Jackson Gillis' name may not be familiar to retro TV fans but his work certainly is. He wrote memorable scripts for classic series such as The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Perry Mason, Columbo, I Spy and many others. Gillis has died at the age of 93. Click here for biography

Sad to report that Ahna Capri was killed in a car accident over the weekend in LA. She began as a child actress in the 50s and morphed into a sexy 60s starlet who resembled a cross between Sandra Dee and Joey Heatherton. Using the name Anna Capri, she appeared in such films as Kisses for My President and The Girls on the Beach (co-star Gail Gerber remembers Anna as "such a lovely girl. I remember when first meeting her I couldn't believe how beautiful she was.") She popped up all over TV in such series as The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Wild Wild West, The Invaders, Run for Your Life, and It Takes a Thief. In the 70s, a la Mariana Hill, she changed her name also to Ahna Capri (she remarked, "Too many people pronounce 'Anna' with a flat 'a' and it comes out as ugly 'Aaana.'") and began to show the world she had more talent than previously being given credit especially in the underrated Payday (1972) opposite Rip Torn as one bastard of a country-western singer. She reached cult status with her appearance in Enter the Dragon (1973) with Bruce Lee and as The Specialist (1975) a sexy assassin for hire. Ahna Capri retired from acting in 1979.- -Tom Lisanti/www.sixtiescinema.com

David L. Wolper, a legend among producers, has died at age 82. Wolper's legacy is an impressive one with a string of highly acclaimed TV documentaries ranging from the Jacques Cousteau specials to The Incredible World of James Bond. His greatest triumph was the 1977 TV mini series adaptation of Alex Haley's Roots, which kept American audiences transfixed for many nights in the era before home video was widespread. Wolper also occasionally produced theatrical films. They include his acclaimed nature documentary feature The Hellstrom Chronicle, the hit comedy If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium and the 1960s epic WWII films The Devil's Brigade and The Bridge At Remagen. Click here to read Huffington Post columnist Dale Olsen's tribute to Wolper's remarkable career.

 

By Lee Pfeiffer

Patricia Neal, the tough-but-sexy actress who won an Oscar for Hud, has died at age 84. During her lifetime, she lived through many dramatic episodes including being the lover of the married Gary Cooper. She also overcame a severe stroke that threatened to sideline her career permanently, but she made a stunning comeback. Neal's film credits include the sci-fi classic from director Robert Wise The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Subject Was Roses (another Oscar nomination), the Elia Kazan classic A Face in the Crowd, Otto Preminger's WWII epic In Harm's Way and many others. However, it was her performance as the world-weary woman working on an all-male cattle ranch in Martin Ritt's 1963 drama Hud that won her the Best Actress Oscar opposite Paul Newman. Neal's performance has been called one of the great acting achievements of 1960s cinema. She continued to be a mainstay in New York society, appearing at many events up until recently. For more click here For critic John Farr's tribute to Neal, click here

Robert F. Boyle, one of the film industry's most revered and honored art directors and production designers, died earlier this week at age 100. Boyle worked with many top directors of different generations including Alfred Hitchcock, Don Siegel, Norman Jewison and Joe Dante. Boyle was nominated for four Oscars for his work on North By Northwest, the Jewison films Gaily, Gaily and Fiddler on the Roof and Siegel's 1976 classic The Shootist. Although he never won a competitive Oscar, he was given a lifetime achievement award by the Academy in 2008.He is also the subject of an acclaimed documentary film. For more about his remarkable career click here

 

American baby boomers are mourning the death of 79 year old actor Dan Resin, who is better known as the Ty-D-Bol Man in a series of vintage TV commercials for a toilet cleaner. In the absurd, but iconic spots, Resin portrayed a man who lived inside your toilet tank and dispensed information about the effectiveness of Ty-D-Bol in removing bothersome stains. Resin also appeared in feature films, most notably Caddyshack as Dr. Beeper. Despite his affiliation with Ty-D-Bol, he did not live in Flushing, New York! Click here for more (Click here to watch 1971 Ty-D-Bol ad)

 

