Notable Showbiz Deaths of 2019
A list of entertainment industry figures who passed away in 2019
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- Ed Corney was born on 9 November 1933 in Hawaii, USA. He was an actor, known for The Comeback (1980), Pumping Iron (1977) and Schwarzenegger: Total Rebuild (1988). He was married to Jessie J. Eldridge. He died on 1 January 2019 in the USA.
- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Pegi Young was born on 1 December 1952 in San Mateo, California, USA. She was an actress and producer, known for Human Highway (1982), Greendale (2003) and Solo Trans (1984). She was married to Neil Young. She died on 1 January 2019 in California, USA.- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Daryl Dragon was born on 27 August 1942 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for Payback (1990), Go for It (1976) and Sandstone (1975). He was married to Toni Tennille. He died on 2 January 2019 in Prescott, Arizona, USA.Best known as the Captain from "...and (Toni) Tennille". The legendary couple hosted their own 1970s variety show - when they weren't cranking out such Top Ten Hits as "Do That To Me One More Time", "Love Will Keep Us Together", "Muskrat Love", and "The Way That I Want To Touch You".- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Bob Einstein was born on 20 November 1942 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Bizarre (1979), Super Dave (1987) and Super Dave's Spike Tacular (2009). He was married to Roberta Marie Smith and Cathy Maureen Kilpatrick. He died on 2 January 2019 in Indian Wells, California, USA.Best known as "Super Dave Osborne" ...who starred in a live-action movie, in a weekly animated series, and in a number of commercials for Haggar clothes.
Words to live by: "They're STILL not wrinkled!"- Gene Okerlund was born on 19 December 1942 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for WrestleMania III (1987), WrestleMania X-Seven (2001) and WCW Monday Nitro (1995). He was married to Jeanne Ellen Zulawnik. He died on 2 January 2019 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
- George Welsh was born on 26 August 1933 in Coaldale, Pennsylvania, USA. He was married to Alexandra and Alexandra Hubicsak. He died on 2 January 2019 in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
John Falsey was born on 6 November 1951 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Northern Exposure (1990), I'll Fly Away (1991) and St. Elsewhere (1982). He was married to Julie and Kathy Suzanne Mynes. He died on 3 January 2019 in Iowa City, Iowa, USA.- Harold Brown was born on 19 September 1927 in New York City, New York, USA. He was married to Colene D. McDowell. He died on 4 January 2019 in Rancho Santa Fe, California, USA.
- Lovely, buxom, and vivacious blonde bombshell Louisa Moritz was born as Luisa Cira Castro Netto on September 25, 1936 in Havana, Cuba. Many members of Louisa's family which include her father Luis, sister Aurora, and her older brother Rafael all worked in the law profession. Moritz left Cuba and moved to New York City during the upheaval of the 1950s. Louisa was inspired to change her last name from Castro to Moritz after seeing the St. Moritz Hotel in New York City. She arrived in NYC in July 1960, aged 23.
She began her acting career in TV commercials in the late 1960s. She made her debut in a TV commercial for Ultra-Ban spray deodorant and won both a Clio Award and an Andy Award for her work as a student driver in a TV commercial for American Motors. Louisa made her film debut in the lead role of young prostitute Carmela in The Man from O.R.G.Y. (1970). Perhaps best known to general audiences as the hooker Rose in the Oscar-winning classic One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), her most memorable roles included Sylvester Stallone's airhead navigator Myra in the cult science fiction black comedy Death Race 2000 (1975), cheery prostitute Flora in the delightful Sixpack Annie (1975), Officer Gloria Whitey in Up in Smoke (1978), hilarious as the aggressively lascivious Carmela in the uproariously raunchy teen comedy hoot The Last American Virgin (1982), and ditsy kleptomaniac Bubbles in the terrifically trashy babes-behind-bars treat Chained Heat (1983). Among the television programs Moritz appeared on are The Leslie Uggams Show (1969), The Joe Namath Show (1969), Love, American Style (1969), Ironside (1967), Happy Days (1974), M*A*S*H (1972), Chico and the Man (1974), The Rockford Files (1974), The Incredible Hulk (1978) and The Associates (1979).
Outside of acting, Moritz sold real estate, sung a song she specifically wrote about host Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show," and bought a hotel in Beverly Hills which she renamed the Beverly Hills St. Moritz. Although often cast as the generic dumb blonde in many films and TV shows (a part which she always played with great spirit and infectiously sweet good humor), Moritz in real life was the total radical opposite of this particular persona: She not only made the Deans List while studying for her law degree at the University of West Los Angeles, but won the American Jurisprudence Bancroft Whitney Prize for Contracts as well. She went on to become a lawyer in southern California, but was eventually disbarred for failing to provide certain quarterly reports. Louisa Moritz died at age 82 from cardiovascular disease on January 4, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. - Annalise Braakensiek was born on 9 December 1972 in Sydney, Australia. She was an actress, known for Fat Pizza (2003), Pizza (2000) and Mr. Accident (2000). She was married to Danny Goldberg. She died on 6 January 2019 in Potts Point, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- William Sheppard was born and raised in London, England to an Anglo-Irish family. He is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He was an Associate Artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company for 12 years. He appeared on Broadway in 1966 with "Marat-Sade" and later in 1975 with "Sherlock Holmes". He won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle award for "The Homecoming" in 1995, at the Matrix Theatre. He voiced the narrator in the popular computer game Civilization 5.
- Producer
- Director
- Special Effects
Jo Andres was an American filmmaker, choreographer and artist.
Andres first became known on the kinetic downtown New York performance scene of the 1980s for her film/dance/light performances, shown at The Performing Garage, La Mama E.T.C., P.S. 122, St. Marks Danspace, and the Collective for Living Cinema. As a filmmaker, Andres drew acclaim and awards for the 1996 film, Black Kites (1996), which aired on PBS and played several film festivals, including Sundance, Berlin, Toronto, London and Human Rights Watch Film Festivals. She directed music and art videos, as well as her own film performance works. Andres was a dance' consultant to the acclaimed Wooster Group. She was an artist in residence at leading universities, museums and art colonies, including Yaddo and The Rockefeller Study Center in Bellagio, Italy.
She created a series of cyanotype photographs, which can be seen on JoAndres.com.
She and her husband, actor Steve Buscemi, had one son, Lucian Buscemi.- Eric Haydock was born on 3 February 1943 in Stockport, Cheshire, England, UK. He died on 5 January 2019 in the UK.
- Actress
- Writer
- Music Department
Clydie King was born on 21 August 1943 in Dallas, Texas, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for The Long Goodbye (1973), A Star Is Born (1976) and The Split (1968). She was married to Tony Collins and Robin Hale. She died on 7 January 2019 in Monrovia, California, USA.- Verna Bloom was born on 7 August 1938 in Lynn, Massachusetts, USA. She was an actress, known for High Plains Drifter (1973), National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) and After Hours (1985). She was married to Jay Cocks and Richard Collier. She died on 9 January 2019 in Bar Harbor, Maine, USA.
- Actor
- Producer
Kevin Fret was born on 11 June 1993 in Puerto Rico. He was an actor and producer, known for Kevin Fret: Soy asi (2018). He died on 10 January 2019 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.- Actress
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Shirley Boone was born on 24 April 1934 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was an actress and assistant director, known for Captain Nice (1967), Hollywood Without Make-Up (1963) and The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour (1969). She was married to Pat Boone. She died on 11 January 2019 in Beverly Hills, California, USA.- Bradley Bolke was born on 1 October 1925 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974), Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales (1963) and Hail (1972). He was married to Katherine (Kitty) Castro. He died on 15 January 2019 in Dobbs Ferry, New York, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Carol Channing was born January 31, 1921, at Seattle, Washington, the daughter of a prominent newspaper editor, who was very active in the Christian Science movement. She attended high school in San Francisco and later worked as a model in Los Angeles. She attended prestigious Bennington College in Vermont and majored in drama and dance and supplemented her work by taking parts in nearby Pocono Resort area. Carol initially made her mark on Broadway in "Gentleman Prefer Blondes" playing Lorelei Lee. In "Hello Dolly" she played Dolly Gallagher Levi, the witty, manipulative widow intent upon finding a wealthy husband. The musical won ten Tony awards in 1964, including Channing's for best actress in a comedy. Jacqueline Kennedy and her two children made their first public appearance after President John F. Kennedy's death by seeing her perform in "Hello Dolly" and later visited her backstage. She appeared in the film Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967). Her son Channing Carson is a Pulitizer Prize-nominated finalist cartoonist and she continued to practice her Christian Science religion.- John Bogle was born on 8 May 1929 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA. He was married to Eve Moore Sherrerd. He died on 16 January 2019 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Lorna Doom was born on 4 January 1958 in Dallas, Texas, USA. She was an actress, known for The Decline of Western Civilization (1981). She was married to Gary R Moss. She died on 16 January 2019 in Thousand Oaks, California, USA.Bassist for the punk band The Germs.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Windsor did 2 years teacher training in Bangor then taught History and English in the Elephant and Castle in London where he met Lynne, his future wife, who was a nurse, in the Welsh Club. By the time he was 32 they had 2 children and were living in Leek, in Staffordshire. He had always been keen on amateur dramatics and Lynne persuaded him to try the theatre. The casting director of the Royal Court Theatre got him into Cheltenham Reportary at £10 a week which started his show business career.Lent his voice to "Sergeant Major Zero" on the Gerry Anderson/Christopher Burr sci-fi series TERRAHAWKS...which, like Anderson's earlier shows CAPTAIN SCARLET and STINGRAY, was driven by an all-puppet cast.- Music Department
Reggie Young was born on 12 December 1936 in Caruthersville, Missouri, USA. He is known for Willie Nelson: The Big Six-0 (1993), The Oscars (2018) and American Music Shop (1990). He was married to Jenny Lynn Hollowell and Diane Young. He died on 17 January 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.- John Coughlin was born on 1 December 1985 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. He died on 18 January 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA.A television commentator and coach, as well as a champion figure skater, Coughlin won the U.S. pairs title in 2011 with Caitlin Yankowskas and in 2012 with Caydee Denney. He died by his own hand on January 18, in the wake of a scandal which led to Coughlin's suspension from the sport.
