RIP Eva Marie Saint

 

Eva Marie Saint, ‘North by Northwest’ Star, Dies at 102

Variety

By Richard Natale

October 6, 2026

 

Oscar-winning actress Eva Marie Saint, who starred in such memorable classic films as “On the Waterfront” and “North by Northwest,” died Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 102.

The delicate, fine-boned actress, one of the first breakout talents from early television, won her Academy Award as best supporting actress for “On the Waterfront” in 1955, making her the oldest living Oscar winner. She played Edie Doyle in the Marlon Brando starring film, with the New York Times writing in its review, “Amid scenes of carnage, she gives tenderness and sensitivity to genuine romance.”

As Saint raised her family from the late 1950s on, she returned to acting intermittently, and many of her later appearances were onstage and on television, most notably in the ABC series “Moonlighting” and later as Clark Kent’s adoptive mother in the 2006 movie “Superman Returns.”

One of her most memorable roles was as the cool but seductive blonde spy in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 spy thriller “North by Northwest.” “Not only does she provide the requisite icy sex appeal as Eve Kendall, a shadowy secret agent, but she also proves to be much more than a standard damsel in distress,” Variety wrote in an appreciation on her 97th birthday.

“Saint’s character is fully capable of pulling the wool over the eyes of sinister villains and usually remains two or three steps ahead of Grant’s hapless Madison Avenue executive Roger Thornhill,” the appreciation continues.

Saint made her TV debut on “Camp Hoop La,” then became a regular on “One Man’s Family.” She broadened her dramatic range in such anthology series as “Philco Playhouse,” “Robert Montgomery Presents” and “Studio One.” Highlights during the period included Paddy Chayevsky’s “Middle of the Night” (1954) and a musical adaptation of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” (1955) co-starring Paul Newman and Frank Sinatra (both shows brought her Emmy nominations); Sidney Howard’s “Yellow Jack”; and the drama “Claudia.”

Saint appeared opposite Lillian Gish in 1953 Horton Foote teleplay “The Trip to Bountiful,” which became the first TV drama to move to Broadway (for 39 performances). Her “touching and beautifully sensitive performance,” as one New York critic described it, won the approbation of Elia Kazan, who cast her opposite Marlon Brando in “On the Waterfront” in a role coveted by many more experienced actresses.

The 1954 Budd Schulberg drama was nominated for 12 Oscars and won eight including best picture, actor, director and, for Saint, supporting actress.

Rather than tie herself to a studio contract, however, she returned to the theater in stock productions of “The Rainmaker” and “Desire Under the Elms.”

In 1956 she took on the glamorous female lead in “That Certain Feeling” opposite Bob Hope, followed by the 1957 film version of “A Hatful of Rain” and “Raintree County.”

After “North by Northwest,” she appeared in “Exodus” and “All Fall Down.” The latter, directed by John Frankenheimer and co-starring Warren Beatty, saw her give one of her best dramatic performances.

She was the numinous but scorned wife in 1965’s Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton adultery tale “The Sandpiper” and then appeared in a better vehicle, Norman Jewison’s comedy “The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming,” in 1966. Her performance in “Loving,” co-starring with George Segal, was highly regarded and rated with her best work. Other roles include “36 Hours” and “Grand Prix.” Except for another Hope comedy, “Cancel My Reservation,” she spent most of the next two decades on TV and onstage.

On Broadway she acted in “The Lincoln Mask” in 1972 and then, opposite Henry Fonda, in “The First Monday in October” in 1979. In 1983 she appeared in a Chicago production of “Duet for One.” Her television credits include “School for Bachelors,” “A Carol for Another Christmas,” “‘The First Woman President,” “Mrs. Epenshade,” “Taxi” and miniseries “How the West Was Won.” The latter two roles also brought Emmy nominations.

Saint received good critical notices for “A Christmas to Remember” with Jason Robards, “When Hell Was in Session,” “The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb,” “The Best Little Girl in the World,” “Malibu,” “My Antonia” and “Jane Doe,” among other roles.

The actress had a recurring role on the ABC series “Moonlighting,” starring Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis, as Shepherd’s mother.

In 1986 she returned to the bigscreen with a role in the Tom Hanks-Jackie Gleason vehicle “Nothing in Common.”