By Lee Pfeiffer

Mitch Miller, who became a pop culture icon in the 1960s, has died at age 99. Miller was a record producer whose 1960s weekly TV show Sing Along With Mitch made him instantly recognizable throughout the world. The thin man with the Don Quixote look would conduct in a virtually immobile style as his all-male choir sang popular standards. A key novelty of the show was a bouncing ball that allowed audience members to sing along. The concept actually began with a series of records that included lyrics sheets. When transformed to TV, the show proved to be a hit, despite the fact that Miller was on the air when rock 'n roll was booming. Miller had some career mishaps including a notorious flop novelty record he produced for Frank Sinatra, one of the few embarrassments of the great singer's career. Yet, Miller remained a fixture in American pop culture long after his show left the air. Additionally, Miller also contributed to the classic 1962 war movie The Longest Day: his choir sang the title song, which was written by Paul Anka. For more click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz has died after a battle with cancer. He was 68 years old. Mankiewicz came from a legendary Hollywood family of screenwriters, directors and producers. He was a screenwriting novice when he was tapped by producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman to write the screenplay for the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. The film was especially important for the franchise because it marked Sean Connery's return to the series after a one-film absence. Although most critics attribute the injection of overt (some would say "over-the-top") humor to Roger Moore's assumption of the role in Live and Let Die (1973), this trait was actually introduced by Mankiewicz in Diamonds Are Forever and continued through his other two Bond scripts: Live and Let Die and The Man With the Golden Gun. Although Bond purists tend to be critical of the Mankiewicz trilogy because it brought the character of Bond into the realm of the absurd, there is no denying the films scored with the public and each proved to be a major financial success. Mankiewicz would later serve as Creative Consultant and uncredited screenwriter on the Superman series, where his flair for humor was more readily accepted by fans. Mankiewicz also wrote and directed the hit 1987 big screen comedy version of Dragnet. For an in-depth look at his career, click here to visit the MI6 web site.

Peter Fernandez, who provided the voice for the title character in the cult 1960s Japanimation TV series Speed Racer, has died at age 83. Fernandez also wrote the famous title song for the series. He was associated with other well-known Japanese animation series and even made a cameo in the 2008 big screen live action version of Speed Racer. For more click here

 

Vonetta McGee, one of the most prominent actresses to gain fame during the period of Blaxploitation films in the 1970s, has died at age 65. She had been battling health problems since she was teenager and had been on life support for the last few days. McGee resented the term Blaxploitation and felt frustrated that she never received studio support to emerge as a bigger star. Still, she worked consistently and in hit films like Blacula, Shaft in Africa, Melinda and Thomasine and Bushrod. She also had a few key roles in The Lost Man opposite Sidney Poitier, and most notably, as the female lead, Jemima Brown, in Clint Eastwood's 1975 spy thriller The Eiger Sanction. In later years, she had a recurring role on TV series L.A. Law. For more click here

Click here to watch the original trailer for The Eiger Sanction

By Lee Pfeiffer

Producer Elliott Kastner has died at age 80. Known for his humorous personality and penchant for off-color jokes, Kastner was a larger-than-life character. Although born in America, he made England his home through much of his career and maintained an office at Pinewood Studios until the end of his life. Kastner moved from the music industry into film production with his first credit as producer on the 1965 film Bus Riley's Back in Town. He was one of the first producers to secure independent financing for his films, then sell the distribution rights to major studios. Kastner had many high profile films to his credit including Harper with Paul Newman, The Missouri Breaks and The Nightcomers- both with Marlon Brando, and perhaps most notably the 1969 MGM WWII film Where Eagles Dare with Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood. The film was based on a story by Alistair MacLean and Kastner went on to adapt other works by the author for the screen including Breakheart Pass, Fear is the Key and When Eight Bells Toll. He also brought the character of detective Philip Marlowe back to the screen in the 1970s with The Long Goodbye, The Big Sleep and Farewell, My Lovely, the latter two starring Robert Mitchum.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Ronald Neame, the legendary cinematographer-turned-screenwriter-turned producer-turned director, has died from complications from a fall. He was 99 years old. Neame's impressive resume goes back to the early days of sound films, having worked on on Alfred Hitchcock's Blackmail. The multi-talented Neame also took up screenwriting and earned Oscar nominations for co-writing the scripts for the classics Brief Encounter and Great Expectations. He was considered a pioneer in the use of Technicolor and was so revered in the British film industry that he was made a Commander of the British Empire. Neame represented the by-gone era of gentleman directors who generally dressed nattily on film sets and brought a wealth of culture to their productions. He directed such high profile films as Tunes of Glory, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, The Chalk Garden, Gambit, Scrooge, The Odessa File and the blockbuster 1972 hit The Poseidon Adventure. For more click here

 

