Pro wrestler Umanosuke Ueda http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2011/12/21/19152096.html
Former WABC host Lynn Samuels dies Christmas Eve at 69 Activist took
on conservatives and President Obama alike BY DAVID HINCKLEY NEW YORK
DAILY NEWS Sunday, December 25 2011, 12:52 PM Years ago, when she was a left wing host on WABC, Lynn Samuels used to do a change-of-pace Christmas Eve show in which, among other things, she invited listeners to sing Christmas carols. This year on Christmas Eve, Samuels died. She was 69. No cause of death was immediately announced. Her body was discovered after she failed to report for her 10 a.m. Saturday show at Sirius XM radio and the company asked police to go to
her Woodside, Queens, home. On the radio, Samuels was exactly what much of the country thinks New York sounds like. She had a city accent she never tried to hide or soften, even when her bosses suggested it would prevent her from ever getting a radio job outside the city. “This is who I am,” she said. “She was unique beyond
words,” said John Mainelli, her WABC program director and longtime friend.
“I'm so glad I knew her.” Samuels was a self-described progressive who often threw curveballs. She was a long-standing critic of President Obama, saying she didn’t believe he ever really had progressive credentials. Her periodic unpredictability didn’t serve her well in today’s party- line talk radio, but helped give her a long run in the earlier, looser talk era. Her criticism of conservatives often extended to her fellow radio hosts, but she would add that she liked a number of them personally. She became close friends with conservative host and writer Matt Drudge, serving for a time as his call screener. Mainelli said
he exchanged messages with her on Friday, at which time she said she would
be doing both her Saturday and Sunday shows live this weekend.
“I am stunned,” Jay Diamond, her one-time WABC colleague, wrote on
the New York Radio Message Board. “She sometimes got mad at me, but I
loved her, and we were friends to the end. The world of radio, and the
world in general, will miss this great talent, and great human being.”
Aside from politics, Samuels would devote long segments to cultural
matters like books, music, a movie she saw or the merits and demerits of
wearing foundation garments. Her Christmas Eve show, which she said
was not her favorite program, began as an attempt simply to do something fun
and different on a night when most people weren’t discussing budget
legislation. Her own politics ran back to the activist movements of
the 1960s, about which she often talked. Her radio career began around 1979
with a late-night show at WBAI (99.5 FM). She moved to WABC in
the late 1980s and remained there on different shifts for about 15 years.
She was fired three times and rehired twice. After WABC she
struggled at times to stay in the city, taking a job in a laundromat while
keeping her hand in radio at Sirius XM. A very private person off
the air, Samuels left no immediate survivors. But the local
radio world was saddened. To the end, said Mainelli, she was “the
same as she had always been - lively, full of curiosity, and happy, all
existential things considered.”
Original Mother Jim “Motorhead” Sherwood dies– DECEMBER 26, 2011POSTED
IN: OBITUARIESAmerican musician Euclid James “Motorhead” Sherwood, notable for playing soprano, tenor and baritone saxophone, tambourine, vocals and vocal sound effects in Frank Zappa’s original Mothers of Invention, died on December 25th.Motorhead Sherwood appeared on all the albums of the original Mothers line-up and the posthumous releases “Burnt Weeny Sandwich” and “Weasels Ripped My Flesh”, as well as a number of subsequent Zappa albums. He also appeared in the films “200 Motels”, “Video from Hell” and “Uncle Meat”.Sherwood and Zappa met in high school in 1956. Sherwood was in a class with Zappa’s brother Bobby, who introduced the two after learning that Sherwood was a collector of blues records. Sherwood sat in with Zappa’s first band, R&B group The Black-Outs. In 1964 Sherwood and Zappa lived in Zappa’s Studio Z in Cucamonga for some time.Sherwood first joined The Mothers of Invention as a roadie and equipment manager, also contributing sound effects (using both his voice and saxophone) to their first album, 1966′s “Freak Out”. He became a full member around the time of the group’s experimental residence at the Garrick Theater in 1967.The nickname “Motorhead” was coined by fellow Mothers member Ray Collins, who observed that Sherwood always seemed to be working on repairing cars, trucks or motorcycles, and joked that “it sounds like you’ve got a little motor in your head”. In later years, Sherwood contributed to various projects
alongside fellow Mothers alumni, including records by The Grandmothers,Mothers keyboardist Don Preston, Ant-Bee and Sandro Oliva.Jim “Motorhead” Sherwood was 69 years old.http://www.weirdomusic.com/2011/12/26/original-mother-jim-motorhead-sherwood-dies/More
info"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Sherwood
Pedro Armendáriz, Jr. (April 6, 1940 - December 26, 2011) was a Mexican
actor.Life and careerArmendáriz Jr. was born in Mexico
City, the son of actors Carmelita (née Pardo) and Pedro Armendáriz. He has been
married to actress Ofelia Medina.Armendáriz has appeared in over 100
movies. Among them are The Magnificent Seven Ride, El Crimen del Padre Amaro,
Matando Cabos and La ley de Herodes, and played Don Pedro in The Mask of Zorro
and The Legend of Zorro. He also had small roles in Earthquake (film) (1974),
Tombstone and Amistad.Both Armendáriz and his father appeared in James
Bond movies. The elder Armendáriz appeared in From Russia with Love in 1963,
while Pedro Jr. appeared in 1989's Licence to Kill. Also both actors portrayed
Pancho Villa, the senior Armendáriz on several movies and Pedro Armendáriz Jr in Old Gringo (Spanish: Gringo Viejo) opposite Gregory Peck and Jimmy Smits.
Interestingly, Pedro Armendáriz Jr also portrayed Pancho Villa's enemy Luis
Terrazas in the film And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself opposite Antonio
Banderas.He died in 2011 of cancer at age 71 in New York
City.Obit (in Spanish)- http://www.elporvenir.com.mx/notas.asp?nota_id=550708
Pedro Armendáriz, Jr. (April 6, 1940 - December 26, 2011) was a Mexican
actor.Life and careerArmendáriz Jr. was born in Mexico City, the son of actors Carmelita (née Pardo) and Pedro Armendáriz. He has been married to actress Ofelia Medina.Armendáriz has appeared in over 100 movies. Among them are The Magnificent Seven Ride, El Crimen del Padre Amaro, Matando Cabos and La ley de Herodes, and played Don Pedro in The Mask of Zorro and The Legend of Zorro. He also had small roles in Earthquake (film) (1974), Tombstone and Amistad.Both Armendáriz and his father appeared in James Bond movies. The elder Armendáriz appeared in From Russia with Love in 1963, while Pedro Jr. appeared in 1989's Licence to Kill. Also both actors portrayed Pancho Villa, the senior Armendáriz on several movies and Pedro Armendáriz Jr in Old Gringo (Spanish: Gringo Viejo) opposite Gregory Peck and Jimmy Smits.
Interestingly, Pedro Armendáriz Jr also portrayed Pancho Villa's enemy Luis
Terrazas in the film And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself opposite Antonio
Banderas.He died in 2011 of cancer at age 71 in New York
City.Obit (in Spanish)- http://www.elporvenir.com.mx/notas.asp?nota_id=550708
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
12/19/2011 6:23:44 PM - It’s with great sadness that we share the news that Bob Brookmeyer passed away last night, just three days shy of his 82nd birthday. Bob was an integral force in music, making some of the greatest groups in jazz history what we know and admire today. Whether as a composer, arranger or trombonist, his voice is immediately discernible from the very first note, always bringing a smile and one word: "Brookmeyer."
For many of us, Bob has always been a tremendous inspiration and an overflowing wealth of knowledge. You'd be hard to find a large ensemble composer that doesn't have Bob's name on the top of their list of favorites. For those lucky enough to have the opportunity to study with him, we were given more than just an education in the art of being a great composer, we were given a level of both love and support that expanded far beyond the classroom. He had a wonderful ability to cultivate our inner strengths, yet pull us out of our comfort zones and stretch us farther than we could have ever imagined possible.
Bob's newest album, STANDARDS, which was officially released a few weeks ago, was a record Bob was incredibly proud of. It is a true masterpiece in every sense of the word, with each arrangement encompassing everything that is "Bob Brookmeyer."
Bob, you were an amazing force and a fearless leader to all jazz composers. Thank you for your years of inspiration, support, and for leaving a legacy of music to continually inspire us for years to come.
T.J. Bass (1932-2011)
— posted Wednesday 14 December 2011 @ 2:40 pm PST
Thomas J. Bassler, 79 who wrote SF as T.J. Bass, died December 13, 2011. He began publishing as Bass with “Star Itch” in If (1968), and in addition to several stories, he wrote two novels nominated for Nebula Awards: fix-up Half Past Human (1970) and The Godwhale (1974). He ceased writing SF in the ’70s, though he did co-author a non-fiction book on exercise and nutrition in 1979. A medical doctor, Bassler was an early proponent of running to improve health.
Bassler was born July 7, 1932 in Clinton IA, and attended St. Ambrose College and the University of Iowa, earning his medical degree in 1959. He worked as a deputy medical examiner in Los Angeles from 1961-64, and went into private practice as a pathologist in 1964. (Locus)
Animator Dan Mills dies at 80
Worked on 'Family Guy,' 'He-Man'
By Variety Staff
Animator and layout artist Dan Mills, whose credits included TV series "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" and "Family Guy," died Dec. 5. He was 80.
Over the course of a career that lasted from 1956 until his retirement in 2002, Mills worked for Disney, Snowball, Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, Hyperion, Universal and Fox Animation.
Mills was a layout supervisor for "He-Man" and "She-Ra: Princess of Power" in 1985, the 1989 series "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and the 1990 feature toon "Happily Ever After."
As a layout artist he earned credits on films including "The Secret of the Sword," "Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night," "Freddie as F.R.O.7.," "Asterix Conquers America," "The Page Master" and "Cats Don't Dance" and TV series "Pandamonium" and "Family Guys."
Animator credits include "Linus! The Lion Hearted" in 1964, the "ABC Afterschool Special" episode "Cyrano" and TV series "These Are the Days," "Partridge Family 2200 AD," "Jabberjaw" and "Godzilla."
Mills was story director on three series in 1973, "Goober and the Ghost Chasers," "Inch High, Private Eye" and "Speed Buggy," art director for the 1965 series "Captain Fathom" and a model artist on "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids."
In his final credit, he was a storyboard artist for the 2002 made-for-video pic "The Hunchback of Notre Dame II."
It's been a bad month for comic book people.
Eduardo Barreto, who was best known for his work on various Superman
and Teen Titans titles, died on 15 December at the age of 57 in a
hospital in Montevideo, Uruguay. He's believed to have died from
complications of the meningitis he contracted last year. That illness
forced Barreto to stop drawing the daily newspaper strip Judge Parker,
which he'd been handling for four years.
Among Barreto's best work in comics were the graphic novels Under a
Yellow Sun, which featured various Superman characters in a non-super
spy-novel setting, and Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography, a
Superman book that, unusually, had no Superman in it, although Clark
Kent was featured prominently. It's a sign of our times that a comic
book artist best known for his work in American comics and newspapers
could easily work out of his home studio in Uruguay, thanks to the
Internet and fast air freight.
Barreto is survived by his son Diego, also an artist, and his daughter
Andrea, a colorist.
For many of us, Bob has always been a tremendous inspiration and an overflowing wealth of knowledge. You'd be hard to find a large ensemble composer that doesn't have Bob's name on the top of their list of favorites. For those lucky enough to have the opportunity to study with him, we were given more than just an education in the art of being a great composer, we were given a level of both love and support that expanded far beyond the classroom. He had a wonderful ability to cultivate our inner strengths, yet pull us out of our comfort zones and stretch us farther than we could have ever imagined possible.
Bob's newest album, STANDARDS, which was officially released a few weeks ago, was a record Bob was incredibly proud of. It is a true masterpiece in every sense of the word, with each arrangement encompassing everything that is "Bob Brookmeyer."
Bob, you were an amazing force and a fearless leader to all jazz composers. Thank you for your years of inspiration, support, and for leaving a legacy of music to continually inspire us for years to come.
T.J. Bass (1932-2011)
— posted Wednesday 14 December 2011 @ 2:40 pm PST
Thomas J. Bassler, 79 who wrote SF as T.J. Bass, died December 13, 2011. He began publishing as Bass with “Star Itch” in If (1968), and in addition to several stories, he wrote two novels nominated for Nebula Awards: fix-up Half Past Human (1970) and The Godwhale (1974). He ceased writing SF in the ’70s, though he did co-author a non-fiction book on exercise and nutrition in 1979. A medical doctor, Bassler was an early proponent of running to improve health.
Bassler was born July 7, 1932 in Clinton IA, and attended St. Ambrose College and the University of Iowa, earning his medical degree in 1959. He worked as a deputy medical examiner in Los Angeles from 1961-64, and went into private practice as a pathologist in 1964. (Locus)
Animator Dan Mills dies at 80
Worked on 'Family Guy,' 'He-Man'
By Variety Staff
Animator and layout artist Dan Mills, whose credits included TV series "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" and "Family Guy," died Dec. 5. He was 80.
Over the course of a career that lasted from 1956 until his retirement in 2002, Mills worked for Disney, Snowball, Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, Hyperion, Universal and Fox Animation.
Mills was a layout supervisor for "He-Man" and "She-Ra: Princess of Power" in 1985, the 1989 series "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and the 1990 feature toon "Happily Ever After."
As a layout artist he earned credits on films including "The Secret of the Sword," "Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night," "Freddie as F.R.O.7.," "Asterix Conquers America," "The Page Master" and "Cats Don't Dance" and TV series "Pandamonium" and "Family Guys."
Animator credits include "Linus! The Lion Hearted" in 1964, the "ABC Afterschool Special" episode "Cyrano" and TV series "These Are the Days," "Partridge Family 2200 AD," "Jabberjaw" and "Godzilla."
Mills was story director on three series in 1973, "Goober and the Ghost Chasers," "Inch High, Private Eye" and "Speed Buggy," art director for the 1965 series "Captain Fathom" and a model artist on "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids."
In his final credit, he was a storyboard artist for the 2002 made-for-video pic "The Hunchback of Notre Dame II."
It's been a bad month for comic book people.
Eduardo Barreto, who was best known for his work on various Superman
and Teen Titans titles, died on 15 December at the age of 57 in a
hospital in Montevideo, Uruguay. He's believed to have died from
complications of the meningitis he contracted last year. That illness
forced Barreto to stop drawing the daily newspaper strip Judge Parker,
which he'd been handling for four years.
Among Barreto's best work in comics were the graphic novels Under a
Yellow Sun, which featured various Superman characters in a non-super
spy-novel setting, and Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography, a
Superman book that, unusually, had no Superman in it, although Clark
Kent was featured prominently. It's a sign of our times that a comic
book artist best known for his work in American comics and newspapers
could easily work out of his home studio in Uruguay, thanks to the
Internet and fast air freight.
Barreto is survived by his son Diego, also an artist, and his daughter
Andrea, a colorist.
Ralph MacDonald, the Grammy-winning writer, producer and percussionist who worked with everyone from Luther Vandross to Amy Winehouse and composed the classics, “Where Is the Love” and “Just the Two of Us,” died Sunday morning in Stamford, Conn., after a long illness. He was 67.
He had suffered from a stroke and lung cancer in recent years.
Stamford, where he lived for the past 35 years, honored him with a Ralph MacDonald Day in July. He performed a couple of songs, including “Just the Two of Us,” with long-time colleague Dennis Collins, at the event.
Born in Harlem on March 15, 1944, MacDonald was a working musician as well as a writer and producer. Until health problems sidelined him a year and a half ago, he continued to tour regularly as a member of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band.
The son of legendary Trinidadian calypso performer MacBeth the Great, MacDonald began performing as a small boy when his father would have him dance on the drums.
At 17, he landed a job in Harry Belafonte’s steel band, where he remained for the next decade. After telling Belafonte that the singer needed more authentic calypso music, he wrote an album of songs that Belafonte recorded as “Calypso Carnival” in 1966.
Soon afterwards, MacDonald launched his own publishing company, Antisia Music, with his friends Bill Salter and William Eaton.
They gave the company two years to establish itself, and MacDonald later recalled that the time had almost expired when he started working with Roberta Flack. He pitched her a song he had written with Salter, “Where Is The Love,” and her recording with Donny Hathaway became a multi-million-seller.
Through Antisia and as an acclaimed percussionist, MacDonald worked with a who’s who of artists, including Amy Winehouse, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross, Bette Midler, Diana Ross and Grover Washington Jr., for whom he wrote the hit “Mr. Magic.”
MacDonald won Grammy awards as a performer and producer for “Calypso Breakdown,” which appeared on the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack.
“Just the Two Of Us” was first released on Washington’s 1980 album “Winelight,” which MacDonald wrote and produced.
He also released several albums of his own over the years.
MacDonald is survived by his wife, Grace, and a daughter, Nefra-Ann.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/ralph-macdonald-dies-67-grammy-winning-artist-wrote-love-article-1.993313#ixzz1guoeCzet
Veteran film and television actor Dan Frazer, best known for his role as Captain Frank McNeil on the 1970s television series "Kojak," has died in New York. He was 90.
Frazer's daughter, Susanna Frazer, said Sunday her father died of cardiac arrest Dec. 16 at his home in Manhattan. She described him as a "very truthful, naturalistic actor."
Frazer started playing character roles in various television series and films in the 1950s. His films include "Cleopatra Jones," "Take the Money and Run" "Gideon's Trumpet" and "Deconstructing Harry." Besides "Kojak," Frazer's television appearances include "Car 54, Where Are You," "Route 66," "Barney Miller" and "Law & Order."
He was a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and an adviser to The Workshop Theatre Co.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/18/4131558/actor-frazer-capt-mcneil-on-kojak.html
According to various online sources, Tasmanian-born director Don Sharp has died. He was 89.
