RIP Barbara Rush

 

Barbara Rush, Golden Globe-winning star of 'It Came from Outer Space' and 'Peyton Place,' dead at 97

The legendary actress' death was confirmed by her daughter and Fox News senior correspondent Claudia Cowan

Fox News

By Ashley Hume, Tracy Wright

March 31, 2024

 

Barbara Rush, the Golden Globe-winning star of "It Came from Outer Space" and "Peyton Place" has died. She was 97.

Rush's daughter and Fox News Channel senior correspondent Claudia Cowan confirmed her beloved mother's death to Fox News Digital.

"My wonderful mother passed away peacefully at 5:28 this evening. I was with her this morning and know she was waiting for me to return home safely to transition," Cowan shared. "It’s fitting she chose to leave on Easter as it was one of her favorite holidays and now, of course, Easter will have a deeper significance for me and my family."

The legendary actress, whose career spanned seven decades across the stage, screen and television, starred opposite some of Hollywood's most iconic leading men including Paul Newman, Rock Hudson, Dean Martin, Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra and Richard Burton.

Rush launched her acting career on the stage, performing at the Pasadena Playhouse, where she was spotted by a talent scout who signed her to Paramount Pictures in 1950. She made her big-screen debut in the 1950 film "The Goldbergs," which was based on Gertrude Berg's comedy-drama radio and television broadcast of the same name.

After starring in 1951's "When Worlds Collide" and 1952's "Flaming Feather," Rush made her career breakthrough in the 1953 science fiction horror movie "It Came From Outer Space." In 1954, Rush won the Golden Globe Award for most promising newcomer – female for her performance in the film.

Rush teamed up with Rock Hudson for the first time in the 1954 Western movie "Taza, Son of Conchise." The two would reunite that same year for the romantic drama "Magnificent Obsession" and again in the 1955 adventure movie "Captain Lightfoot."

During a 2018 interview with Fox News Digital, Rush shared fond memories from her experiences working with Hudson, who died in 1985 at the age of 59 from AIDS-related complications.

"He started off in film pretty much the same time I did," she said. "He was a lot of fun to be with. He had a wonderful sense of humor. He loved to laugh. We just had the best time working."

Rush gained further prominence after starring in the critically-acclaimed 1956 drama "Bigger Than Life" opposite James Mason. In 1956, Rush played socialite Margaret Freemantle, the love interest of American soldier Michael Whiteacre (Dean Martin) in the World War II drama "The Young Lions," which also starred Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift.

The actress, who became known for playing high-society women, portrayed heiress Joan Dickenson opposite Paul Newman in the 1959 legal drama "The Young Philadelphians." She and Newman starred together again in the 1967 Western movie "Hombre."

Rush played the mob boss's vengeful daughter Marian in the 1964 musical "Robin and the 7 Hoods," which also starred Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Bing Crosby.

During her time at Paramount, Rush told Fox New Digital that she befriended Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe.

"Oh yes, we were friends," she said. "We were in the studio club together. At least with me, when you first come to Hollywood, and I went to Paramount, they put me immediately in the studio club. It’s kind of like a sorority house. And Marilyn Monroe was there. I loved her. Marilyn was such a darling lady. She was very sweet and nice. All the girls in the studio club just had a good time."

However, in a 2019 interview with Marin magazine, Rush explained that she became weary of the Hollywood studio system after shuffling between contracts with Paramount, Universal and 20th Century Fox. She decided to venture into television and landed the role of the evil Nora Clavicle in the hit series "Batman" in 1968.

The show, which featured Adam West as the Caped Crusader and Burt Ward as his sidekick Robin, aired from 1966 until 1968.

Rush told Fox News Digital that at the time, no one thought that "Batman" would have such a lasting impact on television history.

"Oh... when you’re an actress, you don’t think about things like that," said Rush. "You just think, ‘I have a job!’ You just don’t project what your future is going to be. And [Nora Clavicle] was just so funny. I just love comedy and she was very light-hearted. She was a kick."

After starring in "Batman," the actress went on to play Marsha Russell in the popular soap opera "Peyton Place," starring in 75 episodes between 1968 and 1969. She later starred in the long-running ABC soap opera "All My Children" for 38 episodes from 1992 to 1994.

In addition to her film and television work, Rush also continued to act on the stage. She was awarded the prestigious Sarah Siddons Award for her lead performance in the Chicago theatrical production of "40 Carats." In 1984, Rush starred in the one-woman Broadway play "A Woman of Independent Means."

Rush was a member of the national touring company for the stage production of "Steel Magnolias" in 1989, playing the role of M'Lynn Eatonton.

Rush's other film credits included "Flight to Hong Kong," "Oh Men! Oh Women!," "No Down Payment," "Harry Black and the Tiger," "The Bramble Bush," "Strangers When We Meet," "Come Blow Your Horn," "The Man, "Superdad," and "Can't Stop the Music."

From 1950 to 1955, she was married to the late actor Jeffrey Hunter, with whom she shared son Christopher. Rush married the late publicist Warren Cowan in 1959 but they divorced in 1969.

The former couple shared their daughter Claudia. Rush and sculptor Jim Gruzalski tied the knot in 1970 but divorced in 1973.

On Rush's 97th birthday, Claudia shared a touching tribute to her mother. Alongside a photo of herself with the actress, Claudia wrote, "She is golden, she is a diamond, she glows like the moon and shines like the sun. Age does not diminish the light in her eyes, the sweetness of her heart."

"To me, she is 97 years young."

RUSH, Barbara

Born: 1/4/1927, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.

Died: 3/31/2024, Beverly Hills, California, U.S.A.

 

Barbara Rush’s westerns – actress:

Quebec – 1951 (Madelon)

Flaming Feather – 1952 (Nora Logan)

Taza Son of Cochise – 1954 (Oona)

Kiss of Fire – 1955 (Princess Lucia)

Frontier Circus (TV) – 1961 (Bonnie Stevens)

Laredo (TV) – 1966 (Sister William)

Hombre – 1967 (Audra Favor)

Custer (TV) – 1967 (Brigid O’Rourke)

Cade’s County (TV) – 1967 (Jessie Braddock)

The Last Day (TV) 1975 (Betty Spence)

Paradise (TV) – 1991 (Patricia Forrester)

 

RIP Lou Gossett Jr.

 

Louis Gossett Jr., Star of ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’ and ‘Roots,’ Dies at 87

The Brooklyn native also appeared in the original Broadway production of 'A Raisin in the Sun' and wrote a song with folk legend Richie Havens.

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

March 29, 2024

 

Louis Gossett Jr., the tough guy with a sensitive side who won an Oscar for his portrayal of a steely sergeant in An Officer and a Gentleman and an Emmy for his performance as a compassionate slave in the landmark miniseries Roots, has died. He was 87.

Gossett’s nephew told the Associated Press that the actor died Thursday night in Santa Monica. The cause of death is unknown, but Gossett announced in 2010 that he had prostate cancer.

