Beverly Roberts, Bogart co-star, dies at age 96
(AP) – 27 minutes ago

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. — A relative says Beverly Roberts, who co-starred with Humphrey Bogart in the 1936 film "Two Around the World," has died. She was 96.

Her second-cousin Christina Baker says Roberts died Monday at her home in Laguna Niguel of natural causes.

A Warner Bros. contract player from 1935, Roberts made her first film with Al Jolson in "The Singing Kid."

She also appeared with Bogart and Pat O'Brien in "China Clipper" and with Errol Flynn and Joan Blondell in "Perfect Specimen."

After leaving Warner Bros. in 1940, she toured the country as a singer with the Dorsey Brothers band.

In 1950, she became administrator of Theater Authority, a post she held for 25 years.

In her later years, she worked in watercolor painting.

She never married and had no children.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.



NEW YORK – Irish author Frank McCourt has died in New York City at age 78. He was best known for the million-selling "Angela's Ashes," a memoir about his childhood. The memoir was published in 1996 and won a Pulitzer Prize.

Brother Malachy (MAL'-uh-kee) McCourt says Frank McCourt died Sunday afternoon at a Manhattan hospice.

Frank McCourt had been gravely ill with meningitis and recently was treated for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

Tatsuo Yamada, a veteran television and film actor, died of cancer on Sunday morning at a hospital in Tokyo. He was 53 years old.

According to his management, Yamada's stomach cancer was first discovered in 2005, and he underwent surgery in June of that year. At the end of last year, his doctor found that the cancer had spread to his kidneys and other areas, resulting in repeated hospitalization.

Yamada debuted as an actor in Sogo Ishii's 1980 film "Kuruizaki Thunder Road" ("Crazy Thunder Road"). Over the years, he appeared in more than a hundred movies and television dramas. He had a supporting role in the award-winning "Okuribito" last year, directed by Yojiro Takita, his former classmate. His last performance was in Setsuro Wakamatsu's "Shizumanu Taiyo," which opens on October 24.

You may not have heard of Yoshinori Kanada, but chances are you've enjoyed his artistry at some point in your life. Kanada was a key animator for some of the most beloved animated features of all time, including the original Gundam series, Akira, Metropolis, My Neighbor Totoro, and Princess Mononoke among countless others. The influential artist passed away on July 22 from a heart attack.

After his time with Studio Ghibli, Kanada joined Square Enix working as a layout artist for Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, an animation director for Final Fantasy XI, and a story-board artist for Final Fantasy IV on the DS.

Kind of makes you appreciate all the artists that make the games, movies, and TV shows we love, possible. Thank you for making my life far more interesting than it could have been on its own.

'Tarzan' actress Brenda Joyce dies
Starred as Jane in five of the series' movies
By Mike Barnes

July 17, 2009, 06:17 PM ET
Brenda Joyce, the only "Jane" to star opposite two different Tarzans in the talking era of the big screen, died July 4 at a nursing home in Santa Monica. A friend said she was 92.

After Maureen O'Sullivan exited the "Tarzan" series after six films, the strikingly blond Joyce stepped in to star with Johnny Weissmuller in "Tarzan and the Amazons" (1945). She played the intrepid Jane Parker in four more movies, culminating with "Tarzan's Magic Fountain" (1949) opposite the new Tarzan, Lex Barker.

As a model and 21-year-old student at UCLA, Joyce was spotted by a Fox talent scout and named the studio's Discovery of the Year for 1939. That year, she was given the plum role of Fern Simon in "The Rains Came," an adaptation of the Louis Bromfield novel that starred Myrna Loy, Tyrone Power and George Brent.

In addition to the "Tarzan" films, Joyce appeared in such pics as "Little Old New York" (1940), "Marry the Boss's Daughter" (1941), "The Postman Didn't Ring" (1942) and "The Spider Woman Strikes Back" (1947).

Joyce didn't make a movie after 1949. She worked for a decade in Washington for the Department of Immigration and appeared in two episodes of PBS kids show "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" in 1971.

Gordon Waller of Peter and Gordon died July 16 in Connecticut. This
announcement is on Peter and Gordon's MySpace page. Our deepest
condolensces to his family, Peter Asher and his fans:

We are deeply saddened to report that some time after 8:00 p.m. last
night east coast time, Gordon Waller went into cardiac arrest and was
taken to the emergency room. Despite intensive efforts on his behalf
by hospital personnel, Gordon passed away early this morning. Please
keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

His partner of nearly five decades, Peter Asher, will be issuing a
statement shortly. We hope you will join us sending love and
condolences to his family.

Bill Sparkman (”Sparky” to everyone who knew him) passed away on Thursday, July 9, 2009 at the age of 79. He was the devoted husband of Boris Karloff’s only child, Sara Jane Karloff. Fans who would meet Sara at conventions might not have noticed the quiet, bearded man often sitting next to her, but Sparky was Sara’s backbone and strength during these past decades.

