RIP Michael Hurley

 

Michael Hurley, Underground Folk Legend and Singer-Songwriter, Dies at 83

The cult-favorite musician was admired by Yo La Tengo, Cat Power, Lucinda Williams, and many more

Pitchfork

By Nina Corcoran

April 3, 2025

 

Michael Hurley, the outsider folk artist and singer-songwriter who came up in the Greenwich Village folk scene in the 1960s and continued making music into the present day, has died at home in Astoria, Oregon, his family revealed in a statement. “The ‘Godfather of freak folk’ was for a prolific half-century the purveyor of an eccentric genius and compassionate wit. He alone was Snock. There is no other,” it reads. Hurley was 83.

For over 60 years, Hurley wrote and recorded original songs that parse through bluegrass, freak-folk, and blues with an ear for eccentric ideas and stripped-back moments. Though his music and album artwork was playful—a wolf devours whoopie pies at a diner on the cover of 1994’s Wolfways, and song titles range from “You’re a Dog; Don’t Talk to Me ” to “What Made My Hamburger Disappear?”—Hurley found a way to tap into the serious parts of life simultaneously, using minute details and sweeping reflections to encourage listeners to take a step back and admirer the bigger picture of life before them.

Born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, several days before Christmas in 1941, Hurley started playing music and writing his own songs as a preteen. Summers were spent listening to Fats Waller and Jelly Roll Morton, and making up simple songs during roadtrips with his family. He dropped out of high school to design fanzines, play music, and hitchhike with a guitar slung over his back. It was on one of those wandering routes that he was picked up by Fred Ramsey, a folklorist who lived up the road and ended up producing his debut. After recovering from a multi-year-long struggle with mononucleosis, a 22-year-old Hurley finally recorded his debut album, the aptly titled First Songs, in 1963 for Folkways, the famed label home to Woody Guthrie and Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music.

Hurley expanded his skills beyond singing and playing guitar to also include fiddle and banjo, and was an active illustrator as well, painting and drawing many of the artworks that comprised his album covers. When his childhood friend and future Youngbloods singer Jesse Colin Young chose to champion his work, Hurley’s music began to spread by word of mouth – in part thanks to Young releasing his next two albums, 1971’s Armchair Boogie and 1972’s Hi Fi Snock Uptown, on his Warner Bros. imprint Raccoon.

After signing a contract with Rounder, Hurley released Have Moicy! in 1975 and the album garnered both underground fanfare and critical acclaim, leading to the release of two more LPs on the label: 1976’s Long Journey and 1980’s Snockgrass. As he continued to churn out dozens of records, Hurley also garned the admiration of his younger peers, including Yo La Tengo, Cat Power, Lucinda Williams, Vic Chesnutt, and Calexico, among others.

At the turn of the century, Hurley’s fandom continued to grow in new ways. While albums like 2008’s Ancestral Swamp and releases on respected labels like Mississippi Records and Gnomonsong expanded his reach, so did his hand-drawn comic books and appearances in films like 2018’s Leave No Trace, in which he performs “O My Stars” opposite fellow Oregon-based musician and revered guitarist Marisa Anderson.

Hurley’s final full-length album was 2021’s The Time of Foxgloves, which showcased just how sharp Hurley’s wit had remained going into his eightieth year. He was an active and constant performing artist, too, having played his final shows—a set at Big Ears Festival 2025 in Knoxville, Tennessee, on March 28, and a concert at the AyurPrana Listening Room in Asheville, North Carolina, on March 31—mere days before his death. According to his family, he was working on new music up until the end.

“I did [want to be a famous musician], but I didn’t have a progressive drive about it,” Hurley told The Guardian in 2021. “I didn’t enjoy the process of applying for gigs, that determination to penetrate things, all this trouble you had to go through. I preferred playing parties, little gatherings, drinking with friends, hopping across the river.”

Upon learning of his death, numerous musicians have taken to social media to honor the late singer-songwriter, including the Walkmen’s Hamilton Leithauser, Ryley Walker, and More Eaze. “So long Val Kilmer and Michael Hurley,” Langhorne Slim wrote in an Instagram story. “Two giants of their craft. Both changed the way I saw things after experiencing their work. Both expanded my perception of art. Kings of cool. Rest in peace and thank you.”

HURLEY, Michael

Born: 12/20/1941, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Died: 4/3/2025, Astoria, Oregon, U.S.A.

