Dan O’Bannon, whose screenplays for “Alien,” “Total Recall,” “The Return of the Living Dead” and other films made him a cult hero among science fiction aficionados, died on Thursday in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 63.
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SWAPSALE.COM Animation Cels Books CDs DVDs Freebies Games Links Memorabilia Models Movies/TV Movies/TV Pix Movie Serials Radio Reproductions Sci-Fi Apparel Space Patrol Gold Sunday Comics Swap Talk Toys Toys,Sci-Fi Videos 3D Gallery Contact Us: Swapsale@aol.com IN MEMORIAM
PERNELL ROBERTS By Associated Press | TV | January 26, 2010 Online guest book: Share your condolences Pernell Roberts, the ruggedly handsome actor who shocked Hollywood by leaving TV’s “Bonanza” at the height of its popularity, then found fame again years later on “Trapper John, M.D.,” has died. He was 81. Roberts, the last surviving member of the classic Western’s cast, died of cancer Sunday at his Malibu home, his wife Eleanor Criswell told the Los Angeles Times. MORE: http://www.pbpulse.com/tv/2010/01/26/pernell-roberts-last-star-of-tvs-bonanza-dies/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZELDA RUBINSTEIN Zelda Rubinstein (May 28, 1933[1] – January 27, 2010) was an American actress and human rights activist, best known as eccentric medium Tangina Barrons in the movies Poltergeist (1982) and its sequels, Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986), and Poltergeist III (1988). She also made guest appearances in the TV spin-off Poltergeist: The Legacy (1996), as a seer, Christina.[2] Rubinstein was also known for her outspoken activism for little people and her early participation in the fight against HIV/AIDS. On December 29, 2009, it was reported that, after a month-long stay at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, her close companion and her family made the decision to take Rubinstein off life support due to both kidney and lung failure.[8] On January 2, 2010, friends reported she was not near death, and was well on her way to recovery.[9] On January 27, 2010, Rubinstein died at Barlow Respiratory Hospital in Los Angeles.[1] MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zelda_Rubinstein -----------------------------------
J. D. SALINGER Jerome David "J. D." Salinger (IPA: [ˈsælɪndʒər], SAL-in-jər; January 1, 1919 – January 27, 2010) was an American author, best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. His last original published work was in 1965; he gave his last interview in 1980. Raised in Manhattan, Salinger began writing short stories while in secondary school, and published several stories in the early 1940s before serving in World War II. In 1948 he published the critically acclaimed story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" in The New Yorker magazine, which became home to much of his subsequent work. In 1951 Salinger released his novel The Catcher in the Rye, an immediate popular success. His depiction of adolescent alienation and loss of innocence in the protagonist Holden Caulfield was influential, especially among adolescent readers.[2] The novel remains widely read and controversial,[3] selling around 250,000 copies a year. The success of The Catcher in the Rye led to public attention and scrutiny: Salinger became reclusive, publishing new work less frequently. He followed Catcher with a short story collection, Nine Stories (1953), a collection of a novella and a short story, Franny and Zooey (1961), and a collection of two novellas, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (1963). His last published work, a novella entitled "Hapworth 16, 1924," appeared in The New Yorker on June 19, 1965. Salinger died of natural causes on January 27, 2010, at his home in Cornish, New Hampshire.[5][6][7] MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._D._Salinger -------------------------------
Erich Segal, ‘Love Story’ Author, Dies at 72Erich Segal, a Yale classics professor turned popular writer whose first novel, “Love Story,” became a staggering commercial success if not quite a critical one when it appeared in 1970, died on Sunday at his home in London. He was 72. The cause was a heart attack, his daughter Francesca said on Tuesday. Mr. Segal had been ill with Parkinson’s disease for 25 years. MORE: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/books/20segal.html --------------------------------------------------------------
Arnold Stang, actor famed for playing nerdy roles, dies at 91NEWTON, Mass. — Arnold Stang, Hollywood's favorite nerd, has died. His son says the radio, theater, film and television actor famous for his geeky roles and demeanor, died of pneumonia Sunday at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Massachusetts. He was 91. The New York City native started his career on the radio as a teenager. He played alongside Milton Berle in the 1950s, starred as Frank Sinatra's sidekick in the 1955 movie "The Man with the Golden Arm," and was a member of the ensemble comedic cast of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" in 1963. ---------------------------------------------------------------------
'Mister Ed' actress Connie Hines dies at age 79 Actress Connie
Hines, who played Wilbur's wife on the popular 1960s television show
"Mister Ed" has died. She was 79, AP
reported. MORE: http://en.trend.az/regions/world/usa/1605872.html ---------------------------------------------------
Dan O’Bannon, 63, Who Wrote Screenplay for ‘Alien,’ Is DeadDan O’Bannon, whose screenplays for “Alien,” “Total Recall,” “The Return of the Living Dead” and other films made him a cult hero among science fiction aficionados, died on Thursday in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 63. The Writers Guild of America confirmed his death. The cause was Crohn’s disease, a chronic gastrointestinal disorder that Mr. O’Bannon endured for 30 years, his wife, Diane, told The Los Angeles Times. Mr. O’Bannon had an early start as a screenwriter when he and the director John Carpenter, students at the time at the University of Southern California film school, wrote the low-budget film “Dark Star,” which was released as a feature in 1974. MORE: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/movies/21obannon.html ------------------------------------------------------
ROY DISNEY Roy Edward Disney, KCSG (January 10, 1930 – December 16, 2009)[1] was a longtime senior executive for The Walt Disney Company, which his father Roy Oliver Disney and his uncle Walt Disney founded. At the time of death he was a shareholder (over 16 million shares or about 1%),[2] and served as a consultant for the company and Director Emeritus for the Board of Directors. He is perhaps best known for organizing the ousting of two top Disney executives: first, Ron Miller in 1984, and then Michael Eisner in 2005. As the last member of the Disney family to be actively involved in the company, Roy Disney was often compared to his uncle and father. In 2006, Forbes magazine estimated his personal fortune at about USD$1.2 billion.[3] MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_E._Disney ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gene Barry: Deep-voiced, debonair TV and stage star, has diedGene Barry, who died at age 90 on Wednesday, had a great voice: Deep and growly, but with a nice lilt to it when he wanted to put a playful spin on a tough-guy line. It was a voice he used to charm audiences first in the TV Western that made him a star, Bat Masterson (1958-61), then as Amos Burke, a rich guy who joined the L.A. police force in Burke’s Law (1963-66) and sped to crime scenes in a Rolls Royce. My mom had a crush on him when he starred in as a magazine tycoon in The Name of the Game (1968-71). His biggest movie role by far was in 1953’s George Pal version of War of the Worlds. And Barry carved out a career as a Broadway leading-man, winning particular praise for his turn as Georges in La Cage Aux Folles, and worked up a solid nightclub act in which his voice was used to sing rumbling versions of pop standards. MORE: http://watching-tv.ew.com/2009/12/11/gene-barry-dies/ --------------------------------------------------------
