RIP Sid Krofft

 

Sid Krofft, Co-Creator of Mind-Blowing Kids TV Shows, Dies at 96

The puppeteer and his late brother Marty partnered on 'The Banana Splits Adventure Hour,' 'H.R. Pufnstuf,' 'Land of the Lost' and much more.

The Hollywood Reporter

By Andy Lewis

April 13, 2026

 

Sid Krofft, the wildly imaginative puppeteer who teamed with his younger brother Marty to build an entertainment empire behind such trippy TV shows as The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, H.R. Pufnstuf and Land of the Lost, has died. He was 96.

Krofft, eight years older than Marty and the creative force of their business, died Friday in his sleep at the Los Angeles home of friend and business partner Kelly Killian. Marty died in November 2023 at age 86. 

“I get a dream, and Marty gets it done,” Sid said of their partnership in a 2000 interview for the TV Academy Foundation.

The pair were well-known theatrical puppeteers in 1968 when they were recruited to design the costumes for the live-action portion of NBC’s The Banana Splits Adventure Hour. Their furry animal characters (Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper and Snorky), members of a rock band, were an instant hit on the Saturday morning show, which ran from 1968-70 (and in reruns since then).

The next year, NBC asked them to create a Saturday morning kids show, and they came up with H.R. Pufnstuf, about a shipwrecked boy (Jimmy, played by Jack Wild) who lands on a magical island. The title character, Pufnstuf, was a revamp of Luther, a friendly dragon that they had created for a show at the 1968 HemisFair in San Antonio.

NBC wanted a second season to follow the 17-episode first but offered only a small increase on the rights fee, already far below what it was costing the brothers to make the show, so they declined. Pufnstuf was canceled in 1970 but lived on in reruns as well.

Pufnstuf‘s psychedelic sets and costumes were a big hit with college kids, and The Beatles asked for a full set of episode tapes to be sent to them in England. The look of the show prompted many whispers that the brothers took drugs (pot for sure, maybe LSD as well?), something Marty denied.

“You can’t do a show stoned,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in January 2016 during a visit to explore the Krofft archives.

The duo followed Pufnstuf with The Bugaloos (1970-72), the Claymation series Lidsville (1971-73), Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (1973-75) and Land of the Lost (1974-76), which spawned an ill-fated Will Ferrell movie adaptation in 2009. Those shows were wildly popular in syndication as well.

“We screwed with every kid’s mind,” Marty told THR. “There’s a Krofft look — the colors. There’s an edge. Disney doesn’t have an edge.”

Indeed, the Kroffts‘ style was so popular that McDonald’s copied it to create Mayor McCheese and McDonaldland for an early 1970s advertising campaign. The Kroffts sued, winning a reported seven-figure settlement in 1977.

A year earlier, the brothers opened The World of Sid & Marty Krofft theme park in downtown Atlanta’s new Omni Complex (now CNN’s headquarters). Spread over six levels, it was billed as the world’s first vertical amusement park. About 600,000 visitors came during the recession-plagued ’70s, but it wasn’t enough to cover the costs and interest payments, and the park closed after just six months.

Long after other smaller kids producers like Hanna-Barbera had sold out to conglomerates, the Kroffts were still developing shows as the last of the great 1960s independents. As late as 2015, they had a hit on Nickelodeon with Mutt & Stuff (one episode even featured a guest appearance from Pufnstuf).

The Kroffts also developed numerous live-action variety shows including The Brady Bunch Hour, The Donny & Marie Show, The Bay City Rollers Show and Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters.

They produced another kids show hosted by Richard Pryor, based on his childhood, and their puppets toured with such acts as Judy Garland, Liberace, The Mills Brothers, Tony Martin & Cyd Charisse and Frank Sinatra.

Krofft was born in Montreal on July 30, 1929, and when he was young, he and his family lived in Maine, Rhode Island and the Bronx. For PR, the brothers liked to say that they came from a long line of puppeteers going back many generations. In truth, the story was fabricated. Their father was a clock salesman who emigrated from Greece in the early 1900s.