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Tony Mendez was born on 15 November 1940 in Eureka, Nevada, USA. He was a writer, known for Argo (2012), Our Man in Tehran (2013) and Argo: The CIA and Hollywood Connection (2013). He was married to Jonna Mendez and Karen. He died on 19 January 2019 in Frederick, Maryland, USA.- Producer
- Additional Crew
Andy Vajna was born in Budapest. In 1956 at the age of 12, he fled from Hungary and with the support of Red Cross he made his way alone to Canada. Vajna launched his career in the entertainment industry with his purchase of motion picture theaters in the Far East. He founded Panasia Films Limited in Hong Kong in 1976. Vajna met with Mario Kassar at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival, then he and Kassar formed Carolco. In 1982, Vajna was a founder and then president of the American Film Marketing Association. During that same year, Vajna and Kassar made their film production debut. In December 1989, Vajna sold all his interest in Carolco and formed Cinergi Productions, Inc. to engage in the financing, development, production and distribution of major event motion pictures. As part of its business plan, Cinergi has formed an alliance with The Walt Disney Company for distribution of Cinergi motion pictures in the United States, Canada and Latin America. Vajna has never forgotten his Hungarian roots and always tried to help the Hungarian film industry. He also actively participated in the distribution of Motion Pictures in Hungary eventually having a 70% share of the Hungarian box office. In 1989 Vajna founded InterCom that has become a market leader and a distributor of many Hollywood studios, including 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, Disney and MGM. In 2002 he founded Digic Pictures in Hungary which is a high-end animation studio. Since 2011 Andrew G. Vajna has been working as Government Commissioner in charge of the Hungarian film industry. In the same year he conceived Hungarian National Film Fund with the mission to contribute to the production of Hungarian films or co-productions that provide art and entertainment for moviegoers and bring significant success both domestically and on an international level. Under the Vajna era Hungarian movies financed by the Hungarian National Film Fund won altogether more than 130 international awards (including a Golden Globe award for Best Foreign Language Film) while the number of foreign films produced in Hungary increased significantly.Along with Mario Kassar, whom he met in the 1970s, Vajna founded Carolco Pictures.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Singing funny girl Kaye Ballard was born to perform...and perform she did, in a career spanning eight decades. With a strong comedy background and tunnel mouth to rival Martha Raye, the broad and bouncy trouper drew laughs on the musical stage, in night clubs, in recordings and on TV. As the archetypal over-emotive, knuckle-biting Italian wife and mama, the octogenarian tickled the funny bone with her earthy brand of comedy while alternately touching hearts in song.
She was born Catherine Gloria Balotta,in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of Italian parents, Lena (Nacarato) and Vincenzo/Vincent James Balotta. A deep desire to perform already struck by the time she was five years old. A typical class clown during her high school years, she began to compile a number of star impressions for her act. In her teens, she performed in a Cleveland USO stage production of "Stage Door Canteen" (1941), and soon set out on her own.
Earning a job in 1943 touring with Spike Jones and His Orchestra for two years as his featured vocalist and flute/tuba player(!), Kaye eventually set up camp in New York and made her Broadway debut with the revue "Three to Make Ready" (1946). From there she showcased in the musicals "Once in a Lifetime," "Touch and Go" (in London), "Annie Get Your Gun" and the burlesque show "Top Banana". During this time, she built up a strong song-and-comedy reputation for herself on the nightclub circuit, eventually playing the country's best cabarets/niteries including The Bon Soir, Persian Room and Blue Angel in New York, The Hungry i in San Francisco, and Mr. Kelly's in Chicago.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Kaye graced nearly every talk/variety show there was including those for Ed Sullivan, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Steve Allen, Perry Como, Red Skelton, Carol Burnett, Merv Griffin and Mike Douglas. Two of her classic TV roles were her ugly stepsister Portia (the other sister being fellow scene-stealer Alice Ghostley) in the Julie Andrews version of Cinderella (1957), and as one of The Mothers-In-Law (1967) (the other being fellow veteran Eve Arden) in the popular but short-lived sitcom produced by Desi Arnaz. Both showcases catered perfectly to Kaye's brash comedy instincts. She also pitched in as a meddling second banana for Doris Day for one season of the star's '70s TV show.
On stage Kaye had Broadway audiences rolling in the aisles with her Helen of Troy in the 1954 musical "The Golden Apple," while introducing the classic song standard "Lazy Afternoon." Other raves came in the form of "Wonderful Town" (1958), "Carnival" (1961) and Cole Porter Revisited" (1965). On the flip side of the coin, she played a frumpy Lola Delaney in a badly misguided musical version of "Come Back, Little Sheba" (entitled "Sheba") in 1974, and also tried unsuccessfully to bring life to the beloved, indomitable Molly Goldberg radio/TV character in the Broadway musical "Molly" (1973); the show lasted a mere two months. Kaye was much more at home sinking her teeth into two of theater's most impregnable females: Mama Rose in "Gypsy" and Dolly Levi in "Hello, Dolly!"
With an out-stretched personality on par with Carol Channing and Ethel Merman, films never became a suitable medium. Although Kaye gave a standout debut performance in The Girl Most Likely (1957), starring Jane Powell, she was seldom seen after that. Her sprinkling of supporting roles included A House Is Not a Home (1964) with Shelley Winters, Which Way to the Front? (1970) starring Jerry Lewis, Freaky Friday (1976) with young Jodie Foster, and, perhaps more notably, in The Ritz (1976) starring Rita Moreno and Jerry Stiller.
In later years, Kaye dominated the stage with feisty work in "Nunsense", "The Pirates of Penzance" (a Broadway replacement), "High Spirits" (as Madame Arcati), "Funny Girl" (as Mrs. Brice), "The Full Monty", and the female version of "The Odd Couple". The Rancho Mirage, California resident performed with the Palm Spring Follies show, and was out-and-about doing her one-woman cabaret show belting out the good old songs and retracing her burlesque-styled comedy roots. A survivor of breast cancer, the never-married veteran showed no signs of slowing down. She died in her Rancho Mirage home on January 21, 2019, aged 93.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Steve Bean was born on 27 April 1960 in Lynn, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Mousehunt (1997), Blast from the Past (1999) and Shakes the Clown (1991). He was married to Caroline Carrigan. He died on 21 January 2019 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Soundtrack
Maxine Brown was born on 27 April 1931 in Louisiana, USA. She was married to Tommy H. Russell. She died on 21 January 2019 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.- Merwin Goldsmith was born on 7 August 1937 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for The Hurricane (1999), Rounders (1998) and It Could Happen to You (1994). He was married to Barbara Parry. He died on 21 January 2019 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
Kevin Barnett was born on 7 August 1986 in Florida, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Top Five (2014), Unhitched (2008) and Rel (2018). He died on 22 January 2019 in Tijuana, Mexico.- Director
- Producer
- Actor
James Frawley was born on 29 September 1936 in Houston, Texas, USA. He was a director and producer, known for The Muppet Movie (1979), The Big Bus (1976) and The Monkees (1965). He was married to Cynthia Margaret. He died on 22 January 2019 in Indian Wells, California, USA.- Director
- Cinematographer
- Editor
Jonas Mekas, born December 24, 1922, Semeniskiai, Birzai, Lithuania, is a director, cinematographer, editor, writer, actor, poet, artist and publicist. More than 60 years of tireless work in film, arts and media has earned him the epithet "The Godfather of American Avant-Garde Cinema". In 1944 Jonas Mekas left Lithuania, with his brother Adolfas, because of the war. The both of them were imprisoned in a labor-camp in Elmshorn, Germany. After eight months they escaped to Denmark. By the end of 1949 the Mekas brothers emigrated to the U.S., settling in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. Two weeks after his arrival, he borrowed the money to buy his first Bolex 16mm camera and began to record brief moments of his life. Soon he got deeply involved in the American Avant-Garde film movement. In 1954, together with his brother, he started Film Culture magazine, which soon became the most important film publication in the US. In 1958 Jonas Mekas began his legendary Movie Journal column in the Village Voice. In 1962 he founded the Film-Makers' Cooperative, and in 1964 the Film-Makers' Cinematheque, which eventually grew into Anthology Film Archives, one of the world's largest and most important repositories of avant-garde cinema, and a screening venue. Jonas Mekas film "The Brig" was awarded the Grand Prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1963. Other films include "Walden" (1969), "Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania" (1972), "Lost Lost Lost" (1975), "Scenes from the Life of Andy Warhol" (1990), "Scenes from the Life of George Maciunas" (1992), "As I was Moving Ahead I saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty" (2000), "Letter from Greenpoint" (2005), "Sleepless Nights Stories" (2011) and "Out-takes from the Life of a Happy Man" (2012). In 2007, he completed a series of 365 short films released on the internet -- one film every day -- and since then has continued to share new work on his website. He currently lives and works in New York City.- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Oliver 'Tuku' Mtukudzi was born on 22 September 1952 in Harare, Zimbabwe. He was an actor and composer, known for Zimbabwe - Respect for Africa (1994), My Lady (2014) and Neria (1991). He died on 23 January 2019 in Harare, Zimbabwe.- Fatima Ali was born on 9 April 1989 in Lahore, Pakistan. She died on 25 January 2019 in San Marino, California, USA.
- Sanford Sylvan was born on 19 December 1953 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Death of Klinghoffer (2003) and Great Performances (1971). He died on 29 January 2019 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.
- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
As a sophomore at the University of Akron, he left town to come to Los Angeles with his band, Revelation Funk. The band broke up shortly after arriving in L.A. Shortly afterward, Ingram started working with Ray Charles as a piano player.
After Quincy Jones heard James Ingram's voice on "Just Once," he invited Ingram to sing on his album. James originally didn't think his voice was good enough to be a lead vocal. He won a Grammy award for best R&B vocal performance for his work on Jones' album, "The Dude."
Won a Grammy with Michael McDonald in 1984 for Best R&B Performance for their duet, "Yah Mo B There"
His mom, Alistine Wilson Ingram, and dad, Henry Ingram Sr., died within a year of one another [2001-2002]
Married his childhood sweetheart, Debra Robinson
Played keyboards on the classic hit songs "PYT" by Michael Jackson and "Bad Mama Jama" by Carl Carlton.
Plays keyboards, guitar, and electric bass.Along with Linda Ronstadt, he performed "Somewhere Out There" - the end title song from 1986's AN AMERICAN TAIL.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Michel Legrand is a three-time Academy Award-winning French composer, conductor and pianist who composed over 200 film and television scores as well as recorded over a hundred albums of jazz, popular and classical music.
He was born on February 24, 1932, in Becon-les-Bruyeres, in the Paris suburbs, France. His father, Raymond Legrand, was a French composer and actor. His mother, Marcelle der Mikaelian, was descended from the Armenian bourgeousie. From 1942 - 1949 young Legrand studied piano at the Paris Conservatoire. There his teachers were Nadia Boulanger and Henri Challan among other renown musicians. He received numerous awards for his skills in composition and piano and mastered a dozen other instruments. In 1947 he attended a concert by Dizzy Gillespie and caught a jazz bug. He started working as a pianist for major French singers. He eventually collaborated with Dizzy Gillespie on several albums and film scores.
In 1954 Legrand became an overnight star after his album "I Love Paris" became a hit, it went on selling over 8 million copies. He followed the success with such albums as "Holiday in Rome" (1955) and "Michel Legrand Plays Cole Porter" (1957). In 1958 he was invited to play at Moscow Festival of Students and Youth. There, in Moscow, he met his future wife, a young French model with who he went on to have three children.
In the late 1950s and 1960s Legrand was caught up in the French New Wave. He scored seven films for jean-Luc Godard, he also made ten films with Jacques Demy, and became responsible for creating the genre of musical in the French Cinema. In 1963 Legrand did The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), the first film musical that was entirely sung. For that film score he received three Oscar nominations. His beautiful, haunting melody, "I Will Wait For You", received nomination for Best Original Song.
In 1966 Legrand decided to take his chances in Hollywood, and moved to Los Angeles with his wife and three children. His friendship with Quincy Jones and Hank Mancini helped him a great deal, especially in meeting the lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman. In 1969 Legrand won his first Oscar for Best Music, Original Song for "The Windmills of Your Mind" and was also nominated for Best Music, Original score for a Motion Picture for The Thomas Crown Affair (1968). Eventually Legrand went on to become a star in the US, he received twelve nominations for Academy Awards, and won two more Oscars. He was also nominated for a Grammy 27 times and received 5 Grammys in the 1970s.