In Memoriam: Ken Krueger Scoop is saddened to report that noted fan, promoter, publisher, advisor, bookstore owner and friend to fandom Ken Krueger has passed away. Born October 7, 1926, Krueger was a member of First Fandom, the group of attendees of the very first science-fiction convention in New York in 1939. He is perhaps best known as the co-founder of what is now Comic-Con International: San Diego. “A book store owner and small press publisher he was instrumental in the founding of the San Diego Comic-Con along with Shel Dorf, Richard Alf and a group of young local fans including Scott Shaw!, Bill Lund, Mike Towry, Barry Alfonso and Bob Sourke,” said writer-artist Jim Valentino of Image Comics. “He served as the con's first chairman, later treasurer and resident grown-up,” he said. During his career he owned many bookstores, several publishing houses and worked in distribution for Pacific Comics and CapitolCity . MORE: http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/public/default.asp?t=1&m=1&c=34&s=260&ai=89255 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
San Diego's Comic-Con Creator Shel Dorf Dead at 76With the San Diego Comic-Con now running like clockwork as one of the biggest gatherings for comics, movies, and any other vaguely nerdy pop-culture ephemera in the world, it's hard to believe that it's largely the work of one man. Shel Dorf, a comic book collector who moved from Detroit to San Diego, put together the first con back in 1970, which was attended by 300 people. The most recent SDCC, this past August, was attended by 125,000 people, with next year only promising more. It's sad that having passed away earlier today [Friday, Nov. 6], Dorf will no longer be able to attend. MORE: http://www.reelzchannel.com/movie-news/4997/san-diegos-comic-con-creator-shel-dorf-dead-at-76
JOHN HART - ACTOR JOHN Hart, who played the Lone Ranger in 52 episodes of the long-running 1950s television series featuring a masked cowboy, has died of dementia at his home in Baja California. He was 91. A Los Angeles native who launched his Hollywood career with a minor part in Cecil B. DeMille's 1938 film The Buccaneer, Hart played small roles in a string of films before being drafted into the US Army in 1941. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comedy Icon Soupy Sales dies at age 83Soupy Sales, the comedy icon who made the made
pie-in-the-face gag a pop-culture phenomenon, died Thursday, October 22,
2009 at the age of 83. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Captain Lou Albano dies at 76
October 14, 2009 |
9:27 am
Legendary pro wrestling manager Captain Lou Albano died this morning, MTV.com is reporting. Albano, who was sent home from the hospital earlier this week and place under hospice care, was 76 years old. Albano is best known to non-wrestling fans as the father in Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" video. That helped kick off the Rock 'n Wrestling connection that launched the then-WWF to national prominence in the 1980s. What is your favorite Lou Albano memory? Leave a comment and let us know. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LUCY VODDEN (LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS) Lucy Vodden (née O’Donnell), who was the inspiration for the Beatles’ song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” has died, following a long battle with the autoimmune disease lupus. The British housewife — whose passing was announced by the St Thomas’ Lupus Trust charity — was 46. MORE: http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2009/09/28/lucy-vodden-of-beatles-song-fame-dies/ -------------------------------------------------------------
CRYSTAL LEE SUTTON, 68Labor Organizer Was Inspiration for 'Norma Rae'Crystal Lee Sutton, 68, a textile worker who rebelled against the low pay and poor conditions in a Southern mill to urge its workers to unionize and whose life inspired the film "Norma Rae," died of brain cancer Sept. 11 at a hospice in Burlington, N.C. Ms. Sutton, a 33-year-old mother of three who earned $2.65 per hour folding towels at the J.P. Stevens textile plant, was fired in 1973 for her pro-union activity. Before the police hauled her off the factory floor, the 16-year veteran of the job wrote "UNION" on a piece of cardboard, climbed on to a table and slowly rotated so her fellow workers could see her protest. Her colleagues responded by shutting down their machines, in defiance of management orders. ---------------------------------------------------------
http://www.peterpaulandmary.com/ MARY ALLIN TRAVERS Mary Allin Travers (November 9, 1936 – September 16, 2009) was an American singer-songwriter and member of the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary, along with Peter Yarrow and Noel "Paul" Stookey. Peter, Paul and Mary was one of the most successful folk-singing groups of the 1960s.[3] Almost unique among the folk musicians who emerged from the Greenwich Village scene in the early 1960s, Travers actually came from the neighborhood.[3] MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Travers_(singer) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HENRY GIBSON 73 Henry Gibson, who died on Monday from cancer at the age of 73, was a fine comedic actor and living pun. (Born James Bateman, his stage name was a tip of the hat to playwright Henrik Ibsen.) Gibson initially became famous in the late ’60s with his turns on the satirical comedy show Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In and, more recently, portrayed an idiosyncratic judge on Boston Legal. His film credits included The Incredible Shrinking Woman, Wedding Crashers, and the Blues Brothers, in which he memorably essayed a Nazi. He was also a favorite actor of the director Joe Dante who cast him in Innerspace, the ‘burbs, and Gremlins 2. ------------------------------------------------------------------
Ellie Greenwich dies at 68; co-wrote 'Da Doo Ron Ron,' 'Chapel of Love' and other '60s hits
Ellie Greenwich, the New York songwriter behind a
string of 1960s hits that gave effervescent voice to unbridled teen romance
including "Da Doo Ron Ron," "Chapel of Love" and "Be My
Baby," many of them in collaboration with producer Phil Spector, died
Wednesday of a heart attack, according to her niece, Jessica Weiner. She was 68. Leader of the Pack by the Shangri Las written by Ellie Greenwich ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ '60 Minutes' creator Don Hewitt dies(CNN) -- Television pioneer and longtime CBS executive Don Hewitt, the creator of "60 Minutes," has died, the network said Wednesday. He was 86. Hewitt, who had been battling pancreatic cancer, died at his home in Bridgehampton, New York, surrounded by his family, CBS said. The winner of eight Emmy and two Peabody awards, Hewitt began working for CBS News as an associate director in 1948. He was executive producer of "60 Minutes" when it premiered on CBS on September 24, 1968. Hewitt stepped down in June 2004, but the program remains on the air and is the number-one news program, according to CBS News' Web site. MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/19/hewitt.obit/index.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guitar Hero: Les Paul, 1915-2009
August 14, 2009
Guitarist and inventor Les Paul — who invented the device that made the electric guitar possible — died Aug. 13 at the age of 94. Paul's contributions to rock 'n' roll went well beyond one gadget. He designed guitars — vintage models were selling for thousands of dollars even before news of his death came — and made the first multi-track recorder. He introduced innovations that established the recording studio itself as a legitimate musical instrument. And in doing so, he shaped much of the genre's sound. MORE: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111888401 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Billy Lee Riley (October 5, 1933 - August 2, 2009) was an American rockabilly musician, singer, record producer and songwriter. Born in Pocahontas, Arkansas, the son of a sharecropper, Riley learned to play guitar from black farm workers. After 4 years in the Army, Riley first recorded in Memphis, Tennessee in 1955 before being lured to Sun Studios by Sam Phillips. He recorded "Trouble Bound" for Jack Clement and Slim Wallace. Sam Phillips obtained the rights and he released "Trouble Bound" b/w "Rock With Me Baby" on September 1, 1956 (Sun 245). His first hit was "Flyin' Saucers Rock and Roll" b/w "I Want You Baby" released February 23, 1957 (Sun 260) after which he recorded "Red Hot" b/w "Pearly Lee" released September 30, 1957 (Sun 277) both with backing piano by Jerry Lee Lewis. "Red Hot" was showing a lot of promise as a big hit record, but Sam Phillips pulled the promotion and switched it to "Great Balls Of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis. The record was pulled without a lot of sales. He had other Sun recordings and they, likewise, did not have a lot of sales as his promotion had stopped. Considered good looking and with wild stage moves, Riley had a brief solo career with his backing band "The Little Green Men". Riley and his Little Green Men were the main Sun studio band. They were Riley, Roland Janes, J.M. Van Eaton, Marvin Pepper, and Jimmy Wilson, later joined by Martin Willis. In 1960, he left Sun, and started Rita Record label with Roland Janes. They produced the national hit record "Mountain Of Love" by Harold Dorman. He later started two other labels Nita and Mojo. In 1962, he moved to Los Angeles and worked as a session musician with Dean Martin, the Beach Boys, Herb Alpert, Sammy Davis Jr. and others, as well as recording under various aliases. MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Lee_Riley TO HEAR BILLY LEE RILEY SING RED HOT CLICK HERE: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Hughes, 59, dies of heart attack
