Yet another major name in the entertainment industry has passed away this week. Beatrice Arthur, the superb comic actress who starred in Maude and The Golden Girls has died from cancer. She was 86. Arthur was already a well-known name on stage by the time she was cast as Maude in the 1970s. Arthur had won the supporting actress Tony for her performance in the 1966 production of Mame. The character of the razor-sharp-witted Maude was introduced as a foil for Carroll O'Connor's Archie Bunker in All in the Family before being spun off to her own highly successful series. In the 1980s, Arthur repeated that success as a trio of aging but humorous women living together in The Golden Girls. For more on her life, click here

KEN ANNAKIN

(1914-2009)

By Lee Pfeiffer

The film world lost another legend this week with the passing of director/writer Ken Annakin, who died at age 94. For those of us at Cinema Retro, the loss is personal. In addition to directing some of our favorite films, Ken was an avid supporter of the magazine. The seemingly indestructible British filmmaker led a full and active life and was engaged in trying to get new projects off the ground until he fell ill in February.

Annakin began his career as a director in 1946 and found his talents to be constantly in demand. His career took off a decade later when he was hired by Walt Disney to direct The Story of Robin Hood in 1952. He quickly became one of Disney's favorite and most dependable directors. Annakin would do numerous other films for Disney, the most successful being the adventure classic Swiss Family Robinson. Annakin would direct many other high-profile films over the years. He was one of several directors hired for Darryl F. Zanuck's epic D-Day film The Longest Day. Annakin primarily handled the British military sequences, but also contributed to other key scenes. His success on that film led to his involvement with two other epic films of the 1960s: Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines and Battle of the Bulge. Annakin scored an Oscar nomination for his screenplay of the former, but his experience on Bulge was far different. The production ran into funding difficulties that required him to go far beyond his expected duties in order to ensure successful completion of the film. Perhaps the greatest compliment to extend to Annakin is that there was no "typical Ken Annakin picture". He delved into many different genres, including the South African High Noon- like adventure The Hellions, the period war film The Long Duel, the delightful caper comedy The Biggest Bundle of Them All and the sentimental film Paper Tiger for producer Euan Lloyd.

Ken Annakin personified the British gentleman and came of age in an era in which film directors would wear suits and ties on the set. He was a wonderful story-teller with a great sense of humor, attributes I got to enjoy first-hand several years ago when Dave Worrall and I visited him in his Los Angeles home. Ken loved the concept of Cinema Retro and afforded us an entire day in which to interview him for future issues. He shared priceless memories of working with Walt Disney, Darryl F. Zanuck and other giants of the industry. He was hard at work on more film projects, though he wasn't delusional about his chances of success in an industry obsessed with youth. "These will probably never be made, but I can't help myself", he said in relation to finding an outlet for his creative ideas. Dave and I were greatly honored by Ken's enthusiastic reaction to our recent book

The Great War Movies which we authored for 20th Century Fox. Ken sent word that the extensive section on the making of The Longest Day brought back a lot of fond memories.

He authored a well-received autobiography (So You Wanna Be a Director...) which recounted his remarkable career. He even figures as a footnote in the Star Wars saga, as it's said that George Lucas' decision to name the character Anakin Skywalker was a nod of respect to Ken. He is survived by Pauline, his wife of 50 years, and his daughter Deborah, an executive at Paramount.

The only unpleasant aspect of running Cinema Retro is having to report on the loss of so many revered figures in the film industry. This time, the loss is personal, as we're not likely to see another Ken Annakin anytime soon. The man may be gone, but we can take comfort from the fact that generations of future movie goers will still be entertained by his work.

The legendary Jack Cardiff is dead at age 94. He began his career as an actor in silent films, but later established himself as one of the industry's greatest cinematographers, with films such as The Red Shoes and The African Queen to his credit. Cardiff was a man of many talents, and dabbled in directing as well. Among his feature films were The Long Ships, Sons and Lovers, Young Cassidy and The Liquidator. Cardiff also wrote, directed and shot the popular 1960s cult film Girl on a Motorcycle (aka Naked Under Leather) starring Marianne Faithfull as a sexually promiscuous free spirit. Ironically, that film is the cover story of the latest issue of Cinema Retro, now out in England and due to ship in North America in early May. Cardiff was awarded an OBE by Queen Elizabeth in 2000. For more on his life and career click here.  