Saint appeared in many TV movies throughout the 1990s, including roles in “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Kiss of a Killer,” “After Jimmy” and “Open House,” along with a cameo as Roz’s mother in “Frasier.” After four previous Emmy nominations, Saint finally took the statuette with a supporting actress Emmy win in 1990 for her role in the NBC miniseries “People Like Us.”

Saint returned to film again in the 2000s, appearing in pics such as “I Dreamed of Africa” (2000), “Because of Winn-Dixie” and “Don’t Come Knocking” (2005) and 2006’s “Superman Returns,” in which she played Martha Kent. In 2014 she made her final bigscreen appearance, in the Akiva Goldsman written and directed “Winter’s Tale.”

Saint was born in Newark, N.J.; the family later moved to Delmar, N.Y., near Albany. With plans to become a teacher, Saint attended Ohio’s Bowling Green State U., where she became interested in acting. After receiving her B.A., she turned full time to seeking acting work, first in radio. She received her first paycheck, $10, as an off-camera applauder on “The Borden Show.” To make ends meet, she did some modeling and then landed roles in radio serials such as “Rosemary” and “Young Doctor Malone.”

In 1947 she was cast in “Mister Roberts” only to be reduced to an understudy when director Joshua Logan didn’t think she had enough experience. Jocelyn Brando played the roles. A year later she began studying at the Actors Studio.

A testament to her ability to straddle both the film and television world, Saint has two separate stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for motion pictures and one for TV. Saint took time to pay homage to “North by Northwest” by hosting TCM documentary “The Making of North by Northwest” in 2000.

She also appeared in the 2003 documentary “Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There” and the 2011 docu “Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age.”

Saint appeared at the 81st Academy Awards in 2009 to present the Oscar for supporting actress, some 55 years after her “Waterfront” win.

She was a longtime supporter of the Motion Picture and Television Fund and the Epilepsy Foundation of Los Angeles. An early proponent of making cars cell-phone-free, she created and distributed her own bumper sticker: “Get Off The Phone Or Get Off The Road.” She also served on the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship Committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

Her husband, TV director Jeffrey Hayden, died in 2016.

Survivors include her two children, Darrell and Laurette, four grandchildren, Eli, Tyler, Molly, and Stella and two great grandchildren, Arlo and Finley.

SAINT, Eva Marie

Born: 7/4/1924, Newark, New Jersey, U.S.A.

Died: 10/6/2026, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

 

Eva Marie Saint’s westerns – actress:

Raintree County – 1957 (Nell Gaither)

Stalking Moon – 1968 (Sarah Carver)

How the West Was Won (TV) – 1976-1977 (Kate Machan)

RIP Renato Cortesi

 

Renato Cortesi: A Voice Across Generations

Il Mattino

October 5, 2026

Renato Cortesi, actor, voice actor, and dubbing director, among the protagonists in the history of Italian dubbing, died on Saturday, October 3 in Rome at the age of 87. Born in Bergamo on July 28, 1939, Cortesi spanned more than half a century of cinema, television, and theater, lending his voice to unforgettable performances and famous animated characters. The origins and artistic debut After studying at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano school, Cortesi began his theatrical activity at a very young age at the University Theater, performing in works by Thornton Wilder, Eugène Ionesco, and Sławomir Mrożek. In 1966 he moved to Rome, where he had the opportunity to collaborate with Renzo Ricci. At the same time, he began what would become a long career in dubbing. The legacy in dubbing Among the actors he voiced are Gérard Depardieu, André Dussollier, William Hurt in the films “Body Heat” and “Altered States,” Liam Neeson in “Under Suspicion,” Jeff Bridges in “Kiss Me Goodbye,” and Jean-Claude Dreyfus in “The Lady and the Duke.” He also dubbed Rutger Hauer, Brad Dourif, Dan Aykroyd, Geoffrey Rush, Burt Reynolds, Viggo Mortensen, Ben Kingsley, and Gene Hackman (the latter in the redubbing of “Superman”). One of his most famous works remains the voice of Jim Belushi in “Trading Places.” Also unforgettable is his dubbing of Brad Dourif, the original interpreter of Chucky, in “Child’s Play.” Animation, cinema, and television Cortesi’s work in animation was particularly extensive: Lafayette in “The Aristocats,” Goofy in the cartoons of the 1980s, Tigger in “Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day,” Tappo in “Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo,” and the First Ancestor in “Mulan.” He was also the first Italian voice of Principal Skinner in “The Simpsons.” Cortesi was among the main dubbers in Federico Fellini’s films: in the movie “Roma,” he voiced Peter Gonzales, the actor who played young Fellini. In front of the camera, Cortesi appeared in numerous films—often comedies—such as “Una cavalla tutta nuda,” “Il figlioccio del padrino,” “Nipoti miei diletti,” “L’infermiera nella corsia dei militari,” “Vai avanti tu che mi vien da ridere,” “La cena per farli conoscere,” “Sapore di te,” and “Te lo dico pianissimo.” He also took part in many TV shows: from “Pronto emergenza,” “Il bello delle donne,” “Il papa buono,” “Provaci ancora prof!,” “Don Matteo,” “Preferisco il paradiso,” “Cenerentola,” “R.I.S. Roma 3 – Delitti imperfetti,” up to “Vita da Carlo” and “L’Ora – Inchiostro contro piombo.” A passion for theater and the family legacy Theater was also a constant in one of the richest professional paths in the industry. Cortesi leaves behind his son Marco, a dubbing director, and was cousin to the voice actress Isa Bellini.

