Dead People 2014
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Phil Everly was born on 19 January 1939 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for Tequila Sunrise (1988), Flipped (2010) and Bull Durham (1988). He was married to Patrice Yvonne Arnold, Patricia Mickey and Jacqueline Alice Ertel. He died on 3 January 2014 in Burbank, California, USA.Dead January 3, 2014 (age 74)- Producer
- Sound Department
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Saul Zaentz learned gambling as a youth in Passaic, New Jersey, playing a card game called briscola. Later, in his twenties, he earned a full-time living as a gambler.
Saul settled in San Francisco after WWII, at first working for a local record distributor and eventually joining the jazz record label Fantasy Records. Working as a salesman and manager for years at Fantasy taught him the value of good relationships with vendors and distributors. This approach greatly affected his approach to the movie business.
Saul and a group of partners bought Fantasy Records in 1967. Fantasy was a successful independent record label, but Saul wanted to expand, to make films. He and his partners worked very hard to cultivate deals with film distribution houses all over the world. Many of these distributors invested in or helped secure funding for his films, in light of the success of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). As a result, Saul was able to remain independent of Hollywood, making the films he wanted to make.Dead January 3, 2014 (age 92)- Actor
- Additional Crew
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Long before he was known as "The Professor" in the cult comedy classic Gilligan's Island (1964), Russell Johnson was a well-known character actor, starring in several Westerns and Sci-Fi classics as This Island Earth (1955) and It Came from Outer Space (1953). Johnson grew up in Pennsylvania and was sent to a boarding school in Philadelphia with his brothers when his father died.
Johnson said that, unlike his Professor character, he was not a bright student early on and was, in fact, held back a grade. However, he did redeem himself later on by making the National Honor Society in high school. He joined the Army Air Corps in World War II. Both his ankles were broken when his B-24 Liberator was shot down over the Philippines during a bombing raid in March of 1945 and he was awarded the Purple Heart as he recovered in the hospital. After the war, he used the G.I. Bill to enroll in acting school to pursue his new trade.
Johnson lived in the state of Washington and did several guest appearances on television shows. He passed away peacefully on the morning of Thursday January 16, 2014 from kidney failure, with his wife, Constance Dane, and his two children by his side. Connie described her husband as a very brave man.Dead January 16, 2014 (age 89)- Actor
- Soundtrack
Dave Madden was born on 17 December 1931 in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor, known for The Partridge Family (1970), Charlotte's Web (1973) and Eat My Dust (1976). He was married to Sandra Martin and Alvena Louise (Nena) Arnold. He died on 16 January 2014 in Jacksonville, Florida, USA.Dead January 16, 2014 (age 82)- Composer
- Actor
- Music Department
Sixteen-year-old Pete Seeger enrolled at the Avon Old Farms School in Connecticut and then decided to become a hermit. His life since then has been one social cause after another, buoyed by an almost indefatigable career as a self-described "sing-along leader."
During the 1930s he attended Harvard, from which his musicologist father Charles Seeger (a member of the Industrial Workers of the World and a conscientious objector during World War I) had graduated in 1908. As an alternative to his major, Sociology (which he disliked), he played tenor banjo (failing to make the Harvard Jazz Band) and participated in the pacifist/communist Harvard Student Union so much that he lost his scholarship, leaving Harvard in 1938. In 1939 actor/folksinger 'Will Geer' organized the "All-American Left-Wing Folk-Song Revival Movement," a benefit concert for migrant workers in California. It was there that Pete met Woody Guthrie and began touring with him. In 1940 Seeger started the Almanac Singers with Lee Hays, Pete Hawes and Millard Lampell; during his tours with this pro-union, anti-war group the FBI began a file on him. The group broke up at the start of World War II (Seeger enlisted in the army; Guthrie entered the Merchant Marine). After the war he started People's Songs (later Sing Out!), and in 1949 formed a new group, The Weavers, with Lee Hays, Fred Hellerman and Ronnie Gilbert'. For years he had trouble with the House UnAmerican Activities Committee and was, effectively, blacklisted. He recorded dozens of albums (Columbia, Folkways) and wrote thousands of songs, among which are "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," "If I Had a Hammer," and "Turn, Turn, Turn" (which in the 1960s became a huge hit for The Byrds). He helped start the Greenwich Village music magazine Broadside in the 1960s and reorganized the Newport Folk Festival. In 1996 the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance awarded him its first Lifetime Achievement Award. He helped start Clearwater, an organization which sails a 106-foot boat along the Hudson River to show children the dangers of pollution.Dead January 27, 2014 (age 94)- Producer
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Arthur Rankin Jr. was born on 19 July 1924 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a producer and director, known for The Last Unicorn (1982), Willy McBean and His Magic Machine (1965) and The Hobbit (1977). He was married to Olga Karlatos. He died on 30 January 2014 in Harrington Sound, Bermuda.Dead January 30, 2014 (age 89)- Actor
- Director
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Maximilian Schell was the most successful German-speaking actor in English-language films since Emil Jannings, the winner of the first Best Actor Academy Award. Like Jannings, Schell won the Oscar, but unlike him, he was a dedicated anti-Nazi. Indeed, with the exception of Maurice Chevalier and Marcello Mastroianni, Schell was undoubtedly the most successful non-anglophone foreign actor in the history of American cinema.
Schell was born in Vienna, Austria on December 8, 1930, but raised in in Zurich, Switzerland. (Austria became part of Germany after the anschluss of 1938), then was occupied by the allies from 1945 until 1955, when it again joined the family of nations.) He learned his craft on the stage beginning in 1952, and made his reputation with appearances in German-language films and television. He was a fine Shakespearean actor, and had a huge success with "Richard III" (he has also appeared in as the eponymous prince in a German-language version of "Hamlet").
Schell made his Hollywood debut in 1958 in the World War II film The Young Lions (1958) quite by accident, as the producers had wanted to hire his sister Maria Schell, but lines of communication got crossed, and he was the one hired. He impressed American producers as his turn as the friend of German soldier Marlon Brando, and subsequently assayed the role of the German defense attorney in the television drama Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) on "Playhouse 90" in 1959. He was also cast in the big screen remake, for which he won the 1961 Academy Award for Best Actor, beating out co-star Spencer Tracy for the Oscar. He also won a Golden Globe and the New York Film Critics Circle Award for the role. Schell ultimately won two more Oscar nominations for acting, in 1976 for Best Actor for The Man in the Glass Booth (1975) and in 1978 as Best Supporting Actor for Julia (1977) (which also brought him the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor). He has twice been nominated for an Emmy for his TV work, and won the 1993 Golden Globe for best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a series, mini-series or made-for-TV movie for Stalin (1992).
Schell has also has directed films, and his 1974 film The Pedestrian (1973) ("The Pedestrian"), which Schell wrote, produced, directed, and starred in, was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar and won the Golden Globe in the same category. His documentary about Marlene Dietrich, Marlene (1984), was widely hailed as a masterpiece of the non-fiction genre and garnered its producers a Best Documentary Oscar nomination in 1985. In 2002, Schell released Meine Schwester Maria (2002) (My Sister Maria), a documentary about the career of and his relationship with Maria Schell. Since the 1990s, Schell has appeared in many German language made-for-TV films, such as the 2003 film Alles Glück dieser Erde (2003) (All the Luck in the World) and in the mini-series The Hard Cops (2004), which was based on Henning Mankell's novel. He has also continued to appear on stage, appearing in dual roles in the 2000 Broadway production of the stage version of "Judgment at Nuremberg", and most recently in Robert Altman's London production of Arthur Miller's play "Resurrection Blues" in 2006. He died on 31st of January 2014, aged 83, in Innsbruck, Austria.Dead February 1, 2014 (age 83)- Actor
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Film and stage actor and theater director Philip Seymour Hoffman was born in the Rochester, New York, suburb of Fairport to Marilyn (Loucks), a lawyer and judge, and Gordon Stowell Hoffman, a Xerox employee, and was mostly of German, Irish, English and Dutch ancestry. After becoming involved in high school theatrics, he attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, graduating with a B.F.A. degree in Drama in 1989.
He made his feature film debut in the indie production Triple Bogey on a Par Five Hole (1991) as Phil Hoffman, and his first role in a major release came the next year in My New Gun (1992). While he had supporting roles in some other major productions like Scent of a Woman (1992) and Twister (1996), his breakthrough role came in Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights (1997).
He quickly became an icon of indie cinema, establishing a reputation as one of the screen's finest actors, in a variety of supporting and second leads in indie and major features, including Todd Solondz's Happiness (1998), Flawless (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia (1999), Almost Famous (2000) and State and Main (2000). He also appeared in supporting roles in such mainstream, big-budget features as Red Dragon (2002), Cold Mountain (2003) and Mission: Impossible III (2006).
Hoffman was also quite active on the stage. On Broadway, he has earned two Tony nominations, as Best Actor (Play) in 2000 for a revival of Sam Shepard's "True West" and as Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) in 2003 for a revival of Eugene O'Neill (I)'s "Long Day's Journey into Night". His other acting credits in the New York theater include "The Seagull" (directed by Mike Nichols for The New York Shakespeare Festival), "Defying Gravity", "The Merchant of Venice" (directed by Peter Sellars), "Shopping and F*@%ing" and "The Author's Voice" (Drama Desk nomination).
He was the Co-Artistic Director of the LAByrinth Theater Company in New York, for which he directed "Our Lady of 121st Street" by Stephen Adly Guirgis. He also directed "In Arabia, We'd All Be Kings" and "Jesus Hopped the A Train" by Guirgis for LAByrinth, and "The Glory of Living" by Rebecca Gilman at the Manhattan Class Company.
Hoffman consolidated his reputation as one of the finest actors under the age of 40 with his turn in the title role of Capote (2005), for which he won the Los Angeles Film Critics Award as Best Actor. In 2006, he was awarded the Best Actor Oscar for the same role.
On February 2, 2014, Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in an apartment in Greenwich village, New York. Investigators found Hoffman with a syringe in his arm and two open envelopes of heroin next to him. Mr. Hoffman was long known to struggle with addiction. In 2006, he said in an interview with "60 Minutes" that he had given up drugs and alcohol many years earlier, when he was age 22. In 2013, he checked into a rehabilitation program for about 10 days after a reliance on prescription pills resulted in his briefly turning again to heroin.Dead February 2, 2014 (age 46)- Actress
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Shirley Temple was easily the most popular and famous child star of all time. She got her start in the movies at the age of three and soon progressed to super stardom. Shirley could do it all: act, sing and dance and all at the age of five! Fans loved her as she was bright, bouncy and cheerful in her films and they ultimately bought millions of dollars' worth of products that had her likeness on them. Dolls, phonograph records, mugs, hats, dresses, whatever it was, if it had her picture on there they bought it. Shirley was box-office champion for the consecutive years 1935-36-37-38, beating out such great grown-up stars as Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Robert Taylor, Gary Cooper and Joan Crawford. By 1939, her popularity declined. Although she starred in some very good movies like Since You Went Away (1944) and the The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), her career was nearing its end. Later, she served as an ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia. It was once guessed that she had more than 50 golden curls on her head.Dead February 10, 2014 (age 85)- Actor
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Comedian, saxophonist, composer, actor and musician, he performed within the orchestras of Charlie Spivak, Shep Fields and Claude Thornhill as saxophonist. Later, as super-hip jazz musician "Cool Cees" in television skits, he played tenor saxophone, and sang with the satirical trio "The Hair Cuts" (with Carl Reiner and Howard Morris). He sang the lead role in "Little Me" on Broadway. Joining ASCAP in 1955, his popular song compositions include "I Wrote This Song for Your Birthday" and "Was That You?".Dead February 12, 2014 (age 91)- Actress
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- Soundtrack
Maggie Estep was born on 20 March 1963 in Summit, New Jersey, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for MTV Unplugged Spoken Word II (1994), Alchemy (1995) and Beavis and Butt-Head (1993). She died on 12 February 2014 in Albany, New York, USA.Dead February 12, 2014 (age 50)- Actor
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Ralph Waite was born in White Plains, New York on June 22, 1928. Educated at Bucknell University where he graduated with a BA degree, Waite existed rather aimlessly as a young adult while trying to find his way in the world. Occupations came and went, including social worker, religious editor for Harper & Row, and even Presbyterian minister after spending three years at the Yale School of Divinity. At age 30, however, he began to study acting and found his true life's passion.
Waite made his professional NY debut in a 1960 production of "The Balcony" at the Circle in the Square and was seen on Broadway in "Blues for Mister Charlie" before earning fine reviews in 1965 alongside Faye Dunaway in "Hogan's Goat". This was enough to encourage him to move West where he began collecting bit parts in prestigious movies, including Cool Hand Luke (1967) and Five Easy Pieces (1970). One of those films, the coming-of-age Last Summer (1969) starred an up-and-coming talent named Richard Thomas, who, of course, would figure prominently in Waite's success story in years to come. Waite continued to thrive as well on the stage appearing in both contemporary plays ("The Trial of Lee Harvey Osward") as well as Shakespearean classics (Claudius in "Hamlet" and Orsino in "Twelfth Night").
Stardom came for him in the form of the gentle, homespun Depression-era series The Waltons (1972). In the TV-movie pilot, the roles of John and Olivia Walton were played by Andrew Duggan and Patricia Neal. The Earl Hamner Jr. series, however, would welcome Waite along with Michael Learned, and make both, as well as Richard Thomas playing their son John-Boy, household names. Waite also directed several episodes of the series during the nine seasons. Throughout the seventies, he strove to expand outside his Walton patriarchal casting with other TV mini-movie endeavors. Those included Roots (1977), for which he received an Emmy nomination, the title role in The Secret Life of John Chapman (1976), OHMS (1980), Angel City (1980) and The Gentleman Bandit (1981). He also appeared in a few films including On the Nickel (1980) which he wrote and directed.
Throughout the run of the series, Waite continued to revert back to his theater roots from time to time. Notable was his role as Pozzo in Waiting for Godot (1977), which was televised by PBS, and a return to Broadway with "The Father" in 1981. Waite also founded the Los Angeles Actors Theatre in 1975 and served as its artistic director.
The Waltons (1972), which earned him an Emmy nomination, ended in 1981 and Waite ventured on to other TV character roles during the 80s and 90s but less visibly. In his second TV series The Mississippi (1982), which was produced by his company Ralph Waite Productions, he played a criminal lawyer who abandoned his practice (almost) for a leisurely life captaining a riverboat. It lasted only a year. There have been other more recent theater excursions including "Death of a Salesman" (1998), "The Gin Game" (1999), "Ancestral Voices (2000) and "This Thing of Darkness" (2002). He also had a recurring role on the offbeat HBO series Carnivàle (2003) and in 2009 began putting time in on the daytime soap Days of Our Lives (1965) as Father Matt. Waite was able to carry with him a certain grizzled, rumpled, craggy-faced, settled-in benevolence, although he was quite capable of villainy. He always seemed more comfortable in front of the camera wearing a dusty pair of work clothes than a suit. He continued to act well into his 80s, most notably playing the father of Mark Harmon on NCIS (2003).
