Tuesday, December 3, 2024

RIP Mino Giarda

 

Maestro #27

By Didier Thunus

December 2024

 

Mino Giarda who was born in Venice, Italy on August 2, 1928. He an assistant to Carlo Lizzani on movies such as “Mussolini ultimo atto” (1974) – even co-director of “Storie di vita e malavita” (1975) according to IMDb – or to Damiano Damiani for “La moglie più bella” (1971) and many other directors, Mino Giarda finally directed his own movie in 1976, called “Per amore”. He turned to Ennio Morricone for writing the beautiful score of this love story between a pianist and a young girl, and to Luis Bacalov to play piano pieces by Chopin. But right after that, he stopped his career completely, at the age of 48. He died in Rome on March 20tha at the age of 95. He was an assistant director on two Spaghetti westerns: “A Fistful of Songs” and “For a Few Dollars Less” both in 1966.

GIARDA, Mino

Born: 8/2/1928, Venice, Veneto, Italy

Died: 3/20/2024, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Mino Giarda’s westerns – assistant director:

A Fistful of Songs – 1966

For a Few Dollars Less - 1966

Sunday, December 1, 2024

RIP Wayne Northrop

 

Actor Wayne Northrop

Dead at 77 ...

'Days of Our Lives,' 'Dynasty' Star

TMZ

12/1/2024

 

Wayne Northrop -- a longtime television actor who appeared in over 1000 episodes of the soap opera "Days of Our Lives" -- has died ... TMZ has confirmed.

The star's publicist, Cynthia Snyder, tells us ... Northrop passed away at the Motion Picture and Television Woodland Hills Home -- an assisted living facility for those in the film industry.

Northrop was diagnosed with Alzheimer's six years ago ... hence the need for assisted living care.

Wayne's wife, Lynn Herring Northrop, released a statement as well ... saying he took his final breath in the arms of family -- and thanking The Motion Picture and Television Home for taking great care of him in the last few years of his life.

Northrop broke into the film industry in the late 1970s ... starting out by appearing in bit roles on shows like "Baretta" and "The Waltons."

He got his big break in 1981 when he got a recurring role in the show "Dynasty" ... appearing in the pilot as Michael Culhane, chauffer to oil baron John Forsythe's Blake Carrington. He played the role in 35 episodes of the show.

Wayne's career-defining role though was in the soap opera "Days of Our Lives" ... in which he played two characters -- Dr. Alex North and Roman Brady.

He's credited for 1,036 episodes of the show ... appearing in shows from 1981 to 2006.

Other credits include ... "Port Charles," "The Young Riders," "L.A. Law," "Hotel," and "Cold Case."

Wayne married Lynn in 1981 ... and, the two purchased a working cattle ranch in California. Northop was always passionate about wildlife and conservation.

He is survived by Lynn and their two sons, Hank and Grady. Wayne was 77.

RIP

NORTHROP, Wayne (Wayne Alan Northrop)

Born: 4/12/1947, Sumner, Washington, U.S.A.

Died: 11/29/2024, Woodland Hills, California, U.S.A.

 

Wayne Northrop’s western – actor:

The Young Riders (TV) – 1989 (Ludy Bryan)

Thursday, November 28, 2024

RIP Joyce Taylor


 Forever Missed 

Joyce Taylor Hinnant, 1937–2024 (87)

Fort Collins, Colorado

 

Born Joyce Crowder, actress in the Golden Age of Hollywood as Joyce Taylor, and singer as Joyce Bradley. Taylor sang in amateur shows at age 10 and turned professional at age 15, signing with Mercury Records (billed as Joyce Bradley). When she was 16, she was singing at Chez Paree nightclub in Chicago and other similar venues.[3]

She was under contract to Howard Hughes-owned RKO Pictures in the 1950s, but he only allowed her to act in one movie (a small part in Beyond a Reasonable Doubt in 1956).[4] When her seven-year contract ended, she became a regular on the science-fiction adventure TV series Men into Space (1959–1960)[5] as well as acted in many other TV shows and several feature films

The records show she remarried, in 1972, to Richard Perry Hinnant (b. 1943). Her first marriage certificate indicates she was born in 1937, not 1932 as stated on IMDb. Both of them show up as living in Fort Collins, Colorado as of 2021. She goes by the name of Joyce Taylor Hinnant

TAYLOR, Joyce (Joyce Bernice Crowder)

Born: 9/14/1937, Taylorville, Illinois, U.S.A.

Died: 1/?/2024, Ft. Collins, Colorado, U.S.A.

 

Joyce Taylor’s westerns – actress:

Lawman (TV) – 1959 (Dora Mahan Steed)

The Rough Riders (TV) – 1959 (Jenny Kirby)

Shotgun Slade (TV) – 1959 (Val Preston)

Bat Masterson (TV) – 1960 (Jane Taylor)

Tales of Wells Fargo (TV) – 1960, 1962 (Rachel Whitman, Ann King)

Whispering Smith (TV) – 1961 (Edie Romack)

Bonanza – (TV) – 1962 (Morvath Terry)

Wagon Train (TV) – 1962 (Ruth Creech)

RIP Barbara Bestar

 

Instagram

By Douglas Ely

August 19, 2024

 

My mom died today. Many of you knew her as Barbara with Kelly, as she was a casting director for a few decades. Some may remember her as an actress who had maybe the best stage name ever: Barbara Bestar (her given name). Her married name was Barbara Ely. But I knew her as Mom. An end of an era.

Barbara Bestar- Born March 23, 1930. Died August 19, 2024.

BESTAR, Barbara

Born: 3/23/1930, Manhattan, New York, U.S.A.

Died: 8/19/2024, Tarzana, California, U.S.A.

 

Barbara Bestar’s westerns – actress:

Navajo Trail Riders – 1949 (Judy Clark)

The Adventures of Kit Carson (TV) 1953 1954 (Janice Bryant, Sally, Cora Langley)

Man With the Steel Whip – 1954 (Nancy Cooper)

Death Valley Days (TV) 1954, 1958, 1959 (Ellen Clayton, Kathleen O’Dell, Ginny Cluett)

The Adventures of Champion (TV) – 1955 (Letty Kenyon)

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (TV) – 1955, 1957, 1961 (Christine Trask, Lucy King, Mrs. Jane Hardin)

26 Men (TV) – 1958, 1959 (Jenny Mathews, Virginia Blane, Gina Thorpe)

Lawman (TV) – 1959 (Beth Harvey)

Tales of Wells Fargo (TV) – 1959 (Sarah Young)

RIP Silvia Pinal

 

Silvia Pinal, the final diva from the golden days of Mexican cinema, has passed away at 94

The entertainment industry loses a cinematic legend, marking the end of a glorious era in film.

HOLA!

By Monica Tirado

November 28, 2024

 

Silvia Pinal, one of the greatest actresses in film and television, passed away on November 28, 2024, at the age of 94, her eldest daughter, Sylvia Pasquel confirmed on social media. According to reports from various Mexican media outlets, it was revealed that the artist died in Mexico City surrounded by her loved ones. Her three children, Sylvia Pasquel, Alejandra Guzmán, and Luis Enrique Guzmán, along with other family members, including her granddaughters and great-granddaughters, were by her side.

Silvia Pinal's Final Days

The legendary Mexican actress was at a medical center in the south of Mexico City due to a urinary tract infection. She was admitted on November 22nd in an emergency situation. As the days went by, her health deteriorated; however, on November 27th, it was reported that she had shown improvement and could soon leave the hospital. Unfortunately, her condition worsened, and by the 28th, she was in intensive care, facing severe difficulties. Her son, Luis Enrique Guzmán, stated that his mother was "in the process of departing."

The tragic passing of the actress was then confirmed by TelevisaUnivision. Pinal had been battling various complications for several years. In December of 2022, she had been hospitalized due to a severe case of influenza, and between February and March of this year, she required hospitalization for sores.