John Hughes, the screenwriter, producer and director whose films captured the
teenage zeitgeist of the 1980s, died suddenly of a heart attack today in New
York City. He was 59.
Hughes, best known for 1980s movies such as "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club," "Pretty in Pink" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," was taking a morning walk in Manhattan where he was visiting family, according to a statement from his representatives. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brenda Joyce, Jane to 2 Tarzans, Dies at 92SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — Brenda Joyce, who played Jane with two movie Tarzans, died here on July 4. She was 92. A family friend, David Ragan, said she died of pneumonia at a nursing home after suffering from dementia for a decade. Ms. Joyce, who was born Betty Leabo, appeared in about two dozen movies, but was best known for succeeding Maureen O’Sullivan as Jane in the “Tarzan” pictures. She appeared in five “Tarzan” movies in the 1940s, beginning with “Tarzan and the Amazons” opposite Johnny Weissmuller in 1945. Her final “Tarzan” film was “Tarzan’s Magic Fountain,” with Lex Barker, in 1949, which was also the last year she acted in movies. MORE: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/23/arts/23joyce.html?_r=1 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Walter CronkiteWalter Leland Cronkite, Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009)[2][3][4] was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years (1962–81). During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited in viewer opinion polls as "the most trusted man in America" because of his professional experience and kindly demeanor.[5][6] Cronkite died on July 17, 2009 at the age of 92 from cerebrovascular disease,[7] described by his son as complications from dementia.[8] Cronkite was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri, the son of Helen Lena (née Fritsche) and Dr. Walter Leland Cronkite, a dentist.[9][10] He had remote Dutch ancestry on his father's side, the family surname originally being Krankheyt.[11] Cronkite lived in Kansas City, Missouri until he was ten, when his family moved to Houston, Texas.[9] He attended junior high school at Lanier Junior High School (now Lanier Middle School) and high school at San Jacinto High School where he edited the high school newspaper.[1] He was a member of the Boy Scouts. He attended college at The University of Texas at Austin, where he worked on The Daily Texan, and became a member of the Nu chapter of the Chi Phi Fraternity.[12][1] He also was a member of the Houston chapter of DeMolay, a Masonic fraternal organization for boys. It was while attending the University of Texas that Cronkite had his first taste of performance appearing in a play with fellow students Eli Wallach and Ann Sheridan. He dropped out of college in his junior year in 1935 after starting a series of newspaper reporting jobs covering news and sports.[3] He entered broadcasting as a radio announcer for WKY in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 1936, he met his future wife Mary Elizabeth Maxwell (known by her nickname "Betsy") while working as the sports announcer for KCMO (AM) in Kansas City, Missouri.[9][3] His broadcast name was "Walter Wilcox".[13] He would explain later that radio stations at the time did not want people to use their real names for fear of taking their listeners with them if they left. In Kansas City, he joined the United Press in 1937.[3] He became one of the top American reporters in World War II, covering battles in North Africa and Europe.[9] He was one of eight journalists selected by the U.S. Army Air Forces to fly bombing raids over Germany in a B-17 Flying Fortress.[14] He also landed in a glider with the 101st Airborne in Operation Market-Garden and covered the Battle of the Bulge. After the war, he covered the Nuremberg trials, and served as the United Press main reporter in Moscow for two years. In 1950, Cronkite joined CBS News in its young and growing television division, recruited by Edward R. Murrow, who had previously tried to hire Cronkite from UP during the war. Cronkite began working at WTOP-TV, the CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C.. He originally served as anchor of the network's 15 minute late Sunday evening newscast Up To the Minute, which followed What's My Line? at 11:00pm ET from 1951 through 1962. On July 7, 1952, the term "anchor" was coined to describe Cronkite's role at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, which marked the first nationally-televised convention coverage.[15] Cronkite anchored the network's coverage of the 1952 presidential election as well as later conventions. In 1964 he was temporarily replaced by the team of Robert Trout and Roger Mudd; this proved to be a mistake, and Cronkite was returned to the anchor chair for future political conventions. From 1953 to 1957, Cronkite hosted the CBS program You Are There, which reenacted historical events, using the format of a news report. His famous last line for these programs was: "What sort of day was it? A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our times... and you were there." In 1971, the show was revived and redesigned to attract an audience of teenagers and young adults on Saturday mornings. He also hosted The Twentieth Century, a documentary series about important historical events of the century which was made up almost exclusively of newsreel footage and interviews. It became a long-running hit. Cronkite also hosted It's News to Me, a game show based on news events. MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Cronkite\ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert McNamara Robert Strange McNamara (June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense. McNamara served as Defense Secretary for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968. Following that he served as President of the World Bank from 1968 until 1981. McNamara was responsible for the institution of systems analysis in public policy, which developed into the discipline known today as policy analysis.[4] MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_McNamara ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GAIL STORM DEAD AT 87
LOS ANGELES—Gale Storm, whose wholesome appearance and perky personality made her one of early television's biggest stars on "My Little Margie" and "The Gale Storm Show," has died at age 87. Storm, who had been in failing health in recent years, died Saturday at a convalescent hospital in Danville, said her son, Peter Bonnell. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ KARL MALDEN DEAD AT 97
Karl Malden (born Mladen George Sekulovich; March 22, 1912 – July 1, 2009)[1][2] was an American actor. In a career that spanned over seven decades, he featured in classic Marlon Brando films such as A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront and One-Eyed Jacks. Among other notable film roles were Archie Lee Meighan in Baby Doll, Zebulon Prescott in How the West Was Won and General Omar Bradley in Patton. His best-known role was on television as Lt. Mike Stone on the 1970s crime drama, The Streets of San Francisco. During the 1980s he was spokesperson for American Express, reminding cardholders "Don't leave home without it". MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Malden --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ED McMAHON