 

Michael Hurley’s western – musician:

Deadwood: The Movie (TV) - 2019

RIP Alfi Kabiljo

 

WEDNESDAY 11:15 Alfi Kabiljo (1935 - 2025)

Hrvatski Katolicki Radio

4/2/2025

At the age of 90, Alfi Kabiljo - composer, conductor, arranger, pianist, songwriter, librettist and producer who left a mark all over the world with his talent, dedication to work and high level of professionalism and touched the hearts of audiences of various musical affinities - has passed away. In honor of this composer, at 11:15 a.m., HKR reruns the show "Author's Signature" from 2023, in which we remembered the character and work of this famous Croatian music artist, as well as his greatest musical hits and musicals.

With his music, he represented Croatia in the world, with his achievements he became a role model for new generations of composers who greatly respect him, he supported the work of his colleagues and was a regular guest at all important concerts, and he spent his free time in various sports from an early age. Music was Kabiljo's life's calling, not just a profession.

He has left an indelible mark on the Croatian music scene with the music of numerous musicals, which is why he has been called the 'king of the Croatian musical' in the press. Since its premiere in 1971 in Zagreb, the cult musical Yalta, Yalta has been performed more than 1500 times in the interpretation of various theatres and their ensembles, and has also been translated into German, Italian and Norwegian. Other musicals were also very successful: The Great Race (1969), Hairy Life (1976), Red Island (1981), The Marriage List (1986), Emperor Franz Joseph in Zagreb (1989), The King Is Naked (1994) and Who Sings Evil Doesn't Think (1998), which he usually produced in collaboration with Milan Grgić, Vlado Štefančić and Drago Britvić.

Numerous famous Croatian singers have won awards interpreting his compositions: Radojka Šverko, Ivo Robić, Tereza Kesovija, Vice Vukov, Krunoslav Kićo Slabinac, Betty Jurković, Ana Štefok, Miro Ungar and others.

He has composed music for about 40 films, including Scissors (with Sharon Stone), Sky Bandits, Fear, Gymkata, The Girl, You Understand My Old Man, Peasant Revolt, Deps, The Journalist, The Fall of Italy, Occupation in 26 Pictures, Lea and Dario, and for a large number of television series Nikola Tesla, Don't Give Up Floki, Unconquered City. He was awarded the Golden Arena for film music (1976, 1981 and 2010), his music for the film Sky Bandits was nominated in the 'Best original score' category at the BAFTA (British Academy Film Awards) and the American Film Academy (Oscar), and the highest recognition Camille Award was awarded to him in 2022 by the European Federation of Composers' Societies (ECSA) for lifetime achievement.

He is the author of the comic opera Casanova in Istria (CNT Rijeka, 2009) and the ballet Centaur XII (CNT Zagreb, 1979), as well as an extensive instrumental opus for solo music, chamber ensemble and orchestra. For string orchestra he transcribed Pictures from the Exhibition of MP Mussorgsky (published by Doblinger in Vienna, and performed, among others, by the ensemble I Musici de Montréal). It is interesting that at several Winter Olympics, world skaters have performed choreographies to his music.

He has received many recognitions and awards, including: Josip Štolcer Slavenski (1986), Charter of the City of Zagreb (1999), Milivoj Körbler (HDS, 1998), Porin Lifetime Achievement Award (2004), Status (Croatian Music Union, 2004), Kairos (Film Music Festival in Trogir, 2009), Boris Papandopulo (Croatian Composers' Society for Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, 2009), Vladimir Nazor (Ministry of the Republic of Croatia, 2016), Golden Octavian (Croatian Society of Film Critics, 2023) and many others. He is the holder of the state medal Order of the Croatian Danica with the image of Marko Marulić.

He composed numerous local popular songs

He will be remembered by the wider audience as the author of a large number of entertaining songs that have entered the anthology of Croatian popular music, such as the most performed patriotic songs Tvoja zemlja (Zagreb, 1971), The World Is Mine (Rio de Janeiro, 1970), Let the Whole World (Tokyo, 1971), The Day That Is Remembered (Opatija, 1978), I Want Some Tenderness and Love (Opatija, 1970), Everything Comes to an End (Zagreb, 1967), Mother, Don't Cry, Goodbye, Happy Path and a large number of chansons Parks (Zagreb, 1965), You Are a Rose, C'est la vie (Zagreb, 1983), You Know, My Old Man, Don't Look for Another Time.