She is survived by her children Sylvia Pasquel, Alejandra Guzmán, and Luis Enrique Guzmán, as well as her granddaughters Stephanie, Frida Sofía, Giordana, Schersa, and her great-granddaughters Michelle Salas and Camila Valero.

Silvia Pinal's Early Years

Born on September 12, 1931, in Guaymas, Sonora, Silvia Pinal Hidalgo displayed a keen interest in the entertainment industry from a young age. After spending her early years in Sonora, she and her mother, María Luisa Hidalgo, moved to Mexico City. Despite her aspirations to make a mark in the field, her father encouraged her to pursue a different path, leading the young Silvia to study typing.

While balancing her studies and working as a secretary, Silvia Pinal sought opportunities in the entertainment world, taking singing and acting classes. At the Mexican Institute of Fine Arts (INBA), she studied under multiple renowned figures of the time, including writer Carlos Pellicer, playwright Salvador Novo, and author Xavier Villaurrutia.

She made her debut in a beauty pageant, earning the title of Student Princess of Mexico. Additionally, she participated in radio comedies on XEQ and began taking on various roles in theatrical productions in the early 1950s, appearing in works such as Los caprichos de Goya and Un sueño de cristal.

Silvia Pinal's Journey in Cinema

In 1948, Pinal had the opportunity to appear in her first film, El pecado de Laura, where she had a supporting role. This was followed by other films, including Mujer de medianoche (1949), El portero (1950), and El rey del barrio (1950). Gradually, she started landing co-starring roles in movies like Azahares para tu boda (1950) and Cuando los hijos pecan (1952).

In 1953, she received her first award—a Silver Ariel for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Un rincón cerca del cielo (1952). After this recognition, Pinal secured her first leading roles in cinema, but it was in 1954 with the film Un extraño en la escalera, co-starring Arturo de Córdoba, that she gained widespread fame.

In 1956, she collaborated with Pedro Infante in El Inocente, one of the most iconic and beloved films of her career, forming an unmatched duo. That same year, she won a Silver Ariel for Best Actress for her role in Locura pasional, written and directed by Tulio Demicheli. The following year, Silvia Pinal earned her second Ariel for Best Actress for La dulce enemiga.

Silvia Pinal: The Great Muse of Luis Buñuel

Silvia Pinal also worked in Europe with prominent directors such as José María Forqué and Fernando Fernán Gómez. One of her most notable collaborations with foreign directors was in Viridiana (1961), a film directed by Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel. This film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

In 1964, she also worked with Buñuel on El ángel exterminador. This film received worldwide acclaim and is listed among 'The 1000 Best Movies' by the New York Times in 2005. Her final project with Buñuel was Simón del desierto in 1965.

Silvia Pinal: Her Work on Television

In television, she starred in soap operas such as Los caudillos and Mañana es primavera, and in the late 1980s, she created and produced Mujer: casos de la vida real, which depicted cases and issues affecting Mexican society at that time. This program aired for 21 years until it concluded in 2007. She produced the Mexican version of Mame, a musical comedy. In 1988, she acquired Cine Estadio, which she refurbished and transformed into Teatro Silvia Pinal.

In the 2000s, she appeared in soap operas and series such as Fuego en la sangre, Mujeres asesinas, Soy tu dueña, Mi marido tiene familia, and its sequel. In 2008, she won the Ariel de Oro for her outstanding career and collected four Diosas de Plata awards.

Between 2021 and 2022, she filmed the short film El escandaloso encanto de los egos rotos, her final film which was directed by Jaime Urquiza.

Silvia Pinal's Work in Politics

In the political arena, the actress held significant positions, serving as the First Lady of Tlaxcala from 1981 to 1987. In 1991, she joined the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and was elected as a federal deputy. She later became a senator for the same party, serving from 1997 to 2000.

Silvia Pinal’s Married Life

Regarding her personal life, she was married four times. Her first marriage was to Rafael Blanquells from 1947 to 1952, and from this union, their first child, Sylvia Pasquel, was born. Her second marriage was to businessman and film producer Gustavo Alatriste, with whom she had Viridiana Alatriste, who tragically died in a car accident in 1982 at the age of 19. Her third marriage was to singer Enrique Guzmán, who was 11 years her junior. They were together for nine years and had two children, Alejandra Guzmán and Luis Enrique Guzmán, before divorcing in 1976.

Her fourth and final marriage was to politician and Governor of Tlaxcala, Tulio Hernández Gómez. They were married for 13 years until their divorce in 1995.

PINAL, Silvia (Silvia Pinal Hidalgo)

Born: 9/12/1931, Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico

Died: 11/28/2024, Mexico City, Federal District, Mexico

 

Silvia Pinal’s westerns – actress:

El puño del amo – 1958 (Soldead)

Guns for San Sebastian – 1968 (Felicia)

Bang bang al hoyo – 1971 (widow)

RIP Claudia Isaac

 

Claudio Isaac, filmmaker and writer, dies at 67

24 Horas

Ny Demian Garcia

November 27, 2024

 

On the afternoon of this Wednesday, November 27, the death of filmmaker and writer Claudio Isaac (Mexico City, 1957-Ibidem, 2024) at the age of 67 was reported.

"With deep sorrow we communicate the death of our beloved author Claudio Isaac," wrote the Tedium Vitae Publishing House through its Facebook account in a brief and heartfelt statement.

"We are honored to have published part of his work, which with his sensitivity and humanity touched so many lives. We join in the grief of his family and friends. His artistic legacy will remain among us," added the publishing house of the Mexican painter.

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Claudio Isaac, an artist's life

According to the records, he was a self-taught artist in all the disciplines he practiced. He made his acting debut as a young pupil of Arturo Ripstein in Tiempo de morir (1965), only to later become an assistant director for the same filmmaker in Foxtrot (1975).

Although a year later, in 1976, he premiered his debut film, it was not until the first half of the 1980s that the passions that haunted him until his death began to come together clearly: literature, documentation, and cinema. He then directed, in this order, Algo sobre Jaime Sabines (1980), Guadalupe amor, un caso mitológico (1981) and Octavio Paz, El lenguaje de los árboles (1983).

By the second half of the nineties, after having intimately drawn the life of the myth Pedro Infante, he constructed in his own way unique portraits of Abel Quezada, José Luis Cuevas and the Guatemalan short story writer Augusto Monterroso.

This seemed to be the foundation of a career as a documentary filmmaker, in which he built dozens of profiles of living writers. Sometime later he hosted programs for TVUNAM and Canal 22 and wrote for cultural magazines and newspapers such as Letras Libres, La tempestad, Nexos, Este País, El Financiero and El Universal.

Finally, those who accompanied his journey during his last years say that he devoted himself entirely to painting. From writing, directing and continuing to make films, all the legacy he left while he was alive remains.

ISAAC, Claudio (Claudio Isaac Rueda)

Born: 4/15/1957, Mexico City, Federal District, Mexico

Died: 11/27/2024, Mexico City, Federal District, Mexico

 

Claudio Isaac’s western – actor:

Time to Die – 1966 (Claudio Sampedro)

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

RIP Scott L. Schwartz

 

Wrestler turned actor Scott L. Schwartz dead at 65

Slam

By Greg Oliver

November 27, 2024

 

Scott L. Schwartz, who has died at the age of 65, liked to bill himself as “Hollywood’s Ultimate Bad Guy” — though that was decidedly all promo material that he learned from his pro wrestling days.

Instead, tributes are flowing in for a truly nice guy.

Long-time friend and fellow actor Rick Zahn shared the news on Facebook on November 26:

Today the world lost a good man. The acting community lost a terrific actor. The law enforcement community in Los Angeles lost a good ambassador and community spokesperson. The breast cancer community lost a staunch supporter. A woman lost a devoted husband. And I lost a dear friend, Scott Schwartz.

At 6’10”, Scott was one of the rare few I looked up to. But it wasn’t just because he was actually taller. It was because of his heart. He lived life with passion. And he adored his wife, Misty.