Edward Leo Peter "Ed" McMahon, Jr. (March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009) was a decorated war veteran, an American comedian, game show host, announcer, and television personality. Most famous for his work on television as Johnny Carson's announcer on The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992, also as the host of the talent show Star Search from 1983 to 1995, also co-hosting with Dick Clark on TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes from 1982 to 1986, he also became well-known as the presenter of the now-defunct American Family Publishers sweepstakes (not, as is commonly believed, its main rival Publishers Clearing House).[1][2] McMahon annually co-hosted the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. He performed in numerous television commercials, most notably for Budweiser. In the 1970s and 1980s, he anchored the team of NBC personalities conducting the network's coverage of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. McMahon appeared in several films, including The Incident (1967), Fun With Dick and Jane (1977), Full Moon High (1981), and Butterfly (1982), as well as briefly in the film version of Bewitched (2005). According to Entertainment Weekly he is considered one of the "greatest sidekicks".[3 MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_McMahon ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FARRAH FAWCETT
Farrah Fawcett (February 2, 1947[1] – June 25, 2009)[2] was an American actress. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the TV series Charlie's Angels in 1976. Fawcett later appeared off-Broadway to the approval of critics and in highly rated television movies in roles often challenging (The Burning Bed, Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story, Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story, Margaret Bourke-White) and sometimes unsympathetic (Small Sacrifices). Fawcett was also a pop culture figure whose hairstyle was emulated by millions of young women and whose poster sales broke records, making her an international sex symbol in the 1970s and 1980s. While her impact was particularly strong on the teens of the 1970s (Generation Jones), her appeal spreads over multiple generations.[3] MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farrah_Fawcett ================================================================== MICHAEL JACKSON
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, philanthropist and businessman. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he made his debut onto the professional music scene at the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1969, then began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group. Referred to as the "King of Pop"[2] in subsequent years, his 1982 album Thriller remains the world's best-selling record of all time[3] and four of his other solo studio albums are among the world's best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995). In the early 1980s, he became a dominant figure in popular music and the first African American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. The popularity of his music videos airing on MTV, such as "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and "Thriller"—widely credited with transforming the music video from a promotional tool into an art form—helped bring the relatively new channel to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made Jackson an enduring staple on MTV in the 1990s. With stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced many hip hop, pop and contemporary R&B artists. MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jackson -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DAVID CARRIDINE
On June 4, 2009, Carradine was found dead in his room at the Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel on Wireless Road, near Sukhumvit, in central Bangkok, Thailand.[2][3] A police official said Carradine was found hanging by a rope in the room's closet,[13][14] and the Bangkok Post reported that his body was found curled up in the wardrobe with a shoelace tied around his genitals and neck.[15] Khunying Pornthip Rojanasunand, a Thai forensic pathologist and Director of Central Institute of Forensic Science, stated the incident met four of the criteria for accidental death involving autoerotic asphyxiation. Police Lieutenant General Worapong Chewprecha, Commander of the Metropolitan Police, remarked that the closed circuit television installed within the hotel supported the theory that no other persons were involved with the death.[16][17][18][19] Carradine's representative and family members told the press that they believed the death to be accidental and not a suicide.[20] Carradine was in Bangkok to shoot his latest movie, Stretch, but the film crew were aware of his absence when they went to dine out at a restaurant on June 3.[2] MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Carradine ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MORT ABRAMS
Cinema
Retro reader Rory Monteith has provided the following exclusive statement
which he obtained from Mr. Abrahams' daughter-in-law:
Dom DeLuise
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Dom DeLuise, who spiced up such movies as "Blazing Saddles," "Silent Movie" and "The Cannonball Run" with his manic delivery and roly-poly persona, has died, his son's publicist said. Publicist Jay Schwartz did not disclose the cause of death, but DeLuise, 75, had been battling cancer for more than a year. DeLuise was surrounded by family when he died in a Santa Monica, California, hospital Monday night, son Michael DeLuise told CNN affiliate KTLA. -------------------------------------------------------------------- BEA ARTHUR
Arthur died at her home in the Greater Los Angeles Area in the early morning hours of April 25, 2009, aged 86. She had been ill from cancer.[9][15][16] Both of Arthur's surviving Golden Girls co-stars commented on Bea's death. Rue McClanahan saying, "I suppose perhaps the thing she did the best and the most of was make people laugh". [17] Betty White also commented saying, "I knew it would hurt. I just didn't know it would hurt this much". [18] On April 28, 2009, the marquees of New York City's Broadway theater district were dimmed in her memory for one minute at 8:00 P.M.[19][20] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MARILYN CHAMBERS
Marilyn Chambers, the pretty Ivory Snow girl who helped bring hard-core adult films into the mainstream consciousness when she starred in the explicit 1972 movie "Behind the Green Door," has died at 56. The cause of death was not immediately known. A family friend, Peggy McGinn, said Chambers' 17-year-old daughter found the actress' body Sunday night at her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Canyon Country. Chambers was pronounced dead at the scene, the county coroner's office said Monday. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FRANK SPRINGER RIP
Newsday reports the death last
week of veteran artist Frank
Springer at age 79. Springer was a gregarious and practical man who labored for hours a day in his backyard studio, said his son, Jon Springer of Brooklyn. “He’d be out there basically all day long, morning until dinnertime.” Jose “Pepe” Gonzalez
The artist who defined Vampirella’s look for at least two generations of comic book fans has passed away. The death of Jose “Pepe” Gonzalez at age 70 was announced by Harris Comics. Gonzalez is best known for his work on Vampirella when it was published in magazine form by Warren, beginning with Vampirella #12 (1971). “His work was thrilling, sensuous and beautiful. He brought the character to life, elevated her to an icon and, most deservedly, won over a legion of fans who have never forgotten him. To this day, many would say his was the definitive rendition of the character,” Harris said in their press release. ------------------------------------------------------------
'Lost in Space' actor Bob May dies at 69 in Calif.LOS ANGELES – Bob May, who donned The Robot's suit in the hit 1960s television show "Lost in Space," has died. He was 69. May died Sunday of congestive heart failure at a hospital in Lancaster, said his daughter, Deborah May. He was a veteran actor and stuntman who had appeared in movies, TV shows and on the vaudeville stage when he was tapped by "Lost in Space" creator Irwin Allen to play the Robinson family's loyal metal sidekick in the series that debuted in 1965.