A former small-time actor (The Planter's Wife, The Cruel Sea), Sharp (born April 19, 1922, in Hobart) is best remembered for several low-budget thrillers he directed in the 1960s, such as Hammer's The Kiss of the Vampire (1963), the sci-fier Curse of the Fly (1965), and the The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966), starring Christopher Lee as the East Asian fiend.
Sharp's other notable efforts include The Death Wheelers / Psychomania (1973), about a youth gang terrorizing a small town; the IRA drama Hennessy (1975), with A-listers Rod Steiger and Lee Remick; The Thirty Nine Steps, an underrated remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 classic starring Robert Powell in Robert Donat's old man-on-the-run role; and the slow-moving adventure drama Bear Island, featuring Vanessa Redgrave and Donald Sutherland.
Sharp also worked on British television, directing several episodes from The Avengers. Other notable television efforts were a made-for-TV remake of The Four Feathers (1978) starring Beau Bridges and Jane Seymour, and the miniseries A Woman of Substance (1984) and its sequel, Hold the Dream (1986). Adapted from novels by Barbara Taylor Bradford, the latter two are made watchable by the presence of Deborah Kerr, who, as the rags-to-riches businesswoman, elevates the cheesy proceedings to the realm of compelling melodrama whenever she is on screen. Jenny Seagrove plays the young Kerr in both films; the extensive supporting cast features old and new talent, among them John Mills, Liam Neeson, Miranda Richardson, Barry Bostwick, Diane Baker, George Baker, Peter Chelsom, Gayle Hunnicutt, and Christopher Gable.
Sharp's last credits were several episodes of the television series Act of Will (1989), another adaptation of a Barbara Taylor Bradford novel.
http://www.altfg.com/blog/movie/don-sharp-director-death-kiss-of-the-vampire-psychomania/
Keyboard player Dick Sims, a driving force in Eric Clapton’s band for more than 10 years, has passed away.
Dick played on Bob Seger’s landmark album ‘Back in ‘72’ before joining the Eric Clapton band in 1974. He played the keyboards for Clapton’s comeback classic ‘461 Ocean Boulevard’ on songs like ‘I Shot The Sherriff’ and ‘Willie and the Hand Jive’ and continued with Clapton on the tracks ‘Lay Down Sally’, ‘Wonderful Tonight’ and ‘Cocaine’.
During his career he also recorded with J.J. Cale, Peter Tosh, Joan Armatrading, Yvonne Elliman and Vince Gill.
Sims took a 10-year break before returning with his solo album ‘Within Arms Reach’ in 2008.
Noise11.com will publish more details of the death of Dick Sims as they become known.
Dick Sims official bio:
Arguably one of the best rock keyboard players in the world, Dick Sim’s work on the Hammond B-3 Organ is unparalleled. The “Tulsa Sound” musician is most widely recognized for his distinctive keyboard work on such Eric Clapton hits as “I Shot The Sheriff”, “Wonderful Tonight”, “Cocaine” and “Lay Down Sally” just to name a few. He joined Eric Clapton and His Band in 1974 and was instrumental in the making of Eric’s “comeback” album, 461 Ocean Boulevard. It was the beginning of a long-standing period of musical magic involving fellow Tulsa musicians Jamie Oldaker and the late Carl Radle (Derek & The Dominos). There has been much talk among rock fans about the Tulsa influences in Clapton’s music during that time period, with much of that talk centered on Dick’s work on the Hammond B-3 Organ.
It was at the age of five that music first took a hold of Dick and there was never any question of what he was going to do with his life. He grew up in musically rich Tulsa, Oklahoma and was earning money, playing in clubs by the age of 12.
From 1968 through 1972, Dick toured with Phil Driscol and Yurmama, playing both Hammond B-3 Organ and foot bass simultaneously – - – appearing with Yurmama on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1971. He then returned to Tulsa and formed the Tulsa County Band, along with fellow Tulsa musician, (and fellow member of “Yurmama”) famed drummer, Jamie Oldaker.
Prior to that time, and through their friendship with fellow “Tulsa Sound” musicians, Teegarden and Van Winkle, Dick and Jamie were hired by Bob Seger, who, at the time, was forming a new band to record the album Back in ‘72 which contained the original Seger classic “Turn the Page.”
In 1978 Dick recorded To The Limit with Joan Armatrading and accompanied her on a world tour in 1980.
Dick has recorded with legendary producers Tom Dowd, Phil Ramone and Glyn Johns. He has also performed and/or recorded with artists such as J.J. Cale, Peter Tosh, Yvonne Elliman, Marci Levy, Victoria Williams, Delaney Bramlett, Bernie Leaden, Stephen Stills, Freddie King, B.B. King, Albert King, Etta James, Carlos Santana, Victoria Williams, Perry Farrell (Jane’s Addiction), Richie Hayward (Little Feat), jazz bassist John Heard (Count Basie), Pat Senatore (ex-Tijuana Brass), Lester Chambers (The Chambers Brothers), Vince Gill and Pure Prairie League.
After taking a sabbatical from the music world for nearly ten years, Dick returned to Los Angeles in 1998 and began composing songs that would make up his first solo album, Within Arms Reach. Dick is involved in a number of projects, including performing and promoting his latest CD, State of Mind. As of 2005, Dick makes his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
http://www.noise11.com/news/longtime-eric-clapton-keyboard-player-dick-sims-dies-20111209
He had suffered from a stroke and lung cancer in recent years.
Stamford, where he lived for the past 35 years, honored him with a Ralph MacDonald Day in July. He performed a couple of songs, including “Just the Two of Us,” with long-time colleague Dennis Collins, at the event.
Born in Harlem on March 15, 1944, MacDonald was a working musician as well as a writer and producer. Until health problems sidelined him a year and a half ago, he continued to tour regularly as a member of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band.
The son of legendary Trinidadian calypso performer MacBeth the Great, MacDonald began performing as a small boy when his father would have him dance on the drums.
At 17, he landed a job in Harry Belafonte’s steel band, where he remained for the next decade. After telling Belafonte that the singer needed more authentic calypso music, he wrote an album of songs that Belafonte recorded as “Calypso Carnival” in 1966.
Soon afterwards, MacDonald launched his own publishing company, Antisia Music, with his friends Bill Salter and William Eaton.
They gave the company two years to establish itself, and MacDonald later recalled that the time had almost expired when he started working with Roberta Flack. He pitched her a song he had written with Salter, “Where Is The Love,” and her recording with Donny Hathaway became a multi-million-seller.
Through Antisia and as an acclaimed percussionist, MacDonald worked with a who’s who of artists, including Amy Winehouse, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross, Bette Midler, Diana Ross and Grover Washington Jr., for whom he wrote the hit “Mr. Magic.”
MacDonald won Grammy awards as a performer and producer for “Calypso Breakdown,” which appeared on the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack.
“Just the Two Of Us” was first released on Washington’s 1980 album “Winelight,” which MacDonald wrote and produced.
He also released several albums of his own over the years.
MacDonald is survived by his wife, Grace, and a daughter, Nefra-Ann.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/ralph-macdonald-dies-67-grammy-winning-artist-wrote-love-article-1.993313#ixzz1guoeCzet
Veteran film and television actor Dan Frazer, best known for his role as Captain Frank McNeil on the 1970s television series "Kojak," has died in New York. He was 90.
Frazer's daughter, Susanna Frazer, said Sunday her father died of cardiac arrest Dec. 16 at his home in Manhattan. She described him as a "very truthful, naturalistic actor."
Frazer started playing character roles in various television series and films in the 1950s. His films include "Cleopatra Jones," "Take the Money and Run" "Gideon's Trumpet" and "Deconstructing Harry." Besides "Kojak," Frazer's television appearances include "Car 54, Where Are You," "Route 66," "Barney Miller" and "Law & Order."
He was a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and an adviser to The Workshop Theatre Co.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/18/4131558/actor-frazer-capt-mcneil-on-kojak.html
According to various online sources, Tasmanian-born director Don Sharp has died. He was 89.
A former small-time actor (The Planter's Wife, The Cruel Sea), Sharp (born April 19, 1922, in Hobart) is best remembered for several low-budget thrillers he directed in the 1960s, such as Hammer's The Kiss of the Vampire (1963), the sci-fier Curse of the Fly (1965), and the The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966), starring Christopher Lee as the East Asian fiend.
Sharp's other notable efforts include The Death Wheelers / Psychomania (1973), about a youth gang terrorizing a small town; the IRA drama Hennessy (1975), with A-listers Rod Steiger and Lee Remick; The Thirty Nine Steps, an underrated remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 classic starring Robert Powell in Robert Donat's old man-on-the-run role; and the slow-moving adventure drama Bear Island, featuring Vanessa Redgrave and Donald Sutherland.
Sharp also worked on British television, directing several episodes from The Avengers. Other notable television efforts were a made-for-TV remake of The Four Feathers (1978) starring Beau Bridges and Jane Seymour, and the miniseries A Woman of Substance (1984) and its sequel, Hold the Dream (1986). Adapted from novels by Barbara Taylor Bradford, the latter two are made watchable by the presence of Deborah Kerr, who, as the rags-to-riches businesswoman, elevates the cheesy proceedings to the realm of compelling melodrama whenever she is on screen. Jenny Seagrove plays the young Kerr in both films; the extensive supporting cast features old and new talent, among them John Mills, Liam Neeson, Miranda Richardson, Barry Bostwick, Diane Baker, George Baker, Peter Chelsom, Gayle Hunnicutt, and Christopher Gable.
Sharp's last credits were several episodes of the television series Act of Will (1989), another adaptation of a Barbara Taylor Bradford novel.
http://www.altfg.com/blog/movie/don-sharp-director-death-kiss-of-the-vampire-psychomania/
Keyboard player Dick Sims, a driving force in Eric Clapton’s band for more than 10 years, has passed away.
Dick played on Bob Seger’s landmark album ‘Back in ‘72’ before joining the Eric Clapton band in 1974. He played the keyboards for Clapton’s comeback classic ‘461 Ocean Boulevard’ on songs like ‘I Shot The Sherriff’ and ‘Willie and the Hand Jive’ and continued with Clapton on the tracks ‘Lay Down Sally’, ‘Wonderful Tonight’ and ‘Cocaine’.
During his career he also recorded with J.J. Cale, Peter Tosh, Joan Armatrading, Yvonne Elliman and Vince Gill.
Sims took a 10-year break before returning with his solo album ‘Within Arms Reach’ in 2008.
Noise11.com will publish more details of the death of Dick Sims as they become known.
Dick Sims official bio:
Arguably one of the best rock keyboard players in the world, Dick Sim’s work on the Hammond B-3 Organ is unparalleled. The “Tulsa Sound” musician is most widely recognized for his distinctive keyboard work on such Eric Clapton hits as “I Shot The Sheriff”, “Wonderful Tonight”, “Cocaine” and “Lay Down Sally” just to name a few. He joined Eric Clapton and His Band in 1974 and was instrumental in the making of Eric’s “comeback” album, 461 Ocean Boulevard. It was the beginning of a long-standing period of musical magic involving fellow Tulsa musicians Jamie Oldaker and the late Carl Radle (Derek & The Dominos). There has been much talk among rock fans about the Tulsa influences in Clapton’s music during that time period, with much of that talk centered on Dick’s work on the Hammond B-3 Organ.
It was at the age of five that music first took a hold of Dick and there was never any question of what he was going to do with his life. He grew up in musically rich Tulsa, Oklahoma and was earning money, playing in clubs by the age of 12.
From 1968 through 1972, Dick toured with Phil Driscol and Yurmama, playing both Hammond B-3 Organ and foot bass simultaneously – - – appearing with Yurmama on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1971. He then returned to Tulsa and formed the Tulsa County Band, along with fellow Tulsa musician, (and fellow member of “Yurmama”) famed drummer, Jamie Oldaker.
Prior to that time, and through their friendship with fellow “Tulsa Sound” musicians, Teegarden and Van Winkle, Dick and Jamie were hired by Bob Seger, who, at the time, was forming a new band to record the album Back in ‘72 which contained the original Seger classic “Turn the Page.”
In 1978 Dick recorded To The Limit with Joan Armatrading and accompanied her on a world tour in 1980.
Dick has recorded with legendary producers Tom Dowd, Phil Ramone and Glyn Johns. He has also performed and/or recorded with artists such as J.J. Cale, Peter Tosh, Yvonne Elliman, Marci Levy, Victoria Williams, Delaney Bramlett, Bernie Leaden, Stephen Stills, Freddie King, B.B. King, Albert King, Etta James, Carlos Santana, Victoria Williams, Perry Farrell (Jane’s Addiction), Richie Hayward (Little Feat), jazz bassist John Heard (Count Basie), Pat Senatore (ex-Tijuana Brass), Lester Chambers (The Chambers Brothers), Vince Gill and Pure Prairie League.
After taking a sabbatical from the music world for nearly ten years, Dick returned to Los Angeles in 1998 and began composing songs that would make up his first solo album, Within Arms Reach. Dick is involved in a number of projects, including performing and promoting his latest CD, State of Mind. As of 2005, Dick makes his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
http://www.noise11.com/news/longtime-eric-clapton-keyboard-player-dick-sims-dies-20111209
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Russell Garcia, QSM (12 April 1916 – 20 November 2011)[1] was a composer and arranger who wrote a wide variety of music for screen, stage and broadcast.
Garcia was born in Oakland, California, but was a long time resident of New Zealand. Self-taught, his break came when he substituted for an ill colleague on a radio show. Subsequently, he went on to become composer/arranger at NBC Studios for such televison shows as Rawhide 1962and Laredo, 1965-67, MGM and Universal Studios and films like the George Pal, MGM films, The Time Machine (1960) and Atlantis, the Lost Continent (1961), as well as his orchestrated themes for Father Goose (1964) and The Benny Goodman Story (1956). He collaborated with many musical and Hollywood stars - Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Anita O’Day, Mel Torme, Julie London, Oscar Peterson, Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson, Walt Disney, Orson Welles, Jane Wyman, Ronald Reagan, Andy Williams, Judy Garland, Henry Mancini, and Charlie Chaplin making arrangements and conducting orchestras as needed.
Obit-
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/6003995/Composer-Russ-Garcia-95-dies
Ex-heavyweight contender Ron Lyle dies at 70
(AP) –
DENVER (AP) — Former heavyweight contender Ron Lyle, who fought Muhammad Ali for the title in 1975 and later battled George Foreman, has died in Denver at age 70.
Lyle died Saturday from complications from a sudden stomach ailment, said Ron McKinney, a Salvation Army official in Denver. Details weren't immediately available.
McKinney, a family friend who hired Lyle to start the charity's boxing program in 2002, said Lyle retired from the program last December but continued to work out at the gym every day
"I just saw him yesterday (Friday)," McKinney said. "You looked at him and he looked like he was ready to step into the ring. Shake hands with him, and it's like shaking a piece of steel."
The gym, called Red Shield Cox-Lyle Boxing, would show replays of Lyle's fights every Friday night as inspiration for some of the program's 100 students, McKinney said.
Lyle lost to both Ali and Foreman in the mid-1970s.
After his career in boxing, Lyle lived in Las Vegas where he trained young boxers and worked as a security guard.
He made a brief comeback in 1995 at age 54 and hoped to fight Foreman again in a fight jokingly billed as "Old and Older." Lyle hoped for a better result than the 1976 match in which he took a beating from Foreman. He also toyed with the idea of fighting Mike Tyson but neither fight materialized.
Garcia was born in Oakland, California, but was a long time resident of New Zealand. Self-taught, his break came when he substituted for an ill colleague on a radio show. Subsequently, he went on to become composer/arranger at NBC Studios for such televison shows as Rawhide 1962and Laredo, 1965-67, MGM and Universal Studios and films like the George Pal, MGM films, The Time Machine (1960) and Atlantis, the Lost Continent (1961), as well as his orchestrated themes for Father Goose (1964) and The Benny Goodman Story (1956). He collaborated with many musical and Hollywood stars - Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Anita O’Day, Mel Torme, Julie London, Oscar Peterson, Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson, Walt Disney, Orson Welles, Jane Wyman, Ronald Reagan, Andy Williams, Judy Garland, Henry Mancini, and Charlie Chaplin making arrangements and conducting orchestras as needed.
Obit-
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/6003995/Composer-Russ-Garcia-95-dies
From the Daily Freeman:
KINGSTON — The leader of the 1970s disco act Andrea True Connection has died, according to the funeral home handling her arrangements.
Andrea Marie Truden, who lived on Studio Lane in Woodstock, was 68 when she died on Nov. 7 at Kingston Hospital, the Gilpatric-VanVliet Funeral Home said in an obituary. A cause of death was not released.
Truden’s band is best known for the 1976 disco hit “More, More, More” (see video below) and also released the singles “N.Y. You Got Me Dancing” in 1977 and “What’s Your Name, What’s Your Number” in 1978.
"More, More, More" currently is being used in a TV commercial for the Post cereral Honey Bunches of Oats.
Truden, known professionally as Andrea True, also had a career as an adult film actress, according to the movie website imdb.com.
She was born in 1943 in Nashville, Tenn.
Truden was to be cremated, according to the funeral home.
KINGSTON — The leader of the 1970s disco act Andrea True Connection has died, according to the funeral home handling her arrangements.
Andrea Marie Truden, who lived on Studio Lane in Woodstock, was 68 when she died on Nov. 7 at Kingston Hospital, the Gilpatric-VanVliet Funeral Home said in an obituary. A cause of death was not released.
Truden’s band is best known for the 1976 disco hit “More, More, More” (see video below) and also released the singles “N.Y. You Got Me Dancing” in 1977 and “What’s Your Name, What’s Your Number” in 1978.
"More, More, More" currently is being used in a TV commercial for the Post cereral Honey Bunches of Oats.