In the 1980s and 1990s Legrand continued giving live concerts with his own jazz trio. He also led his big band which he took on several international tours, accompanying such stars as Ray Charles , Diana Ross , Björk , and Stéphane Grappelli who celebrated his 85th birthday in 1992. He also recorded several classical albums, including an album with cross-genre hits entitled "Kiri Sings Michel Legrand" with the opera singer Kiri te Kanawa. During the 2000s Legrand has been working mainly in the studio, and also made several international tours.
In 2005 a compilation of Legrand's best known film soundtracks was released under the title "Le Cinema de Michel Legrand", featuring 90 songs composed in the course of his career.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Born in the Bronx, New York to Russian Jewish immigrant parents (Isidor "Ira" and Rita Blucher Miller), Richard Miller served in the U.S. Navy for a few years and earned a prize title as a middleweight boxer. He settled in Los Angeles in the mid-1950s, where he was noticed by producer/director Roger Corman, who cast him in most of his low-budget films, often as dislikeable sorts, such as a vacuum-cleaner salesman in Not of This Earth (1957). His most memorable role would have to be that of the mentally unstable, busboy/beatnik artist Walter Paisley, whose clay sculptures are suspiciously lifelike in A Bucket of Blood (1959) (a rare starring role for him), and he is also fondly remembered for his supporting role as the flower-eating Vurson Fouch in Corman's legendary The Little Shop of Horrors (1960).
Miller spent the next 20 years working in Corman productions, and starting in the late 1970s was often cast in films by director Joe Dante, appearing in credited and uncredited walk-on bits as quirky chatterboxes, and stole every scene he appeared in. He has played many variations on his famous Walter Paisley role, such as a diner owner (Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)) or a janitor (Chopping Mall (1986)). One of his best bits is the funny occult-bookshop owner in The Howling (1981). Being short (so he never played a romantic lead or a threatening villain) with wavy hair, long sideburns, a pointed nose and a face as trustworthy as a used-car dealer's, he was, and is to this day, an immediately recognizable character actor whose one-scene appearances in countless movies and TV shows guarantee audience applause.- Harold Bradley was born on 2 January 1926 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. He died on 31 January 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
- Candice (Candi) Jean Earley was born 18 August 1950 at Fort Hood, Texas. Her parents were Harold E. Earley and Vera Jean (nee Daily) Earley. Her father, (Harold) was a Colonel in the United States Army Judge Advocate General (JAG Corps). Colonel Earley was transferred to Germany after Candi was born and later reassigned to Fort Sill, Oklahoma when Candi was five years old.
Candi's father retired from active military service at the conclusion of his assignment at Fort Sill and established a home for the family in the Lawton, Oklahoma which is the civilian city next to Fort Sill. Candi spent the rest of childhood and school age years in Lawton, Oklahoma which she considered home. Candi had two older brothers, Jack and Mike.
Candi attended Lawton Public Schools (LPS) and graduated from Lawton High School (LHS) in 1968. She was an honor student and active in theater and arts programs. She developed a 4-Octave coloratura soprano voice via spirited voice lessons while in High School. She was very active in LHS theater productions and musicals. She also lent her voice and acting talent to the local Lawton Community Theater (LCT). These theatrical opportunities permitted Candi to develop and evolve as an actor and performer.
During her senior year in high school, Candi participated and was crowned Miss Lawton 1968. As Miss Lawton, she represented the city of Lawton in the Miss Oklahoma pageant later that summer and was second in the competition to be "Runner-Up."
She attended Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.
After college she relocated to San Francisco to seek her stage career. While there, she joined the Cast of Hair in 1969, and shortly was cast in the lead role of "Shelia." From then on, and through all of her life, she was one of the proud and select members of the "Tribe."
At age 21, she moved to New York, and was a member of the Broadway "Tribe." She was then cast as the female lead in Jesus Christ Superstar on Broadway. While eating lunch at Sardi's Restaurant, the Casting Director of ABC daytime television asked, "Who is that attractive mid-western looking type across the room?" Shortly thereafter she was cast as "Donna Tyler Beck" on the long-running ABC Television daytime soap opera, All My Children, where she starred for 18 years (1975-2005). During this time on All My Children, she continued her Broadway stage career playing the lead role of "Sandy" in Grease, and later played the role of "Nellie Forbush", opposite Bob Goulet, in South Pacific. During her years in New York, she also starred in Summer Stock Productions in her hometown (Lawton), of the Lawton Community Theatre productions including, Bells are Ringing, and Woman of the Year. While living in New York, she regularly returned to Lawton, which she considered "home." She also appeared on the game shows "Family Feud" and "The $10,000 Pyramid."
Candi chose to self-retire from screen and stage and relocated to El Dorado, Arkansas where she met and married Robert C. Nolan.
Candi Jean Earley Nolan passed away 31 January 2019 at the age of 68, after a lengthy battle with Multiple Systems Atrophy. - Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Jeremy Hardy was born on 17 July 1961 in Aldershot, Hampshire, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for How to Be (2008), Hello Mum (1986) and Spitting Image (1984). He was married to Kit Hollerbach and Katie Barlow. He died on 1 February 2019 in Sydenham, London, England, UK.- Neal James was born on 10 August 1963 in the USA. He died on 1 February 2019 in Willisburg, Kentucky, USA.
- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Lisa Seagram was born on 7 July 1936 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She was an actress and director, known for The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), Paradise Pictures (1997) and Burke's Law (1963). She was married to Marc Fiorini and Ira Hershman. She died on 1 February 2019 in Burbank, California, USA.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Clive Swift was born on 9 February 1936 in Liverpool, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Excalibur (1981), Frenzy (1972) and Keeping Up Appearances (1990). He was married to Margaret Drabble. He died on 1 February 2019 in London, England, UK.- Actress
- Additional Crew
Betty May Adams was the daughter of a travelling Iowa cotton buyer with a penchant for alcohol. Growing up in Arkansas, Betty expressed an early interest in acting and made her performing debut in a third grade play of "Hansel and Gretel." Beautiful, talented and determined, the freshly minted 'Miss Little Rock' left home at the age of 19 to live with her aunt and uncle in California. For three days a week she made ends meet working as a secretary. The remainder of her time was spent taking speech and drama lessons (in due course losing her Southern twang) and making the rounds of the various Hollywood casting departments. Her first screen role was (appropriately) as a starlet in Paramount's Red, Hot and Blue (1949). This was followed by an inauspicious leading role in the B-grade Western The Dalton Gang (1949). Over a period of five weeks she appeared in six further quota quickies of the sagebrush variety for Poverty Row outfit Lippert Productions. Since Lippert owned no actual studio facilities, most of the filming took place at the Ray Corrigan ranch in Chatsworth, California. In the summer of 1950, Betty assisted in a screen test for Detroit Lions football star Leon Hart at Universal-International. While Hart's movie career ended up stillborn, Betty clicked with producers who opted to change her first name to 'Julia.' The initial outing for her new studio was entitled Bright Victory (1951), with the budding actress a little underemployed as 'the other girl' in a love triangle involving a blind war veteran (played by Arthur Kennedy). Her career was significantly better served in her next assignment as co-star opposite James Stewart in Anthony Mann's seminal Technicolor western Bend of the River (1952) (Kennedy this time cast as the arch villain). Adams later recalled her part in this film as "a great learning experience" and one of her "fondest Hollywood memories," It also led to a life long friendship with Jimmy Stewart.
Signed to a seven-year contract (and having her legs insured by Universal to the tune of $125,000 by Lloyds of London), Julia seemed destined to remain perpetually typecast as a western heroine. A comely actress with soft, classical features, she often gave affecting performances in what amounted to little more than bread-and-butter pictures. At the very least, she got to play romantic leads opposite some of Universal's top box-office earners: Rock Hudson (in Horizons West (1952) and The Lawless Breed (1952)), Tyrone Power(The Mississippi Gambler (1953)) and Glenn Ford (The Man from the Alamo (1953)). Having played a succession of 'nice girls,' Julia took a turn as leader of an outlaw gang in Wings of the Hawk (1953), set against the background of the Mexican Revolution (Van Heflin was first-billed as a mining engineer, who, having his gold mine taken over by Federales, joins Julia's band of 'insurrectos'). 'Miss Melon Patch' of 1953 was about to experience another important career change, being famously cast as the imperilled heroine Kay Lawrence in Jack Arnolds cultish monster flic Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), a role Adams initially considered turning down. Shot in 3-D on a shoestring budget, the picture was light on script but strong on atmosphere and proved once again that style can succeed over content. The not inconsiderable physical charms of Miss Adams often dominated the scenery and gave the 'Gill Man' a run for his money. Audiences approved and 'Creature' spawned two further sequels, alas without Julia and with diminishing returns.
In 1955, having generated strong box office heat, Julia changed her moniker (with studio approval) to the less gentle-sounding Julie. Accordingly, she was now offered more varied material ranging from tough melodramas, to comedies and lightweight romances. Adams further established her credentials with roles which included a soft porn model who survives a plane crash in the Colorado Rockies in The Looters (1955); as a cop's wife in Six Bridges to Cross (1955) (a crime drama based on Boston's Great Brinks Robbery); a sympathetic school's doctor in the family-oriented comedy The Private War of Major Benson (1955) and as the wife of an assistant D.A. fighting gangland on the New York waterfront in Slaughter on 10th Avenue (1957). After 1957, her contract with Universal having expired, Adams successfully transitioned into television where she remained a firm favorite in westerns and crime dramas, guest-starring in just about every classic prime-time series covering both genres (Perry Mason (1957) being her personal favorite). Latterly, she had a popular recurring role as real estate lady Eve Simpson in Murder, She Wrote (1984). Adams was still in demand for occasional screen appearances well into her 90s.
She was married twice: first, to writer-producer Leonard Stern, and, secondly, to the actor Ray Danton. Julie Adams passed away in Los Angeles on February 3, 2019 at the age of 92. Her autobiography (co-written with her son Mitchell Danton), entitled "The Lucky Southern Star: Reflections from the Black Lagoon" appeared in 2011.- Actress
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Carmen Duncan was born in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. Carmen was a NIDA graduate and was an actress who was best known for her works in The Spoiler (1972), Number 96 (1972), Skyways (1979), A Country Practice (1981) and many more. Carmen would make appearances in many American TV series which included a run in As the World Turns (1956), Another World (1964), Ash vs Evil Dead (2015) and more. Carmen's shining light in her career was her glistening career in American TV, making her mark on Another World and making the role her own.
Duncan would sit on the board of what would become the Media Entertainment Arts Alliance and remain active on the board for a long time.
Carmen would survive two bouts of cancer before a third would take her life on 3 February 2019, Carmen was survived by her family.- Actor
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Kristoff made his television debut at age 8 in the sit-com series "That's My Mama." Now, 39 years later, he is one of the stars on CBS's "Young and The Restless," the number one rated drama for the past 25 years on daytime television, playing the popular character of Neil Winters. Is it just a coincidence that Kristoff has been starring on Y and R for 23 plus years.
