R.I.P. 2023
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Matthew Perry was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts, to Suzanne Marie (Langford), a Canadian journalist, and John Bennett Perry, an American actor. His ancestry includes English, Irish, German, Swiss-German, and French-Canadian.
Perry was raised in Ottawa, Ontario, where he became a top-ranked junior tennis player in Canada. However, after moving to Los Angeles at the age of 15 to live with his father, he became more interested in acting. In addition to performing in several high school stage productions, he remained an avid tennis player. Perry ranked 17th nationally in the junior singles category and third in the doubles category. Upon graduating from high school, Perry intended to enroll at the University of Southern California. However, when he was offered a leading role on the television series, Boys Will Be Boys (1987), he seized the opportunity to begin his acting career.
Perry appeared in the hit comedy film The Whole Nine Yards (2000), as the neighbor of a hit man, played by Bruce Willis. His other feature film credits included Fools Rush In (1997), A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (1988), She's Out of Control (1989) and Parallel Lives (1994). He also co-starred with Chris Farley in the buddy comedy Almost Heroes (1998) and in the romantic comedy, Three to Tango (1999), opposite Neve Campbell. Perry resided in Los Angeles. He enjoyed playing ice hockey and softball in his spare time.28 October 2023 (Cardiac Arrest)- A New Orleans native, Patrick John McNamara became known on screen as 'J. Patrick' to avoid confusion with another Actor's Equity member of longer standing. McNamara initially started out performing in plays at the University of New Orleans in order to improve his public speaking, because (in his own words) "I knew that I was going to be a lawyer. I did a play, I was good at it, and that was that. Then I went to law school and hated it." After briefly working for Flying Tiger Airlines in New York, McNamara returned to his home town to complete a degree in theater studies. Before long, he was 'on the boards' performing on stage, including at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He further honed his newly acquired skills at Wayne State University in Detroit and subsequently secured a job teaching voice at the National Academy of Drama, Carnegie Hall.
McNamara resumed his acting career at an avant-garde Off-Broadway club in Manhattan's East Village where he spent the next three years. After that, he taught drama classes at Antioch College in Ohio and then spent time in Europe before returning to New Orleans. He operated a theatrical company there from 1974 to 1977, but the venture proved unprofitable, and, therefore, short-lived. Turning to screen work, McNamara joined Equity and began to amass a solid number of film and TV credits which included two pictures directed by Steven Spielberg (Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and 1941 (1979)), Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) (and the sequel - as Bill Preston's dad), an oilman in Dallas (1978) and Dr. Katherine Pulaski's former commander in a season two episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987). He was frequently cast as professors, doctors, psychologists or senior executives.
McNamara retired from acting in 2016 and spent his remaining years in New Orleans, devoting time to his favorite hobby: playing poker.2 January 2023 (Undisclosed) - Writer
- Actor
- Director
Frank Galati was born on 29 November 1943 in Highland Park, Illinois, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for The Accidental Tourist (1988), American Playhouse (1980) and The Party Animal (1984). He was married to Peter Amster . He died on 2 January 2023 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.2 January 2023 (Complications From Cancer)- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Joseph Koo was born on 23 February 1931 in Guangzhou, China. He was a composer and actor, known for The Way of the Dragon (1972), A Better Tomorrow (1986) and Fist of Fury (1972). He died on 3 January 2023 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.3 January 2023 (Natural Causes)- Producer
- Production Manager
- Transportation Department
James D. Brubaker was born on 30 March 1937 in Hollywood, California, USA. He was a producer and production manager, known for Cobra (1986), The Nutty Professor (1996) and Dragonfly (2002). He was married to Marcy Kelly. He died on 3 January 2023 in Beverly Hills, California, USA.3 January 2023 (Series of Strokes)- Wyllie Longmore was born on 2 November 1940 in Stirling, St Ann, Jamaica. He was an actor, known for Love Actually (2003), Coronation Street (1960) and Floodtide (1987). He was married to Estelle Hampton. He died on 4 January 2023 in Manchester, England, UK.4 January 2023 (Cancer)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Veteran character actor Earl Boen is probably best known for his role as criminal psychologist Dr. Peter Silberman in the Terminator series. Other films which he appeared include Battle Beyond the Stars (1980), The Man with Two Brains (1983), Alien Nation (1988), Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994) and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000). Boen retired from screen acting in 2003, but continues his work as a voice actor in radio, animated series and video games.5 January 2023 (Lung Cancer)- Director
- Editor
- Actor
Central figure of the American avant-garde. An artist who made an isolated animated short, A to Z (1956), Snow concentrated on his painting career until moving to New York in 1963. After attending avant-garde film screenings organized by critic-filmmaker Jonas Mekas and turning out a second film, the formalist New York Eye and Ear Control (1972), he made the highly influential Wavelength (1967). WAVELENGTH consists of a 45-minute zoom across a loft--interruped at several points by a cryptic narrative involving a murder--which ends on a close-up of a photograph of ocean waves. The film quickly earned a reputation in international avant-garde circles and inspired a generation of structuralist filmmakers. It was the first in a series of Snow's works which reduce the film medium to one of its most basic elements--camera movement: Standard Time (1967) is made up of 360-degree pans; in _Back and Forth (1969)_, the camera moves backwards and forwards at varying speeds, recording events in a classroom; in The Central Region (1971), Snow's remote-controlled camera, mounted on a tripod in the middle of the Quebec tundra, executes 360 degree rotations in three different circular patterns (at various speeds) while zooming in and out.5 January 2023 (Pneumonia)- Actor
- Soundtrack
Sam Schacht was born on 19 April 1936 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Great Performances (1971), American Playhouse (1980) and The Equalizer (1985). He was married to Sybil Blaufeld. He died on 5 January 2023 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.5 January 2023 (Brief Illness)- Michael Levin was born on 8 December 1932 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for Ryan's Hope (1975), As the World Turns (1956) and The Equalizer (1985). He was married to Elizabeth Levin and Loretta Chiljian. He died on 6 January 2023 in Mount Kisco, New York, USA.6 January 2023 (Natural Causes)
- Annette McCarthy was born on 12 April 1958. She was an actress, known for Twin Peaks (1990), Baywatch (1989) and Riptide (1984). She was married to Mark A. Mangini. She died on 6 January 2023 in the USA.6 January 2023 (Undisclosed)
- Daniel Kaleikini Jr. was born on 10 October 1937 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. He was an actor, known for Hawaii Five-O (1968), The Little People (1972) and Dolly (1987). He was married to Jacqueline Kaleikini. He died on 6 January 2023 in Nuuanu, Hawaii, USA.6 January 2013 (Natural Causes)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Adam Rich was born on 12 October 1968 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Code Red (1981), Eight Is Enough (1977) and Dungeons & Dragons (1983). He died on 8 January 2023 in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, USA.7 January 2023 (Accidental Fentanyl Overdose)- Actress
- Writer
Dorothy Tristan was born on 9 May 1934 in Yorkville Heights, New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for Klute (1971), The Looking Glass (2015) and Scarecrow (1973). She was married to John D. Hancock and Aram Avakian. She died on 7 January 2023 in LaPorte, Indiana, USA.8 January 2023 (Alzheimer's Disease)- Actress
- Soundtrack
Melinda Dillon came to prominence with the role of Jillian Guiler, a mother whose child is abducted by aliens in Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Dillon's performance in the film earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. A few years later, Dillon received another Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as a devout Catholic woman in Absence of Malice (1981). The performance won the actress a KCFCC Award.9 January 2023 (Undisclosed)- Music Artist
- Composer
- Actor
Jeff Beck was born in Surrey in 1944. He grew up in a suburban street in Carshalton. When he was about 10, he wanted to play the guitar. His mum, however, wanted him to play the piano because she didn't approve of the guitar. When he was in his late teens, he joined "The Tridents" on lead guitar. In 1965, he replaced Eric Clapton in The Yardbirds. He played with them until 1967 when he decided he'd had enough and wanted to go solo. In the same year, he released his first solo effort "Hi-Ho-Silver Lining", which was the only one of his tracks he ever sang on. In his backing group, he had Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, who later went on to form The Faces. Thoughout the rest of the 60s and 70s, he continued to record instrumental albums. In 1983, three former The Yardbirds, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, got together to do one-off charity concerts. In 1984, he contributed lead guitar on Mick Jagger's first solo album "She's the Boss". The same year, he released his next album "Flash", which was voted best instrumental album. In 1989, he released the album "Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop", which was also a big success. Throughout the 90s, Jeff Beck still toured around and, in 1998, played a sellout date in Mexico. In early 2001, he released yet another album "You had it Coming", which he toured to promote.10 January 2023 (Bacterial Meningitis)- Ben Masters was born on 6 May 1947 in Corvallis, Oregon, USA. He was an actor, known for Passions (1999), All That Jazz (1979) and Mandingo (1975). He died on 11 January 2023 in Palm Springs, California, USA.11 January 2023 (Complications From Covid-19)
- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Actress Carole Cook showed a knack for comic timing from early on, so much so that the legendary Lucille Ball took her on as a protégée. Cook would make many appearances on Ball's TV shows The Lucy Show (1962) and Here's Lucy (1968), as well as other shows like Magnum, P.I. (1980), Dynasty (1981), and Grey's Anatomy (2005). She would also appear in several movies, like Sixteen Candles (1984) and Home on the Range (2004), while maintaining an active stage career and supporting many AIDS charities.11 January 2023 (Heart Failure)- Actor
- Soundtrack
Charles Kimbrough was born on 23 May 1936 in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Murphy Brown (1988) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame II (2002). He was married to Beth Howland and Mary Jane Wilson. He died on 11 January 2023 in Culver City, California, USA.11 January 2023 (Natural Causes)- Tatjana Patitz was born on 25 March 1966 in Hamburg, West Germany. She was an actress, known for Rising Sun (1993), The Larry Sanders Show (1992) and Ready to Wear (1994). She was married to Jason Johnson. She died on 11 January 2023 in Santa Barbara, California, USA.11 January 2023 (Breast Cancer)
- Music Artist
- Actress
- Composer
Lisa Marie Presley was born on 1 February 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. She was a music artist and actress, known for Lisa Marie Presley: Idiot (2005), Michael Jackson: You Are Not Alone (1995) and Lisa Marie Presley: Dirty Laundry (2005). She was married to Michael Lockwood, Nicolas Cage, Michael Jackson and Danny Keough. She died on 12 January 2023 in West Hills, California, USA.12 January 2023 (Cardiac Arrest)- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Soundtrack
Tall, gaunt, and particularly effective in horror and drama films, British actor Julian Sands was born in Otley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, to Brenda and William Sands. He came to the attention of NBC when the network cast him in the TV miniseries The Sun Also Rises (1984) and then with Anthony Hopkins in the television film A Married Man (1983). Sands also got noticed for his very small roles in Privates on Parade (1983) and The Killing Fields (1984). It wasn't until his funny and romantic role opposite Denholm Elliott in A Room with a View (1985) and then his unusual role in Gothic (1986) that he garnered audience acclaim.
He continued work on screen in Vibes (1988), Impromptu (1991) and Steven Spielberg's Arachnophobia (1990), until his most remembered role as Warlock (1989), directed by Steve Miner. The film was a major success and he returned for the sequel, Warlock: The Armageddon (1993). Other credits include Naked Lunch (1991), Tale of a Vampire (1992) and the title role in Dario Argento's The Phantom of the Opera (1998). Sands has more recently been in Stephen King's Rose Red (2002) and was occasionally seen on the English stage.
Sands disappeared on January 13, 2023 after going for a hike near the Mount Baldy area of California's San Bernardino Mountains. Local authorities and search and rescue teams conducted over six weeks of multiple ground and aerial searches, which were unsuccessful. On June 24, 2023, hikers near Mount Baldy discovered human remains. On June 27, 2023, local authorities confirmed the remains to be those of Sands. He was 65 years old.13 January 2023 (Undetermined)- Al Brown was born on 26 September 1939 in Reading, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Red Dragon (2002), The Replacements (2000) and Liberty Heights (1999). He was married to Barbara Eberz and Janet Newhart. He died on 13 January 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.13 January 2023 (Complications From Alzheimer's Disease)
- While best remembered as Ernest Borgnine's Japanese prisoner-of-war Fuji Kobiashi in the wartime sitcom McHale's Navy (1962), Yoshio Yoda came to acting reluctantly and purely by accident. Born in Tokyo, the only son of Honshu middle-class manufacturers, he initially studied law at the prestigious Keio University. However, he quickly realized that neither law nor industry suited his aspirations. A chance meeting with motion picture executive Edward Ugast (1900-1964), general manager in Asia for 20th Century Fox and Vice-President of Four Star Films, persuaded Yoda to study cinema technique in the United States with the prospect of becoming a producer. In 1958, Yoda arrived in California and enrolled at USC.
Three years into his studies, Yoda's faculty was contacted by producer Joe Pasternak at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer who was casting for an Asian actor required to be fluent in both English and Japanese. Yoda naturally fitted the bill. Despite his initial misgivings, a mere ten minute interview led to the youngster being signed for the role of Sgt. Roy Tada in The Horizontal Lieutenant (1962), a comedy starring Jim Hutton and Paula Prentiss. On the strength of his performance he was subsequently able to secure the gig on McHale's Navy. When that series had run its course, so did Yoda's acting career. After one more brief TV appearance in 1969, he returned to his roots to forge a career in the car manufacture business at Toyota. He lived in Hawaii for fifteen years, became a United States citizen under the name of James Yoda, and, by 1987, had risen to the position of assistant vice president of inventory and senior division manager. He later resided in Fullerton, California.13 January 2023 (Undisclosed) - Stunts
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Robbie Knievel was born on 7 May 1962 in Butte, Montana, USA. He was an actor, known for Ninja III: The Domination (1984), Hawaii Five-0 (2010) and Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil (2010). He died on 13 January 2023 in Reno, Nevada, USA.13 January 2023 (Pancreatic Cancer)- Actor
- Director
Wally Campo was born on 23 April 1923 in Alameda, California, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), Shock Corridor (1963) and Master of the World (1961). He was married to Geraldine Matthews. He died on 14 January 2023 in Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA.14 January 2023 (Natural Causes)- C.J. Harris was born on 28 January 1991 in Jasper, Alabama, USA. He died on 15 January 2023 in Jasper, Alabama, USA.15 January 2023 (Heart Attack)
- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Gina Lollobrigida was born on July 4, 1927 in Subiaco, Italy. Destined to be called "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World", Gina possibly had St. Brigid as part of her surname. She was the daughter of a furniture manufacturer, and grew up in the pictorial mountain village. The young Gina did some modeling and, from there, went on to participate successfully in several beauty contests. In 1947, she entered a beauty competition for Miss Italy, but came in third. The winner was Lucia Bosè (born 1931), who would go on to appear in over 50 movies, and the first runner-up was Gianna Maria Canale (born 1927), who would appear in almost 50 films. After appearing in a half-dozen films in Italy, it was rumored that, in 1947, film tycoon Howard Hughes had her flown to Hollywood; however, this did not result in her staying in America, and she returned to Italy (her Hollywood breakout movie would not come until six years later in the John Huston film Beat the Devil (1953)).
