Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Carl Gardner, Sr., 83, founder and lead singer of the Coasters, died Sunday June 12, 2011 in Port St. Lucie, Florida after a long illness. Carl had been ill with congestive heart failure and vascular dementia for some time. Please remember his wife Veta, son Mickey (Carl Jr.), and his family in your prayers. Todd Baptista

From Carl Gardner, Jr.
- My Father passed away Sunday, June 12th.
Sharing my most deepest feelings of the love that my father and I
shared -- especially when we were on stage together.

http://www.angelfire.com/mn/coasters/

Laura Ziskin, a veteran film producer who counted the "Spider-Man" franchise as among her many credits
and was one of the most influential female producers in Hollywood history, has died at 61. ...

Laura Ziskin, 'Spider-Man' producer and Hollywood trailblazer, dies at 61. ...
L.A.Times / Steven Zeitchik and Nicole Sperling
June 13, 2011

Ziskin, who was working on the reboot of "The Amazing Spider-Man" at the time of her death, had fought a seven-year battle with breast cancer. In 2008, she founded a nonprofit that has to-date raised more than $200 million to fight the disease.

Although she was not well known among average film fans, Ziskin had a profound impact on what contemporary moviegoers watched at the multiplex. Over a three-decade career she produced a wide range of films, including the 1987 Cold War thriller "No Way Out," the 1990 Richard Gere-Julia Roberts romantic comedy "Pretty Woman" and 1997's James L. Brooks' Oscar-contending dramedy "As Good As It Gets."

By far her most significant filmic legacy is "Spider-Man"; she produced all three released movies in the global blockbuster franchise. "The Amazing Spider-Man," a reboot of the comicbook series starring Andrew Garfield that is set to be released next year, was her most recent effort in that vein. One person close to the production noted she was extremely involved even as her cancer began to spread in recent months.

Although Ziskin had been based at the Sony Pictures lot for years, during the 1990s she also headed a division at 20th Century Fox, Fox 2000, that was responsible for the kind of serious dramas Hollywood studios rarely make nowadays, including "Courage Under Fire," "Fight Club" and "The Thin Red Line."

Ziskin also produced two Oscar telecasts, in 2002 and 2007. Her first effort was notable for landing Woody Allen, famously averse to awards-show hoopla. She was the first woman to produce the telecast on her own.

Outside the film world she was best known for her efforts in helping to found Stand Up to Cancer, a research initiative she founded with Katie Couric, former Paramount chief Sherry Lansing and others. The organization, which held a high-profile Hollywood telethon (her comments to The Times from the red carpet at last summer's event can be seen here) that drew on the star power of the media and entertainment world to raise money for cancer research. (Please see The Times' official obituary shortly for more on her life and legacy.)

At the Producers Guild Awards this past January, Ziskin's voice was weak when she received the group’s visionary award. She spoke about cancer’s destruction on families and the importance of encouraging cancer researchers to collaborate on their work. "In my world the hero always defeats the villain, the boy always gets the girl, and cancer is no more," she said.

But perhaps her most lasting impact will lie in how she was able to penetrate the inner circle of A-list producers, for decades considered an all-boys club. In Mollie Gregory's 2002 book about women and Hollywood, "Women Who Run the Show," Ziskin had one of the most memorable quotes.

"Men have built the cities, made and defined the culture, interpreted the world. At no time in recorded history have women been culture-makers," she said. "Movies are arguably the most influential, important medium in the world. They have a tremendous cultural impact. Because women are now making movies, then women's ideas, philosophy, point of view will seep into that culture. And that's never happened in history. Ever, ever, ever. We can't even see the impact of that yet."

Link ...
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2011/06/laura-ziskin-spider-man-died-obituary-stand-up-to-cancer.html

Actor Paul Massie left fame, burgeoning career to teach at USF
By Marty Clear, Times Correspondent
In Print: Sunday, June 12, 2011


In the 1960s, a young, strikingly handsome and phenomenally talented actor named Paul Massie was building a promising career in England.


He had starred in an acclaimed production of Cat on a Hot Tim Roof opposite Kim Stanley. There were leading roles in respected films, with billings above such stars as Christopher Lee and Lillian Gish. He had won a British Academy Award. Peter O'Toole and Richard Harris were his drinking buddies.


But in 1966, he visited the fledgling University of South Florida to appear on stage as a guest artist. He stayed for 30 years as a professor in the USF theater department.


"He was a world-class artist who came to USF and embraced us," said Nancy Cole, who worked with Mr. Massie for 20 years.


Mr. Massie died Wednesday at his home in Nova Scotia. He was 79 and had suffered from lymphoma.


During his three decades in Tampa, Mr. Massie became a fixture on local stages. Many of his memorable roles came from productions at USF, including A Little Night Music, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Orphans, Waiting for Godot, Equus and The Tempest.


He also acted in most other local theater companies, including guest roles with the School of Night comedy group, in which he narrated Horton Hears a Who and pulled off a spot-on impersonation of Mick Jagger.


But it was as an educator and a director of student productions, from Hair to The Magic Flute that Mr. Massie left his most essential legacy.


"Paul was magical," said Brian Shea, a professional actor who was a friend and student of Mr. Massie's. "He had a profound effect on me and others, not only as actors, but as human beings."


Mr. Massie was born in Canada but established his presence on the stage and screen in England. His first major film role came in 1958, in Orders to Kill with Eddie Albert. Mr. Massie received the British Academy of Film and Television Arts' award for Most Promising Newcomer to Film. He worked steadily in films and television after that, with the lead role in 1960's The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll and a guest appearance on the classic TV show The Avengers.


His association with USF began in a 1966 production of Tartuffe, and not long after he performed in USF's production of School for Scandal.


He was a fixture at USF from that point on, although he didn't officially become a faculty member until about 1974. He became a full professor, and was named professor emeritus after his retirement in 1996.


He didn't often speak to students about his early career and nascent celebrity. Even those who knew him for decades weren't sure why he turned his back on a high-profile acting career to teach at a university in Florida.


"I think maybe he was just fed up with the machine," Cole said. "I think he had had enough of the effort, the grind, that goes into fame."


Whatever the reason, he soon found that he loved teaching as much as he loved acting, and working in Tampa gave him the opportunity to do both.


As a teacher and director, he was known for finding a way to get the best performances from actors. It may have been tender encouragement for a young actor trying to find his way through his art and his life, or it may have been a boisterous laugh of delight when a cast finally perfected a scene. Sometimes, it was harsh criticism.


In one moment that has become legendary in local theater circles, Mr. Massie was watching a rehearsal in which he thought actors weren't giving their best. "There's a problem with the acting," he said. "You can't. So don't."


As an actor, he had a natural energy and charisma — sex appeal, some would say — and a booming but mellifluous voice.


And, Cole said, he devoted himself completely to his roles and in the process elevated the performers around him.


"For students to be able to share the stage with a actor of his talent and experience and to see how he prepares, that's a profound gift to the cast and to the audience," she said. "He was a hero."