Deaths: September 8
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- Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms.
Elizabeth was born in London, the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and she was educated privately at home. Her father ascended the throne on the abdication of his brother King Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In 1947, she married Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, a former prince of Greece and Denmark, with whom she had four children: Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.
When her father died in February 1952, Elizabeth became head of the Commonwealth and queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon. She reigned as a constitutional monarch through major political changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, Canadian patriation, and the decolonization of Africa. Between 1956 and 1992, the number of her realms varied as territories gained independence, and as realms, including South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon (renamed Sri Lanka), became republics. Her many historic visits and meetings included a state visit to the Republic of Ireland and visits to or from five popes. Significant events included her coronation in 1953 and the celebrations of her Silver, Golden, and Diamond Jubilees in 1977, 2002, and 2012, respectively. In 2017, she became the first British monarch to reach a Sapphire Jubilee. She was the longest-lived and longest-reigning British monarch. She was the longest-serving female head of state in world history, and the world's oldest living monarch, longest-reigning monarch, and oldest and longest-serving head of state. - Adrián Cuneo was born on 8 September 1912. He was an actor, known for Carmen (1943), Mi fortuna por un nieto (1940) and Un atardecer de amor (1943). He died in 1995.
- Agustín Magaldi was born on 1 December 1898 in Santa Fé, Argentina. He was an actor, known for Monte Criollo (1935). He died on 8 September 1938.
- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Alex North studied music at the Curtis Institute of Philadelphia, then won a scholarship to Juilliard in New York (1929) and the Moscow Conservatoire (1933), making him the first-ever American to become a member of the Union of Soviet Composers. In Europe, he worked as music director for the Latvian State Theatre, before returning to the U.S. in 1935 to perfect his craft under the auspices of Aaron Copland. At the same time, he produced his first compositions, including two symphonies, chamber music and dance scores for Martha Graham and Agnes de Mille. After a spell in Mexico as conductor/composer, he served as a captain with the U.S. Army, in charge of 'self-entertainment programs' for hospitalised psychiatric patients. He also did his first film work, scoring documentaries for the Office of War Information.
Profoundly influenced by, above all, Duke Ellington, North began to write several innovative compositions in jazz. His 'Revue for Clarinet and Orchestra' was originally commissioned by Benny Goodman and first performed in 1946 under the direction of Goodman and Leonard Bernstein with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Joining ASCAP in 1947, North went on to compose theatrical scores, including 'Death of a Salesman' for Elia Kazan and this opened the door to Hollywood. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) was the first all-jazz score ever written for a motion picture. His next assignment was the film version of Death of a Salesman (1951), followed by Viva Zapata! (1952), for which he used traditional instruments, including marimbas and timbales.
Much of his subsequent work was characterised by sparse instrumentation (as, for example, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) and the Oscar-nominated Under the Volcano (1984)). He used jazz again, evocatively, to score The Long, Hot Summer (1958) and The Sound and the Fury (1959), but was rather less successful on more conventional themes, such as The Misfits (1961). One of his most beautiful and lyrical works was the love theme from Spartacus (1960). For the small screen, he composed the music for the two instalments of the popular miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man (1976). Alex North was Oscar-nominated fifteen times but only received the coveted statuette as a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1986.- Art Metrano was born on 22 September 1936 in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986), Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985) and History of the World: Part I (1981). He was married to Rebecca Elizabeth Chute and Jamie Susan Golder. He died on 8 September 2021 in Aventura, Florida, USA.
- Actor
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Cinematographer
Blake Heron was born in Massapequa, New York, in Long Island on January 11th, 1982. At the age of 7 he moved to Marietta, Georgia. Having been fixated on movies and being an actor at a very young age, it was in Marietta where he got his first agent at an agency in Atlanta called Kiddin' Around. The first project he ever booked was for a Rich's Department Store commercial, followed by various other commercials and modeling gigs.
Things went successfully fairly quickly and it wasn't too long before Blake booked his first role in a miniseries on TNT called Andersonville about the Civil War prison camp of the same name. Around this time Blake made the move out west to Los Angeles so he could continue pursuing his dream. He promptly got setup with a new agent and manager out in L.A. and continued plugging away at guest star roles on TV shows, as well as various roles in feature films and other movies of the week. He landed his first starring role at the age of 12 in the movie Shiloh (1996), portraying the role of Marty Preston. The movie went on to be well received, and Blake won a Young Artist Award for Best Performance as a leading young actor.
From the ages of 13 to 22 Blake performed in many more TV shows as a guest star, recurring roles, and series regular. He also was featured in, and starred in many other feature films.
Blake has taken a much edgier direction with his career lately, taking more serious roles that portray an element of danger, but has also taken on roles that depict the compassionate and understanding side he has played in the past. He has performed in a handful of guest star roles over the past few years on shows like NCIS: New Orleans, Criminal Minds, FX's new John Singleton series Snowfall, as well as various roles in feature films as well. One of the feature films, A Thousand Junkies (2017), is world premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival in April of 2017.- Born in Florida in 1949, Brad Davis moved to Georgia after graduating from high school to pursue an acting career. From there, he moved to New York City, twice, to find work. By the early 1970s Davis was acting in off-Broadway plays while studying acting at the Academy of Dramatic Arts. His stage work led to his movie debut and to television shows such as the hit Sybil (1976) and the mini-series Roots (1977). His biggest success was in 1978 with the lead role in Midnight Express (1978) where he played Billy Hayes, a young American imprisoned in Turkey for drug smuggling. It won him a Golden Globe award.