Back in Italy, in 1949, Gina married Milko Skofic, a Slovenian (at the time, "Yugoslavian") doctor, by whom she had a son, Milko Skofic Jr. They would be married for 22 years, until their divorce in 1971. As her film roles and national popularity increased, Gina was tagged "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World", after her signature movie Beautiful But Dangerous (1955). Gina was nicknamed "La Lollo", as she embodied the prototype of Italian beauty. Her earthy looks and short "tossed salad" hairdo were especially influential and, in fact, there's a type of curly lettuce named "Lollo" in honor of her cute hairdo. Her film Come September (1961), co-starring Rock Hudson, won the Golden Globe Award as the World's Film Favorite. In the 1970s, Gina was seen in only a few films, as she took a break from acting and concentrated on another career: photography. Among her subjects were Paul Newman, Salvador Dalí and the German national soccer team.
A skilled photographer, Gina had a collection of her work "Italia Mia", published in 1973. Immersed in her other passions (sculpting and photography), it would be 1984 before Gina would grace American television on Falcon Crest (1981). Although Gina was always active, she only appeared in a few films in the 1990s. She retired from acting in 1997 after 50 years in the motion picture industry. In June 1999, she turned to politics and ran, unsuccessfully, for one of Italy's 87 European Parliament seats, from her hometown of Subiaco. Gina was also a corporate executive for fashion and cosmetics companies. As she told Parade magazine in April 2000: "I studied painting and sculpting at school and became an actress by mistake". (We're glad she made that mistake). Gina went on to say: "I've had many lovers and still have romances. I am very spoiled. All my life, I've had too many admirers."16 January 2023 (Renal Failure and Pneumonia)- Michael Lehrer was born on 1 December 1978 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for The Second City Presents: The Last Show Left on Earth (2020), Sports Action Team (2006) and Masters of the Internet (2017). He died on 17 January 2023 in Portland, Oregon, USA.17 January 2023 (Medically-Assisted Suicide)
- Producer
- Actor
- Music Department
With over 80 diverse motion pictures and more than 30 years of experience to his credit, native New Yorker and film producer Edward R. Pressman has forged a career of international renown, marked by originality and eclecticism. Throughout his maverick career, he has brought numerous emerging filmmakers together with projects that have put them firmly on the map. Pressman's reputation as a daring filmmaker was cemented with the international recognition of the French Cinematheque, which presented a 1989 retrospective of his films and awarded him the esteemed Chevalier des Arts et Letters medal. He's also received tributes from The National Film Theatre in London, New York's Museum of Modern Art, the Pacific Film Archives and Brooklyn Academy of Music's Cinematék. In 2003, Pressman was honored with the IFP Gotham Award for lifetime achievement.
Pressman's specialty is discovering new talent. He is known for fostering the careers of young and inspired filmmakers including Brian De Palma, Terrence Malick, Oliver Stone, Kathryn Bigelow, David Byrne, Charles Burnett, David Gordon Green, James Marsh, Wayne Kramer, and Jason Reitman. He is responsible for giving Alex Proyas his directorial debut with their breakout hit, The Crow (1994).
Over the years, Pressman has produced many director-driven, high profile projects, bringing new experiences to audiences with directors John Milius, David Mamet, Mary Harron, Abel Ferrara, and Barbet Schroeder. He has also established a reputation as an international producer, working with directors Wolfgang Petersen, the Taviani brothers, Fred Schepisi, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, David Hare, Bo Widerberg, Yimou Zhang, Michael Apted, and Werner Herzog.
The recent Pressman production Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010), the sequel to the Oscar®-winning Wall Street (1987) starring Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, and Frank Langella, marked his fourth collaboration with director Oliver Stone. Pressman's three-time collaboration with Abel Ferrara began with the cult classic Bad Lieutenant (1992) He has re-teamed with American Psycho (2000) director Mary Harron on The Moth Diaries (2011). Pressman also enjoys a unique collaboration in Sunflower Productions with long-time friend Terrence Malick.
Pressman is the son of the son of Lynn and Jack Pressman, who founded the Pressman Toy Corporation. He attended New York's Fieldston School, went on to graduate with honors from Stanford University with a B.A. in Philosophy, and pursued graduate studies at the London School of Economics. Pressman is married to Annie McEnroe, whom he met while she was starring in Oliver Stone's movie The Hand (1981). Their son Sam Pressman is an aspiring filmmaker.17 January 2023 (Respiratory Failure)- Actor
- Soundtrack
Leon Dubinsky was born on 5 July 1941 in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. He was an actor, known for Life Classes (1988), Something About Love (1988) and Pit Pony (1999). He died on 17 January 2023 in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada.17 January 2023 (Natural Causes)- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
David Crosby was born on 14 August 1941 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a music artist and actor, known for Backdraft (1991), Hook (1991) and The Limey (1999). He was married to Jan Dance. He died on 18 January 2023 in Santa Ynez, California, USA.18 January 2023 (Cancer)- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Director
From the mid-1970s on, Sandra Seacat has been one of America's more sought-after and influential acting teachers/coaches. A method-based actor and teacher, closely associated with the Method's originator, her mentor Lee Strasberg, Seacat gradually became recognized as well for her groundbreaking work in the early eighties involving the application of Carl Gustav Jung's theories to acting technique and pedagogy, thus introducing the practice now known as dream work (also known as "The Way," much as Strasberg's Stanislavski-based system eventually came to be known as "The Method").
Born on October 2, 1936, Sandra Diane Seacat (whose first name, despite the spelling, is pronounced somewhere between 'Sondra' and 'Saundra') was the first of three daughters born to Lois Marion Seacat (née Cronic) and Russell Henry Seacat of Greensburg, Kansas.
After attending Northwestern University, Seacat made her way to New York, eventually being admitted to The Actors Studio, where she would become well versed in the method school of acting espoused by the Studio's director, Lee Strasberg. During the 1960s, Seacat began to get acting work in the city, appearing under her married name, Sandra Kaufman. In 1962, she earned plaudits from Village Voice critic Jerry Tallmer, making her New York stage debut in the American premiere of Leonid Andreyev's "Waltz of the Dogs," an Off-Off-Broadway production mounted by noted acting teacher - and Actors Studio member - Michael Howard.
While the next two years would be taken up with the birth and early rearing of her daughter Greta B. Kaufman (eventually also known as Greta Seacat), she returned to action in 1964 on Broadway with a small role in the Actors Studio production of Anton Chekhov's "Three Sisters," starring Kim Stanley, Geraldine Page, and Shirley Knight (though neither she nor Knight would appear in the version eventually preserved on videotape).
For the remainder of the decade, as she continued to hone her craft at the Studio, doing scene work with future stage co-stars Ben Piazza and Will Hare, as well as Robert Walden and Robert Viharo, each of whom would remain longtime friends, Seacat (aka Kaufman) quickly became one of Strasberg's prize pupils, and one of the Method's most articulate exponents. Thus, at just about the time her first marriage was coming to an end, a new career path beckoned, when, in 1969, the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute was born.
By the early 1970s, Seacat was leading classes, not only at the Institute, but also at the City College of New York's Leonard Davis Center for the Performing Arts, as well as teaching privately. By 1980, she would also teach at John Strasberg's The Real Stage.
In the meantime, though, both Seacat's acting career - which, from this point forward, along with all other facets of her career, would be conducted under her maiden name - and her matrimonial status (in conjunction with fellow actor Michael Ebert) showed renewed signs of life, as the couple appeared together in a 1969 production of Brendan Behan's 'The Hostage," followed by the New Orleans Repertory Theater's June 1970 revival of Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire," directed by June Havoc, featuring Ebert as Harold "Mitch" Mitchell and E. Katherine Kerr as Blanche DuBois, as well as Seacat and Ben Piazza, respectively, as Stella and Stanley Kowalski.
Returning to New York, Seacat began to build her teaching practice. Among her early students were Treat Williams and Steve Railsback (the latter preparing for his film debut in Elia Kazan's The Visitors (1972)), and later, Lance Henriksen, Jessica Lange, and Mickey Rourke. Rourke would study with Seacat for several years in New York before departing for the west coast, and then, only at his mentor's behest.
Rourke has repeatedly cited his time with Seacat as the turning point in his career. "That's when everything started to click," he told Newsday in 1984, making a point - as he had in a New York Magazine profile the previous year - to contrast this with his disappointing Actors Studio stint ("I sat there a year, waiting for the teacup to develop in my hand"), saying of the Studio's director, "All I saw Lee do was tear people down." By contrast, speaking with the Los Angeles Times in 1984, Rourke credited Seacat with "channeling all it was that was messing me up into something creative and challenging."
Moreover, notwithstanding his subsequent disillusionment with the Studio, it was Seacat's counsel (as Rourke himself has mentioned more than once) - i.e. that, in order to bring some semblance of conviction to the scene Rourkee himself had chosen for his Actors Studio audition, he must immediately find his biological father (whom he hadn't seen in 20 years) - that enabled Rourke to realize his dream of membership in the alma mater of Brando, Clift and Dean. During Rourke's 2009 appearance on Inside the Actors Studio (1994), after describing his first affective memory, executed under Seacat's guidance more than thirty years before, the 56-year-old Rourke was asked whether he still used what Seacat had taught him. "Very much," he replied. (13 years earlier, a previous generation of ITAS viewers had witnessed Jessica Lange call Seacat "a powerful influence on my acting," and two years before that, Lance Henriksen had offered Film Comment readers an unsolicited 20-year-old recollection of "a great teacher named Sandra Seacat.")
During the 1970s, Seacat continued to juggle her teaching and acting careers, portraying the female leads in a number of Off and Off-Off-Broadway productions, as well as minor roles in three Broadway and Off Broadway shows, receiving particularly favorable notices in the 1973 revival of William Inge's "Natural Affection," co-starring Nathan George, and the American premiere of John Hopkins's "Economic Necessity" in 1976. Halfway between the two came a much-anticipated but ultimately disappointing Actors Studio revival of Harold Pinter's "Old Times." Presented in the fall of 1974 (and followed by a particularly disastrous January 1975 Actors Studio West reprise) with the nominal participation of 'supervising director' Arthur Penn, the production was, in essence, self-directed by its three actors, Seacat, Hildy Brooks, and Will Hare, a fact much lamented by reviewers.
In February 1975, upon Seacat's less than triumphant return to New York following the "Old Times" debacle, Seacat's CCNY employment afforded her a welcome distraction, in the form of an upcoming four-day, Davis Center event featuring playwrights Peter Shaffer, Edward Albee and Arthur Miller, moderated by director Alan Schneider. Starting on May 12 with a symposium entitled "Theatre in the University," and concluding with one day apiece devoted to the works of each of the three guests, with student performances followed by discussions with the respective playwrights, the final day would be devoted to Arthur Miller's work, with each grade level in the Davis Center's acting program performing a scene from a different Miller opus.
The play assigned to Seacat's freshman class was "A View from the Bridge." After choosing as their showcase the final scene from Act One, she cast four of her regular students, but reserved the central role of Eddie Carbone for one of her private students who had just started auditing the class. And thus did Seacat, in this somewhat obscure setting, come to direct the stage debut of the as-yet unknown Mickey Rourke.
Starting in 1978 (after minor roles in two TV specials, NBC's Bicentennial tribute, First Ladies Diaries: Edith Wilson (1976), and Hallmark Hall of Fame's premiere presentation of Arthur Miller's Fame (1978), Seacat's stage career concluded on a decidedly anticlimactic note: a pair of smaller roles, albeit within the context of two somewhat notable productions - one being the first work to be staged in the new Harold Clurman Theatre, Eugene Ionesco''s "The Lesson;" the other, a rare directorial credit for Ellen Burstyn, in the 1979 Actors Studio production of Norman Krasna's rarely revived "Bunny."
In fact, 1978 provided a number of punctuation points for Seacat. Early that year, two significant eras had come to an end - first, on January 26, the end of her marriage to Michael Ebert, and next, just two days later, the death of her father, Russell. This was also the year Seacat persuaded her prize pupil Rourke that there was nothing further to be gained by staying in New York, that it was time to go west and test his fortunes in Hollywood.
Certainly, given her circumstances at that moment, one could see such advice applying equally to Seacat herself, and, indeed, by the early 1980s, Seacat had expanded her base of operations, teaching in both New York and Los Angeles (as she has continued to do ever since), helping actors like Lange, Rachel Ward, and Marlo Thomas give career-changing performances. On March 29, 1983, just weeks after the announcement of Lange's dual Oscar nominations, Seacat was acknowledged by the Associated Press as the one who "helped turn Jessica Lange from King Kong's consort into the soulful actress in Frances (1982) and Tootsie (1982)." A few years later, Liz Smith would acknowledge Seacat for "helping Jessica Lange to her Oscar and Marlo Thomas to her Emmy." Lange herself later told both James Lipton and Vanity Fair just how pivotal Seacat's contribution had been, both for her career in general and, in particular, her portrayal of Frances Farmer.
Regarding the latter, and the intensive nature of that collaboration, J.T. Jeffries writes in his 1986 biography of Lange: "In the spring of 1981, while still breast-feeding her newborn daughter by Baryshnikov, she worked on each scene with her coach, Sandra Seacat... Seacat had expanded her theatrical repertoire in recent years to include techniques from Eastern meditation. Lange regularly used those deep relaxation techniques on the set to improve her concentration in the grueling role." (For screen novice Baryshnikov, the Seacat connection - and those relaxation techniques in particular - would prove a welcome legacy of his relationship with Lange, long since ended by 1985, when the legendary dancer was coached by Seacat on the set of White Nights (1985).)
