Hollywood Obituaries

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‘Gong Show’ Host Chuck Barris Dead At 87
He also wrote “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,” which became a hit movie directed by George Clooney.

By Bill Trott
X

(Reuters) - Chuck Barris, who tapped into Americans’ hunger to be on television by creating game shows such as “The Dating Game,” “The Newlywed Game” and his showcase for the acutely untalented, “The Gong Show,” died on Tuesday, media outlets reported.

Barris died of natural causes at age 87 in Palisades, New York, Variety.com said, citing his publicist.

Decades before television talent shows such as “American Idol” and “America’s Got Talent” came along, Barris was putting everyday people before the cameras in what was more of a reverse talent show with everyday people who did not mind exposing their vulnerabilities or answering embarrassing questions.


BETTMANN VIA GETTY IMAGES
Chuck Barris was the maniacal host-producer of “The Gong Show.” The reverse talent show because a huge hit in the U.S.
His masterwork was “The Gong Show,” which seemed to be the result of let’s-put-on-a-show day at the asylum in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” The media mocked him as “the king of schlock” and accused him of exploiting his contestants.

“Let me ask you something - which does the most harm, a ‘Gong Show’ or the killings, pistol whippings and flying blood you see on evening ‘drama?’” Barris said in a Los Angeles Times interview. “And the critics blame me for cracking culture?”

Barris also wrote “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,” called it an autobiography and claimed to have carried out CIA assassination jobs while hosting “The Gong Show.” Barris never admitted it was a joke but in 2007 told CBS: “Somebody checked (with) the head of the CIA and the head of the CIA said that I must have been standing too close to the gong.” The book was made into a movie directed by George Clooney.

Barris, who grew up in Philadelphia, started in entertainment as a page at NBC headquarters in New York in the 1950s and eventually used forged recommendations to get into the network’s management training program. Later he would work for Dick Clark on his popular “American Bandstand” show and write the 1962 hit song “Palisades Park” for Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon.

At the ABC network in the early 1960s, Barris was in charge of deciding which game shows were put on the air but quit to form his own company. He eventually would put more than 15 shows on the air during the 1960s and ‘70s, starting by conceiving and producing “The Dating Game.”

That show played into the emerging “flower power” culture of the time with a young woman or man asking flirtatious questions of unseen members of the opposite sex and then choosing one for a blind date. The show’s first run lasted nine years - including a prime-time slot - and it had a series of revivals into the ‘90s.


“MAKING WHOOPEE”

Things grew a little more provocative with Barris’ next show, “The Newlywed Game,” as couples tried to predict how their new spouses would respond to a series of leading questions. The highlight of every episode was when the couples were asked about “making whoopee” - the euphemism the show used for sex to mollify censors.

Barris said there was no need to offer expensive prizes on “The Newlywed Game” because couples were so excited about being on national television that a new washer was all they needed.

In 1976, Barris debuted “The Gong Show,” which featured contestants of varying degrees of earnestness being judged by a three-person panel comprised of B-list actors and comedians. Once a judge found an act intolerable, he would bang a big gong to send the performer off in a cloud of mockery. Contestants who passed the test could win $516.32, which was the union payscale minimum.

“When I started out I was trying to find good talent but all I found was bad talent ... so I said let’s do a show with bad talent,” Barris said in a 2009 interview with the NPR show “Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me.” “I always thought the people who did my shows, the contestants, were having the time of their lives.”

Barris hosted “The Gong Show” himself and his bumbling manner, odd wardrobe and the irreverent party-like atmosphere he maintained were a big part of the show’s ****-eyed appeal. Some acts were so popular they became regular attractions, such as Gene Gene the Dancing Machine and the Unknown Comic, who told corny jokes while wearing a paper bag over his head.

Television censors had to keep a close eye on the show. Panelist Jaye P. Morgan was banned after flashing her breasts on air.

Other Barris-produced shows included “The $1.98 Beauty Show” and “The Parent Game” but were not nearly as successful as “The Gong Show,” “The Dating Game” and “The Newlywed Game.”

Barris was married three times, most recently to Mary Rudolph in 2000. His only child, Della, died of a drug overdose at age 36 in 1998.

 

http://www.indystar.com/story/enter...mel-cbs-mother-presbyterian-hofert/100361486/

Dorothy Mengering, David Letterman’s mom, dies at 95
David Lindquist , david.lindquist@indystar.com Published 1:41 a.m. ET April 12, 2017 | Updated 2 hours ago
Carmel resident delighted TV viewers with kitchen and Olympic reports

2_nwBALL31.145204.jpgBuy Photo
(Photo: Alan Petersime / IndyStar)

Dorothy Mengering, an Indianapolis church secretary who found unexpected fame as a correspondent on her son’s late-night TV show, died Tuesday at age 95.

David Letterman's mother died at home in suburban Carmel, according to an obituary compiled by Mengering's three children and provided by Letterman's publicist.

"Late Show with David Letterman" viewers warmed to Mengering's unassuming style when she served as a correspondent during Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway (1994), Nagano, Japan (199 and Salt Lake City, Utah (2002).

She also delivered Top 10 Lists from her Indiana kitchen and challenged Letterman to guess what pies she had baked for Thanksgiving.

"As long as David was home, I would make him a chocolate chiffon pie for his birthday," Mengering told IndyStar in 2001, reminiscing about the comedian's childhood. "We just put the candles on top of the pie."

Dorothy Mengering, better known as David Letterman's mom, shows off her cookbook, "Home Cookin' with Dave's Mom," in April 1996. (Photo: Kelly Wilkinson, Associated Press)
Before Letterman's "Late Show" retirement in May 2015, he shared a Mother's Day highlight reel starring Mengering. She was seen baking with Hoosier rock star John Mellencamp and touting the prowess of Old Milwaukee beer.

Born Dorothy Marie Hofert in Linton, Ind., on July 18, 1921, Mengering took business courses at Indiana University. She married Joe Letterman, a florist who eventually owned stores on 34th Street and Keystone Avenue in Indianapolis, in 1942.

The couple's three children, Jan, David and Gretchen, attended Broad Ripple High School. Joe Letterman died in 1973.

Mengering obituary:Three children write her life story

David Letterman:His shift from limelight to leisure

Mengering worked as a secretary at Second Presbyterian Church, 7700 N. Meridian St., into the 1980s. She married Hans Mengering in 1983. He died in 2013.

She donated more than $100,000 from sales of a 1996 cookbook, "Home Cookin' with Dave's Mom," to a Kiwanis International campaign to wipe out iodine deficiency disorders in developing countries.

David Letterman, right, and Dorothy Mengering share
David Letterman, right, and Dorothy Mengering share a laugh during the 2007 dedication of the David Letterman Communication and Media Building on the campus of Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. (Photo: AP photo)
In 2007, Mengering joined Letterman for dedication ceremonies of Ball State University's David Letterman Communication and Media Building in Muncie. "If reasonable people could put my name on a $21 million building, anything is possible," said Letterman, a 1969 BSU graduate.

Mengering is survived by her three children, five grandchildren and her sister, Hazel Baughman.

A memorial service is planned at Second Presbyterian Church. Details are pending.

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Call IndyStar reporter David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/tv/happy-days-star-erin-moran-dies-56-012117080.html

‘Happy Days’ Star Erin Moran Dies at 56
Variety Staff 1 hour 18 minutes ago


Erin Moran, best known for playing Joanie Cunningham on the 1970s sitcom “Happy Days,” has died. She was 56.

According to TMZ, Moran’s body was found unresponsive Saturday afternoon by authorities in Indiana. The cause of death is unknown.

The California-born actress, who also starred in the “Happy Days” spinoff “Joanie Loves Chachi,” had fallen on hard times in recent years. She was reportedly kicked out of her trailer park home in Indiana because of her hard-partying ways.

Henry Winkler, who starred opposite Moran as The Fonz in CBS’ iconic series, tweeted: “OH Erin…now you will finally have the peace you wanted so badly here on earth. Rest In It serenely now…too soon.”

Moran was just 14 when she signed on to play Ron Howard’s sister in the family comedy, which aired from 1974 to 1984.

“What happened with all of us was like we were this family,” Moran said in a 2009 interview with Xfinity. “It was so surreal with all the cast members…They were my family, get it?”

The actress, however, apparently wasn’t so lovey dovey when it came to “Joanie Loves Chachi,” which co-starred Scott Baio.

“I liked working with the people. But I didn’t even want to do it. I was talked into it,” she said. “I wanted to stay on ‘Happy Days.’ They were running them at the same time.”