Scott has battled ill health these past couple of years. But with Misty at his side, Scott peacefully transitioned. The suffering is over.

Please join me in extending sincere condolences to Misty and Scott’s family. This one hurts. And while Thursday is going to be tougher this time, I am still grateful that this big-hearted lug touched my life. Thanks, Scott, for giving me one more reason to understand the meaning of HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

Schwartz, born March 16, 1959, in Philadelphia, he attended George Washington High School, where he played football and baseball, and, would tower over others on skates while playing hockey — after all, he grew into a 6-foot-10, 300-pound giant. He would often credit “kugel and matzo ball soup” for his growth, while acknowledging his Jewish roots. After graduating high school in 1977, he attended Temple University, but then switched it all up, and sought out Killer Kowalski to train as a professional wrestler.

He debuted in 1979 as Giant David.

Kowalski ran shows around the northeast, including many of his trainees such as Kevin Hughes, Jeff Costa, Tony Ulysses, Chris Grant, Jethro Chambers, Mike Madison, Dan Petty, and Richard Byrne.

Wrestling helped Schwartz travel, including trips to Europe and South Africa.

“For the pro wrestling and acting community. I just saw that former wrestler Scott Schwartz who wrestled as The Giant David many years ago has passed,” posted former referee Sal Corrente to Facebook. “Scott has been an actor in LA for about 30 years. I would run in to him out there at events from time to time. He was an all around [good] guy a Gentleman Giant. We were on shows for Mark Tendler together back in the day. Absolutely a guy gone way too soon. He always seemed to have a big booming smile that went along with his giant size.”

The character Schwartz portrayed changed through time, and he became “The Israeli Commando” Joshua Ben-Gurion.

While wrestling on TV in California, he caught the eye of a Hollywood agent.

Acting, as he told SlamWrestling.net’s Dave Hillhouse in this lengthy 2006 interview — Scott L. Schwartz: ‘That guy’ onscreen — was something he fell into. Schwartz had planned to always be a pro wrestler.

After finding representation, Schwartz really never stopped working as an actor or stuntman, and only reluctantly stopped wrestling a few years into his new career.

The “L” stands for Leslie, but he used it professionally to differentiate himself from actor Scott Schwartz, who was in A Christmas Story, and another adult film star. He did attend a Michael Shurtleff workshop to improve his acting.

For all the mainstream movie appearances, like Fun With Dick And Jane, Ocean’s Twelve, Spider-Man, Flintstones 2-Rock Vegas and Rocky and Bullwinkle, there were appearances in industrial videos for companies such as Grease Monkey and Exxon, and even print ads, like Micro Computers. You can see Schwartz — he was hard to miss — in music videos too, like Ozzy Osbourne’s “Coming Home” and Heart’s “What About Love”.

Oh, there was TV too. He was an Orion guard on Star Trek: Enterprise and Alpha Hirogen on Star Trek: Voyager, a demon on Charmed, and returned for multiple episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff Angel, Nash Bridges, and The Tick. One-offs, like popping up for a skit on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno only helped his career.

He was a lead in the 2009 movie Lost in the Woods with Michael Madsen.

He wrote, directed and produced the 2010 movie Changing Hands, starring Eddie Jemison, David ‘Shark’ Fralick and Erika Eleniak; he made sure to find a role for his good friend and acting/wrestling mentor Jack “Wildman” Armstrong.

SCHWARTZ, Scott L. (Scott Leslie Schwartz)

Born: 3/16/1959 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Died: 11/16/2024, U.S.A.

 

Scott L. Schwartz’s western – actor:

Savate – 1995 (Bruno the Horrible)

RIP Katinka Faragó

 

Film producer Katinka Faragó has died

Film producer Katinka Faragó has passed away, 87 years old, the family reports to Sveriges Radio's "Culture News". For nearly seven decades, she worked within Swedish film.

Sweden Herald

November 27, 2024

 

She began her career as a script girl, among other things in Ingmar Bergman's films where she also became a production manager. They worked together for 30 years and made 19 films together, including "The Magic Flute".

Katinka Faragó also collaborated with directors such as Mai Zetterling, Jan Troell, Alf Kjellin, Hasse Ekman, Vilgot Sjöman, Gunnel Lindblom, and Colin Nutley. She began her career as a producer with Stig Björkman's "Behind the Blind" in 1984, followed by Kjell Grede's "Hip Hip Hurrah!" three years later. She also produced films such as Per Åhlin's "The Journey to Melonia" and Daniel Alfredson's "Tic Tac".

When Katinka Faragó received an honorary Guldbagge in 2016, she was described as "the backbone of the Swedish film industry". The autobiography she wrote together with Birgitta Kristoffersson was titled "Katinka and the Directors – 125 Films and 55 Years Behind the Camera".

The Swedish Film Institute's CEO, Anna Croneman, describes Katinka Faragó as "a legend". When she stopped being a producer, she devoted great energy to inspiring young talents, including Anna Croneman, who at 19 years old had applied to the Dramatic Institute for the first time and was not accepted. The same evening, she was called by jury member Katinka Faragó, who said "don't be sad, you don't need film school".

"She was incredibly straightforward and kind in a unique combination, and I was very sad to hear that she had left us", says Anna Croneman in a comment.

FARAGO, Katinka (Katerina Faragó)

Born: 12/16/1936, Vienna, Austria

Died: 11/27/2024, Stockholm, Sweden

 

Katinka Faragó’s westerns – script supervisor, script advisor:

The Emigrants – 1971 [script supervisor]

The New Land – 1972 [script advisor]

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

RIP Earl Holliman

 

Earl Holliman, Actor on ‘Police Woman,’ Dies at 96

He starred on the first 'Twilight Zone' and appeared on the big screen in 'The Rainmaker,' 'Giant' and 'The Sons of Katie Elder.'

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

November 26, 2024

 

Earl Holliman, the actor best known for playing Angie Dickinson’s boss on the 1970s NBC cop drama Police Woman, has died. He was 96.

Holliman died Monday in hospice care at his home in Studio City, his spouse, Craig Curtis, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Holliman won a best supporting actor Golden Globe for portraying Katharine Hepburn’s girl-crazy kid brother in The Rainmaker (1956) — he beat out Elvis Presley for the role — and then appeared in another Burt Lancaster film, as Wyatt Earp’s assistant in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957).

In the George Stevens epic Giant (1956), the Louisiana native played the son-in-law of Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson’s characters, was the cook in Forbidden Planet (1956) and appeared as the brother of John Wayne, Dean Martin and Michael Anderson Jr. in Henry Hathaway’s The Sons of Katie Elder (1965).

Holliman also portrayed a man with amnesia in a deserted town on the very first episode of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone, “Where Is Everybody?” which premiered on Oct. 2, 1959.

Also during the 1959-60 TV season, Holliman starred as Sundance, a Colorado gunslinger-turned-marshal with a sidekick — a dog named Useless — on the short-lived Hotel de Paree.

Three years later, Holliman toplined another TV Western, NBC’s Wide Country; he played a rodeo star on that Ralph Edwards-produced series, but that lasted only a season as well.

Holliman replaced Bert Convy after the pilot to star as the macho Lt. Bill Crowley on Police Woman, which aired from 1974-78. He shared a pleasant chemistry with Dickinson, who starred as LAPD undercover cop Sgt. Suzanne “Pepper” Anderson, on the series’ four seasons.

“She’d get into trouble and I’d run in and save her,” Holliman, talking about a typical Police Woman storyline, said in a 2003 interview. “I would make some smart remark and she would come back at me in some sexy kind of way, and a lot of that was ad-libbed. We had a tacit kind of permission to do that.”

Henry Earl Holliman was born on Sept. 11, 1928, in Delhi, Louisiana. His natural father died six months before he was born, and Holliman was placed in an orphanage before being adopted when he was a week old.