With his sleek, bald pate and athlete’s physique, Gossett was intimidating in a wide array of no-nonsense roles, most notably in Taylor Hackford’s Officer and a Gentleman (1982), where as Gunnery Sgt. Emil Foley he rides Richard Gere’s character mercilessly (but for his own good) at an officer candidate school and gets into a memorable martial arts fight.

He was the second Black man to win an acting Oscar, following Sidney Poitier in 1964.

For the role, the 6-foot-4 Gossett trained for 30 days at the Marine Corps Recruitment Division, an adjunct of Camp Pendleton north of San Diego. “I knew I had to put myself through at least some degree of this all-encompassing transformation,” Gossett wrote in his 2010 biography, An Actor and a Gentleman.

Douglas Day Stewart’s original script called for Gere’s Zack Mayo to beat up Foley.

“The Marines changed it,” Gossett recalled in a 2010 interview. “They said that an enlisted man would never beat up a drill sergeant. We’ll tear the place up unless you change it. They said, ‘If you don’t do this well, Mr. Gossett, we’re going to have to kill you.’ “

The Brooklyn native capitalized on this hard-ass image in such action films as The Punisher (1989), opposite Dolph Lundgren, and Iron Eagle (1986) and its three sequels. In the Iron Eagle series, he starred as Col. Charles “Chappy” Sinclair, a leader of dangerous rescue missions in threatening international locales.

In 1959, Gossett played George Murchison in the original Broadway production of Lorraine Hansberry’s domestic tragedy A Raisin in the Sun, then segued to Daniel Petrie’s 1961 Columbia film adaptation along with his stage co-stars Poitier and Ruby Dee, launching his career in Hollywood.

It was his eloquent portrayal as Fiddler, an older slave who teaches a young Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton) to speak English on the eight-part ABC miniseries Roots, that earned him his first significant dose of national recognition. Eighty-five percent of the U.S. population tuned in for at least a portion of Roots, and the finale drew more than 100 million viewers in January 1977.

“All the top African-American actors were asked, and I begged to be in there,” Gossett once said. “I got the best role, I think. It was wonderful.”

Gossett also starred in the critically acclaimed telefilm Sadat (1983), in which he played the assassinated Egyptian leader (Sadat’s widow, Jehan, personally chose him for the part), and he portrayed a baseball immortal in Don’t Look Back: The Story of Leroy “Satchel” Paige in a 1981 telefilm

During his 60-year-plus career, Gossett excelled in a number of non-stereotypical racial roles, playing a hospital chief of staff on the 1979 ABC series The Lazarus Syndrome and the title character Gideon Oliver, an anthropology professor, on a 1989 set of ABC Mystery Movies.

He also appeared as the guardian of a 16-year-old alien (Peter Barton) on NBC’s The Powers of Matthew Star; as Gerak, the first leader of the Free Jaffa Nation, on the Syfy series Stargate SG-1; as Halle Berry‘s estranged father on CBS’ Extant; and as former vigilante Will Reeves on HBO’s Watchmen. (That last one resulted in his eighth career Emmy nom.)

Gossetwas born on May 27, 1936, in the melting pot of Brooklyn, the son of a porter (who was adopted and raised by an Italian family) and a maid. At Abraham Lincoln High School, he was class president and starred on the baseball, track and basketball teams; later, he would be invited to the New York Knicks’ rookie camp.

When a leg injury forced him to sit out one high school basketball season, Gossett developed an interest in acting, and his English teacher recommended him to the producers of the 1953 Broadway show Take a Giant Step. He won the lead role at age 17 over more than 400 other contenders, then received the Donaldson Award for newcomer of the year.

Gossett accepted a dramatics scholarship to NYU, became pals with James Dean at the Actors Studio in New York and made his onscreen debut in 1957 on the NBC anthology series The Big Story.

In 1964, he, Lola Falana and Mae Barnes sang in the cast of America, Be Seated, a “modern minstrel show” that was produced by Mike Todd Jr. and played at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York.

Two years later, he co-wrote the antiwar song “Handsome Johnny” for Richie Havens’ first album, a tune the folk legend performed as the opening act at Woodstock three years later.

Gossett went on to play an angry man living in a run-down apartment building in Hal Ashby’s The Landlord (1970), a con artist opposite James Garner in the slavery-era Skin Game (1971), a drug-dealing cutthroat in The Deep (1977), a headmaster in Toy Soldiers (1991) and a down-and-out boxer in Diggstown (1992).

The actor’s film résumé also included Travels With My Aunt (1972), The Laughing Policeman (1973), The River Niger (1976), The Choirboys (1977), Enemy Mine (1985), The Principal (1987), Blue Chips (1994), Jasper, Texas (2003), Daddy’s Little Girls (2007), King of the Dancehall (2016), Foster Boy (2018), The Cuban (2019) and The Color Purple (2023).

Gossett also did excellent work in The Sentry Collection Presents Ben Vereen: His Roots; Backstairs at the White House; Palmerstown, U.S.A.; A Gathering of Old Men; and Touched by an Angel. He received an Emmy nom for each of these five projects.

As a producer, he shared a Daytime Emmy for the 1998 children’s special In His Father’s Shoes, in which he also starred.

He was active in the New York Alumni Association, a group of Big Apple emigrants who for more than two decades reunited each year for a show at Beverly Hills High School.

In 2006, Gossett founded the nonprofit Eracism Foundation, an “all out conscious offensive” to eradicate all forms of racism by providing programs that foster cultural diversity, historical enrichment, education and antiviolence initiatives. (In the 1966, he said he was pulled over by Beverly Hills cops and handcuffed to a palm tree for no reason.)

“We better take care of ourselves and one another better, otherwise nobody’s gonna win anything,” he said in July 2020 during a CBS Sunday Morning profile. “We need each other quite desperately — for our mutual salvation.”

GOSSETT Jr., Lou (Louis Cameron Gossett Jr.)

Born: 5/27/1936, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.A.

Died: 3/28/2024, Santa Monica, California, U.S.A.

 

Lou Gossett’s westerns – actor:

Cowboy in Africa (TV) – 1967-1968 (Joseph Hemera)

Skin Game – 1971 (Jason)

Alias Smith and Jones (TV) – 1971 (Joe Sims)

Bonanza (TV) – 1971 (Buck Walter)

Sidekicks (TV) – 1974 (Jason O’Rourke)

Black Bart (TV) – 1975 (Black Bart)

Little House on the Prairie (TV)- 1976 (Henry Hill)

El Diablo (TV) - 1990 (Van Leek)

Return to Lonesome Dove (TV) – 1993 (Isom Pickett)

A Father for Charlie (TV) – 1995 (Walter Osgood)

The Outlaw Johnny Black – 2023 (Reverend Tharrington)

RIP Paula Weinstein

 

Paula Weinstein Dies: ‘Perfect Storm’ Producer, Double Emmy Winner, Former Studio & Tribeca Exec Was 78

DEADLINE

By Erik Pedersen, Mike Fleming Jr.

March 25, 2024

 

Paula Weinstein, who produced dozens of films including The Perfect Storm and The Fabulous Baker Boys, exec produced Grace and Frankie, won Emmys for Truman and Recount and was a former studio and Tribeca Enterprises executive during a nearly 40-year career, died Monday morning. She was 78.