Truden, known professionally as Andrea True, also had a career as an adult film actress, according to the movie website imdb.com.
She was born in 1943 in Nashville, Tenn.
Truden was to be cremated, according to the funeral home.
Ex-heavyweight contender Ron Lyle dies at 70
(AP) –
DENVER (AP) — Former heavyweight contender Ron Lyle, who fought Muhammad Ali for the title in 1975 and later battled George Foreman, has died in Denver at age 70.
Lyle died Saturday from complications from a sudden stomach ailment, said Ron McKinney, a Salvation Army official in Denver. Details weren't immediately available.
McKinney, a family friend who hired Lyle to start the charity's boxing program in 2002, said Lyle retired from the program last December but continued to work out at the gym every day
"I just saw him yesterday (Friday)," McKinney said. "You looked at him and he looked like he was ready to step into the ring. Shake hands with him, and it's like shaking a piece of steel."
The gym, called Red Shield Cox-Lyle Boxing, would show replays of Lyle's fights every Friday night as inspiration for some of the program's 100 students, McKinney said.
Lyle lost to both Ali and Foreman in the mid-1970s.
After his career in boxing, Lyle lived in Las Vegas where he trained young boxers and worked as a security guard.
He made a brief comeback in 1995 at age 54 and hoped to fight Foreman again in a fight jokingly billed as "Old and Older." Lyle hoped for a better result than the 1976 match in which he took a beating from Foreman. He also toyed with the idea of fighting Mike Tyson but neither fight materialized.
Irving Elman, whose writing credits include the comic play "Uncle Willie," which
ran on Broadway for four months in 1956-57, and who later worked as a producer
on such TV dramas as "Matt Lincoln," "Slattery's People" and "The High
Chaparral," died of cardiopulmonary arrest Tuesday at a retirement home in La
Jolla, his family announced. He was 96.
-Los Angeles Times wire reports
Eleazar actor Lorenzo Garci'a Gutiérrez, who outside better known as Chelelo Jr passed away during the first hours of Wednesday in the General Hospital of this border city, Tijuana, informed the authorities into nosocomio. The artist, original of the city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, of 53 years of age, according to the medical report, died because of a chronic renal insufficiency, by diabetic complication. Garci'a Gutiérrez, also cinematographic director, was born the 13 from December of 1957 and had the opportunity to also act with personalities of the stature of the deceased Antonio Aguilar, who in addition was his great friend. Eleazar Garci'a participated in films like the fall of Colossus, the Major, All were brave, Dyer and Boots… texanas and wild bullets, that were productions in video format home, and whose thematic the Mafia and the drug trafficking try generally on. (Notimex)
ran on Broadway for four months in 1956-57, and who later worked as a producer
on such TV dramas as "Matt Lincoln," "Slattery's People" and "The High
Chaparral," died of cardiopulmonary arrest Tuesday at a retirement home in La
Jolla, his family announced. He was 96.
-Los Angeles Times wire reports
Eleazar actor Lorenzo Garci'a Gutiérrez, who outside better known as Chelelo Jr passed away during the first hours of Wednesday in the General Hospital of this border city, Tijuana, informed the authorities into nosocomio. The artist, original of the city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, of 53 years of age, according to the medical report, died because of a chronic renal insufficiency, by diabetic complication. Garci'a Gutiérrez, also cinematographic director, was born the 13 from December of 1957 and had the opportunity to also act with personalities of the stature of the deceased Antonio Aguilar, who in addition was his great friend. Eleazar Garci'a participated in films like the fall of Colossus, the Major, All were brave, Dyer and Boots… texanas and wild bullets, that were productions in video format home, and whose thematic the Mafia and the drug trafficking try generally on. (Notimex)
Drummer Paul Motian dies at 80
November 22, 2011; Los Angeles Times
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/11/drummer-paul-motian-dies.html
Paul Motian, a beautifully subtle, versatile drummer who recorded with a wealth of jazz artists over his long career, died early Tuesday in New York City. He was 80.
The cause was complications of myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone-marrow disorder, his friend Carole d’Inverno Frisell told the New York Times.
First rising to prominence as a member of Bill Evans' trio on landmark recordings such as "Waltz for Debby" and "Sunday at the Village Vanguard," Motian also enjoyed long partnerships with Keith Jarrett, Bill Frisell and Charlie Haden on top of a long, rich career as a bandleader that began with "Conception Vessel" in 1972.
In recent years, Motian showed little signs of slowing down, with 2011 yielding albums with saxophonist Bill McHenry and a recording from a generation-spanning 2009 show with Brad Mehldau, Haden and Lee Konitz, "Live at Birdland."
November 22, 2011; Los Angeles Times
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/11/drummer-paul-motian-dies.html
Paul Motian, a beautifully subtle, versatile drummer who recorded with a wealth of jazz artists over his long career, died early Tuesday in New York City. He was 80.
The cause was complications of myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone-marrow disorder, his friend Carole d’Inverno Frisell told the New York Times.
First rising to prominence as a member of Bill Evans' trio on landmark recordings such as "Waltz for Debby" and "Sunday at the Village Vanguard," Motian also enjoyed long partnerships with Keith Jarrett, Bill Frisell and Charlie Haden on top of a long, rich career as a bandleader that began with "Conception Vessel" in 1972.
In recent years, Motian showed little signs of slowing down, with 2011 yielding albums with saxophonist Bill McHenry and a recording from a generation-spanning 2009 show with Brad Mehldau, Haden and Lee Konitz, "Live at Birdland."
Fantasy novelist Anne McCaffrey has passed away. She was 85 years old. GalleyCat confirmed the sad news with Random House this afternoon.
McCaffrey’s career began with Restoree in 1967. She went on to earn a dedicated following for her beloved series, Dragonriders of Pern. At her website, McCaffrey answered letters from dedicated fans through November. This GalleyCat editor will never forget reading her books as a middle-school kid. Share your memories in the comments section…
You can read her complete biography at her site. An excerpt: “Her first novel, Restoree, was written as a protest against the absurd and unrealistic portrayals of women in s-f novels in the 50s and early 60s. It is, however, in the handling of broader themes and the worlds of her imagination, particularly the two series The Ship Who Sang and the fourteen novels about the Dragonriders of Pern that Ms. McCaffrey’s talents as a story-teller are best displayed.”
On her blog, she offered this advice for aspiring writers: “First — keep reading. Writers are readers. Writers are also people who can’t not write. Second, follow Heinlein’s rules for getting published: 1. Write it. 2. Finish it. 3. Send it out. 4. Keep sending it out until someone sends you a check. There are variations on that, but that’s basically what works.”
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/anne-mccaffrey-has-died_b42826
McCaffrey’s career began with Restoree in 1967. She went on to earn a dedicated following for her beloved series, Dragonriders of Pern. At her website, McCaffrey answered letters from dedicated fans through November. This GalleyCat editor will never forget reading her books as a middle-school kid. Share your memories in the comments section…
You can read her complete biography at her site. An excerpt: “Her first novel, Restoree, was written as a protest against the absurd and unrealistic portrayals of women in s-f novels in the 50s and early 60s. It is, however, in the handling of broader themes and the worlds of her imagination, particularly the two series The Ship Who Sang and the fourteen novels about the Dragonriders of Pern that Ms. McCaffrey’s talents as a story-teller are best displayed.”
On her blog, she offered this advice for aspiring writers: “First — keep reading. Writers are readers. Writers are also people who can’t not write. Second, follow Heinlein’s rules for getting published: 1. Write it. 2. Finish it. 3. Send it out. 4. Keep sending it out until someone sends you a check. There are variations on that, but that’s basically what works.”
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/anne-mccaffrey-has-died_b42826
Bison Smith dead at age 38
Nov 22, 2011 - 10:03 PM
Independent wrestler Bison Smith (a/k/a Mark Smith) reportedly died on Tuesday in Puerto Rico at the age of 38, according to PRWrestling.com. The initial cause of death is listed in the story as heart complications.
Powell's POV: Smith worked regularly in Japan and also had a run with Ring of Honor in 2009. He was scheduled to wrestle this weekend in Puerto Rico for the World Wrestling Council.
http://www.prowrestling.net/artman/publish/miscnews/article10021963.shtml
Nov 22, 2011 - 10:03 PM
Independent wrestler Bison Smith (a/k/a Mark Smith) reportedly died on Tuesday in Puerto Rico at the age of 38, according to PRWrestling.com. The initial cause of death is listed in the story as heart complications.
Powell's POV: Smith worked regularly in Japan and also had a run with Ring of Honor in 2009. He was scheduled to wrestle this weekend in Puerto Rico for the World Wrestling Council.
http://www.prowrestling.net/artman/publish/miscnews/article10021963.shtml
Syd Cain (1918-2011)
21st November 2011
Production designer Syd Cain was born on 16th April 1918 in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England.
His career in film spanned almost 50 years, starting as a draughtsman on the 1947 film "The Inheritance" for the production company Two Cities Films at Denham Studios, where he went on to work on several productions. Prior to getting in to film, Cain served during World War II, where a number of skills would later prove useful. In 1954, Cain continued his draughtsman duties but this time for Warwick Film Productions on "Hell Below Zero" where Albert R. Broccoli was co-producer.
Although the James Bond film series was still a few years away form kicking off, Cain collaborated with a lot of the talent that would form the 'Bond family'. His first film as Assistant Art Director was "The Cockleshell Heroes" (1955), again for Broccoli's Warwick Films, with 007 writer Richard Maibaum and director of photography Ted Moore. Other high profile films in this pre-Bond era included "Our Man in Havana" (1959) and "Lolita" (1962).
Broccoli hand-picked their first Bond crew largely from his experience with Warwick Films, and selected Cain as his Art Director on "Dr. No", where one of his most memorable contributions was the dragon tank on Crab Key island. Working under legendary production designer Ken Adam, the team created an unique look for the film which is still as stunning today as it was 50 years ago.
Next up was "Call Me Bwana" for Saltzman & Broccoli's EON Productions, before he continued Bond duties on "From Russia With Love". When Ken Adam was unavailable to return, Cain stepped up but was credited only for Art Direction rather than Production Design. Highlights of Cain's work on the second Bond film include the luxurious Chess Match set, where he echoed the theme of a pawn throughout the design, and 007's customised attache case, which is still one of the most recognisable of the Bond gadgets.
With Adam returning on "Goldfinger", Cain bowed out from Bond for a while as he worked as Production Designer on films such as "The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders" (1965), "Fahrenheit 451" (1966) and the Harry Palmer adventure "Billion Dollar Brain" (1967" for Harry Saltzman.
007 came calling again in 1969 when Cain returned for "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", this time in the top job as Production Designer. This was perhaps the pinnacle of his career and he was responsible for Blofeld's iconic hideout at Piz Gloria. EON had to pay out for a complete interior refit to get the look that production designer Cain was after when the Swiss authorities refused planning permission for his original plans and a fully functioning helicopter pad also had to be built at EON's expense. This still proved cheaper than paying for another set of Adam extravagances however.
When Sean Connery returned for "Diamonds Are Forever" in 1971, so did Ken Adam, so Cain dipped out of Bond again to work on "Frenzy" and "Fear Is The Key". He returned as Art Director for "Live And Let Die" in 1973, where he designed many of the film's set pieces and gadgets, including Bond's buzz-saw Rolex watch, which recently sold at auction for almost $200,000.
Although he wouldn't work on the Bond series with Roger Moore after his first outing as 007, Cain was Production Designer on four of his non-Bond outings during his tenure: "Gold" (1974) and "Shout at the Devil" (1976) for director Peter Hunt, and "The Wild Geese" (1978) and "The Sea Wolves" (1980) for producer Euan Lloyd. Cain also worked in television in the mid-70s as Production Designer on numerous episodes of "The New Avengers".
His Production Designer duties continued at a slower pace through the 1980s with credits such as "Lion of the Desert" (1981), "Supergirl" (1984), "Wild Geese II" (1985) and finally "Tusks" (1988). Switching to a storyboard artist, Cain drew for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988) and "The Neverending Story III" (1994) before returning to 007 duty for one final time on "GoldenEye" in 1995 to storyboard the film and design gadgets for Q-branch. This final James Bond credit meant that Cain had worked in the art department on the debut films of four 007 actors: Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan.
His last production credit was as a storyboard artist for Michael Cain's 2000 film "Shiner". He remained active in the film community, attending conventions and reunions.
Syd Cain died on Monday 21st November 2011 at the age of 93.
John Neville, the British actor who became a legend of the Canadian stage, died Saturday in Toronto, his family announced. He was 86.
According to a statement released by the family through the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Neville was cared for in his last weeks at Wellesley Central Place, a long-term care facility. The cause of death was not immediately disclosed.
Neville was born in London in 1925, and after a distinguished acting career in Britain, he made his way to Canada in the early 1970s. While he never stopped acting, he was also a widely respected theatre-company administrator, serving as artistic director of the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, the Neptune Theatre in Halifax and the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ont.
As a young man, Neville served with the Royal Navy, before making his way to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art for formal acting training.
He was a mainstay of London's storied Old Vic Company in the 1950s, filling some of William Shakespeare's most famous roles, including Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet," Richard in "Richard II," and both Othello and Iago in "Othello." He also appeared on Broadway in "Romeo and Juliet" and "Saint Joan."
After moving to Canada in 1972, he continued acting in theatre, television and film.
Neville reached a broader audience when he played the lead role in Terry Gilliam's 1988 film "The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen," and later when he played the Well-Manicured Man on "The X-Files" from 1995 to 1998.
He also appeared on shows ranging from "Queer as Folk" to "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
Neville received the Order of the British Empire in 1965, and was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2006.
He is survived by his wife and six children.
The family requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to The Actors' Fund of Canada, or PAL Toronto.
The statement said a private funeral is to be held "immediately." Plans for a memorial will be announced in the New Year.
Written or videotaped messages of remembrance, condolence or celebration can be sent to racheln@canadafilm.com, or courtesy of Rachel Neville Fox at Noble Caplan Abrams, 1260 Yonge Street, 2nd floor, Toronto, Ontario, M4T 1W6.
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Entertainment/20111120/john-neville-obituary-111120/
According to a statement released by the family through the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Neville was cared for in his last weeks at Wellesley Central Place, a long-term care facility. The cause of death was not immediately disclosed.
Neville was born in London in 1925, and after a distinguished acting career in Britain, he made his way to Canada in the early 1970s. While he never stopped acting, he was also a widely respected theatre-company administrator, serving as artistic director of the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, the Neptune Theatre in Halifax and the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ont.
As a young man, Neville served with the Royal Navy, before making his way to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art for formal acting training.
He was a mainstay of London's storied Old Vic Company in the 1950s, filling some of William Shakespeare's most famous roles, including Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet," Richard in "Richard II," and both Othello and Iago in "Othello." He also appeared on Broadway in "Romeo and Juliet" and "Saint Joan."
After moving to Canada in 1972, he continued acting in theatre, television and film.
Neville reached a broader audience when he played the lead role in Terry Gilliam's 1988 film "The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen," and later when he played the Well-Manicured Man on "The X-Files" from 1995 to 1998.
He also appeared on shows ranging from "Queer as Folk" to "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
Neville received the Order of the British Empire in 1965, and was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2006.
He is survived by his wife and six children.
The family requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to The Actors' Fund of Canada, or PAL Toronto.
The statement said a private funeral is to be held "immediately." Plans for a memorial will be announced in the New Year.
Written or videotaped messages of remembrance, condolence or celebration can be sent to racheln@canadafilm.com, or courtesy of Rachel Neville Fox at Noble Caplan Abrams, 1260 Yonge Street, 2nd floor, Toronto, Ontario, M4T 1W6.
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Entertainment/20111120/john-neville-obituary-111120/
Arizona Blues Hall of Fame bassist Paul Thomas dies
by Ed Masley - Nov. 21, 2011 03:01 PM
The Arizona Republic
Paul Thomas, an Arizona Blues Hall of Fame inductee who joined Pat Roberts & the Heymakers on upright bass in 2009, died early Sunday morning, Nov. 20.
He was 56.
No cause of death has been determined.
"I am still in shock," Roberts says. "Paul was an amazing person and an incredible bassist, a very unique individual, and had a great sense of humor. He was loved by many and will be missed. His passing leaves a huge hole in the Phoenix roots music scene."
Bob Corritore, a Valley blues musician who owns and operates the Rhythm Room, says "Paul was the kind of guy who loved to play. He loved the roots of the music and actively sought out all the best. And he always seemed to be able to add some levity to the situation with a corny joke or quirky humor. He was just Paul Thomas."
The Tuscon-born bassist performed and recorded with some notable musicians in his life, including Bo Diddley, Ike Turner, Carol Fran, Kim Wilson, Pinetop Perkins, Henry Gray, Jimmy Rogers, Nappy Brown, Lynwood Slim, Rick Estrin, Kid Ramos, Junior Watson and Louisiana Red.
He also filled in on occasion with local band Big Nick and the Gila Monsters in addition to playing with the Hoodoo Kings, Rhythm Room All-Stars, the Jump Back Brothers and Midnite Blues.
"Paul was really the premiere blues bass player in this town," Corritore says. "He was the guy that I used for recording sessions and he was a member of the Rhythm Room All-Stars for many, many years, worked with Chico Chism, Big Pete Pearson and a number of others in that band. He just was one of those guys that really understood the nuances of blues bass playing."
Thomas started on electric bass and switched to upright.
"He grew into the upright," Corritore says, "and then became a master of it."
Thomas was inducted to the Arizona Blues Hall of Fame in 1999.
The Rocket 88s will host a memorial tribute to Thomas at the Rhythm Room on Saturday, Dec. 3.
