14th SAG Awards Memoriam

1. Merv Griffin

Merv Griffin was a singer and band leader, movie actor, television personality and media mogul who in his time hosting The Merv Griffin Show (1962) was second in fame and influence as a talk show host only to Johnny Carson. Griffin was best known for creating the two most popular game shows in ...

2. Charles Nelson Reilly

Actor | Millennium

Charles Nelson Reilly was born to Charles Joseph Reilly and Signe Elvera Nelson. His father was Irish-American and Catholic, his mother was Swedish-American and Lutheran. As a child he amused himself with improvised puppet theater performances.

He had a traumatic experience in 1944, when present for...

3. Barbara McNair

Actress | If He Hollers, Let Him Go!

Popular African-American vocalist and entertainer Barbara McNair dazzled audiences with her singing prowess and exceptional beauty for well over four decades until her death on February 4, 2007 of throat cancer in Los Angeles. The Chicago-born entertainer and one-time secretary was raised in Racine...

4. Brad Renfro

Actor | The Client

Brad Renfro was born on July 25, 1982 in Knoxville, Tennessee, to Angela Denise McCrory and Mark Renfro, a factory worker. He was discovered at age 10 by director Joel Schumacher and was cast in the motion picture The Client (1994), which starred Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones. Although this ...

(died on January 15th, 2008)

5. Janet Blair

Actress | The Black Arrow

When it came to bright and polished, they didn't get much spiffier than singer/actress Janet Blair -- perhaps to her detriment in the long haul. At Columbia, she was usually overlooked for the roles that might have tested her dramatic mettle. Nevertheless, she pleased audiences as a pert and perky ...

6. Allan Melvin

Actor | Flash Gordon

Allan Melvin was born on February 18, 1923 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Flash Gordon (1979), Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981) and Archie Bunker's Place (1979). He was married to Amalia Faustina Sestero. He died on January 17, 2008 in Brentwood, Los ...

(died on January 17th, 2008)

7. Lois Nettleton

Actress | In the Heat of the Night

This most consummate, vibrant and versatile actress established a distinguished reputation on the stage, in films and on TV. The former Miss Chicago of 1948 beauty pageant winner and Miss America semifinalist was born in Oak Park, Illinois. Her family was impoverished and her parents divorced early...

(died on January 18th, 2008)

8. Tige Andrews

Actor | The Mod Squad

Tige Andrews was born on March 19, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Mod Squad (1968), Raid on Entebbe (1976) and Mister Roberts (1955). He was married to Norma Thornton and Josephine Bernice Phillips. He died on January 27, 2007 in Encino, California, USA.

9. Miyoshi Umeki

Actress | Sayonara

Miyoshi Umeki was born as the youngest of 9 children. The daughter of a prominent Japanese iron factory owner, she developed an early passion for music, learning to play the mandolin, harmonica & piano. She also enjoyed singing American-styled tunes, much to the chagrin of her parents. This ...

10. George Grizzard

Actor | Flags of Our Fathers

In retrospect, he was considered an actor's actor to be sure. Renowned theater performer George Grizzard would make his biggest impact under the Tony-winning Broadway lights in a career spanning over five decades. Born an only child on April 1, 1928, in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, George Cooper...

11. Percy Rodrigues

Actor | Star Trek

A symbol of intelligence, leadership and moral strength in his various 1960s and 1970s roles, African-Canadian actor Percy Rodrigues rose in Hollywood stature during the late 1960s following a couple of earlier Broadway appearances. The serenely handsome, distinguished-looking actor also became ...

12. Ron Carey

Actor | History of the World: Part I

He was a notably short, Italian, nasal-toned and mischievous-looking fellow, a perfect type for the stand-up comedy circuit and for playing Brooklynesque characters in T.V. sitcoms and films...which is just what Ron Carey did. He was born Ronald Joseph Cicenia in Newark, New Jersey, on December ...

13. Charles Lane

Actor | You Can't Take It with You

Mean, miserly and miserable-looking, they didn't come packaged with a more annoying and irksome bow than Charles Lane. Glimpsing even a bent smile from this unending sourpuss was extremely rare, unless one perhaps caught him in a moment of insidious glee after carrying out one of his many nefarious...

