Monday, March 25, 2024

RIP Paula Weinstein

 

Paula Weinstein Dies: ‘Perfect Storm’ Producer, Double Emmy Winner, Former Studio & Tribeca Exec Was 78

DEADLINE

By Erik Pedersen, Mike Fleming Jr.

March 25, 2024

 

Paula Weinstein, who produced dozens of films including The Perfect Storm and The Fabulous Baker Boys, exec produced Grace and Frankie, won Emmys for Truman and Recount and was a former studio and Tribeca Enterprises executive during a nearly 40-year career, died Monday morning. She was 78.

Her daughter Hannah Rosenberg told Deadline that Weinstein died peacefully at her home in New York. She was well-liked around Hollywood; condolences to her many friends in the industry.

“The world is a lesser place without my mother,” Rosenberg said in a statement to Deadline. “Paula was a lifelong activist and force of nature who was a champion for social justice and underdogs for more than half a century. She shattered barriers in Hollywood and always lifted other women along with her. I know my mother would want me say this: if you’d like to honor her, please stop what you are doing and turn your attention toward re-electing President Biden and making sure Democrats win down the ballot so we can be sure Democracy survives in America and around the world.”

Weinstein’s films as producer or EP credits range from American Flyers and The Fabulous Baker Boys in the 1980s; through Something to Talk About, Analyze This and sequel Analyze That in the ’90s; The Perfect Storm, Bandits, Deliver Us from Eva, Monster-in-Law and The Company Men in the ’00s; and more recently This Is Where I Leave You and In the Heart of the Sea.

Along the way, Weinstein executive produced the HBO telefilms Too Big to Fail (2011), Recount (2008) and Truman (1995), winning Emmys for the latter two and a nom for Too Big to Fail. Truman also won her a PGA Award, and she was nominated for two others. She also earned an Emmy nom for Citizen Cohn and EP’d TV movies including First Time Felon, Iron Jawed Angels and many others.

Weinstein was an EP on all 94 episodes of the popular 2015-22 Netflix series Grace and Frankie, starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. It is the streamer’s longest-running comedy.

Along with her myriad producing credits, Weinstein held several studio production positions, including VP at Warner Bros, EVP at 20th Century Fox and president of United Artists from 1981-82. She joined Tribeca Enterprises as EVP in 2013 and played a pivotal role in building Tribeca Studios, where she pursued programs focusing on underrepresented filmmakers.

She exited Tribeca last year to work on political campaigns.

“I don’t want to sit on the sidelines and rail about everything,” she told Deadline in September. “I really want to jump in, fully, into the campaigns. Both statewide and national campaigns. It just feels very much like a moment…between the climate, and book banning and everything else that I don’t need to go into.”

Born on November 19, 1945, she began her career as an assistant film editor in New York City and later served as Special Events Director for Mayor John Lindsay.

Recipient of two Crystal Awards from Women in Film, Weinstein was a founding member of the Hollywood Women’s Political Committee, which raised millions of dollars for Democratic candidates for more than two decades. She also was a former board member of the ACLU of Southern California.

Weinstein was married to producer and Warner Bros executive Mark Rosenberg from 1984 until his death in 1992 at age 44. They former Spring Creek Productions in 1990, and together they produced The Fabulous Baker Boys and Flesh and Bone. Spring Creek also was behind many of her subsequent films.

WEINSTEIN, Paula

Born: 11/19/1945, New York City, New York, U.S.A.

Died: 3/25/2024, Manhattan, New York, U.S.A.

 

Paula Weinstein’s westerns – executive producer:

The Rose and the Jackasl (TV) – 1990

The Cherokee Kid (TV) - 1996

RIP Ron Harper

 

Ron Harper, ‘Land of the Lost’ and ‘Planet of the Apes’ Actor, Dies at 91

He also starred on ‘87th Precinct,’ ‘Wendy and Me,’ ‘The Jean Arthur Show’ and ‘Garrison's Gorillas,’ but none of his series lasted very long.

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

March 25, 2024

 

Ron Harper, who starred on Planet of the Apes and four other short-lived primetime series and on the final season of the beloved kids TV show Land of the Lost during a very busy 15 years on television, has died. He was 91.

Harper died Thursday of natural causes at his home in West Hills, his daughter, Nicole Longeuay, told The Hollywood Reporter.

