RIP Ann Blyth

 

Ann Blyth, the Evil Daughter in ‘Mildred Pierce,’ Dies at 98

The Oscar-nominated actress also starred in 'The Helen Morgan Story' and sang in such films as 'The Great Caruso' and 'Kismet.'

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

June 25, 2026

 

Ann Blyth, the petite actress and singer who earned an Oscar nomination for portraying Joan Crawford’s demon daughter, Veda, in the classic 1945 melodrama Mildred Pierce, has died. She was 98.

Blyth died Wednesday of natural causes, KABC’s George Pennacchio reported.

An operatic soprano, Blyth introduced the classic song “The Loveliest Night of the Year” when she played the wife of Enrico Caruso (Mario Lanza) in The Great Caruso (1951) and starred in three other MGM musicals: Rose Marie (1954), The Student Prince (1954) and Vincente Minnelli’s Kismet (1955).

Blyth also portrayed Burt Lancaster’s wife in the gritty prison drama Brute Force (1947) and was an attractive creature from the sea brought home by William Powell in the fantasy Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948).

After she departed MGM and hooked on with Warner Bros., she starred in two 1957 biopics: Sidney Sheldon’s The Buster Keaton Story, also starring her former teenage dancing partner, Donald O’Connor, and The Helen Morgan Story (1957), in which she played the alcoholic 1930s torch singer opposite Paul Newman.

On loan from Universal, where she played innocent teens in small roles, Blyth, then 16, landed the part of the spoiled Veda opposite Crawford, who had just left MGM with her career in disarray. Hundreds of teenagers had auditioned, but Crawford saw something in Blyth and helped her get the role by appearing opposite her in her screen test.

“I knew that other people wanted the part as well but I was the lucky one because Joan Crawford did the test with me, and it made a world of difference,” she told THR’s Scott Feinberg in 2013. “People just didn’t do that, not people of her stature.”

Crawford’s instincts were correct; for playing the self-sacrificing mother, she won the best actress Oscar (missing the ceremony but famously accepting the trophy at home in bed in her pajamas), and Blyth was nominated for best supporting actress.

Blythe excelled as the beautiful brat who will do anything — even commit murder — for money.

“This Blyth child is exquisite in her understanding of one of the most difficult roles ever written,” The Hollywood Reporter wrote in its review. “Only the undeniable genius that has made Joan Crawford the great popular star she long since became enables her to keep Ann Blyth from running off with the film.”

Five days after wrapping Mildred Pierce, Blyth broke her back in a sledding mishap near Lake Arrowhead, California.

“One minute we were sailing down the hard-packed icy hillside like snowbirds, then there was a crash and I fell on my back with a sickening thud,” she wrote in a 1954 storyheadlined “My Career Took a Toboggan Ride.” “I didn’t cry out. The feeling was too big for that.”

The 5-foot-2 Blyth spent seven months in body cast and several more confined to a wheelchair. She did manage to attend the 1946 Oscars, wearing a studio-designed gown that fit over her back brace.

In the 1970s, Blyth became known to a new generation of TV viewers when she appeared as a mom in a series of commercials for Hostess Cupcakes, pitching Twinkies, Crumb Cakes and Ding Dongs.

Anne Marie Blythe (she shortened her first and last names after coming to Hollywood) was born Aug. 16, 1927, in Mount Kisco, New York, and raised on the Lower East Side on Manhattan. Her father left the family, leaving her mother to raise her and her older sister.

Blyth sang and recited poetry on radio shows starting at age 6 and performed with the San Carlos Opera Company. In the principal’s office at school, she was approached by writer Lillian Hellman and producer-director Herman Shumlin to read for a part in the anti-Nazi Broadway drama Watch on the Rhine. She won the role as Paul Lukas’ daughter in a 1941-42 production, turning 13 during the run.