Jimmy Dean, who turned his brand of corn pone charm into a major asset, has died at age 81. Dean jumped to fame with his classic Country and Western ode Big Bad John in 1961. He successfully entered many different careers ranging from TV show host to entertaining before large audiences in concert. The food company he started still bares his name, though he had sold his interests in it many years ago. Dean also dabbled in acting and landed a role still revered by James Bond fans: as the reclusive billionaire Willard Whyte in the 1971 007 blockbuster Diamonds Are Forever. For more click here

Rue McClanahan, the youngest of The Golden Girls, died this week at age 76. The smash hit show ran on NBC between 1985 and 1992. McClanahan perfected the role of vamp in the series and transformed her success into other ventures including the New York stage. McClanahan also appeared in theatrical films, making her big screen debut in the 1971 film They Might Be Giants. McClanahan had been fighting various illnesses in recent years but remained active until recently on the New York social scene, where she attended events at The Players club and other arts-related organizations. McClanahan's death leaves Betty White as the only surviving Golden Girl. For more click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

Dennis Hopper, who has been battling prostate cancer for months, has died at age 74. Hopper was a larger-than-life figure in American films, having started out with high profile supporting roles in the James Dean classics Rebel Without a Cause and Giant. His rebellious behavior often alienated him from studio executives. In 1969, he directed and co-wrote Easy Rider, which was made a on shoestring budget and grossed tens of millions of dollars. The film also transformed the movie industry and helped usher in an era of new filmmakers. However, Hopper's penchant for drugs and alcohol sidetracked his success. His follow-up film, The Last Movie, was a critical and boxoffice disaster. He began a comeback a decade later with an acclaimed supporting performance as a crazed war photographer in Apocalypse Now and scored an Oscar nomination for his performance in the 1986 film Hoosiers. Hopper set his sites on getting sober and his career flourished. He worked consistently until his illness last year. Most improbably, later in life Hopper empathized with the political convictions of John Wayne, with whom he made two films, by donating money to the Republicans. However,he became disillusioned with the direction the party had taken in recent years and backed Barack Obama for President. In Hopper's final days, he was able to attend the ceremony that saw him receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. However, he was also in the midst of a bitter divorce that he filed for while literally on his death bed. For more click here

 

Gary Coleman, who found stardom in the 1970's TV sitcom Diff'rent Strokes has died from an intercranial hemmorrhage at at 42. Coleman's death was not unexpected: he had been placed on life support earlier this week. Like many actors who became stars as children, Coleman struggled throughout his adult life, which was plagued by medical, behavioral and legal problems. For more click here

Art Linkletter, one of the few remaining superstars from the early days of television, has died peacefully at age 97. Linkletter was a successful radio personality as early as 1942 and later brought his programs to television. His shows House Party and People Are Funny were marked by his penchant for gentle humor. His catch phrase "Kids say the darndest things" became the title of his autobiography and was made into a TV series by Bill Cosby. Linkletter prided himself on being the epitome of a family man, but ironically his life had many tragedies and he suffered the loss of three grown children during his life. He is survived by his wife of 75 years. For more click here

Author Peter O'Donnell, who created the action hero Modesty Blaise, has died at age 90. O'Donnell's character was a popular success through his adventure novels and a long-running series of comic strips that ran in the 1960s and which have been reissued in recent years as graphic novels by Titan publishers. O'Donnell also wrote the screenplay for the 1967 big screen version of Modesty Blaise that starred Monica Vitti. For more click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

Frank Frazetta, a legendary name in the world of comic art, has died from a stroke at age 82. For legions of comic book fans, his last name was a valued brand- one that called to mind his unique style of creating iconic heroes and super-sexy female characters. Frazetta was one of the key contributors to E.C. horror comics in the 1950s before censorship efforts drove the titles out of business. His specialty was dark, menacing characters such as Conan the Barbarian. Beginning with the 1965 film What's New Pussycat?, Frazetta also found a lucrative sideline in creating movie posters. Unlike many of his peers, he successfully marketed himself as an independent artist and lived to reap large sums of money from the sale of his original works. Sadly, in the last year of his life, he witnessed distressing family in-fighting over the long-term rights to his life's work. For more click here

 

Lena Horne, one of the great jazz singers of all time, has died at age 92. Horne was instrumental in battling racism throughout her career, beginning with her first breakthrough screen role in the 1943 musical Stormy Weather. The title track would become her signature song but her sequences were shot independently from those featuring other actors so the scenes could be cut out of prints being shown in the segregated South. Horne became a civil rights activist and continued to battle for racial equality throughout her life. She was the mother-in-law of acclaimed film director Sidney Lumet, who cast her in a key role in his 1978 screen adaptation of The Wiz. For more click here