After understudying for Paul Newman on Broadway, Harper portrayed Det. Bert Kling alongside Norman Fell, Robert Lansing, Gregory Walcott and Gena Rowlands on the 1961-62 NBC cop show 87th Precinct, based on the novels of Ed McBain.

He played Jeff Conway, the husband of Connie Stevens’ character, on the 1964-65 ABC sitcom Wendy and Me, also starring George Burns, who produced the show and appeared as the owner of the apartment building in which the young couple lives.

Next up for Harper were turns as the son of Jean Arthur’s lawyer — they both portrayed lawyers, in fact — on CBS’ The Jean Arthur Show in 1966 and Lt. Craig Garrison on the World War II-set Garrison’s Gorillas, which aired on ABC in 1967-68.

All four never made it to a second season, with 87th Precinct lasting 30 episodes, Wendy and Me 34, The Jean Arthur Show 12 and Garrison’s Gorillas 26.

In 1974, Harper finally seemed to have a hit on his hands when he landed the role of astronaut Alan Virdon on CBS’ Planet of the Apes. The series, after all, had come on the heels of the five Planet of the Apes movies and starred Roddy McDowall, who was in four of the films, as a chimpanzee.

However, the high-cost show, which also starred Jim Naughton as an astronaut, performed poorly in its Friday night slot and was canceled, with just 14 episodes airing.

“Our Planet of the Apes stories degenerated into The Fugitive with fur. I think that’s one of the things that curtailed what should have been a longer run,” Harper said in an interview for Tom Weaver’s 2008 book, I Talked With a Zombie.

Harper then joined Sid and Marty Krofft’s Land of the Lost in 1976 for its third and final season, stepping in for Spencer Milligan to play the family’s Uncle Jack on the NBC sci-fi show. He was on just 13 episodes, but those showed up often in repeats over the years.

“The stories were very good,” Harper said in 2005. “Each generation of children as they come up and are exposed to it like those stories and remember them, pass them right on. I have about three tapes, and I’ve been showing them to my daughter since she was 5. And she still, of all my series, loves Land of the Lost best.”

Ronald Robert Harper was born on Jan. 12, 1933, in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, outside Pittsburgh. He graduated from Turtle Creek High School and earned a scholarship to Princeton University, where he did two seasons of summer stock. He then was offered a fellowship to Harvard Law School.

“I kept saying to myself, ‘Should you waste your good education being an actor?’ And that little voice within me kept saying things like, ‘What do you want to take that fellowship to Harvard Law for? Be an actor. Starving is fun,’” he said in 1966. “And like the fool that any actor has to be, I listened to that dumb little voice.”

He studied with Lee Strasberg, served in the U.S. Navy and in 1959-60 was Newman’s understudy in Tennessee Williams’ Sweet Bird of Youth, directed by Elia Kazan. He got to play opposite Geraldine Page four times one week when Newman was ill.

“In my last performance of it, I saw Paul in the audience,” he recalled in 2015. “If he was not feeling too well, he was feeling a little bit better. He was a wonderful, sweet guy. I think he probably felt generous enough to say, ‘Let Ron do one or two of the performances.’”

After that, he appeared on installments of such shows as Tales of Wells Fargo, Thriller, Wagon Train and The Tall Man before landing on 87th Precinct.

Harper returned to Broadway in 1972 in 6 Rms Riv Vu and did lots of soap operas, among them Another World, Loving, Capitol, Generations, Where the Heart Is and Love of Life.

His résumé also included the movies The Wild Season (1971), The Odd Couple II (1998) and Pearl Harbor (2001) and TV guest stints on The Big Valley, Remington Steele, Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place, Walker, Texas Ranger, The West Wing and Cold Case.

In addition to his daughter, survivors include his son-in-law, Daniel; granddaughters Ronnie and Harper; and ex-wife Shirley. His first wife was actress Sally Stark.

HARPER, Ron (Ronald Robert Harper)

Born: 1/12/1933, Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Died: 3/21/2024, West Hills, California, U.S.A.