“Joanie Loves Chachi” only lasted one season (1982-83) before it was pulled off the air.

Moran’s TV credits also included “The Love Boat,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “The Bold and the Beautiful.”

She most recently appeared on VH1’s reality show “Celebrity Fit Club” in 2008 and low-budget film “Not Another B Movie” 2010.

In 2012, Moran and three of her “Happy Days” co-stars – Williams, Marion Ross, Don Most and the widow of Tom Bosley – filed a $10 million lawsuit against CBS, claiming they never received merchandise royalties they were owed under their contracts. The case was later settled out of court. Neither Henry Winkler nor Ron Howard were part of the lawsuit.

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‘Happy Days’ Star Erin Moran Dies at 56

Erin Moran, best known for playing Joanie Cunningham on the 1970s sitcom “Happy Days,” has died. She was 56.

According to TMZ, Moran’s body was found unresponsive Saturday afternoon by authorities in Indiana. The cause of death is unknown.

The California-born actress, who also starred in the “Happy Days” spinoff “Joanie Loves Chachi,” had fallen on hard times in recent years. She was reportedly kicked out of her trailer park home in Indiana because of her hard-partying ways.

Henry Winkler, who starred opposite Moran as The Fonz in CBS’ iconic series, tweeted: “OH Erin…now you will finally have the peace you wanted so badly here on earth. Rest In It serenely now…too soon.”
http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/‘h...s-at-56/ar-BBAanqd?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp

 

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Jonathan Demme, Famed ‘Silence Of The Lambs’ Director, Dead At 73

The acclaimed filmmaker died from complications from oesophageal cancer, his representative said.

By Sebastian Murdock


DENIS BALIBOUSE / REUTERS

Director Jonathan Demme is perhaps best known for directing “Silence of the Lambs,” for which he won a Best Director Oscar.

Jonathan Demme, the Oscar-winning director of the “Silence of the Lambs” has died, his representative confirmed Wednesday. He was 73.


“Sadly, I can confirm that Jonathan passed away early this morning in his Manhattan apartment, surrounded by his wife, Joanne Howard, and three children,” his rep. said in a statement.


“He died from complications from oesophageal cancer and is survived by his children Ramona, age 29, and her husband James Molloy, Brooklyn, age 26, and Jos, age 21.”


The director missed the premier of his 2015 movie “Ricki and The Flash” because he was being treated for cancer.


Demme is perhaps best known for his work on “Silence of the Lambs.” The chilling horror and suspense film starring Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster delved into the mind of a psychopathic, cannibal killer and the investigator who had no choice but to seek his help. The film won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.


He also directed the Oscar-winning movie “Philadelphia,” starring Tom Hanks, who remembered Demme as “the grandest of men” in a statement to Entertainment Weekly.


“Jonathan taught us how big a heart a person can have, and how it will guide how we live and what we do for a living,” Hanks said in the statement.


Horror writer Stephen King, director Ron Howard and actor-director Eli Young also paid tribute to Demme.


Stephen King ✔ @StephenKing

Deeply sad to hear my friend, neighbor, and colleague Jonathan Demme has passed on. He was one of the real good guys. I miss you, buddy.

10:06 AM - 26 Apr 2017

1,542 1,542 Retweets 8,088 8,088 likes

Ron Howard ✔ @RealRonHoward

Jonathan Demme was a great artist, humanitarian, activist & a warm encouraging colleague. I've known very few like him. He will be missed https://twitter.com/thr/status/857257246786543617 …

9:49 AM - 26 Apr 2017

337 337 Retweets 890 890 likes

Eli Roth ✔ @eliroth

Just heard about Jonathan Demme. He could literally do anything and did it all masterfully. Never knew him but everyone loved him. Sad news.

10:16 AM - 26 Apr 2017

81 81 Retweets 315 315 likes

Demme’s rep. said that the family would hold a private funeral. “Any possible further plans will be announce later,” the rep. said. “In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to Americans For Immigrant Justice in Miami, FL [Florida].”


A fan of musician Neil Young, Demme directed three films focusing on the artist.


“I felt from time to time that shooting live music is the most purely cinematic thing you can do,” he told Rolling Stone in 2012. “Ideally, the cinema is becoming one with the music. There is little artifice involved. There’s no acting. I love it.”


He also gained acclaimed for his film “Stop Making Sense” in 1984, a visionary documentary on the band The Talking Heads. Reporter Stephanie Zacharek with Salon described the film in 1999 as a “miracle movie.”


“’Stop Making Sense’ is so beautifully choreographed that in some ways it’s more like theater than a rock show,” Zacharek wrote in her review. “There’s no rock ‘n’ roll sloppiness, no seat-of-the-pants spontaneity. Instead, it’s all about stealth inventiveness.”


edgarwright ✔ @edgarwright

Too many great films to mention: Something Wild, Stop Making Sense, Silence Of The Lambs, Melvin & Howard, among countless varied others. https://twitter.com/edgarwright/status/857247316327018496 …

9:04 AM - 26 Apr 2017

151 151 Retweets 504 504 likes

More recently, Demme directed the “Justin Timberlake + the Tennessee Kids,” showing the pop star in concert in 2015.

He is survived by his wife and three children.


This article has been updated throughout.

 

Btw.....they now have said she died from Cancer.

 

'Kill Bill' and 'Twin Peaks' actor Michael Parks dies at 77.....

Michael Parks, a prolific character actor who found early fame in 1960s countercultural roles and later became a favorite of directors including Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith, has died. He was 77.

He died on Tuesday in Los Angeles, his agent, Jane Schulman, said on Wednesday. No cause of death was announced.

In a career that spanned six decades, Parks acted in more than 100 films and TV shows. Many of his early starring roles were in anti-establishment '60s-era films such as "Wild Seed," ''The Happening," with Anthony Quinn, and "Bus Riley's Back in Town," alongside Ann-Margret.

Parks also starred as a disillusioned, motorcycle-riding newsman in the 1969 series "Then Came Bronson." For the series, Parks, who recorded a number of albums throughout his career, sang the popular closing theme song, "Long Lonesome Highway."

Parks found perhaps his most famous parts in the 1990s thanks to the interest of Tarantino, Smith and Robert Rodriguez, the often connected independent filmmakers. Each turned to Parks again and again for meaty supporting roles. Tarantino cast him in multiple roles in both parts of "Kill Bill" and his "Death Proof" half of 2007's "Grindhouse."

He is survived by his wife, Oriana Parks, whom he married in 1997, and his son......snip~

http://start.att.net/news/read/cate...ll_and_twin_peaks_actor_michael_parks_dies-ap

R.I.P. Michael Parks.

 

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ENTERTAINMENT 05/15/2017 12:30 am ET | Updated 1 hour ago
Emmy Award-Winning Character Actor Powers Boothe Dead At 68
He was known for many roles, but took home the Emmy in 1980 for playing infamous cult leader Jim Jones in “Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones.”

By Lawrence Yee

DAVID LIVINGSTON VIA GETTY IMAGES
Powers Boothe, who made memorable performances in “Deadwood” and “Sin City,” died on Sunday.
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) - Powers Boothe, a character actor on the small and big screen, died Sunday in Los Angeles. He was 68.

Boothe died in his sleep Sunday morning of natural causes, his rep tells Variety.

Boothe appeared in several comic book shows and movies, portraying Senator Roark in “Sin City” and its sequel “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.” He also had a small role in “The Avengers.”

He also played Gideon Malick for eleven episodes on “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” As a voice actor, he voiced Gorilla Grodd and Red Tornado on the animated “Justice League” series.

His talents weren’t only limited to genre material. He played former mayor Lamar Wyatt on 26 episodes of the country drama “Nashville,” as well as Judge “Wall” Hatfield on “Hatfields & McCoys.” Prior to that, he played saloon owner Cy Tolliver on “Deadwood” and Vice President Daniels on “24.”

In 1980, Boothe took home the Emmy for lead actor in a limited series or special for playing infamous cult leader Jim Jones in “Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones.”

According to reps, there will be a private service held in Texas where he was from. A memorial celebration in his honor is being considered for a future date. Donations can be made to the Gary Sinise Foundation, which honors the nation’s defenders, veterans, first responders, their families and those in need.

Fans, friends and colleagues took to social media overnight to share their condolences.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/dina-merrill-heiress-actress-dead-93-150147365.html

Dina Merrill, heiress and actress, dead at 93
Associated Press 9 hours ago

NEW YORK (AP) — Dina Merrill, the rebellious heiress who defied her super-rich parents to become a movie star, often portraying stylish wives or "the other woman," has died at age 93.