CORTESI, Renato

Born: 7/28/1939, Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy

Died: 10/3/2026, Rome, Lazio, Italy

 

Renato Cortesi’s westerns – voice actor:

Zorro (TV) - 1957-1958 [Italian voice of Don Diamond]

‘Doc’ – 1971 [Italian voice of Denver John Collins]

Young Guns II – 1990 [Italian voice of Viggo Mortensen]

Yellowstone (TV) 2018-2022 [Italian voice of Buck Taylor]

RIP George Fenton

 

Blue Planet and Gandhi composer George Fenton dies aged 76

BBC

By Mark Savage

October 5, 2026

 

Composer George Fenton, whose work included music for films such as Gandhi, Groundhog Day and The Fisher King, as well as TV shows like Planet Earth and Bergerac, has died at the age of 76.

The prolific musician received five Oscar nominations for his film scores, including those for The Remains of the Day and Cry Freedom.

His work on the BBC TV show Blue Planet also earned awards from the Baftas, Emmy Awards and Ivor Novellos; and he also composed theme music for BBC News programmes such as Newsnight and Breakfast Time.

In a statement, Fenton's family said: "We are very sad to announce that George Fenton passed away unexpectedly today."

They continued: "He is survived by his loving wife Amanda, ex-wife Jane, children Gemma, Grace and Bridget, and grandchildren Lola, Audrey, Alfred, George, Frank and Beatrice, and a life of music."

Fenton was born George Howe in Bromley, Kent in 1949. According to a biography on his official website, his father was a mechanical engineer, and his mother had been a dancer before becoming a nurse during the war.

Both parents were musical - his father played drums and his mother played piano - but Fenton chose the electric guitar as his instrument at the age of seven.

That was "when music became more important than football," he later told The Express newspaper. "The Beatles had a huge influence on me."

He took his first lessons from a musician called Brian Rudd.

"He came into our lives as a chimney sweep, which he clearly wasn't," Fenton later recalled.

"My mother went mad at him because he filled the house with soot.

"As he left he said, 'I'm really sorry – but I tuned the boy's guitar for you.' She suggested that as compensation for the mess he could give me a lesson, which he did and then carried on doing."

Later, Fenton began to study the church organ but rejected the chance to attend university and music college to pursue a career as a performer.

In 1968, he appeared in Alan Bennett's first West End play Forty Years On and was forced to adopt his mother's maiden name, as union rules prevented two actors from having the same name.

During that production, he also understudied the musical director of the show, Carl Davis - who similarly became a prominent composer for film and television.

A year later, he signed a record deal and scored a top 10 hit in Sweden with a cover of The Beatles' Maxwell's Silver Hammer, but his career as a solo artist was short lived.

In the mid-1970s, he had a recurring role as soldier Martin Gimbel in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale Farm.

But as time went on, he found that directors were always casting him in roles that required him to play an instrument, so he decided to make music his main focus.

Fenton got his first job as composer and musical director for a production of Twelfth Night at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1974.