Another memorable movie role in 1982 was playing the title character of Querelle (1982), a ruggedly lethal sailor who seduces and sets both men and women's hearts aflutter.
Davis contracted AIDS in 1979 apparently from his one-time cocaine addiction, but in response to the anti-AIDS hysteria in Hollywood, Davis kept his illness a secret for a number of years and continued to act. His later years had him finally revealing that he had AIDS by the late 1980s and he became an AIDS activist in bashing the Hollywood industry and US government for ignoring and shunning victims suffering from the hideous disease. Brad Davis died in 1991 at age 41. His widow, Susan Bluestein, continues his activist work in the fight against AIDS. - Actor
- Producer
- Director
Most of Clayton's family was in show biz, but he initially decided to go into his father's field, law. He worked his way through Fordham University as a radio actor and singer, then took a job as a law clerk. Two years later, realizing that radio was very much more lucrative a career, he changed his last name to Collyer and became a full-time actor. He was performing on every major network by the age of 32. Collyer assumed his most famous radio role in 1940, the title character in "The Adventures of Superman." Collyer used different voices for Superman and Clark Kent, while making good use of the well-known lines "This is a job for Superman!" and "Up, up, and away!" He would continue as Superman until 1949, one year before the series ended, also playing the character in animated shorts by Max Fleischer. Collyer became involved in radio game shows at about the same time. He was co-host of ABC's "Break the Bank" for five years and host of "Winner Take All." Among the few radio personalities to successfully transition into television, he hosted the TV versions of his two radio shows. In early 1950, Collyer became host of Beat the Clock (1950), which ran in prime time and daytime for the next 11 years. In late 1956, he also became the host of his biggest success, To Tell the Truth (1956). This lasted for 12 years and made his "Will the real [contestant's name] please stand up?" a part of the American lexicon. One year after his last appearance on To Tell the Truth (1956), Collyer died of a circulatory ailment at age 61.- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Actor
Camilo Sesto was born on 16 September 1946 in Alcoi, Alacant, Comunitat Valenciana, Spain. He was a music artist and actor, known for La carpa del amor (1979), Los éxitos del amor (1979) and Bruised (2020). He died on 8 September 2019 in Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Chelsi Smith was born on 23 August 1973 in Redwood City, California, USA. She was an actress, known for The Sweetest Thing (2002), Playas Ball (2007) and Due South (1994). She was married to Kelly Blair. She died on 8 September 2018 in Mifflin, Pennsylvania USA.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
He began his acting career in the 1990's, studying under and starring in the theatrical shows of his first teacher Giorgio Felicetti. In the subsequent years, he made small appearances in film, television and advertisements, meanwhile attending acting workshops of Nobel award winner Dario Fo to further his studies. The desire to develop a maturity in the actor's management of his own figure led Claudio to become a film-maker, studying practice with Daniele Segre.
A published scholar in Film Studies, Claudio lectures in universities and schools, throughout Italy and beyond. His publications include academic essays, books, feature films, documentaries and screenplays. Meanwhile, his films and documentaries have screened at Festivals, both in Italy and abroad.
Actively involved in the organisation and delivery of arts and educational events, Claudio is also the creator and director of Pax - International Festival of Peace, that saw its first edition in July 2019 in Fermignano, Le Marche, Italy.
2019 was also the year that saw Claudio return to acting in the role of Arlecchino in Matteo Garrone 's Pinocchio (2019).
2021 saw a return to theatrical performance for Gaetani which he received critical acclaim as the protagonist of the play "L'ombra lunga del nano" ("The Long Shadow of the Dwarf"), directed by Ludovica D'Auria and Alberto Fumagalli.- Actor
- Production Manager
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
DeForest Covan was born on 9 September 1917 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor and production manager, known for Rocky (1976), Sanford and Son (1972) and The Bus Is Coming (1971). He died on 8 September 2007 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Don Williams was born on 27 May 1939 in Floydada, Texas, USA. He was a music artist and actor, known for Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975) and The Wendell Baker Story (2005). He was married to Joy Bucher. He died on 8 September 2017 in Mobile, Alabama, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Dorothy Jean Dandridge was born on November 9, 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio, to Ruby Dandridge (née Ruby Jean Butler), an entertainer, and Cyril H. Dandridge, a cabinet maker and minister. Under the prodding of her mother, Dorothy and her sister Vivian Dandridge began performing publicly, usually in black Baptist churches throughout the country. Her mother would often join her daughters on stage. As the depression worsened, Dorothy and her family picked up and moved to Los Angeles where they had hopes of finding better work, perhaps in film. Her first film was in the Marx Brothers comedy, A Day at the Races (1937). It was only a bit part but Dandridge hoped it would blossom into something better. She only appeared in another film in 1940, in Four Shall Die (1940).
