2009

Veteran actor Pat Hingle dies at 84



CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. — Pat Hingle, a veteran actor whose career included a recurring role as Commissioner Gordon in the Batman movies, has died. He was 84.



Family spokeswoman Michelle Seidman said Hingle died at his home in Carolina Beach shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday. Seidman said Hingle's wife, Julie, was with him.Hingle had lived at Carolina Beach for more than 15 years. Seidman said Hingle decided to settle in the coastal town after shooting the movie "Maximum Overdrive" in the area in 1986. She said Hingle had battled multiple health problems over the last several years.

His career in movies and television spanned six decades, and he was also nominated for a Tony Award in 1958. Hingle's last movie was "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," which was released in 2006.

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- Actor Don Galloway, who's career was launched in the early days of television soap operas and later included the big screen, died Thursday in Reno, his family said. He was 71.

Galloway and his wife, Linda, have lived in the Reno area for about a year, said his stepson, Robert Julian. He died at Renown Regional Medical Center."He's been hospitalized since Christmas," Julian told The Associated Press.

A cause of death was not immediately released, but Julian said his stepfather's health has been ailing.

Galloway was born July 27, 1937 in Brooksville, Ky. His television career began in the 1950s on the soap opera "The Secret Storm."In the early 1960s, he was a regular on ABC's "General Hospital."Galloway also played Officer Ed Brown in the show "Ironside," starring Raymond Burr. He also starred in the 1983 movie "The Big Chill."

Actress, dancer Olga San Juan dies at 81

The Associated PressPosted: 01/06/2009 01:53:08 PM PSTBURBANK, Calif.—Olga San Juan, the actress dubbed the "Puerto Rican Pepperpot" for singing and dancing roles alongside the likes of Bing Crosby, has died. She was 81.

San Juan died Saturday night at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank of kidney failure stemming from a long-term illness, said her son-in-law Barry Adelman, executive producer of the Golden Globe Awards. Of Puerto Rican descent, San Juan was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. She started dancing when she was 5 or 6 years old, said Adelman, and performed as a girl with mambo percussionist Tito Puente. She began her acting career in radio and theater, then went on to movies in the mid-1940s.

"Those were the days where the studios were very active in building images. She was very tiny, but very spunky and lively. So the name Puerto Rican Pepperpot fit," Adelman said. San Juan appeared opposite Fred Astaire and danced with him in the 1946 musical "Blue Skies," and also sang with Crosby in the film, according to a press release. She also appeared in such '40s films as "Duffy's Tavern," "Variety Girl" and "One Touch of Venus."

In 1951 she starred in the Broadway production of Lerner and Loewe's "Paint Your Wagon." San Juan was the ex-wife of the late actor Edmond O'Brien. They met at a publicity luncheon for Fox studios and married in 1948, according to the press release. The pair had three children. It was the second marriage for O'Brien, who won a best supporting actor Oscar in 1954 for "The Barefoot Contessa." San Juan retired in the 1950s to raise her children. The couple divorced in 1976. O'Brien died in 1985.

San Juan is survived by her children Bridget O'Brien Adelman, a television producer, and actors Maria O'Brien and Brendan O'Brien, plus her sister Aura Grady and three grandchildren.