Regarding the Emmy-winning performance that would help transform the image of Marlo Thomas (at least within the industry), from the indefatigable, relentlessly upbeat protagonist of That Girl (1966) to an actor who could take on any role and be taken seriously doing it, Thomas writes in her 2010 autobiography: "I only wish Lee [Strasberg] could have lived to see me portray a schizophrenic in Nobody's Child (1986). I never could have gotten near playing that kind of part without Lee's exercises, and the subsequent work I did and continue to do with his primary disciple, the brilliant Sandra Seacat."
Of the three career turning points mentioned above, Rachel Ward's transformation - culminating in her Golden Globe-nominated lead performance in The Thorn Birds (1983) - stands out. In the fall of 1982 and continuing on through the following winter, even as Lange's two Oscar-nominated performances were receiving applause, acclaim, and, eventually, awards, the then inexperienced Ward was undergoing a rigorous makeover program under Seacat's guidance. But simply in order to get to that point, Ward first had to get the part. As the Associated Press reports: "Ward's first reading before producers David L. Wolper and Stan Margulies was disastrous. So she hired drama coach Sondra [sic] Seacat." "I studied exhaustively for two weeks," recalled Ward, "went back and did a screen test with Richard." According to Margulies, Ward's second reading "was so breathtaking that she got the part right there. But our questions were whether she could do it over the five-month shooting period."
Seacat had no problem answering those questions, but her prescription was radical, and required Ward's active participation and unwavering commitment. To her credit, Ward did not disappoint; under Seacat's direction, she gave up cigarettes and meat, started a daily exercise regimen, and - utilizing those same meditation techniques used by Lange to such great effect just months before - learned to calm her mind and focus on the task at hand. "You can almost see her develop as an actress in 'Thorn Birds,'" reported the Chicago Tribune. "By the finish, her Meggie is much stronger, more worldly, compassionate. The changes were in character, but they were taking place in Ward too. Thanks, in large part, to Seacat."
"She's extraordinary," Ward said of her new mentor. "She made me work in a totally different way than I'd ever worked before. For the first time, I really worked on technique... It was definitely not an easy five months. It was a lot of tying things together and understanding and confusion and frustration and anger. I asked a lot of questions about acting and about me and stuff, and Sandra just had these answers, and they were just like, of course, oh my God, of course!"
It was during this same period, as reported by The New York Times more than 25 years later, that Seacat's Jung-inspired experiments ushered in the now widespread practice known as dream work, wherein actors interpret and sometimes influence their own dreams, often casting and staging those dreams in the process, all in the interests of achieving the richest, most genuine characterization possible. A number of the younger dream work practitioners, such as Elizabeth Kemp, Kim Gillingham, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, and actor/directors John Markland and Jamie Wollrab, as well as Sandra's daughter and fellow acting coach, Greta, all claim Seacat as their mentor. Moreover, longtime Seacat clients Melanie Griffith and Gina Gershon, as well as onetime student, Diane Salinger, have long been on record regarding the impact this innovation has had on their own careers.
"In Sandra's class," recalled Salinger in 1987, "we had dream assignments where, before you went to sleep, you'd write out an assignment to yourself, and dream dreams that had connections to the work you were doing. I've done that with this play." "It's a great way to open yourself up," insisted Griffith in a 1986 interview. "It's been very healthy for me, because I think our interior soul knows a lot more about ourselves than our conscious intellect ever allows you to think about." More recently, Hélène Cardona, a Paris-born poet, translator and actor who studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Actors Studio in the early 1990s, recalled: "When I trained with Sandra Seacat at the Actors Studio in New York, she introduced me to a particular form of dream work. You could call it Jungian. I have kept doing this work for many years now. It's very therapeutic, a more holistic approach to [sic] medicine. And it can also be used to develop a character in a play or movie. You dig into yourself to find the answers. In the dream you are connected to your inner self and to the divine."
Gershon is particularly passionate on the subject, speaking in a 1998 interview: "Sandra totally changed my acting. Instinctively, I was always in love with psychology and my dream life had always been very important to me... What's really exciting to me about Sandra's work is that it changes your life, almost on a psychic level. Now I'll get parts and in working on them, she'll say, 'Well, let's see how you're developing, as a human being.' Because the parts you're doing, it's no accident. Those parts affect your life and they kind of illustrate the map that your life is following." As recently as August 26, 2012, speaking with The Lab Magazine, Gershon reaffirmed the importance of Seacat and dream work to her career.
In a 2001 interview with Back Stage West, another longtime Seacat client of mid-eighties vintage, Laura Dern, went public. While not specifically referencing dream work, Dern echoes both Gershon, Cardona and Rachel Ward in her portrayal of Seacat's holistic, almost therapeutic approach, a characteristic previously noted in 1994 by erstwhile Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter ("better than any therapist," Carter told USA Today, regarding the time spent studying with Seacat: "you strip yourself of ego, and the whole experience unearths all your analytical feelings and self-discovery"), and one which brings to mind another Jungian archetype central to Seacat's career from at least the 1980s onward; as Seacat would tell the New York Times in 2009, "I believe that the artist is a wounded healer, that they are healing wounds of their own, and when they do that truthfully, they heal the audience." Dern recalled:
"Through studying and through being raised on movie sets, I was surrounded by a lot of people who believed that the more tortured the person, the greater the artist. I always had a hard time understanding that, but thought, 'I guess that's the way it is'... Luckily through life and the gift of the acting teacher who's changed my life in so many ways since 1984 (her name is Sandra Seacat), I learned there's another opinion, which is: the better the person, the better the artist. The more true you are to who you are and the more honest you are as an individual, the more honest you can be as an actor, and I'm really liking that." Asked if she still studied, Dern replied, "I still study with Sandra and I love studying."
Speaking again with BSW in 2004, Dern elaborated: "All of a sudden, this new idea that the parts I play help me discover myself and I could maybe be kinder to the ambiguous places and the flaws - I was so lifted by that. Since then, I feel like it's an extraordinary experience of therapy and learning about being in the moment and honoring that. All of a sudden, acting wasn't this torment where you're supposed to be a screwed-up artist, but it's an opportunity for self-growth. And I think I've had fun ever since." Finally, in January 2012, at the [error], Dern reaffirmed the connection, thanking Seacat in her acceptance speech for Best Actress in HBO's Enlightened (2011), the first two episodes of which had each featured Seacat in a small role.
In 1988, with her dream work innovations now well underway, and some well-publicized individual success stories under her belt, a unique opportunity came Seacat's way - that being the chance to direct a feature film. This would eventually become In the Spirit (1990), the first, and as yet, only film Seacat has directed, "a low-budget pic," as Variety would note, featuring "big-name talent."
The over-qualified/underpaid cast included no less than three of Seacat's regular clients, Marlo Thomas, Melanie Griffith and Peter Falk, as well as Olympia Dukakis at the height of her popularity, having just collected her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Moonstruck (1987). Arguably the film's casting coup, however (and probably the positive element most frequently cited by reviewers), was landing the celebrated writer/performer Elaine May to co-star opposite Thomas (with May's daughter, Jeannie Berlin, who co-authored the screenplay, also appearing).
Very much a homegrown New York product (a passing reference to The Robin Byrd Show (1977) being just one of several inside jokes contained therein), the supporting cast featured an assortment of local luminaries, some of them professional actors, some not. The former group included both indie icons - e.g. Michael Emil, Mark Boone Junior and Rockets Redglare - and 'legit' stage and TV actors such as Hope Cameron and Gary Swanson (both fellow Actor Studio members); the latter, such miscellaneous notables as Fox TV anchor/reporter Steve Powers, musicians Roy Nathanson and Nora York, and playwright Christopher Durang. Of the remaining bit players, at least two were Seacat students, Phil Harper and Emidio La Vella (the latter of whom would be Seacat's first post-ITS coaching client in 1990). Moreover, making his film debut here was Seacat's current husband, Thurn Hoffman.
Notwithstanding numerous press references to Seacat's screen directing debut, both before and after the film's release (almost all citing her storied coaching career), Seacat herself maintained a characteristically low profile throughout, surfacing only long enough to contribute one sentence to an article on the film's producer, Julian Schlossberg: "There are two main things about Julian -- he has a big heart and he goes the distance." Speaking of Schlossberg, co-star Elaine May got into the act as well, providing her own characteristically tongue-in-cheek teaser, a mock-interview with the producer on the making and marketing of ITS, published in the New York Times just days before the film's release.
Regarding May, Liz Smith would report (circa December 1988, shortly after the film had wrapped): "Recent remarks here about the genius that is Elaine May brought forth the encouraging news that we'll soon see this gifted actress in a new suspense movie written by her daughter Jeannie Berlin (with co-writer Laurie Jones). In the Spirit had all its money raised independently by producers Julian Schlossberg and Beverly Irby. They're now editing the film and seeking a distributor for release next spring. The cast is a staggering one -- Elaine and daughter, as well as Peter Falk, Melanie Griffith, Marlo Thomas, Olympia Dukakis and Louise Lasser. The director was an interesting choice: Sandra Seacat, acting coach and guru to many stars..."
In retrospect, given both the fact that Louise Lasser - barely visible in the finished film and nowhere to be seen in its credits - was still being announced as one of the film's featured players even after the film had wrapped, and that the film itself would not make it to theaters until more than a year past its estimated release date, one becomes better prepared for the reality of ITS's narrative disarray - a reality made obvious by the titles themselves in this broad sample of reviews: "Grand and Goofy Comedy," "'In the Spirit' - An Endearing Mess," "Screwball Comedy Holds Up Even When Plot Sags," "Spirit Loses Its Comic Flair Halfway Through," "'Spirit' Amusing, But Unpolished," "'In the Spirit' Needs a Bit More Body," "'In The Spirit' Needs To Be More Perky, Less Poky," and "A Few Screws Are Loose But 'In The Spirit' Offers A Rare Glimpse Of Elaine May In A Feminist Comedy."
As one can see, critical reaction among the nation's dailies was mixed at best. Two reactions were almost universal: appreciation for the film's performances, especially those of the two leads, as well as disdain for its technical shortcomings - seen primarily in the areas of camera placement and pacing, as well as the aforementioned matter of narrative construction. What distinguished the favorable from the unfavorable review in these cases was largely a matter of emphasis. Unfortunately for Seacat, when it came to evaluating her impact on the finished film, the emphasis was placed almost exclusively on the shortcomings. And while reviewers had, almost without exception, made the obligatory mention of Seacat's storied coaching career, in practice, it appears, few felt compelled to credit her with even contributing to her actors' success.
Two of the more sympathetic reviews, by Dave Kehr of the Chicago Tribune and ex-Village Voice critic Carrie Rickey, writing for the Philadelphia Inquirer, tended however to bypass both Seacat and the film's screenwriter, Jeannie Berlin, and instead credit Elaine May as the film's true auteur.
Two of the film's most merciless drubbings were administered, respectively, by the Washington Times ("New Age 'Spirit' Gets Old and Boring Quickly") and by the Chicago Sun-Times ("The Mystery of 'Spirit' is Finding Film's Funny Parts"); however, given the film's target audience (even the Los Angeles Daily News called it "a flat-out New York comedy, with all of the pluses and minuses"), the most damaging blow of all was almost certainly delivered by the New York Times' Janet Maslin, with her considerably more polite, yet thoroughly condescending dismissal:
"The beneficial power of crystals has done nothing for In the Spirit, a nervous new-age comedy much more notable for good intentions than good luck. A rare appearance by Elaine May, who co-stars with Marlo Thomas in what proves to be an unexpectedly mundane caper story, and a directing credit for the respected acting coach Sandra Seacat give In the Spirit a lot more curiosity value than it would otherwise have... Ms. Seacat's direction is especially strange, since it is so thoroughly unaccommodating to the actors. The camera is treated as if it were radioactive, never being allowed to linger where a performer might be heard clearly or shown off to good advantage." Even the generally lauded female leads do not escape unscathed: "The actors, especially Ms. May and Ms. Thomas, spend a lot of time yammering simultaneously in time-honored sitcom style."
If America's original paper of record had delivered one of Spirit's most resounding pans, it would fall to the entertainment industry's trade 'paper of record' to supply arguably its most simpatico critique (though it did little to help the movie's less than middling box office returns). Not merely echoing the critical consensus regarding Thomas' and May's "memorable screen odd couple," Variety embraced the film itself, portraying its limitations as strengths: "an unusual case of big-name talent gathering with friends to make a low-budget pic freed of mainstream good taste and gloss." While not oblivious of the film's structural issues ("weakest element being a stupid framing device of a mystical narrator... midway shift in tone may put off some viewers, but others will likely relish the intensity of the May and Thomas segment"), it was Variety, virtually alone among reviewers, that cited Seacat for something beyond merely her ability to handle actors: "First-time director Sandra Seacat emphasizes slapstick but also female bonding as the gals on the lam reach beyond their wacky survivalist tactics to address feminist issues."
After Seacat's extended directorial excursion, the transition back to her customary regimen was eased considerably by the fact that the clients for her next few coaching projects were all ITS cast members. First, as previously mentioned, was Emidio La Vella in Un metro all'alba (1990). Next in line was Thomas herself, on Held Hostage: The Sis and Jerry Levin Story (1991); in addition, Seacat would work with Melanie Griffith on Born Yesterday (1993), and with Thomas again on Reunion (1994). Back on the east coast, Seacat would join the faculty of the recently formed Actors Studio Drama School at the New School for Social Research in the fall of 1996.
Starting in 1999, Seacat embarked on an unprecedented binge of media exposure, becoming the 'talking head' on three TV documentaries in the space of two years, and, even more uncharacteristically, speaking at length about three of her clients in the process. Despite this seeming incongruity, given Seacat's customary regard for client confidentiality (witness the Sandra Seacat entry at TakeHollywood.com), the fact is that, whenever a given actor has had no qualms about revealing their working relationship, or has already done so, Seacat has always been happy to grant interviews on the subject, as she did at length in 1983 for New York Magazine's Mickey Rourke profile. Speaking of whom, Rourke is the subject of the first of these three documentaries (as well as one in 2008, in which Seacat also participated), followed, respectively, by two very vocal Seacat champions, Laura Dern and Jessica Lange.