Her daughter Hannah Rosenberg told Deadline that Weinstein died peacefully at her home in New York. She was well-liked around Hollywood; condolences to her many friends in the industry.

“The world is a lesser place without my mother,” Rosenberg said in a statement to Deadline. “Paula was a lifelong activist and force of nature who was a champion for social justice and underdogs for more than half a century. She shattered barriers in Hollywood and always lifted other women along with her. I know my mother would want me say this: if you’d like to honor her, please stop what you are doing and turn your attention toward re-electing President Biden and making sure Democrats win down the ballot so we can be sure Democracy survives in America and around the world.”

Weinstein’s films as producer or EP credits range from American Flyers and The Fabulous Baker Boys in the 1980s; through Something to Talk About, Analyze This and sequel Analyze That in the ’90s; The Perfect Storm, Bandits, Deliver Us from Eva, Monster-in-Law and The Company Men in the ’00s; and more recently This Is Where I Leave You and In the Heart of the Sea.

Along the way, Weinstein executive produced the HBO telefilms Too Big to Fail (2011), Recount (2008) and Truman (1995), winning Emmys for the latter two and a nom for Too Big to Fail. Truman also won her a PGA Award, and she was nominated for two others. She also earned an Emmy nom for Citizen Cohn and EP’d TV movies including First Time Felon, Iron Jawed Angels and many others.

Weinstein was an EP on all 94 episodes of the popular 2015-22 Netflix series Grace and Frankie, starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. It is the streamer’s longest-running comedy.

Along with her myriad producing credits, Weinstein held several studio production positions, including VP at Warner Bros, EVP at 20th Century Fox and president of United Artists from 1981-82. She joined Tribeca Enterprises as EVP in 2013 and played a pivotal role in building Tribeca Studios, where she pursued programs focusing on underrepresented filmmakers.

She exited Tribeca last year to work on political campaigns.

“I don’t want to sit on the sidelines and rail about everything,” she told Deadline in September. “I really want to jump in, fully, into the campaigns. Both statewide and national campaigns. It just feels very much like a moment…between the climate, and book banning and everything else that I don’t need to go into.”

Born on November 19, 1945, she began her career as an assistant film editor in New York City and later served as Special Events Director for Mayor John Lindsay.

Recipient of two Crystal Awards from Women in Film, Weinstein was a founding member of the Hollywood Women’s Political Committee, which raised millions of dollars for Democratic candidates for more than two decades. She also was a former board member of the ACLU of Southern California.

Weinstein was married to producer and Warner Bros executive Mark Rosenberg from 1984 until his death in 1992 at age 44. They former Spring Creek Productions in 1990, and together they produced The Fabulous Baker Boys and Flesh and Bone. Spring Creek also was behind many of her subsequent films.

WEINSTEIN, Paula

Born: 11/19/1945, New York City, New York, U.S.A.

Died: 3/25/2024, Manhattan, New York, U.S.A.

 

Paula Weinstein’s westerns – executive producer:

The Rose and the Jackasl (TV) – 1990

The Cherokee Kid (TV) - 1996

RIP Ron Harper

 

Ron Harper, ‘Land of the Lost’ and ‘Planet of the Apes’ Actor, Dies at 91

He also starred on ‘87th Precinct,’ ‘Wendy and Me,’ ‘The Jean Arthur Show’ and ‘Garrison's Gorillas,’ but none of his series lasted very long.

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

March 25, 2024

 

Ron Harper, who starred on Planet of the Apes and four other short-lived primetime series and on the final season of the beloved kids TV show Land of the Lost during a very busy 15 years on television, has died. He was 91.

Harper died Thursday of natural causes at his home in West Hills, his daughter, Nicole Longeuay, told The Hollywood Reporter.

After understudying for Paul Newman on Broadway, Harper portrayed Det. Bert Kling alongside Norman Fell, Robert Lansing, Gregory Walcott and Gena Rowlands on the 1961-62 NBC cop show 87th Precinct, based on the novels of Ed McBain.

He played Jeff Conway, the husband of Connie Stevens’ character, on the 1964-65 ABC sitcom Wendy and Me, also starring George Burns, who produced the show and appeared as the owner of the apartment building in which the young couple lives.

Next up for Harper were turns as the son of Jean Arthur’s lawyer — they both portrayed lawyers, in fact — on CBS’ The Jean Arthur Show in 1966 and Lt. Craig Garrison on the World War II-set Garrison’s Gorillas, which aired on ABC in 1967-68.

All four never made it to a second season, with 87th Precinct lasting 30 episodes, Wendy and Me 34, The Jean Arthur Show 12 and Garrison’s Gorillas 26.

In 1974, Harper finally seemed to have a hit on his hands when he landed the role of astronaut Alan Virdon on CBS’ Planet of the Apes. The series, after all, had come on the heels of the five Planet of the Apes movies and starred Roddy McDowall, who was in four of the films, as a chimpanzee.

However, the high-cost show, which also starred Jim Naughton as an astronaut, performed poorly in its Friday night slot and was canceled, with just 14 episodes airing.

“Our Planet of the Apes stories degenerated into The Fugitive with fur. I think that’s one of the things that curtailed what should have been a longer run,” Harper said in an interview for Tom Weaver’s 2008 book, I Talked With a Zombie.

Harper then joined Sid and Marty Krofft’s Land of the Lost in 1976 for its third and final season, stepping in for Spencer Milligan to play the family’s Uncle Jack on the NBC sci-fi show. He was on just 13 episodes, but those showed up often in repeats over the years.

“The stories were very good,” Harper said in 2005. “Each generation of children as they come up and are exposed to it like those stories and remember them, pass them right on. I have about three tapes, and I’ve been showing them to my daughter since she was 5. And she still, of all my series, loves Land of the Lost best.”

Ronald Robert Harper was born on Jan. 12, 1933, in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, outside Pittsburgh. He graduated from Turtle Creek High School and earned a scholarship to Princeton University, where he did two seasons of summer stock. He then was offered a fellowship to Harvard Law School.

“I kept saying to myself, ‘Should you waste your good education being an actor?’ And that little voice within me kept saying things like, ‘What do you want to take that fellowship to Harvard Law for? Be an actor. Starving is fun,’” he said in 1966. “And like the fool that any actor has to be, I listened to that dumb little voice.”

He studied with Lee Strasberg, served in the U.S. Navy and in 1959-60 was Newman’s understudy in Tennessee Williams’ Sweet Bird of Youth, directed by Elia Kazan. He got to play opposite Geraldine Page four times one week when Newman was ill.

“In my last performance of it, I saw Paul in the audience,” he recalled in 2015. “If he was not feeling too well, he was feeling a little bit better. He was a wonderful, sweet guy. I think he probably felt generous enough to say, ‘Let Ron do one or two of the performances.’”

After that, he appeared on installments of such shows as Tales of Wells Fargo, Thriller, Wagon Train and The Tall Man before landing on 87th Precinct.

Harper returned to Broadway in 1972 in 6 Rms Riv Vu and did lots of soap operas, among them Another World, Loving, Capitol, Generations, Where the Heart Is and Love of Life.