After Watch on the Rhine closed on Broadway after almost 400 performances, she toured around the country with the play and joined other castmembers for dinner at the White House with President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 1943, Blyth was signed by Universal in part to provide competition for their chronically dissatisfied resident soprano, Deanna Durbin, and she quickly was cast in four musicals released in 1944: Chip Off the Old Block, Babes on Swing Street, The Merry Monahans and Bowery to Broadway (three of those with O’Connor).

Michael Curtiz’s Mildred Pierce, based on a 1941 novel by James M. Cain, came next, and after her back mended, she played another brat in Swell Guy (1946). A few years later, she refused to play another bad girl in the film Abandoned and was put on unpaid suspension.

Blyth also appeared in such films as Killer McCoy (1947), Another Part of the Forest (1948), Top O’ the Morning (1949), Once More, My Darling (1949), The Golden Horde (1951), I’ll Never Forget You (1951), One Minute to Zero (1952), The World in His Arms (1952), All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953), The King’s Thief (1955) and Slander (1957).

Curtiz’s The Helen Morgan Story was her last feature — she quit the movies even though she was considered for the lead in The Three Faces of Eve (1957), for which Joanne Woodward won the best actress Oscar.

However, she had a nightclub act in Las Vegas, appeared in local theater and appeared on such TV shows as Wagon Train, The Twilight Zone (as a Hollywood star who doesn’t age), The Name of the Game, Quincy M.E. and Murder, She Wrote.

In 1953, Blyth wed Los Angeles obstetrician James McNulty, the brother of singer Dennis Day. They had five children, Timothy, Maureen, Kathleen, Terence and Eileen, and were together until his 2007 death at age 89.

BLYTH, Ann (Ann Marie Blyth)

Born: 8/16/1928, Mount Kisco, New York, U.S.A.

Died: 6/24/2026,

 

Ann Blyth’s westerns – actress:

Red Canyon – 1949 (Lucy Bostel)

Rose Marie – 1954 (Rose Marie Lemaitre)

Wagon Train (TV) – 1959-1963 (Clementine Jones, Eve Newhope, Nancy Winters Jenny, Phoebe Tannen, Martha Barham)

 

RIP John Wheeler

 

John Wheeler, Actor, Singer Known for ‘Star Trek’ and an Iconic McDonald’s Commercial, Dies at 95

He also appeared in five Broadway musicals, recurred on ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’ and played William Frawley in a TV movie.

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

February 24, 2026

 

John Wheeler, the well-known character actor who appeared in five Broadway musicals, guest-starred as Tellarites politician Ambassador Gav on Star Trek and performed in an unforgettable McDonald’s commercial, has died. He was 95.

Wheeler died Feb. 6 at his home in Claremont, California, his daughter, Johanna Wheeler, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Wheeler also recurred on CBS’ The Dukes of Hazzard in 1982 as Mr. Rhuebottom, owner of a general store in Hazzard County, and he played William Frawley alongside Frances Fisher as Lucille Ball, Maurice Benard as Desi Arnaz and Robin Pearson Rose as Vivian Vance on the 1991 CBS telefilm Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter.

Unrecognizable under heavy latex makeup, Wheeler made his onscreen debut when he portrayed Gav and tussled with Mark Lenard’s Sarek, a Vulcan, on the second-season Star Trek installment “Journey to Babel,” which premiered in November 1967 and ranks 42nd on THR’s list of the show’s best episodes.

In the show-stopping 1971 choreographed musical commercial “Grab a Bucket and Mop,” Wheeler appears in a white shirt and tie as a McDonald’s manager, and he shows off his strong tenor voice alongside John Amos, Robert Ridgely and others.

Johnnie Lee Wheeler Jr. was born on June 20, 1930, in Corsicana, Texas. His father worked for the railroad, and his mother, Ann, was a homemaker. He attended TCU and the University of the Pacific, graduating in 1952 with a degree in Music, and served for a couple years in the U.S. Army.

Wheeler sang with the New York City Opera in New York, and that got him to the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels, where he performed in the Comden-Green musical Wonderful Town. He later was a member of two folk groups led by conductor Robert DeCormier: the Grammy-winning Belafonte Singers, who backed up Harry Belafonte and sang on their own albums, and the DeCormier Singers.