"Paul has left us before his time," Corritore says. "And this town is not gonna be as good of a place with him absent."
by Ed Masley - Nov. 21, 2011 03:01 PM
The Arizona Republic
Paul Thomas, an Arizona Blues Hall of Fame inductee who joined Pat Roberts & the Heymakers on upright bass in 2009, died early Sunday morning, Nov. 20.
He was 56.
No cause of death has been determined.
"I am still in shock," Roberts says. "Paul was an amazing person and an incredible bassist, a very unique individual, and had a great sense of humor. He was loved by many and will be missed. His passing leaves a huge hole in the Phoenix roots music scene."
Bob Corritore, a Valley blues musician who owns and operates the Rhythm Room, says "Paul was the kind of guy who loved to play. He loved the roots of the music and actively sought out all the best. And he always seemed to be able to add some levity to the situation with a corny joke or quirky humor. He was just Paul Thomas."
The Tuscon-born bassist performed and recorded with some notable musicians in his life, including Bo Diddley, Ike Turner, Carol Fran, Kim Wilson, Pinetop Perkins, Henry Gray, Jimmy Rogers, Nappy Brown, Lynwood Slim, Rick Estrin, Kid Ramos, Junior Watson and Louisiana Red.
He also filled in on occasion with local band Big Nick and the Gila Monsters in addition to playing with the Hoodoo Kings, Rhythm Room All-Stars, the Jump Back Brothers and Midnite Blues.
"Paul was really the premiere blues bass player in this town," Corritore says. "He was the guy that I used for recording sessions and he was a member of the Rhythm Room All-Stars for many, many years, worked with Chico Chism, Big Pete Pearson and a number of others in that band. He just was one of those guys that really understood the nuances of blues bass playing."
Thomas started on electric bass and switched to upright.
"He grew into the upright," Corritore says, "and then became a master of it."
Thomas was inducted to the Arizona Blues Hall of Fame in 1999.
The Rocket 88s will host a memorial tribute to Thomas at the Rhythm Room on Saturday, Dec. 3.
"Paul has left us before his time," Corritore says. "And this town is not gonna be as good of a place with him absent."
Paul Yandell - Died 11-21-2011 ( Country ) Born 1935 - Guitarist - Worked with The Louvin Brothers, Kitty Wells, Jerry Reed, Dolly Parton, Steve Wariner, Hank Thompson, Les Paul, Woody Herman, The Everly Bros. Mary Chapin Carpenter, Perry Como, Roger Whitaker and Chet Atkins.
Link to obit-
http://www.cmt.com/news/news-in-brief/1674807/guitarist-paul-yandell-chet-atkins-longtime-sideman-dies-at-age-76.jhtml
Link to obit-
http://www.cmt.com/news/news-in-brief/1674807/guitarist-paul-yandell-chet-atkins-longtime-sideman-dies-at-age-76.jhtml
Jack Elinson, a veteran TV comedy writer and producer, died Thursday of natural causes at his Santa Monica home, the Writers Guild of America, West announced Monday. He was 89.
Elinson, who cut his teeth writing jokes for Walter Winchell's newspaper column, rose to prominence in the 1950s working on such Golden Age fare as "The Jimmy Durante Show," "The Johnny Carson Show" and "The Colgate Comedy Hour." The following decade saw him writing for series including "The Danny Thomas Show," "The Andy Griffith Show," "Hogan's Heroes," "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." and "That Girl," the latter two of which he also produced.
Elinson's other credits include "Good Times" and "One Day at a Time" and "The Facts of Life." Nominated for an Emmy in the Comedy Series category in 1961, he won a WGA award for co-writing the 1962 "Manhunt" episode of "The Andy Griffith Show."
He is survived by his four children, his second wife Estelle and her three children, and 12 grandchildren.
Related Articles: "New Wave" Director Éric Rohmer Dies at 89 'Andy Griffith' Producer Aaron Ruben Dies at 95
Elinson, who cut his teeth writing jokes for Walter Winchell's newspaper column, rose to prominence in the 1950s working on such Golden Age fare as "The Jimmy Durante Show," "The Johnny Carson Show" and "The Colgate Comedy Hour." The following decade saw him writing for series including "The Danny Thomas Show," "The Andy Griffith Show," "Hogan's Heroes," "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." and "That Girl," the latter two of which he also produced.
Elinson's other credits include "Good Times" and "One Day at a Time" and "The Facts of Life." Nominated for an Emmy in the Comedy Series category in 1961, he won a WGA award for co-writing the 1962 "Manhunt" episode of "The Andy Griffith Show."
He is survived by his four children, his second wife Estelle and her three children, and 12 grandchildren.
Related Articles: "New Wave" Director Éric Rohmer Dies at 89 'Andy Griffith' Producer Aaron Ruben Dies at 95
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Sheila Allen- obituary- Actor who excelled at playing women of strength,
wit and charmSheila Allen, who has died aged 78, was an actor of
extraordinary range and power, and a delightful, independent-minded woman.
wit and charmSheila Allen, who has died aged 78, was an actor of
extraordinary range and power, and a delightful, independent-minded woman.
From 1966 to 1978, she was a stalwart of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her
Stratford-upon-Avon career reached a triumphant climax when she played the
eponymous heroine of Pam Gems's Queen Christina. While there were many great
roles that one would have loved to see her play – such as Shakespeare's
Cleopatra and Ibsen's Hedda Gabler – she was an invaluable team-player who
always made her individual mark.Sheila was born in Chard, Somerset.
Stratford-upon-Avon career reached a triumphant climax when she played the
eponymous heroine of Pam Gems's Queen Christina. While there were many great
roles that one would have loved to see her play – such as Shakespeare's
Cleopatra and Ibsen's Hedda Gabler – she was an invaluable team-player who
always made her individual mark.Sheila was born in Chard, Somerset.
After attending Howell's school, in Denbigh, Clwyd, she trained at the Royal
Academy of Dramatic Art from 1949 to 1951. Repertory seasons followed, first in
Yeovil and Pitlochry and then for the Arena theatre company in Birmingham, where her roles included Katherina in The Taming of the Shrew and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. From Birmingham she moved to Bristol Old Vic which, in the late 1950s, was the most prestigious of rep companies. There she played in
Shakespeare, Shaw and once-fashionable contemporary plays such as Peter
Ustinov's Romanoff and Juliet.
Academy of Dramatic Art from 1949 to 1951. Repertory seasons followed, first in
Yeovil and Pitlochry and then for the Arena theatre company in Birmingham, where her roles included Katherina in The Taming of the Shrew and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. From Birmingham she moved to Bristol Old Vic which, in the late 1950s, was the most prestigious of rep companies. There she played in
Shakespeare, Shaw and once-fashionable contemporary plays such as Peter
Ustinov's Romanoff and Juliet.
It was in London in January 1962 that Sheila caught the all-important eye of the Observer's drama critic, Kenneth Tynan. Reviewing the whimsically titled On a Clear Day You Can See Canterbury, at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, Tynan described her as "a new actress of explosive charm and authority with a tough, pouting presence that banishes cuteness and even encourages awe". Writing about her again, four months later, in James Brabazon's The Last Ally at the Lyric Hammersmith, Tynan became even more fervent, hailing "a troubled, big-boned, life-illuminating creature called Sheila Allen" and adding: "I am tempted to place her on the shortlist of postwar actresses to whom I might one day append the adjective great.
"Even if greatness may have eluded her, Sheila was always brilliant at playing women of
strength, wit and charm. Her marriage, in 1964, to the stage and TV director
David Jones, guided her career towards the RSC, where Jones became an artistic
associate. She appeared, under his direction, in David Mercer's Belcher's Luck
(1966), earning great praise for her portrayal of the haughty, English
upper-class Helen Rawston. At Stratford, she had a voice and a presence that
could command the intimidating main theatre but could also be modulated to suit
the demands of the intimate Other Place.Sheila twice played Goneril in
Stratford King Lears: for Trevor Nunn in 1968 and for Buzz Goodbody in 1974. I
also recall her as a memorable Constance in John Barton's 1974 version of King
John, where she turned a woman who often seems a Niagara of self-pity into an
awesome icon of grief. But it was Gems's Queen Christina, first seen at the
Other Place in 1977, that gave her the role of a lifetime and enabled her to
inspire comparisons to Garbo in her ability to capture the cross-dressing
monarch's sexual ambivalence and inner contest between desire and
duty.As if to escape the clutches of institutional theatre, and to
assert her feminist independence, Sheila often appeared in the emergent London
fringe of the late 1960s. I have a vivid memory of her as a whip-brandishing
dominatrix in a show called Vagina Rex at the old Arts Lab in Drury Lane in
1969.The pattern of her career was partly determined by her husband's
movements. When was invited to form a permanent rep company at the Brooklyn
Academy of Music in 1980, she became a pivotal member of the team. She was
particularly fine as Paulina in a Brooklyn production of The Winter's Tale,
savagely clawing Leontes's attendants and at one point staging a sitdown protest
in his bedroom. She returned, with Jones, to London to appear in 1987 at
Hampstead theatre in Richard Nelson's Between East and West where she appeared,
opposite John Woodvine, as a Czech exile viewing American life with an
enthralling mixture of pride and prejudice.Sheila acted periodically in
films and on television, most notably in The Prisoner in 1967 and as Cassie
Manson in Bouquet of Barbed Wire (1976). In the latter, the intensity of the
relationship between her possessive husband (Frank Finlay) and manipulative
daughter (Susan Penhaligon) came to be mirrored in her involvement with her
son-in-law (James Aubrey). The following year saw a sequel, Another Bouquet. But
she was, essentially, a stage animal and, when not acting, showed herself to be
a born teacher.She taught at the Lee Strasberg institute in New York
and, more recently, at the Guildford School of Acting. To my astonishment, she
turned up a few years ago in a text-and-performance degree class at King's
College London, where I was lecturing. I should not have been surprised: Sheila
was not only a superb actor but also a passionate, intellectually voracious
woman always driven by a hunger to learn.She is survived by her sons,
Joe and Jesse. David, from whom she was divorced, died in 2008. A sister, Joan,
also predeceased her.• Sheila Allen, actor, born 22 October 1932; died
13 October 2011http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2011/oct/20/sheila-allen
strength, wit and charm. Her marriage, in 1964, to the stage and TV director
David Jones, guided her career towards the RSC, where Jones became an artistic
associate. She appeared, under his direction, in David Mercer's Belcher's Luck
(1966), earning great praise for her portrayal of the haughty, English
upper-class Helen Rawston. At Stratford, she had a voice and a presence that
could command the intimidating main theatre but could also be modulated to suit
the demands of the intimate Other Place.Sheila twice played Goneril in
Stratford King Lears: for Trevor Nunn in 1968 and for Buzz Goodbody in 1974. I
also recall her as a memorable Constance in John Barton's 1974 version of King
John, where she turned a woman who often seems a Niagara of self-pity into an
awesome icon of grief. But it was Gems's Queen Christina, first seen at the
Other Place in 1977, that gave her the role of a lifetime and enabled her to
inspire comparisons to Garbo in her ability to capture the cross-dressing
monarch's sexual ambivalence and inner contest between desire and
duty.As if to escape the clutches of institutional theatre, and to
assert her feminist independence, Sheila often appeared in the emergent London
fringe of the late 1960s. I have a vivid memory of her as a whip-brandishing
dominatrix in a show called Vagina Rex at the old Arts Lab in Drury Lane in
1969.The pattern of her career was partly determined by her husband's
movements. When was invited to form a permanent rep company at the Brooklyn
Academy of Music in 1980, she became a pivotal member of the team. She was
particularly fine as Paulina in a Brooklyn production of The Winter's Tale,
savagely clawing Leontes's attendants and at one point staging a sitdown protest
in his bedroom. She returned, with Jones, to London to appear in 1987 at
Hampstead theatre in Richard Nelson's Between East and West where she appeared,
opposite John Woodvine, as a Czech exile viewing American life with an
enthralling mixture of pride and prejudice.Sheila acted periodically in
films and on television, most notably in The Prisoner in 1967 and as Cassie
Manson in Bouquet of Barbed Wire (1976). In the latter, the intensity of the
relationship between her possessive husband (Frank Finlay) and manipulative
daughter (Susan Penhaligon) came to be mirrored in her involvement with her
son-in-law (James Aubrey). The following year saw a sequel, Another Bouquet. But
she was, essentially, a stage animal and, when not acting, showed herself to be
a born teacher.She taught at the Lee Strasberg institute in New York
and, more recently, at the Guildford School of Acting. To my astonishment, she
turned up a few years ago in a text-and-performance degree class at King's
College London, where I was lecturing. I should not have been surprised: Sheila
was not only a superb actor but also a passionate, intellectually voracious
woman always driven by a hunger to learn.She is survived by her sons,
Joe and Jesse. David, from whom she was divorced, died in 2008. A sister, Joan,
also predeceased her.• Sheila Allen, actor, born 22 October 1932; died
13 October 2011http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2011/oct/20/sheila-allen
Friday, October 14, 2011
Paul Kent dies at 80
Actor-director was key figure in L.A. theater
By Variety Staff
Film, television and stage actor-director Paul Kent, a leading figure in the Los Angeles and regional theatrical community for more than 50 years, died at his Hollywood Hills home on Friday, Oct. 7. He was 80 and succumbed after a lengthy battle with multiple myeloma.
In addition to decades as an actor in films, television and the legitimate stage, Kent founded 35 years ago and was artistic director of the original Melrose Theater. He subsequently partnered with actress Jomarie Ward, and together they produced, taught and directed a wide variety of theater, eliciting DramaLogue and Drama Critics Circle awards, including the Margaret Harford Award naming the Melrose "the most consistently praiseworthy theater in Los Angeles." In between their own productions, the theater was leased for many years to HBO Films and independent theatrical productions.
Born in Brooklyn, Kent trained as an actor and theatrical entrepreneur at the Pasadena Playhouse, interrupting his career with a stint in the Army during the Korean War.
In addition to his prolific work as an actor, he was an activist largely responsible for the Equity Waiver policy in Hollywood. He also served as an assistant to prominent acting coach Sanford Meisner, was the first actor signed to a contract by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's Desilu Studios and was selected to be Ball's assistant director during her time developing new performers at her Desilu Theater.
In a career spanning more than 100 television and feature film appearances, he was first seen onscreen in "December Bride" and "My Three Sons" and continued through "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.," "Hawaii Five-O" to "The West Wing," "Frasier" and "E.R." He recurred on "Hotel," "Falcon Crest," "Mod Squad," "T.J. Hooker" and "Lou Grant"as well as the soap operas "Port Charles" and "The Young and the Restless." Among two dozen movies for television were the original and a later second version of Manson murders story "Helter Skelter," as well as 1973's "The Alpha Caper," with Henry Fonda and Leonard Nimoy; "Hoover"; "The Astronaut"; "The President's Plane Is Missing"; "Family Flight"; and "Death Valley."
Film credits include "Seconds," with Rock Hudson; "Lifeguard"; "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3"; and "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn," as Commander Beach; and Alex Monty Canawati's "Return to Babylon."
Onstage, he appeared as Nathan Detroit with Jack Jones in "Guys and Dolls"; John Saxon in "The Price"; Lainie Kazan, "Fiddler on the Roof"; Carole Cook and Barbara Rush, "Father's Day"; William Shatner, "Otherwise Engaged"; and Richard Dreyfuss, "Mamma's House."
Heinz Bennent (born July 18, 1921 - died October 12, 2011 was a German actor.
His career began after the end of World War II in Göttingen. He moved to Switzerland in the 1970s, where he still lived until his death. His children, Anne Bennent and David Bennent also work as actors.
Awards
In 1980 Bennent was nominated for the César Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Last Metro
Selected filmography
1994 : Maigret et le fantôme: Gustav Jonker
1986 : Le Tiroir secret
1982 : Via degli specchi
1982 : L'amour des femmes
1982 : Espion, lève-toi : Meyer
1981 : Possession : Heinrich
1980 : The Last Metro : Lucas Steiner
1980 : From the Life of the Marionettes : Arthur Brenner
1979 : The Tin Drum : Greff
1978 : Germany in Autumn
1977 : The Serpent's Egg : Hans Vergerus
1975 - 1983 : Derrick
Season 2, Episode 6: "Paddenberg" (1975)
Season 5, Episode 9: "Lissas Vater" (1978)
Season 9, Episode 3: "Nachts in einem fremden Haus" (1982)
Season 10, Episode 3: "Geheimnisse einer Nacht" (1983)
1975 : Sisters, or the Balance of Happiness
1975 : The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum : Dr. Hubert Blorna
1975 : The Net
1975 : Ice Age
1972 : Der Kommissar
Obit- (in German)-
http://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/buehne-und-konzert/zum-tod-des-schauspielers-heinz-bennent-tiefe-ist-gar-nicht-noetig-11490810.html
Actor-director was key figure in L.A. theater
By Variety Staff
Film, television and stage actor-director Paul Kent, a leading figure in the Los Angeles and regional theatrical community for more than 50 years, died at his Hollywood Hills home on Friday, Oct. 7. He was 80 and succumbed after a lengthy battle with multiple myeloma.
In addition to decades as an actor in films, television and the legitimate stage, Kent founded 35 years ago and was artistic director of the original Melrose Theater. He subsequently partnered with actress Jomarie Ward, and together they produced, taught and directed a wide variety of theater, eliciting DramaLogue and Drama Critics Circle awards, including the Margaret Harford Award naming the Melrose "the most consistently praiseworthy theater in Los Angeles." In between their own productions, the theater was leased for many years to HBO Films and independent theatrical productions.
Born in Brooklyn, Kent trained as an actor and theatrical entrepreneur at the Pasadena Playhouse, interrupting his career with a stint in the Army during the Korean War.
In addition to his prolific work as an actor, he was an activist largely responsible for the Equity Waiver policy in Hollywood. He also served as an assistant to prominent acting coach Sanford Meisner, was the first actor signed to a contract by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's Desilu Studios and was selected to be Ball's assistant director during her time developing new performers at her Desilu Theater.