Another Seacat outburst, addressed not merely to the press, but to one of her longstanding client's potential employers, would occur in 2003, part of an image makeover much like that of Seacat's oft-recounted early success stories, Jessica Lange and Marlo Thomas, especially the latter, another era's perpetually perky, seemingly ubiquitous paragon of 'cute.' This time, however, instead of a sixties sitcom princess, it was the nineties romcom queen, Meg Ryan, who was chomping at the bit for some more challenging roles. While working with Seacat on her upcoming Jackie Kallen biopic, Against the Ropes (2004), Ryan saw the opportunity for an even more radical departure with Nicole Kidman's early exit from Jane Campion's In the Cut (2003).
Interviewed shortly before the film's release, Campion recounted Seacat's surprising phone intervention: "Sandra said, 'Look, I'm working with Meg Ryan. I've never done this before, but she's doing amazing work. You should audition her.' And I said, 'Audition Meg? Do you think she'd audition?' She said, 'Sure, she would.'"
Ryan would indeed audition, and for helping Campion get beyond her preconceptions, the grateful director likened Seacat to "a fairy godmother who takes the mists away." As it happens, Campion's preconceptions were not unlike those of the many reviewers who would find Ryan's performance a revelation, as well as the most interesting and accomplished element within a not so successful film. Speaking for public consumption, Seacat reiterated: "Meg has great courage and discipline and commitment. Her talent is large, and her potential is vast."
The following year, speaking with Newsday on the set of We Don't Live Here Anymore (2004), exactly one week after the film's co-star, Laura Dern, had expanded upon her own 2001 tribute to Seacat, her longtime teacher returned the favor: "'Laura is a free spirit,' says Sandra Seacat, the celebrated acting coach and a longtime associate of Dern's. 'She's also a great student and a dedicated artist - and there aren't very many people I call artists. But the entire cast of this film [including also Mark Ruffalo, Naomi Watts, and Peter Krause], they're all true artists, dedicated to their own inner truth, and they have the courage to share that. You don't find that very often.'"
As the decade wore on, perhaps fueled by dream work's increasing popularity, Seacat's name began to be seen in print more frequently, some of the mentions dreamwork-related, others - like those by Dern, Marlo Thomas, or Mickey Rourke - simply satisfied customers reaffirming their indebtedness.
Speaking with Back Stage in 2010, acting teacher Alex Cole Taylor called Seacat "a beautiful woman and a beautiful artist'," as well as the primary model for Taylor's compassionate and nurturing stance towards his own students. Speaking with CNN in 2012, acting coach and dream work practitioner Elizabeth Kemp paired Seacat with Lee Strasberg as two of the teachers to whom she was most deeply indebted. Moreover, two of Seacat's students, actor/directors Jamie Wollrab and John Markland, have each been putting Seacat's teachings into practice, one play at a time - Wollrab, with his Triptych Theatre; Markland, with the Moth Theatre Company, itself composed largely, if not entirely, of fellow Seacat alumni (including Scoot McNairy, Pamela Guest, Dov Tiefenbach, Anna Rose Hopkins, and Kris Lemche), recently incorporating Wollrab as well. The latter's words -- quoted in Steve Julian's 2010 Moth Theatre profile -- echo those of his mentor, just one year before: "'More than anything,' Wollrab says, 'we're wounded healers. Each of us. I think that's why audiences keep taking to our work.' Work he describes as fragile and beautiful."
As it happens, Wollrab had hitherto collaborated with his teacher on just such work, when, in August 2007, more than four decades and a quarter of a century, respectively, after Seacat's previous notable forays into directing, she would oversee Wollrab's direction of Elizabeth Meriwether's play, "The Mistakes Madeline Made," staged at Boulder, Colorado's Dairy Center for the Arts.
As in her previous directorial assignments, Seacat was again supervising a number of current and/or former students, including, along with the director, her daughter Greta Seacat, Justin Chatwin, Shannon Woodward, and the late Johnny Lewis. The younger Ms. Seacat's performance garnered particularly favorable notices, dubbed "steady and grounded" by Mark Collins of the Boulder Daily Camera, and "a marvel" by Lisa Bornstein of the Rocky Mountain News: "Simplistic (she frequently shuts her laptop to avoid news of Iraq) and authoritarian, but awkwardly kind as well, Beth is annoying, but she knows it; in Seacat's hands, she's funny and real."
Regarding Seacat Sr., one happy addendum: roughly coinciding with the millennial media spike in Seacat sightings was a corresponding increase in the size and substance of her film roles. Seacat's screen resumé had long seemed little more than a collection of discreetly camouflaged acting coach credits, typically a small part contained in one or two scenes within a film which itself featured one or more of Seacat's coaching clients - well-acted, in and of itself, but, as conceived, simply too perfunctory and/or peripheral to the film's narrative to register strongly. (For a perfect case in point, witness Seacat's 5½-minute one-and-done appearance in The Golden Seal (1983) with Steve Railsback, starting at the '01:23:14 remaining' mark; IMDb provides free access to the film in its entirety.)
This began to change in 1999 with a series of three consecutive films, each one featuring Seacat as the protagonist's mother. In the first two, Crazy in Alabama (1999) and Daddy and Them (2001) (portraying, respectively, 'Crazy' Melanie Griffith's concerned mom, and 'Daddy' Andy Griffith's oft seen, but rarely heard wife), the upgrades were subtle, to be sure; nonetheless, Seacat was onscreen far more - and at more crucial points in the narrative - than in any of her previous films.
It was 2003, however, that brought the most dramatic change, not just from a subsidiary to a starring role, but from the almost mute matriarch of D&T's constantly bickering clan (blocking out the most intense or awkward moments with her trusty Macarena monkey) to the vigorously - and vocally - proactive 'normalizer' of the equally - if less loudly - dysfunctional family in A Little Crazy (2003).
Co-starring Seacat students Jack Kerrigan, Kim Gillingham, and Kirk Baltz, "A Little Crazy" debuted at the 2003 Method Fest, earning Kerrigan a nomination for the festival's John Garfield Award, and, for the film itself, a rave review from Variety's Robert Koehler, praising, in particular, "the superb Seacat," as the "overreaching but never strident" matriarch of the film's "unhinged American family." Sadly, despite the review and subsequent awards from the Berkeley Video & Film Festival, the Hollywood MiniDV Festival, and the Los Angeles Silver Lake Film Festival, the independently produced film found neither a theatrical nor a DVD release (though it has, as of 2010, become available online via IndieFlix); as a result, what is almost certainly Seacat's most sizable and fleshed-out film performance to date has gone largely unseen.
Her next assignment, another independently made feature that would not see a theatrical release (again co-starring Kim Gillingham), In the Land of Milk and Money (2004), features Seacat in a much smaller role, but again a pivotal one, in a film which, none too skillfully, harkens back to the cautionary sci-fi tales of the fifties, as well as the neo-zombie variations of the seventies and beyond, in its tale of genetically modified cow's milk generating an epidemic of mothers killing their offspring. As one of the affected mothers, Seacat, in a handful of scenes, with a minimum of screen time and dialogue, gives an acting clinic, shifting from unreadable rage to transparent delight, from grief-stricken, guilt-ridden parent to righteous avenger.
Seacat's next few post-millennial assignments included a number of independently made films that remain, for better or worse, even harder to get a hold of than the previous two. More recently, however, have come brief but high-impact performances in a pair of relatively high-profile projects, HBO's You Don't Know Jack (2010), starring Al Pacino as Jack Kevorkian, aka 'Dr. Death' (and featuring Seacat as his first 'patient,' the Alzheimers-afflicted Janet Adkins), as well as actor Mark Ruffalo's feature film directing debut, Sympathy for Delicious (2010), wherein Seacat has an even smaller, but equally pivotal, role.
The former, in particular, caught the eye of Columbia University MFA candidate Jed Cowley in the fall of 2011, then casting his thesis film, a short subject set - and shot - in a shale pit in the filmmaker's home town of Medford, Oregon. As he would later recall, it took no more than one viewing of Seacat's brief but telling appearance in the Kevorkian biopic before Cowley and his producer "knew she should be Sheila," Shale (2012)'s long-suffering but "newly empowered" protagonist, the "once dutiful wife" now confronting her intractable ex-spouse against the shale pit's stark backdrop.
With Seacat in attendance, "Shale" had its premiere on May 5, 2012, at Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater, as part of the Columbia University Film Festival, where the film would earn the IFC Audience Choice Award. The film is also an official selection at the 2013 Slamdance Festival in Park City, Utah, screening with the South-African-set feature, Fynbos (2012), on Friday, January 18th, at 7 PM, and again on Tuesday the 22nd, at 12 noon.
As already mentioned, Seacat also appeared recently in the first two episodes of Laura Dern's HBO series "Enlightened," as well as the feature film, The Time Being (2012), representing the directing and screenwriting debuts, respectively, of Nenad Cicin-Sain and producer Richard N. Gladstein.
Seacat's next scheduled appearance is in Gia Coppola's feature film directing debut, still in pre-production, entitled Palo Alto (2013), based on short stories by James Franco.
In the meantime, Seacat has not neglected her educational mission; in fact, while remaining active on both coasts, she also recently made inroads into the heartland, when, on March 8, 2012, together with longtime friend and colleague, Robert Walden, and several others, she became a founding faculty member of the newly instituted Winthrop Rockefeller Institute Film Forum, a three-day, multi-disciplinary seminar to be hosted annually by the University of Arkansas.18 January 2023 (Natural Causes)- Actor
- Additional Crew
Illya Woloshyn was born in 1981. He was an actor, known for Friday the 13th: The Series (1987), The Odyssey (1992) and Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990). He was married to Tanya Pelensky. He died on 19 January 2023 in Barrie, Ontario, Canada.19 January 2023 (Undisclosed)- Tim Barlow was born on 18 January 1936 in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Hot Fuzz (2007), Les Misérables (1998) and Automata (2014). He died on 20 January 2023 in the UK.20 January 2023 (Natural Causes)
- Sal Piro was born on 29 June 1950 in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor, known for Fame (1980), Four Deadly Reasons (2002) and Third Watch (1999). He died on 22 January 2023 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.22 January 2023 (Esophageal Aneurysm)
- Lance Kerwin was born on 6 November 1960 in Newport Beach, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Outbreak (1995), Enemy Mine (1985) and Salem's Lot (1979). He was married to Yvonne Kerwin and Kristen Lansdale. He died on 24 January 2023 in San Clemente, California, USA.24 January 2023 (Multiple Drug Overdose)
- Cynthia Bostick was born on 3 June 1952 in Owensboro, Kentucky, USA. She was an actress, known for That's the Way of the World (1975), One Life to Live (1968) and As the World Turns (1956). She was married to John Georgeson and Ken Sherber. She died on 24 January 2023 in Marshfield, Wisconsin, USA.24 January 2023 (Undisclosed)
- Actress
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Cindy Williams was born Cynthia Jane Williams in Van Nuys, California on August 22, 1947. The Leo was 5'4" and, during her first years on Laverne & Shirley (1976), weighed a dainty 105 lbs. The brown haired, blue-eyed female was born the daughter of Francesca Bellini and Beachard Williams. Her father was an electronic technician, and Cindy grew up in reduced circumstances. She had one sister, Carol Ann Williams, and an older half-brother, Jim from her mother's first marriage.
As a child, she dreamed of being an actress. She used to create and perform her own plays and, as she grew, she wished that one day, Debbie Reynolds would see her in one of those amateur shows and whisk her away and put her in a film. Another thing that brought show business into her life was her alcoholic father's imitations of comics like Jackie Gleason and Milton Berle. She worked as a waitress, while she auditioned for commercials, television guest spots, and feature films. Her first step to fame was a movie in which she tap danced with Gene Kelly. She stepped on Kelly's foot, leaving her "really embarrassed". She landed important film roles early in her career.
Famed director George Cukor cast her in Travels with My Aunt (1972). Her next big role was for George Lucas in American Graffiti (1973), as Ron Howard's girlfriend, for which she earned a BAFTA nomination as Best Supporting Actress. That led to Francis Ford Coppola casting her in The Conversation (1974). The three instant-classic films should have propelled her into movie stardom, but her career inexplicably hit a lull. She couldn't go back to working as a waitress, because she was too well-known.
She was set up in a writing team with Penny Marshall and the girls were called by Penny's brother, Garry Marshall, to do a stint as two fast girls on Happy Days (1974). The public received them so warmly that Cindy and Penny soon got their own show and was referred to everywhere as "Shirley Feeney".
She earned a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress in 1978. She left the show in 1982, pregnant with daughter Emily. She was married to Bill Hudson, who had previously been married to actress Goldie Hawn. Williams later gave birth to a son, Zachary, in 1986. She went on to make a few movies and co-produced "The Father Of The Bride" movies with Hudson. They divorced in 2000.
She did Jenny Craig commercials and acted on guest spots on the TV show For Your Love (1998) and reunited with Penny Marshall several times on television. In 2015, her memoir, Shirley, I Jest! (co-written with Dave Smitherman), was published.
Cindy Williams died, aged 75, following a brief, undisclosed illness, in 2023.25 January 2023 (Brief Illness)- Actress
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London-born Sylvia May Laura Syms hit major film appeal at a relatively young age. Born on January 6, 1934, she was educated at convent schools before receiving dramatic training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She made her stage debut in a production of "The Apple Cart" in 1954.
A repertory player by the time she was discovered for films by the British star Anna Neagle and her director/husband Herbert Wilcox, the lovely demure blonde started out auspiciously enough in the delinquent film Teenage Bad Girl (1956) in which she played Neagle's troubled daughter. This was followed by a second Neagle/Wilcox collaboration with No Time for Tears (1957).
Excelling whether cast in stark melodrama, spirited adventure or harmless comedy fluff, Syms' film list grew impressive in the late 1950s and early 1960s working alongside the likes of John Mills and Anthony Quayle in Ice Cold in Alex (1958), Curd Jürgens and Orson Welles in Ferry to Hong Kong (1959), Lilli Palmer and Yvonne Mitchell in Conspiracy of Hearts (1960), Laurence Harvey in Expresso Bongo (1959), William Holden in The World of Suzie Wong (1960), and Dirk Bogarde in the landmark gay-themed Victim (1961), playing the unsuspecting wife of Bogarde's closeted male. After nearly a decade's absence, Sylvia returned briefly to the London theatre lights in 1964 to play the title role in "Peter Pan."
Ably portraying innocent love interests throughout the years, she graced a number of pictures without ever nabbing that one role that would truly put her over the top. She was nominated, however, three times for British Film Academy Awards--twice for best actress in Woman in a Dressing Gown (1957) and No Trees in the Street (1959) and once for supporting actress in The Tamarind Seed (1974) that starred Julie Andrews and Omar Sharif.