For many years, Waite had held passionate political ambitions. He twice ran unsuccessfully for a Congressional seat -- in 1990 and 1998. A Palm Desert resident during his second attempt, the 70-year-old Californian was a Democratic hopeful for a seat left vacant by the late Sonny Bono after his fatal skiing accident in 1998. He was ultimately defeated by Bono's widow, Mary Bono.
Waite died in Palm Desert, California on February 13, 2014, at age 85. He is survived by his third wife, Linda East, whom he married in 1982 and two daughters from his first marriage.Dead February 14, 2014 (age 85)- Mary Grace Canfield was born on 3 September 1924 in Rochester, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Green Acres (1965), Pollyanna (1960) and The Best of Broadway (1954). She was married to John Theodore Bischof and Charles Orlebar Carey, Jr.. She died on 15 February 2014 in Santa Barbara, California, USA.Dead February 15, 2014 (age 89)
- Music Department
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Robert Edward Casale Jr. was born on July 14, 1952 in Kent, Ohio. The younger brother of Gerald Casale, Robert grew up in Akron, Ohio and was trained as a medical radiation technologist, but eventually left that job to become a key founding member of the New Wave band Devo. Casale not only played guitar, bass guitar, and/or keyboards on every last album by Devo, but also co-wrote several songs as well. In addition, Robert also worked on various albums, films, and television shows as a music mixer, score arranger, music producer, and music production engineer. Casale died of heart failure at age 61 on February 17, 2014. He was survived by wife Lisa, son Alex, and daughter Samantha.Dead February 17, 2014 (age 61)- Writer
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- Producer
Born on November 21, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois, Harold Allen Ramis got his start in comedy as Playboy magazine's joke editor and reviewer. In 1969, he joined Chicago's Second City's Improvisational Theatre Troupe before moving to New York to help write and perform in "The National Lampoon Show" with other Second City graduates including John Belushi, Gilda Radner and Bill Murray. By 1976, he was head writer and a regular performer on the top Canadian comedy series SCTV (1976). His Hollywood debut came when he collaborated on the script for National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) which was produced by Ivan Reitman. After that, he worked as writer with Ivan as producer on Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989) and acted in the latter three. Harold Ramis died on February 24, 2014 at age 69 from complications of autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis.Dead February 24, 2014 (age 69)- Actor
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Franny Beecher joined Bill Haley and the Comets in 1954, replacing guitarist Danny Cedrone, who had died. Beecher's guitar solos became legendary during his time with the band. He left the Comets in 1962, but in 1987 he participated in a Comets reunion and now in his late 70s, he continues to perform and record with the band.Dead February 24, 2014 (age 92)- Jim Lange was born on 15 August 1932 in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), Captain 11 (1954) and Amazing Stories (1985). He was married to Nancy Fleming and Fay Marie Madigan. He died on 25 February 2014 in Mill Valley, California, USA.Dead February 25, 2014 (age 81)
- Actress
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Sheila MacRae was born on 24 September 1921 in London, England, UK. She was an actress and producer, known for Backfire (1950), Caged (1950) and Bikini Beach (1964). She was married to Ronald Wayne and Gordon MacRae. She died on 6 March 2014 in Englewood, New Jersey, USA.Dead March 6, 2014 (age 92)- Voiceover artist par excellence Hal Douglas was born Harold Cone on September 1, 1924 in Stamford, Connecticut. The son of Samuel and Miriam Levenson Cone, Hal and his brother Edwin were primarily raised by their grandparents Sarah and Tevya Levenson after their mother died when Hal was only nine. (Their father later remarried.) Douglas trained as a pilot and served three years in the Navy during World War II. Hal wrote fiction in his spare time and upon finishing his tour of duty enrolled on the G.I. Bill at the University of Miami, where he studied acting. He changed his last name to Douglas after moving to New York and began supplementing his slight income from acting gigs with voiceover and announcer work on both radio and television. Hal soon became one of the most sought after (and instantly recognizable) vocal talents for commercials and lead-ins for TV shows. Douglas worked steadily out of New York and not only continued to lend his distinctive gravelly baritone to television, but also narrated the occasional documentary and countless film trailers in a diverse array of genres. Hal was still working two years prior to his death from pancreatic cancer at age 89 at his home in Lovettsville, Virginia on March 7, 2014. He's survived by his wife of forty-three years, Ruth Francis Douglas; their daughter Sarah Douglas; and two sons from a previous marriage, Jon and Jeremy.Dead March 7, 2014 (89)
- As a young man he joined the famous Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Infantry Division when it was first formed. His first combat jump as a paratrooper was into occupied France the night before D-Day as part of the mass invasion. Earned the name "Wild Bill" due to his heroic efforts in combat situations against the Germans. Lost part of his leg in the Battle of the Bulge.American hero. Dead March 8, 2014 (age 90)
- Writer
Joe McGinniss was born in New York City in 1942. After finishing high school, he attended Holy Cross College in Worchester, Massachusetts, where he worked for the school newspaper and, during summers, the Port Chester Daily Item. After graduating from Holy Crossin 1964, McGinniss worked as a reporter for the Worcester Telegram,where he realized that he had a talent worth pursuing.
McGinniss then worked as a sportswriter for The Philadelphia Bulletin, and soon its competitor The Philadelphia Inquirer, where he became a columnist in 1966. Two years later, in 1968 McGinniss stumbled upon a story that would become his first book. While working on a profile of Howard Cosell for TV Guide, McGinniss learned that a friend of Cosell's had the advertising account for Hubert Humphrey's presidential campaign. Humphrey would not cooperate with McGinniss, but Richard Nixon's campaign advisor's allowed him to observe first-hand the process of "selling" a president to the public. The book, The Selling of the President, was published in 1969. It earned him various positive critic reviews and put his name on the New York Times bestseller list overnight. McGinniss's next book, The Dream Team, published in 1972, was the story of a successful young novelist who ends up unhinged by his obsession with horse racing, women, and alcohol. Its reception was something of a letdown.
In the next book, Heroes, published in 1976, McGinniss mixed journalism with memoir. Critics gave the book mixed reviews, but the book earned him respect as an honest writer on a quest for self-understanding. Going to Extremes, published in 1980, was an account of his adventures and misadventures in Alaska. The book was a critical success and landed on the front page of the New York Times Book Review.
McGinniss's big commercial break came in 1979 when he met Jeffrey MacDonald, a former Green Beret U.S. Army doctor accused of murdering his wife and two daughters back in 1970. The doctor agreed to let McGinniss write a book about his murder trial. MacDonald was convicted of the triple murder and sentenced to life in prison. McGinniss researched MacDonald's case for three more years. Fatal Vision (1984), published in 1983. Fatal Vision was an immediate bestseller, which sold three million copies and earned McGinniss a place in the author's guild of the world. The book angered the imprisoned MacDonald so much that he sued McGinniss for breach of contract, claiming McGinniss wrote a book full of "contradictions and fabrications" portraying MacDonald as guilty when he, to his day, claims that he was wrongfully convicted. After a mistrial in 1987 the case was settled out of court.
McGinniss followed the success of Fatal Vision with two more real-life crime dramas. Blind Faith (1990), published in 1989, and Cruel Doubt (1992), published in 1991, were more or less part of a trilogy of crime dramas featuring dysfunctional families driven to extreme measures of murder. McGinniss's next book, published in 1993, was The Last Brother, a biography of Ted Kennedy.
McGinniss was offered a $1 million advance by his publisher to write a book on the O.J. Simpson criminal trial. The former football player was charged with the double murder of his ex-wife and a friend of hers. But in the end, despite being present throughout the long trial from January to October 1995, McGinniss declined to write any book on the case and gave back the $1 million, calling the trial: "a farce from start to finish," and the verdict: "a mockery of justice."
McGinniss traveled to Italy in 1996 where he wrote The Miracle of Castel di Sangro, which detailed the dramatic life and times of an Italian football (soccer) team. In 2004, McGinniss published The Big Horse, a compelling nonfiction account of a colorful thoroughbred trainer's one big success. In Never Enough (2007) McGinniss returned to true-crime with the critically acclaimed story of another family murder, this time a rich, unhappy wife who kills her investment banker husband in Hong Kong so she can be with her blue-collar lover.
McGinniss lived in Western Massachusetts. He died on March 10, 2014 from complications of inoperable prostate cancer at the UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.American villain. Dead March 10, 2014 (age 71)- Actor
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Scott Asheton was born on 16 August 1949 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He was an actor, known for Smokin' Aces (2006), Predestination (2014) and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). He was married to Elizabeth. He died on 15 March 2014 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.Dead March 15, 2014 (age 64)- Actor
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David Brenner was born on 4 February 1936 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Worth Winning (1989), Modern Family (2009) and Theory of a Deadman: Not Meant to Be (2009). He was married to Ruth Davey, Elizabeth Slater and Geraldine (Geri) Judith Leno. He died on 15 March 2014 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.Dead March 15, 2014 (age 78)- Actor
- Music Department
- Additional Crew
Joe Lala was born on 3 November 1947 in Tampa, Florida, USA. He was an actor, known for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978), Seinfeld (1989) and Out for Justice (1991). He was married to Ginny McSwain. He died on 18 March 2014 in Tampa, Florida, USA.Dead March 18, 2014 (age 66)- James Robert Rebhorn (September 1, 1948 - March 21, 2014) was an American actor who appeared in over 100 films, television series, and plays. At the time of his death, he had recurring roles in the current series White Collar and Homeland.
An early performance was in Butterflies are Free at the Peterborough Players in New Hampshire in 1974. Rebhorn played Peter Latham in Forty Carats at the GasLight Dinner Theatre in Salt Lake City in the 1970s. He was known both for portraying WASP stereotypes, lawyers, politicians, doctors, and military men, as well as portraying individuals with criminal behavior. He has delivered equally notable performances in a variety of other roles, including that of a brutal serial killer on NBC's Law & Order (he would later return to the show in the recurring role of defense attorney Charles Garnett), Ellard Muscatine in Lorenzo's Oil (1992), Fred Waters in Blank Check (1994), Clyde Frost, the father of famed bull rider Lane Frost, in 8 Seconds (1994), Lt. Tyler in White Squall (1996), and a shipping magnate in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999). One of his best known performances came in the popular 1996 film Independence Day, where he played Secretary of Defense Albert Nimzicki. He acted in Scent of a Woman (1992), and also played an expert witness in My Cousin Vinny (1992). He appeared in Carlito's Way the following year. Rebhorn also played an FBI Agent in the 1994 film Guarding Tess.
Rebhorn played several roles on television, including an abusive stepfather, Bradley Raines, on the soap opera Guiding Light from 1983 to 1985, and an abusive father, Henry Lange, on sister soap As The World Turns from 1988 to 1991. An earlier daytime role was as John Brady in Texas from 1981 to 1982. In 1994 he played the role of super villain John McFlemp in the episode "Farewell, My Little Viking" of the Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Pete & Pete. In 1998, he played the District Attorney in the two-part series finale of Seinfeld. He also appeared in a supporting roles in The Game, Meet the Parents, and Regarding Henry. In 2004, he appeared in the TV miniseries Reversible Errors. His role in the short-lived and controversial NBC drama The Book of Daniel cast him as the father of the title character. More recently, he appeared in the Showtime series Homeland as Carrie's bipolar father.
Rebhorn also appeared as a judge in Baby Mama. In the 2009 movie The Box, Rebhorn portrayed a NASA scientist. He had recurring roles on the USA series White Collar as Special Agent Reese Hughes, and also as Frank Mathison, the father of the protagonist Carrie Mathison, on Homeland. Rebhorn recently co-starred in the Comedy Central sitcom Big Lake. He played Max Kenton's uncle in the 2011 movie Real Steel. He starred as Oren in the miniseries Coma. Rebhorn starred as Gary Pandamiglio in the 2012 Mike Birbiglia comedy Sleepwalk with Me. He co-starred in the 2013 romantic comedy The Perfect Wedding. His stage career included seven Broadway productions, as well as numerous appearances with New York City's Roundabout Theatre Company.Dead March 21, 2014 (age 65) - Actress
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Kate O'Mara was born Frances Meredith Carroll on August 10, 1939 in Leicester, Leicestershire, England. A hard-looking brunette with high cheekbones, Kate was the daughter of actress Hazel Bainbridge and John Carroll and prodded into performing as a child. Educated at the Aida Foster School, she began an early career as a speech therapist at a Sussex Girls' School, but her attraction to acting got the best of her and she switched gears, making her debut in a stage production of "The Merchant of Venice" in 1963 at age 24. She continued to appear in classical works throughout the next two seasons until television series spots started coming her way. Kate attracted gothic notice in Hammer Studio horror films as tawdry, darkly alluring femmes in both The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) and The Vampire Lovers (1970), but her film load over the years would remain sporadic.
She had remained focused on stage endeavours in the ensuing years and had appeared in many British television series as well as various femme fatales or shady ladies. She made little leeway in America but did appear as Joan Collins equally bitchy sister for one season of Dynasty (1981) in 1986. She was also delightfully vindictive in episodes of Doctor Who (1963) and Absolutely Fabulous (1992) in England. She relished a standout role in the long-running British soap opera Crossroads (2001). In the 1980s, she founded and toured in a theatre company (The British Actor's Theatre Company), which had continued running into the millennium. She had since published two books: "When She Was Bad" in 1991 and "Good Time Girl" in 1993. Kate O'Mara died at age 74 on March 30, 2014 after a short illness in a nursing home in Sussex, England.Dead March 30, 2014 (age 74)- Actor
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John Pinette was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 23, 1964, the son of Robert Pinette Sr. and Louise Pitre (Petrie). His mother was of Acadian ancestry, with her parents both from the Canadian province of New Brunswick. He graduated from Malden Catholic High School in 1982. He was a practicing Catholic. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 1986 with a degree in accounting. He started a six-month career in accounting but, on the advice of friends, left to pursue a career in comedy.
John Pinette was an American actor, Broadway performer, and stand-up comedian. He toured the comedy club circuit beginning in the 1980s and appeared in cinema and on television. Besides stand-up, Pinette did impressions of Michael Jackson, The Chipmunks, Elvis Presley, Gollum from The Lord of the Rings, Hervé Villechaize (Tattoo from Fantasy Island), an Ewok, actor Marlon Brando (notably Brando's role in The Godfather), as well as various ethnic accents. He occasionally sang, for example, "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz, "Will You Be There" from Free Willy, and "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," in his stand-up routines.Dead April 5, 2014 (age 52)- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Mickey Rooney was born Joe Yule Jr. on September 23, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York. He first took the stage as a toddler in his parents vaudeville act at 17 months old. He made his first film appearance in 1926. The following year, he played the lead character in the first Mickey McGuire short film. It was in this popular film series that he took the stage name Mickey Rooney. Rooney reached new heights in 1937 with A Family Affair, the film that introduced the country to Andy Hardy, the popular all-American teenager. This beloved character appeared in nearly 20 films and helped make Rooney the top star at the box office in 1939, 1940 and 1941. Rooney also proved himself an excellent dramatic actor as a delinquent in Boys Town (1938) starring Spencer Tracy. In 1938, he was awarded a Juvenile Academy Award.
