits also include episodes of General Electric Theater, Kraft Television Theatre, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Fireside Theatre, The Ford Television Theatre, Lux Video Theatre, Navy Log, Robert Montgomery Presents, The Alcoa Hour, True Story, The United States Steel Hour, Peter Gunn, 26 Men, Sea Hunt, The Lawless Years, The Betty Hutton Show, Dennis the Menace, Margie, The Lloyd Bridges Show, G.E. True, Temple Houston, The Fugitive, Dr. Kildare, Perry Mason, The Rounders, Run, Buddy, Run, Judd, for the Defense, Marcus Welby, M.D., Barnaby Jones, It Takes a Thief, Cannon, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Wonder Woman, Magnum, P.I., Paper Dolls, St. Elsewhere, Family Ties, Remington Steele, Hill Street Blues, Matlock, Brooklyn Bridge, and Thunder Alley. Hertelendy was married to fellow Hungarian actor Stephan Bekassy, who died in 1995.

Bill Hertz

and moved to Los Angeles after his discharge. He worked as a manger for Fox West Coast Theaters and rose through the ranks. He became Paciﬁc division manager when National General took over the chain in 1967. He was promoted to director of theater operations when Ted Mann bought them out. Hertz oversaw the hand and foot print ceremonies at Grauman’s (later Mann’s) Chinese Theater in Hollywood until his retirement in 1991. He became one of the few non-celebrities to have his prints immortalized there. He also presided over numerous dedication ceremonies for the Hollywood Walk of Fame. HERTZOG, LAWRENCE Television writer and producer Lawrence Hertzog died of cancer in a Los Angeles hospital on April 19, 2008. He was 56. Hertzog was born in New York City on June 25, 1951, and was raised in Teaneck, New Jersey. He moved to Los Angeles in 1977 and began working in television as a writer for the series Mrs. Columbo in 1979. He also wrote for the series Hart to Hart, and scripted and served as an executive producer for Hardcastle and Mc-

Lawrence Hertzog

195 Cormick and Stingray. Hertzog co-created the series J.J. Starbuck in 1987, and scripted the tele-ﬁlm Project: Tin Men (1990) and the video feature Darkman II: The Return of Durant (1994). He also wrote for the series Walker, Texas Ranger, SeaQuest DSV, La Femme Nikita, Proﬁler, 24, Hunter, and 1–800–Missing. He was creator, writer, and executive producer for the 1995 UPN series Nowhere Man, and was producer and head writer for the Sci-Fi Channel series Painkiller Jane in 2007.

HESTON, CHARLTON Legendary ﬁlm star Charlton Heston died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at his Beverly Hills, California, home on April 5, 2008. He was 84. He was born Charlton Carter in St. Helen, Michigan, on October 4, 1923. He moved to Winnetka, Illinois, with his mother and stepfather after his parents divorced in the 1930s, and subsequently adopted his stepfather’s surname. He studied theater at Northwestern University and made his ﬁlm debut in David Bradley’s amateur production of Peer Gynt (1941) in the title role. He joined the Army Air Force in 1944 and served as a radio gunner in the Aleutian Islands for three years. Heston returned to acting, spending several seasons with a local theater in Asheville, North Carolina. He made his debut on the Broadway stage in New York in 1947, appearing in a small role in Antony and Cleopatra. He appeared in several other stage productions and was featured on television in episodes of The Clock, Suspense, Lux Video Theatre, Curtain Call, The Philco Television Playhouse, Medallion Theatre, Your Show of Shows, Danger, Robert Montgomery Presents, Omnibus, General Electric Theater, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Climax!, and Alcoa Premiere. He starred in Hal B. Wallis’ 1950 ﬁlm thriller Dark City and portrayed Antony in a 1950 ﬁlm production of Julius Caesar. He also appeared on television in productions of Macbeth and Wuthering Heights for Studio One. He ﬁrst worked for director Cecil B. De Mille for the 1952 ﬁlm The Greatest Show on Earth, playing circus boss Brad Braden. Heston continued to star in such ﬁlms as The Savage (1952), Ruby Gentry (1952), The President’s Lady (1953) as President Andrew Jackson, Pony Express (1953) as Buffalo Bill Cody, Arrowhead (1953), The Naked Jungle (1954) as South American plantation owner Christopher Leiningen battling

Charlton Heston

2008 • Obituaries

a horde of all-consuming ants, Secrets of the Incas (1954), The Far Horizons (1955), The Private War of Major Benson (1955), Lucy Gallant (1955), and Three Violent People. He became a top box ofﬁce star with his role as Moses in De Mille’s 1956 biblical epic The Ten Commandments. He portrayed a Mexican policeman in Orson Welles’ ﬁlm noir classic Touch of Evil in 1958. He was also seen on television as the Beast in the Shirley Temple’s Storybook production of Beauty and the Beast, and in Forbidden Area and Point of No Return for Playhouse 90 in the late 1950s. He was again cast as Andrew Jackson in the 1958 ﬁlm The Buccaneer and starred in the ﬁlms The Big Country (1958) and The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959). He earned an Academy Award for best actor for his starring role in the 1959 biblical epic Ben-Hur, best remembered for a thrilling chariot race between Heston and co-star Stephen Boyd. He battled Moors in 11th century Spain in 1961’s El Cid, opposite Sophia Loren, and headed an all-star cast in the 1963 drama set during China’s Boxer Rebellion, 55 Days at Peking. He graduated to the New Testament in 1965’s The Greatest Story Ever Told as John the Baptist, starred as Michelangelo in 1965’s The Agony and the Ecstasy, and faced down Laurence Olivier’s Mahdi as Gen. Charles “Chinese” Gordon in 1966’s Khartoum. He was also seen in the ﬁlms The Pigeon That Took Rome (1962), Diamond Head (1963), Major Dundee (1965), The War Lord (1965), Counterpoint (1967), and the western Will Penny (1968). He also starred on television as Thomas Jefferson in a 1963 production of The Patriots, and as the Earl of Essex in 1968’s Elizabeth the Queen for Hallmark Hall of Fame. Heston starred as an astronaut who crash lands on a very different Earth in the 1968 science ﬁction classic Planet of the Apes. He reprised his role with a cameo appearance in the 1970 sequel Beneath the Planet of the Apes. He starred in two subsequent science ﬁction ﬁlms, The Omega Man (1971) as Robert Neville in the ﬁlm adaptation of Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, and Soylent Green (1973). Heston scripted and directed the 1972 version of Antony and Cleopatra, also starring in the role Marc Antony. He starred as Cardinal Richelieu in Richard Lester’s adaptations of The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974), and was King Henry VIII in 1977’s Crossed Swords. His other ﬁlms include Number One (1969), Julius Caesar (1970) again as Marc Antony, 1970 ﬁlm adaptation of James Michener’s The Hawaiians as Whipple “Whip” Hoxworth, Skyjacked (1972), Jack London’s The Call of the Wild (1972), Airport 1975 (1974) as Alan Murdock, the Sensurround disaster epic Earthquake (1974), The Last Hard Men (1976), the World War II drama Midway (1976) as Captain Matthew Garth, Two-Minute Warning (1976), Gray Lady Down (1978), The Mountain Men (1980), The Awakening (1980) as archaeologist Matthew Corbeck in an updating of the Mummy legend, and Mother Lode (1982), which he also directed. Heston was also featured as banker Hugh Holmes in the 1983 television mini-series Chiefs, and starred in the 1984 tele-ﬁlm Nairobi Affair. He starred as Jason Colby in the primetime soap opera The Colbys, spinning off from Dynasty and airing from 1985 to 1987. He was featured in a 1987 variety

Obituaries • 2008

196 an interview when questioned about his pro-gun stance in the wake of the 1999 Columbine High School shootings. Heston was a recipient of the Kennedy Center honors in 1997 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003. He had disclosed that he was diagnosed in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease in a moving address in August of 2002. He is survived by his widow, the former Lydia Clarke, whom he met and married while in drama school in 1944.

Charlton Heston (right, from Planet of the Apes)

special, Christmas Night with the Two Ronnies, and was twice host of Saturday Night Live. His other television credits include the tele-ﬁlms Proud Men (1987), A Man for All Seasons (1988) which he directed and starred in as Sir Thomas More, Original Sins (1989), Treasure Island (1990) as Long John Silver, The Little Kidnappers (1990), The Crucifer of Blood (1991) as master detective Sherlock Holmes, Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232 (1992), the historical mini-series The Great Battles of the Civil War (1994) as the voice of Abraham Lincoln, The Avenging Angel (1995) as Mormon leader Brigham Young, and The Road to Santiago (1999). He also guest-starred in episodes of SeaQuest DSV and The Outer Limits. Heston’s distinctive voice was also heard as the narrator for such ﬁlms and television productions as Cults: Saying No Under Pressure (1991), Noel (1992), James Michener’s Texas (1994), The Dark Mist (1996), Disney’s Hercules (1997), and Armageddon (1998). His other ﬁlm credits include Solar Crisis (1990), Almost an Angel (1990) as God, Gengis Khan (1992), Wayne’s World 2 (1993), Tombstone (1993) as Henry Hooker, True Lies (1994) with Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Carpenter’s 1995 horror ﬁlm In the Mouth of Madness, Alaska (1996), Hamlet (1996), Gideon (1999), Any Given Sunday (1999), Town & Country (2001), The Order (2001), and Cats & Dogs (2001) as the voice of the Mastiff. Heston revisited the Planet of the Apes in 2001, this time appearing under ape makeup in the cameo role of Zaius, Thade’s father, in Tim Burton’s remake. His ﬁnal role was as Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele in the 2003 ﬁlm My Father, Rua Alguem 5555. Heston was also a prominent ﬁgure in political arenas, serving as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1966 to 1971. Initially a Democrat and a strong supporter of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the civil rights movement, he later became a conservative Republican and supporter of his long-time friend Ronald Reagan. After Reagan became president in 1981, he named Heston as co-chairman of the President’s Task Force on the Arts and Humanities. An outspoken opponent of gun control, Heston was active with the National Riﬂe Association, becoming the organization’s President in 1998. He served an unprecedented three terms as the NRA’s leader. He appeared onscreen in Michael Moore’s 2002 documentary Bowling for Columbine, walking out of

HEVERLE, G USTAV Czech actor Gustav Heverle died in Prague, the Czech Republic, on January 22, 2008. He was 87. Heverle was born in Prague (then Czechoslovakia) on January 31, 1920. He began his career on the Czech stage in the 1940s and was featured in ﬁlms from the early 1950s. His ﬁlm credits include Chceme Zit (1950), Cesta ke Stesti (1951), Proud Princess (1952) as Vitek, Severni Pristav (1953), Unos (1953), Tankova Brigada (1955), From My Life (1955), Na Konci Mesta (1955), Punta and the Four-Leaf Clover (1955), The Unconquered (1956), Close Up, Please

Gustav Heverle

(1956), A Life at Stake (1956), Bomba (1957), Spur in die Nacht (1957), The Flood (1958), Konec Cesty (1959), Hlavni Vyhra (1959), Slecna od Vody (1959), Sedmy Kontinent (1960), Tereza (1961), Akce Kalimantan (1962), Atentat (1964), Strakati Andele (1965), Silene Smutna Princezna (1968), The Key (1971), Vysoka Modra Zed (1973), Motiv pro Vrazdu (1974), Pripad Mrtveho Muze (1974), and Akce y Istanbulu (1975). He was also featured in the television series 30 Cases of Major Zeman and Plechova Kavalene in the 1970s, and had a small role in the 2002 tele-ﬁlm An Ideal Husband.

HEWER , JOHN British actor John Hewer died in Twickenham, London, England, on March 16, 2008. He was 86. Hewer was born Leyton, England, on January 13, 1922. He was a popular stage performer, appearing in numerous productions of London’s Players Theatre. He also starred on Broadway, opposite Julie Andrews, in a production of The Boyfriend in the 1950s. He was featured in several ﬁlms during his career, including The Dark Man (1951), Assassin for Hire (1951), Law and Disorder (1958), Operation Stogie (1959), Striptease Murder (1961), Three Spare Wives (1962), Mister Ten Percent (1967), and Home Before Midnight

197

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John Hewer

Richard Hickox

(1979). Hewer was also seen on television in episodes of The Great Detective, Colonel March of Scotland Yard, and Tales from Dickens. He also hosted the Canadian television series The Pig and Whistle in the late 1960s, and was featured as Edwin Cherrybel in the 1977 television production of Nicholas Nickleby. Hewer was best known for his role as Captain Birdseye in numerous British television commercials from 1967 to 1998.

Buckinghamshire, England, on March 5, 1948. He began studying music at an early age and attended the Royal Academy of Music and Queens’ College, Cambridge, in the late 1960s. He founded the City of London Sinfonia and the Richard Hickox Singers and Orchestra in 1971 and was music director for the Endellion Music Festival from 1972 to 2008. He also became director of the London Symphony Chorus in 1976 and the Bradford Festival Chorus in 1978. He was artistic director of the Northern Sinfonia from 1982 to 1990 and was a guest conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra from 1985. Hickox was music director for the Spoleto Festival in Italy from 1997 to 2002. He was principal conductor with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales from 2000 to 2006 and became music director of Opera Australia in 2005. He conducted television productions of Dido and Aeneas (1995), Ken Russell’s Classic Widows (2004), and Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten (2004). He made numerous recordings for Chandos Records including Elgar’s oratorios, the symphonic cycles of Beethoven, the complete masses of Haydn, and works by such British composers as Frank Bridge and Lennox Berkeley. Hickox earned a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording in 1997 for his rendition of Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes. HIGGINS, KEN British cinematographer Ken Higgins died on the Isle of Wight on January 22, 2008. He was 88. Higgins was born in London on December 26, 1919. He began working as a cameraman for the BBC in the 1950s, and was cinematographer for Ken Russell’s television production of Elgar for Monitor in 1962. Higgins continued to work with Russell on the 1964 feature ﬁlm French Dressing. He also served as director of photography on such ﬁlms as Swingers’ Paradise (1964), Up Jumped a Swagman (1965), Darling (1965), Georg y Girl (1966) which earned him an Academy Award nomination, The Idol (1966), The Spy with a Cold Nose (1966), Cop-Out (1967), Salt and Pepper (1968), Hot Millions (1968), Midas Run (1969), The Virgin Soldiers (1969), Lady Chatterly Versus Fanny Hill (1970), Julius Caesar (1970), Soldiers of Fortune (1970), Living at Thamesmead (1974), I’m Not Feeling Myself Tonight (1976), The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It (1977), and Golden Rendezvous

HEWITT, JOHN Northern Irish actor John Hewitt died after a short illness in a Coleraine, Northern Ireland, hospital on November 28, 2008. He was 58. Hewitt was featured as John Fletcher in several BBC productions of Graham Reid’s Billy plays on Play for

John Hewitt (right, with Mark Mulholland and Brid Brennan)

Today, including Too Late to Talk to Billy (1982), A Matter of Choice for Billy (1983), and A Coming to Terms for Billy (1984) starring Kenneth Branagh. He was also seen in television productions of Showcase: The Squad (1976), We’ll Support You Evermore (1985), Four Days in July (1985), Lorna (1987), God’s Frontiersmen (1988), Valentine Falls (1990), Henri (1994), and Life After Life (1995). Hewitt was also featured in the ﬁlms The End of the World Man (1985) and Crossmaheart (1998).

HICKOX, RICHARD British orchestra conductor Richard Hickox died of a heart attack in Swansea, Wales, after a recording session there on November 23, 2008. He was 60. Hickox was born in Stokenchurch,

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198

(1977). He was also cinematographer on the television series The Adventures of Black Beauty and Dick Turpin.

HIGGINS, MICHAEL Actor Michael Higgins died in New York City on November 5, 2008. He was 88. Higgins was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 20, 1920. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and embarked upon a career as an actor after the war. He became a leading stage performer in New York and appeared on Broadway in productions of Antigone (1946), Our Lan’ (1947), Rome and Juliet (1951), The Carefree Tree (1955), The Lark (1955), Uncle Vanya (1973), The Iceman Cometh (1973), Equus (1974) as Peter Firth’s father, and Mixed Couples (1980). Higgins also appeared frequently on television from the late 1940s, with roles in such series as Academy Theatre, One Man’s Family, CBS Television Workshop, Broadway Television Theatre, You Are There, Goodyear Television Playhouse, The United States Steel Hour, Studio One, Playhouse 90, Kraft Television Theatre, One Step Beyond, Play of the Week, The Best of the Post, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Hallmark Hall of Fame, The Outer Limits, Ben Casey, Gunsmoke, The Defenders, The Virginian, The Andy Grifﬁth Show, The Guiding Light, The Hamptons, The Equalizer, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Law & Order, and 100 Centre Street. He was also featured in numerous ﬁlms during his career including Edge of Fury (1958), Terror in the City (1964), The Arrangement

the Black (2006), The Savages (2007), The Favor (2007), Synecdoche, New York (2008), and An American Carol (2008). Higgins also appeared in the tele-ﬁlms Paul’s Case (1980), A Time for Miracles (1980), Kent State (1981), Carl Sandburg: Echoes and Silences (1982), Born Beautiful (1982), The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story (1983), Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter (1984), Nobody’s Child (1986), and Barnum (1986).

HIGH , WALLY Musician and actor Wally High died of cancer in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, on January 2, 2008. He was 59. High was active in the local music scene in Kensington and was the organizer of the fundraising concert, The Joe Show. He became

Wally High

Dan Aykroyd’s bodyguard and assistant while the actor was in Kensington and appeared in small roles in the ﬁlms Rainbow (1995) and Blues Brothers 2000 (1998). High and his band, The Non Prophets, recorded their ﬁrst CD, I Dreamt I Had a Recurring Dream, shortly before his death.

Michael Higgins

HIGHTOWER, ROSELLA Ballerina Rosella Hightower died from complications following a series of strokes in Cannes, Frances, on November 3, 2008. She was 88. Hightower was born in Ardmore, Oklahoma, on January 10, 1920, and was of Choctaw descent. She studied dance when her family moved to Kansas City, Missouri, when she was a child. She joined

(1969), Wanda (1970), Desperate Characters (1971), The Conversation (1974), The Stepford Wives (1975), Death Play (1976), An Enemy of the People (1978), King of the Gypsies (1978), The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979), The Black Stallion (1979), Fort Apache the Bronx (1981), Woody Allen’s A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy (1981), Staying Alive (1983), Rumble Fish (1983), Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985), 1918 (1985), Seven Minutes in Heaven (1985), On Valentine’s Day (1986), Courtship (1987), Angel Heart (1987), Crusoe (1988), New York Stories (1989), Dead Bang (1989), An Empty Bed (1990), The Local Stigmatic (1990), Death Becomes Her (1992), Wind (1992), School Ties (1992), The Imposters (1998), Just the Ticket (1999), State and Main (2000), Buddy & Grace (2001), Mean People Suck (2002), Swimf@n (2002), Messengers (2004), Goodnight Bill (2005), Off

Rosella Hightower

199 Leonide Massine’s Ballet Russe of Monte Carlo in 1937, and came to New York City with the company after the outbreak of World War II. She soon joined the newly formed American Ballet Theater for several years before joining Col. W. de Basil’s Ballets Russes. She was acclaimed for her performance with de Basil’s company when she replaced an ailing Alicia Markova in Giselle at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1947. She worked with such choreographers as Massine, Agnes deMille, and Antony Tudor, but was especially associated with the works of Bronislava Nijinska. She joined the new ballet troupe formed by the Marquis George de Cuevas in 1947, where she performed in such works as Nijinska’s Rondo Capriccioso and John Taras’ Piege de Lumiere. She remained with the de Cuevas Ballet until his death in 1961, and largely retired from the stage soon after. Hightower opened the Centre de Danse Classique in Cannes in 1962, which soon became one of Europe’s premiere dance schools. She also served as director of several major companies including the Marseilles Ballet from 1969 to 1972, the Ballet of the Grand Theatre of Nancy from 1973 to 1974, the Paris Ballet from 1980 to 1983, and Milan’s La Scala from 1985 to 1986. She was the subject of choreographer Francois Verret’s documentary ﬁlm Rosella Hightower in 1991.

HILARY, JENNIFER British actress Jennifer Hilary died in London on August 6, 2008. She was 65. Hilary was born in Frimley, Surrey, England, on December 14, 1942. She became interested in theater at an early age and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. She began her stage career in Liverpool and performed in repertory throughout the country. She made her Broadway debut in a 1963 production of Jean Anouilh’s The Rehearsal. The following year, she performed in Christopher Taylor’s The Wings of the Dove on West End. She remained a popular stage actress throughout her career, with roles in such productions as Relatively Speaking (1967), Dear Daddy (1976), and Dennis Potter’s Sufﬁcient Carbohydrate (1983). Hilary also appeared frequently on ﬁlm and television from the early 1960s. Her ﬁlm credits include Becket (1964), The Heroes of Telemark (1965), The Idol (1966), One Brief Summer (1970), ffolkes (1979), Five Days One Summer (1982), and Slipstream (1989). Hilary was also featured in television productions of The Woman in White (1966), Dr. Atkinson’s Daughter (1969), The Sun Also

Jennifer Hilary

2008 • Obituaries

Rises (1984), Miss A & Miss M (1987), Zoya (1995), and Bliss (1995). Her other television credits include such series as Journey to the Unknown, The Gold Robbers, Department S, ITV Saturday Night Theatre, Out of the Unknown, A Family at War, Jason King, Sam, Z Cars, Crown Court, Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected, The Gentle Touch, Play for Today, BBC 2 Playhouse, Double First, Stay Lucky, Pie in the Sky, Midsommer Murders, and Doctors.

HILL, MIKE British television producer Mike Hill died in Deal, Kent, England, on March 16, 2008. He was 84. He was born Denys Michael RyshworthHill in Yorkshire, England, on June 17, 1923. He served in the British Fleet Air Arm during World War II. He lived in London after the war where he wrote for sev-

Mike Hill

eral small magazines and for the Amalgamated Press. He joined the BBC in the 1960s as an assistant to his friend Rowan Ayers. He worked with Ayers on the Late-Night Line-Up program and became executive producer for the discussion program Up Sunday in 1972. He was also executive producer for the musical satire program The End of the Pier Show in 1974. He was later involved in the productions of such programs as Looking Glass, Rutland Weekend Television, The Snow Queen, and The Light Princess. He also produced the tele-ﬁlms Schoolgirl Chums (1982) and St. Ursula’s in Danger (1983) before retiring from the BBC. Hill later authored three books, including a ﬁctionalized account of his years with the BBC, A Little Local Difﬁculty.

HILL, PHIL Race-car driver Phil Hill, who was the ﬁrst U.S. driver to win the Formula One Championship, died of complications from Parkinson’s disease in a Monterey, California, hospital on August 28, 2008. He was 81. Hill was born in Miami, Florida, on April 20, 1927, and was raised in Santa Monica, California. He became fascinated with cars at an early age and dropped out of college to pursue a career as a race-car driver. He worked as a mechanic for other drivers from the early 1950s, and competed in races in Santa Ana, Pebble Beach, and Mexico. He was a technical advisor for the 1955 ﬁlm The Racers. He joined the Ferrari team in Europe later in the decade and won the ﬁrst of three Le Mans races in 1958. He also won

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Phil Hill

the Sebring race three times and earned the Formula One title for Ferrari in 1961. He continued to compete until retiring from racing in 1967. Hill was an advisor for the 1966 John Frankenheimer ﬁlm Grand Prix starring James Garner, and was featured on screen as racer Tim Randolph.

Commonwealth expedition led by Sir Vivian Fuchs in 1957 that crossed the Antarctic and reached the South Pole. He also led an expedition in the Himalayas to search for the Abominable Snowman, or Yeti, in 1960. Hillary continued his life of adventure, piloting a twinengine ski plane over the Arctic for a North Pole landing, accompanied by lunar astronaut Neil Armstrong. He made countless lectures and public appearances and served as New Zealand’s high commissioner to India, Bangladesh, and Nepal from 1985 to 1988. He also founded the Sir Edmund Hillary Himalayan Trust which raised money to build schools, medical clinics, and other facilities for Nepal’s Sherpa villages. He also served as president of New Zealand’s Peace Corps and was an advocate of conservation efforts. Hillary’s son, Peter, also became a mountaineer, and climbed Everest in 1990. Peter and the son of Tenzing Norkay, who died in 1986, climbed Everest together as part of a 50th anniversary celebration in 2003. Sir Edmund was the author of over a dozen books including High Adventure (1955), No Latitude for Error (1961), the autobiography Nothing Venture, Nothing Win (1975), Two Generations (1984) co-authored with his son, and View from the Summit: The Remarkable Memoir by the First Person to Conquer Everest (1999). Hillary was featured in the 1953 documentary ﬁlm of his greatest achievement, The Conquest of Everest. He was a guest on the quiz show What’s My Line? twice in the 1960s, and appeared in several other documentaries including Return to Everest (1984), Hillary & Tenzing: Climbing to the Roof of World (1997), and A Life of My Choice (1999).

HILLARY, SIR EDMUND Sir Edmund Hillary, the New Zealand mountaineer who became the ﬁrst man to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953, died in Auckland, New Zealand, on January 11, 2008. He was 88. Hillary was born in Tuakau, near Auckland, on July 20, 1919. His father was a commercial beekeeper and Edmund worked the farm as a youth. He also began climbing at an early age. He attended Auckland University and served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force as a navigator during World War II. He began climbing mountains in earnest after the war, learning from top alpinists in the Swiss Alps. His growing reputation for climbing icy peaks in Nepal led to him being invited to participate in the 1953 Everest expedition of the Royal Geographical Society–Alpine Club led by Col. Henry John Hunt. Hillary and his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norkay, made the expedition’s second assault on the summit on May 29, 1953. The two men made the treacherous ascent to the 29,035 foot summit and became international heroes with their success. Hillary continued to climb mountains but never made another trek up Everest. He joined a British

HILLERMAN, TONY Detective novelist Tony Hillerman, who was noted for his books featuring the Navajo Tribal Police, died of pulmonary failure in an Albuquerque, New Mexico, hospital on October 26, 2008. He was 83. Hillerman was born in Sacred Heart, Oklahoma, on May 27, 1925. He was a highly decorated combat veteran during World War II and worked as a journalist from the late 1940s through the early 1960s. He subsequently taught journalism at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. His ﬁrst novel, The Blessing Way, was published in 1970 and introduced Joe Leaphorn of the Navajo Tribal Police in a mystery set in the Four Corners area of New Mexico

Sir Edmund Hillary

Tony Hillerman

201 and Arizona. Leaphorn and his associate, Jim Chee, starred in Hillerman’s subsequent novel Dance Hall of the Dead, which won the Edgar Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America. Fred Ward starred as Leaphorn and Lou Diamond Phillips was Chee in the 1991 ﬁlm adaptation of the 1982 novel The Dark Wind. Wes Studi and Adam Beach played Leaphorn and Chee in a series of tele-ﬁlm adaptations on PBS including Skinwalkers (2002), Coyote Waits (2003), and A Thief of Time (2004). Other novels in the series include Listening Woman (1978), People of Darkness (1980), The Ghostway (1984), Talking God (1989), Sacred Clowns (1993), The Fallen Man (1996), The First Eagle (1998), Hunting Badger (1999), The Wailing Wind (2002), The Sinister Pig (2003), Skeleton Man (2004), and The Shape Shifter (2006). His other works include the novel The Fly on the Wall (1971), and the children’s books The Boy Who Made Dragonﬂy (1972) and Buster Mesquite’s Cowboy Band (1973). Hillerman was also the author of the 2001 memoir Seldom Disappointed. He was recipient of the Mystery Writers of America’s Grand Master Award in 1991.

HILLIER , S TELLA British radio producer Stella Hillier, who was instrumental in securing Dylan Thomas’ completion of Under Milk Wood, died in England on November 10, 2008. She was 93. Hillier was born in Weston-Super-Mare, England, on November 13, 1914. She joined the BBC as a junior secretary in Bristol in the late 1930s. She went to London in 1938, and

Stella Hillier

worked on the BBC’s Radio Newsreel during World War II. She became chief organizer for the new Radio Features department after the war, shepherding such literary talent as Dylan Thomas, Louis, Mac Neice, Douglas Cleverdon, and Christopher Sykes. She dragged Dylan Thomas from a local pub in the early 1950s to complete Under Milk Wood and get it on the air. She also oversaw the annual Christmas Day broadcasts that aired prior to the Queen’s speech. The Radio Features department was disbanded in the mid–1960s. Hillier married Australian journalist Roland Wilkes as moved to Australia later in the decade.

HINZ , MICHAEL German actor Michael Hinz died of complications from a stroke in a Munich,

2008 • Obituaries

Michael Hinz

Germany, hospital on November 6, 2008. He was 68. Hinz was born in Berlin, Germany, on December 28, 1939. He began his acting career on stage in Hamburg in the 1950s and made his ﬁlm debut in Bernhard Wicki’s anti-war drama The Bridge (1959). He became a leading performer in ﬁlms and television over the next ﬁve decades. His ﬁlm credits include Gestandnis Einer Sechzehnjahrigen (1960), Stage Fright (1960), Heritage of Bjorndal (1960), Gustav Adolfs Page (1960), Und Sowas Nennt Sich Leben (1961), Love, Freedom and Treachery (1961), The Phony American (1961), The Longest Day (1962) as Manfred Rommel, Only a Woman (1962), The Lightship (1963), Jack and Jenny (1963), Lana; Queen of the Amazons (1964), Tante Frieda — Neue Lausbubengeschichten (1965), Onkel Filser — Allerneueste Lausbubengeschichten (1966), Cat and Mouse (1967), Born Black (1969), The Last Escape (1970), Four Times That Night (1972), Return of Halleluja (1972), The Spy Who Never Was (1973), Love Bavarian Style (1973), Beyond the Darkness (1974), Touch Me Not (1974), Champagner aus dem Knobelbecvher (1975), and The Death of Mario Ricci (1983). Hinz was also seen in television productions of Das Paradies (1960), Nach all der Zeit (1960), Geliebt in Rom (1963), Stadtpark (1963), Colombe (1965), Nun Singen sie Wieder (1965), Das Leben in Meiner Hand (1966), Geronimo und die Rauber (1966), Leben wie die Fursten (1966), Die Verschenkten Jahre (1966), Stille Winkel, Laute Kuste (1970), Besush auf Einem Kleinen Planeten (1971), Bluten der Gesellschaft (1972), Doppelspiel in Paris (1972), Mit dem Strom (1972), Merkwurdige Lebensgeschiche des Friedrich Freiherrn von der Trenck (1973), Ardechois-Coeur-Fidele (1974), LH 615 — Operation Munchen (1975), Oblomows Liebe (1976), Alexander Marz (1976), Die Traumfrau (1978), Die Geisterbehorde (1979), Die Gartenlaube (1982), Mamas Geburstag (1985), and Ausgetrickst (1991). He was featured as Gustav in the 1968 television series Hauptstrasse Gluck, and was Uncle Quentin Kikkin in The Famous Five from 1978 to 1979. He was also Reiner Muller in Forsthaus Falkenau in 1989, and was Domrose the Butler in Funf Sterne from 2005 to 2008. Hinz’s other television credits include episodes of Pater Brown, Das Kriminalmuseum, Butler Parker, Okay S.I.R., Der Kommissar, Die Kette, Ein Fall fur Zwei, Derrick, Die Gluckliche Fami-

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lie, SOKO 5113, Der Millionenbauer in the recurring role of Bankdirektor Hollman, Heidi und Erni, Der Landarzt, Happy Holliday, Liebe ist Privatsache, Florida Lady, Lutz & Hardy, Der Konig, Wildbach, Rosamunde Pilcher, Aus Heiterem Himmel as Dr. Merlin, Bei aller Liebe as Hans Mullerschon, Unser Charly, Der Letzte Zeuge, In Aller Freudenschaft, and Der Bergdoktor.

HIROKAWA , TAICHIRO Japanese voice actor Taichiro Hirokawa died of cancer in a Shibuya, Tokyo, hospital on March 3, 2008. He was 68. He was born Shinjiro Hirokawa in Tokyo on February 15, 1940. He frequently dubbed such actors as Tony Curtis and Robert Redford for Japanese audiences. He was also Daphney Hlomuka

Taichiro Hirokawa

the voice of Roger Moore in several James Bond movies and for Eric Idle for Monty Python ﬁlms. He also provided voices for numerous anime productions. He was the voice of Mamoru Kodai in the Space Battleship Yamato series and starred in Sherlock Hound. He was the voice of Arsene Lupin III in the 1969 television ﬁlm and Snork for the animated feature Moomin in 1972. His other anime credits include The Adventures of Captain Future, Knight of the Zodiac, Cashan: Robot Hunter, and Mezzo Forte.

HIRSCHFIELD, LEONARD Cinematographer Leonard Hirschﬁeld died in New York City after a long illness on August 15, 2008. He was 80. Hirschﬁeld was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on January 30, 1928, and attended ﬁlm school at the University of Southern California. He worked with director Frank Perry early in his career, serving as cinematographer for his acclaimed 1962 drama David and Lisa, and for the 1963 cautionary tale of nuclear war, Ladybug Ladybug. Hirschﬁeld was producer, director, and writer for the 1966 drama Ta Skalopatia (The Steps) starring Irene Papas. He also served as director and cinematographer for numerous commercials, earning CLIO awards for his work for Sprite, Volkswagen, and other clients. Hirschﬁeld was second unit cinematographer on several ﬁlms including Tombstone (1993) and Shadow Conspiracy (1997). HLOMUKA, DAPHNEY South African actress Daphney Hlomuka-Ngubane died after a long

battle with cancer in a Johannesburg, South Africa, hospital on October 1, 2008. He was 59. She was born in Durban, South Africa, in 1949, and began her acting career on stage in the late 1960s. She appeared in numerous productions from playwright Welcome Msomi, and toured Europe in the musical Ipi Tombi in the 1970s. She also performed on radio and television and starred as Queen Ntombazi in the 1986 mini-series Shaka Zulu. She starred as MaMhlongo in the television drama series Hlala Kwabaﬁleyo, and was Sis May in the popular comedy series S’gudi S’naysi (It’s Good, It’s Nice) in the 1980s. She was also featured in the ﬁlm Soweto Green (1995), and an episode of the television series Tarzan: The Epic Adventures in 1997. HOARE, TONY British television writer Tony Hoare died of a heart attack in France on October 2, 2008. He was 70. Hoare was born in Oxford, England, on February 4, 1938. He left school to head to London, where he became part of a gang of bank robbers. He spent much of the 1960s in and out of prison. While serving time, Hoare worked in the prison library where he began writing. He penned the novel The Chaps while incarcerated, which was later produced for television.

Tony Hoare

After his release from prison, he began writing frequently for television. Hoare’s personal experiences made him a popular writer of crime and detective series. He penned episodes of such shows as Crown Court,

203 Within These Walls, New Scotland Yard, Hazell, Target, The Sweeney, The Gentle Touch, Bergerac, Up the Elephant and Round the Castle, Minder, and Mitch. Hoare also wrote and directed an episode of the series London’s Burning in 1989, and scripted the 1995 television drama The Turnaround. In recent years, he was working on a musical about his life of crime, entitled Blag.

HOCH, EDWARD D. Mystery writer Edward D. Hoch died in Rochester, New York, on January 17, 2008. He was 77. Hoch was born in Rochester on February 22, 1930. He began writing in the early 1950s while working for an advertising agency. His ﬁrst story appeared in the pulp magazine Famous Detective Stories in 1955. Hoch had over 900 short stories published during his career, including contributions to The Saint Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. He ﬁrst appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine in 1962, and contributed more than a story a month there for over thirty years. His 1967 short story “The Oblong Room” earned Hoch the Mystery Writ-

2008 • Obituaries

Computer Cops that included The Transvection Machine (1971), The Fellowship of HAND (1972), and The Frankenstein Factor (1975).

HOFMANN, ALBERT Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann, who ﬁrst synthesized the hallucinogenic drug LSD in 1938, died at his home at Burg im Leimental, near Basel, Switzerland, on April 29, 2008. He was 102. Hofmann was born in Baden, Switzerland, on January 11, 1906. He became fascinated with the mys-

Albert Hofmann

Edward D. Hoch

ers of America’s Edgar Award. He received their highest honor, the Grand Master Award, in 2001. He published stories under numerous pseudonyms including Stephen Dentinger, Pat McMahon, Anthony Circus, R.L. Stevens, R.E. Porter, Irwin Booth, Mr. X, and the house name, Ellery Queen. His short story “Off Season” was adapted as an episode of television’s The Alfred Hitchcock Hour in 1965, and “The Ring with the Velvet Ropes” was adapted for Rod Serling’s Night Gallery in 1972. Two of his stories, “The Man at the Top” and “The Vorpal Blade” became episodes of Tales of the Unexpected in the early 1980s. His short-story “A Girl Like Cathy” was adapted for the 1969 ﬁlm It Takes All Kinds. His character Nick Velvet, a professional thief for hire, was featured in the 1976 television miniseries Nick Verlaine ou Comment Voler la Tour Eiffel. His tales also featured such characters as Captain Leopold of the Violent Crimes Squad, small town doctor Sam Hawthorne who solves unusual crimes, code expert Jeffrey Rand of British Intelligence, the 2000 year old Coptic priest Simon Ark who is hunting for Satan, and Ben Snow, a detective of the Old West. He also wrote a trilogy of science ﬁction novels feature the

tical nature of life as a child. He studied chemistry at Zurich University, where he earned his doctorate in 1929. He stumbled upon lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) with studying ergot fungi on synthesized pharmacological compounds while working at Sandoz Laboratories in 1938. It was several years later that he discovered LSD’s psychotropic nature by accidentally ingesting a bit on his ﬁngers. Hofmann became an avid proponent of the altered state the drug created, which gave him the sensation of oneness with the world. He took LSD many more times over the years and went on to study other psychotropics. He later synthesized psilocybin and psilocin from the hallucinogenic mushrooms considered sacred by the Mazatec shamans of Mexico. LSD became a popular drug with the counterculture movement of the 1960s, and Hofmann became friends with such adherents as Aldous Huxley, Timothy Leary, and Allen Ginsburg. He did object to the somewhat cavalier approach many took towards the drug, arguing that the near mystical nature of the substance should be respected. Hofmann continued to serve as head of the research department for natural medicine at Sandoz until his retirement in 1971. He was the author of an autobiographical account of his experiences with the drug, LSD: My Problem Child, in 1979, and co-wrote the 1998 book The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries. He was also featured in the 2002 Canadian documentary ﬁlm, Hofmann’s Potion.

HOLMES , ERNIE Football player Ernie Holmes was killed in an automobile accident near Houston, Texas, on January 17, 2008, when his car left the road, ﬂipped over several times, and ejected him from the vehicle. He was 59. Holmes was born in

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Ernie Holmes

Jamestown, Texas, on July 11, 1948. He played college football at Texas Southern University and joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1972. He was part of the team’s defensive line known as the Steel Curtain and participated in two Super Bowl victories. He left the Steelers brieﬂy for New England in 1977 before retiring from the ﬁeld. Holmes was featured as a bouncer in the 1985 horror ﬁlm Fright Night and guest-starred in an episode of television’s The A-Team in 1986. He also joined with other NFL stars to participate in a Battle Royal with WWE wrestlers at Wrestlemania 2 in 1986.

HOLOUBEK, GUSTAW Leading Polish actor Gustaw Holoubek died in Poland on March 6, 2008. He was 84. Holoubek was born in Krakow, Poland, on April 21, 1923. He fought against the Germans during the 1939 invasion of Poland and was imprisoned in a Nazi POW camp during the war. He began his career on stage in Krakow in 1947 and spent many years as an actor and director with the Dramatic Theatre in Warsaw. He also appeared frequently in ﬁlms from the 1950s, with such credits as The Epopee of Warsaw (1953), Men of Blue Cross (1955), Mystery of a Mining Shaft (1956), The Noose (1958), Lydia Ate the Apple (1958), Polar Bear (1959), Erotique (1960), One Room Tenants (1960), Coloured Stockings (1960), Story of the Golden Boot (1961), Goodbye to the Past (1961), The Past (1961), Opening Tomorrow (1962), Son and Shadow (1962), Cafe from the Past (1962), Yesterday in Fact

(1963), Gangsters and Philanthropists (1963), The Law and the Fist (1964), Jump (1965), The Saragossa Manuscript (1965), The Moment of Peace (1965), Maria and Napoleon (1966), The Game (1968), Salt of the Black Earth (1970), Landscape with a Hero (1971), Goya — Oder Der Arge Weg der Erkenntnis (1971), How Far, How Near (1972), The Hour-Glass Sanatorium (1973), A Room with a View on the Sea (1978), Hospital of the Transﬁguration (1979), In Broad Daylight (1981), Childish Questions (1981), Daimler-Benz Limousine (1982), An Uneventful Story (1983), Killing Auntie (1985), Write and Fight (1985), In an Old Manor House or The Independence of Triangles (1985), Lake of Constance (1986), Siegfried (1986), Veriﬁcation (1987), A Tale of Adam Mickiewicz’s “Forefathers’ Eve” (1989), Blue Eyes (1994), Awantura o Basie (1995), The Book of Great Wishes (1997), With Fire and Sword (1999), and Listy Milosne (2001). Holoubek was a supporter of the Solidarity Union in Poland in the 1980s, and was elected to the Polish Senate. He also served on President Lech Walesa’s Council Culture. He was a drama professor at the Theatre Academy in Warsaw in his later years.

HOLZMEISTER, JUDITH Austrian stage and screen actress Judith Holzmeister died in Baden, Austria, on June 23, 2008. She was 88. Holzmeister was born in Innsbruck, Austria, on February 14, 1920. She made her acting debut with the Provincial Theater in Linz and joined the Burg Theater in 1947. She per-

Judith Holzmeister

Gustaw Holoubek

formed on stage there for decades, starring in numerous plays. She also appeared in ﬁlms from the 1940s including Lysistrata (1947), Eroica (1949), Young Girls of Vienna (1949), Pramien auf den Tod (1950), House of Life (1952), April 1, 2000 (1952), Music by Night (1953), Gotz von Berlichingen (1955), Wilhelm Tell (1956), Kaiserjager (1956), Maria Stuart (1959), and Don Carlos (1961). Holzmeister was also featured in television productions of Fast ein Poet (1961), Kean (1963), Heinrich VI (1964), Die Sylvesternacht— Uberspannte Person (1966), Die Wilde (1968), Wie eine Trane im Ozean (1970), Die Jagdgesellschaft (1974), Memeto Mori (1975), Alpensaga, Teil 3 — Das Grosse Fest (1977), and Lovers (1995). She was married to actor Curt Jurgens from 1947 to 1955 and to Bruno Dallansky from 1959 until her death.

205 HOMME, TODD Todd Homme, a star of the reality television show Blush: The Search for the Next Great Make-Up Artist, was found dead at his home in Manhattan on December 13, 2008. He was 23. He was born Todd Robert Wallace in Tucson, Arizona, on

2008 • Obituaries

HORNE, JAMES, JR. Actor James Horne, Jr., died of cancer in New York City on December 29, 2008. He was 91. He was born in Glendale, California, on March 28, 1917, the son of ﬁlm director James W. Horne and silent ﬁlm star Cleo Ridgely. He was also the twin brother of actress June Horne. He began his ﬁlm career in the late 1930s, appearing in a small role in his father’s 1937 Laurel and Hardy comedy Way Out West. He was also seen in Men of Boys Town (1941), Keep ’Em Flying (1941), and Swing Fever (1943). He served as a U.S. Army combat photographer in Europe during World War II and was awarded two Bronze Stars. Horne returned to Hollywood after the war and was featured in small roles in such ﬁlms as San Quentin

Todd Homme

July 11, 1985, and raised in California. He was a contestant on the 2008 Lifetime Channel program that had professional make-up artists compete for a $100,000 prize, a Max Factor contract, and the chance to work on an InStyle photo shoot. Homme had made the ﬁnal three on the show, with the ﬁnale scheduled to air several days after his death.

James Horne, Jr.

HORNBY, CLIVE

British actor Clive Hornby, who starred as Jack Sugden for over 28 years on the television soap opera Emmerdale Farm, died in En-

(1946), The Beginning or the End (1947), Living in a Big Way (1947), Unconquered (1947), Back Trail (1948), Good Sam (1948), Command Decision (1948), Samson and Delilah (1949), The Man with Thirty Sons (1950), A Life of Her Own (1950), The Glass Menagerie (1950), Royal Wedding (1951), A Place in the Sun (1951), and The Girl Who Had Everything (1953). Horne left acting in the early 1950s to become a leading male model in New York.

HORTON, LOUISA Actress Louisa Horton died in Englewood, New Jersey, on January 25, 2008. She was 83. Horton was born in Peking, China, on

Clive Hornby

gland on July 3, 2008. He was 63. Hornby was born in Liverpool, England, on October 20, 1944. He performed with the 1960s pop music group The Dennisons as a drummer before training as an actor and performing in repertory later in the decade. He was featured in a small role in the 1979 ﬁlm Yanks, and appeared on television in episodes of Minder, Get Some In!, and Space: 1999. He made his debut in Emmerdale Farm in 1980 and continued his role as Sugden until his death.

Louisa Horton

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September 10, 1924, and was raised in Haiti and Washington, D.C. She began her career on stage in the 1940s and was featured in several ﬁlms including All My Sons (1948) and Walk East on Beacon! (1952). She was also seen frequently in such early television series as The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre, NBC Presents, The Philco Television Playhouse, Suspense, The Clock, The Ford Theatre Hour, Lights Out, Goodyear Television Playhouse, Armstrong Circle Theatre, The Philip Morris Playhouse, The United States Steel Hour, Justice, Inner Sanctum, Kraft Television Theatre, and The Defenders. Horton was married to the late director George Roy Hill from 1951 until their divorce in the 1970s. She returned to the screen in the 1976 ﬁlm Swashbuckler, and was also seen in the horror ﬁlm Alice, Sweet Alice (1976) with Brooke Shields. Her ﬁnal performance was in the 1990 tele-ﬁlm Everyday Heroes.

HOUSE , LUCILLE Stuntwoman Lucille House McCoy, who was stand-in and close friend to actress Maureen O’Hara, died on July 21, 2008. She was 98. House was born on April 3, 1910. She was featured as a dancer in the early science ﬁction–comedy ﬁlm It’s Great to Be Alive (1933). She also performed horse-riding stunts in the ﬁlms The Great Gatsby (1949), Westward the Women (1951), and Destry (1954). House became Maureen O’Hara’s stand-in and riding double for the ﬁlms Tripoli (1950), Flame of Araby (1951), Spencer’s Mountain (1963), and McLintock! (1963). She and O’Hara remained close friends and House was credited as her assistant on the 1991 ﬁlm Only the Lonely. HOWARD, PETER Peter Howard, who arranged dance music for numerous Broadway productions, died of pneumonia at the Lillian Booth Actors’ Home in Englewood, New Jersey, on April 18, 2008. He was 80. He was born Howard Weiss in Miami, Florida, on July 29, 1927. He studied at Juilliard and Columbia University and began working on Broadway in the late 1940s. He arranged dance music for such musicals as Say, Darling (1958), Carnival! (1961), Subways Are for Sleeping (1961), I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1962), Here’s Love (1963), Hello, Dolly! (1964), The Roar of the Greasepaint—The Smell of the Crowd (1965), Her First Roman (1968), 1776 (1969), La Strada (1969), The

Peter Howard

Grand Tour (1979), The Tap Dance Kid (1983), Crazy for You (1992), and Swinging on a Star (1995). He was also musical director for How Now, Dow Jones (1967), Barnum (1980), Dance a Little Closer (1983), Baby (1983), Harrigan ’n Hart (1985), Jerome Kern Goes to Hollywood (1986), Into the Light (1986), Stepping Out (1987), and Comedy Tonight (1994). He also composed incidental music and conducted the orchestra for many productions before retiring in 2000.

HOWARD, SANDY Film and television producer Sandy Howard died of complication from Alzheimer’s disease at the Motion Picture and Television Fund’s hospital in Woodland, California, on May 9, 2008. He was 80. Howard was born in the Bronx, New York, on August 1, 1927. He began his career in the late 1940s as a publicist for Broadway shows. He also directed television’s Howdy Doody Show and

Sandy Howard

produced Captain Kangaroo in the early 1950s. Howard served as executive producer for The Barry Gray Radio Show from 1951 to 1958. He moved to Hollywood in the late 1950s where he created the 1958 series Night Court U.S.A. He directed the 1958 ﬁlm Tarzan and the Trappers and directed and produced 1964’s Diary of a Bachelor. Howard brought the Japanese science ﬁction ﬁlm Gammera, about a huge ﬂying turtle, to the United States in 1966, directing additional segments included in the domestic release. He also produced and scripted 1967’s Jack of Diamonds, and wrote, produced, and directed the 1968 ﬁlm One Step to Hell. Howard also served as a producer for the ﬁlms City of Fear (1965), A Man Called Horse (1970), Man in the Wilderness (1971), The Neptune Factor (1973), The Devil’s Rain (1975), Echoes of a Summer (1976), Sky Riders (1976), Embryo (1976), The Return of a Man Called Horse (1976), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977), the off-beat Circle of Iron (1978) starring David Carradine, City on Fire (1979), Jaguar Lives! (1979), the all-star disaster ﬁlm Meteor (1979) with Sean Connery and Natalie Wood, Savage Harvest (1981), Triumphs of a Man Called Horse (1982), Vice Squad (1982) which he also scripted, Deadly Force (1983), What Waits Below (1984), Angel (1984), Hambone and Hillie (1984), Avenging Angel (1985), The Boys Next Door (1985), Kidnapped (1986),

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Hollywood Vice Squad (1986), KGB: The Secret War (1986), the tele-ﬁlm Nightstick (1987), Dark Tower (1987), Blue Monkey (1987), and Street Justice (1989).

HRABANEK, VLADIMIR Czech actor Vladimir Hrabanek died in Prague, Czech Republic, after a long illness on August 21, 2008. He was 70. Hrabanek was born in Prague, then part of Czechoslovakia, on January 22, 1938. He was a leading stage actor and director for over ﬁfty years. He was also featured in numerous Czech ﬁlms from the early 1960s including Transport from Paradise (1962), Every Young Man

Freddie Hubbard

States and Europe through the 1980s, leading his own jazz group. A serious lip injury in 1992 curtailed his career, though he did recover enough to make occasional performances and recordings.

Vladimir Hrabanek

(1965), A Well-Paid Walk (1966), Closely Watched Trains (1966), A Case for a Young Hangman (1970), Joachim, Put It in the Machine (1974), Pripad Mrtveho Muze (1974), Maracek, Pass Me the Pen! (1976), Adele Hasn’t Had Her Supper Yet (1977), Tomorrow I’ll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea (1977), The Apple Game (1978), Story from a Housing Estate (1979), Uteky Domu (1980), Just Whistle a Little (1981), Zelena Vina (1982), Fesak Hubert (1984), Three Veterans (1984), My Sweet Little Village (1985), Forbidden Dreams (1986), Vyzily Boudnik (1991), and The Last Butterﬂy (1991).

HUBBARD, FREDDIE Jazz musician Freddie Hubbard died of complications from a heart attack in a Los Angeles hospital on December 29, 2008. He was 70. Hubbard was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on April 7, 1938. He began playing the trumpet while in his school’s band and was working with Wes and Monk Montgomery in Indianapolis while still in his teens. He moved to New York in 1928, where he worked with such musicians as Sonny Rollins, J.J. Johnson, and Quincy Jones. He soon formed his own band and recorded Open Sesame in 1960. The albums Goin’ Up and Hub Cap soon followed, and Ready for Freddie was released in 1961. He joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers later in the year and remained with the group until 1966. He formed several small bands for the remainder of the decade and sometimes performed with Herbie Hancock and Max Roach. Hubbard’s popularity continued in the 1970s when he released the jazz albums Red Clay, First Light which earned a Grammy Award, Straight Life, and Sky Dive from CTI Records. He performed at concerts and festivals throughout the United

HUNTSMAN, J. PAUL Sound editor J. Paul Huntsman died of a brain tumor in Glendale, California, on February 21, 2008. He was 55. Huntsman was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, on February 4, 1953. He began working in ﬁlms with Schick Sun Classic in Utah, where he was involved in the production of the television series Grizzly Adams. He moved to California in the late 1970s, where he worked in the sound department on numerous ﬁlms, including Loving Couples (1980), Michael Mann’s Thief (1981), Personal Best (1982), Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983), Eddie and the Cruisers (1983), Deal of the Century (1983), The Hotel New Hampshire (1984), Racing with the Moon (1984), The Karate Kid (1984), Best Defense (1984), Falling in Love (1984), Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye (1985), St. Elmo’s Fire (1985), The Holcroft Covenant (1985), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Bring on the Night (1985), Blue City (1986), Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986), and Manhunter (1986). Huntsman joined Todd A-O Studios in 1986, where he often worked as a supervising sound editor on such projects as Johnny Be Good (1986), Major League (1989), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), The Wizard (1989), Paciﬁc Heights (1990), White Palace (1990), Havana (1990), The Per-

J. Paul Huntsman

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208

fect Weapon (1991), Necessary Roughness (1991), Man Trouble (1992), Pet Sematary II (1992), Scent of a Woman (1992), Benny & Joon (1993), The Firm (1993), Blue Chips (1994), The Cowboy Way (1994), Little Giants (1994), While You Were Sleeping (1995), To Die For (1995), Sabrina (1995), Grumpier Old Men (1995), Heaven’s Prisoners (1996), and The Rich Man’s Wife (1996). Huntsman was hired by Warner Bros Studios in 1996, where he was instrumental in converting the sound editing department from analog to a digitalbased system. He continued to work as a sound editor on such ﬁlms as The Glimmer Man (1996), Murder at 1600 (1997), The Peacemaker (1997), Deep Impact (1998), The Thin Red Line (1998), Deep Blue Sea (1999), Keeping the Faith (2000), The Cell (2000), Pay It Forward (2000), Driven (2001), American Outlaws (2001), K-PAX (2001), Showtime (2002), The Big Bounce (2004), Starsky & Hutch (2004), Surviving Christmas (2004), Rize (2005), Racing Stripes (2005), and The Illusionist (2006). Huntsman also worked on several television productions including C.A.T. Squad: Python Wolf (1988), Travelling Man (1989), Jailbreaker (1994), Rasputin (1996), and Don King: Only in America (1997), which earned him an Emmy Award nomination.

HUTCHINSON, KANDICE Kandice Hutchinson, who was featured in the MTV reality show A Double Shot at Love, was killed in an automobile accident in Euless, Texas, on October 21, 2008. She was re-

Kandace Hutchinson

Joe Hyams

was the Tribune’s Hollywood columnist from 1951 to 1964. He was noted for his interviews with such stars as Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Frank Sinatra, and Spencer Tracy. Hyams was also seen on screen in cameo roles in several ﬁlms, including The Lost Missile (1958), The Wild and the Innocent (1959), Pepe (1960), and Love in a Goldﬁsh Bowl (1961). He left the Tribune in 1964, but continued to cover Hollywood for such magazines as the Saturday Evening Post, Redbook, and Ladies’ Home Journal. His 1966 biography, Bogie, was adapted for a tele-ﬁlm in 1980. He also wrote the biographies Bogart & Bacall: A Love Story (1975) and James Dean: Little Boy Lost (1992). He was the author of the 1969 non-ﬁction Accomplices to the Crime: The Arkansas Prison Scandal, which served as the basis for Robert Redford’s 1980 ﬁlm Brubaker. Hyams was also practitioner of martial arts and had studied under Bruce Lee. He wrote the 1979 book Zen in the Martial Arts and assisted Chuck Norris on his book The Secret of Inner Strength: My Story in the 1980s. Hyams was married to actress Elke Sommer from 1964 to 1981.

IBANEZ, PACO Mexican comedian and actor Pedro “Paco” San Francisco Ibanez died of complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in a Mexico City clinic on October 9, 2008. He was 60. He was a popular ﬁlm and television performer in Mexico from the late 1980s. Ibanez was featured in the ﬁlms Places Divertidos (1989), Deliciosa Sinverguenza (1990),

portedly intoxicated and participating in a street racing competition when her car ﬂipped over and she was thrown from the vehicle. She was 22. Hutchinson was one of 24 people attempting to win the affections of Rikki and Vikki, the series’ bisexual twin stars. The series premiered in December of 2008, after Hutchinson’s death.

HYAMS, JOE Hollywood columnist and author Joe Hyams died of coronary artery disease in a Denver, Colorado, hospital on November 8, 2008. He was 85. Hyams was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on June 6, 1923. He served with distinction in the U.S. Army and covered the war for the Stars and Stripes newspaper as a ﬁeld correspondent. After the war, he began working for the New York Herald Tribune. He

Paco Ibanez

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Holiday Laughs (1990), Amor y Venganza (1991), Verano Peligroso (1991), Cuando Calienta el Sol (2000), Atlantis al Rescate (2007), and Mexican Bloodbath (2008). Ibanez was also featured in such television series as Vivo por Elena, Inﬁerno en el Paraiso, Embrace Me Tightly, Real Love, Vecinos, VidaTV, and Pasion.

ICHIKAWA, JUN Japanese ﬁlm director Jun Ichikawa collapsed while having lunch and was pronounced dead at a Tokyo hospital on September 19, 2008. He was 59. Ichikawa was born in Tokyo on November 25, 1948. He began working as a director in the mid–1970s, producing numerous popular television commercials. He helmed his ﬁrst feature, the teen drama Kon Ichikawa

Jun Ichikawa

Bu Su, in 1987. He continued to direct such ﬁlms as Kaisha Monogatari: Memories of You (1988), No Life King (1989), Tugumi (1990), Dying at a Hospital (1993), Kurepu (1993), The Tokyo Siblings (1995), Tokiwa: The Manga Apartment (1996), Tokyo Lullaby (1997), Tadon to Chikuwa (1998), Osaka Story (1999), Zawa-Zawa Shimokita-Sawa (2000), Tokyo Marigold (2001), Ryoma’s Wife, Her Husband and Her Lover (2002), the internationally acclaimed Tony Takitani (2004), Haru, Barney’s de (2006), Aogeba Totoshi (2006), and How to Become Myself (2007). Ichikawa was in the process of editing his ﬁnal ﬁlm, Buy a Suit, at the time of his death.

ICHIKAWA, KON Japanese ﬁlm director Kon Ichikawa, whose career spanned sixty years, died of pneumonia in Tokyo on February 13, 2008. He was 92. Ichikawa was born in Uji-Yamada, Japan, on November 20, 1915. He attended technical school and began his ﬁlm career as an animator. He was soon working as an assistant director of live-action ﬁlms and made his directorial debut with 1946’s A Girl at Dojo Temple. He married screenwriter Yumiko Mogi, known professionally as Natto Wada, who worked with him on many of his subsequent ﬁlms before retiring in the mid–1960s. She died in 1983. Ichikawa’s numerous ﬁlm credits include A Thousand and One Nights with Toho (1947), A Flower Blooms (1948), 365 Nights (1949), Human Patterns (1949), Passion Without End (1949), Heat and Mud (1950), A Ginza Veteran (1950), Police and Small Gangsters (1950), Stolen Love (1951), The Lover (1951), Nightshade Flower (1951), River Solo Flows (1951), Wedding

March (1951), The Man Without a Nationality (1952), Mr. Lucky (1952), Young People (1952), The Woman Who Touched the Legs (1952), This Way, That Way (1952), Mr. Pu (1953), The Blue Revolution (1953), Youth of Heiji Senigata (1953), The Lovers (1953), Twelve Chapters on Women (1954), All About Me (1954), A Billionaire (1954), The Heart (1955), Ghost Story of Youth (1955), Punishment Room (1956), and Bridge of Japan (1956). Ichikawa was best known for the two anti-war ﬁlms he helmed in the 1950s. The Burmese Harp (1956) dealt with a Japanese soldier’s inability to convince his fellow soldiers that the war has ended, and Fires on the Plain (1959), a horriﬁc look at the deprivations of war as Japanese soldiers retreat during World War II. He also directed the ﬁlms The Crowded Streetcar (1957), The Men of Tohoku (1957), Hole in One (1957), Flame of Torment (1958), Goodbye, Hello (1959), Odd Obsession (1959), A Woman’s Testament (1960), Bonchi (1960), Younger Brother (1960), Ten Dark Women (1961), The Outcast (1962), Being Two Isn’t Easy (1962), The Monkey Dance (1963), Revenge of a Kubuki Actor (1963), Alone on the Paciﬁc (1963), Tokyo Olympiad (1965), The Tale of Genji (1966), Topo Gigio and the Missile War (1967), Youth (1968), Kyoto (1969), Mt. Fuji (1970), To Love Again (1971), The Wanderers (1973), Visions of Eight (1973), I Am a Cat (1975) narrated by a suicidal cat, Between Women and Wives (1976), The Inugamis (1976), The Devil’s Ballad (1977), Guillotine Island (1977), Queen Bee (1978), The Phoenix (1978), The House of Hanging (1979), Koto the Ancient City (1980), Lonely Heart (1981), The Makikoka Sisters (1983), Ohan (1984), The Hall of the Crying Deer (1986), Actress (1987), Princess of the Moon (1987), Crane (1988), Noh Mask Murders (1991), Fusa (1993), 47 Ronin (1994), The 8-Tomb Village (1996), Alley Cat (2000), Big Mama (2001), Escape (2002), and Ten Nights of Dreams (2006). IDILBI , YOUSSEF French television actor Youssef Idilbi committed suicide in France on May 16, 2008. He was 32. Idilbi was born on May 7, 1976. He began his career on French television in the role of Abdel Yildirem in the series Westenwind from 1999 to 2001. He was also seen as Appie in Russen from 2001 to 2002 and was Sid Porter in Onderweg Naar Morgen from 2002 to 2003. Idilbi starred as Hassan in the drama series Dankert & Dankert in 2007.

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210

Youssef Idilbi

Sally Insul

IIJIMA, AI Japanese television personality and adult actress Ai Iijima was found dead at her home in Tokyo on December 24, 2008. She was 36. Iijima was born Okubo Matsue in Tokyo on October 31, 1972. She had a difﬁcult childhood and ran away from home as a teenager. She began her showbusiness career in the early 1990s, appearing on television in provocative clothing.

frequently with the Goodman Theater. She appeared in small roles in several television series, including Seinfeld, Wings, Beverly Hills 90210, Baywatch, The XFiles, Frazier, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Gilmore Girls, Life with Bonnie, and My Name Is Earl. She was also seen in several ﬁlms, including L.A. Conﬁdential (1990), Primary Colors (1998), The Wedding Singer (1998), The Wedding Planner (2001), Old School (2003), The Last Shot (2004), Boy-Next-Door (2004), and Click (2006) with Adam Sandler. IORDACHE, STEFAN Romanian actor Stefan Iordache died in a hospital in Vienna, Austria, on September 14, 2008. He was 67. Iordache was born in Calafat, Romania, on February 3, 1941. He began his career on stage in the early 1960s and became one of

Ai Iijima

She made her adult video debut with the Crystal Eizo AV company in 1992, appearing in over 100 ﬁlms. She also became hostess of the nighttime television program Gilgamesh Night. She subsequently left the adult ﬁlm industry and made the transition to mainstream entertainment. She released a popular single and appeared frequently on television talk shows. She also created the manga series, Time Traveler Ai. He semi-autobiographical book, Platonic Sex, was published in 2000 and was adapted for a television mini-series and feature ﬁlm in 2001. She also appeared in several ﬁlms including Noroi the Curse (2005) and The Rug Cop (2006). Iijima was a regular panelist on the television series Sunday Japon and KinSuma before retiring in 2007 after suffering bouts of poor health.

INSUL, SALLY Actress Sally Insul died of heart failure in Los Angeles on August 4, 2008. She was 91. She was born in Chicago on October, 3, 1916, and began her career on stage at an early age, performing

Stefan Iordache

the country’s leading performers. He was also seen in numerous ﬁlms including The Stranger (1964), Gaudeamus Igitur (1965), A Charming Girl (1966), Adio, Draga Nela! (1972), The Owners (1973), Special Issue (1978), Doctor Poenaru (1978), Avaria (1978), Memories from an Old Chest of Drawers (1979), Good Evening, Irina (1980), The Oil, the Baby and the Transylvanians (1981), Turn Back and Look Again (1981), Why Are the Bells Ringing, Mitica? (1981), Contest (1982), Glissando (1985), Ciuleandra (1985), A Spare Moment (1986), The Last Ball in November (1989), Those Who Pay with Their Lives (1991), Luxury Hotel (1992), The Mirror (1993),

211 The Earth’s Most Beloved Son (1993), My Name Is Adam (1996), The Man of the Day (1997), Faraonul (2004), and Ticalosii (2007).

ISELIN , JOHN JAY John Jay Iselin, who headed New York’s WNET public television network, died of pneumonia in Manhattan on May 6, 2008. He was 74. Iselin was born in Greenville, South Carolina, on December 8, 1933. He was educated at Harvard and Cambridge, in England, and began working at Newsweek magazine in the early 1960s. He became general manager of WNET in 1971, and was instrumental

2008 • Obituaries

credits include Magical Bicycle (1955), Mountains in Flames (1956), The Saragossa Manuscript (1965), The Doll (1968), King Boleslaus the Bold (1972), The HourGlass Sanatorium (1973), The Line (1975), To Save the City (1976), Where the Water Is Pure and the Grass Is Green (1977), Top Dog (1978), Death of a President (1978), High Flights (1980), and Upstairs, Downstairs (1988). He also appeared in the 1998 television miniseries Slawa i Chwala.

JACKSON, JOHNNY Songwriter, rapper, and music producer Johnny Jackson, who was also known as Johnny J when he produced hit songs for Tupac Shakur, committed suicide by jumping from the second tier of Los Angeles’ Twin Tower Correctional Facility on October 3, 2008. He was awaiting sentencing for a felony DUI charge. It was Jackson’s fourth offence in seven years and he had plead no contest to the charges. He was 39. Jackson was born in Juarez, Mex-

John Jay Iselin

in the station becoming the leading supplier of programming for PBS stations around the country. WNET originated such programs as Bill Moyers Journal, The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, Great Performances, and Live from Lincoln Center during Iselin’s tenure. He stepped down from WNET in 1986 and became president of Cooper Union College two years later. Iselin retired after ten years and became president of the Columbia University Marconi International Fellowship Foundation in 2000.

JABCZYNSKI , JULIAN Polish actor Julian Jabczynski died in Krakow, Poland, on January 17, 2008. He was 84. Jabczynski was born in Stanislawow, Poland, on March 31, 1923. He was a leading stage actor in Poland and also starred in numerous ﬁlms. His ﬁlm

Julian Jabczynski

Johnny Jackson

ico, on August 28, 1969, and raised in Los Angeles. He broke into the music industry in 1990 when he produced the single “Knockin’ Boots” for rapper Candyman. He soon met Tupac Shakur, and produced many of his hit recordings including “Pour Out a Little Liquor,” “Death Around the Corner,” “How Do You Want It,” and “Never Had a Friend Like Me,” which he co-wrote. Jackson produced over 100 tracks with Tupac before the rapper was shot to death in 1996. He also produced songs for such rappers as Bizzy Bone, WC and Jon B. He teamed with Napoleon and Val Young to create a tribute song for Tupac, “Never Forget,” in 2004. He was working with actress and singer Tatyana Ali on her album The Light shortly before his death.

JACKSON, PERVIS Pervis Jackson, who sang bass with the hit 1970s R&B group The Spinners, died of brain and liver cancer in a Detroit, Michigan, hospital on August 18, 2008. He was 70. Jackson was born in New Orleans on May 17, 1938. He moved to Detroit with his family, where he formed the vocal group the Domingoes with four friends in 1954. They changed their name to The Spinners in 1961 and had minor hits with their recordings of “That’s What Girls Are Made For” and “Love (I’m So Glad) I Found You.” They be-

Obituaries • 2008

212 fore making their way to West Germany in 1959. They made their television debut in the early 1960s and were soon performing throughout Europe. They also appeared on stage in New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. The Jacob Sisters performed on such German television variety series as Musik aus Studio B, Die Drehscheibe, Die Rudi Carrell Show, Mitt Pauken und Plaketten, Zouberhafte Heimat, and Gluckspitze. They also appeared in the 1968 ﬁlm Quartet in Bed. The sisters were noted for their blonde hair and white poodles that usually accompanied them. They had a major success late in their career when they created “The Hamster Dance” in 2001. Hannelore was also featured with her sisters in an episode of the Polly Adler television series shortly before her death.

Pervis Jackson

came part of Motown in 1963 but had limited success under that label until 1970, when Stevie Wonder produced their hit recordings of “It’s a Shame” and “We’ll Have It Made.” The Spinners had their greatest success after moving to Atlantic Records in 1972 and bringing in Philippe Wynne as their lead singer. Wynne’s falsetto provided a pleasing contrast with Jackson’s deep bass on such hits as “I’ll Be Around” and “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love.” They continued to churn out hit recordings over the next several years including “One of a Kind (Love Affair),” “Ghetto Child,” “Mighty Love,” “They Just Can’t Stop It (Games People Play),” “Rubber Band Man,” and “Then Came You” with Dionne Warwick. Wynne left The Spinners in 1977, but the group returned to the charts with “Working My Way Back to You” and “Cupid” in 1980. Jackson remained with the group over the next 25 years with a varying lineup on the nostalgia circuit. He and fellow surviving members Henry Farnbrough and Bobbie Smith, with two newer additions, made their ﬁnal appearance together shortly before Jackson’s death.

JACOB, HANNELORE Hannelore Jacob, the youngest of the popular German singing quartet the Jacob Sisters, died suddenly of heart failure at her apartment in Gravenbruck, Germany, on May 17, 2008. She was 64. Hannelore was born in Schmannewitz, Germany, in 1944. She and her sisters Eva, Johanna, and Rosi began performing in Leipzig in the 1950s be-

Hannelore Jacob (right, with the Jacob Sisters)

JACOBS, JESSIE Australian actress Jessica Jacobs, who starred in the children’s television series Saddle Club, was killed when she fell in the path of an oncoming train at Cheltenham station in Victoria, Australia, on May 11, 2008. She was 17. Jacobs was born

Jessie Jacobs

in Melbourne, Australia, on November 14, 1990. An aspiring musician who played the violin and bass, she was known for her roles on such Australian television series as Holly’s Heroes, Fergus McPhail, and Worst Best Friends. Jacobs was also featured in a local theatrical version of The Sound of Music.

JACOBS, SEAMAN Television comedy writer Seaman Jacobs died of cardiac arrest in a Los Angeles hospital on April 8, 2008. He was 96. Jacobs was born on February 25, 1912. He began working in television in the late 1940s, penning episodes of such series as The Ed Wynn Show, The Red Skelton Show, How to Marry a Millionaire, The Dennis O’Keefe Show, Bachelor Father, My Three Sons, My Favorite Martian, Petticoat Junction, The Addams Family, F Troop, The Mothers-in-Law, The Lucy Show, I Dream of Jeannie, The Andy Grifﬁth Show, The Doris Day Show, The Jimmy Stewart Show, Here’s Lucy, Temperatures Rising, Inch High, Private Eye, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, the cartoon series Hong Kong Phooey, Good Heavens, Alice, The Love Boat, and Diff ’rent Strokes. Jacobs also co-scripted the 1963 Elvis Presley ﬁlm It Happened at the World’s Fair and the 1981 comedy ﬁlm Oh, God! Book II (1980) starring George

213

2008 • Obituaries

Monstrum (1996), The Fortune Teller (1998), and Vadim (2000). He also wrote a pair of memoirs about his family’s struggles in London during World War II and the post-war era, World’s End (2005) and White City (2007).

JAMES, PEE WEE Pee Wee James, a leading midget wrestler in the 1950s and 1960s, died after a long illness in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on September 16, 2008. He was 75. He was born Raymond Sabourin in Montreal, Canada, in 1933, and began wrestling under his real name while in his teens. Work-

Seaman Jacobs

Burns. He also contributed to the long-running Bob Hope television comedy specials in the 1980s and 1990s and provided comedy material for such stars as George Burns, Lucille Ball, Red Skelton, Danny Thomas, and Johnny Carson.

JAMES, DONALD Screenwriter and novelist Donald James Wheal, who was often billed as Donald James, died suddenly at his home in London on April 28, 2008. He was 76. He was born in England on August 22, 1931. He began working in London in public relations before making his debut in television scripting several episodes of No Hiding Place in 1964. Over the next decade, he scripted episodes of numerous series including The Man Who Never Was, The Avengers, The Saint, The Champions, Joe 90, Department S, The Secret Service, Paul Temple, Mission: Impossible, My Partner, the Ghost, UFO, The Persuaders!, The Befrienders, Jason King, The Adventurer, The Protectors, and Space: 1999. James also scripted the ﬁlms The Limbo Line (1968) and Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (1969). He began writing novels in the late 1970s with A Spy at Evening in 1977, which was adapted for a serial by the BBC. Shadow of the Wolf followed in 1978 and his prescient thriller The Fall of the Russian Empire was published in 1982. James also wrote a trilogy of thrillers set in a totalitarian Russia of the future where Inspector Constantin Vadim seeks to protect the people of his homeland from nefarious evils. The trilogy included

JANG CHAE-WON Jang Chae-won, a transsexual South Korean television personality, committed

Donald James

Jang Chae Won

Pee Wee James

ing with promoter Jack Britton, he became a popular mat star in Canada and was soon performing in venues throughout North America. He was known as Pee Wee James in the ring from the early 1950s and often tag teamed with Jean Jacques Girard, better known as Little Brutus. Pee Wee worked with, and against, most of the leading midget wrestlers of the era including Sky Low Low, Little Beaver, Fuzzy Cupid, Lord Littlebrook, and Prince Salie Halasie. Often an in-ring villain, he competed in rings in the United States, Mexico, and Japan before retiring in 1968. He and his wife had settled in Ottawa, and he had been conﬁned to a wheelchair in recent years because of spinal problems.

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214

suicide by hanging herself in the bathroom of her Seoul, South Korea, home on October 3, 2008. She was 26. Jang had become a celebrity in South Korea when she appeared on the television show Game of Truth in May of 2007 after having undergone a sex-change operation. She had appeared on the same program as a man, then known as Jeong-hwan, three years earlier.

JARRETT , HUGH Hugh Jarrett, who performed with Elvis Presley’s backup singers the Jordanaires, died in an Atlanta, Georgia, hospital on May 31, 2008, of injuries he received in a March automobile accident. He was 78. Jarrett was born in Nashville, Tennessee, on October 11, 1929. He worked as a radio disk jockey before joining the Jordanaires gospel quartet in 1954. The group performed on television with Arthur

Joli Jaszai

(2002). She was also featured in the 1997 television mini-series A Szorad-Haz.

JENSEG, BJORN Norwegian actor Bjorn Jenseg died in Oslo, Norway, on March 4, 2008. He was 75. Jenseg was born in Sarpsborg, Norway, on July 28, 1932. He performed on stage and ﬁlm from the 1950s, with roles in such ﬁlms as The Wayward Girl (1959), Bobby’s War (1974), Den Siste Fleksnes (1974), The Feldmann Case (1987), Svampe (1990), Lakki ... The Boy Who Could Fly (1992), Cross My Heart and Hugh Jarrett (left, with Elvis Presley)

Godfrey’s Talent Scouts and made live appearance with The Grand Ole Opry. They began singing backup to Elvis on tour in 1956. They were also heard on many of his recordings, including “Teddy Bear” and “Don’t Be Cruel.” Jarrett performed with the group on such television programs as The Ed Sullivan Show, The Milton Berle Show, and The Steve Allen Show and was seen onscreen in the 1957 Elvis feature Loving You. He left the Jordanaires in 1958 and formed the Hugh Jarrett Singers. He remained involved with Presley, singing backup for his 1970 tour. Jarrett also appeared in character roles in several ﬁlm and television productions. He was seen in the ﬁlms The Annihilators (1985) and What Comes Around (1986), and the tele-ﬁlms Murder in Coweta County (1983), Chiefs (1983), Resting Place (1986), and The Nightman (1992). He was also featured in a 1989 episode of In the Heat of the Night. Jarrett also reunited with the Jordanaires, making several appearances with them in the 1990s.

JASZAI, JOLI Veteran Hungarian character actress Joli Jaszai died in Piliscsaba, Hungary, on September 29, 2008. He was 101. She was born in Hungary on May 21, 1907. She appeared frequently on stage and was seen in ﬁlms and television later in her career, sometimes billed as Jaszai Jolan. Jaszai’s ﬁlm credits include Mamiblu (1986), Love, Mother (1986), Szerelem elso Verig (1986), A Hungarian Fairy Tale (1987), Ismeretien Ismeros (1989), Diary for My Father and Mother (1990), Hearts in Love (1991), Dear Emma, Sweet Bobe (1992), Sztracsatella (1996), and Love Till Last Blood

Bjorn Jenseg

Hope to Die (1994), Two Green Feathers (1995), Kristin Lavransdatter (1995), Chasing the Kidneystone (1996), Down, Across (1997), Mendel (1997), Gurin with the Foxtail (1998), Only Clouds Move the Stars (1998), Ollie Alexander Tiddly-Om-Pom-Pom (1998), When I Got Jesus ... with a Slingshot (2000), Better Off (2002), I Am Dina (2002), Psalms from the Kitchen (2003), Love Never Dies (2003), Solitude (2004), The Bothersome Man (2006), and O’ Horten (2007). Jenseg was also seen in the television mini-series Sorgekapen (2007) and Ping-Pong (2008).

JESSER, EUGEN Eugen Jesser, the director of the Vienna Boys’ Choir, died of cancer in Vienna, Austria, on May 11, 2008. He was 62. Jesser was born in Austria on March 17, 1946. He sang with the Vienna Boys’ Choir in his youth. He later studied history at the

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Your Son (1984), With Intent to Kill (1984), Poison Ivy (1985), Stormin’ Home (1985), Going for the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story (1985), Sin of Innocence (1986), Guilty of Innocence: The Lenell Geter Story (1987), The Return of Desperado (1988), Longarm (1988), and Desperado: Avalanche at Devil’s Ridge (1988). He also worked on the television series The Dukes of Hazzard and Dallas. Jessup reunited with Larry Buchanan for his ﬁnal ﬁlm credit, a biblical semi-documentary entitled The Copper Scroll of Mary Magdalene in 2004.

Eugen Jesser

University of Vienna and earned a doctorate in 1982. He served in the Austrian Ministry of Education from the 1970s. He became the president of the Vienna Boys’ Choir in 2001 and director in 2003. The history of the choir dated back to the 15th century when Emperor Maximilian I formed the Imperial Court Choristers. It included such illustrious names as Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, and Bruckner during its long history. The choir remained an internationally esteemed group consisting of 100 boys between the ages of 9 and 14 divided into four sections. Jesser was instrumental in initiating the construction of a new concert hall for the choir and renovating the Augarten School and boarding facilities. He also endeavored to promote the choir as cultural ambassadors for Austria. JESSUP, ROBERT Cinematographer Robert Jessup died in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on August 14, 2008. He was 78. Jessup was born in New Jersey on May 23, 1930, and served in the U.S. Air Force in Korea. He moved to Dallas in the 1960s, where he began working in ﬁlms as a cinematographer. He worked with director Larry Buchanan on a handful of low-budget ﬁlms that were released directly to television including Mars Needs Women (1967), Creature of Destruction (1967), Night Fright (1967), In the Year 2889 (1967), and Hell Raiders (1968). He continued to work in ﬁlms and television over the next three decades, with such credits as Strawberries Need Rain (1970), Sugar Hill (1974), Race with the Devil (1975), Hollywood Man (1976), Ode to Billy Joe (1976), Futureworld (1977), Drive-In (1976), A Small Town in Texas (1976), Smokey and the Bandit (1977), The Seniors (1978), The Big Brawl (1980), The White Lions (1981), Deadly Blessing (1981), The Dream Chasers (1982), Silent Rage (1982), Split Image (1982), Porky’s Revenge (1985), SpaceCamp (1986), The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking (1988), and Under Suspicion (1991). Jessup was also cinematographer on the tele-ﬁlms Fair Play (1972), Thaddeus Rose and Eddie (1978), Big Bob Johnson and His Fantastic Speed Circus (1978), Cotton Candy (1978), Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders II (1980), Skyward (1980), The Acorn People (1981), Broken Promise (1981), Skyward Christmas (1981), Miss All-American Beauty (1982), Kentucky Woman (1983), Dixie: Changing Habits (1983), Cowboy (1983), License to Kill (1984), He’s Not

JETT, JOE Rock drummer Joe Davis, who was known as Joe Jet when he played with the popular garage band The Guilloteens, died in Dallas, Texas, on April 22, 2008. He was 63. Davis was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 28, 1945. He began playing the drums in such local rock groups as the MarKeys, the Le Sabres, and his own Joe Davis Allstars

Joe Jett

while in his teens. He joined with Laddie Hutcherson and Louis Paul in the mid–1960s to form The Guilloteens, which became nationally known with the hit song “I Don’t Believe.” They performed on such television series as American Bandstand, Where the Action Is, Hullabaloo, and Shindig. The Guilloteens’ fame was ﬂeeting and they had disbanded by 1968. Davis moved to Texas in the 1970s, where he worked with his father and brother in sales in the Davis Brothers Audio business.

JOB, ENRICO Italian ﬁlm art director and costume designer Enrico Job, who worked frequently on ﬁlms directed by his wife, Lina Wertmuller, died in a Rome hospital on March 4, 2008. He was 74. Job was born in Naples, Italy, on January 31, 1934. He began working as a costume designer for theatrical productions from the early 1960s. He soon moved into ﬁlms, designing costumes for such features as Shoot Loud, Louder ... I Don’t Understand (1966), The Great Silence (1968), The Specialist (1969), The Seduction of Mimi (1972), When Women Lost Their Tails (1972), In the Name of the Father (1972), Love and Anarchy (1973), and Wertmuller’s Swept Away ... By an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August (1974). Job also served as production designer for the cult horror ﬁlms Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein (aka Flesh for Frankenstein) (1973) and

Obituaries • 2008

216

Enrico Job

Andy Warhol’s Dracula (aka Blood for Dracula) (1974). He was also production designer for the ﬁlms Seven Beauties (1975), Blood Feud (1978), A Joke of Destiny, Lying in Wait Around the Corner Like a Bandit (1983), Carmen (1984), Softly, Softly (1984), A Complex Plot About Women, Alleys and Crimes (1986), Summer Night, with Greek Proﬁle, Almond Eyes and Scent of Basil (1986), The Tenth One in Hiding (1989), As Long as It’s Love (1989), Saturday, Sunday and Monday (1990), Ciao, Professore! (1992), The Blue Collar Worker and the Hairdresser in a Whirl of Sex and Politics (1996), The Nymph (1996), Ferdinando and Carolina (1999), and Francesca and Nunziata (2001).

JOFFE , CHARLES H. Charles H. Joffe, a leading comedy talent manager and ﬁlm producer, died in a Los Angeles hospital after a long illness on July 9, 2008. He was 78. Joffe was born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 16, 1929. He began working as a talent manager by booking bands while a student at Syracuse University. After graduation, he brieﬂy worked with the MCA Talent Agency before teaming with Jack Rollins in 1953. The duo specialized in comedy talent with such clients as Lenny Bruce, Mike Nichols, and Elaine May. Joffe was instrumental in securing Woody Allen’s ﬁrst movie deal with the 1965 comedy What’s New Pussycat? He produced Allen’s directorial debut, Take the Money and Run, in 1969 and served as a producer on most of Allen’s subsequent ﬁlms. His ﬁlm

credits as producer include Don’t Drink the Water (1969), Bananas (1971), Play It Again, Sam (1972), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972), Sleeper (1973), Love and Death (1975), The Front (1976), Annie Hall (1977) which earned him an Academy Award, Interiors (1978), Manhattan (1979), Stardust Memories (1980), Arthur (1981) with Dudley Moore, A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy (1982), Zelig (1983), The House of God (1984), Broadway Danny Rose (1984), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Radio Days (1987), September (1987), Another Woman (1988), New York Stories (1989), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Alice (1990), Shadows and Fog (1992), Husbands and Wives (1992), Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993), Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Mighty Aphrodite (1995), Everyone Says I Love You (1996), Deconstructing Harry (1997), Celebrity (1998), Sweet and Lowdown (1999), Small Time Crooks (2000), The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001), Hollywood Ending (2002), Anything Else (2003), Melinda and Melinda (2004), Match Point (2005), Scoop (2006), Cassandra’s Dream (2007), and Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008). Joffe was also a producer of the television productions Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story (1971), The Ted Bessell Show (1973), Good Time Harry (1980), The Acorn People (1981), The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell (1982), Mastergate (1992), Rick Reynolds: Only the Truth Is Funny (1993), and Triplecross (1995). Joffe and Rollins remained partners through the late 1980s when they both decided to handle a single client. Rollins became David Letterman’s executive producer, while Joffe continued to work with Woody Allen.

JOHNSON, DONNA JEAN Donna StewartHardaway, who appeared as a child under the name Donna Jean Johnson as one of the Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz, died in West Virginia on December 4,

Donna Jean Johnson

Charles Joffe

2008. She was 75. Johnson won the Best Baby Contest in Los Angeles and trained as a child with the Meglin Kiddies. Her mother pushed to her auditions and talent contests from a very early age. She claimed to be one of the dozen children who supplemented the 124 Little People who were cast as the Munchkins for the

217 MGM fantasy classic. The children had smaller roles than the adults and were generally seen in the background of scenes. Johnson became involved in Wizard of Oz fandom in her later years, selling memorabilia and attending fan festivals.

JOHNSON, JOHN E. John E. Johnson, who served as executive director of the American Screenwriters Association, died in Cincinnati, Ohio, after a brief illness on November 2, 2008. He was 51. John-

John E. Johnson

son was born in Portland, Maine, on June 23, 1957. He began his career as an actor, appearing as a reporter in the 1993 production of Simple Justice on The American Experience. He also served as a casting assistant on the 2001 ﬁlm The Train. Johnson also wrote plays for stage and radio before founding the American Screenwriters Association.

JOHNSON, VAN Actor Van Johnson, who was a light leading man from the 1940s, died at an assisted living center in Nyack, New York, on December 12, 2008. He was 92. He was born Charles Van Dell Johnson in Newport, Rhode Island, on August 25, 1916. He headed to New York in 1934 to embark upon a career as an actor. He had little success, appearing in nothing but chorus roles. He went to Hollywood to appear in a bit part in the ﬁlm Too Many Girls in 1940. He was soon signed to a contract at Warner Bros. and was featured in the 1942 ﬁlm Murder in the Big House. Warner subsequently dropped his contract but Lucille Ball helped him get signed by MGM. He was featured in several shorts, including Personalities (1942) and Crime Does Not Pay — For the Common Defense! (1942). He had small roles in the features The War Against Mrs. Hadley (1942) and Somewhere I’ll Find You (1942). Johnson starred as Dr. Randall “Red” Adams, successor to Lew Ayres’ Dr. Kildare, in the 1942 ﬁlm Dr. Gillespie’s New Assistant, with Lionel Barrymore. He remained with the series for the sequels Dr. Gillespie’s Criminal Case (1943), Three Men in White (1944), and Between Two Women (1945). He was featured as Mickey Rooney’s friend in 1943’s The Human Comedy, and appeared in Pilot #5 (1943) and Madame Curie (1943). He was cast in a romantic triangle with Irene Dunne and Spencer Tracey in the wartime fantasy ﬁlm A Guy

2008 • Obituaries

Named Joe (1943), though a near fatal automobile accident nearly ended his career and his life. He recovered from his injuries and the ﬁlm went on to be a hit. His wholesome image, with features distinguished by his numerous freckles and red hair, cast him in leading roles as the boy-next-door type. Johnson starred in such ﬁlms as Two Girls and a Sailor (1944), The White Cliffs of Dover (1944), Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944), Thrill of a Romance (1945), Week-End at the Waldorf (1945), American Creed (1946), Easy to Wed (1946), No Leave, No Love (1946), Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), High Barbaree (1947), The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947), The Bride Goes Wild (1948), State of the Union (1948), Command Decisions (1948), Mother Is a Freshman (1949), Scene of the Crime (1949), In the Good Old Summertime (1949), Battleground (1949), The Big Hangover (1950), Duchess of Idaho (1950), Grounds for Marriage (1951), Three Guys Named Mike (1951), Go for Broke (1951), It’s a Big Country (1951), Too Young to Kiss (1951), Invitation (1952), When in Rome (1952), Washington Story (1952), Plymouth Adventures (1952), Conﬁdentially Connie (1953), Remains to Be Seen (1953), Easy to Love (1953), Siege at Red River (1954), Men of the Fighting Lady (1954), The Caine Mutiny (1954), the hit musical Brigadoon (1954) with Gene Kelly, The Last Time I Saw Paris (1955), The End of the Affair (1955), The Bottom of the Bottle (1956), Miracle in the Rain (1956), 3 Paces to Baker Street (1956), Slander (1956), Kelly and Me (1957), Action of the Tiger (1957), The Last Blitzkrieg (1959), Beyond This Place (1959), Subway in the Sky (1959), and The Enemy General (1960). Johnson was also seen frequently on television from the 1950s, appearing in variety series, comedies, and the occasional drama. His television credits include I Love Lucy, The Loretta Young Show, The Jack Benny Program, Shower of Stars, the 1957 musical production of The Pied Piper of Hamelin, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, Zane Grey Theater, What’s My Line?, The Ed Sullivan Show, General Electric Theater, The Ann Sothern Show, The DuPont Show with June Allyson, The Jack Paar Tonight Show, a 1964 production of American in Paris, Ben Casey, Batman as the musical Bat-villain The Minstrel, The Danny Thomas Hour, The Hollywood Palace, The Dean Martin Show, The Merv Grifﬁn Show, Here’s Lucy, The Hollywood Squares, Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-

Van Johnson

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218

In, The Mike Douglas Show, The Name of the Game, The Red Skelton Show, Nanny and the Professor, The Virginian, The Doris Day Show, Love, American Style, Maude, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, McMillan & Wife, Quincy, McCloud, Aloha Paradise, One Day at a Time, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Tales of the Unexpected, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Murder, She Wrote. His wholesome image in ﬁlms did not translate as well in the 1960s, when the counterculture came to the forefront. He starred with Janet Leigh in 1963’s Wives and Lovers,\ and appeared in such features as Divorce American Style (1967), Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows! (1968), and Yours, Mine and Ours (1968). Though Johnson’s ﬁlm career was on the decline, he parlayed his name and image into a stage career, becoming a popular performer on the dinner theater circuit. He also lent his star quality to several European features and also appeared in supporting roles in other ﬁlms. His ﬁlm credits include Battle Command (1969), Texas (1969) as President James Garﬁeld, Eye of the Spider (1971), Concorde Affair ’79 (1979), From Corleone to Brooklyn (1979), The Kidnapping of the President (1980) as the Vice President, Murders in an Etruscan Cemetery (1982), Woody Allen’s The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Down There in the Jungle (1985), Taxi Killer (1988), Flight from Paradise (1989), Killer Crocodile (1989), Delta Force Commando II: Priority Red One (1990), and Clowning Around (1992). He also continued his television appearances in such tele-ﬁlms as The Doomsday Flight (1966), Company of Killers (1970), San Francisco International (1970), Call Her Mom (1972), Man in the Middle (1972), Wheeler and Murdock (1973), The Girl on the Late, Late Show (1974), Rich Man, Poor Man (1976), Superdome (1978), Black Beauty (1978), Getting Married (1978), The Forgotten Story (1983), Glitter (1984), The President of Love (1984), 3 Days to a Kill (1991), and the special Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie (1993). Johnson was married in 1947 to Eve Wynn, the recently divorced wife of Keenan Wynn. The marriage ended in 1961 in a bitter divorce, with allegations of him being a homosexual.

JOHNSTON, OLLIE Disney animator Ollie Johnston, the last of the so-called “Nine Old Men” who created many of Walt Disney’s legendary ﬁlms, died in a nursing home in Sequim, Washington, on April 14, 2008. He was 95. He was born Oliver Martin Johnston, Jr., in Palo Alto, California, on October 31, 1912. He studied art at Stanford University where his father was a professor. While at Stanford he met Frank Thomas, another aspiring animator who became his lifelong friend. He and Thomas were both hired by Disney in the mid–1930s, where they worked as in-between artists on Mickey Mouse cartoons. Disney was expanding his studio to produce animated feature ﬁlms and Johnston was an assistant animator on the ﬁrst of those, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Disney called his team of animators that included Johnston and Thomas “The Nine Old Men” despite the fact that most were only in their twenties. The name stuck throughout their careers. Johnston went on to work on Pinocchio (1940) and was supervising animator for “The

Ollie Johnston

Pastoral Symphony” segment of Fantasia (1940). He was also a supervising animator on Bambi (1942), bringing Thumper to life. He continued to work at Disney over the next four decades, serving as an animator on such ﬁlms as The Three Caballeros (1944), Song of the South (1946), The Wind in the Willows (1949), The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949), Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty (1959), One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), The Sword in the Stone (1963), Mary Poppins (1964), The Jungle Book (1967), Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968), The AristoCats (1970), Robin Hood (1973), Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too! (1974), The Madcap Adventures of Mr. Toad (1975), The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977), and The Rescuers (1977). Johnston also worked on numerous animated segments of the Disney television productions under the banner of Disneyland and Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. His ﬁnal animation work was done for the 1981 feature The Fox and the Hound. He and Thomas continued to work together after retiring from Disney in the late 1970s. They lectured at ﬁlm festivals and schools throughout the world and were the authors of several books including Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, Bambi: The Story and the Film, and The Disney Villains. They were also the subject of the 1995 documentary Frank and Ollie, produced by Thomas’ son Ted. Johnston became the last survivor of “The Nine Old Men” following Thomas’ death in 2004. He became the ﬁrst animator to receive the National Medal of Arts in a White House ceremony in 2005. JONES , CHARLIE Pioneering sportscaster Charlie Jones died of a heart attack at his home in La Jolla, California, on June 12, 2008. He was 77. Jones was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on November 9, 1930. After earning a law degree, he began his career as a play-by-play announcer at ABC in 1960. He joined NBC in 1965 and remained with them until 1997. Jones also announced events at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He appeared frequently on television in cameo appearances, with roles in episodes of Ironside, McCloud, Banacek, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, Almost Anything Goes, and McMillan & Wife. He was also seen in the television productions

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(1994), Sophie & the Moonhanger (1996), For the Future: The Irvine Fertility Scandal (1996), An Unexpected Life (1998), A Christmas Carol (1999), and Custody of the Heart (2000). His other television credits include episodes of Chicago Hope, Picket Fences, Early Edition, The Practice, Fantasy Island, Now and Again, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The $treet, Big Apple, The Education of Max Bickford, Hack, Keen Eddie, 7th Heaven, Bones, and Ghost Whisperer.

Charlie Jones

JONES , G EORGE WYDELL Songwriter George Wydell Jones, who wrote and performed the popular doo-wop hit “Rama Lama Ding Dong,” died of cancer at his home in Youngstown, Ohio, on September 27, 2008. He was 71. Jones was born in Richmond, Virginia, on October 5, 1936, and moved to

Savage (1973), Columbo: Any Old Port in a Storm (1973), Superdome (1978), and The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story (1980). Jones’ feature ﬁlm credits include Personal Best (1982), Return of the Killer Tomatoes! (1988), Killer Tomatoes Strike Back! (1990), and Without Limits (1998).

JONES, DAVID British stage and television director David Jones died from complications of emphysema in England on September 19, 2008. He was 74. Jones was born in Poole, Dorset, England, on February 19, 1934. He studied theater at Cambridge, and began working for the BBC in the early 1960s. He made his directorial debut with the news magazine series Monitor. He also began directing plays for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1962 and began working with the company full-time in 1964. He directed such television productions as Barbara of the House of Grebe (1973), The Beaux Stratagem (1978), Ice Age (1978), and Langrishe Go Down (1978). Jones came to the United States in 1980, and made his ﬁlm debut with the 1980 adaptation of John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger. He also directed the ﬁlms Betrayal (1983), 84 Charing Cross Road (1987), Jacknife (1989), The Trial (1993), Time to Say Goodbye? (1997), and The Confession (1999). Jones also helmed the television productions The Merry Wives of Windsor (1982), Pericles, Prince of Tyre (1984), The Christmas Wife (1988), Fire in the Dark (1991), And Then There Was One (1994), Is There Life Out There?

David Jones

George Wydell Jones (left, with The Edsels)

Youngstown as a child. After graduating from high school, he served in the United States Air Force, where he performed in a vocal band with other servicemen. He joined with Jimmy Reynolds, Harry Green, Marshall Sewell, and Larry Green to form the Edsels. Their song “Rama Lama Ding Dong,” which was originally released as “Lama Rama Ding Dong,” reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1961. The group performed at the Apollo Theater in New York and appeared on American Bandstand.

JONES, S.D. “SPECIAL DELIVERY” Conrad Efraim, who was a popular wrestler under the name S.D. “Special Delivery” Jones in the 1970s and 1980s, died of complications from a stroke in Antigua on October 26, 2008. He was 63. Efraim was born in Antigua, in the West Indies, on March 30, 1945. He worked in the United States for the telephone company before being trained as a wrestler by Johnny Rodz. He began his ring career in 1971 the NWA Mid-Atlantic area as Roosevelt Jones, billed as a cousin of his tagteam partner, Rufus R. Jones. He teamed with Porkchop Cash to hold the NWA Americas Title in Los Angeles in January of 1975. He teamed with Tom Jones to brieﬂy reclaim the tag titles in 1977. He also wrestled in the WWF (now WWE), where he often teamed with Tony Atlas. They lost a tag team title match against Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito in 1981. Jones was also the tag team partner of Andre the Giant in the mid–

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220

Special Delivery Jones

Fabio Junqueira

1980s. He retired from the ring in the early 1990s. Jones was featured at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony when Tony Atlas was inducting in 2006.

as A Marquesa de Santos (1984), As Noivas de Copacabana (1992), Sex Appeal (1993), Chiquinha Gonzaga (1999), and O Quinto dos Infernos (2002). His other television credits include numerous soap operas and series including Marina, Ciranda de Pedra, Terras do SemFim, O Homem Proibido, Vale Tudo, Pacto de Sangue, Riacho Doce, Salome, Olho no Olho, Historia de Amor, Malhacao, Quem E Voce?, Torre de Babel, Chiquinha Gonzaga, Voce Decide, O Clone, Mulheres Apaixonadas, and A Escrava Isaura. Junqueira also directed episodes of such television series as Anjo de Mim, Corpo Dourado, Roda da Vida, Essas Muilheres, Cidadao Brasileiro, and Luz do Sol. JUSTIN, GEORGE Film production executive George Justin died in Santa Monica, California, on March 9, 2008. He was 91. Justin was born in New York City in 1916. He began working in ﬁlms in the late 1930s and served as a test reel director on the casting for Gone with the Wind. He served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps working on training ﬁlms during World War II. After the war, he directed documentary and industrial ﬁlms. He moved into television in the early 1950s as a producer and production supervisor for such series as Your Are There, The Defenders, and Espionage. He also served as an associate producer or production manager on such ﬁlms as On the Waterfront (1954), A Face in the Crowd (1957), 12 Angry Men (1957), The Goddess (1958), Wind Across the Everglades (1958), Middle of the Night (1959), Happy Anniversary (1959), The Fugitive Kind (1959), Something Wild (1961), The Young Doctors (1961), Long Day’s Journey into Night (1962), Inside Daisy Clover (1965), Up the Down Staircase (1967), The Tiger Makes Out (1967), The Graduate (1967), and The Night They Raided Minsky’s (1968). Justin became a vice president for production management at Paramount in the early 1970s. He later worked in production at Orion and MGM through the 1980s. His other ﬁlm credits include The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), The Anderson Tapes (1971), The Possession of Joel Delaney (1972), Chinatown (1974) which also featured him in the small role of Barney the barber, Shampoo (1975) again appearing onscreen as a producer, Marathon Man (1976), The Deep (1977), Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), Rollover (1981), No Small Affair (1984), and Murphy’s Romance (1985). Justin also served as a

JONGSMA, WIK Dutch actor Wik Jongsma, who starred as Govert Harmsen in the popular television soap opera Good Times, Bad Times, died of complications from prostate cancer at his home in The Hague, the Netherlands, on November 7, 2008. He was 65. Jongsma was born in Amsterdam, the Nether-

Wik Jongsma

lands, on April 4, 1943. He was featured in the 1972 ﬁlm The Little Ark and An Bloem in 1983. He also appeared on television in episodes of Brainwave, De Beslagen Spiegel, Medisch Centrum West, Zonder Ernst, t Zonnetje in Huis, and Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden: De Reunie. Jongsma stared as Govert Harmsen on Good Times, Bad Times from 1991 until January of 2006.

JUNQUEIRA, FABIO Brazilian actor Fabio Junqueira died of cancer in a Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 20, 2008. He was 52. Junqueira was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on March 30, 1956. He began his acting career in the late 1970s, appearing in such ﬁlms as The Good Bourgeois (1979), Bar Esperanza (1983), Happier Than Ever (1984), The Long Haul (1988), Kickboxer 3: The Art of War (1992), The Jew (1996), and Breaking Up (2002). Junqueira also appeared frequently on Brazilian television, with roles in such productions

221 unit production manager on the tele-ﬁlms Dreams of Gold: The Mel Fisher Story (1986), The Incident (1990), and Star Struck (1994).

JUSTMAN, ROBERT H. Television producer Robert H. Justman, who worked on both the original Star Trek series and Star Trek: The Next Generation, died of complications from Parkinson’s disease at his home in Los Angeles on May 28, 2008. He was 81. Justman was born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 13, 1926. His father, Joseph Justman, was a successful grocer who moved to Los Angeles and formed the Motion Picture Center ﬁlm studio. The younger Justman served in the U.S. Navy in the Paciﬁc during World War II. After the war, he attended UCLA before entering the ﬁlm industry in 1950. He worked on numerous ﬁlms in the 1950s as a production assistant or assistant director on such ﬁlms as Joe Palooka in the Squared Circle (1950), Three Husbands (1951), The Groom Wore Spurs (1951), The Scarf (1951), New Mexico (1951), M (1951), He Ran All the Way (1951), Journey into the Light (1951), Slaughter Trail (1951), Chicago Calling (1952), The Fighter (1952), Japanese War Bride (1952), Red Planet Mars (1952), Actor’s and Sin (1952), Lady in the Iron Mask (1952), The Steel Trap (1952), Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952), The Moon Is Blue (1953), The Moonlighter (1953), Count the Hour (1953), Man Crazy (1953), The Diamond Queen (1953), Apache (1954), The Big Combo (1955), Jupiter’s Darling (1955), Kiss Me Deadly (1955), The Big Knife (1955), Blood Alley (1955), Nightmare (1956), While the City Sleeps (1956), Attack (1956), Running Target (1956), Gun the Man Down (1956), The Ride Back (1957), Affair in Havana (1957), Unwed Mother (1958), Mission of Danger (1959), Green Mansions (1959), The World, the Flesh, and the Devil (1959), Fury River (1961), Two Weeks in Another Town (1962), and Mutiny on the Bounty (1962). He also worked on numerous television episodes for such series as The Doctor, I Married Joan, The Life of Riley, The Loretta Young Show, The New Adventures of China Smith, Lassie, The Martha Raye Show, Adventures of Superman, The Man and the Moon for Disneyland, The Rosemary Clooney Show, My Friend Flicka, The Thin Man, One Step Beyond, Northwest Passage, The Lawless Years, National Velvet, The Islanders,

2008 • Obituaries

Philip Marlowe, The Tab Hunter Show, Outlaws, The Best of the Post, The Asphalt Jungle, Dr. Kildare, Father of the Bride, Cain’s Hundred, and Stoney Burke. Justman worked as an assistant director on numerous episodes of the classic science ﬁction series The Outer Limits from 1963 to 1965 and was featured as an alien in the 1964 episode “A Feasibility Study.” He produced the pilot episode of the Mission: Impossible series in 1966 before joining the crew of Star Trek. He served as an assistant director on the original pilot and worked with the creator, Gene Roddenberry, as a producer, script consultant, set and prop designer, and casting assistant over the landmark series’ three year run. After Star Trek was canceled, Justman continued to work in television as a producer for the series Then Came Bronson, Search, Man from Atlantis, McClain’s Law, and MacGruder and Loud. He was also a producer for the tele-ﬁlms Assignment: Munich (1972), Roddenberry’s Planet Earth (1974), Gideon’s Trumpet (1980), Emergency Room (1983), and Dark Mansions (1986). When Roddenberry revived the Star Trek franchise in 1987 with Star Trek: The Next Generation Justman returned to the series as a supervising producer for the ﬁrst several years. He retired in the late 1980s.

KAGAN, JANET Science ﬁction writer Janet Kagan died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on February 29, 2008. She was 61. Kagan was born on April 18, 1946. She was the author of numerous science

Janet Kagan (her Star Trek novel Uhura’s Song)

ﬁction novels and short stories. She was best known for writing the 1985 Star Trek novel Uhura’s Song. She also authored the 1988 novel Hellspark and the Momma Jason Stories which were collected in the 1991 book Mirabile. Kagan won the Hugo Award for her 1992 novelette The Nutcracker Coup.

Robert Justman

KAGEL, MAURICIO Argentine-German composer Mauricio Kagel died after a long illness in Cologne, Germany, on September 18, 2008. He was 76. Kagel was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 24, 1931. He was a self-taught composer and began working with the avant-garde musical group Agrupacion Nueca Musica in the late 1940s. Kagel became director of the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires in 1955. He moved to Germany in 1957 where he exper-

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Mauricio Kagel

Kenneth Keith Kallenbach

imented with electronic and chamber music. He created the musical theatrical piece Sur Scene in 1960. Kagel was also involved in multi-media, making several ﬁlms including Hallelujah (1967), which was composed on pieces of card and performed in variable order, and Match fur Drei Spieler (1967), which was a tennis game for cellists with a percussionist as the umpire. He also created Ludwig van (1970) to commemorate the Beethoven bicentenary. Kagel also taught music courses at various colleges and universities and was professor for new music theatre at the Cologne Conservatory from 1974 to 1997.

pneumonia in a Chester County, Pennsylvania, hospital on April 24, 2008. He fell ill in jail, where he was being held on charges of attempted child abduction. He was 39. Kallenbach was born on March 20, 1969. He began appearing on Stern’s radio show in 1990, contributing weird antics to the already weird program, including attempts to blow smoke from his eyes. He also appeared on episodes of the television incarnation of Stern’s program, and guested on segments of Geraldo, Real TV, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He was featured in several adult ﬁlms and made cameo appearances in such mainstream features as Jerry Maguire (1996), The Stand-In (1999), Girl, Interrupted (1999), and Everything’s Jake (2000). He also had a small role in episodes of Sex in the City and Human Giant and appeared in various commercials. Kallenbach had several run-ins with the law, including drunken driving convictions and probation violation. He was reportedly was suffering from cystic ﬁbrosis which contributed to his developing pneumonia.

KAHN, DAVID Composer David Kahn, who was best known for creating the theme song for the Leave It to Beaver television series, died in Woodland Hills, California, on July 3, 2008. He was 98. Kahn was born on October 14, 1909. He began his musical career in the 1930s, playing saxophone and singing with touring big bands. He served in the Army Air Force during World War II and headed to Hollywood after the war to work as a music arranger for Republic Studios and Filmways Television. He orchestrated or scored for such ﬁlms as The Long Knight (1947), Vigilante Terror (1953), The Golden Mistress (1954), The Unknown Terror (1957), Back from the Dead (1957), Copper Sky (1957), Ride a Violent Mile (1957), The Cool and the Crazy (1958), Blood Arrow (1958), Desert Hell (1958), Island of Lost Women (1959), and Angel Baby (1961). He composed and orchestrated the theme for television’s Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Mister Ed, and Mike Hammer, and contributed incidental music for such series as Hopalong Cassidy, M Squad, The Restless Gun, Suspicion, 21 Beacon Street, Overland Trail, and Law of the Plainsman. He sang along with composer Vic Mizzy on the classic theme for The Addams Family, and was a music coordinator for that series and Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, and The Beverly Hillbillies. Kahn also worked as a music editor on the ﬁlms Electra Glide in Blue (1973) and Animal House (1978), and the tele-ﬁlm Memories Never Die (1982). His other television credits include the series Bearcats!, Whiz Kids, and Simon & Simon. KALLENBACH, KENNETH KEITH Comedian Kenneth Keith Kallenbach, a frequent member of Howard Stern’s Wack Pack, died of complications from

KAMEL, STANLEY Actor Stanley Kamel, who starred as psychiatrist Charles Kroger in the Monk television series, was found dead of a heart attack at his Hollywood Hills, California, home on April 8, 2008. He was 65. Kamel was born in South River, New Jersey, on January 1, 1943. He began his acting career on the New York stage, and appeared as Eric Peters in the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives from 1972 to

Stanley Kamel

223 1976. He was primarily known for his work in television, with roles in such series as Mission: Impossible, The Mod Squad, Mannix, The Rookies, The Sixth Sense, Emergency!, Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, Get Christie Love!, Switch, McMillan & Wife, Kojak, Charlie’s Angels, 240-Robert, The Incredible Hulk, Eight Is Enough, Eischied, House Calls, The Phoenix, Lou Grant, Mork and Mindy, Quincy, Barney Miller, Three’s Company, Goodnight, Beantown, Riptide, Knight Rider, Hill Street Blues in the recurring of Agent Ramsey, Hardcastle and McCormick, The Fall Guy, Rituals, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Mr. Belvedere, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Hunter in the recurring role of Brad Wilkes, Hooperman, Probe, The Highwayman, Cagney and Lacey in the recurring role of Mick Solomon, Paradise, Mancuso, F.B.I., Beauty and the Beast, Empty Nest, Murder, She Wrote, Valerie, Matlock, Father Dowling Mysteries, The Golden Girls, L.A. Law in the recurring role of Mark Gilliam, Reasonable Doubts, MacGyver, 2000 Malibu Road, Homefront, and Diagnosis Murder. He starred as Bruce Teller in the Aaron Spelling primetime soap opera Melrose Place in 1994, and was Tony Marchette in Beverly Hills 90210 in 1995. He was also featured as Dr. Graham Lester in the crime series Murder One from 1995 to 1996. Kamel also continued to guest-star in such series as Dark Skies, High Incident, ER, The Nanny, Total Security, C-16: FBI, Pensacola: Wings of Gold, Marshal Law, L.A. Doctors, Cracker, Seventh Heaven, NYPD Blue, Dark Angel, The Gena Davis Show, Six Feet Under, the political drama Mister Sterling in the recurring role of Arthur Peyton, The Guardian, General Hospital as Cody McCall, The D.A., The West Wing, and Reba. Kamel was also featured in numerous tele-ﬁlms including Short Walk to Daylight (1972), Mallory: Circumstantial Evidence (1976), In the Glitter Palace (1977), Rainbow (1978), Captain America II (1979), The Gossip Columnist (1980), My Mother’s Secret Life (1984), Old Friends (1984), Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story (1984), A Bunny’s Tale (1985), The Rape of Richard Beck (1985), Columbo: Agenda for Murder (1990), We’ll Take Manhattan (1990), Bar Girls (1990), Honor Thy Father and Mother: The True Story of the Menendez Murders (1994), Dancing with Danger (1994), Ray Alexander: A Taste for Justice (1994), Like Father, Like Santa (1998), and An American Daughter (2000). He also appeared onscreen in many feature ﬁlms including Corvette Summer (1978), Making Love (1982), Star 80 (1983), Murder by Numbers (1990), Come the Morning (1993), Automatic (1994), Ravager (1997), Affair to Remember (1998), Running Red (1999), Stonebrook (1999), Under Pressure (2000), Eat Your Heart Out (2000), The A-List (2001), Judge Koan (2003) in the title role, Domino (2005), Inland Empire (2006), Last Day (2006), Jane Doe: How to Fire Your Boss (2007), and The Urn (2008). He was featured as Dr. Charles Kroger, quirky detective Adrian Monk’s psychiatrist, in the television series Monk from 2002 until his death.

KAMERON, PETE Talent manager, publisher, and record and ﬁlm producer Pete Kameron died of cancer at his home in Beverly Hills, California, on

2008 • Obituaries

June 29, 2008. He was 87. Kameron was born in New York City on March 18, 1921. He began working in the music industry in the 1950s, managing such artists as the Weavers and the Modern Jazz Quartet. He worked with The Who in the 1960s and was a founder of the Track Records label that recorded The Who, Jimi Hendrix, and others. Kameron was a co-founder and principal investor of the LA Weekly newspaper in the early 1980s. He also served as a producer for several independent ﬁlms including You Better Watch Out (aka Christmas Evil) (1980) and Miss Right (1982).

KANBE , MIYUKI Japanese actress Miyuki Kanbe, who was best known as the voice of Sailor Moon, died of heart failure in a Kawasaki, Japan, hospital on June 18, 2008. She was 24. Kanbe was born in Kanagawa, Japan, on May 7, 1984. She starred as Usagi

Miyuki Kanbe

Tsukino and her magical alter-ego Sailor Moon in the musical stage adaptation in 2000 and 2001. She also performed in such anime productions as Battle Royale II: Requiem (2003) as Kyoko Kakei and Kamen Rider Hibiki as Hinaka Tachibana from 2005 to 2006. She was cast in the musical Les Miserables in 2007, but failing health forced her to drop out of the project.

KANE, RAY Ray Kane, who repopularized the Hawaiian slack-key guitar, died of respiratory failure in Honolulu on February 27, 2008. He was 82. He was

Ray Kane

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born Raymond Kaleoalohapoinaoleohelemanu Kane on the island of Kauai on October 2, 1925. He learned to play the guitar and ukulele at an early age. He served in the Army Air Force during World War II and returned to Hawaii after the war. He worked as a welder and mainly performed for friends and family. He made his ﬁrst recording in the early 1960s and soon brought renewed interest in the traditional slack-key style of guitar playing. He was named a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1987 and recorded several albums including Master of the Slack Key Guitar (1988), Punahele (1994), and Wa’ahila (1998).

KANN, STAN Organist and television personality Stan Kann died of complications from heart surgery in a St. Louis, Missouri, hospital, on September 29, 2008. He was 83. Kann was born in St. Louis on December 9, 1924. He began playing the organ at the age of four and studied classical organ in college. He was hired by the Fabulous Fox Theatre to play their Wurlitzer pipe organ in 1953, performing between movies and for special events. He remained at Fox for

Peter Kapetan

and The Wild Party. Kapetan was featured as a Ronald Reagan impersonator in the Broadway musical The Wedding Singer in 2006, and was featured in a small role in the 2008 ﬁlm Farm Girl in New York.

KASS , PETER Stage actor, director and teacher Peter Kass died of heart failure in Manhattan, New York, on August 4, 2008. He was 85. Kass was born in Brooklyn on April 28, 1923. He began his theatrical career working with Clifford Odets on the drama The Country Girl in the late 1940s and appeared in a supporting role when the play debuted on Broadway in 1950. Kass also appeared on Broadway as the bellboy in the American premiere of Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit,

Stan Kann

over 20 years and was also heard frequently on the NBC Radio Network. Kann was seen on St. Louis television as a frequent performer on Charlotte Peter’s Show and was co-host of The Noon Show. He moved to Los Angeles in 1975, where he became a popular comic guest on television talk shows. He made over 70 appearances on The Tonight Starring Johnny Carson, and was seen in numerous episodes of The Mike Douglas Show, The Merv Grifﬁn Show, The Allen Hamel Show, and Hee Haw. Kann returned to St. Louis in 1998 and resumed playing his Wurlitzer for groups at Fox. He was also the subject of a 2005 documentary Stan Kann: The Happiest Man in the World.

KAPETAN, PETER Broadway performer Peter Kapetan died in New York City on June 4, 2008. He was 51. Kapetan was born in Fairﬁeld, Connecticut, on October 21, 1956. He studied dance and made his Broadway debut in the unsuccessful 1979 musical Got Tu Go Disco. He also appeared on Broadway in Sunset Boulevard and Titanic, and Off-Broadway and touring productions of Camelot, Aida, The Scarlet Pimpernel,

Peter Kass

directed by John Huston. He also directed several Broadway plays including Lorraine Hansberry’s The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window in 1964. He wrote and directed the ﬁlm drama Time of the Heathen in 1962. Kass was noted as a drama teacher at Boston University in the 1950s and at New York University in the 1960s and 1970s, training such stars as Faye Dunaway, Maureen Stapleton, and Olympia Dukakis. He also appeared on television in two episodes of Law & Order in the early 1990s.

KASSELL, KENNY Kenny Kassell, who was a stage manager at numerous bodybuilding contests and a casting director for ﬁlm, died of congestive heart fail-

225

Kenny Kassel

ure in Montreal, Canada, on December 22, 2008. He was 53. Kassell became involved in the ﬁtness industry in the 1970s and opened his own gym in 1981. He specialized in training bodybuilder, particularly women, in the New York Area. He formed the Beuti-Fit Talent Agency in the 1980s to promote female ﬁtness model Raye Hollitt, who became a star of the American Gladiators television show. Kassell became the business manager of World Kickboxing Champion Don “The Dragon” Wilson in the early 1990s. He served as a casting director for the ﬁlms Nemesis 2: Nebula (1995), Nemesis III: Prey Harder (1996), Whatever It Takes (1998), Redemption (2002), and Sci-Fighter (2004). He also was a casting associate for 2006’s Soft Target, and appeared in a small role as a barroom patron. Kassell also worked backstage on numerous NPC (National Physique Committee) events throughout North America.

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1966 Canadian ﬁlm Footsteps in the Snow before starring as Bernard Chanticleer in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1966 comedy You’re a Big Boy Now. Kastner also appeared on television in an episode of the western series Cimarron Strip, and was Lonnie Winters in the soap opera Edge of Night in 1966. His promising career suffered a major setback when he starred as Timmie Blair in the short-lived sitcom The Ugliest Girl in Town in 1968. His role as a young man disguised as a girl was considered to be one of the most disastrous ﬂops in television history. He returned to the big screen in the 1971 ﬁlm B.S. I Love You. He also appeared in television productions of The Scarecrow (1972), Steambath (1973), and If I Had a Million (1973). Kastner’s other television credits include episodes of Medical Center, Love, American Style, Marcus Welby, M.D., and Emergency! He starred as Leo Strauss in the 1977 Canadian comedy series Custard Pie, and was Prof. Dave Jennings in the short-lived frat sitcom Delta House in 1979. Kastner was also seen in the ﬁlms American Raspberry (1977), Frightmare (1983), and Unﬁnished Business (1984), and the tele-ﬁlms Time Warp (1981) and The Perfect Woman (1981). His other television credits include episodes of King of Kensington, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and Simon & Simon. In recent years, Kastner returned to Toronto where he performed in comedy clubs. His act often mocked his own tumultuous career and included attacks on his late mother, which led to bitter relations with the rest of his family.

KATOUCHA African fashion model Katoucha Niane was found dead in the Seine River in Paris on February 29, 2008. She was 47. She had been missing

KASTNER, PETER Canadian actor Peter Kastner died of a heart attack while driving his car in downtown Toronto, Canada, on September 18, 2008. He was 64. Kastner was born in Canada on October 1, 1943. He began his career as a child actor on Canadian television and starred in a production of the children’s drama Emil and the Detectives. He also starred in the Canadian variety series Time of Your Life before making his ﬁlm debut as a juvenile delinquent in 1964’s Nobody Waved Goodbye. He was also featured in the

Katoucha

Peter Kastner

since February 1, 2008, and was thought to have fallen in the river while returning to her houseboat after a party. She was born in Conakry, Guinea, in 1960, and was raised in Senegal. She ran away to Europe at the age of seventeen to pursue a career in modeling. She made her debut on the catwalk for Thierry Mugler in the early 1980s. She became one of the ﬁrst supermodels of African descent, working with such top designers as Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Lacroix. She also appeared in the 1988 ﬁlm How Good the Whites

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Are. Known only as Katoucha, she began her own fashion label in 1994. She also became an outspoken opponent of female genital mutilation, which is still in practice in parts of her homeland. She recounted her own experiences as a child in her 2007 autobiography, Katoucha, in My Flesh. She had recently completed ﬁlming Ramata, a feature directed by Leandre-Alain Baker, scheduled for release later in the year. KATSELAS, MILTON Acting teacher and director Milton Katselas died of heart failure in a Los Angeles hospital on October 24, 2008. He was 74. Katselas was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 22, 1933. He studied at the Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg and became an acting teacher in the late 1950s. Over the next ﬁfty years he trained such talent as Tyne Daly, Michelle Pfeiffer, Gene Hackman, George Clooney, Kim Cattral, Alec Baldwin, James Cromwell, Patrick Swayze, and Kate Hudson. He made

Milton Katselas

his directorial debut with an Off-Broadway production of Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story, and earned a Tony nomination for Butterﬂies Are Free in 1969. Katselas also directed the 1972 ﬁlm version of Butterﬂies Are Free starring Goldie Hawn, and helmed the 1973 ﬁlm 40 Carats, also with Hawn. He also directed the ﬁlms Report to the Commissioner (1975) and When You Comin’ Back Red Ryder? (1979), and the Broadway productions Camino Real and The Rose Tattoo. His other credits include the tele-ﬁlms Strangers: Story of a Mother and Daughter (1979) starring Bette Davis and The Rules of Marriage (1982). He was also the author of the books Dreams into Action: Getting What You Want and Acting Class: Take a Seat. Katselas founded the Beverly Hills Playhouse in 1978, where he continued to teach until his death. KAU, GARY Actor and teacher Gary Kau died in Honolulu, Hawaii, on November 6, 2008. He was 62. Kau was born in Honolulu on November 25, 1945. He was the longtime drama teacher at W.R. Farrington High School in Honolulu. He also appeared in small roles in nearly a dozen episodes of the television series Hawaii Five-0 from 1973 to 1979. KAWADA, AKO Japanese television personality Ako Kawada was found dead in her car in Tokyo’s

Ako Kawada

Minato-ku on the morning of May 26, 2008. She had apparently committed suicide by inhaling toxic carbon monoxide gas. She was 29. Kawada was born in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, in 1978. She began working with national television station TBS as an announcer and host in 2002, appearing on such programs as Goro’s Bar, J-Sports, Shinyanoshi, and Body. She left TBS and began working freelance in 2007. Kawada subsequently served as the host of TV Asahi’s Saturday Scramble.

KAWAUCHI, YASUNORI Japanese novelist and screenwriter Yasunori Kawauchi died of pneumonia in a Hachinohe, Japan, hospital on April 6, 2008. He was 88. Kawauchi was born in Hakodate, Japan, on February 26, 1920. He began working at Toho Films in 1941 as a scene shifter. He began writing ﬁlms in the early 1950s but was best known for creating the super hero Gekko Kamen (Moonlight Mask) for the 1958 television series. He wrote several of the feature ﬁlms and created a manga comic book starring the hero. He also created Rainbowman, who starred in a 1972 television series. Kawauchi scripted the ﬁlms The Ghosts of Kasane Swamp (1957), The Man in the Moonlight Mask (1958), Moon Mask: The Claws of Satan (1958), Moon Mask: The Monster Gorilla (1959), Moon Mask: The Challenging Ghost (1959), Spectrum Mask (1959), Moon Mask: The Last Death of the Devil (1959), Jigoku ni Makkana Hana ga Kaku (1961), Dare-Yori mo Dare-Yori mo Kimi o Aisu (1961), Desperate to Love (1961) based on his

Yasunori Kawauchi

227 novel, Tokyo Drifter (1966), and Cherry Blossoms in the Air (1970). Moon Mask Rider returned as a feature ﬁlm in 1981.

KAY, RUDY Jean-Louis Cormier, who wrestled professionally as Rudy Kay, died of complications from stomach surgery in a New Brunswick, Canada, hospital on May 26, 2008. He was 65. He was the second Cormier brother to enter the wrestling business, following his brother Yvon “the Beast” Cormier. Two other brothers also became ring competitors under the

Rudy Kay

names Bobby Kay and Leo Burke. He began wrestling under the name Young Rudy Kay in Indianapolis in the 1960s because of his resemblance to an older wrestler of that name. He and his brothers wrestled throughout Canada, the United States and Australia but were best known for competing with the Eastern Sports Association and International Wrestling promotions in the Maritimes from 1969 to 1976. He also worked as a promoter in the area before retiring from the ring in the late 1970s.

2008 • Obituaries

Doloma (1964), O Aniforos (1964), Treason (1964), Diogmos (1964), O Kleftis (1965), Make Me a Woman (1965), The Ruthless (1965), Artista (1966), Tzeni Tzeni (1966), Trouba ’67 (1967), Matomeni Gi (1967), Erotes sti Lesvo (1967), O Ahortagos (1967), Girls in the Sun (1968), The Cannon and the Nightingale (1968), Zavolies (1969), I Sklava (1970), Provocation (1970), Lust for Sex (1970), The Mutiny of Ten (1970), Ta Vimata tis Fotias (1971), Conﬂict of Emotions (1971), Sinister Relations (1972), Lysistrati (1972), Boom (1972), Days of 36 (1972), Fygi (1973), Metamorfoseis (1973), Get on Your Mark (1973), John the Violent (1973), The Colors of the Rainbow (1974), Agouri Sarka (1974), Weak Spot (1975), The Traveling Players (1975), The Cell Zero (1975), Mais (1976), The Hunters (1977), Closed Window (1977), Ypothesi Polk (1978), I Kangeloporta (1978), Oi Dadades (1979), The Man with the Carnation (1980) as Major Georgios Papadopoulos, To Pazari (1983), Landscape in the Mist (1988), The Crossing (1989), The Yard with the Garbage (1993), End of an Era (1994), Country House (1994), Ulysses’ Gaze (1995), and Paralavate Diorismon (1996).

KAZANSKAYA, ALLA Russian stage and ﬁlm actress Alla Kazanskaya died in Moscow on June 25, 2008. She was 88. Kazanskaya was born in Russia on June 15, 1920. She studied acting at Moscow’s Shchukin Theatrical School of the Vakhtangov Theatre, where she made her stage debut in 1939. She continued to perform with the theatre for the next six decades, appearing in hundreds of productions. She was also seen

KAZAN , VANGELIS Greek actor Vangelis Kazan died in Athens, Greece, on March 10, 2008. He was 71. Kazan was born in Nafplio, Greece, in 1936. He was a leading actor in Greek ﬁlms from the late 1950s with such credits as I Limni ton Stenagmon (1959), Katrakylisma. sto Vourko (1962), I Soferina (1964), To Alla Kazanskaya

in the 1950 ﬁlm Bountiful Summer, and was featured in the 1971 television production There Are Enough Common People. Kazanskaya also appeared in the 1991 tele-ﬁlm Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime and the 1992 television series Alphabet of Love. She was featured in the 1994 ﬁlm The Iron Curtain and starred as Lidiya Stepanovna in Nikita Mikhalkov’s Oscar-winning foreign ﬁlm Burnt by the Sun in 1994. She also appeared in a small role in the 1997 ﬁlm The Saint starring Val Kilmer. Kazanskaya taught acting at the Vakhtangov Theatre from the 1960s and made her ﬁnal stage performance there in a 2006 production of The Beauty Queen. Vangelis Kazan

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228

KEANE, THELMA Thelma Keane, who provided the inspiration for the Mommy character in her husband’s Family Circus comic strip, died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in Paradise Valley, Arizona, on May 23, 2008. She was 82. She was born in Australia on March 15, 1926, and met her future husband, Bil Keane, when he was stationed there during World War II. They married in 1948 and raised ﬁve

recorded over 20 albums during her career and performed traditional Hawaiian music at concerts throughout the world. She continued to entertain at local nightspots with her four piece band until several days before her death.

KEENE, MIKE Character actor Mike Keene died on April 15, 2008. He was 98. Keene was born on August 19, 1909. He appeared frequently on television and in occasional ﬁlms in the 1950s and 1960s. His ﬁlm credits include Alfred Hitchcock’s The Wrong Man (1956), Satan in High Heels (1962), and Violent Mid-

Thelma Keane

children. Keane created the Family Circus comic strip in 1960 that reﬂected his family life. The popular comic, which Keane continues to produce with his youngest son Jeff, appears in nearly 1,500 newspapers. Thelma was also her husband’s business and ﬁnancial manager and was instrumental in Keane becoming one of the ﬁrst syndicated newspaper cartoonists to win back all rights to his comic.

KEAWI, GENOA LEILANI Genoa Leilani Keawi, a leading performer of Hawaiian music known as Aunt Genoa, died in Honolulu, Hawaii, on February 25, 2008. She was 89. She was born Genoa Leilani Adolpho on October 31, 1918. She began singing with the Mormon choir on the island of La’ie and made her professional debut in the late 1930s. She performed with George Hookano’s band prior to World War II and was a regular guest on the early television series Lucky Luck Show and Hawaii Calls. Aunt Genoa

Genoa Leilani Keawe

Mike Keene

night (1963). He was also seen on television in episodes of Men of Annapolis, Harbourmaster, Highway Patrol, The Gale Storm Show, The Californians, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Wagon Train, Lock Up, One Step Beyond, The Man and the Challenge, Men into Space, Sea Hunt, The Aquanauts, Bronco, Our Five Daughters, and Flipper.

KEHOE, VINCENT Make-up artist Vincent Kehoe, whose credits include the science ﬁction classic The Blob, died in Somis, California, on August 17, 2008. He was 86. Kehoe was born on September 12, 1921. He served in the U.S. Signal Corps during World War II and began working as a make-up artist later in the decade. He provided make-up for numerous television dramas in New York airing on Ford Theatre, Stu-

Vincent Kehoe

229 dio One, and Hallmark Hall of Fame. Kehoe also transformed Lon Chaney, Jr., into the Frankenstein Monster for an episode of Tales of Tomorrow in 1952. He also worked on such ﬁlms as Catskill Honeymoon (1950), Carousel (1956), Giant (1956), The Blob (1959), The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), and Charly (1968). Kehoe was the author of over a dozen books on make-up including Special Make-Up Effects, The Technique of Film and Television Make-Up, Photographic Make-Up for Stills and Movies, and The Professional Make-Up Artist.

2008 • Obituaries

writer and played in a jazz band with actors Conrad Janis and George Segal.

KELLEY, ALTON Artist Alton Kelley, who was best known for his designs for rock concert posters of the 1960s, died of complications from osteoporosis at his home in Petaluma, California, on June 1, 2008. He was 67. Kelley was born in Houlton, Maine, on June 17, 1940. He studied art in New York and Philadelphia before heading to San Francisco in 1964. He be-

KELLER , SHELDON Television comedy writer Sheldon Keller died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at his home in Valencia, California, on September 1, 2008. He was 85. Keller was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 20, 1923. He headed to New York in the early 1950s, where he began writing comedy skits for television. He joined the staff that wrote the landmark comedy series Caesar’s Hour, collaborating with such fellow comics as Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, and Woody Allen. Keller received three Emmy nominations for his work on Caesar’s Hour Alton Kelley

Sheldon Keller

from 1956 to 1958 and also earned a nomination for writing The Danny Kaye Show in 1964. He won an Emmy for the 1966 television special An Evening with Carol Channing and received another nomination for 1966’s Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music Part II. He also wrote for such television series as The Bob Hope Show, Make Room for Daddy, Ensign O’Toole, The Jonathan Winters Show, Temperatures Rising, The Art Carney Show, Shirley Temple’s Storybook, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Vacation Playhouse, The Engelbert Humperdinck Show, The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine, M*A*S*H, and House Calls. Keller was also a writer on such television productions as With Love, Sophia (1967), Frank Sinatra: Sinatra (1969), Bing Crosby and Carol Burnett: Together Again for the First Time (1969), What Now, Catherine Curtis? (1976), The Beatles Forever (1977), Paul Lynde at the Movies (1979), and Side by Side (1988). He also worked on several ﬁlms including Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell (1968), Cleopatra Jones (1973), and Mel Brooks’ Movie Movie (1978). Keller was also a composer and song-

came active in the music scene and was part of the Family Dog, a loose association of artists, musicians and others who were involved in the early psychedelic movement. Kelley teamed with fellow artist Stanley Miller, known as Mouse, to produce posters to promote concerts. They formed Mouse Studios, producing over 150 posters for such groups as Big Brother and the Holding Company, the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Moby Grape, and Quicksilver Messenger Served from 1966 to 1969. The Dead later adapted Kelley’s poster design of a skeleton with roses as its emblem. He and Mouse also designed covers for several of their albums. They later designed album art for Steve Miller and Journey and formed the Monster T-shirt company to make their art wearable.

KENNEDY, BOB Television gameshow host Bob Kennedy died in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on June 26, 2008. He was 86. Kennedy was born on January 23, 1922. He began his career on stage and was featured on Broadway as Curly in Oklahoma! in the

Bob Kennedy

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1940s. Kennedy worked in television gameshows in the 1950s, hosting the quiz shows Wingo and Window Shopping. He also served as a substitute host on the shows Beat the Clock, Feather Your Nest, The Price Is Right, and Treasure Hunt, and was an announcer for Name That Tune. He later established a production company for trade shows to demonstrate the products of his many clients.

KENNEDY , KEITH Stage director and teacher Keith Kennedy died of congestive heart failure in Memphis, Tennessee, on December 17, 2008. He was 78. Kennedy was raised in a small town in West Texas and sent several years in the U.S. Air Force. He earned his Ph.D. in theater arts from the University of Florida in Gainesville and taught drama there in the early 1960s. He came to Memphis State University in

Herbert Kenwith

Keith Kennedy

Strange Paradise in the late 1960s and helmed the Star Trek episode “The Lights of Zetar” in 1969. He also directed the tele-ﬁlms Tiger, Tiger (1969), Man in the Middle (1972), Home Cookin’ (1975), and Dear Teacher (1981), and the 1973 feature Shadow of Fear. Kenwith worked frequently with Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin’s Tandem Productions from the 1970s. He directed episodes of such series as Here’s Lucy, The Partridge Family, Mary Tyler Moore, the soap operas The Doctors and The Young and the Restless, Temperatures Rising, Sanford and Son, Good Times, All That Glitters, Grandpa Goes to Washington, Diff ’rent Strokes, A New Kind of Family, Joe’s World, Too Close for Comfort, Here’s Boomer, Me and Maxx, Bosom Buddies, Aloha Paradise, The Brady Brides, Private Benjamin, Mr. Merlin, Gimme a Break!, It’s Your Move, 9 to 5, and Amen. He largely retired by the late 1980s.