“The Kroffts have been playing with dolls their whole lives,” Marty joked about the brothers’ boyhood interest in puppeteering. By the time he was 15, Sid was already working clubs in New York.

(They had two other brothers; Hy died during fighting in World War II, and Harry, who died last year, briefly worked for their company before going into real estate.)

At 20, Sid got hired by the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and Marty joined his brother full-time in 1958 after an assistant left. They opened Les Poupees de Paris, an adults-only burlesque puppet show that was a huge hit, playing to sold-out crowds at a dinner theater in the San Fernando Valley.

“Les Poupees took us from an act, Sid’s act, to a business,” Marty said. Shirley MacLaine was there on opening night, and Richard Nixon came during his run for president.

Les Poupees took to the road and played the world’s fairs in Seattle in 1962, New York in 1964 and San Antonio in 1968. It featured 240 puppets, mostly topless women, and Time magazine called it a “dirty puppet show.”

After that, it was so popular, “we couldn’t even get our own best friends in the theater,” Sid said. It drew an estimated 9.5 million viewers in its first decade of performances.

All this led to shows at Six Flags amusements parks around the U.S. — they employed more than 100 puppeteers at one point — and appearances on TV, including a regular gig on The Dean Martin Show (they created a chorus line of attractive girl puppets for the variety program before they were replaced by The Golddiggers).

Survivors include his three nieces (Marty’s daughters), Deanna, Kristina and Kendra. Publicist Adam Fenton said Krofft had surgery in November and his recovery proved “difficult and frustrating.”

Until recently, Krofft and Killian interviewed celebrities for their Instagram Live show, Sundays With Sid. At the time of his death, they were finalizing two books about his life and career, one from the perspective of Krofft as a performer, the other from Krofft as a person behind the scenes.

“I loved Sid with my whole heart. He taught me more than I could ever put into words — about the art of Hollywood, the magic of the stage and the depth and complexity of human nature,” she said. “I didn’t know Sid for his shows — I only knew the man who created them. And that man was extraordinary. I wish so very much that I had more time with him. I will miss his big blue eyes, his cheerful smile with his dimples and the warmth that seemed to follow him everywhere he went.”

KROFT, Sid (Cydus Yolas)

Born: 7/30/1920, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Died: 4/10/2026, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

 

Sid Kroft’s westerns – producer:

Harry Tracy: The Last of the Wild Bunch – 1982

RIP Nancy Sheppard

 

Discover Gila County

April 9, 2026

 ·

Today, we pause to remember a true legend of the West… and one of our own.

Nancy Sheppard, a proud cowgirl with deep roots in Gila County, peacefully passed away yesterday at her home in Globe, AZ. We learned of her passing this afternoon, and our hearts are with her family, friends, and all who were touched by her incredible life.

Nancy wasn’t just part of rodeo history—she helped define it. A world-renowned trick rider and roper, she captivated audiences from small-town arenas to Madison Square Garden, becoming the only woman to stand on a running horse while spinning two ropes at once.

But beyond the spotlight, Nancy’s story is deeply woven into the fabric of Gila County. She grew up here, performed at the Payson and Globe Rodeos, and inspired generations of young riders who dreamed of being just like her across the globe.

Over a career that spanned decades, she carried the spirit of the West across the country—and even the world—earning her place in both the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

Nancy Sheppard was more than a performer—she was a culture keeper, a trailblazer, and a proud ambassador of the Western way of life. Her legacy will live on in every rodeo arena, every rope swung, and every young cowgirl who dares to dream.

Rest easy, Nancy. You rode with the best… and you’ll always be one of Gila County’s finest

SHEPPARD, Nancy

Born: 12/29/1929, Ft. Worth, Texas, U.S.A

Died: 4/8/2026, Globe, Arizona, U.S.A.