The 1970s saw quite a bit of TV series work and she played British prime minister Margaret Thatcher at one point on both stage and TV. She grew plumper with middle age and found herself immersed in character roles, offering support in such films as Absolute Beginners (1986), Shirley Valentine (1989) and Shining Through (1992).
The stage once again beckoned in the mid-to-late 1980's with touring performances, among many others, in "The Heiress," "The Beaux Stratagem," "The Ideal Husband," "A Doll's House," "Ghosts," "The Vortex," "Hamlet," "Anthony and Cleopatra" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" She portrayed the Queen and Margaret Thatcher in a production of "Ugly Rumours" and was among the cast in a musical presentation of "On the Town" in 2005.
Into the millennium, Sylvia has continued to have remarkable agility. American audiences have recently seen her as the dog-doting "Princess Charlotte" in the light teen comedy What a Girl Wants (2003) with Amanda Bynes and Colin Firth, and treading water as the Shelley Winters character in the TV-remake of The Poseidon Adventure (2005). Other movies have included the role of the Queen Mum in The Queen (2006) starring Oscar-winning Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II, as well as featured roles in Is Anybody There? (2008) starring Michael Caine and Booked Out (2012). She also co-starred opposite Peter Bowles in the heart-warming senior character study Together (2018).
Married once and divorced in the 1980s from Alvin Edney, daughter Beatie Edney (aka Beatrice) is a highly prolific actress in her own right, and her son, Benjamin Edney, was briefly an actor while young and appeared with his mother as her son in the western The Desperados (1969). Ms. Syms is sometimes confused with Brooklyn-born jazz/cabaret performer and recording artist Sylvia Syms (1917-1992) (née Sylvia Blagman).27 January 2023 (Natural Causes)- Actress
- Producer
Viola Léger was born on June 29, 1930 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, United States but spent most of her life in Canada. One of her best known roles is that of "La Sagouine" written by Antonine Maillet, a role she performed over 2, 500 times, winning rave reviews.
She was appointed to the Canadian Senate in 2001 at the recommendation of then Prime Minister Chrétien, representing L'Acadie, New Brunswick. She was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1989. She was awarded the Order of New Brunswick in 2007.
In 2013, she received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for her work as an actress. She died in New Brunswick, Canada, on January 28, 2023, aged 92.28 January 2023 (Undisclosed)- Actress
- Make-Up Department
- Writer
Lisa Loring was an American actress and former child model. She is primarily known for having played Wednesday Addams in the comedy-horror sitcom "The Addams Family" (1964-1966). The sitcom was the first screen adaptation of the comic strip "The Addams Family" (1938-1988) by Charles Addams, which featured a wealthy aristocratic clan who took delight in the macabre. Wednesday was the perpetually gloomy daughter of the family in the comic strip. Loring's version of the character was sweet-natured, but eccentric. This version of Wednesday owned a collection of decapitated dolls, and named her favorite doll after Marie Antoinette, the executed Queen of France. Wednesday raised spiders as a hobby.
In 1958, Loring was born on the Kwajalein Atoll, the southernmost of the Marshall Islands. The island is located about 2,100 nautical miles (3,900 kilometers; 2,400 miles) southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii. It has hosted an American naval base since World War II. Her parents were both personnel of the United States Navy. Loring's parents separated shortly after her birth, and Judith Loring (Loring's mother) received custody of Loring. Lisa Loring was initially raised in Hawaii, before moving with her mother to Los Angeles.
In 1961, Loring started working as a child model. She eventually took a few acting roles, and reportedly guest starred in a 1964 episode of the medical drama "Dr. Kildare". When cast to play Wednesday in "The Addams Family", Loring was only 6-years-old. It was her first regular role in television. The series lasted for 2 seasons and 64 episodes, ending in 1966.
Loring was cast in the role of Susan "Suzy" Pruitt in the short-lived sitcom "The Pruitts of Southampton" (1966-1967). The sitcom was the brainchild of David Levy, who had previously produced "The Addams Family". The series used much of the former cast of "The Addams Family". The premise of this sitcom was that the Pruitts were a formerly wealthy family who still lived in an aristocratic mansion in the Hamptons. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had found out about their loss of wealth, but instructed them to maintain their pretensions of great wealth in order to avoid a potential loss of confidence in the financial system. Episodes revolved about the family's efforts to raise money while maintaining secrecy.
In 1973, aged 15, Loring married her boyfriend Farrell Foumberg. She gave birth to her daughter Vanessa that year. The couple divorced in 1974. Judith Loring died in 1974 from alcoholism. Lisa Loring had to provide for herself. She appeared infrequently in television films during the late 1970s. Loring was cast as Wednesday Sr. in the television film "Halloween with the New Addams Family" (1977). Wednesday was depicted in the film as having a look-alike younger sister, known as Wednesday junior (played by Jennifer Surprenant). In 1980, Loring joined the cast of the soap opera "As the World Turns". She portrayed Cricket Montgomery, a half-sister of the regular character Margo Montgomery Hughes. Loring continued appearing in the series until 1984.
In 1981, Loring married the soap opera actor Doug Stevenson. They had daughter Marianne early in their marriage, but received a divorce in 1983. Loring's acting career was in hiatus until she agreed to play in the slasher film "Blood Frenzy" (1987). Its premise was that a killer stalked the patients of psychiatrist Dr. Barbara Shelley (played by Wendy MacDonald) during their trip through a desert. The film's plot reportedly combined plot elements from the earlier films "Ten Little Indians" (1974) and "Friday the 13th" (1980). The film was an early attempt by pornographic film producer Hal Freeman to create his own horror films.
Loring was an uncredited co-writer in the pornographic film "Traci's Big Trick" (1987). She was introduced to porn actor Jerry Butler (born Paul David Siederman; 1959-2018), and they started dating. They were married within 1987, but their relationship was tumultuous. They divorced each other in 1992, following failed a number of failed attempts in reconciliation.
In 1988, Loring co-starred in the slasher film "Iced". Its premise was that a group of old friends has received invitations to a new ski resort. They reunite there, but are stalked by a killer who has mysterious ties to their past. Loring's performance and humorous dialogue were reportedly among the highlight of the film. But the film has a relatively poor reputation among horror fans, due to soap opera-like plot elements and an inconclusive ending to its mystery. It was her last notable role for several years.
By the early 1990s, Loring was feeling depressed due to the decline of her career and her poor relationship with her husband. She tried to self-medicate her condition, leading to a drug addiction. In 1991, Loring was the first person to discover the corpse of her friend Kelly Van Dyke, who had committed suicide by hanging. Loring was in a fragile state of mind. She made a suicide attempt not long after. In 1992, she went to rehab and beat her addiction. She gave a few interviews in the mid-1990s, but semi-retired from acting. She resumed her acting career in the mid-2010s, with appearances in two different horror films. In 2023, Lisa Loring died, aged 64.28 January 2023 (Complications From a Stroke)- This talented actress was born Anne Marie Wersching and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. She opted early on for a life in the entertainment industry, performing in community theatre and later as a dancer for some fourteen years with a troupe called the St. Louis Celtic Stepdancers. After moving to Chicago, she acted in several touring plays and at the Utah Shakespearean Festival. In 1999, Wersching graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Musical Theatre from the Millikin University School of Theater and Dance in Decatur, Illinois. Moving to Los Angeles, two years later, she appeared in a revival of the Stephen Sondheim-Richard Rodgers-Arthur Laurents musical "Do I Hear a Waltz?" at the Pasadena Playhouse, as well as making her screen debut in an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise (2001).
Testament to her acting skill have been lengthy stints on popular prime time series like 24 (2001) (as the valiant but ill-fated FBI Special Agent Renee Walker), The Vampire Diaries (2009) (Lily Salvatore), Timeless (2016) (as time traveler Emma Whitmore) and Marvel's Runaways (2017) (as charismatic villain turned ally Leslie Dean). She also gave a thoroughly convincing performance as extrovert rookie police officer Julia Brasher, involved with (Harry) Bosch (2014) at LAPD's Hollywood Division on both a professional and a personal level. Their relationship eventually soured in season two, although Brasher returned briefly for two episodes in season 7. Wersching became the third actress to play the dreaded Borg Queen (following in the footsteps of Alice Krige and Susanna Thompson) and did so to chilling effect in season two of Star Trek: Picard (2020). Her steady volume of television work has included guest appearances on Charmed (1998), Supernatural (2005), NCIS (2003), Hawaii Five-0 (2010) and Castle (2009).
Very much at the peak of her career, Annie Wersching was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2020, but kept her illness private and continued to work afterwards. She passed away at her home in Los Angeles, California on January 29, 2023, at age 45.29 January 2023 (Cancer) - George R. Robertson was a Canadian actor best known as Chief Hurst in the first 6 Police Academy films. He was also featured in JFK, Murder At 1600 (Mack Falls), as Dick Cheney in The Path To 9/11 and, most recently as Chester Jones in Still Mine. He appeared as Barry Goldwater in The Reagans, as Sen. Fulbright in The Pentagon Papers and as Adm. William Leahy in Hiroshima.29 January 2023 (Undisclosed)
- Stunts
- Actor
- Special Effects
George P. Wilbur was born on 6 March 1941 in Kent, Connecticut, USA. He was an actor, known for The Perfect Storm (2000), Escape from New York (1981) and Die Hard (1988). He died on 1 February 2023 in the USA.1 February 2023 (Undisclosed)- Actor
- Soundtrack
Iglesias was a prolific supporting actor found in many Hollywood westerns of the 50s and 60s. He was born Eugene Luis Francisco Iglesias Carrillo in San Juan, Puerto Rico, said to have come from a distinguished family with connections to José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín, the first elected governor of Puerto Rico. Iglesias arrived in California as a student, was signed by Columbia and made his debut as Mel Ferrer's determined younger matador brother in The Brave Bulls (1951). Thereafter, he found his niche in westerns playing an assortment of colourful characters, sometimes outlaws (perhaps his best-remembered tole as Johnny Sombrero in The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)), often Native Americans (Chibiabos in Hiawatha (1952), Gray Eagle in Jack McCall, Desperado (1953), Chato in Taza, Son of Cochise (1954) and Walk the Proud Land (1956)). Other roles cast him as Italians (the impassioned patriot Rollo D'Anterras in Mask of the Avenger (1951)), Hispanics (Don Manuel Arriega in Cowboy (1958)) or Portuguese (Paulo in East of Sumatra (1953)). Iglesias segued into TV work from the mid-60s and retired from acting in 1970.4 February 2023 (Stroke)- Fernando Becerril was born in 1944. He was an actor, known for The Mask of Zorro (1998), Ravenous (1999) and Get the Gringo (2012). He died on 7 February 2023 in Mexico.7 February 2023 (Natural Causes)
- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Burt Bacharach was a well known and multi award winning singer and song writer.
Over 1,000 different artists have recorded Bacharach's songs. From 1961 to 1972, most of Bacharach and David's hits were written specifically for and performed by Dionne Warwick, but earlier associations (from 1957 to 1963) saw the composing duo work with Marty Robbins, Perry Como, Gene McDaniels, and Jerry Butler. Following the initial success of these collaborations, Bacharach wrote hits for singers such as Gene Pitney, Cilla Black, Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones, and B.J. Thomas. Bacharach wrote 73 U.S. and 52 UK Top 40 hits. He worked on many sound tracks including the smash hit, "Beware of the Blob" for the version of The Blob (1958) starring Steve McQueen.
He was married four times, lastly to Jane Hansen from 1993 until his death. They had two children. He also had two other children.8 February 2023 (Natural Causes)- Actor
- Music Department
- Writer
Cody Longo was an American actor and musician. The early stages of his career began onstage before eventually moving to Los Angeles to pursue film and television. He studied psychology and film at UCLA.
Cody had various film and television roles since he started his professional career in 2009. He was a singer/songwriter who broke into the Billboard Top 100 charts in 2014 with his song "She Said", which charted #3 along with his debut album. He was a music supervisor and executive producer on various film and television projects. He had his hand in charities and pushed to keep both art programs in schools domestically, and continue to help build housings that provides schooling for children around the world. He headed his own non-profit LiveAlive, and was heavily involved with Make a Wish foundation and Pencils of Promise.
Cody relocated to Nashville, Tennessee to write and produce music. He co-founded and served as chief music executive officer of Circle 11 Entertainment, a company that would help create and mold up-and-coming talent. He was poised to return to acting in 2023 before his untimely death.8 February 2023 (Alcohol Poisoning)- Actor
- Music Department
- Additional Crew
Handsome, pipe-smoking South-African born singer and actor who reached the peak of his popularity in Britain during the late 1950s and early '60s. Lotis began his career in the entertainment industry at the tender age of nine after winning a talent contest. He then made several stage appearances and sang on radio. After leaving school, aged fifteen, he briefly worked as a bus conductor and as an electrician before leaving for England with a letter of introduction to the bandleader Ted Heath. Engaged as a regular vocalist with the Heath orchestra during the early 1950s, Lotis often crooned ballads which proved especially popular with female audiences. He straddled different genres, his repertoire encompassing jazz, pop and rock 'n' roll.
As a solo act from the mid-'50s, Lotis recorded a number of albums for Decca, Pye Nixa and Columbia, was featured frequently on BBC radio, toured the variety circuit and performed at the London Palladium. His singing career peaked in the '60s when he became a regular guest on TV pop music shows like Six-Five Special (1957) and Dial for Music (1959). He also acted in a few motion pictures, including The City of the Dead (1960) and Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960). As changing musical trends began to adversely affect his career by the end of the decade, Lotis reinvented himself as a restaurateur and antique store owner, based in the market town of Tring in Hertfordshire. He did, however, make a brief nostalgic comeback in the 1980s.
Lotis was married to the South African singer Alexandrena Maie (Rena) Mackie (1929-1997). After her death from cancer, he remarried and moved to North Norfolk where he passed away, aged 97, on February 8 2023.8 February 2023 (Natural Causes)- Director
- Producer
- Writer
The old Etonian, after National Service in the British Army, wanted to get into films but found the doors were closed to him, so he worked on commercials for about 20 years. David Putnam gave him a chance to direct Chariots of Fire which was a hit, and he never looked back.