1965 to become director of the theater and chairman of the drama department there. He was best remembered for staging a controversial production of the antiwar musical Hair at Memphis State in 1970. It was the ﬁrst time Hair had been produced outside of New York City. Kennedy also directed productions of Man of La Mancha, Stop the World, I Want to Get Off, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and The Who’s rock opera Tommy before retiring in 1985. He continued his involvement in theater, directing plays for local community theaters.

KEOGH , THEODORA Novelist Theodora Keogh died in North Carolina on January 5, 2008. She was 88. She was born Theodora Roosevelt in New York City on June 30, 1919, the daughter of Archibald Roosevelt and granddaughter of President Theodore Roosevelt. She performed as a dancer in Canada and South America in the early 1940s before marrying illustrator and ﬁlm costume designer Tom Keogh in 1945. The couple moved to Paris. Theodora’s ﬁrst novel, Meg, a dark drama about a young woman that touched on sexual themes unusual for its day, was published in 1950.

KENWITH , HERBERT Television director Herbert Kenwith died of complications from prostate cancer in Los Angeles on January 30, 2008. He was 90. Kenwith was born in New Jersey on July 14, 1917. He began his career on stage as an actor and appeared in a Broadway production of I Remember Mama with Marlon Brando. He later produced and directed Broadway productions of Night Must Fall and Me and Molly. Kenwith was afﬁliated with Princeton University’s McCarter Theater for six years, helming over 60 plays. He moved into television in the early 1950s, directing episodes of the daytime dramas Valiant Lady and Lamp Unto My Feet. He also worked on the drama series Suspicion and The Investigator and the variety shows The Polly Bergen Show and The Jonathan Winters Show. He directed segments of the off-beat Gothic soap opera

Theodora Keogh (dancing with Alexander Iolas)

231 He next novel The Double Door (1952) proved even more shocking. She continued writing over the next decade, creating novels with conﬂicted characters and frequent homosexual and lesbian themes. Her other books include Street Music (1952), The Fascinator (1954), The Tattooed Heart (1956), My Name Is Rose (1956), The Fetish (aka The Mistress) (1959), Gemini (1961), and The Other Girl (1962). She had divorced Tom Keogh in the 1950s and was brieﬂy married to a tugboat captain after having bought one for herself. After their divorce she lived at the Chelsea Hotel in New York and kept a margay (a South American tiger cat) for company. One evening when Theodora had fallen asleep after overindulging in alcohol, the margay chewed off one of her ears. She remained self-conscious of the disﬁgurement and crafted her hairstyle to cover the missing appendage. She had abandoned writing in the early 1960s and moved to North Carolina in the 1970s. Keogh was shocked when her literary output was rediscovered and reissued by Olympia Press in 2002 and brought her to the attention of a new generation of readers after a forty year absence.

KEPLER, SHELL Actress Shell Kepler, who played nurse Amy Vining on the television soap opera General Hospital for over 20 years, died in Portland, Oregon, on February 1, 2008. She was 49. Kepler was born in Painesville, Ohio, on October 5, 1958. She moved to California with her family in the early 1970s and embarked upon an acting career later in the decade. She was featured in an episode of CHiPs and the 1979

2008 • Obituaries

Levi Kereama

Kereama was part of the band Lethbridge, and made the ﬁnal 12 for Australian Idol after being chosen by the judges for a wildcard spot. The baby-faced singer was a popular performer but was eliminated in sixth place. Kereama achieved a recording contract and released the album Destiny in 2004, which included the singles “In My Room” and “Handcuffs Off.” He had performed at the Parklife Festival in Brisbane immediately prior to his death.

KEUNE, MARGOT Dutch model and actress Margot Keune, whose career ended in the early 1980s when she suffered a crippling stroke, died of euthanasia in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on August 8, 2008. She was 50. Keune was born in Amsterdam on August 14, 1957. She was a model in the 1970s and participated in the Miss Holland competition. The beautiful blonde was featured in several ﬁlms in the early 1980s including Paul Verhoeven’s Spetters (1980) and A Flight of Rainbirds (1981). She also worked as a journalist for the magazines Viva and Avenue, interviewing such celebrities as Roman Polanski, Nastassja Kinski, and Brigitte Bardot. Her career was cut short in 1983 when, at the age of 26, she suffered a crippling stroke. It took over two years before she was able to talk again, and she remained largely paralyzed and conﬁned to a wheelchair. Despite her inﬁrmities she persevered, posing in Playboy to show that disabled people could still be alluring. She also participated in a television documentary ﬁlm

Shell Kepler

ﬁlm The Great American Girl Robbery before landing the role of busybody nurse Amy Vining on General Hospital in 1979. She remained with the daytime soap through 2002 and also appeared in the role in the spinoff series Port Charles in the late 1990s. Kepler was also seen the ﬁlms Getting Wasted (1980) and Homework (1982) and was featured in several episodes of Three’s Company.

KEREAMA, LEVI Levi Kereama, a ﬁnalist on the ﬁrst season of Australian Idol in 2003, committed suicide by leaping to his death from a high-rise hotel room in Brisbane, Australia, on October 4, 2008. He was reportedly suffering from depression. He was 27.

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about her life made by actress Silvia Millecam. Keune became the muse and lover of photographer Geert de Bruin and also began painting. Their happiness together lasted a decade before de Bruin died of cancer in the late 1990s. Keune later wrote a book about their relationship, Landscapes of Desire: Goodbye to a Great Love.

KEY, TED Cartoonist Ted Key, who created the wise-cracking maid Hazel, died of complications from bladder cancer and a stroke at his home in Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania, on May 3, 2008. He was 95. Key was born in Fresno, California, on August 25, 1912. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1933 before heading for New York to draw cartoons freelance for magazines. Key was best known for creating Hazel for The Saturday Evening Post in 1943. The popular character soon became a regular

Ted Key

feature in the magazine, as well as a syndicated newspaper panel. Hazel came to life on the small screen when actress Shirley Booth starred in the role in a popular television series from 1961 through 1965, earning two Emmy Awards for her efforts. Key also joined with animator Jay Ward to create the time-traveling cartoon duo of Mr. Peabody and Sherman, who were a backup feature to Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons. Key’s other popular comic strip, Diz and Liz, ran in the Jack and Jill children’s magazine from 1961 to 1972. He also provided the stories to several ﬁlms from Disney in the 1970s including The Million Dollar Duck (1971), Gus (1976), and The Cat from Outer Space (1978). Key retired in 1993, but the Hazel strip continued in syndication from King Features with his previously drawn material.

KEYES, EVELYN Actress Evelyn Keyes, who was featured as Scarlett O’Hara’s younger sister Suellen in the classic ﬁlm Gone with the Wind, died of uterine cancer at her home in Montecito, California, on July 4, 2008. She was 91. She was born in Port Arthur, Texas, on November 20, 1916. She began her career dancing in nightclubs before heading to Hollywood at the age of 17. She was signed to a contract by Cecil B. DeMille, and was cast in the 1938 ﬁlm The Buccaneer. The beautiful blonde actress continue to appear in small roles in

Evelyn Keyes

such ﬁlms as Dangerous to Know (1938), Men with Wings (1938), Sons of the Legion (1938), Artists and Models Abroad (1938), Paris Honeymoon (1939), Sudden Money (1939), and Union Paciﬁc (1939). She was cast as Suellen O’Hara in the 1939 ﬁlm adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s novel Gone with the Wind. Her character saw her older sister, Scarlett, steal her husband to save their plantation. The role led to a contract with Columbia Pictures, where she starred in Lady in Question, directed by Charles Vidor. Keyes was married to Englishman Barton Bainbridge, and Vidor’s wife was actress Karen Morley. Keyes and Vidor became romantically involved. Bainbridge subsequently committed suicide, and the two wed after Vidor divorced Morley. Their marriage was short-lived when Keyes learned after several years that Vidor was also cheating on her. Her ﬁlm career continued with supporting roles in A features and leads in B pictures. She was seen in such ﬁlms as Slightly Honorable (1940), Before I Hang (1940) with Boris Karloff, Beyond the Sacramento (1940), The Face Behind the Mask (1941), Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), Ladies in Retirement (1941), The Adventures of Martin Eden (1942), Flight Lieutenant (1942), The Desperadoes (1943), Dangerous Blondes (1943), There’s Something About a Soldier (1943), Nine Girls (1944), Strange Affair (1944), A Thousand and One Nights (1945), Renegades (1945), The Thrill of Brazil (1946), The Jolson Story (1946), Johnny O’Clock (1947), The Mating of Millie (1948), Enchantment (1948), Mr. Soft Touch (1949), and Mrs. Mike (1949). Keyes had married director John Huston in 1946 and shared his adventurous lifestyle for the 4 years of their marriage. She lived with producer Mike Todd for several years in the early 1950s and was featured in a small role in his 1956 production of Around the World in Eighty Days. He left her soon after the premiere for Elizabeth Taylor. During the 1950s, Keyes was also seen in the ﬁlms The Killer That Stalked New York (1950), Smuggler’s Island (1951), The Prowler (1951), Iron Man (1951), One Big Affair (1952), It Happened in Paris (1953), Rough Shoot (1953), 99 River Street (1953), Hell’s Half Acre (1954), Top of the World (1955), and The Seven Year Itch (1955) as Tom Ewell’s wife. She also appeared on television in episodes of Lux Video Theatre and Climax! She married bandleader Artie Shaw in 1957, and she largely gave up

233 her acting career to travel around the world with him. They separated after several years of marriage but did not divorce until 1985. Keyes returned to television in 1968, appearing in a production of A Matter of Diamonds on ITV Playhouse. She again resumed her acting career in the early 1980s, appearing in episodes of The Love Boat, Amazing Stories, and Murder, She Wrote, and the ﬁlms A Return to Salem’s Lot (1987) and Wicked Stepmother (1989). She was also the author of the autobiographical novel I Am a Billboard, and the memoirs Scarlett O’Hara’s Younger Sister and I’ll Think About It Tomorrow

KEYES, TONY Actor Tony Guzman, who appeared in ﬁlms and television under the name Tony Keyes, was killed when his car veered from California’s Interstate 5 and crashed into several trees near midnight on December 15, 2008. He was 48. He was born Robert Anthony Guzman in Sacramento, California, in 1960. He began acting on stage while a student at Sacra-

Tony Keyes

mento City College in the late 1970s, and became a popular actor in theatrical productions throughout California over the next decade. He was acclaimed for his roles in the plays P.S. Your Cat Is Dead (1988) and Strange Snow (1991). He made his ﬁlm debut as an undercover cop in 1998’s Lethal Weapon 4. He also appeared on television in two episodes of Nash Bridges and was featured in the ﬁlms Making Something Up (2001) and Cutting Room (2006). He starred in the short ﬁlms Salome’s Kiss (2003), The Right Gift (2004), and Dies Irae (2005) and served as executive producer of the ﬁrst two.

KEYMAS, GEORGE Veteran character actor George Keymas died of a heart attack in Lantana, Florida, on January 17, 2008. He was 82. Keymas was born in Springﬁeld, Ohio, on November 18, 1925. He began his ﬁlm career in the early 1950s. Due to his swarthy features and pockmarked face he was often cast as heavies in ﬁlm and television production. Keymas was seen in such ﬁlms as I Shot Billy the Kid (1950), Border Rangers (1950), Actors and Sin (1952), The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (1952), Salome: The Dance of the Seven Veils (1953), Siren of Bagdad (1953), Flame of Calcutta (1953), The Robe (1953), King of the Khyber Riﬂes

2008 • Obituaries

(1953), Bait (1954), Wyoming Renegades (1954), They Rode West (1954), Drums of Tahiti (1954), The Raid (1954), The Black Dakotas (1954), The Bamboo Prison (1954), Stranger on Horseback (1955), Santa Fe Passage (1955), Apache Ambush (1955), Kismet (1955), The Vanishing American (1955), Fury at Gunsight Pass (1956), The Maverick Queen (1956), Kentucky Riﬂes (1956), Thunder Over Arizona (1956), Walk the Proud Land (1956), The White Squaw (1956), Utah Blaine (1957), The Storm Rider (1957), Apache Warrior (1957), Plunder Road (1957), Gunﬁre at Indian Gap (1957), Cole Younger, Gunﬁghter (1958), Gunsmoke in Tucson (1958), Studs Lonigan (1960), Lonely Are the Brave (1962), Arizona Raiders (1965), Beau Geste (1966), the 1967 teleﬁlm Winchester ’73, The Magniﬁcent Stranger (1967), Journey to Shiloh (1968), and The Other Side of Midnight (1977). Keymas also appeared frequently on television from the 1950s, guest-starring in such series as Hopalong Cassidy, Stories of the Century, The Lone Wolf, Soldiers of Fortune, Frontier, Crusader, The Ford Television Theatre, Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers, Studio 57, Whirlybirds, Navy Log, Circus Boy, Cheyenne, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Zorro, Colt .45, The Restless Gun, Mike Hammer, General Electric Theater, Texas John Slaughter, Trackdown, Playhouse 90, Bronco, Behind Closed Doors, Yancy Derringer, Tales of the Texas Rangers, The Loretta Young Show, U.S. Marshal, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, 26 Men, Black Saddle, Zane Grey Theater, Man with a Camera, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Startime, M Squad, The Deputy, Peter Gunn, Overland Trail, The Texan, Law of the Plainsman, the 1960 television production of The Slowest Gun in the West, Johnny Ringo, Shotgun Slade, The Twilight Zone episode “The Eye of the Beholder” as the grotesque Leader, Maverick, The Brothers Brannigan, The Life of Legend of Wyatt Earp, Stagecoach West, The Tall Man, Hawaiian Eye, The Bob Cummings Show, Tales of Wells Fargo, Laramie, Have Gun —Will Travel, The Untouchables, Combat!, Death Valley Days, The Virginian, Wagon Train, Rawhide, Honey West, Burke’s Law, Bonanza, T.H.E. Cat, Shane, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Time Tunnel, Laredo, Pistols ’n’ Petticoats, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Cimarron Strip, The Invaders, Wild Wild West, The F.B.I., Hondo, Mannix, The High Chaparral, The Big Valley, Daniel Boone, Lancer, Ironside, Rod Ser-

George Keymas

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ling’s Night Gallery, Alias Smith and Jones, The Six Million Dollar Man, Gunsmoke, Dirty Sally, and Barbary Coast.

KHABENSKAYA, ANASTASIA Russian actress Anastasia Khabenskaya died of a brain tumor in Los Angeles on December 3, 2008. She was 35. Khabenskaya was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1973. She

Anastasia Khabenskaya

was a radio journalist in Russia, and starred in Aleksandr Rogozhkin’s 2004 short science ﬁction ﬁlm Sapiens. Survivors include her husband, actor Konstantin Khabensky.

KHMELNITSKY, BORIS Russian actor Boris Khmelnitsky died in Moscow after a long illness on February 16, 2008. He was 67. Khmelnitsky was born in Ussuruiisk, Primorsky Territory, Russia, on June 26, 1940. He began his career on stage with the Taganka Drama and Comedy Theatre in Moscow 1964 and performed in numerous productions over the next several decades. He made his ﬁlm debut soon after and was often featured in adventurous roles. Khmelnitsky’s screen credits include Soﬁya Perovskaya (1967), The Eve of Ivan Kupalo (1968), Kto Vernyotsa, Dolyubit (1968), the Russian-Italian co-production The Red Tent (1969), Prince Igor (1970) in the title role, Defying Everybody (1972), Robin Hood’s Arrows (1976) as Robin Hood, Savage Hunt of King Stakh (1979), At the Beginning of

Boris Khmelnitsky

Glorious Days (1981), A Story of the Forest: Mavka (1981), The Black Triangle (1981), Sultan Beybars (1982), Parol “Otel Regina” (1983), The Ballad of Valiant Knight Ivanhoe (1983), Comic Lover or Love Escapades of Sir John Falstaff (1983), In Search for Captain Grant (1985), The Black Arrow (1985), Interception (1986), Tragedy, Rock Style (1988), The Adventures of Quentin Durward, Marksman of the Royal Guard (1988), I Hope Without Hope (1989), Caravan of Death (1991), Ubiystvo v Sunshine Menor (1992), the Italian ﬁlm Jonathan of the Bears (1993), Vesyolenkaya Poyezdka (1994), and Black Prince (2004).

KHORSAND, PHILIPPE French actor Philippe Khorsand died of an internal hemorrhage in Paris on January 29, 2008. He was 59. Khorsand was born in Paris on February 17, 1948. He was a leading performer in ﬁlms and television in France from the early 1970s. Khorsand was featured in the ﬁlms Take It Easy It’s a Waltz (1971), Lache-Moi les Valseuses!... (1977), The Bit Between the Teeth (1979), Out of Whack (1979), Inspector Blunder (1980), Casting (1982), Tempeches Tout le Monde de Mormir (1982), Claude Lelouch’s Edith and Marcel (1983), Zig Zag Story (1983), My Other Husband (1983), ComDads (1983), Petit Con (1984), The Vengeance of the Winged Serpent (1984), La Galette du

Philippe Khorsand

Roi (1986), Sauve-toi, Lola (1986), Les Frees Petard (1986), Septieme Ciel (1987), Les Oreilles entre les Dents (1987), Keep Your Right Up (1987), Les Annees Sandwiches (1988), Corps z’a Corps (1988), Mes Meilleurs Copains (1989), Extraordinary Adventure of an Ordinary Papa (1989), La Femme Fardee (1990), The Oddball (1992), List of Merite (1992), Part-Time Parents (1993), The Thirst for Gold (1993), Revenge of a Blonde (1994), Les Miserables (1995) as Javert, Men, Women: A User’s Manual (1996), The Best Job in the World (1996), Don Juan (1998), Beware of My Love (1998), First Christmas (1999) as Le Pere Noel, Total Western (2000), The Marcorelle Affair (2000), Ce Qui Compte Pour Mathilde (2001), Victoire (2004), A Year in My Life (2006), and Musee Haut, Musee Bas (2008). He was also featured as Richard Ribauton in the television series L’Appartement in 1984 and was Balthazar in M’as-tu-vu? in 1988. Khorsand also appeared in television productions of

235

2008 • Obituaries

Palace (1988), Il Banchetto di Platone (1989), Fantomes sur l’Oreiller (1989), Une Femme Explosive (1996), Mira la Magniﬁque (1997), L’Alne des Ferchaux (2001), Maigret et le Fou de Sainte Clotilde (2002), and Le Voyage de la Grande-Duchesse (2003). He was featured as Jacky Roche in the television series SoeurTherese.com, and was Richard Matisse in Une Famille Formidable in the early 2000s.

KIEFER, MARIANNE German actress Marianne Kiefer died of complications from diabetes in Kreischa, Saxony, Germany, on January 4, 2008. She was 79. Kiefer was born in Dresden, Germany, on September 3, 1928. She appeared frequently in television from the early 1970s, with roles in such productions as Kim Ji-Hoo

suffered when he acknowledged he was a homosexual earlier in the year, which was thought to have led to his depression and subsequent suicide.

Marianne Kiefer

Florentiner 73 (1972), Neues aus der Florentiner 73 (1974), Toggenburger Bock (1975), Heiraten/Weiblich (1975), Ein Altes Modell (1976), Iche bin Nicht Meinbe Tante (1980), Ein Engel im Taxi (1981), Maxe Baumann (1981) as Aunt Paula, Leute sind auh Menschen (1986), Maxe Baumann aus Berlin (1987), and Drei Reizende Schwestern (1991) as Olga Knopf. She was also featured in the ﬁlms Bremsers Machen Urlaub (1973) and Mensch, Mein Papa...! (1988).

KIENITZ, DENNIS Dennis Kienitz, an avid collector of memorabilia relating to ice skater and actress Sonja Henie, died of complications from pancreatic cancer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on September 16, 2008. He was 59. Kienitz was born on March 19, 1949. He began his collection as a young man when he rescued a scrapbook about Henie that his mother was about to discard. He soon developed a life-long fascination with the Olympic skater, acquiring photos, move posters, dolls, ads, and ﬁlms of the star. His collection also included eight colorful costumes worn by Henie during her career that adorned mannequins at his home. KIM JI-HOO South Korean actor and model Kim Ji-Hoo was found dead at his home in Jamsil, southern Seoul, South Korea, on October 6, 2008, after hanging himself in an apparent suicide. He was 23. Kim began working as a fashion model in 2007 and appeared in several television soap operas. His career had

KIMBALL, FREDERIC Actor, writer and director Frederic Kimball died in New York City on October 4, 2008. He was 75. Kimball was born in East Hampton, Long Island, New York, on July 29, 1933. He began writing while attending Harvard University and was a founder of the Poets Theater. After serving in the Special Forces in Korea he eventually settled in New York City. He wrote and directed plays and contributed dialogue to several of Al Pacino’s movies including ...And Justice for All (1979), Author! Author! (1982), Dick Tracy (1990). He teamed with Al Pacino to make the ﬁlm Looking for Richard in 1996. Kimball was also seen in the ﬁlms The Murderer (1976) and Author! Author! (1982) as Larry Kotzwinkle. He wrote the 1985 tele-ﬁlm Blind Alleys and appeared in it the role of Woody. KINSELLA, BEN Ben Kinsella, the younger brother of British television star of Eastenders Brooke Kinsella, was stabbed to death by several other teenagers at a pub in Islington, London, England, on June 29, 2008. He was 16. Kinsella had followed his sister into acting, appearing on television in The Sewer King segment of Seven Wonders of the Industrial World in 2003 and as Tyrone Dooley in an episode of The Bill in 2004. His murder sparked outrage throughout England, and

Ben Kinsella

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his friends and family embarked on a campaign to halt teen violence.

KITT, EARTHA Entertainer Eartha Kitt, who graced stage and screen and purred her way to a role as Catwoman in the 1960s Batman series, died of colon cancer in Weston, Connecticut, on December 25, 2008. She was 81. She was born Eartha Mae Keith in North, South Carolina, on January 17, 1927. Born out of wedlock to mixed race parentage, Kitt suffered through an abusive childhood working in the cotton ﬁelds with a black family in South Carolina. She was sent to Harlem at the age of 8 to live with an aunt, Mamie Kitt, who she came to believe was her biological mother. Eartha studied piano and dance, though her homelife was still abusive. She frequently ran away from home and was working in a factory and largely homeless by her teens. She began her show business career when she passed an audition with the Katherine Dunham Dance Company. She made her ﬁlm debut with the troupe in 1948’s Casbah. She soon became a popular entertainer on the New York stage and in Paris cabarets, singing such songs as “Love for Sale” and “C’est Si Bon.” She was featured in the Broadway production New Faces of 1952, where she performed the hit number “Monotonous.” Soon after, she recorded her biggest hit, “Santa Baby.” She also performed on television in episodes of The Nat King Cole Show and Your Show of Shows, and starred in a production of Salome on Omnibus in 1955. She was also featured on British television in a production of Mrs. Patterson in 1956. Kitt co-starred with Sidney Poitier in the 1957 ﬁlm The Mark of the Hawk and was featured as Gogo Germaine in 1958’s St. Louis Blues. She was the Queen in a 1958 production of Heart of Darkness on Playhouse 90, and starred in the ﬁlms Anna Lucasta (1959) with Sammy Davis, Jr., and Saint of Devil’s Island (1961). She remained a popular stage performer throughout the 1960s and appeared on television in episodes of Burke’s Law, Ben Casey, Mission: Impossible, and I Spy, which earned her an Emmy nomination. She was also featured in the ﬁlms Synanon (1965), a German version of Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1965), and All About People (1967) as the narrator. Kitt’s reputation as a sex kitten made her the logical choice to take over the role of Batman’s feline nemesis Catwoman from Julie Newmar for several episodes of the cult television series in 1967. Her career was damaged in 1968 when she was invited to a White House luncheon and confronted Lady Bird Johnson about the Vietnam War, reportedly reducing the First Lady to tears. She was largely blacklisted over the next decade and was forced to continue her career in Europe. She was featured as Scheherazade in the 1971 British comedy Up the Chastity Belt and appeared in the 1972 television production Lieutenant Schuster’s Wife. She also appeared in an episode of The Protectors and the 1975 blaxsploitation ﬁlm Friday Foster starring Pam Grier. Kitt resumed her career in the United States in 1978 and was invited back to the White House by President Jimmy Carter. She also earned her ﬁrst Tony Award nomination for the hit Broadway musical Timbuktu! She recorded the disco hit “Where Is My Man”

Eartha Kitt

and a new album, Love Men, in the early 1980s. She was also seen on television in episodes of Police Woman, Miami Vice, Matrix, New York Undercover, Living Single, Viva Variety, The Famous Jet Jackson, and Welcome to New York. She also appeared in the tele-ﬁlms To Kill a Cop (1978), A Night on the Town (1983), and Anne Rice’s Feast of All Saints (2001), and the features The Serpent Warriors (1985), Dragonard (1987) as Naomi, The Pink Chiquitas (1987) as the voice of Betty the Meteor, Master of Dragonard (1989), Erik the Viking (1981) as Freya, Living Doll (1990), Ernest Scared Stupid (1991), Boomerang (1992) with Eddie Murphy, Fatal Instinct (1993), Harriet the Spy (1996), Ed Wood’s I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998), Holes (2003) as Madame Zeroni, On the One (2005), and And Then Came Love (2007). Kitt also became a frequent voice actor from the mid–1990s, working on such animated productions as The Magic Schoolbus (1995), Ill Gotten Gains (1997), The Wild Thornberrys (1998), Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (2000), Santa Baby (2001) as the voice of Emerald, My Life as a Teenage Robot (2003), and American Dad! (2007). She voiced Kaa the Python in a 1994 BBC Radio production of Kipling’s The Jungle Book, and was Bagheera the Panther in the 1998 animated ﬁlm version, Jungle Book: Mowgli’s Story. Kitt was the voice of Yzma in the hit animated feature The Emperor’s New Groove (2000), and reprised the role in The Emperor’s New Groove 2: Kronk’s New Groove

Eartha Kitt (as Bat-Villain Catwoman)

237 (2005). She earned two Daytime Emmy Awards as Yzma for the subsequent cartoon series The Emperor’s New School from 2006 to 2007. She starred as the wicked witch in touring productions of The Wizard of Oz in the late 1990s and received her second Tony nomination for the short-lived Broadway musical The Wild Party in 2000. She remained a captivating ﬁgure onstage and continued her career despite the diagnosis of colon cancer in 2006. Kitt was married once to real estate developer Bill McDonald from 1960 to 1965 and is survived by their daughter, Kitt Shapiro. She was noted for a string of high proﬁle romances with such celebrities as actor Orson Welles, cosmetics magnate Charles Revlon, and banker John Barry Ryan III. She authored three biographies during her storied life, Thursday’s Child (1956), Alone with Me (1976), and Still Here: Confessions of a Sex Kitten (1989).

KL

Rapper Kenny Lou, who performed as KL with the hip-hop group Screwball, died of complications from an asthma attack on March 28, 2008. Noted

KL

for his aggressive rhyming style, KL worked with such producers as Marley Marl and Pete Rock, and was featured on the song “Street Conﬂict” on Molemen’s album Killing Fields in 2006.

KLAUBER, GERTAN British character actor Gertan Klauber died in London after a long illness on August 1, 2008. He was 76. Klauber was born in Czechoslovakia on March 5, 1932. He appeared frequently in British ﬁlms and television from the late 1950s. His many ﬁlm credits include Missiles from Hell (1958), Don’t Panic Chaps! (1959), The Hands of Orlac (1960), The Breaking Point (1961), Three on a Spree (1961), The Kitchen (1961), Hot Enough for June (1964), Carry On Spying (1964), Carry On Cleo (1964), Operation Crossbow (1965), Dateline Diamonds (1965), The Big Job (1965), The Deadly Affair (1966), Follow That Camel (1967), Carry On Doctor (1967), Before Winter Comes (1969), Wuthering Heights (1970), Cry of the Banshee (1970), Venom (aka The Legend of Spider Forest) (1971), Carry On Henry (1971), Up the Front (1972), The Pied Piper (1972), Carry On Abroad (1972), Soft Beds, Hard Battles (1974), Percy’s Progress (1974), Operation: Daybreak (1975), The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976),

2008 • Obituaries

Gertan Klauber

Carry On Emmannuelle (1978), Bad Timing (1980), the 1983 James Bond ﬁlm Octopussy as Bubi, Top Secret! (1984), The Living Daylights (1987), and Backbeat (1994). Klauber was also featured in such television productions as The Government Inspector (1958), The Adventures of Ben Gunn (1958) as Black Dog, The Picnic at Sakkara (1959), The Sleeper (1964), Vendetta for the Saint (1969), Crime and Punishment (1979), Me You and Him (1979), The Cold Room (1984), The First Olympics: Athens 1896 (1984), Fortunes of War (1987), Jack the Ripper (1988), Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady (1992), Springing Lenin (1992), Good King Wenceslas (1994), Young Indiana Jones and the Attack of the Hawkmen (1995), and Fugee Girl (2001). Klauber’s other television credits include episodes of Assignment Foreign Legion, One Step Beyond, The Big Pull, Zero One, Man of the World, Crane, Espionage, No Hiding Place, Smuggler’s Bay, HMS Paradise, Thorndyke, Dixon of Dock Green, Theatre 625, The Wednesday Play, Danger Man, The Informer, The Man Who Never Was, The Saint, Doctor Who, The Revenue Men, The Troubleshooters, The Prisoner, Sherlock Holmes, The Avengers, Hadleigh, Paul Temple, Department S, The Goodies, Play of the Month, Softly Softly, Spy Trap, No Exit, Whoops Baghdad!, The Protectors, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Colditz, Upstairs, Downstairs, The Sweeney, The Adventurers, Poldark, The Famous Five, A Horseman Riding By, Room Service, The Professionals, A Fine Romance, The Odd Job Man, Black Adder the Third as King George III, Crossbow, Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Inspector Morse, The Bill, House of Cards, and Red Cap. Klauber was married to actress Gwendolyn Watts from 1959 until her death in 2000. KLEINHEINZ, MICHAEL Voice actor Michael Kleinheinz died of a heart attack on July 11, 2008. He was 56. Kleinheinz was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 14, 1951. He provided the dubbing voice for numerous Japanese animated productions from the early 1990s. Kleinheinz’s voice credits include Ushio and Tora (1992), Those Who Hunt Elves (1996), Slayers Return (1996), Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 (1998), Gasaraki (1998), Spriggan (1998), Princess Nine (1998), Excel Saga (1999), Sin: The Movie(2000), Najica: Blitz Tactics (2001), Street Fighter 2, Victory (2001), Parasite Dolls (2002), Full Metal Panic! (2002), Kaleido Star

Obituaries • 2008

238 a Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease (2000), The Farewell (2000), Chopi: Desire for Love (2002), Geburtig (2002), The Supplement (2002), Superprodukcja (2003), Supertex — Eine Stunde im Paradies (2003), Tomorrow’s Weather (2003), Vinci (2004), Solidarnosc, Solidarnosc... (2005), Persona non Grata (2005), Fale. Wyjazd (2006), We’re All Christs (2006), and Love Comes Lately (2007). Klosinski also served as director of photography for numerous television productions from the early 1970s including The Pad (1971), Dead Class (1977), Patbergs Erbe (1987), The Decalogue (1990), Modrzejewska (1990), Der Grosse Bellheim (1993), Kuchnia Polska (1993), Der Schattenmann (1996), Little Faith (1996), Der Konig von St. Pauli (1998), Liebe Mich bis in den Tod (1998), and Mein Alter Freund Fritz (2007).

Michael Kleinhenz

(2003), Gantz (2004), Madlax (2004), Chrono Crusade (2004), Lady Death (2004), and New Century Evangelion (1995).

KLOSINSKI, EDWARD Polish cinematographer Edward Klosinski died of complications from lung cancer at his home in Milanowek, Poland, on January 5, 2008. He was 65. Klosinski was born in Warsaw, Poland, on January 2, 1943. He attended the Lodz Film School, graduating in 1967. He made his debut as a cinematographer working on Andrzej Wajda’s The Birch Wood in 1970. Klosinski worked on many of Wajda’s subsequent ﬁlms including the award-winning 1981 feature Man of Iron. His numerous ﬁlm credits also include Run Counter Run (1972), Kill the Black Sheep (1972) Illumination (1973), The Promised Land (1975), Camouﬂage (1977), Man of Marble (1977), Top Dog (1978), Spiral (1978), A Room with a View on the Sea (1978), Without Anesthesia (1978), The Young Ladies of Wilko (1979), Chance (1979), Childish Questions (1981), Mother of Kings (1983), Bella Donna (1983), The Cop and the Girl (1985), Chronicle of Amorous Accidents (1986), Magic Sticks (1987), And the Violins Stopped Playing (1988), Kill Cruise (1990), Life for Life: Maximilian Kolbe (1991), Europa (1991), Polish Cousine (1991), Three Colors: White (1994), A Woman’s Business (1996), Deceptive Charm (1996), The Pip (1996), An Air So Pure (1997), A Week in the Life of Man (1999), Gloomy Sunday (1999), Hidden Treasures (2000), Life as

Edward Klonsinski

KNEALE, PATRICIA British actress Patricia Kneale died in England on December 27, 2008. She was 83. Kneale was born in Torquay, Devon, England, on October 17, 1925, the daughter of strolling musicians. She studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began her career onstage in the late 1940s. She was noted for her performances in such Shakespearean productions as A Midsummer Nights Dream as Titania, The Tempest as Ariel, Henry IV, Part II as Doll Tearsheet, and The Comedy of Errors as Luciana. She also

Patricia Kneale

appeared in such plays as Mary Stuart in Scotland at the 1960 Edinburgh Festival, The Trojan Women at Frank Dunlap’s Pop Theatre Company in 1966, and Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days at the Welsh National Theatre in the late 1960s. Kneale also appeared on television in the role of Mrs. Parkin in the 1959 series The Budds of Paragon Row and was Judy Adamson in the BBC science ﬁction mini-series A for Andromeda in 1961. She appeared in television productions of Twelfth Night in 1950 and Berkeley Square in 1959. Her other television credits include The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, No Hiding Place, Crane, George & Mildred, and Rosie. She also appeared in the Spell of Evil episode of Thriller in 1973. She continued to perform onstage with repertory companies through the early 1980s

KNERR, RICHARD Richard Knerr, who cofounded the Wham-O toy company to produce the Frisbee and Hula Hoop, died of complications from a

239

2008 • Obituaries

mated ﬁlm Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas and was animation director for Joseph: King of Dreams in 2000. He wrote and directed Plumber in 2003, and was animator for 2004’s Pinocchio 3000. Knight also directed episodes of the cartoon series Get Ed in 2005.

KNOX, MONA Actress Mona Knox died of heart failure in a West Hollywood, California, hospital on June 11, 2008. She was 79. Knox was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, on May 1, 1929. She came to California with her family as a child, where she won several contests as a child model. She embarked on an acting career after attending college and made her ﬁlm Richard Knerr

stroke at an Arcadia, California, hospital on January 14, 2008. He was 82. Knerr was born in San Gabriel, California, on June 30, 1925. He went into business with his childhood friend Arthur “Spud” Melin in the late 1940s and had a huge success marketing the Frisbee, a ﬂying plastic disc, in the 1950s. They created an even bigger craze in 1958 with the introduction of the Hula Hoop. They continued to produce inexpensive and simple toys like the Super Ball in 1965 and plastic shark teeth to capitalize on the ﬁlm Jaws in 1975. They also published the Wham-O Giant Comic billed as the World’s Largest Comic book at 14" × 21" when closed. Knerr and Melin sold Wham-O to Kransco Group Companies in 1982 and Melin died in 2002. KNIGHT, ANDY Veteran Canadian animator Andy Knight died of a stroke on April 10, 2008. He was 46. Knight began his career in the early 1980s working as a storyboard artist and animator for such animated productions as Inspector Gadget (1983), Heathcliff & the Cadillac Cats (1984), Strawberry Shortcake and the Baby Without a Name (1984), The Get-Along Gang (1984),

Andy Knight

Asterix Versus Caesar (1984), Asterix in Britain (1986), A Pup Named Scooby-Doo (1988), The Teddy Bears’ Picnic (1989), Werner — Beinhart! (1990), Asterix in America (1994), and All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (1996). He was co-founder of the Toronto, Canada, based animation studio Red Rover in 1994. He directed the 1997 ani-

Mona Knox

debut in the early 1950s. Knox was seen in such ﬁlms as A Woman of Distinction (1950), Tarzan and the Slave Girl (1950), The Petty Girl (1950), Sunny Side of the Street (1951), Reunion in Reno (1951), Two Tickets to Broadway (1951), The Las Vegas Story (1952), Cecil B. DeMille’s The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), Aladdin and His Lamp (1952), Hold That Line (1952), Kid Monk Baroni (1952), Thundering Caravans (1952), Army Bound (1952), Eight Iron Men (1952), Jalopy (1953), All Ashore (1953), The Girl Next Door (1953), Escape from Terror (1955), and Hold Back Tomorrow (1955). She also appeared on television in episodes of Space Patrol, Your Jeweler’s Showcase, The Donna Reed Show, and The Untouchables. Knox made her ﬁnal ﬁlm appearance as Mrs. Byron in the 1968 supernatural classic Rosemary’s Baby.

KNOX, ROBERT Young British actor Robert Knox, who was scheduled to appear in the forthcoming Harry Potter ﬁlm, was stabbed to death in a pub near the Sidcup, England, train station late in the evening of May 23, 2008. He was pronounced dead at 12:07 A.M. the following morning. He was fatally stabbed by two men while trying to protect his younger brother in a pub brawl. He was 18. Knox was born in Kent, England, on August 21, 1989. He was featured as Josh in several episodes of the television series After You’ve Gone in 2007. Knox had worked in ﬁlms as an extra for several years and had completed ﬁlming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) in the role of Marcus Belby.

Obituaries • 2008

240 South Africa, starring in such productions as Arms and the Man, Lesson in Blood and Roses, and Kennedy’s Children. He was also featured in the 1998 tele-ﬁlm Diamond Girl. He had served as the dialogue coach for the South African television soap opera Egoli from 2003. He was also the author of the autobiography Blaise Koch: In, Around, Through and Out— An Actor’s Life, which detailed his career and his battle with HIV.

KOCZESKA, WANDA Polish leading actress Wanda Koczeska died in Warsaw, Poland, on December 15, 2008. She was 71. Koczeska was born in Warsaw on February 17, 1937. She began her ﬁlm career in Robert Knox

KNUDSEN, BITTEN Danish fashion model Bitten Knudsen died in her sleep at her home in Denmark on March 22, 2008. She was 53. Knudsen was a leading model from the late 1970s and early 1980s, ap-

Wanda Koczeska

Bitten Knudsen

pearing in such magazines as Glamour, Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, and the French Vogue. She was a close friend of ill-fated model Gia Carangi and was often photographed by Helmut Newton. Knudsen was also featured in the 1986 action ﬁlm Hollywood Vice Squad.

KOCH, BLAISE

South African actor Blaise Koch died after a long illness in South Africa on July 21, 2008. He was 55. Koch was a leading stage actor in

Blaise Koch

the late 1950s, with roles in Rancho Texas (1959), Innocent Sorcerers (1960), The Second Man (1961), Guests Are Coming (1962), Ping-Pong (1966), Verspielte Heimat (1971), Palace Hotel (1977), and The Manager (1986). She was also featured in television productions of Awatar Czyli Zamiana Dusz (1964) and Zmartwychwstanie Ofﬂanda (1968), and in episodes of Stawka Wieksza niz Zycie, 07 Zglos Sie, Zycie na Goraco, 5 dni z Zycia Emeryta, Tulipan, and Determinator. Koczeska starred as Nina Rozalska in the series Klinika Samotnych Serc in 2005.

KOKKONEN, ERE Finnish ﬁlm director Ere Kokkonen died in Helsinki, Finland, on October 16, 2008. He was 70. Kokkonen was born in Savonlinna,

Ere Kokkonen

241 Finland, on July 7, 1938. He began working as a writer and director for television in the early 1960s. He was best known for his work with producer Spede Pasanen, directing 15 ﬁlms featuring the character Uuno Turhapuro (Numbskull Emptybrook). The popular comedy series ran from the 1970s through the 1990s. Kokkonen also directed the ﬁlms The Marvellous Adventures of a TV Man (1969), Two Big Gig (1986), Little Boys (1986), Sergeant Kormy and the Marshall’s Stick (1990), Sergeant Kormy and the South Paciﬁc (1992), A Charming Mass Suicide (2000), and The Ten Shrews (2002). He also directed segments of the television comedy series Speden Parhaat in 2003. His ﬁnal ﬁlm was 2004’s Uuno Turhapuro —This Is My Life.

KOLSTAD, HENKI Henki Kolstad, one of Norway’s leading stage and ﬁlm actors, died in an Oslo, Norway, hospital on July 14, 2008. He was 93. Kolstad was born in Norway on February 3, 1915. He began his career on stage with Norway’s National Theater in 1928, and made his ﬁlm debut in 1930’s Eskimo. He was best known for his performances in theatrical productions and cabarets. His 70+ year career also included roles in such ﬁlms as Der Weisse Gott (1932), Vigdis (1943), Operation Swallow: The Battle for Heavy Water (1948), Trollfossen (1948), Where the Wind Blows (1948), Svendsen gar Videre (1949), Vi Flyger pa Rio (1949), To Mistenkelige Personer (1950), Vi Gifter Oss (1951), Alt Dette og Island Med (1951), Emergency Landing (1952), Det Kunne Vaert Deg (1952), Troll i Ord (1954), The Summer Wind Blows (1955), Roser til Monica (1956), Selv om der er Sma (1957), Pastor Jarman Kommer Hjem (1958), Lake of the Dead (1958), 5 Loddrett (1959), Millionaer for en Alten (1960), The Passionate Demons (1961), Et Oye pa Hver Finger (1961), Freske Freaspark (1963), Vildanden (1963), Alle Tiders Kupp (1964), Daddy’s Success (1964), Nydelige Nelliker (1964), To pa Topp (1965) The Typists (1966), Hunger (1966), Gutten som Kappat med Trollet (1967), Musikanter (1967), Bjurra (1970), Ture Sventon — Privatdetektiv (1972), Olsenbanden Moter Kongen & Knekten (1974), Crash (1974), the animated Pinchcliffe Grand Prix (1975), Olsenbanden + Data Harry Sprenger Verdensbanken (1978), Deilig er Fjorden! (1985), Paper Bird (1985), Folk og Rovere i Kardemomme By (1988), De Bla Ulvene

Henki Kolstad

2008 • Obituaries

(1993), The Wild Horse (1994), and Olsenbandens Siste Stikk (1999). He also starred as shoemaker Jens Petrus Andersen in the popular holiday television series Christmas in Shoemaker Street in 1979. Kolstad’s other television credits include productions of Den Spanske Flue (1990) and Himmelen Kan Vente (2001), and episodes of such series as Fleksnes Fataliteter as St. Peter, Bot og Bedring, and Fox Gronland.

KORMAN, HARVEY Comic actor Harvey Korman, who was best known for his comedy skits on The Carol Burnett Show, died of complications from the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm in Los Angeles on May 29, 2008. He was 81. Korman was born in Chicago, Illinois, on February 15, 1927. He studied drama and tried unsuccessfully to make a career in acting on the New York stage. After over a decade in New York without success, he returned to Chicago, then headed to California to make another attempt. He began getting small roles in ﬁlms and television productions in the early 1960s. Korman made his ﬁlm debut in the 1961 feature Living Venus, and was seen in the ﬁlms Gypsy (1962), Disney’s Son of Flubber (1963), Lord Love a Duck (1966), The Last of the Secret Agents? (1966), Three Bites of the Apple (1967), Don’t Just Stand There! (1968), and The April Fools (1969). He appeared frequently on television with roles in such series as Adventures in Paradise, Hennesey, The Red Skelton Show, The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, Surfside 6, The Untouchables, I’m Dickens, He’s Finster, Perry Mason, Empire, Route 66, Dennis the Menace, Sam Benedict, Glynis, The Eleventh Hour, Hazel, The Lucy Show, Gidget, the Gallegher segments of Disneyland, The John Forsythe Show, The Munsters, The Hero, F Troop, The Wild Wild West, and Insight. Korman also lent his voice to the animated icon The Great Gazoo on the cartoon series The Flintstones. The lanky comic also appeared frequently in variety series throughout the 1960s including The Jack Benny Program, The Steve Allen Comedy Hour, Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, The Hollywood Squares, and The Muppet Show. He was a regular performer on The Danny Kaye Show from 1964 to 1967, then joined the comedy variety series The Carol Burnett Show. He and Burnett created comic chemistry together in his eleven years with the show. The ensemble cast also included Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway. Korman and Conway proved to be hilarious duo, with Conway often cracking up Korman with his unscripted quips. He left the show in 1978 to star in his own short-lived comedy series The Harvey Korman Show, which he also directed. Korman scored a hit with his role as Hedley Lamarr in Mel Brooks’ classic comedy ﬁlm Blazing Saddles in 1974. He was also seen in such ﬁlms as Huckleberry Finn (1974) as the King, The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976) in the recurring role of Professor August Balls, Brooks’ High Anxiety (1977) as Dr. Charles Montague, Americathon (1979), Herbie Goes Bananas (1980), First Family (1980), History of the World Part 1 (1981) as Count de Monet, Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), The Long Shot (1986), Munchies (1987), Betrayal of the Dove (1993), the live-

Obituaries • 2008

242

Harvey Korman

Janos Kormendi

action version of The Flintstones (1994) as the voice of Dictabird, Radioland Murders (1994), Mel Brooks’ spoof Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) as Dr. Jack Seward, Jingle All the Way (1996), The Secret NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue (1998) as the voice of Floyd, Gideon (1999), and The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000) as Colonel Slaghoople. Korman was also featured in numerous tele-ﬁlms and specials including Three’s a Crowd (1969), Suddenly Single (1971), The Love Boat pilot (1976), Snavely (1978), Bud and Lou (1978) as Bud Abbott, The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978) in several roles, The John Davidson Show (1978), Eunice (1980), The Invisible Woman (1983), Carpool (1983), Gone Are the Dayes (1984), Rodney Dangerﬁeld: Exposed (1985), Alice in Wonderland (1985) as the White King, Crash Course (1988), and Based on an Untrue Story (1993). His other television credits include such series as George Burns Comedy Week, The Love Boat, Leo & Liz in Beverly Hills, The Nutt House, The Golden Palace, Burke’s Law, Ellen, Diagnosis Murder, Perversions of Science, Suddenly Susan, ER, and The Roseanne Show. Korman also lent his voice to such animated productions as Alice in Wonderland (1966) as the Mad Hatter, Garﬁeld and Friends, The What a Cartoon Show, Baby Huey’s Great Easter Adventure, The Wild Thornberrys, Hey Arnold!, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, and the 2001 ﬁlm The Ruby Princess Runs Away as Hapgood the Dragon. Korman continued his association with fellow alumni from The Carol Burnett Show. He guested on The Tim Conway Show in 1980 and appeared as Ed Higgins in several episodes of Mama’s Family starring Vicky Lawrence, which he also directed. He reunited with the entire cast for the 1993 special The Carol Burnett Show: A Reunion. He resumed his partnership with Conway, with the two starring together in the 1998 video Tim and Harvey in The Great Outdoors. They also toured the country with live comedy performances over the past decade. KORMENDI, JANOS Hungarian actor and comedian Janos Kormendi died of kidney failure in Budapest, Hungary, on February 6, 2008. He was 80. Kormendi was born in Szeged, Hungary, on October 21, 1927. He was a leading actor in stage, ﬁlm, and television in post–World War II Hungary. His numerous ﬁlm credits include Kicsik-Nag yok Orome (1953), Four-

teen Lives (1954), A Half Pint of Beer (1955), The Bells Have Gone to Rome (1958), Kalvaria (1960), Rangon Alul (1960), Patylat Akcio (1965), My Way Home (1965), Fig Leaf (1966), Tanulmany a Nokrol (1967), Jaguar (1967), Stars of Eger (1968), Krebsz, Az Isten (1969), Alfa Romeo es Julia (1969), The Impostors (1969), A Varazslo (1969), Szep Mag yar Komedia (1970), Haho, Ocsi! (1971), The Csardas Princess (1971), Nyulak a Ruhatarban (1972), Fuss, Hog y Utolerjenek! (1972), Voyage with Jacob (1972), The Girl Who Liked Purple Flowers (1973), Fallow Land (1973), Johnny Corncob (1973), A Piano in Mid Air (1976), Kojak Budapesten (1980), and Oh, Bloody Life (1983). Kormendi also appeared in television productions of Summer of Old Times (1969), A 0416-OS Szokeveny (1970), A Revizor (1970), Eg y Ora Mulva Itt Vag yok (1971), Villa a Lidon (1971), A Fekete Varos (1971), Ficzek Ur (1974), Utazas a Holdba (1974), A Bohoc Felesege (1974), Oszi Versenyek (1975), Makszem Matyi (1977), Az Elefant (1978), Baleset (1978), A Luxusvilla Titka (1979), and Gloria (1982). He also wrote several television comedies and appeared in episodes of Uj Galvolg yi-Show, TV a Varos Szelen, 7Es Csatorna, and Hotel Szekszardi.

KORSHUNOVA , RUSLANA Kazakhstani fashion model Ruslana Korshunova died in an apparent suicide, falling from the ninth-ﬂoor balcony of her apartment in Manhattan’s ﬁnancial district on June 28, 2008. She was 20. Korshunova was born in Almaty,

Ruslana Korshunova

243 Kazakhstan (then still part of the Soviet Union), on July 2, 1987. She was signed as a model by Models 1 at the age of 15 after her photograph appeared in an issue of All Asia magazine. She became a leading print model for such products as Vera Wang lingerie, Moschino, Pantene Always Smooth, Marithe & Francois, Clarins, Ghost, Girbaud, and Kenzo Accessories. She also appeared on the covers of such magazines as the French edition of Elle, and the Polish and Russian editions of Vogue.

KOULIAS, ARTHUR Character actor Arthur Koulias died at his home in Los Angeles on January 6, 2008. He was 88. Koulias was born in Massachusetts on April 8, 1919. He appeared in ﬁlms and television from the late 1950s. His ﬁlm credits include The Naked Road (1959) and The Silencers (1966). He also was seen on television in episodes of Temple Houston, Wild Wild West, Mission: Impossible, and Apple’s Way. KOWALSKI, KILLER Walter “Killer” Kowalski, a leading professional wrestler from the 1950s, died of complications from a heart attack in an Everett, Massachusetts, hospital on August 30, 2008. He was 81. He was born Edward Spulnik in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, to Polish immigrants on October 13, 1926. He made his debut as a professional wrestler in 1948, and was originally billed as Tarzan Kowalski. At 6' 7", 275 pounds, he was one of the larger wrestlers of his era. He originally competed as a fan favorite until an in-ring mishap during a bout resulted in his opponent, Yukon Eric, losing part of his cauliﬂower ear. The fans began screaming that Kowalski was “nothing but a killer,” giving him a new nickname and ring persona. He held the NWA Texas Title in August of 1950 and teamed with Hans Hermann to hold the Paciﬁc Coast Tag Team Title in 1951. He held numerous other titles throughout the United States and Canada and received national attention with his appearances in wrestling bouts during the early days of television. Kowalski was known for his signature claw hold, he would apply a vice-like grip to an opponent’s head or stomach. He battled such wrestlers as Pat O’Connor, Andre the Giant, and Bruno Sammartino. He wrestled with the WWE (then called the WWWF) in the early 1960s, teaming with Gorilla Monsoon to win the tag belts. Kowalski remained an active competitor through the

Killer Kowalski

2008 • Obituaries

1970s, teaming with John Studd as the Executioners to hold the WWWF Tag Team Title for several months in 1976. Kowalski retired from the ring later in the decade. He founded Killer Kowalski’s School of Professional Wrestling in Malden, Massachusetts. He trained such stars as Triple H and Chyna for over two decades before selling the school in 2003. He appeared in an episode of television’s Late Night with David Letterman in 1982 and was featured in the 1999 television documentary The Unreal Story of Professional Wrestling. He also appeared in the 1986 surreal short ﬁlm To a Random.

KRANTZ , GOSTA Swedish actor Gosta Krantz died of heart failure brought about by complications from an infection in Stockholm, Sweden, on December 26, 2008. He was 83. Krantz was born in Ektorp, Sweden, on June 14, 1925. He began his career on stage in 1945, becoming a member of the popular revue troupe Casino-Ganget. He made his ﬁlm debut in a small role in 1951’s The Exploits of Private Karlsson and remained a popular character actor and comic for

Gosta Krantz

the next ﬁve decades. Krantz’s ﬁlm credits include Kalle Karlsson fran Jularbo (1952), Going Up by the Green Lift (1952), Kungen av Dalarna (1953), We Three Debutantes (1953), Private Karlsson of All Times (1953), 91 Karlsson Rycker in (1955), Danssalongen (1955), Boderna Ostermans Bravader (1955), Den Tappre Soldaten Jonsson (1956), Syndare i Filmparadiset (1956), Girls Without Rooms (1956), Enslingen Johannes (1957), Enslingen i Blasvader (1959), Svenska Floyd (1961), Swedish Wedding Night (1964), Asa-Nisse i Popform (1964), Pang i Bygget (1966), Asa-Nisse i Raketform (1966), Adam in Sweden (1966), Eva: Diary of a Half Virgin (1959), A.W.O.L. (1972), 47:an Loken Blaser Pa (1972), Anderssonskans Kalle (1972), Brollopet (1973), The Last Adventure (1974), Kom till Casino! (1975), Ungkarlshotellet (1975), Bluff Stop (1977), 91:an Och Generalernas Fnatt (1977), Battle of Sweden (1980), The Jonsson Gang and Dynamite Harry (1982), Mamma (1982), Somnen (1984), Amorosa (1986), Macken — Roy’s & Roger’s Bilservice (1990), and Flugfallan (1999). Krantz also appeared in television productions of Broderna Malm (1972), Nagonstans i Sverige (1973), Hundarnas Morgon (1981), Dubbelsvindlarna (1982), Proﬁtorema (1983), Lysande

Obituaries • 2008

244

Landning (1987), Clark Kent (1988), Utpressarna (1992), and Utmaningen (1994). He was featured as Hans Schneider in the Rederiet television series in 1997, and appeared in episodes of Svensson Svensson, Snoken, and Skilda Varldar.

KRAVAT, JERRY Bandleader, producer, and talent manager Jerry Kravat died of complications from cancer surgery in Manhattan, New York, on March 31, 2008. He was 72. Kravat was born in the Bronx, New York, on April 5, 1935. He began his career as a piano player in the Catskills but soon began leading his own band. He managed numerous orchestras and booked entertainment at hotels throughout New York from the 1960s to the mid–1980s. He formed Jerry Kravat Entertainment Services in 1977 to book and promote tal-

Bergen, Norway, on October 5, 1954. He began his career on stage, and attended the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre. He was featured in a handful of ﬁlms from the mid–1980s including Hard Asfalt (1986), Blucher (1988), Brun Bitter (1988), Haakon Haakonsen (1990), Landstrykere (1990), Lorenzo (1996), North Star (1996), Red Indian (1998), and Morgan Kane: Doden er en Ensom Jeger (2001). He was also featured in the television mini-series Dodelig Kjemi (1992), and the series Solens Sonn og Manens Datter (1993) and I de Beste Familier (1994). He starred as Jonny Mjelde in the 1996 television series Offshore.

KUBY , BERNIE Songwriter and character actor Bernie Kuby died in Los Angeles on July 7, 2008. He was 84. Kuby was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on September 6, 1923. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati and worked as a advertising copywriter from 1947. Kuby also wrote the score for several Chicago stage productions including Analysis in Wonderland and Tongue in Chic. He penned several songs including “My Angelina” and “Lead On, Mr. President.” He appeared frequently on television from the early 1970s, with roles in episodes of such series as Bewitched, All in the Family, Temperatures Rising, Cannon, McMillan & Wife, Good Heavens, Charlie’s Angels, Little House

Jerry Kravat

ent, including such stars as Eartha Kitt, Cab Calloway, Lena Horne, and Joel Grey. He served as the longtime personal manager for singer Barbara Cook. His orchestra succeeded Guy Lombardo’s in 1977 to play “Auld Lang Syne” at the CBS broadcast of the New Year’s Eve ball dropping at Times Square and continued the tradition for 11 years. He also produced the Off-Broadway musical Mayor, a comedy portrait of Ed Koch, in 1985.

KROG, FRANK

Norwegian actor Frank Krog was found dead at his home in Grunerlokka, Norway, on December 23, 2008. He was 54. Krog was born in

Frank Krog

Bernie Kuby

on the Prairie, Alice, Fantasy Island, Laverne & Shirley, Hart to Hart, Silver Spoons, Buffalo Bill, Remington Steele, St. Elsewhere, Cheers, Wings, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Frasier, and The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire. Kuby was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms Columbo: Murder by the Book (1971), Columbo: A Friend in Deed (1974), Panic on the 5:22 (1974), The Awakening Land (1978), and Gus Brown and Midnight Brewster (1985). He was also featured in several ﬁlms during his career including Death Journey (1976), New York, New York (1977), High Anxiety (1977), House Calls (1978), Same Time, Next Year (1978), Promises in the Dark (1979), The Last Word (1980), The Karate Kid (1984), Impulse (1984), Le Declic (1985), and King B: A Life in the Movies (1993).

KUHNE, WOLFGANG German actor Wolfgang Kuhne died on March 14, 2008. He was 54. Kuhne was born in Germany on December 29, 1953.

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sic Dark Star in 1974. He later worked as a piping engineer in Irvine, California.

Wolfgang Kuhne

He studied drama and began his career on stage in the mid–1970s. He was soon performing on radio and television and in the occasional ﬁlm. He became a popular performer in East Germany and was featured in the ﬁlms Das Raubtier (1978), The Turning Point (1983), and Zille and Me (1983) before settling in West Germany in 1984. Kuhne’s other ﬁlm credits include Der Doppelganger (1985), The Commander (1988), and Harald (1997). He was also featured in television productions of Aussenseiter (1985), Mondjager (1990), Lautlose Schritte (1996), Liebe Lugen (1997), Die Chaos Queen (1997), The Waiting Time (1999), Meine Beste Feindin (1999), and Alpengluhen Zwei — Liebe Versetzt Berge (2005). He was also seen in episodes of Kanzlei Burger, Frauenarzt Dr. Markus Merthin, Immer Wieder Sontag, Liebling — Kreuzberg, Wolffs Revier, Balko, St. Angela, and Dr. Sommerfeld — Neues vorn Bulowbogen. Kuhne was also a popular voice actor, providing the German dubbing for Stathis Borans in The Fly (1986), Tigger in the Winnie the Pooh ﬁlms, and Mufasa in The Lion King (1994).

KUNIHOLM, CAL Calvin L. Kuniholm, who starred in John Carpenter’s ﬁrst ﬁlm Dark Star, died in his sleep at his home in Worcester, Massachusetts, on November 26, 2008. He was 59. Kuniholm graduated from the University of Southern California in the early 1970s, where he met future ﬁlm director John Carpenter. He starred as Boiler in Carpenter’s cult sci-ﬁ clas-

Cal Kuniholm (from Dark Star)

KUN LI Chinese actor Kun Li, who was featured in the 1971 Bruce Lee kung fu ﬁlm The Big Boss, died of a stroke in Taipei, Taiwan, on March 12, 2008. He was 78. Kun was born in Tianjin, China, on February 18, 1930. He was sometimes billed Quin Lee or Lee Quinn in his long ﬁlm career that began in Hong Kong in the late 1950s. His numerous ﬁlm credits include Mambo Girl (1957), Spring Song (1959), Air Hostess (1959), The Enchanting Shadow (1960), The Girl Next Door (1961), The Fair Sex (1961), The Adulteress (1963), The Love Eterne (1963), Three Sinners (1963), The Crimson Palm (1964), The Amorous Lotus Pan (1964), The Dancing Millionairess (1964), Lady General Hua Mu Lan (1964), The Warlord and the Actress (1964), The Lark (1965), The Butterﬂy Chalice (1965), Sons of the Good Earth (1965), The Lotus Lamp (1965), The Vermillion Door (1965), West Chamber (1965), Till the End of Time (1966), The Blue and the Black II (1966), Interpol (1967), Angel with the Iron Fists (1967), Moonlight Serenade (1967), The Dragon Creek (1967), The Midnight Murder (1967), Lady Jade Locket (1967), Three Swinging Girls (1968), Double Trouble (1968), Death Valley (1968), The Enchanted Chamber (1968), Guess Who Killed My Twelve Lovers (1969), Tiger’s Courage (1969), The Three Smiles (1969), The Golden Sword (1969), The Twelve Gold Medallions (1970), A Taste of Cold Steel (1970), Thunderbolt (1970), A Time for Love (1970), The Shadow Whip (1971), Legends of Cheating (1971), The Invincible Eight (1971), The Venus Tear Diamond (1971), We Love Millionaires (1971), The Big Boss (aka Fists of Fury) (1971) as Ah Kun, Vengeance of the Snowgirl (1971), The Naughty Beauty (1972), The Chinese Connection (1972), The Lucky Guy (1972), A Man Called Tiger (1973), Back Alley Princess (1973), The Skyhawk (1974), Games Gamblers Play (1974), The Little Man, Ah Fook (1974), Naughty! Naughty! (1974), Fist of Fury in China (1974), The Tournament (1974), The Bedevilled (1975), The Wandering Life (1975), A Haunted House (1975), Snake and Crane Secret (1976), Crazy Sex (1976), Snake Shadow Lama Fist (1976), Springtime in Pattaya (1976), Bed for Day, Bed for Night (1977), Fist of Fury Part 2 (1977), The Voyage of Emperor Chien Lung (1978), Naked Comes the Huntress (1978), Little Hero (1978), Mantis in the Monkey’s Shadow (1979), Duel of the Dragon (1979), The Ghost Story (1979), The Funny Couple (1979), The Rebellious Reign (1980), Mantis Fist Fighter (1980), Funny Soldier (1981), The Bloodthirsty Dead (1981), Eagle Claw vs. Butterﬂy Palm (1982), The Emperor and the Minister (1982), The Angry Young Man (1983), A Fistful of Talons (1983), and Banana Paradise (1989). KURER, VILMA Austrian actress and singer Vilma Kurer died in New York City on February 4, 2006. She was 93. Kurer was born in Melk, AustriaHungary, on October 6, 1914. She came to the United States in the 1930s, where she performed as a nightclub singer. Kurer was also seen on television during the 1940s in such series as Kraft Television Theatre, The Clock, Frontiers of Faith, Faith Baldwin Romance The-

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246

Vilma Kurer

The Great Kusatsu

atre, Shadow of the Cloak, I Spy, Armstrong Circle Theatre, and Decoy. She was also featured in the 1952 ﬁlm Walk East on Beacon!

2008. He was 66. He was born Masatake Kusatsu in Kumamoto, Japan, on February 13, 1942. He began wrestling professionally with the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance ( JWA) in 1966 but soon moved to the International Wrestling Enterprise (IWE). A televised knockout loss to Lou Thesz in 1968 damaged his career, but he recovered to remain a leading competitor over the next decade. Kusatsu won singles and tag championships with the IWE, teaming with Thunder Sugiyama, Mighty Inoue, and Rusher Kimura. He also competed in the United States with the AWA in the early 1970s, losing two title bouts against Verne Gagne and gaining tag team victories with Strong Kobayashi. Kusatsu retired in 1980 after suffering an injury to his Achilles tendon, though he later brieﬂy worked as a television commentator.

KURTZ, JOHN HENRY Voice actor and performer John Henry Kurtz died of cancer in Cape May, New Jersey, on March 8, 2008. He was 62. Kurtz was born in Havertown, Pennsylvania, on October 24, 1945. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War and moved to New York City in 1980 to pursue an acting career. He performed on the Broadway stage and was featured as Mr. Poppy in several episodes of the television series The Cosby Mysteries in 1994. Kurtz

LACEY, JACQUELINE British actress Jacqueline Lacey died in London on June 25, 2008. She was 81. Lacey was born in Dublin, Ireland, on November 15, 1926. She was featured in the 1956 ﬁlm Jungle Hell, and was seen on television in episodes of The Human Jungle, The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre, Dixon of Dock Green, The Wednesday Play, The Nation’s Health, and Executive Stress.

John Henry Kurtz

was also featured in episodes of H.E.L.P, Law & Order, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and 100 Centre Street. He was a voice actor as a newscaster in the 1998 Law & Order tele-ﬁlm, Exiled. Kurtz was also a recurring performer in the Nic Jr. series Little Bill, and was an announcer for the television productions Baseball Glovers (2002), Number One on Honeywood Street (2002), Snow Racer (2004), and Summertime in the Wintertime (2004). He was also an announcer for the NBC Nightly News and CourtTV. Kurtz was a leading collector of Civil War artifacts and was active as a reenactor in from the 1980s.

THE GREAT KUSATSU Japanese professional wrestler the Great Kusatsu died of complications from esophageal cancer in Mishima, Japan, on June 21,

LACKOVIC, OTTO Czech actor Otto Lackovic died in Prague, Czech Republic, on February 4, 2008. He was 80. Lackovic was born in Hlohovec, Czechoslovakia (now Slovak Republic) on April 4, 1927. He appeared frequently in Czech ﬁlms from the early 1950s. His ﬁlm credits include Nad Nami Svita (1953), Everything Ends Tonight (1954), Frona (1954), Jan Zizka (1955), My Friend the Gypsy (1955), Roztrzka (1956), All Our Enemies (1957), Bomba (1957), Advent (1957), Dobry Vojak Svejk (1957), Tenkrat o Vanocich (1958), Prazdiny v Oblacich (1959), Prvni Parta (1959), 105% Alibi (1959), Because We Don’t Forget (1963), the science ﬁction ﬁlm Ikarie XB 1 (aka Voyage to the End of the Universe) (1963), Cesta Hlubokym Lesern (1964), Slecny Prijdou Pozdeji (1966), Ctyri Vrazdy Staci, Drahousku (1970), I Killed Einstein, Gentlemen (1970), Bitva o Hedviku (1972), Posledni Vystrel Davida Sandela (1972), The Girl on the Broomstick (1972), Trofej Neznameho Streica (1974), Night of Orange Fires (1974), The Cape of Good Hope (1975), Our Gang (1976), Pri-

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hind the Scenes: Behind Enemy Lines (2002). LaFontaine was also a voice actor for the ﬁlms Time Walker (1982), Scrooged (1988), Santa vs. the Snowman (1997), and Sandman (1998). He was also an announcer for the television series Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, Team Knight Rider, and Fillmore! He was also heard in the animated series Family Guy and American Dad. He and several other voice actors were featured onscreen in the 1997 short ﬁlm Five Men and a Limo. With over 300,000 commercials to his credit, LaFontaine became best known for his recent ads for Geico, parodying himself as “that announcer guy from the movies.”

Otto Lackovic

pad Mrtvych Spouluzaku (1976), Smrt na Cerno (1977), Nevera po Slovensky (1981), The Death of a Talented Cobbler (1982), Radikalni Rez (1983), Sestricky (1983), Fesak Hubert (1984), The Magic Galoshes (1986) as a voice actor, Ked Hviezdy Boli Cervene (1990), Trhala Fialky Dynamitem (1992), Nasmrtelna Teta (1993), and Boomerang (1997). Lackovic also appeard in Czech television in such series as 30 Cases of Major Zeman, Maly Pitaval z Velkeho Mesta, Adventure of Criminalistics, and Nemocnice na Kraji Mesta po Dvaceti Letech, and the 1994 mini-series Bylo Nas Pet.

LAFONTAINE, DON Don LaFontaine, whose voiceovers were heard in thousands of ﬁlm trailers and television commercials, died in a Los Angeles hospital of complications from a collapsed lung on September 1, 2008. He was 68. LaFontaine was born in Duluth, Minnesota, on August 26, 1940. He began working in ﬁlms as a recording engineer, but was used as a voice actor for the 1964 western Gunﬁghters of Casa Grande when the original actor didn’t show up. Over the next four decades, he became one of the most sought after voices in Hollywood. His powerful tones garnered him the nickname “The Voice of God.” His voice was heard in thousands of movie trailers, including The Elephant Man, Terminator II, Shrek, and Minority Report. He also narrated numerous ﬁlm documentaries, including The Making of Star Wars (1977), Willow: The Making of An Adventure (1988), and Be-

Don LaFontaine

LAINEZ, IRIS Argentine actress Iris Lainez died in Mar del Plata, Argentina, on October 13, 2008. She was 86. She was born Zulema Mas in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on January 24, 1922. She appeared in several ﬁlms in the 1950s including La Calle Junto a la Luna (1951) and Ue ... Paisano! (1953). Lainez was best known for her role as Laura in the popular television soap opera El Amor Tiene Cara de Mujer in the 1960s. She was also seen in the series Cuatro Mujeres Para

Iris Lainez

Adan, Aventura ’77, Una Promesa Para Todos, and Un Angel en la Ciudad. She was featured in the ﬁlms The Big Highway (1971), Amigos Para la Aventura (1978), El Tio Disparate (1978), La Carpa del Amor (1979), and Locos por la Musica (1980), She also appeared in the tele-ﬁlms Manana Puedo Morir (1979) and El Otro (1979). Lainez moved to Mara del Plata in the 1980s where she continued to perform on the local stage.

LAINEZ , NELLY Argentine actress Nelly Lainez died of an acute urinary infection in a Buenos Aires, Argentina, hospital on May 31, 2008. She was 88. Lainez was born in Buenos Aires in 1920. She was featured in productions on stage, ﬁlm, radio and television during her long career. Lainez’s ﬁlm credits include Cinco Grandes y una Chica (1950), Cinco Locos en la Pista (1950), Cuidado con las Mujeres (1951), La Vida Color de Rosa (1951), Pocholo, Pichuca y Yo (1951), Especialista en Senoras (1951), Vigilantes y Ladrones (1952), Suegra Ultimo Modelo (1953), La Mejor del Golegio (1953), La Mujer Desnuda (1955), Canario Rojo (1955), Amor e Primera Vista (1956), Cristobal Colon en la Facultad de Medicine (1962), Barcos de Papel (1963), Canuto

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248

Nelly Lainez

Canete y los 40 Ladrones (1964), Santiago Querido! (1965), When Men Discuss Women (1967), Villa Carino esta que Arde (1968), Los Vampiros los Preﬁeren Gorditos (1974), Los Chiﬂados dan el Golpe (1976), Tu me Enloquences (1976), La Obertura (1977), Gran Valor (19780), Los Piolas no se Casan? (1981), and Gran Valor en la Facultad de Medicina (1981). Lainez was also featured in the television series La Tuerca and Juntos in the early 1980s.

LAMBLE , LLOYD Veteran character actor Lloyd Lamble died in Australia on April 8, 2008. He was 94. Lamble was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on February 8, 1914. He began working as a radio station announcer at the age of 18 and made his stage debut several years later. He became a leading stage performer, touring Australia and New Zealand in the 1930s and early 1940s. He was a radio broadcaster for war propaganda during World War II. After the war, his leftist political views and union activities led to his blacklisting by producers who viewed him as a Communist. Lamble traveled to England in 1950, where he resumed his acting career. He found steady work there in ﬁlm and television over the next forty years. His numerous ﬁlm credits include Curtain Up (1952), Saturday Island (1952), Lady in the Fog (1952), Background (1953), The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953), Mantrap (1953), Street Corner (1953), Three Steps to the Gallows (1953), The Silent Witness (1954), Forbidden

Lloyd Lamble

Cargo (1954), Fatal Journey (1954), The Belles of St. Trinian’s (1954) as Superintendent Samuel Kemp-Bird, Proﬁle (1954), Out of the Clouds (1955), Track the Man Down (1955), The Green Buddha (1955), The Blue Peter (1955), Suspended Alibi (1956), Private’s Progress (1956), The Dynamiters (1956), The Man Who Never Was (1956), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Person Unknown (1956), The Girl in the Picture (1957), There’s Always a Thursday (1957), Enemy from Space (aka Quatermass 2) (1957), These Dangerous Years (1957), Sea Wife (1957), Curse of the Demon (1957), Barnacle Bill (1957), Blue Murder at St. Trinian’s (1957), The Man Who Wouldn’t Talk (1958), Dunkirk (1958), Print of Death (1958), The Bank Raiders (1958), The Heart of a Man (1959), The Giant Behemoth (1959), No Trees in the Street (1959), The Challenge (1960), The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960), The Sundowners (1960), The Pure Hell of St. Trinian’s (1960), Term of Trial (1962), The Boys (1962), Joey Boy (1965), No Sex Please: We’re British (1973), ...And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973), On the Game (1974), and Eskimo Nell (1975). Lamble appeared frequently on British television, with roles in such productions as The Rescue (1955), No Wreath for the General (1960), Where I Love (1960), Then We Fall (1961), A Voice in the Sky (1965), The Naked Civil Servant (1975), Fairies (1978), No Defence (1980), and The Crime of Captain Colthurst (1981). He starred as Geoffrey Bannock in the series Marked Personal in 1974, and was Mr. Stephens in The Kids from 47A from 1973 to 1974. His numerous television credits also include roles in episodes of such series as Lili Palmer Theatre, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents, Colonel March of Scotland Yard, The Count of Monte Cristo, The New Adventures of Charlie Chan, The New Adventures of Martin Kane, The Errol Flynn Theatre, O.S.S., White Hunter, William Tell, Dial 999, Invisible Man, The Vise, Interpol Calling, The Third Man, On Trial, The Pursuers, You Can’t Win, Maigret, Suspense, Outbreak of Murder, The Human Jungle, Zero One, Ghost Squad, No Hiding Place, The Plane Makers, The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling, Crossroads, Dixon of Dock Green, The Avengers, Mrs. Thursday, Public Eye, The Power Game, Mr. Rose, Adventures of the Seaspray, The Prisoner, The Jazz Age, Journey to the Unknown, Paul Temple, Softly Softly, Z Cars, The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, Spyder’s Web, Crown Court, Rafﬂes, Just William, Shoestring, and Lady Killers. Lamble’s ﬁnal screen role was as Reg in the television series Angels in the early 1980s.

LAMPLEY, ONI FAIDA Actress and playwright Oni Faida Lampley died of breast cancer in Brooklyn, New York, on April 28, 2008. She was 49. She was born Vera Lampley in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on April 15, 1959. She studied acting at New York University and participated in Juilliard’s playwrighting program. She performed on stage in numerous regional productions and Off-Broadway. She was also featured in Mule Bone and The Ride Down Mt. Morgan on Broadway. Lampley also appeared in such ﬁlms as The Keeper (1995), Money Train (1995), Lone Star (1996), Bullet (1996), Jungle 2 Jungle (1997) with Tim Allen, ...First Do No Harm (1997), The Misadven-

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Oni Faida Lampley

Bill Landis

tures of Margaret (1998), Advice from a Caterpillar (1999), The Bumblebee Flies Away (1999), Dragonﬂy (2002), Brother to Brother (2004), and Stay (2005). She was seen on television in episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street, NYPD Blue, the soap opera One Live to Live as Hallie Mitchell, The Sopranos, Oz, Third Watch, Law & Order, The Jury, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Lampley wrote the autobiographical play The Dark Kalamazoo, and starred in the Off-Broadway production in 2002. She also wrote and performed in the 2003 play Tough Titty, about her long struggle with breast cancer.

Crawford, also wrote articles for such publications as Village Voice, Film Threat, Fangoria, Film Comment, Variety, and Screw. They also launched the magazine Metasex in 1997 and authored a controversial unauthorized biography of underground ﬁlmmaker Kenneth Anger. Landis appeared in a small role in the 1982 underground ﬁlm Vortex and the 1998 documentary Divine Trash. He and his wife screened ﬁlms for connoisseurs of off-beat cinema around the country until Bill’s death.

LAMSON, LAURA American-born British television writer Laura Lamson died of cancer in England on October 13, 2008. She was 60. Lamson was born in Berea, Ohio, on May 2, 1948. She studied in England at Oxford University and married television director Christopher King in 1970. She began working in ﬁlms as a script reader at Columbia before writing scripts of her own. She was best known for her 1991 BBC adaptation of Ann Oakley’s novel The Men’s Room starring Bill Nighy. She also scripted the television productions Calling the Shots (1993), Rich Deceiver (1995), The Alchemists (1999), Agatha Christie’s Sparkling Cyanide (2003), the documentary Wren: The Man Who Built Britain (2004) and the Gertrude Jekyll segment of Art of the Garden. Lamson also wrote the short fantasy ﬁlm The Happiness Thief in 2004.

LANDRUM, JACQUI Dancer and choreographer Jacqui Landrum died of cancer at her home in Los Angeles on August 29, 2008. She was 64. She was born Jacqui Levy in Los Angeles on December 10, 1943. She studied dance and began her career as a choreographer with the music variety show Hollywood a Go-Go in the 1960s. She met Bobby Landrum in a dance class in 1969, and they married soon after. She and her husband formed a professional partnership and opened the Landrum Dance Theater in 1977. They served as choreographers on an episode of Moonlighting in 1986 and choreographed the Jerry Lee Lewis’ bio-ﬁlm Great Balls of Fire! in 1989. They also served as choreographers for the tele-ﬁlms Working Tra$h (1990) and Sinatra (1992), and the features The Doors (1991), Love Affair (1994), The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001), The Singing Detective (2003), and Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005). Landrum worked frequently with the Coen Brothers, choreo-

LANDIS, BILL Author Bill Landis, who authored the exploitation ﬁlm bible Sleazoid Express with his wife, died of a heart attack in Chicago, Illinois, on December 23, 2008. He was 49. Landis was born in France in 1959, while his father served there in the U.S. Air Force. He spent part of his childhood in England before landing in New York, where his parents exposed him to Broadway plays. Landis found his own way to the metropolis’ grindhouse movie palaces of the 1970s. He soon became employed as a projectionist at several sleazy theaters and began to publish the landmark publication Sleazoid Express to review and comment on the ﬁlms that the mainstream media generally ignored. Sleazoid Express originally ran from 1980 to 1985 and was revived in 1999. It also spawned a collected edition from Simon and Shuster. Landis and his wife, Michelle

Jacqui Landrum (with husband Bill Landrum)

Obituaries • 2008

250

graphing dance numbers for their ﬁlms Barton Fink (1991), The Big Lebowski (1998), and O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000).

LANE, MARYON British ballet dancer Maryon Lane died in Kyrenia, Cyprus, on June 13, 2008. She was 77. She was born Patricia Mills in Zululand (now Kwazulu-Natal), in South Africa, on February 15, 1931. She studied ballet in Johannesburg and earned a scholarship from the Royal Academy of Dancing to attend Sadler’s Wells School in London in 1946. The following year she was dancing with the Sadler’s Wells Theatre Ballet and was a soon a principal dancer with the company. She performed in George Balanchine’s Trumpet Concerto in 1950 and starred in Coppelia in 1951. She starred in the premieres of Kenneth MacMillan’s bal-

Maryon Lane

lets Laiderette (1953), Danses Concertantes (1955), and House of Birds (1955). Lane subsequently moved to the Covent Garden company, where she appeared in MacMillan’s Noctambules, Agon, and Diversions. She also danced the role of Princess Florine in Sleeping Beauty and was featured in Frederick Ashton’s Swan Lake. She retired from the Royal Ballet in 1968 to teach. Her husband, fellow ballet dancer David Blair, died in 1976. Lane moved to Cyprus where she founded the Maryon Lane Ballet Academy in Kyrenia.

LANE, RICHARD Australian radio and television writer Richard Lane died in Australia on March 11, 2008. He was 90. Lane was born in Coogee, New South Wales, Australia, in 1918. He began his career in the 1930s, becoming a distinguished writer, as well as a founding member and president of the Australian Writers Guild. He worked in radio for over six decades. He also wrote for television with such credits as episodes of You Can’t See ’Round Corners, Autumn Affair, The Story of Peter Grey, Motel, Homicide, Catwalk, and The Young Doctors. LANGE , H ARRY Space illustrator Harry Lange, who earned an Oscar nomination as art director for the epic science ﬁction ﬁlm 2001: A Space Odyssey, died on May 22, 2008. He was 77. He was born Hans-Kurt Lange in Eisenach, Germany, on December 7, 1930. He studied art in Germany in the late

Harry Lange

1940s before coming to the United States in 1951. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, illustrating training manuals for ﬂying schools. Lange joined NASA later in the decade, where he served as section head for the future project staff. He led a group of illustrators who depicted interplanetary and deep space projects. He worked closely with rocket scientist Wernher von Braun and illustrated his book, History of Rocketry and Space Travel. Lange left NASA in 1965 and soon became involved with 2001. Director Stanley Kubrick hired him to supply designs to bring to life the futuristic technology that catapulted man into space. He worked on the project for nearly 3 years and shared an Academy Award nomination for Best Art Direction in 1969. He continued to work in ﬁlms, designing sets for Kelley’s Heroes in 1970 and Z.P.G. in 1972. He worked with George Lucas on the ﬁrst Star Wars ﬁlm in 1977 and earned another Oscar nomination for the 1980 sequel The Empire Strikes Back. His other credits include the 1979 James Bond ﬁlm Moonraker, Superman II (1980), The Great Muppet Caper (1981), The Dark Crystal (1982), Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (1983), The Return of the Jedi (1983), the 1985 television mini-series Mussolini: The Untold Story, Hyper Sapien: People from Another Star (1986), and the teleﬁlm The Plot to Kill Hitler (1990).

LANGLEY, BRYAN British cinematographer Bryan Langley, who worked on several of Alfred Hitchcock’s early ﬁlms, died in England on February 1, 2008. He was 99. Langley was born in Fulham, London, England, on December 29, 1909. He began working in ﬁlms in the late 1920s as an assistant cameraman and was soon serving as director of photography. His many ﬁlm credits include The Streets of London (1929), Murder! (1930), No Exit (1930), The Skin Game (1931), East of Shanghai (1931), Arms and the Man (1932), Hitchcock’s Number 17 (1932), The Last Coupon (1932), Lucky Girl (1932), Happy (1933), Facing the Music (1933), No Funny Business (1933), Letting in the Sunshine (1933), Those Were the Days (1934), Blossom Time (1934), Doctor’s Orders (1934), Dance Band (1935), Music Hath Charms (1935), The Student’s Romance (1935), It’s a Bet (1935), Royal Cavalcade (1935), Honours Easy (1935), Someone at the Door (1936), The Limping Man (1936), Royal Eagle (1936), Living Dangerously (1936), Ourselves Alone (1936), No Escape (1936), French Leave (1937), The Price of Folly (1937), Kathleen Mavourneen (1937),

251 The Lilac Domino (1937), The Mutiny of Elsinore (1937), The Gables Mystery (1938), Almost a Honeymoon (1938), Night Alone (1938), Meet Mr. Penny (1938), Lassie from Lancashire (1938), Daddy Long Legs (1938), Wanted by Scotland Yard (1939), I Killed the Count (1939), Dead Men Tell No Tales (1939), Discoveries (1939), De Spooktrein (1939), The Human Monster (aka The Dark Eyes of London) (1940) starring Bela Lugosi, Mrs. Pym of Scotland Yard (1940), Spies of the Air (1940), Room for Two (1940), Spare a Copper (1941), The Ghost Train (1941), The Patient Vanishes (1941), Tower of Terror (1941), Piccadilly Incident (1946), The Phantom Shot (1947), When the Bough Breaks (1947), Miranda (1948), Bond Street (1948), and The Monkey’s Paw (1948). Langley spent the next decade as a special effects cinematographer, working on such ﬁlms as The Weaker Sex (1948), Cardboard Cavalier (1949), The Perfect Woman (1949), Madness of the Heart (1949), Green Grow the Rushes (1951), Encore (1951), Project M7 (1953), The Good Die Young (1954), A Town Like Alice (1956), the 1956 version of George Orwell’s classic about a future totalitarian society 1984, Reach for the Sky (1956), Sailor Beware (1956), and the supernatural classic Curse of the Demon (1957). Langley also photographed an episode of the 1960 television series The Herries Chronicle.

LAPIDUS, TED French fashion designer Ted Lapidus, whose unisex ready-to-wear designs revolutionized the fashion industry in the 1960s and 1970s, died of respiratory failure and complications from leukemia in Cannes, France, on December 29, 2008. He was 79. Lapidus was born in Paris to a Russian émigré family of tailors on June 23, 1929. He was an apprentice at Christian Dior before starting his own fashion house in the early 1950s. He opened his own boutique in 1958 and began producing ready-to-wear designs in 1963. He became noted for his sand-colored safari jackets and military-style apparel and for introducing blue jeans into haute couture. He became a favorite designer for such trend-setting celebrities as Jane Fonda, Brigitte Bardot, Alain Delon, and The Beatles. Lapidus worked frequently in ﬁlms from the 1950s, designing costumes for the features The Toy Wife (1956), Bob the Gambler (1956), Le Feu aux Poudres (1957), The Adventures of Arsene Lupin (1957), Because of a Woman

2008 • Obituaries

(1963), Ho! (1968), Simon the Swiss (1980), and Icy Breasts (1974). He designed the wardrobe for Fiona Richmond for her 1977 bio-ﬁlm Hardcore (1977) and costumed Brigitte Fossey for The Man Who Loved Women (1977) and Ann Turkel for Golden Rendezvous (1977).

LARIN, SERGEJ Russian tenor Sergej Larin died of heart failure in Bratislava, Slovakia, on January 13, 2008. He was 51. Larin was born in Daugavpils, Latvia, of Russian parents on March 9, 1956. He began studying singing at the Lithuanian State Conservatory and made his professional operatic debut with the Lithuanian National Opera in a production of La Traviata in 1981. He performed throughout the Soviet

Sergej Larin

Union over the next decade and starred in a 1990 production of Eugene Onegin with the Vienna Staatsoper. He made his debut in London in 1991 as Don Jose in Carmen and at the Metropolitan Opera in 1994 as Cavaradossi in Tosca. He made several return visits to the Met over the next decade. He became a permanent member of the Slovak National Theater in 1992 but continued to perform at venues throughout Europe and the United States. He starred in a production of Turandot in Beijin’s Forbidden City that was ﬁlmed and released on DVD. He was also seen in television productions of Carmen (2000), Adriana Lecouvreur (2000), and Rusalka (2002).

LATTANZI, FRANCO Italian director Franco Lattanzi died in Rome on May 2, 2008. He was 82. Lattanzi was born in Rome in 1925. He was best known for directing a trio of spaghetti westerns in the mid–1970s including Six Bounty Killers for a Massacre (1973), The Executioner of God (1973), and Tiger from River Kwai (1975).

Ted Lapidus

LAU CHI -WING , DAVID Chinese actor David Lau Chi-Wing died of pneumonia in Hong Kong on May 15, 2008. He was 56. Lau Chi-Wing was born in Guangxi, China, on November 9, 1951. He began his career in ﬁlms in Hong Kong in the early 1970s, often appearing in action ﬁlms. His many credits include We Love Millionaires (1971), The Devil in Her (1974), The Winner Takes All (1975), Bald-Headed

Obituaries • 2008

252 Homme (1982). Lauzier was featured in small roles in several ﬁlms including Le Chouchou de l’Asile (1979) and Les Filles de Madame Claude (1980). He adapted his comic La Course du Rat for the 1980 feature Rat Race, and wrote and directed T’Empeches Tout le Monde de Dormir in 1982. He also helmed the ﬁlms Petit Con (1984), Led by the Nose (1984), My Father the Hero (1991), The Best Job in the World (1996), and The Frenchman’s Son (1999). He also provided dialogue for the 1999 ﬁlm version of Asterix et Obelix contre Cesar.

LAUZIER, GERARD French cartoonist, screenwriter and ﬁlm director Gerard Lauzier died in Paris on December 6, 2008. He was 76. Lauzier was born in Marseille, France, on November 30, 1932. He began working as a newspaper cartoonist in the 1950s before moving to Brazil. Lauzier started an advertising agency and drew cartoons for the Jornal do Bahia but returned to France in the wake of a military coup in 1964. He continued cartooning for such magazines as Paris-Match, Paris-Presse, France-Soior, and Lui. He created the comic albums Un Certain Malaise and Lili Fatale in 1974 and produced Zizi Panpan for Lui and Tranches de Vie for Pilote. The following year he created Les Chroniques de l’ile Grande. Over the next several years he created such comics as the western parody Al Crane (1976), La Course du Rat (1978), La Tete dans le Sac (1980), Les Cadres (1981), and Souvenirs d’un Jeune

LAW , JOHN PHILLIP Actor John Phillip Law, who was best known as the blind angel Pygar in the 1968 sci-ﬁ cult classic Barbarella with Jane Fonda, died of cancer at his home in Los Angeles on May 13, 2008. He was 70. Law was born in Los Angeles on September 7, 1937. He trained as an actor with Elia Kazan in New York in the early 1960s and appeared in several small roles on the Broadway stage. He subsequently went to Europe where he was cast in such ﬁlms as Three Nights of Love (1964) and High Inﬁdelity (1964). He was featured as the young Soviet submariner Alexei Kolchin in the Cold War comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming in 1966. He continued to appear in ﬁlms in the United States and abroad, starring in Death Rides a Horse (1967), Hurry Sundown (1967), Her Harem (1967), and Danger: Diabolik (1968) as the master criminal Diabolik. Law starred as the angel Pygar, with bronzed skin and oversized white wings, in Roger Vadim’s 1968 comic-based science ﬁction ﬁlm Barbarella. He continued to appear in such ﬁlms as Skidoo (1968), The Sergeant (1968) with Rod Steiger, Certain, Very Certain, as a Matter of Fact... (1969), The Hawaiians (1970), Strogoff (1971) as Michele Strogoff, The Red Baron (1971) as Baron Manfred von Richtofen, Jacqueline Susann’s The Love Machine (1971) as ambitious hedonist Robin Stone, The Last Movie (1971), Stardust (1973), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974) as the Arabian adventurer Sinbad, Open Season (1974), Your Heaven, My Hell (1975), the 1975 remake of The Spiral Staircase, Doctor Justice (1975), Target of an Assassin (1976), A Whisper in the Dark (1976), The Cassandra Crossing (1976), Eyes Behind the Wall (1977), Der Schimmelreiter (1978), Ring of Darkness (1979), the infamous Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981) as Harry Holt with Bo

Gerard Lauzier

John Phillip Law (from Barbarella)

David Lau Chi Wing

Betty (1975), Don’t Call Me Uncle (1975), The Reincarnation (1976), The Drug Queen (1976), Bride So and Her Groom (1976), The Prodigal Son (1976), Hong Kong Emmanuelle (1977), The Daring Age (1981), Jackie Chan’s Police Force (1985), Everlasting Rhapsody (1986), Dragon’s Fight for Supremacy (1989), Lethal Lady (1990), and Fai & Chi: Kings of Kung Fu (1991). Lau Chi-Wing was featured as Chiu Chen-pang in the 1980 television series Gone with the Wind and was Yeung Gau-gun in Fatherland (1980). He also starred as Lu in the 1995 television production of Fist of Fury.

253 Derek as Jane and Miles O’Keeffe in the title role, Attack Force Z (1982), Tin Man (1983), American Commandos (1985), Night Train to Terror (1985), L.A. Bad (1986), Moon in Scorpio (1987), Striker (1987), Johann Strauss: The King Without a Crown (1987), The Overthrow (1987), Blood Delirium (1988), A Case of Honor (1988), Space Mutiny (1988), Thunder Warrior III (1988), Gorilla (1989), Cold Heat (1989), Little Women of Today (1990), Nerds of a Feather (1990), Alienator (1990), Alaska Stories (1991), Europa Mission (1992), Marilyn: Alive and Behind Bars (1992), Day of the Pig (1992), Shining Blood (1992), Angel Eyes (1993), Burning Heart (1995), Hindsight (1996), Ghost Dog (1997), Wanted (1999), Bad Guys (2000), CQ (2001), Curse of the Forty-Niner (2003) as the Sheriff, The Three Faces of Terror (2004), L’Apocalisse delle Scimmie (2005), Vic (2006), Ray of Sunshine (2006), and Chinaman’s Chance (2008). Law was also featured in the television productions The Devil’s Bed (1978), The Best Place to Be (1979), Danger — Keine Zeit zum Sterben (1984), Una Grande Storia d’Amore (1987), and Quattro Piccole Donne (1989). He was also seen on television in episodes of The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote, It’s a Living, Le Gorille, Alaska Kid, the animated Spider-Man as the voice of the Cat, The Young and the Restless, and SOKO Kitzbuhel.

2008 • Obituaries

Show of the Month, Kraft Television Theatre, The United States Steel Hour, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Riverboat, Startime, Shirley Temple’s Storybook, Checkmate, True Story, The Dick Powell Show, The Defenders, Kraft Suspense Theatre, Ben Casey, Summer Fun, and Felony Squad. Lazer also appeared in a 1960 television production of Mrs. Miniver as Toby Miniver and appeared in the feature ﬁlms Nine Miles to Noon (1963), Pinocchio in Outer Space (1965) as the voice of Pinocchio, and Hombre (1967).

LEACH , ROBERT WARNES Screenwriter and journalist Robert Warnes Leach died in Laguna Beach, California, after a long illness on March 30, 2008. He was 93. Leach was born in Dupree, South Dakota, on December 16, 1914. He began his career as a journalist working with UPI. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was hired as a junior writer at 20th Century–Fox after the war. He soon

LAW, MIMI British comedienne Mimi Law, who starred with her husband Billy Whitaker in variety shows and pantomimes, died at Brinsworth House, the actors’ retirement home, in Middlesex, England, on June 27, 2008. She was 91. She and her husband

Robert Warnes Leach

Mimi Law (with Billy Whitaker)

began performing together in the 1940s and starred in the touring revue Hi Diddle Diddle. The became one of the leading comedy teams in England, working in pantomime with such stars as Norman Wisdom, Roy Hudd, and Ken Dodd. The performed frequently at the Esplanade Pavilion on the Isle of Wight where Whitaker was entertainments manager until his death in 1995.

LAZER , PETER Former child actor Peter Lazer died in Woodstock, New York, on November 14, 2008. He was 62. Lazer was born in New York City on April 12, 1946. He appeared frequently in television from the mid–1950s through the mid–1960s, with roles in such series as The Honeymooners, Robert Montgomery Presents, Star Tonight, The Alcoa Hour, The DuPont

went to MGM where he served as an assistant to producer Lawrence Weingarten, working on such ﬁlms as Pat and Mike, Adam’s Rib, and Rhapsody. He subsequently moved to CBS as a scriptwriter for producer Jack Chertok. Leach also wrote scripts for such series as The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Ripcord, The Case of the Dangerous Robin, Everglades, The Littlest Hobo, and Perry Mason. He was story editor and writer for the Men in Space series from 1959 to 1960. Leach later worked as a writing and journalism teacher at several California colleges and universities.

LEAVITT, RON Television producer Ron Leavitt, who was co-creator of the sit-com Married ... With Children, died of lung cancer in Los Angeles on February 10, 2008. He was 60. Leavitt was born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 7, 1947. He began working in television in the 1970s as a writer and producer for such series as The Jeffersons, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, The Bad News Bears, Silver Spoons, and It’s Your Move. He and Michael G. Moye created Married ... With Children in 1987, and he served as executive producer and frequent writer for the series over the next decade. He also appeared in cameo roles in several episodes of the comedy. Leavitt also created the short-lived series Top of the Heap in 1991 and Vinnie &

Obituaries • 2008

254 LEDESMA, ALAN Mexican television actor Alan Ledesma died of stomach cancer in Mexico City on February 25, 2008. He was 30. Ledesma was born in Mexico City on November 26, 1977. He was best

Ron Leavitt

Bobby in 1992. He also was co-creator, writer, and executive producer for the series Unhappily Ever After from 1995 to 2000. LEBLANC, RAYMOND Belgian comic book publisher Raymond Leblanc, who published Herge’s Tintin, died in Longlier, Belgium, on March 21, 2008. He was 92. Leblanc was born in Longlier on May 22, 1915. He fought with the Belgian Resistance to the German occupation during World War II. After the war he was instrumental in bringing Georges Remi, who created the comic character Tintin under the name Herge

Raymond Leblanc

in 1929, back into print. Leblanc formed a publishing house, Editions du Lombard, that produced a Tintin weekly magazine. He gained distribution for the magazine throughout France in 1948 and formed the advertising agency Publiart, which used cartoon characters to sell productions, in 1954. He also founded Belvision Studios in the 1950s, which produced animation for television and ﬁlms. Leblanc was a producer for such animated features as Pinocchio in Outer Space (1965), Asterix the Gaul (1967), Asterix and Cleopatra (1968), Tintin and the Temple of the Sun (1969), Daisy Town (1971), and Tintin and the Lake of Sharks (1972), which he also directed. He also produced The Holes (1974) and Gulliver’s Travels (1977), which mixed live-action with animation. Leblanc sold his publishing house in 1986 but continued to serve as an advisor to the ﬁrm.

Alan Ledesma

known for his role as Angel Moreno in the 2007 television series Codigo Postal. Ledesma was also seen on television in episodes of Mujer, Casos de la Vida Real and Pablo y Andrea.

LEDGER , HEATH Australian born actor Heath Ledger, who earned an Oscar nomination for his performance as a gay cowboy in 2005’s Brokeback Mountain and starred as the villainous Joker in the 2008 Batman ﬁlm The Dark Knight, was found dead in a Manhattan apartment on January 22, 2008. The young actor’s naked body was found by his housekeeper and masseuse lying on the ﬂoor near his bed, the victim of an accidental prescription drug overdose. He was 28. He was born Heathcliff Andrew Ledgar in Perth, Australia, on April 4, 1979. He began his career on stage at the age of 10, playing Peter Pan in a local production. He went on to appear in the Australian television series Ship to Shore, Sweat, and Home and Away. Ledger also appeared in several ﬁlms in Australia including Clowning Around (1992), Blackrock (1997), and Paws (1997). He starred as Conor in the sword and sorcery series Roar in 1997. He came to the United States in 1999, where he starred with Julia Stiles in the

Heath Ledger (from Brokeback Mountain)

255

2008 • Obituaries

Heath Ledger (as the Joker from The Dark Knight)

Davey Lee

teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You. He also appeared in the 1999 ﬁlm Two Hands before co-starring with Mel Gibson in the Revolutionary War epic The Patriot in 2000. He starred in the off-beat medieval adventure ﬁlm A Knight’s Tale (2001) and co-starred with Halle Berry in Monster’s Ball (2001). He went on to appear in the 2002 remake of The Four Feathers, Ned Kelly (2003), and the supernatural thriller The Order (2003). He starred as a pioneering skateboarder in 2005’s Lords of Dogtown and starred with Matt Damon as The Brothers Grimm in Terry Gilliam’s 2005 ﬁlm. Ledger was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as closeted gay cowboy, Ennis Del Mar, in 2005’s Brokeback Mountain. His next role was as the legendary ladies man, Casanova, also in 2005. He appeared in Candy in 2006 and was one of several actors playing versions of music legend Bob Dylan in 2007’s I’m Not There. Ledger was cast as the Batman villain The Joker in the 2008 sequel to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight. He portrayed the character as a psychopathic serial killer in a departure from previous interpretations of the archvillain. He was ﬁlming another movie with Terry Gilliam, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, at the time of his death. Ledger’s survivors include his daughter, Matilda Rose, from a relationship with Brokeback Mountain co-star Michelle Williams. Ledger earned a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Dark Knight in 2009.

tober 16, 2008. He was 70. Lee was born in Scotland in 1938, He began his career working with the BBC on documentaries. He later moved to Canada, where he worked in numerous ﬁlms and television productions from the early 1970s. His ﬁlm credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), 125 Rooms of Comfort (1974), Where You Goin’ Company Town? (1975), Who Has Seen the Wind (1977), The Silent Partner (1978), A Man, a Woman, and a Bank (1979), Tribute (1980), Incubus (1981), Strange Brew (1983), Police Academy (1984), Mrs. Soffel (1984), Rustler’s Rhapsody (1985), Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986), Adventures in Babysitting (1987), Switching Channels (1988), Off Limits (1988), The Good Mother (1988), Physical Evidence (1989), Deceived (1991), The Cutting Edge (1992), Life with Mikey (1993), Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), The Air Up There (1994), The Santa Clause (1994), It Takes Two (1995), Getting Away with Murder (1996), Crash (1996), A Cool, Dry Place (1998), 54 (1998), Shanghai Noon (2000), X-Men (2000), Get Over It (2001), WiseGirls (2002), John Q (2002), Chicago (2002), Wrong Turn (2003), The Visual Bible: The Gospel of John (2003), Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), Assault on Precinct 13 (2005), Tideland (2005), Silent Hill (2006), Skinwalkers (2006), and Intervention (2007). He also worked on the tele-ﬁlms The Ugly Little Boy (1977), Who’ll Save Our Children? (1978), Torn Between Two Lovers (1979), The Guardian (1984), Kane & Abel (1985), Choices

LEE, DAVEY Davey Lee, the child actor who crawled onto Al Jolson’s lap as he sang “Sonny Boy” in the early talkie The Singing Fool, died of complications from a stroke in a Los Angeles nursing home on June 17, 2008. He was 83. Lee was born in Hollywood on December 29, 1924. After his role in The Singing Fool in 1928, he starred in 1929’s Sonny Boy. He reunited with Jolson in 1929’s Say It with Song, and appeared in Frozen River (1929), Skin Deep (1929), and The Squeaker (1930) before retiring at the age of 6 (at his mother’s insistence) to lead a normal childhood. Lee served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was a guest at conventions of the International Al Jolson Society later in his life. LEE, DAVID Film sound mixer David Lee, who won an Academy Award for his work on the 2002 musical Chicago, died in Panama City, Panama, on Oc-

David Lee

Obituaries • 2008

256

(1986), Easy Prey (1986), Unnatural Causes (1986) which earned him an Emmy Award, Danielle Steel’s Kaleidoscope (1990), Mark Twain and Me (1991), Between Love and Honor (1995), Down Came a Blackbird (1995), Kissinger and Nixon (1995), Hart to Hart: Harts in High Season (1996), Beyond the Call (1996), Gotti (1996) which garnered him an Emmy nomination, Rebound: The Legend of Earl “the Goat” Manigault (1998), Mario Puzo’s The Last Don (1997), Any Mother’s Son (1997), Stephen King’s Storm of the Century (1999), and Vendetta (1999).

LEE, HENRY Henry Lee, who appeared as Spike in several Our Gang comedy shorts in the late 1930s, died in Lancaster, California, on November 13, 2008. He was 80. Lee was born in El Paso, Texas, on September 24, 1928. He was featured as Spike, the paddle wielding sergeant-at-arms of the He-Man Woman Hater’s Club in the 1937 short Mail and Female. Lee also appeared with Spanky, Alfalfa, and the gang in Our Gang Follies of 1938 (1937), Came the Brawn (1938), The Awful Tooth (1938), The Little Ranger (1938), and Aladdin’s Lantern (1938). LEE, MICHAEL British rock drummer Michael Lee, who performed with former members of Led Zeppelin in the 1990s, died of complications from an epileptic seizure at his home in England on November 24, 2008. He was 39. He was born Michael Gary Pearson in Darlington on November 19, 1969. He

Michael Lee

Sara Lee

area in the 1950s and 1960s. She was featured in the 2002 documentary about women in the sport entitled Lipstick & Dynamite, Piss & Vinegar. She and her husband, fellow wrestler Corsica Joe, were honored in the legends ceremony for TNA Wrestling’s ﬁrst pay-perview-event in 2002.

LEFEVRE, RAYMOND French composer and orchestra conductor Raymond Lefevre died in France on June 27, 2008. He was 78. Lefevre was born in Calais, France, on November 20, 1929. He attended the Paris Conservatory and joined the Franck Pourcel orchestra as a pianist in the early 1950s. He recorded his debut album with the Barclay label in 1956 and had a popular hit with the song “The Day the Rains Came” in 1958. His best known song was the 1968 hit “Soul Coaxin” (Ame Caline),” and he had success with recordings of “La La La (He Gives Me Love)” and “La Reine de Saba” (“Queen of Sheba”). Lefevre was also noted for his numerous ﬁlm scores, including the popular Louis de Funes comedy series that commenced with The Gendarme of St. Tropez in 1964. He scored the ﬁlms Fric-Frac en Dentelles (1957), Incognito (1958), The Virgins (1963), The Gorillas (1964), Declic et des Claques (1965), The Gendarme in New York (1965), Monsieur le President-Directeur General (1966), The Big Vacation (1967), The Gendarme Gets Married (1968), The House in the Country (1969), The Gendarme Takes Off (1970), The Gazebo (1971), Le Permis de Conduire

began playing the drums with the band Little Angels in the late 1980s before joining the Cult in 1991. He began working with Robert Plant, the former frontman for Led Zeppelin, in 1993 and remained onboard when Plant reunited with Jimmy Page. He toured and recorded with the ex–Zeppelins, ﬁlling in for the late John Bonham. They recorded the albums No Quarter and the Grammy Award–winning Walking into Clarksdale. He later worked with Echo & the Bunnymen and a new version of Thin Lizzy, and played on recording with Jeff Martin, Billy Duffy, and Ian Gillan.

LEE, SARA Veteran female wrestler Sara Lee died in Old Hickory, Tennessee, on April 5, 2008. She was 76. She was born on November 19, 1931. She was one of the leading female wrestlers in the Tennessee

Raymond Lefevre

257 (1974), Les Murs ont des Oreilles (1974), L’Intrepide (1975), The Gendarme and the Extra-Terrestrials (1979), La Soupe aux Choux (1981), and Never Play Clever Again (1982).

LEIGH, DORIAN Dorian Leigh, whose beauty and intelligence led her to become one of the ﬁrst international “supermodels” during the mid–1940s, died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in a nursing home in Falls Church, Virginia, on July 7, 2008. She was 91. She was born Dorian Elizabeth Leigh Parker in San Antonio, Texas, on April 23, 1917. She later dropped her last name at the request of her father, who did not approve of her modeling career. She married Marshall Hawkins while attending Randolph Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, and later studied calculus at New York University. Their marriage ended in 1937 and the beautiful bombshell went on to marry four more times. She was also rumored to have had numerous love interests with prominent writers, musicians, and photographers. Before beginning her career as a model, Leigh worked in such ﬁelds as mechanical drafting for the Navy, designing airplane wings for the Eastern Aircraft Corporation, and as a copywriter for

2008 • Obituaries

who was to became a supermodel and actress in her own right before her death in 2003.

LEMON, LYNN The Reverend Lynn Lemon, who was instrumental in ﬁnancing Ed Wood’s 1950 cult classic Plan 9 from Outer Space, died of a heart attack in a Bedford, Texas, hospital on January 15, 2008. He was 96. Lemon was born in New York City on February 11, 1911. He was a Baptist minister when he became involved with Wood in the 1950s while trying to fund a ﬁlm about evangelist Billy Sunday. Wood persuaded Lemon and his backers to put their money in

Lynn Lemon

Dorian Leigh

Republic Pictures. She signed on with the Harry Conover Agency and in June of 1944, she broke into the modeling business at the advanced age of 27, with an appearance on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar. In 1946, she had appeared on seven Vogue covers and over the next six years graced the covers of over 50 different magazines. Her alluring and ﬂirtatious images for the 1950’s Revlon “Fire and Ice” cosmetic line became legendary on Madison Avenue. Leigh became one of the most photographed models in history, being shot by such eminent artists as Irving Penn, Louise DahlWolfe, and Richard Avedon. In the 1960s, she left modeling to open her own modeling agency in Paris and later became an international chef and caterer. She moved to Pound Ridge, New York, in the late 1970s, where she continued her career in the culinary industry. She wrote several cooking and recipe books and published her autobiography, The Girl Who Had Everything, in 1980. Leigh was instrumental in procuring a career in modeling for her younger sister, Suzy Parker,

his ﬁlm project and the preacher appeared onscreen ofﬁciating at the funeral of Inspector Clay, played by Tor Johnson. Plan 9 was a ﬁnancial failure upon its release, but later drew a huge cult following when it was proclaimed by some critics to be the worst movie of all time. Though the investors never received a return, Lemon later found himself involved in the production of another cult ﬁlm. He appeared as the minister at a funeral in 1973’s Invasion of the Bee Girls. He continued to work as a pastor through the 1990s and enjoyed his notoriety for his association with Wood and Plan 9. He was featured prominently in the 1996 documentary The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood Jr.

LEMOND, BOB, JR. Radio and television announcer Bob LeMond, Jr., died at his home in Bon-

Bob LeMond

Obituaries • 2008

258

sall, California, on January 6, 2008. He was 94. LeMond was born in Hale Center, Texas, on April 11, 1913. He began working in broadcasting in the mid– 1930s, and spent most of his career working at CBS. He served with Armed Forces Radio in the South Paciﬁc during World War II. He met actress Barbara Brewster, one of the Brewster Twins, while she was touring with the USO near the end of the war, and they married in 1946. He returned to CBS after the war and served as an announcer for the radio series My Favorite Husband, starring Lucille Ball. LeMond worked primarily in television from the 1950s as an announcer on such series as Our Miss Brooks, Ozzie and Harriet, Leave It to Beaver, The Ed Wynn Show, and the pilot for I Love Lucy. LeMond also announced such specials as the Academy Awards and the Rose Parade and voiceovered numerous commercials. He also appeared in cameo roles in episodes of The Addams Family and The F.B.I.

LENGREN, TOMASZ Polish actor Tomasz Lengren died in Warsaw on July 9, 2008. He was 63. Lengren was born in Lublin, Poland, on March 7, 1945. He began his acting career on stage and ﬁlms in the late 1950s, making his ﬁlm debut in 1958’s Heroism. His ﬁlm credits also include Hunting Flies (1969), Landscape

Tomasz Lengren

After Battle (1970), I Hate Mondays (1971), To Kill This Love (1972), Land of Promise (1975), The Story of Sin (1975), Personnel (1976), Convicted (1976), Clinch (1979), Interrogation (1982), The Applause Getter (1983), Zdarzenie (1986), Cheap Money (1986) which he also directed, Kill Me, Cop (1988), A Little Girl from the Hotel Excelsior (1988), Capital, or How to Make Money in Poland (1989), Art of Loving (1989), Love Me and Do Whatever You Want (1998), Zrobmy Sobie Wnuka (2003), and Ode to Joy (2005).

LEPESHINSKAYA, OLGA Russian ballerina Olga Lepeshinskaya died in her Moscow apartment on December 20, 2008. She was 92. Lepeshinskaya was born in Kiev on September 28, 1916. She entered the Bolshoi Choreographic School in 1925 and graduated in 1933. She joined the Bolshoi Ballet soon after, and became prima ballerina with the troupe. Lepeshinskaya performed such roles as Kitri in Don Quixote, Aurora

Olga Lepeshinskaya

in Sleeping Beauty, Masha in The Nutcracker, Tao Hoa in The Red Poppy, and Jeanne in The Flame of Paris. She left the Bolshoi in 1963 and spent several years teaching in East Germany at the Komische Oper Berlin. She returned to Russia in the 1970s, where she continued to teach, and served as president of the Russian Choreographic Association from 1992.

LESTANG, BENOIT French special makeup effects artist Benoit Lestang reportedly committed suicide over the weekend of July 27, 2008. He was 44. Lestang was considered one of the leading prosthetic artists in Europe, working on numerous ﬁlms from the early 1980s. He provided makeup effects for such ﬁlms as The Living Dead Girl (1982), Clash (1984), Sanguine (1985), The Revenge of the Living Dead Girls (1987), Baby Blood (1990), Bitter Moon (1992), Don’t Forget You’re Going to Die (1995), The City of Lost Children (1995), Gaston Leroux’s The Wax Mask (1997), On Guard (1997), Seventh Heaven (1997), Pleasure (And Its Little Inconveniences (1998), Alissa (1998), Le Double de Ma Moitie (1999), Time Regained (1999), Quasimodo d’El Paris (1999), Six-Pack (2000), Les Destinees (2000), Deuxieme Vie (2000), Sade (2000), Murderous Maids (2000), Antilles sur Siene (2000), Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001), Beautiful Memories (2001), La Fiancee de Dracula (2002), Safe Conduct (2002), Amen (2002), Demonlover (2002), Broceliade (2002), The Pharmacist (2003), Pact of Silence (2003), Virus au Paradis (2003),

Benoit Lestang

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Tiresia (2003), The Story of Marie and Julien (2003), Lagardere (2003), Cash Truck (2004), French Spies (2004), House of Voices (2004), The Light (2004), Kings and Queen (2004), Arsene Lupin (2004), Department 36 (2004), L’Annulaire (2005), Manderlay (2005), Animal (2005), Les Parrains (2005), Sheitan (2006), The Trail (2006), The Tiger Brigades (2006), Days of Glory (2006), Chair Fraiche (2006), Tell No One (2006), Fragments of Antonin (2006), The Serpent (2006), Crime Insiders (2007), Jacquou le Croquant (2007), Moliere (2007), Heros (2007), Intimate Enemies (2007), The Diving Bell and the Butterﬂy (2007), and A Secret (2007). Lestang also produced, directed, and scripted the 2005 short ﬁlm Protocole 33.

LETHAM, RONNIE Scottish actor Ronnie Letham died of complications from a broken hip in Falkirk, Scotland, on March 27, 2008. He was 58. Letham was born in Falkirk on September 10, 1949. He was a popular stage and television performer from the late 1970s. He was seen on television in episodes of

Ronnie Letham

Crown Court, Play for Today, The Sweeney, The Dick Francis Thriller: The Racing Game, Rumpole of the Bailey, The High Life, Atletico Partick, Rab C. Nesbitt, Bad Boys, Hamish Macbeth, The Bill, All Along the Watchtower, Rockface, New Tricks, and Taggart. He was also featured in the television productions God’s Frontiersmen (1988), Rufﬁan Hearts (1995), and Ultraviolet (1998) and had a small role in the 1997 ﬁlm The Saint. He was seen in the recurring role of Harry Drennan in the television series Still Game in the early 2000s.

LETOV, YEGOR Yegor Letov, the founder and lead singer with the Russian punk rock band Grazhdanskaya Oborona, died of heart failure at his home in Omsk, Russia, on February 19, 2008. He was 43. Letov was born in Omsk on September 10, 1964. He led his ﬁrst group, Posev, in 1982, which evolved into Grazhdanskaya Oborona (Civil Defense) by 1985. He was considered to be the father of Russian punk music, leading the band while the Soviet Union was experiencing political and social upheaval in the late 1980s. The group was banned from public performances during the Soviet era but gained a large following through underground cassette recordings. After the collapse of the

Yegor Letov

Soviet Union, Letov’s later songs expressed some nostalgia for the old system.

LETTS, DENNIS Actor Dennis Letts died of cancer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on February 22, 2008. He was 73. Letts was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on September 5, 1934. He was a drama and English teacher at Southeastern Oklahoma State University for 30 years and performed frequently in community theater. After retiring as a teacher, he began a second career as an actor in ﬁlms and television. He made his ﬁlm debut as General Sanders in the 1984 horror spoof Blood Suckers from Outer Space. His numerous ﬁlm credits also include Tabloid (1985), Square Dance (1987), Johnny Be Good (1988), It Takes Two (1988), Heartbreak Hotel (1988), The Man in the Moon (1991), Rush (1991), Passenger 57 (1992) with Wesley Snipes, Sidekicks (1992), A Perfect World (1993), Frank & Jesse (1994), Gordy (1995), Keys to Tulsa (1997), Little Boy Blue (1997), Fire Down Below (1997), Where the Heart Is (2000) based on a novel by his wife, author Billie Letts, Castaway (2000), Christmas Child (2003), Secondhand Lions (2003), and Infamous (2006). Letts was also featured in such tele-ﬁlms as Time Bomb (1984), Dallas: The Early Years (1986), Houston: The Legend of Texas (1986), Travelin’ Man (1987), Margaret BourkeWhite (1989), Challenger (1990), A Killing in a Small Town (1990), The Triumph of the Heart: The Ricky Bell Story (1991), Jailbirds (1991), A Seduction in Travis

Dennis Letts

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County (1991), The Last Prostitute (1991), Wild Texas Wind (1991), Fugitive Among Us (1992), Trial: The Price of Passion (1992), A Taste for Killing (1992), The Ernest Green Story (1993), Her Hidden Truth (1995), The Road to Galveston (1996), Frequent Flyer (1996), Two Mothers for Zachary (1996), To Live Again (1998), and A Face to Kill For (1999). Letts’ other television credits include roles in episodes of such series as Dangerous Curves, Walker, Texas Ranger, and Once and Again. Letts made his Broadway debut several months before his death, appearing in the play August: Osage County, written by his son Tracy Letts.

LEVENS, JUSTIN Mixed martial arts ﬁghter Justin Levens died of gunshot wounds at his home in Laguna Niguel, California, on December 17, 2008. He and his wife, Sarah McLean-Levens, were both found dead in what was believed to have been a murder-suicide. He was 28. Levens was born in Philadelphia,

Larry Leverett (right, with Peter Bogdanovich)

early 1960s. He worked on publicity for several ﬁlms including The Sound of Music (1965), The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), and The Sand Pebbles (1966), and was an assistant producer for the 1968 ﬁlm If He Hollers Let Him Go. Leverett later hosted the public-access television show Hollywood Beat, where he interviewed people in the ﬁlm industry.

LEVERT, SEAN Singer Sean Levert, who was part of the R&B trio LeVert, died in a Cleveland, Ohio, hospital on March 30, 2008, after becoming ill while jailed for failure to pay child support. He was 39. Levert was born in Cleveland on September 28, 1968, the son of Eddie Levert, lead singer of the O’Jays. Sean and his older brother Gerald teamed with longtime friend Marc Gordon to form the trio LeVert in the early

Justin Levens

Pennsylvania, on April 18, 1980. He began competing in mixed martial arts events in 2004 and was nicknamed the Executioner. He fought with the Southern California Condors of the International Fight League, and had also competed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and World Extreme Cageﬁghting. Levens was scheduled for a ﬁght in July of 2008 but tested positive for drugs and was suspended for six months.

LEVERETT , LARRY Hollywood journalist and publicist Larry Leverett died of complications from heart disease in Ventura, California, on October 1, 2008. He was 71. Leverett was raised in Chicago and began his career there as an assistant on the city desk at the Chicago Tribune while in his teens. He was soon working as a publicist for hotels and nightclubs there and as a booker for celebrity entertainers. Leverett appeared in small roles in several ﬁlms during the 1950s including The Harder They Fall (1956), Teacher’s Pet (1957), and Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (1959). He was a publicist for such stars as Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, Johnny Weismuller, George Jessel, and Billy Daniels when they performed in the Chicago area. He also hosted the local radio talk show Spotlight on Talent before heading to Hollywood in the

Sean Levert

1980s and recorded the album I Get Hot in 1984. Atlantic Records soon signed the group and they recorded such hit songs as “(Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop) Goes My Mind,” “Casanova,” “Addicted to You,” and “Baby I’m Ready.” Sean recorded a solo album, The Other Side, in 1995, with the popular song “Put Your Body Where Your Mouth Is.” The trio split up after releasing the 1997 album The Whole Scenario. Sean had problems with substance abuse later in the decade that resulted in a DUI conviction. His brother Gerald died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs in 2006. Sean and Gordon reunited to form a new version of LeVert soon after.

261 LEVINE, LARRY Audio engineer Larry Levine, who assisted Phil Spector in the creation of the Wall of Sound recording technique, died of complications from emphysema at his home in Encino, California, on May 8, 2008. He was 80. Levine was born in New York City on May 8, 1928. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and began working as a recording engineer with Gold Star in the mid–1950s. He supervised Eddie Cochran’s recording of the hit

2008 • Obituaries

2008. He was 82. Lewin was born in Breslau, Germany, on March 27, 1925, and escaped from Germany with his family in 1939. They came to the United States the following year, where Lewin studied music composition. He worked in ﬁlm and television, writing scores for such series as The Defenders, The Nurses, Man Against Crime, Brenner, and I Spy. He scored several documentaries from the 1970s including A Year Toward Tomorrow (1967) and provided music for the 1989 feature ﬁlm The Plot Against Harry. He composed two operas, Gulliver (1975) and Burning Bright (1993), based on John Steinbeck’s play. He also composed numerous concertos, orchestral works, and choral music. Lewin served as a professor at the Yale School of Music from 1971 to 1992. He also taught at the Columbia University school of the Arts from 1975 to 1989.

LEWIS, BUNNY British comedian and female impersonator Bunny Lewis died in England on November 6, 2008. He was 71. Lewis was a popular comic on the variety circuit, topping the bills at such venues Larry Levine (left, with Phil Spector)

“Summertime Blues.” He ﬁrst worked with Phil Spector on the 1962 recording of the Crystals’ “He’s a Rebel.” Levine’s heavy use of an echo chamber contributed to the lavish orchestrations and lush sound Spector wanted with his recordings. He worked on a string of hits including the Crystals’ “Then He Kissed Me” and “Da Doo Ron Ron,” the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby” and “Walking in the Rain,” the Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody” and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” and Ike and Tina Turner’s “River Deep, Mountain High.” Levine also worked on the Beach Boys’ 1966 album Pet Sounds, and earned a Grammy Award for the best engineered recording for “A Taste of Honey” by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass in 1965. Alpert hired him to serve as chief recording engineer at A&M Recording Studios in 1967. He also continued to collaborate with Spector in the 1970s, working on the Leonard Cohen album Death of a Ladies’ Man and the Ramones’ End of the Century.

LEWIN, FRANK Composer Frank Lewin died at his home in Princeton, New Jersey, on January 18,

Frank Lewin

Bunny Lewis

as Batley Varieties, the Golden Gater, and Talk of the North. He and partner Mike Parker staged the Parody Pantomime at the Devonshire Music Hall in Manchester with great success in 1970. Lewis also starred in the 1971 ﬁlm A Couple of Beauties.

LIEBER, ERIC Eric Lieber, who created and produced television’s long-running dating game show Love Connection, died of leukemia in a Los Angeles hospital on July 2, 2008. He was 71. Lieber was born in Vienna, Austria, on April 7, 1937, and came to the United States as a child. He studied at the High School of Music and Art in New York before joining the Army. He began working in television and gameshows in the late 1950s and served as an artist on the gameshow Dotto in 1958. He was soon producing such series as The Dick Cavett Show, The Sammy Davis Jr. Show, and The Mike Douglas Show. He also produced such specials as Grammy Salutes Oscars (1974), the 1976 televised coverage of the Democrat National Convention, and The American Film Institute Salute to Henry Fonda (1978), which garnered an Emmy nomination. Lieber created and produced the popular gameshow Love Connection from 1983 to 1995, with Chuck Woolery as

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host. He was later executive producer of the show from 1998 to 1999, with Pat Bullard hosting. His other works include such television series as The Baby Game, Musical Comedy Tonight, and Omnibus.

LINAKER, KAY Kay Linaker, a leading ﬁlm actress from the 1930s and 1940s who later co-scripted the cult science ﬁction ﬁlm The Blob under the name Kate Phillips, died in Keene, New Hampshire, on April 18, 2008. She was 94. Linaker was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, on July 19, 1913. She moved to New York in the mid–1930s where she attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She began performing on stage and appeared on Broadway in several small roles. She soon headed to Hollywood where she made her ﬁlm debut in 1936’s The Murder of Dr. Harrigan with Ricardo Cortez. She was featured in nearly ﬁfty ﬁlms over the next decade including Road Gang (1936), The Girl from Mandalay (1936), Easy Money (1936), Crack-Up (1936), The Outer Gate (1937), Black Aces (1937), Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937) with Warner Oland, Personal Secretary (1938), The Last Warning (1938), I Am a Criminal (1938), Trade Winds (1938), Young Mr. Lincoln (1938), Charlie Chan in Reno (1939), Man About Time (1939), Hotel for Women (1939), The Girl from Rio (1939), Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939), Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence (1939), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), Hidden Enemy (1940), Green Hell (1940), Free, Blonde, and 21 (1940), Buck Benny Rides Again (1940), Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise (1940), Sandy Is a Lady (1940), Mystery Sea Raider (1940), Kitty Foyle (1940), The Invisible Woman (1940), They Dare Not Love (1941), Blood and Sand (1941), Blossoms in the Dust (1941), Charlie Chan in Rio (1941), Private Nurse (1941), Married Bachelor (1941), Glamour Boy (1941), Remember the Day (1941), A Close Call for Ellery Queen (1942), The Night Before the Divorce (1942), Men of Texas (1942), Orchestra Wives (1942), War Dogs (1942), Pittsburgh (1942), Happy Go Lucky (1943), Cinderella Swings It (1943), Two Weeks to Live (1943), The More the Merrier (1943), Let’s Face It (1943), Wintertime (1943), Lady in the Dark (1944), Men on Her Mind (1944), Laura (1944), Here Come the Waves (1944), and Bring on the Girls (1945). Linaker retired from the screen after marrying writer Howard

Phillips in 1945. She worked with her husband on several tele-plays in the 1950s including episodes of The United Stated Steel Hour and Riverboat. She was called upon to provide a screenplay for the low budget 1958 science ﬁction ﬁlm The Blob. The ﬁlm became a popular classic and began the career of actor Steve McQueen. Linaker, writing as Kate Phillips, received very little money for her efforts for the ﬁlm that went on to gross millions. In her later years, she taught screenwriting at Keene State College until retiring in 2005.

LINKS, MARTY Marty Links Arguello, who created the Bobby Sox and Emmy Lou comic strips, died in an assisted living facility in San Rafael, California, on January 6, 2008. She was 90. Links was born in Oakland, California on September 5, 1917. She began

Marty Links

working as an advertising artist and was creating cartoons for The San Francisco Chronicle from 1940. Her comic strip about teens, Bobby Sox, debuted in 1944 and was renamed Emmy Lou after its lead character in 1951. Emmy Lou was adapted for television as an episode of Shirley Temple’s Storybook in 1960 starring Bernadette Withers and an unsuccessful pilot for a proposed series, The Trials and Tribulations of Emmy Lou Harper starring Joanna Dix, aired as an episode of Mr. Ed in 1962. Emmy Lou was also part of the television cartoon anthology series The Fabulous Funnies in 1978. Links cancelled the comic strip in 1979. She later designed the Kidlinks line of greeting cards featuring child characters.

LIPHAM, KENT Actor Kent Lipham died in Los Angeles on September 25, 2008. He was 46. Lipham was born in Talladega, Alabama, on October 7, 1961. He studied drama in college before heading to Hollywood in the early 1980s. He was featured as Scott, the chunky bully, in the 1986 action ﬁlm No Retreat, No Surrender with Jean-Claude Van Damme. He was also seen in the ﬁlms Extreme Prejudice (1987), Bikini Summer (1991), and Across the Tracks (1991) before leaving the acting business. (Photograph on page 263.)

Kay Linaker

LISTER, BRUCE British actor Bruce Lister died in Los Angeles on June 13, 2008. He was 96. Lister was born to British parents in Johannesburg, South

263

2008 • Obituaries

(1948), But Not in Vain (1948), Celia: The Sinister Affair of Poor Aunt Nora (1949), Tarzan’s Peril (1951), Tales of Robin Hood (1951), Lorna Doone (1951), Secrets of Monte Carlo (1951), The Son of Dr. Jekyll (1951), The Pathﬁnder (1952), Charade (1953), Rogue’s March (1953), The Royal African Riﬂes (1953), King Richard and the Crusaders (1954), Something of Value (1957), The Seventh Sin (1957), and Tarzan and the Trappers (1958). He was also seen on television in episodes of Dangerous Assignment and Schlitz Playhouse of the Stars. Lister later worked for Columbia and Paramount studios as a story analyst.

Kent Lipham

Africa, on June 6, 1912. He attended Brighton College in England and made his ﬁlm debut in the early 1930s. He appeared in numerous ﬁlms there before heading to Hollywood under contract to Warner later in the decade. Lister’s ﬁlm credits include The Girl in the Flat (1934), To Be a Lady (1934), Badger’s Green (1934), Death at a Broadcast (1934), The Third Clue (1934), Old Roses (1935), Old Faithful (1935), A Star Fell from Heaven (1936), Ourselves Alone (1936), The Tenth Man (1936), Crime Over London (1936), Hail and Farewell (1936), Head Ofﬁce (1936), The Heirloom Mystery (1937), Mayfair Melody (1937), The Windmill (1937), Ship’s Concert (1937), Change for a Sovereign (1937), Quiet Please (1938), Thistledown (1938), Boy Meets Girl (1938), If I Were King (1938), Home from Home (1939), The Witness Vanishes (1939), The Invisible Man Returns (1940), British Intelligence (1940), My Son, My Son! (1940), Pride and Prejudice (1940), The Letter (1940), Shadows on the Stairs (1941), Singapore Woman (1941), Shining Victory (1941), Man Hunt (1941), A Yank in the R.A.F. (1941), Eagle Squadron (1942), Desperate Journey (1942), The Mysterious Doctor (1943), Above Suspicion (1943), and Flesh and Fantasy (1943). Lister served in the army during World War II and resumed his ﬁlm career after the war. He was featured in The Wife of Monte Cristo (1946), Without Reservations (1946), Cloak and Dagger (1946), Strange Journey (1946), Golden Earrings (1947), The Fool and the Princess (1948), I Walk Alone

Bruce Lister

LITTLE, STUART Theatrical historian and columnist Stuart W. Little died of congestive heart failure in Canaan, Connecticut, on July 27, 2008. He was 86. Little was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on December 12, 1921. He graduated from Yale University in 1944 and served with the Ofﬁce of Strategic Services

Stuart Little

during World war II. After the war he joined The New York Herald Tribune, where he served as assistant city editor. He became the Tribune theatrical columnist in 1958 and continued until the newspaper folded in 1966. Little teamed with theatrical producer Arthur Cantor to write the 1970 book The Playmakers and published Off Broadway: The Prophetic Theater in 1972. He also authored Enter Joseph Papp: In Search of a New American Theater (1974). Little was editor of the Theater Development Fund newsletter from 1986 to 2001.

LLAMAS, MARIA VICTORIA Mexican journalist and writer Maria Victoria Llamas died of a stroke in Mexico City, Mexico, on January 5, 2008. She was 67. Llamas was born in Mexico City on September 23, 1940. She began her career as an actress at the age of 8, appearing in several ﬁlms including Ya Tengo a Mi Hijo (1948), Angelitos Negros (1948), Menores de Edad (1951), and Un Divorcio (1953). She began writing in the 1970s, scripting programs for Channel 6 Guadalajara and working with the Televisa Cultural Foundation. She worked on the Today newscast from the mid–1970s until 1985 and subsequently worked at Channel 13 until the early 1990s. She wrote and directed her 1988 documentary La Muerte Viva, and directed 1988’s Citando a la Muerte (1988). She was also host of the

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Maria Victoria Llamas

self-named television program Maria Victoria Llamas in 1991.

LLOYD, HUGH British comic actor Hugh Lloyd died in Worthing, Sussex, England, on July 14, 2008. He was 85. Lloyd was born in Chester, Cheshire, England, on April 22, 1923. He aspired to be a comedian from an early age, after seeing Laurel and Hardy on stage. His family’s disapproval of his career choice led Lloyd into journalism; he became a cub reporter with a local paper in the early 1940s. Poor health left him unﬁt for military service during World War II, but he was soon touring in variety shows to entertain the troops. By the end of the war, he had abandoned journalism to begin working full-time as a comic. He began working with fellow comic, Tony Hancock, in the radio show Hancock’s Half Hour, and he remained with the program when it moved to television 2 years later. Lloyd continued to appear in comedy sketches with Hancock’s Half Hour through the end of the decade and was featured in the subsequent Hancock series in 1961. He and Terry Scott starred in the series Hugh and I from 1962 to 1967 and again worked together for the short-lived 1969 comedy The Gnomes of Dulwich. His other television credits include such series as The Days of Vengeance, Sykes & A..., Comedy Playhouse, Benny Hill, A Slight Case of..., Birds in the Bush, Lollipop Loves Mr. Mole in the recurring role of Reg “Mr. Mole” Robinson, Z Cars, Till Death Do Us Part, Lord Tramp,

BBC 2 Play of the Week, Can We Get It Now, Please, Objects of Affection, Last of the Summer Wine, Jury, That’s My Boy, The Clairvoyant, C.A.T.S. Eyes, And There’s More, Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV, Doctor Who, Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Woof!, In Sickness and in Health, Boon, You Rang, M’Lord?, Blue Heaven, Heartbeat, Oh, Doctor Beeching!, Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased), A Many Splintered Thing, My Hero, Foyle’s War, Doc Martin, and My Family. He also appeared in television productions of Me! I’m Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1978), She’s Been Away (1989), Cider with Rosie (1998), Alice in Wonderland (1999), Great Expectations (1999), Oliver Twist (1999), and Looking for Victoria (2003). Lloyd was also featured in numerous ﬁlms during his lengthy career including The Rebel (1961), It’s Trad, Dad! (1962), Play It Cool (1962), She’ll Have to Go (1962), Go to Blazes (1962), The Punch and Judy Man (1963) reuniting with Tony Hancock, The Mouse on the Moon (1963), Just for Fun (1963), Father Came Too! (1964), Runaway Railway (1965), White Cargo (1973), Intimate Games (1976), The Who’s Quadrophenia (1979), Venom (1981), August (1996), The Clandestine Marriage (1999), and Girl from Rio (2001).