 

Nancy Sheppard – rodeo performer:

National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame - 1991

Rodeo Hall of Fame of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum 1996

ProRodeo Hall of Fame 2003

RIP Mario Adorf

 

Daily Jang

April 9, 2026

 

Mario Adorf, veteran German actor dies in Paris at 95

The legendary actor was part of several German and Italian films before he passed away at the age of 95

Mario Adorf, a German veteran actor who played iconic villain roles, has passed away at the age of 95.

Born in the Swiss capital, Zurich, in September 1930 to a German mother and an Italian father, Adorf grew up in the hilly rural Eifel region in western Germany.

He studied criminology but dropped out to start acting for the theatre before moving on to film.

Mario Adorf's cause of death

A prominent name in German and Italian cinemas, the actor had recently fallen ill and died after a short illness on April 8, 2026, aged 95, in his home in Paris.

Mario Adorf's acting career

From 1954 to 2023, he appeared in both leading and supporting roles in over 200 film and television productions, ranging from spaghetti westerns to the 1979 Oscar-winning film The Tin Drum.

In 1957, he played a murderer in The Devil Strikes at Night, directed by Robert Siodmak, who had returned from Hollywood.

Discussing his long streak of villanious roles, Adorf said in an interview, "In and of itself, the villain is the interesting role in the book. I don't love the villains as people, as characters, but I know their significance, so I'm happy to lend them my body, my face."

His roles in more recent years included a three-part German TV movie about Winnetou to a mafia film in 2019.

Mario Adorf's marriages

In the 1960s, Adorf married Lis Verhoeven, and the couple had a child, Stella, prior to their divorce. In 1985, he tied the knot with Monique Faye.

ADORF, Mario

Born: 9/8/1930, Zurich, Switzerland

Died:  4/8/2026, Paris, Île-de-France, France

Mario Adorf’s westerns – actor:

The Taste of Violence - 1960 (Chamaco)

Apache Gold – 1963 (Frederick Santer)

The Last Ride to Santa Cruz - 1963 (Pedro Ortiz)

Massacre at Marble City – 1964 (Matt Ellis)

Major Dundee - 1965 (Sergeant Gomez)

Sunscorched – 1965 (Abel Dragna)

And for a Roof a Sky Full of Stars – 1968 (Henry/Harry Jim)

Drop Them or I'll Shoot – 1968 (Francisco Rafael ‘El Diablo’ Fatorro)

Deadlock – 1970 (Charles ‘The Rat’ Drumm)

Winnetou the Myth Lives (TV) – 2016 (Frederick Louis Santer)

RIP Ursula Heyer

 German Synchron kartei dubbing site announced that German actress and voice dubber Ursula Heyer died in Berlin, Germany on March 25^th. She was 86. Ursula was known for her dubbing work in international films, including providing German voices for Stanley Kubrick's “A Clockwork Orange” (1971), “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” (1988), and Nicholas Hytner's “The Crucible” (1996). Born on February 15, 1940, in Berlin, Germany, Heyer maintained a long career primarily in German television and theater, with appearances in series such as “A Case for Two” (1981) and “Café Wernicke” (1979). She was married to the actor Rainer Brandt until his death in 2024. Her work spans decades, bridging German-language productions with dubbing for English-language features.

HEYER. Ursula

Born: 2/15/1940, Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Died: 3/25/2026, Berlin, Berlin, Germany

 

Ursula Heyer’s westerns – actress, voice actress:

Curtain Call at Cactus Creek – 1950 [1986 German voice of Eve Arden]

Wanted Dead of Alive (TV) – 1958 [German voice of Mary Beth Hughes]

Gunsmoke (TV) – 1968, 1969 [German voice of Olga Velez, Jacqueline Scott, Beverly Garland, Donna Baccala]