His compositions have participated in all major festivals such as Zagreb (36 compositions), Split (18), Opatija (13), Krapina (7). A total of 76 of his compositions have been performed at a total of 76 festival editions. Alfi Kabiljo's compositions have won first places or taken a high place at numerous international festivals in Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, Athens, Palma de Mallorca, Seoul, Los Angeles and other cities, in the period from 1968 to 1998 it participated in 30 international festivals and won 13 awards.

KABILJO, Alfi (Alfons Kabiljo)

Born: 12/22/1935, Zagreb, Croatia, Yugoslavia

Died: 4/1/2025, Zagreb, Croatia

 

Alfi Kabiljo’s western – composer:

Sky Bandits - 1986

RIP Arsenio Campos

 

Arsenio Campos, soap opera actor, dies at 79

Actor Arsenio Campos died at the age of 79 in Coahuila. He participated in more than 30 Televisa soap operas and was also a teacher and therapist.

Excelsior

By Gustavo Alonso

4/1/2025

 

Mexican actor Arsenio Campos died on April 1, 2025, at the age of 79, in the state of Coahuila, where he had lived for decades. The news was shared by his daughter Alexandra Campos through a commemorative video posted on Facebook.

Career in film, theater and television

Originally from Tijuana, Baja California, Arsenio Campos began his acting career in the 70s. His first participation in cinema was in the film Para servir a usted (1972), and the following year he debuted on television with the telenovela La hiena (1973).

Throughout more than four decades of career, the actor participated in more than 30 telenovelas, consolidating a recognized career within Mexican television. Among his most remembered titles are Bodas de odio, El camino secreto, Mi segunda madre, Corazón salvaje, Ángela, El noveno mandamiento and Apuesta por un amor.

In recent years, he had prominent roles in two popular Televisa productions: Soy tu dueña and Simplemente María, where he played secondary characters with dramatic force.

In addition to his work on television, Campos also acted in theater and television series, adding a versatile career that spanned different formats and genres.

Facet as a teacher and therapist

Since 1996, Arsenio Campos resided in Saltillo, Coahuila, a city where he developed other facets beyond acting. In 2019, he taught a creative writing course entitled Stories to express your interior, focused on personal development.

He also dedicated himself to physiotherapy, a discipline in which he trained more than 15 years ago. He opened a practice in Saltillo, where he offered physical therapies for rehabilitation and well-being purposes, combining his technical knowledge with a human approach.

Personal life and legacy

Arsenio Campos was married to María Teresa Santoscoy, originally from Piedras Negras, Coahuila. The couple had two children: Arsenio and Alexandra. The family remains based in Saltillo.

So far, no further details have been released about the cause of death. Nor have official statements been issued by acting associations or Televisa.

The death of Arsenio Campos has been commented on by colleagues, followers of Mexican soap operas and local media. His career in the world of entertainment, as well as his dedication to teaching and therapeutic care, have been remembered on social networks by those who knew him up close or through the screen.

CAMPOS, Arsenio (Arsenio José Campos Hurtado)

Born: 1/26/1946, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

Died: 4/1/2025, Coahuila, Mexico

 

Arsenio Campos’ westerns – actor:

Los doce malditos – 1974 (baby)

Bloody Marlene -1979 (hijo McCutchen)

La fichera mas rapida del oeste - 1992

RIP Val Kilmer

 

Val Kilmer, Actor Revered for Playing Batman and Jim Morrison, Dies at 65

Charismatic and versatile, he also won praise for memorable roles as Iceman in 'Top Gun' and Doc Holliday in 'Tombstone,' but his unpredictable behavior ruffled some feathers in Hollywood.

The Holywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

April 1, 2025

 

Val Kilmer, the charisma-oozing leading man who lost himself portraying such tormented, self-loathing characters as Jim Morrison, gunslinger Doc Holliday and Batman during his all-too-brief career, died Tuesday. He was 65.

Kilmer, who came to fame for playing the competitive naval aviator Tom “Iceman” Kazansky alongside Tom Cruise in Tony Scott’s 1986 mega box-office hit Top Gun, died of pneumonia in Los Angeles, his daughter, actress Mercedes Kilmer, told The New York Times.

He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015, and Val, a stirring documentary about his life that premiered at Cannes in July 2021, showed him needing a breathing tube.