His childlike gifts have all emerged into the full measure of a mature actor, as is evident by his eight Emmy Award nominations.
Two of Kristoff's Emmy nominations came from starring in the short-lived, NBC-TV daytime drama, "Generations." Kristoff was nominated as Best Supporting Actor in 1990, and in 1991. In 1992 he won the Emmy Award for his role of Neil Winters on "The Young and The Restless." He was nominated for an Emmy in 1993, 1999, and also in 2000, 2006, 2007, and Kristoff won a second Emmy in 2008, for Best Supporting Actor for his role on The Young and The Restless.
Kristoff has had the distinct honor of winning the NAACP Image Award as Best Actor in a Daytime Drama, "The Young and the Restless" nine times. He has been nominated for the Image award sixteen times.
Kristoff is no stranger to the CBS network, having starred in the series "Charlie and Company," with Flip Wilson, Gladys Knight, and Della Reese. He was also a series regular on CBS' "The Bad News Bears." Kristoff also starred in the Spelling Series, "The San Pedro Beach Bums,"
As a child and young adult, Kristoff worked with legendary entertainers such as Richard Pryor, Tony Orlando, Diahann Carroll, Jack Warden, James Earl Jones, Bill Cosby, Flip Wilson, Smokey Robinson, Irene Cara, Gladys Knight, Farrah Fawcett, Jon Voight, and had the distinction of playing the title role of Young Alex Haley in "Roots 2," for which he won a 'Youth in Film' award.
Kristoff has starred in many television dramatic features and mini series, (list available upon request) as well as over two dozen television guest star roles including "Suddenly Susan," "Arliss," "The Jamie Foxx Show," "Get Real," "Pensacola," "Martin," "Living Single," "For Your Love," "The Cosby Show," "Diagnosis Murder," etc. etc. Additionally, he had a recurring role, playing Holly Robinson's boyfriend on the ABC-TV sitcom series "Hanging with Mr. Cooper." He also guest starred in Bow Wow's WB pilot project, "Saving Jason."
Kristoff's feature film credits include starring roles in "The Champ," "Top of the Heap," "A Man Called God," and "Trois 2, Pandoras Box."
Kristoff starred in the independent feature "Carpool Guy," directed by and starring fellow daytime alum Corbin Bernsen.
Kristoff has appeared on "The Tonight Show," with Jay Leno, and over three dozen other talk shows!
Kristoff was voted one of the 40 most fascinating faces by 'People' Magazine in 1998. Additionally, Kristoff was voted one of the 'top ten soap studs' of all time by E-On Line in 1999.
Unwilling to limit his artistic talents to acting, Kristoff formed his own production company to produce and direct his own projects,. One of Kristoff's screenplays has been optioned by Warner Brothers.
From 1995-1997, he created, produced, and hosted the CBS series, "CBS Soap Break," an up close and personal look at CBS soap stars.
Kristoff has written, produced, directed, and hosted two installments of a 'behind the scenes' video series entitled, "Backstage Pass to the 25th and 26th Annual Daytime Emmy's."
Kristoff has also written, produced and directed a children's workout/exercise DVD starring his two children, Julian and Paris.
Kristoff was hired by the Starz network as an official spokesperson for the Black Starz channel.
In 2006, Kristoff was hired to host TV Guide's "Close-up," and "Soap Secrets."
Kristoff hosted the Pre Show to the Golden Globes, Live on the Red Carpet, for the T.V. Guide Network in 2007.
Kristoff is also the brainchild of a Hollywood based DVD/board game, 'Becoming a Celebrity' that hit toy store shelves in 2005.
In 2008, Kristoff produced a $2 million dollar Independent feature film "A Bridge To Nowhere," directed by Blair Underwood.
Kristoff was voted as one of TV Guides top 25 Sexiest Soap males in 2008.
Kristoff Guest Starred on "Everybody Hates Chris" in 2008, playing himself!
Summer of 2008, Kristoff hosted TV Guides "Soaps Top 25 Sexiest Ladies."
Kristoff won his second Emmy for playing the popular character of Neil Winters on "The Young and The Restless" in 2008.
In 2009, Kristoff Guested on the wildly popular "L.A. INK" show on TLC, adding to his tattoo collection!
Kristoff presented at the "World Magic Awards" in 2009.
Kristoff starred in the Wayans pilot project "Growing Up Wayans" in the summer of 2010, playing Kim Wayan's husband and father to their 6 kids.
Kristoff was a recurring guest star on the sit-com "Family Time" airing on the Bounce Network.
Kristoff guest-starred in September 2013 on "Love That Girl" on TV One, working with Phil Morris, alumni from Y and R.
Kristoff guest-starred on Byron Allens, "The First Family," August, 2013.
Kristoff worked on a feature film project 34 years in the making: "A Man Called God," a unique 'cult' documentary about Kristoff's travels to Southern India to study with a world renowned holy man that 50 million disciples call God.
Kristoff had three children, his son, Julian, and daughters, Paris and Lola.- Actress
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Beautiful dancer Nita Bieber was born in 1926; her father, Wilbert Carl Bieber, was an accomplished piano player, and her mother, Callie Mae (Robbins), was a great dancer. Her younger brother Rodney and her three younger sisters all became good dancers, too, with Linda doing ballet and Wanda playing the harp. Nita started performing in public at age five, when she did a decorous fan dance in a long, pink dress. After her graduation from Hollywood high school, Nita traveled as a dancer with a USO troupe, and then joined the Jack Cole Dancers for a 9-month tour of the U.S., during which she became very prolific in both dancing and cooking.
In 1946, Nita appeared in a couple of films for Columbia, most notably Rhythm and Weep (1946) with the Three Stooges. In 1947, Nita appeared in three more films for Columbia, and also went to Monogram for a couple of flicks, most notably as Mame in the Bowery Boys movie News Hounds (1947). Nita was featured with a full-page photo on the cover of Life magazine, November 28, 1949. The article talked about her 7-year contract with MGM, and Nita's big dance number in the new movie musical in production, "Nancy Goes to Rio"; but it seems her dance number wound up on the cutting room floor, Nita was not in the final print (perhaps the director didn't want it to compete against Carmen Miranda). Nita appeared in movies for MGM and Universal until 1955; it seems "Kismet" (1955) was her last movie for MGM under her 7-year contract.
But Nita was very busy outside of movies. The Nita Bieber Dancers did short performances produced in 1951-1952, for local television stations needing "filler" programming. Their song-and-dance numbers included: "Swing Low, Sweet Clarinet" and "Dance of the Peacock" and "Mondongo." The Nita Bieber Dancers were also headliners in Las Vegas: they performed at the El Rancho Vegas in 1951, along with Benny Goodman; and in 1952, the Frontier showcased the Nita Bieber Dancers (they were in good company, other acts in the Frontier at that time were the Marx Brothers, Benny Goodman, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Josephine Baker and April Stevens). Even after Nita retired from show business, her fans had fond memories of her and great dancing. Nita's longtime hobbies included cats and paintings.- Actor
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George Klein was born on 8 October 1935 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for The Client (1994), Rhinoceros Hunting in Budapest (1997) and Heaven Can Help (1989). He was married to Barbara Little. He died on 5 February 2019 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.- Actor
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The son of a Lancashire bookmaker, Albert Finney came to motion pictures via the theatre. In 1956, he won a scholarship to RADA where his fellow alumni included Peter O'Toole and Alan Bates. He joined the Birmingham Repertory where he excelled in plays by William Shakespeare. A member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Finney understudied Laurence Olivier at Stratford-upon-Avon, eventually acquiring a reputation as 'the new Olivier'. He first came to critical attention by creating the title role in Keith Waterhouse's "Billy Liar" on the London stage. His film debut soon followed with The Entertainer (1960) by Tony Richardson with whom had earlier worked in the theatre. With the changing emphasis in 60s British cinema towards gritty realism and working-class milieus, Finney's typical screen personae became good-looking, often brooding proletarian types and rebellious anti-heroes as personified by his Arthur Seaton in Karel Reisz's Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960). His exuberant defining role, however, was in the bawdy period romp Tom Jones (1963) in which Finney revealed a substantial talent for comedy. In the same vein, he scored another hit opposite Audrey Hepburn in the charming marital comedy Two for the Road (1967).
By 1965, Finney had branched out into production, setting up Memorial Enterprises in conjunction with Michael Medwin. In 1968, he directed himself in Charlie Bubbles (1968) and three years later produced the Chandleresque homage Gumshoe (1971), in which he also starred as Eddie Ginley, a bingo-caller with delusions of becoming a private eye. From 1972 to 1975, Finney served as artistic director of the Royal Court Theatre. His intermittent forays to the screen confirmed him as a versatile international actor of note, though not what one might describe as a mainstream star. His roles have ranged from Ebenezer Scrooge in the musical version of Scrooge (1970) to Daddy Warbucks in Annie (1982) and (in flamboyant over-the-top make-up) Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express (1974). He appeared as Minister of Police Joseph Fouché in Ridley Scott's superb period drama The Duellists (1977) and as a grandiloquent Shakespearean actor in The Dresser (1983) for which he received an Oscar nomination. For the small screen Finney essayed Pope John Paul II (1984) and was a totally believable Winston Churchill in the acclaimed The Gathering Storm (2002). His final movie credit was in the James Bond thriller Skyfall (2012).
Finney was five-times nominated for Academy Awards in 1964, 1975, 1984, 1985 and 2001. He won two BAFTA Awards in 1961 and 2004. True to his working-class roots, he spurned a CBE in 1980 and a knighthood in 2000, later explaining his decision by stating that the 'Sir thing' "slightly perpetuates one of our diseases in England, which is snobbery". Albert Finney was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2011. He died on February 7 2019 at a London hospital from a chest infection at the age of 82. Upon his death, John Cleese described him as "the best" and "our greatest actor".Finney's work includes WOLFEN, LOOKER, and ANNIE (he was Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks).
Finney also portrayed the troubled father in SHOOT THE MOON who demolishes his ex-wife's tennis court by driving his car through it while her new husband (Peter Weller) looks on. (The scene was recycled five years later for Sly Stallone's OVER THE TOP.) Their four daughters in that movie were portrayed by a pre-FAMILY TIES Tina Yothers, a pre-NOT MY KID Viveka Davis, a pre-GROWING PAINS Tracey Gold, and fellow late great Dana Hill.- Actor
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Carmen Argenziano was born on October 27, 1943 in Sharpsville, Pennsylvania. He was an actor. known for his work on hundreds of films and TV series throughout his fifty year career. He was in The Accused (1988), Stand and Deliver (1988), The Godfather Part II (1974), Identity (2003), and many more, including James Franco's production of Don Quixote (2015), playing the title character. He played the memorable and well loved character Jacob Carter in the TV series Stargate SG-1 (1997). He was a Lifetime Member of The Actors Studio.- Actor
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Virile, handsome and square-jawed youthful star of the 1970s and 1980s who showed early potential at super-stardom, Jan-Michael Vincent originally made a name for himself portraying rebellious young men bucking the system, as in The Tribe (1970), White Line Fever (1975) and Baby Blue Marine (1976) or as a man of action on either side of the law, as in The Mechanic (1972), Vigilante Force (1976) and The Winds of War (1983).