Bob May http://www.hightechscience.org/robots.htm "He always said he got the job because he fit in the robot suit," said June Lockhart, who played family matriarch Maureen Robinson. "It was one of those wonderful Hollywood stories. He just happened to be on the studio lot when someone saw him and sent him to see Irwin Allen about the part. Allen said, 'If you can fit in the suit, you've got the job.'" Although May didn't provide the robot's distinctive voice (that was done by announcer Dick Tufeld), he developed a following of fans who sought him out at memorabilia shows. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
OBITUARIESRicardo Montalban, early Latino leading man, diesRicardo Montalban, one of Hollywood's first Latino leading men, who had a long career as a television and movie actor but whose lingering fame perhaps owes most to a less august role as the debonair concierge of "Fantasy Island," died Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 88. His death was announced by Eric Garcetti, president of the Los Angeles City Council, who represents the Hollywood district where Montalban lived and where a theater is named for him, The Associated Press reported. He did not give a cause. MORE: http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/15/news/obits.1-407992.php ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Patrick McGoohan
Patrick McGoohan passed away in Los Angeles today. He was 80. McGoohan is (arguably) best knows as Number Six in THE PRISONER, for which he was a producer, writer, and director. Some theorize THE PRISONER may have been a loose continuation of DANGER MAN, an early 60s TV series featuring McGoohan as an operative named John Drake (more on the series' connections HERE). But his accomplishments spanned a far greater range of projects - including ICE STATION ZEBRA, ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ, David Cronenberg's SCANNERS, Mel Gibson's BRAVEHEART, and THE PHANTOM (father to Billy Zane's character). In 1976 he co-starred with Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor in Arthur Hiller's SILVER STREAK. MORE: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/39763 -----------------------------------------------------------
EDWARD D. CARTIER
Edward D. Cartier, sci-fi, and pulp fiction illustrator for the legendary The Shadow series died on Christmas Day, December 25, 2008 at his home in Ramsey, New Jersey. Reported by his son Dean Cartier, he suffered from Parkinson’s disease. He was 94 years-old. His artwork appeared in literature by authors like Robert A. Heinlein and Isaac Asimov, but he’s most well known for illustrating The Shadow in the 1930s and ‘40s. The Shadow novels were written by Walter B. Gibson, appearing in pulp magazines, they chronicled the adventures of the mysterious black clad crime fighter. Used by permission. ©2009 Gemstone Publishing, Inc. and/or Diamond International Galleries except where noted. All other material ©2009 respective copyright holders. All rights reserved. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VAN JOHNSON
Battleground 1949 Van Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) (born Charles Van Johnson) was an American film and television actor and dancer who was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during World War II. Johnson was the embodiment of the "boy next door," playing "the red-haired, freckle-faced soldier, sailor or B-25 bomber pilot who used to live down the street" in MGM movies during the war years. At the time of his death in December 2008, he was one of the last surviving matinee idols of Hollywood's "golden age." [1] MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Johnson ----------------------------------------------------------------- Majel B. Roddenberry, wife of 'Star Trek' creator, dies
Majel Barrett Roddenberry, the widow of
"Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry and an actress whose longtime
association with the "Star Trek" franchise included playing Nurse
Christine Chapel in the original series, died early Thursday morning. She was
76. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BETTIE PAGE DEAD AT 85
Bettie Page, the bombshell pin-up queen who both titillated and outraged Americans during her legendary career as a model and actress in the 1950s, has died at the age of 85. Page never regained consciousness after suffering a heart attack last week in Los Angeles, said her agent, Mark Roesler. Before the heart attack, Page had been hospitalized for three weeks with pneumonia. “She captured the imagination of a generation of men and women with her free spirit and unabashed sensuality,” Mr Roesler said. “She is the embodiment of beauty.” MORE: http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/celebrity/article5328635.ece --------------------------------------------------------------------------- FORREST J. ACKERMAN
Forrest J Ackerman magazine editor, literary agent, actor, and Ray Bradbury’s discoverer, passed away Thursday, December 4, 2008 of heart failure in his Los Angeles home, Kevin Burns, Prometheus Entertainment head and trustee of Ackerman’s estate said. He was 92 years-old. Entrenched in the sci-fi genre, Ackerman is credited with coining the term “science fiction”. He is a legend through sci-fi circles as the founding editor of the pulp magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland. “He became the Pied Piper, the spiritual leader, of everything science fiction, fantasy, and horror,” Burns said last Friday. Ackerman was the owner of a huge, private collection of science fiction movie and literary memorabilia that filled his mansion. The collection once included over 50,000 books, thousands of sci-fi magazines, and incredible pieces like Bela Lugosi’s cape from 1931’s Dracula. On Saturdays, he opened his home to anyone wanting to view the treasures within. He told the Associated Press, “My wife used to say, ‘How can you let strangers into our home?’ But what’s the point of having a collection like this if you can’t let people enjoy it?” Used by permission. ©2008 Gemstone Publishing, Inc. and/or Diamond International Galleries except where noted. All other material ©2008 respective copyright holders. All rights reserved. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ODETTA DEAD AT 77 Odetta, the famed American
folk singer whose powerful songs became anthems for the U.S. civil rights
