Friday, February 14, 2025

RIP Geneviève Page

 

Death of Geneviève Page, theatre glory, at the age of 97

Le Figaro

By Nathalie Simon

February 14, 2025

 

Having studied at the Comédie-Française, the actress, who has died at the age of 97, had played in Fanfan la Tulipe and Belle de jour.

Geneviève Page, a theater star who also played a luxury brothel owner who recruited Catherine Deneuve in Belle de jour in 1967, died on Friday in Paris at the age of 97, her granddaughter, actress Zoé Guillemaud, told AFP. The actress, who left her mark on classical theater and cinema in her fifty-year career, died at her home, the same source said.

The daughter of a gallery owner, Geneviève Page ended her career in the theatre in 2011 with Racine's Britannicus, under the direction of Michel Fau, at the Figeac Theatre Festival. "She told me that she had played Claudel's 'Le Soulier de satin' and then 'Le Canard à l'orange' with Jean Poiret," said the director. "I had a lot of fun and I received a lot," said the actress with beautiful, mischievous green eyes.

Born Geneviève Anne Marguerite Bonjean, on December 13, 1927, in the16th arrondissement of Paris, married to Jean-Claude Bujard, her godfather was Christian Dior. After her baccalaureate, like her father, who was passionate about art and literature, she entered the École du Louvre.

More theatre than cinema

It was at the age of 26, in 1953, while filming in Open Letter to a Husband, a comedy by Alex Joffé with Robert Lamoureux, that she decided to become an actress. The audience applauded her during the screening of the film: “I had the impression that I had become an actress at that second.” She then joined the Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Paris, then the Comédie-Française and worked with the Jean-Louis Barrault company, which directed her in Angelo, tyrant of Padua by Victor Hugo. Thanks to the man who would become her friend, Gérard Philip, Geneviève Page entered the TNP, rubbed shoulders with Jean Vilar and played opposite Gérard Philip in Lorenzaccio and Les Caprices de Marianne.

The actress plays great heroines, Doña Proueze (The Satin Shoe) or Hermione (Andromache). She is also in Twelfth Night, a “drama” by Claude Barma. Her performance in The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, at the Théâtre National de Chaillot in 1980, earned her the Prize for Best Actress from the Critics’ Union.

“The theatre begins and ends, as Claudel says. We enter the stage at half-past 8 and at a quarter to midnight, we are dead in frightful torments!”

Geneviève Page preferred the theatre to the cinema, but the latter could not do without her haughty physique. "Coitus interruptus" was not her "thing", she said. "Theatre begins and ends, as Claudel says. You enter the stage at a quarter to eight and at a quarter to midnight, you are dead in terrible torments!"

A wide filmography

This did not prevent her from appearing in many films, in France and the United States, where she also distinguished herself in the theatre in Samuel Taylor's The Happy Time with Laurence Olivier. On screen, she distinguished herself for the first time in a detective story No Pity for Women, by Christian Stengel, with Simone Renant, Michel Auclair and Marcel Herrand (1951). Then, she was a sacred Marquise de Pompadour in Fanfan la Tulipe, by the "very courteous" Christian-Jaque, where she reunited with Gérard Philip. "When you see each other with Gina Lollobrigida, you fall into each other's arms, whereas at the time I didn't see much of her."

Luis Buñuel had asked me to kiss her on the mouth without telling her. I had told her that if she slapped me, I would give her a slap

During the filming of Sheldon Reynols' Foreign Intrigue, Robert Mitchum "saved her life" by preventing her from getting a spotlight on her head. "He liked to drink pastis," she laughed. In Mayerling, she is Ava Gardner's partner. In Luis Buñuel's Belle de jour, she jubilantly plays Madame Anaïs, a pimp mother (1967). "We're going to find you a very simple, very flirtatious name," she tells the innocent Catherine Deneuve. "Luis Buñuel asked me to kiss him on the mouth without telling her. I told her that if she slapped me, I would give her back." (Le Point, July 2013).

Geneviève Page is also in Look for the Woman, Michel Strogoff, by Carmine Gallone, nicknamed the Commander, with Curd Jürgens who was afraid of horses. Then in Un amour de poche by Pierre Kast, alongside Jean Marais and a newcomer Jean-Claude Brialy: "I called my agents to tell them, 'Take it right away.' In George Cukor's Farewell Ball (1960), Dirk Bogarde is adorable: "It was a dream, he was rehearsing with you... He was cooking us a turkey with pineapple by his swimming pool."

The actress distinguished herself in a blockbuster that would win three Oscars: Anthony Mann's El Cid, starring Sophie Loren, who became her son's godmother, and Charlton Heston, who had remained close to him. "Don't scream or I'll become frigid," Geneviève Page warns the filmmaker. One of her fondest memories was her role as Gabrielle Valladon, the "villain" in Billy Wilder's The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970).

Open, she did not rule out any roles. She was a nymphomaniac widow in Buffet Froid (1979). There she met Bernard Blier with whom she had played a play by Marcel Achard. The actor played pranks on her with the complicity of Gérard Depardieu and Jean Carmet. As soon as she could, Geneviève Page returned to the stage. In 1991, the Spanish director Lluis Pasqual directed her in Le Balcon by Jean Genet at the Odéon. She won the Prix Plaisir du théâtre in 1997 for Colombe by Jean Anouilh directed by Michel Fagadau in which she played Madame Alexandra. At the same time, she taught her art.

PAGE, Geneviève (Geneviève Anne Marguerite Bronjean)

Born: 12/13/1927, Paris, Île-de-France, France

Died: 2/14/2025, Paris, Île-de-France, France

 

Geneviève Page’s western – actress:

A Talent for Loving – 1973 (Lady Delphine Butler)

RIP Carlos Diégues

 

Cacá Diégues, renowned Brazilian filmmaker and leading figure in Cinema Novo, dies at 84

Carlos Diégues, one of Brazil’s most renowned filmmakers, has died in Rio de Janeiro, aged 84, the Brazilian Academy of Letters said

ABC News

By The Associated Press

February 14, 2025

 

Carlos Diégues, the renowned Brazilian filmmaker, died Friday in Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian Academy of Letters said. He was 84.

The director of more than 20 films, including “Xica da Silva” and “Bye Bye Brazil,” Diégues was a leading figure in Cinema Novo, a movement that emerged in the 1960s and used film to critique social inequality, drawing inspiration from the French New Wave and Italian neorealism.

The filmmaker, widely known as Cacá Diégues, suffered complications after surgery, the academy said in a statement.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Diégues’ films reflected Brazil ’s history, identity and creativity.

“I received with great sorrow the news of the passing of Cacá Diégues, who throughout his life brought Brazil and Brazilian culture to the movie screens and captured the attention of the entire world,” Lula said.

“Bye Bye Brazil,” a road movie about a country in transition, competed for the Palme d’Or at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival. In 2010, Diégues produced “5x Favela,” a film entirely conceived, written and directed by young filmmakers from Rio de Janeiro’s impoverished communities.

GIEGUES, Carlos

Born: 5/19/1946, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil

Died: 2/14/2025, Rio de Janiero, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

 

Carlos Diégues’ westerns – director, writer, sound department:

Black God, White Devil – 1964 [sound department]

Luzia – 1988 [writer]

Bacurau – 2019 [director]

Thursday, February 13, 2025

RIP Jerry Eisenberg

 

Jerry Eisenberg, R.I.P.

News From Me

ByMark Evanier

February 12, 2025

 

A truly great cartoonist and a helluva nice guy died last night at the age of 87. Jerry Eisenberg had been sick for some time — the official cause of death was Pneumonia — and the news is already shaking up the animation community. Everyone knew him. Everyone adored him.