 

Actress Dorothy Provine died last week at age 75. Provine was a sexy blonde whose career was somewhat sidelined by critics who felt she was an imitation Doris Day. Her perky on-screen personality landed her prominent roles in films such as Good Neighbor Sam, Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die, That Darn Cat! and Who's Minding the Mint? Provine also was the female lead in the Man From U.N.C.L.E. feature film One Spy Too Many. Her most memorable role was in Stanley Kramer's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World as the reluctant participant in a treasure hunt who ironically discovers where the fortune is buried. Provine was also a singer who scored two pop chart singles in the UK in the 1960s. For more click here

Lynn Redgrave, of the Redgrave acting dynasty, died on May 2 at age 67. She had recently been battling breast cancer. Redgrave made her screen debut in a bit role in the Oscar winning 1963 film Tom Jones, directed by her brother-in-law Tony Richardson. She scored her best leading role three years later as the frumpy title character in the classic British film Georgy Girl, for which she received a Best Actress Oscar nomination. By her own account, however, Redgrave's career paled in comparison with her sister Vanessa's and her father Michael Redgrave's. She continued to act over the decades, occasionally scoring good reviews for supporting performances but never fully capitalized on her early success. Her other films include The Deadly Affair and Smashing Time. For more click here

John Forsythe, the handsome and distinguished star of TV, stage and movies, has died at age 92. Forsythe had a hit TV series with Bachelor Father and later starred in the long-running prime time soap opera Dynasty. He also provided the voice of Charlie in the Charlie's Angels TV series. On the big screen, Forsythe starred in two Alfred Hitchcock films: the whimsical The Trouble With Harry and the Cold War thriller Topaz. He was also heavily involved in charitable causes. For more click here

Actress Carol Marsh has died at age 80. Marsh's screen career was rather limited, but she did have major roles in several pivotal British film classics. She gained her first big break by winning the female lead role opposite Richard Attenborough in the 1947 crime classic Brighton Rock (aka Young Scarface). She played an impressionable young woman who has the misfortune of falling in love and marrying a ruthless young gang leader. She also played the key role of Lucy in the 1958 Hammer Films version of Dracula (aka Horror of Dracula) opposite Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Marsh played the title role in the 1949 version of Alice in Wonderland. She also appeared in the classic Alastair Sim version of  A Christmas Carol (aka Scrooge). Marsh had not made a feature film since 1959 but did continue to act on British television until the mid 1970s. 

If you were a baby boomer growing up in the New York City area, WABC was the AM radio station you were glued to for the best rock 'n roll and British invasion songs, all brought to you by legendary DJ's Cousin Bruce, Harry Harrison and Ron Lundy. Yesterday, Lundy died from a heart attack in Mississippi. He had a career that spanned almost thirty years, bringing classics to listeners when the songs were new, then becoming a popular retro DJ. His famous signature greeting was, "Hello, Luv!" He also had a famous movie cameo, though he was not seen on screen: his familiar voice is heard by Jon Voight's Joe Buck on his transistor radio as he begins his ominous entrance into New York City in Midnight Cowboy. For more click here

Peter Graves, who became an icon of 1960s TV as the star of Mission:Impossible, collapsed and died at his house from an apparent heart attack yesterday. He was 83 years old. Graves toiled for years as a supporting actor in feature films, having made an impression as a German.spy among American POWS in the 1953 classic Stalag 17. Graves was the star of the popular 1950s TV western series Fury. Both he and his younger brother James Arness, who starred in Gunsmoke, found major success on CBS. Graves played agent Jim Phelps in the hit 1960s spy show Mission: Impossible and the opening of every episode, in which a tape self-destructs after reading him his assignment, remains an iconic aspect of TV history.The role won him a Golden Globe award.  Graves was generally cast as stalwart heroic types, but in the 1980 big screen comedy Airplane! he displayed a deft flair for comedy as the macho airline pilot with a penchant for little boys and gladiators. Graves worked consistently over the decades, also hosting the popular Biography TV series for years. For more click here

UPDATE

Merlin Olsen, who terrified opponents on the football field when he played with the Los Angeles Rams only to play gentle giants on-screen, died yesterday of cancer at age 69. Olsen was best known as an actor for appearing in the TV series Little House on the Prairie and Father Brown. He also made several feature films including The Undefeated with John Wayne and Rock Hudson and Something Big with Dean Martin. For more click here