LLOYD, RUSSELL British ﬁlm editor Russell Lloyd died in Cranleigh, Surrey, England, on January 21, 2008. He was 92. He was born Hugh Russell Lloyd in Swansea, West Glamorgan, Wales, on January 16, 1916. He began his career as a cinema projectionist before joining the editing staff of Alexander Korda’s London Films in the mid–1930s. He worked as an assistant on the ﬁlms Rembrandt (1936) and Things to Come

Russell Lloyd

Hugh Lloyd

(1936). He made his debut as an editor the following year with the crime dramas The Squeaker (1937) and The Green Cockatoo (1937). Lloyd served in the Royal Navy during World War II and was editor of the wartime documentary about life on a submarine, Close Quarters (1943). He returned to London Films after the war, editing School for Secrets (1946) and A Man About the House (1947). Lloyd was also second unit director for the 1948 adaptation of Anna Karenina, and co-directed 1949’s The Last Days of Dolwyn. He also directed some location footage for the 1950 Disney ﬁlm version of Treasure Island. He was best known for his

265 long association with director John Huston that began while working on 1956’s Moby Dick. He worked with Huston on nine other ﬁlms including Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957), The Roots of Heaven (1958), The Unforgiven (1960), The Lion (1962), Reﬂections in a Golden Eye (1967) starring Marlon Brando, A Walk with Love and Death (1969), and The MacKintosh Man (1973) with Paul Newman. He earned an Oscar nomination for his ﬁnal ﬁlm with Huston, 1975’s The Man Who Would Be King, starring Sean Connery and Michael Caine. Lloyd’s many ﬁlm credits also include I’ll Get You for This (1950), Saturday Island (1952), Decameron Nights (1953), Rough Shoot (1953), Star of India (1954), The Sea Shall Not Have Them (1954), Count Five and Die (1957), The Naked Earth (1958), Whirlpool (1959), Bitter Harvest (1963), The Wild Affair (1963), Of Human Bondage (1964), Ninety Degrees in the Shade (1965), Return from the Ashes (1965), Sinful Davey (1969), The Last Run (1971), Christa: Swedish Fly Girls (1971), Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing (1973), The God King (1974), The Amorous Milkman (1975), In Celebration (1975), The Lady Vanishes (1979), Caligula (1979), The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu (1980), Lovespell (1981), Blood Link (1982), Where Is Parsifal? (1983), and Absolute Beginners (1986). He also edited the 1985 television mini-series Christopher Columbus and assisted in the editing of the 1992 feature City of Joy. Lloyd was married to actress Rosamund John during the 1940s.

2008 • Obituaries

Ana Loginova

a short distance while hanging to the door handle. She was 29. Loginova was born in Russia on September 3, 1978. She worked as a model for advertising campaigns featuring BMW and Chanel. She also posed for the December 2007 issue of the Russian version of Maxim magazine. A martial artist, Loginova had formed the Stilet security ﬁrm in 2005 to supply female bodyguards to wealthy clients. LONGMIRE, ADELE Actress Adele Longmire died at her daughter’s home in Taos, New Mexico, on January 15, 2008. She was 89. Longmire was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on June 27, 1918. She began

LODGE , JOHN Actor John Lodge, who starred as Luther the Berserk in the 1969 cult horror ﬁlm The Witchmaker, died of prostate cancer in Everett, Washington, on February 1, 2008. He was 86. Lodge was born on January 5, 1922. He appeared frequently in ﬁlms and on television during the 1960s. He was seen on television in episodes of Ben Casey, Kraft Sus-

John Lodge (as Luther the Berserk from The Witchmaker)

pense Theatre, The Virginian, Dr. Kildare, Combat!, Convoy, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Run for Your Life, The Road West, Daniel Boone, Garrison’s Gorillas, Bonanza, and The Jackie Gleason Show. Lodge also appeared in such ﬁlms as Out of Sight (1966), In Like Flint (1967), Riot on Sunset Strip (1967), Judy’s Little No-No (1969), and Revenge Is My Destiny (1971). He starred as Luther, a powerful warlock and leader of a Satanic coven, in the 1969 ﬁlm The Witchmaker.

LOGINOVA, ANNA Russian model turned bodyguard Anna Loginova was killed in Moscow on January 27, 2008, when she was shoved from her Porsche by carjackers. She suffered fatal head injuries when she slammed into the pavement after being drug

Adele Longmire (with Regis Toomey)

her career on stage, appearing as Ann Rutledge in the Broadway play Abe Lincoln in Illinois in 1938. She was one of the many actresses who tried out for the role of Scarlett O’Hara for the ﬁlm Gone with the Wind. She continued to appear on stage in such Broadway productions as Eye on the Sparrow, Two on a Island, Old Acquaintance, and Nine Girls. Longmire appeared in the 1942 Warner ﬁlm Bullet Scars with Regis Toomey. She also appeared in the ﬁlms With a Song in My Heart (1952), The Turning Point (1952), and Battle Circus (1953). She was featured on television in episodes of Gruen Guild Playhouse, I Love Lucy, Cavalcade of America, and The Lone Ranger during the 1950s. Longmire continued to perform on stage in local productions and was married to actor Arthur Franz.

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LONGWORTH, ERIC Veteran British character actor Eric Longworth died in England on August 20, 2008. He was 90. Longworth was born in Shaw, Lancashire, England, on July 20, 1918. He appeared frequently on British television from the early 1960s, with roles in such series as No Hiding Place, Martin Chuzzlewit, Cluff, United!, Z Cars, The Big Spender, Theatre 625, The Saint, The First Lady, Detective, W.

Eric Longworth

famed physicist Alfred Loomis. He often assisted his father on experiments in radar and brain-wave research. He also served in the U.S. Navy, where he was instrumental in creating radar training schools. After leaving the Navy Loomis attended the University of California, where he did graduate work in physics. After several years as assistant to the president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and several positions in the government, Loomis was named to head Voice of America by Pres. Dwight Eisenhower in 1958. He expanded the range of radio broadcasts, transmitting to an increased number of countries during his tenure. Loomis resigned his position in 1965 following a clash with Pres. Lyndon Johnson over the agency’s independence. He later served as president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting from 1972 to 1978.

LOPEZ, PERRY Character actor Perry Lopez, who starred as Lt. Lou Escobar in the 1974 ﬁlm Chinatown and its 1990 sequel The Two Jakes, died of lung cancer in Beverly Hills, California, on February 14, 2008. He was 78. Lopez was born in New York City on July 22, 1929. He began his career on the New York stage in the early 1950s before heading to Hollywood. He appeared in small roles in the ﬁlms Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and Jubilee Trail (1954). He

Somerset Maugham, Boy Meets Girl, Roads to Freedom, Play for Today, Hadleigh, Softly Softly, Spyder’s Web, Doomwatch, Father Brown, Coronation Street, Hannah, To Serve Them All My Days, The Life and Times of David Lloyd George, and Hi-De-Hi! He was featured as the Town Clerk on the comedy series Dad’s Army from 1972 to 1977. Longworth was also seen in the television productions of Foreign Exchange (1970) and Oedipus the King (1984). He appeared in several ﬁlms during his career including All Neat in Black Stockings (1968), Perfect Friday (1970), and No Sex Please: We’re British (1973).

LOOMIS , H ENRY Henry Loomis, who headed the Voice of America in the late 1950s and early 1960s, died of complications from Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Pick’s disease in Jacksonville, Florida, on November 2, 2008. He was 89. Loomis was born in Tuxedo Park, New York, on April 19, 1919, the son of

Henry Loomis

Perry Lopez

continued to perform in ﬁlms and on television, often cast as Hispanics or Indians. Lopez’s ﬁlm credits include Drum Beat (1954), Battle Cry (1955), Mister Roberts (1955), The McConnell Story (1955), I Died a Thousand Times (1955), Hell on Frisco Bay (1955), The Lone Ranger (1956), The Steel Jungle (1956), The Young Guns (1956), Omar Khayyam (1957), The Deep Six (1958), Violent Road (1958), Cry Tough (1959), Flaming Star (1960) with Elvis Presley, Man-Trap (1961), Taras Bulba (1962), McLintock! (1963) with John Wayne, The Rare Breed (1966), Sol Madrid (1968), Daring Game (1968), Bandolero! (1968) with Dean Martin and Jimmy Stewart, Che! (1969), Kelly’s Heroes (1970), Lady Ice (1973), Roman Polanski’s Oscar-winning Chinatown (1974) with Jack Nicholson, Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987), Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects (1989), The Two Jakes (1990), and Confessions of a Hit Man (1994). Lopez was also featured in episodes of numer-

267 ous television series including Cavalcade of America, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Meet McGraw, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Suspicion, Tombstone Territory, Zorro in the recurring role of Joaquin Castenada in 1958, The Riﬂeman, The Rebel, Troubleshooters, Riverboat, Have Gun —Will Travel, Checkmate, Cain’s Hundred, Bonanza, Naked City, Redigo, Wagon Train, Kraft Suspense Theatre, The Virginian, The F.B.I., Mission: Impossible, The Time Tunnel, Star Trek as Rodrigues in the “Shore Leave” episode in 1966, Hondo, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Tarzan, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Wild Wild West, Mannix, Monte Nash, The Mod Squad, Hec Ramsey, Charlie’s Angels, The Fall Guy, Hart to Hart, and Airwolf.

LORING, RAY Ray Loring, who composed the scores for the PBS science series Nova, died of a heart attack while climbing in the White Mountains in Bethlehem, New Hampshire, on September 6, 2008. He was 65. Loring was born in Georgetown, Massachusetts, on May 20, 1943. He began playing the piano

Ray Loring

at an early age and studied music composition while in college. He teamed with ﬁlmmaker Dick Bartlett to produce the 1971 ﬁlm Ruby, which Loring also scored. He began teaching music in the early 1980s and was composing pieces for the History Channel and the Discovery Channel by the early 1990s. He composed the theme to Nova in 1997 and scored many of the episodes over the next decade.

LOTITO, LEO, JR. Veteran make-up artist Leo Lotito died in Los Angeles on December 13, 2008. He was 86. Lotito served in the Marines during World War II and studied make-up from Ern Westmore after the war. He worked frequently in ﬁlms and television from the late 1940s, with his ﬁrst screen credit being 1949’s Riders of the Pony Express. He provided make-up design for such television series as The Adventures of Kid Carson, Studio 57, Soldiers of Fortune, M Squad, Suspicion, The Millionaire, Shotgun Slade, The Jack Benny Program, Johnny Staccato, Bachelor Father, Thriller, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Riverboat, Checkmate, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, McHale’s Navy, Wagon Train, The Virginian, and Harry O. Lotito worked with John Chambers on the make-up effects for the classic sci-ﬁ

2008 • Obituaries

ﬁlm Planet of the Apes in 1968, and also contributed to the subsequent sequels. His other ﬁlm credits include The Undefeated (1969), Getting Straight (1970), Stand Up and Be Counted (1972), Blume in Love (1973), Cleopatra Jones (1973), The Terminal Man (1974), White Line Fever (1975), Mr. Billion (1977), Oh, God! (1977), Casey’s Shadow (1978), Over the Edge (1979), When Time Ran Out... (1980), The Competition (1980), Blow Out (1981), and U.F.Oria (1985). Lotito received six Emmy Award nominations for his work in television from the late 1970s including Lady of the House (1978), Fantasy Island (1978), V (1983), The Mystic Warrior (1984), V: The Final Battle (1984), V: The Series (1984), and Alice in Wonderland (1985). He also provided make-up for the television productions Computercide (1982), The Shadow Riders (1982), The Blue and the Gray (1982), Murder Me, Murder You (1983), More Than Murder (1984), The Eagle and the Bear (1985), Deadly Messages (1985), Outrage! (1986), A Winner Never Quits (1986), and The Return of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer (1986). He also worked on the television series T.J. Hooker from 1982 until his retirement in 1986.

LOUZADA, OSWALDO Brazilian actor Oswaldo Louzada died in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on February 22, 2008. He was 95. Louzada was born in Rio de Janeiro, on April 12, 1912. He began performing in ﬁlms in the mid–1940s with roles in such features as Gente Honesta (1944), E Proibido Sonhar (1944), Inconﬁdencia Mineira (1948), Uma Luz na Estrada (1948), E Probido Beijar (1954), The Violent and the Damned (1955), Leonora of the Seven Seas (1955), Rico Ri a Toa (1957), Rio Fantasia (1957), Fiery Women (1959) which he also directed, Esse Rio Que Eu Amo (1960), Assault on the Pay Train (1962), Gimba, Presidente dos Valentes (1963), Procura-se uma Rosa (1964), Cronica de Cidade Amada (1964), Lampiao, King of the Badlands (1964), Viagem aos Seios de Duilia (1964), Conjugal Warfare (1975), and A Casa de Acucar (1996). Louzada worked primarily in television from the 1970s, appearing in such productions as Bandeira 2 (1971), Joao da Silva (1973), Brilhante (1981), Final Feliz (1982), O Tempo e o Vento (1985), Hipertensao (1986), O Primo Basilio (1988), Desejo (1990), Vamp (1991), Engracad-

Oswaldo Louzada

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inha... Seus Amores e Seus Pecados (1995), Cara e Coroa (1995), Voce Decide (1996), Uga (2000), O Quinto dos Infernos (2002), Mulheres Apaixonadas (2003), and Sob Nova Direcao (2005).

LOVE, KERMIT Costume designer Kermit Love, who co-created the Sesame Street characters Big Bird and Mr. Snufﬂeupagus, died of congestive heart failure in Poughkeepsie, New York, on June 21, 2008. He was 91. Love was born in Spring Lake, New Jersey, on August 7, 1916. Fascinated by puppets as a child, he began working in the theater in the mid–1930s. He designed costumes for Orson Wells’ Mercury Theater and worked with the New York City Ballet. He worked with acclaimed choreographer George Balanchine for forty years. He also designed costumes for Agnes de

Ray Lowry

Close and Personal, documenting his time on the road with the band.

LUCAS, ROBERT Robert Lucas, who was lead singer for the band Canned Heat in the late 1990s, died of an apparent drug overdose at the home of a friend in Long Beach, California, on November 23, 2008. He was 46. Canned Heat was a popular blues and boogie band that recorded such hits as “Going Up the Country” and “On the Road Again” from its inception in 1965. Lucas began his music career as a member of

Kermit Love

Mille’s ballet Rodeo and Jerome Robbins’ debut work Fancy Free. He also worked on such Broadway productions as 1943’s One Touch of Venus. Love teamed with Muppets creator Jim Henson in the late 1960s to design the costume of the 8' 2" yellow Big Bird and the greenish shaggy elephant Snufﬂeupagus. He assisted Caroll Spinney, the man inside the Big Bird suit, since 1969, in bringing the beloved character to life. The bearded Love also appeared in Sesame Street productions as Willy the Hot Dog Man. He was also instrumental in designing the Muppet characters Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch but was not the namesake of the Muppet frog that shared his surname.

LOWRY, RAY English cartoonist and illustrator Ray Lowry died at his home in Waterfoot, Lancashire, England, on October 14, 2008. He was 64. Lowry was born in Cadishead, Salford, England, on August 28, 1944. He began working as a cartoonist in the late 1960s, contributing to such publications as Private Eye, Punch, The Guardian, and New Musical Express. He accompanied the band The Clash on their 1979 tour of the United States and provided the artwork for the album London Calling. Rock ’n’ roll remained a leading subject of his art and he produced three collections, Only Rock and Roll (1980), This Space to Let (1986), and Ray Lowry — Ink (1998). He also produced the 2006 DVD and book set, The Clash, Up-

Robert Lucas

Bernie Pearl’s band in the late 1970s and worked with such artists as Big Joe Turner, Percy Mayﬁeld, and Eddie Vinson. He formed his own band, Luke & the Locomotives, in 1986. He joined Canned Heat in 1994, replacing James Thornbury as lead singer. He also played harmonica and bottleneck guitar. The band released the album Canned Heat Blues Band the following year. Lucas left the band in 2000 to pursue a solo career, and recorded seven albums. He later reunited with Canned Heat and was featured on the band’s 2007 Christmas album.

LUKAVSKY, RADOVAN Czech actor Radovan Lukavsky died of a heart attack in Prague, Czech Republic, on March 10, 2008. He was 88. Lukavsky was born in Prague, then Czechoslovakia, on November 1, 1919. He began his long ﬁlm career in post–World War

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2008 • Obituaries

Radovan Lukavsky

Jane Lumb

II Czechoslovakia, appearing in such ﬁlms as Nadide (1946), Year of the Revolution 1848 (1949), Priznani (1950), Darkness (1951), Action B (1952), Mikolas Ales (1952), Youthful Years (1953), Nastup (1953), The Secret of Blood (1953), The Silver Wind (1954), Jan Hus (1954), Dog’s Heads (1955), Vetma Hora (1955), Jan Zizka (1955), Punta and the Four-Leaf Clover (1955), Three Men Missing (1956), All Our Enemies (1957), At the Termkinus (1957), Death in the Saddle (1958), Kral Sumavy (1959), A Visit (1959), Pate Oddeleni (1960), Higher Principle (1960), Man in Outer Space (1961), Fetters (1961), Horouci Srdce (1962), Maly Bobes ve Meste (1962), Einstein contra Babinsky (1963), Voyage to the End of the Universe (aka Ikarie XB 1) (1963), Drak sa Vracia (1967), The Girl with Three Camels (1967), Aesop (1970), The Case of the Rookie Hangman (1970), Lekce (1971), Cerny vlk (1971), Touha Sherlocka Holmese (1971) as Sherlock Holmes, Tatinek na Nedeli (1971), Die Elixiere des Teufels (1973), Akce v Istanbulu (1975), The Little Mermaid (1975) as the King of the Seas, Quiet American in Prague (1977), Pasians (1977), Zlate Rybky (1978), Rukojmi v Bella Vista (1979), Romaneto (1980), The Medal (1980), Opera ve Vinici (1981), Encounters with the Shadows (1982), Zelenba Vina (1982), The Wanderings of Jan Amos (1983), Veronia (1985), Prilis Velka Sance (1985), The Third Dragon (1985), Die Pfauenfeder (1987), V Erbu Ivice (1994), The Pearl Maiden (1997), The Sub (1999), and Hrubes a Mares isou Kamaradi do Deste (2005). Lukavsky also appeared frequently on Czech television from the 1970s with roles in such productions as Des Christoffel von Grimmelshausen Abenteuerlicher Simplicissimus (1975), Palicova Dcera (1977), Theodor Chindler — Die Geschichte einer Deutschen Familie (1979), 30 Cases of Major Zeman (1980), Zia Krev (1986), Adventures of Criminalistics (1989), The Necklace (1992), Three Alberts and Miss Matylda (1994), and The Pink House (1995). LUMB , JANE British actress and fashion model Jane Lumb died of breast cancer in London on February 8, 2008. She was 65. Lumb was born near Hebdfen Bridge, Yorkshire, England, on November 23, 1942. She moved to London in the late 1950s where she worked as a model. She was soon appearing in small roles in such ﬁlms as Goldﬁnger (1964), A Hard Day’s Night (1964), Carry on Spying (1964), Carry on Cleo

(1964) as a Vestal Virgin, and Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965). She also appeared on television in Ken Russell’s Debussy Film on Monitor as a martyred St. Sebastian in 1965 and was featured with the Beatles in the 1966 short ﬁlm Reﬂections of Love. Lumb was also a model for the ﬁrst Pirelli calendar and was featured on the cover of various European editions of Vogue. With tousled blonde hair, high cheekbones, and pouting lips, she was one of the more familiar faces during London’s Swinging Sixties. She later worked in public relations for such musical acts as Showaddywaddy, Duane Eddy, and the Bay City Rollers. During the 1980s she worked as a representative for hotels and restaurants. LUNDBERG , MARK Operatic tenor Mark Lundberg died in Long Island, New York, after a brief illness on August 15, 2008. He was 50. Lundberg was born in Denver, Colorado, on March 25, 1958. He began singing as a bass but eventually moved towards higher roles, becoming a Heldenteor (or heroic tenor).

Mark Lundberg

He was featured as Bacchus in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos with the Kansas City Lyric Opera in 1995 and was the Drum Major in Berg’s Wozzeck in San Francisco in 1999. He also performed with the Utah Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The towering 6' 6", 440 pound Lundberg also made an impressive Samson in Saint-Sens’ Samson and Dalila with the Scottish Opera in 1997. He also was noted for his renditions of

Obituaries • 2008

270

Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde and made his debut in the role in Brussels in 2006.

LURIE , MITCHELL Clarinetist Mitchell Lurie died of pneumonia at his home in West Los Angeles on November 24, 2008. He was 86. Lurie was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 9, 1922. He began playing the clarinet at an early age, and accompanied the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the age of 16. He served as principal clarinetist with the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Chicago Symphony in the late

late 1930s and became a popular performer in pantomimes. She worked frequently with such comedians as Max Wall, Arthur Askey, and Max Miller. She also costarred with Pat Kirkwood in the long-running stage musical Black Velvet at the London Hippodrome. Lynne appeared in several ﬁlms in the early 1940s including The Ghost Train (1941) and Asking for Trouble (1942). She was married to actor Derek Farr from 1939 until their divorce in 1945. The following year she married leading theatrical impresario Bernard (later Lord) Delfont. She continued to perform on stage until retiring in the early 1950s, and subsequently served as a popular hostess to the theatrical world as Lady Delfont. She was widowed in 1994.

LYONS, ARTHUR Detective novelist Arthur Lyons died of complications from pneumonia and a stroke in a Palm Springs, California, hospital on March 21, 2008. He was 62. Lyons was born in Los Angeles on January 5, 1946, and moved to Palm Springs with his family in the mid–1950s. He worked in the family restaurant business after graduating from the University of California–Santa Barbara in 1967. His ﬁrst novel, The Dead Are Discreet, featuring hard-boiled pri-

Mitchell Lurie

1940s. He continued his career in Hollywood in the 1950s, where he was a popular clarinetist for ﬁlm scores, working on such ﬁlms as The Apartment, Dr. Zhivago, and Mary Poppins. He was also noted for his performances with the Budapest String Quartet and the Muir String Quartet. He was featured on numerous recordings throughout his career, notably his renditions of the Brahms and Mozart clarinet quintets. Lurie served on the faculty of the University of Southern California, where he taught clarinet and woodwind chamber music from 1952 until several years before his death.

LYNNE, CAROLE

British musical comedy star Carole Lynne died in Sussex, England, on January 17, 2007. She was 89. She was born Helen Violet Carolyn Heyman in Rochester, Kent, England, on September 16, 1918. She began her professional career on stage in the

Carole Lynne

Arthur Lyons

vate eye Jacob Asch, was published in 1974. A subsequent novel, Castles Burning (1979), was adapted for the 1986 tele-ﬁlm Slow Burn starring Eric Roberts as Asch. His other novels include All God’s Children (1975), The Killing Floor (1976), Dead Ringer (1977), Hard Trade (1981), At the Hands of Another (1983), Three with a Bullet (1984), Fast Fade (1987), Other People’s Money (1989), and False Pretenses (1994). Lyons was also active in civic affairs, serving on the Palm Springs City Council from 1992 to 1996. He was co-founder of the Palm Springs Film Noir Festival in 2001, honoring B crime ﬁlms from the 1940s and 1950s.

LYTTLETON , HUMPHREY British jazz trumpeter Humphrey Lyttleton, who hosted the offbeat BBC Radio gameshow I’m Sorry, I Haven’t a Clue, died of complications from heart surgery in a London hospital on April 25, 2008. He was 86. Lyttleton was born in Windsor, England, on May 23, 1921. He taught himself to play the trumpet while in his teens. He was a graduate of Eton College and served in the Grenadier

271

Humphrey Lyttleton

Guards during World War II. He became a popular musician, leading the Lyttleton Band and recording for EMI. He and his band were featured in the 1957 ﬁlm The Tommy Steele Story (aka Rock Around the World), performing the song “Bermondsey Bounce.” Lyttleton hosted the BBC Radio 2 Best of Jazz program for forty years from the late 1960s until shortly before his death. He also became the host of the BBC Radio gameshow I’m Sorry, I Haven’t a Clue, in 1972, which became noted for its surreal silliness and ribald double entendres. Lyttleton also continued to tour with his band through the early 2000s.

MAC, BERNIE Comedian and actor Bernie Mac died of complications from pneumonia in a Chicago hospital on August 9, 2008. He was 50. He had been suffering from sarcoidosis, an inﬂammatory disease most often of the lungs. He was born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough in Chicago on October 5, 1957. He began performing stand-up comedy at an early age and was performing at the Regal Theater and the Cotton Club while in his teens. He was working as a professional comedian by the end of the 1970s and won the Miller Lite comedy search in 1982. Mac became a popular sensation on stage during the 1980s before breaking into ﬁlms and television. He performed frequently on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam in the early 1990s and made his ﬁlm debut in a small role in 1992’s Mo’ Money. He continued his career onscreen in such ﬁlms as Who’s

Bernie Mac

2008 • Obituaries

the Man? (1993), House Party 3 (1994), Above the Rim (1994), The Walking Dead (1995), Friday (1995), Reasons (1996), Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996), Spike Lee’s Get on the Bus (1996), Booty Call (1997), B*A*P*S (1997), the 1997 tele-ﬁlm Don King: Only in America as Bendini Brown, How to Be a Player (1997), The Player’s Club (1998), and Life (1999) with Eddie Murphy. Mac starred in the recurring role of Uncle Bernie in the television sit-com Moesha in the late 1990s. He also performed in such television series as The Wayans Bros, Hollywood Squares, The Chris Rock Show, Mad TV, The Late Late Show with Craig Kilbourn, the animated King of the Hill, Saturday Night Live, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Punk’d, Live with Regis and Kathy Lee, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Tavis Smiley. He starred in his own sit-com, The Bernie Mac Show, on FOX-TV from 2001 to 2006. Mac also starred as Frank Catton in the all-star caper ﬁlm Ocean’s Eleven (2001) with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon. He reprised his role in the two sequels, Ocean’s Twelve (2004) and Ocean’s Thirteen (2007). His other ﬁlm credits include The Original Kings of Comedy (2000), What’s the Worst That Could Happen? (2001), Head of State (2003), Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2004) as Jimmy Bosley, Bad Santa (2003) with Billy Bob Thornton, Mr. 3000 (2004), Guess Who (2005) with Ashton Kutcher, Pride (2007), Transformers (2007), and The Whole Truth, Nothing but the Truth, So Help Me Mac (2008). Mac also was a voice actor in the animated ﬁlm Lil’ Pimp (2005) and Inspector Gadget’s Biggest Caper Ever (2005) as the Gadget Mobile, and hosted the 2006 tele-ﬁlm Honor Deferred. He completed production on the forthcoming ﬁlms Soul Men and Old Dogs before his death.

MACERO, TEO Composer and record producer Teo Macero died in Riverhead, New York, on February 19, 2008. He was 82. Macero was born in Glens Falls, New York, on October 30, 1925. He served in the United States Navy before attending Juilliard School of Music. He began performing in the Jazz Composers Workshop, working with Charles Mingus and producing albums for Mingus and Max Roach’s Debut Records. Macero signed with Columbia Records in 1957, where he worked as an editor and producer with such artists as Johnny Mathis, Thelonious Monk, Dave Brubeck, and Mahalia Jackson. He composed and worked on several ﬁlms soundtracks, including End of the Road (1970), A.k.a. Cassius Clay (1970), Friday the 13th: The Orphan (1979), Virus (1980), and Manhattan by Numbers (1993), which he conducted. He also composed music for such television productions as The Body Human: The Miracle Months (1977), The Body Human: The Red River (1978), Top Secret (1978), Sergeant Matlovich vs the U.S. Air Force (1978), The Body Human: The Magic Senses (1979), The Ted Kennedy Jr. Story (1986), and The Special Friendship (1987). A tenor saxophonist, Macero also played with such artists as Mingus, Teddy Charles, the Sandole

Obituaries • 2008

272

Teo Macero

Brothers, the Lounge Lizards, D.J. Logic, and Robert Palmer.

MACHULSKI, JAN Polish actor Jan Machulski died in Warsaw, Poland, on November 20, 2008. He was 80. Machulski was born in Lodz, Poland, on July 3, 1928. He graduated from the National Film School and began his career on stage and screen in the early 1950s. He was featured in such ﬁlms as Three Stories (1953), A Generation (1955), Story of One Fighter (1958), The Noose (1958), The Last Day of Summer (1958), Free City (1958), The Eagle (1959), The Second Man (1961), Visit of a President (1961), It Started Yesterday (1961), Tonight a City Will Die (1961), The Last Days of Peace (1963), The Conscience (1964), the surreal The Saragossa Manuscript (1965) as Count Pena Flor, The Island of Delinquents (1965), The Lodger (1966), Nightingales of Poznan (1966), The Doll (1968), Women’s Republic (1969), The Game (1969), The Neighbours (1969), The Criminal Who Stole a Crime (1969), Polish Album (1970), On the Other End of a Rainbow (1973), The Decoy Duck (1974), Secret of Enigma (1979), Hit the Bank (1981) the ﬁrst of several ﬁlms he appeared in directed by his son Juliusz Machulski, An Epitaph for Barbara Radziwill (1983), Point of No Return (1985), The Young Magician (1987), Inner Life (1987), King Size (1988), And the Violins Stopped Playing (1988), Marymont Rhapsody (1988), Kill Me, Cop (1988), State of Fear (1990), Pigs (1992), Squadron (1993), Pigs 2 (1994), Polish Death

(1995), Unser Fremdes Kind (1997), Kiler (1997), Stamps (1999), D.I.L. (2002), Superprodukcja (2003), Vinci (2004), 1409 (2005), What the Sun Has Seen (2006), Absolute Beginner (2007), and Nie ma Takiego Numeru (2007). Machulski also appeared frequently on Polish television, starring in such productions as Docent H (1968), Trip for One Smile (1972), Pomiedzy Wilki (1989), Kuchnia Polska (1993), Matki, Zoni i Kochanki (1996) as Jan Padlewski, Matki, Zony i Kocghanki II (1998), Ekstradycja 3 (1999), Miss Mokrego Podkoszulka (2002), and Milosc w Przejsciu Podziemnym (2007). His other television credits include roles in such series as Najwazniejszy Dzien Zycia, Dyrektorzy, 07 Zglos Sie, Daleko od Szosy as Mr. Poplawski, Polski Drogi as Stefan Kozakiewicz, Miodowe Iata, Miasteczko, No Dobre i na Zie, and Milosc w Przejsciu Podziemnym. Machulski was a co-founder of the Teatr Ochota in Warsaw in 1970. He directed numerous stage productions including Antigone, Hamlet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He also staged productions of his own works including Anxiety and Dangerous Games. Machulski served as the dean of the National Film School Acting Faculty for many years.

MACK, BRICE Animation artist and ﬁlm director Brice Mack died in Hollywood on January 2, 2008. He was 90. Mack was born in the Philippines on June 2, 1917. He was educated at the University of Arizona and began working at Disney in the late 1930s. He was a background painter for the animated classic Fantasia (1940) and worked on numerous short subjects in-

Brice Mack

Jan Machulski

cluding the Oscar-winning Lend a Paw (1942). He served in the Air Transport Command during World War II and returned to Disney after the war. He continued as a background artist on such animated productions as Song of the South (1946), Fun and Fancy Free (1947), Melody Time (1948), Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955), and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1958). He also worked on cartoons starring such Disney characters as Donald Duck, Pluto, and Goofy. He left Disney in the mid–1950s to form Era Productions, to provide animation for commercials. He also moved into feature ﬁlms producing Mara of the Wilderness in

273 1965. Mack was a production executive for the 1977 horror ﬁlm Ruby and directed 1978’s Jennifer. He also directed the ﬁlms Half a House (1979), Swap Meet (1979), and Rooster: Spurs of Death! (1983). He also formed Unicorn Productions to produce and direct commercials, ﬁlms and theme park rides until his retirement in the early 1990s. He was the father of Oscarwinning visual effects supervisor Kevin Mack.

2008 • Obituaries

MACKENZIE, SIMON Scottish actor Simon MacKenzie died of cancer in Glasgow, Scotland, on April 9, 2008. He was 58. MacKenzie was born in Leverburgh, on Harris in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, in 1949. He studied Celtic at Aberdeen before joining the BBC, where he was a broadcaster for the Gaelic radio news service. He left the BBC to study acting in Bris-

MACKAY, JEFF Character actor Jeff MacKay, who starred as Corky in the television adventure series Tales of the Gold Monkey, died of liver disease in a Tulsa, Oklahoma, hospital on August 22, 2008. He was 59. MacKay was born in Dallas, Texas, on October 20, 1948. He studied in New York at Neighborhood Playhouse and appeared on stage in numerous plays. He made his ﬁlm debut in 1974’s Hot Summer in Barefoot County and was featured in a small role in 1976’s All the President’s Men. He played Lt. Donald French in the 1976 tele-ﬁlm Baa Baa, Black Sheep and the subsequent television series and was Gordie Masterson in the Dr. Shrinker segments of The Krofft Supershow from 1976 Simon MacKenzie

tol and returned to Scotland to help further Gaelic culture and the arts. He was widely known for his role in the Gaelic television soap opera Machair and also appeared in such ﬁlm and television productions as Blood Red Roses (1986), Heart Beat: Changing Places (1998), and The Shieling of the One Night (2002). He was also a leading ﬁgure on the Gaelic stage, performing with John McGrath’s 7:84 theatre company and serving as the ﬁrst director of the Gaelic national theatre.

Jeff MacKay

to 1977. He was featured as Crewman Komma in several episodes of the original Battlestar Galactica series from 1978 to 1979. He also appeared in the recurring role of Thomas Magnum’s pal, Lt. Mac MacReynolds of Naval Intelligence, in Magnum, P.I. from 1980 until his character was killed off in 1982. He returned to the show as look-alike con artist Jim Bonig from 1984 to 1988 and appeared in several later episodes as the ghost of MacReynolds. MacKay was also the voice of Fireﬂight in the animated Transformers series in 1984 and was featured in the recurring role of Big Bud Roberts in JAG from 1998 to 2005. He was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms The Wild Wild West Revisited (1979), Midnight Offerings (1981), Oklahoma Passage (1989) as Wiley Post, and Trial of Life (1997). His other television credits include episodes of The Duke, The Greatest American Hero, The Rousters, Airwolf, Hardcastle and McCormick, Outlaws, Berlin Break, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, and Diagnosis Murder. MacKay also appeared in several ﬁlms during his career including Songwriter (1984), Frame Up (1991), and Frame-Up II: The Cover-Up (1996).

MACKEY, BETSY Film production manager and line producer Betsy Mackey died on February 17, 2008. She was 45. Mackey was born on April 27, 1962. She worked as a production manager and consultant in ﬁlms from the mid–1990s with such credits as The Fear (1995), The Killing Jar (1996), Dead Cold (1996), Girl (1998), Storm Catcher (1999), Four Dogs Playing Poker (2000), Teacher’s Pet (2000), Dr. T and the Women (2000), Donnie Darko (2001), Grind (2003), A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004), and The Hoax (2006).

Betsy Mackey

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Mackey was also line producer for the ﬁlms California Heat (1995), Devil in the Flesh (1998), Four Dogs Playing Poker (2000), Teacher’s Pet (2000), Grind (2003), Penny Dreadful (2006), Trail of the Screaming Forehead (2007), and Victim (2007).

MAC LEAN , KENNY Kenny MacLean, the bassist for the band Platinum Blonde, was found dead of a heart attack in his apartment in Toronto, Canada, on November 24, 2008. He was 52. MacLean was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on January 9, 1956. He played

gained rock ’n’ roll fame with Bruce Springsteen lyrics, “Did you hear the cops ﬁnally busted Madam Marie, for tellin’ fortunes better than they do,” in his 1973 song “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy).” Madame Marie, who had never been arrested, garnered much publicity from the hit song. She had closed her booth in the mid–1990s, though continued to tell fortunes until her death.

MAEN, NORMAN Choreographer and director Norman Maen died of cancer on April 22, 2008. He was 76. He was born Norman Maternaghan in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, in 1932. He began his career as a dancer with an Irish dance group. He went to Canada in the 1950s, where he worked with the Alan Lund Dancers on a television variety series starring Robert Goulet. He also performed as a principal dancer with Jack Cole on Broadway. Maen worked in television in the 1960s, choreographing specials featuring Mel Torme, Burt Bacharach, Des O’Connor, and many

Kenny MacLean

with the band The Hairdressers before founding The Suspects in 1979. They became known as The Deserters in 1981 and recorded two albums. MacLean subsequently joined Platinum Blonde and wrote several songs for the 1985 album Alien Shores. He was also heard on their albums Contact (1987) and Yeah Yeah Yeah (1990) and released the solo albums Don’t Look Back (1990) and Clear (1995). He later worked as a music teacher in Canada.

MADAME MARIE

Marie Costello, who became a legendary Asbury Park psychic known as Madame Marie, died suddenly in Asbury, New Jersey, on June 27, 2008. She was 93. She began telling fortunes in the mid–1930s and soon established herself as a permanent ﬁxture on the Asbury Park boardwalk from her Temple of Knowledge booth. Madame Marie

Madam Marie

Norman Maen

others. He served as choreographer for the variety series This Is Tom Jones, which earned him an Emmy Award in 1970. He was also choreographer for the 1967 ﬁlm The Young Girls of Rochefort starring Gene Kelly. He also worked on The Muppet Show, creating a memorable version of “Swine Lake” for Miss Piggy and Rudolph Nureyev. Maen created a version of Debussy’s L’Apres-Midi d’une Faune for Olympic ﬁgure skater John Curry and directed productions of the Royal Variety Performances for over a decade.

MAHESH YOGI, MAHARISHI Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who founded the Transcendental Meditation movement and counted the Beatles among his early followers, died at his residence in Vlodrop, near Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on February 5, 2008. He was believed to be 91. He was born Mahesh Prasad Varma in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, on January 12, 1917 (other sources indicated October 18, 1911 or 1918). He became a student of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, a Hindu spiritualist known as Guru Dev, while attending college in the early 1940s. He trained under Brahmananda until the Guru’s death in 1955 and after a two year period of meditation, Mahesh founded the Spiritual Development Movement to spread his

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teacher’s message. He opened a headquarters in London and later in San Francisco, while touring the world to espouse his theory of attaining higher consciousness. His 1963 book The Science of Being and Art of Living further served to enlighten the masses, as did his commentary on the Hindi holy book the Bhagavad-Gita in 1965. Maharishi’s philosophy soon gathered a huge youth following with the establishment of the Student International Meditation Society. He soon counted among his followers The Beatles, actress Mia Farrow, singer Donovan, and Mike Love of the Beach Boys. They joined other adherents at the gurus ashram in the Himalayas for further study. Though the Beatles soon distanced themselves from the movement, Transcendental Meditation continued to attract numerous followers, claiming at one time to have reached over 5 million believers. His message that a person could reduce stress and obtain happiness by twice daily meditation on a secret Sanskrit word called a mantra was appealing, despite a growing number of critics who dismissed the movement as a cult. The Maharishi appeared on television in a 1968 production of All My Loving and in the 1969 ﬁlm Candy Baby. He was also seen in footage in the quasi-documentaries Aliens from Spaceship Earth (1977) and The Late Great Planet Earth (1979). He moved his global headquarters to his residence in the Netherlands in 1990. He remained the leader of the movement until January of 2008, when he announced that he was preparing for death and retiring to meditate and study ancient texts. MAKEBA , MIRIAM South African singer Miriam Makeba, who spent years in exile as a symbol of her country’s struggle against the inequities of the Apartheid system, died of cardiac arrest at a private clinic in Castel Volturno, near Naples, Italy, at midnight on November 10, 2008. She was 76. She had collapsed shortly after performing a concert in Italy in support of writer Robert Saviano, an outspoken critic of organized crime. She was born Zensile Makeba Q gwashu Nguvama Yiketheli Nxgowa Bantana Balomzi Xa Ufnu Ubajabulisa Ubaphekeli Mbiza Yotshwala Sithi Xa Saku Q giba Ukutja Sithathe Izitsha Sizi Khabe Singama Lawu Singama Q gwashu Singama Nqamla Nqgithi in the Prospect Township, near Johannesburg, South Africa, to a Xhosa father and

2008 • Obituaries

Swasi mother on March 4, 1932. She began performing in the Sophiatown district of Johannesburg before joining the vocal group The Manhattan Brothers in the 1950s. She subsequently formed her own group, The Skylarks, mixing jazz with traditional African music. She also performed in the jazz musical King Kong in 1959, touring with singer and musician Hugh Masakela, who became her husband in 1964. Makeba was also featured in the anti–Apartheid documentary ﬁlm Come Back, Africa in 1960 and attended the premiere at the Venice Film Festival. She learned that her South African passport had been revoked when she tried to return home for her mother’s funeral later in 1960. Harry Belafonte was instrumental in arranging for her to come to the United States, where she became a popular performer and recording artist with such songs as “Pata Pata” and “The Click Song.” Her album An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba, featuring songs about the plight of black South Africans under the Apartheid system, earned a Grammy Award in 1966. She also performed on television on the variety series The Steve Allen Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Hollywood Palace, The Woody Woodbury Show, and The Mike Douglas Show. Makeba’s career in the United States suffered after her marriage to black militant leader Stokely Carmichael in 1968, with her concerts and recording contracts being cancelled. She and Carmichael moved to Guinea, where she continued her career and toured throughout Africa, Europe, and South America. Makeba, whose had become known as Mama Africa for her vocal accomplishments, was one of the entertainers who performed for the Muhammad Ali–George Foreman boxing match in Zaire. She and Carmichael separated in 1973 and divorced in 1978. Makeba starred in the 1982 French-language ﬁlm Amok and was featured in the 1988 documentary Have You Seen Drum Recently?, about the South African journal Drum. She also performed with Paul Simon’s Graceland tour in 1987. Makeba ended her thirty year exile from South Africa in 1990, shortly after Nelson Mandela was released from prison. She made a guest appearance on The Cosby Show in 1991 and was featured as Angelina, the title character’s mother, in the 1992 ﬁlm Seraﬁna!, starring Whoopie Goldberg. She earned a Grammy nomination for her 2000 album Homeland and was fea-

Miriam Makeba

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tured in the 2002 documentary ﬁlm Amandla! A Revolution in Four Part Harmony. Makeba began a farewell tour in 2005, performing concerts around the world for over a year.

MALAMUD, HECTOR Argentine actor Hector Malamud died in his sleep in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 17, 2008. He was 65. Malamud was born in Buenos Aires on August 9, 1943. He began his ﬁlm career in a small role in 1962’s Under the Same Skin. He was also seen in the ﬁlms Alianza para el Progreso (1971), Disputas en la Cama (1972), Secuestro y Muerte de Mr. Dupont (1974), My New Painter (1984), Tangos, the Exile of Gardel (1985), Les Clowns de Dieu (1986), Pulpe Amere (1987), Los Espiritus Patrioticos (1989), Highlander II: The Quickening (1991), Exter-

Hector Malamud

mineitors III: La Gran Pelea Final (1991), It’s Always Hard to Return Home (1992), A Wall of Silence (1993), Facundo, the Tiger’s Shadow (1995), Wild Horses (1995), Cambalache (1996), Al Cielo, No (1996), Carlos Monzon, el Segundo Juicio (1996), The Revelation (1996), Final Verdict (1996), Evita (1996), Familia Fortone (1999), How Silly We Are to Grow Up (2000), The Escape (2001), Sammy and Me (2002), Assassination Tango (2002), Imagining Argentina (2003), and Roma (2004). Malamud also appeared frequently on Argentine television with roles in such series as Ta Te Show, Gerente de Familia, Good Show, Buena Pata, Montana Rusa, Pretty Face, Con Alma de Tango, Hola Papi!, Nueva Lunas, La Hermana Mayor, Amigovios, La Estacion de Landriscina, Como pan Caliente, 90–60–90 Models, Zona de Riesgo, Lo Dijo Papa, Naranja y Media, Alas, Poeder y Pasion, Casa Natal, Como Vos & Yo, Desesperadas por el Aire, Salvajes, Libre-Mente, Verano del ’98, Los Buscas de Siempre, Un Aplauso Para el Asador, Los Simuladores, Rebelde Way, Forever Julia, and Mujeres en Rojo: Eva.

MALCOLM, JOHN Scottish actor John Malcolm died after a long illness in Edinburgh, Scotland, on June 13, 2008. He was 72. Malcolm was born in Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland, on March 26, 1936. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and performed on stage in Scotland and Ireland from the 1950s. He was instrumental in founding the Traverse

John Malcolm

Theatre in conjunction with the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the early 1960s. He also played supporting roles in the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1964 to 1966. Malcolm was also featured in a handful of ﬁlms during his career including Where Has Poor Mickey Gone? (1964), The Reckoning (1969), The House That Dripped Blood (1971), The Ragman’s Daughter (1972), The Great Riviera Bank Robbery (1979), and UTU (1983). He appeared frequently on British television, with roles in such productions as The Ballad of the Artiﬁcial Mash (1968), Roll on Four O’Clock (1970), War & Peace (1972), Only Make Believe (1973), The Operation (1973), The Legend of Robin Hood (1975), The Naked Civil Servant (1975), A Story to Frighten Children (1976), Pennies from Heaven (1978), Our John Willie (1980), Codename: Icarus (1981), Coming Out of the Ice (1982), Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983), Ken Follett’s The Key to Rebecca (1985) as Field Marshal Kesslering, The Dirty Dozen: The Next Mission (1985) as Field Marshal Keitel, and Murder Rooms: The Dark Origins of Sherlock Holmes (2000). He was also seen in episodes of such series as Crossroads, Out of the Unknown, The Seagull, Dr. Finlay’s Casebook, Boy Meets Girl, The First Lady, The Mind of J.G. Reeder, The Borderers, The Misﬁt, Z Cars, Jason King, The Adventurer, Upstairs, Downstairs, The Regiment, Crown Court, Coronation Street as George Harrop, Dixon of Dock Green, The Siege of Golden Hill, Softly Softly, When the Boat Comes In in the recurring role of Poskett, Enemy at the Door as Oberleutnant Kluge, Target, Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em, Nanny, In Loving Memory, Minder, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Remington Steele, Dempsey & Makepeace, Travelling Man, Inspector Morse, Hamish Macbeth, and Where the Heart Is. MALERBA, LUIGI Italian author and screenwriter Luigi Malerba died in Rome on May 8, 2008. He was 80. Malerba was born in Berceto, Italy, on November 11, 1927. Noted for his historical novels and stories, he began working in the ﬁlms in the early 1950s, adapting The Overcoat in 1952 and scripting She Wolf (1953), Love in the City (1953), and Riviera (1954). He also wrote and directed the 1954 ﬁlm Women and Soldiers (1954). Numerous other ﬁlms were based on his stories or scripted by him including Adultery Italian Style (1966), Catch as Catch Can (1967), Matchless

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Luigi Malerba

(1967), The Girl and the General (1967), Dismissed on His Wedding Night (1968), Where Are You Going All Naked? (1969), Oh, Grandmother’s Dead (1969), Invasion (1970), Tre Nel Mille (1971), Body of Love (1972), The True and the False (1972), I Did It (1973), The Peaceful Age (1974), La Sculacciata (1974), How to Lose a Wife and Find a Lover (1978), and Next Time the Fire (1994). He also wrote the television productions Un Estate, un Inverno (1971), Petrosino (1978), Madame Bovary (1978), Le Avventure di Mozziconi (1983), Il Fuoco Greco (1984), I Canni di Gerusalemme (1984), Baciami Strega (1985), and Un Enfant dans la Tourmente (1990).

MALLON , BOBBY Bobby Mallon, a child actor who appeared in over a dozen Our Gang comedy shorts, died in Los Angeles on September 10, 2008. He was 89. Mallon was born on April 7, 1919. He began ap-

2008 • Obituaries

MAMAKOS , PETER Character actor Peter Mamakos, who was noted for playing bad guys in ﬁlms and television, died in California, on April 27, 2008. He was 89. Mamakos was born in Somerville, Massachusetts, on December 14, 1918. The son of Greek immigrants, he began his ﬁlm career in the late 1940s. He was seen in numerous ﬁlms and television productions during his career, including the features Bride of Vengeance (1949), Tuna Clipper (1949), House of Strangers (1949), Trail of the Yukon (1949), Malaya (1949), Cargo to Capetown (1950), Tarzan and the Slave Girl (1950), South Sea Sinner (1950), Between Midnight and Dawn (1950), The Three Musketeers (1950) as Rochefort, Kim (1950), Flame of Stamboul (1951), Pier 23 (1951), Sirocco (1951), China Corsair (1951), Silver Canyon (1951), Mask of the Avenger (1951), Comin’ Round the Mountain (1951), Let’s Go Navy! (1951), Mark of the Renegade (1951), The People Against O’Hara (1951), Harum Girl (1952), Viva Zapata! (1952), Tarzan’s Savage Fury (1952), Captain Pirate (1952), Horizons West (1952), The Prisoner of Zenda (1952), The Bandits of Corsica (1953), City Beneath the Sea (1953), Fort Vengeance (1953), The Glory Brigade (1953), Forbidden (1953), El Alamein (1953), Private Eyes (1953), The Miami Story (1954), The Gambler from Natchez (1954), The Adventures of Hajji Baba (1954), Pirates of Tripoli (1955), A Bullet for Joey (1955), The Prodigal (1955), I Cover the Underworld (1955), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (1955), The Marauders (1955), The Twinkle in God’s Eye (1955), Desert Sands (1955), The Conqueror (1956), The Searchers (1956) with John Wayne, When Gangland Strikes (1956), Miracle in the Rain (1956), Quincannon — Frontier Scout (1956), The Best Things in Life Are Free (1956), The Ten Commandments (1956), Spook Chasers (1957), My Gun Is Quick (1957), Looking for Danger (1957), The Crooked Circle (1957), Sabu and the Magic Ring (1957), Fort Bowie (1958), Merry Andrew (1958), The Rabbit Trap (1959), Terror at Black Falls (1962), Drums of Africa (1963), Island Love (1963), Ship of Fools (1965), The Magniﬁcent Stranger (1966), Catalina Caper (1967), The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968), Justine (1969), A Dream of King (1969), Triangle (1970), The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler (1971), For Pete’s Sake (1974), The Other Side of Midnight (1977), and The Man with Bogart’s Face (1980). He was

Bobby Mallon

pearing in ﬁlms in the silent era and was featured in Hal Roach’s Our Gang shorts from 1926 to 1932. Mallon was featured in Uncle Tom’s Uncle (1926), Love My Dog (1927), Tired Business Men (1927), Chicken Feed (1927), Boxing Gloves (1929) as ring announcer Graham McCracker, Bouncing Babies (1929), Moan & Groan, Inc. (1929), Shivering Shakespeare (1930), Teacher’s Pet (1930), School’s Out (1930), Spanky (1932), Free Wheeling (1932), and Birthday Blues (1932).

Peter Mamakos

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also featured in the 1973 tele-ﬁlm I Love a Mystery and the 1979 mini-series The French Atlantic Affair. Mamakos was a proliﬁc television actor, guest-starring in episodes of such series as Front Page Detective, Terry and the Pirates, The Gruen Guild Playhouse, China Smith, Dangerous Assignment, Space Patrol, Boston Blackie, Family Theatre, You Are There, The Adventures of Kit Carson in the recurring role of El Broho, Cavalcade of America, Hallmark Hall of Fame, The Lone Ranger, Medic, The Cisco Kid, Celebrity Playhouse, Climax!, Brave Eagle, Crusader, The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu, Wire Service, The Count of Monte Cristo, 26 Men, Adventures of Superman, The Gale Storm Show, Broken Arrow, The Adventures of Jim Bowie in the recurring role of Jean Laﬁtte, Zorro, Gunsmoke, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Maverick, Bronco, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, The Texan, The Lawless Years, Border Patrol, Mr. Lucky, Bourbon Street Beat, The Deputy, The Roaring 20’s, Route 66, The Red Skelton Show, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, The Untouchables, Surfside 6, Checkmate, Rawhide, Peter Gunn, The Bob Cummings Show, Sam Benedict, Wagon Train, The Great Adventure, The Virginian, The Fugitive, Kraft Suspense Theatre, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Burke’s Law, Convoy, Perry Mason, My Mother the Car, Batman, The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., T.H.E. Cat, Family Affair, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Get Smart, Daktari, Ironside, Land of the Giants, The Flying Nun, Mannix, The Bold Ones: The Protectors, The Mod Squad, Daniel Boone, Night Gallery, Cannon, The Streets of San Francisco, McCloud, Mission: Impossible, Barnaby Jones, Kojak, Fantasy Island, Operation Petticoat, T.J. Hooker, Airwolf, and Lucky Chances. Mamakos also scripted episodes of Checkmate and The Riﬂeman.

MANDI

Finnish child actress and singer Mandi Lampi, who performed under the name Mandi, died suddenly in Helsinki, Finland, on February 27, 2009.

Mandi

She was 19. Mandi was born in Finland on October 25, 1988, the daughter of actor Jussi Lampi. She began her career in the late 1990s, recording the album Pieni Maailma (1998). She appeared with her father in the television variety series Tanssitaanko Ensin and per-

formed on stage at the New Happy Theatre in Linnanmaki in 1999. She and her father also starred in the play Ala Soita Aidille at the Turku Castle Theatre in 2004.

MANN, ABBY Abby Mann, who won an Academy Award for writing Judgment at Nuremberg, died of heart failure in Beverly Hills, California, on March 25, 2008. He was 83. He was born Abraham Goodman in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 1, 1924. After serving in the military during World War II, he began writing scripts for early television productions. He wrote for such series as Cameo Theatre, Lux Video Theatre, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents, Robert Montgomery Presents, Star Tonight, Goodyear Television Playhouse, Matinee Theatre, The United States Steel Hour, Studio One, and Playhouse 90. He created one of the ﬁrst dramas about Nazi war crimes with Judgment at Nuremberg for Playhouse 90 in 1959. Stan-

Abby Mann

ley Kramer crafted a feature version in 1961, which earned Mann an Oscar for the adapted screenplay. He adapted Jean-Paul Sartre’s The Condemned of Altona for the screen in 1962 and adapted his own earlier teleplay for John Cassavetes’ 1963 ﬁlm A Child Is Waiting. Mann earned a second Academy Award nomination for adapting Katherine Anne Porter’s novel Ship of Fools in 1965. He also wrote the 1968 thriller The Detective, starring Frank Sinatra. Mann earned an Emmy Award for the 1973 tele-ﬁlm The Marcus-Nelson Murders, which formed the basis for the subsequent Kojak television series starring Telly Savalas. Mann also produced the tele-ﬁlm and was executive producer for the Kojak series. He wrote the ﬁlms Report to the Commissioner (1975) and War and Love (1985) and scripted the teleﬁlm The Greatest Gift (1974). He was writer and producer for the 1975 tele-ﬁlm Medical Story and scripted and directed the 1978 mini-series King. He created the short-lived 1980 television series Skag and wrote and produced the 1985 mini-series The Atlanta Child Murders. Mann also earned Emmy Awards for scripting the tele-ﬁlm Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story (1989) and Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995). His other television credits include the teleﬁlms Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (1992), Sina-

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tra (1992), and Whitewash: The Clarence Brandley Story (2002).

MANN, H OWARD Actor and comedian Howard Mann died of cancer in a Los Angeles hospital on September 18, 2008. He was 85. He was born Howard Mendelsohn in New York City on June 20, 1923. He began his career as a performer as a comedian in Catskills resorts. He later did comic routines on the Johnny Carson and Merv Grifﬁn shows. He was featured in character roles in episodes of the television series Naked City and The Defenders. He toured the country in a one-man show as George Washington in 1976. S.M. Manna

2006 ﬁlms Khomotar Garom, Shajghar, Moner Shathey Juddho, and Ulta-Palta 69.

Howard Mann

He also appeared in the ﬁlms Wholly Moses! (1980), Going Ape! (1981), History of the World: Part I (1981), O’Hara’s Wife (1982), They Call Me Bruce? (1982), Mr. Saturday Night (1992), The Medicine Show (2001), and Malibu’s Most Wanted (2003). Mann was also featured in the tele-ﬁlms Crazy Times (1981), Wings (1983), Happy (1983), The Murder of Sherlock Holmes (1984), James Michener’s Space (1985), and I Did Not Know That (2002). His other television credits include guest roles in episodes of Laverne & Shirley, Salvage-1, The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, Alice, Barney Miller, The Jeffersons, Murder, She Wrote, Cagney & Lacey, Hunter, Moonlighting, Hoopersman, Webster, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Seinfeld, Becker, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Providence, The West Wing, CSI: Miami, Malcolm in the Middle, and Without a Trace. He also developed a rap routine in the late 1980s, about the trials and tribulations of aging. Mann’s ﬁnal role was playing an elderly man in a 2007 television episodes of Pushing Daisies.

MANNA , S.M. Leading Bangladeshi actor S.M. Manna died of a heart attack in a Dhaka, Bangladesh, hospital on February 17, 2008. He was 44. Manna was born in the Tangail district of Bangladesh in 1964. He began his ﬁlm career in 1984 after winning a talent search program conducted by the Film Development Corporation. He reportedly appeared in over 300 ﬁlms during his career and became one of the country’s most popular actors. He also served as General Secretary of the Bangladesh Film Actors Association. Manna’s recent ﬁlm credits include the popular

MANORAMA Veteran Indian comic actress Manorama died of complications from a stroke in a Mumbai, India, hospital on February 15, 2008. She was in her 80s. Manorama began her career as a child actress billed as Baby Iris in the late 1920s. She became a leading actress in ﬁlms in Lahore, Pakistan, in the 1940s with roles in Mohabbat (1943), Towards the Light (1944), Hamrahi (1944), and Shalimar (1946). She married actor Raja Haksar and migrated with him to India after the partition in 1947. She continued her ﬁlm career, often cast in comic character roles that made use of her exaggerated expressions and outsized eyelashes. She appeared in numerous ﬁlms in India including Parineeta (1953), Biraj Bahu (1954), Bhabhi (1957), Post Box 999 (1958), Khazanchi (1958), The Queen of Beauty and the King of Thieves (1961), Shaadi (1962), Maa Beta (1962), Rajkumar (1964), Janwar (1965), Budtameez (1966), Waris (1969), My Love (1970), Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), Bombay to Goa (1972), Maha Chor (1976), Aadalat (1976), Saheb Bahadur (1977), Do Masaﬁr (1978), Bandish (1980), Laawaris (1981), Sahhas (1981), Apradhi Kaun (1982), Teri Maang Sitaron Se Bhar Doon (1982), Main Awara Hoon (1983), Raja Aur Rana (1984), and Junoon (1992). Manorama was largely forgotten by the Indian ﬁlm industry over the last decade

Manorama (with her son Bhupathi in the television series Robot Raja)

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280

but made a comeback in 2005 in Deepa Mehta’s Oscarnominated ﬁlm Water as Madhumati, the leader of a widow’s ashram.

MANSON, TED Character actor Ted Manson died of respiratory failure and complications from lung cancer in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 1, 2008. He was 81. Manson was born in Columbus, Ohio, on October 23, 1926. He began his acting career on stage in Ohio in the 1950s. He spent the next two decades working primarily in the real estate development business. He moved to Atlanta in the early 1970s and resumed his acting career later in the decade. He appeared frequently in ﬁlms and television, with such ﬁlm credits include Paris Trout (1991), Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Boxing Helena (1993), Gordy (1995), Last Dance (1996), Traveller (1997), Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), Major League: Back to the Minors (1998), Claudine’s Return (1998), Run Ronnie Run (2002), Sweet

Ted Manson

Home Alabama (2002), Petunia (2002), A Perilous Dance: The Damon DeRivers Story (2003), Runaway Jury (2003), The Clearing (2004), Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004), Dead Birds (2004), Elizabethtown (2005), Psycopathia Sexualis (2006), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), Deja Vu (2006), Love Hurts (2007), and Crystal River (2008). Manson was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms Benny and Barney: Las Vegas Undercover (1977), North and South (1985), Desperate for Love (1989), Murder in Mississippi (1990), Sudie and Simpson (1990), When Will I Be Loved (1990), With Murder in Mind (1992), Silent Victim (1993), Flash (1997), and Snow Wonder (2005). His other television credits include episodes of Matlock, In the Heat of the Night, Second Noah, and Foxworthy’s Big Night Out. Manson had also completed work on the ﬁlms The Yellow Wallpaper (2008), Good Intentions (2008), and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) at the time of his death.

MARAND, PATRICIA Actress Patricia Marand, who starred as Lois Lane in the Broadway musical It’s a Bird... It’s a Plane... It’s Superman, died of brain cancer in her Manhattan, New York, home on November 27, 2008. She was 74. Marand was born in Brooklyn on January 25, 1934. She performed on the

Patricia Marand

Broadway stage in such hit musicals as South Paciﬁc, Oklahoma, Kismet, and Kiss Me Kate. She co-starred with Jack Cassidy in the 1952 musical comedy Wish You Were Here. Marand earned a Tony Award nomination for her role as reporter Lois Lane in the musical It’s a Bird... It’s a Plane... It’s Superman in 1966. She also performed in numerous touring companies and concert solos and was seen on television in such series as The Ed Sullivan Show, The Merv Grifﬁn Show, and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Marand was also featured in an episode of television’s The Sopranos in 2000. MARIEMMA Spanish dancer and choreographer Mariemma died after a long illness in Madrid, Spain, on June 10, 2008. She was 91. She was born Guillerma Martinez Cabrejas, in Iscar, Spain, on January 10, 1917. She studied ballet in Paris and made her professional dance debut on a tour of France and Switzerland. She returned to Spain in 1940 and began dancing there soon after. She formed her own dance

Mariemma

company, the Mariemma Ballet of Spain, and toured the United States, Latin America, and Europe. Mariemma also appeared in several ﬁlms in the early 1940s including Boy (1940), Fandanguillo (1942), My Last Mistress (1943), Seville por Soleares (1944), and Cadiz por Alegrias (1944). She began teaching in 1960 and headed the Spanish dancing department of the Madrid Royal Conservatory of the Dramatic Arts and

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Dance from 1969. She choreographed such works as Ten Basque Melodies (1979), Fandango (1979), and Dance and Extravagance (1984) for the National Ballet of Spain.

MARKO, ZEKIAL Film and television writer Zekial Marko, who also wrote crime novels under the pen name John Trinian, died of complications from emphysema in Centralia, Washington, on May 9, 2008. He was 74. He was born Marvin Leroy Schmoker on October 31, 1933, and began writing mystery and crime thrillers for the paperback market in the late 1950s. His 1960 novel The Big Grab was adapted for ﬁlm in 1963 under the title Any Number Can Win, and he adapted his 1961 novel Scratch a Thief for the 1965 ﬁlm Once a Thief. He also appeared onscreen in the role of Luke, an affable pothead. He also wrote the novels A Game of Flesh (1959), North Beach Girl (1960), The Savage Breast (1961), House of Evil (1962), and Scandal on the Sand (1964). Marko also penned episodes of such television series as Toma, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and The Rockford Files. MARLOWE, STEPHEN Milton Lesser, who wrote numerous mysteries under the name Stephen Marlowe, died in Williamsburg, Virginia, after a long illness on February 22, 2008. He was 79. Lesser was born in Brooklyn, New York, on August 7, 1928. He graduated from William and Mary College in 1949 with a philosophy degree. He spent two years in the U.S. Army in the early 1950s and embarked upon a career as a writer after his discharge. Lesser wrote numerous science ﬁction stories throughout the decade, including the juvenile novels Earthbound (1952), The Star Seekers (1953), and Stadium Beyond the Stars (1960). His other science ﬁction novels include Slaves to the Metal Horde (1954), Recruit for Andromeda (1959), Spacemen Go Home (1961), and Secret of the Black Planet (1965). He also wrote under various pseudonyms, including Adam Chase for 1959’s The Golden Ape and Andrew Frazer for the novels Find Eileen Hardin — Alive! (1959) and The Fall of Marty Moon (1960). He wrote the novels West Side Jungle (1958), Adam’s Fall (1960), People in Glass Houses (1961), Hardly a Man Is Now Alive (1962), and The Treasure of the Cosa Nostra (1966) under the name Jason Ridgway and used the house name Ellery Queen for the 1961 mystery novel Dead Man’s Tale. He became best known for his mystery novels under the name Stephen Marlowe, beginning with Catch the Brass Ring (1954). He created his detective character Chester Drum in the 1955 novel The Second Longest Night. His many novels also include Model for Murder (1955), Turn Left for Murder (1955), Mecca for Murder (1956), Dead on Arrival (1956), Killers Are My Meat (1957), Murder Is My Dish (1957), Trouble Is My Name (1957), Terror Is My Trade (1958), Violence Is My Business (1958), Double in Trouble (1959) which teamed Marlowe’s Chester Drum with Richard Prather’s Hollywood private eye Shell Scott, Homicide Is My Game (1959), Blonde Bait (1959), Passport to Peril (1959), Danger Is My Line (1960), Death Is My Comrade (1960), Peril Is My Pay (1960), the historical novel The Shining (1961), Manhunt Is My Mission (1961), Jeopardy

Stephen Marlowe

Is My Job (1962), Francesca (1963), Drumbeat— Berlin (1964), Drumbeat— Dominique (1965), Drumbeat— Madrid (1966), The Search for Bruno Heidler (1966), Drumbeat— Erica (1967), Drumbeat— Maryanne (1968), Come Over, Red Rover (1968), The Summit (1970), Collosus (1974), The Man with No Shadow (1974), The Cawthorn Journals (or Too Many Chiefs) (1975), Translation (1976), The Valkyrie Encounter (1978), and Deborah’s Legacy (1983). He began writing ﬁctional biographies in 1987 with The Memoirs of Christopher Columbus. Marlowe’s Lighthouse at the End of the World (1995) was a tribute to Edgar Allan Poe and his ﬁnal novel was The Death of Miguel De Cervantes (1996).

MARQUES, MARIA ELENA Mexican actress Maria Elena Marques died of a heart attack in Mexico City on November 11, 2008. She was 81. She was born in Mexico City on December 14, 1926. She made her ﬁlm debut in the early 1940s, appearing in such ﬁlms as Two Hearts and One Tango (1942), Love in Jalisco (1942), La Razon de la Culpa (1943), Cinco Fueron Escogidos (1943), Romeo and Juliet (1943) opposite Cantinﬂas, Dona Barbara (1943), The Two Orphans (1944), La Trepadora (1944), Me he de Corner esa Tuna (1945), Capullito de Alheli (1945), La Pajarera (1945), Las Cinco Advertencias de Satanas (1945), Rosa del Caribe (1946), and Las Colegialas (1946). She starred with Pedro Armendariz in a 1947 ﬁlm adaptation of John Steinbeck’s classic The Pearl. She was also seen in the ﬁlms Carita

Maria Elena Marques

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282

del Caribe (1946), La Novia del Mar (1948), The Newlywed Wants a House (1948), Yo Quieros ser Mala (1950), La Negra Angustias (1950), Gemma (1950), La Edad Peligrosa (1950), La Malcasada (1950), Vuelva el Sabado (1951), El Marido de mi Novia (1951), When the Fog Lifts (1952), Tal Para Cual (1953), Cradle Song (1953), Lo que no se Puede Perdonar! (1953), and Reportaje (1953). Marques also appeared in Native American roles in several Hollywood features including Across the Wide Missouri (1951) with Clark Gable, and Ambush at Tomahawk Gap (1953). She remained a major ﬁlm star in Mexico in such ﬁlms as Borrasca en las Almas (1954), El Joven Juarez (1954), La Mujer que se Vendio (1954), Mujer ... O Fiera? (1954), Historia de un Abrigo de Mink (1955), Maternidad Imposible (1955), Tom Thumb (1957), This Was Pancho Villa (1957), Las Manzanas de Dorotea (1957), Melodias Involvidables (1959), the supernatural classic The Crying Woman (1960), The Mummies of Guanajuato (1962) Little Boy Blue and Pancho (1962), Little Village (1962), Que Haremos con Papa? (1966), Los Angeles de Puebla (1968), Valentin Armienta el Vengador (1969), Una Noche bajo la Tormenta (1969), The Young Animals (1970), Entre dos Amores (1972), and El Jardin de los Cerezos (1978). Marques also appeared frequently on Mexican television from the 1960s, appearing in such productions as La Mesera (1963), Mexico 1900 (1964), Amor y Orgullo (1966), Angustia del Pasado (1967), Duelo de Pasiones (1968), Lo que no Fue (1969), Historia de un Amor (1971), El Carruaje (1972), and El Honorable Senor Valdez (1973). She made her ﬁnal ﬁlm appearance in Gonzalo Martinez Ortega’s 1981 feature El Testamento.

MARSHALL, RICK Actor Rick Marshall died in Jacksonville, North Carolina, on June 9, 2008. He was 59. Marshall was born in Onslow County, North Carolina, on November 18, 1948. He taught high school for nearly two decades before pursuing a career in acting in the late 1980s. He was seen in such ﬁlms as Staying Together (1989), House of Cards (1993), and Dead Inn (1997). He was also featured in the tele-ﬁlms Terror on Highway 91 (1989), The Ryan White Story (1989), My Name Is Bill W. (1989), Nightmare in Columbia County (1991), and Bandit: Beauty and the Bandit (1994). MARTIN , DICK Comedian Dick Martin, who co-hosted the popular 1960s television series Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, died of respiratory failure in Santa Monica, California, on May 24, 2008. He was 86. Martin was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, on January 30, 1922. He headed to Los Angeles in the early 1940s, where he tried to break into show business. He worked as a comic and wrote for the radio show Duffy’s Tavern but primarily made a living tending bar. He was introduced to fellow comic Dan Rowan in 1952 and the two formed a comedy team. Rowan played the sophisticated straight-man and Martin was the laidback buffoon. They achieved success on the nightclub circuit and were soon appearing on such television variety shows as The Bob Hope Show, The Perry Como Show, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Andy Williams Show, The Mike Douglas

Show, The Merv Grifﬁn Show, The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Playboy After Dark, and The Hollywood Palace. Martin also appeared in the 1958 ﬁlm Once Upon a Horse and was Zack Molloy in the 1966 comedy The Glass Bottom Boat. He was also featured in the recurring role of Harry Conners in The Lucy Show from 1962 to 1963. He and Rowan hosted The Dean Martin Summer Show for 12 weeks in 1966. The show received high ratings with the duo, who subsequently created the pilot Laugh-In for NBC in 1967. They were given a regular slot the following January, overseeing a zany crew of young comedians. Laugh-In was noted for its fast paced humor that introduced such catch-phrases as “Bet your sweet bippy” and “Sock it to me.” The supporting cast included such future stars as Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin, and the comics Henry Gibson, Arte Johnson, Ruth Buzzi, Judy Carne, Jo Anne Worley, and Alan Sues. The irreverent comedy was also noted for its series of one-liners delivered by such unlikely guests as Johnny Carson, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Bing Crosby, John Wayne, and Richard Nixon. They had the No. 1 show for their ﬁrst two seasons and remained on the air through 1973. Martin and Rowan also starred in a 1969 ﬁlm, The Maltese Bibby, that tried to capture the spirit of Laugh-In, but by most accounts failed. Martin made a comic turn as pioneer aviator Wilbur Wright in the 1970 television special Swing Out, Sweet Land. He and Rowan had amicably parted ways by the end of the decade, with the two men remaining friends until Rowan’s death in 1987. Martin continued to appear on ﬁlms and television while also transitioning into the director’s chair. He was seen on such variety and game shows as The Carol Burnett Show, The Electric Company, The Dean Martin Show contributing to numerous comic celebrity roasts, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Match Game, Celebrity Sweepstakes, Tattletales, Password Plus, and Super Password. Martin was also featured in episodes of such sit-coms as Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Sledge Hammer!, Ferris Bueller, Coach, Bob in the recurring role of Buzz Loudermilk, Blossom, Dave’s World, The John Larroquette Show, 3rd Rock from Sun, Baywatch, George & Leo, The Nanny, Diagnosis Murder, and Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place. Martin was also seen in the occasional ﬁlm, with roles in

Dick Martin

283 Zero to Sixty (1978), Carbon Copy (1981), and North of Pittsburgh (1992). He was also a proliﬁc television director from the late 1970s, helming episodes of such series as The Bob Newhart Show, House Calls, Archie Bunker’s Place, Flo, Family Ties, Goodnight, Beantown, Mama’s Family, The Redd Foxx Show, Brothers, Newhart, Sledge Hammer!, The Bradys, Drexell’s Class, Bob, and In the Heat of the Night. Martin was featured as Phil Phil in the 1998 ﬁlm Air Bud: Golden Receiver, directed by his son Richard Martin. His ﬁnal credits include the 2001 ﬁlm Bartleby, and the 2002 tele-ﬁlm The Trial of Old Drum. Martin was married to actress Peggy Connelly from 1957 until their divorce in the early 1960s. He married former Playboy Playmate Dolly Read in 1971. The couple divorced in 1975 but remarried three years later.

MARTIN-ZANDER, MELISSA Actress turned casting director Melissa Martin-Zander died in a motorcycle accident in Maui, Hawaii, on August 29, 2008. She was 53. She was born in San Diego, California on July 7, 1955. She began working as an actress in the 1980s, appearing in numerous television commercials. She was also seen in such ﬁlms as The Video Dead (1987), The Dead Pool (1988) with Clint Eastwood, Death Becomes Her (1992), DaVinci’s War (1993), and Digital Man (1995). She was also seen in the tele-ﬁlm A Whisper Kills (1988), and in episodes of Midnight Caller and L.A. Law. She began working as a casting director, founding Martin Casting in 1994. Her most recent credits as a casting director include the ﬁlms The Tonto Woman (2007) and The Key (2008). Her survivors include her husband, Erich Zander, who worked with her at the casting agency. MARTINENGHI, ITALO Italian ﬁlm director Italo Martinenghi died in Italy on January 27, 2008. He was 77. Martinenghi began working in ﬁlms in the late 1960s, producing The Fantastic Three (1967) and Isabella, Duchess of the Devils (1969). He also directed and scripted such action ﬁlms as Three Supermen of the West (1973), Three Supermen Against Godfather (1979), Lady Football (1979), Three Supermen at the Olympic Games (1984), and Three Supermen in Santo Domingo (1986). MARZANO, JOHN John Marzano, a baseball catcher turned sports commentator, died after falling

John Marzano

2008 • Obituaries

down a ﬂight of stairs at his home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 19, 2008. He was 45. Marzano was born in Philadelphia on February 14, 1963. He attended Temple University where he was a leading baseball player and was catcher for the U.S. Olympic baseball team in 1984. He joined the Boston Red Sox in 1987, where he remained for ﬁve seasons. After several years in the minors he brieﬂy played with the Texas Rangers in 1995 and was catcher for the Seattle Mariners from 1996 to 1999. Marzano was noted for his penchant for getting camera time during his career and worked as a sportscaster for a Philadelphia radio station after leaving the ﬁeld. He subsequently worked as a post-game analyst for Philadelphia Phillies games for Comcast SportsNet before joining MLB.com’s video network as co-host of the weekday morning analysis of the previous day’s game, Leading Off, in 2007.

MASIULIS, ALGIMANTAS Leading Lithuanian actor Algimantas Masiulis died after a long illness in Vilnius, Lithuania, on August 19, 2008. He was 77. Masiulis was born in Surdegis, Anyksciu, Lithuania, on July 10, 1931. He studied under Juozas Miltinis at the Panevezys Drama Theatre, where he performed on

Algimantas Masiulis

stage from 1948 to 1976. Masiulis joined the Kaunas State Drama Theatre in 1978, where he continued to perform until his death. He also appeared frequently in ﬁlms during his career, with such credits as Nobody Wanted to Die (1966), The Shield and the Sword (1968), Treasure Island (1971), Krug (1972), Failure of Engineer Garin (1973), Brilliants for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat (1975), Armed and Dangerous: Time and Heroes of Bret Harte (1977), Destiny (1977), The Fortress (1978), Velvet Season (1978), The Last Hunt (1979), The Blue Carbuncle (1979), Faktas (1981), The Black Triangle (1981), Fire on East Train 34 (1981), If the Enemy Doesn’t Surrender (1982), Krepysh (1982), European Story (1984), The Favorite (1985), The Black Arrow (1985), Victory (1985), Secrets of Madame Wong (1986), Interception (1986), Lermontov (1986), Chicherin (1986), and Kaunasskiy Blyuz (2004).

MASO , PEDRO Spanish ﬁlm director and writer Pedro Maso died in Madrid, Spain, on September 23, 2008. He was 81. Mason was born in Madrid

Obituaries • 2008

284 Brigada Central 2: La Guerra Blanca, and Compuesta y Sin Novio.

Pedro Maso

on January 26, 1927. He began working at Estudios Chamartin in his youth and rose to become chief of production there in 1953. He wrote numerous ﬁlms from the mid–1950s including Como la Tierra (1954), Cancha Vasca (1955), El Coyote (1955), Aqui Hay Petroleo! (1956), Manolo Guardia Urbano (1956), Los Angeles del Volante (1957), El Puente de la Paz (1958), Red Cross Girls (1958), Ya Tenemos Coche (1958), Diego Corrientes (1959), Valentine’s Day (1959), Amor Bajo Cero (1960), 091 Policia al Habia (1960), and Tres de la Cruz Roja (1961). He formed his own production company, Pedro Maso Producciones Cinematograﬁcas, in 1962 and produced and wrote such ﬁlms as Accidente 703 (1962), Vuelve San Valentin (1962), Atraco a las Tres (1962), The Big Family (1962), Operacion: Embajada (1963), El Juego de la Verdad (1963), Casi un Caballero (1964), Vacaciones para Ivette (1964), Find That Girl (1964), Historias de la Television (1965), The Family Plus One (1965), City Life Is Not for Me (1966), Nuevo en Esta Plaza (1966), Operacion Plus Ultra (1966), Las Viudas (1966), Un Millon en la Basura (1967), Sister Citroen (1967), The Naval Cadets (1967), Que Hacemos con los Hijos? (1967), Los Chicos del Preu (1967), Novios 68 (1967), The Secretaries (1968), No le Busques tres Pies... (1968), El Turismo es un Gran Invento (1968), No Desearas la Mujer de tu Projimo (1968), Como sois las Mujeres! (1968), La Chica de los Anuncios (1968), Verano 70 (1969), Por que Pecamos la los Cuarenta (1969), Old Man Made in Spain (1969), Las Amigas (1969), Las Nenas del Mini-Mini (1969), A 45 Revolucciones por Minuto (1969), El Otro Arbol de Guernica (1969), El Abominable Hombre de la Costa del Sol (1970), De Profesion, sus Labores (1970), Crimen Imperfecto (1970), El Dinero Tiene Miedo (1970), and El Astronauta (1970). Maso also frequently directed ﬁlms he wrote from the early 1970s, with such credits as Las Ibericas F.C. (1971), Las Colocadas (1972), Experiencia Prematrimonial (1972), Una Chica y un Senor (1974), Un Hombre Como los Demas (1974), The Adolescents (1975), La Menor (1977), Honey (1979), The Family, Fine, Thanks (1979), El Divorcio que Viene (1980), 127 Millones Libres de Impuestos (1981), Sister, What Have You Done? (1995), The Seductor (1995), and Atraco a las 3 ... y Media (2003). He also worked in television from the 1980s, directing episodes of Anillos de Oro, Segunda Ensenanza, Brigada Central,

MATSHIKIZA, JOHN South African actor, poet, journalist, and political activist John Matshikiza died after suffering a heart attack in a Johannesburg, South Africa, restaurant on September 15, 2008. He was 54. He was born in Johannesburg township of Sophiatown in 1954, the son of composer and lyricist Todd Matshikiza. The family went to London in the early 1960s and settled in Zambia in 1964, where Todd headed the new nation’s broadcasting services. After his father’s death John returned to London, where he studied drama and trained with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He also worked with the Glasgow Citizens Theatre Company and performed frequently on the

John Matshikiza

London stage. He also became active in politics, supporting the banned African National Congress (ANC) in exile. He was instrumental in the creation of the ANC’s cultural branch, Mayibuye, in the early 1970s. He was also performing frequently on television by the 1980s, with roles in such series as BBC2 Playhouse, Play for Today, The Singing Detective, and Soldier Soldier as Sgt. Samuel Kekana. He also gained a reputation as a leading poet with such published works as South Where Her Feet Cool on Ice (1981) and Prophets in the Black Sky (1986). He continued acting, with roles in such television productions of Death Is Part of the Process (1986), Mandela (1987) as Walter Sisulu, Escape from Kampala (1991), Born Free: A New Adventure (1996), and Le Propre de l’Homme (1996). Matshikiza was also seen in the ﬁlms Dust (1985), Cry Freedom (1987), Dust Devil (1992), Woman of Desire (1993), Yankee Zulu (1993), The Air Up There (1994), Kickboxer 5 (1995), Hijack Stories (2000), Beyond Borders (2003), Wah-Wah (2005), and Shake Hands with the Devil (2007). Matshikiza had returned to South Africa in the early 1990s after Nelson Mandela was released from prison and soon became president of the nation. Matshikiza became a leading journalist, working for the Mail & Guardian newspaper and writing for other leading publications.

MATTON , CHARLES French conceptual artist Charles Matton died of cancer in Paris on No-

285

2008 • Obituaries

Allen’s ﬁlms Take the Money and Run and Sleeper. His vocal talents led to voice-over work for numerous commercials, and earned him a CLIO Award for his efforts. He was also a performer on the Batﬁnk cartoon series voicing sidekick Karate, the Chief of Police, and many of the villains including the Junkman, the Freezer, and the Ring-A-Ding Ringmaster. Maxwell was a voice-over actor for the 1970 animated Christmas special The Night the Animals Talked. He also cowrote, produced and provided the character voices for the 1971 Oscar-winning animated short The Crunch Bird. Maxwell also voiced ring announcer Nick Diamond in the MTC claymation series Celebrity Deathmatch in the late 1990s and early 200s under the name Barry Manos. Charles Matton

vember 19, 2008. He was 75. Matton was born in Paris on September 13, 1933. He was a multi-media artist who employed drawings, paintings, sculpture, and ﬁlm to capture the essence of people and things he cared about. He was noted for his box constructions and miniatures. Matton began exhibiting his work in the early 1960s and made the short ﬁlm Pomme ou Histoire d’une Histoire in 1965. He also wrote and directed several ﬁlms including 1973’s The Italian of the Roses and the 1976 sexploitation sci-ﬁ ﬁlm Spermula starring Dayle Haddon and Udo Keir. He also created the 1994 semi-autobiographical ﬁlm The Light from Dead Stars, depicting his childhood in France during the German occupation. Matton’s 1999 ﬁlm Rembrandt starred Klaus Maria Brandauer in a bio-ﬁlm of the great Dutch painter.

MAXWELL, LEN Comedian and voice actor Len Maxwell died after a long illness in a Los Angeles hospital on May 13, 2008. He was 77. Maxwell was born on August 8, 1930. He began his career as a standup comedian, performing throughout the country on the night club circuit. He also appeared on television on The Tonight Show and the NBC special The Nut House, and recorded the cult classic album A Merry Monster Christmas in 1964. Maxwell was a voice actor and writer for Woody Allen’s comedy redubbing of the 1966 ﬁlm What’s Up, Tiger Lily and did voice-overs for

Len Maxwell (the voice of commentator Nick Diamond on Celebrity Deathmatch)

MAXWELL, SHERMAN Sherman Maxwell, who was the ﬁrst black sportscaster on radio, died of complications from pneumonia in a West Chester, Pennsylvania, hospital on July 16, 2008. He was 100. Maxwell was born in Newark, New Jersey, on December 18, 1907. He began his career on radio in 1929 in Newark, New Jersey, and became the ﬁrst black sports broadcaster. He gave the sports report on his program Runs, Hits and Errors. His show was later expanded to

Sherman Maxwell

include interviews. Maxwell also served as the public address announcer at Ruppert Stadium for the Newark Eagles, a Negro league team. He contributed reports to various magazines including Baseball Digest and reported on the integration of baseball and Jackie Robinson. Maxwell also compiled a 1940 interview book Thrills and Spills in Sports. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. After the war he returned to radio and continued to broadcast through 1967. He was also instrumental in preserving records and scores from the Negro leagues.

MAY, ALEXANDER German actor Alexander May died in Hannover, Germany, after a long illness on May 2, 2008. He was 80. May was born in Gorlitz, Germany, on July 8, 1927. He studied drama in Dusseldorf after World War II and began his career on stage in the late 1940s. He also wrote and directed plays as well as performing in them. May was a familiar face in ﬁlms and television from the early 1960s, with such

Obituaries • 2008

286 Handschuh, A.S., Rosa Roth, Im Namen des Gesetzes, Die Strassen von Berlin as Herbert Dorfmann, Tatort, Polzeiruf 110, St. Angela, Freunde furs Leben, Adelheid und ihre Morder, and Donna Leon.

Alexander May

ﬁlm credits as Operation Moonlight (1963), A Man at the Best Age (1964), Tattoo (1967), the 1970 vampire ﬁlm Jonathan, The Pedestrian (1973), Dream City (1973), The Clown (1976), Chinese Miracle (1977), It Can Only Get Worse (1979), Bei mir Liegen Sie Richtig (1990), Pappa ante Portas (1991), Bronstein’s Children (1991), Dizzy, Lieber Dizzy (1997), Une Minute de Silence (1998), Viehjud Levi (1999), Et Kutt wie et Kutt (2002), 4 Freunde und 4 Ploten (2003), Tompson Musik (2004), and Zeppelin! (2005). May was also seen in such television productions as Honours for Sale (1963), Herr Wolf hat Seine Krise (1969), Oliver (1971), Jakob von Gunten (1971), Das Paradies auf der Anderen Seite (1972), Schattenreiter (1974), Les Faucheurs de Marguerites (1974), Auguse Bolte (1974), Die Hade (1975), Ein Deutsches Attentat (1975), Depressionen (1975), Kann ich Noch ein Bisschen Bleiben? (1976), Der Schatz des Priamos (1981), Der Spot oder Fast eine Karriere (1981), Frau Juliane Winkler (1983), Kinder Unseres Volkes (1983), Das Leise Gift (1984), Wilhelm Busch (1986), Die Gunst der Sterne (1988), Die Froschintrige (1990), Ein Anderer Liebhaber (1990), Der Deal (1991), Der Unschuldsengel (1992), Ich Klage an (1993), Alarm auf Station 2 (1993), Sommerliebe (1993), Ein Man fur Meine Frau (1993), An Unholy Love (1993), The Perfect Scoundrel (1994), Inka Connection (1995), Verliebte Feinde (1995), Cas Grosste Fest des Jahres —Wieihnachten bei Unseren Femsehfamilien (1995), Charlot og Charlotte (1996), Will und die Windsors (1996) as the Minister President of Lower Saxony, Eiskalte Liebe (1997), Beichtstuhl der Begierde (1997), Der Weihnachtsmorder (1997), Tod im Labor (1997), Sommergewitter (1998), Schwarzes Blut (1999), Waiting Means Death (1999), Der Narr und Seine Frau Heute Abend in Pancomedia (2002), Die Ruckkehr des Vaters (2004), and Trau’ Niemals Deinem Schwiegersohn! (2006). May starred as Dekan Strathmann in the television series Wie Gut Dass es Maria Gibt from 1990 to 1991, and was Hermann Strohmeyer in Aus Heiterem Himmel from 1995 to 1998. His other television credits include episodes of Sonderdezemat K1, Fruhbesprechung, Der Ganz Normale Wahnsinn, Die Schwarzwaldklinik, Hessische Geschichten, Ein Fall fur Zwei, We Are Seven, Die Gluckliche Familie, Der Landarzt, Vater Braucht Eine Frau as Dr. Semrau, Hecht & Haie, Die Zweite Heiat as Konsul

MAYNARD, JOHN British television writer and script editor John Maynard died in England on February 2, 2008. He was 71. Maynard was born in Colchester, Essex, England, on November 29, 1936. He began his career as an actor in repertory before joining the BBC’s script department in the early 1960s. He scripted an adaptation of E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India for Play of the Month in 1965. He also wrote a handful of episodes of The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling, and episodes of Detective, R3, Dr. Finlay’s Casebook, Z Cars, Softly Softly, Brett, and The Spies. Maynard also worked in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada over the next decade, writing for such series as The Sullivans, The Great Detective, and Judge. He returned to the BBC in 1985 where he worked with Tony Holland on the popular soap opera EastEnders. He also helped develop the less successful soap Eldorado in 1992. Maynard was subsequently sent to Kazakhstan by the BBC to help that country create a local soap opera. MCCLURE, MOLLY Character actress Molly McClure died in Plano, Texas, on August 15, 2008. She was 89. She was born Molly Hill in Watsonville, California, on January 19, 1919. She was raised in Paducah, Kentucky, and began performing in local theatrical productions while raising a family. She moved to Los Angeles in the late 1960s, where she continued to perform on stage. She began appearing frequently in ﬁlms and television in the late 1980s. McClure was seen in the ﬁlms Moving (1988), Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988), Daddy’s Dyin’ ... Who’s Got the Will? (1990), City Slickers (1991) as Millie Stone, Pure Country (1992) as George Strait’s grandmother, Mrs. Doubtﬁre (1993), A Gift from Heaven (1994), City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold (1994), Under the Hula Moon (1995), Finding North (1998), and The Patriot (1998). She was also featured in numerous tele-ﬁlms including Mistress (1987), Winnie (1988), The Women of Brewster Place (1989), Everybody’s Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure (1989), In Sickness and in Health (1992), Final Shot:

Molly McClure

287

2008 • Obituaries

The Hank Gathers Story (1992), Tainted Blood (1993), When Love Kills: The Seduction of John Hearn (1993), Precious Victims (1993), and Dead Man’s Walk (1996). Her other television credits include episodes of Webster, Murder, She Wrote, Quantum Leap, The Torkelsons, Murphy Brown, Picket Fences, Northern Exposure, and Walker, Texas Ranger.

MCDONALD , BUD Thomas “Bud” McDonald, who was featured as the freckled Buddy in a handful of Our Gang shorts in the early 1930s, died of congestive heart failure at his Leisure World home in Seal Beach, California, on September 22, 2008. He was 85. McDonald was born in Coalinga, California, on October 1, 1922. He made his debut with Hal Roach’s Our Gang, also known as the Little Rascals, in 1930 and was featured in the shorts Pups Is Pups (1930), Teacher’s Pet (1930), School’s Out (1930), Seal Skins (1932), and Hook and Ladder (1932). McDonald became an alco-

Buddy McDonald

holic as an adult but was able to overcome his addiction by the early 1950s. He became a tireless advocate for others suffering from substance abuse, joining with Judge Leon Emerson to found the Southern California Alcohol and Drug Programs in the 1970s. He was also instrumental in founding the Cedar House for Men in Norwalk, California, and the women’s facility, Foley House, in Whittier, California.

MCDONALD, GREGORY Crime novelist Gregory Mcdonald, who was best known for creating the character Fletch, died of prostate cancer at his home in Pulaski, Tennessee, on September 7, 2008. He was 71. Mcdonald was born in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, on February 15, 1937. He graduated from Harvard University in 1958. He worked as a reporter at the Boston Globe from the mid–1960s. His ﬁrst novel, Running Scared, was published in 1964 and adapted for ﬁlm in 1972. He created his most popular character in the 1974 novel Fletch, about a somewhat unscrupulous reporter who becomes involved solving mysteries. Fletch and a sequel, Confess, Fletch (1976), both earned Edgar Awards as best book of the year from the Mystery Writers of America. The latter book also introduced the character of Boston police ofﬁcer Francis Xavier Flynn, who was the hero of four subsequent novels. Chevy

Gregory Mcdonald

Chase starred as the popular character in the 1985 ﬁlm adaptation Fletch and the 1989 sequel Fletch Lives. Mcdonald’s other books in the series include Fletch’s Fortune (1978), Fletch and the Widow Bradley (1981), Fletch’s Moxie (1982), Fletch and the Man Who (1983), Carioca Fletch (1984), Fletch Won (1985), Fletch Too (1986), Son of Fletch (1993), and Fletch Reﬂected (1994). He also wrote a handful of other titles including Flynn (1977), Who Took Toby Rinaldi? (1978), Love Among the Mashed Potatoes (1978), The Buck Passes Flynn (1981), Flynn’s In (1984), Safekeeping (1985), A World Too Wide (1987), Exits and Entrances (1988), Merely Players (1988), The Brave (1991) which was adapted for a 1997 ﬁlm starring Johnny Depp, Skylar (1995), Skylar in Yankeeland (1997), and Flynn’s World (2003). Fletch is scheduled to return to the screen in a 2009 adaptation of Fletch Won.

MCDONOUGH, DICK Television director Dick McDonough died after a long illness at his home in southern California, on May 3, 2008. He was 85. McDonough was born on February 16, 1923. He began working in television in the early 1950s, serving as a director for the 1952 game show Up to Paar with Jack Paar. He also directed the 1955 special Allen in Movieland, which promoted Steve Allen’s ﬁlm The Benny Goodman Story. McDonough also helmed The Jimmy Durante Show for NBC’s Sunday Showcase in 1959, and directed several episodes of Death Valley Days in the early 1960s. He was also the director of three Bob Hope television specials and specials for Don Rickles and Carol Lawrence. He produced and directed Vin Scully’s game show It Takes Two in 1969 and helmed Liar’s Club and 50 Grand Slam in 1976. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, he directed an annual series of All-Star Party specials honoring such celebrities as John Wayne, Elizabeth Taylor, Carol Burnett, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, Burt Reynolds, Ronald Reagan, Clint Eastwood, and Joan Collins. MCELWAINE, GUY Film executive and talent agent Guy McElwaine died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Bel Air, California, on April 2, 2008. He was 71. McElwaine was born in Hollywood on June 29, 1936. He began working in the ﬁlm industry as a mail room clerk at Paramount in the 1950s. After a brief

Obituaries • 2008

288

Guy McElwaine

Alex McEwen

stint with MGM’s publicity department and a job with a public relations ﬁrm, McElwaine began his own talent agency in the early 1960s, representing such stars as Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Warren Beatty, and the Mamas and the Papas. He joined Creative Management Artists (CMA) in 1969, where his clients included director Steven Spielberg. He left CMA in 1975 to join Warner Bros. as senior executive vice-president in charge of production for over a year. He subsequently returned to CMA, now called International creative Management (ICM) following a merger. McElwaine was instrumental in packaging talent for such popular ﬁlms as The Towering Inferno, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. He became president of Rastar Films in 1981 and of Columbia the following year, where he supervised production of such ﬁlms as Ghostbusters, Gandhi, and Stand by Me. He resigned his position in 1986 following a string of boxofﬁce disappointments. He returned to ICM later in the decade as vice-chairman and was co-founder of the entertainment company McElwaine/Hayes Co. in 1996. He was named president of Trilogy Entertainment in 1998 and became president of Morgan Creek in 2002. He served as executive producer of such ﬁlms as The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002), My Brother’s Keeper (2002), I’ll Be There (2003), Exorcist: The Beginning (2004), Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005), Two for the Money (2005), Man of the Year (2006), The Good Shepherd (2006), Georgia Rule (2007), Sydney White (2007), and Ace Ventura Jr. (2008). MCEWEN, ALEX Scottish folksinger Alex McEwen died of a heart attack in Colmonell, Ayrshire, Scotland, on December 6, 2008. He was 73. Alexander Dundas McEwen was born in Marchmont, Berwickshire, Scotland, on May 16, 1935. McEwen and his older brother Rory learned to play the guitar, and they began performing as folk singers in the 1950s. They toured the United States and sang traditional Scottish songs on The Arthur Godfrey Show and The Ed Sullivan Show. Rory returned to England in 1957 and Alex stayed in New York another year to study guitar technique from the Rev. Blind Gary Davis, known as the Harlem street singer. He joined his brother as a singer on the evening television program Tonight upon his return. During the 1960s he hosted the STV tele-

vision series Alex Awhile and performed with Rory at numerous Edinburgh Festivals. He abandoned music for a career in business in the mid–1960s. His brother Rory killed himself in 1982, throwing himself in front of a London Tube train while suffering from a brain tumor. MCGRIFF, JIMMY Jazz and blues organist Jimmy McGriff died of complications from multiple sclerosis in a nursing facility in Voorhees, New Jersey, on May 24, 2008. He was 72. McGriff was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 3, 1936. He began playing piano at an early age and played the organ at the local church as a child. He also learned numerous other instruments and served in the U.S. Army during

Jimmy McGriff

the Korean War. After his discharge he returned to Philadelphia where he spent two years on the police force. He subsequently returned to music, studying at Juilliard in New York. He became a leading player of the Hammond B-3 organ and had a hit recording in the early 1960s with an instrumental version of Ray Charles’ “I’ve Got a Woman.” He also released the popular albums Blues for Mister Jimmy (1965), A Bag Full of Soul (1966), A Bag Full of Blues (1967), and The Worm (1968). He worked frequently with saxophonists Hank Crawford, Eric Alexander, and David “Fathead” Newman from the 1980s and had recorded over 100 albums by the time of his ﬁnal release, Live at Smoke, in 2006.

289 MCKAY, JIM Veteran television sportscaster Jim McKay died at his country estate in Monkton, Maryland, on June 7, 2008. He was 86. He was born James Kenneth McManus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 24, 1921. His family moved to Baltimore, Maryland, in 1934 and he graduated from Loyola College there in 1943. He spent the next three years in the U.S. Navy, and began his career as a journalist as the Baltimore Evening Sun’s police reporter from 1946 to 1947. He then worked at the Sun’s local television station for several years before moving to CBS in New York in 1950. He was given a new name, Jim McKay, as the host of the 90 minute variety show The Real McKay. Over the next decade, he worked as a gameshow host, weatherman, sportscaster, and in various other capacities for CBS and their New York afﬁliate.

Jim McKay

He also did sports reports for The Morning Show, hosted by Walter Cronkite. McKay began his long association with the Olympics as the network’s host for the 1960 Summer Games in Rome. He was recruited by ABC Sports for their new series Wide World of Sports in 1961. For nearly 40 years McKay hosted an anthology of sporting events ranging from soccer, boxing, and skiing, to ﬁgure skating, barrel jumping, and demolition derby. He opened each episode with the introduction that included the phrase “the thrill of victory ... and the agony of defeat ... the human drama of athletic competition.” He covered ten Olympic Games for ABC, notably the 1972 Munich Olympics, where he was the network’s point man when Arab terrorists invaded the games and killed 11 Israeli athletes. He also covered such major sporting events as the Kentucky Derby, the Indianapolis 500, and the British Open. He was also seen in cameo roles in several ﬁlms, including Disney’s The World’s Greatest Athlete (1973) and Running (1979) with Michael Douglas. McKay retired from Wide World of Sports in 1998 but remained available for special events. ABC lent him to NBC in 2002 for their coverage of the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. A documentary, Jim McKay: My World in My Words, was aired on HBO in 2003.

MCKINSEY , BEVERLEE Actress Beverlee McKinsey, who starred in the television soap operas

2008 • Obituaries

Beverlee McKinsey

Another World and Guiding Light, died of complications from a kidney transplant in Los Angeles on May 2, 2008. She was 72. McKinsey was born in McAlester, Oklahoma, on August 9, 1935. She appeared frequently on television from the mid–1960s with roles in such series as The Reporter, The Nurses, The Defenders, Preview Tonight, Hawk, The Second Hundred Years, Mannix, The Virginian, Hawaii Five-0, Death Valley Days, The F.B.I., Longstreet, McMillan & Wife, The Delphi Bureau, The Mod Squad, Cannon, The ABC Afternoon Playbreak, and Remington Steele. McKinsey also appeared in the 1980 feature ﬁlm Bronco Billy with Clint Eastwood and the 1983 tele-ﬁlm The Demon Murder Case. She was best known for her roles in daytime television, starring as Iris Carrington in Another World throughout the 1970s. She continued the role in the spin-off soap opera Texas from 1980 to 1981. McKinsey also starred as wealthy heiress Alexandra Spalding in The Guiding Light from 1984 to 1992, when she abruptly departed the program and retired from acting.

MCMAHAN, MICKEY Mickey McMahan, who played the trumpet on The Lawrence Welk Show, died of neuropathy and a blood disease at his home in Van Nuys, California, on June 11, 2008. He was 77. He was born Clinton O. McMahan in Texas on August 23, 1930. He was taught to play the trumpet as a child by his mother. He moved to California in the 1950s, where he played with Les Brown’s Band of Renown on The

Mickey McMahan

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Steve Allen Show. He also toured with Brown’s band to accompany Bob Hope on USO tours to military bases overseas. He began playing the trumpet on The Lawrence Welk Show in 1967 and remained with the popular television program through 1982.

MCSPADDEN, CLEM Clem McSpadden, an Oklahoma rodeo announcer and former Congressman, died of lung cancer in Houston, Texas, on July 7, 2008. He was 82. McSpadden was born in Busyhead, Oklahoma, on November 9, 1925. The grand-nephew of famed humorist Will Rogers, McSpadden began competing and announcing for rodeos while attending Oklahoma A&M in 1947. He became one of the best known ﬁgures in rodeo, announcing in 41 states and John McWethy

tional Security Correspondent until his retirement in 2003.

Canada. He also covered the rodeo for ABC’s Wide World of Sports in the 1960s. McSpadden entered politics in the 1950s, serving in the Oklahoma State Senate from 1955 to 1972. He served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives before losing the Democratic primary for Governor of Oklahoma in 1974. He was general manager of the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City from the mid–1960s to the mid–1980s and was a former president of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. McSpadden was also featured in cameo roles in several ﬁlms including J.W. Coop (1972), Dark Before Dawn (1988), and My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (1991).

MELENDEZ, BILL Animator Bill Melendez, who brought the Peanuts cartoons to life and provided the voice of Snoopy, died in Santa Monica, California, on September 2, 2008. He was 91. He was born Jose Cuauhtemoc Melendez in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, on November 15, 1916. He came to the United States with his family as a child and trained to be an engineer. After showing some drawings to the Disney Studios in the late 1930s, he was hired as an animator. He worked on the features Fantasia (1940) and Pinocchio (1940) and numerous Mickey Mouse cartoons. He left Disney in 1941 to work at Leon Schlesinger Productions, which was later sold to Warner Bros. Melendez was an animator on numerous cartoons starring Daff y Duck, Bugs Bunny, Foghorn Leghorn, and Porky Pig. He also worked for UPA from 1948, where he animated television commercials and shorts featuring Gerald McBoing-Boing and Madeline. He ﬁrst met Peanuts’ creator Charles Schulz while using his characters for an animated commercial for the Ford Motor Company. When Melendez formed his own production studio in 1964, he began work on the ﬁrst of a long series of animated productions starring the Peanuts gang. A Boy Named Charlie Brown aired on television in 1965 and earned Melendez the ﬁrst of six Emmy Awards. He also provided the unintelligible sounds that were the voices

MCWETHY, JOHN Television news correspondent John McWethy was killed in a skiing accident when he missed a turn and struck a tree while on the slopes in Keystone, Colorado, on February 6, 2008. He was 60. McWethy was born in Aurora, Illinois, on February 23, 1947. He graduated from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1970 and began working as a science editor for U.S. News & World Report in 1972. He became a White House correspondent in 1977 and joined ABC News in 1979 as chief Pentagon correspondent. He reported on such programs as Nightline, Good Morning America, and World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. He was at the Pentagon when terrorists crashed a plane into it on September 11, 2001, and continued reporting onsite from a nearby lawn. McWethy remained ABC’s Na-

Bill Melendez

Clem McSpadden

291 of Snoopy and his bird pal Woodstock. A theatrical production of A Boy Named Charlie Brown was released in 1969 and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Music and Song Score. Melendez and his longtime collaborator Lee Mendelson produced and directed over 50 television specials and ﬁlms featuring Schulz’s characters, including A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966), You’re in Love, Charlie Brown (1967), He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown (1968), Snoopy Come Home (1972), A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973), It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (1974), It’s Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown (1977), Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don’t Come Back!!) (1980), Snoopy: The Musical (1988), It’s Spring Training, Charlie Brown! (1992), and It Was My Best Birthday Ever, Charlie Brown (1997). He also produced the animated series The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show from 1983 to 1985 and This Is America, Charlie Brown from 1988 to 1989. Melendez also directed such non–Peanuts animated specials as The Rainbow Bear (1970), Babar Comes to America (1971), Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus (1974), The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1979), Garﬁeld on the Town (1983), The Romance of Betty Boop (1985), Kathy (1987), and Frosty Returns (1992). He also continued to produce Peanuts specials after the death of Schulz in 2000, including Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown (2003) and He’s A Bully, Charlie Brown (2006).

MELLINO, ESTEBAN Argentine comedian and actor Esteban Mellino, who was best known for creating the character of Professor Lambetain for television, died of a heart attack in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on June 9, 2008. He was 63. Mellino was born

2008 • Obituaries

MELLO , BRENO Brazilian soccer player turned actor Breno Mello, who starred in the awardwinning 1959 ﬁlm Black Orpheus, died in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on July 11, 2008. He was 77. Mello made his ﬁlm debut as the street car conductor Orfeus, who searches for his lost love throughout Brazil during Carnaval. The ﬁlm was instrumental in intro-

Breno Mello (from Black Orpheus)

ducing the bossa nova and samba to the world, with Mello singing such songs as “A Felicidade” and “Manha de Carnaval.” He appeared in several more ﬁlms during his career including Os Vencidos (1963), Rata de Puerto (1963), O Santo Modico (1964), O Negrinho do Pastoreio (1973), and Prisoner of Rio (1988). Though out of the ﬁlm business for decades, he was located to appear in a 2004 documentary about the ﬁlming of Black Orpheus.

MELLO, JARDEL Brazilian television actor and director Jardel Mello died of a heart attack in Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on February 7, 2008. He was 70. Mello began his acting career in the early 1960s, appearing in the ﬁlm Os Vencidos in 1963. He worked primarily in television from the late 1960s, appearing in such series as Algemas de Ouro (1969), O Bolha (1969), A Proxima Atracao (1970), Jeronimo, o Heroi do Sertao (1972), Dancin’ Days (1978), Agua Viva (1980), Meu Bern-Querer (1998), Suave Veneno (1999), Uga Uga

Esteban Mellino

in San Telmo, Buenos, Aires, on March 13, 1945. He was a popular performer in ﬁlms and television from the 1980s, appearing in such ﬁlms as Las Barras Bravas (1985), Tacos Altos (1985), Los Matamonstruos en la Mansion del Terror (1987), Loco, Posee la Formula de la Felicidad (2001), and Mas que un Hombre (2007). He was featured as Antonio in the 1987 television series Clave de Sol and appeared regularly on Ta Te Show in 1992. He played Professor Lambetain in the series El Humor de Cafe Fashion in 1999 and Fashion VIP in 2002. He was also seen in the series Los Secretos de Papa and Sos Mi Vida.

Jardel Mello

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(2000), Malhacao (2002), Agora E Que Sao Elas (2003), Chocolate com Pimenta (2003), Kubanacan (2003), Cabocla (2004), Esmeralda (2004), Cristal (2006), and O Profeta (2007). Mello was also featured in the ﬁlms O Gosto do Pecado (1980) and A Estrela Nua (1984). He was also a proliﬁc television director from the 1970s, helming episodes of such series as O Rebu, Pecado Capital, O Casareao, Duas Vidas, Sinal de Alerta, O pulo do Gato, Cara a Cara, Plantao de Policia, Os Gigantes, Plumas & Paetes, Chico City, Bandidos de Falange, Chico Anysio Show, Meus Filhos, Minha Vida, Novo Amor, and Chapadao do Bugre.

MELODY, TONY British character actor Tony Melody died of cancer in Bispham, Lancashire, England, on June 26, 2008. He was 85. Melody was born in London on December 18, 1922. He began his career as a singer with the Northern Dance Orchestra in England but was best known as a television actor from the 1950s. He was seen in episodes of such series as Hylda Baker Says Be Soon, Just Jimmy, Steptoe and Son, Some Matters of Little Consequence, Home and Away, Sykes,

Tony Melody

New Scotland Yard, Public Eye, Love Story, Z Cars, Hadleigh, Barlow at Large, Marked Personal, Bless This House, Sadie, It’s Cold Outside, The Main Chance, Rule Britannia!, Down the Gate, George & Mildred, Juliet Bravo, The Chinese Detective, Crown Court, Emmerdale Farm, Jossy’s Giants, All Creatures Great and Small, Boon, Stay Lucky, Plaza Patrol, Moon and Son, Rumpole of the Bailey, Casualty, Heartbeat, Dalziel and Pascoe, Where the Heart Is, Coronation Street, and Last of the Summer Wine. Melody starred as Station Sergeant Billy Machin in the comedy series The Nesbitts Are Coming in 1980, and was Archie in The Incredible Mr. Tanner in 1981. He was featured as the Chief in Bergerac from 1981 to 1983. Melody was also seen in television productions of Roll on Four O’Clock (1970), Better Than the Movies (1972), Mummy and Daddy (1973), Baby Love (1974), The Flipside of Dominick Hide (1980), Walter (1982), The Winning Streak (1985), Missing Persons (1990), Shipman (2002), and A Good Thief (2002). Melody appeared in a handful of theatrical ﬁlms during his career including The Stick-Up (1977), Yanks (1979), Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980), Mr. Love (1985), Invitation to the

Wedding (1985), Turtle Diary (1985), Pretorius (1987), and The Nature of the Beast (1988).

MELVIN , ALLAN Character actor Allan Melvin, who starred as Archie Bunker’s pal Barney on All in the Family and as Sam the Butcher on The Brady Bunch, died of cancer at his home in Los Angeles on January 17, 2008. He was 85. Melvin was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on February 18, 1922, and was raised in New York City. He began his career on the New York stage and appeared on Broadway in a production of Stalag 17. He made his television debut as Cpl. Steve Henshaw, Sgt. Bilko’s accomplice on The Phil Silvers Show, from 1955 to 1959. From the early 1960s, Melvin continued to guest star as both jovial fellows or rugged toughs in such series as Route 66, Empire, Dr. Kildare, McHale’s Navy, Grindl, Make Room for Daddy, The Bill Dana Show, Ben Casey, Slattery’s People, Hank, My Favorite Martian, Perry Mason, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Run Buddy Run, Lost in Space, Vacation Playhouse, The Andy Grifﬁth Show, The Mod Squad, Green Acres, Kung Fu, Mayberry R.F.D., Love, American Style, and Wait Till Your Father Gets Home. Melvin starred as Sgt. Carter’s rival Sgt. Charley Hacker on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. from 1965 to 1969. He was featured as Sam Franklin, the local butcher and romantic interest of Alice the Maid, on The Brady Bunch from 1970 to 1973. He was Archie Bunker’s best friend, Barney Hefner, on All in the Family from 1971 to 1979 and again in the spin-off Archie Bunker’s Place from 1979 to 1983. Melvin’s other television appearance include roles in such productions as Barnaby (1965), We’ll Take Manhattan (1967), and Man in the Middle (1972). He was also seen the 1968 comedy ﬁlm With Six You Get Eggroll as the Desk Sergeant. Melvin was also a popular voice performer from the 1960s; he was best remembered as the voice of cartoon ape Magilla Gorilla. He was also heard in such animated productions Beetle Bailey as Sgt. Snorkle, The Secret Squirrel Show, The Flintstones as Quartz, Alice in Wonderland, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour as Drooper, The Adventures of Gulliver, Cattanooga Cats, Pufnstuf as H.R. Pufnstuf and other characters, These Are the Days, Hong Kong Phooey, The Scooby-Doo Show, Fred Flintstone and Friends, CB Bears, Dynomutt Dog Wonder, The Popeye

Allan Melvin

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Valentine Special, The New Animated Adventures of Flash Gordon as King Vultan, The Kwicky Koala Show, Smurfs, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends as the villainous Electro, Challenge of the GoBots, Foofur, Popeye and Son as Bluto and Wimpy, The Gummy Bears, Duck Tales, The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound, TaleSpin, Wake, Rattle & Roll, and Scooby-Doo in Arabian Nights as Sinbad.

MERCER, MAE Blues singer and actress Mae Mercer died of complications from a stroke at her home in Northridge, California, on October 29, 2008. She was 76. Mercer was born in Battleboro, North Carolina, on June 12, 1932. She left home in 1947 to pursue a singing career in New York City. She relocated to Europe in the late 1950s and became a popular performer at a leading Paris nightclub, The Blues Bar, over

Thomas Merdis

Bros. (1993), Four Colored Boys Who’ve Considered Homicide (1994), A Time to Kill (1996), Tara (2001), The Greenskeeper (2002), Forgiven (2006), and The Last Adam (2006). He also appeared in the tele-ﬁlm Carriers (1998), and in episodes of In the Heat of the Night and Sheena.

Mae Mercer

the next decade. She also performed in several ﬁlms while in Europe, including Mondo Sexuality (1962) and The Sword and the Balance (1963). She returned to the United States later in the decade where she continued her career as an actress. Mercer sang in 1968’s The Hell with Heroes, and appeared in supporting roles in the Clint Eastwood ﬁlms The Beguiled (1971) and Dirty Harry (1971). She was also the victim of nature run amok in the schlock ecological ﬁlm Frogs in 1972. Mercer was also seen in the ﬁlms The Swinging Cheerleaders (1974), Pretty Baby (1978) as Mama Mosebery, and Homer and Eddie (1989), and the tele-ﬁlms Widow (1976), Cindy (1978), A Woman Called Moses (1978), and 2 Shocking 4 TV (2003). Her other television credits include episodes of The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, Medical Center, Ironside, Mannix, Kung Fu, ER, and The Shield. Mercer also produced the 1972 documentary ﬁlm Angela Davis: Portrait of a Revolutionary.

MERDIS , THOMAS Merdis Thomas, who performed in ﬁlms and television under the name Thomas Merdis, died in an Atlanta, Georgia, hospital on June 1, 2008. He was 62. Thomas was born in Frierson, Louisiana, on September 4, 1945. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War. A musician, he was also seen onscreen from the late 1980s. His ﬁlm credits include Travelin’ Trains (1988), Fast Food (1989), My Cousin Vinnie (1992), Super Mario

MEREDITH, DAVID LLOYD British actor David Lloyd Meredith died in Chester, Cheshire, England, on October 22, 2008. He was 74. Meredith was born in Wales on October 30, 1933. He began performing on stage in his teens and formed his own repertory company in Dudley. He subsequently performed with the Old Vic and the Mermaid Theatre in London. He became a familiar face on television with his role of Detective Sergeant Evans in the Z Cars spinoff Softly Softly from 1969 to 1976. He also appeared on television in episodes of Tales of Unease, Marked Personal, The Famous Five as Red Tower, To the Manor Born, and The District Nurse. He was featured in the 1978 television production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It and appeared in the ﬁlm That Summer in 1979. He performed on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company and was featured in Trevor Nunn’s stage production of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby as Sir Matthew Pupker and Charles Cheeryble. He reprised his roles in the 1982 television version. Meredith also appeared in the 1984 mini-series Charlie and the 1986 tele-ﬁlm Breaking Up. He was a member of Kenneth Branagh’s

David Lloyd Meredith

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Renaissance Theatre Company, with roles in such productions as Much Ado About Nothing and Hamlet and was featured as the Governor of Harﬂeur in Branagh’s 1989 ﬁlm version of Henry V. Meredith also appeared as Jones the JP in the 1995 ﬁlm The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain. He continued to perform on stage with Theatr Clwyd in North Wales until his death.

MERLINI, MARISA Italian character actress Marisa Merlini died in Rome on July 27, 2008. She was 84. Merlini was born in Rome on August 8, 1923. She began her ﬁlm career in 1942’s Stasera Niente di Nuovo and became a leading performer in Italy’s postwar cinema. She appeared in numerous ﬁlms over the next 60 years, including Roma Citta Libera (1946), Se Fossi Deputato (1949), Love and Poison (1949), Toto Looks for an Apartment (1949), Vivere a Sbafo (1949), The Emperor of Capri (1949), The Black Captain (1950), Lo Zappatore (1950), Toto Cerca Moglia (1950), L’Eroe Sono Io! (1951), Napoleone (1951), Stasera Sciopero (1951), I Due Sergenti (1951), Rome-Paris-Rome (1951), La Famiglia Passaguai fa Fortuna (1951), Infame Accusa (1952), Lo, Amleto (1952), Ergastolo (1952), Times Gone By (1952), Viva il Cinema! (1952), Cani e Gatti (1952), Er Fattaccio (1952), Il Tallone di Achille (1952), Angels of the District (1952), Anna Perdonami (1953), I Always Loved You (1953), La Prigioniera di Amalﬁ (1953), Finalmente Libero! (1953), Sunday Heroes (1953), Di Qua Di la del Piave (1953), Sua Altezza Ha Detto No! (1953), Viva la Rivista! (1953), Tormento d’Anime (1953), Bread, Love and Dreams (1953), Due Lacrime (1954), The Lovers of Manon Lescout (1954), Frisky (1954), Le Signorine dello 04 (1955), Destination Piovarolo (1955), La Canzone del Cuore (1955), Courtyard (1955), Time of Vacation (1956), Porta un Bacione a Firenze (1956), The Bigamist (1956), Dinanzi a noi il Cielo (1957), Doctor and Healer (1957), A Tailor’s Maid (1957), The Most Wonderful Moment (1957), Liane the Jungle Girl and the Slaver (1957), Husbands in the City (1957), Holiday Island (1957), Ladro Lui, Ladra Lei (1958), Lo, Mammeta e Tu (1958), Resurrection (1958), Don Vesuvio (1958), La Cento Chilometri (1959), Roulotte e Roulette (1959), World of Miracles (1959), Everyone’s in Love (1959), Le Ambiziose (1960), I Piaceri dello Scapolo (1960), Il Carro

Marisa Merlini

Armato del’8 Settembre (1960), The Trafﬁc Policeman (1960), La Garconniere (1960), Juke Box Urli d’Amore (1960), Ferragosto in Bikini (1960), Gli Incensurati (1961), Mariti a Congresso (1961), Akiko (1961), Fra’ Manisco Cerca Guai (1961), The World in My Pocket (1961), The Last Judgment (1961), His Women (1961), Nerone ’71 (1962), The Vendetta (1962), Hunchback Italian Style (1962), The Masseuses (1962), Destination Rome (1963), Opiate ’67 (1963), Squillo (1964), La Chica del Trebol (1964), Crucero de Verano (1964), Loca Juventud (1965), Un Amore (1965), Les Combinards (1966), Me, Me, Me ... and the Others (1966), Engagement Italiano (1966), Gli Altri, gli Altri e Noi (1967), The Corrupt Ones (1967), All Mad About Him (1967), Man Only Cries for Love (1968), The Great Silence (1968), Lisa Dagli Occhi Blue (1969), Jealousy, Italian Style (1970), Nini Tirabuscio (1970), Mio Padre Monsignore (1971), Non Commettere Atti Impuri (1971), Continauvano a Chiamarli i Due Piloti Piu Pazzi del Mondo (1972), Il Moschio Ruspante (1973), The Tree with Pink Leaves (1974), Naked Fists (1974), Sadsacks Go to War (1974), Le Dolci Zie (1975), Una Bella Governante di Colore (1976), Stangata in Famiglia (1971), Le Impiegate Stradali — Batton Story (1976), Oh, Seraﬁna! (1976), The Rip-Off (1977), The Payoff (1978), Moglie in Vacanza ... l’Amante in Citta (1980), L’Altra Donna (1980), Pierino Contro Tutti (1981), My Wife Goes Back to School (1981), L’Onorevole con l’Amante Sotto il Letto (1981), Cream Horn (1981), Gianburrasca (1982), Sfrattato Cerca Casa Equo Canone (1983), Il Tifoso, l’Arebitro e il Calciatore (1983), Arrivano i Miei (1983), Aurora by Night (1984), Crazy Underear (1992), Ricky and Barrabas (1992), Stella’s Favor (1996), Vacanze Sulla Neve (1999), Pazzo d’Amore (1999), Coconut Heads (2000), Between Calmness and Passion (2001), and La Seconda Notte di Nozze (2005). Merlini also appeared frequently on Italian television, with roles in productions of Una Citta in Fondo alla Strada (1975), Top Secret (1978), Les Joies de la Familie Pinelli (1982), Quei 36 Grandini (1984), Una asa a Roma (1988), Colletti Bianchi (1988), E Non se ne Vogliono Andare! (1988), La Ruelle au Clair de Lune (1988), E Se Poi Se Ne Vanno? (1989), Pronto Soccorso (1990), Villa Arzilla (1990), Italian Restaurant (1994), Ladri si Nasce (1997), Villa Ada (2000), On the Wings of the Eagle (2000), Una Donna per Amico 3 (2001), Part Time (2004), and La Buona Battaglie — Don Pietro Pappagallo (2006). She was also featured in episodes of Le Inchieste del Commissario Maigret, Lapo Erzahit, Storia d’Amore e d’Amicizia, Le Gorille, Una Donna per Amico, Don Luca, and Don Luca 2 as Palmira.

MEYER, ERNST Danish actor Ernst Meyer died in Denmark on May 21, 2008. He was 76. Meyer was born in Denmark on March 2, 1932. He appeared frequently in ﬁlms from the late 1950s, and was best known for his various roles in the popular Olsen-banden (Olsen Gang) comedy ﬁlm series. Meyer’s numerous ﬁlm credits include De Sjove Ar (1959), Den Kaere Familie (1962), Landmandsliv (1965), Mor Bag Rattet (1965), Min Sosters Born pa Brylluprsejse (1967), The Olsen Gang (1968), Magic in Town (1968), Fun in the Streets (1969), The Olsen Gang in a Fix (1969), Take a

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named the new Ballet Master and Associate Director. He choreographed such works as Reconciliations (1963) and The Trial (1966), and the company settled in Glasgow in 1969 to become the Scottish Theatre Ballet. Meyer choreographed their debut in Glasgow, Berlioz’s The Trojans, in conjunction with the Scottish Opera. He also founded the Northern Dance Theatre, a regional company based in Manchester, in 1969. He continued to choreograph such works as Brahms Sonata (1970), Silent Episode (1970), Cinderella (1973), and Aladdin (1974) before leaving the company over a artistic dispute in 1975. He still continued to choreograph and stage ballets for various companies but mainly became a teacher in London. He also taught at the Laban School and the Legat School until retiring in 2000. Ernst Meyer

Little Sunshine (1969), Revolution My A... (1970), Ballade pa Christianshavn (1971), The Olsen Gang in Jutland (1971), My Sisters Children Go Astray (1971), Pelsen (1971), Hotel Paradiso (1971), The Olsen Gang’s Big Score (1972), The Olsen Gang Runs Amok (1973), Me, Too, in the Maﬁa (1974), The Olsen Gang on the Track (1975), The Goldcabbage Family (1975), The Olsen Gang Sees Red (1976), The Moselleby Affair (1976), The Olsen Gang Outta Sight (1977), The Olsen Gang Goes to War (1978), The Olsen Gang Never Surrenders (1979), and Yellow Pages (1988). He was also featured on Danish television in episodes of Smuglerne, Huset pa Christianshavn, Matador, En By i Provinsen, Anthonsen, Landsbyen, and Bryggeren.

MEYER, LAVERNE Canadian ballet dancer Laverne Meyer died of pneumonia in London, England, on April 25, 2008. He was 73. Meyer was born in Guelph, Canada, on February 1, 1935. He became fascinated with dance at an early age, studying ﬁrst tap dancing, then ballet. He was accepted to the Sadler’s Wells School (now Royal Ballet) in 1956. He brieﬂy danced with the Welsh National Opera before joining Elizabeth West’s Western Theatre Ballet. The newly formed troupe used contemporary composers and themes, and Meyer became a lead dancer and sometimes choreographer. He created his ﬁrst ballet, The Web, in 1962. West was killed in a climbing accident in the Italian Alps later in the year and Meyer was

Laverne Meyer

MIDDLEBROOKS, WILFRED Jazz double bassist Wilfred Middlebrooks, who was part of the band that backed Ella Fitzgerald, died of heart failure in a Pasadena, California, hospital on March 13, 2008. He was 74. Middlebrooks was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on July 17, 1933, to a family of musicians. He trained in the bass and was touring with a vaude-

Wilfred Middlebrooks

ville troupe in his early teens. He joined Tab Smith’s swing combo in New York in 1950. He played in the Army band during his two year military service and settled in Los Angeles after his discharge. Middlebrooks played in bands at several clubs and joined Ella Fitzgerald’s accompanying band in 1958. He toured with the singer and was featured on such albums as Jazz Round Midnight Again, Mack the Knife: The Complete Ella in Berlin, Ella Returns to Berlin, and Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie! He joined the Paul Smith Trio in 1960, and played at the Redondo Beach club the Velvet Turtle with them until the early 1970s. He was featured onscreen in the 1977 ﬁlm New York, New York. Middlebrooks also worked as a postal employee until his retirement in 1991.

MIKO, JOSEPH Hungarian-American cameraman Joseph S. Miko, who documented the 1956 Hungarian Revolution on ﬁlm, died of blood cancer in a Los Angeles hospital on April 28, 2008. He was 87. Miko was born in Vecses, Hungary, on August 6, 1920. He graduated from the Academy of Drama and Film

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296

Joseph Miko

in Budapest in 1954. When the popular uprising against the Soviet Union began in October of 1956 he traveled throughout Budapest ﬁlming the demonstrations. He also photographed the Soviet’s brutal crushing of the revolution the following month. Much of the footage was smuggled out of the country and Miko and his family also escaped to the West. He settled in Los Angeles where he had little success breaking into the ﬁlm industry there. He worked as a camera operator on the 1963 low-budget cult classic The Sadist starring Arch Hall, Jr. Some of his ﬁlm from Hungary was featured on the 1960s documentary series The 20th Century with Walter Cronkite. Miko appeared alongside his footage on the History Channel special Caught on Film in 2007. He donated much of the footage to the Hungarian National Film Archive in 1993, and it was used in several documentaries including Freedom’s Fury (2006) and Torn from the Flag (2007).

MILENKOVIC , ZIKA Serbian actor Zika Milenkovic died in Belgrade, Serbia, on March 18, 2008. He was 80. Milenkovic was born in Nis, Serbia (then part of Yugoslavia), on January 26, 1928. He began his career on stage and became a popular ﬁlm and television performer in the 1960s. He was featured in the ﬁlms When I Am Dead and Gone (1967), Zlatna Pracka (1967), Bog je Umro Uzalud (1969), The Bet (1971), I Bog Stvori Kafansku Pevacicu (1972), Zuta (1973), The Wind (1974), Wintering in Jakobsfeld

Zika Milenkovic

(1975), Do You Know Pavla Plesa? (1975), The Adventures of Borivoje Surdilovic (1980), Sok od Sljiva (1981), How I Was Systematically Destroyed by an Idiot (1983), Strangler vs. Strangler (1984), The Elusive Summer of ’68 (1984), I to ce Proci (1985), Smeker (1986), Hajde de se Volimo (1987), The Bizarre Country (1988), Cognac (1988), The Fall of Rock and Roll (1989), Balkanska Perestrojka (1990), Policajac sa Petlovog Brda (1992), Slatko od Snova (1994), and 1 na 1 (2002). He was also featured in television productions of Dugme za Peti Sprat (1963), Narodni Poslanik (1964), Jedno Tuce Zena (1967), Buducnost Sveta (1967), Pokojnik (1969), Hajducija (1970), Milorade, Kam Bek (1970), Djido (1970), Zasto je Pucao Alija Alijagic (1974), Golgota (1975), Gospodja Ministarka (1978), Prva Srpska Zeleznica (1979), Joakim (1979), Prokleta Avlija (1984), Neozbiljni Branislav Nusic (1986), Oruzje Zbogom (1991), Heaven (1993), and Znakovi (1995). Milenkovic starred as Direktor Pavle Katic in the 1966 television series Crni Seng and was Reditelj in Ofelija (1967). He was featured as Rade in Spavajte Mirno (1968), Cvetko in Ljubav na Seoski Nacin (1970), and Milinkovic in Levaci from 1970 to 1971. He also starred as Sisoje “Puska” Mitrovic in Diplomci in 1971, Bulat in Djavolje Merdevine in 1975, and was Nacelnik Vasic in Vise od Igre in 1977. He also starred as Sotir Surdilovic in Vruc Vetar in 1980 and was Rajcevic in Balkan Ekspres 2 in 1989. His other television credits include episodes of Zabavlja vas Mija Aleksic, Krug Dvojkom, Dezuma Ulica, Saculatac, Operacija 30 Slova, Majstori, Slike bez Rama — Iz Decijih Knjiga, Pozoriste u Kuci, Kamiondzije, Dimitrije Tucovic, Uspon i pad Zike Proje, Povratak Otpisanih, Bilo, pa Proslo, Kamiondzije 2, Odlazak Ratnika, Povratak Marsala, Bolji Zivot, Vuk Karadzic, Dome, Slatki Dome, U ime Zakona, Srecni Ijudi, Policajac sa Petlovog Brda, Slozna Braca, Srecni Ijudi 2, Znakovi, Otvorena Vrata, Hotel sa 7 Zvezdica, and Stizu Dolari. He remained a familiar face on Serbian television over the past decade, starring as Trajko Gavrilovic in Porodicno Blago from 1998 to 2001 and Porodicno Blago 2 in 2002.

MILES , BUDDY Buddy Miles, who was drummer for Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys, died of congestive heart disease at his home in Austin Texas, on February 26, 2008. He was 60. He was born George Allen Miles, Jr., in Omaha, Nebraska, on September 5, 1947. He began playing the drums as a child and joined his father’s jazz group, the Bebops, at the age of 12. He worked with such acts as the Delfonics and the Ink Sports over the next decade before becoming a founding member of Electric Flag in 1967. They cut an album the following year and he subsequently formed his own group, The Buddy Miles Express. He performed on several songs with Jimi Hendrix, including “Electric Ladyland,” and became part of Hendrix’s band in 1969. They recorded the album Band of Gypsies together, which included the hit song “Them Changes.” Miles again formed his own band after Hendrix’s death in 1970. He also recorded with such artists as Carlos Santana, Stevie Wonder, George Clinton, and David Bowie. He was interviewed in the 1973 documentary ﬁlm Jimi Hendrix and was featured as a tour musician

297

2008 • Obituaries

the war. He retained his position there until 1971, returning frequently after the war. Madeleine became increasingly responsible for handling Darius’ affairs, as poor health left him wheelchair bound in the years before his death in 1974. She continued to give occasional recitals until she was into her 90s.

Buddy Miles

in the 1978 ﬁlm The Buddy Holly Story. Miles served prison terms for grand theft and grand theft auto in the late 1970s and early 1980s. After his release in 1985 he became the lead vocalist with the Claymation-animated California Raisins in a series of television commercials. Miles and the Raisins also released the popular albums California Raisins and Meet the Raisins. He continued to perform in commercials and recorded The Band of Gypsys Return with former bandmate Billy Cox in 2004. MILHAUD, MADELEINE French actress Madeleine Milhaud, who was instrumental in staging works by her husband, composer Darius Milhaud, died in Paris on January 17, 2008. She was 105. She was born in Paris on March 22, 1902. She was a cousin of Darius, whom she married in 1925 when his career as a composer was well underway. She had performed on stage before their marriage and continued her interests

MILLARD, JAREN Hair stylist and makeup artist Jaren Millard drowned in a hot tub in Palms Springs, California, on April 5, 2008. He was 62. Millard was born on June 30, 1945. He worked with numerous Hollywood stars during his career including Nell Carter and Rosie O’Donnell. He also styled Beverly D’Angelo for the tele-ﬁlms Trial: The Price of Passion (1992) and A Child Lost Forever: The Jerry Sherwood Story and provided makeup for Jodie Foster for 1994’s Nell. He was sued for two million dollars by his client Zsa Zsa Gabor when she was injured and left partially paralyzed in an automobile accident while he was driving in 2002. MILLER , DICK Adult ﬁlm director Dick Miller died of a self-inﬂicted gunshot wound in Westwood, California, on June 28, 2008. He was 62. Miller had been suffering from the neuromuscular disease Myasthenia Gravis in recent years. He was born Richard Mills on June 29, 1945. Orphaned as a child, he was raised in foster homes in Minnesota and served in the U.S. military. He began working in the adult ﬁlm industry as a director under such pseudonyms as Richard Mailer, Richard Milner, Mr. Mustard, and Grey Poupon. He directed such adult features as Sexpert (1975), Rape Victims (1975), Safari Club (1976), Swap (1977), The Coming of Joyce (1977), Small Change (1978), Insane Desires (1978), Doogan’s Woman (1978), Painful Desires (1978), Mary Flegus, Mary Flegus (1978), Descendence of Grace (1978), In Too Deep (1979), A Girl Like That (1979), Centerfold Fever (1981), A Taste of Money (1983), I Never Say No (1983), Physical Attraction (1984), Jacquette (1984), Classical Romance (1984), What Gets Me Hot! (1984), Hindsight (1985), Angel of the Night (1985), Up All Night (1986), Love on the Borderline (1986), Having It All (1986), Switch Hitters 2 (1987), Playing for Passion (1987), A Little Dove Tail (1987), The Huntress (1987), Holiday for Angels (1987), Angel’s Revenge (1987), Undercover Angel (1988), Switch

Madeleine Milhaud (with her husband Darius)

in the theater afterwards. She was also featured in several ﬁlms including Ghosts Before Breakfast (1928), Les Jumeaux de Brighton (1936), and Southern Carrier (1937). She also performed in numerous radio plays, frequently in the role of Joan of Arc. She wrote the libretti for several of her husband’s operas, including Medee and Bolivar. The couple ﬂed Paris for the United States when the Germans occupied the city in 1940. Darius accepted a teaching position at Mills College in Oakland, California, where he remained throughout

Dick Miller

Obituaries • 2008

298

Hitters 3 (1988), Strong Rays (1988), Love Lies (1988), Honky Tonk Angels (1988), For Your Love (1988), Angel’s Back! (1988), Angel Rising (1988), Strong Language (1989), The End of the Innocence (1989), Angel of the Island (1989), The Last Blonde (1991), Czech Cherry Poppers: The College Years 1 (1998), Meridian Makes a Movie (2000), Between the Lines (2000), Blonde Buster (2002), What I Really Want to Do Is Direct (2003), Backstage Pass (2003), Lipstick (2004), Illusion (2004), and Sex Tour (2005).

MILLER, KARL LEWIS Karl Lewis Miller, who trained such animal stars as Beethoven the Saint Bernard and Babe the pig, died in Arleta, California, on March 27, 2008. He was 66. Miller was born in Utica, New York, on June 16, 1941. He was active in ﬁlm from the early 1970s as an animal action director and trainer. His numerous ﬁlm credits includes The Doberman Gang (1972), They Only Kill Their Masters

Karl Lewis Miller

(1972), Elmer (1976), Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976), Joe Panther (1976), Dracula’s Dog (1978), The Amityville Horror (1979), White Dog (1982) also appearing on screen as an attacker, Stephen King’s Cujo (1983), Dreamscape (1984), Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye (1985), Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985), Murphy’s Romance (1985), Stand by You (1986), The Morning After (1986), Raising Arizona (1987), Burglar (1987), K-9 (1989), The Big Picture (1989), Miller’s Crossing (1990), Beethoven (1992), Man Trouble (1992), A Far Off Place (1993), Beethoven’s 2nd (1993), Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back (1995), Babe (1995) also appearing onscreen as a man buying three puppies, The Nutty Professor (1996), Babe: Pig in the City (1998), K911 (1999), Beethoven’s 3rd (2000), Rain (2001), K-9: P.I. (2002), Rob Zombie’s House of 1,000 Corpses (2003), Siegfried (2005), and The Invasion (2007). Miller also worked in television on the tele-ﬁlms Trapped (1973), When the Bough Breaks (1986), Chips, the War Dog (1990), In the Line of Duty: Siege at Marion (1992), and Baby Rex (1997), and the series Magnum, P.I. and Punky Brewster.