He met his second wife, actress Maryam d'Abo, when she came to see him about wanting to play the leading role of Jane in his film Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984). They reconnected 15 years later at a dinner party. They wed four years later in 2003.10 February 2023 (Short Illness)- Len Birman was born on 28 September 1932 in Montréal, Québec, Canada. He was an actor, known for Silver Streak (1976), Captain America (1979) and Draw! (1984). He was married to Ruby Renaut and Harriet Jane Takefman. He died on 10 February 2023 in Los Angeles, California, USA.10 February 2023 (Undisclosed)
- Debra Engle was born on 4 July 1953 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. She was an actress, known for The Golden Girls (1985), Dream On (1990) and The Golden Palace (1992). She was married to Russell Smith. She died on 10 February 2023 in Los Angeles, California, USA.10 February 2023 (Dementia)
- Actor
- Cinematographer
- Editor
Austin Majors was a scholar as well as an actor, skipping a grade, and getting high marks in all subjects. Majors graduated second in his high school class in 2013. He later studied at the University of Southern California in the School of Cinematic Arts, majoring in Film and Television Production, minoring in Music Industry. Majors was a brother of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. An avid outdoorsman, hes was a junior assistant Scoutmaster in Boy Scouts. He has earned scouting's highest rank, obtaining the honor of Eagle Scout at the age of fourteen. Majors liked helping others and lent his support to a variety of charitable causes including Kids with a Cause, the Ronald McDonald House, and the Jonathan Jaques Childrens Cancer Center. When not in front of the camera, he enjoyed making films of his own, backpacking, riding horses, attending concerts, traveling and playing sports. Majors received the Young Artists Award for Best Performance in a Television Series for his compelling work on NYPD Blue. His work on Treasure Planet earned him another nomination for Best Performance in a Voice Over Role.11 February 2023 (Fentanyl Poisoning)- Actor
- Additional Crew
Billy Two Rivers was born on 5 May 1935 in Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada. He was an actor, known for Taking Lives (2004), Black Robe (1991) and Musketeers Forever (1998). He died on 12 February 2023 in Kahnawà:ke, Quebec, Canada.12 February 2023 (Undisclosed)- Actor
- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Christo Jivkov was born on 18 February 1975 in Sofia, Bulgaria. He was an actor and producer, known for The Passion of the Christ (2004), Otchuzhdenie (2013) and The Final Inquiry (2006). He died on 31 March 2023 in Los Angeles, California, USA.13 February 2023 (Lung Cancer)- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Actor
Tom Luddy was born on 4 June 1943 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a producer and actor, known for Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), The Secret Garden (1993) and Barfly (1987). He was married to Monique Montgomery. He died on 13 February 2023 in Berkeley, California, USA.13 February 2023
(Complications From Parkinson's Disease)- Actor
- Producer
Anglo-Pakistani actor Zia Mohyeddin was born June 20, 1931 in Faisalabad, British India but lived his early life in Karachi, Pakistan. His father, Khadim Mohyeddin, was a mathematician and musicologist, and also a playwright and lyricist associated with various theatre groups.
Zia trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London from 1953-1956. Following important stage roles in "Long Day's Journey Into Night" and "Julius Caesar" in 1957, he made his West End bow as Dr. Aziz in "A Passage to India" in 1960.
After making his 1960 film debut in Pakistan, Mohyeddin made an impression as Tafas, Lawrence's ill-fated Arab guide, in the British classic film Lawrence of Arabia (1962). He continued with work on the BBC on several TV series including "Danger Man," "Sir Francis Drake" and "The Doctors and the Nurses." Other British films followed with supporting roles in A Boy Ten Feet Tall (1963), Behold a Pale Horse (1964), Deadlier Than the Male (1967), The Sailor from Gibraltar (1967), They Came from Beyond Space (1967) and Bombay Talkie (1970).
Zia returned to Pakistan at the request of the Bhutto regime in the late 60s and set up the PIA Arts and Dance Academy, which received critical merit for its classical as well as folk dances and music. He met the noted Kathak classical dancer Naheed Siddiqui and showcased her frequently in the company. They had a son, Hassan Mohyeddin, but later divorced. Zia also became a noted talk show figure on Pakistani TV (1969-1973).
Highly critical of the political regime, he left Pakistan in the late 1970's and returned to England, resuming his career there. Among his later films were Ashanti (1979), The Assam Garden (1985), and Immaculate Conception (1992), as well as the highly touted miniseries The Jewel in the Crown (1984), Masterpiece Theatre: Lord Mountbatten - The Last Viceroy (1986) and Shalom Salaam (1989), among other guest appearances on such TV programs as "Z Cars," "Minder" and "King of the Ghetto" (recurring).
Of his three marriages, Zia has four children. After divorcing second wife Sarwar Zamani, he married Azra Mohyeddin in the middle 1990's with whom he has a daughter, Aaliya Mohyeddin (born in 2002 when Zia was nearly 70). His other two children are sons Risha and Minos. In later years, he traveled the world promoting his Urdu poetry and prose recitations to international acclaim. His memoir, "A Carrot is a Carrot: Memories and Reflection," was published in 2012.
In February, the then President of Pakistan invited Mohyeddin to form the National Academy of Performing Arts in Karachi and thereafter became its president. The octogenarian has continued to appear as a lecturer/speaker, hosts occasional TV programs and narrates short films and commercials.13 February 2023 (Natural Causes)- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
A new reigning 1960s international sex symbol took to the cinematic throne as soon as Raquel Welch emerged from the sea in her purposely depleted, furry prehistoric bikini. Tantalizingly wet with her garb clinging to all the right amazonian places, One Million Years B.C. (1966), if nothing else, captured the hearts and libidos of modern men (not to mention their teenage sons) while producing THE most definitive and best-selling pin-up poster of that time.
She was born Jo Raquel Tejada on September 5, 1940 in Chicago, Illinois, the first of three children of Bolivian-born Armando Carlos Tejada, an aerospace engineer, and his wife, Josephine Sarah (Hall). The family moved to San Diego, California (her father was transferred) when Raquel was only two. Taking dance lessons as a youngster, she grew up to be quite a knockout and nailed a number of teen beauty titles ("Miss Photogenic," "Miss La Jolla," "Miss Contour," "Miss Fairest of the Fair" and "Miss San Diego").
With her sights set on theater arts, she studied at San Diego State College on a scholarship starting in 1958 and married her first husband, high school sweetheart James Welch, the following year. They had two children: Damon Welch (born 1959), who later became an actor/production assistant, and actress Tahnee Welch (born 1961). Tahnee went on to take advantage of her own stunning looks as an actress, most notably with her prime role in Cocoon (1985).
Off campus, she became a local TV weather girl in San Diego and eventually quit college. Following the end of her marriage in 1962 (although Raquel and James Welch didn't divorce until 1964), she packed up her two children and moved to Dallas, Texas, where she modeled for Neiman-Marcus and worked as a barmaid for a time.
Regrouping, she returned to California and made the rounds of film/TV auditions. She found work providing minor but sexy set decoration on the small screen (Bewitched (1964), McHale's Navy (1962) and The Virginian (1962)) as well as the large screen (Elvis Presley's Roustabout (1964) and Doris Day's Do Not Disturb (1965)). Caught in the midst of the "beach party" craze, it's not surprising to find out that her first major film role was A Swingin' Summer (1965), which concentrated more on musical guests The Righteous Brothers and Gary Lewis & The Playboys than on Welch's outstanding assets. But 20th Century-Fox certainly took notice and signed her up.
With her very first film under contract (actually, she was on loan out to Britain's Hammer Studios at the time), she took on One Million Years B.C. (1966) (the remake of One Million B.C. (1940), in the role originated by Carole Landis), and the rest is history. Welch remained an international celebrity in her first few years of stardom. In England, she was quite revealing as the deadly sin representing "lust" for the comedy team of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in their vehicle Bedazzled (1967), and as the title secret agent in the spy spoof Fathom (1967). In Italy, she gained some exposure in primarily mediocre vehicles opposite such heartthrobs as Marcello Mastroianni.
Back in the U.S., however, she caused quite a stir in her groundbreaking sex scenes with black athlete Jim Brown in the "spaghetti western" 100 Rifles (1969), and as the transgender title role in the unfathomable Myra Breckinridge (1970). Adapted from Gore Vidal's novel, she created some unwelcome notoriety by locking horns with septuagenarian diva Mae West on the set. The instant cult movie certainly didn't help Welch's attempt at being taking seriously as an actress.
Box office bombs abounded. Try as she might in such films as Kansas City Bomber (1972) and The Wild Party (1975), which drew some good reviews for her, her sexy typecast gave her little room to breathe. With determination, however, she partly offset this with modest supporting roles in larger ensemble pieces. She showed definite spark and won a Golden Globe for the swashbuckler The Three Musketeers (1973), and appeared in the mystery thriller The Last of Sheila (1973). She planned on making a comeback in Cannery Row (1982), even agreeing to appear topless (which she had never done before), but was suddenly fired during production without notice. She sued MGM for breach of contract and ultimately won a $15 million settlement, but it didn't help her film career and only helped to label her as trouble on a set.
TV movies became a positive milieu for Welch as she developed sound vehicles for herself such as The Legend of Walks Far Woman (1980) and Right to Die (1987), earning a Golden Globe nomination for the latter project. She also found a lucrative avenue pitching beauty products in infomercials and developing exercise videos (such as Jane Fonda).
Welch took advantage of her modest singing and dancing abilities by performing in splashy Las Vegas showroom acts and starring in such plausible stage vehicles as "Woman of the Year" and "Victor/Victoria". She spoofed her own image on occasion, most memorably on Seinfeld (1989). Into the millennium, she co-starred in the Hispanic-oriented TV series American Family (2002) and the short-lived comedies Welcome to the Captain (2008) and Date My Dad (2017), along with the movies Tortilla Soup (2001), Legally Blonde (2001), Forget About It (2006) and How to Be a Latin Lover (2017).
Her three subsequent marriages were to producer/agent Patrick Curtis (who produced her TV special, Raquel (1970)), director André Weinfeld (who directed her in several fitness videos), and pizza parlor owner Richie Palmer, who was 14 years her junior. All these unions ended in divorce.
She died at 2:25 a.m. on February 15, 2023, aged 82, at her Los Angeles home after suffering a cardiac arrest. She had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease.15 February 2023 (Short Illness)- A durable catcher in the Major Leagues, McCarver was one of the few players to play in four different decades (50s, 60s, 70s, 80s). Not known for his bat, McCarver was a smart, defensive catcher, who knew how to position his fielders and take care of his pitchers. McCarver caught for two of the game's greatest pitchers, Bob Gibson and Steve Carlton. McCarver, an eloquent player with reporters, later became a baseball television announcer, where he does color commentary for ESPN and ABC TV.16 February 2022 (Heart Failure)
- Actress
- Director
- Producer
The early film career of Stella Stevens could be said to mirror that of Marilyn Monroe. She began by playing a succession of sensuous, blond glamour girls, from naïve virgins and funny coquettes to precocious or briny-tongued floozies. Her early maturity on screen may have reflected her own turbulent private life: she was married at 15, had a child (Andrew Stevens) at 16 and was divorced a year later. At 21, having a child to support and no money, she posed for a celebrated Playboy centerfold. She was Playmate of the Month for January 1960 which did her subsequent movie career no harm whatever. She was voted by Playboy as one of the 100 Sexiest Women of the 20th century and became one of the most photographed stars of the 1960s.
The voluptuous, blue-eyed Stella was born Estelle Caro Eggleston to one of the oldest families in Yazoo City, Mississippi. A myth which had her hailing from the quaintly named area of Hot Coffee was purely an invention by Hollywood publicists. Her father, Thomas Ellet Eggleston, was an insurance salesman, her mother, Estelle (nee Caro), a nurse. The family moved to Memphis when she was four.
During her early childhood, Stella was nicknamed "Bootsie". Precocious and impatient to grow up, she took to watching movies at every opportunity. It became her main passion. Graduating from high school in 1955, she spent two years attending Memphis State University where she was 'discovered' during a production of Bus Stop in the role of aspiring nightclub singer Chérie (famously played by Marilyn in the film version). Borrowing some money, Stella made her way to the bright lights of Los Angeles and was signed by 20th Century Fox in 1959. She made only three films for the studio during a six months spell before her contract was dropped, her debut being a bit part in Frank Tashlin's saccharine comedy-drama Say One for Me (1959).
Her role won her a Golden Globe Award as Most Promising Newcomer. That same year, she was picked up by Paramount and made her first breakthrough on the screen as the vampish Apassionata von Climax in the film version of the hit Broadway musical Li'l Abner (1959), based on Al Capp's comic strip.
She alternated motion pictures with television appearances, displaying a perhaps unexpectedly wide range as an actress in both dramatic and comedic roles. She stood out in films like Too Late Blues (1961) and The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963), both under greatly contrasting directorial styles.
Above all, she saw herself not as a sex icon but as a comedienne. She once said "I want to be remembered for whatever made people laugh the most." Unafraid to do physical comedy in the manner of Lucille Ball she was also often lauded for her comic timing in films like The Silencers (1966) (a James Bond-style spoof, co-starring a sleepy-eyed Dean Martin) and Where Angels Go Trouble Follows! (1968). In the 1970s, her best role was as a warmhearted prostitute in Sam Peckinpah's seminal western The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970). Writer and critic Roger Ebert wrote of her performance "There are few enough actresses who can be funny and feminine at the same time, but she is certainly one of them." Conversely, in the classic disaster epic The Poseidon Adventure (1972), she played a former hooker with a heart closer to tin.
Like many film careers, hers too experienced a fair share of hiccups along the way, often due to typecasting: duds like Slaughter (1972), Stand Up and Be Counted (1972), Las Vegas Lady (1975), The Manitou (1978), and others. However, Stella proved resourceful enough to diversify and go behind the camera, both as producer and director of a feature-length documentary, The American Heroine (1979). She co-authored a novel entitled 'Razzle, Dazzle' (published in 1999), about the rise and fall of a glamorous rock star. She unveiled her own range of women's and men's fragrances, called 'Sexy'.
During the 1980s and 1990s, she concentrated primarily on television and enjoyed lengthy tenures on the glossy soaps Flamingo Road (1980) and Santa Barbara (1984), in addition to many guest appearances in shows as diverse as Police Story (1973), Hotel (1983), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985) and In the Heat of the Night (1988). In 1976, she briefly forsook the glamour of Beverly Hills and set up home on a 27-acre ranch on the edge of the Cascade Mountains in Washington State and then proceeded to operate an art gallery and bakery in a nearby town.
