RIP Saginaw Grant

Saginaw Grant, prolific Native American actor, dies at 85

 

U.S.A. Today

July 30, 2021

 

LOS ANGELES — Saginaw Grant, a prolific Native American character actor and hereditary chief of the Sac & Fox Nation of Oklahoma, has died. He was 85.

Grant died peacefully in his sleep of natural causes on Wednesday at a private care facility in Hollywood, California, said Lani Carmichael, Grant’s publicist and longtime friend.

“He loved both Oklahoma and L.A.,” Carmichael said. “He made his home here as an actor, but he never forgot his roots in Oklahoma. He remained a fan of the Sooner Nation.”

Born July 20, 1936, in Pawnee, Oklahoma, Grant was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.

He began acting in the late 1980s and played character roles in dozens of movies and television shows over the last three decades, including 2013s “The Lone Ranger,”  's 2005's “The World’s Fastest Indian” and “Breaking Bad,” according to” Grant’s IMDB filmography.

His other notable credits include 2015's "The Ridiculous 6," 2002's "Skinwalkers" and 2004's "Black Cloud." He also briefly appeared in shows like NBC's "Community," HBO's "Veep," and FX's "American Horror Story."

Grant was active for years in the powwow circuit in California and traveled around the globe to speak to people about Native American culture, Carmichael said.

“His motto in life was always respect one another and don’t talk about one another in a negative way,” she said.

Grant was also active in the Native American veterans community and participated for years in the National Gathering of American Indian Veterans, said Joseph Podlasek, the event’s organizer.

“He thought it was important for Native people to get recognized as veterans,” Podlasek said. “He was kind and gentle, and very humble.”

The official Twitter account for the U.S. Embassy New Zealand & Consulate General in Auckland shared their condolences Thursday for Grant, who visited New Zealand in 2015 to participate in the pop culture convention Armageddon Expo and engage with local indigenous communities.

"We are sad to hear of the passing of Saginaw Grant…It was an honour to host you in 2015 and to be part of your time here in Aotearoa. E te rangatira, journey well into the realm of your ancestors," the tweet read.

A memorial for Grant will be held in the Los Angeles area, but details haven’t been finalized, Carmichael said.

GRANT, Saginaw (Saginaw Morgan Grant)

Born: 7/20/1936, Pawnee, Oklahoma, U.S.A.

Died: 7/28/2021, Hollywood, California, U.S.A.

 

Saginaw Grant’s westerns – actor:

War Party – 1988 (Freddie Man Wolf)

Harts of the West (TV) – 1993-1994 (Auggie)

Lazarus Man (TV) - 1996

Stolen Women, Captured Hearts (TV) – 1997 (Chief Luta)

Grey Owl – 1999 (Pow Wow Chief)

Purgatory (TV) – 1999 (Gatekeeper)

Dreamer – 2000 (medicine man)

Legend of the Phantom Rider – 2002 (medicine man)

Skinwalkers – 2002 (Wilson Sam)

Skinwalkers: The Navajo Mysteries – 2002 (Wilson Sam)

DreamKeeper (TV) – 2003 (old medicine man)

Black Cloud – 2004 (Grandpa)

Hanbleceya – 2005

Walking on Turtle Island – 2009 (Catches the Bear)

The Lone Ranger – 2013 (Chief Big Bear)

Takers - 2013

The Ridiculous Six – 2015 (Screaming Eagle)

Disappointment Valley: A Modern Day Western - 2017

The Red Man’s View – 2021 (Chief Great Eagle)

Two Nations – 2021 (Many Hands)

RIP David von Ancken

DEADLINE

By Nellie Andreeva

July 28, 2021

 

David von Ancken Dies: ‘Code Black’, ‘Hell On Wheels’ & ‘Seraphim Falls’ Director Was 56.

 

Prolific television director David von Ancken, who also helmed the feature Seraphim Falls, passed away July 26 at his home in Agoura Hills, CA after a two-year battle with aggressive stomach cancer. He was 56.

David von Ancken, known lovingly as “DVA,” was born in New York on December 5, 1964. His career got off to a hot start with the 2001 short Bullet In the Brain, starring Tom Noonan and Dean Winters, which Von Ancken wrote and directed. It won Universal/Hypnotic Films’ Million Dollar Film Festival as well as numerous other festival awards and opened the doors for Von Ancken to embark on a directing career.