Meanwhile, she dropped out of high school and became part of a musical trio which performed with the orchestra of Jimmie Lunceford. During the late 30s, she dated music composer Phil Moore, who was instrumental in launching her career as a nightclub singer and big band vocalist.
Her next few screen roles in the early 1940s tended to be small stereotypical roles of black girls or princesses - such as Bahama Passage (1941) and Drums of the Congo (1942), She was the singing star of the western themed all-black-cast "soundie" (short musical) Cow-Cow Boogie (1942) and appeared in movies that showcased her talents as actress and singer, like Hit Parade of 1943 (1943) as the vocalist of Count Basie's Band, and twice as the vocalist of Louis Armstrong's Band in Pillow to Post (1945) and Atlantic City (1944).
Those brought her headline acts in the nation's finest hotel nightclubs in New York, Miami, Chicago and Las Vegas. She may have been allowed to sing in these fine hotels but, because of racism, she couldn't have a room in any of them. It was reported that one hotel drained its swimming pool to keep her from enjoying that amenity.
In 1954, she appeared in the all-black production of Carmen Jones (1954) in the title role. She was so superb in that picture that she garnered an Academy Award nomination but lost to Grace Kelly in The Country Girl (1954). She did not get another movie role until Tamango (1958), an Italian film. She did six more films, including, most notably, Island in the Sun (1957) and Porgy and Bess (1959). The last movie in which she would ever appear was The Murder Men (1962) (1961).
Dandridge faded quickly after that, due to an ill-considered marriage to Jack Dennison (her first husband was Harold Nicholas), poor investments, financial woes, and alcoholism.
She was found dead in her apartment at 8495 Fountain Avenue, West Hollywood, on September 8, 1965, aged 42, from barbiturate poisoning. She left $2.14 in her bank account, and a handwritten letter: "In case of my death - whoever discovers it - Don't remove anything I have on - scarf, gown, or underwear. Cremate me right away - if I have any money, furniture, give it to my mother, Ruby Dandridge - She will know what to do.". She was cremated and her ashes were interred in the Freedom Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
She was posthumously awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6719 Hollywood Blvd. on January 18, 1983.- Frank Middlemass, the son of a naval architect, was born in Eaglescliffe, near Stockton. He made his stage debut at the Newcastle Upon Tyne Playhouse in Jesmond after the war then performed in repertory in Penzance and later at London's Old Vic, Bristol, and on a world tour. . He appeared in a number of films including Barry Lyndon, Madame Sin and The Island. He had a sister who lived in Newcastle.
- Animation Department
- Writer
- Actor
Frank Thomas was born on 5 September 1912 in Santa Monica, California, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for The Iron Giant (1999), The Incredibles (2004) and The Aristocats (1970). He was married to Jeanette A. Thomas. He died on 8 September 2004 in La Cañada Flintridge, California, USA.- She was educated at Cheadle County Grammar School for Girls during which time she appeared in the National Youth Theatre's production of Ben Johnson's 'Bartholemew Fair' gaining acclaim for her role as Fat Urs. She then trained to be a teacher at Goldsmiths, University of London but turned to acting in repertory.
- Harry Davis was born on 12 March 1911 in Montreal, Canada. He was an actor, known for American Gigolo (1980), America America (1963) and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964). He was married to Dorothy Salisbury Davis. He died on 8 September 1993 in Rockland County, New York, USA.
- Hazel Douglas enjoyed something of an Indian summer playing scatter-brained and often sharp-tongued matriarchs in a career that spanned eight decades.
Having started her professional career with Harry Hanson's Court Players in the early 1940s, she was most recently seen on television as Derek Jacobi's acidic mother in Vicious, seemingly oblivious that his flatmate Ian McKellen was also his life partner.
As Bathilda Bagshot in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2010) she was the resurrected vessel of Voldemort's deadly snake - a far cry from her early days in repertory in Jersey, Aldershot and with the Carl Bernard Company.
Born in Fulham, London, England as Hazel Mary Smith and briefly evacuated to Newbury during preparations for the Second World War, Douglas spent a year at RADA (where one of her peers was Richard Attenborough) and worked briefly as an assistant stage manager before joining the Women's Royal Naval Service.
After the war, she made her West End debut in a Sunday-night performance of Michael Pearson's Against the Tide at the Whitehall Theatre in 1948.
In 1953 she was seen in See How They Run, the inaugural production at the Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch, and returned to the Whitehall Theatre for John Chapman's farce Dry Rot in 1954, her first appearance with Brian Rix's resident company at the venue.
Over the next decade and more, Douglas was a semi-permanent fixture with Rix's farceurs at the Whitehall, while also being seen in Bernard Kops' Change for the Angel (Arts Theatre, 1960), Trelawny of the Wells (Leatherhead Theatre, 1969) and in Michael Pertwee's She's Done It Again (Garrick Theatre, 1969).