In a career spanning more than 100 television and feature film appearances, he was first seen onscreen in "December Bride" and "My Three Sons" and continued through "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.," "Hawaii Five-O" to "The West Wing," "Frasier" and "E.R." He recurred on "Hotel," "Falcon Crest," "Mod Squad," "T.J. Hooker" and "Lou Grant"as well as the soap operas "Port Charles" and "The Young and the Restless." Among two dozen movies for television were the original and a later second version of Manson murders story "Helter Skelter," as well as 1973's "The Alpha Caper," with Henry Fonda and Leonard Nimoy; "Hoover"; "The Astronaut"; "The President's Plane Is Missing"; "Family Flight"; and "Death Valley."
Film credits include "Seconds," with Rock Hudson; "Lifeguard"; "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3"; and "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn," as Commander Beach; and Alex Monty Canawati's "Return to Babylon."
Onstage, he appeared as Nathan Detroit with Jack Jones in "Guys and Dolls"; John Saxon in "The Price"; Lainie Kazan, "Fiddler on the Roof"; Carole Cook and Barbara Rush, "Father's Day"; William Shatner, "Otherwise Engaged"; and Richard Dreyfuss, "Mamma's House."
Heinz Bennent (born July 18, 1921 - died October 12, 2011 was a German actor.
His career began after the end of World War II in Göttingen. He moved to Switzerland in the 1970s, where he still lived until his death. His children, Anne Bennent and David Bennent also work as actors.
Awards
In 1980 Bennent was nominated for the César Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Last Metro
Selected filmography
1994 : Maigret et le fantôme: Gustav Jonker
1986 : Le Tiroir secret
1982 : Via degli specchi
1982 : L'amour des femmes
1982 : Espion, lève-toi : Meyer
1981 : Possession : Heinrich
1980 : The Last Metro : Lucas Steiner
1980 : From the Life of the Marionettes : Arthur Brenner
1979 : The Tin Drum : Greff
1978 : Germany in Autumn
1977 : The Serpent's Egg : Hans Vergerus
1975 - 1983 : Derrick
Season 2, Episode 6: "Paddenberg" (1975)
Season 5, Episode 9: "Lissas Vater" (1978)
Season 9, Episode 3: "Nachts in einem fremden Haus" (1982)
Season 10, Episode 3: "Geheimnisse einer Nacht" (1983)
1975 : Sisters, or the Balance of Happiness
1975 : The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum : Dr. Hubert Blorna
1975 : The Net
1975 : Ice Age
1972 : Der Kommissar
Obit- (in German)-
http://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/buehne-und-konzert/zum-tod-des-schauspielers-heinz-bennent-tiefe-ist-gar-nicht-noetig-11490810.html
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Charlie Daniels Band member and a co-writer of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" has been killed in a car crash in Tennessee.
A news release from the band says Joel "Taz" DiGregorio died Wednesday night in a crash on Interstate 40 west of Nashville. He was on his way to meet the band's tour bus. DiGregorio's car was the only one involved in the crash.
The 67-year-old DiGregorio is a longtime keyboard player and vocalist for the group. Daniels called him "one of a kind" in the band's news release.
DiGregorio was band member for over 40 years. He was from Southbridge, Mass.
The Charlie Daniels Band has canceled a concert Thursday in Cumming, Ga., and a show in Waterbury, Conn., on Saturday.
Kim Brown (2 July 1945 – 11 October 2011) was a British-born Finland-based musician, best-known for his band, The Renegades, which reached its greatest success during the 1960s.
Brown lived much of his life in Finland, where he made a career in rock music.[1] In later years, he played with such musicians as Hasse Walli and Markus Raivio. The Renegades recorded four albums in Finland. The tribute album, Moments with Kim Brown (2005), was made after Brown lost his voice in a cancer operation.
Brown wrote many of the #1 songs for The Renegades, and played guitar and was the lead vocalist of the band.[2] He later had a band called The Cadillacs, who also played in Italy with some success.
Death
Kim Brown died of cancer, aged 66, on 11 October 2011.
Gary Holcombe, a Broadway veteran and one of Kansas City's most respected actors, died Monday. He was 66.
Holcombe was a versatile performer who was equally at home with drama, comedy and musicals. He possessed a warm and flexible baritone voice, which he put to good use in a wide range of shows. His signature role was Daddy Warbucks in "Annie," a role he played in the Broadway production’s fourth national tour. It was on that tour that he met his wife, actress/director Donna Thomason, who played Grace Farrell in the show. They married in 1984.
Holcombe also performed in three productions of "Annie" at Starlight Theater between 1994 and 2004. The latter production was directed by Thomason. Holcombe once estimated that he had performed the role 1,500 times and even owned his own costume.
Beginning in 1992, Holcombe for several years played Ebenezer Scrooge in the annual production of "A Christmas Carol" at what was then Missouri Repertory Theatre. Holcombe had worked at most of the professional theaters in Kansas City, including the Rep, the American Heartland Theatre, the New Theatre, Starlight and the old Tiffany's Attic Dinner Playhouse.
Significant roles Holcombe played in Kansas City included the dashing El Gallo in "The Fantasticks," a Cockney soldier from the underworld in "Saint Joan," Pap Finn in "Big River," Pharaoh in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," and a mentally damaged war veteran who uncovers family secrets in the Canadian drama "The Drawer Boy."
Holcombe was a founding member of Kansas City Actors Theatre, and it was with that group that he performed some of his strongest dramatic roles, including a southern Missouri patriarch in "Talley & Son," an eccentric island gossip in "The Cripple of Inishmaan" and German conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler in "Taking Sides,"
Holcombe was born in Decatur, Ga., and raised on a dairy farm near Bardstown, Ky. He attended Morehead State University and Indiana State University. In 1969 he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam, where he was severely wounded. He temporarily lost hearing in one ear when a piece of shrapnel entered his ear canal. His legs were so badly injured that doctors told him he might never walk without a limp, but he proved them wrong.
He moved to New York with the idea of becoming an opera singer, but he found it easier to land jobs in musical theater. In 1988 Holcombe and Thomason decided to get out of New York. They moved to Kansas City, where Thomason had grown up.
For several years Holcombe taught acting at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and directed student productions. Holcombe played guitar and banjo, talents he acquired after being cast in two of the sequels to "Smoke on the Mountain." He was a bicycling enthusiast, an outdoorsman and an avid hunter.
Services are scheduled at 10 a.m. Monday at Unity Temple on the Plaza. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Gary Holcombe “Dare to Risk” Scholarship Fund at the Country Club Bank, PO Box 410889, Kansas City, MO, 64141. The fund was to become active Oct. 13.
http://www.kansascity.com/2011/10/11/3200747/veteran-kc-actor-gary-holcombe.html
A news release from the band says Joel "Taz" DiGregorio died Wednesday night in a crash on Interstate 40 west of Nashville. He was on his way to meet the band's tour bus. DiGregorio's car was the only one involved in the crash.
The 67-year-old DiGregorio is a longtime keyboard player and vocalist for the group. Daniels called him "one of a kind" in the band's news release.
DiGregorio was band member for over 40 years. He was from Southbridge, Mass.
The Charlie Daniels Band has canceled a concert Thursday in Cumming, Ga., and a show in Waterbury, Conn., on Saturday.
Kim Brown (2 July 1945 – 11 October 2011) was a British-born Finland-based musician, best-known for his band, The Renegades, which reached its greatest success during the 1960s.
Brown lived much of his life in Finland, where he made a career in rock music.[1] In later years, he played with such musicians as Hasse Walli and Markus Raivio. The Renegades recorded four albums in Finland. The tribute album, Moments with Kim Brown (2005), was made after Brown lost his voice in a cancer operation.
Brown wrote many of the #1 songs for The Renegades, and played guitar and was the lead vocalist of the band.[2] He later had a band called The Cadillacs, who also played in Italy with some success.
Death
Kim Brown died of cancer, aged 66, on 11 October 2011.
Gary Holcombe, a Broadway veteran and one of Kansas City's most respected actors, died Monday. He was 66.
Holcombe was a versatile performer who was equally at home with drama, comedy and musicals. He possessed a warm and flexible baritone voice, which he put to good use in a wide range of shows. His signature role was Daddy Warbucks in "Annie," a role he played in the Broadway production’s fourth national tour. It was on that tour that he met his wife, actress/director Donna Thomason, who played Grace Farrell in the show. They married in 1984.
Holcombe also performed in three productions of "Annie" at Starlight Theater between 1994 and 2004. The latter production was directed by Thomason. Holcombe once estimated that he had performed the role 1,500 times and even owned his own costume.
Beginning in 1992, Holcombe for several years played Ebenezer Scrooge in the annual production of "A Christmas Carol" at what was then Missouri Repertory Theatre. Holcombe had worked at most of the professional theaters in Kansas City, including the Rep, the American Heartland Theatre, the New Theatre, Starlight and the old Tiffany's Attic Dinner Playhouse.
Significant roles Holcombe played in Kansas City included the dashing El Gallo in "The Fantasticks," a Cockney soldier from the underworld in "Saint Joan," Pap Finn in "Big River," Pharaoh in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," and a mentally damaged war veteran who uncovers family secrets in the Canadian drama "The Drawer Boy."
Holcombe was a founding member of Kansas City Actors Theatre, and it was with that group that he performed some of his strongest dramatic roles, including a southern Missouri patriarch in "Talley & Son," an eccentric island gossip in "The Cripple of Inishmaan" and German conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler in "Taking Sides,"
Holcombe was born in Decatur, Ga., and raised on a dairy farm near Bardstown, Ky. He attended Morehead State University and Indiana State University. In 1969 he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam, where he was severely wounded. He temporarily lost hearing in one ear when a piece of shrapnel entered his ear canal. His legs were so badly injured that doctors told him he might never walk without a limp, but he proved them wrong.
He moved to New York with the idea of becoming an opera singer, but he found it easier to land jobs in musical theater. In 1988 Holcombe and Thomason decided to get out of New York. They moved to Kansas City, where Thomason had grown up.
For several years Holcombe taught acting at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and directed student productions. Holcombe played guitar and banjo, talents he acquired after being cast in two of the sequels to "Smoke on the Mountain." He was a bicycling enthusiast, an outdoorsman and an avid hunter.
Services are scheduled at 10 a.m. Monday at Unity Temple on the Plaza. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Gary Holcombe “Dare to Risk” Scholarship Fund at the Country Club Bank, PO Box 410889, Kansas City, MO, 64141. The fund was to become active Oct. 13.
http://www.kansascity.com/2011/10/11/3200747/veteran-kc-actor-gary-holcombe.html
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Rock singer and guitarist George Yanagi, known as the "Japanese Eric Clapton" by his fans, died of kidney failure at a Yokohama hospital on Monday, his family said Friday. He was 63.
After forming his own band, "Yanagi George & Rainy Wood," in the mid-1970s, Yanagi had several smash hits including "Weeping in the Rain" (Ame ni naiteru) in 1978 and "Smile on Me" (Hohoemi no hosoku), which was featured in a TV commercial by cosmetic maker Shiseido Co. in 1979.
Rainy Wood disbanded in 1981 but got back together in 2005. The band took part in the Fuji Rock Festival, one of Japan's largest outdoor music festivals, in 2008.
(Mainichi Japan) October 14, 2011
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/arts/news/20111014p2g00m0et127000c.html
Fritz Manes dies at 79
Produced a dozen of Clint Eastwood's films
By Variety Staff
Fritz Manes, who had a long association with Clint Eastwood, producing, exec producing or associate producing a dozen of the films Eastwood directed between 1977 and 1986 and serving in a number of other capacities on some of these films, including as an actor, production manager and second assistant director, died of lung and brain cancer on Sept. 27 in Sherman Oaks, Calif. He was 79.
Born and raised in Oakland, Calif., Manes first met Eastwood in high school in the late 1940s, and they remained close friends for decades. Manes attended UC Berkeley and earned a B.A. from UCLA. He spent four years in the Marine Corps, serving for 14 months in the Korean War.
Manes worked a variety of jobs for several decades, including as a local disk jockey in Oakland and for a newsradio station in San Francisco. In 1973, however, he began to work at Eastwood production company Malpaso.
In 1976, Manes was credited as assistant to the producer on Dirty Harry film "The Enforcer" (directed by James Fargo and produced by Robert Daley) and on "The Outlaw Josey Wales," directed by Eastwood and produced by Daley, Fargo and John G. Wilson). For "Josie Wales," Manes scouted locations with lenser Bruce Surtees and Fargo.
He was associate producer on Eastwood films "The Gauntlet," "Every Which Way but Loose" "Escape From Alcatraz" and "Bronco Billy," which were made between 1977 and 1980, as well as second a.d. on "Bronco Billy" as well as "Any Which Way You Can."
Manes' responsibilities on Eastwood's pics gradually increased: He moved up from associate producer to producer on "Any Which Way You Can"; starting with "Firefox" he would frequently occupy dual roles as exec producer or producer and unit production manager on a number of Eastwood's mid-'80s titles. He even picked up credits for stuntwork on "Sudden Impact" and "City Rider."
Manes also had bit parts in a number of Eastwood beginning with "The Enforcer" and ending with "Pale Rider."
In 1986 Manes also produced Sondra Locke directorial effort "Ratboy." Manes' relationship with Eastwood, both professional and personal, came to an end amid strife during the production of "Heartbreak Ridge" that same year.
Manes also served on the California Film Commission, appointed by then-Gov. George Deukmejian, during the 1980s.
He is survived by his wife, Audi.
After forming his own band, "Yanagi George & Rainy Wood," in the mid-1970s, Yanagi had several smash hits including "Weeping in the Rain" (Ame ni naiteru) in 1978 and "Smile on Me" (Hohoemi no hosoku), which was featured in a TV commercial by cosmetic maker Shiseido Co. in 1979.
Rainy Wood disbanded in 1981 but got back together in 2005. The band took part in the Fuji Rock Festival, one of Japan's largest outdoor music festivals, in 2008.
(Mainichi Japan) October 14, 2011
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/arts/news/20111014p2g00m0et127000c.html
Fritz Manes dies at 79
Produced a dozen of Clint Eastwood's films
By Variety Staff
Fritz Manes, who had a long association with Clint Eastwood, producing, exec producing or associate producing a dozen of the films Eastwood directed between 1977 and 1986 and serving in a number of other capacities on some of these films, including as an actor, production manager and second assistant director, died of lung and brain cancer on Sept. 27 in Sherman Oaks, Calif. He was 79.
Born and raised in Oakland, Calif., Manes first met Eastwood in high school in the late 1940s, and they remained close friends for decades. Manes attended UC Berkeley and earned a B.A. from UCLA. He spent four years in the Marine Corps, serving for 14 months in the Korean War.
Manes worked a variety of jobs for several decades, including as a local disk jockey in Oakland and for a newsradio station in San Francisco. In 1973, however, he began to work at Eastwood production company Malpaso.
In 1976, Manes was credited as assistant to the producer on Dirty Harry film "The Enforcer" (directed by James Fargo and produced by Robert Daley) and on "The Outlaw Josey Wales," directed by Eastwood and produced by Daley, Fargo and John G. Wilson). For "Josie Wales," Manes scouted locations with lenser Bruce Surtees and Fargo.
He was associate producer on Eastwood films "The Gauntlet," "Every Which Way but Loose" "Escape From Alcatraz" and "Bronco Billy," which were made between 1977 and 1980, as well as second a.d. on "Bronco Billy" as well as "Any Which Way You Can."
Manes' responsibilities on Eastwood's pics gradually increased: He moved up from associate producer to producer on "Any Which Way You Can"; starting with "Firefox" he would frequently occupy dual roles as exec producer or producer and unit production manager on a number of Eastwood's mid-'80s titles. He even picked up credits for stuntwork on "Sudden Impact" and "City Rider."
Manes also had bit parts in a number of Eastwood beginning with "The Enforcer" and ending with "Pale Rider."
In 1986 Manes also produced Sondra Locke directorial effort "Ratboy." Manes' relationship with Eastwood, both professional and personal, came to an end amid strife during the production of "Heartbreak Ridge" that same year.
Manes also served on the California Film Commission, appointed by then-Gov. George Deukmejian, during the 1980s.
He is survived by his wife, Audi.
Lenser Andrew Laszlo dies
Was cinematographer on 'First Blood,' 'The Warriors'
By Variety Staff
Emmy-nominated cinematographer Andrew Laszlo, who shot "The Night They Raided Minsky's," "The Warriors," "First Blood" and Star Trek V," as well as the miniseries "Shogun," died Oct. 7. He was 85.
Born in Papa, Hungary, Laszlo started as a camera apprentice at the Motion Picture Studios of Budapest when WWII began. He and his family were sent to a Nazi concentration camp, and he was the clan's sole survivor; in 1947 he immigrated to the U.S. and became a freelance still photographer. Drafted into the U.S. Army, he served in the Signal Corps as a combat photographer during the Korean War.
After working for a producer of industrial films in Pittsburgh, he began work in television during the mid-'50s, at first as a camera operator on "The Phil Silvers Show." He was cinematographer on "Naked City" in 1962-63 and later on the series "Coronet Blue."
Laszlo made his feature d.p. debut on "One Potato, Two Potato," shot the documentary "The Beatles at Shea Stadium" and then worked as with a young Francis Ford Coppola on the latter's 1966 film "You're a Big Boy Now."
In 1968 he lensed William Friedkin's "The Night They Raided Minsky's." From that point Laszlo was in demand as a cinematographer for more than two decades.
His next bigscreen projects included Arthur Hiller's "The Out of Towners," Herbert Ross' "The Owl and the Pussycat" and "Somebody Killed Her Husband." For TV his efforts included Delbert Mann's 1973 telepic "The Man Without a Country," drawing an Emmy nom; miniseries "The Dain Curse"; and epic mini "Shogun," for which he picked up a second Emmy nom.