A retired Air Force Colonel who had once worked extensively with NASA and the Space Shuttle program, Sparky was the definition of a gentleman: kind, gracious, patient, good natured. Although he never met Sara’s father Boris (Sparky had been a widower when he and Sara married), he reminded you of the man Boris probably was.

He will be greatly missed.

SAO PAULO -- Former boxing champion Arturo Gatti, one of the most exciting fighters of his generation, was found dead in a hotel room in the posh seaside resort of Porto de Galihnas early Saturday.

Police investigator Edilson Alves told The Associated Press that the body of the former junior welterweight champ was discovered in his hotel room at the tourist resort, where Gatti had arrived on Friday with his Brazilian wife Amanda and 1-year-old son.

Alves said police were investigating and it was unclear how the 37-year-old Canadian died. Foul play is suspected in the death, the CBC reported.

"It is still too early to say anything concrete, although it is all very strange," Alves said.

A spokeswoman for the state public safety department said Gatti's wife and son were unhurt. The women declined to give a name in keeping with department policy.

"There were no bullet or stab wounds on his body, but police did find blood stains on the floor," she said.

Brazilian boxer and four-time world champion Acelino "Popo" Freitas told the G1 Web site of Brazil's largest television network Globo that he was a close friend of Gatti and his wife, and that he "knew they were having some sort of problem and were about to separate, but I didn't know they were in Brazil."

Francisco Assis, a local police investigator, told G1 that Gatti could have died up to eight hours before his body was found early Saturday.

Gatti (40-9, 31 KOs), nicknamed "Thunder", was best known for his all-action style, which was epitomized in his classic trilogy with Micky Ward in 2002 and 2003.

It's why Gatti was a fixture at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., where he drew huge crowds and fought many times, including the final nine fights of his career.

"His entire boxing career he fought with us, we've known him since he was 17," Kathy Duva of promoter Main Events told The Associated Press. "It's just an unspeakable tragedy. I can't even find words. It's a horror."

He won two world titles in his 16-year pro career. In 1995, he won his first one, outpointing Tracy Harris Patterson to claim the IBF junior lightweight title.

In his first fight after the Ward trilogy -- which Gatti won 2-1 -- he captured a world title in his second division, outpointing Gianluca Branco for the vacant WBC junior welterweight title in January 2004.

Gatti made two defenses before losing the title to Floyd Mayweather Jr. via sixth-round TKO in June 2005. He returned to defeat Thomas Damgaard but lost his final two bouts, a ninth-round TKO in a challenge to then-welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir in July 2006 followed by a one-sided beating from former "Contender" star Alfonso Gomez in July 2007.

In the dressing room following the seventh-round knockout loss to Gomez, Gatti announced his retirement.

Referee Randy Neumann said it was tough for him to end that fight, simply because of Gatti's incredible ability to come back in fights.

"I couldn't stop that fight, simply because he was Arturo Gatti," Neumann said. "He was much more dignified to go out that way. He had to be counted out. When he fought, you never knew if he could come back. He looked beaten and still came back."

With that loss, Gatti acknowledged the end of all his travails and triumphs.

"I remember walking away from his last fight, and somebody walked up to him in the casino late at night and congratulated him," Duva said. "And he said, 'Why did he congratulate me?' And I said, 'He was excited to meet you.' And he kind of looked very surprised by that.

"He had no idea what an icon he was or how much he meant to people."

More than his titles, Gatti will be remembered for the slugfests. He was half of the Ring magazine fight of the year four times for two the Ward fights as well as his 1997 fifth-round knockout of Gabriel Ruelas to retain the junior lightweight title and a 1998 decision loss to Ivan Robinson.

Gatti had two memorable battles with Robinson as well as dramatic fights with Wilson Rodriguez, Angel Manfredy and Calvin Grove -- all before the trilogy with Ward that defined his career.

Gatti was a staple of HBO's boxing broadcasts, appearing on the network 21 times.

"HBO Sports is tremendously saddened by the passing of Arturo Gatti," HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg said. "He was one of the legendary warriors in boxing, and his three epic battles with Micky Ward will live on in the sport's rich history. All of us at HBO Sports will miss his warm and friendly presence, and our deepest sympathy goes out to his manager Pat Lynch, promoter Main Events, led by Kathy Duva, and the entire Arturo Gatti family. Boxing has lost a great and humble man."

Gatti had been working in real estate in Montreal following his retirement, but still attended fights, as he did in April for the Timothy Bradley-Kendall Holt junior welterweight unification bout at the Bell Centre in Montreal.


His film credits include 'The All-American Boy' and 'Little Fauss and Big Halsy.'
By Dennis McLellan
July 10, 2009
LA Times
Charles Eastman, a playwright and screenwriter whose credits included the 1970s films "The All-American Boy" and "Little Fauss and Big Halsy," has died. He was 79.