Teaming up with Judy Garland, Rooney also appeared in a string of musicals, including Babes in Arms (1939) the first teenager to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a leading role, Strike Up the Band (1940), Babes on Broadway (1941), and Girl Crazy (1943). He and Garland immediately became best of friends. "We weren't just a team, we were magic," Rooney once said. During that time he also appeared with Elizabeth Taylor in the now classic National Velvet (1944). Rooney joined the service that same year, where he helped to entertain the troops and worked on the American Armed Forces Network. He returned to Hollywood after 21 months in Love Laughs at Andy Hardy (1946), did a remake of a Robert Taylor film, The Crowd Roars (1932) called Killer McCoy (1947) and portrayed composer Lorenz Hart in Words and Music (1948). He also appeared in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard. Rooney played Hepburn's Japanese neighbor, Mr. Yunioshi. A sign of the times, Rooney played the part for comic relief which he later regretted feeling the role was offensive. He once again showed his incredible range in the dramatic role of a boxing trainer with Anthony Quinn and Jackie Gleason in Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962). In the late 1960s and 1970s Rooney showed audiences and critics alike why he was one of Hollywood's most enduring stars. He gave an impressive performance in Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 film The Black Stallion (1979), which brought him an Academy Award nomination as Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He also turned to the stage in 1979 in Sugar Babies with Ann Miller, and was nominated for a Tony Award. During that time he also portrayed the Wizard in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with Eartha Kitt at New York's Madison Square Garden, which also had a successful run nationally.
Rooney appeared in four television series': The Mickey Rooney Show (1954) (1954-1955), a comedy sit-com in 1964 with Sammee Tong called Mickey, One of the Boys in 1982 with Dana Carvey and Nathan Lane, and The New Adventures of the Black Stallion (1990) from 1990-1993. In 1981, Rooney won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of a mentally challenged man in Bill (1981). The critical acclaim continued to flow for the veteran performer, with Rooney receiving an honorary Academy Award "in recognition of his 60 years of versatility in a variety of memorable film performances". More recently he has appeared in such films as Night at the Museum (2006) with Ben Stiller and The Muppets (2011) with Amy Adams and Jason Segel.
Rooney's personal life, including his frequent trips to the altar, has proved to be just as epic as his on-screen performances. His first wife was one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood, actress Ava Gardner. Mickey permanently separated from his eighth wife Jan in June of 2012. In 2011 Rooney filed elder abuse and fraud charges against stepson Christopher Aber and Aber's wife. At Rooney's request, the Superior Court issued a restraining order against the Aber's demanding they stay 100 yards from Rooney, as well as Mickey's other son Mark Rooney and Mark's wife Charlene. Just prior, Rooney mustered the strength to break his silence and appeared before the Senate in Washington D.C. telling of his own heartbreaking story of abuse in an effort to live a peaceful, full life and help others who may be similarly suffering in silence.
Rooney requested through the Superior Court to permanently reside with his son Mark Rooney, who is a musician and Marks wife Charlene, an artist, in the Hollywood Hills. He legally separated from his eighth wife in June of 2012. Ironically, after eight failed marriages he never looked or felt better and finally found happiness and peace in the single life. Mickey, Mark and Charlene focused on health, happiness and creative endeavors and it showed. Mickey Rooney had once again landed on his feet reminding us that he was a survivor. Rooney died on April 6th 2014. He was taking his afternoon nap and never woke. One week before his death Mark and Charlene surprised him by reunited him with a long lost love, the racetrack. He was ecstatic to be back after decades and ran into his old friends Mel Brooks and Dick Van Patten.Dead April 6, 2014 (age 93)- Peaches Geldof was born on 13 March 1989 in Westminster, London, England, UK. She was a writer, known for The King Is Dead (2010), 8 Out of 10 Cats (2005) and Celebrity Juice (2008). She was married to Thomas Cohen and Maxwell Drummey. She died on 7 April 2014 in Wrotham, Kent, England, UK.Dead April 7, 2014 (age 25)
- Rubin "Hurricane" Carter was boxing's most feared middleweight contender in the early 1960s. Standing only 5' 8" tall and weighing 160 lbs., he nevertheless had one of the most muscular builds in the sport. With a shaved head, Fu Manchu mustache and bulging muscles, he sent shudders and shakes through his opponents. A self-proclaimed "wild" child, Carter was from a family of four girls and four boys. He spent much of his youth in reform schools. He escaped from Allendale Reformatory in 1953 and joined the U.S. army. He credits the army with straightening him out. He served as a paratrooper and was stationed in Europe, where he started fighting for the Army Boxing Team. However, when it was learned he had escaped from jail, he was returned there to serve an additional nine months. After being released he admitted to becoming a heavy drinker and street brawler. He was sentenced to six years in prison for beating a man so badly that the man was sent to the hospital. After serving 4-1/2 years, Carter was released and introduced to Carmine Tedeschis by his uncle. Tedeschis, who had a local construction business, gave Carter a job and began managing him to a professional career. Carter turned pro in 1961, and by June 1963 after only 19 fights (16-3), was rated 10th in the world. After scoring brutal first-round knockouts over Florentino Fernandez and World Welterweight Champion Emile Griffith, Carter received his title fight. He lost a 15-round nod to champion Joey Giardello. Carter's career was in and out over the next year before he and another man were arrested for a triple murder and convicted in an ensuing trial. After serving almost 30 years in prison he was finally released when a judge ruled that he had been wrongly convicted. He wrote a best-selling novel entitled the 16th Round.Dead April 20, 2014 (age 76)
- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Bob Hoskins was described by the director John Mackenzie as "an actor from the British tradition but with an almost American approach, an instinctive approach to acting and knowing how to work with the camera". He was born on October 26, 1942, in Bury St. Edmund's, Suffolk, where his mother was living after being evacuated as a result of the heavy bombings. He is the son of Elsie Lillian (Hopkins), a nursery school teacher and cook, and Robert William Hoskins, Sr., who drove a lorry and worked as a bookkeeper. Growing up, Hoskins received only limited education and he left school at 15, but with a passion for language and literature instilled by his former English teacher.
A regular theatre-goer, Hoskins dreamed of starring on stage, but before he could do so he had to work odd jobs for a long time to make ends meet. His acting career started out more by accident than by design, when he accompanied a friend to watch some auditions, only to be confused for one of the people auditioning, getting a script pushed into his hands with the message "You're next". He got the part and acquired an agent. After some stage success, he expanded to television with roles in television series such as Villains (1972) and Thick as Thieves (1974). In the mid-'70s, he started his film career, standing out when he performed alongside Richard Dreyfuss in John Byrum's Inserts (1975) and in a smaller part in Richard Lester's Royal Flash (1975).
Hoskins broke through in 1978 in Dennis Potter's mini TV series, Pennies from Heaven (1978), playing "Arthur Parker", the doomed salesman. After this, a string of high-profile and successful films followed, starting with his true major movie debut in 1980's The Long Good Friday (1980) as the ultimately doomed "Harold Shand". This was followed by such works as The Cotton Club (1984), Mona Lisa (1986), which won him an Oscar nomination as well as a BAFTA award, Cannes Film Festival and Golden Globe), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) (Golden Globe nomination), Mermaids (1990), Hook (1991), Nixon (1995), Felicia's Journey (1999) and Enemy at the Gates (2001).
Hoskins always carefully balanced the riches of Hollywood with the labor of independent film, though leaned more towards the latter than the former. He worked at smaller projects such as Shane Meadows' debut TwentyFourSeven (1997), in which he starred as "Allen Darcy". Besides this, he found time to direct, write and star in The Raggedy Rawney (1988), as well as direct and star in Rainbow (1995), and contributing to HBO's Tales from the Crypt (1989) and Tube Tales (1999).
Suffering from Parkinson's disease in later years, Hoskins died of pneumonia at age 71 in a London hospital.Dead April 29, 2014 (age 71)- Writer
- Editorial Department
- Additional Crew
Al Feldstein was born in 1925 in Brooklyn, New York. He was interested in comics and comic art from an early age, and attended art school at night while working as assistant for a comic publisher by day. After a stint in the Army Air Corp during WW II, Feldstein returned to work as a freelancer. In 1947, he landed a job with EC Comics, where he quickly rose to editorship. He edited, wrote, drew, and created such titles as Tales From the Crypt, Vault of Horror, Haunt of Fear, Weird Science, Weird Fantasy, Crime Suspenstories, Shock Suspenstories and Panic.
Feldstein was famous for his bizarre aliens and gory horror images, but he was also responsible for adapting the works of Ray Bradbury into comic form, and publishing some of the early works of Harlan Ellison. In 1955, EC got out of the comic business to focus on publishing its humor magazine, "MAD". After "MAD" creator Harvey Kurtzman left EC, Al Feldstein became editor, a job he held until his retirement in 1984. During his editorship, he was responsible for the creation of MAD's trademark spokesperson, Alfred E. Neuman, as well as increasing circulation to almost 3,000,000. Now living in Montana, Mr. Feldstein still draws, but focuses more on wildlife and nature subjects.Dead April 29, 2014 (age 88)- Actress
- Soundtrack
Judi Meredith was born on 13 October 1936 in Portland, Oregon, USA. She was an actress, known for Jack the Giant Killer (1962), Queen of Blood (1966) and Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958). She was married to Gary Nelson. She died on 30 April 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.Dead April 30, 2014 (age 77)- Actor
- Soundtrack
It's hardly surprising that the son of renowned Russian-born concert violinist Efrem Zimbalist Sr. (1889-1985) and Romanian-born opera singer Alma Gluck (1884-1938) would desire a performing career of some kind. Born in New York City on November 30, 1918, surrounded by people of wealth and privilege throughout his childhood, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. received a boarding school education. Acting in school plays, he later trained briefly at the Yale School of Drama but didn't apply himself enough and quit. As an NBC network radio page, he auditioned when he could and found minor TV and stock theatre parts while joining up with the Neighborhood Playhouse.
Following WWII war service with the Army infantry in which he was awarded the Purple Heart after being wounded, a director and friend of the family, Garson Kanin, gave the aspiring actor his first professional role in his Broadway production of "The Rugged Path" (1945) which starred Spencer Tracy. With his dark, friendly, clean-scrubbed good looks and a deep, rich voice that could cut butter, Zimbalist found little trouble finding work. He continued with the American Repertory Theatre performing in such classics as "Henry VIII" and "Androcles and the Lion" while appearing opposite the legendary Eva Le Gallienne in "Hedda Gabler".
Zimbalist then tried his hand as a stage producer, successfully bringing opera to Broadway audiences for the first time with memorable presentations of "The Medium" and "The Telephone". As producer of Gian Carlo Menotti's "The Consul", he won the New York Drama Critic's Award and the Pulitzer Prize for best musical in 1950. An auspicious film debut opposite Edward G. Robinson in House of Strangers (1949) brought little career momentum due to the untimely death of his wife Emily (a onetime actress who appeared with him in "Hedda Gabler" and bore him two children, Nancy and Efrem III) to cancer in 1950. Making an abrupt decision to abandon acting, he served as assistant director/researcher at the Curtis School of Music for his father and buried himself with studies and music composition.
In 1954, Efrem returned to acting and copped a daytime television soap lead (Concerning Miss Marlowe (1954)). It was famed director Joshua Logan who proved instrumental in helping Zimbalist secure a Warner Bros. contract. Despite forthright second leads in decent films such as Band of Angels (1957) with Clark Gable and Yvonne De Carlo; Too Much, Too Soon (1958) starring Dorothy Malone and Errol Flynn; Home Before Dark (1958) with Jean Simmons and Rhonda Fleming; The Crowded Sky (1960) with Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, Troy Donahue and Anne Francis; A Fever in the Blood (1961) opposite Angie Dickinson and (his best) Wait Until Dark (1967) with Audrey Hepburn, it was television that made the better use of his refined, unshowy acting style. His roles as smooth private investigator Stu Bailey on 77 Sunset Strip (1958) and dogged inspector Lewis Erskine on The F.B.I. (1965) would be his ultimate claims to fame.
A perfect gentleman on and off camera, Zimbalist's severest critics tend to deem his performances bland and undernourished. Managing to override such criticisms, he maintained a sturdy career for nearly six decades. In 1991, he made fun of his all-serious reputation and pulled off a Leslie Nielsen-like role in the comedy parody Hot Shots! (1991). In addition to theater projects over the years, he has made fine use of his mellifluous baritone performing narrations and cartoon voiceovers, including that of Alfred the butler on a "Batman" animated series.
In 2003, he completed his memoirs, entitled "My Dinner of Herbs". The father of three, grandfather of four and great-grandfather of three, he settled in Santa Barbara and later in Solvang, California with longtime second wife Stephanie until her death in 2007 of cancer. Their daughter, also named Stephanie (Stephanie Zimbalist), is the well-known actress who appeared with Pierce Brosnan in the Remington Steele (1982) television series, in which Zimbalist had a recurring role. He and his daughter also appeared on stage together in his later years, their first being "The Night of the Iguana". His eldest daughter Nancy died in 2012.
Zimbalist died peacefully at his Solvang home of natural causes at the age of 95 on May 2, 2014; he had been outside watering his lawn at his Solvang, Calif., ranch when a handyman found him lying dead in the grass. "He was healthy, playing golf three days a week, and always in his garden," Zimbalist's son said.Dead May 2, 2014 (age 95)- Jeb Magruder was born on 5 November 1934 in New York City, New York, USA. He was married to Patricia Newton and Gail Barnes Nicholas. He died on 11 May 2014 in Danbury, Connecticut, USA.Dead May 11, 2014 (age 79)
- Additional Crew
- Art Department
- Director
H.R. Giger was born on 5 February 1940 in Chur, Switzerland. He was a director, known for Alien (1979), Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens (1986). He was married to Carmen Maria Scheifele and Mia Bonzanigo. He died on 12 May 2014 in Zurich, Switzerland.Dead May 12, 2014 (age 74)- Cinematographer
- Director
- Camera and Electrical Department
Gordon Willis was an American cinematographer. He's best known for his work on Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather films, as well asWoody Allen's Annie Hall (1977) and Manhattan (1979).
His work on the first two Godfather films turned out to be groundbreaking in its use of low-light photography and underexposed film, as well as in his control of lighting and exposure to create the sepia tones that denoted period scenes in The Godfather Part II (1974).
In the seven-year period up to 1977, Willis was the director of photography on six films that received among them 39 Academy Award nominations, winning 19 times, including three awards for Best Picture. During this time he did not receive a single nomination for Best Cinematography.
He directed one film of his own, Windows (1980). His last film as a cinematographer was The Devil's Own (1997), directed by Alan J. Pakula.