Jerry was a second-generation great cartoonist. His father, Harvey Eisenberg, had quite a history in animation and comic books…and both Eisenbergs were responsible for some of the better things that the Hanna-Barbera studio ever did. Jerry broke into the field as an animator for the MGM cartoon studio in the fifties, then when it closed down, he worked for H-B for years, designing many of their characters including — this is a very partial list — Peter Potamus, all the racers on Wacky Races, most of the gang on Jabberjaw…oh, I shouldn't have started this list either. Suffice it to say there probably wasn't a single Hanna-Barbera production done between 1961 and 1977 that didn't have characters in it designed by Jerry. He even worked on the super-hero shows.

'77 was when he moved over to the then-new Ruby-Spears cartoon studio — the one I was writing about earlier today on this blog — and became a producer of most of their shows including Fangface, Plastic Man, Thundarr the Barbarian…again, a list I shouldn't have started. Later, he worked for Marvel Productions, Disney, Warner Brothers…just about everywhere in town. He was one of the fastest artists I've ever seen and one of the nicest, jolliest guys.

Condolences go out to Raymonde, his wife of many years…and our thanks because she took great care of him.

Wanna know more about this man? Here's a three-hour interview with him. You can learn all about him and even if you just watch a few minutes of it, you'll see why everyone loved him. I certainly did.

EISENBERG, Jerry (Jerome Theodore Eisenberg)

Born: 12/14/1937, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Died: 2/11/2025, Tarzana, California, U.S.A.

 

Jerry Eisenberg’s western – animator, character designer:

Quick Draw McGraw (TV) – 1961 [animator]

The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (TV) – 1968-1969 [character designer]

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

RIP Norma Mora

 

Legendary actress of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema dies

Norma Mora not only left a legacy in Mexican cinema, but also in theater and beauty pageants, she was even considered a 'sex symbol'.

Univision

February 12, 2025

 

Norma Mora, one of the last stars of the Golden Age of cinema in Mexico, died on February 11, 2025 at the age of 81 at La Casa del Actor IAP Mario Moreno, where she had lived since 2002.

The institution announced the news through a brief statement published on social networks.

"With great sorrow, I inform you of the death of our dear colleague Norma Mora, who died in La Casa del Actor, surrounded by the affection and respect of her colleagues, guests, workers, the director and members of the board of trustees. Rest in peace."

The actress left a great legacy in Mexican cinema, but she also ventured into beauty pageants and was considered a 'sex symbol' in the 1960s and 1970s. She also tried her hand at dancing and singing, recording several albums.

Norma Helen García Mora Starr was born on April 30, 1943 in Mexico City. She was of Arab, Irish, and Jewish descent.

She began her artistic career by winning a beauty pageant in 1959, which catapulted her into the world of show business.

Throughout his career he filmed films with great stars of Mexican Golden Cinema such as Germán Valdés 'Tin Tan', Viruta and Capulina, as well as with 'El Santo', among others.

Among his films are 'Viva Chihuahua', 'Qué perra vida', 'Santo en el museo de cera', 'Los astronautas', 'Ahí viene los Argumedo', 'Vuelve los Argumedo' and 'Capulina: Rauna, la sargento X8', just to mention a few.

MORA, Norma (Norma Elena García-Mora Starr)

Born: 4/30/1943, Mexico City, federal District, Mexico

Died: 2/11/2025, Mexico City, federal District, Mexico

 

Norma Mora’s westerns – actress:

Viva Chihuahua – 1961 (Laura)

Ahí vienen los Argumedo – 1962

Los forajidos – 1962 (Margara)

Los parranderos - 1963

Sangre en la barranca – 1963 (Rosita)

Vuelven los Argumedo – 1963 (Sofia)

Para todos hay – 1965 (Lilia)

El tigre de Guanajuato: Leyenda de venganza – 1965

Crisol – 1967 (Rosario)

Sunday, February 9, 2025

RIP Tom Robbins

 


Author Tom Robbins, La Conner resident, dies at 92

Legendary novelist lived in Skagit County for more than 5 decades

Cascadia Daily News

February 9, 2025

 

Legendary author Tom Robbins, known for writing “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” and other novels in La Conner, died Sunday, Feb. 9 at the age of 92, surrounded by family.

Robbins’ wife, Alexa Robbins, announced her husband’s death on Facebook, noting the beloved author was “brave, funny and sweet” and had “an eternally youthful spirit.” The couple was together for 36 years.

Tom Robbins, born in North Carolina in 1932, moved to Seattle in 1962 and to La Conner eight years later. The small town in Skagit County hosted a celebration for Tom in 2023 where he was crowned “King for a Day” as he paraded downtown First Street with Alexa, who said in her post, “The celebration was the best kind of memorial because he was there to enjoy it.”

Alexa Robbins noted in her post that donations in Tom’s honor can be made to The Museum of Northwest Art, The La Conner Swinomish Library, SPOT Animal Rescue, and Hospice of the Northwest, where Tom was cared for by “devoted caregivers” before he died.

In lieu of a service, Tom Robbins wants “people remember him by reading his books,” Alexa Robbins said in her post.

ROBBINS, Tom (Thomas Eugene Robbins)

Born: 7/22/1932, Blowing Rock, North Carolina, U.S.A.

Died: 2/9/2025, La Conner, Washington, U.S.A.

 

Tom Robbins’ western – writer, narrator:

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues -1993

RIP Bruce French

 

Bruce French, ‘Passions’ Actor and a Veteran of the Stage, Dies at 79

The Iowa native, who often played men of faith, also guest-starred on David E. Kelley shows and appeared in 'Star Trek' for film and television.

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

February 9, 2025

 

Bruce French, the dependable character actor who did lots of work for the theater and portrayed Father Lonigan, the blind priest on the soap opera Passions who somehow could sense that evil was imminent, has died. He was 79.

French died Friday in Los Angeles of complications from Alzheimer’s, his wife of 34 years, longtime Days of Our Lives actress Eileen Barnett, told The Hollywood Reporter.

The Iowa native, who has more than 150 acting credits on IMDb, guest-starred for David E. Kelley on such shows as L.A. Law, Picket Fences, Ally McBeal, The Practice, Boston Public and Boston Legal, and he appeared on three Star Trek series — The Next Generation, Voyager and Enterprise — and in the 1998 film Star Trek: Insurrection.

Plus, he played the wealthy neighbor of Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver’s shifty characters on both seasons of the 2007-08 FX drama The Riches.

French recurred as the kind-hearted Lonigan during the entire nine-season run of Passions, which debuted on NBC in July 1999 and wrapped on DirecTV’s 101 Network in August 2008. A fixture in the New England town of Harmony, his character often clashed with bad guy businessman Alistair Crane (David Bailey and then John Reilly), who caused him to lose his sight.

French also played men of faith in Mission: Impossible III (2006) and in many other films and TV shows over the years. In fact, he owned a priest’s clerical collar that he would take with him on auditions, Barnett said.

The son of an undertaker, French was born in 1945 on the Fourth of July in Reinbeck, Iowa. He graduated from the University of Iowa, served with the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and studied acting at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

He starred off-Broadway in 1972 in The Shadow of a Gunman, then made his onscreen debut in the Frank Perry-directed Man on a Swing (1974), starring Cliff Robertson and Joel Grey. He followed with two other notable films released in 1978: Hal Ashby’s Coming Home and Robert Mulligan’s Bloodbrothers.

French also appeared on the big screen in Christine (1983), Mr. Mom (1983), Fletch (1985), Murphy’s Romance (1985), Legal Eagles (1986), Wildcats (1986), Jurassic Park III (2001), Mr. Deeds (2002), Thank You for Smoking (2005), Beginners (2010) and Beautiful Boy (2010).

And for TV, he was on everything from The Waltons, Soap, Dallas, Family Ties, Hill Street Blues, Moonlighting, Falcon Crest, Cheers and Designing Women to Who’s the Boss?, Beverly Hills, 90210, The West Wing, Gilmore Girls, Bones, Mad Men, Eli Stone and Grey’s Anatomy.

One of French’s favorite stage roles was his turn as Lucky in an L.A. Actors Theatre production of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot that was filmed for KCET’s Theatre in America series in 1977.

He also was at his best as the dispirited schoolmaster Andrew Crocker-Harris in 2009 in Terence Rattigan’s The Browning Version at the Venice-based Pacific Resident Theatre.