Eight years later, he was nominated for an Oscar for his score for Richard Attenborough's Gandhi, on which he worked with Indian composer and instrumentalist Ravi Shankar to develop a score reflecting the country's musical traditions.

It was only his fourth attempt at film music, and he was still almost entirely self-taught.

Throughout the 1980s, he wrote the soundtrack for a number of TV series, including the Bafta-winning The Jewel in the Crown, The Monocled Mutineer, and Alan Bennett's Talking Heads.

He also wrote many well-known theme tunes, including the BBC's One O'Clock News, Six O'Clock News, Nine O'Clock News, Newsnight, The Money Programme, and Radio 4's PM Programme.

For 1987's Cry Freedom - the story of South African campaigner Steve Biko, who was brutally killed by police - he worked with South African jazz musician Jonas Gwangwa, earning two Oscar nominations for best original score and song.

Almost by accident, the title track featured Fenton singing a list of anti-apartheid activists imprisoned or killed by the South African government.

He'd initially recorded the lyrics as a guide for Gwangwa - but the musician decided to keep some of them intact "as a gesture of brotherhood".

"Then it got nominated for an Oscar, so I then found myself singing it on live television to about a billion people, which was not what I intended at all," Fenton later told Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.

After composing the score for the BBC's Trials of Life in 1990, Fenton went on to create the music for what became known as David Attenborough's Earth Trilogy: The Blue Planet, Planet Earth and Frozen Planet.

Fenton's music perfectly complemented the stunning visuals of the ocean's depths and the polar ice caps, adding an emotional weight to the narrative, using the full might of the orchestra to evoke everything from wonder and awe to tension and suspense.

Following the success of the documentaries, Fenton created a show - The Blue Planet in Concert - which has been performed by leading orchestras in venues around the world.

Among his other well-known soundtracks were The Long Walk Home, You've Got Mail, Sweet Home Alabama, The Lady In The Van and Mrs Henderson Presents.

Fenton also scored more films for British director Ken Loach than any other composer.

Their 18 collaborations included Ladybird, Ladybird; I, Daniel Blake and The Wind That Shakes the Barley, which won the Palme d'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.

He also founded the Association of Professional Composers, which later merged with The Ivors Academy; and he is one of only a handful of musicians to receive the Academy's fellowship, alongside Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sir Elton John, Kate Bush, Bruce Springsteen and George Michael.

In addition, Fenton was a visiting professor at the Royal College of Music and the University of Nottingham. He was made a CBE for services to music in 2023.

The composer often said that his musical career had been an accident, but nothing gave him greater joy than seeing his work come to life.

On his episode of Desert Island Discs, Fenton chose one of his own compositions - Reunion, from the soundtrack to the movie Accidental Hero - as it reminded him of watching pianist John Lowe play the melody in the studio.

"If I was sitting on a desert island and thinking about what a good time I'd had writing music, which I have, I want just one thing to remind me about the best part - which is the fact that you write something and then you're so surprised and thrilled at the way it's played," he told Sue Lawley.

"For a composer, that's the biggest kick you can get."

FENTON, George (George Richard Ian Howe Fenton)

Born: 10/19/1949, Bromley, Kent, England, U.K.

Died: 10/5/2026,

 

George Fenton’s westerns – composer:

Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire – 1985

Grey Owl – 1999

Woman Walks Ahead – 2017

RIP J. Todd Anderson

 

J. Todd Anderson, ‘The Nice Guys’ and ‘The Big Lebowski’ Storyboard Artist, Dies at 67

He was a frequent collaborator of the Coen Brothers, storyboarding ‘Fargo,’ ‘Drive-Away Dolls’ and ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth,’ among other films.

J. Todd Anderson, who worked as a storyboard artist on dozens of films from The Nice Guys and The Tragedy of Macbeth to Hail, Caesar! and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, has died. He was 67.

The Hollywood Reporter

By Carly Thomas

October 4, 2026

 

Anderson died Thursday at a hospital in Orange County, California, after a years-long battle with cancer, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Born John Todd Anderson in Springfield, Ohio, he started working in Hollywood in the late 1980s. The first film he storyboarded, 1987’s Raising Arizona, launched a long-running collaboration with filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen.