He was born in July 1944 in Denver, Colorado, and was finishing a stint in the National Guard when a talent scout was struck by his all-American looks. He made his first appearance on-screen in The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk (1967), before appearing in Journey to Shiloh (1968) and in "Danger Island" on the Hanna-Barbera kids TV show The Banana Splits Adventure Hour (1968). He remained very busy during the 1970s, appearing in high-profile productions alongside such stars as John Wayne, Rock Hudson, Charles Bronson, Slim Pickens and Robert Mitchum.
In 1984, Vincent was cast as Stringfellow Hawke in the helicopter action series Airwolf (1984), co-starring Ernest Borgnine. The show wrapped after three seasons and from then on he was primarily appearing in low-budget, B-grade action and sci-fi films, including Alienator (1990), The Deadly Avenger (1992), Deadly Heroes (1993) and Lethal Orbit (1996). His last film was the woeful gang movie White Boy (2002), and ongoing health issues and personal problems seemed to preclude his return to the screen.
Vincent will be best remembered by film fans as a smirking, apprentice hit man to Charles Bronson in The Mechanic (1972), as feisty "Matt" in the superb surf movie Big Wednesday (1978) with Gary Busey and William Katt, or as rebel trucker Carol Jo Hummer battling corruption in White Line Fever (1975).Vincent's roles include that of Kris Kristofferson's brother-turned-nemesis in VIGILANTE FORCE and, later, that of Vietnam vet/cello artiste "Stringfellow Hawke" in TV's AIRWOLF.- Pedro Morales was born on 22 October 1942 in Culebra Island, Puerto Rico. He was an actor, known for WWF Superstars (1986), Saturday Night's Main Event (1985) and WWF Prime Time Wrestling (1985). He was married to Karen Johnson. He died on 11 February 2019 in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, USA.
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David Horowitz, the Creator, Host and Executive Producer of the popular television program "Fight Back! With David Horowitz", has been at the forefront of bringing consumer issues into public awareness for nearly 35 years.
David has won 15 Emmy Awards for his "Fight Back!" television series, documentaries, and news programs. To honor his consumer reporting, he has received over 400 awards from government, industry, and citizens' groups.
"Fight Back!" enjoyed a run of eighteen seasons in syndication. It is one of the longest running shows to date of any genre.
Over the course of his career, David has been an on air reporter at NBC, ABC, CBS, and CNBC where he has received accolades for his courageous reporting tactics. In 1963, David opened the first Saigon News Bureau for NBC, and served as a network correspondent and cameraman during the Vietnam War.
In 1971, he risked his life providing the only live television coverage of the earthquake in Los Angeles on a worldwide broadcast originating from the NBC studio parking lot in Burbank.
In 1989, he was held hostage by a gun-wielding mental patient during a live news broadcast on KNBC. The event was broadcast internationally. The "gun" turned out to be a toy. David used the incident to create a global campaign to mark "look a like" weapons and toys so they can be easily identified instead of being confused with real weapons.
David made over forty appearances as a guest on the "Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson." Johnny's character "David Howitzer" charmed and amused audiences worldwide. David was a guest correspondent on "The Today Show" for eight years. He has been a featured guest on a broad range of other talk, news, and variety television shows including: "Oprah Winfrey" the "Late Show with David Letterman," "The Jay Leno Show," and "20/20".
In addition to his television appearances, David has written syndicated newspaper columns and has eight best-selling books. His radio features on Jones Radio Network and his long-form show, "Fight Back! Talk Back!" on Talk Radio Network aired from 2001-2005. He is a regular contributor to "The Costco Connection" magazine which has a readership of over seven million people worldwide.
From 2002-2004, David was a member of the FCC's Consumer Advisory Board in Washington. He was a member of the Los Angeles Board of Directors and the National Board of Directors for AFTRA from 2006-2009. David has consulted for international corporations and makes regular personal appearances at universities all over the country.
As the CEO of FightBack.com, he runs the premiere online website for consumer concerns. David also runs a non-profit organization called the "FightBack! Foundation for Consumer Education." He is devoted to guiding young people towards careers as consumer affairs professionals in business, government, politics, and journalism.Words to live by: "Stay aware and informed; don't let ANYBODY rip you off!"- Caroline Lee Bouvier was born on March 3, 1933 in New York to Janet Norton Lee and John Vernou "Black Jack" Bouvier III. She was the younger sister of Jacqueline Kennedy. Caroline, called Lee after her maternal grandfather James Thomas Lee, lived in posh penthouse apartments until her parents split up when she was only a couple of years old. Several years after that her mother married Hugh Dudley Auchincloss, and she got two stepbrothers and a stepsister, as well as a half-brother and half-sister.
During her childhood, she attended boarding schools, including Miss Porter's, a famous boarding school which her sister had also attended. As a graduation present, Jackie took her on a trip to Europe for a summer before going to college. Around this time she met the man that she was to marry at age 20 in 1953, Michael Temple Canfield. That same year, the Canfields were best man and matron of honor at the marriage of Lee's sister Jackie to then-U.S. Senator (and future U.S. President) John F. Kennedy.
The Canfields moved to England were they lived for several years before Lee met an exiled Polish nobleman named Stash Radziwill. In 1958 they decided to divorce their spouses, and, on March 19, 1959, they married. Their son Anthony was born five months later in Switzerland. In 1960, they welcomed daughter, Anna Christina, called Tina, whose godfather was the newly elected President, John F. Kennedy. A year later, the Radziwills wed in a Catholic ceremony that they could not have had, had it not been for Lee's brother-in-law, the President, who intervened to make it possible. The marriage was ultimately not successful and they divorced in 1974. In the 30 years since her divorce Lee has lived quietly in England. In 1994, she lost her only sibling, her sister Jackie, to cancer. Five years later, her son Anthony, also died of cancer, and her nephew John Kennedy Jr. and his wife and sister-in-law were killed when the same plane being piloted by her nephew crashed in New England. - Actor
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Bruno Ganz was an acclaimed Swiss actor who was a prominent figure in German language film and television for over fifty years. He is internationally renowned for portraying Adolf Hitler in the Academy Award-nominated film Downfall (2004).
Ganz was born in Zürich, to a Swiss mechanic father and a northern Italian mother. He decided to pursue an acting career by the time he entered university. He debuted at the theatre in 1961, and gained a reputation as a reflective, charismatic and technically brilliant stage actor. In 1970, he and Peter Stein founded the theatre company 'Schaubühne' in Berlin, Germany. On stage, Ganz portrayed Dr. Heinrich Faust in Peter Stein's staging of Faust, Part One and Faust, Part Two in 2000.
In cinema, Ganz became one of the best-known and most acclaimed actors in the German language, collaborating with many of the most respected European actors and directors of his time. He also starred in international features that reached a global audience. His film debut was The Gentleman in the Black Derby (1960). He also starred in Unknown (2011), The Counselor (2013), and The Party (2017).
Ganz died from cancer on 16 February 2019 at his home in the village of Au, in Wädenswil, Switzerland.- Actor
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Cadet was born on 2 March 1990 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Support Me (2020), Shiro's Story Part 2 (2018) and Shiro's Story Part 3 (2018). He died on 9 February 2019 in Staffordshire, England, UK.- Beverley Owen was born Beverley Ogg in Ottumwa, Iowa, on Thursday, May 13th, 1937. In high school and college, she was always doing television, theatre, and radio programs. She then moved to New York to pursue an acting career after graduating from the University of Michigan. She was fired many a time for her lack of typing skills while working at CBS, and for Ed Sullivan. She later became senior typist for the children's program, Captain Kangaroo (1955) show. She did many small parts in shows until she got the role of "Marilyn Munster" on The Munsters (1964). But after just thirteen episodes, were filmed, she left the show to get married. She is now divorced, but has two daughters, Polly and Kate. She is not always recognized as "Marilyn" because, on the show, she wore a blonde wig. In 1989, she got her master's degree in Early American History.
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Performed as a folk musician in Greenwich Village and Los Angeles before being selected for the Monkees TV show. Made 58 TV episodes 6 albums, a TV special, and a movie before leaving the Monkees in 1969 Released a solo single in 1982. Rejoined the Monkees for tours and an from 1986 to 1989. Released his first solo album, "Stranger Things Have Happened", in 1994The second Monkee to "go to that great recording studio in the sky" (bandmate Davy Jones passed away in 2012), Tork was the most accomplished musician of the bunch; ironically, he was also the last Monkee hired...and the first to quit the group after their TV series was cancelled.
His other credits include a cameo on CALIFORNIA DREAMS, as the minister who (almost) performs Sly and Tiffani's wedding ceremony.- Actor
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Clark Gable III (born Clark James Gable, September 20, 1988) was an American actor and model. Gable started modeling at the age of five. He modeled for many designers including Prada, Chrome Hearts, Disney and the iconic Converse "Classics" campaign. Gable appeared in numerous music videos including those for artists Madison Cain and Lucy Schwartz. He also starred in and hosted the controversial hit reality television show Cheaters since 2012, syndicated in over 120 Countries worldwide.
He was a business entrepreneur in the tech and fashion industry, and spent his free time surfing, boxing, riding dirt bikes and flying RC planes. Gable resided in Malibu, California and was the grandson and namesake of the legendary Hollywood actor and American movie icon, Clark Gable. Clark Gable III studied acting at the New York Film Academy and completed his first major motion picture while studying abroad in Italy.
He died on February 22, 2019 in Dallas, Texas.- Soundtrack
Jackie Shane was born on 15 May 1940 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. She died on 21 February 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.- Director
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Inspired by Fred Astaire's dancing in Flying Down to Rio (1933), Stanley Donen (pronounced 'Dawn-en') attended dance classes from the age of ten. He later recalled that the only thing he wanted to be was a tap dancer.
He was born in Columbia, South Carolina, to Helen Pauline (Cohen) and Mordecai Moses Donen, a dress-shop manager, of Russian-Jewish and German-Jewish descent. Donen debuted on Broadway at seventeen. While working as an assistant choreographer in 1941, he met and befriended the actor Gene Kelly, Kelly being the brash, extrovert and energetic side of the burgeoning partnership, Donen the more refined and relaxed. Three years later, the two men renewed their collaboration in Hollywood and did much to reinvigorate the musical genre. For the next decade, they worked side-by-side as choreographers and co-directors (a relationship Donen described as 'wonderful' but 'also trying at times'), linked to MGM's Arthur Freed unit. Between them, they directed classic musicals like On the Town (1949) and Singin' in the Rain (1952) and co-wrote the original story for Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949). Freed, by the way, was the producer almost single-handedly responsible for the high standard of MGM's A-grade musicals in the 40s and 50s. A former vaudevillian and song-plugger, Freed was an astute judge of talent and encouraged gifted individuals from other media (like radio or theatre) to become involved with pictures. Moreover, he gave artists like Kelly and Donen free rein to express their creative flair.