His résumé also included the movies The Wild Season (1971), The Odd Couple II (1998) and Pearl Harbor (2001) and TV guest stints on The Big Valley, Remington Steele, Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place, Walker, Texas Ranger, The West Wing and Cold Case.

In addition to his daughter, survivors include his son-in-law, Daniel; granddaughters Ronnie and Harper; and ex-wife Shirley. His first wife was actress Sally Stark.

HARPER, Ron (Ronald Robert Harper)

Born: 1/12/1933, Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Died: 3/21/2024, West Hills, California, U.S.A.

 

Ron Harper’s westerns – actor:

Laramie (TV) – 1960, 1963 (Lee Parkinson, Stede Rhodes)

Tales of Wells Fargo (TV) – 1960 (Dan Haskell)

Wagon Train (TV) – 1960 (Lieutenant Bevins)

The Deputy (TV) – 1961 (Jay Elston)

Shotgun Slade (TV) – 1961 (Deputy Griff Blanchard)

The Tall Man (TV) -1961 (Deputy Sheriff Harry)

The Big Valley (TV) – 1969 (Eric Abbott)

Walker: Texas Ranger (TV) – 1998 (Eddie)

American Bandits: Frank and Jesse James – 2010 (Doc)

RIP Enrique Ventura

 

 Enrique Ventura, legendary comic artist, dies

He mixed humor and surrealism in series such as 'Grouñidos en el desierto' or 'Maremagnum', created together with Miguel Ángel Nieto for El Jueves and El Papus

Las Provincias

By Miguel Lorenci

March 25, 2024

 

The comic artist Enrique Ventura, a reference of the ninth art in Spain and known above all for the mythical series 'Grouñidos en el desierto', died on Monday at the age of 78, as confirmed by the publishing house Evolution-Cómics, of the Panini imprint. Born in Madrid in 1946, Ventura formed with his cousin Miguel Ángel Nieto (1947-1995) a fundamental duo in Spanish graphic humor that began publishing more than half a century ago.

At the beginning of the 70s of the last century, the couple revolutionized the Spanish comic scene with series such as 'Es que van como locos', 'Maremagnum' or 'Histerias indecent de la tele', created for the magazine El Jueves. His humor between surrealist absurdity and his search for new graphic and narrative resources culminated in the masterpiece 'Grouñidos en el desierto', which also appeared in El Jueves, 1979, and starred Groucho Marx.

Enrique Ventura continued with the series without diminishing its quality after the sudden death of Miguel Ángel in 1995. He was in charge of the scripts of the series until 2013, the year when Bisnieto took over, a pseudonym that was still a nice tribute to its first screenwriter.

Miguel Ángel Nieto and Enrique Ventura abandoned their architecture studies for those of advertising technicians. They published the comic 'Sam and the Walrus' (1971) in the children's magazine Molinete. The following year they signed with the magazine Trinca for which they made the silent comic 'King Tongo'.

They worked for the satirical magazine El Papus and for El Jueves, where they published their long-running series 'Grouñidos en el desierto' (Stirrings in the Desert) since January 31, 1979. Groucho was a character with whom they had a long-standing relationship, as he often appeared in many of their stories. Almost perennial in El Jueves, for a period it was replaced by 'Harponazos', a series in the same vein starring Harpo Marx.

Cartoonists such as David Rubín, Cels Piñol and Juanjo Cuerda bid farewell and paid tribute to the creator as one of the great references in the sector.

VENTURA, Enrique

Born: 1946, Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Died: 3/25/2024, Spain

 

Enrique Ventura’s westerns – comic book artist:

Crazy Magazine – 1973-1983

RIP Fritz Wepper

 

German Actor Fritz Wepper Passes Away at 82

Il Messaggero

March 25, 2024

 

German actor Fritz Wepper has died at the age of 82, reported by Bild and other media. RIP Fritz Wepper, aka Inspector Harry Klein in #Derrick (17 August 1941 – 25 March 2024).🖤 For many, a piece of childhood has also died. Wepper was the famous assistant Harry Klein in the television series 'Inspector Derrick' and acted for a long time in the series 'A Cyclone in the Convent'. 'Inspector Derrick' was first broadcast by German television in October 1974, marking a sensational success that lasted continuously for 24 years and 281 episodes. The success of the series was then exported all over the world, from France to the Netherlands, from Turkey to China, so much so that Derrick has become, according to the ironic words of the former German chancellor Helmuth Kohl, 'surely the best export product after Volkswagen'. In Italy, the first episode was broadcast by Rai in 1979. Fritz Wepper achieved his first major success in his home country in the television role of assistant Harry Klein serving Commissioner Herbert Keller (played by Erik Ode) in the series 'Der Kommissar' (1968-74). The same Harry Klein, this time with the rank of inspector, then became the trusted assistant (in fiction following a transfer) of Chief Inspector Stephan Derrick in the series 'Inspector Derrick', a role he played from 1974 to 1998. Born in Munich on 17 August 1941, Fritz Wepper, the son of lawyer Friedrich Karl Wepper, enlisted in the German army during the Second World War and declared missing in Poland in 1945, began his career at the age of nine at the radio station Bayerischer Rundfunk, where he performed in a children's program, debuting in theater in 1952 in 'Peter Pan'. His first film dates back to 1959, 'The Bridge' by Bernhard Wicki, followed by about twenty titles, including 'The Last Train from Vienna' (1963) by Arthur Hiller.

WEPPER, Fritz

Born: 8/17/1941, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Died: 3/25/2024, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Fritz Wepper’s western – actor:

Ein Sheriff für den Sarg (TV) – 1963 (Tampico)

RIP Daniel Beretta

 

Daniel Beretta has passed away at the age of 77: Schwarzenegger's French voice has died

A great gentleman of dubbing has just left us. Comedian Daniel Beretta, 77, passed away on March 23, 2024. He was the official French voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

ALLOCINE

By Vincent Formica

March 23, 2024

 

It is with great sadness that we learn of the death of Daniel Beretta at the age of 77. The actor was best known for being the French voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger since “Red Heat” in 1988. After Alain Dorval, Stallone's voice, passed away last February, the world of French dubbing has lost another of its sacred monsters.

After studying at the Petit Conservatoire de la Chanson, Daniel Beretta made his debut in cabaret as a duo with Richard de Bordeaux and gave several concerts. He then moved on to the theatre and then to the cinema, notably for Marcel Camus' “A Wild Summer”. We see him again and again on screen in “The Relentless Pursuit”, “Don't Wake Up a Sleeping Cop” and “Cyrano de Bergerac”.

The mythical VF of Schwarzy

In 1988, he became the official French voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger in France. He voiced him in 28 feature films, from “Red Heat” to “Terminator 2, Last Action Hero” and “Batman & Robin”, up to “Terminator: Dark Fate”. His voice then entered the ears of several generations of French-speaking fans of the Austrian-American actor.

Some emblematic characters of his rich career: the Sheriff of Nottingham from “Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves”, Mr. Blonde in “Reservoir Dogs”, Drewl Spivey in “True Romance” and Colonel Perry from “Universal Soldier”.