Bonanza (TV) – 1961, 1963, 1969, 1973 [German voice of Sally Kemp, Margaret Hayes, Chanin Hale, Davey Davison, Julie Adams]

Yancy Derringer (TV) – 1959 [German voice of Joyce Jameson, Margaret Field, Gerrie Bender, Mari Aldon]

Apache Gold – 1963 [German voice of Dunja Rajter]

Frontier Hellcat – 1964 [German voice of Dunja Rajter]

The Sheriff was a Lady – 1964 [German voice of Beba Loncar]

A Fistful of Dollars – 1965 [German voice of Marianne Koch]

A Few Dollars for Django – 1966 [German voice of Gloria Osuna]

Texas Across the River – 1966 [German voice of Rosemary Forsyth]

Three Graves for a Winchester – 1966 [German voice of Milla Sannoner]

Django Kills Silently – 1967 [German voice of Giovanna Lenzi]

Django Kill – 1967 [German voice of Patrizia Valturri]

Killer Caliber .32 – 1967 [German voice of Agnès Spaak]

If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death – 1968 [German of Heidi Fischer]

Sonora – 1968 [German voice of Donatella Turri]

Have a Good Funeral – 1970 [German voice of Helga Liné]

Brett Maverick (TV) 1981 [German voice of Marcia Rodd]

RIP Michele Massimo Tarantini

 

Michele Massimo Tarantini, cult director of sexy comedies starring Lino Banfi and Edwige Fenech, has died.

Spettacolo

By Ivan Zingariello

April 3, 2026

 

Michele Massimo Tarantini—director and screenwriter of genre cinema, and above all of the "sexy comedies" starring Lino Banfi, Alvaro Vitali, and Edwige Fenech—has passed away. Sergio Martino remembers him: "He deserved more."

Michele Massimo Tarantini—a director and screenwriter synonymous with the "sexy comedy" genre, featuring stars such as Lino Banfi, Alvaro Vitali, and Edwige Fenech—has died in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was 83 years old, and his passing was sudden, as confirmed by director (and his cousin) Sergio Martino, whom we reached by phone and who was the first to announce the death in a social media post.

Having moved to Brazil over 40 years ago—where he owned a *fazenda* that hosted events and lavish weddings—Tarantini was remembered for us by Sergio Martino in these words: "He was younger than me; it was a traumatic experience to see him pass away before I did. He even served as my assistant director; we grew up together from childhood, and eventually, we all went into filmmaking—a path paved by our family background, given my grandfather's cinematic 'chromosomes.' Later, my brother had the genius to create films with international appeal—even if, today, his work is truly recognized only abroad. He certainly deserved more recognition; much like his cinema, he was unjustly dismissed as 'trash.' We were in touch right up until a few days ago, when he mentioned he would be coming to Italy shortly. What can you do? That’s just how life is."

Who Was Michele Massimo Tarantini?

Michele Massimo Tarantini was an Italian film director and screenwriter, born in Rome on August 7, 1942. His name is primarily associated with genre cinema and the era of the "Italian sexy comedy"—a genre of which he was one of the most prolific practitioners.

Beginnings as an Assistant Director

Before moving into directing, Tarantini worked as an assistant director, gaining experience on Italian film sets—first as an assistant on Giuliano Carnimeo’s Westerns, and later for his cousin, Sergio Martino, on legendary films such as *Giovannona Coscialunga* and *I corpi presentano tracce di violenza carnale*, as well as Mariano Laurenti’s *Quel gran pezzo dell’Ubalda tutta nuda e tutta calda* and Nando Cicero’s *L’insegnante*.

Establishing Himself as a Director

Beginning in the mid-1970s, he established himself as a screenwriter and director, helming numerous films aimed at a mass audience. Among the most well-known titles in his filmography are many of the celebrated "sexy comedies" starring—either together or in rotation—Lino Banfi, Alvaro Vitali, and Gianfranco D’Angelo, alongside the legendary shower scenes featuring Edwige Fenech, Gloria Guida, Lilli Carati, Nadia Cassini, and others.