French was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s about four years ago, Barnett said. In addition to his wife — they first met at the University of Iowa, reconnected 25 years later and married in January 1991 — survivors include his nieces, Claire and Paula.

FRENCH, Bruce

Born: 7/4/1945, Reinbeck, Iowa, U.S.A.

Died: 2/7/2025, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

 

Bruce French’s western – actor:

The Chisolms (TV) – 1979 (Schmidt)

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

RIP Mort Künstler

 

Mort Künstler, hailed as America's most prominent historical artist, dies at 97

Find a Grave

By C.S.

February 4, 2025

Artist. During a career which spanned seven-decades, he will perhaps be remembered for his realistic and detailed paintings of the Civil War. Born into a European Jewish family (some sources state date of birth as 1931), his interest in drawing was sparked during his youth. While attending Brooklyn College, he focused on sports and excelled in football, track & field and swimming which led to a scholarship to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). However, after his father suffered a heart attack, Mort returned home where he enrolled at the Pratt Institute to resume his artist interest. An excursion to Mexico on a motorcycle with a classmate, led to further experience painting and after graduation, he landed a position at Neeley Associates Illustration Studio as an apprentice. He became a freelance artist and found work for various men's adventure magazines, in addition to artwork for paperbacks. This led to opportunities with The Saturday Evening Post and National Geographic Magazine. During the 1970s, he produced movie posters for the motion pictures The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and The Taking of Pelham, One Two, Three (1974). His Civil War artwork became official US Postage Stamps during the 1990s. In 2011, his portrayal of George Washington crossing the Delaware River was unveiled. His works are displayed in museums nationwide, as well as in Canada and Europe.

KUNSTLER, Mort

Born: 8/28/1927, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.

Died: 2/2/2025, Rockville Centre, New York, U.S.A.

 

Mort Künstler’s westerns – artist:

Breakheart Pass – 1975 [poster artist]

The Making of Gettysburg – 1993 [paintings]

Sunday, February 2, 2025

RIP James Carlos Blake

 

Legacy

January 20, 2025

 

James Carlos Blake, regionalist novelist, whose heart and writing skill were on both sides of the border, died Saturday, January 11, 2025. He was 82.

Born in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico in 1943, he was a descendant of a prominent creole family in Mexico City, whose complex and colorful history was often the basis for novels, short stories, and essays. At fourteen, he became an American citizen in Miami.

As a young man, he was not always well-behaved, but after joining the army and deploying as a tunnel rat to the frozen borderlands of the Koreas, he returned a more thoughtful man, and went to college. And he began to write.

"I'm attracted to and write about people who are very resentful of submitting themselves to authority that they don't think is warranted," he told an interviewer. Despite the violent nature of his protagonists, they are always thinkers. "All my characters are intelligent," he said."I've never been interested in alcoholics, druggies, or crazy people, because they are not exercising free will." Sex and violence were hallmarks of his work, he said, because "they are the two great engines of the world."

His historical criminal protagonists, from John Wesley Hardin ("The Pistoleer"), a notorious Old West gunfighter, to Rodolfo Fierro ("The Friends of Pancho Villa"), Villa's segundo and on-demand executioner, to Harry Pierpont ("Handsome Harry), John Dillinger's best friend and constant accomplice, Blake endowed with high intelligence, insight, a big problem with authority, and a dark sense of humor.

His 2012 novel, "Country of the Bad Wolfes," introduced the saga of the fictional Wolfe family, a borderland clan who actions came from a tendency to violence and hell-raising. Four Wolfe family novels followed.

In 2021 he suffered a traumatic brain injury, and after twenty years in Arizona, he returned to Florida to live under the care of a brother.

Throughout his literary career, he wrote inventive, lucid, and tangible prose.

He wrote seven hours a day, seven days a week.

Blake James Carlos

Born: 5/26/1943, Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico

Died: 1/11/2025, Venice, Florida, U.S.A.

 

James Carlos Blake’s westerns – author:

The Pistoleer – 1995

The Friends of Pancho Villa - 1996

Wildwood Days - 2000

Country of the Bad Wolfes – 2012

Dans la peau - 2012

Pistolero - 2015

Saturday, February 1, 2025

RIP John Erwin

 

John Erwin, Voice Actor in ‘He-Man’ and ‘Archie’ Cartoons, Dies at 88

He also recurred on the Clint Eastwood series ‘Rawhide’ and was finicky as Morris the Cat on TV commercials in the 1970s.

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

January 31, 2025

 

John Erwin, the reclusive actor who provided the voices for the heroic title character in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and the vain frenemy Reggie Mantle in a series of Archie cartoons, has died. He was 88.

Erwin died of natural causes “around Dec. 20” in his home in Camarillo, California, his reps at the PR firm Celebworx announced.

For nearly a decade starting in 1969, Erwin was heard in dozens of TV commercials as the snarky Morris the Cat, the finicky orange tabby who would eat nothing but the 9Lives brand of cat food. The hugely successful campaign was created by the Leo Burnett advertising firm.

Earlier, Erwin was seen on camera when he recurred as the cattle driver Teddy on CBS’ Rawhide, starring Clint Eastwood.

For Filmmation, Erwin voiced the blond, muscular He-Man (and his alter ego, Prince Adam) on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe from 1983-85 and on She-Ra: Princess of Power from 1985-87. He also played the villain Beast Man and other secondary characters on the syndicated shows that were based on a line of Mattel toys.

“Working with John Erwin was a ballad of irreverence, professionalism and surprise,” Alan Oppenheimer, who starred as the evil Skeletor on He-Man, said in a statement. “He was a series actor, writer, performer of commercials, musician, painter and an all-around lovely gentleman, an indelible addition to my life.”

Added Melendy Britt, the voice of She-Ra (He-Man’s twin sister), “For 40 years, John Erwin was not only my brother onscreen, he was my friend.”

Born on Dec. 5, 1936, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, John Lee Erwin played various characters, including a paratrooper and chaplain, on the 1956-57 syndicated series Citizen Soldier.

He joined Rawhide in 1959 during its second season and went on to appear on 22 episodes of the Western through 1965. Meanwhile, he portrayed a soldier in the Civil War-set 13 Fighting Men, starring Grant Williams.

Erwin first voiced Reggie in 1968 on the Saturday morning CBS/Filmation cartoon The Archie Show and continued with that character on various other animated series, including Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, through 1978.

He worked on the cartoons Groovie Goolies, Foofur and Spacecats and in the film Babe (1995) and came out of retirement to voice He-Man one last time on a 2005 episode of Family Guy.

Erwin also served as an announcer/narrator on such TV shows as Here’s Lucy and Malcolm & Eddie and in films including Looker (1981), Everybody’s All-American (1988) and Back to the Future Part II (1989).

Survivors include “his loving family of children and grandchildren,” his PR firm noted. His family did not want to provide a photograph of him.

Despite pleas from his fans over the years, Erwin never appeared publicly on the convention circuit to talk about his He-Man days, and Oppenheimer, speaking in 2014, said that was because he was “very shy.” He once asked his co-star to go on the road with him to London.

“I said to him, ‘If Skeletor and He-Man worked together, the line would be from London to Edinburgh,’” Oppenheimer recalled. “He just wouldn’t do it; he really likes his solitude. And he says, ‘I don’t even look like He-Man.’ I said, ‘I don’t look like Skeletor, and nobody cares.’ But I can’t get him out.”

ERWIN, John

Born: 12/5/1936, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Died: 12/20/2024, Camarillo, California, U.S.A.