By 1983, she had returned to her Beverly Hills home where she lived with her partner (rock guitarist Bob Kulick), until the home was sold in 2016. Afflicted by Alzheimer's disease, Stella Stevens spent her remaining years in an assisted living home in California and passed away in Los Angeles on February 17 2023 at the age of 84.17 February 2023 (Alzheimer's Disease)- Actor
- Make-Up Department
- Soundtrack
Lee Whitlock was born on 17 April 1968 in Hammersmith, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), Cassandra's Dream (2007) and Jack the Giant Slayer (2013). He died on 17 February 2023.17 February 2023 (Undisclosed)- Patti Love was born on 18 August 1947 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. She was an actress, known for The Long Good Friday (1980), Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005) and An Awfully Big Adventure (1995). She died on 17 February 2023 in London, England, UK.17 February 2023 (Undisclosed)
- Director
- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
George Miller was born on 28 November 1943 in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. He was a director and producer, known for The Man from Snowy River (1982), Matlock Police (1971) and The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1990). He died on 17 February 2023 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.17 February 2023 (Heart Attack)- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Barbara Bosson, who earned an Emmy Award nomination for her performance on Murder One (1995), was raised in Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, a small coal-mining town about 30 miles south of Pittsburgh. When she was a teenager, she and her family moved to Florida, where she attended Boca Ciega High School in Gulfport. After graduation, she was accepted into the Drama Department of Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh (now Carnegie Mellon). When Bosson learned the tuition would be too great a burden on her parents, she instead moved to New York. She supported herself in a variety of jobs -- secretary, television production assistant, Playboy Bunny, etc. -- while studying acting with Milton Katselas and Herbert Berghof, and musical comedy with Word Baker. Six years later, Bosson reevaluated her prospects while working as a secretary for ACT (the American Conservatory Theater). She spoke frequently with various drama department heads, including Earl Gister, head of Carnegie Tech's Drama Department. Deciding it wasn't too late to pursue her dream, she asked Gister for an audition. He agreed. Bosson can't remember her audition, but it convinced Gister to place her in the school and to assist her in finding scholarship money. So, at 26, she became Carnegie Tech's oldest freshman. While attending Carnegie Tech, Bosson met her future husband, Steven Bochco (whom she would not marry until years later), and fellow Hill Street Blues (1981) stars Bruce Weitz and Charles Haid. On a summer break from Carnegie Tech, she landed a job in San Francisco with the improvisational group, "The Committee". With Gister's blessing, she stayed with the group and performed with them for three years. Bosson is a five-time Emmy Award nominee for Best Supporting Actress in a Dramatic Series for her portrayal of "Fay Furillo" in the Emmy Award-winning series, Hill Street Blues (1981). An innovative cook, Bosson raises her own herbs and vegetables. She enjoys skiing, doing crossword puzzles and dancing. Bosson also hates dieting, which she has done unsuccessfully for 25 years. Bosson and Steven Bochco have two children and reside in Los Angeles.18 February 2023 (Undisclosed)- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
A social misfit, Belzer was kicked out of every school he ever attended, due to his uncontrollable wit. His mother (Frances) died of breast cancer when Richard was 18. Four years later, his father (Charles) committed suicide. A dedication is written to Charles Belzer in Richard Belzer's "UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don't Have To Be Crazy To Believe" (Ballantine Books, 1999).19 February 2023 (Health Complications)- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Jansen Panettiere was born on 25 September 1994 in Palisades, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Robots (2005), The Fog (2005) and The Eye (2008). He died on 19 February 2023 in New York City, New York, USA.19 February 2023
(Aortic Valve Complications From an Enlarged Heart)- Walter Mirisch and brothers Marvin Mirisch and Harold Mirisch were one of the most successful producing teams in Hollywood history. Their Mirisch Company produced such diverse hits as Some Like It Hot (1959), The Magnificent Seven (1960), West Side Story (1961), The Great Escape (1963), The Pink Panther (1963) and many others. Most of their films were financed and released by United Artists, and through a stock swap in 1963 the brothers acquired the company. They stayed on with UA and their production relationships with producer/directors like Billy Wilder, Blake Edwards and John Sturges became the model by which Hollywood makes movies today.
Starting out as a producer on such low-budget "B" fare at Monogram Pictures as Bomba: The Jungle Boy (1949), Mirisch rose to become one of Hollywood's leading industry statesman. He was a visionary who, in the declining years of the Hollywood studio system, could see that the future lay with the independent producers. Operating out of rented office space at the old Samuel Goldwyn lot in Hollywood, the Mirisches kept their overhead low by such tactics as renting studio stages and facilities only when needed. Whereas the major studios were still burdened by high overhead and salaries, the brothers were in a position to attract top talent and offer high fees and flexible control to up-and-coming directors like Norman Jewison, who responded with three hits in a row for them - The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming (1966), In the Heat of the Night (1967) and The Thomas Crown Affair (1968).24 February 2023 (Natural Causes) - Ed Fury was born on 6 June 1928 in Long Island, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Valley of the Lions (1961), Ursus in the Land of Fire (1963) and Ursus (1961). He was married to Marceline Yvette Dubois. He died on 24 February 2023 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.24 February 2023 (Undisclosed)
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Gordon Edward Pinsent was born on July 12, 1930 in Grand Falls, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, to Florence (Cooper) and Stephen Arthur Pinsent. Gordon was known as "Porky" as a child, and dreamed of performing as early as he can remember. He served with the Royal Canadian Regiment from 1948-51. Gordon received an L.L.D. from the University P.E.I. in 1975, an Honorary doctorate from Queen's University in 1988, as well as from the Memorial University of Newfoundland and the University of Prince Edward Island.
Gordon left Newfoundland at the age of 17 and began his career on stage. His first theatrical experiences were in Winnipeg, Manitoba. While there, he was involved in the first live radio drama out of Winnipeg. He eventually moved east, working in Toronto and Stratford, Ontario. He has since won numerous credits and awards, and is one of Canada's most well-respected artists.
In addition to acting, he directs and produces, and has written a number of novels and screenplays, as well as plays for the stage, including 'Corner Green' for the Newfoundland amateur drama festival. The play was staged in St. John's, Newfoundland in April of 1997, and was was based upon life his hometown of Grand Falls, Newfoundland.
He is a member of the Honorary Advisory Board for the Newfoundland Symphony Youth Orchestra, and is very active in various charities. His humorous and poignant autobiography, "By the Way", was published.
His wife until her death was actress Charmion King, whom he met during his early theater days. He has a daughter, actress Leah Pinsent, from that union, as well as a son and daughter from an earlier marriage (Barry and Beverly Kennedy). He has two brothers, Harry and Haig, and three sisters: Nita, Hazel, and Lil, who passed away in 1998.25 February 2023 (Natural Causes)- Julian Christopher was born on 7 November 1944 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), Elysium (2013) and 88 Minutes (2007). He died on 26 February 2023 in the USA.26 February 2023 (Undisclosed)
- Ted Donaldson was born on 20 August 1933 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), The Return of Rusty (1946) and Rusty Saves a Life (1949). He died on 1 March 2023 in Los Angeles, California, USA.1 March 2023 (Complications From A Fall)
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Tom Sizemore rose in prominence throughout the 1990s, establishing himself as a memorable tough-guy actor, sought by the most respected directors in the business.
Thomas Edward Sizemore, Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Judith (Schannault), an ombudsman staff member, and Thomas Edward Sizemore, Sr., a lawyer and professor. Sizemore grew up idolizing the tough-guy characters of the movies he watched. After attending Wayne State University, he got his master's degree in theatre from Temple University in 1986.
Like many, he moved to New York City and struggled, waiting tables and performing in plays. His first break came when Oliver Stone cast him in a bit part in Born on the Fourth of July (1989). Bigger roles soon followed throughout the early 1990s, such as Guilty by Suspicion (1991), True Romance (1993), and Striking Distance (1993). 1994 proved to be an even bigger year for Sizemore, as he won the role of "Bat Masterson" in Kevin Costner's star-studded biopic Wyatt Earp (1994), as well as one of his first truly memorable roles as "Detective Jack Scagnetti" in Oliver Stone's controversial Natural Born Killers (1994). In 1995 he appeared in Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), Strange Days (1995), as well as the acclaimed crime epic Heat (1995), directed by Michael Mann. Sizemore's first big leading role is in The Relic (1997), the big-budget effects thriller directed by Peter Hyams.
According to a 2001 interview in The Calgary Sun, Sizemore entered a drug rehabilitation program in 1998 after his mother and his friend Robert De Niro appeared on his door-step during the filming of Witness to the Mob (1998). Telling him they were there to drive him to jail or to rehabilitation, Sizemore chose the latter. After completing rehabilitation, he counseled adolescents involved in substance abuse.
Offered roles in W.W.II films directed by both Terrence Malick and Steven Spielberg, Sizemore chose the role of "Sergeant Horvath" in Saving Private Ryan (1998). The role and film received wide acclaim and introduced Sizemore's talents to a much broader audience in a more human and well-rounded role than he had previously been given. Sizemore also credits this shoot and Steven Spielberg for helping him with his recovery from addiction, with Steven Spielberg threatening to re-shoot the entire film if Sizemore failed a drug test even once.
After a flamboyant and uncredited mobster role in Enemy of the State (1998), Sizemore then portrayed a psychotic paramedic in Bringing Out the Dead (1999) directed by Martin Scorsese. Seemingly taking it easy, he then turned in fine but stereotypical performances in Play It to the Bone (1999), Red Planet (2000), and Pearl Harbor (2001). Sizemore then received another leading role in the high-profile military drama Black Hawk Down (2001) directed by yet another legendary director, Ridley Scott.
Specializing in the sort of ultimate tough-guy/manly man roles that hearken back to a different era in film, Sizemore continued to be a favorite of Hollywood's greatest directors. Never afraid to speak his mind about anyone and anything, his sense of blunt honesty and lack of pretension was refreshing. A commanding voice and presence on film, Sizemore looked to continue as one of Hollywood's greatest actors, until his untimely death from a brain aneurysm on March 3, 2023.3 March 2023 (Brain Aneurysm)- Sara Lane's relatively brief fling with show biz began in 1966 when she was cast as the orphaned Wyoming frontier girl Elizabeth Grainger in the long-running NBC western series The Virginian (1962). Opposite her co-stars James Drury and Doug McClure, she went on to feature in some 105 episodes until the penultimate season concluded in 1970.
Blonde and blue-eyed, she was born Susan Russell Lane in New York, the oldest of three siblings, to Broadway and screen actors Rusty Lane and Sara Anderson. As a nine months-old toddler, she appeared in an advertisement for a brand of soap and in an educational film about 'bathing babies'. The family later relocated to California where Sara attended Santa Monica High School, and, aged 12, made a TV commercial for vitamin pills. Producer/director William Castle noticed her picture in a newspaper covering her participation as a semi-finalist in a Miss Los Angeles Teen beauty contest. This led to a successful audition and a featured role (as one of two teenage telephone pranksters who get more than they bargained for) in the Joan Crawford thriller I Saw What You Did (1965).
Sara's approach to acting as a profession was reticent. She persisted in order to, in her own words, earn enough money to keep "making clothes, making jewelry, and raising quarter horses" (she owned two). In 1966, she was signed by the future head of Universal TV, Frank Price, to play the female lead in season five of The Virginian. Her casting for the role was aided by her skills as an equestrian. In fact, her experience on horseback allowed her to perform many of her own stunts.
In the mid-70s, Sara appeared (now billed as Russell Lane) in several low budget productions that are best forgotten. After retiring from film work in 1977, Sara and her husband were co-founders seven years later of the Havens Winery in Napa Valley, which, over time, acquired a solid reputation for producing red wine blends. In 2010, the business was acquired by the Smith-Anderson Wine Group.
Susan Russell Lane died from breast cancer on March 3 2023 and was survived by her husband of 43 years Jon Scott and her two children.3 March 2023 (Breast Cancer) - Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Bob Goody was born on 16 April 1951 in Brighton, Sussex, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for Lifeforce (1985), Flash Gordon (1980) and The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989). He was married to Gina Donovan. He died on 5 March 2023 in the United Kingdom.5 March 2023 (Cancer)- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Topol was born on 9 September 1935 in Tel Aviv, Palestine [now Israel]. He was an actor and producer, known for Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Flash Gordon (1980) and For Your Eyes Only (1981). He was married to Galia Topol. He died on 8 March 2023 in Tel Aviv, Israel.8 March 2023 (Alzheimer's Disease)- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
American actor who began as a child in Our Gang comedies and reappeared as a powerful adult performer of leading and character roles. Born in New Jersey, the young Mickey Gubitosi won a role in MGM's Our Gang series at the age of 5. As one of the more prominent children in the Gang, he gained attention for his cute good looks and his lovable, if somewhat melancholy, personality.
In 1940 he took on the stage name Bobby Blake (though he continued to use the name Mickey Gubitosi in the Our Gang series for another three years) and began playing child roles in a wide range of films. He gained a good deal of fame as the Indian sidekick Little Beaver in the Red Ryder series of Westerns. Though roles were sporadic as he grew to manhood, he was never long off the screen (except for a period of military service, 1954-56). But despite some fine work in films like Pork Chop Hill (1959) and Town Without Pity (1961), his career did not take off until his stunning portrayal of killer Perry Smith in In Cold Blood (1967). A number of telling performances in films of the next decade, stardom in a popular television series (Baretta (1975), and several ruefully comic appearances as a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) made him a popular figure even as his personal difficulties increased.
Consumed with anger over his treatment by his family and the studio as a child, he denigrated his early work, suffered bouts of difficulty with drugs, and became known as a difficult, perfectionist person to work with. He quit his successful TV series Hell Town (1985) when his personal demons became overwhelming. After a self-imposed exile of nearly eight years, during which he struggled to right his life, he successfully returned to films and television work, appearing renewed and more confident in himself and his work.