Merrill, raised in part on the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida now owned by President Donald Trump, died Monday, according to family spokeswoman Selena Albanese. Merrill died of heart failure at her home in East Hampton, Albanese told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Starting in the 1950s, Merrill appeared in more than 100 films and television programs, her break coming after Katharine Hepburn recommended her for the 1957 Tracy-Hepburn comedy "The Desk Set." Merrill, who had the poised, aristocratic beauty of fellow blonde Grace Kelly, co-starred with Cary Grant and Tony Curtis in "Operation Petticoat," Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr in "The Sundowners" and Oscar winner Elizabeth Taylor in "Butterfield 8." More recently, she was part of Robert Altman's ensemble cast for the Hollywood satire "The Player" and in television programs such as "Murder, She Wrote" and "The Nanny."

But becoming an actress was not considered proper for someone of Merrill's privileged status. Her mother was Marjorie Merriweather Post, heiress to the Post cereal fortune and one of the nation's richest women. Her father was E.F. Hutton, founder of the stockbroker firm that bore his name. Heiress Barbara Hutton was a cousin.

"Mother was politically and diplomatically and every which way well connected," Merrill remarked in 2000, "but she didn't know anyone in show business. Of course my parents' eyebrows shot up when I said I wanted to be an actress. And I guess they said, really between themselves, 'Let the dear girl try and fall on her face.'"

Merrill left George Washington University after a year to enroll at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. During the summer she worked at a regional theater where she painted scenery, sewed costumes and played occasional small roles.

She made her Broadway debut in 1945 with "The Mermaids Singing" and followed with "George Washington Slept Here" and off-Broadway plays. She quit acting in 1946, partly because of her mother's pressure.

"My mother brainwashed me," she said. "I turned down my career to marry my Marine."

He was Stanley Rumbough Jr., heir to a Colgate fortune who had been serving as a White House aide. After his Marine Corps' service he became head of the Metal Containers Corp. and a company that made pari-mutuel betting machines. The couple had three children — Stanley, David and Nina. After the birth of her daughter, Merrill resumed her acting and modeling career and was invited to Hollywood by Dick Powell for appearances in his television series.

Merrill and Rumbough divorced in 1966, the same year she married actor Cliff Robertson. As a result, her name was dropped from the snobbish Social Register, which excluded actors.

"I was thrilled when they dropped me," she said in 1983. "I was particularly thrilled because (Robertson) was furious. He wanted to be in the Social Register."

Merrill and Robertson had a daughter, Heather, but divorced in 1989. In the same year she married Ted Hartley, a former pilot and actor turned investment banker.

With other investors, Hartley and Merrill in 1989 acquired RKO Pictures, the onetime major Hollywood studio that had been moribund for many years. The major asset was remake rights to RKO movies, and the revived company put together a 1998 version of the 1949 movie "Mighty Joe Young."

She was born Nedenia Hutton in New York City, and was drawn to the acting life at age 8, when she played an Indian in a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta at Greenvale School. She grew up in lavish surroundings, particularly Mar-a-Lago, her parents' 118-room Mediterranean-Moorish estate in Palm Beach, Florida. The property was later purchased by Trump, who as president has made Mar-a-Lago an unofficial weekend White House.

When Hutton began her acting career, she chose to call herself Dina Merrill, a combination of her and a brother-in-law's names.

"I didn't want to trade on the Hutton name," she explained. "I always wanted to make it on my own."

In becoming a businesswoman, Merrill was emulating her mother, who in the 1920s had helped build her late father's cereal business into the giant General Foods Corp. Her fortune was estimated at more than $250 million when she died in 1973 at age 86. Most of her estate went to Merrill and her two sisters.

Merrill was involved in numerous charitable and artistic causes. Her son David's diabetes inspired her to establish the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. She chaired the New York City Mission Society, which supports young people living in poverty. She was a trustee of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and served on the board of trustees for the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Merrill had few acting credits in recent years, but never regretted her career.

"I loved the make-believe," she commented in 1993, "and I still do. I love the part about it where you can be somebody else, and not be you all the time. It's interesting to lead other people's lives."

___

The late Associated Press writer Bob Thomas contributed to this report.

 

'Dallas' actor Jared Martin dead at 75.....



Jared Martin, who played Sue Ellen's handsome rodeo cowboy love interest on "Dallas," has died. He was 75.

The actor's son told The Hollywood Reporter Martin died at his home in Philadelphia Wednesday after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

His other works included roles in "The Partridge Family," "The Waltons," "How The West Was Won" and "The Love Boat."

He retired from acting and worked as a painter and photographer.

He was married to Nancy Fales from 1963-1977 and to Carol Vogel from 1979-1984. He is survived by his wife Yu Weim and son Christian......snip~

http://start.att.net/news/read/cate...dallas_actor_jared_martin_dead_at_75-rfoxnews


R.I.P. Jared Martin.

 

63yrs of age. Damn shame. I think she also sported every hair color there is. She was a blonde, red head, and a brunette.


Actress Glenne Headly Has Died......




Actress Glenne Headly died Thursday night at the age of 63.

Perhaps most famous for starring alongside Warren Beatty in 1990’s “Dick Tracy,” Headly was also nominated for an Emmy for her role in the 1989 miniseries “Lonesome Dove,” along with the 1996 Showtime film adaptation of “Bastard Out of Carolina.”

Additional credits include “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” and the HBO miniseries “The Night Of.”

Before her death, Headly was working on the Seth Rogen-Evan Goldberg produced Hulu comedy series, “Future Man.” The series executives were notified of her passing last night.

At this time, the cause of death is still being determined......snip~

R.I.P. Glenne Headly.

 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/adam-west-dead-batman-star-832264


Adam West, Straight-Faced Star of TV's 'Batman,' Dies at 88
8:16 AM PDT 6/10/2017 by Mike Barnes
The actor struggled to find work after the campy superhero series was canceled, but he rebounded with voiceover gigs, including one as the mayor of Quahog on 'Family Guy.'
Adam West, the ardent actor who managed to keep his tongue in cheek while wearing the iconic cowl of the Caped Crusader on the classic 1960s series Batman, has died. He was 88.

West, who was at the pinnacle of pop culture after Batman debuted in January 1966, only to see his career fall victim to typecasting after the ABC show flamed out, died Friday night in Los Angeles after a short battle with leukemia, a family spokesperson said.

West died peacefully surrounded by his family and is survived by his wife Marcelle, six children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

“Our dad always saw himself as The Bright Knight and aspired to make a positive impact on his fans' lives. He was and always will be our hero,” his family said in a statement.

After struggling for years without a steady job, the good-natured actor reached a new level of fame when he accepted an offer to voice the mayor of Quahog — named Adam West; how’s that for a coincidence! — on Seth MacFarlane’s long-running Fox animated hit Family Guy.

On the big screen, West played a wealthy Main Line husband who meets an early end in Paul Newman’s The Young Philadelphians (1959), was one of the first two humans on the Red Planet in Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964) and contributed his velvety voice to the animated Redux Riding Hood (1997), which received an Oscar nomination for best short film.

Raised on a ranch outside Walla Walla, Wash., West caught the attention of Batman producer William Dozier when he played Captain Quik, a James Bond-type character with a sailor’s cap, in commercials for Nestle’s Quik.

West, who had appeared in many Warner Bros. television series as a studio contract player, was filming the spaghetti Western The Relentless Four (1965) in Europe at the time. He returned to the States to meet with Dozier, “read the pilot script and knew after 20 pages that it was the kind of comedy I wanted to do,” he said in a 2006 interview with the Archive of American Television.

He signed a contract on the spot, only asking that he be given the chance to approve who would play his sidekick, Robin, the Boy Wonder. (He would OK the casting of Burt Ward, who had a brown belt in karate but zero acting experience).

“The tone of our first show, by Lorenzo Semple Jr., was one of absurdity and tongue in cheek to the point that I found it irresistible,” West said. “I think they recognized that in me from what they’d seen me do before. I understood the material and brought something to it.

“You can’t play Batman in a serious, square-jawed, straight-ahead way without giving the audience the sense that there’s something behind that mask waiting to get out, that he’s a little crazed, he’s strange.”

The hunky Lyle Waggoner (later of The Carol Burnett Show) and Peter Deyell also tested to play the Gotham City crime fighters, but West and Ward clearly were superior, and Batman debuted at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 12, 1966, a Wednesday.