MILLER , STEPHAN Stephan Miller, who trained and handled wild animals for ﬁlms, was killed in Big Bear Lake, California, on April 22, 2008, when

Stephan Miller

he was bitten on the neck while working with a grizzly bear. He was 39. Miller was born on May 6, 1968. The bear, named Rocky, was considered one of the best trained in Hollywood and had appeared in the 2007 Will Farrell ﬁlm Semi-Pro. Miller worked with his cousin’s outﬁt, Randy Miller’s Predators in Action. He had been involved with handling wildlife for such ﬁlms as The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), The Postman (1997), Hollywood Safari (1997), and The Jungle Book: Mowgli’s Story (1998). He also worked on the television productions The World’s Most Dangerous Animals III (1995) and Anatomy of a Tiger Bite (2004). MILU Portuguese actress Milu died in Cascais, Portugal, on November 5, 2008. She was 82. She was born Maria de Lourdes de Almeida in Lisbon, Portugal, on April 24, 1926. She made her ﬁlm debut at the age of 12 in 1939’s Aldeia da Roupa Branca. She was a popular stage and ﬁlm actress over the next two decades with roles in the ﬁlms O Costa do Castelo (1943), Twelve

Milu

Honeymoons (1944), Barrio (1947), O Leo da Estrela (1947), A Volta de Jose do Telhado (1949), O Grande Elias (1950), Os Tres da Vida Airada (1952), Agora E Que Sao Elas (1954), Vidas Sem Rumo (1956), Dois Dias no Paraiso (1958), O Diabo Era Outro (1969), and The Killers (1981). She was also featured in the 2007 documentary about her career, Milu, el Menina da Radio.

299

2008 • Obituaries

MIMURA, HARUHIKO Japanese ﬁlm director and writer Haruhiko Mimura died in a Kanagawa, Japan, hospital of a blocked artery on August 2, 2008. He was 71. Mimura began working in ﬁlms in the 1960s and was assistant director for Nippon Paradise in 1964. He scripted several ﬁlms including Gospel for Genocide (1968), Theater of Life (1973), and Demon Pond (1979). Mimura wrote and directed the 1983 ﬁlm Amagi Pass. He also directed The Street of Desire (1984) and Setouchi Shonen Yakyu dan Seishunhen Saigo no Rakuen (1987). MINEGISHI , TORU Japanese actor Toru Minegishi died of lung cancer in a Tokyo hospital on October 11, 2008. He was 65. Minegishi was born in Tokyo on July 17, 1943. He was a popular performer in ﬁlms and television from the 1970s with roles in such features as Confessions Among Actresses (1971), Aishu no Circuit (1972), Africa’s Light (1975), Kinkanshoku (1975), Proof of the Man (1977), The Eye’s Visitor (1977), Third Base (1978), The Fall of Ako Castle (1978), Murder in the Doll House (1979), School in the Crosshairs (1981), Shosetsu Yoshida Gakko (1983), The Deserted City (1984), F2 Grand Prix (1984), The Island Closest to Heaven (1984), Capone Cries a Lot (1985), Lonelyheart (1985), The Last Gambler (1985), Four Sisters (1985), Sutaa (1986), His Motorbike, Her Island (1986), April Fish (1986), Beyond the Shining Sea (1986), Bound for the Fields, the Mountains, and the Seacoast (1986), Minami e Hasire, Umi no Michi O! (1986), Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis (1988), The Strange Couple (1988), The Discarnates (aka Summer Among the Zombies) (1988), Watashi no Kokoro wa Papa no Mono (1988), Boy in the Mirror (1988), Beppinno Machi (1989), Beijing Watermelon (1989), Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) as Lt. Goro Gondo, Konojo ga Kekkon Shinai Riyu (1990), Kamigata Kugaizoshi (1991), Nanmin Rodo (1992), Haruka, Nosutarujii (1993), A Mature Woman (1994), Goodbye for Tomorrow (1995), Onihei’s Detective Records (1995), After the Wind Has Gone (1996), Fudoh: The New Generation (1996), I Want to Hear the Wind’s Song (1998), Kokubetsu (2001), Take the “A” Train, Someday (2003), Tokyo Noir (2004), The Reason (2004), Fresh Wind: Early Days of Yoda Bensan (2004), Song of Goodbye (2006), The Black Swindler (2008), The Bloodshot (2008), Sunshine Days (2008), The Red Spot (2008), Departures (2008), and Aihyoka 2 (2008).

MINSKY, HOWARD Talent agent and ﬁlm executive Howard Minsky, who earned an Academy Award nomination as producer of the 1970 ﬁlm romance Love Story, died in Palm Beach, Florida, on August 10, 2008. He was 94. Minsky was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 21, 1914. He began working in ﬁlms at Warner Bros. in the late 1930s before serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

MINGHELLA , ANTHONY Oscar-winning British director Anthony Minghella, who adapted such works as The English Patient and Cold Mountain to ﬁlm, died in London on March 18, 2008. He was 54. Minghella was born in Ryde, Isle of Wight, England, on January 6, 1954. He began his career writing plays in London, including the West End production Made in Bangkok. He also wrote for British television, penning episodes of Maybury, Grange Hill, Boon, Smith and Jones in Small Doses, Inspector Morse, and Jim Henson’s The Storyteller. He made his directorial debut with the 1990 comedy Truly Madly Deeply, which he also scripted. He directed Mr. Wonderful in 1993 before garnering international acclaim for his adaptation of Michael Ondaatje’s novel The English Patient. The World War II drama earned nine Academy Awards, in-

Howard Minsky

Anthony Minghella

cluding one for Minghella for his direction. His next ﬁlm was an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley, starring Matt Damon. The ﬁlm was nominated for ﬁve Oscars. He directed Play in 2000 before adapting Charles Frazier’s Civil War novel Cold Mountain for the screen in 2003. Minghella received another Oscar nomination and actress Renee Zellweger earned the Academy Award for best supporting actress for her role in the ﬁlm. He staged a successful production of Puccini’s Madama Butterﬂy for the English National Opera in London in 2005. The opera was staged for the Met in New York the following year. He directed and scripted the ﬁlm Breaking and Entering in 2006 and had completed The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency shortly before his death. Minghella was also featured onscreen as the Interviewer in the 2007 ﬁlm Atonement and served as a producer for the ﬁlms Iris (2001), Heaven (2002), The Quiet American (2002), The Interpreter (2005), Catch a Fire (2006), and the Oscar-nominated Michael Clayton (2007).

Obituaries • 2008

300

After the war he resumed his career, eventually becoming an executive at 20th Century–Fox and Paramount. He was an agent for William Morris Agency in the 1960s before leaving the company to produce Love Story in 1969. The author, Erich Segal, had been one of his clients, and Minsky was instrumental in persuading Paramount to make the hit ﬁlm. Love Story earned seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director (for Arthur Hiller), and acting nominations for leads Ali McGraw and Ryan O’Neal and supporting actor John Marley. Several years later Minsky produced the western ﬁlm Jory starring Robby Benson. He also authored a memoir of his own love story, The Love of My Life: The Memoirs of Howard J. Minsky, about his 65-year marriage to his wife, Sylvia, who died in 2002.

MIRAT , PIERRE French character actor Pierre Mirat died in Couilly-Pont-Aux-Dames, Seineet-Marne, France, on July 16, 2008. He was 84. Mirat was born in Montauban, Tarn-et-Aronne, France, on February 12, 1924. He began his ﬁlm career in France after World War II, appearing in the 1946 ﬁlm La Gardian. He appeared in numerous features over the next ﬁve decades, with such screen credits as Too Many Lovers (1957), Young Girls Beware (1957), Whereabouts Unknown (1957), Crazy in the Noodle (1957), On Foot, on Horse, and on Wheels (1957), The Cat (1958), Neither Seen Nor Recognized (1958), Miss Pigalle (1958), The Mask of the Gorilla (1958), Hot Hours (1959), Head Against the Wall (1959), 125 rue Montmartre (1959), Riff-Raff (1960), The Boss (1960), Fortunate (1960), Boulevard (1960), Les Tortillards (1960), The Long Absence (1961), The Fighting Musketeers (1961), Keep Talking, Baby (1961), A Man Named Rocca (1961), The Triumph of Michael Strogoff (1961), The Busybody (1961), The Sword and the Balance (1963), La Soupe aux Poulets (1963), Banana Peel (1963), Greed in the Sun (1964), Diamonds Are Brittle (1965), Is Paris Burning? (1966), The Man in the Buick (1968), The Tattooed One (1968), L’Ane de Zigliara (1970), Happy He Who Like Ulysses (1970), Mektoub (1970), The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun (1970), The Woman in Blue (1973), Le Belle Affaire (1973), The Amorous Nights of Ali Baba (1973), Now Where Did the Seventh Company Get To? (1973), Loving in the Rain (1974), The Suspects (1974),

Impossible Is Not French (1974), Ne Me Touchez Pas... (1977), The Red Sweater (1979), Une Merveilleuse Journee (1980), Belles, Blondes et Bronzees (1981), Le Village en Folie (1982), and Le Diner des Bustes (1988). He was also seen frequently on television in such productions as Les Deux Orphelines (1961), L’Affaire Lourdes (1967), Marion Delomre (1967), Nemo (1970), La Tuile a Loups (1972), L’Argent par les Fenetres (1972), La Vie et la Passion de Dodin-Bouffant (1972), L’Alphomega (1973), La Duchesse d’Avila (1973), Les Malheurs de la Comtesse (1973), Karatekas and Co (1973), Drole de Graine (1974), Le Charivari de Janjole (1974), Le Peril Bleu (1975), Pourquoi Tuer le Pepe (1978), Novgorod (1981), An Orphan’s Tail (1981), and L’Orange de Noel (1996). His other television credits include episodes of L’Inspecteur Leclerc Enquete, L’Abonne de la Ligne U, Cecilia, Medecin de Campagne, Le Monde Parallele, En Vore Ame et Conscience, Graf Yoster Gibt sich die Ehre, Fortune, Maurin des Maures, Le Voyageur des Siecles, La Ligne de Demarcation, Der Kleine Doktor, Les Zingari, Desire Lafarge, Les Enquetes du Commissaire Maigret, La Vie des Autres, Au Theatre ce Soir, and La Calangue. Mirat was also a voice actor in the animated ﬁlms Moon Madness (1983), Asterix Versus Caesar (1985), and Asterix in Britain (1986). He was also well known in France for his portrayal of a cook in a series of television commercials for Ducros in the 1970s and 1980s.

MITCHELL, ADRIAN British poet and playwright Adrian Mitchell died of complications from pneumonia and a heart attack in London on December 20, 2008. He was 76. Mitchell was born in London on October 24, 1932. He attended Christ Church, Oxford, where he became literary editor of the maga-

Adrian Mitchell

Pierre Mirat

zine Isis. He worked as a journalist for several newspapers after leaving Oxford in 1955. He also began writing and reciting poetry, and his ﬁrst major collection, Poems, was published in 1964. He also scripted the 1961 television play Animals Can’t Laugh for the series The Younger Generation and published his ﬁrst novel, the melancholy If You See Me Comin’, in 1962. Mitchell’s poetry espoused his political views and he became known as the voice of the left and the Shadow Poet Laureate. His 1964 poem To Whom It May Concern

301 (Tell Me Lies About Vietnam) became a ﬁxture at antiwar rallies in the 1960s. His poetry collections include Peace Is Milk (1966), Out Loud (1968), Love Songs of World War III (1988), and Heart on the Left (1997). He also worked with Peter Brook on the 1964 stage production of Peter Weiss’ Marat/Sade and on the script for the 1967 ﬁlm version. He and Brook also crafted the 1966 anti-war play US, with Mitchell supplying lyrics to seven of the songs. His play Man Friday, which told the tale of Robinson Crusoe from a different perspective, was adapted for television’s Play for Today in 1972 and for a feature ﬁlm in 1975. He also scripted several segments of the television series Churchill’s People and adapted The Magic Flute for a television version in 1986. Mitchell’s other works include Tyger, a 1971 play about poet William Blake. He also provided lyrics for Peter Hall’s musical version of George Orwell’s Animal Farm and edited the Paul McCartney lyrics and poetry collection Blackbird Singing in 2001. Mitchell had several works scheduled for publication in 2009 including the poetry collection Tell Me Lies: Poems 2005–2008, the children’s verse book Umpteen Poems, and his version of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Shapeshifter.

MITCHELL, MITCH British rock musician John “Mitch” Mitchell, who was the drummer for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, was found dead in his Portland, Oregon, hotel room shortly after completing a concert tour on November 12, 2008. He was 61. Mitchell was born in Ealing, Middlesex, England, on July 9, 1947. He began his career as a child actor in the late 1950s, starring in the 1958 television series Jenings at School. He was also featured in the 1963 ﬁlm Live It Up! (aka Sing and Swing). He worked as a session musician from the mid–1960s and played drums with such bands as Johnny Harris and the Shades, The Pretty Things, The Riot Squad, and Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames. Mitchell joined the Jimi Hendrix Experience trio with guitarist Hendrix and bassist Noel Redding in October of 1966. The group soon revolutionized rock music with the albums Are You Experienced (1967), Axis: Bold as Love (1967), and Electric Ladyland (1968). Mitchell notably played on such popular recordings as “Third Stone from the Sun,” “Manic Depression,” “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” and “Fire.” He per-

Mitch Mitchell

2008 • Obituaries

formed with Hendrix at Woodstock in August of 1969, and remained his close musical collaborator until Hendrix’s death in September of 1970. Mitchell joined the short-lived band Ramatam with April Lawton and Mike Pinera in 1972 but left the group after recording a single album. He returned to working as a session musician and worked with such artists as Terry Reid, Jack Bruce, and Jeff Beck. He also frequently joined with other musicians who had worked with Hendrix in tribute concerts. He had completed a 16-city tour with the tribute group Experience Hendrix shortly before his death.

MITTON, DAVID Scottish model maker and children’s television director David Mitton died of a heart attack in London on May 23, 2008. He was 69. Mitton was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on July 13, 1938. He began working in television in the early 1960s as a special effects ﬂoor technician for Gerry Anderson’s

David Mitton

marionette series Thunderbirds. He formed his own company, Clearwater Features, in the mid–1980s and was a producer and director for episodes of the children’s series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends and Tugs. He also worked with the Britt Allcroft company from 1991, Sunbow Productions from 1998, and HIT Entertainment in 2002. Mitton joined with David Lane to form Pineapple Squared Entertainment and was working on a new CGI animated program, Adventures on Orsum Island, at the time of his death.

MODO, MICHEL French comic actor Michel Modo, who performed frequently in ﬁlms with actor Louis de Funes, died in Vaires-sur-Marne, France, on September 24, 2008. He was 71. Modo was born in Carpentras, France, on March 30, 1937. He appeared frequently in ﬁlms from the early 1960s with roles in The American Beauty (1961), All the Gold in the World (1961), Carom Shots (1963), Bebert and the Train (1963), and La Cloche (1964). He was featured as Marechal des Logis Berlicot in the 1964 ﬁlm The Gendarme of St. Tropez, supporting Louis de Funes in the ﬁrst of a series of comedies. His other ﬁlm credits include The Gorillas (1964), The Sucker (1965), La Tete du Client (1965), Killer Spy (1965), The Gendarme in New York (1965), What’s Cooking in Paris (1966), Don’t Look

Obituaries • 2008

302

Michel Modo

Douglas Moening

Now —We’re Being Shot At (1966), Shock Troops (1967), The Crazy Kids of the War (1967), The Gendarme Gets Married (1968), Cry of the Cormoran (1970), The Gendarme Takes Off (1970), The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot (1973), Operation Lady Marlene (1975), The Seventh Company Has Been Found (1975), The Smurfs and the Magic Flute (1976) as the voice of Pirlouit, Ne Me Touchez Pas... (1977), Le Mille-Pattes Fait des Claquettes (1977), Les Bidasses au Pensionnat (1978), The Gendarme and the Creatures from Outer Space (1979), We’ll Grow Thin Together (1979), the animated Les Fabuleuses Aventures du Legendaire Baron de Munchausen (1979), The Miser (1980), Petrole! Petrole! (1981), Le Jour se Leve et les Conneries Commencent (1981), Les Bidasses aux Grandes Manoeuvres (1981), Never Play Clever Again (1982), Le Braconnier de Dieu (1983), Les Planques du Regiment (1983), L’Executrice (1986), My Father’s Glory (1990), My Mother’s Castle (1990), Petain (1993), Sa Femme a Moi (1996), Bimboland (1998), and Poltergay (2006). He also appeared in numerous television productions including Midsummer Night’s Dream (1969), La Vie Revee de Vincent Scotto (1973), Musidora (1973), Le Vagabond (1974), Le Peril Bleu (1975), Impressions d’Afrique (1977), Lazare Carnot ou Le Glaive de la Revolution (1978), Pourquoi Tuer le Pepe (1978), C’est pas Dieu Possible (1980), L’Honneur de Barberine (1982), Monte Carlo (1986), Hemingway (1988), A Tale of Two Cities (1989), Bienvenue a Bellefontaine (1992), Taxi Girl (1992), L’Impasse du Cachalot (2001), Lagardere (2003), Beau Masque (2006), and Rendez-moi Justice (2007). Modo was featured in the recurring role of Maurice in the television series Highlander from 1994 through 1997. His other television credits include episodes of L’Inspecteur Mene l’Enquete, Commissaire Moulin, Au Theatre ce Soir, French in Action, Les Cinq Dernieres Minutes, Melissol in the recurring role of Zanzi, Relic Hunter, Maigret, Plus Belle la Vie, and S.O.S. 18. MOENING, DOUGLAS Actor Douglas Moening died in Clearview, Washington, on February 10, 2008. He was 54. Moening was born in St. Cloud, Minnesota, on August 23, 1953. He appeared in ﬁlms and television during the 1990s, with such credits as I Love You to Death (1990) and Waiting for the Light (1990), and the tele-ﬁlm Pandora’s Clock (1996). Moen-

ing also appeared in episodes of Unsolved Mysteries and the new The Fugitive.

MOLDOVAN , OVIDIU IULIU Romanian actor Ovidiu Iuliu Moldovan died of cancer in a Bucharest, Romania, hospital on March 12, 2008. He was 66. Moldovan was born in Sarmas, Romania, on January 1, 1942. He was a leading stage and screen actor who was seen in numerous ﬁlms from the early 1970s. His ﬁlm credits include A Certain Kind of Happiness (1973), The Actor and the Savages (1974), The Passion (1975), Hyperion (1975), Beyond the Bridge (1975), Cercul Magic (1975), Misterul lui Herodot (1976), The Prophet, the Gold and the Transylvanians (1978), Between Facing Mirrors (1978), The Man in the Overcoat (1979), Memories from an Old Chest of Drawers (1979), The Actress, the Dollars and the Transylvanians (1979), The Concordia Detachment (1980), Burebista, the Iron and the Gold (1980), The Sign of the Serpent (1981), The Oil, the Baby, and the Transylvanians (1981), The Duel (1981), Castle in the Carpathians (1981), Circus Performers at the North Pole (1982), The Encounter (1982), The Mysteries of Bucharest (1983), Chained Justice (1983), Love and Revolution (1983), The Painted Sun (1983), Castles Aﬂame in Transylvania (1984), Secretul lui Nemesis (1985), The Silver Mask (1985), Cuibul de Viespi (1986), Starting Over (1987), The Ivory Aigrette (1987), Crystal Nights (1992), The Sleep of the Island (1994), and The Idle Princes of the Old Court (1995). Moldovan

Ovidiu Iuliu Moldovan

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was also featured in the 1994 television series An Unforgettable Journey.

MONEGAL , CARMEN Uruguayan actress Carmen Monegal died on the Island of Patmos, Greece, on May 15, 2008. She was 60. Monegal was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, on November 19, 1947. She was a leading television performer in South American from

Richard Monette

Carmen Monegal

the late 1960s, appearing in such series as Antonio Maria, Joao Juca Jr., Simplesmente Maria, Vitoria Bonelli, Supermanoela, A Moreninha, O Grito, O Espantalho, Eramos Seis, Cavalo Amarelo, Floradas na Serra, O Resto E Silencio, Elas por Elas, Voltei pra Voce, and Helena She was also seen in the ﬁlms Beto Rockfeller (1970), O Cortico (1978), and O Jeca e Seu Filho Preto (1978), and the 1984 mini-series Meu Destino e Pecar. Monegal subsequently moved to Greece, where she founded the Gospel Pilgrim Theatre company and wrote several books.

MONETTE, RICHARD Canadian actor and director Richard Monette died of pulmonary artery blockage in London, Ontario, Canada, on September 9, 2008. He was 64. Monette was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on June 19, 1944. He began his career on stage in the early 1960s, performing in a production of Hamlet. He went to London, England, soon after, where he appeared on television in episodes of Wednesday Play and Jackanory. He also appeared on stage, including a role in the London premiere of the controversial Oh! Calcutta in 1967. He made his Broadway debut in the play Soldiers in 1968. He returned to Broadway in 1974, starring in Michael Tremblay’s play Hosanna. He became a regular performer with Canada’s Stratford Festival in 1974. Monette was also seen in several ﬁlms, including Big Zapper (1973), Find the Lady (1976), Iceman (1984), Dancing in the Dark (1986), Higher Education (1987), I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987), and Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987). He was also featured in such television productions as A Far Cry from Home (1981), Mania (1986), Popeye Doyle (1986), The High Price of Passion (1986), Much Ado About Nothing (1987), Murder by Night (1989), The Good Fight (1992), And Then There Was One (1994), Kurt Vonnegut’s Harrison Bergeron (1995),

and Mary Higgins Clark’s While My Pretty One Sleeps (1997). His other television credits include episodes of Peep Show, For the Record, The Littlest Hobo, Adderly, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Night Heat, Diamonds, Street Legal, The Twilight Zone, and Counterstrike. Monette became artistic director of the Stratford Festival in 1993 and oversaw numerous productions over the next 14 seasons before retiring in 2007. He was also the author of a memoir, This Rough Magic: The Making of an Artistic Director (2007).

MONROE, ROBERT Television producer Robert Monroe died after a long illness in Tarzana, California, on September 6, 2008. He was 79. Monroe was born on October 6, 1928. He began his career as a talent agent, working with such artists as Harry Belafonte, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peggy Lee, and Nat King Cole. He joined the Spelling-Goldberg production company in the early 1970s and served as an associate producer on the tele-ﬁlms The Rookies (1972), The Daughters of Joshua Cabe (1972), Say Goodbye, Maggie Cole (1972), The Bounty Man (1972), A Cold Night’s Death (1973), The Great American Beauty Contest (1973), The Bait (1973), Can Ellen Be Saved? (1974), and They Only Come Out at Night (1975). Monroe also teamed with producing partner Everett Chambers to create the 1976 detective tele-ﬁlm Jigsaw John, which spawned a subsequent television series. Monroe, who had studied acting under Lee Strasberg, later became an acting teacher himself. MONTES, LOLA Spanish dancer Lola Montes died of complications from pneumonia at her home in Laguna Woods, California, on May 16, 2008. She was 90. She was born Gertrude Tashma in New York City on February 5, 1918. She trained in ballet and Spanish dance and began performing professionally at the age of 15. She subsequently joined Carmen Amaya’s Spanish dance company, changing her name to Lola Montes. She toured throughout the country during the early 1940s before settling in California, marrying her dance partner, Antonio Triana. She was featured in a handful of ﬁlms in the 1940s, often with Triana, including The Lady and the Monster (1944), The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1944), Rhythm of the Rhumba (1945), and The Gay Senorita (1945) She also appeared on television in

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304

Lola Montes

Gary Mooney (caricaturized by John Sparey)

episodes of The Philco Television Playhouse and The Loretta Young Show, and appeared in productions of Angel Street, The Night-Cap, Within the Law, and The Velvet Glove on Broadway Television Theatre. She and Triana divorced in the 1950s and she formed the Lola Montes and Her Spanish Dancers troupe in Los Angeles in 1955. They performed at venues around the country for over twenty years. Montes made her ﬁnal performance in front of an audience of school children in 2000.

on May 26, 1930. He began working in ﬁlms and television in the 1950s with Disney Studios. He was credited as an assistant animator for the 1955 classic Lady and the Tramp. Mooney also worked on such ﬁlms and shorts as Sleeping Beauty (1959), Children of the Sun (1960), Switchin’ Kitten (1961), The Hole (1962), Of Stars and Men (1964), The Hat (1964), The Cruise (1966), The Happy Prince (1974), The Mouse and His Child (1977), Heavy Metal (1981), City Slickers (1991), Honey I Blew Up the Kid (1992), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Jurassic Park (1993), Four Rooms (1995), A Very Brady Sequel (1996), The Emperor’s New Groove 2: Kronk’s New Groove (2005), and Are We Done Yet? (2007). Mooney also worked as an animator for television on such productions as The Mad Magazine TV Special (1974), Gnomes (1980), George Carlin: Carlin on Campus (1984), and David Macaulay: Roman City (1994), and for several series including Underdog, The Beagles, George of the Jungle, and O Canada.

MONTGOMERY , BRYAN Actor Bryan Montgomery died at his home in Malibu, California, on December 12, 2008. He was 62. He was born Beecher Bryan Montgomery in San Angelo, Texas, on July 20, 1946. He went to Los Angeles in the early 1970s to embark on a career as an actor and model. He was

MOONEY , JIM Comic book artist Jim Mooney, who was best known for his work on the Supergirl series for DC Comics in the 1960s, died in Florida on March 30, 2008. He was 88. Mooney was born on August 13, 1919. He studied art in Hollywood, California, before heading to New York in 1940 to work in comic books. He began his career working with the Eisner & Iger art shop and illustrated The Moth for Fox in 1940. He was later hired by Fiction House, working on the Camilla and Suicide Smith strips. He also freelanced for Timely Comics in the 1940s, drawing funny animal and movie adaptation series. Mooney Bryan Montgomery

featured in the 1973 ﬁlm Badlands, and appeared in several tele-ﬁlms including Cat Ballou (1971), Standing Tall (1978), Tales from the Hollywood Hills: Natica Jackson (1987), and Columbo: Agenda for Murder (1990). His other television credits include episodes of Alias Smith and Jones, The F.B.I., Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, Ironside, and Barnaby Jones. He later became a restaurateur, opening Beecher’s Cafe in Malibu and Razzle Dazzle in Santa Monica.

MOONEY, GARY Animator Gary Mooney died on August 4, 2008. He was 78. Mooney was born

Jim Mooney (left, with Stan Lee)

305 wrote and illustrated the Perky Penguin and Booby Bear series for Treasure Chest in 1946 and 1947. He also began his long association with DC Comics in 1946, serving as ghost artist for Batman and illustrating the Superboy tales. His other work at DC included the science ﬁction feature Tommy Tomorrow and the superhero strip Dial H for Hero. Mooney was best known for his long run on the Supergirl backup feature in Action Comics from 1959 to 1968. He left DC for Marvel near the end of the decade, where he worked as inker for John Romita’s The Amazing Spider-Man. His other work for Marvel included issues of The Mighty Thor and Marvel TeamUp. He also worked with Steve Gerber as artist on his Man-Thing and Omega the Unknown titles. He moved to Florida in 1975 but continued to supply art work to Marvel for the next decade. He also worked for other publishers, including illustrating an adaptation of Anne Rice’s The Mummy for Millennium, an Elvira comic for Claypool, and Superboy for DC. Mooney was considered one of the most proliﬁc artists in the comic industry during his sixty decade career.

MOORE, JONATHAN Character actor Jonathan Moore died in New York City on September 17, 2008. He was 85. Moore was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on March 24, 1923. He served in the military during World War II before embarking upon a career as an actor. He was featured in the role of Charles

Jonathan Moore (left, with F. Murray Abraham from Amadeus)

2008 • Obituaries

LeRoi Moore

lottesville, Virginia, on June 30, 2008, and was hospitalized for several days in Virginia for injuries that included several broken ribs and a punctured lung. He returned to Los Angeles after his discharge but complications from the injuries returned him to a hospital there in mid–July. He was 46. Moore was born in Durham, North Carolina, on September 7, 1961, and was raised in Virginia. He studied the tenor saxophone while in college and began playing with such artists as Dawn Thompson and John D’earth. He teamed with Dave Matthews in 1991 and scored a hit with their album Under the Table and Dreaming. They earned a Grammy Award for the hit song “So Much to Say” in 1997. They also recorded the hits “What Would You Say,” “Crash into Me,” and “Satellite.” He played his ﬁnal concert with the band two days before his accident.

MOORE, ROBIN Robin Moore, who wrote several books including The Green Berets and The French Connection, died after a long illness in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, on February 19, 2008. He was 82. He was born Robert L. Moore, Jr., in Concord, Massachusetts, on October 31, 1925. He wrote The Green Berets after spending time as a civilian with Special Forces soldiers in Vietnam in 1965. A ﬁlm version, starring John Wayne, was released in 1968. Moore also cowrote The Ballad of the Green Berets theme song for the ﬁlm. His 1969 book The French Connection, about a

Lamont on the television soap opera Love of Life from 1966 to 1978. He was featured as Georgia delegate Dr. Lyman Hall in the Tony Award–winning Broadway production of the musical 1776 and reprised the role in the 1972 ﬁlm version. He also appeared as Baron Van Swieten in the Broadway production of Amadeus and the 1984 ﬁlm version. His other credits include the ﬁlms Raise the Titanic (1980) and Underground Aces (1981), and the tele-ﬁlms To Race the Wind (1980) and The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana (1982).

MOORE, LEROI Saxophonist LeRoi Moore, who was a founding member of the Dave Matthews Band, died in a Hollywood, California, hospital on August 19, 2008, of complications from injuries he had received in an accident two months earlier. He had crashed an all-terrain vehicle at his farm near Char-

Robin Moore

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306

New York City drug bust, became an Academy Award winning ﬁlm in 1971. Moore co-wrote The Happy Hooker with celebrity madam Xaviera Hollander in 1972. That book was ﬁlmed in 1975. His books also served as the basis for the ﬁlms Hot Pants Holiday (1972) and Inchon (1981).

MOORE, RUDY RAY Black comedian Rudy Ray Moore, who was a pioneer in raunchy humor and star of the cult classic ﬁlm Dolemite, died of complications from diabetes in a nursing home in Akron, Ohio, on October 19, 2008. He was 81. Moore was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on March 17, 1927. He began his career as a singer and entertainer but soon moved into comedy while serving in the U.S. Army during the 1940s. He became noted for his sexually explicit standup routines and comedy albums in the 1950s and 1960s. He created the character of Dolemite as part of his comedy routine and the kung fu ﬁghting pimp, with his army of ladies, became a highly popular character. Moore brought the character to life in the 1975 ﬁlm Dolemite and the 1976 sequel The Human Tornado, producing and starring in both. Though panned by the critics, Moore’s ﬁlms gathered an underground following and became cult hits. During the 1970s, he also starred in the ﬁlms The Monkey Hu$tle (1976), Petey Wheatstraw, the Devil’s Son-in-Law (1977), and Avenging Disco Godfather (1979). He made a cameo appearance in the 1982 ﬁlm Penitentiary II and produced and starred in Rude, a ﬁlm version of his standup routine. Moore had become something of a cult icon in the 1990s when a younger generation discovered his works. He resumed his ﬁlm career in such productions as Vi-

Rudy Ray Moore

olent New Breed (1996), Fakin’ Da Funk (1997), B*A*P*S (1997), Shaolin Dolemite (1999), Jackie’s Back! (1999), Shoe Shine Boys (2000), Big Money Hustlas (2000), The Return of Dolemite (2002), The Watermelon Heist (2003) as the Angel of Death, the animated Lil’ Pimp (2005) as the voice of Mr. Slippers, The Drunken Dead Guy (2005), Vampire Assassin (2005), A Stupid Movie for Jerks (2007), and It Came from Trafalgar (2008). Moore also appeared on television in an episode of the comedy series Martin, and was seen in several documentaries including The Legend of Dolemite

(1994), American Pimp (1999), Rudy Ray Moore: Live At Wetlands (2000), and Macked, Hammered, Slaughtered and Shafted (2004).

MORDYUKOVA, NONNA Russian actress Nonna Mordyukova died in Moscow on July 6, 2008. She was 82. Mordyukova was born in Stanitsa Konstantinovskaya, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), on November 25, 1925. She was cast in the ﬁlm The Young Guard (1948) while studying in Moscow and earned a State Prize for her role as a young Communist battling the

Nonna Mordyukova

Germans during World War II. She went on to a successful career, playing a variety of roles in ﬁlms over the next 50 years. Mordyukova’s ﬁlm credits include The Return of Vasili Bortnikov (1952), Snowball-Tree Grove (1953), Other People’s Relatives (1955), Ekaterina Veronina (1957), The Volunteers (1958), Everything Begins with Hitting the Road (1959), The Three Tales of Chekhov (1959), Grey Dawn (1959), A Home for Tanya (1959), A Simple Story (1960), The Chairman (1964), 33 (1965), The Marriage of Balzaminov (1965), Dream of an Uncle (1966), Voyna i Mir Il: Natasha Rostova (196), and War and Peace (1967). She starred as a pregnant cavalry ofﬁcer befriended by a Jewish family in the 1967 ﬁlm The Commissar. The ﬁlm remained unreleased for two decades until the more liberal attitudes of the Gorbachev era allowed it to be screened. Mordyukova was also seen in the ﬁlms A Little Crane (1968), The Diamond Arm (1968), Burn, Burn, My Star (1969), The Polunin Case (1970), The Ballad of Bering and His Friends (1970), Russian Field (1971), Young People (1971), No Return (1973), Two Days of Anxiety (1973), The Ivanov Family (1975), They Fought for the Motherland (1975), Incognito from St. Petersburg (1977), Quagmire (1978), With Faith and Truth (1979), Nikita Mikhailkov’s Family Relations (1981) as Mama, A Railway Station for Two (1982), From Pay to Pay (1986), Loan for a Marriage (1987), Forbidden Zone (1988), Running Target (1991), Luna Park (1992), and What a Mess! (1995). Her ﬁnal ﬁlm role was in Denis Yevstigneyev’s 1999 feature Mama. Mordyukova was married to actor Vyacheslav Tikhonov until their divorce in 1963. She lived a somewhat reclusive life in a Moscow apartment provided to her by the Russian government in her later years.

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2008 • Obituaries

MOREL, JACQUES French actor Jacques Morel died in Paris, on April 9, 2008. He was 85. Morel was born in Paris on May 29, 1922. He was a popular performer on stage and in ﬁlm in post-war France. He was featured in such ﬁlms as L’Aventure est au Coin de la Rue (1944), Seul dans la Nuit (1945), Between Eleven and Midnight (1949), Voyage a Trois (1950), Girl from Maxim’s (1950), L’Homme de Joie (1950), Topaze (1951), Victor (1951), The Turkey (1951), Are We All Murderers? (1952), Une Fille dans le Soleil (1953), Un Tresor de Femme (1953), Fatal Affair (1953), Francoise Steps Out

Byron Morgan

Jacques Morel

(1953), Une Nuit a Megeve (1953), Mandat d’Amener (1953), Royal Affairs in Versailles (1954), After You Duchess (1954), Men Think Only of That (1954), Service Entrance (1954), The Grand Maneuver (1955), The Maiden (1955), If Paris Were Told to Us (1956), Marie Antoinette Queen of France (1956) as King Louis XVI, Paris Does Strange Things (1956), Folies-Bergere (1956), The Seventh Commandment (1957), The Suspects (1957), Un Certain Monsieur Jo (1958), Sacree Jeunesse (1958), Life as a Couple (1958), Madame et Son Auto (1958), Clara et les Mechants (1958), Droles de Phenomenes (1959), Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case (1959), Le Panier a Crabes (1960), A Rebrousse-Poil (1961), Unexpected (1961), Meetings (1962), La Corde au Cou (1964), Man from Cocody (1965), Diamonds Are Brittle (1965), Killer Spy (1965), L’Auvergnat et l’Autobus (1969), Ca Fait Tilt (1978), L’Exercice du Pouvoir (1978), and Question of Love (1978). Morel was featured as the voice of Obelix in several animated Asterix ﬁlms including Asterix the Gaul (1967) and Asterix and Cleopatra (1968), and was Abraracourcix in 1976’s The Twelve Tasks of Asterix. He was seen frequently on French television from the 1970s, appearing in productions of La Duchesse d’Avila (1973), Le Comedien (1976), Jean-Christophe (1978), Les Bijoux de Carina (1978), La Belle Vie (1979), Cabrioles (1980), Les Bons Bourgeois (1981), and Tovaritch (1981). He was featured as Honore in the series Miss in 1979 and starred in the title role in the series Julien Fontanes, Magisgtrat from 1980 to 1989.

MORGAN, BYRON Documentary ﬁlmmaker Byron Morgan, who worked for NASA in the early days of manned space ﬂight, died of pulmonary failure at a

Long Beach, California, hospital on February 13, 2008. He was 87. Morgan was born in Los Angeles on February 3, 1921, the son of screenwriter Albert Byron Morgan. He served as a Navy pilot during World War II and spent nine months in captivity by the Soviets after a forced landing in Siberia following a bombing run in 1944. He later wrote the play October Days about his experiences there. Morgan earned a degree from Loyola University and a masters from UCLA after the war. He began producing ﬁlms for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in 1957, promoting the government’s experimental aircraft, the X-15. The following year the agency was transformed into NASA and Morgan worked in the public affairs ofﬁce. He made numerous ﬁlms about the manned spaceﬂight program, including The Astronauts: United States Project Mercury, Flight of Freedom Seven, and Project Apollo: Manned Flight to the Moon. He left NASA in 1965, but returned to document such events as the 1975 ApolloSoyuz joint mission between the U.S. and the Soviet Union and the maiden voyage of the ﬁrst space shuttle Columbia in 1981. Morgan also served as a technical advisor for the 1985 television mini-series adaptation of James Michener’s novel Space.

MORGAN, RICHARD Television writer Richard Morgan died on February 2, 2008. He was 76. Morgan was born on April 24, 1931. He worked in television from the early 1960s, scripting episodes of such

Richard Morgan

Obituaries • 2008

308

series as Cimarron City, Riverboat, Bonanza, The Deputy, The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, Adventures in Paradise, The Andy Grifﬁth Show, The F.B.I., Dragnet 1967, Adam-12, Mission: Impossible, Happy Days, and Flamingo Road.

also participated in several documentaries about the late actress including Marilyn Monroe: The Mortal Goddess on Biography in 1996, the 1998 Marilyn Monroe segment of E! Mysteries & Scandals, and the 2001 television documentary Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days.

MORGAN, TODD Todd Morgan, who served as the spokesman for Elvis Presley Enterprises’ Graceland attraction, died of a heart attack at his home in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 1, 2008. He was 45. Morgan had worked with Graceland since Presley’s for-

MORRICE, NORMAN British choreographer Norman Morrice, who was the former artistic director of the Royal Ballet, was found dead at his home in London on January 11, 2008. He was 76. Morrice was born in Agua Dolce, Mexico, on September 10, 1931. He was raised in Scotland and England and studied ballet at the Rambert School in the early 1950s. He joined the Ballet Rambert in 1943 and was a choreographer there from 1958, following his debut piece Two Brothers. He studied with Martha Graham in New York in the early 1960s and was instrumental in changing

Todd Morgan

mer home was opened as a public attraction in 1983. He was involved in the production of special edition DVDs of Elvis concert ﬁlms including Elvis, Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii, He Touched Me: The Gospel Music of Elvis Presley, Elvis Lives: The 25th Anniversary Concert, and Elvis: #1 Hit Performances.

MORIARTY, EVELYN

Evelyn Moriarty, who was a stand-in and body double for screen legend Marilyn Monroe in several ﬁlms, died of complications from Parkinson’s disease in a Los Angeles nursing home on May 20, 2008. She was 86. Moriarty was born on August 27, 1921. She was active in ﬁlms from the mid– 1940s, appearing in small roles in such features as Song of the Open Road (1944), Suspense (1946), The Restless Moment (1949), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1956). Moriarty served as Monroe’s stand-in in the ﬁlms Let’s Make Love (1960) and The Misﬁts (1962). She

Evelyn Moriarty (left, with Marilyn Monroe)

Norman Morrice

Ballet Rambert to a modern dance company. He became associate director in 1966 and co-director in 1970. He left Rambert in 1974 to work as a freelance choreographer. Morrice joined the Royal Ballet as artistic director from 1977 to 1986. He encouraged younger artists and choreographers and served as Director of Choreographic Studies at the Royal Ballet School from 1987 to 2000.

MORRISON , CAMPBELL Scottish actor Campbell Morrison died after a long illness in Warminster, England, on January 21, 2008. He was 55. Morrison was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1952. He began working in theater as the artistic director at Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum in the 1980s, where he directed his friend, comic Billy Connolly. Morrison began performing soon after and appeared frequently on British television. He was featured as Drew Lockhead on Eldorado from 1992 to 1993 and was Harry Balfour on Hamish Macbeth from 1995 to 1997. He was featured as DCI Charlie Mason on the series EastEnders from 1996 to 1999 and was DCC Gordon Cooper on The Bill in 2002. Morrison also appeared in episodes of such series as Crown Court, Life Without George, Boon, This Is David Harper, Jeeves and Wooster, Specials, Rab C. Nesbitt, Bad Boys, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Badger, Dream Team, Coronation Street, Casualty, Two Thousand Acres of Sky, Overnite Express, Taggart, Holby City, Doctors,

309

Campbell Morrison

William and Mary, New Tricks, and A Touch of Frost. His other television credits include such productions as God’s Frontiersmen (1988), A Respectable Trade (1998), and Pickles: The Dog Who Won the World Cup (2006). Morrison appeared in several ﬁlms during his career including Hidden City (1988), The Grass Arena (1991), The Pope Must Die (1991), Close My Eyes (1991), The Innocent Sleep (1996), Middleton’s Changeling (1998), and Mad Dogs (2002).

MORRISON , RICHARD Character actor Richard Morrison died on February 14, 2008. He was 77. Morrison was born on April 3, 1930. He worked as a social worker for over three decades. He also was fea-

2008 • Obituaries

began performing on stage in the 1930s. He made his debut on London’s West End in the 1941 play School for Slavery. He also appeared in a handful of ﬁlms in England including The Goose Steps Out (1942), Thunder Rock (1942), When We Are Married (1943), The Dummy Talks (1943), Late at Night (1946), This Man Is Mine (1946), Mrs. Fitzherbert (1947), Daughter of Darkness (1948), and No Trace (1950). Morse moved to Canada in the early 1950s, where he worked with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). He directed and performed in the 1952 television production Noises in the Nursery. He also hosted the 1954 series Haunted Studio and appeared in episodes of On Camera, Summer Theatre, Hudson’s Bay, and The Unforeseen. Morse starred in Macbeth on Canadian television in 1955 and directed an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s Great Catherine in 1958. He also wrote, produced, and narrated the CBC Radio series A Touch of Greasepaint for over a decade. He was also seen in television productions of The Three Musketeers (1960) as Athos and The Heiress (1961), and the ﬁlms Lord Durham (1961) and Kings of the Sun (1963). Morse was best known for his role as Lt. Philip Gerhard, the detective who relentlessly pursued Richard Kimble for a murder he did not commit on the popular series The Fugitive from 1963 to 1967. He was also a familiar face in episodes of such series as Playhouse 90, The Dupont Show of the Month, Way Out, Adventures in Paradise, The United States Steel Hour, The Twilight Zone, Alcoa Premiere, Sir Francis Drake, The New Breed, Naked City, Wagon Train, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Untouchables, The Nurses, The Outer Limits, The Defenders, East Side/West Side, Seaway, Proﬁles in Courage, The Saint, NET Playhouse, Vendetta, Judd for the Defense, The Invaders, Premiere, The F.B.I., N.Y.P.D., Storefront Lawyers, Play of the Month, and Starlost. Morse also appeared in television productions of The English Boy (1969), Poet Game (1972), The Golden Bowl (1972), and The Zoo Gang (1974), as Alec “The Tiger” Morlowe. He starred as Mr. Parminter in the television series The Adventurer from 1972 to 1973 and was Prof. Victor Bergman in the science ﬁction series Space: 1999 from 1975 to 1976. He also appeared in numerous ﬁlms from the late 1960s including Justine (1969) Puzzle of a Downfall Child (1970), The Telephone Book (1971), Running Scared

Richard Morrison

tured in ﬁlm and television from the 1960s. He appeared in the 1963 ﬁlm A Swingin’ Affair and in episodes of such series as I Spy, Daniel Boone, Mission: Impossible, Hawaii Five-0, ER, and Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction. Morrison also appeared as Elvis in the 1991 dark comedy ﬁlm The Dark Backward. His other credits include the ﬁlm When the Bough Breaks (1993) and the tele-ﬁlms Death Dreams (1991) and Elvis and the Colonel: The Untold Story (1993).

MORSE, BARRY Character actor Barry Morse died in London on February 2, 2008. He was 89. He was born Herbert Morse in London on June 10, 1918. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and

Barry Morse

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(1972), the horror classic Asylum (1972), To Kill the King (1974), Love at First Sight (1977), Welcome to Blood City (1977), One Man (1977), Power Play (1978), The Shape of Things to Come (1979), Jack London’s Klondike Fever (1980), The Changeling (1980), Funeral Home (1980), Hounds of Notre Dame (1980), Murder by Phone (1982), Wolf! Wolf! (1982), Memory Run (1996), and Taxman (1999). Morse was also featured in such television productions as Truman at Potsdam (1976) as Secretary of State James F. Byrnes, The Story of David (1976) as Jehosephat, The Ugly Little Boy (1977) which he also directed, Riel (1979), the 1980 mini-series adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles (1980), A Tale of Two Cities (1980), The Rothko Conspiracy (1983), the mini-series The Winds of War (1983), The Innocents Abroad (1983), Sadat (1983) as Menachem Begin, Master of the Game (1984), A Woman of Substance (1984), Reunion at Fairborough (1985), Covenant (1985), The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1987), Fight for Life (1987), Race for the Bomb (1987) as Secretary Henry Stimson, Hoover vs. the Kennedys: The Second Civil War (1987) as Joseph Kennedy, War and Remembrance (1988) as German Gen. Franz Halder, Glory! Glory! (1989), J.F.K.: Reckless Youth (1993) as Lord Halifax, William Shatner’s TekWar (1994), Jack London’s Wilderness Tales (1996), Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story (2000), Merely Players (2000), and Fredrick Forsyth’s Icon (2005). He was also the voice of the Dragon in the animated productions The Railway Dragon (1988) and The Birthday Dragon (1992). His other television credits include guest roles in episodes of World According to Nicholas, The Littlest Hobo, Whoops Apocalypse as President Johnny Cyclops, the new Twilight Zone, The Ray Bradbury Theater, Dracula: The Series, Sirens, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Space Island One, La Femme Nikita, Waking the Dead, and Doctors. Morse’s ﬁnal ﬁlm role was that of a ghost in the 2007 comedy Promise Her Anything. He was married to Canadian actress Sydney Sturgess from 1939 until her death in 1999. His daughter, Melanie, was also an actress until her death in 2005. He is survived by his son, actor Hayward Morse.

MORTER, MARY British-Canadian actress Mary Morter died in Westmount, Quebec, Canada, on March 28, 2008. She was 83. Morter was born in London, England, on April 1, 1924. She went to Canada in the late 1950s, where she was active with local and regional theater groups. She also began appearing in ﬁlms and television productions in the early 1970s. She was featured in small roles in such ﬁlms as The Apprentice (1971), Why Rock the Boat? (1974), The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976) with Jodie Foster, Cathy’s Curse (1977), Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang (1978), Dead End (1998), Lost and Found (2000), Saint Jude (2000), Kart Racer (2003), and Wicker Park (2004). Morter was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms The Tracker (2000), The Growing Pains Movie (2000), WW3 (2001), Wall of Secrets (2003), and Fatal Trust (2006). Her other television credits include episodes of such series as Student Bodies, Big Wolf on Campus, and her ﬁnal role in a 2008 episode of Sophie as Aunt Ruthie.

MOSEL , TAD Tad Mosel, the television dramatist who earned a Pulitzer Prize for his play All the Way Home, died in Concord, New Hampshire, on August 24, 2008. He was 86. He was born George Ault Mosel, Jr., in Steubenville, Ohio, on May 1, 1922. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and completed his education at Amherst and the Yale Drama School after the war. He soon began writing plays and appeared in a small role in the Broadway comedy At

Tad Mosel

War with the Army in 1949. In the 1950s, Mosel began writing for television. He was one of a handful of writers, along with Rod Serling and Paddy Chayefsky, who were credited for creating what became known as the Golden Age of Television. Mosel’s tele-plays were produced for such series as Medallion Theatre, The Philco Television Playhouse, Goodyear Television Playhouse, Producers’ Showcase, Playwrights ’56, London Playhouse, Studio One, Playhouse 90, General Electric Theatre, Drama 61, ITV Play of the Week, Armchair Theatre, and CBS Playhouse. Mosel adapted James Agee’s autobiographical novel A Death in the Family for the stage. It opened on Broadway under the title All the Way Home in 1960 and earned Mosel the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a Tony nomination. All the Way Home was adapted for ﬁlm in 1963 and as a tele-play in 1971 and 1981. Mosel also wrote the 1964 ﬁlm Dear Heart and appeared onscreen in a small role. He also scripted the 1967 ﬁlm Up the Down Staircase and wrote segments of the 1976 television mini-series The Adams Chronicles.

MOSS, BERTHA Argentine actress Bertha Moss, who spent much of her career performing in Mexico, died of cardiac arrest in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on February 4, 2008. She was 88. Moss was born in Buenos Aires on October 15, 1919. She began her career in ﬁlms in Argentina in the early 1940s, appearing in such features as Incertidumbre (1942), Ashes to the Wind (1942), Love, Latest Model (1942), Captain Poison (1943), End of the Night (1944), The Two Rivals (1944), Cristina (1946), Albergue de Mujeres (1946), Romance Musical (1947), Un Angel sin Pantalones (1947), El Hombre que Ame (1947), La Serpiente de Cascabel (1948), The Story of a Bad Woman (1948), Yono Elegi mi Vida (1949), La Vida Color de Rosa (1951), Mujeres en

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Bertha Moss

Sombra (1951), Dishonor (1952), La Mejor del Colegio (1953), Mujeres Casadas (1954), Mercado de Abasto (1955), La Teirra del Fuego se Apaga (1955), El Hombre Virgen (1956), and La Bestia Humana (1957). Moss moved to Mexico later in the decade where she appeared on such television series as El Precio del Cielo (1959), Mi Esposa se Divorcia (1959), Niebla (1961), and Codicia (1962). She was featured as Leonora in Luis Bunuel’s classic ﬁlm The Exterminating Angel in 1962, and was Frau Hildegarde in the horror ﬁlms The Bloody Vampire (1962) and Invasion of the Vampires (1963). Moss also appeared in the ﬁlms Mi Vida es Una Cancion (1963), Los Derechos de los Hijos (1963), Historia de un Canalla (1964), El Robo al tren Correo (1964), Ay, Jalisco no te Rajes! (1965), La Alegria de Vivir (1965), Rancho Solo (1967), La Venus Maldita (1967), Domingo Salvaje (1967), Arrullo de Dios (1967), Tres mil Kilometros de Amor (1967), El Bastardo (1968), A Woman Possessed (1968), Romeo Contra Julieta (1968), No se Mande, Profe (1969), Como Perros y Gatos (1969), Persiguelas y Alcanzalas (1969), La Hermanita Dinamita (1970), Los Corrompidos (1971), Apolinar (1972), Padre Nuestro que Estas en la Tierra (1972), Hay Angeles sin Alas (1972), Conserje en Condominio (1974), La Recogida (1974), Man on the Bridge (1976), Barrio de Campeones (1981), El Hombre de la Mandolina (1985), and La Paloma de Marsella (1999). Moss also continued to appear frequently on television with roles in such productions as Eugenia (1963), Agonia de Amor (1963), Historia de un Cobarde (1964), Secreto de Confesion (1965), Frontera (1967), Los Inconformes (1968), Encrucijada (1970), La Recogida (1971), Paloma (1975), Manana Sera Otro Dia (1976), Corazon Salvaje (1977), Moneca Rota (1978), Cumbres Borrascosas (1979), Bella y Bestia (1979), La Divina Sarah (1980), Secreto de Confesio (1980), Extranos Caminos del Amor (1981), Amor Ajeno (1983), Juana Iris (1985), Pobre Juventud (1986), Muchachita (1986), Amor de Nadie (1990), Los Parientes Pobres (1993), Maria Isabel (1997), and Preciosa (1998).

MUIR, E. ROGER E. Roger Muir, who was a creator and producer for the popular 1950s children’s television program The Howdy Doody Show, died of complications from a stroke near his home in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, on October 23, 2008. He was 89. Muir was born in Alberta, Canada, on December 16, 1918, and came to Minneapolis, Minnesota, with

Roger Muir (with Howdy Doody)

his family in 1930. He attended college there and served in U.S. Army as part of the ﬁlm production unit during World War II. After the war he began working with NBC, where he was involved in the production of such shows as Who Said That?, The NBC Opera, Your Hit Parade, and The Wide, Wide World. He began producing The Howdy Doody Show in 1947, overseeing the popular children’s program that teamed Buffalo Bob Smith with puppet Howdy Doody and his numerous friends. Muir remained with the program throughout its 13 year run on NBC. He joined with Nick Nicholson to form their own production company in 1961, producing several game shows including Concentration, Pay Cards!, and The Newlywed Game, which was later acquired by Chuck Barris. He and Nicholson also produced the short-lived The New Howdy Doody Show in 1976.

MUKAI, HIROSHI Japanese ﬁlm director Hiroshi Mukai, who was noted for making erotic adult ﬁlms from the 1960s, died of liver failure in Tokyo on June 9, 2008. He was 70. Mukai was born in Japan on October 16, 1937. He began working in ﬁlms in the early 1960s, making his directorial debut with the educational ﬁlm Two Boys (1962). Mukai soon turned to helming soft-core ﬁlms, known in Japan as pinku eiga, with Flesh and The Bite in 1965. Sometimes billed as Kan Mukai, his numerous ﬁlm credits include Misused (1966), The Pimp (1966), Forbidden Technique (1966), A Certain Adultery (1967), Diary of a Depressed Maiden

Hiroshi Mukai

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(1968), Blue Film Woman (1969), Flesh Futon (1971), Tokyo Deep Throat (1975), Forbidden Technique to Tie a Lady (1978), and Savaged and Ravaged (1979). Mukai founded the Shishi Production studio in the late 1970s. His later ﬁlms include Going West (1997), Hometown (1999), and Dosokai (2004).

MULLANY, MITCH Comedian Mitch Mullany, who starred in the television comedy series Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher, died of a diabetic-related stroke in Los Angeles on May 25, 2008. He was 39. Mullany was born in Oakland, California, on September 20, 1968. He began his career as a stand-up comic in the Robert Mulligan

Mitch Mullany

Bay Area and was featured as White Mike on the comedy series The Wayans Brothers in 1995. He was also featured in an episode of the series Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper. He starred in the WB Network series Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher from 1996 to 1998. Mullany wrote and starred in the 1999 ﬁlm The Breaks and was featured in the 2002 comedy ﬁlm The Sweetest Thing. He also hosted the 2003 television reality series All American Girl.

MULLIGAN, ROBERT Robert Mulligan, who received an Academy Award nomination for directing the 1962 ﬁlm To Kill a Mockingbird, died of heart disease at his home in Lyme, Connecticut, on December 20, 2008. He was 83. Mulligan was born in the Bronx, New York, on August 23, 1925. He began directing for television in the early 1950s, helming episodes of such series as Goodyear Television Playhouse, The Philco Television Playhouse, The Alcoa Hour, Rendezvous, Studio One, The DuPont Show of the Month, and Playhouse 90. He made his ﬁlm debut with the 1957 bio-ﬁlm of mentally ill baseball player Jimmy Piersall, Fear Strikes Out, starring Anthony Perkins. Mulligan also earned an Emmy Award for directing a 1960 television production of The Moon and Sixpence. Often working with producer Alan J. Pakula, he continued to direct such features as The Rat Race (1960), The Great Impostor (1961) starring Tony Curtis, Come September (1961), and The Spiral Road (1962). He was best known for helming the 1962 ﬁlm version of Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. The Southern courtroom drama that challenged racial prejudice was nom-

inated for eight Academy Awards and earned three, including Best Actor for Gregory Peck. Mulligan also directed the ﬁlms Love with the Proper Stranger (1963), Baby the Rain Must Fall (1965), Inside Daisy Clover (1965), Up the Down Staircase (1967), The Stalking Moon (1968), The Pursuit of Happiness (1971), the coming of age drama Summer of ’42 (1971), the horror classic The Other (1972) based on a novel by Tom Tryon, The Nickel Ride (1974), Bloodbrothers (1978), Same Time, Next Year (1978), Kiss Me Goodbye (1982), and Clara’s Heart (1988). His ﬁnal directorial credit was the 1991 romance drama The Man in the Moon, which marked the ﬁlm debut of a young Reese Witherspoon. He was the older brother of actor Richard Mulligan, who died in 2000. MUNIR, BADAR Pakistani actor Badar Munir died of complications from a stroke in a hospital in Lahore, Pakistan, on October 11, 2008. He was 68. Munir was born in Swat, Pakistan, in 1940. He made his ﬁlm debut in the Pashto-language feature Yosuf Khan Sher Bano in 1970 and appeared in hundreds of ﬁlms in

Badar Munir

Pashto and Urdu over the next four decades. His ﬁlm credits include Aurbal (1973), Bride for a Night (1975), Dameena Dameena (1977), Aurat Raj (1979), Smuggler (1980), Sorawer (1983), Khakle Nave (1984), Yeh Kaise Hua (1984), Yarana (1985), Janwar (1985), Aulad (1985), Qaul (1986), Yadona (1987), Ghobal (1987),

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Sangeen (1990), Mehran Jamali (1990), Haseena Atom Bomb (1990), The Witch (1990), Ajab Khan (1995), Pagal (1995), Tere Pyaar Mein (2000), and Sartez Badmash (2002).

MURPHY, DONALD Actor Donald Murphy died at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on May 19, 2008. He was 90. Murphy was born in Chicago, Illinois, on January 29, 1918. He moved to Santa Fe as a child, before embarking upon a career as an actor. He appeared on Broadway from the early 1950s and made his ﬁlm debut in the 1954 Bomba the Jungle Boy movie

Frances Nacman

Voiced from Beyond. She also appeared in the ﬁlm A Month by the Lake (1995) and the television productions Errore Fatale (1991), Indiscretion of an American Wife (1998), Nightworld: Riddler’s Moon (1998), and Pepe Carvalho (1999). She made her ﬁnal ﬁlm appearance in the 2007 feature Oliviero Rising.

Donald Murphy

Killer Leopard. He was also featured in the ﬁlms Masterson of Kansas (1954) as Virgil Earp, The Bamboo Prison (1954), The Long Gray Line (1955), Seven Angry Men (1955), The Shrike (1955), Shack Out on 101 (1955), On the Threshold of Space (1956), and Strange Intruder (1956). He starred as mad scientist Oliver Frank, a descendant of Dr. Frankenstein, in the 1958 cult horror classic Frankenstein’s Daughter. Murphy also appeared frequently on television in the 1950s and 1960s with roles in episodes of such series as Armstrong Circle Theatre, The United States Steel Hour, Four Star Playhouse, The Millionaire, Studio 57, Fireside Theatre, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Cavalcade of America, This Is the Life, Navy Log, Frontier, Crossroads, The Loretta Young Show, Whirlybirds, Matinee Theatre, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Tombstone Territory, Shotgun Slade, Pony Express, Bat Masterson, Lawman, One Step Beyond, Perry Mason, and Get Smart. He made his ﬁnal ﬁlm appearances in the 1966 satire Lord Love a Duck and the 1971 action ﬁlm Swamp Girl before retiring from the screen. He returned to Santa Fe where he was a successful interior designer.

NACMAN, FRANCES Actress Frances Nacman died at her home in Rome, Italy, on October 22, 2008. She was 73. Nacman was born in New York City in 1935 and was raised in California. She was a stage actress from an early age and continued her career after moving to Rome in the early 1980s. She was featured in Ruggero Deodato’s 1989 television mini-series Oceano and was featured in the 1990 tele-ﬁlm Voyage of Terror: The Achille Lauro Affair. She was featured as the evil grandmother in Lucio Fulci’s 1991 horror ﬁlm

NADIE, CLAUDIO Argentine theatrical director Claudio Nadie died in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 19, 2008. He was 54. Nadie studied classical literature and theatrical direction in Spain and Italy in the 1960s and began his career on stage directing

Claudio Nadie

and writing in Europe. He returned to Buenos Aires in 1985 where he created a theatrical group. He directed such classical productions as Shakespeare’s Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar and The Tempest. He also staged productions of The Divine Comedy, The Day Grace Kelly Died, El Evangelio Segun Dario Fo, and Tangogro.

NAGRIN, DANIEL Modern dancer and choreographer Daniel Nagrin died in a Tempe, Arizona, hospice on December 29, 2008. He was 91. Nagrin was born in New York City on May 22, 1917. He studied dance under Martha Graham, Hanya Holm, Sue Ramos, and Anna Sokolow, with whose company he made his professional debut. He began working with dance choreographer Helen Tamiris, who later became

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Daniel Nagrin

his ﬁrst wife. He served in the Army Air Force during World War II. After the war he returned to Broadway, appearing in such productions as Annie Get Your Gun (1946), Touch and Go (1949), and Plain and Fancy (1955). He soon became known for creating solo dance numbers portraying conﬂicted men. His best known solos include Strange Hero and Spanish Dance from 1948. He also danced in the ﬁlms Just for You (1952) and Dance in the Sun (1953) and supplied choreography for the 1954 ﬁlm His Majesty O’Keefe. He and his wife formed the Tamiris-Nagrin Dance Company in 1960. After her death in 1966 Nagrin embarked on a series of tours and created the 1968 solo number The Peloponnesian Wars, comparing the Vietnam War to the ancient conﬂicts between Athens and Sparta. He later served as professor of dance at Arizona State University in Tempe from 1982 to 1992. Nagrin was also the author of several books including How to Dance Forever: Surviving Against the Odds (1988) and Choreography and the Speciﬁc Image (2001).

NAMBIAR, M.N. Veteran Indian actor Manjeri Narayan Nambiar, who was a frequent villain in Tamil language ﬁlms for over six decades, died in India after a brief illness on November 19, 2008. He was 89. Nambiar was born in Kannur, Kerala, India, on March 7, 1919. He became interested in acting while in his teens and became a member of the Nawab Rajamanikkam theatrical troupe. He made his ﬁlm debut

M.N. Nambiar

in the 1935 feature Bhaktha Ramadoss and reportedly appeared in over 1,000 ﬁlms over the next seventy years. He was featured in a small role in the 1952 Hollywood featured The Jungle starring Rod Cameron. Nambiar also starred as Kannan in the 1957 ﬁlm Makkalai Petra Maharasi and was the Pirate leader in 1965’s Ayirathil Oravan. His many ﬁlm credits also include Velaikkari (1949), Manthiri Kumari (1950), Karpurakarasi (1957), Thirudathe (1961), Arasilankumari (1961), Arasa Kattali (1967), Thillana Mohanambal (1968), Pudhiya Bhoomi (1968), Raman Thediya Seethai (1972), Jesus (1973), Mamangam (1979) Aavesham (1979), Sakthi (1980), Rama Lakshman (1981), Thooral Ninnu Pochhu (1982), Thanga Mama (1985), Raja Rishi (1985), Mela Thiranthathu Kadhavu (1986), Gentleman (1993), Raasaiyya (1995), Chhaila (1996), Baba (2002), and Sudesi (2006).

NAPIER, JOHN Character actor John Napier died in Colorado on November 17, 2008. He was 81. Napier was born in Roda, Virginia, on December 2, 1926. He served in the U.S. Army in the Paciﬁc during World War II and worked as a police ofﬁcer before embarking upon an acting career. He was featured on tel-

John Napier

evision and in ﬁlms in the 1950s and 1960s. Napier’s television credits include episodes of The United States Steel Hour, The Kaiser Aluminum Hour, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Search for Tomorrow, The Farmer’s Daughter, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Perry Mason, Dr. Kildare in the recurring role of Ken Cleveland, Bonanza, The Time Tunnel, The Invaders, Land of the Giants, Bracken’s World, and the unaired 1968 Irwin Allen pilot The Man from the 25th Century. Napier was also featured in the ﬁlms Father Goose (1964), The Great Sioux Massacre (1965), The Slender Thread (1965), Rough Night in Jericho (1967), The Gypsy Moths (1969), and The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1969). He later worked as a corporate ﬁnancial executive after leaving Hollywood.

NARZ, JACK Television announcer and game show host Jack Narz died of complications from a stroke in a Beverly Hills, California, hospital on October 15, 2008. He was 85. Narz was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on November 13, 1922. He began working

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Jack Narz

in television in the late 1940s, serving as an announcer for the variety show Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge and the children’s science ﬁction series Space Patrol. He was also a voice actor in the 1952 ﬁlm Phone Call from a Stranger and narrated the pilot episodes for the television series Adventures of Superman. Narz was announcer for the series Live with Elizabeth, The Spike Jones Show, Place the Face, and The Bob Crosby Show. He hosted numerous television game shows from the 1950s through the 1970s including The Price Is Right, Dotto, Video Village, Seven Keys, I’ll Bet, The Movie Game, Beat the Clock, Concentration, Now You See It, Tattletales, and Card Sharks. Survivors include his brother, fellow game show host Tom Kennedy.

NATHANAEL, ELENA Greek actress Elena Nathanael died of lung cancer in Athens, Greece, on March 4, 2008, at age 67. She was born Eleni Delivassili-Nathanael in Athens on January 31, 1941. She studied drama at the Pelos Katselis Drama School and began her career in ﬁlms in the early 1960s. Known for her striking beauty, she was usually cast as free-spirited young women, appearing in such ﬁlms as Kati na Kaii (1964), Walsungenblut (1965), Love on the Scorching Sand (1966), The Fear (1966), Love Cycles (1966), O 13os (1967), Apollo Goes on Holiday (1968), Assignment Skybolt (1968), Randevou me Mia Agnosti (1968), To Leventopaido (1969), Xypna Vasili! (1969), Provocation (1970), Ethelontis ston Erota (1971), Ekeino to Kalokairi...

2008 • Obituaries

(1971), Web of Deception (1971), Anazitisis... (1972), Antartes ton Poleon (1972), O Aisiodoxos (1973), and Zitima Zois kai Thanaztou (1973). The decline of the Greek ﬁlm industry in the early 1970s also impacted her career and she remained offscreen for the remainder of the decade. She resumed her career in the early 1980s, often appearing in light comedies. Nathanael was seen in the ﬁlms O Podog yros (1980), Enas Kontos tha mas Sosei! (1981), Eisai stin EOK, Pathe gia tin EOK (1981), Tis Politsmanas to ... Kangelo (1981), Pagida stin Ellada (1982), Apithanoi, Alloiotikoi ki Oraioi... (1981), Oi Pontioi (1986), Absences (1987), Patagonia (1998), Black Out p.s. Red Out (1998), and In the Shadow of Lemmy Caution (2002). She also starred as Julia Megapanos in the television soap opera Agigma Psyhis in 1998 and made her ﬁnal appearance as Maya Hoover in the television series Gorgones in 2007.

NAYAK, VIHANG Indian Marathi ﬁlm and television actor Vihang Nayak was killed in an automobile accident on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway near Kalamboli, India, on June 9, 2008. He was 58. Nayak

Vihang Nayak

began his ﬁlm career in the early 1980s, appearing in Govind Nihalani’s Aakrosh (1980). He was also seen in the ﬁlms Raja Ko Rani Se Pyar Ho Gaya (2000) and God Only Knows! (2004). He was also featured in the popular Marathi television series Awaghachi Sansar.

NEBIERIDZE, BORIS Ukrainian ﬁlm director Boris Nebieridze died of a brain tumor in the Ukraine on February 5, 2008. He was 65. Nebieridze directed a handful of ﬁlms from the late 1980s including The DJ (1988), Fufel (1990), Ubiystvo v Sunshine Menor (1992) which he also scripted, and Vesyolenkaya Poyezdka (1994). (Photograph on page 316.)

Elena Nathanael

NEDERLANDER, GLADYS Stage and television producer Gladys Nederlander died of heart failure in New York City on July 21, 2008. She was 83. She was born Gladys Lenore Blum in New York City on November 14, 1925. She moved to southern California with her family, where she ﬁrst worked in the entertainment business as a staffer for the Queen for a Day radio program in the 1940s. She was married to songwriter Fred Stryker from 1945 to 1955 and to music and ﬁlm

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Boris Nebieridze

Gladys Nederlander

executive Milton Rackmil from 1963 to 1973. She began producing for the stage in the mid–1970s under the name Gladys Rackmil. Her ﬁrst Broadway credit was the short lived comedy Legend in 1976. Her other Broadway credits include the 1977 revival of Caesar and Cleopatra, the musical Platinum (1978), the musical comedy Madwoman of Central Park West (1979), the 1980 revival of West Side Story, the revue Perfectly Frank (1980), Death and the Maiden (1992), Solitary Conﬁnement (1992), and the 1993 musical adaptation of Neil Simon’s Goodbye Girl. She also became executive producer for Nederlander Television and Film Production in 1982, where she met and married producer Robert E. Nederlander. She served as executive producer of television productions of Tennessee Williams’ Orpheus Descending (1990), When Will I Be Loved? (1990), The Last Act Is a Solo (1991), The Whole Shebang (1993), The Parallax Garden (1993), Next Door (1994), Death and the Maiden (1994), and Sahara (1995). NEGISHI , AKEMI Japanese actress Akemi Negishi died of ovarian cancer in Japan on March 11, 2008. She was 73. Negishi was born in Tokyo, Japan, on March 26, 1934. She began performing as a dancer with the Nichigeki Dancing Team while in her teens. She became a leading ﬁlm star in the early 1950s with a starring role in the Japanese–U.S. feature Ana-ta-han (1953) directed by Josef von Sternberg. She continued to appear in such ﬁlms as Red-Light Bases (1953),

Akemi Negishi

Farewell Rabaul (1955), Beast Man Snow Man (1955), Hiba Arborvitae Story (1955), I Live in Fear (1955), Sudden Rain (1956), The Underworld (1956), A Wife’s Heart (1956), Man in the Storm (1956), A Rainbow Plays in My Heart (1957), The Lower Depths (1957), Song for a Bride (1958), A Holiday in Tokyo (1958), the 1958 horror ﬁlm Half Human, Happiness of Us Alone (1961), King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) as Chikiro’s Mother, 18 Who Cause a Storm (1963), Sleepy Eyes of Death: Sword of Seduction (1964), Red Beard (1965), Buraikan Jingi (1965), Ghost Story of the Snake Woman (1968), Electric Medusa (1970), The Hot Little Girl (1970), Dodes’ka-den (1970), Asobi (1971), Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972), Lady Snowblood (1973), Sex and Fury (1973), Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture (1973), Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701’s Grudge Song (1973), Jyugun Ianfu (1974), Hatsuhana (1975), The Life of Chikuzan (1977), From Orion’s Testimony: Formula for Murder (1978), The Strangling (1979), Distant Thunder (1981), Chichi to ko (1983), The Makioka Sisters (1983), Location (1984), Mt. Aso’s Passions (1990), and The Setting Sun (1992). She also performed frequently on stage and television and made her ﬁnal performance in the 2005 short ﬁlm Barameraba.

NELSON, EARL LEE Singer Earl Lee Nelson, who co-wrote the “Harlem Shufﬂe” as part of the R&B duo Bob & Earl, died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at his home in Los Angeles on July

Earl Lee Nelson

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12, 2008. He was 79. Nelson was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on September 8, 1928, and moved to Los Angeles with his family as a child. He joined the West Coast doo-wop group the Hollywood Flames in 1954 and later sang lead on the hit recording “Buzz Buzz Buzz.” He teamed with fellow Flame Bobby Byrd (who was billed as Bobby Day) to form the duo Bob & Earl. When Byrd embarked on a solo career, Nelson recruited Bobby Relf for the duo. They were best known for writing and recording “Harlem Shufﬂe” in 1963. Nelson also had a solo career and recorded the songs “The Duck” (1965), “African Boo-Ga-Loo” (1968) and “The Chicken” (1970) under the name Jackie Lee. He and Relf reunited for tours in the early 1970s after “Harlem Shufﬂe” became a hit on its rerelease.

NELSON, KEN Country music producer Ken Nelson died at his home in Somis, California, on January 6, 2008. He was 96. Nelson was born in Caledonia, Minnesota, on January 19, 1911, and was raised in Chicago. He began working as an announcer at a local radio station in the early 1930s. He soon began arranging music for the live country music program Suppertime Frolic. Nelson served in the army during World War II and joined Capitol Records as a producer after

Nadia Nerina

Queen, and Birthday Offerings. She also starred in productions of The Sleeping Beauty, Noctambules, Coppelia, Giselle, and Swan Lake. Nerina remained with the company, which had become the Royal Ballet, until 1966 and retired to France several years later. NETTHEIM, DAVID Australian actor David Nettheim died in Sidney, Australia, on March 11, 2008. He was 82. Nettheim appeared frequently on television from the late 1950s. He was featured in such series as The Adventures of Long John Silver, The Flying Doctor, No Hiding Place, The Avengers, Crane, Thorndyke, Out of the Unknown, Armchair Theatre, The Baron, The Saint, The Prisoner, Man in a Suitcase, The Troubleshooters, Doctor Who, ITV Playhouse, Z Cars, Play of the Month, Spyder’s Web, Dial M for Murder, Microbes and Men, Sons and Daughters, A Country Practice, and Wildside. He was featured as George Logan in the series Prisoner from 1980 to 1982. He was also seen in the tel-

Ken Nelson

the war. He became head of the label’s country music division, signing such talent as Jerry Reed, Roy Clark, Rose Maddox, Faron Young, and Gene Vincent. He produced many early hits for such artists as Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, and Hank Thompson in the 1950s. Nelson also produced many of Stan Freberg’s comedy albums and was instrumental in signing the Beach Boys with Capitol. He retired in 1976 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.

NERINA , NADIA

South African ballerina Nadia Nerina died at her home Beaulieu-sur-Mer, in the south of France, on October 6, 2008. She was 80. She was born Nadine Judd in Bloemfontein, South Africa, on October 21, 1927. She began training as a dancer in South Africa before moving to London in 1945. She joined Sadler’s Wells Theatre Ballet in 1946 and became a principal dancer with the company in 1952. She was noted for her roles in Frederick Ashton’s ballets La Fille Mal Gardee, Cinderella, Homage to the

David Nettheim (from Doctor Who)

evision productions Elizabeth R (1971), Arena (1976), Ripkin (1978), A Place in the World (1979), Who Killed Baby Azaria? (1983), the animated Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1986) as the voice of Mr. Hyde, Emma: Queen of the South Seas (1988) as Kaiser Wilhelm II, and Landcaster-Miller Affair (1990). Nettheim also appeared in several ﬁlms during his career including The Promise (1969), The Pied Piper (1972), Bliss (1985), Frank Einstein (1991), The Third Stroke (1995), and Paws (1997).

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NETTLETON, LOIS Emmy Award–winning actress Lois Nettleton died of lung cancer in Woodland Hills, California, on January 18, 2008. She was 80. Nettleton was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on August 6, 1927. She was a beauty pageant winner, with reigns as Miss Chicago and Miss Illinois in the late 1940s. She began performing on stage in Chicago before moving to New York to work with the Actor’s Studio. She made her Broadway debut in a production of Darkness at Noon in 1949 and also appeared in the plays The Biggest Thief in Town, Silent Night, Lonely Night, God and Kate Murphy, and the 1955 production of Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Nettleton also appeared frequently in television from the early 1950s, with roles in such series as Man Against Crime, Captain Video and His Video Rangers, The Brighter Day, Studio One, Kraft Television Theatre, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Camera Three, Decoy, Brenner, The United States Steel Hour, True Story, Captain David Grief, Dow Hour of Great Mysteries, Play of the Week, Great Ghost Tales, Twilight Zone in the acclaimed episode “The Midnight Sun,” Naked City, The DuPont Show of the Week, Route 66, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Eleventh Hour, East Side/West Side, The Nurses, Dr. Kildare, Mr. Novak, Twelve O’Clock High, The Fugitive, Gunsmoke, and Bonanza. Nettleton made her ﬁlm debut in the 1957 feature A Face in the Crowd with Andy Grifﬁth. She was also seen in the ﬁlms Period of Adjustment (1962), Come Fly with Me (1963), Mail Order Bride (1964), The Bamboo Saucer (1968), The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969), The Sidelong Glances of a Pigeon Kicker (1970), Dirty Dingus Magee (1970), The Honkers (1972), The Man in the Glass Booth (1975), Echoes of a Summer (1976), Sogg y Bottom, USA (1980), Deadly Blessing (1981), Butterﬂy (1982), The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), The Feminine Touch (1994), and Mirror, Mirror 2: Raven Dance (1994). She starred Sue Kramer in the 1967 sitcom Accidental Family, and guest-starred in episodes of The Virginian, Daniel Boone, The Outsider, Then Came Bronson, The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, The F.B.I., The Name of the Game, Bracken’s World, The Interns, The Man and the City, Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, Cannon, Mary Tyler Moore, The ABC Afternoon Playbreak, Movin’ On, Marcus Welby, M.D., Barnaby Jones, Kung Fu, Petrocelli, Hawaii Five-0, Med-

ical Center, All That Glitters, The Streets of San Francisco, The Love Boat, Trapper John, M.D., Insight, winning an Emmy for her role in the 1983 episode “A Gun for Mandy,” Glitter, Finder of Love Loves, Hotel, The Golden Girls, Cagney & Lacey, The Facts of Life, You Can’t Take It with You, Mr. Belvedere, The Flash, Full House, Murder, She Wrote, Seinfeld, Babylon 5, The Cosby Mysteries, University Hospital, Coach, Baywatch Nights, General Hospital, and The Pretender. Nettleton was featured as Joanne St. John in the drama series In the Heat of the Night from 1988 to 1990 and was recurring character Evelyn in Crossing Jordan in 2001. She was also a voice actress in Spider-Man, and voiced Maleﬁcent in Mickey’s House of Villains (2001) and the cartoon series House of Mouse (2001). She was also seen in numerous tele-ﬁlms including Valley of Mystery (1967), Macbeth (1968) as Lady Macbeth, Any Second Now (1969), Weekend of Terror (1970), The Bull of the West (1971), The Forgotten Man (1971), Terror in the Sky (1971), Women in Chains (1972), Last Bride of Salem (1974) earning an Emmy nomination, Fear on Trial (1975), The American Woman: Portraits of Courage (1976) earning another Emmy Award for her role as Susan B. Anthony, Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977), Centennial (1978), Tourist (1980), Brass (1985), Hunt for Claude Dallas (1986), Traveler’s Rest (1996), The Making of a Hollywood Madam (1996), and The Christmas Card (2006). Nettleton also starred as Blanche DuBois in the 1973 Broadway revival of Tennessee William’s A Streetcar Named Desire and received a Tony Award nomination for They Knew What They Wanted in 1976. Her marriage to writer and radio personality Jean Shepherd ended in divorce.

Lois Nettleton

Stu Nevitt (lower right, with Shadowfax)

NEVITT, STUART Drummer Stuart Nevitt, who was a founding member of the band Shadowfax, died of complications from diabetes and heart disease at his home in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, on March 15, 2008. He was 55. Nevitt was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on March 11, 1953. He learned to play the drums at an early age and played in rock bands and orchestras during high school. He moved to Chicago in the early 1970s where he met bassist Phil Maggini, guitarist G.E. Stinson, and woodwind player Chuck Greenberg. He teamed with them to form the new age/electronic musical group Shadowfax in 1972, which was named after Gandalf ’s horse from Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

319 Shadowfax recorded ten albums including Watercourse Way (1976), Shadowfax (1982), Shadowdance (1983), The Dreams of Children (1984), Too Far to Whisper (1986), the Grammy Award–winning Folksongs for a Nuclear Village (1988), The Odd Get Even (1990), Esperanto (1992), Magic Theater (1994), and Live (1995). The group disbanded in 1995 after Greenberg’s death from a heart attack. Nevitt continued to perform and record, sometimes working with violinist Kim Angelis. He also released the solo project The Marion Kind.

NEWMAN, PAUL Paul Newman, one of the leading movie stars of the second half of the 20th century, died of cancer at his home in Westport, Connecticut, on September 26, 2008. He was 83. Newman was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on January 26, 1925, and moved to Shaker Heights, Ohio, with his family as a young child. He began appearing in plays while in high school and was also a star football player. He joined the Navy Air Corps in 1944, but his goal to be a pilot was scuttled when tests showed he was color blind. He served as a aircraft radio operator for the duration of the war. He attended Kenyon College in Ohio on an athletic scholarship after the war and graduated in 1949. He appeared on stage with small theatrical companies after graduation and married actress Jacqueline Witte in 1950. He brieﬂy returned to Cleveland after his father’s death to run the family’s sporting goods store. He went to Yale University where he directed plays before being given a small role in the Broadway production Picnic in 1952. He advanced to the role of the second male lead and was understudy for the star, Ralph Meeker. He soon became a student at the Actors Studio in New York, where he studied with Marlon Brando and James Dean. Newman also began appearing on television in the early 1950s with roles in such New York productions as Tales of Tomorrow, Suspense, The Aldrich Family, You Are There, The Web, The Joe Palooka Story, The Mask, Goodyear Television Playhouse, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Danger, and Appointment with Adventure. He starred as Billy the Kid in the 1955 television production of The Death of Billy the Kid on the Philco Television Playhouse and was George Gibbs in a production of Our Town on Producers’ Showcase that same year. He was also seen in episodes of The

Paul Newman

2008 • Obituaries

United States Steel Hour, The Kaiser Aluminum Hour, and Playhouse 90. Newman made his ﬁlm debut in The Silver Chalice from Warner Bros. in 1954, playing a Greek slave who created the cup used at the Last Supper. Newman loathed the ﬁlm, claiming it to be the worst movie ever made. He left Hollywood to return to Broadway, where he starred in the drama The Desperate Hours and continued to appear on television. He replaced James Dean in the television production of The Battler on Playwrights ’56 after Dean was killed in an automobile accident in September of 1955. His role as a disﬁgured boxer led to his next ﬁlm performance, starring as ﬁghter Rocky Graziano in the 1956 feature Somebody Up There Likes Me. He was also seen in the ﬁlms The Rack (1956), The Helen Morgan Story (1957), Until They Sail (1957), and Martin Ritt’s The Long, Hot Summer (1958), based on stories by William Faulkner. Newman’s co-star in the ﬁlm, Joanne Woodward, became his wife shortly after his divorce from the previous Mrs. Newman in January of 1958. He reprised his role as Billy the Kid in Arthur Penn’s 1958 ﬁlm The Left Handed Gun and starred as Brick in the 1958 ﬁlm version of Tennessee William’s play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, opposite Elizabeth Taylor as Maggie the Cat. Newman earned his ﬁrst Academy Award nomination for best actor for his role in the ﬁlm. Other ﬁlms followed, including Rally ’Round the Flag, Boys! (1958), The Young Philadelphians (1959), From the Terrace (1960), and Otto Preminger’s epic about the birth of the state of Israel, Exodus (1960). He received another Academy Award nomination for his role as pool shark Fast Eddie Felson in 1961’s The Hustler. He continued to appear in several features directed by Martin Ritt, including Paris Blues (1961), Hemmingway’s Adventures of a Young Man (1962), Hud (1963) which brought Newman another Oscar nomination, The Outrage (1964), and Hombre (1967). His other ﬁlm credits in the 1960s included Sweet Bird of Youth (1962), A New Kind of Love (1963), The Prize (1963) as Nobel laureate Andrew Craig, What a Way to Go! (1964), Lady L. (1965), Harper (1966) as private detective Lew Harper, and Alfred Hitchcock’s Torn Curtain (1966) with Julie Andrews. Newman starred in the title role in the acclaimed 1967 prison ﬁlm Cool Hand Luke, which earned him an Oscar nomination for best actor, and was featured in the ﬁlms The Secret War of Harry Frigg (1968) and Winning (1969). He made his ﬁrst of several appearances with Robert Redford in the 1969 light-hearted western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. He made his directorial debut with the 1968 drama Rachel, Rachel, which was nominated for a best picture Oscar, and earned an Academy Award for his wife and leading lady, Joanne Woodward. He also directed Woodward in the 1972 ﬁlm adaptation of The Effect of Gamma Rays on Manin-the-Moon Marigolds. Newman remained a popular leading man over the next two decades, with starring roles in the ﬁlms WUSA (1970), Ken Kesey’s Sometimes a Great Notion (1971) which he also directed, Pocket Money (1972), the off-beat western The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), and The MacKintosh Man (1973). He again starred with Redford as a pair of con men in the 1973 classic The Sting and was part of the

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320

Paul Newman

all-star cast of the 1974 disaster ﬁlm The Towering Inferno. He reprised his roles as detective Lew Harper in 1975’s The Drowning Pool and starred as William F. Cody in Robert Altman’s iconoclastic Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson in 1976. He was also featured in a cameo role in Mel Brooks’ 1976 comedy Silent Movie. He was a rule-bending hockey coach in 1977’s Slap Shot and a futuristic hero in a frozen wasteland in Altman’s Quintet (1979). He was also seen in the 1980 volcanic disaster epic When Time Ran Out... and was an aging cop in 1981’s Fort Apache The Bronx. Newman also garnered Academy Award nominations for his starring roles in the ﬁlms Absence of Malice (1981) and The Verdict (1982) and was seen in the title role in 1984’s Harry & Son, which he also wrote and directed. He was awarded an Honorary Oscar in 1986 in recognition for his outstanding career in ﬁlms, and received his ﬁrst Academy Award for Best Actor for reprising his earlier role as Fast Eddie Felson in 1986’s The Color of Money. He starred as Gen. Leslie Groves in Fat Man and Little Boy (1989), about the Manhattan Project’s construction of the atomic bomb, and was Louisiana Gov. Earl K. Long in 1989’s Blaze. He costarred with his wife in Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990) and was featured in the Coen Brothers’ 1994 ﬁlm The Hudsucker Proxy. He was given the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award by the Academy in 1994 and earned another Oscar nomination for his role as a curmudgeonly construction worker in 1994’s Nobody’s Fool. His later ﬁlms include Twilight (1998), Message in a Bottle (1999), and Where the Money Is (2000). Newman earned his ﬁnal Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his 2002 performance as crime boss John Rooney in Road to Perdition. He also directed television productions of The Shadow Box (1980) and The Glass Menagerie (1987). Newman was a frequent guest of The Late Show with David Letterman and was a cameo voice performer in an episode of The Simpsons in 2001. He returned to Broadway in 2002 for a revival of Our Town, which earned him a Tony Award. He also received an Emmy Award for the 2003 PBS adaptation of Our Town and was featured in the 2005 tele-ﬁlm Empire Falls, which earned him a Golden Globe and Emmy Award. His ﬁnal ﬁlm role was as the voice of Doc Hudson in the 2006 animated feature Cars. New-

man was frequently involved in politics throughout his career, working for the Presidential campaigns of Eugene McCarthy and Jimmy Carter. His activities as a liberal Democrat earned him a place on Richard Nixon’s enemies list. He was also noted for his philanthropic works which included the donation of all the proﬁts from his Newman’s Own brand, which he established in 1982 as a joke to sell salad dressings. The multi-million dollar enterprise grew to include popcorn, salsa, spaghetti sauce, wine, pretzels, and Fig Newmans. His primary charity was the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, in tribute to his Butch Cassidy role, which provided a residential summer camp for seriously ill children. He was also a race car enthusiast from the late 1960s after studying for his role as a racing driver for the 1969 ﬁlm Winning. He entered his ﬁrst competitive event in 1972 and frequently competed in events with the Sports Car Club of America throughout the decade. He owned his own racing team before joining with Carl Haas in Newman/Haas Racing in 1983. Newman narrated the IMAX ﬁlm Super Speedway about the racing season in 1996. He competed in his ﬁnal events at the Baja 1000 in 2004 and Daytona in 2005. Newman had three children with his ﬁrst wife, Jacqueline Witte: son Scott Newman, an actor who died of an accidental drug overdose in 1978; daughter Susan Kendall Newman, a documentary ﬁlmmaker and actress; and Stephanie Newman. He and Joanne Woodward had three children, actresses Melissa Newman, Claire Newman, and Elinor “Nell Potts” Newman.

NICHOLLS, DAVID British actor David Nicholls died of mesothelioma, a form of cancer connected to exposure to asbestos, in Armley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, on June 23, 2008. He was 58. Nicholls was born in Tipton, Sandwell, West Midlands, England, in 1950. He worked in a factory while in his teens, where he was exposed to asbestos pipe covering. He subsequently served in the British Army and was a police ofﬁcer before turning to acting in the late 1970s. Nicholls appeared on television in such series as The New Avengers, G.B.H., Coogans Run, A Perfect State, Wycliffe, The Last Train, The Bill, City Central, Heartbeat, and New Tricks. He was also featured in television productions of Ivanhoe (1997) as Little John, The Missing Post-

David Nicholls

321

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man (1997), Queer as Folk 2 (2000), Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story (2001) as Ragnar the Executioner, The Long Firm (2004), and Derailed (2005). Nicholls was also seen in several ﬁlms during his career including Muppet Treasure Island (1996), Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (2000), Highlander: Endgame (2000), The Parole Ofﬁcer (2001), Crush (2001), and Gangs of New York (2002).

NIELSEN, INGA Danish soprano Inga Nielsen died of cancer in a Copenhagen, Denmark, hospital on February 10, 2008. She was 61. Nielsen was born in Holback, Denmark, on June 2, 1946. She began singing in radio talent shows at the age of six and made a recording of Danish folk songs and Christmas carols at the age of nine. She trained as a singer throughout Europe and began her professional career in 1971. She

Ole-Jorgen Nilsen

as Hans Fredrik Rosenkrantz in the television soap opera Hotel Caesar from 2004 to 2006.

NISSEL, SIEGMUND British violinist Siegmund Nissel, who performed with the Amadeus Quartet, died at his home in London on May 21, 2008. He was 86. Nissel was born in Munich, Germany, on January 3, 1922, to a Jewish family from Vienna. He studied the violin from an early age and returned to Vienna with his father after the death of his mother in 1931. He escaped the Nazis in Vienna to go to England in 1938. He was interned on the Isle of Man during World War II, where he met violist Peter Schidlof and violinist Norbert Brainin. They later joined with British cellist Martin Lovett to form the Amadeus Quartet. They Inga Nielsen

joined the Frankfurt Opera in 1975, where she was noted for her roles in Richard Strauss’ Salome and Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio as Constance. She also performed as a guest artist at such venues as La Scala in Milan, London’s Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, and the Santa Fe Opera.

NILSEN , OLE -JORGEN Norwegian actor Ole-Jorgen Nilsen died in Norway on June 15, 2008. He was 72. Nilsen was born in Norway on February 28, 1936. He began his career on stage with the National Theatre in 1959. A popular stage performer throughout the country, he was also seen in ﬁlms and television productions. His ﬁlm credits include Hans Nielsen Hauge (1961), Hennes Meget Kongelige Hoyhet (1968), Love Is War (1970), Lukket Avdeling (1972), Olsenbanden tar Gul (1972), Motforestilling (1972), Bobby’s War (1974), Faneﬂukt (1975), Anguish (1976), Olsenbanden for Full Musikk (1976), Blood of the Railroad Workers (1979), Olsenbanden og Dynamitt-Harry mot nye Hoyder (1979), Olsenbanden gir Seg Aldri! (1981), Olsenbandens Alter Siste Kupp (1982), Men Olsenbanden var Ikke Dod (1984), Galskap! (1985), Kamilla og Tyven Il (1989), Pride (2000), The 7 Deadly Sins (2000), United We Stand (2002), United (2003), Lies Inc. (2004), and Citizen X (2007). Nilsen was also featured on television in productions of Et Dukkehjem (1973), Blindpassasjer (1978), The Last Place on Earth (1985), Blind Goddess (1997), and Rosmersholm (2001). He was also featured

Siegmund Nissel

gave their ﬁrst concert in London in 1948, with Nissel as second violinist in the chamber group. The Amadeus Quartet played more than 4,000 concerts and produced over 200 recordings including the complete works of Beethoven, Mozart, and Brahms, and works by more contemporary composers including Bela Bartok, Dimitri Shostakovich, and Benjamin Britten. The Amadeus Quartet disbanded in 1987 after the death of Schidlof. Nissel taught music in Cologne, Germany, and at London’s Royal Academy of Music later in life.

NISSEN, CLAUS Danish actor Claus Nissen died in Denmark on April 29, 2008. He was 69. Nis-

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Claus Nissen

sen was born in Denmark on July 28, 1938. He was a popular performer in Danish ﬁlms and television productions from the early 1960s. His numerous ﬁlm credits include How About Us? (1963), The Perfect Human (1967), Pretty Boy and Roa (1967), People Meet and Sweet Music Fills the Heart (1967), Collective Marriage (1969), We Are All Demons (1969), I’ll Take Happiness (1969), Smile, Emil (1969), Let’s Play Hide and Seek (1970), Exit (1970), The Only Way (1970), Deadline (1971), The Tar Salesman (1971), 1001 Danish Delights (1972), the science ﬁction ﬁlms Z.P.G. (1972) and Mind Snatchers (1972), The Vicar of Vejiby (1972), The Family with 100 Children (1972), In Your Dad’s Pocket (1973), The Olsen Gang Runs Amok (1973), The Hour of Parting (1973), Confessions of a Danish Cover Girl (1974), Me, Too, in the Maﬁa (1974), The Good and the Bad (1975), The Son from Vingaarden (1975), The Double Man (1976), Blind Is Beautiful (1976), The Olsen Gang Sees Red (1976), Girls at Sea (1977), The Olson Gang Goes to War (1978), Little Virgil and Frogeater Orla (1980), Jeppe pa Bjerget (1981), Olsen-Banden over alle Bjerge (1981), Street of My Childhood (1986), Walter og Carlo — Yes dat er Far (1986), Kampen om den Rode Ko (1987), Isolde (1989), Notes on Love (1989), Russian Pizza Blues (1992), Taxi to Portugal (1994), The Blue Monk (1998), and Under Bare Poles (2001). Nissen also starred in the 1994 television mini-series Riget (aka The Kingdom) and the 1997 sequel Riget II. He was also seen in the 2000 miniseries Edderkoppen and was Frederik F. Andersen in the television series De Udvalgte in 2001.

NOKWE, DUDLEY South African actor and singer Dudley Nokwe died in at his home in Durban, South Africa, on June 3, 2008. He was 72. Nokwe was born in Port St. Johns, in 1935. He began performing in Durban while in his teens and formed the jazz vocal group the Rockets. He was also a popular stage actor from the 1960s and was featured as Kuta in the 1986 television mini-series Shaka Zulu. Nokwe was also seen in the ﬁlms Kill Slade (1989) and Cry, the Beloved Country (1995). NORMAN, LARRY Larry Norman, vocalist for the innovative 1960s rock band the People, died of heart failure after a long illness in Salem, Oregon, on February 24, 2008. He was 60. Norman was born in

Dudley Nokwe

Larry Norman

Corpus Christi, Texas, on April 8, 1947, and grew up preaching with his father on the streets and prisons of San Francisco. He began performing his self-written songs in 1956 and appeared on Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour in 1959 at age thirteen. He signed with Capitol Records ﬁve years later and was soon opening for such artists as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and the Grateful Dead. He joined the newly formed band the People in 1965, which was the ﬁrst of its kind to feature several lead singers, drummers, and to present an onstage rock opera. They were instrumental in inspiring such progressive rock bands as Genesis, Yes, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Their recording of Zombies’ 1965 song “I Love You” was released in 1968, becoming an international hit. Norman left the band upon the album’s release due to disagreements over the title change and his disapproval of a majority of the band converting to Scientology. He moved to Hollywood where had a small role in 1972’s Beware! The Blob, and also composed and performed on such productions as A Thief in the Night (1972), Left Behind II: Tribulation Force (2002), and Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher (2005). Norman became a pioneer in Contemporary Christian Music with his ﬁrst album Upon This Rock (1965), and he released numerous live and studio albums. He was titled “the Jesus Movement’s Poet Laureate” by Time magazine and was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2001.

323 NOZAWA, SHUJI Japanese-American actor, stuntman, and professional wrestler Shuji Nozawa died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, on May 7, 2008. He was 86. Nozawa was born in Detroit, Michigan, on May 26, 1921. Because of his Japanese heritage, he was interned at the Manzanar Camp during World War II. After the war he served in the U.S. Army and participated in relief efforts for Japan. He competed as a professional wrestler under the name Fuji Nozawa and began appearing in ﬁlm and television productions in the mid–1950s. He was featured in the ﬁlms House of Bamboo (1955), Don’t Give Up the Ship (1959), The Crimson Kimono (1959), The Wackiest Ship in the Army (1960), Cry for Happy (1961), The Wrecking Crew (1969), Slaughter’s Big RipOff (1973), and Superchick (1973). He also appeared on television in episodes of The Thin Man, Johnny Staccato, Hennesey, Adventures in Paradise, Hong Kong, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Have Gun —Will Travel, Burke’s Law, I Spy, My Mother the Car, The Long, Hot Summer, Get Smart, Time Tunnel, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Wild Wild West, It Takes a Thief, Mission: Impossible, The Beverly Hillbillies in the recurring role of Banzai Sakito, and The Six Million Dollar Man. Nozawa later became a successful real estate developer in California. NUNEZ, JULIO Spanish actor Julio Nunez died of heart failure in Madrid, Spain, on January 17, 2008. He was 77. Nunez was born in Torrelavega, Spain, on June 30, 1930. He began his ﬁlm career in the mid–1950s with roles in such ﬁlms as Miracle of the White Suit (1956), Air Heroes (1958), Long Live the Impossible! (1958), Die Sklavenkarawane (1958), I Am

2008 • Obituaries

dio 1, Escrito en America, Teatro Estudio, and El Actor y sus Personajes. He also appeared in the mini-series Fortunata y Jacinta (1980) and Juncal (1987).

NURMI, MAILA “VAMPIRA” Maila Nurmi, who gained fame as the glamorously ghoulish television horror hostess Vampira, died in Los Angeles on January 10, 2008. She was 86. She was born Maila Syrjaniemi in Petsamo, Finland, on December 21, 1921. She came to the United States as a small child and adopted the last name of her famed uncle, Olympic runner Paavo Nurmi, when she began to pursue an acting career in her teens. Little came of her initial forays in acting until she attended a masquerade ball dressed as a female vampire. Her costume and ghoulish makeup was somewhat based on Charles Addams’ cartoons and earned her ﬁrst place. Several months later, a producer at television station KABC-TV tracked her down to host their local horror ﬁlm showcase. Nurmi, now dubbed Vampira, became an immediate hit, with her ghastly humor and unusual appearance. Though the show was canceled in 1955, she remained a legendary ﬁgure amongst fans of horror ﬁlms. Her claim to cult fame was reinforced in 1959 when she played the female vampire in Ed Wood’s 1959 schlock classic Plan 9 from Outer Space. She also appeared in small roles in the ﬁlms Too Much, Too Soon (1958), The Beat Generation (1959), The Big Operator (1959), I Passed for White (1960), Sex Kittens Go to College (1960), and Bert I. Gordon’s The Magic Sword (1962). Her ﬁlm career largely ended in the 1960s, with Nurmi taking jobs in carpentry and house cleaning. She was near destitute when she tried to capitalize on her former fame by opening a Vampira antique shop in the 1970s. She lost a court case in the late 1980s when she accused Cassandra Peterson of copying Vampira’s distinctive look for Peterson’s similarly themed character Elvira. Nurmi’s career received a bit of a boost as interest in Ed Wood skyrocketed in the 1980s. She was soon appearing in ﬁlm and television documentaries about Wood and Vampira, including The Incredibly Strange Film Show (1990), Naked Hollywood (1991), Flying Saucers Over Hollywood: The “Plan 9” Companion (1992), Vampira: About Sex, Death and Taxes (1995), The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1996), Schlock! The Secret His-

Julio Nunez

Singing for You (1959), La Rana Verde (1960), One Step Forward (1960), El Emigrante (1960), Pachin Almirante (1961), Prohibido Enamorarse (1961), Festival (1961), Horizontes de Luz (1962), Secret Intentions (1970), La Layenda del Alcalde de Zalamea (1973), and Those Who Love (1998). Nunez also appeared frequently in television in such series as Los Encuentros, Historias de Hoy, Las Doce Caras de Juan, Historias Para no Dormir, El Premio, Pequeno Estudio, Cuentos y Leyendas, Personajes a Trasluz, Hora Once, Sospecha, Ficciones, Novela, Estu-

Maila Nurmi (as Vampira)

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324

tory of American Movies (2001), Monsterama: A Tribute to Horror Hosts (2004), American Scary (2006), and Vampira: The Movie (2006). She also appeared in cameo roles in the ﬁlms Population: 1 (1986), Dry (1996), and Ed Wood’s I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998). Nurmi was portrayed by Lisa Marie in Tim Burton’s 1996 bio-ﬁlm Ed Wood, starring Johnny Depp.

NUVOLETTI, GIOVANNI Giovanni Nuvoletti, an Italian Count who appeared in Mario Bava’s horror ﬁlm classic Twitch of the Death Nerve, died in Abano Terme, Padua, Italy, on April 4, 2008. He was 95. Nuvoletti was born in Gazzuolo, Mantua, Italy, on October 16, 1912. He was featured as Count Filippo Donati, who dispatches his wheelchair-bound wife in Odetta

Giovanni Nuvoletti

a gruesome hanging before being stabbed to death himself in the opening scenes of Bava’s early slasher ﬁlm Twitch of the Death Nerve (aka Bay of Blood ) in 1971. Nuvoletti was also featured in the 1969 comedy Prof. Dott. Guido Tersilli, Primario della Clinica Villa Celeste Convenzionata con le Mutue and appeared as a judge in the 1971 western The Beast with Klaus Kinski.

ODETTA Odetta Holmes, the black folksinger, songwriter and actress known throughout the world as Odetta, died of heart disease in a Manhattan, New York, hospital on December 2, 2008. She was 77. She was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on December 31, 1930. She trained as a singer in her teens and made her professional debut with the Hollywood Turnabout Puppet Theatre in 1944, where she remained for four years. She toured with the musical Finian’s Rainbow in 1949 and began concentrating primarily on folksinging in the early 1950s. Odetta performed in venues in New York and San Francisco, including the hungry i and Tin Angel. She also joined with Larry Mohr to record the 1954 album Odetta and Larry. She recorded such subsequent solo albums as Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues (1956), At the Gate of Horn (1957), Odetta and the Blues (1962), and Odetta Sings Folk Songs (1957). Her performances and recordings served as an inspiration for such artists as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Janis Joplin. Odetta was also featured in the ﬁlms Cinerama Holiday (1955) and the 1961 adaptation of William Faulkner’s Sanctuary. She was also seen on television in

such series as The Revlon Revue, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Johnny Cash Show, and The Virginia Graham Show, and was featured in an episode of the western series Have Gun —Will Travel in 1961. She was active in the civil rights movement and performed a moving rendition of the song “O Freedom” during the August 1963 march on Washington led by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Odetta was heard on the soundtrack of the 1969 science ﬁction satire ﬁlm The Monitors and was featured as Big Laura in the 1974 tele-ﬁlm The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. She performed John LaMontayne’s Bicentennial opera Be Glad Then America in 1976. She made few recordings over the next two decades, releasing the albums Movin’ It On and Christmas Spirituals in 1987. Odetta was featured in the nearfuture ecological cautionary tele-ﬁlm The Fire Next Time in 1993. She embarked on a renewed concert and recording schedule in the late 1990s and was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts’ National Medal of Arts by President Bill Clinton in 1999. Despite declining health she remained a vibrant musical force for the remainder of her life and was planning to perform at Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration at the time of her death.

ODONE, LORENZO Lorenzo Odone, whose parents’ attempts to treat his neurological condition was told in the 1992 ﬁlm Lorenzo’s Oil, died of complications from pneumonia at his home in Virginia on

Lorenzo Odone

325 May 30, 2008. He was 30. Lorenzo was born on May 29, 1978. The ﬁlm, directed by George Miller, depicted the true story of Lorenzo’s parents’ search for a cure for his adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD). They developed a treatment called Lorenzo’s oil that became the ﬁrst agent to have some success in halting the destructive pattern of the disease. The oil succeeded in expanding Lorenzo’s lifespan for over two decades longer than doctors had predicted. Susan Sarandon and Nick Nolte starred as his parents Michaela and Augusto Odone, and Zack O’Malley Greenburg was featured as Lorenzo.

2008 • Obituaries

OGATA , KEN Veteran Japanese actor Ken Ogata died of liver cancer in Tokyo, Japan, on October 5, 2008. He was 71. Ogata was born in Tokyo on July 20, 1937. He began his career as an actor with the Shin-Kokugeki drama troupe in the late 1950s. He became a popular ﬁlm actor in the mid–1960s with roles in The Sex Check (1968), A Building Block’s Box (1968), Woman with Seven Faces (1969), Under the Banner of Samurai (1969), Wakare (1969), The Song from My

OERTZEN, JASPAR VON German actor Jaspar von Oertzen died in Munich, Germany, on April 22, 2008. He was 96. Oertzen was born in Schwerin, Germany, on January 2, 1912. He studied theater in Munich and was soon performing on stage there and in Berlin. Oertzen also appeared frequently in ﬁlms from the 1930s, with roles in Krach um Jolanthe (1934), Altes Herz geht auf die Reise (1938), Comrades at Sea (1938), Onkel Fridolin (1939), Der Polizeifunk Meldet (1939), Die Barmherzige (1939), Tip auf Amalia (1940), Angelika (1940), Trenck, der Pandur (1940), Bismarck (1940), Riding for Germany (1941), The Great King (1942), The Ken Ogata (as Yukio Mishima)

Jaspar von Oertzen

Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1943), Die Goldene Spinne (1943), Moselfahrt mit Monika (1944), Junge Herzen (1944), The Silent Guest (1945), Life Goes On (1945), Burning Hearts (1945), The Magic Face (1951), Decision Before Dawn (1951), Monche, Madchen und Panduren (1952), Martin Luther (1953), The Last Waltz (1953), It Happened on July 20th (1955), Ballerina (1956), The River Changes (1956), Die Joseph-SchmidtStory (1958), and One, Two, Three (1961). Oertzen was also featured on television in a 1956 episode of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents and was seen in television productions of Der Fluchtling (1961), Zahlungsaufschub (1962), Reisender ohne Gepack (1963), Mein oder Dein (1964), Konig Richard II (1968), The Adventures of Ulysses (1968), Chopin-Express (1971), Das Letzte Paradies (1972), and In Bayerischen Stil (1972). His other television credits include episodes of Das Kriminalmuseum, Die Funfte Kolonne, Graf Yoster gibt sich die Ehre, Koniglich Bayerisches Amtsgericht, Hamburg Transit, Tatort, and Merlin.

Heart (1969), The Last Samurai (1974), The Castle of Sand (1974), Mount Hakkoda (1977), The Demon (1978), Shohei Imamura’s Vengeance Is Mine (1979), the international science ﬁction co-production Virus (1980), Bad Sorts (1980), Why Not? (1981), Samurai Reincarnation (1981), Edo Porn (1981), Yaju-deka (1982), Ballad of Narayama (1983), The Geisha (1983), Okinawan Boys (1983), The Catch (1983), Oar (1985), Paul Schrader’s Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985) as controversial militant author Yukio Mishima, Tracked (1985), House on Fire (1986), Tokyo Bordelo (1987), Zegen (1987), Memories of You (1988), Oacion (1988), A Chaos of Flowers (1988), Peacock King (1988), Shogun’s Shadow (1989), Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally (1989), Company-Sponsored Funeral (1989), Rainbow Kids (1991), Kagero (1991), Goodbye Mama (1991), I Want to Bite You, from Dracula with Love (1991), The Dream of Russia (1992), Keisho Sakazuki (1992), Sayonara Nippon! (1995), Peter Greenaway’s The Pillow Box (1996), Five Women (1996), Mouri Motonari (1997), Autumn Blossoms (1999), Shooting Star (2000), Koroshi (2000), Man Walking on Snow (2001), September 11 (2002), The Man Who Wipes Mirrors (2003), Izo (2004), The Last Quarter (2004), The Hidden Blade (2004), The Samurai I Loved (2005), Granny Gabai (2006), The Long Walk (2006), and Love and Honor (2006). Ogata also appeared frequently on Japanese television with roles in such productions as Hakusyuu no Toki (1996), Prince Shotoku (2001), Time Limit (2003), Proof of the Man (2004), Seishun no Mon: Chikuho Hen (2005), Boshi (2008), and Kaze No Garden (2008).

OGUCHI , DAIHACHI Japanese musician Daihachi Oguchi, who was a master of modern taiko drumming, died in Tokyo on June 27, 2008, of in-

Obituaries • 2008

326

Daihachi Oguchi

juries he received the previous day when he was hit by a car while crossing the street. He was 84. Oguchi was born in Japan on February 27, 1924. He was one of the ﬁrst to popularize the ancient Japanese tradition of taiko drumming. These drums, usually hollowed from a single piece of the trunk of the zelkova tree with cowhides stretched upon them, were played at courtly dances known as gagaku. Oguchi had performed as a jazz drummer in post–World War II Japan before rediscovering taiko in 1951. He was instrumental in bringing the traditional music to a modern audience with his group Osuwa Daiko. He helped form numerous other taiko groups through Japan and in North America, including San Francisco’s Taiko Dojo. Oguchi also performed in the opening ceremonies for the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

OLIN, STIG

Swedish ﬁlm director, writer, and actor Stig Olin, who often worked with Ingmar Bergman, died in Sweden on June 28, 2008. He was 87. Olin was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on September 11, 1920. Olin began his career as an actor in the late 1930s, and was featured in such ﬁlms as Kronans Kacka Gossar (1940), Bright Prospects (1941), Tonight or Never (1941), Striden gar Vidare (1941), Ungt Blod (1943), Prasten son slog Knockout (1943), The Sin of Anna Lans (1943), The Word (1943), Live Dangerously (1944), Den Osynliga Muren (1944), Alf Sjoberg’s Frenzy (1944), Tre Soner Gick till Flyget (1945), Two People (1945), Incor-

rigible (1946), and The Balloon (1946). Olin starred in his ﬁrst Bergman-helmed feature with Crisis in 1946 and was featured in ﬁve others over the next several years. He was seen in Johansson and Vestman (1946), Jens Mansson in America (1947), Woman Without a Face (1947), Each to His Own Way (1948), Port of Call (1948), Eva (1948), Farlig Var (1949), The Devil’s Wanton (1949), The Girl from the Third Row (1949), To Joy (1950), This Can’t Happen Here (1950), The Quartet That Split Up (1950), Illicit Interlude (1951), Divorced (1951), One Fiance at a Time (1952), Classmates (1952), Farlig Kurva (1952), The True and the False (1955), Seventh Heaven (1956) as the voice of the Narrator, and Sceningang (1956). He was also featured in several episodes of the television series Foreign Intrigue. Olin began directing ﬁlms the in early 1950s, usually scripting and appearing in small roles in them as well. His directorial credits include I dur och Skur (1953), Resan Till Dej (1953), The Yellow Squadron (1954), Mord, Lilla Van (1955), Hoppsan! (1955), Swing It, Froken! (1956), Rasmus, Pontus and Toker (1956), Guest at One’s Own Home (1957), You Are My Adventure (1958), and Flottans Overman (1958). From the early 1960s through the early 1980s Olin worked as a director and actor with Swedish Radio. He also directed theatrical productions in Sweden and was a popular composer. He returned to the screen in the 1987 ﬁlm Jim and the Pirates and was featured in 1988’s Time of the Wolf. He also appeared on Swedish television in episodes of Darﬁnar & Donickar and Three Loves. His survivors include his daughter, actress Lena Olin.

OLIVER, ROBERT Stage actor Robert Oliver, who was featured in the long-running Off-Broadway musical The Fantasticks, died of a heart attack in a New York City hospital on February 4, 2008. He was 68. Oliver was born on March 5, 1939. Oliver appeared in the original run of The Fantasticks during its lengthy

Robert Oliver

Stig Olin

span at the Sullivan Street Playhouse between 1960 and 2002. He also appeared in the long-running OffBroadway hit Tony ’n’ Tina’s Wedding and was featured in touring productions of Girl Crazy, My Fair Lady, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He starred as Mortimer in the 2006 Off-Broadway revival

327

2008 • Obituaries

of The Fantasticks and continued in the role until his death.

OLIVER , STEPHEN Actor Stephen Oliver died of cancer in Big Bear Lake, California, on March 5, 2008. He was 68. He was born Steve Welzig in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1939 and was raised in Riverside, California. He worked as a boxer and bounty hunter before breaking into acting in the early 1960s. He was best known for his role as Lee Webber in the

Senih Orkan

River, Black Sheep (1967), and Altin Cocuk Beyrut’ta (1967). Orkan also appeared on television in the 1975 production Topuz and guest starred in an episode of the German series Tatort.

Stephen Oliver

television series Peyton Place from 1966 to 1968. He also appeared as tough guys in such ﬁlms as Motor Psycho (1965), Angels from Hell (1968), The Naked Zoo (1971), Werewolves on Wheels (1971), Cycle Psychos (1973), Fugitive Lovers (1975), The Van (1977), The Great Gundown (1977), Malibu Beach (1978), Tom Horn (1980) as Gentleman Jim Corbett, The Kill Machine (1988), Assignment: Survive (1988), and A Mission to Kill (1992). Oliver was also seen on television in episodes of The Immortal, Bracken’s World, The Streets of San Francisco, Code R, CHiPs, and Starsky and Hutch.

ORKAN, SENIH Leading Turkish actor Senih Orkan died of lung cancer in Bodrum, Turkey, on February 28, 2008. He was 75. Orkan was born in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 6, 1932. He was a popular performer in Turkish ﬁlms from the late 1950s, with such credits as Three Friends (1958), Three Girls’ Story (1959), The Female Wolf (1960), Beyond the Nights (1960), Cilali Ibo in Spooky Villa (1960), The Empty Home (1961), The Bus Passengers (1961), Forbidden Love (1961), If I Lose You... (1961), The Quarter Friends (1961), Mevlid (1962), Tricycle (1962), The Passengers of Exile (1962), The Clown (1962), Sheikh Ahmed’s Grandson (1962), The False Marriage (1962), Aysecik: My Dearest (1963), The White Pigeon (1963), My Name Is Ali (1963), The Anatolian Guy (1964), The Love Bus (1964), Love and Grudge (1964), The Lions of Gallipoli (1964), The Purple Notebook (1964), The Killer’s Daughter (1964), Topkapi (1964) with Melina Mercouri, The Last Birds (1965), The Thief (1965), Devil’s Victims (1965), King of the Kings (1965), The Bread Seller Woman (1965), The Innocent Fugitive (1966), I Love You (1966), The Sirat Bridge (1966), The Last Word Is Mine (1967), The Road That Has No End (1967), Yolsuz Mehmet (1967), Red

ORMSBY, ETHAN ALAN Digital artist and lighting designer Ethan Alan Ormsby died of cancer in Los Angeles on June 12, 2008. He was 40. Ormsby was born on December 8, 1967. He began working in ﬁlms in the early 1990s and was featured as the two-headed guy in the 1991 ﬁlm Popcorn. He became a digital artist with Digital Domain in the mid–1990s and also worked on live-action and animated projects for Sony, Disney, and Dreamworks. His ﬁlm credits include Apollo 13 (1995), Strange Days (1995), Chain Reaction (1996), Dinosaur (2000), What Lies Beneath (2000), Cast Away (2000), Evolution (2001), Spider-Man (2002), I Spy (2002), Matrix Reloaded (2003), Bad Boys II (2003), Matchstick Men (2003), The Haunted Mansion (2003), Wes Craven’s Cursed (2005), Stealth (2005), Over the Hedge (2006), Flushed Away (2006), and Bee Movies (2007). OSTROFF, MAGGIE Maggie Ostroff, an assistant sound editor for numerous ﬁlms in the 1980s and 1990s, died of cancer in Santa Monica, California, on February 4, 2008. She was 73. She was born Margaret Beck in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on January 17, 1935. She studied ﬁlm and television at Northwestern Uni-

Maggie Ostroff

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328

versity and began working in ﬁlms in the early 1980s. She was an assistant sound editor for the 1985 ﬁlm Code of Silence and the 1988 Disney animated feature Oliver & Company. Ostroff was an assistant editor for the 1985 prehistoric comedy Cavegirl and brieﬂy appeared onscreen as Rex’s mother. She also was assistant editor for Her Alibi (1989). She continued to work as an assistant sound editor on such ﬁlms as The Great Outdoors (1988), The Naked Gun 21 ⁄ 2: The Smell of Fear (1991), Dead Again (1991), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), Patriot Games (1992), Captain Ron (1992), Swing Kids (1993), Hocus Pocus (1993), When a Man Loves a Woman (1994), Richie Rich (1994), Crimson Tide (1995), Broken Arrow (1996), The Rock (1996), Metro (1997), Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997), Red Corner (1997), Armageddon (1998), and Enemy of the State (1998). She later worked as an assistant editor on several ﬁlms including Proof of Life (2000), One Night at McCool’s (2001), Human Nature (2001), and 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003).

OTIS, CLYDE Songwriter and record producer Clyde Otis died in Englewood, New Jersey, on January 8, 2008. He was 83. Otis was born in Prentiss, Mississippi, on September 11, 1924. He served in the U.S. Marines during World War II and moved to New York after the war to pursue a career in music. He wrote songs with little success until 1956 when Nat King Cole had a hit recording with his song “That’s All There Is

Clyde Otis

Darian O’Toole

from a broken leg in Oakland, California, on March 31, 2008. She was 40. O’Toole was born Karen Begin in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1968. She began her radio career in Atlantic City and also was heard in Philadelphia and Baltimore before moving to California. She was featured on San Francisco stations KSAN and KIFR in the 1990s, billed as Ovaries with Attitude and The Antidote to Howard Stern. She was noted for her outspoken commentary on O.J. Simpson’s guilt during the sensational murder trial in 1995. Problems with alcohol eventually led to her ﬁring from KIFR in 2006 when she fell asleep on the air. She subsequently went through rehab and was planning a comeback at the time of her death. O’Toole was also featured onscreen in several ﬁlms, appearing as Blair Weesch in the suspense thriller Nutcracker: An American Nightmare (2001) and as Suzie Sexpert in the 2002 science ﬁction ﬁlm Teknolust.

PACHARD, HENRI Ron Sullivan, who directed hundreds of adult ﬁlms from the late 1960s under the names Henri Pachard, Jackson St. Louis, and Crystal Blue, died of cancer on September 27, 2008. He was 69. Sullivan was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 4, 1939. He began directing adult exploitation ﬁlms that emphasized sex and sadism in the late 1960s. His credits include Lust Weekend (1967), The Bizarre Ones (1968), The Erotic Circus (1969), This Sporting House (1969), Scorpio 70 (1970), Running with the Devil

to That.” Otis joined Mercury Records in 1958 as director of artists and repertory, where he worked frequently with singer Brook Benton. He produced and helped write many of Benton’s hits including “It’s Just a Matter of Time” and “Baby (You’ve Got What It Takes).” Otis left Mercury in 1962 and brieﬂy worked with Liberty Records. He soon began his own music publishing company, the Clyde Otis Music Group. He was a writer or co-writer for nearly 800 songs during his career, including some recorded by Elvis Presley, Bobby Darin, Johnny Mathis, Sarah Vaughan, and Natalie Cole.

O’TOOLE , DARIAN Darian O’Toole, a radio disc jockey and talk show host in the San Francisco area, died of respiratory failure and complications

Henri Pachard

329 (1973), Video Vixens (1975), and Babylon Pink (1979). By the early 1980s he was primarily directing mainstream porn ﬁlms under the name Henri Pachard. He frequently appeared in the ﬁlms he directed, which included such titles as October Silk (1980), The Budding of Brie (1980), Outlaw Ladies (1981), A Girl’s Best Friend (1981), Mascara (1982), The Devil in Miss Jones, Part II (1982), The Widespread Scandals of Lydia Lace (1983), Sexcapades (1983), Between Lovers (1983), Nasty Girls (1983), Viva Vanessa the Undresser (1984), Supergirls Do the Navy (1984), Sex Spa USA (1984), Pussycat Galore (1984), Public Affairs (1984), New York Vice (1984), Matinee Idol (1984), Make Me Feel It (1984), Maid in Manhattan (1984), Long Hard Nights (1984), Jailhouse Girls (1984), Hot Licks (1984), Hostage Girls (1984), Gstrings (1984), Great Sexpectations (1984), Babylon Blue (1984), Supergirls Do General Hospital (1984), the Taboo American Style series (1985), Showdown (1985), Sexorama (1985), The Oddest Couple (1985), Lilith Unleashed (1985), Hot Wire (1985), Getting Personal (1985), Desperately Pleasing Debbie (1985), Climax (1985), Bedtime Tales (1985), White Women (1986), Unnatural Phenomena (1986), Sweet Revenge (1986), Rears (1986), Pumping Flesh (1986), Lust at Sea (1986), Life & Loves of Nikki Charm (1987), Despicable Dames (1986), Charm School (1986), The Brat (1986), Blame It on Ginger (1986), Talk Dirty to Me, Part V (1986), Sextrolog y (1987), Passion Chain (1987), On the Loose (1987), Moonlusting (1987), A Lover for Susan (1987), Lady by Night (1987), The Ladies Room (1987), Harlem Candy (1987), Hard Choices (1987), Club Ecstasy (1987), Brat on the Run (1987), The Bitches of Westwood (1987), The Art of Passion (1987), The Adultress (1987), Ginger & Spice (1987), Who Shaved Trinity Loren? (1988), Suzie Superstar ... The Search Continues (1988), The Slut (1988), Sex Lives of the Rich and Famous (1988), Search for an Angel (1988), Saturday Night Special (1988), Satisfaction Jackson (1988), Samantha and the Deep Throat Girls (1988), Power Blonde (1988), Phone-Mates (1988), Outlaw Ladies II (1988), Once Upon a Temptress (1988), The Nicole Stanton Story (1988), Making Ends Meet (1988), Lust Connection (1988), The Kink (1988), Jane Bond Meets Thunderthighs (1988), Grind (1988), Ginger Does Them All (1988), The Final Taboo (1988), Femmes on Fire (1988), Fatal Passion (1988), Divine Decadence (1988), Conﬂict (1988), Boom Boom Valdez (1988), Wildheart (1989), Who Shaved Lynn LeMay? (1989), The Whore (1989), Victoria’s Secret (1989), Silver Tongue and Hot Rod (1989), Separated (1989), The Phantom of the Cabaret (1989), Night of the Living Debbies (1989), Head Co-Ed Society (1989), Dirty Lingerie (1989), Diaries of Fire & Ice (1989), Call Girls in Action (1989), America’s Most Wanted Girl (1989), We’re No Angels (1990), Twin Cheeks (1990), Supertung (1990), The Shaving (1990), Renegade (1990), Rear Burner (1990), Rear Admiral (1990), Pyromania (1990), Precious Peaks (1990), Paris By Night (1990), No Tell Motel (1990), New Barbarians (1990), Monaco Falcon (1990), Midnight Woman (1990), Licensed to Thrill (1990), Kinky Business II (1990), King Tung Is the Eg yptian Lover (1990), Jailhouse Blues (1990), Hot on Tail (1990), Earth Girls Are Sleazy (1990), The Desert Fox (1990), Body

2008 • Obituaries

Heat (1990), Black in the Saddle (1990), Barﬂies (1990), Wild at Heart (1991), Virgin Spring (1991), Transformed (1991), Sweet Poison (1991), Sleeping Around (1991), Skin Deep (1991), Simply Irresistible (1991), Sex Pistol (1991), Pro Ball (1991), The Perfect Stranger (1991), A Little Irresistible (1991), Hot House Rose (1991), Heat Seekers (1991), French Connexxion (1991), Don’t Bother to Knock (1991), Crossing Over (1991), City of Sin (1991), The Witching Hour (1992), White Chick Can’t Hump (1992), The Ultimate Surrender of a Slave ... The Final Bond (1992), Total Exposure (1992), the Tailiens series (1992), Sweet as Honey (1992), Student Nurses (1992), Street Angels (1992), Storehouse of Agony (1992), Single White Woman (1992), Shot from Behind (1992), Sea of Love (1992), The Screamer (1992), Mistress Jacqueline’s Slave School (1992), Midnight Angel (1992), Madam X (1992), Girls of Summer (1992), Forbidden Pleasures (1992), Enema Obedience (1992), Buffy the Vamp (1992), Working Stiffs (1993), Vagina Town (1993), The Unashamed (1993), Sex Ranch (1993), The Hunger (1993), Heidigate (1993), The Fluffer (1993), Cherry Cheeks (1993), The Butt Boss (1993), Warehouse Wenches (1994), Slaves Bound for Passion (1994), Secret Urges (1994), My Boyfriend’s Black (1994), Jaded Love (1994), Brenda: Back to Beverly Hills 9021A (1994), Road Kill (1995), The Horny Housewife (1995), Venom 2: Full Injexxxion (1996), the Dirty Little Brats and the Submissive Little Sluts series (2000), Mommy Queerest (2001), Mature Women with Young Girls (2002), Deep Inside Ginger Lynn (2003), and The Contortionist (2003).

PADILLA , MANUEL , JR. Actor Manuel Padilla, Jr., who was featured as Jai, the young native in the Tarzan television series in the late 1960s, died suddenly in California on January 29, 2008. He was 51. Padilla was born in Los Angeles on May 13, 1956. He began appearing in ﬁlms and television in the early 1960s and guest starred in episodes of such series as Sam Benedict, Dr. Kildare, Rawhide, Slattery’s People, The Guns of Will Sonnett, The Flying Nun in the recurring role of Marcello, Then Came Bronson, Lancer, The Immortal, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Police Story, Happy Days as Squirt, and Alice. Padilla was featured Ramel in the 1966 ﬁlm Tarzan and the Valley of Gold and was Pepe in Tarzan and the Great River in 1967, with Jock Ma-

Manuel Padilla, Jr.

Obituaries • 2008

330

honey in the title role in both ﬁlms. Padilla remained involved with Burroughs’ apeman franchise when he took the role of Tarzan’s young assistant Jai in the television version from 1966 to 1968, starring Ron Ely. He was also featured as Carlos, one of the Pharaohs, in the 1973 hit ﬁlm American Grafﬁti and the 1979 sequel More American Grafﬁti. Padilla’s other ﬁlm credits include Dime with a Halo (1963), The Young and the Brave (1963), Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964), Sylvia (1965), Taffy and the Jungle Hunter (1965), Black Spurs (1965), A Man Called Horse (1970), and The Great White Hope (1970). He was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms Cutter’s Trail (1970) and Ron Howard’s Cotton Candy (1978). He made his ﬁnal screen appearance in a small role in Brian DePalma’s 1983 crime drama Scarface.

PAGE, ANITA Anita Page, one of the last surviving leading ladies from the Silent Film Era, died at her home in Los Angeles on September 6, 2008. She was 98. She was born Anita Evelyn Pomares in Queens, New York, on August 4, 1910. She began her career in ﬁlms in the 1920s with the assistance of neighbor and ﬁlm star Betty Bronson. She made her ﬁlm debut in A Kiss for Cinderella in 1925 and appeared in small roles in Love ’Em and Leave ’Em (1926) and Beach Nuts (1927). She was soon signed by MGM, who groomed her to become one of the leading actresses of ﬁlms. She starred in the ﬁlms Telling the World (1928) opposite William Haines, Our Dancing Daughters (1928) with Joan Crawford and Johnny Mack Brown, While the City Sleeps (1928) with Lon Chaney, The Flying Fleet (1929) opposite Ramon Novarro, The Broadway Melody (1929), Our Modern Maidens (1929), Speedway (1929), and Navy Blues (1929). Page continued her ﬁlm career into the sound era, appearing in Great Day (1930), Free and Easy (1930) with Buster Keaton, Caught Short (1930), Our Blushing Brides (1930), Little Accident (1930), War Nurse (1930), Reducing (1931), The Easiest Way (1931), Gentleman’s Fate (1931), Sidewalks of New York (1931) again with Keaton, Under 18 (1931), Are You Listening? (1932), Night Court (1932), Skyscraper Souls (1932), Prosperity (1932), Jungle Bride (1933), Soldiers of the Storm (1933), The Big Cage (1933), and I Have Lived (1933). She retired from the screen following 1936’s Hitch Hike to Heaven and her marriage to naval

Anita Page

ofﬁcer Herschel House. Her husband died in 1991 and Page returned to the screen in the 2000 documentary I Used to Be in Pictures. In recent years she was featured in small parts in low-budget horror ﬁlms including Sunset After Dark (1996), Witchcraft XI: Sisters in Blood (2000), The Crawling Brain (2002), Bob’s Night Out (2004), and Frankenstein Rising (2008).

PAGE , BETTIE Pinup model Bettie Page, whose naughty photos from the 1950s have remained popular into the 21st century, died of complications from a heart attack in a Los Angeles hospital on December 11, 2008. She was 85. Page was born in Kingsport, Tennessee, on April 22, 1923. After failed careers as a teacher and secretary and an unsuccessful marriage, Page headed to New York where she took acting classes. She was noticed at a Coney Island beach by Jerry Tibbs, a police ofﬁcer and amateur photographer, who encouraged her to be his model. She was soon posing for various camera clubs and gained the attention of Irving Klaw and his sister Paula, who ran a mail order photo business. The Klaws specialized in bondage and cheesecake photos, and Bettie became their top model. She also appeared in short ﬁlms where she frol-

Bettie Page

icked scantily clad, paddled other models, or was tied to a chair. Some of the ﬁlm clips were released under such titles as Teaser Girl in High Heels (1950), Striporama (1953), Varietease (1954), and Teaserama (1955). Her best known photographs were semi-nude shots taken by Bunny Yeager, which included the January 1955 Playboy centerfold of Bettie clad only in a Santa Claus hat. By the following year, she abandoned modeling after having been threatened with legal action for her risqué poses. After another failed marriage, she became a born again Christian involved with the Billy Graham Crusade. Settling in California, she married again in 1967. When that marriage ended 11 years later, Page went into a depression that included violent mood swings. She assaulted her landlady with a knife and was sentenced to 10 years in a California mental institution when she was ruled insane. Upon her release in 1992, Page learned that her earlier modeling career had made her a cult icon, with photos, books, comics, action ﬁgures, and other memorabilia dedicated to her

331 image. Playboy editor Hugh Hefner and comic artist Dave Stevens, who had based the love interest of his character the Rocketeer on Bettie’s likeness, were instrumental in making sure that Page began receiving royalties for the many uses of her image. She continued to receive a sizable income supplying her fans with a stream of signed photographs and book, though she did not wish to be photographed, preferring her youthful visage to remain unmarred by the weathering of time. She was the subject of a 2005 bio-ﬁlm, The Notorious Bettie Page, starring Gretchen Mol. She lived a quiet and secluded life in her later years until suffering a heart attack the week before her death.

2008 • Obituaries

PAHOR, GALLIANO Croatian actor Galliano Pahor died of esophageal cancer in Rijeka, Croatia, on January 5, 2008. He was 52. Pahor was born in Croatia (then part of Yugoslavia) on October 17, 1955. He became a popular ﬁlm and television star from the 1970s, appearing in such ﬁlms as The Return (1979), 13. jul (1982), Dancing in Water (1986), Andjeo Cuver (1987), My Uncle’s Legacy (1988), Captain America (1990) as General Pestalozzi, Luka (1992), Sedma Kro-

PAGE, JOY Joy Page, who was featured as a newlywed refugee in need of exit papers in the classic ﬁlm Casablanca, died of complications from pneumonia and a stroke in a Los Angeles hospital on April 18, 2008. She was 83. Page was born in Los Angeles on November 9, 1924, the daughter of silent screen actor Don Alvarado and Ann Boyar. After her parents’ divorce,

Galliano Pahor

nika (1996), Rusko Meso (1997), Transatlantic (1998), Marshal Tito’s Spirit (1999), Cetverored (1999), The Last Will (2001), Seraﬁm, the Lighthouse Keeper’s Son (2002), Konjanik (2003), The Society of Jesus (2004), Accidental Co-Traveller (2004), and Libertas (2006). He was also seen in the television mini-series Olujne Tisine 1895–1995 (1997) and Novo Doba (2002). Pahor starred as Blaz Prizmic in the television series Bitange i Princeze in 2007. Joy Page

her mother married Warner Bros. chief Jack L. Warner. Page trained as an actress though her step-father did not encourage her ambitions. She was cast in the role of Annina Brandel in 1942’s Casablanca despite Warner’s disapproval of having an actress in the family. Page was well received in the role of a young newlywed whom Humphrey Bogart aids in leaving Casablanca for America. Warner was pleased with her work in the ﬁlm though declined to sign her to a studio contract. She next appeared in the 1944 MGM costume fantasy Kismet as Ronald Colman’s daughter. Page was also seen in the ﬁlms Man-Eater of Kumaon (1948) with Sabu, Bullﬁghter and the Lady (1951), Conquest of Cochise (1953), Fighter Attack (1953), The Shrike (1955), and Tonka (1958). She also appeared on television in the 1950s in episodes of such series as Your Show Time, Racket Squad, King’s Row, The Ford Television Theatre, Warner Brothers Presents, The Loretta Young Show, Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre, Studio 57, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Wagon Train, Cheyenne, and Disney’s The Swamp Fox. Page largely retired from acting in the late 1950s. She was married to actor and ﬁlm producer William T. Orr from 1945 until their divorce in 1970s.

