The noted British character actor Lionel Jeffries has died in a nursing home at age 83 following a long illness. Jeffries made a career of playing eccentric characters who were often older than his actual years. In his most memorable part, as Grandpa Potts in the 1968 screen version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Potts played Dick Van Dyke's father, even though both actors were essentially the same age. Jeffries also wrote and directed the acclaimed 1970British film version of The Railway Children. Jeffries, who was also a popular stage actor, also appeared in films such as The Trials of Oscar Wilde, Call Me Bwana, Those Fantastic Flying Fools, Camelot and First Men in the Moon.

Kathryn Grayson, who played prominent roles in classic MGM musicals such as Anchors Away and Showboat, has passed away from natural causes at age 88. Grayson was also a Broadway star and replaced Julie Andrews in the original 1960 run of Camelot. For more click here

The acclaimed British character actor Ian Carmichael has died at age 89. His film credits include many popular British comedies such as I'm All Right, Jack, School for Scoundrels and Smashing Time. He was acting until very recently, with a continuing role in the 2009 British TV series The Royal. For more click here

Peter Murton (left) with fellow Bond production design masters Peter Lamont and Ken Adam at a recent James Bond event at Pinewood Studio's Theatre Seven.

We have just learned that our dear friend, production designer Peter Murton, passed away just before Christmas. Peter worked on many early Bond films in the art department, and was the production designer for The Man With The Golden Gun. A regular guest at the many Bondstars events at Pinewood Studios, Peter always entertained the fans with his stories about working on movies such as Death on the Nile, Superman 2 and 3, The Lion in Winter, The Ipcress File and many, many more he was involved with in a career spanning some sixty years. He worked alongside Retro's Dave Worrall a few years back on The Eagle Has Landed DVD documentary, for it was Peter who transformed the private Oxfordshire village of Mapledurham into the fictional hamlet of Studley Constable as seen in the film.Cinema Retro mourns the passing of this great artist.

Legendary movie producer David Brown has passed away at age 93. He brought Elvis Presley to the big screen and launched Steven Spielberg's career. In conjunction with Richard Zanuck, Brown became an icon in the film industry, producing such hits as Jaws, The Sting, The Verdict, Driving Miss Daisy and Road to Perdition. A public funeral is planned for Thursday in New York. For more on his life and career click here