By Lee Pfeiffer

Peter Rogers' name probably isn't well known outside of the UK, but within the British film industry, he was a legend. Rogers has passed away at age 95. His body of work was largely defined by the laugh-charged Carry On series of films that pushed the envelope in terms of sexual content in the 1950s and 1960s. The series generally boasted a host of talented British comic actors all involved with bedroom antics featuring well endowed actresses. The series was always innocent fun and attracted mainstream audiences who wouldn't have dreamed of attending a real X rated film. Rogers had a productive working relationship with his wife Betty Box, who passed away in 1999. Betty was one of the industry's first successful female producers, having overseen production of the Doctor series of film farces. Rogers started in the film industry after WWII and worked on numerous B movies including writing and producing the cult thriller Timelock which offered Sean Connery one of his first minor roles. He introduced the Carry On films in the 1950s but the series hit its zenith in the 1960s when relaxed censorship rules allowed him to make the movies a bit more daring. The series' success was so steeped in British humor that it never generated much of an audience outside of the UK. In his native England, however, the films were enormous successes and Rogers became a revered figure. He opened an office at Pinewood Studios in the 1950s and remained active there until his death. He was still trying to launch a return of the Carry On series when he passed away. For more click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

News has just come in that Marilyn Chambers, an iconic presence in adult films of the 1970s and 1980s, has been found dead. She was 56 years old. No cause of death was released, but an autopsy will be performed. Chambers was a fresh young face in the modeling world, having posed as the Ivory Snow Girl prior to her entrance into the world of pornography. Her first starring role in Behind the Green Door gave her the stardom that eluded her in the legit entertainment world. Chambers parlayed this fame and made herself into a virtual one-woman industry. In the 1980s, she top-lined her own series of videos, starring in erotic short stories. Despite her "girl-next-door" good looks, Chambers also starred in some films with an S&M slant and routinely performed in lesbian scenes. She attempted to make a career in mainstream films and did star in David Cronenberg's thriller Rabid. However, her audience didn't follow her into legit ventures and in recent years, Chambers would appear at autograph shows and capitalize on her fame as a porn legend. Chambers is the second famous porn star to die in the last week. Gay movie icon Jack Wrangler passed away just days ago. 

By Lee Pfeiffer

Most porn stars fade into obscurity and their passing rarely makes the mainstream news. However, the death of Jack Wrangler from cancer at age 62 is an exception. For some, Wrangler was perhaps the first iconic star of gay movies of the 1970s. Even us straight guy horny teenagers had heard of him. With his rugged Marlboro Man looks, Wrangler (real name John Stillman) became an immediate sensation in the era in which porn was seen in squalid movie houses. What sets his story apart, however, is his offbeat personal life. Wrangler fell in love with big band singer Margaret Whiting, who was 22 years his senior. The odd couple ended up marrying, despite Wrangler's insistence that he remained gay. It was the ultimate Hollywood "marriage of convenience", with the refreshing caveat that Wrangler wasn't trying to hide his sexuality. In fact, he always insisted that he never felt ashamed of anything he had done onscreen or off and made no apologies for his career in X rated movies. He wrote an autobiography and was the subject of a recent documentary. Through his relationship with Whiting, Wrangler quit the porn business and concentrated on musical productions. He even launched several shows in tribute of songwriter Johnny Mercer. Margaret Whiting survives him. For more on his life click here. To see Wrangler letting it all hang out, continue reading. (We don't want to offend any of our more sensitive readers!)

By Lee Pfeiffer

Actress Betsy Blair has died of cancer in London. She was 85. Blair arrived in Hollywood as the teen-aged wife of up-and-coming Gene Kelly. They remained married until 1957. Blair initially seemed to be on a promising career of her own, scoring a Supporting Actress Oscar nomination opposite Ernest Borgnine in Marty. However, her passion for left-wing political causes put her out of favor in an industry that was dominated by pressure from the likes of Senator McCarthy. Blair soon found her career had come to a standstill in the United States. She relocated to Europe, where things improved for her, but she did make a temporary digression to study speech therapy. She later married the acclaimed director Karel Reisz. Blair acted periodically on TV and in films in recent years, but turned down a major role in the movie The Hours to care for the dying Reisz. For more click here

Monte Hale, the popular singing cowboy star of many 1940s B westerns, has died at age 89. Hale was one of the founders of the Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles, named after his friend and colleague Gene Autry. Hale also appeared in big budget studio films like Giant and The Chase. For more click here