He first made it to Broadway in 1961 in the musical comedy The Happiest Girl in the World, starring Janice Rule and based on tales of Greek mythology, and he followed with turns in four other musicals: 1962’s Kean, 1964’s Café Crown and I Had a Ball and 1966’s Sweet Charity, playing Herman, the dance hall proprietor.

He landed an uncredited part in Elvis Presley’s Live a Little, Love a Little (1968) and portrayed a dancer in Bob Fosse’s 1969 movie adaptation of Sweet Charity that starred Shirley MacLaine (Stubby Kaye played Herman in the movie).

Wheeler’s big-screen résumé included Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969), Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971), Mame (1974), Newman’s Law (1974), Big Bad Mama (1974), Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978), The North Avenue Irregulars (1979), The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979) and Apollo 13 (1995).

He also showed up on four episodes of The Odd Couple and Green Acres and three of The Brady Bunch, with other appearances coming on Then Came Bronson, Mannix, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Here’s Lucy, Happy Days, The Waltons, The Rockford Files, Rhoda, Dallas, Night Court, The Golden Girls and ER, among other shows.

And he was a great Santa Claus, playing him on a 1997 episode of Step by Step and in telefilms that aired in 1996, 2004 and 2005.

In addition to his daughter, survivors include his sons, Christopher and Timothy, and his grandson, Brandon. He was married to Helen Wheeler from 1959 until her death in 2013.

WHEELER, John (Johnnie Lee Wheeler Jr.)

Born: 6/20/1930, Corsicana, Texas, U.S.A.

Died: 2/6/2026, Claremont, California, U.S.A.

 

John Wheeler’s westerns – actor:

Bonanza (TV) – 1968 (bartender, Hill)

Death Valley Days (TV) - 1968 (John Burk)

The Good Guys and the Bad Guys – 1969 (Bumper)

The Silent Gun – 1969 (townsman)

Tell Them Willy Boy is Here – 1969 (Newman)

Support Your Local Gunfighter – 1971 (croupier)

Honky Tonk (TV) – 1974 (bank manager)

Gunsmoke (TV) – 1975 (waiter)

Kate Bliss and the Ticker Tape Kid (TV) – 1978 (telegrapher)

The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again – 1979 (conductor)

The Wild Wild West Revisited (TV) – 1979 (Henry)

RIP James Burrows

 

James Burrows Dies: Legendary TV Comedy Director & ‘Cheers’ Co-Creator Was 85

DEADLINE

By Nellie Andreeva

June 19, 2026

 

Television has lost one its biggest comedy names — James Burrows, the most decorated multi-camera director in the history of the medium, passed away in his sleep this morning, June 19, after a brief illness. The 11-time Emmy winner was 85.

His 50+-year career will remain unmatched — both in longevity and influence as he played a crucial role in some of television’s biggest hits, including Cheers, which he also co-created, Taxi, Friends, Frasier, Will & Grace, Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory.

“Jimmy was the greatest comedic television director in the history of the medium,” Burrows’ longtime agent Rick Rosen said. “He directed the most iconic, defining shows of generations. Always a gentleman, it was an absolute honor to represent him.”

Burrows ran a small theater in San Diego before switching to TV directing. He began his career with The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1974 and directed a slew of episodes of comedy shows such as The Bob Newhart Show and Laverne & Shirley early on.

He went on set the tone and help assemble the casts for some of the biggest sitcoms of the last five decades by directing the pilots for Taxi, Cheers, Frasier, Friends, Will & Grace, 3rd Rock From the Sun, Two and a Half Men, Mike & Molly, Two Broke Girls, The Big Bang Theory and The Neighborhood.

Burrows directed 246 episodes of Will & Grace, 236 episode of Cheers, 75 episodes of Taxi, 49 episodes of Mike & Molly, 36 episodes of Frasier, 21 episode of Caroline In the City and 15 episodes of Friends. Burrows served as executive producer on Cheers, Will & Grace and Mike & Molly, among many others.