Douglas was back in the West End in 1974 sharing the stage with Michael Denison and Dulcie Gray in The Sack Race at the Ambassadors Theatre. The following year, she gave what The Stage described as "a towering performance of all-devouring strength" as Lady Monchensey in TS Eliot's The Family Reunion in Ipswich.
In 1978 she was a founding member of Southern Exchange, the joint touring venture between Swindon's Wyvern Theatre, Poole Arts Centre and the Hexagon Theatre, Reading.
She appeared alongside Anna Neagle in Noel Coward's Relative Values to reopen the Connaught Theatre, Worthing in 1983 and with Harry Worth in Ray Galton and Alan Simpson's Rockefeller and the Red Indians at Basingstoke's Haymarket Theatre in 1987.
Earlier the same year, Douglas was seen in the title role of Chris Martin's Who Killed Hilda Murrell? with the TyneWear Theatre Company.
Her sole Broadway appearance was in Bill Naughton's comedy All in Good Time in 1965.
A steady screen career that began in 1947 gathered pace in her later years when she enjoyed spells in Where the Heart Is (1998-99), At Home With the Braithwaites (2000-03), The Worst Week of My Life (2004) and episodes of Gavin and Stacey (2008) and Psychoville (2011).
Hazel Douglas was born on 2 November 1923 and died on 8 September 8 2016 aged 92. - Helen Shaw was born on 25 July 1897 in Michigan, USA. She was an actress, known for Parenthood (1989), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) and Wicked Stepmother (1989). She died on 8 September 1997 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Hilda Suárez was born on 4 August 1924 in Rio Negro, Argentina. She was an actress, known for Contigo y aquí (1974), Los días que me diste (1975) and The Hand in the Trap (1961). She died on 8 September 2006 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont was born on 26 April 1711 in Rouen, France. Jeanne-Marie Leprince was a writer, known for Beauty and the Beast (1946), Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958) and Beauty and the Beast (2014). Jeanne-Marie Leprince died on 8 September 1780 in Chavanod, Haute-Savoie, France.
- Jerry Pournelle was born on 7 August 1933 in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA. He was a writer, known for Janissaries, Prophets of Science Fiction (2011) and Target... Earth? (1981). He was married to Roberta Jane Isdell. He died on 8 September 2017 in Studio City, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Born and raised in Regina Saskatchewan, Kent Nolan was an actor and filmmaker. Kent began acting in musical theatre, studying drama, dance and voice when he was just five years old, and eventually moved into film by age twelve. At sixteen Kent wrote and directed his first award winning short film entitled "Presage", leading to a new-found love for film-making. After he graduated high school, Kent moved to Toronto to train in classical acting at the prestigious George Brown Theatre School.
Having appeared in over forty theatre productions, Kent was also featured in over twenty films and television series. He has noted some of his career highlights include working with Academy Award nominated filmmaker, Terry Gilliam, John N. Smith, Jennifer Lynch, as well as starring in the feature Stage Fright by Sundance award winner, Jerome Sable.
At the time of his death Kent had been hard at work developing his debut feature as a writer/director.- Lady Chablis was born on 11 March 1957 in Quincy, Florida, USA. She was an actress, known for Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), Partners (1999) and Stranded with Cash Peters (2005). She died on 8 September 2016 in Savannah, Georgia, USA.
- Leigh touched so many lives through her great passion for the arts, as a gallery owner and actress in such movies as A Man, A Woman, and A Bank and Gas Food Lodging. Leigh's tenacity and great eye for beauty translated to the success of her gallery, Hamilton Galleries, in Santa Monica. Leigh has 4 brothers, her husband Warren Long and a daughter, Tallulah.
- Producer
- Director
- Actress
Leni Riefenstahl's show-biz experience began with an experiment: she wanted to know what it felt like to dance on the stage. Success as a dancer gave way to film acting when she attracted the attention of film director Arnold Fanck, subsequently starring in some of his mountaineering pictures. With Fanck as her mentor, Riefenstahl began directing films.