Films such as *La liceale*, *Taxi Girl*, *L’insegnante viene a casa*, *La poliziotta a New York*, *La moglie in bianco… l’amante al pepe*, *La dottoressa ci sta col colonnello* (or rather *cojonello*—"the big-balled one"—as Cassini used to call Banfi), *L’insegnante al mare con tutta la classe*, and *La dottoressa preferisce i marinai* are known by heart by fans and are constantly rerun on our TV channels.

In 1981, he also directed the little-known *Crema, cioccolata e… paprika*—the first film to mark the return of the duo Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia following their lengthy separation—which earned Franchi an accusation of Mafia association, given the presence of Giuseppe, the son of boss Michele Greco, as both co-writer and actor.

All these works make him one of the most representative names of the *commedia sexy all’italiana*—a genre that was very popular during that period.

Other Genres and Filmography

Throughout his career, Tarantini also worked in other genres, including crime and adventure cinema. Notable titles include *Napoli si ribella*, *Poliziotti violenti*, *Sangraal la spada di fuoco*, *Nudo e selvaggio*, and *Attrazione selvaggia*.

Active until 1990, he subsequently attempted a revival of the classic-style comedy in 2001 with *Se lo fai sono guai*—featuring his tried-and-tested team of Vitali, D’Angelo, Gammino, and Montanaro—though by then the moment had passed; his final directorial effort dates back to 2009 with the action TV movie *Il cacciatore di uomini*, starring Luca Ward.

TARANTINI, Michele Massimo, production department, art director, editor, writer, assistant director.

Born: 8/7/1942, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Died: 4/3/2026, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

 

Michele Massimo Tarantini’s westerns -   

$10,000 Blood Money – 1967 [production department]

Vengeance is Mine – 1967 [production department]

To Hell and Back – 1968 [assistant director]

Arizona Colt – 1970 [editor]

Light the Fuse… Sartana is Coming – 1970 [assistant director]

Dig Your Grave Friend... Sabata's Coming – 1971 [editor]

Guns for Dollars – 1971 [assistant director]

My Horse, My Gun, Your Widow – 1972 [art director]

His Name Was Holy Ghost – 1973 [assistant director]

Trinity Plus the Clown and a Guitar – 1975 [writer]

RIP Robert Hinkle

 

Robert Hinkle, Who Taught Rock Hudson and Paul Newman to Talk Like a Texan, Dies at 95 

After working as a dialogue coach on ‘Giant’ and ‘Hud,’ the actor and stunt performer managed the careers of Chill Wills and Marty Robbins and directed and produced films, too. 

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

March 30, 2026

 

Robert Hinkle, a onetime rodeo performer from Texas who served as a stunt performer and dialogue coach on the acclaimed films Giant and Hud and wrote, directed and produced a Western of his own, has died. He was 95.

Hinkle died March 3 in hospice care in Austin after suffering head, back and neck injuries in a fall in his driveway five days earlier, his daughter, Melody Hinkle, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Hinkle also showed up in The Far Horizons (1955), starring Fred MacMurray and Charlton Heston as the explorers Lewis & Clark; in The Conqueror (1956), with John Wayne as Genghis Khan; and in The First Texan (1956), starring Joel McCrea as Sam Houston.

Away from the camera, he was the personal manager for actor Chill Wills and singer Marty Robbins and a promoter for daredevil Evel Knievel.

After Hinkle had briefly interviewed with George Stevens for a part in Giant (1956), the director asked him to return to his Warner Bros. office in Burbank the next day. Instead of offering him a role, Stevens asked him, “Do you think you could teach Rock Hudson to talk like you?” Hinkle recalled in his 2009 book, Call Me Lucky: A Texan in Hollywood.