“Jimmy Burrows was the man behind the curtain,” an NBC spokesperson said in a statement. “He knew how to make us laugh, what buttons to push and was the absolute master of getting the most out of every joke. His loss to the television comedy world is immeasurable. Every time you have a smile on your face watching The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, Cheers, Will & Grace, Friends and countless others, think of Jimmy and know he made all our lives funnier.”

The prolific director never slowed down. In 2015, Burrows marked his 1,000th episode as a director. He worked on both the Will & Grace and Frasier recent revivals and also executive produced and directed all 10 episodes of Will & Grace creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan’s 2025 Hulu comedy series Mid-Century Modern, which landed him his 28th Emmy directing nomination at age 84 last year and 47th overall.

Over his career, Burrows won 11 Emmy Awards, including five for directing and five for Outstanding Comedy Series (Cheers, Will & Grace). He also executive produced two Live in Front of a Studio Audience ABC specials, which recreated Norman Lear’s All in the Family and Good Times in 2019, and The Facts of Life and Diff’rent Strokes in 2021, earning his final Emmy for the former in 2020. In 2006, Burrows was inducted into Television Academy’s Hall of Fame.

In what is believed to be his last public appearance, Burrows spoke at the November 2025 memorial of his agent of 50 years, Bob Broder. While he looked frail at the time, the director brought the house down with his signature wit and comedic timing.

In a poignant end to his career, Burrows most recently recurred on the third season of HBO’s Comeback this year, reuniting with Friends star Lisa Kudrow. Playing a fictional version of himself, Burrows directed the pilot for the first multi-camera sitcom written by AI before quitting the production with the message — AI can never deliver the emotion and tension needed to make great television.

BURROWS, James (James Edward Burrows)

Born: 10/30/1940, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Died: 6/19/2026, Manhattan, New Yotk, U.S.A.

 

James Burrows’ western – director:

Best of the West (TV) - 1981

RIP Bobby Prince

 

Legacy

 

Robert Caskin "Bobby" Prince III, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, veteran, attorney, musician, composer, and friend, passed peacefully into Heaven's Musical Gates on June 16, 2026. Born March 12, 1945, in Madison, Indiana, Bobby was the eldest son of the late LTC Robert C. Prince, Jr. and Dorothy Humber Prince. As the son of an Army officer, his childhood included family moves to Birmingham, Alabama, before settling in Athens, Georgia, where he was raised and where the seeds of a remarkable life in music were first planted. Bobby graduated from Athens High School and attended the University of Georgia. During his youth and early adulthood, he performed with many talented musicians and bands throughout the Athens music community, including the area's original "Jesters," along with his gifted beloved brother, David Prince. Music remained a constant thread throughout his life and was shared with family, lifelong friends, and fellow musicians. Bobby served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War as a platoon leader. Following his military service, he pursued careers in counseling and law before ultimately becoming one of the pioneering composers and sound designers in the video game industry.

His innovative work helped define an era of gaming and influenced generations of players around the world. Through his compositions and sound design for landmark titles including Doom, Doom II, Wolfenstein 3D, Rise of the Triad, and Duke Nukem 3D, Bobby helped establish video game music as a respected art form. In 2006, the Video Game Industry honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2026, the soundtrack to the original Doom was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress, ensuring that his groundbreaking work would remain part of America's cultural heritage for generations to come.

In 2005, Bobby began a wonderful new chapter when he met and married his soulmate, Connie Freeman Prince. Together they made their home in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, where they shared twenty-one years filled with enduring love, music, creativity, faith, laughter, and devotion. One of their most treasured memories began with Bobby's unforgettable marriage proposal at Dollywood. After arranging for a giant message to be displayed on the passing Dollywood Express Train, he surprised Connie by appearing with a song and a proposal on one knee—a moment that perfectly reflected his creativity, romance, and joyful spirit. As creative partners, Bobby and Connie wrote songs and stories, produced musical recordings and videos, performed together, and brought inspiration and joy to many through their shared gifts.