Laszlo shot three films for director Walter Hill: "The Warriors," "Southern Comfort" and "Streets of Fire."
Other bigscreen work during the 1980s included Sylvester Stallone starrer "First Blood," MGM documentary "That's Dancing!," "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins," "Poltergeist II: The Other Side," "Innerspace" and "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier." His final films, in the early 1990s, were "Ghost Dad" and the musical "Newsies."
Laszlo was busy in other spheres as well. He had formed Andrew Laszlo Prods. as a producer of commercials, and he taught other cinematographers. In addition, he was the author of several books, including, with Andrew Quicke, the text " Every Frame a Rembrandt: Art and Practice of Cinematography" in 2000. His autobiography, "Footnote to History," was published in 2002, and he also wrote a novel.
He is survived by his wife, Ann; three sons and a daughter; and five grandchildren.
BALTIMORE — Patricia Modell, the wife of former NFL team owner Art Modell and a longtime television actress, has died. She was 80.
Mrs. Modell was pronounced dead around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, the Baltimore Ravens announced after being contacted by Modell’s son. She had been hospitalized for around five months.
During a 22-year acting career, Patricia Breslin Modell performed on the New York stage, in motion pictures and on television. She starred in the “People’s Choice” television series with actor Jackie Cooper and played the role of Meg Baldwin in the soap opera “General Hospital.” She also played Laura Brooks on the prime time soap opera “Peyton Place.”
Among her many television other roles, she was a regular on “Twilight Zone,” ‘’Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” ‘’Perry Mason,” and “Maverick.”
At one point in her career, Mrs. Modell had appeared on more television shows than any other woman in U.S. history. Her record was eventually broken by one of her best friends, Lucille Ball.
She married Art Modell, former owner and president of the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens, in 1969. She retired from acting at that time and immersed herself in her family and community improvement.
In Cleveland, Mrs. Modell served on the board at Ursuline College and was active in the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Cleveland Musical Arts Association, the Cleveland Ballet, the Playhouse Square Foundation, and the Cerebral Palsy Association. She actively supported the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and she started and funded, along with her husband, the Hospice of the Western Reserve in Cleveland.
After Art Modell moved his football team to Baltimore in 1996, his wife served on several boards, including: House of Ruth, Gilchrist Hospice, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and The Walters Art Museum. In addition, the Modells contributed money to the St. Vincent’s Center and the Baltimore Museum of Art.
The Modells also gave $3.5 million to the Lyric Opera House, which was recently renamed the Patricia and Arthur Modell Performing Arts Center at The Lyric.
The Modells pledged $5 million to help start a public boarding school for disadvantaged students. The SEED School, which opened in the Fall of 2008, recruits middle and high school students from around the state. The gift is believed to have been one of the largest private contributions to a single public school in Maryland.
Born in New York, Patricia Modell was the daughter of Edward and Marjorie Breslin. Her father was a Special Sessions Judge in New York City. Monsignor Patrick Breslin, for whom she was named, was Judge Breslin’s eldest brother.
Mrs. Modell graduated from the Academy of Mt. St. Ursuline and the College of New Rochelle.
She is survived by her husband, two sons, John and David, and six grandchildren.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/patricia-modell-actress-and-wife-of-art-modell-dies/2011/10/12/gIQAFW6ifL_story.html
William A. "Billy" Naylor, 95, thought to be the last surviving star of the silent era "Our Gang" comedies, died Oct. 5 at Royal Palm Skilled Nursing Facility.
The "Our Gang" kids, aka "The Little Rascals," were featured in dozens of short comedy films from the mid-1920s to the early 1940s about the adventures, and misadventures, of a group of children. The cast changed several times over the years. Billy Naylor appeared in several early silent films when the main stars were Mickey Daniels, Joe Cobb, Allen "Farina" Hoskins and Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison.
The more famous George "Spanky" McFarland, Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer joined the gang for "talkies" in the 1930s.
Naylor's "Our Gang" movies included three made in 1926:
"Uncle Tom's Uncle": The gang puts on a version of "Uncle Tom's Cabin"; Naylor played a boy in the audience.
"The Fourth Alarm": The gang forms a junior fire department, with Naylor a member of the squad.
"Telling Whoppers": The gang takes on the neighborhood bully. Naylor overhears the bully's mother tell a police officer her son is missing and reports it to his buddies.
Before joining "Our Gang," Naylor appeared in several "Hey Fellas!" comic short films — including "The Klynick" and "Tin Hoss," both made in 1925 — that copied the "Our Gang" format.
After "Our Gang," Naylor appeared in many more movies, including Cecil B. DeMille's "The King of Kings" in 1927, in which he played a boy watching Jesus fix a doll, and "Special Agent" in 1935 starring Bette Davis, in which he was a newsboy.
"Uncle Bill was a very private person," said Jeanne Dunphy, 87, of Sebastian, Naylor's niece. "He never talked about being in movies. I remember telling him, 'You were a movie star.' Maybe he wasn't a movie star like Carole Lombard or Clark Gable, but he was a movie star in our eyes."
Naylor was born in San Francisco and lived most of his life in Los Angeles before moving to Vero Beach in February to be close to family members.
At 18, Naylor became the youngest actor at the time to join of the Screen Actors Guild. After appearing in movies, he continued to work at the Warner Bros. studio as casting director and sound effects editor.
He was preceded in death by his wife of more than 30 years, Valena Blaney.
Dunphy remembers seeing "Reducing," a 1931 comedy about a beauty parlor/"reducing" salon in which Naylor appeared, with her uncle and aunt in the late 1960s at a Hollywood theater specializing in classic films.
"The theater was filled with people in their 30s and 40s interested in old movies," she said. "But Uncle Bill didn't tell anyone that he was there and he had been in that movie. That's just how he was."
No services are scheduled. Arrangements are by The Neptune Society.
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/oct/14/our-gang-star-from-silent-era-dies-at-vero-beach/
Was cinematographer on 'First Blood,' 'The Warriors'
By Variety Staff
Emmy-nominated cinematographer Andrew Laszlo, who shot "The Night They Raided Minsky's," "The Warriors," "First Blood" and Star Trek V," as well as the miniseries "Shogun," died Oct. 7. He was 85.
Born in Papa, Hungary, Laszlo started as a camera apprentice at the Motion Picture Studios of Budapest when WWII began. He and his family were sent to a Nazi concentration camp, and he was the clan's sole survivor; in 1947 he immigrated to the U.S. and became a freelance still photographer. Drafted into the U.S. Army, he served in the Signal Corps as a combat photographer during the Korean War.
After working for a producer of industrial films in Pittsburgh, he began work in television during the mid-'50s, at first as a camera operator on "The Phil Silvers Show." He was cinematographer on "Naked City" in 1962-63 and later on the series "Coronet Blue."
Laszlo made his feature d.p. debut on "One Potato, Two Potato," shot the documentary "The Beatles at Shea Stadium" and then worked as with a young Francis Ford Coppola on the latter's 1966 film "You're a Big Boy Now."
In 1968 he lensed William Friedkin's "The Night They Raided Minsky's." From that point Laszlo was in demand as a cinematographer for more than two decades.
His next bigscreen projects included Arthur Hiller's "The Out of Towners," Herbert Ross' "The Owl and the Pussycat" and "Somebody Killed Her Husband." For TV his efforts included Delbert Mann's 1973 telepic "The Man Without a Country," drawing an Emmy nom; miniseries "The Dain Curse"; and epic mini "Shogun," for which he picked up a second Emmy nom.
Laszlo shot three films for director Walter Hill: "The Warriors," "Southern Comfort" and "Streets of Fire."
Other bigscreen work during the 1980s included Sylvester Stallone starrer "First Blood," MGM documentary "That's Dancing!," "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins," "Poltergeist II: The Other Side," "Innerspace" and "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier." His final films, in the early 1990s, were "Ghost Dad" and the musical "Newsies."
Laszlo was busy in other spheres as well. He had formed Andrew Laszlo Prods. as a producer of commercials, and he taught other cinematographers. In addition, he was the author of several books, including, with Andrew Quicke, the text " Every Frame a Rembrandt: Art and Practice of Cinematography" in 2000. His autobiography, "Footnote to History," was published in 2002, and he also wrote a novel.
He is survived by his wife, Ann; three sons and a daughter; and five grandchildren.
BALTIMORE — Patricia Modell, the wife of former NFL team owner Art Modell and a longtime television actress, has died. She was 80.
Mrs. Modell was pronounced dead around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, the Baltimore Ravens announced after being contacted by Modell’s son. She had been hospitalized for around five months.
During a 22-year acting career, Patricia Breslin Modell performed on the New York stage, in motion pictures and on television. She starred in the “People’s Choice” television series with actor Jackie Cooper and played the role of Meg Baldwin in the soap opera “General Hospital.” She also played Laura Brooks on the prime time soap opera “Peyton Place.”
Among her many television other roles, she was a regular on “Twilight Zone,” ‘’Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” ‘’Perry Mason,” and “Maverick.”
At one point in her career, Mrs. Modell had appeared on more television shows than any other woman in U.S. history. Her record was eventually broken by one of her best friends, Lucille Ball.
She married Art Modell, former owner and president of the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens, in 1969. She retired from acting at that time and immersed herself in her family and community improvement.
In Cleveland, Mrs. Modell served on the board at Ursuline College and was active in the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Cleveland Musical Arts Association, the Cleveland Ballet, the Playhouse Square Foundation, and the Cerebral Palsy Association. She actively supported the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and she started and funded, along with her husband, the Hospice of the Western Reserve in Cleveland.
After Art Modell moved his football team to Baltimore in 1996, his wife served on several boards, including: House of Ruth, Gilchrist Hospice, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and The Walters Art Museum. In addition, the Modells contributed money to the St. Vincent’s Center and the Baltimore Museum of Art.
The Modells also gave $3.5 million to the Lyric Opera House, which was recently renamed the Patricia and Arthur Modell Performing Arts Center at The Lyric.
The Modells pledged $5 million to help start a public boarding school for disadvantaged students. The SEED School, which opened in the Fall of 2008, recruits middle and high school students from around the state. The gift is believed to have been one of the largest private contributions to a single public school in Maryland.
Born in New York, Patricia Modell was the daughter of Edward and Marjorie Breslin. Her father was a Special Sessions Judge in New York City. Monsignor Patrick Breslin, for whom she was named, was Judge Breslin’s eldest brother.
Mrs. Modell graduated from the Academy of Mt. St. Ursuline and the College of New Rochelle.
She is survived by her husband, two sons, John and David, and six grandchildren.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/patricia-modell-actress-and-wife-of-art-modell-dies/2011/10/12/gIQAFW6ifL_story.html
William A. "Billy" Naylor, 95, thought to be the last surviving star of the silent era "Our Gang" comedies, died Oct. 5 at Royal Palm Skilled Nursing Facility.
The "Our Gang" kids, aka "The Little Rascals," were featured in dozens of short comedy films from the mid-1920s to the early 1940s about the adventures, and misadventures, of a group of children. The cast changed several times over the years. Billy Naylor appeared in several early silent films when the main stars were Mickey Daniels, Joe Cobb, Allen "Farina" Hoskins and Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison.
The more famous George "Spanky" McFarland, Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer joined the gang for "talkies" in the 1930s.
Naylor's "Our Gang" movies included three made in 1926:
"Uncle Tom's Uncle": The gang puts on a version of "Uncle Tom's Cabin"; Naylor played a boy in the audience.
"The Fourth Alarm": The gang forms a junior fire department, with Naylor a member of the squad.
"Telling Whoppers": The gang takes on the neighborhood bully. Naylor overhears the bully's mother tell a police officer her son is missing and reports it to his buddies.
Before joining "Our Gang," Naylor appeared in several "Hey Fellas!" comic short films — including "The Klynick" and "Tin Hoss," both made in 1925 — that copied the "Our Gang" format.
After "Our Gang," Naylor appeared in many more movies, including Cecil B. DeMille's "The King of Kings" in 1927, in which he played a boy watching Jesus fix a doll, and "Special Agent" in 1935 starring Bette Davis, in which he was a newsboy.
"Uncle Bill was a very private person," said Jeanne Dunphy, 87, of Sebastian, Naylor's niece. "He never talked about being in movies. I remember telling him, 'You were a movie star.' Maybe he wasn't a movie star like Carole Lombard or Clark Gable, but he was a movie star in our eyes."
Naylor was born in San Francisco and lived most of his life in Los Angeles before moving to Vero Beach in February to be close to family members.
At 18, Naylor became the youngest actor at the time to join of the Screen Actors Guild. After appearing in movies, he continued to work at the Warner Bros. studio as casting director and sound effects editor.
He was preceded in death by his wife of more than 30 years, Valena Blaney.
Dunphy remembers seeing "Reducing," a 1931 comedy about a beauty parlor/"reducing" salon in which Naylor appeared, with her uncle and aunt in the late 1960s at a Hollywood theater specializing in classic films.
"The theater was filled with people in their 30s and 40s interested in old movies," she said. "But Uncle Bill didn't tell anyone that he was there and he had been in that movie. That's just how he was."
No services are scheduled. Arrangements are by The Neptune Society.
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/oct/14/our-gang-star-from-silent-era-dies-at-vero-beach/
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Arthur C. Nielsen Jr., who transformed the company his father founded in 1923 into an international leader in market research, helping to make its name synonymous with television ratings, died on Monday in Winnetka, Ill., where he lived most of his life. He was 92.
He had Parkinson’s disease, family members said in announcing his death.
The son of Arthur C. Nielsen, Mr. Nielsen became president of the A. C. Nielsen Company in 1957 and its chairman in 1975. He presided over the company’s growth from a modest operation, generating less than $4 million a year in revenue, to one with revenue of more than $680 million.
He worked for the company his entire adult life, joining in 1945 after serving four years in World War II as a major in the Corps of Engineers. One part of his wartime experience gave him insight into the potential importance of computers. He was assigned to construct a building to house a machine that would create elaborate tables to calculate the metrics for firing big artillery guns accurately.
Mr. Nielsen recognized the potential to use such calculations in the family business, which at that point had gained most of its profit from an index that measured and tracked sales of items in food and drug stores. The company, one of the first ever to offer market research, also began to measure radio stations’ audience size in 1936. But even after expanding to a national service in 1942, the radio arm of the business was not profitable.
In 1948, at Mr. Nielsen’s urging, the company invested $150,000 in building the first general-purpose computer, the Univac.
His father remained the entrepreneur of the company and led the way to creation of the first television audience measurement system in 1950. The younger Mr. Nielsen, who was known more for institutionalizing his father’s innovations, moved the company into new areas, like the creation of a clearinghouse for coupons, a service that had become a business generating more than $90 million in sales by the time the younger Mr. Nielsen retired.
He also led the company into tracking subscription data for magazines and even tracking oil and gas wells in the United States and Canada. And as chairman he presided over the development of scanning technology in its early days, allowing the company to collect information on consumer purchases of all kinds. The most visible expansion of the Nielsen business took place in the media measurement division. Nielsen fought to retain its place — critics have long labeled it a monopoly — over the measurement of television ratings, beating back the challenges of several potential rivals. As cable television began vastly expanding the number of networks needing national measurement, Nielsen was positioned to provide the numbers each of those channels needed to sell time to advertisers.
Arthur Charles Nielsen Jr. was born in Winnetka on April 8, 1919, the oldest of five children of Arthur C. and Gertrude Nielsen. While an Army engineer he met Patricia McKnew and soon married her. He was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.
An avid athlete, Mr. Nielsen played competitive tennis until he was in his 80s and had the distinction of winning the United States Father-Son Doubles Championships with his father in 1946 and 1948. He later represented the United States in senior tennis tournaments. He also won Midwest-based father-son doubles championships with two sons, Arthur III and Chris.
Patricia Nielsen died in 2005. Mr. Nielsen is survived by his sons as well as a daughter, Elizabeth Cocciarelli; a brother, Philip; two sisters, Margaret Stiegele and the Rev. Barbara Nielsen; and seven grandchildren. His father died in 1980.
Mr. Nielsen served on the boards of more than 20 companies, including Dun & Bradstreet, Walgreen, Marsh & McLennan and Motorola, and advised three presidents.
He also appeared as a mystery guest on the postwar TV show “What’s My Line?” and was questioned about his line of work by the panelists Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf and others.
Accepting the company’s strict retirement policy, Mr. Nielsen stepped down from active leadership in 1983 and became chairman emeritus. The following year he engineered the sale of A. C. Nielsen to the Dun & Bradstreet Corporation for $1.3 billion in stock.
The company has since been acquired by the Dutch publishing company VNU. But it has retained the name Nielsen, largely based on brand recognition. In many circles of the television business, ratings are still frequently referred to simply as “the Nielsens.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/05/business/ac-nielsen-jr-who-transformed-research-firm-dies-at-92.html
Maricela Ochoa
AUSTIN — Maricela Ochoa, 48, of Austin, Texas went home to be with the Lord on October 10, 2011. Mari was “born on the island” of Galveston, Texas on April 9, 1963. A graduate of Ball High School and New York University, Mari was an artist and an actress in numerous theater, film and TV productions across the country. She was a founding member of and associate director at Teatro Vista, in Chicago. She was also a Big Mountain Sun Dancer, dancing on the Navajo and Denae Indian Land.
Mari, you will be sadly missed by your family and friends across the country and in Mexico but always and forever remembered by your parents, Alicia and Enrique Ochoa; her husband, Mark Henderson; brothers, Dr. Reynaldo Ochoa, Dr. Alfonso Ochoa (Yolanda), and sisters, Juanita Ochoa Rodriguez (Jacinto), Elizabeth Ochoa, ChaCha Ochoa Guerrero (Jose) and numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.