PALACIO, ANDY Singer and songwriter Andy Palacio, who was instrumental in the revival of Garifuna music in Central America, died of respiratory failure following a heart attack and stroke in Belize City, Belize, on January 19, 2008. He was 47. Palacio was born in Barrancor, Belize, in a Garifuna family on December 2, 1960. The Garifuna were descendants of West African slaves who were shipwrecked in the

Andy Palacios

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Caribbean in 1635. Palacio sought to restore Garifuna music and culture and became a popular performer in the 1980s, mixing traditional rhythms with contemporary music. He had several popular hit songs including “Gimme Punta Rock” and “Bikini Party.” He also recorded the albums Keimuon (1995), Til da Mawnin (1997), Paranda (1999), and Watina (2006). Palacio was named director of culture of the Belize Arts Council in 2003.

PALMER, ADELE Costume designer Adele Palmer, who was wardrobe supervisor at Republic Pictures for two decades, died in Santa Barbara, California, on July 1, 2008. She was 92. Palmer was born in Santa Ana, California, on October 21, 1915. She began working in ﬁlms in the late 1930s, designing costumes for Man of Conquest in 1939. She worked at Republic for over two decades as a costume designer and wardrobe supervisor for over 200 ﬁlms. She became an independent costumer when Republic left feature ﬁlms in the early 1950s, and she earned an Academy Award nomination for one of her ﬁnal ﬁlm credits, The Best of Everything, in 1959. Palmer’s numerous ﬁlm and serial credits include My Wife’s Relatives (1939), The Zero Hour (1939), Mickey the Kid (1939), She Married a Cop (1939), Should Husband’s Work? (1939), Smuggled Cargo (1939), Flight at Midnight (1939), Calling All Marines (1939), Sabotage (1939), Jeeper Creepers (1939), The Covered Trailer (1939), Thou Shalt Not Kill (1939), The Lone Ranger Rides Again (1939), Street of Missing Men (1939), Daredevils of the Red Circle (1939), Dick Tracy’s G-Men (1939), Main Street Lawyer (1939), Zorro’s Fighting Legion (1939), Forgotten Girls (1940), Drums of Fu Manchu (1940), Gangs of Chicago (1940), Wagon’s Westward (1940), Grand Ole Opry (1940), Adventures of Red Ryder (1940), Three Faces West (1940), King of the Royal Mounted (1940), Barnyard Follies (1940), Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch (1940), Mysterious Dr. Satan (1940), Wolf of New York (1940), Village Barn Dance (1940), Dark Command (1940), In Old Missouri (1940), The Crooked Road (1940), Women in War (1940), Scatterbrain (1940), Girl from God’s Country (1940), The Tulsa Kid (1940), Earl of Puddlestone (1940), Who Killed Aunt Maggie? (1940), Friendly Neighbors (1940), Texas Terrors (1940), Meet the Missus (1940), Behind the News (1940), Bowery Boy (1940), Arkansas Judge (1941), Petticoat Politics (1941), The Great Train Robbery (1941), The Old Cheyenne (1941), Sis Hopkins (1941), Country Fair (1941), The Gay Vagabond (1941), Puddin’ Head (1941), Hurricane Smith (1941), Rags to Riches (1941), Ice-Capades (1941), Doctors Don’t Tell (1941), Sailors on Leave (1941), Mercy Island (1941), Jesse James at Bay (1941), Public Enemies (1941), Tuxedo Junction (1941), Rookies on Parade (1941), Lady from Louisiana (1941), Angels with Broken Wings (1941), The Pittsburgh Kid (1941), King of the Texas Rangers (1941), The Devil Pays Off (1941), Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case (1941), Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc. (1941), Pardon My Stripes (1942), A Tragedy at Midnight (1942), Sleepytime Gal (1942), Spy Smasher (1942), The Girl from Alaska (1942), Joan of Ozark (1942), Flying Tigers (1942), King of the Mounties (1942), Youth on Parade (1942), Secrets of the Underground

(1942), Remember Pearl Harbor (1942), In Old California (1942), Ice Capades Revue (1942), Johnny Doughboy (1942), Hit Parade of 1943 (1943), Chatterbox (1943), Black Hills Express (1943), Wagon Tracks West (1943), Mystery Broadcast (1943), O, My Darling Clementine (1943), G-Men vs. the Black Dragon (1943), Thundering Trails (1943), Daredevils of the West (1943), Secret Service in Darkest Africa (1943), Sleepy Lagoon (1943), A Scream in the Dark (1943), The Masked Marvel (1943), Whispering Footsteps (1943), Captain America (1944), Call of the South Seas (1944), Rosie the Riveter (1944), The Lady and the Monster (1944), Song of Nevada (1944), Haunted Harbor (1944), Storm Over Lisbon (1944), Lights of Old Santa Fe (1944), Zorro’s Black Whip (1944), Casanova in Burlesque (1944), The Fighting Seabees (1944), My Best Gal (1944), Jamboree (1944), Man from Frisco (1944), Goodnight, Sweetheart (1944), Secrets of Scotland Yard (1944), Atlantic City (1944), Three Little Sisters (1944), The Girl Who Dared (1944), Sing, Neighbor, Sing (1944), Port of 40 Thieves (1944), Strangers in the Night (1944), San Fernando Valley (1944), Brazil (1944), The Big Bonanza (1944), Great Stagecoach Robbery (1945), Utah (1945), Corpus Christi Bandits (1945), The Phantom Speaks (1945), Lone Texas Ranger (1945), Three’s a Crowd (1945), Flame of Barbary Coast (1945), Manhunt of Mystery Island (1945), Earl Carroll Vanities (1945), Federal Operator 99 (1945), The Cheaters (1945), Hitchhike to Happiness (1945), Behind City Lights (1945), The Fatal Witness (1945), Scotland Yard Investigator (1945), Girls of the Big House (1945), Mexicana (1945), The Tiger Woman (1945), A Sporting Chance (1945), Bells of Rosarita (1945), Man from Oklahoma (1945), Steppin’ in Society (1945), Trail of Kit Carson (1945), Tell It to a Star (1945), Swingin’ on a Rainbow (1945), Love, Honor and Goodbye (1945), Along the Navaho Trail (1945), Sunset in El Dorado (1945), Marshal of Laredo (1945), Don’t Fence Me In (1945), Colorado Pioneers (1945), The Cherokee Flash (1945), Dakota (1945), Gay Blades (1945), The Madonna’s Secret (1946), Murder in the Music Hall (1946), Home on the Range (1946), The Catman of Paris (1946), Passkey to Danger (1946), One Exciting Week (1946), The Man from Rainbow Valley (1946), Specter of the Rose (1946), Night Train to Memphis (1946), Rendezvous with Annie (1946), Red River Renegades (1946), Earl Carroll Sketchbook (1946), The Mysterious Mr. Valentine (1946), The Magniﬁcent Rogue (1946), Plainsman and the Lady (1946), Affairs of Geraldine (1946), Out California Way (1946), Helldorado (1946), The Brennan Girl (1946), The Phantom Rider (1946), Crime of the Century (1946), The Undercover Woman (1946), King of the Forest Rangers (1946), Rainbow Over Texas (1946), Valley of the Zombies (1946), In Old Sacramento (1946), Trafﬁc in Crime (1946), My Pal Trigger (1946), Daughter of Don Q (1946), The Inner Circle (1946), The Last Crooked Mile (1946), Roll on Texas Moon (1946), Home in Oklahoma (1946), The Crimson Ghost (1946), Sioux City Sue (1946), Son of Zorro (1947), Trail to San Antone (1947), Calendar Girl (1947), Apache Rose (1947), The Trespasser (1947), Robin Hood of Texas (1947), Jesse James Rides Again (1947), Exposed (1947), On the Old Spanish Trail (1947), The Black Widow (1947), The Pilgrim

333 Lady (1947), Angel and the Badman (1947), The Ghost Goes Wild (1947), High and Happy (1947), That’s My Gal (1947), That’s My Man (1947), Saddle Pals (1947), Northwest Outpost (1947), Springtime in the Sierras (1947), Wyoming (1947), Driftwood (1947), The Fabulous Texan (1947), The Flame (1947), The Main Street Kid (1948), Slippy McGee (1948), Campus Honeymoon (1948), Madonna of the Desert (1948), Lightnin’ in the Forest (1948), California Firebrand (1948), The Bold Frontiersman (1948), Old Los Angeles (1948), The Heart of Virginia (1948), King of the Gamblers (1948), Carson City Raiders (1948), The Gallant Legion (1948), I, Jane Doe (1948), Secret Service Investigator (1948), Train to Alcatraz (1948), Eyes of Texas (1948), Daredevils of the Clouds (1948), Angel in Exile (1948), Moonrise (1948), Out of the Storm (1948), Macbeth (1948), The Plunderers (1948), Grand Canyon Trail (1948), The Far Frontier (1948), Wake of the Red Witch (1948), The Gay Ranchero (1948), G-Men Never Forget (1948), The Inside Story (1948), Dangers of the Canadian Mounted (1948), Under California Stars (1948), Night Time in Nevada (1948), Adventures of Frank and Jesse James (1948), Sundown in Santa Fe (1948), Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc. (1949), The Last Bandit (1949), Hideout (1949), Duke of Chicago (1949), Ghost of Zorro (1949), Susanna Pass (1949), Omoo Omoo the Shark God (1949), The James Brothers of Missouri (1949), The Kid from Cleveland (1949), Down Dakota Way (1949), Alias the Champ (1949), The Golden Stallion (1949), Radar Patrol vs. Spy King (1949), Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), Streets of San Francisco (1949), The Red Pony (1949), Hellﬁre (1949), Too Late for Tears (1949), Brimstone (1949), Post Ofﬁce Investigator (1949), The Fighting Kentuckian (1949), Flame of Youth (1949), Bells of Coronado (1950), The Blonde Bandit (1950), Tarnished (1950), Singing Guns (1950), Belle of Old Mexico (1950), Twilight in the Sierras (1950), Unmasked (1950), Federal Agent at Large (1950), Women from Headquarters (1950), The Invisible Monster (1950), Hills of Oklahoma (1950), Destination Big House (1950), Trigger, Jr. (1950), Desperados of the West (1950), Prisoners in Petticoats (1950), Hit Parade of 1951 (1950), Flying Disc Man from Mars (1950), House by the River (1950), Harbor of Missing Men (1950), Rock Island Trail (1950), The Savage Horde (1950), Trial Without Jury (1950), The Showdown (1950), Surrender (1950), Rio Grande (1950), North of the Great Divide (1950), Trail of Robin Hood (1950), California Passage (1950), The Pride of Maryland (1951), Belle Le Grande (1951), Rough Riders of Durango (1951), Missing Women (1951), Oh! Susanna (1951), Cuban Fireball (1951), Thunder in God’s Country (1951), Bullﬁghter and the Lady (1951), Buckaroo Sheriff of Texas (1951), Million Dollar Pursuit (1951), Fighting Coast Guard (1951), Secret of Monte Carlo (1951), The Dakota Kid (1951), Rodeo King and the Senorita (1951), Havana Rose (1951), Utah Wagon Train (1951), Honeychile (1951), The Sea Hornet (1951), Street Bandits (1951), The Wild Blue Yonder (1951), Spoilers of the Plains (1951), Silver City Bonanza (1951), Insurance Investigator (1951), Heart of the Rockies (1951), Don Daredevil Rides Again (1951), In Old Amarillo (1951), Government Agents vs. Phantom Legion (1951), South of Caliente (1951), Pals of the Golden

2008 • Obituaries

West (1951), Colorado Sundown (1952), Border Saddlemates (1952), Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952), The Quiet Man (1952), Old Oklahoma Plains (1952), The WAC from Walla Walla (1952), Woman in the Dark (1952), Thunderbirds (1952), Oklahoma Annie (1952), Hoodlum Empire (1952), Gobs and Gals (1952), I Dream of Jeanie (1952), Woman of the North Country (1952), Tropical Heat Wave (1952), Toughest Man in Arizona (1952), South Paciﬁc Trail (1952), Montana Belle (1952), Ride the Man Down (1952), Jungle Drums of Africa (1953), Canadian Mounties vs. Atomic Invaders (1953), City That Never Sleeps (1953), Champ for a Day (1953), Geraldine (1953), San Antone (1953), Woman They Almost Lynched (1953), The Lady Wants Mink (1953), A Perilous Journey (1953), Fair Wind to Java (1953), The Sun Shines Bright (1953), Sweethearts on Parade (1953), Bandits of the West (1953), Flight Nurse (1953), Trader Tom of the China Seas (1954), Sea of Lost Ships (1954), Hell’s Half Acre (1954), Man with the Steel Whip (1954), Hell’s Outpost (1954), Make Haste to Live (1954), Untamed Heiress (1954), Jubilee Trail (1954), The Shanghai Story (1954), The Outcast (1954), The Atomic Kid (1954), The Eternal Sea (1955), City of Shadows (1955), Double Jeopardy (1955), No Man’s Woman (1955), The Fighting Chance (1955), Carolina Cannonball (1955), Timberjack (1955), Santa Fe Passage (1955), I Cover the Underworld (1955), The Road to Denver (1955), King of the Carnival (1955), The Last Command (1955), Headline Hunters (1955), The Twinkle in God’s Eye (1955), A Man Alone (1955), The Vanishing American (1955), Jaguar (1956), When Gangland Strikes (1956), The Maverick Queen (1956), A Strange Adventure (1956), The Man Is Armed (1956), A Woman’s Devotion (1956), Come Next Spring (1956), Stranger at My Door (1956), Terror at Midnight (1956), Dakota Incident (1956), Thunder Over Arizona (1956), Lisbon (1956), Peyton Place (1957), Missile Monsters (1958), The Long, Hot Summer (1958), In Love and War (1958), The Sound and the Fury (1959), Compulsion (1959), Say One for Me (1959), The Best of Everything (1959), The FBI Story (1959), and HoundDog Man (1959).

PALMER, EARL Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame jazz drummer Earl Palmer died at his home in Banning, California, near Los Angeles, on September 19, 2008.

Earl Palmer

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334

He was 83. Palmer was born in New Orleans on October 24, 1924. He began tap dancing with his mother and aunt on the black vaudeville circuit at the age of ﬁve and toured the country with Ida Cox’s Darktown Scandals Review. He served in the United States Army during World War II and returned to New Orleans to study music after the war ended. By the late 1940s, Palmer’s career as a session drummer took off and his unique backbeat drum style could be heard on Fats Domino’s “Fat Man,” Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti,” and Smiley Lewis’ “I Hear You Knockin’”. He moved to Hollywood in 1957, bringing a fresh, new sound to backbeat drumming, which he described as “funky” to the music scene. Over the next three decades, he recorded with such artists as Ritchie Valens, Bobby Day, the Righteous Boys, Ike & Tina Turner, the Monkees, the Beach Boys, Neil Young, Bobby Daren, Frank Sinatra, and Ray Charles. Palmer also performed on numerous ﬁlm and television scores, including Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Hud (1963), Baby the Rain Must Fall (1964), Ride the Wild Surf (1964), Robin and the Seven Hoods (1964), Boeing-Boeing (1965), Harlow (1965), How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965), A Patch of Blue (1965), Goldsmith (1965), Pretty Polly (1967), Cool Hand Luke (1967), In the Heat of the Night (1967), and A Dandy in Aspic (1968). His television credits include theme songs and soundtracks for such series as The Flintstones, M Squad, 77 Sunset Strip, Bourbon Street Beat, Hawaiian Eye, Peyton Place, I Dream of Jeannie, Green Acres, Ironside, The Outsider, It Take a Thief, The Leslie Uggams Show, The Brady Bunch, Delta, The Partridge Family, The Odd Couple, The Pearl Bailey Show, M.A.S.H., The Midnight Special, Mannix, and Mission: Impossible. Palmer also appeared on television as an actor in a 1965 episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and later in the ﬁlms The Two Jakes (1990) and Once (2000). His biography, Backbeat: Earl Palmer’s Story, written by Tony Scherman, was published in 1999. Palmer became one of the ﬁrst session musicians to be inducted into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame when he was given the honor in 2000. In recent years, he performed with the Earl Palmer Trio in Los Angeles, attracting many big name musicians.

PALOUSEK, PHILLIP Visual effects coordinator Phillip “Dog” Palousek died on December 8, 2008. He was 32. Palousek worked with Amalgamated Pixels, Inc. from the early 2000s. He worked on visual effects for numerous ﬁlms, including Donnie Darko (2001), Driven (2001), They Crawl (2001), Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001), Swordﬁsh (2001), Warrior (2002), Halloween: Resurrection (2002), Scorcher (2002), Global Effect (2002), The Cooler (2003), Detonator (2003), The Matrix Reloaded (2003), the teleﬁlm Momentum (2003), The Italian Job (2003), Deadly Swarm (2003), Elf (2003), Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003), Torque (2004), In Enemy Hands (2004), The Devil and Daniel Webster (2004), The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), Sniper 3 (2004), Blade: Trinity (2004), Vampires: The Turning (2005), the tele-ﬁlm Frederick Forsyth’s Icon (2005), Into the Blue (2005), Syriana

Phillip Palousek

(2005), Running Scared (2006), Believe in Me (2006), Fast Food Nation (2006), Peaceful Warrior (2006), Road House 2: Last Call (2006), Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006), The Fountain (2006), 300 (2006), The Last Mimzy (2007), Epic Movie (2007), The Messengers (2007), Captivity (2007), Live Free or Die Hard (2007), Arctic Tale (2007), Rush Hour 3 (2007), Falling (2008), Over Her Dead Body (2008), Nim’s Island (2008), Keith (2008), Get Smart (2008), My Sassy Girl (2008), Traitor (2008), Nothing Like the Holidays (2008), Powder Blue (2009), Evil Angel (2009), and Crossing Over (2009).

PAPACHRONIS , KONSTANTINOS Greek actor Konstantinos Papachronis was killed in a motorcycle accident in Athens, Greece, on December 2, 2008. He was 31. Papachronis was born in Athens in 1977. He was featured in several Greek television series including Vathi Kokkino (2000), Shedon Pote (2003), Mia Agapi, Mia Zoi (2003), Suddenly (2004), 10i En-

Konstantinos Papachronis

toli (2006), Pali Apo Tin Arhi (2006), and Oi Istories tou Astynomou (2008) as Alexandros Argiris. He also appeared in the ﬁlms My Best Friend (2001), Delivery (2004), and Slaves in Their Bonds (2008). Papachronis also performed frequently on stage with the National Theater of Greece.

PAPPAS, IKE Television news correspondent Ike Pappas died of congestive heart failure in Arling-

335

2008 • Obituaries

Baghdad (1952), Naya Ghar (1953), Laila and Majnu (1953), Shahzada (1955), Pehli Jhalak (1955), and The Do-Gooder (1956). She retired from the screen after her marriage to Nasir Khan in 1958. They had three children, including actor Ayub Khan, before Nasir’s death in 1974. Para made a comeback in as a grandmother in Sanjay Leela Bansali’s 2007 ﬁlm Sawariya. Bansali planned to feature Para in his next ﬁlm, Heera Mandi, before her death.

Ike Pappas

ton, Virginia, on August 31, 2008. He was 75. Pappas was born in New York City on April 16, 1933. He began working in journalism while serving in the Army in the 1950s, writing for Stars and Stripes. He began working at CBS in the early 1960s. Pappas was reporting live for WNEW radio while standing beside Lee Harvey Oswald when Kennedy’s assassin was killed by Jack Ruby in November of 1963. He was later an eyewitness at Ruby’s trial. He remained at CBS for the next 25 years, reporting on such major news stories as the Vietnam War and the Kent State Massacre. He was forced out at CBS during a downsizing in 1987. He began his own news programming production company soon afterwards, hiring many of his fellow ousted newsmen. He was also a familiar enough face that he was cast in cameo roles in several ﬁlms, including Moon Over Parador (1988), The Package (1989), and Matinee (1993).

PARGHEL, ANCA Romanian jazz singer Anca Parghel died of ovarian cancer in Timisoara, Romania, on December 5, 2008. She was 51. Parghel was born in Campulung Moldovenesc, Romania, on September 16, 1957. She began singing at an early age and studied at the Iasi Conservatory during her teens. She began her career in music in the early 1980s and became one of

Anca Parghel

PARA, BEGUM Indian actress Begum Para, who was a siren of the screen in the 1940s and 1950s, died in India on December 9, 2008. She was 81. She was born in Jalandhar, India, in 1927 and raised in Bikaner. She made her ﬁlm debut at the age of 17 in Chand with Prem Adib. She subsequently moved to Bombay in 1945 where she appeared in numerous ﬁlms. Para became one of India’s leading sex symbols, starring in Sohni Mahiwal (1946), The Chain (1947), Mehandi (1947), Neel Kamal (1947), Sohag Raat (1948), Shahnaz (1948), Jharna (1948), Obligation (1950),

Romania’s most popular performers. She also appeared at jazz festivals throughout Europe and the United States. She recorded over 16 albums during her career including Tineni Danseaza (1986), Soul, My Secret Place (1987), Indian Princess (1989), Is That So? (1992), Airballoon (1992), Carpathian Colours (1994), White Christmas Night (1994), Midnight Prayer (1996), Primal Sound (1999), and Samorena (2008).

Begum Para

Park Kwang-jung

PARK KWANG-JUNG Korean actor and director Park Kwang-jung died of lung cancer in Seoul,

Obituaries • 2008

336

South Korea, on December 15, 2008. He was 46. He made his debut as a stage director in 1992 and became one of the country’s foremost theatrical ﬁgures. He also made his debut in ﬁlms as a supporting actor in 1992’s Myong-Ja Akiko Sonia. Park was also seen in the ﬁlms A Man Among Men (1996), No. 3 (1997), Ghost in Love (1998), Iron Palm (2002), Reversal of Fortune (2003), and Princess Aurora (2005). He starred as betrayed husband in the 2006 ﬁlm Driving with My Wife’s Lover.

PARK KYUNG-NI Korean novelist Park Kyung-ni, who was best known for her epic saga Land (Toji), died of lung cancer in a Seoul, South Korea, hospital on May 5, 2008. She was 81. Park was born in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, Korea, on October 28, 1926. She began her writing career in the mid–1950s, publishing the short stories “Calculations”

Park Kyung-ni

House (1995), and Black Point (2001). He was also a camera operator for the tele-ﬁlms I Heard the Owl Call My Name (1973), Hey, I’m Alive (1975), Who’ll Save Our Children? (1978), A Piano for Mrs. Cimino (1982), The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1983), Packin’ It In (1983), The Glitter Dome (1984), Deep Dark Secrets (1987), Nightmare at Bitter Creek (1988), Deadly Intentions ... Again? (1991), Shadow of a Stranger (1992), Floating Away (1998), and Perfect Romance (2004). Parkhurst also served as cinematographer for the teleﬁlms Panic in the Skies! (1996), Dog’s Best Friend (1997), and Doomsday Rock (1997), and episodes of the 1998 television series The New Addams Family.

PARS, KENAN Turkish actor Kenan Pars died of lung cancer in Istanbul, Turkey, on March 10, 2008. He was 88. Pars was born in Istanbul on March 10, 1920. He was a leading performer in Turkish cinema from the early 1950s with roles in such ﬁlms as Murderous City (1953), The Wild Girl (1954), The Last Song (1954), The White Hell (1954), The Sinful Father (1956), Yanik Kezban (1957), The Ambush (1957), The Female Monster (1957), For My Child (1958), Remorse (1958), The Grievous Years (1958), Hell in the Life (1958), The Milky Way (1959), Izmir Is Burning (1959), Gurbet (1959), Gulnaz, the Fisherman’s Daughter (1959), The Luckless Child (1960), Nebahat, the Driver (1960), First Love (1960), Goodbye, Memories (1960), Destiny (1960), My Son (1961) which he also directed, Oglum (1961), An Orphan’s Yearning (1961), Love and Fist (1961), Allah Cezani Versin Osman Bey (1961), Sweet Dreams of Youth (1962), The Wild Cat (1962), The False Marriage (1962), The Adventurer Woman (1964), Men Don’t Cry (1964), Love No More (1964), Mualla (1964), The Last Birds

(1955) and “Black Is Black, White Is White” (1956). She was best known for the 16-volume Land, an epic about Korea near the start of the 20th century. The tale, which included over 300 characters, took Park 25 years to write. It was adapted for ﬁlm in 1974 and was also a television series and an opera. Several of her others works were made into ﬁlms including A Drifting Story (1960), The Daughters of Kim’s Pharmacy (1963), and The Lake of My Mind (1964).

PARKHURST, ROD Cinematographer and cameraman Rod Parkhurst died of cancer in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, on November 12, 2008. He was 70. Parkhurst was born in Santa Barbara, California, on November 17, 1937. He began working in the ﬁlm industry after graduating from the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara in 1960. He worked as a camera operator on such ﬁlms as McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971), The Food of the Gods (1976), Shadow of the Hawk (1976), Days of Heaven (1978), Superman (1978), A Man, a Woman and a Bank (1979), The Changeling (1980), Death Hunt (1981), First Blood (1982) which introduced Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo character, Harry Tracy, Detective (1982), The Golden Seal (1983), Mrs. Soffel (1984), The Journey of Natty Gann (1985), The Boy Who Could Fly (1986), Roxanne (1987), The Accused (1988), Who’s Harry Crumb? (1989), Short Time (1990), Another Stakeout (1993), Man of the

Kenan Pars

(1965), The 17th Passenger (1965), Ten Fearless Women (1965), Black Cat (1965), Secret Command (1965), Fight of the Giants (1965), The Bread Seller Woman (1965), Revenge of the Angels (1966), Poor and Proud (1966), Traﬁc Belma (1967), Kibar Ali (1969), Karamurat: The Sultan’s Warrior (1973), My Homeland (1974), Reviviﬁcation (1974), Delicesine (1975), Justice (1977), Lo Scoiattolo (1981), Sosyete Saban (1985), Aci Su (1988), The Fog (1993), and Acilar (2000). Pars also appeared on Turkish television in such productions as Kucuk Aga

337

2008 • Obituaries

(1983), Kucuk Besleme (1999), and Hayat Baglari (2000).

PATE, MICHAEL Australian actor Michael Pate, who made a career playing swarthy heavies in ﬁlms and television from the 1950s, died of complications from pneumonia in a Gosford, Australia, hospital on September 1, 2008. He was 88. Pate was born in Drummoyne, Sydney, Australia, on February 26, 1920. He began his career with the Australian Broadcasting Commission, working on radio dramas. He was in the Australian Army during World War II and served in the entertainment unit. He returned to radio after the war and was featured in a leading role in the 1949 ﬁlm Sons of Matthew. He was also featured in the ﬁlm Bitter Springs in 1950 and directed two theatrical productions, Dark of the Moon and Bonaventure. He went to Hollywood the following year, where he appeared in the universal ﬁlm adaptation of Bonaventure, Thunder on the Hill. He worked primarily in ﬁlm and television in the United States for the next two decades. He numerous ﬁlm credits include Ten Tall Men (1951), The Strange Door (1951), 5 Fingers (1952), Face to Face (1952), The Black Castle (1952), Target Hong Kong (1953), Rogue’s March (1953), The Desert Rats (1953), Scandal at Scourie (1953), Julius Caesar (1953) as Flavius, Houdini (1953), The Maze (1953), The Royal African Riﬂes (1953), All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953), Hondo (1953) as Chiricahua Apache Chief Vittorio, El Alamein (1953), Secret of the Incas (1954), King Richard and the Crusaders (1954), The Silver Chalice (1954), A Lawless Street (1955), The Court Jester (1955) with Danny Kaye, The Killer Is Loose (1956), The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956), Congo Crossing (1956), Reprisal! (1956), 7th Cavalry (1956), Something of Value (1957), The Oklahoman (1957), The Tall Stranger (1957), Hong Kong Conﬁdential (1958), Desert Hell (1958), Westbound (1959), Green Mansions (1959), Curse of the Undead (1959) as vampire gunslinger Drake Robey, Walk Like a Dragon (1960), The Canadians (1961), Sergeants Three (1962), Beauty and the Beast (1962), Tower of London (1962), California (1963), Drums of Africa (1963), P.T. 109 (1963), McLintock! (1963) with John Wayne, Advance to the Rear (1964), Major Dundee (1965), Brainstorm (1965), The Great Sioux Massacre (1965) as Sitting Bull, The

Michael Pate

Michael Pate (from Curse of the Undead )

Singing Nun (1966), Return of the Gunﬁghter (1967), and Little Jungle Boy (1969). Pate was featured on television as Leiter in the ﬁrst ﬁlmed appearance of James Bond in Casino Royale on Climax! in 1954, starring Barry Nelson as 007. A proliﬁc television performer, he also guest-starred in episodes of The Lone Wolf, Climax!, You Are There, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Four Star Playhouse, Broken Arrow, Soldiers of Fortune, Wire Service, The Millionaire, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Goodyear Theatre, Zorro, The Frank Sinatra Show, Alcoa Theatre, Sugarfoot, The Grand Jury, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, The Third Man, Black Saddle, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Markham, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, Law of the Plainsman, The Texan, Wichita Town, Men into Space, The Islanders, Zane Grey Theater, Michael Shayne, Hawaiian Eye, General Electric Theater, Adventures in Paradise, Maverick, Boris Karloff ’s Thriller, The Tall Man, The Roaring 20’s, Acapulco, Peter Gunn, Frontier Justice, Follow the Sun, Lawman, Frontier Circus, Tales of Wells Fargo, Ripcord, Laramie, Have Gun —Will Travel, 77 Sunset Strip, The Riﬂeman, Route 66, The Beachcomber, Cheyenne, The Dakotas, Glynis, Rawhide, Perry Mason, Temple Houston, Gunsmoke, Proﬁles in Courage, Lassie, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Kraft Suspense Theatre, Wagon Train, Burke’s Law, Get Smart, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Honey West, Branded, Daktari, Daniel Boone, Batman as the Clock King’s henchman, Death Valley Days, The Wild Wild West, Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, Time Tunnel, Rango, The Road West, The Rat Patrol, Tarzan, Mission: Impossible, Maya, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Riptide, and The Virginian. Pate also reprised his role as Chief Vittoro in the television series Hondo in 1967. He returned to Australia in the late 1960s where he worked as a television producer. He also wrote the 1970 textbook The Film Actor and starred as Detective Sergeant Vic Maddern in the police drama Matlock Police from 1971 to 1975. He wrote and produced the ﬁlm The Mango Tree (1977) starring his son Christopher Pate. Pate scripted the 1979 ﬁlm adaptation of Colleen McCullough’s novel Tim, which he also produced and directed. Tim marked the ﬁlm debut of actor Mel Gibson. Pate also continued to appear on Australian television in episodes of Homicide, Delta, The Long Arm, Division 4, Cash and Company,

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Power Without Glory, A Dangerous Life, and the new Mission: Impossible. He was also featured in the teleﬁlms Body Business (1986), Sands of the Bedouin (1988), and Ofﬁcial Denial (1994). Pate was also seen on screen in the ﬁlms Mad Dog Morgan (1976), The Battle of Broken Hill (1981), Duet for Four (1982), The Return of Captain Invincible (1983) as the President, The Wild Duck (1983), Death of a Soldier (1986), and Howling III: The Marsupials (1987). He was a voice actor in The Camel Boy (1984), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1986) as Injun Joe, and Down Rusty Down (1986) as Rusty. He and his son, Christopher, collaborated on a stage production of Mass Appeal in the early 1980s. He continued to act and direct until his retirement in 2001. Pate was also the writer of a regular column for Boyd Magers’ Western Clippings from the mid–1990s.

PATERSON, IAN

Scottish actor and singer Ian Paterson died in Portugal on June 21, 2008. He was 81. Paterson was born in Calcutta, India, on July 28, 1926, and moved with his family to their homeland of Scotland as a child. After earning a degree in electronics, he set out on a career as a stage performer in the early 1960s. His musical roles in the acclaimed Scottish pantomime Jamie led to acquiring the singing lead for the subsequent A Love for Jamie in the early 1960s. Paterson performed on such legendary stages as Newcastleon-Tyne, Players Theatre in London, and HM Theatre Aberdeen. He made his television debut in an episode of Knock on Any Door in 1965 and was also seen in the series Champion House, and Spy Trap. He played the recurring role of Andy Fraser in the soap opera Crossroads from 1966 to 1975 and was seen in the off beat musical program Caimgorm Ski Night. Paterson was also a former director of opera studies at the Birmingham School of Music. He was living in the Portuguese Algarve, working as a cruise ship entertainment manager at the time of his death.

PAUSCH, RANDY Randy Pausch, the computer science professor whose lecture on the wonder of living while dying from pancreatic cancer inspired countless others, succumbed to his illness at his home in Chesapeake, Virginia, on July 25, 2008. He was 47. Pausch was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 23, 1960, He graduated from Brown University and earned a Ph.D. in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University. He taught computer science at the University of Virginia for ten years before joining the faculty of Carnegie Mellon in 1997. He was a popular teacher and would create virtual worlds to help his students learn complex computer skills. Pausch accepted an invitation to address students in a forum that was called the Last Lecture, where the speaker would take the opportunity to impart what wisdom he could if it was the ﬁnal time he was able to do so. Soon after agreeing, Pausch learned that he was suffering from metastasized pancreatic cancer and had months to live. He proceeded to give the lecture on September 18, 2007, where he urged his listeners to live life to the fullest while they had the chance. He spoke of the happiness and fulﬁllment he had experiences in his own life, the love he had for his wife and three young chil-

Randy Pausch

dren, and the importance of maintaining a childlike sense of wonder. His lecture became widely translated and distributed throughout the world. Oprah Winfrey gave him the opportunity to give an abridged version on her program and Wall Street Journal reporter Jeffrey Zaslow compiled the best-selling book The Last Lecture in 2008. Though he had experienced most of his life’s aspirations, he was granted several more as the end neared. A long-time Trekkie, Pausch was invited by director J.J. Abrams to appear in a cameo role in the new Star Trek ﬁlm, and his interests in football garnered him an invitation to participate in a Pittsburgh Steelers practice session. When Pausch ﬁnally succumbed, he had outlived his doctors’ most optimistic estimates by six months. PAVLOV, KONSTANTIN Bulgarian poet and screenwriter Konstantin Pavlov died after a long illness in Soﬁa, Bulgaria, on September 29, 2008. He was 75. Pavlov was born in Vitoshko, Bulgaria, on April 2, 1933. He became a popular dissident poet in the 1950s, leading the “Intellectual” faction who wanted to eliminate what was bad in literary and political systems. He published the collections of verse Satires in 1960 and Verse in 1965 before the authorities largely banned

Konstantin Pavlov

his work. They allowed another volume, Singing Contest, to be published in 1976, and Old Things followed in 1983. He was again banned until the collapse of the

339

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Communist regime in 1989. His later volumes include Sweet Agony (1991), The Murder of the Sleeping Man (1992), and A Long Time Ago... (1998). Pavlov also scripted a handful of ﬁlms from the early 1970s including Affection (1972), Memory of the Twin Sister (1976), Hark to the Cock (1978), Illusion (1980) which earned him the Grand Prix at the Karlovy Vary ﬁlm festival for his screenplay, Mass Miracle (1981), White Magic (1982), Memory (1985), Scar-Free (1989), the television production The Hamlet (1990), Something in the Air (1993), and The Fate as a Rat (2001).

PEARLBERG, IRVING Television writer and producer Irving Pearlberg died at his home in Studio City, California, on June 29, 2008. He was 82. Pearlberg was born in New York City on December 29, 1925. He produced the 1963 ﬁlm Twilight of Honor and was an associate producer for The Man from U.N.C.L.E. television from 1966 to 1968. Pearlberg scripted episodes of numerous television series from the 1960s including Kraft Suspense Theatre, The Name of the Game, The Courtship of Eddie Father, Alias Smith and Jones, Search, Columbo, The F.B.I., Ironside, Cannon, The Rookies, Hawaii Five-0, Police Woman, Quincy, Paris, Eischied, Falcon Crest, The Mississippi, and The Paper Chase. He also wrote the 1979 tele-ﬁlm Women in White. PEBBLES Susan Adams, who was known as Pebbles when she was the ring valet for wrestler Chick Donovan, died in Georgia after a long illness on May 23,

Jay Peckos

Silence of the Lambs and Dances with Wolves until the studio closed in 1997. Peckos subsequently worked at Trimark, Lionsgate, and Landmark Theaters before joining Magnolia Pictures as senior vice president of distribution in 2004. He worked on the distribution of Steven Soderbergh’s indie ﬁlm Bubble, and the Oscarnominated documentaries Enron: Smartest Guys in the Room and Capturing the Friedmans. PEELLAERT , GUY Belgian surrealist pop artist Guy Peellaert, whose work adorned album covers and movie posters, died of kidney cancer in a hospital in Paris, France, on November 17, 2008. He was 74. Peellaert was born in Brussels, Belgium, on April 6, 1934. He studied art and worked as a comic artist in Belgium before moving to Paris in the 1960s. His comics were featured in the 1967 French ﬁlm The Killing Game. His surreal art featured in the 1972 book Rock Dreams brought Peellaert to the attention of the Rolling Stones and David Bowie, who commissioned several album covers from him. He designed the Stones’ album It’s Only Rock ’n’ Roll and Bowie’s Diamond Dogs in 1974. He also created movie posters for such ﬁlms

Pebbles (with Chick Donovan)

2008. She was 48. Adams was born on December 15, 1959. She was married to Donovan while accompanying him to the ring as Pebbles during the 1980s.

PECKOS, JAY Film distribution executive Jay Peckos died in Los Angeles on May 24, 2008. He was 58. Peckos was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 24, 1949. He began working in ﬁlms as a buyer for the local General Cinema Theaters in 1972. He worked for Columbia and Warner Bros. until 1984, when he became senior vice president for sales at MGM. He was involved in releasing such ﬁlms as Rain Man, A Fish Called Wanda, and Moonstruck. He joined Orion Pictures in 1991 where he helped release the hits

Guy Peellaert

as Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, Robert Altman’s Short Cuts, and Wim Wenders’ Wings of Desire. He teamed with author Michael Herr to create the 1986 book The Big Room, a surreal homage to Las Vegas. He also worked with Nick Cohn to design an alternative his-

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340

tory of the 20th century with the 1999 book 20th Century Dreams.

PERKINS, GEOFFREY British television comedy producer Geoffrey Perkins was killed when he was struck by a ﬂatbed lorry in a central London street on August 29, 2008. He was 55. Perkins was born in Bushey, Hertfordshire, England, on February 22, 1953. He began working at BBC Radio in 1977, where he was instrumental in revitalizing the comedy panel show I’m Sorry I, Haven’t a Clue. He also produced the ﬁrst series of Douglas Adams’ cult classic The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy for BBC Radio 4 in mid–1977. He wrote the popular radio sketch program Radio Active in 1980 and was featured on the show as disc jockey Emily Perry

Dame Edna Everage, died in England on February 20, 2008. She was 100. Perry was born in Torquay, Devon, England, on June 28, 1907. She was a long time instructor at the Patricia Perry Academy of Dancing. Perry began performing with Barry Humphries at the age of 80, portraying the oft silent Madge Allsop to Humphries’ exuberant Dame Edna for nearly 20 years. She and Humphries appeared together in television and stage productions. She also appeared as Eliza Broadbent in a 1995 episode of Last of the Summer Wine. She retired to Brinsworth House, in Twickenham, in 2004.

Geoffrey Perkins

Mike Flex. He left the BBC in 1988 to work with Hat Trick Productions, which produced comedy programming for BBC and ITV. He was a producer on such programs as Spitting Image, The Robbie Coltrane Special (1989), Norbert Smith, a Life (1989), Ben Elton: The Man from Auntie (1990), and Harry Enﬁeld’s Television Programme (1990). He rejoined the BBC in 1995 to become Head of Comedy for the television division. He also produced such shows as Father Ted (1995), The Thin Blue Line (1995), A Perfect State (1997), Keeping Mum (1997), Bloomin’ Marvellous (1997), Game-On (1998), Operation Good Guys (1997), How Do You Want Me? (1998), Norman Ormal: A Very Political Turtle (1998), Big Train (1998), Ted & Ralph (1998), Kiss Me Kate (1998), Blackadder Back & Forth (1999), and Hippies (1999). Perkins again left the BBC in 2001 to become creative director and executive producer for the independent production company Tiger Aspect. He served as executive producer for My Hero (2000), Gentlemen’s Relish (2001), Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years (2001), Lee Evans: So What Now? (2001), Life as We Know It (2001), World of Pub (2001), Happiness (2001), Coupling (2001), Mr. Charity (2001), My Family (2001), Manchild (2002), Breeze Block (2002), Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps (2002), Celeb (2002), Swiss Toni (2003), The Catherine Tate Show (2004), Benidorm (2007), and May Contain Nuts (2008).

PERRY, EMILY Emily Perry, who was featured as Madge Allsop, the foil and housekeeper for

PERSSON, GENE Actor turned producer Gene Persson, who was co-creator of the play You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, died of a heart attack in New York City on June 6, 2008. He was 74. Persson was born in Los Angeles on January 12, 1934. He began his show business career as a child, performing on radio and television and in such ﬁlms as Swell Guy (1946), Trail Street (1947), The Egg and I (1947), Welcome Stranger (1947), The Stratton Story (1949), and On Dangerous Ground (1952). He also appeared as one of the Kettle children in the rustic comedy ﬁlm series that commenced with Ma and Pa Kettle in 1949, and included Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town (1950) and Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair (1952). He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and resumed his acting career after his discharge. Persson was featured in the ﬁlms Earth vs. the Spider (1958), The Party Crashers (1958),

Gene Persson

341 and Bloodlust! (1961). He was also seen on television in episodes of Danger, The Gray Ghost, The United States Steel Hour, The Walter Winchell File, Dragnet, and R.C.M.P. Persson married actress Shirley Knight in 1959, and he soon turned from acting to producing theatrical productions starring his wife. He was instrumental in staging some of the early plays of LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka) including Dutchman!, The Toilet, and Slave, and produced Stanley Mann’s Room on Broadway. He produced a ﬁlm version of Dutchman!, starring Knight and Al Freeman, Jr., in 1967, and produced the controversial play The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald (1967). Divorced from Knight, he moved to London in the late 1960s, where he produced the early works of Peter Barnes, including The Ruling Class. Persson teamed with Arthur Whitelaw to create a musical version of Charles Schultz’s Peanuts characters, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, in 1967. He also produced the 1973 television production of the musical and worked on several Tennessee Williams productions in England and the United States. He continued his involvement in the theater throughout his life, producing numerous pays including Snoopy!!! The Musical, which he also directed. Persson was working on a musical theatrical version of A Charlie Brown Christmas at the time of his death.

PETERS, HOUSE, JR. Character actor House Peters, Jr., died of pneumonia at the Motion Picture and Television Fund hospital in Los Angeles, California, on October 1, 2008. He was 92. Peters was born in New Rochelle, New York, on January 12, 1916, the son of silent screen star House Peters, Sr., and actress Mae King Peters. He was raised in Beverly Hills, California, where he trained to be an actor. He made his ﬁlm debut in 1935’s Hot Tip. He went on to appear in small roles in such ﬁlms and serials as Three Kids and a Queen (1935), The Adventures of Frank Merriwell (1936), Flash Gordon (1936) as a Shark Man, Yellowstone (1936), Ace Drummond (1936), Four Days’ Wonder (1936), Windjammer (1937), Public Cowboy No. 1 (1937), Start Cheering (1938), Frontier Pony Express (1939), and Sea Raiders (1941). Peters’ ﬁlm career was interrupted by World War II, when he served with the U.S. Army Air Corps’ Air Sea Rescue division. He re-

House Peters, Jr.

2008 • Obituaries

sumed his career after the war, appearing in numerous westerns and B-ﬁlms. His many credits include Danger Street (1947), Oklahoma Badlands (1948), Dangers of the Canadian Mounted (1948), Under California Stars (1948), Desperadoes of Dodge City (1948), Adventures of Frank and Jesse James (1948), The Plunderers (1948), Gunning for Justice (1948), Courtin’ Trouble (1948), Renegades of Sonora (1948), Rose of the Yukon (1949), Outlaw Country (1949), Sheriff of Wichita (1949), Son of Billy the Kid (1949), Batman and Robin (1949), King of the Rocket Men (1949), The Gal Who Took the West (1949), Love Happy (1949), Over the Border (1950), Twilight in the Sierras (1950), Cow Town (1950), Hi-Jacked (1950), Border Treasure (1950), Three Desperate Men (1951), Gene Autry and the Mounties (1951), Spoilers of the Plains (1951), Man from Sonora (1951), The Red Badge of Courage (1951), Blazing Bullets (1951), Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison (1951), Lorna Doone (1951), The Dakota Kid (1951), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), The Vanishing Outpost (1951), And Now Tomorrow (1952), The Old West (1952), Waco (1952), Oklahoma Annie (1952), Kansas Territory (1952), Red Planet Mars (1952), The Lion and the Horse (1952), Carson City (1952), Hellgate (1952), Fargo (1952), Wyoming Roundup (1952), Kansas City Conﬁdential (1952), Winning of the West (1953), The Man Behind the Gun (1953), Port Sinister (1953), Highway Dragnet (1954), Overland Paciﬁc (1954), Target Earth (1954), Strategic Air Command (1955), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), The Women of Pitcairn Island (1956), Man Afraid (1957), Johnny Tremain (1957), House of Numbers (1957), Black Patch (1957), Bombers B-52 (1957), Man from God’s Country (1958), Ordeal at Dry Red (1959), Inside the Maﬁa (1959), The Big Night (1960), Terror at Black Falls (1962), Who’s Got the Action? (1962), Rio Conchos (1964), and The Great Sioux Massacre (1965). Peters was also a proliﬁc television performer with roles in episodes of such series as The Gene Autry Show, Gang Busters, The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, Sky King, The Cisco Kid, The Range Rider, Death Valley Days, Ramar of the Jungle, Hopalong Cassidy, The Adventures of Champion, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, You Are There, Fury, Buffalo Bill, Jr., Navy Log, Annie Oakley, The Gray Ghost, Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, The Roy Rogers Show, The Lone Ranger, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Telephone Time, Tales of Wells Fargo, Broken Arrow, Boots and Saddles, Sugarfoot, Bronco, Northwest Passage, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, The Rough Riders, Buckskin, Zane Grey Theater, Colt .45, The Californians, M Squad, Bat Masterson, The Twilight Zone, Gunsmoke, Lawman, The Roaring 20’s, Wagon Train, 77 Sunset Strip, Perry Mason, and Lassie in the recurring role of Sheriff Jim Billings. Peters was also noted for his role as the household cleaner icon Mr. Clean in commercials in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Though he retired from acting in the late 1960s to work in real estate, he became a familiar face at western ﬁlm festivals in recent decades.

PETROVICKA, JIRINA Czech actress Jirina Petrovicka died in Prague, Czech Republic, on October 10, 2008. She was 85. She was born Jirina Zemlick-

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342

PEVNEY, JOSEPH Film and television director Joseph Pevney, who helmed episodes of such popular series as Star Trek, Bonanza, and The Munsters, died at his home in Palm Desert, California, on May 18, 2008. He was 96. Pevney was born in New York City on September 15, 1911. He began his career in vaudeville performing as a boy soprano. He graduated to the New York stage, appearing in the hit play Home of the Brave. He moved to Hollywood in the late 1940s, where he appeared as an actor in several ﬁlms, including Nocturne (1946), Body and Soul (1947), The Street with No Name (1948), Thieves’ Highway (1949), Outside the Wall (1950), and Shakedown (1950) which also served as his directorial debut. Pevney soon transitioned

to work exclusively behind the camera, helming such ﬁlms as Undercover Girl (1950), Air Cadet (1951), Iron Man (1951), The Lady from Texas (1951), The Strange Door (1951), Meet Danny Wilson (1951), Flesh and Fury (1952), Just Across the Street (1952), Because of You (1952), Desert Legion (1953), It Happens Every Thursday (1953), Back to God’s Country (1953), Yankee Pasha (1954), Playgirl (1954), 3 Ring Circus (1954) which he also scripted, Six Bridges to Cross (1955), Foxﬁre (1955), Female on the Beach (1955), Congo Crossing (1956), Away All Boats (1956), Istanbul (1957), Tammy and the Bachelor (1957), The Midnight Story (1957), the Lon Chaney bio-ﬁlm Man of a Thousand Faces (1957) starring James Cagney, Twilight for the Gods (1958), Torpedo Run (1958), Cash McCall (1960), The Crowded Sky (1960), The Plunderers (1960) which he also produced, Portrait of a Mobster (1961), and The Night of the Grizzly (1966). Pevney worked primarily in television from the 1960s, helming the unsuccessful science ﬁction pilot Destination Space and directing episodes of such series as Johnny Staccato, Bus Stop, The New Breed, Ben Casey, Going My Way, Wagon Train, Bewitched, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Kraft Suspense Theatre, The Big Valley, The Loner, The Munsters, The Legend of Jesse James, Pistols ’n’ Petticoats, 12 O’Clock High, The Fugitive, T.H.E. Cat, Laredo, and Mission: Impossible. Pevney directed over a dozen episodes of the original Star Trek series in the mid–1960s including the popular episodes “The Trouble with Tribbles,” “Amok Time,” “City on the Edge of Forever,” “Arena,” and “Wolf in the Fold.” He continued to helm episodes of such series Adam-12, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Virginian, The High Chaparral, Cade’s County, The Partners, Bonanza, Search, Petrocelli, Mobile One, Emergency!, Executive Suite, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Fantasy Island, Grandpa Goes to Washington, The Paper Chase, Sword of Justice, The Secret Empire segment of Cliffhangers, The Incredible Hulk, How the West Was Won, The Rockford Files, Hagen, Palmerstown, U.S.A., Little House on the Prairie, CBS Schoolbreak Special, and Trapper John, M.D. He also directed the tele-ﬁlms My Darling Daughters’ Anniversary (1973), Who Is the Black Dahlia? (1975), and Mysterious Island of Beautiful Women (1979). Pevney retired in the mid–1980s to his home on a golf course in Palm Desert.

Joseph Pevney

PﬂUG, EVA German actress Eva Pﬂug, who starred in the 1960s German science ﬁction television series Raumpatrouille Orion (Space Patrol Orion) was found dead at her home in Munich on August 6, 2008. She was 69. Pﬂug was born in Leipzig, Germany, on June 12, 1929. She was seen in numerous ﬁlms from the early 1950s including Council of the Gods (1950), Die Dritte von Rechts (1950), The Csardas Princess (1951), Unter den Sternen von Capri (1953), Manoverball (1956), Confess, Dr. Corda (1958), Duel in the Forest (1958), Face of the Frog (1959), Ich Schwore und Gelobe (1960), Man on a String (1960), The Ambassadress (1960), Girl from Hong Kong (1961), I Deal in Danger (1966), Dead Run (1967), Rassenschande: When Love Was a Crime (1968), Only the Wind Knows the Answer (1974), Die Sundige Kleinstadt (1975), Eine Frau fur

Jirina Petrovicka

ova in Pardubice, Czechoslovakia, on January 30, 1923. She began her career on stage in the early 1940s and made her ﬁlm debut in the 1943 comedy Ctrnacty u Stolu. She began performing with the National Theater in Prague in the late 1940s and continued her association with the troupe for the next forty years. She was also seen in the ﬁlms Muzi Bez Kridel (1946), Krakatit (1947), Pripad Z-8 (1949), Year of the Revolution 1848 (1949), The Secret of Blood (1953), Call Me Wife (1958), Florian (1961), Naha Pastyrka (1966), Tobe Hrana Zvonit Nebude (1975), and Vitezny Lid (1977). She was also featured as Heda Stefkova in the television series 30 Cases of Major Zeman and the ﬁlm Rukojmi v Bella Vista in 1980.

343

Eva Pﬂug

Alﬁe (1989), Ein Engel fur Felix (1992), and Die Menschen Sind Kalt (1998). Pﬂug appeared on television in an episodes of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents in 1956, and starred as Dinah Winston in the 1962 series Das Halstuch. She was also featured as Vivien Gilmore in Tim Frazer in 1964 and was Stefﬁe in Slim Callaghan Greift Ein in 1964. She starred as Tamara Jagellovsk in the science ﬁction series Space Patrol in 1966. Her other television credits include such productions as Fruhstuck mit Julia (1965), Quadrille (1966), Eine Etwas Sonderbare Dame (1968), Liebe, Love, l’Amour (1969), Wie Ein Blitz (1970), August der Starke — Ein Ganzes Volk Nennt ihn Papa (1970), Verhor —Tatort Chefzimmer (1970), Die Minister und die Ente (1970), Das Anhangsel (1975), Schwindelig vor Geld und Liebe (1977), Und Tschuss, ihr Lieben (2003), Barbara Wood — Lockruf der Vergangenheit (2004), Rose unter Domen (2006), and 1:0 fur das Gluck (2008). Pﬂug also appeared in episodes of Das Kriminalmuseum, Die Funfte Kolonne, Blue Light, Die Kriminalerzahlung, Motiv Liebe, Dem Tater auf der Spur, Okay S.I.R., L’Eloignerment, Der Kommissar, Eurogang, Notarztwagen 7, Oh, Dieser Vater, Ein Zauberhaftes Biest, Es Muss Nicht Immer Mord Sein, Ein Fall fur Zwei, Kurklinik Rosenau in the recurring role of Mathilde Warburg, Alarm fur Cobra 11— Die Autobahnpolizei, Sommer und Bolten: Gute Arzte, Keine Engel, Alphateam — Die Lebensretter im OP, Rosamunde Pilcher, Die Kommissarin, and Tatort.

PHILLIPS, ARTE Dancer and choreographer Arte Phillips died at his home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 12, 2008. He was 49. Phillips was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, on February 13, 1959. He performed in several Broadway shows including Tommy Tune’s Grand Hotel (1989), Victor/Victoria (1995) with Julie Andrews, and Once Upon a Mattress (1996) with Sarah Jessica Parker. Phillips won the United States Ballroom Dance competition in 1990 and was a ﬁve-time ﬁnalist on Star Search. He also choreographed regional productions of Victor/Victoria and Finian’s Rainbow. He was also a dancer and associate choreographer for the Broadway musical Swing in 1999. PHILLIPS, JOHN L., JR. John L. Phillips, Jr., a Brooklyn Civil Court judge who produced a ﬁlm

2008 • Obituaries

Arte Phillips

John L. Phillips, Jr.

he screened in his own theaters, died at a senior living facility in Brooklyn on February 16, 2008. He was 83. Phillips was born in Kansas on April 10, 1924. He earned a law degree from Wilberforce University. He became a wealthy landowner in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn. He also acquired two movie theaters that he named the Slave Theater and the Black Lady Theater. The Slave was often used for rallies by black activists in the 1980s. He produced and directed the ﬁlm Hands Across Two Continents about an interracial love affair that he screened in his own theaters when it failed to be released. Phillips was elected Civil Court judge in 1977. He was known as the kung fu judge because he held a 10th degree black belt in kung fu. He retired as judge in 1994 and attempted a campaign for district attorney in 2001. The incumbent had him declared mentally incompetent. He had a series of courtappointed guardians who sold off much of his property. PHILLIPS, UTAH Folksinger and storyteller U. Utah Phillips died of congestive heart failure at his home in Nevada City, California, on May 23, 2008. He was 73. He was born Bruce Duncan Phillips in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 15, 1935. He moved to Utah in the late 1940s and served in the army during the Korean War. After his discharge he rode the rails for years before ending up at a homeless shelter, the Joe Hill House, in Salt Lake City. He became involved with the international labor movement and began writing

Obituaries • 2008

344 was Tom Wrightson in the Troma schlock-classic The Toxic Avenger in 1985.

Utah Phillips

songs. He embarked on a career as a performer in 1968, touring clubs, coffee houses, and folk music festivals. He wrote and performed such songs as “Green Rolling Hills,” “The Telling Takes Me Home,” “Rocksalt and Nails,” and “All Used Up.” He interspersed his music with humorous anecdotes and sly political comments. He recorded several albums including a collections of duets with Rosalie Sorrels, The Long Memory, in 1996. His 1999 album Fellow Workers with Ani DiFranco on her Righteous Babe label earned him a Grammy nomination for best contemporary folk album. He also began a radio series, Loafer’s Glory, on a public radio station in Nevada City that was nationally syndicated. Phillips continued to tour nationally until failing health and heart problems forced his retirement in 2007.

PIA, AL Stage actor Al Pia died in Norwalk, Connecticut, after a long illness on September 3, 2008. He was 85. Pia was born in Stamford, Connecticut, on January 14, 1923. He became interested in acting during childhood and appeared on stage in high school. He ﬂew in combat during World War II and resumed his interest in theater after the war. He was a founding member and artistic director of the Sterling Barn Theater in Connecticut in the 1960s. He wrote and directed numerous plays for local theater throughout the state and was the author of the novel, On Stage! The Communal Magic of Theatre. Pia was also featured on ﬁlm in the 1983 teen comedy The First Turn-On! and

Al Pia

PINGITORE, CARL Film and television editor Carl Pingitore died in Eureka, California, on February 23, 2008. He was 84. Pingitore was born in New York City on January 11, 1924. He began working as a ﬁlm editor in New York before moving to Hollywood in 1945. He served as an editor on such television series as Cowboy G-Men, Sugarfoot, Maverick, Cheyenne, Adventures in Paradise, The Lawman, 77 Sunset Strip, The Virginian, The Name of the Game, McCloud, Fantasy Island, Born Free, and Police Story. He also edited the ﬁlms Female Jungle (1955), Raiders of Old California (1957), Buffalo Gun (1961), and Gold, Glory, and Custer (1962), and the tele-ﬁlms The Outsider (1967) and The Sound of Anger (1968). He was hired by director Don Siegel to edit the Clint Eastwood ﬁlms The Be-

Carl Pingitore

guiled (1971) and Dirty Harry (1971), and remained as editor when Eastwood directed his ﬁrst feature, Play Misty for Me (1971). Pingitore also edited the ﬁlms Prime Cut (1972), Across 110th Street (1972), The Deadly Trackers (1973), and That Man Bolt (1973). He also cut the tele-ﬁlms The Marcus-Nelson Murders (1973), Beg, Borrow, or Steal (1973), Death Race (1973), The Imposter (1975), and Perilous Voyage (1976). Pingitore also served as a producer on the tele-ﬁlms The Whole World Is Watching (1969), The Lonely Profession (1969), The Young Country (1970), How to Steal an Airplane (1979), Set This Town on Fire (1973), Kiss Me, Kill Me (1976), From Here to Eternity (1980), High Hopes: The Capra Years (1981), The Atlanta-Child Murders (1985). He edited his ﬁnal tele-ﬁlm, Of Pure Blood starring Lee Remick, in 1986.

PINHEIRO, PEDRO Portuguese actor Pedro Pinheiro died in Lisbon, Portugal, on November 13, 2008. He was 68. Pinheiro was born in Abrigada, Portugal, on November 27, 1939. He appeared frequently on stage, ﬁlm, and television from the late 1960s. Pinheiro’s ﬁlm credits include Uma Vontade Maior (1967), Nem Amantes, Nem Amigos (1970), Past and Present (1972), Doomed Love (1979), The Holy Alliance (1980), A Carta Roubada (1981), Antes a Sorte Que Tal Morte (1981), and Life Is Beautiful (1982). He also appeared

345

Pedro Pinheiro

in television productions of O Incendiario (1982), Origens (1983), and Ai Life (1989). Pinheiro starred as Castanheira in the television series Roseira Brava in 1996, and was the Hospital Director in Capitao Roby in 2000. He was also seen as Abilio Douto e Castro in the soap opera Anjo Selvagem in 2002. He starred as Afonso Avila in Tudo Por Amor from 2002 to 2003, and was Dr. Januario in Detective Maravihas from 2007 to 2008. His other television credits include episodes of Sozinhos em Casa, Nico d’Obra, Os Andrades, Os Malucos do Riso, As Aventuras do Camilo, Camilo na Prasao, Os Lobos, Ajuste de Contas, Jornalistas, A Loja de Camilo, O Olhar da Serpente, O Bairro da Fonte, Nao Ha Pai, A Minha Familia E Uma Animacao, Mare Alta, Inspector Max, Clube das Chaves, Os Malucos nas Arabias, O Brando do Quatro as Marquis, Uma Aventura, Fascinios, and Malucos no Hospital. Pinheiro starred as Cesar Guimaraes in the television series Conta-me Como Foi in 2008 and had recently completed ﬁlming of the 2008 feature Amalia at the time of his death.

PINTER , HAROLD Nobel Prize–wining playwright Harold Pinter died of cancer in London on December 24, 2008. He was 78. Pinter was born in London on October 10, 1930. He began writing poetry while in his teens and appeared in school plays. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in the late 1940s, and performed in repertory theatre during the 1950s under the stage name David Baron. He wrote

Harold Pinter

2008 • Obituaries

his ﬁrst one-act plays, The Room and The Dumb Waiter, in 1957. His ﬁrst full-length play, The Birthday Party, debuted in 1958 and was initially a critical failure. It was reevaluated after his next production, The Caretaker, became a major success and established him as one of England’s leading playwrights. Several of his short plays were adapted for television’s ITV Television Playhouse in the early 1960s including Night School, The Collection, The Dumb Waiter, and The Room. Pinter adapted The Caretaker for a ﬁlm in 1963, directed by Clive Donner and starring Alan Bates, Donald Pleasance, and Robert Shaw. He adapted Robin Maugham’s novel The Servant for Joseph Losey’s screen version also in 1963 and scripted a ﬁlm version of Penelope Mortimer’s The Pumpkin Eater for director Jack Clayton in 1964. He also wrote the adapted screenplay for the 1966 spy thriller The Quiller Memorandum and the 1967 drama Accident, again working with Losey on the latter. He received a Tony Award in 1967 for the Broadway version of his play The Homecoming and was nominated for a Tony for directing The Man in the Glass Booth in 1969. Pinter’s The Birthday Party was brought to the screen by William Friedkin in 1968, and he adapted L.P. Hartley’s The Go-Between for Losey in 1970. He also adapted the 1973 ﬁlm version of his play The Homecoming and adapted F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Last Tycoon for director Elia Kazan in 1976. Pinter directed a ﬁlm version of Simon Gray’s Butley in 1974. He earned an Academy Award nomination for his adaptation of John Fowles’ The French Lieutenant’s Woman for the 1981 ﬁlm starring Meryl Streep. He also adapted his own semi-autobiographical play Betrayal for the screen in 1983, earning another Oscar nomination. He also scripted ﬁlm adaptations of Russell Hoban’s Turtle Diary (1985), Fred Uhlman’s Reunion (1989), Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1990), Ian McEwan’s The Comfort of Strangers (1990), Franz Kafka’s The Trial (1993), his own Victoria Station (2003), and Anthony Shaffer’s Sleuth (2007). Many of his plays were also adapted for television in England and the United States. Pinter also made occasional onscreen appearances in ﬁlms he wrote including The Caretaker (1963), The Servant (1963), Accident (1967), Turtle Diary (1985), the 1986 tele-ﬁlm The Birthday Party, and Sleuth (2007). He was also featured as Mike Szabo in several episodes of the 1967 British television series The Troubleshooters and appeared in the ﬁlms The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970), The Tamarind Seed (1974), Double Exposure (1976), the tele-ﬁlm Rogue Male (1976), Doll’s Eye (1982), the tele-ﬁlm Breaking the Code (1996), Mojo (1997), Mansﬁeld Park (1999), Catastrophe (2000), the tele-ﬁlm Wit (2001), The Tailor of Panama (2001), and the 2007 television production of Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape. Pinter was a lifelong paciﬁst and in recent years was an outspoken critic of U.S. and British policies regarding the Iraqi War. Pinter was awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize for Literature. Though failing health prevented him from attending the awards ceremony in Stockholm in person, he videotaped his Nobel lecture that was screened at the ceremony. He was married to actress Vivien Merchant from 1956 to 1980, and to author Antonia Fraser from 1980 until his death.

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346

PIRIE, MARY Canadian actress Mary Pirie died in Toronto, Canada, on March 1, 2008. She was 60. Pirie was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, on July 2, 1947. She performed on stage, ﬁlm, and television in Canada from the 1970s. Her ﬁlm credits include High-Ballin’ (1978), Two Solitudes (1978), Lost

Mary Pirie

and Found (1979), Fish Hawk (1979), Incubus (1981), and All in Good Taste (1983). Pirie was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms An American Christmas Carol (1979), A Matter of Sex (1984), and The Crossing (2000), and gueststarred in such series as The Newcomers, For the Record, War of the Worlds, and Road to Avalonea.

PIRRO, UGO

Italian screenwriter and novelist Ugo Pirro, who scripted the Oscar-winning foreign ﬁlms Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion and The Garden of the Finzi-Contina, died in Italy on January 18, 2008. He was 87. He was born Ugo Mattone in Salerno, Italy, on April 24, 1920. He worked as a journalist until going to Rome after World War II to work in ﬁlms. He made his debut as a scripter with Carlo Lizzani’s 1951 ﬁlm Attention! Bandits, starring Gina Lollobrigida. He continued to write such ﬁlms as Empty Eyes (1953), Men and Wolves (1956), L’Amore Piu Bello (1957), The Most Wonderful Moment (1957), Cerasella (1959), The Hunchback of Rome (1960), and La Garconniere (1960). His novel Jovanka e le Altre was ﬁlmed as 5 Branded Women in 1960, and Le Soldatesse, written in

1956, was ﬁlmed in 1965. He continued to write such ﬁlms as The Verona Trial (1963), Wake Up and Die (1966), Navajo Joe (1966), We Still Kill the Old Way (1967), The Wild Eye (1967), Ransom in Sardinia (1968), Maﬁa (1968), The Bandit (1969), The Battle of the River Neretva (1969), and Metello (1970). He earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for co-writing 1970’s Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion with director Elio Petri. He garnered a second Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for co-writing the 1971 ﬁlm version of Giorgio Bassani’s novel The Garden of the Finzi-Continis. His other ﬁlm credits include Lulu the Tool (1971), Il Generale Dorme in Piedi (1972), Days of Fury (1973), Property Is No Longer a Theft (1973), The Battle of Sutjeska (1973), Somewhere Beyond Love (1974), Blood Brothers (1974), Paolo Borca, Schoolteacher and Weekend Nudist (1975), Colpita da Improvviso Benessere (1975), San Babila-8 P.M. (1976), The Inheritance (1976), The Iron Prefect (1977), Goodnight, Ladies and Gentlemen (1978), Child of the Night (1978), The Return (1979), Ogro (1979), Tabloid Crime (1987), The Boy from Calabria (1987), Funes, a Great Love (1993), Il Giudice Ragazzino (1994), Celluloid (1996) based on his novel, and The Nymph (1996). Pirro also wrote such television productions as Nucleo Zero (1984), Gioco di Societa (1989), Piazza di Spagna (1993), La Famiglia Ricordi (1993), and Il Prezzo del Denaro (1995).

PITT, DALE Author Dale Pitt died of a stroke in a Hollywood, California, hospital on August 10, 2008. She was 77. She was born Dale Lash in Chicago, Illinois, on July 22, 1931. She graduated from UCLA

Dale Pitt

Ugo Pirro

with a degree in English and theatre arts before marrying fellow student Leonart Pitt in 1953. She wrote several plays and scripted an episode of the television series Goodyear Television Playhouse in the mid–1950s. She was credited as the screenwriter for the 1960 ﬁlm Conspiracy of Hearts, fronting for blacklisted writer Adrian Scott, whose credit was ﬁnally acknowledged in 1997. Pitt and her husband also wrote the local history volume Los Angeles A to Z: An Encyclopedia of the City and County in 1997. She was also the indexer of the 17volume The Collected Works of J. Krishamurti (1991).

347 PIZER, LARRY British cinematographer Larry Pizer died of cancer in New York City on February 27, 2008. He was 82. Pizer was born in London in 1925. He began his career in ﬁlms working as an ofﬁce boy at Alexander Korda Studios in the late 1930s. He soon joined the camera department, where he became a ﬁrst assistant cameraman, before entering the British Navy in 1943. After World War II ended, Pizer returned to ﬁlms, working as a cameraman on documentaries. He made his debut as a feature cinematographer on the 1960 ﬁlm The Party’s Over. Noted for his innovative lighting techniques, he was director of photographer on numerous ﬁlm and television productions over the next three decades. Pizer’s ﬁlm credits include The World Ten Times Over (1963), Four in the Morning (1965), Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment (1966), Our Mother’s House (1967), All Neat in Black Stockings (1968), Isadora (1968), Ghost in the Noonday Sun (1973), The Optimists (1973), Brian DePalma’s Phantom of the Paradise (1974), Alice Cooper: Welcome to My Nightmare (1975), Night-Flowers (1979), The Europeans (1979), Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980), Cattle Annie and Little Britches (1981), The Killing Hour (1982), Timerider (1982), Grace Quigley (1985), Where Are the Children? (1986), Mannequin 2: On the Move (1991), Folks! (1992), In Custody (1993), and The Proprietor (1996). Pizer also photographed the Bruce Springsteen music video for Dancing in the Dark, and shot such tele-ﬁlms as My Old Man (1979), The Sky Is Gray (1980), Paul’s Case (1980), A Private Battle (1980), Keeping On (1981), A House Divided: Denmark Vessey’s Rebellion (1982), The Phantom of the Opera (1983), Murder in Coweta County (1983), Svengali (1983), Found Money (1983), A Gift of Love: A Christmas Story (1983), Three Sovereigns for Sarah (1985), Intimate Strangers (1986), Unnatural Causes (1986), At Mother’s Request (1987), I’ll Take Manhattan (1987), When the Time Comes (1987), Bluegrass (1988), Dark Holiday (1989), My Boyfriend’s Back (1989), Blind Witness (1989), Sparks: The Price of Passion (1990), and This Can’t Be Love (1994). PLACE, PATRICIA Character actress Patricia Place died of pneumonia after a long battle with cancer in Los Angeles on September 20, 2008. She was 83. She was born Charmian Limbaugh in Long Beach, Cal-

Patricia Place

2008 • Obituaries

ifornia, on December 7, 1924. She appeared frequently on stage in the Los Angeles area and began her acting career in earnest in the early 1990s after raising a family. She was featured in such ﬁlms as Inﬁnity (1991), Prey of the Chameleon (1992), The Pickle (1993), Married People, Single Sex II: For Better or Worse (1995), Toughbuy (1995), Outbreak (1995), Scanner Cop II (1995), Angel’s Tide (1995), Black Sheep (1996), Moment Cafe (1998), The Sky Is Falling (2000), Mothers and Daughters (2002), Laurel Canyon (2002), Ken Park (2002), Interviewing Norman (2005), All Babes Want to Kill Me (2005), Wedding Crashers (2005), House of the Dead 2 (2005), God’s Waiting List (2006), Faith Happens (2006), Are You Scared? (2006), Room 10 (2006), Mr. Fix It (2006), An American Crime (2007), The Wedding Video (2007), and Dinner at Eight (2007). She was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms Shattered Dreams (1990) and Breaking the Silence (1992), and guest-starred in episodes of such series as Beauty and the Beast, My Life and Times, Seinfeld, All-American Girl, Sisters, Wings, Crossroads Cafe, Public Morals, Women: Stories of Passion, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, ER, Players, The Weird Al Show in the recurring role of Mrs. Resenmeyer, NewsRadio, Family Matters, Fired Up, Mad About You, Suddenly Susan, The Practice, Dharma & Greg, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, G vs. E, Diagnosis Murder, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, The Drew Carey Show, Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue, The Michael Richards Show, The Division, Will & Grace, Crossing Jordan, Everybody Loves Raymond, Mothers and Daughters, King of the Hill, Grounded for Life, Lost at Home, Malcolm in the Middle, The King of Queens, Miracles, 10–8: Ofﬁcers on Duty, One on One, Center of the Universe, Nip/Tuck, Joey, Prison Break: Proof of Innocence, Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars, Big Love, The Bold and the Beautiful, Cold Case, How I Met Your Mother, Life, The Sarah Silverman Program, Unhitched, and Desperate Housewives. Despite undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, she continued to work until her death. She starred in 2008 ﬁlm Emma Smith: My Story about the matriarch of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, and had roles in the forthcoming ﬁlms The Intervention (2008), Footsteps (2008), The Final Song (2008), and NowhereLand (2009). She also appeared as a visiting Duchess in the VH-1 reality series Rock of Love: Charm School shortly before her death.

PLESHETTE, SUZANNE Suzanne Pleshette, the lovely brunette actress who was pecked to death in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds and was Bob Newhart’s wife in his popular 1970s sitcom, died of complications from lung cancer at her home in Los Angeles on January 19, 2008. She was 70. Pleshette was born in New York City on January 31, 1937. She studied acting under Sanford Meisner in New York and began her career on the stage. She made her ﬁlm debut in the 1958 comedy The Geisha Boy, with Jerry Lewis. She also appeared frequently on television from the late 1950s, guest starring in episodes of Harbourmaster, Decoy, Have Gun — Will Travel, The Third Man, Playhouse 90, One Step Beyond, Black Saddle, Sunday Showcase, Adventures in Paradise, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the 1960 Play of the

Obituaries • 2008

348

Suzanne Pleshette

Week production of The House of Bernarda Alba, Riverboat, Naked City, The Islanders, Hong Kong, The Tab Hunter Show, Target: The Corruptors, General Electric Theater, Route 66, Ben Casey, The Dick Powell Show, Alcoa Premiere, Wagon Train, Channing, Dr. Kildare, Wild Wild West, The Fugitive, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Run for Your Life, Cimarron Strip, The Invaders, It Takes a Thief, Love, American Style, Gunsmoke, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, The F.B.I., The Name of the Game, Medical Center, Ironside, and Bonanza. Pleshette returned to the stage in 1961, replacing Anne Bancroft in the Broadway drama The Miracle Worker with Patty Duke. Pleshette co-starred with Troy Donahue in the 1962 romantic comedy Rome Adventure. She and Donahue were also paired onscreen in the 1964 western A Distant Trumpet and offscreen in an eight month marriage in 1964. She was Tony Curtis’ leading lady in the 1962 comedy 40 Pounds of Trouble and starred as schoolteacher Annie Hayworth, whose rivalry with Tippi Hedren for the affections of Rod Taylor comes to a sudden end when she is pecked to death in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds in 1963. Her other ﬁlm credits include Wall of Noise (1963), Fate Is the Hunter (1964), Youngblood Hawke (1964), A Rage to Live (1965), The Ugly Dachshund (1966), Nevada Smith (1966), Mister Buddwig (1966), Disney’s The Adventures of Bullwhip Grifﬁn (1967), Blackbeard’s Ghost (1968), George Pal’s science ﬁction classic The Power (1968) with George Hamilton, Target: Harry (1969), If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969), Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came? (1971), Support Your Local Gunﬁghter (1971), The Shagg y D.A. (1976), Hot Stuff (1979), and Oh, God! Book II (1980) with George Burns. She also starred in numerous tele-ﬁlms including Wings of Fire (1967), Flesh and Blood (1968), Along Came a Spider (1970), Hunters Are for Killing (1970), River of Gold (1971), In Broad Daylight (1971), Columbo: Dead Weight (1971), The Legend of Valentino (1975), Law and Order (1976), Richie Brockelman: The Missing 24 Hours (1976), Kate Bliss and the Tickertape Kid (1978), and the controversial Flesh & Blood (1979). During the 1970s, Pleshette was a frequent guest on the late night talk show The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. She created her most memorable role as Emily Hartley, the ﬁerce and funny wife

of psychiatrist Bob Hartley, on The Bob Newhart Show from 1972 to 1977. She earned two Emmy nominations for her performance in the series. Bob Newhart starred in another sit-com entitled Newhart from 1982 to 1990, set in Vermont with Mary Frann as his onscreen wife. In the series ﬁnale Pleshette reprised her role as Emily Hartley in a surprise ending when both characters wake up in bed. She continued to appear frequently on television from the 1980s with roles in such tele-ﬁlms as If Things Were Different (1980), The Star Maker (1981), Help Wanted: Male (1982), Fantasies (1982), Dixie: Changing Habits (1983), One Cooks, the Other Doesn’t (1983), For Love or Money (1984), Bridges to Cross (1985) as Tracy Bridges, Kojak: The Belarus File (1985), A Stranger Waits (1987), Alone in the Neon Jungle (1988), Nightingales (1988) as Christine Broderick, Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean (1990), earning an Emmy nomination for her role as Ms. Helmsley, Battling for Baby (1992), and A Twist of the Knife (1993). She also starred as Maggie Briggs in the 1984 short-lived television series of the same name and was Jackie Hansen in the 1994 comedy series The Boys Are Back. She was also the voice of Zira in Disney’s animated ﬁlm Lion King II: Simba’s Pride in 1998 and was the voices of Yubaba and Zeniba in the U.S. version of the Japanese Oscar-winning ﬁlm Spirited Away in 2001. She was featured in the recurring role of the lusty grandmother Claire Arnold in the television sit-com Good Morning, Miami from 2002 to 2003 and was Laura in 8 Simple Rules ... for Dating My Teenage Daughter in 2003. Her ﬁnal role was as Lois Whitley, Karen’s mother, in several episodes of the sit-com Will & Grace from 2002 to 2004. Pleshette’s second marriage was to wealthy businessman Tom Gallagher in 1968, which lasted until his death in 2000. She was reunited with old friend Tom Poston in 2000, whom she had appeared with on Broadway in the 1959 comedy Golden Fleecing. Poston had recently lost his spouse as well, and the two were married in 2001. They remained wed until Poston’s death in April of 2006, shortly after Pleshette had undergone chemotherapy for lung cancer.

POINTECKER, ANTON German character actor Anton Pointecker died in Munich, Germany, on July 7, 2008. He was 70. Pointecker was born in Wilde-

Anton Pointecker

349 nau, Aspach, Austria, on April 16, 1938. He was best known for his roles on German television, starring as Franz Xaver Buchegger in the series Die Leute von St. Benedikt in 1993, and as Franz Kirchleitner in Dahoam is Dahoam from 2007 to 2008. He was also featured in television productions of Weh Dem, der Lugt (1972), Der Talisman (1987), Weihnachten mit Willy Wuff III — Mama Braucht einen Millionar (1997), Figaro lasst sich Scheiden (1999), Polt Muss Weinen (2000), The Trials of Vera B (2001), Franz und Anna (2002), Die Liebe Kommt als Untermieter (2003), Alpengluhen (2003), and Alpengluhen Zwei — Liebe Versetzt Berge (2005). His other television credits include episodes of Lutz & Hardy, Der Bulle von Tolz, Schlosshotel Orth, Julia — Eine Ungewohnliche Frau, Forsthaus Falkenau, SOKO 5113, Tatort, Die Rosenheim-Cops, Familie Sonnenfeld, and Zwei Arzte sin Einer zu Viel.

POLANCO, IRAIDA Hispanic character actress Iraida Polanco died on April 20, 2008. She was 73. Polanco was born on September 24, 1934. She appeared frequently in ﬁlms and television from the 1990s, with roles in such features as Bad Lieutenant (1992), Chain of Desire (1992), Fresh (1994), Manhattan Merengue!

Iraida Polanco

(1995), Ransom (1996), The Object of My Affection (1998), The City (1998), Music of the Heart (1999), The Ofﬁce Party (2000), Mambo Cafe (2000), 3 A.M. (2001), Minimal Knowledge (2002), Two Weeks Notice (2002), The Treatment (2006), The Hottest State (2006), A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006), and I Believe in America (2007). She was also seen on television in episodes of Kojak, Law & Order, NYPD Blue, Spin City, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Third Watch, 100 Centre Street, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

POLAND, CLIFFORD H., JR. Cinematographer Clifford H. Poland, Jr., died on April 17, 2008. He was 91. Poland was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on August 1, 1916. He served as director of photography for numerous low-budget ﬁlms in the 1960s and early 1970s including Force of Impulse (1961), Honeymoon of Horror (1964), Around the World Under the Sea (1966), Wild Rebels (1967), Mission Mars (1968), Fireball Jungle (1969), Stanley (1972), and Salty (1973). He also worked for producer Ivan Tors on the Flipper tel-

2008 • Obituaries

evision series in the mid–1960s and was cinematographer for Tors’ 1970 tele-ﬁlm The Aquarians.

POLLACK, SYDNEY Oscar-winning ﬁlm director Sydney Pollack died of cancer at his home in Los Angeles, California, on May 26, 2008. He was 73. Pollack was born in Lafayette, Indiana, on July 1, 1934. He headed to New York after graduating from high school and studied acting under Sanford Meisner for several years. He continued to serve as Meisner’s assistant while embarking upon an acting career. He starred in an adaptation of For Whom the Bell Tolls directed by John Frankenheimer on Playhouse 90 in 1959, and was seen in episodes of Brenner, United States Steel Hour, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Twilight Zone, Have Gun —Will Travel, The Deputy, The Asphalt Jungle, Ben Casey, and The New Breed. He was also seen in the 1962 ﬁlm War Hunt and performed on Broadway in productions of A Stone for Danny Fisher and The Dark Is Light Enough. He again worked with Frankenheimer on several productions as a dialogue coach, meeting actor Burt Lancaster on the set of the 1961 ﬁlm The Young Savages. Lancaster encouraged Pollack to turn to directing, assisting him in securing his ﬁrst credit behind the camera with the television western Shotgun Slade. In the early 1960s, he also helmed episodes of such drama series as Cain’s Hundred, Target: The Corruptors, The Tall Man, The Defenders, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Ben Casey, Breaking Point, The Fugitive, Slattery’s People, and Kraft Suspense Theatre. Pollack earned an Emmy Award for directing an episode of Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre in 1966. Pollack made his feature ﬁlm debut as a director with 1965’s The Slender Thread, starring Sidney Poitier and Anne Bancroft. The following year, he directed his old friend Robert Redford in the drama This Property Is Condemned, marking the ﬁrst of eight ﬁlms he would do with Redford. He worked uncredited on the 1968 suburban drama The Swimmer, starring Burt Lancaster, and directed the ﬁlms The Scalphunters (1968) and Castle Keep (1969). Pollack received an Academy Award nomination for directing the 1969 ﬁlm They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, starring Jane Fonda. He reunited with Redford for 1972’s Jeremiah Johnson and 1973’s The Way We Were, which also starred Barbra Streisand. He also directed

Sydney Pollack

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350

The Yakuza (1974), the espionage thriller Three Days of the Condor (1975), and Bobby Deerﬁeld (1977). Pollack was featured in a small role in his 1979 production The Electric Horseman, teaming Redford and Fonda. He helmed the 1981 Paul Newman starrer Absence of Malice, and directed Dustin Hoffman in the 1982 genderbending comedy Tootsie, which also featured Pollack in a small role and earned him another Oscar nomination. Pollack’s 1985 ﬁlm Out of Africa earned him an Oscar for best direction and another as producer of the best picture. During the 1990s he directed the ﬁlms Havana (1990), The Firm (1993) adapting John Grisham’s best-selling novel about a corrupt law ﬁrm, Sabrina (1995) starring Harrison Ford, and Random Hearts (1999), which also featured the director onscreen. Pollack also served as a producer of many of his own ﬁlms as well as such features as Honeysuckle Rose (1980) starring Willie Nelson, Songwriter (1984), Bright Light, Big City (1988), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), Presumed Innocent (1990), White Palace (1990), King Ralph (1991), Dead Again (1991), Leaving Normal (1992), Searching for Bobby Fisher (1993), Flesh and Bone (1993), Sense and Sensibility (1995), Sliding Doors (1998), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Up at the Villa (2000), Blow Dry (2001), Birthday Girl (2001), Iris (2001), Heaven (2002), The Quiet American (2002), Cold Mountain (2003), In the Name of Love (2003), Forty Shades of Blue (2005), Catch a Fire (2006), Breaking and Entering (2006), Michael Clayton (2007) which was nominated for a best picture Oscar, Leatherheads (2008), and Margaret (2008). He also produced the television productions A Private Matter (1992), Fallen Angels (1993), Bronx County (1998), Poodle Springs (1998), The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (2008), and Recount (2008). Pollack also appeared onscreen from the 1990s, with roles in his own ﬁlms and those directed by others. His acting credits include the ﬁlms The Player (1992), Death Becomes Her (1992), Woody Allen’s Husbands and Wives (1992), A Civil Action (1998), Stanley Kubrick’s ﬁnal ﬁlm Eyes Wide Shut (1999) as Tom Cruise’s wealthy friend Victor Ziegler, The Majestic (2001) as the voice of the studio executive, Changing Lanes (2002), Orchestra Seats (2006), Michael Clayton (2007) as George Clooney’s fellow lawyer Marty Bach, and Made of Honor (2008). He appeared on television in episodes of Frasier, Mad About You, the animated King of the Hill, Fling, Will & Grace in the recurring role of George Truman, and The Sopranos. Pollack produced, directed, and appeared onscreen in the 2005 thriller The Interpreter, starring Nicole Kidman. His ﬁnal directorial credit was the 2005 documentary ﬁlm Sketches of Frank Gehry. He and fellow ﬁlmmaker Anthony Minghella, who died earlier in 2008, were partners in the production company Mirage Enterprises. Pollack was married to his former acting student Claire Griswold from 1958 until his death. Their son, Steven, was killed in an airplane crash in 1993. They also had two daughters, Rebecca, a ﬁlm executive with United Artists, and Rachel.

POLONIA, JOHN Independent horror ﬁlmmaker John Polonia died of a heart aneurysm on February 25, 2008. He was 39. Polonia was born in Wells-

John Polonia (with his brother Mark)

boro, Pennsylvania, on September 30, 1968. He and his brother, Mark, began making ﬁlms on tiny budgets while in their teens. They continued to produce, direct, write, and often star in a series of micro-budgeted ﬁlms from the early 1990s. Some of the Polonia Brothers’ more commercially available projects include Hellspawn (1993), How to Slay a Vampire (1995), Night Crawlers (1996), Feeders (1996), Terror House (1998), Feeders 2: Slay Bells (1998), Bad Magic (1998), Blood Red Planet (2000), The House That Screamed (2000), Hellgate: The House That Screamed 2 (2002), Gorilla Warfare: Battle of the Apes (2002), Dweller (2002), NightThirst (2002), Holla If I Kill You (2003), Dinosaur Chronicles (2004), Among Us (2004), Peter Rottentail (2004) appearing onscreen as the title character, Razorteeth (2005), Black Mass (2005), WildCat (2007), and Splatter Beach (2007).

POMARE, ELEO Dancer and choreographer Eleo Pomare died of cancer in Manhattan, New York, on August 8, 2008. He was 70. Pomare was born in Santa Marta, Colombia, on October 20, 1937. He moved to New York with his mother in 1947, where he studied dance. He formed his own dance company in 1958 and spent two years in Europe in the early 1960s to continue to study and train. He returned to New York in 1964 and expanded his company. Pomare became noted for his dances that expressed a rebellious anger at social conditions. His works include Miss Luba

Eleo Pomare

351 (1965), Blues for the Jungle (1966), and Les Desenamoradas (1967), based on Federico Garcia Lorca’s play The House of Bernarda Alba, with a jazz score by John Coltrane. His 1968 solo Narcissus Rising cast him as a leather-clad biker mounting an invisible motorcycle. He also choreographed Back to Back (1983) and the solo Phoenix (1987). He was also a founding member of the Association of Black Choreographers.

POMERLEAU , CONRAD Actor Conrad Pomerleau died of cancer in a Cary, North Carolina, hospital on September 10, 2008. He was 74. Pomerleau was born in Westbrook, North Carolina, on February 23, 1934. He performed frequently on the stage and taught acting in North Carolina. He also toured the

2008 • Obituaries

the University of Sydney and taught poetry while writing her own compositions. Her ﬁrst collection, Little Hoodlum, was published in 1975, and was followed by Bison (1979), The Night Parrot (1984), Driving Too Fast (1989), Crete (1996), Other Worlds: Poems 1997–2001 (2001), and Poems January–August 2004 (2004). She also wrote two novels for young adults, Rookwood (1991) and The Witch Number (1993). She crafted her ﬁrst verse mystery novel, Akhenaten, in 1991. He 1994 verse novel, The Monkey’s Mask, about a lesbian private detective, was adapted as a tele-ﬁlm in 2001 starring Kelly McGillis. What a Piece of Work (1999), Wild Surmise (2002), and 2007’s El Dorado, about a child serial killer, followed. She teamed with composer Jonathan Mills to write the musical The Eternity Man (2005), and was working with Tim Finn on the rock opera January at the time of her death.

POSTGATE, OLIVER British animator and puppeteer Oliver Postgate died in England on December 8, 2008. He was 83. Postgate was born in Hendon, Middlesex, England, on April 12, 1925. He was a conscientious objector during World War II and was sentenced to jail until agreeing to become a Red Cross stretcher bearer. After the war, he studied drama and worked as a stage manager for local television in London. He joined with Peter Firmin to begin the production company Smallﬁlms in the late 1950s to produce animated shorts. They created Ivor the Engine in 1958 for ITV, about a Welsh steam engine who wanted to Conrad Popmerleau

country in his one man show about Edgar Allan Poe, Poe in Person. Pomerleau also made a series of short ﬁlms dramatizing the works of Poe that included The Cask of Amontillado, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Black Cat. He was featured in a small role in the 1979 ﬁlm Kramer vs. Kramer.

PORTER, DOROTHY Australian poet Dorothy Porter, who was noted for her verse mystery novels, died of complications from breast cancer in Melbourne, Australia, on December 10, 2008. She was 54. Porter was born in Sydney, Australia, on March 26, 1954. She earned degrees in history and English from Oliver Postgate (with Bagpuss)

Dorothy Porter

sing in a choir. Postgate wrote the scripts, did the ﬁlming, and provided many of the voices, with Firmin supplying the artwork. Their next series, Noggin the Nog, played on the BBC in the early 1960s. Other series followed, including The Pingwings, Pogles’ Wood, The Clangers, Tottie: The Story of a Dolls’ House, and Pinny’s House. Postgate’s most famous creation was a pink and white striped cat named Bagpuss, who presided over a mischief of mice, an irritable Raggedy Ann doll, and a mechanical woodpecker called Professor Wafﬂe. Bagpuss and company lived in a shop where they repaired broken objects. Though the series only ran for a dozen episodes in 1974, it was repeated constantly over the next two decades and was voted the best

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children’s series ever in a poll in 1998. Postgate largely abandoned ﬁlmmaking in the late 1980s to concentrate on painting. He did provide the voice of the narrator for the 2003 television documentary Alchemists of Sound.

POTTER, JOAN Actress Joan Potter died in Wilton, Connecticut, on March 14, 2008. She was 82. Potter was born in Milton, Nova Scotia, Canada, on March 5, 1926, and came to the United States at the age of 12. She was a frequent performer on television in the 1950s, appearing in episode of such series as The Philco Television Playhouse, Campbell Playhouse, Kraft Television Theatre, Justice, Studio One, and The Nurses. She was also featured in the 1960 ﬁlm The Bramble Bush, and appeared on Broadway in productions of A Far Country (1961) and The Three Sisters (1964). Potter later taught theater arts at Purchase College in Connecticut. POWERS , DAVE

Dave Powers, the Emmy Award–winning director of television’s The Carol Burnett Show, died of skin cancer in Rancho Mirage, California, on July 3, 2008. He was 75. Powers was born in Big Bear, California, on December 2, 1932. He began working in television in the early 1950s and became stage manager for The Bob Crosby Show in 1956. Over the next decade, he was stage manager for such

Dave Powers

shows as Playhouse 90, before becoming associate director of The Danny Kaye Show in 1965. He left CBS in 1968 to become director of The Carol Burnett Show and garnered four Emmys during his tenure with the series. In the late 1970s, Powers also directed numerous episodes of Three’s Company, and the spin-off series The Ropers and Three’s a Crowd. In the late 1980s, he also directed for the series Momma’s Family and helmed The Carol Burnett Show: A Reunion in 1993.

PRAVDA, HANA MARIA Czech-born British actress Hana Maria Pravda died in London on May 22, 2008. She was 92. She was born Hana Beck in Prague, Czechoslovakia, on January 29, 1916, and began her career on the Czech stage in the 1930s. During World War II she was imprisoned in Terezin and Auschwitz concentration camps. Having survived the horrors of the Holocaust that included the death of her ﬁrst hus-

Hana Pravda

band, she resumed her career in post-war Prague with the Svandovo Theatre Company. She met and married fellow actor George Pravda, and the two soon emigrated to Australia where they formed their own theatrical company. The Pravdas came to England in 1955 where both had successful careers on stage, ﬁlm, and television, until George’s death in 1985. Hana was featured on television in episodes of such series as The Men from Room 13, International Detective, Suspense, Studio Four, Epitaph for a Spy, Ghost Squad, Danger Man, The Wednesday Play, The Saint, Theatre 625, No Hiding Place, Department S, Callan, Catweazle, The Ten Commandments, Dad’s Army, Z Cars, Tales of the Unexpected, Nanny, and Agatha Christie: Poirot. She starred as Emma Cohen in the post–Apocalyptical television series Survivors in 1975, and was featured in such television productions as What’s in It for Me? (1969), Napoleon and Love (1972), I Spy a Stranger (1972), Dracula (1973) as the Innkeeper’s wife with Jack Palance as the vampire count, Lillie (1978), Elizabeth Aloe (1981) as Mrs. Orvitski, Czech Mate (1986) on Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense, Ashenden (1991), and The Great Kandansky (1995). Pravda also appeared in a handful of feature ﬁlms during her career including Before Winter Comes (1969), And Soon the Darkness (1970), the espionage thriller The Kremlin Letter (1970), Death Wish 3 (1985) with Charles Bronson, The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988), Follow Me (1989), Bullseye! (1990), Shining Through (1992), Leon the Pig Farmer (1993), The Man Who Cried (2000), and Paradise Grove (2003). Her wartime diary, I Was Writing This Diary for You, Sasha, was published in 2000 and was serialized by BBC Radio soon after. PREBBLE, KENNETH New Zealand Anglican archdeacon turned actor Kenneth Prebble died after a brief illness in Auckland, New Zealand, on June 18, 2008. He was 93. Prebble was born in Brockley, Kent, England, on November 25, 1914. He served as a captain in the British Army during World War II and moved to New Zealand in 1948. He served as an Anglican archdeacon at various dioceses before retiring at age 65. He subsequently became a performer on stage and television. He was seen in episodes of Close to Home, Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.

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Kenneth Prebble

Rosario Prestopino

PRESSLY, ANNE Anne Pressly, a television newscaster in Arkansas who was featured in a small role in Oliver Stone’s 2008 ﬁlm W, died in a Little Rock, Arkansas, hospital on October 25, 2008, of injuries she received when she was brutally beaten during a home invasion and robbery several days earlier. She was 26. Pressly was born in Greenville, South Carolina, on August 28, 1982, and moved to Little Rock with her fam-

for Satan (1982), Conqueror of the World (1983), Ironmaster (1983), The New Gladiators (1984), Christopher Columbus (1985), Cannibal Holocaust 2: The Catherine Miles Story (1985), Lamberto Bava’s Demons (1985), The Corruption (1986), Demons 2: The Nightmare Returns (1986), The Barbarians (1987), Sicilian Connection (1987), Photos of Joy (1987), Dario Argento’s Opera (1987), Femmine (1988), Dinner with a Vampire (1988), Dial Help (1988), Maya (1989), Edgar Allan Poe’s The Black Cat (1989), The Church (1989), Paganini Horror (1989), Meridian (1990), American Rickshaw (1990), The Invisible Wall (1991), The Devil’s Daughter (1991), The Savior of San Nicola (2000), Zora the Vampire (2000), Up at the Villa (2000), Crusaders (2000), The Corridor (2002), Nel Mio Amore (2004), Extreme Love (2006), The Screenplay (2006), I, the Other (2007), and Questa Notte e Ancora Nostra (2008). PRICE, BARRY Magician Barry Price died of complications from a stroke in a Los Angeles hospital on August 24, 2008. He was 64. Price was born in Chicago, Illinois, on January 5, 1944. He began per-

Anne Pressly

ily while in high school. She graduated from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, and was hired by Little Rock station KATV in May of 2004. She produced the local Good Morning Arkansas news program, and was a reporter for Mid Day Arkansas and Saturday Daybreak. She was featured in a small role as a conservative commentator in Oliver Stone’s 2008 ﬁlm about the presidency of George W. Bush, W.

PRESTOPINO, ROSARIO Italian ﬁlm makeup artist Rosario Prestopino died of a heart attack in Rome on May 13, 2008. He was 57. Prestopino was born in Naples, Italy, on December 18, 1950. He was best known for his work in make-up and special makeup effects for numerous Italian horror and action ﬁlms in the 1980s. Prestopino’s ﬁlm credits include Zombie (1979), Doctor Butcher M.D. (1980), Patrick Is Still Alive (1980), The Gates of Hell (1880), Burial Ground (1981), The Black Cat (1981), New York Ripper (1982), A Girl

Barry Price

forming magic acts while in his teens and studied with card magician Ed Marlo for many years before perfecting his own act. Price was noted for his sleight-of-hand artistry and close-up work with cards and coins. He was a popular performer at Hollywood’s Magic Castle for many years. He also developed magic effects for other

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magicians and was the author of the books Escamotage I, Escamotage II, and Palming for the Terriﬁed.

PRICE, STEVEN OLIVER Actor Steven Oliver Price died of cancer at his home in California on September 15, 2008. He was 37. Price was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, on June 20, 1971, and came to the United States as a child in the early 1980s. He performed frequently on the San Francisco stage and was

Steven Oliver Price

a founding member of the Ronan Ensemble theatrical group in Los Angeles. Price was also featured in several independent ﬁlms and shorts including Suspension (1999), As Lathair (2002), Unsolved (2003), and Conﬁdence (2003).

sion credits include episodes of Water Rats, Blue Heelers, and The Secret Life of Us in the recurring role of Marcus Nelson. Priestley starred as Dan Goldman on All Saints from 2004 until his death.

PROSKY, ROBERT Leading character actor Robert Prosky died of complications from a heart procedure in a Washington, D.C., hospital on December 8, 2008. He was 77. He was born Robert Joseph Porzuczek in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 13, 1930. He studied drama at the American Theatre Wing in New York City and appeared frequently in productions with the Arena Stage repertory company in Washington, D.C. He began appearing in television productions in the early 1970s, with roles in the tele-ﬁlms They’ve Killed President Lincoln (1971) and Zalmen: or, The Madness of God (1975). He was also seen in an episode of the television series Beacon Hill in 1975. Prosky made his ﬁlm debut in Michael Mann’s 1981 thriller Thief and appeared in such ﬁlms as Hanky Panky (1982), Monsignor (1982), The Lords of Discipline (1983), John Carpenter’s 1983 adaptation of the Stephen King novel Christine, The Keep (1983), The Natural (1984), Outrageous Fortune (1987), Big Shots (1987), Broadcast New (1987), The Great Outdoors (1988), Things Change (1988), Loose Cannons (1990), Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) as Grandpa Fred, Funny About Love (1990), Green Card (1990), Age Isn’t Everything (1991), Far and Away (1992), Hoffa (1992),

PRIESTLEY, MARK Australian actor Mark Priestley, who starred as Dr. Dan Goldman on the popular medical series All Saints, committed suicide by leaping from the 22nd story window of a Sydney hotel on August 27, 2008. He had reportedly been suffering from depression. He was 32. Priestley was born in Perth, Western Australia, on August 9, 1976. He studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Art and began his acting career by the early 2000s. He was featured in such television productions as Marriage Acts (2000), The Farm (2001), Changi (2001), and Loot (2004). Priestly was also seen in several ﬁlms including Better Than Sex (2000) and Blurred (2002). His other televiRobert Prosky

Mark Priestley

Last Action Hero (1993) with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rudy (1993), Mrs. Doubtﬁre (1993), Miracle on 34th Street (1994), The Scarlet Letter (1995) with Demi Moore, Dead Man Walking (1995) as Sean Penn’s defense lawyer, The Chamber (1996), Mad City (1997), Dudley Do-Right (1999), Grandfather’s Birthday (2000), D-Tox (2002), Death to Smoochy (2002), Suits on the Loose (2005), and The Skeptic (2008). He was also featured in the tele-ﬁlms The Ordeal of Bill Carney (1981), World War III (1982), Into Thin Air (1985), A Walk in the Woods (1988), The Murder of Mary Phagan (1988), Home Fires Burning (1989), From the Dead of Night (1989), The Heist (1989), Dangerous Pursuit (1990), Johnny Ryan (1990), The Love She Sought (1990), Double Edge (1992), Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story

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(1992), Brothers’ Destiny (1995), The Lake (1998), Swing Vote (1999), and The Valley of Light (2007). He starred as Stan Jablonski, the desk sergeant, on television’s Hill Street Blues from 1984 to 1987 and was Pat Chase, Kirstie Alley’s father, on the sit-com Veronica’s Closet from 1997 to 1998. His other television credits include episodes of Lou Grant, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Murder, She Wrote, Christine Cromwell, Lifestories as the Storyteller, Coach, Brooklyn Bridge, Cheers, Frasier, LateLine, Touched by an Angel, Danny as Lenny, Once and Again, The Practice in the recurring role of Father Patrick, K Street as Tommy’s Dad, and ER. Prosky earned Tony Award nominations for his roles in the Broadway plays Glengarry Glen Ross (1984) and A Walk in the Woods (1988).

PRUITT, KEITH Actor and composer Keith Pruitt died was found dead in his apartment in Greenwich Village, New York, on November 12, 2008. He was 47. Pruitt, who was suffering from esophageal problems resulting from injuries he had suffered in a ﬁre in his home the previous year, was believed to have choked to death. He was born in Kansas City, Kansas, on October 12, 1961. Pruitt was featured as Frank Wendall in the soap opera As the World Turns from 1990 to

Keith Pruitt

1991 and was Flynn Reilly on the soap Loving from 1991 to 1992. He also appeared in the 1996 ﬁlm Larry’s Visit and the 2007 musical version of John Waters’ Hairspray as the lead singer of a rock band. Pruitt was also a classical music composer whose works had been performed by the Florida Philharmonic, the San Jose Symphony, the New York City Ballet, and other venues. He had recently been involved with the Keith Pruitt Piano Studio in New York, where he taught piano and composition.

PRYTZ, AGNETA Swedish actress Agneta Prytz died in Lidingo, Sweden, on July 4, 2008. She was 91. Prytz was born in Gothenburg, Sweden, on December 15, 1916. She began her career on the Swedish stage in the early 1940s, appearing with the Gothenburg City Theatre from 1942 to 1946. She soon embarked on a successful ﬁlm career, with roles in such features as Neglected by His Wife (1947), How to Love (1947), Maria (1947), One Swallow Does Not Make a Summer

Agneta Prytz

(1947), Loffe the Tramp (1948), On These Shoulders (1948), Realm of Man (1949), Stora Hoparegrand och Himmelriket (1949), Enslingen i Blasvader (1959), Ljuvig ar Sommarnatten (1961), The Doll (1962), Raven’s End (1963), Festivitetssalongen (1965), Ann and Eve (1970), The Emigrants (1971), Klara Lust (1972), The New Land (1972), Dirty Fingers (1973), Vita Nejikan (1973), Bang! (1977), The Adventures of Picasso (1978), The Call-Up (1979), Battle of Sweden (1980), Big Business (1985), the animated Peter-No-Tail in Americat (1985), Oxen (1991), The Sacred Mound (1993), and Gone Feeling (1995). She also appeared frequently on Swedish television from the 1960s, with roles in Gisslan (1962), Societetshuset (1963), Mollusken (1964), Jungfruleken (1966), Moderskarlek (1967), Monsieur Barnett (1968), Annajanska (1969), Kvartetten som Srangdes (1973), Tjocka Slakten (1975), Skarp dig, Alskling (1981), Kulla-Gulla (1986), Hastens Oga (1987), Kejsam av Portugallien (1992), and Utmaningen (1994).

PUERLING , GENE Singer Gene Puerling, who led the vocal quartet the Hi-Lo’s, died of complications from diabetes in a San Anselmo, California, hospital on March 25, 2008. He was 78. Puerling was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on March 31, 1929. He began his singing career in his teens and moved to Los Angeles in 1950. He soon met tenor Clark Burroughs, and they teamed with baritones Bob Strasen and Bob Morse to form the Hi-Lo’s in 1953. Puerling served as

Gene Puerling

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356

the group’s arranger, transforming old standards like “Georgia” and “Fascinatin’ Rhythm” into contemporary hits. They toured with Judy Garland in the mid–1950s and were featured on Rosemary Clooney’s television variety show in 1956. They also recorded the album Ring Around the Rosie with Clooney. They also recorded the poplar albums Suddenly It’s the Hi-Lo’s (1956) and And All That Jazz (1958). Tenor Don Shelton joined the group when Strasen left in 1959. The Hi-Lo’s disbanded in 1964 and Puerling formed Singers Unlimited with Bonnie Herman and Len Dresslar in 1967. They produced advertising jingles and recorded 14 albums. The Hi-Lo’s reunited in the 1970s and continued to perform together over the next twenty years. Puerling also earned a Grammy Award for his arrangement of “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” for Manhattan Transfer in 1981.

PUGACHEVA, VALENTINA

Russian actress Valentina Pugacheva died of respiratory failure in Russia on April 13, 2008. She was 73. Pugacheva was featured in such ﬁlms as Spring on Zarechnaya Street (1956), Sasha Enters Life (1956), The Night Guest (1958),

Valentina Pugacheva

Dlinnyy Den (1961), The Conspiracy of Ambassadors (1965), In the Town of S (1967), Presumption of Innocence (1988), and Dogs’ Feast (1990) She was also seen in the 1993 television series White Horse.

PUGOVKIN, MIKHAIL Russian comic actor Mikhail Pugovkin died at his home in Moscow on July 25, 2008. He was 85. Pugovkin was born in Rameshki, Soviet Union (now Russia), on June 13, 1923. He attended the Moscow Art Theatre and performed on stage in Anton Chekhov’s The Wedding in 1944. A popular stage and ﬁlm actor from the 1940s, he was featured in such ﬁlms as The Artamanov Affair (1941), Marriage (1944), 1812 (1944), Maximka (1952), Attack from the Sea (1953), Admiral Ushakov (1953), Did We Meet Somewhere Before (1954), True Friends (1954), School of Courage (1954), Private Ivan (1955), The Sword and the Dragon (1956), Ivan Brovkin on the State Farm (1955), The Variegateds Case (1958), Aleksa Dundic (1958), A Girl with Guitar (1958), A Snowy Fairy Tale (1959), May Stars (1959), The Girls (1961), Knight Move (1962), Summer Is Over (1963), Shtrafnov

Mikhail Pugovkin

Udar (1963), Wild Cherry Trees (1963), Give Me a Complaints Book (1964), The First Day of Freedom (1964), Operation Y and Other Shurik’s Adventures (1965), We Called Him Robert (1967), Wedding inb Malinkovka (1967), Through Fire, Waters and ... Brass Pipes (1968), If You Have Sails (1969), Barbara the Fair with the Silken Hair (1969), Twelve Chairs (1971), Shelmenko-Denshchik (1971), Baba Yaga (1972), 100% Nylon (1973), Ivan the Terrible: Back to the Future (1973), A Screen Star (1974), Neskanomy Naslednik (1975), It Can’t Be! (1975), Finest, the Brave Falcon (1975), The Little Mermaid (1976), The New Adventures of Captain Vrungel (1978), Sailors Have No Questions (1980), Out to Borrow Matches (1980), The Sixth (1981), The Incomparable Nakonechnikov (1981), Sportloto-82 (1982), Prikazano Vzyat Zhivym (1983), Man with an Accordion (1985), Pernicious Sunday (1986), Sitting on the Golden Porch (1986), Les (1987), Swamp Street, or the Cure Against Sex (1991), Gospoda Artisty (1994), and Bremenskie Muzykanty (2001). He was also featured in television productions of The New Adventures of Captain Vrungel (1978), The Adventures of Prince Florisel (1979), Ah, Vaudeville, Vaudeville... (1979), Lyalka-Ruslan i Ego Drug Sanka (1980), Visit to Minotaur (1987), Tsirk Priekhal (1987), The Artist from Gribov (1988), and Old Songs of the Main Things 3 (1998).

PURCHASE , BRUCE New Zealand–born actor Bruce Purchase died at his home in London on

Bruce Purchase (from Doctor Who)

357 June 5, 2008. He was 69. Purchase was born in Thames, New Zealand, on October 2, 1938. He was awarded a grant by the New Zealand government in 1960 to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. He was a founding member of the National Theatre of Great Britain under Laurence Olivier. He performed frequently on stage, screen, and television from the mid–1960s. Purchase was seen in such ﬁlms as Othello (1965), Macbeth (1971), Mary, Queen of Scots (1971), The Optimists (1973), Soft Beds, Hard Battles (1974), The Quiz Kid (1979), The Quatermass Conclusion (1979), Meetings with Remarkable Men (1979), Other Halves (1984), Playing Away (1987), Lionheart (1987), Richard III (1995), The Sea Change (1998), and Another Life (2001). He also appeared in the television productions The First Churchills (1969) as the Duke of Buckingham, Vienna 1900 (1973), Alice Through the Looking Glass (1974) as the Walrus, Fall of Eagles (1975), Trilby (1976), I, Claudius (1976) as Sabinus, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1977), Exiles (1977), Even Solomon (1979), Henry IV, Part One (1979) and Henry IV, Part Two (1979) as the Earl of Northumberland, Henry Percy, Atlantis (1983), Pope John Paul II (1984), Wallenberg: A Hero’s Story (1985), Return to Treasure Island (1986), Casanova (1987), David (1997, Killer Net (1998), and Esther (1999). Purchase was featured as the Captain in the Doctor Who serial “The Pirate Planet” in 1978 and was Parson Augustus Bull in A Horseman Riding By in 1978. His other television credits include episodes of The Big Spender, The Paradise Makers, Callan, The Flaxton Boys, Softly Softly, Doomwatch, Edward VII, Clayhanger, The New Avengers, Crown Court, Supernatural, The Devil’s Crown, Rumpole of the Bailey, Blakes 7, The Tripods, Casualty, The Bill, Ruth Rendell Mysteries, ChuckleVision, and Bob Martin.

PUTNAM, GEORGE George Putnam, a Los Angeles newscaster and conservative commentator, died of complications from a kidney ailment in Chino, California, on September 12, 2008. He was 94. Putnam was born in Breckenridge, Minnesota, on July 14, 1914. He began his career in radio in Minneapolis in the 1930s and moved to New York City later in the decade. He served in the Marine Corps, working with the Armed Forces Radio Service during World War II. He

George Putnam

2008 • Obituaries

joined the DuMont television network in the late 1940s, where he worked as a commentator. He was also the voice of Fox Movietone News with Lowell Thomas. Putnam joined Los Angeles independent station KTTV in 1951. He was announcer for the television series Television Screen Magazine in 1948, and hosted the series Broadway to Hollywood Headline Clues from 1949 to 1951. He also had cameo roles in the ﬁlms Fourteen Hours (1951) and I Want to Live! (1958). He became one of Los Angeles’ best known television personalities over the next two decades as newscaster and anchorman. He returned to radio in the early 1980s as host of a daily talkshow. The syndicated program, Talk Back with George Putnam, continued to be broadcast until shortly before his death. He made occasional cameo roles in ﬁlms and television, appearing in the tele-ﬁlms Helter Skelter (1976) and Christmas in Connecticut (1992), and the ﬁlms Gus (1976) and Independence Day (1996).

QUIGLEY, RITA Actress Rita Quigley Goehner died in Arroyo Grande, California, on August 25, 2008. She was 85. Quigley was born in Bell, California, on March 31, 1923. The sister of child actress Juanita Quigley, Rita made her ﬁlm debut as a ingénue in the early 1940s. Her ﬁlm credits include Susan and God (1940), Five Little Peppers in Trouble (1940), The

Rita Quigley

Howards of Virginia (1940), Third Finger, Left Hand (1940), Jennie (1940), Ride, Kelly, Ride (1941), Blonde Inspiration (1941), Riot Squad (1941), The Vanishing Virginian (1942), Henry Aldrich, Editor (1942), Keeper of the Flame (1942), The Human Comedy (1943), Isle of Forgotten Sins (1943), Women in Bondage (1943), Whispering Footsteps (1943), The Trap (1946), and Hills of Home (1948). She abandoned her acting career later in the decade to raise a family.

QUINN, JAMES James Quinn, who led the British Film Institute from 1955 to 1964, died in England on February 11, 2008. He was 88. Quinn was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on August 23, 1919. He worked as a textile executive after serving in the military in World War II and was named to head the British Film Institute (BFI) in 1955. He launched the London Film Festival in 1957, and also opened the Na-

Obituaries • 2008

358 ple. Raetz also appeared in the Hal Roach comedy short Crooks Tour (1934) and was reportedly an extra in Our Gang comedies in the early 1930s.

James Quinn

RAGHUVARAN Indian Tamil-language actor Raghuvaran died of cardiac arrest in Chennai, India, on March 19, 2008. He was 59. Raghuvaran was born in Kollankod, Kerala, India, on December 11, 1948. He began working in Tamil ﬁlms in the early 1980s, often playing villainous or supporting roles. His many ﬁlm credits include The Seventh Man (1982), Rugma (1983), Oai Nathiyaakirathu (1983), Poovizhi Vasalile (1987), Pasivadi Pranam (1987), Pickpocketeer (1987), Shiva (1989), The Third Eye of Shiva (1989), Shiva (1989), King of Lanka (1989), Vyooham (1990), Honourable (1990), Anjali (1990), Aai Ka Gang Leader (1993), Kad-

tional Film Theatre that year. Quinn incorporated television into the BFI’s purview before leaving his post in 1964. He subsequently operated several cinemas in London and produced Don Levy’s 1967 ﬁlm Herostratus. Quinn also produced the 1975 feature documentary Overlord, about World War II. He was chairman of the International Short Film Conference from 1971 to 1978 and was chairman of the National Panel for Film Festivals from 1974 to 1983.

RAAB, MAX Film producer Max Raab died of complications from Parkinson’s disease in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on February 21, 2008. He was 81. Raab was born in Philadelphia on June 9, 1926. He had purchased the ﬁlm rights to Anthony Burgess’ novel of a dysotopian future, A Clockwork Orange, in the 1960s as

Raghuvaran

halan (1994), The Dancing Maharaja (1995), Maanthrikam (1995), Badsha (1995), Rakshak (1996), A Hearty Welcome (1997), Ratchakan (1997), Nerukku Ner (1997), Arunachalam (1997), Aahaa (1997), Mudhalvan (1999), Amarkalam (1999), Lal Baadshah (1999), I Have Found It (2000), Azaad (2000), Grahan (2001), Majunu (2001), Run (2002), Red (2002), Bobby (2002), Johnny (2003), Alaudi (2003), Meri Jung: One Man Army (2004), Sachein (2005), Evadithe Nakenti (2007), Sivaji: The Boss (2007), and Bheema (2008). Raghuvaran also starred in recent years in the Tamil television soap opera One Man’s Story.

Max Raab

a possible ﬁlm project for the Beatles. The project was eventually ﬁlmed in 1971 by Stanley Kubrick, with Raab serving as executive producer. He also served as a producer on such ﬁlms as All the Right Noises (1969), End of the Road (1970), Walkabout (1971), Hex (1973), Moment to Moment (1975), Strut! (2001) which he also directed, and Rittenhouse Square (2005).

RAETZ, ALICE Former child actress Alice Raetz died on September 12, 2008. She was 82. She was known as Baby Alice Raetz when she was featured in the 1934 ﬁlm Stand Up and Cheer! with Shirley Tem-

RAIMONDI, GIANNI Italian operatic tenor Gianni Raimondi died in Pianoro, Italy, on October 19, 2008. He was 85. Raimondi was born in Bologna, Italy, on April 13, 1923. He made his professional debut in a production of Rigoletto in 1947. He became a popular operatic star in Italy and made his debut with La Scala opposite Maria Callas in La Traviata in 1956. He performed with the San Francisco Opera for a season in 1957. Raimondi toured throughout Europe with conductor Herbert von Karajan with La Boheme during the 1960s and performed with the Staatsoper in Hamburg from 1969 to 1977. (Photograph on page 359.) RAJENDRANATH Indian Hindi ﬁlm comedian Rajendranath, who became known as the buffoonish character Popatlal whom he once played on-

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ing Train (1980), Biwi-O-Biwi: The Fun-Film (1981), Harjaee (1981), Tahaika (1982), Who Is the Criminal? (1982), Tumhare Bina (1982), Love Sickness (1982), Main Awara Hoon (1983), Justice Chaudhury (1983), Shapath (1984), The Old Temple (1984), The Mansion (1985), Lava (1985), Rahi Badal Gaye (1985), Telephone (1985), Homelife (1986), Sasti Dulhan Mahenga Dulha (1986), Peechha Karro (1986), Rest House (1987), The Temple of Love (1988), Main Tera Dushman (1989), Clerk (1989), Shandaar (1990), Zimmedaaar (1990), Ajooba (1991), The Final Scream (1991), Bol Radha Bol (1992), Jai Vikraanta (1995), and Megha (1996).

Gianni Raimondi

Rajendranath

screen, died of cardiac arrest at his home in Mumbai, India, on February 13, 2008. He was 75. He followed his brother, actor Prem Nath, into show business and was featured in a small comic role in the 1956 ﬁlm Hum Sab Chor Hain with Shammi Kapoor. He soon became a popular screen comedian, appearing in numerous ﬁlms over the next 40 years. During his career he acted in ﬁlms in Hindi, Punjabi, and Bhojpuri. His ﬁlm credits include Shararat (1959), Bindya (1960), Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai (1961), Love Letter (1962), Main Shadi Karne Chala (1962), Jhoola (1962), Aarti (1962), In Front of Your House (1963), Cry for Life (1963), Holiday in Bombay (1963), Gazal (1964), My Beloved (1965), Janwar (1965), Sagaai (1966), Latt Saheb (1967), An Evening in Paris (1967), Face to Face (1967), Spy in Rome (1968), Jhuk Gaya Aasman (1968), Shart (1969), Prince (1969), Intaquam (1969), The Bond (1969), Aya Sawan Jhoorn Ke (1969), Rootha Na Karo (1970), My Love (1970), My Name Is Joker (1970), Life and Death (1970), The Festival of Colours Has Come (1970), The Train (1970), Turn Haseen Main Jawaan (1970), Main Sunder Hoon (1971), Aap A ye Bahaar Ayee (1971), My Life Partner (1972), Dharkan (1972), Kahani Kismat Ki (1973), My Name Is Geeta (1974), The Silk Thread (1974), Sunehra Sansar (1975), The Runaways (1975), A Little Affair (1975), Julie (1975), Ali Baba (1976), Chor Ho To Aisa (1978), Dada (1979), Raadha Aur Seeta (1979), Jazbaat (1980), The Evidence (1980), The Burn-

RAKSANYI , GELLERT Hungarian actor Gellert Raksanyi died in Budapest, Hungary, on May 20, 2008. He was 82. Raksanyi was born in Szigetvar, Hungary, on July 19, 1925. He was a popular ﬁlm star in Hungary from the late 1940s, appearing in Gala Suit (1949), Szabone (1949), Goose Boy (1950), Tuzkeresztseg (1952), The Rising Sea (1953), Az Eltusszentett Birodalom (1956), Abyss (1956), Merry-Go-Round (1956), Pillar of Salt (1958), Edes Anna (1958), Up the Slope (1959), Sleepless Years (1959), Bogancs (1959), Szombattol Hetfoig (1959), Az Arc Nelkuli Varos (1960), Napfeny a Jegen (1961), Aprilisi Nado (1962), Darkness in Daytime (1963), A Penzcsinalo (1964), The Golden Head (1964), A Koszivu Ember Fiai (1965), Twenty Hours (1965), Deltol Hajnalig (1965), The Corporal and Others (1965), Temporary Cloudiness (1967), A Holtak Visszajamak (1968), Talking Caftan (1969), Temperate Zone (1970), Erik a Feny (1970), A Halhatatien Legios (1971), The Csardas Princess (1971), Hekus Lettern (1972), Dreaming Youth (1974), Kneeler Peak (1976), A Very Moral Night (1977), Hungarians (1978), A Volley for a Blac Bufalo (1985), Never, Nowhere, to No-One! (1988), The Storks Always Return (1993), and We Never Die (1993). Raksanyi also appeared frequently on television from the 1960s with roles in such productions as Faklyalang (1963) as Mihaly Horvath, Hard Summer (1964), Ristof, a Maganzo (1965), A 0416-Os Szokeveny (1970), A Revizor (1970), So Mihaly Kalandjai (1970), Rozsa Sandor (1971), Eg y ora Mulva itt Vag yok (1971), Eg y Srac Feher Lovon (1973), Utazas a Holdba (1974), Volpone (1974), Vivat, Benovsky! (1975), Petoli (1977), Bezzeg a Tohotom (1977), Zokogo Marjom (1978), Mire

Gellert Raksanyi

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Magvenulunk (1978), Kozos Kutya (1983), The Phantom of the Opera (1983) with Maximilian Schell and Jane Seymour, A Ven Bakancsos es Fia, a Huszar (1985), Szechenyi Napjai (1985), Zsarumelo (1986), Bank Ban (1987), Nyolc Evszak (1987), Aranyora (1987), Labdaalmok (1989), Ignaz Semmelweis — Arzt der Frauen (1989), Penzt, de Sokat! (1991), and Tiszazug (1991). Raksanyi starred as Bernat “Kutya” Hegyi in the television series Szomszedok from 1991 to 1999. He was the recipient of the Lifetime Award as Actor of the Hungarian Nation in 2000.

RAMBO , DOTTIE Singer and songwriter Dottie Rambo died of injuries she received when her tour bus ran off a highway near Mount Vernon, Missouri, on May 11, 2008. She was 74. She was born Joyce Reba Luttrell in Anton, Kentucky, on March 2, 1934. She married singer Buck Rambo in 1940 and performed with her husband as the Singing Rambos. She toured with her band or on her own through the late 1980s, when a back injury temporarily sidetracked her career.

Dottie Rambo

Rambo was also a proliﬁc songwriter, claiming to have penned over 2500 songs during her career. Her songs were recorded by such artists as Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, and Whitney Houston. Her 1968 album of gospel music, It’s the Soul of Me, earned the Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance. Her many popular songs and hymnals include “I Go to the Rock,” “We Shall Behold Him,” “I Will Glory in the Cross,” and “He Looked Beyond My Fault (And Saw My Need).” Rambo returned to the stage in 2003, recording a hit duet with Dolly Parton. She continued to perform at concerts and evangelistic meetings around the country until her death.

RANDELL, ROBERT British television producer Robert Randell died of cancer in England on July 13, 2008. He was 63. Randell was born in England on February 4, 1945. He studied the biological sciences and ﬁlm and combined his knowledge to work on the television science shows The Burke Special and Horizon. He became a researcher and production manager for the BBC quiz show The Generation Game. Randell began working with television personality Jeremy Beadle and spent nearly a decade as writer and producer

Robert Randell

for his various television series. He oversaw production of the popular series Beadle’s About for eight years, before taking a production job with Scottish Television.

RATHBONE, JULIAN British novelist Julian Rathbone died after a long illness in Thorny Hill, Hampshire, England, on February 28, 2008. He was 73. Rathbone was born in Blackheath, London, England, on February 10, 1935. He was the great-nephew of actor Basil Rathbone, noted for his frequent performances as Detective Sherlock Holmes. Julian studied English at Cambridge and worked as a teacher through the 1960s. His ﬁrst novel, the thriller Diamonds Bid, was published in 1967. Hand Out (1968), With My Knives I Know I’m Good (1969), and Trip Trap (1972) soon followed. He was able to give up teaching to write full-time in 1973 and settled in Spain. His novels King Fisher Lives (1976) and Joseph (1979) were both shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He also created the character of Inspector Jan Argand, who was featured in the novels The Euro-Killers (1979), Base Case (1981), and Watching the Detectives (1983). Rathbone created German eco-detective Renate Fechter for the novels Accidents Will Happen (1997) and Brandenburg Concerto (1998), and private eye Chris Shovelin for Homage (2001) and As Bad as It Gets (2003). His 1991 novel, Dangerous Games, was adapted for a tele-ﬁlm in Germany in 1994. His other works include Kill Cure (1975), Bloody Marvelous (1975), Carnival! (1976), A Raving Monarchist (1977), The Princess a Nun! (1978), A Spy of the Old School (1982), Nasty, Very (1984), Wellington’s War (1984), Lying in State (1985), ZDT

Julian Rathbone

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(1986), The Crystal Contract (1988), The Pandora Option (1990), Sand Blind (1993), Intimacy (1995), Blame Hitler (1997), Trajectories (1998), King’s of Albion (2000), A Very English Agent (2002), Birth of a Nation (2004), and The Mutiny (2007).

RATHBURN, ELDON Canadian ﬁlm composer Eldon Rathburn died in Ottawa, Canada, on August 31, 2008. He was 92. Rathburn was born in Queenstown, New Brunswick, Canada, on April 21, 1916. He learned to play the piano at an early age and performed in various bands in the 1930s and 1940s. He began working with Canada’s National Film Board in 1947 and scored over 250 shorts and features over the Colea Rautu

Eldon Rathburn

next ﬁve decades. He provided music for the Oscar nominated shorts The Romance of Transportation in Canada (1952), Christmas Cracker (1962), and The Family Who Dwelt Apart (1973). His numerous works also include the animated short Fish Spoilage Control (1956), the 1957 documentary short City of Gold, and the 1992 IMAX production Momentum. Rathburn composed the soundtrack for the 1977 feature ﬁlm Who Has Seen the Wind. He was also the subject of the 1995 documentary Eldon Rathburn: They Shoot ... He Scores.

RAUTU, COLEA Romanian actor Colea Rautu died in a Bucharest, Romania, hospital on May 13, 2008. He was 95. He was born Colea Rutkovschi in Balti, Russia (now Moldova), on November 18, 1912. He began his career on stage as a young man after attending school in Bucharest and had a long career as a stage, ﬁlm, and television performer. His numerous ﬁlm credits include Development in a Village (1954), The Mill of Good Luck (1955), Beyond the Fir Trees (1957), Soldiers Without Uniform (1960), Thirst (1960), Vara Romantica (1961), Lupeni 29 (1962), Pisica de Mare (1963), July Light (1963), White Trial (1965), Blazing Winter (1965), The Soimaresti Family (1965), The Time of the Snowstorm (1966), The Outlaws (1966), Three Times Bucharest (1967), The Rape of the Maidens (1968), The Revenge of the Outlaws (1968), The Deerslayer (1969), The Dowry of Lady Ralu (1970), The Last Crusade (1970), The Outlaws of Captain Anghel (1970), The Making of the World (1971), The Lost Forest (1971), The Party (1971), The Week of the Madmen (1971), the tele-

vision mini-series The Seawolf (1971), A Certain Kind of Happiness (1973), Apachen (1973), The Poseidon Explosion (1973), The Immortals (1974), Stephen the Great (1974), Ulzana (1974), Singuratatea Florilor (1975), Masteodontul (1975), Full Sail (1976), Accident (1976), Pintea (1976), The Court Adjourns the Sentencing (1976), Regasirea (1977), Fair Play (1977), Uncertain Roads (1978), Revenge (1978), Bus Action (1978), Last Night of Love (1979), Michael, the Dog That Sang (1979), The Duel (1981), A World Without Sky (1981), The Last Assault (1985), Atkins (1985), The Gold-diggers (1986), Proud Heritage (1989), and The Earth’s Most Beloved Son (1993).

RAYMOND, PAUL British adult entertainment impresario Paul Raymond, who made a fortune publishing magazines and producing nude night-club revues, died in London on March 3, 2008. He was 82. He was born Geoffrey Anthony Quinn in Liverpool, England, on November 15, 1925. He began working in show business in the late 1940s as part of a mind reading act on the variety stage. He soon began producing low-budget nude variety revues that toured the country offering topless females in a stationary position, as laws prevented any movement of nudes while on stage. Raymond opened a private adult club in 1957 that featured male and female nudity and began a publishing empire that released such magazines as Men Only and Club Conﬁdential. His club, Raymond’s Revue Bar, be-

Paul Raymond

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came a leading Soho nightspot and he had great success with the West End stage shows Pyjama Tops and Let’s Get Laid. Despite frequent legal challenges over the years, Raymond’s business ventures continued to prosper. He was executive producer of a handful of ﬁlms including House on Straw Hill (1976), Love Trap (1977), Hardcore (1977) starring Fiona Richmond, and Paul Raymond’s Erotica (1981).

REBROFF, IVAN German singer Ivan Rebroff, who was noted for his renditions of Russian folk songs, died in Frankfurt, Germany, after a long illness on February 27, 2008. He was 76. He was born Hans-Rolf Jerry Reed

Ivan Rebroff

Rippert in Berlin, Germany, on July 31, 1931. Possessing a wide vocal range, he performed in over 6,000 concerts during his career. He was also a frequent performer on German television and was featured in several ﬁlms including The Song of the Balalaika (1971), The Last Waltz (1973), Die Schone Helena (1974), The Gipsy Baron (1975), Der Bettelstudent (1981), and Kleiner Mann was Tun (1981).

REED, JERRY Country singer and actor Jerry Reed died of complications from emphysema in Nashville, Tennessee, on August 31, 2008. He was 71. He was born Jerry Reed Hubbard in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 20, 1937. He began playing the guitar at an early age. He began working with Capitol Records in 1955, but his early tunes drew little attention. He served in the U.S. Army from 1959 to 1961, performing with the Army band. He achieved some success as a songwriter, penning Brenda Lee’s hit “That’s All You Gotta Do” and Porter Wagoner’s “Misery Loves Company.” Later in the decade, Chet Atkins brought him to RCA Records, where he recorded the popular “Guitar Man” and “Tupelo Mississippi Flash.” Noted for his intricate guitar playing style and folksy humor, Reed had his breakthrough hit with “Amos Moses” in 1970. He earned a Grammy for an instrumental he recorded with Atkins in 1971 and penned the popular “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot.” He also wrote two songs for Elvis Presley, “U.S. Male” and “Guitar Man,” and performed on the Presley recording sessions. Reed performed on television in such variety series as The Johnny Cash Show, The Jerry Reed When You’re Hot You’re Hot Hour, The

Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, The Dean Martin Show, Dean Martin Presents the Golddiggers, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Nashville Palace, and Madame’s Place. He was featured in a small role in the 1969 tele-ﬁlm Harper Valley, P.T.A. and embarked on an acting career in Burt Reynolds’ 1975 ﬁlm W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings. He also appeared with Reynolds in Gator (1976), and was cast as Cledus “Snowman” Snow in the 1977 hit Smokey and the Bandit. He reprised the role in Smokey and the Bandit II in 1980 and Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 in 1983. He was also seen in the ﬁlms High-Ballin’ (1978), Hot Stuff (1979), The Survivors (1983), Stand Alone (1985), What Comes Around (1986) which he also produced and directed, and Bat*21 (1988) for which he was also executive producer. Reed also appeared in the tele-ﬁlms Good Ol’ Boys (1979) and The Concrete Cowboys (1979) and was featured in episodes of Dallas, Nashville 99, Mama’s Family, Dolly, B.L. Stryker, and Evening Shade. He appeared as Coach Red Beaulieu in Adam Sandler’s 1998 comic ﬁlm The Waterboy. As a recording artist, Reed returned to the charts in the early 1980s with the hits “She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)” and “The Bird.” He reunited with Chet Atkins for the 1992 album Sneakin’ Around and teamed with Waylon Jennings, Mel Tillis, and Bobby Bare for the 1998 album Old Dogs.

REIG, HOWARD Veteran radio and television announcer Howard Reig died in Venice, Florida,

Howard Reig

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on November 12, 2008. He was 87. Reig was born in New York City on May 31, 1921. He began working for General Electric in 1943 as a staff announcer and joined NBC in 1952. He was announcer for the popular news interview program Meet the Press and also announced the local newscasts for New York’s WNBC-TV station. Reig ushered in the news at NBC through the eras of John Chancellor, Tom Brokaw, and Brian Williams, announcing This Is NBC Nightly New, from 1983. He worked with NBC for over sixty years before retiring in 2005.

REILLY, JAMES E. Veteran television soap opera writer James E. Reilly died while recovering from heart surgery on October 11, 2008. He was 60. Reilly was born in Bountiful, Utah, on July 15, 1948. He began working in soaps in the 1980s, serving as a staff writer for such series as Ryan’s Hope, General Hospital, and The Young and the Restless. He was head writer for

James E. Reilly

Guiding Light from 1990 to 1992, earning an Emmy Award for his efforts. He was also head writer for Days of Our Lives from 1992 to 1997 and Sunset Beach in 1998. He created the NBC soap Passions in 1991, which aired through 2007. He also returned to Days of Our Lives from 2003 to 2006. Reilly scripted a 1996 episode of Friends, the one where Joey’s brief career as a soap star ends when his character is killed off.

REINER, ESTELLE Estelle Reiner, the wife of comedy star Carl Reiner, died at her home in Beverly Hills, California, on October 25, 2008. She was 94. She was born Estelle Lebost in The Bronx, New York, on June 5, 1914. She graduated from the National Academy of Design in the late 1930s and drafted blueprints for submarines and aircrafts during World War II. She married Carl Reiner on Christmas Eve in 1943 and raised three children with him. After her children were grown, she began painting and held several one-woman shows in the 1970s. She also studied acting under Lee Strasberg and made her ﬁlm debut in 1980’s Fatso, directed by Anne Bancroft. She also appeared in the 1980 tele-ﬁlm Marathon and had a small role in her husband’s 1983 comedy ﬁlm The Man with Two Brains. Reiner was also seen in Mel Brook’s comedy To Be or Not to Be (1983) and 1988’s Hot to Trot. She made her

Estelle Reiner

biggest impact on screen in a small role in her son Rob Reiner’s ﬁlm When Harry Met Sally. She had the memorable line of “I’ll have what she’s having” following Meg Ryan’s feigned orgasm in a restaurant. Reiner also had a career later in life as a jazz singer, recording several CDs of old hits.