 

John Erwin’s westerns – actor:

Rawhide (TV) 1959-1965 (Teddy)

Fighting Men – 1960 (Corporal McLean)

Tuesday, January 28, 2025

RIP Fiore De Rienzo

 

fanpage.it

By Gennaro Marco Duello

January 28, 2025

 

Fiore De Rienzo, the historic face of "Who has seen it?" and father of Libero, the actor struck down by drugs in 2021, has died

The news given by the family on social media. The funeral in the Irpinian village of Paternopoli, where the family was originally from

Fiore De Rienzo, journalist, assistant director and father of the actor Libero, who died at the age of 44 in 2021 in dramatic circumstances, died in Rome today, January 28, 2025. De Rienzo, in particular, had been a correspondent for the Rai 3 broadcast "Who saw it?" for years. The news was given on social media by his brother Gigi: "Unfortunately, our brother Fiore De Rienzo passed away today. Tomorrow from 1 to 5 p.m. it will be possible to say goodbye to him at the funeral home of the Isola Tiberina-Gemelli Hospital in Rome. The funeral will be held in Paternopoli on Thursday, January 30 at 3 p.m. at the sanctuary of Maria Santissima della Consolazione."

Many messages of condolence were posted commenting on the announcement of the death; in short, the news went around the web. Fiore De Rienzo had been very tried by the disappearance of his son, due, as emerged from the autopsy, to a cardiocirculatory arrest following the intake of drugs. Although he had lived in Rome for many years, the journalist, who had collaborated with "Who has seen it?" since the first episode, in 1989, had remained deeply attached to his hometown, Paternopoli, in the Avellino area. Libero, his mother who died prematurely and other family members are also buried there.

De RIENZO, Fiore

Born: 1959, Italy

Died: 1/28/2025, Rome, Lazio, Italy

 

Fiore De Rienzo’s western – actor:

Arrapaho - 1984

RIP Alma Rosa Aguirre

 

Golden Age Actress Alma Rosa Aguirre Passes Away At 95

A celebrated star from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, Aguirre leaves behind a rich legacy of film and family.

The Pinnacle

By Evrim Ağacı

January 25, 2025

 

Alma Rosa Aguirre, a prominent actress from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, has passed away at the age of 95. Her death on January 27, 2025, was confirmed by various sources, including journalist Ana María Alvarado, who shared the news through her social media account.

Aguirre died peacefully at Casa del Actor, the retirement home where she spent her final years due to health complications she faced as she aged. She remained surrounded by close friends and fellow artists up until her last moments. The Asociación Nacional de Actores (ANDA) released a statement expressing their condolences, saying: "We deeply regret the passing of our companion Alma Rosa Aguirre, member of our union. Our condolences to her family, friends, and colleagues. Rest in peace."

Born on February 19, 1929, in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Aguirre began her acting career at the age of 16 after winning a beauty contest, which led to her first role in the film "El Sexo Fuerte". Over her career, she starred in more than 30 films, including classics like "Nosotras las sirvientas" and "El Pecado de Ser Mujer". Aguirre's ability to transition from melodrama to comedy made her one of the South's most beloved actresses.

Throughout the years, Aguirre's fame continued to rise, cemented by her unforgettable performances alongside other legends of the era. She worked with stars like Mario Moreno and Luis Aguilar, and her on-screen magnetism continued to captivate audiences. Together with her sister Elsa, also a significant figure of the period, Alma Rosa enjoyed remarkable success, both during and after their time on the big screen. "We had such wonderful experiences making movies together," Elsa Aguirre proudly stated, reflecting on their shared career.

Despite her flourishing career, Alma Rosa Aguirre made the unexpected decision to retire during the height of her fame. At just 30 years old, she chose to step away from the clamor of the industry to focus on her family, having briefly married and had one daughter, Emma Isela. This period of withdrawal lasted more than ten years, but the allure of cinema proved irresistible. Aguirre returned to the film industry with her appearance in the 1971 movie "Santa Fe", and her last role was in the film "Volver, volver" released in 1973.

Her legacy lives on through the films she left behind, which continue to be celebrated by fans and critics alike. She was known for her extraordinary performances and ability to imbue her characters with depth and nuance. "She was not only our friend but part of our history," said one of her contemporaries, who emphasized her importance to the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.

At the time of her death, Aguirre had been residing at Casa del Actor since 2018, where she found solace and comfort. It served as both her home and refuge amid health struggles, allowing her to live with dignity and be attended to by caring staff. Her daughter and sister visited frequently, ensuring she was supported and not alone.

Reflecting on her life, Aguirre once remarked, "I’ve lived so many beautiful things... for me being in cinema was like a dream, and I retired young. Everything was so quick, and you go through life, aging, but I feel good..." This sentiment captures her enduring spirit and appreciation for the life she led both on and off the screen.

Alma Rosa Aguirre will be remembered not only for her contributions to Mexican cinema but also for her grace and warmth, leaving behind a legacy cherished by her family and the larger cinematic community. The news of her passing marks the closing of another chapter from the rich history of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, echoing with memories of her impactful performances.

AGUIRRE, Alma Rosa (Alma Rosa Aguirre Juárez)

Born: 2/19/1929, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico

Died: 1/27/2025, Mexico City, Federal District, Mexico

 

Alma Rosa Aguirre’s westerns – actress

El siete Machos – 1951 (Rosario)

El fronterizo – 1952 (Virgnia)

Al diablo los mujeres – 1955 (Rosita)

Los diablos del terror – 1959 (Ana Teresa Pacheco)

Monday, January 27, 2025

RIP Jan Shepard

 

Jan Shepard, Actress in ‘King Creole’ and a Wagonful of TV Westerns, Dies at 96

Amanda Blake's former roommate also appeared in ‘Attack of the Giant Leeches’ and in an admired film about mental illness, ‘Third of a Man.’

The Hollywood Reporter

By Mike Barnes

January 27, 2025

 

Jan Shepard, who guest-starred on Rawhide, The Virginian, Gunsmoke and two dozen other TV Westerns and played opposite Elvis Presley in movies eight years apart, has died. She was 96.

Shepard died Jan. 17 at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank of pneumonia brought on by respiratory failure, her son, Hollywood prop master, Brandon Boyle, told The Hollywood Reporter. “She was a good one and will be dearly missed,” he said.

Shepard portrayed Mimi, the sister of Presley’s Danny Fisher, in the Michael Curtiz-directed King Creole (1958) and the wife of Danny Kohana (James Shigeta), who partners with Presley’s Rick Richards in a helicopter business, in Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966).

“The first time, I found him to be just the cutest kid around, a big teddy bear, a lot of fun,” she said in an interview for Boyd Magers and Michael G. Fitzgerald’s 1999 book, Westerns Women. But on their next movie, “He’d come back from the service and had changed. He had a lot of bodyguards around him.”

Her big-screen résumé also included the cult B-movie Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959), directed by Bernard L. Kowalski and produced by brothers Gene and Roger Corman for American International Pictures.

In 1954, the delightful Shepard appeared in her first TV Western, the syndicated anthology series Death Valley Days, and followed by getting dusty on The Adventures of Kit Carson, The Lone Ranger, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Tales of the Texas Rangers, Rawhide, Tombstone Territory, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Bat Masterson, Gunsmoke (four episodes), Laramie, Lawman, The Virginian (five episodes) and The High Chaparral, among others.

Josephine Angela Sorbello was born on March 19, 1928, in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. At Quakertown High School, she acted in plays and was a cheerleader, drum majorette and valedictorian.

She came to Los Angeles in 1949 and joined a theater group, the Ben Bard Players, and trained at the Pasadena Playhouse.

Meanwhile, she also worked as a secretary at an I. Magnin department store in order to pay the $25 in rent for the Hollywood Boulevard apartment she shared with future Gunsmoke star Amanda Blake, she recalled in a 2019 interview with Alan K. Rode.

Shepard made her onscreen debut on a 1952 episode of Fireside Theater and was soon being booked on shows including I Married Joan, Big Town, Private Secretary, Waterfront, Public Defender and The Loretta Young Show.

She played a nurse on the 1957 syndicated series Dr. Christian, starring Macdonald Carey, and was a regular on a pair of ’60s soap operas: CBS’ The Clear Horizon, which was set at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and revolved around astronauts and their families, and the ABC legal drama Day in Court.