He was also the voice of Ernie Hudson (“Oz”, ‘Bones”) and Rutger Hauer (“True Blood”). On the animation side, we can hear it in turn at Disney (“Beauty and the Beast”), Pixar (“Toy Story 2”) and “Ghost in the Shell”.

His death on March 23, 2024 ,at the age of 77 leaves a huge void in the world of French dubbing, which loses one of its greatest voices.

The short film “On s'a fait douber”, one of Daniel Beretta's last performances:

BERETTA Daniel (Daniel Jean Georges Beretta)

Born: 12/24/1946, Audincourt, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France

Died: 3/23/2024, France

 

Daniel Beretta’s western – actor:

In the Dust of the Sun - 1971 (Hawk Bradford)

Tom Sawyer – 2000 [French voice of the Reverend]

Balto 2: The Wolf's Quest – 2002 [French voice of Niju]

A Million Ways to Die in the West – 2014 [French voice of Amick Byram]

RIP Marco Tiberi

 

Screenwriter and writer Marco Tiberi has died at the age of 51

He has translated the Italian comedy into television fiction

ANSA

March 23, 2024

 

He died at the age of fifty-one years, Marco Tiberi, screenwriter, author of novels, Documentary.

The family broke the news.

A pupil of Furio Scarpelli, from Rome, he translated the best Tradition of Italian comedy in television fiction and on this passage he has also written a novel, 'The Last death of Peppe Bortone', which tells "a story without an ending that goes on day by day, destined to last forever": the soap opera.

'The Son of Brancaleone', written with Giacomo Scarpelli, ideal third chapter of the epic started by Mario Monicelli. With Emanuela Fanelli has published a book of conversations on comedy and I could have called it "Woman's Voice" but I'm not still at these levels', and with Giuseppe Civati 'Fine', a dystopian novel about the Earth of the near future. In 2022, with the style of television fiction, told the drift of the Italian left in the non-essay 'Il sequestro.

Counter-history of the Democratic Party' (this and all the others books are published by People).

As a screenwriter, in addition to television series, he has worked for the films 'I mostri oggi' (directed by Enrico Oldoini), 'Christine Cristina' (directed by Stefania Sandrelli) and 'Uomo di fumo' (directed by Giovanni Soldati). He loved to tell stories choral events, of unfortunate characters in search of a legitimate happiness, but also of a project for the political and social future that would disregard any personalism, for the good of all.

It is worth remembering the words put in the mouth of the Breton knight Anguselus and addressed to the Son of Brancaleone: "For the sake of being Truly free, you must free yourself from the ballast of Plombo of being only oneself."

Marco Tiberi's funeral will take place on Monday, March 25 at 2:30 p.m. in the non-Catholic Pyramid Cemetery, in Via Caio Cestius 6 in Rome, while in the morning, at 11 a.m., there will be a souvenir at the Casa del Cinema in Villa Borghese.

TIBERI, Marco

Born: 7/27/1972, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Died: 3/23/2024, Rome, Lazio, Italy

 

Marco Tiberi’s western – writer:

Where Horses Die - 2024

RIP John Hogarty

 

Albany Times Union

By Dufresne and Cavanaugh Funeral Home

March 20, 2024

Obituary of John F. Hogarty

JOHN F. HOGARTY

 

TROY - John Francis Hogarty was an incredible man who was always thoughtful, considerate, and kind. He passed away in the comfort of his home on March 19, 2024 due to cancer. John handled his passing just like he handled life: with strength, a good sense of humor, a calm demeanor, and grace.

Born the seventh of ten children to Irish immigrant parents in the Bronx, he was raised as a devoted Catholic and remained committed to his faith throughout his life.

John was also a lifelong learner. He obtained a degree in electrical engineering from Manhattan College in his 20s and an MBA from Dowling College in his 50s. He could fix nearly anything by reading the manual, which he would often obtain from the local library.

When he was called to duty by his country during the Vietnam War, John served with honor, and retained his gentle nature. Despite his tendency to be quiet and reserved, he became a member of the Screen Actors Guild, with a notable speaking role in a Robert Redford film.

John, aka Poppa, aka Daddy Dukes, enjoyed all types of music, especially folk, and he was a big fan of local public radio. Many memories with his family were made attending concerts of his favorite artists, whose songs became a soundtrack of our lives. His affinity for music was rivaled by his fondness for sunsets, Costco, and gardening. John could often be found out in the yard "digging in the dirt" and he has instilled that love of growth and sustainability in his children.

Above all, John was a loving and devoted husband to his wife of 44 years, and he was a father figure to many, even beyond his actual 5 children, or as he would call them all, kiddos.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Martin and Margaret Hogarty, his father-in-law Dallas Lee Hogge, his brothers Eddie, Martin, Michael, and Tommy, and his sister Mary. He is survived by his wife, Rosemary, his daughters Heather Ferrero (Joseph), Jennifer Arsell (Craig), Erin O'Brien (TJ), Meghan Liguori (Patrick), and Aileen Sohl (Johnny), his grandchildren Anna, Jamie, Liam, Lily, Sean, James, Thomas, and Dylan, as well as his mother-in-law Marguerite Hogge, his siblings Patricia, Joseph (Stacey), Kevin, and Peter (Randi), and many others who loved him for the sweet, funny, caring man that he was and will always be remembered to be. We know that he will be welcomed and accepted into God's arms just as he welcomed and accepted everyone into his home and his heart.

Calling hours will be held at The Dufresne & Cavanaugh Funeral Home, 149 Old Loudon Rd., Latham, NY on Thursday, March 21 from 4-7pm. Funeral mass will be held at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 498 Watervliet Shaker Rd., Latham on Friday, March 22 at 10:30am, followed by interment with military honors at Saratoga National Cemetery, Schuylerville.

In lieu of flowers and in keeping with John's love of gardening, please consider a live plant or a donation to either Community Hospice (https://www.communityhospice.org/donate/) or Disabled American Veterans (https://www.ihelpveterans.org/).

HOGARTY, John (John Francis Hogarty)

Born: 10/25/1948, Bronx, New York, U.S.A.

Died: 3/19/2024, Latham, New York, U.S.A.

 

John Hogarty’s western – actor:

The Horse Whisperer – 1998 (local tracker)

RIP M. Emmet Walsh

M. Emmet Walsh, ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Blood Simple’ Actor, Dies at 88

Variety

By Pat Saperstein

March 20, 2024

 

M. Emmet Walsh, a veteran character actor who appeared in more than 150 films including “Blade Runner,” “Blood Simple” and “Knives Out” and played Dermot Mulroney’s dad in “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” has died.

His manager Sandy Joseph confirmed that he died Tuesday in Vermont. He was 88.

In Ridley Scott’s 1982 “Blade Runner,” Walsh was Harrison Ford’s LAPD boss, while he played the vicious private detective Loren Visser in the Coen brothers’ directing debut “Blood Simple.” Wearing a sickly yellow suit, Pauline Kael said he was the film’s “only colorful performer. He lays on the loathsomeness, but he gives it a little twirl — a sportiness.”