The cliffhanger episode would be resolved the very next night — Same Bat-time! Same Bat-channel! The show was originally intended to last an hour, but ABC split it up when it had two time slots available on its primetime schedule.

West said that he played Batman “for laughs, but in order to do [that], one had to never think it was funny. You just had to pull on that cowl and believe that no one would recognize you.”

The series, filmed in eye-popping bright colors in an era of black-and-white and featuring a revolving set of villains like the Riddler (Frank Gorshin), Joker (Cesar Romero), Penguin (Burgess Meredith) and Catwoman (Julie Newmar), was an immediate hit; the Thursday installment was No. 5 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1965-66 season, and the Wednesday edition was No. 10.


Batman was nominated for the Emmy Award for outstanding comedy series in its first year, losing out to CBS’ The Dick Van Dyke Show. A 20th Century Fox movie was rushed into production and played in theaters in the summer before season two kicked off in September 1966.

However, the popularity of the show soon plummeted, and Batman — despite the addition of Yvonne Craig as Batgirl — was canceled in March 1968 after its third season.

West quickly struggled to find work, forced to make appearances in his cape and cowl at car shows and carnivals and in such obscure films as The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker (1971), written by Semple, and The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood (1980). He and his family downsized, leaving their home in the tony Pacific Palisades for Ketchum, Idaho.

“The people who were hiring, the people who were running the studios, running the shows, were dinosaurs,” the actor said in the 2013 documentary Starring Adam West. “They thought Batman was a big accident, that there was no real creative thought, expertise or art behind it. They were wrong.”

He returned to voice his iconic character in such cartoons as The New Adventures of Batman, Legends of the Superheroes, SuperFriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show and The Simpsons, and Warner Bros.’ long-awaited DVD release of ABC’s Batman in 2014 brought him back into the Bat Signal’s spotlight.

He was born William West Anderson in Seattle on Sept. 19, 1928, the second of two sons. His father, Otto, was a wheat farmer; his mother, Audrey, was a pianist and opera singer.

West attended an all-boys high school, then graduated with a major in English literature from Whitman College. During his senior year, he worked for a local radio station, doing everything from Sunday morning religion shows to the news.

He also starred in a couple of plays at the local theater. “I found that I could move an audience and I was appreciated,” he said.

In the Army, West served as an announcer on American Forces Network television, then worked as the station manager at Stanford while he was a graduate student.

He got a job at a McClatchy station in Sacramento, Calif., then moved to Hawaii, where he hosted a two-hour weekday show in the late 1950s with a diaper-wearing chimp named Peaches. (West said he once interviewed William Holden as the actor was passing through.)

West got a contract at Warner Bros. at $150 a week and was placed in one of the studio’s TV series — Colt .45, Maverick, Hawaiian Eye, 77 Sunset Strip, Cheyenne, etc. — pretty much every week.

He got his first regular TV role when he played Det. Sgt. Steve Nelson under the command of Robert Taylor on the 1959-62 ABC/NBC series The Detectives, coming aboard when that show expanded to one hour in color.

After he split with Warner Bros., West showed up in such forgettable films as Geronimo (1962) starring Chuck Connors, Tammy and the Doctor (1963) with Sandra Dee and in The Three Stooges film The Outlaws Is Coming (1965) before Batman changed his life forever.

He later starred in a rejected 1991 NBC pilot episode called Lookwell — written by Conan O’Brien and Robert Smigel — in which he portrayed a once-famous TV detective who thinks he can solve crimes in real life.

Then came the gig on MacFarlane’s Family Guy.

“I had done a pilot with Seth that he had written for me. It turned out we had the same kind of comic sensibilities and got along well,” he said in a 2012 interview. “When Family Guy came around and Seth became brilliantly successful, he decided to call me and see what I was doing. He asked if I would like to come aboard as the mayor, and I thought it would be neat to do something sort of absurd and fun.”

The documentary Starring Adam West culminates with him receiving a star on The Hollywood Hall of Fame in 2012.

He married Marcelle in 1970; they met when she was the wife of the Lear Jet founder and they posed for a publicity photo at Santa Monica Airport, with him in his Batman costume. (They each had two children from their previous marriages, then added a couple of their own.)

When Batman was canceled, “The only thing I thought is that it would be the end of me, and it was for a bit,” he told an audience at Comic-Con in 2014. “But then I realized that what we created in the show … we created this zany, lovable world.

“I look around and I see the adults — I see you grew up with me, and you believe in the adventure. I never believed this would happen, that I would be up here with illustrious people like yourselves. I’m so grateful! I’m the luckiest actor in the world, folks, to have you still hanging around.”

 

https://www.space.com/37257-obituary-bill-dana-jose-jimenez-astronaut.html

Bill Dana, Comedian Who Played Astronaut José Jiménez, Dies at 92
By Robert Z. Pearlman, collectSPACE.com Editor | June 20, 2017 11:21am ET
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Bill Dana, Comedian Who Played Astronaut José Jiménez, Dies at 92
Comedian Bill Dana, as he appeared as astronaut "José Jiménez" on "The Bill Dana Show" in 1963. Dana, 92, died on June 15.
Credit: NBC
"Okay, José, you're on your way!"

With those words, radioed to Alan Shepard as he lifted off to become the first American astronaut to fly into space on May 5, 1961, Bill Dana's role in NASA history was sealed.

Dana, a comedian whose performance as "José Jiménez" was bestowed the title of being the eighth of the Mercury 7 astronauts, died on Thursday (June 15). He was 92. [Photos from Alan Shepard's Freedom 7 Spaceflight]

"He'll be missed not only by the astronaut family, but many more around the world," said Tammy Sudler, president and CEO of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. "Bill Dana was lovingly known as our honorary Mercury 8 astronaut."

First created in 1959 for "The Steve Allen Show" and later appearing on "The Ed Sullivan Show," José Jiménez held several positions, including an elevator operator, a bobsled racer, a Navy submariner and a lion tamer, but it was as the shiny-spacesuited, reluctant astronaut that the Bolivian character became famous (Dana was of Hungarian-Jewish ancestry in reality).

"What do you consider the most important thing in rocket travel?" asked Ed Sullivan, playing the straight man during one of Dana's better-known skits.

"To me the most important thing in the rocket travel is the blast-off," said Dana.

"The blast-off..." repeated Sullivan.

"I always take a blast before I take off. Otherwise, I would not go near that thing," Dana quipped as Jiménez.

Dana's José Jiménez routine was later released on record albums, rising to the Top 20 on the Billboard charts, which drew the attention of the real-life Mercury astronauts.

"The astronauts, especially Shepard, absolutely loved the record, and listened to it in the office after intense training sessions," author Neal Thompson described in "Light This Candle" (Crown, 2004), his biography of the first astronaut. "Shepard even tape recorded the album and during lulls between training exercises or during test launches at the Cape would play the tapes at full volume near the Mission Control loudspeakers."

The astronaut and comedian first met at a Cocoa Beach night club, where Shepard — from out in the audience and without the prior knowledge of Dana — took on the role of the straight man, setting up Jiménez's replies. Soon, fellow astronauts Wally Schirra and Deke Slayton joined in.

"The club was roaring as the three astronauts took turns," wrote Thompson. After the show, Dana hurried to a phone to call his producer in New York.

"'They know us. They know every word. And they love us," exclaimed Dana, as described by Thompson.

Cover art for Bill Dana's "Jose Jimenez in Orbit."

Credit: Kapp Records
Shepard and the other astronauts' fondness for Dana and his character led to José Jiménez becoming the unofficial mascot of the Mercury program. In addition to inspiring the 1961 launch call between Slayton (in the blockhouse) and Shepard (on top of a Redstone rocket), Dana performed at President John F. Kennedy's inaugural ball with Shepard in attendance.

The comedian also inspired a "gotcha" — a practical joke — that Shepard arranged in secret for John Glenn to discover once aboard his Friendship 7 Mercury spacecraft. Opening up a pouch while in orbit, Glenn was surprised by a small stuffed mouse floating free, a reference to the "leetle mice" Jiménez would cite as fellow test subjects in his routine.

Born William Szathmary in Quincy, Massachusetts on Oct. 5, 1924, Dana served as a gunner and mortarman in the U.S. Army during World War II. Dana began his career in comedy as a page and a writer for other comedians' stand-up routines.