She got her part in King Creole, which she called “the break of her life,” with the help of her good friend, Dolores Hart, who played Presley’s love interest in the movie.

Presley gave her a pair of 10-cent earrings as a joke while they worked on the Paramount film, then presented her with a huge stuffed tiger and a movie camera when Hart threw a surprise birthday party for her.

“Dolores said the next day she ran into Elvis and she said, ‘I was so surprised that you came,’” Shepard remembered. “He said [with a laugh], ‘I had to come, she’s my sister. I wouldn’t miss her birthday party.’

“I ran into him in the studio. He said to me, ‘I hear Elvis was at your birthday party.’ ‘Yeah, he was.’ He said, ‘You know, he never goes anywhere, people go to him, he never goes to other people’s homes.’”

When Hart quit Hollywood to become a nun, Shepard and Maria Cooper, Gary Cooper’s daughter, became her godmothers.

In 1962, she starred with James Drury and Simon Oakland in Third of a Man, an acclaimed film about mental illness.

Shepard also appeared on four episodes of Perry Mason and on such other series as Highway Patrol, Mannix, Land of the Giants, Then Came Bronson and, in 1973 for her last onscreen credit, The Rookies.

Her husband was Wyatt Earp actor Dirk London (real name Ray Boyle). They first met at Ben Bard in 1951 and were married from 1954 — when they worked together on her Death Valley Days episode — until his death at age 98 in January 2022.

Survivors include Brandon, who did prop work on such shows as Murder, She Wrote and The Newsroom (when he was a toddler, his mom wouldn’t allow him to be in the Presley movie G.I. Blues because the writers would have wanted him to bawl); daughter-in-law Jenn; grandchildren Riley and Hayley; and nephew Andrew, his wife, Danielle, and their daughter, Olivia.

SHEPARD, Jan (Josephine Angela Sorbello)

Born: 3/19/1928, Quakertown, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Died: 1/17/2025, Burbank, California, U.S.A.

 

Jan Shepard’s western films – actress:

The Adventures of Kit Carson (TV) – 1954

Death Valley Days (TV) – 1954 (Elly)

The Lone Ranger (TV) – 1955

Tales of the Texas Rangers (TV) – 1955 (Ruth Foster)

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (TV) – 1956 (Mamie Perkins)

Sergeant Preston of the Yukon (TV) – 1956 (Lou Anne Constantine)

Circus Boy (TV) – 1957 (Estelle)

The Gray Ghost (TV) – 1957 (Melinda)

The Californians (TV) – 1958 (Susanna Temple)

The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (TV) – 1959 (Ella Clarkson)

Rawhide (TV) – 1959, 1960, 1961 (Ann Powell, Clara Lacey, Mary)

Trackdown (TV) – 1959 (Emily)

Wichita Town (TV) – 1959 (Clara Bennett)

Tombstone Territory (TV) – 1960 (Cheri Deger)

U.S. Marshal (TV) – 1960 (Betty Morgan)

Wanted: Dead or Alive (TV) – 1960 (Lillith Preston)

Bat Masterson (TV) – 1961 (Jody Reese)

Gunslinger (TV) – 1961 (Constance Cameron Jenks)

Gunsmoke (TV) – 1961, 1964, 1967 Tassie, Tilda, Marge, Edna Farron)

Laramie (TV) – 1961-1962 (Karen Jackson, Lila Stevens, Cindy)

Stagecoach West (TV) – 1961 (Emily Prince)

Lawman (TV) – 1962 (Madelyn Chase)

The Virginian (TV) – 1965, 1966 (Sergeant Cohane, Connie Burns, Jessica Boyer, Laura Cooper)

Bonanza (TV) – 1966 (Sally)

A Man Called Shenandoah (TV) – 1966 (Ann Winters)

The High Chaparral (TV) – 1967, 1968 (Mavis, Megan Hallock)

The Road West (TV) – 1967 (Ellen Brewster)

Western Trails (TV) – 2017 (Marge)

Sunday, January 26, 2025

RIP Marcel Mann

 

Beloved Comedian Marcel Mann Dies By Suicide At 37

The Pinnacle Gazette

By Evrim Ağaci

January 25, 2025

 

The German comic's struggles and impact resonate deeply following his tragic passing.

A shocking tragedy has struck the German comedy scene with the announcement of comedian Marcel Mann's death at just 37 years old. His family and friends shared the heartbreaking news on January 21, 2025, confirming he had died by suicide.

According to his loved ones, posted on both his official website and his Instagram profile, "On Tuesday, January 21, 2025, our beloved friend Marcel Mann ended his life autonomously. We are speechless and infinitely sad, but also grateful for every second we could spend with this wonderful person." The message went on to request respect for their privacy during this challenging time and urged fans to give Mann's family and closest friends enough space to mourn their loss.

Marcel Mann, who was openly gay, was well-known not only as a comedian but also as a voice actor. Emerging from Schorndorf, Baden-Württemberg, he had become one of the prominent figures on German television, with notable appearances on shows like "NightWash" and "Quatsch Comedy Club." Mann's rise to fame started to take off around 2014 when he gained attention for his stand-up performances.

Tragically, his recent life had been filled with personal struggles, particularly following the loss of his beloved dog, Pübbi. After desperately searching for his dog when she went missing last October, he received the devastating news two weeks later when Pübbi was found deceased. Mann's grief was palpable as he shared his heartbreak on social media, saying, "Forgive me for not being able to protect you. I hope I could at least give you the best time of your life during our short time together. I will never forget the kindness of those who supported me during this time."

Mann was planning to go on tour later this year with his new show titled "Die ungeschälte Wahrheit," starting February 7, with performances scheduled for major cities like Hamburg, Cologne, Munich, Leipzig, and Dresden. His career had blossomed with over 200 voice acting roles, including dubbing for actors like Ross Lynch and Dylan Sprayberry.

The announcement of his death has sent shockwaves through the public and the comedy community, raising awareness about mental health issues. Suicides are difficult topics to navigate, and the media often struggles with how to approach them responsibly. Although coverage of suicide is ordinarily avoided, the circumstances surrounding Mann's very public life led to the decision to share his story.

Alongside the celebration of his life and legacy, many are left contemplating the tragic burden carried by public figures and the unspoken pressures they face. The personal struggles, like those Mann experienced, can often remain hidden behind the bright lights of their careers.

Mann's family urged the public to allow them the space they need to navigate this heartbreaking loss. At this time, the focus is on remembering his contributions to comedy and celebrating his life, alongside the sorrow for his passing.

If you or anyone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or mental health issues, please seek help. The German telephone support service offers anonymous and free assistance 24 hours a day. You can reach out by calling 0800/111 0 111 or 0800/111 0 222. Help is available; no one needs to face their struggles alone.

MANN, Marcel

Born: 1/13/1987, Schorndorf, Baen-Wurtenberg, Germany

Died: 1/21/2025, Berlin, Berlin, Germany

 

Marcel Mann’s western – voice actor:

Morris & the Cow – 1916 [voice of Ill Mill]

Friday, January 24, 2025

RIP Giorgio Favretto

 

Il Mondo dei Doppiatori

January 24, 2025

 

Italian actor, voice actor, dubbing director and Italian dialogue writer Giorgio Favretto, who was active in theater, cinema and television since the mid-sixties died in Anguillara Sabazia, Rome, Lazio, Italy on January 23. He was 83. Born in Rijeka, Primorsko-Goranska County, Croatia on December 5, 1941, he graduated in 1964 from the National Academy of Dramatic Art "Silvio D'Amico" in Rome. On television, he played the role of Maximilien in the 1966 television drama ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’. The bulk of his career was in voice acting and dubbing as a director, dialogue writer and voice dubber. Giorgio dubbed several actors including among others, Lee Majors, Mitchell Ryan, Luis Guzmán, Raoul Hernandez and David Clennon. He was the Italian voice of Raimond Harmstorf in 1987’s Euro-western “Thunder Warrior II” and the sequel “Thunder Warrior II” where he dubbed Horst Schön.