In 1949, MGM signed Donen to a seven-year contract as director in his own right. From then on, he and Kelly went their separate ways. After directing Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), Donen moved on to Paramount for Funny Face (1957), then to Warner Brothers for The Pajama Game (1957) and Damn Yankees (1958). As musicals waned in popularity, Donen branched out into other genres. He began to direct and produce elegant, lavish romantic dramas like the delightful Indiscreet (1958), sophisticated comedies like The Grass Is Greener (1960) and Two for the Road (1967) (which starred Donen's favorite actress, Audrey Hepburn), as well as the top-shelf thrillers Charade (1963) (the best film Alfred Hitchcock never directed, again with Hepburn) and Arabesque (1966). Arguably, his most out-of-character film from this period was the esoteric mephistophelean (and very British) farce Bedazzled (1967), featuring the irrepressible comic talents of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.
The 1970s heralded a steady decline in the quality of Donen's output. None of his later efforts seemed to have the panache of his earlier work: not the tepid adventure-comedy Lucky Lady (1975) (despite a good cast and sumptuous production look) nor the nostalgic musical fantasy The Little Prince (1974), based on the book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. A failure at the box office, the latter also marked the end of the Frederick Loewe-Alan Jay Lerner musical partnership. Donen's career may have finished on a low with a weak sojourn into science fiction that was Saturn 3 (1980) and the quirky comedy Blame It on Rio (1984), but his reputation as one of the giants of the classic Hollywood musical is assured. Donen received an Honorary Oscar in 1998 ""for a body of work marked by grace, elegance, wit, and visual innovation.''- Additional Crew
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Brody Stevens was born on 22 May 1970 in San Fernando Valley, California, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Hangover (2009), Due Date (2010) and The Hangover Part II (2011). He died on 22 February 2019 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Craggy-faced, athletic veteran character actor who played hard-bitten or menacing types in numerous westerns and crime dramas. One of five brothers, Woodward grew up in Arlington, Texas. He had a keen interest in aviation early on and took flying lessons from 1941, getting his pilot's license and subsequently served in both World War II (Army Air Corps) and Korea (Military Air Transport Command). Woodward first acted at Arlington State College, majoring in music and drama. He appeared for a while with the Margo Jones Repertory Theatre '47 in Dallas and then went back to study for a degree in corporate finance at the University of Texas, graduating in 1948. At one time, he sang with a jazz band and as a member of a barber shop quartet as well as having a regular weekly gig as a talk show host on local radio. Possessed of a powerful bass-baritone voice, Woodward's ultimate ambition had been to sing for the Metropolitan Opera. That didn't pan out. Neither did his hope that moving to Hollywood in 1955 might open the door to a career in musicals. Instead, he successfully auditioned at Disney for The Great Locomotive Chase (1956), followed by a part in the western pioneer saga Westward Ho, the Wagons! (1956). His first big break was as co-star opposite Hugh O'Brian in The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955), playing the role of Earp's deputy Shotgun Gibbs for four seasons. This effectively typecast him as a western genre actor with a record number of guest spots on Gunsmoke (1955) and Wagon Train (1957). Nonetheless, his most famous role was that of ""the man with no eyes", a sinister chain gang overseer in Cool Hand Luke (1967), distinguished by perpetually wearing reflective sunglasses. He also made two appearances on Star Trek (1966) (most famously as Simon Van Gelder, the first human with whom Spock 'mind melds') and played the shrewd Armani-suited oil tycoon Punk Anderson in 55 episodes of Dallas (1978).
Thomas Morgan Woodward was awarded the Golden Boot Award from the Hollywood Motion Picture and Television Fund in August 1988. In 2009, he became an inductee into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Privately, he was a respected authority on Early American Aircraft. According to his website, his main hobby was "restoring, rebuilding and flying antique airplanes".Among Woodward (no relation to Edward)'s most memorable characterizations was also among his least recognizable: that of "Cayman of the Lazuli" in BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS.- Actress
- Director
Katherine Marie Helmond was born on July 5, 1929, in Galveston, Texas. After her parents divorced, she was raised by her mother, Thelma (nee Malone) Helmond, and her maternal grandmother, both of Irish Catholic descent. She attended Catholic school, and appeared in numerous school plays and pageants. She took a job at a local theater while still in high school, hammering and sawing the scenery, cleaning the bathrooms and pulling the curtain.
After her stage debut in "As You Like It", she worked in New York theatres during the 1950s and 1960s. She operated a summer theatre in the Catskills for three seasons and also taught acting in university theatre programs. She made her TV debut in 1962 but had to wait another 10 years until her breakthrough came in the 1970s. She stayed busy on TV as well as on stage and earned a Tony nomination for "The Great God Brown" (1973) on Broadway. She honed her acting abilities with Alfred Hitchcock in Family Plot (1976) and in numerous TV series, notably in ABC's cult sitcom Soap (1977), for which she had four Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe. On the big screen she starred in Brazil (1985) as Jonathan Pryce's mother who is addicted to plastic surgery and snooping in her son's messed-up life.
In 1983 she studied at the Directing Workshop of the American Film Institute and then directed four episodes of the series Benson (1979) as well as episodes of Who's the Boss? (1984). She also picked up Emmy nominations for her role as Mona Robinson, a liberated grandmother in "Who's the Boss?", and as Lois in Everybody Loves Raymond (1996). Although Helmond was a bona-fide TV star since her "Soap" days, she continued working on stage in the 2000s and was acclaimed for her performances in "The Vagina Monologues".
Katherine Helmond was married twice. She had no children. She turned to Buddhism in later years. She shared her time between her home in Los Angeles and homes in New York and London.Helmond's roles include that of Goldie Hawn's wealthy-but-contemptuous mother in OVERBOARD.- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Mark Hollis was born on 4 January 1955 in Tottenham, London, England, UK. He was an actor and composer, known for Head-On (2004), White Bird in a Blizzard (2014) and White Chicks (2004). He died in February 2019.Hollis was the frontman of the band Talk-Talk, which released several hit singles during the 1980s...including “It’s My Life”, “Such a Shame”, and “Life Is What You Make It”.- Mitzi Hoag was born on 25 September 1932 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. She was an actress, known for My Three Sons (1960), Devil's Angels (1967) and The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981). She was married to John David Beggs and Stephen Abel Wolfson. She died on 26 February 2019 in Sherman Oaks, California, USA.
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Jeraldine Saunders was born on 3 September 1923 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was a writer, known for The Love Boat (1977), Love Boat: The Next Wave (1998) and The Love Boat (1976). She was married to Arthur Andrews, Sidney Omarr and Russell Phillips. She died on 26 February 2019 in Glendale, California, USA.Saunders, a former cruise director, was best known for her 1974 autobiography THE LOVE BOATS. A few years later, said book inspired a certain ABC comedy-drama which led millions of viewers to hail television itself as Aaron Spelling's "Ship Of Love".- Nathaniel Taylor was born on 31 March 1938 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for Sanford and Son (1972), Black Girl (1972) and The Redd Foxx Show (1986). He was married to Loretta Taylor. He died on 27 February 2019 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
German-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor André George Previn (born Andreas Ludwig Priwin, in Berlin) was for eight decades a hugely influential and prolific figure in jazz, as well as classical and film music. Being Jewish, Previn's family was forced to leave Hitler's Germany in 1939. Hollywood naturally beckoned, since André's grand uncle (Charles Previn) was already well established as musical director at Universal (1936-42). Child prodigy André recorded his first piano jazz album at the age of sixteen while continuing studies at Beverly Hills High School.
He joined MGM at age 17 in 1946 (initially as an uncredited music supervisor/arranger), later as orchestra conductor and still later as a composer of film scores. He remained under contract at the studio until 1960. During his tenure in Hollywood, he was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, winning four (all for Best Adapted Score: Gigi (1958), Porgy and Bess (1959), Irma la Douce (1963), and My Fair Lady (1964)). In the 1950s, he recorded several acclaimed jazz albums with drummer Shelly Manne and pianist Russ Freeman, featuring excellent tracks like "Who's on First" and "Strike Out the Band". He began conducting with the St. Louis Symphony in 1961 while still working primarily as a jazz and studio musician. Much of his recorded work consisted of show tunes adapted for jazz. Gradually, his interest in classical music won out.
By the late 1960s, Previn had settled in England and in 1968 was made principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, a position he occupied for eleven years. His popularity led to cameo TV appearances (including a famous sketch for the 1971 Christmas special of the The Morecambe & Wise Show (1968), in which he appeared as "Mr. Andrew Preview") and television advertising (Vauxhall, Ferguson TX portable television etc.). From 1985 to 1989, he was musical director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic as well as with the Royal Philharmonic (1985-88, subsequently also principal conductor, from 1988-91).
In 1993, he was appointed conductor laureate of the London Symphony and three years later was made an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to music. He won 10 Grammy Awards (including two for jazz and two for film music) and was nominated for six Emmys. Previn latterly returned to recording jazz albums with, among others, Ella Fitzgerald (1983), Joe Pass & Ray Brown (1989), and Kiri Te Kanawa (1992). Two excellent tribute albums released, respectively in 1998 and 2000 for Deutsche Grammophon, were 'We Got Rhythm: A Gershwin Songbook' and 'We Got it Good: An Ellington Songbook'.
Married (and divorced) five times, his ex-wives included Dory Previn and Mia Farrow. Previn died in New York on February 28, 2019, aged 89.- Actress
- Producer
Lisa Sheridan was born on December 5, 1974, in Macon, Georgia. She spent her childhood running around in the woods - until she did her first play at the age of 11. Lisa studied in the conservatory program at Carnegie Mellon University, where she graduated with honors and won the Thomas Auclair Memorial Scholarship Award for Most Promising Student Actor. She went on to study in Moscow and performed in fringe theatre in London before relocating to Los Angeles. She is best known for her roles as a series regular in three network series and for her extensive work in network television and independent film. She lived in Los Angeles.
In 1998, she was cast as a series regular in the short-lived UPN's western drama Legacy (1998), alongside Brett Cullen, Melissa Leo and Tony Hale. She was then a series regular in FOX's FreakyLinks (2000) alongside Ethan Embry (her love interest), Eric Balfour, and Erika Christensen. She then continued playing guest roles in Concealing Evidence (2003), The Family Jewels (2004), Bloodlines (2004), Mr. Monk and the Game Show (2004), End Game (2005), and Clinical Risk (2005). Another regular role came in Shaun Cassidy's ABC sci-fi television series Invasion (2005), alongside William Fichtner, Eddie Cibrian (who played her fiancé), and Alexis Dziena. Unfortunately that series ended, like "Legacy" and "FreakyLinks", after the first season.
After "Invasion", she continued playing guest roles. In 2007, she had recurring roles on Journeyman (2007) opposite Kevin McKidd and Reed Diamond as Dr. Theresa Sanchez, and on CSI: Miami (2002) as Kathleen Newberry. Other roles include Try the Pie (2007), Out of the Past (2007), One Hit Wonder (2008), Miss Red (2009), Child's Play (2009), and Boom Goes the Dynamite (2013). She also appeared in two episodes of Halt and Catch Fire (2014).
She appeared in movies as well. In the romantic comedy Elsa & Fred (2014) she acted alongside Christopher Plummer and Shirley MacLaine, in A Magic Christmas (2014) alongside Jonathan Silverman and Burt Reynolds, and the lead in Only God Can (2015). She also had a lead in Strange Nature (2018), alongside Stephen Tobolowsky and John Hennigan. Her prior feature film appearances included playing the lead in McCartney's Genes (2008), starring in the short film Pirates (2003) directed by Eric McCormack, in Carolina (2003) alongside Julia Stiles and Shirley MacLaine, and in Beat (2000) alongside Kiefer Sutherland and Courtney Love.- Cinematographer
- Director
- Producer
Andrew Berends was an American documentary filmmaker and photographer. Born to Polly Berrien and Jan Berends, after graduating from high school, he graduated with a BA in film studies from Wesleyan University in 1994.