“When [his adoptive parents] came to see me, I was sick and they took me right away to the doctor, who apparently said, ‘You don’t have a baby here, you have a funeral expense,'” he said. “They paid the midwife $7.50 for me — this was in the backwoods of Louisiana.

“I had wonderful parents who gave me all the love in the world. They encouraged me to be whatever I can be. I was their only child.”

Holliman dreamed about becoming an actor, and when he was 14, shortly after his father died, he hitchhiked from a relative’s home in Texarkana, Texas, to the outskirts of Hollywood.

He was talked into returning home, so he came back to Oil City High School, where he played tackle on the football team and was voted president of his senior class.

After a stint in the U.S. Navy, Holliman studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse and made his professional debut with one line of dialogue as an elevator operator in the Dean Martin-Jerry Lewis comedy Scared Stiff (1953).

He had minor roles in four other films that year, and in 1954, he played Spencer Tracy’s son in Broken Lance and appeared with William Holden and Grace Kelly in The Bridges at Toko-Ri.

In 1957, Holliman starred on an installment of CBS’ Playhouse 90 called “The Dark Side of the Earth,” which was written by Serling. That put him on the writer’s radar for The Twilight Zone.

Holliman received another Globe nomination in 1993 for playing a gruff bar owner on the short-lived ABC series Delta, starring Delta Burke, and he portrayed Luddie Mueller on the landmark 1983 ABC miniseries The Thorn Birds.

His other TV credits included Gunsmoke, Cannon, Bonanza, Slattery’s People, The Fugitive, Dr. Kildare, The Six Million Dollar Man, Empty Nest, Murder, She Wrote and Caroline in the City.

Holliman also was in such as films as I Died a Thousand Times (1955), Hot Spell (1958), Last Train From Gun Hill (1959), Summer and Smoke (1961), A Covenant With Death (1967), The Power (1968), Anzio (1968), The Biscuit Eater (1972), Bad City Blues (1999) and The Perfect Tenant (2000).

Holliman ran the Fiesta Dinner Theatre in San Antonio for many years and served as president of Actors and Others for Animals, which promoted animal population control.

HOLLIMAN, Earl (Henry Earl Holliman)

Born: 9/11/1928, Delhi, Louisiana, U.S.A.

Died: 11/25/2024, Studio City, California, U.S.A.

 

Earl Holliman’s westerns – actor:

Pony Soldier – 1952

Devil’s Canyon – 1953 (Joe)

Broken Lance – 1954 (Denny Devereaux)

The Burning Hills – 1956 (Mort Bayliss)

Giant – 1956 (‘Bob’ Dance)

The Rainmaker – 1956 (Jim Curry)

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral – 1957 (Charles Bassett)

Trooper Hook – 1957 (Jeff Bennett)

The Last Train from Gun Hill – 1959 (Rick Belden)

Hotel de Paree (TV) – 1959-1960 (Sundance)

The Wide Country (TV) 1962-1963 (Mitch Guthrie)

The Sons of Katie Elder – 1965 (Matt Elder)

Bonanza (TV) – 1965 (Sherman Clegg)

The Virginian (TV) – 1965 (Wiley)

Custer (TV) – 1967 (Dan Samuels)

The Desperate Mission (TV) 1969 (Shad Clay)

Gunsmoke (TV) – 1969, 1970, 1973 (Boone Shadler, Hackett, Will)

Alias Smith and Jone (TV) – 1971 (Wheat)

Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge (TV) – 1987 (Jake Flagg)

Saturday, November 23, 2024

RIP Julio Medina

 

Julio Medina, Colombian acting legend, passed away

National television is mourning the death of one of its most emblematic figures, who passed away at the age of 91.

VEA

By Redacción Vea

November 23, 2024

 

It was with deep sadness that it was reported in recent hours that Julio Medina, one of the first actors of Colombian television, died on November 23 at the age of 91, leaving a great legacy on the small screen.

This news was confirmed to Vea magazine by Julio Hernán Correa, president of the Colombian Association of Actors (ACA), who said that "Julio was very sick" and died on Saturday morning. However, the causes of death have not yet been revealed.

After the news was announced, social networks were flooded with messages of condolence and recognition of Julio Medina's career. Colleagues, friends and followers expressed their sorrow for the loss of this great actor, whom they also remember as a man of great sensitivity and generosity who "always had a kind word".

"May he rest in peace, my dear friend Julio. You are loved very much and will always be a great inspiration. Also thank you for being part of my life and allowing me to meet you," Edwin Rodríguez, general producer of RTVC, wrote on social networks.

A review of Julio Medina's career

Born in the municipality of Chiquinquirá (Boyacá), he traveled to the United States at a very young age to pursue his dream of being an actor. Thanks to his insistence, but above all because of his talent, he managed to make his debut on American television as part of the series Gunsmoke (1965).

As for Colombian television, Julio Medina won the hearts of the public with his work in popular soap operas, such as Los Cuervos, En cuerpo ajeno, Las aguas mansas, La viuda de blanco, Amor en custodia, Malcriados, Venganza and Sin senos sí hay paraíso.

It should be remembered that, for several years, the actor from Boyacá decided to spend his last years in a geriatric home.

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Julio Medina's friends and followers will be able to say their last goodbyes, according to the information learned by this media, at the Gaviria Funeral Home in Bogotá (Carrera 13 No. 43A-45), in room number 3, starting at 11 a.m. on November 24.

It is with deep sadness that Vea magazine joins the national mourning for the departure of Julio Medina. His legacy as an actor and his contribution to Colombian culture will last forever.

MEDINA, Julio (Julio Medina Salazar)

Born: 1/16/1933, Chiquinquirá, Boyacá, Colombia

Died: 11/23/2024, Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia

 

Julio Medina’s westerns – actor:

Gunsmoke (TV) 1965, 1970, 1972 (Fermin, Rodriguez, Pedro)

The Wild Wild West (TV) – 1968, 1969 (townsman, Don Carlos)

The High Chaparral (TV) – 1969, 1970 (man, Sanchez)

Kung Fu (TV) – 1973, 1975 (padre, Father Salazar)

Centenial (TV) – 1979 (Father Gravez)

Zorro: la Espada y la Rosa (TV) – 2007 (Maestro Abelado Samaniedo de Villaire)

The New Adventures of Zorro (TV) – 1981 [voice of Miguel]

Thursday, November 21, 2024

RIP Toian Matchinga

 

Toian Matchinga, Actress on ‘The Wild Wild West,’ Dies at 82

A frequent TV guest star in the 1960s and ’70s, she also appeared in films for directors Don Siegel, Irvin Kershner and Costa-Gavras.

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

November 20, 2024

 

Toian Matchinga, who guest-starred three times on the 1960s CBS series The Wild Wild West and appeared on such other shows as Death Valley Days, I Dream of Jeannie and The Odd Couple, has died. She was 82.

Matchinga, who later in her acting career went by her birth name, Caryn Matchinga, died Sunday of natural causes at home in Belmont, Massachusetts, her family announced.

In films, Matchinga appeared for Don Siegel in Madigan (1968), for Irvin Kershner in Up the Sandbox (1972) and NBC’s Raid on Entebbe (1977) and, in her final onscreen role, for Costa-Gavras in Mad City (1997).

The Ohio native booked gigs on The Wild Wild West, which starred Robert Conrad and Ross Martin, in 1965, 1967 and 1969. Her résumé also includes episodes of The Wackiest Ship in the Army, The Rat Patrol, The Flying Nun, The Big Valley, Rango, Ellery Queen and Rich Man, Poor Man.

Caryn Lee Matchinga was born in Painesville, Ohio, on Nov. 23, 1941, to Rudolph and Alma Matchinga. She received an acting and playwright scholarship to Carnegie Mellon, then moved to New York, where she made her first TV appearance on the late-night talk show PM East/PM West, hosted by Mike Wallace and Joyce Davidson.

While she was an actress, Matchinga also worked as a ghostwriter for MGM, NBC and Paramount Pictures, and she wrote an erotic novel, The Girl, that was published in 2012 under her stage name.