FAVRETTO, Giorgio

Born: 12/5/1941, Rijeka, Primorsko-Goranska County, Croatia

Died: 1/23/2025, Anguillara Sabazia, Rome, Lazio, Italy

 

Giorgio Favretto’s westerns – voice adubber:

Rin Tin Tin (TV) – Italian voice of James Brown on the Italian video release]

Thunder Warrior II – 1987 [Italian voice of Riamond Harmstorf]

Thunder Warrior III – 1988 [Italian voice of Horst Schön]

Thursday, January 23, 2025

RIP Barry Goldberg

 

Musician who appeared at one of rock’s most famous concerts dies at 83

Barry Goldberg died on Jan. 22 

Mercury News

By Jim Harrington

January 23, 2025

 

Acclaimed blues-rock musician Barry Goldberg, who was part of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band when it backed Bob Dylan during his legendary electric outing at the otherwise-acoustic Newport Folk Festival in 1965, died on Jan. 22.

He was 83.

Goldberg, who also performed/recorded with Steve Miller, Muddy Waters, Leonard Cohen, Stephen Stills and many other famed musicians, “died in hospice care after a 10-year struggle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma,” according publicist Bob Merlis. “Gail Goldberg, his wife of 53 years, and son Aram were at this bedside.”

The tremendous blues-rock keyboardist, who was also a bandleader, songwriter and producer, was born on Christmas Day of 1942 and grew up in Chicago, where he’d nurture his love of music and quickly rise through the ranks of Windy City keyboardists. As the story goes, Goldberg was still a teenager when he shared the stage with such Chicago blues legends as Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, and Howlin’ Wolf.

Goldberg was also still a high schooler when he’d meet and befriend ace guitarist Mike Bloomfield and the two aspiring artists soon made names for themselves on the Chicago blues scene. They’d eventually join the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, which would help shock the folk music world — and a goodly part of the rest of the globe — when they backed Bob Dylan when he went electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.

hat electric moment, which is now widely considered to be one of the most famous/infamous performances in popular music history, is prominently featured in the Oscar-nominated Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown.”

Goldberg would go on to co-produce albums/songs for Percy Sledge, Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton, the Textones and even Dylan himself. An accomplished songwriter, Goldberg wrote songs that were later recorded by Rod Stewart, Gladys Knight, Joe Cocker, Steve Miller, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Gram Parsons, B. J. Thomas and others.

Despite his many different roles in the music business over the decades, Goldberg remained, first and foremost, a Chicago bluesman. As such, he was the ideal choice to help lead the Chicago Blues Reunion, a group that also featured Sam Lay, Nick Gravenites, Harvey Mandel, Corky Siegel, Tracy Nelson, Charlie Musselwhite, Jimmy Vivino, Marcy Levy and other artists over the years.

In lieu of flowers, Goldberg’s family is asking that donation be made in the acclaimed musician’s name to The Bear League via savebears.org.

GOLDBERG, Barry (Barry Joseph Goldberg)

Born: 12/25/1942, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.

Died: 1/22/2025, Clarksburg, Maryland, U.S.A.

 

Barry Goldberg’s western – composer:

Powwow Highway - 1998

RIP Jack De Mave

 

Eve’s Obits

1/22/2025

 

Actor Jack De Mave, 92, died on Jan. 17, according to David Davis (who runs the Mary Tyler Moore Facebook page—not to be confused with the MTM producer of the same name). The tall, Arrow Collar-handsome De Mave played Forest Ranger Bob Erickson in the 1968-70 reboot of Lassie, but is best known to Baby Boomers as Rhoda’s date, “Mr. and Mrs. Armond Lynton,” on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (he turned up in a later episode, sans his “lovely wife Nancy”). From 1962 through 2008, De Mave appeared in such TV series as Surfside 6, Wagon Train, F Troop, The Fugitive, The Doris Day Show, Adam-12, The Bold and the Beautiful, and Days of Our Lives. The Jersey City native was the son of a famed boxer (Jack, Sr.), and appeared onstage in Picnic, Mr. Roberts, with Lunt and Fontanne in The Visit, and with Lee Radziwill in The Philadelphia Story. Off-Broadway, he was seen in The Sound of Music, Applause, Sweeney Todd, Guys and Dolls, Richard the Second and Macbeth. De Mave’s own lovely wife, assistant director Camille De Mave, died in 2013.

De MAVE, Jack (John Francois DeMave)

Born: 12/6/1935, Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.A.

Died: 1/17/2025, Macon, Georgia, U.S.A.

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

RIP Nicholas Eadie

 

Aussie TV and theatre legend Nicholas Eadie dead at 67

Nicholas Eadie – who appeared in multiple major Aussie shows and once starred alongside Nicole Kidman – has passed away.

News.com.au

By Bronte Coy

January 23, 2025

 

Veteran Australian actor Nicholas Eadie has died at the age of 67.

Eadie, who was known for his work on multiple shows, including Cop Shop and Underbelly, died in Sydney on Wednesday, his friend and fellow actor Will Conyers confirmed in a social media post.

“Vale, Nicholas Eadie, 1958 – 2025,” he wrote.

“I send my deepest sympathy to all those that were touched by this very special artist and human being.”

No cause of death has yet been given. His body was found at his home, according to the Daily Mail.

Eadie graduated from the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) in Sydney in 1980, and his final acting role was in the 2011 TV movie, Underbelly Files: The Man Who Got Away.

Many of Eadie’s industry colleagues have taken to social media to pay tribute to him following the news of his passing.

Actor Rhys Muldoon, who worked with Eadie a “number of times” wrote that he was “shocked” at the news, describing him as “a great actor” and “one of life’s best scallywags”.

Toby Schmitz, who appeared in Underbelly alongside Eadie, also paid tribute to him on X.

“Bon voyage Nicholas Eadie. An actor thrumming with savvy truth, dangerous wit; a thrilling artist,” he posted.

Theatre manager Les Solomon spoke of his devastation at the loss of the “magnificent” Eadie, describing him as “one of Australia’s finest actors”.

“One of my most enduring memories is of his thrilling, heart-breaking performances. Vale Nicholas,” theatre director Robert Jarman wrote.

Eadie’s career began shortly after his graduation from acting school. He landed the role of Constable Sam Phillips on Channel Seven’s Cop Shop, and stayed on the series for two years.

Across the following decades, he appeared in many well-known Australian film and television productions, including A Country Practice, Return to Snowy River and Halifax FP.

Eadie was also a successful theatre actor, starring in A Midsummer Nights Dream and The Taming of the Shrew, among many others.

EADIE, Nicholas

Born: 1958, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Died: 1/22/2025, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

 

Nicholas Eadie’s westerns – actor:

Return to Snowy River – 1988 (Alistair Patton)

Frontier (TV)- 1997

Monday, January 20, 2025

RIP Leila Hayes

 

AUSTRALIAN SCREEN LEGEND LEILA HAYES PASSES AT 85

National World

By Tom Morton

1/20/2025

 

Leila Marion Hayes, one of Australia's most beloved television personalities and Penguin Award-winning actress, has passed away at the age of 85. Known for her iconic portrayal of Beryl Palmer in "Sons and Daughters," Hayes leaves behind a rich legacy spanning television, radio, theatre, and education.

Following an extended period of health challenges, Hayes passed peacefully at Northern Beaches Hospital. In her final days, she celebrated her birthday surrounded by family and was lovingly attended by her only daughter Melissa throughout her last week.

Rising to prominence in Australian entertainment, Hayes first captured audiences as a talented singer on The Don Lane Show and the Bert Newton Show, becoming a regular presence in national telethons, particularly Melbourne's Channel 7 Good Friday Appeal.

Her versatile career expanded into dramatic acting, where she achieved critical acclaim for her performances in numerous landmark Australian productions including "Power without Glory," "The Sullivans," "Cop Shop," "Twenty Good Years," and "Prisoner."