Since then, he storyboarded every one of their movies, including 1990’s Miller’s Crossing (1990), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998), The Ladykillers (2004), True Grit (2010), Hail, Caesar! (2016) and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018). He also worked on Ethan’s Drive-Away Dolls (2024) and Honey Don’t! (2025) and Joel’s The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021).

Anderson worked with several other auteurs and A-list stars on such projects as George Clooney’s Leatherheads (2008); Drew Barrymore’s Whip It (2009); David Lowery’s The Old Man & the Gun (2018); The Dictator (2012), starring and co-written by Sacha Baron Cohen; and three Shane Black pics: The Nice Guys (2016) starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling, The Predator (2018) and Play Dirty (2025), starring Mark Wahlberg and LaKeith Stanfield.

His other storyboard credits included Twister (1989), The Addams Family (1991), Nadja (1994), Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), The Big Bang (2010), Warcraft (2016) and Fool’s Paradise (2023).

Anderson also directed two films, The Naked Man (1999), which he wrote with Ethan, and My Mummy (2008), and made onscreen appearances in Fargo, Leatherheads, The Nice Guys and American Violence (2017), among other films.

Survivors include by his mother, Donna Lou, sister Kimberly and niece Haley.

ANDERSON, J. Todd (John Todd Anderson)

Born:  3/?/1959, New Carlisle, Ohio, U.S.A.

Died: 10/1/2026, Orange County, California, U.S.A

 

J. Todd Anderson’s westerns – storyboard artist:

True Grit – 2010

A Night in Old Mexico - 2013

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – 2018

RIP Marjoe Gortner

 

Marjoe Gortner, Oscar-Bait Child Evangelist Turned ‘Earthquake’ Villain, Dies at 82

EXTRA

October 4, 2026

 

Marjoe Gortner, the performer whose life as a fire-and-brimstone child evangelist inspired an Oscar-winning doc ahead of a successful career as an actor, has died.

His wife Susan confirmed his passing to Variety, saying he died in Santa Fe, New Mexico, of congestive heart failure October 2. He was 82.

She told the outlet, “Marjoe lived an extraordinary life, shaped by his imagination and rare gift for bringing people together.”

Actor Ian Ziering stressed Gortner’s later charitable efforts, noting, “Marjoe Gortner was a force of nature. He became an evangelist in his teens, an actor in his young adulthood. His life story won an Oscar. I knew him because he produced the Marjoe Gortner celebrity sports invitationals that aired on CBS Saturdays for years. He brought celebrities all over the world to raise money for different charities… This man raised millions and millions of dollars for different charities while providing some of the most incredible celebrity experiences of my lifetime. I will never forget this man, and I will always be appreciative of not just what he did for me, but what he did for everyone who knew him.”

Gortner was born January 14, 1944, in Long Beach, California.

His parents had him ordained at the age of 4, ostensibly because he had an unusual gift for speaking eloquently to adults, but really as a hook to make money.

By some estimates, his family made $3 million, all of which Gortner claimed went with his dad when he left the family.

Gortner, 16 at the time, continued on the evangelist circuit to support himself. In 1971, he allowed filmmakers to document his final tour. The resulting documentary, “Marjoe” (1973), was a sensation, winning the Oscar.

It also helped make Gortner famous.

After a 1972 album entitled “Bad but Not Evil,” he began landing acting gigs, including appearing in the pilot for “Kojak” in 1973.

Most famously, he played psychotic Jody Joad, a member of the National Guard who uses a natural disaster to try to get the girl (Victoria Principal) and wreak vengeance on his bullies in the 1974 epic “Earthquake.”

He starred in several other films, most prominently “Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw” (1976), the giant-animal horror flick “The Food of the Gods” (1976), the biopic “Viva Knievel!” (1977), a disastrous “Star Wars” take-off called “Starcrash” (1978), and the acclaimed “When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder?” (1979).

He also made many TV guest appearances and was briefly the host of a topical talk show called “Speak Up America” (1980) with Jayne Kennedy and Rhonda Bates.

His most memorable TV gig was his self-referential work as Vince Karlotti on “Falcon Crest” (1986-1987). He played the huckster with aplomb, drawing from his colorful past.

Gortner retired from acting after the 1995 film “Wild Bill,” but was sometimes a guest at autograph shows.