His other roles included the corrupt sheriff in the 1986 horror film “Critters” and a small role as a security guard in “Knives Out.”

Walsh appeared in a string of memorable 1970s films, including “Little Big Man” with Dustin Hoffman, “What’s Up, Doc?” with Ryan O’Neal and Barbra Streisand, “Slap Shot” with Paul Newman and “The Jerk” with Steve Martin.

The prolific actor with the hangdog face and trademark paunch went on to appear in “Fletch,” “Back to School,” “Raising Arizona” and “Twilight.”

Film critic Roger Ebert created the “Stanton-Walsh Rule,” which held that no movie featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmet Walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad, though he admitted it wasn’t an infallible rule.

Raised in Swanton, Vermont, Walsh made his debut in movies in “Alice’s Restaurant” in 1969.

He was also active on TV, appearing in “Sneaky Pete,” “The Mind of the Married Man” and guesting on dozens of series including “Frasier,” “The X-Files,” “NYPD Blue” and “The Bob Newhart Show.”

He was also in demand as a voice actor, narrating Ken Burns’ “The Civil War” and “Baseball” documentaries and lending his voice to “The Iron Giant” and “Pound Puppies.”

WALSH, M. Emmet (Michael Emmet Walsh)

Born: 3/22/1935, Ogdensburg, New York, U.S.A.

Died:  3/19/2024, St. Albans, Vermont, U.S.A.

 

M. Emmet Walsh’s westerns – actor:

Little Big Man – 1970 (shotgun guard)

The Traveling Executioner – 1970 (Warden Brodski)

Bonanza (TV) – 1971 (Mattheson)

Nichols (TV) – 1971, 1972 (Gabe McCutcheon)

Kid Blue – 1973 (barber)

The Invasion of Johnson County (TV) – 1976 (Irvine)

High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane (TV) – 1980 (Harold Patton)

Little House on the Prairie (TV) – 1981 (Callahan)

Sunset – 1988 (Chief Marvin Dibner)

War Party – 1988 (Colin Ditweiler)

Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat – 1989 (Mort)

Four Eyes and Six Guns (TV) 1992 (Mayor Thornbush)

Wild Card (TV) – 1992 (Mose)

Wild Wild West – 1999 (Coleman)

Outlaw Posse – 2024 (Catfish)

RIP David Seidler

 

David Seidler, ‘The King’s Speech’ Screenwriter, Dies at 86

Variety

By Michaela Zee

March 17, 2024

 

David Seidler, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of “The King’s Speech,” died Saturday while on a fly-fishing expedition in New Zealand. He was 86.

“David was in the place he loved most in the world — New Zealand — doing what gave him the greatest peace which was fly-fishing,” his longtime manager Jeff Aghassi said in a statement. “If given the chance, it is exactly as he would have scripted it.”

Seidler won the Academy Award for best original screenplay for 2010’s “The King’s Speech,” directed by Tom Hooper and starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter. The historical drama also went on to win best picture, best director and best actor.

The stage version of “The King’s Speech” has been translated to more than a half-dozen languages and has been performed on four continents. After being staged at the Wyndham’s Theatre on London’s West End in 2012, the play was supposed to head to Broadway, but was cut short in 2020 by the COVID pandemic.

Seidler wrote multiple TV movies, including “Onassis: The Richest Man in the World” (1988), “Tucker: The Man and His Dream” (1988), “Whose Child Is This? The War for Baby Jessica” (1993), “Dancing in the Dark” (1995), “Come on, Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story” (1999) and “By Dawn’s Early Light” (2001). He also wrote episodes for such series as “Adventures of the Seaspray,” “Days of Our Lives,” “Another World,” “General Hospital,” “The Wonderful World of Disney” and “Son of the Dragon.”

Seidler is survived by his adult children, Marc and Maya.

SEIDLER, David

Born: 8/4/1937, London, England, U.K.

Dide: 3/16/2024, New Zealand

 

David Seidler’s western – writer:

Wonderful World of Disney Goldrush: A Real Life Alaskan Adventure (TV) - 1998

RIP Joe Camp

 

Joe Camp, Writer and Director of the ‘Benji’ Movies, Dies at 84 

He made and distributed the first film about the scruffy dog on his own and found great success. “We got it by depicting what the animal was feeling, not what the animal was doing,” he said.

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

March 15, 2024

 

Joe Camp, the writer, director and producer who taught that old dog Hollywood new tricks about animal movies as the creative force behind the 1974 franchise-spawning Benji, has died. He was 84.

Camp died Friday morning at his home in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, following a long illness, his son, filmmaker Brandon Camp, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Camp also directed and co-wrote the comedies Hawmps! (1976), about the U.S. Cavalry replacing horses with camels in the 1850s, and The Double McGuffin (1979), which revolved around kids trying to thwart a terrorist (Ernest Borgnine) and featured lots of in-jokes about Hitchcock movies.

Other than serving as an extra on the Robert Mitchum-starring Home From the Hill (1960), Camp had no Hollywood experience when he raised about $500,000 to make Benji, a story about a stray mixed breed — not a fancy pure breed like Lassie! — who helps rescue two youngsters from kidnappers.

Crucial to the movie’s success, he managed to get Higgins, who had appeared for years hanging around the Shady Rest Hotel on the CBS comedy Petticoat Junction, to come out of retirement to play the title character.

Camp completed his film, then showed it to every studio in Hollywood, and every single one wanted nothing to do with it. “I was really in the dumps, I was down low,” he recalled in a 2023 interview. “What are we going to do? We can throw it in the trash, or we can figure it out.”

He formed Dallas-based Mulberry Square Releasing to distribute the feature independently in October 1974, and it wound up grossing nearly $40 million ($250 million in today’s dollars), delighting audiences well into the next summer.

Benji was followed by movies featuring the scruffy dog in 1977, 1980 — counting Oh! Heavenly Dog, starring Chevy Chase as a detective reincarnated as a pooch — 1987 and 2004; two telefilms that aired in 1978 and others that aired in 1980 and 1981; and the 1983 CBS kids series Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince. (Most of the time, Benji was played by Higgins’ daughter, Benjean.)

By one estimation, the films have grossed about $600 million if adjusted for inflation, making Camp one of the most successful indie filmmakers of all time.

He then contributed to the 2018 Benji reboot at Netflix that was directed by his son Brandon Camp and produced by Jason Blum.

Joseph Shelton Camp Jr. was born in St. Louis on April 20, 1939. His dad’s job took him and his family to live in places including Little Rock, Arkansas; El Segundo; Jackson, Mississippi; and Memphis, Tennessee, where he and his friends made movies while attending East High School.

At the University of Mississippi, Camp got to be an extra when MGM came to Oxford to film parts of Home From the Hill, directed by Vincente Minnelli. However, his scenes — all with Yvette Mimieux — were cut. She’s not in the movie, either.

Camp wanted to transfer to UCLA film school after his sophomore year but was rejected, so he finished up at Mississippi, graduating in 1961 with a degree in advertising and marketing. He then took a job with McCann Erickson, first in Houston and then Dallas.