Hayes' most renowned role though was her portrayal of Melbourne mother Beryl Palmer in "Sons and Daughters," which earned her the prestigious Penguin Award and garnered international recognition. This success led to a memorable tour of Belgium in 1988, where she performed before hundreds of thousands of fans and shared the stage with her daughter in a touching duet of “The Rose”.

Following her television success, Hayes reinvented herself as a radio personality, hosting "New Day Australia with Leila Hayes" on Radio 2UE, which became the highest-rating midnight to dawn program. Her insightful features were frequently rebroadcast throughout 2UE's daily programming.

Hayes dedicated her later years to nurturing new talent through the Leila Hayes Drama Studio, first in Melbourne and later in Sydney, where she mentored thousands of aspiring performers. Her commitment to community service included running voluntary drama programs for both youth and senior citizens through the Ryde Council, earning her Rotary International's Paul Harris Fellow award and a Premier Award for Service to the Community.

Born in Dimboola, Victoria, Hayes maintained a special connection to her hometown throughout her career, notably starring in the inaugural theatrical production of Jack Hibbard's "Dimboola" alongside fellow personalities Denise Drysdale and Maurie Fields. Years later, in a moment that merged art with life, Hayes performed in a Sydney recreation of the same production alongside her daughter and Tom Richards.

In her final years, Hayes found joy away from the public eye, spending time with her grandsons, Lucian and Liam, and pursuing her creative passion through writing, publishing a children's book titled "Streak," inspired by her walks at Balmoral Beach near her Sydney home and proudly dedicated to her grandsons.

Hayes is survived by her daughter Melissa, son-in-law Erik, and grandsons Lucian and Liam.

HAYES, Leila

Born: 2/12/1942, Dimboola, Victoria, Australia

Died: 1/20/2025, Frenchs Forest, New South Wales, Australia

 

Leila Hayes’ western – actress:

Cash and Company – 1975 (Lola)

Sunday, January 19, 2025

RIP Klaus Schichan

 

Karl May Festival: Mourning for actor and stuntman Klaus Schichan

Lübecker Nachrichten

By Norbert Rochna

1/17/2025

 

His profession included daring stunts in movies, TV series and at the Karl May Festival in Bad Segeberg. Klaus Schichan has died at the age of 84. The stuntman lived right behind the open-air stage on Kalkberg and was part of the ensemble for decades.

Bad Segeberg. As a stuntman, Klaus Schichan has probably died thousands of deaths in films, on TV and on stage. Now his life has really come to an end. According to information from our editorial team, Schichan died in November at the age of 84 in Bad Segeberg, where he had lived for more than 40 years.

For years he had a short commute from his house in Oberbergstrasse on Kalkberg. He was part of the Karl May Plays ensemble 17 times between 1968 and 1996.

Schichan was the originator of the spectacular villain's death

There, in 1968, the Berlin native was responsible for the villain's first - at the time spectacular - stage death. In the play "In the Gorges of the Balkans" he fell from a suspension bridge during a fight with Kara Ben Nemsi.

Director Wulf Leisner had initially planned to have the villain's death be hidden. But not Klaus Schichan: "If there's a bridge there, I can jump off it too!" he later said in an interview. That was typical of Schichan. When he did something, he did it properly and with full commitment.

During the successful era of director Klaus-Hagen Latwesen in the 1980s, Schichan was part of the regular crew. Schichan played a key role in making the plays during this time and afterwards significantly more action-packed and entertaining.

Schichan was known for his clear words - even off the stage, which reflected his Berlin origins. His direct manner did not always make him friends. He took a break during the four Pierre Brice years at Kalkberg and did not rejoin the team until 1992.

The stuntman taught himself the craft

Klaus Schichan never saw himself as an actor, "performer" is the word he used for himself. He had not learned his stunt craft either but taught himself the finer points of the profession.

What can be done today with computers and lots of technology had to happen "in real life" back then. A car accident was authentic, hospital stays and injuries were occupational hazards. The 1960s TV classics "Stahlnetz", "Cliff Dexter" and "Die Gentleman bitten zur Kasse" are part of his filmography, as are episodes of "Tatort". The stuntman also worked for Hark Bohm and the US director Richard Brooks.

SCHICHAN, Klaus 

Born: 6/27/1940, Berlin, Berlin Germany

Died: 11/?/12024, Segeberger, Schleswig-Holstein Germany

Klaus Schichan's westerns - actor, stuntman:

Der Ölprinz (TV) – 1970 (Baumgarten)

Old Surehand (TV) -1975 (White Feather)

Winnetou I (TV) – 1976 (Bao)

Winnetou II (TV) – 1976 (Bao)

Der schwarze Mustang (TV) – 1977 (Ade, White Feather)

Old Firehand (TV) - 1979 (White Feather)

The Treasure of Silver Lake (TV) – 1981 (Captain Howens/Donner)

Friday, January 17, 2025

RIP Robert Verrall

 

Canadian animator and National Film Board pioneer Robert Verrall dies at 97

The Canadian Press

By Alex Nino Gheciu

January 17, 2025

 

Canadian animator and director Robert Verrall has died at the age of 97.

The National Film Board of Canada says the Oscar-nominated filmmaker died Friday in Montreal.

The Toronto-born Verrall was considered a pioneer at the NFB, having worked at the agency for more than 40 years after being hired by acclaimed Canadian animator Norman McLaren in 1945.

Verrall held several high-ranking positions at the NFB, from director of English production to executive producer of special projects, and helped establish Studio D, the agency's renowned women's filmmaking unit.

His legacy includes multiple Oscar nominations and more than 50 films in which he served as either director or producer, including Ryan Larkin's Oscar-nominated 1968 short "Walking," Barrie Nelson's 1974 comedy "Propaganda Message" and his own 1968 science-based film "Cosmic Zoom."

Verrall's son David followed in his footsteps, establishing himself as a producer in the animation industry and joining the NFB in the '70s.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2024.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version misstated the day of death. Verrall died Friday.

VERRALL, Robert

Born: 1/13/1928, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Died: 1/17/2025, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

 

Robert Verrall’s western – producer, animator:

The Great Toy Robbery - 1963

Thursday, January 16, 2025

RIP Christian Juttner

 

Christian Juttner Dies: The Former Child Star Was 60 

Forbes

By Marc Berman

January 16, 2025

 

Christian Juttner, who at age seven debuted on television in an episode of the detective drama Ironside in 1971, died November 29 of natural causes at his home in Yucca Valley, California. He was 60.

Born May 20, 1964, in Pomona, California, Juttner’s resume included guest spots in a roster of TV series including Bewitched, Emergecy!, The Rookies, S.W.A.T., Medical Center, The Bionic Woman and Wonder Woman, and a pair of ABC Afterschool Specials.

At age 14, Juttner appeared in the films Return From Witch Mountain, I Wanna Hold Your Hand and the Irwin Allen-directed disaster film The Swarm. Next were guest roles in episodes of Lou Grant, Trapper John, M.D. and Alice. And his final on-screen role was in the daytime drama General Hospital in 1981.

After retiring from acting, Juttner lived in the island of Saint Croix, where he worked in his father's glassworks business, and later moved to Yucca Valley, where he worked in construction and opened a glassworks business of his own.

Survivors include his mother; his ex-wife, Ann; daughters Aidan and Ryan; son Lucas; and his sister Shelley.

JUTTNER, Christian (Christian John Juttner)

Born: 5/20/1964, Pomona, California, U.S.A.

Died: 11/29/2024, Van Nuys, California, U.S.A.

 

Christian Juttner’s westerns – actor:

Return of the Big Cat – 1974 (Leroy McClaren)

RIP David Lynch

 

David Lynch Dies: ‘Twin Peaks’, ‘Blue Velvet’, ‘Elephant Man’ & ‘Eraserhead’ Visionary Was 78

DEADLINE

By Erik Pedersen, Anthony D'Alessandro

January 16, 2025

 

One of Hollywood’s worst weeks in just got worse. David Lynch, the four-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, Eraserhead, Wild at Heart, The Elephant Man and others who also created the Showtime drama Twin Peaks, has died. He was 78.

His family posted the news on social media.