 

Ron Harper’s westerns – actor:

Laramie (TV) – 1960, 1963 (Lee Parkinson, Stede Rhodes)

Tales of Wells Fargo (TV) – 1960 (Dan Haskell)

Wagon Train (TV) – 1960 (Lieutenant Bevins)

The Deputy (TV) – 1961 (Jay Elston)

Shotgun Slade (TV) – 1961 (Deputy Griff Blanchard)

The Tall Man (TV) -1961 (Deputy Sheriff Harry)

The Big Valley (TV) – 1969 (Eric Abbott)

Walker: Texas Ranger (TV) – 1998 (Eddie)

American Bandits: Frank and Jesse James – 2010 (Doc)

RIP Enrique Ventura

 


 Enrique Ventura, legendary comic artist, dies

He mixed humor and surrealism in series such as 'Grouñidos en el desierto' or 'Maremagnum', created together with Miguel Ángel Nieto for El Jueves and El Papus


Las Provincias

By Miguel Lorenci

March 25, 2024

 

The comic artist Enrique Ventura, a reference of the ninth art in Spain and known above all for the mythical series 'Grouñidos en el desierto', died on Monday at the age of 78, as confirmed by the publishing house Evolution-Cómics, of the Panini imprint. Born in Madrid in 1946, Ventura formed with his cousin Miguel Ángel Nieto (1947-1995) a fundamental duo in Spanish graphic humor that began publishing more than half a century ago.

At the beginning of the 70s of the last century, the couple revolutionized the Spanish comic scene with series such as 'Es que van como locos', 'Maremagnum' or 'Histerias indecent de la tele', created for the magazine El Jueves. His humor between surrealist absurdity and his search for new graphic and narrative resources culminated in the masterpiece 'Grouñidos en el desierto', which also appeared in El Jueves, 1979, and starred Groucho Marx.

Enrique Ventura continued with the series without diminishing its quality after the sudden death of Miguel Ángel in 1995. He was in charge of the scripts of the series until 2013, the year when Bisnieto took over, a pseudonym that was still a nice tribute to its first screenwriter.

Miguel Ángel Nieto and Enrique Ventura abandoned their architecture studies for those of advertising technicians. They published the comic 'Sam and the Walrus' (1971) in the children's magazine Molinete. The following year they signed with the magazine Trinca for which they made the silent comic 'King Tongo'.

They worked for the satirical magazine El Papus and for El Jueves, where they published their long-running series 'Grouñidos en el desierto' (Stirrings in the Desert) since January 31, 1979. Groucho was a character with whom they had a long-standing relationship, as he often appeared in many of their stories. Almost perennial in El Jueves, for a period it was replaced by 'Harponazos', a series in the same vein starring Harpo Marx.

Cartoonists such as David Rubín, Cels Piñol and Juanjo Cuerda bid farewell and paid tribute to the creator as one of the great references in the sector.

VENTURA, Enrique

Born: 1946, Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Died: 3/25/2024, Spain

 

Enrique Ventura’s westerns – comic book artist:

Crazy Magazine – 1973-1983

RIP Fritz Wepper

 

German Actor Fritz Wepper Passes Away at 82

Il Messaggero

March 25, 2024

 

German actor Fritz Wepper has died at the age of 82, reported by Bild and other media. RIP Fritz Wepper, aka Inspector Harry Klein in #Derrick (17 August 1941 – 25 March 2024).🖤 For many, a piece of childhood has also died. Wepper was the famous assistant Harry Klein in the television series 'Inspector Derrick' and acted for a long time in the series 'A Cyclone in the Convent'. 'Inspector Derrick' was first broadcast by German television in October 1974, marking a sensational success that lasted continuously for 24 years and 281 episodes. The success of the series was then exported all over the world, from France to the Netherlands, from Turkey to China, so much so that Derrick has become, according to the ironic words of the former German chancellor Helmuth Kohl, 'surely the best export product after Volkswagen'. In Italy, the first episode was broadcast by Rai in 1979. Fritz Wepper achieved his first major success in his home country in the television role of assistant Harry Klein serving Commissioner Herbert Keller (played by Erik Ode) in the series 'Der Kommissar' (1968-74). The same Harry Klein, this time with the rank of inspector, then became the trusted assistant (in fiction following a transfer) of Chief Inspector Stephan Derrick in the series 'Inspector Derrick', a role he played from 1974 to 1998. Born in Munich on 17 August 1941, Fritz Wepper, the son of lawyer Friedrich Karl Wepper, enlisted in the German army during the Second World War and declared missing in Poland in 1945, began his career at the age of nine at the radio station Bayerischer Rundfunk, where he performed in a children's program, debuting in theater in 1952 in 'Peter Pan'. His first film dates back to 1959, 'The Bridge' by Bernhard Wicki, followed by about twenty titles, including 'The Last Train from Vienna' (1963) by Arthur Hiller.