movement, has died at 77. MORE: http://www.voanews.com/english/Entertainment/2008-12-03-voa25.cfm --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/5410/narz.html JACK NARZ /1922-2008 John William (Jack) Narz, Jr. (November 13, 1922 – October 15, 2008) was an American television announcer and game show host. He was the brother of Tom Kennedy and the former brother-in-law of Bill Cullen. In his career, Narz hosted several game shows, including Concentration, Beat the Clock, Now You See It and Dotto. Narz was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for missions in the China-Burma area as a fighter pilot during World War II. He went to broadcasting school in Los Angeles after the war and was later hired as an announcer the Los Angeles radio station KXO and did radio commercials for local businesses.[1] In the initial (1951) episode of Adventures of Superman, he narrated at key points in the backstory of the title character. At the conclusion of the opening episode of Superman, Narz's voiceover asked viewers to "Join us every week for the adventures of Superman!" Narz was paid $150 for the voice work and received annual royalty payments of $1.98.[1] He also made appearances in local Los Angeles television and served as the announcer on one of TV's first nationally-broadcast children's shows, Space Patrol. MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Narz --------------------------------------------------------------------
EC historian and art expert Roger Hill contributed this story. On August 6, 2008, it was reported that veteran Golden Age artist Jack Kamen passed away in Florida at the age of 88. Jack was one of the more prolific artists who started out doing backgrounds in the Harry Chesler Comic Shop around 1940 and wound up a steady contributor to Bill Gaines' EC (Entertaining Comics) group during the 1950s, where he produced over 160 stories and 11 covers. While Kamen never reached the level of popularity as Wally Wood or Graham Ingels, his consistant contributions to EC were part of the "EC experience" that continues to make their publishing output some of the most reprinted comics in the market today. He was born in Brooklyn, New York on May 29, 1920 and during his earliest childhood years decided he wanted to become a fine artist or illustrator. During the late 1930s he took lessons at the National Academy and the Art Student's League and shortly afterwards broke into the business doing pulp illustrations for Standard Publications. From there he graduated to the Harry Chesler Shop where he began as a background artist working on Bulletman and Spy Smasher, and other stories being supplied to Fawcett Publications. By 1941 Jack was working for the Jerry Iger Shop where he met a very young Al Feldstein then breaking into the business. Most of Kamen's work for Iger fed into the Fiction House line of titles, turning out popular features such as "Rip Carson" and "Kayo Kirby," among others. He also freelanced a few things to Timely/Marvel Comics before being drafted into the Army during World War II. While in the service, Jack illustrated and helped put together training manuals and visual aids for G.I.s headed overseas, then later on, after being re-assigned to the Signal Corps, saw action in New Guinea and the Philippines. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LARRY HARMON DEAD AT 83
Larry Harmon, who turned the character Bozo the Clown into a
show business staple that delighted children for more than a half-century,
died today of congestive heart failure. He was 83.
His publicist, Jerry Digney, told The Associated Press he died at his home. -------------------------------------------------------------- GEORGE CARLIN: MAY 12 1937/JUNE 23 2008
George Carlin, whose astringent stand-up comedy made him an heir of Lenny Bruce, who gave voice to an indignant counterculture and assaulted the barricades of censorship on behalf of a generation of comics that followed him, died on Sunday in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 71 and lived in Venice, Calif. The cause was heart failure, said his publicist, Jeff Abraham. Mr. Carlin, who performed earlier this month at the Orleans hotel in Las Vegas, had a history of heart problems. MORE: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/arts/24carlin.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IN MEMORIAM: DODIE GOODMAN
Dolores "Dody" Goodman (October 28, 1914 – June 22, 2008) was an American character actress known for her portrayal of the title character's (played by Louise Lasser) mother on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. Her high-pitched voice could be heard announcing the show's title at the beginning of each episode. Born Dolores Goodman in Columbus, Ohio, Goodman was notoriously secretive about her age, successfully shaving off 15 years (giving a birthyear of 1929) for many years before the discrepancy was publicly debunked. Goodman gained a measure of newspaper column space for her dancing solos in such Broadway musicals as High Button Shoes (1947), and Wonderful Town (1953). In 1955, she stopped the show in Off Broadway's Shoestring Revue with the novelty song "Someone's Been Sending Me Flowers." She returned to Broadway in 1974 to appear in Lorelei with Carol Channing. Adopting the guise of a fey airhead, Goodman was good for a few off-the-wall quotes whenever she submitted to an interview. She came to the attention of nighttime talkshow host Jack Paar who, after becoming enchanted with her ditzy persona and seemingly spontaneous malaprops, invited the lady to become a semi-regular on The Tonight Show. MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dody_Goodman --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IN MEMORIAM: STAN WINTSON
He made his living with robots, dinosaurs, and aliens. Groundbreaking, Oscar winning special effects creator Stan Winston passed away Sunday, June 15, 2008, after a seven year fight against multiple myeloma. He was 62 years old. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- IN MEMORIAM: BO DIDDLEY
June
2, 2008
IN MEMORIAM: WILL ELDER
The comic industry is mourning the loss of a truly talented creator. Will Elder, whose work was influential to the beginning of MAD magazine, passed away last Thursday morning, May 15, 2008. He was 86 years old. Elder was born Wolf William Eisenberg in the Bronx, New York. During World War II, he served as part of the map-making team that helped to plan and carry out the invasion of Normandy. Upon his return from the war, he changed his name to Will Elder, which is how he is known to legions of comics fans.
