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- Judith-Marie Bergan was born on 25 November 1948 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. She was an actress, known for Abduction (1975), Rage (1995) and Hart to Hart (1979). She was married to João Fernandes. She died on 20 August 2016 in Ashland, Jackson County, Oregon, USA.
- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Lord Rix, who was the president of Mencap since 1980, was also the entertainer behind a hit run of Whitehall farces in London in the 1950s and 1960s.
"Lord Rix was a beloved colleague and friend to so many people with a learning disability and their families," Mencap chief executive Jan Tregelles said. "His passion, zeal and humour will be sorely missed. His tireless campaigning has perhaps done more to improve the lives of people with a learning disability than any other."
Rix announced in 2016 that he was terminally ill and called for the legalisation of voluntary euthanasia for those dying in severe pain.
"Unhappily, my body seems to be constructed in such a way that it keeps me alive in great discomfort when all I want is to be allowed to slip into a sleep, peacefully, legally, and without any threat to the medical or nursing profession," he said in a letter that attempted to explain to his fellow peers in the House of Lords why he no longer opposed assisted dying legislation.
"Only with a legal euthanasia bill will the many people who find themselves in the same situation as me be able to slip away peacefully in their sleep instead of dreading the night."
Offstage, aside from his charitable work, Rix chaired the Arts Council of Great Britain's drama panel from 1986 to 1993 and was responsible for opening up grant funding for a wider mix of performers, more involvement for women and more funding for ethnic minority theatre companies.
Rix, who is perhaps still best known for his roles as crooked bookies or harassed civil servants, was married for 64 years to actor and fellow campaigner Elspet Gray, who died in 2013. They appeared together on stage and screen several times during their long marriage.
They began to take an active interest in the problems faced by people with learning disabilities when their daughter Shelley, the eldest of four, was born with Down's syndrome in 1951. At the time the condition was still referred to as mongolism and there was little support on offer. Rix became involved with Mencap (then the National Society for Mentally Handicapped Children and Adults) to try to change this.
The actor, who was born in east Yorkshire, first found acting work at the age of 18 with Donald Wolfit's Royal Shakespeare Company while on deferred service from the Royal Air Force. Only a few months later, he played Sebastian in Twelfth Night in the West End. When his military deferment was extended, he gained more regular stage experience with the White Rose Players in Harrogate. After serving in the RAF, he ended up as a volunteer Bevin Boy, working in Doncaster's coal mines.
Rix made his name as an actor-manager after appearing on tour with Gray in the farce Reluctant Heroes by Colin Morris. He moved his company of comic performers, which included actors Leo Franklyn, Derek Royle, Terry Scott, Andrew Sachs and Rix's sister, Sheila Mercier, who later played Annie Sugden in Emmerdale Farm, into the Whitehall Theatre in 1950, where he enjoyed a long period of popular success, later moving to the Garrick Theatre. Key farces included Dry Rot by John Chapman and Chase Me, Comrade by Ray Cooney, and although this brand of comedy drew big audiences and enjoyed record-breaking runs Rix said he was resigned to not winning much recognition from the serious sector of the profession.
In 1980 theatre critic Michael Coveney expressed regret about critics' attitude to Whitehall farces. "A tradition of critical snobbery has grown up around these plays," he wrote, "partly because they were so blatantly popular, but chiefly because of our conviction that farce, unless written by a Frenchman, is an inferior theatrical species. Once the National Theatre has done its duty by Priestley and Rattigan and others teetering on the brink of theatrical respectability, I suggest they employ Mr Rix ... to investigate the ignored riches of English farce between Travers and Ayckbourn."
One-off TV comedies put on by Rix regularly drew audiences of 15 million or more, but few recordings survive. The actor was made a life peer in 1992. His daughter Shelley died in 2005. His sons are Jonathan and Jamie, a producer and a children's author. His surviving daughter is actor Louisa Rix, with whom he presented Let's Go for the BBC in the late 1970s and early 80s. It was the first television programme designed for people with a learning disability.