She married Harold Brown on New Year’s Eve in 1976, and they were together until his death in 2004.

Survivors include her son, Jeremy; her daughter-in-law, Betsy; her grandchildren, Zoe and Zachary; and her siblings, Bonnie and Rudy.

“Caryn was a gifted storyteller, often sharing outrageous and hilarious tales from her colorful life in New York and Hollywood,” her family noted. “She had a knack for leaving everyone around her in stitches and maybe just a bit uncomfortable.”

Donations in her memory can be made to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation.

MATCHINGA, Toian (Caryn Lee Matchinga)

Born: 11/23/1941, Painesville, Ohio, U.S.A.

Died: 11/17/2024, Belmont, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

 

Toian Matchinga’s westerns – actress:

The Wild Wild West (TV) – 1965, 1967, 1969 (Cosina, Henriette Fauer, Lola Bracer

Death Valley Days (TV) – 1966 (Gloria Chavez, Maria)

Iron Horse (TV) – 1966 (Serafina)

The Big Valley (TV) – 1967 (Seataki)

Rango (TV) – 1967 (Carmelita)

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

RIP Lucian Iancu

 

Actor Lucian Iancu died at the age of 84

DIGI24

11/20/2024

 

Actor Lucian Iancu, an unavoidable name in the history of the Constanta and national theatre, has died at the age of 84, the team of the Constanta State Theatre has announced, News.ro reports.

Lucian Iancu has played over sixty roles on the Constanta stage, from Ianke in "Take, Ianke and Cadîr" by Victor Ion Popa, Palaestrio in "Miles Gloriosus" by Plautus, directed by Silviu Purcărete, Agamemnon in "The Legends of the Actresses", directed by Silviu Purcărete, The Father in "The Game of Life and Death in the Ash Desert" directed by Gheorghe Jora - a show that was taken over and broadcast by the Romanian Television, Lunardo from "The Badarans" by Carlo Goldoni, directed by Dominic Dembinski, Mr. Papillon from "The Rhinoceroses" by Eugen Ionescu, directed by Laurian Oniga, Jupân Dumitrache from "A Stormy Night" directed by Gheorghe Jora, Willy Loman from "The Death of a Salesman", Ulysses from "Penthesileea" directed by Cătălina Buzoianu, Dron from "The Seagull" by A.P. Chekhov, Gaev from "The Cherry Orchard", Zorn from "The Car Breakdown" by Dürrenmatt, directed by Sorin Militaru and many others.

He directed the shows "Revenge" by Aleksander Fredro (1980), "George Dandin or the Fooled Husband" by Molière (1994), "I Arrive Tonight" by Tudor Muşatescu (1996), "A Winter Night's Dream" by Tudor Muşatescu (1998), "Scenes from the Life of Constantine the Great" by Cristina Tamaş (2002), "The Elixir of Love" written and directed by Lucian Iancu (2002), "Tache Ianke and Cadâr" by Victor Ion Popa (2003), "The Last Hour" by Mihail Sebastian (2003), his last show staged on the stage of the Constanta State Theater being "The Jays" by Alexandru Kiriţescu, which had a long life and always had full halls.

He translated and published many texts in the magazine "Tomis", some of them were also staged.

Before arriving in Constanta, he worked in the theaters of Botoşani (where he played the role of Cyrano in "Cyrano de Bergerac" by Edmond Rostand) and in Piatra Neamţ - where he played in the famous shows with which he launched himself into the world of theater Andrei Şerban, "The Night of Entanglements" and "The Good Man of Seciuan", then he played at the Small Theater in Bucharest.

He was director of the Constanta theater on two occasions, between 1984 – 1985 and between 1994 – 1998, he was a professor at Hyperion University and dean of the Faculty of Theater of the "Ovidius" University. In the '90s he was invited to play in Limoges, in the show "Three Sisters" by A.P. Chekhov, directed by Silviu Purcărete.

He was part of the golden pleiad of the Constanta theater, along with Vasile Cojocaru, Eugen Mazilu, Titus Gurgulescu, Liviu Manolache, Virgil Andriescu, Iulian Enache, Lică Gherghilescu. He has starred in over twenty cinema and television films and has been awarded numerous awards.

Before the 1989 Revolution, he tried to leave Romania illegally aboard the mineral vessel led by Florentin Scaleţchi, which was diverted to Istanbul, and was sentenced in 1985 to a 20-year prison sentence. The day immediately after his escape attempt, the theater was ordered to burn all the posters, show programs and photographs in which his name or face appeared, over 20,000 copies. He was a political prisoner for five years at the Poarta Albă Penitentiary and at the Aiud Penitentiary.

On February 2, 2020, at the State Theater of Constanta, a surprise event was organized for Lucian Iancu, on the occasion of his 80th birthday, just before the performance of the show "The Jays" by Alexandru Kiriţescu, directed by him, a show that premiered in 2012 and was played with full halls until the theater building went into renovation, in 2022.

IANCU, Lucian

Born: 2/3/1940, Constanța, Romania

Died: 11/20/2024, Bucharest. Romania

 

Lucian Iancu’s westerns – actor:

Apaches – 1973 (Chico)

The Prophet, the Gold and the Transylvanians – 1977 (Will Clanton) [as Iancu Lucian]

The Oil, the Baby and the Transylvanians – 1981 (McCallum henchman) [as Iancu

     Lucian]

Monday, November 18, 2024

RIP Charles Dumont

 

Charles Dumont, composer of Edith Piaf's "No, I Regret Nothing", has died

Singer, author, composer, the musician had also collaborated with Barbra Streisand, Dalida and Tino Rossi. He died on Sunday night in Paris at the age of 95.

Le Monde

November 18, 2024

 

Singer-songwriter Charles Dumont, composer of Edith Piaf's Non, je ne regrette rien, died on the night of Sunday 17 to Monday 18 November in Paris at the age of 95, following a long illness, his partner announced to Agence France-Presse (AFP). On X, the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, paid tribute to the memory of "a sacred monster of French song".

The career of this trained trumpeter took a major turn when he convinced the star Edith Piaf to perform one of his compositions. It was in 1956 that the notes of what would become one of the most famous French songs in the world came out of the piano of Charles Dumont, then a little-known 27-year-old musician. But the singer is not convinced. "Piaf had already fired me three times, I didn't want to see her again," Charles Dumont told AFP in 2018. "But Michel Vaucaire, who wrote the lyrics, convinced me to try again in 1960. When she heard that I would be there, she screamed, demanding that the appointment be cancelled.”

"We still went to her home. She let us in. I played the piece on the piano. And... We never left each other," he said. "At that time, she was at her worst and this title brought her resurrection." No, je ne regrette rien (No, I Regret Nothing) has since become an unforgettable standard of La Vie en Rose, known throughout the world.

This was the beginning of a collaboration lasting several years, until Piaf's death in 1963, which gave birth to more than 30 pieces, including Mon dieu, Les Flonflons du bal and Les Amants. "My mother gave birth to me, but Edith Piaf put me in the world," said the singer and pianist born in Cahors on March 26, 1929. "Without her, I would never have done everything I did, neither as a composer nor as a singer," he said in an interview with AFP in 2015.

Throughout his sixty-year career, Charles Dumont has also collaborated with Dalida and Tino Rossi and had become a "crooner" at the end of the 1960s, abandoning his protest songs. He then released a series of albums in which the theme of love was central. The album Une femme had earned him the Prix de l'Académie Charles-Cros in 1973.

Charles Dumont also worked with Barbra Streisand. "It was fate that kicked me in the butt. A publisher advised me to offer her one of my compositions. I went to New York. I played it on a piano in her Broadway dressing room (...). She told me: "I like it a lot. I'll make the record. Goodbye, young man." The Wall, sung in French on the A side, and its English version entitled I've Been Here, on the B side, appear on the star's 8th album, Je m'appelle Barbra, released in 1966.