Willis died of cancer on May 18, 2014, ten days before his 83rd birthday, at the age of 82.Dead May 18, 2014 (age 82)- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Jerry Vale was born on 8 July 1930 in The Bronx, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000), Casino (1995) and Goodfellas (1990). He was married to Rita Grapel. He died on 18 May 2014 in Palm Springs, California, USA.Dead May 18, 2014 (age 83)- Camera and Electrical Department
- Actress
- Producer
Buxom and beautiful blonde bombshell Bunny Yeager always aspired to be a pin-up model. She was born Linnea Eleanor Yeager on March 13, 1929 in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. Her father Raymond Conrad Yeager worked in an office for the telephone company and later was an electrical engineer for Westinghouse Electric while her mother Linnea was a stay-at-home housewife. Bunny grew up in the small rural town of Pitcairn, Pennsylvania. The Yeager family moved to Miami, Florida right before Bunny's senior year in high school. She attended Miami Edison High School in Miami and began participating in numerous beauty pageants in her late teens (she was crowned Miami Sports Queen in 1949 by Joe DiMaggio). She took a fashion modeling course at Coronet Modeling School and Agency and soon became a hugely popular glamor model in Miami who was featured in countless swimsuit magazines.
In the early 1950s Bunny decided to switch gears and become a glamor photographer. She was named the Prettiest Photographer in the World by "US Camera" magazine in August 1953. She took pictures of lovely model Maria Stinger; one of these pictures was published as the cover photo for the March 1954 issue of the men's magazine "Eye." Bunny discovered legendary pin-up queen Bettie Page in 1954. Her photo of Page posing in nothing but a fur-trimmed Santa hat was published as the centerfold in the January 1955 special holiday issue of "Playboy." This photo, along with other pictures of Bettie taken by Bunny, played a key role in establishing Page's iconic status. Other notable models Yeager has discovered are "Playboy" Playmate L.A. Winters and Carol Jean Lauritzen. Her photographs were featured in a huge array of men's magazines throughout the years. Moreover, Bunny also published over 20 books on photography.
Among the indelible images Bunny turned out are that of Ursula Andress coming out of the ocean water in a revealing bikini for the James Bond movie Dr. No (1962). Bunny got in front of the camera on occasion as well: She appeared in a few films by noted Florida exploitation producer/director Barry Mahon and has a small role as Swedish masseuse Bunny Fjord in the Frank Sinatra detective picture Lady in Cement (1968).
Yeager died of congestive heart failure at age 85 on May 25, 2014 in North Miami, Florida.Dead May 25, 2014 (age 85)- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Maya Angelou was an American poet, singer, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Maya Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim.
With the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou publicly discussed aspects of her personal life. She was respected as a spokesperson for black people and women, and her works have been considered a defense of black culture. Her works are widely used in schools and universities worldwide, although attempts have been made to ban her books from some libraries. Angelou's most celebrated works have been labeled as autobiographical fiction, but many critics consider them to be autobiographies. She made a deliberate attempt to challenge the common structure of the autobiography by critiquing, changing and expanding the genre.Dead May 28, 2014 (age 86)- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Martha Hyer was born on August 10, 1924 in Fort Worth, Texas. Once she finished her formal schooling, Martha played a bit role in 1946's The Locket (1946). Slowly, Martha began picking up roles with more and more substance. The best years for the beautiful actress began in 1954 when she played in films such as Down Three Dark Streets (1954), Showdown at Abilene (1956) and Battle Hymn (1957). Perhaps the best role of her long career was as "Gwen French" in 1958's Some Came Running (1958) in which she starred opposite Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine. As a result of her stellar role, Martha received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress, but she lost out to Wendy Hiller in Separate Tables (1958). Afterwards, Martha's stint on the US silver screen's trailed off some. She did make a handful of foreign films, returning to appear in the US from time to time, but nothing compared to the pace she had in the fifties. Her last film was in 1973 in the film The Day of the Wolves (1971). In 1966, she married producer Hal B. Wallis and remained with him until his death in 1986.Ead May 31, 2014 (age 89)- Actress
- Soundtrack
Ann B. Davis made her debut in show business at age 6 earning $2.00 in a puppet show. At the University of Michigan, Ann planned to study medicine but got the acting bug from her brother who was the lead dancer in the national company of "Oklahoma" for over a year. Ann then spent six years in little theaters, stock companies, touring musicals, and such until she got her break as "Schultzie", the secretary on "The Bob Cummings Show." Before Hollywood, Ann spent a summer at the Cain Park Theater and, during a year at the Erie Playhouse in Erie, Pennsylvania, she studied everything about show production and played dozens of roles ranging from teenagers to characters over 60. In 1949, she arrived at Porterville, California and spent three years at the Barn theater.
She then moved down the coast to Monterey, where she appeared at the Wharf theater. From there she decided to try Hollywood. Anne has also played many parts on stage including "The Women", "Twelfth Night", "Dark Of The Moon", and others. Her mother, Marguerite Scott Davis, appeared with professional stock companies for over thirty years.Dead June 1, 2014 (age 88)- Actor
- Writer
- Music Department
Rik Mayall, one of the first and foremost alternative comedians in the UK, was born in Matching Tye, a village just outside Harlow in Essex. His parents, John and Gillian, were both drama teachers. His acting debut was at the age of seven when he appeared in one of his father's stage plays. He met his comedy partner and best friend Adrian "Ade" Edmondson at Manchester University in 1975. Soon, the duo began performing together as a comedy act called "Twentieth Century Coyote" at the now legendary Comedy Store in London. They later moved their act to a venue called "The Comic Strip" and it was there that they were discovered by producer Paul Jackson. Rik and his friends, including Adrian Edmondson, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Alexei Sayle, Peter Richardson, and Nigel Planer were boomed onto television screens with immense success. He wrote The Young Ones (1982) with Ben Elton and Lise Mayer. You loved it or hated it, but you can't deny the impact it had on British sitcoms.
His career was launched, and, aged 24, he became one of the most popular comedians in Britain. He wrote and starred in various other television programmes and films over the years such as The New Statesman (1987); his role in it as Alan B'Stard earned him a BAFTA. He had his brief touch of Hollywood in 1991 when he starred as the title role in Drop Dead Fred (1991), but he soon returned to the British TV screens with Bottom (1991) a show which only ran for 3 seasons from 1991 to 1995 but was so popular that he and "Ade" toured with live shows based on the series around Britain every two years or so up until 2014.
In 1998, he suffered a severe accident and ended up in a coma after he crashed with his quad-bike at his farm in Devon. Luckily, he recovered and starred in films and shows such as Guest House Paradiso (1999) and Day of the Sirens (2002). In 2002, he proved that he was back and ready for action in the comedy series Believe Nothing (2002), which reunited him with Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, the writers of "The New Statesman". In 2003, he toured the UK alongside "Ade" with the fifth Bottom Live show.Dead June 9, 2014 (age 56)- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Ruby Dee was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist and civil rights activist. She is best known for originating the role of "Ruth Younger" in the stage and film versions of A Raisin in the Sun (1961).
She also starred in The Jackie Robinson Story (1950), Cat People (1982), Do the Right Thing (1989), and American Gangster (2007).
Her film debut was That Man of Mine (1946).
For her performance as Mahalee Lucas in American Gangster (2007), she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. As of 2019, she stands as the second oldest nominee for Best Supporting Actress, behind Gloria Stuart who was 87 when nominated for her role in Titanic for the 70th Academy Awards, 1998.
Dee died on June 11, 2014, at her home in New Rochelle, New York, from natural causes at the age of 91.Dead June 11, 2014 (age 91)- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Born an entertainer, Casey reigns from Michigan, the same birthplace for fellow Shaggy voice actor Matthew Lillard (whom both Casey and Matthew do a very fine, smashing job voicing the iconic character). Debuted as a radio operator and legendary disc jockey in his early days, he was the greatest and most likely the best one seen in recent years. Having an iconic voice and a set of vocal cords, Casey pleased the audience through radio and voice. Casey hit the big time in the early 60's with voicing both major and minor roles in television series, until Hanna-Barbera released, then later debuted, the same role he characterized his career off of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, in which he had the pleasure of working with legendary voice actors Don Messick and Hal Smith. For over 3 decades, he co-founded and hosted American Top 40, which aired the top songs of the week. In his later years, he spent his time with his friends and family, in the way he could showcase with love, passion, and voicing. He died on June 15th, 2014. He was 82 years old. He will be forever missed in the hearts of fans around the world.Dead June 15, 2014 (age 82)- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Gerry Goffin was born on 11 February 1939 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was a composer, known for Vanilla Sky (2001), True Romance (1993) and Ford v Ferrari (2019). He was married to Michele Conaway, Linda Zimmerman, Ellen May Minasian, Barbara Beth Behling and Carole King. He died on 19 June 2014 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Dead June 18, 2014 (age 75)- Actor
- Soundtrack
Steve Rossi was born on 25 May 1932 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Mexican (2001), The Last of the Secret Agents? (1966) and Allen and Rossi Meet Dracula and Frankenstein (1974). He was married to Karma Kennedy and Elaine Annette Gronski. He died on 22 June 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.Dead June 22, 2014 (age 82)- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
One of Hollywood's finest character / "Method" actors, Eli Wallach was in demand for over 60 years (first film/TV role was 1949) on stage and screen, and has worked alongside the world's biggest stars, including Clark Gable, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Marilyn Monroe, Yul Brynner, Peter O'Toole, and Al Pacino, to name but a few.
Wallach was born on 7 December 1915 in Brooklyn, NY, to Jewish parents who emigrated from Poland, and was one of the few Jewish kids in his mostly Italian neighborhood. His parents, Bertha (Schorr) and Abraham Wallach, owned a candy store, Bertha's Candy Store. He went on to graduate with a B.A. from the University of Texas in Austin, but gained his dramatic training with the Actors Studio and the Neighborhood Playhouse. He made his debut on Broadway in 1945, and won a Tony Award in 1951 for portraying Alvaro Mangiacavallo in the Tennessee Williams play "The Rose Tattoo".
Wallach made a strong screen debut in 1956 in the film version of the Tennessee Williams play Baby Doll (1956), shined as "Dancer", the nattily dressed hitman, in director Don Siegel's film-noir classic The Lineup (1958), and co-starred in the heist film Seven Thieves (1960). Director John Sturges then cast Wallach as vicious Mexican bandit Calvera in The Magnificent Seven (1960), the western adaptation of the Akira Kurosawa epic Seven Samurai (1954). The Misfits (1961), in the star-spangled western opus How the West Was Won (1962), the underrated WW2 film The Victors (1963), as a kidnapper in The Moon-Spinners (1964), in the sea epic Lord Jim (1965) and in the romantic comedy How to Steal a Million (1966).
Looking for a third lead actor in the final episode of the "Dollars Trilogy", Italian director Sergio Leone cast the versatile Wallach as the lying, two-faced, money-hungry (but somehow lovable) bandit "Tuco" in the spectacular The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) (aka "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly"), arguably his most memorable performance. Wallach kept busy throughout the remainder of the '60s and into the '70s with good roles in Mackenna's Gold (1969), Cinderella Liberty (1973), Crazy Joe (1974), The Deep (1977) and as Steve McQueen's bail buddy in The Hunter (1980).
The 1980s was an interesting period for Wallach, as he was regularly cast as an aging doctor, a Mafia figure or an over-the-hill hitman, such as in The Executioner's Song (1982), Our Family Honor (1985), Tough Guys (1986), Nuts (1987), The Two Jakes (1990) and as the candy-addicted "Don Altabello" in The Godfather Part III (1990). At 75+ years of age, Wallach's quality of work was still first class and into the 1990s and beyond, he has remained in demand. He lent fine support to Vendetta: Secrets of a Mafia Bride (1990), Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (1992), Naked City: Justice with a Bullet (1998) and Keeping the Faith (2000). Most recently Wallach showed up as a fast-talking liquor store owner in Mystic River (2003) and in the comedic drama King of the Corner (2004).
In early 2005, Eli Wallach released his much anticipated autobiography, "The Good, The Bad And Me: In My Anecdotage", an enjoyable reading from one of the screen's most inventive and enduring actors.
Eli Wallach was very much a family man who remained married to his wife Anne Jackson for 66 years. When Wallach died at 98, in 2014, in Manhattan, NY, he was survived by his wife, three children, five grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.Dead June 24, 2014 (age 98)- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Bobby Womack was born into a musical family. Managed by their father, he and his brothers formed "The Womack Brothers", a gospel singing group that toured with several national gospel stars. "The Womack Brothers" caught the attention of the legendary Sam Cooke when Cooke was singing on the gospel circuit. When Cooke formed his own record label, Sar Records, he immediately signed Bobby and his brothers. In 1962, they were renamed "The Valentinos" and had their first R&B hit single "Lookin' For A Love". Although he continued to record with his brothers throughout the 1960s, Womack began playing guitar in Sam Cooke's band until Cooke's untimely death in 1964. Without the stewardship of Cooke, however, "The Valentinos" floundered and split up, subsequently beginning Bobby Womack's solo career. Although he had mediocre commercial success as a recording artist throughout the 1960s, he had considerable success as a composer and arranger for R&B/Pop artists such as Wilson Pickett, Joe Tex and Dusty Springfield. He would eventually recorded a string of hits of his own from 1971 through 1976. Among them were "That's The Way I Feel About Cha", "Woman's Gotta Have It" and a newly arranged version of "Lookin' For A Love". His career slumped during the Disco era as his earthy and soulful vocals were suddenly out of vogue. Nevertheless, he returned triumphant in the early 1980s with the recording of the album entitled "The Poet" on which he delivered what has become his signature composition and recording "If You Think You're Lonely Now". His 1972 composition and recording of the song "Across 110th Street"--which was originally recorded for the movie of the same name--resurfaced as the theme for the feature film Jackie Brown (1997). Ironically, the film's star, Pam Grier, had been a back-up singer for Womack when she was a coed at UCLA. Considered by critics and fans alike to be one of the last great "Soul" men, Womack continues to record and perform, and has maintained a devoted following throughout the world.Dead June 27, 2014 (age 70)- Actor
- Soundtrack
Surrounded by four dazzling Southern-styled ladies on the hit sitcom Designing Women (1986), genial African-American actor Meshach Taylor made a name for himself as the beleaguered male foil consistently at the mercy of the title gals' antics during its popular 7-season run.
The Boston-born actor who entered life on April 11, 1947, was raised in New Orleans and Indianapolis (Crispus Attucks High School) and took an early interest in acting back in high school. He first studied drama at Ohio's Wilmington College before transferring to Florida A&M in Tallahassee, Florida.
Gaining experience back at an Indianapolis radio station as a State House political correspondent and in repertory theater. His first professional break came in with a national tour of the musical "Hair." He eventually became a member of both Chicago's Goodman Theatre and the Organic Theatre group. One of his stage performances, "Sizwe Banzi Is Dead," earned him Chicago theater's Joseph Jefferson Award. Taylor transported himself to Los Angeles in the 78 and found minor work in a few of the popular horror films of the day: Damien: Omen II (1978), The Howling (1981) and The Beast Within (1982), and also started to make the typical rounds on popular TV shows including "Barney Miller," "Lou Grant" and "M*A*S*H."
After a regular part on the promising, but short-lived Buffalo Bill (1983), he nabbed the Emmy-nominated role of Anthony Bouvier, the jailbird-turned-assistant to Delta Burke, Annie Potts, Jean Smart and Dixie Carter. Originally a guest part at the beginning, he proved popular with audiences and the show progressed his character and was eventually made a full partner of the ladies' designer firm.