Raised in the San Fernando Valley in the shadow of Hollywood, Kilmer also was known for his meaty performances as Robert De Niro’s nasty henchman in Michael Mann’s Heat (1995); as Marlon Brando’s insane assistant in John Frankenheimer’s The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996); as the suave crook Simon Templar in Phillip Noyce’s The Saint (1997); and as the homosexual detective Gay Perry in Shane Black’s tribute to film noir, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005).

Kilmer also impressively channeled Elvis Presley in Scott’s True Romance (1993), written by Quentin Tarantino, and porn star/cocaine addict John Holmes in Wonderland (2003).

He was married to British actress Joanne Whalley from 1988 until their divorce in 1996. They met while working together on Willow and wed months later.

In Oliver Stone‘s The Doors (1991), Kilmer, with long brown hair and skintight black leathers, was eerily realistic as Morrison, the L.A. band’s iconic frontman who succumbed to drugs in 1971 at age 27. The actor took months to prepare for the role, and he recorded his baritone voice against the backing of original Doors master tapes for the film.

The soundtrack “combines Morrison’s original vocals and new vocals by Val Kilmer so seamlessly that there is never, not even for a moment, the sensation that Kilmer is not singing everything we hear,” Roger Ebert wrote in his review.

“That illusion is strengthened by Kilmer’s appearance. He looks so uncannily like Jim Morrison that we feel this is not a case of casting, but of possession. The performance is the best thing in the movie — and since nearly every scene centers on Morrison, that is not small praise. Val Kilmer has always had a remarkable talent, which until now has been largely overlooked.”

Kilmer also was quite compelling with his scene-stealing turn as the doomed Holliday, a sickly alcoholic who’s quick on the draw, in the modern Western classic Tombstone (1993).

“He works harder than most actors to make it look believable,” Tombstone director George Cosmatos told the Los Angeles Times in 1993. “He’s in the ranks of the great actors in America like [Al] Pacino or De Niro.”

Kilmer then took the cowl vacated by Michael Keaton to star as the moody Caped Crusader in Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever (1995). The film raked in $336 million at the global box office, and only Toy Story grossed more that year.

“For me, Val Kilmer was the best Batman,” Schumacher once said, even though they reportedly clashed on the set. (Frankenheimer also didn’t get along with Kilmer; after Dr. Moreau, he said that the two things he would never do again were “climb Mount Everest and work with Val Kilmer again.”)

On Batman Forever, “Everything was different about this job than I’d experienced before,” the actor told Entertainment Tonight in 1995. “The size of the character and how strange it was that Michael Keaton had decided not to do it — I just said yes, without reading the script.”

When he and Warner Bros. couldn’t agree to terms, Kilmer was one and done as Batman, opting not to return for Schumacher’s Batman & Robin (1997) as George Clooney stepped in.

Val Edward Kilmer, part Cherokee, Irish, German and Swedish, was born on New Year’s Eve 1959 in the L.A. suburb of Chatsworth. His father was an aerospace engineer and real estate developer and his mother a housewife — they would end up divorcing when he was 9 — and he had one older brother, one younger.

Wesley, his younger sibling, suffered an epileptic seizure and drowned in a swimming pool at the family home that his father had bought from Western movie legends Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. At the time, Kilmer was about to leave to study acting at Juilliard in New York; he was 17 and the youngest person to be admitted to the school’s drama division.

“It was quite an emotional time for me, and in a way, the extremely high standards and the activity of the school I’m sure were good for me, because I was forced to really challenge myself about my very life, you know — what I believe about life and death,” he said in a 2005 interview.

At Juilliard, he co-wrote How It All Began, a play based on the true story of a West German radical, and it wound up being directed by Des McAnuff and produced by Joseph Papp for The Public Theater. He made his Broadway debut in 1983’s Slab Boys, also featuring Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon.

In his first film, Kilmer starred as rockabilly teen idol Nick Rivers in the daffy spy spoof Top Secret! (1984) from Jim Abrahams and the Zucker brothers. (He also was dating Cher around this time.)

He made an ABC Afterschool Special called One Too Many, in which he played a teenage alcoholic alongside Mare Winningham, then portrayed a lazy laser-technology whiz kid in Real Genius (1985), from director Martha Coolidge.