Her penchant for artistic work earned her acclaim and awards for her films across Europe. It was her work on Triumph of the Will (1935), a documentary commissioned by the Nazi government about Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich, that would come back to haunt her after the atrocities of World War II. Despite her protests to the contrary, Riefenstahl was considered an intricate part of the Third Reich's propaganda machine. Condemned by the international community, she did not make another movie for over 50 years.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Leonid Kinskey, originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, performed across Europe and much of Latin America before his arrival in the United States. By 1932 he landed a small role as a radical in Ernst Lubitsch's comedy, Trouble in Paradise (1932). The next year he played an agitator in Duck Soup (1933). He went on to play small parts, nearly always foreigners and often comedic, in over sixty films, including Genflou in Les Misérables (1935), the snake charmer in the well-known scene from The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), an Arab in The Garden of Allah (1936), Ivan in The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938), and Pierre in That Night in Rio (1941). His final film role was Dominiwski in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). Kinskey's most famous role was as Sascha, the humorous bartender at Rick's Cafe Americaine, in Casablanca (1942). The part had originally been given to Leon Mostovoy; Kinskey replaced him because (1) he was funnier than Mostovoy, and (2) by his own testimony, he was a drinking buddy of the star Humphrey Bogart. His contract guaranteed him two weeks at $750 a week. He died on 8 September 1998, in Fountain Hills, Arizona, aged 95.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
After ten years as assistant director to his father 'Leopoldo Torre Rios' he co-directed two films with him. His first personal work was "Graciela (1956)", an adoption from the novel 'Nada' of 'Carmen Laforet' which was made out of reach of the censorship of 'General Perón'. Later on Torre Nilsson filmed a lot of productions based on stories of his wife Beatriz Guido; e.g. "La casa del angel (1957)", "Fin de fiesta (1960)" or "Piedra libre (1975)".- Actor
- Art Department
Lito Legaspi was born on 10 September 1941 in the Philippines. He was an actor, known for Sinong kapiling? Sinong kasiping? (1977), Ilustrado (2014) and Ang probinsyano (2015). He died on 8 September 2019 in San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Ljubisa Samardzic was born into a miner's family. His acting talent was discovered very early and he won a scholarship with respected director Bojan Stupica. After graduating Belgrade Drama Arts Academy and playing a few theater roles, Ljubisa Samardzic was given the part in Igre na skelama (1961). After that experience, he decided to quit theater and try his luck in movies. In a few years he got the leading roles in some of the most popular or influential movies ever made in former Yugoslavia and soon became one of the movie icons in that country, together with 'Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic', Milena Dravic and Boris Dvornik. In the 1980s and during the break-up of Yugoslavia his acting star began to fade but he managed to switch careers by founding his own movie production company together with his son Dragan Samardzic. The company not only survived the harsh times of UN sanctions against rump Yugoslavia, but managed to produce few successful movies that became popular in many of the former Yugoslav republics. Ljubisa Samardzic now lives and works in Belgrade, is married and has two children and two grandchildren.- Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Louise Currie attended Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, became interested in acting and began taking courses at Max Reinhardt's drama school in Hollywood. Talent scouts spotted the aspiring actress in the acting workshop's stage productions and pressed her to make the rounds of the Hollywood studios, but Currie remained adamant about staying out of the limelight until she felt she was ready. After graduation, she found an agent (Sue Carol, wife of actor Alan Ladd) and began working in pictures, generally at smaller studios like Monogram and PRC. She appeared in Columbia two-reelers, many B-Westerns and two of Republic's "Golden Age" serials (Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941) and The Masked Marvel (1943)) before leaving the picture profession in the early '50s. With her husband, former actor John Good, she went into a new business: Good (an architectural designer) remodeled houses and Currie decorated them.
- Marca Bristo was born on 23 June 1953 in Albany, New York, USA. She was married to J. Robert Kettlewell and Robert Kettlewell. She died on 8 September 2019 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Marciano Cantero was born on 25 August 1960 in Mendoza, Argentina. He was an actor, known for Los nuevos y clásicos bloopers (2004), J Balvin & Bad Bunny Feat. Marciano Cantero: Un Peso (Live) (2019) and Dale Pascual (1996). He died on 8 September 2022 in Mendoza, Argentina.- Marina Schiano was born on 18 November 1941 in Naples, Campania, Italy. She was an actress, known for Stardust Memories (1980). She was married to Frederick, Hughes. She died on 8 September 2019 in Porto Seguro, Bahia, Brazil.
- Merv Adelson was born on 23 October 1929 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a producer, known for Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977), The Choirboys (1977) and Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978). He was married to Thea Joyce Nesis, Barbara Walters, Gail Melinda Kenaston and Lorraine Kaufman. He died on 8 September 2015 in Canoga Park, California, USA.
- Producer
- Actor
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Pierre Bergé was born on 14 November 1930 in Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron, Charente-Maritime, France. He was a producer and actor, known for Opium (2013), L'école des femmes (2005) and Stanley Marcus Documentary. He was married to Madison Cox. He died on 8 September 2017 in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, France.- Music Department
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Prince Buster was born on 24 May 1938 in Kingston, Jamaica. He was an actor, known for Boy A (2007), Stuber (2019) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). He was married to Mola Ali. He died on 8 September 2016 in Miami, Florida, USA.- Director
- Writer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Rajasekar was born in 1958 in India. He was a director and writer, known for Vikram (1986), Padikkathavan (1985) and Kaakki Sattai (1985). He died on 8 September 2019 in Chennai, India.- Ray Barrett studied music and elocution and began acting at the age of eleven. He was the first actor put under contract by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Drama section. He worked for several years on radio in Sydney, before working successfully in Britain between 1958 and the mid-1970s, when he returned to Australia. He has received two AFI (Australian Film Industry) awards as an actor.