Later, after gaining fame in his own right, Dana became a screenwriter for television and movies, writing the Emmy-Award-winning "All in the Family" episode, "Sammy Davis Visits Archie Bunker" (1972), penning jokes for the "Donny and Marie" show (1977-197, and co-writing the script for the "Get Smart" film "The Nude Bomb" (1980). Dana also had a recurring role as Angelo, brother to Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty) on the NBC sitcom, "The Golden Girls."

Dana also showed up as José Jiménez in a number of TV cameos, including as part of a 1966 episode of "Batman," appearing alongside the late Adam West and Burt Ward.

The character eventually fell out of favor due to pressure from Hispanic groups and Dana retired the role in 1970, but he would later reunite with the astronauts through their Mercury 7 (later, Astronaut Scholarship) Foundation, and even reprised the skit at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a 2002 gala celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first U.S. orbital spaceflights.

A voting member of the nominations committee of the National Aviation Hall of Fame, Dana was acknowledged in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. and in the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in Florida. He was honored with the first Impact award by the National Hispanic Media Coalition and was presented with a lifetime achievement award by the Pacific Broadcast Pioneers of Radio and Television in 2006.

In 2005, Dana co-founded the American Comedy Archives at Emerson College, his alma mater, in Boston.

Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2017 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.

 

He actually turned down the role of Mr. Spock:

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/martin-landau-oscar-winner-ed-wood-dies-89-002931805.html

Martin Landau, Oscar Winner for 'Ed Wood,' Star of Original 'Mission: Impossible,' Dies at 89
The Hollywood Reporter 1 hour 33 minutes ago

Johnny Depp as Ed Wood and Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton’s Ed Wood (Photo: Disney/Touchstone)
By Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter

Martin Landau, the all-purpose actor who showcased his versatility as a master of disguise on the Mission: Impossible TV series and as a broken-down Bela Lugosi in his Oscar-winning performance in Ed Wood, has died. He was 89.

His publicist has confirmed that Landau, who shot to fame by playing a homosexual henchman in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 classic North by Northwest, died Saturday after a brief stay at UCLA Medical Center.

After he quit CBS’ Mission: Impossible after three seasons in 1969 because of a contract dispute, Landau’s career was on the rocks until he was picked by Francis Ford Coppola to play Abe Karatz, the business partner of visionary automaker Preston Tucker (Jeff Bridges), in Tucker: The Man and His Dream (198.

Landau received a best supporting actor nomination for that performance, then backed it up the following year with another nom for starring as Judah Rosenthal, an ophthalmologist who has his mistress (Angelica Huston) killed, in Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989).

Landau lost out on Oscar night to Kevin Kline and Denzel Washington, respectively, in those years but finally prevailed for his larger-than-life portrayal of horror-movie legend Lugosi in the biopic Ed Wood (1994), directed by Tim Burton.

Landau also starred as Commander John Koenig on the 1970s science-fiction series Space: 1999opposite his Mission: Impossible co-star Barbara Bain, his wife from 1957 until their divorce in 1993.

A former newspaper cartoonist, Landau turned down the role of Mr. Spock in the NBC series Star Trek, which went to Leonard Nimoy (who later effectively replaced Landau on Mission: Impossibleafter Trek was canceled).

Landau also was an admired acting teacher who taught the craft to the likes of Jack Nicholson. And in the 1950s, he was best friends with James Dean and, for several months, the boyfriend of Marilyn Monroe. “She could be wonderful, but she was incredibly insecure, to the point she could drive you crazy,” he told The New York Times in 1988.

Landau was born in Brooklyn on June 20, 1928. At age 17, he landed a job as a cartoonist for the New York Daily News, but he turned down a promotion and quit five years later to pursue acting.

“It was an impulsive move on my part to do that,” Landau told The Jewish Journal in 2013. “To become an actor was a dream I must’ve had so deeply and so strongly because I left a lucrative, well-paying job that I could do well to become an unemployed actor. It’s crazy if you think about it. To this day, I can still hear my mother’s voice saying, ‘You did what?!’ ”

In 1955, he auditioned for Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio (choosing a scene from Clifford Odets’ Clash by Night against the advice of friends), and he and Steve McQueen were the only new students accepted that year out of the 2,000-plus aspirants who had applied.

With his dark hair and penetrating blue eyes, Landau found success on New York stages in Goat Song, Stalag 17 and First Love. Hitchcock caught his performance on opening night opposite Edward G. Robinson in a road production of Middle of the Night, the first Broadway play written by Paddy Chayefsky, and cast him as the killer Leonard in North by Northwest.

In Middle of the Night, “I played a very macho guy, 180 degrees from Leonard, who I chose to play as a homosexual — very subtly — because he wanted to get rid of Eva Marie Saint with such a vengeance,” he recalled in a 2012 interview.

As the ally of James Mason and nemesis of Saint and Cary Grant, Landau plummets to his death off Mount Rushmore in the movie’s climactic scene. With his slick, sinister gleam and calculating demeanor, he attracted the notice of producers and directors.

He went on to perform for such top directors as Joseph L. Mankiewicz in Cleopatra (1963) — though he said most of his best work on that film was sent to the cutting-room floor — George Stevens in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), John Sturges in The Hallelujah Trail (1965) and Henry Hathaway in Nevada Smith (1966).

Landau met Bruce Geller, the eventual creator of Mission: Impossible, when he invited the writer to an acting class. Bain was in the class as well, and Geller wrote for them the parts of spies Rollin Hand and Cinnamon Carter. Landau earned an Emmy nomination for each of his three seasons on the series.

He could have starred in another series.

“I turned down Star Trek. It would’ve been torturous,” he said during a 2011 edition of the PBS documentary series Pioneers of Television. “I would’ve probably died playing that role. I mean, even the thought of it now upsets me. It was the antithesis of why I became an actor. I mean, to play a character that Lenny (Nimoy) was better suited for, frankly, a guy who speaks in a monotone who never gets excited, never has any guilt, never has any fear or was affected on a visceral level. Who wants to do that?”

Landau found a kindred spirit in Burton, who also cast him in Sleepy Hollow (1999) and as the voice of a Vincent Price-like science teacher in the horror-movie homage, Frankenweenie (2012).

“Tim and I don’t finish a sentence,” Landau told the Los Angeles Times in 2012. “There’s something oddly kinesthetic about it. We kind of understand each other.”

Landau played puppet master Geppetto in a pair of Pinocchio films and appeared in such films as Pork Chop Hill (1959), City Hall (1996), The X-Files: Fight the Future (199, Rounders (199, Edtv(1999), The Majestic (2001), Lovely, Still (200 and Mysteria (2011).

On television, he starred in the Twilight Zone episodes “Mr. Denton on Doomsday” and and “The Jeopardy Room,” played the title role in the 1999 Showtime telefilm Bonnano: A Godfather’s Storyand could be found on The Untouchables, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Maverick, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Wagon Train, I Spy and The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

More recently, Landau earned Emmy noms for playing the father of Anthony LaPaglia’s character on CBS’ Without a Trace and guest-starring as an out-of-touch movie producer on HBO’s Entourage. He portrayed billionaire J. Howard Marshall, the 90-year-old husband of Anna Nicole Smith, in a 2013 Lifetime biopic about the sex symbol, and starred for Atom Egoyan opposite Christopher Plummer in Remember (2015).

Landau worked as director, teacher and executive director at the Actors Studio West. He has been credited with helping to guide the talents of such actors as Nicholson, Huston, Warren Oates and Harry Dean Stanton.

Survivors include his daughters Susan (a casting director) and Juliet (an actress-dancer) from his marriage to Bain.

 

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-me-george-romero-20170716-story.html

George A. Romero, 'Night of the Living Dead' creator, dies at 77
George A. Romero
Legendary horror movie director George A. Romero, pictured here in 2008, died Sunday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Tre'vell Anderson Tre'vell AndersonContact Reporter
It was the night of April 4, 1968, and George A. Romero was driving to New York City from Pittsburgh on a mission: In the days to come he was to meet with film studios in hopes that one might buy the horror film he was lugging in his trunk, “Night of the Flesh Eaters.”

None of the studios was interested, but Romero still managed to get his $114,000 film in front of audiences that year. And though critics panned the picture, retitled “Night of the Living Dead,” moviegoers were mesmerized — packing theaters, hitting the drive-ins in droves and making Romero the father of the modern movie zombie. Romero’s “Living Dead” franchise went on to create a subgenre of horror movie whose influence across the decades has endured, seen in movies like “The Purge” and TV shows like “The Walking Dead.”

Romero died Sunday in his sleep after a “brief but aggressive battle with lung cancer,” according to a family statement to The Times provided by his longtime producing partner, Peter Grunwald. He was 77.