Actor Corey Haim, who enjoyed a streak of popularity in 1980s teen films, is dead at age 38, apparently from a drug over-dose. Haim led a troubled life that alienated him from his peer and frequent co-star Corey Feldman. Haim starred in a string of popular 1980s teen-oriented films including The Lost Boys, Lucas and License to Drive. Click here for more

Charles B. Pierce, a noted set decorator on major studio films who turned to directing low-budget but profitable movies, has died at age 71. No cause of death has been announced. As set decorator, Pierce worked on films like The Sterile Cuckoo, Pretty Maids All in a Row, Skyjacked and The Outlaw Josey Wales. He also wrote the story for the Dirty Harry film Sudden Impact. However, Pierce had his greatest success by producing and directing his own low-budget films, often marketed to rural and drive-in audiences. His 1972 horror film The Legend of Boggy Creek was a major financial success and inspired the 1999 blockbuster The Blair Witch Project. For more click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

Martin Benson, the distinguished British actor, has passed away at age 91. Although he had a wealth of credits from film and TV work, Benson was immortalized as the ill-fated Mafia boss Mr. Solo in the 1964 James Bond classic Goldfinger. It was his character who was famously crushed to death inside a new luxury car in one of the film's most legendary scenes. Benson's character's name caused some contention with the Bond producers. Ian Fleming suggested using the same name as the hero Robert Vaughn played on The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and embellished it a bit by adding a first name: Napoleon. The show's producer Norman Felton originally shot the pilot under the title Solo but changed it to The Man From U.N.C.L.E. when Bond producers Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman raised concerns that viewers might confuse it with an official Fleming project. Benson's other film credits include Cleopatra, A Shot in the Dark, The Omen, Behold a Pale Horse and The Sea Wolves. For more click here

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

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

Johnny Seven, a character actor who appeared in countless TV series and feature films, has died at age 83. Among his credits: Ironside, Bonanza, CHIPS, Sgt. Bilko, Gunsmoke, The Apartment and the Western Navajo Run, which he wrote produced and directed. In recent years, he ran a successful real estate business. For details click here

Zelda Rubinstein, who played the eccentric psychic in Poltergeist, has died at age 76. For more click here. For more details about her life and career, check out Kasey Dickerson's tribute here.

Pernell Roberts, the last remaining cast member of Bonanza, has died from cancer at age 81. Roberts played the role of Adam, brother of Dan Blocker and Michael Landon, on the smash hit TV series between 1959 and 1965. He felt frustrated that his character was never fully developed and thought it was ridiculous that a man in his 30s would constantly defer to his father's (Lorne Greene) wishes. Like so many other stars who left hit TV series, Roberts' career stagnated for many years. However, in 1979 he was back in a hit, playing the title role of Trapper John, M.D., based on a character from the M*A*S*H TV series. The show lasted until 1986. For more click here

Actress Jean Simmons has died from cancer at age 80. Simmons began acting in the mid-1940s and won acclaim for her performance as Ophelia in Laurence Olivier's Oscar-winning screen version of Hamlet in 1948. Major roles followed in films such as The Blue Lagoon, The Robe, Guys and Dolls, The Big Country, Spartacus, Elmer Gantry and The Happy Ending. By the late 1960s, however, the major roles in big screen productions stopped coming her way, although she did continue to act (often in independent films) up until last year.In the 1980s, she won an Emmy for her performance in the hit TV mini-series The Thorn Birds.  Simmons had been married to Stewart Granger, and later to director Richard Brooks. For more click here

Erich Segal, whose razor-thin romance novel Love Story became a pop culture phenomenon, has died at age 72 from a heart attack in London. Segal's modest story about two love-struck Harvard college students resonated with a generation that was beset by civil unrest and the protest movement. The story is the ultimate soap opera, with the lead female character developing a terminal illness. Still, Segal's skillful prose tore at women's heartstrings and elevated the book to being a publishing sensation. Segal wrote the screenplay for the 1970 big screen adaptation which was a massive box-office hit and scored key Oscar nominations for the principals involved and elevated Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw to stardom. The film's tag-line "Love means never having to say you're sorry" is still widely quoted today, though often in a satiric context.  Segal, who also wrote the screenplay for The Beatles' Yellow Submarine, never enjoyed success on this level again. His sequel to Love Story, titled Oliver's Story, didn't  approach the kind of sales that the first book did and a screen version starring Ryan O'Neal was neither a box-office or critical success. Segal continued to write the occasional screenplay but his name remains synonymous with Love Story. For more click here