WEPPER, Fritz

Born: 8/17/1941, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Died: 3/25/2024, Munich, Bavaria, Germany


Fritz Wepper’s western – actor:

Ein Sheriff für den Sarg (TV) – 1963 (Tampico)

Saturday, March 23, 2024

RIP Daniel Beretta

 

Daniel Beretta has passed away at the age of 77: Schwarzenegger's French voice has died

A great gentleman of dubbing has just left us. Comedian Daniel Beretta, 77, passed away on March 23, 2024. He was the official French voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

ALLOCINE

By Vincent Formica

March 23, 2024

 

It is with great sadness that we learn of the death of Daniel Beretta at the age of 77. The actor was best known for being the French voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger since “Red Heat” in 1988. After Alain Dorval, Stallone's voice, passed away last February, the world of French dubbing has lost another of its sacred monsters.

After studying at the Petit Conservatoire de la Chanson, Daniel Beretta made his debut in cabaret as a duo with Richard de Bordeaux and gave several concerts. He then moved on to the theatre and then to the cinema, notably for Marcel Camus' “A Wild Summer”. We see him again and again on screen in “The Relentless Pursuit”, “Don't Wake Up a Sleeping Cop” and “Cyrano de Bergerac”.

The mythical VF of Schwarzy

In 1988, he became the official French voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger in France. He voiced him in 28 feature films, from “Red Heat” to “Terminator 2, Last Action Hero” and “Batman & Robin”, up to “Terminator: Dark Fate”. His voice then entered the ears of several generations of French-speaking fans of the Austrian-American actor.

Some emblematic characters of his rich career: the Sheriff of Nottingham from “Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves”, Mr. Blonde in “Reservoir Dogs”, Drewl Spivey in “True Romance” and Colonel Perry from “Universal Soldier”.

He was also the voice of Ernie Hudson (“Oz”, ‘Bones”) and Rutger Hauer (“True Blood”). On the animation side, we can hear it in turn at Disney (“Beauty and the Beast”), Pixar (“Toy Story 2”) and “Ghost in the Shell”.

His death on March 23, 2024 ,at the age of 77 leaves a huge void in the world of French dubbing, which loses one of its greatest voices.

The short film “On s'a fait douber”, one of Daniel Beretta's last performances:

BERETTA Daniel (Daniel Jean Georges Beretta)

Born: 12/24/1946, Audincourt, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France

Died: 3/23/2024, France

 

Daniel Beretta’s western – actor:

In the Dust of the Sun - 1971 (Hawk Bradford)

Tom Sawyer – 2000 [French voice of the Reverend]

Balto 2: The Wolf's Quest – 2002 [French voice of Niju]

A Million Ways to Die in the West – 2014 [French voice of Amick Byram]

RIP Marco Tiberi

 

Screenwriter and writer Marco Tiberi has died at the age of 51

He has translated the Italian comedy into television fiction

ANSA

March 23, 2024

 

He died at the age of fifty-one years, Marco Tiberi, screenwriter, author of novels, Documentary.

The family broke the news.

A pupil of Furio Scarpelli, from Rome, he translated the best Tradition of Italian comedy in television fiction and on this passage he has also written a novel, 'The Last death of Peppe Bortone', which tells "a story without an ending that goes on day by day, destined to last forever": the soap opera.

'The Son of Brancaleone', written with Giacomo Scarpelli, ideal third chapter of the epic started by Mario Monicelli. With Emanuela Fanelli has published a book of conversations on comedy and I could have called it "Woman's Voice" but I'm not still at these levels', and with Giuseppe Civati 'Fine', a dystopian novel about the Earth of the near future. In 2022, with the style of television fiction, told the drift of the Italian left in the non-essay 'Il sequestro.

Counter-history of the Democratic Party' (this and all the others books are published by People).