Brian Rix, Baron Rix died in August 2016 in England.- Lilia Cuntapay was born on 3 January 1935 in Tuguegarao, Cagayan, Philippines. She was an actress, known for Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay (2011), Brokedown Palace (1999) and Ang probinsyano (2015). She died on 20 August 2016 in Pinili, Ilocos Norte, Philippines.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Bill Hibbert was born on 17 January 1932 in East Molesey, Surrey, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Permissive (1970). He was married to Lily Marina Bell. He died on 20 August 2016 in Los Realejos, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.- Daniela Dessì was born on 14 May 1957 in Genoa, Italy. She was an actress, known for Francesca da Rimini (2004), Madama Butterfly (2004) and Così fan tutte (1989). She died on 20 August 2016 in Brescia, Lombardy, Italy.
- Judy Fabjance was born on 20 October 1974 in Mount Prospect, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for Old Maid (2005) and Baby Time Share (2005). She died on 20 August 2016 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
- Music Department
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Composer, songwriter ("Managua, Nicaragua"), pianist, arranger, conductor and publisher, educated at the Eastman School of Music and the Masters Institute. He led his own trio on television and in hotels and nightclubs, and made many records. He appeared in concerts at Carnegie Hall and at Boston's Symphony Hall, and wrote the nightclub scores for the Latin Quarter in New York. Joining ASCAP in 1946, his chief musical collaborator was Henry Tobias, and his other popular-song and instrumental compositions include "Miami Beach Rhumba", "Chantez Chantez" and "Take Her to Jamaica".- Actor
- Composer
- Writer
Matt Roberts was born on 10 January 1978 in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for Corky Romano (2001), 3 Doors Down: Kryptonite (2000) and SingStar Pop (2007). He died on 20 August 2016 in West Bend, Wisconsin, USA.- Jim Gibbons was born on 26 September 1936 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Paper Lion (1968), The NFL on CBS (1956) and 1957 Rose Bowl (1957). He died on 20 August 2016 in Carlsbad, California, USA.
- Sadi Seghers was born on 11 May 1925 in Boom, Flanders, Belgium. He was an actor, known for Lili & Marleen (1994), Hallo België (2003) and Café Majestic (2000). He died on 20 August 2016 in Boom, Flanders, Belgium.
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Ann Udell was born on 4 September 1926. She was a writer, known for Death Valley Days (1952), The Magical World of Disney (1954) and Huckleberry Finn and His Friends (1979). She died on 20 August 2016.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Richard Peaslee was born on 13 June 1930 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a composer, known for Tell Me Lies (1968), Jazz 625 (1961) and Marat/Sade (1967). He died on 20 August 2016 in New York City, New York, USA.- Willy Duts was an actor, known for Kiekeboe: Het witte bloed (1992), Chez Bompa Lawijt (1994) and Familie (1991). He died on 20 August 2016.
- Louis Stewart was born in 1944 in Waterford, Ireland. He died on 20 August 2016 in Dublin, Ireland.
- Writer
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Lothar Kusche was born on 2 May 1929 in Berlin, Germany. He was a writer and actor, known for Der Mann, der nach der Oma kam (1972), Eine Modeplauderei (1954) and Der Vorfilm läuft (1956). He was married to Renate Holland-Moritz. He died on 20 August 2016 in Berlin, Germany.- Harry Gilmer was born on 14 April 1926 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. He died on 20 August 2016 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
- Rogelio García Lupo was born on 16 November 1931 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He died on 20 August 2016 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Director
- Producer
Sedat Pakay was born in 1945 in Istanbul, Turkey. Sedat was a director and producer, known for James Baldwin Abroad (2023) and James Baldwin: From Another Place (1973). Sedat died on 20 August 2016.- Ignacio Padilla was born on 7 November 1968 in Mexico City, Mexico. He was a writer, known for El Chango y la Chancla (2013), Negro sobre blanco (1997) and The DVD Collection (2001). He died on 20 August 2016 in Querétaro, Mexico.
- Producer
- Director
- Actor
Morton Schindel was born on 29 January 1918 in Orange, New Jersey, USA. He was a producer and director, known for Morris's Disappearing Bag (1982), Brave Irene (1989) and The Most Wonderful Egg in the World (1986). He was married to Ellen Bamberger and Cari Best. He died on 20 August 2016 in the USA.