When Scott approached him for Top Gun, Kilmer said he wasn’t interested. “I told Tony at the meeting, ‘Frankly, I don’t like this.’ I loved what I’d seen of his work, but I just didn’t want to do that movie,” he recalled in the Times interview. “He said, ‘Don’t worry, your hair will look great.’ He thought that would make a difference. He was infectious that way.”

For many fans, Iceman was his signature role: “People talk about it pretty much every time I go to an airport,” he said.

Kilmer returned for the 2022 sequel, and his health issues were evident. His brief scenes in the movie, David Rooney wrote in THR‘s review, generated “resonant pathos. There’s reciprocal warmth, even love, in a scene between Iceman and [Cruise’s] Maverick that acknowledges the characters’ hard-won bond as well as the rivalry that preceded it, with gentle humor.”

Kilmer also provided the voice of K.I.T.T. in a new version of TV’s Knight Rider in 2008-09; played opposite Nicolas Cage in Werner Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009); portrayed the bad guy Cunth for laughs in MacGruber (2010); starred for Francis Ford Coppola in Twixt (2011); was a creepy building superintendent in The Super (2018); and directed, wrote and starred as Mark Twain in Citizen Twain, a one-man show that he brought to stages around the country and then to the big screen.

In 2011, Kilmer sold off most of his 6,000-acre ranch outside Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he had lived for decades. He told THR in December 2017 that his faith as a Christian Scientist helped him deal with his cancer ordeal.

Survivors include his son, Jack, an actor as well.

KILMER, Val (Val Edward Kilmer)

Born: 12/31/1959, Chatsworth, California, U.S.A.

Died: 4/1/2025, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

 

Val Kilmer’s westerns – actor:

Billy the Kid (TV) – 1989 (William Bonney)

Tombstone – 1993 (Doc Holliday)

The Missing – 2003 (Lieutenant Jim Ducharme)

Dead Man's Bounty – 2006 (the wanted man)

Comanche Moon (TV) – 2008 (Inish Scull)

Wyatt Earp’s Revenge 2012 (Wyatt Earp)

Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn - 2014 (Mark Twain)

Soldiers Revenge (TV) – 2011 (CJ)

RIP Lee Montague

 

Lee Montague 1927-2025

Keats Community Library

March 30, 2025

 

We are deeply sad to announce the death of our beloved President for Life, Lee Montague at the age of 97.

Lee was a highly respected actor.  He trained at the Old Vic School and worked in the early part of his career in the Royal Exchange Manchester, the Old Vic, Bristol Old Vic and Oxford Playhouse.

Moving into film he worked with great directors (such as Zeffirelli) appearing in some 30 films including Moulin Rouge in 1952, Bill Budd, Brother Sun, Sister Moon, and Jesus of Nazareth with Robert Powell.

In the 70s in television he had long runs The Sweeney, Bergerac and Seconds Out with Robert Lindsay.

He was the first storyteller on the BBC children’s programme Jackanory on 1965, narrating 15 episodes, for which he won a BAFTA.

He was a huge Arsenal fan and a formidable tennis player!

But to us, he was the saviour of the library. He saved it once before from closure by Camden, but in 2011 they closed it before announcing it, so it was Lee who formed a committee of neighbours to set up the Keats Community Library charity it is today.  

He continued to be vital to our success as he wrote many literary and biographical evenings which he performed with his fellow actors, Michael Palin, Robert Powell, Simon Callow and Janet Suzman. These were played to a full house, as is befitting!

He will be greatly missed.

MONTAGUE, Lee (Leonard Goldberg) [10/16/1927, Bow, London, England, U.K.

Born: 10/16/1927, Bow, London, England, U.K.

Died: 3/30/2025, London, England, U.K.

 

Lee Montague’s western – actor:

The Singer Not the Song - 1961 (Pepe)

RIP Patty Maloney

 

Star of Notorious ‘Star Wars Holiday Special’ Dies at 89

Patty Maloney logged nearly 50 film and TV credits throughout her career, but might have been best known for playing Chewbacca’s son.

Men’s Journal

By Jennifer M. Wood

April 1, 2025

 

Patty Maloney, the 3-foot-11 actress who played a lovable Wookiee in 1978’s infamous The Star Wars Holiday Special, passed away on Monday, March 31 in Winter Park, Florida. She was 89 years old.

Maloney’s health first suffered a setback in 2010, when she was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration, which made it challenging for her to read scripts. More recently, she suffered a series of strokes, which eventually led to her death.