Mad ad parody by Elder In 1952, Elder was hired by Harvey Kurtzman to provide content for the first issues of the newly-launched MAD magazine. Elder worked with comic legends such as Wally Wood, John Severin, and Jack Davis. "Willie Elder was one of the funniest artists ever to work for MAD. He created visual feasts with dozens of background gags layered into every MAD story he illustrated," says John Ficarra, editor of MAD magazine, "He called these gags 'chicken fat.' Willie's 'anything goes' art style set the tone for the entire magazine and created a look that endures to this day." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Memoriam: Ollie Johnston
Monday, April 14, 2008, beloved Disney artist Ollie Johnston passed away at age 95 in Sequim, Washington. Johnston was an artist among the original “Nine Old Men” Disney animators; he is the final one to pass away. Johnston was born in Palo Alto, California and attended Stanford University, where he worked on the campus magazine Stanford Chaparral with future fellow Disney animator Frank Thomas. He married fellow Disney employee, artist Marie Worthey in 1943. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RICHARD WIDMARK
Richard Widmark, Actor, Dies at 93 Richard Widmark, who created a villain in his first movie role who was so repellent and frightening that the actor became a star overnight, died Monday at his home in Roxbury, Conn. He was 93. His death was announced Wednesday morning by his wife, Susan Blanchard. She said that Mr. Widmark had fractured a vertebra in recent months and that his conditioned had worsened. As Tommy Udo, a giggling, psychopathic killer in the 1947 gangster film “Kiss of Death,” Mr. Widmark tied up an old woman in a wheelchair (played by Mildred Dunnock) with a cord ripped from a lamp and shoved her down a flight of stairs to her death. “The sadism of that character, the fearful laugh, the skull showing through drawn skin, and the surely conscious evocation of a concentration-camp degenerate established Widmark as the most frightening person on the screen,” the critic David Thomson wrote in “The Biographical Dictionary of Film.” The performance won Mr. Widmark his sole Academy Award nomination, for best supporting actor. Tommy Udo made the 32-year-old Mr. Widmark, who had been an established radio actor, an instant movie star, and he spent the next seven years playing a variety of flawed heroes and relentlessly anti-social mobsters in 20th Century Fox’s juiciest melodramas. His mobsters were drenched in evil. Even his heroes, including the doctor who fights bubonic plague in Elia Kazan’s “Panic in the Streets” (1950), the daredevil pilot flying into the eye of a storm in “Slattery’s Hurricane” (1949) and the pickpocket who refuses to be a traitor in Samuel Fuller’s “Pickup on South Street” (1953) were nerve-strained and feral. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DAVE STEVENS: R.I.P
Illustrator Dave Stevens, best known for his "good girl" art and The Rocketeer, died yesterday following a long, wrenching battle with Leukemia. Dave was born July 29, 1955 in Lynwood, California. He was raised in Portland, Oregon, then his family relocated to San Diego, where he attended San Diego City College and became involved in the early days of the San Diego Comic Book Convention, now known as the Comic-Con International. His skills as an artist were instantly evident to all, and he was encouraged by darn near every professional artist who attended the early cons, but especially by Jack Kirby and Russ Manning. In 1975, when Manning began editing a line of Tarzan comic books to be published in Europe, Dave got his first professional assignment, working on those comics and also assisting Russ with the Tarzan newspaper strip. Soon after, he worked on a few projects for Marvel (including the Star Wars comic book) and a number of underground comics. Later, he also worked with Russ on the Star Wars newspaper strip. In 1977, Dave went to work for Hanna-Barbera where he drew storyboards and layouts, many of them for the Super Friends and Godzilla cartoon shows and bonded with veteran artist Doug Wildey, who produced the latter. Wildey and Stevens became close friends and in 1982, when Dave created his popular character, The Rocketeer, he modelled the character's sidekick, Peevy, on photos of Doug. Dave himself was Cliff Secord, who donned the mask of The Rocketeer, and other friends appeared in other guises. MORE: http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2008_03_11.html#014911 ------------------------------------------------------------- 'Hogan's Heroes' Actress Valdis Dies ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BILL PINKNEY OF THE ORIGINAL DRIFTERS DIES AT 81 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rhythm and blues singer Bill Pinkney, the last surviving member of the original lineup of The Drifters, was found dead in his hotel room hours before he was due to perform in a July 4 celebration. Police spokesman Jimmie Flynt said 81-year-old Pinkney was found dead on Wednesday evening at the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort in Florida. There was no evidence of foul play, he said. Pinkney was scheduled to perform with The Original Drifters that night for U.S. Independence Day festivities. MORE : http://www.reuters.com/article/ domesticNews/idUSN0533421620070705 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MR. WIZARD DIES AT 89 Don Herbert, who explained the wonderful world of science to
millions of young baby boomers on television in the 1950s and '60s as "Mr.
Wizard" and did the same for another generation of youngsters on the
Nickelodeon cable TV channel in the 1980s, died Tuesday. He was 89. MORE: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-herbert13jun13,0,7656221.story TOM POSTON DIES: HE APPEARED IN THE VERY FIRST EPISODES OF TOM CORBETT SPACE CADET From the New York Times: Tom Poston, Virtuosic Comic Actor, Is Dead at 85
BY MARGALIT
FOX
Tom Poston, an Emmy-winning comic actor whose television characters ranged from the slow-witted Everyman on "The Steve Allen Show" to a cantankerous closet-dwelling clown on the recent sitcom "Committed," died on Monday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 85.
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CBS, via Associated Press (right)
Left, Tom Poston as a panelist on “To Tell the Truth,” around 1961, and as the incompetent handyman George Utley on “Newhart,” in 1985. Mr. Poston died after a short illness, his wife, the actress Suzanne Pleshette, said. A long-faced, buggy-eyed second banana, Mr. Poston was for a half-century a Paganini of the bewildered, the benighted and the befuddled. His best-known television roles include George Utley, the sublimely incompetent handyman on "Newhart"; Mr. Bickley, the troublesome neighbor on "Mork & Mindy"; and Cliff Murdock, Mr. Newhart's doltish college chum on the original "Bob Newhart Show." Mr. Poston appeared on Broadway and in films, among them "Christmas With the Kranks" (2004); "The Princess Diaries 2" (2004); and "Cold Turkey" (1971). He was also, variously, a pilot, an amateur boxer, a tumbler with the Flying Zebleys, an aspiring chemist and a panelist on the game show "To Tell the Truth." It seemed Mr. Poston would do anything for a part. For his first Broadway appearance -- a tiny role in a 1946 production of "Cyrano de Bergerac," the audition consisted of falling off a parapet onto his head, as the character did. Mr. Poston and his head withstood the test admirably. Six decades later, Mr. Poston tried out for "Committed," broadcast on NBC in 2005. His character, a surly, dying clown known simply as Clown, lives out his days in the closet of one of the show's main characters. (Clown came with the apartment.) The audition required aspirants to pull down their pants, as called for in the script. Most actors did so only in pantomime. Mr. Poston complied in full, with electrifying results. "He dropped his trousers and had on these gold lamé boxer shorts," Eileen Heisler, an executive producer of the show, told The Associated Press in 2005. Whether Mr. Poston had been tipped off about what the audition would entail is unrecorded. Thomas Gordon Poston was born in Columbus, Ohio. As a boy, he wanted to be a prize fighter, and as a young man he boxed in several hundred amateur fights. He also learned tumbling, performing with the Zebleys as a child. In the late 1930s, he enrolled at Bethany College in West Virginia, where he studied chemistry. His studies were interrupted by World War II, in which he served as a pilot with the Army Air Corps in Europe. After the war he moved to New York and trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Mr. Poston's Broadway appearances include "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter" (1955); "Mary, Mary" (1961); and the 1972 revival of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum." In 1959, starring on Broadway in "Golden Fleecing," Mr. Poston met Ms. Pleshette. The two began a romance, though they later married others. In early television Mr. Poston was the host of "Entertainment" (1955), a 2 1/2-hour, five-day-a-week live variety show on ABC. "I once timed it and I ad-libbed 35, 36 minutes a day," he told The Associated Press in 2005. "You can imagine how clever that was. It was filled with, 'Wasn't that wonderful!' 