He embarked a career of film-editing for advertising firms while directing his own documentaries - and shooting and editing for a host of other filmmakers and NGOs on locations around the world. He survived bouts of serious depression, but a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease last year, combined with other circumstances, appears to have resulted in his decision to take his own life.- Elly Mayday was born on 15 April 1988 in Saskatchewan, Canada. She died on 1 March 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
- Janice Freeman was born on 9 June 1985 in Covina, California, USA. She is known for Pitch Perfect 3 & The Voice: Freedom' 90! & Cups (2017), The Voice (2011) and Melody Trice Special Events (2017). She was married to Dion Neuble. She died on 2 March 2019 in Pasadena, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Med Hondo was born on 4 May 1935 in Aïn-Béni-Mathar, Morocco. He was an actor and director, known for Sarraounia (1986), Oh, Sun (1970) and Arabs and Niggers, Your Neighbours (1974). He died on 2 March 2019 in Paris, France.- King Kong Bundy was riding a win streak of 300 consecutive victories when he challenged Terry "Hulk" Hogan to the World Wrestling Federation World's Heavyweight Championship. Budy's streak was snapped when Hogan defeated him in a wild brawl.If size wasn't enough to make Bundy (real name: Christopher Pallies) stand out - he was 6'4" and weighed 458 pounds - the riotously dysfunctional MARRIED...WITH CHILDREN family was named after him.
- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Keith Flint was born on 17 September 1969 in Chelmsford, Essex, England, UK. He was an actor and composer, known for F9: The Fast Saga (2021), The Condemned (2007) and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003). He was married to Mayumi Kai. He died on 4 March 2019 in Brook Hill, North End, Dunmow, Essex, England, UK.- Ted Lindsay was born on 29 July 1925 in Renfrew, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor, known for 1956 Stanley Cup Finals (1956), NHL on CBS (1957) and Names on the Cup (2017). He was married to Joanne. He died on 4 March 2019 in Oakland, Michigan, USA.
- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Luke Perry was an American actor, primarily remembered as a teen idol throughout the 1990s and the early 2000s. Perry was born in Mansfield, Ohio in 1966. Mansfield was known at the time as a center for the home appliances and stove manufacturing industries. The city's largest employer used to be the Westinghouse Electric Corporation.
Perry's parents were the steelworker Coy Luther Perry Jr. (1944-1980) and his wife Ann. Perry's parents divorced in 1972, when he was 6-years-old. Ann gained custody over her children, and later married construction worker Steve Bennett. Luke was mostly raised by his mother and stepfather, and did not have a close relationship with his biological father. Coy Perry suffered a heart attack in 1980 and died, when Luke was 14-years-old. Luke attended his funeral.
Perry was mostly raised in the village of Fredericktown, Ohio, and attended the Fredericktown High School. In his high school years, Perry served in the role of the school mascot, the "Freddie Bird".
In 1984, the 18-year-old Perry moved to Los Angeles, with the intention of becoming a professional actor. For several years, Perry kept auditioning for various roles without ever being hired. He supported himself financially by working at odd jobs, and serving as an extra for music videos. His most notable role in this period was in the 1986 music video for the song "Be Chrool to Your Scuel" (1985) by the heavy metal band "Twisted Sister".
Perry's first successful audition landed him the role of a recurring character in the soap opera Loving (1983) (1983-1995). From 1987 to 1988, he played the character of Ned Bates. In Perry's own words: "Ned was a dirt-poor mechanic from Tennessee who always got taken advantage of".
Perry next received a recurring role in another soap opera, Another World (1964) (1964-1999). From 1988 to 1989, he played the character of Kenny, the manager of aspiring model and actress Josie Watt (played by Alexandra Wilson).
In 1990, Perry landed the most significant role of his career, depicting the character of Dylan McKay in the teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990) (1990-2000). He played the character for a total of 199 episodes. Dylan was the teenage rebel son of business tycoon Jack McKay and hippie ex-wife Iris McKay. He started the series as a loner, but he offered help to nerdy schoolmate Scott Scanlon (played by Douglas Emerson) against the local bullies. This act of bravery gained him new friends and the romantic attention of Brenda Walsh (played by Shannen Doherty).
Perry's success in his new role gained him a huge following among teenage girls, and guaranteed that he would receive more job offers. His first starring role in a film was the drama Terminal Bliss (1990) (1992), where he played the self-destructive rich kid John Hunter. The film was a box-office flop.
Perry had a more memorable role in the horror comedy film Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), as the character Oliver Pike. Pike was a hard-drinking slacker youth in Los Angeles, and had a hostile relationship with high school girl Buffy Summers (played by Kristy Swanson). After Pike's best friend gets turned into a vampire, Pike assists Buffy in her battles with the vampire lord Lothos (played by Rutger Hauer) and his subordinate vampires. Pike is Buffy's sidekick and main love interest in the film, and has appeared in various adaptations, though not in the spin-off television series.
Perry had his first voice acting role in the episode, Krusty Gets Kancelled (1993) of the animated sitcom The Simpsons (1989). He played a parody version of himself as a sidekick of the character Krusty the Clown in a show-within-the-show. Perry had more voice acting roles in other animated television series of this era. He played the Detroit-based crime lord Napoleon Brie in Biker Mice from Mars (1993) (1993-1996), the master ninja Sub-Zero in Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm (1995) (1996), Bruce Banner's best friend and sidekick Rick Jones in The Incredible Hulk (1996) (1996-1997), and Nicky Little's boyfriend Stewart Waldinger in Pepper Ann (1997) (1997-2000).
In live-action films, Perry played the starring role of professional bull-rider Lane Frost (1963-1989) in the biographical drama 8 Seconds (1994). He played a version of himself in the Italian comedy film Vacanze di Natale '95 (1995) ("Christmas Vacation '95", 1995), where he is the love interest of infatuated teenager Marta Colombo (played by Cristiana Capotondi). Perry played the police officer and bank robber Chris Anderson in the crime drama Normal Life (1996), while his wife and partner-in-crime Pam Anderson was played by Ashley Judd. He played the suicidal character Johnny in the comedy-drama American Strays (1996), which features the character hiring a professional hit-man to provide him with an assisted suicide.
In 1997, Perry played a small role in the science fiction film The Fifth Element (1997). In a scene set in 1914, Perry plays the assistant archaeologist Billy Masterson. Masterson sees his mentor being knocked out by Mondoshawan aliens, and reacts by shooting one of the aliens. Masterson's fate is left uncertain in the film, though the novelization features him as the victim of a poisoning plot.
In the late 1990s, Perry appeared frequently in television films and various direct-to-video films. He had guest roles in several television series, but mostly playing one-shot characters. Following the end of Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990) in 2000, his first major role was the recurring character Jeremiah Cloutier in the crime-drama Oz (1997) (1997-2003). Introduced in 2001 episodes of the series, Jeremiah was an Evangelical preacher who was imprisoned for embezzling funds from his church. He used his charisma and preaching skills to convert fellow prisoners to Evangelical Christianity, He was eventually assassinated by his own convert Timmy Kirk (Sean Dugan) and several of Kirk's friends, after Jeremiah denounced Kirk using Christianity as an excuse to murder people.
Perry next gained a starring role in the post-apocalyptic series Jeremiah (2002) (2002-2004). The series is set c. 2021, 15 years after a plague killed nearly everyone over the age of thirteen. Most of the adult characters of the show were children at that time, and survived the event. Now they are troubled adults, trying to survive in a harsh world. Perry's character Jeremiah is a wanderer who finds himself recruited into a Colorado-based secretive organization. He fights a war against a West Virginia-based organization which seeks to either conquer or wipe out all remaining outposts of humanity. The series lasted two seasons. A third season was planned, but plans for it were aborted due to disagreements between the production companies co-financing the series.
Perry returned to playing mostly guest star roles in television. In 2006, he was cast as one of the main characters in the short-lived drama series Windfall (2006). Only 13 episodes were produced, as the series failed to find an audience and one of the show's co-creators had left before the season's completion.
In 2007, Perry played businessman Linc Stark in the surf-themed series John from Cincinnati (2007). Despite relatively high ratings, the series only lasted for one season.
In the late 2000s, Perry played guest roles in police procedural a series: the rapist Noah Sibert in Trials (2008) and the cult leader Benjamin Cyrus in Minimal Loss (2008).
For much of the 2010s, Perry continued mostly appearing in guest roles and relatively obscure films. In 2015, a colonoscopy test revealed pre-cancerous growths in Perry's body, that could have developed into colorectal cancer. Perry received medical treatment, and became a spokesperson for campaigns requiring early testing for cancer.
In 2017, Perry returned to prominence in a live-action adaptation of a comic book series, Riverdale (2017) (2017-2019). It was an adaptation of Archie Comics' characters, but in a mystery series instead of their traditional comedy setting. Perry played Frederick "Fred" Andrews, Archie Andrews's father, depicted here as the owner of a successful construction company. Fred is depicted as a single father, as his wife Mary Andrews abandoned him and moved to Chicago. The series also depicts Fred as the ex-boyfriend of Hermione Gomez-Lodge (Veronica Lodge's mother).
On February 27, 2019, Perry suffered a massive ischemic stroke within his home in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles. He was hospitalized, but suffered a second stroke days later. He died on March 4, 2019, having never recovered from the two strokes. He was only 52 years old. His body was buried near his home in Vanleer, Tennessee, where he had bought a farm and the associated house in 1995, and spent time living there when not working on film or television projects.
Perry's will reportedly left his son Jack Perry (b. 1997) and daughter Sophie Perry (b. 2000) as the only heirs to his estate. The press noted that the will excludes Perry's mother, his stepfather, his siblings, his ex-wife, and his last fiancée from having inheritance claims, and there was some speculation on Perry's motivation for this decision. His net worth was estimated at over $10 million.Perry also portrayed real-life rodeo legend Lane Frost in the 1994 biopic 8 SECONDS (which was helmed by Oscar-winning director John G. Avildsen of ROCKY fame).- Susan Harrison was born on 26 August 1938 in Leesburg, Florida, USA. She was an actress, known for Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Key Witness (1960) and The Twilight Zone (1959). She was married to Cassius Marcus Conger and Joël Colin. She died on 5 March 2019 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Director
- Actress
- Editor
Carolee Schneemann was born on 12 October 1939 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She was a director and actress, known for Infinity Kisses: The Movie (2009), Fuses (1967) and Body Collage (1967). She was married to James Tenney and Anthony McCall. She died on 6 March 2019 in New Paltz, New York, USA.- Lotte Van Der Zee, beauty queen and model who won the title of Miss Teenager Universe 2017 while representing the Netherlands. She was known for her philanthropy, having worked with charity organizations like Stichting Haarwensen.