For $500 a week, Hinkle got an office on the lot and worked as a dialogue coach on the sprawling film, also advising James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, Mercedes McCambridge, Carroll Baker and Dennis Hopper on how to talk like a Texan. He got to be friends with the moody Dean, taught him rope tricks and handled some uncredited stunt work as well.

“Texans don’t just say the words, they linger over them like they’re old friends, worthy of a cup of coffee,” he wrote in his book. “It’s the journey, not the destination, that’s important in a conversation.”

Hinkle also worked with Newman, Patricia Neal, Melvyn Douglas and others on Martin Ritt’s Hud (1963) and directed the scene in which Newman’s character corrals a greased pig.

In between those classics, he wrote, helmed, produced and portrayed a sheriff in the Texas-shot Ole Rex (1961), which revolves around a boy (Billy E. Hughes) who rescues a wounded dog and nurses him back to health.

The oldest of three kids, Hinkle was born on July 25, 1930, in Brownfield, Texas. His father, Wesley, worked in a chemical plant, and his mother, Hattie, ran a local hotel. He said he was 10 when he knew he wanted to be a movie cowboy — that’s when silent-film star Tom Mix visited his hometown.

After graduating from Brownfield High School, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and helped deliver supplies in the Berlin Airlift during his 2 1/2-year stint in the military through March 1950.

He competed in rodeos while still in the service and was riding in Pendleton, Oregon, when Universal’s Bronco Buster (1952), starring John Lund, Scott Brady and Wills, arrived to film scenes. He was hired to play a cowhand and perform stunts, and afterward, director Budd Boetticher told him to look him up if he were ever in Hollywood.

A month later, Hinkle came to Los Angeles, sneaked on the lot at Republic Pictures and bumped into Wills. The actor brought him to Boetticher, who put him in the 3-D movie Wings of the Hawk (1953).

Hinkle wound up doing stunts and/or acting in other films including All American (1953), The Bamboo Prison (1954), Outlaw Treasure (1955), Andrew V. McLaglen’s Gun the Man Down (1956), The Oklahoman (1957), Under Fire (1957), No Place to Land (1958), All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960) and The Broken Land (1962).

He also appeared on TV on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Annie Oakley, The Sheriff of Cochise, Gunsmoke, Tombstone Territory, Tales of Wells Fargo, Dragnet and, for his final credit, a 1994 episode of Walker, Texas Ranger.

Starting in 1963, Hinkle wrote, directed and produced two-reel shorts for Paramount and a year later shepherded a series of Hollywood Jubilee country music specials.

He also produced for the big screen Country Music (1972), featuring Robbins; produced and directed Atoka (1982), which saw Robbins, Willie Nelson, Larry Gatlin, Freddy Fender, Hoyt Axton and others performing at a country music festival in Oklahoma; and produced Guns of a Stranger (1973), starring Robbins and Wills.

In addition to his daughter, survivors include his son, Brad; daughter-in-law Marlinda; granddaughters Jennifer and Kim; and great-grandchildren Brady and Taylor. Another son, Michael, a Vietnam veteran, died in 1991.

While competing in 1950 as a calf-roper and bulldogger in Moses Lake, Washington, Hinkle met his future wife, Sandra, then the Queen of the Rodeo. They married in June 1952 and were together for 73 years until her death in July.

His family will put his ashes to rest on June 6 in Brownfield.

HINKLE, Robert (Robert Daryl Hinkle)

Born: 7/25/1930, Brownfield, Texas, U.S.A.

Died: 3/3/2026, Round Rock, Texas, U.S.A.