14. Joey Bishop

Actor | The Joey Bishop Show

Perpetually glum standup comedian Joey Bishop was born Joseph Abraham Gottlieb on February 3, 1918, in the Bronx, New York. He was the youngest of five children of Chana "Anna" (Siegel) and Jacob Gottlieb, a bicycle repairman. His father was an Austrian Jewish immigrant and his mother was a ...

15. Roscoe Lee Browne

Actor | The Cowboys

He was a master class in cerebral eloquence and audience command...and although his dominant playing card in the realm of acting was quite serious and stately, nobody cut a more delightfully dry edge in sitcoms than this gentleman, whose calm yet blistering put-downs often eluded his lesser victims.

...

16. Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman

Actor | Dances with Wolves

Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman was born on August 17, 1936 in Lake Traverse Indian Reservation, Roberts County, South Dakota, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Dances with Wolves (1990), Hidalgo (2004) and Dharma & Greg (1997). He was married to Rosie. He died on December 13, 2007 in Los...

17. Johnny Grant

Actor | Hollywood Homicide

Johnny Grant was born on May 9, 1923 in Goldsboro, North Carolina, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Hollywood Homicide (2003), Gene Autry: America's Cowboy (2000) and Mask of the Dragon (1951). He died on January 9, 2008 in Hollywood, California, USA.

(died on January 9th, 2008)

18. Alice Ghostley

Actress | To Kill a Mockingbird

Whether portraying a glum, withering wallflower, a drab and dowdy housewife, a klutzy maid or a cynical gossip, eccentric character comedienne Alice Ghostley had the ability to draw laughs from the skimpiest of material with a simple fret or whine. Making a name for herself on the Tony-winning ...

19. Kitty Carlisle

Actress | A Night at the Opera

Kitty Carlisle Hart wore a cloak of many professional and elegant colors. Actress, opera singer, Broadway performer, TV celebrity, game show panelist, patron of the arts, and, at age 95, this vital woman continued her six-decade musical odyssey with songs and reminisces in her one-woman show: "...

20. James T. Callahan

Actor | Knight Rider

James T. Callahan was born on October 4, 1930 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for Knight Rider (1982), The Governor & J.J. (1969) and Black Sheep Squadron (1976). He was married to Peggy Cannon. He died on August 3, 2007 in Fallbrook, California, USA.

21. Robert Goulet

Actor | The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear

Robert Gerard Goulet was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, to a family of French-Canadian origin. He was the son of Jeanette (Gauthier) and Joseph Georges André Goulet. After hearing his son sing "Lead Kindly Light", in their church hall, his father told him, "I'm proud of you, son". A few weeks ...

22. Laraine Day

Actress | Foreign Correspondent

Born into a prominent Mormon family in Utah, Laraine Day's acting career began after her parents moved to Long Beach, California, where she joined the Long Beach Players. She appeared in her first film in 1937 in a bit part, then did leads in several George O'Brien westerns. Signing a contract with...

23. Michael Kidd

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Lithe, diminutive and unimposing, Michael Kidd never asked a dancer to perform a step or move he himself could not do. One of Broadway's and Hollywood's most distinguished, inventive and gifted choreographers, it was not uncommon to remember his expert dance sequences above all else. After all, who...

24. Marcel Marceau

Actor | Barbarella

Marcel Marceau was the legendary mime, who survived the Nazi occupation, and saved many children in WWII. He was regarded for his peerless style pantomime, moving audiences without uttering a single word, and was known to the World as a "master of silence."

He was born Marcel Mangel on March 22, ...

25. Alice Backes

Actress | Gable and Lombard

A long long career. 140 roles in films ('I Want to Live', 'The Glory Guys', 'The Cat from Outer Space'...) and on television ('Bachelor Father', 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents', 'Lux Video Theatre'...). And many many radio shows ('This Is Your FBI', 'Dangerous Assignment', 'Suspense, 'The Whistler '......

26. Lee Bergere

Actor | Soap

Born in Brooklyn, Bergere began his career in 1936 as understudy to Danny Kaye in the Broadway production of "Lady in the Dark", with Gertrude Lawrence. His television debut was with James Dean in the live production of "Thunder on Sycamore Street". A World War II veteran, he was in charge of ...

27. Gretchen Wyler

Actress | Private Benjamin

Lovely, sparkling blonde musical actress and dancer Gretchen Wyler was born Gretchen Patricia Weinecke on February 16, 1932, in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, the daughter of Louis Gustave Weinecke, a gasoline engineer, and Peggy (nee Highley) Weinecke. She graduated from her home town high school and ...