RENFRO, BRAD Brad Renfro, the former child actor who starred in the 1994 ﬁlm adaptation of John Grisham’s The Client, was found dead at his home in Los Angeles of an apparent drug overdose on January 15, 2008. He was 25. Renfro was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on July 25, 1982. He made his screen debut in 1994, when he was cast as Mark Sway, the protagonist in The Client, with Susan Sarandon. The following year, he starred as Huck Finn in a 1995 adaptation of Tom and Huck. He earned critical acclaim for his role opposite Ian McKellen in the 1998 adaptation of Stephen King’s novella Apt Pupil, about a boy who becomes involved with the Nazi war criminal living next door. Renfro also appeared in such other ﬁlms as The Cure (1995), Sleepers (1996), Telling Lies in America (1997), 2 Little 2 Late (1999), Herschel Hooper: New York Rabbit (2000), Skipped Parts (2000), Meter Man (2000), The Theory of the Leisure Class (2001), Happy Campers (2001), Tart (2001), Bully (2001), Ghost World (2001) with Scarlett Johansson and Steve Buscemi, Deuces Wild (2002), American Girl (2002), The Job (2003), The Car Kid (2003), Mummy an’ the Armadillo

Brad Renfro

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(2004), The Jacket (2005), Coat Pockets (2005), and 10th & Wolf (2006). Renfro was also seen on television in the 2004 production of Hollywood Files and an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Renfro’s career was plagued with legal and substance abuse problems. He was arrested in Florida in 2000 on charges of attempting to steal a luxury yacht. Charged with grand theft, he was sentenced to two years’ probation. He was again arrested in 2005 during a drug sweep of Los Angeles’ Skid Row. He pled guilty for attempted possession of heroin and was sentenced to three years’ probation and a drug rehabilitation program. Renfro was ﬁlming an adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ The Informer at the time of his death.

RESCHER, GAYNE Gayne Rescher, an Emmy Award–winning cinematographer, died in Gig Harbor, Washington, after a long illness on February 29, 2008. He was 83. Rescher was born in New York City on December 19, 1924, the son of pioneer cinematographer Jay Rescher and silent ﬁlm star Jean Tolley. The younger Rescher served as a ﬁghter pilot during World War II. He studied acting after his discharge before changing his interests to camerawork. He began working in ﬁlms in the mid–1950, photographing Cinerama Holiday (1955), Seven Wonders of the World (1956), and The Miracle of Todd-AO (1956). He served as director of photography on Budd Schulberg’s 1957 ﬁlm A Face in the Crowd starring Andy Grifﬁth. Rescher’s other ﬁlm credits include Man on a String (1960), Murder, Inc (1960), Fiend of Dope Island (1961), Mad Dog Coll (1961), The Doctor and the Playgirl (1963), Open the Door and See All the People (1964), The Troublemaker (1964), Rachel, Rachel (1968), John and Mary (1969), A New Leaf (1971), Such Good Friends (1971), Book of Numbers (1973), Claudine (1974), Norman ... Is That You? (1976), Olly, Olly, Oxen Free (1978), My Strange Uncle (1981), and Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982). Rescher worked frequently in television from the early 1970s, ﬁlming such tele-ﬁlms as The Third Girl from the Left (1973), Love Is Not Forever (1974), The Great Niagara (1974), A Shadow in the Streets (1975), Sarah T.— Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic (1975), Crime Club (1975), Beyond the Bermuda Triangle (1975), A Circle of Children (1977), Something for Joey (1977), Alexander:

The Other Side of Dawn (1977), The Girl in the Empty Grave (1977), Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night (1977), Deadly Games (1977), To Kill a Cop (1978), Just Me and You (1978), Betrayal (1978), A Christmas to Remember (1978), Dummy (1979), Breaking Up Is Hard to Do (1979), and Angel on My Shoulder (1980). He earned an Emmy Award for his work on the 1980 Moviola mini-series that included the segments This Year’s Blonde, The Scarlett O’Hara War, and The Silent Lovers. He also ﬁlmed The Pride of Jesse Hallam (1981), Bitter Harvest (1981), The Princess and the Cabbie (1981), Hardcase (1981), The Legend of Walks Far Woman (1982), Sister, Sister (1982), Honeyboy (1982), Something So Right (1982), Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer: Murder Me, Murder You (1983), The Day After (1983), A Bunny’s Tale (1985), James Michener’s Space (1985), Toughlove (1985), Dress Gray (1986), There Must Be a Pony (1986), Promise (1986), Love Among Thieves (1987), In Love and War (1987), Sidney Sheldon’s Windmills of the Gods (1988), Side by Side (1988), Shooter (1988) earning a second Emmy Award, Police Story: The Watch Commander (1988), Get Smart, Again! (1989), Single Women Married Men (1989), Follow Your Heart (1990), Jackie Collins’ Lucky/Chances (1990) garnering another Emmy, A Taste for Killing (1992), Nightmare in the Daylight (1992), Fugitive Nights: Danger in the Desert (1993), Breathing Lessons (1994), and Melanie Darrow (1997). His survivors include his daughter, actress DeeDee Rescher.

RESCIGNO , NICOLA Conductor Nicola Rescigno, who founded two opera companies in the United States, died in a Viterbo, Italy, hospital on August 4, 2008, while awaiting surgery for a broken femur he had received in a fall the previous week. He was 92. Rescigno was born in Manhattan, New York, on May 28,

Nicola Rescigno

Gayne Rescher

1916. He studied law at Sapienza University in Rome and music at the Juilliard School in New York. He became conductor for the San Carlo Opera touring company in 1943. He joined with Lawrence V. Kelly and Carol Fox to create the Lyric Theater of Chicago in 1952, and he conducted Maria Callas in her U.S debut there two years later. He and Kelly left the Lyric in 1956 after a disagreement with Fox, and the two men

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formed the Dallas Opera the following year. The company became a world-class opera house, with Rescigno as conductor. Such artists as Dame Joan Sutherland, Placido Domingo, Jon Vickers, and Montserrat Caballe made the U.S. debuts on the stage there. He served as general director after Kelly’s death in 1974 until 1977 and resigned from the Dallas Opera in 1990 over an artistic dispute with the new general director, Plato Karayanis. Rescigno also conducted productions with the Metropolitan Opera and the San Francisco Opera and worked on several albums with singers Maria Callas and Robert Weede.

REYNOLDS, JODY Rockabilly singer and songwriter Jody Reynolds, who recorded the 1950s hit “Endless Sleep,” died of liver cancer in Palm Desert, California, on November 7, 2008. He was 75. He was born Ralph Joseph Reynolds in Denver, Colorado, on December 3, 1932 (some sources list 1938), and raised in Shady Grove, Oklahoma. He began playing the guitar in his teems and formed the band, the Storms, in

Tommy Reynolds (as Dr. Shock with handpuppet Dingbat)

ture. He and Dr. Shock moved to station WDEF later in the decade and also hosted the afternoon program of the station’s radio afﬁliate. He later relocated to Huntsville as a commercial director until his retirement.

REZNIKOV, HANON Actor and director Hanon Reznikov, who was active for the avante-garde Living Theater, died of complications of pneumonia and stroke in New York City on May 3, 2008. He was 57. He was born Howard Reznik in Brooklyn, New York, on September 23, 1950. He abandoned biophysics at Yale University in the late 1960s to become an artist and became involved with the experimental theatrical ensemble the Living Theater. The theater had been founded by Julian Beck and his wife, Judith

Jody Reynolds

the early 1950s. Reynolds wrote the melancholy ballad “Endless Sleep” in 1956, and it became a top 10 hit when he recorded it two years later. Many other artists recorded covers over the years including John Fogerty, Billy Idol, Hank Williams, Jr., and The Judds. He had a minor hit with the follow-up single “Fire of Love.” He continued to write and perform but failed to achieve another major success. Reynolds later settled in Southern California where he worked in real estate and ran a music store. He occasionally played concerts on the rock oldies circuit throughout his life.

REYNOLDS, TOMMY Tommy Reynolds, who was Chattanooga’s television horror host Dr. Shock in the 1970s, died in Huntsville, Alabama, on January 20, 2008. He was 75. Reynolds was born on October 30, 1932. He was program director for WTVC Channel 9 in the 1960s and 1970s, often voicing the station’s commercials. He went in front of the cameras as host of Shock Theater in the 1970s. Wearing ghoulish make-up and assisted by the handpuppet Dingbat and the curvaceous Nurse BadBody, Reynolds, as Dr. Shock, introduced a host of low-budget horror ﬁlms. He would also entertain with comedy shtick throughout the fea-

Hanon Reznikov

Malina, in 1947 and was noted for its off beat, and sometimes controversial, productions. Reznikov joined the company in 1977, where he wrote and directed such productions as And Then the Heavens Closed, The Body of God, Clearing the Streets, Utopia, The Zero Method, and Anarchia. When Beck died in 1985, Reznikov became co-artistic director with Malina, whom he married three years later. They continued to run the Living Theater for the next twenty years.

RICHARDSON, EDWARD Art director Edward Richardson died of lung cancer in Missouri on

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January 4, 2008. He was 63. Richardson was born in Piedmont, Missouri, on May 10, 1944. He began working in ﬁlms in the early 1970s and was an assistant art director on Badlands (1973) and High Anxiety (1977). He continued to served as art director or production designer for such ﬁlms as The Double McGufﬁn (1979), American Gigolo (1980), Modern Romance (1981), Hard Country (1981), the tele-ﬁlm The Choice (1981), Cat People (1982), Brian DePalma’s Scarface (1983), Thief of Hearts (1984), Stick (1985), My Man Adam (1985), Blaze (1989), Avalon (1990), Toys (1992), and Love Affair (1994).

RICHTER, HANS German actor Hans Richter, who began his screen career as a child in 1931’s Emil and the Detectives, died in Heppenheim, Germany, on October 5, 2008. He was 89. Richter was born in Nowawes (now Potsdam), Germany, on January 12, 1919. He made his ﬁlm debut at the age of 12 with his role as Fliegender Hirsch in Gerhard Lamprecht’s 1931 ﬁlm version of Emil and the Detectives (1931). He appeared in numerous ﬁlms over the next ﬁfty years with roles in such features in Die Nacht ohne Pause (1931), The Blue from the Sky (1932), The Burning Secret (1933), Hande aus dem Dunkel (1933), A Trip to the Country (1933), Our Flags Lead Us Forward (1933), Three Bluejackets and a Blonde (1933), Der Page vorn Dalmasse-Hotel (1933), Don’t Be Afraid of Love (1933), Csibi, der Fratz (1934), The Black Whale (1934), Abenteuer im Sudexpress (1934), Lisette (1934), Spring Parade (1934), Love and Alarum (1934), Die Englische Heirat (1934), Peter (1934), Peter, Paul, and Nanette (1935), Wenn ein Madel Hochzeit Macht (1935), Fresh Wind Out of Canada (1935), Knockout (1935), General Housecleaning (1935), A Regular Fellow (1935), Pygmalion (1935), Waltz Around the Stefanstower (1935), Konigstiger (1935), The Dreamer (1936), Soldier Comrades (1936), Hilde Petersen: General Delivery (1936), The Unrecognized Man of the World (1936), Incognito (1936), A Hoax (1936), Onkel Brasig (1936), Women’s Paradise (1936), The Girl Irene (1936), Violet of Potsdam Square (1936), The Court Concert (1936), The Merry Widow’s Ball (1936), Das Grosse Abenteuer (1937), Fremdenheim Filoda (1937), The Stork Society (1937), Vor Liebe wird Gewarnt (1937), The Man Who Was Sherlock

Hans Richter

Holmes (1937), Ein Volksfeind (1937), Altes Herz Geht auf die Riese (1938), Storms in May (1938), Night of Fate (1938), Silvesternacht am Alexanderplatz (1939), A Hopeless Case (1939), Das Schwert des Damokles (1939), In Letzer Minute (1939), The Fox of Glenarvon (1940), Ein Leben Lang (1940), Herz — Modern Mobliert (1940), Unser Fraulein Doktor (1940), Der 5. Juni (1942), Der Kleine Grenzverkehr (1943), Die Jungfern vorn Bischofsberg (1943), Die Gattin (1943), Die Feuerzangenbowle (1944), and Junge Herzen (1944). Richter was inducted into military service in Germany in 1944. After the war he produced cabaret shows in Munich before settling in Hamburg. He soon returned to the screen with roles in such ﬁlms as Arlberg-Express (1948), Der Herr vorn Andern Stern (1948), Blockierte Signale (1948), Die Letzte Nacht (1949), I’ll Never Forget That Night (1949), Nothing but Coincidence (1949), Artistenblut (1949), Doktor Rosin (1949), By a Nose (1949), Katchen fur Alles (1950), Absender Unbekannt (1950), Export in Blond (1950), The Black Forrest Girl (1950), One Must Be Handsome (1951), Stips (1951), Durch Dick und Dunn (1951), Johannes and the 13 Beauty Queens (1951), Whirled into Happiness (1951), The Heath Is Green (1951), In Munchen Steht ein Hof brauhaus (1951), Season in Salzburg (1952), Knall und Fall als Hochstapler (1952), April 1, 2000 (1952), Arn Brunnen vor dern Tore (1952), Cuba Cabana (1952), The Rose of Stamboul (1953), Knall und Fall als Detektive (1953), Tender and True (1953), Der Vetter aus Dingsda (1953), Madchen mit Zukunft (1954), Clivia (1954), Konig der Manege (1954), The Little Czar (1954), Die Spanische Fliege (1955), Intermediate Landing in Paris (1955), Liebe Ist ja nur ein Marchen (1955), Schwarzewaldmelodie (1956), Holiday am Wortherse (1958), Das Donkosakenlied (1956), Frauen sind fur die Liebe da (1957), Zwei Herzen voller Seligkeit (1957), The Heart of St. Pauli (1957), Wenn die Bombe Platzt (1958), The Muzzle (1958), The Blue Moth (1959), Traumrevue (1959), Wenn die Heide Bluht (1960), The Young Sinner (1960), The Haunted Castle (1960), Oh Egon! (1961), Davon Traumen alle Madchen (1961), Unsere Tollen Nichten (1962), Drei Liebersbriefe aus Tirol (1962), His Best Friend (1962), The Black Cobra (1963), Glorious Times at the Spessart Inn (1967), The Fire Tongue Bowl (1970), Special Section (1975), and The Latest on Robber Hotzenplotz (1979). Richter performed primarily on stage from the late 1950s and was founder and director of a theatrical company in Heppenheim from 1974. He also appeared on television in episodes of Das Kriminalmuseum and Ein Fall fur Stein and was featured in the 1982 miniseries Bekenntnisse des Hochstaplers Felix Krull.

RIDDERS, CARL Belgian actor Carl Ridders died at his home in Antwerp, Belgium, on December 7, 2008. He was 50. He had suffered from a neuromuscular disorder and had decided on euthanasia. Ridders was born in Roosendaal, the Netherlands, on June 20, 1958. He was a leading stage performer in Flanders from the late 1980s. He was also featured in the ﬁlms Het Sacrament (1990), Stuck Out All Alone (1993), Eden (1993), She Good Fighter (1995), Piranha Blues (1999), Team Spirit (2000), Plop in de Wolken

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Carl Ridders

Terence Rigby

(2000), and De Hel van Tanger (2006). Ridders appeared in the 1986 television mini-series Adriaen Brouwer and starred as Koen Laenen in the television series Spoed in 2005. He was seen in episodes of Deman, Recht op Recht, Flikken, Witse, Aspe, and Rupel.

began a long association with the works of playwright Harold Pinter when cast as Lenny in The Homecoming in 1965. He made his Broadway debut with the play soon after. Rigby also gave an acclaimed performance as Ralph Richardson’s manservant Briggs in Pinter’s No Man’s Land. He appeared frequently on British television from the early 1960s with roles in such series as No Hiding Place, Detective, The Informer, Dixon of Dock Green, Z Cars, The Saint, The First Lady, Callan, Tales of Unease, Public Eye, Armchair Theatre, The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, Hunter’s Walk, Crown Court, Airline, Spooky, Rumpole of the Bailey, Travelling Man, Dramarama, Crossroads, Stay Lucky, Boon, Van der Valk, Lovejoy, Midsomer Murders, Holby City, Heartbeat, and Doctors. Rigby starred as police dog handler PC Snow in the television series from 1967 to 1976. He was also seen in television productions of The Witnesses (1964), Diary of a Young Man (1964), Wife in a Blonde Wig (1966), The Queen Street Gang (1968), Bangelstein’s Boys (1969), No Man’s Land (1978), Edward & Mrs. Simpson (1978) as Stanley Bruce, John LeCarre’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979), High Tide (1980), and Bull Week (1980). He starred as Dr. Watson opposite Tom Baker’s Sherlock Holmes in the 1982 television production The Hound of the Baskervilles and was Inspector Layton in the 1983 Sherlock Holmes tele-ﬁlm The Sign of Four, with Ian Richardson as the master detective. He was also seen on television in productions of The Muscle Market (1981), Anyone for Denis? (1982), The Falklands Factor (1983), Desert of Lies (1984), Lace (1984), The Beiderbecke Affair (1985) as Big Al, Lace II (1985), The Detective (1985), The Beiderbecke Connection (1988), Friends in Space (1990), The Investigation: Inside a Terrorist Bombing (1990), A Summer Day’s Dream (1994), Our Friends in the North (1996), The Student Prince (1997), Born to Run (1997), and Great Expectations (1999) as Pumblechook. Rigby was also featured in numerous ﬁlms during his career, with roles in Accident (1967), Get Carter (1971), Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming (1973), the animated Watership Down (1978) as the voice of Silver, The Dogs of War (1980), Testimony (1988) as Joseph Stalin, Scandal (1989), The Children (1990), The Young Americans (1993), England, My England (1995), Funny Bones (1995), the 1997 James Bond thriller Tomorrow Never Dies as General Bukharin, Eliz-

RIEHLE, THE REV. JAMES The Rev. James Riehle, the longtime chaplain of the University of Notre Dame athletic department, died on the Notre Dame campus in Indiana on October 29, 2008. He was 83. Riehle was born in Saginaw, Michigan, on November 25, 1924. He graduated from Notre Dame in 1949 and was ordained a priest in 1964. He was sta-

James Riehle

tioned at Notre Dame from 1966, serving as chaplain for the athletic teams. He also held several other positions on campus over the next three decades. Riehle was featured as the Notre Dame football team chaplain in the ﬁlm 1993 Rudy and appeared with football star Joe Montana in an Adidas television commercial.

RIGBY , TERENCE British actor Terence Rigby died of cancer in London on August 10, 2008. He was 71. Rigby was born in Birmingham, England, on January 2, 1937. He became interested in acting as a child and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in the late 1950s. He began his career on the repertory stage in Birmingham and was soon performing with touring companies throughout England. He

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abeth (1998) as Bishop Gardiner, Plunkett & Macleane (1999), Simon Magus (1999), Mrs. Caldicot’s Cabbage War (2000), Essex Boy (2000), Mona Lisa Smile (2003), Colour Me Kubrick: A True ...ish Story (2005), and Flick (2007) with Faye Dunaway.

RIGDEN, PENNY British dancer and entertainer Penny Rigden died of cancer in England on August 20, 2008. She was 63. Rigden was born in Eton End, England, in 1945. She began performing in local pantomime productions at an early age and danced with the Black and White Minstrels on stage and telJohn Ringham

Penny Rigden

evision. She also performed on the Good Old Days television variety show, and appeared in episodes of The Benny Hill Show, The Bill, Keeping Up Appearances, One Foot in the Grave, and Doctor Who. She taught dance at the Eton End School in Datchet, England, from the mid–1980s until her death.

RINGHAM , JOHN British character actor John Ringham died after a short illness in England on October 20, 2008. He was 80. Ringham was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, on February 10, 1928. He served in the British Army after World War II, before embarking on his career as an actor. He toured with The Compass Players for several years and was soon appearing in ﬁlms and on television by the 1950s. His numerous television credits include episodes of Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans, Bleak House, R.C.M.P., Age of Kings, Studio Four, The River Flows East, Ghost Squad, The Plane Makers, The Protectors, R3, No Hiding Place, Redcap, The Avengers, David Copperﬁeld, The Forsyte Saga, The Baron, The Railway Children in the recurring role of Dr. Forrest, Nana, The Saint, The Troubleshooters, The First Lady, Dad’s Army as Captain Bailey, The First Churchills as Laurence Hyde, Up Pompeii, Catweazle, Hine, Doctor Who, Casanova, The Liver Birds, The Adventures of Black Beauty, Colditz, New Scotland Yard, Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em, Menace, Spy Trap, Armchair Theatre, Great Mysteries, The Pallisers, Are You Being Served?, The Awful Mr. Goodall, Moody and Pegg, Softly Softly, Z Cars, Barlow at Large, Dixon of Dock Green, Poldark, Happy Ever After, When the Boat Comes In, Just William, Yes, Honestly, Warship, Rafﬂes, The Ghosts of Motley Hall, The

Wilde Alliance, Pennies from Heaven, Angels, The Onedin Line, Bless Me Father, The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris, Two’s Company, Flambards as Percy Adams, Thundercloud, All Creatures Great and Small, BBC 2 Playhouse, Cribb, Minder, Juliet Bravo as Superintendent Blake, Maybury, Play for Today, Crown Court, Play of the Month, The Cleopatras, C.A.T.S. Eyes, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Tripods, Bergerac, Chance in a Million, Taggart, Just Good Friends in the regular role as Norman Warrender, Terry and June, The New Statesman, Hannay, Casualty, A Taste for Death, The Bill, We Are Seven, The Darling Buds of May, Birds of a Feather, The Piglet Files as Major Andrew Maxwell, Woof! as Mr. Blocker, Governor, Bramwell, Out of Sight, London’s Burning, and The Secret of Eel Island as Pearl. He was also seen in television productions of The Sad Decline of Arthur Maybury (1969), Whom God Hath Joined (1970), To Encourage the Others (1972), War & Peace (1972), The Death of Adolf Hitler (1973), Too Much Monkey Business (1974), Rogue Male (1976), A Christmas Carol (1977), Stargazy on Zummerdown (1978), A Tale of Two Cities (1980), The Barchester Chronicles (1982), A Married Man (1983), Antigone (1984), New World (1986), Sleeping Murder (1987), The Franchise Affair (1988), and Melissa (1997). Ringham also appeared in several ﬁlms during his career including Very Important Person (1961), Making Cocoa (2002), and V for Vendetta (2005). His ﬁnal screen appearance was in an episode of television’s Doctors in 2008 before he became ill. RISI, DINO Italian ﬁlm director Dino Risi died in Italy on June 7, 2008. He was 91. Risi was born in Milan, Italy, on December 23, 1916. He began working in ﬁlms as an assistant director in the early 1940s on the features Old-Fashioned World (1941) and Giacomo the Idealist (1943). After World War II, Risi began directing short ﬁlms including Barboni (1946), Strade di Napoli (1947), Cortili (1948), Caccia in Brughiera (1948), Buio in Sala (1948), 1848 (1948), La Montagna di Luce (1949), L’Isola Bianca (1950), and Fuga Dalla Citta (1950). He moved on to features in the 1950s, directing, and often writing, such ﬁlms as Vacation with a Gangster (1951), Il Viale della Speranza (1953), Love in the City (1953), The Sign of Venus (1955), and Scandal in Sorento (1955). He gained international acclaim for his 1957 ﬁlm Poor but Beautiful (1957) and contin-

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2008 • Obituaries

Dino Risi

Oreste Rizzini

ued to helm such features as Oh! Sabella (1957), The Widower (1959), Poor Millionaires (1959), Venice, the Moon and You (1959), Love and Larceny (1960), Love in Rome (1960), Behind Closed Doors (1961), A Difﬁcult Life (1961), The Easy Life (1962), The Success (1963), March on Rome (1963), The Thursday (1963), Opiate ’67 (1963), The Dolls (1965), The Gaucho (1965), Complexes (1965), Weekend, Italian Style (1966), I Nostri Mariti (1966), The Treasure of San Gennaro (1966), The Tiger and the Pussycat (1967), Kill Me with Kisses (1968), The Prophet (1968), Vedo Nudo (1969), Normal Young Man (1969), The Priest’s Wife (1971), In the Name of the Italian People (1971), Dirty Weekend (1973), and How Funny Can Sex Be? (1973). Risi earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for his 1974 ﬁlm Scent of a Woman that was remade as a vehicle for Al Pacino in 1992. Risi’s ﬁlm credits also include The Career of a Chambermaid (1976), The Forbidden Room (1977), The Bishop’s Room (1977), The New Monsters (1977), First Love (1978), Dear Papa (1979), I’m Photogenic (1980), Sunday Lovers (1980), Fantasma d’Amore (1981), Sesso e Violentieri (1982), Good King Dagobert (1984), Madman at War (1985), Teresa (1987), Il Commissario Lo Gatto (1987), Love for Life (1988), Running Away (1988), I’ll Be Going Now (1990), and Poor but Beautiful (1996). He also directed a segment of the 1996 ﬁlm Esercizi di Stile and helmed the television productions Mission of Love (1992) and Le Ragazze di Miss Italia (2002). He was received and honorary Golden Lion Award for lifetime achievement at the Venice Film Festival in 2002.

Alain Robbe-Grillet

RIZZINI, ORESTE Italian actor Oreste Rizzini died of stomach cancer in Rome, Italy, on March 18, 2008. He was 67. Rizzini was born in Milan, Italy, on March 27, 1940. He was a leading voice actor in Italy, providing the Italian voice for Michael Douglas in numerous ﬁlms. He also voiced for such stars as Michael Caine, Richard Chamberlain, Chuck Norris, Bill Murray, Jon Voight, Gene Hackman, and Paul Hogan in the Crocodile Dundee ﬁlms. ROBBE-GRILLET, ALAIN French author, ﬁlm writer and director Alain Robbe-Grillet, whose best known work was his Oscar-nominated script for Alain Resnais’ 1961 ﬁlm Last Year at Marienbad, died

in France on February 18, 2008. He was 85. RobbeGrillet was born in Brest, France, on August 18, 1922. He was a statistician and agronomist before he turned to writing in the 1950s. He authored over a dozen books including Les Gommes (The Erasers) (1953), Le Voyeur (1955), and Jealousy (1957). He explained his desire to defy conventional ﬁction and write novels that kept an objective eye on his characters in his 1963 book Toward a New Novel. Robbe-Grillet also began working in ﬁlms in the early 1960s and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay for his script for Last Year at Marienbad (1961). He made his directorial debut with L’Immortelle in 1963. He also directed, and often scripted, the ﬁlms Trans-Europ-Express (1966) also appearing onscreen as Jean the director, The Man Who Lies (1968), Eden and After (1970), Successive Slidings of Pleasure (1974), Playing with Fire (1975), The Beautiful Prisoner (1983), The Blue Villa (1995), and 2006’s It’s Gradiva Who Is Calling You. Robbe-Grillet was elected to the prestigious Acadamie Francaise in 2004. His ﬁnal novel, A Sentimental Novel, which dealt with the subject of pedophilia, was published in 2007. ROBBINS, CRAIG Radio journalist and newscaster Craig Robbins died of a heart attack while driving home from work in Memphis, Tennessee, on November 7, 2008. He was 59. Robbins began his career in radio with a local New York station at the age of 17. He moved to Memphis in 1987, where he worked

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370

Craig Robbins

Yvon Robert, Jr. (left, with Edouard Carpentier)

at WMC-AM and WREC-AM. Robbins also hosted the Memphis Morning News news–talk show from 2003.

reclaimed his own name, though plagued by injuries, he curtailed his ring activities. He and his father also began the Grand Prix wrestling promotion in Montreal, though his father died soon after in 1971. Robert Jr. continued to manage the business end of the promotion until selling off his interest in 1977 to go into real estate.

ROBBINS, TACEY Actress Tacey Robbins died of complications from mesothelioma in Arizona on April 15, 2008. She was 70. She was born on May 19, 1937. She was in show business during the 1960s, singing with Perez Prado’s orchestra. She also starred as Linda Clarke in Al Adamson’s cult classic Pyscho a GoGo in 1965. The ﬁlm was later re-edited as Blood of

Tacey Robbins

Ghastly Horror and was released to television as The Man with the Synthetic Brain. Known offstage as Joan Mahoney, she left show business to work in her family’s construction company in the 1970s. Her frequent exposure to asbestos was considered responsible for her diagnosis with the highly aggressive cancer mesothelioma in 2006. Mahoney had won a $20 million lawsuit in court shortly before her death.

ROBERT , YVON , JR. Canadian wrestler Yvon Robert, Jr., died of complications from diabetes and a heart attack on April 30, 2008. He was 65. Robert was born in Canada in 1942, the only son of Quebec wrestling champion and legend Yvon Robert. He began his career wrestling in the late 1960s as Bob Brunell and Beau Brunelle in the AWA and Midwest. He also competed in Oklahoma, Florida, and North Carolina. He returned to Canada after two years and

ROBINSON, GAIL Operatic soprano Gail Robinson died of complications from rheumatoid arthritis in Lexington, Kentucky, on October 19, 2008. She was 62. Robinson was born in Jackson, Tennessee, on August 7, 1946. She won an audition with the Metropolitan Opera in 1970 and made her debut with the Met in a small role in a production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. She was soon singing the lead in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoore. During her career she also performed with the Munich State Opera, the Berlin State Opera, the Chicago Lyric and the Opera du Geneve. Robinson starred in such roles as Gilda in Rigoletto, Pamina in The Magic Flute, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, and Rosina in The Barber of Seville. Her career was curtailed by arthritis and other health issues in the 1980s and she made her ﬁnal performance with the Met in 1987. She remained involved with the company during the 1990s as director of the Met’s National Council Auditions and the Lindermann Young Artist Development Program. She retired in 2000 to accept a position at the University of Kentucky as head of their vocal department.

Gail Robinson

371

2008 • Obituaries

ROCKEFELLER, BARBARA SEARS Barbara Sears “Bobo” Rockefeller, the daughter of an immigrant coal miner who became an actress and wife to millionaire Winthrop Rockefeller, died at her home in Little Rock, Arkansas, on May 19, 2008. She was 91. She was born Jievute Paulekiute in Noblestown, Pennsylvania, on September 6, 1916, the daughter of Lithuanian immigrants. She appeared at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair as Miss Lithuania. Several years later, she headed to New York where she worked as a dress model and was an aspiring stage actress. She appeared in small

Jerry Rodriguez

Broadway plays and directed the works of other playwrights. Rodriguez wrote and directed the short ﬁlm El Deseo (The Desire), and the documentary short On 2: A Mambo Renaissance.

Barbara Sears Rockefeller

roles in several plays under the name Eva Paul. She met wealthy socialite Richard Sears, Jr., in 1940 and married him the following year. While Sears served in the military during World War II, Barbara headed to Hollywood where she appeared with Fuzzy Knight in the westerns Bad Men of the Border (1945) and Code of the Lawless (1945). She was also seen on screen in Keep Your Powder Dry (1945), Billy Rose’s Diamond Horseshoe (1945), Nob Hill (1945), and That Night with You (1945). She divorced Sears in 1947 after meeting Winthrop Rockefeller, and she married the playboy heir to the Standard Oil fortune in 1949. The marriage was a major society event and led to their picture being on the cover of Time magazine. A son, Winthrop Paul Rockefeller, was born shortly after their marriage. The marriage soon became rocky and the Rockefellers separated in 1950. A lengthy divorce procedure culminated in 1954 when Barbara received a then-landmark settlement of over $5 million. She moved to New York and maintained a residence in Paris where she continued to entertain the rich and famous. Her ex-husband became a prominent philanthropist and served two terms as governor of Arkansas in the 1960s. He died in 1973. Their son later became Arkansas’ lieutenant governor before his death in 2006.

RODRIGUEZ, JERRY A. Novelist and playwright Jerry A. Rodriguez died of cancer in New York City on June 22, 2008. He was 46. Rodriguez was born in Brooklyn, New York, on August 9, 1961. He was best known for creating the character of Detective Nicholas Esperanza in the thriller The Devil’s Mambo and the sequel Revenge Tango. He also wrote numerous Off-

ROE, JACK Assistant director Jack Roe died of heart failure in Carlsbad, California, on April 6, 2008. He was 77. Roe was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on December 24, 1930. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. Roe began working in ﬁlms in the early 1960s, serving as an assistant director for William Castle’s 1963 suspense ﬁlm 13 Frightened Girls (1963). He also worked on the television series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and The Big Valley. Roe was also an assistant director for the ﬁlms Funny Girl (1968), Paint Your Wagon (1969), Monte Walsh (1970), Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), Cleopatra Jones (1973), Funny Lady (1975), Posse (1975), Night Moves (1975), Bug (1975), The Sunshine Boys (1975), The Bad News Bears (1976), The Last Hard Men (1976), Silver Streak (1976), The Turning Point (1977), The Goodbye Girl (1977), Straight Time (1978), California Suite (1978), The In-Laws (1979), Chapter Two (1979), Hero at Large (1980), Making Love (1982), Max Dugan Returns (1983), and Romantic Comedy (1983). He served as a unit production manager on the ﬁlms Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978), Looker (1981), Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985), Summer School (1987), Best Seller (1987), Off Limits (1988), Say Anything... (1989), Used People (1992), The Getaway (1994), There Goes My Baby (1994), and the tele-ﬁlm My Antonia (1995). Roe was also a producer for The Accused (1988), Cage (1989), Downtown (1990), Dr. Giggles (1992), and the tele-ﬁlm Down, Out & Dangerous (1995). ROGERS, TRACY British actress and singer Tracy Rogers died of complications from a respiratory disease in London on September 23, 2008. She as 63. She was born Ann Rogers in London on September 3, 1945. She trained for the stage as a child and starred in the original Broadway production of Noel Coward’s musical The Girl Who Came to Supper with Tessie O’Shea in 1963. She continued her career on stage after returning to London, with roles in such productions as Will O’ the Wisp, Anthony Newley’s The Roar of the

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372

Greasepaint, Where the Rainbow Ends, and Joan Littlewood’s Oh! What a Lovely War. She also had a hit song with “Love Story” from Polydor in the early 1960s. Rogers also appeared in several ﬁlms including Crazy World (1963), The Leather Boys (1964), and Rattle of a Simple Man (1964), and guest-starred on television in episodes of The Human Jungle, ITV Play of the Week, The Troubleshooters, No Hiding Place, The Wednesday Play, Thirty-Minute Theatre, Softly Softly, and Dixon of Dock Green. She later became a popular ﬁgure on the gay scene in Brighton, England, where she encouraged numerous drag acts and stage alternative versions of such pantomimes as Sleeping Beauty and Aladdin.

ROIG, GLORIA Spanish actress Gloria Roig died in Barcelona, Spain, on February 15, 2008. She was 71. Roig was seen frequently on Spanish television from the early 1960s, with roles in such series as Sospecha, Autores Invitados, Hora Once, Telecomedia de Humor, Cristina y los Hombres, Ficciones, Original, Doctor Caparros, Medicina General, Estudio 1, Pepe Carvalho, and L’Un per l’Altre. She was also featured in sev-

Gito Rollies

ROMAGNOLI, G. FRANCO Italian chef and television personality Gian Franco Romagnoli died in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 15, 2008. He was 82. Romagnoli worked as a cameraman for an Italian ﬁlm studio in post–World War II Rome. He met his future wife, Margaret O’Neill, when she was working in Italy as an information ofﬁcer for the Marshall Plan. He was assigned as her cameraman and the two fell in love and married in 1952. The couple came to the United States in 1955 where Romagnoli worked as a cameraman at Boston’s public television station WGBH. He also ﬁlmed documentaries and commercials. He and his wife began ﬁlming an Italian cooking show for WGBH, The Romagnolis’ Table, in 1973. It

Gloria Roig

eral ﬁlms including Left-Handed Fate (1965), Lucky, the Inscrutable (1967) as the voice of Cleopatra, Hola, Senor Dios (1970), Coses que Passen (1997), Gaudi Afternoon (2001), and The Education of Fairies (2006). Roig also starred in the 2001 television mini-series Des del Balco, and in the tele-ﬁlms Cabell d’Angel (2001), Jugar a Matar (2003), and Monica (2003).

ROLLIES, GITO Indonesian rock singer and actor Gito Rollies died of lymphatic cancer in a Jakarta, Indonesia, hospital on February 28, 2008. He was 61. He was born Bangun Sugito in Biak, Indonesia, on November 1, 1946. He began his career as lead singer with the rock group the Rollies, who were patterned after the Rolling Stones, in 1967. They became one of Indonesia’s leading rock groups, recording the hit album Astuti and Kemarau. He also appeared in the ﬁlms Sepasang Merpati (1979) and Paper Flower (1985). Rollies abandoned a lifestyle of drugs and alcohol to become a devout Muslim in 1997. He appeared in several more ﬁlms including What’s Up with Love? (2002) and Jonis’ Promise (2005) before being diagnosed with cancer.

G. Franco Romagnoli

aired locally for two years and was then broadcast nationally by PBS. The couple also wrote several cookbooks including The Romagnolis’ Table (1975), The New Italian Cooking (1980), and The New Romagnolis’ Table (1988). He and his wife also operated a restaurant in Boston until 1989. She died in 1995. Romagnoli later wrote the travel memoirs A Thousand Bells at Noon (2002) and Italy, the Romagnoli Way (2008).

ROMAN, LAWRENCE Screenwriter and playwright Lawrence Roman died of complications from a stroke and kidney failure at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland

373

Lawrence Roman

Hills, California, on May 18, 2008. He was 86. Roman was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on May 30, 1921, and moved to Los Angeles with his family in the early 1930s. He attended UCLA and brieﬂy wrote jokes for Edgar Bergen’s radio program in the early 1940s. He graduated in 1942 and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. After the war, he began writing for CBS Radio and made his ﬁlm debut scripting 1953’s Vice Squad. He also wrote the ﬁlms Drums Across the River (1954), Naked Alibi (1955), The Man from Bitter Ridge (1955), One Desire (1955), A Kiss Before Dying (1956), The Sharkﬁghters (1956), Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (1957), and Day of the Bad Man. Roman also scripted episodes of Lux Video Theatre and The Virginian for television. He wrote the comedy play Under the Yum-Yum Tree, which premiered on Broadway in 1960 starring Gig Young. He adapted the play for ﬁlm in 1963. He also wrote the ﬁlms The Swinger (1966), Paper Lion (1968) adapting George Plimpton’s book, Red Son (1971), A Warm December (1973), and McQ (1974), also co-producing the John Wayne starrer. Roman scripted the tele-ﬁlms Anatomy of an Illness (1984), Badge of the Assassin (1985) based on Norman Cousins autobiography, Alone Together (1990) adapting his Broadway play, Final Verdict (1991), and The Ernest Green Story (1993). ROSENMAN, LEONARD Oscar-winning ﬁlm composer Leonard Rosenman died of a heart attack in Woodland Hills, California, on March 4, 2008. He was 83. Rosenman was born in Brooklyn, New York, on September 7, 1924. He served in the Army Air Force in the Paciﬁc during World War II. After the war, he studied music at the University of California at Berkeley. He settled in New York where he taught piano while attempting to become a concert composer. One of his students was actor James Dean, who became instrumental in Rosenman being hired to compose the score for Dean’s 1955 ﬁlm East of Eden. He continued to work in ﬁlms, bringing modern musical compositions to the scores of dozens of features. His many ﬁlm credits include The Cobweb (1955), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Edge of the City (1957), The Young Stranger (1957), Bombers B-52 (1957), Lafayette Escadrille (1958), Pork Chop Hill (1959), The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960), The Bramble Bush (1960), The Savage Eye (1960), The Crowded Sky (1960), The Plunderers

2008 • Obituaries

(1960), The Outsider (1961), Hell Is for Heroes (1962), Convicts 4 (1962), The Chapman Report (1962), the 1966 science ﬁction classic Fantastic Voyage, A Covenant with Death (1967), Countdown (1968), Hellﬁghters (1968), A Man Called Horse (1970), Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), The Todd Killings (1971), Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973), Race with the Devil (1975), and Birch Interval (1976). Rosenman also worked frequently in television from the late 1950s, composing for such series as Twilight Zone, Law of the Plainsman, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Combat!, Garrison’s Gorillas, National Geographic Specials, Marcus Welby, M.D., Primus, The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, Holmes and Yo-Yo, Gibbsville, and Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories. He also worked on numerous tele-ﬁlms including Stranger on the Run (1967), Alexander the Great (1968), Shadow Over Elveron (1968), Any Second Now (1969), This Savage Land (1969), Vanished (1971), Banyon (1971), In Broad Daylight (1971), The Bravos (1972), The Cat Creature (1973), The Phantom of Hollywood (1974), Nakia (1974), Judge Dee and the Monastery Murders (1974), The 36 Hours of Dr. Durant (1975), Sky Heist (1975), Lanigan’s Rabbi (1976), Kingston (1976), Sherlock Holmes in New York (1976), Sybil (1976) which earned him an Emmy Award, The Possessed (1977), Mary White (1977), The Other Side of Hell (1978), Friendly Fire (1979) garnering him a second Emmy Award, Nero Wolfe (1979), City in Fear (1980), Murder in Texas (1981), The Wall (1982), Miss Lonelyhearts (1983), Tommy Thompson’s Celebrity (1984), The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D. (1984), Heartsounds (1984), First Steps (1985), Promised a Miracle (1988), Where the Pigeons Go to Die (1990), Aftermath: A Test of Love (1991), Keeper of the City (1991), and The Face on the Milk Carton (1995). Rosenman received an Academy Award for his score for Stanley Kubrick’s 1975 ﬁlm Barry Lyndon. He earned a second Oscar for Bound for Glory (1976), and received nominations for Cross Creeks (1983) and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986). His other ﬁlm credits include The Car (1977), September 30, 1955 (1977), An Enemy of the People (1978), Ralph Bakshi’s 1978 animated version of J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Lord of the Rings, Prophecy (1979), Promises in the Dark (1979), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), The Jazz Singer (1980), Making Love (1982), Heart of the Stag (1984), Sylvia

Leonard Rosenman

Obituaries • 2008

374

(1985), Body Wars (1989), RoboCop 2 (1990), Ambition (1991), The Color of Evening (1994), Mrs. Munck (1995), Levitation (1997), Jurij (2001), and If I Catch You... (2005).

ROSS, ARTHUR Screenwriter Arthur Ross, who co-scripted the horror classic Creature from the Black Lagoon, died on November 11, 2008. He was 88. Ross was born in Chicago, Illinois, on February 4, 1920, and began writing stage productions while in his teens. He was co-creator of the show Meet the People that later had a run on Broadway. He began working in ﬁlms writing sketches for 1942’s Star Spangled Rhythm. His other ﬁlm credits include Vacation in Reno (1946), San Quentin (1946), Beat the Band (1947), Rusty Leads the Way (1948), Kazan (1949), Port of New York

Arthur Ross (screenwriter of Creature from the Black Lagoon)

(1949), Okinawa (1952), The Stand at Apache River (1953), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and the sequel The Creature Walks Among Us (1956), The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (1959) starring Lou Costello, The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960), World of Comedy (1962), The Funny Side of Life (1963), Once Upon a Tractor (1965), and the all-star comedy The Great Race. Ross also worked frequently in television, scripting episodes of such series as Schlitz Playhouse of the Stars, Life with Father, General Electric Theater, The Rough Riders, Zane Grey Theater, The DuPont Show with June Allyson, Mr. Lucky, Peter Gunn, Kraft Mystery Theater, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and Mannix. He also wrote the tele-ﬁlms Satan’s School for Girls (1973) which was remade in 2000, The Desperate Miles (1975), and Love Is Not Enough (1978). Ross shared an Academy Award nomination for his script for the 1980 prison ﬁlm Brubaker starring Robert Redford. Ross’ son, Gary, has been involved with the latest attempt to remake Creature from the Black Lagoon for the past several years.

ROSSELLINI , GIL Independent ﬁlm producer and director Gil Rossellini, whose four year battle against the effects of staphylococcus bacterial infections was depicted in his series of documentaries Kill Gil, died in Rome, Italy, of effects from the disease on October 3, 2008. He was 51. He was born in Bombay, India, on October 23, 1956, the son of Indian writer

Gil Rossellini

Sonali Das Gupta. He was adopted by Italian ﬁlmmaker Roberto Rossellini when he married his mother in 1957. He worked with his father on ﬁlm sets and in the editing room in his youth before traveling to the United States to study mathematics and physics. He returned to ﬁlm in the early 1980s, working as a production assistant on Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy and Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America. He also served as an assistant director on the ﬁlms Copkiller (1983) and The Lonely Lady (1983), and produced the comedy Lontano da Dove (1983) for his Rossellini & Associates production company. He oversaw productions of several documentaries including The Hole in the Wall about children in India’s slums, which aired on PBS, and the six-part television series Enemy Mine, about European social conﬂicts. He was struck with a rare bacterial infection after producing the Malaysian feature The Princess of Mount Ledang. Rossellini created a video diary of his illness the resulted in Kill Gil (Volume 1), which was screened in Lido and Tribeca in 2005. The followup, Kill Gil (Volume 2) was unveiled in Venice in 2006 and Kill Gil (Volume 21 ⁄ 2) was scheduled to debut at the Rome Film Festival shortly after Rossellini’s death.

ROTBLAT, TOTO Gerardo “Toto” Rotblat, the drummer for the Argentine rock band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, died of a pulmonary edema after a performance in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 29,

Toto Rotblat

375

2008 • Obituaries

2008. He was 38. Rotblat was born in Buenos Aires on December 2, 1969. He began playing with Los Fabulosos Cadillacs in 1991 and recorded eight albums with them over the next decade. They had a hit single with “El Matador” in 1994 and won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Latin Album. Rotblat also performed with the bands Los Autenticos Decadentes, Todos Tus Muertos, and Dancing Moods during his career.

ROUGAS, MICHAEL Michael Rougas, who played an ill-fated teenager in the 1957 cult classic I Was a Teenage Werewolf, died on June 19, 2008. He was 77. Rougas was born on January 22, 1931. He made his ﬁlm debut in I Was a Teenager Werewolf as Frank, one of a hirsute Michael Landon’s victims. Rougas went on to appear in such ﬁlms as Where the Boys Are (1960), Ice Station Zebra (1968), Flareup (1969), Airport (1970),

Jonathan Routh

screen in the James Bond spoof Casino Royale (1967) and the comedy 30 Is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia (1968). He also turned his hand to writing with a series of critiques of public restrooms, including The Good Loo Guide for London, The Guide Porcelaine to the Loos of Paris, and The Better John Guide for New York. He also authored a book on disasters entitled So You Think You’ve Got Problems. Routh began engaging in artistic pursuits in the 1970s, with his favorite subjects being nuns and Queen Victoria. Many of his painting were incorporated for a series of children’s books that included The Nuns Go to Penguin Island, The Nuns Go to Africa, and Jamaica Holiday: The Secret Life of Queen Victoria. He moved to Jamaica in 1980, where he lived a life as an eccentric artist and semi-recluse.

Grand Jury (1971), Portrait of a Hitman (1977), The Great Santini (1979), Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) as Lt. Cleary, C.H.O.M.P.S. (1979), Scarface (1983), Fast Forward (1985), and A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987). He was also seen on television in episodes of Little House on the Prairie, Next Step Beyond, Dallas, and L.A. Law. Rougas also wrote the semi-autobiographical play, Anatomy of Revenge, about a victim of a gay-bashing incident who seeks his own revenge, and starred in the premiere in Chicago in 2004.

ROWLAND , BEVERLY Character actress Beverly Rowland died in St. George, Utah, on May 7, 2008. She was 79. Rowland was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on August 27, 1928. She was active in local theater and was featured in several ﬁlms from the late 1960s including Marriage: What Kind for You (1967), Never a Bride (1969), Harry in Your Pocket (1973), Beyond and Back (1978), Head Over Heels (1979), Earthbound (1981), In Search of a Golden Sky (1984), Berzerker: The Nordic Curse (1987), Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), and Neon City (1992). She was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms Last of the Mohicans (1977), Mr. Krueger’s Christmas (1980), Side by Side: The True

ROUTH, JONATHAN Jonathan Routh, who hosted the British version of the television series Candid Camera for over a decade, died in England on June 4, 2008. He was 80. Routh was born in England on November 24, 1927, and was partially raised in Palestine where his father served as Colonial Governor. He was known for his outrageous sense of humor from an early age and his antics resulted in his being booted from several schools. He became involved in the entertainment industry as an editor for Everybody’s Magazine in the early 1950s. Routh wrote various articles and was a radio personality before hosting the Candid Camera series from 1960. For the next seven years he orchestrated pranks on hapless citizens and broadcast their confundled reactions over the nation’s airwaves. The series came to an end in 1967 and Routh was seen on-

Beverly Rowland

Michael Rougas

Obituaries • 2008

376

Story of the Osmond Family (1982), Savage Journey (1983), Scorned and Swindled (1984), Louis L’Amour’s Down the Long Hills (1986), It Nearly Wasn’t Christmas (1989), and A Loss of Innocence (1996).

ROYDE , BEVERLY Dancer Beverly Royde died of pneumonia in a health care center in Mesa, Arizona, on March 24, 2008. She was 96. She was born Elizabeth Royde in Yonkers, New York, on September 29, 1911. She moved to California with her family in the early 1920s, where she studied dance. She was soon appearing in ﬁlms as a dancer, with roles in such features as Happy Days (1929), Just Imagine (1930), Stepping Sisters (1932), Bottoms Up (1934), Music in the Air (1934), The Lottery Lover (1935), George White’s Scandals (1935), College Holiday (1936), and Swiss Miss (1938). She retired from ﬁlms in the late 1930s to raise a family. ROZA, LITA

British singer Lita Roza, who was best known for recording the novelty hit “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?,” died in London on August 14, 2008. She was 82. Roza was born in Liverpool, England, on March 14, 1926. She began performing in stage revues in her early teens and sang with Harry Roy’s band during World War II. She was the vocalist for Ted Heath’s band from the early 1950s. She recorded four albums and numerous singles but was

Lita Roza

best known for her 1953 recording of “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?” Despite being her biggest hit, Roza loathed the song and refused to sing it during her live performances. She left Heath’s band in 1954 and continued to perform in cabarets and nightclubs around the world. She was featured as a singer in the 1955 ﬁlm Cast a Dark Shadow and performed on television in the 1957 series Sheep’s Clothing. She was also featured in the ﬁlm My Way Home in 1978. Roza retired after her ﬁnal concert in 2002.

ROZEWICZ, STANISLAW Polish ﬁlm director and writer Stanislaw Rozewicz died of cancer in Warsaw, Poland, on November 9, 2008. He was 84. Rozewicz was born in Radomsko, Poland, on August 16, 1924. He was the younger brother of Tadeusz Rozewicz, one of Poland’s leading poets and playwrights. He

Stanislaw Rozewicz

began working in ﬁlms in the late 1940s, co-writing and directing the 1947 short ﬁlm Ulica Brzozowa. He was also an assistant director for the ﬁlms The Warsaw Debut (1951) which he also scripted, First Days (1952), and The Hours of Hope (1955). He made his feature debut as a director with Difﬁcult Love in 1954. Rozewicz continued to helm such ﬁlms as Three Women (1957), Free City (1958), A Place on Earth (1960), Birth Certiﬁcate (1961), The Voice from Beyond (1962), Echo (1964), Hell and Heaven (1966), Westerplatte Resists (1967), Loneliness for Two (1969), Romantic People (1970), Crystal Ball (1972), The Wicket Gate (1974), Leaves Have Fallen (1974), Passion (1978), Poskarten (1979), Lynx: The Smile of the Evil Eye (1981), Mrs. Latter’s Pension (1983), Woman in a Hat (1985), Angel in the Wardrobe (1987), and The Night Time Guest (1989). Rozewicz was founder and artistic director for TOR Film Productions from 1967 to 1968, and from 1972 to 1980. In recent years he worked primarily in documentary ﬁlms including Cinema (1999) and Where Are the Toys from Old Years (2008).

RUCKER, GUNTHER German screenwriter Gunther Rucker died in Meiningen, Germany, in February 24, 2008. He was 84. Rucker was born Liberec, Czechoslovakia, on February 2, 1924. He began working in radio in East Germany in the late 1940s. He relocated from Leipzig to Berlin, where he was soon writing ﬁlms. Rucker’s ﬁlm credits include Junges Gemuse

Gunther Rucker

377 (1956), Operation Teutonic Sword (1958), the science ﬁction ﬁlm First Spaceship on Venus (1960), The Gleiwitz Case (1961), The Best Years (1965) which he also directed, The Third (1972), Wolf — Life and Illusion of a German Anarchist (1974), De Geyter — Geschichte eines Liedes (1979), and Until Death Do Us Part (1979). Rucker also wrote and directed the ﬁlms The Fiancee (1980) and Hilde, das Dienstmadchen (1986).

RUMYANTSEVA, NADEZHDA Russian actress Nadezhda Rumyantseva died in Russia after a long illness on April 8, 2008. She was 77. Rumyantseva was born in Potapowo, Russia, on September 9, 1930. She began her ﬁlm career in the early 1950s, appearing in such features as The Encounter of a Lifetime (1952), Spring Voices (1955), Son (1955), The Mexican (1957), An Ordinary Trip (1958), The Unamenables (1959),

2008 • Obituaries

day Clown, died of respiratory failure at a nursing home in Grants Pass, Oregon, on October 4, 2008. He was 86. Runyon was born on August 10, 1922. He performed as Chucko on Los Angeles television during the 1950s and 1960s. He was dressed in a red and white striped clown suit, with an Elizabethan collar and large blue pom-pom buttons, and white gloves. His face was painted white, with arching blue eyebrows, a red upturned smile, and a rhinestone nose. His outﬁt was topped with a spinning, merry-go-round hat. His television show included two children celebrating birthdays with their guests. Chucko would entertain with cartoons and games and ﬁnished each program with a large birthday cake and his own version of a birthday song. He also made numerous personal appearances at local venues and often opened the television coverage of the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

RUPP, RANDY Randy Rupp, who starred in several low budget horror ﬁlms, died suddenly while working as a carpenter in Peru, Indiana, on July 30, 2008. He was 48. Rupp was born in Bryan, Ohio, on November 25, 1959. He began working in ﬁlms in the

Nadezhda Rumyantseva

Thrice Resurrected (1960), Wind of Freedom (1961), The Girls (1961), Pavlukha (1963), Whistle Stop (1963), An Easy Life (1964), Balzaminov’s Marriage (1965), Chyort s Portfelem (1966), Krepkiy Oreshek (1967), Au-u! (1975), Sold Laughter (1981), Zhenatyy Kholostyak (1983), and Road Hawks (1990). She made her ﬁnal onscreen appearance in a 2005 television production Nechayannaya Radost.

RUNYON, CHARLES Charles M. Runyon, who was better known as television’s Chucko the Birth-

Charles Runyon (as Chucko the Birthday Clown)

Randy Rupp (as Satan in Satanic Yuppies)

mid–1990s, and starred as Satan in the B+ productions 1996 ﬁlm Satanic Yuppies (Evil Ambitions). Rupp was also featured in the ﬁlms Bloodletting (1997), Zombie Cult Massacre (1998), and Blood Sisters: Vamps 2 (2002).

RUSSELL, FRANZ Actor and voice performer Franz Russell died at his home near Savannah, Georgia, on June 8, 2008. He was 71. Russell was born in Ontario, Canada, on June 1, 1937. He began his career in Canada, performing as a voice actor in regional and national television commercials. He earned four Clio Awards for his voice-over work in commercials. He was also seen on Canadian television on such series as Barney Boomer, Upside Town/Swingaround, Wojeck, and The Trouble with Tracy. He was featured in several ﬁlms including Paperback Hero (1973), Vengeance Is Mine (1974), Journey into Fear (1975), and Agency (1980). He also appeared in the tele-ﬁlms Our Man Flint: Dead on Target (1976) and Who’ll Save Our Children? (1978), and an episode of Huckleberry Finn and His Friends. Russell also served as narrator of various productions

Obituaries • 2008

378 sell also appeared in numerous ﬁlms during his career including Shadow of Fear (1963), Othello (1965), The Whisperers (1967), Robbery (1967), Bedazzled (1967) with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, Inspector Clouseau (1968), the British horror classic The Conqueror Worm (aka Witchﬁnder General) with Vincent Price, The Spy Killer (1969), The Breaking of Bumbo (1970), Sudden Terror (1970), Carry on Loving (1970), Man in the Wilderness (1971), Sitting Target (1972), Double Exposure (1976), Queen of the Blues (1979), Silver Dream Racer (1980), and Strange Horizons (1993).

Franz Russell

and co-hosted a syndicated public affairs radio program, Around the House, with his wife Robin.

RUSSELL, ROBERT British actor Robert Russell died of a heart attack at his home in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, on May 12, 2008. He was 71. Russell was born in Kent, England, in 1937 and lived with his family in South Africa throughout his teen years. He returned to England in the late 1950s to study acting at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. He appeared on stage with the National Theatre touring company and made his television debut as P.C. Johnson in several episodes of Police Surgeon in 1960. He was also seen on television in episodes of The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre, Suspense, Out of the Unknown, Theatre 625, No Hiding Place, The Saint, The Wednesday Play, Softly Softly, The Avengers, Orlando, Dixon of Dock Green, The Champions, Department S, My Partner the Ghost, Manhunt, The Guardians, Z Cars, The Persuaders!, Man at the Top, Spy Trap, The Protectors, Public Eye, The Sweeney, Doctor Who, Space: 1999, Play for Today, I Didn’t Know You Cared, Blakes 7, Dick Turpin, The Onedin Line, The Enigma Files, Scarf Jack, Sorry!, Juliet Bravo, and The Chinese Detective. He was also seen in television productions of The Legend of Robin Hood (1975), Anna Karenina (1977), Ivanhoe (1982), Oliver Twist (1982), The Sign of Four (1983), Black Arrow (1985), and the 1986 Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense production of Czech Mate. Rus-

Robert Russell

RUSSERT, TIM Tim Russert, political analyst and host of television’s Meet the Press, collapsed and died of a heart attack at the NBC News Washington bureau headquarters on June 13, 2008. He was 58. Russert was born in Buffalo, New York, on May 7, 1950. He graduated with honors from the ClevelandMarshall College of Law, and he worked as special counsel to New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan for ﬁve years in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He also served as counselor to Governor Mario Cuomo of New York from 1983 to 1984. Russert brought his political acumen to NBC News in 1984. He initially worked as

Tim Russert

a production executive on special news projects before becoming Washington bureau chief in the late 1980s. He became moderator of the Sunday morning news interview program Meet the Press in December of 1991. Over the next 17 years, Russert relentlessly grilled Washington policy makers and political aspirants. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush submitted to his on air scrutiny, as did 2008’s leading contenders for the presidency. He became the pointman for NBC News’s political team, overseeing the network’s coverage of primaries, conventions, and debates. He was the voice of Millard Filmore for an episode of PBS’s The American President in 2000. He was also a familiar face on television and talk shows, making appearances on The Rosie O’Donnell Show, Larry King Live, Costas Now, Late Show with David Letterman, The Tony Danza Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Daily Show, Bill Moyers’ Journal, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and Today. Russert was also the author of the best-selling book Big Russ & Me, about his father.

379 RUTSEY , JOHN Canadian drummer John Rutsey, who was a founding member of the rock band Rush, died of complications from diabetes and a heart attack at his home in Toronto, Canada, on May 11, 2008. He was 55. Rutsey began playing the drums while in his teens and teamed with bassist Jeff Jones and guitarist Alex Lifeson to form Rush in 1968. Jones was soon replaced by Geddy Lee, who became lead singer.

2008 • Obituaries

Glorie and Parallax. She was married to actor Ab Abspoel until his death in 2000. Her survivors include their son, actor Michael Abspoel.

RYAN, DEVON Special effects director Devon Ryan died of a heart attack in a parking lot in Carmel, California, on June 5, 2008. Ryan worked in ﬁlms from the late 1970s on the effects team for such features as Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Ghostbusters, The Thing, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Fly, The Twilight Zone, Blade Runner, Hellraiser, Pumpkinhead, F/X, Lost Boys, and Darkman. Ryan also de-

John Rutsey

They became a popular local band and released their ﬁrst single, “Not Fade Away/You Can’t Fight It” in 1973. The following year the recorded the album Rush which included the hit song “Working Man.” Rutsey, who had battled diabetes throughout his life, quit the band as they achieved success because his health would not permit him to tour with them. He was replaced by drummer Neil Peart and Rush went on to be a huge success.

RUYS, LOUISE Dutch character actress Louise Ruys died in a hospital in Amstelveen, the Netherlands, on August 1, 2008. She was 83. Ruys was the daughter of actors Cor Ruys and Tilly Lus. She began her career in cabaret after World War II. She was featured in such ﬁlms as Te Gek Om Los te Lopen (1981), Come-Back (1981), White Madness (1984), Op Hoop van Zegn (1986), and the horror ﬁlm Amsterdamned (1988). She also appeared on television in the series Hollands

Louise Ruys

Devon Ryan

signed special effects and makeup effects for such recent ﬁlms as Fulﬁlled (1999), 13th Child (2002), Human (2003), Roadside Attractions (2004), and Graves End (2005).

RYAN, LATA Film producer Lata Ryan died of pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles, California, on July 19, 2008. She was 59. She was born in Los Angeles in 1949. She began working in ﬁlms in the late 1970s. She served as a production coordinator on several ﬁlms for director Steven Spielberg, including 1941 (1979), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), The Color Purple (1985), *batteries not included (1987), and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Ryan also worked in production on the ﬁlms Ruckus (1981), the Star Wars sequel Return of the Jedi (1983), Less Than Zero (1987), Rain Man (1988), Back to the Future Part II (1989), and Back to the Future Part III (1990). She rose to the position of associate producer for Spielberg’s 1993 epic Jurassic Park. Ryan was also producer for 1995’s Fluke and served as executive producer for the ﬁlms Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), The Proposition (1998), The X-Files (1998), Monkeybone (2001), The One (2001) with Jet Li, and Cold Creek Manor (2003). Her ﬁnal ﬁlm credit as executive producer was for the 2005 ﬁlm adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Rent. RYDER, COLE Adult ﬁlm actor Cole Ryder died at his home in Long Beach, California, on July 30, 2008. He was 35. Ryder was working as a personal trainer when he ﬁrst became involved in the adult ﬁlm industry with a small role in the gay porn ﬁlm Leather Sessions in 2005. The hirsute Ryder was signed to an ex-

Obituaries • 2008

380

Cole Ryder

Fabio Sabag

clusive contract with Rascal Video in 2006. He was featured in such productions as When Bears Attack (2006), Sized Up (2006), Depraved(2006), Daddy’s Boys (2006), Black Meat White Heat (2007), Link 5: The Evolution (2007), Rush (2007), and Cruisin’ Grounds (2008).

Tesouro (1967), O Sabor do Pecado (1967), Mineirinho Vivo ou Morto (1967), Jerry — A Grande Parada (1967), O Viciados (1968), A Doce Mulher Amada (1968), Black Palm Trees (1968), Incrivel, Fantastico, Extraordinario (1969), O Matador Proﬁssional (1969), Os Raptores (1969), O Donzelo (1970), Memoirs of a Gigolo (1970), Os Devassos (1971), The Conspirators (1972), Alma (1973), Tati, A Garota (1973), Relatorio de Um Homem Casado (1974), Un Homem Celebre (1974), As Aventuras de Um Detective Portugues (1975), O Casal (1975), O Roubo da Calcinhas (1975), Teu Tua (1979), O Preco do Prazer (1979), Eu Matei Lucio Flavio (1979), Killer Fish (1979), O Homem do Pau-Brasil (1982), Proﬁssao Mulher (1982), Luz del Fuego (1982), Tensao no Rio (1982), Memories of Prison (1984), Opera do Malandro (1986), The Long Haul (1988), Mary, Mother of the Son of God (2003), Irmaos de Fe (2004), and In Evil Hour (2004). Sabag also appeared in the television productions Sombra de Suspeita (1972), O Capote (1973), O Primo Basilio (1988), O Sorriso do Lagarto (1991), and A Madona de Cedro (1994), and in episodes of such series as Anastacia, A Mulher Sem Destino (1967), Bicho do Mato (1972), O Casarao (1976), Mula Mulher (1979), Elas por Elas (1982), Partido Alto (1984), Cambalacho (1986), Brega & Chique (1987), Que Rei Sou Eu? (1989), Anjo de Mim (1996), A Vida Como Ela E... (1996), Voce Decide (1998), Pecado Capital (1998), Forca de Um Desejo (1999), Kubanacan (2003), and A Lua Me Disse (2005). He also directed for television from the early 1960s, helming episodes of such series as O Acusador, O Santo Mestico, A Gata de Vision, A Grande Mentira, A Ultima Valsa, A Cabana do Pai Tomas, Caso Especial —TV Globo, Bravo!, Nina, Mandala, Que Rei Sou Eu?, O Sexo dos Anjos, Rainha da Sucata, Vamp, Voce Decide, and De Corpo e Alma. Sabag also directed television productions of Medeia (1973), Fogo Morto (1973), and Feliz na Ilusao (1974), and the feature ﬁlm Edy Sexy, o Agente Positivo (1971). SAINT LAURENT, YVES Legendary fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent died after a long illness at his apartment in Paris on June 1, 2008. He was 71. Saint Laurent was born in Oran, Algeria, on August 1, 1936. He came from a wealthy family and despite their aspirations that he study law, Yves’ interests veered more toward theatrical and fashion design. His sketch of a

RYMANN, RUEDI Ruedi Rymann, a Swiss farmer and cheesemaker renowned for his yodeling, died of liver cancer at his home in Giswil, Switzerland, on September 10, 2008. He was 75. Rymann was born

Ruedi Rymann

in Sarden, Switzerland, on January 31, 1933. He was a master yodeler who made numerous recordings, often accompanied by other yodelers and the occasional accordion. His best known recording was of the Swiss folk tune “Dr Schacher Seppli,” which was selected by a vote on Swiss television as the nation’s most popular song.

SABAG, FABIO Brazilian actor and director Fabio Sabag died in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on December 31, 2008. He was 77. Sabag was born in Bariri, Brazil, on November 19, 1931. He appeared in numerous ﬁlms from the early 1960s, with roles in Ladrao em Noite de Chuva (1960), O Palhaco O Que? (1960), The Beggars (1962), O 5o Poder (1962), Um Morto ao Telefone (1964), Pluft, o Fantasminha (1965), Essa Gatinha e Minha (1966), Cristo de Lama (1966), Em Busca do

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2008 • Obituaries

Yves Saint Laurent

Katelyn Salmont

cocktail dress earned him an award in a design competition and brought him to the attention of leading designer Christian Dior. Saint Laurent was hired as Dior’s assistant in 1954 and spent the next three years as the great designer protégé. When Dior died suddenly in 1957, Yves became the leading fashion house’s head designer at the age of 21. He revolutionized the designs of the day with a youthful exuberance that solidiﬁed the House of Dior as the pre-eminent arbiter of haute couture. His 1960 collection that incorporated a chic beatnik look was considered overly avant-garde at the time. Later that year, Saint Laurent was called to compulsory military service while France was involved in the Algerian War. Within three weeks, he was hospitalized suffering from nervous collapse and depression. He was replaced at Dior by his former assistant, Marc Bohan, and sued the company for breach of contract when they refused to allow him to return after his discharge. With his ﬁnancial settlement he and his life partner, Pierre Berge, formed his own fashion house in September of 1961. He continued to set the standard for high fashion with his sometimes controversial designs. He changed the way the modern woman dressed by introducing pantsuits for both day and evening wear, and incorporating trench coats, safari jackets, and sailors’ peacoats into female apparel. He also introduced a line of fragrances and again courted controversy with his Opium perfume that critics felt trivialized drug addiction. During his career, he designed clothing for such celebrities as Catherine Deneuve, Lauren Bacall, Jean Seberg, Romy Schneider, and Paloma Picasso. His designs were also on view in the ﬁlms Black Tights (1960), A New Kind of Love (1963), The Pink Panther (1963), A Very Special Favor (1965), Moment to Moment (1965), Live for Life (1967), Belle de Jour (1967), Heartbeat (1968), Mississippi Mermaid (1969), Liza (1972), Dirty Money (1972), Cesar and Rosalie (1972), The Inheritor (1973), Providence (1977), Barbara (1980), Giovani Belle ... Probabilment Ricche (1982), The Hunger (1983), Too Beautiful for You (1989), and the tele-ﬁlm Notre-Dame de Paris (1996). Though the House of Saint Laurent changed ownership several times over the years, Yves remained head designer until his retirement in 2002. SALMONT, KATELYN Katelyn Salmont, who was featured in two episodes of the television series 7th

Heaven, died of complications from cystic ﬁbrosis on December 25, 2008. She was 22. Salmont was the older stepsister of actress Mackenzie Rosman, who starred as Ruthie Camden in the popular WB network series 7th Heaven. The two were both included in People magazine’s article “20 Teens Who Will Change the World” in 2004. Katelyn appeared with Mackenzie in a 2003 episode of 7th Heaven dealing with cystic ﬁbrosis. She underwent a successful double lung-transplant in 2005 and returned to 7th Heaven for an episode that gave her the opportunity to talk about the new life she had been given.

SALVADOR , HENRI French singer Henri Salvador died of a brain hemorrhage at his home in Paris on February 13, 2008. He was 90. Salvador was born in Cayenne, French Guiana, on July 18, 1917. He began his career as an entertainer in Paris nightclubs in the 1930s. He performed with jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt and jazz violinist Eddie South early in his career. He toured throughout South America with bandleader Ray Ventura during World War II. He returned to Paris after the war, where he remained a popular performer and songwriter. Salvador was also featured in such ﬁlms as La Fruta Mordida (1945), Mademoiselle Has Fun (1948), Magazine de Paris (1952), Accrochetoi, y’a du Vent! (1962), Tartarin de Tarascon (1962), Moonlight in Maubeuge (1962), Les Malabars sont au Parfum (1966), and Et qu’ca Saute! (1970). He also made

Henri Salvador

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two guest appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show in the United States. Salvador teamed with songwriter Boris Vian to write over 400 songs ranging from rock to blues to jazz. He was featured in the 1980 television production Emilie Jolie, and guest starred in an episode of Crimes en Serie in 2000. His ﬁnal album, Reverence, was released in 2006.

SALVADOR, LOU, JR. Filipino actor Lou Salvador, Jr., who was billed as the James Dean of the Philippines, died of lung cancer in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 19, 2008. He was 66. He was born in the Philippines on December 4, 1941, the son of show business impresario Lou Salvador, Sr. The younger Salvador began his ﬁlm career in the late 1950s as a contract player with LVN Pictures. He was seen in such ﬁlms as Bad Boy (1957), Walang Takot (1958), Faithful

Dalton B. Sandifer

Lou Salvador, Jr.

Cirio Santiago

(1958), Barkada (1958), Combo Festival (1958), Chinita (1959), Krus na Daan (1960), Tacio (1961), Pitong Sagisag (1961), Albano Brothers (1962), I Am Justice (1962), Dead or Alive (1962), Kayo ang Humatol! (1963), Alias Golden Boy (1963), Apple in Paradise (1965), Alyas Phantom (1966), Ito and Pilipino (1966), Langit at Lupa (1967), Tanging Ikaw (1968), Sorrento (1968), Blackhawk Commandos (1968), Lilet (1971), The Nail of Brightness (1975), and The Rites of May (1976). Salvador largely retired from the screen in the mid–1970s.

SANDIFER, DALTON B. Animation writer Dalton B. Sandifer died at his home in Thousand Oaks, California, on April 16, 2008. He was 89. Sandifer was born on March 11, 1919. He began working in animation in the 1950s, writing Woody Woodpecker cartoons for Walter Lantz. He joined Hanna-Barbera in the mid–1960s, where he wrote for such cartoon series as The Hillbilly Bears, The Secret Squirrel Show, Samson and Goliath, The Atom Ant Show, Wacky Races, Harlem Globetrotters, Bailey’s Comets, Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch, The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour, The All-New Popeye Hour, Puppies Further Adventures, and Heathcliff. SANTIAGO, CIRIO H. Leading Filipino ﬁlm producer and director Cirio H. Santiago died of complications from lung cancer in a Manila, Philippines,

hospital on September 26, 2008. He was 72. Santiago was born in Manila on January 18, 1936. He was the son of Dr. Ciriaco Santiago, the co-founder of one of the Philippines’ leading ﬁlm studios, Premiere Productions. Cirio began producing ﬁlms at his father’s studio in the mid–1950s including Pangako ng Puso (1955), Palahamak (1955), Prince Alejandre (1957), and Tokyo 1960 (1957). He was also directing ﬁlms by the end of the decade, sometimes under the pseudonyms Leonared Hermes and Luis Nepomuceno. He helmed Pusakal (1957), Water Lily (1958), Los Palikeros (1963), Scorpio (1964), Ging (1964), Dama and the Tree Monster (1964), Pistolero (1966), Wanted: Johnny L. (1966), Kardong Kaliwa (1967), Because of a Flower (1967), Heaven on Earth (1968), The Legend of the Tree of Life (1968), and Panagupa (1969). He also produced the ﬁlms The Day of the Trumpet (1963), The Blood Drinkers (1964), and Hong Kong 999 (1965). Santiago began a long association with producer Roger Corman in the 1970s to create exploitation ﬁlms for the U.S. market. He produced, and frequently directed, such ﬁlms as The Hunted (1970), A Time for Dying (1970), The Big Doll House (1971), The Arizona Kid (1971), Women in Cages (1971), The Hot Box (1972), The Big Bird Cage (1972), Carnival Song (1973), Fly Me (1973), Savage! (1973), South Seas (1974), Bamboo Gods and Iron Men (1974), The Paciﬁc Connection (1975), T.N.T. Jackson (1975), Cover Girl Models (1975), Hustler Squad (1976), She

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Devils in Chains (1976), The Muthers (1976), Hell Hole (1978), Vampire Hookers (1978) starring John Carradine, Death Force (1978), Up from the Depths (1979), Galing-Galing mo Mrs. Jones, Ang (1980), Firecracker (1981) with Jilian Kesner, Stryker (aka Savage Dawn) (1983), Caged Fury (1983), Final Mission (1984), The Devastator (1985), Wheels of Fire (1985), Naked Vengeance (1985), Silk (1986), Future Hunters (1986), Eye of the Eagle (1986), Equalizer 2000 (1986), Killer Instinct (1987), Fast Gun (1987), Demon of Paradise (1987), The Sisterhood (1988), The Expendables (1988), Silk 2 (1989), Eye of the Eagle 2: Inside the Enemy (1989), Bloodﬁst (1989), Nam Angels (1989), Last Stand at Lang Mei (1990), Dune Warriors (1990), Terror in Paradise (1990), Field of Fire (1991), Raiders of the Sun (1992), Beyond the Call of Duty (1992), Live by the Fist (1993), Kill Zone (1993), Firehawk (1993), Angelﬁst (1993), Blackbelt II (1993), Ultimatum (1994), Stranglehold (1994), One Man Army (1994), Caged Heat II: Stripped of Freedom (1994), Terminal Virus (1995), RoboWarriors (1996), Kadre (1997), Vulcan (1997), Aladdin and the Adventure of All Time (1999), Vital Parks (2001), Operation Balikatan (2003), When Eagles Strike (203), Bloodﬁst 2050 (2005), and The Hunt for Eagle One (2006). He had recently completed a sequel to his earlier ﬁlm Stryker entitled Road Raiders at the time of his death.

SARNOFF, DOROTHY Actress and singer Dorothy Sarnoff Raymond died in New York City on December 20, 2008. She was 88. Sarnoff was born in New York City on May 25, 1919. She graduated from Cornell University in 1935 and embarked upon a career on stage. An accomplished singer, she starred in the operetta Rosalinda in 1942 and the operas La Tosca (1945) and Faust (1945). She also starred in the musical Magdalena in 1948 and created the role of Lady Thiang in the original production of The King and I

SARGENT, RAYMOND British actor and playwright Raymond Sargent died of stomach cancer in England on March 9, 2008. He was 55. He was born Leslie Raymond Thomas in Poole, Dorcet, England, on October 2, 1952. He began his career on stage in the late 1960s appearing in productions of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Rhinoceros, and The Beaux Strategem. He was also a regular broadcaster for the radio series Po-

with Yul Brynner in 1951. Sarnoff also starred in the Broadway production of the musical My Darlin’ Aida in 1953 and performed in several episodes of The Ed Sullivan Show in the 1950s. She later was a noted author, lecturer, and speech teacher, creating the public speaking consultancy ﬁrm Speech Dynamics, which counted President Jimmy Carter and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin as clients.

Raymond Sargent

etry Please, and appeared on television in episodes of Doctor Who, Blake’s Seven, and The Two Ronnies. Sargent was best known for scripting and staging a series of one-man shows, notably Charles Dickens’s The Signalman, Thomas Hardy’s The Three Strangers, and Amateurs All about Lawrence of Arabia. Sargent was also featured in a small role in the 2008 ﬁlm In My Head.

Dorothy Sarnoff

SASSOLI, DINA Italian actress Dina Sassoli died in Italy on March 24, 2008. She was 87. Sassoli was born in Rimini, Italy, on August 5, 1920. She began her ﬁlm career in the late 1930s, appearing in such ﬁlms as Papa Lebonnard (1939), Follie del Secolo (1939), Kean (1940), Alessandro, sei Grande! (1940), Miseria e Nobilta (1940), The Spirit and the Flesh (1941), Capitan Tempest (1942), The Lion of Damascus (1942), Perdition (1942), La Morte Civile (1942), Loves of Don Juan (1942), Colpi di Timone (1942), I Sing but Softly (1945), Responsibility Comes Back (1945), Two Anonymous Letters (1945), Humanity (1946), Lost Happiness (1946), Pian delle Stelle (1946), Un Giomo nella Vita (1946), La Mascotte dei Diavoli Blu (1947), Life of Donizetti (1947), Signorinella (1949), Rondini in Volo (1949), La Roccia Incantata (1949), The Mill on the Po (1949), Position Wanted (1951), L’Ultima Sentenza (1951), I Figli non si Vendono (1952), Tormento d’Anime (1953), La Prigioniera di Amalﬁ (1953), The Other Side of Paradise (1953), Kean (1956), Rosina Furno Viene in Citta ... per Farsi il Corredo (1972), Fratello Ladro (1972), Ash Wednesday (1973) as Nurse Ilse, And Agnes Chose to Die (1976), Voltati Eugenio (1980), and An Italian Woman (1980). Sassoli also appeared on television in productions of Scaramouche (1965), Melissa (1966), Le Sorelle Mate-

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Dina Sassoli

rassi (1972), I Vecche e i Giovani (1979), and Valentino (1983). SAUNDERS, MERL Musician Merl Saunders died of complications from a stroke in a San Francisco hospital on October 24, 2008. He was 74. He was born Merl Saunders Washington in San Mateo, California, on February 14, 1934. He learned to play the piano at an early age and became a virtuoso on the Hammond B-3 console organ. He began teaming with Jerry Garcia in 1970 with the group Legion of Mary. They soon began performing as Garcia/Saunders, and he participated in 1971’s Grateful Dead album with Garcia. Saunders recorded the albums Heavy Turbulence (1972), Fire

SAVAGE, ANN Leading actress Ann Savage, who was a femme fatale in such 1940s ﬁlm noirs as Detour, died of complications from strokes at a nursing home in Hollywood, California, on December 25, 2008. She was 87. She was born Bernice Maxine Lyon in Columbia, South Carolina, on February 19, 1921. She moved to Los Angeles with her mother as a child following the death of her father. She began appearing on stage in local productions as a teen and studied at Max Reinhardt’s acting school. She made her ﬁlm debut as an extra in 1938’s The Great Waltz. She later signed a contract with Columbia Pictures and appeared in small roles in The More the Merrier (1943), Murder in Times Square (1943), and One Dangerous Night (1943). She was soon playing more substantial roles, often cast as the bad girl. She was featured in Saddles and the Sagebrush (1943), Two Senoritas from Chicago (1943), Passport to Suez (1943), Dangerous Blondes (1943), Footlight Glamour (1943), Klondike Kate (1943), What a Woman! (1943), Two-Man Submarine (1944), The Last Horseman (1944), Ever Since Venus (1944), The Unwritten Code (1944), Dancing in Manhattan (1944), Scared Stiff (1945), Midnight Manhunt (1945), and Apolog y for Murder (1945). Savage joined her frequent co-star Tom Neal in the 1945 ﬁlm classic Detour, playing the ruthless Vera who blackmails a down on his luck musician. She continued to have leading roles in B-ﬁlms for the remainder of the decade, including The Spider (1945), The Dark Horse (1946), The Last Crooked Mile (1946), Lady Chaser (1946), Renegade Girl (1946), Jungle Flight (1947), Satan’s Cradle (1949), Jungle Jim in Pygmy Island (1950), Pier 23 (1951), and Woman They Almost Lynched (1953). She also appeared frequently on television in the early 1950s with roles in such series as Fireside Theatre, Front Page Detective, Gang Busters, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Death Valley Days, The Ford Television Theatre, and City Detective. Savage had married Bert D’Armand in 1945, and he later served as her agent. She largely retired from acting in the late 1950s to accompany her husband to Manhattan, where he was a successful ﬁnancier. The couple traveled frequently together until his death in 1969. She returned to Hollywood, where she worked as a law clerk and became a popular guest at ﬁlm festivals honoring her works. She made rare screen appearances later in life in

Merl Saunders

Up (1973), and Live at the Keystone (1973), working with Garcia and Tom Fogerty. During his career he also performed and recorded with such artists as B.B. King, Miles Davis, Sheila E., Mike Blomﬁeld, Bonnie Raitt, and Phish. He also contributed to the scores for such ﬁlms as Fritz the Cat (1972), Black Girl (1972), Heavy Trafﬁc (1973), and Steelyard Blues (1973). He was music director for the new version of the classic television series The Twilight Zone in 1985, which included a new rendition of the theme performed by the Grateful Dead. Saunders and Garcia reunited in 1990 to record Blues from the Rain Forest. His musical career largely ended after he suffered a crippling stroke in 2002.

Ann Savage

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2008 • Obituaries

the 1986 ﬁlm Fire with Fire and an episode of Saved by the Bell. Her ﬁnal role was in the 2007 feature My Winnipeg, reestablishing herself as a screen villain with her role as a shrewish mother. SAVIC, SONJA Leading Serbian actress Sonja Savic died of a heroin overdose in Belgrade, Serbia, on September 23, 2008. She was 47. Savic was born in Cacak, Serbia, then part of Yugoslavia, on September 15, 1961. She began her acting career in the late 1970s, appearing in such ﬁlms as Butterﬂy Cloud (1977), Beloved Love (1977), Foolish Years (1978), Lagani Povratak (1981), Verenica (1982), Living Like the Rest of Us (1982), Nesgto Izmedju (1983), Secerna Vodica (1983), Strangler vs. Strangler (1984), Kamiondzije Opet Voze (1984), Balkan Spy (1984), Una (1984), Life Is Beautiful (1985), Black Maria (1986), Majstor i Sampita

Sayan Doksadao Muangcharoen

Sonja Savic

Carmen Scarpitta

(1986), Osudjeni (1987), Cavka (1988), Maternal Halfbrothers (1988), Masmediologija na Balkanu (1989), The Fall of Rock and Roll (1989), Balkanska Perestrojka (1990), Mi Nismo Andjeli (1992), Uvod u Drugi Zivot (1992), Umebesna Tragedija (1995), The Dark Side of the Sun (1997), Shadows of Memories (2000), Bread and Milk (2001), Virtual Reality (2001), The Danube (2003), Zurka (2004), Desperado Tonic (2004), South by Southeast (2005), Gravehopping (2005), and Princ od Papira (2008). She was also featured in the television productions Die Rote Zora und Ihre Bande (1979), Karlovacki Dozivljaji 1889 (1983), Gospodijca Julija (1985), Life and Literature — Danilo Kis (1994), and Ivan (1996). Savic also starred as Darinka in the television series Vratice se Rode in 2007.

SAYAN DOKSADAO MUANGCHAROEN Sayan Doksadao Muangcharoen, a Thai actor and comedian with Down syndrome, died of cerebral meningitis in a Pathum Thani, Thailand, hospital on December 14, 2008. He was 48. Sayan performed in a comedy act with his adoptive father, Der Doksadao, and appeared with him in several ﬁlms. He was featured in the ﬁlms Buppah Rahtree (2003), The Bodyguard (2004), The Groan (2004), Headless Hero 2 (2004), Woak Wak (2004), and Ghost Variety (2005). SCARPITTA, CARMEN Actress Carmen Scarpitta died in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on April 24,

2008. She was 74. Scarpitta was born in Hollywood, California, on May 26, 1933, the daughter of sculptor Salvatore Scarpitta. She began her acting career in Europe in the early 1960s and was seen in such ﬁlms as Five Branded Women (1960), Gidget Goes to Rome (1963), Pleasant Nights (1966), Anzio (1968), Defeat of the Maﬁa (1970), Il Magnate (1973), The Tree with Pink Leaves (1974), Savage Three (1975), Frou-Frou del Tabarin (1976), Snatch (1976), Fellini’s Casanova (1976) as Madame Charpillon, Oedipus Orca (1977), Beyond Good and Evil (1977), In the Name of the Pope King (1977), Birds of a Feather (1978), Hunted City (1979), Tranquille Donne di Compagna (1980), Bello di Mamma (1980), Calderon (1981), Farewell Moscow (1987), Lungo il Fiume (1989), and Probably Love (2001). She also appeared in television productions of Le Inchieste del Commissario Maigret (1966), Le Mie Prigioni (1968), Nero Wolfe: Il Patto dei Sei (1969), Oltre il Duemila (1971), Riuscira i cav. Papa Ubu? (1971), Le Ultime Lettere di Jacopo Ortis (1973), La Carriera (1973), Canossa (1974), Holiday Hookers (1976), Vestire gli Ignudi (1979), Les Aventuriers du Nouveau-Monde (1986), L’Ombra della Spia” (1988), Gli Angeli del Potere (1988), Voglia di Vivere (1990), and Una Donna per Amico (1998). SCHAGEN, RIEK Dutch actress Riek Schagen died in Vorden, the Netherlands, on July 14, 2008. She was 94. Schagen was born in Amersfoort, the Netherlands, on November 15, 1913. She began her ca-

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Riek Schagen

reer on stage in 1940 and appeared frequently on Dutch television from the 1950s. She made her ﬁlm debut as Aunt Jans in 1955’s Ciske de Rat. Schagen was also seen in the ﬁlms Fanfare (1958), Hunted in Holland (1960), The Silent Raid (1962), The Little Ark (1972), A Girl Called Katy Tippel (1975), Meneer Klomp (1978), and One Could Laugh in Former Days (1983). She was also featured in television productions of School voor Volwassenen (1960), Lijmen (1962), De Roof van de Gordel (1964), Kaas (1968), and All Things Pass (1979). Schagen starred as housekeeper Saartje in the television series Swiebertje from 1965 to 1975, and was Oma van Thomas in Thomas en Senior op het Spoor van Brute Berend in 1988. Her other television credits include episodes of Maigret, Memorandum van een Dokter, De Kleine Waarheid, Familie Werner auf Reisen, and Waaldrecht.

SCHAPERKOTTER , MITCH Mitchell D. Schaperkotter, who was co-founder of what became the Memphis Film Festival, died of complications of diabetes and other health problems in a Memphis, Tennessee, hospital on April 2, 2008. He was 71. Schaperkotter was born on April 3, 1936. He was a fan and collector of B-Western ﬁlms from the 1930s onward. He was manager of the Bristol Theater in Memphis from the late 1960s through the early 1970s and began screening vintage westerns and serials on a weekly basis. The Bristol became a gathering place for like-minded

Mitch Schaperkotter

fans, several of whom began considering the notion of hosting a festival where others of similar bent could congregate. Mitch, Packy Smith, and Wayne Lackey organized what was then known as the Western Film Festival at The Peabody Hotel in Memphis in 1972. In an era before video tape, 16mm prints of classic Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and other cowboy ﬁlms were screened for fans, bringing a rare opportunity for their viewing. Festival goers were also treated with personal appearances by such stars of the days of yore as Peggy Stewart, Lash La Rue, Sunset Carson, Max Terhune, Russell Hayden, and Don “Red” Barry in the ﬁrst year. Schaperkotter remained a guiding force through most of the festival’s various incarnations over the next three decades, and became good friends with such childhood heroes as singing cowboy Eddie Dean and Lash La Rue. The Festival, which ultimately became the Memphis Film Festival, continued to screen vintage ﬁlms in 16mm, video, and DVD as technology advanced, and hosted a bustling dealer’s room where collectors could purchase stills, posters, toys, and a vast array of other memorabilia. Hundreds of stars and supporting players graced the festival’s halls including Clayton “The Lone Ranger” Moore, Little Rascal Spanky McFarland, Kirk “Superman” Alyn, Buster Crabbe, Ben Johnson, Anne Francis, Buddy Ebsen, Janet Leigh, Kevin McCarthy, Shirley Eaton, Forrest Tucker, Gene Evans, Suzanna Leigh, Jack Elam, Linda Stirling, and Kim Hunter. Schaperkotter, a retired postal service employee, remained on the festival’s board with Fred Davis and Ray Nielson through the 1990s and early 2000s. He and his wife, Wanda, also oversaw the operations of the dealer’s room, and he remained a familiar face at the festival even after stepping down from the board several years earlier. The Memphis Film Festival continues on under the direction of Ray Nielson.

SCHEIDER, ROY Veteran leading actor Roy Scheider, who starred in such classic ﬁlms as Jaws, Sorcerer, and All That Jazz, died of complications from a staph infection in a Little Rock, Arkansas, hospital on February 10, 2008. He was 75. Scheider was born in Orange, New Jersey, on November 10, 1932. He earned a degree in history at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, before serving for three years in the U.S. Air Force. After his discharge he returned to college to study drama and made his professional debut as Mercutio in a 1961 production of Romeo and Juliet with the New York Shakespeare Festival. His ﬁlm career kicked off several years later when he starred as one of the victims in Del Tenney’s low-budget horror ﬁlm Curse of the Living Corpse (1964). He appeared on television in small roles in several soap operas including The Edge of Night, Love of Life, and Secret Storm, and guest starred in such series as Camera Three, Coronet Blue, Cannon, and N.Y.P.D. He was also featured in such ﬁlms as Star! (1968), Paper Lion (1968), Stiletto (1969), Loving (1970), and Puzzle of a Downfall Child (1970). He was seen as a pimp to Jane Fonda’s call girl in the 1971 thriller Klute and starred as Detective Buddy Russo, Gene Hackman’s partner, in William Friedkin’s The French Connection (1971). Scheider earned an Oscar

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Roy Scheider (from Jaws)

Roy Scheider (from All That Jazz)

nomination for best supporting actor for his role. He appeared on television in the tele-ﬁlms To Be Young, Gifted, and Black (1972) and Assignment: Munich (1972) and starred in the European ﬁlms The French Conspiracy (1972) and The Outside Man (1972). Scheider also starred in the cop ﬁlm The Seven-Ups (1973) and the off-beat comedy Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York (1975). He appeared in his most famous role when he was cast as Police Chief Martin Brody in Steven Spielberg’s classic shark thriller Jaws in 1975. Scheider reprised the role for the 1978 sequel Jaws 2. He appeared as Dustin Hoffman’s ill-fated brother in 1976’s Marathon Man and again worked with Friedkin on Sorcerer, the 1977 remake of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s classic The Wages of Fear. He earned an Academy Award nomination for best actor for his role of Joe Gideon in Bob Fosse’s semi-autobiographical epic All That Jazz in 1979. He also starred in the ﬁlms Last Embrace (1979), Still of the Night (1982), Blue Thunder (1983), and 2010, the 1984 sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey as Dr. Heywood Floyd. Scheider also starred in the tele-ﬁlms Jacobo Timerman: Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number (1983) and Tiger Town (1983). He continued to appear frequently in ﬁlms, though he gradually eased from leading to character roles with such credits as The Men’s Club (1986), 52 Pick Up (1986), Cohen and Tate (1989), Listen to Me (1989), Night Game (1990), The Fourth War (1990), The Russia House, David Cronenberg’s 1991 adaptation of William Burrough’s Naked Lunch, Romeo Is Bleeding (1993) as Maﬁa Don Falcone, Wild Justice (1994), The Deﬁnite Maybe (1997), Plato’s Run (1997), Executive Target (1997), The Rage (1997), The Myth of Fingerprints (1997), The Peacekeeper (1997), the 1997 adaptation of John Grisham’s The Rainmaker, Silver Wolf (1998), The White Raven (1998), Evasive Action (1998), Better Living (1998), Chain of Command (2000), Falling Through (2000), The Doorway (2000), Daybreak (2000), Angels Don’t Sleep Here (2001), Time Lapse (2001), Red Serpent (2002), Texas 46 (2002), Citizen Verdict (2003), Dracula II: Ascension (2003), The Punisher (2004) as Frank Castle Sr., Dracula III: Legacy (2005), Last Chance (2006), The Poet (2007), and If I Didn’t Care (2007). Scheider starred as Captain Nathan Bridger in the underwater science ﬁction television se-

ries SeaQuest DSC from 1993 to 1995 and returned for part of the third season when the show evolved into SeaQuest 2032. He was also seen in the tele-ﬁlm Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture (1990), Money Play$ (1997), The Seventh Scroll (1999), RKO 281: The Battle Over Citizen Kane (1999), Diamond Hunters (2001), and King of Texas (2002). He also starred as Fyodor Chevchenko in ﬁve episodes of Third Watch in 2002 and guest-starred in an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Scheider had recently completed ﬁlming the ﬁlms Dark Honeymoon (2008) and Iron Cross (2008) before his death. He had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2004 and underwent a bone marrow transplant the following year. Scheider was married to Cynthia Bebout from 1962 to 1989 and to actress Brenda King from 1989 until his death. SCHER, TANIA Brazilian actress Tania Scher died of respiratory failure and liver problems in a Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, hospital on August 9, 2008. She was 61. Scher was born in Rio de Janeiro on March 12, 1947. She began her ﬁlm career in the 1960s, with roles in such features as Todas as Mulheres do Mundo (1967), A Espa Que Entrou em Fria (1967), El Justicero (1967), As Sete Faces de um Cafajeste (1968), O Bolao (1970), Os Monstros de Babaloo (1971), A Nova Estrela (1971), Pra Quem Fica, Tchau (1971), Os Machoes (1972), Um Ediﬁcio Chamado 200 (1973), Motel (1974), O Sosia de Morte (1975), Luz, Cama, Acao! (1976), A Menina do

Tania Scher

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Lado (1987), and Leila Diniz (1987). She was also featured in such television productions as Quem Ama Nao Mata (1982), Sol de Verao (1982), Parabens pra Voce (1983), Champagne (1983), Corpo a Corpo (1984), Anos Dourados (1986), A Rainha da Vida (1987), and A Viagem (1994) as Josefa.

SCHLITT , ROBERT Television writer and producer Robert Schlitt died in Encino, California, on November 25, 2008. He was 75. Schlitt was born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 24, 1933. He graduated from Columbia University in 1957, then spent several years in Paris. He worked as an actor and a post-production assistant to ﬁlmmaker Jacques Tati. Upon his return to the United States, he wrote a translation of Felicien Marceau’s play The Egg, which was staged on

of such series as How to Marry a Millionaire, Manhunt, Ben Casey, 77 Sunset Strip, The Wide Country, Mr. Novak, The Lieutenant, Kraft Suspense Theatre, The Big Valley, Bonanza, The F.B.I., Ironside, The Mod Squad, The Starlost, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Six Million Dollar Man, Eight Is Enough, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and King’s Crossing. Schneider scripted the early Star Trek episodes “The Balance of Terror,” which introduced the alien Romulans in 1966 and “The Squire of Gothos” in 1967. He also wrote an episode of the animated Star Trek series in 1973.

SCHOEMBERGER, MARIO Brazilian actor Mario Schoemberger died of cancer in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, on May 14, 2008. He was 56. He was a leading television performer in Brazil for the past

Robert Schlitt

Mario Schoemberger

Broadway in 1960. Schlitt also wrote and performed on the WABI radio satire program It’s Your World and You Can Have It. He also began working in television scripting episodes of The Nurses. He teamed with Peter Meyerson to write the premiere episode of The Monkees in 1966, and they scripted several subsequent episodes. Schlitt also wrote episodes for such series as N.Y.P.D., Kung Fu, The Streets of San Francisco, Hawaii Five-0, Lou Grant, Chicago Story, Q.E.D., The Lazarus Syndrome, Hill Street Blues, Jake and the Fatman, and Diagnosis Murder. He also scripted two feature ﬁlms, Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me (1971) and The Pix (1973), and the tele-ﬁlms Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal (1993) and Perry Mason: The Case of the Grimacing Governor (1994). He was a producer for the 1975 series The Blue Knight and produced and wrote the series Matlock from 1986 to 1989 and Father Dowling Mysteries from 1990 to 1991. Schlitt also made a rare onscreen appearance in an episodes of Matlock in 1986.

decade, starring in such series as Vidas Cruzadas, Desejos de Mulher, O Beijo do Vampiro, Os Aspones, A Grande Familia, A Diarista, and Minha Nada Mole Vida. He was also featured in the ﬁlms Darling Stranger (2002), So Normal (2003), Trair e Cocar E So Cornecar (2006), and Mulheres do Brasil (2006). Schoemberger stared as Sergio Ventura in the series Vidas Opostas from 2006 to 2007.

SCHNEIDER, PAUL Television writer Paul Schneider, who scripted two of the early episodes of Star Trek, died on October 13, 2008. He was 85. Schneider was born in Passaic, New Jersey, on August 4, 1923. He began writing episodes of the Mr. Magoo cartoon series in the 1950s. He also scripted the ﬁlms The Looters (1955) and The Tennessee Beat (1966). He was best known as a writer for television, scripting episodes

SCHOENFELD, GERALD Gerald Schoenfeld, who was chairman of the leading theater group, the Schubert Organization, died at his home in Manhat-

Gerald Schoenfeld

389 tan, New York, on November 25, 2008. He was 84. Schoenfeld was born in New York City on September 22, 1924. He graduated from the University of Illinois and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. After the war he earned a law degree from New York University and eventually took over the legal affairs of the Schubert Organization in 1957. The Schubert Organization was a theatrical empire founded in the early part of the 20th century by the brothers J.J., Sam, and Lee Schubert. Following the death of J.J. Schubert in 1963 the estate was transferred to the Shubert Foundation. Schoenfeld and Bernard Jacobs took over the Shubert in 1972 when Broadway was at a low ebb. They turned business around with such hit shows as A Chorus Line, Equus, and Pippin, with the two men often investing and co-producing plays and musicals for their theaters. Other hits that debuted on Broadway under their auspices include Cats, Glengarry Glen Ross, Amadeus, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, and Sunday in the Park With George. Schoenfeld remained in charge of the Schubert after Jacobs’ death in 1996, overseeing the Schubert’s holdings that include 17 theaters on Broadway, plus theaters in Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. Schoenfeld was also featured onscreen as theatrical manager Sid Bacharach in Woody Allen’s 1984 ﬁlm Broadway Danny Rose.

SCHRAM, CHARLES Veteran ﬁlm make-up artist Charles Schram, who designed the Cowardly Lion’s make-up for 1939’s The Wizard of Oz, died in Los Angeles on November 14, 2008. He was 97. Schram was born in Los Angles on March 21, 1911. He studied art at the University of Southern California with fellow make-up artist William Tuttle, and the two men were hired at MGM as apprentices in 1935. Schram created the make-up and prosthetics that transformed Bert Lahr into The Wizard of Oz’s Cowardly Lion, and also worked on Margaret Hamilton’s Wicked Witch make-up for the ﬁlm. He worked on numerous ﬁlms over the next 40 years including Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940), Around the World in Eighty Days (1956), Ben-Hur (1959), George Pal’s The Time Machine (1960), 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964), Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970) providing Liza Minnelli’s facial burns, Carnal Knowledge (1971), The Thing with Two Heads (1972), Portnoy’s Complaint (1972), They Only Kill There Masters (1972), Papillon (1973), The Godfather, Part II (1974), That’s Entertainment, Part II (1976), Silent Movie (1976), Murder by Death (1976), Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), The Turning Point (1977), The Cheap Detective (1978), The Big Fix (1978),

Charles Schram (applying makeup to a Wizard of Oz Munchkin)

2008 • Obituaries

California Suite (1978), Being There (1979), First Family (1980), Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981), Mommie Dearest (1981), and Grease 2 (1982). Schram also worked in television, transforming Anne Francis into a mannequin for the 1960 Twilight Zone episode The After Hours, and Hal Holbrook into Lincoln for the mini-series adaptation of Carl Sandburg’s Lincoln in 1974. He earned an Emmy Award nomination for the 1976 tele-ﬁlm The Million Dollar Rip-Off, and worked on the 1980 tele-ﬁlm White Mama.

SCHUBELER, LORI Actress Lori Schubeler was shot to death shortly after midnight on April 13, 2008, at the Western Hotel in Callicoon, New York,

Lori Schubeler

where she was working as a waitress. She was 41. Schubeler was a frequent performer on the local stage and was featured as Teresa in the 1993 ﬁlm Lost in Yonkers.

SCHUBERT, GUNTER German actor Gunter Schubert died of cancer in Berlin, Germany, on January 2, 2008. He was 69. Schubert was born in Weisswasser, Germany, on April 8, 1938. He was featured in numerous ﬁlms from the early 1960s including Christine (1963), The Sons of Great Bear (1966), Hauptmann Florian von der Muhle (1968), Der Weihnachtsmann Heisst Willi (1969), He Du! (1970), Husaren in Berlin (1971), Tecumseh (1972), Sechse Kommen Durch die Welt (1972), The Naked Man in the Stadium (1974), Looping (1975), Hostess (1976), Das Blaue Licht (1976), The Flight (1977), Und Nachstes Jahr am Balaton (1980), Mein Vater Alfons (1980), Markische Forschungen (1982), Das Schulgespenst (1986), So Viele Traume (1986), Prariejager in Mexiko: Benito Juarez (1988), Froschkonig (1988), Die Sprungdeckeluhr (1990), Die Verfehlung (1992), Go Trbi Go 2 (1992), Die Wildnis (1993), Ein Elefantim Krankenhaus (1993), Friedrich und der Verzauberte Einbrecher (1997), Letting Go (1998), Hans im Gluck (1999), Over the Rainbow (1999), and Julie’s Spirit (2001). Schubert also appeared frequently on German television with roles in such productions as Hallo Taxi (1974), Fischzuge (1975), Ein Zimmer mit Ausblick (1977), Zur See (1977), Scharnhorst (1978), Kille, Kille Handchen (1979), Herbstzeit (1979), Zwillinge oder

Obituaries • 2008

390

Gunther Schubert

Nina Schulman

Nimm dir ein Beispiel an Evelin (1979), Ich bin Nicht meine Tante (1980), Und Nachstes Jahr am Balaton (1980), Aber Doktor! (1980), Archiv des Todes (1980), Unser bester Mann (1983), Mein Vater in der Tinte (1983), Fruhstuck im Bett (1983), Die Lieben Luder (1983), Maxe Baumann aus Berlin (1987), Die Wildschweinjagd (1987), Inka Connection (1995), Matulla und Busch (1995), Der Millionar (1996), Konig auf Mallorca (1998), 36 Hours (1998), Freiwild (1998), Das Schloss Meines Vaters (1999), At er Arbeit? (2000), Dir zu Liebe (2000), Der Raub der Sabinerinnen (2000), Spurlos — Ein Baby Verschwindet (2003), Der Fall Gehring (2003), Die Schonste aus Bitterfeld (2003), Die Kinder Meiner Braut (2004), Marga Engel Gibt Nicht Auf (2004), Swei Millionen Suchen Einen Vater (2006), and Moppel-lch (2007). Schubert starred as Wahlfried Fiedler in the television series Geschichten Ubern Gartenzaun from 1982 to 1985, and was Karlheinz Adler in Treffpunkt Flughafen in 1986. He was featured as Axel Dunnebier in Bereitschaft Dr. Federau in 1988 and was Peter Boehling in Elbﬂorenz in 1994. He also starred as Waldemar Lenz in the series Sabine!! from 2004 to 2005 and appeared in episodes of Die Gerichtsreporterin, Mona M., Leinen los fur MS Konigstein, Arzte, Alphateam — Die Lebensretter im OP, Die Hinterbankler, Abschnitt 40, SOKO Leipzig, SOKO 5113, Sperling, SOKO Koln, Tatort, Polizeiruf 110, Der Dicke, and Notruf Hafenkante. SCHULMAN, NINA Film and documentary editor Nina Schulman died from metastatic breast cancer in New York City on April 10, 2008. She was 68. Schulman was born on September 26, 1939. She began working in ﬁlms in the late 1960s as an editor on the music documentary Monterey Pop (1968) and assistant to the director for the 1969 ﬁlm Coming Apart. She produced the 1973 satirical horror ﬁlm The Werewolf of Washington and was sound editor for The Visitors (1972) and Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser (1988). Schulman also edited the documentary Painted Earth: The Art of the Mimbres Indians (1989). She was an editor for several episodes of the television series American Experience: New York — A Documentary in 1999 and earned an Emmy Award for her work on the episode “Cosmopolis: 1914–1931. Schulman was also a founder of the advocacy group, the Metastatic Breast Cancer Network, in 2004.

SCHUTTE , MIKE South African boxer turned actor Mike “the Tank” Schutte, died of cancer and liver failure in Vanderbijpark, Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 14, 2008. He was 57. Schutte was born in Johannesburg on December 9, 1950. He made his professional debut as a boxer in May of 1971 and won the South African heavyweight boxing championship

Mike Schutte

in September of 1975 after a series of bouts with Jimmy Richards. Schutte lost the title in August of 1977 to Gerrie Coetzee and retired from the ring in June of 1979. He subsequently worked as a professional wrestler and musical entertainer and was seen in several ﬁlms including Billyboy (1979), I’m for the Hippopotamus (1979), Target Scorpion (1983), You Must Be Joking! (1986), and Adult Education (1987).

SCOFIELD, PAUL British actor Paul Scoﬁeld, who won an Academy Award for his role as Sir Thomas More in the 1965 ﬁlm A Man for All Seasons, died of leukemia in a West Sussex, England, hospital on March 19, 2008. He was 86. He was born David Scoﬁeld in Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex, England, on January 21, 1922. He became enamored with the stage while still in school and began his professional career in the early 1940s. He joined the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1944, where he began a long collaboration with the talented young director Peter Brook. He and Brook

391

2008 • Obituaries

Paul Scoﬁeld

Fred Scott

headed to London later in the decade with a series of theatrical triumphs, including productions of Terence Rattigan’s Adventure Story, with Scoﬁeld as Alexander the Great, and Jean Anouilh’s Ring Round the Moon, with the actor playing twins. Considered one of the leading actors of his generation, Scoﬁeld made acclaimed performances in Brook’s stagings of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and King Lear. He made his ﬁlm debut as King Philip II of Spain in 1955’s That Lady, opposite Olivia De Havilland. He declined offers of a Hollywood career and continued his work on stage and in occasional ﬁlms, including Carve Her Name with Pride (1958) and The Train (1964). Scoﬁeld was best known for the role of Henry VIII’s ill-fated Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons, which he debuted on the London stage in 1960. He earned a Tony Award when the play moved to Broadway in 1961 and won the Oscar for the 1966 ﬁlm version. He was seen in the 1968 ﬁlm Tell Me Lies and television productions of Male of the Species and Emlyn in 1969. Scoﬁeld’s ﬁlm credits also include Bartleby (1970) as the Accountant, Nijinsky: Unﬁnished Project (1970) as Sergei Diaghialev, King Lear (1971) in the title role, Scorpio (1973), A Delicate Balance (1973), Summer Lightning (1984), 1919 (1985), When the Whales Came (1989) as the Birdman, Henry V (1989) as the French King, Hamlet (1990) as the Ghost, with Mel Gibson in the title role, Utz (1992), Quiz Show (1994) as Mark Van Doren, and The Crucible (1996). He was featured on television in a 1975 episode of Shades of Greene, and starred in such productions as The Ambassadors (1977), Come into the Garden, Maud (1982), A Song at Twilight (1982), Anna Karenina (1985), Mister Corbett’s Ghost (1987), The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank (1988) as Otto Frank, Martin Chuzzlewit (1994), The Little Riders (1996), The Disabled Century (1999), and Animal House (1999) as the voice of Boxer. Scoﬁeld’s distinctive voice was also heard as the narrator of such productions as The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb (1980), Genesis: The Creation and the Flood (1994), London (1994), Robinson in Space (1997), Rashi: A Light After the Dark Ages (1999), and Kurosawa (2001). SCOTT, FRED Fred Scott, who was one of the Video Rangers on the pioneer television series Captain Video, died after a long illness in Ridge, New York,

on November 16, 2008. He was 88. Scott was born in Dayton, Ohio, on June 25, 1920. He served in the Army Medical Corps during World War II and began working in radio after the war. He moved into television in 1949, where he worked at the DuMont Network station WNEW-TV. He appeared as Communications Ofﬁcer Rogers in the sci-ﬁ series Captain Video and His Video Ranger from 1949 through the early 1950s. Scott was known as Uncle Fred when he hosted numerous daytime children’s shows during the 1950s and 1960s including The Big World of Little Adam, Cartoon Circus, Bugs Bunny Presents, Felix the Cat and Friends, Diver Dan, Cartoon Playtime, Cartoon A Go Go!, and Just for Fun. He was also the announcer for the Wonderama series. Scott retired from television in 1978 and worked in real estate in New York.

SCRIVNER , ROLAND Roland Scrivner, a ﬁreﬁghter turned actor, was killed at the Rossmoor Golf Course in Walnut creek, California, on November 30, 2008, when the golf cart he was riding in was struck by an automobile while crossing a road. Scrivner was thrown from the vehicle and pinned under it. He was 79. He was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1929. Scrivner began working as a ﬁreﬁghter in Berkeley, California, after attending the University of California and remained with the department until retiring as a deputy chief in the 1980s. He was also an actor on the local stage, appearing in numerous productions of My Fair

Roland Scrivner

Obituaries • 2008

392

Lady. Scrivner was featured as Oscar Beasley in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1989 ﬁlm Tucker: The Man and His Dreams and guest-starred in an episode of the television series Midnight Caller.

SEBERN , DOUG Doug Sebern died at his home in Gallatin Valley, Montana, on August 23, 2008. He was 64. Sebern was born in Burbank, California, on September 28, 1943. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. He moved to Montana with his wife in 1985 and appeared in character roles in var-

Doug Sebern

ious productions that were shot there. Sebern was featured in the ﬁlms The Patriot (1998), Big Eden (2000), Northfork (2003), and Love Comes to the Executioner (2006). He was also featured in the television mini-series Return to Lonesome Dove (1993) and the tele-ﬁlms Tom Murphy: The Left-Handed Gun (2000) and The Flying Dutchman (2001). He was active in the local theater as an actor and director.

SEIGNER, FRANCOISE French stage and screen actress Francoise Seigner died of pancreatic cancer in France on October 13, 2008. She was 80. Seigner was born in Paris on April 7, 1928. She began her career on stage in the early 1950s and joined the Comedie-Francais in 1953. She performed in numerous productions with them over the next ﬁfty years. Though best known for her roles on stage, Seigner also appeared

in ﬁlms and television. She was seen in the ﬁlms Les Pieds Dans le Platre (1965), Francois Truffaut’s The Wild Child (1970), Les Miserables (1982), Le Jeune Marie (1983), and Agatha Christie’s By the Pricking of My Thumbs (2005). She was also featured in the television productions of Le Legataire Universel (1966), Les Sept de l’Escalier Quinze B (1967), L’Ami Fritz (1967), PotBouille (1972), La Jument du Roi (1973), L’Avare (1973), Monsieur Emilien est Mort (1973), Tartuffe (1975), Le Medecin Malgre Lui (1975), Marie-Antoinette (1975), La Poudre aux Yeux (1976), La Commere (1976), Le Lauzun de la Grande Mademoiselle (1976), Paris-Chamonix (1979), Le Double Inconstance (1982), The Other Woman (1990), Princesse Alexandra (1992), Les Maitres du Pain (1993), and Le Fils du Cordonnier (1994).

SELITZ, MONA Swedish actress Mona Selitz died of cancer in Malmo, Sweden, on April 2, 2008. She was 65. Selitz was born in Malmo on January 16, 1943. She appeared frequently in Swedish ﬁlms and television from the late 1960s. Her ﬁlm credits include Hour of the Wolf (1968), Fanny Hill (1968), Blushing Charlie (1970), Giliap (1975), City of My Dreams (1976), The American Dream (1976), Christopher’s House (1979), Snacka gar ju... (1981), Operation Leo (1981), Who Pulled the Plug? (1981), The Jonsson Gang Meets Dynamite Harry (1982), One-Week Bachelors (1982), PS Last Summer (1988), The Miracle in Valby (1989), The Hero (1990), Stockhom Marathon (1994), Lilla Jonssonligan och Cornﬂakeskuppen (1996), and Tojocktjuven (2006).

Mona Selitz

She was also featured in television productions of Anna och Ganget (1978), Sinkadus (1980), Olsson per Sekund eller Det Finns Ingen Anledning till Oro (1981), Korset (1985), Saxofonhallicken (1987), Clark Kent (1988), The Wild Duck (1989), and Midsommar (1991). Her other television credits include episodes of Gast hos Hagge, Schaurige Geschichten, Babels Hus, Stjamsmallar och Julpussar as Marianne, Kakan, Panik pa Kliniken, Cluedo — en Mordgata, Hotel Seger, and Bror & Syster. She was also the voice of Prillan in the animated ﬁlms Pettson och Findus — Katten och Gubbens ar (1999), Pettson och Findus — Kattonauten (2000), and Pettson och Findus 3: Tomtemaskinen (2005). Francoise Seigner

SELMECZI , ROLAND Hungarian actor Roland Selmeczi was killed in an automobile accident

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2008 • Obituaries

Jiri Sequens Roland Selmeczi

in Ujhartyan, Hungary, on January 30, 2008. He was 38. Selmeczi was born in Budapest, Hungary, on October 2, 1969. He appeared on stage, ﬁlm, and television, and dubbed such actors as Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas, and Keifer Sutherland for Hungarian release. Selmeczi was featured as Imre “Pilota” Bekes in the television series Kisvaros from 1993 to 1994, and appeared in episodes of Ang yalborben and Tea. He was also featured in the ﬁlms One Winter Behind God’s Back (1999), Uvegtigris (2001), Sacra Corona (2001), Stop Mom Theresa (2004), Uvegtigris 2 (2006), and Pumpheads (2006).

SENA, CHRIS Actor Christopher J. Sena died on February 26, 2008. He was 43. Sena was born on October 27, 1964. He was featured in numerous theatrical productions throughout Southern California and appeared onstage in New York City and in touring productions throughout the country. He was a

Brno, Czechoslovakia, on April 23, 1922. He studied ﬁlm in Moscow after World War II, before embarking on a career as a director in the late 1940s. Sequens helmed such ﬁlms as Vsedni Den (1949), Vetrna Hora (1955), The Unconquered (1956), Men Abroad (1957), Brother Ocean (1958), The Limits of Continents (1958), Middle Kingdom (1959), Forbidden Games (1959), The Death Chain (1959), Escape from the Shadows (1959), Kolik Slov Staci Lasce (1961), Wife for a Hero (1962), Devate Jmeno (1963), Atentat (1964), Erotes sti Lesvo (1967), Partie Krasneho Dragouna (1970), Penicka a Paraplicko (1970), Smrt Cernho Krale (1971), Vrazda v Hotelu Excelsio (1971), Kroika Zhaveho Leta (1973), Rukojmi v Bella Vista (1979), Ta Chvlle, Te Okarznik (1981), A Bitter Autumn with the Scent of Mango (1984), and Dva na Koni, Jeden na Oslu (1986). Sequens also worked in television, directing episodes of Hrisni Lide Mesta Prazskeho, 30 Pripadu Majora Zemana, and Bronze Screw.

SERGIANOPOULOS, NIKOS Greek television actor Nikos Sergianopoulos was found stabbed to death in his apartment in Pangrati, eastern Athens, Greece, on June 4, 2008. He was 55. Sergianopoulos was born in Drama, Greece, on September 24, 1952. He studied at the State Theater of Northern Greece and was a popular stage and television performer. He was best known for his role as Konstantino Markoras in the television series Dio Xenoi from 1997 to 1998. He was also seen in the television series Africa, Moiraio

Chris Sena

voice actor for the 1992 tele-ﬁlm Lincoln and for the video game The Curse of Monkey Island in 1997. He was also featured in the ﬁlms Family Audit (2000) and Titillating Steven (2003) and appeared on television in the soap opera All My Children.

SEQUENS, JIRI Czech ﬁlm director Jiri Sequens died at his home in Prague, Czech Republic, on January 21, 2008. He was 85. Sequens was born in

Nikos Sergianopoulos

Obituaries • 2008

394

Pathos, Enohi Agapi, Alma Libre, Oi Stavloi tis Erietas, Fae ti Sokolata Sou, Epaﬁ, Gamos me ta Ola Tou, and Polythrona gia Treis. He starred as Filippos Ioannou in the series I Exafanisi in 2008. He was also featured in the 2001 ﬁlm Oyunbozan. Sergianopoulos suffered from drug and alcohol abuse and was arrested in December of 2007 for possession of cocaine. It appeared that there had been a party at the actor’s apartment the evening of the murder and police speculated that the killer had been one of the people attending.

SERRAN, LEOPOLDO Brazilian screenwriter Leopoldo Serran, who was best known for the 1976 comedy Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, died of liver cancer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 20, 2008. He was 66. Serran was born in Rio de Janeiro on May 6, 1942. He met future ﬁlm director Carlos Diegues while in college and made his ﬁlm debut scripting his 1963 ﬁlm Gang Zumba. He also collaborated with Diegues for the 1966 ﬁlm The Big City and was a writer on the ﬁlms Copacabana Fools Me (1968), Desesperato (1968), Mascara da Traicao (1969), Um Certo Capitao Rodrigo (1971), A Estrela Sobe (1974), and Marilia e Marina (1976). He worked with director Bruno Barreto to adapt Jorge Amado’s novel Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands for the screen in 1976. The ﬁlm made an inter-

gracadinha ... Seus Amores e Seus Pecados (1995), and Carga Pesada (2003).

SHARP, ALEX Stuntman, actor and television writer Alex Sharp died in Los Angeles on March 6, 2008. He was 86. Sharp was born on September 16, 1921. He began working in ﬁlms in 1948, performing stunts and appearing in small roles in such ﬁlms as Harpoon (1948), Easy Living (1949), Rocky Mountain (1950), Up Front (1951), Apache Drums (1951), Jim Thorpe — All-American (1951), Little Eg ypt (1951), The

Alex Sharp (right, with Dan Blocker from Bonanza)

Leopoldo Serran

national star out of leading lady Sonia Braga, who also starred in a subsequent teaming of Serran and Barreto, Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon (1983), which was also based on an Amado novel. Serran’s other ﬁlm credits include The Rich Are Something Else (1977), Revolver de Brinquedo (1977), In the Mouth of the World (1978), Se Segura, Malandro! (1978), Nos Embalos de Ipanema (1978), O Born Marido (1978), Professor Kranz Tedesco di Germania (1978), Everything’s Alright (1978), The Good Bourgeois (1979), A Republica Dos Assassinos (1979), Beloved Lover (1979), Eu Matei Lucio Floavio (1979), Diegues’ Bye Brasil (1979), I Love You (1981), Two-Edged Knife (1989), O Quatrilho (1995), Pandora (1996), Barreto’s Four Days in September (1997) starring Alan Arkin, Ate que a Vida nos Separe (1999), O Dia da Caca (1999), The Passion of Jacobina (2002), and Onde Anda Voce (2004). Serran also worked in television, scripting the mini-series A Maﬁa no Brasil (1984), En-

Golden Horde (1951), Yankee Buccaneer (1951), Horizons West (1952), The Winning Team (1952), One Minute to Zero (1952), Androcles and the Lion (1952), Seminole (1953), The Mississippi Gambler (1953), Split Second (1953), Please Murder Me (1953), Wichita (1955), Red Sundown (1956), Tension at Table Rock (1956), Showdown at Abilene (1956), The Night Runner (1957), Spartacus (1960), It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), Young Guns of Texas (1962), Law of the Lawless (1964), The Great Race (1965), The War Wagon (1967), Planet of the Apes (1968), Bullitt (1968), The Great Bank Robbery (1969), Catch-22 (1970), Flap (1970), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Dirty Harry (1971), What’s Up Doc? (1972), Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972), Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973), Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976), Bound for Glory (1976), Telefon (1977), Zero to Sixty (1978), Sunburn (1979), The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982), The Goonies (1985), Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), The Rookie (1990), In the Line of Fire (1993), and Bedazzled (2000). Sharp also worked frequently in television from the early 1950s, appearing in the tele-ﬁlms Captains and the Kings (1976) and The Magniﬁcent Magical Magnet of Santa Mesa (1977), and working on such series as The Lone Ranger, Boston Blackie, The Cisco Kid, Have Gun —Will Travel, Gunsmoke serving as James Arness’ stunt double, Northwest Passage, Mr. Lucky, Bat Masterson, Peter Gunn, Dante, Ben Casey, Branded, Cheyenne, Batman, Branded, Mission: Impossible, The Virginian, Bonanza, Ironside, Cannon, Gunsmoke, Little House on the Prairie, Father Murphy, and Highway to Heaven. Sharp also wrote the 1964 western ﬁlm Vengeance, and scripted episodes of the series Bonanza, The High Chaparral, and The Cowboys.

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2008 • Obituaries

SHARP, WILLOUGHBY Performance artist Willoughby Sharp died of throat cancer in Manhattan, New York, on December 17, 2008. He was 72. Sharp was born in New York City on January 23, 1936. He began working in ﬁlms in 1967 shooting various works in 8mm, Super 8mm, and 16mm for such collections as Earth (1968) and Places & Process (1969). He moved to video in the early 1970s creating video sculptures such as Earthscopes (1969) and Einstein’s Eyes (1969). He began the Videoviews series of taped dialogues in 1970, and was the co-founder of Avalanche magazine with writer and ﬁlmmaker Liza Bear, which was pub-

Joseph Shaw

Dieppe (1993). Shaw appeared in several feature ﬁlms during his career including Lord Durham (1961), Change of Mind (1969), and David Cronenberg’s The Brood (1979) as the Coroner.

Willoughby Sharp

lished from 1970 to 1976. He created the autobiographical performance piece Saskia in 1974. Another conceptual piece, 1974’s Full Womb, consisted of Sharp climbing into an industrial dryer with a baby bottle, shutting the door, and imagining his parents making love while he tumbled. He served as curator for numerous art exhibitions throughout the world. Sharp was featured in several of Nick Zedd’s independent short ﬁlms including Police State (1987), Whoregasm (1988), and I Was a Quality of Life Violation (2004). He operated the Willoughby Sharp Gallery in SoHo from 1988 to 2004.

SHAW, JOSEPH

Actor Joseph Shaw died of complications from emphysema in a Stratford, Ontario, Canada, hospital on January 9, 2008. He was 88. Shaw was born in Lancashire, England, on January 6, 1920, and studied at the Central School of Drama in London. He moved to Canada in 1954 and began performing with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in the early 1960s. He was featured in numerous productions, including Macbeth, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, and Richard II. His ﬁnal role at Stratford was in a production of Henry IV, Part 1 in 2006. Shaw also appeared on television in episodes of Hudson’s Bay, The Unforeseen, The Mystery Maker, King of Kensington, Street Legal, the 1988 version of The Twilight Zone, and The Ray Bradbury Theater. His other television credits include productions of The Man Who Wanted to Live Forever (1970), The National Dream: Building the Impossible Railway (1974), War Brides (1980), Chasing Rainbows (1988), The Comedy of Errors (1989), and

SHAYNE, GLORIA Songwriter Gloria Shayne Baker, who composed the hit Christmas song “Do You Hear What I Hear?,” died of cancer at her home in Stamford, Connecticut, on March 6, 2008. She was 84. She was born Gloria Adele Shain in Brookline, Massachusetts, on September 4, 1923. She was an accomplished pianist and worked as an arranger for several composers including Irving Berlin. She married composer Noel Regney in 1951 and collaborated with him on numerous songs before their divorce in 1973. Their best known work was the 1962 carol “Do You Hear What I Hear?,” with music by Shayne and lyrics by Regney, in a turnabout from their usual writing arrangement. The song became a major hit with recordings by such artists as Bing Crosby, Robert Goulet, Perry Como, Bob Hope, Jim Nabors, Pat Boone, and many others. Shayne’s other songs include “Rain, Rain, Go Away” written with Regney, “Cruel World” recorded by James Darren, and Mike Douglas’ hit “The Men in My Little Girl’s Life.” SHAYON, ROBERT LEWIS Radio producer Robert Lewis Shayon died of pneumonia at his Frankfort, Kentucky, home on June 28, 2008. He was 95.

Robert Lewis Shayon

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396

Shayon was born in Brooklyn on August 15, 1912. He began working in radio in the 1930s and worked with Edward R. Murrow’s documentary unit at CBS in the post–World War II era. He directed the landmark radio documentaries Operation Crossroads (1946) about atomic energy, and The Eagle’s Brood (1947) about juvenile delinquency. He also produced the You Are There historical series in the late 1940s. Shayon was dismissed from CBS in 1950 when his name appeared on a blacklist from an anti–Communist pamphlet. He became The Christian Science Monitor’s ﬁrst television critic and later served as television critic for The Saturday Review for over 20 years. He also wrote several books including 1951’s Television and Our Children. Shayon served on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communications from 1965 until his retirement in 1990.

SHELTON, LAURA Actress Carol Monson, who performed under the name Laura Shelton, died of complications from Crohn’s disease in an El Paso, Texas, hospital on May 15, 2008. She was 72. She was born Carol Jean Ready in Eastland, Texas, on September 5, 1935. She moved to California in the late 1950s where she studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse’s

Laura Shelton

theatrical school. She performed on stage and was featured on television in episodes of Wagon Train, Harrigan and Son, Miami Undercover, The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, The Beverly Hillbillies, My Favorite Martian, and Death Valley Days. She was also seen in the 1963 ﬁlm FBI Code 98. She married director Carl J. Monson in 1961 and left acting later in the decade to raise a family. She and Monson divorced in 1972 and she returned to El Paso.

SHIVAS, MARK British ﬁlm and television producer Mark Shivas died of cancer in London on October 14, 2008. He was 70. Shivas was born in Banstead, Surrey, England, on April 24, 1938. He began writing for a ﬁlm magazine in the early 1960s and joined Granada TV in 1964. He directed the series What the Papers Say and produced and hosted Cinema. He joined the BBC in the late 1960s, where he produced the popular series The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970). Shivas also oversaw such television productions as The Tragedy of King Richard II (1970), Danton (1970), Casanova (1971), Joy (1972), Poet Game (1972), To Encourage the Others (1972), The Edwardians (1972), Black and Blue (1973), The Saliva Milkshake (1975), The Evacuees (1975), Man Above Men (1973), Private Practice (1973), Funny Farm (1975), The Saturday Party (1975), 84 Charing Cross Road (1975), Diane (1975), Abide with Me (1976), Rogue Male (1976), The Glittering Prizes (1976), Fathers and Families (1977), The Three Hostages (1977), Professional Foul (1977), She Fell Among Thieves (1978), On Giant’s Shoulders (1979), Telford’s Change (1979), Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1979), Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (1981), The Borgias (1981), The Price (1985), and Hans My Hedgehog (1988) on Jim Henson’s The Storyteller. Shivas was named Head of Drama for the BBC in 1988 and served as Head of Films there from 1993 to 1997. His television productions included Hallelujah Anyhow (1990), Heading Home (1991), The Lost Language of Cranes (1991), Maria’s Child (1992), Memento Mori (1992), Great Moments in Aviation (1993), The Cormorant (1993), Femme Fatale (1993), Genghis Cohn (1993), Clothes in the Wardrobe (1993), The Long Roads (1993), The Snapper (1993), All Things Bright and Beautiful (1994), and Midnight Movie (1994). Shivas also produced numerous feature ﬁlms including Richard’s Things (1980), Bad Blood (1981), Moonlighting (1982), A Private Function (1984), The Witches (1990), Truly Madly Deeply (1990), The Grass Arena (1991), Enchanted April (1992), The Railway Station Man (1992), The Trial (1993), The Hawk (1993), Century (1993), A Man of No Importance (1994), Captives (1994), Priest (1994), An Awfully Big Adventure (1995), Two Deaths (1995), Small Faces (1996), The Van (1996), Jude (1996), The Designated Mourner (1997), Regeneration (1997), and I

SHERMAN, JERRY Character actor and comic Sherman Axelrod, who performed under the name Jerry Sherman, died in Los Angeles on September 17, 2008. He was 78. He was born on June 12, 1930. Sherman was featured in such ﬁlms as The Center of the World (2001), The Heartbreak Kid (2007), The Comebacks (2007), Smother (2008), and Get Smart (2008). He was also seen on television in episodes of October Road and Scrubs. Robert Shivas

397 Went Down (1997). Shivas formed his own independent production company, Perpetual Motion Pictures, in 1997, where he was a producer for the ﬁlms Painted Angels (1998), The Revengers’ Comedies (1998), Hideous Kinky (1998), The Claim (2000), and I Capture the Castle (2003), and the television productions Talking Heads 2 (1998), Telling Tales (2000), and Cambridge Spies (2003). He co-founded Headline Pictures in 2006, serving as chairman until poor health forced his retirement.

SHNEIDER, NATASHA Russian singer and actress Natasha Shneider died of cancer on July 2, 2008. She was 52. Shneider was born in Moscow on May 22, 1956. She began working as an actress in the United States in the early 1980s, appearing in episodes of Hill Street Blues and Miami Vice. She was featured as Irina Yakunina in the 1984 science ﬁction sequel 2010 and was seen in the 1986 ﬁlm Spiker. Shneider teamed with

2008 • Obituaries

tober 13, 2008. He was 48. Siatkowski was born in Koszalin, Poland, on July 31, 1960. He began his career on stage in the mid–1980s and became a leading performer with the Jaracz Theater in Lodz. Siatkowski was also featured in numerous ﬁlms including 1–1 (1986), Child’s Scenes of Provincial Life (1986), Cheap Money (1986), Bermuda Triangle (1988), Hotch-Potch (1988), Topsy Turvy, or Hotch-Potch II (1989), The Scoundrel (1990), Burial of a Potato (1990), Three Days Without Conviction (1991), Kroll (1991), Death as a Slice of Bread (1994), Bitter-Sweet (1996), The Commanders Sword (1996), Demony Wojny Wedlug Goi (1998), Reich (2001), Pitbull (2005), Zamek (2006), and Stary Czlowiek i Pies (2008). He also appeared in television productions of Kanclerz (1991), Lata i Dni (1997), Twarze i Maski (2001), and Na Dobre i Na Zie (2003).

SIDNEY , ROBERT Choreographer Robert Sidney died of pneumonia in a Los Angeles hospital on March 26, 2008. He was 98. Sidney was born in New York City on October 9, 1909. He began his career onstage as a dancer, appearing in Broadway productions of On Your Toes (1936) and Keep Off the Grass (1940). He entered the U.S. Army during World War II, serving with the Special Services Division. He became principal choreographer for the military musical revue This Is the Army, which premiered on Broadway in 1942. The show toured military bases throughout the world and was ﬁlmed in 1943. After the war, Sidney returned to the theater. He choreographed the 1948 ﬁlm

Natasha Shneider

her husband Alain Johannes to form the band Walk the Moon in 1987. The rock group was renamed Eleven when Jack Irons came aboard in 1990. They recorded ﬁve albums and had their biggest hit with the single “Reach Out.” They also wrote songs for other artists including No Doubt and Chris Cornell.

SIATKOWSKI, DARIUSZ Polish actor Dariusz Siatkowski died suddenly in Lodz, Poland, on OcRobert Sidney (right, with Irving Berlin)

Dariusz Siatkowski

The Loves of Carmen and was also featured onscreen as a specialty dancer. His other ﬁlm credits as choreographer include Slightly French (1949), Jumping Jacks (1952), Bloodhounds of Broadway (1952), Susan Slept Here (1954), The Conqueror (1956), The Opposite Sex (1956), You Can’t Run Away from It (1956), Party Girl (1958), Where the Boys Are (1960), Looking for Love (1964), The Pleasure Seekers (1964), How to Murder Your Wife (1965), The Silencers (1966), The Singing Nun (1966), and Valley of the Dolls (1967). Sidney also worked frequently in television, directing episodes of The Betty Hutton Show in 1960 and staging numbers for such entertainers as Mitzi Gaynor, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Pearl Bailey, Perry Como, Toni Martin, and

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398

Joey Heatherton. Sidney’s memoir, With Malice Toward Some, Tales from a Life Dancing with Stars, was published in 2003.

SILBERKLEIT , MICHAEL Michael Silberkleit, the chairman of Archie Comic Publications, died of cancer in New York City on August 5, 2008. He was 76. He was born in New York City on April 27, 1932, the son of Louis Silberkleit, who had co-founded Archie Comics with John Goldwater and Maurice Coyne in 1939. Originally the company was called MLJ Comics and super heroes dominated the titles. The red-headed, freckled-faced Archie Andrews made his debut in 1941, and he and his pals and gals including Paul Sills

Michael Silberkleit

Betty, Veronica, and Jughead soon became the focal point of the Archie Comics line. The gang’s wholesome adventures continued unabated for over 60 years. The young Silberkleit and Richard Goldwater, son of another co-founder, worked for the comic company from childhood and eventually took control of the business. Silberkleit was instrumental in the development of such later characters as Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and Josie and the Pussycats, and served as an executive consultant for the Sabrina television series starring Melissa Joan Hart in the 1990s. Archie Comics under Silberkleit also published comics featuring such licensed properties as Sonic the Hedgehog and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

SILLS, PAUL Paul Sills, who founded the famed Chicago comedy improv group The Second City, died of complications from pneumonia at his home in Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin, on June 2, 2008. He was 80. Sills was born on November 18, 1927, the son of Viola Spolin, who authored the ﬁrst book on improvisational theater. Sills attended the University of Chicago where he directed campus productions. He co-founded Compass Players in 1955, which was the ﬁrst improv theater in the United States. He and several partners opened The Second City in 1959, and Sills directed there through 1965. The comedy troupe was responsible for training such comic talent as Alan Arkin, Jerry Stiller, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, and John Belushi. He also staged productions on Broadway and Off Broadway and was nominated for a Tony

Award for Story Theatre in 1971. He continued to direct and teach and formed various acting workshops over the next two decades. Sills was also featured in a small role in the 1988 ﬁlm Another Woman. SILVA, CARMEM Brazilian actress Carmem Silva died in Porto Alegra, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on April 21, 2008. She was 92. Silva was born in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, on April 5, 1916. She performed in stage, ﬁlm and television productions for over 60 years from the mid–1940s. Silva was featured in such ﬁlms as El Angel Desnudo (1946), Quase no Ceu (1949), Carnaval em La Major (1955), Rebeliao em Vila Rica (1957), The Grand Moment (1958), Elas (1970), Conjugal Warfare (1975), Erotic Stories (1977), Amor de Pervarsao (1982), Idolatrada (1983), O Gato de Botas Extrater-

Carmem Silva

restre (1990), Ate Logo, Mamae (1997), Lembra, Meu Velho? (2002), Margarette’s Feast (2003), Tea Time (2005), and Valsa Para Bruno Stein (2007). She was a familiar face in telenovelas from the 1970s with roles in such productions as Pigmaliao 70, A Proxima Atracao, Minha Doce Namorada, Signo de Esperanca, Bel Amy, Quero Viver, Vendraval, Vidas Marcadas, Os Ossos do Barao, Idolo de Pano, A Viagem, Cara a Cara, Pe de Vento, Os Adolescentes, Baila Comigo, Nino da Serpente, Campeao, Sabor de Mel, Meus Filhos, Minha Vida, O Primo Basilio, Mulheres Apaixonadas, and A Diarista as Dona Gilda.