Eastman, the brother of the late "Five Easy Pieces" screenwriter Carole Eastman, died July 3 of complications from heart disease at Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, said Dave Schultz, a friend.

A Hollywood native, Eastman began writing in the late 1950s and had several of his plays produced by Los Angeles little theater groups beginning in the early '60s.

He launched his screenwriting career in the mid-'60s as an uncredited script doctor on films such as "The Americanization of Emily," "The Cincinnati Kid" and "This Property Is Condemned."

A decade later, a Times writer described Eastman during the '60s as "a gifted and eccentric writer who turned down offers by major studios and stars to option his original screenplays unless he could direct them himself."

However, Sidney J. Furie wound up directing Eastman's original screenplay for "Little Fauss and Big Halsy," a 1970 movie starring Robert Redford as a motorcycle racer.

"The All-American Boy," a 1973 film about a promising small-town boxer starring Jon Voight, was Eastman's first -- and only -- film credit as a director.

His third and final screenwriting credit was "Second-Hand Hearts," a 1981 film directed by Hal Ashby and starring Robert Blake and Barbara Harris. It was based on Eastman's one-act play "The Hamster of Happiness," which aired on "NBC Experiment in Television" in 1968.

Screenwriter Robert Towne, who met Eastman in the '60s, recalled how impressed he was by an early Eastman screenplay that never made it to the big screen: "Honeybear,I Think I Love You," the story of a disturbed young man's obsession with a girl.

"For me, it was quite a revelation because it was the first contemporary screenplay I had read that just opened up the possibilities of everything that you could put into a screenplay in terms of language and the observations of contemporary life," Towne said this week.

"It was a stunning piece of work, and I think it influenced a lot of us, even though it wasn't made," Towne said. "Everybody tried to get it made, but Charlie was very particular about how it was going to be made, and in some ways I think he kept it from being made.

"Charlie was an original, that's all. He used language in a way that I hadn't seen used before."

Towne said Eastman was "very particular, very quirky, very much like his sister," who wrote "Five Easy Pieces," starring Jack Nicholson, under the pen name Adrien Joyce.

"I think she was writing about Charlie in some ways," said Towne. "Charlie was just one of those shadowy figures that I think cast a longer shadow over most of us than was generally recognized."

One of four children, Eastman was born Sept. 18, 1929, into a family employed in the movie business: His father was a grip at Warner Bros. and his mother was Bing Crosby's longtime secretary.

As a young teenager, Eastman acted in little theater. While attending Los Angeles City College, he worked as a film extra and had a stint as a stand-in for Jerry Lewis. He later worked in the script departments of NBC and CBS.

Among Eastman's plays are "The UnAmerican Cowboy" and "Busy Bee Good Food All Night Delicious."

He also wrote short stories, including "Yellow Flags," which was published in Atlantic Monthly and included in the 1993 "O. Henry Prize Stories."

Since undergoing a quadruple heart bypass several years ago, Eastman wrote three screenplays that so far are unproduced.

"Charlie just sat in front of a computer every day and wrote," said Schultz. "It was his life."

Eastman, whose sister died in 2004, had no immediate surviving family members.

More Old Obits

Actress Mala Powers June 11 2007 died of complications from leukemia. She was 76. Powers played Roxanne to Jose Ferrer's "Cyrano de Bergerac" and starred in other films of the 1940s and 1950s. Powers died yesterday evening in a Santa Monica hospital.She was born Mary Ellen Powers in San Francisco to journalist parents who moved to Hollywood after losing their jobs. The girl began training as an actress at an early age and at eleven played in a Dead End Kids/Little Tough Guys movie, "Tough as They Come."At 19, Powers appeared opposite Ferrer in "Cyrano de Bergerac," which won him an Oscar. Also in 1950 she starred as a rape victim in "Outrage," directed by Ida Lupino. The film created a minor sensation because rape had never been treated frankly on the screen because of the industry's self-censorship. See review below.

In her later years, Powers became a teacher of acting, and appeared at major universities across the country. In the late '50's and early '60's she appeared in numerous TV episodes including Daniel Boone, Thriller, The Man From UNCLE and Perry Mason. Other movie appearances include TAMMY AND THE BACHELOR, THE UNKNOWN TERROR and THE COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK.

According to The Internet Movie Data Base she also appeared as herself on a 1964 installment of the game show "You Don't Say".

In 2002, she made her final stage appearance in "Mr. Shaw Goes to Hollywood" at the Laguna Playhouse.

The above was taken from a newspaper article and I also added a few things.

Bobby "Boris" Pickett, whose dead-on Boris Karloff impression propelled the Halloween anthem "Monster Mash" to the top of the charts while cementing his place as one of pop music's most enduring one-hit wonders, has died of leukemia. He was 69.