Mari, you will be sadly missed by your family and friends across the country. Mari’s family extends their special thanks to Fr. Bill Wack, C.S.C., Fr. Michael Couhig, C.S.C. and Fr. James Martin, C.S.C. of St. Ignatius, Martyr Catholic Church for their spiritual guidance and support to Mari and her family; also a very special gratitude to Hospice Austin staff, doctors and nurses at M.D. Anderson Cancer Hospital and Mari’s “CRHP” sisters and brothers at St. Ignatius.
Family will receive visitors from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 13, 2011 at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 2620 South Congress Avenue with Rosary to follow at 7:00 p.m. A Memorial Mass will be held at St. Ignatius, Martyr Catholic Church, 126 W. Oltorf, Friday, October 14, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. with Fr. Bill Wack, C.S.C. officiating. Interment will be on Monday, October 17, 2011 at Cordi Marian Sisters Resurrection Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice Austin, 4107 Spicewood Springs Road, Suite 100, Austin, TX 78759; M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 4486 Houston, TX 77210; St. Ignatius, Martyr Catholic Church Building Fund, 2309 Euclid Avenue, Austin, TX 78704; or Big Mountain Sun Dancers c/o Sara Katenay P.O. Box 31 Mesa, Arizona 86043.
Arrangements by Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 2620 S. Congress, Austin, TX 512/442-1446 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 512/442-1446 end_of_the_skype_highlighting. You may view memorials at www.wcfish.com.
Published October 12, 2011
http://galvestondailynews.com/story/264106
Mojo Buford, Former Muddy Waters Harmonica Player
http://www.ameriblues.com/2011/10/11/mojo-buford-former-muddy-waters-harmonica-player-has-passed/
(Reuters) - Roger Williams, known as "the Pianist to the Presidents" for his White House performances, died on Saturday in his California home after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer, his former publicist said. He was 87.
Williams scored his first hit in 1955 with a chart-topping "Autumn Leaves," the best-selling piano record of all time.
He would go on to earn 18 gold and platinum records and albums throughout his six-decade career, making him the top charting pianist in the history of Billboard magazine.
Born Louis Weertz on October 1, 1924 in Omaha, Nebraska, Williams learned to play piano at age three in his father's church.
In 1942, at the age of 18, Williams enlisted and served in the Navy throughout World War Two. After the war he graduated with a Masters degree in music from Drake University.
Williams moved to New York City to pursue a career as a pianist. He was signed to his first recording label after being spotted by a record producer while playing at the ritzy Forest Hill Inn.
While on a U.S. tour, Williams was spotted by President Harry Truman, who asked him to play at his Missouri office. Later President Dwight Eisenhower would invite him to the White House, and he would eventually perform for nine presidents, earning him his nickname.
Williams, the first pianist to be honored with a star on the Hollywood "Walk of Fame," performed for the last time a few days after announcing on his website in March he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
He is survived by his daughters Laura Fisher and Alice Jung, as well as five grandchildren.
He had Parkinson’s disease, family members said in announcing his death.
The son of Arthur C. Nielsen, Mr. Nielsen became president of the A. C. Nielsen Company in 1957 and its chairman in 1975. He presided over the company’s growth from a modest operation, generating less than $4 million a year in revenue, to one with revenue of more than $680 million.
He worked for the company his entire adult life, joining in 1945 after serving four years in World War II as a major in the Corps of Engineers. One part of his wartime experience gave him insight into the potential importance of computers. He was assigned to construct a building to house a machine that would create elaborate tables to calculate the metrics for firing big artillery guns accurately.
Mr. Nielsen recognized the potential to use such calculations in the family business, which at that point had gained most of its profit from an index that measured and tracked sales of items in food and drug stores. The company, one of the first ever to offer market research, also began to measure radio stations’ audience size in 1936. But even after expanding to a national service in 1942, the radio arm of the business was not profitable.
In 1948, at Mr. Nielsen’s urging, the company invested $150,000 in building the first general-purpose computer, the Univac.
His father remained the entrepreneur of the company and led the way to creation of the first television audience measurement system in 1950. The younger Mr. Nielsen, who was known more for institutionalizing his father’s innovations, moved the company into new areas, like the creation of a clearinghouse for coupons, a service that had become a business generating more than $90 million in sales by the time the younger Mr. Nielsen retired.
He also led the company into tracking subscription data for magazines and even tracking oil and gas wells in the United States and Canada. And as chairman he presided over the development of scanning technology in its early days, allowing the company to collect information on consumer purchases of all kinds. The most visible expansion of the Nielsen business took place in the media measurement division. Nielsen fought to retain its place — critics have long labeled it a monopoly — over the measurement of television ratings, beating back the challenges of several potential rivals. As cable television began vastly expanding the number of networks needing national measurement, Nielsen was positioned to provide the numbers each of those channels needed to sell time to advertisers.
Arthur Charles Nielsen Jr. was born in Winnetka on April 8, 1919, the oldest of five children of Arthur C. and Gertrude Nielsen. While an Army engineer he met Patricia McKnew and soon married her. He was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.
An avid athlete, Mr. Nielsen played competitive tennis until he was in his 80s and had the distinction of winning the United States Father-Son Doubles Championships with his father in 1946 and 1948. He later represented the United States in senior tennis tournaments. He also won Midwest-based father-son doubles championships with two sons, Arthur III and Chris.
Patricia Nielsen died in 2005. Mr. Nielsen is survived by his sons as well as a daughter, Elizabeth Cocciarelli; a brother, Philip; two sisters, Margaret Stiegele and the Rev. Barbara Nielsen; and seven grandchildren. His father died in 1980.
Mr. Nielsen served on the boards of more than 20 companies, including Dun & Bradstreet, Walgreen, Marsh & McLennan and Motorola, and advised three presidents.
He also appeared as a mystery guest on the postwar TV show “What’s My Line?” and was questioned about his line of work by the panelists Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf and others.
Accepting the company’s strict retirement policy, Mr. Nielsen stepped down from active leadership in 1983 and became chairman emeritus. The following year he engineered the sale of A. C. Nielsen to the Dun & Bradstreet Corporation for $1.3 billion in stock.
The company has since been acquired by the Dutch publishing company VNU. But it has retained the name Nielsen, largely based on brand recognition. In many circles of the television business, ratings are still frequently referred to simply as “the Nielsens.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/05/business/ac-nielsen-jr-who-transformed-research-firm-dies-at-92.html
Maricela Ochoa
AUSTIN — Maricela Ochoa, 48, of Austin, Texas went home to be with the Lord on October 10, 2011. Mari was “born on the island” of Galveston, Texas on April 9, 1963. A graduate of Ball High School and New York University, Mari was an artist and an actress in numerous theater, film and TV productions across the country. She was a founding member of and associate director at Teatro Vista, in Chicago. She was also a Big Mountain Sun Dancer, dancing on the Navajo and Denae Indian Land.
Mari, you will be sadly missed by your family and friends across the country and in Mexico but always and forever remembered by your parents, Alicia and Enrique Ochoa; her husband, Mark Henderson; brothers, Dr. Reynaldo Ochoa, Dr. Alfonso Ochoa (Yolanda), and sisters, Juanita Ochoa Rodriguez (Jacinto), Elizabeth Ochoa, ChaCha Ochoa Guerrero (Jose) and numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.
Mari, you will be sadly missed by your family and friends across the country. Mari’s family extends their special thanks to Fr. Bill Wack, C.S.C., Fr. Michael Couhig, C.S.C. and Fr. James Martin, C.S.C. of St. Ignatius, Martyr Catholic Church for their spiritual guidance and support to Mari and her family; also a very special gratitude to Hospice Austin staff, doctors and nurses at M.D. Anderson Cancer Hospital and Mari’s “CRHP” sisters and brothers at St. Ignatius.
Family will receive visitors from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 13, 2011 at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 2620 South Congress Avenue with Rosary to follow at 7:00 p.m. A Memorial Mass will be held at St. Ignatius, Martyr Catholic Church, 126 W. Oltorf, Friday, October 14, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. with Fr. Bill Wack, C.S.C. officiating. Interment will be on Monday, October 17, 2011 at Cordi Marian Sisters Resurrection Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice Austin, 4107 Spicewood Springs Road, Suite 100, Austin, TX 78759; M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 4486 Houston, TX 77210; St. Ignatius, Martyr Catholic Church Building Fund, 2309 Euclid Avenue, Austin, TX 78704; or Big Mountain Sun Dancers c/o Sara Katenay P.O. Box 31 Mesa, Arizona 86043.
Arrangements by Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 2620 S. Congress, Austin, TX 512/442-1446 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 512/442-1446 end_of_the_skype_highlighting. You may view memorials at www.wcfish.com.
Published October 12, 2011
http://galvestondailynews.com/story/264106
Mojo Buford, Former Muddy Waters Harmonica Player
http://www.ameriblues.com/2011/10/11/mojo-buford-former-muddy-waters-harmonica-player-has-passed/
(Reuters) - Roger Williams, known as "the Pianist to the Presidents" for his White House performances, died on Saturday in his California home after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer, his former publicist said. He was 87.
Williams scored his first hit in 1955 with a chart-topping "Autumn Leaves," the best-selling piano record of all time.
He would go on to earn 18 gold and platinum records and albums throughout his six-decade career, making him the top charting pianist in the history of Billboard magazine.
Born Louis Weertz on October 1, 1924 in Omaha, Nebraska, Williams learned to play piano at age three in his father's church.
In 1942, at the age of 18, Williams enlisted and served in the Navy throughout World War Two. After the war he graduated with a Masters degree in music from Drake University.
Williams moved to New York City to pursue a career as a pianist. He was signed to his first recording label after being spotted by a record producer while playing at the ritzy Forest Hill Inn.
While on a U.S. tour, Williams was spotted by President Harry Truman, who asked him to play at his Missouri office. Later President Dwight Eisenhower would invite him to the White House, and he would eventually perform for nine presidents, earning him his nickname.
Williams, the first pianist to be honored with a star on the Hollywood "Walk of Fame," performed for the last time a few days after announcing on his website in March he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
He is survived by his daughters Laura Fisher and Alice Jung, as well as five grandchildren.
Apple Announces Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs Has Died. ...
October 5, 2011
CUPERTINO, Calif. -- Apple announced Wednesday that former Apple CEO Steve Jobs has died.
Jobs stepped down as CEO in August, saying he could no longer handle the job.
In January, Jobs, a pancreatic cancer survivor, took his second medical leave of absence in two years, raising serious questions about his health and the leadership of a company.
Jobs, 55, has been instrumental in turning Apple into the dominant producer of portable music players, a leader in the smart phone business and, with the iPad, the inventor of a new category of modern tablet computers.
He is Apple's public face, its master showman and its savior since he returned in 1997 after a 12-year hiatus to rescue the company from financial ruin.
Investors in recent years have pinned much of their faith in the company on Jobs himself, sending shares tumbling on every bit of news or rumor of his ailing health.
"Steve's extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world's most innovative and valuable technology company," said Art Levinson, Chairman of Genentech, on behalf of Apple's Board.
"Steve has made countless contributions to Apple's success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple's immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration."
Link ...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ktla-apple-steve-jobs-dies,0,7477308.story
Hollywood tough guy and local actor Charles Napier has died.
Friends of the family told 23ABC that Napier collapsed in his home sometime Monday night and was found Tuesday morning and taken to Memorial Hospital in Bakersfield, Calif.
Napier was taken off of life support in the intensive care unit just before 1 p.m. Wednesday surrounded by his family, they told 23ABC.
He was 75 years old.
Napier was in the hospital in May 2010 to deal with blood clots in his legs.
A mainstay in Hollywood and TV over the past four decades, Napier has appeared in blockbusters such as "Silence of the Lambs," "Philadelphia" and "Rambo: First Blood Part II."
But he became a household name after his role as Tucker McElroy in "The Blues Brothers" back in 1980.
He most recently appeared in the Jeremy Piven film "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard."
Napier made his home in Bakersfield.
He frequently appeared on 23ABC in a variety of roles including as a guest host on our Academy Awards coverage.
Napier made numerous public appearances with the Bakersfield Condors and various veterans groups and activities.
Wausau native Johnny Schmitz, a former All-Star pitcher who faced Hall of Fame baseball legends such as Ted Williams, has died in Wausau at age 90.
Schmitz, who debuted with the Chicago Cubs, spent eight seasons in Chicago before shuffling around the major leagues. He went on to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles.
Known also as "Bear Tracks," because he had large feet and seemed to shuffle to the mound, Schmitz tallied 93 wins and 114 losses in 235 starts. He finished his career with a 3.55 earned run average, according to the Baseball Almanac. Schmitz, who died Saturday, also pitched 86 complete games.
During his All-Star 1948 season, Schmitz had an 18-13 record with a 2.64 ERA and 18 complete games, according to the Baseball Almanac.
Bob Steif, Schmitz's nephew, lived with the big league player for more than 20 years in Wausau after Schmitz took him, his mother, Ruth (Schmitz's sister), and Steif's sister, Betty, into his home after Steif's father died.
Steif, who said Schmitz died of natural causes, said the former ballplayer always was willing to share a story or two about his time in baseball.
During his career, he pitched against stars such as Williams, Jackie Robinson and Stan Musial.
"He said he didn't have a problem with (St. Louis Cardinals' great) Stan Musial, but he said you could not fool Ted Williams. I'd ask him that a lot. He said no matter what, you couldn't fool that guy," Steif said.
Schmitz missed three seasons -- 1943 to 1945 -- to serve in the Navy during World War II. After baseball, Schmitz worked as greenskeeper at the American Legion Golf Course in Wausau.
"He was a very introverted person, you know, and he lived a simple life, but he sure took care of our family," Steif said. "That's why we think the world of him. That's a heck of a thing to do."
For almost 50 years, Schmitz would walk across the street from his home on East Union Avenue to Mark's Barber Shop every couple weeks to get his hair cut and talk with his longtime friend, barber Mark Resch.
Inside the barber shop, Resch, 78, adorned the walls with Schmitz memorabilia, including a 1942 photo of Schmitz with the Cubs. The topic of conversation rarely strayed from baseball, and it remained Schmitz's favorite subject through his final years as he rooted for the Cubs, Resch said.
Though he always would sign a baseball, he never liked to speak publicly and turned down paid events on a regular basis, Resch said. Instead, he would share his tales with folks such as Resch.
Schmitz loved to talk about one contract negotiation with Phil Wrigley, then the Cubs' owner. He was able to land a contract for about $6,500 a year, Resch said.
"But I got Wrigley,'' Schmitz would tell Resch. "He had a big bowl of Wrigley's gum and I reached right in with both hands and got a big handful of gum."
Schmitz never made it to the World Series, but he witnessed one of the most famous moments in playoff history. Sitting in the Brooklyn Dodgers bullpen Oct. 3, 1951, he watched Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca serve up a fastball to New York Giants outfielder Bobby Thomson.
Thomson hit the game-ending home run -- known as the "Shot Heard 'round the World" -- to lead the Giants to the National League pennant.
Steif said Schmitz said he wanted to warn Branca not to throw fastballs but decided not to say anything.
"If (the Dodgers) would have won that game, (Schmitz) could have been opening-day pitcher in the World Series," Steif said. "But he never got there."
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/article/20111005/WDH0101/110050513/Johnny-Schmitz-Wausau-s-All-Star-dies-90?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Cimg%7CFRONTPAGE
Folk musician Bert Jansch dies aged 67
Bert Jansch in 2007 Jansch's last solo album, The Black Swan, was released in 2007
Scottish folk musician Bert Jansch, a founding member of the band Pentangle and a well-known guitarist in his own right, has died at the age of 67.
Jansch, who had cancer, passed away in the early hours of Wednesday morning at a hospice in Hampstead, north London.
Born in Glasgow in 1943, the musician recorded his first album in 1965 and his last, The Black Swan, in 2006.
Between 1967 and 1973 he was part of acoustic group Pentangle, best known for their 1970 hit single Light Flight.
John Renbourn, Jacqui McShee, Danny Thompson and Terry Cox were the other original members of the band, whose albums included Basket of Light and Solomon's Seal.
The group reformed in 2008 after receiving a lifetime achievement honour the previous year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
As a solo artist, Jansch received his own lifetime achievement accolade at the same event in 2001.
He last performed, with Pentangle, at the Royal Festival Hall on 1 August.
October 5, 2011
CUPERTINO, Calif. -- Apple announced Wednesday that former Apple CEO Steve Jobs has died.
Jobs stepped down as CEO in August, saying he could no longer handle the job.
In January, Jobs, a pancreatic cancer survivor, took his second medical leave of absence in two years, raising serious questions about his health and the leadership of a company.
Jobs, 55, has been instrumental in turning Apple into the dominant producer of portable music players, a leader in the smart phone business and, with the iPad, the inventor of a new category of modern tablet computers.
He is Apple's public face, its master showman and its savior since he returned in 1997 after a 12-year hiatus to rescue the company from financial ruin.
Investors in recent years have pinned much of their faith in the company on Jobs himself, sending shares tumbling on every bit of news or rumor of his ailing health.
"Steve's extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world's most innovative and valuable technology company," said Art Levinson, Chairman of Genentech, on behalf of Apple's Board.
"Steve has made countless contributions to Apple's success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple's immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration."
Link ...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ktla-apple-steve-jobs-dies,0,7477308.story
Hollywood tough guy and local actor Charles Napier has died.
Friends of the family told 23ABC that Napier collapsed in his home sometime Monday night and was found Tuesday morning and taken to Memorial Hospital in Bakersfield, Calif.
Napier was taken off of life support in the intensive care unit just before 1 p.m. Wednesday surrounded by his family, they told 23ABC.
He was 75 years old.
Napier was in the hospital in May 2010 to deal with blood clots in his legs.