Beverly E. Fisher, who became the centerpiece of a scandalous love affair with Errol Flynn when she was ony 15 years old, has died at age 67. Fisher began the affair with Flynn when the legendary screen star's career was in decline after years of alcohol abuse. Flynn was married but separated at the time. Flynn's previous flings with under-age women resulted in a notorious trial for statutory rape in the 1940s in which he was acquitted. For more on the Flynn/Fisher relationship click here

Juliet Anderson, who rose to fame in the world of adult films under the screen name Aunt Peg, has died peacefully at age 71. Anderson got into the industry relatively late in life but made her age an asset. Cinema Retro contributor Graham Hill was a personal friend of Anderson's and profiled her in a piece for our web site last year. Click here to read

Erich Rohmer, the legendary director of many classic French films, is dead at age 89. Rohmer's work was acclaimed for its concentration on character development and long, conversation-driven sequences that sparkled with great dialogue. His two most famous films were released in English-language cinemas under the titles My Night at Maud's and Claire's Knee. In praising Rohmer, President Sarkozy said, "Classic and romantic, wise and iconoclastic, light and serious, sentimental and moralistic, he created the 'Rohmer' style, which will outlive him." For more click here

Robin Wood, a one-time English teacher who became a prominent film critic, has passed away at age 78. The native born Brit who spent much of his life in Canada, is credited for being one of the first writers to argue the brilliance of Alfred Hitchcock's work during an era in which mainstream critics largely regarded him as simply an entertainer who created fun, but gimmicky thrillers. Wood's 1965 book Hitchcock's Films was long regarded as the first serious analysis of the director's work. He went on to write major works about the films of Arthur Penn, Ingmar Bergman and Howard Hawks. In his personal life, Wood initially lived as a straight man and fathered several children. In the 1970s, he came out of the closet and his work reflected his dedication to gay rights and left-wing political causes. Wood once said that the primary reason for writing about film was as a tool for advancing social justice. For more click here

Arnold Stang, who created the on-screen persona of a mild-mannered nerd in classic comedy routines, has died at age 91. Stang rose to fame playing a wise-cracking stage hand on Milton Berle's show in the 1950s and quickly became a popular character actor in the Golden Age of Comedy. He provided voice-over work for numerous shows and commercials, and did the voice of Top Cat in the popular 1960s animated series. Stang also appeared in feature films such as The Man with the Golden Arm opposite Frank Sinatra. However, for retro movie lovers, he will be forever linked with Stanley Kramer's 1963 epic comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World in which he and Marvin Kaplan play ill-fated garage owners who have the misfortune of encountering both Jonathan Winters and Phil Silvers on the opening day of their business. The resulting scenario leads to Winters' wholesale destruction of their business in what many consider to be the film's most hilarious sequence. For more on Stang, click here

Connie Hines, who co-starred as Alan Young's wife in the classic Mister Ed TV series, has passed away at age 78. Hines played the perky young woman who indulged her husband's obsession with his pet horse Ed - without ever knowing that the animal could not only talk, but act as adviser to her spouse. (For Nick Thomas' interview with Alan Young about the making of the TV series, click here)For more on Connie Hines' life and career click here

Screen writer Dan O'Bannon has died at age 63 following a decades long battle with Crohn's Disease. He specialized in science fiction and penned the screenplays for the blockbuster hits Alien and Total Recall. Other credits include Blue Thunder, Heavy Metal and Lifeforce. For more click here

Many retro movie lovers (including us) didn't realize that sultry Italian actress Rosanna Schiaffino had passed away in October at age 69 after a long battle with cancer . Schiaffino provided plenty of sex appeal for both European films and major Hollywood productions before she retired from the industry in the 1970s. Her tempestuous personal life rivaled any of the melodrama and scandal found in Italian films of the period. Her English-language films include Two Weeks in Another Town, El Greco, The Man Called Noon and Arrivederci, Baby!  Click here to read more about her life and career. 

Actress Brittany Murphy, who appeared in such films as 8 Mile, Girl Interrupted, The Caller and Clueless, was pronounced dead today at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after an ambulance was summoned to her home for a medical emergency. Some reports say that Murphy's mother found her unconscious in the shower. Murphy had been one of the actors who provided her voice to the popular animated series King of the Hill. Tragically, one of her recent films was ironically titled The Dead Girl. Police say they have opened an investigation into her death. Murphy died of cardiac arrest. She was 32 years old and married to screenwriter Simon Monjack. For more click here