399 SILVER , TONY Documentary ﬁlmmaker Tony Silver, who explored hip-hop culture in the 1983 ﬁlm Style Wars, died of a brain tumor at his home in Los Angeles on February 1, 2008. He was 72. Silver was born in Manhattan, New York, on April 15, 1935. He worked in the ﬁlm industry creating trailers and promotional material for ﬁlms and television. He re-

2008 • Obituaries

(1956), Away All Boats (1956), Pillars of the Sky (1956), Written on the Wind (1956), Rock, Pretty Baby (1956), The Tattered Dress (1957), The Deadly Mantis (1957), the musical South Paciﬁc (1958) as Cmdr. Bill Harbison, Party Girl (1958), and Twice Told Tales (1963) as the ghost of Mathew Maulle. Simmons was also featured on television in episodes of Studio 57, The Gale Storm Show, The Restless Gun, and Margie.

SJOSTRAND, PER Swedish actor and director Per Sjostrand died in Sweden on October 25, 2008. He was 78. Sjostrand was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on July 29, 1930. He trained with the Royal Dramatic Theatre and performed there throughout the 1950s. He joined the Helsingborg City Theatre in 1962, serving as theatre manager until 1968. Sjostrand remained a leading stage actor and director throughout his career and was noted for his interpretations of the works of Vilhelm Moberg. He also performed on ﬁlms and television, with roles in Jens Mansson in America (1947), Deﬁance (1952), Skuggan (1953), Unmarried Mothers (1953), Vald (1955), Karlek pa Turne (1955), Sceningang (1956), Ingmar Bergman’s Wild Strawberries (1957), Tony Silver

ceived a Clio Award for his trailer for Oliver Stone’s 1986 ﬁlm Platoon. Silver produced directed the 1983 documentary Style Wars that depicted the early hiphop culture including grafﬁti, rap music, and break dancing. Silver and Henry Chalfant produced a follow-up ﬁlm, Style Wars: Revisited, which tracked the grafﬁti writers of the original ﬁlm 20 years later, in 2003.

SIMMONS , FLOYD Actor Floyd “Chunk” Simmons died in Charlotte, North Carolina, on April 1, 2008. He was 84. Simmons was born in Charlotte on April 25, 1923. A star athlete in high school and college, he served in the 10th Mountain Division during World War II. He earned bronze medals in the decathlon at the Olympic games in London in 1948 and Helsinki, Finland, in 1952. He moved to Hollywood in the early 1950s, where he was featured in such ﬁlms as The Price of Fear (1956), Francis in the Haunted House (1956), Outside the Law (1956), Behind the High Wall

Floyd Simmons

Per Sjostrand

Jazz Boy (1958), Who Saw Him Die? (1968), The Sanctuary (1970), The Touch (1971), Gustav III (1974), Agaton Sax and the Bykoebing Village Festival (1976) as the voice of Mosca, Bluff Stop (1977), Proﬁtorema (1983), Mio in the Land of Faraway (1987) as the Swedish voice of Eno, Forhoret (1989), Kopplingen (1991), Macklean (1993), and Where the Rainbow Ends (1999). Sjostrand also wrote and directed television adaptations of A Doll’s House (1970), Jarl Ankeman (1971), Din Stund pa Jorden (1973), Raskens (1976), and Mor Gifter Sig (1979). He also helmed productions of Rid i Natt! (1985) and Sammansvarjningen (1986).

SKATULA, KATHRYN Actress Kathryn Skatula died from complications of ALS at her home in Valley Village, California, on July 21, 2008. She was 54. Skatula was born in Tacoma, Washington, on June 11, 1954. She studied music and theater while in college before touring with such singing groups as The New Christy Minstrels. She moved to Los Angeles in 1977, where she embarked on a career as an actress. She performed in numerous national touring productions, in-

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400

Kathryn Skatula

Jimmy Slyde

cluding Nine, Annie, and Peter Pan with Cathy Rigby. She made her television debut in a 1985 episode of Riptide, and was featured in an ABC Afterschool Special in 1989. She also appeared in the tele-ﬁlms Out on a Limb (1987) and Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story (1995) as Florence Savitch. Skatula was also seen in several ﬁlms during her career including Life Stinks (1991) and Purgatory House (2004).

Noted for his ability to glide across the stage seemingly without effort, he worked with such musicians as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Louis Armstrong. Slyde moved to Paris in the 1970s, where he helped to introduce rhythm tap. He also appeared in the Paris production of the revue Black and Blue in 1985. He also performed in the Tony Award–winning Broadway production in 1989. Slyde appeared in several ﬁlms including The Cotton Club (1984), ’Round Midnight (1986), and Tap (1989). He also continued to perform on the tap festival circuit until poor health limited his abilities in recent years.

SLOAN, TIFFANY Tiffany Sloan, who was Playboy’s Playmate of the Month in October of 1992, died in Las Vegas on November 1, 2008. She was 35. Sloan was born in Orange County, California, on May 29, 1973. After her appearance in Playboy in 1992,

SMITH, LIONEL MARK Character actor Lionel Mark Smith, who appeared in many of David Mamet’s ﬁlms and plays, died of cancer at his home in Inglewood, California, on February 13, 2008. He was 62. Smith was born in Chicago, Illinois, on February 5, 1946. He came from a troubled childhood and struggled to overcome the hardships of his youth. He served in the U.S. Army in Germany during the Vietnam War and studied at the Goodman School of Drama after his discharge. He ﬁrst met David Mamet while working in Chicago theater and became part of his stock company of actors. He appeared in many of his plays and ﬁlms, including the features The Postman (1981), Things Change (1980), Homicide (1991), The Spanish Prisoner (1997), State and Main (2000), Spartan (2004), and Edmond (2005). Mamet’s casting of Smith in the 1994

Tiffany Sloan

she appeared in several video compilations from the magazine. She also worked as a model and appeared on television in an episode of Married ... With Children in 1993. Sloan was working as an exotic dancer at a gentlemen’s club in Las Vegas at the time of her death.

SLYDE, JIMMY Jimmy Slyde, a leading tap dancer from the big-band era, died after a long illness at his home in Hanson, Massachusetts, on May 16, 2008. He was 80. He was born James Titus Godbolt in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 2, 1927. He moved to Massachusetts with his family as a child where he studied tap dancing. He was soon performing in local clubs, teaming with Jimmy Mitchell as the Slyde Brothers.

Lionel Mark Smith

401 play Oleanna caused some controversy when the Mark Taper Forum refused to allow the production on their stage, saying Mamet’s tale of sexual harassment on a college campus took on racial connotations with Smith, a black man, in the lead. Mamet refused to change his casting and moved the production to another venue. Smith’s other ﬁlm credits include Youngblood (1978), Galaxina (1980), Above Suspicion (1995), Life Among the Cannibals (1996), Road Ends (1997), Stranger in My House (1990), the tele-ﬁlm The Con (1998), Treasure of Pirate’s Point (1999), The Mod Squad (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Man Who Ate a Car (2000), Wonderous Oblivion (2003), King of the Ants (2003), and Stuck (2007). He was also featured in episodes of numerous television series from the 1980s including Park Place, Lou Grant, St. Elsewhere, Hill Street Blues, T.J. Hooker, Night Court, Remington Steele, Benson, L.A. Law, Frank’s Place, What’s Happening Now!, Hardball, 227, Batman: The Animated Series, Beverly Hills 90210, Cracker, NYPD Blue, The Zeta Project, The Shield, Days of Our Lives, and The Unit. A short ﬁlm about the actor’s life entitled Larry (the Actor) was released in 2008.

SMITH, MIKE Mike Smith, the lead singer and organist for the 1960s British rock group The Dave Clark Five, died in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, on February 28, 2008. He suffered from pneumonia and other complications of a 2003 spinal cord injury that had left him largely paralyzed. He was 64. Smith was born in Edmonton, England, on December 6, 1943. The Dave Clark Five was one of the more popular British bands that followed in the wake of the Beatles in the early 1960s. Smith often helped write songs for the band, which included the popular hits “Glad All Over” and “Over and Over.” They made over a dozen

Mike Smith

appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and guest starred in the 1966 Lucille Ball special Lucy in London. Smith and the band also made a cameo appearance in the 1964 ﬁlm Get Yourself a College Girl and starred in the 1965 ﬁlm Having a Wild Weekend. The group disbanded in 1970, but Smith and drummer Dave Clark continued to perform together for a while in the early 1970s. He worked primarily as a songwriter and producer over the next 2 decades before returning to the

2008 • Obituaries

stage in the 1990s with his own band, Mike Smith’s Rock Engine. He was injured in 2003 when he suffered a fall while climbing over the locked garden gate behind his home in Spain.

SMITH, NORMAN British record producer and engineer Norman “Hurricane” Smith died of cancer in East Sussex, England, on March 3, 2008. He was 85. Smith was born in Edmonton, North London, on February 22, 1923. He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II and began working as a jazz musician in dance-halls after the war. He began working as an engineer at EMI Recording Studios in 1959. He became the engineer for The Beatles in 1962 and worked on all of their EMI studio recordings through

Norman Smith

early 1966. He was promoted to senior producer and produced the ﬁrst two albums of the rock group Pink Floyd, Piper at the Gates of Dawn and Saucerful of Secrets. He also produced the Pretty Things’ 1968 album S.F. Sorrow. Smith began a solo career as a singer under the name Hurricane Smith in 1971, recording the hit “Don’t Let It Die.” He also had hits with “Oh Babe What Would You Say?,” “My Mother Was Her Name,” “Beautiful Day, Beautiful Night,” and “To Make You My Baby” in the early 1970s.

SMITH , WONDERFUL Black comedian Wonderful Smith, who performed a ground-breaking comedy routine in Duke Ellington’s musical revue Jump for Joy in the early 1940s, died in a Northridge, California, nursing home on August 28, 2008. He was 97. Smith was born in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, on June 21, 1911. His moved to Los Angeles to work as a driver at the age of 16. Smith met actress Hattie McDaniel on a streetcar in 1935 and became her chauffeur and close friend. He escorted her to the Academy Award ceremonies in 1940 when she received the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind. Smith was cast in Duke Ellington’s revue Jump for Joy in Los Angeles in 1941 and performed a skit featuring an imaginary conversation with President Franklin Roosevelt. The routine was controversial for a black man in that era and led to a role for Smith on The Red Skelton Radio Show. He also performed the skit in the 1941 ﬁlm Top Sergeant Mulligan and appeared

Obituaries • 2008

402 McLaughlin Group, Face the Nation, The MacNeilLehrer NewsHour, and Good Morning America. He became host of FOX News Sunday in 1996 and was a frequent guest host on Rush Limbaugh’s radio program. He got his own program on Fox News Radio, The Tony Snow Show, in 2003. He replaced Scott McClellan as White House Press Secretary in April of 2006. He left the position in September of 2007 after undergoing treatment for recurrent cancer. He brieﬂy joined CNN as a conservative political commentator in April of 2008.

Wonderful Smith

in Over My Dead Body in 1942. He served in the army during World War II and worked as a disc jockey for the Armed Forces Radio Service. He returned to the Red Skelton Radio Show after the war but was ﬁred in 1947. He continued to perform comedy routines in nightclubs and on radio. He began appearing as a character actor in ﬁlms and television in the early 1970s. He was featured in episodes of The Bold Ones: The New Doctor, Love, American Style, Happy Days, Harry O, That’s My Mama, Ellery Queen, CHiPs, and Webster. He was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms James Michener’s Dynasty (1976), Ring of Passion (1978), Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (1981), Not Just Another Affair (1982), and Lily in Winter (1994). Smith also appeared in several ﬁlms including A Piece of the Action (1977), Oh, God! (1977), the cult classic rock pseudo-documentary This Is Spinal Tap (1984) in a notable role as the janitor, and To Sleep with Anger (1990).

SNOW, TONY Political commentator Tony Snow, who served as President George W. Bush’s White House Press Secretary, died of colon cancer in Washington, D.C., on July 12, 2008. He was 53. He was born Robert Anthony Snow in Berea, Kentucky, on June 1, 1955. He began his career after college as a journalist and editorial writer for such publications as The Washington Times and the Detroit News. He joined the White House staff of President George H.W. Bush in 1991 as a chief speech writer and deputy assistant to the president for media affairs. He appeared frequently on television programs from the early 1990s including The

Tony Snow

SOKOLOVIC-BERTOK, SEMKA Croatian actress Semka Sokolovic-Bertok died of a stroke in Zagreb, Croatia, on March 6, 2008. She was 72. Sokolovic-Bertok was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on December 22, 1935. She was active on stage and screen from the 1950s, with such ﬁlms credits as U Mrezi (1956), Kapo (1959), The King’s New Clothes (1961), Back of the Medal (1965), Protest (1967), Difjii Andjeli (1969), Short Night of the Glass Dolls (1971), Pucanj (1977), Operation Stadium (1977), Journalist (1979), All That Jack’s (1980), The Smell of Quinces (1982), Variola Vera (1982), Heads or Tails (1983), In the

Semka Sokolovic-Bertok

Jaws of Life (1984), The War Boy (1985), Opasna Baba (1985), Navijac (1985), Taiwan Canasta (1985), Debeli i Mrsavi (1985), Anticasanova (1985), Obecana Zemlja (1986), The Magpie Strateg y (1987), Azra (1988), Masmediologija na Balkanu (1989), Balkanska Perestrojka (1990), Lieto za Sjecanje (1990), Fatal Sky (1990), Hajde da se Volimo 3 (1990), Fragments: Chronicle of a Wanishing (1991), Caruga (1991), Born to Ride (1991), The Pope Must Die (1991), Mor (1992), A Taste of Lemon (1993), Rock ’n’ Roll (1994), Prolazi Sve (1995), Guardian of the Frontier (2002), God Forbid a Worse Thing Should Happen (2002), Days and Hours (2004), Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams (2006), The Fourth Man (2007), and Love and Other Crimes (2008). Sokolovic was also featured in such television productions as Lenjinu Africi (1973), Marija (1976), Roko i Cicibela (1978), Kraljevo (1981), Steﬁca Cvek u Raljama Zivota (1984), Nobody Will Laugh (1985), Putovanje u Vucjak (1986), Sidney Sheldon’s Memories of Midnight (1991),

403 Each Time We Part Away (1994), Novogodisnja Pljacka (1997), Bad News or International Women’s Day (2000), and The Enclave (2002).

SOLAS , HUMBERTO Cuban ﬁlm director Humberto Solas died of cancer in Havana, Cuba, on September 17, 2008. He was 66. Solas was born in Havana on December 14, 1941. He directed several documentaries and shorts in the early 1960s before helming his ﬁrst feature, Manuela, in 1966. He earned international acclaim for writing and directing the 1968 ﬁlm Lucia. He remained a leading ﬁgure in Cuban cinema

Humberto Solas

over the next four decades, with such ﬁlm credits as Crear 1, 2, 3... (1970), Un Dia de Noviembre (1972), Simparele (1974), La Cantata de Chile (1975), Nacer en Leningrado (1977), Wilfredo Lam (1979), Cecilia (1982), Amada (1983), A Successful Man (1985), Obataleo (1988), El Siglo de las Luces (1992), Retrato de la Habana (1998), Honey for Oshun (2001), Bario Cuba (2005), and Adela (2005). Solas was awarded Cuba’s National Film Prize in 2005.

SOLLENBERGER, DICK Actor Dick Sollenberger died of cancer in Hartford, Connecticut, on March 24, 2008. He was 67. Sollenberger was born on July 10, 1940. He was active in ﬁlms and television in the 1980s and 1990s, with such ﬁlm credits as Four Friends (1981), Bad Boys (1983), The Naked Face (1984), Teachers (1984), Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), Big Shots (1987), Only the Lonely (1991), Mad Dog and Glory (1993), Excessive Force (1993), and The Fence (1994). Sollenberger was also featured in the tele-ﬁlm Off the Minnesota Strip (1980) and in episodes of such series as Lady Blue, Sable, Missing Persons, and Early Edition. SOLZHENITSYN, ALEKSANDR Nobel Prize– winning Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn died of heart failure at his home in Moscow on August 3, 2008. He was 89. Solzhenitsyn was born in Kislovodsk, Russia, on December 11, 1918, several months after his father’s death in a hunting accident. He was raised in difﬁcult circumstances by his widowed mother and an aunt. He attended Rostov State University, where he studied mathematics and physics. He was drafted into the Soviet Red Army after Germany invaded during

2008 • Obituaries

World War II and served as commander of a battery on the front lines. Near the end of the war Solzhenitsyn was arrested for a remark he had made in a letter to a friend about Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. He was accused of anti–Soviet propaganda and imprisoned at Lubyanka prison in Moscow. He was sentenced to an eight-year term in a labor camp in July of 1945. He spent the next eight years at several labor camps before his release in March of 1953. He was then sent into internal exile for life in southern Kazakstan. He had been diagnosed with stomach cancer and was allowed to receive treatment in a hospital in Tashkent. He was freed from exile after Nikita Khrushchev took power in 1956. He began writing in secret while teaching secondary school. With some trepidation he approached Alexander Tvardovsky, the editor of the Noviy Mir magazine with the manuscript of his novel One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, based on his experiences in the labor camps. The book was published in 1962, and several of his novellas were also allowed in print while Khrushchev was still in power. After Leonid Brezhnev brought in a more hard-line government, Solzhenitsyn’s works became banned by the government. The KGB seized many of his papers and manuscripts, and his novel The Cancer Ward, about his own experiences while still imprisoned, was forbidden publication in Russia. The Cancer Ward and another novel, The First Circle, were both published in Europe and the United States. He continued to work in secret on what became his most acclaimed work, The Gulag Archipelago. He was expelled from the Soviet Union of Writers in 1969 but was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature the following year. Solzhenitsyn was unable to travel to Stockholm to receive the award in person, as he feared he would not be allowed to return to Russia. The Gulag Archipelago was smuggled from behind the Iron Curtain and was published in Paris in December of 1973. The following February Solzhenitsyn was arrested for treason and deported from Russia. He was sent to Frankfurt, West Germany, and eventually settled in Cavendish, Vermont, in 1976, where he lived a reclusive life with his family, who were allowed to join him. He was allowed to return home after the collapse of Communism and received a hero’s welcome in 1994. He settled in a country estate outside of Moscow in the village of

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

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Troitse-Lykovo, where he continued his reclusive lifestyle. Some of his later writings, including Rebuilding Russia (1990) and Russia in Collapse deplored some of the excesses that came with the new Russian democracy, without nostalgia for the old Communist system. He brieﬂy had his own weekly television show in Russia after his return. He also wrote a series of histories about the 1917 Russian Revolution. A television adaptation of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich starring Jason Robards aired on Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre in 1963, and a feature ﬁlm starring Tom Courtenay was released in 1970. A Swedish ﬁlm version of The First Circle was released in 1973, and an adaptation of his story The Love Girl and the Innocent aired on British television’s Play of the Month in 1973. The First Circle was adapted as a U.S. tele-ﬁlm in 1992 and became a ten-part mini-series on Russian television in 2006, with Solzhenitsyn narrating.

SOPANEN, JERI Finnish cinematographer Jeri Sopanen died of cancer on September 21, 2008. He was 79. He was director of photography for numerous television documentaries including episodes of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau and National Geographic Specials, and Plimpton! The Great Quarterback Sneak (1971), Plimpton! Adventures in Africa (1972), Plimpton! At the Wheel (1972), In Search of Ancient Mysteries (1975), Madness (1984), Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn (1993), and The American Experience: Houdini (2000). He was also cinematographer for the

Jeri Sopanen

ﬁlms I Could Never Have Sex with Any Man Who Has So Little Regard for My Husband (1973), Promised Lands (1974), The Outer Space Connection (1975), the teleﬁlm The Bermuda Depths (1978), My Dinner with Andre (1981), Routes of Exile: A Moroccan Jewish Odyssey (1983), The Gig (1985), The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt (1986), The Odyssey Tapes (1988), Depression (1988), The Luckiest Man in the World (1989), Intermezzo (1998), Urban Relics (1998), Italian Lessons (1998), Farewell Colette (2001), The Reawakening (2004), and Soul of an Empire (2006). Sopanen shared a Daytime Emmy Award for his work on the television series 3-2-1— Contact in 1989.

SORENSEN, PAUL Veteran character actor Paul Sorensen died in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California,

Paul Sorensen

on July 17, 2008. He was 82. Sorensen was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on May 1, 1926. He headed to Hollywood in 1945, where he attended the Pasadena Playhouse. He resumed his acting career after serving in the military during the Korean War. Sorensen appeared in hundreds of ﬁlms and television productions from the mid–1950s. His ﬁlm credits include Las Vegas Shakedown (1955), Inside Detroit (1956), Glory (1956), Dance with Me Henry (1956), The Women of Pitcairn Island (1956), The Brass Legend (1956), Battle Hymn (1957), The True Story of Lynn Stuart (1958), The Steel Claw (1961), Flower Drum Song (1961), Kid Galahad (1962) with Elvis Presley, Captain Newman, M.D. (1963), The Satan Bug (1965), Chamber of Horrors (1966), A Guide for the Married Man (1967), Madigan (1968), Hang ’Em High (1968) with Clint Eastwood, Live a Little, Love a Little (1968), The Big Bounce (1969), Support Your Local Sheriff (1969), Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came? (1970), Evel Knievel (1971), The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler (1971), Lapin 360 (1972), One Little Indian (1973), Girls on the Road (1973), Executive Action (1973), Westworld (1973), Disney’s Escape to Witch Mountain (1975), Smokey and the Bandit (1977) with Burt Reynolds, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), and Cage (1989). Sorensen was seen frequently on television, appearing in the teleﬁlms Scalplock (1966), Shadow on the Land (1968), The Heist (1972), The Alpha Caper (1973), Money to Burn (1973), The Elevator (1974), A Cry in the Wilderness (1974), Columbo: A Friend in Deed (1974), The Missing Are Deadly (1975), Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway (1976), Sherlock Holmes in New York (1976), Flamingo Road (1980), and The Return of Frank Cannon (1980). His other television credits also include episodes of such series as Stories of the Century, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Adventures of Wild Bill Hickock, Crossroads, Fury, Cheyenne, Annie Oakley, The Silent Service, Tales of the Texas Rangers, Casey Jones, Wagon Train, 26 Men, The Restless Gun, Jefferson Drum, Frontier Doctor, Highway Patrol, Cimarron City, Have Gun —Will Travel, Johnny Ringo, Tombstone Territory, Law of the Plainsman, Black Saddle, Zane Grey Theater, The Deputy, The Westerner, Ripcord, The Case of the Dangerous Robin, COronado 9, Bat Masterson, Target: The Corruptors, Tales of Wells Fargo, The New Breed, The

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Lloyd Bridges Show, The Dick Powell Show, The Riﬂeman, The Virginian, The Untouchables, Ben Casey, The Outer Limits, The Rogues, Rawhide, Slattery’s People, My Favorite Martian, Burke’s Law, Honey West, Perry Mason, F Troop, Twelve O’Clock High, The Monkees, The Iron Horse, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Fugitive, The Invaders, Cimarron Strip, The Wild Wild West, It Takes a Thief, The Guns of Will Sonnett, Family Affair, That Girl, Land of the Giants, The Big Valley, The Mod Squad, Bewitched, Here Come the Brides, Death Valley Days, The High Chaparral, Lancer, The Name of the Game, The Brady Bunch, Alias Smith and Jones, My Three Sons, Here’s Lucy, Mission: Impossible, The Streets of San Francisco, The F.B.I., Banyon, McMillan & Wife, Cannon, Emergency!, The Rookies, Apple’s Way, The Waltons, Ironside, The New Land, Mannix, Gunsmoke, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Marcus Welby, M.D., Mobile One, S.W.A.T., The Blue Knight, Mary Tyler Moore, Barnaby Jones, The Rockford Files, Charlie’s Angels, CHiPs, Kaz, Quincy, Trapper John, M.D., Salvage 1, Young Maverick, Dynasty, Flamingo Road, Lou Grant, Vega$, Simon & Simon, and Blue Thunder. Sorensen was featured in the recurring role of Andy Bradley in the prime-time soap opera Dallas from 1979 to 1986.

SORYA, GENEVIEVE French actress Genevieve Sorya died in Paris on March 23, 2008. She was 95. She was born Genevieve Marie Therese Durand in Paris on June 23, 1912. She studied at the Conservatory of Dramatic Art in the early 1930s. She appeared frequently on stage throughout the decade, and was also seen in the ﬁlms Les Jumeaux de Brighton (1936), The Man of the Hour (1937), The Puritan (1938), Sirocco

SORRIBAS, JAUME Spanish actor Jaume Sorribas died of cancer in Barcelona, Spain, on January 23, 2008. He was 59. Sorribas was born in Sallent, Spain, on May 15, 1948. He began his career as an actor in the 1960s and was a founding member of the Els Joglars troupe, where he performed from 1966 to 1976. Sorribas also appeared in such ﬁlms as Autopista A-2-7 (1977), Mother Dearly Beloved (1980), La Batalla del

(1938), The End of the Day (1939), Sur le Plancher des Vaches (1940), and L’Irresistible Rebelle (1940). Sorya was married to actor Henri Dreyfus (known on stage as Henri Murray), and they had a daughter, Francoise Dreyfus, in 1932. Francoise later became the internationally acclaimed actress Anouk Aimee. Sorya returned to the screen in 1982 to appear with her daughter in “What Makes David Run?”

Genevieve Sorya

SPALDING , HARRY Screenwriter Harry Spalding died in Oakland, California, on July 8, 2008. He was 95. Spalding was born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, on June 19, 1913. He began working in ﬁlms as a booker and buyer in San Francisco where he met ﬁlmmaker Robert Lippert. He began working with Lippert as a story editor and writer in the late 1950s. He scripted and produced the 1960 comedy Freckles and produced the 1961 ﬁlm The Seven Women from Hell. Spalding was a very proliﬁc screenwriter in

Jaume Sorribas

Porro (1982), La Rebelion de los Pajaros (1982), Entre Parentesis (1982), Eternal Fire (1985), My General (1987), Cain (1987), Poster no Sigui Massa Tard (1988), Feliz Cumpleanos (1988), Tales of the Stinking Military Service (1994), The Shanghai Spell (2002), La Casita Blanca (2002), and Searching for Love (2004). He starred as L’Encarregat in the television series Filiprim from 1986 to 1989 and was Vei in La Memoria dels Cargols in 1999. Sorribas was also seen in episodes of La Odisea and Pepe Carvalho.

Harry Spalding (scripter of The Earth Dies Screaming)

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the early 1960s, sometimes using the pseudonym Henry Cross. He scripted the ﬁlms The Teenage Millionaire (1961), Womanhunt (1962), Air Patrol (1962), The Firebrand (1962), Young Guns of Texas (1962), The Day Mars Invaded Earth (1963), House of the Damned (1963), Police Nurse (1963), Harbor Lights (1963), The Young Swingers (1963), Surf Party (1964), Witchcraft (1964), Night Train to Paris (1964), Raiders from Beneath the Sea (1964), Curse of the Fly (1965), Wild on the Beach (1965), The Earth Dies Screaming (1976), Spaceﬂight IC-1 (1965), and The Murder Game (1965). Spalding produced and directed the 1968 ﬁlm Run Like a Thief. He also wrote the ﬁlms One Little Indian (1973), The Sky’s the Limit (1975), The Watcher in the Woods (1980), and Ghosthouse 2 (1988). Spalding also scripted the teleﬁlm Donovan’s Kid (1979) and an episode of The Next Step Beyond.

SPEIGHT, MARK

British children’s television host Mark Speight was found dead at London’s Paddington Station on April 13, 2008. He had apparently committed suicide by hanging. He was 42. Speight had been missing since April 8, 2008, and had been despondent since ﬁnding his long-time girlfriend Natasha Collins scalded to death in a hot bath after a cocaine

Lew Spence

pianist. He didn’t begin writing songs until the late 1940s, working with such lyricists as Alan and Marilyn Bergman. He also wrote such standards as “That Face” recorded by Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, and Barbra Streisand, “Half as Lovely (Twice as True),” “Love Looks So Well on You,” “So Long My Love,” and “If I Had Three Wishes.”

SPENCER, NILDA Brazilian actress Nilda Spencer died of complications from shoulder surgery and a lung infection in a hospital in Salvador, Brazil, on October 9, 2008. She was 85. Spencer was born in Salvador, Brazil, on June 18, 1923. She was a popular

Mark Speight

overdose in early January. Speight was born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, on August 6, 1965. He began his career in television in 1994 as the host of the long-running children’s art program SMart. He was featured as the King of the Kingdom of Much Jollityon-the-Mirth on See It Saw It in 1999, where he ﬁrst met Natasha Collins, who also appeared on the program as a jester. Speight also hosted such children’s programs as ITV’s Scratchy & Co., BBC’s On Yur Marks, CITV’s Beat the Cyborgs, and Granada TV’s Name That Toon. He also presented the Discovery Kids’ short ﬁlm series History Busters in 2003. Speight continued to host SMart until shortly after Collins’ death.

SPENCE, LEW

Songwriter Lew Spence, who penned the Frank Sinatra hit “Nice ’n’ Easy,” died at his home in Los Angeles on January 9, 2008. He was 87. Spence was born in Cedarhurst, New York, on June 29, 1920. He began leading a local dance band while in his teens and later performed as a singer and

Nilda Spencer

performer on the Brazilian stage from the late 1940s. Spencer was also featured in several ﬁlms during her career including Caveira, My Friend (1970), the international hit Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands (1976) with Sonia Braga, Tent of Miracles (1977), SuperOutro (1989), Me You Them (2000), and Posthumous Memories (2001).

SPIERS, ROBERT British television director Robert Spiers, who directed the classic television sitcom Absolutely Fabulous, died in Devon, England, after a long illness on December 8, 2008. He was 63. Spiers was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on September 27, 1945. He began working for the BBC in the late 1960s serving as an assistant ﬂoor manager and production assis-

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as a corporate accountant before going to work for the Academy in 1976. He became the Academy’s controller in 1978 and was also responsible for determining the seating arrangements for the annual Academy Awards ceremony. Spoerri retired from his position in 2002.

Robert Spiers

tant before becoming a director and producer. He frequently worked on comedy series, directing episodes of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, Dad’s Army, Comeback Mrs. Noah, Not the Nine O’Clock News, Fawlty Towers, Are You Being Served?, The Goodies, Little Armadillos, Familie Ouderijn, The Comic Strips Presents..., and Lazarus & Dingwall. He worked with comedians Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders on the comedy series French and Saunders from 1988 to 1993 and teamed with French to create the macabre comedy series Murder Most Horrid in 1991. He also joined with Saunders to direct the landmark comedy series Absolutely Fabulous from 1992 to 2001. His other television credits include Joking Apart, Bottom, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Agony Again, The Ruby Wax Show, The Adventures of Lano & Woodley, Privates, and Days Like These, and productions of What a Way to Run a Revolution (1986), Up Line (1987), and A Tribute to the Likely Lads. Spiers also directed the Spice Girls’ ﬁrst feature ﬁlm, Spice World, in 1997 and helmed the ﬁlms That Darn Cat (1997) and Kevin of the North (2001).

SPOERRI, OTTO Otto Spoerri, the controller of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science who was in charge of the academy’s accounting department, died in Zurich, Switzerland, on November 29, 2008. He was 75. Spoerri was born in Zurich on September 25, 1933. He came to the United States in 1957 and ended up in Hollywood two years later. He worked

Otto Spoerri

SPRIGGS, ELIZABETH British character actress Elizabeth Spriggs died in England on July 2, 2008. She was 78. Spriggs was born in Buxton, Derbyshire, England, on September 18, 1929. She began her career on the stage and was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1962 to 1976. She made her ﬁlm debut later in the decade in the 1968 satire Work Is a 4-Letter Word. She also appeared in the 1968 television production of All’s Well That Ends Well and the 1969 ﬁlm Three into Two Won’t Go. The hefty character actress also appeared in television productions of Leeds United (1974), Prometheus: The Life of Balzac (1975), The Glittering Prizes (1976), Love Letters on Blue Paper (1976), The Secret of Charles Dickens (1978), Afternoon Off (1979), Julius Caesar (1979) as Calpurnia, The Wings of the Dove (1979), We, the Accused (1980), The Enigma (1980), Fothergill (1981), The Kindness of Mrs. Radcliffe

Elizabeth Spriggs

(1981), The Haunting of Cassie Palmer (1982), Frost in May (1982), The Cause (1981), Intensive Care (1982), The Spider’s Web (1982), The Merry Wives of Windsor (1982) as Mistress Quickly, Those Glory Glory Days (1983), Strangers and Brothers (1984), The Cold Room (1984), Sakharov (1984), The Thirteenth Day of Christmas (1985), The Devil’s Disciple (1987), Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1990), The Old Devils (1992), Anglo Saxon Attitudes (1992), Middlemarch (1994), A Pinch of Snuff (1994), Martin Chuzzlewit (1994), Henry VI (1995), Alice in Wonderland (1999), Wives and Daughters (1999), A Christmas Carol (1999), The Sleeper (2000), Victoria & Albert (2001), Shackleton (2002), and Wren: The Man Who Built Britain (2004) as Queen Anne. Spriggs starred as Nan in the comedy series Shine on Harvey Moon from 1982 through 1995, and was featured as Aunty Peggy in the television series Watching from 1988 to 1991. She was also seen as Grandma in Takin’ Over the Asylum in 1994 and was Swiss Toni’s mother in the 2003 series Swiss Toni. Her other television credits include episodes of Black and Blue, Village

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Hall, Victorian Scandals, Fox, Tales of the Unexpected, Cribb, Crown Court, Objects of Affection, Bergerac, Simon and the Witch, Doctor Who, Young Charlie Chaplin, Boon, Soldier Soldier, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Ruth Rendell Mysteries, The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, Lovejoy, Jeeves and Wooster, Alleyn Mysteries, The Tomorrow People, Tales from the Crypt, Playing the Field, Casualty, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), Nice Guy Eddie, The Royal, Where the Heart Is, Heartbeat, Jericho, Midsommer Murders, Agatha Christie: Poirot, and Love Soup. Spriggs also continued to appear on screen throughout her career, with roles in such ﬁlms as Richard’s Things (1980), Lady Chatterley’s Lover (1981), An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1982), Parker (1984), Yellow Page (1988), Impromptu (1991), The Hour of the Pig (1993), Sense and Sensibility (1995), the animated The Snow Queen’s Revenge (1996) as the voice of Betty, The Secret Agent (1996), Paradise Road (1997), For My Baby (1997), The Barber of Siberia (1998), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer Stone (2001), The Queen of Sheba’s Pearls (2004), and the forthcoming Is There Anybody There? (2008).

SRIDHAR, C.V. South Indian ﬁlm director and writer C.V. Sridhar died in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, on October 20, 2008. He was 75. Sridhar was born in Chengalpattu, India, in 1933. He began working in ﬁlms in the mid–1950s when his play Ratha

C.V. Sindhar

Pasam was adapted for ﬁlm. He served as a dialogue writer and wrote the adaptation of the 1956 ﬁlm BhaiBhai. Sridhar made his directorial debut with 1959’s The Wedding Gift (1959). He began his own production company, Chitralaya, in the early 1960s, making ﬁlms in Hindi, Kannada, and Teluga language. He directed such popular ﬁlms as Nazrana (1961), Ore Alayam (1962), Dil Ek Mandir (1963), Kadalikka Neramillai (1964), Pyar Kiye Jaa (1966), Manase Mandiram (1966), Nai Roshni (1967), Ooty Varai Uravu (1967), Saathi (1968), Duniya Kya Jane (1971), Gehri Chaal (1973), Urmai Kural (1974), Seeta Geeta Datithe (1979), Azhage Unnai Aarathikkirean (1979), Dil-ENadaan (1982), Odai Nathiyaakirathu (1983), Prema Sangamam (1984), Alaya Deepam (1984), and Yaro Ezhuthia Kavithai (1986).

STAFF , KATHY British character actress Kathy Staff died after a long illness in Dukinﬁeld, Cheshire, England, on December 13, 2008. She was 80. She was born Minnie Higginbottom in Dukinﬁeld on July 12, 1928. She began her career on stage in 1946 under the name Katherine Grant, and became Katherine Staff after her marriage to John Staff in 1951. She was seen frequently on television from the late 1960s, appearing in episodes of How We Used to Live, Castle Haven, Queenie’s Castle, The More We Are Together, A Family at War, Follyfoot, Hadleigh, The Brontes of

Kathy Staff

Howarth, Within These Walls, Marked Personal, Coronation Street as Vera Hopkins, Dawson’s Weekly, Emmerdale Farm, Rock Follies, Open All Hours, Dawson and Friends, The Benny Hill Show, No Frills, Noel’s House Party, and Doctors. Staff was also seen in television productions of Separate Tables (1983), Camille (1984), Uncle of the Bride (1985), Big Day at Green Acres (1987), and Mr. H Is Late (1988). She was also seen in several ﬁlms during her career including A Kind of Loving (1962), The Family Way (1966), The Dresser (1983), Little Dorrit (1988), Mother’s Day (1992), and the 1996 version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde told from the maid’s perspective, Mary Reilly, starring Julia Roberts. She starred as Doris Luke in the television series Crossroads from 1978 to 1985 and again from 2001 to 2002. She was best known for her role as Nora Batty in the television comedy series Last of the Summer Wine from 1973 until her death.

STAFFORD , JO Singer Jo Stafford died of heart failure at her home in Century City, California, on July 13, 2008. She was 90. Stafford was born in Coalinga, California, on November 12, 1917. She trained as a singer from childhood and began performing on Los Angeles radio with her sisters Pauline and Christine in the country-western trio The Stafford Sisters in the 1930s. Later in the decade she teamed with several male singers to form the Pied Pipers. The quartet were soon singing with Tommy Dorsey and accompanying Frank Sinatra early in his career. She and the Pied Pipers were also seen in several ﬁlms and shorts including Honolulu (1939), Las Vegas Nights (1941), Ship Ahoy (1942), Du Barry Was a Lady (1943), Gals, Incor-

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Jo Stafford

Gene Starbecker

porated (1943), Girl Crazy (1943), Jam Session (1944), and Rhythm Round-Up (1945). She recorded her ﬁrst solo record with Dorsey, “Little Man with a Candy Cigar,” in 1942. Stafford left the band two years later to sign with Capitol Records. She became popular with American servicemen during World War II with her recordings and U.S.O. tours, becoming known as G.I. Jo. She was also a leading radio star from the mid– 1940s, hosting the NBC variety show The Chesterﬁeld Supper Club. Stafford recorded a string of popular songs including “I’ll Be Seeing You,” “Haunted Heart,” “All the Things You Are,” “The Nearness of You,” and the novelty hit “Temptation” (“Tim-Tayshun”). She also recorded several albums of folk songs, Jo Stafford Sings American Folk Songs and Songs of Scotland, and teamed with Gordon McRae and Frankie Laine for a series of duets. She married Capitol Records’ music director Paul Weston in 1952 and accompanied him to Columbia Records later in the decade. She continued to turn out such hits as “Make Love to Me” and “Shrimp Boats.” She hosted the television variety series The Jo Stafford Show in 1954, and performed on such series as Shower of Stars, The Perry Como Show, The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Voice of Firestone, and The Steve Allen Show. In the late 1950s she and her husband teamed for a series of comedy recordings as Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, an offkey lounge act “presented by Jo Stafford and Paul Weston.” They earned a Grammy Award for the 1961 comedy album Jonathan and Darlene Edwards in Paris. Stafford largely retired from performing in the mid– 1960s but recorded a spoof version of “Stayin’ Alive” and “I Am Woman” under the Darlene Edwards moniker in 1977. She and Weston remained married until his death in 1996. STARBECKER, GENE Proliﬁc documentary and highway safety ﬁlmmaker Gene Starbecker died of pancreatic cancer in a Rockville, Maryland, nursing home in January 1, 2008. He was 80. Starbecker was born in the Bronx, New York, on May 16, 1927. He served in the Naval Reserve and was called to active duty in 1953, serving with the Naval Photography School. After his discharge he worked in television as an assistant to the producer of Men of Annapolis, a short-lived series about the Naval Academy. He also

worked on such television series as Highway Patrol, Sea Hunt, Mr. District Attorney, and The Silent Service. Often collaborating with his wife, Marcia Marlow Starbecker, he was noted for his numerous educations ﬁlms about school bus safety including Rain or Shine, Death Zones, ...And Then It Happened, and Just in Case: Suppression of School Bus Fires. Starbecker’s Seven Oaks Productions also made numerous ﬁlms for the Department of Defense and industrial ﬁlms for leading corporations. He also wrote and directed the NASA–sponsored ﬁlm The Images of Life in the late 1970s. STARR, PAUL Make-up artist Paul Starr was found dead at his home in Los Angeles on August 19, 2008, after friends and neighbors reported that he had not been seen in several days. He was 51. Starr had worked in the make-up industry for over 20 years, with such fashion clients as Dolce & Gabbana and Jean Paul Gaultier. He also had numerous celebrities among his clients including Jane Fonda, Sophia Loren, Michelle Pfeiffer, Madonna, Cameron Diaz, Jessica Alba, and

Paul Starr

Scarlett Johansson. He worked on several videos including Belinda (1986), Paula Abdul: Straight Up (1989), and David Bowie: Black Tie White Noise (1993). He was makeup artist for Madonna on the 1995 ﬁlm Four Rooms and was Martian girl consultant for Tim Burton’s 1996 feature Mars Attacks! He was the founding editor of Flaunt magazine from 1998 to 2001 and

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was the author of the 2005 book Paul Starr on Beauty: Conversations with Thirty Celebrated Women. Starr was also featured on an episode of The Tyra Banks Show in 2006.

STAVJANIK, EDD Austrian actor Edd Stavjanik died in Vienna, Austria, on October 28, 2008. He was 71. Stavjanik was born in Vienna on October 12, 1927. He began his career on the Austrian stage in the early 1950s and performed frequently with the National Theatre in Vienna. He also appeared frequently in ﬁlms and on television, with such ﬁlm credits as The Cowgirl of Saint Catherine (1955), Der Pfarrer von St. Michael (1957), Frauen in Teufels Hand (1960), Der Rota Rausch (1962), Waldrausch (1962), Im Singenden Rossel am Konigssee (1963), When the Grapevines Bloom on the Danube (1965), An Affair of States (1967), Crazy —Total

Jahna Steele

Edd Stavjanik

in 1991 but was ﬁred from the Revue the following year after she was outed as having been a man by the television program A Current Affair. She continued her career as an entertainer, singing in nightclubs and appearing on talk shows. She was also featured in a 1995 episode of NYPD Blue. Steele was the hostess of the 2004 pageant “The World’s Most Beautiful Transsexual Contest,” and starred in the 2006 ﬁlm of the event, Trantasia. STEIN , HORST German conductor Horst Stein died in Vandoeuvres, Switzerland, on July 27, 2008. He was 80. Stein was born in Elberfeld, Germany, on May 2, 1928. He studied music in Frankfurt and Cologne and served as a repetiteur at the municipal theatre in Wuppertal from 1947 to 1951. He worked at the Hamburg Staatsoper from 1951 to 1955 and at

Verruckt (1973), You Drive Me Crazy (1994), and Geburtig (2002). Stavjanik also appeared in television productions of Der Verrater (1959), Gasparone (1962), Stutzen der Gesellschaft (1964), Karriere (1964), Freispruch (1965), Ostwind (1967), Zwischenfall in Antiochia (1967), Die Letzten Tage der Menschheit (1968), Passion eines Politkers (1970), Jedermann (1970), Der Feldhermhugel (1970), Der Junge Baron Neuhaus, Der Kleine Muck (1971), Operation Walkure (1971), Kaiser Karls Letzte Schlacht (1971), Libussa (1972), Kleines Bezirkgericht (1976), Die Unverbesserliche (1977), Edwards Film (1977), Eine Seltsame Bescherung (1978), Der Jagdgast (1980), Maria Theresia (1980), Die Reise ins Tausendjahrige Reich (1980), Hell in Frauensee (1981), Solo Run (1983), and Wagner (1983). Stavjanik starred as Edi Janecke in the popular television series Die Liebe Familie in the 1980s. He was also seen in episodes of Der Kurier der Kaiserin, Wenn der Vater mit dem Sohne, Ein Echter Wiener geht Nicht Unter, Derrick, Tatort, Kottan Ermittelt, and Schwarz Rot Gold.

STEELE, JAHNA Transgendered showgirl Jahna Steele died in Las Vegas on January 24, 2008. She was 48. She was born John Matheny in San Antonio, Texas, on September 29, 1959. After becoming Jahna Steele she moved to Vegas in the late 1980s, where she appeared in the Crazy Girls Revue at the Riviera Hotel. She was voted Las Vegas’ Sexiest Showgirl on The Strip

Horst Stein

East Berlin’s Staatsoper from 1955 to 1961. He returned to Hamburg as deputy chief conductor for several years, and served as opera and music director in Mannheim from 1963 to 1970. He subsequently became music director of the Hamburg Opera and Philharmonic. Stein had been a conducting assistant at the Bayreuth Festival from the early 1950s, working with such conductors as Joseph Keilberth, Hans Knappertsbusch, and Herbert von Karagan. He conducted over 70 performances there from 1969 to 1986. He also made numerous recordings including ﬁve Beethoven piano concer-

411 tos, the complete Schubert and Brahms symphonies, and German-language versions of Carmen, Pagliacci, and Tosca.

STEINER, PETER German actor Peter Steiner died of a heart attack in Germany on December 22, 2008. He was 81. Steiner was born in Munich, Germany, on September 6, 1927. He began his career on stage in the late 1940s and became a familiar face in German ﬁlms and television from the late 1960s. He was featured in television productions of Der Holledauer Schimmel (1968), Der Ehestreik (1971), Ein Unheimlich Starker Abgang (1973), Der Wittiber (1977), Der Strohwitwer (1980), and Die Generalprobe (1997).

Peter Steiner

He was also seen in episodes of Koniglich Bayerisches Amtsgericht, Mordkommission, and Wie Wurden Sie Entscheiden? Steiner also appeared in numerous ﬁlms during his career including Die Stossburg (1973), Liebesgrusse aus der Lederhose (1973), Liebesgrusse aus der Lederhose 2: Zwei Kumpel auf der Alm (1974), Taglich Blasmusik im Hinterhaus (1975), Champagner aus dem Knobelbecher (1975), Scrounged Meals (1977), Sex-Express in Oberbayern (1977), Die Neuen Abenteuer des Sanitatsgefreiten Neumann (1978), Liebesgrusse aus der Lederhose 4: Die Versaute Hochzeitsnacht (1978), Liebesgrusse aus der Lederhose 5: Die Bruchpiloten vom Konigssee (1978), Love ’n’ Leather Pants (1979), Zum Gasthof der Spritzigen Madchen (1979), Sweet Young Trouble (1980), Der Kurpfuscher und Seine Fixen Tochter (1980), Drei Lederhosen in St. Tropez (1980), Drei Dimdl in Paris (1981), C.O.D. (1981), Intime Stunden auf der Schulbank (1981), Lass Laufen, Kumpel (1981), Die Liebestollen Lederhosen (1982), and Flotte Biester auf der Schulbank (1983). Steiner starred as Peter Stangl on the German television series Zum Stanglwirt from 1993 to 1997. Steiner was the founder of the Peter Steiner Theaterstadl, which presented popular Bavarian folk plays in Germany from the early 1980s. He spent most of his later years working primarily with his troupe, which included his family. He continued to perform on stage with them until his death.

STETSON, TIMOTHY Actor Timothy Stetson perished in a ﬁre in his apartment in Los Angeles, California, on January 21, 2008. He was 53. Stetson was

2008 • Obituaries

born on February 21, 1954. He studied at the California Institute of Arts and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. He began his acting career on stage in England and appeared in a production of The Autumn Garden. He was also featured as Sergeant Danny Coogan in the 1982 television series We’ll Meet Again. Stetson appeared in the ﬁlm Yanks! and the television mini-series Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. His other television credits include episodes of The SandBaggers, Prince Regent, Secret Army, and The Benny Hill Show. He returned to the United States, where he was featured in over 20 episodes of the daytime soap opera All My Children. Stetson left acting to work with the Air Transport Association of America in shipping troops and supplies to Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11. He was in Los Angeles to resume his acting career at the time of his death.

STEVENS, DAVE Comic artist and illustrator Dave Stevens, who created the character The Rocketeer, died of complications from leukemia in a Turlock, California, hospital on March 10, 2008. He was 52. Stevens was born in Lynwood, California, on July 29, 1955. He began working as an illustrator in 1975, assisting Russ Manning on the Tarzan newspaper strip. He continued to work as a commercial illustrator, serving as a storyboard artist for the 1978 animated television series Jana of the Jungle, Steven Spielberg’s 1981 ﬁlm Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Michael Jackson’s 1983 music video Thriller. He created The Rocketeer for a back-up feature in a comic book in 1981. With a World War II–era hero who discovers a rocket-powered backpack, a girlfriend based on 1950s pin-up model Bettie Page, and an art deco style, the comic became a popular hit and spawned subsequent comic adventures. Disney studios produced a ﬁlm version of The Rocketeer starring Bill Campbell in 1991, with Stevens credited as a co-producer. His cheesecake drawings of Bettie Page were largely responsible for a resurgence of the former model’s popularity. The reclusive Page resurfaced in the 1990s, with Stevens instrumental in helping to insure that she was compensated for the numerous uses of her image. Stevens was brieﬂy married to ﬁlm screen queen Brinke Stevens in the early 1980s and later served as a title designer for her 1990 video ﬁlm release Dark Romances.

Dave Stevens

Obituaries • 2008

412

STEWART, JOHN Singer and songwriter John Stewart, who was best known for writing the hit song “Daydream Believer” for The Monkees, died of a brain aneurysm in a San Diego, California, hospital on January 19, 2008. He was 68. Stewart was born in San Diego on September 5, 1939. He formed the garage band, Johnny Stewart and the Furies, while in high school and toured coffee houses and colleges in southern California. He joined with Gil Robbins and John Montgomery to form The Cumberland Three in the late 1950s, and they recorded three albums including the two LP set Songs of the Civil War. Stewart replaced Dave Guard in the Kingston Trio in 1961, joining Nick Roy Stewart

John Stewart

Reynolds and Bob Shane. The Kingston Trio was one of the most popular folk groups of the era and performed on television in such series The Steve Allen Playhouse, The Jack Benny Program, Where the Action Is, The Andy Williams Show, The Bell Telephone Hour, Convoy, and Jimmy Durante Presents the Lennon Sisters. Stewart recorded a dozen albums with the trio before they disbanded in 1967. The Monkees had a major hit recording Stewart’s song “Daydream Believer” in 1967. The song was later recorded by Anne Murray, Joan Baez, and Roseanne Cash. Stewart also wrote the songs “Runaway Train” which became a country hit for Roseanne Cash, and “Strange Rivers” which was recorded by Joan Baez. He also recorded nearly ﬁfty solo albums including California Bloodlines (1969), Wingless Angels (1975), Dream Babies Go Hollywood (1980), Revenge of the Budgie (1983), Punch the Big Guy (1987), Bullets in the Hour Glass (1992), Teresa and the Lost Songs (1998), Wires from the Bunker (2000), and The Runner (2002). Stewart frequently teamed with fellow folk singer Buffy Ford from the late 1960s and the two married in 1975.

STEWART, ROY Jamaican actor Roy Stewart died in England on October 27, 2008. He was 83. Stewart was born in Jamaica on May 15, 1925. He went to England in the early 1950s, where he worked as a stuntman and began the Roy Stewart’s Gym in North Kensington. He appeared frequently in British ﬁlm and television from the early 1960s. Stewart was seen in the ﬁlms The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb (1964), She (1965), Sympathy for the Devil (1968), Games That

Lovers Play (1970), Carry on Up the Jungle (1970), Leo the Last (1970), Julius Caesar (1970), Twins of Evil (1971), Lady Caroline Lamb (1972), the 1973 James Bond ﬁlm Live and Let Die as Quarrel Jr., Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers (1977), and Arabian Adventure (1979). He was also featured in the television productions Count of Monte Cristo (1964), The Mind of the Enemy (1965), The Pilgrim’s Progress (1967), I, Claudius (1976), and Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective (1981). His other television credits include episodes of Out of the Unknown, Play of the Month, Adam Adamant Lives!, Virgin of the Secret Service, The Avengers, Detective, Sherlock Holmes, The Wednesday Play, Doomwatch, The Troubleshooters, Up Pompeii, Doctor Who as Toberman in “The Tomb of the Cybermen” serial, Quiller, Space: 1999, Follow Me, and Sykes. Stewart later opened The Globe, a Caribbean club and restaurant, in Talbot Road.

STEWART, SHAKIR Shakir Stewart, the head of the hip-hop music label Def Jam recordings, was found dead of a self-inﬂicted gunshot wound at his home in Marietta, Georgia, on November 1, 2008. He was 34. Stewart was born in Oakland, California, in 1974. He attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, graduating with a marketing degree in 1996. He worked with the Hitco publishing company and Arista Records before joining Def Jam in 2004. He served as senior vice president of artists and repertoire, signing such

Shakir Stewart

413

2008 • Obituaries

stars as Young Jeezy and Rick Ross to the label. Steward succeeded Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter as executive vicepresident of Def Jam in June of 2008. STIMPSON, VIOLA KATES Character actress Viola Kates Stimpson died at her home in Tarzana, California, on January 14, 2008. She was 101. Stimpson was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 25, 1906. She began her career as a dancer and chorus girl during the 1920s and performed on stage for several decades. She returned to college in 1951 and became a school teacher in Los Angeles until her retirement in 1971. Stimpson resumed her acting career in the 1970s

Bud Stone

Viola Kates Stimpson

and appeared often on ﬁlms and television. Her ﬁlm credits include Sweater Girls (1978), Dream On! (1981), Graduation Day (1981), The Woman in Red (1984), Into the Night (1985), The Alchemist (1986), Stewardess School (1986), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000). She was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms Desperate Lives (1982), Silhouette (1990), Fire in the Dark (1991), The Story Lady (1991), Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation (1992), and Thirst (1998). Her other television credits include episodes of The Bionic Woman, 240-Robert, Too Close for Comfort, The Fall Guy, St. Elsewhere, Misﬁts of Science, Stingray, Simon & Simon, Highway to Heaven, Hunter, Growing Pains, Hooperman, Murder, She Wrote, General Hospital, Step by Step, Mad TV, Seinfeld, ER, Brooklyn South, and That’s Life. STONE, BUD Burton “Bud” Stone, the former president of Deluxe Laboratories, died at his home in Los Angeles on April 18, 2008. He was 80. Stone was born in Englewood, New Jersey, on February 16, 1928. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and attended college after the war. He went to New York in the early 1950s, where he worked as an assistant ﬁlm editor. He worked for several ﬁlm labs before opening his own, Allservice Film Laboratories. He began working with Deluxe in 1976 and became president in 1978. Stone retired as president in 1994. He was awarded the John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science in 1996. STONE , RON Ron Stone, a veteran newscaster on Houston television, died of cancer in Hous-

Ron Stone

ton on May 13, 2008. He was 72. Stone was born in Hanna, Oklahoma, on April 6, 1936. He began working in television and radio in the Oklahoma area before joining Houston’s CBS afﬁliate KHOU in the early 1960s. He remained there for a decade before becoming lead anchor for the NBC afﬁliate KPRC in 1972. He retired from the station in 1992 and formed Stoneﬁlms, Inc., with his son. Stone also appeared in a cameo role as himself in the 1987 horror ﬁlm The Outing. He was also the author of several books on Texas history including A Book of Texas Days and Disaster at Texas City.

STONEY, KEVIN British character actor Kevin Stoney died in England on January 20, 2008. He was 86. Stoney was born in London on July 25, 1921. He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II and performed regularly on stage after the war. He was a frequent performer on British television from the 1950s, appearing in such series as Sword of Freedom, Armchair Theatre, William Tell, ITV Television Playhouse, Nick of the River, The Third Man, Interpol Calling, The Four Just Men, International Detective, The Secret Kingdom, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Blackness, Echo Four Two, Top Secret, You Can’t Win, Suspense, The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre, The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling, No Hiding Place, The Saint, Orlando, Contract to Kill, R3, Theatre 625, Dr. Finlay’s

Obituaries • 2008

414 STRANGES, FRANK E. Dr. Frank E. Stranges, author and founder of the National Investigations Committee on UFOs (NICUFO), died in California on November 17, 2008. He was 81. Stranges was born in New York City on October 6, 1927. An evangelist, he claimed to hold degrees in theology, psychology, and criminology. He was a leading ﬁgure amongst UFOlogists from the 1950s. He was the author of several books including Stranger at the Pentagon which detailed his encounter with the Venusian, commander Valiant Thor at the Pentagon in the late 1950s. A founder of the NICUFO, he also wrote the monthly newsletter The Interspace Link and shared the spiritual teachings he learned from Venusians and other extra-

Kevin Stoney

Casebook, Danger Man, Watch the Birdies, The Informer, The Power Game, The Three Musketeers, The Rat Catchers, Great Expectations, Mr. Rose, The Prisoner, Softly Softly, The Avengers, Man in a Suitcase, Out of the Unknown, The Troubleshooters, Detective, The First Churchills, Counterstrike, and The Wednesday Play. Stoney starred as Dick Thurtle in the series Dixon of Dock Green from 1957 to 1962 and was Steve in The Six Proud Walkers in 1962. He was also seen as Trent in Spy Trap in 1972 and played Horatio Nelson in Bergerac from 1981 to 1983. He was featured as the astrologer Thrasyllus in the 1968 television production of The Caesars and reprised the role for the 1976 mini-series I, Claudius. Stoney was also noted for his guest appearance on the science ﬁction series Doctor Who, notably as the villainous Mavic Chen in the episode “The Daleks’ Master Plan” in 1965. He was also a frequent character performer in ﬁlms from the 1950s, with such credits as How to Murder a Rich Uncle (1957), Interpol (1957), The White Cliffs Mystery (1957), Cash on Demand (1961), Return of a Stranger (1961), Shadow of the Cat (1961), Strongroom (1962), The Boys (1962), Murder at the Gallop (1963), The Blood Beast Terror (1968), Guns in the Heather (1969), The Dresser (1983), and Ordeal by Innocence (1984). He remained a familiar face on British television, with roles in such series as Doomwatch, Ace of Wands, Special Branch, The Adventure Don Quick, Z Cars, Play of the Month, Paul Temple, The Onedin Line, Treasure Over the Water, The Adventurer, The Tomorrow People, Great Mysteries, Crown Court, Helen: A Woman of Today, Marked Personal, Warship, Space: 1999, The New Avengers, Emmerdale Farm, Thomas and Sarah, The Enigma Files, When the Boat Comes In, Blakes Seven, Call Me Mister, Dirty Dozen: The Series, Hannay, All Creatures Great and Small, Wish Me Luck, The Bill, Inspector Morse, and Alleyn Mysteries. His other television credits include such productions as Napoleon and Love (1972) as Count Walewski, War & Peace (1972), Fall of Eagles (1974), Cakes and Ale (1974), The Legend of Robin Hood (1975) as the Abbot of St. Mary, Measure for Measure (1979), The Quatermass Conclusion (1979) as the Prime Minister, The Thirteenth Reunion (1980), All’s Well That Ends Well (1981), Ivanhoe (1982), Pope John Paul II (1984), A Taste for Death (1988), and Shoot to Kill (1990).

Frank E. Stranges

terrestrials with his group The Inner Circle. Stranges was featured as himself in a 1971 episode of the British science ﬁction series UFO and appeared in the bizarre documentary Farewell, Good Brothers in 1992. He also created a DVD trilogy entitled Mysteries of the Dead Sea Scrolls Exposed, which postulated the theory that Jesus acknowledged the existence of aliens.

STRATTON, GIL Actor turned sportscaster Gil Stratton, Jr., died of congestive heart failure at his home in Toluca Lake, California, on October 11, 2008. He was 86. Stratton was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 2, 1922. He began his acting career while in his

Gil Stratton

415 teens and made his Broadway debut in the George Abbot play Best Foot Forward in 1941. He was seen in the ﬁlm version of Best Foot Forward in 1943 and also worked in radio. He was featured in the 1943 ﬁlm Girl Crazy, singing the duet “Embraceable You” with Judy Garland. His acting career was interrupted by World War II, when he was inducted into the Army Air Corps. After the war, Stratton moved to California where he resumed his career in radio and ﬁlm. He co-starred with Shirley Temple in a radio version of The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer, and was Gale Storm’s boyfriend Freddie on the radio version of My Little Margie. He also voiced roles on the series Fibber McGee and Molly, The Life of Riley, and The Lux Radio Theater. Stratton was featured in such ﬁlms as Kilroy Was Here (1947), Dangerous Years (1947), Half Past Midnight (1948), Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (1949), Tucson (1949), Hot Rod (1950), Hold That Line (1952), Here Come the Marines (1952), Monkey Business (1952), Army Bound (1952), Battle Zone (1952), Stalag 17 (1953) as Cookie, The Wild One (1953) with Marlon Brando, The Girl Rush (1955), and Bundle of Joy (1956). Stratton starred as Junior Jackson in the 1954 television comedy series That’s My Boy, and was seen in episodes of Your Show Time, Dragnet, Shower of Stars, Damon Runyon Theater, and The Red Skelton Show. Stratton began working for Channel 2 in Southern California in the mid–1950s as a sportscaster and anchorman. He covered sporting events from the Rome Summer Olympics in 1960, to L.A. Rams football games, to horse races at Santa Anita. He was noted for the tagline, “Time to call ’em as I see ’em,” and was the recipient of two local Emmy Awards. He was also featured in numerous ﬁlms and television series in cameo roles. His ﬁlm credits include Sextette (1978) with Mae West, Disney’s The Cat from Outer Space (1978), Inside Moves (1980), Dismembered (2003), and Lunch (2008). He was also seen in the 1981 tele-ﬁlm Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood, and in such series as Police Story, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Wonder Woman, Galactica 1980, Archie Bunker’s Place, Cagney & Lacey, Remington Steele, Mama’s Family, Boy Meets World, and Malcolm & Eddie.

STRICKLAND , VANCE Character actor Vance Strickland died of colon cancer at his home in

Vance Strickland

2008 • Obituaries

Augusta, Georgia, on September 25, 2008. He was 61. Strickland was born in Monroe, Louisiana, on July 19, 1947. He worked in Hollywood as an actor for several decades with roles in the ﬁlms Runners (2001) and Basketweave (2006). He was also featured in episodes of the television series L.A. Heat and Friends and had bit parts in the ﬁlms The Chamber (1996) and Independence Day (1996).

STRYKER, JACK Longshoreman Ted “Whitey” Kelm, who appeared in ﬁlms and television under the name Jack Stryker, died on July 4, 2008. He was 80. Kelm was born on March 7, 1928. He served in the Merchant Marine during World War II, having lied about his age to join up. He became active in union activities after the war, joining Harry Bridges’ Committee for Maritime Unity. His activities with the radical unions led to him being blacklisted from working aboard ships during much of the 1950s. Kelm became friends with Johnny Weissmuller, Jr., the son of the actor who portrayed Tarzan, while working as a longshoreman on the West Coast, and Weissmuller helped him secure a few jobs working in television. Working under the name Jack Stryker, he appeared on television in episodes of The Streets of San Francisco, CHiPs, Dallas, Little House on the Prairie, Father Murphy, Simon & Simon, and Hunter. He was featured as factory boss J.J. Davis in the 1979 pro-union ﬁlm Norma Rae, starring Sally Fields. He was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms Captains and the Kings (1976) and Sex and the Married Woman (1977), and the features The Silent Scream (1980), Kiss My Grits (1982), Hard to Hold (1984), and My Chauffeur (1986). STUBBS, LEVI Levi Stubbs, the lead singer of the popular soul group the Four Tops, died after a long illness that included a stroke and a bout with cancer, at his home in Detroit, Michigan, on October 17, 2008. He was 72. He was born Levi Stubbles in Detroit on June 6, 1936. He joined with schoolmates Lawrence Payton, Renaldo “Obie” Benson, and Abdul “Duke” Fakir to form the jazz vocal quartet the Four Aims in 1953. They sang backup for such artists as Count Basie and Della Reese before changing their name to the Four Tops in 1956. They signed with Motown Records in the early 1960s, where producer Berry Gordy, Jr., made them one of the top R&B groups in the country. They recorded such popular hits “Baby I Need Your Loving,” “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch),” “Bernadette,” “It’s the Same Old Song,” “Shake Me, Wake Me (When It’s Over”), and “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)” during the decade. They also teamed with the Supremes to record the hit single “River Deep, Mountain High.” The Four Tops remained in Detroit when Motown moved to Los Angeles in 1972 and signed with another label. They never again reached the success they had in the 1960s, though they continued to record such popular songs as “Keeper of the Castle” and “Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got).” They also performed on such television variety shows as The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Mike Douglas Show, Bandstand, Fridays, and Soul Train. Stubbs also appeared with the group in episodes of the

Obituaries • 2008

416 ful American space launch in 1958 and was responsible for the guidance and navigation instruments for the early satellites. Stuhlinger and von Braun served as technical advisors for the 1957 Disneyland television broadcast Mars and Beyond and both scientists appeared onscreen. Stuhlinger retired from the Marshall Center in 1975 and von Braun died two years later in 1977. He was co-author of the 1993 biography Wernher von Braun: Crusader for Space.

Levi Stubbs

series The Fall Guy, Webster, and New York Undercover and performed in several television documentaries about Motown. He was also the voice of Audrey II, the giant man-eating plant in the 1986 musical Little Shop of Horrors. Stubbs performed such moving renditions as “Feed Me,” “Suppertime,” and “Mean Green Mother from Outer Space” in the ﬁlm. He also voiced Mother Brain in the animated series Captain N: The Game Master and Captain N and the New Super Mario World. The Four Tops performed and recorded for 44 years without a change in their lineup until the death of Payton in 1997. Stubbs was forced to retire due to poor health in 2000, and Benson passed away in 2005. Fakir continued to lead a version of the Four Tops that included Payton’s son Roquel.

STUHLINGER, ERNST Ernst Stuhlinger, a leading German rocket scientist who was instrumental in developing the United States space program, died after a long illness at his home in Huntsville, Alabama, on May 25, 2008. He was 94. Stuhlinger was born in Niederrimbach, Germany, on December 19, 1913. He was among the 118 German engineers and scientists that worked on the V-2 missile program during World War II who surrendered to American forces after the war. A close associate of Dr. Wernher von Braun, Stuhlinger became the director of science at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville near the dawn of the space age. He was a leading ﬁgure in the ﬁrst success-

Ernst Stuhlinger

STULLA, WILLIAM William Stulla, who was known as Engineer Bill while hosting children’s television shows in Los Angeles, died at his home in Westlake Village, California, on August 12, 2008. He was 97. Stulla was born in New York City on May 24, 1911. His family moved frequently while he was a child before settling in Denver in his teen years. He studied radio at the University of Denver and began working as an announcer and writer for the local NBC afﬁliate

William Stulla (left, w/Chucko the Clown)

in the mid–1930s. He moved to Los Angeles in 1939, where he hosted a music program at KFI-AM. He also served as an announcer on The Rudy Vallee Show. Stulla served in the Army Signal Corps during World War II, where he broadcast with the Armed Forces Radio Services in the Far East. After the war, he returned to KFI where he hosted the daily women’s show Ladies’ Day. He left KFI in 1950 to host the early NBC variety program Parlor Party. He joined KHJ-TV in Los Angeles in 1954 as the host of Cartoon Express. He was known as Engineer Bill while introducing cartoons and teaching children to avoid bad habits. He also hosted the “Red Light, Green Light” game to encourage his young viewers to drink their milk. He remained a popular ﬁgure for Los Angeles children until his retirement in 1966. Stulla later worked as a stockbroker.

SUAREZ, MANNY Character actor Manny Suarez died of complications from a stroke in Burbank, California, on May 3, 2008. He was 45. Suarez was born on March 16, 1963, in Havana, Cuba, and came with his family to the United States. He studied drama at the University of Florida and moved to Los Angeles after earning his degree. He performed frequently in local theater and in television commercials. He made his ﬁlm debut in 1996’s Up Close and Personal. His other

417

2008 • Obituaries

Richard Sudhalter Manny Suarez

ﬁlm credits include Confetti (1996), Plato’s Run (1997), Wild Things (1998), Out of Sight (1998), The Weeping Woman of the River (2001), Cafe and Tobacco (2003), Bruce Almighty (2003), Hollywood Homicide (2003), and Fuel (2004). He was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms Holy Joe (1999) and My Sister’s Keeper (2002). Suarez’s other television credits include episodes of such series as Madame le Consul, V.I.P, The Agency, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, Smith, Standoff, and Dexter as the Mayor.

SUDDETH, GREG Playwright and actor Greg Suddeth died in Los Angeles on December 19, 2008. He was 55. He worked as a writer on several ﬁlms for Charles Band’s Full Moon Entertainment including Prehysteria! (1993), Oblivion (1994), Pet Shop (1995), and Oblivion 2: Backlash (1996). He was also a character actor in the ﬁlms Caged Fear (1992), Shade (2003), and The Light (2006), and episodes of the television se-

long illness in Manhattan, New York, on September 19, 2008. He was 69. Sudhalter was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 28, 1938. He studied music from an early age and began performing professionally while in his teens. He worked as a journalist for United Press International in Europe during the 1960s. He coauthored the biography of jazz cornetist Bix Beiderbecke, Bix: Man and Legend, in 1974. He also played trumpet and cornet with several bands including the New York Jazz Repertory Company, the New Paul Whiteman Band, and the Classic Jazz Quartet. He wrote several other books including Lost Chords: White Musicians and Their Contribution to Jazz, 1915–1945 (1999) and the Hoagy Carmichael biography Stardust Melody (2002). Sudhalter retired from playing after suffering a stroke in 2003 and developing the debilitating condition multiple system atrophy, which eventually led to his death.

SULLIVAN, BRAD Actor Brad Sullivan, who was featured as Mo Ranchuck in the 1977 ﬁlm Slap Shot, died in New York City on December 31, 2008. He was 77. Sullivan was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 18, 1931. He served in the Korean War in the 1950s and attended the University of Maine after his discharge. He began his acting career with a touring repertory company before moving to New York City. He made his Off-Broadway debut in 1961 in a production of Red Roses for Me. He continued to perform onstage throughout the 1960s and 1970s. He made his

Greg Suddeth

ries Maggie Winters, The Beast, Will & Grace, and Pushing Daisies. Suddeth was a proliﬁc playwright, with such stage credits as Toe to Toe, Being of Sound Mind, Dance Upon Nothing, White Sounds, and Very Cherry and Extra Clean. Suddeth starred on stage in the 2007 debut of his play Angel Feathers at the Lost Studio in Los Angeles.

SUDHALTER, RICHARD Jazz trumpeter and author Richard Sudhalter died of pneumonia after a

Brad Sullivan

Obituaries • 2008

418

ﬁlm debut in the 1972 military drama Parades, and was featured in an adaptation of David Rabe’s Vietnam War black comedy Sticks and Bones. Originally produced for television, the project proved too controversial and the network was unable to broadcast it. He was featured as a hired killer in the 1973 classic The Sting, and was hockey player Morris “Mo” Ranchuck in Slap Shot in 1977. Sullivan also continued his stage career, earning a Tony nomination for his role in the Broadway musical Working in 1982. Other Broadway credits include The Wake of Jamey Foster (1982), The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1983), Orpheus Descending (1989), and On the Waterfront (1995). Sullivan was also seen in the ﬁlms Walk Proud (1979), The Island (1980) with Michael Caine, Ghost Story (1981), Cold River (1982), The New Kids (1985), Tin Man (1987), The Untouchables (1987), Funny Farm (1988), Dead Bang (1989), The Dream Team (1989), Signs of Life (1989), The Abyss (1989), True Colors (1991), Guilty by Suspicion (1991), The Prince of Tides (1991), Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993), The Fantasticks (1995), The Jerky Boys (1995), Canadian Bacon (1995), and Bushwacked (1995). He also appeared in numerous tele-ﬁlms including The Migrants (1974), The Law (1974), The Neighborhood (1982), the mini-series George Washington (1984) as Gen. Artemus Ward, A Winner Never Quits (1986), The Red Spider (1988), Blood Money: The Story of Clinton and Nadine (1988), Home Fires Burning (1989), a televised production of the Broadway play Orpheus Descending (1990), Judgment (1990), In the Line of Duty: Manhunt in the Dakotas (1991), The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw (1991), Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (1992), Double Deception (1993), and In the Line of Duty: Blaze of Glory (1997). He was featured as Coach Zollicofer Weed in the 1990 television series I’ll Fly Away and was Patsy Ferrara in several episodes of NYPD Blue from 1995 to 1998. His other television credits include episodes of Movin’ On, Best of the West, Miami Vice, Crossbow, The Equalizer, Against the Law, Nothing Sacred, and Law & Order.

tle, Washington, on December 8, 1916. He was a business major who founded a leading ﬁnancial consulting ﬁrm in Los Angeles in 1960. He was semi-retired when animator Don Bluth approached him in 1982 to help ﬁnance an animation studio after he and several others had left Disney. Sullivan came aboard on the strength of the 1982 animated feature The Secret of NIMH. They founded the Sullivan Bluth Studio and produced An American Tail in 1986. The studio moved its location to Ireland soon after. It produced the popular The Land Before Time series from 1988 and All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989). Bluth left the company to join another studio in the 1990s and Sullivan Bluth ofﬁcially closed in 1995.

SULLIVAN, MORRIS F. Morris F. Sullivan, the co-founder of Sullivan Bluth Animation Studios, died at his home in Toluca Lake, California, on August 24, 2008. He was 91. Sullivan was born in Seat-

SUM, LYDIA Hong Kong actress Lydia Sum died of complications from liver cancer and diabetes in Hong Kong’s Queen Mary Hospital on February 19, 2008. She was 60. Sum was born in Shanghai, China, in 1947. She made her ﬁlm debut at the age of 13, appearing as one of the sisters in 1960’s When the Peach Blossoms Bloom. She worked frequently for the Shaw Brothers in the 1960s, with roles in such ﬁlms as The Dream of the Red Chamber (1962), Comedy of Mismatches (1964), Liang Shan Bo and Chu Ying Tai (1964), The Lark (1965), The Lotus Lamp (1965), Movie Fan Princess (1966), A Girl’s Secret (1967), Happy Years (1967), The Sweetest Moment (1967), The Flying Killer (1967), Blue Skies (1967), The Mirror and the Lichee (1967), Waste Not Our Youth (1967), Rhapsody (1968), A House Filled with Happiness (1968), Three Young Girls (1968), Won’t You Give Me a Kiss? (1968), The Little Warrior (1969), The Joys and Sorrows of Youth (1969), Wise Wives and Foolish Husbands (1969), The True Story of a Rebellious Girl (1969), A Big Mess (1969), One Day at a Time (1969), A Stomach of Crazy Tricks (1970), King of Swindlers (1970), The Lizard (1972), Facets of Love (1973), The Money Tree (1973), The House of 72 Tenants (1973), The Little Man, Ah Fook (1974), The Country Bumpkin (1974), Tenants of Talkative Street (1974), Lovable Mr. Able (1974), The Country Bumpkin in Style (1974), Laugh in the Sleeve (1975), Pretty Swindler (1975), Money Is Everything (1975), Don’t Call Me Uncle (1975), Kissed by the Wolves (1975), and The Simple-Minded Fellow (1976). Sum became a popular performer on television variety shows in the 1970s,

Morris Sullivan

Lydia Sum

419 singing with the Four Golden Flowers on Enjoy Yourself Tonight. Noted for her black-rimmed glasses and substantial girth, she hosted numerous variety series. She also continued to appear in such ﬁlms as Drunken Tai-Chi (1984) as Yuen Cheung-Yan’s domineering wife, Shanghai Express (1986), It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World (1987) as Mrs. Bill, Mr. Handsome (1987), It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World 2 (1988), Mother vs. Mother (1988), Tiger on the Beat (1988), King of Stanley Market (1988), Happy Fat New Year (1988), Faithfully Yours (1988), It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World (1989), Bachelor’s Swan Song (1989), Eat a Bowl of Tea (1989), The Perfect Match (1991), Party of a Wealthy Family (1991), It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World Too (1992), Laughter of the Water Margins (1993), Perfect Couples (1993), Just Married (1995), Happy Together (1997), Fitness Tour (1998), Miss Du Shi Niang (2003), and In-Laws, Out-Laws (2004). She also appeared in the 1997 television series A Recipe for the Heart and starred in Mediacorp’s Channel 5 sit-com Living with Lydia in 2002.

SUMAC, YMA Peruvian singer Yma Sumac, who was noted for her exotic stylings and 41 ⁄ 2 octave vocal range, died of colon cancer in an assisted living facility in Silver Lake, California, on November 1, 2008. She was 86. She was born Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chavarri del Castillo in Cajamarca, Peru, on September 13, 1922 (some sources say 1926 or 1927). She began singing at an early age and made her radio debut in Peru in 1942 after joining composer and arranger Moises Vivanco’s musical group. She and Vivanco were married later in the year. She was billed professionally as Imma Sumack when she and the group recorded an album of traditional Peruvian folk songs in 1943. She and Vivanco moved to New York in 1946 and performed as the Inca Taky Trio when they were joined by her cousin, Cholita Rivero. She signed with Capitol Records in 1950 and recorded the exotic album Voice of the Xtabay, now billed as Yma Sumac. Her wide vocal range made her a popular performer, singing in numerous concerts and recording several more albums including Legend of the Sun Virgin (1952), Mambo! (1954), and Legend of the Jivaro (1957). She also performed on Broadway in the 1951 musical Flahooley and was featured in the ﬁlms Secret of the Incas (1954) with

Yma Sumac

2008 • Obituaries

Cornel Wilde and Omar Khayyam (1957). She sang on the television variety shows The Colgate Comedy Hour, The Jack Carter Show, and The Hollywood Palace and appeared in an episode of the dramatic anthology series Climax! She divorced and remarried Vivanco in 1957, and the couple again parted in 1965. Sumac’s career declined in the 1960s and her 1971 psychedelic rock album Mirage met with little success. She largely retired for over a decade before returning to the stage in the late 1980s. She sang in several Hollywood locales and toured Europe in the early 1990s.

SUNG CHUEN-SAU Veteran Taiwanese ﬁlm director Sung Chuen-Sau died of Parkinson’s disease in Taiwan on May 27, 2008. He was 78. Sung began working in ﬁlms in the late 1950s as a writer for such features as The Unforgettable Night (1958), Miss Songbird (1959), and Love Ditties on the Tea Hill (1962). He made his directorial debut with A Perturbed Girl in 1966 and also helmed the ﬁlms The Dawn (1968), Iron

Sung Chuen-sau

Petticoat (1969), You Don’t Tell Him (1971), Love Is Smoke (1972), Story of Daisy (1972), Hard Man with Guts (1973), Outside the Window (1973), The Wind of Ghost (1974), Ghost of the Mirror (1974), Thirteen (1974), He Loved Once Too Many (1975), Where Have the Lovers Gone (1975), Chelsia My Love (1976), Rainbow in My Heart (1977), Windﬂower in the Storm (1978), The Story of Green House (1980), and I Sing I Cry (1980).

SUTCLIFFE, DICK Dick Sutcliffe, who cocreated the stop-motion animated children’s television series Davey and Goliath, died of complications from a stroke in a Dallas, Texas, hospital on May 11, 2008. He was 90. Sutcliffe was born in Columbia, Pennsylvania, on April 18, 1918, and was raised in Taneytown, Maryland. He began his career as a journalist with The Roanoke Times in Virginia in the early 1940s. Later in the decade he began working with the United Lutheran Church of America, serving as assistant editor of their national publication The Lutheran. He subsequently moved to New York to work in media relations with the church and wrote and delivered the weekly radio broadcast Church World News. Lutheran church leaders approached him in the late 1950s to create a televi-

Obituaries • 2008

420 Snake Woman (1986), Samson and Delilah (1987), Santet (1989), The White Alligator (1988), Santet II (1989), and Ajian Ratu Laut Kidul (1991). She was largely inactive in ﬁlms during the 1990s but recently returned to the screen to appear in the television soap opera Selma and the Snake Ghost in 2003 and the ﬁlm The Ambulance Ghost (2008).

Dick Sutcliffe (creator of Davey and Goliath)

SVENSSON, ESBJORN Swedish pianist Esbjorn Svensson, who led the popular jazz trio E.S.T., was killed in a scuba diving accident off Ingaro in the Stockholm archipelago, on June 14, 2008. He was 44. Svensson was born in Vasteras, Sweden, on April 14, 1964. He became interested in classical music and jazz from an early age and studied music at Stockholm University. He formed a band with his childhood friend, drummer Magnus Ostrom, in 1990, and they were

sion series geared toward young viewers. Sutcliffe worked with Art Clokey, the creator of the animated Gumby, to devise Davey and Goliath. Through stopmotion animation young Davey and his talking dog Goliath had adventures that often stressed the importance of God in their lives. Sutcliffe scripted the ﬁrst several episodes and remained the Lutheran church liaison with the series. He relocated to Dallas in the late 1960s where he worked in several positions before retiring in 1982.

SUZZANNA Indonesian actress Suzzanna, who was known as the Queen of Indonesian Horror, died of complications from diabetes in a Magelang, Central Java, hospital, on October 16, 2008. She was 66. Suzzanna was born Suzzanna Martha Frederika van Osch in Bogor, West Java, on October 14, 1942. She began acting while in her teens with a role in the 1958 ﬁlm Girl’s Dormitory. She was also featured in the ﬁlms Mira (1961), Suzie (1966), The Headless Terror (1967), The Longest Dark (1970), The Master of Kedawung (1971), Birth in the Tomb (1972), Napsu Gila (1973), Bumi Makin Panas (1973), and Pulau Cinta (1978). She became best known in the 1970s and 1980s for her roles as such supernatural creatures as Nyi Blorong, the Snake Queen, and Nyi Roro Kidul, the Queen of the South Seas. Suzzanna starred in such ﬁlms as Queen of Black Magic (1979), Lembah Duka (1981), Ghost with Hole (1982), The Snake Queen (1982), The Hungry

Suzzanna

Esbjorn Svensson

joined by bassist Dan Berland in 1993. The Esbjorn Svensson Trio, or E.S.T., recorded their debut album, When Everyone Has Gone, in 1993. Their 1999 album, From Gagarin’s Point of View, was released throughout Europe. They gained international recognition with the subsequent albums Good Morning Susie Soho (2000) and Strange Place for Snow (2002) and embarked on a tour of Europe, Japan, and the United States. Their later albums include Seven Days of Falling (2003), Viaticum (2005), and Tuesday Wonderland (2006).

SWERDLOFF, ARTHUR Documentary ﬁlmmaker Arthur L. Swerdloff died of a stroke in Los Angeles on January 14, 2008. He was 86. Swerdloff was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 13, 1921. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and began working in ﬁlms after the war. He served as editor of Arch Oboler’s 1951 science ﬁction ﬁlm Five and was soon producing and directing documentaries and educational ﬁlms. He created the award-winning 1951 documentary The Earth Sings and such works as Show ’Em the Road (1954), Gang Boy (1954), Age 13 (1955), Out of Darkness (1955), Heart Behind the Whip (1959), Conquest (1959), and Roadracers (1959). He was the founder of Arthur L. Swerdloff Productions and produced over 120 documentaries and educational ﬁlms during his career.

421 SWOPE, HERBERT BAYARD, JR. Television producer and director Herbert Bayard Swope, Jr., died in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 4, 2008. He was 92. He was born in New York City on November 30, 1915, the son of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Herbert Bayard Swope, Sr. The younger Swope was educated at Princeton University and served in the U.S. Navy. He began his career in television with CBS as a remote unit director in the late 1940s. He subsequently moved to NBC as a producer and director, working on such series as The Clock, The Black Robe, Robert Montgomery Presents, Lights Out, Climax!, and Five Fingers. He directed an adaptation of Arsenic and Old Lace for Best of Broadway in 1955. Swope joined 20th Century–Fox in the mid–1950s and served as executive producer of several ﬁlms including Hilda Crane (1956), Three Brave Men (1956), The True Story of Jesse James (1957), The Bravados (1958), and The Fiend Who Walked the West (1958). Later in the decade he worked on the popular television comedy series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. He also produced and hosted the tele-

2008 • Obituaries

Syed Alwi Syed Hassan

TAKANO, KOICHI Japanese special effects director and cinematographer Koichi Takano died in Tokyo, Japan, on November 30, 2008. He was 73. Takano was born in Tokyo on August 25, 1935. He began working in ﬁlms as an assistant cameraman at Toho on the 1955 Godzilla sequel Gigantis the Fire Monster. He also worked on the 1962 ﬁlm King Kong vs. Godzilla and was director of photography on 1963’s Alone in the Paciﬁc. He began working as special effects director at Eiji Tsuburaya’s new production company in 1963 and was a cameraman on the 1966 television

Herbert Bayard Swope, Jr.

vision documentary program That Was TV, Growth of a Giant, and hosted the commentary shows Swope’s Scope and Critic’s Views. He was married to actress Margaret Hayes until her death in 1977. His survivors include his son, Herbert Bayard Swope, III, and daughter, actress Tracy Brooks Swope.

SYED ALWI SYED HASSAN

Malaysian playwright and actor Syed Alwi Syed Hassan was found dead at his bungalow near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on November 30, 2008. He was 78. He was believed to have died about 48 hours earlier. Syed Alwi was born in Malaysia on March 29, 1930. He earned degrees in theater arts and journalism from the University of Minnesota during the 1950s. After returning to Malaysia he became a leading force in the Malayan Arts Theater Group. He was the author of one of Malaysia’s best-known modern plays, Tok Perak, in 1973. He also wrote the Englishlanguage plays I Remember the Rest House (1992) and Member of the Club (1994). Syed Alwi was also featured as the Prime Minister in the 1999 ﬁlm Anna and the King starring Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-fat. He received the National Arts Award from the government in 2002.

Koichi Takano

series Ultra Q. Later in the year he served as special effects director on the cult television series Ultraman. He also provided effects for such subsequent series as Ultra 7 (1967), Operation: Mystery! (1968), Iron King (1972), Super Robot Red Baron (1973), Dinosaur Park (1976), Monkey Magic (1978), Ton Ton the Mystery Dog (1978), Ultraman (1979), Ultraman; Towards the Future (1990), and Ultraman: Tiga (1996). He served as executive producer for later Ultraman productions up to Ultraman Cosmos 2: The Blue Planet in 2002.

TAMIM, SUZANNE Lebanese singer and actress Suzanne Tamim was found brutally stabbed to death and partially decapitated in her Dubai apartment on July 28, 2008. She was 30. Tamim was born in Beirut, Lebanon, on September 23, 1977. She ﬁrst came

Obituaries • 2008

422 UFC 51 in February of 2005. He lost the title to Franklin in a bout the following June. His career in the ring was damaged by an alcohol problem, and he took some time off. He returned to the UFC in March of 2008 but lost his next two matches.

Suzanne Tamin

to fame by winning the popular Lebanese television talent show Studio Al-Fan in 1995. She recorded numerous hit singles early in her career and released two albums. Her ﬁnal single, “Lovers,” was recorded in 2006 and dedicated to the memory of assassinated Lebanese Prime Minister Raﬁk Hariri. Tamim’s second marriage was to Lebanese music producer Adel Matouk, who became her manager. After their divorce, Matouk ﬁles a series of lawsuits against her, and she ﬂed to Cairo, where she became involved with a prominent Egyptian businessman. When that relationship also soured, she relocated to Dubai, where she was murdered.

TANNER, EVAN Mixed martial arts ﬁghter Evan Tanner, a former UFC Middleweight champion, died of heat exposure in the desert near Brawley, California, near September 5, 2008. He had been in the area on a camping and dirt bike riding outing. He was 37. Tanner was born in Amarillo, Texas, on February 11, 1971. He was a champion wrestler in high school and began competing in mixed martial arts competitions in 1997. He competed with the Uniﬁed Shoot Wrestling Federation, where he became heavyweight champion, and Japan’s Pancrase organization before joining the UFC in 1999. He lost a light heavyweight title ﬁght to Tito Ortiz in February of 2001. Following a loss to Rich Franklin in 2003, Tanner dropped to the Middleweight division. He won the vacant championship at

Evan Tanner

TAPPERT, HORST German actor Horst Tappert, who was best known for his starring role in the television drama Derrick, died in Munich, Germany, on December 13, 2008. He was 85. Tappert was born in Elberfeld (now Wuppertal), Germany, on May 26, 1923. He served in the German army during World War II and was captured as a prisoner of war. After the war he began studying acting and performing on stage in a theater in Stendal. He began working at the Kammerspiele Munich in 1956 and remained there for a decade. Tappert also began appearing in ﬁlms and television in the late 1950s. His ﬁlm credits include The Trapp Family in America (1958), Aren’t We Wonderful? (1958), Arms and the Man (1958), Der Engel, der Seine Harfe Versetzte (1959), Jacqueline (1959), Beautiful Adventure (1959), Er Kann’s Nicht Lassen (1962), Snow White and the Seven Jugglers (1962), Whiskey and Sofa (1963), Tip Not Included (1966), An Ace and Four Queens (1966), Naked and Free ... The New Life Style (1968), The Hound of Blackwood Castle (1968), The Go-

Horst Tappert

rilla of Soho (1968) as Insp. Perkins, The Man with the Glass Eye (1969), School of Fear (1969), Hard Women (1970), The Devil Came from Akasawa (1971), The Love Keys (1971), And Jimmy Went to the Rainbow’s Foot (1971), The Captain (1971), She Killed Ecstasy (1971), The Corpse Packs His Bag (1972), and I Wasn’t a Very Good Student Either (1974). Tappert was also seen in such television productions as Schwester Bonaventura (1958), Der Offentliche Anklager (1958), Abwerbung (1958), So Is Es — Ist Es So? (1960), Spanische Legende (1961), Zu Viele Koche (1961) as Hotel Detective Odell, Kuss Mich Katchen (1961), Ein Schoner Tag (1961), Die Rache (1962), Der Abstecher (1962), Das Halstuch (1962) as Vicar Nigel Matthews, Dr. Joanna Marlowe (1963), Das Todliche Patent (1963), Elektra (1964), Der Aussichtsturm (1964), Der Trojanische Krieg Findet Nicht Statt (1964), Sech Personen Suchen einen Autor (1964), Leonice und Lena (1964), Judith (1965), Tatort (1965),

423 Eine Reine Haut (1965), The Great British Train Robbery (1966) as robber Michael Donegan, Ein Tag in Paris (1966), Der Kinderdieb (1966), Das Ganz Grosse Ding (1966), Der Mann aus Melbourne (1966), Der Schwarze Freitag (1966), Ein Riss im Eis (1967), Liebe fur Liebe (1967), Der Panamaskandal (1967), Ist er Gut?— Ist er Bose? (1967), Heinrich IV (1967), Transplantation (1969), Industrielandschaft mit Einzelhandlern (1970), Yester — der Name Stimmt Doch? (1971), Bluten der Gesellschaft (1972), Ein Frau Bleibt eine Frau (Zehn Geschichten mit Lilli Palmer (1972), Treffpunkt Herz (1974), and Unsere Kleine Welt (1978). He was also seen in episodes of Der Kriminalmuseum, Hoopers Letzte Jagd, and Der Kommissar. He began playing Chief Inspector Stephan Derrick in the television drama series Derrick in 1974 and appeared in 281 episodes before retiring from the show in 1998. He was later featured in the television productions Der Kardinal — Der Preis der Liebe (2000) and The Uncrowned Heart (2003).

2008 • Obituaries

loon in 1961 which became a popular tourist spot where Tarracino would entertain visitors with colorful tales. He narrowly lost an election for mayor of Key West in 1985 but returned four years later to be elected mayor by an even narrower margin. He carried over his eccentric personality into politics, claiming that “Key West is an insane asylum. We’re just too lazy to put up the walls or fences.” He attempted to maintain the city’s mystique as a tourist destination, but was defeated in his re-election bid in 1991. Tarracino was also featured in a 1993 episode of the television series Key West, the 1998 tele-ﬁlm Winner Take All, and appeared as an old pirate in the 2005 direct-to-video ﬁlm Crossbones.

TATUM, CHASE Professional wrestler Chase Tatum was found dead of an accidental drug overdose at his home in Buckhead, Georgia, on March 23, 2008. He was 34. Tatum was a bodybuilder who made his debut with the WCW as a wrestler in 1999. He com-

TARE, NELLO Character actor Nello Tare died of cancer in Wilmington, North Carolina, on December 2, 2008. Tare was featured in the ﬁlms Marie (1985), Weekend at Bernie’s (1989), Empire Records (1995), and Enchanted (1998). He was also seen in the tele-ﬁlms Sidney Sheldon’s Windmills of the Gods (1988), Justice in a Small Town (1994), Against Her Will: The Carrie Buck Story (1994), A Burning Passion: The Margaret Mitchell Story (1994), Truman Capote’s One Christmas (1994), Kiss and Tell (1996), and A Mother’s Instinct (1996) and was featured in several episodes of Matlock. TARRACINO, TONY Tony Tarracino, a colorful character in Key West, Florida, who served as mayor of the island city for several years, died of heart and lung ailments in a hospital there on November 1, 2008. He was 92. Tarracino was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on August 10, 1916. According to Life Lessons of a Legend, a book written about Tarracino by Brad Manard shortly before his death, he was a bootlegger and gambler who ﬂed to Key West in the late 1940s after running afoul of mobsters. He operated a charter ﬁshing boat from the 1950s, and also claimed to be a gunrunner to Cuba and Haiti in the 1950s and 1960s. He opened the Key West bar Capt. Tony’s Sa-

Tony Tarracino

Chase Tatum

peted with the organization for over 2 years, which left him with severe back problems. Tatum had appeared onscreen as a child, playing Baby Orville in the 1976 horror ﬁlm Creature from Black Lake. He attempted to resume his acting career as an adult, playing Kidd Clean in the 2007 comedy Who’s Your Caddy?

TAVIRA, ANGEL Angel Tavira Maldonado, the one-handed Mexican violinist who received a Best

Angel Tavira

Obituaries • 2008

424

Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival for his role in the 2005 ﬁlm El Violin, died of kidney problems in a Mexico City hospital on June 30, 2008. He was 83. Tavira was born in Guerrero, Mexico, to a family of musicians on July 3, 1924. He lost his right hand in a ﬁreworks mishap at the age of 13, but continued to pursue playing the violin with a bow tied to his stump. He was a popular performer in his home region for many years and was leader of the Hermanos Tavira Banda folk band. Tavira was the subject of a 2002 documentary by director Fernando Vargas, who later cast him in the feature ﬁlm El Violin (2005) as Don Plutarco, the patriarch of a family of street musicians.

TAYLOR, JUD Actor turned television director Jud Taylor died in New York City after a long illness on August 6, 2008. He was 76. Taylor was born in New York City on February 25, 1932. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley before embarking on a career as an actor in the mid–1950s. He was featured in several ﬁlms over the next decade, including Attack (1956), The Garment Jungle (1957), The Interns (1962), and The Great Escape (1963) with Steve McQueen. He also appeared on television in episodes of General Electric Theater, Gunsmoke, Harbourmaster, Men of Annapolis, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Follow the Sun, Dr. Kildare, 12 O’Clock High, and The Fugitive. Taylor soon began working behind the camera, turning to directing in the mid–1960s. He helmed episodes of numerous television series including Dr. Kildare, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Ben Casey, A Man Called Shenandoah, Shane, The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., Felony Squad, The Fugitive, Captain Nice, T.H.E. Cat, The Second Hundred Years, The Guns of Will Sonnett, Judd for the Defense, Star Trek including the classic episode “Let That Be Your Last Battleﬁeld,” The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, Love, American Style, Then Came Bronson, The Young Lawyers, The Interns, Longstreet, Mannix, The Rookies, Hawkins, Adams of Eagle Lake, Lou Grant, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Taylor also directed many tele-ﬁlms including Fade-In (1968), Weekend of Terror (1970), Suddenly Single (1971), Revenge (1971), The Rookies (1972), Say Goodbye, Maggie Cole (1972), Hawkins on Murder (1973), Egan (1973), Winter Kill

Jud Taylor

(1974), The Disappearance of Flight 412 (1974), Search for the Gods (1975), Future Cop (1976), Return to Earth (1976), Woman of the Year (1976), Tail Gunner Joe (1977) which earned him an Emmy nomination, Mary White (1977), Christmas Miracle in Cauﬁeld, U.S.A. (1977), The Last Tenant (1978), Lovey: The Circle of Children, Part II (1978), Flesh & Blood (1979), City in Fear (1980), Act of Love (1980), Incident at Crest Ridge (1981), A Question of Honor (1982), Packin’ It In (1983), License to Kill (1984), Doubletake (1985), Out of the Darkness (1985), Broken Vows (1987), Foxﬁre (1987), The Great Escape II: The Untold Story (1988), The Old Man and the Sea (1990), Murder Times Seven (1990), Kaleidoscope (1990), In My Daughter’s Name (1992), Prophet of Evil: The Ervil LeBaron Story (1993), Guinevere (1994), Secrets (1995), A Holiday to Remember (1995), and Clover (1997). Taylor also served as president of the Directors Guild of America from 1981 to 1983.

TAYLOR, MARY Actress Mary Taylor Zimbalist, who appeared in several ﬁlms from the late 1930s, died at her home in Ojai, California, on June 17, 2008. She was 93. Taylor was born to a prominent family in Manhattan on February 13, 1915. She began working as a photographic model in the mid–1930s, earning a contract with Vogue. She was also featured in the

Mary Taylor

work of leading photographer Cecil Beaton. She also began performing on stage in summer stock and made her ﬁlm debut in Paramount’s 1936 feature Soak the Rich. She moved to California later in the decade under contract to MGM and appeared in 1939’s Lady in the Tropics. The ﬁlm was produced by Sam Zimbalist, who later became her husband. Taylor was also featured in the ﬁlms Blossoms in the Dust (1941) and Shining Victory (1941) before retiring from the screen to work as a Red Cross nurse’s aide during World War II. She and her husband were politically active, opposing the Hollywood blacklist during the 1950s. Zimbalist died suddenly in 1958 after producing Ben Hur. His wife accepted the Academy Award for Best Picture in his place the following year. Taylor was also active in the early days of the civil rights movement and was a leading ﬁgure in promoting the ideals of J. Krishnamurti from the mid–1960s.

425 TEER, BARBARA ANN Barbara Ann Teer, a leading promoter of African American culture in Harlem, died in Harlem, New York, on July 21, 2008. She was 71. Teer was born in East St. Louis, Illinois, on June 18, 1937. She moved to New York after graduating from the University of Illinois and performed on Broadway in Agnes DeMille’s Kwamina in 1961 and William Inge’s Where’s Daddy? in 1966. She also ap-

2008 • Obituaries

performing together as a classical piano duo in 1947. The later became known for their sentimental and romantic renditions of popular standards and movie themes. Their ﬁrst major hit was a recording of the theme for The Apartment in 1959. They also scored hits with their renditions of the theme from Exodus and “Tonight” from West Side Story. They performed frequently on television, appearing on such series as The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Bell Telephone Hour, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Hollywood Palace, and The Ed Sullivan Show. They also made over ﬁve thousand concert appearances during their career and recorded nearly 150 albums until largely retiring in 2001.

TEIGLAND, BRIAN Brian Teigland, a MidSouth weatherman and wrestling commentator, died after a brief illness in Memphis, Tennessee, on July 25, 2008. He was 53. Teigland was born on June 30, 1955. He began working in local television as a weather forecaster for WREG-TV in the 1980s. Teigland later moved to WPTY-TV. In the early 2000s, he served as Barbara Ann Teer

peared in the 1964 television production of Carol for Another Christmas, and was featured in the ﬁlms Slaves (1969) and The Angel Levine (1970). She founded the National Black Theater in 1968 to provide a venue for black artists and culture. She also served as writer and director for a theatrical troupe that toured internationally. Teer was instrumental in bringing the culture and folklore of the Yoruba peoples of Nigeria to the stage in New York.

TEICHER , LOU Lou Teicher, half of the piano duo Ferrante and Teicher who made hit recordings of popular ﬁlm themes in the 1960s, died of heart failure in Highlands, North Carolina, on August 3, 2008. He was 83. Teicher was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on August 24, 1924. He moved to New York City as a child where he studied at Juilliard. He met his future partner, Arthur Ferrante, there and both joined the faculty after earning degrees. They began

Louis Teicher (right, with Arthur Ferrante)

Brian Teigland

co-host of Memphis Championship Wrestling with Corey Macklin. The wrestling promotion, known as the “Home of Rhythm and Bruise,” featured such wrestlers as Jerry Lawler and Koko B. Wear in their line-up.

TEMPLE , NAT British musician and band leader Nat Temple died at his home in London on May 30, 2008. He was 94. Temple was born in London on July 18, 1913. He began playing the clarinet in bands in the late 1920s and performed with Harry Roy’s orchestra from 1931 to 1940. He served in the Grenadier Guards, playing in military bands during World War II. After the war he formed his own band and was soon being broadcast on the BBC. He became the house band for Bernard Braden’s radio series Breakfast with Braden in 1950. His band was also featured on such television series as Crackerjack with Eamonn Andrews, Nuts in May with Frankie Howerd, The Time of Your Life with Noel Edmonds, The Russell Harty Show, A Jolly Good Time, Dance Music Through the Ages, Starstruck, and Tune Times with Temple. Temple continued to play the clarinet and lead the band through the 1990s.

Obituaries • 2008

426 TENNANT, PAULINE British actress and poet Pauline Tennant died in England on December 6, 2008. She was 79. She was born in London on February 6, 1929, the daughter of colorful aristocrat David Tennant and actress Hermione Baddeley. Pauline followed in her mother’s footsteps in the early 1940s, with roles in such stage productions as Ben Travers’ She Follows Me About (1943) and No Medals (1945). She made

Nat Tample

TENDULKAR, VIJAY Indian playwright and screenwriter Vijay Tendulkar died of myasthenia gravis in Pune, India, on May 19, 2008. He was 80. Tendulkar was born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India, on January 6, 1928. He worked in Mohandas K. Gandhi’s Indian independence movement in the 1940s. He moved to Bombay to work as a journalist in the mid– 1950s. He also began writing plays in the 1950s that were often controversial and noted for their social content. His best known works include Shrimant (1956),

Vijay Tendulkar

Silence! The Court Is in Session (1967) which was adapted for ﬁlm in 1971, Ghashiram Kotwal (1972) which was ﬁlmed in 1976, and Sakharam the Binder (1972). Tendulkar wrote numerous ﬁlms from the 1970s including Samna (1974), Night’s End (1975), The Strange Fate of Arvind Desai (1978), Cry of the Wounded (1980), Depth (1980), Unimaginable (1981), Dawn (1982), Half Truth (1983), Kamla (1984), Yeh Hai Chakkad Bakkad Bumbe Bo (2003), and Eashwar Mime Co. (2005). He also wrote the popular 1990s television series SwayamSiddha, which starred his daughter, Priya Tendulkar. His later works include the plays Safar (1991) and The Masseur (2001) and the novels Kadambari: Ek and Kadambari: Don (2002). Tendulkar’s wife Nimala and son Raja died in 2001 and his daughter Priya died in 2002.

Pauline Tennant

her ﬁlm debut in Great Day (1945) and was featured as the young countess in the 1949 Gothic classic, The Queen of Spades, starring Edith Evans. Tennant largely retired from acting after the ﬁrst of several marriages in 1946. She married former diplomat Sir Anthony Rumbold in 1974, becoming Lady Rumbold. She was widowed in 1983 and she pursued literary endeavors, publishing a volume of poetry, Loaves and Fishes, in 1992.

TERASHIMA , MIKIO Japanese actor and anime voice performer Mikio Terashima died in a Tokorozawa, Japan, hospital on December 4, 2008. He was 77. Terashima was born in Fukui, Japan, on September 4, 1931. He began working in ﬁlms in the early 1960s, with such credits as Matsukawa-Jiken (1961), Oiroke Sakusen (1963), Furin no Tsugunai (1964), Personal History of a Love Affair (1964), Aku no Modae (1964), Gyakujo (1964), Akai Hanko (1964), Secrets Behind the Wall (1965), Hikisakareta Joji (1966), The Love Robots (1966), Contraception Revolution (1967), and Black Narcissus of Lust (1967). He worked extensively as a voice actor in anime productions from the 1970s,

Mikio Terashima

427 starring as Berge Katze in the Gatchaman ﬁlm and television series. He was the voice of Emperor Zu Zanbaziru in Super-Electromagnetic Machine Voltes V in 1977, and was Sho Yamazaki in Space Cruiser Yamato series. He also voiced roles in Arsene Lupin and the Castle of Cagliostro, Star Fleet, Arcadia of My Youth: Inﬁnite Orbit SSX, Area 88, The Blade of Kamui, Dirty Pair: The Movie, Crusher Joe, Mobile Suit Gundam F91, and Yokohama Kaidashi.

TERKEL, STUDS Pulitzer Prize–winning author Studs Terkel, who elevated oral history interviews to an art form, died at his home in Chicago, Illinois, on October 31, 2008. He was 96. He was born Louis Terkel in the Bronx, New York, on May 16, 1912, and moved to Chicago with his family in the early 1920s. He graduated from the University of Chicago, where he earned degrees in philosophy and law, but he never practiced after failing the bar exam. After working with the federal government for several years he returned to Chicago where he joined the New Deal program, the Federal Writers’ Project, in 1938. He wrote radio scripts for WGN and was featured on air in such soap operas as Ma Perkins and Road of Life. He was also active on the local stage with the Chicago Repertory Group. He served brieﬂy in the Army Air Forces special services during World War II until his perforated eardrums brought about his discharge. He returned to radio and began hosting his own music program The Wax Museum for WENR in 1945. He also narrated the 1946 short ﬁlm No Vacancies about soldiers returning home from the war. His variety interview program Studs’ Place debuted in 1950, but NBC dropped the program two years later when Terkel became a victim of the McCarthy era’s blacklist for having signed petitions for leftist causes. He appeared in several stage productions and was featured as a high school diving coach in the 1953 guidance ﬁlm Beginning to Date before returning to radio at Chicago’s WFMT. He remained with the station for nearly ﬁfty years as host of a daily hour of music, interviews, and commentary. His fondness for jazz led to the publication of his ﬁrst book, Giants of Jazz, in 1957. His ﬁrst best seller, Division Street: America was published in 1966 which consisted of interviews and conversations with 70 people from various walks

Studs Terkel

2008 • Obituaries

of life in the Chicago area. Taking microphone in hand, he produced numerous other works of oral history including Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression (1970), Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do (1974), the memoir Talking to Myself: A Memoir of My Times (1977), American Dreams: Lost and Found (1980), “The Good War”: An Oral History of World War II (1985) which earned the Pulitzer Prize for Non-Fiction, The Great Divide: Second Thoughts on the American Dream (1988), Race: How Blacks and Whites Think and Feel About the America Obsession (1992), Coming of Age: The Story of Our Century by Those Who’ve Lived It (1995). His ﬁnal books include the compilation My American Century (1997), and the memoirs Touch and Go (2007) and the forthcoming P.S.: Further Thoughts from a Lifetime of Listening. His work on radio also earned him the Peabody Award for excellence in journalism in 1980, and he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1997. He assisted director Haskell Wexler in location ﬁlming for his semidocumentary Medium Cool, set in Chicago during the turbulent 1968 Democrat National Convention, and was onscreen in the 2001 documentary about the making of the ﬁlm Look Out Haskell, It’s Real! The Making of “Medium Cool.” Terkel also participated in several documentary ﬁlms including The Weavers: Wasn’t That a Time (1982), The Good Fight: The Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War (1984), Long Shadows (1987), Anthem (1997), Michael Moore’s The Big One (1997), Tell Them Who You Are (2004), A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin (2005), and Sacco and Vanzetti (2006). He was also featured as sportswriter Hugh Fullerton in John Sayles’ 1988 ﬁlm Eight Men Out about the 1919 Chicago White Sox baseball scandal. Terkel also made cameo appearances in the 1984 tele-ﬁlm The Dollmaker, the political satire television series Tanner ’88 (1988), and the ﬁlm The Joust (1994).

THAXTON, LLOYD Lloyd Thaxton, who hosted a popular television dance show in Los Angeles in the 1960s, died of multiple myeloma at his home in Studio City, California, on October 5, 2008. He was 81. Thaxton was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on May 31, 1927, and was raised in Toledo, Ohio. He began working in television there in 1950 and was soon hosting the live afternoon show Leave It to Lloyd. He headed to Hollywood in 1957, where he worked as an announcer for a local television station. He launched Lloyd Thaxton’s Record Shop on KCOP-TV in 1959, as a dance program for local teenagers. The show was renamed Thaxton’s Hop in 1962 and became nationally syndicated two years later. His humorous antics on camera coupled with guest appearances by leading recording artists made the program, now known as The Lloyd Thaxton Show, a popular hit for most of the decade. He appeared in a cameo role in the 1964 Jerry Lewis ﬁlm The Patsy and was a founder of the teen fan magazine Tiger Beat in 1965. He also served as host of the ABC game shows Everybody’s Talking and Funny You Should Ask in the late 1960s. He began producing

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Lloyd Thaxton

Isa Thomas

and directing a consumer advocacy show, Fight Back! With David Horowitz in 1976. The program earned ﬁve local Emmys before ending in 1992. Thaxton also produced consumer segments for the Today show and directed segments of the ABC series America’s Funniest People in the early 1990s.

THOMAS, MARGOT British actress Margot Thomas died in Kenton, England, after a brief illness on September 26, 2008. She was 89. Thomas began her career on stage while in her teens, and performed in radio plays for the BBC from the late 1930s. She retired from acting after World War II to concentrate on raising her family. She also became active in revitalizing the local amateur theatre in Kenton, where she and her

THEOBALD , G EOFF Canadian television gameshow director Geoff Theobald died in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on August 21, 2008. He was 74. Theobald was born in Chilliwack, British Columbia, in 1934. He began working in television as a director in 1963 with the gameshow Windfall. He also directed the variety series Mantrap and Celebrity Review and the game shows Let’s Make a Deal, Pitfall, and Lingo. Theobald headed an advertising agency and produced commercials for radio and television. THOMAS, BENNY Actor and singer Benny Thomas died of cancer in New York City on September 18, 2008. He was 62. Thomas was born in Cairo, Georgia, on March 8, 1946, and was raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Thomas was a member of Olivia Newton-John’s backup band, Toomorrow, and was featured in the 1970 musical ﬁlm named after the band. He recorded the album Boy on a Pony and was featured as Dr. Jack Garner in the television soap opera The Doctors from 1979 to 1981. Thomas also hosted a local daytime talk show in Nashville in the 1980s. THOMAS, ISA Actress Isa Thomas died in New York City on April 5, 2008. She was 75. Thomas was born on August 6, 1932. She was a regular performer with the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida, from 1966 through 1987. She made her Broadway debut in the comedy Lost in Yonkers in 1991 and was featured in the Broadway plays Any Given Day (1993) and Waiting in the Wings (1999). She was also seen in character roles in such ﬁlms as A Flash of Green (1984), Walking and Talking (1996), MURDER and murder (1996), Under Hellgate Bridge (2000), WiseGirls (2002), and Red Betsy (2003). Thomas also appeared in the tele-ﬁlms The Great Wallendas (1978), Harvest of Fire (1996), and Iron Jawed Angels (2004), and in episodes of Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Margot Thomas

husband had moved. She resumed her professional career in the 1960s and was featured on television in the 1965 mini-series The Dark Number and in episodes of Oliver Twist, Katy, The Old Curiosity Shop, Call the Gun Expert, Doctor Who, Dr. Finlay’s Casebook, Armchair Theatre, Z Cars, Sanctuary, Dixon of Dock Green, Softly Softly, The Expert, The Befrienders, The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, Hadleigh, Bedtime Stories, The Molly Wopsies, and After Henry. She also appeared in several ﬁlms during her career including The Knack ... and How to Get It (1965), The Stud (1978), and Bullseye! (1990).

THOMAS, MARJORIE British opera singer Marjorie Thomas died in London after a long illness on September 12, 2008. She was 85. Thomas was born in Sunderland, England, on June 5, 1923. She studied piano and singing at the Royal Manchester College of Music. She was selected by conductor Sir John Barbirolli to sing Elgar’s Sea Pictures with the Halle Orches-

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struck by an SUV at a Brooklyn, New York, intersection, on August 3, 2008. He was 26. Thompkins was born in Washington, D.C., on October 26, 1981. He appeared in a Nike commercial and an episode of the television series Homicide: Life on the Street as a child. He later studied screenwriting and directing at Columbia University and served as a production assistant on Spike Lee’s 2006 ﬁlm Inside Man. Thompkins also worked on the ﬁlm productions Munich (2005), Take the Lead (2006), Click (2006), and Michael Clayton (2007), and the television series Rescue Me. He was an assistant to director Adam Brooks on the 2008 ﬁlm Deﬁnitely Maybe. Thompkins was planning a move to Los Angeles to further his ﬁlm career at the time of his death. Marjorie Thomas

tra in 1945. Later in the year she starred in Thomas Becham’s BBC radio production of Alexander Borodin’s Prince Igor and performed Handel’s Messiah for Beecham in 1947. She married sound engineer Edwin Gower in 1947 and took a year off after the birth of her daughter the following year. She returned to the stage to perform the role of Dryade in Ariadne auf Naxon at the Edinburgh Festival. She also sang in Wagner’s Das Rheingold and Gotterdammerung as Rhinemaide Flosshilde and Die Walkure as Valkyrie Rossweisse in Rudolf Kempe’s Covent Garden production of the Ring Cycle. She began working frequently with conductor Malcolm Sargent in the early 1950s, recording Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music. Thomas was heard on the soundtrack of the 1953 ﬁlm The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan, and worked with Sargent in a series of Gilbert and Sullivan productions including The Mikado (1957), The Gondoliers (1957), H.M.S. Pinafore (1958), and The Pirates of Penzance (1961). She continued to perform concerts through the 1960s and retired from the stage in 1973. She taught singing at the Royal Manchester College of Music from 1960 to 1964, when she joined the faculty of London’s Royal Academy of Music. She headed the vocal studies there from 1984 until her retirement in 1990.

THOMPKINS , JESSE , III

Aspiring ﬁlmmaker Jesse Thompkins, III, was killed when he was

Jesse Thompkins

TOLONEN , POLLY Actress Polly Tolonen was killed in an automobile accident on the Cahuenga Pass in Los Angeles on May 1, 2008. She was 33. Tolonen was born on May 13, 1974. She was a popular per-

Polly Tolonen

former in local theatrical productions. She was featured in Philip Creager’s 2005 horror ﬁlm Death by Engagement. Tolonen was also involved in casting the 2007 ﬁlm Meg.

TOLUBEYEV, ANDREI Russian actor Andrei Tolubeyev died in Russia after a long illness on April 7, 2008. He was 63. Tolubeyev was born in Leningrad, Soviet Union (now St. Petersburg, Russia) on March 30, 1945, the son of actor Yuri Tolubeyev. He was a popular ﬁlm and television performer from the late 1970s, appearing in such ﬁlms as Blow the Whistle Twice in the Fog (1980), Tears Were Falling (1982), Echo of a Distant Blast (1983), Lieutenant Nekrasov’s Fault (1985), Once Lied (1987), Time to Fly (1987), To Kill a Dragon (1988), For the Saved: Paradise (1988), I’m Alright (1989), GuGa (1989), Adam’s Rib (1990), Dina (1990), Chernov/ Chernov (1990), My Dearest Friend, General Vasili, the Son of Joseph Stalin (1991), Tsar Ivan the Terrible (1993) as Boris Godunov, On the Muromsk Trail (1993), Order for Love (1993), Angels in Paradise (1993), The Flood (1994), Fatal Eggs (1996), Spirit (1996), and Andersen: Live Without Love (2006). He was also featured as Alexander I in the 1986 mini-series Peter Ustinov’s Russia and was Vashchanov in the tele-ﬁlm series Bandit-

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430

Andrei Tolubeyev

Luiz Carlos Tourinho

skiy Peterburg from 2000 to 2003. Tolubeyev was also featured in television productions of The Saboteur (2004), Esenin (2005), Master and Margaret (2005), and Rieltor (2005).

do Professor Raimundo, Caca Talentos, Suave Veneno, Sai de Baixo, Kubanacan as Jack Everest, and Desejo Propido as Neinho. Tourinho appeared in several ﬁlms during his career including Era Uma Vez... (1994), For All: Springboard to Victory (1997), Tainah: An Adventure in the Amazon (2001), and Xuxa e o Tesouro da Cidade Perdida (2004). TRAUM , ARTIE Guitarist and songwriter Artie Traum died of liver cancer in Bearsville, New York, on July 20, 2008. He was 65. Traum was born in the Bronx, New York, on April 3, 1943. He began performing folk music at Greenwich Village clubs in the 1960s and made his ﬁrst recording with the True Endeavor Jug Band in 1963. He also worked with Eric Kaz on the soundtrack for Brian de Palma’s ﬁlm Greetings in 1968. He joined his brother, Happy, in 1969 and they recorded the album Happy & Artie Traum.

TORIUMI, JINZO Japanese television anime writer Jinzo Toriumi died of liver cancer in a Tokyo hospital on January 17, 2008. He was 78. Toriumi was born in Takikawa, Hokkaido, Japan, on February 1, 1929. He began working in television in 1964, writing scripts for the animated Astro Boy series. He scripted episodes of numerous Japanese anime series over the

Jinzo Toriumi

next two decades including Casshem, Tekkaman, Time Bokan, Armored Trooper Votoms, Ronin Warriors, Mister Ajikko, Speed Racer, and Battle of the Planets. Torium also wrote novelizations of Gatchaman, Shin Heiyoden, and Dororo. He was also a teacher and the author of the text The Introduction to Anime Scriptwriting.

TOURINHO, LUIZ CARLOS

Brazilian actor Luiz Carlos Tourinho died of a cerebral aneurysm in a Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, hospital on January 21, 2008. He was 43. Tourinho was born in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, on May 16, 1964. He began his career on stage in 1983 and appeared frequently on Brazilian television from the late 1980s. Tourinho was best known for his role as Franco in the series Sob Nova Direcao from 2004 to 2007. He was also seen in the television series Escolinha

Artie Traum

The Traums performed at the Newport Folk Festival in 1969 and released several other albums during the 1970s. Artie released his solo debut, Life On Earth, in 1977. He also worked with singer Pat Alger on the 1980 album From the Heart. He reunited with his brother in the late 1980s to host the Albany public radio show Bring It on Home and recorded the 1994 album The Test of Time. Artie Traum joined with such artists as Bela Fleck and John Sebastian for the 1999 album Meetings with Remarkable Friends. He was a producer and direc-

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tor on the 2002 documentary ﬁlm Deep Water: Building the Catskill Water System and teamed with Chris Shaw and Tom Akstens as the group Big Trout Radio on the album Songs About Fishing in 2003. Traum’s other albums include the 2001 instrumental The Last Romantic and South of Lafayette (2002) and Thief of Time (2007).

TRAVIS, JUNE Actress June Travis died in a Chicago, Illinois, hospital of complications from a stroke on April 14, 2008. She was 93. She was born Dorothea Grabiner in Chicago on August 7, 1914. She moved to Los Angeles after graduating high school and was signed to a Warner Bros. contract in 1934. Over the next several years she appeared in numerous ﬁlms including Stranded (1935), Don’t Bet on Blondes (1935), Broadway Gondolier (1935), Bright Lights (1935), The Case of the Lucky Legs (1935), Shipmates Forever (1935), Dr. Socrates (1935), Broadway Hostess (1935), Ceiling Zero (1936), Times Square Playboy (1936), Earthworm Tractors (1936) with Joe E. Brown, Bengal Tiger (1936), Jailbreak (1936), The Big Came (1936), the 1936 Perry

June Travis

Mason mystery The Case of the Black Cat as secretary Della Street opposite Ricardo Cortez, Join the Marines (1937), Circus Girl (1937), Men in Exile (1937), Love Is on the Air (1937) opposite Ronald Reagan, Over the Goal (1937), Exiled to Shanghai (1937), The Kid Comes Back (1938), Over the Wall (1938), Go Chase Yourself (1938), The Marines Are Here (1938), The Gladiator (1938), Mr. Doodle Kicks Off (1938), The Night Hawk (1938), Little Orphan Annie (1938), and Federal ManHunt (1938). She abandoned her ﬁlm career in the late 1930s and returned to Chicago to marry businessman Fred Friedlob in 1940. She was active in local theater, appearing in numerous plays in the Chicago area. She brieﬂy returned to the screen to appear in the 1952 feature The Star and made her ﬁnal ﬁlm appearance opposite a 10 foot tall monster in the off-beat 1965 horror ﬁlm Monster a Go-Go from cult director Herschell Gordon Lewis and Bill Rebane. She was widowed when Friedlob died in 1979.

TRAYHORN, JOHN British actor John Trayhorn died of a heart attack in Grange-Over-Sands, Cumbria, England, on May 6, 2008. He was 53. Tray-

John Trayhorn

horn was born in Enﬁeld, Middlesex, England, on August 15, 1954. He studied acting as a youth and began appearing in ﬁlms and television in the late 1960s. He starred in the 1969 Children’s Film Foundation production Hoverbug. He also appeared in small roles in Ken Russell’s The Devils (1971), Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange (1971), and Child’s Play (1972). Trayhorn was understudy for Jack Wilde’s Artful Dodger for the West End musical Oliver. He was also seen on television in episode of The Wednesday Play, Doomwatch, Z Cars, and The Benny Hill Show. Trayhorn left acting in the early 1970s to work in sales and later was a manager for Edge of the World outdoor supplies.

TRONSON, ROBERT British television director Robert Tronson died in London on November 27, 2008. He was 84. Tronson was born in Wiltshire, England, on May 18, 1924. He served in the Royal Navy during World War II and joined BBC as a staff producer after the war. He began directing for television in the late 1950s, helming episodes of such series as Destination Downing Street, Shadow Squad, The Avengers, The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre, ITV Television Playhouse, Under the Hammer, ITV Play of the Week, and Armchair Mystery Theatre. He also helmed several ﬁlms in the early 1960s including The Traitors (1962), Farewell Performance (1963), Act of Reprisal (1964), and Ring of Spies (1964). Tronson worked primarily in television from the mid–1960s, directing the

Robert Tronson

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432

series Gideon’s Way, The Saint, Court Martial, Intrigue, The Baron, Man in a Suitcase, Public Eye, Armchair Theatre, Mystery and Imagination, The Troubleshooters, Callan, The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder, My Partner, the Ghost, Manhunt, Big Brother, Hine, The Guardians, Warship, Hunter’s Walk, Father Brown, Five Red Herrings, Second City Firsts, Armchair Thriller, ITV Playhouse, Born and Bred, Nanny, Bogner, Juliet Bravo, Jemima Shore Investigates, Murder of a Moderate Man, Dempsey & Makepeace, Boon, Bergerac, All Creatures Great and Small, The Bill, Campion, Moon and Son, Rumpole of the Bailey, The Darling Buds of May, and Hetty Wainthropp Investigates. Tronson also directed the mystery tele-ﬁlms The Colour of Blood (1973), The Next Voice You See (1975) and Kill Two Birds (1976) under the Thriller banner, and mini-series Chelworth (1989) and No Bananas (1996).

TROSHIN , VLADIMIR

Russian actor and singer Vladimir Troshin died of heart failure in Moscow on February 25, 2008. He was 80. Troshin was born in Mikhaylovsk, Soviet Union, in 1927. He began studying acting at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1943 and performed as a member of the troupe from 1947 to 1988. He also became a leading singer in the 1950s and was noted for his rendition of the popular song “Mos-

Vladimir Troshin

cow Nights.” He appeared frequently in ﬁlms from the 1950s with such credits as The Man from Planet Earth (1958), It Happened in Penkovo (1958), Aleksa Dundic (1958), The Golden Eshelon (1959), Ballad of a Hussar (1962), The Little Mermaid (1968) as a voice actor, The Old New Year (1980), The Fight for Moscow (1985), Slap in the Face That Wasn’t (1987), the television mini-series Entrance to Labyrinth (1989), From the Life of Fyodor Kuzkin (1989), Wolf hound (1991), the tele-ﬁlm Chernobyl: The Final Warning (1991) as Mikhail Gorbachev, The Gray Wolves (1993), The Russian Singer (1993), the mini-series Conference of the Maniacs (2003), and Long Farewell (2004). He was designated a People’s Actor of Russia in 1984.

TRUMAN DANIEL, MARGARET Margaret Truman Daniel, the daughter of President Harry S Truman who achieved fame in her own right as a concert singer, television host, and best-selling author, died in

Margaret Truman Daniel

an assisted living center in Chicago, Illinois, on January 29, 2008. She was 83. She was born in Independence, Missouri, on February 17, 1924, to Truman and his wife, Bess Wallace. Her father was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1934 and Margaret spent half the year with her family in Washington. Harry Truman became Vice President of the United States under Franklin D. Roosevelt in January of 1945 and succeeded to the presidency upon Roosevelt’s death on April 12, 1945. Margaret had been interested in music as a child and earned a Bachelors of Arts degree from George Washington University in 1946. She began singing professionally the following year, making her debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra on a radio broadcast. She continued to perform and signed a recording contract with RCA Records. Her performance at Washington’s Constitution Hall in December of 1950 became one of the better known moments of her career when music critic Paul Hume commented in the Washington Post that Margaret couldn’t sing very well. The President, in defense of his daughter, sent Hume a note stating, “I have just read your lousy review. Some day I hope to meet you. When that happens you’ll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below!” Though Truman’s advisors feared the President’s reaction would damage him politically, instead the public rallied to his support in defending his daughter. Harry Truman left ofﬁce in 1953 and Margaret continued her career on radio and television. She hosted her own radio program, Authors in the News, in the 1950s and made guest appearances on such television programs The Ed Sullivan Show, The Spike Jones Show, The Jimmy Durante Show, Person to Person, The Steve Allen Show, and What’s My Line? She also cohosted the radio show Weekday with Mike Wallace. Margaret Truman met and married New York journalist Clifton Daniel in April of 1956. She wrote her ﬁrst book, a memoir entitled Souvenir: Margaret Truman’s Own Story in 1956. Her father passed away in 1972 and the following year she completed his biography, Harry S Truman. She also penned the 1986 biography of her mother, Bess W. Truman, several years after her mother’s death in 1982. She authored several other works of nonﬁction, including White House Pets (1969), Women of Courage (1976), First Ladies: An Intimate Group Portrait

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of White House Wives (1995), and The President’s House: 1800 to the Present (2004). Margaret also began a successful career as a mystery novelist with the publication of her 1980 book, Murder in the White House. It became the ﬁrst in a series of 23 novels that became known as the Capital Crime Series and included such titles as Murder in the Supreme Court, Murder on Capitol Hill, Murder at the Smithsonian, and Murder at the Watergate. She and her husband lived in Manhattan until his death in 2000. She also lost a son, William Daniel, in 2000, when he was struck by a taxi cab near her home. She was survived by three sons and ﬁve grandchildren.

TSUCHIMOTO, NORIAKI Japanese documentary ﬁlmmaker Noriaki Tsuchimoto died of lung cancer in Minabi-Boso, Chiba, Japan, on June 24, 2008. He was 79. Tsuchimoto was born in Toki, Japan, on December 11, 1928. He attended Waseda University and began making promotional ﬁlms for Iwanami Productions in the 1950s. He made his ﬁrst independent documentary, Exchange Student, about prejudices at a

Noriaki Tsuchimoto

Japanese university, in 1965. He also made the 1969 ﬁlm Prehistory of the Partisans about student extremists. Tsuchimoto was best known for his series of ﬁlms he began in the early 1970s about the impact of Minamata disease, a form of mercury poisoning, that had accompanied Japan’s postwar industrialization. His other documentary ﬁlms include Shiranui Sea (1975), A Scrapbook About Nuclear Power Plants (1982), Traces: The Kabul Museum 1998 (2003), and Another Afghanistan: Kabul Diary 1985 (2003).

TUCKER, IRA Gospel singer Ira Tucker, who performed with the Dixie Hummingbirds for 70 years, died of heart disease in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 24, 2008. He was 83. Tucker was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on May 17, 1925. He began singing in his youth and joined James Davis’ gospel group, the Dixie Hummingbirds, in 1938. With a voice that ranged from tenor, to baritone, to bass, he became the group’s lead singer. His acrobatic stage antics and frequent wails and screams inspired a generation of later stars. The Hummingbirds performed at New York nightclubs in the 1940s and were regularly seen at Harlem’s Apollo Theater in the 1950s. They made nu-

Ira Tucker

merous recordings during their career, notably for Peacock Records in the 1950s. Their popular songs include “Thank You for One More Day,” “Trouble in My Way,” “Bedside of a Neighbor,” “In the Morning,” and “Christian Automobile.” They performed at the Newport Folk Festival in 1966 and backed Paul Simon on a recording of “Loves Me Like a Rock” in the 1970s. Tucker continued to perform with the Hummingbirds until shortly before his death.

TURNER, MICHAEL Leading comic book artist Michael Turner, who was co-creator of Witchblade, died of complications of cancer in a Santa Monica, California, hospital on June 27, 2008. He was 37. Turner was born in Crossville, Tennessee, on April 21, 1971. He began working in comics in 1994 after being hired by Top Cow Productions’ chief Marc Silvestri, who saw his art at a comic convention. He worked as a background artist on several Top Cow titles before cocreating Witchblade. The tale of police detective Sara Pezini, who discovers a mystical glove that helps her combat the forces of evil, proved extremely popular and was adapted for a tele-ﬁlm on the Sci-Fi Channel starring Yancy Butler in 2000 and a series the following year. Turner also created the aquatic super-heroine Fathom in 1998. Diagnosed with chondrosarcoma, a form of bone cancer that affected his right pelvis, in 2000, he underwent major surgery and radiation therapy. After his recovery he left Top Cow to form his

Michael Turner

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434

own comic imprint, Aspen, in 2002. Noted for his dynamic artwork and illustrations of curvaceous female characters, he was soon forking for the major comic publishers, DC and Marvel. He provided art for the reintroduction of Supergirl in the Superman/Batman title in 2004 and contributed covers to such titles as Identity Crisis and The Flash at DC. He also illustrated prized variant covers for the Marvel titles Civil War and Wolverine: Origins.

TURPIN, MATTHEW British actor Matthew Turpin, whose resemblance to Prince William led to roles in several ﬁlms, died of an undiagnosed heart condition in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, on March 31, 2008. He was 24. Turpin was a popular celebrity look-

Junction. Tuttle also scripted for such series as Three’s Company, Private Benjamin, Three’s a Crowd, What’s Happening Now!, The Facts of Life, and 277. He was also executive producer for the 1975 tele-ﬁlm Black Bart.

TUWHARE, HONE New Zealand Maori poet Hone Tuwhare died in Dunedin, New Zealand, on January 16, 2008. He was 85. Tuwhare was born in Kaikohe, in northeast New Zealand to the Nga Puhi tribe on October 21, 1922. His family settles in Auckland after the death of his mother when he was a child. Hone began writing poetry in the 1940s and his ﬁrst volume, No Ordinary Sun, was published in 1964. It was the ﬁrst book of poetry in English by a Maori writer. His

Hone Tuwhare Matthew Turpin

alike, who appeared on British television in episodes of Blue Peter and Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes. He also played Prince William in the ﬁlms What a Girl Wants (2003) and Lady Godiva (2008).

TUTTLE, MARK Television writer and producer Mark Tuttle died in Los Angeles on June 2, 2008. He was 73. Tuttle was born on March 17, 1935. He began working in television from the late 1950s at Filmways. He went on to script over a hundred episodes of the popular television comedy The Beverly Hillbillies. He also served as a producer on the series and wrote episodes of the companion show Petticoat

Mark Tuttle

poetry reﬂected his political and social concerns and he became a popular orator, reading aloud his works at venues around the country. He also wrote the play Wilderness Without a Hat, which was performed in 1985 and published in 1991. His works often included imageries from Maori culture and the Old Testament Bible. He was featured as George’s grandfather in the 1990 ﬁlm The Returning. He also published the poetry collections Short Back and Sideways: Poems & Pros (1992), Deep River Talk (1993), and Shape-Shifter (1997). Tuwhare was named Poet Laureate of New Zealand from 1999 to 2001, and the collection Pigg y Back Moon resulted in 2002.