Lynch had been diagnosed with emphysema. Sources told Deadline that he was forced to relocate from his house due to the Sunset Fire and then took a turn for the worse. In an interview with Sight & Sound magazine last year, Lynch revealed that due to Covid fears and his emphysema diagnosis, he could no longer could leave the house, which meant if he directed again, it would be remote. He then followed up the interview with a post on social that he “will never retire” despite his physical challenges.

“It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch,” the family’s post reads. “We would appreciate some privacy at this time. There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.’ It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.”

An eccentric, visionary outsider, he earned Oscar noms for writing and directing 1980’s The Elephant Man and for directing Mulholland Drive and Blue Velvet. In 2000, he received an Honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement. He also took the Palme d’Or at Cannes for Wild at Heart in 1990 and was nominated for the prize three other times. He won Best Director at the fest for Mulholland Drive in 2001.

Born on January 20, 1946, in Missoula, Montana, Lynch began his career making short films in the late 1960s. His first feature film was the influential and ever-quirky Eraserhead (1977), which he wrote and directed and went on to be a midnight-movie cult classic. That led to his breakout success with The Elephant Man, starring John Hurt as the friendly and smart but disfigured title character in Victorian England and Anthony Hopkins as the doctor who tries to treat him. When chased down by a gang of street toughs, Hurt’s John Merrick memorably cries: “I’m not an animal! I’m a human being — a man!”

Lynch’s career took off during the 1980s. He followed up the success of Elephant Man with Dune, the 1984 take of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel that failed to light up the box office, and the 1986 noir psychological thriller Blue Velvet, starring Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper, and Laura Dern.

Perhaps his masterstroke arrived in 1989.

He created, directed co-wrote Twin Peaks, a bizarre sort of detective series/soap opera/sci-fi mystery-adventure and occasional outright Twilight Zone-like horror. Set in the fiction Pacific Northwest town that gives the series its title, Twin Peaks began with one of the most disturbing and oddly mesmerizing opening scenes in TV history: the beachside discovery of the plastic-wrapped corpse. The town’s popular young high schooler Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) had been murdered, her bluish corpse still oddly beautiful.

The discovery would bring the quirky FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), a brilliant oddball sleuth given to praising coffee, pie and, eventually, the off-putting town he adopted as his own. Along the way, Cooper uncovered many mysteries in Twin Peaks, a good number of them involving the supernatural. Along the way, “Who killed Laura Palmer?” became a national obsession.

The series lasted for two seasons and ended when Cooper finally discovered Laura’s otherworldly killer. A 2017 revival series called Twin Peaks: The Return reunited many of the original cast and characters, and under Lynch’s care became even more bizarre than the original series: The Return‘s final scene remains a standout among TV’s all-time most chilling moments. The so-called third season received widespread critical acclaim.

Lynch’s feature writing and/or directing credits also includes Lost Highway (1997), The Straight Story (1999) and Inland Empire (2006).

LYNCH, David (David Keith Lynch)

Born: 1/20/1946, Missoula, Montana, U.S.A.

Died: 1/16/2025, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

 

David Lynch’s westerns – art department, actor:

In Pursuit of Treasure – 1972 [art department]

Lucky – 2017 (Howard)

Sunday, January 12, 2025

RIP Leslie Charleson

 

Leslie Charleson, Longest-Tenured General Hospital Cast Member, Dies at 79 

The actress played Monica Quartermaine on the series from 1977 until her death

People

By Victoria Edel

January 12, 2025

 

Leslie Charleson has died at the age of 79.

The actress was best known as Monica Quartermaine on the soap opera General Hospital, a role she began playing in 1977, making her the cast member who was on the show the longest. She was a four-time Daytime Emmy nominee.

General Hospital's executive producer Frank Valentini announced Charleson's death on the show's official Instagram page on Sunday, Jan. 12. "It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my dear friend and colleague, Leslie Charleson," he began.

"Her enduring legacy has spanned nearly 50 years on General Hospital alone and, just as Monica was the heart of the Quartermaines, Leslie was a beloved matriarch of the entire cast and crew," he continued. "I will miss our daily chats, her quick wit and incredible presence on set."

Valentini concluded his message: "On behalf of everyone at General Hospital, my heartfelt sympathy goes out to her loved ones during this difficult time."

Charleson was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1945. Her sister Kate, who died in 1996, also became an actress. Charleson acted as a child and in high school, and studied theater at Bennett College in upstate New York.

In 1964, she was cast on the NBC soap A Flame in the Wind. Then she joined ​​As the World Turns in 1966, before moving to CBS’s Love Is a Many Splendored Thing. She stayed with that series until 1970.

After leaving the show, she made guest appearances on series like Marcus Welby, M.D., Happy Days (as a love interest for Ron Howard's Richie Cunningham), The Streets of San Francisco, Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law, McMillan & Wife and The Rockford Files. She also starred in the 1971 made-for-TV horror film Revenge!.

In 1977, she was brought onto General Hospital as the series’ ratings were floundering, replacing Patsy Rahn, who had debuted as Monica Bard Webber (later Monica Quartermaine) a year earlier. Monica, a doctor, filled the bad-girl archetype on the show, and Charleson loved playing her.

“I only signed on for two years, and I don’t know what happened,” she told Digital Journal in 2019. “Back then, there weren’t a lot of good female roles that had that. It was an amazing time, and it was strong material to act.”

“She’s interesting, dedicated in all areas,” Charleson told Soap Opera Digest in 1981. “Her dedication in her social life can be a bit over the top, but it’s true. When she loves, it’s passionately. She puts her effort into it, sometimes at the expense of others.”

And at the time, the actress was happy with her character's growth. “I’m delighted with the progress she’s made, her sense of humor," she said. "As an actress I enjoy Monica because she can wear any hat, go any place, do any thing.” Of her character’s reputation, she added, “When you’re all good, you’re boring. And nobody is just ‘good,’ unless she’s a saint.”

Monica’s most impactful relationship on the show was with fellow doctor Alan Quartermaine, played by the late Stuart Damon. The Quartermaine family joined the show the same year Charleson did, ultimately giving Monica deep ties to the show.

But Monica's relationship with Alan was often volatile. In the '80s, she often slapped Alan in the face. “We’d do real slaps,” Charleson told PEOPLE in 2023 for the show’s 60th anniversary. “Stuart was always afraid I’d take his eye out. I would fake a slap in dress rehearsal, but when we went to tape it, all that went out the window!”

Monica was often in the middle of love triangles and even accidentally had an affair with her nephew. But not all of Monica’s storylines emphasized over-the-top drama. In 1994, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“Monica’s battle with breast cancer was just so incredibly fulfilling,” Charleson told FBJ Fit in 2020. “Dealing with a real-life issue that afflicts so many women and their families and being able to show the struggle and issues they face, was something I am so proud of. It was exhausting and incredibly difficult work, but the response to the storyline was truly humbling.”

Charleson began to appear on General Hospital on a recurring status beginning in 2010 and made less frequent appearances in the last years of her life.

Once she joined the GH cast, Charleson rarely made TV appearances outside it. But she starred in the 1993 TV movie Woman on the Ledge and made guest appearances on Diagnosis: Murder and Dharma & Greg. She played herself in a 2004 episode of Friends, where she faced Joey (who was also a soap star) on a game show.

Charleson was married once, to Bill Demms, from 1988 to 1991.

Looking back at her GH tenure, she told Soap Opera Digest in 2001, “I really do love this job. Look at it this way — what better job can you do than get up in the morning, roll out of bed, throw something on and then have someone take care of how you look and how you dress and what you say? How much more grateful could you possibly be? Not bad, not bad at all."

CHARLESON, Leslie (Leslie Ann Charleson)

Born: 2/22/1945, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A.

Died: 1/12/2025, Los Angele, California, U.S.A.

 

Leslie Charleson’s westerns – actress:

The Wild Wild West (TV) – 1968 (Dooley Sloan)

Kung Fu (TV) – 1975 (Amy Starbuck)