He became a sought-after — and beloved — episodic director who worked on some three dozen series over the past two decades, including Oz, Without a Trace, The Shield, Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, The Mentalist, Person of Interest, The Following, Intelligence, House of Lies, MacGyver, The Crossing and The Purge. He directed seven or more episodes each of CBS’ Cold Case and CSI: NY and Showtime’s Californication.

“David was the kind of person who walked into a room and you couldn’t help but immediately gravitate towards him,” von Ancken’s partner in life and business, Meg London-Boche, said. “His vibrant energy towards life and years of personal adventures carried into his extraordinary direction of television and film. He was constantly formulating stories in his mind and always eager to share them with the world.”

 

A towering presence on set, the 6’4″ David von Ancken also was a producing director, helming multiple episodes and executive producing series spanning different genres including WGN America’s Salem, Spike’s mini Tut starring Ben Kingsley, AMC’s Hell On Wheels, CBS’ code Black, Syfy’s Ghost Wars, ABC’s The Crossing and Netflix’s The Order. 

 

Jeremy Gold, President of Production at Blumhouse, was head of scripted programming at Enmol where he developed Hell On Wheels and served as an executive producer on the Western drama.

“I can see DVA now on set in Calgary, big smile on his face, toothpick in his mouth, NBA–length legs, charging down the tracks to the next set-up,” Gold said. “Boundless energy, can-do attitude, always finding the joy in the work! I like the world a little less without him in it.”

Intelligence and Code Black creator/executive producer/showrunner Michael Seitzman, who first met Von Ancken when he directed an episode of cyber-themed crime drama Intelligence before Seitzmen brought him in as director/executive producer on medical drama Code Black, remembered his friend on Twitter.

“Anyone who met David would describe him by his energy, boundless and infectious. He was unfailingly optimistic, and relentlessly positive. ‘Let’s do it!’ was his response to every single challenge, no matter how daunting,” Seitzman wrote alongside photos of Von Ancken on the set of Code Black. “One of the things we would say to each other constantly was ‘Never surrender.’ To the process, to the budget, to the schedule, or our own exhaustion. Even to cancer, especially to cancer, it was, ‘Never surrender.'”

Seitzman was able to speak to Von Ancken on the phone hours before his death, telling him what he had meant to him and saying goodbye.

“I always describe David as full of life,” Seitzman said. “He had been the brightest light. To watch that light go out is unfathomable.”

Code Black, which aired for three seasons, starred Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden.

“He loved actors and loved crew, and in turn he was loved by all, and tackled cancer the same way he tackled life… with grace, dignity, ferocity, humor, and wisdom,” Harden said of Von Ancken. “He had so much left to do, and will be missed!”

Added Code Black series regular Emily Tyra who was a very close friend of von Ancken’s, “David’s spirit was unshakeable and inspiring. He made life into a story worth telling through his art. I will cherish his guidance and friendship forever.

Rob Lowe, who starred in Seasons 2 and 3 of Code Black, also paid tribute to the late director.

“David was a smart, empathetic, energetic gentle giant,” he said. “The kind of director and man you’d want in your foxhole. I am so sad he’s gone.”

In features, von Ancken co-wrote and directed the 2006 Seraphim Falls, a civil war action-thriller starring Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson, which earned him a Gotham Breakthrough Director nomination.

In addition to London-Boche, von Ancken is survived by his parents, Eva and Henry Von Ancken, his sister, Beth McMullen, his daughter and his beloved dog, Oscar. A private memorial will be taking place in the coming weeks.

von Ancken’s loved ones remember him as an expert sailor, avid outdoorsman, and spirited adventurer of life who treasured spending time with friends and family, always eager to end the day with those he loved by mixing his infamous “Manhattans” or sharing a beautiful bottle of wine.

“Words fail me to fully express how much he meant to me and how much he monumentally changed my life both personally and professionally. He opened up our world to me in ways I never knew existed and taught me how to live boldly with dynamic curiosity. For that I will always treasure him,” London-Boche said. “I’d like to thank all of our family, friends, and colleagues for their incredible support and love during this difficult time. My thanks extends to the team at UCLA Health Santa Monica for fighting so strongly alongside David during his war with cancer. May his legacy continue to live on with the stories he left behind.”

 

von ANCKEN, David (David Henry von Ancken)

Born: 12/5/1964, New York City, New York, U.S.A.

Died: 7/26/2021, Agoura Hills, California, U.S.A.

