Actor Paul Sorvino has passed away from natural causes at age 83. Sorvino, a Brooklyn native, was a star of stage, screen and television and won plaudits in each medium. Less well-known was his singing abilities stemming from his early career ambition to become an opera star. Sorvino played a wide range of diverse roles but is generally associated with tough guy, street-wise characters in crime dramas including "Goodfellas", "Dick Tracy" and "The Rocketeer". He collaborated with Warren Beatty on four films and was one of the stars of the 1991-92 season of the hit TV series "Law & Order". For more about his life and career, click here.
In the scene above from Martin Scorsese's masterpiece "Goodfellas", Sorvino is the crime kingpin who thinks nothing of ordering people to be murdered but still adheres to the rule that among his gang members, family values must be practiced.
Producer/screenwriter/director Bob Rafelson passed away on Saturday, aged 89. Rafelson was one of the most prominent of the new generation of filmmakers who took Hollywood by storm in the mid-to-late 1960s. Along with his producing partner, the late Bert Schneider, he helped define a new wave of realistic movies that had special appeal to younger audiences. He was an Emmy-winner and Oscar nominee who co-created The Monkees and parlayed the success from the group's hit TV series and music into highly-praised feature films. He helped get "Easy Rider" brought to the screen, a film that made Jack Nicholson a major star. He and Nicholson would go on to collaborate on a total of seven movies. Rafelson often did not take screen credit but his films include "Five Easy Pieces", "The King of Marvin Gardens", "The Last Picture Show", "Hearts and Minds", "Stay Hungry", "The Postman Always Rings Twice", "Brubaker" and "Mountains of the Moon". He and Nicholson also wrote the screenplay for The Monkees' 1968 feature film satire "Head", which Rafelson also directed. For more, click here.