When Camp and his first wife, Carolyn, saw a clip from the animated Disney classic Lady and the Tramp (1955) on TV, he asked her, “Do you think it would be possible to do that kind of a movie with a real dog? We came to the conclusion that it wouldn’t be possible, because how to you tell a story without words?”

But after she retired for the night, Camp stayed up with Benji, their Yorkshire terrier, and “got intrigued with watching his expressions on things … I got down on the floor in a corner all huddled up and acted afraid, and the dog’s looking at me like, ‘Have you lost your mind?’ You could read that in his face. I went to bed knowing dogs do talk.”

The next morning, Camp wrote the entire treatment for Benji and said it made his wife cry when he read it to her. “We got it by depicting what the animal was feeling, not what the animal was doing,” he explained.

Camp then discovered that one of his college classmates, Tom Lester, was starring on CBS’ Green Acres, and the actor helped him find contacts in Hollywood.

Benji’s theme, “I Feel Love,” recorded by Charlie Rich, received an Academy Award nomination for best original song but lost out on Oscar night to “We May Never Love Like This Again,” sung by Maureen McGovern for The Towering Inferno.

Higgins also was nominated — for a PATSY Award for best animal performance of the year in a feature. Alas, he lost as well, to the cat from Harry and Tonto.

Camp did win an Emmy for outstanding children’s program for Benji at Work. He also wrote several Benji-related books and other books about horses, including the well-regarded The Soul of a Horse: Life Lessons From the Herd, first published in 2008.

Survivors also include his second wife, Kathleen, an attorney, photographer and teacher (they married in 2001), and son Joe Camp III, an assistant director. He was married to Carolyn from 1960 until her death from a heart disorder in 1997 at age 58.

CAMP, Joe (Joseph Sheldon Camp Jr.)

Born: 4/20/1939, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.

Died: 3/15/2024, Bell Buckle, Tennessee, U.S.A.

 

Joe Camp’s western – producer, director, writer

Hawmps! - 1976

RIP Grant Page

 

Grant Page: Legendary Aussie stuntman and star of Stunt Rock dead at 85

Grant Page, the legendary Australian stunt man and star of the cult film Stunt Rock, has passed away at 85.

JoBlo

By Chris Bumbray

March 14, 2024

 

If you want to see a wild midnight movie, there’s a little-known Australian movie called Stunt Rock, which might blow your mind. In it, an Australian stuntman named Grant Page (playing himself) visits Los Angeles to do stunts for a TV show and hooks up with a heavy metal band named Sorcery (the band is like KISS if they also did magic). It has many fans, including Eli Roth, who used one of Sorcery’s songs in his Death Wish remake and is prominently featured in an incredible documentary about Australian exploitation films (Ozploitation) called Not Quite Hollywood.

More than anything, this documentary was a loving tribute to Page, who did incredible stunts for almost every cool action film shot in Australia over the last fifty years, including Mad Max, and Road Games (in which he played the mostly unseen villain). Sadly, Mark Hartley, the director of Not Quite Hollywood, broke the news via his Facebook page that Page has passed away at the ripe old age of 85.

“Very sad day with the passing of superstar stuntman and Stud Cola spokesman GRANT PAGE. With charisma to burn and an unforced easy going charm, on screen and off he was the quintessential Aussie male.  Grant happily set himself on fire at the world premiere of my documentary NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD. I sincerely hope that his profile in that film captured (and celebrated) his larrikin can-do fearlessness. I was lucky enough to work with Grant on my next film PATRICK and I was incredibly honoured when he asked me to write a forward to his autobiography. The jaw-dropping (and bone crunching) work he leaves behind in a number of bonafide Oz classics (including MAD MAX, ROADGAMES and THE MAN FROM HONG KONG) should cement his legacy as not just our premiere stuntman, but as an antipodean icon.”

Indeed, Page achieved almost mythical status in the stunt community, famous for his fire effects. Seemingly no stunt was out of the question for Page. If you watch Not Quite Hollywood, some of the more famous talking heads like George Lazenby (who Page doubled in the awesome Man from Hong Kong), Stacy Keach (his nemesis in Road Games), and Quentin Tarantino speak of him with a lot of admiration. Despite his advancing years, Page stayed active in the industry until recently, with him working on Gods of Egypt and Mechanic: Resurrection. In a community that rarely gets the recognition they deserve (give them an Oscar category already), Page was a legend.

PAGE, Grant (Grantley John Page)

Born: 8/6/1939, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Dead: 3/14/2024, New South Wales, Australia

 

Grant Page’s westerns, stuntman, stunt coordinator, actor:

Mad Dog Morgan – 1976 (Sergeant Maginnity) [stunts]

Mad Dog Morga: To Shoot a Mad Dog – 1976 [stunts]

Snowy River: The McGregor Saga (TV) [stunt coordinator]

The Tracker – 2002 (The Veteran) [stunt coordinator]

RIP Maria Richwine

 

Former Playboy Bunny, Buddy Holly Movie Wife, Found Dead In PS Hot Tub

​Maria Eugenia Richwine, 71, of Los Angeles was discovered unresponsive Tuesday morning in the residential Palm Springs hot tub.

Patch

By Toni McAllister

March 13, 2024

 

PALM SPRINGS, CA — A Colombian-born actress — who became a Playboy Bunny and was later cast as Buddy Holly's wife in a 1978 biopic about the famous American 1950s rock-and-roller — was found dead Tuesday in a Palm Springs hot tub.

Maria Eugenia Richwine, 71, of Los Angeles was discovered unresponsive in the residential hot tub in the 400 block of E. Valmonte Sur shortly before 7:30 a.m., according to Palm Springs police Lt. Gustavo Araiza.

Foul play is not suspected, Araiza said.

The Riverside County coroner will rule on Richwine's cause and manner of death.

Born María Agudelo on June 22, 1952, in Cali, Colombia, Richwine was lured to the stage during her formative years. In a 2010 interview published by La Prensa, Richwine said her father brought the family to the United States when she was a child. Early on she saw famous productions at New York City's Radio City Music Hall, like the Rockettes and the 1961 film starring Audrey Hepburn, "Breakfast At Tiffany’s."

"When I walked into Radio City Music Hall with my dad, the auditorium felt like a microcosm of the universe. The stage and the lights were like the stars and planets floating by me. It looked like the sun was illuminating the long-legged ladies dancing in unison — it was breathtaking," Richwine said. "I was inspired by them to learn to dance but Audrey Hepburn’s performance left such a lasting impression on me that I wanted to grow up to be just like her."

Richwine worked as a Playboy Bunny for Hugh Hefner for four years during the 1970s, and she said her family approved.

"My dad was very supportive," Richwine said. "He thought it was a great opportunity. The reality is that a Playboy Bunny is basically cocktail waitress in a sexy costume with ears and a tail. I loved the costume; we all looked beautiful, sophisticated and elegant in it. The biggest misconception is that folks often mistake a Bunny for a Playmate. Playmates are models who pose nude for the magazine. Bunnies worked at the Playboy Clubs as cocktail and food servers."

Richwine told La Prensa she enjoyed her Playboy experience.