“For a little person growing up in a big world, she did everything she wanted to do,” Maloney’s brother, Dave Myrabo, told The Hollywood Reporter.

That included an entertainment career that dated back to her teens, when Maloney traveled with a carnival during the summer and worked as part of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. She exited the entertainment world in 1961, when she married Joseph Vitek, a printer from Chicago. Following his death in 1968, however, she was encouraged by friends and family to return to the stage in order to help her overcome the grief brought on by losing her husband.

In 1975, Maloney landed a recurring role on Sid and Marty Krofft kid’s TV show Far Out Space Nuts playing Honk, an alien who spoke by honking. She went on to appear on a number of popular TV shows of the time, including Charlie’s Angels, Rhoda, Little House on the Prairie, and The Love Boat. She also landed recurring roles on Marty Hartman, Mary Hartman; The Bay City Rollers Show; and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. She maintained a busy career as a voice actress as well, which included voicing Darla in the animated version of The Little Rascals. She did some voice work on HBO’s Tales from the Crypt, where she also operated The Crypt Keeper.

Maloney became a part of pop culture infamy with a starring role in The Star Wars Christmas Special, which aired the week before Thanksgiving in 1978. The variety show-style caper was seen as a quick cash grab to bank on Star Wars’ amazing popularity. While the film’s main stars, including Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill, all appeared, the special was centered around Han Solo’s Wookiee pal Chewbacca and his family back on his home planet of Kashyyyk, where Chewie has returned to celebrate “Life Day” with his friends and family. Maloney played the costumed role of Lumpy, Chewbacca’s young son.

In a 2008 interview, Maloney noted how “very, very warm” the costume was because it “was made of all human hair.”

Following The Star Wars Holiday Special’s TV debut, and subsequent thrashing by critics, George Lucas stated that, “If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every bootlegged copy of the program and smash it.”

Maloney’s final role was in a 2005 episode of My Name is Earl.

In addition to her brother, Maloney is survived by her two nieces and her brother-in-law.

MALONEY, Patty (Patricia Anne Maloney)

Born: 3/17/1936, Perkinsville, New York, U.S.A.

Died: 3/31/2025, Winter Park, Florida, U.S.A.

 

Patty Malone’s westerns – actress:

Little House on the Prairie (TV) – 1982 (Alice Bates)

Legend (TV) – 1995 (Zorelda Tombs)

RIP Sian Barbara Allen

 

Sian Barbara Allen, Actor in ‘Scream, Pretty Peggy’ and ‘You’ll Like My Mother,’ Dies at 78 

Variety

By Matt Minton

March 31, 2025

 

Sian Barbara Allen, the actor known for numerous television roles and her lead role in “Scream, Pretty Peggy” alongside Bette Davis, died Monday in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Allen’s death was confirmed to Variety with the cause of death being Alzheimer’s disease.

In the ’70s and ’80s, Allen had numerous roles in popular TV shows, including “The Waltons,” “Columbo,” “The Rockford Files,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “Gunsmoke,” “Marcus Welby, M.D.” and “The Incredible Hulk.” Allen also wrote the “Just for Laughs” episode of “Baretta” in Season 4.

In her film work, she starred alongside numerous stars, including Patty Duke, Rosemary Murphy and Richard Thomas in “You’ll Like My Mother” (1972), Bette Davis in “Scream Pretty Peggy” (1973) and Gregory Peck and Jack Warden in the Western “Billy Two Hats” (1974). She also played Anne Morrow alongside Anthony Hopkins in “The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case” (1976). Allen earned a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising New Actress in 1973 for “You’ll Like My Mother.”

After her last on-screen credit in “L.A. Law” Season 4 (1990), Allen left public life behind and focused on politics, family and creative writing.

Allen is survived by her daughter, Emily Fonseca, her two sisters, Hannah Davie and Meg Pokrass, her nephew, Miles Bond, cousins Marcy, Mike and Mark Reuben and grandson Arlo Fonseca.

ALLEN, Sian Barbara (Barbara Susan Pokrass)

Born: 7/12/1946, Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Died: 3/31/2025, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.A.

 

Sian Barbara Allen’s western – actress:

Alias Smith and Jones (TV) – 1971 (Sister Grace)

Gunsmoke (TV) - 1971 (Allie Dawson)

Bonanza (TV) – 1972 (Teresa Burnside)

Billy Two Hats – 1973 (Esther Spencer)