 

David von Ancken’s westerns – producer, director, writer:

Seraphim Falls – 2006 [director, writer]

Hell on Wheels (TV) – 2011-2016 [producer, director]

The Cowboy 2016 [himself]

The Son – 2021 [executive producer]

RIP Dusty Hill

ZZ Top Bassist Dusty Hill Dead at 72

 

“You will be missed greatly, amigo,” surviving members Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard said in a statement

 

Rolling Stone

By Andy Greene

July 28, 2021

ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill, who played with the Texas blues-rock trio for over 50 years, has died at age 72.

“We are saddened by the news today that our Compadre, Dusty Hill, has passed away in his sleep at home in Houston, Texas,” surviving members Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard said in a statement. “We, along with legions of ZZ Top fans around the world, will miss your steadfast presence, your good nature, and enduring commitment to providing that monumental bottom to the ‘Top’. We will forever be connected to that ‘Blues Shuffle in C.’ You will be missed greatly, amigo.”

Hill wasn’t ZZ Top’s original bass player, but he joined shortly before they cut their debut LP, ZZ Top’s First Album, in 1971, and he remained a pivotal part of the group through their most recent albums and tours. Throughout all that time, the lineup stayed just Hill, Gibbons, and Beard, making them one of the most stable acts in rock history. 

“It’s a cliché and sounds so simplistic, but it’s down to the three of us genuinely enjoying playing together,” Hill explained to Classic Rock in 2010. “We still love it, and we still get a kick out of being on stage. We also have enough in common to maintain a bond between us but sufficient differences to keep our individuality. And after all this time, we all know what winds up the others and what makes them the people they are.”

Hill grew up in Dallas, Texas, and began playing bass when he was 13. “Most bass players are guitar players first,” he told writer Gary Graff in 2016. “I wasn’t. I was a singer and I came home from school and there was a bass guitar there, and I played a bar that night. It wasn’t very good, but I kind of learned how to play on stage and whatnot, and embarrassment is a great motivator.”

He joined ZZ Top shortly after they signed a deal with London records. Early records ZZ Top’s First Album and Rio Grande Mud failed to generate much traction, but they finally connected in 1973 with Tres Hombres thanks to the hit single “La Grange.” That same year, they opened up for the Rolling Stones in Hawaii. “People would look at us onstage, drop their jaws, and moan,” Hill told Rolling Stone in 1974. “In the end, though, we’d just blow them away and they’d scream for us to come back. We’d feel kind of funny with the Stones watching us from behind, waiting for us to finish.”

The follow-up albums weren’t as successful and the band took a three-year break following the release of 1976’s Tejas. During the downtime, Hill took a job at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. “I just wanted to feel normal” Hill said in 2019. “I did not want other people to think that I thought I was full of myself, but the main thing is that I didn’t want to start feeling full of myself. So I did it to ground myself.”

During the downtime, Hill and Gibbons grew long beards. And when they remerged in 1979 with Degüello, they scored a massive hit with “Cheap Sunglasses.” But it was 1983’s Eliminator that turned ZZ Top into MTV superstars. Singles “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” and “Legs” were inescapable all year and remain staples of classic rock radio to this day. And even though their success began to fizzle out in the Nineties, the band never stopped touring and they always maintained a huge following. They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 by Keith Richards.

Hill remained a quiet presence through it all, rarely granting interviews, and letting Gibbons serve as the group’s mouthpiece. When he did talk to the press, he hinted at a darkness that few fans saw. “There have been any number [of low points in my life], but I never discuss them in public,” he said in 2010. “They’re not for the public to pick over and dissect. All I will say is that you have to have the right attitude to these downturns. You have to go through the low points to appreciate the highs in life.”

Over the past few years, Hill endured a hip replacement surgery and a shoulder injury. The group was forced to cancel a few shows, and they played with a replacement earlier this month when Hill was forced to head back to Texas to deal with a hip issue.

His cause of death isn’t known at the moment, but in 2010 he did say what he’d like to see written on his tombstone. “It may sound morose, but you never get younger,” he said. “I’ve come up with some ideas, and then rejected them all. There’s an inscription on a wooden marker over a grave in Boot Hill that says: Here lies Lester Moore. Four slugs from a .44. No Les. No more. I like the humor in that. I’ve come up with a few ideas of my own, but none of them are really that good.”

HILL, Dusty (Joseph Michael Hill)

Born: 5/19/1949, Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.

Died: 7/28/2021, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.

 

Dusty Hill’s westerns – actor, songwriter:

Back to the Future Part III – 1990 (party band member #3)

Shanghai Noon – 2000 [songwriter ‘LaGrange’]

Deadwood (TV) – 2006 [townsman]