Those closest to Bobby knew him not only for his extraordinary accomplishments but for his kindness, humor, humility, generosity, creativity, and deep love of family. Whether composing music, telling stories, playing guitar, sharing laughter, or offering encouragement, he approached life with gratitude and an open heart.

Bobby is survived by his devoted wife, Connie Freeman Prince; his sons, Robert Caskin Prince IV and Andrew (Cristy) Prince; his cherished granddaughter, Anabel Prince; his sister, Patricia Clark; his sister-in-law, Woodie Prince; nieces Ellen Moore, Lori (Kelvim) Escobar, Molly (John) Seawright, and Tiffany Thomas; nephews Mark (Christine) Moore, Neil Moore, David (Elizabeth) Prince II and Gabriel Prince; great-nieces Kaylin Prince, Caroline Prince, and Julia Moore; great nephews Trenton (Cassie) Epps, Frankie Moore, and Nathaniel Moore; Jackson and Davis Prince, and many more beloved great-nieces, great-nephews, extended family members, and dear friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, LTC Robert C. Prince, Jr. and Dorothy Humber Prince, and by his beloved brother, David Prince, and brother-in-law, Bob Clark. Bobby was also deeply loved and adored by Connie's family, who embraced him as their own, and by a large circle of extended family members and cherished friends whose lives were forever enriched by his friendship, music, humor, and love.

Connie and the family wish to express their deepest gratitude to the countless "Earth Angels" at Dollywood and Beyond, whose prayers, kindness, encouragement, and loving care surrounded Bobby throughout his illness. Special thanks are extended to the physicians, nurses, therapists, caregivers, and staff of the VA, UT Medical Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Covenant Health, Enhabit Home Health, and Amedisys Hospice, whose compassion, skill, and devotion brought comfort, dignity, and support throughout his final journey.

While many throughout the world will remember Bobby for the music and soundscapes that helped define a generation of gaming, those who knew and loved him personally will remember something even greater: a man of talent, integrity, humility, faith, laughter, and love whose greatest joy was sharing his wit and wisdom with family and friends.

PRINCE, Bobby (Robert Caskin Prince III)

Born: 3/12/1945, Madison, Indiana, U.S.A.

Died: 6/16/2026, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, U.S.A.

 

Bobby Prince’s westerns – composer:

Zorro (video game) – 1995

RIP David Sheiner

 

David Sheiner Obituary

Los Angeles Times

June 14, 2026

 

Character Actor (and Character) David S. Sheiner, 98, took his final bow on June 5th, 2026. You can take The Boy out of The Bronx, but you can't take The Bronx out of The Boy. He was Athletic, Acerbic, Pugnacious, Fiercely Loyal.

Lee Strasberg trained, he left Broadway to come West in the '60s. He gave more than 90 performances in movies and television, from "James the Elder" in "The Greatest Story Ever Told" to "Roy" the poker playing accountant in "The Odd Couple" movie.

In between, he played potentates, spies, doctors, lawyers, lawmen, and even an Ape-the guy you knew from somewhere.

His most cherished role didn't need The Method-that of Family Man. From his heart he was a father, father-in-law, brother, uncle, friend and neighbor. Most importantly, he was a doting and Pride-filled champion of his Granddaughter.

In his last days, his concerned kids asked him if he was comfortable. "I Make a Living," he replied.

Anyone who wishes may donate to the MPTF in his memory.

SHEINER, David (Saul David Sheiner)

Born: 1/13/2028, The Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S.A.

Died: 6/5/2026, California, U.S.A.