- Actor
- Composer
- Director
Richard Burton Cronin was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was raised in the Boston neighborhood of West Roxbury, and moved to the city of Kingston on the south shore of Massachusetts later. He attended a Catholic High School (Sacred Heart) and graduated in 1993. LFO (with former member Brian Gillis (aka "Brizz" Gillis)) released 2 singles in Europe in 1997/1998 but failed to make it in America until 1999. Brizz had now left LFO, to be replaced by Harold "Devin" Lima. Rich then wrote and recorded the song "Summer Girls" in Danny Wood's, of New Kids On The Block, basement. After giving a copy of the song to a friend at Logic Records, Summer Girls was leaked to a radio station in Washington, DC, and the song immediately blew up. "Summer Girls" has been called the anthem of the Summer of 1999. In 2000, Rich began dating Jennifer Love Hewitt, but their relationship ended weeks after he went public about it in "Teen People" magazine. Rich moved from Orlando to Massachusetts last summer .- Music Department
- Writer
- Composer
Richard Strauss was a German composer best known for symphonic poem 'Also sprach Zarathustra' (Thus Spoke Zarathustra, 1896) used as the music score in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) by director Stanley Kubrick.
He was born Richard Georg Strauss on June 11, 1864, in Munich, Bavaria (now Germany). His father, named Franz Strauss, was the principal horn player at the Royal Opera in Munich. Young Strauss was taught music by his father. He wrote his first composition at the age of 6. From the age of 10 he studied music theory and orchestration with an assistant conductor of the Munich Court Orchestra. He was also attending orchestral rehearsals. In 1874 Strauss heard operas by Richard Wagner, but his father did not share his son's interest and forbade him to study Wagner's music until the age of 16.
Strauss studied philosophy and art history at Munich University, then at Berlin University. In 1885 he replaced Hans von Bulow as the principal conductor of the Munich Orchestra. Strauss emerged from under his father's influence when he met Alexander Ritter, a composer, and the husband of one of the nieces of Richard Wagner. He abandoned his father's conservative style and began writing symphonic tone poems. In 1894, Strauss married soprano singer Pauline Maria de Ahna. She was famous for being dominant and ill-tempered, but she was also a source of inspiration to Strauss, resulting in the preferred use of the soprano voice in his compositions.
The image of Richard Strauss and his music was abused by the Nazi propaganda machine, to a point of damaging the composer's posthumous reputation. Richard Strauss was trapped in Nazi Germany just as the Russian intellectuals were under Stalin in the Soviet regime. Strauss' name and music was used by the Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, who appointed Strauss, without his consent, to the State Music Bureau, as a mask on the ugly regime. Strauss was commissioned to write the Olympic Hymn for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. His cautious apolitical position was the only way to survive and to protect his daughter-in-law Alice, who was Jewish.
In 1935 Strauss was fired from his job at the State Music Bureau. He refused to remove from the playbill the name of his friend and opera librettist, the writer Stefan Zweig, who was Jewish. Later Gestapo intercepted a letter from Strauss to Zweig, where Strauss condemned the Nazis. Strauss' daughter-in-law Alice was placed under the house arrest in 1938. In 1942 Strauss managed to move his Jewish relatives to Vienna. There Alice and Strauss's son were later again arrested and imprisoned for two nights. Only Strauss' personal effort saved them. They were returned under house arrest until the end of the Second World War.
Richard Strauss died on September 8, 1949, in Garmish-Partenkirchen, Germany at the age of 85. Strauss' symphonic poem 'Also sprach Zarathustra' (Thus Spoke Zarathustra, 1896) was recorded under the baton of Herbert von Karajan and was used as the music score in '2001: A Space Odyssey' by director Stanley Kubrik, as well as in many other films.- Writer
- Actor
- Script and Continuity Department
Born in Cape Town, Union of South Africa in 1934, Ronald Harwood moved to London in 1951 to pursue a career in the theatre. After attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, he joined the Shakespeare Company of Sir Donald Wolfit, one of the last 'actor-manager' of Great-Britain. From 1953 to 1958, Harwood became the personal dresser of Sir Donald. He would later draw from this experience in his play 'The Dresser' and write a biography 'Sir Donald Wolfit CBE: His life and work in the Unfashionable Theatre'.
In 1960, he started a new career as a writer and would prove to be quite prolific, penning plays, novels and non-fiction books. He also worked often as a screenwriter but he seldom wrote original material directly for the screen, rather acting as an adapter sometimes of his own work.
One of the recurring themes in Harwood's work is his fascination for the stage, its artists and artisans as displayed in the aforementioned 'The Dresser', his plays 'After the Lions' (about Sarah Bernard) ,'Another time' (about a gifted piano player), 'Quartet' (about aging opera singers) and his non-fiction book 'All the world's a stage', a general history of theater. Harwood also has a strong interest in the WWII period, as highlighted by the films 'Operation daybreak', 'The Statement', 'The Pianist', and his play turned to film 'Taking sides'. Based on true stories, the two last films feature once again musicians as their main characters.