Pickett, dubbed "The Guy Lombardo of Halloween" for his impossibly catchy No. 1 song, passed away Wednesday night at the West Los Angeles Veterans Hospital, said his longtime manager, Stuart Hersh. His daughter, Nancy, and his sister, Lynda, were at Pickett's bedside.

Pickett's multimillion selling single hit the charts three separate times: when it debuted in 1962, again in August 1970, and for a third time in May 1973. The resurrections were appropriate for a song where Pickett gravely intoned the forever-stuck-in-your-head chorus: "He did the monster mash. ... It was a graveyard smash."

The novelty hit's fans included Bob Dylan, who sang Pickett's praises before playing the single on his XM Satellite Radio program last October. "Our next artist is considered a one-hit wonder, but his one hit comes back year after year," Dylan noted before mentioning that "Monster Mash" reached No. 1 on Oct. 20, 1962.

The hit single insured Pickett's place in the pantheon of pop music obscurities, said syndicated radio host Dr. Demento, whose long-running program celebrates offbeat tunes.

"It's certainly the biggest Halloween song of all time," said Demento, who interviewed Pickett last year. The DJ said Pickett maintained a sense of humor about his singular success: "As he loved to say at oldies shows, `And now I'm going to do a medley of my hit."'

Pickett's Karloff impression was forged in Somerville, Mass., where 9-year-old Bobby watched horror films in a theater managed by his father. When Pickett launched a Hollywood nightclub act in 1959, it inevitably featured his Karloff impersonation.

Pickett also did the voice when performing with his band the Cordials, particularly during the spoken part of the '50s hit by the Diamonds, "Little Darling." Bandmate Lenny Capizzi convinced Pickett they needed to do a song featuring his impression of the horror impresario, and "Monster Mash" was born -- "written in about a half-hour," said Dr. Demento.

The song was recorded in another two hours, featuring a then-unknown piano player named Leon Russell and a backing band christened The Crypt-Kickers. It was rejected by four major labels before Gary Paxton, lead singer on the Hollywood Argyles' hit "Alley Oop," released "Monster Mash" on his own.

The instant smash became a Halloween perennial -- a sort-of Christmas carol for the pumpkin and ghoul set. In a 1996 interview with People magazine, Pickett said he never grew tired of his biggest hit: "When I hear it, I hear a cash register ringing."

While Pickett never again recreated the success of "Monster Mash," he continued performing through his final gig in November 2006. He remained in demand for Halloween performances, including a memorable 1973 show where his bus broke down outside Frankenstein, Mo.

Although considered a one-hit wonder, Pickett actually cracked the charts on two other occasions: "Monster's Holiday," a Christmas follow-up to his Halloween hit, reached No. 30 in December 1962. And "Graduation Day" hit No. 80 in June 1963.

Beside his daughter and sister, Pickett is survived by two grandchildren, Olivia and Jordan. There was no immediate word on funeral arrangements.

Second note: Unfortunately I can't remember where I got this obit from...

Former Beatles, Stones manager Allen Klein dies

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Record label mogul Allen Klein, who handled the affairs of both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, died in New York on Saturday after a battle with Alzheimer's disease, a spokesman said. He was 77.

During a career spanning more than 50 years, the former New Jersey accountant secured a fortune as one of the savviest and most infamous players in the music business.

He played a key role during the bitter demise of the Beatles, coming on board in 1969 at the behest of John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison. Paul McCartney was fiercely opposed to Klein, preferring the legal expertise of his high-powered father-in-law Lee Eastman. The feud set the scene for the court battle that led to the group's dissolution.

Klein later reunited with Harrison to organize the all-star Concert for Bangladesh show in 1971 concert. It took a decade for the funds to reach the refugees because of complex tax problems. He also continued to work with Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Klein also managed the Rolling Stones during the 1960s and ended up owning the rights to their recordings and copyrights from that decade -- to the eternal regret of Mick Jagger.

He first made his mark in the music industry by auditing record labels on behalf of clients such as Bobby Darin and Connie Francis. When he invariably found that they were owed royalties, he took a percentage of the difference as a fee. he also managed Sam Cooke, helping the R&B star set up his own label and publishing company.

Klein's family-owned ABKCO Music & Records also handled the recordings of such artists as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, Bobby Womack, Marianne Faithfull, the Kinks, Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell and many others.

He is survived by his wife and three adult children. His funeral will take place in New York on Tuesday.

Just read on www.marklindsay.com that Drake Levin, lead guitarist for Paul Revere & The Raiders in the early to mid 60's lost his battle with cancer this morning. He was 62.