As a screenwriter, in addition to television series, he has worked for the films 'I mostri oggi' (directed by Enrico Oldoini), 'Christine Cristina' (directed by Stefania Sandrelli) and 'Uomo di fumo' (directed by Giovanni Soldati). He loved to tell stories choral events, of unfortunate characters in search of a legitimate happiness, but also of a project for the political and social future that would disregard any personalism, for the good of all.

It is worth remembering the words put in the mouth of the Breton knight Anguselus and addressed to the Son of Brancaleone: "For the sake of being Truly free, you must free yourself from the ballast of Plombo of being only oneself."

Marco Tiberi's funeral will take place on Monday, March 25 at 2:30 p.m. in the non-Catholic Pyramid Cemetery, in Via Caio Cestius 6 in Rome, while in the morning, at 11 a.m., there will be a souvenir at the Casa del Cinema in Villa Borghese.

TIBERI, Marco

Born: 7/27/1972, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Died: 3/23/2024, Rome, Lazio, Italy

 

Marco Tiberi’s western – writer:

Where Horses Die - 2024

Thursday, March 21, 2024

RIP John Hogarty

 

Albany Times Union

By Dufresne and Cavanaugh Funeral Home

March 20, 2024

Obituary of John F. Hogarty

JOHN F. HOGARTY

 

TROY - John Francis Hogarty was an incredible man who was always thoughtful, considerate, and kind. He passed away in the comfort of his home on March 19, 2024 due to cancer. John handled his passing just like he handled life: with strength, a good sense of humor, a calm demeanor, and grace.

Born the seventh of ten children to Irish immigrant parents in the Bronx, he was raised as a devoted Catholic and remained committed to his faith throughout his life.

John was also a lifelong learner. He obtained a degree in electrical engineering from Manhattan College in his 20s and an MBA from Dowling College in his 50s. He could fix nearly anything by reading the manual, which he would often obtain from the local library.

When he was called to duty by his country during the Vietnam War, John served with honor, and retained his gentle nature. Despite his tendency to be quiet and reserved, he became a member of the Screen Actors Guild, with a notable speaking role in a Robert Redford film.

John, aka Poppa, aka Daddy Dukes, enjoyed all types of music, especially folk, and he was a big fan of local public radio. Many memories with his family were made attending concerts of his favorite artists, whose songs became a soundtrack of our lives. His affinity for music was rivaled by his fondness for sunsets, Costco, and gardening. John could often be found out in the yard "digging in the dirt" and he has instilled that love of growth and sustainability in his children.

Above all, John was a loving and devoted husband to his wife of 44 years, and he was a father figure to many, even beyond his actual 5 children, or as he would call them all, kiddos.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Martin and Margaret Hogarty, his father-in-law Dallas Lee Hogge, his brothers Eddie, Martin, Michael, and Tommy, and his sister Mary. He is survived by his wife, Rosemary, his daughters Heather Ferrero (Joseph), Jennifer Arsell (Craig), Erin O'Brien (TJ), Meghan Liguori (Patrick), and Aileen Sohl (Johnny), his grandchildren Anna, Jamie, Liam, Lily, Sean, James, Thomas, and Dylan, as well as his mother-in-law Marguerite Hogge, his siblings Patricia, Joseph (Stacey), Kevin, and Peter (Randi), and many others who loved him for the sweet, funny, caring man that he was and will always be remembered to be. We know that he will be welcomed and accepted into God's arms just as he welcomed and accepted everyone into his home and his heart.

Calling hours will be held at The Dufresne & Cavanaugh Funeral Home, 149 Old Loudon Rd., Latham, NY on Thursday, March 21 from 4-7pm. Funeral mass will be held at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 498 Watervliet Shaker Rd., Latham on Friday, March 22 at 10:30am, followed by interment with military honors at Saratoga National Cemetery, Schuylerville.

In lieu of flowers and in keeping with John's love of gardening, please consider a live plant or a donation to either Community Hospice (https://www.communityhospice.org/donate/) or Disabled American Veterans (https://www.ihelpveterans.org/).

HOGARTY, John (John Francis Hogarty)

Born: 10/25/1948, Bronx, New York, U.S.A.

Died: 3/19/2024, Latham, New York, U.S.A.

 

John Hogarty’s western – actor:

The Horse Whisperer – 1998 (local tracker)