Married five times, including to actress Candy Clark in the ‘70s, he is survived by his wife, Susan Magestro, to whom he was wed in 2019.

GORTNER, Marjoe (Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner)

Born: 1/14/1944, Long Beach, California, U.S.A.

Died: 10/2/2026, Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.A.

 

Marjoe Gortner’s westerns – actor:

The Gun and the Pulpit (TV) 1974 (Ernie Parsons)

Wild Bill – 1995 (preacher)

RIP Jean Lopez

 

Remembering Jean Lopez

Daily Tribune

By Butch Francisco

September 11, 2026

 

The name Jean Lopez most probably no longer resonates among the millennials and especially not with the Gen Z set. There is another famous Jean Lopez, all right, but he — not she — is an American taekwondo expert of Nicaraguan descent.

The Jean Lopez I am paying tribute to in this space today was a very popular movie and television personality here in the Philippines from 1960 till 1976. She was known for having a face that looked like a doll. No, not a Barbie doll, but the typical old-fashioned doll little girls played with from the time it was still called muneca in this country. In the Philippines, a doll is now manika or manyika in the vernacular.

There was no news about Jean Lopez for a very long time — until, sadly, she said goodbye for good last 1 September. Posts on social media still generated a lot of comments even if she had been absent from the local showbiz scene for exactly half a century. On Facebook, she is still remembered as the actress “who looked like a doll.”

She was born Barbara Jean Hammond. Her maternal great-grandparents were from Barcelona, Spain. Somewhere along the way, American blood was mixed into the lineage and that must have been the reason Jean Lopez looked like a doll.

Her father was Alfred Hammond, while her mother was the former Milagros Lopez. Jean spent all her academic life at Santa Isabel College, where the students were put under strict supervision by the nuns. Jean finished secretarial science before working as a steno-typist in a private firm.

In 1960, a family friend who knew executives at Sampaguita Pictures presented her to producer/star-builder Dr. Jose R. Perez. “Oh, she looks like a doll!” That was the initial comment made by Dr. Perez, who immediately signed her up as one of the talents at Sampaguita Pictures.

Among her leading men in her home studio were Jose Mari Gonzalez and Greg Martin. In Tanzan the Mighty, a comic adaptation of the Tarzan series, she was cast as the love interest of Dolphy, who was already on his way to becoming the king of comedy.

When Jean joined Sampaguita Pictures, there were already two queens in the film company: Susan Roces and Amalia Fuentes. Gloria Romero just got married that time and was about to slow down in her film career but was still considered a queen by the studio.

Jean had all the potentials to become a movie queen, except that the top tier was already crowded. She also faced competition with the arrival of beauty queens-turned-actresses Josephine Estrada and Cynthia Ugalde, who were her contemporaries. Jean had an edge over them, however. She had spunk that spilled all over the big screen.

A girl of many talents

Sampaguita Pictures did not exactly know what to do with her since she had so many talents. Yes, that becomes a problem in an industry that likes to pigeonhole its artists.

In the case of Jean, she could sing, dance and do both drama and comedy. Although she was no taller than 5’3”, she was also fit to become a model. She was in demand as a product endorser during her time. Jean once became the face of Coca-Cola and a popular bed mattress.

At Sampaguita Pictures, the resident female villains were — in chronological order: Etang Discher, Bella Flores and Zeny Zabala. Her film studio for a time cast her in villainous roles and she proved to be effective. She could be packaged into an antagonist with style, an image that did not suit Zeny — and, especially, not Bella.

Jean spoke fluent English and was perfect as a villain with an aristocratic background. In the movies, she could be a threat to the leading lady from the slums when fighting over one man. The idea did not prosper. Her contract at Sampaguita Pictures expired and Jean chose to be a freelance artist.

As an independent talent, one of her film projects was The Sound of Buwisit. By the sound of it, isn’t it obvious how the title was culled from the blockbuster Hollywood movie, The Sound of Music? But don’t judge a film by its title.

Produced by Kayumanggi Cinema, Inc., The Sound of Buwisit starred no less than the iconic love team of Nida Blanca and Nestor de Villa. Jean’s leading man in this movie was Jose Mari Gonzalez. As writer and director, it had Felicing Constantino, who mounted practically all the successful musical comedies of LVN Pictures.