His last stage appearance was in 2019 at the Théâtre de la Tour Eiffel. "When you come back in front of an audience, who come to see you as they came twenty, thirty or forty years ago and give you the same welcome, then they give you back your 20 years," he said.

DUMONT, Charles

Born: 2/26/1929, Cahors, Lot, France

Died: 11/18/2024, Cahors, Lot, France

 

Charles Dumont’s western – composer:

Belle Starr – 1968

Saturday, November 16, 2024

RIP Sam Strangis

 

Sam Strangis, ‘CSI’ and ‘Happy Days’ Producer, Dies at 95

Variety

By Andrés Buenahora

October 1, 2024

 

Sam Strangis, the director, producer and production executive behind shows such as “CSI,” “The Brady Bunch,” and “Happy Days,” died of kidney failure on July 23 at Providence Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance, Calif., a family spokesperson confirmed. He was 95.

Strangis began his career as a script supervisor at Revue Studios before directing several episodes of “The Restless Gun,” which ran from 1957 to 1959. He went on to serve as a production manager for the 1966 film “Batman: The Movie” and later made the transition to head of production at Paramount Studios.

At Paramount, Strangis oversaw television shows such as “The Odd Couple,” “Happy Days,” “Laverne & Shirley,” “The Brady Bunch,” “Love,” “American Style,” and “Mannix.”

Strangis, along with his producing partner, Don Boyle, eventually left Paramount to work on the iconic series “Six Million Dollar Man” for Universal Studios. He then went on to produce a number of television films before reprising his tenure at Paramount as vice president of television production.

Strangis later founded an independent production company known as Ten-Four Productions. Ten-Four Productions focused primarily on TV movies such as “Reason for Living: The Jill Ireland Story,” “Rainbow Warrior,” and “Rainbow,” which portrayed the life of Judy Garland.

Strangis concluded his five-decade-spanning career as a producer for “CSI” and “CSI: Miami,” two of the network’s most successful television series. He was nominated as part of the “CSI” producing team for the Primetime Dramatic Series Emmy, the Golden Globe and the Producer Guild of America Norman Felton Award.

Strangis is survived by his wife, Bonnie, daughter Debi, sons Gary and Greg, sisters Judy and Cindy, 5 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren. Services for his memorial were held on August, 22 at St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Brentwood, Calif.

STRANGIS, Sam (Samuel John Strangis)

Born: 6/19/1929, Tacoma, Washington, U.S.A.

Died: 7/23/2024, Torrance, California, U.S.A.

 

Sam Strangis’ westerns – script supervisor, set continuity, production manager, assistant director, director.

Man from God’s Country – 1968 [set continuity]

The Restless Gun (TV) – 1958-1959 [director]

Tombstone Territory (TV) – 1957-1960 [script supervisor]

The Londer (TV) -1965-1966 [assistant director]

The Silent Gun (TV) – 1969 [production manager]

RIP Svetlana Svetlichnaya

 

Svetlana Svetlichnaya died

Star

November 16, 2024

 

Film critic Susanna Alperina announced the tragic news - Svetlana Svetlichnaya passed away. The artist died at the age of 84.

In recent years, Svetlana Svetlichnaya has had serious health problems. The artist often ended up in the hospital, and last summer she was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Today, film critic Susanna Alperina reported on the tragedy: "Svetlana Svetlichnaya is gone. Slava Shmyrov wrote to me. The first beauty of the USSR. The phrase "It's not my fault! He came himself!" haunted her through life. Now they would say that it has become a meme. By the way, I met Svetlana, thanks to Slava. He organized the Week of Russian Cinema in Cinema in Tbilisi. The year is 2013. Svetlana Svetlichnaya presented Jos Stelling's film "The Girl and Death" there. What did she look like! Hats! Legs! Not every young beauty has such a thing. Young and free at heart, they joked a lot, made purchases together... Then I arranged readings of the works of the finalists of the "Big Book" - I invited her to the editorial office. Came! I read it wonderfully. We also met at the festival "Koroche" with Svetlana. We went together on a boat - according to the tradition established from the very beginning of the festival. And again - smiles, photos, laughter... She passed away - alas- as expected. I followed the news. Many followed... But in the soul of every viewer, it will remain forever."

Words of grief were also expressed by Vyacheslav Shmyrov in his personal blog. "Actress Svetlana Svetlichnaya died... This sad event was expected. I have a lot of trips from Georgia to Norilsk associated with it. And just warm human communication. Now everyone will remember: "I am not guilty." But she had very tender lyrical roles with the ability to meekly love and wait in "They Conquer the Sky", "To Love", "Unsued", "Seventeen Moments of Spring"... In Khutsiev's "Ilyich's Outpost" the Svetlichnykh little ones play the role of a model at a party of golden youth, but at the same time she is a child of war, unexpectedly singing "Ducks are Flying..." The paradox of her entire subsequent acting life. Blessed memory, eternal peace...," the film critic concluded.

Recall that Svetlichnaya was terminally ill. They say that it was the malignant neoplasm that affected not only the physical, but also the mental state of the actress. The star of the Soviet screen had problems with memory and speech. Last year, the media reported that Svetlana Afanasyevna was progressing dementia, and a few years ago she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

Nevertheless, Svetlichnaya lived a long and bright life. In her professional piggy bank there are dozens of film works. She starred in such cult films as "The Diamond Arm", "Seventeen Moments of Spring", "The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed", "The Cook" and many others. The blonde was called the sex symbol of the USSR, many remembered her as a style icon.

SVETLICHNAVA, Svetlana (Svetlana Afanasyevna Svetlichnaya)

Born: 5/15/1940, Leninakan, Aremenian U.S.S.R.

Died: 11/16/2024, Moscow, Russia

 

Svetlana Svetlichnaya’s western – actress:

Prairie Scot in Mexico (TV) – 1988 (peasant woman)

Friday, November 15, 2024

RIP Arturo Garcia Tenorio


 Arturo García Tenorio, actor of 'Carrusel', 'El Chapulín Colorado' and 'María Mercedes', died

rpp

By Renzo Alvarez

November 14, 2024

 

Over the course of more than 50 years, García Tenorio became a familiar face in Televisa soap operas such as Rosa Salvaje, Pequeña traviesa, Gotita de amor and La madrastra.

The renowned Mexican actor and director Arturo García Tenorio, died this Thursday at the age of 70. The news was confirmed through a statement published by the Zuma Talent agency on its social networks, where condolences were expressed for the actor of successful Televisa productions such as Carrusel, El Chapulín Colorado and María Mercedes.

“It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Arturo García Tenorio, a talented and beloved actor who left an indelible mark on the world of theater and television. His artistic legacy and passion for acting will always live in our hearts…”, Zuma Talent said in its statement.

The agency also extended its condolences to the artist’s family and friends at this difficult time. The causes of his death have not yet been revealed, but the news has surprised those who witnessed his work in television, film and theater.

The versatile career of Arturo García Tenorio

Arturo García Tenorio began his career in the 70s with his participation in the film Bloody Marlene (El brazo de oro). Since then, his talent and versatility led him to be part of various projects both film and television.

In his career, his collaboration in comedies such as El Chapulín Colorado by Roberto Gómez Bolaños stands out, as well as in films such as Charrito and Don ratón y don ratero, he had participations in programs such as No empujen by Raúl Astor and in episodes of Cándido Pérez.

For more than 50 years, García Tenorio became a familiar face in Mexican soap operas, participating in successful Televisa productions such as Rosa Salvaje, La fuerza del amor, María Mercedes, Pequeña traviesa, Gotita de amor, Clase 406, La madrastra and Carrusel, where he played the humble mechanic Ramón Palillo, father of Jaime Palillo, that robust, rough and somewhat clumsy boy from the World School.

In his later years, García Tenorio continued to be active in the industry, collaborating on recent projects such as the series Los ricos también lloran, Tal para cual, P#t@s social networks, and the comedy series Más vale sola, starring Cecilia Galiano.