Romero died while listening to the score of one his favorite films, 1952’s “The Quiet Man,” with his wife, Suzanne Desrocher Romero, and daughter, Tina Romero, at his side, the family said.
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Romero will be remembered best for co-writing (with John A. Russo) and directing “Night of the Living Dead,” which showed later generations of filmmakers such as Tobe Hooper and John Carpenter that generating big scares didn’t require big budgets. “Living Dead” spawned an entire school of zombie knockoffs, and Romero’s own sequels were 1978’s “Dawn of the Dead,” 1985’s “Day of the Dead,” 2005’s “Land of the Dead,” 2007’s “Diary of the Dead” and 2009’s “George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead.”

George Romero through the years
Director George Romero is known for his zombie films, most notably "Night of the Living Dead."
To get that first film made, however, Romero turned to a resourceful team of Pittsburgh TV-commercial producers. For distribution, the rookie filmmaker turned to the Walter Reade Organization, the parent of Continental Releasing, which specialized in artsy movies like John Cassavetes’ “Faces.” The director and his team got 14 prints made, handled their own promotion and opened the picture at 14 local theaters. They financed a world premiere on Halloween night.

Most critics trashed the movie, with Daily Variety citing “unrelieved sadism … which casts serious aspersions on the integrity of its makers.” But audiences loved it, and drive-in operators took out newspaper ads to apologize for turning away so many customers.

Romero once told The Times that he was surprised at critics’ reactions; he said Roger Ebert's review all but called “Living Dead” a movie spawned by the devil.

Over time, however, fans have pointed out that, setting aside the graphic violence that made Romero’s work so distinct, there were sociopolitical messages that made his movies noteworthy, starting with the casting of that first “Living Dead” picture.

“I think the reason it got noticed was the fact that we used an African American actor in a role that didn’t need to be played by an African American actor, and then he gets gunned down by this posse,” Romero said, noting that the role was originally written for a white man. On the night of that drive to New York City, he said, “we heard on the radio that [the Rev. Martin Luther] King had been assassinated. So now all of a sudden the power of the film was ratcheted up that much more.”

“Living Dead” went on to gross upward of $50 million.

“He took the image of the zombie, which up to that point was rooted in the Caribbean and part of a black Caribbean culture, and turned it into a metaphor for all sorts of things in American culture,” said Leo Braudy, a USC professor who last year published “Haunted: On Ghosts, Witches, Vampires, Zombies, and Other Monsters of the Natural and Supernatural Worlds.”

Up to this point, Braudy said, horror movies focused on individuals like Frankenstein’s monster, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. “The zombie is unique because it’s part of a group representing the potential threat of a mass mind,” he said.

Romero solidified his reputation as a master of the genre with the sequel “Dawn of the Dead,” which premiered in the U.S. in 1979 and became one of the most profitable independent productions in film history. The franchise would eventually encompass six films — the first four, released decades apart, are one storyline.

“‘Night of the Living Dead,’ then ‘Dawn of the Dead’ is a few weeks later, ‘Day of the Dead’ months later and ‘Land of the Dead’ is three years later,” Romero said. “Each one spoke about a different decade and was stylistically different. After ‘Land,’ I wanted to do something about emerging media and citizen journalism.”

“Night of the Living Dead” evoked Vietnam-era bloodshed and, with its black male lead trapped in a farmhouse, echoed some of the hysteria in the civil rights era. “Dawn of the Dead” poked fun at soul-deadening consumerism, and “Day of the Dead” addressed ethics in science. In “Land of the Dead,” Romero tackled safety and boundaries, showing a community fortifying itself against a murderous horde while its wealthiest citizens keep alive class divisions.

But part of what made Romero’s films so distinctive, no doubt, was their unbridled gore, which caused many of the movies to go unrated.

“I just don’t shy away from it,” he said in a 2010 interview with The Times, noting that “the old DC comic books were very, very graphic before the old Comics Code cleaned them up.

“Hard-core horror fans would like to see more and more of it. It’s the fun part. It’s the payoff. It’s the downhill dip on the roller coaster.”

Romero did, however, draw a difference between his gore-for-purpose approach and new movies that he categorized as “torture porn things.”

“They’re just mean-spirited and Grand Guignol all the way,” he said referencing an infamous Parisian theater that specialized in naturalistic horror shows. “I don’t find any substance underlying it. I like to use horror as allegory.”

George Andrew Romero was born in the Bronx in New York City on Feb. 4, 1940. He attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, graduating in 1961 from the university’s College of Fine Arts. He stayed in Pittsburgh for much of his feature film career.

In the years immediately after “Night of the Living Dead,” he made films that were less popular, including 1971’s “There’s Always Vanilla,” 1973’s “The Crazies” and 1978’s “Martin.”

Between other “Dead” films he directed the 1981 film “Knightriders,” starring Ed Harris; the 1988 movie “Monkey Shines,” his first studio-produced film, which introduced him to Grunwald; and “Two Evil Eyes,” a 1990 horror film he made with Italian filmmaker Dario Argento inspired by Edgar Allan Poe short stories. His last credit as a writer was for his characters’ appearance in 2017’s “Day of the Dead” from director Hèctor Hernández Vicens.

The movies and TV shows that have taken their cues from Romero’s work — “World War Z,” “28 Days Later,” “Shaun of the Dead” — seem almost too numerous to count. And though the popularity of something like “The Walking Dead” would seem to be a compliment to Romero, he once called that juggernaut “a soap opera with a zombie occasionally.

“I always used the zombie as a character for satire or a political criticism, and I find that missing in what’s happening now,” he said in 2013.

But therein lies what set Romero apart, Braudy said.

“He remained true to his outside Hollywood roots,” he said, calling the filmmaker a “tremendous influence on the independent film industry because he didn’t have to be in Hollywood to make films that attracted wide audiences. He continues to be a lasting example of the idea that Hollywood needs to be reenergized from outside, independent perspectives.”

Romero is survived by his wife, his daughter, his son Andrew Romero and, from his earlier marriage to Christine Romero, his son Cam Romero.

 

beautiful and talented June Foray, 99:






perhaps the busiest actress in Hollywood history - did many voice overs and commercials ~ remarkably talented lady

 

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/sam-shepard-lauded-director-playwright-150657672.html

Sam Shepard, Lauded Director, Playwright, and Actor, Dies at 73
Kate Erbland,Indiewire 3 hours ago
Director, playwright, and actor Sam Shepard has passed away at the age of 73. BroadwayWorld first reported the news this morning.

He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of pilot Chuck Yeager in “The Right Stuff.” He was also the author of forty-four plays, as well as several books, including short stories, essays, and memoirs. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play “Buried Child.”

As BroadwayWorld notes, “Shepard’s plays are chiefly known for their bleak, poetic, often surrealist elements, black humor and rootless characters living on the outskirts of American society.”

In 2009, he received the PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award as a master American dramatist. Shepard was elected to The American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1986. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1986. Shepard was also a dedicated teacher of the arts, and he lead classes and seminars at a variety of venues throughout his career.

Sam Shepard

Shepard was already an established name in the theater when he began appearing in movies, and he first major credited role was as The Farmer in Terrence Malick’s 1978 opus “Days of Heaven.” While always remaining steadfast in his affection for the stage, he went on to star in such films as “Resurrection,” “Country,” “Baby Boom,” and “Steel Magnolias.”

In his later years, he starred in a variety of features, including roles in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” “Snow Falling on Cedars,” and “Mud.” His last film, “Never Here,” was directed and written by Camille Thoman and debuted at this year’s Los Angeles Film Festival. He also had a recurring role on the television series “Bloodline.”

His screenwriting credits include co-writing turns on such lauded features as “Zabriskie Point,” “Paris, Texas,” and “Fool for Love.” While he directed a pair of features, “Far North” and “Silent Tongue,” he was far more prolific on the stage side of things.

His 50-year friendship with Johnny Dark (stepfather to his first wife, O-Lan Jones) was the subject of the 2013 documentary “Shepard & Dark” by Treva Wurmfeld.

He is survived by his three children.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/celebrity/dic...ian-civil-rights-activist-dies-024341027.html

Dick Gregory, Groundbreaking Comedian and Civil Rights Activist, Dies at 84
Cynthia Littleton,Variety 54 minutes ago
Dick Gregory, the pioneering standup comedian and civil rights activist who made his advocacy work a key component of his on-stage persona, died Saturday night in Washington, D.C. He was 84.