Following this success, Taylor moved straight into four seasons with the sitcom Dave's World (1993) as a poker-playing buddy/neighbor to Harry Anderson. His film and TV load has been fairly lightweight overall with routine turns in such comedy fare as Mannequin (1987) and Class Act (1992), an Olsen twins mini-movie, and as a regular panelist on a revamped version of To Tell the Truth (2000). One of his brighter moments (literally) was playing the role of Lumiere in Broadway's "Beauty and the Beast."
His later career was comprised of lowbudget comedy films such as Jacks or Better (2000), Friends and Family (2001), Club Fiji (2008), as well as horror/drama including Tranced (2010), Wigger (2010) and Hyenas (2011). He was occasionally seen as a guest on the small screen in such shows as "The Drew Carey Show," "Hannah Montana," "Jessie" and, his last, "Criminal Minds," as well as a regular role in the series Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide (2004), which lasted three seasons.
After his 11-year marriage to Sandra Taylor ended in 1980, Meshach married actress Bianca Taylor ("General Hospital") in 1983 and had three children. He had one child from his first marriage. In addition to daughters Tamar, Yasmine and Esme and son Tariq, he has a sister, Judith, and brother, Hussain, a private investigator in the Los Angeles area, as well as four grandchildren. His father, Joseph, was a Dean at Indiana University and his mother, Hertha, a school teacher in Indianapolis, Indiana. Taylor died at age 67 of colorectal cancer on June 28 2014, in the Los Angeles area (Altadena). Terminally ill and extremely weak, he nevertheless flew with his children to Indiana just one week before his death to celebrate the centennial birthday of his mother. He was interred at Forest Lawn in Glendale, CA.Dead June 28, 2014 (age 67)- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Paul Mazursky was born on 25 April 1930 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for An Unmarried Woman (1978), Harry and Tonto (1974) and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969). He was married to Betsy Mazursky. He died on 30 June 2014 in Beverly Grove, Los Angeles, California, USA.Dead June 30, 2014 (age 84)- Actor
- Soundtrack
Bob Hastings got his show business start in radio after WWII as the voice of "Archie Andrews" in the show of the same name (a spin-off of the Archie Comics series) on the Mutual Broadcasting System. The good-looking Hastings made the transition to television smoothly in 1949 in early galactic-action series like Captain Video and His Video Rangers (1949) and Atom Squad (1953). His first semi-recurring role was as either a sergeant or a lieutenant on The Phil Silvers Show (1955) (aka "Sgt. Bilko"). Overall, he appeared in eight episodes but interestingly always with a different character name though basically the same demeanor.
Most of his career has been spent in television, and he's notable for roles such as Captain Binghamton's yes-man "Lieutenant Elroy Carpenter" on McHale's Navy (1962), one of the two Tommy Kelsey's on All in the Family (1971), and "Captain Ramsey" on General Hospital (1963). Hastings has also done much voice work, including that of "The Raven" on The Munsters (1964), "Superboy" on the The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure (1967) cartoons in the 1960s and, in recent years, the voice of "Commissioner Gordon" on the animated Batman: The Animated Series (1992) cartoons.Dead June 30, 2014 (age 89)- A twin fisted existentialist, whose post-Nietzschian sensibilities reject the lantern of the cynic in a quest for a sun that leaves no shadow. He attended Dr Challoners Grammar School where he achieved 8 'o' levels, he then elected to work on demolition sites rather than continue his education to University level. He studied performing arts in his twenties then became a professional wrestler and then secured the role of John in Snatch. Other film and TV work followed including appearances in Eastenders,the Bill and Emmerdale as well as parts in major motion pictures such as Batman begins and Elizabeth the Golden age and when work was quiet he decided to become a professional cage fighter securing wins over LA street fighting legend Kimo Leopoldo and ex UFC heavyweight champion Dan Severn. His fight and acting career however began to clash and when he was offered a role in Steven Berkoff's On The Waterfront he had to regrettably decline due to fight commitments. Instead Berkoff attended Legeno's fight at Wembley arena where he defeated Herb Dean. When Dave was cast as Fenrir Greyback in the Harry Potter series he put his fight career on hold.Dead July 6, 2014 (age 50)
- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Tommy Ramone was born on 29 January 1949 in Budapest, Hungary. He was an actor, known for Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019) and Pet Sematary (1989). He died on 11 July 2014 in Ridgewood, Queens, New York City, New York, USA.Dead July 11, 2014 (age 62)- Composer
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Johnny Winter was born on 23 February 1944 in Beaumont, Texas, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for The Accused (1988), Sliver (1993) and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978). He was married to Susan Warford. He died on 16 July 2014 in Zurich, Switzerland.Dead July 16, 2014 (age 70)- Actress
- Music Department
- Writer
A brash, sharp-tongued, incorrigible actress/singer who led a six decade career that contained many highs and lows, veteran Elaine Stritch's raucous six-decade career certainly lived up well to the Stephen Sondheim song lyrics "I'm Still Here." A popular, magnetic performer, she stole so many moments on stage she could have been convicted of grand larceny This tough old bird approached her octogenarian years with still-shapely legs, a puffy blonde hairdo, a deep, whiskey voice and enough sardonic bluster and bravado to convince anyone that she would be around forever.
The Detroit-born (February 2, 1925) Elaine Stritch was the daughter of a B.F. Goodrich executive, of Irish/Welsh heritage, and the youngest of three sisters. Educated locally at Sacred Heart Convent and Duschesne Residence Finishing School, she prepared for the stage at the Dramatic Workshop of the New School where fellow "school mates" included Marlon Brando. She made her first appearance at the New School as a tiger and a cow in a 1944 children's production entitled "Babino," then followed it the following year with the part of a parlor maid in "The Private Life of the Master Race."
Elaine made it to Broadway in October 1946 as "Pamela Brewster" in "Loco" at the Biltmore Theatre. Taking over the part of "Miss Crowder" in "Made in Heaven" after that, she finished off the decade appearing in such theatre productions as "Three Indelicate Ladies," "The Little Foxes" (as Regina), the revue "Angel in the Wings" and "Yes M'Lord."
From the 1950's on, Elaine would become the toast of both Broadway and (later) London's West End, earning award-worthy acclaim on both continents over the years. Starting with a tour of "Pal Joey" (as Melba) in 1952, she followed this success with such shows as "Call Me Madam" (as Sally); "On Your Toes" (as Peggy); "Bus Stop" (Tony nom: as waitress Grace), "The Sin of Pat Muldoon" (as Gertrude); "Goldilocks" (as Maggie); "Sail Away!" (Tony nom, and also London debut as Mimi); "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (as Martha); "The King and I" (as Anna); "The Grass Harp" (as Babylove); "Wonderful Town" (as Ruth); "Private Lives" (as Amanda); "Mame" (as Vera, then Mame); "Company" (Tony-nom: as Joanne); "Small Craft Warnings" (as Leona); "The Gingerbread Lady" (as Evy); "Show Boat" (Drama Desk Award: as Parthy); and "A Delcate Balance" (Tony-nom, Drama Desk Award: as Claire). Through sheer personality alone, her cacophonous singing voice miraculously took classic songs from, among others, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart to Noël Coward and Stephen Sondheim and put her own indelibly raucous stamp on them.
Oddly, Elaine never made the same kind of impact on film. Nevertheless, she appeared in an armful of supports over the years, growing increasingly abrasive, in such movies as The Scarlet Hour (1956), Three Violent People (1956), A Farewell to Arms (1957), The Perfect Furlough (1958), Kiss Her Goodbye (1959), Who Killed Teddy Bear (1965), Too Many Thieves (1966), The Sidelong Glances of a Pigeon Kicker (1970), The Spiral Staircase (1975), Providence (1977), September (1987), Cocoon: The Return (1988), Cadillac Man (1990), Out to Sea (1997), Krippendorf's Tribe (1998), Screwed (2000), Small Time Crooks (2000); Autumn in New York (2000), Monster-in-Law (2005), ParaNorman (2012) and River of Fundament (2014)
The actress fared somewhat better on early TV. She appeared as one of the Paynes in the early Dumont family comedy series The Growing Paynes (1948), and made appearances on several anthology series ("Kraft Theatre," "Goodyear Playhouse," "The Alcoa Hour," "The Dupont Show of the Month"). A few guest spots also decorated her small screen resume, including "Mister Peepers," "Adventures in Paradise" and "Wagon Train". In the 60's, Elaine returned to the series format, but only enjoyed single season life on three: My Sister Eileen (1960), as Ruth Sherwood; the acclaimed The Trials of O'Brien (1965) as lawyer Peter Falk's secretary "Miss G."; and as Ellen Burstyn's derisive mother on The Ellen Burstyn Show (1986).
In 1973, Elaine married English actor John Bay and moved to London. While there she appeared in a number of plays/musicals and then played an American authoress in the British comedy series Two's Company (1975) co-starring Donald Sinden as the butler. When she returned to America in the early 80's, she returned alone.
At age 76, a razor-sharp Elaine captivated audiences in a candid one woman musical stage memoir that would win her the Tony, Drama Desk, Obie, Outer Circle Critics and New York Drama Critics awards. Elaine Stritch at Liberty (2002) show also chronicled her notorious private life, combative nature, which included a long bout with the bottle (to curb her stage fright), and a destructive relationship with fellow alcoholic Gig Young. Add to that a fair share of Hollywood gossip all cleverly packaged up with raw wit and show-stopping patter songs and you had quintessential Elaine Stritch. Truly one of a kind, she would eventually be inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1995.
Other memorable TV appearances included her Aunt Polly in the mini-series Pollyanna (1973); a 1984 continuing role on the daytime soaper The Edge of Night (1956); the role of Ouisar in the TV movie version of Steel Magnolias (1990); and three Emmy Award-winning portrayals -- as a guest on "Law & Order," for the 2004 TV documentary of her one-woman triumph, and for a recurring character on the hit sitcom 30 Rock (2006).
A diabetic, it took stomach cancer to finally slow this woman down at the end, dying at age 89 on July 17, 2014, at her Michigan home.Dead July 17, 2014 (age 89)- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Amiable and handsome James Garner had obtained success in both films and television, often playing variations of the charming anti-hero/con-man persona he first developed in Maverick, the offbeat western TV series that shot him to stardom in the late 1950s.
James Garner was born James Scott Bumgarner in Norman, Oklahoma, to Mildred Scott (Meek) and Weldon Warren Bumgarner, a carpet layer. He dropped out of high school at 16 to join the Merchant Marines. He worked in a variety of jobs and received 2 Purple Hearts when he was wounded twice during the Korean War. He had his first chance to act when a friend got him a non-speaking role in the Broadway stage play "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial (1954)". Part of his work was to read lines to the lead actors and he began to learn the craft of acting. This play led to small television roles, television commercials and eventually a contract with Warner Brothers. Director David Butler saw something in Garner and gave him all the attention he needed when he appeared in The Girl He Left Behind (1956). After co-starring in a handful of films during 1956-57, Warner Brothers gave Garner a co-starring role in the the western series Maverick (1957). Originally planned to alternate between Bart Maverick (Jack Kelly) and Bret Maverick (Garner), the show quickly turned into the Bret Maverick Show. As Maverick, Garner was cool, good-natured, likable and always ready to use his wits to get him in or out of trouble. The series was highly successful, and Garner continued in it into 1960 when he left the series in a dispute over money.
In the early 1960s Garner returned to films, often playing the same type of character he had played on "Maverick". His successful films included The Thrill of It All (1963), Move Over, Darling (1963), The Great Escape (1963) and The Americanization of Emily (1964). After that, his career wandered and when he appeared in the automobile racing movie Grand Prix (1966), he got the bug to race professionally. Soon, this ambition turned to supporting a racing team, not unlike what Paul Newman would do in later years.
Garner found great success in the western comedy Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969). He tried to repeat his success with a sequel, Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971), but it wasn't up to the standards of the first one. After 11 years off the small screen, Garner returned to television in a role not unlike that in Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969). The show was Nichols (1971) and he played the sheriff who would try to solve all problems with his wits and without gun play. When the show was canceled, Garner took the news by having Nichols shot dead, never to return in a sequel. In 1974 he got the role for which he will probably be best remembered, as wry private eye Jim Rockford in the classic The Rockford Files (1974). This became his second major television hit, with Noah Beery Jr. and Stuart Margolin, and in 1977 he won an Emmy for his portrayal. However, a combination of injuries and the discovery that Universal Pictures' "creative bookkeeping" would not give him any of the huge profits the show generated soon soured him and the show ended in 1980. In the 1980s Garner appeared in few movies, but the ones he did make were darker than the likable Garner of old. These included Tank (1984) and Murphy's Romance (1985). For the latter, he was nominated for both the Academy Award and a Golden Globe. Returning to the western mode, he co-starred with the young Bruce Willis in Sunset (1988), a mythical story of Wyatt Earp, Tom Mix and 1920s Hollywood.
In the 1990s Garner received rave reviews for his role in the acclaimed television movie about corporate greed, Barbarians at the Gate (1993). After that he appeared in the theatrical remake of his old television series, Maverick (1994), opposite Mel Gibson. Most of his appearances after that were in numerous TV movies based upon The Rockford Files (1974). His most recent films were My Fellow Americans (1996) and Space Cowboys (2000) .Dead July 19, 2014 (age 86)- Actor
- Soundtrack
Hawaiian-born James Shigeta was, for a time, the biggest East Asian U.S. star the country had known for decades. His up-and-down career reflected the country's changing interest in films with East Asian themes, but, when called upon, he filled both A-movie starring roles and minor T.V. guest appearances with the same cool and classy style. An aspiring song-and-dance man early in his career, he had a series of romantic leading roles in the late fifties, culminating in his most important one, the lead in Ross Hunter's glitzy production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical, Flower Drum Song (1961). Supporting parts followed, his last showy turn coming again from Ross Hunter, with star billing and his own production number in the ill-fated musical remake of Lost Horizon (1973). Along the way, there have been many notable T.V. guest appearances showcasing Shigeta's facility with both sympathetic and villainous roles. His status as the foremost East Asian leading man of twentieth century U.S. film will endure undiminished by an erratic career.Dead July 28, 2014 (age 81)- Actress
- Additional Crew
Marilyn Burns was born Mary Lynn Ann Burns on May 7, 1949 in Erie, Pennsylvania, and raised in Houston, Texas. She attended the University of Texas at Austin where she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Drama. Marilyn was one of the original scream queens, remembered primarily for her role in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). She played Sally Hardesty, a teenager who travels with her brother and some friends to the cemetery where her grandfather was buried to investigate reports of grave vandalism, and then encounters an insane, murderous family, including the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface.
Her follow-up appearance was in Eaten Alive (1976), where she played a vacationer who unwittingly stumbles upon a hotel managed by a maniac who feeds his guests to his crocodile. Marilyn earned her scream queen status by starring in other horror movies; Kiss Daddy Goodbye (1981) and Future-Kill (1985). She appeared in the television miniseries Helter Skelter (1976) about the real-life trial of Charles Manson and his family. She played Linda Kasabian, a member of the Manson Family whose testimony helped lead to the convictions of the cult leader and many of his followers.