More Old Obits from 2007

Film director Robert Clark (born in New Orleans) was killed in a car accident on April 4 2007. He was 67. Clark directed the greatest modern Christmas movie of all time A CHRISTMAS STORY. He may be best known for directing the raunchy PORKY’S “trilogy” but also made some interesting horror movies: CHILDREN SHOULDN’T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS, DEATH DREAM and BLACK CHRISTMAS. He also made the excellent Sherlock Holmes meets Jack The Ripper themed MURDER BY DECREE. His bigger budgeted Hollywood forays include TRIBUTE TURK 182 RINESTONE and LOOSE CANNONS. More recently he helmed the “Baby Geniuses” series of films. Clark’s 22-year-old son was also killed in the crash.

Actress Mala Powers June 11 2007 died of complications from leukemia. She was 76. Powers played Roxanne to Jose Ferrer's "Cyrano de Bergerac" and starred in other films of the 1940s and 1950s. Powers died yesterday evening in a Santa Monica hospital.She was born Mary Ellen Powers in San Francisco to journalist parents who moved to Hollywood after losing their jobs. The girl began training as an actress at an early age and at eleven played in a Dead End Kids/Little Tough Guys movie, "Tough as They Come."At 19, Powers appeared opposite Ferrer in "Cyrano de Bergerac," which won him an Oscar. Also in 1950 she starred as a rape victim in "Outrage," directed by Ida Lupino. The film created a minor sensation because rape had never been treated frankly on the screen because of the industry's self-censorship. See review below.

In her later years, Powers became a teacher of acting, and appeared at major universities across the country. In the late '50's and early '60's she appeared in numerous TV episodes including Daniel Boone, Thriller, The Man From UNCLE and Perry Mason. Other movie appearances include TAMMY AND THE BACHELOR, THE UNKNOWN TERROR and THE COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK.

According to The Internet Movie Data Base she also appeared as herself on a 1964 installment of the game show "You Don't Say".

In 2002, she made her final stage appearance in "Mr. Shaw Goes to Hollywood" at the Laguna Playhouse.

The above was taken from a newspaper article and I also added a few things.

Unique character Nicholas Worth died on May 7th 2007 of heart failure. He was 69 years old. Worth was well known to low budget film fans for his incredible portrayal of the tortured killer/rapist in the '70's cult film DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE. He was born in St. Louis in 1937 and made his film debut in religiously themed FOR PETE'S SAKE in 1968. He was later in SCREAM BLACKULA SCREAM, SWAMP THING, INVITATION TO HELL, THE RAPE OF RICHARD BECK, ARMED & DANGEROUS, BREAKHEART RIDGE, HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN, ACTION JACKSON, DARKMAN and others. He was also seen in TV episodes including a reoccurring role on STAR TREK:VOYAGER. Worth, who was also into bodybuilding and powerlifting had recently lent his voice to several video games.

Actor Calvin Lockhart died on March 29 2007 in Nassau, The Bahamas where he was born. His movie appearances include A DANDY IN ASPIC SALT & PEPPER COTTON COMES TO HARLEM MYRA BRECKINRIDGE THE BEAST MUST DIE (with Peter Cushing), UPTOWN SATURDAY NIGHT (as Silky Sam) LET’S DO IT AGAIN COMING TO AMERICA WILD AT HEART PREDATOR 2 TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME and the yet to be released RAIN.

In addition he also had a reoccurring role on TV’s “Dynasty” (1985-86 season). He died at 73 of a stroke.

Director Bert Topper died on April 3 2007 of pulmonary heart failure. He was 78. Born in Coney Island, NY Topper began his career directing low budget war stories for AIP (WAR HERO HELL SQUAD TANK COMMANDOS WAR IS HELL). Other movies include DIARY OF A HIGH SCHOOL BRIDE the demented THE STRANGLER SOUL HUSTLER THE DEVIL’S 8 and THE HARD RIDE. He wrote and produced many of the films he directed and was the executive producer of WILD IN THE STREETS. His other production credits include FIREBALL 500 SPACE MONSTER THUNDER ALLEY and C.H.O.M.P.S.

Director John Flynn died April 4 2007 of natural causes. He was 75. A second unit director on many films (THE GREAT ESCAPE) he directed 15 films including THE SARGEANT THE OUTFIT ROLLING THUNDER DEFIANCE MARILYN: THE UNTOLD STORY BEST SELLER and BRAINSCAN.

Japanese actor Eiji Funakoshi died March 19^th 2007. He was 84. Best known to American audiences for his roles in the first GAMERA and its fourth sequel GAMERA VS. GUIRON, he was in many other films including FIRES ON THE PLAINS.

KITTY CARLISLE HART was an actress, TV personality and widow of playwright Moss Hart. She starred alongside The Marx Brothers (and Alan Jones) in A NIGHT AT THE OPERA. Her other film roles included MURDER AT THE VANITIES HERE IS MY HEART Woody Allen’s RADIO DAYS and 5 DEGREES OF SEPARATION. She was also a regular panelist on the TV game show “To Tell The Truth”. She died April 17 at age 96.