"That was probably the best and most fun job that I have ever had, and I would do it again in a nanosecond," she said.

During her Bunny stint Richwine studied acting, and she got her big break when she was cast as Buddy Holly's wife in 1978's "The Buddy Holly Story." The Columbia Pictures film co-starred Gary Busey as the iconic singer and songwriter.

"It didn’t take very long from the time I began to study and get an agent, to the time I was hired to play Maria Holly," Richwine said. "When I heard I got the job, after having gone to four callbacks, I was floating on air. I really had to pinch myself. Sometimes I fell asleep with the script in my arms. I knew I had to just get on that train and ride it all the way and never look back. There was no room for fear or insecurities; I just had to step up to the plate."

Her film performance received positive reviews. Newsweek critic David Ansen said, "Her attractive performance suggests complexities of character that the script fails to explore."

Richwine's other acting gigs included a regular role in Norman Lear's 1984 television series "a.k.a. Pablo." She also appeared in the television series "Three's Company," "Sledge Hammer!" and "Freddy's Nightmares."

RICHWINE, Maria (Maria Eugenia Agudelo)

Born: 6/22/1952, Cali, Colombia

Died: 3/12/2024, Palm Springs, California, U.S.A.

 

Maria Richwine’s westerns – actress:

Incident at Crestridge (TV) 1981 (Vicky Castillo)

Desperado: The Outlaw Years (TV) – 1989 (

RIP Michael Culver

 

Michael Culver obituary

Stage and screen actor known for his political campaigning, both in his choice of roles and his personal life

The Guardian

By Michael Coveney

March 12, 2024

You might say of the actor Michael Culver that, in Harold Wilson’s great phrase about Tony Benn, he immatured with age. He became more radical, more dyspeptic and more angry with politicians who get involved in foreign wars, especially those following meekly in the footsteps of the United States.

Although Culver, who has died aged 85, hailed from an upper middle-class background, and a theatrical one, too, his fire was lit by his participation in the so-called tribunal plays of the 1990s at the Tricycle (now the Kiln) in Kilburn, north London, where he was prominent in three riveting dramatic transcripts edited by Richard Norton-Taylor and directed by Nicolas Kent.

These were Half the Picture (1994), a brilliantly condensed recreation of the Scott inquiry into the sale of arms to Iraq; Nuremberg, in which he played a rambling but ultimately sympathetic Albert Speer, who acknowledged his culpability for war crimes and received a sentence of just 20 years’ imprisonment; and The Colour of Justice (both 1996), about the murder of Stephen Lawrence, over which he presided as the humane Sir William Macpherson – “as if to the manner born”, said one critic – asking for 60 seconds of silence at the end for which the cast, the critics and the audience, unbidden, stood.

During the Iraq war, Culver became a fervent supporter of the anti-war protester Brian Haw, who camped out in Parliament Square for 10 years in protest at Britain’s part in the conflict. “A deeply impressive human being,” said Culver of Haw, who died in 2011.

Last year, Culver joined his fellow actor Mark Rylance in successfully campaigning for a statue of Haw – designed by Culver’s second wife, Amanda Ward – to be placed outside the Imperial War Museum in south London.

His first real recognition as an actor, he said, came in 1977, playing Donald Maclean in a documentary drama about the Cambridge spies scripted by Ian Curteis, with Derek Jacobi as Guy Burgess and Anthony Bate as Kim Philby. This led to the role – albeit a small, if memorable, one – of Captain Needa in the second Star Wars movie (and fifth in the chronology), The Empire Strikes Back (1980).

He graced another notable film, David Lean’s A Passage to India (1984), playing a bigoted police inspector, Major McBryde, in a cast headed by Peggy Ashcroft, Judi Davis, James Fox and Alec Guinness.

The Colour of Justice became a television movie, earning him one more credit in a television career that had begun in 1961 with an appearance in Maigret, starring Rupert Davies and Ewen Solon, and continued through to the afternoon soap Doctors in 2013.

In between, there was a wonderfully sneery Squire Armstrong – he resembled an even cleaner-cut version of Patrick McGoohan with a touch of Christopher Plummer – in The Adventures of Black Beauty (1972-74), and 13 episodes of Cadfael (1994-98), starring Derek Jacobi, as Prior Robert.

Born in Hampstead, north London, Michael was the first son of the distinguished West End actor Roland Culver and his wife, Daphne Rye, a casting director who discovered – for Binkie Beaumont, the leading West End producer of the day – Richard Burton and Stanley Baker, and who opened the still popular Daphne’s restaurant in Chelsea in 1964. He was educated at Gresham’s school in Norfolk (which he hated) and trained at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

In 1959 he joined the Dundee Rep, then under the artistic directorship of Anthony Page, where the company included Glenda Jackson and Nicol Williamson, and appeared in 35 plays over two years in a repertoire of Oscar Wilde, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, JB Priestley and Noël Coward. He then joined the Old Vic under Michael Benthall and played the Duke of Bedford in Henry VI, making his Broadway debut when the production crossed over to New York.

His West End debut followed in 1962 when he appeared in the biblical story of Judith (and Holofernes) by Jean Giraudoux, translated by Christopher Fry and directed by Harold Clurman, at the Haymarket, followed in 1963 by Priestley’s adaptation of Iris Murdoch’s A Severed Head, directed by Val May, at the Criterion. On tour in 1966 he played the outwardly charming but ingrained reprobate Mr Wickham in Pride and Prejudice, a great role, directed by Sheila Hancock.

His extensive work in repertory included Lord Goring, the dandy philosopher (“Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people we personally dislike”), in Wilde’s An Ideal Husband at the Theatre Royal, Windsor, in 1979, and the polar explorer Roald Amundsen in Michael Attenborough’s fine production of Ted Tally’s Terra Nova (1982) at the Watford Palace.

After TV appearances in Casualty (1986) and Emmerdale (as Philip Wallace in 1992), he was notable in Spooks (2004) and in the first episode of Kenneth Branagh’s Wallander (2008).

Culver had a fine, sometimes fruity, baritone voice and was a familiar on BBC radio drama in many productions, among them voicing Rachmaninov in Melvyn Bragg’s portrait of the Russian composer (which also featured the pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy and soprano Joan Rodgers) and in Robert Harris’s Fatherland (1997), in one of those classic BBC radio casts that included Anton Lesser, Eleanor Bron, Stratford Johns and Ned Sherrin.

A keen golfer, and a stalwart and accomplished member of The Stage Golfing society, Culver was twice married: to the actor Lucinda Curtis in 1962, divorced in 1986; and to Ward, a sculptor, in 2004.

Ward survives him, as do two sons from his first marriage, Roderic and Justin, a daughter, Susan, from an earlier relationship, and four grandchildren, Cameron, Isabella, Grace and Sabina.

Michael John Edward Culver, actor and campaigner, born 16 June 1938; died 27 February 2024

CULVER, Michael (Michael John Edward Culver)

Born: 6/16/1938, Hampstead, London, England, U.K.

Died: 2/27/2024,

 

Michael Culver’s western – actor:

The New Zorro (TV) – 1991 (Aragon)