Marilyn had an uncredited cameo as Sally Hardesty in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994), and made a cameo appearance as Verna Carlson in Texas Chainsaw (2013). However, aside from these roles and occasional appearances at horror conventions, she lived a relatively quiet life out of the spotlight in the Houston area in her later years. Marilyn Burns died at age 65 in her sleep on August 5, 2014 and was found in her Houston, Texas home by family members, the cause was an apparent heart attack, although not specified.Dead August 5, 2014 (age 64)- Producer
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- Director
Menahem Golan was born Menahem Globus to parents of Polish decent in Tiberias, Israel, in May 1929. In his early years, he was a pilot for the fledgling Israeli Air Force, changing his surname to Golan for patriotic reasons in 1948. A few years later, he took the first step towards his future career by attending the Old Vic Theatre School in London. After returning to Israel, he produced for theater, until joining producer Roger Corman as an assistant on The Young Racers (1963). Golan's debut film in partnership with his younger cousin Yoram Globus was El Dorado (1963). The two cousins set up Noah Films to produce for the Israeli market. Golan's role was as producer and the creative partner, with Globus as the financial expert. The company was first recognized overseas when its production Sallah Shabati (1964) won an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and then won the Golden Globe in the same category in 1965. However, the cousins were desperate to break into the international market. Some of their films had been picked up for distribution in America, such as Kazablan (1973) by MGM, but this was not enough.
In 1979 the pair bought control of a failing production company, The Cannon Group Inc., from Dennis Friedland and Christopher C. Dewey, and it was this company that gave them international renown. Under their control, the Cannon Group grew from a small company making a few obscure pictures a year to a studio that produced 35 pictures in 1987 alone. They developed a large, independent, and international empire, with production, distribution, and exhibition interests across Europe. Golan and Globus hit their peak with Cannon in the mid-1980s, signing Sylvester Stallone for a record US$13 million in 1983 for Over the Top (1987) and purchasing the UK's Thorn-EMI Screen Entertainment in 1986. This last deal led to their ownership of the ABC cinema circuit and Elstree Studios in Britain. However, by 1987, the money was starting to run out. Many of their movies were not making enough at the box office despite the cousins' wide cinema ownership, and they had taken on a lot of debt during their rapid growth, making more expensive pictures in the process. They were initially rescued by Warner Bros., which took distribution rights to Cannon's better films--for example, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), based on a character that Warner already owned--and also took an interest in some of its assets. The end of Cannon came in 1989 when, virtually bankrupt, the company was bought by the now-disgraced financier Giancarlo Parretti and renamed Pathé Communications (after the new MGM-Pathé collapsed in 1992, Globus produced pictures with Christopher Pearce, which were released under a resurrected Cannon Pictures label. The last of these was American Cyborg: Steel Warrior (1993) before the company folded for good).
Golan fell out with Parretti and Globus, leaving Pathé, and starting 21st Century Pictures. He produced a number of films that received widespread distribution, such as Death Wish: The Face of Death (1994) and Captain America (1990), but by the mid-1990s this company had folded, too. Golan's name was later linked with other new companies, such as International Dynamic Pictures and Magic Entertainment, and he rejoined cousin Yoram for both. However, the two soon fell out again and went their separate ways, with Golan writing and directing for other producers in the interim. Golan's latest company is New Cannon Inc., and his recent works include Crime and Punishment (2002) and Return from India (2002). Unfortunately for his fans, it now seems unlikely that Golan will recreate the success of his heyday. Menahem Golan has long been criticized (sometimes unfairly) for an emphasis on quantity rather than quality. It's true that some of the movies he has produced have been laughable or unwatchable. However, now out of the limelight of a critical industry, some of his company's once-derided films have achieved cult status, such as Mona Lisa (1986), Godfrey Reggio's Powaqqatsi (1988), and the "Lemon Popsicle" series. Golan's ongoing drive, energy, and past contribution to the world of cinema will undoubtedly and belatedly be recognized for the achievement this represents.Dead August 8, 2014 (age 85)- Charles Keating was born on 22 October 1941 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Another World (1964), The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) and The Bodyguard (1992). He was married to Mary Ellen Cudbody. He died on 8 August 2014 in Weston, Connecticut, USA.Dead August 9, 2014 (age 72)
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Robin McLaurin Williams was born on Saturday, July 21st, 1951, in Chicago, Illinois, a great-great-grandson of Mississippi Governor and Senator, Anselm J. McLaurin. His mother, Laurie McLaurin (née Janin), was a former model from Mississippi, and his father, Robert Fitzgerald Williams, was a Ford Motor Company executive from Indiana. Williams had English, German, French, Welsh, Irish, and Scottish ancestry.
Robin briefly studied political science at Claremont Men's College and theater at College of Marin before enrolling at The Juilliard School to focus on theater. After leaving Juilliard, he performed in nightclubs where he was discovered for the role of "Mork, from Ork", in an episode of Happy Days (1974). The episode, My Favorite Orkan (1978), led to his famous spin-off weekly TV series, Mork & Mindy (1978). He made his feature starring debut playing the title role in Popeye (1980), directed by Robert Altman.
Williams' continuous comedies and wild comic talents involved a great deal of improvisation, following in the footsteps of his idol Jonathan Winters. Williams also proved to be an effective dramatic actor, receiving Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role in Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Dead Poets Society (1989), and The Fisher King (1991), before winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in Good Will Hunting (1997).
During the 1990s, Williams became a beloved hero to children the world over for his roles in a string of hit family-oriented films, including Hook (1991), FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992), Aladdin (1992), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Jumanji (1995), Flubber (1997), and Bicentennial Man (1999). He continued entertaining children and families into the 21st century with his work in Robots (2005), Happy Feet (2006), Night at the Museum (2006), Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009), Happy Feet Two (2011), and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014). Other more adult-oriented films for which Williams received acclaim include The World According to Garp (1982), Moscow on the Hudson (1984), Awakenings (1990), The Birdcage (1996), Insomnia (2002), One Hour Photo (2002), World's Greatest Dad (2009), and Boulevard (2014).
On Monday, August 11th, 2014, Robin Williams was found dead at his home in Tiburon, California USA, the victim of an apparent suicide, according to the Marin County Sheriff's Office. A 911 call was received at 11:55 a.m. PDT, firefighters and paramedics arrived at his home at 12:00 p.m. PDT, and he was pronounced dead at 12:02 p.m. PDT.Dead August 11, 2014 (age 63)- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lauren Bacall was born Betty Joan Perske on September 16, 1924, in New York City. She was the daughter of Natalie Weinstein-Bacal, a Romanian Jewish immigrant, and William Perske, who was born in New Jersey, to Polish Jewish parents. Her family was middle-class, with her father working as a salesman and her mother as a secretary. They divorced when she was five and she rarely saw her father after that.
As a school girl, she originally wanted to be a dancer, but later switched gears to head into acting. She studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, after attending She was educated at Highland Manor, a private boarding school in Tarrytown, New York (through the generosity of wealthy uncles), and then at Julia Richman High School, which enabled her to get her feet wet in some off-Broadway productions.
Out of school, she entered modeling and, because of her beauty, appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar, one of the most popular magazines in the US. The wife of famed director Howard Hawks spotted the picture in the publication and arranged with her husband to have Lauren take a screen test. As a result, which was entirely positive, she was given the part of Marie Browning in To Have and Have Not (1944), a thriller opposite Humphrey Bogart, when she was just 19 years old. This not only set the tone for a fabulous career but also one of Hollywood's greatest love stories (she married Bogart in 1945). It was also the first of several Bogie-Bacall films.
After 1945's Confidential Agent (1945), Lauren received second billing in The Big Sleep (1946) with Bogart. The mystery, in the role of Vivian Sternwood Rutledge, was a resounding success. Although she was making one film a year, each production would be eagerly awaited by the public. In 1947, again with her husband, Lauren starred in the thriller Dark Passage (1947). The film kept movie patrons on the edge of their seats. The following year, she starred with Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, and Lionel Barrymore in Key Largo (1948). The crime drama was even more of a nail biter than her previous film.
In 1950, Lauren starred in Bright Leaf (1950), a drama set in 1894. It was a film of note because she appeared without her husband - her co-star was Gary Cooper. In 1953, Lauren appeared in her first comedy as Schatze Page in How to Marry a Millionaire (1953). The film, with co-stars Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable, was a smash hit all across the theaters of America.
After filming Designing Woman (1957), which was released in 1957, Humphrey Bogart died on January 14 from throat cancer. Devastated at being a widow, Lauren returned to the silver screen with The Gift of Love (1958) in 1958 opposite Robert Stack. The production turned out to be a big disappointment. Undaunted, Lauren moved back to New York City and appeared in several Broadway plays to huge critical acclaim. She was enjoying acting before live audiences and the audiences in turn enjoyed her fine performances.
Lauren was away from the big screen for five years, but she returned in 1964 to appear in Shock Treatment (1964) and Sex and the Single Girl (1964). The latter film was a comedy starring Henry Fonda and Tony Curtis. In 1966, Lauren starred in Harper (1966) with Paul Newman and Julie Harris, which was one of former's signature films.
Alternating her time between films and the stage, Lauren returned in 1974's Murder on the Orient Express (1974). The film, based on Agatha Christie's best-selling book was a huge hit. It also garnered Ingrid Bergman her third Oscar. Actually, the huge star-studded cast helped to ensure its success. Two years later, in 1976, Lauren co-starred with John Wayne in The Shootist (1976). The film was Wayne's last - he died from cancer in 1979. In late 1979, Lauren appeared with her good friend, James Garner, in a double episode, Lions, Tigers, Monkeys and Dogs (1979), of his Rockford Files series.
For Lauren's next film role, she appeared in a large ensemble film, HealtH (1980), which again paired her with James Garner, and in 1981, she played an actress being stalked by a crazed admirer in The Fan (1981). The thriller was absolutely fascinating with Lauren in the lead role, again playing opposite her good friend James Garner, making three straight screen roles with Lauren opposite James Garner. After that production, Lauren was away from films again, this time for seven years. In the interim, she again appeared on the stages of Broadway. When she returned, it was for the filming of 1988's Appointment with Death (1988) and Mr. North (1988). After 1990's Misery (1990) and several made for television films, Lauren appeared in 1996's My Fellow Americans (1996), a comedy romp with Jack Lemmon and James Garner as two ex-presidents and their escapades. In 1997, Lauren appeared in The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996), in one of the best roles of her later career, opposite Barbra Streisand, where Lauren was nominated as Best Actress in a Supporting Role by both the Academy and the Golden Globes, winning the Golden Globe for the role.
Despite her age and failing health, she made a small-scale comeback in the English-language dub of Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle (2004) ("Howl's Moving Castle," based on the young-adult novel by Diana Wynne Jones) as the Witch of the Waste, and several other roles through 2008, but thereafter acting endeavors for the beloved actress became increasingly rare. Lauren Bacall died on 12 August 2014, five weeks short of her 90th birthday.Dead August 12, 2014 (age 89)- Arlene Martel was likely best-known (if not by name) to Star Trek (1966) fans, and possibly most television viewers of a certain age, as Spock's treacherous Vulcan betrothed, T'Pring, in the episode, Amok Time (1967).
Born Arline Greta Sax to Austrian Jewish immigrants on April 14, 1936 in New York City, she spent her early years in one of the poorest slums in the Bronx. When her mother's boss saw her poor living conditions, he personally underwrote her attendance at an upper-crust boarding school in Connecticut. At age 12, she assumed personal responsibility to audition for New York's famed High School of the Performing Arts. Not only did she gain entrance, she went on to excel at the school and graduated with the school's top drama award. Her professional career began in her teens when she landed the role of Esther in the Broadway production of 'Uncle Willie', also starring Norman Fell.
After heading to Hollywood, Martel began making guest appearances on television series such as The Untouchables (1959), Route 66 (1960) and The Twilight Zone (1959). She had the recurring role of Tiger on the situation comedy Hogan's Heroes (1965). Her facility with accents and dialects enabled her to play a wide variety of characters, earning her the nickname of "The Chameleon". Her relationship with James Dean was chronicled in Joe Hyams's biography, "The James Dean Story".
Married and divorced three times, Arlene had three children: Adam Palmer, Avra Douglas, and Jod Douglas.
Martel died at age 78 of a heart attack on August 12, 2014 in Santa Monica, California. She had battled breast cancer some years earlier.Dead August 12, 2014 (age 78) - Actor
- Soundtrack
Don Pardo was born on 22 February 1918 in Westfield, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Radio Days (1987), Stay Tuned (1992) and 'Weird Al' Yankovic: The Ultimate Video Collection (2003). He was married to Catherine Anne (Kay) Lyons. He died on 18 August 2014 in Tucson, Arizona, USA.Dead August 18, 2014 (age 96)- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Richard Attenborough, Baron Attenborough of Richmond-upon-Thames, was born in Cambridge, England, the son of Mary (née Clegg), a founding member of the Marriage Guidance Council, and Frederick Levi Attenborough, a scholar and academic administrator who was a don at Emmanuel College and wrote a standard text on Anglo-Saxon law. The family later moved to Leicester where his father was appointed Principal of the university while Richard was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys in Leicester and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).
His film career began with a role as a deserting sailor in In Which We Serve (1942), a part that contributed to his being typecast for many years as a coward in films like Dulcimer Street (1948), Operation Disaster (1950) and his breakthrough role as a psychopathic young gangster in the film adaptation of Graham Greene's novel, Brighton Rock (1948). During World War II, Attenborough served in the Royal Air Force.
He worked prolifically in British films for the next 30 years, and in the 1950s appeared in several successful comedies for John Boulting and Roy Boulting, including Private's Progress (1956) and I'm All Right Jack (1959). Early in his stage career, Attenborough starred in the London West End production of Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap", which went on to become one of the world's longest-running stage productions. Both he and his wife were among the original cast members of the production, which opened in 1952 and (as of 2007) is still running.
In the 1960s, he expanded his range of character roles in films such as Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964) and Guns at Batasi (1964), for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the regimental Sergeant Major. He appeared in the ensemble cast of The Great Escape (1963), as Squadron Leader "Roger Bartlett" ("Big X"), the head of the escape committee.
In 1967 and 1968, he won back-to-back Golden Globe Awards in the category of Best Supporting Actor, the first time for The Sand Pebbles (1966), starring Steve McQueen, and the second time for Doctor Dolittle (1967), starring Rex Harrison. He would win another Golden Globe for Best Director, for Gandhi (1982), in 1983. Six years prior to "Gandhi", he played the ruthless "Gen. Outram" in Indian director Satyajit Ray's period piece, The Chess Players (1977). He has never been nominated for an Academy Award in an acting category.
He took no acting roles following his appearance in Otto Preminger's The Human Factor (1979), until his appearance as the eccentric developer "John Hammond" in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park (1993). The following year, he starred as "Kris Kringle" in Miracle on 34th Street (1994), a remake of the 1947 classic. Since then, he has made occasional appearances in supporting roles, including the historical drama, Elizabeth (1998), as "Sir William Cecil".