TENORIO, Arturo Garcia

Born: 10/7/1954, Mexico City, Federal District, Mexico

Died: 11/14/2024, Mexico, Mexico City, Federal District, Mexico

 

Arturo Garcia Tenorio’s westerns – actor:

Bloody Marlene – 1979 (Hermano brother)

Charrito – 1984 (friend of McCutchen)

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

RIP Paul Engelen

 

Paul Engelen, ‘Phantom Menace,’ ‘Gladiator’ and ‘Game of Thrones’ Makeup Designer, Dies at 75

A winner of two Emmys and a two-time Oscar nominee, he also worked on Nicole Kidman’s nose in ‘The Hours’ and on ‘Empire of the Sun,’ ‘The Phantom Menace,’ ‘Mary Shelley's Frankenstein’ and six Bond movies.

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

November 12, 2024

 

Paul Engelen, the British makeup designer who earned two Emmys and two Oscar nominations in a fabulous career that included work on Reds, Batman, The Phantom Menace, Gladiator and Game of Thrones, has died. He was 75.

Engelen died Nov. 3 of cancer at his home in West Sussex, England, his son-in-law (and fellow makeup designer) Daniel Lawson Johnston told The Hollywood Reporter.

Engelen also did makeup for three James Bonds — Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig — on the 007 films The Man With the Golden Gun (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979), Die Another Day (2002), Casino Royale (2006) and Quantum of Solace (2008).

He teamed with Blake Edwards on Victor/Victoria (1982), Trail of the Pink Panther (1982) and Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), with Steven Spielberg on Empire of the Sun (1987) and Munich (2005) and with Ridley Scott on Gladiator (2000), Kingdom of Heaven (2005) and Robin Hood (2010).

Engelen shared his first Academy Award nom with Rick Baker for Hugh Hudson’s Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) and his second with Daniel Parker and Carol Hemming for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994), directed by Kenneth Branagh. He lost out on Oscar night to Amadeus and Ed Wood, respectively.

Frankenstein, with Robert De Niro as the creature, “was hard work,” he recalled in 2006. “And certainly one of the toughest films, from a makeup point of view, that I’ve worked on. And it’s impossible to have any other life when you are at work at 3 am every morning preparing the actors for hours in the makeup chair. It is very demanding, and you have people in the chair for hours at a time. And you have to get it on properly and — people forget — you have to get it off properly, too.”

Engelen was Nicole Kidman’s makeup artist when she famously donned a three-piece prosthetic nose for her Oscar-winning performance in Stephen Daldry’s The Hours (2002) and a makeup designer and hair designer on Anthony Minghella’s Cold Mountain (2003), which featured an Oscar-winning turn by Renée Zellweger.

He also came up with the third nipple for the evil Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) in The Man With the Golden Gun and the red and black visage for the villainous Darth Maul in George Lucas’ Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace (1999).

Engelen earned six Emmy nominations for toiling on the first three seasons of HBO’s epic Game of Thrones, winning in 2012 and ’13.

The youngest of four kids, Paul Engelen was born on Oct. 30, 1949, in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England. He enrolled at Twickenham Art College at age 17 and met makeup artist Tom Smith, who hired him as an assistant on Carol Reed’s Oliver! (1968), Clive Donner’s Alfred the Great (1969) and Roman Polanski’s Macbeth (1971).

He would do 11 films with Moore and spend a whopping 45 weeks on the Warren Beatty-directed Reds (1981).

Outside of Tim Burton’s Batman (1989), Engelen’s résumé included Milos Forman’s Ragtime (1981), Alan Parker’s Pink Floyd — The Wall (1982), Frank Oz’s Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Kevin Reynolds’ Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Renny Harlin’s Cutthroat Island (1995), Phillip Noyce’s The Saint (1997), Jean-Jacques Annaud’s Seven Years in Tibet (1997), Simon West’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), Wolfgang Petersen’s Troy (2004), Brett Ratner’s Hercules (2014), Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread (2017) and much more.

In addition to Lawson Johnston — his credits include the upcoming Gladiator II and many projects with his father-in-law and mentor — Engelen’s survivors include his wife, Lizzie, whom he first met in kindergarten; his daughters, Sam and Georgie; and four grandchildren.

ENGELEN, Paul

Born: 10/30/1949, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, U.K.

Died: 11/3/2024, West Sussex, Surrey, England, U.K.

 

Paul Engelen’s western – makeup artist:

Cold Mountain - 2003

Friday, November 8, 2024

RIP Tony Todd

 

Tony Todd, ‘Candyman’ and ‘Final Destination’ Star, Dies at 69

Variety

By Kim Murphy

November 8, 2024

 

Tony Todd, an American actor known for leading the “Candyman” horror franchise as its eponymous hook-wielding ghost, died Wednesday at his home in Marina Del Rey, Calif. He was 69.

Todd’s death was confirmed by a representative for the actor. A cause of death was not disclosed.

A reliable presence in genre fare across four decades, Todd’s series of credits include iconic titles such as Alex Proyas’ comic book adaptation “The Crow,” Michael Bay’s Alcatraz actioner “The Rock” and the elaborate killing-set-piece series “Final Destination.” One of his earliest film performances came in his early thirties in Oliver Stone’s Oscar-winning war epic “Platoon.” On “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” Todd donned alien make-up to play Kurn, a Commander in the Klingon Defense Force and the brother of Worf (played by series regular Michael Dorn).

But Todd secured his name in the genre pantheon with his performance in Bernard Rose’s “Candyman,” an early-’90s Americanized spin on Clive Barker that brought a memorable supernatural spin on themes of gentrification and racism. At a towering 6’5”, Todd played Daniel Robitaille, aka Candyman, the ghost of an African American artist and son of a slave who was murdered for his relationship with a white woman. The film starred Virginia Madsen as a Chicago graduate student preparing a thesis on the legend of Candyman by investigating inner-city Chicago.

My beloved. May you rest in power,” Madsen wrote in a post on Instagram after learning of her co-star’s death. “The great actor Tony Todd has left us and now is an angel. As he was in life. More later but I can’t right now. I love you.”

“Candyman” positioned itself as a somewhat arty genre play, debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival in the Midnight Madness section. Its handling of serious themes did not go unquestioned at the time, with some levying accusations of it trafficking in racist stereotypes, but the film has endured in critical and genre circles for its unblinking approach to serious matters, connecting America’s history of racism to the woes of contemporary urban life.

As the sympathetic slasher, Todd reprised the role of Candyman several times. He returned for the 1995 sequel “Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh” (which marked the debut feature for Oscar-nominee Bill Condon), as well as Turi Meyer’s “Candyman: Day of the Dead” in 1999. After decades in development, the property was revived at Universal by director Nia DaCosta in 2021 with the simply titled “Candyman,” which functioned as a direct sequel to the 1992 original and was co-written by DaCosta, Jordan Peele and Win Rosenfeld. Todd reprised his role in the new entry, which starred Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as an artist who becomes drawn into the Candyman legend.

Born Dec. 4, 1954 in Washington, D.C., Todd studied at the University of Connecticut for two years before shifting to the Eugene O’Neill National Theatre Institute. Trained for the stage, Todd would practice playwriting himself and teach it to high school students in Hartford. He would go on to originate the title role of August Wilson’s “King Hedley II” with productions in Pittsburgh, Seattle and Boston. His performance “was a memorable tour-de-force,” Variety wrote in a review at the time.

Among Todd’s film and television credits, totaling well above 100, the actor had a recurring role on “Boston Public” and made guest appearances on “Law & Order,” “Homicide: Life on the Street,” “The X-Files,” “Smallville,” “Psych” and “24.” He often voice-acted to, playing The Fallen in “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” Zoom in The CW’s “The Flash” and, most recently, Venom in Insomniac’s PlayStation smash “Spider-Man 2.” He starred in the 1990 remake of “Night of the Living Dead” and was one of the few actors to recur in the “Final Destination” franchise, which would often kill off all its new characters by the end of each of its entries.

