Japanese chanson singer Hideo Ko dies



Hideo Ko, the Japanese singer famous for pioneering the chanson form of French singing, has died of pneumonia at the age of 90.



A native of Karafuto (now a part of the Russian Federation), Mr Ko helped to increase the popularity of the musical genre in Japan, reports Kyodo News.



The performer travelled to France for the first time in the 1950s and went on to release hit songs including Yuri no furu machi wo (Town of Falling Snow).



As well as becoming popular in Japan, he was well-known in France where he would sing songs while wearing a traditional Japanese kimono.I



n 1989, the Japanese government awarded him the Medal with Purple Ribbon.Chanson first became prominent in the Middle Ages and only the melodies survive from the earliest examples of it.



Among the most renowned chanson composers are Pierre Attaignant, Josquin Baston, Antoine Bruhier, Mathieu Gascogne and Pierre Certon.



He also appeared in some Japanese movies:Gyangu 3, Boss of the Underworld: Gang of 11, Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell, Horror of a Deformed Man and Yakuza's Law.



Princess Jasmine (05/08/09)



Cynthia Johnson better known as Princess Jasmine passed away this morning at 7:45 am. Jasmine was a CAC member and was honored this year at the annual reunion. Jasmine had battled cancer for a good while and was unable to attend this years reunion. Her award was fed-ex over night to her following the reunion.



Jasmine was well known in the wrestling world. She had worked for the AWA,NWA,WCW,WWF and tons of Independent promoters. Had feuds in the Caribbean’s, Japan, Africa, the Philippines, Korea, Middle East, and all over the United States & Canada. Trained by Prince Pullins and Dick the Bruiser in 1968, her first match was just three months after training.



Jasmine’s funeral will be at Woods Funeral Home, 1003 S. Halsted St., Chicago Heights, Illinois 60411 . More information as to times and dates will be added as soon as all arrangements are complete.The Cauliflower Alley Club offers condolences to the friends and family of Princess Jasmine.

Frank Aletter dies at 83; character actor known for roles in situation comedies

Associated Press

Frank Aletter wed former Miss America Lee Meriwether on April 20, 1958, in San Francisco. The couple divorced in 1970.

After starting his acting career on Broadway, he starred in the 1960s TV series 'Bringing Up Buddy' and 'It's About Time.'

By Dennis McLellan 5:17 PM PDT, May 14, 2009 Frank Aletter, a veteran character actor who starred in the 1960s situation comedies "Bringing Up Buddy" and "It's About Time," has died. He was 83. Aletter, who was once married to actress and former Miss America Lee Meriwether, died of cancer Wednesday at his home in Tarzana, said his daughter Kyle Oldham.

Legendary Australian actor Charles 'Bud' Tingwell has died in a Melbourne hospital after a battle with prostate cancer.

His agent confirmed the 86-year-old iconic star of The Castle and TV cop show Homicide passed away this morning.

Tingwell was born in the Sydney beachside suburb of Coogee on January 3, 1923.It was not until after his mother died that he discovered why he had been nicknamed Bud - when she was pregnant, friends at the Coogee Surf Club asked her "what's budding in there?'' which became "how's the bud?''.

Tingwell became the youngest radio announcer in Australia when he was employed at Sydney radio station 2CH as a cadet, then joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1941 and was sent to the Middle East as a photographic reconnaissance pilot.

He entered the film industry in the 1950s, playing the lead in feature film Always Another Dawn. While he was wooed by Hollywood, he chose to stay in Australia working in film, radio and theatre.Tingwell and his wife Audrey moved to London for 17 years in 1956, the actor scoring roles in TV and radio series, four Miss Marple films with Dame Margaret Rutherford and theatre productions.

He returned to Australia in 1973 when Hector Crawford offered him the lead role of Inspector Reg Lawson in the TV series Homicide. Tingwell went on to produce and direct other major Australian TV productions, including The Sullivans, Cop Shop, The Flying Doctors and Prisoner.

Audrey Tingwell, who he described as ``the love of my life'' on his personal website, died in 1996, shortly before their 45th wedding anniversary.

He credits the team from Working Dog productions - including Rob Sitch, Tom Gleisner and Santo Cilauro - for saving him in the weeks following her death by offering him a role in their film The Castle.

"It turned out to be the greatest therapeutic experience for me,'' he said on his website of his role as a barrister.Tingwell and Audrey had two children, son Christopher and daughter Virginia Tingwell, who is also an actress.He was awarded the A.M. (Member of the Order of Australia) in the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to the performing arts as an actor, director, producer, and to the community.http://www.watoday.com.au/lifestyle/people/film-and-tv-legend-charles-bud-tingwell-dies-20090515-b56s.html

From a Blog Post:With all the news of “X-Men” spin-offs and typical Hollywood deals littering the trades the last few days, I’m surprised no one has picked up on the news that filmmaker Marc Rocco, perhaps best known for directing the 1995 film “Murder in the First,” was found dead in his Northridge home over the weekend.I was informed of the news earlier today by a mutual friend, so I called the Devonshire division of the Los Angeles Police Department in Northridge to get the details. It seems Rocco was found by a friend on Friday, May 1 after he had not been seen for nearly a week. Police say there was no foul play involved and they are still awaiting autopsy results. It appears to be a natural death, I’m told. Five days later, nothing at Variety, nothing at The Hollywood Reporter, nothing at the L.A. Times — nothing anywhere. According to police, no one has even called asking questions yet. Bizarre.

I never saw Rocco’s earliest work, 1987’s “Scenes from a Goldmine,” the Corey Feldman/Corey Haim starrer “Dream a Little Dream” and 1992’s “Where the Day Takes You.” “Goldmine” and “Dream” both featured Rocco’s father Alex, who starred as Moe Greene in “The Godfather.” But I always loved “Murder in the First,” which featured first-rate performances from both Christian Slater and Kevin Bacon.It was one of those films that sort of came and went in the early weeks of 1995. Fortunately the Screen Actors Guild and Broadcast Film Critics Association remembered Bacon’s work come year’s end, the former nominating his career-best leading performance, the latter awarding him for it. Nowadays it seems most people forget the film until it pops up on TNT or the like, but it was a confident showcase that proved Rocco had some real directorial chops.I always wondered what happened to the director after that. He seemed to have a few projects on the horizon, according to his IMDb page, but the last two films he worked on were 2005’s “The Jacket” (story and producer credits) and 2007’s “Take” (executive producer). He popped up two years ago to direct the music video for Eddie Vedder’s “Guaranteed” from the “Into the Wild” soundtrack, however. Variety reported in January of 2007 that Rocco was set to adapt Jim Thompson’s “The Killer Inside Me” and that he was “mobilizing to direct” his original script “The Winter Hill Gang,” which had been set up at Paramount several years ago with Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner producing.Sad news. Rocco was 43. He is survived by his wife, sister and younger brother.