In the late 1950s, Attenborough formed a production company, "Beaver Films", with Bryan Forbes and began to build a profile as a producer on projects, including The League of Gentlemen (1960), The Angry Silence (1960) and Whistle Down the Wind (1961), also appearing in the first two of these as an actor.
His feature film directorial debut was the all-star screen version of the hit musical, Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), and his acting appearances became more sporadic - the most notable being his portrayal of serial killer "John Christie" in 10 Rillington Place (1971). He later directed two epic period films: Young Winston (1972), based on the early life of Winston Churchill, and A Bridge Too Far (1977), an all-star account of Operation Market Garden in World War II. He won the 1982 Academy Award for Directing for his historical epic, Gandhi (1982), a project he had been attempting to get made for many years. As the film's producer, he also won the Academy Award for Best Picture. His most recent films, as director and producer, include Chaplin (1992), starring Robert Downey Jr. as Charles Chaplin, and Shadowlands (1993), based on the relationship between C.S. Lewis and Joy Gresham. Both films starred Anthony Hopkins, who also appeared in three other films for Attenborough: "Young Winston", "A Bridge Too Far" and the thriller, Magic (1978).
Attenborough also directed the screen version of the hit Broadway musical, "A Chorus Line" (A Chorus Line (1985)), and the apartheid drama, Cry Freedom (1987), based on the experiences of Donald Woods. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Director for both films. His most recent film as director was another biographical film, Grey Owl (1999), starring Pierce Brosnan.
Attenborough is the President of RADA, Chairman of Capital Radio, President of BAFTA, President of the Gandhi Foundation, and President of the British National Film and Television School. He is also a vice patron of the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund.
He is also the patron of the UWC movement (United World Colleges), whereby he continually contributes greatly to the colleges that are part of the organization. He has frequented the United World College of Southern Africa(UWCSA) Waterford Kamhlaba. His wife and he founded the "Richard and Sheila Attenborough Visual Arts Center". He also founded the "Jane Holland Creative Center for Learning" at Waterford Kamhlaba in Swaziland in memory of his daughter, who died in the Tsunami on Boxing Day, 2004. He passionately believes in education, primarily education that does not judge upon color, race, creed or religion. His attachment to Waterford is his passion for non-racial education, which were the grounds on which Waterford Kamhlaba was founded. Waterford was one of his inspirations for directing Cry Freedom (1987), based on the life of Steve Biko.
He was elected to the post of Chancellor of the University of Sussex on 20 March 1998, replacing the Duke of Richmond and Gordon. A lifelong supporter of Chelsea Football Club, Attenborough served as a director of the club from 1969-1982 and, since 1993, has held the honorary position of Life Vice President. He is also the head of the consortium, "Dragon International", which is constructing a film and television studio complex in Llanilid, Wales, often referred to as "Valleywood".
In 1967, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). He was knighted in 1976 and, in 1993, he was made a life peer as Baron Attenborough, of Richmond-upon-Thames in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
On 13 July 2006, Attenborough and his brother, David Attenborough, were awarded the titles of Distinguished Honorary Fellows of the University of Leicester "in recognition of a record of continuing distinguished service to the University". Lord Attenborough is also listed as an Honorary Fellow of Bangor University for his continued efforts to film making.
Attenborough has been married to English actress Sheila Sim, since 1945. They had three children. In December 2004, his elder daughter, Jane Holland, as well as her daughter Lucy and her mother-in-law, also named Jane, were killed in the tsunami caused by the Indian Ocean earthquake. A memorial service was held on 8 March 2005, and Attenborough read a lesson at the national memorial service on 11 May 2005. His grandson, Samuel Holland, and granddaughter, Alice Holland, also read in the service.
Attenborough's father was principal of University College, Leicester, now the city's university. This has resulted in a long association with the university, with Lord Attenborough a patron. A commemorative plaque was placed on the floor of Richmond Parish Church. The university's "Richard Attenborough Centre for Disability and the Arts", which opened in 1997, is named in his Honor.
His son, Michael Attenborough, is also a director. He has two younger brothers, the famous naturalist Sir David Attenborough and John Attenborough, who has made a career in the motor trade.
He has collected Pablo Picasso ceramics since the 1950s. More than 100 items went on display at the New Walk Museum and Art Gallery in Leicester in 2007; the exhibition is dedicated to his family members lost in the tsunami.Dead August 24, 2014 (age 90)- Glenn Cornick was born on 23 April 1947 in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, UK. He was married to Judy Wong and Brigitte Martinez-Cornick. He died on 28 August 2014 in Hilo, Hawaii, USA.Dead August 28, 2014 (age 67)
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Joan Rivers is an American talk show host, comedian, writer and actress from Brooklyn, New York. She voiced Dot Matrix from Mel Brooks' Spaceballs. She has portrayed in several films and shows such as Shrek 2, Look Who's Talking, The Smurfs and Iron Man 3. She passed away in September 2014 at Manhattan, New York.Dead September 4, 2014 (age 81)- Simone Battle was born on 17 June 1989 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Zoey 101 (2005), What We Need (2014) and Meanamorphosis (2012). She died on 5 September 2014 in West Hollywood, California, USA.Dead September 5, 2014 (age 25)
- Molly Glynn (6/14/1968 - 9/6/2014) was a well-known Chicago stage actress who also played several roles in film and television, including a recurring role as an ER doctor on the television series Chicago Fire at the time of her death. Born and raised in Hartford, CT to William E. Glynn (Mayor of Hartford, 1961-1965) and Jacquelyn Mullaney Glynn, she was the youngest of five children. She graduated from The Watkinson School and Tufts University, and spoke several languages.
Glynn died on September 6, 2014 from injuries sustained when a tree fell on her while bike riding with her husband, Joe Foust on September 5. They were on the North Branch Trail in Erickson Woods, suburban Chicago, when a sudden storm swept through; wind gusts in the area were over 70 miles per hour (110 km/h). She is survived by two sons from her first marriage to Kristian Hammond.Dead September 6, 2014 (age 46) - Actor
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Towering 7' 2" tall actor who cornered the market on playing giants, intimidating henchmen, bayou swamp monsters and steel toothed villains! Kiel worked in numerous jobs including as a night club bouncer and a cemetery plot salesman, before breaking into film & TV in several minor roles in the late 1950s / early 1960s. Noted among these was the alien "Kanamit" in the classic The Twilight Zone (1959) episode "To Serve Man", and terrorizing Arch Hall Jr. while clad in a loincloth in the prehistoric caveman meets virile teenage drama Eegah (1962).
Kiel turned up in two episodes of the classic horror TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974). On one occasion playing a Native American evil spirit with the ability to transform into various animals. On his second appearance, Kiel was unrecognizable as a Spanish moss covered, Louisiana swamp monster brought to life by a patient involved in deep sleep therapy.
However, his biggest break came in 1977 when he was cast as the unstoppable, steel toothed henchman "Jaws" in the finest Roger Moore film of the Bond series The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). Such was Kiel's popularity with movie audiences, that his character was brought back for the next Bond outing Moonraker (1979). However, audiences were quite split on opinions when Kiel's "Jaws" character changes sides near the film's conclusion and assists 007, Roger Moore, in saving the Earth.
Over the next few years, Kiel appeared in relatively non-demanding comedy or fantasy type films taking advantage of his physical stature and presence. Kiel then decided to try his hand behind the camera and co-wrote and produced, plus took the lead role, in the well received family movie The Giant of Thunder Mountain (1990). Demand for Kiel's unique attributes dropped very sharply in the 1990's, leading to only a handful of roles including reprising his "Jaws" character in the Matthew Broderick film Inspector Gadget (1999). In 2002, Kiel penned his informative autobiography entitled "Making it BIG in the movies". He passed away in 2014.Dead September 10, 2014 (age 74)- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Theodore J. Flicker was born on 6 June 1930 in Freehold Borough, New Jersey, USA. He was a writer and director, known for The President's Analyst (1967), Up in the Cellar (1970) and Spinout (1966). He was married to Barbara Flicker. He died on 12 September 2014 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA.Dead September 12, 2014 (age 84)
Writer/Director of the brilliant satire "The President's Analyst"- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Writer
In a six-decade-plus career (she started out as a radio performer at age 14), there are very few facets of entertainment that lovely singer/actress Polly Bergen has not conquered or, at the very least, touched upon. A nightclub and Columbia recording artist of the 50s and 60s, she is just as well known for her film and Emmy-winning dramatic performances as she is for her wry comedic gifts. In the leaner times, she has maintained quite well with her various businesses. Truly one for the ages, Polly has, at age 70+, nabbed a Tony nomination for her gutsy "I'm Still Here" entertainer Carlotta in Stephen Sondheim's "Follies", and was still dishing out the barbs as she recently demonstrated as Felicity Huffman's earthy mom on Desperate Housewives (2004).
Born in Knoxville, Tennessee as Nellie Burgin on July 14, 1930, her family, which included father William, mother Lucy and sister Barbra, eventually moved to Los Angeles. By the time she was 14, Polly was singing professionally on radio and managed to scrape up singing gigs with smaller bands around and about the Southern California area. She attended Compton Junior College before Paramount mogul Hal B. Wallis caught sight of her and signed her up with his studio. Having made an isolated film debut (as Polly Burgin) a year earlier in the Monogram western Across the Rio Grande (1949), Wallis showcased her as a decorative love interest in the slapstick vehicles of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, the (then) hottest comedy team in Hollywood. But At War with the Army (1950), That's My Boy (1951) and The Stooge (1951) did little for Polly although she presented herself well. MGM and Universal had the idea to cast her in a more serious vein with co-starring roles in their dramas Escape from Fort Bravo (1953), Arena (1953) and Cry of the Hunted (1953), but again she was overlooked. Disasppointed, she decided to abandon her lucrative film contract and seek work elsewhere.
That "elsewhere" came in the form of 1950s TV. Focusing on her singing, she promoted her many albums for Columbia by guest-starring on all the top variety shows of the times. This culminated in her own variety program, The Polly Bergen Show (1957). The song "The Party's Over" became her traditional show-closer and signature tune. Polly also showed some marquee mettle on the cabaret and nightclub circuits, performing at many of the top hotels and showrooms throughout the country. She made her Broadway debut along with Harry Belafonte in "John Murray Anderson's Almanac" in 1953, and went on to appear in such stage shows as "Top Man" and "Champagne Complex". A delightfully engaging game show panelist to boot, she took a regular seat on the To Tell the Truth (1956) panel for five seasons.
Polly tended to display a looser, down-to-earth personality to induce laughs but she was also was formidable dramatic player and fashion plate quite capable of radiating great charm, poise and elegance. For her role as alcoholic torch singer Helen Morgan in the special TV showcase The Helen Morgan Story (1957) , she took home the Emmy award. Unfortunately for Polly, Ann Blyth took on the role of the tragic singer in the film version (with Gogi Grant providing the vocals), in what could have been a significant return to films for her.
Instead, Polly had to wait another five years for that to happen. As the wife of Gregory Peck and designated victim of revengeful psychopath Robert Mitchum in the taut movie thriller Cape Fear (1962), her film career reignited. Other opportunities came in the form of her distraught mental patient in The Caretakers (1963), which found her at odds with nurse Joan Crawford and doctor Robert Stack; the sparkling comedy Move Over, Darling (1963), which placed her in a comedy triangle with "other wife" Doris Day and husband James Garner; and as the first woman Chief Executive of the White House in the frothy comedy tidbit Kisses for My President (1964) opposite bemused "First Gentleman" Fred MacMurray. In what was to be a tinge of deja vu, Polly again saw her movie career dissipate after only a couple of vehicles. True to form, the indomitable Polly rebounded on TV.
A mild string of TV-movies came her way as she matured into the 1970s and 1980s, most notably the acclaimed miniseries The Winds of War (1983), which reunited her with Robert Mitchum, this time as his unhappy, alcoholic wife. This, along with her participation in the sequel, War and Remembrance (1988), earned Polly supporting Emmy nominations. In the years to come, she would find herself still in demand displaying her trademark comic grit in such shows as The Sopranos (1999), Commander in Chief (2005) and Desperate Housewives (2004).
Polly returned to singing in 1999 after nearly a three-decade absence (due to health and vocal issues). Quite huskier in tone, she went on to delight the New York musical stage with stand-out performances in "Follies" (2001), "Cabaret" (2002) and "Camille Claudel" (2007). Polly still made nightly appearances and had even put together singing concert tours on occasion.
Polly has authored three best-selling beauty books outside the acting arena and has demonstrated a marked level of acumen in the business world. Founding a mail-order cosmetics business in 1965, she sold it to Faberge eight years later. She also developed her own shoe and jewelry lines.
Married (1950-1955) to MGM actor Jerome Courtland during her first movie career peak, she later wed topflight agent/producer Freddie Fields in 1957, a union that lasted 18 years and produced two adopted children, Pamela and Peter. A third marriage in the 1980s also ended in divorce. An assertive voice when it comes to women's rights and issues, her memoir "Polly's Principles" came out in 1974.
Polly played a grandmother in her last film, the dramedy Struck by Lightning (2012), and died two years later on September 20, 2013, at the age of 84.Dead September 20, 2014 (age 84)- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Paul Revere was born on 7 January 1938 in Harvard, Nebraska, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for Santee (1973), Where the Action Is (1965) and Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The Early Years (1955-1970) (2000). He was married to Eileen Elizabeth (Sydney) Mohrman, Sandra Sue Campbell and Sharon Kennel. He died on 4 October 2014 in Garden Valley, Idaho, USA.Dead October 4, 2014 (age 76)- Jean-Claude Duvalier was born on July 3, 1951, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the son of Haitian president Francois Duvalier. When he was 19 years old his father died, and he took over as president, making him the youngest president in the world. Haiti, which was the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest countries on the planet, had been ruled by the corrupt and murderous Francois since 1957. While Jean-Claude wasn't as brutal as his father, he was just as corrupt--it's been estimated that he stole between $300 million and $800 million from the country during his reign as president, and at one point the US Commerce Department reported that almost 65% of the country's revenues had "disappeared". Shortly after taking office Jean-Claude loosened the vise-like grip on the country that his father had exercised; he freed some political prisoners, eased government censorship of newspapers, TV and magazines and introduced some economic reforms. However, he did not liberalize the country's political situation, and no opposition to or disagreement with his rule was allowed. The country struggled along until 1985, when discontent with economic mismanagement, corruption and lack of political freedom erupted into demonstrations across much of the country. When government troops chasing protesters invaded a schoolyard and shot and killed three schoolchildren, the demonstrations across the country increased and many of them turned into riots. Duvalier's security forces, including the dreaded Tonton Macoutes secret police, were unable to quell the mounting unrest and in 1986, when the army demanded his abdication, he and his family fled to France. He left behind him a country with an 80% illiteracy rate, where almost nine out of ten people are unemployed, an infant mortality rate of more than 33%, a per-capita income of less than $300, a life expectancy of 53 years--the lowest in the Western Hemisphere--and a population racked by diseases that have been eradicated in most other countries. Things unfortunately haven't changed much since then.Dead October 4, 2014 (age 63)
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Jan Hooks is better remembered for her five-year run on Saturday Night Live (1975) (1986-91) on the series she impersonated actress ranging from Bette Davis, to Ann-Margret, to Sally Kellerman, to Jodie Foster. After she left the show, she was proposed by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason to replace Jean Smart on CBS's Designing Women (1986). She accepted. She played the role of Carlene Dobber for the final two seasons. She has also played memorable characters in feature-films including, Tina (the Alamo girl) in Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), and Dixie Glick in Jiminy Glick in Lalawood (2004).Dead October 9, 2014 (age 57)- Actress
- Director
As she inherited her love for the arts by her father, well-known playwright, actor, director and novelist Mario Peña, it is not hard to understand that actress Elizabeth Pena already had designs to become an actress by the time she was eight years old.
Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey on September 23, 1959, the petite (5' 2") actress was raised in New York City. Elizabeth's (and sister Tania's) parents, Cuban immigrants Mario and Estella Margarita Peña, would achieve a strong Latino reputation as the founders of the off-Broadway Latin-American Theatre Ensemble. They also encouraged Elizabeth's talent. In 1975, the young teenager became a founding member of the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors, and two years later graduated from New York's High School of Performing Arts, now the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts.
Elizabeth found occasional work in repertory theater and in television commercials. Making her film debut in the independent Spanish-speaking feature El Super (1979), about Cuban refugees, she continued with playing a long line of independent and rebellious characters, which showed plenty of attitude and independence. Playing offbeat roles -- from a knife-threatening waitress to a disco queen -- she appeared in such early films as They All Laughed (1981) and Crossover Dreams (1985). Elizabeth's big break came in the form a support role in the hugely popular and entertaining comedy Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), co-starring Bette Midler, Richard Dreyfuss and Nick Nolte, in which she stole several scenes as the sultry, smoky-voiced, politically-minded maid Carmen.
Two consecutive short-lived television series came about around this time. Her first, the ensemble comedy Tough Cookies (1986), had her playing a police officer, and the second was the title housekeeper role in the sitcom I Married Dora (1987). High in demand now, Elizabeth continued to spice up both the big and small screen in such roles as Ritchie Valens' stepsister-in-law in the well-received biopic La Bamba (1987); a drug enforcement agent in the miniseries Drug Wars: The Camarena Story (1990); PTSD-suffering Tim Robbins' live-in girlfriend in the complex drama Jacob's Ladder (1990); and a dedicated legal secretary on the corporate drama series Shannon's Deal (1990) starring Jamey Sheridan.
Honors also came Elizabeth's way when she received the Independent Spirit and Bravo awards for the film Lone Star (1996), and four ALMA Awards for her performances in the television movie Contagious (1997), the films Tortilla Soup (2001) and Rush Hour (1998), and her regular role on the Latino drama series Resurrection Blvd. (2000).
Into the millennium, Elizabeth found steady employment on television with guest roles on Boston Public (2000), CSI: Miami (2002), Without a Trace (2002), Numb3rs (2005), Ghost Whisperer (2005), Charlie's Angels (2011), Prime Suspect (2011), Common Law (2012), and Modern Family (2009). One of her last roles was on the television series Matador (2014). She also found herself further down the credits in films such as On the Borderline (2001), Transamerica (2005), The Lost City (2005), Mother and Child (2009), The Perfect Family (2011), Plush (2013), and Grandma (2015). Three other films -- Girl on the Edge (2015), Ana Maria in Novela Land (2015), and The Song of Sway Lake (2018) -- were released posthumously. She also provided a voice in the popular Disney/Pixar animated film The Incredibles (2004).
A chronic alcohol problem severely hampered Elizabeth's life and she died suddenly from cirrhosis of the liver in Los Angeles, California on October 14, 2014, at age 55. She was survived by her second husband (from 1994), Hans Rolla, and their two children, son Kælan and daughter Fiona.Dead October 14, 2014 (age 55)- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Costume Designer
- Executive
Oscar de la Renta was born on 22 July 1932 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He was a costume designer and executive, known for Ugly Betty (2006), Great Performances: Dance in America (1976) and Beautopia (1998). He was married to Annette Reed and Françoise de Langlade. He died on 20 October 2014 in Kent, Connecticut, USA.Dead October 20, 2014 (age 82)- Ben Bradlee was born on 26 August 1921 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Born Yesterday (1993), Jack: The Last Kennedy Film (1993) and The American President (2000). He was married to Sally Quinn, Antoinette Bradlee and Jean Saltonstall. He died on 21 October 2014 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA.Dead October 21, 2014 (age 93)
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Jack Bruce was born on 14 May 1943 in Bishopbriggs, Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK. He was a composer and actor, known for True Lies (1994), Backdraft (1991) and Road House (1989). He was married to Margrit Seyffer and Janet Godfrey. He died on 25 October 2014 in Bures, Suffolk, England, UK.Dead October 25, 2014 (age 71)- Actress
- Soundtrack
This tall (5'10"), pretty, willowy brunette (but frequently blonde) was born on April 28, 1948, in New York City, as one of four children. Raised in Passaic, New Jersey, Marcia grew into a striking young teen and worked for a time as a model in a local children's department store. A talented singer, she initially attempted a singing career and was picked up as a recording artist for Uni Records in 1967. Her debut single, "The Flower Children", was a top 40 hit in many West Coast U.S. markets,
Trekking back to New York City equipped only with her modeling and singing credentials, Marcia found herself performing in an off-Broadway show at the ripe old age of 15, replacing 17-year-old Liza Minnelli in the musical "Best Foot Forward." Inspired, Marcia ventured ahead with a number of stage roles, then broke into television, appearing in several episodes as a teen on the popular The Patty Duke Show (1963). Following some sporadic work on such shows as "Ironside" and "The Paul Lynde Show," Marcia scored her first semi-regular role as an army nurse on the very first season of M*A*S*H (1972).
Making her film debut in the featured role of a reporter in the obscure, semi-counterculture film Changes (1969), Marcia focused on TV work into the 1970's with parts in such shows as "Police Story," "Marcus Welby," "City of Angels," "The Love Boat," "Fantasy Island" and the TV-movies Journey from Darkness (1975) and Brenda Starr (1976). Her huge, breakout role, and the one for which she will best be remembered, was as Gabe Kaplan's wife on the popular sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter (1975) for four seasons. Despite the steady work, Marcia remained disillusioned at playing the relatively overlooked role of Julie Kotter. The primary focus landed squarely on Brooklyn schoolteacher Kotter (the show was based on Kaplan's real-life experiences as a teacher) and his interaction with student "Sweathogs" Robert Hegyes, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Ron Palillo and pre-megastar John Travolta. Stuck with what many deemed a reactive character, she gamely stayed with the show, however, throughout its run.
While "Kotter" would remain her only hit series, she immediately went into another, albeit short-lived, series playing an office worker to sexist sportswriter Ted Bessell in the comedy Good Time Harry (1980). In a second attempt, she co-starred in the crime series Booker (1989) as boss to Dennis Booker, the titular insurance investigator played by handsome, young Richard Grieco, a spin-off character from the series 21 Jump Street (1987).
In between, she remained a steady focus as a guest on such shows as "The Rockford Files," "Magnum, P.I.," "E/R" and "I Married Dora," she appeared in the occasional film -- the offbeat romantic comedy Soup for One (1982) co-starring Saul Rubinek and featured in the Christopher Reeve adventure The Aviator (1985). she regained some popularity as the wholesome wife of nerdy Rick Moranis in the surprise Walt Disney hit Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989). She reprised that role in the equally popular sequel Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992) and played the same kind of wife in the family fantasy comedy And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird (1991).
Marcia remained true blue to the small screen with single performances on "Civil Wars," "Sweet Justice," "Charlie Grace," "Murder, She Wrote," "Highlander," "L.A. Heat," "Tracy Takes On..." and "Baywatch." Returning to films with the crime comedy Another Stakeout (1993), the family sci-fi comedy Earth Minus Zero (1996), in 1998, Marcia returned to her singing talents and performed with "Beauty and the Beast" star Susan Egan in "Hello Again," which was a revamped version of the Max Ophüls classic French film La Ronde (1950). Here she played against type as a prostitute. Marcia attempted two other short-lived series with the comedy Noah Knows Best (2000) and action adventure Tremors (2003) and phased away from the camera not long after a recurring role as a sergeant in the police series Third Watch (1999).
Over the years Marcia carved out a niche for herself not only as a fine actress but also as a social and labor activist, and lent her skills and talents to many progressive causes. Diagnosed with breast and bone cancer in 2007, she published Life with a Side Order of Cancer, a memoir in which she detailed her life, career and challenging illness the following year. Marcia died of complications on October 24, 2014, in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles. She was 66 and survived by her sister Julie Strassman-Cohn, a TV story editor, brother Steve Strassman and daughter Elizabeth Collector, from a brief 1980's marriage to writer/director Robert Collector.Dead October 25, 2014 (age 66)- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Acker Bilk was born on 28 January 1929 in Pensford, Somerset, England, UK. He was a composer and actor, known for Red Heat (1988), There's Something About Mary (1998) and The Courier (2020). He was married to Jean Hawkins. He died on 2 November 2014 in Bath, Somerset, England, UK.Dead November 2, 2014 (age 85)- Actor
- Writer
Tom Magliozzi was born on 28 June 1937 in East Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Cars (2006), Cars 3 (2017) and Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns (2008). He was married to Julia and Joanne. He died on 3 November 2014 in Belmont, Massachusetts, USA.Dead November 3, 2014 (age 77)- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Richard Schaal was born on 5 May 1928 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970), Slaughterhouse-Five (1972) and The Hollywood Knights (1980). He was married to Tasha Brittain, Valerie Harper and Lois Treacy. He died on 4 November 2014 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.Dead November 4, 2014 (age 86)- Writer
- Producer
- Music Department
Born on January 3, 1937 in Los Angeles, California, Glen A. Larson was the man behind some of the world's best-known prime-time television series. His highly successful productions (successful both financially and popularly, less often critically) include Knight Rider (1982), The Fall Guy (1981), Magnum, P.I. (1980), Battlestar Galactica (1978), and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979). The hallmark of Larson's style is family entertainment. Always humorous with the firmly tongue-in-cheek, his series are textbook examples of the genre for any would-be prime-time producer: simple storylines, likable, charismatic lead characters combined with very little violence, no bad language and well-crafted "motif"-laced soundtracks. People like Larson's series because they are fun and relaxing and a wonderful escape from the real world. Glen A. Larson died at age 77 from esophageal cancer in his home in Santa Monica, California on November 14, 2014.Dead November 14, 2014 (age 77)- Director
- Producer
- Additional Crew
He, along with the other members of the "Compass Players" including Elaine May, Paul Sills, Byrne Piven, Joyce Hiller Piven and Edward Asner helped start the famed "Second City Improv" company. They used the games taught to them by fellow cast mate, Paul Sills 's mother, Viola Spolin. He later worked in legitimate theater as an actor before entering into a very successful comedy duo with Elaine May. The two were known as "the world's fastest humans".Dead November 19, 2014 (age 83)- Actress
- Soundtrack
Born on February 17, 1937 in Biloxi, Mississippi, Mary Ann Mobley is one of the few Miss Americas to have true success as an actress or television personality (the others are Barnaby Jones (1973) beauty Lee Meriwether, television hostess Phyllis George, Consumer advocate/game show panelist Bess Myerson and Eraser (1996) heroine Vanessa Williams). After serving as Miss America 1959, Mobley soon became a sought-after guest star in episodic television of the 1960s, appearing on many hit series of that era - Perry Mason (1957), Mission: Impossible (1966), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964), The Virginian (1962), to name a few. Her most important contribution to 1960s popular culture, though, was appearing opposite Elvis Presley in two films - Harum Scarum (1965) and Girl Happy (1965). Her success in film led to a 1965 Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer, an award she shared with Mia Farrow and Celia Milius. She also starred in a number of other B-movies of the 1960s, such as Get Yourself a College Girl (1964) and For Singles Only (1968).
Her television and film output decreased in the 1970s as she raised her daughter, Clancy Collins White, with her husband, Gary Collins. During that decade, her television appearances were mostly guest roles on series such as the iconic series Love, American Style (1969), Fantasy Island (1977), The Love Boat (1977) and the game show Match Game (1973), on which she was a frequent panelist alongside such other famous wiseacres as Betty White, Brett Somers, Patti Deutsch and Charles Nelson Reilly. She and Collins also appeared a number of times performing death-defying high-wire acts and other athletic, outrageous stunts on the annual television event Circus of the Stars (1977).
In the 1980s, she starred as stepmother "Maggie McKinney" in the final season of Diff'rent Strokes (1978), appeared in a recurring role as alcoholism counselor "Dr. Beth Everdene" on the prime-time soap opera Falcon Crest (1981) and continued to pop-up as a guest star on series like Hotel (1983) and Matt Houston (1982) and game shows like The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1965) and Body Language (1983). She also acted as her husband's frequent guest co-host on his successful talk shows Hour Magazine (1980) and The Home Show (1988), as well as on installments of the Miss America Pageant. In the 1990s, she made guest appearances on the sitcoms Designing Women (1986), Hearts Afire (1992), Hardball (1994) and Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996). She and Collins were also hosts of an oft-run late 1990s television infomercial for "SelectComfort", a specialty bed product. Also during the 1990s, she toured in the popular play, "Love Letters", with her husband, and performed a cabaret act at the Cinegrill in Hollywood.
Mary Ann and other "Match Game"/"Hollywood Squares" regulars of the 1970s and 1980s (such as Charo, Nipsey Russell, Paul Lynde and Jo Anne Worley) were riotously spoofed on Saturday Night Live (1975) in a 2002 game show sketch called "Super Buzzers" with Tina Fey playing Mary Ann. Mary Ann and her husband soon got a chance to demonstrate their own good humor, appearing as themselves in a satiric infomercial parody on the Showtime series Dead Like Me (2003) in 2003 (the fake infomercial was for a no-effort body-toning contraption - which spontaneously combusts!).Dead December 9, 2014 (age 75)- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Billie Whitelaw first appeared on the radio aged 11. She made her theatrical debut in 1950 and in films from 1953. She has made a speciality of playing intense, single-purposed women. Also, (on stage), she has appeared in many of the stranger plays by Samuel Beckett.Dead December 21, 2014 (age 82)- Actor
- Music Department
- Additional Crew
Joe Cocker was born on 20 May 1944 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Across the Universe (2007), The Bodyguard (1992) and Layer Cake (2004). He was married to Pam Baker. He died on 22 December 2014 in Crawford, Colorado, USA.Dead December 22, 2014 (age 70)- Director
- Actor
- Producer
Joseph Sargent was born on 22 July 1925 in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. He was a director and actor, known for Jaws: The Revenge (1987), The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) and Nightmares (1983). He was married to Carolyn Nelson and Mary Carver. He died on 22 December 2014 in Malibu, California, USA.Dead December 22, 2014 (age 89)- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Edward Herrmann was born on 21 July 1943 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He was an actor, known for Overboard (1987), The Lost Boys (1987) and Nixon (1995). He was married to Star Herrmann and Leigh Curran. He died on 31 December 2014 in New York City, New York, USA.Dead December 31, 2014 (age 71)