- Art Director
- Production Designer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William J. Creber was born on 26 July 1931 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an art director and production designer, known for The Poseidon Adventure (1972), The Towering Inferno (1974) and Planet of the Apes (1968). He was married to Sally Queen and Torri, Susan. He died on 7 March 2019 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Producer
- Executive
- Manager
Sid Sheinberg was born on 14 January 1935 in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA. He was a producer and executive, known for What Lola Wants (2015), For Richer or Poorer (1997) and The Devil's Tomb (2009). He was married to Lorraine Gary. He died on 7 March 2019 in Beverly Hills, California, USA.- Jed Allan was born on 1 March 1935 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for General Hospital (1963), Days of Our Lives (1965) and Port Charles (1997). He was married to Janice Toby Druger. He died on 9 March 2019 in Palm Desert, California, USA.
- Music Department
- Actor
- Camera and Electrical Department
Hal Blaine was an American drummer and session musician of Jewish descent, with a career that lasted about 70 years. He was born in 1929 as "Harold Simon Belsky", son to Meyer Belsky and Rose Silverman. Both of his parents were immigrants from Eastern Europe.
Blaine was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, a planned city that was once famed for its paper mills. He became interested in music as a child, and started playing drums as a hobby when 8-years-old. In 1943, the 14-year-old Blaine and his family moved to California. From 1949 to 1952, received lessons in drumming by Roy Knapp, the same music teacher who had trained the famed jazz drummer Gene Krupa (1909-1973). Meanwhile, Blaine started performing professionally in Chicago strip clubs. He worked on improving his sight-reading skills, reading and performing of pieces of music or songs in music notation that the performer has not seen before.
He started out as a jazz musician. He served for a while in the big band of Count Basie (1904-1984), and went on music tours with Patti Page (1927-2013) and Tommy Sands (1937-). But he also enjoyed the emerging "rock and roll" of the 1950s, and performed as a session musician in rock recordings.
In the 1960s, Blaine served as a core member of "the Wrecking Crew", a loose collective of session musicians working in Los Angeles. Most of them had formal training in both jazz and classical music, and provided their music skills to record companies producing various rock, pop, and rhythm and blues recording of this era. While relatively unknown to the music audience, the Wrecking Crew were viewed with reverence by industry insiders.
From 1962 to 1976, Blaine played drums for 40 recordings that hit number 1 in the Billboard Hot 100, in what was probably the most memorable period of his career. These recordings included "Johnny Angel" (1962, by Shelley Fabares), "He's a Rebel" (1962, by The Crystals), "Surf City" (1963, by Jan & Dean), "I Get Around" (1964, by The Beach Boys ), "Everybody Loves Somebody" (1964, by Dean Martin), "Ringo" (1964, by Lorne Greene), "This Diamond Ring" (1965, by Gary Lewis & the Playboys), "Help Me, Rhonda" (1965, by The Beach Boys), "Mr Tambourine Man" (1965, by The Byrds), "I Got You Babe" (1965, by Sonny & Cher), "Eve of Destruction" (1965, by Barry McGuire), "My Love" (1966, Petula Clark), "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" (1966, by Nancy Sinatra), "Monday, Monday" (1966, by The Mamas & the Papas), "Strangers in the Night" (1966, by Frank Sinatra), "Poor Side of Town" (1966, by Johnny Rivers), "Good Vibrations" (1966, by The Beach Boys), "Somethin' Stupid" (1967, by Frank & Nancy Sinatra), "The Happening" (1967, by The Supremes), "Windy" (1967, by The Association), "Mrs. Robinson" (1968, by Simon & Garfunkel), "Dizzy" (1969, by Tommy Roe), "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (1969, by The 5th Dimension), "Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet" (1969, by Henry Mancini), "Wedding Bell Blues" (1969, by The 5th Dimension), "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (1970, by Simon & Garfunkel), "(They Long to Be) Close to You" (1970, by The Carpenters), "Cracklin' Rosie" (1970, by Neil Diamond), "I Think I Love You" (1970, by The Partridge Family), "Indian Reservation" (1971, by The Raiders), "Song Sung Blue" (1972, by Neil Diamond), "Half Breed" (1973, by Cher), "Top of the World" (1973, by The Carpenters), "The Way We Were" (1974, by Barbra Streisand), "Annie's Song" (1974, by John Denver), "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" (1975, by John Denver), "Love Will Keep Us Together" (1975, by Captain & Tennille), "I'm Sorry"/"Calypso" (1975, by John Denver), and "Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" (1976, by Diana Ross).
Blaine's career declined considerably in the 1980s. The drum machine, an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion, became popular in the music industry. This largely eliminated the recording studios' demand for session drummers. Blaine found himself competing for work with musicians much younger than himself. He kept on working, by performing music for advertising jingles. Due to the decline in his personal finances, he took various odd jobs to supplement his income. At one point, he worked as a security guard.
Late in life, Blaine received some music industry recognition for his decades of solid work. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a sideman in 2000, inducted into the the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2010, and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
In 2019, Blaine died in Palm Desert, California, due to unspecified "natural causes". He was 90-years-old. His former colleague Brian Wilson (1942-) commemorated his death with statements of praise for Blaine's music skills.- Jim Raman was born on 28 June 1976 in New York, USA. He was married to Misti Sturkie. He died on 11 March 2019 in South Carolina, USA.
- Mike Thalassitis was born on 19 January 1993 in London, England, UK. He died on 15 March 2019 in Edmonton, London, England, UK.
- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Hailed as the "King of Surf Guitar, " Dick Dale virtually galvanized the surf rock sound in the 1950s. An avid surfer and accomplished musician, Dale and his band, 'Dick Dale and the Del-Tones', appeared in several of the ever-popular "Beach Party" teen flicks starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon during the 1960s. Although interest in surf rock waned in the 1970s, Dale has enjoyed a successful comeback during the 1990s, due in part to Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994), which featured Dale's 1962 hit "Misirlou". Among his many awards and honors, Dale was inducted into the Hollywood Rock Walk of Fame in 1996 and was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by "L.A. Weekly" in June of 2000 for his contribution to music. Despite a heavy touring schedule that takes him through the US and around the world, Dale finds time to spend with his nine-year-old son, Jimmy, on the 80-acre family ranch in Twentynine Palms, California.- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Actor
Larry DiTillio was born on 15 June 1948 in the USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Babylon 5 (1993), The Hitchhiker (1983) and Hypernauts (1996). He died on 16 March 2019 in the USA.DiTillo wrote episodes for several action-figure tie-in series, including...THE BIONIC SIX, CAPTAIN POWER & THE SOLDIERS OF THE FUTURE, HE-MAN & THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, JAYCE & THE WHEELED WARRIORS, and SHE-RA: PRINCESS OF POWER.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Character actor John Richard Erdmann was born on June 1, 1925 in Enid, Oklahoma, of Dutch descent. Raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Erdman and his single mother moved to Los Angeles, California in 1941 after his high school drama teacher told him he could make it in movies. Richard subsequently enrolled in Hollywood High School. Moreover, Erdman was immediately offered and quickly signed a contract at Warner Bros. while still a teenager upon meeting director Michael Curtiz in his office.
Often cast as amiable sailors, rowdy soldiers, or wisecracking best buddies, Richard's career in both films and television alike encompassed several decades starting in the mid-1940's and continued going strong well into the 2010's. Outside of acting, Erdman also directed two movies and some episodic television. Richard was acting almost right to the end. He died at age 93 on March 16, 2019.In addition to such films as TOMBOY and TORA TORA TORA, Erdman's work includes the original TWILIGHT ZONE series...specifically the Rod Serling-penned "A Kind Of a Stopwatch". (Erdman portrayed self-centered and long-winded know-it-all Patrick T. McNulty, for whom the classic expression "Stop the world; I want to get off" takes on a new and literal meaning. Indeed, his only concern becomes getting back on again!)- Tom Hatten was born on 14 November 1926 in Jamestown, North Dakota, USA. He was an actor, known for Spies Like Us (1985), The Secret of NIMH (1982) and Get Smart (1965). He died on 16 March 2019 in California, USA.An accomplished cartoonist, Hatten dabbled as spokesman for a brand of colored pens...in addition to hosting POPEYE & FRIENDS during the 1970's and 80's. He also hosted the syndicated FAMILY FILM FESTIVAL, whose initial theme music was "Reminiscing" by the Little River Band.
- Editor
- Music Department
- Additional Crew
Norman Hollyn was born on 11 May 1952 in New York, New York, USA. He was an editor, known for Hair (1979), Heathers (1988) and Sophie's Choice (1982). He was married to Janet Conn. He died on 17 March 2019 in Yokohama, Japan.- Soundtrack
Bernie Tormé was born on 18 March 1952 in Dublin, Ireland. He died on 17 March 2019 in London, England, UK.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Andre Williams was born on 1 November 1936 in Bessemer, Alabama, USA. He was an actor, known for The Loved Ones (2009), Spun (2002) and Chicken Little (2005). He was married to Yvonne Jarman. He died on 17 March 2019 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.- Special Effects
- Make-Up Department
- Director
When he ran the make-up effects department at New World Pictures, Roger Corman called John Carl Buechler "...the best in the business..." An actor, writer, producer, director, special effects artist, he was always in love with filmmaking, and was the first person in history to make his way into the director's chair by way of make-up effects superstardom.
John Carl Buechler was born in Belleville, Illinois. As someone who went the entire nine yards, he made his name as an accomplished writer, producer, director and special effects artist. Since his early years, Buechler was thrilled with a passion of special effects and formed his own company, Mechanical Imageries Inc., for creating special effects for a handful of motion pictures in the science fiction and horror/fantasy genre. Although he was known for his fascinating make-up work, as a director, Buechler made his debut on an anthology fantasy film entitled The Dungeonmaster (1984). A year later, he directed and also designed the special effects for another fantasy film called Troll (1986), which became a major success during its theatrical release in 1986. Troll (1986), The Dungeonmaster (1984) and another Buehcler-directed effort, Cellar Dweller (1987), were films that were produced by Charles Band's then-collapsing Empire Pictures, in which Buechler often worked on dozens of Band's films as an effects artist. His work as a director led him to direct the seventh sequel to the ever famous Friday the 13th (1980) for Paramount Pictures. Friday the 13th: The New Blood (1988), like its many sequels was another box-office success, even though Buechler at the time was skeptical about directing the film. In later years, Buechler has continued on his long accomplished work in special effects and many of his directorial efforts were released to directly to video. Premiere Magazine quoted him as saying, "if you can pull a performance out of a piece of latex, you can do it with actors...."
He died on March 18, 2019.Buechler's directorial output includes FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 7 and (along with 6 others) THE DUNGEONMASTER.- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Eunetta T. Boone was born on 16 May 1955. She was a producer and writer, known for Lush Life (1996), Who Is Doris Payne? and The Hughleys (1998). She died on 20 March 2019 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- June Harding was born on 7 September 1937 in Emporia, Virginia, USA. She was an actress, known for The Trouble with Angels (1966), Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1963) and The Fugitive (1963). She died on 22 March 2019 in Deer Isle, Maine, USA.
- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Scott Walker was born on 9 January 1943 in Hamilton, Ohio, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Box (2009) and Pola X (1999). He was married to Mette Teglbjaerg and Beverley Foster. He died on 22 March 2019 in London, England, UK.Not to be confused with "Snake the Frog-Killer" from 1979's THE MUPPET MOVIE.