Gregory’s death was confirmed by his family in an Instagram post.

“The family appreciates the outpouring of support and love and respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time,” read the post from son Christian Gregory.

Gregory was active on the standup and public speaking circuit on and off for more than a half-century. He had recently been making comedy appearances until he was hospitalized on Aug. 9. Gregory recently released a new book, “Defining Moments in Black History: Reading Between the Lies,” and he recently penned a guest column for Variety about how communities can band together to end police brutality.

Gregory made his mark in the early 1960s as a rare African-American comedian who was a success in nightclubs geared to white audiences. One his breaks famously came in 1960 when he was invited by Playboy founder Hugh Hefner to perform at his Playboy Lounge in Chicago.

Gregory was known for his folksy delivery and for incorporating commentary about segregation and discrimination into his routines. During this period he released a number of successful spoken word albums, notably 1961’s “In Living Black and White,” 1962’s “Talks Turkey,” 1964’s “So You See … We All Have Problems” and 1968’s “The Two Sides of Dick Gregory.” In 1964, his autobiography was published with the provcative title: “N—-: An Autobiography.”

By the mid-1960s, after his friend and fellow activist Medgar Evers was murdered, Gregory turned his focus to full-time work as an activist with Martin Luther King Jr. and others. He was vocal advocate for the rights of African-Americans and Native Americans, and he was an early opponent of the Vietnam war and South Africa’s apartheid. Gregory tried his hand at politics, running unsuccessfully for mayor of Chicago in 1967 and mounting a presidential bid in 1968.

A native of St. Louis, Gregory was one of six children who were abandoned in childhood by their father. He became a track star in high school, which led him to a scholarship Southern Illinois University in 1951. He left the school after his mother died in 1953 and was drafted into the Army. His comedy career was kindled during his time in the service, where he first performed in talent shows and variety shows.

In the 1970s, after his weight ballooned to 350 pounds, Gregory became active in the cause of world hunger and nutritional advocacy, as well as spiritual awareness of the mind-body connection. He developed a popular weight-loss regimen known as the Bahamian diet, and for a time had his own line of nutritional supplements. In 1981, he endured a medically supervised 70-day fast at a hospital in New Orleans.

Gregory was a frequent presence on the talk show and late-night comedy circuit during his 1960s heyday. But he logged only a few acting roles during his long career. He had guest shots in two episodes of Comedy Central’s “Reno 911” in 2004. He had a role in the 1995 Mario Van Peebles film “Panther” as an activist minister and a cameo in the 2002 Rob Schneider vehicle “The Hot Chick.”

A prolific writer, Gregory’s other books included “Up From N—–“, “No More Lies,” and “Callus on My Soul.” He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2015.

Gregory is survived by his wife of 58 years, Lillian, and 10 children.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...bc9e4b0f290e521d4af?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

ENTERTAINMENT 08/20/2017 01:55 pm ET Updated 3 minutes ago
Comedian Jerry Lewis Dead At 91
The beloved comic enjoyed a decades-long career.
By Leigh Blickley

Longtime actor and comedian Jerry Lewis has died of natural causes early Sunday morning, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Lewis’ agent confirmed the news to Variety.

Lewis faced many health problems throughout the years, including prostate cancer and two heart attacks. He also suffered from Type 1 diabetes and battled pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic lung disease.

The beloved comic enjoyed a decades-long career, selling out his one-man shows at the 2,400-seat La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts in California in 2014. He achieved national fame starting in 1946 alongside Dean Martin, performing with him on television and radio shows and in movies before they parted ways in 1956 as a duo. Lewis went on to star in, produce and direct an array of films, including “The Delicate Delinquent” (1957), “The Bellboy” (1960) and “The Nutty Professor” (1963). He also made multiple television appearances and hosted the annual Labor Day Telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association for over 40 years until he was reportedly unceremoniously dumped by the organization in 2010 and resigned from his post as national chairman. MDA announced in May 2015 that the telethon would be ending, saying “the new realities of television viewing and philanthropic giving have made this the right time.”

Comedian Jerry Lewis attends a celebration of his 90th birthday at The Friars Club in April 2016 in New York.
Despite ups and downs, Lewis continued to work, performing onstage and even directing a musical theatre version of “The Nutty Professor” at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville in 2012. He most recently starred in the film “Max Rose,” about a jazz musician dealing with the death of his wife of 65 years, whom he discovers was unfaithful.

“I’ve worked under the most painful conditions any man has ever felt in his life,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2014. “But when I walk out on that stage, the pain goes away.”

Those touched by Lewis’ work quickly took to social media to express their regard and respect for the Hollywood legend. Actors William Shatner and Patton Oswalt expressed their condolences to Lewis’ family. Josh Gad called Lewis, “one of the greatest of all time.”

Lewis, who was formerly married to Patti Palmer, is survived by his wife, SanDee Pitnick, and his children, sons Gary, Ronnie, Scott, Christopher and Anthony and daughter Danielle. His youngest son Joseph died of a drug overdose on Oct. 24, 2009, at the age of 45.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...-richard-anderson_us_59a89623e4b0dfaafcef1cfc

ENTERTAINMENT 08/31/2017 08:03 pm ET Updated 7 hours ago
‘The Six Million Dollar Man’ Actor Richard Anderson Dead At 91
Actor Richard Anderson played Oscar Goldman on the popular 1970s TV series.
By David Moye

FRED PROUSER / REUTERS

Actor Richard Anderson, best known for his role as Oscar Goldman on the 1970s shows “The Six Million Dollar Man” and “The Bionic Woman,” died Thursday, according to his family. He was 91.

Family spokesman Jonathan Taylor told The Associated Press Anderson died of natural causes. He didn’t elaborate.

Anderson’s acting career, which spanned nearly seven decades, started when legendary actor Cary Grant took him under his wing. After that, Anderson became an MGM contract player, appearing in movies like the influential sci fi film “Forbidden Planet.”

Anderson said his career really took after he worked with Stanley Kubrick on the 1957 anti-war classic “Paths Of Glory.”

“That film changed my whole career,” Anderson said, according to Hollywood Reporter.

Anderson is most famous for his role as a government agent who assigned risky missions on “The Six Million Dollar Man,” and “The Bionic Woman,” two hit sci fi series that aired on ABC during the 1970s.

When “The Bionic Woman” moved to NBC for the 1977-78 season, Anderson became the first actor to play the same role on two shows running on separate networks.

Anderson’s character got a pop culture tribute of sorts in the 2005 comedy, “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” when Steve Carell’s character mentions owning an Oscar Goldman action figure.

Lee Majors, who starred as Steve Austin on “The Six Million Dollar Man,” released this statement about Anderson:

“I met Richard in 1967 when he first guest starred on The Big Valley — we worked together on five episodes. In 1974, he joined me as my boss, Oscar Goldman, in The Six Million Dollar Man. Richard became a dear and loyal friend, and I have never met a man like him. I called him ‘Old Money.’ His always stylish attire, his class, calmness and knowledge never faltered in his 91 years. He loved his daughters, tennis and his work as an actor. He was still the sweet, charming man when I spoke to him a few weeks ago. I will miss you, my friend.”
Lindsay Wagner, who played Jamie Sommers on “The Bionic Woman,” told reporters:

“I can’t begin to say how much I have always admired and have been grateful for the elegance and loving friendship I was blessed to have with Richard Anderson. He will be greatly missed.”

 

http://variety.com/2017/film/news/harry-dean-stanton-dead-dies-big-love-twin-peaks-1202560703/

Harry Dean Stanton, ‘Big Love,’ ‘Twin Peaks’ Star, Dies at 91

Carmel Dagan
Staff Writer

Harry Dean Stanton Dead: 'Twin Peaks,'REX/SHUTTERSTOCK VIEW GALLERY
12 PHOTOS

SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 | 03:26PM PT
Harry Dean Stanton, the actor with a gaunt, bedraggled look who labored in virtual obscurity for decades until a series of roles increased his visibility, including his breakthrough in Wim Wenders’ “Paris, Texas,” died of natural causes Friday in Los Angeles. He was 91.

The actor was also known for his roles in “Twin Peaks,” “Big Love,” “Pretty in Pink,” and “Repo Man.”

He had a high-profile role as manipulative cult leader Roman Grant on HBO polygamy drama “Big Love,” which ran from 2006-11, and recently appeared as Carl Rodd in the “Twin Peaks” revival on Showtime.