Made Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1974 and Commander of the British Empire in 1999, Harwood was president of the international PEN Club from 1993 to 1997 after presiding the British section during the four previous years.- Rubén Peucelle was born on 2 September 1933 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was an actor, known for Alma mía (1999), Rockero Reyes (2014) and Lucha fuerte (1987). He died on 8 September 2014 in Olivos, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- S. John Launer was born on 5 November 1919 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for Marnie (1964), I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) and Mommie Dearest (1981). He was married to Estelle Schwartz. He died on 8 September 2006 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Art Department
Sam Porretta was born on 9 March 1968. He was an actor, known for Chicago Fire (2012), Crisis (2014) and Black Box (2013). He died on 8 September 2020.- Additional Crew
Tito Capobianco was born on 28 August 1931 in La Plata, Argentina. He is known for Live from Lincoln Center (1976), The Metropolitan Opera Presents (1977) and New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts (1958). He was married to Elena 'Gigi' Denda and Elena Denda. He died on 8 September 2018 in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida, USA.- Actor
- Sound Department
- Animation Department
Toshihiko Nakajima was born on 12 August 1962 in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. He was an actor, known for Mobile Suit Gundam Seed (2002), Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001) and Inuyasha (2000). He died on 8 September 2017 in Tokyo, Japan.- Troy Gentry was born on 5 April 1967 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. He was married to Angie McClure and Kia Bradley Gentry. He died on 8 September 2017 in Medford, New Jersey, USA.
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Walter Olmos died on 8 September 2002 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Zero Mostel was born Samuel Joel Mostel on February 28, 1915 in Brooklyn, New York, one of eight children of an Orthodox Jewish family. Raised in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the young Zero, known as Sammy, developed his talent for painting and drawing at art classes provided by the Educational Alliance, an institution serving Jewish immigrants and their children. Sammy often would go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to copy the paintings.
Sam Mostel matriculated at the City College of New York, then entered a master's program in art at New York University after graduating from CCNY in 1935. He dropped out after a year and worked at odd jobs before being hired by the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project to teach drawing and painting at the 92nd Street "Y", the famous Young Men and Young Women's Hebrew Association located on Manhattan's 92nd St., in 1937.
Mostel married Clara Sverd, a CCNY classmate, in 1939, but the marriage was troubled due to personality conflicts. The couple separated in 1941 and divorced in 1944. While still teaching, Mostel supplemented his income by providing gallery lectures at various museums under the aegis of the WPA. His lectures were full of jokes as Mostel personally was a clown, and subsequently he was hired to perform at private parties.
Mostel auditioned as a comedian at the downtown nightclub Cafe Society in late 1941, a jazz club. Initially rejected, owner Barney Josephson hired Mostel after Pearl Harbor, figuring his patrons, now at war, could use some laughs. It was Ivan Black, the club's press agent, who gave Sam Mostel the nickname Zero, explaining, "Here's a guy who's starting from nothing."
Debuting at the Cafe Society on February 16, 1942, Zero was a hit with audiences and the critics, Simultaneously, Zero began appearing in the play "Cafe Crown" at the Cort Theatre, which opened on January 23, 1942 and played through May 23rd, closing after 141 performances. Zero made some impromptu appearances on stage, but he wasn't officially part of the cast of the play, which was staged by Elia Kazan and starred Morris Carnovsky, Sam Jaffe (a future blacklistee), Whit Bissell, and Sam Wanamaker. Zero made his formal Broadway debut in "Keep 'em Laughing" on April 24, 1942 at the 44th Street Theatre. The show ran for 77 performances.
Within a year, he was touring the national nightclub circuit and appearing on radio. He had a brief stint in the Army in 1943, but was quickly discharged due to an unspecified physical disability. Zero spent the rest of the war entertaining the troops overseas.
Zero married Kathryn Harkin, a former Radio City Music Hall Rockette, on July 2, 1944, an act that ruined his relationship with his Orthodox Jewish parents as his new wife was a gentile. The two remained a married couple until his death and produced two sons: Josh Mostel, who was born in 1946, and Tobias, who was born in 1949.
In the post-war years, Zero began to branch-out as a straight actor. On October 19, 1948, he made his television debut in the series "Off the Record," which was broadcast on the DuMont network, following it up with an appearance on October 26, 1948. He later appeared in the The Ford Theatre Hour (1948) episode "The Man Who Came to Dinner," which was broadcast on January 16, 1949 on NBC. He was reunited with his "Cafe Crown" director Elia Kazan in the Oscar-winner's movie Panic in the Streets (1950) (1950). In the movies, Zero often played heavies due to his physique, roles that downplayed his unique gift for comedy.
Zero had long been a leftist politically, and had made contributions to progressive causes. His nightclub act lampooned the red-baiters rampant at the time, and featured the character of a pompous senator called Polltax T. Pellagra. When he and the wife of his good friend 'Jack Gilford' were named by Jerome Robbins before the House Un-American Activities Committee as being communists, Zero was subpoenaed to testify by HUAC.
Mostel testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee on October 14, 1955. In a playful mood, he told the Committee that he was employed by "19th Century-Fox." Zero denied he was a Communist, but refused to name names. He told the Committee that he would gladly discuss his own conduct but was prohibited by religious convictions from naming others. Consequently, he was blacklisted during the 1950s. Shut-out from the movies, he also lost many lucrative nightclub gigs, and he had to make due by playing gigs for meager salaries and by selling his paintings.
In the 1950s, Mostel bumped into Elia Kazan on the street in New York City, and the two reminisced. Kazan said Mostel chided him for putting Mostel through the paces in "Panic in the Streets," forcing him to run more than he ever had. The two retired to a bar, and as they began to drink, s Mostel kept muttering, in reference to Kazan's naming names before HUAC, "Ya shouldn't a done that. Ya shouldn't a done that."