TYNE, GEORGE Actor turned director George Tyne died on March 7, 2008. He was 96. He was born Martin “Buddy” Yarus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on February 6, 1911. He began his career as an actor in the early 1940s, appearing in such ﬁlms as Doughboys in Ireland (1943), The Iron Major (1943), The Dancing Masters (1943), The Racket Man (1944), Sailor’s Holiday (1944), Four Jills in a Jeep (1944), Once Upon a Time (1944), The Eve of St. Mark (1944), Stars on Parade (1944), Louisiana Hayride (1944), Mr. Winkle Goes to War (1944), Objective, Burma! (1945), Snooper Service (1945), A Walk in the Sun (1945), Life with Blondie (1945), Miss Susie Slagle’s (1946), Deadline at Dawn (1946), Rolling Home (1946), Seven Were Saved (1946), They Won’t Believe Me (1947), Body and Soul (1947), Open Secret (1948), Call Northside 777 (1948), The Lone Wolf and His Lady (1949), John Steinbeck’s The Red

435 Pony (1949), Sword in the Desert (1949), Thieves’ Highway (1949), Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), The Outriders (1950), Side Street (1950), No Way Out (1950), Decision Before Dawn (1951), Circus World (1964), Not with My Wife, You Don’t! (1966), Don’t Make Waves (1967), The Counterfeit Killer (1968), The Boston Strangler (1968), The Lost Man (1969), Marlowe (1969), Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969), Skin Game (1971), Mr. Ricco (1975), and I Will, Will ... for Now (1976). He was also featured in the tele-ﬁlms Valley of Mystery (1967) and The Smugglers (1968) and guest-starred in episodes of The Nurses, For the People, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The F.B.I., F Troop, Hogan’s Heroes, I Spy, The Fugitive, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., and Mission: Impossible. Tyne worked primarily as a director from the late 1960s. He was an assistant director for the 1965 television production of Hercules vs. the Sea Monster. He also directed episodes of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The Good Guys, It Takes a Thief, The Governor & J.J., The Odd Couple, The Sandy Duncan Show, The Paul Lynde Show, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, Needles & Pins, Love, American Style, The Brady Bunch, Mary Tyler Moore, The Bob Newhart Show, Happy Days, The Practice, Visions, Tabitha, The Love Boat, Space Academy, The San Pedro Beach Bums, James at 15, Grandpa Goes to Washington, M*A*S*H, Brothers and Sisters, and Harper Valley P.T.A. Tyne largely retired by the early 1980s but was featured in small roles in several ﬁlms including Romantic Comedy (1983) and The Lonely Guy (1984).

UDSEN, BODIL Danish actress Bodil Udsen died in Copenhagen, Denmark, on February 26, 2008. She was 83. Udsen was born in Denmark on January 12, 1925. She began her career on stage in the late 1940s and began performing with the ABC Theatre in 1952. She appeared in numerous ﬁlms from the 1950s including Me and My Family (1957), Styrmand Karlsen (1958), Poeten og Lillemor og Lotte (1960), Eventyrrejsen (1960), Eventyr pa Mallorca (1961), Flemming pa Kostskole (1961), Det Stover Stadig (1962), Miss April (1963), School for Suicide (1964), Don Olsen Kommer til Byen (1964), Mor Bag Rattet (1965), Onkel Joakims Hemmelighed (1967), I Love Blue (1968), Fun in the Streets (1969), Ladies Man (1969), Ballade pa Christianshavn

Bodil Udsen

2008 • Obituaries

(1971), Sunny Beach Revolution (1971), Lenin, You Rascal, You (1972), The Man from Swan Farm (1972), The Brief Summer (1976), The Heritage (1978), The Story of a Mother (1979), Min Farmors Hus (1984), Peter von Scholten (1987), Baby Doll (1988), The Tinderbox (1993), Taxi to Portugal (1994), Barbra (1997), Send More Candy (2001), Monas Verden (2001), Birds of Passage (2001), and I Am Dina (2002). Udsen was also noted for her role as Emma the waitress in the television series Huset pa Christianshavn during the 1970s. Her other television credits include productions of Sonja fra Saxogade (1968), Svend, Knud og Valdemar (1970), Erotik (1971), Fra Poetens Pen (1974), Aladdin eller den Forunderlige Lampe (1975), Jenny (1982), Colombe (1996), Bryggeren (1996), and Island of the Pixie (2003).

UGA VI Uga VI, the bulldog who was the mascot for the University of Georgia, died of congestive heart failure at his home in Savannah, Georgia, on June 27, 2008. He was 9. He was born Uga V’s Whatchagot Loran and succeeded his father, Uga V, as school mascot in September of 1999, two months before Uga V’s death. The white English bulldog was the next in

Uga VI

a long line who have represented the University of Georgia’s football team dating back to 1956. Like his predecessors, he was owned by Frank W. “Sonny” Seiler. Weighing 65 pounds, he was the largest of the Ugas and had the winningest record, with the team standing 87–27 during his nearly 10-year reign. He was also featured in a 2001 episode of Turner South’s Liars and Legends television series, and appeared in the pages of Sports Illustrated magazine.

UNDARI, CLAUDIO Italian actor Claudio Undari, who was often billed as Robert Hundar in U.S. releases of spaghetti westerns, died in Rome on May 12, 2008. He was 73. Undari was born in Castelvetarano, Sicily, Italy, on January 12, 1935. He was active in ﬁlms from the early 1960s and was best known for his roles in Joaquin Luis Romero Marchent’s Italian western ﬁlms. Undari’s numerous ﬁlm credits include Goliath and the Dragon (1960), Marco Polo (1961), The Joy of Living (1961), Segno del Vendicatore II (1962), The Shadow of Zorro (1962), Magniﬁcent Three (1963),

Obituaries • 2008

436

Claudio Undari

Gunﬁght at High Noon (1963), Hawk of the Caribbean (1963), The Terror of Rome Against the Son of Hercules (1964), Ride and Kill (1964), Seven Guns from Texas (1964), Son of Jesse James (1965), The Relentless Four (1965), Ramon the Mexican (1966), One Hundred Thousand Dollars for Lassiter (1966), Dakota Joe (1967), Death Rides Along (1967), Man Who Cried for Revenge (1968), Hole in the Forehead (1968), Emma Hamilton (1968), Sabata (1969), Legion of the Damned (1969), The Weekend Murders (1970), The Narco Men (1970), Shanghai Joe (1972), Cut-Throats Nine (1972), Lady Dynamite (1973), Escape from Death Row (1973), White Fang and the Gold Diggers (1974), Killers of the Savage North (1974), White Fang and the Hunter (1975), Ten Killers Came from Afar (1975), Free Hand for a Tough Cop (1976), The Cynic, the Rat & the Fist (1977), Beauty and the Beast (1977), California (1977), Space Odyssey (aka Metallica) (1979), Beast in Space (1980) as Unaf the beast, and Everything Happens to Me (1980). Largely retired from the screen by the early 1980s, Undari returned in the late 1990s to appear in the ﬁlms Men Behind Bars (1998), Libero Burro (1999), and Ponte Milvio (2000).

known for his role as Visconde de Sabugosa in the series Sitio do Picapau Amarelo in the 1970s and 1980s. He was also featured in several ﬁlms including O Lobisomem (1974), As Mulheres Que Fazem Diferente (1974), O Vampiro de Copacabana (1976), The Marriage (1976), Os Melhores Momentos da Pornochanchada (1978), Tieta of Agreste (1996), O Viajante (1999), Xuxa e os Duendes (2001), Mary, Mother of the Son of God (2003), and Vestido de Noiva (2006). He appeared in television productions of O Primo Basilio (1988) and O Portador (1991) and was featured in the series O Cafona, O Bem-Amado, O Novico, Escalada, Pecado Capital, O Feimao e o Sonho, Escrava Isaura, Selva de Pedra, Pacto de Sangue, Gente Fina, Salome, Despedida de Solteiro, Quem E Voce?, Zaza, Pecado Capital, Forca de Um Desejo, Voce Decide, Lacos de Familia, Brava Gente, and Senhora do Destino. He starred as Asmodeu in the 2005 mini-series Hoje E Dia de Maria and was Gasosa in the television series Cidadao Brasileiro in 2006. Valli starred as Willi Berloque in the series Vidas Opostas in 2007.

VAN ALLAN , RICHARD British operatic bass-baritone Richard Van Allan died of complications from lung cancer in London on December 4, 2008. He was 73. He was born Alan Jones in Clipstone, Nottinghamshire, England, on May 28, 1935. He worked as a constable and teacher, and performed in amateur productions of Gilbert and Sullivan musicals. He began

VALLI, ANDRE Brazilian actor Andre Valli died of pancreatic cancer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 20, 2008. He was 62. Valli was born in Recife, Brazil, on July 12, 1945. He appeared frequently on Brazilian television from the early 1970s and was best

Richard Van Allen

Andre Valli

singing with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in the chorus in 1964 and made his solo debut in a small role in Mozart’s The Magic Flute in 1966. He performed the lead role in Don Giovanni at Sadler’s Wells Opera in 1969 and made his debut with the London Royal Opera as the Mandarin in Turandot in 1971. Van Allan was also noted for his performance as the Pooh-Bah in the English National Opera’s production of The Mikado. He performed with operas throughout Europe and the United States and made his debut with the Metropolitan Opera as the Count in Massenet’s Manon in 1987. Van Allan performed frequently on television in operas and other musical productions including The Rake’s Progress (1975), Iolanthe (1982), The Love of Three Oranges (1982), Gloriana (1984), Albert Herring (1985), L’Enfance du Christ (1986), The Mikado (1987), The

437

2008 • Obituaries

Rape of Lucretia (1987), Billy Budd (1988), The Vampyr: A Soap Opera (1992), La Traviata (1994), The Fairy Queen (1995), The Temptation of Franz Schubert (1997), Flight (1999, Tomorrow La Scala! (2002), and The Magic Flute (2003). He made his ﬁnal stage appearance at the Edinburgh Festival in 2006 in a production of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg.

VANCINI, FLORESTANO Italian ﬁlm director Florestano Vancini died in a hospital in Rome, Italy, on September 18, 2008. He was 82. Vancini was born in Ferrara, Italy, on August 24, 1926. He began working in ﬁlms in the late 1940s and served as assistant director on The River Girl (1955) which he also coscripted and Violent Summer (1959). He made his directorial debut with the 1960 feature Long Night in 1943. He continued to direct, and often write, such

Margot Van der Burgh (with William Hartnell from Doctor Who)

Burgh also starred in television productions of Great Expectations (1959) as Mrs. Gargary, Anna Karenina (1977) as Lydia, The Lost Boys (1978), and Sense and Sensibility (1981). Her other television credits include episodes of Edward the Seventh, Dempsey & Makepeace, and The Pickwick Papers. VAN DER ROHE, GEORGIA Documentary ﬁlmmaker and dancer Georgia van der Rohe died on December 10, 2008. She was 94. She was born on March 2, 1914, the daughter of famed architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. She trained as a dancer at the Isadora Duncan Academy in Potsdam, Germany, and performed on stage under the direction of Mary Wig-

Florestano Vancini

ﬁlms as Latin Lovers (1961), La Banda Casaroli (1962), La Liberta (1963), The Warm Life (1963), Seasons of Our Love (1965), the spaghetti western Long Days of Vengeance (1967), Blow Hot, Blow Cold (1968), La Violenza: Quinto Potere (1972), Liberty (1972), The Assassination of Matteotti (1973), Bitter Love (1974), Mimi (1979), Vonfusion (1981), Imago Urbis (1987), and E Ridendo l’Uccise (2005). Vancini worked frequently in Italian television from the 1980s, helming such productions as Il Commissionario (1982), The Octopus 2 (1985), La Neve nel Bicchiere (1986), Il Giudice Istruttore (1987), Lettera dal Salvador (1988), and Piazza di Spagna (1993).

VAN DER BURGH, MARGOT

British character actress Margot Van der Burgh died in England on December 12, 2008. She was 73. She was born in London in 1935. She was active in television from the 1950s and was featured as Miss Temple in television productions of Jane Eyre in 1957 and 1963. She was also seen in such series as Fabian of the Yard, ITV Television Playhouse, BBC Sunday-Night Theatre, The Herries Chronicle, The Cheaters, Maigret, and Crane. She was seen in the 1960 feature ﬁlm Man Who Couldn’t Walk. She was featured in two Doctor Who serial, playing Cameca, a rare love interest for William Hartnell’s Doctor in “The Aztecs” in 1964, and was Katura in 1981’s “The Keeper of the Traken” with Tom Baker as the Doctor. Van der

Georgia van der Rohe

man. She was banned from the theatre under the Nazis because of her political views but returned to the stage after World War II. She worked often with director Erwin Piscator until largely retiring from the stage in the mid–1950s. She began making documentary ﬁlms about leading artists, including one on her father. Van der Rohe also created ﬁlms about artists Paul Klee and Vasily Kandinsky.

VAN DORMAEL, PIERRE Belgian jazz guitarist and composer Pierre Van Dormael died of cancer in Brussels, Belgium, on September 3, 2008. He was 56. Van Dormael was born in Brussels on May 24,

Obituaries • 2008

438 Proceso a la Infamia (1978), In Retirement (1984), Darse Cuenta (1984), Adios, Roberto (1985), Insomniacs (1986), Pinocho (1986), Los Duenos del Silencio (1987), Sentimientos: Mirta de Liniers a Estambul (1987), Con la Misma Bronca (1988), La Ciudad Oculta (1989), Corps Perdus (1990), The Angry Toy (1998), Sin intervalo (2002), and Cheese Head (2006). Vaner was also featured in such television productions as El Exterminador (1972), Los Que Estamos Solos (1976), and Alas, Poder & Pasion (1998). She made her ﬁnal ﬁlm appearance in Lucrecia Martel’s 2008 release The Headless Woman. Survivors include her husband, actor Leonardo Favio.

Pierre Van Dormael

1952. He studied music composition and arrangement at the Berklee College of Music in Boston before returning to Belgium to study and teach at the Liege Conservatoire. He became a leading ﬁgure in the Belgian jazz scene in the 1980s, forming the band Nasa Na. He also composed scores for several ﬁlms directed by his brother Jaco Van Dormael including Toto the Hero (1991), The Eighth Day (1996), and Mr. Nobody (2006).

VANER , MARIA Argentine actress Maria Vaner died of a heart attack in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 21, 2008. She was 73. Vaner was born in Buenos Aires on March 23, 1935, the daughter of actress Maria Luisa Robledo and actor Pedro Aleandro. She began her ﬁlm career in the late 1950s and was noted for her performances in the features Three Times Ana (1961) and The Old Young People (1962). In a screen career that encompassed ﬁfty years, her many ﬁlm credits also include In Burning Darkness (1958), The Kidnapper (1958), Simiente Humana (1959), El Bote, el Rio y la Gente (1960), Prisoners of a Night (1962), Racconto (1963), The Long Silence (1963), She Will Return Tomorrow (1963), El Octavo Inﬁerno (1964), Me First (1964), Sombras en el Cielo (1964), Chronicle of a Lonely Child (1965), El Romance del Aniceto y la Francisca (1967), El Caradura y la Millionaira (1971), Heroine (1972), La Mala Vida (1973), La Balada del Regreso (1974), Bodas de Cristal (1975), Little Raoul (1975), A Woman (1975), El Grito de Celina (1976), No Toquen a la Nena (1976),

Maria Vaner

VAN HERWIJNEN, CAROL Dutch actor Carol van Herwijnen died in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on July 7, 2008. He was 67. Van Herwijnen was born in Laren, the Netherlands, on June 21, 1941. He appeared frequently in Dutch ﬁlms and television productions in the late 1960s. Van Herwijnen was featured in the ﬁlms Rufus (1975), Known Faces, Mixed Feelings (1980), De Boezemvriend (1982), Black Rider (1983),

Carol van Herwinjnen

Cheech and Chong: Still Smokin’ (1983) as the hotel manager, De Mannetjesmaker (1983), Private Resistance (1985), The Johnsons (1992), Heading for England (1993), Belle van Zuylen — Madame de Charriere (1993), The Dress (1996), Kees de Jongen (2003), and Dennis P. (2007). He was also seen in television productions of Egmont (1968), Stemmen (1972), Vader en Zoon (1974), Een Kannibaal als Jij en Ik (1979), Tony (1983), Een Hotelbar in Toko (1991), Kleine Daden, Grote Gevolgen: De Heldendaad (1994), Charlotte Sophie Bentinck (1996), In the Interests of the State (1997), and Otie (1998). Van Herwijnen starred as Commissaris Van Dijk in the television series Thomas en Senior op het Spoor van Brute Berend in 1988 and was Michiel Bruinink in Zonder Ernst from 1992 to 1993. He also starred as Butler Hopjes in Toen was Geluk Heel Gewoon (1993). His other television credits include episodes of Kunt u Mij de Weg naar Hamelen Vertellen, Meneer?, Opzoek naar Yolanda, Moordspel, Drie Recht, een Averecht, Seth & Fiona, Coverstory, Der Eenzame oorlog van Koos Tak, Russen, Loenatik, Baantjer, Kinderen Geen Bezwaar, Grijpstra & de Gier, Flikken Maastricht, and Keyzer & de Boer.

439

2008 • Obituaries

VAN -SPRINGSTEEN, ALICE Alice VanSpringsteen, the longtime stunt double for western star Dale Evans, died of complications from pneumonia in a Port Loma, California, hospital on September 13, 2008. She was 88. She was born Alice Grace van Der Veen in California on October 12, 1919. She was an expert horse rider and began performing in rodeos while in her teens. She began working in ﬁlms as a stuntwoman with 1935’s In Old Kentucky, doubling leading lady Dorothy Wilson in Will Rogers’ ﬁnal ﬁlm. She

Carol Varga

Alice Van-Springsteen (left, with Gail Davis from Annie Oakley)

also doubled Dorothy Revier in the 1935 Buck Jones western The Cowboy and the Kid and performed stunts for such stars as Marion Davies in Hearts Divided (1936), Lois January in The Roaming Cowboy (1937), Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet (1944), Jane Wyman in The Yearling (1946), and Judy Canova in Oklahoma Annie (1952). Van ﬁrst met Dale Evans on the set of Yellow Rose of Texas in 1944. The two women became close friends and roommates prior to Evans’ marriage to Roy Rogers. She also taught Evans how to ride and remained her stuntwoman throughout her career. Van married ﬁlm director R.G. “Bud” Springsteen during the 1940s and the couple remained together until his death in 1989. She worked frequently in television in the 1950s and 1960s, doubling Gail Davis on Annie Oakley and both Barbara Stanwyck and Linda Evans on The Big Valley series. Van-Springsteen was the recipient of the Golden Boot Award for her work in westerns in 1992 and was inducted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1998.

VARGA , CAROL Philippine actress Carol Varga died in Las Vegas, Nevada, on March 8, 2008. She was 77. She was born Carolina Trinidad on August 6, 1930. She began her career in ﬁlms in the Philippines in the late 1940s with the studio X’Otic Films. She was seen in the ﬁlms Sagur (1949), The 13th Sultan (1949), Siyudad sa Ilalim ng Lupa (1949), and Muntinlupa (1950). Varga appeared in small roles in several U.S. ﬁlms in the early 1950s including Up Front (1951), The Prince Who Was a Thief (1951), Little Eg ypt (1951), The Golden Horde (1951), and Bride of the Gorilla (1951). She worked primarily with Premiere Productions in the

Philippines for the remainder of the decade and the early 1960s, appearing in Passion of Christ (1952) as Mary Magdalene, Kapitan Berong (1953), Kambal na Lihim (1953), Highway 54 (1953) with Leopoldo Salcedo, Habang Buhay (1953), Dyesebal (1953) as a socialite in a romantic triangle with a mermaid, Mr. Dupong (1954), Laging May Umage (1954), Guwapo (1954), Eva at si Adan (1954), Sagrado (1955), Pandora (1955) Paltik (1955), Palahamak (1955), Dakilang Hudas (1955), Santa Lucia (1956), Pitong Maria (1956), Montalan Brothers (1956), Cinco Hermanas (1956), Yaya Maria (1957), Prince Alejandre (1957), Pandanggo ni Neneng (1957), Maskara (1957), Bicol Express (1957), Santa Rita de Casia (1958), Obra Maestra (1958), Marta Solder (1958), Liham Kay Tiya Dely, Mga (1958), Pusang Itim (1959), Pitong Gatang (1959), Hogkong Honeymoon (1960), I Believe (1961), Sarah Sollente (1962), Aninong Bakal (1963), Scorpio (1964), Ging (1964), Larawan ng Pag-ibig (1964), Anak ni Dyesebel (1964), Zebra (1965), Hong Kong 999 (1965), Captain Barbell Kontra Captain Bakal (1965), 7 Mukha ni Dr. Evans (1965), and Hell of Borneo (1966). Varga also appeared in such U.S. features as Untamed Mistress (1956), The Black Panther (1956), Man on the Run (1958), Live Fast, Die Young (1958), and the science ﬁction cult ﬁlm Space Master X7 (1958). She retired from the screen after appearing in the 1970 ﬁlm The Secret of the Sacred Forest (1970). VARNEY, REG British actor Reg Varney, who was best known for his role as Stan Butler in the television comedy series On the Buses in the 1970s, died of a respiratory infection in a nursing home in Budleigh Salterton, Devon, England, on November 16, 2008. He was 92. Varney was born in Canning Town, London, England, on July 11, 1916. He began performing in music halls in the 1930s and continued as an entertainer during World War II while serving in the Royal Electrical Engineers. He made his ﬁlm debut in 1952 with Miss Robin Hood, and was featured on television in the series The Rag Trade, The Valiant Varneys, Comedy Playhouse, ITV Playhouse, and The Rovers. He also appeared in the ﬁlms Joey Boy (1965) and The Great St. Trinian’s Train Robbery (1966), and starred as Harry Butt in the television sit-com Beggar My Neighbour from 1966 to 1968. He starred as London bus driver Stan Butler in the series On the Buses from 1969 to 1973

Obituaries • 2008

440

Reg Varney

Gerrard Verhage

and in the spin-off ﬁlms On the Buses (1971), Mutiny on the Buses (1972), and Holiday on the Buses (1973). He was also featured in the 1972 ﬁlm Go for a Take and starred in the variety series The Reg Varney Revue in 1972 and Reg Varney in 1973. He starred as Reg Furnell in the comedy series Down the ’Gate from 1975 to 1976, and appeared in television productions of The Plank (1979) and Red Peppers (1991). Varney was also seen in episodes of Tonight at 8:30 and Paul Merton’s Life of Comedy. He subsequently retired to Devon, where he wrote his autobiography, The Little Clown, which was published in 1990.

Netherlands, on April 6, 2008. He was 59. Verhage was born in Hilversum, the Netherlands, on December 28, 1948. He began directing documentary ﬁlms in the early 1980s, helming De Berg (1982), Het Wonder van Rotterdam (1984), and Afzien (1986). He also directed the ﬁlms Once Beaten, Twice Shy (1995), the awardwinning tele-ﬁlm Dense on the Sea (1999), The Ninth Hour (2000), The Preacher (2004), and All Souls (2005).

VAY, ILUS Hungarian actress Ilus Vay died in Hungary on October 28, 2008. She was 83. Vay was born in Budapest, Hungary, on February 20, 1925. She was active in ﬁlms from the early 1940s, with roles in Szeptember Vegen (1942), Jomadar (1943), Anyamasszony Katonaja (1943), A Vadon Fia (1944), Mickey Magnate (1949), Under the City (1953), Dollarpapa (1956),

VESTLY, ANNE-CATH Norwegian children’s book author Anne-Cath Vestly died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in a nursing home in Mjondalen, Norway, on December 15, 2008. She was 88. She was born Anne Catharina Schulerud in Rena, Nor-

Anne-Cath Vestly

Ilus Vay

Two Confessions (1957), Hazassagbol Elegseges (1962), Ozveg y Menyasszonyok (1964), Alfa Romeo es Julia (1969), The Girl Who Liked Purple Flowers (1973), Akli Miklos (1986), A Harom Testor Afrikaban (1996), and Eg y Bolond Szazat Csinal (2006).

VERHAGE, GERRARD Dutch ﬁlm director Gerrard Verhage died of cancer in Amsterdam, the

way, on February 15, 1920. She married illustrator John Vestly in 1946, who worked with her on all of her books until his death in 1993. Her ﬁrst book, Ole Aleksander Filibom-bom-bom (aka Ollie Alexander Tiddly-Om-Pom Pom), became a series of twelve and was adapted for ﬁlm in 1998. She also wrote the popular Aurora series and was best known for her series Grandma and the Eight Children. Vestly starred as Grandma in ﬁlm and television productions based on the series in the 1970s. She was previously featured in the 1952 ﬁlm Emergency Landing and starred with Alf Proysen in the 1963 children’s television series Kanutten og Romeo Klive.

441

2008 • Obituaries

VINCE, BILL Canadian ﬁlm producer Bill Vince died of cancer on June 23, 2008. He was 44. Vince began working in ﬁlms in the early 1990s, often teaming with his brother Robert on such productions as Cafe Romeo (1992), Tomcat: Dangerous Desires (1993), Samurai Cowboy (1993), Breaking Point (1993), Anything for Love (1993), Double Cross (1994), Final Round (1994), Killer (1994), Malicious (1995), Dream Man (1995), Crash (1996), White Tiger (1996), Underworld

June Vincent

Bill Vince

(1996), Wounded (1997), Disney’s Air Bud (1997), Air Bud: Golden Receiver (1998), Hoods (1998), and The 4th Floor (1999). Vince joined with Rob Merilees to form the ﬁlm production house Inﬁnity Features in the early 2000s and was a producer on the ﬁlms Ricky 6 (2000), Here’s to Life! (2000), Liberty Stands Still (2002), Dead Heat (2002) with Kiefer Sutherland, The Snow Walker (2003), Dreaming of Julia (2003), Saved! (2004), The Final Cut (2004), Make the Movie Like the Movie (2004), Bad Girls from Valley High (2005), the Oscarnominated Capote (2005), Ripley Under Ground (2005), Just Friends (2005), Butterﬂy on a Wheel (2007), and Stone of Destiny (2008). Vince’s most recent productions include the forthcoming The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus (2008), which featured actor Heath Ledger in his ﬁnal role. He was working on the science ﬁction thriller Push and the animated fantasy Edison and Leo at the time of his death.

VINCENT, JUNE Blonde leading lady June Vincent died in Aurora, Colorado, on November 20, 2008. She was 88. She was born Dorothy June Smith in Harrods, Ohio, on July 17, 1920. She began her ﬁlm career in the early 1940s and appeared in numerous low-budget features and television productions over the next 30 years. Taking the screen name June Vincent, she was seen in such ﬁlms as Honeymoon Lodge (1943), Sing a Jingle (1944), Ladies Courageous (1944), The Climax (1944) with Boris Karloff and Susanna Foster, Can’t Help Singing (1944), Here Come the Co-Eds (1945), That’s the Spirit (1945), Black Angel (1946), The Challenge (1948), Song of Idaho (1948), Trapped by Boston Blackie (1948), Shed No Tears (1948), Arkansas Swing (1948), The Creeper (1948) with Rondo Hatton, The Lone Wolf and His Lady (1949), Zamba the Gorilla

(1949), Mary Ryan, Detective (1949), In a Lonely Place (1950), Counterspy Meets Scotland Yard (1950), Secrets of Monte Carlo (1951), Colorado Sundown (1952), Night Without Sleep (1952), The WAC from Walla Walla (1952), Clipped Wings (1953), Marry Me Again (1953), City of Shadows (1955), and The Miracle of the Hills (1959). She was a proliﬁc television performer from the early 1950s, guest-starring in such series as Racket Squad, The Abbott and Costello Show, Boston Blackie, Your Jeweler’s Showcase, I’m the Law, The Lone Wolf, Father Knows Best, Damon Runyon Theater, The Man Behind the Badge, Screen Directors Playhouse, Passport to Danger, Medic, Matinee Theatre, Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers, Dr. Christian, The Ford Television Theatre, George Sanders Mystery Theater, Captain David Grief, Zane Grey Theater, Trackdown, The Gale Storm Show, Frontier Justice, M Squad, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Markham, The Millionaire, Tightrope, The Riﬂeman, One Step Beyond, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Riverboat, The Barbara Stanwyck Show, Peter Gunn, Assignment: Underwater, Checkmate, The Loretta Young Show, The Untouchables, The Brothers Brannigan, Have Gun —Will Travel, Lock Up, King of Diamonds, Perry Mason, Target: The Corruptors, Hawaiian Eye, Tales of Wells Fargo, Route 66, McKeever & the Colonel, Dr. Kildare, The Lieutenant, Mr. Novak, The Great Adventure, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Andy Grifﬁth Show, Honey West, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Fugitive, That Girl, Family Affair, Ironside, The Virginian, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Bewitched, Mayberry R.F.D., The F.B.I., The Smith Family, Bright Promises, The Delphi Bureau, The Streets of San Francisco, Kung Fu, and Maude. She retired from the screen in the mid–1970s. VITALE, CAROL Playboy Playmate Carol Vitale died of complications from lupus and scleroderma at her home in Aventura, Florida, on July 23, 2008. She was 59. Vitale was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on November 14, 1948. She moved to Florida while in her teens, where she worked as a dancer and model. She began working as a Bunny at the Miami Playboy Club in the late 1960s. Vitale was soon appearing in the pages of Playboy magazine and was featured on the cover in August of 1972 after being named Miami Bunny of the Year. Two years later, she became Playboy Playmate of the Month as Miss July 1974. Later, she was a lingerie

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Carol Vitale

VL Mike

designer for Frederick’s of Hollywood and hosted The Carol Vitale Show on Florida’s public-access cable network from 1989 to 2000. She returned to the pages of Playboy in 1997 in a “Playmate Revisited” pictorial.

VOLTAIRE, JACQUELINE British-born actress and model Jacqueline Voltaire, who was a popular performer on Mexican television, died of cancer in a Mexico City hospital on April 8, 2008. She was 59. Voltaire was born in Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England, on November 6, 1948. She began her career in Europe as a model and dancer and was featured in such ﬁlms as A Quixote Without La Mancha (1969), Peach Blossom (1970), La Hermana Trinquete (1970), Un Amante Anda Suelto (1970), Los Desalmados (1971), El Rey de Acapulco (1972), Vanessa (1973), The Holy Mountain (1973), Capulina Contra las Momias (1973), and Debieron Ahorcarlos Antes (1974). Voltaire also appeared in episodes of the television series McCloud and Sweating Bullets and was featured in small roles in the ﬁlms Dune (1984), The Taking of Beverly Hills (1991), The Arrivals (1996), and Men with Guns (1997). She worked primarily in Mexico from the 1980s, appearing in the ﬁlms La Tumba del Atlantico (1992), Soy Hombre y Que (1993), Killing Cabos (2004), Rabbit on the Moon (2004), Under the Same Moon (2007), and My Mexican Shivah (2007). She was also seen on television in the series Alcanzar una Estrella, La Culpa, Forever, The Guilt, Preciosa, El Privilegio de Amar, Tres Mujeres, Por tu Amor, DKDA: Suenos de Juventud, Por un Beso, Salome, Vivan los Ninos!, Clase 406, Mujer, Casos de la Vida Real, Real Love, Corazones al Limite, Loving Again, La Hora Pico, Rebelde, Contra Viento y Marea, Romanc-

VLCEK , ERNST Austrian science ﬁction writer Ernst Vlcek, who was best known for authoring books in the Perry Rhodan series, was found dead of heart failure at his apartment in Brunn, Austria, on April 22, 2008. He was 67. Vlcek was born in Vienna, Austria, on January 9, 1941. He began writing science

Ernst Vlcek

ﬁction stories in the 1960s. He made with debut with Perry Rhodan with #509 in the series entitled The Bandits from Terrania. He was also responsible for developing the series plot outlines from the late 1980s until his retirement in 2004.

VL MIKE Michael Allen, who was a gangsta rapper under the name VL Mike, was shot to death in New Orleans, Louisiana, on April 20, 2008. He was 32. Allen was born in New Orleans on January 19, 1976. He became noted as a rapper in 2004 and was associated with B.G. of Chopper City Records. He was featured on the Chopper City Boyz 2007 album We Got This. He left Chopper City soon after and engaged in a feud with B.G. VL Mike was heard on the 2007 mixtape Place Yo Betz and was planning a solo album, It’s Only One Me, when he was killed.

Jacqueline Voltaire

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ing the Bride, La Verdad Oculta, Destilando Amor, RBD: La Familia, Muchachitas Como Tu, Palabra de Mujer, and Amor sin Maquillaje.

WADSWORTH, DEREK British jazz trombonist and composer Derek Wadsworth died in Oxfordshire, England, on December 3, 2008. He was 68. Wadsworth was born in West Yorkshire, England, in 1939. He was a popular session musician and arranger from the 1960s and worked with such artists as Judy Garland, Dusty Springﬁeld, Shirley Bassey, Rod Stewart, Cat Stevens, George Harrison, The Rolling Stones,

Malvin Wald

Derek Wadsworth

and The Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He began working in ﬁlm in the early 1970s as a music arranger for Christa: Swedish Fly Girls (1971). He was arranger and conductor for the 1975 ﬁlm Alﬁe Darling and composed the score for the 1976 ﬁlm A Child Is a Wild Thing. Wadsworth was best known for his compositions for the second season of the science ﬁction television series Space: 1999. He also was conductor and arranger for the ﬁlms Britannia Hospital (1982) and The Whales of August (1987). Wadsworth also scored several documentaries, including Seven Wonders of the World: Miriam Rothschild (1995) and Do Vampire Bats Have Friends? (1997).

WALD, MALVIN Screenwriter Malvin Wald, who earned an Academy Award nomination for coscripting the 1948 ﬁlm The Naked City, died in a Sherman Oaks, California, hospital on March 6, 2008. He was 90. Wald was born on August 8, 1917. He was the younger brother of ﬁlm producer and writer Jerry Wald and joined his brother in Hollywood in the late 1930s after graduating from Brooklyn College. He worked on several ﬁlms in the early 1940s including Two in a Taxi (1941), Ten Gentlemen from West Point (1942), The Powers Girl (1943), The Underdog (1943), and Jive Junction (1943). He joined the Army Air Forces during World War II, serving in the First Motion Picture Unit where he wrote over 30 military training ﬁlms. After the war Wald returned to ﬁlms, co-writing the ﬁlm noir police drama The Naked City with Albert Maltz. Waltz was also a writer on the ﬁlms Behind Locked Doors (1948), The Dark Past (1948), The Undercover Man (1949), Not Wanted (1949), Outrage (1950), On the

Loose (1951), Battle Taxi (1955), Man on Fire (1957), Street of Darkness (1958), Al Capone (1959), The Steel Claw (1961), and Venus in Furs (1969). Wald worked primarily in television from the 1950s, scripting episodes of such series as Your Favorite Story, Lux Video Theatre, Fireside Theatre, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents, Jungle Jim, My Friend Flicks, Brave Eagle, The Alcoa Hour, Screen Directors Playhouse, Goodyear Television Playhouse, Lassie, The Silent Service, Cavalcade of America, Playhouse 90, The George Sanders Mystery Theater, The Restless Gun, Perry Mason, Have Gun —Will Travel, Climax!, Peter Gunn, Shirley Temple’s Storybook, Assignment: Underwater, Lock Up, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Combat!, The Great Adventure, Untamed World, and Daktari. Wald also wrote the television productions The Rafer Johnson Story (1961), Hollywood: The Golden Years (1961), D-Day June 6, 1944 (1962), Biography of a Rookie: The Willie Davis Story (1963), Project: Man in Space (1963), and Around the World of Mike Todd (1968). In the late 1970s he worked for Sunn Classics, scripting episodes of The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams and Greatest Heroes of the Bible, and writing the ﬁlms In Search of Historic Jesus (1979) and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1980).

WALKER, CHARLIE Grand Ole Opry singer Charlie Walker died of complications from colon cancer in Hendersonville, Tennessee, on September 12, 2008. He was 81. Walker was born in Copeville, Texas,

Charlie Walker

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on November 2, 1926. He was a country music disc jockey in Texas from the late 1940s and recorded several regional hits in the 1950s. He hit the charts with the song “Only You, Only You” and had a major hit with “Pick Me Up on You Way Down” in 1958. Walker also recorded the popular tunes “Who Will Buy the Wine,” “Wild as a Wildcat,” and “Don’t Squeeze My Sharmon.” He joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1967 and was featured several times on Hee Haw in the 1980s. He was featured as Cowboy Copas in the 1985 ﬁlm Sweet Dreams, and was seen in the 1997 ﬁlm Bolt.

WALKER, DAVID British costume designer David Walker died of complications from a stroke in England on December 27, 2008. He was 74. Walker was born in Calcutta, India, to British parents, on July 18, 1934, and was raised in London. He trained at the Central School of Arts and Crafts and began designing costumes for Joan Littlewood’s productions at Liverpool Theatre in the late 1950s. He was soon costuming for principal theatrical companies throughout England and ﬁrst designed for opera in 1965 for a production of Don Giovanni in Edinburgh. Walker was

David Walker

best known for his designs for the ballet. He designed costumes and sets for the Royal Ballet’s productions of Cinderella and The Dream for Frederick Ashton. He was also involved with the London Festival Ballet under Peter Schaufuss designing sets and costumes for The Nutcracker, Giselle, and La Sylphide. He also designed a new production of Sleeping Beauty for Ninette de Valois at the Royal Ballet. Walker was also costume designer for several historical ﬁlms, including The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968), Song of Norway (1970), Lady Caroline Lamb (1972), Eagle in a Cage (1972), and The Great Waltz (1972). He worked on several television productions including Cinderella (1969), Life of Shakespeare (1978), and The Corn Is Green (1979).

WALLACE, DAVID FOSTER Writer David Foster Wallace, who was best known for his surreal mammoth novel Inﬁnite Jest, hanged himself in an apparent suicide at his home in Claremont, California, on September 12, 2008. He had reportedly been undergoing treatment for severe depression for many years. He was 46. Wallace was born in Ithaca, New York, on Feb-

David Foster Wallace

ruary 21, 1962. He graduated from Amherst college and earned a masters degree in ﬁne art from the University of Arizona in 1987. He began writing while in college, penning short stories and essays on a myriad of subjects. His ﬁrst novel, the broadly comic The Broom of the System, which evolved from his college thesis, was published in 1986. His magnum opus, Inﬁnite Jest, was published ten years later in 1996. A bizarre mixture of style and substance, the book’s title alluded to a lost ﬁlm that was said to reduce the viewer to inaction or death from pure enjoyment, and terrorists who seek it out for their own nefarious purposes. Wallace also published the short story collections Girl with Curious Hair (1989), Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (1999) which was adapted for to ﬁlm by John Krasinski in 2009, and Oblivion Stories (2004). His ﬁnal collection of essays, Consider the Lobster and Other Essays, was published in 2006.

WALLACE, JERRY Country singer Jerry Wallace died of congestive heart failure in Victorville, California, on May 5, 2008. He was 79. Wallace was born in Guilford, Missouri, on December 15, 1928. He was featured as Johnny Wilson in the 1951 ﬁlm Corn’s-APopin’, and performed on television on The Dick Clark Show in the late 1950s. Wallace was best known for the songs “Primrose Lane” (1959), “Shutters and Boards” (1963) written by Audie Murphy, “In the Misty Moonlight” (1964), “The Lovers of the World” (1970), and

Jerry Wallace

445

2008 • Obituaries

“To Get to You” (1972). His song “If You Leave Me Tonight I’ll Cry” became a crossover hit on the country, pop, and easy listening charts after being features “The Tune in Dan’s Cafe,” a 1972 episode of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery.

WALLIS, PETER British comic actor Peter Wallis died from complications of diabetes in an Otley, England, hospital on May 23, 2008. He was 82. Wallis began his show business career after serving in the British Army, and formed an act with his three sisters and brother that entertained in Leeds. He parlayed the act’s popularity into an acting career and soon appeared on television in productions of Speech Day (1973), Leeds United (1974), Sunset Across the Bay (1975), and Hindle Wakes (1976). He also appeared in episodes of My Brother’s Keeper, Open All Hours, Breakaway Girls, Thundercloud, All Creatures Great and Small, Heartbeat, Harry, Cardiac Arrest, Last of the Summer Wine, Where the Heart Is, A Prince Among Us, The Cops, and Always and Everyone. Wallis also appeared in several ﬁlms including Dracula (1979) with Frank Langella and Laurence Oliver, The Man from Snowy River (1982), and Brassed Off (1996). WANDERLEY, NANCY Brazilian actress and comedienne Nancy Wanderley died of respiratory failure in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil, on December 19, 2008. She was 81. She was born in Rio de

Helga Warnecke

gler in the 1930s. She also worked as a fashion model and was featured in several German ﬁlms including Fronttheater (1942), Wir Machen Musik (1942), Tonelli (1943), Chernie und Liebe (1948), The Mad Bomberg (1957), and Majestat auf Abwegen (1958). Warnecke came to the United States in 1962 where she worked as a housekeeper and nanny. She studied interior design in the late 1960s and worked in the ﬁeld for over a decade. She subsequently worked as a nurse’s aide until her retirement.

WARP, HAZEL Stunt woman Hazel Warp, who doubled for Vivian Leigh in the ﬁlm classic Gone with the Wind, died in a Livingston, Montana, hospital on August 26, 2008. She was 93. Warp was born in Harlowton, Montana on November 11, 1914. She worked in the rodeo as a trick rider while in her teens.

Nancy Wanderley

Janeiro on February 25, 1927. She was featured in the ﬁlms O Petroleo e Nosso (1954), O Primo do Cangaceiro (1955), No Mundo da Lua (1958), Massagista de Madame (1958), O Batedor de Carteiras (1958), O Camelo da Rua Larga (1958), Quem Roubou Meu Samba? (1959), Eu Sou o Tal (1959), Pequeno por Fora (1960), O Palhaco O Que E? (1960) and Samba em Brasilia (1961). She also performed frequently on stage and radio and starred as Rosa in the tele-novela Rosa Baiana in 1981.

WARNECKE, HELGA German actress Helga Warnecke died at her home in Kenosha, Illinois, on January 12, 2008. She was 81. Warnecke was born in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, on April 20, 1926. She began her career working in the circus as an acrobat and jug-

Hazel Warp

She began working in ﬁlms in the late 1930s and performed Leigh’s horseback riding scene in Gone with the Wind in 1939. She also doubled for Leigh during a fall down a ﬂight of stairs in the ﬁlm. Warp also worked in the ﬁlms Wuthering Heights, Ben Hur and National Velvet.

WARREN, DALE HENRY Dale Henry Warren, who sang with the legendary western group the Sons of the Pioneers for over 55 years, died of heart failure in a medical center near Branson, Missouri, on Au-

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446

Dale Henry Warren

Dee Dee Warwick

gust 9, 2008. He was 83. Warren was born in Rockford, Illinois, on June 1, 1925. His parents performed on radio, with his father leading Uncle Henry’s Kentucky Mountaineers and his mother billed as Sally the Mountain Girl. Warren played with the family band and later teamed with his wife, Margie (who was known as Fiddlin’ Kate), and others to form the Jimmy Dale Quartet. He also sang with Clifﬁe Stone’s Hometown Jamboree, Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage, and the All American Jamboree. He was selected to replace singer Ken Curtis in the Sons of the Pioneers when Curtis left the group to pursue an acting career. He joined with Lloyd Perryman and Tommy Doss as the group’s vocal trio, with Hugh Farr on ﬁddle, Karl Farr on guitar, and Deuce Spriggins on bass. Warren sang on the Pioneers’ recordings with RCA Victor from 1958 to 1967, including the popular albums Trail Dust and Tumbleweed Trails. He also performed with group on television in such variety shows as The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Joey Bishop Show, The Hollywood Palace, and Hee Haw. He remained with the various incarnations of the group for over half a century, becoming the leader, or “trail boss,” following the death of Lloyd Perryman in 1977. The original Sons of the Pioneers were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980 and were inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame in 1995. Warren led the group into the new century, performing regularly in Branson, Missouri, and Tucson, Arizona. WARWICK, DEE DEE R&B singer Dee Dee Warwick, who was the younger sister of entertainer Dionne Warwick, died in a nursing home in South Orange, New Jersey, after a long illness on October 18, 2008. She was 63. She was born Delia Mae Warrick in Newark, New Jersey, on September 25, 1945. She began singing gospel music with her sister as the Gospelaires in the 1950s. She moved to New York in the 1960s where she worked as a session vocalist for such stars as Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, and Nina Simone. She recorded several hit songs including “I Want to Be with You” (1966), “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” (1966), the Grammy-nominated “Foolish Fool” (1969), “She Didn’t Know (She Kept on Talking)” (1970), and “Suspicious Minds” (1971). She also recorded the theme for the 1969 ﬁlm Ring of Bright Water. In recent years

Dee Dee had worked primarily as a background singer for sister Dionne for concerts and recordings, including the 2008 gospel album Why We Sing.

WASSERMAN, DALE Tony Award–winning playwright Dale Wasserman, who was best known for writing the book for the hit Broadway musical Man of La Mancha, died of congestive heart failure at his home in Paradise Valley, Arizona, on December 21, 2008. He was 91. Wasserman was born in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, on November 2, 1917. He began working in theater at the age of 19, serving as a stage manager and lighting director for impresario Sol Hurok. He was soon directing and producing plays around the world, including the 1946 Broadway musical Beggar’s Holiday. He made his debut as a writer with a 1954 television production of his play Elisha and the Long Knives on Matinee Theatre. He wrote numerous episodes of television anthology series in the 1950s including The Alcoa Hour, Kraft Television Theatre, Studio One, Climax!, The O. Henry Playhouse, The Blue Angels, Armstrong Circle Theatre, The DuPont Show of the Month, G.E. True, and The Richard Boone Show. He also scripted the television adaptations of The Citadel (1960) and The Power and the Glory. His play I, Don Quixote, based on the classic novel by Miguel de Cervantes, was aired as an episode of The DuPont Show of the Month in 1959. Wasserman wrote the book for the 1966 musical version, Man of La Mancha, that became a Tony Award–

Dale Wasserman

447 winning hit and spawned a ﬁlm starring Peter O’Toole in 1972. Broadway revivals of the musical were also staged in 1972, 1977, 1992, and 2002. He also adapted Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, for the Broadway stage in 1963 in a production starring Kirk Douglas. Wasserman also scripted several ﬁlms, adapting Edison Marshall’s novel The Vikings in 1958, and writing Quick Before It Melts (1964), Mister Buddwing (1966), the tele-ﬁlm Long After Summer (1967), and A Walk with Love and Death (1969). He also worked uncredited on the script for the 1963 epic Cleopatra. Wasserman was not involved with the 1975 ﬁlm version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest starring Jack Nicholson, which adapted Kesey’s original novel for its script. His play adaptation of Cuckoo’s was revived on Broadway in 2001 starring Gary Sinise as the rebellious mental patient Randle P. McMurphy.

WATKIN, DAVID

British cinematographer David Watkin, who earned an Academy Award for photographing the 1985 ﬁlm Out of Africa, died of cancer in England on February 19, 2008. He was 82. Watkin was born in Margate, Kent, England, on March 23, 1925. He served in the British Army during World War II, and worked with the British Railways after the war. He began ﬁlming documentaries and travelogues for British Transport Films in 1949 and worked with the company throughout the 1950s. He made the transition to feature ﬁlms in 1965, serving as director of photography for Richard Lester’s comedy The Knack ... and How to Get It. He worked with Lester on eight subsequent ﬁlms including 1965’s Help!, starring the Beatles. He also designed and photographed the title sequence for the 1964 James Bond ﬁlm Goldﬁnger. Watkin’s other ﬁlm credits include Mademoiselle (1966), Marat/Sade (1967), How I Won the War (1967), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968), The Bed-Sitting Room (1969), Catch-22 (1970), Ken Russell’s The Devils (1971), The Boy Friend (1971), Yellow Dog (1973), The Homecoming (1973), A Delicate Balance (1973), Richard Lester’s The Three Musketeers (1973) and the 1974 sequel The Four Musketeers, Mahogany (1975), To the Devil — A Daughter (1976), Robin and Marian (1976), Joseph Andrews (1977), the 1977 television mini-series Jesus of Nazareth, That Summer (1979), Hanover Street (1979), Cuba (1979), Cinderella (1981), Chariots of Fire

2008 • Obituaries

(1981), Endless Love (1981), Yentl (1983) starring Barbra Streisand, The Hotel New Hampshire (1984), Return to Oz (1985), White Nights (1985), Out of Africa (1985) which earned him an Oscar for his photography, Sky Bandits (1986), Moonstruck (1987), Masquerade (1988), The Good Mother (1988), Last Rites (1988), Journey to the Center of the Earth (1989), the 1989 tele-ﬁlm Murder on the Moon, Memphis Belle (1990), Hamlet (1990), The Object of Beauty (1991), The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez (1991), Used People (1992), This Boy’s Life (1993), Bopha! (1993), Milk Money (1994), Jane Eyre (1996), Bogus (1996), Through Roses (1997), Night Falls on Manhattan (1997) which also featured Watkins in a rare onscreen appearance in the cameo role of a sleeping judge, Obsession (1997), Critical Care (1997), Gloria (1999), Tea with Mussolini (1999), and All Forgotten (2000).

WATSON, DELMAR Former child actor Delmar Watson died of complications from prostate cancer at his home in Glendale, California, on October 26, 2008. He was 82. Watson was born in Los Angeles on July 1, 1926, the son of ﬁlm special effects designer Coy Watson. His family lived near the Mack Sennett Studios, and he and his eight brothers and sisters began appearing in ﬁlms in the late 1920s. He was featured in over 100 ﬁlms during his career as a child actor, with such credits as Taxi 13 (1928), The Valiant (1929), The Lone Star Ranger (1930), Outside the Law (1930), Mothers Cry (1930), Riders of the Purple Sage (1931), Compromised (1931), Heavens! My Husband! (1932), Speed in the Gay Nineties (1932), Running with Charles Paddock

Delmar Watson

David Watkin

(1932), The Fourth Horseman (1932), Wild Girl (1932), Goldie Gets Along (1933), The Last Trail (1933), To the Last Man (1933), The Right to Romance (1933), Fugitive Lovers (1934), Straight Is the Way (1934), Chained (1934), Among the Missing (1934), The Painted Veil (1934), In the Dog House (1934), Shrimps for a Day (1934), Life Begins at Forty (1935), Silk Hat Kid (1935), Annie Oakley (1935) as Wesley Oakley, Our Gang Follies of 1936 (1935), We’re Only Human (1935), The Pinch Singer (1936), Sutter’s Gold (1936), The Country Doctor (1936), Silly Billies (1936), Old Hutch (1936), One Live Ghost (1936), The Great O’Malley (1937), Maytime (1937), We Have Our Moments (1937), Let Them Live

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(1937), The Road Back (1937), It Happened in Hollywood (1937), Heidi (1937) as Shirley Temple’s friend Peter, the Goat General, The Pigskin Palooka (1937), 52nd Street (1937), Outlaws of the Prairie (1937), Clipped Wings (1937), Tovarich (1937), Change of Heart (1938), Hunted Men (1938), Hunted Men (1938), Breaking the Ice (1938), A Christmas Carol (1938), Kentucky (1938), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939), You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man (1939), The Family Next Door (1939), Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), When Tomorrow Comes (1939), Those High Grey Walls (1939), Here I Am Stranger (1939), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) as Jimmie Hopper, Legion of the Lawless (1940), I Take This Woman (1940), The Lady from Cheyenne (1941), New York Town (1941), Among the Living (1941), and Gas House Kids Go West (1947). Delmar served in the U.S. Coast Guard as a cameraman during World War II. After the war he worked as a photographer for the Los Angeles Mirror from 1948 to 1958. He subsequently joined with his brothers to open the commercial photography studio, The Six Watson Bros. Delmar opened his own studio in 1968. He also edited several books of photos and maintained a huge collection of historical photographs called the Watson Family Photographic Archive. Several of his siblings preceded him in death including Gloria (1997), Bobs (1999), Harry (2001), and Vivian. His four surviving siblings include Coy Jr., Louise, Billy, and Garry.

fari company, created a whale sanctuary in the Seychelles for the International Whaling Commission and was producer and commentator for British television coverage of sumo matches. His ﬁrst book, Omnivore: The Role of Food in Human Evolution, was published in 1972. His other interests leaned toward what he called the “soft sciences,” investigating paranormal events. His 1973 book Supernature: A Natural History of the Supernatural fascinated the general public but was greeted with skepticism by the scientiﬁc community. He continued to write such books as The Biolog y of Death: A Matter of Life and Death (1974), The Romeo Error (1974), and Gifts of Unknown Things: An Indonesian Adventure (1976). His 1979 book, Lifetide: A Biolog y of the Unconscious postulated the “hundredth monkey” theory in an attempt to explain how behavior and ideas are transmitted by remote social groups. His other books include Whales of the World: A Field Guide to the Cetaceans (1981), Lightning Bird: An African Adventure (1982), Heaven’s Breath: A Natural History of the Wind (1984), Dreams of Dragons: Essays on the Edge of Natural History (1986), The Water Planet: A Celebration of the Wonder of Water (1988), Neophilia: The Tradition of the New (1989), Sumo: A Guide to Sumo Wrestling (1989), The Nature of Things: The Strange Behavior of Inanimate Objects (1990), Turtle Islands: Rituals in Indonesia (1995), Warriors, Warthogs, and Wisdom: Growing Up in Africa (1997), Jacobson’s Organ and the Remarkable Nature of Smell (2000), Elaphantoms: Tracking the Elephant (2002), and The Whole Hog: Exploring the Extraordinary Potential of Pigs (2004).

WATSON, LYALL Cryptozoologist and author Lyall Watson, who wrote the best-selling book Supernature, died of complications from a stroke and Lewy body dementia, in Gympie, Australia, on June 25, 2008. He was 69. He was born Malcolm Lyall-Watson in Johannesburg, South Africa, on April 12, 1939. He entered the University of Witwatersrand at the age of 15, where he earned degrees in botany and zoology. He went on to earn degrees in geology, chemistry, marine biology, anthropology, and ecology. He also received a doctorate in ethology from the University of London under Desmond Morris in the 1960s. He subsequently worked at the BBC as a producer and reporter for nature documentaries. He also became an explorer of the world’s remote regions, including the Antarctic, the Kalahari, and Madagascar. He designed zoos, ran a sa-

WAUGH, HILLARY Mystery writer Hillary Waugh died in a Torrington, Connecticut, nursing home on December 8, 2008. He was 88. Waugh was born in New Haven, Connecticut on June 22, 1920. He served in the Navy Air Corps during World War II and began writing a mystery novel while in the service. His ﬁrst book, Madame Will Not Dine Tonight, was published in 1947. He wrote over ﬁfty subsequent novels, sometimes under the pen names Elissa Grandower and H. Baldwin Taylor. He was best known for his 1952 police procedural novel Last Seen Wearing. His 1959 novel Sleep Long, My Love, featuring detective Fred C. Fellows, was adapted for the 1962 British ﬁlm Jigsaw star-

Lyall Watson

Hillary Waugh

449 ring Jack Warner. Fellows also solved mysteries in the books The Night It Rained (1961), End of a Party (1965), and The Con Game (1968). Several of his novels were also adapted for the British television series Detective including 1961’s Born Victim in 1968, and 1963’s Prisoners’ Plea in 1969. Waugh’s other novels include Hope to Die (1948), The Odds Run Out (1949), A Rag and a Bone (1954), The Case of the Missing Gardener (1954), Rich Man, Dead Man (1956), The Girl Who Cried Woolf (1958), The Eighth Mrs. Bluebeard (1958), Road Block (1960), Murder on the Terrace (1961), The Late Mrs. D. (1962), Death and Circumstance (1963), The Duplicate (1964), The Missing Man (1964), Girl on the Run (1965), Pure Poison (1966), The Triumvirate (1966), The Trouble with Tycoons (1967), 30 Manhattan East (1968), Run When I Say Go (1969), The Young Prey (1969), Finish Me Off (1970), The Shadow Guest (1971), Parrish for the Defense (1974), A Bride for Hampton House (1975), Seaview Manor (1976), The Summer at Raven’s Roost (1976), The Secret Room of Morgate House (1977), Madman at My Door (1978), Blackbourne Hall (1979), Rivergarte House (1980), The Glenna Powers Case (1980), The Billy Cantrell Case (1981), The Doria Rafe Case (1981), The Nerissa Claire Case (1983), The Veronica Dean Case (1984), Murder on Safari (1987), A Death in Town (1988), and The Priscilla Copperwaite Case (1988). He published Hillary Waugh’s Guide to Mysteries and Mystery Writing in 1991.

WEAVER , JOHNNY Professional wrestler Johnny Weaver was found dead at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, on February 15, 2008. He was 72. Weaver was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 17, 1935. He began wrestling locally in the mid–1950s and would sometimes work as a referee. He frequently teamed with Sonny Myers as Sonny and Johnny Weaver. He won the NWS Southern Tag Team belts with Cowboy Bob Ellis in December of 1963. Weaver was noted for his use of the sleeper hold, which he called the “Weaverlock.” He teamed with George Becker to hold the NWA Southern Tag Team Title several times between 1965 and 1971. He also teamed with Art Nielson, Dewey Robertson and Jay Youngblood to win the Mid-Atlantic tag belts. Weaver also held several singles titles during his career including the NWA

Johnny Weaver

2008 • Obituaries

Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship and the Mid-Atlantic Television Title. He worked as a wrestling announcer and commentator with Mid-Atlantic Wrestling, later known as World Championship Wrestling, in the 1980s. He also worked for nearly 20 years as a deputy sheriff in Charlotte, North Carolina, and was still semi-active at the time of his death. Weaver was married to female wrestling champion Penny Banner from 1959 to 1995.

WEBBER, DIANE Actress and model Diane Webber died in Los Angeles on August 19, 2008. She was 76. She was born Diane Marguerite Empey in Los Angeles on July 27, 1932. She worked as a chorus girl and posed for numerous nudist magazines in the 1950s and 1960s. She was Playboy Playmate of the Month in May of 1955 and February of 1956 as Marguerite Empey. She was featured on television in episodes of

Diane Webber

such series as Peter Gunn, Highway Patrol, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. She also starred as the Mermaid Queen in the 1962 fantasy ﬁlm Mermaids of Tiburon. Webber also appeared in the exploitation and horror ﬁlms The Swinger (1966), Sinthia, the Devil’s Doll (1968), and The Witchmaker (1969). Her ﬁnal ﬁlm performance was as a belly dance instructor, a role Webber also played in real life, in 1974’s The Trial of Billy Jack.

WEIL, JACK Jack Weil, who was credited with popularizing the snap fastened cowboy shirt, died at his home in Denver, Colorado, on August 13, 2008. He was 107. Weil was born in Evansville, Indiana, on March 28, 1901. He moved to Denver in 1928, where he began designing and selling work clothes for cowboys and range hands. He founded his own company, Rockmount Range Wear, in 1946 and his designs came to exemplify the look and feel of the West. He added snaps to western shirts to limit their tearing, patented the saw-tooth pocket design, and popularized the bolo tie. His fashions became popular throughout the country and were often featured in Hollywood ﬁlms. Weil continued to be the CEO of his company until his death and was believed to be the oldest working CEO in history. (Photograph on page 450.)

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450

Jack Weil

WEIN, CHUCK Chuck Wein, a former associate of artist Andy Warhol, died of heart failure in Del Mar, California, on March 18, 2008. He was 67. Wein was born on March 24, 1940. He attended Harvard University in the early 1960s, where he met the lovely blonde heiress Edie Sedgwick. He took her to New York in 1964, where he acted as her manager and promoter. Wein and Sedgwick became part of Andy War-

Chuck Wein (right, with Edie Sedgwick and Andy Warhol)

hol’s coterie and he conceived several ﬁlms that Sedgwick made at the Factory, including My Hustler (1965), Beauty #2 (1965), and Ciao Manhattan (1972). Sedgwick had died in 1971 of an overdose of drugs and alcohol. Wein also left Warhol and was credited as a director for Jimi Hendrix’s 1972 concert ﬁlm Rainbow Bridge. He also managed off beat nightclub acts and dabbled in the occult. He was portrayed by Jimmy Fallon in the 2000 ﬁlm Factory Girl about Sedgwick.

WEINZIERL, KURT Austrian actor Kurt Weinzierl died after a long illness at his home in Munich, Germany, on October 10, 2008. He was 77. Weinzierl was born in Innsbruck, Austria, on April 15, 1931. He began his career on stage in the early 1950s and became a familiar presence on ﬁlm and television over the next ﬁve decades. He made his ﬁlm debut in Holiday am Worthersee (1956), and was seen in such sub-

sequent features as Mundl — You Can’t Bring a Good Viennese Man Down (1975) recreating his role of Vitus Egger from the television series Ein Echter Wiener Geht Nicht Unter, The Man in the Rushes (1978), Musik auf dem Lande (1980), Springtime in Vienna (1984), Mit mir Nicht, du Knallkopp (1984), Mama Mia — Nur Keine Panik (1984), Seitenstechen (1984), Marie Ward — Swizchen Gaigen und Glorie (1985), Die Einsteiger (1985), Geld Oder Leber! (1986), Please, Let the Flowers Live (1986), The Nasty Girl (1990), Kein Pardon (1993), The Borrowed Nest (1995), Das Zauberbuch (1996), and Alle fur die Maﬁa (1997). Weinzierl starred as Franz Jagerstarrer in the 1971 biographical tele-ﬁlm Der Fall Jagerstatter. He starred as Polizeiprasident Heribert Pilch in the television series Kottan Ermittelt from 1981 to 1983, and was Vater Haller in the series Der Schwammerikonig in 1988. He was also featured as Franz Wechselberger in the mini-series Die Pief ka-Saga in 1990 and was Banker Dreyfuss in Solo fur Sudmann in 1997. Weinzierl starred as Monsignore Fatzl in Kaisermuhlen Blues from 1998 to 1999, was Mayor Wilhelm Bogner in Tierarzt Dr. Engel from 1998 to 2002, and appeared as Fritz Griessmeyer in Das Geheime Leben der Spielerfrauen in 2005. He was also seen in such television productions as Die Biedermanner (1973), The Condemned (1975), Jakob der Letzte (1976), Eine Seltsame Bescherung (1978), Kreutzer (1979), Feuer! (1979), Bekenntnisse des Hochstaplers Felix Krull (1982), Sterne Fallen Nicht von Himmel (1985), Leporella (1991), Sehnsuchtge oder Es Ist Alles Unheimlich Leicht (1991), Hurengluck (1991), Huchwurden Erbt das Paradies (1993), Wozu denn Eltern (1995), A Styrian Television Story (1995), Die Superbullen (1997), Ich Wunsch Dir Liebe (1999), Ein Hund fur Alle Falle (2002), Da wo die Herzen Schlagen (2004), Da wo die Heimat Ist (2004), Da wo das Gluck Beginnt (2006), Da wo es Noch Treue Gibt (2006), Da wo die Freudschaft Zahlt (2007), and Die Versohnung (2008). Weinzierl’s other television credits include episodes of Tatort, Berlin Alexanderplatz, Die Funfte Jahreszeit, Schlossherren, SOKO 5113, Waldhaus, Der Millionenbauer, Meister Eder und Sein Pumuckl, Peter Strohm, Die Schnele Gerdi, Wenn das die Nachbarn Wussten, Ein Schloss am Worthersee, Zwei Schlitzohren in Antalya, Die Zweite Heimat— Chronik einer Jugend, Anna Maria — Eine Frau Geht Ihrene Weg, Ein Haus

Kurt Weinzierl

451

2008 • Obituaries

iun der Toskana, Ein Fal fur Zwei, Lutz & Hardy, Der Alte, Auf Immer und Ewig, Derrick, Frauenarzt Dr. Markus Merthin, Ein Bayer auf Rugen, Kommissar Rex, Anwalt Abel, Die Rosenheim-Cops, SOKO Kitzbuhel, and Die Spezialisten; Kripo Rhein-Main.

WEISHAPPEL, GUSTL German actor and radio announcer Gustl Weishappel died in Grafelﬁng, Bavaria, Germany, on April 21, 2008. He was 82. Weishappel was born in Braz, Austria, on May 27, 1925. He began his career on stage in Ulm, Germany, in 1942. He appeared frequently in ﬁlms and television from the late 1950s with roles in Einmal eine Grosse Dame Sein (1957), The Count of Luxemburg (1957), Mein Madchen is ein Postillion (1958), Seksdageslobet (1958), Phyllis Welch

Donald in the late 1930s and left acting to raise a family in Hillsborough, California. She later founded the Peninsula Children’s Theatre in San Francisco in the 1950s.

Gustl Weishappel

Wenn das Mein Grosser Bruder Wuffte (1959), Rommel ruft Kairo (1959), A Summer You Will Never Forget (1959), The Swing (1983), Wildﬁre (1991), and Das Kleine Gespenst (1992) as the voice of Eagle Owl. He was also featured in television productions of Das Kamel geht Durch das Nadelohr (1960), Du Holde Kunst— Szenen um Lieder von Franz Schubert (1961), Bubusch (1962), Professor Bernhardi (1964), Das Marchen (1966), Ein Dorf ohne Manner (1969), Faust auf Eigene Faust (1970), Fettaugen (1972), Galgentoni (1972), Eine Ganz Gewohnliche Geschichte (1975), and Die Farbe des Himmels (1979). His other television credits include episodes of Die Funfte Kolonne, Zimmer 13, Der Kommissar, Derrick, Der Alte, Meister Eder und sein Pumuckl, SOKO 5113, and Tatort. Weishappel began working as an announcer and director at the Bavarian radio network Bayerischer Rundfunk in the mid–1950s, and served as host of the program Musikjournal from the early 1960s through 1995.

WELCH , PHYLLIS Actress Phyllis Welch died in at her caretaker’s home in San Mateo, California, on September 26, 2008. She was 95. Welch was born in Toledo, Ohio, on July 16, 1913. She began her career on stage in the early 1930s and made her Broadway debut in the comedy play A Slight Case of Murder in 1936. She also appeared in Broadway productions of Granite and High Tor. Welch made her only ﬁlm appearance in the 1938 comedy Professor Beware with Harold Lloyd. She married businessman Graeme Mac-

WELCH, WARREN E. Television set decorator Warren E. Welch died of kidney cancer in Los Angeles on October 15, 2008. He was 82. Welch was born in New York City on May 20, 1926. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II and worked with his father as an electrician with the Radio City Music Hall after the war. He also worked on several Broadway shows before moving to Los Angeles in 1962. He began working in television on the Batman series in 1966 and was set decorator for the 1967 Frank Sinatra ﬁlm Tony Rome. Welch served as department head for set decoration, make-up, and costumes at CBS from 1968 until 1987. He later was head of production services at MTM Enterprises from 1987 until 1994. Welch worked on such television productions as Goodbye, Raggedy Ann (1971), Killer by Night (1972), Strangers in 7A (1972), Something for Joey (1977), Like Mom, Like Me (1978), First, You Cry (1978), A Question of Love (1978), The Wild Wild West Revisited (1979), All God’s Children (1980), More Wild Wild West (1980), The Violation of Sarah McDavid (1981), Killing at Hell’s Gate (1981), Rascals and Robbers: The Secret Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn (1982) which earned him an Emmy nomination, The Gift of Life (1982), Country Gold (1982), Two Kinds of Love (1983), Last of the Great Survivors (1984), Calamity Jane (1984), Before the Storm (1991), Gunsmoke: To the Last Man (1992), The Gift of Love (1994), A Walton Easter (1997), and Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac (1997). He also worked on the television series Under Cover, The Adventure of Brisco County Jr., and ER. His ﬁnal ﬁlm work was on the 1998 video release Dennis the Menace Strikes Again! WELLER , ELLY Dutch actress Elly Weller died in Wassenaar, the Netherlands, on September 21, 2008. She was 95. She was born Elisabeth Cornelia Wilhelmina Weller in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on September 19, 1913. She performed frequently on the Dutch stage and was seen in a handful of ﬁlms including Happy Days Are Here Again (1975), The Assault (1986), Maria (1986), and De Schoorsteenveger (1987).

Obituaries • 2008

452 Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Lone Ranger, Zane Grey Theater, Sheriff of Cochise, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Tales of Wells Fargo, The Californians, Casey Jones, Cheyenne, Flight, 26 Men, The Texan, Trackdown, Mackenzie’s Raiders, Highway Patrol, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Frontier Justice, Wichita Town, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Tombstone Territory, and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. Wells was married to actress Claudia Barrett in the mid–1950s. He married actress Barbara Lang, whom he had met while appearing in Death Valley Days, in 1956. Their marriage was annulled in 1958 when Lang alleged that Wells’ divorce from Barrett had not been ﬁnalized at the time of their own nuptials.

Elly Weller

She was also featured in such television series as Medisch Centrum West, Vreemde Praktijken, Bureau Kruislaan, Bood Times, Bad Times, Coverstory, Voor Hete Vuren, 12 Steden, 13 Ongelukken, Fort Alpha, Unit 13, and Duidelijke Taal!

WELLS, ALAN Actor Alan Wells died after a long illness in a nursing home in Reno, Nevada, on June 14, 2008. He was 82. Wells was born on March 23, 1926. He appeared frequently in ﬁlms and television from late 1940s. He made his screen debut as Lame Bull in the 1947 western Apache Chief. His other ﬁlm credits include Love That Brute (1950), The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950), The Great Missouri Raid (1951), Beachhead (1954), the serial Man with the Steel Whip (1954), Canyon Crossroads (1955), Marty (1955), A Bullet for Joey (1955), The Eternal Sea (1955), Air Strike (1955), The Return of Jack Slade (1955), Magniﬁcent Roughnecks (1956), The Ten Commandments (1956), Beginning of the End (1957), Omar Khayyam (1957), The Cosmic Man (1959), and Cape Fear (1962). Wells was also a proliﬁc television performer, often appearing as badmen in westerns. He was seen in episodes of such series as Dangerous Assignment, Hopalong Cassidy, Stories of the Century, Annie Oakley, Cavalcade of America, Studio 57, The Roy Rogers Show, The Cisco Kid, Fireside Theatre, Death Valley Days, Captain Midnight, Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, Navy Log, Brave Eagle, Tales of the Texas Rangers, The Adventures of Champion,

Alan Wells

WESTLAKE, DONALD E. Mystery writer Donald E. Westlake collapsed and died of a heart attack as he was preparing to go out for a New Year’s Eve dinner while on vacation in San Tancho, Mexico, on December 31, 2008. He was 75. Westlake was born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 12, 1933. He served in the U.S. Air Force for two years in the 1950s. His ﬁrst novel, The Mercenaries, was published in 1960. He became a proliﬁc writer, often churning out as many as four books a year, often under various pseudonyms.

Donald E. Westlake

The books he penned under his own name include Killing Time (1961), 361 (1962), Killy (1963), Pity Him Afterwards (1964), The Fugitive Pigeon (1965), The Busy Body (1966) which became a black comedy ﬁlm by William Castle in 1967, The Spy in the Ointment (1966), God Save the Mark (1967), Who Stole Sassi Manoon? (1968), Somebody Owes Me Money (1969), Up Your Banners (1969), The Hot Rock (1970) which was adapted for ﬁlm in 1972, Adios Scheherezade (1970), I Gave at the Ofﬁce (1971), Bank Shot (1972) which became a 1974 ﬁlm, Cops and Robbers (1972) which Westlake adapted for ﬁlm in 1973, Gangway (1973) with Brian Garﬁeld, Help I Am Being Held Prisoner (1974), Jimmy the Kid (1974) which was adapted for the screen in 1983, Brothers Keepers (1975), Too Much (1975) which was adapted for the screen in France as The Twin in 1984, and remade in the U.S. as Two Much in 1996, Dancing Aztecs (1976) which was adapted for the 1997 French ﬁlm La Divine Poursuite, A Travesty (1977), Ordo (1977) which

453 was ﬁlmed in France in 2004, Nobody’s Perfect (1977), Castle in the Air (1980), Kahawa (1981), Why Me (1983) which became a feature ﬁlm in 1990 that he co-scripted, A Likely Story (1984), High Adventure (1985), Good Behavior (1985), Trust Me on This (1988), Sacred Monster (1989), Drowned Hopes (1990), Humans (1992), Don’t Ask (1993), Baby, Would I Lie? (1994), Smoke (1995), What’s the Worst That Could Happen? (1996) which was adapted for ﬁlm in 2001, The Ax (1997) which was ﬁlmed in France as Le Couperet in 2005, The Hook (2000) which became the 2004 French ﬁlm Je Suis un Assassin, Bad News (2001), and Put a Lid on It (2002). Westlake was the recipient of three Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America in three different categories — Best Novel in 1968 for God Save the Mark, Best Short Story in 1990 for “Too Many Crooks,” and Best Motion Picture Screenplay in 1991 for The Grifters. He was given their highest honor, the Grand Master Award, in 1993. He also wrote a series of novels about a thief named Parker under the pseudonym Richard Stark. The series commenced with The Hunter in 1962, which was adapted for ﬁlm as Point Blank starring Lee Marvin in 1967. A second ﬁlm version starring Mel Gibson was released as Payback in 1999. His other novels credited as Richard Stark include The Man with the Getaway Face (1963), The Outﬁt (1963) which was adapted for the screen in 1974, The Mourner (1963), The Score (1963) which was adapted as the French ﬁlm Mise a Sac in 1967, The Jugger (1965) which was ﬁlmed in 1966, The Seventh (1966) which was adapted for the 1968 ﬁlm The Split starring Jim Brown, The Handle (1966), The Rare Coin Score (1967), The Damsel (1967), The Green Eagle Score (1967), The Black Ice Score (1968), The Sour Lemon Score (1968), The Dame (1969), The Blackbird (1969), Lemons Never Lie (1971), Slayground (1971) which was adapted for the 1984 ﬁlm, Deadly Edge (1971), Plunder Squad (1972), Butcher’s Moon (1974), Comeback (1997), Backﬂash (1998), and Flashﬁre (2000). He also wrote several novels for Monarch Books in the early 1960s under the name Edwin West including Brother and Sister (1961), Campus Doll (1961), Young and Innocent (1961), and Strange Affair (1962). He used the name Tucker Coe for the novels Kinds of Love, Kinds of Death (1966), Murder Among Children (1967), Wax Apple (1970), A Jade in Aries (1970), and Don’t Lie to Me (1972), and was Samuel Holt when writing One of Us Is Wrong (1986), I Know a Trick Worth Two of That (1986), What I Tell You Three Times Is False (1987), and The Fourth Dimension Is Death (1989). He also authored 1962 biography Elizabeth Taylor as John B. Allan, the science ﬁction novel Anarchaos (1966) as Curt Clak, the political thriller Ex Ofﬁcio (1970) as Timothy J. Culver, and the novel Comfort Station (1970) as J. Morgan Cunningham. Westlake also wrote the 1972 non-ﬁction title Under an English Heaven, and co-authored the 1987 novels High Jinx and Transylvania Station with his wife, Abby Westlake. Westlake earned an Academy Award nomination for scripting the 1990 ﬁlm The Grifters. Several of his stories were adapted for such television series as 87th Precinct and Journey to the Unknown, and Westlake scripted the pilot episode of Supertrain in 1979 and Father Dowling Mys-

2008 • Obituaries

teries in 1987. He appeared onscreen in an episode of Father Dowling in 1991. He also wrote the ﬁlm psychothriller The Stepfather (1987) which inspired several sequels

WETHERELL , KATHY Television reality show producer Kathy Wetherell was killed in an automobile accident in Arizona on December 20, 2008. She was 48. She earned a degree in broadcast journalist and radio and television at Cal State Fullerton. She began working in television as a production assistant on the daytime soap opera General Hospital in the early 1990s.

Kathy Wetherell

She worked in production for the television reality shows Real World/Road Rules Casting Special (2001), and Love Cruise; The Maiden Voyage (2001), and was co-executive for The Bachelor (2002), The Dating Experiment (2003) and Outback Jack (2004). She was story producer for I Love New York in 2007 and My Fair Brady in 2008. Wetherell was also a supervising producer for the 2008 reality shows Rock of Love with Bret Michaels, From G’s to Gents, and Rock of Love Girls: Charm School.

WEXLER, JERRY Music producer Jerry Wexler, who was instrumental in making Atlantic Records one of the most successful independent labels in history, died of congestive heart failure at his home in Sarasota, Florida, on August 15, 2008. He was 91. Wexler was born in the Bronx, New York, on January 10, 1917. He worked as a writer and editor for the music industry trade paper Billboard, and was credited with coining the term “rhythm and blues” in the late 1940s. He joined Atlantic Records in the early 1950s, teaming with co-founder Ahmet Ertegun to make the label a leading force in the music industry. Wexler produced classic recordings from such artists as Ray Charles, Ruth Brown, and the Drifters. He helped to guide the early career of Aretha Franklin and produced albums for Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin. Wexler brought Wilson Pickett to Stax Records in Memphis in 1965 and produced Sam & Dave’s early hits there. He later moved production further south to FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Wexler left Atlantis in 1975 and signed with Warner Bros. two years later. He brought such groups as Dire Straits, the B-52’s and Gang of Four to the

Obituaries • 2008

454

Jerry Wexler

William Wharton

label. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. His autobiography, Rhythm and Blues: A Life in American Music, was published in 1994. Wexler was portrayed by Richard Schiff in Ray, the 2004 musical bio-ﬁlm about Ray Charles.

phia, Pennsylvania, on November 7, 1925. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and was badly wounded in action at the Battle of the Bulge. After the war he earned a degree in art and a doctorate in psychology at the University of California. After teaching art for several year in public schools in Los Angeles he moved to Europe in the late 1950s to paint. He became a successful impressionist artist living aboard a houseboat on the Seine. His novel, Birdy, a semi-autobiographical tale of a young man obsessed with canaries to the point of imagining himself as one, was published in 1979 and earned the National Book Award for best ﬁrst novel the following year. Director Alan Parker adapted the book to ﬁlm in 1984, starring Matthew Modine and Nicholas Cage. His 1981 novel Dad was ﬁlmed in 1989 with Jack Lemmon and Ted Danson and his World War II tale A Midnight Clear (1982), was ﬁlmed in 1992. His other books include Scumbler (1984), Pride (1985), Tidings (1987), Franky Furbo (1989), and Last Lovers (1991), and the memoirs Wrongful Deaths (1994) and Houseboat on the Seine (1996).

WHARTON, HOGAN Professional football player and wrestler Hogan Wharton died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Sugar Land, Texas, on October 8, 2008. He was 72. He was born Robert Glen Wharton in Lipan, Hood County, Texas, on December 13, 1935. He played football with the University of Houston and was drafted by the San Francisco

WHATHAM, CLAUDE British television director Claude Whatham died in Anglesey, Wales, on January 4, 2008. He was 80. Whatham was born in Manchester, England, on December 2, 1927. He began working as a set designer for the Oldhan Repertory Company in the 1940s and was hired on by the newly formed television company Granada in 1956. He began Hogan Wharton

49ers in 1958. He played with the Houston Oilers as an offensive guard from 1960 to 1963. Wharton also competed in the Houston area as a professional wrestler during off seasons. He teamed with Pepper Gomez to hold the NWA Texas Tag Team Title in January of 1961 and also teamed with Adnan Kaisy. Wharton retired from the ring and the ﬁeld in the mid–1960s to work in the pipe fabrication industry.

WHARTON, WILLIAM Author and painter William Wharton, who was best known for his ﬁrst novel Birdy, died of an infection he contracted after being hospitalized for blood-pressure disorders in Encinitas, California, on October 29, 2008. He was 82. He was born Albert William du Aime in Philadel-

Claude Whatham

455 directing such series as On Trial and The Younger Generation in the early 1960s. He also helmed productions for ITV Play of the Week, The Wednesday Play, and W. Somerset Maugham. He received acclaim, and a BAFTA nomination for his television adaptation of John Mortimer’s autobiographical play A Voyage Round My Father in 1969. He also directed segments of the 1971 mini-series Elizabeth R and made his feature ﬁlm debut helming That’ll Be the Day (1973). Whatham’s other television credits include such productions as All’s Well That Ends Wells (1968), Hello, Good Evening, and Welcome (1968), Cider with Rosie (1971), Cheri (1973), Caesar and Claretta (1975), Betzi (1978), Disraeli (1978), Murder Is Easy (1982), The Captain’s Doll (1983), and Jumping the Queue (1989). He also directed several episodes of Play for Today including Tiptoe Through the Tulips and The House of Bernarda Alba, and helmed segments The Man in Room 17, The Fellows, Follyfoot, Thirty-Minute Theatre, Victorian Scandals, Supernatural, Tales of the Unexpected, ITV Playhouse, BBC 2 Playhouse, Play of the Month, and C.A.T.S. Eyes. He also directed several more feature ﬁlms during his career including Swallows and Amazons (1974), All Creatures Great and Small (1975), Sweet William (1980), Hoodwink (1981), Murder Elite (1985), and Buddy’s Song (1990) with Roger Daltrey.

WHITE, RALPH BRADSHAW Documentary cinematographer Ralph Bradshaw White, who photographed the discovery of the sunken ocean liner Titanic in 1985, died from complications of an aortic aneurysm in a Los Angeles hospital on February 4, 2008. He was 66. White was born in San Bernardino, California, on August 28, 1941, and was raised on Hawaii’s Big Island. He served in the Marines during the Vietnam War and became an expert parachute jumper. After his discharge in 1966 he worked as a free-fall cameraman for the television series Ripcord. He later worked for the National Geographic Society and was producer, director, and cameraman for television documentaries airing on The Challenging Sea (1969), World of the Sea (1970), Animal World (1969), and The World of Reptiles (1971). He was also cinematographer for the 1984 ﬁlm Bimini Code. White was a cameraman for Robert Ballard’s expedition that located the wreck of the Ti-

Ralph Bradshaw White

2008 • Obituaries

tanic in September of 1985. White made over thirty return trips to the Titanic to photograph and salvage artifacts. He teamed with Emory Kristuf to develop advanced remote cameras and lighting systems to better document the wreckage. His footage was incorporated into the 1995 IMAX production Titanica, and was included in James Cameron’s 1997 Oscar-winning feature Titanic. White also participated in such documentaries about the ill-fated ship as Titanic: Secrets Revealed (1998), Beyond Titanic (1998), Last Mysteries of the Titanic (2005), and Titanic’s Final Moments: Missing Pieces (2006).

WHITE OWL, CHIEF George A. Dahmer, who wrestler professionally as Chief White Owl from the late 1950s through the 1970s, died in Boynton Beach, Florida, on May 23, 2008. He was 72. Dahmer was born in Wilmington, Ohio, on June 19, 1935. He began wrestling in 1958 and was trained by Buddy Rogers and Frankie Talaber. White Owl was noted for

Chief White Owl

his Tomahawk Chop in the ring and often teamed with Chief Kit Fox. He had notable feuds with such ring villains as Abdullah the Butcher, the Sheik, Waldo von Erich, Smasher Sloan, and Jerry Graham. He teamed with Luis Martinez to capture the NWF World Tag Team Title in the Cleveland area in 1971. White Owl retired from the ring in 1983.

WHITFIELD , NORMAN Songwriter Norman Whitﬁeld, who was a producer and arranger with Motown in the 1960s, died of complications from diabetes in a Los Angeles hospital on September 16, 2008. He was 68. Whitﬁeld was born in Harlem, New York, on May 12, 1940. He moved to Detroit with his family while in his teens. He began working at Motown in the early 1960s and was put in charge of quality control by founder Berry Gordy. He also began writing songs and was co-composer of such early Marvin Gaye songs as “Too Many Fish in the Sea” and “Needle in a Haystack.” He began producing for The Temptations with the 1966 hit “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg.” He teamed with lyricist Barrett Strong to write Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” and produced the Temptations Grammy-winning songs “Cloud Nine” in 1968 and “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” in 1973. He also produced hits for Edwin Starr, Rare Earth, and the

Obituaries • 2008

456

Norman Whitﬁeld

Undisputed Truth. Whitﬁeld left Motown in 1973 to form his own label, Whitﬁeld Records, and had a major hit with Rose Royce’s “Car Wash” in 1976. He worked with Motown and the Temptations again in the early 1980s, producing the hit song “Sail Away” in 1983. He also worked on the soundtrack for the ﬁlm The Last Dragon. Whitﬁeld returned to the news in 2005 when he pled guilty to failing to report income for tax purposes. He was spared jail because of his health problems.

WHITNEY , PHYLLIS A. Mystery writer Phyllis A. Whitney died of pneumonia in Faber, Virginia, on February 8, 2008. She was 104. Whitney was born in Yokohama, Japan, on September 9, 1903, where her father worked in the shipping and hotel industry. She and her family also lived in the Philippines and China before she settled in Berkeley, California, with her mother after her father’s death in 1918. Her mother died several years later and Phyllis moved to Chicago to live with an aunt. She married in 1925 and had a daughter in 1934. Whitney worked in bookstores and at the Chicago Public Library in the 1930s. She also began writing young-adult stories with her ﬁrst, A Place for Ann, being published in The Chicago Daily News in 1941. Her ﬁrst novel, Red Is for Murder, was published in 1943, and she also worked as a book reviewer for several newspapers. Her husband discouraged her writing career so she divorced him in 1945. She married Lovell

Jahnke in 1950 and moved with him to Staten Island, New York. She and Jahnke traveled frequently and she used their escapades as a backdrop for her books. Over the next 40 years, she churned out over 70 novels from children’s mysteries to gothic suspense novels for adults. She received the Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Novel in 1961 for The Mystery of the Haunted Pool and again in 1964 for The Mystery of the Hidden Hand. The Mystery Writers of America honored her with their Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement in 1988. Her many novels include The Quicksilver Pool (1955), The Trembling Hill (1956), Skye Cameron (1957), The Moonﬂower (1958), Thunder Heights (1960), Blue Fire (1960), Window on the Square (1962), Seven Tears for Apollo (1963), Black Amber (1964), Sea Jade (1965) Columbella (1966), Silver Hill (1967), Hunter’s Green (1968), The Winter People (1969), Lost Island (1970), Listen for the Whisperer (1972), Snowﬁre (1973), The Turquoise Mask (1974), Spindrift (1975), The Golden Unicorn (1976), The Stone Bull (1977), The Glass Flame (1978), Domino (1979), Poinciana (1980), Vermilion (1981), Emerald (1983), Rainsong (1984), Dream of Orchids (1985), The Flaming Tree (1986), Silversword (1987), Feather on the Moon (1988), Rainbow in the Mist (1989), The Singing Stones (1990), Woman Without a Past (1991), The Ebony Swan (1992), Star Flight (1993), and Daughter of the Stars (1994). Whitney continued to write well into her 90s, with her last book, Amethyst Dreams, being published in 1997.

WICK, CHARLES Z. Talent agent and ﬁlm producer Charles Z. Wick, whose close relationship with President Ronald Reagan led to his appointment as director of the U.S. Information Agency, died at his home in Los Angeles on July 20, 2008. He was 90. He was born Charles Zwick in Cleveland, Ohio, on Octo-

Charles Z. Wick

Phyllis A. Whitney

ber 12, 1917. He earned degrees in music and law and worked as bandleader Tommy Dorsey’s business manager and vocal coach. Dropping the Z from his last name and adding it as a middle initial, he became a talent agent with the William Morris Agency. During the 1950s, he was a production executive for the television series Fabian of the Yard and Frances Langford Presents. Wick also adapted his children’s story into a ﬁlm vehi-

457

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cle for the Three Stooges, producing Snow White and the Three Stooges in 1961. He had become a close friend to the future President, Ronald Reagan, in the late 1950s. After Reagan took ofﬁce in the early 1980s, he named Wick to lead the U.S. Information Agency. During his tenure there he began Voice of America’s Spanish-language afﬁliate Radio Marti to broadcast into Cuba. His staunch right-wing policies led to some controversy before leaving ofﬁce in 1988.

WICKING, CHRISTOPHER British screenwriter Christopher Wicking, who was best known for scripting a handful of horror ﬁlms in the early 1970s, died of a heart attack in Toulouse, France, on October 13, 2008. He was 65. Wicking was born in London on June 10, 1943. He began working in ﬁlms in the early 1960s as a clerk with a distribution company before moving into production as an assistant editor on documentaries. He was also active with a ﬁlm society

Christopher Wicking

in London and wrote numerous articles about westerns. By the end of the decade he was writing scripts for the British arm of American-International Pictures. His ﬁrst screen credit was for the 1969 horror ﬁlm The Oblong Box starring horror icons Vincent Price and Christopher Lee. Wicking primarily worked in horror ﬁlms during the 1970s, writing Scream and Scream Again (1970) starring Price, Lee, and Peter Cushing, Cry of the Banshee (1970) again with Price, The Legend of Spider Forest (1971), Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971) with Jason Robards, Jr., Hammer’s Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (1971), Demons of the Mind (1972), Medusa (1973), and the 1976 adaptation of Dennis Wheatley’s supernatural thriller To the Devil — A Daughter. He scripted the 1981 feature Lady Chatterley’s Lover, and worked in television writing episodes of The Professionals and Jemima Shore Investigates. He co-wrote the 1986 ﬁlm adaptation of Colin MacInnes’ novel Absolute Beginners. His other credits include the ﬁlm Dream Demon (1988), and the tele-ﬁlms The Way to Dusty Death (1995) and On Dangerous Ground (1996). Wicking was also the author of the 1978 book The American Vein — Directors and Directions in Television.

WIDMARK, RICHARD Leading actor Richard Widmark died of complications from a fractured

Richard Widmark

vertebra at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut, on March 24, 2008. He was 93. Widmark was born in Sunrise, Minnesota, on December 26, 1914. He attended Lake Forest College in Illinois, where he played football and appeared in plays. After graduating, he headed to New York City in 1938, where he began his acting career on radio. Widmark was featured in such radio dramas as Aunt Jenny’s Real Life Stories, Inner Sanctum, Big Sister, Stella Dallas, Front Page Farrell, Life Can Be Beautiful, and Joyce Jordan, M.D. His attempts to enlist in the U.S. Army during World War II were rejected because of a perforated eardrum. He continued to perform on radio and made his debut on the Broadway stage in a 1943 production of Kiss and Tell. He made a strong impression on the big screen with his role as the giggling psychotic killer Tommy Udo in the 1947 feature ﬁlm Kiss of Death, memorable primarily for a chilling scene where Widmark straps an elderly woman to her wheelchair and shoves her down a ﬂight of stairs. He earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his ﬁlm debut. He was signed to a contract by 20th Century–Fox and continued to appear in ﬁlms as villains or ﬂawed heroes. He was seen in such features as The Street with No Name (1948), Road House (1948), Yellow Sky (1948), Down to the Sea in Ships (1949), Slattery’s Hurricane (1949), Jules Dassin’s Night and the City (1950), Panic in the Streets (1950), No Way Out (1950), Halls of Montezuma (1950), The Frogmen (1951), Red Skies of Montana (1952), Don’t Bother to Knock (1952) with Marilyn Monroe, O. Henry’s Full House (1952), My Pal Gus (1952), Destination Gobi (1953), Pickup on South Street (1953), Take the High Ground! (1953), Hell and High Water (1954), Garden of Evil (1954), Broken Lance (1954), A Prize of Gold (1955), The Cobweb (1955), Backlash (1956), Run for the Sun (1956), The Last Wagon (1956), Saint Joan (1957), The Law and Jake Wade (1958), The Tunnel of Love (1958), The Trap (1959), and Warlock (1959). He also made a cameo appearance in an episode of the hit television comedy series I Love Lucy in 1955. Several years after Widmark’s contract ended with Fox he began his own production company, producing and starring in the 1957 ﬁlm Time Limit, with Karl Malden directing. Widmark also produced and starred in the Cold War dramas The Secret Ways (1961) and The Bedford Incident

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(1964). He starred as Jim Bowie in 1960 ﬁlm The Alamo with John Wayne as Davy Crockett, and was Col. Tad Lawson, who prosecuted German war criminals, in 1961’s Judgment at Nuremberg. Widmark was also seen in the ﬁlms Two Rode Together (1961), the all-star western How the West Was Won (1962) as Mike King, The Long Ships (1964), Flight from Ashiya (1964), John Ford’s Cheyenne Autumn (1964), Alvarez Kelly (1966), and The Way West (1967). Widmark starred as gruff Detective Daniel Madigan in Don Siegel’s 1968 ﬁlm Madigan, and reprised the role in an NBC television series from 1972 to 1973. He continued to star in such ﬁlms as A Talent for Loving (1969), Death of a Gunﬁghter (1969), The Moonshine War (1970), When Legends Die (1972), Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express (1974), To the Devil — A Daughter (1976), The Sell-Out (1976), Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977) as General Martin MacKenzie, The Domino Principal (1977), Rollercoaster (1977), Coma (1978), the Irwin Allen killer bee movie The Swarm (1978), Bear Island (1979), National Lampoon Goes to the Movies (1982), Hanky Panky (1982), Who Dares Wins (1982), Against All Odds (1984), and True Colors (1991). Widmark was also featured in a dozen tele-ﬁlms from the early 1970s including Vanished (1971) as President Paul Roudebush, Brock’s Last Case (1973), Lives of Ben Franklin (1974) as Franklin, The Last Day (1975), Mr. Horn (1979), All God’s Children (1980), A Whale for the Killing (1981), Blackout (1985), A Gathering of Old Men (1987), Once Upon a Texas Train (1988), Cold Sassy Tree (1989), and Lincoln (1992) as the voice of Ward Hill Lamon. Widmark was married to actress Jean Hazelwood from 1942 until her death in 1997. He remarried several years later to Susan Blanchard, who survives him.

WIGGINS , GERALD Jazz pianist Gerald Wiggins died after a long illness at the Encino-Tarzana Medical Center in California on July 13, 2008. He was 86. Wiggins was born in New York City on May 12, 1922. He studied classical piano from an early age and moved to jazz by his teens. He was soon playing professionally, accompanying comedian Stepin Fetchit at Harlem nightclubs. He moved to Los Angeles in 1942 to join Les Hite’s band and also played with Louis Armstrong and Benny Carter. Wiggins spent two years

Gerald Wiggins

in the Army with the Special Service Band from 1944 to 1946. After his discharge he became a leading session musician in Los Angeles, working with such artists as Pearl Bailey, Eartha Kitt, Lena Horne, Dinah Washington, and Lou Rawls. He also formed a popular trio with bassist Andy Simpkins and drummer Paul Humphrey. He performed on The Nat King Cole Show on television in 1957 and was part of the band The Gallants in an episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in 1965. Wiggins also had cameo roles in the sit-coms 227 and Moesha.

WIKI WIKI, ONI Wallace Lam Ho, who wrestled under the name Oni Wiki Wiki, died after a long illness on June 23, 2008. He was 88. He was born on April 1, 1920, and was a leading college football player with the University of Hawaii. He began wrestling in Hawaii in the late 1950s. He also wrestled

Oni Wiki Wiki

in the NWA Mid-Atlantic territory in the 1960s. He teamed with Mike Clancy to hold the World Tag Team Title in Tennessee in May of 1960. He also worked as a booker for Leroy McGuirk in the Shreveport area from the early 1960s.

WILDE, BRIAN British character actor Brian Wilde, who starred as Foggy Dewhirst on the television series Last of the Summer Wine, died at his home in Ware, Hertfordshire, England, on March 20, 2008. He was 80. Wilde was born in Ashton-Under-Lyne, Lancashire, England, on June 13, 1927. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, and was appearing in ﬁlms by the early 1950s. He was featured in such ﬁlms as Street Corner (1953), Will Any Gentleman...? (1953), Forbidden Cargo (1954), Simon and Laura (1955), Tiger in the Smoke (1956), Interpol (1957), the supernatural classic Curse of the Demon (1957), Girls at Sea (1958), The Gypsy and the Gentleman (1958), Corridors of Blood (1958), The Never Never Murder (1961), We Are in the Navy Now (1962), Walk in the Shadow (1962), Underworld Informers (1963), The Bargee (1964), Rattle of a Simple Man (1964), Darling (1965), Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966), The Jokers (1967), You Only Live Twice (1967), Carry on Doctor (1967), On Brief Summer (1970), Connecting Rooms (1970), Goodbye, Gemini (1970), Carry on Henry VIII (1971), No Sex Please: We’re

459

Brian Wilde

British (1973), Alﬁe Darling (1975), To the Devil — A Daughter (1976), Adventures of a Taxi Driver (1976), and A Month in the Country (1985). Wilde was best known for his work on British television, with roles in such series as Portrait of Alison, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Lilli Palmer Theatre, The Love of Mike, The World of Tim Frazer, The Men from Room 13 as Superintendent Halcro, Jango, Armchair Theatre, ITV Television Playhouse, The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre, Hancock, The Protectors, Melissa, A Man Called Brent, Z Cars, Redcap, Thirty-Minute Theatre, The Mask of Janus, Softly Softly, The Baron, The Man in Room 17, Room at the Bottom, George and the Dragon, The Avengers, Dixon of Dock Green, The Troubleshooters, Theatre 625, Father Dear Father, Doomwatch, Catweazle, The Dustbinmen, Play for Today, Out of the Unknown, Trial, Ace of Wands, Seven of One, Black and Blue, Marked Personal, Orson Welles’ Great Mysteries, The Sweeney, The Loner, Crown Court, The Man Wives of Patrick, The Cedar Tree, The Ghosts of Motley Hall, Shadows, The Kit Curran Radio Show, Alias the Jester, Kit Curran, and Microscopic Milton as the narrator. His other television credits include roles in such productions as Honour and Offer (1970), Elizabeth R (1971), Secrets (1973), North and South (1975), Our Mutual Friend (1976), Wuthering Heights (1978), The Seven Dials Mystery (1982), and Santa and the Tooth Fairies (1990) as a voice performer. Wilde starred as Mr. Barrowclough in the television series Porridge from 1974 through 1977 and reprised the role in a 1979 ﬁlm version. He was Major Wyatt in the comedy series Wyatt’s Watchdogs in the late 1980s. Wilde was best known for his long-running as Foggy Dewhirst in the series Last of the Summer Wine. He joined the series as part of the trio of elderly gentlemen stars in 1976. He left the series for several years in 1985 but returned in 1990 and remained until stepping down in 1997. WILLIAMS, TREVOR Emmy Award–nominated production designer Trevor Williams died of a heart attack in Devonshire, England, on February 14, 2008. He was 76. Williams was born in Harrow, England, on March 3, 1931. He worked as a designer for the British science ﬁction series Out of the Unknown in 1965 before moving to Toronto and designing shows for Canada’s CBC Network. He relocated to Hollywood

2008 • Obituaries

in the 1960s, where he worked on Dan Curtis’ gothic soap opera Dark Shadows. He was also production designer and associate producer for the feature ﬁlm versions of House of Dark Shadows (1970) and Night of Dark Shadows (1971). Williams was also art director or production designer for such ﬁlms as The First Time (1969), Jenny (1970), The 300 Year Weekend (1971), To Kill a Clown (1972), Dillinger (1973), Hard Times (1975), The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (1976), Futureworld (1976), Pretty Baby (1978), The Silent Partner (1978), Lost and Found (1979), The Changeling (1980), Tribute (1980), The Amateur (1981), Endangered Species (1982), Martin’s Day (1984), Police Academy (1984), Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985), Alamo Bay (1985), Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986), Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1986), Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987), Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987), Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach (1988), Who’s Harry Crumb? (1989), Last of the Dogmen (1995), and The Secret Life of Algernon (1997). He also worked on numerous teleﬁlms including The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1968), Dead of Night (1969), The Night Stalker (1972), The Norliss Tapes (1973), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973), Dracula (1973), Frankenstein (1973), The Night Strangler (1973), Little House on the Prairie (1974), Melvin Purvis, G-Man (1974), Thursday’s Game (1974), The Turn of the Screw (1974), The Kansas City Massacre (1975), Eccentricities of a Nightingale (1976) which earned him an Emmy nomination, The Secret Life of John Chapman (1976), Secrets (1977), Ski Lift to Death (1978), Who’ll Save Our Children? (1978), Letters from Frank (1979), Mrs. R.’s Daughter (1979), The Long Days of Summer (1980), Mazes and Monsters (1982), Sweet Revenge (1984), The Vegas Strip War (1984), Murder in Space (1985), Sword of Gideon (1986), She Stood Alone (1991), The Man Upstairs (1992), The Good Fight (1992), The Sea Wolf (1993), A Stranger in the Mirror (1993), Pointman (1994), Children of the Dust (1995), Family of Cops (1995), The Hunchback (1997) earning him another Emmy nomination, and La Femme Musketeer (2004). William’s other television credits include episodes of such series as Little House on the Prairie, Police Academy: The Series, and The Immortal.

WILSON, AL Soul singer and songwriter Al Wilson died of kidney failure in Fontana, California, on April 21, 2008. He was 68. Wilson was born in Meridian, Mississippi, on June 19, 1939. He began singing in church choir as a boy and formed a gospel quartet at the age of 12. He moved to San Bernardino, California, with his family while in his teens and spent four years with the band Johnny Harris and the Statesmen after high school. He sang with the enlisted men’s chorus while serving in the U.S. Navy for two years and played with the groups the Jewels, the Rollers, and the Souls after his discharge. He signed with Johnny Rivers’ Soul City Label under the guidance of manager Marc Gordon in 1966 and had hit songs with “The Snake” and “Do What You Gotta Do” in 1968 and covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Lodi” and Johnny Rivers’ “Poor Side of Town” in 1969. He returned to the

Obituaries • 2008

460

Al Wilson

Edward Wilson

charts in 1973 with the hit recording of “Show and Tell” from the album Weighing In. Other hits followed including “Touch and Go” (1974), “La La Peace Song” (1974), “I Won’t Last a Day Without You” (1975), “I’ve Got a Feeling (We’ll Be Seeing Each Other Again),” “Baby I Want Your Body” (1976), and “Chart the Days” (1979). He continued to perform at clubs in the Los Angeles area and released several albums of his earlier hits.

began appearing on British television in such series as Seaway, Helen: A Woman of Today, Crown Court, Angels, Rockliffe’s Babies, and Between the Lines. Wilson was featured in the 1974 television mini-series Fall of Eagles and the 1980 ﬁlm Gloria. He starred as Les in the 1976 ﬁlm The Likely Lads and reprised his role in a cameo appearance in the 1990 television mini-series A Likely Lad. He was best known for starring as Billy Seaton in the popular British television series When the Boat Comes In from 1976 to 1981. Wilson served as artistic director of the National Youth Theatre from 1987 to 2004, directing over 40 productions including Nicholas Nickleby, Othello, The Royal Hunt for the Sun, and Blood Wedding during his tenure there. He subsequently relocated to Los Angeles, where he was artistic director of the Los Angeles Young Actors Company.

WILSON , DE’ANGELO Actor De’Angelo Wilson, who was featured in Eminem’s 2002 movie 8 Mile, was founded hanged in a building in Los Angeles in an apparent suicide. He was 29. He was believed

D’Angelo Wilson

to have died on November 26, 2008. Wilson was born in Dayton, Ohio, on March 29, 1979. He portrayed DJ Iz in 8 Mile, and was also seen in the ﬁlms Antwone Fisher (2002), The Salon (2005), and Mercy Street (2006). Wilson appeared on television in the tele-ﬁlm R.U.S./H. (2002) and in an episode of CSI:NY.

WILSON, EDWARD Actor Edward Wilson, the former artistic director of England’s National Youth Theatre (NYT), died in Los Angeles of cancer on February 2, 2008. He was 60. Wilson was born in South Shields, County Durham, England, on July 13, 1947. He began performing with the NYT in 1965, leading a local branch of the theatre through 1970. He also

WILSON, GERARD J. Film and television editor Gerard J. Wilson died at his home in Kihei, Hawaii, on June 3, 2008. He was 93. Wilson was born in New York City on March 24, 1915. He began working as a ﬁlm editor in the 1950s, cutting the features The Violent Years (1956), A Farewell to Arms (1957), The Street Is My Beat (1966), and The House on Skull Mountain (1974). Wilson also worked as an editor of the television series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Adventures in Paradise, Bewitched, The Iron Horse, Gunsmoke, and Serpico. His other television credits include the tele-ﬁlms Law and Order (1976), Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977), Ski Lift to Death (1978), Hunters of the Reef (1978), Flesh & Blood (1979), Mind Over Murder (1979), Marriage Is Alive and Well (1980), and Golden Gate (1981). WILSON, SALLIE Ballet dancer Sallie Wilson, who was best known for performing and teaching the works of Antony Tudor, died of lung and brain cancer at her home in New York City on April 27, 2008. She was 76. Wilson was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 18, 1932. She trained as a dancer locally before going to New York to study under Antony Tudor and Margaret Craske. She joined the Ballet Theatre (later known as the American Ballet Theatre) in 1949 but was dismissed for lack of experience soon after. She went to the Metropolitan Opera Ballet under Tudor, where she danced from 1950 to 1955. She then returned

461

2008 • Obituaries

sion productions of McManus (1976), Cass (1978), 1915 (1982), The Dismissal (1983), Man of Letters (1984), Coda (1987), and The Dirtwater Dynasty (1988). Winchester also appeared in a handful of ﬁlms during her career including The Rollicking Adventures of Eliza Fraser (1976), Out of It (1977), The Chain Reaction (1980), Initiation (1987), Pandemonium (1988), and Sonnet (1989).

Sallie Wilson

to the American Ballet Theatre, and, after a brief stint with the New York City Ballet at the end of the decade, became a principal dancer with them in 1961. Wilson danced in such Tudor ballets as Pillar of Fire, Jardin aux Lilas, Dim Lustre, Judgment of Paris, and Dark Elegies. She also starred in such classical ballets as Princess Aurora as the Lilac Fairy and Giselle as Myrtha. She also danced the lead in Agnes de Mille’s Fall River Legend, based on the story of Lizzie Borden. She created roles in Alvin Ailey’s The River, Jerome Robbins’ Les Noces, and Herbert Ross’ Concerto, Metamorphosis, and Paean. She retired from the stage in 1980 but continued to train younger dancers in Tudor’s works. She was ballet mistress at the New York City Ballet from the late 1980s until her death.

WINCHESTER, ARNA-MARIA Australian actress Arna-Maria Winchester died in Australia on December 7, 2008. She was 58. Winchester was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1949, the daughter of actress Joan Winchester. She appeared frequently in ﬁlms and television from the early 1970s and was featured in the recurring role of the sexy Jill Stewart in the 1971 series Spyforce. She was also seen in episodes as Phoenix Five, The Comedy Game, Boney, Certain Women, Ryan, Matlock Police, Silent Number, Division 4, Homicide, Shannon’s Mob, The Box, Bellamy, A Country Practice, Boys from the Bush, The Lost World as Queen Lor, All Saints, and H2O: Just Add Water. She also appeared in televi-

Arna-Marie Winchester

WINDING, GENEVIEVE French ﬁlm editor Genevieve Winding died in France on April 15, 2008. She was 80. Winding was born in France on November 27, 1927. She began working in ﬁlms in the late 1950s and served as an assistant editor on Marcel Camus Black Orpheus in 1959. She also edited the ﬁlms Amelie of The Time to Love (1961), O Santo Modico (1964), The Moment of Peace (1965), The Sunday of Life (1967), 24 Hours in the Life of a Woman (1968), Phedre (1968), The Little Theatre of Jean Renoir (1970), As Far As Love Can Go (1971), and Speak to Me of Love (1975). She received a Caesar Award for editing the 1975 ﬁlm Bestial Quartet, and earned four subsequent nominations. She continued to edit such ﬁlms as Violette & Francois (1977), The Savage State (1978), The Sugar (1978), The Woman Banker (1980), La Femme Enfant (1980), Pablo Picasso Painter (1982), Le Quart d’Heure Americain (1982), Le Bon Plaisir (1984), Memories, Memories (1984), Special Police (1985), The King’s Cake (1986), Descent into Hell (1986), Black Milan (1987), Field of Honor (1987), L’Enfance de l’Art (1988), I’m the King of the Castle (1989), Maman (1990), The Elegant Criminal (1990), Indochine (1992), Tango (1993), Delit Mineur (1994), A French Woman (1995), and Death in Therapy (1996). WINDSOR , JOYCE British actress Joyce Windsor died of cancer in England on October 15, 2008. She was 76. Windsor was born in London on January 21, 1932. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts but didn’t embark on a career in acting until the 1960s after her children were grown. She appeared on television in episodes of Z Cars, Doctor Who, Doomwatch, The Two Ronnies, Upstairs, Downstairs, Steptoe and Son, Microbes and Men, Sykes, The Legend of Robin Hood, The Good Life, Rumpole of the Bailey, The Rise and Rise of Reginald Perrin, To the Manor Born,

Joyce Windsor

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462

Terry and June, The Gentle Touch, Sorry!, Mann’s Best Friend, Last of the Summer Wine, Allo ’Allo!, Five Children and It, Then Churchill Said to Me, and Doctors (2004). She was best known for her role as Ruby in the comedy series Butterﬂies from 1978 to 1983. Windsor also appeared in several ﬁlms during her career including She’ll Follow You Anywhere (1971), Hide and Seek (1972), and Jubilee (1977). She continued to perform frequently on stage throughout her career, and ran numerous theatre workshops for younger actors in her later years.

WINETROBE, MAURY Film editor Maury Winetrobe died in Los Angeles on April 1, 2008. He was 85. Winetrobe was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, on July 6, 1922. He moved to Los Angeles in 1925 and began working at Columbia Studios as an ofﬁce boy. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He worked as a music editor in ﬁlm during the early 1960s, with such credits as Pepe (1960), Ship of Fools (1965), and The Professionals (1966). He began editing ﬁlms later in the decade and earned an Academy Award nomination for cutting the hit musical Funny Girl in 1968. His other ﬁlm credits include The Wrecking Crew (1969), Cactus Flower (1969), Getting Straight (1970), Summertree (1971), T.R. Baskin (1971), Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1972), Lost Horizon (1973), Mame (1974), Funny Lady (1975), The Gumball Rally (1976), From Noon Till Three (1976), Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977), The Choirboys (1977), Ice Castles (1978), Ravagers (1979), The Frisco Kid (1979), The Black Marble (1980), The Jazz Singer (1980), Taps (1981), Vision Quest (1985), and The Boost (1988). He also edited several tele-ﬁlms including Born Innocent (1974), Death Be Not Proud (1975), and Crazy Times (1981). WINSTON, JOAN Joan Winston, a founder of the early Star Trek conventions, died at an assisted living facility in New York on September 11, 2008. She was 77. Winston was born on June 19, 1931. She became an active fan of the hit science ﬁction series in the 1960s and was involved in the letter-writing campaign that brieﬂy resurrected Star Trek after being canceled following its second series. She joined with a group of other fans known as The Committee to organize the ﬁrst Star Trek conventions in the 1970s. Having worked at CBS and ABC, Winston was able to introduce the show’s

Joan Winston (with George Takei)

cast and crew to the notion of attending fan conventions. She was co-author of the 1975 book Star Trek Lives! and recounted her efforts for the show in the 1977 book The Making of the Trek Conventions. She remained active in fandom throughout most of her life and was a leading character in William Shatner’s 1999 book Get a Life!, about his experience with fans and conventions. Winston was also featured in the 2005 documentary Trekkies 2.

WINSTON, STAN Oscar-winning special effects artist Stan Winston, who created dinosaurs for Jurassic Park and the alien queen in Aliens, died of multiple myeloma at his home in Malibu, California, on June 15, 2008. He was 62. Winston was born in Arlington, Virginia, on April 7, 1946. He studied art at the University of Virginia before heading to Hollywood in the late 1960s. He apprenticed at Disney and made his debut as a make-up artist in the 1972 tele-ﬁlm Gargoyles. He earned an Emmy Award for Gargoyles and for the 1974 tele-ﬁlm The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Winston also worked on the tele-ﬁlms Get Chris-

Stan Winston

tie Love! (1974), Unwed Father (1974), Pinocchio (1976), Roots (1977), The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978), The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan (1979), Seizure: The Story of Kathy Morris (1980), The Phantom of the Opera (1983), and Wes Craven’s Chiller (1985). He was also responsible for bringing to life some of the most remarkable creations in science ﬁction and horror ﬁlms from the 1970s. His many ﬁlm credits include The Bat People (1974), The Man in the Glass Booth (1975), Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde (1976), W.C. Fields and Me (1976), Mansion of the Doomed (1976), Dracula’s Dog (1978), The Wiz (1978), The Island (1980), The Exterminator (1980), The Entity (1981), The Hand (1981), Dead & Buried (1981), Heartbeeps (1981), which earned him an Oscar nomination for best make-up, Parasite (1982), John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982), and Friday the 13th Part III (1982). Winston began collaborating with director James Cameron on the 1984 ﬁlm The Terminator. He designed the metallic skeleton of the title character and served as second unit director on the ﬁlm. He designed effects for John Carpenter’s Starman in 1984

463 and again worked with Cameron on 1986’s Aliens, which earned him the Academy Award for best special effects. He earned another Oscar nomination for special effect for his work on the extra-terrestrial hunter for 1987’s Predator. He designed the classic horror icons for 1987’s The Monster Squad and designed and created the undersea creature in 1989’s Leviathan. Winston made his directorial debut on the 1988 horror ﬁlm Pumpkinhead. He also directed the 1990 children’s fantasy A Gnome Named Gnorm. His work on Tim Burton’s 1990 ﬁlm Edward Scissorhands garnered him another Oscar nomination for best make-up. He won Oscars for best effects and best make-up for the 1991 sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day. His make-up designs for the villainous Penguin in Batman Returns gained him yet another Oscar nomination in 1992. Winston was responsible for creating the animatronic dinosaurs for Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, earning him another Oscar in 1993. He was also nominated for Academy Awards for his work on The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and AI: Artiﬁcial Intelligence (2001). He also created effects and make-up designs for such ﬁlms as Interview with a Vampire (1994), Tank Girl (1995), Congo (1995), The Ghost and the Darkness (1996), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), Mousehunt (1997), The Relic (1997), Small Soldiers (1998), Instinct (1999), Lake Placid (1999), Inspector Gadget (1999), End of Days (1999), Galaxy Quest (1999), Jurassic Park III (2001), Pearl Harbor (2001), Darkness Falls (2003), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), Big Fish (2003), Wrong Turn (2003), Constantine (2005), Tideland (2005), The Death of Ian Stone (2007), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), and Iron Man (2008). Winston reimagined several 1950s B-movie monsters for a series of ﬁlms for HBO in 2001. He designed and produced Earth vs. the Spider (2001), How to Make a Monster (2001), The Day the World Ended (2001), She Creature (2001), and Teenage Caveman (2002). He also began the Stan Winston Creatures toy company to market action ﬁgures for his monster movies. He was involved with several forthcoming ﬁlms at the time of his death, including Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, G.I. Joe, Shutter Island, and Avatar.

WITTGREN, ERIC ADAM Actor Eric Adam Wittgren died in Venice, California, on June 22, 2008.

Eric Adam Wittgren

2008 • Obituaries

He was 37. Wittgren was born on December 31, 1970. He appeared in several ﬁlms over the past decade, including Split Intent (2000), Voyeur.com (2000), Crown of Love (2005), and Facing the Enemy (2008). Wittgren also appeared on television in an episode of Untold Stories of the ER.

WIZMUR , JOANNA Polish actress Joanna Wizmur died in Warsaw, Poland, on February 22, 2008. She was 50. Wizmur was born in Sopot, Poland, on June 17, 1957. She was a popular performer in Polish ﬁlms and television from the 1980s. Wizmur’s ﬁlm credits include Kocham Kino (1988), Reﬂected Light

Joanna Wizmur

(1989), Men’s Business (1989), The Last Schoolbell (1989), White Marriage (1992), and Tomas and the Falcon King (2000) as the voice of Katarzyna. She was also featured in television productions of Obdicia (1990), Wszystkie Pieniadze Swiata (1999), Adam i Ewa (2000), Pensjonat Pod Roza (2004), and Boza Podszewka, Czesc Druga (2005).

WOLFIT, MARGARET British actress Margaret Wolﬁt died in England on September 20, 2008. She was 79. She was born in London on June 2, 1929, the daughter of famed stage actor Donald Wolﬁt. She studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and began her career on stage in the late 1940s. She was featured as Jessica in her father’s production of The

Margaret Wolﬁt

Obituaries • 2008

464

Merchant of Venice. She toured in the play in the United States and Canada. During the 1950s she performed in such plays as Peter Brooks’ The Winter’s Tale, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet as Lady Capulet, and John Gielgud’s production of Much Ado About Nothing Wolﬁt also wrote and starred in the one-woman show George Eliot: A Portrait. She appeared on British television in a 1959 production of Shadow of Heroes and was seen in episodes of Four Just Men, No Hiding Place, and Oliver Twist.

WOLLNER, ANTHONY Television director Anthony Wollner died on July 23, 2008. He was 87. Wollner was born on October 10, 1920. He began working in television in the early 1950s, where he served as editor for numerous western series. He was credited with such series as The Range Rider, Buffalo Bill, Jr., The Adventures of Champion, The Gene Autry Show, Red Ryder, Annie Oakley, Death Valley Days, Cavalcade of America, Bat Masterson, Stagecoach West, The Riﬂeman, 12 O’Clock High, Branded, The Big Valley, and The Man Who Never Was. Wollner also edited the tele-ﬁlms A Dream for Christmas (1973) and The Runaway Barge (1975). He also worked on The Waltons television series from 1972 to 1976. WONG YUE Hong Kong kung fu star Wong Yue, who starred in the 1975 comedy action ﬁlm The Spiritual Boxer, died of acute hepatitis on May 5, 2008. He was 53. He began his ﬁlm career in the early 1970s with the Shaw Brothers, appearing in Facets of Love (1973), The Flying Guillotine (1974), The Golden Lotus (1974), Thirteen (1974), Hong Kong 73 (1974), Gossip Street (1974), Young Passion (1974), Boy and His Dog (1974), That’s Adultery (1975), and Big Brother Cheng (1975). He starred as Hsiao Chien in Lau Karleung’s The Spiritual Boxer in 1975, becoming one of the ﬁrst comedic kung fu stars. He continued to star in such ﬁlms as Emperor Chien Lung (1976), The Criminals (1976), The Last Tempest (1976), Spirit of the Raped (1976), The Snake Prince (1976), King Gambler (1976), Shaolin Executioners (1977), Gangbusters Kung-Fu (1977), Master Killer (1978), The Proud Youth (1978), Dirty Kung Fu (1978), Spiritual Boxer II (1979), Dirty Ho (1979), The Kung Fu Instructor (1979), The Swift Sword (1980), Rendezvous with Death (1980), The Young

Wong Yue

Avenger (1980), Claws of the Eagle (1980), Challenge of the Gamesters (1981), Roar of the Lion (1981), Notorious Eight (1981), Winner Takes All (1982), The Big Sting (1982), Invincible Pole Fighter (1983), Tales of the Eunuch (1983), Mercenaries from Hong Kong (1983), The Lady Is the Boss (1983), Wits of the Brats (1984), Dress Off for Life (1984), The Young Vagabond (1985), Girl with the Diamond Slipper (1985), Why Me? (1985), Crazy Shaolin Disciples (1985), The Master Strikes Back (1985), The Flying Mr. B (1985), Rouge (1987), and Sink Bottom Crocodile (1989). Wong had suffered from declining health due to drug abuse in recent years and had undergone a recent surgery.

WOOD, VIRGINIA Actress Virginia Wood died in Kalispell, Montana, on April 28, 2008. She was 78. She earned the title of Montana Bonanza Queen in 1949 but turned down a possible acting career at that time to marry and raise a family. She later headed to Hollywood after her divorce and appeared in ﬁlms and television productions from the mid–1960s to the early

Virginia Wood

1970s. Wood was featured in the ﬁlms Spinout (1966) with Elvis Presley, A Man Called Dagger (1967), A Guide for the Married Man (1967), The Destructors (1968), Jennie: Wife/Child (1968), and Lady in Cement (1968) with Frank Sinatra. She also appeared in the tele-ﬁlms A Man for Hanging (1973) and Ransom for Alice! (1977), and in episodes of The Rounders and Love, American Style. She subsequently retired to Montana.

WRIGHT, RICHARD Pianist and songwriter Richard Wright, who was a founding member of the British rock group Pink Floyd, died of cancer at his home in London on September 15, 2008. He was 65. Wright was born in Hatch End, northwest London, on July 28, 1943. He began playing the piano at an early age. He met singer-bassist Roger Waters and drummer Nick Mason while attending the Regent Street School of Architecture. The trio began performing together as a band known as the Tea Set and were soon joined by singer-guitarist Syd Barrett. The group became known as Pink Floyd, and they released their debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn in 1967. Barrett’s increasing drug use and bizarre behavior forced his ouster from the group soon after, with David Gilmour coming in as his

465

2008 • Obituaries

Richard Wright

Erick Wujcik

replacement. Wright was instrumental in writing many of the group’s songs, including 1970’s “Atom Heart Mother” from the album of the same name, and the hits “Us and Them” and “The Great Gig in the Sky” from the landmark Dark Side of the Moon album in 1973. He also co-wrote “Shine on You Crazy Diamond,” a tribute to Barrett, on the album Wish You Were Here (1975). Wright played on the group’s 1977 album Animals and recorded the solo album Wet Dreams in 1978. He was forced out of the band by Waters during the recording sessions for The Wall (1979) but performed with the group’s tour promoting the album as a paid musician. Wright joined with Dave Harris to form the band Zee in 1984, and they released the album Identity with little success. He returned to Pink Floyd in 1987 after Waters had departed the group and performed on the album A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987) and the live album The Delicate Sound of Thunder (1988). Wright contributed several songs for the 1994 album The Division Bell and sang lead on the song “Inside Out.” He performed on the Pink Floyd live album and concert video PULSE in 1995 and released a second solo album, Broken China, in 1996. Wright, Mason, and Gilmour were reunited with Waters on stage at the Live 8 concert in London in July of 2005, and Wright played keyboard and sang backup vocals at several concerts and recording sessions with Gilmour. He was working on another solo album at the time of his death. WUJCIK, ERICK Erick Wujcik, a leading designer of role-playing games, died of pancreatic cancer in San Rafael, California, on June 7, 2008. He was 57. Wujcik was born in on January 26, 1951. He began his career at Wayne State University where he was head of the gaming society in the 1970s. He wrote the weekly computer column for The Detroit News from 1979 to 1981 and became a founder of Palladium Books. He was instrumental in the development of numerous roleplaying games and worked on such projects as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness, Rifts, Robotech, and Paranoia. He was lead game designer for Return to Krondor for Sierra Studios and for Outrage Entertainment’s Alter Echo. Wujcik was director of the Detroit Gaming Center and editor of the gaming fanzine Amberzine. He also designed games for UbiSoft China and Totally Games until his death.

WYLIE, RICHARD “POPCORN” Musician and songwriter Richard “Popcorn” Wylie died in Detroit, Michigan, on September 7, 2008. He was 69. Wylie was born in Detroit on June 6, 1939. He formed a band while in high school, Popcorn and the Mohawks, and he recorded his ﬁrst single, “Pretty Girl,” in 1960. He soon began working at Motown as part of the house backing musicians who became known as the Funk Brothers. He played on the Miracles’ 1961 hit “Shop Around” and on the Marvelettes’ “Please Mr. Postman.” He also worked with such artists as the

Richard “Popcorn” Wylie

Supremes, Marvin Gaye, and Martha & the Vandellas. Wylie left Motown after a falling out with Berry Gordy in 1962. He recorded several solo singles for Epic, which saw little success. Over the next decade, he released the songs “Rosemary, What Happened?,” “Move Over Babe (Here Comes Henry),” and “Funky Rubber Band.” He had began his own label, Pameline, which gained a popular following in England. Wylie eventually traveled there, where he was revered as part of England’s Northern Soul scene. He recorded and wrote numerous songs and was involved with the 2003 documentary ﬁlm The Strange World of Northern Soul.

XIE JIN Leading Chinese ﬁlm director Xie Jin died in a hotel room in Shangyu City, Zhejiang Province, China, on October 18, 2008. He was 84. Xie Jin

Obituaries • 2008

466 Bel Canto Trio in the late 1940s. Yeend made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Richard Strauss’ Elektra in 1961. She also performed with London’s Covent Garden Opera Company and the Vienna State Opera. She largely retired from the stage in the mid–1960s and was professor of music at West Virginia University from 1966 to 1978.

Xie Jin

YOST, DENNIS Dennis Yost, the lead singer of the 1960s pop group the Classics IV, died of respiratory failure in a Hamilton, Ohio, hospital on December 7, 2008. He was 65. He had been largely conﬁned to a nursing home with a brain injury following a fall in 2005. Yost was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on July 20, 1943. He began playing with a local band in the early 1960s that evolved into the Classics IV in 1965. Yost was lead singer and played the drums and was ac-

was born in Shangyu City on November 21, 1923. He studied drama in Shanghai and Hong Kong and worked with the China Youth Play Agency in Chongqing in the early 1940s. He began working in ﬁlms later in the decade as a director with the Changjiang Film Studio and the Shanghai Film Studio. He made his directorial debut with the award-winning 1957 ﬁlm Woman Basketball Player No. 5 and became noted for his ﬁlms featuring strong female characters. He also directed the ﬁlms Da Li, Xiao Li he Hao Li (1962), Two Stage Sisters (1965), Chunmiao (1975), The Story of Cloud Mountain (1980), Herdsman (1982), Qui Jin: A Revolutionary (1984), Wreaths at the Foot of the Mountain (1985), Hibiscus Town (1986), The Last Aristocrats (1989), Bell of Purity Temple (1992), An Old Man and His Dog (1993), Behind the Wall of Shame (1995), The Opium War (1997), and Woman Soccer Player #9 (2001).

Dennis Yost

YEEND, FRANCES Operatic soprano Frances Yeend died in Morgantown, West Virginia, on April 27, 2008. She was 95. She was born Frances Leone Lynch in Vancouver, Washington, on January 28, 1913. She studied singing at Washington State College and made her debut with the New York City Opera as Violetta in a production of Verdi’s Traviata in 1948. She remained with the City Opera throughout the next decade, with roles in The Marriage of Figaro, Faust, Aida, and Turandot. She also toured with famed tenor Mario Lanza and bass-baritone George London as the

Frances Yeend

companied by James R. Cobb, Wally Eaton, and Joe Wilson. They relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1967 where producers Buddy Buie and Bill Lowery recorded their ﬁrst hit, “Spooky.” They continued to record such popular songs as “Stormy” (1968), “Traces” (1968), and “Everyday with You Girl” (1969). The group later became known as Dennis Yost and the Classics IV, and scored a minor hit with 1972’s “What Am I Crying For?” Yost continued to lead the band with an ever changing line-up over the next 30 years, until becoming incapacitated by a traumatic brain injury in 2005.

YOUNG, LEE Jazz drummer Lee Young died in Los Angeles on July 31, 2008. He was 91. Young was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on March 7, 1917. He studied music as a child, playing various instruments before settling on the drums. His older brother, Lester, became noted for his virtuosity on the saxophone. Lee went to Los Angeles in 1929, where he performed as a singer. Several years later, he joined Mutt Carey’s band and moved to Buck Clayton’s group in 1936. He played and recorded with pianist Fats Waller and with Nat King Cole in the late 1930s. He also worked as a studio musician at Paramount and MGM. He was brieﬂy a member of Lionel Hampton’s band in the late 1940s and teamed with his brother Lester to lead their own band in 1941. He was featured in several ﬁlms, includ-

467

2008 • Obituaries

ZABLACANSKI , MILENKO Serbian actor Milenko Zablacanski died in a Belgrade, Serbia, hospital on January 22, 2008, of injuries he had received in an automobile accident several days earlier. He was 52. Zablacanski was born in Bogatic, Sergia (then part of Yugoslavia), on December 8, 1955. He was a popular ﬁlm and television star from the early 1980s. He was featured in the ﬁlms Erogena Zona (1981), Daleko Nebo (1982), Pereat (1983), The Misﬁt Brigade (1987), The Bizarre Country (1988), and Poor Little Hamsters

Lee Young

ing the 1943 Red Skelton comedy I Dood It and St. Louis Blues in 1958. Young was drummer with the Nat King Cole Trio from 1953 to 1962. From the mid– 1960s, he was involved in record production with such labels as ABC, Motown, and United Artists.

YOUNG, RALPH Singer and comedian Ralph Young died at his home in Palm Springs, California, on August 22, 2008. He was 90. Young was born in the Bronx, New York, on July 1, 1918. He served in the military during World War II and formed his own band. After the war, he was a lead vocalist with Les Brown and His Band of Renown. He also sang with big bands led by Tommy Reynolds and Shep Fields and appeared

Milenko Zablacanski

(2003). Zablacanski was also featured in television productions of Andric i Goia (1984), Tombola (1985), Crvena Baraka (1985), Mala Nada (1988), Narodni Poslanik (1990), A Sad Adio (2000), and Zeka, Crvenkapa i Lotar Mateus (2000). He was featured as Djordje Djordjevic Djordjino in the television series Srecni Ljudi (1993) and Srecni Ljudi 2 (1995) and was Dobrivoje Kasikovic Mikser in Porodicno Blago from 1998 to 2002. He also starred as Nenad “Nesa” Ljutic in Stizu Dolari (2004) and Stizu Dolari 2 (2005), and was Marinko Pantic in Bela Iadja from 2006 to 2007 and Bela Iadja 2 in 2008.

ZALESKI, KRZYSZTOF Polish actor Krzysztof Zaleski died in Warsaw, Poland, on October 20, 2008. He was 60. Zaleski was born in Swietochlowice, Poland, on September 3, 1948. He appeared frequently on Polish stage, ﬁlm, and television productions from Ralph Young (right, with Tony Sandler)

on television’s The Milton Berle Show in 1958. Billed as Russ Martine, he was also featured in the 1962 exploitation ﬁlm Blaze Starr Goes Nudist. Young was best known for the duo he formed with fellow entertainer Tony Sandler in the early 1960s. They recorded over 20 albums over the next three decades and were headliners in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. They were also seen on television in episodes of The Hollywood Palace, Kraft Music Hall, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and The Merv Grifﬁn Show. They were featured in numerous episodes of The Ed Sullivan Show, including the series ﬁnale in 1971. The duo continued to perform together until Young retired in the mid–1990s.

Krzysztof Zaleski

Obituaries • 2008

468

the early 1970s. Zaleski’s ﬁlm credits include Top Dog (1978), Index (1978), A Room with a View on the Sea (1978), Rough Treatment (1978), Trio (1979), Chance (1979), Childish Questions (1981), Fever (1981), the Oscar-nominated Man of Iron (1981), Voices (1982), Mother of Kings (1983), The Idol (1985), My Mother’s Lovers (1986), Lake of Constance (1986), Blind Chance (1987), Kill Me, Cop (1988), Citizen Piszczyk (1989), Soccer Poker (1989), Oszolomienie (1989), Men’s Business (1989), Konsul (1989), Life for Life: Maximilian Kolbe (1991), Eminent Domain (1991), Warsaw — Year 5703 (1992), Czarne Slonca (1992), A.W.O.L. (1993), Nothing but Fear (1993), Private Town (1994), Sztos (1997), Lozko Wierszynina (1997), Egoisci (2000), Bajland (2000), and Summer Love (2006). He was also featured in such television productions as Sunday Children (1976), Zalegly Urlop (1978), Obok (1979), A Lonely Woman (1981), Poisonous Plants (1985), Sala nr 6 (1987), Cudownie Icalony (2004), and the television series Kryminalni in 2006.

ZIEGFELD, PATRICIA Patricia Ziegfeld, the daughter of Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld and actress Billie Burke, died of congestive heart failure at her home in Los Angeles on April 11, 2008. She was 91. She was born in New York City on October 23, 1916. She was raised on the Ziegfelds’ spacious estates in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida, before her father’s death in 1932. She moved to California with her mother, where she brieﬂy worked

Patricia Ziegfeld (right, with father Florenz Ziegfeld and mother Billie Burke)

Burton Zucker

They acknowledged their dad in the ﬁlm by having his picture appear on an airport wall as Employee of the Month. His screen time increased in the Zucker’s 1984 comedy Top Secret!, with Burt appearing as a chef holding a chicken and a large knife while star Val Kilmer sang “Tutti Frutti.” Zucker also appeared in small roles in the ﬁlms The Naked Gun (1988), The Naked Gun 21 ⁄ 2: The Smell of Fear (1991), Naked Gun 331 ⁄ 3: The Final Insult (1994), and High School High (1996). He was featured as bread vendor in the 1995 medieval adventure ﬁlm First Knight, and appeared in a background scene with his wife in 1997’s My Best Friend’s Wedding. He and Catherine remained together until her death in September of 2007.

ZVARIK, FRANTISEK Slovakian actor Frantisek Zvarik died in Bratislava, Slovakia, on August 17, 2008. He was 87. Zvarik was born in Vrutky, Czechoslovakia, on July 17, 1921. He was a leading performer with the Slovak National Theatre from the 1940s. He also appeared in a handful of ﬁlms during his career including Warning (1947), Tri Kamaradi (1947), The Devil’s Wall (1949), Jurasek (1957), The Last Witch (1957), the Oscar-winning foreign ﬁlm The Shop on Main Street (1965) as town commander Marcus Kolkotsky, Vreckari (1967), Kulhavy Dabel (1968), Niet Inej Cesty (1968), 322 (1969), Big Night and Big Day (1975), Cervene Vino I–II (1976), Sukromna Vojna (1977), An Epic About Conscience I–II (1978), and Kara Pina Bolesti (1985).

as a radio writer and actress. She married architect William Stephenson in 1939, with whom she had three daughters and a son. She wrote her autobiography, The Ziegfelds’ Girl: Confessions of an Abnormally Happy Childhood, in 1963. She and Stephenson remained married until his death in October of 2007.

ZUCKER, BURT Burt Zucker, the father of comedy ﬁlmmakers David and Jerry Zucker, died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on May 12, 2008. He was 91. Zucker was born in Milwaukee on July 4, 1916. He married Charlotte Lefstein in 1941 and worked in his family’s women’s clothing stores through the late 1950s. Zucker’s two sons began working in ﬁlms in the early 1980s, scoring a major hit with the comedy Airplane!

Frantisek Zvarik

Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2008: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. (Obituaries in the Performing Arts)

Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2000: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture

Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2003: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture

Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 1998: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture

Obituaries In The Performing Arts, 2007: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture

Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2006: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture

Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2006: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture

Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2001: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture

Obituaries In The Performing Arts 2004: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture

Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2000: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture

Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 1999: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture

Obituaries In The Performing Arts, 2007: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture

Obituaries In The Performing Arts, 2005: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture (Obituaries in the Performing Arts)

Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2002: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture (Obituaries in the Performing Arts)