 

Robert Hinkle’s westerns – producer, director, writer, stuntman, actor:

Bronco Buster – 1952 (Bob) [stunts]

The Far Horizons – 1955 (Jake)

Outlaw Treasure – 1955 (Frank James)

Dakota Incident – 1956 (Joe)

Giant – 1956 [stunts]

The First Texan – 1956 (Lieutenant Hargrove)

The First Traveling Saleslady – 1956 (Pete)

Gun the Man Down – 1956 (deputy)

The Badge of Marshal Brennan – 1957 [stunts]

The Oklahoman – 1957 (Ken)

Annie Oakley (TV) - 1957 (Reno)

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp – (TV) 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959 (cowboy, Don Burkett, rider)

The Sheriff of Cochise (TV) – 1957 (Bronco)

Tombstone Territory (TV) - 1957 (gang member)

Tales of Wells Fargo (TV) – 1958 (Mac)

The Gunfight at Dodge City – 1959 (Rafe)

Ole Rex – 1961 [producer, director, writer]

The Broken Land – 1962 (Dave) [stunts]

Young Guns of Texas – 1962 (Sheriff Simon)

Frontier Circus (TV) – 1962 (Dave)

Gunsmoke (TV) – 1962 (cowboy, rider)

Hud – 1963 (Frank)

The Rounders (TV) – 1966 (cowboy)

Guna of a Stranger – 1973 [producer, director]

Walker, Texas Ranger (TV) – 1994 (judge)

RIP Alex Duong

 

Alex Duong, 'Blue Bloods' Actor, Dies at 42 After Rare Cancer Battle. What He Shared About His Diagnosis

The actor previously spoke to the Los Angeles Times about his diagnosis with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma.

TODAY

By Chrissy Callahan

March 30, 2026

 

Following a battle with a rare soft tissue cancer, actor Alex Duong has died at the age of 42.

Duong, who appeared in "Blue Bloods," "Sideways for Attention," "Tugged" and several other projects, passed away on March 28, according to a GoFundMe verified by NBC News. He is survived by his wife, Christina, and their 5-year-old daughter, Everest.

NBC News has reached out to a spokesperson for Duong to confirm his death but has yet to hear back.

After Duong was diagnosed with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, the GoFundMe was set up in February 2025 to support his family as he underwent treatment.

Hilarie Steele, the woman who started the crowdfunding page, announced Duong's death in a March 28 update.

"With the heaviest hearts, we share that our dear Alex passed away peacefully this morning, surrounded by love and dear friends. He was comfortable and thankfully out of pain. Christina and Everest were able to see him last night, and he was alert enough to say goodbye to his little girl, whom he has treasured every moment since the day she was born," the update reads.

Alex Duong’s Cancer Diagnosis

Duong was diagnosed with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma in early 2025, according to an interview with the Los Angeles Times from April that year.

He revealed that he first knew something was wrong with his health when he felt a headache building behind his eyes.

One day when he went to work, Duong's manager told him his left eye looked like it was "about to fall out" and sent him home, the Times reported. When he looked at his eye, the actor noticed that it looked "massive, taut and discolored," per the outlet.

Duong was later diagnosed with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma and learned that he had a malignant mass that was blocking blood flow to his optic nerve.

The actor and his family didn't have health insurance when he was diagnosed. Afterward, he signed up for marketplace insurance and visited the emergency room. Following a week in the hospital, Duong underwent a biopsy and learned that his tumor was very aggressive.

Duong left the hospital with an eye patch and secured an appointment for treatment in two months. Days later, he lost vision in his left eye.

The actor then spent two and a half weeks in the hospital and found a sarcoma specialist. At the time of his interview with the Los Angeles Times, he was undergoing a second round of chemotherapy and white blood cell injections to boost his immune system.

Per the Los Angeles Times, the mass behind Duong's eyeball extended into his nasal cavity and the side of his neck. Over time, the size of the tumor shrunk, but the actor experienced monocular vision.

Over the course of the last year, Duong's GoFundMe page shared several updates on the status of his health — including one from March 27, 2026, explaining that he'd gone into septic shock.

DUONG, Alex

Born: 3/20/1984, Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.

Died: 3/28/2026, Santa Monica, California, U.S.A

 

Alex Duong’s western – actor:

Finding China – 2015 (Kyle)