There was no blacklist in the theater, and his friend Burgess Meredith, a noted liberal, offered Zero the lead role in his 1958 Off-Broadway production of "Ulysses in Nighttown," based on the Nighttown episode of James Joyce's novel "Ulysses," that Meredith was directing. Mostel's performance as Leopold Bloom, Joyce's Jewish Everyman, was a great hit with audiences and critics alike, and he won an "Obie," the Off-Broadway equivalent of a Tony. Zero also starred in productions of "Nighttown" in London and Paris.
By the end of 1959, Zero again was appearing on television, cast in the "Play of the Week" episode "The World of Sholom Aleichem," which was broadcast on December 14, 1959 in syndication. He also was cast in a Broadway play, "The Good Soup."
Zero never opened in the play as he was hit by a bus on January 13, 1960. His left leg was severely injured, and required four operations. Zero was in the hospital for five months but regained the use of the leg.
He made a triumphant return to Broadway in the fall of 1960, starring in Ionesco's absurdist tour-de-force "Rhinoceros," for which he won a Tony award. He was cast in another "Play of the Week" episode, this time in Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot," which was broadcast on April 3, 1961 in syndication.
Zero and his friend Jack Gilford, who had also been blacklisted due to Jerome Robbins having named names and hadn't worked for many years, were both cast in the Broadway musical "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum." However, the show, under director George Abbott, was troubled. When Stephen Sondheim pitched Robbins to producer Harold Prince as the savior of "Forum," which was floundering in its out-of-town tryouts, Prince phoned Mostel to ask whether he would be prepared to work with Robbins.
"Are you asking me to eat with him?" asked Mostel.
"I'm just asking you to work with him," Prince replied.
"Of course I'll work with him," Mostel said. "We of the left do not blacklist."
When Robbins showed up at his first rehearsal, everyone was terrified of him because of his reputation as a tough taskmaster and perfectionist. Robbins made the rounds of the cast, shaking hands. When he got to Mostel, there was silence. Then Mostel boomed, "Hiya, Loose Lips!"
Everyone burst out laughing, including Robbins, and the show went on. Robbins was uncredited for staging and choreographing "Forum," which opened at the Alvin Theatre on May 8, 1962. "Forum" was a great hit, running for 964 performances at the Alvin and at the Mark Hellinger Theatre and later at the Majestic, closing on August 29, 1964. "Forum" won six Tony awards, including Best Musical and Best Director for George Abbott. Mostel won his second Tony and Gilford was nominated for the Tony for Best Featured Actor.
Zero followed up this triumph with his legendary turn as Tevye, the milkman with marriageable daughters in "Fiddler on the Roof," based on the stories of Sholom Aleichem. With direction and choreography credited to Jerome Robbins, "Fiddler on the Roof" opened at the Imperial Theatre on September 22, 1964 and did not close until almost eight years later, at the Broadway Theatre on July 2, 1972, with a stop at the Majestic in between during the late '60s. After seven previews, "Fiddler" racked up a total of 3,242 performances, making it one of the greatest Broadway smashes ever. After wining nine Tony awards in 1965, including Best Musical, Best Director, and Best Actor in A Musical (Zero's third Tony), the show was awarded a 10th Tony, a Special Award in 1972 when "Fiddler" became the longest-running musical in Broadway history.
Zero was cast in the 1966 movie version of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966), and then concentrated on movies and television for the rest of his career. Most of his projects, with the exception of Mel Brooks' The Producers (1967), did not fully utilize his talents. It was a major blow when director Norman Jewison cast the Israeli actor Topol as Tevye in his movie adaptation of Fiddler on the Roof (1971), passing over the legend who had created the role. Topol got an Oscar nomination, but faded quickly out of American movies. The movie of "Fiddler," a huge roadshow hit in 1971, also faded out of American consciousness. One wonders if with Zero in the role, the movie would now be considered a classic and constantly revived on television.
In 1974, Zero reprised his Leopold Bloom in a Broadway production of "Ulysses in Nighttown," again directed by Burgess Meredith, which netted him a Tony Award nomination as Best Actor in a Play. He turned in an affecting performance as a blacklisted comedian in Martin Ritt's movie about the blacklist, The Front (1976). He also had a success with a Broadway revival of "Fiddler on the Roof" in December 1976.
Zero was cast as Shylock in Arnold Wesker's "The Merchant," a pro-Jewish reimagining of 'William Shakespeare''s "The Merchant of Venice." Mostel had great hopes that his Shylock would be the crowning achievement of his career and put him back on top. His huge talent and larger-than-life persona seemed to do better on stage.
This was not to come to pass. He fell ill after a tryout performance in Philadelphia in September and was hospitalized. On September 8, 1977, Zero Mostel died from an aortic aneurysm at the age of sixty-two. One of the greatest, most unique, and definitely irreplaceable talents to grace the American stage and movies had passed away. We are unlikely to look on his likes again.