His most recent film, “Lucky,” about an atheist who comes to terms with his own mortality, is set to be released by Magnolia on Sept. 29.
David Lynch on Harry Dean Stanton: ‘He Was a Great Actor and a Great Human Being’

In 1984, when he turned 58, he not only starred in the Wenders’ “Paris, Texas” — his first role ever as leading man — but in Alex Cox’s popular cult film “Repo Man.” (That year he also had a small role in John Milius’ “Red Dawn,” shouting “Avenge me! Avenge me!” to his sons, played by Charlie Sheen and Patrick Swayze, after being captured by Soviet troops invading America.)

“Paris, Texas,” penned by Sam Shepard, was the darling of the Cannes Film Festival, capturing not only the Palme d’Or, but other juried awards as well. Stanton played Travis, who reconnects with his brother, played by Dean Stockwell, after being lost for four years. Stanton’s performance in the film was not so much powerful as it was intriguingly, sometimes hauntingly, absent.

Roger Ebert said, “Stanton has long inhabited the darker corners of American noir, with his lean face and hungry eyes, and here he creates a sad poetry.”

In the cheerfully bizarre “Repo Man,” he played the boozy repo-biz veteran who takes young punk Emilio Estevez under his wing but provides at-best nebulous guidance: “The life of a repo man is always intense.”
Hollywood Mourns Death of ‘Legendary’ Harry Dean Stanton: ‘The Definition of Cool’

In 1986, Stanton hit the mainstream when he played Molly Ringwald’s unemployed father in “Pretty in Pink.” Later in the 1980s he played a fiery Paul/Saul in Martin Scorsese’s controversial 1988 effort “The Last Temptation of Christ,” but the actor was among those in the film criticized by many as miscast.

Later film roles included a pair of David Lynch films in the early 1990s, “Wild at Heart” and “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me”; Bob Rafelson’s “Man Trouble,” with Jack Nicholson; “The Mighty,” with Gena Rowlands and Sharon Stone; “The Green Mile”; Sean Penn’s “The Pledge”; Nick Cassavetes’ “Alpha Dog”; and Lynch’s “Inland Empire.”

Stanton was close friends with Nicholson — Stanton was best man at Nicholson’s 1962 wedding, and they lived together for more than two years after Nicholson’s divorce — and the character actor’s first step in emerging from obscurity was a part written by Nicholson for him in the 1966 Western “Ride the Whirlwind.” Stanton played the leader of an outlaw gang; Nicholson told him to “let the wardrobe do the acting and just play yourself.” “After Jack said that, my whole approach to acting opened up,” Stanton told Entertainment Weekly.


In the early ’70s Stanton appeared in films including “Kelly’s Heroes” and “Two Lane Blacktop”; he also had a small role in “The Godfather: Part II.”

On the shoot for 1976’s “The Missouri Breaks,” starring Marlon Brando and Nicholson, Stanton made a long-term friend in Brando when he courageously dissuaded the increasingly eccentric actor from making a foolish choice in his performance.

The actor played one of the doomed crewmen in Ridley Scott’s “Alien” and a crooked preacher in John Huston’s “Wise Blood,” and he had a fairly significant role in John Carpenter’s “Escape From New York” as Brain, who keeps the machines running in the high-security prison Manhattan has become.

In 1983, Shepard got to talking with Stanton at a bar in Sante Fe, N.M., and later offered him the lead role in “Paris, Texas.” “I was telling him I was sick of the roles I was playing,” Stanton told the New York Times. “I told him I wanted to play something of some beauty or sensitivity. I had no inkling he was considering me for the lead in his movie.” He also worked with Shepard in the 1985 “Fool for Love.”

In a 2011 review of Paolo Sorrentino’s “This Must Be the Place,” Variety said, “Like all great directors who make a road movie, Sorrentino captures the physical location as well as the inner transformation, and in keeping with the genre, he also knows Harry Dean Stanton has to be included.”

Stanton did voice work for the Johnny Depp animated film “Rango” in 2011. In a 2010 episode of NBC’s “Chuck,” Stanton reprised his “Repo Man” character.

Stanton was born in West Irvine, Ky. After serving in the Navy during WWII, he attended the University of Kentucky, studying journalism and radio, and performing in “Pygmalion.” He then pursued an interest in acting by heading to California to study at the Pasadena Playhouse.

He made his small-screen debut in 1954 in an episode of the NBC show “Inner Sanctum.” In another early TV role, he was directed by Alfred Hitchcock in an episode of “Suspicion” called “Four O’Clock.” (The actor was credited as Dean Stanton in most of his early roles to avoid confusion with the actor Harry Stanton, who died in 1978.)

On the big screen, Stanton’s earliest, mostly uncredited work was in Westerns and war pics, debuting in 1957’s “Tomahawk Trail” and appearing in 1959 Gregory Peck-starrer “Pork Chop Hill.” (He also guested on many TV Westerns, including “The Rifleman,” “Have Gun — Will Travel,” “Bonanza,” and “Gunsmoke”).

Stanton also led his own band, first known as Harry Dean Stanton and the Repo Men and later simply as the Harry Dean Stanton Band, and would play pickup gigs in L.A. area clubs. Bob Dylan, with whom he worked on Sam Peckinpah’s 1973 film “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid,” was a friend. Another friend was Hunter S. Thompson, and Stanton sang at his funeral.

The character actor was the subject of two documentaries: 2011’s “Harry Dean Stanton: Crossing Mulholland” and Sophie Huber’s 2013 “Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction,” which featured interviews with Wenders, Shepard, Kris Kristofferson, and Lynch.

He never married, though he has said he has “one or two children.”

Watch “Harry Dean Stanton: Crossing Mulholland” below:

 

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bernie-casey-dies-revenge-nerds-000418728.html

Bernie Casey Dies: ‘Revenge Of The Nerds And ‘I’m Gonna Git You Sucka’ Actor Was 78
Deadline Dino-Ray Ramos,Deadline 4 hours ago

Premiere of 'Paternity'
Bernie Casey, who starred in iconic films such as Revenge of the Nerds and I’m Gonna Git You Sucka has died at age 78, Deadline has confirmed. Casey, who also had a career in the NFL as a wide receiver, died on Tuesday in Los Angeles after being hospitalized for a yet-to-be-announced illness.

Casey was born in Wyco, W.VA on June 8, 1939. He was a track and field star at Bowling Green and in 1961 was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers. He played with the 49ers for six seasons and went on to play for the Los Angeles Rams for two.

Casey would go on to be an actor, starring in Guns of the Magnificent Seven, a sequel to The Magnificent Seven. He also starred in the 1973 classic Cleopatra Jones, and appeared in Martin Scorsese’s Boxcar Bertha in 1972 opposite Barbara Hershey and David Carradine.

In 1984, he starred as U.N. Jefferson, the national head of the fictional, yet legendary, Lambda Lambda Lambda fraternity in the ’80s classic Revenge of the Nerds. He would go on to reprise the role in the TV movie sequel Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation.

He also starred in the Keenan Ivory Wayans’ I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, an action comedy parody film of blaxploitation, where he appeared as a version of himself alongside other football players-turned-actors. To add to his resume of pop culturally relevant ’80s movies, Casey played a high school teacher in starred in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter.

Casey ventured into directing in 1997 with The Dinner, a movie he wrote and starred in about three black men of different ideas and ages who have a dinner table discussion about numerous topics including slavery, homophobia and black self-loathing.

Casey also starred as the recurring Bond character of CIA agent Felix Leiter in Never Say Never Again as well as Burt Reynolds’ Sharky’s Machine. His other credits include Another 48 Hours, Under Siege, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Spies Like Us and Hit Man.

 

RIP Harry Dean. He was a great actor and a really wonderful person. I was fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with him on the sets and at Dan Tana's on Santa Monica where he drank and held discussion sessions for over 30 years. This guy was the real deal. I look forward to seeing his last work of art which will be released later this year. Harry was as dedicated to his craft and his music as anyone I have ever known, seen or heard of. I have taken a few wild rides with Harry behind the wheel of his Lexus at 2:30 AM from Dan Tana's through the Canyons to his house on Mulholland after more than a few cocktails. He loved that ride and made it unscathed for over 30 years. He lived on American Spirit Cigatettes, tequila and tomato juice, big fat joints and the excellent meatballs at Dan's and lived it to the hilt for over 92 years. He will be missed by all who knew him.

 

Re, Monty Hall.
Another passing as one of us.
http://politicalforum.com/index.php?threads/is-it-true-part-deux.495478/page-8#post-1068066010

They walk among us unnoticed.