In 2001, though, the murder of his wife, Bonnie Bakley, thrust Blake into the limelight in a different way. Admittedly having married Bakley through the coercion of her pregnancy, a routine Bakley had apparently tried with various other celebrities, Blake made no denial of his distaste for the woman, but was by all accounts thrilled with the daughter born to them. Blake was arrested for his wife's murder, but the presumption of innocence trumped when jurors didn't believe what they thought was flimsy evidence, and Blake was acquitted in a trial that made worldwide headlines. Reportedly broke from legal costs, Blake indicated hopefulness that he might be allowed to return to acting work.9 March 2023 (Heart Disease)- David Neilson was born in Loughborough, Leicestershire on 13th March 1949 and attended Garendon Secondary Modern School, leaving when he was 15 years old. He was 20 when he decided to try for drama school, auditioned successfully and did a 3-year drama course at the Central School of Speech and Drama. In 1972 he went into rep in Watford. In his time, he has worked as a gas fitter, plumber, ice cream salesman and barman. Since becoming an actor he had stints as a theatre director, (running the Little Theatre Company in Bristol and directing the premiere of Raymond Briggs' "When The Wind Blows" at the Whitehall Theatre, London), taught drama at RADA Central and Rose Bruford College, and written plays. His "Robin Hood-The Truth Behind The Green Tights" is published by Samuel French, pre-dates and is funnier than Mel Brooks's version which has a similar title. He was interviewed for his current role as Roy Cropper in "Coronation Street" after having been recommended for it by the writer, Stephen Mallatratt.13 March 2023 (Undisclosed)
- Louisette Dussault was born on 11 June 1940 in Thetford Mines, Québec, Canada. She was an actress and writer, known for Les héritiers Duval (1994), IXE-13 (1972) and Chez Denise (1979). She died on 14 March 2023 in Montréal, Québec, Canada.14 March 2023 (Undisclosed)
- Janet Sarno received her MFA from the Yale Drama School where she twice won the Hill Award for Excellence in Acting. She appeared on Broadway in Dylan, Equus, Knockout, The Apple Doesn't Fall, and Fish in the Dark.
Off-Broadway, she appeared in Six Characters in Search of an Author, Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, Sweatshop, Mama's Little Angels, Marlon Brando Sat Right Here (Villager Award), Everyday a Visitor, and Chasing Jack.
She spent fourteen summers at Williamstown Summer Theatre in leading roles. She taught acting and directed the Limelighters Theatre Group.
.15 March 2023 (Undisclosed) - Actress
- Soundtrack
Although she was presented in 1969 the first Film Star of Tomorrow by The Motion Picture Exhibitors of Canada, the status of Sharon Acker as a star never materialized. Not that she was inactive, quite the opposite, but she worked almost only for TV and appeared only in a few undistinguished movies. She will, nevertheless, remain remembered for her role as Lee Marvin's ex-wife in John Boorman's classic Point Blank (1967). The victim of Marvin's rough manners, Acker as Lynne left a deep impact on male brains. Born in 1935, the Canadian-born actress started her film career in England when the play she was in, "Lucky Jim", Kingsley Amis' classic, was made into a movie. But she was not seen in many movies, except during the sixties, either in Canada or in the U.S. Meanwhile, she was very active on TV, first in Canada from the age of 19, then in the U.S. in made-for-TV movies or series like Star Trek (1966), Mission: Impossible (1966), Gunsmoke (1955), Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969), Barnaby Jones (1973), etc. She was a regular in the series The Bold Ones: The Senator (1970) for one year and played "Della Street" in the short-lived The New Perry Mason (1973). A talented actress seen too little in movie theaters.16 March 2013 (Undisclosed)- Writer
- Director
- Cinematographer
Claude Fournier was born on 23 July 1931 in Waterloo, Quebec, Canada. He was a writer and director, known for Bonheur d'occasion (1983), Les tisserands du pouvoir (1988) and Les chats bottés (1971). He died on 16 March 2023 in Montréal, Québec, Canada.16 March 2023 (Heart Attack)- Actor
- Music Department
Peter Hardy was born on 11 January 1957 in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. Peter was an actor, known for Chopper (2000), Hard Target 2 (2016) and Chasing Rabbits (2001). Peter died on 16 March 2023 in South Beach in Fremantle Western Australia.16 March 2023 (Drowned)- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Incisive, intense, multi-talented American actor Lance Solomon Reddick was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the younger of two sons, to Solomon Reddick and public schoolteacher Dorothy Gee. Having opted initially for a career in music, he attended first the Peabody Preparatory Institute and the Walden School before studying classical composition at the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music, qualifying with a Bachelor's Degree. By the early '90s, however, Reddick was forced to re-evaluate his career plans because of a severe back injury suffered while pulling a double shift waiting on tables and delivering newspapers. A pressing need to make ends meet made him enroll at the Yale School of Drama, from where he went on to graduate in 1994 with a Master of Fine Arts Degree. He derived much inspiration from his classmate Paul Giamatti and came to regard Daniel Day-Lewis as his quintessential acting role model.
Possessed of an athletic build and a deep, resonant voice, Reddick also had a self-declared affinity for accents. Preparing himself for his roles, he immersed himself fully into his characters as a "transformational performer", often rehearsing his lines in front of a mirror. He made his television debut in an episode of New York Undercover (1994). Though he played a couple of drug addicts early on, he soon found himself much in demand-- and ultimately typecast -- as powerful authority figures, from police detectives (Johnny Basil in Oz (1997)) to FBI agents (Law & Order (1990)) to senior police officer (Cedric Daniels in The Wire (2002)). One of his best known roles on the big screen was as the mysterious Mr. Charon, concierge at the Continental Hotel, scene of much of the action in the John Wick (2014) franchise.
Arguably, his most memorable character was that of Phillip Broyles, special agent-in-charge with the Department of Homeland Security, heading a team of experts investigating paranormal events in the outstanding science fiction drama series Fringe (2008). Broyles was a no-nonsense tough guy, who, nevertheless, remained steadfastly loyal in defense of his team against insidious forces from within and without. Unlike Broyles, Reddick's other important recurring TV character, Chief Irving in Bosch (2014), was a morally ambiguous man motivated chiefly by political ambition. Both were flawless performances.
Prior to his sad and untimely passing in March 2023 at the age of 60, Reddick was much sought-after as a voice actor for animations and video games. He also never lost his lifelong passion for music, and, in 2007, released an album of his compositions entitled "Contemplations & Remembrances". In private life, the twice-married Reddick was said to have been very much devoted to his three dogs.17 March 2023 (Natural Causes)- Actress
- Additional Crew
Gloria Dea was born on 25 August 1922 in Oakland, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957), King of the Congo (1952) and The Prodigal (1955). She was married to Sam J. Anzalone, Hal Borne, John F. Statham and Jack Shulem . She died on 18 March 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.18 March 2023 (Coronary Artery Disease)- Actor
- Soundtrack
Terry is well known to many Australians for the roles of 'Joe Turner' on the long running TV series Bellbird and as 'Snr. Sgt. Eric O'Reilly' on the police drama Cop Shop. Terry left the TV show Cop Shop in 1982 to pursue a political career. He was the Labor party member for Noble Park from 1982 to 1985 and then for Dandenong from 1985 to 1992. During his time in Parliament Terry held the positions of Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Parliamentary Committee.20 March 2023 (Natural Causes)- Madge Levinson was born on 14 April 1924 in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, USA. She was an actress, known for Whip It (2009), The Five-Year Engagement (2012) and This Must Be the Place (2011). She was married to Al Levinson. She died on 22 March 2023 in Toledo, Ohio, USA.22 March 2023 (Lung Cancer)
- Actor
- Camera and Electrical Department
Dafydd Hywel was born on 4 December 1945 in Wales, UK. He was an actor, known for Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016), Off to Philadelphia in the Morning (1978) and The Blackheath Poisonings (1992). He died on 23 March 2023 in Wales, UK.23 March 2023 (Natural Causes)- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Brendan O'Brien was born in Hollywood, California, as the son of actors Edmond O'Brien and Olga San Juan. He first got his start as an actor with a supporting role in the TV movie Honor Thy Father (1973), then followed it up with subsequent appearances in films like 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain (1998), P.U.N.K.S. (1999), and Race to Space (2001). O'Brien's biggest claim to fame, however, arrived when he was contacted by Naughty Dog co-founder Jason Rubin to provide voices for the company's then-upcoming video game Crash Bandicoot (1996) for the PlayStation, in which he provided the voices of the title character, Doctor Neo Cortex, and Doctor Nitrus Brio. Following the game's release, he would continue to voice Crash in subsequent installments up until the release of Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex (2001), and would also provide voices for the HBO series Spicy City (1997) and Spawn (1997).
On March 23, 2023, O'Brien died at the age of 60. Among one of his last roles was an appearance on the TV show Riverdale (2017) in 2020, in which he played a math teacher. By the time he died, the role of Crash Bandicoot has since been passed on to numerous other voice actors, with Chip Chinery, Steve Blum, and Jess Harnell being among them.23 March 2023 (Undisclosed)- Nick Lloyd Webber was born on 2 July 1979. He was a composer, known for The Last Bus (2021), Mr Invisible (2013) and Mon amour mon parapluie (2001). He was married to Polly Wiltshire. He died on 25 March 2023 in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, UK.25 March 2023 (Gastric Cancer)
- Ivano Marescotti was born on 4 February 1946 in Villanova di Bagnacavallo, Italy. He was an actor, known for King Arthur (2004), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) and Hannibal (2001). He was married to Erika Leonelli, ??? and Iphigenia Kanarà. He died on 26 March 2023 in Lugo, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.26 March 2023 (Prostate Cancer)
- Ron Faber was born on 16 February 1933 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. He was an actor, known for The Exorcist (1973), Soup for One (1982) and Navy Seals (1990). He died on 26 March 2023.26 March 2023 (Lung Cancer)
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Johan Leysen was born on 19 February 1950 in Hasselt, Limburg, Belgium. He was an actor, known for The American (2010), A Hidden Life (2019) and Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001). He was married to Rita Horst. He died on 30 March 2023 in France.30 March 2023 (Cardiac Arrest)- Writer
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Judy Farrell was born on 11 May 1938 in Quapaw, Oklahoma, USA. She was a writer and actress, known for Fame (1982), Quincy M.E. (1976) and M*A*S*H (1972). She was married to Joe Bratcher and Mike Farrell. She died on 2 April 2023 in Los Angeles, California, USA.2 April 2023 (Complications From a Stroke)- Tony DiBenedetto was born on 1 July 1944 in Manhattan, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Raw Deal (1986), Marked for Death (1990) and Splash (1983). He died on 3 April 2023 in the USA.3 April 2023 (Undisclosed)
- Ingvar Hirdwall was born on 5 December 1934 in Stockholm, Sweden. He was an actor, known for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009), Daybreak (2003) and Children's Island (1980). He was married to Marika Lindström. He died on 6 April 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden.6 April 2023 (Undisclosed)
- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Paul was born 7 March 1977 in St Albans, England. His first big break was when Paul landed a part in a local performance of West Side Story. He then enrolled on a performing arts course, joined the National Youth Music Theatre's production of Pendragon and then took an acting and musical theatre course at Mountview Drama School. In the evenings he sung with a rock band. Then when he was 22 he joined the pop group S Club 7.6 April 2023 (Unknown)- Michael Lerner was an American actor from New York City, the older brother of actor Ken Lerner. He was once nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the domineering studio head Jack Lipnick in "Barton Fink" (1991). Other well-known roles include crime boss Arnold Rothstein (1882-1928) in "Eight Men Out" (1988), Mayor Ebert in "Godzilla" (1998), and Senator Brickman in "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2014).
In 1941, Lerner was born to a family of Romanian-Jewish descent. His father was George Lerner, a fisherman and antiques dealer. Lerner was primarily raised in Solon, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland), and in the port area of Red Hook, Brooklyn. Red Hook was the site of a shack city for the homeless during the 1930s, and had a reputed connection to organized crime for most of the 20th century.
Lerner started his acting career as a theatrical actor. During the 1960s, he performed with the American Conservatory Theater (ACT), a nonprofit theater company based in San Francisco, California. He made his film debut in the comedy-drama "Alex in Wonderland" (1970). The film concerns a film director who has had only one box-office hit in his career, and is uncertain about his options in life.
Over the following years, Lerner mostly played supporting roles in various films. He enjoyed some success in horror films, portraying the Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Police Department in "Maniac Cop 2" (1990), and a private detective in "Omen IV: The Awakening" (1991). The most acclaimed role in his career was portraying Jack Lipnick in "Barton Fink" (1991). His character was the head of a film studio who constantly switched between flattering and threatening his employees, but maintained complete control over them. Lerner was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, but the award went to veteran actor Jack Palance. Lerner did, however, win the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Lerner found steady work in films throughout the 1990s. He portrayed bank president Edward H. Biderman in the comedy "Blank Check" (1994), where the bank is used for money laundering. He portrayed a short-tempered police lieutenant in the comedy thriller "Radioland Murders" (1994), with his character ultimately unable to prevent the serial killer of the film from pursuing his agenda. He portrayed Professor Marcus in "Tale of the Mummy" (1998), a respected scholar who is manipulated into killing someone.
Lerner was still active in the 2000s. He portrayed a doctor in "Mockingbird Don't Sing" (2001), a fictionalized depiction of the life of the feral child Genie (1957-). He portrayed domineering CEO Fulton Greenway in the Christmas comedy "Elf" (2003). He portrayed father figure Harvey Wiener in the comedy-drama "Life During Wartime" (2009).
Lerner had relatively few new roles in the 2010s, but some were still memorable. He portrayed ruthless politician Wesley Mouch in the science fiction film "Atlas Shrugged: Part I" (2011), based on Ayn Rand's iconic novel.
Lerner portrayed the Baron in the fantasy comedy "Mirror Mirror" (2012), an elite courtier who has won the favor of the wicked queen played by Julia Roberts. He portrayed Senator Brickman in the superhero film "X-Men: Days of Future Past", a politician who votes to sever funding for the Sentinel program. Lerner portrayed real-life producer/MGM studio executive Louis B. Mayer in "First Oscar" (2022).8 April 2023 (Complications From Brain Seizures) - Elizabeth Hubbard was born on 22 December 1933 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for As the World Turns (1956), The Doctors (1963) and First Ladies Diaries: Edith Wilson (1976). She was married to David Bennett . She died on 8 April 2023 in Roxbury, Connecticut, USA.8 April 2023 (Cancer)
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Richard Ng was born on 17 December 1939 in Guangdong, China. He was an actor and writer, known for Winners & Sinners (1983), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life (2003) and Pom Pom (1984). He was married to Susan Ng. He died on 9 April 2023 in Hong Kong.9 April 2023 (Cardiac Arrest)