A mainstay in Hollywood and TV over the past four decades, Napier has appeared in blockbusters such as "Silence of the Lambs," "Philadelphia" and "Rambo: First Blood Part II."
But he became a household name after his role as Tucker McElroy in "The Blues Brothers" back in 1980.
He most recently appeared in the Jeremy Piven film "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard."
Napier made his home in Bakersfield.
He frequently appeared on 23ABC in a variety of roles including as a guest host on our Academy Awards coverage.
Napier made numerous public appearances with the Bakersfield Condors and various veterans groups and activities.
Wausau native Johnny Schmitz, a former All-Star pitcher who faced Hall of Fame baseball legends such as Ted Williams, has died in Wausau at age 90.
Schmitz, who debuted with the Chicago Cubs, spent eight seasons in Chicago before shuffling around the major leagues. He went on to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles.
Known also as "Bear Tracks," because he had large feet and seemed to shuffle to the mound, Schmitz tallied 93 wins and 114 losses in 235 starts. He finished his career with a 3.55 earned run average, according to the Baseball Almanac. Schmitz, who died Saturday, also pitched 86 complete games.
During his All-Star 1948 season, Schmitz had an 18-13 record with a 2.64 ERA and 18 complete games, according to the Baseball Almanac.
Bob Steif, Schmitz's nephew, lived with the big league player for more than 20 years in Wausau after Schmitz took him, his mother, Ruth (Schmitz's sister), and Steif's sister, Betty, into his home after Steif's father died.
Steif, who said Schmitz died of natural causes, said the former ballplayer always was willing to share a story or two about his time in baseball.
During his career, he pitched against stars such as Williams, Jackie Robinson and Stan Musial.
"He said he didn't have a problem with (St. Louis Cardinals' great) Stan Musial, but he said you could not fool Ted Williams. I'd ask him that a lot. He said no matter what, you couldn't fool that guy," Steif said.
Schmitz missed three seasons -- 1943 to 1945 -- to serve in the Navy during World War II. After baseball, Schmitz worked as greenskeeper at the American Legion Golf Course in Wausau.
"He was a very introverted person, you know, and he lived a simple life, but he sure took care of our family," Steif said. "That's why we think the world of him. That's a heck of a thing to do."
For almost 50 years, Schmitz would walk across the street from his home on East Union Avenue to Mark's Barber Shop every couple weeks to get his hair cut and talk with his longtime friend, barber Mark Resch.
Inside the barber shop, Resch, 78, adorned the walls with Schmitz memorabilia, including a 1942 photo of Schmitz with the Cubs. The topic of conversation rarely strayed from baseball, and it remained Schmitz's favorite subject through his final years as he rooted for the Cubs, Resch said.
Though he always would sign a baseball, he never liked to speak publicly and turned down paid events on a regular basis, Resch said. Instead, he would share his tales with folks such as Resch.
Schmitz loved to talk about one contract negotiation with Phil Wrigley, then the Cubs' owner. He was able to land a contract for about $6,500 a year, Resch said.
"But I got Wrigley,'' Schmitz would tell Resch. "He had a big bowl of Wrigley's gum and I reached right in with both hands and got a big handful of gum."
Schmitz never made it to the World Series, but he witnessed one of the most famous moments in playoff history. Sitting in the Brooklyn Dodgers bullpen Oct. 3, 1951, he watched Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca serve up a fastball to New York Giants outfielder Bobby Thomson.
Thomson hit the game-ending home run -- known as the "Shot Heard 'round the World" -- to lead the Giants to the National League pennant.
Steif said Schmitz said he wanted to warn Branca not to throw fastballs but decided not to say anything.
"If (the Dodgers) would have won that game, (Schmitz) could have been opening-day pitcher in the World Series," Steif said. "But he never got there."
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/article/20111005/WDH0101/110050513/Johnny-Schmitz-Wausau-s-All-Star-dies-90?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Cimg%7CFRONTPAGE
Folk musician Bert Jansch dies aged 67
Bert Jansch in 2007 Jansch's last solo album, The Black Swan, was released in 2007
Scottish folk musician Bert Jansch, a founding member of the band Pentangle and a well-known guitarist in his own right, has died at the age of 67.
Jansch, who had cancer, passed away in the early hours of Wednesday morning at a hospice in Hampstead, north London.
Born in Glasgow in 1943, the musician recorded his first album in 1965 and his last, The Black Swan, in 2006.
Between 1967 and 1973 he was part of acoustic group Pentangle, best known for their 1970 hit single Light Flight.
John Renbourn, Jacqui McShee, Danny Thompson and Terry Cox were the other original members of the band, whose albums included Basket of Light and Solomon's Seal.
The group reformed in 2008 after receiving a lifetime achievement honour the previous year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
As a solo artist, Jansch received his own lifetime achievement accolade at the same event in 2001.
He last performed, with Pentangle, at the Royal Festival Hall on 1 August.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
22 September 2011 3:35 PM
Finest kind of upper-class twit
The Londoner is sad to report the death of 72-year-old actor Jonathan Cecil, an Oxford contemporary of Alan Bennett famed for playing upper-class English characters. Cecil, who made his name as Peter Ustinov’s sidekick Hastings in Hercule Poirot films and as narrator of 25 audio books of P G Wodehouse, was dubbed “one of the finest upper-class twits of his era”. He also played Mr Grundy in Richard Wilson’s One Foot in the Grave. Son of Oxford Professor of English Lord David Cecil, he distinguished himself in amateur dramatics at Eton and Oxford. “I was stiff and awkward but this was rather effective for comedy parts, playing comic servants,” he once said.
Jack Neal Sr. VIRGINIA BEACH - Jack Neal Sr., 80, passed away
peacefully with his family and the angels by his side Sept. 22, 2011.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Jenny and Dixie B. Neal Sr.;
brothers, Alva Lee, Dixie B. Neal Jr.; and sister, Audrey Doughtie. He
was born in St. Brides, Va. He is survived by his loving wife of 61
years, Betty Neal; son, Jack Neal Jr. of Hampton; daughters, Nancy
Turco and husband John of Summerville, S.C., Jeri Phillips and husband
Michael of Norfolk, Jackie Richelieu and husband Kurt of Kennewick,
Wash.; five grandchildren, Jayna, Nicole, Charlie, Stephanie and
Emily; one great-grandchild, Jake; brother, William Earl Neal and wife
Patsy of Chesapeake; and sister, Georgia Shirley of Virginia Beach. He
retired from Virginia Beach City Schools in 1993, and continued
working for his good friends Teresa and Danny Garcia at Ceramic Arts
Dental Lab. Jack loved all music, rock 'n' roll, country and western
and jazz. He was a talented performer. To his many fans all over the
world who would claim him as the best bass player in the world, he
would say, "keep rockin." He was a member of Salem United Methodist
Church, Virginia Beach. His legacy is found not as much in what he
said, but as in how he lived his life; an unwavering faith in the
Lord, kindness and respect for all he encountered and a dedication and
pride in his family. His quick wit, contagious smile and loving touch
will surely be missed. The family will be having a private memorial
service at a later date. Online condolences may be expressed at
www.cremate.org.
Nico Minardos dies at 81
Actor appeared in films, TV
By Variety Staff
Actor Nico Minardos, who appeared in film and television during a three-decade career and was the subject of a 2010 documentary, died of natural causes on Aug. 27 in Los Angeles. He was 81.
Minardos was a contract player at 20th Century Fox, making his first (uncredited) film appearance in 1952's "Monkey Business" with Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant. Film credits also include "Istanbul," with Errol Flynn; 1960's "Twelve Hours to Kill," in which he starred opposite Barbara Eden; "It Happened in Athens," with Jayne Mansfield; and 1977's "Assault on Agathon," which he produced and starred in with Marianne Faithfull and John Woodvine.
Minardos also made appearances on dozens of TV shows starting in 1956. Credits included "Maverick," "The Twilight Zone," "Perry Mason," "The Flying Nun," "Mod Squad," "Mission: Impossible," "Ironside," "Alias Smith and Jones" and "The A-Team."
He was also the subject of Owen Prell's 2010 feature documentary "Finding Nico."
Born and raised in Athens, Greece, Minardos attended the Sorbonne in Paris and graduated from UCLA.
He was briefly married to Deborah Jean Smith, who later married Tyrone Power.
John Larson, trumpet player with the Ides of March, died Wednesday (September 22) of complications from cancer in Warsaw, Indiana. He was 61. John joined the group in the late ‘60s and his playing can be heard on the brass-dominated tunes, such as “Vehicle.” A memorial service is being planned for November. (Oldies Music. Com)
Former Atomic Rooster Member Dies
mdome / News / 22/09/2011 15:27pm
Guitarist John Du Cann has passed away after a suspected heart attack.
He first made his name with Atomic Rooster, playing on hits like Devil’s Answer. Subsequently he was a touring guitarist with Thin Lizzy on their 1974 German tour, worked with Francis Rossi and had a solo hit in 1979 with Don’t Be A Dummy.
Du Cann was also a member of progressive rock bands like Andromeda and Bullet.
Finest kind of upper-class twit
The Londoner is sad to report the death of 72-year-old actor Jonathan Cecil, an Oxford contemporary of Alan Bennett famed for playing upper-class English characters. Cecil, who made his name as Peter Ustinov’s sidekick Hastings in Hercule Poirot films and as narrator of 25 audio books of P G Wodehouse, was dubbed “one of the finest upper-class twits of his era”. He also played Mr Grundy in Richard Wilson’s One Foot in the Grave. Son of Oxford Professor of English Lord David Cecil, he distinguished himself in amateur dramatics at Eton and Oxford. “I was stiff and awkward but this was rather effective for comedy parts, playing comic servants,” he once said.
Jack Neal Sr. VIRGINIA BEACH - Jack Neal Sr., 80, passed away
peacefully with his family and the angels by his side Sept. 22, 2011.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Jenny and Dixie B. Neal Sr.;
brothers, Alva Lee, Dixie B. Neal Jr.; and sister, Audrey Doughtie. He
was born in St. Brides, Va. He is survived by his loving wife of 61
years, Betty Neal; son, Jack Neal Jr. of Hampton; daughters, Nancy
Turco and husband John of Summerville, S.C., Jeri Phillips and husband
Michael of Norfolk, Jackie Richelieu and husband Kurt of Kennewick,
Wash.; five grandchildren, Jayna, Nicole, Charlie, Stephanie and
Emily; one great-grandchild, Jake; brother, William Earl Neal and wife
Patsy of Chesapeake; and sister, Georgia Shirley of Virginia Beach. He
retired from Virginia Beach City Schools in 1993, and continued
working for his good friends Teresa and Danny Garcia at Ceramic Arts
Dental Lab. Jack loved all music, rock 'n' roll, country and western
and jazz. He was a talented performer. To his many fans all over the
world who would claim him as the best bass player in the world, he
would say, "keep rockin." He was a member of Salem United Methodist
Church, Virginia Beach. His legacy is found not as much in what he
said, but as in how he lived his life; an unwavering faith in the
Lord, kindness and respect for all he encountered and a dedication and
pride in his family. His quick wit, contagious smile and loving touch
will surely be missed. The family will be having a private memorial
service at a later date. Online condolences may be expressed at
www.cremate.org.
Nico Minardos dies at 81
Actor appeared in films, TV
By Variety Staff
Actor Nico Minardos, who appeared in film and television during a three-decade career and was the subject of a 2010 documentary, died of natural causes on Aug. 27 in Los Angeles. He was 81.
Minardos was a contract player at 20th Century Fox, making his first (uncredited) film appearance in 1952's "Monkey Business" with Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant. Film credits also include "Istanbul," with Errol Flynn; 1960's "Twelve Hours to Kill," in which he starred opposite Barbara Eden; "It Happened in Athens," with Jayne Mansfield; and 1977's "Assault on Agathon," which he produced and starred in with Marianne Faithfull and John Woodvine.
Minardos also made appearances on dozens of TV shows starting in 1956. Credits included "Maverick," "The Twilight Zone," "Perry Mason," "The Flying Nun," "Mod Squad," "Mission: Impossible," "Ironside," "Alias Smith and Jones" and "The A-Team."
He was also the subject of Owen Prell's 2010 feature documentary "Finding Nico."
Born and raised in Athens, Greece, Minardos attended the Sorbonne in Paris and graduated from UCLA.
He was briefly married to Deborah Jean Smith, who later married Tyrone Power.
John Larson, trumpet player with the Ides of March, died Wednesday (September 22) of complications from cancer in Warsaw, Indiana. He was 61. John joined the group in the late ‘60s and his playing can be heard on the brass-dominated tunes, such as “Vehicle.” A memorial service is being planned for November. (Oldies Music. Com)
Former Atomic Rooster Member Dies
mdome / News / 22/09/2011 15:27pm
Guitarist John Du Cann has passed away after a suspected heart attack.
He first made his name with Atomic Rooster, playing on hits like Devil’s Answer. Subsequently he was a touring guitarist with Thin Lizzy on their 1974 German tour, worked with Francis Rossi and had a solo hit in 1979 with Don’t Be A Dummy.
Du Cann was also a member of progressive rock bands like Andromeda and Bullet.
Kara Kennedy, the oldest child of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, died suddenly Friday evening at a Washington-area health club.
Former Rep. Patrick Kennedy confirmed the death of his 51-year-old sister, adding "she's with dad."
Kara Kennedy had herself battled lung cancer: In 2003, doctors removed a malignant tumor. Patrick Kennedy said that his sister loved to exercise, but that he thinks her cancer treatment "took quite a toll on her and weakened her physically."
"Her heart gave out," he said.
Kara Kennedy was the oldest of three children. She and her brother Edward Kennedy Jr. helped run their father's U.S. Senate campaign in 1988. The National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome lists her as a national advisory board member on its website.
Edward Kennedy Jr. himself was a survivor after losing a leg to bone cancer as a child. And Patrick Kennedy had surgery in 1988 to remove a non-cancerous tumor that was pressing against his spine.
In 1990, Kara Kennedy married Michael Allen. The couple have two children: Max Greathouse Allen, 15, and daughter, Grace Kennedy Allen, 16.
Tom Wilson of Ziggy comic fame dies at 80
Published: Monday, September 19, 2011, 9:10 AM Updated: Monday,
September 19, 2011, 11:50 AM
By Grant Segall
The next time your toaster pops, pause to remember Tom Wilson.
The longtime Northeast Ohioan, who died Friday at age 80, helped
create blockbuster characters at American Greetings, especially his
own Ziggy, who struggles gamely with toasters, ice cream cones and
life.
"Tom leaves behind a wonderful legacy in Ziggy, a hard-luck comics
page hero who serves as a reflection of Tom's endearing wit and
optimism in the face of adversity," John McMeel, head of Andrews
McMeel Universal, whose Universal Uclick syndicates Ziggy, said in a
statement.
The bald, round-faced Ziggy, exactly half his creator's age, appears
in more than 500 newspapers, plus books, calendars, greeting cards and
an Emmy-winning Christmas special, "Ziggy's Gift."
Wilson spent about the last eight years in a nursing home in
Cincinnati and died in his sleep from pneumonia.
A coal miner's son, Thomas Albert Wilson was born in West Virginia and
raised in Uniontown, Pa.
"He was born drawing," said a daughter, Ava Wilson-Stewart of
Sebastian, Fla. A local billboard painter inspired him. "He thought
that was the coolest thing he'd ever seen."
Wilson played bass in an Army band, graduated from the Pittsburgh
School of Art and came to Cleveland with his wife, the former Carol
Sobble, in search of work. He later lived in Rocky River, Brook Park,
Lakewood and Cincinnati, with homes in Hollywood and New York.
He spent 35 years at American Greetings and became president of the
creative division, overseeing stars like Strawberry Shortcake and Care
Bears. He launched Hi Brow, an early series of humorous cards, and
Soft Touch, early romantic cards.
"He was a down-home guy," said a former colleague, Tom McGreevey. "He
had a terrific brain."
In 1969, he published a book of wordless, Ziggy-like cartoons called
"When You're Not Around." What was then Universal Press Syndicate
asked him to add words and start a strip in 1971.
After leaving American Greetings, he started Ziggy and Friends, still
based in Brook Park. In the late 1980s, he turned over the strip to
his son, Thomas M. Wilson of Loveland, Ohio.
Wilson exhibited paintings at the Cleveland Museum of Art and the
yearly Society of Illustrations annual show in New York. He
occasionally played the bass privately and loved to listen to jazz.
Survivors include his wife, three children and five grandchildren.
Weil Funeral Home of Cincinnati is handling his arrangements. The
family requests contributions to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
"Handsome" Johnny Barend, one of the most iconic characters from Hawaii's golden age of professional wrestling in the 1960s-70s, died today of natural causes at his home in Avon, N.Y. He was 82.
Barend's career spanned nearly 25 years and he wrestled everywhere from Japan to New York's famed Madison Square Garden.
But family, friends and fans said one of his favorite places was Hawaii.
A fixture in Hawaii during much of the 1960s when Ed Francis and Lord James "Tally Ho" Blears were the promoters, Barend was known for edgy interviews which amused some and terrified others.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/Wrestler_Handsome_Johnny_Barend_dies_in_New_York.html
1980s R&B superstar Vesta Williams was found DEAD inside a Los Angeles hotel room.
Reports are still sketchy, but MediaTakeOut.com was told that Vesta and a gentleman CHECKED into the hotel together. Later in the evening, Vesta was found DEAD by a hotel chambermaid and the gentleman was NOT in the room..
Police were called to the scene and are conducting a FULL on investigation as to the cause and circumstances surrounding Vesta's death. Right now they are NEITHER confirming NOR ruling out FOUL PLAY.
For all you YOUNGSTERS wondering who VESTA WILLIAMS was, she made the below shong Congratulations
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About Me
- CavedogRob
- Mostly I work but I watch a lot of movies and decided to write about them...