Actor Kerwin Matthews died July 5th 2007. He was 81. Best known for the title role in Nathan Juran's fantasy film THE 7 th VOYAGE OF SINBAD (1958), Matthews was later THE THREE WORLDS OF GULLIVER, PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER, JACK THE GIANT KILLER, MANIAC, BATTLE BENEATH THE EARTH, OCTAMAN, THE BOY WHO CRIED WEREWOLF and NIGHTMARE IN BLOOD (his last in 1978). Originally from Wisconson, Matthews mad his acting debut on an episode of the TV show "Space Patrol" in 1954.

Excellent article from The San Francisco Chronicle!


CHARLES LANE: 1905-2007

Actor made major impact in minor roles

'06 quake survivor nailed hundreds of film, television parts

Mick LaSalle, Chronicle Movie CriticWednesday, July 11, 2007

Charles Lane died peacefully Monday night at home in Santa Monica at age 102, according to his son Tom Lane. And you really do care, only you just don't know it. Never mind that he was born in San Francisco and was one of the last survivors of the 1906 earthquake. You know Charles Lane. You just never knew his name. He was That Guy in all those movies. You know, that skinny guy with the glasses, the beaky nose and the white hair -- or the dark hair, depending on how far back you go. Sometimes he was a hotel clerk. Sometimes a reporter. He was on the 1960s sitcom "Petticoat Junction" for five years as a cranky railroad official. As an actor on film and television, he appeared in well over 250 roles, which means that, to avoid ever seeing him over the past 70 years, you would probably have had to avoid film and television completely.

Someone should do a Charles Lane festival. He made some exceptional movies: "Blonde Crazy" (1931), with James Cagney; "Blessed Event" (1932), with Lee Tracy; "Employees' Entrance" (1933), with Warren William; the Busby Berkeley musicals "42nd Street" and "The Gold Diggers of 1933"; the renowned screwball comedy "Twentieth Century" (1934); the Capra classics "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" (1936), "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1939), "Arsenic and Old Lace" (1944) and "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946); "Teacher's Pet" (1958); "The Music Man" (1962); and "Good Neighbor Sam" (1964). True, he had little to do with what made these films exceptional, and, in fact, for the vast majority of them, Lane received no credit at all. In the studio days, the guy who played the radio operator ("Central Airport") or the campaign reporter ("The Farmer's Daughter") wasn't identified for audiences. He was considered part of that studio's furniture. But credit or no credit, Lane was never furniture, and he was never wallpaper. He was vivid -- as well as competent and precise. Give him a job, and he got it done.

Take, for example, his appearance in "The Gold Diggers of 1933." He is in one scene, as a society reporter, but the scene is significant. For the whole beginning of the film, a mystery is made as to the true background of Dick Powell, who plays a songwriter. Now at a Broadway opening, Lane spots him, thinks he recognizes him and tells his friends during intermission. That's Lane's whole role, a small one -- but he nails it. We know, from just a few lines from Lane, that this reporter is smart and tenacious, and that he's not going to quit until he finds out the truth. So the next day when we see the screaming newspaper headline, we're not surprised.

There are two ways for a bit player to screw up. One way, the forgivable way, is to be inconspicuous. The other way is to act as though you're the star of the picture. Lane did neither. He simply brought truth to his brief moments on screen. With Lane, the audience understood that the reporters, clerks, salesmen and managers he played were people in the midst of their own day -- a day that just happened to intersect with the world of the movie. As such, he had no need to be especially patient or ingratiating. He was rarely nasty, but he usually seemed busy and impatient. He had something he was doing, that he wanted to do, and then Gary Cooper or Barbara Stanwyck or somebody had to come over and interrupt him.

Lane was born Charles Levison in San Francisco on Jan. 26, 1905. In the beginning of his career, he kept the name of Levison, but it wasn't much of an issue because the name rarely turned up in the credits. He made his first screen appearance in the 1931 film "Smart Money," with James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson. He played a hotel desk clerk. In those days, film executives assumed that once you did something once, you were an expert at it. And so Lane played a hotel desk clerk in five of his next six movies. In the sixth, he was a luggage checkroom clerk at a railway station. It's usually at this point in an obituary that the actor's "big break" is mentioned. But no. In his 50s, Lane was still playing the kind of uncredited role he was playing in his 20s, only now -- after 30 years in the business -- the public knew him. People didn't know his name, but they knew him. Most actors arrive on the public consciousness with a jolt. Lane did something rare. He just oozed into public awareness, until at a certain point it felt as though he'd always been there.