28. Ian Richardson

Actor | From Hell

A classical actor (and founding member in 1960 of the Royal Shakespeare Company), Richardson earned international fame as the villainous Francis Urquart in the BBC television trilogy, "House of Cards." Uttered in a cut-glass accent, the Machiavellian Prime Minister's sly "You might well think that ...

29. Dick Wilson

Actor | Disneyland

Dick Wilson was born on July 30, 1916 in Preston, Lancashire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Magical World of Disney (1954), Bewitched (1964) and The Twilight Zone (1959). He was married to Meg Brown. He died on November 19, 2007 in Woodland Hills, California, USA.

30. Barry Nelson

Actor | The Shining

A genial, well-respected, all-around "nice guy", the breezily handsome Barry Nelson was born Haakon Robert Nielsen on April 16, 1917, in San Francisco, California, to Betsy (Christophersen) and Trygve "Ted" Nielsen, both Norwegian immigrants. He was raised in nearby Oakland and graduated from the ...

31. Beverly Sills

Actress | Live from Lincoln Center

This vibrant, fine-humored coloratura was able to accomplish what most others of her ilk could or would not do -- she humanized opera and made it approachable to the masses. There were no diva-like traits in this star and the public absolutely adored her for it. Dubbed "America's Queen of Opera" in...

32. Dabbs Greer

Actor | The Green Mile

Dabbs Greer was a very familiar face in films and especially on TV. He was a sort of "everyman" in his roles and played merchants, preachers, businessmen, and other "pillars of the community" types as well as assorted villains. With his plain looking face, wavy hair and mellow, distinctive voice he...

33. Suzanne Pleshette

Actress | The Birds

Suzanne Pleshette achieved television immortality in her role as Bob Newhart's wife in the 1970s classic situation comedy, The Bob Newhart Show (1972). For her role as "Emily Hartley," wife of psychologist "Bob Hartley" (played by Bob Newhart), Pleshette was nominated for the Emmy Award twice, in ...

(died on January 19th, 2008)

34. Tom Poston

Actor | Christmas with the Kranks

Veteran comedic actor Tom Poston, he with the bugged-out eyes that commonly accentuated a vague look of bewilderment, was born in Columbus, Ohio, on October 17, 1921. By age nine, the young boy was appearing with an acrobatic troupe.

Poston later attended Bethany College in West Virginia when World ...

35. Jack Williams

Stunts | Innerspace

Jack Williams was born on April 15, 1921 in Butte, Montana, USA. He was an actor, known for Innerspace (1987), Wild Wild West (1999) and Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985). He was married to Clare. He died on April 10, 2007 in Sylmar, California, USA.

36. Luciano Pavarotti

Soundtrack | Yes, Giorgio

Luciano Pavarotti was a best-selling classical singer and humanitarian known for his most original and popular performances with the 'Three Tenors' and 'Pavarotti & Friends'.

He was born on October 12, 1935, in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, in Northern Italy. He was the first child and only son of two ...

37. Jane Wyman

Actress | Falcon Crest

Jane Wyman was born Sarah Jane Mayfield on January 5, 1917, in St. Joseph, Missouri (she was also known later as Sarah Jane Fulks). When she was only eight years old, and after her parents filed for divorce, she lost her father prematurely. After graduating high school she attempted, with the help ...

38. Betty Hutton

Actress | Annie Get Your Gun

Betty Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg on February 26, 1921, in Battle Creek, Michigan. Two years later, Betty's father decided that the family way of life wasn't for him, so he left (he committed suicide 16 years later). Having to fend for themselves, Mrs. Thornburg moved the family to ...

39. Deborah Kerr

Actress | The King and I

Deborah Jane Trimmer was born on 30 September 1921 in Glasgow, Scotland, the daughter of Captain Arthur Kerr Trimmer. She was educated at Northumberland House, Clifton, Bristol. She first performed at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park, London. She subsequently performed with the Oxford ...

40. Heath Ledger

Actor | Brokeback Mountain

When hunky, twenty-year-old heart-throb Heath Ledger first came to the attention of the public in 1999, it was all too easy to tag him as a "pretty boy" and an actor of little depth. He spent several years trying desperately to sway this image, but this was a double-edged sword. His work comprised ...

(died on January 22th, 2008)