 

David Sheiner’s westerns – actor:

A Man Called Shenandoah (TV) - 1965 (Marshal Murray)

The Big Valley (TV) – 1966-1967 (Captain Jonathan Rizely, Gabe Simmons, Phil Archer)

Iron Horse (TV) – 1966-1967 (Carson, Frontiersman, Preacher Brady)

Scalplock (TV) – 1966 (frontiersman)

‘Dundee and the Culhane (TV) – 1967 (Nick)

A Man Called Gannon (TV) – 1968 (Sheriff Polaski)

The Virginian (TV) - 1970 (Cully)

Bonanza (TV) - 1971 (Sam Fancher)

Gunsmoke (TV) – 1971 (Preacher Jones)

How the West Was Won (TV) - 1979 (Wilson)

The Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory (TV) – 1987 (Luis)

RIP William Smithers

 

William Smithers, Actor in ‘Dallas’ and ‘Papillon,’ Dies at 98

The veteran character actor, who played the ruthless oilman Jeremy Wendell on the CBS primetime soap, gave nemesis J.R. Ewing all he could handle.

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

June 16, 2026

 

William Smithers, the veteran character actor who as the ruthless oilman Jeremy Wendell gave nemesis J.R. Ewing all he could handle on the CBS primetime soap Dallas, has died. He was 98.

Smithers’ death was reported by the Santa Barbara Independent. He lived in Santa Barbara.

Smithers, who specialized in playing heavies during his career, also guest-starred as Capt. R.M. Merik, a onetime Federation officer now presiding over Roman gladiators, on the original Star Trek episode “Bread and Circuses,” which premiered in March 1968.

A member of The Actors Studio, the Virginia native got his start on the stage, and he and Olivia de Havilland made their Broadway debuts together in a 1951 production of Romeo and Juliet.

On the big screen, Smithers portrayed a principled infantry officer in Robert Aldrich’s Attack (1956) in his first movie, then appeared as a police captain in Ivan Dixon’s Trouble Man (1972), as a spy in Michael Winner’s Scorpio (1973) and as the unbending Warden Barrot in Franklin J. Schaffner’s Papillon (1973).

“The rule here is total silence,” Barrot tells Steve McQueen’s imprisoned character in Papillon. “We make no pretense of rehabilitation here. We’re not priests, we’re processors. A meat-packer processes live animals into edible ones. We process dangerous men into harmless ones. This we accomplish by breaking you. Breaking you physically, spiritually and here [pointing to his head]. Strange things happen to the head here. Put all hope out of your mind and masturbate as little as possible. It drains the strength.”

Perhaps as a tribute, the warden played by André Gregory in the 1993 Sylvester Stallone-Wesley Snipes film Demolition Man is named William Smithers.

Smithers had portrayed Peyton Mill owner David Schuster from 1965-66 on TV’s first primetime soap, ABC’s Peyton Place, before he landed on Dallas in 1981 in its fourth season as the steely Wendell, chairman of WestStar Oil.

Wendell would make the cutthroat Ewing (Larry Hagman) look like a choirboy in comparison during his 50-episode stint through 1989.

Working with Hagman “was always a challenge because [their characters] were always competitors because of the scripts,” he said. “Larry was a strong actor. I feel like I had to be at the top of my game when I was working with him. It was very stimulating.”

In 1976, when Smithers was starring on the short-lived CBS drama Executive Suite, he sued MGM. In the highly publicized case, he claimed the studio had violated his contract, which said that, with three named exceptions, no other castmember could receive more money or better billing than he did.

He indicated an MGM exec threatened to blacklist him in Hollywood should he follow through on the suit, but the actor pressed on. A jury and then the California Supreme Court found in his favor — “we won it big,” he said — and Smithers vs. MGM is now taught in entertainment law courses.

Marion Wilkinson Smithers Jr. was born in Richmond, Virginia, on July 10, 1927. His father was an electrician who moved the family in 1936 to Elizabeth, New Jersey. At Alexander Hamilton Junior High School, he appeared in a play with future House of Wax star Phyllis Kirk.

After 14 months in the U.S. Navy, Smithers attended Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia and then Catholic University in Washington before moving to New York in 1950 to pursue an acting career. To pay the bills, he worked as an usher at the Alvin Theatre on Broadway, where Henry Fonda was starring in Mr. Roberts.