Todd never stopped working, often lending his gravitas and genre reputation to direct-to-video thrillers over recent years. His profile on IMDb currently lists more than nine titles that have entered post-production.

Todd is survived by his two children, Alex and Ariana.

TODD, Tony (Anthony Tiran Todd)

Born: 12/4/1954, Washington, D.C. U.S.A.

Died: 11/6/2024, Marina Del Rey, California, U.S.A.

 

Tony Todd’s westerns – actor:

Black Fox (TV) – 1995 (Britt Johnson)

True Women (TV) – 1997 (Ed Tom)

Cowboy’s Girl – 2016 (Cowboy)

West of Hell (TV) – 2018 (Jericho Whitfiled)

Badland (TV) – 2019 (Senator Benjamin Burke)

 

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

RIP Rodrigo Bello

 

Rodrigo Bello, producer of the Mexican films 'A Woman Without a Filter' and 'Leap Year', dies; He was 43 years old

The Mexican Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirmed the death of Rodrigo Bello.

Milenio

By Adriana Paez Coyotl

11/6/2024

 

Producer and assistant director Rodrigo Bello Noble died at the age of 43. The unfortunate news was confirmed by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AMACC).

Through an emotional post on social networks, the AMACC mourned the death of the film director; it also sent a hug to his family and friends.

Rodrigo Bello Noble will be remembered for his work in the Mexican films Leap Year (2010), Que Pena Tu Vida (2016) and Sabrás que hacer conmigo (2015).

He also worked in the productions Delincuentes, Me vuelves loca, El habitante, Rumbos paralelos, Fachon Models, El mesero, En las buenas y en las malas, Ya vemos and Sacúdete las penas.

Bello Noble was born in Mexico City on September 17, 1981, his death was announced yesterday, November 5, 2024.

BELLO, Rodrigo

Born: 9/17/1981, Mexico City, Federal District, Mexico

Died: 11/5/2024, Mexico City, Federal District, Mexico

 

Rodrigo Bello’s western – assistant director:

Erase Una Vez en Durango – 2010

Monday, November 4, 2024

RIP Jonathan Haze

 

Jonathan Haze, Star of the Original ‘Little Shop of Horrors,’ Dies at 95 

A onetime stage manager for Josephine Baker, he did two dozen pictures with Roger Corman, also including 'Stakeout on Dope Street,' 'Not of This Earth' and 'The Terror.'

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

November 4, 2024

 

Jonathan Haze, who starred for Roger Corman as the flower shop assistant Seymour Krelborn in the original The Little Shop of Horrors, just one of two dozen films he made with the B-movie legend, has died. He was 95.

Haze died Saturday at his home in Los Angeles, his daughter, Rebecca Haze, told The Hollywood Reporter.

A cousin of drummer Buddy Rich, Haze was a valuable and versatile member of Corman’s repertory company from 1954 — when he acted in The Fast and the Furious and Monster From the Ocean Floor — until 1967, when he appeared in The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and served as an assistant director on The Born Losers.

In one of his more noteworthy turns, Haze portrayed one of the three teenagers who stumble upon $250,000 worth of heroin and become dealers in Warner Bros. drama Stakeout on Dope Street (1958), the first feature directed by Irvin Kershner.

The Pittsburgh native also played a contaminated man in Day the World Ended (1955), an outlaw in Five Guns West (1955), a dimwitted bartender in Gunslinger (1956), a pickpocket in Swamp Women (1956) — he trained the actresses how to fight in that one, too — a Latino soldier in It Conquered the World (1956), a manservant working for an alien in Not of This Earth (1957) and a diminutive Viking in The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent (1957).

In Little Shop of Horrors (1960), produced and directed by Corman, Haze’s clumsy Seymour comes to realize that the sickly potted plant he grew from seeds procured from a Japanese gardener needs blood and human flesh to survive. (The film was originally titled The Passionate People Eater.)

In a memorable moment, he extracts a tooth or two from the mouth of undertaker Wilbur Force (Jack Nicholson).

“All the interior scenes in the movie were done in two days, they were like 20-hour days, and then we went out on the streets and did three nights with a second unit, with a totally different crew. It was insane,” Haze, who said he was paid $400 for the job, recalled in 2001. “We were shooting actually on Skid Row, using real bums as extras. We would pay them 10 cents a walk-through.”

In a 2011 post on Tumblr, Haze was described as “a small, slight man with boyish good looks, and it was a virtual certainty that he would never be a leading man, even in Corman’s universe. Instead, he devoted himself to playing an assortment of oddballs and losers.

“He maintained an overwhelming enthusiasm for whatever project he was working on, and, as it happens, he was a physical chameleon. He had one of those faces that seemed to change completely depending on what costume he wore, and he was willing to go for the gusto when it came to changing his posture and voice to create a new persona onscreen. From role to role, he almost unrecognizable.”

The son of a jeweler, Jack Aaron Schachter was born in Pittsburgh on April 1, 1929. He worked the stage for Rich and then served for two years as the stage manager for entertainer Josephine Baker.

After a summer acting in Connecticut, Schachter hitchhiked to Los Angeles and got a job pumping gas at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and North Vista Street when he met Wyott Ordung, a would-be director who introduced him to Corman.

“There’s a part for you, a Mexican,” Corman told him. “But you’ll have to grow a mustache. You’ll also have to bring your own costumes, do your own stunts, and you won’t be paid overtime. You still want it?”

He was billed as Jack Hayes in Monster From the Ocean Floor before settling on Jonathan Haze as his stage name. Meanwhile, he brought his friend, actor Dick Miller, to the filmmaker’s attention, and Miller would become a frequent co-star.

In an interview with Tom Weaver for his 1998 book, Science Fiction and Fantasy Film Flashbacks, actress Jackie Joseph, who played the salesgirl Audrey in Little Shop, said Haze “had practically all the pressure on him” during the making of the movie.

“I don’t think any of us would have been as successful if he hadn’t been on top of what he was doing,” she said. “It’s funny to think of ‘professionalism’ when you think of something as dopey as Little Shop, but there definitely were professionals on that stage.

In Apache Woman (1955), because it was cheaper for Corman to have actors change costumes instead of bringing in new actors, Haze and others played warriors on both sides of the battle. “There’s this scene where we’re having this big gunfight and we’re shooting at the Indians and here we are the Indians getting shot,” he recalled.

Haze’s other work for Corman included The Beast With a Million Eyes (1955), Carnival Rock (1957), Naked Paradise (1957), Teenage Cave Man (1958), The Premature Burial (1962), The Terror (1963) and X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes (1963).

He shared a project with Corman one last time in 1999 when he had a cameo in the serial The Phantom Eye.

Haze also wrote the screenplay for Invasion of the Star Creatures (1962) and was a production manager on Haskell Wexler‘s Medium Cool (1969) and a producer (with Tom Smothers) on Another Nice Mess (1972). He then was the CEO of a company that created campaigns for such products as Kool-Aid and Schlitz Beer.

In addition to Rebecca, survivors include another daughter, Deedee; his grandchildren, Andre, Rocco and Ruby; and his great-grandson, Sonny. He was married to costume designer Roberta Keith, who died in September, from the mid-1960s until their 1981 divorce.

HAZE, Jonathan (Jack Aaron Schachter)

Born: 4/1/1929, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Died: 11/2/2024, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

 

Jonathan Haze’s westerns – actor:

Apache Woman – 1955 (Tom Chandler)

Five Guns West – 1955 (William Parcell ‘Billy’ Candy)

Flesh and Spur – 1956 (outlaw)

Gunslinger – 1956 (Jack Hayes)

The Oklahoma Woman - 1956 (Blackie Thompson)

Cimarron City (TV) – 1958 (Judd Budinger)

The Californians (TV) – 1959 (beggar)

Overland Trail (TV) – 1960 (Duke)