'Yes, that was wonderful!' 'Isn't that wonderful!' " But Mr. Poston's ability to think on his feet earned him a regular role on Mr. Allen's show. There, in the company of Don Knotts and Louis Nye, he played a roster of supporting characters, chief among them Everyman, who is rendered dazed and speechless whenever he is asked a question in the show's "Man on the Street" segments. (A typical question: "What's your name?") For his work on the Allen show, Mr. Poston won an Emmy in 1959. Mr. Poston was married four times, to three women. His first marriage, to Jean Sullivan, ended in divorce, as did his second, to Kay Hudson. He and Ms. Hudson later remarried; the marriage lasted until her death in 1998. He married Ms. Pleshette in 2001. Besides Ms. Pleshette, Mr. Poston is survived by a daughter from his first marriage, Francesca Poston of Nashville; two children from his marriage to Ms. Hudson, a son, Jason Poston of Los Angeles, and a daughter, Hudson Poston of Portland, Ore.; and a sister, Rosalie Cassou, of Fredericksburg, Va. Before she married Mr. Poston, Ms. Pleshette laid down one ironclad condition: she wanted "a big rock," she said in a telephone interview yesterday. So Mr. Poston gave her exactly that. A piece of unpolished granite the size of a large marble, it was culled from the gravel in his driveway. He had it put in a platinum setting. The rock worked like a charm, Ms. Pleshette said. She added: "Of course, he later was taught the pleasures of diamonds." ---------------------------------------------------------------- FROM THE L.A. TIMES: Herman Brix, 100; Olympian became actor known as Bruce Bennett
Herman Brix, who parlayed a silver medal for the shot put in the 1928 Olympics
into a Hollywood career that included playing Tarzan in a 1935 movie, has
died. He was 100.
Brix, who later adopted the stage name Bruce Bennett and appeared as Joan Crawford's husband in "Mildred Pierce" and as an ill-fated gold prospector in "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," died of complications from a broken hip Saturday at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, his son Christopher said Tuesday. FOR THE RECORD:
------------------------------------------------------------------- REPORT FROM MIKE ELMO:
Patricia Soteras passed away Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006, of a heart attack. Patsy Parsons (her maiden name) was in the first season of Rocky Jones and played Suzerain Clealanta of the planet Ophiucius, an adversary of Earth and The United Worlds. She Starred in," Beyond The Curtain Of Space, The Pirates Of Prah, Bobby's Comet, Rocky's Odyssey, and Crash Of Moons". You could tell that there was a subplot of sexual tension between her and Rocky. You get the idea that if she could not have him, no one would! Patsy was an accomplished Actress!! She had a very strong stage presence as told to Ann Robinson by Sally Mansfield. Ann and Patsy never got to meet each other, due to Patsy leaving acting to start her Family. I'm not sure how many children she had, but I do know of a Son and Daughter, any more I'm not sure. She was a scene stealer! As I said, a tremendous presence!! Too bad she left the business after the R.J Series! Crash Of Moons was a good ending for her stint, but, it left you wanting much more! In the second season, Rocky and others talk about New Ophiucius, but nothing of the characters of Cleolanta or others. I have to beleive that if there were more years for the Series to develop, Patsy may have been persuaded to come back as Cleolanta again. Sally said that Patsy did enjoy the work she did on R.J. and was sad about leaving the Series. ----------------------------------------------------------- FRANKIE THOMAS 1921-2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In a message dated 5/17/2006 6:51:49 AM Pacific Standard Time, Merlinest writes: We gathered at the grave site, a trim green
lawn shaded by a large tree, at 3:00 pm...about 20 close friends and relatives,
of which 14 were considered the actual invited. The elegant heavy wooden coffin
was already in place over the open grave, blanketed with flowers. More flowers
were hung on stands and in baskets to one side. His mother and father's graves
were next to his. A white church with a clock on its steeple loomed in the
background. Jan Merlin
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We received the following email from Tom Crawford, passed on to us by Mike Elmo:
Hello, everyone.
Shortly after Frank Thomas' death (I still haven't seen an obituary for him
in a newspaper) comes news of the passing of another of our childhood
icons. This is from today's WASHINGTON TIMES, page B2:
"NEW YORK (AP) -- Lew Anderson, who captivated baby boomers as the
final Clarabell the Clown on TV's 'Howdy Doody Show' died May 14 in
Hawthorne, N.Y. He was 84.
"Long mute as Clarabell, Mr. Anderson broke the clown's silence in the
show's final episode in 1960. With trembling lips and a visible tear
in his eye, he spoke the show's final two words: 'Good-bye, kids.'
"Though Mr. Anderson was not the only man to play 'Buffalo Bob' Smith's
mute sidekick, he was the best, Mr. Smith said in his memoir.
"With the Peanut Gallery looking on, Mr. Anderson used bicycle horns to
give yes and no answers. For more expressive moments, he wielded a
bottle of seltzer.
"The show, which went on the air in 1947, when televisions were still a
novelty, was the first network weekday children's show. Mr. Anderson
joined 'Doodyville,' a circus town peopled with puppets and human actors and
watched by a Peanut Gallery of children, in the mid-1950s.
"Though his fame as Clarabell followed him throughout his life, Mr.
Anderson was also a success as a musician and band leader. In recent
years, his All-American Big Band appeared on Friday nights at New York's
Birdland jazz club.
"Mr. Anderson was born in 1922 in Kirkman, Iowa. He started a
band while serving in the Navy during World War II and later toured the
Midwest with bands before landing in New York.
"It was when he joined the Honey Dreamers, a singing group that
appeared on radio and early television shows, that he met Mr. Smith and
became a clown.
"'Clarabell just fell into his lap,' said his stepdaughter, Lorie
George.
"Mr. Anderson followed Bobby Nicholson, who later played Doodyville's
J. Cornelius Cobb, into the role. The first to play the mute clown was
Bob Keeshan, who later became TV's 'Captain Kangaroo.'
"Mr. Anderson, who lived in South Salem, is survived by his wife,
Peggy; two sons; a stepdaughter; and five grandchildren."
Tom Crawford
Received by Swapsale May 18, 2006 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMANDER BUZZ CORRY'S LAST FLIGHT Hi Cadets, ------------------------------------------------------------------ FROM WARREN CHANEY:
I heard Lion’s Gate is taking another look at a feature film using Captain Marvel (the real one). (11-1-05)
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