Lane's most high-profile work was in television. He had guest roles on "I Love Lucy" in the 1950s and on a number of shows in the 1960s, including "The Lucy Show," "Perry Mason," "The Beverly Hillbillies," "Gomer Pyle," "The Twilight Zone," "The Andy Griffith Show," "The Munsters," "Bewitched" and "The Wild Wild West." He was a series regular on the sitcom "Petticoat Junction," as a railroad executive who wants to do away with the town's beloved locomotive. He often worked in comedy, though he rarely smiled. He was usually the relentless, unsympathetic force with whom the hero or heroine had to contend, but there was also something decent and human underneath that hard surface, which was why Lane was most frequently cast in comedy. Through the 1970s, he worked steadily, appearing on shows such as "Maude," "Lou Grant" and "Little House on the Prairie." He also continued to make movies. He made his final feature film, "Date With an Angel" in 1987. In 1988, he played Adm. William Standley in the World War II miniseries "War and Remembrance." His final screen appearance was in the 1995 TV movie "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes." Not long after he turned 100, he was honored at the TV Land Awards, where many in the viewing audience were delighted to find out he was still alive. Given the lifetime achievement award, Lane told the crowd, "I'm still available."

My note: Lane made his film debut with an uncredited role in SMART MONEY. It's the only film James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson made together. It also features Boris Karloff (also uncredited) in one scene. Although Karloff had roles in 15 films that year he would be remembered for only one that he made a little later on in '31...FRANKENSTEIN!

By Dennis McLellan
12:17 PM PDT, July 1, 2009

Karl Malden, one of Hollywood's strongest and most versatile supporting actors, who won an Oscar playing his Broadway-originated role as Mitch in "A Streetcar Named Desire," died today. He was 97.

Malden starred in the 1970s TV series "The Streets of San Francisco" and was the longtime American Express traveler's-check spokesman, warning travelers to not leave home without it. He died of natural causes at his home in Brentwood, said his daughter Mila Doerner.

With his unglamorous mug -- he broke his bulbous nose twice playing sports as a teenager -- the former Indiana steel-mill worker realized early on the course his acting career would take.

"I was so incredibly lucky," Malden once told The Times. "I knew I wasn't a leading man. Take a look at this face." But, he vowed as a young man, he wasn't going to let his looks hamper his ambition to succeed as an actor.

In a movie career that flourished in the 1950s and '60s, Malden played a variety of roles in more than 50 films, including the sympathetic priest in "On the Waterfront," the resentful husband in "Baby Doll," the warden in "Birdman of Alcatraz," the outlaw-turned-sheriff in "One-Eyed Jacks," the pioneer patriarch in "How the West Was Won," Madame Rose's suitor in "Gypsy," the card dealer in "The Cincinnati Kid" and Gen. Omar Bradley in "Patton."

His varied performances established Malden, former Times film critic Charles Champlin once wrote, "as an Everyman, but one whose range moved easily up and down the levels of society and the IQ scale, from heroes to heavies and ordinary, decent guys just trying to get along."

Malden was a longtime holdout to television until he agreed to play Lt. Mike Stone on the ABC police drama "The Streets of San Francisco," with Michael Douglas. The series, which ran from 1972 to 1977, earned Malden four consecutive Emmy nominations as lead actor in a drama series.

When he finally won his sole Emmy, it was for outstanding supporting actor in a limited series or special, as a man who begins to suspect that his daughter was murdered by her husband in the fact-based 1984 miniseries "Fatal Vision."

Malden also starred in "Skag," a short-lived 1980 NBC dramatic series in which he played a Serbian family man and union foreman at a Pittsburgh steel mill.

But for all his movie and television roles, it was primarily the series of American Express traveler's-check commercials Malden made between 1973 and 1994 that gave him his greatest public recognition. (Even Johnny Carson, complete with fake proboscis, dark suit and short-brimmed fedora, spoofed Malden's sober-faced commercials on "The Tonight Show.")

"After 50 years of doing all those other things in the business, wherever I go, the one thing people will say to me is, 'Don't leave home without it,' " Malden said in 1989. "What am I going to say? It's kind of frustrating in a way, but at the same time, American Express has been very good to me, and it's given me independence. I don't have to jump at anything and everything that comes my way."

He was born Mladen Sekulovich in Chicago on March 22, 1912, the son of an immigrant mother from the nation that later became Czechoslovakia and a Serbian father, who delivered milk for 38 years.

Malden spoke little English until after his family moved from their Serbian enclave in Chicago to the steel-mill community of Gary, Ind., when he was 5.

Malden's father was a theater lover who staged Serbian plays in the church and in Serbian patriotic organizations in Gary. As a teenager, Malden played heavies -- usually Turks, complete with a big, black mustache -- in his father's productions.


Actress Mollie Sugden dies at 86
By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 8:10 PM on 01st July 2009

The Are You Being Served? star passed away at the Royal Surrey Hospital in Guildford following a long illness with her twin sons, Robin and Simon Moore, at her bedside.

The Yorkshire-born star was renowned for playing battleaxes - with her most popular role as Mrs Slocombe in the long-running BBC sitcom.

