Obituaries
Entries from October 2010
Alexander Anderson, who teamed with his fraternity brother Jay Ward, to create the iconic cartoon series Rocky and Bullwinkle has died at age 90. Among the team's other creations were Crusader Rabbit and Dudley Do-right. The Rocky and Bullwinkle characters made their debut in 1959 and remain iconic figures of 60s pop culture. For more click here
Actress Lisa Blount who was best known for playing Debra Winger's girlfriend in the 1982 boxoffice hit An Officer and a Gentleman, has been found dead in her Little Rock home. She was 53 years old. Cause of death was not announced, but authorities said no foul play is suspected. Blount received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance, but her greatest career success came in 2002 when she won the Oscar for producing The Accountant in the category of Best Live Action Short Subject. She also appeared regularly as a guest star on popular TV shows. For more click here
Actor James MacArthur, who played Det. Danny "Danno" Williams on the smash hit CBS series Hawaii 5-0, has died at age 72 of natural causes. MacArthur, the son of legendary actress Helen Hayes and playwright Charles MacArthur, was already a seasoned acting veteran when he starred in the series in 1968. He left in 1980 before the show's final season, saying the scripts and characters had become tired and bland. MacArthur also had prominent roles on the big screen in films such as Swiss Family Robinson, The Light in the Forest, The Truth About Spring, Battle of the Bulge, Spencer's Mountain and The Bedford Incident. In recent years, he enjoyed renewed popularity through his periodic appearances at autograph fairs. For more click here
Graham Crowden, the distinguished British character actor of stage, screen and TV has died at age 87. Crowden toiled in many films for years before finding late career success in the 90s British sitcom Waiting For God. He had also once turned down the chance to play Doctor Who, succeeding John Pertwee in the role. Crowden's big screen appearances include If..., Oh Lucky Man, Out of Africa, Jabberwocky and the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. Click here for more on his life and career
Actor Tom Bosley, who won a Tony award but was best known for his role as Richie Cunningham's dad on the long-running Happy Days TV series has died. Click here for details
Barbara Billingsley, who turned the character of sitcom mom June Cleaver in the long-running show Leave It To Beaver into a beloved pop culture icon, died earlier this week at age 94. Billingsley's warm and comforting touch epitomized a fantasy view of suburban life that never really existed: the neighborhoods were perfect, violence was non-existence, politics was never discussed and the greatest crisis might be Beaver's attempt to cover up a bad report card. Billingsley co-starred for six years with actor Hugh Beaumont as June's husband Ward. Tony Dow played older son Wally and Jerry Mathers played The Beaver. The show was so popular that it was revived in the 1980s with both actors playing characters who were now coping with the problems of approaching middle age. Billingsley also revived her role as June, but Beaumont had passed away before the new series went into production. Billingsley had initially been under contract with MGM before striking it big on TV. She made a memorable and hilarious cameo appearance in the 1980 film Airplane playing a prim and proper housewife with an unlikely knack for chatting in jive talk. For more click here
The esteemed British actor Simon MacCorkindale has died from cancer at age 58. The husband of actress Susan George, MacCorkindale got his first major break in feature films in the all-star 1978 Agatha Cristie thriller Death on the Nile. High profile TV and stage roles followed including I, Claudius, Falcon Crest and Jesus of Nazareth. MacCorkindale was best known in his native England, where he gained much popularity as the star of the popular TV series Casualty. Paying tribute to her husband, Ms. George said, "No-one could have fought this disease any harder than he
did since being diagnosed four years ago.He fought it with such strength, courage and belief. Last night, he lost
this battle, and he died peacefully in my arms.To me, he was simply the best of everything, and I loved him with all my
heart. He will live on in me forever." For more click here
By Lee Pfeiffer
Roy Ward Baker, the esteemed British film director, has died at age 93. Baker was one of the few remaining representatives of the golden age of British filmmaking. He worked in his early years with such giants as Alfred Hitchcock and Carol Reed before embarking on a directing career of his own. He was one of the pioneers in the early use of 3-D in the 1950s and directed Marilyn Monroe in Don't Bother to Knock, a film that greatly boosted her status as a leading lady. Baker was best known for his direction of the 1958 film A Night to Remember starring Kenneth More, Honor Blackman and David McCallum. The low-budget film was shot primarily at Pinewood Studios and depicted the sinking of the Titanic. Many film historians still believe it's the most dramatic and moving depiction of the tragedy ever brought to the screen. He also directed the off-beat Western The Singer Not the Song with Dirk Bogarde and John Mills. The film became a cult favorite due to its apparent homosexual overtones. In later years, Baker gravitated to Hammer studios where he directed such films as Quatermass and the Pit, The Vampire Lovers and Scars of Dracula. The horror genre seemed to suit Baker and he went on to direct Bette Davis in The Anniversary as well as such popular successes as And Now the Screaming Starts and The Vault of Horror. Baker also directed episodes of popular British TV series such as The Saint, The Avengers, The Persuaders, The Baron and The Protectors. Click here for more.
By Lee Pfeiffer
Andy Albeck's name may not be known to even the most die-hard movie fans. Like most executives of United Artists, Albeck, who died on September 29 at the age of 89, chose to keep a low profile even when he was appointed president of the company in 1978, following many years of service. Albeck took over the position when legendary UA chief Arthur Krim and his team left the company to form Orion Pictures. Albeck's unobtrusive manner belied the fact that he championed a number of highly successful films including sequels to Rocky and Pink Panther franchises. He also backed Scorsese's masterpiece Raging Bull when many others in the industry thought a black and white film about boxing would be a major miscalculation. Albeck also oversaw the continuing success of the James Bond series, working with producer Cubby Broccoli to produce the Roger Moore hits Moonraker and For Your Eyes Only. However, Albeck's legacy and reputation were caught in the whirlwind of director Michael Cimino's 1980 box-office disaster Heaven's Gate, a film that came to symbolize inefficiency in the big studio system. The movie went 500% over budget and was a total write-off. Albeck and other studio executives walked the plank as United Artists struggled to survive. It can be argued that the shell company that is UA today never recovered from the Heaven's Gate debacle, and Albeck features prominently in the best-selling book Final Cut by former UA executive Steven Bach, that chronicles the madness of the making of that film. For more click here
By Lee Pfeiffer
Norman Wisdom, a giant in the field of British comedy, is dead at age 95. The iconic actor and comedian was one of the few remaining celebrities who made their names in the fabled British music halls of many years ago. His gentle brand of comedy generally found him playing a down-on-his-luck loser, similar to Chaplin's Little Tramp. So great was Wisdom's impact that Chaplin himself proclaimed him one of his favorite comedians, and his fans included Prince Charles, who grew up on his films. Wisdom had been living alone and independently until recently, when a series of strokes convinced him to move to a nursing home. Curiously, he was largely unknown in America, where his films were generally relegated to bottom-of-the-bill double features, if they were released there at all. However, in England, his popularity so transcended age brackets that his web site crashed when news of his death was announced. Click here for more.
Stephen J. Cannell, the prolific screenwriter and television producer, has died after an illness at age 69. Cannell was one of the true giants of the modern TV age, having produced such shows as The Rockford Files, The Greatest American Hero and The A Team. Click here for more
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