Noontime show host

Toward the late 1960s, Jean tried the TV medium when she was offered by the Elizaldes to join MBC Channel 11. In those days, the fiercest rival of ABS-CBN when it came to entertainment content was MBC. The king of noontime shows was ABS-CBN, which produced some of the most unforgettable lunchtime programs even during the pre-martial law days: Student Canteen (yes, it started on ABS-CBN), Magandang Tanghali (headlined by the father of Francis M., Pancho Magalona), Bigay-Hilig and Stop, Look & Listen.

Channel 11 fielded Tayo’y Mag-hapi-hapi on its noontime slot. Jean Lopez was the main host and was supported by the greatest tap dancer in Philippine entertainment, Bayani Casimiro. Tayo’y Mag-hapi-hapi became a threat to ABS-CBN’s midday programming. Jean had the gift of gab and could run a one-hour show just talking from start to finish. Of course, the program had song numbers, too. It had one of the best musical directors on TV — Verling Villapando.

Jean was no great singer but could certainly carry a tune. She even became a contract artist of D’ Swan Records, which was owned by the brothers Mike and Luis Lee. Jean was able to record almost a dozen songs for this company. Her biggest hit was the cover version of “Downtown,” which was originally sung by Petula Clark.

On Channe 11’s early evening slot in the late 1960s was Alright, okay, which was hosted by Romano Castellvi and Nancy Roman. Romano, nicknamed Billy, was the son of pre-war silent actor Jaime Castellvi. It was Jaime who first helped Gloria Romero get into the movies.

LOPEZ, Jean (Barbara Jean Hammond)

Born: 8/23/1941, Philippines

Died: 9/1/2026, Philippines

 

Jean Lopez’s westerns – actress:

Eca Babagot – 1961 (Jaunita)

Barilan sa baboy-kural – 1962

RIP Guy Kapulnik

 

Israeli actor and pilot Guy Kapulnik killed in California plane crash

Israel National NewsGlobal NewsIsraeli actor and pilot Guy Kapulnik killed in California plane crash

Israeli actor and pilot Guy Kapulnik killed in California plane crash

Guy Kapulnik, 46, killed alongside 33-year-old Taylor Laska in a light aircraft crash in California. Kapulnik previously served as an officer in the IDF’s elite Unit 669.

7 Israeli National News

September 30, 2026

 

Israeli actor and pilot Guy Kapulnik was killed in a light aircraft crash in California. Kapulnik, 46, had resided in Los Angeles in recent years, where he balanced an acting career with work as a pilot and flight instructor.

The crash occurred on Thursday near the city of Hesperia in San Bernardino County, east of Los Angeles. The single-engine aircraft flown by Kapulnik went down in an open area several miles from the local airport.

Also aboard the plane was 33-year-old Taylor Laska of Santa Monica. Both occupants were killed in the crash and pronounced dead at the scene.

The San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office identified Kapulnik as the pilot who died in the incident. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the aircraft was a single-engine Aeronca Champion.

The circumstances surrounding the crash remain under investigation. Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have launched inquiries to determine the cause of the accident.

Kapulnik pursued diverse paths throughout his life. In Israel, he served as an officer in the Israel Air Force’s search-and-rescue Unit 669 before earning a bachelor’s degree in information systems from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. He later transitioned to acting, studying at the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio in Jerusalem.

During his acting career, Kapulnik performed in both Israeli and international productions. His screen credits include Samuel Maoz’s acclaimed film Lebanon, as well as Salsa Tel Aviv and Room 514, directed by Sharon Bar-Ziv. After relocating to the United States, he continued acting, appearing in American projects such as Hacked.

In recent years, aviation became the central focus of his career. Kapulnik worked in the United States as a commercial pilot and flight instructor. According to one of his former students, he had moved from Israel with the dream of becoming an airline pilot.

Following news of his death, several of his flight students paid tribute to him. One expressed gratitude for his guidance, describing Kapulnik as a remarkable mentor who would be deeply missed.

US aviation authorities are continuing their investigation into the crash. As of now, an official cause has not been determined.

KAPULNIK, Guy

Born: 1980, Israel

Died: 9/24/2026, Hesperia, California, U.S.A.

 

Guy Kapulnik’s western – actor:

Call of the Wild – 2020 (Chief Mountie)