For his Broadway bow, Smithers dyed his hair red and received a Theater World award for his turn as Tybalt opposite de Havilland in Romeo and Juliet, then was accepted into The Actors Studio. (A few years earlier, the actress had defeated Warner Bros. in a landmark Hollywood suit regarding her seven-year contract.)

Smithers also appeared on Broadway in the 1950s in Legend of Lovers with Richard Burton, in End as a Man with Ben Gazzara, in The Square Root of Wonderful with Anne Baxter and in The Shadow of a Gunman with Bruce Dern and received an Obie Award in 1957 for playing Treplev in an off-Broadway production of Chekhov’s The Seagull.

In 1960, Smithers spent a summer with the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Connecticut, and had what he called ” an intense — and illicit love affair” with actress Barbara Barrie. Three years later, he worked alongside Charles Boyer in London and on Broadway in Man and Boy.

He moved from New York to Los Angeles in 1965 when he was hired on Peyton Place.

Smithers said he was “paid very little” on Dallas and left the series in a dispute over money. “My agent was convinced that they would come to the figure that we asked for,” he said, “but they didn’t. So that ended the whole thing.”

He appeared on lots of TV shows, with guest spots on The Defenders, Combat!, It Takes a Thief, Mission: Impossible, The F.B.I., Mannix, The Mod Squad, Ironside, The Name of the Game, Barnaby Jones, Cannon, Sledge Hammer! and Walker, Texas Ranger, among many others.

SMITHERS, William (Marion Wilkinson Smithers Jr.)

Born: 7/10/1927, Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A.

Died:  5/26/2026, Santa Barbara, California, U.S.A.

 

William Smithers’s westerns – actor:

The Road West (TV) 1966 (Sam Gaskins)

Shane (TV) – 1966 (Del Packard)

Cade’s County (TV) - 1972 (William Courtney)

Walker, Texas Ranger (TV) -1994 (Milo Crane)

RIP Christian Bujeau

 

Death at the age of 81 of Christian Bujeau, dentist of the Visitors and famous fencing master of Kaamelott

Allocine

By Thomas Imbert

June 15, 2026

 

French actor Christian Bujeau, known in the cinema for the role of the dentist in "The Visitors" and the fencing master in "Kaamelott", died on Monday, June 15 at the age of 81.

Famous among the general public for having played Valérie Lemercier's hilarious dentist husband in The Visitors and the master-at-arms with impeccable hygiene and flowery language who trained King Arthur in the series Kaamelott, the French actor Christian Bujeau died on Monday, June 15 at the age of 81.

A complete player

Born in Charron in 1944, Christian Bujeau learned the acting trade by training at the Conservatoire national supérieur d’art dramatique. A complete actor and eclectic artist, he spent his long career between theatre, television and cinema, also officiating as a stuntman, theatre director and drama teacher at the Jean Périmony school.

In the cinema, it was when he landed one of the main roles in Jean-Marie Poiré’s Visitors, in 1993, that he became known to the general public, playing the dentist Jean-Pierre Goulard, husband of Valérie Lemercier and a catastrophic witness to the escapades of Godefroy and Jacquouille (a role that Didier Bourdon and Fabrice Lucchini had almost played).

On the big screen, he has also been seen in films such as The Truth If I Lie! 2, Alibi.com and The Return of the Hero.

The Weapons Master of Kaamelott

On the television side, even if he has participated in many famous series (such as Joséphine, ange gardien, Caméra Café, or Hero Corp), he is known in particular for his role as the fencing master, Arthur's ruthless and hilarious trainer in the series Kaamelott, which offered him many mythical lines.

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BUJEAU, Chsristian

Born: 10/14/1944, Charron, Charente-Maritime, France

Died: 6/15/2026, Paris, Île-de-France, France

 

Christian Bujeau’s westerns – actor:

Bitumes – 1986

Fucking Dead (TV) – 2016 (Asa)