Her agent Joan Reddin said last night: 'I represented her for more than 30 years and I was a very close friend as well. 'She had had a long illness and various problems but it was very quick in the end.

'Her twin boys were with her and she faded away. She was a lovely, lovely person and I never had any trouble with her. 'She was a great professional.'

The actress, who reprised the role in Grace and Favour, also starred as Mrs Hutchinson in The Liver Birds and was regarded as one of Britain's finest comedy performers. Her portrayal of overpowering and snooty women made her a household name, not least for her talent of bringing a humorous warmth to the most tyrannical of roles. Born in Keighley, West Yorkshire, in 1922, she attended the local grammar school and went on to study drama at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London - taking three major awards in one year.

Despite this promising start, success did not come quickly and she spent many years in repertory up and down the country. Her first job was with Oldham Coliseum Repertory Club.

It was in 1956, while she was working for Swansea Rep at the Grand Theatre, earning about 12 pounds a week, that she met her husband, fellow actor William Moore.

They married two years later, when she was 35 and he was 39. Their twin sons Robin and Simon were born six years later, just as Sugden was becoming a familiar face on television with hit programmes such as Hugh And I, Please Sir! and The Love Of Ada.

She quickly found her strength was in comedy and she was happiest in comedy dramas.

It was as the formidable Mrs Hutchinson in The Liver Birds that she started to show her true potential. It was a series that was so popular in the late 60s and early 70s that it was revived in the late 90s using the original cast. She was the star of many other comedies, including Come Back Mrs Noah, That's My Boy and My Husband And I, which she made with her husband.

But it was as the bossy sales lady Betty Slocombe in Are You Being Served? that she was best known. The long-running television comedy was such a hit that a feature film was made based on the series. She achieved celebrity status, particularly on television, and for a while enjoyed a change of direction in her career with her own slot on the consumer programme That's Life. Yet her tremendous success backfired in 1988 when ITV bosses decided not to use her in any more programmes.

One programme director at the time was quoted as saying: 'If I see another situation comedy starring Mollie Sugden, I will die.' Despite the setback to her career on British television, Sugden was still a highly popular actress.

As she continued to find great popularity on the stage - sometimes working alongside her husband - she found new fame in the United States.

Re-runs of Are You Being Served? transformed both Sugden and co-star John Inman, famous for his catch phrase "I'm free" into cult figures in the US in the early 1990s.

Such was her popularity in America that at the age of 71 she was asked to appear in Donizetti's opera La Fille Du Regiment in a non-singing role.

In Britain, Sugden and Moore were regarded as one of the establishments of showbusiness, with a marriage that had stood the test of time and was full of the vivacity of the couple themselves.

Their private haven away from the world of acting was in a village near Dorking in Surrey.

Moore, who died in 2000, also continued successfully with his acting career to become a household name through his television work.

He was perhaps best-known for his portrayal of the long-suffering husband and father in the comedy Sorry!, which starred Ronnie Corbett.

It was with great affection that Sugden was seen once again on British television in a revival of The Liver Birds in 1996.

It was almost inevitable that, despite being 74 and playing only a supporting role, she still managed to steal the show.

Harve Presnell whose booming baritone graced such Broadway musicals as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" and "Annie," has died at the age of 75.

Presnell's agent Gregg Klein says the actor died Tuesday of pancreatic cancer at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif.

Presnell also appeared in the film versions of "Molly Brown" and "Paint Your Wagon" as well as "Fargo."

Ex-boxing great, Managua Mayor Alexis Arguello dies at 57 ...
By FILADELFO ALEMAN, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
(07-01) 07:18 PDT MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) --

Managua Mayor Alexis Arguello, a three-time world boxing champion, was found dead at his home Wednesday, his Sandinista Party's Radio Ya said.

Radio Ya said coroners were conducting an autopsy on the 57-year-old mayor to determine the cause of death, but it appeared to be a suicide. The La Prensa newspaper reported he was found with a gunshot wound to the chest.

The Hall of Fame boxer was the top fighter of the 20th century in his weight class, according to a panel of experts assembled by The Associated Press in 1999.

The death of Arguello prompted President Daniel Ortega to announced he was canceling a trip to Panama for the inauguration of President-elect Ricardo Martinelli.

Arguello fought against the Sandinista government in the 1980s after it seized his property and bank account, according to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

But he joined the party to win the mayorship of the capital in 2008, though opponents alleged the vote was fraudulent.

"We are upset," said presidential spokeswoman, Rosario Murillo, who declined to give details about the death. "This is a heartbreaking announcement. He was the champion of the poor, an example of forgiveness and reconciliation."

Born in 1952, the Hall of Fame boxer fought 14 world champions and in 1981 he became the sixth man in boxing history to win a title in three weight divisions — featherweight, super featherweight and lightweight — according to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Arguello returned Sunday from Puerto Rico where he honored the late baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente.